Eagle Rock EntertainmentA concert film documenting an October 2016 performance Robert Plant and his current band The Sensational Space Shifters gave at Twin Peaks director David Lynch's inaugural Festival of Disruption multimedia event gets its release today on DVD and as a digital video.

The show featured reworked renditions of several Led Zeppelin tunes, including "Black Dog," "Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You" and "Going to California," as well as four songs from Plant's then-latest solo album, 2014's Lullaby and... The Ceaseless Roar. The rock legend and his group also played a medley that brought together the Zeppelin classic "Whole Lotta Love," Muddy Waters' "Hoochie Coochie Man" and Bo Diddley's "Mona."

The Robert Plant & The Sensational Space Shifters Live at David Lynch's Festival of Disruption video also offers some bonus content, footage of Lynch discussing creativity, music and meditation.

The Lynch-curated Festival of Disruption was held at the Ace Hotel in L.A. The event featured musical and dance performances, DJ sets, discussions, art exhibits, virtual reality displays, film screenings, meditation sessions and more. Money raised by the festival raised money for the David Lynch Foundation, which provides Transcendental Meditation education programs to domestic-violence victims, veterans suffering from PTSD, at-risk young people and others. Sales of the DVD and digital video will benefit the foundation.

Here is the full track list of the performance portion of the DVD:

"Poor Howard"

"Turn It Up"

"Black Dog"

Medley: "The Enchanter"/"Rainbow"

"Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You"

"Little Maggie"

Medley: "Hoochie Coochie Man"/"Whole Lotta Love"/"Mona"

"Going to California"

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WESTPORT  A town librarian charged with possessing child pornography made his first appearance in court Friday morning.

The arraignment of library employee Robert Kelly charged with possession of child pornography has been transferred from the Norwalk court to the Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford due to the seriousness of the felony charges against Kelly, his lawyers, Mark Sherman said.

Kelly, 43, a resident of Westport, sat in the back of Norwalk Court with two elderly people who appeared to be his parents on the morning of Feb. 9. He looked straight ahead and appeared on the verge of tears before presenting himself, with his attorney, before the Norwalk court judge.

Sherman asked the judge to transfer Kellys case to Stamford for a court date of Feb. 22, a request the judge granted. Charges such as child pornography are automatically transferred to part A where more serious felony charges are heard, Sherman said outside the courtroom, explaining the case move to Stamford.

Its premature, to determine how the case will play out, Sherman said, adding the police report related to Kellys case has not been recovered because that information will only be available when the case moves to Stamford and is designated in par A.

When defending Connecticut child pornography charges, its critical to forensically examine the images at issue. Remember these are just accusations at this point in time, Sherman said, adding he will represent and enter pleas on behalf of Kelly at his Feb. 22 arraignment.

Kelly, manager of collection curation at the library, turned himself into police Jan. 29 after a warrant was issued for his arrest on Jan. 26 following a months-long investigation by state and local police which found 45 images of child pornography at Kellys home on his personal electronic devices, police said.

Upon turning himself in, Kelly was charged with second-degree possession of child pornography, promoting obscene performance, and obscenity.

Westport Library Executive Director Bill Harme said in a Jan. 29 statement that he was shocked and saddened by the news of Kellys charges and immediately restricted Mr. Kellys access to the library and its property and instructed him not to perform his duties, when the library was made aware of the case.

svaughan@hearstmediact.com; @SophieCVaughan1
What? You missed it? Horace Staples would roll over in his grave. (Its in Colonial Cemetery near Greens Farms Congregational Church. More on that later.)

From 1884 through the early 1900s, Founders Day was an important date on the Staples High School calendar. Every January 31, it commemorated the 1802 birthday of the schools namesake, Horace Staples.

A direct descendant of Thomas Staples, one of five settlers who founded Fairfield in 1639 - and of Mary Staples, acquitted of witchcraft during the fever of 1692 - he began working at 8 years old.

At 27 he started a lumber and hardware business in Saugatuck. It grew into a general store carrying grain, groceries, household furnishings and medicines. He bought sailing vessels, a silk factory and an axe factory. He owned a thriving pier off the west back of the Saugatuck River, near the State Street (Post Road) bridge. In 1852 he established a bank. Along with everything else, he ran a farm.

Every morning for years, Staples watched Westport boys and girls board the trolley. Some headed west to Norwalk, others east to Bridgeport - the nearest towns with high schools. He wanted Westport to get up a high school of its own.

Twice, he offered to give the town a lot for a building. Twice, the town refused to act.

In 1880 his only daughter, Mary Elizabeth, died. His sole remaining heir was a grandson. Staples decided that the fortune he intended to leave his daughter should benefit all young people in town. Nearly 80 years old - and so hard of hearing he carried a yard-long ear trumpet - Staples embarked on a final project.

He was no stranger to education. Early in his career, he worked part-time as a teacher. In 1781 a relative, Samuel Staples, had established a free school in Easton. It evolved into Staples Academy, called the second academy in the United States after Phillips Exeter in New Hampshire. (Poor management by trustees, embezzlement and the collapse of a bank holding its funds led to the closing of Staples Academy in 1895. Two years later it reopened as a public school. Its still there: Samuel Staples School.)

In 1882 Horace Staples directedome of his money toward a new high school. The following year he planned red-brick building just up the street from his West (now Riverside) Avenue home. It would be on the horse railroad line, midway between the population centers of Westport and Saugatuck. Students going o and from school on the horse cars would be charged three cents a ride (the regular fare was eight cents).

Though over 80 years old, Staples was in good health, and came from a long line of long-living people. I might as well see my name up in bricks while I am still around, he said.

The school was built on vacant land he donated near his house. The cornerstone was laid on April 22, 1884. The momentous occasion drew a crowd of 2,500. Businesses closed. Sirens blew; church bells rang. A procession marched from National Hall to the new school (the site today of Saugatuck Elementary School.) Pastors prayed. Choirs sang.

Even Connecticut Governor Thomas M. Waller was there. The Westporter newspaper did not print his address. It did note, however, that a good high school will increase the value of property, and raise the price of onions.

Staples High School - the apostrophe was soon dropped - opened officially on West (Riverside) Avenue on October 31, 1884. (The first few weeks of classes had been held on the third floor of National Hall. Staples First National Bank of Westport occupied the ground floor.)

Horace Staples lived another 13 years. He died of pneumonia at home on March 6, 1897. He had outlived all of his wives and children, and was the oldest and best-known citizen in town.

He had always visited the school on his birthday. After his death however, the Founders Day festivities disappeared.

Last year - thanks to the efforts of Staples High School social studies teacher Jeanne Stevens - they were resurrected. She and her Staples chapter of the Rho Kappa national social studies honor society encouraged classes throughout the school to contribute to an 1880s-themed display.

The result was fascinating: everything from how math was taught 130 years ago, to what we ate (from the culinary department). Yours truly dressed up as Horace Staples, and visited classrooms to talk about my life back then.

Rho Kappa reprised the celebration last week. Theyre working, meanwhile, on restoring Horace Staples grave. Over the past century, it fell victim to neglect and vandalism.

Staples High Schools founder has been dead for 121 years. Its nice to know that his memory - even more than his name - lives on.

Dan Woog is a Westport writer, and his Woog's World appears each Friday. He can be reached at dwoog@optonline.net. His personal blog is danwoog06880.com.
In addition to applauding Manitobas Progressive Conservative government for wading back into the venture capital business, business leaders are also encouraged by the way they are doing it  making it part of a broader economic development strategy.

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This article was published 9/2/2018 (1312 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In addition to applauding Manitobas Progressive Conservative government for wading back into the venture capital business, business leaders are also encouraged by the way they are doing it  making it part of a broader economic development strategy.

On Thursday, the province issued calls for submissions on a couple of key areas that impact that economy. One is for proposals for the management of one or two venture capital funds in partnership with the province. The other is a request for information about just about everything concerning provincial programming that supports business.

While there has not been any venture capital specifically targeted at Manitoba companies for more than 10 years, more recently there has also been no focused overall economic development strategy.

There is widespread positive support for the provinces efforts to find partners to run a venture fund in Manitoba to invest in Manitoba. As well, the fact that process also includes an effort to co-ordinate some of the provinces tax credits and business support programs is seen as additionally helpful.

"Any strategy that aligns support for business initiatives and offers businesses more opportunities to acquire the capital they need to grow is exciting and definitely a step in the right direction," said Jeff Ryzner, the CEO of North Forge Technology Exchange, a Winnipeg incubator that offers a range of support services to help startup businesses.

Since the Crocus Investment Fund was placed in receivership in 2005, there have been Manitoba companies that have secured venture capital funding from the billions of dollars floating around in that global market. Most recently, Farmers Edge, the Winnipeg precision agriculture company has raised more than $100 million over the past few years.

But Farmers Edge is likely the outlier. In just about every other metric, Manitoba has lagged behind most regions of North America in terms of numbers of deals and dollar values. And there are some who believe the provincial economy has paid a price for that.

"I think it artificially dwarfs our ventures because it takes a much longer time to gather the momentum necessary to get to the growth phase without the venture capital," said La Royce Batchelor, director of the Stu Clark Centre for Entrepreneurship, which is part of the Asper School of Business at the University of Manitoba.

Prior to her appointment at the U of M, Batchelor spent eight years in North Dakota, where there are seven angel and venture capital funds.

"The province of Manitoba is even substantially behind a rural state like North Dakota when it comes to cultivating venture capital," she said.

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Many have argued for some time that, despite the dearth of that kind of capital to inject in Manitoba companies, that there are plenty of homegrown enterprises that could compete if they had fair access to capital. To some extent, this initiative will determine whether or not that is the case.

Marshall Ring, CEO of Manitoba Technology Accelerator, said, "This is a market test. Well see who wants to come run a fund in Manitoba and bring their own money to invest in Manitoba. We are going to see what others think about the idea... Of growing companies in Manitoba."

The provinces request for pre-qualification does not specify how large the funds need to be, but Minister of Growth, Enterprise and Trade Blaine Pedersen said the idea is to provide growth capital, not smaller seed financings. A department official said that means the funds will need to provide add-on investments when necessary, and that means the funds will need to be at least $40 million.

Loren Remillard, the president of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, said ideally the market needs capital for every stage of growth and that Manitoba has been deprived of access to growth capital for too long.

"This will allow us to move past that moment in history and be able to embrace something that is successful and people see the value in," he said.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca
It may not have any walls yet, but the Winnipeg Art Gallerys history-making Inuit Art Centre has its first curators.

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This article was published 8/2/2018 (1312 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It may not have any walls yet, but the Winnipeg Art Gallerys history-making Inuit Art Centre has its first curators.

On Thursday, the gallery announced the all-Inuit, four-woman team who will curate the inaugural exhibitions at the Inuit Art Centre, which is set to open in 2020. The $65-million centre will boast 40,000 square feet of exhibition, learning, research and studio space. A three-storey glass vault, showcasing 7,500 Inuit carvings, will serve as the heart of the centre.

Dr. Heather Igloliorte, who was in Winnipeg for Thursdays announcement, will lead the team. Originally hailing from Nunatsiavut, Igloliorte is an assistant professor in the department of art history at Concordia University in Montreal, as well as the co-chair of the gallerys Indigenous Advisory Circle.

Her curatorial team will be rounded out by Asinnajaq, an Inukjuak, Nunavik-born, Montreal-based filmmaker, curator and writer; Jade Nasogaluak Carpenter, a Yellowknife-born, Calgary-based artist and curator; and Krista Ulujuk Zawadski, the Chesterfield Inlet-raised, Rankin Inlet-based curator of Inuit art for Nunavuts Department of Culture and Heritage.

"The inaugural exhibitions of the Inuit Art Centre will be forward-looking, inclusive, collaborative and dynamic," Igloliorte said. "We hope to create a space for the appreciation and celebration of the north in the south, while maybe even surprising audiences with the depth and breadth of contemporary Inuit art today, from digital media and installation art to mixed-media sculpture, music and photography."

The teams vision, Igloliorte said, is to curate exhibits that span not only artistic mediums and generations  from emerging artists to elders  but geographical regions as well. To that end, the curatorial team represents all four regions of Inuit Nunangat: the Inuvialuit region of the western Arctic; the territory of Nunavut; Nunavik, Quebec; and Nunatsiavut, Labrador.

SUPPLIED Jade Nasogaluak Carpenter (from left), Krista Ulujuk Zawadski, Asinnajaq, Dr. Heather Igloliorte will make up the Inuit Art Centres all-Inuit, four-woman first team of curators.

"Having four Inuit curators representing all of Canadas Inuit regions in a major exhibition is unprecedented in the countrys history," the gallerys director and CEO Stephen Borys said. "Setting the tone for the WAGs Inuit Art Centre, this curatorial force will bring into focus Indigenous voices, to share their stories nationally and around the globe. Offered here, in Winnipeg, is a new forum for international cultural dialogue."

Its a well-known piece of local trivia that the gallery is already home to the worlds largest collection of Inuit art, numbering some 13,000 pieces. Currently, the gallery only has space to display a fraction of that. But the Inuit Art Centre will be more than a dedicated space to show that vast collection  it will also provide an opportunity, as Borys said, for the gallery to reimagine its role in the community.

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Igloliorte, meanwhile, believes the Inuit Art Centre could be a centralized hub for Inuit art and artists.

"Were going to be able to connect to each other in a way thats been unprecedented," she said. "We dont have many places where we can get together regularly and really share what were doing in our art."

She also hopes the centre inspires more Inuit to pursue careers in cultural institutions  there are very few Inuit curators in Canada, and the dearth of universities up north makes studying in fields such as art history a challenge.

Igloliorte also believes the Inuit Art Centre is an important bridge between the north and the south, between Inuit and the non-Indigenous, First Nations and Metis people of Manitoba.

"Were in Winnipeg, and we have the worlds largest collection of Inuit art  but this is not the place where the worlds most Inuit live," she said. "Were on Treaty One Territory, were on the Metis homeland. I think theres a real opportunity here, for us to bring together Manitobas First Nations and Metis people and Canadas First Nations Metis people in a real, meaningful conversation with the Inuit, who are our northern neighbours."

jen.zoratti@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @JenZoratti
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This article was published 8/2/2018 (1312 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Make no mistake: Winnipeg has a meth problem.

Thats the message city police drove home Thursday at a lengthy news conference, painting a dark picture of a city in the grips of a methamphetamine epidemic and the strain placed on front-line services that are trying to contain the street drug.

"The emergence of methamphetamine that were experiencing in our community is getting to the level where its starting to keep me awake at night," Winnipeg Police Service Chief Danny Smyth said.

The citys meth problem is getting worse, fast.

The situation isnt deteriorating just for users, but also cops, paramedics and hospital workers.

In January, police said they took more than 5.8 kilograms of meth (estimated street value: $580,000) off the streets. Thats nearly half the amount seized in all of 2017.

A hit of meth (one-tenth of a gram) goes for $10. The number of hits a meth user consumes in one sitting varies widely.

Since 2016, meth busts have been on the rise in Winnipeg. Two years ago, police made 490 seizures. Last year, the number jumped to 701. If January is any indication of whats to come, 2018 could bring another significant spike.

Meth use is now connected to nearly every call police respond to, said Max Waddell, an inspector in the major crimes unit.

"In speaking to our front-line officers, they comment routinely that when they go out to calls for service, either the victim, the complainant and/or the accused are somehow attached to this drug, methamphetamine. Can I say its daily? Well, I dont have that stat," Waddell said.

"But I can tell you it is significantly impacting (our resources). And, anecdotally, theyre saying they see it at almost all the calls they go to. Its out there... There is a trend before us."

Mike Millard, a former meth user who has been in recovery for 21/2 years, told the news conference that the drug destroyed him.

"What I can tell you about crystal meth is from the first or second time I tried it, I never stopped," Millard said. "I never made a mortgage payment again. I never paid for my drivers licence, hydro, water. I just became fixated on it."

Millards life turned around only after he hit rock bottom. Once he was behind bars, he was able to start detoxification.

Police say four factors are driving the citys meth epidemic: its easy to make, its available, its cheap and it boasts a lasting high.

Insp. Max Waddell shows some of the crystal meth seized so far this year.

Two years ago, someone looking to buy one kilogram of meth on Winnipegs streets would have to shell out $55,000, police said. A kilogram currently sells for $17,000.

A crack-cocaine user remains high for about 45 minutes after smoking the drug, while a meth high can last for 14 hours. Hard-core meth users report staying up for days  if not a week  when locked into a binge.

About 80 per cent of the citys meth is imported (Mexican drug cartels ship the drug to Chicago before its smuggled north of the U.S.-Canada border), while the remaining 20 per cent is made domestically (mostly in British Columbia), Waddell said.

In December, police found a fully functional meth lab inside an apartment complex on the 300 block of Kennedy Street. Police expect to discover more local labs as drug dealers, attracted by the ease of getting their hands on the over-the-counter ingredients needed to make meth, get into the manufacturing game, Waddell said.

Data compiled by Health Canada  which analyzes all drug seizures by police in the country  indicates Manitoba is a hotbed for the street drug.

While marijuana, followed by cocaine, are the drugs most commonly seized by Canadian police nationally, in Manitoba, meth is No. 1  a stance backed up by Statistics Canada data from 2012 to 2016 that show a steady increase in arrests for meth possession and trafficking in the province.

"Its been quietly building momentum. If truth be known, I would say 2016, where we saw the real emergence of fentanyl and carfentanil in Winnipeg, honestly, that masked this methamphetamine user group that was slowly building momentum," Waddell said.

"We know that until we can reduce the demand for meth, the supply will continue to come into the city of Winnipeg. The community must work together to provide education, addiction support and counselling."

In addition to the rise of meth use, needle use has reportedly grown threefold in the past three years  about 1.5 million needles were handed out by different groups in the city last year, compared to 500,000 three years before.

"These are largely needles being used for meth injection," said Rick Lees, executive director of the Main Street Project, a local shelter and support network for the citys homeless population.

Just like police, paramedics, nurses and doctors, Main Street Projects addictions detox facilities are seeing an uptick in meth users, Lees said.

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When an addict goes to Main Street Project for help, they have to tell staff what their drug of choice is in order safely detox. These days, 65 per cent of women and 52 per cent of men say it is meth.

"As little as three or four years ago, that wouldve been alcohol," Lees said.

The increase in needle use, the uptick in meth users detoxing at Main Street Project, and data compiled by front-line emergency services all point to one thing: meth is a major problem on the streets of Winnipeg.

"The common denominator is meth. This isnt just a guessing game, theres some significant data behind it, The real stats are telling us we have a real increase in meth," Lees said.

Police hope efforts to raise awareness about the citys growing epidemic may lead to use of the deadly and addictive stimulant levelling off. In addition, theyre finalizing a new illicit drug strategy focusing on enforcement, education and intervention  that will roll out this spring.

ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.caepindera@gmail.com

Erik Pindera

Multimedia producer Erik Pindera is a multimedia producer at the Winnipeg Free Press. Read full biography
OTTAWA  The Supreme Court has decided to hear a case of a residential school survivor who feels Manitoba courts wrongly denied him compensation because he couldnt prove a nun intended to molest him.

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This article was published 9/2/2018 (1312 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA  The Supreme Court has decided to hear a case of a residential school survivor who feels Manitoba courts wrongly denied him compensation because he couldnt prove a nun intended to molest him.

The man, identified as J.W. in court filings, told an adjudicator the nun grabbed his penis while the then-student was showering.

He said when he pushed her hand away, she grabbed his left ear and tried to slam his head against the wall.

The adjudicator believed his account, but said there was a need to prove the nun had acted with a "sexual purpose."

In August 2016, Manitobas Court of Queens Bench sided with J.W.s lawyers, who argued the compensation process is based on a survivors lived harms and not the intent of the perpetrator.

They said the proof demanded by the court was more than required in most sexual-assault cases.

The federal government appealed and successfully argued at the Manitoba Court of Appeal the lower court had exceeded its jurisdiction and misinterpreted the terms set out in the compensation process. The court ruled that the compensation program wasnt subject to reviews by provincial courts.

Lawyers filed an appeal to the Supreme Court, which decided Thursday it would hear the appeal.

"(Decisions) that are so egregious that they turn the words of the compensation rules on their head... cannot stand," said J.W.s Winnipeg lawyer, Martin Kramer.

J.W. was only seeking compensation under the SL1 class, one of the lowest categories, which would mean a payout of $5,000 to $10,000, if accepted. Kramer and his colleague Richard Olschewski said the decision was so troubling, they decided to contest it.

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Though two Manitoba courts handled the case, Kramer said J.W. is not a Manitoba resident, and the incident did not happen in the province. Previous media reports and the Supreme Courts public summary of the case falsely claim the incident took place in Manitoba.

The lawyers were careful to guard their clients confidentiality, but Kramer said, "Hes an old man and hed like to have this done."

Data from the Indian Residential School Adjudication Secretariat show 98 per cent of claims filed from September 2007 to the end of 2017 have been resolved.

In Manitoba, that means 5,411 resolved were resolved and 73 are outstanding.

Ninety per cent of complainants across Canada have received compensation, amounting to $3.15 billion.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca
A suspect in the brutal slaying of a Winnipeg couple in Jamaica has been arrested just days before their funeral.

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This article was published 9/2/2018 (1312 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A suspect in the brutal slaying of a Winnipeg couple in Jamaica has been arrested just days before their funeral.

Jamaican media reports say a suspect in the slayings of Melbourne Flake, 81, and his 70-year-old wife Etta, was arrested by Jamaican authorities on Thursday.

Police said they would not release the suspects name while they continue to investigate, but he was to be questioned.

Debbie Olfert, the couples eldest daughter, said on Friday she is pleased to hear about the arrest, especially with her parents funeral being held today in Winnipeg.

"This sounds promising," Olfert said.

"I was aware (police) had been trailing a suspect. Im thinking now that because they were trailing this person, and arrested him, that must be a good sign."

The Flakes were in their winter home in the parish of St. Thomas, in eastern Jamaica, on Jan. 9, when they were killed during a robbery.

The bodies were discovered when workmen went to the house later that day. When no one answered the door, they contacted relatives of the couple. The bodies were found a short time later.

Media reports said the bodies were found in separate rooms and showed signs of trauma. Police said at the time there was no evidence of forced entry into the home.

Another media report said the couple had their hands and feet bound and they were gagged.

Olfert said police told her they had found a suspect in the slayings through forensic evidence found at the crime scene, including a fingerprint.

She said she appreciates the work the Jamaican police have done on the case because, when she was there in recent weeks, people were telling her there were other crimes that remained unsolved.

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"I believe my parents death was the powder keg  it has made the police department say this is enough. We have to do something," Olfert said.

"When we were there, a tourism official said only criminals get killed in Jamaica. Thats not true and this blanket statement, that even my parents were criminals, was only said to protect their tourism industry.

"They know there are heavy eyes outside (the country) that are watching and have a keen interest in this."

Olfert said the public is welcome to attend her parents funeral at Calvary Temple Church, at 440 Hargrave St., today at 10 a.m.

"They can find out how wonderful they were," she said.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca
A Winnipeg man who says he unfortunately knew Raymond Cormier in the summer of 2014 told court about a heated argument Cormier had with 15-year-old Tina Fontaine, and about a callous comment the accused killer made after she died.

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This article was published 9/2/2018 (1312 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg man who says he "unfortunately" knew Raymond Cormier in the summer of 2014 told court about a heated argument Cormier had with 15-year-old Tina Fontaine, and about a callous comment the accused killer made after she died.

Tyrell Morrison, 30, denied a suggestion from the accused killers defence team that he could have hurt Tina, and he told court about Cormiers reaction to her death.

Facebook Tina Fontaine

Morrison testified he and his girlfriend discussed Tinas death with Cormier after he saw a photo of the 15-year-old on Facebook following news that her body had been discovered in the Red River on Aug. 17, 2014.

"I was shocked about it," Morrison said.

"We mentioned it to him, and told him how old she was, and his reaction was, Oh, I guess thats why she didnt put out," he said.

Cormier, 56, has pleaded not guilty to killing Tina, and his defence team suggested Friday that Morrison could have hurt the teen  something he denied.

"I put it to you that you had equal opportunity to assault and/or harm Tina Fontaine," defence lawyer Tony Kavanagh said.

"No," Morrison said, mumbling.

Morrison had met Cormier earlier that summer through Ernie DeWolfe, someone Cormier would later tell police hed met in prison. On Friday, the 10th day of Cormiers second-degree murder trial, Morrison told the jury about the last time he saw the girl he later found out was Tina, and said he was present during a screaming argument she had with Cormier over her missing bike and a stolen pickup truck.

Morrison said he met Tina twice, after Cormier  whom he knew as Frenchie  took the teen to the home Morrison shared with Sarah Holland on Carmen Avenue in Elmwood. Tina didnt give her real name and she told them she was 18.

"Did she look 18?" Crown prosecutor James Ross asked.

"Not really, no," Morrison said.

When he was cross-examined by Cormiers lawyer, Morrison looked at the statement he gave to police and admitted hed told them Cormier seemed shocked when they talked about Tinas homicide, and that Cormier had said "holy s---" before he made the crude comment about her.

Morrisons memory was "hazy" on many details when he testified Friday. He said the first time he met Tina, she was at his house with her boyfriend and Cormier. He said he saw Tina smoke marijuana and watched Cormier give her crack cocaine, which she smoked in a pipe.

"She said it was better than her moms," Morrison said. Holland, his then-girlfriend, had testified Tina wasnt given any drugs that night.

The next, and last, time he saw Tina, Morrison said she showed up at the house crying, and shed had her bike with her. While he and Holland were upstairs, Tina cleaned their house, he said, and he made her lunch to thank her. Morrison said at one point, he went downstairs to see Cormiers head in Tinas lap, and that Cormier jumped up quickly when he noticed Morrison.

Cormier left and returned with a truck full of tools. Morrison said he figured the truck and the tools were stolen  Cormier told him he took it when the keys were left inside  but knew they could sell them to buy drugs.

He said he helped Cormier unload the tools from the truck into the house, and back again after Holland got upset about it.

He said he told Tina to throw the truck key away from the house because it was stolen, and that Cormier got upset and wanted the key back. They argued about the truck and about Tinas bike, which had been reduced to two wheels. The bicycle frame was gone, and Morrison said somebody sold it.

"I think it was Frenchie," he said.

Tina was screaming at Cormier as she walked away from the house that night, Morrison said.

Holland has testified she heard Tina threaten to call the police on Cormier, and said she remembered the date as Aug. 6, 2014.

Just after 10 p.m. that night, Tina did call 911 to report that her friend "Sebastian" had stolen a blue truck earlier that day. Cormier admitted to police that he told people his name was Sebastian, even though it wasnt.

Kavanagh questioned Morrison about why he initially didnt tell police he had unloaded the stolen goods from the back of the truck.

He was first interviewed in October 2014, but didnt share that detail until March 2015, when homicide investigators told him they found his DNA in the back of the truck.

"I was worried about the stolen property," Morrison said. "I was honest as much as I could be from what I remember."

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Morrison admitted under cross-examination that he didnt like Cormier  "I did and I didnt"  and wanted him around his house "not so frequently."

He admitted Cormier had physically forced him from his own house because he believed Morrison was assaulting Holland.

He was arrested for assault and sexual assault a few days after Tinas body was discovered. Between the time he last saw Tina and when he learned she died, Morrison said Cormier continued to "chill" at the house.

Despite his criminal record and other pending charges, Morrison testified he wasnt getting a deal from the Crown in exchange for his testimony.

Cormiers second-degree murder trial continues in Manitobas Court of Queens Bench next week.

katie.may@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @thatkatiemay
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The MLA for Emerson says he regrets tweeting Drain on society about the large number of asylum-seekers entering Canada.

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This article was published 9/2/2018 (1312 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Opinion

The MLA for Emerson says he regrets tweeting "Drain on society" about the large number of asylum-seekers entering Canada.

After being exiled on this matter by his Progressive Conservative colleagues and pilloried by the public, Cliff Graydon says hes remorseful.

He chose foolish wording for his tweet, but, if its any consolation to him, the backbencher wasnt wrong to suggest that accepting asylum-seekers comes at a cost.

As a politician, hes supposed to care about whether public funds are spent responsibly. His concern about government finances is not why his tweet was judged reprehensible.

As the MLA for Emerson, the border village of 700 people that was flooded with hundreds of asylum-seekers last year alone, he represents the concerns of his constituents, some of whom have discovered asylum-seekers hiding in their yards or garages. His regard for his constituents is not why hes been sentenced to sensitivity training.

The reason his tweet got him in trouble is that the word "drain" is insulting to asylum-seekers and offensive to the many Manitobans glad to help.

Its true there are expenses involved in assisting people in dire circumstances who arrive unannounced in Manitoba, but the label of "drain" implies that the expenses are huge and not worthwhile. Neither of these is true.

Some immigrants hit the ground running and immediately help build Manitoba economically. These are usually the ones who arrive under the government category "economic immigrants," mainly skilled workers and businesspeople.

But thats not the case with asylum-seekers. Most arrive without personal funds, but with great needs: housing, medical treatment, dental care, education to learn English, training to learn job skills and counselling for the indescribable horrors many have experienced.

Yes, these services need to be funded. Taxpayers pay through government programs, and volunteers, including church groups, pay with personal donations of time and money.

An important aspect to remember, though  and this was the aspect missing from Graydons controversial tweet  is that Canadians helping asylum-seekers are answering a high calling. We can afford it, and its our privilege as a rich country to step up and help out.

Here is the message Graydon should have sent:

"Yes, some people may consider asylum-seekers a drain on society, but if its a drain, its a drain that shouldnt be plugged.

"The people in my fine constituency of Emerson, and Canadians in general, are not the type of people to turn a cold shoulder to people in need.

"When we see a car struck in a snowbank along a Manitoba grid road, or when we see a pedestrian has slipped on ice, we stop to help. Thats the Manitoba way. We dont worry whether helping this person will be a drain.

"Were not the type of selfish people who ask, Whats in it for me if I help? Were not the type of selfish country that asks, Whats in it for Canada if we help asylum-seekers?

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"Manitobans who were born here have won the lottery of birthplaces. We live in a province of wealth and safety that is considered paradise to the asylum-seekers who are fleeing persecution, systemic brutality, sexual assault and poverty that are unimaginable even to the poorest Manitoban. Because we have so much, we can share a little.

"That said, Manitoba could use a little help from Ottawa. Most of the asylum-seekers who arrive in the fine community of Emerson are taken directly to Winnipeg, and to Welcome Place. That agency is run by the Manitoba Interfaith Immigration Council, which gets no federal funding, not a cent. The Trudeau Liberals are quick to take credit for Canadas open-door policy; it wouldnt hurt them to cut a cheque to help Manitoba help the border crossers.

"One more thing. Speaking of the prime minister, Im sorry that last week I retweeted a post that called Trudeau a disgrace with the hashtag #scumbag, and also about an earlier retweet that referred to turdeau and questioned How can any woman vote for that SICK/RETARDED/TRAITOR?

"Oops. Sorry about all that. I hope Mr. Trudeau wont let my tweets and retweets interfere with my request to get federal funding to help Manitoba settle asylum-seekers.

"Ive learned my lesson and I promise that, from now on, I will think before I tweet. After all, we dont want the tweets of a Manitoba MLA to sink to the level of those issued by a certain high-profile politician in the country directly to the south of the fine community of Emerson."

Carl DeGurse is a member of the Free Press editorial board.
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This article was published 8/2/2018 (1313 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Opinion

It was really only a matter of time.

This week, news broke that ex-Dauphin MLA and cabinet minister Stan Struthers had been accused of sexually inappropriate touching and language while serving with the former NDP government. As distressing as the allegations are, there is little shock and awe in this story.

Its not that Struthers had a reputation for this kind of thing. In fact, it appears his alleged transgressions were kept well-hidden by an inner circle of political staff. The lack of shock is due to the inescapable fact this kind of behaviour has been the rule, and not the exception.

Any time you have an organization where alpha males hold most of the power, and where women are excluded from positions of authority, you are going to have acts of sexually inappropriate behaviour. Not by every man. But in just about every workplace.

The allegations against Struthers mark the first time, for the most part, a #MeToo controversy has erupted in Manitoba. Before this, the closest the legislature came were allegations Manitoba NDP Leader Wab Kinew abused a former common-law partner many years before he entered politics.

Those allegations came forward before the #MeToo movement took the world by storm via social media, and have largely existed on a separate narrative plain  although you can expect that to change in the wake of this story.

Struthers, who was an MLA from 1995 to 2016, has been accused of inappropriate touching of female staff  including one instance where it is alleged he put his hands up a womans skirt  and making sexually suggestive comments. Although the details are muddy, it appears complaints were lodged and Struthers was cautioned on at least two occasions to stop. He was not formally punished, and it appears he may not have really stopped his objectionable behaviour.

Its an all-too familiar story in politics. Last week, federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh announced an inquiry into "harassing behaviour" by one NDP MP against another.

Ontario, on the cusp of a critical provincial election, has been thrown into chaos after the leader of the Progressive Conservatives, Patrick Brown, was forced to resign amid allegations of sexual assault. Similar allegations brought down the Ontario Tory party president.

Previously, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suspended two members of his caucus who were accused of sexual harassment, and has now created a new division within the powerful Office of the Prime Minister to field complaints of sexual misconduct.

Last month, The Canadian Press surveyed female MPs and found nearly 60 per cent admitted to having been the victim of sexual misconduct or harassment. This included three who said they were sexually assaulted.

Previously, attempts were made to excuse certain behaviour as "older men behaving like older men," suggesting that while it was inappropriate, it wasnt malicious or all that serious in nature. Certainly, not serious enough to warrant serious punishment. Men were allowed to go on their way with little more than a slap on the wrist.

That was then. If #MeToo has taught us anything, it is the victims of this kind of harassment thought it was largely malicious and serious, and required a more serious response. It was only the people who did not experience the harassment first-hand who thought it was innocent fun.

Notwithstanding the fact no political party has a monopoly on this kind of behaviour, the timing of the allegations against Struthers could not have been worse for the Manitoba NDP.

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In opposition, the party has suffered through stories that suggested it mishandled similar allegations against former NDP MLA Mohinder Saran. Although Saran was ultimately kicked out of caucus, it took months to reach a final decision.

That fact alone left the NDP looking like it did a good job of talking the talk about gender equality and zero tolerance for harassment, but a poor job walking the walk.

The Struthers story will also divert attention once again to the allegations of domestic abuse that haunt Kinew. The NDP has been hoping to slowly but surely showcase Kinews positive leadership attributes while framing past misdeeds as the starting point of a story of personal redemption.

Even though the Struthers and Kinew stories dont intersect, they do combine to create the impression the NDP is not nearly as progressive as it would have voters believe. Will that affect the NDPs chances in the 2020 election? At this stage, the only thing we know is Struthers will not be the last Manitoba politician accused of inappropriate behaviour.

The #MeToo movement has largely functioned as the social and political equivalent of a comprehensive spring cleaning in which years of misdeeds and ignorance are being identified and taken to the curb. By all measurements, we arent anywhere near taking out all the trash.

dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca
It was all, it turns out, just a dumb joke.

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This article was published 9/2/2018 (1312 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Editorial

It was all, it turns out, just "a dumb joke."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau  whom nobody is going to confuse with Jerry Seinfeld  now claims his gender-neutral correction of the term "mankind" at a town hall event in Edmonton was a botched attempt at humour rather than an irksome exercise in overreaching political correctness.

The exchange took place during the Q&A segment that happens during each stop on Mr. Trudeaus midwinter Im-a-regular-guy roadshow. A woman was asking a meandering question about government support for religious organizations, and after a three-minute preamble that caused the assembled crowd to grow audibly impatient, she offered the observation that "maternal love is the love that is going to change the future of mankind."

Mr. Trudeau interrupted, suggesting, "We like to say peoplekind, not necessarily mankind. Its more inclusive."

The crowd cheered. The woman laughed and said, "There we go. Exactly. Yes, thank you."

Media reaction that followed, however, was not nearly as positive, with commentators  both in this country and around the world (including U.S. cables Fox News, Trump-buddy Brit columnist/TV host Piers Morgan and Australian columnist Rita Panahi)  leaping at the opportunity to deride the Canadian PM as, among other things, a "spineless virtue-signalling excuse for a feminist" and "the Kim Kardashian of political leaders."

Talk about losing the room.

In the wake of the backlash, Mr. Trudeau attempted to reposition the ill-considered correction, offering the aforementioned "dumb joke" description and noting that his track record with attempted humour is less than stellar.

"It played well in the room and in context," he said.

"Out of context it doesnt play so well, and its a little reminder that I shouldnt be making jokes even when I think theyre funny."

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Whats problematic here isnt so much the weakness of Mr. Trudeaus "comedy" material or the tepid, teacherly tone with which it was delivered; rather, its the manner in which the "Peoplekindgate"  if the PM can invent words, so can we  controversy is indicative of a bothersome tendency by the PM to portray himself as inclusive and supportive when hes actually being quite snobbishly superior.

Correcting "mankind," jokingly or not, is an exercise in condescension, as are the occasions when Mr. Trudeau whisper-quietly suggests a shouted interruption should be prefaced by "please," or chastises a heckler for interrupting his response to another persons question with a stern, "Thats not very polite."

In Nanaimo, B.C., the PM invoked Winston Churchills "messy" definition of democracy as police escorted a couple of overly disruptive protesters from the hall  thereby combining a politeness lecture and a history lesson, each delivered in a manner that clearly positioned Mr. Trudeau as superior and the heckler(s) as inferior.

The prime ministers ability to remain calm and speak quietly in the face of angry, shouted intrusions is admirable. His assumption of the role of Canadas stern, manners-demanding parent in these sometimes unruly encounters falls more into the category of annoying.

Still, these are aspects of the town hall experience at which Mr. Trudeau is quite adept. One should play to ones strengths. But if "peoplekind" really was the PMs version of "A" material, he should ensure that his future open-mic performances veer as far away as possible from trying to get laughs.

Perhaps fortunately, the cross-country Just For Cringes Not-Comedy Tour has concluded for this year.
In recent weeks, the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) has held public meetings on the defense of immigrants at several universities across the US. WSWS reporters have spoken to immigrants, workers and students across the country on the bipartisan conspiracy to militarize the southern border and expand the powers of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Since the latest government shutdown, the official debate on immigration reform has taken a sharp turn, with the White House proposing a virulently anti-immigrant policy and the Democratic Party remaining virtually silent on the issue. The night before Trump was set to deliver his State of the Union address, which included an elaboration of the reactionary plan, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote an op-ed article in which he stated that that the issue he most hoped Trump would address was infrastructure spending, making no reference at all to the legal status of hundreds of thousands of immigrants, or to Trumps latest reactionary demands.

The silence of the Democratic Party is particularly cynical, given that the latest government shutdown came about as a result of a Democratic Senate filibuster, whose ostensible aim was ensuring provisions in the budget resolution to protect the 800,000 immigrant youth covered by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The DACA program is set to officially end in March. Less than three days into the shutdown, the Democrats backed down, based on the empty promise by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell that a debate on a future DACA bill would take place.

The events of the last few weeks have exposed the Democratic Party as an enemy of immigrant workers. It has no genuine interest in mobilizing support for immigrants facing persecution, and seeks instead to direct popular anger at Trump into its own reactionary avenues. As Trump and sections of the Republican Party seek to militarize the US-Mexico border and deport immigrants on an unprecedented scale, the Democrats focus is passage of legislation to protect Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller as he investigates Trump and his circle on suspicion of alleged collusion with the Russian government in the 2016 election. Last weekend Senator Schumer released a statement to this effect, following revelations that President Trump had planned to fire Mueller last year.

In contrast to the conflicts and maneuvers within the ruling class and its political establishment, working people increasingly believe that undocumented immigrants should be given pathways to citizenship, especially immigrant youth covered by the DACA program. Gallup Polls at the beginning of Trumps presidential campaign in 2015 showed nearly 65 percent of Americans supported citizenship for undocumented immigrants. Sympathy has only grown after a year of Trump in office, with the figure now standing at nearly 80 percent.

Detroit

Rachel, a psychology student at Wayne State University, attended an IYSSE meeting on immigration because she is the granddaughter of Mexican immigrants. I also have a couple of friends who are recipients of DACA. I have one friend whose family came here when he was three years old. Hes been living here his whole life and is no different than you or me but hes just not an American citizen. Commenting on the political situation facing immigrants, she said, I dont like the idea of having to grant concessions. Why should people have to give up some important things just to have other important things they need for life?

I came to this meeting because I like to try to be open-minded. I grew up in a sort of conservative background but I feel estranged from right-wing politics. The meeting opened me up to ideas I didnt consider before. For example, before this meeting I kind of blindly agreed with the whole #MeToo campaign. But this meeting made me really think about it a lot more critically. I had not considered the question of due process or democratic rights before.

Danielle, a student in Art History, said, I agree with what the presenter was saying about internationalism... I think its important to clarify that the roots of racism and sexism are in the capitalist system itself. In regards to immigration and the Democratic Party, she said, I think the Democratic Party is bourgeois but then what powerful party in the US isnt? People think the Democratic Party is an activist party but its not. And in regards to SandersI dont think its possible to become a high-powered politician in Washington without being a nationalist.

San Diego

Giovanni, a political science student at San Diego State University, denounced the actions of the Trump administration, saying, The scapegoating of immigrants is being used to divide American and immigrant workers.

Commenting on a recent statement by Bernie Sanders in support of heightened border security, Diego said, Its surprising to see the ruling class move closer to authoritarianism and fascistic methods right before our eyes. Even the way they speak becomes more openly dictatorial.

New York

Diego Jose, who became a freelance journalist for local newspapers after graduating a year ago, has been reading the World Socialist Web Site and came to the meeting at New York University with friends. One reason I wanted to be here is because I am an immigrant. My parents brought me to the US when I was young, from the Dominican Republic. The meeting brought up a lot of good ideas. Capitalism uses ways to divide the working class, especially immigrants. There are many in New York who are affected, such as Salvadorans and Haitians. I liked the point made of how the WSWS has used videos to tell stories, like the ones from Puerto Rico and of the Albanian immigrant family.

I think it is necessary to unify the workersimmigrants and workers in generalso we can get to the goals of opposing war and fascism. I am for socialism, but have questions, as were discussed here, over racism. Socialism is about unifying people for the goals which will benefit the most. We need to move beyond race and unify.

Aliyah, a student at NYU, told the WSWS that she has a friend who is undocumented and afraid of being deported. It seems that theres a lot of fear. She expressed support for the IYSSEs program of uniting the working class, saying, I think a lot of problems have stemmed from division in the working class.

Joseph, a teacher, said that the meeting was extremely appropriate for whats been going on in terms of current events. You can see the results. I work in a school so I see it every day, but in other aspects it seems clear that a topic like this is relevant to whats going on.

The attacks on immigrants isnt something were just seeing in the United States. Basically the whole world is doing this and it only takes someone reading a little bit of history to know why these types of things happenthe scapegoating, trying to direct attention from the real socioeconomic problems of the nation and dumping them onto a group that cant necessarily defend themselves.

The attacks against immigrants have to do with dividing people who have common interests, which is one of the reasons why its happening. It seems obvious that instead of further division you would call for some sense of solidarity.
Four weeks before the Italian elections, a bloodbath shook the small town of Macerata. On February 3, six young people were shot by a racist gunman, who drove around indiscriminately firing at dark-skinned passers-by.

Among the victims, who come from Mali, Nigeria, Ghana and Gambia, there is also a young woman. All are aged between 21 and 33. Five are still in hospital, one is seriously injured and had to undergo surgery. The gunman, Luca Traini (28), shot at but missed five other migrants during his Saturday morning rampage. He also shot at the party headquarters of the Democratic Party (PD), which currently heads the government in Rome under Paolo Gentiloni.

When the mayor realized there was a shooting spree taking place, he halted public transport and called on people to stay at home. After two hours, Traini was captured by police on the steps of a war memorial and arrested. Wrapped in an Italian flag, he gave a fascist salute and shouted, Viva Italia!

Traini, bearing a fascist tattoo on his temple, is known locally as a fascist and racist. In his apartment, as well as Hitlers Mein Kampf and books on Mussolinis social republic of Salo, police also found a flag with the Celtic Cross, which neo-Nazis consider a symbol of the supremacy of the white race. Last year, Traini had run as a candidate of the Lega Nord (Northern League) in the local elections in the neighbouring village Corridonia, but without receiving a vote.

The former separatist party is participating in the general election on 4 March as Lega. Its nationalism and unrestrained witch-hunting of immigrants undoubtedly encouraged the perpetrators fascist delusions. For example, for days, the newspapers had reported on the statement of Lega member Attilio Fontana, who said the most important thing now was to protect our ethnicity, our white race from extinction by the wave of migration.

Traini justified his action citing a recent murder of a young woman, Pamela M. of Macerata, whose body was found dismembered in two suitcases. Writing about the suspect, a Nigerian drug dealer, the Lega leader and its top candidate Matteo Salvini had said, What was this WORM still doing in Italy? He was not a war refugee, he brought the war to Italy. The left has bloodstained hands. Deportations, deportations, more border controls and again deportations!

After Trainis murderous action, Salvini issued another statement, in which he half-heartedly condemned the shooting, but placed responsibility on a lax immigration policy: Violence must always be condemned. However, I have a duty to tell the Italians HOW to avoid incidents like those in Macerata. For example? By sending the illegals home.

The Lega is in a right-wing alliance for the election with Silvio Berlusconis Forza Italia and the fascists of Fratelli dItalia. They hope to replace the ruling Democrats with a mixture of right-wing incitement and fanciful election promises. Polling almost 38 percent in surveys, they are currently ten points in front of the government camp (28 percent).

Silvio Berlusconi is also making targeted use of right-wing demagogy. In a TV broadcast on Sunday evening about the rampage, he described the offender as crazy and sweepingly charged all refugees of being a social bomb that can explode at any time. According to Berlusconi, there are 600,000 irregular immigrants in Italy allegedly living from the proceeds of crime.

As for the third major party, the MoVimento 5 Stelle (M5S, Five Star Movement) of Beppe Grillo, its lead candidate Luigi Di Maio picked up on the slogan of the social bomb and charged that Berlusconi, together with Renzi, was responsible for mass immigration into Italy. For months, the Grillini have stood at about 27 percent in the polls, making it the strongest single party.

The policy of the Five Star Movement is just as right-wing, nationalist and xenophobic as that of the other parties. In the EU, it sits in the same political grouping as the far right Alternative for Germany (AfD), the Sweden Democrats and Britains UKIP, and also has declared fascists among its VIPs, such as the father of M5S candidate Alessandro Di Battista, who emphasized in front of the camera, Am I right-wing? No, Im a fascist.

In the election campaign, the Five Star Movement benefited from being the only major party that has never been in government. The two other major political camps have been identified for years with the right-wing policies of the banks and the EU. While Berlusconi stands for shameless personal enrichment, the PD restructures the public finances at the expense of the working class.

In a government statement on the bloody crime in Macerata, Gentiloni did not say a word about the racist aspects of the crime but emphasized his confidence in the judiciary and the sense of responsibility of all political forces. He concluded his statement with a nationalist appeal, Hatred and violence will not divide us, the Italian people.

As a governing party, the PD has long practiced what the right-wing demands: the systematic attack on African migrants. With the active help of the EU, Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni and his Interior Minister Marco Minniti have signed a dirty deal with the Libyan Coast Guard. They finance Libyan Islamists and smugglers in the Mediterranean to keep migrants out of Europe. They consciously accept the fact that people not only drown, but also perish in Libyan torture camps.

In the hospital, one of Trainis victims, a Mr. Wilson from Ghana, told about his odyssey of war, flight and expulsion. He had arrived in Italy on a dinghy, saying, I saw people, especially black Africans, being shot or sold. People were treated like cattle there.

Italy is in a devastating social crisis. Anyone who is in their twenties today has seen nothing but social decline in their lives. Officially, youth unemployment is at almost 35 percent, and in reality is much higher, especially in the south. Ever-new austerity measures and reforms such as Renzis Jobs Act, the pension reforms, healthcare reforms or the Buona Scuola have led to hundreds of thousands of young Italians leaving the country.

All parties, from the open fascists to the PD, are responding to the social crisis by inciting xenophobia and racism to divert social anger and outrage onto the most vulnerable in society, refugees and migrants. This is the dirty mechanism of the Italian election campaign.
Indian media reports indicate that New Delhi is actively considering invading the Maldives, a tiny Indian Ocean archipelago that is the object of intense geopolitical competition between India and the United States, on the one hand, and China on the other.

Exiled opposition leader and former Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed is publicly campaigning for India to intervene militarily, claiming India must act to save democracy in the Maldives and prevent it from being sold off, piece by piece, to China.

The Times of India reported Wednesday that Indias armed forces are on standby for any contingency in the Maldives from evacuation of Indian tourists to military intervention. It added that Indias military is ready for deployment at short notice, already has military personnel in the Maldives under existing defence cooperation agreements, and could readily divert warships currently on patrol on (its) western seaboard  if required for military intervention. 

Indias government, along with the US, Britain, and the European Union, has strongly condemned Maldives President Abdulla Yameen for imposing a 15-day state of emergency and suspending basic democratic rights so as to thwart a February 1 Supreme Court ruling that overturned Nasheeds conviction, ordered the release of eight jailed opposition legislators, and restored 12 legislators to their seats in parliament.

Yesterday, New Delhi refused to receive a special emissary from the Maldives government tasked with explaining its actions.

Traditionally, India has had very close relations with the Maldives, which, as a fellow member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), it views as a part of its sphere of regional dominance.

The strategic significance of the 1,192-island state has grown exponentially as the Indian Ocean, site of the worlds busiest commercial sea-lanes, has emerged during the past decade as a pivotal arena of global geostrategic competition.

However, to the chagrin of India and the US, Yameens four-year-old government has forged close economic ties with China, agreeing to participate in the maritime component of its One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative and signing a free trade pact with Beijing last December.

Large sections of the Indian media and at least one BJP legislator are publicly urging New Delhi to act decisively to ensure that the Maldives is aligned with New Delhi and its partner Washington.

This is an opportunity for India to stake its claim to being a player once again, said Manvendra Singh, who in addition to being a BJP politician edits Defence and Security Alert, especially since any global role is always dependent on a countrys performance in the neighbourhood first.

In an editorial titled India must play hardball if it wants to be part of the Maldives return to stability, the Hindustan Times called for coercive diplomacy, including sanctions, and if necessary military intervention.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government have, for their part, kept their cards close to their vests.

Under Modi, India has massively expanded its military-security alliance with the US, mounted cross-border military raids in Pakistan and Myanmar, and engaged in a seven-week military standoff with China over a remote Himalayan ridge claimed by Bhutan, a tiny kingdom New Delhi has long treated like a protectorate.

Military intervention in the Maldives, however, would present a number of difficulties. First, the Maldives security forces have up until this point proven loyal to the government. Second, for India to intervene to topple an internationally recognized government would violate New Delhis longstanding claims, however hypocritical, to uphold the international principle of state sovereignty. Finally, while there is little doubt New Delhi could have US and British assistance in invading the Maldives, to do so would shatter any pretense that India remains committed to strategic autonomy. This would both antagonize China and provoke opposition among Indian workers and toilers who, unlike the Indian bourgeoisie, have no enthusiasm for serving as local satraps for American imperialism.

Whatever unfolds in the coming days and weeks, Indias response to the political crisis in the Maldivesthe unmistakable signs the Modi government is weighing the pros and cons of military intervention and the brazen media discussion about the need to thwart Chinese influence in the Maldivesunderscores that South Asia and the Indian Ocean region have been sucked into the maelstrom of great-power conflict and that this is leading inexorably toward military competition and conflict.

Yameen is the half-brother of Abdul Gayoom, who with Indias staunch support ruled the Maldives as an autocrat from 1978 to 2008. He became president in 2013 after a contested election and since then the Maldives has continued to be buffeted by political crisis. With Yameens government expanding the Maldives ties to China, the US and Britain, and India somewhat more cautiously, have increasingly promoted Nasheed, first by securing his release from prison on medical grounds in 2015.

The latest stage of the crisis began when the Supreme Court on Feb. 1 unexpectedly reversed its own previous rulings. The order to restore the twelve legislators, many of them defectors from Yameens own party, directly threatened his government as their return to parliament would strip it of its majority.

However, Yameen blocked the judgment from being implemented, and after imposing the state of emergency, had two of the Supreme Court Justices jailed, and then prevailed on the remaining three justices to reverse the Feb. 1 ruling.

Maldives police claim to have evidence that the earlier verdict was manipulated, with Supreme Court justices accepting millions of rupees in bribes and conspiring with the former president and autocrat Abdul Gayoom. Gayoom has been taken into police custody and is to be charged with attempting to overthrow the government.

With Yameen increasingly resorting to antidemocratic authoritarian measures to protect his fragile rule, Nasheed is claiming to be spearheading a campaign to restore democracy to the Maldives.

But his appeals for the support of India, the US and other western imperialist powers and on an explicitly anti-China platform have become ever more unabashed.

In a statement published in the February 7 Indian Express, Nasheed pledged his fidelity to the strategic interests of India and the US, denouncing Chinese investment in the Maldives and the OBOR as a threat to the security of the entire Indian Ocean region.

Later the same day, he tweeted, Maldivians see Indias role positively: in 88 they came, resolved the crisis, and left. They were not occupiers but liberators.

The reference to 88 is to the deployment of 1,600 Indian troops to the Maldives in 1988 to thwart a coup attempt by Maldivian businessman Abdulla Luthufi, which used fighters from a Sri Lankan Tamil separatist organization, the Peoples Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE).

Of course, Nasheed glosses over the fact that for decades India backstopped Gayooms autocratic regime.

The Indian press is full of alarmist accounts of Chinas attempts to dominate the Indian Ocean. In fact, everything they accuse China of doing, India and its US ally have long been engaged in.

In 2013, Washington sought to bully the Maldives into signing a Status of Force Agreement (SPFA) that would have provided the legal framework for a massive US military presence across the archipelago, including military bases and diplomatic-style immunity for all American military personnel.

M.K. Bhadrakumar, a former career Indian diplomat and critic of Indias burgeoning strategic alliance with the US, pointed to the real issues motivating Indias relations with Maldives in an Asian Times article titled, Maldives crisis: US-Indian strategic alliance forming.

Hand-wringing about a democracy deficit notwithstanding, writes Bhadrakumar, the real aim is to counter Chinas growing presence in the Indian Ocean.

The script, he goes on to note, has a striking resemblance to what happened in Sri Lanka. There, Washington and India used the January 2015 presidential elections to orchestrate a regime change, by getting Maithripala Sirisena to defect from the government and stand as the common opposition candidate against the sitting president, Mahinda Rajapakse, who was deemed too close to China.

The strategic plans of the US, into which India is now being incorporated, call for Indian Ocean and South China Sea chokepoints to be seized, so as to enforce an economic blockade against China in a war or war crisis. Pointing to this, Bhadrakumar writes, The real US-Indian game plan is to create a second island chain connecting Maldives with Diego Garcia and Seychelles to curb the presence of Chinese submarines in the Indian Ocean and to control the sea lanes through which China conducts the bulk of its foreign trade.

China, as would be expected, has voiced opposition to any Indian intervention in the Maldives. The current situation in Maldives is its internal affairs, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang on Wednesday. China follows the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of others.

State-owned Global Times was much blunter. It declared New Delhi has no right to meddle in Maldives, adding, the small country of the Maldives has long faced a choice: should it free itself from Indias control and consolidate its independence as a sovereign state or not?
A lawsuit is being brought against a Tennessee sheriff after footage revealed him encouraging other officers involved in a vehicle pursuit to shoot the suspect with deadly force rather than attempt to subdue him.

The widow of suspect Michael Zennie Dial II brought the case against Sheriff Oddie Shoupe of White County. In the aftermath of the shooting, Shoupe can also be heard in body cam footage taking great pleasure in Dials killing. I love this shit, Shoupe said. God, I tell you what, I thrive on it. If they dont think Ill give the damn order to kill that motherf--ker, theyre full of shit. Take him out.

During the course of the pursuit, Shoupe provided instructions to the police dispatcher. Audio on the dash cam footage reveals that his order to kill was also motivated by a desire to keep patrol cars dent- and scratch-free. They [other officers] said, Were ramming him; I said, Dont ram him, shoot him. F--k that shit. Aint gonna tear up my cars, Shoupe said. Videos of the incident can be found here and here.

Police began pursuing Dial after reports of shoplifting at a Wal-Mart in the nearby town of Smithville. The suspect, believed to be 33-year-old Dial of nearby Clarksville, had a revoked driver license, while his license plate did not match the vehicle he was driving, a 1976 Ford pickup.

The pursuing officers were able to successfully run Dial off the road, at which time Reserve Deputy Adam West and Officer Charlie Simms fired at least three shots at Dial, killing him as his truck slid down a nearby embankment.

There is nothing about the incident which could in any way be interpreted as an act of self-defense by the officers. It was, in fact, as the sheriffs comments make especially clear, a barbaric act of deliberate state murder.

Nonetheless, an investigation conducted by the Tennessee District Attorneys Office last June cleared the officers of any wrongdoing. The investigation found that Dial was a dangerous and unstable subject who posed a serious and immediate risk of serious bodily injury or death to both law enforcement officers as well as other citizens in the immediate area.

At the time, he was driving a 1970s-era pickup truck with a fully loaded utility trailer behind it. Sherriffs deputies later said this pursuit that had supposedly posed the risk of innocent casualties more closely resembled a funeral procession, with speeds topping out at 50 miles an hour.

Robyn Spainhoward, Michaels widow, is currently suing White County Sheriff Shoupe, Deputy West and Sparta Officer Simms for use of excessive force. The lawsuit contends that Shoupe himself preferred to shoot and kill Mr. Dial rather than risk damaging his patrol cars.

Spainhoward herself believes her husband drove away because he was scared. They could have let him go 10 more miles down the road, he probably would have run out of gas. I just hope he knows I loved him, she said. She contends that Dial was on his way to sell goods at a flea market when police hunted him down.

When interviewed about the shooting after it occurred in April of last year, Spainhoward wondered why other non-lethal means couldnt have been used. Why fire shots? Why shoot? she said. Dont they have those things they throw down, they have nails in to pop your tires? Why would they have to shoot him?

Shoupe became a notorious figure in the Central Tennessee area after residents complained in 2016 of his policy of entering residences without a search warrant on the pretext of searching for individuals under arrest. In many of these cases, individuals who had no knowledge of the individuals under arrest were aroused in the middle of the night in their bedrooms by police officers with guns drawn.

Central Tennessee lies in the Appalachian region, with notoriously high levels of poverty and unemployment. The official poverty rate in Tennessee is 15.8 percent, according to a 2016 report of the US census bureau. The rate in the Appalachian region where Dial was from is approximately 2 percent higher.

Recent reports also found more than one-fourth of Tennessee children living in poverty, an increase since the start of the Great Recession in 2008. The percentage of children whose parents lack secure employment also worsened over the same period, standing at 34 percent.

With a state population that is 78.7 percent white, according to the US Census Bureau, such indices of social devastation provide an unanswerable indictment of identity politics and the concept of white privilege incessantly peddled by the Democratic Party and its pseudo-left accomplices. They demonstrate that the fundamental issues behind police killings of individuals such as Dial, a white man himself, are those of social class.

According to the web site killedbypolice.net, 133 individuals have been killed by police thus far this year. Nearly 1,300 have also been killed since Donald Trump assumed the presidency in January 2017. Trump, building on a record of unchecked police violence under the previous Obama administration, had notoriously encouraged police to mistreat suspects. Dont be too nice, he said in a public speech to supporters. He encouraged police to treat detainees rough.

In a development related to the issues in the Dial lawsuit, an audience at an emergency town hall meeting in Los Angeles, California erupted in anger on Wednesday. On Sunday, Los Angeles sheriffs deputies shot and killed 16-year-old Anthony Weber after a foot chase. They said they had spotted a handgun tucked into his pants, although no gun was found at the scene.

Webers father held up a picture of his sons body on the ground. Wheres the gun? he said. I know where the bullets are, theyre right in my babys back. When Webers brother John, also present at the meeting, asked the assembled police commissioners if his family and community was due something, a police captain replied, Absolutely not.
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This Saturdays episode of BBC Americas Blue Planet II takes us out into the big blue, the open ocean. Here there is nowhere to hide and little to eat. Its the marine equivalent of a desert, narrator Sir David Attenborough says at the top of the hour. If youve been waiting to see more whales in the series, this installment is for you. But it wont all go down easily.

As you see in the sneak peek above, the crew captured what producer Mark Brownlow describes as a profoundly tragic story  a pilot whale refusing to let go of the body of her dead newborn. His team worked closely with a cameraman based in the Canary Islands whos been filming pods of pilot whales for many years and has witnessed, a couple of times, mothers holding on to their dead infants for days. Pilot whales have such large brains, so filled with the cells called spindle cells, which scientists know are responsible for conscious thought and emotions  they really believe that these whales have the ability to mourn and feel the sense of loss the same way that we do, Brownlow says. So theres this incredible connection that the audience has with this story.

Scientists also know that plastic in the water can combine with other industrial pollutants to form a toxic chemical cocktail. The heartbreaking theory: When you have top predators like pilot whales, they accumulate over time high levels of toxins as they feed on the fish and squid and things that themselves have fed on all these different levels of the food chain that have accumulated these toxins. It leads to these lethal doses. When they suckle their newborns, they can actually be poisoned by their mothers contaminated milk, Brownlow says.

That familial bond is a happier story in a sperm whale sequence. The team worked with a cameraman who had been filming a particular pod of sperm whales off Mauritius for more than six years. One of the most beautiful, peaceful shots of all of Blue Planet II is the pod resting, floating vertically in the water. A calf, estimated to be about 2 weeks old, communicates to its slumbering mother that its hungry through a series of clicking sounds. Theyve learned to accept him, and it enabled him to get incredibly intimate portrait details in a way that youve never seen before, Brownlow says.

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Scientists from The Dominica Sperm Whale Project have studied families of sperm whales since 2005, but for the first time, with Blue Planet II, they were able to put a sucker cam on the back of a sperm whale they knew by name, Fingers, to see how she dove with her calf, Digits. The camera, which detaches on its own after 30 hours, records video, sound, and scientific data. As the video above shows, you can see how closely the calf sticks to its mother, touching her repeatedly (as if for reassurance, Attenborough says). Because a calf cant hold its breath as long as adults, it has to return to the surface and wait  sometimes as long as an hour  for its mother to finish hunting squid, which gives her the energy to produce milk.

Avid nature series viewers may find themselves tensing  we know calves are often prey. You could say that sperm whales are the largest carnivore on the planet and youd think theyre invincible, but the calves are subject to attack by pilot whales and killer whales, Brownlow says. When they are left at the surface, you do kind of fear for them, but they do communicate, send clicks out to their mother and the rest of the family. They are very social and protective. Sometimes they even leave a sort of nanny relative to nurse them whilst the others all dive in the deep.

Blue Planet II was also able to place a sucker cam on a pregnant whale shark, revealing how silky sharks will bounce against her rough skin, perhaps to rid themselves of parasites. The goal is to find out where whale sharks give birth, to make sure those waters  and the migration route  are protected. Its extraordinary: This summarizes how little we still know about the ocean and its creatures. Here we have the largest fish of all, and we still dont absolutely know where it gives birth to its pups, Brownlow says. Though Jonathan Green of the Galapagos Whale Shark Project believes hes close to a discovery at Darwin Island (which is explored more in Blue Planet IIs seventh episode, Our Blue Planet). As Brownlow explains, These pregnant whale sharks are indeed turning up to this tiny pinprick of an island in the Galapagos, for literally just two or three days, having swam across the Pacific Ocean. Then they just disappear after three days, but during that time they appear to have all gone down to the base of Darwins Arch, we think to give birth.

The boiling sea. (GIF: BBC America)

Another great search, which is chronicled in the making-of segment at the end of this episode, was the Blue Planet II crews quest to film the phenomenon known as the boiling sea, a rare event fishermen and scientists have documented but no one has ever filmed. The sea literally erupts with whitewater as yellowfin tuna jump at the surface preying on a shoal of spawning lanternfish, which has been herded upward by hundreds of hungry spinner dolphins.

Its a nail-biting endeavor making a film of the open ocean, because finding your subjects is extremely hard. Youre combing this huge area of ocean every time, as opposed to lets say a coral reef where you can work with scientists whove even identified individual fish that do these pieces of amazing behavior, Brownlow says. So its not for the faint-hearted, but if you put in the time, the effort, and stick with your conviction, more often than not you are rewarded.

Spinner dolphins herd lanternfish. (GIF: BBC America)

After one failed expedition trip off the coast of Australia  it was the start of El Nino, when the sea temperatures rise to a point that disrupts the spawning behavior  the team had to wait 18 months until conditions improved to try again. This time, they traveled to Costa Rica to search for the dolphins first. It took 10 days in a helicopter for Brownlow to spot a pod, and another three weeks until the team was finally able to film them in boiling sea action.

Euphoric joy! is how he describes that moment. You cant really relax until youve filmed it, because its one thing eventually hitting upon the event, the other thing is then, Christ, it could be over in 10, 15 minutes. So we have to make sure that we cover it the very best way that we can. And sure enough, we were able to get action from both above from the helicopter, and underwater from the divers, Brownlow says.

Youll feel as though youre part of the pursuit and the frenzy. All these predators know that the lanternfish will only be at the surface momentarily, so they all have to race to get to the prize before it disappears again into the deep, Brownlow says. I wanted to reflect that in the way that we filmed it, thats why we had to develop these camera systems that would enable us to fly alongside the dolphins and tuna as they are charging toward the bait ball. And then once [two cameramen with handhelds are] in the water, being in the middle of 40-mile-an-hour underwater torpedoes  these tuna are massive and they could knock you out, but they are so agile and they know exactly where you are, so they dont actually run into you. Thank God.

As always, the music in this episode is memorable as well. Hans Zimmer and the team at Bleeding Fingers particularly outdid themselves in the feeding Portuguese man-of-war sequence above. That particular sequence was an homage to Pirates of the Caribbean, which of course Hans composed, Brownlow says. We wanted to have a bit of fun at that point. Of course this is a documentary  all were showing is truth and science  but at the same time, we want to build a connection with these characters with the audience, and music acts as our bridge. We wanted people not to feel coldly toward this sort of alien-like Portuguese man-of-war, but give it a bit of personality through the music. Thats whats so incredible about Hans. He can make something profoundly moving, like the pilot whale sequence, through music, and then have great, great comedy like with the Pirates of the Caribbean music for the Portuguese man-of-war. Music has that ability to help to build these connections, and Hans is the master.

Blue Planet II airs Saturdays at 9 p.m. on BBC America.

Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:
Nicole Eggert met yesterday with Los Angeles Police detectives to discuss allegations of sexual abuse by her former Charles in Charge co-star, Scott Baio, the actress attorney confirms today. And more may be coming.

Eggert and her manager, David Weintraub, say down with two detectives from the sexual abuse unit for more than an hour Tuesday and gave her account of abuse, lawyer Lisa Bloom said in a statement furnished to Deadline. A witness also told detectives about inappropriate touching that he said he witnessed, Bloom added.

We appreciate the Los Angeles police detectives interest in this case, and we will fully cooperate with their investigation, Bloom said in the statement. Many have reached out to Nicole and me to say that they witnessed inappropriate behavior from Scott Baio when Nicole was underage. We provided a list of those names to the police.

While the LAPD would not officially comment on the meeting with Eggert and her attorney, law enforcement sources tell Deadline that the interview was comprehensive and very useful.

Eggert used Twitter to publicly accuse Baio of sexually assaulting her when she was a minor working on the 1980s sitcom. Baio was in his mid-20s at the time while the actress was in her teens. She provided more details in a Jan. 30 interview with Megyn Kelly, saying she was 14 when the alleged abuse began.

Baio has vehemently denied the claims, saying he and Eggert had consensual sex when she 18 or older.

The actress alluded to her meeting with LAPD in a post on social media.

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Nicole Eggert opened up about contemplating suicide at the age of 15 hours after filing a police report against Scott Baio for alleged sexual abuse.

The actress told Entertainment Tonight in an interview on Wednesday that she was suicidal after Baio allegedly began to abuse her.

In those days I had moments of being so hurt and so upset, and even thoughts of ending my life, she said.

Eggert described a moment she struggled with her trauma.

I was 15 years old standing on the bridge over the L.A. River at Ventura and Vineland in Studio City, and I looked down at that dry river bed and Im sobbing, Im sobbing, she said. Im sobbing and I looked at it, and I said to myself, Its not a legit bridge, youre not going to die, youre going to break a lot of bones and youre not even going to kill yourself. Get home.'

You know, crying even harder, because, like, You idiot, what were you just thinking? But you are lost, and hormones are going and raging, and just sexual hormones, you know? Growing hormones.

Eggert filed a police report against her former Charles in Charge costar on Wednesday.

Her attorney Lisa Bloom told The Hollywood Reporter in a statement Wednesday, Yesterday Nicole Eggert and I met with two police detectives from the sexual assault unit at my law firm. Nicole answered all of their questions for over an hour and told her story of sexual abuse by Scott Baio when she was a minor.

Alexander Polinsky, who played Adam Powell on the sitcom, appeared as a witness and described inappropriate touching by Baio that he noticed, according to THR.

Eggerts manager of 15 years David Weintraub added that the actress felt hopeful after her meeting with the detectives.

Nicole didnt know what the statute of limitations was, but apparently the police are doing active investigations into a lot of these high-profile, older cases, he told THR. Its been a very emotional and hard time for Nicole because her credibility and her truth has been questioned. Shes never had to defend what shes saying so much. Meeting with the police was a groundbreaking moment because Alexander Polinsky also gave his statement. This is her truth.

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On Tuesday, Officer Drake Madison of LAPD confirmed that Eggert did meet at some point with LAPD sexual assault detectives but could not confirm that a report was taken.

Nicole Eggert and Scott Baio

Eggert, 46, alleged via Twitter on Jan. 27 that Baio, 57, molested her beginning at age 14.

Baio has repeatedly denied Eggerts claims, calling them 100 [percent] lies.

Why would I have a concern over something I didnt do? he said on Good Morning America. Rather than take your case to social media, where people tend to beat up people like me, why not do it through the proper channels? You put up allegations like that, and it becomes like wildfire.

Bloom said the actress definitely has [legal] options, including a possible civil case and a defamation case because Baio called her a liar.

Were discussing what the options are, said Eggert. Hes asked me to [take action]. So he might just get what he wishes for.

Nicole Eggert, Scott Baio and Josie Davis

During her appearance on Megyn Kelly Today last week, Eggert said the alleged sexual abuse happened quite often at Baios house from when she was 14 to 16 in the late 1980s  more than 10 times and about once a week, she claimed.

Eggert also claimed that on the series set, There was just a lot of groping, a lot of fondling, a lot of pulling me on his lap, trying to sneak kisses in the back, which a lots of cast members saw.

I dont think they knew about the actual physical sexual abuse, but everybody knew the attention that he gave me, she said.

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Baio claimed that though he got along with Eggert, they were never alone together on the Charles in Charge set.

I dont know if youve ever been on a sitcom set, but on any given day  on every day, especially Charles in Charge, which was like a picnic every day, it was one of my favorite jobs Ive ever done  theres teachers, parents, family, crew, producers, my dad. So how any of this could have happened is absolutely impossible, he said on Good Morning America.

Baio said that on top of putting a strain on his reputation, Eggerts accusations are affecting his family.

My 10-year-old daughter does not need to be hearing about this from friends at school, these false allegations, he said. Her job is not to defend me. My job is to defend my daughter. Her job is to be 10 years old. Thats why this has got to stop.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
Bruce McArthur

Police digging through planters in Toronto have recovered three more human remains as they investigate alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur, officials said Thursday.

The new remains were recovered from the pots that were seized from a home where the 66-year-old landscaper used as storage for his landscaping business.

So far, police have discovered the remains of six people, including those of Andrew Kinsman, a 49-year-old AIDS support group volunteer who went missing in June of 2017.

Toronto Police Service Sgt. Hank Idsinga tells PEOPLE that Kinsman had a sexual relationship with McArthur. I cant say for how long it had been going on.

On January 18, McArthur was charged with the murders of Kinsman and Selim Esen, a 44-year-old immigrant from Turkey, who was reported missing in April of 2017. Late last month, police charged McArthur with the additional slayings of Majeed Kayhan, Soroush Mahmudi and Dean Lisowick.

Police allege Bruce McArthur killed (L-R) Selim Esen, Andrew Kinsman, Majeed Kayhan, Soroush Mahmudi and Dean Lisowick

Kayhan, a 58-year-old immigrant from Afghanistan, was reported missing by his son and is believed to have been killed on or about Oct. 18, 2012.

Mahmudi, a 50-year-old father of two, was reported missing by his family in August of 2015.

Police believe Lisowick was killed between 2016 and 2017.

Police have yet to determine if the remains found so far are those of Esen, Kayhan, Mahmudi and Lisowick.

We hope to identify them soon, says Idsinga.

McArthur allegedly targeted men in the citys Gay Village.

Idsinga says investigators expect to find even more victims. Were recovering bodies as we speak.

Last month, investigators found the dismembered, skeletal remains of three unidentified victims hidden at the bottom of planters at the Mallory Crescent home where McArthur used as storage for his landscaping business. The three additional remains were also found in pots from the same residence earlier this week.

 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.

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Where McArthur allegedly dismembered the remains is still unknown.

The next question is where was he actually cutting these bodies up, says Idsinga. And Im sure well get an answer for that, but right now we just dont know.

Idsinga says investigators recovered a total of 15 planters from locations around Toronto where McArthur did landscaping after the departments canine unit alerted on them.

Authorities also began excavating the backyard of the Mallory Crescent residence Wednesday.

Depending on whether we find anything in that backyard, we may have to go back to some of these other addresses and excavate backyards at some of these other locations as well, he says.

Police have also expanded their search to other areas in Ontario where McArthur worked as a traveling salesman in the 90s before he moved to Toronto.

We are compiling a timeline of places where McArthur has lived and traveled, says Idsinga. Depending on the evidence that we uncover here in Toronto, we will expand our inquiries and investigation into other jurisdictions. We already have been contacted by other jurisdictions in regards to their outstanding murders and disappearances, and we remain cognizant of those while we continue our investigation.

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A motive for the slayings still remains unclear. I dont know what Bruce McArthurs triggers were. Well find out. The investigation is still ongoing and we still have victims to be identified and more charges to be laid. So hopefully we get some answers.

I think its your classic serial killer case like the John Gacys and the Ted Bundys of the world, adds Idsinga. Its just something we dont regularly see up here.




When you make a Marvel movie, youre not just making your film, youre fitting in with every other MCU flick that came before it and  especially  with everything that will come after it.

With Infinity War looming, did Black Panther director Ryan Coogler want to do something that didnt fit in with the overall universe?

No, not at all. That never happened. It was possible, maybe if I wanted to kill TChalla or something. But nothing I wanted to do creatively came into conflict with what Joe and Anthony [Russo] were doing with their film  and I wasnt encouraged to do anything that strayed from that by the studio either. It was a beautiful situation.

As the Black Panther movie proves, Ryan Coogler knows his comics  so much so he wanted to stay true to a very particular (and very special) run of issues.

Being a Marvel fan, you want to grab all the characters. You realise theres contractual things. You dont have that character. There was a Christopher Priest run that was pretty heavy, theres a big scene where Panthers fighting Kraven, Kraven the Hunter.

Ive always loved Kraven the Hunter in almost every iteration. So there was a moment  Can I grab Kraven?  and they were Nah, you dont have Kraven. He was one where I thought Oh, man. But I dont even know if he would have worked in the movie we ended up with, this was the early days.

Kraven has yet to appear in a Spider-Man film, but hes one of the characters most popular villains, first appearing in The Amazing Spider-Man #15 way back in 1964. A crazed big-game hunter who likes going after superheroes named after animals, Kraven is both ridiculous and terrifying.

The fact Coogler couldnt use Kraven could mean that Marvel has plans for him in an upcoming project  potentially Homecoming 2.

Black Panther is out in the UK on 13 February, and heres the official synopsis:

After the death of his father, TChalla returns home to the African nation of Wakanda to take his rightful place as king. When a powerful enemy suddenly reappears, TChallas mettle as king  and as Black Panther  gets tested when hes drawn into a conflict that puts the fate of Wakanda and the entire world at risk. Faced with treachery and danger, the young king must rally his allies and release the full power of Black Panther to defeat his foes and secure the safety of his people.

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Earmuffs, extra thick anoraks, and a stadium where LED lighting appeared to have replaced the spectators were the order of the day at the opening ceremony of the XXII Olympic Winter Games, held in Pyeongchang, South Korea, on Friday against a backdrop of political and strategic maneuvering between the divided north and south.

National athletes paraded in around a center circle and a ring of energetic dancers, while in the hills nearby there were volleys of fireworks and torch-bearing skiers.

The Pyeongchang Games are already providing a snowy backdrop to something of a thaw in relations between North and South Korea, two nations still technically at war. Earlier in the day, South Korean President Moon Jae-in shook hands and briefly chatted with North Koreas figurehead leader, Kim Yong-nam. Then, at one point during the opening ceremony, Moon, Kim Yong-nam and Kim Jo-yong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, were clustered together inside the glass box from which VIPs watched the athletes march in. U.S. Vice President Mike Pence sat next to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Politics was momentarily set aside when athletes from North and South Korea made their entrance for the first time under a single banner, as a unified Korean team decked out in white padded coats and black slacks. They appeared huddled together, but it was not clear if that was caused by an overflow of amity, the extreme cold, or their large numbers.

United, we are stronger than all the forces that want to divide us, Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee, said to a round of applause.

Other large cheers were heard for the six countries represented for the first time, and for athletes from small or tropical territories such as Jamaica, Eritrea, Hong Kong and Singapore.

And Pita Taufatofua was back. The oiled-up athlete from Tonga went shirtless two years ago at the opening of the Summer Games in Brazil, and became an Internet sensation in the process. He went topless again in the Korean Alps, despite the subzero conditions.

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Other parts of the ceremony ranged from high-tech light formations and clever use of projection mapping to flag bearers wearing Korean traditional costume. Less convincing was a creaky four-person rendition of John Lennons Imagine.

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On Thursday, a real-life Nazi running as a Republican for Congress in Illinois appeared on CNNs New Day for a chat with co-host Alisyn Camerota.

It went about as well as you might expect.

Yes, I deny the Holocaust. It is an extortion racket, pure and simple, said Art Jones, a former leader of the American Nazi Party during the popular morning show. And if you did any investigation, and if you did any honest investigation of the Holocaust youd realize that it is nothing but an international extortion racquet by the Jews.

Also Read: An Actual Nazi Is GOP's Uncontested Candidate for Congressional Seat in Illinois (Video)

In addition to being an American Nazi grandee, Jones is also poised to seize the GOP nomination for Congress in Illinois third district. State and national GOP officials have denounced his candidacy but he is running unopposed in the solidly blue district.

During his interview with Camerota, Jones also blasted what he called the Jew party system.

Its one man, one man, myself, thats standing for the truth and the news media cant stand that, he said. The Democrats and Republicans, this accursed two-party, Jew party, queer party system cant stand it.

Despite all that, Jones insisted he was not really a Nazi anymore and attempted to reposition himself in Trumpian platitudes.

Also Read: Joe Scarborough: Military Parade 'Frightening,' 'Deeply Un-American'

For the past 15-20 years I have not had anything to do with any National Socialist organization on a formal basis. I dont call myself a Nazi. I call myself and American patriot and statesman, he said. The only organization that I belong to is my own organization and that is the America First committee.

At various points, Camerota struggled to express the depth of her outrage as Jones continued to offer fascist pablum.

Youve been party of anti-Semitic groups since the 1970s, you go to neo-Nazi rallies, we have pictures of you there, you were part of the White Peoples party, you dress in Nazi garb and you celebrate Hitlers birthday  youre a Nazi.

Story continues

Also Read: James Woods Beats $3 Million Defamation Lawsuit Over 'Nazi' Tweet

She ended the interview without thanking Jones for his appearance and expressing her great hope for his defeat in November.

The interview latest six excruciating minutes  you can watch it all above.

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Seven years ago Nicole Grimes of West Brownsville, Pennsylvania, had to say goodbye to her best friend.

Then 14 years old, Grimes was forced to give up her dog Chloe, who was picked out for her by her late grandmother, because her father, who worked from home, found the dog too distracting, reports the Observer-Reporter.

Upset but compliant, Grimes surrendered her dog to Washington Area Humane Society to be rehomed. Ever since that dark day, Grimes has often wondered what happened to the gray-and-black dog she adored.

A random chain of events brought the two best friends back together again, which ended with Grimes answering a Facebook post. Not too long ago, Grimes was scrolling through the social media platform when she spotted a post from a friend looking to find a new home for her senior dog. Since the dog looked like her beloved Chloe, Grimes responded she would take the canine in.

Once the dog was in her arms, Grimes couldnt get over how much the dog reminded her of her old pet. The pup even acted like she knew Grimes already. So she took her new pooch to a local vet to have the dogs microchip scanned. The unique number on her new pets chip was an exact match for Choles microchip number. Grimes new dog was actually her old friend.

I felt like I won the lottery, Grimes told the Observer-Reporter. That was one of the most exciting moments of my life. I just never thought Id see her again.

Grimes later learned that after she surrendered Chloe as a child, the dog was adopted by an older couple who cared for the pup until they died. The family of the pair found Chloe a new home with a neighbor, who also happened to be Grimes Facebook friend.

Cant get enough of cats, dogs and other furry friends? Click here to get the cutest pet news and photos delivered directly to your inbox.

Now 11 years old, Chloe doesnt look too different from the dog Grimes remembers. She has lost a few teeth and has a little more gray hair, but her loving spirit is the same.

What are the odds, Grimes added. I knew it was going to be her, I just knew it.
Being a member of the royal family often means living life in the public eye. Thats something the Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William, Prince Harry, and, of course, soon-to-be royal Meghan Markle are all used to.

But there are other members of the royal family who opt to turn away from the limelight and live their lives away from the public glare. And that includes Prince Harry and Williams stepsiblings, Laura Lopes and Tom Parker Bowles.

With the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle mere months away, speculation has turned to whether the lesser-known family members, like Laura and Tom, will join the other, more high-profile guests on the big day.

Laura, 40, is the daughter of the Duchess of Cornwall, from her marriage to Andrew Parker Bowles.

The Duchess of Cornwall with her two children, Tom and Laura, at Cheltenham Festival in 2015. (Photo: Getty Images)

Laura and brother Tom, with Prince William and Harry at the wedding of their father, Prince Charles, to Lauras mother, Camilla Parker Bowles. (Photo: Getty Images)

When Prince Charles and Camilla married in 2005, he became stepfather to Laura and her older brother, Tom Parker Bowles, and William and Harry gained two stepsiblings.

While she chooses to keep herself out of the spotlight, Laura, who is co-founding partner and director of Londons Eleven gallery, seems to have a great relationship with the princes.

She was one of the guests at William and Kates wedding in April 2011, and her daughter, Eliza, had a pivotal role as a bridesmaid.

Lauras daughter, Eliza, was a bridesmaid at the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. (Photo: Getty Images)

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry were invited to Lauras own wedding to Harry Lopes, a chartered accountant, which took place in May 2006 in Wiltshire village, Lacock.

The princes traveled quite a distance to attend the nuptials  William and Kate flew in from their holiday in Mustique and Harry traveled from Cape Town, where he had been with Chelsy Davy, his girlfriend at the time.

The princes attended stepsister Lauras wedding in 2006. (Photo: Getty Images)

William and Kate could soon be turning to Laura for some parenting tips since Laura is already the mother of three children; her daughter Eliza is 10, and her twin boys, Gus and Louis, are 8 years old.

Lauras older brother, 43-year-old Tom Parker Bowles, receives more attention than younger sister Laura thanks to his career as a cookbook author, including The Cook Book: Fortnum & Mason.

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The food writer and critic has also appeared on MasterChef and won the Guild of Food Writers 2010 award for his writings about British food.

Tom married his wife, Sara, in 2005, and they have a daughter, Lola, but it was recently reported that the couple have separated.

While its expected that the princes stepsister and stepbrother will be in attendance at Harry and Meghans big day, there has been speculation about whether Sarah Ferguson will be invited.

Though she didnt make the guest list for William and Kates nuptials, despite media speculation to the contrary, Sarah Ferguson will reportedly attend Harry and Meghans wedding in a bid to heal broken family ties.

Whether or not she does receive an invite to Prince Harrys wedding, Sarah Ferguson will soon be taking on a mother-of-the-bride role as her daughter, Princess Eugenie, recently announced her engagement to longtime partner Jack Brooksbank.

The couple will wed in October.

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

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Lately, the worlds of sneakers and streetwear feel like the lottery: theres a winner every day. Companies like Supreme, A Cold Wall, and Huf are raking in investment, with companies pouring money in in the hopes of turning niche enterprises into industry-dominating behemoths. Now, GOAT (short for Greatest of All Time), a sneaker marketplace app, and Flight Club, the New York-based consigner of rare and expensive sneakers, are mergingand collecting $60 million in investment money from Index Ventures.

For some context: When you look at other companies that have received $60 million at this point in their timeline, you dont often find other brands playing in this same spaceyou find big-time mall brands and true-blue industry disruptors. In fashion, that means the likes of Warby Parker and Bonobos: companies that promise to fundamentally shake up the clothing business. Recode reports the new company took on investment at a valuation north of $200 million, which tracks: when Bonobos got $55 million in 2014, the company was valued at $300 million.

The investment raises the same questions that keep coming up recently, as those aforementioned streetwear brands rake in investment money. How much money can trading rarefied T-shirts and sneakers really get you? The newly partnered companies will have to find a way to scale up in a way that makes a $60 million worth it. And while the merger creates the secondary sneaker markets first superpower, the investment should inspire confidence in their competition, not scare them off.

In the merger, GOAT, only founded in 2015, will become the parent company of Flight Club, a brand founded way back in 2005. That power structure illustrates how quickly digital brands like GOAT are growing, but the belief behind these investments is that GOAT, and companies like it, still have a ton of space to grow into. The sneaker market is growing substantially but we think its in relative infancy, says Index Ventures partner Danny Rimer. The market is extremely big. We certainly feel like GOAT will not be the only successful player.

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Notably, the merger is only a merger on the backend. GOAT co-founder Daishin Sugano tells me that the two brands will remain separate, and that the partnership will remain largely invisible to customers. The deal is mostly about these companies sharing expertiseGOAT is plugged into what customers are doing online, while Flight Club is holding down the fort IRL. Goat wants to know, for instance, if a customer opens an app, are they more likely to visit Flight Club in person, or vice versa?

Giulia White/GOAT

Almost every headline around physical retail announces that if the format isnt yet dead, its busy dying. And yet permanent storefronts remain a critical part of GOATs strategy. In this day and age, to be impactful and to bring access to people you need a digital experience but you also need to have a brick and mortar experience, says Sugano. Bridging ecommerce and retail will help distance these brands from their competitors, too. Others in this space focus on doing one thing really well: Stadium Goods is fast becoming a physical mecca for sneakers, and Grailed offers a robust ecommerce experience for buying menswear. Whats hard to find is companies that do both well.

But talk of data and platforms can miss the tangible difference between what a company can do online versus what it can do in real life. For example: the average cost of an item sold through GOAT is $330. At Flight Club? Its $400, according to GOAT. Thats not necessarily a groundbreaking concept: Consumers tend to spend more money in a retail environment when they experience a product in real life, Sugano says. Flight Club offers that security.

The $60 million will help fund expansion to places like Asia and Australia. That doesnt mean physical GOAT stores just yet, Sugano says, but rather making the app work in local markets in Asiawere talking simple baseline changes that you wouldnt think about until youre trying to globally expand a sneaker reselling app, like adding languages native to those regions in the app, and getting the system to understand addresses outside the US.

But even as GOAT heads to Australia, maybe youre wondering, like I often do, how far can selling sneakers on the secondary market can really take a company. Can this GOAT-Flight Club hybrid possibly drive the same business as something like a similarly-invested-in Warby Parker? And what happens when the trends change and we all decide wed rather wear whatever comes after Balenciagas and Yeezys? While $60 million is pop-the-champagne money, the explosive growth around streetwear and sneakers echoes what we saw happen with athleisure. Once upon a time, investors were making similar Powerball-sized investmentsbrands like Rhone, Tracksmith, and Outdoor Voices accumulated $28.5 million. GOAT's The secondary sneaker market is currently valued at $2 billion reads like the new version of analysts expect the athleisure market to be worth $83 billion by 2020. But athleisure companies started to go belly up as trends flippeddenim is back, baby!and mainstream competitors like Amazon swooped in and ate up once-reliable profit. Kit & Ace closed all its stores and YogaSmoga, once an industry darling, went bankrupt, leading many to ask if the athleisure bubble was bursting. Thats not to say that none of these investments paid off and created longlasting playersonly that theres certainly the risk that the sneaker and streetwear industry is experiencing a similarly unsustainable gold rush.

But investors and analysts, at least, think thats misplaced worry. The phenomena of the internet is that if you can actually communicate on a global basis, what is viewed as a niche just becomes absolutely massive, Rimer says. Outside experts also dont see any reason for the secondary market to slow down. While sneakers trends come and gofrom Common Projects to bulbous dad sneakerssneakers stay. Theres innovation in colors, pattern, materials, shapes, and marketing says Susquehanna Financial Groups footwear analyst Sam Poser. But as long as there's newness you're still going to be all over shoes.

Simply put: as long as cool kicks exist, people are going to be willing to put down a ton of cash for them. GOAT says that its on track to sell more Yeezys than even Adidas in the near term. Thats hilarious and remarkable, but it also tells us that these shoes are most likely getting traded back and forth, and that theyre probably flipped a couple times overas either bargaining chips or investmentsbefore eventually being bought by someone who actually wants to keep them. What makes the secondary market so enticing is that there are several different ways and reasons for a consumer to engage. And while the brand, shoe, and look might change, its hard to imagine a future without a fire shoe getting passed around like a hot potatoeach time with a 9.5 percent service fee tacked on.
Rob Porter, a senior White House official who is the latest to leave the administration, was allowed access to presidential correspondence, among other duties in his position as staff secretary, despite reports of abuse from two ex-wives, who told the FBI about his violent history during background checks regarding his security clearance in February 2017. He was allowed to work without that clearance, after having been denied it in part due to the abuse allegations, for a full year, according to CBS News. The Intercept spoke to both women in an article posted on Wednesday, shortly after Porter resigned. The women recount being choked, kicked, and physically restrained by Porter. One of the women filed a protective order against him in 2010.

Colbie Holderness, Porters first wife, showed FBI agents gruesome photos she took of herself after Porter hit her in the face on vacation in Florence, The Intercept reported. Porter resigned earlier on Wednesday, after the Daily Mail ran its own story with claims from Holderness and Porters second wife, Jennifer Willoughby. Though he stepped down, Porter denied the contents of the report, saying, I will not further engage publicly with a coordinated smear campaign. Asked about President Donald Trumps response to the allegations, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said: I dont know.

Though relatively unknown to the mainstream public, Porter was a close aide to both Trump and chief of staff John Kelly. Part of his role as the White House staff secretary was helping to decide what information makes it to Trumps desk. Among other statements of support issued by Kelly and Sanders, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R.-Utah) defended Porter, who he previously employed, on Tuesday night, saying, Shame on any publication that would print thisand 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 toward 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. However, after the photos of Holdernesss bruises were released on Wednesday, he gave a new statement. I am heartbroken by todays allegations. In every interaction Ive had with Rob, he has been courteous, professional, and respectful, Hatch said. 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. I am praying for Rob and those involved.

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Holderness met Porter, who is also Mormon, while she was a student at Wellesley College, and Porter was at Harvard. She told The Intercept that her marriage had been abusive since her honeymoon, in 2003. The incident that Holderness photographed occurred in 2005, when, He threw me down on the bed and punched me in the face. I think he was shocked that he had lost control to that extent. Up until then, she said, He had always done it in a way that didnt leave marks . . . He would get angry and throw me down on a soft surfaceto his credit, it was always a soft surface like a couch or a bedand he would lay on top of me shaking me, or rubbing an elbow or a knee into me. He graduated to choking me, not ever hard enough to make me pass out or, frankly, to leave marks, but it was frightening and dehumanizing.

Porters second wife, Willoughby, did not allege physical abuse, but recounted emotional abuse and intimidation. In an April 2017 blog post, in which she declined to name Porter but which prompted The Intercept to reach out on its own accord, Willoughby described Porters temper: The first time he called me a fucking bitch was on our honeymoon . . . A month later, he physically prevented me from leaving the house. Less than two months after that, in 2010, I filed a protective order with the police because he punched in the glass on our front door while I was locked inside. She also described a time in which Porter had physically dragged her from the shower to continue an argument, saying, I think he saw the look on my face, and immediately released me and apologized. But it happened, and there was no coming back from it. In the blog post, she referenced the abuse that Holderness had suffered before her, whom she reached out to around the time of writing, and said that Porter had blamed his behavior on his first wife and their volatile marriage. Willoughby met Porter through their church; they were married from 2009 to 2013.

The Daily Mail reported on Tuesday that Porter is now dating White House communications director Hope Hicks. Despite her characterization of Porters behavior, Willoughby said that she did not wish Porter professional harm: I have the utmost respect for him professionally, Willoughby said to The Intercept. If there was to be a staff secretary in the Trump administration, I hope to God it is Rob. However, being charming, intelligent, charismatic, capable at work, and able to be angry and manipulative and antagonistic at hometheyre not mutually exclusive.

As the White House prepared for the fallout from Porters resignation on Wednesday, it was unclear exactly how much high ranking White House officials knew about the allegations against Porter. A federal law enforcement source confirmed to CBS News that the information was passed on to the White House, and that Porter never received clearance, though Sanders would not comment on his status. That same source was baffled at how Porter could have acted as staff secretary, saying: I dont know how you would do that job without a security clearance . . . You see every single piece of paper, whether its from the NSC or from specific Cabinet secretaries. You have to have the highest clearance, across the board. You read every single thing, to make sure its ready for the president, to make sure the necessary principles have weighed in.

The question of dubious clearance is not one new to the administration: Both Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trumps security access has been called into question, in light of, among other things, a report that Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr. had narrowly avoided felony fraud charges in 2012, and Kushners purported ties with Russia. And it bears infinite repeating that this is not the first time that the administration has had to face accusations of abuse, at its highest levels. Donald Trump remains accused of sexual misconduct, including sexual assault, by 16 women.
North Korean cheerleaders on their way to the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games. (Photo: Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images)

Perhaps the most intriguing geopolitical news to come out of the start of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games, held in PyeongChang, South Korea, might be the fact that the two Korean states decided to unify on the global stage for the occasion.

But a bonus was the North Korean army of beauties, or cheerleaders as theyve been dubbed  a group of 230 women attending to cheer on the North Korean delegation at this years Games.

North Korean leader Kim Jung Un reportedly selected the looks himself, not all that surprising considering the authoritarian rulers penchant for  or evolution toward  a snazzy suit and trend-setting haircuts.

Photo: Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Images

The outfits include Zhivago-style fur pillbox hats (one might say they look more like theyd belong to another authoritarian regime north of the Korean Peninsula), ruby red car-length coats with black fur stoles, black leather gloves, and booties.

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While the Olympics  especially the opening ceremony  are an opportunity to showcase a nations sartorial heritage, this seems to be a case of normalization on the world stage of a regime devoid of diplomatic ties with many Western nations.

To be sure, its not entirely a divergence from what fashion looks like in North Korea (minimal makeup, conservative dress, and nary a blue jean  a Western decadence  in sight.) But it is a bit refreshing to for once think about something other than nuclear warfare when considering North Korea.

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Photo credit: Courtesy of Alyssa Salgado

From Good Housekeeping

Two mothers in Washington state are claiming that employees at a local day care waxed their children's eyebrows without their knowledge or consent.

One of the mothers, Alyssa Salgado, wrote in a Facebook post that she noticed a red mark between her daughter's eyes and assumed it was a scratch - until she got a closer look. "As soon as I get home, I get a closer look and realized these women decided to wax my daughter's unibrow," she wrote.

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Salgado's daughter was reportedly attending day care at Columbia Basin College, which is operated by the Boys & Girls Club of Benton and Franklin Counties.

"I birthed my daughter and love every little thing about her, and these so-called women took it upon themselves to correct the way my daughter should look," she wrote.

She also wrote that another mother, Glenda Maria Cruz, had the same exact thing happen to her son. Cruz shared her own post about the incident on Facebook as well.

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"It's really hard honestly, because 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," she wrote.

Many other people reacted to the posts with outrage and concern.

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Salgado and Cruz both said in various comments on Facebook that they had gone to speak to the director of the day care, but were unsatisfied with the response they received.

Columbia Basin College said in a post shared Saturday that they were investigating the claim.

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On Wednesday, the organization released a statement saying that after an internal review, they found the allegations to be unsubstantiated, according to the Seattle Times.

"That's not OK. It's not enough time for a proper investigation," Salgado said to the Seattle Times after learning about the Boys & Girls Club statement. "If they want to go round and round, that's fine. I'm willing to go to bat for my daughter."

Story continues

A state investigation into the incident is ongoing.

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Sometimes the news isnt as straightforward as its made to seem. Elizabeth Cassidy, The Mightys reporter, explains what to keep in mind if you see this topic or similar stories in your newsfeed. This is The Mighty Takeaway.

Emotional support animals (ESAs) are making the news again. But this time, instead of a ridiculous photo of a peacock perched on a luggage cart in an airport, the story is about a woman flushing her hamster down a toilet because she was told she couldnt bring Pebbles on a Spirit Airlines flight.

Belen Aldecosea, 21, called the airline twice in advance of her flight from Baltimore to her home in southern Florida to confirm she could fly with her hamster. Both times she was told she could bring Pebbles with her, according to the Miami Herald. She also had a doctors letter deeming Pebbles an ESA. It wasnt until she got to the airport that Pebbles was refused a flight.

Related: Should Mental Health Professionals Diagnose President Trump?

According to Aldecosea, an airline representative suggested flushing the hamster down the toilet  an allegation the airline denies. Aldecoseas friends were hours away and she was not old enough to rent a car to travel to her destination, so she flushed Pebbles.

Lets, for a second, forget the disgusting fact that this woman killed an animal, especially one that was supposedly for emotional support, and focus on the less outrageous but common issue with airlines  a lack of consistency when it comes to regulating emotional support animals.

While I have a hard time believing an airline attendant told Aldecosea to flush her pet down a toilet, I believe Aldecosea was told one thing over the phone and another at the airport. Airlines are beginning to tighten regulations regarding ESAs because of people playing the system and passing off pets as emotional support. In January, Delta Air Lines tightened in regulations for this reason. United Airlines will do the same starting in March. While a hamster may be an ESA, rodents are not allowed on Spirit flights, which could have confused the original representatives who told Aldecosea she could fly with Pebbles.

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Related: 'Teen Mom' Star Tyler Baltierra's Raw Instagram Video Is for Any Parent With a Mental Illness Who Feels Lost

As an owner of an ESA, I am in favor of stricter regulations, such as requiring a doctors letter, immunization records and confirmation of training, which Delta asks for. People claiming their pets as ESAs cause issues for true ESA owners when a pet behaves badly. Were made to seem like the issue when its really people abusing the system.

The overall validity of ESAs are at stake, said Ashley Kristoff, video producer at The Mighty and an ESA owner. When Im traveling, I know the experience is going to be somewhat stressful on my dog just as it is for me. I shouldnt also have to worry about these fake support dogs who may not be well-behaved presenting a risk for my dogs safety.

Kristoff has flown with her ESA on American Airlines. She said that the regulations were ambiguous because there were a couple different ways to pre-approve her dog and it was unclear what else she needed to do in order to ensure her travel plans ran smoothly.

Related: 5 Unexpected Dangers of Perfectionism

Im fortunate everyone was extremely helpful through my process but outlining this procedure more clearly would have prevented some unnecessary stress, she added.

Delta also has a service animal support desk to help ease the process of flying with ESAs that could hopefully eliminate confusion between passengers and airlines. Regulations mean nothing if they arent clear or properly enforced. Aldecosea should have never been told she was allowed to fly with Pebbles if the airline doesnt allow rodents.

While it is up to the airline to enforce the rules, people should also read or listen to the regulations before showing up to the airport. For instance, artist and owner of the peacock denied a United Airlines flight, Ventiko, was told numerous times over the phone that she could not fly with the animal, but she still showed up with it.

While seeing pictures of peacocks and random animals patiently waiting in line at the airport is social media gold, these animals should have never been at the airport. And they definitely shouldnt be passed off as ESAs when they clearly are not. So please, leave your exotic animals at home and give yourself, and everyone else at the airport, an easier travel experience.

And for obvious reasons, if your real ESA is denied a flight, dont flush it down the toilet or take other drastic measures. Figure out your travel situation and file a formal complaint with the Department of Transportation and the airline.

Got a tip for our news team? Send it to news@themighty.com.

Photos via Twitter and Facebook

Read more stories like this on The Mighty:

6 Movies That Got Childhood Emotional Abuse (Mostly) Right

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Pebbles

A Florida student is suing Spirit Airlines after she says they banned her from bringing her emotional support hamster on the plane and suggested she flushed it. Because she felt like she had no other choice, 21-year-old Belen Aldecosea drowned her pet, Pebbles.

On a flight back to Fort Lauderdale in November, Aldecosea said she called the airline twice to make sure she was allowed to bring her "medically certified" support animal on board.

It happened to be a pet dwarf hamster who had gone with her to visit her home in Baltimore.

RELATED: Heartbreaking New Details About The College Student Stabbed 75 Times By An Ex-Boyfriend Who Was Stalking Her

Though she said that both times she called the airline said it would be fine to bring Pebbles, when she arrived, it was a different story. She was told she was no longer allowed to bring him.

Aldecosea changed her flight to a different time to figure out what to do. She called six different rental car agencies, but no vehicles were available. She said she exhausted all of her other options and had no choice but the fly to get back home in time for a medical appointment.

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Aldecosea said that when the flight was about to start boarding, a member of Spirit's staff said she should either let Pebbles go free or flush her down the toilet.

She said she didn't want her to freeze or starve to death, she decided to flush her living pet.

'She was scared. I was scared," Aldecosea said. "It was horrifying trying to put her in the toilet."

RELATED: Awful New Details Revealed About The 2-Year-Old Girl Found Frozen To Death On Her Family's Front Porch

"I was emotional. I was crying. I sat there for a good 10 minutes crying in the stall."

The student said she might file a lawsuit against the airline for pressuring her into killing her animal. Spirit denies that a staff member every told her to flush Pebbles.

However, they did say that an employee had mistakenly told her that the hamster would be allowed on the flight.

Story continues

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The airline offered her a voucher for a free flight to certain cities, but Aldecosea declined it. PETA has since condemned the airline and called the move "cruel and illegal.

It doesn't appear that the student is facing any charges. The Transportation Safety Administration allows hamsters to pass security, but it's up to airlines to decide if they're allowed on boards.

Most don't allow rodents over health and safety concerns.

RELATED: Weird Details About The 'Mad Pooper' Jogger Terrorizing Colorado Neighborhoods By Defecating In People's Front Yards

Emily Blackwood is an editor at YourTango who covers pop culture, true crime, dating, relationships and everything in between. Every Wednesday at 7:20 p.m. you can ask her any and all questions about self-love, dating, and relationships LIVE on YourTangos Facebook page. You can follow her on Instagram (@blackw00d) and Twitter (@emztweetz).

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Spencer Stone in a scene from The 15:17 to Paris. (Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)

At the age of 87, Clint Eastwood shows no signs of slowing down, as evidenced by the fact that the acclaimed filmmaker has yet another new movie in theaters this week. Something of a companion piece to 2016s Sully, The 15:17 to Paris takes as its subject a real-life tale of heroism: the 2015 Thalys terrorist train attack that was thwarted by three American passengers. Starring the very men whose deeds it recounts, Eastwoods 36th (!) behind-the-camera feature (many of which hes also headlined) continues the actor-directors decades-long investigation into issues of violence and valor. In honor of his latest, we present a rundown of the 10 best films helmed by the enduring, incomparable American icon.

10. Letters From Iwo Jima





The superior half of Eastwoods 2006 WWII two-hander (the other being the U.S.-focused Flags of Our Fathers), this black-and-white, Japanese-language war epic follows two men  Ken Watanabes general and Kazunari Ninomiyas soldier  during the Battle of Iwo Jima, eventually won by the Americans. Directed with somber grace and sentimentality, the director delivers a complicated and compassionate treatise on bravery and sacrifice.

9. Bird





For his 1988 biopic of legendary jazz saxophonist Charlie Bird Parker (played by a commanding Forest Whitaker), Eastwood took an unconventional approach, crafting a free-flowing film constructed from key moments in the mans tumultuous career and drug addiction-plagued personal life. The result is a haunting, darkness-enshrouded requiem for a great artist, and the many burdens he shouldered.

8. White Hunter, Black Heart





Playing a John Huston-inspired filmmaker who ventures to Africa to make his latest movie, Eastwood is a marvel in this underheralded 1990 drama  and his direction has rarely been as confident. Blending reality and fiction in ways both overt and subtle, the filmmaker maintains rigorous control over his complex investigation of violence, artistic hubris, and mans relationship to nature, all of which climaxes in unforgettable fashion.

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7. The Bridges of Madison County





Eastwood hardly seemed like the logical choice to tackle (and star in) an adaptation of Robert James Wallers romantic bestseller. And yet working with/opposite Meryl Streep, he brings an elegant, unfussy lyricism and mature mournfulness to this story of an Italian war bride (Streep) who, in 1965 Iowa, has a revelatory affair with a professional photographer (Eastwood).

6. Bronco Billy





Perhaps the most underappreciated entry in the Eastwood canon is this 1980 drama about a New Jersey shoe salesman turned carnival sharpshooter who serves as the father figure to a clan of performer outcasts (including Scatman Crothers and Sam Bottoms). Helmed with a deft hand, this ode to the American dream and the fading myth of the West  also featuring Sondra Locke as an arrogant heiress who joins the traveling show  is as touching as it is amusing.

5. Million Dollar Baby





Eastwoods second major Oscar-feted triumph (it won Best Picture, Director, Actress for Hillary Swank, and Supporting Actor for Morgan Freeman), this 2004 drama is a heartbreaking story of an aging trainer (Eastwood) who agrees to help an up-and-coming boxer (Swank) become a pro. Tales of regret, atonement, and the sometimes-terrible price of love dont come more tear-inducingly moving than this.

4. High Plains Drifter





After establishing himself as a new breed of antihero in Sergio Leones Man With No Name spaghetti western trilogy, Eastwood tried directing himself as an outlaw with this nightmarish 1973 gem about a mysterious stranger who shows up in a mining town and begins punishing those he deems wicked. Culminating in fire and brimstone, it transforms Eastwoods familiar desperado into a figure of righteous fury.

3. A Perfect World





Eastwoods 1993 follow-up to Unforgiven features arguably the finest performance in the career of Kevin Costner, here playing a bandit who takes a young boy hostage while fleeing a Texas ranger (Eastwood) and his partners (Laura Dern and Bradley Whitford). A poignant, psychologically rich portrait of fathers and sons, as well as the false promises afforded by the gun-toting life, its about as good as anything Eastwoods ever done.

2. Unforgiven





Eastwood won his first Best Director Oscar for this modern classic (the film took home four statuettes in total, including Best Picture) about an aging gunslinger reluctantly forced back into the killing business. Elegiac and self-critical, it masterfully straddles a line between providing the guns-a-blazing goods and exposing the awful emptiness of such murderous action  all while boasting standout performances from Best Supporting Actor-winning Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman, Richard Harris, and the filmmaker himself.

1. The Outlaw Josey Wales





Eastwoods second directorial stab at a Western remains, 42 years after its 1976 release, his greatest achievement. A gorgeous, thrilling frontier saga, it allows him to imbue his Man With No Name persona with new depths, as well as question  via his characters relationship with a surrogate family, this after his own clan was killed by pro-Union baddies  the shoot-first worldview that had defined so many of his prior beloved characters. Its a revisionist genre film with few equals.

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When Amy McGrath, now a candidate for Congress, was 10 years old, she decided that when she grew up, she wanted to be a naval aviator and land on aircraft carriers. The one problem: At the time, a law prohibited women from flying fighter jets in combat missions. So McGrath wrote letters to her legislators on the armed services committees.

While her representative responded with a fairly condescending note that basically said, Youre a girl, and Congress doesnt believe that women should be doing these things, she soon found an advocate in former Rep. Patricia Schroeder, D-Colo., with whom the young McGrath became transfixed after watching her on C-SPAN.

As McGrath recalled in a video at the 2018 MAKERS Conference, Schroeder, who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1973 to 1997, wrote, The military of our nation exists to fight and win the nations wars. And we should have the best people in those positions. Stick to your dreams. Im working on it.

(Photo: Screenshot from MAKERS)

Photo: Screenshot from MAKERS

That she did. In 1993, the combat exclusion policy was lifted  and in 2002, while deployed in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom, McGrath became the first female Marine ever to fly an F-18 during a military conflict.

She credits Schroeder, now 77, as being partially responsible for helping her achieve her childhood ambitions. And on Tuesday, at the three-day conference of the feminist media brand  the pair met for the first time.





Completely shocked by the encounter, which was a surprise, McGrath exclaimed, Oh my god and Holy s*** multiple times upon meeting her childhood champion.

So why did Schroeder respond to McGraths letter in the first place? Well, I felt it was terribly important to do that, especially for young women. Because there really were no role models. I thought about when I grew up, what were my role models? Cinderella? No. I didnt fit that, Schroeder revealed in an interview with Tim Armstrong, CEO of Oath. (Full disclosure: Yahoo Lifestyle is a subsidiary of Oath, which also owns MAKERS.)

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While Schroeder served as a hero of sorts to McGrath, the former Marine is hoping to be an exemplar for a new generation of young people. Which is why, after serving in the armed forces for years, the retired lieutenant colonel is now running for Congress as a Democrat in Kentucky.

I feel like Ive been blessed, and I have to give back. I have to earn it, McGrath said about wanting to continue to serve, albeit in a different capacity. We need people that want to be public servants again and do these sort of things.

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South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowed on Friday to improve frayed ties between the US allies, both of them threatened by nuclear-armed North Korea.

Abe had previously hinted he might skip Friday's opening ceremony for the South's Pyeongchang Winter Olympics as the two nations continue to lock horns over the emotional issue of former wartime sex slaves.

The issue of women forced into sexual slavery for Japanese troops during World War II has marred relations between the neighbours for decades.

Park Geun-Hye, Moon's ousted predecessor, struck a deal in 2013 with Tokyo under which Seoul promised not to raise the issue again and Japan paid 1 billion yen ($8.9 million) to a foundation dedicated to supporting the victims.

The agreement, in which Tokyo fell short of taking legal responsibility, angered some victims and after taking office Moon condemned the deal as a "wrongful" solution and urged Japan to make a "heartfelt apology".

In a meeting ahead of the Olympics opening ceremony -- the third between the two heads of state -- Moon expressed a desire to improve ties but stressed a need to "confront the history".

"Like I've said many times, I am hoping... to seek future-oriented bilateral cooperation by joining wisdom and strength with you while we confront the history," Moon said.

Abe agreed on the importance of building a "forward-looking relationship" but stressed that "a promise" made between the nations should be respected as a "cornerstone of the bilateral relationship."

He also voiced concerns over the North's nuclear threats but warned that "dialogue for the sake of dialogue is meaningless", Abe's office said.

Many South Koreans remain bitter about abuses under Japan's ruthless 1910-45 colonial rule -- including the issue of the wartime sex slaves, also known as "comfort women."

Most Japanese feel they have atoned enough for the country's wartime aggression, including the comfort women issue, after numerous apologies and statements on the war.
Rep. Blake Farenthold allegedly told one aide that he has "wet dreams" and "sexual fantasies" about another female aide. (Photo: Bill Clark via Getty Images)

WASHINGTON  House lawmakers celebrated themselves this week for passing a bill that cracks down on sexual harassers in Congress. But they have an alleged harasser in their midst who is trying to quietly slip by: Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Texas).

Farenthold spent $84,000 in taxpayer money to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit by a former female aide three years ago. Details of this settlement werent public until early December 2017, at which point the congressman said he would retire at the end of 2018 and would immediately repay the money to the Treasury Department. He never sent the check.

By late January, his office said he was waiting to see what changes the House makes to the Congressional Accountability Act before repaying the funds. On Tuesday, the House passed a bill to strengthen that law, which provides workplace protections in Capitol Hill offices. But now his office says hes waiting to see if the Senate passes the bill, if the president signs it, and if this theoretical new law will inspire him to pay up.

He is waiting on the advice of counsel to see what final bill is enacted, Bob Haueter, Farentholds chief of staff, told HuffPost on Wednesday. Once the final bill is done and the law is changed and is complete and he can see that, he will make a determination of how he proceeds.

By all appearances, this is a case of a GOP congressman ridiculously moving the goalposts to avoid paying back tens of thousands of dollars before he leaves at the end of the year. The House bill has no bearing on Farentholds situation  it is not retroactive  and there is nothing to prevent him from cutting a check today.

Hes not hard up for money, either. The guy is worth millions of dollars.

HuffPost asked if Farenthold would repay the $84,000 after he leaves office, in the event the president does not sign a law this year relating to Congress sexual harassment policies.

I guess well have to look at that, how it occurs, said Haueter. At this point in time, right now, hes expecting Congress to act.

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Its a wonder that Farenthold is still in Congress at all. Several of his colleagues have recently resigned in disgrace amid allegations of sexual misconduct. At a time when the #MeToo movement is driving powerful, high-profile sexual harassers out of their jobs, its hard to imagine someone in the private sector not being punished for the kind of behavior Farenthold has been accused of.

His former spokeswoman Lauren Greene said in legal documents that Farenthold told another aide that Greene could show her nipples whenever she wanted to and that he had sexual fantasies and wet dreams about her. She describes the congressman as often being drunk and flirtatious at work, complaining of a sexless marriage and telling her a story about a female lobbyist propositioning him for a threesome.

Two other Farenthold aides complained in 2016 of a toxic work environment. One described staffers talking about male lobbyists sending them pictures of their genitals and other staffers making lewd comments about female reporters breast size.

The Texas congressman said he's "done nothing wrong." He's just not running for re-election. (Photo: Tom Williams via Getty Images)

Ive done nothing wrong, Farenthold has said. He points to a 2015 finding by the independent Office of Congressional Ethics that there was not substantial reason to believe he had violated House rules. But the House Ethics Committee disagreed and began its own investigation in September 2015. The committee has been looking into his behavior ever since, beset by delays because key witnesses wouldnt come forward.

That changed in December 2017, when Greene agreed to cooperate. The ethics committee announced a new investigative subcommittee to look into whether Farenthold sexually harassed other members of his staff, used official money for campaign purposes, and lied or omitted details in previous testimony to the committee. Its not clear how long this investigation will take or whether it will be done before Farenthold retires.

In the meantime, Republican leaders appear fine with Farenthold keeping his job  and his taxpayer-funded salary  for the rest of the year. That leaves GOP lawmakers in the awkward position of having to defend Farenthold through the midterm elections. Its already creating problems for his colleagues trying to tout their newfound zero-tolerance policy for sexual harassment on Capitol Hill.

Today is a great day for America, Rep. Gregg Harper (R-Miss.) beamed at a Tuesday press event after the House passed his bill to require lawmakers to personally pay for any sexual harassment settlements. This is the greatest place I believe that anybody could ever work, whether youre a member or a staffer. ... We want to ensure that that protection is here for everybody.

Nearly all of the reporters questions were about Farenthold.

The legislation that we passed, unfortunately, is not retroactive, Harper said. Its up to each individual member that might have been in that situation to determine whether they will or wont [repay the government].

Asked if it sat right with him that a Republican colleague hadnt paid back sexual harassment settlement money, Harper said only, He said he was going to pay it back. When will he do that? I dont know.

Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), a leading voice in the push to crack down on sexual harassment on Capitol Hill, said part of the reason that Farenthold is seemingly getting away with bad behavior is that the House Ethics Committee needs to be reformed, too.

Its not a place where you send difficult, thorny member issues, she said.

But another problem is that House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) hasnt demanded that Farenthold repay the $84,000 immediately or compelled him to resign.

They have the ability to force it, Speier said of GOP leadership. Blake Farenthold has to be, I think, cajoled, embarrassed, pressured by all of us to pay the money back. We had a situation on the Democratic side, we pressured members to resign, and they did.

Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong said the speaker has pressed Farenthold to repay the money.

Rep. Farenthold told the speaker he would be paying the settlement back, and we have since repeatedly stated he should pay it back, Strong said.

Chalk it up to Ryan not being firm enough with a member of his caucus or to Farenthold simply not caring. Whatever the reason for the inaction, some lawmakers say Farentholds behavior is eroding the dignity of the House itself.

It undermines the integrity of our institution, said Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.). Why should taxpayers be paying for anyones sexual misconduct? He said he would repay it at the end of the week in December? Thats a hell of a long week.

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Immigration activist Ravi Ragbir leads a protest outside of a federal building in New York, U.S., Feb. 1, 2018. (Photo: Lucas Jackson / Reuters)

A well-known immigrant rights activist who was on the cusp of being deported this week has filed a lawsuit that allows him to stay in the U.S., for now.

Ravi Ragbir, executive director of the immigrant advocacy group New Sanctuary Coalition, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials in January during a routine check-in with the agency. Whats more, ICE sent him to a detention center more than 1,000 miles away in Florida. Ragbir was released more than two weeks later after Manhattan federal Judge Katherine Forrest called ICEs decision unnecessarily cruel.

Despite his release, Ragbir was still scheduled for deportation for Saturday, Feb. 10. A suit filed Wednesday by Ragbir and other pro-immigration groups in federal court accuses ICE of targeting activists. For instance, Jean Motrevil, a co-founder of New Sanctuary Coalition, was deported Jan. 16 by ICE and sent to Haiti.

The lawsuit also discusses Ragbirs time while in custody with ICE.

[Ragbirs] movements were restricted and monitored, while in custody, according to the complaint. Contact with his wife and his counsel was extremely limited, particularly while detained in Florida. He was unable to receive calls at all, nor could he make outgoing calls unless funds were placed in his phone account.

The lawsuit adds that ICE officers knew that Ragbir was an activist.

On Thursday, a federal court agreed to halt Ragbirs upcoming deportation while his case is considered. Saturday will now be a check-in for the activist instead.

Like so many people who are living in this country under the threat of deportation, I know how important it is to raise our voices against the injustices in the system, Ragbir said in a statement. This lawsuit is not just about me, it is about all of the members of our community who are speaking out in our struggle for immigrant rights.

Ragbir, along with other community organizers, plans to hold a rally outside of ICE offices in New York City on Saturday to help hand-deliver a message of love for all immigrants.

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Updated| Omarosa Manigault Newman, who briefly served as an aide at the Donald Trump White House before returning to her career in reality TV, told a Celebrity Big Brother castmate that he should be worried and that things will not be OK with Trump in the Oval Office.

In a new clip from the series shared by CBS on Thursday, Omarosa (who is commonly known only by her first name) is seen speaking to castmate Ross Mathews in hushed tones about her time working under Trump. I was haunted by tweets, like, every single day, she said as she wiped away tears to dramatic background music. Like, what is he going to tweet next?

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Mathews asked Omarosa if anyone was around to keep the presidents tweets in check.

I mean, I tried to be that person, she whispered to the cameras. But the people around him attacked me. It was like, Keep her away, dont give her access, dont let her talk to him.

She identified Trump's daughter Ivanka and son-in-law, Jared Kushnerboth of whom serve as senior advisers to the presidentas the people who tried to keep her away. Omarosa told Mathews that she wants to wipe her hands of the whole ordeal because it is no longer her "circus, but that she cant allow herself to step away completely because its bad.

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When Mathews asked her to reassure him that things would be OK, Omarosa couldn't do so.

Its not going to be OK, its not, she said. Its so bad.

White House spokesperson Raj Shah said Thursday that Trump administration did not take Omarosa's comments seriously. "Omarosa was fired three times on The Apprentice, and this was the fourth time we let her go," he said.

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Omarosa rose to fame as a contestant on Trump's own reality show, The Apprentice. In 2010, the two collaborated to create a short-lived dating show called The Ultimate Merger. That friendship also landed her a plum job inside his White House before she left in a flurry of scandal in December. After her departure, Omarosa hinted at a tell-all book and promptly joined the cast of CBSs Celebrity Big Brother.

Earlier this week, Omarosa, who served as assistant to the president and director of communications for the Office of Public Liaison, teased that her short time at the White House had prepared her for her return to reality TV.

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Getty Images

There's a lot of people that want to stab me in the back, kind of similar to the White House, she said, comparing her castmates to the Trump administration officials who assist the president in running the federal government.

Updated to include comment from the White House.

This article was first written by Newsweek

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By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Amtrak Chief Executive Officer Richard Anderson will testify next week before a U.S. House of Representatives panel on the adoption of anti-crash technologies in the wake of a number of fatal accidents involving the U.S. passenger railroad.

An Amtrak spokesman said Anderson will appear on Feb. 15 before a House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee panel.

The committee said it would hear from Amtrak, federal agencies, private rail operators, public transit and labor to discuss efforts to implement an anti-crash technology called positive train control, or PTC, that could have prevented numerous train accidents.

Anderson, a former Delta Air Lines CEO, was named president and co-CEO of Amtrak in June and took over as sole CEO on Jan. 1.

Congress mandated the implementation of PTC nationwide by the end of 2015, then extended that deadline until the end of 2018, but many railroads are lagging. PTC is designed to prevent derailments and crashes caused by excessive speed.

Anderson said on Sunday that Amtrak is a leader in adding PTC and is pushing government leaders "to fully support the PTC deadline."

Amtrak has faced a number of challenges, including safety concerns and proposed funding cuts. The railroad has been involved in three high-profile fatal crashes since December, though Anderson said Amtrak is not to blame for two.

On Sunday, Amtrak blamed a crash in South Carolina on CSX Corp, which owns and operates the tracks where a switch was padlocked in a position that steered an Amtrak train onto a siding where it crashed into an unoccupied CSX train, killing two people and injuring more than 100.

In November, the National Transportation Safety Board criticized what it called Amtraks weak safety culture after finding that unsafe conditions led to an Amtrak train's striking a backhoe working on tracks in Pennsylvania, killing two maintenance workers.

On Tuesday, two cars separated on a high-speed Acela train in Maryland without injury. Amtrak said inspection of all Acela trains found no defects.

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Last week, an Amtrak train carrying Republican lawmakers struck a garbage truck in Virginia that had driven around safety gates.

In December, an Amtrak train derailed near Seattle, killing three. The engineer told investigators he misread a signal shortly before the incident.

In December, U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao urged railroads and transit agencies to take action to meet PTC deadlines. Since then, Federal Railroad Administration officials have held meetings with top officials at about 30 railroads and transit agencies.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Leslie Adler)
Vice Admiral Phillip G. Sawyer has come a long way from his hometown of Phoenix, Ariz., to command Americas largest forward-deployed maritime force, the U.S. Navys 7th Fleet based in Japan.

Its a tough job at a tense time in the Asia Pacific. The Trump administration is zeroing in on strategic competition from what it calls revisionist powers China and Russia, while North Korea poses an escalating threat to the U.S. and its regional allies.

Even as demands increased, the Navy faced its own tragedies last year, when two warship collisions resulted in the deaths of 17 sailors and an estimated $500 million in damages. Investigators determined that the accidents involving the USS Fitzgerald and the USS John McCain, both Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, were preventable. Sawyer assumed command after his predecessor was dismissed in the wake of the collisions.

In late January, TIME traveled to the 7th Fleets headquarters in Yokosuka, near the outskirts of Tokyo, to speak with Sawyer about the Navys combat credibility and the challenges waiting on the Pacific horizon.

What is the immediate challenge you face now that youve taken on the job?

Since the 1990s, our number of operational units has gone steadily down while our operational demand signal has increased. So our job at large is to be able to prioritize what we can do based on the supply of people and ships that I have. There is an insatiable demand for the United States military, and in my case the U.S. Navy. People, organizations will always want more than we can provide, thats just a fact of life.

When we talk about strategic waterways around here, this is what weve been doing for decades. I would argue that economic development out here in the Pacific has been largely underwritten by the U.S. Navy. We have been able to provide regional stability and security since the end of World War II, and that security and stability has enabled the countries out here to focus internally on their own economic and populace development. We have many alliances and many partners out here and thats a good spot to be in.

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Read more: President Trumps New Defense Strategy Is a Return to the Cold War

Are those alliances as strong as they used to be?



I look at this from a purely Naval standpoint. When we talk about alliances, were talking about Navy-to-Navy engagement with our allies  South Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Thailand and Australia. We have a very, very robust working relationship and exercise relationship with those countries. So from my viewpoint as a Naval officer, I think those alliances continue and they get better and better. Theres always gonna be some twists and turns in any relationship. But from my viewpoint I consider them strong allies. Its where our objectives overlap that strengthen us and allow us to work together.

The

Hannah at the dock before embarking on the four day voyage, May 7, 2016.

The

Approaching the Philippine controlled Flat Island (aka Patag Island) in the South China Sea, May 8, 2016.

A soldier takes a dip in the water off the Philippine controlled Flat Island, May 8, 2016.

Seven Filipino soldiers walk with their dogs along the shoreline of Flat Island, May 8, 2016.

A Statue of Our Lady of Fatima in one of the buildings on Flat Island May 8, 2016.

A gun rests in one of the buildings that houses the soldiers living on Flat Island, May 8, 2016.

A Chinese boat is seen off the coast of Flat Island, May 8, 2016.

A soldier stands by binoculars , used for monitoring passing vessels off the coast of Flat Island, in the South China Sea, May 8, 2016.

A soldier outside one of the two buildings on Flat Island, May 8, 2016.

Soldiers play basketball on Nanshan Island (aka Lawak Island) another of the Spratly Islands, May 8, 2016.

Birds on Nanshan Island, May 8, 2016.

Soldiers in the kitchen area on Nanshan Island, May 8, 2016.

The lights of boats are seen from the coral reef of Nanshan Island, May 8, 2016.

A tuna fishing boat from General Santos City in Mindanao, gives the

Hannah waits for coordinates from the adjacent fishing boat, for the location of the Sierra Madre, May 9, 2016.

Dawn over the South China Sea, May 10, 2016.

View of the South China Sea on route back to Rizal, Palawan, Philippines, May 10, 2016.

Can you keep the South China Sea free and open?



In the foreseeable future I dont see the sea-lanes closing down. Its not just about our interests  youve got Vietnam, Thailand, all the ASEAN countries, we all have the same stake in this  the amount of merchandise, global trade, commerce that goes through there is huge. So I dont see anybody trying to close down the South China Sea. Many of our actions there are in furtherance of international norms, standards and laws. Thats why we continue to sail, fly and operate everywhere international law allows. So I dont even see that as a possibility that the South China Sea would be closed to free trade.

The National Defense Strategy that came out recently talks about China being a strategic competitor. I think its important to recognize that the military is just one part of government. Youve got diplomatic, economic and other aspects of our government that come into play throughout the world. I think those aspects are equally if not more important on a day-to-day basis than the military. I provide space and options for our leadership well before they want to call me in. I recognize there have been territorial issues in the South China Sea that many would argue are not in compliance with international law. Thats a valid description. But I dont see anyone trying to close down the international waterways as we see them.

Read more: Inside the International Contest Over the Most Important Waterway In the World

How concerned are you about Chinese militarization in the South China Sea?

Well, I think even [Chinese President] Xi Jinping said they were not going to militarize these islands on the South China Sea. He said it on the South Lawn of the White House, if Im not mistaken.

We do see progress being made, buildings being constructed and other things. Theyve come out and said what they will not do, so at the government level we need to check their homework and make sure they abide by their commitments.

What can you do if they dont abide by those commitments?

We want to resolve these issues diplomatically. Id push that to the State Department and see what they could do. From a military standpoint, Im a hammer if youve got a nail. Im one tool, but there are many that can be used before you want to use the hammer. Were not even close to a conflict out here, in particular with China. They dont want to go to war with me, and the United States doesnt want to go to war with China. That said, my job is to be ready with whatever our government needs.

What are the lessons to be learned from the two tragic collisions last year?

I think its important to recognize that the accidents, while they were tragic, were also preventable. We should not forget as we move forward that we lost 17 sailors lives, and thats one of the motivators for getting things right. As a military leader, the treasures we have are the sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, the nieces and nephews of the American populace. Theres a covenant; families provide their treasure to us as a military, and our job is to defend the homeland and to make sure we take care of the people that are entrusted to us. Thats critically important.

We didnt get here overnight, therefore the important part is accurately identifying causes and the right corrective actions. What Im doing with my team out here in the very near term on those things that I can uniquely control, is scheduling; making things deliberate and predictable, to make sure we carve out time for maintenance, training and certification.

The USS John C. Stennis and USS Ronald Reagan conduct operations in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations on June 18, 2016.

In the event of war with North Korea, whats the scale of conflict that you need to be prepared for?

My goal is to be ready for anything from a natural disaster like a typhoon, all the way to the highest end of kinetic warfare that you can envision. Thats what Im paid for. If I dont focus on the highest levels of warfare, youre not getting your moneys worth out of me. By focusing on the highest levels, I can accomplish anything less than that. Were ready, if our nation calls.

What would be the role of the 7th Fleet in nuclear warfare?

I dont really have a role in nuclear conflict, which is up to Strategic Command in Nebraska and our leadership back in D.C. I dont envision a nuclear conflict at any time in the foreseeable future. I just dont think thats a plausible scenario.

When the false alarm was sent out in Hawaii, where were you and what went through your mind?

I was actually traveling that day to Hawaii. I found out just after the fact, I certainly understand the angst it caused.

If the alarm were real, what would have happened?

Well, without getting into classified information, there are procedures. Clearly, if the U.S. was attacked, it changes whatever I had planned to do that day.
A tractor pulling ski-mounted camp trailers in the 1002 area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge during seismic exploration in February 1984. (Photo: US Fish and Wildlife Service)

In the winters of 1984 and 1985, exploration crews representing more than 20 oil companies set out to evaluate the reserves contained in Alaskas remote Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Heavy tracked vehicles and ski-mounted trailers crisscrossed the snow-covered terrain conducting seismic surveys, a process that involves sending sound waves into the ground to pinpoint deposits of crude oil and natural gas.

These tests found an estimated 9 billion barrels of recoverable oil in the 1.5 million-acre coastal plain, also known as the 1002 area. But they also left lasting scars on the tundra  seismic trails that are still visible more than 30 years later. Now, scientists and environmentalists fear the refuge will face a second round of damage as the Trump administration works to lift restrictions on seismic exploration in the refuge.

Michael Wald, an outdoorsman who has been guiding wilderness trips in Alaska since 1991, told HuffPost that trails are still easily spotted from the air and serve as a symbol, a visual reminder, of the lasting impact and the fragility of the tundra.

Aerial images of a seismic trail made in the winter of 1985 in the 1002 area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, near Simpson Cove. The image on the left was taken in July 1985. The image on the right was taken in July 2007  22 years after the disturbance. (Photo: US Fish and Wildlife Service)

In 1980, Congress passed the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, which expanded the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to more than 19 million acres, but opted not to give wilderness protection status to area 1002 because of its potential for future oil and gas development. The law also tasked the Interior Department with studying both the biology and geology of the area, which culminated in a lengthy report to Congress in 1987 that found an orderly oil and gas leasing program for the entire 1002 area can be conducted in concert with Americas environmental goals.

Commonly referred to by its acronym, ANWR, the refuge is home to polar bears, caribou, moose and hundreds of species of migratory birds. Republicans have advocated for opening ANWRs coastal plain for oil drilling for decades, without success. But late last year, GOP lawmakers passed a tax bill that included a measure from Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) requiring Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to approve at least two lease sales in the coastal plain.

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The Trump administration has also made opening the refuge a priority, part of its relentless push for fossil fuel-based energy dominance.

Oil production could be years off, if it happens at all. A key first step toward drilling, however, would likely be granting permits for new seismic surveys to give the industry better data on the areas potential. That alone has many environmentalists and scientists worried.

Technology has advanced significantly over the last three decades, but todays 3-D seismic surveys require vibrations be much closer together. (Instead of trails that are 3-4 miles apart, as they were in the 1980s, 3-D seismic lines are as close as several hundred feet.) And the impact this method would have on ANWRs plants and soils would likely be much greater, according to a 2001 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services (FWS) report.

The Alaskan tundra is extremely vulnerable, said Vladimir Romanovsky, a permafrost expert and professor of geophysics at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. He noted that simply walking in the same area over and over can change how heat enters the ground in the summer and trigger thawing.

And while there are stricter rules today than in the 1980s for seismic exploration on the tundra, the potential for machines to disrupt surface conditions and degrade permafrost remains.

(Photo: USFWS/Screenshot)

The 1980s exploration affected areas with limited snow cover more than others. As seismic vehicles and tractors traversed the tundra, they disturbed soils and crushed shrubs, sedges and tussocks. In some locations, equipment broke through the insulating vegetation, causing permafrost to thaw, water to pool and changes in plant life. Some of those impacts, FWS wrote in 2014, are expected to persist for decades  though most areas did eventually recover. As of 2009, 5 percent of the original 2,500 miles of trails were thought to still be disturbed, according to a 2010 study led by a FWS botanist.

Future seismic exploration is largely missing from the current conversation, even as Democrats, scientists, environmentalists and a bipartisan group of former Interior Department officials try to stop development in ANWR.

In a November letter to Murkowski and other members of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, the group of former Interior Department officials said that oil exploration and development risks significant damage to this national, cultural and ecological treasure, and it is currently a needless risk, as a glut of oil supply and its low price make economic arguments for risking this incredible resource ring hollow.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service acting director James W. Kurth has instructed the agencys Alaska regional director to update a 1983 rule to once again allow for seismic exploration in the refuge, as The Washington Post first reported in September

A spokesman for FWS told HuffPost that all inquiries related to ANWR are being handled by the Interior Department, which did not respond to requests for comment. Several others involved in long-term monitoring efforts either did not respond or declined to comment.

For Steven Amstrup, who spent 30 years as a federal wildlife biologist in Alaska, seismic exploration in the refuge is most concerning not because of what it could mean for vegetation and aesthetics, but the threat it would pose to endangered polar bears.

To minimize the harm to both the ground and wildlife, seismic exploration is conducted along Alaskas North Slope during the winter months, when this landscape is frozen and largely void of critters. But polar bears maintain a constant presence in the 1002, as it contains important habitat for pregnant mothers to den and give birth.

Females in dens cant just get up and move, Amstrup, now the chief scientist for Polar Bears International, told HuffPost. Its a very critical part of their life cycle and a time when some kind of mechanical disturbance could become a significant disruption to the attention that a female pays to her cubs, or might cause abandonment of cubs. We dont know.

There are ways to mitigate these potential impacts, including using infrared to spot the heat coming from denning bears, says Amstrup. But it would take regulations and a concerted effort. And in an administration that has launched a dramatic rollback of environmental regulations, Amstrup questions whether that is a reasonable expectation.

Wald, the outdoorsman, shares Amstrups concerns about disturbing denning female polar bears. I think thats the real impending, traumatic cost of doing seismic exploration, he said.

The coastal plain is also the main calving ground for the Porcupine caribou herd, a primary food source for the Gwichin people, an indigenous tribe of northern Alaska and Canada.

The below photo, taken in 2006, shows lines from 3-D seismic operations near Alaskas Teshekpuk Lake, located roughly 200 miles west of ANWR. The trails there can be easily spotted on Google Maps.

This 2006 photo shows seismic tracks on the tundra near Teshekpuk Lake, Alaska. (Photo: Subhankar Banerjee)

Alison Kelly, a senior attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Councils land and wildlife program, was involved in an unsuccessful lawsuit filed in 2016 to block the National Park Service from allowing seismic oil and gas exploration in Floridas Big Cypress National Preserve. The nonprofit has since been documenting the impacts of that work, which Kelly describes as extensive and shocking.

We objected. We litigated. We did everything possible, Kelly said. And they still went forward, and it was the disaster that we knew it would be. Despite all of these mitigation measures  which Im sure theyll say they are going to employ in Alaska as well  nonetheless it was all of the impacts to the vegetation, the soil, the hydrology.

Despite being nearly 4,000 miles apart and completely different climates, Kelly sees many similarities between the coastal plain of ANWR and Big Cypress. They are both essential habitat for a diversity of plant and animal life, including many endangered species. And both are being eyed for oil and gas development.

Were talking about ANWR and the Everglades, she said. Those are very sensitive areas, unique areas, that people understand need to be protected.

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An aerial photograph of seismic lines made in ANWR in the winter of 1985 and photographed in the summer of 1985. (Photo: US Fish and Wildlife Service)

The GOP tax bill allows for 2,000 acres of ANWRs coastal plain to be developed above ground with well pads and support facilities. Murkowski has described it as a small portion  just one ten-thousandth of all of ANWR. She said Alaskans have waited decades for the right technologies to come along in order to ensure the environment would remain protected. And she has swung back at accusations that she and other Alaska lawmakers are putting short-term economic gains over environmental protection.

This is not a choice between energy and the environment, she said during a Senate committee hearing in November. We are past that.

Amstrup opposes any oil and gas development in the refuge, arguing that the United States should be weaning itself off of fossil fuels rather than developing them. But if the decision has been made to explore and drill, its important that the public is aware and understands seismic surveys will present perhaps the greatest risk, he said.

As global climate change continues to melt the sea ice upon which polar bears rely for hunting, they are being forced in greater numbers onto the North Slope.

This is one of the things I think we need to be most concerned about as we go forward here, and hope that we can guide those who are directing this to minimize the impacts of this exploration phase, he said.

Seismic vibrator units in the 1002 area in the winter of 1985. (Photo: US Fish and Wildlife Service)

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By Ruma Paul DHAKA (Reuters) - Bangladesh opposition leader and former prime minister Khaleda Zia was jailed on Thursday for corruption but plans to appeal her five-year term, her lawyer said, as thousands of supporters took to the streets to protest her innocence. Khaleda, 72, her son and aides were convicted of stealing 21 million taka ($253,000) in foreign donations received by an orphanage trust set up when she was last prime minister, from 2001 to 2006, lawyers said. "She was given a shorter term considering her health and social status," Judge Mohammad Akhteruzzaman said, as he passed sentence in a packed courtroom amid tight security. Khaleda plans to appeal against her conviction, lawyers said, and is likely to be freed on bail during that process. "We didn't get justice. We'll go to the higher court," Khandker Mahbub Hossain, the leader of Khaleda's legal team, told reporters. After the verdict, Khaleda was escorted to the central jail in the capital, a three-storey red-brick structure with barred windows surrounded by trees, to begin serving her sentence in two rooms set aside for her, jail officials said. Khaleda's son, Tarique Rahman, and four others were jailed for 10 years at the end of a case that lasted nearly 10 years. Khaleda and her Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) say the charges are part of a plot to keep her and her family out of politics. Party leaders said more than 3,500 supporters have been detained over the past few days. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda, both related to former national leaders, have dominated politics in poverty-stricken Bangladesh for more than two decades, and they have nursed a long and bitter rivalry as they . Hasina's Awami League came to power for a second consecutive term after a bloody parliamentary election that was boycotted by Khaleda's party. The renewed tension between them raises the specter of a long, destabilizing spell of unrest for Bangladesh and its economy. Khaleda is due to run in parliamentary polls set for December and can still do so if an appeal is pending. BNP senior leader Ruhul Kabir Rizvi denounced the sentence, calling it "an attempt to eliminate the opponent". Her son Rahman, who lives in exile in London, was convicted in a case of money laundering in 2016. Her party announced a plan for protests on Friday and Saturday against what it called a "biased and compromised" ruling. "This verdict will deepen the countrys existing political crisis and will damage peoples faith in the judiciary," said Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, secretary general of the BNP. Khaleda's conviction "proves that Bangladesh has the rule of law and that no one is above the law," Law Minister Anisul Huq told reporters after the decision. "She can challenge the ruling in the High Court after getting a certified copy of the verdict," he said. "She can also seek bail." Five people were injured when police fired rubber bullets at protesters in the northeastern city of Sylhet, witnesses said. Earlier, police used tear gas to disperse protesters who supported Khaleda, and authorities cut bus and ferry links into the capital and deployed thousands of police to quell unrest. Television broadcast images of motorcycles set on fire. (Reporting by Ruma Paul; Editing by Larry King)
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.
Barbs tragic disappearance from the Stranger Things universe is still a sore point for Canadian barista Abigail Bahnman.

So, when Shannon Purser  who played the ill-fated Barbara Holland on the Netflix sci-fi series  walked into the Vancouver Starbucks where Bahnman works this week, she wrote her a message of support:

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Yes, Bahnman scribbled Barb deserved better onto Pursers cup. Purser shared a snap of the message to Twitter, and its now going viral.

Whenever an actor comes through that I know of and am a big fan of, I like to send them a little message as my way of fangirling silently and not making a scene, Bahnman told HuffPost.

I was definitely not expecting it go blow up and for all of Twitter to see it, she added.

The message went down well on Twitter, where many people referenced the tongue-in-cheek Justice for Barb campaign, which swept the internet following the characters untimely death in the first season of the show.

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Starbucks even got involved:

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Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, the two remaining members, stand accused of murdering two dozen hostages in Syria

The pair were captured by the American-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, reports said. Photograph: Erik de Castro/Reuters

Two British Isis militants implicated in brutal acts of torture and execution, have been captured by US-backed Kurdish fighters in Syria.

The two men, Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, formed part of a group of four fighters nicknamed the Beatles due to their British accents and are allegedly responsible for murdering approximately two dozen hostages in Syria.

Kotey, a 34-year-old convert to Islam who grew up in west London, and 29-year-old Elsheikh, whose family fled to the UK from Sudan in the 1990s, were the only remaining members of the group still at large.

The groups leader, Mohammed Emwazi, nicknamed Jihadi John, was killed in a 2015 airstrike. Emwazi was believed to be the militant responsible for the gruesome beheadings of journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, which were captured on film and distributed in Isis propaganda videos.

The groups fourth member, Aine Davis, was convicted on terror charges last year in Turkey.

The capture was first reported by the New York Times and independently confirmed by the Guardian.

Citing unnamed US officials, the Times reported the two men were captured by the American-backed Kurdish militia the Syrian Democratic Forces, operating south of the Euphrates river, close to the Syria-Iraq border.

Two US officials also confirmed the capture to Reuters. The two men were captured in early January, and US forces were given access to them, one of the officials told the news agency.

Mohammed Emwazi

Emwazi, nicknamed Jihadi John, was the cells most notorious member. He appeared in videos depicting the beheadings of western hostages, including US journalists, Steven Sotloff and James Foley. Born in Kuwait, he moved to Britain as a boy. Emwazi attended state schools in London, then studied computer science at the University of Westminster before leaving for Syria in 2013. He was killed in a 2015 airstrike when aged in his mid-20s.

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Aine Davis

Davis, a former driver and drug dealer, is thought to have converted to Islam shortly after being jailed in the UK in 2006 for possessing a firearm. He prayed at the same west London mosque as Emwazi. Davis, in his mid-30s, took the name Hamza and travelled the Middle East. He is believed to have travelled to Syria in late 2012. He was convicted on terror charges last year in Turkey.

El Shafee Elsheikh

Elsheikhs family fled to the UK from Sudan in the 1990s. He preached from a stall outside Shepherds Bush tube station after being radicalised in a very short space of time. The 29-year-old travelled to Syria in 2012, according to the US state department. It said he had earned a reputation for waterboarding, mock executions, and crucifixions while serving as an Isis jailer.

Alexanda Kotey

Kotey is described as of Ghanaian and Greek-Cypriot background. He was raised as a Greek Orthodox Christian in west London and was a dedicated Queens Park Rangers fan. The 34-year-old, believed to be a father of two, reportedly converted to Islam as a teenager, at which point he met Emwazi. As well as operating as a guard for the Beatles cell, he is alleged to have been responsible for recruiting several British nationals to fight for Isis.

The SDF gave US special forces access to the two men after suspecting they were foreign fighters, the Times reported. Their identities were then confirmed using fingerprints and other biometric measures.

US officials were reportedly made aware of the capture in mid-January. Both men have supplied valuable intelligence to military interrogators about the remaining Isis leadership structure, the Times reported, citing an unnamed official.

According to a state departments terrorist designation, Kotey operated as a guard for the Beatles cell and likely engaged in the groups executions and exceptionally cruel torture methods, including electronic shock and waterboarding.

The state department says Kotey was also responsible for recruiting several British nationals to fight for Isis.

Elsheikh travelled to Syria in 2012, according to the state department, who noted the militant had earned a reputation for waterboarding, mock executions, and crucifixions while serving as an Isis jailer.

The US Department of Defense and the US state department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

British intelligence agencies and Scotland Yards counter-terrorism command have been closely involved in efforts to gather information on Britons who joined Isis.



A spokesperson for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London declined to discuss reports, but notably did not deny them.

The FCO was coordinating the response to media inquiries about the reported capture for UK law enforcement, intelligence agencies and government departments. Such an arrangement would be unusual if the reports were incorrect and indeed the two wanted extremists had not been captured.

A spokeswoman for the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokeswoman said: We do not comment on individual cases or ongoing investigations.

How the two militants might face justice remains unclear. The Times report indicated the two men were not yet in US military custody and the US justice department did not immediately respond to questions over whether they would seek to prosecute the men in federal court.

In a reversal of Obama-era policy, the Trump administration has pushed for accused militants to be remanded in military prison. During his State of the Union address last month Donald Trump announced he had signed an executive order to keep open the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay and opened the door to sending new prisoners to the controversial centre.

I am asking Congress to ensure that in the fight against Isis and al-Qaida we continue to have all necessary power to detain terrorists wherever we chase them down, wherever we find them. And in many cases, for them, it will now be Guantanamo bay, Trump said.

Such a move would likely be met with sharp criticism due to the centres fraught international image.






The California State Lands Commission has warned the Trump administration that it will fight its plan to open up the Pacific coast to new oil and gas drilling operations.

The commission, which controls the entire California coast, voted unanimously Wednesday to issue a letter stating its staunch opposition to the operations and notifying the federal government that it will not issue the pipeline permits drillers would need to bring oil and gas from new offshore platforms to land. It said it would also not allow existing pipelines to be used for new operations.

The catastrophic harm from an offshore oil spill is well-established. ... As a state, California has perhaps the highest risk from an oil spill and the most to lose, reads the commissions letter to the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. Californians are vigorous advocates for their coast, and the prospect of new drilling in coastal waters provokes fierce opposition and sparks outrage.

It is certain that the state would not approve new pipelines or allow use of existing pipelines to transport oil from new leases onshore, the letter says.

The state legislature is also currently considering a bill that would block new pipeline permits.

California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who chairs the lands commission, said the state will use every tool available to block President Donald Trumps cynical, regressive agenda.

I am resolved that not a single drop from Trumps new oil plan ever makes landfall in California, where our leadership in reducing emissions and curbing pollution has enabled exceptional economic growth, he said in a statement.

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The commission hasnt allowed new offshore drilling since 1969, after there was a massive oil spill near Santa Barbara.

The California Coastal Commission, which also reviews coastal use, sent its own letter to the BOEM on Wednesday, in which it called on the federal government to remove California from the list of states it intends to open up to new drilling operations.

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Weve fought similar efforts before, and we will fight them again, said Dayna Bochco, chair of the Coastal Commission. Nothing galvanizes bipartisan resistance in California like the threat of more offshore oil drilling.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said last month that he plans to open nearly 1.7 billion acres of the Outer Continental Shelf to new offshore oil and gas drilling operations.

The BOEM has already proposed six sales of drilling rights off the California coast, and another off Oregon and Washington, between 2020 and 2023.

Officials from a number of coastal states have expressed concern about Zinkes proposal. Zinke said early last month that he was removing Florida from consideration for any new oil and gas platforms because Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) had argued that coastal tourism was crucial for the states economy. (Another Interior official, however, has said Florida could still be up for grabs). Scott is a staunch supporter of Trump.

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California merits the same consideration as Secretary Zinke announced for Florida  removal from the program, Bochco wrote in the Coastal Commissions letter. Californias economy is roughly three times that of Florida. ... If offshore drilling poses a risk to Floridas economy, the risk to California is three times greater.

Protesters gathered Thursday in Sacramento to show their opposition to the administrations drilling proposal before the BOEM held a hearing for public comments on it.

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Californias strategy of not issuing pipeline permits could serve as a blueprint for other states preparing to confront the administration, as the presidents party typically touts states rights.

The California Coastal Commission could also employ the 1969 federal Coastal Zone Management Act. The law gives states the power to review offshore federal and industrial activity that could affect the environment.

Drillers could avoid using pipelines to get their product to shore  by shipping, for example  but it would likely be prohibitively expensive. A similar battle 30 years ago convinced Chevron to scuttle plans to move oil from its Point Arguello fields off Santa Barbara.

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By Prak Chan Thul PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Cambodia's Supreme Court on Friday upheld the conviction of an opposition MP jailed for 2-1/2 years for posting a map on Facebook professing to show the government had ceded territory to Vietnam. Cambodia has for centuries fretted about its much bigger neighbors - Vietnam to the east and Thailand to the northwest - encroaching on its territory. The issue remains emotive and many Cambodians are suspicious of both countries. In 2016, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court in the Cambodian capital had found Um Sam An, of the now dissolved opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), guilty of incitement to cause discrimination and instability when he repeatedly posted "fake" border maps on the social media site. Sam An was also fined $1,000. "The Supreme Court rejects the appeal complaint filed by lawyer Chuong Chou Ngy, who represents Um Sam An, and upholds the verdict by the Appeal Court as valid," Presiding Judge Soeng Panhavuth told the court on Friday. The CNRP was dissolved last year at the request of Prime Minister Hun Sen's government after the arrest of party leader Kem Sokha, who was accused of plotting to take power with American help, charges he says were politically motivated. The U.S. embassy has rejected government accusations as "inaccurate, misleading and baseless" and called for the release of detained opposition leader Kem Sokha. The dissolution of the party has been condemned by Western aid donors who have said the general election in July cannot now be credible. Hun Sen, 65, is expected to win easily. Um Sam An denied the charges against him, saying that as a member of parliament, he had immunity from prosecution. "My detention has been illegal," Um Sam An told the court on Friday. "And as a member of parliament, I have the right to express opinions without being arrested, or fear of being arrested," he said. (Reporting by Prak Chan Thul; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
Ottawa (AFP) - Canada unveiled plans Thursday to speed up environmental reviews of mines, pipelines and dam projects, placing the approval process under a single agency.

The overhaul, which must be approved by parliament, is intended to pare back a welter of environmental review processes that Environment Minister Catherine McKenna said has resulted in "polarization and paralysis," and to restore protections eliminated under the previous Tory administration.

The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada, a new government office created under the plan, would be given sole responsibility for environmental assessments of major resource projects.

Reviews would be required to take no longer than two years.

"The legislation today aims to strengthen Canadians' trust in the way the federal government takes decisions on major projects like mines, pipelines and hydro dams," McKenna said.

She said the changes would "increase investor's confidence, strengthen our economy and create good middle-class jobs."

"It will also make the energy and resource sectors more competitive."

Environmental groups had mixed reactions to the 300-page omnibus bill. The Sierra Club, for example, applauded the "improvement in overall environmental processes" while the World Wildlife Fund said it does not go far enough.

Green Party leader Elizabeth May said in a statement that "the legislation falls far short of returning us to the environmental standards" lost in 2012.

The government estimates that Can $500 billion (US$397) billion in projects are expected to come up for review over the next decade.

The types of impacts studied would be expanded to include long-term health, social and economic effects as well as the environment.

And, projects would have to be consistent with Canada's international climate commitments.

Government monies would be made available for public participation. The public would also be consulted earlier in the process as a means of encouraging consensus.

Decisions would be science-based, but consideration of indigenous knowledge would be mandatory for all reviews.
By David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) - Just one day after signing a $233 million agreement to sell 16 helicopters to the Philippines, the Canadian government on Wednesday ordered a review of the deal amid concerns the aircraft could be used to fight rebels. Trade Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said that the deal - formally signed on Tuesday - had been struck in 2012 on the understanding the helicopters would be used for search-and-rescue missions. Philippine Major-General Restituto Padilla, military chief of plans, told Reuters on Tuesday the helicopters would be used for the military's internal security operations, adding they could also be deployed in search-and-rescue and disaster relief operations. "When we saw that declaration ... we immediately launched a review with the relevant authorities. And we will obviously review the facts and take the right decision," Champagne told reporters, without giving more details. The Bell 412EPI helicopters were due be delivered early next year as the Philippine military prepares to step up operations against Islamist and communist rebels. Philippine Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana initially expressed bemusement at news of Canada reviewing the deal. He later issued a statement that the helicopters would primarily be used for the transporting and supplies, ferrying wounded soldiers and for humanitarian assistance and disaster response. "They are not attack or close support aircraft," Lorenzana said. "While they may be used in support of Internal Security Operations ... their role is limited to those that I mentioned." He added: "Should the Canadian government choose to discontinue their sale of the aircraft to us, then we will procure them from another source." CLEAR REGULATIONS Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, asked later whether he was concerned the helicopters might be used against Filipino citizens, replied "Absolutely." Canada has very clear regulations about to whom it can sell weapons and how they can be used, he said during a question and answer event at the University of Chicago. "We are going to make sure before this deal or any other deal goes through that we are abiding by the rules ... that Canadian governments have to follow," he said. In November, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte publicly criticized Trudeau at a regional summit in Manila for raising questions about his war on drugs, calling it an "official insult", adding that he "would not answer to any other bullshit, especially (from) foreigners". Nearly 4,000 Filipinos have been killed by police in the campaign since June 2016. Human rights groups accuse police of carrying out illegal killings, staging crime scenes and falsifying reports, a charge they deny. "Human rights is a key element of our foreign policy and of our trade policy," said Champagne. In 2016, the Liberal government was criticized for deciding to honor a contract to sell light armored vehicles to Saudi Arabia, despite human rights concerns. Like the helicopter contract, the deal had been arranged by Canada's former Conservative administration. Philippine defense ministry spokesman, Arsenio Andolong, said it was "unfair to equate internal security operations in general with human rights violations" or to cast judgment on the military when allegations were unverified. He did not specify what the allegations or violations were, or who had made them. (Additional reporting by Martin Petty in MANILA; Editing by Peter Cooney, Cynthia Osterman, Michael Perry and Kim Coghill)
Uber's tangled relationship with investors Didi and SoftBank is about to get more complicated after the duo inked an agreement to introduce taxi-hailing services that will compete directly with Uber in Japan.

Didi dominates the Chinese market -- thanks in no small amount to its acquisition of second-placed Uber China -- but this year it has expanded to Brazil via an acquisition and Taiwan via a franchise model, and also moved into bike-sharing and vehicle rentals. Didi has raised nearly $20 billion including a $4 billion round for global expansion which closed in December.

Right now, Didi and SoftBank say they are exploring opportunities. The two companies expect to launch a joint venture in Japan soon with plans to start pilot programs in Osaka, Kyoto, Fukuoka, Tokyo and other locations this year.

"Didi and SoftBank will diligently study local market conditions and policies, and will actively engage with industry practitioners, policymakers and other stakeholders, with the aim of building an open and inclusive platform that will be available to all of Japans taxi operators," the Chinese firm said in an announcement.

The focus is on taxi drivers and taxi operator firms because peer-to-peer ride services are not legal in Japan. Indeed, Uber works with licensed chauffeurs and licensed taxi drivers in Japan, but the U.S. firm hasn't cracked the market like it has in other countries.

Line, the messaging app company, has been the most successful new entrant with its Uber-like ride-hailing service, but Japanese taxi companies have adapted to the competition by bringing on-demand features their services, as the Financial Times recently reported.

Indeed, the competition is heating up. Toyota said today it will invest 7.5 billion JPY -- $68 million -- in taxi firm Nihon Kotsu's tech division to develop an on-demand service for passengers and drivers.

The link between Uber and Didi brings another wrinkle to the complicated relationship between ride-sharing firms and their investors. SoftBank recently became Uber's largest shareholder after it completed a drawn-out $7.7 billion investment in Uber, which included a $1.1 billion direct investment, and yet it has also backed Didi via its Delta Fund, a $5 billion sister vehicle to its massive $100 billion Vision Fund.

Then there's Didi, which is also an Uber shareholder after picking up equity following its acquisition of Uber's China business.

Complications and conflicts are nothing new. SoftBank has backed Uber rivals Ola and Grab, and it even considered a stake in Lyft. Now, however, those relationships are moving into new levels of complication when SoftBank and Didi directly create a new competitor in a market where Uber is present.
With President Donald Trump singling out the communist and socialist dictatorships in Cuba and Venezuela in his State of the Union address and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson using his first trip to Latin America to rally regional support for tougher measures against Venezuela, the Trump administration is clearly signaling its intention to escalate diplomatic and economic pressure on the authoritarian regime of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela.

There is no other course. The Maduro regimes intransigence, its systematic destruction of democracy, and its epic economic malpractice are creating not only a humanitarian nightmare within Venezuela, but a migration crisis that threatens the stability of it neighbors, including Colombia and nearby Caribbean islands.

Pressing forward on a strategy of increased sanctions and multilateral pressure is right, but at the same time the Trump administration cannot delink Venezuela and Cuba, for there will be no resolution in Venezuela without addressing the pernicious influence of the Castro regime in fortifying Maduros grip on power and rooting out any internal opposition to the breakdown of democratic order.

Today, the penetration of Venezuela by thousands of Cuban operatives is complete. While it remains difficult to quantify the exact numbers, according to a Brookings Institution report, Cuban intelligence operatives and military advisors in Venezuela range from hundreds to thousands. Organization of American States Secretary General Luis Almagro puts the number at 15,000, likening them to an occupation army from Cuba in Venezuela.

Certainly, there is nothing new to the incestuous Venezuela-Cuba relationship. What is new is the Maduro regimes increasing brazenness in pursuing an uncompromising survival strategy straight out of the Castro playbook: ever-more reliance on repression to maintain control, while driving the discontented out of the country. Cubas fingerprints are all over this human tragedy.

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So what more can the Trump administration do to hold Cuba accountable? The United States already maintains an embargo on most commercial activity with Cuba and the U.S. embassy there is running on a skeleton staff due to the health attacks on U.S. diplomats. Yet, there are options that would raise the costs to the Castro regime for its destructive role in Venezuela, for which it has paid no price to date.

Here are some recommendations:

Suspend the working groups between the U.S. and Cuba established by the Obama administration, especially the U.S.-Cuba Law Enforcement Dialogues, which involves intelligence-sharing on counterterrorism, counternarcotics, and other criminal activity. Cuban President Raul Castro desperately craves legitimacy through these meetings, even as common sense screams out about their utter incongruity. Expand U.S. drug investigations in Venezuela to Cuban officials based there. Venezuela is a full-blown narco-state, with numerous high-ranking officials implicated in facilitating drug shipments from Colombia through Venezuela and on to the United States and Europe. Given Cubas intimate standing in Venezuela, it defies belief that some Cuban officials are not likewise complicit. Oppose Cubas participation in the eighth Summit of the Americas, to be held April 13 and 14 in Lima, Peru. Although there has been no word on Cubas participation, it attended the 2015 summit with the acquiescence of the Obama administration. Cubas ongoing, destructive role in Venezuela merits vociferous opposition on the part of the United States this time around. Target Cubans operating in Venezuela with sanctions. In its first year, the Trump administration sanctioned more than two dozen Venezuelan officials for narcotrafficking, assaults against democracy, and human right abuses. It should extend those sanctions to Cuban officials in Venezuela. While they are not likely to have assets in the United States to be frozen or visas to be withdrawn, sanctions would target their dealings with entities that come into contact with the U.S. financial system. Secondly, the stigma of U.S. sanctions is a powerful psychological tool, especially when targets are named and shamed before the Venezuelan people. To raise the economic costs to Cuba, reactivate Title IV of the 1996 Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (Libertad) Act, which denies U.S. visas to foreign persons profiting from confiscated property in Cuba claimed by U.S. nationals. In 22 years, the provision has only been invoked a handful of times. Reintroducing this threat will have a chilling effect on the Castro regimes effort to lure foreign investment in its tourism industry, the Cuban militarys cash cow. Return Cuba to the official list of state sponsors of terrorism. The Obama administration removed Cuba for purely political purposes to facilitate its normalization process, despite there being no evidence the Castro regime had mended its ways (in fact, the evidence points to the contrary).

There is very little to be optimistic about regarding Venezuela. Some liken it to an out-of-control bus that needs to crash before anything can be done. But that is an abdication of responsibility by those in a position to prevent such a tragedy and a disservice to the Venezuelan people. Moreover, there will be those who claim the United States has no moral authority to act in preventing the destruction of Venezuela. Its very likely, however, that not many of them live there.
Georgey Clooney and David Letterman chat on My Next Guest Needs No Introduction. (Photo: Netflix)

Its only his second Netflix special, but David Lettermans new edition of (deep breath now) My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman already seems to be straining for effect. The guest this time is George Clooney. It starts with the two of them standing outside an In-N-Out Burger joint in Los Angeles, munching burgers and fries  you know, just a couple of regular guys, youre supposed to think. That is, until an In-N-Out employee comes out to give them chocolate milkshakes and they look at him as if this worker was a Martian. The most these two wealthy showbiz fellows can summon in his presence is the idea that maybe one of them should have given the guy a tip. Thats how celebrities look at you or me: Maybe we should give this person a few bucks.

Cut to the interview proper. Clooney comes out onstage, he and Letterman sit down in chairs, Clooney does the obligatory joke about Lettermans beard, referring to this Soggy Bottom Boys thing youve got going, and they ramble on the subject of Clooneys childhood, with a fair amount of Lettermans childhood thrown into the bargain. Its nothing you havent heard if youve ever seen Clooney profiled, or read a Letterman interview, but heres the thing: To each other, this is all new material, because Clooney and Letterman live inside their separate fame bubbles, so Lettermans never heard the Clooney stories about all the bad TV acting gigs he had before ER made him a star, and Clooney hasnt heard Letterman talk about how his mom was emotionally withholding. Basically, watching all this on Netflix, youre waiting for them to get these niceties out of the way to dig down a bit deeper.

Unfortunately, the deeper stuff is also the most tedious stuff. Once the conversation has taken us up to Clooneys marriage to human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, the show cuts to a filmed segment of a visit to Clooneys boyhood home in Lexington, Ky. There, his dad, former broadcaster Nick Clooney, introduces Letterman to Hazim Avdal, whose chyron reads, Iraqi refugee sponsored by the Clooneys. Yes, the elder Clooneys have taken in a nice young man at the bidding of George and Amal, who works with people whose families have been affected by genocidal war. Its a pleasant enough interlude  until theyre all walking down a leafy Kentucky street chatting and Letterman mock-yells at a guy riding on lawn mower. Except its not really a mock yell; he really does want the guy to shut off his motor so they can keep filming. Again: rich and powerful person meets ordinary citizen as alien presence.

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The hour is genial enough, with Clooney professing extravagant love for Amal: I had met someone for whom I would absolutely trade my life for  her life meant more to me than my life, and Id never had that experience before. George talks about the twins he and Amal have, and Letterman chimes in with more tales of parenthood. Clooney starts asking Letterman questions about his childhood, and when he says, People dont know much about you and people are interested in how you became David Letterman, were back to that Celebrities, theyre not like us stuff again, because we have to sit through stuff we already know about Lettermans Midwestern childhood and his early days as a weatherman and comedian.

As I say: affable enough. But if you find yourself getting bored, Ill give you a Netflix tip: Give Babylon Berlin a shot. Its a German crime series  Im only one episode in, but it seems interesting.

My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman is streaming now on Netflix.

Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:
Former Navy Seal Robert O'Neill was part of the team that killed Osama Bin Laden: Getty Images for NFMFS

The US Navy Seal who killed Osama Bin Laden has called Donald Trumps plan for a military parade third world bulls***.

We prepare. We deter. We fight. Stop this conversation, Robert ONeill wrote on Twitter.

The member of the elite Seal Team Six which killed the al Qaeda leader in May 2011 at the compound where he was hiding out in the Pakistani city of Abbotabad, said: A military parade is third world bulls**t.

Mr Trump made the parade request of his military chiefs in late January, after reportedly being impressed by a French Bastille Day parade last year.

"It was one of the greatest parades I've ever seen," he told French President Emmanuel Macron at the time. "We're going to have to try and top it."

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But the idea has been criticised by his rival Democratic Party, who compared the plan to displays of military might organised by autocratic nations.

Retired US Army Major General Paul Eaton also claimed that the parade was about making a display of the military saluting him.

In a statement he said that Mr Trump had authoritarian tendencies and had previously praised Russian leader Vladimir Putin and former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

He added that the armed services should not be reduced to stagecraft to prop up Donald Trumps image.

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It is unclear whether the parade will be able to take place in Washington DC.

There are options and we will explore those and the president will ultimately decide, said Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White, adding that the US Army was taking the lead in creating options for the event.

Her colleague, Colonel Rob Manning added: All options are being considered, including linking the parade to a significant event, perhaps a historical event.

The citys council has also raised concerns that tanks and heavy military equipment would destroy the streets.

Defence Secretary James Mattis said they were putting together some options and well send them to the White House.

It is thought the parade will be linked to a significant event like Veterans Day or the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I.
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Leaders from around the world showed up for Fridays Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea, including U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Supreme Leader of North Korea Kim Jong Un were not among those present.

Or so we thought.

A Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump impersonator were kicked out of Fridays Olympics Opening Ceremony in PyeongChang. (Getty)

OK.

So those guys are clearly not Kim Jong Un and Trump. The pair of nation leaders who have been trading threats of nuclear war for the past year didnt decide to shock the world with a friendly get-together in PyeongChang before getting kicked out for being too rowdy.

If only.

But two dudes did a damn fine job of making it look they did. From the overcompensatingly long red tie to the haircut even a 13-year-old with bad taste wouldnt dare wear, these gentlemen got the attention they so clearly sought out.

It was attention that evidently saw them get the boot from the festivities.

Journalists from prominent media outlets saw the two throughout the PyeongChang Olympic Stadium and shared their excitement and photos on Twitter.

From the Washington Post:

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NPR:

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CNN:

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And The Washington Post again, with video:

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We may never know who these guys really are, but were glad they graced our digital presence to help us get into the Olympic spirit.

h/t @mirror
Davao (Philippines) (AFP) - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday pledged government help to evacuate Filipinos wanting to leave Kuwait, blasting the Gulf state for "inhuman" treatment of migrant workers after reports of a gruesome killing in the country.

Duterte, who last month banned citizens from travelling to Kuwait to work, said 120 workers had died in the country last year and that the body of one Philippine woman had been found stuffed into a freezer in recent days.

Some 252,000 Filipinos work in Kuwait, many as maids, with reports of widespread abuse and exploitation. But it is unclear how many would want to return to the Philippines.

"When will this inhuman treatment of these Filipino workers end?" Duterte told reporters in his home city of Davao, showing the picture of a woman he said had been "roasted like a pig".

"Is there something wrong with your culture? Is there something wrong with your values?" he said, addressing the Kuwaitis.

He added that the government would ask airlines to send planes to help any Filipino workers in Kuwait wanting to return home to leave within 72 hours. He gave no further details.

Duterte has in recent weeks been highly critical of alleged abuse suffered by some of the two million Filipino workers in the Middle East, even threatening a ban on the whole region.

The Filipinos in Kuwait are among 10 million nationals working abroad, whose remittances back home are a major pillar of the poverty-stricken nation's economy.

"Of course we need the help of Kuwait," Duterte conceeded.

Labour Secretary Silvestre Bello said that for Duterte's ban to be lifted, Kuwait must sign a "memorandum of understanding" boosting protection for Filipino workers that had been pending for three years.

Kuwait has faced criticism in the past over its "kafala" system for foreign workers which has been likened to a form of bonded labour or even slavery.

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The system requires the employer's consent before a worker can move to a new job prior to the end of their contract, which critics said resulted in a wide range of abuses.

Duterte's latest threat comes as he faces renewed pressure over human rights in the Philippines.

The International Criminal Court declared earlier this week that it will begin a "preliminary examination" into the charges that Duterte has committed a crime against humanity for allowing the killing of thousands of Filipino drug suspects.
Manila (AFP) - The International Criminal Court is opening an initial probe into allegations of crimes against humanity by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, his spokesman said Thursday, insisting the Philippine leader rejected any accusations of mass murder arising out of his war on drugs.

A Philippine lawyer filed the complaint against Duterte at the world's only permanent war crimes court nearly 10 months ago, alleging his anti-crime crackdown has caused some 8,000 deaths.

The Hague-based tribunal's prosecutor has recently notified the Philippine embassy there it is opening a "preliminary examination" on the case, Duterte spokesman Harry Roque told reporters Thursday.

"We view of course this decision of the prosecutor as a waste of time and resources," Roque said, adding that Duterte holds he merely employed "lawful use of force" against threats to the state and its citizens.

The ICC spokesman contacted by AFP would not confirm the information, and there was no immediate response to AFP's inquiries from the prosecutor's office.

Duterte won a landslide victory in the 2016 elections largely on a pledge to kill tens of thousands of criminals and eradicate drugs in Philippine society.

He has since overseen a crackdown that has left nearly 4,000 drug suspects dead at the hands of the police. The authorities are also investigating more than 2,000 other cases of "drug-related" killings by unknown suspects.

Rights groups put the total number of drug war deaths as at least twice the official figure, many of them committed by shadowy vigilantes.

Police insist they only shot armed suspects in self-defence.

Jude Sabio, the Filipino lawyer behind the suit, told AFP he was "elated" and "vindicated" by the prosecutor's action, adding the court usually threw out many other complaints brought before it.

"This is a big step because finally the system of death squad killings created by Duterte... can be investigated," Sabio said, adding he hoped it would lead to Duterte's arrest.

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But Roque said the Philippine mission will tell the court it has no jurisdiction over the case because the tribunal was intended as a "court of last resort" and the Philippine courts were fully functioning.

"No one should claim a victory because we are only in the stage of preliminary examination," Roque said, accusing the political opposition of being behind Sabio's suit.

"Obviously this is intended to embarrass the president. But the president is a lawyer, he knows what the procedures are. They will fail," said Roque, a former law professor.

But Roque also said Duterte welcomed the development.

"He's sick and tired of being accused of committing crimes against humanity," Roque said.

"The president has said that if need be, he will argue his case personally before the International Criminal Court," the spokesman added.
Cairo (AFP) - Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on Thursday defended the legality of a 2003 maritime agreement with Cyprus to boost gas exploration after his Turkish counterpart called it "null and void".

In 2003 Egypt and Cyprus signed an agreement to set up an exclusive economic zone in the eastern Mediterranean to increase exploration for gas in the area.

Turkey, which has occupied the northern third of Cyprus since 1974, has repeatedly voiced opposition to drilling off Cyprus.

And ties between Cairo and Ankara have been strained since Egypt's army ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

In an interview with a Greek newspaper interview this week, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu dismissed the 2003 agreement between Cairo and Nicosia as "null and void".

Egyptian foreign ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid reacted on Wednesday by warning Turkey against "any attempt to infringe on Egypt's sovereign rights".

And on Thursday Shoukry insisted on the "validity of the accord", in statement to reporters.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkish troops invaded and occupied the northern third of the island in response to a coup sponsored by the military junta then ruling Greece.

The European Union member has been actively searching for gas in the eastern Mediterranean.

But Turkey argues that the breakaway statelet of northern Cyprus it controls has rights to any reserves discovered.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim cautioned the Greek Cypriot government against "one-sided and dangerous" steps.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has also warned global companies to stay away from any energy deal with the Greek Cypriots or lose Ankara's friendship.

Earlier Thursday, Cyprus announced that exploratory drilling by Italy's ENI and France's Total have discovered "extensive" gas reserves off the Mediterranean island.

Energy Minister George Lakkotrypis said the data obtained "demonstrates the existence of an extensive column of pure gas".

Egypt, meanwhile, inaugurated in December the offshore Zohr gas field, said to be the biggest in the Mediterranean and discovered by ENI.
The remaining members at large of a notorious foursome of Islamic State militant group (ISIS) militants, nicknamed after the popular U.K. band "the Beatles" for their British accents, have reportedly been captured by U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters in Syria.

El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey were caught by the Syrian Democratic Forces, a mostly Kurdish Pentagon-backed alliance that included Arabs and ethnic minorities, which handed the pair over to U.S. Special Forces, The New York Times reported Thursday, citing several unnamed U.S. officials. Both men, along with their two colleagues, were named "Specially Designated Global Terrorists" by the State Department for participating in torture and execution on behalf of ISIS, which once laid claim to about half of Iraq and Syria at the group's height in 2014.

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"El Shafee Elsheikh traveled to Syria in 2012, joined al-Qaidas (AQ) branch in Syria, and later joined ISIS. In May 2016, Elsheikh was identified as a member of the ISIS execution cell known as 'The Beatles,' a group accused of beheading more than 27 hostages and torturing many more. Elsheikh was said to have earned a reputation for waterboarding, mock executions, and crucifixions while serving as an ISIS jailer," the State Department wrote last March.

As a fellow member of the "the Beatles," the State Department wrote last January that "Kotey likely engaged in the groups executions and exceptionally cruel torture methods, including electronic shock and waterboarding. Kotey has also acted as an ISIL recruiter and is responsible for recruiting several UK nationals to join the terrorist organization," using an alternative acronym for ISIS.

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Elsheikh, 29, was born in Sudan and fled with his family to the U.K. in the 1990s before ultimately leaving for Syria, while 34-year-old Kotey was born in London as a member of the Greek Orthodox faith before converting to Islam as a teenager.

The group's ringleader, Kuwait-born former computer programmer Mohammed Emwazi, was nicknamed "Jihadi John" and was best known for being the suspected executioner in ISIS propaganda videos depicting the violent deaths of U.K. aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning, U.S. aid worker Abdul-Rahman Kassig and U.S. journalists Steven Sotloff and James Foley. Like all three of his comrades, Emwazi had resided in West London. He was killed in a U.S. airstrike in 2015.

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The fourth "Beatle" was London-born Aine Davis. He traveled to Syria in 2013, but reportedly snuck out and was arrested by Turkish authorities outside of Istanbul in 2015. Last May, he was jailed by a Turkish court for being a senior ISIS member.

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In the years since the four men entered Syria, ISIS has suffered widespread losses at the hands of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces as well as the Syrian military, backed by Russia, Iran and various pro-Syrian government militias. The Syrian government and its allies declared victory over ISIS last November after retaking the group's final city of Deir Ezzor and final town of Al-Bukamal near the Iraqi border. The jihadis continue to put up resistance, however, in small pockets of influence in the east and in northern Hama province.

Syria, Russia and Iran have criticized the U.S. military for its presence in the country, accusing it of hampering their efforts to defeat ISIS and other insurgent groups, some of which the U.S. previously supported to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The U.S. has said it will stay in Syria to support the Syrian Democratic Forces battling what was left of ISIS, but will not support Kurdish fighters attempting to resist a Turkish invasion supported by rebels in the northwestern district of Afrin.

This article was first written by Newsweek

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As the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt chooses his words carefully, especially on the subject of climate change.

A longtime opponent of environmental regulation, Pruitt has to acknowledge that climate change exists to avoid legal problems that could arise from dismissing agency-approved science, but he has also sought to cast doubt on the need to fight it.

His latest argument: Climate change is happening, but it might actually be good for the planet and the human race  an argument that contradicts virtually all mainstream scientists who study the issue.

In January, he told Reuters that the climate is changing but asked how do we know what the ideal surface temperature is in 2100? And last week he told the New York Times that its pretty arrogant for people in 2018 to say we know what the ideal surface temperature should be in 2100.

This represents a new line of argument for Pruitt as well as the broader climate change skeptic community. During his confirmation hearings as EPA head last year, Pruitt acknowledged climate change and focused his skepticism on the the degree to which humans were contributing.

The evidence that man-made climate change is occurring is overwhelming in the scientific literature and has been affirmed by government agencies including the EPA. That reality has put right-wing groups that deny climate change in a corner and forced them to develop new arguments to justify inaction on the issue. Uncertainty about the impacts of climate change and optimism about the human ability to adapt rank among those arguments.

Pruitts shift in tone comes as planning continues for a so-called red-team blue-team exercise that pits mainstream scientists against climate change deniers. Pruitt told TIME in October that such an exercise would create a robust meaningful debate that he hoped would build consensus around this issue. But climate scientists say the debate is an unnecessary sideshow that would distract from substantive discussions about policy.

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Research shows that temperatures will rise by more than 5.8 Fahrenheit even if countries fulfill their commitments under the Paris climate deal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Scientists say 3.6 Fahrenheit is the level where the planet will begin to experience the worst effects of warming.

Indeed, Pruitts remarks on the impacts of climate change are unmoored from the policy moves the EPA has taken under his leadership. Pruitt has sought to undo a slew of Obama-era climate regulations, primarily by arguing that the EPA lacked the legal authority to take those actions.

But he has stopped short of seeking to undo the endangerment finding, the EPAs landmark scientific finding that climate change endangers human welfare. Thats where some of his supporters want to see him go next  and his recent remarks suggest hes moving further in their direction, at least rhetorically.
A Washington Post report offers the fullest picture yet of how Mr Steele acted after uncovering claims that the Russians had compromising material on Mr Trump - PA

The former British spy behind a controversial dossier about Donald Trumps Russian links has spent two days talking to US investigators, it was reported on Wednesday.

Christopher Steele met behind closed doors with colleagues of Robert Mueller, the special counsel looking into Russian election meddling, according to The Washington Post.

It means that investigators will be able to judge firsthand whether they think claims reported by Mr Steele in the dossier are trustworthy.

Mr Steele has previously refused requests to appear before Congressional committees looking into how Russia interfered in the 2016 election.

The Washington Post also reported that Mr Steele compared possessing the information he found about Mr Trump to sitting on a nuclear weapon.

The paper's 4,000-word article provides the fullest picture yet of how Mr Steele acted after uncovering claims that the Russians had compromising material on Mr Trump.

Former FBI Director Robert Mueller is leading the Russia investigation Credit: AP

Mr Steele and his dossier, a series of memos written after funding from first Republican then Democrat opponents of Mr Trump, lies at the heart of the Russian election meddling row.

Among the claims made was that Mr Trump asked prostitutes to conduct lurid sex acts while in Russia. Mr Trump has vehemently denied the allegations.

The dossier, published after the election by Buzzfeed, has become the focus of a fiercely partisan battle over the Russian investigation, which is looking into links with the Trump campaign team.

Republicans have sought to portray Mr Steele as politically motivated and his claims as unfounded, indicating the entire Russian investigation is constructed on his faulty intelligence.

However Democrats have painted Mr Steele as someone who passed on concerns in good faith and stressed his information was not the only reason for starting the Russia investigation.

Profile | Christopher Steele

The Washington Post described how Mr Steele, a Russian expert so trusted that he had provided briefings for UK prime ministers and at least one US president, got drawn into the Trump case.

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It describes how after Mr Steele's consulting firm Orbis Business Intelligence was commissioned to look into Mr Trump he became increasingly concerned by the discoveries, coming from his network of informants.

Mr Steele eventually reached out to the FBI, who he had worked with exposing Fifa corruption, so he could brief them on what he found.

He met with the Washington Post twice before the election in an attempt to get them to cover the claims, the second time appearing visibly agitated".

The Washington Post, however, declined to publish as they were unable to verify the claims in Mr Steel's report.

Mr Steele also reached out to old intelligence colleagues for advice, apparently convinced the information he had found was significant to national security.

Richard Dearlove, the former head of MI6, met Mr Steele and his colleague at London's Garrick Club, where Mr Steele reportedly expressed his worries.

Sir Andrew Wood, a British former diplomat and friend of Mr Steele, was also asked for his thoughts. He wanted to share the burden a bit, Mr Wood told The Washington Post.

After Mr Trump won the election, an ally of John McCain, the Republican senator, visited Britain to meet Mr Steele and read the dossier for himself.

He was reportedly told to "look for a man wearing a blue raincoat and carrying a Financial Times under his arm at Heathrow Airport. A copy of the dossier was eventually passed to Mr McCain.
By Yeganeh Torbati

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration is considering making it harder for foreigners living in the United States to get permanent residency if they or their American-born children use public benefits such as food assistance, in a move that could sharply restrict legal immigration.

The Department of Homeland Security has drafted rules seen by Reuters that would allow immigration officers to scrutinize a potential immigrant's use of certain taxpayer-funded public benefits to determine if they could become a public burden.

For example, U.S. officials could look at whether the applicant has enrolled a child in government pre-school programs or received subsidies for utility bills or health insurance premiums.

The draft rules are a sharp departure from current guidelines, which have been in place since 1999 and specifically bar authorities from considering such non-cash benefits in deciding a person's eligibility to immigrate to the United States or stay in the country.

"Non-citizens who receive public benefits are not self-sufficient and are relying on the U.S. government and state and local entities for resources instead of their families, sponsors or private organizations," the document states. "An alien's receipt of public benefits comes at taxpayer expense and availability of public benefits may provide an incentive for aliens to immigrate to the United States."

Receiving such benefits could weigh against an applicant, even if they were for an immigrant's U.S. citizen children, according to the document.

"The administration is committed to enforcing existing immigration law, which is clearly intended to protect the American taxpayer," said Tyler Houlton, a DHS spokesman. "Any potential changes to the rule would be in keeping with the letter and spirit of the law  as well as the reasonable expectations of the American people for the government to be good stewards of taxpayer funds."

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In 2016, nearly 383,000 people who would be subject to the new standards obtained permanent residence while already in the United States, according to DHS statistics. The rules would not apply to permanent residents applying for citizenship, but would apply to a wide range of people living or working in the United States, including close family members of U.S. citizens and workers employed by U.S. companies.

In addition, nearly 620,000 other immigrants living abroad obtained U.S. permanent residence through the State Department in 2016. If DHS publishes a new rule, the State Department will decide then whether to change its guidance, said Ashley Garrigus, a spokeswoman for the Bureau of Consular Affairs.

U.S. immigration law has long required officials to exclude a person likely to become a "public charge" from permanent residence. But current U.S. guidelines, in place since 1999, narrowly define "public charge" to be a person "primarily dependent on the government for subsistence," either through direct cash assistance or government-funded long-term care.

Current guidance instructs immigration officers to look at a narrow range of public benefits in trying to determine whether someone is likely to become a burden, specifically directing officers not to consider most non-cash benefits, such as government food assistance programs or preschool programs.

The new rules, if adopted in their current form, would significantly change these guidelines. Under the draft rules, a person would be considered a "public charge" if they depend on "any government assistance in the form of cash, checks or other forms of money transfers, or instrument and non-cash government assistance in the form of aid, services, or other relief," according to the document seen by Reuters.

IMMIGRATION RESTRICTIONS

Trump, who took a hard line on illegal immigration during the 2016 presidential campaign, has in recent months also taken aim at legal immigrants. He has advocated ending a visa lottery program and some kinds of family-based immigration. But many of the administration's proposals would require congressional action.

Several immigrant advocates and current and former U.S. officials said the proposed rules could advance the administration's goals without changing U.S. law, by effectively barring lower- and middle-income people from immigrating.

"The big picture here is the administration is trying to accomplish by regulation the substantive changes to immigration law that it has proposed be enacted by statute," said Barbara Strack, a career DHS official who retired in January and helped draft the 1999 rules.

The experts and officials said they were also worried that the proposed changes would dissuade immigrants from using services to which they are entitled.

"It's going to scare a lot of people into yanking their children off of needed healthcare, school programs, child nutrition programs, basic sorts of subsistence-level programs that have kept the population healthy and employable," said Charles Wheeler, director of training and legal support at Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc.

A 2017 report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine found that 5.5 percent of immigrant households with children received cash assistance, compared to 6.3 percent of native households. Four percent of immigrant households used housing assistance, compared to five percent of native households. And about 46 percent of immigrant households used Medicaid, compared to 34 percent of native households.

Conservatives have long expressed concerns about non-citizens' access to public benefits, saying it is a drain on resources that should go to U.S. citizens.

"Efforts to limit immigrant access to these programs mostly have not been very successful," said Steven Camarota, director of research at the Center for Immigration Studies, which favors stricter immigration policies.

Among the benefits singled out in the draft rule for consideration are: health insurance subsidies such as those provided by the Affordable Care Act; the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP); WIC, a federal program that feeds poor pregnant or nursing women and their children; transportation and housing vouchers; programs that help the poor pay their heating bills; and programs such as Head Start, which provides early education to low-income children.

Some benefits would not be considered in making the "public charge" determination under the draft regulations, including emergency or disaster relief, public health assistance for immunizations, attending public school, receiving free or reduced-price school lunches, and earned benefits such as disability insurance, Medicare and unemployment payments.

(Reporting by Yeganeh Torbati; Editing by Sue Horton and Ross Colvin)
By Ayman al-Warfalli BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - Two people were killed and 75 wounded in a twin bombing inside a mosque in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi on Friday, medics said. Two weeks ago about 35 people died in another twin bombing at a mosque in Benghazi, the second-largest city in the country. Friday's explosions occurred during prayers at a small mosque located in the Majouri district, residents said. The devices, placed in bags at the mosque doors, appear to have been activated remotely using a mobile phone, a military source said. Benghazi is controlled by the Libyan National Army (LNA), the dominant force in eastern Libya led by commander Khalifa Haftar. The LNA was battling Islamists, including some linked to Islamic State and al Qaeda, as well as other opponents until late last year in the Mediterranean port city. Haftar, a possible contender in national elections that could be held by the end of 2018, has built his reputation on delivering stability in Benghazi and beyond, promising to halt the anarchy that ensued after a NATO-backed uprising ended Muammar Gaddafi's long rule nearly seven years ago. Haftar launched his military campaign in Benghazi in May 2014 in response to a series of bombings and assassinations blamed on Islamist militants. In the past few months there have been occasional, smaller scale bombings apparently targeting LNA allies or supporters. Haftar does not recognize the U.N.-backed government based in the western capital Tripoli. The United Nations has been trying to mediate for years, hoping elections can help stabilize Libya. But staging a vote is a major challenge in a country still split among military and political factions, and where rival governments have claimed authority since the result of a 2014 vote was disputed. Security in many parts of Libya is poor. (Reporting by Ayman al-Warfalli; Writing by Ulf Laessing; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
The family of Rose McGowans former manager is calling her suicide collateral damage in the Harvey Weinstein sex scandal.

Jill Messick was McGowans manager in 1997 when the actress claims she was raped by Weinstein.

Messick, a veteran studio executive and producer, killed herself in Los Angeles Wednesday. She was 50.

Jill was victimized by our new culture of unlimited information sharing and a willingness to accept statement as fact," her family said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. "The speed of disseminating information has carried mistruths about Jill as a person, which she was unable and unwilling to challenge. She became collateral damage in an already horrific story."

The mother of two privately battled depression for years, according to her family.

Over the past few months, many women have come out with allegations against Harvey Weinstein, including Rose McGowan, who has repeatedly spoken with the press, striking out against not only her alleged attacker, but a great many others, the family added. One of them was Jill, who chose to remain silent in the face of Roses slanderous statements against her for fear of undermining the many individuals who came forward in truth. She opted not to add to the feeding frenzy, allowing her name and her reputation to be sullied despite having done nothing wrong. She never chose to be a public figure. That choice was taken away from her.

McGowan was recently on The View, where she was asked by co-host Joy Behar whether she told her manager about what happened with Weinstein.

Yes, but she got a job with him for seven years right afterwards, McGowan replied.

Behar then asked: What did she tell you to do?

I went to the management company, one of the bigger managers than her and I remember one of them said, 'G** damn it! I told him to stop doing that. I just had an LA Times story killed about him. He owes it to me not to do this,'" she claimed.

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In the statement, Messicks family said that after the incident in which McGowan claims Weinstein raped her, Messick defended the Scream actress.

What makes Roses inaccurate accusations and insinuations against Jill ironic was that she was the first person who stood up on Roses behalf, and alerted her bosses to the horrific experience which Rose suffered, the statement said. Twenty years ago, as a very junior person in a management company hierarchy, Jill exhibited her integrity in doing the right thing  she raised the red flag with the heads of her firm. In the face of inappropriate behavior, Jill handled the situation appropriately.

McGowan has not commented directly on Messicks passing, she posted a cryptic message on Instagram Thursday with the image of a handwritten note reading: "I think it's important that people don't feel alone."

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Weinstein has denied all of McGowans claims of sexual misconduct.

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The 2018 Winter Olympics has kicked off with a (Big) Bang!

The opening ceremony, which took place Friday in Pyeongchang, South Korea, featured several songs from notable K-pop artists as teams circled the stadium.

Olympians were greeted with the sounds of BTS DNA (Remix), Big Bangs Fantastic Baby, and Twices Likey, among others. Even Team USA arrived at the ceremony to Psys iconic 2012 hit Gangnam Style.

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And of course, K-pop Twitter was LIT.

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Seriously, though, with fire songs like DNA playing on an international stage, who could blame them for being so pumped?

The ceremony actually included songs from throughout Korean history going back to the 1950s. The parade of Olympians started off with Hand In Hand by Koreana, which was the official theme song from the Seoul Olympics back in 1988. The North and South Korean teams concluded the parade, marching under one flag to folk song Arirang. K-pop band EXO will be performing at the closing ceremony on Feb. 25.

The opening event, which promoted peace and harmony, was chock full of other awe-inspiring elements as well, including fireworks, dancers performing a segment titled The Land of Peace, and stunning light installations. At one point, more than 1,200 drones lit up the sky to depict athletes in action.

It sounds like the Olympics are off to a great start.

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(Reuters) - A former Virginia Tech student was convicted of kidnapping and murdering a 13-year-old girl after telling the judge overseeing his trial that he wanted to enter a plea of no contest on Friday, a local prosecutor said.

David Eisenhauer, 19, was convicted of abducting, killing and concealing the body of middle-school student Nicole Lovell in January 2016, according to Mary Pettitt, the chief prosecutor in Montgomery County, Virginia. He faces a sentence of up to life in prison.

Lovell's body was found stabbed by a rural North Carolina roadside, about 90 miles south of her hometown of Blacksburg. She had disappeared four days earlier from Blacksburg, where Virginia Tech is located, and the crime left the university and local community reeling.

Eisenhauer may have had an inappropriate relationship with Lovell, the Washington Post has reported. Lovell told a friend she planned to run away with Eisenhauer and start a family, the Post reported.

Under Virginia law, a defendant can plead no contest without admitting to the crime if the defendant agrees that the prosecutor has enough evidence that the court return a guilty verdict. It is treated the same as a guilty plea for conviction and sentencing.

A second former Virginia Polytechnic Institute student, Natalie Keepers, who is charged with being Eisenhauer's accomplice and helping to conceal Lovell's body faces trial later this year after pleading not guilty.

Keepers, 20, became friends with Eisenhauer, a fellow engineering student, before Lovell's abduction, according to police in Blacksburg. Keepers also faces life in prison if convicted.

In brief, emotional remarks made after the hearing on Friday, Lovell's mother, Tammy Weeks, said she was blessed to raise a "bright and beautiful girl."

"We fought every fight together but this last one," Weeks said, clutching a tissue.

(Reporting by Jonathan Allen in New York; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Leslie Adler)
George Clooney is about to get your heart all aflutter right before Valentines Day.

In a new clip for the actors upcoming appearance on Netflixs My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman, Clooney describes how important his wife, Amal, is to him.

In the clip, David Letterman shares with Clooney how becoming a father made him shift his focus from himself to his child.

Clooney responded by saying:

Before I had the twins, I felt that about [Amal].

He continued:

I met someone who I would absolutely trade my life for. I met someone that her life meant more to me than my life. Ive never had that experience before.

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Clooney met the international human rights lawyer when a mutual friend brought her over to the Oscar winners Lake Como home in 2013.

I thought she was beautiful, and I thought she was funny and obviously smart, Clooney, 56, told The Hollywood Reporter, joking that Amal, 40, probably thought I was old.

They married the next year. In June, the couple welcomed twins, Ella and Alexander.

George and Amal Clooney walk the red carpet ahead of the "Suburbicon" screening during the 74th Venice Film Festival in 2017. (Photo: Vittorio Zunino Celotto via Getty Images)

Clooney told The Hollywood Reporter that having kids had never been part of my DNA. In fact, he said they never discussed having children while dating.

We didnt plan on it. We never talked about it until after we were married, which is funny. There was an assumption that we didnt want them, he said. And then, after the wedding, Amal and I were talking and we just felt wed gotten very lucky, both of us, and we should share whatever good luck weve got. It would seem self-centered to just have that belong to us.

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George W Bush has said theres pretty clear evidence that the Russians meddled in the US election that saw Donald Trump become President.

The former President also warned that Russias Vladimir Putin is zero-sum. He cant think, How can we both win? He only thinks, How do I win, you lose?

Russia has denied trying to influence the November 2016 vote but US intelligence agencies concluded it had.

Mr Trump has previously downplayed the findings but last year said he was with our agencies, especially as currently constituted with the leadership.

Mr Bush said it was not clear if Russias meddling directly affected the election, though he said it was clear they tried and that it was dangerous for democracy.

Its problematic that a foreign nation is involved in our election, he added at a conference in Abu Dhabi, and continued: Putin is a brilliant tactician who has the capacity to detect weakness and exploit it.

Hes got a chip on his shoulder. The reason he does is because the demise of the Soviet Union troubles him. Therefore, much of his moves [are] to regain Soviet hegemony.

The Republican leader, who occupied the Oval Office from 2001 to 2009, said Mr Putin is pushing, constantly pushing, probing weaknesses. Thats why Nato is very important.

Former FBI director Robert Mueller is currently investigating alleged links between the Kremlin and Mr Trumps campaign team.

Several people including the Republicans former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, have been charged.

Mr Trump denies any such links, and has called the investigation a witch hunt perpetrated by his political opponents.

The 43rd US President has intervened a number of times to apparently rebuke Mr Trump during the latters time in office.

In a book he said this guy doesnt know what it means to be President, and last October, while not mentioning his fellow Republican by name, he said that in recent times bigotry seems emboldened. Our politics seems more vulnerable to conspiracy theories and outright fabrication.

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Mr Bush broke a longstanding silence in February last year to say that a free press was indispensable to democracy, after Mr Trump attacked a number of media companies as enemies of the people.

Power can be very addictive, and it can be corrosive, and its important for the media to call to account people who abuse their power, whether it be here or elsewhere, he added.

At the Abu Dhabi event Mr Bush also said it was important to recognise that the United States had a history of welcoming people regardless of their religion or where they were born, in an apparent criticism of Mr Trumps policies.

Our system is broken but weve got to fix it. I had tried, but unsuccessfully, he said without naming Mr Trump. It is important for our economy and also important for our soul that the immigration system functions well.

Additional reporting by agencies
Sneaker marketplace GOAT is merging with Flight Club, essentially the first name in after market sneaker retail. Its also raising a $60M series C led by Danny Rimer at Index with previous investors Accel, Matrix, Upfront and Webb Investment Network participating.

The raise is significant, putting the total just shy of $98M raised, but its the merger with Flight Club that will cause this news to go racing around the hype factory press today. For 12 years, Flight Clubs retail and online businesses have been essentially synonymous with the aftermarket sneaker scene. They have the hottest shoes, they charge a stiff but not outrageous price for them and youre guaranteed to get legit goods.

GOAT has been busy carving out a similar space focused on the app and online portals rather than retail. Now, theyll be mashed together, creating a hopefully symbiotic relationship that pairs retail and online.

Rimer and Flight Club founder Damany Weir will also join GOATs board as part of the deal. Flight Club has never taken outside money.

Aligning with GOATs world-class technology and mobile listings platform is the logical evolution of our business, said Weir in a statement. The complementary strengths of the two companies puts us in the best position to go after the entire market rather than compete for pieces of it.

I spoke to GOAT co-founder and CEO Eddy Lu about the deal yesterday, and he says that one of the biggest drivers is the international side of the business. GOAT operates stateside and nowhere else. Flight Club, on the other hand, does big international business and Index (and Rimer) are known for their experience investing in international retail businesses.

Anecdotally, I can tell you that I have Canadian friends who are constantly frustrated that GOAT doesnt yet support Americas Hat. And Im in sneaker groups largely populated by French and German sneakerheads that use drop shipping and proxy local addresses to do business on the platform. The demand is there and one of the two big players, GOAT, has yet to let the rest of the world in. StockX currently has 15% of sales coming from International. There are currently dozens of local marketplaces for all of the big hubs of activity, but none of them have critical mass. And then, god forbid, theres eBay, which is littered with fakes and scammers.

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So there is opportunity.

The blend, Lu tells me, will result in the GOAT and Flight Club brands existing concurrently. Neither is going away, though GOATs tech stack will be used to facilitate Flight Clubs online sales business. Flight Clubs warehousing and international expertise will be leveraged on the retail side of the business. Lu says that the overall goal isnt just to create a reseller supergroup of sorts but to plan out the complete metamorphose of the way that people buy shoes.

Under retail sales, for instance, now comprise 20% of sales on GOAT. This points to a hunger for people to buy what a sneaker head would consider regular shoes. Not that rare, but still high quality and stylish and purchased from a seller that is built for shoes from the ground up. That, says Lu, is how GOAT will play its hand vs. Amazon and the other big shoe stores like Foot Locker.

When you go to Foot Locker, there are 300 SKUs on the wall and most sneakerheads dont want any of them, he points out. Instead they want something specific and desired. Between GOAT and Flight Club, they can carry thousands of SKUs with data behind them that prove out desire. GOAT, Lu says, is not interested in selling crap. Instead, they want to pair the two parts of the sneaker sale picture to change what a retail experience is.

This move also swerves GOAT in a different direction than StockX, which has plunged into horizontal diversification of product to watches, handbags and clothing.

The sneaker and streetwear retail sector is exciting as hell right now, to be honest. There are a bunch of young entrepreneurs really taking stabs at figuring out what boutique retail looks like when its nomadic and digitally driven. StockX, GOAT, Flight Club, Stadium Goods, Kith, Grailed. Not all of them will figure it out completely but its fun to watch.

Update: Added international sales figures from StockX.
The Holocaust denier set to run for a congressional seat in Illinois has defended himself against claims of racism and accused what he calls the Jews media of going nuts.

White supremacist Arthur Jones, the unopposed GOP candidate for the 3rd Congressional District in Illinois that represents parts of Chicago and its suburbs, got into a verbal spat with CNN's New Day host Alysn Camerota, who accused Jones of being "vocally and unapologetically racist."

After Camerota on Thursday asked Jones if he was a Nazi, the political hopeful lashed out at Jewish people and the media after it was suggested that his personal website was racist.

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Separate images on the website show Jones speaking at the Aryan Nations Congress; carrying a banner in support of a "Muslim ban"; making a Nazi salute; speaking in front of supporters carrying Confederate flags; saluting the grave of the "late, great Senator Joseph R. McCarthy"; shaking the hand of "renowned historian David Irving"; and tearing the flag of Israel.

For the past 15-20 years I have not had anything to do with any national socialist organization on a formal basis," Jones said. "I dont call myself a Nazi. I call myself an American patriot and statesman.

The denial prompted the host to outline a number of activities Jones participated inincluding celebrating Hitlers birthdaythat cast doubt on the claims.

Its not vile and rancid, its the truth, Jones said of his website, which also includes a section titled "Holocaust?" that features literature supporting Holocaust denial.

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Jones said, I personally picked the articles in there because theyre true. You Jews media, youve gone absolutely nuts. You think that Adolf Hitlers revived from the grave or something, but its one man...myself, thats standing for the truth.

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The congressional hopeful, who has unsuccessfully run for office a number of times, went on to describe the political system in the U.S. as a Jew party system and reiterated his denial of the Holocaust, which he described as an extortion racket and poppycock.

Jones, whose Its time to put America first slogan echoes President Donald Trumps Make America great again platform, backed Trump in 2016 despite openly raising anti-Semitic objections to Jared Kushner, Trumps Jewish son-in-law.

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Camerota said, Arthur Jones, weve heard your opinion and well see what happens. Chances are, youll go down in flames.

Despite running for the seat unopposed, Jones is unlikely to win in the left-leaning district. The Republican Party has also distanced itself from Jones's candidacy.

The Illinois Republican Party and our country have no place for Nazis like Arthur Jones, party Chairman Tim Schneider said in a statement to the Chicago Sun-Times. We strongly oppose his racist views and his candidacy for any public office, including the 3rd Congressional District.

This article was first written by Newsweek

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House Speaker Paul Ryan has expressed optimism about having the votes to pass a budget bill: AP

House Speaker Paul Ryan has said he thinks he has enough votes in the House of Representatives to pass a far-reaching budget deal and avert a government shutdown.

I think we will, Mr Ryan told radio show host Hugh Hewitt when asked whether he had the support to keep the government open. I feel good. Part of it depends on the Democrats. This is a bipartisan bill. Its going to need bipartisan support.

The budget bill, which would raise spending caps and the debt ceiling, is expected to pass easily in the Senate. It will then be sent to the House, where Mr Ryan has been rushing to round up votes to ensure its approval.

The bipartisan deal was announced on Wednesday by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, providing a rare moment of bipartisanship in Congress.

The agreement 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. It would also lead to larger federal budget deficits, on top of the deficits already stemming from the Republican tax cuts passed in December.

The proposal quickly drew ire from conservative members, who have long complained about what they believe to be out-of-control spending by the federal government.

The Freedom Caucus  a group of about 30 conservative hardliners  has since announced that it will oppose the measure over fiscal concerns, meaning that Mr Ryan needs to rely on dozens of Democrats in order to pass the bill that would keep the government open for another six weeks and avoid another shutdown at midnight on Thursday.

But House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi has said she will also oppose the deal unless she receives a commitment from Mr Ryan to immediately take up legislation to protect immigrants brought to the US as children  so-called dreamers.

President Donald Trump in September rescinded the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programme, the Obama-era policy that grants deportation reprieves to dreamers.

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It is uncertain how many Democrats will follow Ms Pelosis lead and vote against the budget bill unless they receive concessions on immigration.

Mr Ryan on Thursday said Republicans will move on immigration legislation backed by Mr Trump after lawmakers finish with the current budget deal  a declaration that apparently still does not meet Ms Pelosis demands.

To anyone who doubts my intention to solve this problem and bring up a DACA and immigration reform bill, do not, Mr Ryan told reporters, We will bring a solution to the floor, one that the president will sign.

Ms Pelosi on Wednesday appeared to set the record for the longest-continuous speech in the House, according to the Houses Historian office, to secure a commitment for debate on an immigration bill in the chamber.

Democrats have already expressed opposition to the Presidents proposal.

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.
A mischievous golden retriever nearly caused a Massachusetts homeowner's worst nightmare when it set a fire in the kitchen while trying to steal pancakes that had been left on the stove.

Home security footage caught the canine in Southwick as it accidentally turned on a burner, causing flames to erupt from the stove.

Thick smoke engulfed the house, but two dogs inside did not seem to care, eventually making their way to a sofa.

Police officers eventually showed up as the home's smoke alarms blared.

The Southwick Fire Department posted the video on Facebook to serve as a reminder to those with pets and children to put safety covers on the burner knobs.

Alarms Work! We would like to thank a local resident for sharing this video. First, we always caution about putting... Posted by Southwick Fire Department on Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Dogs turning into accidental arsonists are more common than one would imagine.

Pets actually cause up to 1,000 fires each year, according to The National Fire Protection Association.

In one instance, a dog named Brookfield sniffed around pizza boxes left on the stove and accidentally turned on the burner. The boxes then caught fire.

Fortunately, Gary LeClerc stumbled on the blaze before it engulfed his Connecticut home.

We never even thought that could happen," he told Inside Edition. "It just doesn't cross people's minds."

Veterinarian Dr. Jeff Werber says a helpful tip is to take the knobs off the stove. That way, you have a safer home.

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By Sanjeev Miglani NEW DELHI (Reuters) - After a public embrace of Israel as a strategic partner, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is heading to the Palestinian territories and the Gulf on Friday to bolster long-standing political and economic ties. India was one of the earliest champions of the Palestinian cause but in recent years turned to Israel for high-tech military equipment and anti-terrorism cooperation. Under Modi, whose nationalist party sees Israel as a natural ally against Islamist extremism, ties have flourished. Modi made the first trip to Israel by an Indian prime minister last year followed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyanu's visit to India last month. But Indian officials said India continued to support the Palestinian cause and that Modi's visit is aimed at helping build up the Palestinians' capacity in the health, information technology and education areas. "We have de-hyphenated our relations with Palestine and Israel and now we see them both as mutually independent and exclusive and as part of this policy the prime minister is undertaking this visit," B. Bala Bhaskar, a joint secretary in the Indian foreign ministry, said. The two sides are building a India-Palestinian technology park in Ramallah, the Palestinians seat of government, which will develop IT expertise and generate employment. Modi is due to arrive in Jordan later on Friday and travel to Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on Saturday. During his visit to Israel last year, he did not travel to the Palestinian headquarters as is usually the case with visiting leaders. "Looking forward to my discussions with President Mahmoud Abbas and reaffirming our support for the Palestinian people and the development of Palestine," Modi said in a Twitter post. India was among more than 120 countries to vote in favor of a resolution in December calling for the United States to drop its recent recognition of Jerusalem as Israels capital. But the scale of India's security and commercial ties with Israel dwarfs the engagement with the Palestinians. Israel is among India's top three arms suppliers, doing business worth millions of dollars each year. Modi and Netanyahu are now pushing for cooperation in agriculture, energy and cybersecurity in addition to defense. Modi will also travel to the United Arab Emirates, from where India gets half of its oil, and to Oman, with which India's navy has built close security ties. The Gulf is home to nine million Indians who remit $35 billion home each year, sustaining millions of families. The UAE committed an investment of $75 billion in India when Modi visited in 2015 and the two sides will be looking to advance that goal, the foreign ministry said.  (Reporting by Sanjeev Miglani; Editing by Nick Macfie)
Alexanda Kotey was one of two remaining members of a group of four British Isis fighters: Buzzfeed

Intelligence extracted from two British Isis militants captured in Syria has already sparked operations hunting other jihadis down, security sources have told The Independent.

Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh were the last two members of the British Isis cell known as The Beatles to remain at large until they were detained by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) last month.

They were wanted for involvement in the torture and execution of hostages including the American journalist James Foley and British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning, whose families have hailed the first step towards justice for their loved ones.

Kotey and Elsheikh have been interrogated while in custody, while diplomats in London and Washington are understood to be in discussions about where they will be taken next.

One of their former hostages says he wants them to be given a fair trial, while calling on the US not to detain the jihadis at Guantanamo Bay.

The defence minister, Tobias Ellwood, also argued that the men should be tried in the International Criminal Court in The Hague, rather than being sent to the US detention camp in Cuba.

Security sources told The Independent information provided by Kotey and Elsheikh has already led to a number of operations hunting down Isis fighters.

Officials hope that further investigations may generate leads on what happened to remaining hostages including the British journalist John Cantlie, who disappeared after appearing in a series of Isis propaganda videos. It is also hoped that they may yield information about the whereabouts of their victims' bodies.

British journalist John Cantlie has not appeared in Isis propaganda videos since the battle of Mosul (AP)

Elsheikh and Kotey are among hundreds of foreign fighters captured by the SDF as it drives militants out of their self-declared caliphate, with biometric tests used to identify suspects.

Intelligence agencies had planned to capture the pair alive after killing The Beatles ringleader Jihadi John, whose real name was Mohammed Emwazi, in a 2015 drone strike, recognising their value in potentially providing intelligence.

Story continues

The fourth militant in the cell, Aine Davis, has been jailed for terror offences in Turkey and information from his interrogations has been passed to Washington and London.

The US military vowed to hold Kotey and Elsheikh accountable for their crimes, although it remains unclear which country will assume responsibility for any prosecutions.

Eric Pahon, a spokesman from the US Department of Defence, told The Independent: We are still considering options regarding Elsheikh and Kotey, but rest assured our intention is to hold anyone accountable who commits acts like those they are alleged to have committed.

Both men were declared specially designated global terrorists last year for their roles in the group, with officials holding the cell responsible for beheading more than 27 hostages and torturing many more.

A small number of captives, including French journalist Nicolas Henin, were freed and have told of the British militants brutality.

Elsheikh, 29, was said to have earned a reputation for waterboarding, mock executions and crucifixions while serving as a jailer, while fellow guard Kotey was involved in beheadings and known for exceptionally cruel torture methods, including electronic shocks.

The 34-year-old is also accused of acting as an Isis recruiter and being responsible for drawing several other British extremists to join the terrorist group.

Born in London, Kotey is half-Ghanaian, half-Greek Cypriot and grew up in Shepherds Bush.

He is believed to have converted to Islam in his early twenties, and left two young children in Britain when he travelled to Gaza in 2009 as part of a controversial Gaza aid convoy organised by former Labour and Respect MP George Galloway.

In a statement, his family said they did not want to comment on his capture and asked for privacy.

Elsheikh came to the UK as a child from Sudan, when his family were granted refugee status, and was a mechanic from White City in west London.

He had links to local gangs as a teenager, with his older brother jailed for gun possession, and was not known as religious until he was introduced to a radical preacher.

Elsheikh travelled to Syria in 2012 and joined al-Qaedas regional branch before an internal dispute led to a splinter group creating Isis.

El Shafee Elsheikh was said to have earned a reputation for waterboarding, mock executions and crucifixions while serving as a jailer (Buzzfeed)

The UK has removed British citizenship from some dual nationals known to be Isis members using powers for the public good.

But the Home Office would not confirm if Kotey and Elsheikh had been subjected to the measure, which aims to prevent militants returning to Britain.

It would not prevent them being put on trial in the UK, even if the offences in question were committed abroad.

Asked whether it would be seeking to transport the pair to Britain, the Foreign Office said it did not comment on individual cases or ongoing investigations.

Dr Shiraz Maher, deputy director of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation at Kings College London, said the capture of Kotey and Elsheikh was hugely significant because the bulk of high-profile Isis targets are either at large or dead.

These men will have important intelligence about the fates of western hostages in their custody, including some who remain captives of Isis, he added.

It also demonstrates that, just because Isis has lost territory or moved off our television screens, the group has not gone away.

European foreign fighters very much remain a part of this organisation and continue to play a role in the next phase of its mutation as it reverts back to its insurgent roots."

Additional reporting by Alexandra Wilts
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Islamic State fighters battled Syrian insurgents in the northwestern province of Idlib on Friday, a monitoring group and a rebel commander said, accusing pro-government forces of opening a corridor for the jihadists to reach the region. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said government forces had allowed Islamic State fighters to leave a besieged pocket of territory at the intersection of Aleppo, Idlib and Hama provinces, and then go to southern Idlib. A military news outlet run by Lebanon's Hezbollah, which is fighting on the side of the Syrian government, reported gains by the army and its allies against Islamic State in that pocket, but made no mention of the jihadists being allowed to leave. A commander in the alliance fighting alongside Syria's army said the Islamic State militants left the enclave. "The pocket is finished. A crossing was opened till they exited, and then it was closed," the commander said. The Syrian army could not be reached for comment. A Syrian military statement said troops and allied forces had gained control of several towns in rural parts of Hama, Idlib, and Aleppo provinces. "The strategic importance of this achievement is that it ends the presence of the terrorist Daesh organization in both Aleppo and Hama provinces," the statement said, using the Arabic acronym for Islamic State The advance also secures supply routes between Hama and Aleppo and links them to the southeast desert near the Iraqi border, it said. The military said it had destroyed militant targets, and made no mention of a corridor letting Islamic State fighters depart. "The regime started the operation against this pocket seven days (ago). Suddenly they were able to take 80 villages and towns after giving them a corridor," said Rami Abdulrahman, director of the Observatory, a Britain-based war monitoring group. Hasan Haj Ali, commander of the Free Idlib Army rebel group, confirmed the report. Ali said his fighters were taking part in clashes against some 200 Islamic State fighters who had arrived in southern Idlib early on Friday. "This morning at dawn we were surprised by the joint treachery by the regime and Daesh," he told Reuters. Clashes were under way in the village of Lweibdeh, he said. "They have six armored vehicles with them." A source in the Ahrar al-Sham faction said Islamic State fighters had pushed into south Idlib from government territory. "The rebel factions are repelling Daesh attempts to advance," the source said. "The regime's militias opened a gap helping the besieged Islamic State forces pass." Idlib is the largest chunk of Syrian territory held by insurgent factions opposed to President Bashar al-Assad's government. Islamist factions, including al Qaeda's former affiliate in the Syrian war, dominate the province. (Reporting by Tom Perry, Suleiman al-Khalidi, and Laila Bassam; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg, Larry King)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could soon be indicted on corruption charges, according to the Times of Israel.

Police chiefs investigating the government leader for graft said they are in unanimous agreement that Netanyahu should face charges for accepting bribes and illicit gifts from billionaire benefactors, the Times reports.

If filed, a recommendation for indictment would be sent to Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, who will determine whether sufficient evidence exists to prosecute the case.

In a Facebook video message posted Wednesday night, Netanyahu appeared nonplussed. He dismissed the allegations against him and assured supporters that the investigations would not come to anything.

Many of you are asking: what will happen? So I want to calm you: there will be nothing, because I know the truth, he said.

I am certain that at the end of the day, the certified legal authorities will come to one conclusion, the simple truth: there is nothing, he added.

Netanyahu is the center of two separate investigations  the so-called Cases 1000 and 2000.

According to the Times, Case 1000 revolves around whether Netanyahu and his wife Sara accepted lavish gifts, including expensive cigars and champagne, from wealthy individuals, including the Israeli-born Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan.

Case 2,000 meanwhile accuses the prime minister of striking a deal with a newspaper publisher for favorable coverage in return for harming a rival publication.

A third case, Case 3000, is also reportedly on the horizon and is said to involve close members of the prime ministers family and a multibillion-dollar submarine deal.

Netanyahu, a close ally of President Donald Trump, has denied any allegation of wrongdoing. He is on his second stint as prime minister, having first served from 1996 to 1999, and then resuming the office in 2009 with a re-election in 2015.

According to a poll conducted by Hadashot TV news, 60% of Israelis say the prime minister should resign if police recommend an indictment for bribery or breach of trust.

With reporting by Eli Meixler
Pulitzer Prize writer Junot Diaz photographed at his MIT office on September 12, 2013. (Photo: Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Junot Diaz recently gave students at the University of Missouri a lesson on the history of sexual violence.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author, the featured speaker at an MU celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. on Jan. 22, shared his thoughts on white supremacy, privilege and immigration.

KBIA, the National Public Radio member station in Columbia, Missouri, posted excerpts from his speech on Tuesday. After opening his talk with a reading of his award-winning novel The Wondrous life of Oscar Wao, the Dominican-born novelist spoke about slavery and the sexual violence that led to the mixing of races.

My work, among many of the things that it wrestles with, wrestles with the kind of, the often invisible and vigorously disavowed, long shadow of enslavement, Diaz said. Im very much interested in how people like me, who are part of the African Diasporic community, and how do we deal with the consequences of the fallout from the calamity that we call slavery.

He continued: And most specifically, Im kind of interested in how do bodies like mine that were raped into existence  our community doesnt look the way it looks without systematic rape  and so how do communities like ours, with this long history of sexual violence and sexual predation, how do we as a consequence of that wrestle with the possibility of intimacy? In other words, where does love reside in bodies that spent centuries being told that they could not partake in love?

Dominican artist Zahira Kelly-Cabrera shared a similar perspective with HuffPost last month in a conversation about how sexual harassment and sexual assault manifests differently for women of color.

The Dominican Republic is where some of the early slave ships arrived in the Americas; it was the place of some of the early indigenous massacres, Kelly-Cabrera said. Colonists thought, Youre wearing a little bit less than the women where were from, so you deserve to be sexually assaulted. And thats applied to both native and African women.

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Thats how we ended up mixed; it wasnt some beautiful white and native love stuff, Kelly-Cabrera said. It was not Pocahontas. It was mass rape toward native women and toward the African-enslaved women that they brought to Latin America and everywhere.

You can listen to more excerpts from Diaz at the University of Missouri event at KBIA.org.

H/T Remezcla

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Kim Yo Jong made history Friday when she shook hands with South Korean President Moon Jae-in during the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games. Her arrival in South Korea, the first of any member of North Koreas ruling family, was the latest sign that supreme leader Kim Jong Uns sister is becoming the most powerful woman in North Korea.

Until recently, Kim Jong Un was the only one of his siblings to enjoy international headlines. Having inherited his familys throne after his fathers death, in 2011, Kim Jong Un easily outshone his siblings, which may number up to six by some accounts. His older half-brother Kim Jong Nam was rumored to have been the front-runner before being passed on, but this account has been disputed, and he was assassinated last year in what the U.S. and South Korea suspect to an attack orchestrated by North Korea, which denied involvement.

Related: Who is Kim Jong Uns wife? You know Melania Trump, meet North Koreas first lady, Ri Sol Ju

Trending: Polish Official Claims Jews Were 'Passive' in The Face of Nazi ViolenceAfter Israel Criticises Holocaust Bill

In the past few months, however, a new star has risen from perhaps the most secretive dynasty on Earth. Kim Jong Un promoted his sister Kim Yo Jong to a major position last October and, while little remained known for sure about the woman now representing North Korea at this years Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, what experts have observed could prove useful as she becomes an increasingly important figure in a largely male-dominated society.

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Yonhap News Agency/Reuters

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According to North Korea Leadership Watch, a blog run by frequent 38 North contributor Michael Madden of the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins Universitys School of Advanced International Studies, Kim Yo Jong was born September 26, 1987. This would make the 30-year-old four years younger than Kim Jong Un, who was believed by Madden and the U.S. government among others to have been born January 8, 1984.

Kim Yo Jong is believed to be the youngest child of late North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Ils mistress Ko Yong Hui, an ethnic Korean dancer who was born in Japan and, as a child, moved to North Korea about a decade after the devastating three-year war with its U.S.-backed southern rival. Ko Yong Hui was believed to have met Kim Jong Il after he had already been married once and had one son, Kim Jong Nam, and one daughter, Kim Sol Song, with separate women.

Don't miss: U.S. Spending on U.N. Peacekeeping More Cost-Effective Than Trump's Blueprint

After Ko Yong Hui gave birth to future Eric Clapton fan Kim Jong Chol and future supreme leader Kim Jong Un, Kim Yo Jong became the latest addition to the ruling family, then still led by North Korean founder Kim Il Sung, who died in 1994. All three siblings were brought up in relative isolation from the rest of the family, likely due to Kim Jong Ils efforts to keep them away from his father. She joined her brothers in Berne, Switzerland, where she attended a private elementary school in the late 1990s.

Not much is known about Kim Yo Jong after she returned to study in North Korea; however, her mother likely died of breast cancer while receiving treatment in Paris in 2004. Kim Yo Jong was appointed a junior cadre in the ruling Korean Workers Party in 2007 and later worked at the National Defense Commission and as her fathers personal secretariat. She attended her fathers funeral in 2011 and, after her brother's accession to power, became one of her brothers close aides, who managed his public events, itineraries and logistical needs, among other tasks, according to the North Korea Leadership Watch blog post.

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Damir Sagolj/Reuters

Kim Yo Jong continued to appear at her older brothers side as a more bubbly foil to the stern Kim Jong Un. She was mostly seen as a behind-the-scenes player, but she emerged in the spotlight last October after North Koreas state-run media announced she had been promoted as an alternate member of the politburo of the ruling Korean Workers Party Central Committee.

Most popular: Minnesota Man Accused of Stealing CarThen Calling Owner for Help Restarting it

In a bureaucracy as rigid and unforgiving as North Koreas, little is left to chance and experts have speculated as to how Kim Yo Jongs ascendance has played into young Kim Jong Uns overall game plan to consolidate power over a system that was dominated by his fathers elderly elites, some of whom may have been skeptical toward the millennial leaders ability to rule.

Kim Jong Un answered these suspicions with purges, including that of his uncle Jang Song Thaek, who was executed in 2013 as his nephew replaced the old guard with younger faces.

Dr. John Park, director of the Korea Working Group at Harvard Universitys Kennedy School, suggested Kim Yo Jongs diplomatic debut, made possible by Kim Jong Uns overture to South Korea during a New Years speech was part of Kim Jong Uns efforts to give his government a more youthful, approachable makeover. South Korean officials have warmly received Kim Yo Jong, drawing attention away from even North Koreas nominal head of state, 90-year-old Kim Yong Nam.

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Yonhap News Agency/Reuters

Park told Newsweek Kim Yo Jong has defied early speculation that she was a lightweight or somewhat insignificant and has instead proven to be part of Kim Jong Uns new generation of leadership. Kim Jong Unwho became the first North Korean leader to introduce his wife, Ri Sol Ju, to the public in 2012has managed to improve the economy modestly and achieve never-before-seen military advances, despite increasingly tight sanctions against his country because of his nuclear weapons program, missile tests and reports of widespread human rights abuses.

These accomplishments, seen as a deterrent to a potential U.S. invasion, along with Kim Jong Uns endeavor to make himself out to be the reincarnation of his revered grandfather in North Koreas glory days, has reportedly had the desired effect among North Koreans. By sending Kim Yo Jong to the Winter Olympic Games, Kim Jong Un has presented a preview of what Park called North Korea version 3.0.

Its a very optimistic time in North Korea, Park added. Theres a feeling of prosperity and hope.

This article was first written by Newsweek

More from Newsweek
U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters have captured the last two British members of an ISIS insurgent cell nicknamed The Beatles, who were notorious for their horrific and brutal acts against hostages.

The men, El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Amon Kotey, were captured by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in eastern Syria in early Jan, the New York Times reports. The men were identified using fingerprints and biometric data. They were part of a four-person cell which gained a reputation for beheading hostages and torture.

Heres more:

Why are they nicknamed The Beatles?

Because of their English accents. The men made up a four-person ISIS cell that captured, tortured and beheaded at least 27 hostages including American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and U.S. aid worker Peter Kassig. A former hostage told the Guardian that fellow hostages referred to the four militants as The Beatles, after the British pop group.

An international manhunt for the fighters began in Aug. 2014 when ISIS released a video of Foleys execution at the hands of an English-speaking militant, who called himself John. Foleys executioner and leader of the cell was dubbed Jihadi John by the British press. His identity was later revealed to be Mohamed Emwazi, a west Londoner.

Between us, we called them the Beatles because we didnt know their names. There was Paul, Ringo and George; Emwazi had the name John. He was the tallest, the calmest, but also the most determined, without the slightest scruple French journalist Didier Francois, a former hostage, told the press in 2015.

Who are they?

Emwazi, who featured in ISIS execution videos dressed in black and wielding a knife, was killed in a drone strike on Raqqa, formerly ISISs self-declared capital, in 2015. Emwazi was born in Kuwait and moved to London when he was six. He came from a middle-class family and graduated from college with a computer programming degree. He came under surveillance by U.K. intelligence services after travelling to Tanzania and Kenya.

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The family of the recently captured El Shafee Elsheikh fled from Sudan in the 1990s. Elsheikh also grew up in west London. He traveled to Syria in 2012 and joined Al Qaeda in Syria before shifting his alliances to ISIS. The State Department says he earned a reputation for mock executions, crucifixions and waterboarding while serving as an ISIS jailer.

Other detainee Alexanda Amon Kotey is of Greek Cypriot background. He attended the same Al-Manaar mosque in west London as Emwazi and travelled to the Middle East on a controversial aid convoy organized by former Scottish politician George Galloway in 2009. His friends told Buzzfeed that they did not heard from him since.

Aine Davis, who was a former drug dealer and driver in west London, was convicted for being a senior ISIS member and jailed for terrorism charges last year in Turkey. He was detained near Istanbul in 2016 on suspicion of planning attacks in the country.

What will happen to the pair captured in January?

The jury is out. Both men were stripped of their British citizenship, according to the New York Times, and it is not clear if the Justice Department will seek to prosecute the men or whether the U.S. military will take custody of them.

Officials told the Times that the men have been providing them with valuable information about the remaining ISIS support structure and leadership. U.S. officials sought to keep their capture under the radar to give more time to prepare raids against ISIS targets and follow-up on intelligence leads.
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The Kurdish Asayish police force in Iraq last year executed dozens of Islamic State fighters in their custody and disposed of their bodies in a mass grave northwest of Mosul, Human Rights Watch said in report on Friday. A Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) security official did not return Reuters calls to comment. HRW's report cites a KRG official, Dindar Zebari, who denied executions took place. He said the bodies belonged to militants who were killed fighting and "were probably brought in one place to be buried." "Because the mass grave site is located within the flood zone of the Mosul Dam reservoir, it is critically important to urgently allow international forensic experts to conduct a detailed exhumation of the site before seasonal rains fill the reservoir again later this year," the HRW report said. The KRG's Peshmerga fighters in July assisted a U.S.-backed offensive by Iraqi forces to capture Mosul, the de facto capital of the Islamic State "caliphate" declared in 2014 over parts of Iraq and Syria. Iraq declared victory over Islamic State in December but the group has morphed into an underground organization and continues to claim attacks across Iraq. Link to the HRW report: http://bit.ly/2BQzKU0 (Reporting by Maher Chmaytelli; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg)
If youve been abusing L.L. Beans generous return policy, well, this is on you: The Maine-based company is revoking its 100 percent satisfaction guarantee and imposing a one-year limit on most returns.

In a letter to customers issued on Friday, L.L. Bean Chairman Shawn Gorman announced the change and what prompted it.

Increasingly, a small, but growing number of customers has been interpreting our guarantee well beyond its original intent, he said. Some view it as a lifetime product replacement program, expecting refunds for heavily worn products used over many years. Others seek refunds for products that have been purchased through third parties, such as at yard sales.

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Gorman says later in the letter that this change to the policy will only affect a small percentage of returns and that should a customer have a defective product after the year mark, the company will work with that customer to reach a fair solution.

The previous legendary return policy allowed customers to exchange items they had worn out or purchased secondhand  regardless of how many years before the item was purchased.

The policy has already been updated on the L.L. Bean website, which reads: If you are not 100% satisfied with one of our products, you may return it within one year of purchase for a refund. After one year, we will consider any items for return that are defective due to materials or craftsmanship.

L.L. Bean has revised its return policy, which it says was being abused by some people. (Photo: John Greim/Getty Images)

Additionally, the site notes that the company will not accept a return or exchange (even within one year of purchase) in certain situations. Specifically, those situations include items damaged by abuse, improper care or negligence and products that have been soiled, but also customers with past habitual abuse of the returns agreement.

What does that mean? Well, the 106-year-old company is not messing around, and its done with people returning things from a decade ago.

L.L. Bean spokeswoman Carolyn Beem told the Boston Globe that the amount of so-called third quality returns has more than doubled over the last five years, resulting in annual losses equal to the amount of revenue generated from Bean boot sales.

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This behavior, according to Beem, came from people who purchased items secondhand with the sole intention of returning them.

Many on social media have remarked on the change:

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The centenarian L.L. Bean is proof that these times, they are a-changin.

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PACT

PACT uses sustainable ingredients in its clothing, which is made in Fair Trade Certified factories. The best part? The price points definitely won't break the bank -- basic tees and tanks will run you anywhere from $15 to $45, with simple dresses coming in at $40.



Shop at PACT

Modernation

Everlane

Everlane has become a go-to for basics. The brand, which uses ethical factories, offers a great selection of classic tees for $30 or less, and many styles of pants ring in under $100. Silk shirts and cashmere sweaters come with slightly higher price tags, but there are plenty of styles to choose from if you're open to a little splurge.



Shop at Everlane

Fair Trade Winds

Fair Trade Winds is a family company that partners with artisans around the world and uses fair and ethical practices. The brand is a great option for casual clothes, with a number of offerings, like T-shirts and dresses, coming in under $100.



Shop at Fair Trade Winds

Reformation

Reformation is definitely one of the more expensive options on the list, but there are plenty of offerings under $100. The brand, which was founded in 2009, makes the majority of its clothes in downtown Los Angeles, using sustainable fabrics and methods. Its mission is "to lead and inspire a sustainable way to be fashionable."



Shop at Reformation

Alternative Apparel

Alternative Apparel is committed to "creating products responsibly." The brand makes 80 percent of its garments with sustainable materials and processes, according to its website. It also uses factories that operate in accordance with the Fair Labor Association Workplace Code of Conduct. As for prices, plain tees are under $40, while many of lounge pants come in under $60. You can also snag casual dresses for less than $60.



Shop at Alternative Apparel

People Tree

People Tree partners with various producers, garment workers and artisans in developing countries to create ethical and eco-friendly collections made with organic cotton and other sustainable materials. The brand offers plenty of dresses that cost under $150 and pants that range from $70 to $150. There are also some beautiful knits, although those are definitely among the most expensive items.



Shop at People Tree

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
The ringleader of the group, Mohammed Emwazi, became known as 'Jihadi John'

Two British Isis jihadis who were part of a group known for its torture and killing of Western hostages have reportedly been captured by Syrian Kurdish fighters allied to the US.

American officials said Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, part of a group that was dubbed the Beatles for their British accents, were detained by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-led militia.

The New York Times was first to report that the SDF had caught the men in January and made them available to the US military personnel for questioning.

The newspaper said the US troops confirmed their identities using fingerprints and additional biometric measurements. Reuters also reported their capture quoting two US officials.

The group of four Britons, who all lived in London before travelling to Syria, became notorious for their involvement in the beheading and killing of a number of Western hostages  incidents that were routinely posted on the internet.

Alexanda Kotey was one of two remaining members of a group of four British Isis fighters

The ringleader, Mohammed Emwazi, who became known as Jihadi John, was killed in an air strike in 2015. A fourth man, Aine Davis, is currently imprisoned in Turkey on terrorism charges.

Kotey, 34, born in London, is of Ghanaian and Greek Cypriot background, while the family of 29-yea-old Elsheikhs family fled Sudan in the 1990s.

Both men have been designated foreign terrorists by the United States.

Alexanda Amon Kotey, a British national, is one of four members of an execution cell for the Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO) and SDGT group, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil). The notorious cell, dubbed the Beatles and once headed by now-deceased SDGT Mohamed Emwazi (also known as Jihadi John), is responsible for holding captive and beheading approximately two dozen hostages, including several Westerners, the US State Department said last year.

Among them: American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and American aid worker Peter Kassig. As a guard for the cell, Kotey likely engaged in the groups executions and exceptionally cruel torture methods, including electronic shock and waterboarding. Kotey has also acted as an Isil recruiter and is responsible for recruiting several UK nationals to join the terrorist organisation.

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Elsheikh travelled to Syria in 2012 and joined Al-Qaeda in Syria before aligning himself with Isis.

Elsheikh was said to have earned a reputation for waterboarding, mock executions and crucifixions while serving as an Isis jailer, the State Department said.

Emwazi was blamed for the killings of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and aid worker Abdul-Rahman Kassig.

The newspaper said a senior US official said the two men had already provided valuable information to military interrogators about the remaining Isis leadership and support structure.

It said there were some indications the two men initially sought to hide their identities, but the Special Operations forces routinely run fingerprint checks and other biometric measurements to identify known extremist leaders.

It said other information had been collected from cellphones and other electronic equipment they were carrying.

The men could also have information about other hostages, including the British journalist John Cantlie, who was abducted with in 2012. Since he was taken hostage, Mr Cantlie has appeared in several Isis propaganda videos.
United States Nathan Chen performs in the mens single short program team event at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Gangneung, South Korea, Friday, Feb. 9, 2018. (AP)

Stand-up comedian and Saturday Night Live cast member Leslie Jones isnt in South Korea just yet, but that didnt stop her from weighing in on some of the first events at the Winter Olympics.

Jones tweets during the 2016 Olympics  which she helped cover for NBC  quickly went viral, and NBC invited her back to help cover the 2018 games in PyeongChang, South Korea.

Jones took to Twitter on Thursday night while in New York City to weigh in while watching the mens team figure skating event on television.

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Though Jones commentary wasnt focused much on the technical aspect of the skating competition, she did have pretty strong feelings about the athletes outfits on the ice.

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She quickly fell in love with United States figure skater Nathan Chen, who is a favorite among the Americans to win a gold medal.

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Chen fell in his fifth jump during his short routine on Thursday night, finishing with a score of 80.61.

Although she doesnt have any proof yet, Jones came to the conclusion that the better the outfit, the better the routine. Shes also convinced that designer Christian Siriano had something to do with different outfits from Thursday night.

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More Olympic coverage from Yahoo Sports:

 U.S. speed skater Shani Davis angry over not being name flag-bearer

 Shaun White found similiarities between himself and Michael Phelps in 14

 Twitter reacts to openly gay U.S. figure skater declining to meet with VP Mike Pence

 North Koreas Olympic participation might be violating international sanctions

 At DMZ, scars remain even as South Korea tries to heal


YouTube star Logan Paul is facing fresh criticism after posting a video of himself shooting dead rats with a stun gun.

It comes after the video blogger was roundly condemned for making a video featuring a dead mans body.

In a section of a video posted on Monday titled get these rats, Mr Paul and two of his friends find the carcasses of two rats on a porch.

Mr Paul then fires a Taser at the remains, saying: Die and get them, as his two friends scream and ask: Why?

No rat comes into my house without getting tased, he says, adding: Okay, so the rats are definitely dead.

After throwing the rats in a bin outside, Mr Paul fires his stun gun into the bin, saying: I hate rats.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta), the worlds largest animal rights charity, said the video was repulsive and called for its removal.

A Peta Twitter account posted a clip of the video, with the words: Yo, Logan Paul: death isnt funny. Exploiting dead bodies for views is disturbing.

Spokesperson Lisa Lange told celebrity news website TMZ: This sort of content has no place on YouTube or anywhere else, as it could desensitise young people to cruelty to animals,

The Independent has contacted YouTube and Mr Paul for comment.

The 22-year-old YouTuber took a three-week break from the platform earlier this year after he was roundly condemned in January for a video shot in Aokigahara  a Japanese woodland also known as the suicide forest.

Footage, which has since been deleted, showed Mr Paul discovering the corpse of a man thought to have killed himself in the forest.

The vlogger was then filmed standing next to the body while making jokes and laughing.

Mr Paul is one of the most popular YouTubers. His channel has more than 16 million subscribers.

Mr Paul has since issued two apologies for the incident and released a seven-minute video entitled Suicide: Be Here Tomorrow, in which he learns about suicide.

In the video, Mr Paul said his ignorance on the subject was part of the problem and pledged $1m (722,560) to various suicide organisations.
(Photo: Aaron Bernstein/Reuters)

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) pushed back against a Fox News report that implied Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) had engaged in misconduct by texting with a lobbyist associated with a Russian billionaire last year. But his efforts to defend his colleague were thwarted when President Donald Trump shared the Fox News claims on Twitter hours later.

Foxs exclusive Thursday report said Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, had extensive contact last year with lobbyist Adam Waldman to set up a meeting with Christopher Steele, the former British spy who wrote a dossier on then-presidential candidate Donald Trump. Waldman runs the Endeavor Group, a Washington lobbying firm that worked with a Russian oligarch named Oleg Deripaska in 2009 and 2010.

Waldman offered last March to connect Warner with Steele to discuss the infamous dossier. The article states that secrecy seemed very important to Warner and that the senator seemed particularly intent on connecting directly with Steele without anyone else on the Senate Intelligence Committee being in the loop  at least initially.

But as the Fox News story eventually acknowledges, Waldman informed the intelligence committee about the messages months ago, and the communication appears to fall in line with Warners duties on the intelligence committee.

Rubio pointed this out in his tweet Thursday.

Sen. Warner fully disclosed this to the committee four months ago, he wrote on Twitter, with a link to the article. He continued to note that the text messages have had zero impact on our work.

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But then Trump addressed the report late Thursday on Twitter. He did not note that the committee had been informed about the contact months ago.

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Warner and Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), chairman of the intelligence committee, told Fox News in a joint statement that the pair had been working together in a bipartisan way from the beginning of the investigation and slammed the release of incomplete information as unacceptable.

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Rubio has also been one of a handful of congressional Republicans to defend special counsel Robert Mueller as many of his colleagues have launched blistering attacks about Muellers Russia investigation, including the president. In a December interview with Floridas News-Press, Rubio defended Muellers reputation and said he believed the best thing would be for the investigation to be completed as thoroughly and as completely as possible.

From his reputation and everything I know about him, I remain convinced that when this is all said and done, Mueller is going to only pursue things that are true, and he will do it in a fair and balanced way, Rubio said.

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By Nate Raymond (Reuters) - Maryland's attorney general has filed a lawsuit seeking to enforce a subpoena the state sent Insys Therapeutics Inc as part of a probe into allegations the drugmaker deceptively marketed a fentanyl-based cancer pain medicine. Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh confirmed on Thursday that his office filed a lawsuit in state court after Insys resisted turning over documents sought as part of an investigation into the drugmaker's role in the opioid epidemic. Frosh said the state had been investigating the Chandler, Arizona-based company since 2016 amid allegations that Insys had marketed its product Subsys to not just patients with severe cancer pain but for other conditions. The lawsuit, filed on Monday, called Insys's resistance to turning over all of the documents the state sought "troubling" given its claims that its conduct had changed. "Usually the reason people fight disclosures is that they don't want the people seeking disclosures to know what they've been up to," Frosh said in an interview. Insys did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It has said that it has taken steps to prevent past mistakes from happening again and has said that Subsys made up 0.02 percent of opioid prescriptions in 2016. Insys has found itself at the center of several lawsuits and investigations focused on Subsys, an under-the-tongue spray intended for cancer patients that contains fentanyl, a synthetic opioid. Federal prosecutors in Boston have accused seven former executives and managers at Insys including billionaire founder John Kapoor of participating in a scheme to bribe doctors to prescribe Subsys and to defraud insurers. According to prosecutors, beginning in 2012, Kapoor, former Insys Chief Executive Michael Babich and others engaged in a scheme to bribe medical practitioners by paying them to participate in sham speaker program events. Prosecutors have sought to link the case to the national opioid abuse epidemic. Opioids were involved in over 42,000 overdose deaths in 2016, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Kapoor, Babich and their co-defendants have pleaded not guilty. Insys has said it may have to pay at minimum $150 million as part of a settlement with the U.S. Justice Department. It already agreed to pay $9.45 million in settlements with four state attorneys general and faces lawsuits by five others. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Leslie Adler and Lisa Shumaker)
By Alex Dobuzinskis

(Reuters) - A New Mexico newspaper apologized on Thursday for publishing a cartoon portraying illegal immigrants brought to the United States as children as street criminals that drew widespread condemnation as racist.

Illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. as children by their parents are known as "Dreamers" after the name of legislation that would have granted them the right to permanent residency. Congressional Republicans and Democrats fought over the legislation and the status of the "Dreamers" has been at the center of the U.S. immigration debate and negotiations over the U.S. budget that are ongoing.

The cartoon appeared on Wednesday in the Albuquerque Journal and showed two armed men holding up a couple. One of the men is wearing a jacket that says MS-13, the name of a criminal street gang that has ties to the Central American country of El Salvador. Republican President Donald Trump has blamed illegal immigration for the spread of MS-13 in the U.S.

In the cartoon, the woman utters a profanity and the man responds, "Now, Honey ... I believe they prefer to be called 'Dreamers' ... or future Democrats."

Another armed man in the cartoon holds a sword, with a mask on his face and sticks of dynamite around his chest, in an apparent depiction of a suicide bomber.

"In hindsight, instead of generating debate, this cartoon only inflamed emotions," Karen Moses, executive editor of the Albuquerque Journal, said in a statement. "This was not the intent, and for that, the Journal apologizes."

All of the U.S. senators and members of Congress from New Mexico condemned the cartoon in a joint statement, saying it "plays to the most false and negative stereotype of 'Dreamers,' which can only serve to enrage extremists."

A photographer at the Albuquerque Journal who is originally from El Salvador also criticized the cartoon on Twitter.

Sean Delonas, the artist who drew the cartoon, could not be reached for comment.

He told the New York Times that he believed immigrants should come legally to the United States, the Times reported.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
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South Korean President Moon Jae-in held a reception for international delegates ahead of Fridays Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony in PyeongChang.

Vice President Mike Pence, the leader of the the U.S. delegation, was among 12 leaders invited to sit at the head table, where he was expected to sit across from Kim Yong Nam, the President of the Presidium of the Supreme Peoples Assembly and representative from North Korea.

That did not happen. Pence made a brief appearance and left early to meet with U.S. athletes prior to the Opening ceremony, South Korean officials told Reuters. He did not take a seat, but met and shook hands with other leaders, including Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, according to the report.

He left without interacting with Kim Yong Nam.

Pence did, however, sit near Kim Yong Nam and Kim Jong Uns sister Kim Yo Jong at the Opening Ceremony, thanks to a seating arrangement that was out of his control. He did not interact with them, while Moon shook hands with Kim Yo Jong.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, North Koreas nominal head of state Kim Yong Nam, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Uns younger sister Kim Yo Jong attend the Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony. (Reuters)

Pence also met with defectors on Friday, some of whom had been tortured in North Korea, where he warned of the country using the Olympics to put on a charm offensive.

Today we thought it was important to make sure the truth is told, Pence said of North Korea. As these people and their lives testify, it is a regime that imprisons, and tortures, and impoverishes its citizens.

While Moon has sought to use the Olympics as a chance to thaw relations with South Koreas adversarial neighbors from the North through diplomacy, Pence is using his presence in PyeongChang to keep the spotlight on North Koreas history of human rights atrocities.

As we speak, an estimated 100,000 North Korean citizens are labor in modern-day gulags, Pence said in speech to U.S. service members at Yokota Air Base in Japan before he arrived in South Korea. Those who dare raise their voices in dissent are imprisoned, tortured, and even murdered, and their children and grandchildren are routinely punished for their familys sins against the state.

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Pence was also critical Friday of a military parade that North Korea held on the eve of the Olympics, contrasting it with a planned military parade in the U.S. at the behest of President Donald Trump.

Make no mistake about it, what we witnessed in Pyongyang, and we witnessed again yesterday, on the eve of the Olympics  what President Moon said last night, he hopes will be an Olympics of peace  was once again an effort on the part of the regime in Pyongyang to display their ballistic missiles, Pence told reporters, to display a military that continues to make menacing threats across the region and across the wider world.

I think in the United States of America, just as in France  where the president was impressed on Bastille Day  we can celebrate our troops, not in any way ever be associated with the provocations of the North.

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 Pence avoids shaking hands with North Korean delegate before Opening Ceremony
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence made only a brief appearance at a reception marking the start of the Winter Olympics on Friday, avoiding a potentially awkward encounter with the ceremonial leader of North Korea attending the same event.

The reception, hosted by South Korean President Moon Jae-in in the mountain resort of Pyeongchang, was the culmination of months of work by Seoul, which seeks to use the Olympics to ease tension spurred by North Koreas pursuit of nuclear weapons.

Ahead of the reception, South Korean media said Pence was expected to be seated opposite Kim Yong Nam, North Koreas nominal head of state, at the 12-seat head table.

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However, South Koreas presidential Blue House said Pence had a meeting scheduled with U.S. athletes and had only planned to stay briefly to greet other officials.

Mike Pence

Reuters

Pence shook hands with other leaders, including close ally Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, but not Kim Yong Nam, according to a Blue House pool report.

Earlier on Friday, Pence said Moon gave his backing to additional measures the United States is planning to try to curb North Koreas missile and nuclear programs.

Pence spoke after paying tribute at a memorial for 46 South Korean sailors killed in the sinking of a warship in 2010 that Seoul blamed on a North Korean torpedo attack.

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Kim Yong Nam landed in South Korea on Friday along with leader Kim Jong Uns younger sister, Kim Yo Jong, aboard her brothers private jet.

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The white aircraft had the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, North Koreas official name, inscribed in black in Korean on its side, followed by the North Korean flag.

Kim Yo Jong and her delegation were greeted by government officials, including Unification Minister Cho Myong-gyon, before boarding a bullet train to Pyeongchang. A special train had been prepared just for the visitors, a Blue House pool report said.

Smiling and seemingly unfazed by cameras flashing during the airport meeting, Kim Yo Jong wore a black coat, matching ankle boots and carried a black purse. Dozens of South Koreans at the airport tried to snap photographs of her on their mobile phones.

She is the first member of North Koreas ruling family to visit the South, while Kim Yong Nam is the most senior North Korean official to make a cross-border trip.

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The pair will have lunch with Moon on Saturday, Moons office said.

Pence had kept open the possibility for some contact with the North Koreans in South Korea, while reiterating Washingtons insistence that denuclearization by North Korea is a necessary condition for peace.

Pence, Kim Yo Jong and other world leaders will attend the opening ceremony in Pyeongchang, just 50 miles from the heavily fortified border between North and South Korea, later on Friday.

Hundreds of antiNorth Korea protesters scuffled with riot police not far from the main stadium hours before the opening ceremony was due to begin, with some of their banners reading: Moon regime is leading Korea to destruction.

Thousands of spectators, including a squad of more than 200 North Korean cheerleaders, filled the stadium awaiting the start of the opening ceremony, when the two Koreas will march together under one peninsula flag for the first time in more than a decade.

It is not as cold as I expected. It is a blessed day. I like the reconciliatory mood and I have high expectations, said Kim Sang-yoon, a 44-year-old businessman who drove nearly five hours to see the opening ceremony with his wife and two sons.

Nearly 500 North Koreans have arrived in South Korea for the Olympics, which run to February 25.

This article was first written by Newsweek

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Lyon (AFP) - Robbers posing as plumbers kidnapped the daughter of a cash van driver and demanded the vehicle's contents as ransom in a heist that could have netted them over 20 million euros, investigators said Friday.

The hold-up, resembling the plot of a Hollywood action movie, took place Thursday night near the French-Swiss border.

It began in the early evening in the southeastern French city of Lyon, where two men pretending to be plumbers kidnapped the 22-year-old woman from her apartment, a source close to the investigation told AFP.

The victim told investigators she was bundled into a car and tied up.

She was then forced to telephone her father who works for SOS Surveillance, a Swiss company that transports money between companies and banks in armoured vehicles, to demand a ransom.

The father, who lives in the French border town of Annemasse, was carrying out a cash delivery with a colleague when the call came through, police sources said.

He agreed to meet the kidnappers in a car park just across the border on the Swiss side, to hand over the van's contents, investigators said.

Swiss police said the father was en route to the city of Lausanne when he was forced to exit the motorway and head for the car park, where he was met by black-clad robbers wearing gloves and balaclavas.

- Daughter found by roadside -

"There, several armed men who were awaiting the van made him park it. They then held up the delivery drivers, completely emptied the van's contents and fled in a dark-coloured Porsche SUV," Swiss police said in a statement Friday.

A French police source told AFP the van was carrying "between 20 and 30 million Swiss francs (17-26 million euros, $21-32 million)", but a spokesman for Swiss police in Vaud refused to confirm the amount.

The driver's daughter was found unharmed at around 10 pm (2100 GMT) on a road on the outskirts of Lyon.

She was questioned by police on Friday and said to be still in a state of shock.

Story continues

"We have no reason to question her story," a French source with knowledge of the investigation said, adding that police suspected a criminal gang.

No arrests have been made yet in the probe, which is being led by French police, while Swiss police have launched an appeal for witnesses to come forward.

Swiss police said they were looking for three men with accented French, "maybe from the south of France or North Africa", and called on any witnesses to come forward.

"Many details remain unexplained," the French source said, adding that the investigation was expected to take some time.
By Sanjeev Miglani

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - After a public embrace of Israel as a strategic partner, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is heading to the Palestinian territories and the Gulf countries on Friday to bolster long-standing political and economic ties.

India was one of the earliest champions of the Palestinian cause but in recent years turned to Israel for high-tech military equipment and anti-terrorism cooperation.

Under Modi, whose nationalist party sees Israel as a natural ally against Islamist extremism, ties have flourished. Modi made the first trip to Israel by an Indian prime minister last year followed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to India last month.

But Indian officials said India continued to support the Palestinian cause and that Modi's visit is aimed at helping build up the Palestinians' capacity in the health, information technology and education areas.

"We have de-hyphenated our relations with Palestine and Israel and now we see them both as mutually independent and exclusive and as part of this policy the prime minister is undertaking this visit," B. Bala Bhaskar, a joint secretary in the Indian foreign ministry, said.

The two sides are building a India-Palestinian technology park in Ramallah, the Palestinians seat of government, which will develop IT expertise and generate employment.

Modi is due to arrive in Jordan later on Friday and travel to Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on Saturday. During his visit to Israel last year, he did not travel to the Palestinian headquarters as is usually the case with visiting leaders.

"Looking forward to my discussions with President Mahmoud Abbas and reaffirming our support for the Palestinian people and the development of Palestine," Modi said in a Twitter post.

India was among more than 120 countries to vote in favour of a resolution in December calling for the United States to drop its recent recognition of Jerusalem as Israels capital.

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But the scale of India's security and commercial ties with Israel dwarfs the engagement with the Palestinians. Israel is among India's top three arms suppliers, doing business worth millions of dollars each year.

Modi and Netanyahu are now pushing for cooperation in agriculture, energy and cybersecurity in addition to defence.

Modi will also travel to the United Arab Emirates, from where India gets half of its oil, and to Oman, with which India's navy has built close security ties.

The Gulf is home to nine million Indians who remit $35 billion home each year, sustaining millions of families. The UAE committed an investment of $75 billion in India when Modi visited in 2015 and the two sides will be looking to advance that goal, the foreign ministry said.

(Reporting by Sanjeev Miglani; Editing by Nick Macfie)
A Montana man became a social media sensation this week after quitting his job in the states labor department rather than handle paperwork that he said could lead to the arrest of undocumented immigrants.

There were going to be subpoenas for information that would end up being used to hunt down & deport undocumented workers, Jordon Dyrdahl-Roberts wrote on Twitter Wednesday, adding:

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Dyrdahl-Roberts, a legal secretary with the department since 2011, was told on Tuesday that he should help process subpoena requests from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Independent Record reported.

I immediately said, I dont think I can help with that, he told the newspaper. I began talking with management about what the deal was, but I pretty much understood at that point.

The agency reportedly offered to relocate Dyrdahl-Roberts to another position in the department, but it appears he declined.

The department is in communication with Jordon and its our understanding his decision to resign is purely based on his personal opposition to the federal administrations rhetoric on immigration, spokesman Jake Troyer told NBC station KULR. Jordons involvement in the process of responding to subpoenas was limited to assisting attorneys with processing requests.

Carl Rusnok, regional director of communications for ICE, told the Great Falls Tribune that the agency routinely subpoenas other local, state and federal agencies and private companies for information in furtherance of ongoing investigations.

He declined to comment on the specifics.

Im drawing my line in the sand here, Dyrdahl-Roberts wrote on Twitter. Cooperation with this regime is not acceptable.

Dyrdahl-Roberts was initially accepting donations to help him support his family as he looked for a new job, but later said he had received enough. Instead, he encouraged supporters to consider donating to the people of Puerto Rico or Flint, Michigan.

He added:

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Actress Lupita Nyong'o behind the scenes of the "I Am An Immigrant" photo shoot.

Actor Bobby Cannavale behind the scenes of the "I Am An Immigrant" photo shoot.

Akon behind the scenes of the "I Am An Immigrant" photo shoot.

Actor Alan Cumming behind the scenes of the "I Am An Immigrant" photo shoot.

Actor Wilmer Valderrama behind the scenes of the "I Am An Immigrant" photo shoot.

Actress Tracee Ellis Ross behind the scenes of the "I Am An Immigrant" photo shoot.

Singer Miguel behind the scenes of the "I Am An Immigrant" photo shoot.

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The mother of Natalee Holloway is suing Oxygen Media, claiming its 2017 television series about her daughters disappearance in Aruba was a fictional farce that caused unnecessary suffering.

Beth Holloway said in the lawsuit filed on Feb. 2 that the NBC-owned network and the Los Angeles-based production company Brian Graden Media made knowingly false declarations about her daughters disappearance.

The six-part series, The Disappearance of Natalee Holloway, was misleading in the airing of unconfirmed allegations and in claiming bone fragments purportedly found on Aruba could belong to her daughter, the suit alleges.

The series was not a real-time or legitimate investigation into new leads, according to the lawsuit. The series was a pre-planned farce and its publication was outrageous.

Private investigator T.J. Ward, left, and Dave Holloway, the father of Natalee, appeared on an Oxygen program about her disappearance in 2005 while she was on a high school graduation trip. (Photo: Oxygen Media)

Natalee Holloway, 18, from Mountain Brook, Alabama, disappeared on May 30, 2005, while on a trip to Aruba to celebrate her high school graduation. Her body has never been found, and shes presumed dead.

Oxygen promoted the series as the latest and, perhaps, final chapter of the decade-long pursuit to uncover what really happened to Natalee. It wasnt.

In the days leading up to the Aug. 19, 2017, premiere, Natalee Holloways father, Dave Holloway, and private investigator T.J. Ward, announced the discovery of bone fragments.

They are in the testing process, Dave Holloway told HuffPost on Aug. 16, 2017. Its a reputable lab and thats all I can tell you at this point.

Ward said the discovery was the culmination of an 18-month investigation.

Its viable information, Ward told HuffPost.

The claims brought denials from Aruba Public Prosecutor Dorean Kardol, who told HuffPost no human remains were found.

During an investigation by police in an area indicated by Mr. Holloway, we found remains, but they were found to be from animals, Kardol said.

The FBI told HuffPost they were unable to locate records of human remains being brought into the U.S. from Aruba in connection with the Natalee Holloway case.

Story continues

The TV show offered a theory that John Ludwick, left, helped suspect Joran van der Sloot hide the remains of the Alabama teenager. (Photo: Facebook)

The centerpiece of the Oxygen series was a man named John Ludwick, who has long claimed to be a close friend of Joran van der Sloot, who in 2005 was a 17-year-old Dutch honors student living in Aruba. Natalee Holloways classmates said they last saw her leaving a nightclub with van der Sloot before she vanished. Police repeatedly questioned him about the girls disappearance.

Ludwick, in the Oxygen series, told multiple fanciful stories about what had supposedly happened to Holloway and claimed he helped dig up and dispose of her remains years after her death. At one point in the Oxygen series, Ludwick pointed out bone fragments hidden in Aruba that supposedly belonged to Natalee Holloway.

The lawsuit filed by Beth Holloway contends she was not involved in the Oxygen series. As a result, in an effort to determine if anything new was actually uncovered, she had to watch the TV series. In doing so, she had to listen to claims that her daughter had been drugged, raped, killed and, according to Ludwick, that Natalee Holloways bones were ultimately exhumed, crushed and cremated.

Enduring the heinous acts portrayed in the Oxygen series completely and utterly destroyed me, Beth Holloway said, according to the lawsuit.

A man in Lima, Peru, holds posters of Dutch citizen Joran Van der Sloot and Peruvian girl Stephany Flores outside the Lurigancho prison, where van der Sloot was being read his sentence for murdering Flores in 2012. Van der Sloot was sentenced to 28 years in prison. (Photo: Pilar Olivares / Reuters)

Van der Sloot did not participate in the Oxygen program. He is serving a 28-year prison sentence in Peru for the 2010 murder of 21-year-old Peruvian business student Stephany Flores Ramirez.

The Oxygen series concluded on Sept. 23, 2017, without divulging the results of the DNA testing on the bone fragments, saying the results were inconclusive. The results, which showed Natalee Holloway was not a match, were not released until Oct. 2 on Oxygen.com.

Beth Holloway said evidence exists showing the results were in fact known prior to the airing of the final episode.

In truth, despite their representations ... defendants knew prior to concluding their Series that the Bone Fragments did not belong to Natalee, the suit claims.

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Beth Holloways lawsuit is not the first to be filed in connection with the Oxygen series. Its also not the first time the credibility of the program has been questioned. HuffPost last year published several stories about the series, which raised troubling questions.

In early October 2017, HuffPost discovered sex offender Edward Kramer is claiming responsibility for the Oxygen series.

A science-fiction author, who co-founded the nationally known DragonCon science-fiction and fantasy convention, appeared in court in Gwinnett County, Georgia, on charges of molesting three boys, according to The Gwinnett Daily Post. Kramer, then 52, entered a so-called Alford plea  a type of guilty plea that acknowledges the strength of the evidence but allows the defendant to maintain innocence  to three counts of child molestation.

Kramer, according to a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in California against Brian Graden Media and production company Lipstick Inc., claims he is co-owner, developer and writer of the Oxygen series. Kramer seeks unspecified just compensation for his work, plus punitive damages.

The two production companies said in a response that Kramer was an employee or agent of T.J. Ward.

Ward told HuffPost that Kramer indeed helped develop the Oxygen program.

They relied on him for information and promised him certain things, Ward said.

Edward Kramer's profile on the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Sex Offender registry. (Photo: Georgia Bureau of Investigation)

That same month, a man who identified himself as Eliot Benton told HuffPost he could arrange for Ludwick and Gabriel Madrigal, a man described in the Oxygen series as an informant, to reveal the actual location of Natalee Holloways remains.

If the Huffington Post were interested, Im pretty sure it could be arraigned, Benton said. If you came up with like $5,000 [and gave] $2,500 to Gabriel and $2,500 to John, that would probably cover it.

The $5,000, Benton said, would be in addition to any travel expenses the men would incur in revealing the location of the bones. HuffPost does not pay for interviews and information.

Ward later added another twist to the developments: He said Benton doesnt exist  and Benton is really Edward Kramer.

He uses his middle name and the [last name of a] girl he was living with, Ward told HuffPost.

Ward said he was aware that Kramer is a registered sex offender and that Kramer had used the name Benton as an alias in press releases about Ward.

Its unclear if Natalee Holloways father was aware that a registered sex offender was purportedly involved in the production of the Oxygen series.

(Photo: Oxygen Media)

Oxygen denies it tried to pull the wool over anyones eyes.

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 a statement provided to The Birmingham News by Oxygen Media.

The documentary series was developed by a production company in close collaboration with Dave Holloway and his long-time private investigator, the statement continued. The show followed his continued search to find answers about his daughter Natalee from a lead he had received. We had hoped, along with Mr. Holloway, that the information was going to provide closure.

While the show failed to provide the Holloway family closure, it did enrich some of the participants, according to Beth Holloways lawsuit. She is seeking $35 million in compensatory and punitive damages.

Send David Lohr an email or follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

Related Coverage

Natalee Holloway's Dad Having Human Remains Tested For DNA

No Human Remains Found In Search For Natalee Holloway: Prosecutor

Sex Offender Claims Responsibility For Natalee Holloway TV Series

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Anita Knutson

In 2007, Anita Knutson was an 18-year-old Minot State University student majoring in elementary education. Knutson was, according to her family, exceptionally responsible for her age and juggled three part-time jobs while attending college.



Despite a busy life, she kept in regular contact with her family. So, when she went two days without returning phone calls, her father went to her off-campus apartment on June 4, 2007.



When repeated knocks to the door of her 4th Street apartment went unanswered, her father had the building manager open the door. When the concerned father stepped inside, his worst fears became a reality when he found his daughter's lifeless body on the floor of her bedroom.



Authorities determined the young woman had been stabbed multiple times, more than a day before her body was found. The murder weapon, a bloody knife, was found discarded in a sink. Detectives also determined someone had cut the screen to Knutson's bedroom window, presumable to gain entry into her apartment.



Despite an intensive investigation, authorities were unable to identify a suspect or person of interest in her murder and the case went cold.



READ: Family Of Murdered MSU Student Demands Answers

JonBenet Ramsey

On Dec. 26, 1996, 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey was found bludgeoned and strangled to death in the basement of her family's Boulder, Colorado, home. A ransom note from an anonymous group of individuals "that represent a foreign faction" asking for $118,000 in exchange for the safe return of JonBenet was found just hours before, but no call ever came from a kidnapper and it was never linked to a murderer. The entire Ramsey family was cleared of any involvement in the murder of JonBenet back in 2008, thanks to then newly discovered DNA evidence, according to 9News.



Beginning in 2010, investigators reopened the case and launched a fresh round of interviews with witnesses that could provide more insight into the murder, according to ABC News, but nothing fruitful came of those interviews. The DNA evidence still points to an "unexplained third party" that serves as a vague lead for authorities still pursuing the case, Time magazine reported. Boulder police have tested more than 150 DNA samples and investigated nearly the same amount of potential suspects in their ongoing investigation, but none have ever been linked to the crime.



Read More: JonBenet Ramsey's Killer 'May Be Lost Forever'

Kathleen Kolodziej

Kathleen Kolodziej was reported missing to police in Duanesburg, New York, on Nov. 2, 1974. The 17-year-old college student was last seen early that morning at a local bar. Kolodziej's whereabouts remained a mystery until Nov. 28, 1974, Thanksgiving morning, when investigators located her partially clothed body.



Read More: Kathleen Kolodziej's Murder A 38-Year Mystery

John Spira

John Spira, a 45-year-old blues-rock musician from Chicago known as "Chicago Johnny," has been missing since Feb. 23, 2007. He was last seen at about 7 p.m. at Universal Cable Construction Inc. in DuPage County. Spira co-owned the company with David Stubben, his business partner of 17 years. Spira had plans to meet a friend for dinner in nearby Oak Brook at 8:30 p.m., but he never arrived. The following evening, John's band, The Rabble Rousers, was scheduled to play in Montgomery. However, "Chicago Johnny," well-respected and normally reliable, was a no-show.



Read More: John Spira Still Missing 5 Years Later

Bobbi Ann Campbell

It has been many years since anyone has seen Utah mom Bobbi Ann Campbell. She was last seen in Salt Lake City in December 1994, when she dropped her 5-year-old daughter off at a friend's house. The young mother said she would return after she picked up her paycheck from work and purchased groceries. She never came back. Campbell, then 24, was there one minute and gone the next. She left no immediate trace and no trail to follow.



Read More: Bobbi Ann Campbell Missing: Daughter Seeks Closure In 19-Year-Old Case

Colonial Parkway Murders

The victims, eight in all, came in pairs. Many were young lovers who apparently met their fates mid-assignation. Each of the homicides occurred along the scenic 23-mile route between Jamestown and Yorktown in Virginia, giving them a ready name: the Colonial Parkway murders. Due to the shared location and other similarities among the deaths, law enforcement officials viewed them as the work of a possible serial killer.



Read More: Unsolved Murders Of Young Lovers In Va.

Sarah Kinslow

Sarah Kinslow was last seen by her parents on May 1, 2001, when her dad dropped her off at Greenville Middle School in her hometown of Greenville, Texas, at approximately 7:20 a.m. It was not until after the school day ended that the Kinslows were notified their daughter had not attended any of her classes. When Louise Kinslow spoke to her daughter's friends, they said her daughter was supposed to skip school with them that day and meet up at nearby East Mount Cemetery. Concerned, Kinslow contacted police and reported the teen missing.



Authorities took an article of Sarah Kinslow's clothing from the family home and brought a tracking dog to the school. Investigators were able to pick up her scent where she had exited her father's car. The dog followed the scent around the school and to a location two blocks away, where...



Read More: Sarah Kinslow Missing: 11 Years, No Answers

Robert Levinson

Robert Levinson is a former FBI special agent who retired from the FBI in 1998 after 22 years of service. In March 2007, Levinson traveled to Kish Island, Iran, as a private investigator to reportedly look into a cigarette smuggling investigation. He disappeared on March 9 of that year. In 2010, a video purportedly showing Levinson in captivity was sent to his family by his alleged captors.



Read More: Retired FBI Agent Missing Since 2007

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
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United States figure skater Nathen Chen got off to a rough start at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.

Chen, who is a favorite among skaters from the United States to win a gold medal, fell in his opening routine in the mens team event Thursday night.

The 18-year-old wiped out in his fifth jump in his short program. He quickly jumped back up and finished the routine, ending with an initial score of 80.61. The United States earned seven points in the team event after the short program, and sits in fourth place.

His performance was apparently the worst short program that former United States figure skater Johnny Weir had ever seen out of Chen.

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Chen said after that he thought it was just a mental issue, something hes hoping to correct moving forward.

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More Olympic coverage from Yahoo Sports:

 U.S. speed skater Shani Davis angry over not being name flag-bearer

 Shaun White found similiarities between himself and Michael Phelps in 14

 Twitter reacts to openly gay U.S. figure skater declining to meet with VP Mike Pence

 North Koreas Olympic participation might be violating international sanctions

 At DMZ, scars remain even as South Korea tries to heal


By Kevin O'Hanlon

LINCOLN, Nebraska (Reuters) - A self-proclaimed white nationalist student who appeared in a video saying he loves violence will not be disciplined by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the school's chancellor said on Thursday.

The decision comes as free speech and racial issues are being hotly debated on college campuses after the growing prominence of the so-called alt right and neo-Nazi movements.

UNL junior Daniel Kleve appeared in an online livestream on Jan. 23 in which he said that while he may not present himself like other white nationalists, it doesnt mean that I dont love violence. You dont have to look like a violent person to be violent."

In an email to students, faculty and staff members on Thursday, university chancellor Ronnie Green wrote that while Kleves comments are distasteful, no disciplinary action will be taken because of Kleves constitutional guarantee of free speech.

Like many of you, I categorically reject the viewpoints represented in the video, which are rooted in racism and bigotry," Green wrote. "The students viewpoint  however hateful and intolerant it is  is also protected by the First Amendment. That is the law, even if we disagree.

The activist group Anti-Fascist Action Nebraska posted a video (http://bit.ly/2GZs8Os) on Monday containing clips from Kleves livestream and alleging that he attended the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, last August at which a 32-year-old woman was killed when an alt-right sympathizer drove his car into a group of counter-protesters.

Kleve responded in a follow-up video (http://bit.ly/2C6XrmF) on Tuesday, in which he called the activists' video "horribly edited" and an effort to paint him as a "domestic terrorist."

A crowd of about 200 people attended a rally on Wednesday organized by a group called "UNL Against Hate" outside the schools student union to protest Kleves comments.

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Reuters was not immediately able to reach Kleve for comment. He told the Omaha World-Herald on Wednesday that he sometimes deliberately exaggerates to test the boundaries of free speech, but that he does feel an actual need to defend his heritage.

Last month, the University of Alabama expelled a student for making racist comments in videos posted on online. Harley Barber, 19, used a racial slur for African-Americans several times in the videos, according to local media. Barber later apologized.

(This story corrects quote in headline and first paragraph)

(Editing by David Gregorio and Clive McKeef)
Jerusalem (AFP) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has lashed out at police in a rare attack with detectives reportedly on the verge of recommending his indictment for accepting bribes.

Pressure has built on Netanyahu as police investigating him in the long-running probe reportedly prepare to submit their recommendations to the attorney general next week.

Israeli media have reported that police are expected to recommend his indictment for bribery, fraud and breach of public trust.

Israeli authorities have refused to comment publicly on the reports. The attorney general is expected to take weeks or months to decide how to proceed after receiving the recommendations.

On Wednesday night, Police Commissioner Roni Alsheich said in an interview with Channel 2 television that detectives probing Netanyahu had been targeted by private investigators to dig up dirt on them.

Netanyahu posted a response on Facebook late Wednesday in which he lashed out at the police commissioner, calling suggestions that he sent private investigators on such a mission "ridiculous".

"It is shocking to discover that the commissioner has repeated the mistaken and ridiculous suggestion that Prime Minister Netanyahu sent private investigators after the police who are investigating him," the post said.

He also referred to claims that sexual harassment allegations against the head of the unit investigating Netanyahu were an attempt to smear him because of the graft probe.

"Any honest person would ask himself how people who say such delusional things about the prime minister can objectively investigate him and honestly give unbiased recommendations," the post said.

"A large shadow was cast tonight over the police investigations and their recommendations related to Prime Minister Netanyahu."

The investigation has raised the possibility that Netanyahu, prime minister for a total of nearly 12 years, will eventually be forced to resign.

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- Cigars and champagne -

Police are investigating Netanyahu over suspicions that he received expensive gifts, including pricey cigars, from wealthy supporters such as Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan and Australian billionaire James Packer.

His wife allegedly received bottles of pink champagne.

The gifts were reportedly worth some tens of thousands of dollars.

They are also probing allegations that he sought a secret deal for favourable coverage with the publisher of top-selling newspaper Yediot Aharonot.

According to Israeli media, police are expected to recommend the indictments in the first case, but no decision has been made in the second.

Netanyahu has been questioned seven times by police over the allegations.

A separate investigation is also underway in which Netanyahu allies have been questioned by police over the purchase of German submarines.

Netanyahu has not been named as a suspect in the submarine investigation, but the probe has added to the pressure building around him.

The 68-year-old premier has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and says he is being targeted by political opponents. He repeated that in a video posted to Facebook on Wednesday.

He said he was "confident in the fact that at the end of the day, the legal authorities will arrive at the only conclusion possible, the simple truth: There is nothing."

Netanyahu's allies have in the past said there is no crime in friends exchanging gifts, but investigators have reportedly arrived at the conclusion that they were in fact bribes.

An indictment alone would not legally oblige Netanyahu to resign, though he would likely face mounting pressure to do so. He would be legally forced to resign if convicted and with all appeals exhausted.

Parliament, however, could also enact a special procedure against him before his case is exhausted if he is found to be guilty of moral turpitude.

Netanyahu's time as premier is fast approaching Israel's revered founding father David Ben-Gurion's 13 years, and he has shown himself to be a shrewd politician.

But an indictment is sure to encourage his political rivals -- including those from within his own party -- to move against him.

Israel has not shied away from pursuing criminal cases against top politicians.

Ex-prime minister Ehud Olmert resigned from office after police recommended he be indicted for graft. He was freed from prison in July after being granted parole from a 27-month sentence.

He has largely remained out of the public eye since his release, but Israeli media reported that he broke his silence on the Netanyahu case on Wednesday.

"I wish for the prime minister that he end his term quickly and in a seemly manner," Olmert, also known for his taste for fine cigars, was quoted as saying at an event in Tel Aviv.
Police are reportedly expected to recommend next week that Mr Netanyahu face corruption charges - Bloomberg

Benjamin Netanyahu has lashed out at Israel's police chief amid reports that detectives will soon recommend that the prime minister face charges for corruption.

Two Israeli television channels claimed that police will next week recommend that Mr Netanyahu should be prosecuted for allegedly accepting illegal lavish gifts like champagne and cigars from two wealthy businessmen.

As the reports emerged, Israel's police chief, Roni Alseich, went on television and said "very powerful forces" had sent private investigators to "sniff around" in the private lives of detectives investigating the corruption cases.

He did not directly accuse Mr Netanyahu nor did he give details of the claim.

Shortly before midnight on Wednesday, Mr Netanyahu's office published a searing Facebook post questioning whether the police chief and his force could be trusted to carry out an objective investigation.

Both Mr Netanyahu and his wife Sara have been questioned by police several times Credit: Michal Fattal/Likud via Getty Images

"It is shocking to discover that the commissioner repeats the false suggestion that Prime Minister Netanyahu has sent private investigators against police officers who are interrogating him," the post said.

"A great shadow was cast this evening on the police investigations and recommendations in the case of Prime Minister Netanyahu."

One of Mr Netanyahu's chief political allies continued the attack on the objectivity of police on Thursday, accusing them of a political plot to bring down the prime minister.

"They see that the prime minister cannot be brought down at the ballot box so they try to bring him down through the Israel Police," said David Ansalem, Mr Netanyahu's chief whip.

Yair Lapid, the leader of a centrist opposition party, called Mr Netanyahu's attack "a desperate act" by a man "who decided to take advantage of his high status in order to threaten the rule of law and to cast blame on the police".

Yair Lapid, the leader of the centrist Yesh Atid party, criticised Mr Netanyahu Credit: David Vaaknin-Pool/Getty Images

Mr Netanyahu's allies and enemies have waited for months to learn the outcome of the multiple police investigations into the prime minister.

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"The sand in the hourglass is running out. Even if it has taken time, the end is nigh. Next week its going to happen," said Sima Kadmon, a commentator with the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.

Mr Netanyahu faces a two-step process. First detectives will decide whether or not to make a recommendation that he should be charged. Prosecutors will then decide whether to move forward with an indictment.

Mr Netanyahu has consistently denied any wrongdoing and insisted he will not resign in the face of the police investigations. But his position may become untenable if he is actually charged with a crime.

Opposition parties are likely to call for his resignation and rivals within Mr Netanyahu's own Likud party may also leap at the chance to unseat a prime minister who has held power for nearly 11 years.
Beer Rex

A new anxiety medication could reverse the harmful effects of heavy drinking on peoples brains  and might one day help to cure alcoholism.

The drug, tandospirone, is already used as an anxiety medication on people in China and Japan, so it is safe for people to consume.

In new mouse trials by Queensland University of Technology researchers, it was shown to reverse the loss of brain stem cells caused by heavy drinking.

Professor Selena Bartlett said that two weeks of the drug was enough to reverse the damage caused by 15 weeks of heavy binge-like drinking, ABC news reported.

Professor Bartlett said, We know that with heavy drinking you are inhibiting your ability to grow new neurons, brain cells  alcohol is specifically very damaging for neurons.

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Other studies in mice have shown that tandospirone improves brain neurogenesis, but this is the first time it has been shown that it can totally reverse the neurogenic deficits induced by alcohol.

I think the key here  which is the cool part  weve found a way to reverse that or change it, with something that we can actually give to people and I think thats a pretty significant breakthrough.

It might be able to help reboot the brain and reverse the deficits the alcohol abuse causes  both the inhibition to the brains ability to regenerate, and the behavioural consequences that come from what alcohol is doing to the brain, like increases in anxiety and depression, she said.
Nicole Eggert filed a police report on Tuesday against former Charles in Charge costar Scott Baio  after he dared her to do so. The actress told Los Angeles detectives that Baio sexually abused her when she was a minor, according to Eggerts lawyer, Lisa Bloom.

LAPD detectives interviewed Eggert in Blooms office, TMZ reported.

Nicole answered all of their questions for over an hour and told her story of sexual abuse by Scott Baio when she was a minor, Bloom said in a statement Wednesday to HuffPost. She said Charles in Charge costar Alexander Polinsky told the detectives about inappropriate touching he witnessed, as well.

We appreciate the Los Angeles police detectives interest in this case, and we will fully cooperate with their investigation, Bloom added.

Last month, Eggert accused Baio on social media and in television interviews of sexually assaulting her when she was underage. She said Baio, who is 11 years older, digitally penetrated her when she was 14, and had intercourse with her when she was 17.

Baio has denied the claims, saying he and Eggert had consensual sex when she was 18. He has repeatedly told Eggert to file a police report, and wrote in a Facebook post Jan. 28 that his lawyers requested that she go to the police.

Scott Baio, pictured in 2016 at the Republican National Convention, said he had sex with Nicole Eggert when she was 18. (Photo: Alex Wong via Getty Images)

Bloom said associates of Eggert witnessed Baios inappropriate behavior when her client was underage. We provided those names to the police today, Bloom said.

A rep for Baio told TMZ: Weve been demanding since last year that Nicole Eggert bring her story to the authorities. Its good that she finally has, even if its part of a publicity campaign. Perhaps she can explain to them her ever-changing story.

Nicole Eggert, appearing on Megyn Kelly's show in January, said Baio told her not to tell anyone or else the show would be canceled. (Photo: NBC via Getty Images)

Eggert also claimed that Baio told her to keep quiet about the assault when the 1980s sitcom was on the air lest the show be canceled and he be jailed.

It took Nicole a long time to come to the decision that she wanted to let the world know what Scott Baio did to her and its been very freeing for her to finally talk about what happened, a rep for Eggert told the New York Post. Nicole is very happy that the report is done and she looks forward to seeing how they handle the investigation.

Story continues

This article has been updated to include attorney Lisa Blooms statement to HuffPost.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Jeffrey Lewis

Security, Asia

Once the Olympics is over, testing is likely to resume and the long-running crisis between the United States and North Korea will be with us again.

North Korea's Missile Parade: A Tale of Missing Missiles

North Korea held a large military parade at 10 a.m. local time. The parade was subdued by comparison to past parades. In fact, it was not carried live on North Korean state television, but rebroadcast later. This meant that it happened in the dead of night here in the United States and is sure to be buried by the coverage of the Olympics opening in South Korea.

And yet, despite an obvious effort not to make headlines, the parade itself still contained some surprises, at least if you are, like me, interested in North Koreas growing missile capabilities.

The parade was distinguished by what we did not see as much as it was by what rolled through Kim Il-sung square. There were five types of missiles displayedall of which we had seen before. But what was missing? Well, for one thing, North Korea showed no Scud or Nodong missiles. These missiles have, historically, been the backbone of North Koreas missile force and a staple of military parades. Instead, we saw what looks like an extended-range variant of North Koreas Toksa short-range ballistic missile and launchers for the Pukguksong-2 medium-range ballistic missile.

These missiles are solid-fueled, which makes them easier for North Korea to operate. Liquid fuel is nasty and dangerous, and it imposes a number of operational constraints that can only be partially overcome. There is a reason that the vast majority of United States, Russian and Chinese missiles are solid-fueled. The message is that North Korea too is making that transition, and these these new generation missiles will come to replace the several hundred Scud and Nodong missiles that use liquid fuel.

The Toksa, which is a short-range ballistic missile, was again on display, although in a very new configuration. The truck carrying it now holds two missiles, rather than just one. And there are other changes, too. Its possible this is something new, but for moment I am leaning toward it being an improved variant of the old missile, one with a longer range. Still, well have to scrutinize this one closely over the coming days. The Pukguksong-2 was first seen in the parade last yearthat now seems like a million years ago. Oddly, it counts as old news.

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North Koreas longer-range missiles still rely on liquid-fuel, at least for now. But there is a shift coming, sooner or later. Thats what the parade seems to suggest, anyway.

The remaining three missiles were the new missiles that were tested over 2017the Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile, the Hwasong-14 intercontinental-range ballistic missile and the Hwasong-15 intercontinental-range ballistic missile. These missiles are all based on a new engine design, which North Korea calls the March 16 engine, and which bears a certain resemblance to the Soviet RD250 family.

Again, what was interesting was what we did not see. The Musudan, KN-08 and KN-14 have all disappeared. These missiles used a rocket engine based on a finicky Soviet design, called the 4D10. A lot of experts doubted that any of these missiles could ever be made to work reliably. The new generation of missiles that North Korea tested last yearthe Hwasong-12, -14 and -15all used the new, far more reliable engine. The fact that none of the missiles using the old 4D10 made the big parade suggests these are technological dead ends destined for a museum, not the battlefield.

Other things we did not see: We did not see a launcher for Hwasong-14. These missiles were towed by semi-trucks. What does that mean? Last year we saw these same trucks towing a canister that could launch a missile. Does this mean the Hwasong-14 will be deployed in that canister? Thats not impossible, but normally canisters are reserved for solid-fueled missiles. This is a bit strange. Perhaps it means these missiles will deployed in some other fashion, such as rollout to launch sites, silos or even on rail cars? In that case, maybe Kim Jong-un just doesnt feel like sharing. And, of course, you cant parade a silo. Or maybe there just arent enough heavy trucks.

That idea is suggested by the small number of vehicles carrying the Hwasong-15, the big missile that can target anywhere in the United States. There were four of them in the parade, plus a fifth back-up. These trucks have nine axels but otherwise look exactly like a small number of eight-axel heavy trucks that North Korea imported from China and that caused such a fuss a few years ago. The North Koreans have claimed that they are now making their own versions of this vehicle, but the small number on display and the absence of the original Chinese vehicles raises the question of whether these are North Korean copies or just the same small number of trucks being modified. This is a huge question, because the number of trucks may be the last really important limit keeping the size of North Koreas ICBM force small. There parade doesnt provide any clarity on this question.

The parade leaves many questions unanswered, but it does suggest some important trends in North Koreas missile programs, as older designs are phased out in favor of newer solid-fueled short- and medium-range ballistic missiles and longer-range liquid fueled missiles using the new March 18 engine. These missiles are all relatively new, having been tested only in the past few years. That suggests that, once the Olympics is over, testing is likely to resume and the long-running crisis between the United States and North Korea will be with us again.

Dr. Jeffrey Lewis is the Director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey and the founding publisher of Arms Control Wonk.com. His also a nonresident affiliate at Stanfords Center for Security and International Cooperation and a Contributing Editor to Survival.

Image: Intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) are driven past the stand with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and other high ranking officials during a military parade marking the 105th birth anniversary of country's founding father Kim Il Sung, in Pyongyang April 15, 2017. The missiles themselves were shown for the first time inside a new kind of canister-based launcher on Saturday. The trucks upon which they are mounted are originally designed to move lumber. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj/File Photo

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By Christine Kim and Hyunjoo Jin SEOUL/PYEONGCHANG, South Korea (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Mike Pence made only a brief appearance at a reception marking the start of the Winter Olympics on Friday, avoiding a potentially awkward encounter with the ceremonial leader of North Korea attending the same event. The reception in the mountain resort of Pyeongchang came hours before North and South Korean athletes marched together at the opening ceremony, the culmination of months of work by Seoul, which seeks to use the Olympics to ease tension spurred by North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons. Ahead of the reception, hosted by South Korean President Moon Jae-in, South Korean media said Pence was expected to be seated opposite Kim Yong Nam, North Korea's nominal head of state, at the 12-seat head table. But South Korea's presidential Blue House said Pence had a meeting scheduled with U.S. athletes and had only planned to stay briefly to greet other officials. Pence shook hands with other leaders, including close ally Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, but not Kim Yong Nam, according to a Blue House pool official. Earlier on Friday, Pence said Moon gave his backing to additional measures the United States is planning to try to curb North Korea's missile and nuclear programs, speaking after paying tribute at a South Korean memorial. At the opening ceremony, Kim Yong Nam and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's sister, Kim Yo Jong, waved to North and South Korean athletes who marched under a unified peninsula flag for the first time in a decade. Moon later officially declared the Olympics open, followed by a burst of fireworks. South Korea's figure skating superstar and Olympic gold medalist Kim Yuna lit the Olympic cauldron. The high-ranking North Korean delegation had landed in South Korea earlier in the day aboard Kim Jong Un's white private jet which had the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's official name, inscribed in black in Korean on its side, followed by the North Korean flag. Kim Yo Jong and her delegation were greeted by government officials, including Unification Minister Cho Myong-gyon, before boarding a bullet train to Pyeongchang. A special train had been prepared just for the visitors, a Blue House pool report said. Smiling and seemingly unfazed by cameras flashing during the airport meeting, Kim Yo Jong wore a black coat, matching ankle boots and carried a black purse. Dozens of South Koreans at the airport tried to snap photographs of her on their mobile phones. She was the first member of North Korea's ruling family to visit the South, while Kim Yong Nam was the most senior North Korean official to make a cross-border trip. The pair will have lunch with Moon at the Blue House on Saturday, Moon's office said. RIOTS AND GAMES Pence had kept open the possibility for some contact with the North Koreans in South Korea, while reiterating Washington's insistence that denuclearization by North Korea is a necessary condition for permanent peace. Pence, Kim Yo Jong and other world leaders attended the opening ceremony in Pyeongchang, just 80 km (50 miles) from the heavily fortified border between North and South Korea. Pence stood to welcome the U.S. athletes as the Korean pop hit Gangnam Style blared around the stadium, sparking the 'Horse Dance' in the crowd and among the volunteers. Hundreds of anti-North Korea protesters scuffled with riot police hours not far from the main stadium before the opening ceremony began, with some of their banners reading "Moon regime is leading Korea to destruction". Thousands of spectators, including a squad of more than 200 North Korean cheerleaders, packed the frigid stadium for the opening ceremony. "It is not as cold as I expected. It is a blessed day. I like the reconciliatory mood and I have high expectations," said Kim Sang-yoon, a 44-year-old businessman who drove nearly five hours to see the opening ceremony with his wife and two sons. Nearly 500 North Koreans have arrived in South Korea for the Olympics, which run until Feb. 25. Athletes from the 93 countries marched to the beat of K-pop songs, which also included global sensation boy band BTS' 'DNA'. Elsewhere in the stadium, a Kim Jong Un impersonator was not made as welcome as the North Koreans in the VIP box and was ejected by security. "Well is my sister getting the same treatment?" he demanded to know. Despite freezing temperatures, Tongan athlete Pita Taufatofua bore his country's flag again, oiled up and shirtless as he was when his appearance at the 2016 Rio Olympics went viral. (Reporting by Hyonhee Shin and Christine Kim in SEOUL, Heekyong Yang in INCHEON, Jane Chung and Hyunjoo Jin in PYEONGCHANG; and Linda Sieg and Kaori Kaneko in TOKYO; Writing by Lincoln Feast; Editing by Paul Tait and Nick Macfie)
A woman hugs her baby at the California Institution for Women state prison in Chino on May 5, 2012. (Photo: Lucy Nicholson / Reuters)

Across the country, inmates at hundreds of jails and prisons must visit with their families via video. Replacing in-person contact with video calls is punitive enough for adults with incarcerated loved ones. For infants and toddlers whose parents are behind bars, the cost of those lost visits is unfathomable.

For nearly 30 years, Ive regularly gone to see a woman who is incarcerated at New York states Bedford Hills maximum security prison for women. Ive watched as hundreds of young children visit their incarcerated mothers, and Ive witnessed firsthand the profoundly positive impact those family reunions can have. Although Im a developmental psychologist and a mother myself, it doesnt take a professional to recognize the powerful emotions present.

Mother and child have an opportunity to touch each others faces, feel the weight of each others bodies, take in each others smells and sounds, and figure out who they are and who they are becoming. For the incarcerated mothers, these experiences become memories. For the infants and toddlers, these visits serve as building blocks for their growing brains as they develop their sense of self in relation to others. Those moments together define the childs relationship to the person theyre learning to call mama.

But the use of video visits is expanding rapidly in American correctional facilities today. In many places, they don't exist as a supplement to in-person visits. According to a 2015 report, 74 percent of jails that had implemented video call programs had ceased in-person visits entirely.

Private communication companies (Securus and Telmate are among the largest) sign contracts with jails and prisons under which they provide video call services. To state and local governments, these look like money-saving deals because they can reduce the number of corrections officers needed to monitor visits. Jail and prison administrators also argue that video visits will reduce the amount of contraband that makes its way into their facilities  although contraband enters prisons in a variety of ways and it will likely take more than the end of in-person visits to stop it.

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Meanwhile, the buck is passed on to the families of inmates, who pay up to $1.50 per minute for these video calls. Thats an outrageous price, considering that regular Skype-to-Skype calls are free and Skype-to-landline or mobile device calls cost mere pennies for similar usage.

What is worse, parents and children are left to communicate on video. Even visits through Plexiglas dividers, though certainly not as beneficial as face-to-face meetings, offer a more lifelike experience than a video screen. Research has shown that children under 2.5 years old are better able to process information delivered by a person in real life than through video  a phenomenon call video deficit. In a 2015 article in The Atlantic, developmental psychologist Rachel Barr questioned whether children can really get to know a person when they experience them in just two dimensions.

Even if video visitation provided the child of an incarcerated parent with the same psychological benefits as in-person communication, the technology has a poor track record. Adults whove used prisons video visit programs report tech problems, including numerous sound cuts and freezes. Research has shown that these kinds of delays or lags in interaction can confuse young children.

If a child has regular in-person visits with an incarcerated parent, the occasional video call can support that already established relationship, particularly on days when the child is unable to make the trip to the facility. But video visitation should not supplant in-person visits.

You dont have to be an expert to know parental contact is essential for a childs healthy growth and development. Our jail and prison systems must strike a balance between punishing those who have been found guilty of crimes and protecting the rights of children to spend time with their incarcerated parents. Primal bonds are not to be treated lightly. Children have the right to in-person visits with their parents.

Virginia Casper is a developmental psychologist and senior faculty member in the Graduate School at Bank Street College of Education in New York City.

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Bangkok (AFP) - 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.

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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.
Photo: Instagram/Lara Trump/Getty Images

When youre a part of the first family, youre never too young to be politically active.

Lara Trump, the presidents daughter-in-law, posted a photo of her baby, Luke (who was born in September), flaunting his political ties on his chest. The almost 5-month-old cutie was sporting a red and blue striped bib with Future Republican written on it in white. How patriotic. Laras caption was also full of American flag emojis.

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So, we guess that settles it! Eric Trumps son is a Republican, whether he likes it or not. Although, it seems like hes not too fussed either way, judging by the sleepy half-grin on his face.

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Funnily enough, Donalds youngest grandkid might be the most politically vocal (and he cant even talk yet). While Ivanka Trump involves her children in White Houses events  like when she had Arabella sing the Chinese national anthem to President Xi Jinping and Madame Peng Liyuan during their official visit to the United States  she doesnt outright mention politics in relation to them. And the closest Donald Trump Jr.s children have come to stating their political beliefs was when his daughter Chloe rocked a Donald Trump mask.

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It seems that parents Lara and Eric are starting early. Luke has even gotten acquainted with the Oval Office; Eric posted a photo of the baby in his grandpas desk chair when he was only three months old. The caption read, Little Luke is working hard to #MakeAmericaGreatAgain . He also owns a tiny little Trump polo shirt.

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Subtle.

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A photo of "KKK origami" allegedly given to a black student at a Texas school. (Photo: Photo courtesy of Sounia Senemar)

A teenage student and his family have sued a religious private school in Texas after the teen allegedly experienced bullying of a racist nature. The student claims the school did next to nothing to stop the bullying. But the school says its religious doctrine makes it immune from legal repercussions.

Legal experts told HuffPost the schools argument is highly unusual in this context.

The schools counsel filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit on these grounds in August. A judge is expected to decide whether to move forward with the lawsuit later this month, per public documents obtained by HuffPost.

Maureen Beans and her son, C.R., had a horrible experience at Trinity Episcopal School in Galveston, Texas, according to the lawsuit filed in May.

C.R., who attended Trinity for sixth and seventh grade, starting in 2014, was a black student at the overwhelmingly white private school. He claims he was relentlessly bullied, sometimes in ways that appeared racially motivated.

In one incident, his three tormentors allegedly gave him pieces of origami designed to resemble hoods worn by Ku Klux Klan members.

Throughout this time, school administrators ignored the problem, even after C.R.s family brought it to their attention, the lawsuit says. Even though the students admitted to the bullying, according to the lawsuit, they were only given one-day suspensions and required to apologize  consequences the plaintiff deems sorely lacking.

Days after the school doled out the punishment, Beans decided to pull her son from Trinity and enroll him elsewhere.

Now, in a move thats raised eyebrows among lawyers and legal experts, the school is trying to get the lawsuit dismissed by invoking the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine.

This legal principle, also called the church autonomy doctrine, holds that religious institutions do not need to follow the same laws as non-religious entities, like public schools, if it conflicts with their religious doctrine.

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It applies in cases where a decision from a civil judge would infringe on the internal religious organization of a group, like how a religious organization can choose to have only male or female clergy members perform specific tasks.

Trinity says it disputes the assertions made in the Beans lawsuit. But it is also essentially arguing that because it is a religious organization, it is allowed to maintain its own discipline system, which may or may not involve consequences for racist bullying.

Experts told HuffPost they are surprised a religious institution would make this argument with regard to racist bullying. Some say this is a step too far.

Robert Tuttle, professor of law and religion at George Washington University, said if the law were applied this way, courts would not have been able to intervene, for example, in cases where sexual abuse was reported at Catholic churches.

There is very little reason to think that religious institutions should be immune from the state to the degree that they claim, Tuttle said.

But Trinity Episcopal School is attempting to claim that immunity.

As a religious institution, Trinity has a constitutionally-protected freedom to make decisions regarding the discipline of its students without judicial interference, the court document states in the schools motion to dismiss. The courts cannot second guess those decisions, even in the guise of purportedly secular causes of action.

Lawyers for C.R. and his family reject the schools argument.

The family is suing the school and its former head for negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress, saying the school failed to protect C.R. The parents of the three alleged bullies are also defendants in the suit.

The bullying had a deep, scarring effect on the teen, the lawsuit says. C.R. was so traumatized by the alleged bullying that at one point he spray-painted the word hate on the walls of his home.

C.R.s grades dropped precipitously. He experienced depression and anxiety, and was unable to attend the four subsequent educational institutions in which he has been enrolled.

This is a simple negligence case  whenever you send your kid to a school you expect a certain standard of care, Sounia Senemar, the familys lawyer, told HuffPost. They allowed this kid to be bullied, and they are trying to use religion as a shield.

When asked to comment for this story, lawyers for Trinity said in a statement that the school is committed to upholding standards that reflect our mission in Christ.

The school has a policy that prohibits any form of bullying or discrimination, the statement read. As soon as the school was informed of an issue over a year ago, it addressed it immediately, consistent with its policy.

Multiple experts told HuffPost that Trinitys tactic will almost certainly not succeed.

The defendant here certainly qualifies as a religious school, said University of Missouri School of Law Professor Carl Esbeck. Thats not the problem.

School bullying, however, is not a matter of internal ecclesiastical governance, he added. They argue that it is, but its not. And its not even close.

Attorneys say they will be closely watching the outcome of this case.

If other religious schools see that this school here was successful in avoiding liability under this legal theory, then they are going to be more likely to invoke it if they face similar lawsuits in the future, said Alison Tanner, legal fellow for the nonprofit group Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

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Nearly eight years ago, then-Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell stood on the floor of his chamber and delivered an angry invective against what he saw as the Obama Administrations rampant spending, something he described as a national catastrophe.

The kind of spending and debt that Democrats are engaged in, he said dramatically, is like nothing this country has ever seen. And it threatens not only the livelihoods of our children: it threatens our national security and the very safety net Democrats claim they want to protect.

On Thursday evening, Congress steeled itself for the second government shutdown in less than three weeks, with Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky taking to the Senate floor to delay a crucial vote on a government spending package hours ahead of the deadline.

Paul is arguably the Senates fiercest deficit hawk, and his point was simple: the party of austerity was no longer. The package in question would drastically raise tight spending caps imposed in 2013, hiking defense and non-defense spending by more than $300 billion over the next two years. And this is paltry compared to the $1.5 trillion cost of the G.O.P.s tax reform bill, which they rammed through Congress in December.

Its not a conservative spending proposal. In fact, its the opposite, Paul told TIME in the Capitol basement on Thursday morning. When Democrats are in power, Republicans appear to be the conservative party, and when Republicans are in power, there is no conservative party.

Grumbling Republican staffers denounced Pauls floor speech  which went on for nearly an hour and included numerous posters illustrating government waste  as little more than political theater. But it seems difficult to disagree with his conclusion: that the party of deficit hawks and small government only cares about the debt and the deficit when Democrats are in power.

The new spending deal is the result of bipartisan talks between McConnell, who is now the Senates Majority Leader, and his Democratic counterpart, Sen. Chuck Schumer, and the culmination of years of bitterness about the austerity policy passed in 2013 that culled government spending by tens of billions of dollars. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan has urged his members to vote for the bill.

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On the one hand, its a feat of bipartisanship in a Congress defined by anything but: Republicans control both chambers and the White House for the first time in a decade, and Democrats have very much been relegated to their minority status on crucial legislative issues, like tax reform and immigration.

On the other, it marks an abandonment of long-stated principles from those Republicans who railed repeatedly against the climbing debt and deficit during the Obama years. Only a small bloc of fiscal conservatives, among them Paul, appeared willing to speak out against the caps deal on Thursday.

Any person in the Milky Way who cares about fiscal responsibility has to be concerned about the deficit contribution of this bill, Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana said. And it does bother me. But there are a lot of good things in it  I feel like I have to choose between love and honor here, and I dont know how Im going to vote.

But most rank-and-file members were evasive when approached about the caps deals impact on the debt and deficit, turning to boilerplate talking points to avoid the topic. Were trying to get the government going again, Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said. Were trying to start legislating.

I believe what we did with tax reform is going to grow our economy, Republican Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina said, when asked about the deal.

Thats not true, Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said, when asked if the G.O.P. is no longer the party of austerity. Were the party that wants to see the budget balance and deficit addressed. But 70% of federal funding is on autopilot, and sometimes you have emergencies  disasters and things like rebuilding the military so theyre ready to fight the next war or keep the peace.

However, Cornyn described the caps agreement, reached behind closed doors between only party leadership, as a lousy way to do business.

You get this big, ugly caps deal which denies the rank and file members the opportunity for input and doesnt have the kind of transparency that wed like to see, Cornyn said. But this is the hand weve been dealt.

Still, nothing was certain on Thursday afternoon, with less than 12 hours to go before the government shutdown deadline. Though the bill was expected to pass the Senate, its future was uncertain in the House. Democrats in the lower chamber seemed prepared to withhold their votes to strong-arm House Republican leadership into giving them a commitment on an immigration compromise  a strategy that evokes their Senate colleagues tactic that led to the last government shutdown.
Kotey and El-sheikh were detained by US-allied Kurdish militia fighters in January

Two captured British members of an Islamic State execution group dubbed The Beatles should be tried and punished, relatives of their victims have said.

Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh were reportedly detained by US-allied Kurdish militia fighters in January, it has emerged.

According to The New York Times, unnamed US Officials said Kotey, 34, and Elsheikh , 29, were captured by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces on the Iraq/Syria border and had been identified by fingerprints and other biometric technology.

Alongside Mohammed Emwazi, nicknamed Jihadi John, and Aine Davis, the pair have been linked to a string of executions of hostages in Iraq and Syria. The group was dubbed The Beatles because of their English accents.

Following news of their capture, Bethany Haines  whose father David, a British aid worker, was beheaded by the cell  said she hoped they die a slow, painful death.

Syria  the remaining two members of the group dubbed The Beatles have been detained by US-allied Kurdish militia fighters (Pictures: AP)

Ms Haines told the BBC: They should be locked up and throw away the key.

She said if there was a trial, she would look them in the eye and let them know I am who I am and they have certainly destroyed a big part of my life. Hopefully there will be some justice.

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Diane Foley  mother of American journalist James Foley, who was beheaded by the group  said she wanted the pair to face life in jail, telling the BBC: Their crimes are beyond imagination.

Mrs Foley said she hoped the men would face trial in the US, but she just wanted to see that: they are brought to fair trial and detained and justice is served.

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Executions  the group known as The Beatles are thought to be responsible for executions including that of journalist James Foley

In January 2017, US authorities named Kotey, from Paddington, as a member of the cell.

In a statement, the State Department said Kotey was one of four members of an execution cell for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil).

The statement said: The notorious cell, dubbed The Beatles and once headed by now-deceased Mohamed Emwazi (also known as Jihadi John), is responsible for holding captive and beheading approximately two dozen hostages, including several Westerners. Among them: American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and American aid worker Peter Kassig.

As a guard for the cell, Kotey likely engaged in the groups executions and exceptionally cruel torture methods, including electronic shock and waterboarding.

It said Kotey had also acted as a recruiter for IS and was responsible for recruiting several UK nationals.

According to the statement, former child refugee Elsheikh, a mechanic from White City in west London: was said to have earned a reputation for waterboarding, mock executions, and crucifixions while serving as an Isis jailer.

Emwazi, who was killed in a US air strike in 2015, appeared in a number of videos in which captives including British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning were beheaded.

The fourth member, Davis, was convicted of being a member of a terrorist organisation and jailed for seven-and-a-half years at a court in Silivri, Turkey, in May 2017.

Banned  in December Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said Britons who joined Islamic State should not be allowed back into the country (Picture: Reuters)

A spokesman for the Foreign Office said they do not comment on individual cases or ongoing investigations.

He said: The UK has advised for some time against all travel to Syria, and against travel to large parts of Iraq.

Anyone who has travelled to Syria or parts of Iraq against UK government advice, for whatever reason, is putting themselves in considerable danger  particularly if they are fighting for our enemies.
The price of the digital token XRP rose 32,000% in 2017. You read that correctly: thirty-two thousand percent.

It was a staggering surge, and it happened despite the fact that many people buying up XRP dont know anything about the company behind it, Ripple. (And in the month of January 2018, XRP dropped by 60%.) Ripple, the company, owns 60% of the supply of the token XRP, which leads crypto enthusiasts to criticize XRP for not being truly decentralized, the way that bitcoin and other leading digital tokens are decentralized.

All of this has made XRP extremely controversial. At the Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit: Crypto on Feb. 7, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse addressed the controversy.

Theres a lot of FUD around all digital assets, Garlinghouse said. Thats true of XRP and thats true of bitcoin, for sure.

FUD stands for fear, uncertainty, and doubt. When news outlets run negative headlines about crypto, big bitcoin believers often accuse the media of intentionally spreading FUD.

I actually am long bitcoin, personally, Garlinghouse said. I am not a believer that bitcoin dies some terrible death. I dont think its going to solve a payments problem. XRP is 1,000 times faster and 1,000 times cheaper than a bitcoin transaction.

Ripple, the company, sells two payment products to banks. Theres xCurrent, which is software for settling cross-border payments with other banks. Garlinghouse describes it as enabling real-time messaging, real-time settlement between banks. More than 100 banking clients have signed on to use xCurrent, Garlinghouse says. The xCurrent platform does not use cryptocurrency.

And then theres xRapid, which minimizes liquidity costs for banks doing business in emerging markets, where they typically need to have pre-funded accounts in the local currency. Garlinghouse explains xRapid this way: The Bank of Andy can sell $1, buy XRP. That XRP can then be moved to an Argentinian digital asset exchange, you can sell the XRP and buy an Argentinian peso, and now you have good liquid funds in less than 10 seconds in another market.

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Only xRapid uses the cryptocurrency XRP. Four banking customers are currently testing xRapid: MoneyGram, Mercury FX, IDT, and Cuallix.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse at the Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit: Crypto on Feb. 7, 2018. (Gino DePinto/Oath)

Garlinghouse even acknowledged, about xRapid, I talk to senior banks, people who are close to the company Ripple, theyre invested in us. And theyre like, Hey look, we love what youre doing around xCurrent not sure yet about xRapid. Thats fine. The xRapid product gives you a faster product at a lower price. Do we really not think that people are going to say, Huh, thats kind of interesting?

Considering that XRP is widely referred to simply as the token of Ripple, when in fact its only the token for Ripples less-widespread product, you can see why some believe its alarming that the value of XRP spiked so greatly at the end of 2017.

When asked about that spike, Garlinghouse said, Ill tell you the exact same thing I tell people inside the company: The price of XRP over three hours, over three days, over three weeks, or even three months, that is not success. Thats not how I measure success. I think about success over the next three to five years.

But later in the discussion, Garlinghouse clarified that he wasnt saying the price of XRP doesnt matter to him. It matters a great dealin the long term.

I try not to check the price of XRP multiple times a day. Sure, I probably check it once a day, he said. I will again point out: Ripple, the company, as the owner of 61% of the tokens today, is the most interested party in the success of the XRP ecosystem. And we will do things to invest in the success of the XRP ecosystem because thats in our best interest.



Daniel Roberts covers bitcoin and blockchain at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter at @readDanwrite.

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Jennie Willoughby said that her ex-husband, former White House staff secretary Rob Porter, recently asked her to release a statement downplaying a blog post she wrote about abuse she said she endured during their marriage.

Speaking to CNNs Anderson Cooper on Thursday, Willoughby said that Porter asked her two weeks ago to walk back a blog post she wrote for the Daily Mail in April 2017, in which she describes their marriage  and the emotional and physical abuse that came with it.

We were in contact, even a couple days ago, as he was asking me to release a statement about my blog post, Willoughby told Cooper. I went back and forth with him for an hour or so about what language I would be comfortable with, and ultimately, the language he asked I wasnt comfortable with.

When Cooper pressed Willoughby on the request, she said that Porter was asking me to downplay it.

He was asking me to emphasize more the relationship that he and I have now as opposed to what I experienced in our marriage, she explained.

Porter, in a statement on Wednesday, announced his resignation as White House staff secretary while denying the allegations of abuse made by his two ex-wives.

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Both Willoughby and Porters first wife, Colbie Holderness, have publicly accused the former senior White House staffer of abusing them emotionally and physically during their marriages.

While Willoughby did not name Porter in her 2017 blog post, she confirmed to the Daily Mail this week that it was about him. Porter often lost his temper during their marriage, she said, acted violently and once dragged her out of a shower to yell at her.

In 2010, Willoughby was granted a protective order against him after he violated their separation agreement and punched through a glass window in her front door. That protective order prevented Porter from receiving full security clearance for his post in the White House, Politico reported.

Holderness, who revealed Porters abuse to The Intercept, said that Porter had punched her in the face in 2005, and she shared photos showing her with a black eye.

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Both women told the FBI of Porters behavior when the bureau reached out to them last year for a background check on the incoming White House official, The Intercept reported.

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Willoughby told Cooper on Thursday that Porter was intelligent, kind and professional, but added that he was also deeply troubled and angry and violent.

Willoughby said she felt during her marriage a low-grade constant terror of not knowing what I might do to set something off.

She also said she doesnt think Porter has changed his ways and warned that he would likely abuse his current romantic partner  believed to be White House communications director Hope Hicks  if he hasnt already.

If Im being frank with you, if he hasnt already been abusive with Hope, he will, Willoughby told Cooper. And particularly now that hes under a lot of stress and scrutiny. Thats when the behaviors come out. If he hasnt already, he will.

Willoughby said that she was concerned about the praise Porter has been receiving from White House officials, in spite of the allegations of abuse.

In a statement on Wednesday, White House chief of staff John Kelly called Porter 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, adding, I am proud to serve alongside him.

Later Wednesday, Kelly said in a second statement that he was shocked by the accusations of domestic abuse against Porter but stood by his praise of him.

Theres somebody who was able to rise professionally and have the accolades from so many, and even in the face of whats currently unfolding, to still have the support of so many people in the White House and former colleagues, Willoughby said of the people who praise Porter despite the news.

The idea that he could be so different seems to escape people.

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The Blue Room

The State Dining Room (during a May 13, 2016, dinner)

North facade of the White House

South Lawn of the White House.

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The White House has been accused of covering up allegations of domestic violence amid reports senior officials knew for months about the allegations levelled at a top employee but did nothing.

Rob Porter, the White House staff secretary, announced his resignation as his two ex-wives made public allegations of domestic violence and provided photographs they claimed showed the abuse. Mr Porter has denied the accusations.

Donald Trumps Chief of Staff, John Kelly, initially defended Mr Porter and wanted him to remain in the White House. As more allegations became public, he said he was shocked by them and agreed he should go.

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Yet CNN said that according to multiple sources, senior aides to Mr Trump had known for months about the allegations, even as Mr Porters stock within the White House continued to rise.

Anti-domestic violence campaigners accused the White House of shamefully chosen to defend an alleged abuser rather the women making the accusations.

In doing so, the White House sent the message that domestic violence should be covered up, perpetrators should be shielded and protected from accountability, and survivors should be not believed at best and attacked at worst, said Cindy Southworth, Vice President at the National Network to End Domestic Violence.

We call on the White House to issue a statement condemning domestic violence and acknowledging the harm committed by Rob Porter.

Ms Southworth told The Independent it was not yet clear what the White House had known or for how long. She said in recent months, campaigns such as the #MeToo movement had encouraged more women to come forward and report abuse.

During the presidential election campaign, Mr Trump himself was accused by at least 15 women of conduct ranging from sexual harassment and assault to lewd behaviour around women. Mr Trump has denied the claims but he was caught on an Access Hollywood video from 2005 apparently bragging about sexually assaulting women.

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Asked about the impact of having someone accused of abuse occupying the most senior elected office in the country, Ms Southworth said: Any time a prominent person or politician is accused of wrongdoing, it sends a message that these types of behaviour are ok  [as] if a prominent person can get away with it, its ok.

The White House said Mr Trump first learned of the allegations this week. Both he and his eldest daugher, Ivanka, were said to be upset by the allegations of abuse, particularly when they saw images purporting to show the injuries the women suffered, it was reported.

The network said Mr Porters ex-wives detailed the allegations to the FBI over the course of a routine background check. A year into the administration, Mr Porter does not hold a security clearance.

Despite the claims, Mr Porters career in the White House continued to prosper. He was one of a handful of aides who helped draft last weeks State of the Union address, travelled with Mr Trump to the World Economic Forum in Davos and was among a select group of aides who shook hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a state visit to Beijing.

Having initially defended Mr Porter, Mr Kelly issued a subsequent statement in which he said he was shocked by the new allegations.

It also claimed that Hope Hicks, the White House communications director, with whom Mr Porter is said to be involved in a relationship, helped craft the official response.

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, Mr Kelly said. I accepted his resignation earlier today, and will ensure a swift and orderly transition.

Colbie Holderness, Mr Porters first wife, and Jennifer Willoughby, his second, both said their ex-husbands abuse was the reason for their respective divorces.

Mr Porter denied the allegations. These outrageous allegations are simply false, he said in a statement.

I have been transparent and truthful about these vile claims, but I will not further engage publicly with a coordinated smear campaign.

Mildred Antenor, who teaches womens studies at Seton Hall University in New Jersey, said the flood of accusations of sexual and domestic violence that followed claims made at movie producer Harvey Weinstein  allegations he has denied  had created a paradigm shift.

She said women had been abused and mistreated for centuries, but that now, because of the increasing number speaking out, more and more people had the courage to follow suit.

We are not just reading history, we are experiencing it, she said. And that is what makes it so remarkable.

The White House did not immediately respond to enquiries.
WASHINGTON (AP)  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 Bears 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.

Thats whats 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.

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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 said 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 weve almost gone back in time to use stand-alone systems if were processing client proprietary data  were FedExing hard drives around.

The AP has previously reported on Fancy Bears attempts to break into the Gmail accounts of Hillary Clintons 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 email to tilt the 2016 election toward Donald Trump  all of which Russian leader Vladimir Putin has denied.

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 doesnt land for five years.

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 countrys 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.

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.

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 nations most sensitive information.

Fancy Bears 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.

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 Bears 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. Its 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.

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 anyones 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 havent 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 its no surprise that spies go after less secure personal email as an opening to more protected systems. For a good operator, its 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, wouldnt someone whos 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.
Kigali (AFP) - Rwanda said Friday it wanted no part in Israel's "internal politics" after turning away two opposition Israeli lawmakers who wanted to discuss their country's controversial plan to deport African migrants and asylum seekers.

The MPs said they had come to Rwanda on a "fact-finding mission" to discuss Israel government policy to expel about 38,000 migrants who have entered the country illegally, mainly Eritreans and Sudanese.

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.

But Rwandan authorities refused to meet the Israeli lawmakers.

"Rwanda cannot be a playground for Israeli internal politics. We deal with governments and we only receive foreign officials that are announced and cleared by their foreign ministries," Foreign Affairs minister Olivier Nduhungirehe told AFP.

"If any Israeli MP has any issue with his or her government about African migrants who are in Israel, he or she should deal with the Israeli government, not ours."

The Israli government has given the migrants an ultimatum: leave by April 1 or risk being imprisoned indefinitely.

Public opposition to the plan in Israel has been slow to build, but some Israeli airline pilots have reportedly said they will not fly forced deportees.

"We are on a fact-finding mission to Rwanda because we want to ascertain the truth," Michal Rozin, an Israeli MP for the leftwing opposition party Meretz, told AFP.

"We sent out requests for meetings with Rwandan officials over the illegally planned deportation of Eritrean asylum seekers to Rwanda from Israel, but officials declined to meet us and we wonder why," she said.

Both countries have denied a secret deal to take in the migrants is in place.

The UN refugee agency has said about 4,000 migrants were deported from Israel to Rwanda between 2013 and 2017.

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However only seven remain in Rwanda, according to UNHCR, with many fleeing poor conditions to neighbouring countries -- particularly Uganda -- or heading for Europe.

"It is clear that once the refugees are sent to Rwanda from Israel, they are not offered the basic necessities like jobs and housing that they are promised," said Mossi Raz, a Meretz MP and the other member of the Israeli delegation.

"That is why we insist that any deal that is in place to force their deportation to Rwanda should be immediately abandoned," he said.

The UN has condemned Israel's expulsion policy, which offers each migrant $3,500 (2,900 euros) and a plane ticket, as incoherent and unsafe.
Tonga Flag bearer Pita Taufatofua of Tonga leads the team  shirtless  while his teammates wear red zip jackets and black pants during the opening ceremony of the 2018 PyeongChang Games. (Photo: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

The Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, officially kicked off Friday. The opening ceremony began with enchanting performances by both North Korea and South Korea, which, in a rare move, were united under one flag.

Although the next few weeks will be focused on fierce competition, the night was a joyous and celebratory preamble filled with cheering, dancing, and patriotic fashion. The first team to take the stage was Greece, per tradition, with the athletes wearing matching navy jackets and pants, along with simple gray knit beanies. Ghana soon followed and went with more colorful outerwear that honored the nations flag. Later, Team USA made its grand debut while wearing jeans with down coats, wooly sweaters, and Wild West fringe gloves.

But overall, when it comes to fashion, winter apparel was front and center. After all, temperatures in PyeongChang hover between 20 and 30 degrees Fahrenheit. So if youve been looking for a little winter wardrobe inspiration, look no further than these elite athletes. We believe youll get your fix of parkas, puffers, hats, snow boots, and more in nearly every shade.

Despite the temperatures, not everyone was dressed in winter gear: Team Bermuda decided to brave the cold and wear their traditional red shorts paired with classy blue blazers. And the famous, shirtless (and greasy) Tongan flag bearer, Pita Taufatofua, was back to show off his abs  and compete as a cross-country skier too.

Without further ado, ahead, the best 2018 Olympics opening ceremony team outfits.

Read More from Yahoo Lifestyle:

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The hotly anticipated book, Ill Take Your Questions Now: What I Saw in the Trump White House, written by the former Trump White House press secretary and Melania Trumps ex-spokesperson, Stephanie Grisham, is causing major waves now that excerpts from the memoir are now making the rounds. It gives the readers insight into what the former first []
CAPE TOWN/JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - African National Congress (ANC) leader Cyril Ramaphosa pulled out of public events to focus on "pressing matters" on Friday, fuelling speculation that Ramaphosa was making a final push to force Jacob Zuma to step down as South Africa's head of state.

Zuma, in power since 2009 and battling corruption allegations, has been living on borrowed time since Ramaphosa replaced him as leader of the ruling party in December.

Ramaphosa and members of the ANC's 'Top Six' most powerful officials had been due to visit Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu and supporters at various events in Cape Town. But an ANC spokesman said they would not participate in those events due to "other pressing matters".

An ANC official in the Western Cape province said the schedule changes related to the party's push to force Zuma to stand down.

"We all know and anticipate that they are dealing with the current issue that is facing our country," Faiez Jacobs, the party's provincial secretary, told eNCA television.

Ramaphosa has been lobbying for Zuma to resign and has said he hopes to conclude talks with him over a transition of power "in coming days...in the interests of the country."

A spokesman for Ramaphosa, who also serves as South Africa's deputy president, said the ANC leader no longer had any public engagements on Friday or Saturday. He said Ramaphosa had returned Gauteng province, where the ANC's headquarters is located in the country's commercial capital Johannesburg.

Zuma's spokesman did not respond to calls seeking comment.

The rand, which has tended to strengthen on signs that Zuma could step down before his second term as president ends next year, rose on Friday as investors increased bets that Ramaphosa would be able to unseat the embattled Zuma.

Ramaphosa is due to give a speech on Sunday as part of year-long celebrations to mark 100 years since the birth of liberation hero Nelson Mandela.

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Zuma had been due to officiate at a diplomatic awards ceremony in Cape Town on Saturday, according to his office, but that event has been postponed.

Zuma has been South Africa's most controversial president since the end of white-minority rule in 1994, overseeing a tumultuous nine years marked by economic decline and numerous allegations of corruption.

(Reporting by Ed Stoddard in Cape Town and Alexander Winning in Johannesburg; Editing by James Macharia, William Maclean)
The FBI likely intercepted a phone call between former Trump advisers Steve Bannon and Carter Page, experts say.

A GOP memo released by the House Intelligence Committee last week demonstrated that the FBI had been monitoring former Trump foreign policy adviser Carter Page both during and after he worked for the Trump campaign.

During testimony before the House Intelligence Committee in November, Page revealed that he had spoken with Bannon at a time when he is now known to have been under surveillance. Despite leaving the campaign in September 2016, Page told lawmakers that Bannon had called him shortly before Trump's inauguration in late January, asking him to cancel a television appearance he had scheduled with MSNBC.

Trending: North America Has 32 Million Gallons of Dangerous Mercury Below Permafrost That Is Melting From Global Warming

Page later said that he also spoke with Bannon about the controversial Trump-Russia dossier, a document compiled by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele that claims Page had met with Russian energy moguls during a trip to Russia in 2016.

If Page was using one of his standard phones, it was probably picked up," Elizabeth Goitein, a former trial attorney at the Justice Department and co-director of the Brennan Center for Justice's Liberty and National Security Program, told Politico.

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Getty Images

Don't miss: Olympians Are Arriving During South Korea's Flu SeasonAre They at Risk?

Page, who testified before the House Intelligence Committee without a lawyer present, has been known to give erratic answers and change his story on numerous occasions. But if the phone call took place as Page recounted, it is likely that the FBI has a copy of the material as part of its probe into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.

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Currently, a Special Counsel, former FBI Director Robert Mueller, is leading the investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Russian government. The House and the Senate are both conducting their own separate investigations into the same matter.

Bannon was scheduled to appear before the House Intelligence Committee next week, but the interview has reportedly been postponed. In previous testimony before the committee, Bannon refused to answer questions. Members of the committee say they have a subpoena for Bannon, who could be held in contempt of court if he refuses to testify.

This article was first written by Newsweek

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By Brendan O'Brien and Suzannah Gonzales MILWAUKEE, Wis./CHICAGO (Reuters) - A significant storm is expected to descend on Chicago, Detroit and Milwaukee Thursday evening and Friday, with heavy snow and freezing temperatures expected to slow travel for millions of commuters. The storm system stretches from western Montana across the Dakotas and parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois, and reaches as far east as southern Michigan. It could drop up to 14 inches (36 cm) of snow in some areas, the National Weather Service said. Chicago was anticipating eight to 14 inches of snow over the next 24 hours, with the heaviest snowfall on Thursday night and early Friday morning, Gino Izzi, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Romeoville, Illinois, said in a phone interview on Thursday. Wind chill temperatures were expected to drop below 0 Fahrenheit (-18 C) in many areas across the region, and officials warned of limited visibility on roads. Chicago's O'Hare and Midway international airports canceled more than 170 flights on Thursday before the storm hit, and several airlines were also anticipating delays or cancellations. United Airlines said on Twitter that travel waivers were in effect for snow-hit areas this week, and Delta Air Lines offered to rebook flights on Friday for 18 Midwest cities. City officials announced school closures on Friday in Chicago, Detroit and Ann Arbor, Michigan because of the weather. Winter weather across the United States over the last several days has killed several people in accidents in the Midwest since Monday, including six in Iowa, two in Missouri and one in Montana, local media in those states reported. (Reporting by Suzannah Gonzales; Additional reporting by Jonathan Allen in New York; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg, Patrick Enright and Diane Craft)
When Dexter the emotional support peacock was denied entrance to a flight, he drove cross country.

Pebbles the hamster wasn't so lucky. When Spirit Airlines didn't let her board the plane, her owner flushed her down the toilet after she says a Spirit Airlines employee suggested it.

21-year-old Belen Aldecosea tried to bring her hamster on her flight from Baltimore to Miami Beach in November. She told the Miami Herald that she called Spirit Airlines twice before her flight to make sure the emotional support animal  who came with a doctor's note  could fly with her. The airline company, according to Aldecosea, told her that it was fine.

SEE ALSO: Enormous emotional support peacock denied seat on flight, owner not pleased

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Aldecosea made it through the first security checkpoint without any issues, but says she was chased down by another Spirit employee and told that rodents weren't allowed on their planes.

She tried to rent a car, but it was late November and the height of the Thanksgiving rush, so there were no rentals available. She considered taking a Greyhound bus, but needed to be in Florida in time for a medical procedure.

Aldecosea says a Spirit employee suggested either letting Pebbles go free outdoors or flushing the pet down the toilet. She told the Miami Herald that she "didn't have any other options" since she didn't want the hamster to suffer a slow death in the cold.

She decided to flush the hamster down the toilet.

She was scared. I was scared. It was horrifying trying to put her in the toilet, Aldecosea told the Herald. I was emotional. I was crying. I sat there for a good 10 minutes crying in the stall.

Spirit Airlines denies that any of its employees told Aldecosea to kill her pet. Derek Dombrowski, Spirit's media relations manager, said Aldecosea's isn't completely true.

"After researching this incident, we can say confidently that at no point did any of our agents suggest this guest (or any other for that matter) should flush or otherwise injure an animal," Dombrowski wrote in an email. "It is incredibly disheartening to hear this guest reportedly decided to end her own pets life."

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People, understandably, are horrified with Pebbles' untimely demise. And they're skeptical of whose version of the story is right.

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Spirit does acknowledge that its representative gave Aldecosea the wrong information about what animals are allowed on its flight, but as Dembroski pointed out, its emotional support animal policy excludes rodents, reptiles, and spiders.

"We did offer the guest a voucher for the inconvenience, but we never heard back from her," Dembroski said.

Aldecosea bought Pebbles and had her certified as an emotional support animal after dealing with a stressful semester due to medical issues. She is considering suing Spirit Airline for "conflicting instructions" that led to the death of Pebbles.

Airlines have been tightening restrictions on allowing "emotional support animals" on flights recently. For instance, United Airlines used to only require a 48 hour advance notice and a note from a doctor. Starting March 1, however, passengers will need to include a letter from a vet stating that the animal is healthy and well trained. Animals must also be small enough to fit in a crate under the seat.
A renewed onslaught of bombing in Syrias besieged Eastern Ghouta enclave has wreaked havoc in the region, killing nearly 200 people in a matter of days and shattering cease-fire negotiations.

Forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad have pummeled rebel-held Eastern Ghouta with relentless shelling and airstrikes this week, in defiance of international human rights laws. Assads Russian-backed regime has repeatedly been accused of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity, including the use of chemical weapons against civilians, throughout the countrys nearly seven-year war.

The situation in East Ghouta is worse than it has ever been, the Syrian American Medical Society said in a news release. The humanitarian situation is appalling, and [it] is worsening every day.

At least 75 people were killed on Thursday alone, including 15 children, SAMS reported. The United Nations has been unable to deliver aid to the dilapidated Damascus suburb since November, and many of its 400,000 residents have taken desperate measures to survive as food and medical supplies rapidly dwindle.

Urgent medical evacuations began to trickle out of the area in December, and Russia agreed to a cease-fire in late January  but regime airstrikes quickly doused fragile hopes of a lasting end to the violence.

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Youth in Eastern Ghouta are being starved, bombed and trapped, said Sonia Khush, Save the Childrens Syria response director. Children and teachers are terrified that at any moment they could be hit. The siege means there is nowhere for them to escape.

Hundreds of children are in urgent need of medical evacuation, according to UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore.

Four years of siege have crumbled health and other basic services critical to childrens survival and growth, she said Thursday. For children who remain trapped under siege and under wanton, heavy violence across Syria, life is a living nightmare. They are struggling just to stay alive.

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Schools and hospitals have been targeted in the attacks, demolishing much of the regions remaining infrastructure and discouraging people from seeking desperately needed medical care. There is currently less than one doctor per thousand people in Eastern Ghouta, which now has the war-torn nations highest rate of malnutrition.

I would like to confirm that all the fatalities and the injured are civilians. The reason is that the air raids target only the markets and the residential neighborhoods, said a SAMS medical worker.

For Assad, encircling Syrian territory and populations is a way to exert control while defying those who oppose his leadership. He has kept the enclave under siege since 2013, shortly after a sarin gas attack by regime forces killed an estimated 1,429 people there.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Figure skating is not all about the jumps. But even the most diehard skaters and fans who will tune into the figure skating programs during the 2018 Winter Olympic Games will tell you that its mostly about the jumps. Especially since 2006, when the International Skating Union created its new scoring system that puts a strong emphasis on difficult elements that skaters perform on the ice.

When it comes to figure skating jumps, you can sound like a skating expert by noting there are actually two kinds  edge jumps, which take off from the edge of the skate blade, and toe jumps, which start when the skater taps the jagged pick at the end of the blade into the ice for upward momentum.

What makes figure skating jumps different from one another is not just the way skaters take off, but also how they land  for example, whether they land on the same leg from which they launched or the opposite leg. Each jump is assigned a certain number of points, depending on how difficult they are to master. At the Olympics, a nine-person panel of judges can give a jump a grade of execution (GOE) between -3 and +3 based on execution and performance, and will factor into a skaters technical element score. Judging the individual jumps includes a technical panel, which determines whether a skater fully rotated in his or jump and identifies which kind of jump it was.

For female skaters, the most difficult versions of these jumps are triples, with the triple axel being the most challenging. Only eight women have landed the triple axel in competition, and two of them  Tonya Harding and Mirai Nagasu  are from the United States. Nagasu is competing in PyeongChang, South Korea for the 2018 Winter Olympic Games opening on Friday, Feb. 9, and plans to repeat her triple axel feat in both her short and long figure skating programs.

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For men, its all about the quadruple jumps, and no one does those figure skating jumps better than U.S. national champion Nathan Chen. Chen made history in 2017 as the only figure skater to successfully land five quadruple jumps in a single program. (No one is crazy enough to try the quadruple axel  yet.)

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Heres your cheat sheet for telling six figure skating jumps apart during the Winter Olympics, from an axel to a toe loop, salchow and lutz jump.

TOE LOOP

The simplest of the six jumps, the toe loop starts off with a forward approach on the inside blade edge. Then, the skater switches to a backward-facing orientation, kicking off with the backward outside edge and using a toe pick to add lift before landing on that same outside edge, for a maximum of 10.3 points.

SALCHOW

In the Salchow, the skater takes a backwards approach and launches using their inside edge before landing on the opposite outside edge. Its worth 10.5 points.

LOOP JUMP

Different from the toe loop, the loop starts with a backwards approach on the outside edge, which builds the power to launch the skater airborne. They come down on that same outside edge, for 12 points when done correctly.

FLIP

The flip begins with a forward approach before the skater switches to their backward inside edge, using the toe pick of the other foot to launch themselves into the rotations. They return to the ice on the outside edge of the same skate. This one is worth 12.3 points.

LUTZ

The second-most-difficult jump at 13.6 points, the Lutz takes a long backward approach. It is another toe-pick-assisted liftoff, using the outside edge to lead the movement. The landing flips to the outside edge of the opposite foot.

AXEL

Finally, the Axel. Worth 15 points, its the only forward-facing jump in the skaters arsenal. It starts off with an outside edge launch and ends up with the skater finding their footing on the outside edge of the other foot.
By Mike Cooper

ATLANTA (Reuters) - A police officer was shot dead and two sheriff's deputies were wounded on Friday in a small Georgia town by a gunman who was then killed, the county sheriff said.

The wounded Henry County Sheriff's deputies were taken to Atlanta Medical Center, where one was in serious condition, Sheriff Keith McBrayer told reporters at a press conference.

McBrayer said the incident began when the two sheriff's deputies went to arrest a criminal suspect in the town of Locust Grove and called for backup when they realized they would have "issues placing him in custody."

The sheriff said the Locust Grove police officer had just arrived on the scene as backup when the shooting took place.

The officer killed was identified as Chase Maddox, 26, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in a Twitter message.

The slain suspect has been identified by authorities but his name will not be released until his next of kin are notified, said Nelly Miles of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Images on local television showed police tape around two homes in a cul-de-sac of a Locust Grove subdivision, about 30 miles southeast of Atlanta.

Maddox was the eighth U.S. law enforcement officer to be killed by gunfire in 2018, compared with five in 2017 through Feb. 9, according to the National Sheriffs' Association. It said 46 officers were killed by gunfire last year, down from 64 in 2016.

One of the Henry County deputies had been released from the Atlanta hospital by Friday afternoon, according to Atlanta's WSB-TV, but McBrayer said the other underwent surgery on Friday afternoon.

(Reporting by Mike Cooper, Peter Szekely and Bernie Woodall; Additional reporting and writing by Colleen Jenkins and Dan Whitcomb; Editing by James Dalgleish and Tom Brown)
By Arshad Mohammed and Yara Bayoumy

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson expects to have tough talks during a five-nation trip of the Middle East next week, including in Turkey, where he will urge leaders to rein in an offensive in northern Syria, U.S. officials said on Friday.

Briefing reporters on Tillerson's Feb. 11-16 trip to Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt and Kuwait, U.S. officials acknowledged there would be difficult conversations at each stop.

Jordanian leaders were upset when the United States recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and suspended some aid for the Palestinians.

Tillerson's trip to Cairo, where he will meet Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to emphasize joint security cooperation, takes place just as Egypt has launched a major military offensive against militants on the Sinai peninsula.

Egypt also faces a March 26-28 election in which Sisi has only a single, last-minute challenger who had previously said he supported the incumbent.

In Kuwait, Tillerson will attend an Iraq reconstruction conference at which Washington does not plan to contribute any money. Still, he hopes to make headway toward ending a dispute between Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Kuwait has sought to broker an end to the dispute triggered when the UAE, along with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt, cut off travel and trade ties with Qatar last June. They accused Qatar of supporting terrorism and their arch-rival Iran. Doha denies the charges and says the countries are trying to curtail its sovereignty.

Turkey, a U.S. ally, has launched a military air and ground operation into the Afrin region in northwest Syria targeting the Kurdish YPG militia despite U.S. objections.

The United States and Turkey are allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Yet they have diverging interests in the Syrian civil war, with Washington focused on defeating Islamic State and Ankara keen to prevent Syria's Kurds from gaining autonomy and fuelling Kurdish insurgents on Turkish soil.

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"We are urging them to show restraint in their operations in Afrin and to show restraint further along the line across the (border) in northern Syria," a U.S. State Department official told reporters in a conference call. "That's going to be a difficult conversation."

'REALLY TOUGH ISSUES"

Speaking of U.S.-Turkish relations, he added: "Look it's difficult. The rhetoric is hot. The Turks are angry, and this is a difficult time to do business but it's our belief that there are still some very fundamental underlying shared interests."

The Turkish ambassador in Washington, Serdar Kilic, defended the Afrin operation, criticized the U.S. plea to the Turks to limit the scope of the operation and called on Washington to "cease their support" of the YPG.

"We are going to terminate that threat," Kilic told reporters in Washington.

On Jan. 21, Jordans King Abdullah told U.S. Vice President Mike Pence that Washington must rebuild "trust and confidence" in a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians after President Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

Speaking of the trip generally, the State Department official said: "These are really tough issues and these are going to be tough conversations.

"These are some of our closest partners but they are also partners with whom we are facing some of the toughest issues that we have to face in the region, whether its terrorism, whether it's the future of U.S. assistance, whether its the final defeat of ISIS (the Islamic State militant group)."

In Egypt, all opposition figures thought to pose a serious challenge to Sisi have pulled out of the race, accusing the government of underhanded tactics to ensure Sisi an easy win. Sisi has said all candidates have an equal opportunity and that the election will be free and transparent.

Another State Department official said Washington supported a "genuine and a credible electoral process".

"And we have noted our concerns about the reports that Egypts prosecutor general has launched an investigation into opposition figures ahead of the March 26th through 28th elections. These types of issues will be discussed on this visit," the official said.

(Reporting by Arshad Mohammed and Yara Bayoumy; editing by Bernadette Baum and David Gregorio)
Tonya Harvey, a 35-year-old trans woman, was shot and killed in Buffalo, New York, on Tuesday. She is the third known trans person to be killed this year, according to GLAAD.

The Buffalo News first reported the shooting, which occurred on Shepard Street, on Tuesday. Police initially identified the victim as male, but the newspaper correctly identified the victim as Tonya Harvey in a new report published Thursday.

Kait Munro, a spokeswoman for the Erie County District Attorney office, told HuffPost they have not released the victims name.

Munro could confirm there is an ongoing investigation into the death of a transgender woman killed this week. Officials are looking into the killing as a possible hate crime.

A picture of 35-year-old Tonya Harvey. (Photo: Tonya Harvey/Facebook)

The Erie County District Attorneys Office, along with Buffalo Police, is investigating the death of a transgender woman killed on Shepard Street, the spokeswoman said in a press statement sent to HuffPost. The DAs Office is also extremely concerned about a spike in homicides of transgender people across the country and will be, as part of this investigation, looking into whether or not this is a potential hate crime.

Buffalo Police spokesman Michael J. De George told The Buffalo News the victim was shot just before 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday and declared dead at the scene. It was the citys first confirmed homicide of the year. De George did not immediately respond to HuffPosts request for comment.

GLAAD updated its list of transgender people killed this year on Thursday, adding Harvey along with other known trans deaths from 2018: 42-year-old Christa Leigh Steele-Knudslien, who was killed on Jan. 5 in Massachusetts, and Viccky Gutierrez, who was killed on Jan. 10 in Los Angeles, CA.

At least 26 transgender people were killed in the United States in 2017, and almost all of the victims were trans women of color, according to GLAAD.

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Kim Coco Iwamoto

Laverne Cox

The transgender activist Laverne Cox came to our attention when she first appeared on VH1's "I Want to Work for Diddy," which made her the first African-American transgender woman to be on a mainstream reality TV series. The show went on to win GLAAD's media award for outstanding reality program in 2009 where Cox accepted the honor and spoke about transgender visibility (VIDEO). Since appearing on Diddy's show, Cox got her own VH1 reality series, "TRANSform Me," which got its own GLAAD media award nomination in 2011. She then exploded within the entertainment industry after becoming a breakout star in the Netflix original series "Orange Is The New Black." The pioneer continues her advocacy in public engagements and frequently writes about trans issues for The Huffington Post.

Louis Gradon Sullivan (1955 - 1991)

In 1976 Lou G. Sullivan began applying for gender confirmation surgery, but was rejected because he identified as gay. At the time, "female-to-gay male transsexuality was not recognized by the medical/psychotherapeutic establishment as a legitimate form of gender dysphoria at that time." After mounting a successful campaign to get homosexuality removed from a list of objections which served to keep interested candidates from undergoing surgery, Sullivan finally obtained gender confirmation surgery in 1986. That same year he organized FTM, "the first peer-support group devoted entirely to female-to-male [transsexual and transvestite] individuals."

Michael Dillon (1915 - 1962)

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Dillon was the first person known to have transitioned both hormonally and surgically from female to male. A British writer, physician, philosopher, and Buddhist, Dillon penned several books including, Self: A Study in Ethics and Endocrinology (1946), Growing Up into Buddhism (1960), The Life of Milarepa (1962), Imji Getsul (1962), and numerous articles. He was in love with another famous transgender person, Roberta Cowell, but she did not share his feelings. He died in India -- where he had moved to study, meditate, and wrote under the name Lobzang Jivaka -- just days after sending his memoir, "Out Of The Ordinary," to his literary agent.

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President Donald Trump questioned Thursday why a Democratic senator at the center of Congresss Russia investigation sought a private meeting with a British ex-spy who authored a controversial dossier about Trumps ties to Russia.

Trump tweeted: Wow!Senator Mark Warner got caught having extensive contact with a lobbyist for a Russian oligarch. Warner did not want a paper trail on a private meeting (in London) he requested with Steele of fraudulent Dossier fame.

The president added: "All tied into Crooked Hillary."

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Trump's message followed a story on Fox News alleging Warnerthe top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee investigating the Trump campaigntried to set up a private meeting with Christopher Steele last year. Steele is the former MI6 spy who compiled a dossier that accuses Trumps campaign of working with the Kremlin to interfere in the 2016 election.

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Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

The news outlet obtained text messages Warner reportedly sent to Adam Waldman, a lobbyist who has worked on behalf of oligarch and Putin associate Oleg Deripaska and also knows Steele.

Chris Steele asked me to call you, Waldman wrote to Warner in a March 16, 2017, message that began their conversation about setting up the meeting.

We want to do this right private in London don't want to send letter yet cuz if we can't get agreement wud rather not have paper trail, Warner wrote back March 30 as the two worked to hammer out the conditions of the meeting.

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Steele had requested a joint letter from Warner and the Senate Committees Republican Chairman Senator Richard Burr officially requesting an interview, according to the texts, but the Senators did not want to send the letter and be rebuffed.

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Early last March, Steeles friends said publicly that he would be willing to meet with members of Congress in the U.K. It was also reported that Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee informally approached him for an interview.

Warner and Burr released a joint statement condemning leaks of incomplete information out of context by anyone, inside or outside our committee on Thursday.

Republican Senator Marco Rubio, who sits on the committee, said late Thursday that the texts are not controversial. Warner "fully disclosed his contacts with Waldman to the committee four months ago, Rubio tweeted.

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Trump and Republicans in the House have been working in recent months to discredit the Russia investigations in both branches of Congress and by special counsel Robert Mueller.

Last month, the release of a memo written by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes prompted Trump to argue that investigations of his campaign by the FBI and Department of Justice are biased.

Trump argued Steeles dossier, which was funded in part by Hillary Clintons campaign, was the main piece of information used to gain a warrant to spy on one of his former campaign officials, Carter Page, who was long suspected of being a Russian intelligence asset.

Yet many Republicans on the House committee said the memo didn't vindicate Trump and that other pieces of evidence apart from the dossier mean the investigations should continue.

Nunes sent his senior staffer Kashyap Patel and another committee staff member to London last summer to meet with Steele, The New York Times reported early this month. The two showed up unannounced at Steeles office, and neither Democrats on the committee nor the U.S. Embassy in London were made aware of the trip. Steele refused to meet with the Republican staffers at the time. The trip was first reported last year soon after it happened.

Last week, The Daily Beast reported WikiLeaks head Julian Assange, who was involved in releasing emails alleged to have been stolen by Russian intelligence hackers from Clintons campaign and the Democratic Party during the 2016 election, sought to share damaging information about Warner with Fox News host Sean Hannity.

An aide to Burr told Fox News on Thursday that the committee chairman was aware of Warners back channel messages attempting to set up a meeting with Steele and that the two revealed the content of the texts to their committee colleagues last October.

This article was first written by Newsweek

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President Donald Trump may be eager for a military parade to showcase the most potent armed forces in the world but according to the Pentagon it could be staged somewhere outside Washington D.C.

Trump is reported to have instructed the military to organize a tribute to U.S. forces and veterans, inspired by the Bastille Day parade that crossed through the heart of Paris last year.

But the sight of a military parade marching through the capital has sparked a backlash against Trump, with critics suggesting it is reminiscent of the practices of authoritarian governments. Not only have the optics of troops rallying outside the White House worried some commentators but so has the cost.

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The Washington D.C. mayors office told Washingtonian magazine that, although it is too soon to comment on most details about a parade, "We do know that just like the wall, he [Trump] will have to pay for it."

According to the Department of Defense it is too soon to discuss potential costs or even assume what the location of the parade will be. Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said that officials will offer several locations for the event to the White House.



"The president will decide," she said, when asked about the location, according to armed forces news site Military. "We don't have a plan yet."



White added: "The president is looking for opportunities to honor our service members. The president is simply looking for options. The bottom line is we want to honor our service members."



When asked about the parade, Defense Secretary James Mattis reiterated that the Pentagons job at this point was to simply compile options for Trump. Mattis underlined that D.C. is likely the favored spot for Trump but left questions about the location open ended.

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Pierre Suu/Getty Images

As I understand it, he wants the parade in Washington, D.C., but thats a good question, Mattis said, according to Reuters. Ill see what we put together for options.

Mattis said: Well work out everything from size, to participation to costs. And when I get clear options, we will send those over to the White House and Ill go over and talk to them.

The last time a U.S. military parade crossed the capital was in 1991, to mark the liberation of Kuwait. The event left Washington with 1.2 million pounds of garbage, $12 million to pay in bills, and marks from rolling tanks and vehicles on the historic citys civilian infrastructure, Slate reported.

This article was first written by Newsweek

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By Sharon Bernstein

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) - Environmental activists in California on Thursday protested a Trump Administration proposal to vastly increase offshore oil drilling in the United States.

The protest immediately preceded a public meeting by the U.S. Interior Department's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in Sacramento, where officials will be available to talk with members of the public about the proposed drilling expansion and help them submit public comments.

At the protest at the state Capitol building, several hundred people, some carrying a giant blue inflatable whale, listened to speakers warn the Trump administration not to drill for oil off California's coastline. Others carried signs with slogans like, "Oil and sea life don't mix."

"Do not pollute our planet for your profit," California state Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson told the cheering crowd. "You do not represent us." Jackson's Santa Barbara district's coastline has been polluted by oil spills from past drilling.

Carrying a sign showing a sea otter, Joseph Palermo, a history professor at Sacramento State, said he came to love the coastline as a college student.

"The coast is very important to me," he said. "I heard about this and I had to come out."

California officials said on Wednesday the state would block transport of such petroleum through its waters.

On Thursday, the California Coastal Commission also weighed in, requesting that the state be removed from consideration for offshore drilling. The state's Natural Resources secretary, John Laird, also voiced opposition.

The protest was organised by several environmental groups including the Center for Biological Diversity, the Sierra Club, and the Natural Resources Defense Council.

"Offshore drilling is dirty and its dangerous," said Miyoko Sakashita, head of the oceans program for the Center for Biological Diversity. "It results in oil spills that injure and kill wildlife."

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California's threat to deny pipeline permits for transporting oil from new leases off the Pacific Coast is the latest step by states trying to halt the biggest proposed expansion in decades of federal oil and gas leasing.

Officials in Florida, North and South Carolina, Delaware and Washington state have warned drilling could despoil beaches, harm wildlife and hurt lucrative tourism industries.

On Wednesday, California officials sent a formal letter to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management demanding that the Pacific coast be removed from the program. The State Lands Commission, which must approve any new pipelines, said in the letter it would not permit the movement of oil from new offshore leases to pass through state land or water.

I am resolved that not a single drop from Trumps new oil plan ever makes landfall in California, Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom, chair of the State Lands Commission and a Democratic candidate for governor, said in an emailed statement.

The letter also criticized the agency for holding just one public meeting in California, the most populous U.S. state with about 40 million residents.

In response, a spokeswoman for Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke said the process of developing the five-year-plan for offshore oil and gas leases is "a very open and public process."

Secretary Zinke looks forward to meeting with more Governors and other coastal representatives who want to discuss the draft program, spokeswoman Heather Swift said by email, adding the bureau has planned 23 public meetings, in our coastal states, to secure feedback directly from citizens.

William Brown, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Managements chief environmental officer, said state input is taken seriously, and has resulted in past drilling plans being scaled back.

(Reporting by Sharon Bernstein; editing by Marguerita Choy and Phil Berlowitz)
President Donald Trump on Friday spoke for the first time about the resignation of former White House staff secretary Rob Porter, who stepped down this week after allegations of abuse from both of his ex-wives became publicly known.

Trump said it was very sad to learn about Porters alleged abuse, but pointed out that Porter has denied the claims.

As you probably know, he says hes innocent, and I think you have to remember that, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. He said very strongly yesterday that hes innocent, so youll have to talk to him about that.

Trump said he was surprised by the news, but praised Porters work in the White House and wished him well.

Its obviously a tough time for him, the president said. He did a very good job when he was in the White House, and we hope he has a wonderful career.

Porter resigned Wednesday amid reports that described his alleged abuse against his ex-wives. One of the women released photos of a black eye she says she sustained in 2005 during a fight with Porter while on vacation in Italy.

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Porter denied those allegations, calling them outrageous and part of a coordinated smear campaign.

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly initially defended Porter, calling him a man of integrity. Later, Kelly claimed he was shocked by the allegations after seeing the photos.

Politico reported Wednesday that Kelly previously knew about the allegations, saying he was aware of a protective order against Porter that prevented him from getting full security clearance. CNN also reported that Kelly and other White House officials knew about the allegations months before Porter resigned.

The Washington Post reported Friday that Kelly, whos been under fire for his handling of Porters resignation, instructed White House aides to communicate a different version of events than what public record shows, in order to make it appear that he took immediate and direct action.

According to Politico, Kelly had learned in recent weeks that the FBI would recommend denying Porter and several other White House aides a full security clearance. Kelly reportedly had plans to fire those aides, but hadnt moved to do so before this week.

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ABC and NBC have reported that Trump is angry with Kellys handling of the situation and has discussed potential replacements for him. ABC reported Friday that Kelly told Trump hed be willing to resign. However, White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said Friday that Kelly has not offered his resignation to the president.

The White Houses handling of the Porter accusations, and Trumps nod on Friday to Porters claims of innocence, echo other instances where the administration has stood behind men accused of abuse. In a Senate race in Alabama last year, Trump endorsed Republican Roy Moore, who was accused of child molestation. He attacked one of Moores accusers at a rally days before the election.

Theres also the issue of Trump himself, whos repeatedly denied claims of sexual misconduct from more than 20 women.

This story has been updated throughout.

Need help? In the U.S., call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) for the National Domestic Violence Hotline.

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Fear of upsetting President Donald Trump prompted Israel to stop its plans to export medical marijuana to the U.S., casting a shadow over an export market for the drug that might have been worth more than $1 billion annually.

According to the Israeli press, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered that plans to begin the export of Israeli medical marijuana be frozen, even as two of the countrys ministers toured leading cannabis farms. Plans to open Israels world-leading medical marijuana to export had the backing of the countrys health, agriculture and finance ministries.

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The Times of Israel reported that Netanyahu told his cabinet ministers he had ordered the pause specifically to mollify Trump, who has opposed cannabis legalization measures in the U.S.

Netanyahu said he did not want Israel to become a pioneer in exporting medical marijuana directly against the wishes of the president when the U.S. would be the primary market for Israeli cannabis.

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AFP / JACK GUEZ

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Marijuana use for certain medical conditions has been legal in Israel since the 1990s, and recreational use was decriminalized in March 2017. Israeli growers have had a competitive advantage over other nations because they work closely with scientific institutions in clinical trials with fewer restrictions than other countries.

According to an Israeli government report, the export of cannabis would bring between $285 million to $1.14 billion a year to the Israeli economy. Only 50 companies work in cultivating medical marijuana with plans for expansion in Israels kibbutz communities.

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Israeli ministers spoke out against Netanyahus freeze.

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We must not miss the train," Minister of Justice Ayelet Shaked wrote in a Facebook post Thursday. "Today we are the locomotive; if we hesitate, we will become the trailers."

She added, "I am sure that when we sit with the prime minister and we lay out for him all the details the correct decision will be taken."

This article was first written by Newsweek

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Mr Trump has a very close relationship with Israel: Getty

Donald Trump has told Israel it will have to make significant compromises if it wants to secure a peace deal with the Palestinians.

Two months after he angered Palestinians and their supporters by unilaterally declaring the US was recognising Jerusalem as Israels capital, the US President said both sides would need to work hard to create a deal that might stick.

In an interview with the conservative Hebrew-language newspaper Hayom, which is due to be published in full over the weekend, Mr Trump said: I wanted to make clear that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. Regarding specific borders, I will grant my support to what the two sides agree between themselves.

He added: I think that both sides will have to make significant compromises in order for achieving a peace deal to be possible.

Mr Trump delighted many Israelis and Christian conservatives in the US, when he broke with more than 50 years of international diplomatic consensus to recognise Jerusalem as Israels capital and say he would be relocating the US Embassy from Tel Aviv.

The international community had for decades stuck to the position that the final status of the city was central to part of any peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

Mr Trump said he was only recognising a reality that already existed on the ground as Israeli government offices and departments were already based there. He claimed that by making the announcement, he had taken the issue off the table and made it easier to find a path to peace.

Mr Trumps comments came across the backdrop of fresh strains between the Palestinians and the US Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, following the killing by a Palestinian of a Jewish settler.

Reuters said that after the settler was stabbed to death on Monday, Mr Friedman tweeted that he had previously donated an ambulance to the slain mans community and that he was praying for the next-of-kin, adding: Palestinian leaders have praised the killer.

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The envoys tweet drew a rebuke from the Palestinian administration.

The American ambassadors statements make us wonder about his relationship with the occupation, said Nabil Abu Rdainah, a spokesman for President Mahmoud Abbas. Is he representing America or Israel?

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Mr Abu Rdainah added: Friedmans recommendations and advice, which do not aim to achieve a just peace on the basis of international legitimacy, are what led to this crisis in American-Palestinian relations. Mr Friedman, among the top Trump advisers who promoted the Jerusalem move, is a former contributor to settler causes.

The liberal Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, published a column criticising Mr Friedmans stance and dubbing the settlement he had supported as a mountain of curses  a play on its Hebrew name, Har Bracha, which means Mount Blessing.

The envoy fired back at the envoy in another tweet on Friday. Four young children are sitting shiva (Jewish mourning rite) for their murdered father .... Have they (Haaretz) no decency, he said.

Haaretzs publisher, Amos Shocken, responded with comments that echoed Palestinian complaints.

He said: As long as the policy of Israel that your Government and yourself support is obstructing (the) peace process  there will be more Shivas.
Washington (AFP) - 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."

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"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 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."

"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."
A leading Russian lawmaker condemned on Thursday the deadly U.S. coalition strikes against pro-Syrian government forces, which reportedly attacked a Pentagon-backed militia near the eastern province of Deir Ezzor.

The U.S.-led coalition claimed Wednesday that its allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were targeted the previous day in an unprovoked attack from hundreds of fighters supportive of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The fighters had gathered near the Euphrates River deconfliction line, which separates pro-Syrian government and U.S.-backed offensives against the Islamic State militant group (ISIS). The U.S.-led coalition reportedly struck back with air power, leading to reports of massive casualties in an attack that has outraged Russia and Syria.

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The actions of the U.S. coalition do not comply with legal norms. Beyond all doubt, it is an unprecedented act of aggression, Frants Klintsevich, who served as first deputy chairman of the defense committee in Moscows upper house of parliament, told Russian state media in comments translated by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).

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STRINGER/AFP/Getty Images

In a statement sent to Newsweek by the Kuwait-based Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve, coalition spokesman Colonel Thomas F. Veale said pro-Syrian government forces attacked the headquarters of the SDF, a mostly Kurdish militia that includes Arabs and ethnic minorities, with artillery fire, mortar fire and tanks about five miles east of an agreed boundary near the town of Khusham. The pro-government forces then allegedly advanced in an approximate battalion-sized dismounted formation (300 to 800 fighters).

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After 20 to 30 artillery and tank rounds landed within 500 meters of the SDF headquarters location, Syrian Democratic Forces supported by the Coalition targeted the aggressors with a combination of air and artillery strikes, Veale said. Coalition advisors were with the SDF in an advise, assist and accompany capacity, and this action was taken in self-defense.

Pro-regime vehicles and personnel who turned around and headed back west were not targeted, he added. Coalition officials were in regular communication with Russian counterparts before, during and after the thwarted PRF [pro-regime forces] attack. Russian officials assured Coalition officials they would not engage Coalition forces in the vicinity.

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Veale speculated that pro-Assad forces may have been attempting to retake the nearby lucrative oil and gas fields that fell under ISIS control in 2014 before the SDF seized them last September. Veale said he would not provide any casualties other than a single wounded SDF fighter, but Reuters quoted one unnamed U.S. official as estimating that the coalition and its local allies killed more than 100 of them.

Russia and Syria have disputed this figure as well as the series of events that led up to the fatal clash.

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DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP/Getty Images

Russia and Iran have supported Assads efforts to overcome a 2011 uprising by rebels backed by the West, Turkey and Gulf Arab states, and jihadi groups, including ISIS and Al-Qaeda. The CIA began to drop support for rebels as many were defeated or absorbed by more radical groups, and the U.S. invested in the majority-Kurd SDF. Both the pro-Syrian government and U.S.-backed SDF offensives have largely defeated ISIS in eastern Syria, but have left tensions along their lines of control.

Russia has accused the U.S. of protecting ISIS and other jihadi groups in order to justify its military presence in Syria, which Assads government has deemed illegal. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed Wednesday that the pro-Syrian government forces were conducting surveillance and research activities near the Al-Isba oil refinery when the SDF initiated the attack, followed by U.S. air support.

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The recent incident once again shows that the United States illegal military presence in Syria is actually aimed at taking control of the countrys economic assets and not at fighting against ISIS, the ministry said in a statement carried by the state-run Tass Russian News Agency.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry also condemned what it called a brutal massacre and an aggression that reveals again, beyond any doubt, the real function of this coalition and the role played by Washington in supporting ISIS in a letter urging the United Nations to take action against the U.S.-led coalition.

The Russian ministry reported that 25 Syrian militiamen had been wounded in the attack, SANA reported scores killed and many others injured and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based group supportive of the Syrian opposition, placed the latest death toll at 48.

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Institute for the Study of War/Maps4News/Reuters

The incident, for which the U.S. garnered criticism at home as well, has further complicated the shifting alliances of Syrias nearly seven-year civil war in which pro-Syrian government forces and the SDF have emerged as the most powerful actors on the ground. While minor clashes have occurred in the past between pro-Syrian government forces and the SDF near Deir Ezzor, the two factions were united in their opposition to a recent joint Turkish and rebel Free Syrian Army offensive against SDF positions in the northwestern district of Afrin.

As the Syrian military and its allies advanced against the final rebel-held province of Idlib, they have reportedly allowed U.S.-backed SDF fighters to travel through government territory to reconcentrate their strength from remaining ISIS frontlines in the east toward Kurd-controlled Afrin, which bordered jihadi-dominated Idlib. The U.S.-led coalition has warned Kurdish fighters it would not support those moving to Afrin, but has also criticized fellow NATO Western military alliance member Turkey for impeding the task to eliminate ISIS.

Turkey has labeled Kurdish militias such as the Peoples Protection Units as terrorist organizations because of their alleged links to Kurdistan Workers Party militants, who have waged a separatist insurgency against the Turkish state for decades. While Kurdish groups and pro-Syrian government forces both opposed Sunni Muslim rebels, ISIS and the Turkish invasion of Syria, fears of Kurdish autonomy in the mostly Arab country and differences among their international sponsors have continued to alienate the two factions, despite Russias attempts to broker peace.

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KABUL (Reuters) - U.S. forces in Afghanistan have attacked networks of anti-China militants in an action that is likely to please Beijing, which had called for Western cooperation in its fight against a group it says wants to split off its Xinjiang region. The strikes in the northern province of Badakhshan destroyed Taliban training camps which support militant operations in Afghanistan as well as operations by the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) in the border region with China and Tajikistan, Afghanistan's NATO-led mission said in a release on Thursday. "The U.S. strikes support Afghanistan in reassuring its neighbours that it is not a safe sanctuary for terrorists who want to carry out cross-border operations," it said. The force gave no more details about the attacks or any estimate of casualties but it said the ETIM was behind attacks both inside and outside China and two of its members had been involved in a 2002 plot to bomb the U.S. Embassy in Kyrgyzstan. "They pose a threat to China and enjoy support from the Taliban in Badakhshan and throughout the border region," the force said. The group is drawn from members of China's mostly Muslim Uighur minority, who speak a Turkic language and live in Xinjiang in China's far west. In Beijing, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said he did not have information about the issue, but that fighting ETIM was a "core counter-terrorism concern" for China. "Striking against terrorism is the responsibility of all countries in the world," Geng Shuang told a news briefing on Friday. In 2016, Beijing was angered at a U.S. State Department report that said there was a lack of transparency or information from China about incidents it called terrorism, and that cooperation on the problem was limited. The United States has since urged China to play a bigger role in combating global terrorism. In the past, some Western countries have been reluctant to share intelligence with China on terrorism issues, citing concern about possible human rights abuses in Xinjiang. China has long been worried that instability in Afghanistan could spill over into Xinjiang. Hundreds of people have been killed in violence in recent years in Xinjiang. Beijing blames the bloodshed on Islamist militants and separatists, though rights groups say the unrest is more a reaction to repressive Chinese policies. The United States, Britain and the United Nations have listed the ETIM as a terrorist group. (Reporting by Robert Birsel; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard and Michael Martina in Beijing; Editing by Alison Williams and Clarence Fernandez)
Gun enthusiasts look over Rock River Arms' guns at the National Rifle Association's annual meetings and exhibits show in Louisville, Kentucky, on May 21, 2016. (Photo: John Sommers II / Reuters)

U.S. gun companies manufactured more than 11 million firearms in 2016, setting a new record in a year of sales driven by fear of a Hillary Clinton presidency.

The data, released Thursday by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, sheds light on the gun industrys rapid expansion in the Obama years, with manufacturing totals more than doubling between 2009 and 2016. And while early indicators show that this trend slid backward slightly in 2017, the industry seems positioned to begin growing again.

Under President Barack Obama, people flocked to gun stores amid concerns about new regulations from the man the NRA called the most anti-gun president in modern times. In reality, Obama ultimately did very little to strengthen gun laws, but fearful gun buyers helped companies ring up billions of dollars in sales each year during his administration.

Speculation drove the trend again in 2016, as polling suggested Clinton would win the election on a campaign platform that included support for stricter gun laws.

There was a lot of talk that if the Democrats got in, then there would be tighter gun laws and more restrictions, said Mike Bouchard, a former ATF official who now leads the ATF Association, a group made up of current and former agency employees. When people fear theres going to be a change in gun laws, they go out and theres going to be an increase in sales.

Gun companies ramped up production in 2016 to meet this demand, believing the surge would continue with Clinton in the White House. Instead, Donald Trump won, giving Republicans control of the presidency and both chambers of Congress. With gun control off the table, the industry corrected in 2017.

Since President Trump took over, sales are down significantly from what Ive been hearing from people in the industry, because consumers dont fear any changes, Bouchard said.

ATF wont release the 2017 manufacturing numbers for another year, but other data has already reflected a decline. In 2016, the FBI reported receiving a record 27.5 million gun background check requests, nearly double the 2009 total. Last year, though, the agency received 25.2 million requests (which was still the second highest total ever).

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Background check requests offer a good sense of the size of the gun market, but arent an exact reflection of sales. These numbers include denied requests and requests that were approved and involved the purchase of multiple firearms. They also dont count private sales that may not have required a federal background check.

(Photo: FBI)

Gun industry analysts have reported seeing around an 18 percent drop in total transaction volume in 2017, with many companies offering heavily discounted products to account for decreased demand. Based on the number of background check requests, however, guns still flew off the shelves. All in all, 2017 may have been a down year in the gun world, but it was down from an all-time high following a period of unprecedented success.

History puts the explosive growth of the Obama years in context. Gun control  or even the thought of gun control  reliably drives the firearm market, and manufacturing saw a previous peak in 1994 after the passage of new federal gun laws under President Bill Clinton. There were 5.2 million guns produced that year, meaning 2016 more than doubled this previous record.

I think potential purchasers were that much more afraid of Hillary Clinton, said Howard Wolfe, a former ATF supervisor. She was very unpopular with that community, and even though she said she was not going to really do anything to impact on the Second Amendment, I dont think a lot of people believed her. So there were some people saying, This might be my last chance to buy a gun.

Despite the 2017 decline, some experts predict firearms business will return to an upward trajectory and could even eventually eclipse 2016.

The numbers clearly will come back from the current levels, said Kevin Moody, a financial analyst at Moodys. Will they ever surpass 2016 levels? I dont know. Maybe over time, but a lot of that will depend on politics.

What would be a home run for the gun industry and what could put them beyond 2016 levels, he went on, would be if you had a Democratic president and a supermajority in both the House and the Senate, because it would be a no-brainer that you could pass gun regulations.

If the past is any guide, a handful of massive firearm corporations will likely be responsible for driving much of this growth. Three publicly traded companies  Smith & Wesson, now held under the American Outdoor Brands Corporation; Sturm, Ruger & Co.; and Vista Outdoor, which owns Savage Arms, a popular rifle company  were responsible for manufacturing around 4.5 million firearms, or nearly 40 percent of all guns, in 2016, according to the ATF report.

With shareholders to appease and access to all the financial tools available to a supercharged capitalist enterprise, these businesses arent going anywhere, said Tom Diaz, an author who has written multiple books on the gun industry.

This is a much more sophisticated industry than it used to be in terms of financing and their corporate ability and their international linkages, Diaz said. This is just like anything else thats an internationalized or globalized industry, and it aint going back in the bottle.

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By Daniel Wiessner

(Reuters) - A U.S. judge in San Francisco on Thursday said a former Grubhub Inc delivery driver was an independent contractor and not the company's employee, in the first case of its kind against a "gig economy" company that went to trial.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley said Grubhub did not control Raef Lawson's work, so it was not his employer under California law. The Chicago-based company did not supervise Lawson, tell him when to work, what kind of transportation to use or what routes to take, she said.

Grubhub, Uber Technologies Inc, and other gig economy companies have based their business models on treating workers as independent contractors who are not entitled to minimum wage and overtime payments and other legal protections afforded to employees.

Thursday's decision could influence a series of lawsuits across the country in which Uber, Lyft, and other companies are accused of misclassifying workers as independent contractors and depriving them of millions of dollars in pay and expenses.

Noting that independent contractors do not receive any of the legal protections afforded to employees, Corley on Thursday said California state lawmakers "may want to address this stark dichotomy."

Michele Maryott, a lawyer for Grubhub, said in a statement that "delivery partners gravitate to Grubhub, rather than traditional employment, precisely because of the independence and autonomy they have over their workdays and over their businesses.

A lawyer for Lawson did not respond to a request for comment.

Lawson had worked for the company for four months but was blocked from Grubhub's smartphone app in 2016 for not making deliveries while he was signed on, according to court documents.

Lawson said several factors established that he was an employee, including that delivery work was critical to Grubhub's business model. Grubhub also typically paid a minimum hourly rate, rather than a per delivery fee, Lawson said.

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Grubhub argued it was a software development company, and not a food delivery service, so workers like Lawson were not central to its business. That is a key factor in determining whether a worker is an employee.

Grubhub also said it did not have the control over drivers that is required to establish an employment relationship.

On Thursday, Corley said some factors weighed in Lawson's favor, but the company's complete lack of control over how he performed deliveries meant he was an independent contractor.

The case is Lawson v. Grubhub Inc, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, No. 3:15-cv-05128.

(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Cynthia Osterman)
An Oregon hospital has eliminated an archaic policy that would have barred an undocumented Portland resident from getting a lifesaving liver transplant.

Silvia Lesama-Santos, a mother of four who is covered by her husbands insurance and has lived in Portland for 30 years, was originally denied care at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) hospital because of her immigration status, the Oregonian reports.

The Oregon chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) took up Lesama-Santos case, putting out a statement on Tuesday calling for the hospital to roll back any policy that limits access to organ transplants based on immigration status. Everyone deserves to have access to life-saving medical care, the statement reads. It is inhumane and cruel to deny care to undocumented members of our community. This is an unfair practice that goes against our values as Oregonians.

OHSU responded almost immediately with a statement of its own, announcing the termination of the policy. It was brought to our attention this evening that an archaic transplant policy was preventing an undocumented individual from being evaluated at OHSU, the statement reads. Upon learning of the policy, OHSU leaders acted immediately and terminated the policy. We deeply regret the pain this has caused the family.

Dr. Willscott Naugler, medical director for the liver transplant program at OHSU, told the Oregonian that the hospital had apparently mistakenly equated being undocumented with being uninsured. Its unfortunate that it was recognized just [Tuesday] night and its 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 theyve been through a lot, Naugler said. (Lesama-Santos first sought an evaluation for a liver transplant last year, but the process was halted because she was uninsured at the time, according to the Oregonian.)

Now that shes been cleared for care, Lesama-Santos will be placed on the waiting list for a donor organ pending a successful evaluation, the Oregonian reports. An ACLU spokesperson told the paper she has also been accepted by a hospital in Seattle.
Congress struggled yet again to pass a budget bill on time: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Congress stumbled past a midnight funding deadline and pushed the federal government into a shutdown for the second time in less than a month.

While the Senate had reached a deal a day earlier on a measure that would lift spending caps and raise military spending, the bill stalled in the upper chamber for hours as Kentucky Republican Rand Paul held up a vote to protest increases in the federal deficit. His Republican colleagues became noticeably more frustrated as the night wore on, accusing him of grandstanding and of wasting their time.

As the hours to pass a bill dwindled, away the White House instructed the federal government to begin preparing to halt or scale back many of its functions.

The failure to pass a budget bill on time has become a familiar sight in Washington. The government shut down for three days earlier this year as Democrats blocked a bill to try and force a compromise on immigration, and Republicans pushed the government to shutter in 2013 as part of a bid to undo Barack Obamas healthcare law.

With the deadline hours away, Mr Paul delayed a vote with a lengthy floor speech railing against what he called out-of-control government spending. He lambasted his colleagues for abandoning their commitment to reducing the deficit and warned of bottomless spending on perpetual war.

How come you were against President Obamas deficits, and then how come youre for Republican deficits? Isnt that the very definition of intellectual dishonesty? the libertarian senator said.

I think the countrys worth a debate until three in the morning, he added.

The budget bill awaiting votes would not replace a lapsed immigration programme known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) that afforded some 800,000 young immigrants protection from deportation and work permits. Donald Trump moved to end the initiative and has used the suspension to push for a larger immigration deal.

Democrats have agitated unsuccessfully to include a DACA fix as Congress has passed a series of short-term budget bills. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi took to the House floor earlier than a week for a record eight-plus hour speech highlighting inaction, and Democrats forced a multi-day government shutdown earlier this year by blocking a budget bill that eschewed immigration.

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As Congress moved to pass a new budget bill that sidesteps the issue, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan promised that a resolution was coming.

To anyone who doubts my intention to solve this problem and bring up a DACA and immigration reform bill, do not, Mr Ryan told reporters. We will bring a solution to the floor, one that the president will sign.
PYEONGCHANG, South Korea  Last month, Aly Raisman stood at Larry Nassars sentencing hearing and delivered a 13-minute, tour-de-force victim-impact statement. She was one of over 150 women who came forward to help put the former USA Gymnastics doctor away for life for sexually assaulting them.

During her address, Raisman, who won six medals, including three golds in gymnastics across two Olympics, took time to focus on USA Gymnastics and the United States Olympic Committee for their failure to do even the bare minimum after she revealed she was among Nassars victims.

Neither USA Gymnastics nor the USOC have reached out to express sympathy or even offer support, Raisman said. Not even to ask, How did this happen? What do you think we can do to help?

Why have I and others here, probably, not heard anything from the leadership at the USOC? Why has the United States Olympic Committee been silent? Why isnt the USOC here right now?

The USOCs criminal and civil exposure in the Nassar case is still to be determined. It is more of an organizing body than an operational one, allowing each sports governing body  in this case USA Gymnastics who used Nassar as a doctor  great autonomy to run daily business. That may change in the future if the USOC decides it cant trust the national governing bodies to handle athlete safety.

Aly Raisman delivered a powerful victim-impact statement at the sentencing of former sports doctor Larry Nassar. (AP)

That decision, and others, will come. An independent investigation into the USOC is underway. CEO Scott Blackmun retains support of the board of directors who believe his advice to have USA Gymnastics to go to the police in 2015 was proper. For now, he is employed, although hes not here at the Winter Olympics as he recovers from a surgery.

Raismans criticism was poignant, though, because it spoke to a culture, or a way of thinking, that is perhaps at the root of how someone like Nassar could operate.

The USOC didnt view even the most famous and successful of its athletes as people. If it had, USOC officials would have immediately called and rushed to offer assistance, help or sympathy. If it had, those same officials would have shown up to the hearing in Lansing to again offer support.

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Even the USOC now acknowledges that.

We took too long to reach out to the gymnasts after these revelations became public, Larry Probst, USOC chairman of the board, acknowledged Friday at the organizations Olympics-opening news conference. We are in the process of doing that now.

Its the least they could do. As was righting the initial mistake and attending Nassars second sentencing hearing last week in Eaton County, Michigan.

What Probst and everyone else at the USOC can do as part of its review of what went wrong, is consider what caused them, as individuals, to not call Raisman, Gabby Douglas, Simone Biles and so many others who competed under their banner while being raped by Nassar.

Every victim is equally important. Each of Nassars crimes is equally tragic and devastating. That Nassar wrapped himself in Olympic red, white and blue to build trust with his victims has rightfully horrified everyone associated with Team USA.

Yet on the micro level, Raisman and the others were known, often personally, by the people in charge of the USOC. They competed for the United States for years and years. They werent strangers. Or, they shouldnt have been.

If you discover someone you care about was the victim of a horrible crime, you go to them. You dont go radio silent and consult your attorneys. Many of these abuses occurred not just at USA Gymnastics training camps, but at international competitions, including the 2012 London Olympics.

Nothing does more for the bottom line of the American Olympic machine than womens gymnastics. Its been the driver for the Summer Games for decades now. It delivers huge TV ratings and lucrative broadcast deals from NBC, as well as massive corporate partnerships from a host of companies.

USOC chairman Larry Probst admitted officials waited too long to reach out to Larry Nassars victims. (Getty)

No one at the USOC or USA Gymnastics ever hesitated to cash in on these women who won medals at unprecedented levels. They know full well that the machine of American gymnastics continues to hum because every four years a new generation of little girls watch and dream of becoming Olympic gymnasts themselves. The cycle of cash just spins.

Yet when tragedy hit? Nothing. Or not enough.

The USOC is trying to say the right things and trying to do the right things and trying to allow any and all investigations to run their course. Thats good. No one is suggesting that anyone at the USOC was OK with Larry Nassar abusing people. These arent monstrous people.

But Probst trotting out the same old lines such as, We could have done more, but everyone could have done more, certainly doesnt get to the heart of the issue.

Some introspection might.

What does it say about Larry Probst and the others at the USOC that they didnt reach out to Aly Raisman? Or Biles? Or Douglas? Or McKayla Maroney, Jordyn Wieber and the others?

Deep down, did they view the gymnasts as only pawns to profit from? Are these girls just a commodity to be packaged and sold by the USAG and the USOC? Were they only among a faceless long line of Olympic athletes who keep those USOC officials employed and entertained?

Did those officials care at all?

The next Nassar gets stopped with new programs, new initiatives and new safe guards. He gets stopped by new awareness. Thankfully, all of that is happening.

He also gets stopped when USA Gymnastics, the USOC and many others take an honest look at how these girls, how any of these athletes in any of these sports, are valued in the first place.

More Olympic coverage from Yahoo Sports:

 U.S. speed skater Shani Davis angry over not being name flag-bearer

 Shaun White found similiarities between himself and Michael Phelps in 14

 Twitter reacts to openly gay U.S. figure skater declining to meet with VP Mike Pence

 North Koreas Olympic participation might be violating international sanctions

 At DMZ, scars remain even as South Korea tries to heal


WASHINGTON  During the White House briefing on Thursday, deputy press secretary Raj Shah addressed criticism of the Trump administrations handling of multiple domestic abuse allegations against former staff secretary Rob Porter.

I think its fair to say that  we all could have done better over the few hours or last few days in dealing with this situation, Shah said.

Porter resigned on Wednesday, one day after allegations of spousal abuse became public. In an interview with the (U.K.) Daily Mail, Porters second wife, Jennifer Willoughby, recounted Porters physical and verbal abuse during their marriage, allegations that Porter vehemently denied.

On Wednesday, the paper released a follow-up piece in which Porters first wife, Colbie Holderness, made similar claims, and provided a photo of herself with a black eye that she said was caused by Porter.

Initially, when the Mail was set to release the interview with Willoughby, the White House provided multiple statements to the paper in support of Porter, including one from chief of staff John Kelly.

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, Kelly said in a written statement.

Press secretary Sarah Sanders also gave a statement to the newspaper wherein she described Porter as someone of the highest integrity and exemplary character.

White House chief of staff John Kelly, left, with staff secretary Rob Porter, Nov. 29, 2017. (Photo: Evan Vucci/AP)

At Wednesdays White House briefing, hours before the second set of abuse allegations and accompanying photos emerged, Sanders said Porter had been effective in his role as staff secretary and added that the president and chief of staff have had full confidence and trust in his abilities and his performance. She also read a statement from Porter denying the charges. Sanders said Porter would be leaving the White House but would initially stay on to ensure that theres a smooth transition moving forward.

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All of that changed after the second set of accusations and the photographic evidence that accompanied them.

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 said in a subsequent statement.

The White Houses initial decision to stand by Porter in the face of domestic abuse accusations drew sharp criticism, forcing Shah to acknowledge the discrepancy between Kellys two statements during Thursdays briefing.

I think the second statement that he sent out reflected his thoughts, Shah said. Which is that these allegations are deeply troubling. They are shocking. And I think the first statement reflected, you know, the Rob Porter that we have known.

Shah later said that Kellys final statement was, in part, based on the additional allegations and further information in the second report.

John Kelly and President Trump at a meeting with North Korean defectors, Feb. 2, 2018. (Photo: Evan Vucci/AP)

In addition to the controversy over the White Houses first public response to Porter, there have also been questions about when top administration officials first became aware of the abuse claims. Holderness told the Daily Mail that the FBI interviewed her about her marriage to Porter since he was being reviewed for a security clearance. CNN later reported that senior officials, including Kelly, were aware of the situation for months.

Shah began Thursdays briefing by reading a statement in which he gave a description of the White House background check process.

Its important to remember that Rob Porter has repeatedly denied these allegations, and done so publicly, Shah said. That doesnt change how serious and disturbing these allegations are. Theyre upsetting, and the background check investigates both the allegations and the denials. The investigation does not stop when allegations come to light. It continues to determine the truth.

When pressed about when, exactly, various White House officials had learned about the allegations of spousal abuse, Shah said he could not get into specifics.

Shah also did not answer a question about whether Kelly had been partially aware of the allegations prior to the second newspaper story and the photos of Holdernesss black eye.

Well, I think we all became aware of the news reports that emerged on Wednesday morning, and some of the graphic images, said Shah.

As staff secretary, Porter was responsible for the flow of documents in and out of the Oval Office, including sensitive and potentially classified information. Shah implied Porters background investigation was ongoing, and said he was operating with an interim security clearance.

Other top White House aides  including former deputy assistant Sebastian Gorka, and Jared Kushner, the presidents senior adviser and son-in-law  have also been issued interim clearances. At the briefing, Shah was asked whether there are a lot of other people, at the highest levels in the White House, operating under a temporary security pass.

I cant get into that, Shah replied.

Prior to the abuse allegations, the Daily Mail reported that Porter was in a romantic relationship with White House communications director Hope Hicks, one of Trumps longest serving aides. Shah said Hicks had recused herself from some matters concerning Porters situation.

His first time behind the White House podium, Shah was filling in for Sanders at Thursdays briefing, which was rescheduled multiple times and began over two hours later than it was originally scheduled.

Read more from Yahoo News:
White House Counsel Don McGahn knew for a year about damaging accusations against staff secretary Rob Porter by both of his ex-wives  yet kept him on the job without investigating the claims, The Washington Post reported late Thursday.

Chief of Staff John Kelly also learned in the fall that the domestic violence allegations was holding up Porters security clearance, according to the Post, citing unnamed sources. Porter continued to have access to classified information and to control the flow of information to President Donald Trump.

Porter resigned Wednesday, but denied the abuse accusations.

These outrageous allegations are simply false, Porter said in a statement. I have been transparent and truthful about these vile claims, but I will not further engage publicly with a coordinated smear campaign.

Porter reportedly has been dating White House communications director Hope Hicks, who helped write statements this week defending him.

McGahn and Kelly now face questions about why they allowed Porter to stay in his high-level post despite the accusations.

McGahn wanted Porter to stay in his role because he believed Porter was a steadying influence, sources told the Post. McGahn continued to support Porter even though he later learned that the allegations were serious enough to complicate Porters security clearance, and was contacted by one of Porters ex-girlfriends, who also accused Porter of being violent, according to the Post. The ex-girlfriend was working in the administration.

Kelly defended Porter after the accusations were reported, calling him a man of honor and a trusted professional, and implored him not to resign. After photos were published of Porters first wife, Colbie Holderness, with a black eye that she told the FBI that Porter had given her in 2005, Kelly said he was shocked by the new allegations.

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Porters second wife, Jennifer Willoughby, said he emotionally, mentally and physically abused her. She said Porter once visited her in her home, violating a restraining order, and broke a window with his fist in anger, the Post reported. Willoughby said Porter called her, angry he had not yet received his security clearance, after she spoke to the FBI.

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Willoughby told Anderson Cooper Thursday that Porter called her recently, asking her to release a statement downplaying a blog post she wrote about abuse she said she endured during their marriage. Willoughby also told Cooper that Porter was intelligent and could be kind, but he was also deeply troubled and angry and violent.

Both women said they divorced Porter because of his violence. Both also said they were contacted in 2016 by a women who said she was a girlfriend of Porter and was being abused by him, CNN reported.

White House spokesman Raj Shah said Wednesday that administration officials relied on the FBIs security review to address the matter.

We should not short-circuit an investigation just because allegations are made, unless they could compromise national security, or interfere with operations at the White House, Shah said.

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Marc Benioff, Justin Trudeau

Salesforce

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is hanging with Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff in San Francisco on Thursday.

Salesforce has committed to spend $2 billion in Canada over the next few years, creating thousands of jobs.

But the two are also gathering other business people together to discuss a more political agenda.



Fresh from his stirring speech on women's rights at the Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is touring the US.

On Thursday, his trip took him to San Francisco to meet with various tech industry bigwigs, including Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff at the company's new headquarters.

The overt reason for the meeting was to celebrate Salesforce's commitment to invest $2 billion in Canada over the next five years, building out its data centers and adding to its workforce there. Salesforce currently employs 1,300 people in Canada. While the company didn't publicly commit to a specific number of new jobs, it quoted market research that calculated that its expansion in the country will lead to 28,000 new jobs and $17 billion in new revenue in Canada by 2022, when calculating all things like contracts with Salesforce partners and tech bought by Salesforce customers.

But the underlying reason for the visit is a bit more subtle. Benioff is hosting a roundtable with Trudeau and other business leaders to discuss a topic that he has been vocally championing: the importance of diversity and equality, the company said in a statement.

A couple of years ago, Benioff famously went to bat against several state laws that would allow business to refuse service to people based on sexual orientation under the umbrella of religious freedom. That included a showdown in Indiana over such a law, back when Vice President Mike Pence was that state's governor.

And Benioff has been leading a charge on equal pay for women, ensuring that Salesforce pays women the same as men and advocating other companies discuss the situation and make similar vows.

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Trudeau is also known for being outspoken on women's rights. His speech at the World Economic Forum last month discussed new Canadian legislation that mandated equal pay for women and advocated for "equal treatment" of women in the workplace.

Trudeau also penned an essay for Marie Claire magazine called "Why I'm Raising My Kids to Be Feminists." In it, he wrote,"I want my sons to escape the pressure to be a particular kind of masculine that is so damaging to men and to the people around them."

So the meeting is clearly a combination of business commitments and politics, with Benioff tweeting,

"I am thrilled to welcome Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to Salesforce & San Francisco on Thursday! Thank you for your fight for the equality every human being. Thank you for fighting the preservation of our global environment and the oceans. And Thank you for Neil Young."

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The die was cast on January 4, 2018, in the defense ministers bureau at the Kirya Base in Tel Aviv. In a discussion that lasted no more than an hour, Minister Avigdor Lieberman decided to build a missile arsenal within the Ground Forces. A missile corps, if you like.

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This dramatic decision, which is being revealed for the first time, contains the seeds of the next revolution in the IDFs combat doctrine. The plan is to build an effective medium-range surface-to-surface missile arsenal as part of the IDFs current work plan, which ends in 2020. And before anyone could change their mind, the defense minister rushed to allocate about NIS 500 million (roughly $145 million) for the projectas a first coursefrom the defense budget.

For decades, defense establishment officials have been arguing about the need for a military arm to activate surface-to-surface missiles to a range of 150-300 kilometers. The debate has gotten very heated, particularly in light of the threat to the Israel Air Forces monopoly as a long-range strategic arm.

The Predator Hawk missile. A range of 300 kilometers and more (Photo: Israel Military Industries)

During the discussion in the defense ministers bureau in early January, there were some senior IDF General Staff members around the table who didnt like the idea. Lieberman, in full agreement with Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, decided to end the long-standing debate and to adopt a plan prepared by the Planning Directorate in the past six months.

According to the plan, the first stage would include the creation of an arsenal of surface-to-surface missiles with a 150-kilometer range, which would be operated by the Ground Forces. The army would use an existing product: Missiles of the EXTRA model, which the Israel Military Industries (IMI) company manufactures for foreign armies.

At the same time, the Navys warshipsSa'ar 5-class corvette and Sa'ar 6-class corvettewould be armed with these missiles and become part of the IDFs strategic arm. According to the work plan, the missiles would be adapted by IMI for the Air Force too. In more advanced stages of the plan, missiles with a range of 300 kilometers and more would be introduced into the arsenal as well.

The final price tag remains unclear. It could reach about NIS 7 billion over a decadedepending on the number of missiles the IDF will arm itself with. This is also the plans weak spot: If there are not enough missiles to wage a long battle, this will hardly be a revolution.

1,000 precision-guided missiles

Lieberman came up with idea to establish a strategic arm in the Ground Forces way before entering the Defense Ministry. In 2004, as an ordinary Knesset member, he wrote a book called My Truth, in which he explained the need for such an arm. Over the years, he repeated the idea as a member of the Political-Security Cabinet and as chairman of the Knessets Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. Now, he has the ability to implement it.

But in 2004, when Lieberman wrote his book, there was no operative need for a missile arsenal in the Ground Forces. Furthermore, the technologywhich turned cheap rockets with a statistical destruction ability into accurate missileshad yet to mature. The enemy was different, and the Air Force could provide a fully response to the remote targets.

The dramatic change in the Israeli military perception took place about five years ago, as a result of global technological developments, when Western countries lost their monopoly over precision-guided arms.

Five years ago, Iran succeeded in developing a flight correction and navigation kit, which is applied to dumb Iranian-made rockets and turns them into precision-guided missiles. This raised concerns in the Israeli defense establishment that Iran would turn the dumb rockets in Lebanon into precision-guided missiles. And sure enough, instead of transporting missiles to Lebanon through Syria, Iran is preparing to assemble navigation kits on the dumb rockets that are already in Lebanon. This does not require any huge factories.

Defense Minister Lieberman (R) and IDF chief Eisenkot (Photo: Ariel Hermoni/Ministry of Defense)

Israeli officials believe that within a decade there will be more than 1,000 precision-guided missiles in Lebanon. Each of them, if launched, will accurately hit its target or miss it by just a few meters. This could cause enormous damage to the IDFs intelligence and control systems and to IAF bases, and in fact to all the systems supporting the armys quick response abilities, not to mention the damage to national infrastrctures: Electricity, water, government symbols like the Knesset, the government, the Kirya Base, etc. Even if we assume that the Iron Dome system is capable of intercepting 90 percent of these missiles, there will still be about 100 accurate missiles left that could hit vital targets and inflict, alongside the destruction, heavy damage to morale.

We are entering a new era in which Hezbollah possesses precision-guided rockets covering most of Israels territory, and this is what prompted the prime minister, the defense minister, the chief of staff and the IDF spokesperson to take every opportunity to threaten Lebanon with war in recent days.

Up until a few years ago, we were able to say: The Air Force is purchasing planes as it is; each of them can carry 24 guided bombs with a much heavier warhead than the warheads of the relatively expensive surface missiles; the air bases exist; the teams exist; the IAF is capable of destroying thousands of targets in one day, and has intelligence gathering abilities for those targets. So who needs a missile arm in the Ground Forces? It would be the wrong thing to do financially as well.

But that has all changed. The huge improvement in anti-aircraft weapons, some of which are already in Syria, along with the enemys large amount of precision-guided missiles, require the army to divide the tools at its disposal between the IAF, the Ground Forces and the Navy.

While continuous accurate missile fire on Israels air bases wont paralyze the Air Force, which is prepared to deal with such a scenario, the IAFs effectiveness is also measured through its ability to produce a series of sorties. Its very likely that the IAFs functional continuity will suffer in certain timeframes. In such an event, the cheap bomb on the planes wing becomes quite irrelevant.

In the era of precision-guided rockets, Israel has to have the ability to attack from the very first moment, rather than wait for reserve forces to be called up, for the ground forces to prepare for a ground invasion, for the Air Force to gain strength. Military officials admit that the move being led by the defense minister and chief of staff should have been implemented quite a few years ago.

There is a diplomatic aspect too. Foreign armies, for example. When Israel sends out planes in response to hostile activity, it risks clashing with the Russian air defense system or with Russian pilots. A precision-guided missile launched from the ground wont get Israel entangled in such a conflict. It will hit the target and destroy it.

The short-range missile arsenal could be critical in the first hours of fighting. Heres a possible scenario: Two IDF soldiers are kidnapped into Lebanon. Within less than a minute of receiving the order, even before a force crosses the border in pursuit of the kidnappers, all the bridges on the Litani, Hasbani and Zahrani riverswhose coordinates have already been fed into the systemsare destroyed to prevent them from fleeing northward.

When reserve soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev were kidnapped in July 2006, the pursuing force didnt have any accurate air cover and the attack helicopters arrived after the kidnappers had already slipped away.

When the AccuLAR-122 missile system with a 40-kilometer rangewhich the Artillery Corps received last yearreaches its full force, it will be able to launch some 300 missiles every 10 minutes at any target south of the Zahrani Riverin other words, 300 targets will be hit by accurate fire every 10 minutes.

There are 237 villages in southern Lebanon with thousands of targets. The first barrage will destroy the rockets and regular launchers at sites the Israeli intelligence is familiar with, as well as Hezbollahs control and command posts. By the time the Air Force reaches a critical mass of air crews, Israel will have an effective response to the missile barrages launched from southern Lebanon. Hezbollah is already capable of firing more than 1,200 missiles, some of them accurate, in the first barrage. The response, therefore, must be immediate.

Once the IDF has missiles with a range of 150 kilometers, it will be able to launch from some point in the north, far from the border, hundreds of missiles covering targets north of Beirut or Damascus. In the event of a missile attack on Israel, targeting the Kirya and the Knesset, a first missile will hit a defined target in the Lebanese capital within five minutes of receiving the order.

One system can carry out five barrages in one hour, with eight missiles per barragein other words, 40 missiles an hour. Multiply that by 10 launchers, and youll have more than 400 missiles fired at Beirut every hour. The precision level of these missiles is just a few meters. An EXTRA missile fired from the Golani Interchange, for example, could destroy a certain floor in a Beirut buildingeven before the planes take off. This type of punishment could create deterrence.

The next stage in building the arsenal is surface-to-surface missiles with a range of 300 kilometers and more. Such a missile, called Predator Hawk, is already in advanced stages of development and testing by the IMI.

The AccuLAR-122 insurance policy

The IDF was aware of these scenarios and abilities, but no one was in any rush. In 2012, the National Security Council ordered the Planning Directorate to prepare a plan for the creation of a rocket and missile corps, in light of assessments that the enemy had obtained precision-guided weapons. The Planning Directorate prepared the plan with a clear lack of interest.

The years 2012 and 2013 were particularly difficult budget-wise. There were discussions on allotting NIS 2-3 billion for the establishment of units and the purchase of equipment and missiles. No one knew where the money would come from.

A Hezbollah missile in Syria

Nevertheless, the General Staff was troubled by the Hezbollah accurate missile threat, at least from the artillery perspective, and searched for missiles with 20 to 40-kilometer ranges, which would assist in the ground battle, mainly on the division level. In the Artillery Corps at the time, there was one big system of precision-guided missiles with a range of 30 kilometers that had been purchased in 2005 and were called trajectory correction rocketsthe American MLRS rocket, which already existed in the IDF and which was made accurate by IMI through Elisra radar systems. This systems first operational test was in the Second Lebanon War, when 140 of these rockets were fired, mainly at Hezbollah gatherings.

At the same time, the IMI introduced LORA ("Long Range Artillery"), a surface-to-surface missile with a range of more than 300 kilometers, maximum accuracy and an ability to penetrate fortifications. As far as the IAF was concerned, this missile was like a desecration of something holy.

In 2013, in light of the alarming intelligence from Lebanon, the army purchased the AccuLAR-122 missile systema precision-guided rocket with a range of 40 kilometersfrom the IMI. The Artillery Corps completed the creation of the first operational unit this year. During an operational test of the AccuLar-122 system, three missiles were fired at three different targets dozens of kilometers away within 12 seconds. All three targets were destroyed.

Nevertheless, the AccuLar-122 purchase, as well as the purchase of trajectory correction rockets, was seen as an addition of an accurate fire-delivering force to the artillery rather than as part of a strategic surface-to-surface missile arm which would operate alongside the Air Force and serve as an insurance policy in case the aerial activity sequence was cut off, even briefly. The number of rockets that were purchased also matched the perception of merely an additional accurate fire-delivering force.

Unlike the Iron Dome system, which required a long and expensive development process, the EXTRA missiles are on the IMIs shelf and have been manufactured and sold since 2010. A considerable number of armies in the world have regiments of missiles produced by the Israeli company, which are supplied in fullincluding a command car, an intelligence-gathering RPV, control and command systems, a location system, vehicles and of course the missiles themselves. These GSP-guided missiles, which have the unique IMI flight-correction abilities, come in standard packaging, so the launcherdubbed crushercan hold both short-range and long-range missiles. Changing the packaging is a matter of 10 minutes.

In December 2013, the government decided that IMI Systems would be the exclusive manufacturer of precision-guided rockets in Israel, so the army wouldnt have to choose between manufacturers. But when it came to the purchase of missiles beyond a 40-kilometer range, someone from the outside apparently had to break the armys mindset. Moshe Arens, as a civilian defense minister, forced the establishment of the Ground Forces Headquarters, which eventually turned into the GOC Army headquarters; Amir Peretz, as a civilian defense minister, decided in favor of the Iron Dome system, and Liberman is now pushing for the establishment of a surface-to-surface arsenal.

According to the GOC Army headquarters demand, the missile arsenal with a range of 150 kilometersand in the future, if purchased, a range of 300 kilometers as wellwill be found in special support units designated for fighting deep within enemy territory. The Artillery Corps wants these missiles too. No decision has been made yet.

Its clear, however, that these missiles will only be operated by the General Staff. The Artillery Corps arsenal is aimed at aiding the division maneuver. Ranges of more than 40 kilometers require a different kind of intelligence and decisions on the General Staff and political echelon level.

Meanwhile, the fear in the Ground Forces is that one day, when its time to pay for the development of the missile arsenal, there will be no one to pull out the checkbook and the revolution will turn into an unimportant episode. After all, we used to have American surface-to-surface Lance missiles, which ended up rotting in the warehouses.
The police have yet to decide whether to recommend the indictment of billionaire Arnon Milchan for allegedly bribing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

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Early on in the investigation, police investigators believed they should avoid recommending an indictment against him as his testimony helped establish the suspicions against the prime minister.

But now, some in the police's senior command believe they cannot recommend an indictment against Netanyahu without recommending one against Milchan as well.

Arnon Milchan (Photo: AP)

During a meeting of the police's top brass on Wednesday to discuss whether to recommend charges against the prime minister, the question of Milchan's fate was also raised.

"It will be a decision made at the last minute," one law enforcement official said.

Police suspect Netanyahu interfered in matters relating to Milchan's business interests, particularly his partial ownership of Channel 10 , and tried to help him get a long-term visa to the US in return for the alleged gifts he received over the years.

Prime Minister Netanyahu, right, with wife Sara (Photo: Reuters)

Hadas Klein , Milchan's personal assistant, recently gave another testimony to the police, telling investigators about the systematic delivery of cigars and champagne to the Netanyahu family.

According to Channel 2 News, Klein and other aides of Milchan were asked by Sara Netanyahu to place the gifts in dark, sealed bags so they cannot be seen.

Owing to her connections with businessmen Arnon Milchan and James Packer, Klein developed a relationship with the Netanyahus and her testimony is central to the case. Her testimony is considered reliable and is not suspected of any wrongdoing, as she only handled the practical matters related to the gifts.

Hadas Klein (Photo: Facebook)

At an earlier testimony session last November , Klein described to investigators the strange requests received from the Netanyahu residence. When there was a leak in the house, "Sara shouted at me Netanyahu wanted a building inspector who worked with Packer and Milchan to advise the relevant members of the Prime Minister's Office on how best to handle the matter."

When she did not authorize the request, Sara shouted at Klein saying that she is "embarrassing her and Bibi by not authorizing matters that are purportedly permitted."

"After a few hours, Netanyahu himself called and said that what Packer and Milchan are doing to his wife is not ok; they must understand what she goes through in the media and that the matter was cleared by the Attorney General," said Klein.
Evidence presented to the court in the trial of former deputy minister Faina Kirschenbaum shows she received free flights abroad, electronics, and funding to conduct surveys from the Ezra USA Jewish youth movement.

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The executive director of Ezra USA, Daniel Elinson, who is suspected of bribing Kirschenbaum for political favors, said the flights, electronics and survey funding were neither favors nor bribery, and that he acted in good faith and in a fair and honest manner.

Despite that, Elinson deleted files from his computer pertaining to the case ahead of the police's inquiry against him.

Faina Kirschenbaum (L) and Daniel Elinson (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

At court, he was asked to explain why he erased files, which the police was able to restore, detailing expenses for the Yisrael Beytenu party, including flights and trips for Kirschenbaum and her family.

Elinson claimed he did it "in a moment of weakness," and failed to give a concrete reason as to why exactly he had done so. When confronted by the judge, he asserted that he had no intent to obstruct the investigation or temper with evidence, claiming he did so out of fear. He then failed to explain exactly what he feared.

The prosecution went on to ask him about several different items and services he paid for and provided to Kirshenbaum, such as phones, a computer and a camera. Elinson stated they were all specifically requested by the former deputy minister and pertained to her work, explaining he did so as he saw her as a representative of Yisrael Beytenuwhich sponsors them.

He gave the same reason for hiring her son in his organization.

Kirschenbaum was indicted in August 2017 for multiple counts of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, money laundering and tax offenses. She pled not guilty to all charges.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and China's top diplomat Yang Jiechi on Thursday reaffirmed their countries' commitment to exert pressure in Pyongyang over its nuclear weapons, the U.S. State Department said.

Yang was on a two-day visit to Washington that began on Thursday. His talks were also expected to cover the sensitive US-China economic relationship after recent tit-for-tat actions that have raised fears of a trade war between the world's two largest economies.

"Both sides reaffirmed President Trump's and President Xi's commitment to keep up pressure on North Korea's illegal weapons and nuclear programs," State Department Spokeswoman Heather Nauert told a news briefing.
The UN humanitarian chief briefed the Security Council on the worsening situation for civilians in Syria and the United Nations' call for an immediate 30-day cease-fire to deliver aid and evacuate the critically illbut the council took no action.

Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told reporters a humanitarian cease-fire is "not realistic" because "the terrorists" are keeping up attacks though Moscow would like one.

Sweden and Kuwait called for Thursday's closed-door briefing to get an update from humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock on what Sweden's UN Ambassador Olof Skoog called the "dramatic" humanitarian situation which is "deteriorating in many, many areas."

Skoog said Sweden and Kuwait are "working on a follow-up" to a proposed council statement on the dire humanitarian situation that failed to get the unanimous council support required.

According to a council diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity because the consultations were closed, Lowcock said the humanitarian situation was the worst since 2015, citing destruction in rebel-held Idlib from government attacks that have seen more than 300,000 civilians flee since mid-December.

Lowcock also cited the "horrific conditions" in the rebel-held Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta where more than 700 people need immediate evacuation and malnutrition is widespread, the diplomat said.
A Qatari envoy on Thursday called on the international community to send aid to the people of the Gaza Strip, saying the dire conditions in the territory could potentially spill over into renewed violence.

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In an interview, Mohammed Al-Emadi, the head of Qatar's Gaza reconstruction committee, said he hopes that his country's support for the territory, highlighted by a $9 million pledge on Thursday, will encourage other nations to join the effort. He also shined rare light on his working relationship with Israel, which does not have formal diplomatic relations with the energy-rich Gulf state.

"When you want to do work in Gaza, you have to go through the Israelis," he said. "Without the help of Israel, nothing happens."

Palestinians waiting near Rafah Crossing (Photo: EPA)

Since a 2014 war between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers, known as Operation Protective Edge, Qatar has been a leading player in internationally backed reconstruction efforts.

Under Al-Emadi's supervision, Qatar has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into large-scale projects, including a new highway, state-of-the-art rehabilitation hospital and high-rise housing. Al-Emadi, an architect, has been a frequent visitor to personally oversee some of the work. He is expected to return later this month.

Despite reconstruction efforts, conditions have continued to deteriorate amid the failure by Hamas and the rival Fatah faction to reconcile, deadlock in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, continuing militant activity by Hamas and the effects of a decade-long Israeli and Egyptian blockade imposed after Hamas seized power in 2007.

Unemployment is well over 40 percent, tap water is no longer drinkable and residents receive only a few hours of electricity a day. US cuts in funding to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, which serves more than half of Gaza's people, have threatened to worsen the situation.

Israeli and international officials have warned in recent weeks that the territory is on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophea message that was echoed by Al-Emadi.

He said the priority right now must be for donor nations to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza. On Thursday, Qatar said it was sending $9 million for food, fuel and medicines. But he also encouraged donor nations to respond to Israeli appeals to fund larger-scale projects for Gaza, such as a long-delayed electricity line.

"We have to fund as soon as possible," he said.

Al-Emadi said his work is professional, not political, but said the world cannot neglect Gaza while lingering political disputes fester. "This is part of our effort, working very closely with Israel, very closely with everyone in Gaza, to prevent any more escalation and war. We want peace in the region, and to help the people."

Under a system set up after the 2014 war, reconstruction materials are delivered to Gaza through an Israeli-controlled border crossing. The Palestinian Authority in the West Bank coordinates the projects, Israeli security officials approve the entry of materials and the UN monitors the deliveries to make sure they are not diverted by militants.

Over the years, Al-Emadi said he has developed a cordial relationship with his Israeli counterpart, Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai. "You can say it's good," he said.

But he said the motives were pragmatic. "To help the people of Gaza, this is our only target and aim," he said.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday he's concerned about signs that chlorine gas may have been used multiple times against Syrian civilians in recent weeks.

Macron's office said in a statement that he expressed his concerns in a phone call Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The statement didn't indicate who Macron thinks is responsible, but Macron said France is determined to hold anyone who uses chemical weapons accountable.

A UN-mandated investigation team is probing reports that bombs allegedly containing weaponized chlorine were used on two recent occasions in Syria.

Macron asked Putin to "do everything" so that Syria's government stops "intolerable degradation of the humanitarian situation" in Eastern Ghouta and Idlib province.
So many things have been said about Brexit since the British public decided in a 2016 referendum to leave the worlds biggest trading block. But will this unprecedented move be good for the Israelis? The short answer is yes.

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Israel and Israelis can reap huge benefits from Brexit. Here are a few groups of Israelis which are already gaining from Brexit, or are expected to do so. It is important to remember that aside from the opportunities, the Brexit process also bears a number of unknown factors.

Prime Minister Netanyahu meets with British Prime Minister May in London (Photo: Getty Images)

The Israeli economy

Perhaps the biggest news for Israel is a new Free Trade Agreement between the UK and Israel, which is already being negotiated between the two governments.

Currently, trade between the UK and Israel is governed by an Association Agreement between the EU and Israel. Once the UK leaves the EU, in March 2019, that will no longer be the case, and the two countries will be free to determine the best deal for themselves.

Since the Brexit referendum, the British government has declared that Israel is one of its priority markets. The UK is already Israels second largest trading partner in the world, and annual trade between the two countries is worth well over $7 billion.

Britain is keen to keep this growth in trade, so since March 2017 the two countries are negotiating a new Free Trade Agreement. Such an Agreement will open up the UK market to more Israeli exports, in both goods and services, and make a huge contribution to Israels economy; and it will also bring about an increase in the interest of UK companies in the Israeli market and give the Israeli consumer a wider range of product choice. All good things.

The shoppers

The UK has been for some time one of the most popular holiday destinations for Israelis, certainly for its tourist attractions but especially for shopping. Now, with Sterlings rate of exchange giving 15% more for the Shekel (compered to pre-referendum exchange rates), the UK has become a shoppers paradise. From fashion to electronics, the goods at Londons Oxford Street are now more affordable for the hundreds of thousands of Israelis visiting annually.

London's crowded Oxford Street (Photo: AP)

In fact, the number of weekly flights between the two countries is on the increase, making Britain even more accessible. A few weeks ago, the UK and Israel signed a new aviation agreement, ensuring the frequent air services between them will continue after Brexit.

And lets not forget online shopping, which has already seen British retailers Next and Asos become the darlings of Israeli online shoppers. Both platforms are on an upward growth trend and the products they sell are more affordable to Israelis because of the change in shekel-pound exchange rates.

The Real Estaters

The UK has attracted significant investment into its real estate market over the last few years. Israeli investors have not lagged behind in recognising the advantages of investment in this sector.

With the decline in Sterlings value since the referendum, real estate is now cheaper for the overseas investor and offers attractive opportunities for Israeli investors looking for both capital growth and a high yield.

Furthermore, the British Governments new Industrial Strategy  launched last month - envisions massive investments in infrastructure and transport. That creates many opportunities for Israeli companies who want to broaden their investments to the new markets.

The entrepreneurs

The UK is the sixth largest economy in the world and offers huge opportunities for overseas companies wanting to set up operations or invest in infrastructure and regeneration projects.

In the year following the referendum, Israeli financial institutions invested over 150 million (over NIS 700 million) in such projects in the UK.

Even before Brexit was on the table, the UK was one of the easiest places in Europe to set up a business  with as little as 24 hours to register a new company. The pace of which Israeli companies are setting up in the UK or expanding there has increased in the year after the referendum  32 companies compared to 25 in the 12 months prior.

Hundreds of Israeli business people have participated in Brexit-related events organised by the British Embassy, where they learn about what it will mean to work with Britain in coming years. Many more such events are planned  highlighting the huge local interest in doing business with Britain.

There is particular interest by Israeli companies dealing with environmentally-friendly projects. British government is looking to become more efficient and energy-saving projects are one of its top priorities as Brexit nears.

In the past three years alone, Israeli investors injected over 300 million (NIS 1.4 billion) into infrastructure projects in the UK.

The importers

Since the Brexit referendum, theres been an increase in the number of UK companies looking to export their goods and in the number of UK companies looking at new markets other than the traditional European markets. Thats because these companies want to ensure their role in the world even after Britain leaves the EU.

Needless to say that Israel, with its developed economy, is a potential destination for many of those companies. Since the referendum, executives from major British companies are flocking to Israel in large numbers  including Marks & Spencer, Rolls-Royce, Top shop, and the Royal Bank of Scotland. They all search for new business opportunities in Israel.

The UK has a lot to offer in terms of innovation and quality but has sometimes found it difficult to compete on price in the Israeli market. This has now changed and imports from the UK are more competitive and growing. In the past few months, Israeli consumers have been introduced to an array of newly-imported British products, such as Vispring beds, Joe Malone fragrance, Bendicks chocolates and even police scooters by the UKs Eco spin.

The techies

Since the referendum, the UK has increased the number of visas for skilled workers and this is likely to be of major benefit to Israeli entrepreneurs seeking skilled staff for their business projects in the UK. They will join dozens of other Israeli tech companies which are already active in the UK, enjoying one of the biggest tech hubs in the world.
Egypt on Friday closed its border with the Gaza Strip, Palestinian officials said, after Cairo launched a major operation against jihadists in the Sinai Peninsula.

Friday was supposed to be the final of a three-day border opening for humanitarian cases from Gaza, the first time the Rafah border crossing with Egypt had been open in 2018.

"The Rafah border was closed today due to the security situation in Sinai, we were informed by the Egyptian authorities," said Saleh al-Zaq, head of the civil affairs committee which controls the borders.
ISTANBUL - Turkey's radio and television watchdog has suspended a TV program hosted by a Muslim televangelist that blended theological discussion and dancing, saying it violated gender equality and women's rights.

Adnan Oktar hosts talk show programs on his television channel, A9, where he has discussed Islamic values and sometimes danced with young women he calls "kittens" and sang with young men, his "lions".

The punishment was imposed after Ali Erbas, the head of Turkey's Directorate of Religious Affairs, criticized the 62-year-old Oktar's broadcasts last week for mixing religious and profane elements.

Erbas said it was inappropriate to have religious references and belly dancing in the same program, according to Hurriyet newspaper, and the watchdog said it had received 6,000 complaints against Oktar's channel so far this year.

Oktar said he respected the watchdog's decision and is complying with the regulator, but that the criticism of his programs is unjustified.
Lebanon's energy minister said on Friday there would be full exploration in an offshore energy block that partially lies in waters disputed by neighboring Israel.

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Lebanon said on Friday it had signed its first offshore oil and gas exploration and production contracts for two energy blocks, including the disputed Block 9.

A consortium of France's Total, Italy's Eni and Russia's Novatek signed the agreements for the two blocks, which are among five that Lebanon put up for tender in the country's much-delayed first licensing round.

Lebanon's energy minister points to the disputed Block 9 (: AP)

Israel and Lebanon have exchanged threats and condemnation over the tender, amid rising tensions over territorial and marine boundaries between them.

Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman described Lebanon's exploration tender as "very provocative" 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 the militant Hezbollah group and Lebanese officials, including Prime Minister Saad Hariri, a Western ally, who described Lieberman's comments as a "blatant provocation that Lebanon rejects."

"Today, we announce that we have started our petroleum path ... after signing the agreements and launching the exploration activities," Lebanese Energy Minister Cesar Abi Khalil said at a ceremony in Beirut.

The contracts had already been signed on January 29.

Data suggests there are reserves in Lebanon's waters, but no exploratory drilling has taken place to estimate their size.

Abi Khalil has said a second offshore licensing round will happen once the first commercially viable discovery is made.

The first exploratory well will be drilled in Block 4 in 2019, said Stephane Michel, Total's head of exploration and production in the Middle East and North Africa.

The second well will be drilled in Block 9 more than 25 km (15 miles) from the maritime border claimed by Israel, he said at the ceremony.

Lebanon 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 its total 10 blocks.

Israel's Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said on Friday a diplomatic resolution to the dispute "is preferable to threats."

But, speaking to Tel Aviv radio station 102 FM, Steinitz added: "We made two things clear, in a very forthright manner, over the last year. One, don't provoke us, and don't explore in or even get close to the disputed line-of-contact."

Total said in a statement the disputed waters comprise 8 percent of Block 9 and that its exploration well "will have no interference at all with any fields or prospects" in the disputed sliver of water.

Lebanon's Foreign Minister Gibran Bassil warned Israel not to try to hinder the drilling on the Lebanese side saying that Beirut can also stop offshore development on the Israeli side.

"Israel cannot stop the activities on the Lebanese side because Lebanon can then stop the activities on the Israeli sides," Bassil told The Associated Press when asked if the drilling will cause more tensions with Israel.

He added that the oil companies declared that there is no reason "that they should not speed the process and they should start right away."

Lebanese and Israeli officials said David Satterfield , acting assistant US secretary of state, was in Israel last week and in Lebanon this week on a mediation mission. US officials confirmed his travels without detailing his agenda.

Abi Khalil told Reuters the heightened tension between the two countries in recent weeks has "not had an effect" on the consortium's plans to explore.
Greater Sydneys population is expected to grow from five to eight million over the next 40 years. To ensure a seamless expansion, communities in every suburb will need to consider what they want and need from the growing metropolis, according to the Property Council of Australia.

With our citys population increasing and housing affordability and cost of living important issues, we need to work together to look at ways our city and its built environment can be more efficient, environmentally friendly and enhance the character of our city, the Council said.

Communities will need to be solutions focused; Sydney is growing, that is a fact. Drawing battlelines and standing behind a banner of were full is not adequate or helpful, said Jane Fitzgerald, NSW executive director of the Property Council of Australia.

Reports of opposition to a proposed development in Eastern Sydney that would provide 25 extra homes, more car parking and a community centre, on a car park site no less, is a disappointing contribution to the discussion.

Rose Bay currently has a population density of 31.33 people per hectare  compare this to the Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the UK, where there is a density 130.8 people per hectare and we can gain some much needed perspective.

People who live across Sydney must be able to benefit from our citys growth, but they must also contribute to better overall outcomes for the community; we should not see some suburbs contributing more than others.

Fitzgerald added that this year, it was no longer acceptable to expect Western Sydney to shoulder all of the citys growth.

We should all stick to known truths; we need 725,000 more homes by 2036, we need more infrastructure to cater for this growth and we need to find innovative ways to provide and fund this infrastructure  within this paradigm we must find solutions and compromises.

Empowering our Councils to better plan for their growing communities, supporting experts to make decisions on planning, financial support for local infrastructure from the State Government and positive contributions from the community must all play a part.

We can all do better when engaging with the issue of Sydneys growth and 2018 should be the year when real strides are made to find solutions.





Related Stories:

Greater Sydney Commission Unveils Its Master Plan

Key Transport Corridors In NSW Should Be Protected




As a graduate school founded in 2005, Ghana Telecom University Courses seek to facilitate the training and graduation of leaders who will be instrumental in making significant contributions to their fields of expertise in particular, and the world community in general. The Ghana Telecom University was launched by the National telecommunications body mainly to facilitate advancement in media- related courses but has gradually grown into offering other courses, with a notable increased enrollment to about 7,000 students by 2017.Like all other higher learning institutions, Ghana Telecom University Courses are tailored to deliver quality and diverse programmes that stimulate and engage students in intellectual exploration. Popularly abbreviated as GTUC, the varsity whose council comprises of distinguished successful persons has its main campus in Tesano, Accra. Currently, it has satellite campuses in Kumasi, Koforidua, Takoradi and Ho and is still yet to grow in an attempt to get its roots closer to the community.

Ghana Telecom University Courses Offered

Previously a college until its inauguration on 23rd August 2013, GTUC started by providing certificate programs then bachelors degree and currently postgraduate courses. It has slowly but surely gone up the education ladder. A point to note is that the institution has not lost the technical bit of colleges, which is a good thing. It places a lot of importance in the practical skills of its students and organizes a lot of seminars and professional workshops, particularly in the telecommunications courses.

Admission Requirements for Diploma Programmes

SSSCE/GBCE applicants must have grades A - D in both their core and elective subjects. This includes English Language, Mathematics and Integrated Science/Social Studies and any three elective subjects which are relevant to the applicants area of study.

Admission Requirements for Undergraduate Programmes

O Level/A Level  credits in at least five (5) subjects at the GCEO Level including English Language and Mathematics.

At least 3 credit passes in the relevant subjects at the Advanced level.

GBCE - credit passes in Business Mathematics, English Language and Integrated

Science and three (3) elective subjects.

SSSCE/WASSCE - credit passes in English Language, Core Mathematics, Integrated Science and three elective subjects relevant to the chosen programme with at least aggregate 24/36

The Application Process

Purchase a voucher nationwide at Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB) at GH120.00 through the SMART _ PAY platform

Visit GTUC website: www.gtuc.edu.gh, click on online application, and choose apply online under the undergraduate or diploma option.

Enter the Serial Number and Pin on the voucher

Complete application form, scan and attach your passport sized photograph and relevant documents

Print a copy of the completed form and submit to GTUC Admissions Office

Alternatively, one can download the application form online or obtain a hard copy from the various Campuses, fill and attach all the required documents and a passport-sized photograph before submitting back to the admissions office of any of the campuses.

READ ALSO: Sakawa boy turns to cat during rituals in Ashanti Region

Note that all attached copies of Certificates/Result slips must be verified by the National Accreditation Board (NAB).

The Degree Programmes

In collaboration with both local and international universities, GTUC runs an intensified undergraduate school offering the following courses;

Faculty of Business Studies - Degree (4 years / Top Up)

BSc. Marketing

BSc. Human Resource Management

BSc. Banking & Finance

BSc. Accounting

BSc. Management

BSc. Accounting with Computing

BSc. Economics

BSc. Procurement and Logistics

Human Resource

Entrepreneurship

In collaboration with Coventry University, the school of business began in January 2009.

Faculty of Engineering Collaborates with Anhalt University, Germany - Degree (4 years / Top Up)

Telecom Engineering

Computer Engineering

Bachelor in Solar Engineering - Degree (3 years)

Faculty of Computing & Information Systems - Degree (4 years / Top up)

BSc. Informatics

BSc. Information Technology

BSc. Mobile Internet Communication

Ghana Telecom University Short Courses

The Ghana telecom university courses include short courses, all of which are relevant and related to the major courses they teach. These are meant to spice up their students professional qualification giving them an added advantage in the competitive job market. The short courses last for 2 years at most and can be done on part time/full time basis as a major course or alongside another course.

At the diploma level, the most sought after courses include;

Information Technology

Computing Science

Software Engineering

Business Information Systems

IT

Business

Accounting

Marketing

Management

Public Relations

These are classified under the related faculties.

The various certificate short courses include;

Certificate in Mobile Repair (CMPR)

Certificate in Web Design (CWD)

Certificate in Tablet Computer Repair (TCR)

Certificate in Computer Software Applications

A+Computer Certification

Network+ Certification

Network Security

CISCO Certified Network Associate (CCNA) is a professional course that includes all the computer packages plus Digital Video/photo Editing and Graphic Design Production.

On top of the certificate and diploma classes, the school offers top up degree courses that last a year as follows; International Marketing, BA International Business, BA Accounting & Finance for International Business.

Ghana Telecom University Masters Programs

In collaboration with Wildau Institute of Technology, Germany, Information Communication Technology (ICU), South Korea DePaul University, USA;; Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology (KNUST), Ghana; AFRALTI, Kenya; The Open University, United Kingdom; Aalborg University, Denmark; St. Mary's College of Maryland, USA; Antioch University, USA; University of Hertfordshire, the United Kingdom among several others,GTUC also runs a highly credible masters programme. They have a wide fountain to drink from as far as the post graduate degree is concerned as listed below for a quick review.

Ghana telecom university MBA programmes

The currently being offered courses are;

MBA Logistics

MBA Petroleum economics and finance

MBA Oil and Gas Management

MBA Global Business/Global Finance

MBA Healthcare Management

The PhD programme

Most recently, a PhD programme was introduced in collaboration with international universities for the outlined courses;

PhD in ICT Studies

MSc. Information Communication Technologies in collaboration with CASS Europe, Luxembourg

ICT Management

Business specialty (PhD)

Business Administration - This is one of the most prestigious PhD course in GTUC

Information technology for management

Business decision management

Project management

Business Entrepreneurship and Technology

Health and management Sciences (PhD)

Healthcare Management

Engineering PhD programs

Engineering Project Management

Telecommunications Management

Telecommunications Engineering  For this course you are expected to stay in Denmark for at least 3 months as part of the required field exposure.

M.S. Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences, India has the most collaborations in the Full/Part time PhD Programmes in:

Engineering & Technology

Management & Commerce

Art & Design

Science

Dental Science

Pharmacy

Hospitality Management & Catering Technology

Ghana Telecom University Fees

Depending on the course you are studying, the Ghana telecom university college fees differ. There is SRC, SPORTS, ISA, and FACULTY dues that are to be paid separately in addition to tuition fees despite your specialization. Fresh students are required to pay full school fees during admission into the school. For all the continuing students, a grace period is given after which any late payment attracts a fine of GHC 200.00.

The fees for the local students is always lower than that of international students, mainly aimed at giving the locals a bigger chance in getting the varsity education. Narrowing down, the MBA International trade is the cheapest matters MBA programmes, costing 4000 pounds for locals and 6000 pounds for international students. MSc Telecommunications engineering takes the lead at GH 20000.00 - GH 28000.00 for locals and international students respectively.

The fees for the undergraduate programs range between GH1,785.00- US$2,243.00 while that of diploma courses totals to H1,912.00 - US$1,997.00 for the local and international student respectively. The SRC dues for Ghanaians is GH 15.00 and US$ 7.00 for non-Ghanaians.

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All the fees plus the additional dues is expected to be paid with a bankers draft at the Accounts Receivable unit of the Finance Office with a bank deposit slip from Eco bank or Zenith Bank.

Ghana Telecom University Contact Information

GTUC can be accessed through;

Daytime telephone no; 0302 969020/30, 020 2698352/3

Website: http://www.gtuc.edu.gh.

Email address: graduateadmissions@gtuc.edu.gh

Facebook: www.facebookcom/gtucgradschool

Physical address:

Main Campus Location, Off the Kwame Nkrumah Circle  Nsawam Road, adjacent to the Police Training School, Tesano, Accra. P.M.B. 100, Accra North

Satellite Campuses Contacts:

Nungua Learning Centre - Telephone: 0302979381 / 0202625792 / 0501408371/2

Takoradi Campus - Telephone: 0202625794

Abeka Campus - Telephone: 0302252541

Kumasi Campus - Telephone: 03220 91197 / 0501341931 / 2

Ho Campus- Telephone: 0362028835 / 0505663496 / 0501561900

Koforidua campus - Telephone: 0342196687 / 0501561940/2

The office hours for the main and all the other campuses of GTUC are;

Monday-Friday: 8.00am-5.00pm

Saturdays: 9.00am-2.00pm

The campuses are however open during other times as the part time, evening and weekend classes programmes run.

Dedicated to providing access to higher education opportunities, The Ghana telecom University College values integrity, collaboration, efficiency, and inclusiveness in all it does offering the best courses.

Source: Yen.com.gh
The University of Education Winneba Sandwich (UEW) was built in September 1992 as a University College under PNDC Law 322. On 14th May 2004 the University of Education Act, Act 672 updated the status of the University College to University of Education Winneba (full University). Winneba now alluded to as the Winneba Sandwich campus is where the Vice-Chancellor seats. Take a look at the fee structure of the institution.

With a student populace of more than 30,000, the University of Education Winneba Sandwich has been reliable with its main goal to prepare equipped expert teachers for all levels of training and additionally conduct research, spread information and add to the policy of education and advancement in Ghana and beyond.

University of Education Winneba Sandwich fees

The University Of Education Winneba Sandwich Admission requires all students to pay their fee charges through Trans flow at any branch of the banks demonstrated against their individual campuses. While making payments, students ought to inform the teller that they should use TRANSFLOW to pay University of Education Winneba Fees. Students who neglect to pay all charges cannot enrol. Students are encouraged to visit their entries in the OSIS to know their full fees. Submit to this instalment courses of action in order to dodge any issues that may be identified with non-compliance.

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Undergraduate direct/diploma/ Post diploma are needed to pay a tuition fee of GHS 200.00 those for undergraduate mature should pay a charge of GHS 300.00.the post graduate a fee of GHS 250.00 international applicants to pay USD 100.Also Included in the charges of Final Year Students are: Congregation expense of GHS450.00 and a GHS11.00 UEW Endowment Trust Fund of. Included in the expenses of First Year fees are: Endowment Trust Fund and Development Levy of GHS5.00 and Medical examination expense of GHS150.00 per student.

Late Registration

Late instalment of fees might draw in a GHS20.00 penalty every day for a maximum of thirty (30) working days after the due date for fee payment. From that point, no student might be permitted to pay charges and any fees paid should be given back to the student.

Late Submission of Academic Gown by Graduands

Graduands who neglect to return their graduation gowns after the graduation should pay a penalty fee of GHS 10.00 every day.

List of Receiving Banks in Winneba Campus

GCB bank Ltd, ADB bank Ltd, HFC bank Ltd, Zenith Bank Ghana Ltd, Unibank Ghana Ltd and Capital Plus Bank

The hostel fee of undergraduates and postgraduates vary from GHs 850 to GHS 1,350.00 in a period of 32 weeks depending on the number of students in a room a for and USD 1,255.00 for foreign students in a period of 52 weeks.

University Of Education Winneba Sandwich Programmes

The university operates over 100 Graduate, Undergraduate, Diploma and Certificate programmes through the Regular, Part-Time, Distance and Sandwich modes. The University Of Education Winneba Sandwich Courses that are offered are;

B. A. (Music Education)

B. A. Social Studies Education

B. A. Theartre Arts

B. A. [Geography Education]

B. A. [History Education]

B. A. English Education

B. A. Graphic Design

B. A. Political Science Education

B. Ed. (Early Childhood Education)

B.A. Art Education

B.A. French Education

B.BA. Accounting

B.BA. Human Resource

B.Ed. Special Education

B.SC. Home Economics Education

B.SC. Information Technology

B.SC. Integrated Science Education

University Of Education Winneba Sandwich Contacts

To get more information about fees, admission and enrolment check the below contacts for Winneba campus.

Postal Address

P. O. Box 25, Winneba, Ghana

Telephone Numbers

Vice-Chancellor (+233 3323) 22361

Pro-Vice-Chancellor (+233 3323) 22137

Registrar (+233 3323) 22269

Reception (+233 3323) 22139/

(+233 3323) 22140

Emails:

vc@uew.edu.gh

registrar@uew.edu.gh

provc@uew.edu.gh

Fax (+233 3323) 20954, Kumasi

Source: Yen News
- Ibrahim Mahama has won against government over the mining of bauxite in the Ashanti region

- The Accra High Court says government does not have the rights to stop Ibrahim Mahama from mining

It was a victorious moment for businessman, Ibrahim Mahama when an Accra High Court struck out a case against him over his bauxite business in the Ashanti Region.

READ ALSO: Rawlings has been sidelined by members of own party - Nana Addo

The brother of the former president, John Dramani Mahama, was dragged to court by the minister of lands and natural resources, John Peter Amewu who wants to revoke the mining license of Ibrahim Mahama.

Ibrahim Mahama, who owns the Exton Cubic mining firm, a company which deals in the prospect for bauxite has for sometimes been having issues with mining at the Nhyinahini bauxite concession of the Tano Offin forest reserve in the region.

High court judge, Justice Kweku Ackah-Boafo, has ruled that the minister has no power to terminate the license of Ibrahim Mahama.

Meanwhile, deputy attorney general, Godfred Dame, still insists that the brother of Mahama does not have the rights to embark on mining activities.

Join YEN on Instagram to be always informed and entertained!

Ibrahim Mahama is a powerful businessman who owns a chain of companies, including Engineers & Planners.

A leaked financial data has revealed how Ex-President John Mahamas brother secretly invested huge sums of money in an offshore tax haven.

READ ALSO: Rawlings has been sidelined by members of own party - Nana Addo

Ibrahim Mahama reportedly had an offshore company, Red Sky Aviation Limited, created for him by a Bermuda-based law firm Appleby in the Isle of Man. The company was used to hold a $7m Bombardier Challenger jet, the leaked 13.4 million documents christened Paradise Papers showed.

Send us a message via our official Facebook and/or Instagram page to get it published on YEN.com.gh.

Source: Yen
By Dr. S. Chandrasekharan





The impending visit of Indian Foreign Minister to Nepal even before the new government is formed should be welcomed. This visit was preceded by two calls from Indian Prime Minister inviting K.P.Oli to visit India and the response of Oli is very encouraging. In turn, Oli invited the Indian PM to visit Mukthinath and Lumbini and significantly not Janakpur.





Relationship between Nepal and India should be strictly reciprocal





If the relationship had gone sour earlier by the indirect support of a blockade, the fact that India has finally realised its folly and making a course correction is all the more encouraging. It should be added that Oli should be really thankful to India as his party could not have come to power with an overwhelming majority but for the anti Indian platform on which he carried on the election campaign.





Oli may also need to make a course correction as he was seen earlier of deliberately leaning towards China in the last few months of his last government.





Nepal needs India as much as India needs Nepal and a state of confrontation will not help in the long run. UMLs manifesto has an ambitious economic agenda and it cannot be fulfilled without active and wholehearted support of India.





At the same time, India should be open to any discussion and review of the Indo-Nepal Friendship Treaty which in the present globalised world is an anachronism. We should leave it to Nepal as to what kind of relationship it wants including security, work permits or the open border but ensure at the same time that all facilities and beneficial relationship are strictly reciprocal.





Indian policy makers should also be aware that the Nepali Congress and its affiliates with democratic credentials are still a force to reckon with and should not be neglected. To me, the setbacks they had faced in the recent elections are of their own doing and the party should be expected to bounce back under a bright and capable younger leadership with a good strategy to recover its lost ground.





Stability and Prosperity Thrown to the Winds:





In the elections for the federal constitution of 2015, the electorate voted overwhelmingly for the Leftist alliance in the hope that at least now there could be stability and economic progress for the next few years. It looks that the people are going to be disappointed.





First, is the arrogance of the main party- the UML. It was expected that once the UML has won an overwhelming majority, it would be generous in dealing with other parties.





The Madhesi parties particularly the RJP-N and the SSF-N were very sincere in approaching the Leftist Alliance for seat adjustments for the National Assembly elections which eventually could pave the way for the parties to join the government. All they had asked was a promise that the constitutional amendment that would do justice for the Madhesi cause would be carried out. It was declined.





It is learnt that the leftist alliance was not willing to do so now and it claimed that it will be done only on rationale (whatever it means) and the necessity. They had also pointed out that the two mainstream parties had considerable number of votes from province number 2 in the elections and that the demand of the two main parties cannot be taken as representative. It is sad that the UML lost an opportunity to go for reconciliation and have an inclusive government that would have been beneficial to all.





The Nepali Congress has equally been petty in refusing to accommodate the Madhesi groups in the National elections. Having been decisively defeated in the national elections, the party could have been more generous in accommodating other well meaning groups. It is said that it is the Terain leaders within the Nepali Congress who are opposing the inclusion of the major Madhesi groups within their party. It is sad indeed.





Merger Problems





The talks between UML and the Maoist Centre are not going on smoothly. There are even differences over the timing of the merger. The Maoist leader wants to have a complete merger before the formation of the government while the UML would like to go slow.





Party unity coordination committees as well as a special task force of both parties have been formed. The two leaders- Oli and Dahal have met twice over the merger, but there seems to be many thorny issues that cannot be resolved in the immediate future.





The coordination committee has not met so far and the two parties are stuck both on ideology and leadership. While the UML is willing to share power in leading the government, the party  particularly the rank and file are not willing to give up the leadership of the united party.





The Maoist centre is unwilling to give up the leadership of the party either and the members are not willing to have a subordinate position for its leader Dahal in the unified party. Dahal himself has rejected outright the second highest position in the party.





Ideology is going be another sticking point- while UML would go for a peoples multiparty democracy, the Maoist leaders are not willing to accept any downgrading of the peoples war of theirs and Maoism in the united party government. Dahal is reported to have said that the Maoist Centre does not want to lose its proud history and that they have not abandoned Maoism. Then why go for the merger then unless it was to make it winnable in the elections?





UMLs Problems





It is almost certain that the rank and file of UML that has won a decisive victory in the elections will not accept anyone other their own leaders to lead the unified party. They feel that the Maoist Party joined the mainstream only 12 years ago and will have to wait.





Many of the cadres of the UML have suffered at the hands of the Maoists at the time of the peoples war. I recall an incident during the first election for the interim government. Over a hundred UML cadres had to seek shelter in the Police post in Rasuwa when the Maoist cadres attacked them during the election campaign. There were many more.





There is a justifiable fear that the party- the UML with its ideology will be swallowed up by the Maoists in due course.





The two leaders Oli and Dahal may agree but the party cadres at the ground level may not accept a total merger.





It looks that finally the two parties  UML and MC-N may ultimately end up as two entities in running the government.








Guwahati, February 9 : Arunachal Pradesh MP Ninong Ering has recently written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and urged to bring the issue of a huge possible natural hazard which could be disastrous for the North East.





In the letter, Ering who represented the Arunachal East constituency said that, every year till April, the slow-melting glaciers and the Eastern Himalayan forests are the primary source of river water.





During the monsoon months, rainfall carries sediments from the mountain slopes to the rivers and also causes dangerous landslides. In November, the monsoons turn weak and the rivers of Arunachal Pradesh turn blue. As the monsoon weakens, the river water clears up of their sediments and people can make use of water again, Ering said in the letter.





Due to the powerful underwater earthquake in November, a possible threat of natural hazard has emerged due to debris dams formed in the Yarlung Sangpo belt.





However, 2017 was an exception. Intense earthquake activity in November 2017 triggered widespread landslides on the Yarlung-Tsangpo river (200 km upstream from Tuting). Three natural rockslide dams have formed on the river due to blockage by landslides and debris. It is only a matter of time before the natural dams burst and unleash a severe disaster along the Siang river valley. Satellite imagery by NASA and planet.com <http://planet.com> show that landslides of this size and danger level have not occurred on the Siang river for almost half a century. Complicating this issue further, between October 21 and October 27, 2017, an avalanche occurred on the Sendapu glacier which feeds into the Yarlung-Tsangpo, Ering added.





The Arunachal Pradesh MP further said in his letter that, pools of water can be seen on the glacier surface, indicating that melting ice may have caused mud and rocks to slip.





This avalanche was not triggered by earthquakes. This was the first indication of the Siang river being contaminated by natural reasons and matches with the first reports given in early November by the vigilant people of Arunachal Pradesh. The big M6.4 earthquake on Gyala Peri, and a series of earthquakes happened exactly 20 days later on the morning of November 17. The M6.4 that struck on November17 was the largest and the shallowest earthquake since the year 1900 in that region. The high earthquake activity of the region is due to the Indian plate thrusting and squeezing against the Tibetan Plateau uplifting the Himalayas. Earthquake swarms have been reported from the area of the Yigong dam before and were behind the disaster on the Siang in year 2000. Earthquakes on the mountains Gyala Peri and Namcha Barwa have been rare events until now. The scale of the November landslides was so massive that just within 30 km of the rivers length, the mountain slopes have been stripped bare of forests and now are just mud and rock. Alarmingly, along 12 km of the rivers length, the landslides have partially blocked the river flow and have created three natural dams one behind the other, Ering said in his letter.





Ninong Ering also urged the centre to take proactive and necessary steps to keep people of Arunachal Pradesh safe from this danger.





Earlier, the Arunachal Pradesh MP had sent a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 25 last year and raised the issue. *





Ninong Ering appealed the PM to raise the issue in international forum.





The recent report said that, the Chinese government has constructed a 1000 km long tunnel  the worlds longest - to divert the Siang river (Tsangpo in Tibet) from Sangri in Sothern Tibet to the Taklamakan desert in Xinjiang is likely to be true though the Chinese government had denied it, Ninong Ering said.





In his letter sent to the PM on November 25 last year, Ninong Ering said that, a few months back a report which was denied by the Chinese government is regard to the diverting a channel over Tsangpo (Siang/Brahmaputra) in Tibet has become an issue of concern.





After the report the river Siang has become muddy and slushy and it is already two months that, the river Siang is black contaminated. It is unusual phenomena and reason for the river dirty is unknown. I have already put questions and also under rule 377 to be discussed in the parliament but as it was not in session. I am requesting you to use your good office to seek the reason of the river being muddy in this season where the water is crystal clear. A 600 km long tunnel is already started in the Yunnan province as a rehearsal, Ninong Ering said in his letter.





The Arunachal Pradesh MP further said that, there is no other reason that, the mighty Siang river tributary of Brahmaputra should be dirty in the month of November, but has occurred due to heavy land excavation in the Chinese side which has to be verified by an international team to ascertain the international treaty.





When I saw the water, it looks like cement mixed water. It is a very serious issue and the Centre must to take it seriously, the Arunachal Pradesh MP said.





Ninong Ering said that, a large scale of fish had died in the Siang river in recent times and he got it confirmed from Tuting and Geling areas in Upper Siang district close to China border.




Guwahati: SIMS Chennai Hospitals senior gastro surgeon Dr Patta Radhakrishna today (8 February 2018) conducted the weekly OPD clinic at Guwahati Press Club, where a number of media persons received free consultations from him. The hospitals northeast representative Binay Hatikakoti assisted the doctor to conduct the camp.





Till date, some of the acclaimed healthcare institutes of the country like Apollo Chennai Hospital, Manipal Bangalore Hospital, Fortis Hospital Bangalore, Medanta-the Medicity have joined in the free healthcare mission at the press club premises for the benefit of its members along with their close relatives.








Kathmandu, Nepal: The supposed plan of the cabinet meeting to recommend names for nomination to the National Assembly (NA) has been postponed on Friday.





It was supposed that the names to be recommended for nomination to NA would be tabled at the Cabinet meeting held on Friday.





According to a reliable source close to the Nepali Congress, Gopal Basnet, Krishna Paudel and Chandani Joshi would likely be recommended as the NA members from the government.





The Nepali Congress had authorized Prime Minister and party president Sher Bahadur Deuba to choose the names to recommend as the NA members.

As Article 86, 2 (B) of the constitution of Nepal has provisioned that the government can nominate three members to the Upper House, incumbent government is preparing to recommend names.





As per the constitutional provision, President has to nominate three NA members in the recommendation of the Nepal government.
Chitwan, Nepal: CPN Maoist Center Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has claimed that Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swarajs recently concluded visit to Nepal has not affected unification process between the CPN UML and his party in any context.





Speaking at a press meet organized by Press Centre, Bharatpur chapter, at Bharatpur Airport on Friday, Dahal claimed that party unification process would end soon. However, he did not specified about the timeframe to end the unification process between the two parties.





Dahals remark has come at the time when there is a speculation that the prospect of unity among the UML and the Maoist is jeopardized after Indian external affair minister Swaraj made Nepal visit last week.





As the Maoist has demanded to end the unity process before formation of the new government, the ongoing talks between the UML and Maoist have not brought any results.





However, Dahals remarks of Monday indicate that the CPN Maoist Center has adopted flexible stand even to agree to unite the party after formation of the government.





Responding to the questions raised by the media persons regarding the government formation process, Dahal claimed that the government formation process will start as soon as the Election Commission (EC) submits the name list of parliamentarians to the President.




Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) requires a capital injection of $187 million this year to ramp up production in Marange where its operating, a government official has said.

Mines minister Winston Chitando told investors during a breakfast dialogue on the sidelines of a mining indaba in Cape Town that ZCDC was targeting to boost output to 3 million carats this year and 4 million carats next year.

ZCDC produced 1,8 million carats of diamonds last year from 961 000 carats in 2016.

He also said that Marange diamonds was reserved for ZCDC, which was wholly-owned by the government.

Chitando, however, said the company can partner with investors to support its operations.

All the other areas are open to private investors on a 51/49 share ownership structure according to the provisions of the Indigenization Act, said Chitando.

Meanwhile, the Zimbabwean mines minister said there had been a massive interest in the countrys lithium since the time he took office end of November.

He said Harare through the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) recently inked a $1.4 billion lithium deal with an unnamed listed mining company.

Details of the deal would be announced soon.

There is lithium and its quite exciting. I can say over the last few weeks since my appointment as minister, most of the enquiries are on lithium, said Chitando.



Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau from Cape Town, South Africa, Rough&Polished




Peoples Alliance for Democracy and Secularism

Press Release

8, February 2018

PADS condemns the Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh (UP) for intimidating District Magistrate (DM) Kasganj. In an Facebook (FB) post put up after the recent Kasganj communal violence the officer Mr Raghvendra Vikram Singh had questioned the increasing trend of forcibly entering Muslim neighbourhoods and victimizing residents under the garb of nationalism. Another officer of the state,Rashme Varun of Saharanpur had also expressed similar sentiments in her FB post. She also referred to events in Saharanpur last year when the local BJP MP had led a march in a Muslim neighbourhood without official permission, and when the district police officer intervened his official residence was attacked by Hindutva goons.After attending a function of an RSS organization Mr Maurya had warned that the Bareilly DM had no right to put the FB post, and that officer should not speak alike spokesman of political partiesa. Mr Singh was also summoned to state capital for an explanation. Both officers removed their posts after it became clear that the state government will victimize them.

It has been a longstanding effort of the RSS and its organsiations to communalise state institutions. BJP governments at Center and states are doing it in clear violation of constitutional provisions.The BJP and its governments also encourage communal goons to attack public offices, as happened at the District Sessions Court of Udaipur in Rajasthan after murder and burning of Afrazul. Such communal intimidation and threats are meant to make bureaucracy a pliant tool of RSSas communal agenda.Socially aware officers like Mr Singh and Ms Varun are a big obstacle in these plans.On the other hand, such officials are essential to fulfill the constitutional mandate of public service in the country.In another instance a senior police officer of UP was seen taking a public oath to build Ram temple at the place of demolished Babri mosque in Ayodhya.It is significant that the IPS Association [a body of Serving Police officers] has condemned the act and emphasized the aethos of neutrality, fairness and uprightnessa necessary for police. When the BJP and its governments are hell bent upon violating secular provisions of the Constitution, it is necessary that more and more officers like Mr Singh and Ms Varun come out openly against its communal designs. PADS offers moral support to all such officers who value their social conscience and commitment to Constitution more than diktats of communal governments.

Battini Rao

Convenor PADS
Rumors of probable negotiations between Morocco and the Polisario separatists have been categorically denied by a source close to the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The source has excluded any direct or indirect negotiations between Morocco and the Polisario, contrary to media rumors talking about negotiations planned for this week, as part of the mission of the UN Secretary Generals personal envoy for the Sahara, Horst Kohler.

Mustapha El Khalfi, spokesman for the government, had previously denied any meeting between the Kingdom and representatives of the Polisario in the German capital, Berlin, or elsewhere. Khalfi had said that Kohler intends to hold separate meetings with each party, and that the venue of these meetings was not set yet.

Another Moroccan diplomatic source also assured that no meeting is scheduled this week in Berlin between the Moroccan authorities and the United Nations mediator.

Mustapha El Khalfi had confirmed that Morocco, along with Algeria and Mauritania, had received an invitation from Horst Kohler, and that Morocco would respond in due time as to the venue and timing of the proposed meeting.

The Government Spokesman had pointed out that Rabat remains, as in the past, attached to permanent cooperation with the United Nations, in the context of the Kingdoms gains regarding its national cause. This clearly means attachment to the framework of the autonomy proposal for the Sahara under Moroccan sovereignty.

Meanwhile, the Polisario leaders and their media relays are campaigning about supposed indirect negotiations that the UN envoy intends to hold in Berlin, as a prelude to direct negotiations with Morocco on the Sahara issue.

Moroccan sources have formally denied the fabricated rumors circulated by the Sahrawi separatists who are in complete disarray following their recent diplomatic failures. Besides, they are realizing that they can no longer deceive the Tindouf camps inhabitants who no longer believe in the brighter future the Polisario leaders have been promising for more than forty years.
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New opportunities for Vincentian students at Humber College

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An articulation agreement was signed between Canada-based Humber College and the St Vincent and the Grenadines

Community College (SVGCC) last Monday, February 5.

And, as a result, holders of Associate Degrees in Business Studies from the SVGCC who choose to further their studies at Humber, will move straight into year two of Humberas Bachelor of Commerce programmes in: Hospitality and Tourism Management; Marketing; Supply Chain Management; Fashion Management; Management Studies; or Digital Business Management.

Andrew aDrewa Ness, dean of International at Humber, speaking during the signing ceremony, said that this is a tremendous opportunity for local students.

He said that the negotiations took a while, but it is important to recognize that this was the case, as Humber was making sure that the subjects have the right academic fit.

aWe had a significant number of people on campus looking at the SVGCC curriculum, looking at teaching, so the signature is a reflection of our assurance externally of the quality that you are bringing in your classrooms,a said Ness.

Commenting, director of the SVGCC Nigel Scott said that this country has a long history with Humber and while the signing or articulation agreement was a long road, it is a great achievement.

aThe articulation agreement is referred to as a one-year block transfer and what that means is that students who complete the associate degree in business studies offered by the SVGCC with at least a 65 per cent average would be able to articulate into several different Bachelorsa programmes at Humber, taking a year off their programme,a said Scott.

He noted that Humber has done the mapping process and worked out the courses that students are currently doing and as a result, students will be allowed credit exemptions in their Bachelorsa programmes.

aThis is a big deal. I donat know if you realize that,a said Scott, who stressed that the SVGCC takes very seriously its mandate to prepare students for the world of work and the world of further study.

He said that the SVGCC has already signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with another Canadian institution and is looking at more.

The signing ceremony saw present, among others, Joseph Payne of the Ministry of Education, deputy director of the SVGCC Eula Adams, associate director International Recruitment and Market Development for the Americas Amanda Koski and local Humber alumni Keith Boyea, Wendy Minors and Chad Minors.

Humber College Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning was established in 1967 and is a global leader in polytechnic education. Located in Toronto, Canada, Humber combines in-depth theoretical learning and hands-on experience with applied research and extensive industry connections.
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February 8, 2018

Should (encouraged!?!) sterilization be a permissible federal sentencing factor in mitigation?

The question in the title of this post is prompted by a remarkable federal sentencing story out of Oklahoma reported in this local article headlined "Woman underwent sterilization procedure at judges suggestion." Here are the details:

At a judge's suggestion, an admitted drug user involved in a counterfeit check ring underwent a medical procedure preventing her from having more children. Summer Thyme Creel, 34, had the elective procedure in November after the judge wrote he could consider it at her sentencing if she chose to do so. Her sentencing is now set for Thursday in Oklahoma City federal court. U.S. District Judge Stephen Friot made the unusual suggestion in an order last June. He noted in the order Creel had given up her parental rights to six of her seven children and likely had used illegal drugs while pregnant with some of them. "I spoke with her in detail about it and she voluntarily wanted to do it," her court-appointed defense attorney, Brett Behenna, said. A prosecutor is urging the judge not to consider the procedure as a factor at sentencing. "Creel not only has a fundamental constitutional right to procreate ... but she admits that she had an interest in an elective sterilization procedure even before the court's order of June 16," Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Perry told the judge in a sentencing memo. "Furthermore, Creel's decision to have (or not have) additional children is sufficiently removed from the type of criminal activity involved in this case that such a factor is irrelevant to determining a sentence," the prosecutor wrote. Creel has a lengthy criminal record involving theft and counterfeit check crimes. She is listed in court records over the last two years at addresses in Oklahoma City, Checotah and Lawton. She was charged for the first time in federal court in 2016. A federal grand jury alleged she and others participated in a counterfeit ring that relied on mail stolen from mailboxes. Creel pleaded guilty a year ago to a single count in the indictment for using a $202.22 counterfeit check at a Walmart in Moore in 2014. Her sentencing has been delayed for a number of reasons, the first time because she couldn't show up in court. She was in the Oklahoma County jail for using a counterfeit check at a Hobby Lobby in Midwest City.... In delaying the sentence the first time, the judge made note of both Creel's criminal past and her history as a mother. "By virtue of a series of relationships with various sires over approximately the last 14 years, Ms. Creel has given birth to seven children out of wedlock," the judge wrote in the June order. "Comparing the dates of Ms. Creel's periods of habitual use of crack cocaine and methamphetamine ... with the dates of birth of her seven children, it appears highly likely that some of Ms. Creel's children were conceived, carried and born while Ms. Creel was a habitual user of these illicit substances," the judge wrote. "It comes as no surprise, therefore, that, in 2012, Ms. Creel relinquished her parental rights with respect to six of her seven children 'after an Oklahoma Department of Human Services investigation for failure to protect the children from harm.' Her seventh child was born in 2016," the judge wrote. The judge then pointed out he can consider at sentencing any information concerning the background, character and conduct of an offender. Finally, he told Creel in his order that at her sentencing she "may, if (and only if) she chooses to do so, present medical evidence to the court establishing that she has been rendered incapable of procreation."

The June order referenced in this story, which runs only two pages, can be accessed at this link. It closes by noting that Congress has provided via 18 U,S.C  3661 that "No limitation shall be placed on the information concerning the background, character, and conduct of a person convicted of an offense which a court of the United States may receive and consider for the purpose of imposing an appropriate sentence." I am inclined also to note that in 18 U.S.C  3553(a)(1) Congress ordered federal judges to consider "the history and characteristics of the defendant" at sentencing. So there is certainly a statutory basis for Judge Friot to defend his approach to Ms. Creel's case. I am eager to hear readers' thoughts as to whether Judge Friot's approach is sound and wise even if it may be statutorily defensible.

February 8, 2018 at 06:04 PM | Permalink

Comments

oh come on, how can any liberal think this is OK? The problem is not the law, the problem is the inequality of power. He had power over her and he used that to get her to do something she otherwise would not have done. It never ceases to amaze me how unprincipled most liberals are. When its a powerful woman (Kelly) being exploited by an even more powerful man (Ailes) then the shit hits the fan. But when a poor, drug addicted woman gets exploited by a man in a black robe...why should anyone care?

"had the elective procedure"

There was nothing elective about it. She was legally bullied into it.

Posted by: selfie man | Feb 9, 2018 5:25:42 PM

I am a former public defender and current criminal defense attorney. One of my mentors at our PD office used to advocate -in our office, not in court- for sterilization as an option ("carrot") for ALL criminal court defendants who had provided egg or sperm to create kids who ended up being abandoned. While I see that sterilization when offered as a carrot by a judge can't be considered "elective" in the purest sense, it would not be imposed on someone who refused, and I see offering sterilization as somewhat similar procedurally to putting someone in Drug Court. Most offenders in our jurisdiction who choose Drug Court are facing a "choice" of participating in the program or going to prison. I get it that Drug Court does not raise the same Constitutional issues as sterilization, but at the same time, depending on the person's age, health and gender, a lengthy prison sentence often effectively deprives someone of the right to procreate. Also, now there are birth control options for women (none yet that I'm aware of for men) to render them infertile for a period of time, which is something that could be considered as well. I think a nuanced discussion of this topic is worthwhile.

Posted by: Jill | Feb 28, 2018 5:23:37 AM

Post a comment
The gravity of the existential threat we face from Islamic Jihad is truly of epic proportions. It is essentially a battle pitting free-civilized man against a totalitarian barbarian. What is at stake is the struggle for our very soul - namely who we are and what we represent. The lives that were sacrificed for individual rights and freedoms that we've come to cherish are being chiseled away from right under our noses by the stealth jihadists. And many of us are in denial and totally clueless.



The left's appeasement and pandering to evil is nothing new. What makes their utopian delusions so infuriating and unpardonable is that it is not only they who will have to pay the consequences, and deservedly, so, they are thwarting and undermining our best efforts at resistance and are thus dragging us down in the process as well.







By Peter Lancz,, the head of the Raoul Wallenberg World Campaign Against Racism.
Theres a lot of noise about South Floridas first privately funded passenger rail service.

Were trying to get quiet zones established in Broward County, said Tom Green, board member of the Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization. No more train horns in Broward County.

The horns are coming from Brightline, which began operating passenger rail service between West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale last month. The new train caught some off guard resulting in four fatalities in Palm Beach County.

People arent use to fast trains in South Florida, said Green, a Wilton Manors Commissioner.

Murry Stegelmann, a Boca Raton hedge fund manager, rode Brightline for the first time last Saturday. Stegelmann and three friends took the train from Fort Lauderdale to West Palm Beach and back.

Brightline built beautiful stations and new parking garages in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, said Stegelmann. The ride was pleasant, especially with alcoholic beverages being sold on the train.

Inside the sleek trains  painted yellow, red and green  passengers sit in palatial leather high-back reclining seats with arm rests. There is table seating for families and groups and a beverage cart offering snacks and drinks.

Both stations have a snack bar, premium select lounge, complimentary Wi-Fi, newsstand and expansive views of downtown city skylines.

The train leaves 11 times daily for the 40 minute ride.

Stegelmann said it was hard to differentiate between the seating.

I didnt find their premium seats to be materially nicer than the regular seats, he said.

Brightline is currently offering low introductory ticket prices ($10) and free garage parking in an attempt to lure new passengers. Rail service to Miami is expected to commence later this year.

Im excited for the service to be extended to downtown Miami, said Stegelmann.

Green said the Miami station will have a wow factor in its design. However, before Brightline arrives safety measures must be taken. Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez has asked the Florida Department of Transportation to evaluate rail crossings in light of unfortunate incidents in Palm Beach County.

Green notes that while four people have been killed by Brightline trains, 32 people lost their lives in car accidents in Broward County during that same time span.

In a news release, Brightline officials said all public at-grade railroad crossings along the FEC Railway corridor of its operating route have comprehensive safety infrastructure in place, including gates, constant warning time (predictor systems), bells, flashing red lights and signage.

Brightline Chief Operating Officer Patrick Goddard said a partnership with Operation Lifesaver seeks to create additional public service announcement campaigns in English, Spanish and Creole.

For the past year we have been engaged in the communities along the corridor, and we will continue these outreach efforts, Goddard said, in a news release. We implore the public to be patient and not circumvent the safety devices in place to keep you safe. Your life is worth more than waiting for a few extra seconds for a train to pass.

On the Web: gobrightline.com

Fort Lauderdale Station Address: 101 NW 2nd Avenue

West Palm Beach Station Address: 501 Evernia Street
GLAAD, an organization that routinely holds the mainstream medias feet to the fire when they cover the LGBT community in a negative way, has ignored multiple SFGN inquiries regarding its recently published supplement, Southern Stories: A Guide for Reporting on LGBTQ People in Florida.

The guide was heavily criticized by the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council [PBCHRC], contains information about the LGBT community in Florida, including a timeline of events and LGBT-related organizations and resources.

SFGN first contacted GLAAD on Jan. 22 regarding the story GLAAD Criticized for Incomplete LGBT Guide to Florida. But GLAAD never responded. In a follow-up to that story on Feb. 2, GLAAD again failed to respond to a request by SFGN.

In the original story, Rand Hoch, a former judge and the president and founder of PBCHRC, criticized GLAAD. He said the guide had some false information and was missing a lot of key events in its LGBT timeline and even failed to include the PBCHRC on its list of organizations. One of the mistakes was stating SAVE was founded in 1973 when 1993 was the correct year.

GLAAD responded to some of Hochs requests for changes, including adding PBCHRC to the organizations list and fixing the SAVE date, but Hoch still wasnt satisfied and made additional requests. Also not included in the list of organizations were Pride Center at Equality Park and SunServe. The only Broward organization listed was Fort Lauderdale chapter of PFLAG, a national organization based in Washington, D.C.

Previously, GLAAD defended its timeline by stating that it tried to just give readers a basic overview of certain milestones.

But for Hoch that was insufficient.

If GLAAD wants to include firsts in the timeline, why not include Palm Beach County's 1990 Fair Housing Ordinance and West Palm Beach's 1991 revision to the municipal employment anti-discrimination policies? Why not include West Palm Beach as the first public employer in Florida to provide domestic partnership benefits for municipal employees, which occurred in 1992? Why not include the 1995 referendum to repeal gay rights ordinance in West Palm Beach in 1994, the repeal effort was rejected by 56% of the voters? That was the first time in Florida that a gay rights law was upheld by the voters  in a landslide, no less, wrote Hoch.

And while it was great to see the inclusion of Darrin Gayles as the first out gay Black man confirmed as a federal judge in 2014, why not include me? I became the first openly gay judge in Florida's history twenty two years earlier  in 1992. If GLAAD can't be accurate, fair and consistent, maybe deleting the timeline would make more sense than making any further corrections, added Hoch.

In response to Hoch, Zeke Stokes, GLAADs vice president of programs, wrote, We very much appreciate your keen eye and will make the correction you spotted to the founding year of SAVE DADE. A new version reflecting that correction will be posted to GLAADs site in the coming days. If there are other factual errors, we are happy to correct those as well. We spent a great deal of time researching and fact-checking this document, but of course, we sometimes make mistakes and always welcome corrections.
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has begun extra stargazing to help the space agency accomplish advances in Mars exploration over the next decade.



The spacecraft already has worked more than double its planned mission life since launch in 2005. NASA plans to keep using it past the mid-2020s. Increased reliance on a star tracker, and less on aging gyroscopes, is one way the mission is adapting to extend its longevity. Another step is wringing more useful life from batteries. The mission's extended service provides data relay from assets on Mars' surface and observations with its science instruments, despite some degradation in capabilities.



"We know we're a critical element for the Mars Program to support other missions for the long haul, so we're finding ways to extend the spacecraft's life," said MRO Project Manager Dan Johnston of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California. "In flight operations, our emphasis is on minimizing risk to the spacecraft while carrying out an ambitious scientific and programmatic plan." JPL partners with Lockheed Martin Space, Denver, in operating the spacecraft.



In early February, MRO completed its final full-swapover test using only stellar navigation to sense and maintain the spacecraft's orientation, without gyroscopes or accelerometers. The project is evaluating the recent test and planning to shift indefinitely to this "all-stellar" mode in March.



From MRO's 2005 launch until the "all-stellar" capability was uploaded as a software patch last year, the spacecraft always used an inertial measurement unit -- containing gyros and accelerometers -- for attitude control. At Mars, the orbiter's attitude changes almost continuously, with relation to the Sun and other stars, as it rotates once per orbit to keep its science instruments pointed downward at Mars.



The spacecraft carries a spare inertial measurement unit. The mission switched from the primary unit to the spare after about 58,000 hours of use, when the primary began showing signs of limited life several years ago. The spare shows normal life progression after 52,000 hours, but now needs to be conserved for when it will be most needed, while the star tracker handles attitude determination for routine operations.



The star tracker, which also has a backup on board, uses a camera to image the sky and pattern-recognition software to discern which bright stars are in the field of view. This allows the system to identify the spacecraft's orientation at that moment. Repeating the observations up to several times per second very accurately provides the rate and direction of attitude change.



"In all-stellar mode, we can do normal science and normal relay," Johnston said. "The inertial measurement unit powers back on only when it's needed, such as during safe mode, orbital trim maneuvers, or communications coverage during critical events around a Mars landing." Safe mode is a precautionary status the spacecraft enters when it senses unexpected conditions. Precise attitude control is then essential for maintaining communications with Earth and keeping the solar array facing the Sun for power.



To prolong battery life, the project is conditioning the two batteries to hold more charge, reducing demand on the batteries, and is planning to reduce the time the orbiter spends in Mars' shadow, when sunlight can't reach the solar arrays. The spacecraft uses its batteries only when it is in shadow, currently for about 40 minutes of every two-hour orbit.



The batteries are recharged by the orbiter's two large solar arrays. The mission now charges the batteries higher than before, to increase their capacity and lifespan. It has reduced the draw on them, in part by adjusting heater temperatures before the spacecraft enters shadow. The adjustment preheats vital parts while solar power is available so the heaters' drain on the batteries, while in shadow, can be reduced.



The near-circle of MRO's orbit stays at nearly the same angle to the Sun, as Mars orbits the Sun and rotates beneath the spacecraft. By design, as the orbiter passes over the sunlit side of the planet during each orbit, the ground beneath it is about halfway between noon and sunset. By shifting the orbit to later in the afternoon, mission managers could reduce the amount of time the spacecraft spends in Mars' shadow each orbit. NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft, older than MRO, successfully did this a few years ago. This option to extend battery life would not be used until after MRO has supported new Mars mission landings in 2018 and 2021 by receiving transmissions during the landers' critical arrival events.



"We are counting on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter remaining in service for many more years," said Michael Meyer, lead scientist of NASA's Mars Exploration Program at the agency's Washington headquarters. "It's not just the communications relay that MRO provides, as important as that is. It's also the science-instrument observations. Those help us understand potential landing sites before they are visited, and interpret how the findings on the surface relate to the planet as a whole."



MRO continues to investigate Mars with all six of the orbiter's science instruments, a decade after what was initially planned as a two-year science mission to be followed by a two-year relay mission. More than 1,200 scientific publications have been based on MRO observations. Teams operating the two instruments named most often in research papers -- the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera and the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) mineral-mapper -- are dealing with challenges but are ready to continue providing valuable observations.

For example, some HiRISE images taken in 2017 and early 2018 show slight blurring not seen earlier in the mission. The cause is under investigation. The percentage of full-resolution images with blurring peaked at 70 percent last October, at about the time when Mars was at the point in its orbit farthest from the Sun. The percentage has since declined to less than 20 percent. Even before the first blurred images were seen, observations with HiRISE commonly used a technique that covers more ground area at half the resolution. This still provides higher resolution than any other camera orbiting Mars -- about 2 feet (60 centimeters) per pixel -- and little blurring has appeared in the resulting images.



Using two spectrometers, CRISM can detect a wide range of minerals on Mars. The longer-wavelength spectrometer requires cooling to detect signatures of many minerals, including some associated with water, such as carbonates. To do this during the two-year prime science mission, CRISM used three cryocoolers, one at a time, to keep detectors at minus 235 Fahrenheit (minus 148 Celsius) or colder. A decade later, two of the cryocoolers no longer work. The last has become unreliable, but is still under evaluation after 34,000 hours of operation. Without a cryocooler, CRISM can still observe some near-infrared light at wavelengths valuable for detecting iron oxide and sulfate minerals that indicate past wet environments on Mars.



The Context Camera (CTX) continues as it has throughout the mission, adding to near-global coverage and searching for changes on the surface. The Shallow Radar (SHARAD) continues to probe the subsurface of Mars, looking for layering and ice. Two instruments for studying the atmosphere -- the Mars Color Imager (MARCI) and Mars Climate Sounder (MCS) -- continue to build on nearly six Mars years (about 12 Earth years) of recording weather and climate.



The University of Arizona operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colorado. The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland, leads MRO's CRISM investigation. The Italian Space Agency provided SHARAD. Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, built and operates CTX and MARCI. JPL, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the MRO Project for the NASA Science Mission Directorate in Washington and leads the MCS investigation. Lockheed Martin Space built the spacecract.



Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook.
In May, 22 non-management employees at New Yorks Gimme! Coffee voted officially to unionize in what is believed to be the first union in American specialty coffee. And now, Workers United 2833 has officially been ratified.

According to the Cornell Daily Sun, ratification came via a unanimous 22-0 vote and covers all barista in Gimme! Upstate New York cafesincluding locations in Ithaca and Trumansburgbut does not cover baristas in the three New York City locations. The three-year contract includes wage increases for baristas, the creation of a sick day program, and a just cause clause that requires management to have appropriate reasons to fire or discipline a barista and a grievance and arbitration process to resolve workplace problems.

In a statement, Gimme! barista and driving force behind the unionization efforts Samantha Mason had this to say:

Having a contract that protects me and my co-workers is only one of the benefits to having a union. For me, the most integral part of this has been to see how far my co-workers and I have come in building solidarity, in rebalancing power and having the courage to take action and create a better workplace. Its important to me that all workers understand that they can change their workplace.

Built into the contract was a renegotiation of wages in December of this year after Gimme! baristas found managements wage proposal unsatisfactory.

It should be noted that the union has not been opposed by management. Owner and CEO Kevin Cuddeback stated, Im a proponent of people coming together to build a better world, and I look forward to working with the union toward the advancement of the company mission.

For more information on Workers United 2833, visit Workers United Rochester Regional Joint Boards website.

Zac Cadwalader is the news editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.

Top photo via The Cornell Daily Sun.
Coffee Design is proudly sponsored by Savor Brands , your boost in coffeedence through maximizing designs in packaging, sustainability and tech.

PT's Coffee out of Topeka, Kansas celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. The roaster operates three cafes in Kansas and Missouri and fine shops around the country serve their coffees. The company paired up with Carpenter Collective of Kansas City to refresh the brand identity and debuted fresh branding in late November of last year. We asked Will Vunderink to tell us more.

Tell us a bit about your company.

PTs was founded in Topeka, Kansas in 1993 by Jeff Taylor and Fred Polzin. Over 25 years weve grown from a single cafe to a full-scale roaster with a robust wholesale program, three cafes in Kansas and Missouri, and online customers around the world. We were one of the early roasters to establish a Direct Trade program, which today provides about 80% off the coffee we produce.

When did the coffee package design debut?

We launched our new branding and packaging last November, in anticipation of our 25th Anniversary earlier this month.

Who designed the package?

Our identity rebrand was done by Carpenter Collectivea design and branding studio located in Kansas City, MO.

What coffee information do you share on the package?

Our Signature Blend and Espresso labels list the origins of their component coffees, a description of the blend, flavor notes, roast level, and roast date. Labels for Single Origin and Direct Trade coffees also specify the name of the farm and producer(s), coffee varietal(s), growing altitude, and process. Elsewhere on the bags we include suggested brew parameters and background on our company.

What's the motivation behind that?

We tried to include all the information a potential customer would need to make an informed decision, while keeping the label legible. The segmented labels make it easy to compare coffees side by side, and each type of coffee (Signature Blend, Espresso, Direct Trade, Single Origin, Decaf, Blue Label) is identifiable by the unique color of its label.

On Direct Trade coffee labels we also include the producers signature as a way of connecting the customer to the farm from which the coffee came.

What are some of the improvements made in the packaging?

Other than looking much better, the new bags are resealable to keep the coffee as fresh as possible for as long as possible!

Why are aesthetics in coffee packaging so important?

We look at the packaging as our first opportunity to heighten the customers experienceit was important for our new identity and packaging system to reflect the quality of the coffee we produce. We want the packaging to stand out, and we want our wholesale customers to feel proud to display our packaging on their shelves.

Where is the bag manufactured?

The bag is manufactured by Savor Brands, who are located in China and Hawaii.

For package nerds, what type of package is it?

Our 12 oz and 5 lb bags are kraft with a matte color film overlay. They feature a box bottom, valve, and resealable zipper closure. Our Blue Label coffees come in a cardboard tube with removable sleeve, with the coffee in a valved plastic bag inside.

Where is it currently available?

Our coffee is always available online at www.ptscoffee.com, on the shelves at our cafes in Topeka, Lawrence, and Kansas City, and at our wholesale clients cafes around the country.



Location: Topeka, Kansas

Country: United States

Design Date: November 2017

Designer: Company: PT's Coffee RoastersLocation: Topeka, KansasCountry: United StatesDesign Date: November 2017Designer: Carpenter Collective

Zachary Carlsen is a co-founder and editor at Sprudge Media Network. Read more Zachary Carlsen on Sprudge.
Blindswitch Racing Stable and trainer Al Annunziata will start a formidable pair in this weeks pacing features at Yonkers Raceway.

Betabcool is the 7-2 co-second choice on the morning line in Fridays $40,000 Filly and Mare Open Handicap while Dontcallmefrancis is the 3-1 early favourite in Saturdays $40,000 Open Handicap.

Created by David Litvinsky six years ago, Blindswitch Racing Stable boasts a roster of about 30 horses, the most recent to join the ranks being Have Faith In Me, a champion pacer in Australia and New Zealand Blindswitch owns in partnership with VIP Stable, Robert Cooper, and Gary Axelrod. To reach the point of racing competitively in the Opens at Yonkers and importing the some of the Southern Hemispheres top horses, Blindswitch built success on the backs of its core four horses.

The first horse we claimed was Pan From Nantucket, Litvinsky said. He was so good. From there, it was BJs Guy. It was just lucky claims one after the other. Then RU Ready To Rock and Rock To Glory. Those were the core that kind of grew the stable. They were super horses. Weve just been lucky with the claims and the right horses.

After achieving success in the claiming game, Litvinsky turned his attention to importing horses from Australia and New Zealand. He realized an average horse Downunder could be a good horse in the United States and a top horse from the Southern Hemisphere could be superior when brought stateside.

I think we started maybe three years ago with the Australian horses. I deal with an agent that kept calling us and saying, hey, youve got to get this horse. They were cheaper back then. They were cheaper than they are now because now everybodys doing it, Litvinsky explained. The horses that came over here, they were just average horses there, average to below average. Some of these horses are bleeders and a little bit of Lasix really freshens them up and obviously, they can breathe. We said, lets get some of the better horses there and they can be something really special here.

Betabcool was one of those top horses Blindswitch imported. Purchased last year, the daughter of Bettors Delight was a 19-time winner from 84 starts in Australia, including wins in two Group 3 stakes, the Cinderella Stakes and the Norms Daughter Stakes. She began racing in North America last February and has posted seven victories and earned $221,500 since. Despite her success, Betabcool was originally overshadowed by stablemate Quick Draft.

We got her around the same time as Quick Draft, Litvinsky said. Quick Draft was actually the more classy horse coming over here; she was supposed to be the real deal, but as soon as we trained them together the first time, we just all knew that Betabcool was going to be the tougher horse, the better horse. Shes a really gutsy horse.

To start her 2018 campaign, Betabcool posted a neck victory in a $20,000 overnight at Yonkers January 12 with Jason Bartlett in the sulky. She finished third in her next start January 26 before scoring a nose win over Regil Elektra at the same level February 2 after starting from post seven and racing 8-3/4 lengths behind early.

Betabcool, we gave a month off to freshen up. She had a big season, so we turned her out a little early and shes come back really, really strong. Shes super sharp right now, Litvinsky said.

Betabcools impressive races justified moving up to the Filly and Mare Open this week, where shell meet last weeks winner Sell A Bit, Motu Moonbeam -- who won at this level two weeks ago -- and fellow class-jumper Cousin Mary. Juxta Cowgirl, Jag Out, and Annabeth complete the field. Betabcool will start from post three.

She got Bartlett, which is obviously a big bonus, Litvinsky said. Shes definitely better from off the pace. Im hoping theres little action up front and she gets away third and comes first-over, comes home late. Shes a different horse up front. She likes to chase for sure.

While Betabcool came from overseas, Blindswitch obtained Dontcallmefrancis by more traditional means. Litvinsky acquired the Rocknroll Hanover gelding for $55,000 at the 2017 Meadowlands Winter Sale, seeing potential in the 2016 Anthony Abbatiello Classic winner to become a talented older horse.

He had an amazing three-year-old season, made $150,000, beat some nice horses, he said. When we first got him, he was really good, then he started tailing off a little bit, he was tying up, so it took a little while to get him back to where he was at three.

Dontcallmefrancis won six of 37 starts last year, good for $74,770, but the five-year-old is off to a faster start this year. He won four races in a row, including two for a $50,000 tag at Yonkers in January, before taking on Open company last week. Much to Litvinskys surprise, Dontcallmerancis finished second by a nose.

I didnt expect him to finish first or second last weekend, he admitted. There are some nice horses in the Open, its a big step up from a 50 claimer. When the horse is sharp, I guess he can beat anybody.

Saturday night, Dontcallmefrancis will start from post three with Greg Merton in the bike and will face seven rivals, including Killer Martini -- a 7-1 winner of the Open last week, Orillia Joe -- who strung together three straight wins in January, and Dream Out Loud -- who finished third in his last two Open tries. All Down The Line, Gokudo Hanover, Thisjetsabookin, and Soto complete the lineup.

If he gets a good trip, he can definitely win. I dont think hes going to win first-over, but if he gets the right trip, he can definitely catch them. Its a very classy field.

First post time Friday and Saturday night at Yonkers is 6:50 p.m.

(with files from SOA of NY)
Morrisville College is pleased to announce their annual Yearling Sale will be held on Sunday, September 16, 2018. This year marks the 27th year for the annual sale.

The New York breeding and racing program has been a strong economic supporter of the Morrisville Equine Program for many years. The Morrisville College students greatly appreciate hosting the sale and making industry contacts with the consignors. These industry connections often lead to internships and further employment for our students. Morrisville College is the ONLY educational institution in New York and in the country that conducts a Standardbred yearling sale.

In the 2017 Morrisville Sale, a total of 72 yearlings that sold for an average price of $13,440, with a very impressive attendance having wide range of buyers filling all the seats until the last yearling went through the ring.

Entries are now being accepted for the Sept. 16 2018 sale. Entry forms are available online or call Mary Taylor at (315) 684-6355.

(with files from Morrisville)
The state Senate, which in June unanimously approved a bill to allow LA County to give back land to the descendants of the original Black property owners, must vote one more time this week before sending it to Newsom's desk.
Canon India has installed its seventh DreamLabo 5000 at Photopark Digital Press at Padma Junction in Kochi. The DreamLabo 5000 features a high-density print head, enabling over 300 mm wide printing output and incorporates Canons FINE (Full-photolithography Inkjet Nozzle Engineering) technology. When used in combination with the automatic double-sided printing function up to 1225 inch size, the DreamLabo 5000 is equipped for printing around 1000 pages of A4 size content and 2300 pages of 46 size content per hour.

DreamLabo 5000 utilizations a seven-shading color based ink framework that conveys smooth degree. Utilizing picture handling innovation that makes utilization of the full scope of Canons one of a kind inkjet printing shading range, the new printer empowers the yield of photograph pictures with a level of color representation which comprehensively outperforms that of ordinary silver halide.

Present in the city for the inauguration, Mr. Kazutada Kobayashi, President & CEO, Canon India said, At Canon India, we take utmost pride in offering innovatively preeminent solutions to the imaging industry. Understanding the significance and relevance of wedding culture in India, we are elated to extend the prowess of Canon DreamLabo5000. This is our seventh installation for the marvel in the country up until now, and it gives us immense pride to share that India is leading our South East Asia chart in adopting this technology. Kochi has been a significant market for us, with this being the citys third installation, we would like to congratulate the region for being an early adopter of our eminent inkjet photo printing technology. We take pride in being enablers in the imaging arena; with our complete portfolio of input to output solutions. Our products like EOS 5D mark IV and DreamLabo 5000 have revolutionized the wedding photography and printing industry in the country.

This is the 7th successful installation in the country and the DreamLabo 5000 has previously been installed in cities such as Kochi, Bangalore, Mysore, Vijayawada etc.

@Technuter.com News Service
Modi heads to Palestinian territories to balance warming ties with Israel

India\'s Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks with the media inside the parliament premises on the first day of the budget session, in New Delhi.

Reuters, New Delhi :

After a public embrace of Israel as a strategic partner, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is heading to the Palestinian territories and the Gulf on Friday to bolster long-standing political and economic ties.

India was one of the earliest champions of the Palestinian cause but in recent years turned to Israel for high-tech military equipment and anti-terrorism cooperation.

Under Modi, whose nationalist party sees Israel as a natural ally against Islamist extremism, ties have flourished. Modi made the first trip to Israel by an Indian prime minister last year followed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyanu's visit to India last month.

But Indian officials said India continued to support the Palestinian cause and that Modi's visit is aimed at helping build up the Palestinians' capacity in the health, information technology and education areas.

"We have de-hyphenated our relations with Palestine and Israel and now we see them both as mutually independent and exclusive and as part of this policy the prime minister is undertaking this visit," B. Bala Bhaskar, a joint secretary in the Indian foreign ministry, said.

The two sides are building a India-Palestinian technology park in Ramallah, the Palestinians' seat of government, which will develop IT expertise and generate employment.

Modi is due to arrive in Jordan later on Friday and travel to Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on Saturday. During his visit to Israel last year, he did not travel to the Palestinian headquarters as is usually the case with visiting leaders.

"Looking forward to my discussions with President Mahmoud Abbas and reaffirming our support for the Palestinian people and the development of Palestine," Modi said in a Twitter post.

India was among more than 120 countries to vote in favor of a resolution in December calling for the United States to drop its recent recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

But the scale of India's security and commercial ties with Israel dwarfs the engagement with the Palestinians. Israel is among India's top three arms suppliers, doing business worth millions of dollars each year.

Modi and Netanyahu are now pushing for cooperation in agriculture, energy and cybersecurity in addition to defense.

Modi will also travel to the United Arab Emirates, from where India gets half of its oil, and to Oman, with which India's navy has built close security ties.

The Gulf is home to nine million Indians who remit $35 billion home each year, sustaining millions of families. The UAE committed an investment of $75 billion in India when Modi visited in 2015 and the two sides will be looking to advance that goal, the foreign ministry said.




GAIBANDHA: Police arrested two BNP leaders from the procession after the announcement of verdict on Khaleda Zia on Thursday.
Integrated support for rehabilitation of human trafficking victims stressed

City Desk :

Speakers at a review meeting said the victims of human trafficking need integrated support to lessen their plights and vulnerabilities with proper rehabilitation in society. They mentioned that the human trafficking victims are subjected to repression and oppression by their surroundings people. So there should be effective and time-befitting measures for ensuring their access to family and social integration.

They came up with the remarks at district directory review meeting held recently at Hotel Warishan in Rajshahi.

Sachetan Rajshahi, a rights-based organization, arranged the meeting in association with Bangladesh Counter Trafficking in Persons Programme. USAID and Winrock International jointly supported the meeting. Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) Md Shalahuddin, District Legal Aid Officer Selim Reza, Assistant Commissioners Zishan Bin Mazed and Mamnul Ahmed and Executive Director of Sachetan Rajshahi Hasinul Islam, its Project Coordinator Mahmud-Un-Nabi and Programme Officer Rokshana Parveen addressed the meeting as resource persons.
CDA takes up mega waterlogging project

Chittagong Bureau :

Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) has taken up the long cherished project to get rid of acute water logging problem and tidal surge in a major part of the city.

The road nearly 8.5-kilometre long, 24-feet height from the sea level and stretching from Shah Amanat Bridge to Kalurghat Bridge will be constructed on the west bank of the river Karnaphuli. CDA has already completed tender procedures on January last and approval of the construction works are now awaiting from the purchase committee of Housing and Public Works Ministry, Project Director (PD) of the project Rajib Das told journalists

"We hope that the construction works of the much waited embankment-cum- marine drive will start by the first week of March after receiving the approval of the purchase committee from the concerned ministry," he said. PD Rajib Das told BSS that survey of the feasibility study and design for construction of the 60-feet road widening has already been completed. CDA has already completed acquisition of 59.50 hectares of land to construct 12 regulators and pump houses, 2,12,500 square metres of slab protection, sand filling, consultation, survey and procurement of vehicles, he added.

He also said the project is expected to be completed by the end of 2020. Meanwhile CDA is going to implement another big mega project at a cost of Tk.5616 crores as desired by the Prime Minister recently. Primary task of this mega project likely to start from this month , a reliable sources said.

Nasir holds meeting with NGO representatives : A coordination meeting of 88 NGOs working in chittagong was held at city corporation hall yesterday with city mayor AJM Nasir Uddin as chief guest.

Representatives of 88 NGOs were present in it. The chief guest in his brief deliveraitons said NGOs are extending services in the city area beside the services of the corporation.

He asked the NGO to go side by side with the CCC for their services for the overall interst of the city dweleers. He also hoped, NGO will assist the works of the CCC . He advised the stakeholders and beneficiaries to hold coordination meeting in every 3 moths.


Terms of specific performance of contract

Appellate Division :

(Civil)

Surendra K. Sinha J

Syed Mahmud Hossain J

Hasan Foez Siddique J

Mirza Hussain Haider J

Judgment

Abdus Sobhan (Md)

......Appellant

vs

Md Ahsanullah and others. ............Respondents

May 31st, 2016

Specific Relief Act

(I of 1877)

Section 22

Specific performance of contract - Mere fixation of the period in the contract even when coupled with a power to treat the contract as cancelled in the event of default in performance of contract within the stipulated time is not sufficient to make the time fixed of the essence of contract. Something more is necessary to have this effect and where the determination of question depends only on the language of the stipulations. . ..... (17)

Abdul Momen Chowdhury, Advocate, instructed by Md Taufique Hossain, Advocate-on-Record-For the Appellant.

Probir Neogi, Senior Advocate, instructed by Zainul Abedin, Advocnte-on-Record - For the Respondents.

Hajee Sam Meah Sowdagar vs Musanmat Al-Haj Jahanara Begum, 8 DLR 616; Kalidas Ghosh vs

Mungeeram Bangur and Co, AIR 1955 Cal. 298 and Amir Hossain Sowdagar vs Md Harunur Rashid, 65 DLR (AD) 130 ref.

Judgment

Syed Mahmud Hossain J : This appeal, by leave, directed against the judgment and order dated 17-5-2009 passed by the High Court Division in FA No. 249 of 2005 dismissing the appeal and affirming the judgment and decree dated 28-8-2005 passed by the learned Joint District Judge, Second Court, Chittagong in Other Suit No. 104 of 2002 decreeing the suit.

2. The facts, leading to the filing of this appeal, are precised below:

Respondent No. 1 as the plaintiff instituted Other Suit No. 104 of 2002 in the Second Court of Joint District Judge, Chittagong, seeking specific performance of contract and also for declaration of title. The plaintiff stated in his plaint that the suit land was owned and possessed by defendant No.1 by way of deeds of sale dated 30-6-1992, 31-3-1999 and 10-1-1983. Defendant No.1 being in need of money declared his intention to sell the land in first and second schedules. The plaintiff agreed to purchase the land of the first schedule for a consideration of Taka 8,80,000 and the land of the second schedule for a consideration of Taka 9,50,000, a total of Taka 18,30,000. Accordingly, defendant No. I, upon receipt of Taka 12,00,000, by way of cheque dated 14-2-1999 executed a deed of agreement (bainapatra) for the undisputed land of the first schedule as well as the disputed land of second schedule and handed over possession of the same to the plaintiff. According to the condition of the deed of agreement, the plaintiff was to pay Taka 4,00,000 within 3 (three) months from the deed of agreement and the remaining amount of Taka 2,30,000 within 3 (three) months in respect of the second schedule land. In addition, defendant No.1 would construct a boundary wall around the second schedule land at his own cost. On 10-3-1999, defendant No. 1 registered a deed in respect of first schedule land showing consideration amount of Taka 6,00,000. On 10-4-1999, Taka 50,000 was paid for the purpose of constructing the boundary wall but after a while the construction work was stopped. On 19-5-1999, defendant No. 1 received further payment of Taka 1,00,000 by way of cheque. Thus defendant No.1 received total amount of Taka 13,00,000 and was legally bound to register the deed for the second schedule land upon payment of Taka 5,30,000. However, subsequently, defendant No. 1 demanded further amount of Taka 2,00,000, as a result of which, a legal notice dated 10-12-2000 was sent to defendant No. 1. But he declined to receive the same. When the Attorney (Avg gvvi) of the plaintiff went to the house of defendant No.1 on 1-6-2002 and asked him to register the deed upon accepting the remaining money, defendant No. 1 demanded further amount of Taka 2,00,000. Finally, on 9-6-2002 when defendant No.1, refused to execute the deed, the plaintiff instituted the instant suit for specific performance of contract.

3. Defendant No.1 contested the suit by filing written statement denying all the materials statements made in the plaint. His case, in short, is that that the deed would be executed and registered upon payment of Taka 4,00,000 within 3(three) months of the deed of agreement and Taka 2,30,000 within further 3(three) months, failing which, defendant No.1 could sell the land elsewhere and the money paid would be forfeited. His further case is that since the plaintiff did not pay any money for the construction of the boundary wall, he himself partly constructed the same at his own expense. The plaintiff did not pay Taka 4,90,000 within the stipulated period and instead paid Taka 1,00,000 on 18-5-1999. Although the defendant repeatedly requested the plaintiff to pay the remaining money and to have the deed registered, the plaintiff did not pay the rest of the money. As the plaintiff was causing delay, defendant No.1 by way of legal notice to the plaintiff dated 1-6-2002 and also by way of publication of the notice in the daily newspaper on 13-6-2002 rescinded the deed of agreement. Defendant No.1 claimed that the plaintiff was in breach of condition of the deed of agreement and he denied the allegations made in the plaint including the plaintiff's claim that he had offered the remaining money to defendant No. 1.

4. The trial Court, upon consideration of the materials on record and the evidence of witnesses adduced by both the sides, by the judgment and order dated 28-8-2005 decreed the suit.

5. Being aggrieved by and dissatisfied with the impugned judgment and decree dated 28-8-2005 passed by the trial Court, defendant No.1 preferred First Appeal No.249 of 2005 before the High Court Division. The learned Judges of the High Court Division by the judgment and order dated 17-5-2009 dismissed the appeal affirming the judgment and decreed passed by the trial Court.

6. Feeling aggrieved by and dissatisfied with the judgment and order passed by the High Court Division, defendant No. 1 as the leave-petitioner filed Civil Petition for Leave to Appeal No. 1832 of 2009 before this Division, in which, leave was granted on 20-9-2011 resulting in Civil Appeal No.12 of 2012.

7. Mr Abdul Momen Chowdhury, learned Advocate, appearing on behalf of the appellant, submits that the plaintiff did not pay the balance of the agreed consideration money for the land of the 2nd schedule within the time stipulated in the deed of agreement and that the defendants sent a legal notice dated 11-6-2002 repudiating the contract and by publication of the notice in the daily newspaper on 13-6-2002 and that time being essence of the contract and the plaintiff not having fulfilled his part of the contract within the time stipulated, the contract became voidable, Accordingly, defendant No.1 rescinded the contract by sending legal notice to the plaintiff and also by publishing the same in the daily newspaper and that the High Court Division without considering those aspects dismissed the appeal and, as such, interference is called for by this Division.

8. Mr Probir Neogi, learned Senior Advocate, appearing on behalf of the respondents, on the other hand, supports the impugned judgment delivered by the High Court Division.

9. We have considered the submissions of the learned Advocate for the appellant and the learned Senior Advocate for the respondents, perused the impugned judgment and the materials on record.

10. Before entering into the merit of the appeal, it is pertinent to go through the grounds, for which, leave was granted. The grounds are quoted below:

I. Whether the trial Court failed to frame proper issues including the issue as to whether the contract subsisted or was terminated and whether such failure of the trial Court is violative of Order XIV, rule 1 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

II. Whether the trial Court and the High Court Division failed to notice that time was of the essence of the contract and that the plaintiff-respondent had failed to comply with the contractual stipulation within the given time, rendering the contract terminable and that by giving notice, the defendant petitioner rescinded the contract; and

III. Whether after the rescission of the contract, a suit for Specific Performance of Contract lies since the contract itself was terminated in accordance with the terms and conditions of the deed of agreement (bainapatra)."

11. Admittedly, the plaintiff entered into a contract with defendant No.1 to purchase the land of first schedule for a consideration of Taka 8,80,000 and the land of second schedule for a consideration of Taka 9,50,000, in total, Taka 18,30,000. On receipt of Taka 1,20,000 by way of cheque dated 14-2-1999, defendant No. 1 executed a deed of agreement for undisputed land of first schedule as well as the disputed second schedule land. As per terms of the deed of agreement, the plaintiff was required to pay Taka 4,00,000 within 3 (three) months of the date of the agreement and the remaining Taka 2,30,000 within the next following 3 (three) months in respect of the second schedule land. It was also stipulated that defendant No. 1 would construct a boundary wall around the second schedule land at his own cost.

12. On 10-3-1999, defendant No. 1 registered a deed in respect of first schedule land showing the consideration of Taka 6,00,000. The plaintiff contended that on 10-41999 Taka 50,000 was paid to defendant No.1 for the purpose of constructing the boundary wall. On 19-5-1999, defendant No.1 received a further payment of Taka 1,00,000 by way of cheque. Therefore, it appears that defendant No.1 received Taka 13,00,000 and was legally bound to register the deed for the second schedule land upon payment of Taka 5,30,000. It is alleged that on 9-6-2002 when defendant No.1 refused to execute the deed, the plaintiff instructed his attorney to file the instant suit.

13. It is of course true that the plaintiff did not pay the balance consideration of Taka 4,00,000 within the time stipulated in the deed of agreement. But it is admitted by both the parties that defendant No.1 received a cheque of Taka 1,00,000 from the plaintiff on 19-5-1999. DW 1 in his cross-examination admitted that he received a cheque dated 18-5-1999 for an amount of Taka 1,00,000 from the plaintiff. Defendant No.1 also admitted that on the date of receiving of Taka 1,00,000, the contract was in existence. There is no gainsaying the fact that defendant No.1 received Taka 1,00,000 from the plaintiff beyond the stipulated three months' time fixed for payment of Taka 4,00,000. Therefore, it could not be said that the terms of the agreement were seriously breached otherwise there could not be any ground on the part of defendant No.1 to receive Taka 1,00,000.

14. Defendant No. 1 sent a legal notice upon the plaintiff by registered post. Having considered the envelop of the registered notice (exhibit-Ka), the trial Court found that the serving peon in his report stated that the letter could not be served because of incomplete address. Therefore, it appears that in fact, no legal notice was served upon the plaintiff. Defendant No. 1 knowing full well about staying of the plaintiff in the USA issued the notice at his address at Sandnip. Though the legal notice was not served upon the plaintiff, defendant No. 1 by publishing notification in the 'Daily Purbakon' on 13-06-2002 repudiated the deed of agreement and forfeited the money paid on account of the agreement. Therefore, it appears that within 2 (two) days of issuance of legal notice upon the plaintiff, defendant No.1 repudiated the deed of agreement by publishing a notification in the newspaper.

15. Having considered the evidence of PW 1, the trial Court came to a finding that the plaintiff approached defendant No.1 on many occasions to execute and register the deed of sale in respect of the second schedule land on receipt of the balance consideration money.

16. Considering the evidence-on-record, the trial Court found that the plaintiff had been in possession of both the undisputed first schedule land and the disputed second schedule land.

17. Mere fixation of the period in the contract even when coupled with a power to treat the contract as cancelled in the event of default in performance of contract within the stipulated time is not sufficient to make the time fixed of the essence of contract. Something more is necessary to have this effect and where the determination of this question depends only on the language of the stipulations as in the present case, the language must be such as would un-mistakenly excluded the notion that the time limit is merely a secondary importance. The language of the agreement before us does not exclude such notion nor is there anything in the conduct of parties prior to the agreement which would induce us to infer the said intention.

18. In this connection reliance may be placed on the case of Hajee Sam Meah Sowdagar vs Musammat Al-haj Jahanara Begum, 8 DLR 616. In this case, it has been held as under:

" ..........the tenancy of the Courts in cases of such contracts relating to real property is to lean against a construction which would make time of the essence of the contract unless it Can be held to be the unmistakenable intention of the parties. As an extreme instance of such a tendency, we might refer to a recent decision of the Calcutta High Court in the case of Kalidas Ghosh vs Mungeeram Bangur and Co, AIR 1955 Cal. 298 where RP Mookerjee and Renupada Mukherjee, JJ, went to the extent of holding that even the mentioning of the fact that time should be deemed to be of the essence of the contract is not conclusive if it can be inferred even from the subsequent conduct of the parties that, that was not the real intention of the parties."

19. Reliance may also be placed on the case of Amir Hossain Sowdagar vs Md Harunur Rashid 65 DLR (AD) 130, in which, it has been held as under:

''In contracts for sale of immovable property, the fact that a specific time is fixed for payment or for conveyance does not normally make time of the essence. Failure to pay at a fixed time is not per se sufficient to terminate the seller's duty to convey; and failure to convey on the exact date does not per se discharge the buyer. In such agreements, usually time is not the .essence of contract, the reason being that the law of equity which governs rights of the parties in cases of specific performance of contracts of sale of immovable property, looks not at the letter but at the substance of the agreement. The intention to treat time as the essence of the contract may be evidenced by circumstances which are sufficiently strong to displace the normal presumption that in a contract for sale of real estate, stipulation as to time is not the essence of the contract."

20. On consideration the cases referred to above, we find that the agreement between the parties is still subsisting despite its rescission by the defendant and the defendant was in error in treating the agreement rescinded.

21. What is remarkable to note here is that the High Court Division directed the appellant to execute and register the deed of sale in respect of the land of second schedule on receipt of Taka 10,70,000 of which Taka 5,00,000 is the solatium.

22. The facts and circumstances and the evidence on record of the case are such that the plaintiff is willing and ready to perform his part of contract and therefore, he is legally entitled to a decree for specific performance of contract.

In the light of the findings made before we do not find any substance in this appeal. Accordingly, this appeal is dismissed.
Readers Forum

Congratulations! :

Heartiest congratulations to Honorable President Abdul Hamid on his re-election as the President of the People's Republic of Bangladesh for a second consecutive term. During his last term, President Abdul Hamid has earned great reputation and respect for his simplicity, patriotism and true leadership. I sincerely hope that President Abdul Hamid, being the guardian of the Nation will provide guidance to overcoming all the stresses the country is passing through including the Rohingya problem and move Bangladesh become a truly prosperous and welfare State.

Meanwhile, being the Chancellor of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University (SAU), President Abdul Hamid had attended the first Convocation of our University in 2015 and gave away the degree certificates to the graduates. It may be mentioned here that the SAU is preparing for its second convocation for which the present Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Kamal Uddin Ahamed has started taking preparation. And we are anxiously waiting to welcome Hon'ble President and Chancellor of SAU to our campus to gracing the second convocation of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University.



Professor M Zahidul Haque

Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University

Dhaka.
Relatives meet Khaleda in jail

Relatives including brother and sister of Begum Khaleda Zia went to The Old Dhaka Central Jail to see her on Friday.

Staff Reporter :

Four relatives of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia met her in the prison on the Nazimuddin Road, Dhaka, yesterday afternoon, where she had been taken on Thursday.

Sources said, Khaleda's sister Selina Islam, younger brother Shamim Eskander, his wife Nasrin Eskander and son Avik Eskander entered around 3:35 pm and met her around 4:15 pm.

After a 40-minute conversation with Khaleda Zia, they left the jail around 5:09 pm.

Several lawyers also went to the jail gate with

fruits and other necessary food items.

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia landed in jail on Thursday, after she was handed a five-year imprisonment on Thursday in a graft case.
RCBC threatens to sue BB officials

bdnews24.com :

A day after Bangladesh confirmed that it would sue a Philippines bank in US for damages over the 2016 cyber heist, Manila-based Rizal Commercial Bank Corp (RCBC) has threatened counter measures.

In a media statement on Thursday, RCBC said it was considering legal actions against Bangladesh Bank officials, reports The Philippine Daily Inquirer.

It alleged Dhaka officials of maligning the bank and using it as a "scapegoat" over one of the world's biggest cyber heists.

On Wednesday, the Bangladesh Bank said it has decided to start a lawsuit in New York against RCBC over its role in the reserve theft.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York and SWIFT will be parties to the lawsuit, said Deputy Governor Abu Hena Mohd Razee Hassan told the media in Dhaka.

RCBC, which had earlier accused Bangladesh Bank or BB of covering up its own negligence, said in Thursday's statement that they will not allow any further efforts to 'malign' them.

"RCBC has had it and will consider a lawsuit against Bangladesh Central Bank (BB) officials

for claiming the bank had a hand in the $81M cyberheist two years ago," the Daily Inquirer report said quoting the bank's statement.

The bank, which had been slapped a $20-million fine by Philippines authorities, claimed that various probe reports, including the one conducted by Bangladesh, "indicate an inside job."

"BB and Dhaka officials refuse to release their findings to hide from the Bangladeshi public what could very well be the involvement of its own officials who may have helped loot their money deposited with the New York Federal Reserve," the statement reads.

Accusing BB of 'perpetuating the cover up', RCBC said they were being used as a scapegoat "to keep their people in dark."

"If they sue, RCBC is ready and prepared. The first thing we will ask is for BB and Dhaka to submit to court their findings. If they refuse, they will immediately suffer from comparison since RCBC willingly shared information to the extent allowed by law," it said.

In the audacious bank heist in February 2016, hackers tried to swindle $1 billion belonging to Bangladesh from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York using forged commands through SWIFT messaging system.

The hackers siphoned off $81 million to accounts in the Philippines using five messages. Another $20 million was wired to Sri Lanka.

Though the Sri Lankan transfer was stopped successfully, the fund wired to the Philippines made its way to gambling dens, making it impossible to be recovered.

Two years into theft, it is yet to be found who were responsible and Bangladesh has been able to retrieve only about $15 million, mostly from a casino junket operator.

People in Bangladesh could learn about the largest cyber heist in the world through reports published in a Filipino newspaper a month after the incident.

The heist cost Governor Atiur Rahman his job after he drew flak for keeping the theft under wraps. It was followed by a major overhaul of the top brass of Bangladesh's central bank.
SSC examinees, guardians worried over pol unrest

M M Jasim :

The examinees of Secondary School Certificate examination feel nervous at the prevailing political situation in the country.

The guardians of the examinees are worried about their sons and daughters' future.

The examinees and the guardians' tensions got intensified after Begum Khaleda Zia was sent to jail.

The examinees said the embarrassing environment created panic situation hampering preparation for examination.

The scarcity of transports intensified their suffering on the way to examination centres and home.

Sushmita Biswas, a SSC examinee from Badda area, told The New Nation that she could not take

preparation perfectly for the Thursday's examination as it was Khaleda Zia's verdict.

"Some of our teachers told us that the examination might be cancelled if the situations worsened. My parents also failed to provide me any specific decision. Such uncertainty hampers my preparation," Sushmita said.

Rana Mahmud, another SSC examinee in Bhola district, said, "My examination halls is eight kilometres from my home. The police stopped my CNG for five times. As a result, I was late for 20 minutes to reach in the examination centres. It made me nervous and I could not write perfectly in the answer sheet." Khaled Rahman, a guardian, told this correspondent that unrest political situation jammed his brain. "My son did not see such situation before. Now he is not easy. He can not concentrate in study," Khaled said.

Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid also called upon the political parties not to initiate or enforce any such programme during exam time.

"We had a past experience. We took examination in the weekends in 2014 and 2015," he said.

A special court sentenced BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia five years' imprisonment in a graft case, dealing a severe blow to the party ahead of the upcoming national elections.

After the verdict, the BNP men across the county tried to take the street to protest the verdict. But the law enforcers barred their protest. The BNP also announced two-day programme in protest the verdict. The people suspect that it may announce further tough programme.

Such fear also hits the brains of the SSC examinees and they are now worried. A total of 20,31,899 students from 28,551 educational institutions are appearing in this year's SSC and equivalent examinations from 3,412 centres across the country.

Written tests will be held till February 25, while the practical exams are scheduled from February 26 to March 4.


Khaleda treated as ordinary prisoner: BNP

Staff Reporter :

The BNP on Friday said with disappointment that their Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia was not given the division status she deserved as per the jail code.

"Our party Chief and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia is being treated as ordinary prisoner in the jail. We are shocked to learn through newspaper reports," said BNP Senior Joint-Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi while addressing a press briefing at

the party's Nayapaltan central office in the city.

Rizvi criticized Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's remarks on Khaleda Zia's verdict.

"Prime Minister yesterday mentioned: Where is she (Khaleda Zia) today? The Prime Minister showed her vanity by saying this. It was one kind of arrogance," Rizvi said.

"The people of Bangladesh want to know when you (government) will stop taking of political revenge on Khaleda Zia," the BNP leader questioned.

He said the government is pushing the country towards a state of uncertainty riding on political vengeance.

He warned that the people would not tolerate the government's threats and repressions for long.

Labeling the verdict against Khaleda Zia politically motivated, Rizvi said, "The Ministers, MPs and the ruling party leaders had been murmuring for about last two years that Khaleda Zia would have to go to jail. The Thursday's verdict was written long ago to reflect the vengeance of the ruling party."

Rizvi said many political parties, common people and many international organisations, including the United Nations and Human Right Watch, voiced concern at the verdict.

"The government used not only the court, but also all the state machinery for such a verdict against Khaleda Zia and BNP Senior Vice-Chairman Tarique Rahman," he said.




Latest twist in long-running pol tirade

Special Correspondent :

Bangladesh's polity has plunged into another phase of uncertainty following conviction of BNP Chief Begum Khaleda Zia in a corruption case, said observers.

They said political turmoil is therefore likely to continue as the opposition has already announced mass demonstrations programme protesting the court verdict heating up the country's political situation again.

"BNP is the most popular party of the country. People are worried and frustrated for the conviction of Begum Khaleda Zia. This can heat up the country's political situation again deepening the crisis further," Prof Dr Emajuddin Ahmed, former vice-chancellor of the Dhaka University told The New Nation yesterday.

He, however, sees the court ruling as a victory for the ruling Awami League (AL) that wants to wipe out opposition BNP from Bangladesh politics as a long-run rival.

"The judgment marks the latest twist in Bangladesh's long-running political tirade. In fact the court ruling further deepens the crisis.

A political solution seems far away as BNP claims the ruling AL has illegally interfered in the court procedure," Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury, a political observer, told The New Nation yesterday.

He said it (judgement) comes as no surprise when the country is witnessing a bitter power struggle between the AL and BNP.

Dr Zafrullah, however, said the conviction of Khaleda has created an opportunity for BNP for reunite and democratization of the parry to garner peoples' sympathy. "BNP ranks and file should cash in the situation taking rigorous mass campaign across the country." he added.

"At the same time, the party should take all-out preparation for the next election with the selection of popular and efficient party leaders as candidate," he added.

Dr Zafrullah expressed the hope that Khaleda may secure bail from a higher court. But it will not come all of a sudden. BNP should also keep faith in the higher court for securing the bail of its party chief.

"Bangladesh has the long history of political divide and the verdict could further widen the split escalating political unrest ahead of the upcoming general election," said Dr Badiul Alam Majumdar, General Secretary of the Sushashoner Jonno Nagorik (Sujan).

He said BNP has already showed strong resentment against the verdict and announced fresh demonstration programme. This can lead street protests inviting fresh political violence.

"The road towards peace and reconciliation will be rocky unless two political parties do not engage themselves to negotiation over the future course of politics. Such initiative will help avert potential disaster," said Dr Badiul Alam Majumdar.

He, however, stressed the need for creation of independent institutions for establishing the rule of law and ensuring level playing fields for all political parties in the next parliament election.
Khaleda may seek HC bail by Sunday

Staff Reporter :

BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia will seek bail from the High Court, if possible by Sunday depending on if she would receive a certified copy of her verdict on that day.

One of her lawyers and also a Vice Chairman of BNP Advocate Zainul Abedin told journalists, "We will file an appeal with the High Court on behalf of

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia on Sunday if we get the certified copy of the trial court verdict."

"In the appeal, we will seek bail for her (Khaleda) from the High Court," he added.

Zainul Abedin said, "We have already prayed to the authorities concerned for the certified copy of the trial court verdict." "We will try to move the appeal before the High Court for the bail of Khaleda Zia on Sunday if the appeal can be filed on that day," he said.

"If it is not possible for moving the appeal on Sunday, we will move the appeal on Monday," he said, adding that they will now move the appeal only for the BNP Chief Khaleda Zia for her release from jail.

Khaleda Zia has started to serve a five-year imprisonment term, which she received Thursday after convicted by a special court on charge of laundering Tk 2.10 crore through Zia Orphanage Trust.

The special court also sentenced Khaleda's eldest son and BNP Senior Vice-Chairman Tarique Rahman, and four others to 10 years' rigorous imprisonment and slapped a fine of Tk 2.10 crore each.

Tarique, who resides in the UK, earlier in July 2016, had been awarded seven years' imprisonment in a money laundering case.
UK hints lifting of air cargo ban on Dhaka-London route

UNB, Dhaka :

The United Kingdom has indicated withdrawal of ban on direct cargo flights from Dhaka to London soon saying they are very pleased over the progress Bangladesh government and Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh made so far.

Visiting British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson came up with the UK's latest stance on Friday night saying it is almost done. "The aviation authority in Bangladesh and the government of Bangladesh made huge efforts. We're very pleased to see the progress that has been made," Johnson said while talking to reporters at Sate Guesthouse Padma after his meeting with Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali.

On March 8, 2016, the British government slapped the ban on direct cargo flights from Dhaka to London after Biman failed to pass the safety and security tests. Biman's cargo business shrank 22.54 percent last fiscal year on the back of the ban on direct freight flight from Dhaka to London.

In fiscal 2016-17, Biman earned Tk 244 crore from its cargo business in contrast to Tk 315 crore a year earlier. The state-run carrier transported 33,542 tonnes of cargoes last fiscal year, down 18 percent year-on-year.

The British Foreign Secretary, now in city on a two-day visit, discussed various issues of bilateral, regional and Rohingya issues in the meeting with Minister Ali that lasted for over an hour.
Conviction of Begum Khaleda Zia cannot be matter of celebration for government unless ....

Editorial Desk :

Following Khaleda Zia's verdict on Thursday the capital became doomed, with appearance of a curfew like situation in the midst of clashes and political arrests. Around a thousand BNP leaders and activists were arrested in Dhaka and other districts, according to police and BNP sources. However, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said that the Bangladesh government must stop the unending flow of arbitrary arrests and detention of opposition BNP supporters and others. Hundreds have been arrested or placed under preventive detention ahead of the verdict in the graft case against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, and five others, including her son, the global rights group said in a statement on Thursday. Statistics of another rights body revealed, a total of 1,786 people have been rounded up in the last eight days. We always called for our government not to use the police as political weapon for crushing dissent, but our repeated pleas seem to have fallen in deaf ears.

The police however, have shown some restraint this time yet the right thing would have been to allow peaceful procession under police escort.

According to the HRW statement, the security forces have arrested, tortured, killed, and forcibly disappeared hundreds of opposition supporters often blaming to have caused injuries and deaths and committed arson during demonstrations.

The government has a crucial responsibility to prevent and minimize violence, but it needs to do so in a way that respects basic human rights. What's more, the government must also publicly order the security forces to abide by the United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms.

What was the need for the act of provocation by the government to celebrate the conviction as a great victory of the government. Criminal cases are not private cases between individuals. The show of victory celebration was obscene for any democratic government. The problem is the government is run by the leftists and retired bureaucrats who have no regard for democracy or the rule of law. Criminal conviction is a victory of rule of law, if the rule of law prevails.

The conviction of Begum Khaleda Zia in private trust fund cases without involvement of public money is questionable. If she is found innocent in appeal how the ministers will swallow it, is to be worth noticing.






Fakhrul briefs foreign media

BNP leaders and activists led by Party Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam stage demonstration in front of Baitul Mukarram Mosque in the city yesterday after Juma prayers protesting the verdict in Zia Orphanage Trust Graft Case that jailed Begum Khaleda

Staff Reporter :

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Friday said in a briefing with international media about the verdict that sent BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia to jail to keep her away from the elections.

He said the verdict is illegal and violation of law. This verdict has been politically motivated. But it is not permissible under rule of law.

In the briefing, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said, Begum Khaleda Zia was sentenced, not under the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) law. So he claimed that Khaleda Zia could not be accused of corruption.

He said, we will appeal in High Court against the verdict. If the government does not obstruct, she will come out innocent.





Claiming that around 3,850 BNP activists were arrested around the country, Mirza Fakhrul demanded the release of all the leaders and workers including the BNP chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia.

Barrister Moudud and Khandaker Mosharraf said, Khaleda Zia has no connection with corruption. The verdict does not mention the connection of Khaleda Zia's with corruption.

BNP leaders said there is no government fund for orphans. Foreign Affairs Minister Mostafizur Rahman, who had come from Kuwait, took the money. He used the government to release the money. It spends some money, but the rest is in the bank, which is now three times the interest. As a result, there is no case of misuse the fund.

BNP leaders said that Tarique Rahman is acting chairman of the party, according to the constitution of the party has received this responsibility. The team will be led by the party and its standing committee.
Ayub Khan or Ershad could not be removed through election : Barrister Mainul

Staff Reporter :

In continuation of yesterday's narrative published under the heading "Observations of government made the judgement controversial" picked up from a talk show of Barrister Mainul Hosein at SA TV late Thursday night we produce its full summary below:

Barrister Hosein in answer to a question from the audience was critical of indiscriminate arrest as many innocent ones also become easy victims. It is wrong to make innocent people suffer. It is also possible that many earning members of families were also taken into custody. He said a people's government cannot forget its responsibility to protect the rights of individuals.

He said nobody is above law is true under the rule of law and the rule of law is missing in our party politics. There has to be independence for the judiciary and the prosecution. That is not the situation in our country. The prosecution lawyers are appointed according to party loyalty. Besides, a corruption case is not a private case between two individuals. The government cannot celebrate victory for conviction of a political opponent in a case. The present conviction is not final and what would the ministers say if Begum Khaleda Zia was found innocent in appeal was not a consideration.

Barrister Hosein said that the people like us want that all should be able to live together in peace and safely. He clarified that he was not taking part in the talk show either to support or oppose any political party. He was anxious to see that politics of tolerance to be practiced. But he is sad to see the absence of intention in our party politics to practice democracy. The government is too much under the influence of leftist politics where there is no place for free election and rule of law.

In answer to another question about the consequences of Begum Khaleda Zia's conviction on the

coming general election, he said she can't be barred from election while her appeal is pending. He apprehended dangerous conflicts might arise centring the election. He also apprehended that under a sitting government no election can take place to transfer power. By way of example Barrister Hosein said neither Ayub Khan nor General Ershad could be removed from power through elections. Their power base was not popular support. When the army withdrew support they disappeared suddenly.

Barrister Mainul categorically denied the allegation that the two trust cases against Begum Khaleda Zia were initiated during his time in the caretaker government. Again he asserted that during the last caretaker government the Anti-Corruption Commission functioned completely independently without interference from the Advisers. But now every government institution is under political influence.

Barrister Hosein finally wanted the government to think of public response if it has to give up power.

Barrister Mahbub Uddin Khokan argued strongly that his leader Begum Khaleda Zia who was prime minister for three times and the wife of a prominent freedom fighter was a victim of political enmity; she did not get justice.

It was a case involving a private trust and no public money was involved. The court did not hold her guilty of stealing money. All the money is in bank and not being misused. Barrister Khokon was assertive giving instances of boundless corruption with public money that under this government is going unpunished.

The other participant was Mohibul Ahsan Chowdhury Noyfel who vociferously defended the government position in a typical way.

Riyad Ahsan moderated the event.


The Undead Archives

I have finally salvaged my pre-Blogger TDR archives and added them into Blogger. They are almost totally in the form of one giant post for each month. And the formatting strayed from the originals. Sorry. But historians everywhere can rejoice that this treasure trove of my thoughts is restored to the world.
Richwood, TX (77531)

Today

Tropical storm conditions likely. Windy with rain, heavy at times. High 79F. Winds E at 25 to 35 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 2 to 3 inches of rain expected..

Tonight

Windy. A steady rain. The rain may be heavy at times in the evening. Potential for flooding rains. Low 74F. Winds ESE at 25 to 40 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 2 to 3 inches of rain expected.
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Phnom Penh, Cambodia  Fri, February 9, 2018 02:38 1312 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c4a952d 2 SE Asia Cambodia,Angkor-Wat,porn-case Free

A Cambodian court has granted bail to seven out of 10 foreigners facing trial on pornography charges over a raucous party in the tourist hot-spot of Siem Reap, a court spokesman said Thursday.

The group -- five Britons, two Canadians, a Norwegian, a New Zealander and a Dutch national -- was arrested two weeks ago by police who raided their pool bash at a private villa in the city, which flanks Cambodia's famed Angkor Wat temple ruins.

Police accused the foreigners of "singing and dancing pornographically" and detained 10 out of the 77 party-goers initially rounded up in the crackdown.

The defendants, aged from 19 to 31, now face up to one year in prison after a Siem Reap court charged them with producing pornographic pictures and materials. A prosecutor accused the party organisers of circulating obscene images online to promote the event.

The defendants have denied the allegations, saying they were wearing "sexy" clothing but were not fully nude or responsible for any pornography.

On Thursday a Siem Reap court spokesman said the seven had been granted bail.

"They have been released from prison," Yin Srang told AFP, refusing to provide more details.

Defence attorney Ouch Sopheaktra said lawyers requested bail for the seven because "they were not the organisers of the party" and were therefore more likely to be released.

Lawyers did not seek bail for the other three -- a British, Dutch and Norwegian national -- who rented the villa and organised the party, he added.

No date has been set for the trial.

While Cambodia is a popular tourist hub and boasts a free-wheeling nightlife, the Buddhist country is often strict when protecting local traditions or heritage sites.

Authorities banned skimpy clothing inside the Angkor Wat complex in 2016 and have previously arrested and deported foreigners for taking racy photos among the ruins, which are considered sacred.

But the location of past violations has been inside the ancient city, not in the adjoining town of Siem Reap, a popular party destination lined with bars catering to foreign tourists.
Supporters of the Opposition New Democratic Party demonstrated their dissatisfaction with recent developments here as they pertain to Minister of Finance Camillo Gonsalves and the Unity Labour Party as a whole.

Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves has reacted to Mondays protest action outside Parliament, during the presentation of the 2018 Budget presentation.





"I think I speak on behalf of the entire nation, when H.E (Governor General Sir Frederick Ballantyne) took the salute, he was booed by a handful of persons who were brought for some protest or the other, Dr. Gonsalves said.





But what was worse, according to the Prime Minister, was that the booing continued even during the National Anthem.





"I made both points to the Leader of the Opposition. I did not tell him what was. I did not tell him what was his obligation, but I thought that before the commencement of

the proceedings,





when he handed you a letter, in the presence of a packed gallery and in front of diplomats, that either reside or are accredited here, that he would have risen to the occasion to say that when the Governor General is taking the salute, he represents the entire nation, he said.





Furthermore, he contended that during the playing of the national anthem, there ought to be silence and some respect shown.





"I felt deeply saddened at the event, and I am profoundly disappointed that the Leader of the Opposition did not take the opportunity then, in Parliament, and certainly not this morning on radio, as I had been advised, to say sorry for the nation.





"Have we reached a stage now in leadership where a handful of people could behave in any which way they want, verbally abuse the Governor General when he takes his salute and shout and protest when the national anthem is being played? We must stand askance against this sort of conduct and even when followers behave like that, you are a leader when you stand up and tell them they are wrong, if not, the proverbial tail is wagging the dog, Dr. Gonsalves said.
Empty chairs!! Finance Minister Camillo Gonsalves (inset) delivered his maiden Budget Address to a sitting of the House of Assembly from which Opposition members absented themselves.





"What are they getting paid for this month?





This was a question put to the House of Assembly last Tuesday by Finance Minisiter Camillo Gonsalves, as he chided the Oppostion members for walking out of the House following the delivery of the Throne Speech on Monday.





Minister Gonsalves rose to wrap up the debate on the Appropriation Bill subsequent to a decision by the government side, not to proceed with debating themselves, in the absence of the Opposition.

He told the House that he understood and appreciated





the decision of the members who said they were not going to debate themselves, and rebuked the Opposition for having stayed out of Parliament for what he said was inarguably the most important week in the Parliamentary calendar.





Gonsalves commented further that although he was usually not in agreement with the positions put across by members of the Opposition, for example Parliamentary Representatives for East Kingstown and former Opposition Leader, Arnhim Eustace or St Clair Leacock, he valued their contribution to the debate process.

"That is the purpose of opposition, although it (their argument) doesnt carry, it can shape policy.

"All of them are being paid today, at the end of the month, all of them will get a pay cheque, for what? he questioned.





"What are they getting paid for this month? Did they come for the Estimates? No, are they going to come for this entire week? No, but they are in good conscience going to open their pay packet and go to the bank and deposit their cheque at the end of the month. Shameful, Camillo Gonsalves said.





"And they want to talk about economy and priority and budget? The priority should be if you dont come to work, you dont get pay.





Camillo Gonsalves then made the comment that the members of the Opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) cited ideological reasons for their absence, and urged the Speaker of the House, Jomo Thomas to pay attention to the number of days they were absent.





As it stood, the 2018 Appropriation Bill had an extremely easy passage in the House on Tuesday when members on the government side made the decision that in the absence of the members of opposition, they were not going to debate themselves.





Members of the Opposition, led by Leader of the Opposition Dr Godwin Friday walked out of the House - as they did on January 29 during the laying of the 2018 Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure - on Monday immediately following the throne speech delivered by H.E Sir Frederick Ballantyne, this countrys Governor General.

On Tuesday, Leader of the House and Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves indicated that the members on his side of Parliament would not be engaging in any debate.





"Since the Budget address delivered by the Minister of Finance represents the views, positions and policies and programs of the entire Cabinet and members on the government side, we all simply ask him (Camillo) to wind up the debate so that we can all go on and do other things, PM Gonsalves said.

According to the prime minister, by walking out, the opposition had missed an opportunity to speak on the Estimates and Appropriation Bill.





"And it is very interesting that they had submitted a motion of no confidence which dealt with precisely every single issue that is found in the Estimates and Appropriation Bill, he continued.
A group of key departments and institutions has announced the launch of Fikra Labs in Abu Dhabi, described as an Acceleration Programme for Entrepreneurs, a media report said.



In the belief that research and development, R&D, can contribute to employment creation, national development, tourist promotion and economic growth, the concept of the Fikra Labs Acceleration Programme is being jointly supported by the Department of Culture and Tourism  Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), Miral, the Etihad Aviation Group and the Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (Adnec), supported by Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) in partnership with Wamda, an entrepreneurship empowerment platform, reported state-run Wam.



The idea behind the programme is that, as the world nations compete to achieve and reach higher levels of development, all resources need to be effectively utilised. Among these, key resources will be technology and innovation, which can serve as makers of change in the community and in the country as a whole.



The programme presents a new concept to nurture and incubate start-ups and drive innovation within Abu Dhabis travel and tourism sector. It provides unparalleled mentorship opportunities and the chance to win a potential US$100,000 investment along with the opportunity to structure start-up businesses in the capitals international financial centre, Abu Dhabi Global Market.



Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairman of DCT Abu Dhabi, said: "We are excited to identify the best talent who will drive innovation and help further transform Abu Dhabi into the leading global hub for travel and tourism, so that we can continue to provide visitors with the best experiences. The programme reflects the Departments commitment to supporting the sustainable economic growth of the capital, in line with the governments vision."



"Miral continues to work closely with the different partners and organisations in Abu Dhabi to support the growth of the capitals tourism sector. As one of the catalysts for Abu Dhabis economic diversification, we are very excited to be part of this partnership that will help nurture talent and provide them with the tools and opportunities to build creative and innovative capabilities to establish projects that will benefit the future of the tourism sector in our country, he added.



Tony Douglas, the Etihad Aviation Group chief executive officer, added: "The UAEs vision in supporting innovative ideas will not only strengthen the economy but will also contribute to the development of many sectors including transport, travel and tourism. Etihad Aviation Group is proud to be part of Fikra Labs as it showcases the current focus on innovation. Through this partnership, we are eager to see what young minds from different trends will offer innovative solutions that will further develop aviation and tourism industry in the region and the world."



Ahmed Al Sayegh, chairman of ADGM, described the launch as "an exceptional initiative that illustrates Abu Dhabis role as a leading financial and commercial hub that supports innovation through opportunities such as Fikra Labs."



"It gives entrepreneurs the chance to get input on their ideas and innovations from well-established organisations, with the possibility of making them a reality," he said. "ADGM offers start-ups the legal environment, tools and support to build sustainable structures and strong governance, helping them to finance and enhance their growth potential. Access to our growing ecosystem of banks, funds and advisers will provide further momentum for that growth," Al Sayegh added.



Speaking to Wam, ahead of the official launch of the programme at Manarat Al Saadiyat, Saif Saeed Ghobash, director general of DCT Abu Dhabi, said the idea offers a unique platform that "demonstrates how efficiently different state departments in Abu Dhabi are working in unison to harness technological solutions to achieve our national objectives.



"One aspect of our mandate at the Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi is to support SMEs and start-ups in order to reach our results. We have chosen this business challenge to better promote our destinations. It is the first such platform in the region," Ghobash said.



He explained that those interested in taking part should apply via the Fikra website before 5th March. "The applications received will go through an initial screening process by the partners screening committee. Applicants with the highest scores will be invited to a 30-minute interview to check if they have the required technical and leadership skills, the motivation, the commitment, and the needed resilience to make their start-ups successful. A total of 32 shortlisted start-ups will join a two-day boot camp."



"This will be designed as an intensive workshop to help participants develop their business idea and become pitch-ready, he added.



"The boot camps participants will pitch their business ideas to the screening committee, which will then choose 12 start-ups, three for each challenge, to go through a 4-week acceleration programme to help refine and test their solutions through an extensive programme consisting of workshops, mentorship sessions, prototyping and testing, field visits, subject matter expert discussions and more. Each start-up will pitch their final solutions. A winner for each challenge will be then selected by the relevant partner and will be awarded $100,000," he said.
Dubai-based Emaar Properties made $1.8 billion in profit and close to $5 billion in sales in 2017, Mohamed Alabbar, chairman of the listed developer said.

The figure is an increase on the $1.43 billion profits reported in 2016.

"We've been growing about 20 to 25 per cent on an annual basis," Alabbar was quoted as saying at a conference in Abu Dhabi by a Khaleej Times report.

Emaar, in which the Dubai government owns a minority stake, reported a double-digit quarterly sales growth in each of the first three quarters of 2017, it said.
From talking robots to turning everyday objects into projection screens, media companies from both the UAE and abroad came together at Abu Dhabi media hub twofour54 this week to showcase the latest trends and innovations in the industry.



As part of UAE Innovation Month, the free zone hosted its first Connect event of the year with the theme of innovation.



The event, which took place at Park Rotana, Abu Dhabi, UAE, on February 6, was a chance for partners at twofour54 as well as media companies from abroad to network and find out about the latest trends in tech.



The event saw an impressive turnout of over 300 attendees coming together to experience and learn what the future of media has to offer.



Guests were greeted by, and had the chance to socialise with, one of the guests of honour  Pepper the humanoid robot. The Abu Dhabi firm behind Pepper, twofour54 partner Yas Digital Media, specialises in creating digital experiences and solutions to help companies engage with customers.



In total, 10 firms exhibited at Connect, including Tokyo-based Naked Inc, the firm behind Tokyo Art City, which held a workshop on projection mapping, a technology that turns any object  no matter its shape - into a display surface for video projection.



Maryam Eid AlMheiri, CEO of Media Zone Authority  Abu Dhabi and twofour54, said: Innovation is vital to developing a thriving, sustainable media industry in Abu Dhabi.



The era of media dictating what a consumer should see, hear or access is over. Instead, it is the consumer who is in the driving seat, dictating to firms what content they want to consume  as well as when and how, she said.



And at twofour54, we encourage and nurture innovation. Innovation is not just about ideas, it is about making ideas happen and that is the premise of our connect events. It gives the community the opportunity to network, to share ideas and news, to ask questions, and to act on the answers, she added.



This is why we are investing in promising start-ups and forming partnerships with like-minded organisations - and why we invited companies from around the world to join us at Connect as part of UAE Innovation Month, she concluded.



Among the innovations on show were:



A mobile app from Akyasi that allows you to shop without the hassle of carrying around bags  instead the bags are brought to you when youre ready to go.



KidzUnplugged also showcased how it is finding ways for parents to spark childrens imagination without the need to plug in to technology.



While Korean company Holotive showcased its work with holograms, which can be used for a variety of purposes, including content creation and signage.



Among the other companies that attended Connect were Fuji Television, Narrativa, Mental Images, Swoo, and Tuitify.



Divyesh Mahajan, chief executive officer, Swoo, another twofour54 partner at Connect, said: We are grateful to twofour54 for the opportunity to showcase our media platform and we were excited by the other innovations on show at Connect.



This event was an excellent chance to share our expertise with like-minded businesses and we look forward to exploring opportunities with many of them in the future, he added.



Twofour54 actively encourages entrepreneurship and innovation. Last year, it was ranked 10th on the Forbes Middle Easts list of the 50 Most Active Investors  and the second highest accelerator.



This years kick off Connect event was the perfect opportunity to bring partners, companies from outside twofour54, and government together to explore ways they can collaborate, innovate and create, it stated.  TradeArabia News Service
Award-winning online travel agency Travelstart Egypt is celebrating its fifth year of business in Egypt.



Rated by global travel and tourism technology provider Amadeus as one of the top 10 travel agencies in Egypt, Travelstart has launched a number of new services and benefits for its customers, in addition to allowing customers to search, compare and book the best travel deals available online. Unlike other travel agencies, Travelstart also offers travellers the convenience of online booking, supported by a team of expert travel consultants operating seven days a week.



Were proud to be celebrating Travelstarts fifth anniversary in Egypt, said Ahmed Saad, country manager of Travelstart Egypt. Travelstart Egypt has enjoyed incredible success over the past five years and has continually raised service standards throughout that time, introducing new features, services and partnerships for the benefit of our customers. Were also grateful to Amadeus, National Bank of Egypt and our airline partners for supporting us in our efforts to raise the bar for travel service standards in Egypt.



Despite the challenges faced by Egypts tourism industry during the past five years, Travelstart Egypt has enjoyed strong growth and continued to invest in new services since its launch in early 2013. Travelstart Egypt now offers customers a choice of Arabic or English portals and empowers travel consultants to sell affordable flights via its Travelstart neXt platform. The company is currently in the process of a major update to its Arabic portal.



While Travelstart Egypt currently offers travellers the option to pay for flight bookings with credit card installments via National Bank of Egypt, plans are in progress to allow customers to pay in installments via other banks too. Travelstart has also added the option to input frequent flyer membership numbers when booking a flight on their platform, to ensure travellers dont miss out on the chance to earn air miles.



Improvements have also been added to Travelstart Egypts Flapp app, allowing travellers to use a +/- three day calendar functionality on international flights to find the best prices on and around their ideal travel dates and schedule. Flapp users can also now book online and pay offline if they wish.



Travelstart launched in Egypt with a strategy to target progressive travellers looking for convenient online services to simplify their travel bookings. Through our ongoing investment in technology, new services and user experiences, Travelstart Egypt has been able to drive strong growth while exciting and delighting its customer base, said Saad.



Travelstart Egypt, a subsidiary of Travelstart.co.za, provides modern travellers with a service that meets their needs: a robust, integrated platform that comes with the tools and interface to make researching, planning, and booking travel easy.



The Travelstart platform is increasingly recognised as the industry standard. Customers looking for flights, hotels or car rentals can seamlessly compare rates of a wide range of carriers and providers. Travelstart Egypt also makes payment simple by offering six convenient payment options: cash on delivery, credit or debit card, pay via installment, direct deposits at accepted Egyptian banks, or cash payments delivered to Travelstarts Maadi office. - TradeArabia News Service


Hospitality Management Holding (HMH) has appointed Shahzad Butt as the new general manager of the Coral Dubai Al Barsha Hotel.



Butt brings over 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry worldwide and has run multiple award-winning hotels in UAE. Moreover, he has considerable background in providing market-oriented and profitable strategies aimed at increasing sales and revenues while maintaining guest satisfactions and hotel standards.



Making the announcement, Ferghal Purcell, COO of HMH, said: We are very delighted to announce the appointment of Butt as a general manager of the Coral Dubai Al Barsha and we believe he is the perfect fit for such a position. Butt has a lifelong experience in hospitality management and we are certain that his qualifications will leverage in maintaining the position of Coral Dubai Al Barsha as a leading property catering for guest satisfaction and offering high-quality services.



Butt began his career in 1988 as a management trainee to climb the stairway of success by handling several management positions in prestigious international hotels, he has since then worked closely in hotel and hospitality management and held managerial positions focusing on customer satisfaction, sales, and marketing.



Expressing his pleasure at joining the Coral Dubai Al Barsha, Butt said: I am truly honoured to join the Coral Dubai Al Barsha Hotel, which is a leading property in Dubai and I am very thrilled to enhance the success it witnessed. Coral Dubai Al Barsha is reputable for its first-class services and facilities, and managing this property is a great challenge that shall end in more success and achievements.



Coral Dubai Al Barsha Hotel is a five-star stunning property designed to meet the needs of both modern business and leisure travellers. It is in the heart of Al Barsha within walking distance from the Mall of the Emirates in Dubai. The hotel features 337 rooms and suits all equipped with first-class facilities, three fabulous dining outlets, state-of-the-art meeting rooms and excellent mix of leisure options including a whole floor dedicated to health, fitness, spa and kids club as well as a rooftop swimming pool with a spectacular view of Palm Jumeirah. - TradeArabia News Service
Salalah Rotana Resort, Omans leading beach resort, has appointed Lara Abou Harb as the new revenue manager, serving as department head in charge.



No stranger to the company or resort, Abou Harb joins Salalah Rotana Resort from Raouche Arjaan by Rotana where she occupied the position of reservations manager. Her keen eye for strategy led to her to be chosen for a short stint at Salalah Rotana Resort in 2016 as task force, assisting the department in time of need.



Hossam Kamal, general manager of Salalah Rotana Resort, said: It gives me great pleasure to welcome Lara officially to our team. Rotana takes pride in identifying young talent and developing their skills to ensure they have a solid foundation to a thriving career in the future."



"Lara, has proved herself worthy of recognition and I look forward to continue working with her towards driving the commercial part of the business," he said.



Speaking on her appointment, Harb said: I am honoured and delighted to be appointed the position of revenue manager at Rotanas flagship hotel in Oman. The role comes with challenges but I see it as a learning opportunity and welcome all that comes with it."



Working closely with my colleagues to drive business to the resort is one of the highlights of the job I most excited about, positioning Salalah Rotana Resort as the leading resort in all of Sultanate of Oman," she added.



A graduate of Hospitality management from the University of Beirut, the Lebanese national will oversee managing the revenue and inventory of the 422-key water front resort. - TradeArabia News Service


New Delhi (IANS): Continuing to attack the Narendra Modi government on the Rafale deal, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said that there has been a corruption in the defence deal and will be exposed.

Questioning the silence of the Prime Minister over the issue, he also asked why did Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman change her stance over revealing the price of the fighter aircraft.

Sidhi baat hai. Rafale mamle me bhrashtachar hua hainiklegaaur Pradhanamntri udhar dekh rahe hain (It is simple. There has been corruption in Rafale issue and the Prime Minister is looking other way, Gandhi told reporters outside Parliament.

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He said he wanted to ask about it in the Parliament but he was not allowed and the house was adjourned, adding Modi spoke for about an hour on Wednesday but did not utter a word about Rafale.

He (Modi) spoke about last 70 years but didnt say anything about Rafale. We asked it to (Finance Minister Arun) Jaitelyji but he had no answer, he said.

The Congress President said that the government need to answer three questions about Rafale issue.

Whether he (Modi) himself took the decision in Paris or took permission from Cabinet Committee on Security? Yes or not. What was the reason behind giving the contract to a businessman rather than HAL? and what was the price?

Gandhi also posed the questionon Twitter and followed it with choices.

Why did the Raksha Mantri change her stance from: I will reveal the price of the Rafale planes in November 2017 to the price is a state secret in February 2018. A. Corruption B. To protect Modiji C. To protect Modijis friend D. All of above, he tweeted.

Sitharaman told Parliament on Monday that the details of the deal with France for the Rafale fighter jets cannot be disclosed as per the inter-governmental agreement as it is classified information.

Earlier, replying to Congress charges over Rafale during the Budget debate, Jaitley said the Congress was trying to manufacture a scam in Rafale fighter jet purchase because it had not been able to find any corruption case in the Narendra Modi governments tenure so far.

He also quoted a number of written replies in Parliament by Ministers from the then UPA governments including Pranab Mukherjee and A.K. Antony, wherein they had refused to quote the price in defence deals citing security concerns.

Break-up of cost will tell what weapon systems are there in the deal. These security pacts are inherent part of these defence contracts, he said.

Theyre compromising national security by asking for details which should not be made public, by which I mean known to the enemy, Jaitley added.

He also advised the Congress President to learn from Pranab Mukherjee lessons on national security.
Shillong (IANS): Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma on Thursday hit out at NDA Central government for rejecting the visa application of Baptist World Alliance chief, Reverend Paul Msiza, to attend the 150 years celebrations of Christianity in the states Garo Hills region.

It is highly condemnable to reject the visa application of a global religious leader to attend the sesquicentenary celebrations of Christianity organized by the Garo Baptist Convention.

In the past, many religious leaders be it Pope (John Paul II) or Dalai Lama or Sri Sri Ravi Shankar have visited Meghalaya without any objection. We have never opposed to any of their visit since we have no hidden agenda, Sangma said, adding the step only demonstrates the hidden agenda of the BJP government against the Christians and other religious communities.

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The Garo Baptist Convention is celebrating 150 years of Christianity at Rajasimla in East Garo Hills from February 8-11. The Baptist Church set foot in Garo Hills at Rajasimla in 1867.

The BJP which is trying to unseat the ruling Congress in Christian-dominated state, said that the issue is being communalized.

Why are you giving this a communal and religious angle. Countries like England and Canada rejects visas to so many people irrespective of their religion. So does it mean these countries are anti-Christians. Ministry of External Affairs has to follow a standard protocol, said Union Tourism Minister K.J.Alphons.

Condemning the development, Hill State Peoples Democratic Party President, Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit said: BJP is not a secular party. This is not the first time that the BJP government is not allowing the foreign Christian missionaries to visit India. We do not know why the BJP is so against the Christians communities in India.

The Baptist World Alliance is a worldwide alliance of Baptist churches and organizations, formed in 1905 in London.
The Conservatives announced today (February 8) that they are taking steps to stamp out cruelty in the breeding of puppies, with a "call for evidence on banning third-party puppy sales" as well as laying "down a raft of measures in Parliament to crack down on unscrupulous puppy breeders."

Today, we've announced a call for evidence on banning third-party puppy sales and laid down a raft of measures in Parliament to crackdown on unscrupulous puppy breeders, as we take further steps to raise the bar on animal welfare standards. pic.twitter.com/NEEIW2K84Z  Conservatives (@Conservatives) February 8, 2018

16% of the dog population was sold via a pet shop

Puppy farmers are defined by the Kennel Club UK (an organisation which acts as governing body for various canine activities including dog shows, dog agility and working trials) as a "high volume breeder who breeds puppies with little to no regard for the health and welfare of the puppies or their parents."

According to the Kennel Club, around 16% of the current dog population in the UK were sold via a pet shop, which equates to around 1.5 million dogs.

The Kennel Club says these dogs are most likely to have been bred in the intensive conditions that come with puppy farm breeding.

As the main objective for a puppy farmer is profit, they tend to separate puppies from their mothers before the recommended time frame of eight weeks and ignore the guidelines regarding the maximum frequency of litters etc.

This causes both a great deal of emotional distress and physical ill health for the puppies and their mothers caught up in the breeding process. According to a survey carried out in 2014 for the Kennel Club Puppy Awareness Week, 38% of people who buy a puppy from a pet shop spend more on vets bills than previously anticipated.

The problem does not necessarily lie with pet shops, as online puppy sales and a range of other sales methods are also a cause for concern.

In total, 41% of people who bought a puppy between 2013-2014 did not see the puppy with its mother, and 53% did not see the breeding environment.

The Kennel Club recommends that the puppy is always seen with the mother prior to purchase and if there is any doubt aspiring owners can refer to the Kennel Club's Assured Breeder Scheme, which provides the most comprehensive and up-to-date list of breeders with pedigree puppies.

This is the latest in a long line of animal welfare reform

Since Michael Gove was appointed to the role of Environment Secretary in June 2017, he's been radical in delivering many essential and long overdue reforms.

Reforms have included legislation to introduce CCTV cameras into abattoirs, introducing tougher sentences for animal cruelty offenses, taking maximum sentences from six months to five years, and taking action to ban microbeads and tackle other forms of plastic waste, which are extremely harmful to marine life who often end up ingesting the plastic that ends up in our oceans.
Bangladesh was earlier a part of Pakistan. In 1971 the Eastern part of Pakistan broke away citing discrimination against the Bengali population. After a brief war, the state of Bangladesh was a reality and from 1971, the nation has been dogged by corruption and assassinations. Now the court in Dacca has sentenced the ex-prime minister of Bangladesh to five years in prison. She is charged with misappropriating 3.1 million Taka funds donated to a charity. The Indian Express has reported that Begum Khaleda 72 and her son have both been convicted along with four other accomplices.

and given a ten-year jail term.

Assassinations

Begum Zia had taken over the leadership of the BNP after the assassination of her husband general Zia, who was president of Bangladesh. Bangladesh has been dogged by assassinations and the founder of the state Shiekh Mujibar Rahman was shot dead along with his family by army soldiers in 1975. His daughter Begum Hasina and her children escaped as they were out of Bangladesh.

The Begum returned to Bangladesh and took over the reins of the Awami party and is now the PM of Bangladesh. She ensured that most perpetrators of the murder of Shiekh Mujibar were arrested, tried and hanged, though over four decades had passed.

Begum Khaleda

Both the ladies are daggers drawn and the anti-corruption bureau after due investigation filed the charge sheet against Begum Khaleda.

She tried her best to stall the trial, but the Supreme Court cleared the decks and directed the trial to continue in the lower court, The judge who read the conviction which ran into 642 pages has convicted the former PM of misappropriation of over 3. million Taka. he said that he was giving her a lenient sentence keeping in view that she was the ex-pm of Bangladesh.

Ramifications

Begum Khaleda has denied the charges but she is skating on thin ice.

Her supporters declared a lockdown in Dacca and clashed with the police. The repercussion of the conviction has wide ramifications. Begum Khaleda has to be barred from contesting any election as per the electoral law which specifies that anybody convicted of a jail term of two years or more is not eligible to contest the election.

The general elections are due in December and the BNP will be on the backfoot because of this.

Unique

The subcontinent is unique as in Pakistan the prime minister Nawaz Sharif had to step down on allegations of corruption on orders of the Pak Supreme Court in 2017. The Indian PM Rajiv Gandhi who was assassinated in 1991 by a Tamil suicide bomber is also accused of taking cutbacks in the Bofors gun deal.
The right of same-sex couples to marry in Bermuda has been repealed and the UK government is under fire for the decision. The elected government of Bermuda approved the change and its governor and a British diplomat signed the legislation into law on Wednesday. The legislation giving same-sex couples the right to marry was introduced just last year following a ruling by the supreme court.

A fair balance

The right to same-sex marriage has been replaced with domestic partnerships which applies to all couples. According to Walton Brown, Bermuda's minister of home affairs, the legislation is meant to create a fair balance by clarifying that marriage is between a man and a woman while also protecting and recognizing these relationships.

The socially conservative island of Bermuda had a referendum on the issue in 2016 but voter turnout was less than the required 50 percent.

European human rights standard

The UK government was asked to explain why Bermuda got approval to repeal the same-sex marriage act. The junior Foreign Office minister, Harriet Baldwin said that while the government was disappointed with the move they had no choice. They have limited powers to influence British territories overseas. She said that careful consideration was given to the Island's international and constitutional obligations and found no legal or constitutional grounds for blocking the repeal. With the new civil partnership law in place, European human rights standards have been met.

Not good enough

Labour MP Chris Bryant responded to the government's explanation said that it was not good enough and that no matter how much they tried to dress it up it was a step backwards for human rights in Bermuda. He felt that they were sending a message to the Gay and Lesbian community that they were not equal and that they did not merit full marriage rights.

Bryant wonders if the minister had given thought to what happens she tells Russia and other countries to respect LGBTQ rights. Other parties also pressured Baldwin for answers including the Conservatives, the SNP, and the Liberal Democrats.

Legal in 26 nations

Bermuda has made history by being the first country to reverse the legalization of same-sex marriage which is legal in 26 countries including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Spain, Columbia, Iceland, United States and South Africa. It is legal in the UK with the exception of Northern Ireland.
Once again the US government has shut down making it the second shutdown for the Trump administration in weeks. As usual, it can prove quite a problem for thousands of non-essential federal workers who will be forced on unpaid leave until a decision in Congress is reached.

Ths shutdown comes in the wake of the big budget deal where senators adjourned the chamber after Kentucky Senator Paul Rand could not be placated. As of now, the shutdown has officially begun, CNN reported.

The biggest problem of the US Government Shutdown is the negative effect it will have on healthcare services as hundreds of healthcare workers are confused about whether they have to report to work or not and whether they will get paid too.

Why did the government shutdown?

Spending has become a serious bone of contention in the US Senate where todays shutdown is the result of the big budget deal. But Paul Rand, also a Republican is concerned and angered over the deficit. He blasted the Senate saying that it was a big definition of hypocrisy. When the house expressed concern over Obamas deficits and now want to bypass their own, that is hypocrisy and nothing else, according to him. Senator Paul delayed passage of the bill for hours leading to the shutdown.

Speaking in an hour-long speech Rand said "What you're seeing is recklessness trying to be passed off as bipartisanship. ...[Leadership is] holding hands, and there's only one bad guy standing in the way.

One guy that's going to keep up here until three in the morning,"

Senator John Cornyn a Republican from Texas issued verbal warnings to Rand in a heated argument blaming him for the expected shutdown. In spite of attempting to set up a vote on the budget deal at 10.30 PM, 11 PM and 11.30 PM, 12.20 AM and 1 AM, Rand objected each time.

Democrats, of course, insist that the immigration issue also needs to be addressed in the debate and voting that will be taking place a few hours from now in an attempt to end the Shutdown.

What does the shutdown mean?

The shutdown means that federal employees who are forced to go on unpaid leave wont get paid in spite of their workplaces being Closed.

In 2013, a similar shutdown lasted for 16 days and ended up costing the US government $2billion.

What's open and what's closed?

Housing, environment, education, and commerce are all closed so staff will remain at home. At least 50 percent of workers in the defense, transport Health and treasury will be staying at home too.

Essential services which are meant for the protection of life and property will continue as well as the postal department, national security, air traffic control, medical services, prisons, disaster services, taxes, and electricity.

National parks and monuments

National parks will be kept open according to the Trump administration because when they were closed in 2013, people were angry about it.

However many staffers or rangers will not report for duty

Although the Statue of Liberty was closed on the first day of the last shutdown, the New York governor tweeted that it reopen, so the same can be expected today. The Independence Hall will be closed along with other national landmarks.

Defense services will work without pay

The Defense Department issued a notice saying that all military active duty personnel will continue to work and report to duty without pay.

Other Closures

The USFDA

CDC

VISA and Passport processing will be delayed

What it means for health: Flu fighters may be put on leave

Even though emergency rooms are filling up with the worst outbreaks of flu in recent years, flu fighters may not report for duty or stay on the job.

In fact, the present shutdown similar to the one in 2013 means that 63 percent of CDC staff in the US and around the world will be made to go on leave. This time 61 percent will be on furlough. The immediate response to urgent disease outbreaks will continue as usual. In 2013 several departments had shut down even those monitoring hepatitis and tuberculosis.

Food safety concerns

CDC workers on leave mean that local and state agencies wont be able to track unusual outbreaks and problems that impact the food supply. Routine health and safety inspections will be canceled. In 2013, within a week there was an outbreak of drug-resistant salmonella in raw chicken items.

Drug discovery

Patients waiting for lifesaving drugs will have to wait much longer for help.

Government leave means hundreds of patients wont be able to enroll in important clinical trials that are conducted by the national institutes of health. Most scientific data and work stops during a shutdown. FDA approved drugs will be delayed as well as medical devices and products. If you have queries about vaccines, medical devices blood products and general questions on safety; you will just have to wait because the people who need to answer you will be at home instead.

Veterans will have a problem

Veterans with disabilities waiting for help will have to wait longer. Educations centers, for veterans and counseling, will come to a standstill.

Your environment

Nonemergency inspections will stop and that means hazardous waste, drinking water systems, chemical facilities and pesticide reviews.

The consumer products division will be allowed to complete work only on products considered an immediate threat. Inspections of childrens toys will stop.

But Congress gets paid

Thousands of federal employees will not be paid during the days of the shutdown but Congress gets paid. Senators and House members will continue to be paid because Article 1 section 6 of the American constitution says The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States.

It is also a raw deal for workers of essential services who have to report to work during a shutdown but will not be paid. Workers of nonessential services will receive unpaid leave.

However, when the shutdown is over, federal employees are usually paid back the amounts they went without.

BVC News reports that the shutdown may extend into days with the stalemate or it may be resolved in a couple of hours. Only time and consensus tempered with common sense in the house if prevails will end it.
LogMeIn Aggressive in UCC Push with Jive Acquisition

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By Maurice Nagle

Web Editor By Maurice NagleWeb Editor

Communication and collaboration is at the heart of every business. Today, the cloud is empowering a new era of solutions, enabling increased productivity and positive bottom line results. This is one of the primary reasons the Unified Communications and Collaboration (UCC) possesses a projected value upward of $25 billion.





This week, LogMeIn (News - Alert) announced an agreement to purchase Jive Communications, bringing an exceptional UCaaS solution into the fold of an already robust portfolio of offerings.

Bill Wagner, President and CEO of LogMeIn, explained The result is a deal that will accelerate our overall growth, set a new standard in the UCC market, and provide us with a foundation upon which well build the next generation of LogMeIns UCC portfolio.

LogMeIn is putting UCC in its sights, with this transaction taking a major step in a strong market position. While Jives 20,000 current customers may not sound like a lot, the cloud communications firm is projected for above-average in a space pegged for exponential growth.

With market defining brands like GoToMeeting and GoToWebinar, LogMeIn is one of the most recognized and respected names in collaboration  a leader with the reach, scale and resources capable of fueling Jives next chapter of growth and customer-focused innovation. They are also a company that shares our vision and philosophy for giving millions of people a better, simpler, friction-free way to communicate and collaborate on their terms, said John Pope, CEO of Jive Communications. Its a combination that immediately gives both parties the power to deliver significantly more value to our combined customer bases.

The deal is expected to close Q2 2018, with LogMeIn USA Inc., paying $342 million for all outstanding equity interests in Jive, as well as another $15 million in possible contingencies. Once closed, the expectation to keep Jive Communications CEO John Pope in his current role, running the company, while reporting directly to LogMeIn President and CEO Bill Wagner.

UCaaS is building momentum. And with a market forecast calling for sunshine and blue skies for the foreseeable future, LogMeIn is intending to soar in the cloud.

Next week, Fort Lauderdale, Florida will serve as host for ITEXPO 2018. This is THE industry event that allows attendees to ride the wave of communications transformation.

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Edited by Mandi Nowitz
Arizona State University is renowned for many aspects of their student life, one mostly including of nightlife shenanigans and drunken binges strolling down the infamous Mill Ave. in downtown Tempe. However, with administration scrambling to create a new image for the university, the W.P. Carey School of Business seems capable of helping the party school stigma change face. Venture Devils is a program held by the universitys Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation and allows students to gain firsthand experience and valuable resources while starting their own business or organization.

What do students gain from joining the program?

Venture Devils starts as a workshop-styled business club, allowing students to attend educational meetings focused on various aspects of entrepreneurship. One week could be about legal procedures and documents, with the following week following accountancy and financial reporting. Each week offers new resources to the student entrepreneurs, and by the end of the seven-week program, they have a virtual and physical toolkit of various documents, informational packets, and contacts to rely on while moving forward.

Outside of the meetings, students are partnered with a business mentor. These mentors come from various industries, and specialize in a particular business operation, whether it is finance, marketing, human resources, or business development.

The mentor and the business owners are able to meet as much as they deem fit, which typically starts around once or twice a week. Many of these entrepreneurs start close-knit relationships with their mentors, and these relationships tend to last even after the program is over.

Lastly, and the most appealing portion of the program, is the Pitch Deck Day hosted at the end of the program.

This day revolves around the selection and presentation of premier ventures of the program while offering the chance for each venture to receive funding from investors and grants provided by the university. Many ventures viciously compete for a spot on stage, for it typically relates to some generous funding to kick-start the companys growth.

Also, if a company is not invited to pitch their business during the program, they can always reapply the next semester for equal opportunity to gain funding.

What can other universities learn from the Venture Devils program?

In a country driven by entrepreneurialism and invention, it seems only logical that universities gear their students to become innovators. Many of these institutions host various entrepreneurship clubs, but very little seem to compare to what Arizona State University is offering its students.

Not only are these individuals gaining material knowledge on running a business, but they gain networking skills, marketing skills, templates for creating a pitch deck and executive summary, and the chance to gain considerable amounts of funding. All in all, there is no reason for any start-up to ignore this opportunity to work with ASUs Office for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
As the Russian investigation continues to heat up, Donald Trump and the White House are not happy about it. In his latest round of tweets, the president called on Republicans to take control.

Trump on Russia

Ever since the early days of his campaign for president, Donald Trump has been forced to push back against allegations that he has been in cahoots with Russia. From praising Russian President Vladimir Putin to refusing to release his tax returns, the former host of "The Apprentice" caused speculation to grow early on, which only increased following his upset win over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in November 2016.

Since then, multiple news outlets and government agencies have confirmed that Russia hacked into the Democratic National Committee with the goal of helping to elect Trump, resulting in an investigation being set up led by special counsel Robert Mueller, the former head of the FBI. Many of Trump's former and current associates have since been indicted due to their links back to Russia, which led to Trump lashing out with a series of tweets on January 10.

The fact that Sneaky Dianne Feinstein, who has on numerous occasions stated that collusion between Trump/Russia has not been found, would release testimony in such an underhanded and possibly illegal way, totally without authorization, is a disgrace. Must have tough Primary!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 10, 2018

Taking to Twitter on Wednesday morning, Donald Trump wasted no time giving his current thoughts on the status of the Russian investigation, with special focus on Democratic Sen.

Dianne Feinstein who hours earlier released a full transcript of the Senate testimony of the co-founder of Fusion GPS. Trump ripped into Feinstein, referring to her as "sneaky" and a disgrace" before elaborating further.

The single greatest Witch Hunt in American history continues. There was no collusion, everybody including the Dems knows there was no collusion, & yet on and on it goes. Russia & the world is laughing at the stupidity they are witnessing. Republicans should finally take control!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 10, 2018

"The single greatest Witch Hunt in American history continues," Trump said of the Russian investigation.

"There was no collusion, everybody including the Dems knows there was no collusion, and yet on and on it goes," he continued. "Russia & the world is laughing at the stupidity they are witnessing," Trump went on to wrote, while concluding, "Republicans should finally take control!"

Instant reaction

In response to Donald Trump's ranting on Twitter, critics hit back.

"If there really was no collusion then why not be quiet and let the investigation find the facts?" one tweet wondered.

Everything that we've seen so far indicates that there probably WAS collusion, and a conspiracy against the U.S. You know this. We know this, and Fox News knows this. It's just some people don't want to admit it.  Ed Krassenstein (@EdKrassen) January 10, 2018

Instead you're trying to stop the investigation with any means possible. These are the actions of a guilty man not an innocent one  Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) January 10, 2018

"So, you will fully comply with any investigation then? Live testimony? refusing to cooperate, and asking for vetted questions instead of a live interview is the same as pleading the fifth," another tweet added.

"Siding with Russia, while you mock our systems... Real presidential," a Twitter user wrote.

Trump has proven he is physically and psychologically incapable of telling the truth. Why would we listen to a guy thats obviously off his rocker?  Francis Thomas (@RebelYell409) January 10, 2018

So, you will fully comply with any investigation then? Live testimony? refusing to cooperate, and asking for vetted questions instead of a live interview is the same as pleading the fifth. The only reason your lawyers want to vette the questions is because of perjury  Tony Tellez (@tonytellez) January 10, 2018

.@realdonaltrump That laughter you hear is the entire world laughing at YOU. This is a legitimate investigation and the only reason you would be trying to undermine it is because you are guilty!  Maryann Martindale (@martindalemm) January 10, 2018

"Trump has proven he is physically and psychologically incapable of telling the truth.

Why would we listen to a guy thats obviously off his rocker?" a tweet asked. "You obviously didn't read the Fusion GPS Testimony which discredits everything that Fox News has been pushing on their viewers," yet another tweet stated.
At the White House on Wednesday afternoon, Donald Trump met with Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg to discuss a variety of issues, including economics, as well international security. As expected, the president received backlash from critics across social media after speaking out about the Russian investigation.

Trump and Norway

Over the last year, Donald Trump has had an up and down relationship with various world leaders. The former host of "The Apprentice" has made it clear that he's not a fan of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, while sitting on the fence with his views on sevral other countries, especially following his trip to Asia at the end of the last year.

While Trump's issues with foreign nations have made headlines at times, it's been the ongoing investigation into Russian collusion that has dominated the news coverage over the last 12 months. Fast forward to present day and Trump met with Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg at the White House and then took part in a duel press conference. During the Q&A with reporters, Trump went on to accuse Democrats of taking part in a "witch hunt" against him, as reported by CBS News on January 10.

Pres. Trump: "There is collusion, but it is really with the Democrats and the Russians far more than it is with the Republicans and Russians. The witch hunt continues." https://t.co/G0y6VPc3wo pic.twitter.com/BURpepIBq6  CBS News (@CBSNews) January 10, 2018

While taking questions during a press conference on Wednesday, Donald Trump took an aggressive stance on the current Russian investigation.

"There is collusion, but it is really with the Democrats and the Russians far more than it is with the Republicans and Russians," Trump said. "The witch hunt continues," he added, before claiming the investigation was "hoax" created by his Democratic opponents as a way to get revenge for Hillary Clinton's defeat.

Pres. Trump on possibility Mueller team may speak with him: "When they have no collusion, and nobody's found any collusion at any level, it seems unlikely that you'd even have an interview." https://t.co/OnlUvwHVF2 pic.twitter.com/OMi6CtWeG5  ABC News (@ABC) January 10, 2018

Donald Trump was then pressed again on whether or not he would meet with Robert Mueller, and elaborated further.

"There has been no collusion with the Trump campaign and Russia," he said. "When they have no collusion, and nobody's found any collusion at any level, it seems unlikely that you'd even have an interview," Trump added. "Hillary Clinton had an interview where she wasn't sworn in. She wasn't given the oath. They didn't take notes.

They didn't record," Trump said, before calling it "ridiculious" and a "very serious breach" as well as "collusion."

Instant reaction

After Donald Trump denied the allegations against him, those who oppose the president didn't waste anytime firing back. "What a hilarious question dodge," one tweet read.

What a hilarious question dodge. #TrumpRussia  Zach (TheDIG) (@Nandistine) January 10, 2018

He is AFRAID:

Of taking a mental exam.

Of interviewing with Mueller.

Of a book written about him.

Of the 25th amendment.

Of Full Frontal host Samantha Bee.

Of Oprah.

Of releasing his tax returns....and on and on and on. AFRAID.  Michael Furlott (@MichaelFurlott) January 10, 2018

He's not even good at dodging questions and he tries it all the time.  Tenax Propositi (@ity007) January 10, 2018

"What an embarrassment," one Twitter user wrote, with another adding, "Good gawd.

He's such an idiot." "They have found more than collusion on many levels," a tweet pointed out. "IF ONLY DURING Q & A SOMEONE WOULD CALL HIM OUT ON HIS LIES! @POTUS believes his own lies because no one will call him out on his lies!" another social media user stated.

He knows how screwed he is if they get him under oath. His lies will just spew out everywhere, just like always. He won't be able to help himself.  Joshua Alan Reynolds (@Tombosley187) January 10, 2018

Trump repeated There was no collusion 15 times in one question. Why does this senile old man keep repeating it?  arlenerachel (@arlenerachel) January 10, 2018

God this man is in love with Hilary Clinton. Every convo goes back to her .. SHE LOST REMEMBER  Courtney Anthony (@cjanthony99) January 10, 2018

"Trump repeated There was no collusion 15 times in one question.

Why does this senile old man keep repeating it?" an additional tweet noted. "He knows how screwed he is if they get him under oath. His lies will just spew out everywhere, just like always. He won't be able to help himself," yet another tweet read.
Jill and Derick Dillard used to go out of the country for Mission Trips, but lately, they have been staying home in Arkansas and working on things locally. The couple now has two young children at home and while in Central America they dealt with a few scary things. They have been working with Cross Church School of Ministry. Now, Jill Duggar Dillard is sharing on their blog that they have plans for a few mission trips that are coming up.

What are their big plans?

Jill Duggar Dillard shared that they are changing what they are doing a bit and that this will also let Derick work on getting his additional seminary hours.

Right now, it is all ministry stuff in their local area. Jill shared now saying, "We look forward to going on a couple more missions trips in the next few months to Mexico and Colorado.Please pray with us as we continue to look for ways to share the hope of Jesus with others and work with CCSM!" She didn't share the exact details about what they will be doing while they are there.

It does turn out that they are going to be leaving the United States again and going to Mexico. Jill and Derick made it sound like they would be staying in the United States. It looks like this plan has changed now. They even said that a friend in Central America had a friend murdered recently, which is pretty scary, but they aren't going back to that same area.

They didn't share the exact details about where they will be going, though. Jill does do updates on their blog so hopefully, she will share some more information with the fans on what is going on with them once they start doing their missino trips.

Will this air on "Counting On"?

It doesn't sound like any of this will air on "Counting On." Jill and Derick Dillard shouldn't really be on the show.

We selected the best for you. From our partner Music Crowns Introducing: Julia

TLC cut ties with Derick because of the things that he kept saying about Jazz Jennings on Twitter. He wouldn't let it go. Now, there has been talk that Jill wouldn't be filming the show either. Everyone really wants to get to see how their lives are going, but things have changed now that Derick won't be part of the show. He has totally been cut out.

Are you surprised to hear that Jill and Derick Dillard have plans for more mission trips? Sound off in the comments below on your thoughts, and don't miss the new episodes of "Counting On" when they return to TLC later this month. It will be interesting to see if Jill shows up at all, but so far it sounds like if you do see her then it won't be very much.
One of the questions I get asked ALL THE TIME is, Should I start a blog? This is usually followed by How do I start a blog? and How do I make money from my blog? Lets start with if you should start a blog, and then, in another post, well tackle how to start a blog and how to make money from said blog. And if you need one-on-one consultation on starting or growing your blog, then I am your girl. Just fill out this 30-second questionnaire, and Ill be in touch.

Should I start a blog? Or rather, should you start a blog?

Well, YES, of course!!! But as a seasoned blogger, I am obviously biased. I love blogging. I love writing generally, and really, even if blogs did not exist, I would still be writing. That being said, here are 10 wonderful reasons why you should blog, and they are listed in no particular order.

10 Reasons Why You Should Start A Blog In 2018

1. To share your life/talent with the world: Do you have a special talent that you want to share with the world? For example, do you know how to lay an egg? Well, you should blog about it! Many people have established and grown their brands by sharing their talents on their blog. Think about hair stylists, DIY experts, makeup artists  and even egg layers!

2. For your personal/professional development: Guess what? I once got a contract job with Johns Hopkins University, and my only experience was my blog. They loved my blog and loved the way I write, and before I knew it, I was a Communications Specialist for Johns Hopkins. So yes, please blog because you never, ever know whos reading.

3. To connect with people and grow your tribe: Looking for like-minded people? Well, start a blog. Every blogger has a tribe. Sometimes its a tribe of 10 people, and sometimes, its a tribe of one million. A tribe is a tribe. A blog is a great place to find yours.

4. To make money: I have not made the money I dream of making through my blog, but I have done okay. I have paid many, many, MANY bills through my blog money, and I am looking forward to doing more in 2018. Full disclosure: its not the fastest way to make money, but when you make it big, you make it big.

5. To write a book: Have you ever noticed how many bloggers have turned writers (or writers who have turned bloggers)? I am the latter. Although Im yet to publish that book. My God will epp me in 2018!

6. To establish authority/credibility: Thanks to blogging, I have become an expert in my field. Brands trust me to tell their story and share their message. People trust me and ask my opinion on certain things. If youre knowledgeable about something  example fashion  people will look to you to tell them how to wear tear-tear jeans.

7. To tell your story (or other peoples stories): This one is major for me. Its a huge reason why I started blogging (to tell my story), but this year, I will also be telling other peoples stories. Watch this space. Blogging is a GREAT way to tell any story

8. To get new opportunities: Thanks to my blog, I have gone to the White House. Thanks to my blog, I have gotten to work with so many wonderful brands like Olay, Toyota, Target, WeeSchool, Vine Vera, Lancome, Always, BBT, Disney, and much more. Thanks to my blog, Ive gotten to speak at events hosted by brands like Prudential and Stay Free.

9. To help people: Id be lying if I said that I got into blogging to help people, BUT as the years have gone by, I have come to realize that my blog does help people, and honestly, it is so rewarding to know that I have such an impact on peoples lives. I am blessed.

10. To meet new people: This, too, was a big one for me. I wanted to meet new people and make new friends, and I have! In 2016 when I went to Nigeria, for example, I got to meet several Sweet Potatoes AND I got to finally meet several blogging OGs.

So, the next time you ask yourself, should I start a blog  the answer is a big, fat YES. You should start a blog, and you should start it now. No, you have not missed the blogging boat, and yes, there are people out there who will read your blog. Do it already. I will start working on a post about how to start a blog because I dont want you to have excuses.

P.S. If you already have a blog and youre wondering how to pitch brands to work with them and make some money, then you should download this free guide that tells you 5 things you must include in your email when you pitch a brand.

P.P.S. Like I mentioned in the first paragraph, if you need help starting or growing your blog, I can help you for a really minimal fee. Just fill out this 30-second questionnaire and well go from there.
Yesterday Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed possible second Russia-Turkey-Iran summit in Istanbul by phone. Earlier, Iranian President Hasan Rouhani also announced possibility of such meeting in the very near future. The first trilateral summit on Syria was held in Sochi on November 22, 2017. As Middle East Eye writes in an article "Turkey to host Syria summit with Russia and Iran", the seven-year conflict enters a new bloody phase, with Turkey continuing its offensive in Afrin against Kurdish YPG forces and as the US and Israel launching strikes against Syrian government forces and their allies, while Russia and its Syrian government allies have intensified air strikes against opposition-held areas.

During their conversation Turkish leader expressed his condolences to Russian President over death of the Russian pilot Roman Filipov, who piloted Su-25 plane, as a result of attack by militants in the de-escalation zone of Idlib on February 3. They decided to strengthen coordination of actions between armed forces and special services to combat terrorist groups that violate ceasefire regime. They also discussed importance of adherence to Astana agreements on creation of the de-escalation zones in Syria. Putin and Erdogan reaffirmed their commitment to political and diplomatic settlement, based on UN Security Council Resolution 2254.

A convoy of Turkish troops on Monday entered Idlib - which is largely controlled by rebel forces - to set up an "observation point" in line with peace talks in the Kazakh capital Astana.

The summit, if it takes place, will be the latest example of the increasingly intense contact between Ankara and Moscow over Syria.

Russia, along with Iran, is the key backer of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Moscow's military intervention inside Syria is widely seen as tipping the balance in the conflict. Turkey, however, has backed the rebels seeking Assad's removal in a seven-year conflict that has left more than 340,000 dead. But Russia and Turkey have been working together since a 2016 reconciliation deal ended a crisis caused by the shooting down of a Russian war plane over Syria.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirate are supporting the Sahel Joint Military Force, the latest indication of a competition for influence with Iran in West Africa. The force falls under the rubric of G5 Sahel, which brings together Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Chad for regional cooperation on political and security issues. As Lobe Log writes in an article "Saudi Arabia And Iran Compete In The Sahel", to bolster the finances of this organization, France invited UAE, Saudi Arabia, Germany. and Italy to coordinate with this organization.

Saudi Arabia committed $118 million and the UAE offered $35 million to fund the joint military force. In addition, the UAE has promised to establish a school of war in Mauritania. Support for this joint force allows Saudi Arabia to claim that it is leading the fight against global terrorism, alongside the creation of the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition of 40 Islamic states. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, in particular, wants to prove his leadership in this fight. It also allows both Saudi Arabia and the UAE to plan for a long-term presence in the region, with an eye toward countering Iran.

Iranian Presence in Africa

The presence of Iran in Africa dates to the 1980s. During the Cold War, Iran was located in the bloc of US-aligned states. After the Islamic Revolution, Iran became interested in spreading Shiite thought in West Africa through cultural, economic, diplomatic, and media initiatives.

Most African countries are rich in natural resources such as gas, oil, gold, iron, copper, diamond, platinum, and phosphate. Poverty in the Sahel Region and West Africa, however, opened the doors of the region to Iran. Iran implemented hundreds of economic projects in many African states like Senegal, Gambia, Mali, Sierra Leon, Benin, Nigeria, and Ghana. Iranian leadersAyatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani, Sayyed Muhammad Khatami, and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad travelled to these states and signed many bilateral agreements.

Iran also benefitted from these deals, and not just the expansion of Shiite thought. The deals allowed Iran to break out of the international isolation generated by its nuclear activities. They created new markets for Iranian products, particularly the oil that was under global sanctions, and provided access to raw materials, like uranium. Iran earned billions of dollars from the implementation of joint projects, including facilities that refined Iranian oil.

Saudi Concerns

Saudi Arabias concerns about increased Iranian influence have prompted it to push back, particularly after the ascension of King Salman. Saudi Arabia poured investments into the public and private sectors in West Africa and the Sahel. But Saudi penetration also extended into the religious realm, with a focus on the Maliki Muslims who compose the majority of West African population. Since 78% of African Muslims are Sufis, their beliefs generally stand in contrast to a Saudi culture that features elements of Salafism.

To compete for influence, then, Saudi Arabia has gone beyond economic projects and religious programming. Thats why it has created an unofficial coalition with Mauritania and Senegal and is also preparing a new coalition with Libya and Chad. The presidents of Senegal and Mauritania travelled to Riyadh in April 2015, and Senegal has committed to sending hundreds of troops to the Asefah Al-Hazm military operation under Saudi command.

Saudi Arabia has contributed to the joint military force of the Sahel to earn international legitimacy in the fight against terrorism and to further its political and economic interests in West Africa. But countering Iran is the main rationale. Stemming Iranian influence in this region and globally remains one of the cardinal pivots of Saudi Arabias foreign policy.
Washington's unreasonable policies on Syria leaves the U.S. isolated while escalating conflicts and instability in the region. Former Pentagon Chief Chuck Hagel (2013-2015) said in an interview to defensenews.com: "Well, I don't think the United States is going to be anywhere near making that final decision. How could we? What capabilities, what leverage do we have? What card do we have? Two thousand people in northeastern Syria? To do what? The Russians are [there], and they're not going anywhere, they're in big time. Assad gets stronger every day. The Iranians are in there, they're not going. The Turks now are opposed to us. So the question is: How is the U.S. going to influence the outcome of Syria?"

As Turkish Daily Sabah writes in the article What is the US's end game in Syria?, citing the former Pentagon chief, training and equipping the PKK's Syrian affiliates led to the terrorist group's ravaging Arab cities with air bombardments and causing forced migration. They lost all the trust of the Syrian opponents, as they did not take any action although they claimed that their primary target was the Assad regime. Meanwhile, they remained as mere spectators when Iran and Russia and consequently Assad seized control over a substantial part of the country. Besides, since they trained and equipped the PKK, which poses a primary threat to NATO ally Turkey's security, the group developed closer ties with Russia and Iran and pushed its stance against Assad to the background. This does not sound like an accomplishment, right?

Furthermore, the Geneva process has lost its meaning and can only be revived if compounded with the Astana talks conducted by Turkey, Iran and Russia. Considering that the U.S.-backed People's Protection Units (YPG) controls only 23 percent of the country, it can be contended that the U.S. does not have big leverage in field. So, what is going to happen next? The U.S. has to acquire new allies in the context of the Syria talks. Since Assad cannot be one of these allies, would it be reasonable for the U.S. to align itself with Turkey, as it does not want to strengthen the hands of Russia and Iran much more? The first step toward this might be taking back the heavy weapons and tanks provided by the U.S. from the forces positioned in areas where ISIS (banned in Russia) has been eradicated. Also, it is not a secret that U.S. pressure would be enough to completely purge YPG forces west of the Euphrates. It will not be convincing for anyone if the U.S. aligns itself with a group that comprises 5 percent of the country in terms of ideological engagement at a table where the future of Syrian Kurds is discussed.

Turkey, which purged 2 million square meters of land from Daesh during Operation Euphrates Shield by offering a better life to the locals without causing antagonism among them, has undoubtedly given a more effective and sustainable fight than the YPG, which ravaged Raqqa and marked many human rights violations, such as causing forced migration and recruiting child soldiers. In addition, it is evident that the secure zones created by Turkey produced sustainable results for the refugee problem.

For the U.S., it is about time to come up with a reasonable and permanent solution in Syria. Otherwise, we will not be able to see stability in Syria for the following decades.
The US will continue to work with Turkey at "the highest levels and all the way down through the military level", US Defense Secretary James Mattis said during a visit to the Pentagon's press office.

Mattis said there has been no change in terms of Turkey's pressure on Manbij in response to a question about Turkey's concern over the presence of PYD/PKK terrorists there. There are about 2,000 American soldiers in Manbij.

"Obviously, there is a lot of concern there because of what we heard out of Ankara. But right now, our goal is to keep the pressure on [through] the counter ISIS campaign and keep the campaign going, Mattis said, describing Turkey's planned military operation in Manbij as a "distraction" from the fight against ISIS.

Describing Turkey as "the only NATO ally with an active insurgency inside its border with the PKK terrorist group," Mattis said the US is working with Turkey on its legitimate security concerns not just with the PKK but also along the Syrian border, which has been turned into a battlefield by the Bashar al-Assad regime.

"Turkey has legitimate concerns, and the US is working with Ankara. But at the same time, Washington wants to stay on ISIS right now," he added.

Mattis also said he will meet with his Turkish counterpart Nurettin Canikli in Brussels next week. "We will continue to work with our NATO ally, and I will see their Minister of Defense in Brussels next week," Anadolu Agency cited Mattis as saying.
Russian President Vladimir Putin expects that the policy of sanctions will make its own ideologists feel bored.

"I believe that soon they will get bored with it. Those who do such things," Putin told a congress of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs on Friday.

"I still do hope that we will achieve normal relations somewhow," TASS cited him as saying.

Putin added that "the policy of artificially imposed restrictions in international business relations is a dead-end road that leads everyone, including the initiators of such a policy, to missed profits and direct losses."

Putin stressed that colleagues of Russian entrepreneurs from other countries "share this point of view."

He also mentioned his recent meeting with representatives of the French business, adding that he discussed its results with French President Emmanuel Macron.
Russia's State Duma has passed in third and final reading a package of bills extending the timeline for capital amnesty in Russia until February 28 of 2019.

The bills are related to an initiative of Russian President Vladimir Putin suggesting this policy should be continued in 2018.

According to the documents, during the second phase of the amnesty, set from January 1, 2018, till February 28, 2019, the applicants would be able to declare their bank accounts and deposits with foreign banks by January 1, 2018.

They would also be able to declare their accounts and deposits opened before that date, but closed before filing the application. The latter may be filed with any tax office or the Central Department of the Federal Tax Service, RAPSI reported.

The authors of the bill propose to extend the timeline for the liquidation of foreign companies until March 1, 2019.

The vice-rector of the Academy of Labour and Social Relations Alexander Safonov, speaking with Vestnik Kavkaza, noted that Russia's new capital amnesty differs slightly from the first amnesty of 2015-2016.

"They were conducted under different economic circumstances. The extension of the amnesty for a new term is primarily due to the fact that the US is stepping up their sanctions on Russian entrepreneurs. In particular, the United Kingdom and the United States recently adopted important laws that relate to the fact that any person, which either places his funds in the state securities, or acquires movable property, or opens deposit accounts, must clearly explain the source of origin of the funds," the expert said.

Based on the new realities, he explained, we can assume that the number of funds that will be legalized will increase. On the other hand, the economist pointed out that it is possible that Russian businessmen will start transferring funds from the UK and the US to countries more loyal to this kind of operations.

The head of the department of stock markets and financial engineering of the Faculty of Finance and the Banking Business of RANEPA, Konstantin Korischenko, expressed hope for the great productivity of the new amnesty. "This is mainly due to the fact that the attitude of Western banks and regulatory bodies towards clients from Russia is deteriorating," he said.

At the same time, the expert does not predict that this measure will lead to a significant result. "First, this is due to the fact that there is less "free money", and second, the level of risks is high," the economist noted.

Explaining the reasons for the limitation of money, the head of the department of stock markets and financial engineering of the Faculty of Finance and the Banking Business of RANEPA connected this with the fact that it takes more than a year to return significant revenues to the raw material sector of the Russian economy. "Before that, there was a crisis period, and Russian banks and companies did not have a lot of profit. The imports has started growing actively only in 2017. This is a sign that money has appeared," Konstantin Korishchenko said.
Turkey's Armed Forces have killed 1062 terrorists during Operation Olive Branch near Afrin in northern Syria, the Turkish General Staff reported.

"The Air Force hit 19 targets during Operation Olive Branch and destroyed on February 8, 2018, 34 more terrorists from the People's Protection Units (YPG), the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and the Islamic State extremist group (outlawed in Russia - TASS). A total of 1,062 terrorists have been liquidated since the start of the operation," TASS cited the report as saying.

On January 20, the Turkish General Staff declared the start of Operation Olive Branch against the Kurdish People's Protection Units and the Democratic Union Party in Syrias Afrin inhabited by about 1.5 mln Kurds and refugees from other Syrian regions.
One Turkish soldier was killed in Operation Olive Branch carried out by the Turkish army in Syrias Afrin district today, according to a military statement.

The military said the Turkish Armed Forces had destroyed 19 targets and killed 34 more Peoples Protection Units (YPG) militants in overnight airstrikes on February 9, Hurriyet daily reported.

Turkey on January 20 launched its operation into the northwestern district of Afrin to remove the YPG, which Ankara considers a terrorist group for its links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
Viet Nams economic growth hit a 10-year high of 6.8 per cent in 2017, cementing the countrys status as an investment hotspot. But while we expect growth to remain robust in the years to 2022, replicating last years pace is unlikely amid a Chinese slowdown and the difficulties of sustaining the surge in credit growth of recent quarters.

The services sector is poised for a great 2018 however, spurred by strong retail growth and a continued boom in tourism. Overall, services saw a 7.4 per cent expansion in 2017, while retail sales grew by 9.5 per cent. We forecast services sector growth of 8.1 per cent in 2018, aided by ongoing buoyant private consumption from the young population and high consumer confidence.

Yet the really standout numbers come from tourism. A record 12.9 million foreigners visited Viet Nam in 2017, up by a very impressive 29.1 per cent on the year before. This year, the Government aims to attract 15 million visitors in a bid to up the tourism sectors direct contribution to GDP to 8-8.2 per cent, compared with 7.5 per cent in 2017. Although ambitious, we see these as eminently achievable figures due to recent moves to expand the electronic visa system and visa-waiver scheme to cover more countries.

And, further turbo-charging visitor numbers will be all the fanfare and activities around 2018 being National Tourism Year. Highlights include the opening ceremony and Carnaval Ha Long in April, but exciting events are planned right across the country for the entire year.

So, how can ordinary Vietnamese individuals benefit from the countrys growth story, and in particular its burgeoning tourism trade?

Not by investing directly into shares!

Although it may be tempting to pile into individual stocks, a far wiser approach is to put money into investment funds that buy a wide variety of stocks in all the major economic sectors within Viet Nam. These are commonly known as mutual funds or collectives and, because they diversify across a whole range of companies, they slash the risk investors are exposed to.

Currently, there are only a few companies offering this kind of investment but you may find these very attractive:

The Vietnamese Opportunity Fund

This fund trades predominantly from London and is managed by Vin Capital. Investors may choose from six different funds to suit their risk appetite, with some of the vehicles trading directly from Viet Nam.

Viet Nam Holding

Viet Nam Holding is a sustainable value investor, which was initially launched to invest primarily in the privatisation of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) in Viet Nam. The majority of the first portfolio was acquired at the IPO stage or in the OTC markets, with the majority of its investments now listed on the stock markets of either HCM City or Ha Noi.

VNH ensures diversification by investing in at least 10 economic sectors, but good practice in ESG (environmental awareness, corporate social responsibility and governance) are the foundation of the composition and maintenance of the investment portfolio.

In short, you too can share in the success of National Tourism Year 2018, along with that of the other sectors driving the Vietnamese economy  all with relatively little risk and only investing perhaps a modest sum.

Next week we will be taking a look at Why Getting Shareholder Protection Insurance Might Be One of Wisest Moves You Ever Make.

Note to readers: Spence has not invested in the aforementioned companies; nor is he affiliated with or incentivised by them in any way.

* Brian Spence is Managing Partner of S&P Investments. He has over 35 years experience in the UK financial services industry as an investment manager, financial planner, and M&A specialist. He is a regular contributor in the UK financial press and has a deep understanding of the financial services community. Brians column will reflect on all the challenges and opportunities within the Vietnamese market, bringing a fresh perspective to todays hottest issues.

The columnists email is brian@sandpinvestments.com.
HA NOI  Trade promotion in Viet Nam is facing many difficulties as many importers, such as the US, China, Japan and the European Union, were now protecting their own farm production.

Tran Van Cong, deputy director of the Agro Processing and Market Development Authority under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), made the statement at a trade counsellors meeting in Ha Noi on February 8 to discuss strategies for enhancing farm exports.

The agricultural sector targeted a growth rate of about 3 per cent and export revenues of US$40 billion in 2018.

The quality and food safety standards in these countries have become stricter. As a result, it took more time, five to seven years on average, for Viet Nam to negotiate with them to open markets for farm produce, according to Cong.

Cong said in 2018, the agricultural sector would work to enhance market analysis and forecast capacity to ensure smooth consumption of farm produce and increase the marketing of key Vietnamese products in big and potential markets.

It would also tighten links with domestic and foreign agricultural businesses, remove technical barriers and solve payment difficulties for exports to Africa and the Middle East.

Agricultural Minister, Nguyen Xuan Cuong, said that as Viet Nams farm production had surpassed demand, the task was to maximise global markets and produce farm products of the highest quality.

Trade counsellor in Japan, Ta uc Minh, said Japanese people highly valued many Vietnamese farm products, particularly mangoes and bananas.

The shipment of the first chicken meat to Japan also proved that Vietnamese products satisfied the demanding market. However, he noted, export prices were still high, especially for fruits, since they spoiled easily and shipment costs were high. He asked for solutions to reduce shipment cost in order to boost Vietnamese products competitiveness.

Meanwhile, trade counsellor to Australia, Nguyen Hoang Thuy, said the opening of the southern market was a long and difficult process. For example, it took up to 12 years for lychees to enter this market. Therefore, she said, it was necessary to hasten negotiations.

She said there was a need for better co-ordination between the ministry and the trade office to promote negotiations.

Minister Cuong also asked trade counsellors to not only promote trade, but to also provide more information on technology, culture and market trends, which he said was crucial for the agricultural sector to expand markets.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Hoang Quoc Vuong asked the MARD to co-operate with the Ministry of Industry and Trades departments in expanding markets and organising exhibitions.

Vuong asked trade counsellors to provide information regularly. They should also regularly share market information with each other.

He said they should also study new technologies and help introduce them to Vietnamese firms handling agricultural products.

Aquatic exports

On the sideline of the trade counsellers meeting, Trade Counsellor to Russia Duong Hoang Minh said that more Vietnamese businesses may soon be allowed to export aquatic products to Russia this year after a Russian working group made a fact-finding tour of Vietnamese exporters.

Minh said Viet Nams trade office in Russia had earlier held a working session with local agencies. The move was made after Viet Nam was given a yellow card warning by the European Commission last September for failing to fight illegal fishing, which could lead to a drop in aquatic exports to the EU and other markets.

The counsellor said exports to Russia had encountered difficulties since the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), of which it is a member, limited aquatic product imports.

Currently, only 21 Vietnamese companies are allowed to ship products to Russia. However, he said there were more than 500 Vietnamese businesses eligible to export to the EU and other demanding markets at present.

Therefore, the trade office of Viet Nam in Russia has worked with the MARD to persuade Russian agencies to lift barriers to Vietnamese aquatic products.

It also invited relevant agencies of Russia and the EAEU to make fact-finding tours to Viet Nam in an effort to have more companies be allowed to ship aquatic products to these markets, Minh added.

In 2017, Viet Nam exported $2.2 billion worth of goods to Russia, up 35 per cent year on year. Commodities with high export growth included vegetables, fruits, cashew nuts, textiles-garments, wood products, machinery and spare parts.



The counsellor said the Vietnamese trade office in Russia will now focus on helping businesses boost shipments to capitalise on the Viet Nam-EAEU Free Trade Agreement.



It will also continue working to understand regulations and commitments in the World Trade Organisation and free trade agreements, as well as possible trade barriers.  VNS
HCM CITY  Wholesaler MM Mega Market Vietnam has unveiled plans to stock VND3 trillion worth of merchandise during Tet to meet customers demands for the 2018 Lunar New Year.

Nguyen Vu Thuan, its foods purchasing manager, said major distributors have this year placed strong emphasis on domestically made products, including processed foods, fresh foods, dried foodstuffs, home appliances, beverages and others to make sure there is no short supply or price surges.

MM has teamed up with manufacturers to offer various promotions between December and February with 15 19 per cent discounts on over 15,000 goods through featured themes such as shopping for the new home, world of confectionery and so on in the lead-up to Tet.

An MM spokesperson said given that the consumer price index for January 2018 was up by only 2.65 per cent year-on-year and positive consumer sentiments, people are likely to spend more this Tet season, especially in the two weeks before the Lunar New Year. On the part of sellers, at this time of the year stocks are often maintained at steady levels to preclude any short supply, especially of fresh foods.

Thuan said: As early as the beginning of October we had set in motion production plans with farmers to double output. And now with abundant supply and strict quality control from the seeding to harvesting stages, our vegetables from a Lat, fish products from Can Tho and pork from ong Nai are readily available to meet the highest demand during the year.

In addition to availability, prices are also a top concern for consumers. At MM this year there will be no price shocks as some of the merchandise is even cheaper than the previous years owing to collaborative promotion campaigns by MM and suppliers.

Products currently sold at highly competitive prices are basic foods, confectionery and others.

Phan Thanh Thao, a resident of District 3 in HCM City, said: This year Tet-specific confectionery products are coming in a wide variety, and with competition from domestic and foreign brands prices seem pretty steady. We also have more choices for the same amount of money.

In this peak sales period, food safety is also a high priority at MM to make sure that safe products are sold to consumers.

To ensure the job is done, MM agricultural engineers and specialists work hand in hand with farmers to ensure supply of the highest possible quality of inputs.

Along with that, the companys quality control team, in co-ordination with independent laboratories, also strengthen food quality assurance to ensure the products are as safe as possible during Tet.

Besides, MM has extended its daily working hours from 5am to 11 pm from February 6 to 18 to help customers shop at ease for Tet.  VNS
HA NOI  The State Securities Commission has granted registration certificate on public offering of shares to VNDirect Securities Corporation (VND).

VND offers to sell 50.3 million common shares to existing shareholders at the ratio of 3:1. The price offered is VN10,000 (44 US cents) for each share. The last date for registration is February 28. The right to purchase can be transferred from March 8 to April 2.

According to VND, the expected capital of more than VN503 billion will be used to supplement the loan for margin trading. At the same time, the additional capital will help the corporation improve its financial capacity to carry out underwriting contracts. In addition to this, VND will use a portion of its mobilised capital for proprietary trading, providing and performing derivatives-related services.

In 2017, VND posted a revenue of VN1.235 trillion, a year-on-year increase of 67 per cent; VNDs after-tax profit reached VN438.4 billion, 2.35 times higher than in 2016.  VNS
HA NOI  Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Viet Nam (Vietcombank) and Nghi Son Petrochemical and Refinery LLC (NSRP) on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on converting bank service.

Under the MoU, Vietcombank will be the sole bank to provide the service of foreign currency converting bank for the Nghi Son Petrochemical and Refinery Project.

Pham Quang Dung, CEO of Vietcombank, said the signing of the MoU would acceleratethe negotiation process towards agreeing on the official contents of agreements on foreign currency conversion.

Ahmad Aljemaz, vice president of Kuwait Petroleum International Ltd, one of NSRPs investors, said the provision of the converting bank service by Vietcombank is significant to the operation and success of NSRP.

Turki Alajmi, acting CEO of NSRP, expressed confidence in this cooperation with Vietcombank. The converting bank is one of the elements which plays a vital role in the financial success of the project. NSRP is confident that Vietcombank, as the leading joint stock commercial bank in Viet Nam, with the highest support of the Government, will be able to perform this function successfully and most effectively, he said.

Nghi Son Petrochemical and Refinery Project is a key petrochemical and refinery project of national importance, which is being implemented in Nghi Son Economic Zone in Tinh Gia District, Thanh Hoa Province.

The refinery has a total investment of over US$9 billion, intended capacity of 10 million tonnes a year in maximum operation and scope of producing 200,000 barrels of crude oil a day. Upon operation, it is expected to meet approximately 40 per cent demand of the domestic petroleum market and export millions of tonnes of petrochemical products.  VNS
HCM CITY Many tech firms this year are expected to add up to 10-50 per cent more employees to their IT teams as prospects for the countrys IT industry are bright, according to recruitment companies.

A survey conducted of 49 tech firms on the IT recruitment website ITviec.com that was released on January 31 showed a majority of tech firms in Viet Nam say the country has great advantages as an IT hub, including highly skilled programmers, reasonable labour costs and political stability.

More than 81 per cent said Viet Nam has a larger labour pool and lower labour costs than other countries considered, and 75 per cent said Viet Nams IT engineers scored higher than their peers in other countries in terms of technical skills.

Sixty-nine percent of the tech firms said they would expand their IT teams by 10 per cent to 50 per cent in the next 12 months. Nine per cent plan to increase IT staff by more than 50 per cent.

Senior developers who can think creatively and propose ways to solve problems are the most in demand. Fifty-five per cent of IT companies said they wanted to hire senior developers first before other positions.

Chris Harvey, CEO of ITviec, said: Viet Nam is becoming a tech hub not only of Southeast Asia, but also the world. Foreign IT companies increasingly are entering Viet Nam, and local companies like Foody.vn and VNG are growing rapidly.

Michael Lobb, director of Teamscal Pty Ltd, an Australian-invested company that entered HCM City in 2013, told Viet Nam News via email that the company would expand its IT team by 10-30 per cent in the next 12 months.

And at Robust Tech House, a Singapore-based firm which began operating in HCM City in 2014, said the companys IT team would grow by 30-50 per cent this year, according to Michelle Koh, the company director.

According to a 2018 salary survey conducted by Robert Walters, a specialist professional recruitment consultancy, increased salaries and strong demand for junior and senior IT developers, especially those proficient in .Net, PHP and Java, are expected to continue this year.

As more businesses continue to adopt Agile and scrum methodology, demand is set to rise for project managers who display a solid understanding of these principles, the survey said.

With the use of big data steadily rising across Viet Nams major sectors, highly proficient developers will continue to be sought this year, it added.

Lobb of Teamscal Pty Ltd said: There is a high supply of IT professionals but we have candidates applying with a limited view of what is important to meet international standards.

In general, engineers are capable of fitting into local roles, but miss the mark when dealing with international clients, he said.

With more international companies basing themselves in Viet Nam, we expect this to improve, but it will take time, he said.

There is a large gap between engineers who have and dont have international experience, Lobb said, adding that this is evident in several areas, such as thought leadership, communication levels, English skills, and overall attitude towards accepting different ideas.

There is a small but growing, group of engineers who have the attitude and capability to contribute at an international level, he said.

Koh of Robust Tech House said: There is a big IT sector in HCM City. Being an attractive industry to work in, many people are jumping in, but some of them are without sufficient qualifications, training or experience. So while the pool is big, the really good ones make up only a subset of it. If we further narrow it down by specific skills, coupled with high demand from all over the world, it is no wonder that companies end up fighting for or having to sift through candidates to find the gems.

The nature of the industry is that it evolves quickly, Koh said, adding that some technologies become in such as blockchain, AI and chatbot, while others go out of fashion.

There is a demand gap while people pick up new skills to cope with new demands, she added.

Increased salary

The survey by ITviec.com found that salaries for new engineers are increasing.

Forty-five per cent of the companies surveyed said that wages for new IT hires rose by 10-20 per cent over the past 12 months.

Thirty-seven per cent said payments for new IT workers rose by up to 10 per cent, while 16 per cent said they went up more than 20 percent.

Despite higher salaries, Vietnam remains competitive. Ninety-four percent of respondents said that Vietnams value for cost is still higher than comparable countries.

The Robert Walters survey showed that those moving to other jobs generally received salary increments of 20-25 per cent.  VNS
A NANG  The central city of a Nang will host nearly 300,000 tourists, including 132,000 foreigners, during Tet, an increase of nearly 30 per cent against last year.

The tourism department said more than 100,000 tourists, of which 75 per cent were foreigners, had already booked rooms at hotels and resorts to explore the Tet festival and other attractions.

Local and international airlines have planned 269 flights connecting the city to Hong Kong, South Korean and Japanese airports such as Daegu, Yang Yang, Busan, Incheon, and Osaka - and the domestic cities of Ha Noi and HCM City.

National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines will supply 1.4 million seats for air travel from February to March. Budget airline Jetstar Pacific will provide nearly 600,000 seats.

The city plans to host a series of programmes for tourists during the holidays. Ba Na Hills mountain resort, 1,400m above sea level, will feature cultural and musical performances until March 9, while carnival, street-music and folk-song performances will be staged along the Han River banks from February 16-25.

Added features include the Rong (Dragon) Bridge, which spans the Han River. It will breathe fire and rain at 9pm every night from February 14-18, while the Han Swing Bridge will swing from 11-12pm on February 16-18.

Ryosuke Kira, the manager of three Japanese restaurants  Bushido, Banjiro and Dining Bar Asoviva  in a Nang said his restaurants would stay open during Tet.  VNS
By Chi Lan By Chi Lan

During an unprecedented trial between a HCM City taxi firm against Grab, a Uber-type company, for alleged unfair competition, the judge posed a simple but fundemental question: What field was Grabs business licence registered in?

Grab replied it was for passenger and goods transportation under Vietnamese law, adding that it only provided a digital platform for independent drivers, but did not hire them.

So does it make Grab a transport company like other taxi operators, or is it just a digital transport application and hence it should not be subject to transport regulations?

As the trial is still ongoing, the judge is yet to make a decision. After two years of allowing Grab and Uber to operate in Viet Nam as part of a pilot programme on implementing technologies in passenger transport service, the Ministry of Transport in particular and the whole Government in general are still scratching their heads on how to deal with the situation.

To be fair, Viet Nam is not unique in its slow response to fast-emerging digital companies. The world is changing fast, but excessive bureaucracy can be accused of sometimes being slow to move.

The ever-increasing number of internet users and advancements in computing and mobile technologies have led to an explosion of the global app economy. "Apps" are not restricted to sharing rides, but also taking care of your pets, exchanging Wifi passwords, lending hard cash, buying secondhand clothing, or even ordering a fresh homemade pie.

The Government, however, seems ill prepared for change. Confusion with Grab/Uber took the headlines last year, but this is not the only challenge facing the Government over digital companies. Airbnb, an online company offering short or long-term accommodation, is expanding at an impressive rate in Viet Nam. New online shops on social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram open every day.

The Year of the Dog promises to be a year of battles between giant e-commerce platforms in Viet Nam. Now that Alibaba is investing in Viet Nam, it is also reasonable to expect Jack Ma will soon push to expand the Vietnamese e-payment and e-wallet markets, just as he successfully did in China. And of course, the question of to agree or not agree on cryptocurrecy never goes away.

The Government recently did try to tackle one of the most controversial issues, tax payments, for those owning online shops on social networks following reports and complaints of unfair competition. However, just asking online businesses to go to tax departments and pay the money proved ineffective.

Better services for customers is always welcome, but failure to create and maintain a fair business environment will harm the marketplace - and the nation will lose out on vital taxes.

Regulations over emerging digital waves do exist, but they are too relaxed and vague at best. The legal holes are so big that while customers are entitled to use digital products and services, they are also at risk of being unprotected by the law when something goes wrong.

The Government is looking forward to a bigger economy in the digital era, as it shows by trumpeting about the 4.0 industrial revolution. But I believe that it understands little about what is involved. It seems the authorities are still more concerned about managing and monitoring new things in the old way, for example, the tax collection process. It may well be that the new era demands radically new administrative thinking and approaches. It is time to act.  VNS
HA NOI  Since the beginning of 2017, 5000 administrative procedures and 24 conditional business lines have been trimmed, with another 3000 business conditions on the chopping block, the Vietnamese Government said recently.

Last February, the Government adopted Resolution No 19 aimed at improving its investment environment and elevating national competitiveness in 2017 with a vision towards 2020. Thanks to efforts made under this unifying guideline, Viet Nams economy has jumped 14 positions in the World Banks doing business ratings.

The figures were disclosed in a meeting held on February 8 in Ha Noi by the Governments Steering Committee for Administrative Reforms to review its activities in 2017 and plans for the year 2018.

Minister of Home Affairs Nguyen Trong Thua said the Government has promulgated a total of 17 resolutions approving measures to simplify administrative procedures and other legal processes related to residence management as well four resolutions ordering ministries to review and trim administrative excesses related to business conditions that stymie production.

Currently, 17 out of 19 ministries and ministerial-level agencies have been making use of online public administrative services, with 549 services available at level 3 (forms can be downloaded and processed online) and 377 services available at the highest level or level 4 (forms and payments can be made and processed online). Fifty-eight out of 63 provinces and municipalities have been offering a total of 13,830 public administrative services at either level 3 or 4.

Nguyen Thi Minh, head of Viet Nam Social Security, said that administrative reforms are a matter of life and death for her agency. Previously, the sheer workload required social security workers to work even on weekends and many quit under that pressure. Thanks to procedures simplification, now the staff only needs to work on Saturday and can have the day off on Sunday.

Galvanising transformation

Aside from the positive gains in 2017, many shortcomings have been pointed out.

Deputy Minister of Justice Tran Tien Dung at the meeting pointed out that issuance of legal documents is still rampant in 2017, with the number of law-breaching documents found to have increased by 21 per cent compared to 2016.

The justice ministry, in reviewing nearly 6,000 legal documents last year, has detected 157 documents that contain legal violations, either in terms of their contents or jurisdiction of the issuing authority.

Also according to the justice ministry, only half of the offending documents have been rectified so far.

Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh, chairman of the administrative reform committee, said progress on building the e-government is underwhelming while cumbersome red tape continues to drag down the economys potential.

The fault lies in the inertia of the administration at all levels in making changes to themselves, weak compliance on the bureaucrats part as well as insufficient knowledge, experience and ethics, all of which slows down the progress of reforms, Binh said.

He cited the late President Ho Chi Minhs teachings, saying that Governments officials must be the peoples servants, must be close the people, understand them, learn from them, respect them and do their best to serve them.

Deputy PM Binh also asks ministries and other State management agencies to trim 50 per cent of business conditions, boost the application of information technology in handling administrative procedures and hold regular dialogues between the Government agencies and the business community.  VNS
General Secretary of the Communist Party Nguyen Phu Trong (r) receives outgoing Chinese Ambassador to Viet Nam Hong Xiaoyong in Ha Noi yesterday.  VNA/VNS Photo Tri Dung

HA NOI  General Secretary of the Communist Party Nguyen Phu Trong has spoken of the important contributions by outgoing Chinese Ambassador to Viet Nam Hong Xiaoyong to bilateral relations.

During a reception for the ambassador in Ha Noi on February 8, the Party chief praised the diplomat for his efforts in expanding co-operation among sectors and localities of the two countries as well as people-to-people exchanges.

He called on the two countries to implement agreements reached and asked the ambassador to continue contributing to the Viet Nam-China traditional friendship and strategic cooperative partnership.

Hong Xiaoyong thanked leaders of the Vietnamese Party and State, and those from ministries, sectors and localities for their great support during his tenure.

He said he was impressed by Viet Nams great achievements in all fields, as well as the fruitful development of the relations between the two Parties and States.

He said China wished, together with Viet Nam, to continue promoting political trust and practical co-operation in all fields, expanding people-to-people exchange, and reinforcing the friendship for mutual benefit and development in the interest of the two peoples.

The same day, Party General Secretary Trong and General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and President Xi Jinping extended greetings to each other as the two countries people are preparing to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

The Vietnamese Party chief wished Chinese leaders and people a happy Lunar New Year, while Xi Jinping expressed hopes that Viet Nam will gain more remarkable achievements in the new year.  VNS
AK LAK  Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on February 8 visited over 100 needy workers in the Central Highlands province of ak Lak and presented them with Tet gifts.

The PM hailed the Viet Nam General Confederation of Labour and local enterprises for taking care of local labourers, including organising Tet celebrations for poor workers.

He urged the agency to check disadvantaged workers nationwide and ak Lak in particular to offer timely assistance for them, ensuring they will have a happy traditional Lunar New Year (Tet).

The PM also requested the confederation develop social houses for workers and kindergartens for their children.

The same day, Prime Minister Phuc also visited and presented Tet gifts to social policy beneficiaries and ethnic minority households in Kram Village , Ea Tieu Commune, Cu Kuin District.

Ea Tieu is home to over 4,700 households in 12 ethnic people, mainly living on growing coffee and pepper trees, with the average annual income per capita of VN32 million (US$1,400).

The commune has 307 poor households and 546 other near the poverty line. It has completed 13 out of 19 criteria of the new-style rural area building programme.

The PM requested local authorities ensure all residents will enjoy the traditional festival.

While in Ea Tieu Commune, the Government leader also paid pre-Tet visits to Vietnamese Heroic Mothers Nguyen Thi Thuong and Nguyen Thi om, and local former leaders.  VNS
HA NOI  Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has signed an urgent notice on the clearance of export goods at Tan Thanh Border Gate in the northern province of Lang Son.

The gate is the main entrance for produce to China.

The Prime Minister took the decision following a report that over the past week, hundreds of trucks loaded with fruits have been stuck at the border gate for several days.

In the notice, the Prime Minister requested the Chairman of the Peoples Committee of Lang Son Province, in collaboration with agencies under the leadership of the General Department of Vietnam Customs, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Transport, to work with their Chinese counterparts to speed up customs clearance of the Vietnamese export goods stuck at Tan Thanh Border Gate and other border gates in the area.

Plans on arrangement of containers depot and warehouses and for regulating the traffic flow should be prepared to minimise traffic congestion.

Strict management should also be put in place to prevent smuggled goods from entering Viet Nam, the notice said.

The heads of the concerned ministries and customs department have been tasked with supporting the provincial Peoples Committee in implementing the above-mentioned duties.

According to the Vietnam News Agency correspondents, the traffic jam at the border gate is slowly eased.

The Tan Thanh Customs Department has been completing procedures every day for some 800 lorries to cross the border, according to Nguyen Cong Truong, vice chairman of the provincial Peoples Committee.

To resolve the congestion, the provincial authority has set up working groups to collaborate with relevant agencies from China to manage the exchange of goods between traders, Truong said.

The working hours for customs clearance have also been extended to facilitate the export of goods, he said.

According to oan Tuan Anh, deputy head of Tan Thanh Customs Department, this is the harvest season for fruits in the southern provinces which is one of the factors contributing to traffic jams as many lorries are carrying the fruits to China through the border gate.

Lang Son Province has several border gates, but Chinese authorities allow such agricultural goods as watermelon and dragon fruits to be imported only via the Tan Thanh Border Gate. As a result, traffic congestion usually occurs during the main harvest season.  VNS
HA NOI  The UK Space Agencys International Partnership Programme (IPP) will provide 6 million (US$8.36 million) to Viet Nam to develop an early warning system to predict dengue outbreaks in the country.

This was announced by UKs Science Minister Sam Gyimah.

The integrated dengue early warning system project will receive 4.1 million (US$5.7 million) in the form of official development aid from the UK Space Agency, and the rest will be shared by other partners.

A group of British organisations, led by research and consulting firm HR Wallingford, will work with Vietnamese partners to develop an innovative tool that will allow beneficiaries to issue alerts for dengue epidemics. This will enable public health authorities to mobilise resources to those most in need.

The project will also provide forecasts of dengue fever under a range of climate change scenarios. By linking earth observation data with climate forecasting and a land-surface model, the impacts of various elements such as water availability, land use, climate, on the likelihood of future dengue epidemics can be predicted for the first time.

The dengue early warning tool will also include forecasts of water scarcity, contributing to improved water management of river basins that flow through Viet Nam.

This new project will further strengthen the growing partnership between the United Kingdom and Viet Nam in science, research and innovation. Through the Newton Fund Vietnam, we are supporting new research partnerships between British and Vietnamese scientists in areas ranging from agriculture to public health, British Ambassador to Viet Nam Giles Lever was quoted as saying by online newspaper Vietnamplus.

This is the second project in Viet Nam with funding from IPP. Earlier in 2016, IPP had sponsored 2.5 million ($3.5 million) for a project on coping with natural disasters in collaboration with Stevenson Astrosat, a British company.

Lever said the British governments Fleming Fund was also supporting the implementation of Viet Nams National Action Plan for tackling anti-microbial resistance.

He said dengue had become a pressing public health concern for Viet Nam following a steep increase in the number of cases in 2017. Therefore, this project was both important and timely and would bring new and innovative approaches to the vital work of modelling and predicting future outbreaks, he said.

As many as 183,287 dengue fever cases were reported across the country last year, including 30 deaths.  VNS
WASHINGTON - US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson welcomed Chinese state councillor Yang Jiechi to Washington on Thursday as the worlds two most powerful diplomats talked trade, drugs and North Korea.

Yang is in Washington for two days at a time when relations between the top powers are dominated by the North Korean nuclear stand-off and President Donald Trumps concerns about their trade imbalance.

His first port of call was the State Department, where he held closed door talks and had a working lunch with Tillerson, who is keen to keep China on board with a diplomatic push to force North Korea to negotiate its own nuclear disarmament.

"During the meeting, both sides reaffirmed President Trump and President Xis commitment to keep up pressure on North Koreas illegal nuclear weapons and missile programs," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.

"They discussed the need to achieve a fair and reciprocal bilateral economic relationship, and shared approaches to stemming the flow of deadly narcotics," she added.

Washington is pushing China to cut off a flow of synthetic drugs and chemical precursors used in the production of narcotics to Latin America, as these are often smuggled into the United States and fuel an epidemic of opioid addiction.

China has agreed to support some new sanctions on Kim Jong-Uns North Korean regime in support of Trumps "maximum pressure: drive to force Pyongyang to abandon its quest to build nuclear-armed long-range missiles capable of hitting US cities.

"We hope that China will do more because we know that they can do more in terms of adhering to UN Security Council resolutions and sanctions that have been put in place against North Korea," Nauert said.

"Were not seeking an adversarial relationship with the government of China. We are simply identifying actions that China has taken that undermine a rules-based order."

Chinas long-standing trade surplus with the United States grew by 10 per cent last year to US$276 billion, a sum Trump finds intolerable, and senior officials from both countries are in talks to try to head off talk of a trade war.

On Thursdays talks, Nauert said that some diplomatic conversations are best kept private but noted that: "We have a frank exchange of ideas and information, and our viewpoints. Our president has made it very clear his concerns about trade imbalances, thats the kind of thing that comes up." - AFP
During the DISRUPT End User Computing Forum 2018, IGEL, a world leader in endpoint management software for the secure enterprise, announced it is strengthening its investment in the North American IT channel with the opening of a sales office in Canada. Leading the effort to bolster IGEL's Canadian presence is IT channel veteran Ken Shipman, who has been appointed country manager. To support IGEL's Canadian sales organization, IGEL has hired Citrix alum, Michael Berman, as its first Sales Engineer in the region.

"Canada is becoming an increasingly important market for us, and we are excited to announce a number of firsts' for IGEL in this region as we welcome Ken and Michael to our team," said Jed Ayres, President and CEO, IGEL North America. "Ken brings with him a proven track record built on decades of successfully establishing a Canadian presence for end-user computing and virtualization industry leaders. His experience, coupled with Michael's extensive technical knowledge and expertise when it comes to Citrix virtualization solutions, are important to expanding our reach within the Canadian IT channel."

Ken Shipman's background in the IT industry includes more than a decade spent as Canadian Country Sales Manager for Dell Wyse, formerly Wyse Technology. In this role, he was responsible for developing the company's Canadian go-to-market strategy, managing Wyse's Canadian sales team and directing its technical team in achieving established revenue goals for its portfolio of thin client and endpoint solutions. Similar to his current responsibilities at IGEL, Shipman also managed Wyse Technology's Canadian reseller network and coordinated its distribution supply chain for Canada. During his career, Shipman has served as Director of Sales Canada for GigaSpaces Technologies, a hybrid cloud orchestration company and developer of grid-based in-memory computing, where he established the company's first-ever Canadian office. Before joining GigaSpaces, Shipman was Canada Country Manager for RES Software (now part of Ivanti), where he established the IT service delivery, workspace automation and identity provisioning innovator's Canadian presence.

"For customers looking for innovative ways to reduce hardware and administrative costs associated with their endpoints, IGEL provides smart, simple, secure and cost-effective solutions they won't find anywhere else," said Shipman. "I'm delighted to be joining the IGEL team and look forward to working with our Canadian resellers and IT solution provider partners to collectively grow market share in this region."

Michael Berman joins IGEL from Citrix, where he served as a lead sales engineer for nearly a decade, focused on Citrix XenApp, XenDesktop and XenServer solutions. A seasoned Citrix administrator, Berman held similar roles with several Canadian public and private sector organizations, prior to his tenure with Citrix. He is also CCEE, CCIA, CCE-V and CCA-N certified.

Compugen Named First Canadian IGEL Platinum Partner

Alongside the expansion of IGEL's operations in North America and the opening of its Canadian sales office, Compugen, one of Canada's top IT solutions and service providers, has been named the region's first IGEL Platinum Partner.

Compugen works with mid- to large-sized organizations to help them maximize the business value of their investment in information technology. The solution provider's award-winning service quality, unequalled depth and breadth of technical expertise, and international footprint have made them the partner of choice for Canadian businesses and government organizations for more than 35 years. Compugen's recent accolades include Cisco's 2017 Partner of the Year for Canada, Gold and Silver Awards for Managed Services and Enterprise Service Delivery, respectively, at the 2017 CDN Channel Elite Awards, and recognition from Citrix as their Partner of the Year for 2016 during Citrix Summit 2017.

David Wasilka, Director, End-User Computing, Compugen Inc. said, "We have been an established IGEL partner for many years and are thrilled that IGEL is expanding and making a focused investment in Canada to support our customers. Furthermore, it is an honour to have our partnership level with IGEL elevated to Platinum. Their innovative, software-defined endpoint management solutions are a great fit for our customers. The ability to seamlessly integrate with the best of application virtualization and VDI solutions can significantly reduce the complexity of secure digital workspaces and really help transform the way people work. We are also excited to have the opportunity to work with Ken Shipman and Michael Berman, whom we have known for many years, in their new roles at IGEL. Their knowledge and expertise will prove invaluable as we expand our IGEL business in Canada."

IGEL's Canadian office is located in Toronto, Canada. IGEL's distribution partner for the region is Ingram Micro Canada. "Businesses of all sizes are looking to simplify and secure the ongoing, remote management of endpoint devices, as well as the applications and PCs they are connected to," said Bill Brandel, Vice President and Country Chief Executive, Ingram Micro Canada. "We are pleased to expand our successful working relationship with IGEL to include the Canadian marketplace."
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Local News

Chesterfield Shooting



A Chesterfield woman is dead following a reported shooting incident Thursday afternoon in Chesterfield.



According to the Macoupin County Sheriff's Office, the victime is identified as 34 year old Rachel Warren.



At 2:31pm on Thursday, a 911 call informed the Sheriff's Office of a female who had been shot in the 400 block of Main Street in Chesterfield. The caller also advised dispatch of the make and model of the vehicle the suspect reportedly fled from the scene in.



Before arriving at the scene of the shooting, a deputy located the suspect vehicle and pursued it. The pursuit went into Jersey County where the suspect was take into custody.



The Illinois State Police and Jersey County Sheriff's Office are assisting the Macoupin County Sheriff's office in the investigation.



The name of the suspect is being withheld pending formal charges.


Feb 9, 2018 | By Tess

As I wait (impatiently) for the release of Marvels Black Panther film, Ive been eagerly gobbling up any news or trivia about the superhero epic that I can. So you can imagine how pleased I was, while perusing a Vogue interview with the films costume designer Ruth E Carter, to discover that the film features some 3D printed costume elements.

Carter, who has had a prolific career in Hollywood, working on the film Malcolm X (1992) and the more recent Selma (2014) among many others, had a big job ahead of her in designing and creating of Black Panthers Africa-inspired costumes. If clips from the movies trailer are any indication, however, she has massively pulled it off.

Of course, Carter didnt work on the films costuming all by herself, instead working with a team of over 100 buyers across South Africa, Nigeria, and South Korea, as well as tailors, jewelry makers, and craftspeople in the U.S.

Black Panther, which is set in the fictional African nation of Wakanda, draws from many African traditions in its own mythology. As Carter told Vogue: I selected things from indigenous tribes and implemented them in a futuristic model. Because the culture that [director] Ryan Coogler created is unique, I could combine elements of many African tribesincluding the colour red, the triangle shape, neck rings and beadworkwithout worrying about cultural appropriation.

(Images: Marvel Studios)

And while I wish I could go through every single costume element in the film (they all look amazing), I want to focus on one particular costume prop that was realized with the help of 3D printing.

The piece in question is part of Queen Ramondas (played by Angela Bassett) look. Specifically, 3D printing was used to produce the large shoulder mantle that the queen wears. She is the leader of a forward-thinking nation that has greater technology than anywhere else, so her costume had to be grandiose, explained Carter.

The imposing accessory was reportedly manufactured on a large-format 3D printer owned by a company in Belgium (Im speculating here, but possibly Materialise?) and was made up of special fibers which were printed into the circular form. The Queens crown also required some state-of-the-art technologies to produce, as it needed to be totally cylindrical. Its possible that the same additive manufacturing/weaving technology was used for the headpiece.

Ruth E Carter, costume designer

(Image: JAXONPHOTOGROUP)

Though Black Panther arrived too late for this year's Academy Awards, Carter is already generating Oscar buzz for the 2019 season. If she wins, she would become the first woman to win a Best Costume award for a superhero film. According to Vogue, she would also be the first African-American woman to win an Oscar for the first cinematic depiction of a black superhero.

Marvel also used 3D printing in the recent Thor: Ragnarok to create Helas (Cate Blanchett) villainous headdress.

Posted in 3D Printing Application

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Fans of winter in northern California are blessed with an abundance of outdoor options, and Mount Shasta can be overlooked by destinations in Tahoe and the Sierra to the south or the temperate ocean coast. But, don't sleep on the second-tallest volcano in the Cascade chain.

The mountain range's most voluminous peak offers a diversity of terrain for the winter wanderer, its higher slopes accumulating snow for winter play while its high desert terrain remains snow-free for almost all of the year. The peak is a little more than four hours from downtown San Francisco on roads that are sure to be clear. Clear your schedule for a weekend and make way for this snow-capped beauty and the winter adventure it offers. Options abound! These five suggestions will get you going in the right direction.





Castle Dome Snowshoe: Castle Dome in Castle Crags State Park is a challenging winter snowshoe, gaining nearly 2,200 feet over its 2.8-mile course. The reward: stunning views of Castle Dome and the surrounding crags, dramatic stone serrations that were formed 170 million years ago, and Mount Shasta. There is also ample room to explore the area to your heart's content.



Bunny Flat to Panther Meadow + South Gate Meadows: The road to Bunny Flats is plowed all winter long, so snowshoers and cross-country skiers have an old standby for winter excursions. The 6.5-mile trail gains over 1,000 feet over its course, but that's only if you stick to the trail. Take a navigational aid and explore hidden trailsbut note that you might encounter snowmobile traffic unless you head east to the wilderness boundary.





Castle Lake: Our coverage already on Outdoor Project touts Castle Lake for its summer adventure opportunities, but don't sell on the area in the winter. The snowshoe to the lake is just a mile from the parking lot, and Castle Lake is one of the best ice fishing spots in Californiaespecially in winter.





Burstarse Falls Hike via the PCT: Spring is typically the best time for waterfall hikes when the flow peaks during the spring melt, but Burstarse Falls can offer an amazing winter hike as well. While snow does fall here, the hike is below 3,500 feet in elevation, an important threshold for the Shasta region, and the falls themselves are stunning. Just be cautious to check snow conditions before you commit.





Yellow Butte: Described by some as a winter oasis for the outdoor adventurer, the breathtaking views of the Cascade Range's second-highest volcano are available year round where the high desert is snow free. The terrain is provocative with views toward the curious Haystack and Sheep Rock.





Bonus round! Pluto's Cave lies in the high desert, which means access to this mysterious cave is snow free most of the year. The McCloud River is also sometimes accessible in winter, opening up Middle Falls for winter explorations.





Backcountry Safety

Winter backcountry adventures can be dangerous outdoor activities that pose significant risks as conditions affecting safety (i.e. weather, snowpack stability, avalanche hazard) are constantly changing. Prior to engaging in these activities each individual should get the proper training to make safe decisions and be equipped to use avalanche safety resources and tools.
A handful of curious stories you may have missed this week, including Elon Musk's red Tesla orbiting the sun.

Falcon Heavy takes off with a roadster inside. (Courtesy of SpaceX)

Lake Tahoe estate featured in 'Godfather' movie listed for $3.75 million, SF Gate



An estate that was created in 30 days by a crew of 300 men specifically for a gala naturally is fitting to be in the Godfather. The property has 17 residences, servants' quarters, multiple small cottages, a yacht club and boathouse; all built within a month. Read more.





San Francisco one of the world's 10 most congested cities, SF Curbed



Considering SF is a tech capitaland the cost of living here is crayit only makes sense that hoards of people are constantly flooding in and out. Apparently, it's 3rd most congested in the United States though, and 5th worst in the world. Read more.





Falcon Heavy, in a Roar of Thunder, Carries SpaceX's Ambition Into Orbit, NY Times



A massive rocket was just launched into space, and not by a government space agency. Elon Musk's SpaceX shot the Falcon Heavy into orbit, carrying Musk's red Tesla with a mannequin inside wearing a SpaceX spacesuit to circle the sun for hundreds of million of years. Read more.





Looks Like Soho House Really Will Turn SF Armory Into Private Club, Eater SF

After much back and forth, the historic landmark has been purchased by an LLC with ties to Soho House. The private club has 18 locations across the country with 14 restaurants in corresponding cities. The transition of the institution here could very well bring with it a handful of restaurants available to members and nonmembers. Want to join? That'll be $2,100 for membership to one, more to have access to them all. Read more.





SF safe injection sites expected to be first in nation, open around July 1, SF Chronicle



San Francisco will soon be the first in the U.S. to allow drug users to shoot up under supervision at two safe injection sites scheduled to open in July. Other cities, too, are in talks about it including Seattle, Baltimore and Philadelphia. Perhaps by summer's end, we'll hopefully no longer see needles on our streets. Read more.
Gold production and new epithermal discovery



Exploration Update

ASX:EVN

ASX:AMI

Perth, Feb 9, 2018 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Emmerson Resources Limited ("Emmerson") ( ASX:ERM ) ( OTCMKTS:EMMRF ) is pleased to announce results of recent drilling from two of its five projects. The results from Kadungle are strategically important as they represent the emergence of new gold-copper projects in NSW, where Emmerson has a commanding ground position (see figure 2 in link below). These projects complement our Tennant Creek exploration and recently announced production from the high-grade, Edna Beryl Gold Mine.- Emmerson's 2018 strategy aimed at maximising value from discovery and production of high grade gold, with further optionality from copper- New epithermal vein system intersected in last drill hole at Kadungle NSW (assays pending)- Discovery drill hole at Kadungle intersects:o 3m at 0.67g/t gold from 299m (drill hole KDD017), plus a deeper intersection of:o 10m at 0.35% copper from 475m (drill hole KDD017) which includes:-- 1m at 1.63% copper- High grade Cobalt from rock chip samples at the Fifield project, NSW- Extensional drilling at Tennant Creek intersects high grade copper as follows:o 4m at 2.87% copper from 122m (drill hole GRC1413) which includes:-- 3m at 3.63% copper, plus a deeper intersection of:o 6m at 4% copper from 137m which includes:-- 2m at 6.8% copperKadungle Project - New South WalesA recently completed drilling campaign at the Kadungle project in NSW has identified potential for both deeper copper-gold (ASX 13 December 2017) and now, shallow epithermal gold at the Trig prospect (see figure 3 in link below). Whilst assays are still pending, construction of the drill access track at Trig revealed extensive boulders of epithermal quartz. Excitingly, the last drill hole at Trig (drill hole TRC004) intersected multiple epithermal veins which correspond with boulders at surface that contain extensive quartz-hematite veins. Previous rock chip sampling at Trig returned highly anomalous gold geochemistry with up to 1.27 g/t gold (see figure 4 in link below).Drilling at the Mt Leadley prospect has intersected further copper and gold. Drill hole KDD017 intersected both shallow gold (3m at 0.67g/t) in quartz-hematite chlorite stock-work veins and zones of deeper copper mineralisation (10m at 0.35g/t copper incl. 1m at 1.63% copper) (see figure 5 in link below). This zone of elevated copper is associated with sheeted chalcopyrite-pyrite veins within pervasive chlorite-sericite-pyrite altered host rocks (see figure 1 in link below). The other two drill holes at Mt Leadley intersected strong alteration and anomalous gold (up to 0.25g/t) which combined with the recent geophysics, suggests that the main, higher grade portion of the system is yet to be tested (see figure 5 in link below).As previously advised, Emmerson has notified Aurelia that it has met all the terms of the Stage 1 Earn-in to acquire a 60% share of the Kadungle project. This recent round of drilling is part of the next Stage 2 Earn-in of $200,000 for 80% equity of the project.Other NSW ProjectsEarly stage reconnaissance across Emmerson's four new projects in NSW continues to produce promising results and validates our proprietary area selection process which utilises predictive 2 and 3D targeting models. Whilst the strategy continues to focus on the high value metals of gold and copper, some opportunistic exploration revealed an interesting cobalt prospect within our Fifield project. Whilst early days, rock chip results of up to 0.55% cobalt and 0.27% copper warrant further investigation, particularly as this area has seen little previous exploration yet is adjacent to historic workings (see figure 1 in link below).Tennant Creek Project (see figure 6 in link below)The recent drilling at the Gecko-Goanna project further confirms the potential for non-ironstone hosted copper.Better results include:- 4m at 2.87% copper from 122m (drill hole GRC1413) which includes:o 3m at 3.63% copper, plus a deeper intersection of:- 6m at 4% copper from 137m which includes:o 2m at 6.8% copper- 5m at 1.36% copper from 177m (drill hole GRC1416) which includes:o 1m at 4.7 % copper and 1m at 3.8% copperThis supports the previously announced mineralisation in drill hole GODD032 of 7m at 5.98% copper and 3m at 4.75% copper (ASX- 19 August 2015) (see figure 7 in link below). Some of the other holes were also anomalous in copper and intersected intervals of quartz-hematite gouge likely corresponding with late faulting that has disrupted the overall continuity of the shear zone.Funding for this recent drilling completes the Stage 1 Earn-in obligation from our joint venture partner, Evolution Mining. Accordingly, we are now in discussions with Evolution regarding the future options for the Tennant Creek joint venture. We are confident that these discussions will deliver a mutually attractive path forward for the project and for our shareholders.The copper dominant Gecko-Goanna mineralisation stands in contrast to the high-grade gold deposits of the Tennant Creek Field, particularly the recent high-grade gold discovery and new mine development at Edna Beryl. Where Emmerson recently announced first gold production from the processing of 1,000t of ore from a development drive that assayed at over 35g/t gold (ASX- 20 December 2017). Mining at Edna Beryl is via a Tribute Agreement with small mine specialist, the Edna Beryl Mining Company. Emmerson's share of the proceeds from Edna Beryl is proportional to the amount of gold extracted from the Tribute Area (defined by a 3D envelope) and its equity in the Tennant Creek joint venture.Emmerson's Managing Director, Mr Rob Bills commented: "Emmerson is extremely well positioned with commanding ground positions in NSW and Tennant Creek. This project portfolio is now diversified beyond Tennant Creek and attractive for development, either by Emmerson or third parties. We are confident that positive results across this portfolio will continue to build quality assets and consistency of news flow. Further, Emmerson is one of few junior companies building a revenue stream from small high-grade mines.Pleasingly the last round of drill results at Kadungle is consistent with the emergence of a large mineralised system that supports ongoing exploration for both shallow gold and deeper copper-gold. Assay results for the Trig drilling will be available toward the end of February as work continues both at Kadungle and across our other NSW projects.About Tennant Creek and Emmerson ResourcesThe Tennant Creek Mineral Field (TCMF) is one of Australia's highest-grade gold and copper fields producing over 5.5 Mozs of gold and 470,000 tonnes of copper from a variety of deposits including Gecko, Orlando, Warrego, White Devil, Chariot and Golden Forty. All of which are within Emmerson Resources ( ASX:ERM ) 2,800km2 exploration and joint venture portfolio. These deposits are highly valuable exploration targets and, utilising modern exploration techniques, Emmerson has been successful in discovering copper and gold mineralisation at Goanna, Monitor and more recently Edna Beryl, the first discoveries in the TCMF for over a decade.Emmerson is led by a board and management group of experienced Australian mining executives including former MIM and WMC mining executive Andrew McIlwain as non-executive chairman, and former senior BHP Billiton and WMC executive Rob Bills as Managing Director and CEO.Pursuant to the Farm-in agreement entered with Evolution Mining Limited (Evolution) on 11 June 2014, Evolution has met the Stage 1 Earn-in obligation of $15 million to earn a 65% interest. There is a further option to spend $10 million over two years following the Stage 1 Farm-in, allowing Evolution to earn an additional 10% (Stage 2 Farmin). Emmerson is acting as manager during the Stage 1 Farm-in and is receiving a management fee during this period.Emmerson has recently commenced exploration on new gold-copper projects in NSW, identified (with our strategic alliance partner Kenex Limited) from the application of 2 and 3D predictive targeting models - aimed at increasing the probability of discovery. The highly prospective Macquarie Arc hosts >80Mozs gold and >13Mt copper but with these resources heavily weighted to areas of outcrop or limited cover. Emmerson's five exploration projects contain many attributes of the known deposits within the Macquarie Arc but remain under explored due to historical impediments, including overlying cover (plus farm lands) and a lack of exploration focus. Kadungle is a JV with Aurelia Metals covering 43km2 adjacent to Emmerson's Fifield project.About Evolution Mining (Evolution Mining is a leading, growth-focussed Australian gold miner. Evolution operates five wholly-owned mines - Cowal in New South Wales; Mt Carlton, Mt Rawdon, and Cracow in Queensland; and Mungari in Western Australia. In addition, Evolution holds an economic interest in the Ernest Henry copper-gold mine equivalent to 100% of gold production and 30% of copper and silver production from an agreed life of mine area.About Aurelia (Aurelia Metals Limited is an Australian gold, silver, lead and zinc mining and exploration company. The Company operates the wholly-owned Hera gold and base metal mine, in Central West New South Wales and has a key development opportunity in the Nymagee Copper, lead, zinc project, some 5 km north of Hera. Aurelia has entered into a binding agreement with New Gold to purchase the Peak Mine. In FY17, the Company produced 45,679 ounces of gold and 32,308 tonnes of lead-zinc concentrate.To view tables and figures, please visit:About Emmerson Resources Limited

Emmerson Resources Limited (ASX:ERM) (FRA:42E) recently commenced exploration on new gold-copper projects in NSW, identified (with our strategic alliance partner Kenex Limited) from the application of 2D and 3D predictive targeting models  aimed at increasing the probability of discovery. The highly prospective Macquarie Arc in NSW hosts >80Mozs gold and >13Mt copper with these resources heavily weighted to areas of outcrop or limited cover. Emmerson's five exploration projects contain many attributes of the known deposits within the Macquarie Arc but remain under explored due to historical impediments, including an overlying cover (plus farmlands) and a lack of exploration focus. Kadungle is a JV with Aurelia Metals covering 43km2 adjacent to Emmerson's Fifield project.

In addition, Emmerson is exploring the Tennant Creek Mineral Field (TCMF), one of Australia's highest-grade gold and copper fields producing over 5.5 Mozs of gold and 470,000 tonnes of copper from deposits including Warrego, White Devil, Orlando, Gecko, Chariot and Golden Forty. These high-grade deposits are highly valuable exploration targets, and to date discoveries include high-grade gold at Edna Beryl and Mauretania, plus copper-gold at Goanna and Monitor. These are the first discoveries in the TCMF for over a decade.
A Republican candidate for US Senate in North Dakota shared a story on Facebook in 2014 about anti-Israel protesters clashing with riot police, adding the comment, "Bunch of Arabs... what do you expect?"

The comment is just one of several inflammatory posts Gary Emineth, the former North Dakota Republican Party chairman, shared on social media, a CNN KFile review shows. In other posts, Emineth called former President Barack Obama a "POS" (an acronym for piece of shit) and retweeted an image that called for no more mosques in America.

Gary Emineth shared a story on Facebook in 2014 about anti-Israel protesters clashing with riot police, adding the comment, "Bunch of Arabs... what do you expect?" The comment is just one of several inflammatory posts the former North Dakota Republican Party chairman shared on social media

Emineth is one of two declared candidates in this year's GOP primary to determine who will challenge incumbent Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp in what is anticipated to be one of the competitive races in the 2018 midterm elections. Emineth joined the primary race at the end of January after Rep. Kevin Cramer, reportedly resisting an entreaty from President Donald Trump, announced he would not seek the seat. Emineth's sole GOP opponent is state Sen. Tom Campbell, a potato farmer who has been spending his own money on advertising to gain more name recognition.

Shortly after launching his campaign, Emineth's personal Facebook posts became inaccessible. KFile was able to screenshot some of Emineth's posts before his page was locked down.

Emineth's Twitter account was also made private before he announced his run and then later made public again. Screenshots of the number of tweets before and after show that 100 tweets were deleted during this time.

Reached by email, Emineth told CNN's KFile, "Yes I did take down a few tweets, obviously when, as a citizen, you see articles and opinions that frustrate a person, comments are made that may not always be appropriate."

He continued, "The tweets were removed because I didn't want the noise of a few tweets drown out the signal. The message is Senator Heidi Heitkamp is a liberal Senator out of step with North Dakota values."

Emineth said in a follow-up email the same sentiment applies to his Facebook posts.

Here's KFile's review of Emineth's social media postings:

In a 2014 post, Emineth derided anti-Israel protesters in France as a "bunch of Arabs."

In a tweet in 2016, Emineth retweeted an image saying no more mosques should be built in America.

In a 2012 Facebook post, Emineth called Obama a socialist and liked a comment that called Obama a Muslim.

In 2014, Emineth called then-President Obama a "POS" in a Facebook post.

Emineth in 2014 shared an image on Facebook that compared people on food stamps to animals.

In one 2016 comment on a Facebook post about climate change, Emineth referred to it as "an Anti-American effort to bring America down."

Emineth shared an article on Facebook in August 2016 from the far-right site The Gateway Pundit. The article suggests that Hillary and Bill Clinton were behind the death of the man who served the Democratic National Committee with a lawsuit alleging that the DNC was guilty of fraud in tipping the 2016 primary process in Clinton's favor.

"This is scary," Emineth wrote in sharing the piece, which also insinuates Clinton involvement in other deaths.
President Trump is losing the confidence of Latin America. And China is stepping up its game.

Trump has imposed tariffs on Latin American countries, demanded that Mexico pay for a border wall, put thousands of people at risk for deportation and proposed to cut American aid to the region.

At the same time, China sees an opportunity and is strengthening its ties.

This dynamic played out within hours on a single day.

On January 22, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke to dozens of Latin American leaders at a conference in Chile. He told them China and Latin America must work together to support free trade, "oppose protectionism" and "work for an open world economy."

That afternoon, Trump announced tariffs on washing machines and solar panels -- a move that will hurt Mexico, China and, to a smaller extent, Brazil.

"Literally and figuratively, the Trump administration is building walls against Latin America," says Kevin Gallagher, an expert on China-Latin America relations at Boston University. "The Chinese are proposing to build bridges, and they're actually doing it."

China has a history of unfair trade practices, and America has a track record of promoting free trade. So the role reversal has caught Latin American leaders by surprise.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos told CNN the scenario is like "the world upside down."

Related: NAFTA talks make progress but huge divide remains

Latin Americans lose confidence in Trump

The Trump administration proposed cutting aid to Latin America by 35% in its 2018 budget. It would have been the lowest amount since 2001, according to the Washington Office on Latin America, an advocacy group.

The cuts were mostly rejected by the Senate. But they would have hurt programs for education, disease prevention, combating drug trafficking and eradicating cocaine production.

"The message was 'you're on your own,'" says Adam Isaacson, a director at the Washington Office on Latin America. "This is a huge opportunity for China if it wants to increase its influence in Latin America."

The Trump administration also decided last April not to renew its contribution to a fund dedicated to development projects at the Inter-American Development Bank, a Washington institution created by George H.W. Bush that lends money to Latin American countries.

In October, Trump refused to increase overall U.S. contributions at the request of the World Bank, another major lender to Latin America. The administration criticized the World Bank for its lending to China.

Trump may have already lost influence. The share of Latin Americans who believe the U.S. president will do the right thing regarding world affairs has plummeted since he took office, according to a Pew survey.

Related: Trump slaps tariffs on washing machines and solar panels

It's not hard to find reasons.

Trump's insistence that Mexico pay for a border wall has drawn public rebuke from many leaders across the region. The administration has also threatened to withdraw from a trade deal with Mexico. It has put hundreds of thousands of legally protected Central Americans in the United States at risk of deportation. And it has slapped tariffs on exports from Brazil, Argentina and Colombia, among others.

Related: European Union heaps sanctions on Venezuelan leaders

The U.S. still holds sway. But ...

Experts note that the United States still has closer cultural and political ties with Latin America than China does. It also has greater economic influence with certain countries, such as Mexico and Colombia.

American businesses from McDonald's to Chevron have a major presence in the region, too, and some are working with governments on investment projects.

The Trump administration hasn't been absent. Vice President Mike Pence and other administration officials have visited. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson just went to Latin America. And Trump has imposed sanctions on Venezuela, a move supported by many other regional leaders.

In a speech last week, Tillerson outlined U.S. policy in Latin America: Hold Venezuela's government accountable, fight drug trafficking and provide aid that strives toward "mutually beneficial goals."

Tillerson warned Latin American countries not to engage with China, saying it provides "onerous loans" with few rewards. Tillerson said China's presence in the region is "alarming."

"Latin America does not need new imperial powers that seek only to benefit their own people," he said at the University of Texas.

But the next day, while Tillerson was meeting with Mexico's president, Trump was threatening to cut off aid to Latin American countries "if they can't stop drugs from coming in" to the United States. He specifically named Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.

"These countries are not our friends, you know," the president said.

Related: Venezuela has lost half its economy in less than five years

China's footprint is growing fast

As American influence wanes, China wants to fill the gap. Chinese banks and institutions poured $23 billion into Latin America last year, the most since 2010, according to Derek Scissors at the American Enterprise Institute, who tracks China's investments around the world.

China's policy for the region is clear: Build, trade and build some more.

From bridges to ports to railways, China is trying to improve the region's connections to its own Pacific coast, where shipping containers are bound for the People's Republic.

In the past decade, China has become the top trading partner of Brazil, Peru, Chile and Argentina. It already imports plenty of soy, corn, iron ore and other raw commodities from the region.

"What we will see in the coming years is that China becomes the top trade partner of even more countries in the region," says Margaret Myers, a China-Latin America expert at the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington research group.

"The approach that the Trump administration has used, the threatening approach ... what ends up happening is that the U.S. becomes a very useful foil for China," Myers adds.

Related: You can't get $1 out of the bank in Venezuela

China's experience in Latin America has been checkered, and in some instances a nightmare.

It tried to build a canal in Nicaragua. It was set to construct a high speed rail in Mexico. It dumped billions of dollars into Venezuela for trains and oil. All those projects failed, mostly because of local corruption, resistance or ineptitude. An attempt to build a transcontinental railway hasn't panned out.

But Chinese businesses and banks are undeterred. On top of the $23 billion that China poured into the region last year, the new, China-led Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank also lends to the region.

More broadly, Wang, China's foreign minister, told Latin American officials in late January that the region could play a "meaningful" role in China's One Belt One Road initiative, a collection of interlinking trade deals and infrastructure projects around the world.

But unlike Africa or Asia, China hasn't officially made Latin America part of its grand plan.

"China is not interested in provoking a U.S. response by including the entire Latin America and Caribbean region in its initiative," Myers says. "There are some concerns, certainly within the [Trump] administration, about China's presence in the region."
SAN DIEGO (AP) - 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 laundering Mexican drug proceeds (all times local):

2 p.m.

A plea agreement that requires Dutch lender Rabobank to pay $369 million says the bank's California subsidiary lied to regulators about efforts to prevent laundering of Mexican drug proceeds.

The subsidiary, Rabobank National Association, acknowledges it handled at least $369 million in suspicious transactions from 2009 to 2012, mainly through branches in Calexico and Tecate on California's border with Mexico.

As part of the agreement, the bank accepts that the money came from illegal activities, including drug trafficking and organized crime.

The plea agreement says three unnamed executives who have left the company lied when regulators began asking questions in 2013.

The subsidiary pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States in the cover-up.

Rabobank says settling the matter was important and that it has improved oversight.

___



SAN DIEGO (AP) - 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.

(Copyright 2018 The Associated Press.)
Health Alert (CNN): Wearable technology is changing how diseases are detected. The mobile health app "Cardiogram" and the University of California San Francisco conducted a study finding that the Apple Watch can detect diabetes with 85% accuracy.

Macworld reports they used about 14,000 people to track results. Heart rate sensors in the watch can pick up on any irregularities that point to specific conditions.

"Cardiogram" has also found that hypertension, sleep apnea, and atrial fibrillation can be detected. Results of the study were presented this week at an artificial intelligence conference in Louisiana.
Redding's finest were honored Thursday in an awards ceremony recognizing their outstanding performance.

Redding's city council chambers was packed as family and community members came out in support of those receiving awards.

Officer Joanna Bland was honored as officer of the year for her attention to detail as well as her thorough reports.

She said it's humbling to be recognized by the people she respects so much.

This is the highest recognition in my job, Bland said. This is obviously a tough, demanding job. So to be recognized by my department, my chief, my peers, it means absolutely everything. I absolutely love my job. There's nothing I would rather do than serve the people of this town.

Bland had family fly in from out of town to see her accept the award and even had family from Poland watching via Facetime.

This was Redding police chief Roger Moore's first year presenting the awards which he said was a huge honor in itself.

This job is violent and unpredictable and it's nice to be able to reward them, to reward our citizens who do heroic acts and just to recognize good hard work out there, Moore said. So I'm tremendously honored. I'm so very proud of this department.

Costodian Jesse Nelson was honored as supports staff employee of the year, and sergeant Brian Cole was named supervisor of the year.

Other awards categories included police commendation, the merit award, lifesaving award, and the citizen's award.
On January 17th, 2017 Stephen Arrington was one of 64 people pardoned by President Barack Obama on his last day in office. Part of his full pardon is his committed work traveling the world for drug education and prevention.

In the 1980's Arringtonn was convicted for smuggling millions of dollars for the Colombian cartel. In prison, his name was 'Fall Guy' for taking the fall for famed automaker John DeLorean.

Arrington has lived in Paradise with his family for the past 25 years. To date he has reached 830,000 people across the nation and five countries.

We joined Arrington at his most recent speaking engagement at Greenville Junior/Senior High School in Plumas County.
Redding, Calif. -- A Redding physician has been arrested Thursday night, according to the Shasta County District Attorney's Office.

The DA's Office filed criminal charges against Hamid Rabiee. He is a neurologist.

The criminal complaint alleges nine felony counts, including sexual exploitation of a patient, sexual battery by restraint, and false imprisonment.

All of the charges relate to Dr. Rabiee's alleged inappropriate physical conduct toward patients under his care.

The criminal complaint alleges crimes against four separate female patients over an approximate five year period.

All of the alleged victims approached investigators independently and were not aware of the other victims' allegations.

The doctor's office is located on Eureka Way.

"Several of the victims did report very similar conduct. They were there for medical exams. At some point during the exam, the doctor requested that they turn around and perform certain exercises while he pressed his genitals up against them," said Stephanie Bridgett, the Shasta County District Attorney.

The Redding Police investigated multiple complaints on the doctor's inappropriate and unwelcomed physical contact. These acts were done under the guise of legitimate medical treatment.
Not good but what's even more odd is that the strain.. .H3N2. . is in many of the vaccines this year. There is a study saying the egg-based vaccines are the reason it is not effective but let's see what else the research shows. Here's a look at the flu vaccine choices this year :

The CDC estimates releasing interim vaccine effectiveness numbers in the next couple of weeks. When asked about a recent study from Canada estimating vaccine effectiveness at 17%, Schuchat said she was not surprised by this, and that she expected their result may be in the "same range," but it will depend on the mix of strains in the U.S.

Schuchat said that while 76% of viruses being reported in the most recent data are influenza A (H3N2), there is no evidence that the virus has drifted, but that "viruses prepared for use in egg-based manufacturing make it less similar to H3N2 viruses."

So, my interest in the flu is due to her PANDAS/PANS exposure to it and the bacterial infections that then attach themselves. Here is some information on the flu and the vaccinations that CDC recommends. The live nasal vaccine has been again, dismissed by CDC, as not being effective and so it is NOT recommended . Anne Schuchat, MD, acting director of the CDC, had this to say recently about this flu season and the increasing numbers who are getting flu:

A friend recently had the flu for six days. She returned to her job, still feeling horrible, her voice raspy and weak. It turned out that she had acquired Strep Throat. That's not the first time this year, or other years that I have heard that sequence, FLU then BACTERIAL infection....but, this year seems particularly worrisome. Getting the flu, a virus, often means that your body will be a magnet to bacterial infections. In fact, many of the severe aspects of the flu, including death, often are caused by bacteria . I have a daughter with both autism and the autoimmune disorder called PANDAS/PANS , so I do a lot of reading on both the science and the trends in diseases, as they both seem to play into our present-day situation. Bacterial and viral exposures can trigger a host of symptoms in Meg and the i ncreasing numbers (1:200) of children and young adults also diagnosed. It is a challenge and often heartbreaking. For many, vaccination can also cause these symptoms.

---Inactivated influenza vaccines, quadrivalent (IIV4s), standard-dose

1- Afluria Quadrivalent - Seqirus - Prefilled syringe or multi-dose vial with 24.5 Mercury (from thimerosal, g/0.5 mL) per dose

2- Fluarix Quadrivalent - GlaxoSmithKline - Prefilled syringe

3- FluLaval Quadrivalent - ID Biomedical Corp. of Quebec (distributed by GlaxoSmithKline) - Prefilled syringe or multi-dose vial with <25 Mercury (from thimerosal, g/0.5 mL)

4- Fluzone Quadrivalent - Sanofi Pasteur -Prefilled syringe or multi-dose vial with 25 Mercury (from thimerosal, g/0.5 mL)

---Inactivated influenza vaccine, quadrivalent (ccIIV4), standard-dose, cell culture-based

5- Flucelvax Quadrivalent - Seqirus - Prefilled syringe or muli-dose vial with 25 Mercury (from thimerosal, g/0.5 mL)

---Inactivated Influenza Vaccine, trivalent (IIV3), high-dose

6- Inactivated Influenza Vaccine, trivalent (IIV3), high-dose - Sanofi Pasteur - Prefilled syringe.

---Recombinant Influenza Vaccine, quadrivalent (RIV4)

7- Flublok Quadrivalent - Protein Sciences - Prefilled syringe

---Recombinant Influenza Vaccine, trivalent (RIV3)

8- Flublok - Protein Sciences - Single dose vial

---Live Attenuated Influenza Vaccine, quadrivalent (LAIV4)*** (not recommended for use during the 201718 season)

9- FluMist Quadrivalent - MedImmune - Single-dose prefilled intranasal sprayer

So there you have it. Anyone else notice there STILL is MERCURY in too many of those vaccines? An UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCE of mercury is antibiotic resistance, thus the potential viral, then bacterial infection for many may make antibiotics NOT effective. Science also has found that early-life toxicant exposure could shift the microbial balance, potentially affecting both immune and microbiome development.

There are many different types of influenza vaccines but with so MANY RECIPES , how to know if effective prevention is happening, especially as flu seems so bad this year. It is important to see that UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES do happen, as this important one occurring from the past darling of the CDC, the nasal flu vaccine, FLUMIST, shows - Live Attenuated Influenza Vaccine Enhances Colonization of Streptococcus pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus in Mice. Some wonder if flu is not being spread by vaccination? This recent study does indeed show a connection to that possibility :

Self-reported vaccination for the current season was associated with a trend (P < 0.10) toward higher viral shedding in fine-aerosol samples; vaccination with both the current and previous years seasonal vaccines, however, was significantly associated with greater fine-aerosol shedding in unadjusted and adjusted models (P < 0.01). In adjusted models, we observed 6.3 (95% CI 1.921.5) times more aerosol shedding among cases with vaccination in the current and previous season compared with having no vaccination in those two seasons. Vaccination was not associated with coarse-aerosol or NP shedding (P > 0.10). The association of vaccination and shedding was significant for influenza A...

The association of current and prior year vaccination with increased shedding of influenza A might lead one to speculate that certain types of prior immunity promote lung inflammation, airway closure, and aerosol generation. This first observation of the phenomenon needs confirmation. If confirmed, this observation, together with recent literature suggesting reduced protection with annual vaccination, would have implications for influenza vaccination recommendations and policies.

Let's not forget what Schuchat said above: ...... 76% of viruses being reported in the most recent data are influenza A (H3N2).



I thought the article below was pertinent to this line of investigation. More and more researchers are asking hard questions about vaccines and coming to conclusions that often show a troubling effect. Are they "anti-vaccine" or are they scientists looking for answers to help ill patients? I applaud the seekers of truth, especially those who will not be silent knowing that either individual harm has happened or an UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCE upon Mankind is occurring . I'm not sure that a "universal influenza vaccine" is the answer and if there are problems with that idea, I am hopeful that researchers will not be afraid to speak up and say so. Here's the article addressing that, too:

Why flu vaccines so often fail

The most commonly used flu shots protect no more than 60% of people who receive them; some years, effectiveness plunges to as low as 10%. Given that a bad flu season can kill 50,000 people in the United States alone, "10% to 60% protection is better than nothing," says Michael Osterholm, an epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. "But it's a terribly inadequate vaccine for a serious public health threat." Now, researchers are striving to understand why it fails so oftenand how to make a markedly better one.

They're questioning what was once received wisdom: that the vaccine fails when manufacturers, working months ahead of flu season, incorrectly guess which strains will end up spreading. And they're learning instead that the vaccine may falter even when the right strains were used to make it, perhaps because of how it is produced or quirks of individual immune systems. "It's much more complicated than we thought," Osterholm says. "I know less about influenza today than I did 10 years ago."



Other evidence suggests that repeated vaccinations can blunt the immune response to some HAs. "We don't understand enough about the effects  to make any recommendations right now," says Edward Belongia, an epidemiologist at the Marshfield Clinic Research Institute in Wisconsin, who led a recent meta-analysis.....

The BC Centre's Skowronski says many influenza researchers are hesitant to discuss problems with the vaccine "because they're afraid of being tainted with the antivaccine brush."

She says that's a mistake. "This immunization program has been predicated on assumptions on top of assumptions. Unless we have these discussions, we'll never have improved vaccine options. And I don't think it's antivaccine to want your vaccine program to be the best that it can be," she adds.

For any interested, here was a very recent study on flu and preventing it. It may be a good one, especially for right now:

Study Finds Lactic Acid Bacteria Can Protect Against Influenza A Virus

ATLANTALactic acid bacteria, commonly used as probiotics to improve digestive health, can offer protection against different subtypes of influenza A virus, resulting in reduced weight loss after virus infection and lower amounts of virus replication in the lungs, according to a study led by Georgia State University.

Influenza virus can cause severe respiratory disease in humans. Although vaccines for seasonal influenza viruses are readily available, influenza virus infections cause three to five million life-threatening illnesses and 250,000 to 500,000 deaths worldwide during epidemics. Pandemic outbreaks and air transmission can rapidly cause severe disease and claim many more human lives worldwide. This occurs because current vaccines are effective only when vaccine strains and circulating influenza viruses are well matched......

,,,,,,,There are 18 different HA and 11 different NA subtype molecules identified, which indicates numerous HA and NA influenza virus combinations. As a result, its important to find ways to provide broad protection against influenza viruses, regardless of the virus strain.

Fermented vegetables and dairy products contain a variety of lactic acid bacteria, which have a number of health benefits in addition to being used as probiotics. Studies have found some lactic acid bacteria strains provide partial protection against bacterial infectious diseases, such as Streptococcus pneumoniae, as well as cold and influenza viruses.

This study investigated the antiviral protective effects of a heat-killed strain of lactic acid bacteria, Lactobacillus casei DK128 (DK128), a promising probiotic isolated from fermented vegetables, on influenza viruses.

We found that pretreating the mice with heat-killed Lactobacillus casei DK128 bacteria made them resistant to lethal primary and secondary influenza A virus infection and protected them against weight loss and mortality,

*****

Now that looks like a good recipe.
US Travel Ban Puts Assyrians in the Cross Hairs

Mukhlis Murad at his suburban Detroit home. ( Amanda Uhle/Thinkprogress) DETROIT -- At U.S. Immigration Court in Detroit's McNamara Federal Building, the waiting room is full. It's early January and most of those waiting are squeezed into winter coats, sitting in connected chairs making small talk in Spanish, Arabic, and English. Everyone had rushed to be present by 8:30 a.m. -- braving icy roads and a long security line in the lobby downstairs.

When the clerk calls him forward, Attorney Ed Bajoka explains he has three paths to pursue in seeking release of his client, Mukhlis Murad, who's been detained for nearly six months. Murad is a 59-year-old suburban grandfather with numerous health problems. His adult children and his sister are in the waiting room. When asked how it's been at home without her dad there, his 23-year-old daughter, Summer, answers swiftly and directly, "He's our best friend." Murad is one of several hundred Iraqi-born U.S. residents now facing detention and deportation. Many are married to U.S. citizens. Most speak English. At least half are Chaldean and speak Aramaic -- not necessarily Arabic. They are parents and grandparents, business owners, and taxpayers. Many are churchgoing Catholics. Late last spring, as President Donald Trump's Muslim ban was being revised and reissued, Iraq was dropped from the list of countries in a deal Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called an example of "close cooperation" between the two governments. It seems, in return, Iraq would agree to repatriate Iraqi-Americans that the United States wanted to deport.The Chaldean Catholic community of Detroit's suburbs is heavily represented among the would-be deportees. Many believe the Christian Iraqis will be certain targets for torture, and even death, if they return. Chaldeans are an ethnic and religious minority with indigenous roots in Northern Iraq; there are about 640,000 worldwide. Starting 40 years ago, thousands of Iraqi-born Christians fled religious persecution under Saddam Hussein, and about 120,000 Chaldeans have made homes in Southeast Michigan. In many cases, they settled into jobs operating corner stores as family businesses -- as many of them had in Iraq because they were allowed to buy and sell alcohol, unlike Muslims. The Chaldean Chamber of Commerce says that today nine out of 10 food stores in the city of Detroit are owned by Chaldeans. In Detroit, late night liquor and convenience stores are called party stores, and for decades Chaldeans have been a stalwart part of the local culture. Locals visit their usual party store a few times a week for beer or toiletries and often for a friendly conversation with the store's Chaldean owner. As newcomers, Chaldeans took jobs others wouldn't, working late hours in corner stores during perhaps the most dangerous time in Detroit's history -- the 1980s and '90s. In 1997, Murad had jobs at two party stores, one during the day and one at night, at Teddy's Medicine Chest. Around 9 p.m. one night in October 1997, five intruders entered that store in a robbery attempt. Murad was shot five times. The bullet that went into his jaw remains there, and his mental and emotional health hasn't been the same since. At his home in the Detroit suburb of Farmington Hills, Murad, who can't work much, was cared for by his adult children. His daughter cooked. Every morning, his son shaved him because the left side of his face has been numb since the gunshot wound there 20 years ago. He used a cane to get around and helped look after his twin baby grandsons. Murad came to the United States on a visitor's visa in 1977, when he was 19. He got married, which adjusted his status to lawful permanent resident. Since his divorce 13 years ago, he's been under an order of supervision and has complied, visiting the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office whenever requested, about once per year. When he reported in July, he was interrogated about his immigration status and detained on the spot. "Warehousing human beings" In December at Battle Creek's Calhoun County Jail, 115 miles west of his home in Farmington Hills, Murad was sitting in a wheelchair behind Plexiglass. He said canes aren't allowed there, nor is Ativan, one of his prescriptions. Detention is hard for Murad, and tears were rolling down his unshaven cheeks while he spoke. The jail is too far for his son to visit regularly. When Murad's daughter Summer visits, he often tells the guards to turn her away. It is too upsetting for Murad when Summer leaves, which he avoids by not seeing her at all. In 1983, Murad passed drugs to someone, for which he served jail time the same year. He said the practice of passing drugs in Detroit party stores in the 1980s was commonplace, and he had no understanding of the law. Making the sign of the cross over his head and heart, he said, "I swear to Jesus I did not know this about the USA." In U.S. District court in late December, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan argued before Judge Mark Goldsmith that detentions like Murad's are unlawful. They conceded that some of the detainees have a criminal past, for which they've made amends appropriately, but say that indefinite detention and possible removal to Iraq is unconstitutional. On January 2, Goldsmith issued an order declaring, "Our legal tradition rejects warehousing human beings while their legal rights are being determined," and referenced, "... our nation's historic commitment to individual human dignity -- a core value that the Constitution protects by preserving liberty through the due process of law." Murad's bond hearing on January 9 was the first since this order, with dozens more taking place over the next few weeks. About 1,400 people are seemingly eligible for deportation since the changes to the Muslim ban, but most of those have not been detained -- yet. Their attorneys guard their anonymity fiercely. Not all Iraqis with criminal backgrounds have been detained, while some who have been detained have no criminal background. A particular betrayal Jony Jarjiss, 58, is one of those people. He has been at Northeast Ohio Correctional Center in Youngstown, Ohio since July 11. Like Murad, he was scheduled for an ICE check-in and went voluntarily. He was detained for overstaying his visa and hasn't been back to his home in Saginaw since. The drive from Saginaw is five hours and $12 in tolls each way. His adult children and grandchildren, all four years old or younger, aren't able to visit. He hasn't even met his youngest grandchild, born six months ago, after he was sent away. After his parents were killed in a 1991 Tikrit bombing, Jarjiss' Chaldean family members arranged his marriage to an Iraqi woman living in the United States. They met once -- in Jordan -- and talked on the phone frequently. In 1993, he entered the United States on a so-called fianc
Norwegian airport operator Avinor reported a huge increase in air cargo through Oslo Airport in 2017. Volumes rose by 35% compared with the previous 12 months, to 185,000 tonnes.

Of the total air cargo leaving Oslo, 58% was transported on freighter flights. Avinor noted that cargo flying on passenger services to Asia, Africa and the US increased by 52% year on year. Inbound intercontinental cargo rose by a whopping110%, Langaas added.

Avinor director of air cargo Martin Langaas said: The biggest volumes in air cargo at Oslo Airport are in fresh Norwegian seafood, which is exported to global markets.

Last year, Norway generated just under 230,000 tonnes of seafood as air cargo, of which 39% flew directly out of Norway from Oslo Airport.

Langaas said: The figures for 2017 and the previous year show that there is plenty of appetite in the industry for capacity on direct flights, and that more Norwegian seafood is being flown directly out of Norway.

That is important for the Norwegian seafood industry and for value creation throughout Norway.

In September last year, DHL began operating twice-weekly Boeing 747-400 flights from Oslo to Seoul and Shanghai in order to satisfy demand for Norwegian seafood in those markets.

Oslo also gained links with Tel Aviv (CAL), Istanbul (Turkish Cargo) and Lakselv (another DHL service, which brings seafood down from northern Norway for onward transport on the companys Seoul and Shanghai flights).

Oslo Airport is benefiting from the growing e-commerce market, too. Imports of these shipments with carriers such as TNT, FedEx, DHL and UPC rose by 25% in 2017, Avinor said.

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When Fitzgerald Washington became Alabama's labor secretary in 2014, the state's unemployment rate stood at 6.9 percent.

Speaking to an audience in Gadsden today, he reminded it that in December, Alabama hit a historic low of 3.5 percent, with the lowest number of unemployment people in more than four decades.

All counties in Alabama had experienced an unemployment rate drop for four consecutive months in 2017, and every county had a rate in the single digits, even counties with historically high rates.

"Never in Alabama have we had more people working," he told the crowd. After a moment, he asked, "You gonna clap?"

It worked. These are good times for the man charged with putting Alabamians on the path to employment. And most of his time on the job, he said, has been spent making sure that people in Alabama know about job opportunities already available.

A resident of Tuscaloosa, Washington worked for Buffalo Rock for 15 years, and served as a past chairman of the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama, where he helped create the Minority Business Council. With a background in marketing, he said, he feels a consistent schedule of heavily promoted job fairs organized through the state's 49 career centers is one way the jobless numbers have gone down.

Another reason is the efforts of the state's Department of Commerce, he said, which is "on a tear right now." He cited the recent announcements of Toyota-Mazda, Autocar and expansions at Mercedes-Benz in Tuscaloosa.

With that success, though, Washington said there are still challenges. Firms are still finding it hard to fill certain job slots, such as truck drivers, welders, registered nurses and retail managers.

And the state's employment website, joblink.alabama.gov, has about 27,000 active jobs available, with about 40 percent posted within the last four weeks. What's more, about 500,000 people around the state are classified as "underemployed" - meaning their training gives them the ability to do more.

Add to that the fact that Alabama's workforce participation rate is around 56 percent, meaning there are people out there who can work.

"There are still people out there who need the opportunity, and some who are training up to move into the jobs that are coming," he said.

Washington said his department is doing other things to get people working. For example, Birmingham is expected to see a job fair for ex-felons sometime in May, with some training for employers on how to interact with those seeking work who have served time.

"I met with Mayor (Randall) Woodfin this week and it's something we're still planning," he said. "It's modeled on our disabilities job fair that we've had success with."

The Labor Department is also looking at ways to tackle the problem of soft skills. Employers consistently show that today's job seekers have trouble mastering consistent attendance, following directions, communications, critical thinking and time management.

"Talking to some employers, they say you can hire someone, they get a couple of paychecks, and then they don't come back," he said. "Or they come back a few weeks later like it never happened."

There are also technical skill gaps in areas such as welding, engineering, mathematics and electrical employment.

Still, Washington said, the unemployment rate and other issues are good problems to have. The Labor Department also handles other tasks around the state, such as inspecting Alabama's 12,500 elevators each year.

Not long after he became the secretary, Washington said a friend called him from inside an elevator, saying he saw his name on the inspection certificate.

Washington said his answer was simple. "Did the elevator work?"
The Catalyst is honoring North Alabama's entrepreneurs, and you can vote for the People's Choice Award winner.

The award will be given to the local entrepreneur who receives the most votes on AL.com through Feb. 16. That person will be honored during the Entrepreneur Awards Luncheon March 1 at 11 a.m. at Campus 805 - Stone Event Center.

"The Catalyst is pleased to bring back the Entrepreneur Awards for the third year as part of Innovate Huntsville Week," Katie Williams, Women's Business Center Project Manager for the Catalyst. "The event focuses on celebrating the accomplishments of the talented entrepreneurs we have right here in our community."

The Catalyst's Third Annual Entrepreneur Awards will also have five different categories: Entrepreneur of the Year, Intrapreneur of the Year, Female Entrepreneur of the Year, Creative Entrepreneur of the Year and Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year.

The event is presented by This Is Alabama.

For more information on the event or to order tickets, click here.

Here are the nominees. Vote for your favorite People's Choice Award nominee below. Only one vote per device per day will be counted.
Jo Ann Flirt, a passionate advocate for Historic Blakeley State Park, where she recently retired as director, died Friday, Feb. 2, at age 85. A native of Mobile, she was a longtime resident of both Mobile and Baldwin counties.

After her official retirement on Nov. 1, she had stayed on as a volunteer to complete the construction and furnishing of two new log cabins at the park -- her final project. In December, just days before the cabins were unveiled at an open house, she slipped on some ice and broke her ankle in two places, said her cousin, Fran Terry. Flirt drove herself to the hospital, in her stick-shift car.

She was still recuperating from that injury when she had the stroke that led to her death. "We thought she would definitely outlive all of us," said Terry. "She was a workaholic. She didn't slow down."

Flirt earned bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Alabama, where she taught journalism and public relations. She started two businesses in Mobile: Public Relations Counsel Inc., an advertising and public relations firm; and the Mobile Record, a daily legal publication with real estate and other civil business news.

She was a season ticket holder to the Mobile Symphony Orchestra and served on the boards of the History Museum of Mobile, Joe Jefferson Playhouse and Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce. She was a founding member and former president of the Press Club of Mobile and a founding member of the Mississippi-Alabama chapter of the Public Relations Society of Alabama.

Along with her friends, the late Dr. Hollis and Teko Wiseman, Flirt founded a group called Alabamians Behind Local Education. ABLE's goal was to peacefully integrate Mobile's school system, according to the Wisemans' daughter, Holly Wiseman. "While ABLE was at first supported by Mobile's business community, once George Wallace attacked it on television, supporters fell away," said Wiseman. "Jo Ann and my parents were among the few remaining stalwarts. They worked tirelessly in the face of opprobrium and death threats."

Flirt served as the interim director of Blakeley from 1977 until 2003, when she was named director. In her application for that position, Flirt said that her vision for the state park was "for it to receive the national, state and local recognition it deserves as both an historic site spanning several periods of history and as a nature park and gateway to the Tensaw River Delta."

She wanted the park to be "a very special place which is beautiful, historic, user-friendly, financially stable but never commercialized," she wrote in her application.

Mike Bunn, the current director of Blakeley, said that he plans to build on her vision. "Everything we do going forward is made possible thanks to Jo Ann and those who worked with her," he said.

Flirt "kept this place going," Bunn said, "which was no small feat considering the ups and downs in funding, hurricanes and staffing. To keep it open and growing was a pretty remarkable accomplishment."

Longtime friend Louise Bush, the secretary of the park's authority board and president of the Historic Blakeley Foundation Board, said that Flirt was "a very dear and beloved friend" who introduced her to Blakeley. Together, they spent four years defending a lawsuit that the park lost in court. Jo Ann "had it all straightened out within a year after the case ended," Bush wrote in an email. "Most people would have given up, but Jo Ann would not accept defeat, especially in a situation of questionable merit."

Likewise, Hank Caddell started working with Flirt in the 1990s, when she created a brochure for the Alabama Coastal Heritage Trust. "She almost single-handedly saved the park when she led the successful request to Forever Wild for the funds that allowed them to pay off and burn a $700,000 mortgage," he wrote in an email. "This fabulous and historic treasure would not have existed in its form today without Jo Ann."

Sylvia Hart, a journalist who retired from the Mobile Press-Register, said she can't remember a time when she didn't know Flirt, but they became close friends when they both belonged to a local writing group years ago. The two met for lunch and conversation weekly, Hart said.

"She called herself a nurturer," Hart wrote in an email. "Jo Ann carried the spirit of a much younger woman, so I thought she might live to be 100."

One of Patricia Barker's favorite memories of Flirt is from their days as college students at the University of Alabama, where they both worked in the cafeteria. One day, while working on the nearly abandoned campus during the Thanksgiving holidays, they experienced the first snow either of them had ever seen. After work, they hiked to the Black Warrior River so they could see as much snow as possible.

"I had hoped that JoAnn would live 'forever,' and it bothers me that I will never be able to pick up the phone and talk to her," Barker wrote in an email. "She was such an unusual person: brilliant, determined, a superb conversationalist and very brave. ... Also, I have to mention that she enjoyed having fun, and she found it everywhere. I'm so lucky to have had the chance to be friends with her."

Flirt is survived by two brothers, Gerald Wright of Somerset, Texas, and James Sellars of Robertsdale; four nieces, Anita Brooks of Lambert, Miss., Elizabeth Quinn of Carrollton, Texas, Catherine Norwood of Humble, Texas, and Alicia Smith of Auburn, Ala.; two nephews, Robert Wright of Sequin, Texas, and James Sellars Jr. of Robertsdale; and many beloved cousins and friends.

Visitation will be Friday, March 2, at 9 a.m., at Swift Presbyterian Church, 23208 Swift Church Road in Foley. Memorial services will take place at 10 a.m., followed by a reception.
The Birmingham Police Department's South Precinct is launching an initiative this weekend aimed at saving lives and sparing area families more heartache.

Over the next few weekends, the officers will offer free gun locks to anyone in the four Birmingham public housing communities served by the city's South Precinct: Tom Brown Village, Morton-Simson Homes, Southtown and Loveman Village.

"We don't want to see any more tragedies like we saw in 2017,'' said South Precinct Capt. Ron Sellers.

In November 2017, Nina Smith, an Oliver Elementary School second-grader, was at her father's Gate City home with her older brothers and sisters when her 14-year-old sibling was handling the gun and Nina was shot. The bullet went through Nina's shoulder and exited her side, but not before causing multiple internal injuries.

After Nina was injured, someone put her in a vehicle and tried to rush her to the hospital but crashed at the intersection of Montclair Road and Gaywood Circle. Nina's gall bladder had to be removed and her lungs were punctured but she survived.

Antonio Foster, 16, wasn't as fortunate. Antonio's shooting happened in August 2-17 inside an apartment in the Tom Brown Village housing authority. Police received a call from the 4100 block of Messer Airport Highway about the teen victim around 10:39 p.m. that night. Initially police said it appeared the teen accidentally shot himself, but coroner's officials said he and a family member were playing with a gun they didn't realize was loaded and it went off while in the hands of the family member.

Antonio was taken to Children's of Alabama where he later died. Though the Jefferson County Coroner's Office ruled the shooting a homicide because Antonio died at the hands of someone else, the shooting was deemed accidental and no charges were filed.

Studies show the majority of kids who live in homes where guns are present know those guns are there and where they are kept. "All too many times, somebody leaves home for the day and somebody finds a gun and gets hurt," Sellers said. "If you don't have a gun safe, the locks are the next best thing."

Sellers said the free gun locks will be given out with no questions asked. "We're not trying to get anyone in trouble,'' he said. "We're trying to encourage safety."

Officers will be on site to hand out the locks and provide instructions on their use. The locks will be distributed between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. at the housing communities' recreation centers. Here is the giveaway schedule:

Tom Brown Village - Saturday, Feb. 10, 2018

Morton-Simpson Homes (Kingston) - Saturday, Feb. 17, 2018

Southtown & Loveman Village - Saturday, Feb. 24, 2018

Anyone with questions is asked to call Sgt. Stanton at 205-254-2793.
A Hoover teen was arrested Thursday afternoon, accused in a weekend assault that left two other teens injured with knife wounds.

Preston Barker Moore, 16, was taken into custody on two felony counts of first-degree assault. The Spain Park High School student will be held in the Shelby County Jail with bonds totaling $60,000.

Hoover police were notified just after 8 p.m. Saturday that two assault victims had arrived at Grandview Medical Center, said Lt. Keith Czeskleba. Both of the juvenile males told officers they had been stabbed while at a location in the 1000 block of Inverness Cove Way.

One of the victims had a severe laceration to his hand, and the other received a cut on his elbow as well as a stab wound to the thigh, Czeskleba said. The victim with the hand injury was taken to Children's of Alabama for further treatment. The other victim was treated and released from Grandview.

Both of the teens, Czeskleba said, told officers they were attacked while involved in a drug transaction. Moore, they said, got into a vehicle they were in and began attacking them with a knife.

They tried to get away, and Moore chased after them. The victims were able to make it to their car and flee the scene.

Hoover's Special Victims Unit presented the evidence to the Shelby County District Attorney's Office, which charged Moore as an adult.

"This is the second case we've worked recently that involved teens, marijuana and violence. Buying and selling drugs has always been an extremely risky activity,'' said Hoover police Capt. Gregg Rector. "There are so many things that can go wrong and it's not uncommon for it to involve violence."

"We're very fortunate that the outcome in this case was not worse,'' he said. "We really hope that all three of these young men find more productive ways to spend their free time."

Just last month, two teens were charged in the December shooting death of a Hoover 18-year-old killed at his apartment complex. Tyric Savion Toodle, 18, was killed by a gunshot wound to the head on Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2017. In announcing the murder charges, Hoover police said Toodle was fatally shot while he and the two suspects were intending to rob a drug dealer.

Isaiah Jovan Flowers, 18, of Birmingham, is charged with murder. He graduated from Vestavia Hills High School attended the University of South Alabama. A 15-year-old high school student also was charged in the case but his name has not been released because of his age.

Anyone with information about the weekend stabbings is asked to call Detective Courtney Pittman at 205-444-7614.
The once-prominent Century Plaza in Birmingham has been virtually abandoned for the last nine years.

Now commercial real estate developer Eddie Lumpkin hopes the former shopping mall, located at the corner of Crestwood and Oporto-Madrid Boulevards, can be revitalized.

"We think getting the lights back on and getting the landscape replaced will create activity especially this spring, he said.

Lumpkin, president of Lumpkin Development, bought Century Plaza in December for $3 million. His other company, Metro Mini-Storage, will open a location in the former Sears building. The rest of the shopping mall is available for rent at a low cost, he said.

The 750,000 square feet Century Plaza shuttered in 2009. The enclosed mall first opened in 1975.

Lumpkin recently took AL.com on a tour of the mall, which is in good condition for being empty for nearly a decade.

Lumpkin said he's "incredibly optimistic" about the prospects for the enclosed mall. He said he is meeting next week with Birmingham city officials. He's also already shown the building to potential tenants including a bedding store and antique mall. A car dealer is interested in an outparcel, he said.

The former big box retailer space in the mall would be ideal for a call center, large office, assembly facility or business incubator, he said. He hopes the remaining space could be leased to smaller users.

The 65-acre property was previously owned by Howard Hughes Corp. Lumpkin said he also had to negotiate with Sears to buy out the retailers lease.
In the weeks before he died, 32-year-old Daniel Reid stopped taking his medication.

His mother, Jackie Hambrick, isn't quite sure when, but she thinks it happened two or three weeks before he was fatally shot by Jefferson County sheriff's deputies. There were five drugs, and Hambrick can still reel off the names: Risperdal, Vistaril and Prozac for delusions and moods. Trazodone for sleeping.

"And Topamax that was supposed to help with the weight," Hambrick said. "You could just watch him gain, gain, gain and it was so sad. And I know that that worried him. When he was killed he was over 300 pounds, when he was normally like 220."

Her son complained about other side effects too.

"He said, 'Mom, it makes me feel stupid,'" Hambrick said.

In the days before his death, Reid's delusions returned with force. He began talking about witches and murder. Hambrick left home to stay with her daughter, and together they went to probate court to request involuntary treatment for her ailing son, a process that can take weeks. A day later, Reid was killed.

A life cut short

Reid struggled with depression and anxiety since adolescence, Hambrick said, but his delusions didn't emerge until his early 30s. Hambrick holds on to the good memories and still gives thanks for the years before his first hospitalization.

When his delusions first struck in early 2017, Hambrick didn't know what to do. She had noticed that he'd become more isolated, but didn't register the depth of the problem until he called her into the living room and began unspooling wild stories about murder and conspiracy.

"May the fifth, they're coming after me, mom," he said. "And you've got to take off that day. You've got to be here at the house that day because they're coming to get me."

He warned his two older sisters as well, and one of them talked him into attending a family meeting at UAB, Hambrick said. Once they arrived, his sisters walked him to the emergency room and sought admission for psychiatric evaluation. They remained by his side for 14 hours while he waited, writhing with anxiety.

"And he was very calm," Hambrick said. "I mean, we loved him. We would have done anything to help him."

Reid remained in the hospital for two weeks, and emerged with a diagnosis of delusional disorder - a condition that filled his mind with terrifying thoughts and proved difficult to treat. He was stable and calm for months until he decided to go off the drugs.

During the lull between his hospitalization and his death, he returned to some of the hobbies that brought him joy, including carpentry. One day, a couple months before he died, he hung a simple blue cross on the porch - right above the spot where he would be confronted and tased.

"I think it was so prophetic. You know?" Hambrick said. "So prophetic that he did that and all this happened right here."

Off kilter and in trouble

Law enforcement officers often interact with mentally ill people when they need help. If Reid had lived long enough for a bed to open at a local psychiatric facility, a deputy probably would have picked him up and taken him there.

But in Alabama, agencies just recently adopted special training to help officers respond to calls involving mentally ill suspects. In the past two years, more law enforcement departments have begun signing up for crisis intervention training that helps officers understand mental illness and reduce conflict in high-stress situations, said Jimmy Walsh, past president of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).

Despite the uptick in training, the rate of officer-involved shootings of people with mental illness is much higher than the rate for people without mental illness. According to a database maintained by the Washington Post, five out of 25 officer-involved shootings in Alabama last year killed a person with mental illness - including Reid.

Jefferson County sheriff's deputies receive twice the required amount of training, according to Chief Deputy Randy Christian.

"[Alabama] requires four hours of mental health training for all law enforcement officers," Christian wrote in an email. "Our personnel are trained beyond that. They receive eight hours of training that includes dealing with mental health issues along with autism issues."

A welfare check turns deadly

Hambrick was at work in Homewood when she received a call from the woman who lived in a small house on her property in Clay. Reid had pulled up some plants outside her house and was yanking on cables. The tenant had called her brother for protection, and he and Reid began shouting at each other.

Unsure what to do, Hambrick called the sheriff's department.

"I called and explained the whole thing about not taking medicine, very mentally ill," Hambrick said.

The man on the other end of the phone suggested sending deputies out to do a welfare check on Reid and the neighbor.

"I said, 'Well, that sounds like maybe it'll calm things down,' and that's when they showed up," Hambrick said.

After her son's death, Hambrick thought a lot about that conversation.

"I wished I had never called the police," she said. "I've lost my son, and what a horrible death."

No place to take them

Officials have closed almost all the state-run psychiatric facilities, and patients often live and receive treatment in the community, making it more likely they will cross paths with law enforcement.

"When everything started downsizing with the mental health system, we have all these people in the community and there never was any training for officers on how to deal with people in crisis," said Linda Wright.

Wright runs training programs for police officers at Auburn University at Montgomery. Like Walsh, she has noticed an increase in attendance for mental illness programs. That program runs three-and-a-half days, and she said it may not be necessary for every officer - just those interested in working more closely with mentally ill people. Even with increased training, officers may struggle to find psychiatric resources, which are in short supply in Alabama.

"We can train officers all day and night but if there's no place to take them when they are in crisis, it's not going to work very well," Wright said.

Jimmy Walsh said it used to be difficult to fill training programs organized for police by NAMI, but that changed in 2017.

"We have way more requests for seats than we can put forward," he said.

The final moments

Two deputies arrived, and the neighbor and her brother went back into the house. Reid hit himself in the head and told deputies he had been attacked during the dispute, according to a letter from the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office that summarized investigation findings. Knowing he suffered from mental illness, deputies decided to make an arrest for false reporting and take him to jail for treatment, the letter said.

Hambrick warned them he wouldn't go willingly. When asked if there was a gun in the house, she said yes.

"And we did have a gun," Hambrick said. "I didn't even know where it was. I'd never seen Daniel have it in his hand. I'd never seen Daniel use it, shoot it. It was just ... I knew we had one."

The deputies received the information about Reid's mental illness and the gun in the house. He was standing on the porch when they tried to arrest him. He turned to enter the house and both deputies fired their tasers. Reid fell inside the house and began pulling the electrodes out of his body, according to the DA letter.

Reid grabbed a taser from one of the deputies and continued to fight and kick. The other deputy fired her weapon three times, and the last bullet tore through Reid's lungs and major blood vessels, killing him just inside the entrance of the home, according to an autopsy report.

The deputies' tasers and guns were collected from the scene, but no gun was ever collected from Reid's home, according to the letter. Hambrick said investigators never found the firearm she thought was stashed in the house.

Officers from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency investigated the shooting. Interim Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr determined that officers acted in self defense and did not file charges, according to a letter dated Nov. 7, 2017.

A house full of blood and memories

Hambrick spent the first few nights after the shooting with her daughter, but eventually she returned home. Her son's blood still stained the front door and the floor of the living room.

Since then, she has spent a lot of time wondering if things could have ended differently if deputies hadn't tried to arrest her son, but instead waited for Reid to calm down.

"The thing about all of this is that everybody knew what they were walking in to," Hambrick said. "It was not like we don't know what we're facing."

That's one of the strategies officers learn in Crisis Intervention Training, Walsh said. As long as no one is in immediate danger, officers should talk to suspects, not confront them, he said.

"The message is calm down, keep space and buy time," he said.

Hambrick said the shooting happened within 10 minutes after deputies first spoke to Reid and the neighbors. Wright said training can help officers avoid danger and can also protect people with mental illness.

"These kinds of incidents take time," Wright said. "It's not just you go up and slap handcuffs on them and end it."

Speaking out

Hambrick has begun speaking out about her experience. She recently told her story at a statewide mental health summit in Montgomery. She spent months replaying that day in her mind, and wondering how it could have gone differently. Hambrick hopes that by speaking out she can use her son's death to push for changes.

"He might as well have been in Iraq, the way he was killed," Hambrick said.

Her son wasn't trying to hurt anybody, she said. Reid was just sick.

"He was trying to get inside," she said. "This was his safe place. His home, his room was his safe place."

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s Sheriff Adm 18020115380 by Amy Yurkanin on Scribd
An Alabama man was charged with domestic violence last week after he allegedly beat his roommate with an electrical cord after discovering the victim did not properly seal a box of Cap'n Crunch cereal, according to The Smoking Gun.

Duane Barry Smith, 52, was jailed on domestic violence charges Friday, police told The Smoking Gun.

Smith was especially upset about the stale cereal because he is missing teeth and has trouble eating stale cereal, police said. Smith reportedly told his roommate to take out his dentures so he could see how difficult it is to eat the stale cereal, police said.

When the victim refused, police said Smith began beating him with an electrical cord.

The victim and suspect shared a home in Moundville.

The Smoking Gun reported officials at the Hale County Jail declined to say if Smith was in custody or had bonded out of jail.
Sneaking a cellphone under a woman's skirt or otherwise secretly taking photos or videos of someone's intimate areas would become a crime under a bill passed by the Alabama Senate today.

The bill would define the crime as voyeurism, and it could be charged as a felony or a misdemeanor.

Sen. Clyde Chambliss, R-Prattville, said two cases in his district were dismissed because there was not a law tailored for what's sometimes called "upskirting" and similar acts. He said the women who were victims were shopping in large retail stores when the images were recorded on cellphones.

"The perpetrator is arrested and they go to court and it's thrown out of court and it just really leaves the victims empty," Chambliss said. "So this is the first step in getting justice for folks who have been victimized."

Chambliss said he's heard from six victims of the practice, including some who reached out to him after publicity about the bill. One was a teacher who left her job because of the embarrassment after the photo was disseminated.

"It's a very emotional issue for them," Chambliss said. "They feel defiled, invaded."

A person would commit voyeurism if they took photos or video of another person's private parts through, under or around clothing without that person's knowledge and consent in a place where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy.

First-degree voyeurism would be a felony and would apply in cases in which the purpose is shown to be sexual gratification. If the defendant is 16 or younger, it would be a misdemeanor.

"The goal is just to prevent this type thing from happening," Chambliss said.

He said the bill is an example of updating the law to accommodate technology.

"Twenty years ago, 10 years ago, everybody didn't have a video camera in their hand," Chambliss said.

Not every act of taking a revealing photo would be covered. Chambliss noted the law would only apply where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy, either in a public or private place.

"If you're just walking down the street in your bikini, this law would not apply to you," Chambliss said.

The bill goes to the House.
U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson on Wednesday ordered the Alabama Department of Corrections to take new steps to keep inmates with serious mental illness from long stretches in solitary confinement.

The order follows Thompson's ruling last year that mental health care for Alabama state prisoners was "horrendously inadequate" and is part of that ongoing case.

One of the judge's findings in that 302-page opinion in June 2017 was that DOC put mentally ill inmates in solitary confinement, also called segregation, for long periods even though it is widely known that the isolation is harmful to mental health. Thompson also found that mentally ill inmates received inadequate treatment and monitoring in segregation to prevent suicides and other risks.

Last year's ruling came in a lawsuit filed on behalf of inmates by the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program. Since the ruling, the parties have mediated and argued the merits of the state's proposed solutions in hearings and court documents.

Thompson held a hearing on Wednesday and received evidence that DOC has held about 20 inmates with serious mental illness in segregation for periods of more than 30 days during the last year.

Thompson directed DOC officials to confirm by Friday at 5 p.m. that they have removed those inmates from segregation or to explain why they have not. The inmates were identified on a list presented at Wednesday's hearing.

Thompson wrote that the list was incomplete and based on a limited sample.

"However, given the urgency of this issue, the court opts to act now upon this initial sample," Thompson wrote.

The SPLC issued a press release today saying that DOC had at least 152 prisoners with serious mental illnesses in solitary confinement on two randomly chosen days in December 2017 and January 2018.

SPLC attorney Maria Morris said that shows that DOC has not changed its practices.

"For over a year, Alabama's Department of Corrections has ignored the urgent need to protect people with serious mental illness from placement in solitary confinement," Morris said. "We know segregation can be deadly, especially to those already struggling."

DOC spokesman Bob Horton said the department presented a proposal to the court to remove certain categories of mentally ill inmates from segregation if it does not threaten safety and security. That will be done pending the court's approval, Horton said.

Some of the inmates on the list in Thompson's order had already been removed from segregation, Horton said.

"The ADOC maintains that, in certain circumstances, it is necessary to house mentally ill inmates in a restrictive housing setting, particularly when an inmate threatens the safety or security of other inmates and correctional staff," Horton said in an email.
Prichard Police are investigating a shooting at a gas station in Prichard Thursday night, according to FOX 10 News.

The shooting happened off St. Stephens Road near Leeds Avenue, police told FOX.

Prichard Police Sgt. Robert Martin said someone was shot at the Energize store on Saint Stephens Road.The condition of the victim is currently unknown.

The gas station is reportedly shut down while investigators are on the scene.
Update:

The House moved swiftly early Friday to reopen the federal government and pass a $400 billion budget deal, avoiding the second shutdown in less than a month. You can read more here.

Original story:

Officials at Redstone Arsenal said all gates will operate as normal on Friday, even if Congress can't reach a spending deal to avoid another shutdown.

It's the second time in less than a month that Redstone employees are faced with a shutdown and possible downtime as lawmakers hammer out a spending deal. On Jan. 22, employees were told to report to work to receive shutdown information before being sent home for half a day until a spending deal was reached.

One of the arsenal's largest commands, Army Materiel Command, issued a message to its employees saying that while a government shutdown it not necessarily imminent, "prudent management requires planning for the possibility of a shutdown."

"A lapse in appropriations is disruptive to our operations and has a tremendous impact on our people. AMC employees should check with their supervisors regarding their duty status, and follow the guidance of their chain of command, in the case of a shutdown," AMC said in a statement.

During the 2013 government shutdown, some 12,000 Redstone employees were sent home, some for as long as 16 days. Some contractors were also sent home and the Commissary closed.

If a shutdown occurs, uniformed military personnel and people in some exempted positions will remain on the job but won't be paid until the government reopens. Non-exempt personnel aren't guaranteed pay though Congress has traditionally awarded back wages.
Democrat Doug Jones was the underdog candidate from the underdog political party in the 2017 U.S. Senate special election who pulled the upset in defeating Republican Roy Moore.

At least, that was the perception.

The reality, largely unknown at the time, was that Jones was winning all along - at least when it came to fundraising.

No political candidate in state history is believed to have done what Jones did in his eight-month campaign. Jones, the former U.S. attorney, raised more than $22 million.

That's more money than any Alabama candidate is believed to have ever raised.

"There were no toys we could not afford," Wade Perry, Jones' campaign manager, told AL.com this week.

The final campaign finance numbers recently became available on the Federal Election Commission website, revealing Jones as a fundraising juggernaut who simply overwhelmed his competition when it came to money.

The result, of course, was a narrow victory over Moore in the Dec. 12 general election in the race to fill the seat vacated by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

How much money is $22 million?

Not only is it unprecedented but it was about twice as much as Moore and Luther Strange - who held the Senate seat until the special election and lost to Moore in the GOP runoff - combined to raise.

"My jaw drops, my knees buckle," said Jess Brown, retired political scientist from Athens State University and a longtime state political observer.

Altogether, it is believed to make the Senate race the most expensive political race in state history in the context of money raised - and spent - by the candidates with well more than $32 million raised and spent.

According to FEC reports filed by the candidates, Jones raised $21.9 million in the reporting period between the start of his campaign on May 8, 2017 and Jan. 1, 2018.

Moore raised $6.3 million and Strange raised $5 million.

"For an Alabama race in a special election for an underdog candidate in the decidedly weaker of the two political parties, that's a lot of money," Brown said of Jones.

Alabama, of course, has seen some prolific political fundraisers. Bob Riley raised more than $13 million in his successful 2002 campaign for governor. Riley defeated Gov. Don Siegelman, who raised almost $8 million himself.

Former Gov. Robert Bentley raised about $8 million when he won office in 2010.

U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby reported raising about $4.2 million in winning re-election in 2016 against an underfunded opponent, $6 million in 2010 and $8 million in 2004. Shelby reported at the end of 2017 having $9.9 million in cash on hand in his campaign war chest.

Sessions ran unopposed in 2014 and raised about $5 million in defeating state Sen. Vivian Davis Figures in 2008.

Perry said he believed Jones' campaign received contributions from people in all 50 states.

"Early on, we started getting once a week, we would get an envelope, I believe the woman was from New Mexico, for like $4.35," he said. "But every time, it was addressed to 'Doug Jones for Jeff Sessions' Senate seat.' I never talked to the lady but, literally, it looked like she took whatever she had left over at the end of the week and sent it to us. Sometimes it was quarters and pennies."

Indeed, of the $22 million Jones raised, more than half came in small contributions. According to the FEC reports, more than $13 million was classified as "unitemized." Contributions of less than $200 for an election cycle do not have to be itemized - which means that more than half of Jones' support came in those small contributions.

"It still amazes me," Perry said of the fundraising success. "But what's really traditional fundraising is a candidate on the phone begging folks for $2,700 (the maximum allowed for an individual) or a $1,000 or begging PACs for $5,000.

"This was different in the way it was raised. This was primarily online fundraising from around the country. It was individuals donating $10 and $20 at a time all over the country."

The circumstances of the race, of course, helped create that unique dynamic.

First, it was a special election. And as a race out of the regular election cycle, it was the most high-profile race in the country at that time.

Second, there was Jones' opponent. Just as Moore's supporters stood firm in their backing, opponents could be just as firm. Then there were the sexual misconduct allegations made against Moore about a month before the election, which Moore has repeatedly denied.

"The upside for Jones and raising money, it was a special election," Brown said. "A lot of money, or some money, could be poured in from out of state to help him that if you were in a regular election cycle with other senate contests, that money would have gone somewhere else.

"The Alabama special election for Senate gained national attention. There were probably a lot of people, like in the fall of 2016, that ultimately gave money to Donald Trump to defeat Hillary Clinton. I imagine there was money sent to Doug Jones simply because he was running against Judge Roy Moore."

The money at Jones' disposal made running his campaign almost like a dream for Perry.

"Everything you've always wanted to do in a campaign, we were able to do," he said.

What does that look like?

"It allowed us to do a historic job of getting the vote out on election day," Perry said. "And, of course, it wasn't just election day. It was the weeks and months leading up to election date to have field staffers and folks to lead the volunteers. We knocked on 350,000 doors in the final six weeks of the campaign. We had money to have regional offices around the state. We didn't have to worry about our paychecks.

"But I think on election day, in addition to the volunteers -- we had something like 7,500 volunteers around the state making phone calls and knocking on doors. But we also had darn near 800 paid staffers out going to voters we had identified as Doug Jones voters, knocking on their door, asking if they had voted, do you need a ride?"

It also perhaps signals that Jones' victory was not a fluke and speculation he will lose re-election to a Republican in 2020 in a ruby-red Republican state is not a given.

"It's a credit to the kind of candidate Doug was and the message that he had, that it resonated with folks all over the country," Perry said. "We're very proud to have had that much support from that many people and, further, to have been able to have done it with real people."
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.

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 and tough it out... you can get through these things," he said.

Sessions' comments drew criticism from some in the medical community, The Tampa Bay Times reports.

"That remark reflects a failure to recognize the severity of pain of some patients," said Bob Twillman, the executive director of the Academy of Integrative Pain Management, a national organization that advocates for integrative pain care.
When Mohamad Khweis fled his home in the United States in 2015 and headed to Islamic State territory in Syria and Iraq, he was "curious" about life in the group's self-declared caliphate, he later recalled.

"I would see . . . people from all around the world leaving their countries and going to live in this state," Khweis said when he testified last summer during his federal trial on terrorism charges. "It was kind of interesting."

What he found did not live up to the hype. Khweis was tasked with running errands such as grocery shopping, taking out the trash at his Islamic State house and caring for wounded fighters. He eventually became "frustrated with waiting" for military training, according to an FBI special agent who testified during Khweis' trial. He ended up fleeing and was captured in Iraq.

Khweis, who was found guilty of supporting terrorism and sentenced to 20 years in prison, was not alone in feeling disillusioned by what he encountered. Many of the Americans who traveled to Syria and Iraq to join the group wound up coming back because "life in jihadist-held territory did not live up to their expectations," according to a new study from George Washington University's Program on Extremism that provides a sweeping look at their experiences.

These Americans had seen "an idealized version of reality" in online propaganda they consumed, but that contrasted unfavorably with the harsh living conditions, infighting and menial assignments that greeted them, the report found. For Americans like Khweis - who later insisted he was not part of the group and only wanted to see the situation in Syria for himself - household chores could lead to their decisions to abandon the fight.

"Many of the Americans had little to no combat experience and were assigned duties such as cleaning safe houses, cooking, and caring for the sick and injured," the report states. "This was hardly the glamorous experience they anticipated, and some sought a way back to the comforts of home."

The Americans who went overseas tended to be male, with an average age of 27, according to the report. They were like thousands of others drawn by the Islamic State - also known as ISIS or ISIL - as the terrorist group seized territory in Syria and Iraq, creating its own society on the ground. The Islamic State's physical territory has since dwindled following punishing military losses, but its online propaganda machine continues to churn out material as part of a "virtual caliphate" rallying its followers.

More than 150 Americans were arrested on Islamic State-related charges between 2011 and 2017, and about a third of them were people who sought to travel abroad but were stopped, according to the report, which notes that attempts to travel to Iraq or Syria have steadily fallen since 2015. Dozens of people in the United States already have been convicted on federal charges relating to the group. (Far more people left Europe to join the Islamic State - estimates range from 5,000 to 6,000, the report says - though that flow of volunteers also plummeted as the group lost territory.)

The report's authors examined 64 people - described as "travelers" - who left the United States to join Islamist militant groups in Syria and Iraq since 2011, the year protests began against the Syrian regime. Most of them were associated with the Islamic State, either at the outset or joining up with the group as it expanded, according to the report. Just a handful - four - reached leadership positions in the Islamist militant groups they joined.

Most of the travelers were described as "networked," meaning they had some connection with Islamist militant supporters in the United States or others traveling with them, according to the study, which is based on interviews with law enforcement officials, reviews of legal documents and interviews with some Americans who went to Islamic State territory and returned. Khweis was in the smaller category of "loners," those who apparently traveled without any personal connections to the fight and still made it to Syria or Iraq.

Relatively few of the travelers returned to the United States, the study found. Just a dozen of them are known to have come back, and nine of them were arrested and faced terror charges. One of that dozen returned intending to carry out an attack, the report said, but was taken into custody early in the planning stages; he was sentenced last month to 22 years in prison. About one-third of the travelers examined in the report are believed to have died overseas.

The report states that returning travelers do pose a risk, because they can help with recruiting other Islamist militants or provide their knowledge about travel or conducting attacks. While the Trump administration has repeatedly argued that stronger immigration restrictions are needed to keep terrorists out of the United States, the report notes that most of the 64 travelers were U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents.

"The traveler phenomenon, like the domestic terrorist threat, is primarily homegrown," the authors wrote.

The report concludes that people who never left the United States pose a greater danger than those who went overseas and came back, noting that none of the terrorist attacks in the United States in recent years have been carried out by people who traveled to Syria or Iraq first. In high-profile case after high-profile case, U.S. officials have determined that attackers radicalized in the United States after consuming online propaganda.

"The risk that 'homegrown' extremists will commit attacks on U.S. soil outweighs the risk of attacks from returning travelers," the authors wrote.
A Minnesota school district has removed "To Kill a Mockingbird" and "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" from its required reading list because of racial slurs in the classic works, CBS News Minnesota reports.

Michael Cary, director of curriculum and instruction for the Duluth, Minnesota School District, said the books will remain optional reading and available through the school library. They will be replaced with other works on mandatory reading lists for ninth and 11th grade students, however.

"The feedback that we've received is that it makes many students feel uncomfortable," Cary said. "Conversations about race are an important topic, and we want to make sure we address those conversations in a way that works well for all of our students."

Both books have been the subject of controversy before. "To Kill a Mockingbird," written by Alabama native Harper Lee in 1960, tells the story of a black man falsely accused of raping a white woman. The novel won the Pulitzer Prize and Lee was awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom for her work by President George W. Bush in 2007.

"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," was written by Mark Twain in 1885 and tells the story of a white boy who befriends a runaway slave. The book, considered an American classic, has been the subject of controversy over its use of coarse language since it was published.
Jereme Logan can't recall why he was drawn to Haiti. But he remembers when.

On the morning of January 12, 2010, like many of us, he watched in horror news accounts of the death and devastation caused by the 7.3 earthquake that terrorized the island.

More than 200,000 people were killed (including 122 Americans); more than 300,000 people injured and 1.5 million rendered homeless.

Logan, a native of Hayden who works in the compliance officer at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, had never lived anywhere but Alabama, never traveled outside the United States. And yet, the quake "affected me in a way nothing else had," he says.

"I felt strong compulsion to be there."

He didn't tell anyone of his desire to go to a country racked with tragedy, except his wife, Jenny, a speech pathologist with the Jefferson County Board of Education and a native of Murfreesboro, TN. If he wanted to join a mission trip to the nation, she told him, he had her full support.

It took a couple of years, but both of them eventually went to Haiti. Even then, in 2012, little recovery had occurred. One group estimated that only 5 percent of the rubble had been cleared, hundreds of thousands of refugees were still living in tents and the island was further ravaged by a cholera epidemic that had broken out a few months before.

Jereme and Jenny, both Christians and attend Birmingham's First United Church, traveled into Port-au-Prince and helped recovery efforts in a small, nearby town called Carrefour. What they saw still resonates with them.

"It broke us," Jereme recalls. "Remnants of the quake were still visible. People were just trying to survive."

After returning to Alabama, the couple knew the trip would not be their last to the still-smoldering nation.

"It was clear we needed to do more," Jereme says, "It would have been the deepest sin to ignore it."

The following year, the couple joined a group of fellow church members (they belonged to another church at the time) and venture to Honduras to visit Angie McInvale Altamirano, founder of Hogar Esperanza ("Hope House"), a children's home there.

One of the children was an infant named Mario, who has been left in a trash container shortly after birth because he was afflicted with a then-unknown but debilitating disease. Mario nearly died several times, but he fought desperately to live.

Jereme says the group was "blown away" by the care Altamirano was offering to the many children in need. "We knew right away she needed help," he says, "And we had to help her and the children she was caring for."

Particularly Mario, whom the group was able to have transported to Children's of Alabama Hospital in Birmingham. After numerous tests, Mario was diagnosed with GM1 gangliosidosis, a rare, inherited and degenerative disorder that slowly destroys nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.

It is incurable. Shortly after his second birthday, Mario died.

To honor him, Jereme and Jenny last year formed the Mario Foundation, a non-profit created to help other children at Hope House, a well as children and families in Merger (a small township near Carrefour, just outside Port-au-Prince) and La Gonave, an impoverished island off the coast of Port-au-Prince.

"These are the poorest of the poor," Jereme says. "Unlike here, school is not free, and many families cannot afford to send their children to school. And the food we've been able to help provide may be the only food some of the children see all week."

Fresh water, some we surely take for granted in the United States, is also scarce.

"There are well," Jereme says, "but people have to walk for miles and miles to reach them and to corral limestone that has built over the years, it is often difficult to dig."

To address the need for accessible fresh water, The Mario Foundation partnered with another 501(c)3 Footprints of Charity, located near Dallas, which purchased a water drilling rig and together the two groups are trying to get it into Haiti. (It is currently being processed through customs, Jereme says)

Last month, Jereme was stunned when he heard President Trump describe Haiti, El Salvador and many African nations as "shithole countries" during a discussion about immigration with Congressional leaders in the Oval Office.

When asked about the comments, Jereme paused. "It hurt me," he began. "I'm finding it difficult to find the right words...

"[What Trump said] dehumanizes people I care about," he continued. "We live very comfortably, and it's easy to ignore people in other parts of the world who need help.

"They share our hopes and feats; they care about their families. I would hope the narrative coming from the highest office in the United States would be more hopeful.

"These are people who need help, not condemnation--not petty insults."

The Mario Foundation is still in relative infancy, having not yet embarked on a major fund-raising effort. But the couple is committed to it.

"Haiti will always be special to my heart," Jereme says. "Haiti changed my life. It's given more to me than anything I've been able to give it in return but I'm happy to spend the rest of my life trying to make up the difference."

If you'd like to contribute to the Mario Foundation, click here. To volunteer, click here.

Roy S. Johnson's column appears in The Birmingham News, the Huntsville Times, the Mobile Register and AL.com. Hit me up at rjohnson@al.com or/and follow me at twitter.com/roysj.
Grieving family of lynched student says they are determined to keep fighting for justice.

Mardan, Pakistan  Last April, Mashal Khan was lynched by dozens of fellow university students.

The mob was spurred by rumours that the journalism student had somehow insulted Islam. Khan was stripped naked, beaten, shot and thrown out of the second-floor window of his Abdul Wali Khan University dormitory in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

He was 23 years old.

Dozens of people were arrested after the incident, and on Wednesday, a court sentenced one man to death and five to life in prison. Another 25 men were given three-year prison sentences, and 26 others were let go.

An estimated 200 people were thought to be a part of the mob that attacked Khan.

A day after the ruling, Khans mother said the verdict did not reflect the gravity of the crime, nor did it go far enough to make up for the pain and suffering felt by her and her family.

Each of his bones was broken, and he was badly humiliated, Syeda Gulzar Begum told Al Jazeera.

Gulzar said she is determined to keep fighting for justice for her sons brutal killing.

He was not someone elses blood, thats why they cant feel the pain  I was his mother, and I feel the pain. [It is] the worst situation my family and I have ever faced, she said.

Final resting places

But even in death  and despite a police investigation that found no evidence Khan had ever violated Pakistans blasphemy code  her son is not safe.

Khan was buried in a publicly accessible cemetery, where he lies under police protection due to threats from religious hardliners who have said they want to dig him up and burn his remains.

In Pakistan, this is a common threat made against people accused of blasphemy or other religious infractions.

Khan was laid to rest in a dusty family plot, next to a tobacco field near his childhood home.





His loved ones have been fundraising to build a school in his name.

Albeit humble, Khans final resting place has become a landmark in the community, as people come to pay their respects.

But he was buried before police cleared his name, and almost no one attended his funeral.

In this way, Khans story stands in sharp contrast to a shrine that was built in the capital, Islamabad, to honour Mumtaz Qadri.

In 2011, Qadri, a policeman, shot dead the sitting governor of Punjab province, whom he accused of blasphemy.

Qadri was hanged in 2016. His funeral was attended by tens of thousands, and many see him as a hero  a reality that illustrates the widespread public support that Pakistans blasphemy laws still enjoy.

Open wounds

Khans journalism professor and mentor said the countrys rules on blasphemy are an open wound that no one seems capable of healing.

We are reactive, we are emotional, and we believe mostly in knee-jerk reactions, Sheraz Paracha said.

Young people are also not taught to be tolerant towards people of other races, towards people of other faiths, towards people of other origins, Paracha added.

The thinking for the past 40 years [in Pakistan] has been one dimensional, polarised; its an us-versus-them kind of mentality. No us.

Pakistan is a different society, an ultra-conservative society where people consider religion as a part of life Sheraz Paracha, journalism professor

Human rights groups say the countrys blasphemy laws are from a bygone era and too easily misused to settle personal scores.

There are strong arguments to abolish or at least reform the laws, Paracha said. The law is not the only problem, however.

The government should ensure that no law should be misused to target a community  and the law should be enforced fairly, he said.

While most of the leaders Al Jazeera spoke to said they were in favour of keeping it on the books, they also acknowledged that it was being misused.

But fear of being at the receiving end of the kind of mob justice that killed Khan  and has targeted others before him  makes it nearly impossible for those in positions of power to even begin discussing reforms to the blasphemy law.

Police response

In the aftermath of Khans murder, some accused the police of not responding quickly enough. Others went further and accused officers of facilitating the attack.

However, a police official told Al Jazeera that police are reassessing their approach to blasphemy cases.

Committing blasphemy or not is a separate issue, said Mian Saeed, Mardans police chief.

The main thing is whether we will allow people to take law into their hands and kill any person for committing any kind of a crime, so my answer is no.

We will not allow anyone to take law into their hands and kill anyone.

Saeed defended the law, however, saying that it helps prevent social anarchy.

{articleGUID}

The idea that governments must control what people say about Islam is a common argument used to defend the blasphemy law.

But privately, many people also admit the laws do not live up to the spirit of Islam.

No sane person, no law-abiding person, no person believing in humanity, no person believing in any religion [would do something like this], Paracha said, referring to Khans death.

We are followers of Prophet Muhammad, who was in his life accused, hit, targeted by his enemies. He never did this to his enemies, so how could we?

Khan family memories

Khans family, meanwhile, has left his room untouched.

It looks exactly the way it did on the day he left home for the last time: Pictures of Khan and his friends hang on the wall next to academic medals and trophies, some of which are captioned with inspirational sayings.

Stand up for what you believe in, even if it means standing alone, one reads. No racism, another says.

To his loved ones, these are reminders of the kind of man he was.

{articleGUID}

He was a humanist and was only standing up to corruption in his school, and he was accused of blasphemy, said Khans sister, Storiya Iqbal.

In its investigation, Pakistani police said university officials  whom Khan had publicly criticised for corruption and incompetence  conspired to make false allegations against him and rallied the mob that killed him.

I would tell the government to diminish these laws. Because if we will not abolish these rules and these laws from [their] roots, I think that more and more Mashals will be killed in this world, Iqbal said.

In the Khan family home, there is both grief and anger.

My message to the world is that my son didnt make any mistake and there was no proof against him, Khans mother said.

So, without proof, why did he suffer this way in Pakistan?

I just have my voice  My child died with so much cruelty, and I cant even imagine that in Islam, [there could be] so much cruelty against a child. This is not in accordance with Islam.
The US is pursuing a plan to push Palestinians into northern Sinai and transfer part of the West Bank to Israel.

As President Donald Trump continues to bluster and tweet his way through a chaotic presidency, the Middle East is simmering dangerously close to a boiling point. Wars in Yemen and Syria are still burning hard, the feud between Qatar and the so-called Quartet of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and Bahrain trundles on with no apparent end in sight, Iran continues to flex its military muscles, and both Iraq and Egypt struggle to contain terrorist attacks.

Once again, all but forgotten are the Palestinians.

Israel, buoyed by Trumps recognition of Jerusalem as its capital, continues, in flagrant disregard of international law and UN resolutions, to build settlements in the West Bank. And Trump threatens to cut off US aid because the Palestinians refused to meet his Vice President Mike Pence after the president had provocatively named Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

They disrespected us a week ago by not allowing our great vice president to see them, he said during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The president said he was prepared to withhold hundreds of millions of dollars in aid, adding That money is on the table and that moneys not going to them unless they sit down and negotiate peace.

The peace proposal that Trump likes best  and that his son-in-law and special Middle East adviser Jared Kushner is reportedly pursuing together with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman  looks remarkably like a real estate transaction. Unsurprising, given that the 36-year-old Kushner has no previous experience in diplomacy, but an awful lot of it in wheeling and dealing in the high-stakes world of New York property ventures.

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It has been called the sanctuary plan. It involves the Palestinians surrendering some 50 percent of the West Bank to Israel. Palestinian cities and towns in the West Bank that are encircled by Israeli settlement projects would fall under the administrative control of Jordan. For their part, the Egyptians would agree to cede North Sinai to a new Palestinian entity contiguous with Gaza. The capital of this strange agglomeration would become a Palestinian town on the outskirts of Jerusalem, Abu Dis. Jerusalem whole and undivided would then become the capital of Israel.

It is, of course, a madness. What would cause the Palestinians to give up their rights in the West Bank in return for a piece of Egypt riddled with terrorism? Why would Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi turn over more of his land, having already been roundly attacked for giving up two small islands in the Red Sea to the Saudis?

But if one year of the Trump presidency has taught us anything, it is that the most extreme and ludicrous of positions can morph quickly into a crude and ugly reality.

Now two stories are helping to nudge the sanctuary narrative along. The first was broken by the New York Times on February 3 about military support the Israelis have been providing Egypt in its fight against Ansar Beit al Maqdis (ABM), an affiliate of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) on the Sinai Peninsula. In 2014 ABM pledged allegiance to the self-proclaimed ISIL caliph, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The peninsula was declared Wilayat Sinai, the Sinai Province of ISIL.

Over the years, the Egyptians have lost hundreds of police and soldiers in battling the terrorists in Sinai. In November 2017, the ISIL affiliate carried out an attack on a Sufi mosque that left more than 300 people dead. It was the single worst terrorist atrocity in Egypts recent history.

According to the New York Times, what it called a secret alliance has enabled the Israelis to carry out more than 100 air raids inside Egypt against the ABM over the past two years. The Egyptians have denied the claim, but crucially the Israelis have neither confirmed nor denied it. Using unmarked drones and fighter jets with their markings concealed, the Israelis have been trying to degrade the fighters military capability, something that the Egyptian army has not been successful in doing.

To return to the analogy of a real estate deal, if you are Jared Kushner and you want to evict problem tenants from a highly desired property with as little awkwardness as possible, you have to offer them something in return, and that something cant be a property overrun with heavily armed gangsters. So the Israelis are doing their bit to help secure the neighbourhood.

For his part, President el-Sisi desperately needs to keep both the Saudis and the Israelis on side as he struggles with a sluggish economy and growing disenchantment with his heavy-handed rule. Saudi cash to the tune of several hundreds of millions of dollars will help keep the economy and el-Sisi afloat. For the Egyptian president, giving up a troublesome North Sinai may seem a small price to pay.

For Mohammed bin Salman, a solution to the Palestinian problem that he helps to bring about, one that is very favourable to Israel, means that he can then draw on the Israelis  who after all have nuclear arms  to stand up to Iran in the struggle for regional hegemony. The US, grateful too, will put their military might into confronting Iran. And the Egyptians now living in North Sinai? Well, that is a question to be sorted out down the road presumably.

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Meanwhile, the forced relocation of large numbers of people is an uncomfortable scenario for the Israelis to contemplate, given the horrific fate of Jews in the Holocaust. What better way to soften Israeli public opinion to a mass eviction of Palestinians than to first launch the deportation of undocumented African immigrants? Some 35,000 are facing precisely that plight.

The Netanyahu government has vowed to forcibly repatriate these desperate economic migrants with a take it or leave it offer: $3,500 and a one-way ticket back to Africa, or jail.

Gideon Levy, a columnist for the Israeli daily Haaretz, in denouncing the forced repatriation project, wrote recently about what he called far-reaching plans that only the extreme right talks about for now.

With commendable clarity, he lays out what will come next should the government proceed with its efforts to remove the Africans:

If this mini-expulsion succeeds, expect more to come: prepare for a population transfer. If the first operation is successful, it will buoy hopes for additional expulsions. Israel will learn it can do it; that no one will stop it.

So while the world sits back and watches, those who will be expelled from what is left of their land will be the Palestinians.

Trumps desire to pull off the biggest deal ever coupled with Saudi money, Israeli backing and Egyptian connivance could see this ugly dream become a reality, one that yet again excludes the Palestinians from having any meaningful say. It is, to put it simply, a nightmare that should never be allowed to see the light of day.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance.
Over the past year, the escalation of tensions between the United States and North Korea has caused much anxiety about the possibility of a nuclear war. Since the creation of the first nuclear bomb and the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, international diplomacy has focused its non-proliferation efforts on nuclear weapons.

In doing so, it has overlooked the proliferation of conventional weapons, which have killed millions since World War II and which continue to kill on a massive scale today.

As Amnesty International noted in a report released in late 2015, reckless arms trading encouraged atrocities committed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and other armed groups in Iraq. In 2016, more than 100,000 people were killed in conflicts in which conventional weapons were used.

And while the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty has limited the new production of nuclear weapons, the world has experienced an uncurbed proliferation of conventional weapons with no effective international legal tools to control it.

Since 1960  the early days of the Cold War nuclear arms race  international military spending has increased twenty-fold from $82bn to $1.69 trillion; and year on year, it continues to grow. While some of it goes to infrastructure maintenance and salaries for personnel, a significant part is spent on the acquisition of conventional weapons.

In 2015, the US, the country with the biggest defence budget in the world, spent $90bn of its $600bn defence spending on the procurement of conventional arms; it spent around $20bn on maintaining its nuclear arsenal.

The growing demand for conventional weapons is making many providers very wealthy. The top 100 arms companies have sold over $5 trillion worth of merchandise since 2002. In 2016, some $31bn was generated by the international arms trade, the US earning $9.9bn of it, followed by Russia with $6.4bn and Germany with $2.8bn.

Although there is no international law on how much can be spent on conventional arms, the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) of 2014 sought to prevent weapons from being sold to countries that are under embargo or illegally transferred to state or non-state actors. According to the treaty, signatories should ensure the weapons they are selling are not going to be used in terrorism, acts of genocide, crimes against humanity, serious violations of human rights, or the undermining of peace and security.

Unfortunately, over the years since its signing, the treaty has proven too weak to make a difference.

The first reason the ATT is failing is that the power of profit-seeking is trumping all other considerations. This is most evident with Saudi Arabia, which is currently the second largest weapons importer in the world. Although some countries like Germany have stopped selling weaponry to Riyadh  which stands accused of indiscriminate, reckless and wrongful targeting of civilians in the war in Yemen  others have not been able to resist the revenue to be made.

The UK, which has signed and ratified the ATT, made $1.5bn in 2017 selling arms to Saudi Arabia, while the US, which has signed but not ratified the treaty, made windfall deals worth potentially $110bn.

The second problem is that even if ATT signatories start implementing the commitments they made by signing the document, there are other countries that have either not signed or not ratified it, such as China, Russia, India and Iran. This means that a country like Myanmar, which is facing serious accusations of crimes against humanity, can still obtain a steady stream of weapons from some of these countries despite an ongoing European arms sales embargo.

Similarly with the war in Syria, despite strong evidence of war crimes by multiple parties, especially the Assad regime, countries such as Russia, Iran and possibly even North Korea, have not hesitated to sell weapons to Damascus. On the other hand, those fighting Assad have received weapons illegally re-routed by the US and Gulf countries from Eastern and Central European countries.

The above point highlights the other difficulty with the ATT  namely, that it primarily deals with legal transfers. The problem is that many conflicts are now fuelled by weapons supplied via illegal trade, especially in small arms. Although the size of this trade is estimated at being between 10 to 20 percent of the value of the legal arms sales, in some conflicts, illegal sources of weapons dominate the supply.

For example in Mexico, 70 percent of guns seized in the country and traced by the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) from 2009 to 2014 came from illegal transfers from the US.

In Afghanistan, the Taliban is buying large amounts of illegal weapons, including but not limited to hundreds of thousands of diverted US weapons.

This uncontrollable proliferation of conventional weapons will continue to take a heavy death toll each year unless the international community comes up with an effective international tool to control it  the way it did with nuclear weapons.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance.
Former presidential hopeful Aboul Fotouh says Egypt is governed by dictatorial police regime that hates politics.

Egypts presidential election is a referendum with guaranteed results for President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, according to a leading opposition figure.

In an interview with Al Jazeera, Abdul Moneim Aboul Fotouh said he encouraged citizens to boycott the absurd vote, expected to take place between March 26 and 28, saying no sane Egyptian would accept the poll.

A former member of the Muslim Brotherhood and leader of the centrist Strong Egypt Party, Aboul Fotouh ran as an independent candidate in the 2012 presidential elections, gaining nearly a fifth of the vote in the first round.

The vote six years ago marked Egypts first competitive elections following the 2011 revolution, which overthrew former leader Hosni Mubarak.

That was the only free presidential election Egypt had ever witnessed, he said.

A boycott of this mockery is a duty, in our opinion, because we dont accept for Egyptians to participate in a farce, he said, of the March vote.

Egypt is currently governed by a dictatorial police regime that hates politics and rejects it, even in a superficial manner, Aboul Fatouh claimed, saying President Sisi wants the state to fully submit to him with its executive and supervisory authorities.

Mubarak, who ruled for 30 years, was a dictator but understood that display politics was an outlet for the people, Aboul Fatouh said.

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On January 28, Aboul Fotouh and four other Egyptian opposition figures called on citizens to boycott the elections and not recognise results.

The vote sees Sisi running for re-election against Moussa Moustafa Moussa, a little-known, pro-Sisi politician.

Moussa, leader of the el-Ghad (Tomorrow) Party, reportedly submitted his papers minutes before the nominations deadline, in what was viewed as a last-minute effort by the Sisi government to legitimise the elections.

Aboul Fotouh described Moussa as obedient to the state security apparatus.

This was not a candidacy but rather an assignment, he said.

Opposition in worst condition ever

On Monday, Egypts prosecutor-general ordered an investigation into 13 opposition figures from the Civil Democratic Movement coalition over accusations of attempting to overthrow the government.

The group of eight opposition parties and more than 150 activists and political figures have also called for an election boycott.

Earlier this week, Moussa, Sisis only challenger, said people calling for boycotts would be put on trial for treason, saying they were betraying their country.

Egypt has cracked down on dissent since the military  then led by Sisi  staged a coup in 2013 against Mohamed Morsi, the countrys first democratically elected president.

Human rights conditions have deteriorated, with organisations reporting that at least 60,000 have been imprisoned.

The government has squeezed media freedom, while activists and journalists have been either imprisoned or barred from travel.

Under these circumstances, the opposition has unfortunately declined to its worst condition ever, Aboul Fotouh said.

Timothy Kaldas, a non-resident fellow at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, said the opposition was suffering even more so than in the late Mubarak years.

Its more violent, its more vengeful, its more intimidating, theres less breathing room, he told Al Jazeera.

Moussa, the extra

Moussa, Sisis only challenger, has repeatedly endorsed the current president.

Social media users recently took him to task over images posted to his Facebook profile page, showing pro-Sisi photos and slogans.

Those images were later taken down.

Critics joke Moussa is Al-Kombars, which loosely translates to someone playing the role of an extra.

Moussa rejected such accusations, saying that he will not be a background actor to Sisi in the election.

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, he said, according to local media.

Kaldas says the government is sending a message of intimidation with a candidate like Moussa.

If I have someone that is completely absurd like Moussa Moustafa Moussa, then the situation is different, and Im signalling that I dont care, that I can do what I want and get away with it, he said.

There is no election

Prior to Moussas nomination, a string of potential candidates withdrew their candidacy after being subjected to arrests or intimidation.

Sami Anan, former army chief, quit in January, after being arrested following his announcement to run.

Army colonel Ahmed Konsowa was sentenced to six years in prison after he released a video last November announcing his intention to run.

Former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafik was deported to Cairo after announcing his candidacy from the UAE. He was then reportedly held at a Cairo hotel, before withdrawing on January 7.

Former MP Mohamed Anwar el-Sadat, a nephew of Egypts former President Anwar Sadat, and Khaled Ali, a prominent lawyer, also announced their intentions to run, but later decided not to enter the race citing unfair conditions.

In a statement, Amnesty International said Anans arrest was a brazen attack on freedom of expression and political participation in Egypt.

It is clear that the Egyptian authorities are hell-bent on arresting and harassing anyone who stands against President Sisi, the statement said.

The National Council for Human Rights (NCHR), a state-funded human rights organisation, recently said it will freeze the membership of members who take a public political stance or support a particular party during the election period.

Its not a question about whos going to win the election, says Kaldas of the Tahrir Institute. There is no election, thats not the issue. Its how many people will actually bother to go vote in a voting event where the winner has already been determined.
Noha al-Balawi has reportedly been under detention in Saudi Arabias northwestern region of Tabuk since January 23.

A Saudi activist, who questioned the normalisation of ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel, has been detained in her home country, and could face up to five years in prison, a UK-based rights group said.

Noha al-Balawi has reportedly been under detention in the northwestern region of Tabuk for more than two weeks, ALQST, a group advocating for human rights in Saudi Arabia, said on Thursday.

According to ALQST, al-Balawi was asked to report to a police station in Tabuk on January 23, only to be arrested, and has been detained ever since.





Authorities reportedly questioned al-Balawi about her social media activities, including posts questioning the normalisation of ties between her country and Israel, the rights group said.

In one video clip widely circulated on social media, Balawi declared, Normalisation means accepting the occupation, in reference to Israels continued control of Palestinian land.

Let me make it clear; we will never recognise Israel no matter what it will cost us.

There is not a single benefit for Arabs when we normalise relations with Israel. It only serves the best interests of the Zionist state, she added.

In recent months, relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel have warmed up, with a flurry of diplomatic activities between Riyadh and Tel Aviv.

ALQST said that al-Balawi was also questioned for calling on the state to allow women to drive. In September 2017, the government of Saudi Arabia had already announced that it would allow women to drive starting in June 2018.

According to the report, the investigating officer had referred al-Balawis case for trial under the countrys cybercrime law.

Article 6 of the law states that a person who creates or transmits anything prejudicial to public order could face up to five years in jail, and/or a fine of up to $800,000.

On Thursday, a Saudi journalist received a five-year jail term for insulting the royal court [Anadolu]

ALQST said Saudi authorities are trying to mislead the public by denying al-Balawis detention.

Earlier, ALQST said Saudi authorities had promised to release al-Balawi after five days. Instead, they have kept her for the past 18 days.

The group said al-Balawis detention is an obvious attempt to silence public opinion.

Outlandish punishments

ALQST said al-Balawis activism is legitimate civil and human rights work, and that authorities have no right to arrest, detain or punish her for such activity.

It is calling for al-Balawis immediate and unconditional release, and for authorities to restore her social media presence and allow her to express her opinions.

It remains unclear if and when al-Balawi will be tried in court, and which court will take up her case.





On Thursday, Saudi journalist Saleh al-Shehi was sentenced by a special criminal court to five years in prison.

The al-Watan columnist was accused of insulting the royal court after he discussed corruption and the royal court during a television appearance in early January.

The emerging leaderships promise of openness and reform in Saudi Arabia seem to end where critical reporting and independent journalism begin, Sherif Mansour, Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator of the Committee to Protect Journalists, said on Thursday following the conviction.

According to Human Rights Watch, since 2014, Saudi authorities have tried a series of peaceful dissidents in the Specialized Criminal Court, Saudi Arabias terrorism tribunal.

There are at least over a dozen Saudi dissidents currently serving long prison terms based on their peaceful activism, according to HRW.

Outlandish sentences against peaceful activists and dissidents demonstrate Saudi Arabias complete intolerance toward citizens who speak out for human rights and reform, Sarah Leah Whitson, HRW Middle East director, said in January following the conviction of two human rights activists.
Among the ranks of Republican candidates are Holocaust denier Arthur Jones and anti-Semite Paul Nehlen.

Criticism is mounting over the presence of far-right and anti-Semitic Republican candidates in upcoming races in the United States states of Wisconsin and Illinois.

Arthur Jones, a Holocaust denier who is known for white supremacist advocacy, is poised to become the Republican nominee for an Illinois congressional seat.

The Illinois Republican Party has condemned Jones and disavowed his campaign, telling local media that there is no room for Neo-Nazis in American politics.

In Wisconsin, Paul Nehlen, who has decried supposed Jewish control of media, is challenging a Republican incumbent for a seat later this year.

Although Nehlen has little chance of beating incumbent Paul Ryan, who is the Republican Speaker of the House, in the primary runoff, and Jones is almost sure to lose to his Democratic opponent, critics say their presence in the Republican Party is indicative of a worrying trend.

Jared Holt, a researcher and writer at Right Wing Watch, a watchdog group, explained that fringe candidates attempt to infiltrate mainstream politics in almost every cycle, but argued that 2018 is a bit different.

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Fringe candidates have made a lot more noise and have been more transparent with their fringe world view and alliances with extremists than weve seen in prior cycles, he told Al Jazeera.

Although these candidates may have little chances of making it to office, Holt added that their rhetoric and publicity still effectively shift the Overton Window in a way that drags the right further towards the fringes and gradually works to make Republican voters more open to the ideas of the alt-right.

The alt-right is a loose coalition of white supremacist, white nationalist and neo-Nazi groups that advocate for a white ethnostate in North America.

Neo-Nazi links

Jones, a 70-year-old retiree, currently has no Republican challenger in the primary election, and is slated to face-off with a Democratic contender in November, when the congressional elections are scheduled to be held.

A former member of the American National Socialist Workers Party, a neo-Nazi outfit, Jones has unsuccessfully run for office several times since the 1970s, according to the Chicago Tribune daily.

His website has a section titled Holocaust?, under which there is a document embedded called The Holocaust Racket.

Last year, Jones attended a neo-Nazi summit in Pikeville, Kentucky, where he addressed the audience with a fiery tirade against US President Donald Trump, dubbing him as a leader who betrays us.

Now, President Trump  he has surrounded himself with hordes of Jews, he proclaimed, including a Jew in his own family.

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Jones was referring to Jared Kushner, Trumps son-in-law and senior adviser.

He added: Im sorry I voted for that son-of-a-b*tch. Pardon my English.

Many of Jones policy proposals, however, align with the Trump administrations stances.

Last month, neo-Nazis, white supremacists, far-rightists and conspiracy theorists celebrated Trumps State of the Union, the annual speech the president delivers to a joint session of Congress, for his hard line comments on immigration.

Okay to be white

Nehlen, who is widely expected to lose again to Paul Ryan, recently sparked outrage when he took to Twitter to compile a list of media figures who criticised him who he claimed were Jewish.

Many of those he listed are not Jewish.

Nehlen, who has a history of advocating for alt-right causes, also posted a tweet that read: Its okay to be white.

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Last month, Nehlen, who has not publicly described himself as a white supremacist, appeared on a radio programme hosted by David Duke, the former leader of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) and an infamous white supremacist.

Asked by Duke if it was wrong to support the preservation of a white-majority country, Nehlen replied that it was right and righteous to do so.

I think that we [white people] have built wonderful civilisations in northern Europe and around the world, Nehlen continued. And if it werent for our leadership, many more people wouldve died over the course of history.

During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump was widely denounced for initially refusing to disavow Dukes endorsement.

Hard anti-immigrant sentiment

In the past, Nehlen has appeared twice on the neo-Nazi podcast Fash the Nation, which sparked criticism from former allies of his at the far-right website Breitbart News and led to condemnation from Steve Bannon.

Nehlen has appeared on a radio show hosted by the former leader of the Ku Klux Klan, David Duke [File: Scott Bauer/AP Photo]

Bannon was a strategist for Trump until last summer, and he was removed from his position as executive chairman of Breitbart News last month following critical remarks he reportedly made of Trump in a controversial book called Fire and Fury.

Arguably, the most successful move the alt-right has made in Republican politics is their hard anti-immigrant sentiment, which the United States has watched come to life in the Trump administration through figures such as [Trumps senior adviser] Stephen Miller, Holt said.

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Although the alt-right isnt proposing bills in Congress, they have desensitised the Republican Party to policies and rhetoric that disproportionately harm non-white communities.

While Cas Mudde, author of The Far Right in America, sees no cause for concern in the candidacies of Jones and Nehlen, he said they nonetheless reflects how the current GOP [Republican Party] is perceived by far-right activists, including anti-Semites and Holocaust deniers.

Mudde, who is an associate professor in the School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Georgia, told Al Jazeera: They dont necessarily see the GOP as sharing their views, but they do believe the base is open to them.

Explaining that although the shift taking place within the Republican Party started before Trumps rise, he argued that it accelerated upon Trump taking office.

In that sense, Trump is more the catalyst than the cause of the far-right shift, Mudde said.

Trump made them interested

Spencer Sunshine, an associate fellow at Political Research Associates who follows white nationalist movements, explained that the ideas of the alt-right are now part of the GOP.

Clearly, the policies of the Trumpists in the GOP are whats driving this, he told Al Jazeera.

Trump has made them interested in going into the GOP. Two years ago, white nationalists were not interested in doing so.

In 2016, Steve Smith, a cofounder of the white nationalist Keystone United group, was re-elected to the Republican Party county committee in eastern Pennsylvanias Luzerne County.

Smith has been a vocal supporter of Trump.

Last month, the American Defamation League released a report that documented the deaths of 18 people at the hands of white supremacists in 2017, which was double the number of the prior year.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, an Alabama-based hate monitor, attributes 100 killings or injuries to the alt-right since 2014.

Last month, John Abarr, who has a long history of white supremacist organising and recruited for the local KKK, announced his candidacy as a Democrat in Montana for the House of Representatives.

The Montana Democrats have disavowed his campaign.

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On his website, Abarr said he apologises to citizens of Montana for promoting bigotry and hate against minorities.

Abarr, who has ran as a Republican in the past, claims to have left behind his white supremacist views, but his platform includes nativist policy prescriptions, such as the claim that European Americans are the target of systemic discrimination.

His website boasts of his continued support for pride and dignity for whites.
Countries announce stricter measures as they deal with a big influx of migrants from Venezuela.

Colombia and Brazil have tightened border controls with Venezuela as both nations deal with a big influx of hundreds of thousands of migrants from their neighbour.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said on Thursday his government would implement stricter migratory measures and suspend new daily entry cards for Venezuelans, as well as deploy 3,000 new security personnel, including 2,120 more soldiers, along the frontier.

Brazil also announced that it would double its troops to patrol frontier regions, and would start relocating Venezuelans to towns and cities in its interior.

This is a humanitarian drama. Venezuelans are being expelled from their country by hunger and the lack of jobs and medicine; we are here to bring federal government help and strengthen the border. Raul Jungmann, Brazil defence minister

Both countries said they would take measures to count the number of Venezuelan migrants  Brazil through a census and Colombia through a registry  many of whom have entered their territory after fleeing a major economic and political crisis.

An estimated 550,000 people have arrived in Colombia without papers, and that number could reach one million by July, according to official forecasts.

Brazil has received around 40,000 Venezuelans in its northernmost state, Roraima. Last year, three United Nations-supported shelters filled amid increasing arrivals.

Suely Campos, the governor of Roraima, said in a statement that the state has endured alone an unprecedented humanitarian crisis in Brazil.

In education, the demand  has increased 100 percent, in health  only in maternity, five Venezuelan babies are born every day, she added.

Raul Jungmann, Brazils defence minister, described the situation as a humanitarian drama.

The Venezuelans are being expelled from their country by hunger and the lack of jobs and medicine, he told reporters after seeing local officials in northern Brazil. We are here to bring federal government help and strengthen the border.

Meanwhile, Colombian health services have vaccinated more than 112,000 people and treated more than 23,000 children, according to local reports.

About 10,000 children have entered public schools,

Colombia has never before experienced a situation like this, Santos said during a visit to Cucuta.

I want to repeat to [Venezuelan] President [Nicolas] Maduro: this is the result of your policies  and its the result of your refusal to receive humanitarian aid, which has been offered, not just from Colombia but from the international community, Santos said.

However, he also made a call against xenophobic and hostile behaviour.

Venezuela was very generous with Colombia when Colombians sought for a better life in Venezuela. And millions of Colombians  were received with open arms we must also be generous with Venezuela in these times of difficulty. 

Elections

Amid this crisis, the Venezuelan government announced a presidential election would take place on April 22.

The election will allow Venezuelans to freely decide their fate, Tibisay Lucena, the president of the countrys electoral commission, said.

We are committed, as always, to our constitutional task, to guarantee the right conditions so that democratic differences are settled through an efficient, transparent and balanced vote.

The announcement came after no deal was reached in talks in the Dominican Republic between Maduros government and an opposition coalition.

The opposition had lobbied for the elections to be delayed until later in the year to give it more time to choose a candidate since its top two leaders are barred from running.
At least two die and scores are wounded as bombing his mosque during Friday prayers in eastern Libyan city.

At least two people have been killed and scores wounded in a bombing at a mosque in Libyas eastern city of Benghazi, according to medical sources.

The casualties were caused by two suspected improvised explosive devices which went off at the Saad Ben Obadah mosque during Friday prayers.

Mutaz al-Mutri, Benghazis security directorate spokesperson, said two bomb bags had been used in the attack, according to Libyas 218 tv news channel.

Medics told Reuters news agency that at least two people were killed and 55 were wounded. Local media news reports put the number of those injured at 129.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

3/1 Just In: Aftermath of the improvised explosive device blast at Saad Ben Obadah mosque in Majouri neighborhood of #Benghazi pic.twitter.com/SsUomOLOHn  The Libya Observer (@Lyobserver) February 9, 2018

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) was quick to condemn the attack, calling reports of civilian casualties deeply disturbing.

Direct or indiscriminate attacks agnst civilians are prohibited under international humanitarian law and constitute war crimes, UNSMIL said in a post on Twitter.

This heinous act should not provide a justification for revenge attacks. Prompt, impartial investigations should bring perpetrators to justice.

This heinous act should not provide a justification for revenge attacks. Prompt, impartial investigations should bring perpetrators to justice #Benghazi #Libya  UNSMIL (@UNSMILibya) February 9, 2018

The incident comes weeks after a double car bombing in Benghazi killed at least 35 people.

That attack, which took place outside the Bait Radwan mosque on January 23, left more than 50 others wounded, including a number of senior security officials.

Ahmed al-Fituri, chief of a special investigation unit attached to the general command of east Libyan security forces, was among the casualties.

Forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar, a renegade general based in the east of the country, took control of Benghazi in 2017, after a three-year campaign against rival armed groups.

The battles have left large swaths of the port city in ruins.

Several bombings during the latter stages of the conflict targeted figures linked to Haftars self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA).

The LNA claimed victory in Benghazi in July of last year, but sporadic clashes dragged on until December when it took control of its rivals final holdout.

It has since imposed strict military control on the city and other parts of eastern Libya under its control.

The fighting in Benghazi was part of a broader conflict that developed in Libya after former ruler Muammar Gaddafi was removed from power and killed in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011.

The North African nation has had competing governments aligned with rival military factions based in Tripoli and the east since 2014.
Police and army begin fight against terrorist elements in Sinai Peninsula, parts of the Delta and Western Desert.

Egypt has launched a comprehensive security operation against terrorists and criminal elements across the country, a military spokesman said.

Colonel Tamer Rifai announced on Friday the implementation of a plan to push out armed groups in the Sinai Peninsula, parts of the Nile Delta and the Western Desert.

Law enforcement forces began this morning implementing the plan of comprehensive confrontation against the terrorist and criminal elements and organisations in the north and central Sinai and other areas in the Delta of Egypt and the desert back in the west of the Nile Valley, Rifai said in an urgent televised statement.

This comes in addition to training and other operations on all strategic directions in order to tighten control of the ports of the Egyptian state, he added.

The army has already ordered hospitals to be placed on high alert, preparing extra beds and personnel, to deal with emergencies and medical evacuations.

Local media are also reporting an unusual increase in the number of military vehicles in north Sinai.

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Egypt has for years been battling an armed anti-government campaign in the rugged and thinly populated Sinai Peninsula, which has gained pace since the military overthrew democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood in mid-2013.

Over the years, most attacks have targeted soldiers and police, but civilians have also been killed. Hundreds of people have died in the conflict so far.

In 2014, following a suicide bombing that killed 33 soldiers, current President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi declared a state of emergency in the peninsula, describing it as a nesting ground for terrorism and terrorists.

In November 2017, at least 235 people were killed in a bomb and gun attack on a mosque in Bir al-Abed, a town in North Sinai province.

Omar Ashour, an associate professor of security studies and Middle East politics, said the launch of the push fit a pattern of similar past operations in the run-up to major political events.

When the coup happened in 2013, you saw an escalation. The whole idea of the coup and that operation was that security and anti-terrorism measures needed to be implemented, partly in Sinai but also elsewhere, Ashour told Al Jazeera.

I think this has to do a lot with the forthcoming presidential election, he added.

Egypt will go to the polls next month in a vote in which Sisi looks poised to extend his term in office.

In his statement on Friday, the army spokesman called on citizens to immediately report any elements that threaten the security and stability of the country.

The interesting thing about the communique is that the armed forces are not just talking about Sinai. They are saying there is an escalation in central delta and in the western desert, Ashour said.

Im not sure there is something new or this is a message saying that the strong man is back and hes trying to secure the region and people should therefore mobilize for him, Ashour added.
In the Brussels suburb of Molenbeek, an idea to offer digital skills to deprived youth is attracting hi-tech attention.

When high-school dropout Ibrahim Ouassari started MolenGeek three years ago in Belgium, he didnt know that he would soon be turning the heads of governments and tech giants like Microsoft, Google and Samsung.

Ouassari grew up in Molenbeek and had worked for years with troubled adolescents in this Belgian suburb, home to tens of thousands of Muslim immigrants, mostly from Morocco and Turkey.

The MolenGeek centre in Brussels is straight out of central casting for a movie about Silicon Valley.

For the past two years, it has been opening up computer skills and digital entrepreneurship to young people in one of the Belgian capitals most deprived areas.

It has also shown another side to Molenbeek, the much-maligned neighbourhood associated with violence since the attacks on Paris and Brussels in late 2015 and early 2016, respectively.

The idea has been so successful that it has attracted investment from hi-tech giants like Google and Samsung.

There are a lot of qualities here in Molenbeek. We are the proof, says Tawfiq El Ouazzani, 22, who credits MolenGeek with helping him and his friend Ismael Mahaj launch a website.

I thought I was going to go to be a postman or a cleaner, after dropping out of high school, said Mahaj, 20. But after I found MolenGeek I said right, I am going to be an entrepreneur, I am going to be my own boss and get clients for myself.'

A play on the name of the district and the geeks involved in the tech industry, MolenGeeks offices are in a business centre just on the other side of the canal from the rest of the city of Brussels.

The aim was to give young people a chance at building a future in a district long linked with unemployment and crime.

Open up this world

If things dont go well and if kids arent adapted to the school system or the school system isnt adapted to them, there is always a way to make a career, Ouassari said.

Between MolenGeeks launch and the time it opened its doors on March 1, 2016, Molenbeek hit world headlines as a supposed hotbed of extremism.

First, it emerged that several Muslims who were behind the November 13, 2015, attacks on Paris came from there. Then Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam was arrested there in March 2016, near his family home.

Days after that, the Brussels attacks brought the unwelcome attention back a third time.

Abdeslam is on trial this week over a shoot-out in Brussels that led to his arrest.

While Ouassari and his French cofounder Julie Foulon say that theyre glad MolenGeek is helping to lift the stigma from those events, their core aims are the ones they had originally  to help local youths.

Foulon said the tech industry was generally pretty elitist and with very few people from ethnic minority backgrounds, and very few women. So its important to be able to open up this world.

Now, every day, around a sixth of its 600 members visits the not-for-profit centre to brush up their computing skills, share ideas and learn business start-up techniques.

The centre has already incubated more than a dozen startups.

Young people from diverse backgrounds  from Molenbeeks largely ethnic Moroccan population but also white, black and Asian ethnic groups  sit at long open plan tables with funky wall paintings in the background.

Google and Samsung invested

The success of MolenGeek has already attracted investment from the likes of hi-tech giants Google and Samsung.

We realised in fact that the problems are similar throughout Europe, even the world, said Ouassari, the 39-year-old Belgian son of Moroccan parents.

A similar venture is planned in Padua, Italy and the EU wants to use it as a template for the whole continent.

If you are from another country, if you are another religion and you have the same idea of entrepreneur, MolenGeek is the perfect place, Italian entrepreneur Francesco Zanchin told AFP.

The 28-nation European Union, always on the lookout for ways to tackle persistent youth unemployment, is also interested.

In other parts of the European Union we will have to copy this, said Andrus Ansip, the EU digital commissioner and Estonias former prime minister.

Google executive Lie Junius said during a recent visit that the US giant had invested in MolenGeek to give access to opportunities and help Europe close the digital skills gap.

Michiel Dijkman, an executive for South Koreas Samsung, said the firm is supporting MolenGeek with a sense of urgency.

For Ouassari, MolenGeeks success is satisfying after more than two decades of difficult efforts to help his neighbourhood.

It was like Don Quixote, tilting at windmills, Ouassari said. You have to bring guarantees to these young people so that they have a future.
Rights groups and family say compensation demand is part an escalating Israeli repressive policy against Palestinians.

Ramallah, occupied West Bank  Abdulla has never met his older brother and namesake, but the one-year-old doesnt fail to point at the many pictures of his sibling that adorn the familys living room and often blow it a kiss.

I didnt want to name him Abdulla, the boys mother, Zeinat Ghneimat, said.

For weeks, I didnt call the little one by his name, she told Al Jazeera while choking back tears.

I told his father, I wont be able to call his name, knowing Abdulla is no longer with us.

Less than three years ago, an Israeli military jeep flipped over and killed 21-year-old Abdulla, the familys eldest son.

On January 3, 2018, the Ghneimat family got a bill from Israel, demanding $28,000 in compensation for the jeep damage.

Abdulla was crushed to death by the Israeli army jeep during a raid in his village of Kufr Malek, northeast of Ramallah before dawn on June 14, 2015.

According to a lawsuit filed by the family against Israel in June 2017, Abdulla was trapped under the jeep and bled to death after Israeli forces denied him medical aid.

He was slowly executed, Naela Atiya, the familys lawyer, told Al Jazeera.

Zeinat Ghneimat holds Abdulla, who plays with a necklace with a picture of his older brother [Rania Zabaneh/Al Jazeera]

According to witnesses, locals begged the soldiers to lift the jeep 10 centimetres as he was being crushed; they didnt allow them, Atiya said.

She added that in their defence and counter-compensation claim, the Israeli state lawyer said soldiers provided medical support to Abdulla and allowed a local crane to lift the jeep, without specifying the timeframe.

The Israeli military said at the time of the incident Abdulla threw a firebomb at the jeep, causing it to swerve and hit him. It vowed to launch an investigation.

The findings of that investigation are being reviewed by the military prosecution, the Israeli army told Al Jazeera this month. The family maintains their son was on his way home after a night shift at a poultry farm where he worked.

For Abdullas family, a wound that never healed was rubbed in salt by Israelis compensation demand. Shocked and disgusted Abdullas parents said they believe the Israeli occupation authorities are not after their money, rather their will.

They want us to give up; they dont want to hold their officers and soldiers accountable, Iyad, Abdullas father said.

In response to an Al Jazeera query on the matter, the Israeli Ministry of Defense said it submitted a statement of defence to the court stating that the event in which the plaintiff was killed constitutes wartime activity as defined by the law, and, therefore, the state is immune from prosecution in this event.

It added: In light of the damage that was caused to the [military] jeep [as a result of the Molotov cocktail thrown by the plaintiff], the ministry has filed a countersuit.

But the family remains defiant.

They want to compensate the metal, fine. Well give them whatever they want on the condition that they return our son back to life, Zeinat Ghneimat said.

They want to exploit us in every way

{articleGUID}

Although extreme, and possibly unprecedented, activists argue that the compensation demand is in line with an escalating Israeli repressive policy against Palestinians.

They deal with Palestinians, the living and the dead, as if theyre milking a cow! said Shawan Jabarin, the director of Al-Haq, a human rights organisation, based in Ramallah.

They want to exploit us in every possible way, he added.

They want to ban speech, resistance and they want to benefit financially.

Earlier last year, the Israeli Knesset passed a law that recognises verdicts by military courts as admissible evidence in legal procedures in an Israeli court.

The laws initiator is quoted saying it would make it easier for victims of terror to demand compensation from convicted terrorists in civilian courts since they wont have to begin the legal process from zero.

Compensation for Palestinians nonexistent

Meanwhile, Israel has passed legislation and introduced restrictions that broaden the legal definition of what constitutes a warfare activity. The moves have rendered the chances of Palestinians getting compensation virtually nonexistent.

A March 2017 BTselem report showed a drop of nearly 95 percent of new lawsuits filed by Palestinian victims from 2012 to 2016, compared with those filed between 2002 and 2006. The report went on to say that Israel has lowered the price to be paid for harm to Palestinians while maintaining a false show of a functioning justice system.

Jabarin echoed the same sentiment.

Israeli courts, when it gets to Palestinians, act as a stamp to legitimise the illegitimate, he said.

These are the same courts, that according to Issa Qaraqe, the head of the Palestinian Prisoners Commission, issued $5.8m worth of fines on prisoners in 2017.

These are astronomic figures at a time Palestinians suffer high unemployment, difficult economical conditions, Jabarin said. Its a way to pressure the inhabitants, an attempt to break the Palestinian will.

Qaraqe described the fines as theft.

He said Israel is trying to deter Palestinians by imposing collective punishment on Palestinian families, which constitutes a violation of international law.

Back in Kufr Malek, the Ghneimat family is convinced Israel acts above the law.

Israel doesnt care about the world, international organisations or human rights. They act as if theyre the only ones on the planet, Iyad Ghneimat said. They want to make it impossible for us, but we have the right, they wont break us.
Jose Maria Guizar Valencias apprehension comes as 5,000 federal police officers are being deployed across Mexico.

Authorities in Mexico say they have arrested an alleged leader of a major drug cartel, Los Zetas, as thousands of federal police have been deployed across the country in an effort to stem a staggering number of homicides.

Jose Maria Guizar Valencia, a dual US-Mexican citizen known by his Zetas code name Z 43, was arrested on Thursday in Mexico City, Mexican federal officials said on Friday.

The US had offered a $5m reward for information that could lead to Valencias arrest and has already requested his extradition.

Al Jazeeras Manuel Rapalo, reporting from Cancun, said Valencia had been evading the authorities since 2014.

He faces several drug trafficking charges in the US states of Texas and Virginia, the US Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs says on its website.

Valencia had complete command and control of his own faction of Los Zetas in southern Mexico, the bureau said, and is accused of being responsible for the importation of thousands of kilogrammes of cocaine and methamphetamine into the US every year.

Record number of homicides

The high-profile arrest comes as 5,000 Mexican federal police officers are being deployed to cities across Mexico to fight a recent surge in homicides.

About 25,000 people were murdered in Mexico last year, the highest tally since the country began keeping records two decades ago.

Most homicides are related to organised crime. They are committed by criminal groups competing for control over other criminal groups. All of it is related to the sale of drugs, Darwin Puc Acosta, chief of police in Cancun, told Al Jazeera.

About 4,000 police officers have already been sent to Tijuana, Cancun and the state of Baja California Sur, among other places, since the start of the year.

The deployment is part of a larger strategy thats been going on to curb back the violence in the country for well over a decade now, Al Jazeeras Rapalo explained.





But security analysts have criticised Mexicos strategy and the increased militarisation of the countrys police force.

Civil society activists, meanwhile, say the deployment of security forces has not served everyone equally: while police patrols may have increased in predominantly touristic areas, they say residential and other neighbourhoods continue to see widespread violence.

The decisions of the federal government are to protect the hotel industry, said Rosa Maria Marquez, an activist in Cancun.

But what about the ones that work in that industry and then return to the areas where crime and violence prevails?

Rapalo said the focus in Cancun has indeed been on protecting the citys reputation as a major destination for holidaymakers. Cancuns tourism industry brings in a third of all such revenues generated in the country.

But he said the increased police presence ultimately aims to prevent that violence from 2017 from spilling over into new territories and new cities in Mexico.
Former Georgian leader Mikheil Saakashvili says Ukraine is trying to get rid of him for anti-corruption campaigning.

Mikheil Saakashvili, former Georgian president and current leader of an opposition party in Ukraine, has accused Ukrainian officials of wanting to get rid of him, days after a court rejected his plea for protection from possible extradition.

Saakashvili  who is wanted in Georgia on four charges, including abuse of office  and faces separate criminal charges in Ukraine, told Mehdi Hasan on Al Jazeeras UpFront current affairs show that Ukrainian prosecutors have no evidence against him.

The reason why they want to get rid of me is that they dont have a real case against me, [and] because I crossed the path of oligarchs that want to further plunder the country, he said.

[Ukraine] is potentially the wealthiest country in Europe because of resources and right now its the poorest country in Europe, GDP-wise, because seven oligarchs hold hostage the entire wealth of the country and they regard me as their main enemy.

On January 5, a Ukrainian court rejected Saakashvilis request for protection from extradition, denying him the status of a person in need of sanctuary.

Saakashvili told Al Jazeera he would continue to refuse to return to Georgia to stand trial, citing concerns that he may be placed in preliminary detention for political purposes.

In July 2017, Ukraine stripped Saakashvili of his citizenship while he was visiting the United States, rendering him stateless.

Saakashvili had already surrendered his Georgian citizenship on account of Ukraine forbidding the possession of dual citizenship.

In September, he re-entered Ukraine by force at a crossing on the Polish border, two months before Ukrainian police failed in an attempt to arrest him in Kiev, the capital.

Ukrainian prosecutors accuse Saakashvili of having assisted a criminal organisation, a charge he claims is a politically motivated attempt to undermine his campaign to win the Ukrainian presidency from incumbent Petro Poroshenko.

Saakashvili has been an outspoken critic of Poroshenko since resigning as governor of the Black Sea Odessa region in November 2016, 18 months after assuming the post, claiming that corruption was stifling his work.

I stand up for the idea of modernised, democratic, European Ukraine with an economy free of oligarchs [and] free of corruption, because corruption is killing the economy, he told Al Jazeera.

Ukraine was registered as the 131st most corrupt nation of 175 countries surveyed in Transparency Internationals 2016 corruption perceptions index, the highest ranking European country.
Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo face up to 14 years in prison for working on report on massacre by Myanmar security forces.

Two Reuters news agency journalists held for two months by Myanmar authorities were arrested over their investigation of a massacre of 10 Rohingya men, the news agency said in a report that detailed the killings.

It is the first time Reuters has publicly confirmed what Myanmar nationals Wa Lone, 31, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 27, were working on when they were arrested on December 12 on the outskirts of Yangon.

The pair are now facing up to 14 years in prison on charges of possessing classified documents in violation of the colonial-era Official Secrets Act.

Their plight has sparked global alarm over withering press freedoms in Myanmar and government efforts to curb reporting in northern Rakhine state  a crisis-hit region where troops are accused of waging an ethnic cleansing campaign against Muslim-majority Rohingya.

Nearly 700,000 Rohingya have fled the area since last August, carrying stories of atrocities at the hands of troops and vigilante groups in the Buddhist-majority country.

Myanmar authorities deny the allegations but have virtually cut off northern Rakhine, barring independent media from accessing the conflict-hit areas.

On Thursday Reuters published a report describing how Myanmar troops and Buddhist villagers executed 10 Rohingya men in Rakhines Inn Dinn village on September 2, 2017 before dumping their bodies into a mass grave.

The Reuters investigation of the Inn Din massacre was what prompted Myanmar police authorities to arrest two of the news agencys reporters, the report said.

The account was based on testimony from Buddhist villagers, security officers and relatives of the slain men.

It included graphic photographs of the victims, hands bound kneeling on the floor before the killing  and of their bodies in a pit after they were shot.

[ATTENTION  VISUAL COVERAGE OF SCENES OF DEATH BELOW]

Ten Rohingya Muslim men with their hands bound kneel as members of the Myanmar security forces stand guard in Inn Din village [Reuters]

The bodies of 10 Rohingya Muslim men lie in a shallow grave in Inn Din village, Myanmar, in this undated image obtained by Reuters on November 22 [Reuters]

Their ages ranged from 17 to 45. Among them were students, fishermen, farmers and shop owners. They were all part of the same Rohingya community in Inn Din.

When they were taking them away, they said dont worry. We will send your sons back soon. We are taking them for a meeting, the father of one victims, Abdu Shakur, said.

Abdu Shakur, whose son Rashid Ahmed was among 10 Rohingya men killed by Myanmar security forces and Buddhist villagers on September 2, 2017, holds a family picture at Kutupalong camp in Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh, January 19 [Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters]

A month after the journalists arrests, Myanmars army issued a rare statement admitting that security forces took part in extrajudicial killings of 10 Rohingya terrorists in Inn Din village.

The Reuters report said witnesses denied there had been any major attack from Rohingya rebels before the alleged massacre.

A Myanmar government spokesman could not be immediately reached for comment.

But Myanmar vehemently denies systematic abuses by its security officers, despite a mounting volume of evidence pointing to atrocities.

Judges have denied bail to the two reporters during a pre-trial hearing period, despite calls for their release from human rights groups and diplomats around the globe.

Detained Reuters journalist Kyaw Soe Oo is seen during a break at the court hearing in Yangon, Myanmar February 1 [Jorge Silva/Reuters]

Arrested Reuters journalist Wa Lone is being escorted by police after a court hearing in Yangon, Myanmar February 1, [Jorge Silva/Reuters]

The next hearing is scheduled for February 14.
Turkey has resumed air attacks in the enclave of Afrin in northern Syria, destroying more than a dozen targets and neutralising at least 34 rebels, the Turkish army says.

The fighters belonged to the Syrian Kurdish armed group YPG and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group, according to the army.

Turkish state news agency Anadolu reported on Friday that Turkish armed forces struck 19 targets overnight, as part of its ongoing operation inside Syria.

According to Turkish media, Ankaras aerial campaign was briefly halted after Russia closed the airspace over Afrin, as a result of the downing of a Russian jet in neighbouring Idlib province.





Since the operation started in January 20, an estimated 1,062 YPG and ISIL fighters have been neutralised, a term Turkey uses to imply that the fighters have either been killed, captured or have surrendered, according to Anadolu.

As of Sunday, at least 14 Turkish troops have also been reported killed in the fighting.

The Turkish military has said only terror targets are being destroyed in the operation, but Syrian Kurds said that villages full of civilians have also been repeatedly hit, with reports of more than a hundred killed.

Afrins General Public Hospital was also quoted by Voice of America as saying that at least 26 children have been killed and 40 others injured from the Turkish attacks.

Earlier, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that between 15,000 to 30,000 civilians have been internally displaced in Afrin because of the operation.

Turkey insists that its operation in Afrin is fully in line with international law, saying that the presence of the Syrian Kurdish YPG in the area is a security threat to the country.

Turkey sees the YPG  trained, armed and supported by the US to fight against ISIL  as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has fought a bloody, decades-long uprising in the country.

Meanwhile, Oleg Syromolotov, Russias deputy foreign minister, said on Thursday that the developments in Afrin have been provoked by the action of the US, accusing Washington of planning to supply more weapons to US-allied groups within Syria.

Syrian Kurdish demonstrators gather in Afrin on Tuesday to protest against Turkey [AP]




Student Government political parties met with students to come up with campaign platform ideas Thursday.

Challenge Party released its platform Thursday. Impact Party released its full platform Friday. Inspire Party release its platform Sunday.

Challenge Party released its entire platform on social media Thursday.

Janae Moodie, who is running for Student Body president, said Challenge would like to pilot an online sexual assault reporting program, which will track reported sexual assault on campus and ensure privacy in reporting.

Were hoping this will ultimately make our campus more safe for students, Moodie said.

Impact released its first five platform points through social media Wednesday and and five platform points Thursday.

Omarley Spence, Impact president, said the party wants to focus on diversity by revitalizing the Student Government Diversity and Programming Committee under the executive branch.

Thats going to be an amazing program thats going to focus on all of the different ideas that would focus on diversity, Spence said.

Spence said hes excited to advocate for online students in the Pathway to Campus Enrollment program and Innovation Academy programs when theyre away in the Fall. He suggested creating virtual office hours with Student Body executives.

We realized that theres not a huge platform for students that may not be on campus, Spence said. It will be a revolutionary step to engaging with students on a whole other level.

Nick Poindexter was approached by Impact while walking to the Reitz Union.

The UF electrical engineering junior said he stopped to ask them to lobby for a better student health care plan. After he dislocated his left shoulder two weeks ago when he fell from the bleachers at a gymnastics meet, he needed an MRI that would cost him about $1,300 after the copay.

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I know that they have the ability to lobby with the health care provider on our behalf to make that plan better, the 20-year-old said.

Ashley Grabowski, Inspires campaign manager, said they expect to release their official platform next week. She said theyve seen about 300 students each day.

Grabowski said students have talked about online voting, Multicultural and Diversity Affairs and more dance space for UF dancers.

We definitely want to make sure were advocating for all students across campus, Grabowski said.

Released Platform Points

Impact Party:

Introduce a textbook donation and rental program

Promote the African American Studies Program to departmental status

Implement virtual office hours with Student Body executives

Develop a scholarship for caps and gowns cost

Launch a financial literacy program with the Student Financial Affairs Office

Revitalize SGs Diversity and Programming Committee

Lobby for Bright Futures funding for Innovation Academy students

Expand SG programming for Gator ROTC and veteran students

Implement a grant program for innovative student-driven projects

Fight for the Clean Dream Act

Bimonthly student government meetings with city officials and police to address local issues

More Halal and Kosher food options on campus for Muslim and Jewish students

Implement live capacity updates at Southwest Recreation Center and the Student Recreation Center

Expand free printing across campus and residence halls

Provide two-ply toilet paper on campus

Challenge Party:

Offer student legal services for undocumented students

Create a Living Learning Community for LGBTQ+ students

Launch a minority recruitment program

Increase accessible parking for the Disability Resource Center

Subsidize off-campus tutoring services

Implement a waitlist system for full classes

Lobby for fee waivers for graduate students

Pilot virtual medical services for after-hours care

Revitalize the International Peer Support Program through the Counseling & Wellness Center

Pilot a secure online sexual assault reporting program

Broaden accessibility to menstrual hygiene products across campus

Expand free printing to libraries

Lobby to extend nightlife hours one hour after last call

Implement online voting similar to other SEC schools

Promote the use of reusable water bottles through on-campus discounts

Advocate for more vegan and vegetarian options

Inspire Party:

Replace memorials of hate with those of civil rights and social justice

Provide an online voting option for student elections

Open an Undocumented Students Resource Center

Offer free menstrual hygiene products in all campus bathrooms and $10 Plan B pills in vending machines

Start an on-campus farmers market, offer dining options that can use an app for ordering, capabilities for extended dining hours at the Reitz Union food court

Create programs for students who need help adjusting to campus

Allow students to vote for which 24/7 library they prefer and open it, repair and install new electrical outlets in libraries

Allow unused free prints to roll over from previous semesters

Open more designated dance and dance storage spaces

Advocate for accessible free rape kits, implement Callisto, a sexual assault reporting program

Conduct a study on American Disabilities Act compliance issues, create an online form for disabled students to place accommodation requests

Expand mental health resources available for students, offer training for faculty and staff on recognizing survivors of mental illness, sexual assault, domestic violence, etc.

Introduce a gender-inclusive residence hall

Advocate for UF to join the University Climate Change Coalition and support the Office of Sustainability's plan to be carbon-neutral by 2025

Advocate for more student parking

Advocate for graduate students to be able to opt out of paying fees for some programs

End unfair labor practices on campus

Clarification: This article has been updated to reflect that Impact released five points Wednesday and five points Thursday.

Contact Christina Morales at cmorales@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter at @Christina_M18.

Elise Mills, 18, a first year biology student learns about the Challenge Party platform which includes subsidizing private tutoring and lower the cost of online classes.
Engineering Senate candidates answered questions from students they hope to represent at Thursdays debate.

About 70 engineering students asked about communication, funding and representation among other departments to better gauge who to vote for Feb. 20 and 21. Benton Engineering Council, a student organization in the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering, hosted the debate. This was the first debate in five years the council has hosted.

Representatives from each political party spoke to students about their policies and values for three minutes, then two engineering candidates from each party had one minute to answer students questions.

Impact Party engineering candidate Anthony Temeliescu said students voiced their concerns about their ability to talk with their senators.

Its hard to get out to office hours with the burden of the schoolwork, Temeliescu said. I think oftentimes that ends up leading to engineering students not feeling engaged.

Amy Emerson, a Challenge Party engineering candidate, said students mentioned concerns about a lack of funding.

Emerson said a lot of engineering teams, like Solar Gators, have to ask companies for parts because they cant pay for them themselves.

I wasnt expecting those questions, but I know its important, Emerson said.

Inspire Party engineering candidate Gantt Meredith said the senators representing the college could fix communication problems with an electronic mailing list.

It seems like the engineering communication pipeline is very clogged right now, Meredith said. That Listserv will be a way for everyone to be as transparent as possible.

Contact Christina Morales at cmorales@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter at @Christina_M18.

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In The Wealth of Nations from 1776, Adam Smith wrote, nothing is more useful than water. As much as the father of modern economics believed in a free market, that invisible hand occasionally reached for a glass of water like any other.

Adam Smith wrote the line above to describe the diamond-water paradox, explaining the difference in price and value between products. More than 225 years later, considering a monetary price for water does not justify the true value of water for each and every one of us. Like air, water is one of the few tangible things on earth that are truly priceless, yet people do not treat it as such.

Water resources is an environmental issue. As with all environmental issues, people will unfortunately continue to prioritize their everyday activities and ignore future problems. The thought of possibly apocalyptic changes from future environmental problems can put a damper on anybodys day, so many choose to hope rather than plan. Nevertheless, water conservation is a manageable problem if simple concepts like taking five-minute showers and decreasing recreational water use move beyond a catchy Earth Day campaign.

Water scarcity may have been viewed as a problem to address in the future, but it cant be viewed as such anymore. According to researchers at MIT, more than half of the world population will live in water-stressed areas by 2050.

South African officials predict that Cape Town will become the first major city to run out of water, turning off the valves for about a million homes in April of this year. City officials are preparing for Day Zero, the day when the citys six-dam reservoir system will reach below 13.5 percent capacity. Some scientists point to climate change for the exacerbated water shortages, but what matters now is what we can do today to directly improve water management.

Water is a finite resource, yet some believe humans can just increase the potable water supply through desalination plants. Desalination, the process of removing salt from seawater, seems like a grand idea to solve the worlds water crisis, and South Africa is scrambling to finish three plants before Day Zero comes. However, water desalination has some drawbacks. Water supply will diminish to the point where the costs and energy necessary for desalination become feasible, but water drinkers of the world must also think of the treatment of water itself.

As much credit as people may want to give engineers, they cant feasibility treat everything under the sun. In South Africa, researchers warn about the level of contamination in seawater from treated wastewater dumped into the ocean. Unlike the Safe Water Drinking Standards of the United States, other countries like South Africa require minimal, if any, treatment to wastewater before it is discharged. South Africas national water standards dont go much further than the removal of sizable objects like diapers. Once South Africa turns on their desalination plants, city officials may be doing nothing more than giving their citizens a choice of dehydration or E. coli.

In a time when the nightmare of running out of water might become reality, experts still think the best solution to preventing Cape Towns Day Zero lies with what most of us learned in elementary school. Ian Neilson, civil engineer and deputy mayor of Cape Town, estimates that decreasing daily water consumption by 25 percent will keep the water supply at a functional level until the rainy season starts in May. No matter how far technology develops or how much money investors pour into new ideas, simply conserving water was, is and always will be the most effective solution.

Some argue that humans insignificantly impact their environment. Some may even argue that climate change is just a scientific hoax. But, no one can argue the importance of water to all life. Water needs to be accurately treated to its value. If not, we will have to start planning for the realistic scenario where we turn a faucet handle and nothing comes out.

Joshua Udvary is a UF environmental engineering junior. His columns focus on science.

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President Oprah would have two bludgeons to beat the American people into submission; her race and gender. Anyone who opposes Queen Oprah implementing her far-left racial socialist/progressive agenda will be high-tech flogged and lynched.

The American left is giddy about Oprah running for president in 2020. White America naively thought electing a black president would end them being called racist. But Obama and his minions used his skin color as a bludgeon to beat into submission and silence anyone who opposed him behaving as our king, ignoring laws and the Constitution. Republicans sheepishly complied.

Hopefully, voters will say to leftists, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. We fell for your Trojan Horse, Obama. We will not fall for another leftist fanatic, Oprah."

Will black Christians betray Christ to support Oprah the way they did Obama? Black preachers who preached against homosexuality and abortion for decades reversed their opinions to support Obama.

Under Obama, my brother said that his black church hired attorneys to fight government attacking their religious liberty. His congregation loves Democrats and hate Republicans. My brother is fearless regarding speaking his mind. He told church board members their behavior was insane. He said voting for Democrats is like giving your enemies hammers to hit you in the head and then purchasing helmets to protect yourself from them. Board members think he's weird.

Black Christians are unaware or refuse to accept that Obama was America's most biblically hostile U. S. president. A black minister buddy of 30 years defended Obama claiming we're not a Christian nation. Clearly, black Christians chose racial loyalty over Christ.

Will black Christian voters ignore presidential candidate Oprah saying that Jesus is not the only way to heaven? Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the father, but by me." Oprah said that Jesus claiming his exclusive divinity "would make Jesus the biggest egoist that ever lived." Sadly, black megachurch pastors will ignore Oprah's blasphemy, urging their congregations to vote for the first black woman president.

Oprah promoted the outrageous lie that homosexuality is a gift from God. Oprah is a Leftist zealot fighting for an anti-biblical sexual revolution.

Leftists' believe that childbirth destroys the planet. Leftists' shroud their war on the unborn with pretty words like "defending reproductive freedom" and "open and equal access to family planning." In plain language, leftist like Oprah, the NAACP, and the Congressional Black Caucus passionately support killing babies to save the planet. Planned Parenthood illegally crops up babies for profit. "Intact" baby heads sell at premium prices.

Planned Parenthood was founded by racist Margaret Sanger to exterminate blacks because she thought them inferior and a menace to society.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's niece, Dr. Alveda King, along with other black Christians, are exposing Planned Parenthood's war on black babies. Why are 79% of Planned Parenthood clinics located in minority communities? Black abortions are disproportionately high. Blacks are only 13% of the population. And yet, 30% of aborted babies are black.

Since 1973, over 60 million babies have been aborted; over one third of them black -- stealth black genocide. Oprah places her leftist ideology above the best interest of black Americans. Oprah's Democrats fight to continue giving Planned Parenthood $500 million a year to kill black babies. Pro-life advocates want that $500 mil given to women clinics that do not perform adoptions. Non-abortion clinics outnumber Planned Parenthood 20 to 1. More black babies will die if Oprah is elected.

Even black leftist Tavis Smiley admitted that blacks moved backwards under Obama. Under Trump, black unemployment dropped to an historical low. Oprah and fake news persist in insidiously attempting to brand Trump racist. Oprah's presidency would harm blacks -- killing jobs by reinstating Obama's absurd environmental regulations and punishing taxes.

I remember black Americans, despite overwhelming evidence of his guilt, shamefully celebrating OJ getting away with practically beheading the mother of his children. Despite Obama's unprecedented attacks on religious liberty and policies harmful to blacks, blacks still overwhelmingly worship Obama. Therefore, I doubt that Oprah undeifying Jesus, her Leftist policies sure to harm blacks economically, nor her support for black genocide will impact blacks blind loyalty to her skin color in 2020.

Lloyd Marcus, The Unhyphenated American

Help Lloyd spread the Truth

http://LloydMarcus.com
Disinformation: Russian Espionage, Infiltration, Influence Peddling, and Sabotage

If we had paid more attention to Ion Mihai Pacepa when he defected from the Rumanian Intelligence Service as the highest ranking communist intelligence defector we have ever had, we wouldnt be asking dumb questions about Russian manipulation or disruption of Western Nation politics. Pacepa is now 89 and defected to the US in 1978. When he defected, he was an intimate of the dictator Ceausescu and had multiple high positions in the Romanian government. We all know the Romanians did what the Russians told them to do, just like all the Eastern Bloc Countries, and in particular in matters of black ops, Bulgaria. Pacepa on Raul Castro's yacht off Cuba, 1974 Since Pacepa was the highest ranking Eastern Bloc defector, his knowledge and insights were and are superior to what we have from other sources.

The story of Romanian efforts to kill Pacepa after his defection and his effective efforts to destroy Romanian intelligence assets and the regime of the dictator Ceausescu by his cooperation with US intel assets are not the story for today. His expose book on the Romanian tyranny, Red Horizons: Chronicles of a Communist Spy Chief (1990) covered that topic, including Romanias effort to hire assassins to kill him. Instead, I will focus on Pacepas warning to the Western world in his book Disinformation: Former Spy Chief Reveals Secret Strategies for Undermining Freedom, Attacking Religion, and Promoting Terrorism, with Ronald J. Rychlak. 429 pp 8.69 kindle 15. 29 hardcover ISBN 978-1936488988, Washington DC WND Books, Inc. 2013. Pacepa worked with the CIA on multiple projects to blunt the efforts of the Communist Eastern Bloc during the 80s, but after a period of time he was no longer utilized by intelligence services, I would suspect because he has strongly held conservative anti-communist views. He warns that Muslim terrorists are tools of Russia. Pacepa, since he was discarded by the Intel community, has been a prolific and aggressive writer of essays and books. He has devoted his efforts to the education of America and the Western Powers on the nature of Communist subversive propaganda and disinformation practices. Disinformation is Pacepas warning to America and the Western World about the reach and influence of communist propaganda and disinformation and its ability to compromise Western culture, traditions, institutions and influence movements in target societies. He warns us: do not underestimate the magnitude of effort and the effectiveness of the communist intelligence, propaganda and espionage operations, or their ability to sow seeds of destruction in western societies. For example, all foreign representatives of Russia (the USSR) are agentsphysicians, nurses, engineersthey are all saboteurs or at least provocateurs for the movement, and they are agents for the regime or they would not be out of the country. The book challenges the false histories and slanders, the effort to tear down Christianity, even Popes and of course bishops and cardinals in the Eastern European countries. He tells about how the Kremlin, even after the collapse of communism, is working the disinformation (dezinformatsiya) project against Jews to energize the Islamic threat against the West and how it actively supports terrorism around the world. Learn in this book how the commies made Pope Pius XII Hitlers Pope in spite of his efforts to help the Jews and his wide acclaim among the Jews. Instead, he was thought to be anti-Semite by a whole generation influenced by the propaganda. The fake story play The Deputy was the tool used to discredit Pius XII, and it was very effective. The book describes a long list of multifarious operations by the Russian intelligence community that were intended to weaken Western institutions and society. Infiltrations of supposedly legitimate organizations in the United States by communists for purposes of subversionfor example the National Council of Churches and the Enterprise for Democratic Renewal. A Disinformation project. Do you believe the decline of Christianity and the serial efforts to discredit religious leaders are just the natural development of things or possibly the infiltration of main line churches and propaganda aimed at character assassination? A Disinformation project. Do you consider the leftward socialist drift of the academy just a natural thing or the result of disinformation? Do you consider the well-developed anti-American attitudes of the Democrat Party going back to McGovern, a communist as a young lawyer, to be just a natural thing or a product of disinformation? Do you consider the development of liberation theology, the thinly veiled Marxist socialist pseudo religious activism that started in South American Catholicism and spread to Catholic clergy and an active element of the laity around the world now all the way to the socialist papacy to be a natural thing in an organization that was, a short time ago a bastion of anticommunism a natural development or due to disinformation? If the left in the United States considers the United States to be the source of evil and oppression and guilty of heinous sins against the human race, would that be a natural development or due to disinformation? Ion Pacepa was the most important intelligence acquisitions of the United States in the past 30 years. He has insights only available from a well-trained communist intelligence officer. Read his book so you might evaluate the nonsense coming out of DC and realize there is plenty of disinformation that is repeated to us by our side and certainly our media. We are a more open society and certainly vulnerable to propaganda and disinformation. John Dale Dunn MD JD is an emergency physician and inactive member of the Texas Bar who lives in Brownwood, Texas
The first is the Law of Rationing. In short, "Everything is rationed, either by price or by rule." I can't afford a private jet. Price rationing limits those to people of substantial wealth, and their high price acts as a signal in the market to balance the supply of private jets with the market of willing buyers.

Donald Trump tweeted that Britain's National Health Service is "broke and not working." All too true: expenses have forced 40% of walk-in health centers to close, all elective surgery in January to be cancelled, and primary care has been decimated , it's not surprising that problems have surfaced. It is just as predictable that the usual call for "more money" echoes around the UK. All this is the result of economic laws that have been completely ignored since the days of Aneurin Bevan , the father of the UK NHS.

But suppose that the government declared that private jets were free. Everyone would want one. Suddenly there would be a shortage of hangars and runway space. And to pay for the jets, taxes on workers would rise, because the workers who build private jets have to get paid. The unintended consequences are mind-blowing. Ultimately, the government would have to start limiting who could have private jets. First, they would require a pilot's license. Then, more secure hangars would be required. Finally, you'd have to prove that you really, really need a private jet.

Substitute "Free Health Care" for "Private Jets" and you get the picture. Nothing is free. As the protagonist in The Moon is a Harsh Mistress notes,

"Gospodin," he said presently, "you used an odd word earlier -- odd to me, I mean..." "Oh, 'tanstaafl.' Means 'There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.' And isn't," I added, pointing to a FREE LUNCH sign across room, "or these drinks would cost half as much. Was reminding her that anything free costs twice as much in long run or turns out worthless." "An interesting philosophy." "Not philosophy, fact. One way or other, what you get, you pay for."

Or, as the mechanic in the Fram oil filter ad says, "You can pay me now, or pay me later." You pay either way. Unfortunately, if you try to be cheap by legislating "free" health care now, you'll pay dearly later. Health care that was rationed by price will become rationed by rules that make it less and less available.

In England, this process is reaching a tipping point. A couple of years ago people were waiting many hours in the Emergency Department just to be seen by a doctor. So the NHS ruled in 2004 that 95% of all patients would be seen within four hours of arrival. In order to avoid breaking the rule, Emergency Departments refused to allow ambulances to unload their patients until the ED could meet the time standard. So patients were stuck in ambulances outside the ED door, and there weren't enough ambulances left to answer calls. Now the rule has been scrapped. Predictably, the left-wing members of Parliament are calling for more money. And that brings us to the second law.

The Law of Subsidy says that "When you subsidize something, you get more of it and it gets more expensive." In England, this happened a bit more slowly than in the U.S. It may be that the older generations of Britons were a bit more "proper" than us Yanks, and so tended to rely less on the dole than current generations. This slowed the growth of the NHS but did not change the ultimate outcome.

The National Health Service was sold as a way to provide health care to an underprivileged population. Aneurin Bevan stated that,

"The collective principle asserts that... no society can legitimately call itself civilised if a sick person is denied medical aid because of lack of means." "The National Health service and the Welfare State have come to be used as interchangeable terms, and in the mouths of some people as terms of reproach. Why this is so it is not difficult to understand, if you view everything from the angle of a strictly individualistic competitive society. A free health service is pure Socialism and as such it is opposed to the hedonism of capitalist society."

The language of his disdain for economic laws should be familiar in tone. By calling capitalism "uncivilised" and "hedonism," he presaged Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals and its call to "Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it." The truth is unimportant. Victory is all that matters.

Bevan succeeded, but his victory is being erased by the Law of Subsidy. What was sold as a boon to the poor has become a subsidy for bureaucrats. The Law of the Bureaucrat declares that while a bureaucracy may have been created to deal with a perceived problem, the bureaucrat's Prime Directive is to ensure that he has a job forever. And because he was appointed to solve the problem, he's smarter than everyone else and should be paid accordingly.

Perversely, the bureaucrat can never solve the problem, or his job would disappear. So he continues with the language that created him, trying to sell greater and greater funding for his failed enterprise. And when it fails more dramatically, he blames anyone but himself, and gets rewarded with a bigger budget. Ultimately, as Margaret Thatcher famously quipped, "The problem with liberalism is that eventually you run out of other people's money."

The Law of Subsidy has killed the NHS. It just doesn't realize that it is dead. But thousands of those it was created to care for are dead, because it simply cannot fulfill its promised goals. And the U.S. is headed down the same path. Fortunately for us, voices are starting to point out real fixes.

I have repeatedly pointed out that government is bad for your health. Just as with the NHS, the U.S. population has been sold the lie that insurance is necessary for long life. In fact, all insurance does is increase cost, because it's a subsidy for those who provide health care. But there has been a conspiracy of silence over this fact. Further, the treatment of health insurance premiums as a non-taxed "fringe benefit" makes it easier to subsidize further. In short, Congress passes a pretty "benefit" that you actually pay for. And it ultimately ratchets costs higher.

President Trump has done a bit to reverse the trend, but private citizens are doing more. Medishare is a private cost sharing program that provides care at a fraction of insurance rates. Outpatient surgery centers such as the Surgery Center of Oklahoma operate at lower costs because they don't have to wrestle with insurance companies. And many physicians are now providing concierge Direct Primary Care at drastically reduced costs.

What do these have in common? They are completely outside the government and insurance company umbrellas. Patients see how much their care actually costs. Providers work to be competitive in order to attract patients. And patient satisfaction is much greater.

I spent thirty-two years on the medical staff of a major metropolitan medical center. There was no incentive for the administration to ever negotiate with an individual on price. Instead, it was always a deal between the hospital and the insurance company. My medical group did the same thing. We negotiated prices with Blue Cross, Humana, and other insurance companies. They passed on the costs to patients via premiums, all the while lobbying for more and more mandates on coverage.

Could there be a system more devoted to screwing the public? No one is personally intending to cause harm to anyone else. In fact, my group worked hard to provide high-quality care. But the incentives are there for all to see, if they will look. The Laws of Rationing, Subsidy, and the Bureaucrat are laws of nature. Nothing will ever repeal them. Our only hope is to stop going down the roads to which they lead us.
The Holocaust, the Poles, and World War II Memory

A hurricane of recrimination has erupted between Poland and Israel. It all started because the Poles are sick and tired of hearing the scurrilous slander of Polish concentration camps. Thats Holocaust revisionism plain and simple. The camps were German and Nazi. However, a bumbling Polish attempt to fix the problem via regulation blew up in Warsaws face. What began as a historians quarrel gone public has spun out of control into a diplomatic row between Israel and Poland. Jerusalem enjoys the support of world public opinion, Ukraine, and, most importantly, the United States of America. Warsaw initially suffered isolation but now it has unexpectedly found new champions: Germany and Russia. This has a dangerous potential for the crisis to metastasize into the world of military geopolitics, thus endangering the Western system of alliances, NATO in particular.

Washington concurs with Israels fears that Poland wants to thwart academic freedom and cover up real and imagined Polish wartime crimes. Kiev, meanwhile, has joined the anti-Warsaw bandwagon to object to Polands condemnation of Ukrainian integral nationalism and its leader Stephan Bandera and his followers, whom the Poles hold responsible for ethnic cleansing and genocide during World War II. On the other hand, Russias largest political party predictably supports Poland because of its opposition to Ukraines extreme nationalists. And Germany has stepped in unexpectedly to admit that, indeed, the term Polish concentration camps is quite unfair and inaccurate. The disparate stances have been amplified in editorial pages and social media all over the world. On the face of it, the international furor is about an attempt by the ruling Law and Justice party (Prawo i Sprawiedliwosc -- PiS) to amend a piece of legislation, namely the Act of December 18, 1998, regulating Polands Institute of National Remembrance. According to the newly introduced amendment, Article 55a, anyone ascribing publicly and falsely responsibility or co-responsibility to the Polish Nation or to the Polish State for the Nazi crimes committed by the Third German Reich will be prosecuted, fined, or imprisoned. This does not apply to anyone who has committed this act as part of their artistic or scientific activity (legal analysis here). To disentangle the legalese: first, the new Article 55a seems to contradict (without overriding) the old Article 55 of the same Act. The latter penalizes denying Nazi crimes (including Holocaust revisionism) and Communist crimes (including not only mass murder but also persecution of dissidents and others), as well as war crimes and crimes against humanity. Second, the new amendment means that no historian, author, or performer will face any penalties whatsoever for publishing or publicizing anything. If so, why introduce the new law? Was it a public relations stunt? If so, it badly misfired for the PiS. Second, one would have to accuse collectively either the Polish State or the Polish Nation of collaboration with the Nazis, to qualify as a wrongdoer. Nobody half-versed in the tragedy of the Second World War could ever allege anything like this. Collectively, the Poles were victims of Hitler and Stalin and not their collaborator. In September 1939, Poland was destroyed jointly by the Third Reich and the Soviet Union. Throughout the Second World War Polands government was in exile in the West, a part of the Allied coalition. Thus, since the Polish State did not exist in occupied Poland, except as the leader of the anti-German underground, there was no state collaboration. The very name Poland was indeed obliterated and its lands were treated as a Nazi and Soviet colonies. Further, no collective national collaboration was possible since the Germans considered Polish Christians as sub-humans and, accordingly, murdered between 2 and 3 million of them (in addition to annihilating over 3 million Polish Jews whom the Nazis regarded as non-human). Whats the problem, then? First, Warsaw introduced the law, with a singular cultural deafness, on the International Holocaust Remembrance Day (January 27). Second, the amendment as it stands, alone and in legal context, is confusing. Third, the opponents of the law, and their international supporters, including prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have misconstrued the law as condoning Holocaust revisionism and curbing academic freedom. On each count, Netanyahu and others are mistaken, as shown above. Yet, the Israelis fear that under the guise of fighting Holocaust revisionism, Poland would bar studying collaboration of some Polish nationals with the German occupiers. There are, indeed, postmodernist scholars who qualify as Holocaust revisionists since they argue that the Poles collectively are co-responsible for the Holocaust. That is just part and parcel of modern academia. However, no one has persecuted them either in or out of Poland. Also, the doors are wide open to study individual, group, and even institutional collaboration. For instance, it is possible to study the Polish Navy Blue Police in Poland as much as it is the Jewish Ghetto Police in Israel and vice versa. Further, one is somewhat baffled by the diplomatic storm because the Polish government had made the Israeli government privy to the intended amendment and consulted with it for about a year prior to the blowup. Obviously, both sides need to consult more. The libertarian perspective would be to have no law curbing freedom of speech, allowing both the postmodernists and the revisionists to spew their venom, as repulsive as it is, as well as anyone else in between. Such a solution stands no chance in Poland at the moment, alas. Law and Justice likes government intervention. Where do we go from here? Everyone should calm down. This includes politicians and pundits. Leave the field to scholars. The Poles have taken the first step by setting up a committee for mutual dialogue, which the Israelis have accepted. Also, the voices of reason have at last, if gingerly, begun to emerge from the hysterical cacophony of tweets, as recorded by Seth J. Frantzman. Venerable Moshe Arens leads the way: Blaming Poland for the Holocaust is Unjustified. Lets keep it this way. The Polish narrative need not threaten anyone of good will. And no row should threaten the Transatlantic Alliance.
A proposal intended to address an intra-industry regulatory battle could instead usher in a new "golden age" of lawsuits, enriching trial lawyers and driving up health care costs for everyone else.

In the ongoing battle between Patent-Holding Drug Companies and Generics Manufacturers, the government is poised to step in. The problem is that the only group of people looking to benefit from our benevolent government's intrusion are the trial lawyers of America.

The bill, titled the "CREATES Act," would create unprecedented new legal rights to file suit against drug companies. Experts warn that this will result in lawsuits becoming the first and primary means, rather than negotiation, of resolving disputes that arise between firms.

Under the proposal, private companies would gain the right to enforce federal drug laws by lawsuit, rather than the Federal Drug Administration deciding to bring action against violators, for the first time.

This bill will result in a huge influx of suits, as it incentivizes legal combat rather than good-faith negotiations. The act allows only 31 days after a firm first initiates contact with a competitor to reach an agreement outside the court system. The short timetable guarantees that a legal battle must ensue, creating a win for lawyers.

At issue are disputes between drug patent-holders and generics-manufacturers over extensive safety protocols surrounding the manufacturer and distribution of medicines.

The protocols, called Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS), are a special part of the FDA's approval process for drugs that require extra caution in their use or distribution.

One example is Thalidomide, a drug with numerous therapeutic uses. It also comes with some serious side effects if taken by a pregnant woman, causing severe malformation of fetuses. To prevent Thalidomide from ever being used by pregnant women, manufacturer Celgene developed a REMS with the FDA that restricts distribution to a special network of certified pharmacies.

Generics manufacturers allege that the REMS protocols are being abused to stymie their ability to produce a generic version of the name-brand drug. Name-brand manufacturers say they are trying to uphold REMS standards. The patent-holding manufacturer not only is legally liable for its drug, but would be liable for putting patients' lives at risk.

The CREATES Act is the legislative proposal put forward by allies of the generics companies. If it becomes law, it will create a dramatic expansion of the right to sue, with far-reaching consequences beyond REMS and even the drug industry.

For example, U.S. law has long protected property owners from needing to justify ownership or protect it through use. "It is the privilege of any owner of property to use or not use it, without question of motive," the Supreme Court wrote in 1908.

By contrast, the CREATES Act creates obligations on manufacturers to sell "sufficient quantities" to their competitors, even if a product is protected by a patent for many years into the future.

This obligation is more onerous because the law gives firms only 31 days following their first contact from a generic manufacturer. The penalties are steep: lawyers' fees plus all revenues from the "reference product" during the period after the deadline until an agreement is reached.

This may seem like a one-sided solution to an intra-industry dispute favoring the generic companies. However, it's not the generics companies that are its primary beneficiary; it's the trial lawyers.

Under the law, lawyers will gain a brand-new venue to go after deep-pocketed drug companies. It makes no sense for generics manufacturers to negotiate, because the outcomes are much better if they pursue legal remedies. The goal appears to be creating a landscape where lawsuits are the ordinary means of resolving disputes over these matters.

This is an outrageous gift to one of the most pernicious special interests in America. Congress should send it, like famous trial lawyer and vice presidential candidate John Edwards, into the dustbin of history.
In addition to the Sinai, Egyptian forces are expected to carry out operations against other terrorists and "criminal elements" in the Nile Delta and Western Desert. Targets there include the Muslim Brotherhood and criminal gangs.

Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has ordered what's being described as a "major offensive" in the Sinai region, where ISIS fighters have been creating chaos in the last two years.

ABC News:

The announcement comes amid local media reports of heightened alert levels in north Sinai hospitals and in other neighboring provinces in anticipation of casualties from the operation. It also comes ahead of the presidential election in March in which President Abdel[ ]Fattah el-[Sisi] is running for a second four-year term with no serious contenders. El-Sissi was elected in 2014 in a landslide with promises of restoring security. Egypt has been struggling to contain an Islamic insurgency in the turbulent Sinai region for years. Militant attacks have increased dramatically in the country since the military's 2013 ouster of elected Islamist President Mohammed Morsi following mass protests against his divisive one-year rule. The violence has been concentrated in northern Sinai Peninsula but has also spread to the mainland. In November, el-[Sisi] gave security forces a three-month deadline to restore stability to northern Sinai. His instructions followed the killing of 311 [worshipers] in a terrorist attack on a mosque in the turbulent region, the deadliest in Egypt's modern history. Later, militants fired a projectile at el-Arish airport and struck an Apache helicopter that was part of the entourage of Egypt's defense and interior ministers who were in the city on an unannounced visit on Dec. 19. Neither minister was in the aircraft when the attack took place, but the missile killed an officer and wounded two others. Egypt is currently building a buffer zone around the airport. Egypt is also facing a growing number of attacks by militants in its Western Desert along the porous border with Libya that has been the source of serious concern to authorities who contend [that]Islamic militants and smugglers use it as their route into the country. The country has been under a state of emergency after suicide bombings struck two Coptic Christian churches on Palm Sunday last year in an attack that was claimed by the Egyptian affiliate of the Islamic State group.

El-Sisi has no meaningful opposition in the March presidential election, but he certainly wants to build support among the voters, who will also elect the parliament.

There is no indication that the Israeli air force will support the attacks, but you have to figure that it will have some role to play, given its assistance the previous two years. The Egyptian army could use Israel's help. While large and well equipped, the Egyptian military has had a lot of trouble subduing ISIS in the Sinai, and from recent attacks, it appears that the Egyptians haven't made much headway.

Of course, any coordination between the Israelis and Cairo would have to be clandestine. But it is encouraging that when the news broke last weekend following the exposure of the cooperation between the two longtime enemies, the Arab street was mostly quiet. Is this a sign that Arabs are coming to terms with the strategic necessity of embracing Israel as an ally against Iran and ISIS?

If so, it's exactly what is needed to check Iran's hegemonic designs on the region and prevent ISIS from re-establishing a significant base of operations anywhere in the Arab Middle East.
Hillary's boys helped Steele write the dossier

Every day, we learn about more corruption on the part of Hillary. Lying about Benghazi, selling 20% of our uranium to Russia, and using an unsecure email server and lying about it are only the most recent. We can look back on Whitewater; FBI Filegate; Travelgate; and attacking the female victims of her husband, Bill Clinton. There is so much corruption that we are becoming numb to more disclosures. The latest is that Sidney Blumenthal and Cody Shearer, friends and associates of Hillary and Bill Clinton, supplied information to Christopher Steele for his smear job referred to as a "dossier."

Congressman Trey Gowdy confirmed on Martha McCallum's show on February 6 that Blumenthal supplied information to Steele. The last time we heard the word "dossier" was from Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau in A Shot in the Dark. Although a bumbler, Clouseau was funny and honest. Steele, on the other hand, was merely a highly paid lackey acting as a conduit to pass information packaged as an investigation from Hillary to the FBI for the FBI to use against Trump. We know that the Steele dossier was paid for by Hillary and the DNC. We know that Steele supposedly relied on paid Russian informants. We know that Comey testified in Congress on June 6, 2017 that the dossier was unverified. Now we learn that Hillary's boys, Blumenthal and Shearer, supplied information to Steele for his dossier. In addition to paying for the Steele dossier, Hillary helped write it. Before we knew that Hillary helped write the dossier, it was clear that the dossier was insufficient to establish probable cause for the FISA warrants. Comey testified that the dossier was unverified, relied on paid Russian informants, and the warrant applications did not state that Hillary and the DNC paid Steele. It was bad enough that Hillary and the DNC paid Steele. But the FISA warrants do not disclose that Hillary's boys contributed information to Steele for his dossier. The FISA courts grant warrants in over 99% of cases. But I doubt that even a FISA court would grant a search warrant to spy on the Trump campaign if it had been informed that the information for the warrant application was supplied by Hillary Clinton.
The #MeToo movement has been very, very good to California assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, providing a national profile for the ambitious solon:

Anger-driven social movements do not moderate themselves, but they all eventually run into obstacles and begin to decline. #MeToo may be entering a new phase as stories like this proliferate.

In December, when Time magazine announced that "Silence Breakers" who spoke out against sexual harassment were its Persons of the Year, Garcia's face was prominently included in the art accompanying the cover story.

She has not been shy about grabbing the spotlight as the frenzy has built:

No one should have to wait for an investigative article to know the truth about the kind of environment they work in. I'm working with @SEIU1000 on a bill to create a centralized mechanism to track sexual harassment complaints in state government. https://t.co/6Ltyt8NcQP  Cristina Garcia (@AsmGarcia) January 26, 2018

Signed, sealed and delivered to @JerryBrownGov. Proud to have worked with @asmMelendez as she persisted on this essential legislation that was long overdue. Persistence has prevailed! #WeSaidEnough #TimesUp #Ab403 pic.twitter.com/ot9AMeNtzg  Cristina Garcia (@AsmGarcia) February 5, 2018

But suddenly, the hunter has become the hunted, as Carla Marinucci writes:

Daniel Fierro of Cerritos told POLITICO that in 2014, as a 25-year-old staffer to Assemblyman Ian Calderon, he was groped by Garcia, a powerful Democratic lawmaker who chairs the Legislative Women's Caucus and the Natural Resources Committee. He said she cornered him alone after the annual Assembly softball game in Sacramento as he attempted to clean up the dugout. Fierro, who said Garcia appeared inebriated, said she began stroking his back, then squeezed his buttocks and attempted to touch his crotch before he extricated himself and quickly left. Fierro said he never reported the incident, which occurred years before the current #MeToo movement and new whistleblower legislation to protect legislative staffers. But after he mentioned the issue last January to Calderon, his former boss, the matter was then referred to the Assembly Rules Committee, which launched an investigation. Fierro is not the only one claiming improper advances by Garcia. A prominent Sacramento lobbyist says she also accosted him in May 2017, when she cornered him, made a graphic sexual proposal, and tried to grab his crotch at a political fundraiser. He spoke to POLITICO on the condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisals. The lobbyist, who represents a major industry association, said that Garcia appeared to have been drinking heavily at a fundraiser hosted by Governor Jerry Brown for state [s]enator Josh Newman at the de Veres bar in Sacramento. He said he was heading out the door in part to avoid the assemblywoman  who had been increasingly "flirtatious" and had called him on a few occasions before for late[-]night drinks[,] which he repeatedly declined. She spotted him and said, "Where are you going?" the lobbyist said. "She came back and was whispering real close and I could smell the booze and see she was pretty far gone,'' he said. "She looked at me for a second and said, "I've set a goal for myself to [f] you." At that point, Garcia "stepped in front of me and reaches out and is grabbing for my crotch,'' he said. That was "the line in the sand," according to the lobbyist, and he stopped her. "I was four inches from her, eyeball to eyeball  and I said, 'That ain't gonna happen.'"

Not only is that graphic and detailed, but it comes from someone with no career incentives to make the accusation. If this were an actress, it would be believed. But do mere males deserve the presumption of truthfulness that so many women demand for their accusations of harassment?

The behavior being accused is gross and obviously related to a power dynamic favoring the solon over the lobbyist  who is paid to seek favors. Brace yourself  I know this will come as a shock  but I have heard whispers that attractive female lobbyists have been expected to use their sexual favors as a tool of their trade in decades past. The late Molly Ivins supposedly said, "If you can't take their money, drink their whiskey, [f] their women, and vote against 'em anyway. You don't belong in the Legislature."

The old rules in politics, as in Hollywood, saw sex-for-career-help as part of the bargain. That's why there was so much winking going on, and why there is so much chest-beating and garment-rending going on among leftish Hollywood males who used to pal around with Harvey W. and his ilk while keeping their mouths shut.

Now the rules have changed 180 degrees, and there is a fury driving the hashtag that has become almost an obsession, becoming a genuine witch (or warlock) hunt. The fact that outrageous behavior has been tolerated is itself outrageous.

I don't know whether these accusations against Garcia are true, but if they are, they are serious. They would never be tolerated in a male harassing a female.

But those whose posture is continuous outrage, and who seek out ever finer distinctions that lead to anger  complaining about the way someone looks at you, for instance  had better start chanting, "What goes around comes around" as a cautionary mantra.

I have been operating on the assumption that if the #MeToo fever doesn't break, sooner or later most people will be accused of something untoward in the realm of sexual attraction. After all, sex is one of life's primary imperatives, just behind breathing, eating, and eliminating. It is far more socially complex and difficult than the others, by definition involving another person, and it is fraught with culture-specific taboos, expectations, and imperatives that change over time.

With such a basic and strong drive, when anger and sensitivity spiral into obsession, almost anything can be sexualized and criticized. As Clarice Feldman quips, "Everyone's guilty. I've been known to kiss babies."

What one person considers an offense another might not even notice, or might regard as perfectly appropriate. We used to call gaffes in the realm of sexual attraction "boorishness" and regard the offender as someone who needs refinement.

I suspect that I am not alone in having found the etiquette of sexual attraction a baffling and troubling realm of behavior starting in junior high school. Live and learn, apologize when appropriate, refine your behavior, and grow up. We all struggle with it to one degree or another.

We're likely to see more self-righteous people exposed as failing their own tests of righteousness among the #MeToo activists. That's one of the ways social movements start to peak and decline. But don't expect it to be quick. At the most, it is the end of the beginning, and a long way from the beginning of the end.
Beginning this past "blackout" Monday, students and teachers were encouraged to wear all black to school.

Last Thursday, the Prince George's County, Maryland school board passed a resolution to allow their students to participate in the national organizing effort, "Black Lives Matter Week of Action in Schools." P.G. County is one of many minority school districts across the country that activists have targeted in their attempt to replace reading, writing, and math with empowerment and liberation from America's "structural racism."

On Tuesday, students were asked to complete the writing prompt "Why is BLM relevant to them as students/community/school"?

Tuesday's assignment might prove difficult. Prince George's County proficiency rates in language arts and math are below other Maryland counties, standing at 31% in reading and 23% in math.

The following day, on Wednesday, Feb. 7, the Prince George's County Education Association held an "NEA Social Justice Workshop" followed by curriculum activities.

Thursday and Friday, students were encouraged to participate in poetry slams and cypher groups.

The Prince George's County school board's resolution reads in part:

The thirteen guiding principles of the Black Lives Matter movement highlighted during this week of action are a means of challenging the insidious legacy of institutionalized racism and oppression that [have] plagued the United States since its founding.

BLM's thirteen principles are a hodgepodge of black power dictums, Marxist-based collectivism, and identity politics. One of the more disturbing principles listed is the group's commitment to "disrupting the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure." "Our children" are part of the "collective who care for one another," it states.

The Marxist-informed language of the Black Lives Matter principles is no accident. The anti-police, anti-white, anti-America movement's actions are often directed by an array of Marxist radicals, Maoists, socialists, and communists.

For example, the nationwide "Black Lives Matter week of action in schools" movement is under the direction of the ubiquitous, Soros-funded social justice non-profit Teaching for Change.

Teaching for Change was set up in 1989 to infiltrate the schools with workshops, book fairs, classroom discussions, protests, and teacher conferences. Its Zinn Education Project, with 75,000 teachers participating, launched campaigns to incorporate Marxist Howard Zinn's book , A People's History of the United States, into schools across the country. In Arkansas, the organization successfully challenged a proposed ban on the book.

The BLM Teaching for Change week of action kicked off in Seattle and has spread to D.C., Baltimore, Detroit, Chicago, and New York. One hundred schools in D.C. are participating, with 128,000 school children ready to absorb one of the Teaching for Change lessons entitled "Resistance 101: Social Justice Activists and Strategies." Who is one of the activists on the list? None other than sharia-advocating, anti-Semitic radical Islamic supremacist Linda Sarsour.

Not surprisingly, a Prince George's County school board member , 24-year-old Raaheela Ahmed, a first-generation Pakistani Muslim-American activist, was instrumental in pushing the Black Lives Matter curriculum this week.

The Teaching for Change website makes it clear that the goal is to push its collectivist, racist, Marxist-laden lessons on the 50 million K-12 public school children all day and year-round.
Peter Strzok, one of the Trump-hating FBI lovebirds, whose texts have since reverberated around the world, seems to have problems keeping up with classified protocol, that access to privileged information permitted only to the most trustworthy.

Released texts between Peter Strzok, the FBI agent who ran the investigation into former [s]ecretary of [s]tate Hillary Clinton's email server, and his lover, FBI attorney Lisa Page, reveal the strong possibility that Strzok used his cell phone in a SCIF  a strict violation of protecting classified information. Such a breach would compromise Strzok's ability to probe Clinton for mishandling classified info and show a lack of awareness about security breaches, which is what he was tasked to investigate. The text messages that the Senate released Wednesday show that Strzok texted his mistress on Aug. 11, 2016, "We're in Jims SCIF." SCIF stands for Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility, and it is where the most sensitive classified material is kept and [stored]. SCIFs strictly bar all electronic equipment and require all people [to] place their phones in lockers before entering.

One hopes he was just lying or was merely in the vicinity of the place and texted it to sound important. Because why have these facilities at all with their added costs if top FBI counterintelligence agents aren't going to bother to follow the supposedly strict rules? The whole thing suggests a complete breakdown in standards at the upper levels of the bureau.

Maxwell Smart, call your office.

Once upon a time, the FBI was filled with straight-arrow types, G-Men, many of whom had Marine backgrounds and Marine habits of discipline. They were people who could be trusted with classified information. Those who couldn't were drummed out.

It seems that at least a vestige of that could be expected of the deputy director of counterintelligence, whose mission itself is protecting America's secrets.

What's more, Strzok's slovenliness came at a time when he was investigating Hillary Clinton for her wholesale failure to protect U.S. secrets by communicating on an illegal private server located in some guy's bathroom. Could anyone with standards that low have investigated Clinton objectively? This goes completely outside the political realm of things into the operational. If Strzok was doing this himself, how could he find any fault with Hillary?

The Daily Caller asks if FBI general counsel Jim Baker, a close ally of James Comey, knew about these breaches, and if he did, did he just stand there and say nothing, perhaps to protect the "family"? Because he was doing it himself? None of this sounds savory.

When FBI officials are chiefly loyal to each other and no longer loyal to the protocols of their trusted offices, it's time to clean house.
Posted on: February 9, 2018 2:51 PM

Anglican primates from Pakistan, Southern Africa, and Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia received a standing ovation from members of the Church of Englands General Synod this morning. The Bishop of Peshawar, Humphrey Peters, the Archbishop of Cape Town, Thabo Makgoba, and the Archbishop of Polynesia, Winston Halapua, each addressed the Synod ahead of a debate about Companion Links. Following the debate, the Synod approved a motion which affirmed the companion links between the Church of Englands dioceses and other parts of the Anglican Communion.

Speaking first, Archbishop Thabo made reference to the on-going drought in South Africa, and joked that he welcomed the opportunity to take a daily shower. He stressed the benefits of hospitality to build and sustain relationships even when there are disagreements, and said it was relevant to the dialogue we Anglicans must remain committed to pursuing if the Communion is to overcome the difficulties we face  in particular our differences or disagreements over new understandings about human sexuality.

Bishop Humphrey spoke of the Church in Pakistan as the tiny Body of Christ in a sometimes-dangerous context. He said that the Christians in his country have to face reactions and retaliations from the Muslim world for things that happen in the West. He said that churches were burned and suicide bombs were carried out in reaction to blasphemous films and caricatures of Mohammad. All the difficulties are there, he said, and yet God, in his wisdom, is keeping the Body of Christ there.

Archbishop Winston said used an analogy of the oceans to describe the relationships between Anglican churches. The largest ocean is the Pacific Ocean, he said. And the Pacific cannot be an ocean without the Atlantic, Indian, Arctic, and Antarctic Oceans. . . The oceans are interconnected. No ocean can function without the others. And so we can only be useful for Gods activity if we can do it together.

After the three primates had made their introductory speeches, the Synod members gave them a standing ovation as the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, embraced them.

Moving the debate that followed, the Bishop of Guildford, Andrew Watson, said that Companion Links across the Anglican Communion were generally considered a good think, no matter how complicated they may work out in practice.

He said that the Lambeth Conference in 2020 was being planned against a backdrop of many friendships, but also considerable tension within the Anglican Communion, thus emphasising the need for us to work harder at our Companion Links to make not just a little effort, but every effort, to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bonds of peace.

A number of speakers spoke of the many benefits they had experienced from long-standing diocesan Companion Links, including the Diocese of Chesters 30-year links with Melanesia, the Diocese of Lichfields 30-year links with South East Asia, and the Diocese of Chelmsfords 40-year link with Kenya.

The Bishop of Chelmsford, Stephen Cottrell, spoke of how the church in Kenya was growing, and that the Kenyan diocese linked with Chelmsford had been made into five dioceses. He said that the Bishops from Kenya did not attend the last Lambeth Conference in 2008, but did attend the pre-Lambeth hospitality initiative hosted by the Diocese of Chelmsford. In other words, the friendships we have with each other were strong enough to bridge what could have become an ever-lengthening divide.

We have learned a lesson in Chelmsford that the whole Anglican Communion and every Christian community needs to learn, and it is this: you cannot choose your fellow travellers in the Christian way. In following Christ, we find ourselves  whether we like it or not  walking alongside all sorts of people we wouldnt have chosen as companions if we had drawn up the membership criteria ourselves.

And as we have journeyed together over many years, and built friendship, we have had some really, really, difficult conversations. And the product of those conversations has not been agreement. The product has been love.

He said that Companion Links should not be seen as a product of the Anglican Communion. They are the Anglican Communion, he said.

The motion approved by the Synod reads:

That this Synod affirm the companion Links between the Church of Englands dioceses and other parts of the Anglican Communion; encourage the Diocesan Companion Links to maximise their contribution to the hospitality programme prior to the Lambeth Conference; and call upon the parishes, deaneries and dioceses of the Church of England to make international links a central part of their strategy for mission and discipleship, drawing on the resources of the Diocesan Companion Links and the Mission and Development Agencies.
(ANSA) - Melendugno, February 9 - Three people were hurt in fresh clashes Friday between police and protesters at the Puglia hub of the TransAdriatic Pipeline (TAP). Two security guards and a woman protester were slightly injured, local sources said. Around 50 demonstrators threw stones at police, who baton-charged them to push them back, the sources said. The clashes took place at the TAP construction site at San Foca at Marina di Melendugno. The clashes broke out at about five thirty in the morning and have been continuing sporadically since then, the sources said.

The European Investment Bank on Tuesday gave the TAP project a 1.5 billion euro loan, one of its biggest ever.

The TAP will bring Azerbaijan 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 the mega-loan.

The TAP is part of the natural gas market's Southern Corridor and is thus among the EU's strategic energy projects.

There are continuing 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: Friday's clashes
(ANSA) - Milan, February 9 - A 27-year-old Nigerian man was stopped at Milan's central train station Friday on suspicion of involvement in the murder and dismemberment of 18-year-old Pamela Mastropietro near Macerata earlier this month. Macerata prosecutors said no arrest warrants have so far been issued. The man was stopped by Carabinieri after they were given information by colleagues in Macerata. They are now taking him back down to the Marche city.

On Thursday sources in Macerata said after Mastropietro's autopsy that a Nigerian pusher accused of complicity in her murder and dismemberment gave her an "extremely modest" dose of heroin.

Desmond Lucky is nonetheless suspected of giving the woman, who had been in a drug rehab centre near Macerata and had not been using for four months, a fatal dose.

Lucky is accused of complicity with another Nigerian, Innocent Oseghale, in homicide, disposing of and disrespecting a body in the case of Mastropietro, whose remains were found in two suitcases at Pollenza outside Macerata.

It is has not been established if the young woman died of an overdose or was murdered, allegedly by Oseghale, in whose home bloodstained knives were found.

Prosecutors said Thursday the initial findings of an autopsy on Mastropietro had produced "no significant evidence" of how she had died.

But Italian media reported Friday the autopsy had shown she was hit on the head before being murdered.

The autopsy found that blood and urine were missing from the remains, which had been sliced up in an "apparently scientific" way.

Further lab tests will be made next week, prosecutors said.


(ANSA) - Milan, February 8 - Milano Moda Donna fashion week gets underway on February 20 with 64 catwalk shows and 92 presentations to a total of 156 new collections. The programme also includes the "innovative and top secret" appointment with Moncler, Tommy Hilfiger's 5,000-guest event, the 'Italiana' exhibition for the 60th anniversary of the National Chamber of Italian Fashion (CNMI) and celebrations marking 40 years of Versace, 50 years of Etro and 60 years of Mila Schon. "We are able to do something unique thanks to the collaboration with the city authorities, government, foreign trade institute," said Italian Chamber of Fashion President Carlo Capasa. "That the institutions should have understood the importance of fashion - the second industry in the country - is no small matter. It is for this reason that we need to forge a system," he continued. Capasa also said that the second edition of the Green Carpet Fashion Awards is scheduled for September. Italian fashion is a leader in sustainability "because of the work we are doing on guidelines", he said. "By 2020 we will publish a document defining what is and isn't sustainable." This edition of Milano Moda Donna sees the calendar debut of Erika Cavallini, Francesca Liberatore and Christian Pellizzari and the mega event organised by Tommy Hilfiger, who has chosen Milan as the fourth leg of his project #Tommynow. The fashion week will be officially opened on February 21 with the inauguration of the exhibition 'Italiana' at the royal palace, covering the period 1971-2001 and curated by Maria Luisa Frisa and Stefano Tonchi.

Premier Paolo Gentiloni and Economic Development Minister Carlo Calenda have been invited to attend, although their participation remains unconfirmed. "When the support is there the presence isn't always necessary," Capasa said. "The positive side is confirmation of funding for 2018 and the three-year plan that allows us to do meaningful programming.

Calenda has done a very good job, giving us the right tools for meeting the global challenges." photo: Tommy Hilfiger
(ANSA) - Rome, February 9 - Some of Italy's most extreme rightist and leftist groups are set to march amid fears of clashes Saturday, the day Italy remembers the 'Foibe' massacres of Italians by Tito's partisans at the end of WWII.

One of the most closely watched cities will be Turin, where the far-right Forza Nuova and CasaPound groups said Friday they would march, defying a mayor's call. At the same time, anti-Fascist and anticapitalist groups said they would march, at different times.

In Rome, CasaPound leader and premier candidate Simone Di Stefano said allowing extremist leftist marches on the Foibe anniversary was "fanning the flames" when tensions are already high over a racist shooting in Macerata.

"We don't want clashes, on the contrary we want to tone things down and get to the vote (on March 4) in a calm way.

"The interior ministry must guarantee that".

Saturday is the National Day of Remembrance for the foibe, the deep mountain pits into which victims were thrown, sometimes alive and sometimes after being shot, and bound together with barbed wire.

Some 15,000 Italians living in the Istrian peninsula, in today's Slovenia and Croatia, are believed to have died in the narrow mountain gorges used to execute perceived enemies of the Communist government of then-president Josef Tito.

Italians who had lived for centuries in the regions of Istria, Fiume and Dalmatia were attacked by Slovene and Croatian partisans, some in reprisal for Italian occupation of Istria during the war and others blamed for Fascist activities.

The killings creating long-lasting tensions in relations between Italy and the present republics of Croatia and Slovenia which were accused of dragging their feet over compensation for exiles.

The Foibe issue also split the Italian political world with leftwing parties accused of airbrushing the episode for years when only the right recalled the victims.

February 10 was set up as National Memorial Day of the Exiles and Foibe in 2004 to unite Italians in remembering the victims.

photo: a CasaPound rally
(ANSA) - Rome, February 9 - Some of Italy's most extreme rightist and leftist groups are set to march amid fears of clashes Saturday, the day Italy remembers the 'Foibe' massacres of Italians by Tito's partisans at the end of WWII.

One of the most closely watched cities will be Turin, where the far-right Forza Nuova and CasaPound groups said Friday they would march, defying a mayor's call. At the same time, anti-Fascist and anticapitalist groups said they would march, at different times.

In Rome, CasaPound leader and premier candidate Simone Di Stefano said allowing extremist leftist marches on the Foibe anniversary was "fanning the flames" when tensions are already high over a racist shooting in Macerata.

"We don't want clashes, on the contrary we want to tone things down and get to the (general election) vote (on March 4) in a calm way.

"The interior ministry must guarantee that".

Extreme nationalism poses "extremely serious risks", President Sergio Mattarella said Friday in a message for the Day of Memory on the Foibe Saturday.

"The massacres, the violence, the suffering of Giulian, Istrian, Fiuman and Dalmatian exiles cannot be forgotten, underplayed or removed," said the head of State about the 1943-7 massacres in northeast Italy, some of which is now Croatia and Slovenia. "They are part, rightfully, of our national history and are an indelible chapter in it, which warns us on the extremely serious risks of extreme nationalism, ethnic hatred, and ideological violence erected into a system".

Saturday is the National Day of Remembrance for the foibe, the deep mountain pits into which victims were thrown, sometimes alive and sometimes after being shot, and bound together with barbed wire.

Some 15,000 Italians living in the Istrian peninsula, in today's Slovenia and Croatia, are believed to have died in the narrow mountain gorges used to execute perceived enemies of the Communist government of then-president Josef Tito.

Italians who had lived for centuries in the regions of Istria, Fiume and Dalmatia were attacked by Slovene and Croatian partisans, some in reprisal for Italian occupation of Istria during the war and others blamed for Fascist activities.

The killings creating long-lasting tensions in relations between Italy and the present republics of Croatia and Slovenia which were accused of dragging their feet over compensation for exiles.

The Foibe issue also split the Italian political world with leftwing parties accused of airbrushing the episode for years when only the right recalled the victims.

February 10 was set up as National Memorial Day of the Exiles and Foibe in 2004 to unite Italians in remembering the victims.

photo: a CasaPound rally
Pope received Estonia's premier, 20-minute meeting Francesco is preparing a trip to the Baltic Republics

(ANSA) - VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis today received the Prime Minister of Estonia, Juri Ratas, at the Apostolic Palace, in the Vatican, who was accompanied by his wife and a delegation made up of five people. The private talks in the Library Room, in the presence of an interpreter from English, lasted twenty minutes.



The head of the Estonian government gave the Pope two handmade copper cups. ''Really beautiful'', said Francesco, who gave Ratas his documents 'Evangelii Gaudium', 'Amoris Laetitia' and 'Laudato Si', as well as the Message for World Day of Peace 2018.



The Pope also offered the Medallion of Peace to the Estonian premier, explaining that it depicts ''the Archangel Michael who strangled the devil'', a message against the spread of evil.



Ratas and his delegation then met with the Secretary of state, cardinal Pietro Parolin. Pope Francis is preparing a trip to the Baltic Republics. The Estonian media spoke of Ratas' today's visit to the Vatican, considering it as a step forward in the preparation for that event. (ANSA).





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BEIRUT - At least 75 civilians - including children, newborns and women - have been reported killed by Syrian government air raids on Ghouta, east of the Syrian capital, according to the latest death toll provided by local medical sources. The report cannot be independently verified. The area is densely populated by civilians, besieged by loyalist troops and controlled by armed opposition groups.

According to medical sources in Arbin and Hammuriye, two of the areas struck overnight, a total of 75 bodies have been reported on the streets and in hospitals in the cities of Ghouta. Babies, children and women were among the victims, the sources said.

Government news agency Sana reported that at least four civilians were killed and four others wounded by mortar fire by militias in several areas around the capital and in the south of the country. This report as well cannot be independently verified.

Over 100 civilians between Tuesday and Wednesday have been reportedly killed in Ghouta, which since December 25 has been at the center of an intense air, ground and artillery campaign by government forces supported by Russia against armed groups partly backed by Saudi Arabia.
Benghazi mosque blast 'from 2 backpacks', say police At least one killed, scores injured

(ANSAmed) - CAIRO, FEBRUARY 9 - The spokesman for the Benghazi prefect's office, Moataz Al Akouri, told Al-Wasat that two backpacks filled with explosives were at the origin of Friday afternoon's blast in a mosque in Benghazi. One backpack had been placed in the mosque's bathrooms, the website said, saying that the incident had occurred at the Abu Huraira mosque.



Some other media referred to the mosque with the name Saad Ibn Abou Abada.



The Libya Observer website cited medical sources as saying that one had been killed and 84 injured, while Al-Galaa hospital director Fadia Al Burghuti told Al-Wasat that one had been killed and 62 injured.



Other Arab and international media said that two people had been killed by the blast. (ANSAmed).




CAIRO - A dynamite attack has been carried out against a mosque in Benghazi, Libya's second-largest city, which caused 1 death and 55 injured, according to two local media outlets on Friday.

''A car bomb exploded near the mosque of Abu Huraia'', wrote the website Al Wasat, quoting the television 'Libya Roha Al Watan''. The website of the broadcaster Libya's Channel spoke about a ''backpack with explosives''. Al Wasat, after referring to ''dead and wounded'' according to the television's sources, subsequently reported ''dozens of wounded'' being treated at a hospital.

Libya's Channel on Twitter also reported of "40 injured being treated at the Al Galla hospital and at Benghazi's medical center".

Jihadists and the forces of general Khalifa Haftar have been fighting to gain control of the city for over three years before Haftar announced that his troops has retaken it last July.

On January 23, two car bombs exploded outside a mosque, killing at least 34 people, including children, and injuring 90 others.
Syria: '75 civilians killed in Ghouta government air raids' According to local medical sources

(ANSAmed) - BEIRUT, FEBRUARY 9 - At least 75 civilians - including children, newborns and women - have been reported killed by Syrian government air raids on Ghouta, east of the Syrian capital, according to the latest death toll provided by local medical sources. The report cannot be independently verified. The area is densely populated by civilians, besieged by loyalist troops and controlled by armed opposition groups.



According to medical sources in Arbin and Hammuriye, two of the areas struck overnight, a total of 75 bodies have been reported on the streets and in hospitals in the cities of Ghouta. Babies, children and women were among the victims, the sources said.



Government news agency Sana reported that at least four civilians were killed and four others wounded by mortar fire by militias in several areas around the capital and in the south of the country. This report as well cannot be independently verified.



Over 100 civilians between Tuesday and Wednesday have been reportedly killed in Ghouta, which since December 25 has been at the center of an intense air, ground and artillery campaign by government forces supported by Russia against armed groups partly backed by Saudi Arabia. (ANSAmed).




SAN BENEDETTO DEL TRONTO - Italian premier Paolo Gentiloni said Friday "let's not mix the migratory situation we are facing with that of security." He said "those who are fanning the flames (of anti-migrant sentiment) is finding room. But we are working on the opposite side. And it we do so we will have the majority of citizens" by our side.



Gentiloni added that "justifying Fascism is outside the Constitution". He said that "no one is minimising criminal actions" such as the murder of Pamela Mastropietro near Macerata but this did not justify the actions of rightist activist Luca Traini who shot six migrants in a drive-by spree.
Tourism boom in Dubai, fourth most-visited destination world 5% increase from Italy, top destination for Indians with 2.1 mn

(ANSAmed) - ROME, FEBRUARY 9 - Dubai has become the fourth most-visited destination in the world as tourism continues to grow, according to data released by Dubai Tourism.



Indian tourists ranked first with 2.1 million visitors in 2017, followed by Saudi Arabia with a total of 1.53 million arrivals. The United Kingdom came third, closing 2017 with 1.27 million travelers. China and Russia also registered very positive results thanks to the simplification of customs procedures. China ranked fifth (764,000 arrivals) while Russia registered a 121% increase on 2016 with its 530,000 arrivals.



The performances of the United States, Germany and Iran also improved registering, respectively, 633,000, 506,000 and 503,000 visitors. Italy also performed well with 214,000 presences, up 5% on 2016.



''Dubai - commented Helal Saeed Almarri, director general of Dubai Tourism - attracts an increasing number of foreign visitors, making tourism a sector that contributes in a significant way to the Emirate's GDP''.



The 6.2% growth registered in 2017, added Almarri, ''is giving the right rhythm to reach the target we have set for 2020''.



The fourth place in the ranking of most-visited cities worldwide ''makes us even more confident in our current and future performances; in this perspective, we set a new target: becoming the number one city in the world in terms of arrivals''. (ANSAmed).




The Middle East is a keen acquirer of sophisticated military technology, so it is no wonder the region has taken an interest in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) procurement. Beth Stevenson reports.

The stand-off range and surveillance capability of a UAV makes it a key asset to be operated in the Middle East, as the systems can provide over-watch of neighbours with whom there are tensions, while maintaining a distance from the target at hand.

There is a relatively small indigenous development of UAVs in the Middle East, so technology import is the way many countries acquire these systems.

While neighbouring Israel is one the top producers of UAVs internationally, its systems are off limits to most of the region. So, despite the attempt at indigenous development, the Middle East largely relies on the US and Europe for its unmanned systems.

The most prolific military UAV on the market is the General Atomics Aeronautical Predator family of systems, which has been exported to the United Arab Emirates, albeit in a modified form.

The UAE acquired the RQ-1E Predator XP in 2013 through domestic prime International Golden Group, under a $197 million deal for an undisclosed number of UAVs. The type has a reduced payload capacity in accordance with the rules of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), ultimately meaning it cannot be armed.

MTCR is a voluntary multilateral agreement that aims to reduce the proliferation of missile-related technology by restricting export of systems that can carry a 500kg payload over a 300km range.

To this end, the UAE  not a signatory to the regime  acquired the XP remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) with a reduced capability but with a long endurance.

While the exact payload capacity is unknown, General Atomics says that the XP has an endurance of 35 hours and can operate at altitudes of 25,000ft, although previous testing conducted in 2015 demonstrated a 40-hour endurance for the UAV.

Comparatively, the companys MQ-9 Reaper can only operate for some 27 hours, but at some 50,000ft.

The RPA includes a state-of-the-art sensor system optimised for missions over land and sea, and has proved its long endurance capability by flying beyond-line-of-sight missions in excess of 35 hours, a company spokesperson said.

Deliveries of an undisclosed number of the examples have now been completed, and the spokesperson confirmed that the company is in discussions with the UAE regarding the potential purchase of additional systems with new capabilities.

In May 2017, it was announced that Canadian manufacturer, CAE, had been awarded C$56 million ($45.3m) by the General Headquarters of the UAE to deliver training for UAVs over a five-year period, notably including training for the Predator.

To include academic, simulator and live flying training, the contract is to be delivered by the companys CAE Maritime Middle East division, based in Abu Dhabi.

The success of the XP in the UAE has undoubtedly piqued the interest of other nations in the region.

The delivery and subsequent operation of the Predator RPA by the UAE armed forces has led to high interest in the system by other countries, and not just for military roles, the General Atomics spokesperson said.

He noted that the role of a medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) UAV, such as the Predator, extended past a siloed military mission, demonstrated by the use of the family of systems by US Customs and Border Patrol in addition to US forces.

The Predator XP is uniquely situated to help perform very similar mission sets for border security, law enforcement, wildlife conservation, oil and gas infrastructure management, event security (such as Dubai 2020), maritime sea-lane patrol, as well as a host of other non-military applications over the coming years, the spokesperson added.

One avenue that could be appealing to the region is the offer of the XP on a services basis.

Rather than purchasing the UAV outright, General Atomics is offering for customers to contract intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) hours from the company, which would be suited to their various needs.

New payloads are being integrated into the product line specifically to support this expansion to provide our customers with the timely and relevant intelligence data they require to perform their missions, the spokesperson said.

Coupled with Predator XPs long endurance and ability to fly in the national airspace, a new data link to create digital interoperability across the customers inventory, sensors such as wide area motion imagery (WAMI) to create larger situational awareness over a cityscape, as well as advances in the C4I capabilities, [these] are all going to be seen coming on line in support of our valued MENA customers in the near future.

The UAE has also committed to acquiring the Piaggio Aerospace P.1HH Hammerhead, having signed a deal for eight examples in March 2016.

Hammerhead is derived from the companys manned P180 Avanti II twin-pusher, configured with Leonardo-developed mission systems, and is being acquired by the UAE under a $316 million deal signed between the government and Abu Dhabi Autonomous Systems Investments. Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Mubadala Development Company owns Piaggio.

All of the aircraft will be delivered with electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) cameras, radar and communications systems, Piaggio said, while logistic support and training are also included.

This important contract recognises Piaggio Aerospaces efforts in establishing a world-class military programme and state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities that position the business for long-term sustainable success, said Carlo Logli, then-CEO of Piaggio, at the time of the signing.

While the Italian Government has backed the development of Hammerhead, it has skirted around an actual contract signing to date, making the UAE the launch customer for the type.

After the crash of one of the prototypes near Sicily in May 2016, little was reported on the status of the development until the company announced, on July 5, that flight-testing had resumed at Birgi military airport in Trapani, Italy, following ground-testing runs.

Piaggio confirmed that first deliveries are expected in 2018, and training will begin in 2018 ahead of the first delivery.

Elsewhere, it was announced during the 2016 Farnborough International Air Show that two Gulf/Middle Eastern nations had become the launch customers for Leonardos Falco Evo UAV.

This has a 20-hour endurance and can carry a 100kg payload. Deliveries to these two customers are now pending.

While the nations remain undisclosed, Jordan and Saudi Arabia are customers for the baseline Falco system, and it was claimed by Leonardo at the time of the contract announcements that the new Evo customers would be operators of the older model.

The Evo has a longer wing and additional tail booms, and the baseline system can be retrofitted to convert it to the newer model to provide it with the ability to fly at 6,000 metres at ranges of 200km line-of-sight.

The Falco Evo can carry the companys newest Osprey multi-antenna active electronically scanned array radar, as well as its Sage electronic support measures system that allows an operator to geolocate ground-based radars. However, it is unclear what payload configuration the launch customers have opted for.

Aside from western manufacturers, Chinese industry is also a key exporter of technology to the region, with the Iraqi Air Force beginning operations of the CH-4B Rainbow UAV from China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) in 2015.

The CH-4B is the armed version of the type, and the UAV has similarities to the General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper. It is being used by the army aviation division of the Iraqi military in the fight against Islamic State militants in the region.

Saudi Arabia also operates the CH-4B variant and, in March 2017, CASC was contracted by Riyadh to establish a manufacturing site for the type in the kingdom to domestically develop the UAV.

Iran has also developed a reputation as a keen UAV developer, although the designs it produces are often reverse-engineered western systems, given the sanctions on selling this type of system to Tehran.

One system known to have been reverse-engineered by the nation is a US-operated Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel, while an Israel-owned Elbit Systems Hermes 450 was also shot down in 2014.

In September 2017, footage of an undisclosed UAV base in Iran was revealed, showing a number of different systems parked up on a flight line.

The Iranian press reported that Brigadier General Farzad Esmaili, head of the Khatam al-Anbiya Air Defense Base  a branch of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army  was seen in the video claiming that the UAVs and aerial targets demonstrate the nations military power, which was interpreted as a warning to Irans opponents.

However, given that the nation has been siloed in its development over recent years, the level of sophistication of the aircraft and the payloads they can carry remains to be seen.

In July 2017, Iranian news site, Press TV, reported that Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of aerospace with the Iranian Army, claimed that the nation is entirely self-sufficient in its development of a number of military technologies, including UAVs.

He claimed that the array of technology it has developed correctly proves that we can overcome all problems by relying on domestic capabilities, although he added that the military systems Iran has pose no threats to other countries, and are simply a deterrent.

Aside from the defence applications being seen in the region, there is also movement in the civil sector, particularly from Dubai.

The Emirate state is trying to pioneer the introduction and development of UAVs for civil applications, with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, being responsible for launching the Drones for Good award.

This sees teams compete to develop technology that can improve living standards in the areas of the environment, education, logistics, transportation, construction, infrastructure, healthcare, civil defence, tourism, and humanitarian aid.

The Drones for Good award and other innovative initiatives have reinforced the UAEs position as an international destination for advanced technological innovations, said Mohammed Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and chairman of the organising committee for the awards.

Now in its second guise, the award has gained considerable momentum in this iteration, drawing attention at an international level, Gergawi added.

The award has given a new dimension to the concept of drone technology, and contributed to shaping an active economic sector that will have a major role in the global economy.

Dubai is also seriously exploring the introduction of unmanned taxis, under its initiative to target 25% of autonomous passenger travel by 2030.

Its Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has claimed that testing of a prototype may be carried out this year, and Chinese manufacturer, Ehang, is believed to have completed some preliminary testing of its 184 model in Dubai.

Additionally, German company, Volocopter, is also in talks with the RTA regarding testing of a 16-rotor system in Dubai by the end of 2017.

While the Middle East is not known for its UAV manufacturing capabilities, it is clearly a keen importer of this technology. However, this is not always as straight forward as the nations mighty like it to be.

Given that there are limits on the level of technology that can be exported from the west, nations such as Iraq and Saudi Arabia  typically buyers of western technology  have turned to China to import armed UAVs to bolster their offensive capabilities.

The UAE, on the other hand, has demonstrated loyalty to its western suppliers, and is importing a variant of the most ubiquitous armed UAV in the world, the Predator  albeit an unarmed version  and is investing in European capability in the form of the developmental Hammerhead.

Many of these acquisitions and investments are relatively embryonic, so whether or not nations in the region have purchased wisely  and if they can keep ahead in funding developments in this area  only time will tell. But, for now, the unmanned industry would be wise to keep an eye on the activities and considerations of these Middle Eastern countries.


The Speedmaster is based on the Bonneville Bobbers underpinnings but carries a different cruiser design.

Triumph India has sent out a press release stating that it will be launching the Triumph Speedmaster, Tiger 800 and Tiger 1200 here this year. According to the companys Managing Director, Vimal Sumbly, the bikes will be launched within the next few months. The bikes will come via the CKD route, a move Triumph is pushing to ensure upto 90 per cent of its products are CKD units, thus making it more affordable than a completely built unit (CBU).

Speedmaster

The Speedmaster is based on the Bonneville Bobbers underpinnings but carries a different cruiser design. It features swept-back handlebars and forward-set footpegs for a laidback riding position. The rear subframe is longer, to accommodate a pillion seat. Features include LED headlamps with inset DRLs and a single-pod analogue speedometer with a digital readout.

The 1200cc, liquid-cooled, parallel-twin engine comes in High Torque (HT) spec. It makes 77PS at 6100rpm and 106Nm of torque at 4000rpm. Ride-by-wire allows for two riding modes - Road and Rain. Also on the roster are switchable traction control and cruise control.

Suspension setup includes 41mm telescopic front forks and rear adjustable monoshock. Wheels are 16-inch units at both ends. Braking is via twin 310mm Brembo discs at the front and a 255mm rear disc with ABS as standard. The Speedmaster is expected to be launched by April 2018 at a price close to Rs 10.5 lakh (ex-showroom).

We rode the Speedmaster in the United States of America and found it to be dynamic and easier to adapt to than other cruisers available in the market.

2018 Tiger 800

The new Tiger 800 receives more than 200 engine and chassis updates. Triumph says the motor is more responsive at low revs. Power output, at 95PS, remains unchanged. First gear is shorter while the exhaust is lighter and better-sounding as well.

The most noticeable design feature is the new LED headlamps. The bodywork gets aero diffusers to channer air away from the rider and ensure less wind noise. Riding position has been revised for more comfort while touring. Features include a colour TFT screen similar to the Street Triple RS, five-way joystick cube on the left switchgear, and more refined cruise control.

Dynamic updates include higher-spec Showa suspension and Brembo brakes. Off-road tyres are standard now while the off-road oriented XC models get a dedicated Off-Road Pro riding mode. We are currently en route to Morocco to ride the new Tiger 800. Stay tuned for a first ride review of the bike.

2018 Tiger 1200

The 2018 Tiger 1200 gets new graphics and colour options. Other design additions are new alloy wheels.The new headlamp get LED lighting and adaptive cornering lights. Features include a full-colour TFT screen and keyless ignition. Overall weight has dropped by 10 kilos.

The 1215cc inline-triple motor develops 141PS at 9350rpm and 122Nm of torque at 7600rpm. Ride-by-wire has been optimised for better engine response at low revs. A new Arrow exhaust enhances aural quality. Riding modes get an additional Off-road Pro mode which allows the rider to deactivate all electronic aids.The 6-speed transmission gets a new bi-directional quickshifter.

Semi-active WP electronic suspension and Brembo brakes have been carried over. The electronics suite and Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) has been optimised for better refinement.

We rode the new Triumph Tiger in Portugal and found it to be more refined and accessible for newer riders.

Source: ZigWheels.com
Search giant was found guilty of abusing its dominant position in search to hit others.

Such practice of Google was unfair to the users and was found to be in contravention of the provisions of Section 4(2)(a)(i) of the Act. However, CCI noted in its order that since October, 2010, Google has made display of such results on free floating basis. (Photo: AFP)

New Delhi: In an order which can have international ramifications, Competition Commission of India (CCI) has imposed a penalty of Rs 135.86 crore on search engine giant Google for search bias.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has found Google to have abused its dominant position in online general web search and web search advertising services in India. The penalty amounts to 5 per cent of Googles average total revenue from India operations in the last three years. Globally, this is one of the rare cases where Google has been penalised for unfair business ways, even as it has been under probe in several countries.

CCI in its order said that Google was leveraging its dominance in the market for online general web search, to strengthen its position in the market for online syndicate search services. The competitors were denied access to the online search syndication services market due to such a conduct.

The order was passed in response to informations filed by Matrimony.com Limited and Consumer Unity and Trust Society (CUTS) in 2012.

On the basis of the probe report submitted by the Director General, the CCI broadly looked at four aspects  whether Google biases its search results, whether it imposes unfair conditions on advertisers, whether the companys distribution and intermediation agreements restrict competition.

CCI in its order noted that the allegations against Google in respect of search results essentially centred around design of Search Engine Result Page (SERP). CCI said in its order that Google, being the gateway to the internet for a vast majority of internet users due to its dominance in the online web search market, is under an obligation to discharge its special responsibility. CCI noted in its order that Google through its search design has not only placed its commercial flight unit at a prominent position on SERP, it has also allocated disproportionate real estate thereof to such units to the disadvantage of verticals trying to gain market access. Besides, it was also found that Google has provided a further link in such commercial units which leads users to its specialised search result page (Google Flight) resulting into unfair imposition upon the users of general search services as well. The CCI also noted in the order that ranking of Universal Results prior to 2010 were pre-determined to trigger at the 1st, 4th or 10th position on the SERP instead of by their relevance.

Such practice of Google was unfair to the users and was found to be in contravention of the provisions of Section 4(2)(a)(i) of the Act. However, CCI noted in its order that since October, 2010, Google has made display of such results on free floating basis.

Accordingly, taking Googles submission on record, CCI refrained from issuing any cease order.
Board of directors will take up the matter of the duos resignation in a meeting on February 13.

New Delhi: Promoters of Fortis Healthcare, Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singh tendered their resignation from the companys Board of Directors, effective immediately.

In a letter, the Singh brothers attributed their decision to the recent High Court judgment that was passed, upholding the plea of Daiichi Sankyo, a Japanese pharma, who was slated to collect Rs 3,500 crore as award money from the duo.

In light of the recent High Court judgment, upholding the plea of Daiichi Sankyo to enforce the arbitration award, we believe this is in the interest of propriety and good governance. It is intended to free the organisation from any encumbrance whatsoever that may be linked to the promoters. The Board will then be better enabled and empowered to guide the future direction of the organisation without in any way being hampered by the impact of the Daiichi Sankyo judgment and our association at the Board, the letter read.

The duo further directed the board to examine all inter-group transactions and distance the promoter group from Fortis Healthcare Ltd in a manner that enables continuity of operations of the organisation and deliver on its mission of enriching and saving lives.

In August last year, the Supreme Court had restrained the Singh brothers from diluting any stake in the Fortis Healthcare.

As per reports, the Japanese company had opposed the sale of an 80 per cent stake in the Religare Health Insurance Co. Ltd. to a group of investors led by private equity firm True North and submitted that Singh brothers had violated a prior order requiring them to take court permission to part with tangential assets.

On a related note, the board of directors will take up the matter of the duos resignation in a meeting on February 13.
Earlier, Aamir Khan and Amitabh Bachchans look was captured at the Yash Raj Studios itself .

Along with Katrina Kaif and Amitabh Bachchans looks for the film, Fatima Sana Shaikh and Aamir Khans looks have been leaked.

A crucial schedule of Thugs of Hindostan is being shot at a Mumbai studio. However, the team isnt shooting the film out of Yash Raj Studios currently, which is otherwise discreet. Hence, the paparazzi are having a field day. And, Aamir Khan isnt happy about it.

In the last few months, the look of the film has been leaked out because the paparazzi have been finding ways to enter the studio premises and shoot visuals of the film. Earlier, Aamir Khan and Amitabh Bachchans look was captured at the Yash Raj Studios itself from the Thugs of Hindostan shoot.

Katrina Kaif was captured near her mark readying for a song sequence for the film, which is being produced by Yash Raj Films and directed by Vijay Krishna Acharya. Katrinas look in the film is a throwback, as was Amitabhs warrior look and Aamirs rugged thug look. And now here is the latest  Aamir and Fatima Sana Shaikh have also been captured in their looks for the film. Previously, Fatimas look test for the film was the first visual to be leaked out.

Aamirs films are a lot about the curiosity value it generates. So when the look leaks out, the filmmakers are not too happy. Neither is Aamir since he is very passionate about his films and the way they are presented. It throws a spanner into the works and the team will have to accordingly modify marketing, promotion and release plans, says a source.

 Sanskriti Media
Naidu is unhappy with the Union Budget 2018-19 and the FinMin's statement in the Lok Sabha about 'inadequate' allocation of funds to Andhra.

Naidu is currently in Dubai, but had an emergency tele-conference session with TDP MPs, including two Union Cabinet ministers on Thursday to discuss further action. (Photo: AFP)

New Delhi: Unhappy with the Union Budget 2018-19 and finance minister Arun Jaitley's statement in the Parliament about 'inadequate' allocation of funds to the state, Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu reportedly told Telegu Desham Party (TDP) MPs that "the Centre is behaving in such a way that it is making people of AP feel that they are not part of the nation."

Naidu is currently in Dubai, but had an emergency tele-conference session with the MPs, including two Union Cabinet ministers on Thursday to discuss further action.

TDP floor leader in the Lok Sabha Thota Narasimham said, "Naidu directed us to keep up the protest in Parliament on Friday until the demands of the state are met."

Arun Jaitley's statement in the Parliament was read out to Naidu during the tele-conference and the MPs suggested that TDP should continue the tough stance towards the Centre.

"Naidu told us to protest in a serious way. The CM expressed unhappiness over the response from the Centre over the last 3-4 days," Narasimham added.

Naidu also told the MPs that he will conduct another round of tele-conference with them on Friday.

TDP will take a final decision on future action after the outcome of talks between state and central officials on revenue deficit and externally-aided projects, sources informed.

Some TDP MPs, including Minister of Human Resource Development (HRD) of Andhra Pradesh Ganta Srinivas Rao, also suggested on Thursday that if required, TDP will walk out of the alliance with NDA.

BJP Vizag MP and state unit president K Haribabu, however, maintained that the TDP will not quit the alliance at this juncture, though sources close to Naidu reportedly said that the TDP chief was extremely upset with Jaitley's statement and felt that Andhra Pradesh was being given a step-motherly treatment.

"Each time you concede their demand, they come up with new ones. There is a limit to how much you can do for one state when you are having to deal with expectations from others too," BJP sources said, expressing unhappiness with TDP's relentless muscle-flexing.

BJP also complained that while they appreciate Naidu's demands for the benefits of his state, most of which they have tried to accomodate, the TDP chief never takes into account the Centre's problems: fund constraint and the fact that India is a federal polity.

"There is a strong possibility of position hardening on our side as well if he just goes on raising his ante," the BJP said.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley had earlier said that the centre was sympathetic to the demands of Andhra Pradesh government and is finalising a fresh package in consultation with the state.

Jaitley also said that officials from the expenditure department and the state government held discussions to work out a solution for funding externally-aided projects and on the issue of revenue deficit, on which Naidu had written to the FM.

The finance minister did not disclose details but said that an arrangement had been worked out and the state officials had gone back to communicate the decision to the centre.

While Jaitley made this statement, the Congress members were protesting in the Lok Sabha against his comments on Rafale and the TDP members were in the well, demanding special package for Andhra Pradesh.

Amid the chaos, Jaitley said that most elements of the package that was zeroed in on at the time of bifurcation had already been given to Andhra.

"The package involved several aspects, many of which have been implemented. Some of them are work in progress. We have given so far funds as promised for a large number of institutions which are being created because most of the institutions went to the Telangana state," he said.

Jaitley said that funds will continue to be given for all those institutions.

He also said that various ministries were discussing proposals related to railway and petroleum projects.

However, these statements did not pacify the TDP members.

On creation of the Capital, he said the Centre has made some payments for backward districts development and for ambitious Polavaram project through National Bank For Agriculture And Rural Development (Nabard) and added that Rs 4,500 crore have already been paid.
He promised massive transformation of Tripura where the state government employees are paid the same pay scale since 1996.

Guwahati: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was on a campaign trail in the frontier state of Tripura, on Thursday launched a frontal attack on the Left Front government and asked as to why people in the state do not earn minimum wages even though the CPI-M) government has been in power for 25 years.

Addressing an election meeting at Rangamatia Madrassa ground here, he said people wear manik or gem stone for changing their fate, but this Manik (Sarkar) failed to bring prosperity in the lives of people. Throw away manik (Sarkar government) and go for hira for prosperity and development in the state in the upcoming election, Mr Modi said. You should replace Manik with Hira (diamond) to come out of non-development and backwardness of decades, said the Prime Minister and added, People in distress tend to wear manik (gemstone) on the fingers hoping for better days. But if one wears the wrong manik, the distress gets compounded. You have worn the wrong manik for the past 25 years and so havent tasted the real pace of development and prosperity. Time has come for you to shed the wrong manik and wear Hira after the election to see the change for better.

In his style, the Prime Minister also decoded  Hira saying-H stands for highway, I stands for I-way (digital connectivity), R stands for roadway and A stands for airway. He promised massive transformation of Tripura where the state government employees are paid the same pay scale since 1996.
The latest developments show a worsening of Indo-Maldivian ties, with Beijing, Islamabad and Riyadh lending a sympathetic ear to Mr Yameen.

New Delhi: On a day when embattled Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen despatched special envoys to three friendly countries  China, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, it was confirmed that India had rejected a request from the Maldives to send a special envoy to New Delhi.

India is miffed that its concerns and that of the international community about undermining of democratic institutions and the judiciary in the Maldives have been ignored by President Yameen.

The latest developments show a worsening of Indo-Maldivian ties, with Beijing, Islamabad and Riyadh lending a sympathetic ear to Mr Yameen.

The Maldivian embassy in India announced that foreign minister Mohamed Asim was to visit New Delhi as his first stop as a special envoy on Thursday, but the visit was cancelled on the request of the Indian government. The Maldives said India had informed that the said dates were not suitable for Indias leadership, with the Maldivian embassy making it clear that India had not been bypassed in any manner.

Indian government sou-rces in New Delhi, however, confirmed that the request for the Maldivian special envoys visit had been turned down. An angry New Delhi was not ready to receive a special envoy from the Maldives after President Yameen ignored Indias advice to respect the Supreme Court order on

the release of political prisoners. The Maldivian President had recently declared a state of emergency there, much to Indias dismay. Incidentally, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj is in Saudi Arabia on an official visit while Prime Minister Narendra Modi is due to leave for West Asia on Friday on a three-nation visit.

Indian government sources in New Delhi said India has not seen any real action on the concerns stated by the international community and India and that democratic institutions and the judiciary continue to be undermined and concerns ignored, (and that) these issues need to be properly addressed. Indian government sources also said there is a set protocol to send an envoy and India has not been informed of the purpose of sending the envoy. Sources also noted that Ms Swaraj is away in Saudi Arabia while Mr Modi will leave for West Asia on Friday.

In a statement, the Maldivian embassy said: The first stop of Special Envoy of the President was (supposed to be) India. Foreign Minister of Maldives Mohamed Asim, the designated Special Envoy of the President, was scheduled to be in India on February 8, but the visit was cancelled on the request of the Government of India. The Government of the Maldives was informed that the said dates were not suitable for Indias leadership. The embassy said the Maldivian government was not bypassing India in any way.

While China and Saudi Arabia have been the main backers of President Yameen, it is the inclusion of Pakistan on the list that is being seen as the most significant message by the Maldivian President. While India and Pakistan are strategic rivals in Saarc, of which the Maldives too is a part, foreign policy observers feel President Yameen has sought to send a clear signal to New Delhi that his government can survive with Chinese, Pakistani and Saudi support, something that is bound to send alarm bells ringing in New Delhi. India has also been unhappy with the increasing Chinese influence in the Maldives and the way in which the Maldives recently signed a Free Trade Agreement with China.

In another statement, the Maldivian government said: Members of the administrations Cabinet, on the direction of President Abdulla Yameen, will visit friendly countries of the Maldives and provide updates on the current situation. Minister of economic development Mohamed Saeed has this evening departed to China. Minister of foreign affairs Mohamed Asim has this evening departed to Pakistan. Minister of fisheries Mohamed Shainee is scheduled to depart to Saudi Arabia.

India had earlier said it was disturbed over the Maldivian governments refusal to abide by verdict of the Supreme Court there on the release of Opposition leaders as well as the suspension of constitutional rights there. India also said it was concerned over the arrest of the Supreme Court Chief Justice and political figures, adding that it was carefully monitoring the situation. Just last week, India had said the Maldivian government must respect and abide by last Thursday nights order of the Supreme Court of the Maldives on the release of all political prisoners there. New Delhi had said this should be done in the spirit of democracy and rule of law.

President Yameen has dug in his heels and refused to obey the court order on the grounds that it leads to encroachment on the regulatory powers of the State, the disruption of the functions mandated to State institutions under the Constitution, and the infringement of national security and public interest, adding that if implemented, (it) would potentially lead to an undermining of the supremacy of the Constitution of the Republic of Maldives.

The Maldivian Supreme Court had earlier ordered the immediate release of exiled former President Mohamed Nasheed and other Opposition leaders, terming their trials a violation of the Constitution and international law. The Maldives has seen political unrest and street protests since Mr Nasheed was convicted in 2015 on terror charges and sentenced to 13 years in jail, while Mr Nasheed himself was earlier granted asylum by the UK after he was authorised to seek medical treatment there amid mounting foreign pressure. The Maldivian leader, who is currently in Sri Lanka, had welcomed the court order and has said Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen must resign in the wake of the ruling by the Supreme Court.
The PM's visit will begin from Palestine from Saturday after transiting through Jordan, where he will meet King Abdullah later in the day.

"We arrived in Amman. I am very grateful to His Majesty King Abdullah II for facilitating flight and access," Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted. (Photo: @PMO India)

Amman/ New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday arrived in Jordan on the first leg of his tour of three West Asian countries, including Palestine, during which he would hold talks on deepening cooperation in strategic areas such as security and trade.

"We arrived in Amman. I am very grateful to His Majesty King Abdullah II for facilitating flight and access," Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted after landing in Jordan.

The Prime Minister's visit will begin from Palestine from Saturday after transiting through Jordan, where he will meet King Abdullah later in the day.

Describing the Gulf and West Asia region as a "key priority" in India's external engagement, PM Modi ahead of his visit said his trip was aimed at strengthening ties with the region.

He said it would be his fifth visit to the Gulf and the West Asian region since 2015.

"This region is a key priority in our external engagement. We enjoy vibrant multi-dimensional ties with the countries here. I look forward to strengthening India's growing and important ties with West Asia and the Gulf region through the visit," PM Modi had said in his departure statement.

More than nine million Indians work and live in the Gulf region, of which about one third live in the UAE alone. In Oman, they constitute the largest expatriate community, he noted.
Protesting parents got into a brawl with the police and injured two on-duty officers of the local police station.

Parents staged protests in front of the school, alleging that the school did not take any lessons from the G D Birla incident and no special security was arranged for the students. (Photo: ANI/Twitter)

Kolkata: A teacher of an elite South Kolkata school has been booked for sexually harassing a student of class three over the past one year, in an incident eerily similar to the molestation of a 4-year-old in G D Birla school in Kolkata in December 2017.

The dance teacher in Carmel has been sexually abusing the girl for over a year, but the incident only came to light in the last couple of days, when the student stopped coming to school.

According to reports, the teacher also threatened the girl with dire consequences if she informed anyone else about it, even saying he will bury her in the school grounds if she opens her mouth.

Despite the threats, the incident was revealed and led to resentment among the parents.

On Friday, parents started protesting in front of the school, alleging that the school did not take any lessons from the G D Birla incident and no special security was arranged for the students.

They also maintained there was no CCTV camera in the school that is supposed to keep a tab on such incidents from happening.

The South Kolkata school campus literally turned into a fortress on Friday with a massive police presence.

The parents got into a brawl with the police and the Officer and Additional Officer-in-charge of the local police station were injured.

The police said that they were trying to provide a safe passage for the students stuck inside the school, while the parents alleged they were trying to rescue the accused.

The protesting parents started hitting the police with helmets, which injured the two officers. One person was identified in the scuffle and was forcibly sent elsewhere in a taxi.

Following this, the agitated parents took to the road in front of the school and continued their protests.
Modi on Wednesday hurled a Ramayana jibe at Renuka, who broke out in a loud laughter during his speech on Motion of Thanks.

Hitting out at Kiren Rijiju over his social media post, Renuka Chowdhury said, This is degrading to a woman and highly objectionable. (Photo: File)

New Delhi: Congress parliamentarian Renuka Chowdhury on Friday moved a privilege motion in the Rajya Sabha against Union Minister Kiren Rijiju for sharing a video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi mocking her laughter in the Rajya Sabha.

Rijiju had captioned the tweet as "Despite such vexatious laugh by Renuka Chaudhary ji PM Narendra Modi ji didn't get irritated."

Furious over the post, Renuka said, "This is degrading to a woman and highly objectionable."

Also read: Vexatious laugh, Rijiju taunts Renuka Chowdhury; Cong MP to file for privilege

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday hurled a Ramayana jibe at Renuka Chowdhury, who broke out in a loud laughter during his speech on Motion of Thanks to the Presidents Address.

Modi asked the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, M Venkaiah Naidu  who not only chided the Congress member for loose and unruly behaviour but also advised her to visit a doctor if she has a problem  not to stop her as it was after ages that one had the opportunity to hear such a laughter after the serial Ramayana.

Also read: Renuka Chowdhury laughs at PMs lies, he makes jibe

The following day, Rajya Sabha was adjourned for an hour over Modi's remarks.
The plea sought quashing of FIR against Army officer who was booked as an accused by the J&K Police in the recent Shopian firing incident.

Two civilians were killed when Army personnel fired at a stone-pelting mob in Ganovpora village in Shopian, prompting the chief minister to order an inquiry into the incident. (Representational image/AP)

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear on Monday the plea of an Army officer's father that the FIR against his son, booked as an accused by the Jammu and Kashmir Police in the recent Shopian firing incident, be quashed.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud considered advocate Aishwarya Bhati's submission that the father's plea be heard on an urgent basis.

The lawyer said the FIR has illegally been lodged against Major Aditya Kumar in connection with the firing incident in Shopian.

"We will hear it on Monday," the bench said.

Also read: Father of Army officer accused of Shopian firing moves SC for quashing of FIR

Lieutenant Colonel Karamveer Singh said his son, a major in 10 Garhwal Rifles, was "wrongly and arbitrarily" named in the FIR as the incident relates to an Army convoy that was on bonafide military duty in an area under the AFSPA and was isolated by an "unruly and deranged" mob pelting stones, causing damage to military vehicles.

Three civilians were killed when Army personnel fired at a stone-pelting mob in Ganovpora village in Shopian, prompting the chief minister to order an inquiry into the incident.

The FIR was registered against personnel of 10 Garhwal Rifles, including Major Kumar, under sections 302 (murder) and 307 (attempt to murder) of the Ranbir Penal Code.

The petitioner has sought directions for guidelines to protect the rights of soldiers and adequate compensation so that no Army personnel is harassed by initiation of criminal proceedings for bonafide actions in exercise of their duties.

Also read: J&K civilian deaths: Army major, associates booked on murder charges

It has also sought registration of FIR against persons involved in the terrorist activities which had caused damage to property of the government.

Karamveer Singh said in his plea that his son's intention was to save Army personnel and property and the fire was inflicted "only to impair and provide a safe escape from a savage and violent mob engaged in terrorist activity".

The unruly mob was requested to disperse and not obstruct military in performance of their duties and not to damage government property but when the situation reached beyond control, a warning was issued to disperse, the plea said.

The unruly behaviour of the "unlawful assembly" escalated and they got hold of a Junior Commissioned Officer and were in the process of lynching him when warning shots were fired to disperse the violent mob and protect public property, it submitted.

Singh also referred to last year's incident of a mob lynching DSP Mohd Ayub Pandith to apprise the top court about the situation in the state and the condition in which

Army officials were working to control violent mobs in Kashmir.

Also read: J&K: 2 killed, 9 injured after Army opens fire at violent crowd in Shopian

"The petitioner is constrained to file the present writ petition for quashing of FIR, directly before this court in view of the extremely hostile situation on the ground, whereby an FIR has been registered by local police against the son of the petitioner, who is a serving Army officer and was performing bonafide duties as directed by the Union of India."

The manner in which the lodging of the FIR has been portrayed and projected by the political leadership and administrative higher-ups reflects the extremely hostile atmosphere in the state, it said.
The sources added that Naveed had left the place merely 10 minutes before the police reached there on Wednesday.

SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir police has arrested four persons for their alleged involvement in Tuesday's shooting incident at a Srinagar hospital during which Muhammad Naveed Jutt, alias Abu Hanzala, a Pakistani prisoner and former deputy commander of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), escaped.

Four other persons who are reported to have facilitated the getaway or were in close contact with the accused too have been taken into custody. The police which have been working overtime to lay their hands on the culprits also tracked down the motorcycle and the vehicle that were used for transporting Naveed to southern Pulwama from Srinagar's Sri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) Hospital on February 6 morning.

The arrests were made on the basis of the CCTV footage of the SMHS hospital and the leads obtained during consequent investigations, the police sources said.

During the dramatic escape, a barrage of gunfire outside the Out Patients' Department (OPD) of the Valley's premier hospital had left two policemen dead. They were escorting Naveed and five other prisoners to the hospital from Srinagar's Central Jail for routine check-up. The handcuffed prisoner's running away in such a fashion came as a major embarrassment to the police which immediately set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by a superintendent of police to probe the incident. J&K's director general of police (DGP), Shesh Paul Vaid, has admitted it to be a "major security breach" and said that well-planned conspiracy which exposed the chinks in the security set-up could not be executed without connivance of people at the Srinagar's central prison. He said in an interview, "Definitely someone in the jail is involved. It was an escape planned inside the jail. It couldn't be coordinated without that."

The state government which has ordered a magisterial inquiry on Thursday placed jail superintendent Hilal Ahmed Rather under suspension and posted the Additional SP as the new head of the prison.

Naveed is at large. He narrowly escaped re-arrest when the police raided a private house in Pulwama, the police sources said. The sources added that Naveed had left the place merely 10 minutes before the police reached there on Wednesday.

He has since joined top commanders of Hizb-ul-Mujahedin in south Kashmir and, as per reports, is changing hideouts at intervals. On Thursday, two photographs showing him with the Hizb commanders Saddam Paddar and Aadil Malik went viral on social media.
Arun Jaitley accused Cong of 'seriously compromising' national security by demanding disclosure of details of the Rafale deal.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said when UPA was in power, then defence ministers Pranab Mukherjee and AK Antony had on 15 occasions told the Parliament that giving out such details would be against the interest of national security. (Photo: PTI/File)

New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday accused the Congress of "seriously compromising" national security by demanding disclosure of details of the Rafale fighter jet deal and also "manufacturing" corruption allegations against the NDA government.

Jaitley's attack against the Congress in the Lok Sabha during which he defended the government's decision against making the break-up of the nearly Rs 58,000 crore deal public came even as Congress president Rahul Gandhi fired a fresh salvo at the government. Gandhi said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not answering his questions because there was something "fishy" about it.

Also read: Modi quiet on queries, something's fishy: Rahul on Rafale deal

Amid acrimony between Congress and BJP members, Jaitley also advised Gandhi to "learn" from former defence minister Pranab Mukherjee "lessons on national security."

"Your party was stigmatised when you were in government because of allegation of corruption. Now the new act is, let us manufacture an allegation of corruption against the NDA. So when you couldn't find anything, you said please disclose the price of the Rafale deal," Jaitley said while replying to a discussion on the Union Budget.

"I charge the Congress of seriously compromising India's security...Mr Modi has run a clean government for last 4 years, so let us manufacture a crisis, let us manufacture an issue. And the manufactured issue is, please tell me the details of the Rafale deal," the finance minister said referring to the demands by the Congress to make public details of the government-to-government deal to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets from France.

Jaitley said when UPA was in power, then defence ministers Pranab Mukherjee and AK Antony had on 15 occasions told Parliament that giving out such details would be against the interest of national security. He said one of the questions then related to missiles being procured from Israel.

He said the Congress president should go to Mukherjee and "get lessons on national security."

Also read: BJP must make aircraft prices public, Rahul calls Rafale deal 'scam'

Gandhi has been targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the 2016 deal to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets. "What is the price that the Prime Minister has spent on Rafale," Gandhi had asked on Tuesday.

Alleging that something wrong has happened in the Rafale deal, Gandhi also 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," Gandhi alleged without elaborating.

Continuing his attack on Thursday, Gandhi referred to Modi's speeches in Parliament on Wednesday, telling reporters outside Parliament that it was clear that the prime minister was not interested in answering "fundamental questions".

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, he said, had first announced that she would inform the nation about the cost of purchasing Rafale aircraft but was now saying she could not do so as it was a state secret.

"Which of her two statements are correct," he asked.

Later in a tweet, Gandhi asked if she "changed" her stand to hide corruption, or to protect prime minister or his friend. "Why did the Raksha Mantri change her stance from: I will reveal the price of the RAFALE planes in Nov 2017 to the price is a state secret in Feb 2018. A) Corruption B) To protect Modiji C) To protect Modiji's friend D) All of above," he tweeted.

Gandhi said he had also posed three questions to Modi. These included the aircraft's cost and "handing over" the deal to a businessman after "snatching" it from a public undertaking. However, there was no reply, Gandhi said.

"There can be only one answer and it is that there is something fishy about this," he said.

In Lok Sabha, Jaitley said security pacts were inherent part of defence transactions "because when you disclose the details of the price, you can give an approximate price, but when you give those specific details, you are giving details of the weapon system that you possess, and the capacity of the weapon systems which you don't want to inform the enemy."

Shashi Tharoor (Congress) told Jaitley that his party was not seeking details to compromise national security but only demanding transparency.

Congress senior spokesperson Anand Sharma accused Modi of indulging in "political corruption" in the Rafale deal. "I charge the PM with political corruption. This is political corruption, it is not promoting crony capitalism. This is political corruption. What we will call it?," he told reporters.
The chief minister warned that no political inclination could give respite to those spreading anarchy or breaking parliamentary traditions.

Taking a jibe at the previous state governments, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said, 'Previous state governments were more interested in appeasement and vote bank politics.' (Photo: ANI)

Gorakhpur: Hitting out at criminal elements, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday said those who wanted to disturb the peace, and believed in the language of the gun, deserved to be answered in the same tongue.

"Everyone should be guaranteed security, but those who want to disturb peace of the society and believe in the gun, should be given the answer in the language of the gun itself. I would tell the administration, that there is no need to worry on this," Adityanath said in Uttar Pradeshs Gorakhpur.

No political inclination could provide respite to those spreading anarchy or breaking parliamentary traditions, the chief minister warned.

Earlier speaking to reporters in Lucknow, Adityanath had said, "The opposition leaders' ... rude, unparliamentary, indecorous and indecent behaviour... is despicable."

"This type of behaviour shatters the parliamentary tradition ... Paper balls were thrown, balloons were flown. The use of foul language for the governor by the Samajwadi Party members in the presence of their leaders is indeed unparliamentary and a despicable act," he had said.

The behaviour pointed to the anarchy that was there in the state under the earlier rule, Adityanath added.

"These people are yet to come out of their mindset of anarchy -- which they had allowed in the state -- and they do not want the House to be free from that anarchy," he said.

The Uttar Pradesh chief minister on Thursday inaugurated the Gorakhpur Industrial Development Authority building and LED road lights from Kalesar to Nausad Chauraha and also the laid foundation stone of a government polytechnic college in Hardi village of Sahjanwa area of the district.

He said, "Development is the only way for prosperity. With the polytechnic becoming operational, youth will be able to get technical education in their area. If we want to stop migration from villages, we need to develop the villages."

Taking a jibe at the previous state governments, he said, "Previous state governments were more interested in appeasement and vote bank politics. Samajwadi Party government was more interested in slaughter houses and we are interested in development. At the place where SP government had wanted to open a slaughter house, we will open the gateway of development. After 26 years, the fertiliser workshop opened."
The Governor recently expressed his wish to oversee development and law and order in Malda which the TMC dubbed unconstitutional.

Bengal Municipal Affairs & Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim said it is unfortunate that the Governor is speaking like a political leader. (Photo: PTI)

Kolkata: West Bengal governor Keshrinath Tripathi on Friday lashed out at the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) for accusing him of overstepping his jurisdiction.

They should look at their faces in the mirror and clean the dirt from their faces, adding that the state government should stop throwing mud at the office of the Governor.

The Governor recently wrote to the divisional commissioner of Malda district, expressing his wish to hold an administrative meeting to oversee development work and law and order situation.

TMC leaders dubbed this move unconstitutional.

Speaking to mediapersons on the sidelines of a programme at a university in Diamond Harbour, the Governor said, Should I say? It will be a strong statement. They should stop throwing mud at the office of the Governor. Now, please stop mudslinging, targeting the office of the Governor.

They should go to the washroom, look at their faces in the mirror and remove the dirt from their faces, he added.

In response, Bengal Municipal Affairs & Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim said it is unfortunate that the Governor is speaking like a political leader.

He is speaking of dirt on our faces. I want to ask what he has to say about the people who are trying to dictate what people will eat and what they wont. Who will wipe out this dirt? Hakim said.

TMC general secreatary Partha Chatterjee said, "Age is a factor. He is a senior citizen. He says a lot of things. I dont want to comment on that.

By sending a letter to the Malda district administration through his secretary, the Governor has gone beyond his jurisdiction as prescribed in the Constitution. He bypassed the chief ministers office. His act goes against the Constitution and he has flouted it. By overstepping his constitutional duty as prescribed in Article 153 of Constitution, he has not only acted as spokesperson of the central government, but also as a spokesperson of the ruling party at the Centre, Chatterjee had earlier said.

TMC MPs Derek O'Brien and Dinesh Trivedi also criticised the governor's move.

We respect the Constitution, but the Governor cannot be the super chief minister, Trivedi said on Tuesday.
The veiled criticism is being seen in the context of a remark made earlier in the day in Beijing by Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang.

New Delhi: In what is being seen as a veiled attack on China on the Maldives crisis, India on Friday evening said that it hoped all countries can play a constructive role in Maldives, instead of doing the opposite.

The veiled criticism is being seen in the context of a remark made earlier in the day in Beijing by Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang, who was quoted by news agencies as saying, The international community should respect the will of the Maldives and play a constructive role in the stability and development of Maldives instead of doing the opposite.

Chinas remark was apparently made in the context of reports about Indian troops being kept on standby and was seen as proof that Beijing is backing beleaguered Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen.

According to news agency reports, visiting Maldivian economic development minister Mohamed Saeed told Chinese foreign minister wang Yi that the Maldives has the ability to protect the Chinese personnel and the institutions.

But apparently some contradictory media reports have surfaced, claiming that Maldives has sought support from China to maintain security for Chinese investments. In response to a query on media reports that Maldives has sought support from China to maintain security for Chinese investments, the MEA said, We note that China has said that Maldives government has the ability to protect the security of Chinese personnel and institutions in Maldives. We hope that all countries can play a constructive role in Maldives, instead of doing the opposite.
Recently, State Councillor Yang Jiechi and Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited India successfully.

The pen is in our hands. We have already started writing a new chapter of China-India relations. (Photo: PTI/Representational)

New Delhi: The Indian Army intervened to stop unauthorised road construction in Doklam in Bhutanese territory last year after efforts by both India and Bhutan  to ask the Chinese to stop as per the existing protocols and understandings  failed, the Indian Government has informed Parliament. The government also said that after the end of the face-off in Doklam, there have been no new developments at the face-off site and its vicinity and that the status quo prevails in this area.

Meanwhile, the Government has also informed Parliament that the Chinese Government has resumed the Kailash Mansoravar yatra through the Nathu La route in Sikkim.

Meanwhile, on Thursday evening, while addressing a gathering at the 'Chinese Spring Festival' reception at the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi, Chinese ambassador Luo Zhaohui was quoted by news agencies as saying, New Year is like a blank book. The pen is in our hands. We have already started writing a new chapter of China-India relations.

Recently, State Councillor Yang Jiechi and Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited India successfully.
The White House said that the two leaders also pledged to continue working together to enhance security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.

New Delhi /Washington /Beijing: In what is being seen as a synchronised Indo-US strategy on the Maldives crisis, US President Donald Trump on Friday spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on phone, with both leaders expressing concern over the political situation in the tiny archipelago nation.

Both leaders expressed concern about the political crisis in the Maldives and the importance of respect for democratic institutions and rule of law, the White House said in a readout of the phone call between Mr Trump and Mr Modi, the first this year.

The White House said that the two leaders also pledged to continue working together to enhance security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.

In a related development, Chinese government sources were quoted by news agencies in Beijing as saying that China it is in touch with India to discuss a way to resolve the political turmoil gripping the

Maldives and that Beijing doesnt want the issue to become another flashpoint in ties with New Delhi.

Ties between China and India had soured considerably last year following a military face-off in Doklam in Bhutanese territory which China regards as its own.

Apart from China, support for the Maldivian government has also come from Pakistan which appeared to play the Islamic card. Pakistan on Friday hailed Maldives as an important Muslim country in SAARC, adding that Pakistan and Maldives have deep and cordial relations, bound by religious and cultural affinity.

In its reaction on the developments in the Maldives, Islamabad said, Pakistan and Maldives have deep and cordial relations, bound by religious and cultural affinity. Maldives is an important Muslim country in SAARC. As a matter of policy, we do not comment on the internal matters of other countries. Pakistan firmly believes that the rule of democracy and constitution must be upheld and allowed to take its course, and supports the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Maldives as per the UN Charter.

It may be recalled that Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen had sent special envoys to China, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia while a miffed India had refused to allow Male send its special envoy to New Delhi.

This, after the Maldivian President had ignored Indias advice to respect a Supreme Court order there on release of political prisoners.

Meanwhile, during their telephonic conversation President Trump and PM Modi also discussed the situation in Afghanistan, Myanmar and North Korea.

ffirming President Trumps South Asia strategy, they reiterated their commitment to supporting Afghanistans security and stability, the White House said.

PM Modi and President Trump also exchanged views on Myanmar and ways to address the plight of Rohingya refugees.

According to the White House, during the call, President Trump and PM Modi discussed further steps to ensure denuclearisation of North Korea. Finally, the leaders agreed to strengthen security and economic cooperation as they look forward to the 2+2 ministerial dialogue between their defence and diplomatic officials in April, the White House said.

The dialogue will involve external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman from India along with their American counterparts secretary of state Rex Tillerson and defense secretary Jim Mattis.
Trying to raise his voice over the din, Mr Jaitley at one point told the Chair that he was running a fever.

New Delhi: Finance minister Arun Jaitley was heckled in the Lok Sabha on Thursday as he claimed that the Congress was making false allegations on the Rafale fighter jet deal. Union minister Uma Bharti had to virtually stand guard in front of Mr Jaitley as Congress members came rather close to Mr Jaitley while shouting slogans. The Congr-ess members were also joined by Telugu Desam MPs who continued to create a ruckus over the Centres financial neglect of Andhra Pradesh.

Trying to raise his voice over the din, Mr Jaitley at one point told the Chair that he was running a fever.

Mr Jaitley then tried to address the grievances of NDA ally TDP but the shouting continued. Following the chaos, the Speaker was forced to adjourn the House till Friday when the voting on the Finance Bill is expected to take place.

Mr Jaitley, accusing the Opposition Congress of manufacturing corruption allegations against the government, said that it was in the larger interest of the countrys security that the price of Rafale fighter jets is not disclosed. His defence on the Rafale deal came after Congress president Rahul Gandhi had said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not answering his questions on the deal because there was something fishy in it.

Replying to the debate on the Budget in the Lok Sabha, Mr Jaitley said disclosing the price in defence deals would give away the specifications of weapons systems in the aircraft and noted that the earlier UPA government had also not divulged the details in Parliament.

The finance minister spoke amid slogan-shouting by Congress and TDP members. Ms Uma Bharti was seen trying to shield him from agitated TDP members who are on the warpath demanding funds for Andhra Pradesh.

Mr Jaitley pointed out that Pranab Mukherjee, as defence minister in 2005, had refused to disclose details of the weapons purchased from the United States and his successor, A.K. Antony, did not share information on a defence deal with Israel.

It is in the larger interest of Indias security to not disclose the price of defence transactions. You can give approximate prices but if you give the exact price, you give away details of the weapons purchased, Mr Jaitley said, and added Mr Gandhi, who made the allegations, should go back to Mr Mukherjee and take lessons.

At this point, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said that the finance minister was accountable to Parliament on how public money was spent. To this, Mr Jaitley replied that his government was as accountable as the UPA was.

Mr Gandhi had earlier said it was clear that the Prime Minister was not interested in answering fundamental questions.

Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman had first said that she would inform the nation about the cost of purchasing Rafale aircraft, but was now saying she could not do so as it was a state secret. Which of her two statements are correct? Mr Gandhi had asked.

In the Lok Sabha, as Mr Jaitley spoke, both Congress and TDP members continued to create a ruckus, forcing Mr Jaitley to respond that he was running a fever and should therefore be allowed to complete his speech.

Addressing Andhra Pradesh MPs, he said: So far we have given funds and promised (funds for) a large number of institutions which are created as a lot went to Telangana. Funds will continue to be given for the establishment of all institutions which are mentioned... when they are being created and when they are built. As far as creation of the capital is concerned, we have made some payments for the capital construction.
The Gujarat polls and the Rajasthan byelections, she said, showed the winds of change.

New Delhi: Describing her son and Congress president Rahul Gandhi as her boss, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi attacked the BJP and the Narendra Modi government on Thursday, and signalled the partys move to firm up a grand alliance for the 2019 general election.

Addressing the Congress Parliamentary Party for the first time since demitting office as party chief, Mrs Gandhi said the Congress will work with like-minded political parties to ensure the BJPs defeat in the next general election. She added: We have a new Congress president and on your behalf and my own I wish him all the best. He is now my boss too. Let there be no doubt about that.

She accused the Modi government of flaring communal passions and orchestrating violence against minorities across India, including in election-bound Karnat-aka. Describing the Congress decimation in 2014 as an aberration, she said: Increasingly, the people of our country, people belonging to all sections of society... are getting disillusioned with the present regime. It is for us to channel this discontent into support.

The Gujarat polls and the Rajasthan byelections, she said, showed the win-ds of change. Karnataka, where polls are due later this year, will underline the Congress resurgence, she added.

It has been almost four years since this government came to power. This has been a period in which institutions have come under systematic assault  Parliament itself, the judiciary, med-ia and civil society. Inves-tigative agencies have been let loose against political opponents, she

said. Accusing the BJP of polarising the country Mrs Gandhi added: Violence against minorities, dalits is not sporadic, but orchestrated to polarise society for narrow political gains.

The Congress was targeting the NDA government for rising unemployment, Mrs Gandhi said, and added: Unemployment is staring at our youth. New jobs are not only not being created, but existing jobs themselves are being lost. Employment cant happen without new investments and the fact is that there has been a marked decline in the rate of investments over the past four years. She even attacked the recent Union Budget, calling in full of sleight of hand and jumlas.

Mrs Gandhi also attacked the government on its foreign policy, and said: Personalised diplomacy and public bearhugs are all very well, but there is no substitute for institutionalised processes, for hard work and preparation, and for continuity in our national policies.
Prasad had filed a petition in the special ST/SC court which directed the police to register FIR against the minister and others.

Patna: Union minister Giriraj Singh, along with 32 others, has been booked for allegedly grabbing a prime piece of land in Danapur area of Patna.

BJP leader Giriraj Singh and others are accused of grabbing land from Ram Narayan Prasad, a resident of Asopur in Danapur. Mr Prasad had filed a petition in the special ST/SC court which directed the police to register FIR against the minister and others.

The complainant, Ram Narayan Prasad, alleged that the accused grabbed a land of two acres and fifty-six decimal which was gifted to him by his maternal uncle. Prasad also said that accused abused and threatened him when he protested.

Sources claimed that all the accused, including senior BJP leader and Union minister Giriraj Singh, have been booked under provisions of the IPC and the SC/ST act.

The issue has snowballed into a major political controversy with the opposition demanding the resignation of Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and replies on the issue from the Prime Minister.

Former Deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav, who is preparing to launch a statewide Nyay Yatra against Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, attacked the NDA over the allegations against Giriraj Singh. He said, What will the chief minister do now, will he break the alliance with the BJP and resign from the post of chief minister as he keeps talking about zero tolerance on issues like these.

The Opposition parties in Bihar also pointed out that Nitish Kumar had snapped ties with the grand secular alliance in July last year on grounds that his conscience didnt allow him to remain with RJD after a string of corruption cases were registered against Lalu Yadav and his family.
The duo announced that H.D. Kumaraswa-my, son of former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, will be the chief ministerial candidate for the alliance.

New Delhi: In its first-ever pre-poll alliance, the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party on Thursday announced a pact with Janata Dal (Secular) for the coming Karnataka Assembly polls. The move is seen as a setback for the ruling Congress, which is hoping to retain power in the state, as it will lead to a division of the anti-BJP vote.

The BSP will contest 20 seats spread across 14 districts, Satish Chandra Mishra, BSP joint secretary, and Danish Ali, JD(S) national secretary-general, announced at a joint press conference in New Delhi on Thursday.

The duo announced that H.D. Kumaraswa-my, son of former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, will be the chief ministerial candidate for the alliance.

Both Ms Mayawati and Mr Deve Gowda would jointly campaign in the state, they said.

The 20 seats which the BSP will contest are Chamaraj Nagara, Gundlupete and Kolleg-ala (SC), Anekal, Nippa-ni, Chikkodi-Sadalaga and Raibag (SC) Honn-ali, Bidar North, Chitta-pur (SC), Kalaburgi Rural (SC), Vijayanag-ara, Bagalkota City, Karkala, Hubbali-Dhar-wad (East-SC), Byadagi, Shirahatti (SC), Gadag, Babaleshwara and Sullya (SC).

Sources in the JD(S) and a few dalit leaders felt this might end up being a zero sum game.

In the seats that are given to BSP, the JD(S) is not a strong force. Therefore, it is

difficult to say if the JD(S) would really be helpful for the BSP to win those seats. Considering JD(S) voters hostility towards dalits in many constituencies in south Karnataka, it would be a challenge for the JD(S) to transfer the Vokkaligas votes to the BSP, sources said.

A dalit leader felt that after the 2004 Assembly elections, the BSP failed to make a dent into the dalit vote base of the two national parties. Perhaps in places like Kollegala, where the BSP is strong, it can help the JD(S) to split the communitys votes. Otherwise, considering the voteshare that the BSP got in the 2013 Assembly elections, it would be difficult to say whether it would help the JD(S) in a big way, the leader added.

Mr Ali said the alliance was pathbreaking and would have larger ramifications for Indian politics. It had the potential to thwart the attempts of two bigger national parties to isolate regional parties.

This is the first time that the BSP, under the leadership of Mayawati, is getting into an electoral alliance with us as per our request, he added.

Karnataka has over 22 per cent Scheduled Caste votes.

Mr Misra said the party had scored well while fighting independently in several constituencies. We had representation in the Karnataka Assembly in 1999. The BSP has performed well even in states like Telangana, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Jammu and Kashmir, he said.
The prime minister asked MPs to inform the masses about various pro-people features of the budget.

The MPs success is linked to the partys performance, the prime minister told the BJP parliamentary meeting, the leaders said. (Photo: PTI | File)

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday asked BJP MPs to take welfare schemes announced in the budget to the masses, saying that popularising them would lead to the party winning in the polls, according to leaders present at the meeting.

The MPs success is linked to the partys performance, the prime minister told the BJP parliamentary meeting, the leaders said.

Party president Amit Shah also spoke at the meeting and blamed Congress chief Rahul Gandhis undemocratic politics for his party members heckling the prime minister during his speech in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

PM Modi dwelt at length on the Union budget, calling it especially positive for farmers and the poor while citing the announcement of a health insurance scheme for 10 crore families, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar told reporters.

The prime minister asked MPs to inform the masses about various pro-people features of the budget.

The prime minister also asked the gathering to hold meetings at booths to take various welfare schemes announced in the budget to people and run intensive campaigns to propagate them, Kumar said.

Some leaders present in the meeting later said the prime minister underlined the importance of popularising these schemes for winning polls and told them that their win was linked to the partys victory.

He asked them to hold mock parliaments in various places to discuss the budget and praised Finance Minister Arun Jaitleys reply in the Lok Sabha during a discussion on it. Modi also heaped praise on Shah for his maiden speech in the Rajya Sabha.

Modi made a reference to his rally in Tripura, which goes to the polls on February 18, yesterday and said a huge crowd had arrived despite attempts of the states Left government to prevent people from attending it. Shah hit out at Congress chief Rahul Gandhi in his address, Kumar said.

Never before in the parliamentary history was a prime ministers reply to the presidents address disrupted by the Opposition, Shah said, referring to Congress protests in the well of the Lok Sabha during Modis over 90-minute speech on Wednesday. Rahul Gandhis mindset is undemocratic and that is why the prime minister had to speak amid disruptions, he said. When Manmohan Singh was prime minister for over 10 years, such a situation never occurred, he said.

Shah also touched on the Congress attack on the government over the Rafale aircraft deal, saying Jaitley in his speech had touched on its various aspects.

The broader details of the deal have been shared in Parliament. But every detail, including those about its weapons and their cost, cannot be made public, Kumar quoted Shah as saying.
Rahul said many lawmakers from both the Houses expressed discomfort over the Loya death case and demanded the formation of SIT for probe.

'We just want to have a proper investigation done by an independent structure that gives us the outcome,' Rahul said (Photo: ANI | Twitter)

New Delhi: Congress President Rahul Gandhi and 114 lawmakers from 15 parties met President Ram Nath Kovind in Delhi on Friday over Judge Loya death case.

Rahul said many lawmakers from both the Houses expressed discomfort over the case and demanded the formation of a Supreme Court - Special Investigation Team (SIT) for probe.

The MPs and MLAs from various parties also signed a memorandum.

"We just want to have a proper investigation done by an independent structure that gives us the outcome," Rahul said after the opposition delegation met the President.

Along with BH Loya, the opposition also demanded probe into the mysterious deaths of two confidantes of Kapil Sibal.

According to the Opposition, Lawyer Shrikant Khandalkar fell to his death in 2015 from the sixth floor of the district court building, and in 2016, district judge Prakash Thombre fell from the top berth inside a train coach and broke his spine.

"There should be an SIT (Special Investigation Team) but not of CBI officials. We don't trust the CBI or NIA (National Investigation Agency because we know what CBI and NIA officials do," Sibal was quoted as saying by NDTV.

The opposition had earlier said that there was 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".

At the time of his death, Loya was presiding over the CBI court hearing the alleged Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case. He died of cardiac arrest on December 1, 2014, according to hospital records, a day after he attended the wedding ceremony and reception of the daughter of fellow Judge Sapna Josh.
Chowdhurys decision on the privilege motion came soon after a clipping of Mr Modis remark was tweeted by minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju.

NEW DELHI: The verbal duel between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress Rajya Sabha MP Renuka Chowdhary during the formers reply on the Motion of Thanks to the Presidents address has turned into a political slugfest. Amid calls by Congress MPs for an apology from Mr Modi on his Ramayan remark over Renuka Chowdharys laughter in Rajya Sabha, Ms Chowdhary on Thursday threatened to file a privilege motion over the issue.

Ms Chowdhurys decision on the privilege motion came soon after a clipping of Mr Modis remark was tweeted by minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju.

This is highly objectionable and I am going to file a privilege motion (in Rajya Sabha), Ms Chowdhury told reporters minutes after Mr Rijiju posted the PMs video.
The TDP alleges that the BJP had reneged on its promises made at the time of bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.

New Delhi: In a sign that the ruling BJPs ties with ally Telugu Desam Partys (TDP) is under strain, Union minister and TDP member Y.S. Chowdary sought a response from Union finance minister Arun Jaitley on the concerns raised by the MPs of Andhra Pradesh over the budgetary allocation. It is rare that a Union minister makes such a demand in the House.

There should be respect of members and not the numbers. The finance minister should reply on this in 15 days... This is my suggestion, he said, adding that if this does not happen in 15 days, then there should be allocation of at least two hours to discuss the issue.

Mr Chowdary said several projects under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act like the Polavaram project, a steel plant at Kadapa district, and a separate railway zone for the state in Visakhapatnam have remained unaddressed in this years Union Budget.

The TDP alleges that the BJP had reneged on its promises made at the time of bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.

Meanwhile, the Lok Sabha on Thursday witnessed noisy scenes with TDP and members from YSR Congress  totaling about 15  created a ruckus for the third consecutive day with sloganeering, display of placards, lying down in the Well of the House as well as tomtoming with a dambru (a small two-headed drum) to seek financial and other assistance for Andhra Pradesh.

Amid the din, the Speaker continued with the proceedings that were only briefly interrupted for about 15 minutes sometime before Zero Hour commenced.

TDP members stood close to the reporters table in front of the secretary general and one of the members was seen talking to the staff drawing a strict reprimand from the Speaker. TDP member N Sivaprasad even tried to place a set of books on the reporters table.

They (staff) are working for you, she told the members, adding that it would not be proper if something happens to them (house staff).

All this time, the protesting MPs played a cat-and-mouse game with the Lok Sabha TV cameras that kept on shifting angles so as not to telecast the protesters who were trying their best to come into the camera frame.
Proceedings adjourned twice over Renuka row, special status to Andhra Pradesh.

As soon as the House reassembled at 12 noon, the issue of grant of special status to Andhra Pradesh was raised by the Opposition. (Photo: ANI)

New Delhi: Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned twice on Thursday first when Congress members created an uproar over Prime Minister Narendra Modis remarks against party MP Renuka Chowdhury and at noon on the issue of grant of special status to Andhra Pradesh. The continued ruckus created by the Opposition forced Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu to adjourn the House till 2 pm.

No sooner had the House mourned the death of its former member Frida Topno and the listed papers were laid on the table, Congress members were on their feet protesting against Mr Modis dig at Ms Choudhury during his reply to the debate on Motion of Thanks on Presidents address on Wednesday.

Mr Naidu chided the members for their unbecoming behaviour and asked them to resume their places. I have no option other than to adjourn the House, he said, suspending the proceedings till 1200 hours.

As soon as the House reassembled at 12 noon, the issue of grant of special status to Andhra Pradesh was raised by the Opposition. The issue came up after minister of state for science and technology and earth sciences Y.S. Chowdary rose to suggest that since the provisions of Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act have not been implemented, the matter should be addressed by the finance minister when he replies to the debate on the general Budget.

Mr Chowdary blamed both the Congress and the BJP for the hasty passage of the AP Reorganisation Act. On behalf of the Government of India, I would like to mention here that this House is fully aware on how the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act was passed so unscientifically and unreasonably, for which both the national parties are responsible, he said.

In last three-and-half years, our government could not implement certain commitments given on behalf of the Act. My suggestion, if government is willing, is that there are some issues of special category status, bridging of resource gap and building of steel plant, Mr Chowdary said.

Notwithstanding this, the present deadlock has to be unlocked, one should talk of cooperative federalism and not be partly cooperative, he said.

My suggestion, my request is that on behalf of government, if they can commit that the finance minister while delivering the Budget speech, they can commit to resolve the issues within 15 days, Mr Chowdary said.

In reply to this, minister of state for parliamentary affairs Vijay Goel said, I want to assure the member that during the reply of the budget, the finance minister will sort out their issue.

When members objected to the remark by the minister of state, Mr Naidu said the stalemate on the issue needs to be resolved and a minister can suggest a solution.

Vijai Sai Reddy (TRS) said as per the provisions of the Constitution, a minister has a collective responsibility and he should resign since he does not agree with the Cabinet decision.

There were heated exchanges in the House over this and an agitated Chairman asked Mr Reddy to sit, but he said he was ready to face action.

Congress member K.V.P. Ramachandra Rao also spoke, after leaving the well carrying a placard of save Andhra Pradesh, when the chairman asked him to get back to his seat.
He started cooking while doing his national service in Lebanon, and the colonel was so impressed he made him his personal chef.

One of Geaam's favourite dishes at the moment is "an escalope of foie gras lacquered with pomegranate molasses (Photo: AFP)

Paris: When Lebanese chef Alan Geaam first arrived in Paris two decades ago he found himself sleeping on the streets, lost and penniless with hardly a word of French.

This week Geaam, who began his career as a dishwasher while he was sleeping rough in a Paris park, received his first Michelin star from the French gastronomic bible for his acclaimed new restaurant within a stone's throw of the Arc de Triomphe.

"I never thought the Michelin would be interested in someone like me, who was self-taught, who had to sleep in the street at 19 and who began as a dishwasher," he told agencies.

"I thought the guide was about chefs in big fancy hotels or those trained by the great masters. But it turned out to be the opposite. It's a wonderful surprise," said the 43-year-old, who was born to Lebanese parents in Liberia, before they exchanged one war zone for another by returning to Beirut.

By then Geaam's fascination with food was clear, watching cookery shows on television rather than cartoons after school.

He started cooking while doing his national service in Lebanon, and the colonel of his regiment was so impressed he made him his personal chef.

But Geaam never thought we would be able to cut the mustard in France, and only got his break when the chef of the restaurant where he was washing the dishes was rushed to hospital when he slashed his hand with a knife.

'But you can cook!'

"I worked during the day as a construction worker and at night delivering pizzas and washing dishes. One night the cook cut his hand and had to go to hospital. No one asked me, but I just took over. There were 14 tables and so I just feed the customers and at the end of the night they were delighted.

"The owner said to me, 'But you can cook!' and I said, 'Yes.'"

"The reason I cook is to make people happy," said Geaam. And he has certainly spread joy among restaurant critics with Michelin's rival Gault Millau guide raving about his langoustines and chard and its dark chocolate-coloured sauce tinged with Vietnamese cardamom.

Alexander Lobrano, author of "Hungry for Paris", was even more effusive, declaring this "gentle, shrewd, self-taught chef as one of quiet men of Paris gastronomy... who has a brilliant future ahead of him."

Although Geaam delights in bringing the very best of French produce to his table, Lobrano said he also brings the "tender buds of his very personal cooking that makes references to the lost world of a little boy born to a foreign family living in tropical Africa."

Pomegranate lacquered foie gras

And the influence of his Lebanese roots is never far away either.

One of Geaam's favourite dishes at the moment is "an escalope of foie gras lacquered with pomegranate molasses served with a tartlette of beetroot and pomegranate.

"I ate a lot of pomegranates when I was a kid," he said. "I made juice with them, I made lots of reductions with them, and I loved putting this very Lebanese touch with something so French as foie gras."

Since Geaam got his Michelin star on Monday night his restaurant's phone has not stopped ringing.

His said his small, tight team of highly-talented chefs -- whose CVs he admits look far more impressive than his own -- "really feel that something has happened in our lives.

"You can criticise the Michelin guide but I can tell you the effect, a star massively boosts a restaurant." Within hours the restaurant was booked up for three weeks. "It is quite something," he said.

Geaam, who told how his son boasted to his friends at school that his father got a Michelin star, put his success down to his own parents, who "lost everything" in Liberia only to have to struggle again in Lebanon during the civil war.

He said working with his father in his grocery shop from the age of 10 gave him a taste for business while his mother "taught me how to love people and how to cook".
Less than 41 per cent of blacks had sustained viral suppression, according to the CDCs Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

The analysis painted the grimmest picture for young African-Americans. Only 29 per cent of HIV-infected blacks between 13 and 24 years old were receiving the medication they needed to suppress the virus. (Photo: Pixabay)

African-Americans are far more likely than other Americans to be infected with HIV but far less likely to get life-saving treatments that stop the virus spread, a new US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report finds.

Its a very sobering analysis that shows we are not out of the woods yet in getting a handle on the domestic HIV epidemic, said Greg Millett, director of public policy at AmfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, in Washington, D.C.

He called the study  published in advance of the 18th annual National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day on February 7  groundbreaking and damning.

CDC researchers analyzed 2014 surveillance data from more than 650,000 people living with HIV in 37 states and the District of Columbia. While 56 per cent of whites and 50 per cent of Hispanics consistently had the virus under control with antiretroviral medications, less than 41 per cent of blacks had sustained viral suppression, according to the CDCs Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

The analysis painted the grimmest picture for young African-Americans. Only 29 per cent of HIV-infected blacks between 13 and 24 years old were receiving the medication they needed to suppress the virus.

Since the late 1990s, antiretroviral drugs have lifted the death sentence off people with HIV. In addition to improving their health and survival, the drugs also curb transmission. Newly infected patients can cease to be contagious within a few months of starting antiretroviral drugs, raising hope of ending the epidemic.

But the new report shows that African-Americans inability to reap the benefits of the life-saving drugs threatens to slow efforts to thwart the virus. Blacks represented 12 per cent of the U.S. population and 44 of new HIV diagnoses in 2016.

If were not able to get African-Americans diagnosed with HIV, to link them to care and keep them in care, then HIV is going to be part of the American landscape for some time to come, said Millett, an epidemiologist who was a senior policy advisor on HIV/AIDS strategy for the Obama administration. He was not involved with the new study.

Dr. Eugene McCray, director of CDCs Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, told Reuters Health by email, These findings underscore the importance of provider and public health efforts to reach all Americans living with HIV with effective treatment and care, including strategies to assist with adherence as needed. Addressing barriers to HIV care and treatment is critical to eliminating health disparities.

Recent progress - including steep declines in HIV diagnoses among African-American women - is encouraging. But we clearly have more work to do to ensure that testing and treatment are within reach of all people living with HIV, McCray said.

Some 36.7 million people around the world are infected with HIV, and more than half are getting the antiretroviral therapy medicines they need to suppress the virus and keep their disease in check, UNAIDS data shows.

With 48 per cent of HIV-infected Americans having achieved viral suppression, patients in the U.S. were on average slightly less likely than patients elsewhere to have the infection under control. But African-Americans in every category - regardless of gender or how they contracted the virus - were far less likely to have sustained viral suppression, the CDC report showed.

The reports authors cite lack of health insurance, limited access to health services, stigma and distrust of health providers as possible contributors to racial disparities in American HIV care. Addressing barriers to HIV care and treatment is critical to reducing health disparities, a CDC statement said.

Millett noted that most HIV-infected African-Americans live in southern states that failed to take advantage of Affordable Care Act allowances to expand healthcare to lower-income people.

Theres a very clear through line between our healthcare policies - meaning the lack of Medicaid expansion in the southern U.S. - and the outcomes among African-Americans living with HIV in the United States, he said.

Were not going to be able to end HIV in the United States if were not going to keep African-Americans in care and virally suppressed, he said.
Not ready to let it go free where it could starve or freeze to death; Belen decided to flush the poor creature.

She is considering filing a lawsuit against the airline for pressuring her to kill her pet (Photo: Pixabay)

Pets can be a great source of emotional support and help people deal with stress wherever they are. But recently incidents about people being barred from taking them along on flights have been reported; including the most recent one where a woman was stopped from travelling with her emotional support peacock.

In yet another appalling case, a woman killed her emotional support hamster by flushing it down the toilet when barred from carrying it on a flight. The 21-year-old student was informed that rodents were not allowed aboard.

Belen Aldecosea said that she didnt have any choice but to kill the pet named Pebbles as she didnt want to miss her flight back to Florida. She had also called the airlines twice and was told she could carry the medically certified emotional support hamster along but was barred from doing so at the airport.

She accepted a later flight so she could figure out what to do with her pet and tried hiring a car but all agencies were out of vehicles. Belen had to reach Florida for a medical appointment and a bus journey wouldve taken days.

As her friends were hours away and she was panicking, a member of the staff suggested letting the hamster go free outside or flushing it down the toilet. Not ready to let it go free where it could starve or freeze to death; Belen decided to flush the poor creature.

She is considering filing a lawsuit against the airline for pressuring her to kill her pet. Meanwhile the airline is denying that their staff ever advised something like that although they admit someone mistakenly told Belen she could carry her hamster.
Eight MLAs had entered a plea in the HC against their disqualification, while the remaining 12 MLAs approached the court on Wednesday.

The 20 MLAs, submitted before the bench that the Election Commission (EC) did not consider the aspect of what benefits they had derived while ruling that they held offices of profit. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: The disqualified Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs denied on Thursday in the Delhi High Court, of having received any remuneration, monetary benefits or perks, including official vehicles, in their capacity as parliamentary secretaries.

The MLAs, all 20 of whom have now entered a plea in the high court against their disqualification, submitted before a bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Chander Shekhar that the Election Commission (EC) did not consider the aspect of what benefits they had derived while ruling that they held offices of profit.

Eight MLAs had entered a plea in the high court against their disqualification, while the remaining 12 MLAs approached the court on Wednesday.

The bench, however, said the decisive test of whether someone held an office of profit was "the power of appointment".

"The other factors come in later. The emphasis is more on the power of appointment and if exercised would it create a conflict of interest," the court said.

It also said that whether a post has the potential or capability to generate profit also needs to be considered.

The court observed that even if no benefit has been received or taken, if a post has the potential of yielding pecuniary gain, then it would be an office of profit.

To decide if the post has the potential to yield gain, the power of appointment has to be examined, it observed.

The observations of the bench and the submissions on behalf of the MLAs came during the nearly three-hour hearing of the legislators' pleas challenging their disqualification for holding offices of profit.

Appearing for the MLAs, senior advocate Mohan Parasaran said that no pecuniary benefit was received by the lawmakers, while appointed as parliamentary secretaries, and the EC did not consider vital materials while arriving at its decision recommending their disqualification.

The high court, which had on Wednesday decided to hear the MLAs' appeals on a day-to-day basis, listed the matter for further arguments on February 12.

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 by-polls 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 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).

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).
I am ready for any kind of inquiry or investigation so that the truth comes to the fore, says Preety Agarwal.

New Delhi: Rejecting the alleged charges of corruption against her as baseless, North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) mayor Preety Agarwal on Thursday said that the allegations against her carries not truth as the deliberative wing (political wing) has no role in the tendering process.

Referring to a report published in this newspaper, lieutenant-governor Anil Baijal on Thursday directed a vigilance inquiry into the alleged corruption charges against Ms Agarwal. AAP leader Dilip Pandey, citing the news report, also demanded the resignation of Ms Agarwal and Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari.

Terming the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) charges baseless, Ms Agarwal claimed that there is no truth in it.

They (AAP) do not even know that the deliberative wing has no role in the tendering process. It is all done by the executive wing, added Ms Agarwal.

She said that the charges levelled against her are an attempt to divert attention from the core issues and corruption within AAP.

I am ready for any kind of inquiry or investigation so that the truth comes to the fore, she said.

Coming to the defence of Ms Agarwal, Delhi BJP general secretary Ravinder Gupta said, AAP masters the art of spreading canards to mislead the political discourse. Today, two examples of their cheap tactics are again before us.

AAP has attempted to level baseless allegations of corruption against the NDMC mayor with the intent to divert public attention from the concrete allegations of corruption against Delhi minister Satyendra Jain as part of AAPs dirty politics. Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal should realise that people of Delhi now understand his dirty relations with tainted Mr Jain, Mr Gupta added.

Clarifying the partys stand against corruption, Mr Gupta said, The BJP has zero tolerance towards corruption and we will not buckle under the pressure of AAP leaders baseless allegations. We will continue our agitation demanding Mr Jains dismissal.
Patel also said Banerjee invited him to join the TMC and manage its affairs in Gujarat.

Kolkata: Describing the Congress and the Trinamool Congress as the two biggest opposition parties currently in the country, Patidar quota activist Hardik Patel on Friday opined West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee should lead the Opposition.

Patel, who met Banerjee at the state secretariat on Friday, also said she invited him to joined the TMC and manage its affairs in Gujarat, from where he hails. At the moment, the Congress and the Trinamool Congress are the two big Opposition parties in the country. But, if didi (as Banerjee is lovingly called) or the Congress and other parties sit together and decide something, that will be good.

But if you ask my personal opinion, I will say she is an intelligent woman who has a history of being a revolutionary leader and she should come forward to be the leader (of Opposition parties), he said after the hour-and-half long meeting.

But for those who are against her, it will be a matter of tension.

He described the chief minister as lady Gandhi. I saw lady Gandhi. She is a simple and selfless person. After Indira Gandhi, she has been the epitome of struggle for the cause of the people, he said.

Patel said he invited Banerjee to visit Gujarat for women empowerment. She had done a great work during the earthquake in Bhuj 2001.

Asked about the purpose of the meeting, Patel said he was there to seek blessings of Banerjee. I have not come for any political reasons, he said.

Patel also said Banerjee invited him to join the TMC and manage its affairs in Gujarat. She has openly told me that whenever I want to join politics the door of TMC is open for me and you can manage the party in Gujarat. But I told her I do not have political aspiration now. But if I decide to join politics, I would definitely seek her advice, Patel said.

Enquired about his role during the Lok Sabha elections in 2019, the Patidar quota agitation leader said he would definitely come to West Bengal to campaign for the TMC.

There are so many Gujaratis and people from the Kurmi community in West Bengal. Didi has sent a recommendation to include the Kurmi community in schedule tribe but not in the OBC...

I will definitely come here to campaign during the Lok Sabha elections in 2019... But we all have to be united to fight those who are trying to divide the country, he said.
However, only 12 were approved, out of which a mere two are in a position to provide services by UIDAIs empanelled enrolment agency.

However, with the estimated population of the region currently hovering around 12 lakh, nearly 30 per cent people are yet to register for Aadhaar.

Mumbai: While the deadline for linking the 12 digit Aadhaar with bank accounts, permanent account numbers (PAN), mobile numbers, public provident fund (PPF), national savings certificates (NSCs) and insurance policies is fast approaching, residents of Mira-Bhayandar are running from pillar to post to get themselves registered. Reason being 10 out the 12 enrolment centres recently designated by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) are yet to commence operations.

To curb cases of overcharging and ensure that all enrolments, even those by private agencies, come under the direct supervision of authorities, Aadhaar-issuing authority UIDAI had asked states to accommodate external sites within government or municipal premises. Subsequently, the Mira-Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) suggested 32 municipal properties, including ward offices, hospitals, schools, civic headquarters and community buildings where enrolment centres could be set up. However, only 12 were approved, out of which a mere two are in a position to provide services by UIDAIs empanelled enrolment agency.

Sanjay Khandare, a representative of the UIDAI empanelled agency, said, Armed with personnel and the needed electronic apparatus, our entire mechanism is ready at all the remaining centres. We are only waiting for the required code (credential file) from UIDAI to begin our job. Ironically, senior officials of the MBMC, which is the nodal agency for the project, feigned ignorance in context to Aadhaars latest statistical records.

As per UIDAI records, as on January 31, 2017, the twin-city had a population of 856,079, out of which, 755,764 had got their Aadhaar accounts activated i.e. 88.28 per cent. However, with the estimated population of the region currently hovering around 12 lakh, nearly 30 per cent people are yet to register for Aadhaar.
Miss World Organisation along with Miss India Organisation visit Mumbai as a part of their BWAP Tour.

The Organisation also revealed that the auditions for Miss India 2018 will commence from February 9.

Mumbai: After traveling across the country as a part of their Beauty with a Purpose (BWAP) Tour, Miss World Organisation along with six continental winners came together with Miss India Organization to celebrate the 55 years of legacy of fbb Colors Femina Miss India 2018 at Carnival Cinemas, Imax Wadala.

The chief guests for the evening included Miss World 2017 Manushi Chhillar , Chairman and CEO Miss World Julia Morley, Miss World Europe  Stephanie Jayne HILL (from England), Miss World Americas  Alma Andrea MEZA CARMONA (From Mexico), Miss World Africa  Magline JERUTO (From Kenya),Miss World Asia  Ha Eun KIM (From Korea), Miss World Caribbean  Solange Johnson SINCLAIR (From Jamaica), Miss World Oceania  Annie Diana EVANS (From New Zealand) and Miss World 2016 Stephanie Del Valle.

The press conference saw 30 school children of Muktangan School representing 30 states sing the National anthem highlighting the fact that this year too the pageant will explore potential talent in all 30 states of India (including Delhi).

This year the mentors include Neha Dhupia (North Zone), Pooja Chopra (East zone), Pooja Hegde (West zone) and Rakul Preet Singh (South Zone).

Speaking at the event Chhillar said that she was elated and excited as her BWAP project which is on menstrual hygiene is being supported by the Miss World Organisation and that it has been started in her home country India.

Chhillar also spoke about how it was Stephanie who crowned her at Miss India as well as Miss World pageant and gave advice to all those contestants that are aspiring to be Miss India.

The Organisation also revealed that the auditions for Miss India 2018 will commence from February 9 with Andhra Pradesh auditions happening at Vizag and the top 3 contestants from every state will proceed to the States Zonal crowning ceremony which will be held in Bangalore (South Zone) on February 24, Kolkata (East Zone) on March 22, Delhi (North Zone) on April 12 and Pune (West Zone) on May 13.

Speaking at the event, Rohit Gopakumar, COO, Miss India Organisation said, 2017 saw Miss Haryana Manushi Chhillar winning the fbb Colors Miss India pageant and she went forth to win the coveted Miss World Title for India after 17 years. With the Introduction of a new format last year wherein state pageant winners compete for the national title has helped Miss India permeate to smaller towns across India, helping young women re-write their destiny.
The PM realises that a democratic form of government gives India global respect, but hes a man in a hurry.

Boldness was the theme. First, BJP president Amit Shah brought out the big guns to demolish the Congress, an attack somewhat muffled by Ghulam Nabi Azads deft footwork, terming the successor government a repackaging agency.

Its that time of the year again when gusts of an early general election blow, its purpose still unclear, as NDA allies show their teeth to alter the terms of marriage and the Congress and other parties claim theyre always ready for elections.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made simultaneous polls to Parliament and the state Assemblies his priority. Having mastered the art of beating the system by securing a single-party majority for any party in 30 years, Mr Modi wants to downplay the importance of elections. The PM realises that a democratic form of government gives India global respect, but hes a man in a hurry.

What we heard from the PM in the Lok Sabha, and somewhat more moderately in the Rajya Sabha, was a heartfelt cri de coeur of Mr Modis Congress obsession. He blamed the countrys Partition on the Congress, said Sardar Patel would have retained the whole of Kashmir for India and refrained from dividing Andhra. By storming the pre-Independence cupboard, Mr Modi showed his own rage with the Congress, saying in plain language: You have left us your sins. The parliamentary system, or any other genuine democratic system, presupposes that whatever the disagreement between the ruling side and the Opposition, all should treat each other with respect. What Mr Modi clearly showed was his utter contempt for the Congress.

How this will translate into making Parliament work in future is yet to be seen. One cant escape the feeling that his special parliamentary gift on Rahuls coronation, as he put it, was to make the latters task more difficult.

The BJPs earlier avatar, Jan Sangh, wasnt part of the nations freedom movement, and from time to time party ideologues have sought to give ambiguous answers even to the RSS cooperation with the British. The picture was never fully explained or clarified. Now in power in the country, by virtue of the BJPs victory, it is the new arbiter of destiny.

Its not clear if Mr Modi thought of the consequences of burning his boats with the Congress. The kind of insults he hurled at the Congress, to the exclusion of national issues (as noted by Rahul Gandhi), was extraordinary for a PM speaking in his official capacity in Parliament.

This represents a crisis of Indian democracy unparalleled in the nations 70-year history. Mr Modi has declared that the world doesnt need to give him and his party lessons in democracy. Judging by how the RSS top brass are elected, democracy has obviously other vibes for the Sangh Parivar.

The full contours of the PMs gameplan are not clear yet. That hes so consumed by the Congress that he forget his duties to the country as a responsible office-bearer begs description. Is he in the process of writing a new history of India with suitable roles for RSS leaders, or does he see himself as an all-conquering hero to change India from the roots upwards?

The Opposition, including the Congress, is somewhat puzzled by this new face of Mr Modi. The usually careful leader is showing signs of throwing caution to the winds to achieve his innermost desire. Does he want to signal partymen that he has his own temperament that must be satiated from time to time?

Its certain, however, that Parliament wont remain as it was before Mr Modi rose to alter the terms of decorum and debate. Judging by the time Jawaharlal Nehru and his generation spent in parliamentary debates, Mr Modi and his ministers are skimpy in attendance, and dont treat the institution with the respect their predecessors gave.

Is there anyone who can repair the damage to the institution of Indias parliamentary democracy? Both the Lok Sabha Speaker and the Rajya Sabha presiding officer are former loyal BJP members and lack the stature to intervene meaningfully. Perhaps Mr Modi himself will give indication of his wishes in due course. But the curious fact is that never before have the BJP and Sangh Parivar been so dependent on one person as it is today.

Over to the Congress. Its for Rahul Gandhi and his colleagues to figure out what to make of the new puzzle presented to him. One is to get fellow parliamentarians together to fight for a just cause. Second, the Congress must firm up alliances. Theres a lot of work left to do.
Though greeted by the treasury benches with loud thumps on desks, Mr Modi displayed poor knowledge of history.

With every passing intervention, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is taking parliamentary debate to new lows. His reply to the debate on the motions of thanks to the President for his address to Parliament was exceedingly virulent. Though greeted by the treasury benches with loud thumps on desks, Mr Modi displayed poor knowledge of history. His reply to Renuka Chowdhurys cackle  although not acceptable for lowering the standards of the Upper House  was nothing short of crass misogyny. Had the analogy Mr Modi drew between the member and a woman character from the epic Ramayan been made outside Parliament, Mr Modi would have been liable to being charged for insulting a woman. His party members response to his put-down of a senior woman member demonstrated that despite pledges to uphold the dignity of women, the party remains crassly patriarchal  a woman can at best be mataon or behnon, but not an equal with gumption to pay back in the same coin.

Despite Ms Chowdhury crossing the Rubicon of decent parliamentary intervention, it did not behove the Prime Ministers status to intervene when the Chair was already seized of the matter and castigating her for the remarks and behaviour. If such examples are set by the most powerful leader, one can imagine the cues for the partys storm troopers.

Additionally, by advising the Chairman of the House, albeit in the form of a request, he lowered the dignity of the office. Mr Modi clearly forgot that M. Venkaiah Naidu is no longer a party colleague junior in hierarchy. While the vice-president was admonishing Ms Chowdhury, Mr Modi cut in to make a vinti, prathna or request on how he should respond. It may be a very technical matter, but parliamentary proceedings are all about protocol and conventions, neither of which Mr Modi respected by interjecting. Moreover, Mr Modis speech was full of historical bluster and repetition of what has been said for the umpteenth time  that Sardar Vallabhai Patel was denied the prime ministership by Jawaharlal Nehru despite the backing of a majority of Congress members. He further added that Indian history, especially Kashmirs, would have completely different had Patel been the Prime Minister. Mr Modi and his cohorts in the Sangh Parivar who have thrived on the projection of the Sardars iron fist as opposite to a timid Nehru on matters where display of military muscle was required, completely ignore that Indias history would have been completely different if Sardar Patel and his home ministry along with the home minister of Bombay state, a man who eventually became Prime Minister, Morarji Desai, had acted with greater alacrity when clues were scattered everywhere after the failed bomb attack on Mahatma Gandhi January 20, 1948 by Madanlal Pahwa, who was a part of the Nathuram Godse-Narayan Apte conspiracy. Negative portrayal of Jawaharlal Nehru and everything to do with the Congress post-Independence has assumed centrality in Mr Modis utterances whereas a coherent account sans hyperbole is required about this governments achievements so far. Repeated attempts to selectively appropriate history marks the lowest point of parliamentary debate and underscores that the chief executive no longer demarcates between an electoral rally and a parliamentary speech.

Scant respect paid to Parliament and its conventions has another worrying facet. This was highlighted grimly by Ghulam Nabi Azad when in his intervention in the debate on the Presidents address, he talked about an atmosphere of fear choking India. He said people in the country, including privileged Opposition leaders, fear speaking on their phones because of the apprehension that the State is eavesdropping on private conversations with the intention of using the information against them. You have divided political parties by using the ED, income-tax, NIA. You have gone after people who are aligned with us. Businessmen are fearful of speaking to us on the phone because our phones are being tapped and they fear being targeted for having sided with the Opposition, Mr Azad claimed. But despite the seriousness of the matter, the issues raised are yet to be clarified. In fact, 44 months since this government assumed office, there has been a concerted assault on viewpoints or expressions contrary to the ruling establishments opinion. This is an ominous development and a pointer to the challenges ahead and further assaults on Indias democratic spirit and character.

The atmosphere of fear that Mr Azad alleged as being all-pervading in fact reflected the worrisome report of the Economist Intelligence Unit, which released its Democracy Index last week. It is a matter of grave concern that India slipped 10 places to 42, the second sharpest fall after Indonesia, which fell by 20 positions. The assessment is based on five categories: electoral process and pluralism; civil liberties; the functioning of the government; political participation; and political culture. India was dragged down because its score was low on functioning of government, political culture and civil liberties; while a semblance of democratic vibrancy was recorded due to the electoral process and pluralism and political participation. Significantly, India slipped and got labelled as flawed democracy because of low scores on parameters directly involving the State; whereas wherever citizens had a direct role, India performed better.

Worryingly, the report highlighted the continuing global trend of democracy recession, a process that has not been reversed in the decade since 2006 when the EIU began preparing this annual index. Globally, elites have become sceptical of democracies and this is where leaders like Mr Modi have sought to tap the unarticulated sentiment that controlled dictatorship will be good for India. Indias continuous fall on the free speech indicator in this report since 2014 highlights growing intolerance for viewpoints not endorsed by the State. Coupled with the rise of conservative religious ideologies backed by state programmes, the clouds on the horizon are worrying and parliamentary interventions like Mr Modis further legitimise browbeating of minorities, both demographic and intellectual.
The suspect, Lamar Rashad Nicholson, 28, was arrested on multiple charges, including murder and aggravated robbery.

Parmjit Singh, a 44-year-old father of two high school students, was shot multiple times on Tuesday evening at the Hi Tech Quick Stop on Burnett Ferry Road, (Representational image)

Washington: An Indian-American was killed and another critically injured when a man opened fire in two convenience stores in the US state of Georgia.

Parmjit Singh, a 44-year-old father of two high school students, was shot multiple times on Tuesday evening at the Hi Tech Quick Stop on Burnett Ferry Road, sheriff's officers said. The Floyd County coroner pronounced him dead on the scene.

Just 10 minutes after shooting Singh, the gunman entered another convenience store, Elm Street Food and Beverage, and stole money before shooting 30-year-old clerk Parthey Patel, sheriffs officers said. Patel was in critical condition.

The suspect, Lamar Rashad Nicholson, 28, was arrested on multiple charges, including murder, aggravated robbery, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm while committing a crime and use of a firearm by a convicted felon. He is being held without bond in the Floyd County jail.

Major Jeff Jones with the Floyd County police said officers did recover security video from the initial location and it shows the suspect walked into the store and immediately fired three shots at the Singh who was standing behind the counter, a local newspaper said.

A second employee, a female, was standing off to the side and was not injured, the newspaper reported.

Jones said there was no attempt to rob the store, that Nicholson simply walked in and opened fire.

Singh's brother, who owns several local businesses, told Rome News Tribune that his older brother came to the area about eight years ago.

Police is investigating the motive behind the crime.

Nicholson is no stranger to law enforcement. He was arrested on January 9 after he violently snatched a 3-year-old girl by the arm and cursed in front of her and another child, authorities said.
A pair of photos showed Holderness with a badly bruised eye, which she claimed was the result of being punched by Porter.

Washington: Rob Porter, White House staff secretary and a close aide of US President Donald Trump, resigned on Thursday after his two ex-wives accused him of physical and emotional abuse.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters Mr Porter has resigned, a day after the Daily Mail newspaper published allegations of his two ex-wives, Colbie Holderness and Jennifer Willoughby, accusing him of domestic violence. Mr Porter, 40, has, however, denied the allegations.

A pair of photos showed Holderness with a badly bruised eye, which she claimed was the result of being punched by Porter.

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, Mr Porter said.

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

As staff secretary, Mr Porters responsibility was mainly in the flow of paper that crossed Mr Trumps desk, including the wave of executive orders and actions that Mr Trump inked during the first months of his tenure.

A lawyer, Mr Porter also participated in the process of legally vetting the myriad documents that require the Presid-ents signature, CNN reported.
Narendra Modi and Donald Trump also exchanged views on Myanmar and ways to address the plight of the Rohingya refugees.

According to the White House, during the call, Donald Trump and Narendra Modi discussed further steps to ensure denuclearisation of North Korea. (Photo: AFP)

Washington: US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have expressed concern about the political situation in Maldives over a phone call, as they also discussed the situation in Afghanisthan and enhancing security in Indo-Pacific region, the White House said.

"Both leaders expressed concern about the political crisis in Maldives and the importance of respect for democratic institutions and rule of law," the White House said in a readout of the phone call between Trump and Modi, the first in 2018.

Maldives plunged into a political chaos on last Thursday when the apex court ordered the release of nine imprisoned opposition politicians, maintaining that their trials were "politically motivated and flawed".

The Yameen government has refused to implement the ruling, prompting a wave of protests in Maldives capital, Male.

Maldives' Supreme Court Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and another judge, Ali Hameed, were arrested hours after Yameen declared a state of emergency.

The White House said the two leaders also pledged to continue working together to enhance security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.

"Affirming President Trump's South Asia strategy, they reiterated their commitment to supporting Afghanistan's security and stability," the White House said.

Modi and Trump also exchanged views on Myanmar and ways to address the plight of the Rohingya refugees.

As of now there are some 680,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh putting enormous pressure in the economy of Bangladesh.

Recently Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed on a roadmap of return of these refugees to their homes in Myanmar.

The US believes that this is not the right time for the return of Rohingya refugees.

According to the White House, during the call, Trump and Modi discussed further steps to ensure denuclearisation of North Korea.

"Finally, the leaders agreed to strengthen security and economic cooperation as they look forward to the '2+2' ministerial dialogue between their defence and diplomatic officials in April," the White House said.

The '2+2 dialogue' was announced after the White House meeting between Modi and Trump in June 2017.

The dialogue would involve External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman from India along with their American counterparts Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.
Maldives has send special envoys to China, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to brief them about the deepening political crisis in the nation.

On the perception that Maldives was closer to China, Ahmed Mohamed said India should reach out to Maldives, and Male and New Delhi should have close ties given that the two countries are neighbours. (Photo: Twitter/@ahmedMDV)

New Delhi: Maldives' beleaguered President Abdulla Yameen wanted to send his foreign minister as special envoy but the Indian side did not find the dates "suitable", the Maldivian ambassador said on Thursday, even as officials in New Delhi maintained that no "real action" was taken by that country on India's concerns over democracy there.

Yameen has already dispatched special envoys to China, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to brief them about the deepening political crisis in the country.

"India was in fact the first stop planned and proposed for a visit of a special envoy of the president of Maldives. However, the dates proposed were not suitable for the Indian leadership," Maldivian envoy Ahmed Mohamed said.

"We understand the external affairs minister is out of country and the prime minister is leaving for UAE during the week," he said.

However, sources in New Delhi said that there is a set protocol to send an envoy and India had not been informed of the purpose of sending the envoy.

Indicating that India may have declined the proposed visit, a source said, "Also we have not seen any real action on the concerns stated by the international community and India. Democratic institutions and the judiciary continue to be undermined and concerns ignored, these issues need to be properly addressed."

The Maldivian ambassador also said that his country would have liked that this meeting could have taken place as the discussion across the table is the best to understand the situation and address bilateral concerns, if any.

"We look forward to a mutually convenient time to carry this dialogue forward so that there is better understanding and misconceptions cleared without the need to be sensitive," he said.

On the perception that Maldives was closer to China, he said India should reach out to Maldives, and Male and New Delhi should have close ties given that the two countries are neighbours.

President Yameen has sent Minister of Economic Development Mohamed Saeed to China and Foreign Minister Mohamed Asim to Pakistan in the wake of the crisis.

Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture Mohamed Shainee is going to Saudi Arabia.

Later, a Maldivian embassy release also said, "The first stop of special envoy of the President was India. Foreign Minister of Maldives Mohamed Asim, the designated Special envoy of the President, was scheduled for 8th February 2018, to (visit) India but the visit was cancelled on the request of the Government of India."

It also said, "It is therefore grossly misleading to say that the Government of the Maldives was bypassing India."

The island nation, which has seen several political crises since the ouster of its first democratically-elected president Mohamed Nasheed in 2012, plunged into chaos last Thursday when the apex court ordered the release of nine imprisoned opposition politicians, maintaining that their trials were "politically motivated and flawed".

India, which is monitoring the situation very "closely", had said on Tuesday that it was "disturbed" about the declaration of emergency by the Maldivian government and described as a matter of "concern" the arrests of the chief justice and political figures there.

However, earlier this week, the Supreme Court revoked its order on the release of the opposition politicians.
Ex-PM may be disqualified from polls; fugitive son sentenced too.

Security personnel use teargas to disperse former Prime Minister Khaleda Zias supporters protesting against the court verdict in Dhaka on Thursday. (Photo: AP)

Dhaka: Khaleda Zia was on Thursday sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment for corruption, a body blow for the ex-Bangladeshi Prime Minister and main Opposition leader who may be disqualified from contesting the next general elections in December.

The 72-year-old three-time former Prime Minister was sentenced by Dhakas special court in connection with the embezzlement of about $250,000 in foreign donations meant for the Zia Orphanage Trust, named after her late husband Ziaur Rahman, a military ruler-turned-politician.

The verdict simultaneously sentenced Ms Zias fugitive elder son and Bangladesh Nationalist Partys (BNP) senior vice president Tarique Rahman as he was tried in absentia. Mr Rahman and four others have been sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Judge Mohammad Akhtaruzzaman, who delivered the judgment, said: The case was proved beyond any doubt against the accused.

The case is one of dozens pending against Ms Zia, who has been a rival of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for decades. The charges against her had already led to her boycotting polls in 2014, which triggered widespread protests at the time.

Ms Zia, wearing a white sari, appeared in person in the heavily-guarded courtroom amid heightened political tension.

Sentencing Ms Zia to rigorous imprisonment, the judge read out the abridged version of the 632-page verdict in 10 minutes.

He said that though all the convicts played identical role in the crime, Ms Zia was given a lesser term taking into account her age and social status.

The court also said that the defence tried their best to hinder the trial proceedings as they sought time for 35 occasions in the name of changing the court.

The other convicts are former lawmaker Kazi Salimul Haque Kamal, businessman Sharfuddin Ahmed, ex-premiers principal secretary Kamal Uddin Siddiqui and her nephew Mominur Rahman.

Reacting to the sentencing of her arch-rival, Prime Minister Hasina said, the case as natural consequences of Ms Zias past deeds and accused her of looting public property and burning to death over 500 people in a demonstration of extreme brutality.

Ms Zia became the second head of the government after former military dictator-turned-politician HM Ershad to be convicted in a graft case.

Legal experts said the verdict may jeopardise her career as she may be disqualified from contesting polls, including the general elections slated for December.

The ruling came four years after Ms Zia and others were indicted in the case.

We will challenge the verdict in the High Court... God willing we will get justice there, Ms Zias chief counsel Khondker Mahbub Hossain told reporters.

Immediately after the verdict was read out, security personnel escorted Ms Zia to a white vehicle which took her to old Dhakas Central Jail.

The original jail was relocated recently to suburban Keraniganj but officials said they renovated the day care centre of the facility to accommodate the ex-premier.

Home minister Asaduzzaman Khan said: She served as the Premier thrice and is the chairperson of a big political party... Considering her age and status she will be provided all facilities she deserved.

TV footages showed Ms Zia stood in gloom covering her eyes in a dark sunglass as the security forces escorted the vehicle to the nearby jail.

There was tight security in Dhaka streets as the ex-Prime Minister was on her way to a court with a convoy of armed police and Ms Zias private security personnels vehicles slowly escorting her to the court in downtown Dhaka from her Gulshan residence.

Elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion and armed police kept a sharp vigil, blocking temporarily the thoroughfares she used for ordinary vehicles.

Witnesses said hundreds of Ms Zias supporters thronged the streets leading to the court complex and followed the convoy, causing clashes with the police at places.

The police had to use tear gas shells and fired rubber bullets as the BNP activists exploded crackers and pelted stones at Kakrail area soon after the convoy passed the spot.

Earlier at a press conference on Wednesday, Ms Zia blamed the ruling party  the Bangladesh Awami League led by Prime Minister Hasina  for unleashing a reign of terror and claimed that she was implicated in a false case.

Meanwhile, Awami League general secretary and road transport minister Obaidul Quader said that the past military-backed interim government filed the case against Ms Zia in 2008 with the incumbent government having no links to the process.

Political analysts said the BNP might be split as several senior leaders could disassociate them from Zia as her son Rahman, the senior vice-president of the party, was wielding authority from London, ignoring the party veterans.

Mr Rahman is believed to have sought asylum in the UK to evade justice, as he is also being tried on several charges including the August 21, 2004 grenade attack on a rally of the then Opposition Awami League when 23 people were killed and prime minister Hasina narrowly escaped the attack.

The ex-Premier on November 30, 2014 lost her last ditch effort to evade the graft trial as the Supreme Court turned down her second leave to appeal petition challenging her indictment and asked her to face trial in the lower court.

The high court earlier validated the trial in the lower court which on March 19, 2014 indicted Ms Zia on two graft charges brought by the Anti-Corruption Commission.

Ms Zia and three of her aides were accused of syphoning off about $400,000 from the Zia Charitable Trust alone. She is also accused of leading a group of five people, including her eldest son, in embezzling another $277,000 funds.
The police was searching the hotelier after narcotic drugs were found in a parcel dispatched by him from Kathmandu to the Netherlands.

Mashkoor Ahmad Lari is the owner of Kathmandu's five-star Everest Hotel, which remained closed after its building developed major cracks in 2015 earthquakes. (Screengrab | theeveresthotel.com)

Kathmandu: A top Indian hotelier in Nepal, who was wanted by the Interpol, was arrested on Thursday on charges of drugs trafficking.

Masur Ahmad Lary was arrested from Maharajgunj area of Kathmandu, said a senior police officer of Kathmandu Metropolitan Police Office.

The police was searching the hotelier after narcotic drugs were found inside a parcel dispatched by him from Kathmandu to the Netherlands during a security check at Frankfurt Airport in Germany, police said.

Lary is the owner of Kathmandu's five-star Everest Hotel, which remained closed after its building developed major cracks in 2015 earthquakes.

He has been operating the hotel in Kathmandu for the last 30 years.

Police has filed a case on drugs trafficking against Lary in Kathmandu District Court after taking him into custody.
The Palestinian leader on several occasions has stressed on a possible role for New Delhi in the Middle East peace process.

Ramallah (Jerusalem): Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's historic Palestine visit, President Mahmoud Abbas said he will discuss with him India's role in the Middle East peace process and the creation of a multilateral forum of negotiations to strike a final deal with Isarel.

Modi, the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Palestine, is reaching Ramallah on Saturday amid heightened tensions in the region after US President Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

The unilateral US decision to declare Jerusalem as the capital of Israel was challenged at the UN General Assembly where 128 nations, including India, voted to turn down the move as "null and void".

"We are receiving Prime Minister Modi in a historic visit that will demonstrate the strong ties and relations between the Palestinian people and the brotherly Indian people," Abbas said in an e-mail interview.

Though India has shied away from becoming a party in the Israel-Palestinian conflict, the Palestinian leader on several occasions has stressed on a possible role for New Delhi in the Middle East peace process.

"We will discuss the recent updates with Prime Minister Modi, and the recent developments in the peace process, the bilateral relations, and the regional situations. And the possible role India can play in enhancing peace in the region, as well as discussing different economical aspects beyond the existing ties we already possess," Abbas said.

Describing India as a "very respected country in the international arena", the 82-year-old Palestinian President said that India can have a possible role in creating a multilateral forum of negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis to reach a final agreement.

He said Modi's visit to the region reflects India's long-held position of supporting peace and stability in the region.

"We believe in the importance of a possible Indian role...to reach a final agreement based on international consensus and resolutions, in which India and other countries can be part of," Abbas said.

"The long Indian position of supporting the two-state solution is well known. India has supported the Palestinian cause throughout the years of conflict, and we rely on the Indian support in order to reach the independence of the Palestinian State," he added.

As Palestine works to establish an international multilateral mechanism of negotiations, the Palestinian leader stated that "India can play a role in this".

"The relations between India and Palestine are historical...This visit will culminate the historic ties between the two brotherly people, and will help in increasing and strengthening these ties that we possess," he stressed.

The Indian Prime Minister would be skipping Israel during his forthcoming tour of Middle East in a clear message that New Delhi is de-hyphenating its ties with the Jewish state and Palestine.

Modi had visited Israel last year in July in a standalone visit that had led to many analysts questioning the future of the Indo-Palestine ties.

When asked about India's growing engagement with Israel, an unperturbed Abbas said that "any state has the right to establish relations with other countries".

"We believe in the importance of our relationship with the brotherly Indian State, the support of India to the Palestinian people, and the relationship we possess with the Indian people, will not be effected by India's relations with any other State," he emphasised.

"India has recognised the State of Palestine in 1988, and we cannot forget the last Indian vote in favour of Palestine's rights in Jerusalem in the United Nations General Assembly, and all the political stands that India has taken to support the Palestinian rights in the international arena," Abbas said referring to India's vote at the UN.

India has consistently voted in favour of resolutions supporting the Palestinian cause at international forums, an issue that has bothered strategic partner Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently said that he was "disappointed" at the Indian vote at the UN but also expressed hope that there will be a possible change of heart over a period of time.

Appreciating India's assistance in strengthening Palestinian economy through executing several projects in the Palestinian areas, Abbas said that "he cannot forget" New Delhi's support and wishes to further discuss with Modi areas of cooperation in the economic sphere.

A number of MoUs are likely to be signed between the two sides during Modi's three-hour visit to Palestine under which India will provide funding for a number of projects in the fields of health, education, culture and women's empowerment.

"The Indian Government and its people have provided significant assistance and aid to the Palestinian people by establishing training centres, schools, and the necessary humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people under occupation in the West Bank and Gaza," Abbas noted.

"And in 2016 we laid the foundation stone to establish the Palestine India Techno Park project in Ramallah, and we are also looking forward the establishment of the Institute of Diplomacy that is kindly funded by the Indian Government", he noted.

A lot of Palestinian diplomats have received training in India and hundreds of Palestinians have availed scholarships to study at Indian institutions as part of New Delhi's effort towards capacity building in Palestine.

"We are working on promoting the economical relations through introducing businessmen and investors from both sides on the available opportunities in the sectors of tourism, technological exchange in many areas, including industrial, agricultural, and information systems, and on the other hand, signing government agreements to support businessmen and protect their investments," he said.
The Yameen government refused to obey the court orders and declared a state of emergency in the country.

A Maldives soldier stands guard outside the President's residence in Male on on Thursday. The international community has censured Maldives President Abdulla Yameen for imposing special Emergency provisions that allow the military to detain suspects for long periods without charge.  AFP The UN has urged Yameen to lift the state of emergency, and will discuss the crisis gripping the Indian Ocean archipelago in a closed-door meeting at the Security Council on February 8. (Photo: AFP)

Male: Embattled Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen has blamed a few people for bringing chaos to the country as the police accused two top judges of accepting millions of dollars in bribes to facilitate a coup against the government.

The island nation, which has seen several political crises since the ouster of its first democratically-elected President Mohamed Nasheed in 2012, plunged into chaos last Thursday when the apex court ordered the release of nine imprisoned Opposition politicians, maintaining that their trials were politically motivated and flawed.

The Yameen government refused to obey the court orders and declared a state of emergency in the country.

Maldives Supreme Court Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and another judge, Ali Hameed, were arrested hours after Mr Yameen declared a state of Emergency. Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom was also arrested.

Acting police chief Abdulla Nawaz told reporters that police had found evidence that millions of dollars were given to Saeed and Hameed, and to court official Hassan Saeed, as bribes in return for ordering the release of imprisoned politicians opposed to President.

All are being charged with attempting to unlawfully overthrow the government, the police said.

Mr Saeeds lawyer claimed that his client received death threats before his arrest.

Mr Saeed was warned that he would be cut into pieces if he did not overturn the court order releasing political dissidents, the lawyer said.

Mr Yameen said that the day some three to four people brought the state to its knees should not be forgotten.

He defended his action of imposing an emergency, saying the Maldives was saved from the actions of fellow citizens of the Maldives.
by Mathias Hariyadi

Extremists use of religion and ethnicity has pushed Indonesians into opposing camps. Voters will elect local governments on 27 June this year, and choose a new president and parliament on 17 April 2019.

Jakarta (AsiaNews)  Indonesian society is increasingly polarised between moderates, moved by patriotic feelings based on pluralism, and extremists who promote identity politics".

The coming two years will be politically charged as the country gets ready for crucial polls that will determine its immediate future.

Local elections are scheduled for 27 June with voters called to choose 17 governors, 39 mayors and 115 regents across the country, including its four most populous provinces: West Java, East Java, Central Java, and North Sumatra.

On 17 April 2019, they will be able to renew parliament, the People's Consultative Assembly, and elect a new president.

Both rounds of voting come at a time when Indonesia, the worlds most populous Islamic country, has seen its reputation for religious toleration come under closer scrutiny as a result of the rise of radical Islamic groups in the young democracy.

To counter the growing number of acts of violence and rising political-religious intolerance, people have turned to inter-faith dialogue and support for pluralism.

Some observers have called this shift the Ahok effect, named after the moniker of Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, the former governor of Jakarta, a Christian who was convicted of blasphemy in a politically motivated trial.

Identity politics, including those based on religion and ethnicity, have been politically useful for extremists. But in doing so they have divided the nation.

"Social segregation is intentionally designed and maintained with specific political objectives in mind," said an expert working in the Presidents Special Assistance Desk, speaking to AsiaNews.

The source claims that this trend, which shaped local elections in Jakarta in April 2017 won by Anies Baswedan and radical Islamist groups, is bound to intensify in the next elections.

"In last year's Jakarta gubernatorial election, this kind of 'identity politics' worked very well, and has split modern Indonesian society into two distinct 'political' camps."

Anies use of sectarian divisions and religion against his main rival, Ahok, an ethnic Chinese Christian who had been the frontrunner in the early stages of the election campaign, proved decisive.

The Indonesian Church has always been involved in initiatives and projects aimed at promoting and guaranteeing the national values of pluralism, expressed in the Pancasila philosophical and political platform.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of Indonesia (KWI) has repeatedly stressed the importance of the role played by the Catholic Church in the process of national unity, and has urged Catholics to establish closer ties with other communities and religions and their leaders.

For instance, the Archdiocese of Jakarta has welcomed 2018 as "the Year of Unity". The citys archbishop, Mgr Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo, noted that the diocese dedicated its four-year working plan (2016-2020) to the founding principles of the Indonesian State, namely Amalkan Pancasila, which means putting the spirit of Pancasila into practice.

Against the background of tensions that has engulfed the country, Catholics are showing a sense of responsibility and are not allowing themselves to be dragged into instrumental political controversies.

This is especially true in Jakarta, where the line adopted by the new administration has attracted criticism. In particular, many observers complain that Governor Anies Baswedan is trying to undo the good work of his predecessor, especially with respect to traffic and flood controls.
State Councillor Yang Jiechi met Rex Tillerson. High level talks could resume. The threat of new duties on Chinese exports to the US looms over the horizon. The US, Japan and Europe are frustrated.

Washington (AsiaNews/Agencies)  Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi is in Washington to avert a trade war with the United States.

After Donald Trump's election promises, accusations against China of currency manipulation and economic support for its exports, the United States is preparing a list of Beijing's trade violations and new tariffs. According to White House, new sanctions on Chinese products are "imminent".

The US slapped steep tariffs on imported solar panels and washing machines last month and is considering recommendations on import restrictions for steel and aluminium, plus other trade sanctions against China over alleged intellectual property theft.

For its part, Chinas Commerce Ministry launched an anti-dumping and anti-subsidies probe at the weekend into imports of sorghum from the United States.

Yesterday Yang announced the resumption of talks whilst meeting US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson during a visit to Washington.

Its proven by fact that the nature of the Sino-US trade relationship is mutually beneficial to each other, creating huge benefits to both sides, Yang was quoted as saying.

Both sides, he added, can explore cooperation on energy, infrastructure and the Belt and Road Initiative and open up each others markets and handle differences appropriately.

The US State Department said Tillerson and Yang agreed on Thursday about the importance of continuing a constructive and productive relationship, but did not mention economic talks.

Meanwhile, the United States, Japan and Europe remain frustrated by the closure of Chinas markets to foreign investments, the forced transfer of technologies (through joint-ventures), and Chinas subsidies to its Chinese exports, which destroy all competition.
The JCPOA could collapse as a result of attacks and threats from the US president. Teheran and Beijing plan to work together to protect it. According to the Russias foreign minister, failure would have "very negative" consequences for the whole world. Iran does not intend to renegotiate.

Tehran (AsiaNews)  China and Russia have reiterated their unconditional support for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) as repeated attacks by US President Donald Trump could finally scuttle it.

Senior Iranian officials have recently met with their Russian and Chinese counterparts. Both Moscow and Beijing have confirmed their support for the agreement signed by Iran and the 5+1 group (United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia, China, plus Germany).

On Tuesday Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met in Beijing with Alaeddin Boroujerdi, chairman of the Iranian Parliaments Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy, stressing that both Iran and China are committed to protecting the nuclear deal.

At the meeting, the two sides also discussed bilateral ties, counter-terrorism and the situation in Iraq, Yemen and Syria where both countries have interests and investments.

On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also reaffirmed his governments commitment to the JCPO. We will insist that all the parties remain committed to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) for Irans nuclear program, he was quoted as saying. Failure, he added, would have "very negative" consequences for the non-proliferation system and the world order.

After years of embargo, Iran won a partial easing of Western economic sanctions in exchange for an agreement on its controversial nuclear programme.

Largely welcomed by the international community, the deal has been a boost for Irans economy and investments, stimulating urban renewal and reforms in the energy sector. However, the United States  along with Israel  has maintained a series of sanctions over Tehrans missile programme and armed support for Shia movements in the Middle East.

On 12 January, Trump waived sanctions against Iran for another 120 days, but also said that it would be "the last time". During his election campaign and in this first year of office, the US leader repeatedly stressed that he plans to scrap the deal, which he calls the worst deal ever.

If sanctions are reimposed the JPCOA would be virtually dead. Teheran has repeatedly stated that it does not intend to bow to any new obligations with respect to those it has already signed and does not plan to renegotiate the agreement itself.
Some 40 million people are victims each year, including about 150,000 Filipinos. Catholics work closely with government agencies. For Mgr Ruperto Cruz Santos, education, outreach, and policy programmes are among their priorities.

Manila (AsiaNews/CBCPNews)  As it does every year, on the feast day of Saint Josephine Bakhita, the Catholic Church of the Philippines yesterday marked the fourth International Day of Prayer and Awareness against Trafficking in Persons.

For the occasion, a forum was held in Manila, followed by an ecumenical service at Plaza Ferguzon, in Ermita district.

The event was organised by the Catholic Church and the Philippine Interfaith Movement (PIMAHT), who urged everyone to work together to end exploitation and slavery.

Worldwide, an estimated 40 million people are victims of trafficking and slavery every year. About 150,000 are said to be Filipinos, many of them suffering abuse and violence.

The Asian country has been fertile ground for human traffickers with most of their victims coming from poor families.

For several years, the Catholic Church has been closely working with government agencies involved in the fight against human trafficking and modern forms of slavery.

At least four agencies of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP)  Commissions on Youth, Social Action, Women and Migrants  have led the Churchs response to end all forms of modern slavery in the country.

Mgr Ruperto Santos, bishop of Balanga and head of the CBCP Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People (ECMI), said that education, outreach and policy programmes are among their priorities.

The Churchs efforts include a campaign to raise awareness about human trafficking and to expand its network to various dioceses and parishes to combat the illegal industry.

In our ministry against human trafficking, we focus on 4 Ps, the bishop said. They are: prevention of humans being trafficked, protection for the victims, providing help and legal assistance, and to prosecute human traffickers.

In addition, We at CBCP-ECMI pray that through intercession of St Josephine, our migrants experience fair and just welcome to receiving countries, gracious and good employers and be strong and resilient to bear their cross and follow faithfully Jesus.
The escalation of violence continues in different areas of Syria. Battles rage in Goutha east, Idlib and Hama; mortar shots on the capital. Card Zenari: Greatest number of victims from lack of healthcare not bombs. Half of clinics and "out of service", 75% of the staff have fled. The testimony of the "open Hospitals" that treat poor Christians and Muslims ".

Damascus (AsiaNews)  Conflict in Syria has intensified once again in recent weeks "with bloody clashes in East Goutha " [about 400 victims according to some sources] and "mortar launches on some central districts of Damascus", causing several victims "including children ". Then there are "bitter clashes in Idlib", which cause "dead and wounded every day" in the central province of Hama "and" in the north, in the Afrin area "where the Turkish offensive is taking place. This is what Card. Mario Zenari, apostolic nuncio to Damascus, describes painting a picture that risks further aggravating an already dire health situation in the country. "It is now clear - underlines the cardinal - that more people die because of lack of hospital care and medicines, than from armed clashes or bombs".

The latest official data available, provided by the World Health Organization (WHO), dates back to September 2017 and confirms the worsening of the situation. Because of the Syrian conflict, the apostolic nuncio continues, half of the public hospitals (111 in total) and of the patient assistance centers (1806 scattered throughout the territory) are "completely out of service, or operate in an incomplete or partial way".

Zenari notes: "If the number of direct victims of the conflict [which broke out in March 2011] is about half a million, there are many more who have died due to the lack of health care". The situation is close to collapse, also because [again according to WHO data] "two-thirds (about 75%) of healthcare personnel including doctors, hospital technicians and nurses left Syria. And this is an alarming picture ".

The apostolic nuncio in Damascus reminds us that war does not reap victims only through arms and armies in opposition to each other. It also causes deaths due to increasing poverty and increasingly harsh living conditions. "Before those who had a job could also benefit from healthcare assistance. Now the lack of work has also led to the a lack access to healthcare assistance and people are struggling to seek treatment".

69% of Syrians, continues the cardinal, live in conditions of "extreme poverty", so "if someone has a disease, from the flu to pneumonia, to cancer or other serious pathologies, they are forced to carry on without being able to seek treatment".

Faced with the emergency, the Syrian Church - with the collaboration of the Holy See and the support of Pope Francis himself - decided to re-launch the services offered by the three Catholic hospitals in the country (two in Damascus and one in Aleppo) in the context of the project "Open Hospitals".

Two years ago, visiting the three centers run by women's religious institutes, the Cardinal recalled, "I was impressed that they were not working at full capacity. I saw empty beds, the surgeries that did not work, and this because of the high maintenance costs, from electricity to diesel, to machinery and equipment. "

The nunciature and the Pope therefore wanted to commit themselves to "re-launch these three Catholic hospitals", guaranteeing "free access to those who cannot pay. A patient shows up in one of the facilities, the disease is assessed and their financial means verified. If poor, the doors are opened and all possible care is provided and this happens whether your name is Peter, or Mohammed. There are no differences [of religious faith] and everyone is welcomed ".

Precisely this openness to all the needy, without distinction, becomes a "great gesture" of "charity" in a context of conflict, violence and division, adds Card. Zenari. "A beautiful testimony of evangelization" he adds, even if often "it may seem only three drops in the desert". "With this project - concludes the apostolic nuncio - we can not resolve the healthcare emergency, but we want to continue to be a sign of the charity of Pope Francis and the Church in Syria." (DS)
by Anna Chiara Filice

The PIME missionary manages the Damien Hospital in Khulna. Since 2012, the cases of infection of Hansen's disease have doubled. In 2017, 35 new cases of leprosy and 400 of tuberculosis were treated. The missionary destination of Bangladesh "a gift of the Holy Spirit".

Khulna (AsiaNews) - A missionary life spent at the service of lepers in Bangladesh. This is the story of Sr. Roberta Pignone, Italian doctor and missionary of the Immaculate Conception, the female congregation associated with PIME (Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions).

Ahead of the World Day of the Sick, on Sunday 11 February, she tells AsiaNews about her experience as director of the Damien Hospital in Khulna, in the south of the country. The center was opened in 1986 by the sisters with the aim of curing and preventing cases of leprosy, from 2001 those of tuberculosis, and from 2012 also those of Aids.

As a child, she says, "I never imagined becoming a nun. I felt I wanted to do something for others, and that's why I chose to study Medicine. But I just did not think about becoming a nun. Much less to live in Bangladesh. Yet this has become the country that God has chosen for me to fulfil his mission".

Reflecting on her missionary experience and vocation, Sr. Roberta says: "I had an experience with Youth and Mission [a spiritual path for young people proposed by PIME, ed.], and I was sent to Bangladesh. Here I met the Missionaries of the Immaculate and I understood that the way they gave their lives for the Lord was the one that best matched my desire to be a missionary and a doctor for the poor, for the least among us. Later, by obedience, I accepted Bangladesh as a missionary destination and hospital work. Before entering the convent I wanted to become a family doctor and work in a dispensary in the villages. Instead I am here in the city and I have welcomed this destination as a gift of the Holy Spirit. I did not choose anything but I was given the responsibility of running a hospital after just a year and a half of mission. At first I thought it too much for me. Considering all that has happened in these years, I think there is a special blessing on this hospital, which allows us to go on, albeit with great difficulties".

Sr. Roberta was born in 1971 in Monza, Italy. She jokes, "I was born the same year Bangladesh became independent. What I carry most in my heart is that after my first youthful experience in Bangladesh, I abandoned everything to be a missionary. And the Lord has kept his promise to return me to the place where I had fallen in love [with Him]. The land where it all started for me is the land where I was called to give my life for these people. We hope it will last a long time ".

She has lived in Khulna since 2011, the third most important city in the country. Its metropolitan area has about one and a half million inhabitants, mainly occupied in agriculture and in the textile industry. Many survive as casual workers and live in overcrowded slums. Sr. Roberta explains that because of this, "the risk of contagion of Hansen's disease increases exponentially".

The religious notes that in 1998, "the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that leprosy had been eradicated. But this is not the case for Bangladesh. At that time the world interest in leprosy ceased and no one showed any more interest in research, treatment and diagnosis of the disease. Ours was the only structure that continued the service for the sick throughout the country ".

Sr. Roberta continues "today we are suffering the negative effects of that decline in interest. Every year we find new cases of infection in the past and serious disabilities caused by the disease. The reason is that there has been no more patient research work for years. "

The missionary reports that since she took office in November 2012, "the cases have doubled. If before we had about 15 patients a year, from that date there were 35-36 each year ". The figure refers only to the city of Khulna and surroundings: "The number is significant because the medical literature claims that infections are more common in the countryside than in cities. Paradoxically, our experience shows us the exact opposite ".

Sr. Roberta continues that their treatment "is open to all without discrimination - Christians, Muslims and Hindus. We do not even ask what religion they belong to ". The director reports that the staff "is interreligious and consists of 35 employees - 10 people who work in the hospital and others who run in the centres where we also take care of the TBC patients- plus three nuns. Our work is mainly carried out on the territory and patients are treated in local clinics where they take medicines. Only the most serious cases are hospitalized. For example, the average weight of a tuberculosis patient is 30 kg, so we hospitalize patients to allow them to rest and eat well. But the hospitalization for tuberculosis patients is not easy: if a father is missing from home, he cannot go to work and bring food into the family. This is why we often offer home care, even bringing food or blankets for the winter. On the contrary, in cases of leprosy, hospitalization is necessary for the daily medications of ulcers and for the reactions of the immune system to drugs". In all of 2017 "we have witnessed 35 new cases of leprosy, in addition to all chronic patients who are treated at home, more than 400 TB patients".

As for "multidrug therapy, that is the combination of antibiotics whose dosage is fixed by the WHO, the medicines are supplied by the government. On the other hand, we offer all the support drugs free of charge such as vitamins, pain relievers for side effects, treatment for ulcers ". The funds of this complex assistance machine "come from Italian benefactors".

Services offered to leprosy sufferers, she continues, includes " physiotherapy, both at home and in hospital every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday afternoon. It serves to reduce disability. But above all, since leprosy is linked to a loss of sensitivity to the periphery [ie the limbs, ed], we also produce shoes with soft soles that prevent the formation of ulcers on the soles of feet".

The nun reported that the hospital seeks "to sensitize the population on the importance of care. This is why we involve school principals, students and local doctors. However, our experience teaches us that the identification of new cases takes place through former patients, who have already experienced the effects of the disease on their own skin and advise others to undergo treatment. We give them a great responsibility: they have been cared for and we urge them to help us treat others ".

"It is the Lord who wants me here - concludes the nun - and gives me the strength to carry out this task that is much greater than me and my abilities. We are in Bangladesh, at the ends of the earth, on the border with the Bengal forest, to treat the least among us on earth, because no one cares for leprosy patients. This awareness strengthens me every day ".

Faced with the amazement "of the Bengali population, for whom it is very difficult to understand why an unmarried woman has left her homeland, it is gratifying to know that some patients consider this hospital as a second home. In our being here there is no attempt at conversion. We bring hope, a different lifestyle and help to those considered the least".
Photo via Pixabay.

Montana's drunk driving enforcement rates as the worst in the nation, while five other states have the most robust enforcement in the nation, according to a report from Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).

The Jan. 24 report rated every state's drunk driving enforcement using a scale of one to five stars. Montana earned just a half-star, and five additional lowest-ranking states  Idaho, Iowa, Rhode Island, South Dakota and Wyoming  scored 1.5 stars.

While no state earned a perfect score, five top-ranking states received 4.5 stars. These included Arizona, Maryland, Mississippi, Nevada, and West Virginia.

The report rates state enforcement of drunk driving in five categories:

Conducting sobriety checkpoints

Ignition interlocks for all drunk driving offenders with a .08 blood alcohol concentration (BAC) and above

Administratively revoking driving privileges upon arrest for drunk driving

Creating enhanced penalties for those who drive drunk with children in the vehicle

Adopting penalties and expediting warrants for suspected drunk drivers who refuse an alcohol test.

Some noteworthy data in the report includes:

30 states and the District of Columbia require ignition interlocks after the first offense.

37 states and the District of Columbia conduct sobriety checkpoints  with 32 and the District of Columbia conducting them at least once a month.

41 states and the District of Columbia immediately revoke driving privileges while the offender awaits trial.

47 states and the District of Columbia have additional penalties for driving drunk with a child passenger, but only 7 states treat this crime as a felony.

The new report, which also highlights drunk driving countermeasures, is part of MADD's Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving. Launched in 2006, the campaign has helped to reduce drunk driving deaths by 23.5%, according to Colleen Sheehey-Church, national president of MADD.

Over 10,000 people still lose their lives every year to drunk driving. After years of steady decline, drunk driving deaths increased in 2015 and 2016.

To motivate states to strengthen their drunk driving laws, MADDs rating system allows for half-star ratings for states that need to improve their existing laws. For example, the states that conduct sobriety checkpoints receive a half star, but those that conduct them at least once a month receive a full star.

Over the past year, MADDs campaign efforts have helped pass and strengthen ignition interlock laws in Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, and Oregon. The organization also successfully curbed attempts to weaken current interlock laws in Arkansas, Texas, Wyoming, Kansas, Virginia, Georgia, and Connecticut.

Read the report here.
Photo via JSmith Photo/Flickr.

Driving while intoxicated would become a felony after a third offense in Maryland under leglislation proposed on Jan. 22 by Gov. Larry Hogan.

The legislation promises stiff financial penalties and could serve as a deterrent to repeat offenders. It has been introduced as Senate Bill 296 and House Bill 349.

Under current Maryland law, a person found guilty after three of more DUIs would only serve a maximum of three years in prison, reports ABC News.

If the new legislation passes, a person convicted a fourth time would be given a felony charge and could be subject to imprisonment for up to 10 years and pay a penalty of as much as $10,000. The legislation would also impose the same penalties on anyone convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs who was previously convicted of a specified homicide, manslaughter, or life-threatening injury by motor vehicle.

Between 2003 and 2012, 1,716 people were killed in crashes involving a drunk driver in Maryland, according to a 2014 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
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With a government shutdown imminent, both Republicans and Democrats grappled with internal party divisions as they tried to push through a massive budget deal Thursday night.

Senate supposed to vote on budget deal tonight

House vote supposed to follow

Vote would keep the government open

Sen. Rand Paul blocking the vote

Frustrations mounted  and the risk of a shutdown increased  as GOP Sen. Rand Paul held up a vote on the Senate budget deal, saying he can't in "all good faith" move ahead with the deal without more debate.

Sen. Paul said he is prepared to keep the Senate in session to protest a bipartisan budget deal that increases the federal deficit by hundreds of billions of dollars.



The Kentucky Republican said he expects the Senate to vote on the budget bill after 1 a.m. Friday and possibly several hours after a midnight deadline to avert a second government shutdown in three weeks.

Paul says he came to Congress to fight deficits. But now, he says, Republicans and Democrats are "spending us into oblivion."

He wants Congress to do audits of each government agency, including the Defense Dept., to cut out wasteful spending, and then pass a proper budget.

Lawmakers are facing a midnight deadline. The deal pending in the Senate must first pass the Senate, then the House and be signed into law to avoid a government shutdown. The deal appears to have the votes to pass, but rules of the Senate allow individual senators to hold up the process.

Paul brushed off pleas from Senate leaders.

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says, "It's time to vote." Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says, "We're in risky territory here."

The No. 2 Democrat in the House, Steny Hoyer of Maryland, said his side would support a brief, 24-hour stopgap spending bill to stave off a partial agency closure, but Republicans rejected the offer.

Meanwhile in the House, Democrats and conservative Republicans are both decrying the budget plan, but for different reasons.

Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is telling House Democrats to "do what you want to do" as the chamber approaches a vote on a bipartisan budget deal that would avert a government shutdown after midnight.

That's according to Oregon Democratic Rep. Kurt Schrader. He spoke as he left a closed-door meeting of party lawmakers.

The House would not vote on the budget deal until the Senate passes it. Majority Republicans will likely need dozens of Democratic votes to assure passage, as conservative representatives balk at the increase in spending.

Many Democrats say they'll oppose the measure because it doesn't have language protecting hundreds of thousands of young "Dreamer" immigrants from deportation.

As a result of Sen. Paul's filibuster, the Trump administration has spread the word to federal agencies to prepare for a second government shutdown.

In order to avoid the shutdown, Paul would have to stop his filibuster before midnight to allow a vote in the Senate and then the House before going to the president.

Senate rules allow individual senators to hold up the process.

What's in the budget deal?

The deal Senate leaders agreed to a two-year bipartisan agreement that sets the stage for funding the government.

The measure suspends the debt ceiling until March 1, 2019. It raises the strict spending caps on domestic and military spending over the next two years by about $300 billion. Those caps were put in place as part of a budget agreement in 2011. It means billions of dollars in new spending. Budget analysts say it will add another $1.5 trillion to the debt over the next decade.

The bill actually only funds the government until March 23, giving lawmakers six weeks to create a longer term budget, but this bill would be the blueprint.

DISASTER RELIEF

The bill includes nearly $90 billion in funding for disaster relief for several areas, including Florida and Puerto Rico.

It includes $2 billion to help Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands rebuild their electric grids.

OPIOID ADDICTION

It will add $6 billion over the next two years to fund efforts to fight opioid addiction, with money going to fund prevention programs and law enforcement efforts.

HEALTH CARE

The bill approves more than $7 billion in funding for community health centers.

It also closes the Medicare Part D "doughnut hole" for seniors.

It also extends funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program for four years. It was already extended by six years last month.

INFRASTRUCTURE

The bill includes $20 billion in new infrastructure investment.
The newly sworn in City of Davenport Mayor has resigned after a controversy over an alleged felony warrant.

Newly sworn in Mayor of Davenport resigns

Barbara Pierson had an alleged felony warrant from out of state

Callihan praises decision



Warrant was actually outdated

Officials said an anonymous tip alerted city officials about an alleged felony warrant from out of state regarding Mayor Barbara Pierson.

Pierson decided to step down and resign, a decision City Manage Kelly Callihan praised.

"That shows her character. She pretty much didn't want to damage the city in any way and that's what she stated to me," Callihan said.

Pierson had just replaced former Mayor Darlene Bradley, who was arrested last year for using handicap placards that were assigned to dead people.

Within 24 hours of Pierson's resignation, Callihan said a judge in Michigan learned what happened and straightened everything out. It turns out that the warrant was outdated.

However, the city has already filled Pierson's position. Former Vice Mayor Rob Robinson is now acting mayor of the city.
While it is built around an incredible story of courage and nerve that director Clint Eastwood masterfully recreates on film, The 15:17 to Paris is a mixed bag as a feature film.

The film makes a deliberate effort to provide as much context as possible for why the three Americans on that train from Amsterdam to Paris on August 21, 2015 took the actions they did, and the skills and lessons they learned both as kids and adults that helped them save all those lives that day.

All that context turns out to be too much of a good thing, as it results in a film that feels both unfocused and heavy-handed.

Whats it about?

The real-life story has been well documented. On that day a single gunman, Ayoub El Khazzani, boarded Thalys train 9364 in Amsterdam and while it was in French territory emerged from one of the trains restrooms with an assault rifle and more than 300 rounds of ammunition.

El Khazzani shot one passenger but was subdued before he could harm anyone else by three Americans  U.S. Airman Spencer Stone, U.S. Army Specialist Alek Skarlatos, and Anthony Sadler. Stone then utilized his medical training to keep the wounded passenger alive until the train arrived in Arras and secured by local authorities.

The 15:17 to Paris not only recreates the events on the train, but also shares the story of the three Americans, childhood friends whose presence on the train, the film asserts, almost felt like divine providence both before and after the crisis they helped avert.

Casting the real-life people

Eastwood challenges himself as a filmmaker in this particular outing by casting the real-life heroes who were on the train that day  Stone, Skarlatos, and Sadler  as themselves and featuring them for most of the film. Others who were on the train that day, including Mark Moogalian, the man shot by El Khazzani, also play themselves in the scenes set during the attack.

Give Eastwood credit. When it comes to the actual struggle on the train, the casting, along with Eastwoods staging and camera direction, creates an intense, visceral viewing experience. He places audiences right in the middle of those terrifying moments, and effectively captures both the fear in the passengers as well as the poise the men who intervened that day.

However, when it comes to depicting everything leading up to those moments, the casting gambit falls short. One might think playing themselves would come naturally, especially living out moments they experienced, but Stone, Skarlatos and Sadler all come off sounding wooden rather than authentic.

They look and sound like theyre reciting lines they memorized, which, of course, is exactly what they did for the film.

&amp;amp;amp;nbsp;

Film structure dilutes impact

The 15:17 to Paris also suffers from imbalance in terms of structure. It takes too much time to get down to what audiences bought tickets to see  Eastwoods depiction of the attack and how it was stopped  and gets bogged down in methodically establishing context and a reasoning for why Stone, Skarlatos and Sandler were there to help that day.

The flawed approach may have come, in part, from the source material. Screenwriter Dorothy Blyskal based her screenplay on the autobiography the three men wrote along with writer Jeffrey Stern, which chronicled not only the event, but their friendship from childhood and events that foreshadowed the roles they would play that fateful day.

The film takes that same approach, ostensibly to honor the heroes stories in their entirety, but what results on screen feels scattered and labored. Much of the films middle portion, which focuses on the men backpacking through Europe in the days prior to the attack, feel especially superfluous, venturing into travelogue territory.

Worth seeing?

Even with its flaws, The 15:17 to Paris can still be held up as a well-meaning tribute to real-life American courage in the face of potential tragedy.

Like Eastwoods previous film effort, Sully, it highlights an unforgettable display of poise and purpose in terms of what the real people did. The director clearly had the best of intentions in terms of bringing these stories to life for audiences to see and reflect upon.

However, this one just doesnt work as well. The risks taken and the methodical approach to the material simply do not pay off, resulting in a rare film from Eastwood that lacks punch.

The 15:17 to Paris

Starring Spencer Stone, Alek Skarlatos, Anthony Sadler, Judy Greer, Jenna Fischer, P.J. Byrne, Tony Hale and Thomas Lennon. Directed by Clint Eastwood.

Running time: 95 minutes

Rated PG-13 for bloody images, violence, some suggestive material, drug references and language.


For Immediate Release, February 9, 2018 Contact: Sarah Baillie, (520) 623-5252 x 308, sbaillie@biologicaldiversity.org Hundreds of Endangered Species Condoms to Be Given Away in Lincoln Program Highlights Effect of Human Population Growth on Wildlife LINCOLN, Neb. Hundreds of free Endangered Species Condoms will be given away by the Center for Biological Diversity on Valentines Day as part of the University of Nebraska State Museum of Natural Historys Love Struck: Romance in the Natural World event. 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 Center for Biological Diversitys Endangered Species Condoms program is a unique catalyst for conversations about the effect of human population growth on natural resources like water and our unintentional impacts on species extinction, said University of Nebraska State Museum director Dr. Susan Weller. This creative program helps tell an important ecological story and also sheds light on how we, as humans, can make a difference. We look forward to having them as part of our Valentines Day event. 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.
A Powerful Resistance to Trump's Push for Offshore Drilling What an amazing week. Thousands of people turned out to events around the country to raise their voices against President Trump's plan to dramatically expand offshore drilling in the Arctic, off the West Coast and East Coast, and in the Gulf of Mexico.



Thank you to all who came to hearings, attended rallies or provided support. The Center for Biological Diversity, including our coast-to-coast Ignite Change network, has made this campaign a top priority. We know Trump's plan could trigger more than 5,000 oil spills  we can't let that happen.



This will be a tough fight, so stay tuned for what's next. Take a moment to join Ignite Change and read this Center op-ed in The Sacramento Bee.
POINTE NOIRE, Congo - Africanews has launched Inspire Middle East for its African and European audiences. This new flagship business and lifestyle programme will take viewers on a voyage of discovery through the region's commercial, creative and cultural landscape.

Maithreyi Seetharaman in Abu Dhabi.

Every week, Inspire Middle East will be broadcast to a global audience via Africanews and Euronews.Inspire Middle East delivers the stirring and uplifting stories of people in the MENA region, from trendsetters and artists to entrepreneurs and thought leaders. Produced in Abu Dhabi, the show will also spotlight young and influential innovators who are helping to bridge the cultural and business gap between East and West.Inspire Middle East makes its debut by illustrating how art and architecture in the UAEs capital have culminated in a soft, yet powerful, cultural diplomacy.Speaking exclusively to Africanews,UAE Minister Noura al Kaabi engages in dialogue at the Louvre Abu Dhabi and discusses what the iconic museum represents and talks about how best to nurture burgeoning Arab artistic talent. Watch the first episode here In the episodes to follow, Inspire Middle East visits the homes of luminaries spanning the length and breadth of the region. One highlight is couturier-to-the-stars Elie Saab and his business partner wife Claudine Saab.Inspire Middle East also explores the empowerment and future of the Arab youth, with the UAEs Minister of StateZaki Anwar Nusseibeh in the imposing surroundings of his private library. The show will also take a ride across Dubai with Magnus Olsson, the co-founder of the MENA region's sole tech unicorn, Careem.As executive producer, Daleen Hassan is the creative brains behind the concept of Inspire Middle East. She joined Euronews in 2010 and went on to become a seasoned reporter and deputy editor, interviewing high-ranking figures in the MENA region and covering international current affairs.Maithreyi Seetharaman is the launch anchor of the programme supported by Sky News Arabia. Seetharaman, based in London, is an international political economics and business broadcaster for 17 years. She started her own content and creation company, Facultas Media Ltd., five years ago. Through Facultas Media, she created Real Economy, which is beginning its fifth season on Euronews, where she serves as anchor and executive editor. Seetharaman is also the co-chair of the Fortune Most Powerful Women International Summits. In this role, she also represents Fortune MPW in the U.K., Europe, Africa and Asia. Africanews , launched in 2016 (digital in January, TV in April), as the first pan-African multilingual media source produced simultaneously in French and English, and offering coverage of African and global news from a sub-Saharan perspective.Today, Africanews TV is available in 38 countries and 9.5 million homes across sub-Saharan Africa thanks to major pay-TV players and national channels (partial broadcast). The Africanews signal covers sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian Ocean islands via two satellites: SES 4 and SES 5.Africanews is a 100% Euronews subsidiary. Africanews adheres to the same editorial charter as its European sister channel, Euronews.
Rainmaker's Vista.360 virtual tours, powered by Google Street View Trusted, were viewed by more than three million potential guests focused on Namibia as a destination in December 2017. As a result of Rainmaker's activities, views increased to 3.84 million just a month later.

Strand Hotel Swakopmund

Building on the Namibian digital landscape

Twyfelfontein Country Lodge

Virtual touring garners impactful results

This is more than an average of 8,400 views per day since the very first VISTA.360 virtual tours by Rainmaker were published, and a record of 20,000 views per day throughout the past month  this marks an astonishing achievement for Namibia as a destination and a great prospect for Rainmaker Digitals hospitality and tourism customers.Thomas Muller, the founder and CEO of Rainmaker, started Rainmaker Digital after seven years in the Namibian tourism and hospitality industry. His everyday exposure to the digital marketing field led to the realisation that Namibia and Southern Africas digital presence could be dramatically improved.According to Chris McIntyre, managing director of the Tour Operator Expert Africa: Rainmakers great 360s have helped us bring Namibia, and many of its lodges and camps, to life for our websites visitors. Working with them has vastly improved the images and perspectives that our prospective visitors can see in Namibia, and they have certainly helped us to persuade more visitors to visit this stunningly beautiful country.Rainmaker has created more traffic and impact with its Vista.360 service than any other travel related website in Namibia  putting Namibia as a destination, and the participating hotels, lodges, guest houses and guest farms, etc. at the very forefront of the digital marketing landscape in Southern Africa.To put this into perspective, according to the global web statistics platform Alexa.com, one of the largest tourism websites in Namibia gets around 650,550 views per year, less than 20% of what Rainmaker has achieved for its customers and the destination.The Vista.360 virtual tours have had a significant impact on Rainmaker customers business in terms of occupancy, revenue, reputation and profit.The Vista.360 virtual tour is a critical element, especially for accommodation providers. "We have been overwhelmed with more than 330,000 views of Twyfelfontein Country Lodge in just seven months. I am really happy we went for it because it significantly added to our bookings," says Riaan Brand of Twyfelfontein Country Lodges.From the 3.84 million visitors, more than 325,000 of all visitors took action on the immersive virtual tours they saw. Either by visiting the respective accommodation website (93,000 or 28% of all actions), asking for directions while they were planning their itinerary (220,000 or 68% of all actions) or directly calling the property by phone (12,000 or 4% of all actions).Rainmaker provides the respective virtual tour footage free-of-charge to local and global tour operators to further improve the visibility and the business of our customers. It is all about partnering and collaboration within the Namibian hospitality and tourism Industry. The entire rainmaker focus is to create a competitive advantage for the local in-destination hospitality and tourism businesses, against the global and market dominating giants and to gain more tourism spend remaining in the country, said Muller.
Hopes have been tempered of a quick resolution to the occupational lung disease class action including thousands of former miners afflicted with silicosis, with expectations of a settlement to take to the courts expected in the next six months instead of early in 2018 as three new companies join the action.

Graham Briggs. Photo: Towerstone

Speaking on the sidelines of the Investing in Africa Mining Indaba, Graham Briggs, former Harmony CE and now chairman of the Working Group on Occupational Lung Disease, said the lawyers and parties involved in the class action were hammering out a complex settlement, with many details that had to be resolved before the matter could be returned to court for ratification.There were hopes in 2017 that an agreement for which six mining companies have made provisions totalling R5bn could be in place by the end of the December. It was then rolled over to the end of March 2018."Realistically speaking, I'd say it's going to be six months before we have something finalised that we can take back to court," Briggs said. "We are close but the devil is in the details and there are a huge number of moving parts."The six mining companies are Harmony Gold, Gold Fields, African Rainbow Minerals, Sibanye-Stillwater, AngloGold Ashanti and Anglo American. Just recently Pan African Resources, DRDGold and Randgold & Exploration have joined the matter.In the 12 months to end-October 2017, a total of 7,756 compensation payments amounting to R226m were made to former miners with occupational lung diseases compared with 1,628 compensation payments to the value of R79m in the matching period in 2015.The funds were paid from R3.5bn in unclaimed funds held in the Medical Bureau for Occupational Diseases as six doctors and senior managers from gold mines were seconded to the fund, stepping up the tracing of former miners in SA and neighbouring countries, leading to the increase in claimants.The mining companies will pay a lump sum into a trust that will locate, verify and assess former miners with silicosis - caused by breathing silica dust generated during gold mining - and occupational tuberculosis. Once confirmed, the trust would make a payment to the former miners or to families if the miners had died, Briggs said.Mining companies would not pay the full R5bn into the trust, but a portion of that to fund the trust's work and make payments as claimants came into the system over the next about 12 years and the trust made cash calls on companies, Briggs said.
Online buying and selling of goods and services, online transactions, high mobile penetration, fast connectivity, a digital savvy population and an increased consumer spending power are among factors increasingly fueling the penetration and growth of e-commerce in Kenya. One of the sectors consequently affected by this disruption is the travel industry, in part because of the growing confidence in e-commerce sites such as online travel agents.

Image: Rawpixel.com (Image Supplied)

Cyrus Onyiego, Jumia Travel Country Manager speaking at the Kenya Travel Awards 2018. (Image Supplied)

Other trends in the Kenyan travel market

These have brought with them the efficiency often sought after by travellers who otherwise are overly occupied and thus have little time to research their destinations and make a booking for either a hotel or flight online. These travellers resolve and ability to purchase services on the move has, as a result, increased the reliance on mobile devices, thus giving service providers who invest in easy-to-use apps a rising edge.Speaking during the Kenya Travel Awards 2018 held on 1 February in Nairobi, Jumia Travels Country Manager Cyrus Onyiego noted that in Kenya, mobile bookings are on an upward trajectory, standing at 44% in the companys Q3 2017 report, as compared to 41% in the second quarter of the same year.He, however, emphasised on the need for effective mobile-centric marketing strategies and customer engagement by service providers including hotels, a tactic Onyiego believes will increase trust in the otherwise deemed risky online businesses.In his presentation, he also highlighted other trends in the Kenyan travel market, with a majority who book via the travel agency still opting for the three-star hotels (34%). Furthermore, business and leisure travellers make up 44% and 88% of total bookings made on Jumia Travel respectively.With the leading internet penetration in Africa at over 80% according to the, the growth of e-commerce in the country is bound to continue in 2018. Kenyans will, therefore, travel more locally, leading to a boom in domestic tourism and more so in online booking trends. Consequently, the time is still ripe for retailers to advance and incorporate fully consumer-centric approaches.
FlySafair has officially launched AviaPay, a new mobile point of sale (POS) system, which enables passengers to use their credit and/or debit cards to purchase refreshments in-flight.

Bob Adams via Wikimedia Commons

The new mobile POS, designed to address the needs of the aviation industry, is the result of a partnership between BlueMarket Retail Solution and payment service providers, PayGate and PosMarket.We are delighted to be the first low-cost carrier in South Africa to provide customers with the convenience of paying for in-flight purchases by card. Not only will this make transacting easier, but it also means passengers wont have to risk carrying cash on them, says Kirby Gordon, head of sales and distribution at FlySafair.Another benefit of the technology is that FlySafair can now provide travellers with receipts, regardless of the payment method used. This makes it simpler for business travellers to manage their expense claims, as administration relating to these claims have become easier to deal with for the travel management teams which process them.There are already discussions around added functionality, and we look forward to building on a relationship that has had a fantastic start. Look out for new innovations to be launched in the near future with FlySafair, says Theron Uys, business development director at BlueMarket.
Pinotage producers are facing challenging times with South Africa's Winelands affected by the ongoing drought. The 2018 harvest will be characterised by smaller berries, lighter bunches and lower yields, however, the quality of the grapes is very promising - exceptional even.

moshehar via pixabay

On the foothills of the Simonsberg in Stellenbosch, Kanonkop winemaker Abrie Beeslaar expected the smaller berries to impact on the tonnage by around 10% but was excited about the flavours and colours being more concentrated.Andre van Dyk, cellarmaster at Rooiberg in Robertson, suggested that the drop in production this year could be as much as 15%. The Pinotage harvest will be later than usual, he said, with dwindling water resources having to be very carefully managed.Kaapzicht cellarmaster Danie Steytler predicted that the dry-land, older vineyards, in particular, will probably yield much less in 2018. The team has observed a close-to-normal bunch count per vine in the Bottelary area of Stellenbosch but concurred that the sizes of the bunches and berries were considerably smaller.Beyers Truter of Beyerskloof reasoned that cool summer nights had contributed to the quality of the juices  great tannin structure, good fruit extracts, exceptional colour and flavour. This looks like a brilliant year for Pinotage, he enthused.Beeslaar concluded that while the drought had made for challenging times, it was heartening to see how well the Pinotage vines were handling the adverse weather conditions  a true testament to how well this uniquely South African cultivar has adapted to the environment.
Meet Joybells. Undoubtedly one of the most promising table grape varieties to emerge from South Africa.

A competitive edge

The South African breeding programme for table grapes received a welcome boost with a new red seedless variety revealed at Berlins Fruit Logistica 2018 trade show on 7 February 2018.Joybells was developed from an open-pollinated variety, bred by renowned SA breeder, Phyllis Burger of the Agricultural Research Council (ARC), Infruitec-Nietvoorbij, based in Stellenbosch. As the name suggests, Joybells was inspired by the unique bell-shaped appearance of the fruit, as well as the remarkable taste and texture.Those who have tasted the variety report sheer joy with each characteristic explored. Dark, vibrant red hues catch the eye, along with the distinctive bell shape of the grapes. Crunchy, firm flesh accompanies the intricate taste. A notably impressive balance of sugar and acidity.Excellent reviews have been received from prominent global retailers, who already sold commercial shipments of Joybells as a premium variety over the past two South African table grape seasons. Best yet  their customers are coming back to buy more of this variety. In chorus, producers are taken with the fruits yields, while distributors hanker after its superb storage ability.Dr Leon von Mollendorff, general manager of Culdevco, says information and plant material have been gradually released to the industry to ensure that a proper evaluation of the variety was done across the value chain, over a number of years. The South African Table Grape Industry (SATI) and the ARC Infruitec-Nietvoorbij, with commercialisation facilitated by Culdevco, are working hand in hand to develop unique table grape cultivars to be made available to the South African industry at affordable prices and fees.SATIs Willem Bestbier says that the unique benefits the South African table grape industry brings to the highly competitive international trade are profitability and well-adapted cultivars. We firmly believe that our competitive edge in the market is technology-driven and there is nothing better than a home-made success story, this time in the form of an exciting new grape variety.Over the past two seasons over 50,000 cartons (4,5 kg per carton) of Joybells have been sold across Europe and the UK, while producers and exporters are expanding sales of this exciting new variety to other world markets during the current 2017/2018 season. According to statistics, close to 200 hectares of the variety have already been planted across South Africa. Von Mollendorff says that from this year, the plant material is adequately available to South African producers, thus expecting plantings to expand fairly quickly.It is clear that the arrival of Joybells will inspire advertising people  Ring in the New, Pride and Joy, Bells and Whistles and No Joyrides are some of the slogans that bring life to this playful brand. Throughout the value chain it will be Jingle all the Way, as the characteristics and performance of the cultivar warrant a premium for the grower, exporter and retailer.Joybells is commercialised and administered in South Africa by Culdevco  a major player in the international arena of deciduous fruit licensing. This prized variety is currently exported by 12 South African export companies, most of which are represented at Fruit Logistica, Berlin.
Getting rid of massive subsidies for oil, gas and coal will not significantly curb carbon pollution or speed the transition to a greener global economy, researchers said on Wednesday, 7 February, challenging widely held assumptions.

"Unfortunately, it is not the silver bullet many had hoped," they said in a statement."Removing fossil fuel subsidies would only slightly slow the growth of CO2 emissions," which are on track to increase for at least another decade, they added."By 2030, emissions would only be one-to-five percent lower than if subsidies had been maintained."For fossil fuel producers, subsidies can take the form of tax breaks, cheap loans, protection from competitors, or favourable trade restrictions. For consumers, they generally result in below-market prices for oil, gas or electricity.The intergovernmental International Energy Agency (IEA) estimated the value of fossil fuel consumption subsidies in 2016 at about $260bn, down from $310bn the year before.Electricity and oil each accounted for just over $100bn, with natural gas topping $50bn. Coal subsidies were only about $2bn.On the production side, an analysis by the London-based Overseas Development Institute and NGO Oil Change International found upwards of $70bn a year in national subsidies for the oil, gas and coal sectors.The new findings, published in the journal, clash head on with the common view that fossil fuel subsidies jeopardise the Paris climate treaty goal of capping global warming below 2C.Average global temperatures are already up 1C since the mid-19th century, and are on track - despite voluntary, carbon-cutting pledges by virtually all the world's nations - to rise 3C above that benchmark by 2100.Fossil fuel giveaways, according to prevailing wisdom, encourage wasteful energy consumption, and discourage investment in renewable energy, such as solar and wind.The G7 club of rich countries has long criticised "inefficient fossil fuel subsidies", and in 2016 took the unusually concrete step of setting a deadline: government financial support for coal, oil and gas should end by 2025, member nations said in a communique.Even the G20 - which includes China, India, Russia and Indonesia, all economies with large energy subsidies - has called for their gradual phase-out.The new study suggests this is a recipe for disappointment.Slotting different options for economic growth, technology trends, energy prices and other variables into complex models, the researchers projected fossil fuel use and CO2 emissions over the next several decades - with and without subsidies.They found that removing them would only dampen energy demand by 1-4% up to 2030. At the same time, emissions of CO2, the main greenhouse gas, would decrease by a modest 1-5%, regardless of whether oil prices are high or low.Several factors account for this unexpectedly weak impact, said lead author Jessica Jewell, a scientist at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Laxenburg, Austria. The first is that subsidies apply almost entirely to oil, gas and the electricity they produce, and not coal - by far the dirtiest of fossil fuels."In some cases, the removal of subsidies causes a switch to more-emissions intensive coal," Jewell said.And while the subsidies run into the hundreds of billions of dollars, that is still not enough - given the scale of global energy needs - to dampen demand even if they are withdrawn, she said.Other scientists disagreed.Peter Erickson, a Seattle-based research at the Stockholm Environment Institute, said the study underestimates the impact on CO2 emissions."The modellers did not address how fossil fuel subsidies affect decision-making in new oil or gas fields," he told AFP.A recent study by Erickson inshowed that subsidies such as tax preferences would nearly double US oil production through 2050, assuming a price of $50 a barrel.He also questioned the conclusion that slashing up to 4% of global CO2 emissions is a "small effect", as claimed by Jewell."That is only 'small' compared to the gargantuan size of the climate problem," he said.
Francis Hannaway via Wikimedia Commons

Key needs

A firewall against famine

Highlights of FAO interventions undertaken as part of this joint effort:

Interventions include, for example, providing seeds, tools and other materials for crop farming, safeguarding livestock through lifesaving veterinary care, organising training in improved production, processing, and land and water management, and giving at-need families cash so they can immediately access food.Escalating humanitarian needs are largely the result of the persistence, intensification and spread of violence and conflict  the impacts of which are often being amplified and aggravated by climate-related shocks."The reality is that while the lives of millions of people were saved thanks to rapid humanitarian response in 2017, millions more remain on the very edge of starvation. Maintaining food production and rebuilding agriculture is fundamental to preventing loss of life from severe hunger and to provide a pathway towards resilience in the midst of humanitarian crises," said Dominique Burgeon, director of FAO's Emergency and Rehabilitation Division and leader of FAO's Strategic Programme on Resilience."This is why FAO focuses on transforming vulnerability into resilience - so that when something bad happens families are better able to cope and feed themselves, people don't have to sell off their assets or flee, and communities can rebuild more quickly after the crisis passes," he added.FAO's 2018 humanitarian appeal focuses on assisting crisis-hit, vulnerable people in 26 of the world's most food-insecure countries.These include Yemen, the country with the largest overall number of people in acute food insecurity, where the organisation aims to reach 5.7 million people. In the Democratic of the Congo, FAO plans to assist almost 2.8 million people. In South Sudan, 3.9 million people will benefit from emergency livelihoods support. In Syria, where three-quarters of rural families continue to produce their own food, FAO will provide 2.3 million people with the means to do so. And in Somalia, the organisation will assist 2.7 million people facing severe hunger.Continued conflict in Iraq, South Sudan, the Syrian Arab Republic and Yemen and other places, as well as new outbreaks of violence in the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Myanmar, have played a major role in driving hunger up. In the Caribbean, hurricanes Irma and Maria left lives  and livelihoods  in tatters, while in the Horn of Africa ongoing drought has taken a heavy toll. Across all of Africa, the Fall armyworm pest is threatening the crops of millions of farmers.Last year, discouraging trends like these saw famine - widespread death resulting from severe hunger  break out in parts of one country, South Sudan, and emerge as a real risk in three others: Yemen, Syria, and northern Nigeria.Famine was contained in South Sudan and averted in the other three at-risk countries thanks to a massive response by the humanitarian community on multiple fronts  including large-scale support to agricultural and pastoral communities that played a key role in tilting the balance away from the worst-case scenario. Provision of seeds, equipment, fertiliser, and training that enabled some six million people in Nigeria, Somali, South Sudan and Yemen to plant and harvest crops. 43 million animals in the same four countries  mainly cattle, goats, and camel  received veterinary care, feed and water thanks to FAO, allowing millions of pastoralist and livestock-dependent families to feed themselves and remain self-sufficient. Some two million poor, high-vulnerable families benefitted from FAO cash transfers (adding up to $42m in total). These payments helped people avoid selling off household seeds, animals or other assets to buy food and bought them time and breathing room to resume their own agricultural production.
Cape Town's use of the term "Day Zero" came under fire from water and sanitation minister Nomvula Mokonyane in Parliament. The minister was briefing the portfolio committee on water and sanitation on Wednesday, 7 February.

She said the drought would be declared a national disaster after information had been collected about how it was affecting all nine provinces. The announcement could take place on 14 February.Stressing that the drought was affecting other parts of the country as well, she said some areas in the North West had not had water in three years."Day Zero" - the term used by the city to describe when most taps will be turned off to conserve its remaining supplies of water - was a phenomenon that had not been declared by the National Disaster Management Centre, said Mokonyane.The department maintained that Day Zero would not happen as there were interventions in place."It's not us who have said there is Day Zero... We do not understand how some people, somewhere, decided to talk of Day Zero. It is not us," she said.The portfolio committee said in a statement that it would "look at policy to review the issue of water licences and the ownership of dams through proposed legislation"."Currently, the Department of Water and Sanitation owns and manages about 330 out of the 5,000 dams in SA. It concerns the committee that 65% of water goes to agriculture whilst 23% is used for domestic consumption."As recently as (Tuesday), water was released by farmers, which was viewed 'as a gift' to the people - when in fact water is a natural resource which must be freely enjoyed by all. The government must look at expropriating the land where the dams are so that they become national assets."BusinessLIVE reported on Wednesday that the DA was seeking an undertaking from Mokonyane that the agricultural sector would stick to its water allocation and not dip into supplies intended for drought-stricken Cape Town.Cape Town has imposed strict water restrictions, limiting residents to 50 litres per person per day in a bid to stretch its dwindling reserves.DA leader Mmusi Maimane said: "Day Zero still remains a possibility and defeating it will require a collective effort from households, businesses and all three spheres of government."The city has its sights set on turning off most taps and asking residents to queue at collection points for a daily allocation of water from 11 May.Cape Town deputy mayor Ian Neilson said that by January, the agricultural sector had drawn down its full allocation for the 2017-18 hydrological year from the Western Cape water supply, while the city had used just a quarter of its allocation in this period.The hydrological year begins in November."Our concern is the 174.7-million cubic metres allocated to us, and whether the national minister will ensure we get it," said Neilson.Agriculture had been allocated 58-million cubic metres of water, he said. Mokonyane should publicly guarantee that Cape Town would get its full allocation, and that none of it would be given to other municipalities or agriculture."It is vital for managing the year [ahead]," he said.
The FIC Act is designed to enable authorities to better understand the movement of money in order to reveal unlawful activities. However, the regulations therein not only pertain to transgressors of the Act, but also companies involved in a business relationship with those companies. Here we look at what constitutes an accountable institution and what they need to know about customer due diligence.

Introduction

What is an Accountable Institution?

What are the duties imposed on Accountable Institutions?

Natural persons as clients

Juristic persons as clients

Continuous Due Diligence

Doubts regarding the veracity of information obtained

Inability to conduct customer due diligence

Conclusion

The Financial Intelligence Centre Act 38 of 2001 (FICA) was enacted on the 1 July 2003. The latest Amendment Act 2 of 2017(hereafter referred to as the Act), was published in the Government Gazette on 2 May 2017.The Act will enable authorities to hinder criminal activities, and introduces a risk-based approach to client due diligence. Client due diligence relates to the knowledge that an accountable institution has regarding its clients and the business the clients are conducting. This would strengthen the fight against money laundering, tax evasion as well as combat terrorist and other criminal activities.An 'accountable institution' is any person defined in schedule 1 of the Act. Amongst those listed include attorneys, trustees and executors, estate agents, financial instrument trade and stock brokers, management companies, bankers and those involved in the remittance of currency, but this is not a closed list.The Financial Intelligence Centre requires Accountable Institutions to uphold certain duties. The Act stipulates that an accountable institution may only establish a business relationship or conclude a single transaction with a client once such institution has, in accordance with its Risk Management and Compliance Programme (hereafter referred to as RCMP), established the identity of the client.Alternatively, if the client is acting on behalf of another person, the institution shall establish the identity of the instructing person as well as the authorisation the client received to establish a business relationship. In the event of a person acting on behalf of the client, the institution shall establish the identity of that person and the authority that person must act on behalf of the client.Section 20A of the Act prohibits an accountable institution from establishing a business relationship or concluding a single transaction with an anonymous client or a client with an apparent false or fictitious name.Section 21A states as follows:Section 21B states as follows:Should an accountable institution enter into a transaction or business relationship with a legal person, it must establish the identity of the beneficial owner of the client. This may be done by determining the identity of each natural person who either has a controlling ownership interest in the legal person or has control over the legal person or which exercises control over the management of the legal person. Once established, the institution is to take reasonable steps to verify the identity so that it is satisfied that it knows who the beneficial owner is.Section 21C states as follows:Section 21D states as follows:Section 21E states as follows:The key aim of Sections 21C, 21D and 21E is to ensure that accountable institutions identify any activities of clients which are inconsistent with the knowledge of the client or the purpose of the business relationship. If large transactions are concluded in a suspicious manner, the accountable institution needs to assess these transactions and may report a suspicion of money laundering or terrorist funding to the Financial Intelligence Centre. Should an accountable institution not be able to conduct ongoing due diligence, it should consider making a report to the Financial Intelligence Centre.The Amendment Act aims to combat money laundering activities and the financing of terrorist and related activities by imposing certain duties on institutions and other persons who might be used for money laundering purposes and the financing of terrorist and related activities. It is the responsibility of accountable institutions to comply with the above to ensure a safer future for all South Africans in which the financial system has integrity and transparency to support economic growth and social development.
Which African country is the best place to launch, or invest in, a tech startup?

 dotshock via 123RF

Bosun Tijani, founder and CEO of Co-Creation Hub

Raphael Afaedor, co-founder and CEO of Supermart.ng

Olufunbi Falayi, co-founder of Passion Incubator

Sayu Abend, CEO of SpacePointe

Onyeka Akumah, co-founder and CEO of Farmcrowdy

Bola Lawal, co-founder and CEO of ScholarX

In this new series of articles, Disrupt Africa is talking to the great and the good from various African tech ecosystems to find out what it is that makes them tick.Weve already heard from ecosystem players in South Africa and Kenya , but now is the chance for stakeholders in the Nigerian tech space to make their case.The development of technology across Africa is emanating out of the unique characteristics of the different regions of the continent, hence it is somewhat tough to judge one ecosystem as superior. However, the tech startup ecosystem in Nigeria is following a known trajectory, which can be seen in the journey of Nollywood and the Nigerian music industry  organic, misunderstood, but purposeful. The ecosystem is deepening yearly and anyone with a medium to long term outlook on tech in Africa will take Nigeria seriously.Lagos is amazing because you have a big market. Irrespective of the product, after slicing and dicing it, there is still some left to test ones idea, and if the idea does not need a huge scale to succeed, then it it can be made profitable in Lagos. Lagos has its own infrastructural challenges which increase the cost base of the company, but if that is overcome, it is an interesting market to be in.Also the ecosystem is very vibrant, lots of doers and lots of meetups and hangouts. It is essentially the New York City of Africa. Finally, there are a decent number of people who have made a tidy amount of money so it is really possible to raise some angel funding. It is not easy, but it is possible. In other places where there hasnt been (oil) money in large amounts that have ultimately trickled into peoples pockets in various degrees, I can imagine it is even more difficult to raise angel funds.The ecosystem has picked up quickly in the last four years with an uptick in entrepreneurial interest and activities as young Nigerians developed the courage to build solutions to solve socio-economic problems, taking advantage of internet and mobile penetration.Additionally, government and corporate organisations aggressively increased their support for startup growth as a means to diversify the economy after oil prices dropped and the country slumped into a recession.The Nigerian startup ecosystem is the perfect sandbox to validate your idea or product. Beyond having incubator and accelerator programmes in place, there is the huge market available with one of the most advanced online and fintech infrastructures on the continent. The huge market presents the entrepreneur with diverse and complex use cases to solve for, such that if you get it right in Nigeria, you can launch anywhere on the continent.The Nigerian startup ecosystem is an unconventional blend of raw talent, budding infrastructure and organised chaos. It is quite unconventional because Nigerian youths are challenged based on a number of varying factors, ranging from limited access to quality education, to power, to infrastructure, and the growing pursuit of the ease of doing business, among many others.However, despite the many challenges, the Nigerian youths are one of the most relentless sets of individuals youll find in Africa. In their resolve to solve real problems in their immediate society, and possibly export their solutions to other parts of Africa, they are constantly looking for the next best fix and solutions while making profitable connections and partnerships.The growing population, the growing middle class, the constant focus of foreign investors in the region and the growing experience of young entrepreneurs who have worked for some well-funded startups from launch, all of these point towards one of the best places in Africa for any startup to thrive in the years ahead.Nigeria has the potential to be a massive and vibrant ecosystem, though still in its infancy but widely fragmented. Nigerias growing youth population provides a fertile ground to test new ideas that can scale locally and potentially impact a wider global audience. Were definitely heading towards the globalisation part of the ecosystem lifecycle and we are seeing more foreign money, ideas, and resources flow into the Nigerian ecosystem.Nigerian startups raised a total of US$63.3 million in 2017, according to the most recent African Tech Startups Funding Report, more than any other country. More information is available here.
Startupbootcamp Cape Town is set to open applications for the second edition of its accelerator programme, which will see it embark upon a FastTrack in order to source top-tier tech startups from across the world.

The first-ever Startupbootcamp accelerator in Africa took place last year, and ended with startups signing 32 corporate agreements , including pilots and proof of concepts.Startupbootcamp is now looking for startups to join its second cohort and will be hosting a FastTrack world tour that will include 19 events across the world between February and May.FastTracks are informal events aimed at giving the Startupbootcamp team, mentors and sponsors the opportunity to meet the most suitable early-stage companies interested in joining the programme.For each FastTrack, the top 10 startups that apply will receive instant feedback from a panel of industry mentors, the chance to network with the investment team, and find out more about the programme itself.Startups that attend a FastTrack are 20% more likely to be invited to the final Selection Days where the ultimate top 10 will be invited to join the three-month programme.The first FastTrack event will be held at the Head Office of Startupbootcamp sponsor RCS in Cape Town on February 19.RCS and BNP Paribas Personal Finance are delighted to be a main sponsor of the 2018 Startupbootcamp programme. This will be our second year sponsoring the programme. There was an impressive line-up of startups that joined the programme in 2017 and our company has subsequently joined forces with a selected few to improve and enhance our customer engagement. Customer-centricity and digital transformation will remain key focus areas for our business in 2018, said RCS chief executive officer (CEO) Regan Adams.Startups are able to apply for all FastTrack events here We want every startup to know that even if you dont make it into the final accelerator, our FastTrack events can provide incredible guidance and mentorship and can fundamentally shift a growing business, said Zachariah George, co-founder and chief investment officer of Startupbootcamp Cape Town.Applications for the accelerator itself open on 21 February 2018 and close on 24 May 2018.Philip Kiracofe, co-founder and CEO of Startupbootcamp Cape Town, said the 32 agreements signed by the previous cohort was above average for any Startupbootcamp programme globally, while it was also the top performing first-time programme.Even in very mature markets such as the US and Europe it generally takes three years for a programme to find its stride. We surpassed expectations in our very first year and this is unprecedented across the global Startupbootcamp footprint, he said.We are not just discovering and scaling the startups that will disrupt the necessary industries, were fuelling them. Were finding people, creating solutions and were way ahead of the rest of the world in many ways. For example, in the US, people are still cottoning on to digital cash, while Africa has been doing it for years. This article was originally published on Disrupt Africa
The Department of Labour is developing an online system to help analyse data submitted by employers when applying for national minimum wage exemptions.

Exemptions cover employers who can demonstrate that they are not able to pay the national minimum wage.This is according to the Department of Labours Director of Collective Bargaining, Thembinkosi Mkalipi.He said while exemptions were not new, as the department was currently dealing with them on sectoral determinations, he cautioned employers that there were serious consequences in the case of misrepresentation of facts.Mkalipi was addressing a briefing session at the Premier Hotel Regent in East London on Thursday to inform trade unions/shop stewards on the implementation of the national minimum wage and amendments to the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA), the Labour Relations Act (LRA), the coming into effect of the Accord on Collective Bargaining and Industrial Action and the Code of Good Practice on Collective Bargaining, Industrial Action and Picketing.He explained that the minimum wage, once it comes into force, will affect all workers who work in South Africa.The national minimum wage is set for implementation from 1 May 2018.The agreed national minimum wage at Nedlac is pegged at R20 an hour for major sectors, with the exception of sectors such as farm workers, domestic workers and Expanded Public Works Programme workers.According to the National Minimum Wage Bill, employers may not pay wages that are below the minimum wage and the national minimum wage cannot be varied by contract, collective agreement or law.The Bill further states that national minimum wage constitutes a term of the workers contract except to the extent that the contract provides for a more favourable wage.The Bill further states that it is unfair labour practice for an employer to unilaterally alter hours of work or other conditions of employment in implementing the national minimum wage.Mkalipi said the national minimum wage was an outcome of a compromise.There are things in this Bill that business does not like, and there are things in this Bill that labour does not like.This Bill is an outcome of a compromise. It is an agreement of win-win and lose-lose for all parties. At Nedlac we managed to strike a balance in that while we do not destroy jobs we also save jobs, he said.
Police Minister Fikile Mbalula has noted the charges by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) against former acting National Police Commissioner Kgomotso Phahlane.

On Thursday, 8 February 2018, Phahlane and his wife - who is also a South African Police Service (SAPS) member, Beauty Phahlane - appeared before the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Court.Phahlane is accused of fraud and corruption for allegedly taking kickbacks to secure police tenders for a company during his tenure as head of the police's forensics division.They face six counts of corruption and fraud for allegedly accepting gratifications, discounts and motor vehicles from the third accused, Durandt Snyman, a car dealership owner from Pretoria East.The Phahlanes, according to the charge sheets, were in possession of six cars between 2011 and 2017, which were alleged to be have been bought from or sponsored by Snyman.The State is alleging that Phahlane received them as kickbacks for securing tenders when he was heading the Police Forensic Division.The couple and Snyman were granted R10,000 bail each and the matter was postponed to 12 March.In a statement, Minister Mbalula said the recommendation for Phahlane to step aside from his duties was meant to give the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) space to do its work without any interference.At this point, we now are obligated to allow the court process to go ahead without any hindrance and for justice to be done. As a Ministry, we shall not be offering commentary that could be seen prejudicial in the matter as it continues in court, said Minister Mbalula.The Minister said SAPS is obligated to offer assistance to IPID in the conduct of its lawful constitutional mandate.
BEIJING, China - Chinese police are sporting high-tech sunglasses that can spot suspects in a crowded train station, the newest use of facial recognition technology that has drawn concerns among human rights groups.

 Galina Peshkova via 123RF

In a scene reminiscent of the dystopian sci-fi television show Black Mirror, officers in the central city of Zhengzhou are wearing the digital shades amid the crush of travellers heading home during Chinese New Year, the busiest time for the country's transit system.So far, the technology has 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, 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.The special glasses are being used by four officers positioned at the entrances to Zhengzhou's east station, according to the People's Daily.The glasses have a camera connected to a smartphone-like device that allows the officers to take mugshots of suspicious individuals and compare them to a database back at headquarters.The app brings up the suspect's vital information, including name, ethnicity, gender and address.It also tells officers whether the possible perps are on the run from the law, the address of the hotel where they are staying and information related to their internet usage.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.Source: AFP
Following the introduction of trucks for long-haulage and construction in 2017, Scania recently revealed that it is extending its new truck generation design to other models, with the focus now on urban and additional low-carbon transport solutions.

Image: Scania

"Scania comprehensively sets the stage for the necessary shift towards sustainable transport, offering tailored low-carbon trucks for all transport applications," says Christian Levin, executive vice-president, sales and marketing at Scania.The new trucks all feature the revised styling and product characteristics. Among these, the company says, are enhanced driveability as well as improved visibility, increased safety, ergonomics and comfort.With the introduction of the lighter trucks powered by a new 7.0l engine, it says it will be able to offer urban transporters a new level of efficiency with fuel savings of up to 10%. With its more compact dimensions, the new P-Series cab can feature a lower engine tunnel, which opens up a more spacious cab interior that provides benefits to drivers in a number of ways.The L-Series is the brand's newly developed cab series for urban transport, such as distribution, refuse collection and maintenance. Scania says that drivers will benefit from vastly improved direct vision of their surroundings. Drivers will also be at the same height as other road users, with the added advantage of improved working conditions when repeatedly entering and exiting the cab. The L-series features a kneeling mode and lower boarding steps on both sides of the cab.The CrewCab is already a popular solution around the world for firefighters and the company says it has been specifically tailored for emergency assignments, keeping both ergonomics and safety in mind. For extra safety, there is an option for up to four rollover side curtain airbags. The cab accommodates up to eight passengers and includes a separate climate system with its own settings for the crew area.The company has also announced a new six-cylinder 13l gas engine specifically designed for regional and long-haulage operations, giving climate-conscious hauliers an alternative to conventional fossil fuels. For a 40-tonne truck-and-trailer combination with tanks for liquefied gas, the company says that the range has been extended to 1,100km. At the same time, it also released a 9l gas engine for its new models.
Image via Pixabay

Trade and Industry Deputy Minister Bulelani Magwanishe said the annual competition falls within one of the various directives of the Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP) that strives to elevate the countrys furniture manufacturing capabilities.We have realised that furniture design is one area that is still very much in need of development and believe that once the concept of design is embraced in the industry, it will reinvent the way business is done. This competition will also ensure that we are able to identify and nurture new talent, which we will introduce into this sector, said the Deputy Minister on Thursday.This years competition - under the theme 'Storage' - will require that competitors tap into their innovative reserves to create designs that will not only respond to peoples ever-changing spatial needs, but also to ways that they live their lives and make use of space for residence.The brief includes that the designs must promote innovation, be significantly made out of wood, movable, appeal to the export market and have a specific consumer target in mind.The 2018 instalment is anticipated to showcase more spectacular pieces that will exhibit South Africas furniture design potential.The winners of the competition, which will be held at the Ticketpro Dome in Johannesburg, will be announced on 23 February.
The world of work is evolving, and future-conscious organisations need to be aware of the business implications associated with automation and robotics. A fundamental consideration is how such changes disrupt and affect the world of work and long-standing traditions about the role human beings play in it.

Concern that automation will lead to unemployment

Recent articles in international business publications indicate that many private sector business leaders worldwide lack a good understanding of how automation and/ or digitisation will affect future skills needs. There are also conflicting views about the best way to obtain these future skills. One view calls for a balanced combination of hiring new talent and retraining and reskilling existing talent; another focuses mainly on retraining and some new hiring; a third viewpoint is that the solution is in fact primarily the hiring of new talent.A positive trend, according to articles on the topic of automation, is that executives of frontline companies see investment in retraining and upskilling existing workers as an urgent business priority, and consider this an issue where companies, and not governments, must take the lead. Retraining and upskilling are seen as a business imperative over the next five years. Given the fast-paced and blind-siding nature of disruption, lagging behind could mean possible extinction. The view is that business leaders should be examining their organisations and trying to figure out the changes that automation will require of them and their employees.The future will mean a change to terms and conditions of employment for many employees, and they will need to be consulted with, in accordance with labour laws.Concern about jobs is valid, particularly in countries like South Africa which have a high unemployment rate. The new world of work will have a significant impact on organisational structure and functions, with automation introducing the real possibility of a number of repetitive and low-value jobs becoming redundant. From an employment law perspective, this would trigger the process contained in section 189 of the Labour Relations Act.However, such redundancies do not necessarily signal doom and gloom. Automation introduces the real possibility of creating new types of jobs that have not existed before. The net result of automation on employment may accordingly very well be positive - enhancing the way people work, and making organisations more efficient, more productive, more competitive and ultimately more profitable. Organisations will need to be mindful of the potential impact on employees, and will need to support employees through issues such as the stress and uncertainty of change, the challenge of mastering new skills and the pressure to be even more productive. Employers who feel that such workers are not performing at the required standard will need to take such factors into consideration both when determining if an employee is a poor performer, and when putting in place the training, guidance and counselling as required by the Labour Relations Act, in order to allow the employee to perform at the required standard.As upskilling for automation is unchartered territory, an investment in time and resources is required in order to be future ready. HR functions that will be key will be those of change management and organisation (re)design. Vital to organisations thriving in the new world of work is planning ahead, having a strong management team, timeously taking expert advice, and tactically implementing what is best for individual organisations. There are exciting times ahead.
Loeries CEO Andrew Human is an extremely busy man. I tracked him down while he was in transit at the airport late last week, for a catch-up and preview of all things #Loeries2018-related.

How the Loeries tie in with the Creative Circle

Celebrating 40 years of Loeries  from TV to social media and all thats in-between

Something like outdoor isnt very big in Cape Town because its quite restricted. Yet across Africa, outdoor is massive. If you go to Nairobi or Lagos, you cant help but notice all the billboards when you exit the airport. So its a big part of media in our region. So is radio.

State of the industry, 40 years in  then and now

Celebrating the next generation from across the region

Human shared interesting insights into how the local Creative Circles judging of creative work ties in to the regional Loeries; as well as changes in advertising since the Loeries inception and how these have in turn changed award categories, from TV to social media; how their most recent logo refresh differs from the rebrand when Human took on the role of Loeries CEO back in 2005; and all thats in-between.Sit back, relax and read onHuman set the scene by stating that the Creative Circle is an excellent complement to the Loeries, especially in terms of how regional participation in the Loeries has grown over the past few years. Some dont realise the Creative Circle has been in existence for a very long time, and its in no way a form of duplicating, but rather enhancing what the Loeries offer, as Human says theres no point in merely awarding the same work, over and over.The reality is that the Creative Circle is actually the best showcase of South African work, and as its judged monthly, youre getting smaller judging that takes place more often. While the Loeries recognises work from across the whole of Africa and the Middle East.Human says the Creative Circle also gives the local industry itself a great opportunity to get more involved in judging creative work, and to understand the judging process better. The Creative Circle judging is used as an opportunity to bring young creative talent into the process, and that way, theres a higher bar set for the Loeries judging.Human explains, Theres an expectation that to judge at Loeries, you have already judged and already have solid experience, as the Loeries is less of a learning environment than the Creative Circle judging.Sharing his highlights of the Loeries over the years, Human says theres a definite story to the Loeries foundation back in 1978...As a result of apartheid and the political climate at the time, television actually wasnt allowed in South Africa  it wasnt technically delayed, it was politically delayed. We had our first TV broadcast in 1976 when the SABC started, which was followed obviously by commercials. So, TV commercials in South Africa at that time were like the internet today. You had this crazy new idea: Hey everybody, you can make TV ads, similar to how with the advent of the internet you could say Hey everybody, you can have an email address or a website. So people always think Im doing something new, and something even newer is just around the corner.Human says thats the first thing to understand, and the nice thing about this environment is that we always evolve. Well be doing things in the future that we havent done before. We dont even know what they are yet, but we will be doing them. The Loeries work as a nice window of just that: If you take a look back from 1978 to now, at the categories in particular, they started with television only, then slowly added categories along with print and radio, which were the cornerstones of advertising.Funny enough, its not just about adding, says Human, as categories have also been taken away over the years where theyre no longer relevant, with some of the new categories becoming quite large. For example, theres a major area of digital, and within digital, theres social media as a category.Thats quite amazing as social media didnt exist a few years ago, whereas no brand would not participate on social media today, adds Human. The interesting thing is seeing where the work is going and what we are doing as a result.That doesnt mean everything is new, though.So its not to say that everything falls away and is replaced, its more a question of unpacking what youre doing, pinpointing where you are, and whats relevant in each city and country, and which audience youre talking to and what your brand is. In doing so, its obvious that you have more creative opportunities today than you had 30 years ago.On it being the Loeries 40th year, Human says creativity is more and more not only accepted but actually desired by a range of brands, and again with the range of media platforms, brands realise that creativity brings them success.He points out theres been a lot of questioning around award shows, with some asking why have the award show? Human agrees awards should never be given out just for the sake of it, nor should work be done just for awards. Hes happy to note that in 2018 theres much more acceptance in asking, how do we use creativity to make a difference?I think thats the best part for me, to see that happening, and to see us present more and more to the whole region. Last year, our regional representation jumped to 20% of our overall entries. Its great as we want the Loeries to truly be a mirror of the region. We will see the number of our regional judges grow this year, to reflect that.Human also shared outsider feedback from a recent chat he had with a business leader from the Middle East. He said the Loeries brand is so strong and is known for such a high standard that many dont realise its a not-for-profit industry organisation. Human says being a not-for-profit frees them in a lot of ways, as they dont have to make decisions based on bringing in cash or delivering shareholder value.So when you attend the Loeries award shows and you see the scholarship and the young creatives programme, it is really remarkable, something you dont see in other shows. Some dont realise those programmes are available for students and young creatives across the whole region to enter  and that the Loeries now present each years two young creative winners with a $5,000 prize.Human says, No more Oh thats not for us, we cant enter-thinking. Id like to see young Kenyans and young Nigerians portfolios, and Id like to see more students being recognised so we can promote their talent across the whole region. Its an exciting area where well be placing more awareness this year.Human confirmed the Loeries will also be holding roadshows across Africa again this year, travelling from end-February, with the regional roadshows taking place in March.
It is no secret that we all have concerns about South Africa's economy and the future. With crime, corruption, political uncertainty and even a lack of water in some places playing a huge role, as well as dismal employment figures, higher costs of living and the inevitable fallout of these, moods are generally grim.

 dmytro iakhiia via 123RF.com

The risks are significant

Africa is attractive to foreigners

Tough times breed great leaders

Many of the issues facing businesses in SA today are out of the control of business owners. Even so, running a business still has many advantages along, of course, with the stress and responsibilities it brings. And leaders of all firms, no matter the size, have a duty to continue to protect and grow their businesses to in turn work towards a better South African economy.What offers a potential solution? It might seem contradictory to suggest expansion after mentioning the many concerns above but when the economy in your own market is not fruitful nor performing well you have to look 5 to 10 years ahead to see what will potentially bring success  and looking overseas could very well be the answer.There are currently many industries that would do well to look abroad, for example, in Cape Town alone there are some well-placed firms, particularly in the technology space. Consider Silicon Cape  it is extremely attractive with immense opportunity and so much to offer. Some firms are involved in very exciting projects and overseas expansion would allow these firms to attain far greater goals than the more limited success they will enjoy here.The risks are significant, of course. You have to really know and understand the market you are entering as companies that truly have their finger on the pulse will be the ones with a competitive advantage.To start off, companies need to re-evaluate their business offering and build bulletproof relationships with the customers they currently have. And then adequate preparation and research need to be done to find appropriate opportunities overseas. Consider where your product or service will work. For example, if you look at mainland Europe, post-Brexit will offer a host of opportunities for start-ups. However, at the end of the day, the most important consideration is people. You can have the best product or service but if you dont have the right people, whether locally or internationally, you will not succeed.Consider whether to employ new people internationally or potentially transfer key employees looking for an exciting opportunity. The advantage to this is they already know and understand your business and will aid in keeping uniformity across countries which is, of course, important. Regardless of the size of your company, if someone likes working with you, they will want to work with you anywhere in the world and might very well welcome the exciting opportunity of broadening their experience.However, if you consider expanding into other African countries, for example, there are distinct advantages to employing locals in your new office. Africa does business in its own way with each individual country being unique and having its own requirements and understanding. Having someone who knows the way business is done and who enables you to hit the ground running as soon as possible is invaluable.Africa, as we know, is very attractive to foreigners  take one sector, the legal industry, and in the last 5 years alone there has been an influx of foreign law firms establishing offices on the continent while using South Africa as a gateway. Why should we sit back and let others move in here? Why not start thinking about how we can have an impact on their home markets?Expanding into the rest of Africa makes sense for many businesses here too who already have the competitive edge of being established in SA and who now should consider more of the continent.In challenging times businesses tend to retract and refrain from investing in their future. Instead, they should consider expansion and the international opportunities available to them.By not having all eggs in 1 basket, firms are able to spread the risk. And with the right preparation, courage to expand, having the appropriate people in place and of course much hard work and commitment, success is possible. Just because your home market is starting to become saturated, why cant your product or service work well overseas?At the end of the day, expansion not only helps individual firms but the South African economy as a whole too. By succeeding internationally, it helps local offices and brings a further spotlight onto SA and the potential opportunities for international trade and investment. Not to mention an increase in tourism. This can lead to more direct foreign investment, which means more jobs and opportunities and potentially an easing of our challenging economy.Tough times breed great leaders  step up, fight for the future and your people, and prepare for what lies ahead. Considering expansion outside of SA means an undeniably exciting challenge with potential business growth and success which will help you locally while flying the flag! We all know that South Africa is open for business, but if no one is buying, its time you spread your wings and start thinking globally.
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An internet imagery.

KOLKATA (PTI): Indian Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat on Thursday reviewed operational preparedness of the force at the Eastern Command Headquarters in Kolkata, a defence official said.



Gen Rawat, on a day-long visit to the headquarter at Fort William, interacted with senior officers and reviewed their operational preparedness in view of the security situation in the eastern theatre, which witnessed a 73-day military standoff with China after its troops tried to build a road in Dokalam area claimed by Indian ally Bhutan.



India feared the road, close to the "Chicken's Neck" corridor, would allow China to potentially cut off India's access to its northeastern states.



The standoff began in June and ended on August 28 after Chinese troops agreed to stop building the road and both sides agreed on "expeditious disengagement" of personnel in Dokalam, according to the External Affairs Ministry.



Gen Rawat, who was received by Eastern Army Commander Lt Gen Abhay Krishna, complimented all ranks of the command for maintaining a high-level of operational preparedness, Defence spokesman Wing Commander S S Birdi said.



In December, Gen Rawat had visited three northeastern states - Nagaland, Manipur and Assam - to get a first-hand information about the security situation in the region.






NEW DELHI (PTI): Indian Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her Tajik counterpart Lieutenant General Sherali Mirzo on Thursday held extensive talks, exploring ways to deepen bilateral defence and strategic cooperation, besides delving into the regional security situation.



A range of issues of mutual interests as well as ways to boost defence and security cooperation were discussed in the meeting, officials said.



Tajikistan shares a 1,400 km-long porus border with Afghanistan and has immense geo-strategic significance for India which has been providing military assistance to it, including supply of helicopters as part of counter-terrorism cooperation.



India has also developed the Ayni airbase near the Tajik capital Dushanbe, which provided it a foothold in the Central Asian region.



The two countries have a joint working group on counter- terrorism and both sides have been making efforts to further broaden cooperation to contain the menace.



The diplomatic ties between the two countries also have witnessed steady progress in the last few years.



India had earlier also built a hospital in Farkhor in Tajikistan in the late 90s on the Tajik-Afghan border to treat the wounded Northern Alliance fighters battling against the then ruling Taliban regime.


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Goyal elected to National Academy of Engineering

Amit Goyal was elected to the National Academy of Engineering based on materials science advances and contributions enabling commercialization of high-temperature superconducting materials. Photo: Douglas Levere

By CORY NEALON

Amit Goyal, an internationally recognized materials scientist and director of UBs RENEW Institute, has been named a member of the National Academy of Engineering.

Election to the academy is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer. Goyal is one of 83 new members and 16 foreign members announced on Wednesday, bringing the academys total U.S. membership to 2,293 and the number of foreign members to 262.

NAE members include Nobel laureates, presidents and senior leaders of research universities, and recipients of the U.S. National Medal of Technology and Innovation, and the U.S. National Medal of Science.

Goyal, who was elected based on materials science advances and contributions enabling commercialization of high-temperature superconducting materials, arrived at UB in January 2015 as the founding director of RENEW, an interdisciplinary institute dedicated to research and education on globally pressing problems in energy, environment and water. He also holds the title of SUNY Empire Innovation Professor.

On behalf of the University at Buffalo, I would like to extend my congratulations to Professor Goyal on his election into the National Academy of Engineering. This well-deserved honor is in recognition of Professor Goyals seminal contributions to the field of material science. This honor is an inspiration to all who seek to push the boundaries of their respective fields to improve the well-being of humanity, said President Satish K. Tripathi.

Goyals research has had a profound impact on the field of high-temperature superconductivity, both in fundamental materials science and in the transition of scientific discoveries from the laboratory to the marketplace. In 2014, he was elected to the National Academy of Inventors.

Dr. Goyal is an internationally recognized materials scientist and energy researcher whose leadership has placed the University at Buffalo at the forefront of the worlds efforts to find innovative solutions to some of the worlds most serious problems associated with sustainability, climate change and natural resources. This is certainly a well-deserved honor, said Charles F. Zukoski, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs.

Goyal has authored or co-authored more than 350 technical publications, including 45 invited book chapters and papers, and has co-edited six books. He has given more than 25 plenary and keynote talks, and more than 180 invited presentations at national and international conferences. He has 87 issued patents comprising 70 U.S. and 17 international patents, and more than 20 patents pending. He was the most cited author worldwide in the field of high-temperature superconductivity from 1999-2009.

He has received numerous national and international accolades, including the U.S. Department of Energys Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award in the inaugural category of energy science and innovation. The energy secretary bestows the award on behalf of the president of the United States. Goyal was named R&D Magazines Innovator of the Year in 2010 and received the 2012 World Technology Award in the category of materials.

Venu Govindaraju, vice president for research and economic development at UB, praised Goyals election to the academy, noting it is among the most prestigious honors awarded to an engineer.

This is a tremendous honor both to Dr. Goyal and the University at Buffalo. The research programs that he is leading in the RENEW Institute  including efforts to reduce water and air pollution, as well as find innovative and clean ways to produce and store energy  will have a profound impact, both locally and globally, Govindaraju said.

Goyals other key honors include: Ten R&D 100 Awards (in 2017, 2016, 2013, 2012, 2011, two in 2010, 2009, 2007, 1999), which are widely regarded as the Oscars of innovation; three national Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC) awards for technology transfer; 2010 Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Indian Institute of Technology; the 2008 Nano50TM Innovator Award; the 2007 Pride of India Gold Award; University of Rochesters Distinguished Scholar Medal in 2007; the U.S. Department of Energy Exceptional Accomplishment Award in 2005; the UT-Battelle Inventor-of-the-Year Awards in 2005 and 1999; the 2005 Global Indus Technovator Award; in 2001 the Energy-100 Award for the finest 100 scientific accomplishments of the U.S. Department of Energy since it was formed in 1977; the Massachusetts Institute of Technologys Technical Review TR100 Award; and the Lockheed-Martin NOVA Award for technical achievement in 1999.

He is an elected fellow of eight, diverse professional societies: the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Materials Research Society, the American Physical Society, the World Innovation Foundation, the American Society of Metals, the Institute of Physics, the American Ceramic Society and the World Technology Network.

The RENEW (Research and Education in eNergy, Environment and Water) Institute harnesses the expertise of more than 100 faculty in seven UB schools and colleges in this interdisciplinary effort, involving the faculties of the School of Architecture and Planning, College of Arts and Sciences, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, School of Law, School of Management, School of Public Health and Health Professions, and the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

The institutes research thrusts address a variety of issues, such as energy diversification; freshwater protection and restoration; ecosystem science, engineering and policy; societal adaptation to changing environments and the green economy; public health; and environmental management and governance.

Dr. Goyals outstanding record of interdisciplinary research and collaboration exemplifies how UB is tackling societys toughest challenges and carrying out transformative educational, research and community engagement activities, said Liesl Folks, dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

Goyal came to UB from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where he was a corporate fellow and distinguished scientist cited for pioneering research in the field of high-temperature superconductors, including fundamental materials science advances and technical innovations that enable commercialization.

He was a Battelle Distinguished Inventor at UT-Battelle, the organization that administers the laboratory, and he was chair of the laboratorys corporate fellows council, which advises laboratory management on scientific and technological issues and opportunities. He is presently an emeritus corporate fellow and Battelle Distinguished Inventor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory/UT-Battelle.

Additionally, Goyal is founder and president of TapeSolar Inc., a private-equity funded solar photovoltaics company, and TexMat, an intellectual property holding and consulting company.

He received a PhD in materials science and engineering from the University of Rochester in 1991, a masters of science in mechanical and aerospace engineering from the University of Rochester in 1988 and a bachelor of technology in metallurgical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India, in 1986.

He also received an executive MBA from Purdue University and an international executive MBA from Tilburg University in The Netherlands, as well as executive business training from MITs Sloan School of Management.
A new campaign group has been launched this week in a bid to save Highbridge Library from possible closure.

Over 20 library staff, users and supporters attended a protest meeting at Highbridge Social Club last night (Thursday) where the new group was formally started.

Local Lib Dems and members of the North West Somerset Branch of the Labour Party and Bridgwater and District Trades Union Council led the meeting but they emphasized that politics would be set aside to jointly oppose Somerset County Council plans threatening Highbridge Library.

As first reported by Burnham-On-Sea.com, Somerset County Council says Highbridge Library could close under its cost-cutting proposals unless local volunteers are found to keep it open. The council says the cutbacks are expected to deliver between 300,000 and 520,000 of annual savings across Somerset.

Highbridge Library user Jo Osmond received loud applause at Thursdays meeting when she spoke out passionately against the plans.

We cant lose our library  this really is so important. We must stick together on this, she said.

Another Highbridge Library user, Debbie Richardson, added: I am one of the 288 regular users of the library and I make a deliberate point in using it  its a wonderful facility. She went on to suggest that more should be done to encourage children into libraries, particularly during holiday periods.

Alistair Gordon from Watchfield, on the outskirts of Highbridge, added: Its important to remember that the library serves the surrounding fringe parishes too.

Cllr Phil Harvey told the meeting: The savings to County in closing Highbridge Library would be minimal  the staff costs are 8,000, the premises costs are 8,000 and the overall net figure is about 8,300. It could be in the realms of qualifying for grant funding.

John Fones added: Libraries are places where people can find sanctuary, access to resources like the internet, information and books. While library usage is low in Somerset, the opening hours restrict access and we need to be piling resources into Highbridge.

Those present voted unanimously to set up a campaign group, called Save Higbridge Library, and to engage with all civic persons, including MPs, councillors, Somerset County Council at meetings. The group will meet weekly in the town and will proceed with a high-profile publicity campaign aimed at saving the library from closure.

Dave Chapple, Secretary of Bridgwater Trades Union Council, who chaired the meeting, said: The local campaign group will maximise the pressure on Somerset County Council to ensure Highbridge Library remains open as a professional and directly staffed facility.

He adds: It is vital that this campaign is as broadly-based as possible. We want everyone in Highbridge who cares about their library service, regardless of political affiliation, to take part.

Highbridge resident Helen Groves added during Thursdays meeting: Highbridge is a special case. 64% of households in Highbridge have no permanent internet access which is available at the library. 85% of Highbridges population are either children, working age, or semi-retired so cannot access library during limited opening hours.

Somerset County Council under-invests in Highbridge, several schools have been

in Special Measures and early reading has a huge impact on life chances. Highbridge is the third most deprived ward in Somerset and the 20th in the whole UK, so having a library is vital. Furthermore, many Highbridge residents are on low incomes, and the cost of buying books (about 7-9 per book) is often prohibitive.

Somerset County Council says that Highbridge Library has a catchment population of 6,786 people, but it has just 288 active borrowers, and an annual footfall of 3,786 people.

But Tony Curzons queried during the meeting whether the restrictive opening hours at Highbridge Library could be widened to help it. If the hours were changed to suit when the population could use it, such as evenings and Saturdays, would that improve the usage?

The County Councils proposals and questionnaire are available online during the consultation until April 22nd at www.somerset.gov.uk/librariesconsultation. Burnham-On-Sea.com
Dear Reader,

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.

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Guenter Butschek, managing director and chief executive officer at Tata Motors, who completes two years in office next week, has been firing on all cylinders to get the Tata group flagship back on track. At the ongoing Auto Expo, the Tata Motors pavilion, with its concepts and production-ready models, has been a crowd puller.

Butschek tells Shally Seth Mohile and Ajay Modi it is the just the beginning. Edited excerpts: You are completing two years in office. How has the journey been so far? Or do you have any regrets? After Wednesdays overwhelming response at the Auto Expo, my ...
Shares in Fortis Healthcare Ltd jumped as much as 24 per cent on Friday after main shareholders Malvinder Mohan Singh and Shivinder Mohan Singh resigned from the board saying it was in the interests of the company because of legal troubles they were facing. In their resignation letter, the billionaire brothers cited a Delhi High Court verdict last week that upheld a 2016 order by a Singapore tribunal asking the brothers to pay damages worth Rs 25.63 billion ($398.34 million) to Japan's Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd. The letter was released as an exchange filing by Fortis late on ...
Photo of prisoner Naveed who escaped after firing at police protection party at Shri Maharaja Hari Singh hospital in Srinagar. ANI

The firing between militants and police at a Srinagar hospital and the escape of a Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist was a carefully planned operation by the terrorist organisation. Naveed Jutt escaped from SMHS hospital on February 6 after two Lashkar militants opened fire at the two policemen who were accompanying him to hospital for a medical check up.

Two critically injured policemen succumbed to their wounds and the third one remained unheard. The arrest of five men involved in the firing followed swiftly by following the CCTV footage shot in the hospital parking lot. Three of them are LeT terrorists.

The conspiracy to free dreaded Pakistani terrorist Naveed Jutt from police custody was hatched four months ago but did not succeed in the first attempt, said Additional Director General of Police Munir Ahmad Khan, who also holds a charge as IGP Kashmir.

The police officer was referring to a photograph of Saddam Padder and Naveed Jutt which has surfaced after his escape from police custody at a hospital following a militant attack in which two cops escorting the Pakistani terrorist were killed.

The police arrested two militants and two overground workers for their alleged involvement in the conspiracy that led to Naveed Jutt's escape. The arrested persons were identified as Shakeel Ahmad Bhat and Tika Khan while the OGWs were Syed Tajamul and Mohammad Shafi Wani.

The elimination of Lashkar-e-Toiba's (LeT) top leadership by security forces may have been a factor behind the outfit's desperate but successful bid to free Pakistani terrorist Naveed Jutt alias Abu Hanzala from police custody, said a top police official.

He also said the police exercised restraint at the time of the attack at the Sri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital as hitting back at the assailants could have led to civilian casualties. Khan said that scientific evidence led the special investigation team of the police, constituted after the attack, to the involvement of five persons of which four have been arrested.

"The LeT leadership was finished (in encounters). Earlier (Abu) Qasim, then (Abu) Dujana and (Abu) Ismail also. Lashkar had not designated its new commander for Kashmir. Maybe that is why they were so desperate to get Naveed freed," Khan told reporters.

All the militant outfits in Kashmir were operating in unison and there is no difference among them, he said.

"You have seen the photograph of Naveed after his escape and he has gone to a Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist (Saddam Padder). This vindicates my point that they are working together," he said.

The fifth - Hilal Ahmad Rather is at large, he said. One pistol each has been recovered from Shakeel Bhat and Tika Khan, he said.

Giving details of the February 6 incident at the SMHS hospital, Khan said that Hilal Rather, taking advantage of the heavy rush of patients and attendants in the casualty section, passed on a pistol to Naveed Jutt and both fired on the policemen who were escorting the terrorist.

Rather and Bhat had brought a car and a motorcycle as their means of getaway, he said. They preferred the motorcycle after the incident, he added.

"From the hospital, Naveed was dropped on the other side of Abdullah bridge (Rajbagh) and kept at a place and taken to Kakapora in Pulwama district later in the day. We have identified the place but we are not revealing it so as not to hamper the investigation," he said.

"The initial plan was to take him from Pulwama court but they did not succeed. They formed the second plan, and as part of it Hilal and Tika Khan visited the central jail several times on one pretext or the other," he said.

The ADGP said Naveed Jutt and his facilitators were in touch with each other through mobile phones.

"We have seized the mobile phones and are analyzing the data," he said.

Asked why police did not react on the spot when the firing took place, Khan said it could have led to civilian deaths.

"We are not terrorists. For them three or four civilian deaths at that time would not matter because they are terrorists," he said.

The officer said while the militants might have succeeded in their plan but the security grid will get them. "It took them four months to plan this and we got them in one day," he said.
China on Friday said it is in touch with India to discuss a way to resolve the political turmoil gripping the Maldives and underlined that Beijing doesn't want the issue to become another "flashpoint".

While China officially continues to maintain that there should not be any external interference specially in the light of reports of India's special forces ready for deployment, Beijing is also in touch with New Delhi to resolve the crisis, Chinese official sources said.

China doesn't want Maldives to become another "flash point", the sources told PTI here on Friday.

The stand-off between India and China in the Dokalam area and Beijing's opposition to declaring Pakistan-based Masood Azhar as a global terrorist at the UN had been major irritants in bilateral ties in the past.

Answering a spate of questions on the Maldives, including today's telephonic conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump, in which the situation in the Maldives figured prominently, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said international community should respect sovereignty and independence of the Maldives.

"The current situation in the Maldives is its internal affairs. It should be properly resolved through dialogue and consultations by all relevant parties," he said.

Maldives President Abdulla Yameen sent his Economic Development Minister Mohamed Saeed to China but India said it did not find the dates "suitable" for the visit of Maldives' foreign minister as special envoy to New Delhi.

The UN Security Council too met to discuss the Maldives situation. Ahead of the meeting, UN Assistant Secretary- General Miroslav Jenca reported to have informed the top UN body that while there were no reports of violent clashes, "the situation in the Maldives is tense and may deteriorate even further".

Geng, while replying to a question on reports that Indian Special Forces were ready for deployment in the Maldives to evacuate Indians, said "non-interference in other countries is an important principle of international relations".

"The international community should respect the will of the Maldives and play a constructive role in the stability and development of Maldives instead of doing the opposite," he said.

He said Saeed in his meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has introduced the current situation in the Maldives and said that the government is committed to uphold the rule of law and social order independently resolving the current issue and achieving stability and development.

"The Maldives has the ability to protect the security of the Chinese personnel and the institutions," Saeed told Wang.

For his part, Wang said China is closely following the situation in the Maldives and believe that the government and people there have the ability to properly resolve the current issue and restore the normal order in the country in accordance with law, Geng said.

"China will not interfere in the internal affairs of the Maldives. This is also an important principle enshrined by UN charter. We support the Maldives government to properly resolve issues through dialogue and consultations with relevant parties and uphold independence, sovereignty and legitimate rights and interests of Maldives," Wang told Saeed according to Geng.

"China has offered self-less assistance to Maldives" for its social development, Wang said adding that the cooperation benefits all the peoples in Maldives.

However, it is not yet clear what is the takeaway from Saeed's China visit.

Asked how the Maldives can resolve the problem independently and unilaterally when top judges and leaders have been locked up by Yameen government, Geng retorted saying that "I think you should raise this question to Maldives government. How will they resolve their internal affairs (problems) you should ask them".

"I want to emphasise that China believes that the Maldives and people have the wisdom and capability to properly resolve the current issue faced them," he said



To another question whether Saeed sought China's help to tide over the crisis, Geng said.

"I can tell you that diplomatic channels between the two countries is smooth. China and the Maldives maintain normal and friendly exchanges," he said



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.
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday slammed the Congress for "manufacturing" corruption charges against the government in questioning the deal to purchase Rafale fighter jets from France.

In his reply to the debate on the Budget, which was cut short by protests and ruckus, he said the Congress was trying to manufacture a scam in Rafale fighter jet purchase because it could not find corruption case in the Narendra Modi government's tenure so far.

"The UPA government was stigmatised because of corruption. In this government, because they could not find any corruption cases, they manufactured one," Jaitley said.

He also cited a number of written replies to Parliament by Defence Ministers of the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) governments, where they had refused to quote the price in defence deals citing security concerns.

"When you give details of a defence transaction, you give the details and capacity of the weapon system, which you don't want to inform the enemy (about). At least 15 previous RMs including Pranab Mukherjee and A.K. Antony have refused to give details of armament purchases," he said.

This was countered by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who said the opposition did not want any details that would compromise security and the government can just reveal the price of purchase.

Jaitley however said that a breakup of the price may reveal details of the missiles and equipment that are in the deal. He also questioned if Congress President Rahul Gandhi was on the same page as Tharoor, prompting protests from opposition benches.

"Breakup of cost will tell what weapon systems are there in the deal. These security pacts are inherent part of these defence contracts.

"Secrecy is an inherent part of any deal. Congress is compromising security by asking for details which should not be made public, that is, known to the enemy," the Minister added.

Jaitley's reply was cut short by protests by Congress MPs and other opposition members, and the House was adjourned.

Gandhi then took to Twitter and said Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said in November 2017 that she will reveal the price of the Rafale planes, but held in February 2018 that it was a "state secret".



Congress has alleged that there are irregularities in the deal for buying 36 Rafale fighter jets off-shelf from France, signed between the Indian and French governments. It claimed that the fighter jets are being bought from France at a price higher than what was negotiated in the previous multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) deal under which 126 fighter jets were to be bought, and included a number of fighters being assembled in India.

On Wednesday, the government issued a statement calling Congress' charges "unfounded", and reiterated that all due procedures have been followed in the deal, which was done to meet the urgent requirement of fighter jets for the Indian Air Force (IAF).
An officer, who was taken into custody by the counter intelligence wing of the force for alleged involvement in espionage and leaking classified documents, has been charged under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) and handed over to the police, sources said. They said, Group Captain Arun Marwah posted at the IAF headquarters here, was handed over to Delhi Police on Wednesday after nearly 10 days of questioning by the counter- intelligence wing of the force. "The Delhi Police will now carry forward the probe. The officer has been slapped charges under Official Secrets Act," said a source. The officer was allegedly leaking classified documents to a woman through WhatsApp. Sources said he had befriended the woman through a social media website. The investigators from IAF's counterintelligence wing were also probing whether he was part of a larger espionage ring being run from Pakistan, the sources said.

According to multiple media reports, Marwah was honey-trapped by the ISI through Facebook accounts in mid-December.

ISI operatives were impersonating as models through these profiles. Marwah was lured through seductive conversations for a week or so, after which he was persuaded to share information pertaining to IAF exercises.

Marwah has been sent to five days' police custody and is being interrogated by the authorities.

Marwaha's phone has been confiscated and sent for forensic examination.

Reports stated that he has admitted to having had access to many secret documents and plans due to his posting at the air headquarters.

The officer was indulging in certain "unwanted activities" through unauthorised electronic devices which is against existing orders, sources had said.The IAF officially did not comment on the matter.Punishment under Official Secrets Act entails a jail term of up to seven years.
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has never had a pre-poll alliance with another political party ever since Mayawati succeeded Kanshi Ram as the party chief in 2003. That is set to change during the Karnataka assembly polls in April-May, and could be a precursor to the BSP willing to have an alliance with other parties in Uttar Pradesh for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. On Thursday, Janata Dal (Secular) and BSP announced a pre-poll alliance of the two parties for the Karnataka assembly polls.

Dear Reader,

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.

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Opposition MPs on Friday petitioned President Ram Nath Kovind for a court-monitored SIT probe into the death of CBI judge B H Loya and said they have no faith in either the CBI or the NIA.

MPs from several political parties, including the Congress, the Trinamool Congress and the DMK, met the president today and presented him a memorandum with the demand.

"To uphold the majesty of law, we request you to intervene in the matter. What is required is a thorough investigation through a team of independent officers selected and monitored by the Supreme Court," the memorandum stated.

It has been signed by 114 MPs from 15 parties, including the TMC, SP, NCP, DMK, RJD and AAP as well as the Left parties. The BSP is not a signatory to the letter.

The investigation should not be entrusted to either the Central Bureau of Investigation or the Investigation Agency, given their track record, the MPs said.

"Such a procedure will ensure the credibility of the institution in the eyes of the public. We sincerely hope you will use your good offices to serve the cause of justice," they told the president.

Rahul Gandhi, who led the opposition charge, said a large number of MPs felt that there is something suspicious in the death of Loya and two more that took place thereafter.

"A large number of MPs feel suspicious and uneasy over the death of judge Loya and two others. They wanted an independent probe and did not want the investigation to hbe handed over to the CBI," Gandhi said after the meeting.

He said the president gave a positive response and has assured them that he would look into the matter.

Loya, who was hearing the sensitive Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case, died of a 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.
The concept for this film, Padman, is credited to Twinkle Khanna for the story that is based on the short tale in her book, "The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad". This story has been inspired by the life of Arunchalam Muruganantham a social activist from Tamil Nadu who revolutionized the concept of personal hygiene during the menstrual cycle in rural India by creating low-cost sanitary pads.

Incidentally, the film also shares the same premise as that of Phullu which was released in June 2017.

Set in rural Madhya Pradesh, Lakshmikant Chouhan (Akshay Kumar) a mechanic by profession and a loving and devoted husband to Gayatri (Radhika Apte) ensures that his wife leads a comfortable life by introducing small inventions to enhance her daily life.

But when he learns about the stigma and taboos that surround menstruation and the unhygienic methods used by women during this period, he is pained. So he embarks on a mission to make affordable sanitary pads. How he succeeds in his endeavour, forms the crux of the tale.

Lakshmikant's story is truly inspirational and writer-Director R Balki leaves no stone unturned to magnify it for the large screen. Narrated in a linear manner and laced with light-humour, stellar performances and statistics-filled dialogues, this film conveys the strong message with ease and is entertaining from word go.

But the graph of the story is flat and the plot, laden with deus-ex-machinas and certain elements truly stretched a la Bollywood style especially Lakshmikant's invention and his speech at the UN, truly makes the film, "filmi". It loses the charm of a realistic, biographical film.

Akshay Kumar's portrayal of Lakshmikant Chouhan is sincere. He delivers on every front and is the soul of the film. You are with him during his struggle and obsession. He is aptly supported by Radhika Apte as his wife Gayatri. She is every inch the submissive, rural lady struggling to survive within societal norms. Their on-screen chemistry is palpable.

Sonam Kapoor as Pari the city-bred, tabla maestro and a freshly minted MBA, is a misfit and strictly mediocre. She walks through her role and what makes her further unacceptable is the frivolous demeanour that she is forced to portray.

On the technical front, the film has all the trappings of an A-lister.

Cinematographer P C Sreeram's camera work is definitely commendable.

He captures the locales in all its glory.

Amit Trivedi's music is effective and it does elevate the viewing experience. The songs; "Aaj Se Teri" has interesting lyrics and "Ladki Sayani ho gayi" that celebrates womanhood is well-choreographed. The other two songs don't register at all.

Overall, though entertaining, is like a long-drawn public-service film that's worth your ticket money.
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.
The Supreme Court said on Thursday that the politically sensitive Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid case was purely a "land dispute" and will be dealt with in normal course.

As the apex court commenced its final hearings on the Ayodhya dispute, there were heated exchanges between two senior advocates appearing for different parties after one of them suggested they should exchange the synopsis of their likely arguments.

The court during the course of an hour-long hearing also clarified that it was first inclined to hear those who were parties to the dispute in the Allahabad High Court.

It further said those who have tried to wade into the matter before it and seeking impleadment as parties will have to wait as the case before it was a "pure land dispute".

A special bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra was hearing the civil appeals, arising out of 2010 verdict of the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court, which in a 2:1 majority ruling, had ordered that the disputed land be partitioned equally among three parties -- the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla. The bench also comprised Justices Ashok Bhushan and S A Nazeer.

During the hearing, senior advocate C S Vaidyanathan, representing the deity Ram Lalla Virajman suggested that opposite parties should give synopsis of their line of arguments to the court and exchange with them.

This argument of Vaidyanathan made senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan appearing for one of the original parties raise his voice and say that respondents (UP government and Hindu bodies) can't dictate on what propositions he would argue.

"Why should I tell you what will be my arguments. You cannot dictate me. I will argue the way I like. If you want to hear my proposition then I must say Mr. Vaidyanathan you are wrong. You all are wrong. This is my proposition," Dhavan said.

To this, the bench intervened and said that "The same arguments can be made by them for you Dr. Dhavan".

Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appearing for Uttar Pradesh government intervened and said "This kind of hyperbole should be avoided".

At the fag end of hearing, the bench said that there was no point for Dhavan to get angry as the court had not asked for synopsis from anybody.

Giving the heated exchange between Dhavan and Vaidyanathan, a poetic colour, the CJI said, "We do not ask for propositions which lead to assumptions, leading to presumptions, leading to untruth, leading to folly, leading to danger, leading to guilt, which can kill a man".

Dhavan said that he is not guilty of all that.

The CJI replied and said that "Mr. Vaidyanathan did not ask for propositions from you".

The court in its order asked the original parties of the title suits to file English translation of the documents exhibited by them in the court.

The bench also expressed its reservation on hearing the matter on day-to-day basis and said, once the matter will start it will go on in normal course.

"Over 700 poor litigants (in other cases) are waiting for justice, we have to hear them also. Devoting one-and-half hour every day will help in disposing of these cases," the bench said.

When some lawyers including senior advocate Chirag Uday Singh raised the issue of impleading certain individuals including film director Shyam Benegal and writer Kiran Nagarkar as parties, the bench said the case was a "pure land dispute" in which appeals and cross-appeals have been filed.

The bench, however, said that the intervention of Benegal and others would be decided at later stage. However, the counsel for Muslim Organisations, Hindu bodies and the Uttar Pradesh government together made the statement that "no unconnected individuals be allowed to intervene".

On being informed by parties that pleadings were almost complete, the bench asked them to file within two weeks the English translations of documents, exhibits and excerpts from vernacular books, which have been used in the high court.

Mehta said that the "appeals were ripe for the hearing" and over 524 exhibits have already been filed.

Out of 524, 504 are exhibited documents and 20 are books like Ramayana, Ramcharitmanas and Shrimad Bhagwad Gita, he said adding the testimonies of 87 witnesses, examined in the high court and the report of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) have also been filed.

The top court asked its registry to provide copies of the video cassettes, which were part of high court records, to parties of the case on actual cost.

Senior advocate K Prasaran appearing for one of the Hindu bodies, "What kind of evidence will they (appellants) bring from 30,000 years ago. The incident relates to the Treta Yuga".

He said that court should confine themselves to the evidence on record.
BJP chief on Friday described Congress President Rahul Gandhi's style of politics in Parliament as "undemocratic" after the opposition party created a ruckus during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech.

Shah's comments came at a meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party Parliamentary Party here, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar told reporters. The meeting was attended by Modi too.

Slamming the Congress for disturbing Parliament over the Rafale jets deal with France, Shah explained the main points about the agreement. "But will it be good for the nation to discuss details of each and every component?"

Shah also praised the Union Budget 2018, saying it was meant to benefit the farmers and the middle class.
The Supreme Court will hear on Friday the plea filed by three petitioners seeking a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe in the alleged mysterious death of Special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Judge B H Loya.

A bench, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra, will hear the petitions.

The top court had asked the Maharashtra government, earlier in the month, to submit the postmortem report of the CBI judge, who had died in alleged suspicious circumstances in 2014, citing that the "matter was very serious."

According to reports, Maharashtra-based journalist Lone and activist Tehseen Poonavala had filed independent pleas seeking a fair probe into the death of Justice Loya, who was hearing the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case, involving various police officers and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah.

In a press conference held on January 12, Justices Madan B. Lokur, Kurien Joseph, Ranjan Gogoi and Jasti Chelameswar questioned the conduct of the CJI, alleging that selective Benches were being appointed to preside over certain cases in the apex court.

Justice Loya's death is one among the certain cases hinted by the four judges.
The development doesnt portend well for the parliamentary democracy in Bangladesh, but no tears are being shed in New Delhi for former Bangladesh prime minister Khaleda Zia, who was sentenced to five years in jail for corruption on Thursday. Zia heads the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which along with Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League, has dominated the Bangladeshi politics in what is popularly termed the battle of the Begums.

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The Narendra Modi government is currently experiencing a near-perfect storm of domestic and foreign policy setbacks. The ruling BJP has been drubbed in recent parliamentary bypolls in Rajasthan after an underwhelming result in Gujarat elections.

The economy continues to struggle with the effects of demonetisation and GST, global fuel prices are high, the stock market is wobbly, the Union budget disappointed even BJPs supporters and remarks by Modi that making pakodas (fritters) constituted gainful employment for citizens has become a source of mirth and anger. The foreign ...

Disclaimer: Views expressed are personal. They do not reflect the view/s of Business Standard.
This will be his fifth visit to the Gulf and the West Asian region since 2015 in what has undoubtedly been a key geography for the current government with regards to investments and a growing export destination. Historic trip to Palestine The most talked about leg of the Prime Minister's trip is to a nation r where India doesn't even keep official trade ...

Dear Reader,

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.

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US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have expressed concern about the political situation in over a phone call, as they also discussed the situation in Afghanistan and enhancing security in Indo-Pacific region, the White House said.

"Both leaders expressed concern about the political crisis in and the importance of respect for democratic institutions and rule of law," the White House said in a readout of the phone call between Trump and Modi, the first in this year.

plunged into a political chaos on last Thursday when the apex court ordered the release of nine imprisoned opposition politicians, maintaining that their trials were "politically motivated and flawed".

The Yameen government has refused to implement the ruling, prompting a wave of protests in Maldives capital, Male.

Maldives' Supreme Court Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and another judge, Ali Hameed, were arrested hours after Yameen declared a state of emergency.

The White House said the two leaders also pledged to continue working together to enhance security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.

"Affirming President Trump's South Asia strategy, they reiterated their commitment to supporting Afghanistan's security and stability," the White House said.

Modi and Trump also exchanged views on Myanmar and ways to address the plight of the Rohingya refugees.

As of now there are some 680,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh putting enormous pressure in the economy of Bangladesh.

Recently Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed on a roadmap of return of these refugees to their homes in Myanmar.

The US believes that this is not the right time for the return of Rohingya refugees.

According to the White House, during the call, Trump and Modi discussed further steps to ensure denuclearisation of North Korea.

"Finally, the leaders agreed to strengthen security and economic cooperation as they look forward to the '2+2' ministerial dialogue between their defence and diplomatic officials in April," the White House said.

The '2+2 dialogue' was announced after the White House meeting between Modi and Trump in June 2017.

The dialogue would involve External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman from India along with their American counterparts Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.
Admiral sunil lanba, chairman, chiefs of staff Committee and chief of the naval staff visits saudi arabia





Admiral Sunil Lanba, Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee and Chief of the Naval Staff visited Saudi Arabia on a bilateral visit from 04 to 08 February 2018. The visit was aimed at consolidating cooperation between the Armed Forces of both India and Saudi Arabia and also to explore new avenues of defence cooperation.

During his visit, the Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee and Chief of the Naval Staff held bilateral discussions with His Excellency Mohammad bin Abdullah Al-Aysesh, Deputy Defence Minister, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, His Excellency General Abdul Rahman bin Saleh Al-Bunyan, Chief of General Staff, Royal Saudi Armed Forces and Vice Admiral Fahd bin Abdulla Al-Ghofaily, Commander, Royal Saudi Naval Forces. He also interacted with the Commanders of the Royal Saudi Arabian Land Forces, Air Forces and Air Defence Forces.

In addition to holding important bilateral discussions, the Admiral visited the Naval Operations Centre, Naval Fire and Rescue School and Western Fleet at Jeddah where he was conducted around the operational facilities, which included a visit to HMS Dammam, an Al-Riyadh class frigate.

India has historical linkages with Saudi Arabia that date back several centuries. The two countries established formal diplomatic relations in 1947. The Defence relationship between India and Saudi Arabia has matured over the years, with the two countries signing a Memorandum of Understanding on Defence Cooperation in February 2014. The Defence Cooperation between the two countries is progressed through the Annual Joint Committee on Defence Cooperation (JCDC) Meeting. The last JCDC Meeting was conducted in New Delhi on 29 November 2017.

The Indian Navy cooperates with the Royal Saudi Naval Forces on many fronts, which includes training exchanges, Hydrographic cooperation and participation of the Saudi Navy in the annual Admirals Cup Sailing Regatta, conducted at the Indian Naval Academy at Ezhimala. Warships from Indian Navy have been regularly visiting ports in Saudi Arabia, with Indian Naval ships Mumbai, Trishul and Aditya making port call at Jeddah from 16 to 19 May 2017.

The Indian Army and Air Force also maintain healthy cooperation with the Royal Saudi Army and Air Force. Officers from the Royal Saudi Armed Forces undergo training at various Indian defence training institutes including National Defence Academy, Defence Services Staff College and National Defence College. In addition, officers from the Indian Army and Royal Saudi Army have participated as Observers in select exercises conducted by armies of both countries.
First Part of Budget Session, 2018 of Parliament concludes





The Budget Session, 2018 of Parliament commenced on Monday, 29th January, 2018 and subject to exigencies of government business, will be adjourned sine die on Wednesday, 6th April, 2018. Both the Houses of Parliament have adjourned today, 9th February, 2018 for recess for a period of 23 days and will reassemble on Monday, 5th March, 2018. During the recess, the Departmentally related Standing Committees will examine the Demands for Grants relating to various Ministries/Departments.

The first part of the Budget Session yielded a total of 7 sittings of Lok Sabha and 8 sittings of the Rajya Sabha. The productivity of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha in terms of utilization of time during the first part of Budget Session is 134.61% and 96.31% respectively.

The Budget Session, 2018 being the first Session of the year, President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, addressed the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament on 29th January, 2018. The Motion of Thanks on the President Address in Rajya Sabha was moved by Shri Amit Shah and seconded by Dr. Vinay P. Sahasrabuddhe and in Lok Sabha it was moved by Shri Rakesh Singh and seconded by Shri Prahlad Venkatesh Joshi. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi replied to the debate on the Motion of Thanks to President's Address in both the Houses. It was discussed and adopted by the two Houses during first part of the Session.

During the first part of the Session, the Union Budget for 2018-19 was presented on Thursday, the 1st February, 2018. General Discussion on the Budget was held in both the Houses. Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitleyreplied to the discussion on the Budget in both Houses.
International Conference on Unani Medicine to be inaugurated tomorrow





The Minister of State (IC) for Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region, MoS PMO, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Department of Atomic Energy and Space Dr. Jitendra Singh will inaugurate the two-day International conference on Unani Medicine on 10th February, 2018 at New Delhi. This year is special for Unani fraternity as it is the 150th Birth Anniversary of Hakim Ajmal Khan. To mark this day, the Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine (CCRUM), under the Ministry of AYUSH is organizing a two-day International Conference on Unani Medicine as part of celebration of Unani Day. The theme of the conference is Integration of Unani System of Medicine in main stream healthcare.

Various national level eminent personalities and stakeholders from academia, industry, regulators, and researchers in the field of Unani Medicine will participate in deliberations. Besides national delegates, countries like South Africa, UK, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, China, USA, Portugal, UAE, Slovenia, Israel, Hungary, Bahrain, Tajikistan, etc is also participating in the conference. The conference will cover issues related to globalization, research, standardization, quality control, safety assessment, and industry perspective. The conference is expected to provide a platform to academia, researchers, regulators, industry and students to develop visions, linkages and initiate projects which would help in promoting Unani system of medicine as one of the preferred systems of medicine across the globe. An exhibition showcasing Unani/herbal pharma sector, service providers, educational institutions, research organisations, also in the offing.

The Unani Day celebration will also include the bestowing awards to outstanding contributors in different fields of Unani Medicine i.e. literature, research, academic, life time achievement, etc. at 10.30 AM on 11th Feb, 2018 at A.P. Shinde Symposium Hall, NASC Complex, Pusa, New Delhi. A Pictorial Album on the memoirs of Hakim Ajmal Khan would also be released to commemorate his 150th birth anniversary. This function would be graced by eminent personalities including Padmashri Hakim Khaleefathullah, Joint Secretary, Ministry of AYUSH and Vice Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi among others.

The birthday of great Unani researcher Hakim Ajmal Khan i.e. 11th February is celebrated as Unani Day. Hakim Ajmal Khan was an eminent Indian Unani physician who was versatile genius, freedom fighter, educationist and founder of scientific research in Unani Medicine.
The Honble President of India and the Supreme Commander of Indian Armed Forces, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, has given consent to ward the prestigious Presidents Standard to 51 Squadron and Colours 230 Signal Unit of the Indian Air Force on 22 Mar 2018. The ceremony will be conducted at Air Force Station Halwara in Punjab, which is one of the premier airbases of the Indian Air Force. The standards and colours will be presented to the units by the Honble President in a special ceremonial parade. The President will also release a First day Cover of the recipient units to commemorate the historic event. 51 Squadron and 230 Signal Unit have been nominated for the awards of Standard and Colours for their exemplary dedication, thorough professionalism and extra ordinary contribution to the national security, both during war and peace. The parade will be accompanied by the Air Force band and the ceremony would culminate with a scintillating display by the Air Warrior Drill Team and aerobatic display.

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President of India addresses 56th convocation of Indian Agricultural Research Institute





The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, graced and addressed the 56th convocation of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) today (February 9, 2018).

Speaking on the occasion, the President said that IARI played a critical role in the Green Revolution that changed the course of food production in the country. He was happy to note that students from 14 countries are being educated in this institution. And that IARI is helping in the development of agricultural capacities and research in neighbouring countries.

The President said that Mahatma Gandhi had observed that agriculture is the backbone of the Indian economy. This is relevant even today. Enhancement of income of farmers and overall development in rural areas is the priority of the entire country. In this endeavour, students of IARI could contribute through innovations. He stated that there is a relative shortage of land and water resources, in proportion to our country's population. Therefore, there is a need to continuously innovate to increase productivity.

The President said that IARI should start 'Innovation Centres' or 'Incubation Centres' to help students to launch start-up ventures in the agricultural sector. There are several schemes of the Central and State Governments that offer special incentives to enterprises engaged in the agriculture sector. There are also many venture capital funds that can come forward to invest in agriculture-based enterprises. Students should use these opportunities, set up their ventures and become job creators.
President to Inaugurate Mega ADIP & Vayoshri Yojna Camp of M/O Social Justice & Empowerment at Gwalior on 11th February, 2018





A Mega Camp for Distribution of Aids and Assistive Devices to Divyangjan and Senior Citizens under ADIP & Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana will be organized by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India at Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh) on 11th February 2018. The camp will be held at Jiwaji University Ground, Gwalior where aids and assistive devices will be distributed to Divyangjan and Senior Citizens in the august presence of the President of India Shri Ram Nath Kovind. This will be the first ever Mega distribution camp to be graced by the President of India.

Smt. Anandiben Patel, Governor of Madhya Pradesh; Shri Shivraj Singh Chauhan, Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh; Shri Kaptan Singh Solanki, Governor of Haryana; Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot, Union Minister Social Justice & Empowerment and Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister of Rural Development Panchayti Raj & Mines will grace the occasion by their presence.

4271 number of pre identified beneficiaries, out of which 2436 Divyangjan under ADIP Scheme and 1835 Senior Citizens under Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana will be provided with 8108 aids and assistive devices in the Gwalior camp at a total cost of ?288.72 Lakhs.

Major aids and assistive devices to be distributed under ADIP Scheme are Motorized Tricycles- 119, Tricycles Conventional- 762 ,Wheelchairs-277, Crutches- 1236 ,Walking Sticks-327, Brail Cane -34, Brail kits -36, Brail Slate- 19, Hearing Aids- 742, Rolator- 38, Smart Cane- 127, Smart Phone- 50, ADL Kit -26, Cell Phone -26, Daisy Player -30, MSIED Kit- 268, Callipers -324 etc.

Under Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana, major aids and assistive devices to be distributed are Walking Sticks- 1089, Wheelchairs- 250, Hearing Aids- 773, Crutches- 14, Tripod -417, Tetrapod- 197, Walker Foldable- 03, Denture Complete- 45, Denture Partial- 40, Spectacles- 806 etc.

Gwalior district of Madhya Pradesh has taken an initiative to become the first Divyang Mitra district of the country. The objective is to facilitate Divyangjan of the district with their needs of day-to-day living and generate other avenues for their socio-economic development.

The camp is being conducted under the ADIP Scheme and Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana of Govt. of India. The ADIP scheme has been in operation since 1981 and has been revised with effect from 1st April 2017. The main objective of the scheme is to provide latest and modern aids and assistive devices to the Divyangjan to promote their physical, social and psychological rehabilitation and to enhance their economic potential. ALIMCO being the major implementing agency under the ADIP Scheme, conducts camps regularly across the country for distribution of aids and assistive devices to Divyangjan and Divyang Children With Special Needs (DCWSN) under the ADIP Scheme and ADIP-SSA (Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan) programme. Amongst these, the camps where number of beneficiaries is more than 1000 and the value of aids and assistive devices is more than Rs. 1 crore, are called Mega Camps. The Ministry has so far conducted 281 such Mega camps in the last 4 years and the current year. Two Mega Camps had recently been conducted on 3rd & 4th February, 2018 at Rampur and Gorakhpur (UP) respectively. The camp at Gwalior will be the 282nd Mega camp.

Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana was launched in the country in December 2016 for providing assistive living devices to Senior citizens belonging to BPL category. First distribution camp under the Yojana was held at Nellore (A.P) on 1st April 2017. ALIMCO is the sole implementing agency of Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana (RVY). During the last one year, 20 such camps have been conducted by ALIMCO and 29764 senior citizens have been provided assistive living devices under Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana. The camp at Gwalior will be the 21st camp.



With a view to maximize intended benefits to Divyangjan and Senior Citizens, AAPC-Jabalpur Unit ALIMCO has conducted assessment camps of Divyangjan and Senior Citizens residing in Gwalior district with the focus is to cover maximum population of such persons specially from distant rural areas. The assessments were conducted with full support from District Administration, Gwalior and Indian Red Cross Society, of Haryana & Madhya Pradesh States. The Assessment camps were conducted up to Block level at 11 locations in Gwalior district during the period 12th December, 2017 to 25th January, 2018 in which a total of 2436 beneficiaries (Divyangjan) have been registered for providing aids and assistive devices under the ADIP Scheme.

Concurrently, assessment camps for Senior Citizens belonging to BPL category were also conducted at 8 locations in Gwalior district from 23rd to 28th January, 2018 by deputing four teams of AAPC- Jabalpur unit of ALIMCO. A total Number of 1835 beneficiaries (Senior Citizens) have been identified in these camps for distribution of aids and assistive devices under Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana.
Union Home Minister to inaugurate Hunar Haat" on sunday



Hunar Haat" providing domestic and international exposure to master craftsmen": Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi





Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh will formally inaugurate Hunar Haat", on February 11, 2018 at Baba Khadak Singh Marg, Connaught Place, New Delhi. The theme of Hunar Haat" being organized by the Ministry of Minority Affairs is Development with Dignity".

While exquisite handicraft & handloom made by master artisans from across the country will be on display on the one hand, people will have a glimpse of the traditional Indian music at Hunar Haat" on the other hand. Hunar Haat" is being organised from February, 10-18, 2018 in New Delhi.

Union Minority Affairs Minister Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi today said that Hunar Haat", are being organised by the Minority Affairs Ministry to provide an opportunity, as well as domestic and international exposure to the master artisans from across the country. He added that Hunar Haat", being organised across the country have become a credible brand" to fulfil Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modis commitment to Make In India", Stand Up India" and Start Up India". Hunar Haat" have been proved to be an effective mission to provide market & opportunities to talent of master artisans and craftsmen from across the nation.

The Minister pointed out that during the last one year, Hunar Haat" have been successful in providing employment and employment opportunities to more than 3 lakh artisans and other people associated with them. Shri Naqvi said that 5 Hunar Haat" have been organised at International Trade Fair at Pragati Maidan (2016, 2017) and Baba Kharak Singh Marg (2017) at New Delhi; Puducherry (2017) and Mumbai (2017).

He also stated that Hunar Haat" has become a hit, as lakhs of people visit the Haat" and encourage master artisans and culinary experts. The visitors purchase handmade products made by these artisans on a large scale. These craftsmen also receive large scale orders from domestic, as well as international markets.

The Minister pointed out that at the 6th Hunar Haat" at Baba Khadak Singh Marg, hundreds of artisans from 22 States/UTs from across the country, representing Minority Communities, are participating. A large number culinary experts from 12 States will also participate in Hunar Haat". These artisans and culinary experts include a large number of women. Ghazals, Qawwalis, and other musical programmes will also be held at Hunar Haat" daily by renowned artists of the country at Baba Khadak Singh Marg", Shri Naqvi said.

Exquisite pieces of handicraft & handloom work like ajrakh, bagh, bandhej, bangles, Batik, black stone pottery, calligraphy in wood, candles & flowers, cane& bamboo, ceramic products, Chanderi silk, Chikankari, carpet, Giza & mataka silk, glassware, golden grass products, ikat, Muradabadi and Madrasi brass work, Jaipuri jooti, Kuchh embroidery, Kalamkari, Kantha, Kashmir art, linen dress materials, maheshwari products, marble crafts, metalware, mooja grass, mud mirror work, Muttvakuchh embroidery, namda, parsigara embroidery, pen knife, phool patti work, Rogan art, Shantipuri saree, terracotta products, toran bandhandwars, Varanasi silk sarees, wood inlay, wrought iron products & zari begs to name a few will be available for display and sale at this Hunar Haat".

Besides, people visiting the Haat" will also be able to enjoy various delicacies such as Bengali Food & Sweets, delicacies from North-East, Gujarati Thali, Ice-cream Brownie, Jharkhand Food, Kashmiri Wazwan, Parsi Bhonu, Rajasthani Pakwan, Rajkot Sweets, Shawarma,Tamil Cuisine, Mughlai food, Bihar Ki Bati, Govan food, Hyderabadi Khichda and many other delicacies.
was sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment for corruption, a body blow for the ex-Bangladeshi prime minister and main opposition leader who may be disqualified from contesting the next general elections in December.

The 72-year-old three-time former prime minister was sentenced by Dhaka's Special Court in connection with the embezzlement of 21 million taka (about USD 250,000) in foreign donations meant for the Zia Orphanage Trust, named after her late husband Ziaur Rahman, a military ruler-turned-politician.

The verdict simultaneously sentenced Zia's "fugitive" elder son and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP's) senior vice president Tarique Rahman as he was tried in absentia. Rahman and four others have been sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Judge Mohammad Akhtaruzzaman, who delivering the judgement, said: "The case was proved beyond any doubt against the accused".

The case is one of dozens pending against Zia, who has been a rival of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for decades. The charges against her had already led to her boycotting polls in 2014, which triggered widespread protests at the time.

Zia, wearing a white sari, appeared in person in the heavily-guarded courtroom amid heightened political tension.

Sentencing Zia to rigorous imprisonment, the judge read out the abridged version of the 632-page verdict in 10 minutes.

He said that though all the convicts played identical role in the crime but Zia was given a lesser term taking into account her "age and social status".

The court also said that the defence tried their best to hinder the trial proceedings as they sought time for 35 occasions in the name of changing the court.

The other convicts are former lawmaker Kazi Salimul Haque Kamal, businessman Sharfuddin Ahmed, ex-premier's principal secretary Kamal Uddin Siddiqui and her nephew Mominur Rahman.

Zia became the second head of the government after former military dictator-turned-politician HM Ershad to be convicted in a graft case.

Legal experts said the verdict may jeopardise her career as she may be disqualified from contesting polls, including the general elections slated for December.

The ruling came four years after Zia and others were indicted in the case.

"We will challenge the verdict in the High Court... God willing we will get justice there," Zia's chief counsel Khondker Mahbub Hossain told reporters.

Immediately after the verdict was read out, security personnel escorted Zia to a white vehicle which took her to old Dhaka's Central Jail.

The original jail was relocated recently to suburban Keraniganj but officials said they renovated the day care centre of the facility to accommodate the ex-premier.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said: "She served as the premier thrice and is the chairperson of a big political party... considering her age and status she will be provided all facilities she deserved".

TV footages showed Zia stood in gloom covering her eyes in a dark sunglass as the security forces escorted the vehicle to the nearby jail.

There was tight security in Dhaka streets as the ex-prime minister was on her way to a court with a convoy of armed police and Zia's private security personnel's vehicles slowly escorting her to the court in downtown Dhaka from her Gulshan residence.

Elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion and armed police kept a sharp vigil, blocking temporarily the thoroughfares she used for ordinary vehicles.

Witnesses said hundreds of Zia's supporters thronged the streets leading to the court complex and followed the convoy, causing clashes with the police at places.

Police had to use tear gas shells and fired rubber bullets as the BNP activists exploded crackers and pelted stones at Kakrail area soon after the convoy passed the spot.

Earlier at a press conference yesterday, Zia blamed the ruling party (the Bangladesh Awami League led by Prime Minister Hasina) for unleashing a "reign of terror" and claimed that she was implicated in a "false case".

Meanwhile, Awami League general secretary and Road Transport Minister Obaidul Quader said that the past military- backed interim government filed the case against Zia in 2008 with the incumbent government having no links to the process.

Political analysts said the BNP might be split as several senior leaders could disassociate them from Zia as her son Rahman, the senior vice president of the party, was wielding authority from London, ignoring the party veterans.

Rahman is believed to have sought asylum in the UK to evade justice, as he is also being tried on several charges including the August 21, 2004 grenade attack on a rally of the then opposition Awami League when 23 people were killed and prime minister Hasina narrowly escaped the attack.

The ex-premier on November 30, 2014 lost her last ditch effort to evade the graft trial as the Supreme Court turned down her second 'leave to appeal' petition challenging her indictment and asked her to face trial in the lower court.

The High Court earlier validated the trial in the lower court which on March 19, 2014 indicted Zia on two graft charges brought by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).

Zia and three of her aides in particular were accused of syphoning off 31.5 million taka (about USD 400,000) from the Zia Charitable Trust alone. She is also accused of leading a group of five people, including her eldest son, in embezzling another 21.5 million taka (USD 277,000) funds.
Raj Shah, the Deputy Press Secretary of President Donald Trump, has addressed a media briefing at the White House, becoming the first Indian-American to do so.

Shah, 32, made his debut address on Thursday following the resignation of staff secretary Rob Porter over domestic abuse allegations. He was bombarded by questions on the White House advisor's sudden exit, the US media reported.

He was filling in the shoes of White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders who is away on a vacation. Ahead of his briefing, Sanders took to Twitter and described Shah as "one of the best and the brightest in the Trump administration".

Shah was asked questions about Trump's thoughts concerning legal immigration as it affects Indian immigrants, and those applying for Green Cards through the normal route, as well as on lifting the country quotas for legal immigration, News India Times daily reported.

"The President wants to see legal immigration reforms. He wants to see us move from a process currently existing in law, of extended family chain migration, towards merit-based legal immigration reform," Shah said.

"We want to ensure that people coming in the country are the best and the brightest regardless of nationality, creed, religion or anything else in-between," he added.

The press briefing came on the heels of stories revealing Shah's scathing remarks about Trump's candidacy in 2016 emails with his colleagues.

The New Yorker magazine earlier this week reported messages showing Shah calling the release of the infamous "Access Hollywood" tape, as "some justice", a dig at Trump.

The tape, uncovered during the 2016 campaign, included an audio of Trump in 2005 bragging about being able to grope women due to his celebrity status.
The US Senate passed a critical stopgap spending bill early Friday after an hours-long delay forced Congress to miss a midnight deadline and sent the government tumbling into a shutdown.

The bipartisan measure, which passed 71 to 28, was now headed to the House of Representatives for what is expected to be a pre-dawn Friday vote, as congressional leaders scrambled to restrict the second government shutdown in three weeks to just a matter of hours.

ALSO READ: 2nd US govt shutdown in 3 weeks set to begin after budget deal blocked

But the fate of the bill remained uncertain in the lower chamber of Congress, where fiscal conservatives have bridled at excessive spending allowed under the budget deal, and liberals complain that it does nothing to shield many undocumented immigrants from deportation, a longstanding Democratic priority.
The state-owned oil company of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has lit up in the colours of the Indian national flag ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the country.

Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to arrive in UAE on the evening of February 10. He will emplane for his second leg of the trip to Abu Dhabi at 01.10 pm (local time) from Queen Alia Airport in Amman.

Prime Minister Modi's high-level engagements include bilateral meetings with top UAE leaders and a keynote address at the Government Summit in Dubai on Sunday, in which India is the guest country.

The Prime Minister will reach Abu Dhabi at 8.00 pm (IST), where he will be given a ceremonial reception before meeting the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the Presidential palace.

He is likely to have bilateral talks with Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, on Saturday evening, followed by a signing ceremony of agreements and Memorandum of understanding (MoU)s and a banquet hosted by Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed.

The Prime Minister is also expected to meet Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Sunday in Dubai.

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Two British Islamic States (IS) militants have reportedly been captured by the US-backed Kurdish fighters in Syria.

The two men, Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, formed part of a group of four fighters nicknamed "the Beatles" due to their British accents and are allegedly responsible for murdering approximately two dozen hostages in Syria.

The US officials told the New York Times that Kotey and Elsheikh were captured in January by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

It said the men were identified by fingerprints and other biometric means.

The group's leader, Mohammed Emwazi, nicknamed Jihadi John, was killed in a 2015 airstrike. He appeared in a string of propaganda videos and was filmed beheading British and American hostages.

The fourth member, Davis, was convicted of being a member of a terrorist organisation and jailed for seven-and-a-half years at a court in Silivri, Turkey, in May 2017.

The state department say Kotey was also responsible for recruiting several British nationals to fight for IS.

Furthermore, the US Government believes that the group beheaded more than 27 hostages and used torture methods such as water boarding and electrocution.

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Voting for Lok Sabha bypolls for Phulpur and Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh will be held on March 11, the Election Commission of India announced on Friday.

While by-election for Bihar's Lok Sabha Araria seat will also be held on the same date.

Two assembly bypolls in Bihar's Jehanabad and Bhabua constituencies will also take place on March 11.

The last date of filing nominations for the five bypolls is February 20 and the last date of withdrawal of candidature is February 23. The results will be declared on March 14.

Also, the EVMs and VVPATs will feature in the bye-elections in all the polling stations.

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Promoters of Fortis Healthcare, Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singh tendered their resignation from the company's Board of Directors, effective immediately.

In a letter, the Singh brothers attributed their decision to the recent High Court judgment that was passed, upholding the plea of Daiichi Sankyo, a Japanese pharma, who was slated to collect Rs 3,500 crore as award money from the duo.

"In light of the recent High Court judgment, upholding the plea of Daiichi Sankyo to enforce the arbitration award, we believe this is in the interest of propriety and good governance. It is intended to free the organisation from any encumbrance whatsoever that may be linked to the promoters. The Board will then be better enabled and empowered to guide the future direction of the organisation without in any way being hampered by the impact of the Daiichi Sankyo judgment and our association at the Board," the letter read.

The duo further directed the board to examine all inter-group transactions and distance the promoter group from Fortis Healthcare Ltd "in a manner that enables continuity of operations of the organisation and deliver on its mission of enriching and saving lives".

In August last year, the Supreme Court had restrained the Singh brothers from diluting any stake in the Fortis Healthcare.

As per reports, the Japanese company had opposed the sale of an 80 per cent stake in the Religare Health Insurance Co. Ltd. to a group of investors led by private equity firm True North and submitted that Singh brothers had violated a prior order requiring them to take court permission to part with tangential assets.

On a related note, the board of directors will take up the matter of the duo's resignation in a meeting on February 13.

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One of the most recent advancements in cancer treatments is Immunotherapy with "dendritic cells". It has been proven beneficial in the case of skin, kidney, breast, pancreatic, colon, ovarian and prostate cancer. In India LDG India has initiated this medical facility in collaboration with the renowned Germany based laboratory "Dr. Gansuage".

"We are proud of the medical advancements such as Lanex DC treatment. The results are astounding and encouraging. It utilizes better technology, technique and scientists. Cancer patients who have used this therapy as compared to those who undergone the previous and other versions of Immunotherapy, there has been an increase in quality of life, helped in prolonging the life span, controlling and abolition of symptoms by facilitating them live a routine life. The cancer patients will now have access to this treatment with our cancer centre in Gurgaon. It is surely going to benefit as this treatment has largely proven its effectiveness worldwide," said Tapesh Singhal, Director, LDG India who has taken the baton forward to introduce this medical facility in India for the Indian cancer patients.

Countless research and treatment facilities worldwide are increasingly turning towards this dendritic cell therapy; in fact even modern nations like USA have well accepted and approved this treatment. Prostate and pancreatic cancers have even got FDA approval for using Immunotherapy for its treatment in the country.

At present Cancer is taking thousands of lives every year worldwide including India. About one hundred different types of cancer are known in humans, and all are different from one another such as the average age at which they appear, the growth rate and the tendency to metastasize.

As per the reports "In India, approximately 4.5 lakhs people are living with the disease, and there are more than 7 lakhs new cases being registered yearly and 5,56,400 deaths which are known to be cancer-related. Also it is estimated 71 percent of all cancer-related deaths are happening in the age group between 30 to 69 years."

In women cancer cases as well as mortality is uphill. The main reason can be attributed to low awareness and late detection. As per the data "Our country stands third after China and USA for the highest number of cancer cases among women which are growing per annum at 4.5-5 percent. Every eight minutes, one woman in India loses the life battle due to cervical cancer. Approximately 1.2 lakh women are suffering from cervical cancer in the country and India alone stands for approximately 25 percent of global deaths due to it."

Also a study on cervical cancer prepared by ASSOCHAM - National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research (NICPR) revealed that 50 percent of breast cancer patients in NCR are between 25-50 years of age bracket. Breast cancer attributes to 27 percent of all cancers in females in India. Also there is an urgent need for creating awareness and early detection else the figure could worsen.

"In view of the growing need for expeditious screening, quality care and expert intervention, we consider it important to enable the cancer patients have ease of access to the world-class medical facilities and the most updated immunotherapy conveniences. Until now other similar medical facilities have been available and in use for a few years in the country which gives vaccination in six cycles. But we at LDG India do the same treatment in only 1 cycle," said Tapesh Singhal.

Dr. Hari Goyal, Medical Oncologist, Artemis Hospital said, "The new version of the treatment basically provides a special type of vaccination, required to treat any type of cancer (except-blood cancer), at any stage. It is a unique vaccination which is made from patient's blood and infused in the body which boost their immunity and helps in curing the disease naturally. A patient can take the vaccination while taking chemotherapy, it will averse the side effects and help a patient live a routine life. Doctors like me who have recommended this for the patients are now satisfied with the results and calling it encouraging. We also believe immunotherapy has the potential to cure some cancers too."

For most types of cancer there exist standard treatments which have been developed over decades. It is recommended to make use of these treatments and supplement them with immune therapy, since it is known that tumor cells damaged by chemotherapy or radiation are much easier to destroy with immune cells than undamaged tumor cells.

Treatment with dendritic cells is also often used when conventional therapies have not been successful. Furthermore, treatment with dendritic cells is a gentle treatment in contrast to other forms of treatment, such as chemotherapy or radiation. Also compared to other forms of treatment, side effects only occur very rarely after vaccination with dendritic cells.

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A few missionary schools reopened in Imphal on Thursday amidst tight security after reports of threats from militant groups forced them to remain shut for two days.

"We have deployed adequate security around the immediate campus of the schools, using various methods of surveillance," said Deputy inspector general of police (DIG), SP Imphal West.

Earlier, two blasts had taken place inside Assam Rifles Transit Camp near Khuman Lampak Main Stadium in Imphal West district.

Nine security personnel had suffered injuries on Tuesday in the blasts.

An investigation is on in the matter.

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A youth, who had received specialised arms training in Pakistan, on Friday surrendered before the security forces in Jammu and Kashmir.

According to an official statement, Imran Farooq Para, resident of Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir, was initially motivated to join terrorist ranks and moved to Pakistan on visa through the Wagah Border to get weapons training.

The training was imparted under the aegis of Hanzallah Adnan and Malik Saab of the Lashkar-e-Taiba on various small arms and improvised explosive devices.

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The Jammu and Kashmir government on Friday told the Supreme Court that the state minority commission will submit a blueprint in connection with a plea to grant minority status to non-Muslims in the state within four weeks.

While hearing the plea seeking to identify and provide the rights to non-Muslims, the state government told the apex court that the commission was taking all steps to make a blueprint in the case.

Last year, the apex court asked the Centre and state government to sit together and deal with the issue.

In February 2017, the court had imposed a fine of Rs 30,000 on the Centre for not filing its reply to the PIL filed by Jammu-based lawyer Ankur Sharma, who alleged that benefits accruing to minorities were being taken away by Muslims who were in a majority in the state.

The plea also alleged that rights of religious and linguistic 'minorities' in the state were being "siphoned off illegally and arbitrarily" due to the extension of benefits to "unqualified sections" of the population.

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In a noble move, a wedding ceremony of an underprivileged girl was organised by the teachers of a government school at Vidisha's Piparhunta village in Madhya Pradesh.

The teachers of this school organised the wedding of Vandana, who is the daughter of Munnalal Vishwakarma, a poor labourer.

Vandana's father a daily wage worker is the lone bread winner in the family of nine and was unable to arrange funds for his daughters' wedding.

Meanwhile, teachers of the Government Primary School understood Vishwakarma's grief and took responsibility for incurring all the expenses.

Kailash Arya, one of the Teachers of in the school said, "We had been saving money from our salaries to support the wedding ceremony of the girl. We will continue to take up similar initiatives in future."

The wedding was organised at the school premises.

400 people were invited for this unique wedding ceremony.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also hailed the endeavour and tweeted, "Teachers of the govt. school in Piparhunta, Vidisha have set an example with the benign act of saving money from their salaries to support the marriage of an underprivileged girl. Their effort has touched me deeply. The society is in need of more Samaritans like them."

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The Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has demanded a factual report from the Defence Ministry regarding the Shopian attack on Friday.

This comes following a plea, filed by three Army kids, seeking a response from the authority regarding the January 27 incident of firing, stone pelting and physical assault at Shopian.

The NHRC wanted to know the current situation of the place and also the steps taken by the Central government in this regard.

The complainants have condemned the government's action of withdrawing the FIR against those accused of stone- pelting in Kashmir.

The complainants had requested the intervention of NHRC in the incident while highlighting the frequent instances of violation of human rights of the army personnel in particular at the insurgency areas in Jammu and Kashmir.

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Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday expressed grief over the custodial death of a person at Ainthapali police station in Sambalpur district and announced an ex gratia compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the bereaved family.

Earlier in the day, tension prevailed in Sambalpur after an angry mob ransacked and torched a police station in protest against the death of a man in police custody.

The mob went on rampage pelting stones and burning parked vehicles before the police used force to bring the situation under control.

Several protesters were reportedly injured in police lathi-charge.

The family members of the deceased accused the police of beating him mercilessly after arresting him. They alleged that the body had several injury marks pointing towards torture in police custody.

Meanwhile, more police are camping in the district to maintain law and order in the state.

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Two journalists, an Indian and a British national of Indian origin, were on Friday arrested in the Maldives under State of Emergency decree for national security purposes.

Money Sharma from Punjab and Atish Ravji Patel from London were reporters employed with AFP news agency.

Ahmed Mahloof, the spokesperson of Joint Opposition on the arrest of foreign journalists, said: "The government is scared that the would know what's really happening in the Maldives."

"We don't have freedom of press anymore. Last night, one of the leading TV stations was closed," Ali Zahir, Deputy Leader of Adhaalath party, told ANI.

"We call immediate release of them and restore democracy and rule of law in the Maldives," added Zahir.

"Two foreign nationals, one Indian and one British, employees of AFP, arrested in the Maldives," Maldives former Foreign Affairs Minister, Abdulla Shahid, tweeted.

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United Opposition on Friday met President Ram Nath Kovind and demanded high-level probe into alleged mysterious death of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) judge B H Loya.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi led a delegation of leaders from 13 opposition parties to meet the President and discussed the matter with him.

"114 MPs from 15 parties have signed memorandum. His (Judge BH Loya) death is suspicious. There have been two other suspicious deaths. Many MPs from both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha felt discomfort over it and also feel that the matter should be probed and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) should be formed," Rahul said.

Gandhi said such probe will be an ode to judge Loya and his family.

"We just want to have a proper investigation done by an independent structure that gives us the outcome. A judge died under suspicious circumstances. It will be an ode to him and his family that the investigation takes place properly," Gandhi said.

The Congress President also said that President Kovind gave a positive and assured them that he'll give the matter due consideration.

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.

The development came on the day when the Supreme Court heard BH Loya death case. The arguments were inconclusive on Friday and hearing would continue on February 12 in the Supreme Court.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will leave for his three-nation visit to Palestine, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman on Friday.

Noting that this would be the first-ever prime ministerial visit to Palestine from India, the official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (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."

This will be Prime Minister Modi's second visit to the UAE and the first to Oman.

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 the UAE and Oman.

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Afghans poured in support for hundreds of Pashtuns from Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan who have been protesting in Islamabad for the arrest of fugitive police official Rao Anwar who is involved in the fake encounter of Naqeebullah Mehsud, a tribal man from Waziristan.

While Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has assured the protesters that the culprits of Naqeebullah's murder will not be spared, Afghanistan President has come out in support of the Pashtun Long March and called it a "wake-up call against fundamentalism".

"I fully support the historical Pashtun Long March in Pakistan. The main purpose of which is to mobilise citizens against fundamentalism and terrorism in the region," the President tweeted.

Following the killing of Naqeebullah, tribal men from Waziristan on January 26 began a long march from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to Islamabad against the Pashtun genocide, human rights violations, enforced disappearances in FATA and state-imposed militarism and terrorism.

Pakistan's Awami National Party chief Asfandyar Wali Khan and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party head Mahmood Khan Achakzai have openly announced their support to the march.

The march was much welcomed by Pashtuns in various districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

Political Adviser to President and CEO of High Peace Council, Akram Khpalwak, has termed the ongoing uprising of high value for long-lasting peace in the region.

Khpalwak said people had to gear up their individual and collective efforts for prevailing peace and an end to the war.

"Afghans on both sides of Durand Line are victims of terrorism," Khpalwak tweeted.

"It's time for Ulemas, tribal elders, youth, women and all others to raise their voices and step up efforts for prevailing peace in Afghanistan and around the region."

According to former National Directorate of Security chief Rahmatullah Nabil, the Pakistan Army conducted many operations such as Al-Mizan, Rah-e-Haq, Sher-Dil, Serat-e-Mustaqim, Rah-e-Raast, Zarb-e-Azb and others in the name of "war on terror", but could not yield the required results.

"Baluch+Sindh+Pashton upraising against Army/ISI is the most strategic operations of War on Terror," Nabil tweeted.

Haroon Hakimi, the Afghan envoy to the US, tweeted that awakening of tens of millions of Pashtuns was an important step for weakening the violence and bringing peace to both sides of the Durand Line and region.

The censored voice of millions of Pashtuns who have suffered from the brutal policies of Pakistan is arising which is a big no to state-sponsored terrorism, fundamentalism and extremism, Hakimi said.

Mariam Solaimankhail, an Afghan politician, has extended solidarity to the protesters.

"As a strong supporter of the lar o bar yow Afghan National mission, I have always cried against the suppression of our people on the other side of the imaginary line," Mariam told Afghanistan Times.

"For the first time after the cold war era, Pashtun masses in Pakistan raise the slogans of independence. This new upraising surge is led not by conventional politicians, but by a new generation of youth. The demonstrators called Pakistan a terrorist state," Majeed Qarar, Afghan diplomat in Washington, said.

Political activists have also been running social media campaigns in favour of Pashtun Long March in which protesters demand that Pakistan withdraw its civil and military administration from Pashtun areas under Pakistani occupation.

Pashtuns in Pakistan want complete independence from Pakistan and urged the international community for support.

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A teacher of Kolkata's Carmel Primary School was arrested on Friday for allegedly molesting a student of Class 2.

The teacher was arrested following demands of parents who protested outside the school premises at Rashbehari Avenue near Deshapriya Park.

The incident came to light on Thursday when the minor girl after returning from school told her parents about the incident.

A case has been registered in this connection and further investigation is on.

Last year, a similar incident shocked the city, when a four-year-old girl student was allegedly sexually assaulted by two teachers inside an English-medium school.

Both the accused teachers were later arrested.

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Maldives' High Commissioner to India has clarified why India doesnot figure in the list of the countries where Maldives President Abdulla Yameen sent his 'special envoys'.

In a statement, Ahmed Mohamed said, "The first stop of special envoy of the President was India. Foreign Minister of Maldives Dr. Mohamed Asim, the designated Special envoy of the President, was scheduled to be in India on February 8, but the visit was cancelled on the request of the Government of India."

"The Government of the Maldives was informed that the said dates were not suitable for India's leadership," it added.

This statement came after the reports that said President Yameen, amidst the political tension in the country, sent his "special envoys" to "friendly countries" China, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, but not to India, apparently in an attempt to discuss the ongoing emergency in his country.

Reacting to the recent development, sources in the Government here said that due protocol was not followed as the Indian government was not informed of the purpose of sending the envoy. Moreover, Asim's counterpart External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is on a visit to Saudi Arabia, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a three-nation tour from tomorrow.

"Also we have not seen any real action on the concerns stated by the international community and India. Democratic institutions and the Judiciary continue to be undermined and concerns ignored, these issues need to be properly addressed," sources said.

Maldives President sent his economic development minister, Mohamed Saeed, to China, the foreign minister, Mohamed Asim, to Pakistan and farming and fisheries minister Mohamed Shainee to Saudi Arabia.

"Members of the cabinet, on the direction of President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, will visit friendly nations of the Maldives and provide updates on the current situation," an official statement said.

On Monday, former President of Maldives Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Chief Justice Saeed, Supreme Court Justice Ali Hameed and Judicial administrator Hassan Saeed were arrested by the security forces after Yameen declared a state of emergency in the country.

The arrests indicated that the crackdown on the opposition intensified. The country's National Defence Force also stormed inside the Supreme Court (SC) premises in Male on Tuesday.

The Maldivian capital remained tense as opposition leaders across were being rounded up and placed under detention as Yameen, who has been refusing to obey SC's orders directing him to release nine prominent leaders from prison, has given sweeping powers to security forces.

Last week, the Maldivian Supreme Court acquitted former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed, former Maldivian Vice President Ahmed Adeeb and ordered the reinstatement of the 12 other parliamentary members.

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Major TV station in Maldives, RaajjeTV has shut down its broadcast coming under immense pressure and threats of attacks.

"We regret to inform our viewers of the decision to suspend RaajjeTV's regular broadcast, amid continued harassment, threats and intimidation. We do not believe there is a safe environment in the Maldives necessary for our journalists to report freely and independently," the station said in a statement.

"Following the Supreme Court ruling on February 1, RajjeTV received a number of threats, including open calls for arson attacks, threats of violence against RajjeTV staff and calls to burn down the station by the mob gathered in front of RajjeTV. This was backed up by the public appeals to the broadcast regulator, police and military, by ruling party lawmakers and senior government officials to shut down the RajjeTV," the statement added.

Earlier the station's screenshot doing the rounds of social media read, "RajjeTV informs our viewers that we have suspended regular broadcasts due to attacks on free and independent media continued threats to RajjeTV and its staff, following the Police's decision to slash security to the station and the warning issued by the MNDF to media sources over closure of any media stations without warning."

On February 5, the opposition-aligned RaajjeTV tweeted that its shutdown was "imminent," and that they will "continue to work" until the "last minute. We have no security."

The Maldives Broadcasting Commission had earlier warned media stations they could face closure if they were deemed a threat to national security, incited unrest with false information or endangered the public interest, according to news reports.

On Monday, former President of Maldives Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Chief Justice Saeed, Supreme Court Justice Ali Hameed and Judicial administrator Hassan Saeed were arrested by the security forces after Yameen declared a state of emergency in the country.

The arrests indicated that the crackdown on the opposition intensified. The country's National Defence Force also stormed inside the Supreme Court (SC) premises in Male on Tuesday.

The Maldivian capital remained tense as opposition leaders across were being rounded up and placed under detention as Yameen, who has been refusing to obey SC's orders directing him to release nine prominent leaders from prison, has given sweeping powers to security forces.

Last week, the Maldivian Supreme Court acquitted former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed, former Maldivian Vice President Ahmed Adeeb and ordered the reinstatement of the 12 other parliamentary members.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The police on Friday arrested two persons and seized sample medicines worth over Rs one crore in Amroha and Sambhal of Uttar Pradesh's Moradabad.

The sample medicines were being distributed to the physicians illegally by the duo.

The police recovered the sample medicines during a routine checking at Hasanpur's bus stand on Wednesday here.

The department sent the recovered drugs for a laboratory test.

Moradabad and Amroha drug inspectors are investigating the case but no complaint has been registered in this regard yet.

"All the medicines were for the treatment of cancer and other chronic diseases. The accused used to supply samples from Delhi to Moradabad, Mandal, Meerut and Ghaziabad. The cost of recovered medicines is more than Rs one crore. The samples of drugs have been sent to Lucknow laboratory centre for checking," said RP Pandey, Assistant Drug Commissioner.

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HPCL dropped 1.99% to Rs 392.55 at 15:02 IST on BSE after the company announced Q3 results during market hours today, 9 February 2018.

HPCL's net profit rose 22.6% to Rs 1949.69 crore on 14.43% rise in revenues to Rs 62832 crore in Q3 December 2017 over Q3 December 2016.

The company has accounted for budgetary support of Rs 194.53 crore in Q3 December 2017 compared to Rs 263.88 crore in Q3 December 2016 towards under-recovery on sale of kerosene.

Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 426.23 points, or 1.24%, to 33,986.62.

High volumes were witnessed on the counter. On the BSE, 6.4 lakh shares were traded in the counter so far compared with average daily volume of 2.9 lakh shares in the past one quarter. The stock had hit a high of Rs 404.50 and a low of Rs 386 so far during the day. The stock had hit record high of Rs 493 on 1 September 2017. The stock had hit a 52-week low of Rs 327.33 on 27 June 2017.

The stock had underperformed the market over the past 30 days till 8 February 2018, falling 4.69% compared with 0.18% rise in the Sensex. The scrip had also underperformed the market in past one quarter, dropping 7.99% as against Sensex's 3.6% rise. The scrip had also underperformed the market in past one year, rising 5.04% as against Sensex's 21.64% rise.

The large-cap company has an equity capital of Rs 1523.82 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10.

HPCL's board of directors declared an interim dividend of Rs 14.50 per share for the year ending 31 March 2018 (FY 2018).

HPCL is a public sector oil marketing company. The Government of India held 51.11% stake in HPCL as per the shareholding pattern as on 31 March 2017.

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Held on 08 February 2018

The Board of Sunil Hitech Engineers at its meeting held on 08 February 2018 has approved the following -

Appointment of Harshvardhan Kaushik as CFO of the company with effect from 08 February 2018.

Resignation of Vijay R Gutte from the office of Whole Time Director and CFO of the company with effect from 08 February 2018.

The Board noted the acquisition of 73% shares by overseas subsidiary Future Commodities and Investments of Sapphire Minmetals Corporation (SMCL), a Hong Kong registered company. SMCL is majorly into iron ore supply business (100% exports to China) and major customers are major Chineses SOE (state owned enterprises).

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An explosion hit a mosque in the Libyan city Benghazi on Friday, killing a worshipper and injuring 55 others, authorities said.

"Explosive bags exploded inside the Sa'ad Bin-Abada mosque in Majuri as worshippers were performing Friday prayers," Colonel Milud Zwai, a spokesman for the eastern-based Army's special forces, told Xinhua news agency.

He said according to preliminary investigations, the bombing was carried out remotely.

Benghazi, which has been controlled by the Libyan Army after terrorist groups were eliminated from the city in late 2017, is witnessing an escalation of bombings particularly on mosques.

--IANS

soni/mr

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The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will take out 'Vikas Yatras' in all 70 Assembly constituencies to celebrate the third anniversary of the Delhi government, senior party leader Gopal Rai said here on Friday.

"The party will launch a drive on February 11 to share with the people of Delhi the accomplishments of the Arvind Kejriwal government. The party will hold 'Vikas Yatras' in 70 assembly constituencies led by AAP MLAs, Ministers and senior leaders. The aim is to establish a dialogue with the citizens," Rai said.

The AAP leaders and public representatives will meet the citizens and convey to them the "good work done by the government in three years".

On February 14, the AAP government completes three years in office.

He said in the second phase, party functionaries will meet citizens of their respective areas and share the government's work so far.

"They will also take feedback from citizens and convey the same to the government," Rai said.

--IANS

nkh/tsb/bg

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Actor Anil Kapoor has urged citizens to segregate dry and wet garbage at home for better garbage management.

"Recycle your dry garbage and make a compost out of the wet one," Anil has said in a video posted to his Twitter page.

"Glad to be a part of this global initiative. Come, let's walk towards a better and a clean India. Join the Swachh Bharat Mission today. My Clean India. Swachh Bharat. Swachh Survekshan 2018," he wrote.

The Swachh Survekshan is a ranking survey. The objective of the survey is to encourage large scale citizen participation and create awareness amongst all sections of society about the importance of working together towards making towns and cities a better place to live in.

The survey also intends to foster a spirit of healthy competition among towns and cities to improve their service delivery to citizens, towards creating cleaner cities.

--IANS

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Nagaland Home Minister Kuzholuzo Nienu on Friday exuded confidence that his Naga People's Front (NPF) will retain power in Nagaland by securing more than 30 seats in the February 27 elections while the BJP will only get three to six in the 60-member assembly.

"Out of the total of 19 nominations filed by BJP candidates, the party could win between three to six seats, while the (BJP's ally) Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) might win a maximum of eight seats out of the 38 seats it is contesting," Nienu said at an election rally.

The BJP forged a pre-poll alliance with the NDPP after dumping its 15-year-old alliance partner, the NPF. The NDPP would contest 40 of the 60 seats in the state assembly while the BJP would field candidates in the remain 20 seats.

"We are sure to form the next ministry too and therefore, I appealed the people to be with the party with the best prospects," said Nienu.

Highlighting the NPF's election manifesto, he said: "Reforms in governance would be the party government's priority so that good and efficient governance can be provided to the people."

Noting that there won't be posts of Parliamentary Secretaries and Advisors in the next ministry, he promised the people of Nagaland that the party's government "shall provide honourable and effective involvement in governance to the legislators without attracting in the least the question of holding an Office of Profit as provided under Article 191 of the Constitution of India."

On the vexed Naga insurgency, Nienu said that any political settlement has to take place under a popular government in the State, adding that the NPF government shall contribute its best to facilitate and early and lasting settlement.

He also declared that the next NPF Government shall cleanse the process of governance from corruption of all kinds and that serious corruption cases with prima facie proofs will be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation to bring the culprits to book.

The NPF leader also added that protection of Naga identity, curbing the menace of illegal immigrants, imparting skills to the youth, quality education and healthcare, will be on the agenda of the next NPF government.

--IANS

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Maharashtra Congress leader and former minister Arif Naseem Khan on Friday demanded strict action against Bharatiya Janata Party leader and member of Parliament Vinay Katiyar for his 'anti-Muslim' statements.

Taking umbrage at Katiyar's recent statement that 'Muslims should go to Pakistan or Bangladesh', Khan said: "This country is not Katiyar's property. It also belongs to all citizens of India."

Two days ago, Katiyar triggered a controversy with his remarks which came under fire from various Muslim leaders of different political parties.

He also urged the centre to implement the Amitabh Kundu Commission's report recommending a separate law for the protection of minority Muslims in India.

Endorsing All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) President Asasuddin Owaisi's similar demand in Parliament, Khan pointed out that the former UPA government headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had appointed the Amitabh Kundu Commission on the issue in 2013, as per the recommendations of the Justice Rajinder Sachar Committee.

The Amitabh Kundu Commission report -- calling for a special separate law to protect the rights of minority Muslims on the lines of the Atrocities Act -- was submitted to the government in March 2014.

"But thereafter, nothing happened in the matter."

Owaisi has demanded a similar law including a three-year jail term for anybody terming Indian Muslims as 'Pakistani', on the lines of the Atrocities Act which protects Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes in the country.

Earlier, in 2010, the Maharashtra government had empowered the Maharashtra Minority Commission with quasi-judicial powers to handle such cases under the special minority law for the minorities and Muslims in the state, Khan said.

--IANS

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Actor Cody Fern is on board to feature in the hit sitcom "House of Cards".

The Australian star has been roped in to join the sixth and final season of the Netflix political drama for a regular role, reports variety.com.

Fern's role has not as yet been disclosed.

In the final season of "House of Cards", he will join Robin Wright, who is set to take over the leading role in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations against Kevin Spacey.

Besides Fern, Diane Lane and Greg Kinnear were also tapped to play major roles in the upcoming season of "House of Cards", which is said to have eight episodes.

Created by Beau Willimon, "House of Cards" has resumed its production, which was halted after Spacey was accused of sexual misconduct and racism on the set of the show.

"Star Trek: Discovery" actor Anthony Rapp first accused the Frank Underwood depicter of making sexual advance on him when he was 14-year-old. It was later followed by eight anonymous former and current employees of "House of Cards" who came forward with similar accusations against the Oscar-winning actor.

--IANS

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The BJP on Friday accused the ruling Congress in Meghalaya of trying to force the church into electoral over visa rejection to Reverend Paul Msiza to attend a religious function in the state's Garo Hills region.

The visa application of the Baptist World Alliance leader was rejected by the Consulate General of India in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Wednesday, which has angered the Christian community in poll-bound Meghalaya.

Elections to the 60-member Meghalaya Assembly will be held on February 27 and counting of votes taken up on March 3.

"The Congress has no agenda but is only trying to force the church into by trying to mislead and misuse the church for political reasons," Bharatiya Janata Party Spokesperson Nalin Kohli told journalists here.

Chief Minister Mukul Sangma has said that the central government refusing to grant permission to Paul Msiza to attend the sesquicentenary celebrations of Christianity organised by the Garo Baptist Convention in the Garo Hills demonstrates the hidden agenda of the government against the Christians and other religious communities.

The Garo Baptist Convention is celebrating 150 years of Christianity at Rajasimla in East Garo Hills from February 8-11. The Baptist Church set foot in Garo Hills at Rajasimla in 1867.

However, Kohli said the BJP does not decide if a visa is given or not given to a person planning to visit India.

"Visa authorities follow rules set up by respective governments in every country. In India, it was the Congress that made the visa rules because they ruled the country for 55 years and those rules have to be adhered to irrespective of any community or religion," Kohli said.

The Baptist World Alliance is a worldwide alliance of Baptist churches and organisations, formed in 1905 in London.

--IANS

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Rajasthan's historic capital city, known globally for its rich heritage and colourful culture, is now emerging as a cosmopolitan hub, setting new trends with world-class events, from an hugely popular literature festival to musical extravaganzas and jewellery shows.

In January, 500,000 visitors, both domestic and foreign, attended the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF). Making its mark across the globe, this year the festival grew by 23 per cent in terms of total turnout. Besides JLF, the "Pink City" also hosted the Jaipur Jewellery Show (JJS) which celebrated its 14th edition in December 2017. The show lured world-renowned jewellery designers to discuss and reveal the latest trends.

With 37,000 plus visitors in its kitty, the festival discussed upcoming trends emerging for aesthetic jewellery.

"The event was successful in setting the trend for catchy jewellery designs. The fusion experiments showcased here were something that was accepted and loved by all designers who had come from different regions," said JJS spokesperson Ajay Kala.

He said while foreign traders and consumers were surprised to learn that Jaipur's artisans are so skilled in handicrafts, they were also impressed with the smooth transformation of the city into a modern, competitive business centre.

The national and international designers loved watching these new trends emanating out of this event, Kala added.

The Pink City also hosted around 300 world-renowned delegates as the International Colored Gemstones Association Congress (ICA) in October 2017. As the event was organised a day after Diwali, the endeavour was to create a magical experience for the most eminent coloured gem stones' traders from across the world.

They discussed how social media can promote the exquisite art of gem stone cutting and polishing which this city is known for.

The best practices in coloured gem stones and the importance of responsible jewellery standards in Indian coloured gemstone industry were discussed at length to take this industry to new heights, said ICA (India) Director Nirmal Bardiya.

The delegates who attended the event came with impressive resumes, vast business acumen and huge gemstone experience.

The ICA Congress is a biennial event which is organised in different parts of the world. It covers the most recent and important developments in international trade scenario. According to Bardiya, the ICA Congress was organised in Jaipur to boost local business.

The industry leaders across the world discussed the trends of building a story around the products to make jewellery accessible. The other trend followed by all worldclass jewellers was to find relevance with the consumers to tap into the potential consumers.

International jewellers were in for a surprise by seeing the inroads made by Jaipur in jewellery manufacturing, said Kala.

The city also played a host to world-class musicians such as APEK and Courtland from the US, Teri Miko, and many Indian DJs like Dual Vibes, beatSlayer, Kratix, Ape Dep Toe, and many more during the Dunes Music Festival which was organised in December last year.

The Dunes Music Festival celebrated the vibrancy of modern Rajasthan. Also called an EDM (Electronic Dance Music) festival, it showcased the fusion of conventional and modern music.

Close on the heels of Sunburn which is organised in Goa, the event witnessed alcohol and music flowing together in this city.

When asked how and why this festival was brought to Jaipur, its organiser Harsh Bawa said: "Thriving on the motto 'Music is a Universal Language', the festival came to Jaipur as the international artists as well as the Indian DJs love Jaipur and Dunes."

All the artists loved the hospitality and colours of Jaipur, he added.

Answering a query if there was any traditional barrier in the event for Rajasthan being known as a traditional state, he said: "Indeed there was no such challenge given Rajasthan has an image of being a traditional state. This city has welcomed all the good things always. The audience understands EDM, and they want to enjoy in an ambience with great artists."

As the new calendar for the year sets in, the city, it seems, eagerly awaits more such events to add new labels to its heritage tag.

(Archana Sharma can be contacted at archana.s@ians.in)

--IANS

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The first part of Parliaments Budget session concluded on Friday with Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley having presented the Union Budget 2018-19 and having replied to the general discussion on the Budget in both Houses.

Parliament was adjourned on Friday till March 5 when it would be reconvened to carry out a detailed discussion on the Budget apart from disposing off other legislative business.

Jaitley presented the Budget on February 1.

During the recess, the department-related Parliamentary Standing Committees will examine the Demands for Grants relating to various Ministries/Departments.

The first part of the session had seven sittings of the Lok Sabha and eight sittings of the Rajya Sabha.

The productivity of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha in terms of utilization of time during the first part of the session was 134.61 per cent and 96.31 per cent respectively, the Parliament Affairs Ministry data showed.

The session, whic commenced January 29 with President Ram Nath Kovind's address to the joint sitting of both Houses, will continue till April 6.

The Motion of Thanks on the President address in Rajya Sabha was moved by BJP President Amit Shah and seconded by Vinay P. Sahasrabuddhe. In the Lok Sabha, it was moved by Rakesh Singh and seconded by Prahlad Venkatesh Joshi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi replied to the debate on the Motion of Thanks to President's address in both the Houses. It was discussed and adopted by the two Houses during first part of the session.

--IANS

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Fortis Healthcare on Friday said its subsidiary Fortis Hospitals will receive back the Rs 473 crore loan it gave to certain companies by the end of the first quarter (Q1) of FY19.

The company response comes after reports pointed out that the loan was given to companies that are a part of its promoter's group.

"Fortis Hospitals Ltd, (FHsL) a wholly owned subsidiary of Fortis Healthcare Ltd, has deployed funds in secured short-term investments with companies in normal course of treasury operations," the company said in a statement.

"These entities, as of the quarter ended December 31, 2017, have become part of the promoter group due to a shareholding change in those entities. Subsequently, the same loans have been recognised as related party transactions in compliance with necessary regulatory requirements," it said.

The company said these loans are adequately secured and "the repayment has since commenced as per the agreed payment schedule".

"The entire amount is expected to be repaid to the company by the end of Q1 of FY18-19. The total value of the loans amounts is approximately Rs 473 crore," the statement said.

Further, the company denied the allegations that "auditors have refused to sign the accounts for Q2".

"The results for Q2 could not be tabled before the Board for approval and the same was communicated to the stock exchanges on November 14, 2017," said the statement.

"We would also like to highlight that the audit review process for the results of both Q2 and Q3 are in progress. The financial results of the company for quarter and period ended September 30, 2017, and December 31, 2017, will be presented before the Board of Directors at their meeting scheduled on February 13," it added.

In an unrelated development, the promoters of Fortis Healthcare had on Thursday resigned from the company's board.

The resignations were intimated through a late night BSE filing which revealed that promoters Malvinder Mohan Singh and Shivinder Mohan Singh had resigned.

The development comes days after the Delhi High Court upheld an international arbitral award of Rs 3,500 crore to Daiichi Sankyo against the former promoters of Ranbaxy Laboratories.

--IANS

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From the master strokes of prominent artists to the contemporary installations, the India Art Fair (IAF), which began here on Friday, offers a heaven for art connoisseurs, exhibitors and art lovers not only from the country but from its neighbours too.

Taking place annually at the NSIC ground here, the fair is a reflection of the fast-developing arts scene in the country, offering curated insights into its varied cultural landscapes.

The four day programme - which draws together galleries and artists, private foundations and arts charities, artists' collectives, national institutions, cultural events and festivals - also enables international audiences to engage in innovative ways with the cultural history and development of the region.

Not just for Indian artists, but the art fair is being considered as a major platform for artists coming from neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bangladesh.

The Nepal Art Council, which has been participating for the past few editions, feels that the IAF has brought them into limelight, especially in the South Asian belt. Collectively the selected art works for IAF make a picturesque mosaic of multi-layered themes portrayed by contemporary Nepalese artists.

"Contemporary art still doesn't have that strong hold in Nepal as compared to India. India Art Fair is a platform for us to highlight the growing contemporary artists. We may not have a good sale but have succeeded in grabbing the attention of exhibitors from various countries," Sagar Rana, Vice President, Nepal Art Council told IANS.

"We showcase works of seven new artists every year. Our display of works may be less compared to other exhibitors but even the limited collection speaks for itself, there lies a story in every art work," he added.

This year, Nepal is showcasing works of artists Chirag Bangdel, Jeevan Rajopadhyay, Mekh Limbu, Rabindra Shrestha, Sabita Dangol, Sujan Dangol and Sunita Maharjan. Artist Rabindra Shrestha's work which showcases thumbprints of many individuals explains the similarities as well as differences of people, has been drawing much appreciation.

"Ninety per cent of our work is committed to some motive; through our work we evoke a hope of peace and prosperity amidst the contemporary socio-political crisis. Nepal is a small country and little is known about the contemporary art and artists, nobody would have even imagined about it," Rana said.

Similar thoughts were pitched by exhibitors coming from Bangladesh which was represented by Britto Arts Trust.

"There is no appreciation of contemporary art work in Bangladesh, also majorly because people are not even aware of concepts like sculptures, installations or modern paintings. Our community still doesn't consider them as art. We donot have much art galleries that promote work of artists," said Promotesh Das Pulak.

"The idea of participating here is to get art across other countries. We are getting offers from Indian art galleries to display our work here. It is a big opportunity for us to get the contemporary art of Bangladeshi artists on a larger platform," he said.

Founded in 2008, India Art Fair is one of South Asia's leading platform for modern and contemporary art.

--IANS

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Following reports of two journalists, including an Indian national, being arrested in the Maldives amid a raging political crisis, India on Friday said that it has sought details of the case.

"We have received information about an Indian national, Money Sharma, working as a journalist, who has been detained by the Maldivian authorities," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said.

"We have asked our Embassy to get in touch with the local authorities to ascertain more details of the case," he added.

According to reports, Sharma from Amritsar and Atish Ravji Patel, an India-born British national from London, both employees of a foreign news agency, have been arrested under a Maldivian decree for "national security purposes".

The Maldives has plunged into a crisis with its President Abdulla Yameen declaring a state of emergency and arresting the Chief Justice and a former head of state.

--IANS

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India on Friday, reacting to reports that China hoped that the Maldives government can resolve the raging internal political crisis on its own, said that all countries can play a constructive role in the Indian Ocean archipelago nation.

"We note that China has said that Maldives government has the ability to protect the security of Chinese personnel and institutions in Maldives," the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement.

"We hope that all countries can play a constructive role in Maldives, instead of doing the opposite," it added.

Earlier on Friday a Chinese official said that China did not want the Maldivian political crisis to become another thorny issue with India

The official told IANS that China was in touch with India over the issue.

The Maldives has plunged into a crisis with its President Abdulla Yameen declaring a state of emergency and arresting the Chief Justice and a former head of state.

India has traditionally held influence in the Indian Ocean atoll nation where China has been trying to make inroads because of the country's strategic location.

The archipelago in the Indian Ocean is of immense strategic importance to India and China, the world's two most populous countries dependent on energy imports.

Experts say the Maldivian crisis could well become a new power struggle between India and China.

Yameen has sent special envoys to China, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia even as New Delhi politely declined to host the Maldivian Foreign Minister.

It all started when the Maldives' Supreme Court termed as unjust the imprisonment of nine MPs and former President Mohamed Nasheed who is in exile.

The court ruling of February 1 - if implemented -- would have restored the Nasheed party's majority and threatened Yameen's presidency.

Nasheed, perceived to be close to New Delhi, has urged India to intervene militarily, a move which China has warned will only complicate the situation.

"Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with the Maldives' President's special envoy, (Maldivian) Economic Development Minister Mohamed Saeed. He introduced the current situation in the Maldives and said that the government is committed to upholding the rule of the law and social order and independently achieving national stability and development," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said in Beijing.

Geng also reiterated that China would not interfere in the Maldives' internal affairs and oppose any outside intervention.

Wang told Saeed that China was closely watching the situation and was confident that Male had the wisdom to solve the crisis by itself.

--IANS

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An Indian-American man was killed and another man was critically injured when a convicted gunman opened fire at two convenience stores, minutes apart, in the US state of Georgia.

Parmjit Singh, 44, was shot multiple times on Tuesday at his Hi-Tech Quick Stop on Burnett Ferry Road. The father of two high school students was pronounced dead on the scene, the US media reported.

The gunman was identified as 28-year-old Lamar Rashad Nicholson. The police said there was no robbery or altercation in the first incident, myajc.com reported.

Just 10 minutes later, Nicholson visited another convenience store, Elm Street Food and Beverage, and stole money before shooting 30-year-old clerk Parthey Patel in the torso, the police said.

"For whatever reason after he stuffed his pockets full of money he shot the clerk anyway," Rome Police Lt. John Walters told Fox News.

Patel was in critical condition at Floyd County Medical Centre.

Nicholson was later arrested on multiple charges including murder, aggravated robbery, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm while committing a crime and use of a firearm by a convicted felon.

He was being held without bond in the Floyd County Jail.

Nicholson, a convicted felon, was not charged with robbery in the first shooting. The police said footage from the initial location showed that the gunman just walked into the store and fired three shots at Singh, who was behind the counter.

Another employee, a female, was standing off to the side and was not injured. The gunman was in the store for less than 12 seconds, the police said.

Nicholson was arrested just a few weeks ago for violently snatching up his 3-year-old daughter by the arm, according to a report from the Floyd County sheriff's office.

He faced charges of child cruelty, disorderly conduct and simple battery in connection with that incident.

Parmjit Singh's brother-in-law Harry Singh remembered him as a "personable man who was friendly with everyone he met".

Harry Singh told myajc.com that his brother-in-law started out driving limousines in New York before moving to Michigan to get into the convenience store business.

"He moved to Georgia about five years ago to be closer to family and ended up owning two stores in Rome, one on Martha Berry Boulevard and another on Burnett Ferry Road, where he died."

--IANS

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Leading Indian private carrier Jet Airways on Friday said it would operate a second flight daily on Bengaluru-Singapure route from March 15 to meet the growing demand for the service.

"Jet Airways will commence a second daily flight 9W 26 from March 15 with the growing passenger traffic on the route and to strengthen our presence in Bengaluru," the airline said in a statement, adding it was focusing on Bengaluru as its third hub after Mumbai and New Delhi.

The airline would be employing a Boeing 737-800 Next Generation aircraft on the route.

"This second daily service will benefit business travellers who are looking at tapping into India's and Singapore's commercial opportunities," said Jet's whole-time Director Gaurang Shetty.

The airline has priced an economy ticket for the Bengaluru-Singapore route at Rs 11,768 as part of its introductory fares.

With the addition of the new flight, Jet will have an increased cargo capacity on the route, allowing it to carry nearly 5,000 kg each way between Bengaluru and Singapore, the statement added.

Jet currently operates one daily non-stop flight 9W 24 from Bengaluru to Singapore.

--IANS

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British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson arrived here on his maiden Bangladesh visit to take note of the plight of Rohingya refugees ahead of his visit to Myanmar.

Johnson was received by Bangladesh Foreign Ministry's Secretary Kamrul Ahsan, Director General of the Europe Wing Mohammad Khorshed Alam Khastagir and British High Commissioner in Dhaka Alison Blake at the Dhaka airport on Friday afternoon, bdnews24.com reported.

His visit came amid global calls to ensure safe and voluntary return of the Muslim minority Rohingyas to Myanmar. Bangladesh and Myanmar had earlier signed deals to start the repatriation.

The British official was scheduled to meet his Bangladeshi counterpart A.H. Mahmood Ali. Bangladesh officials said they expected an announcement of the lifting the UK's ban of direct cargo flights from Dhaka at the meeting.

Johnson will visit Rohingyas refugee camps in Bangladesh's Cox Bazar district on Saturday. He is also scheduled to meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina before flying for Myanmar the same day.

The British government, MPs of the House of Commons, political parties raised a strong voice against the oppression on the Rohingya people by Myanmar military and pursued the issue within the UN Security Council.

At least 688,000 Rohingyas have fled Myanmar's Rakhine state to Bangladesh since the Myanmar military launched an offensive in response to rebel attacks on government outposts on August 25 last year.

--IANS

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Berluti Paris, a luxury shoe brand from Paris, has opened its maiden boutique in India.

It has entered the Indian market in partnership with Bequest Group.

The new boutique in DLF Emporio here displays the complete lifestyle range of shoes, leather goods and ready-to-wear pieces amongst which are the emblematic Alessandro shoes, Un Jour or Deux Jour briefcases and Playtime sneakers.

"Berluti Paris's exclusive partnership with Bequest ensures that its global standards are maintained in India as well. The retail staff has also been given extensive training to provide a Paris-like experience to the discerning shoppers," Gaganmeet Singh, CEO, Bequest Group, said in a statement.

Berluti was established in Paris in 1895 and has been built by four generations of shoemakers. In 2005 fine leather goods were introduced and a complete clothing collection followed in 2011.

--IANS

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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump have expressed concern over the political crisis in Maldives during wide-ranging discussions covering developments in South Asia and the Indo-Pacific region, according to the White House.

"Both leaders expressed concern about the political crisis in Maldives and the importance of respect for democratic institutions and rule of law," during their phone conversation on Thursday, a statement by the press office said.

Affirming Trump's South Asia strategy, they pledged to continue working together to enhance security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and to strengthen security and economic cooperation, the statement said.

They said they looked forward to the "2+2 Meeting" of the Indian ministers of defence and external affairs and the US secretaries of defence and state in April.

On Afghanistan, which was the keystone of the South Asia Strategy announced in August, they reiterated their commitment to back efforts to support the violence-wracked nation's security and stability.

Closer to India, they discussed ways to address the plight of the Rohingya refugees from Myanmar and the situation in that country, the statement said.

On an issue at the top of US foreign policy priorities, North Korea, Modi and Trump discussed further steps to denuclearise Pyongyang.

While China that is working on forging close links with the nation of Indian Ocean atolls and backing Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen, New Delhi and Washington shared a common perspective in opposing the state of emergency he declared this week and want a return to democracy.

After the Supreme Court overturned the terrorism conviction of former president Mohamed Nasheed as well as the convictions of eight other politicians on several charges, Yameen impsed the state of emergency on Monday night.

Two of the five Supreme Court judges were arrested by government forces and the other three overturned their unanimous ruling ordering the release of the nine politicians.

As part of his South Asia strategy, Trump wanted India to provide more aid to Afghanistan.

He also put Islamabad on notice for harbouring terrorists, and followed it up last month by withholding security assistance to Pakistan estimated at over $1 billion.

In the Indo-Pacific region, Trump is promoting cooperation between the four democracies - Indian, US, Japan and Australia - to be a countervailing force to China.

(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in)

--IANS

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday left on a first-ever Indian prime ministerial visit to Palestine, a four-day trip will also take him to Jordan as well as the UAE and Oman in the Gulf.

The External Affairs Ministry said the visit was aimed at deepening "our multifaceted ties with the Gulf and West Asian region".

Officials said energy and security cooperation, trade and investment and counter-terror efforts will top Modi's agenda during the February 9-12 trip to the region.

Before embarking on the visit, the Prime Minister tweeted that the Gulf and West Asian region was a "key priority in our external engagement".

After arriving in Amman, he is expected to meet King Abdullah II of Jordan who will facilitate his transit to Palestine on Saturday.

"I am grateful to Abdullah for facilitating the transit and look forward to meeting him in Amman," Modi said before leaving.

Modi will be the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Palestine where he will meet President Mahmoud Abbas. "Looking forward to my discussions with President Abbas and reaffirming our support for the Palestinian people and the development of Palestine."

The Palestinian President, in a pre-arrival welcome statement, described Modi's visit as "historic and significant".

In both Oman and the United Arab Emirates, Modi was expected to meet the Indian diaspora which he described as "a bridge of friendship between India and the Gulf countries".

He is also scheduled to interact with UAE and Arab CEOs in Dubai on the economic opportunities in India.

An External Affairs Ministry spokesperson said the visit would redefine "our neighbourhood from a maritime perspective" when Modi arrives in Oman -- a close maritime neighbour of India.

Modi is expected to hold talks with the Sultan of Oman and other leaders.

There shall be interactions with business people of Oman on developing stronger economic links with India, Modi said.

In the UAE, he will hold talks with Vice President and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed.

"At the invitation of the leadership of the UAE, I will be addressing the 6th edition of the World Government Summit in Dubai where India is the guest country of honour," Modi said.

As many as 12 agreements are expected to be signed during Modi's visit to the UAE. The agreements will include areas like finance and skills development.

--IANS

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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump pledged to strengthen security and economic cooperation and build on the Indo-Pacific partnership, according to the White House.

While discussing on telephone on Thursday bilateral cooperation, they looked forward to the "2+2 Meeting" of Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj with US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in April, a White House statement said.

"The leaders pledged to continue working together to enhance security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region," the statement said. "Affirming President Trump's South Asia strategy, they reiterated their commitment to supporting Afghanistan's security and stability."

In their review of the South Asia and Indo-Pacific regions, the statement said: "Both leaders expressed concern about the political crisis in Maldives and the importance of respect for democratic institutions and rule of law."

On Afghanistan, which was the keystone of the South Asia Strategy announced in August 2017, they reiterated their commitment to back efforts to support the violence-hit nation's security and stability.

Closer to India, they discussed ways to address the plight of the Rohingya refugees from Myanmar and the situation in that country, the statement said.

On North Korea, an issue at the top of US foreign policy priorities, the two leaders discussed further steps to denuclearise Pyongyang.

While China is backing Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen amid a political crisis, New Delhi and Washington share a common perspective and want a return to democracy and an end to the state of Emergency declared by Yameen on Monday.

After the Supreme Court overturned the terrorism conviction of former President Mohamed Nasheed as well as the convictions of eight other politicians on several charges, Yameen clamped the Emergency.

Two of the five Supreme Court judges were arrested by government forces and the other three overturned their unanimous ruling ordering the release of the nine politicians.

As part of his South Asia strategy, Trump wanted India to provide more aid to Afghanistan.

He also put Islamabad on notice for harbouring terrorists, and followed it up last month by withholding security assistance to Pakistan estimated at over $1 billion.

In the Indo-Pacific region, Trump is promoting cooperation between the four democracies - India, the US, Japan and Australia - to be a countervailing force to China.

(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 Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump pledged to strengthen security and economic cooperation and build on the Indo-Pacific partnership during a wide-ranging phone conversation, according to the White House.

While discussing the cooperation between their democracies on Thursday, they looked forward to the "2+2 Meeting" of Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj with US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in April, a White House statement said.

"The leaders pledged to continue working together to enhance security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region," the statement said, adding "Affirming President Trump's South Asia strategy, they reiterated their commitment to supporting Afghanistan's security and stability."

In their review of the South Asia and Indo-Pacific regions, the statement said: "Both leaders expressed concern about the political crisis in Maldives and the importance of respect for democratic institutions and rule of law."

On Afghanistan, which was the keystone of the South Asia Strategy announced in August 2017, they reiterated their commitment to support efforts to support the violence-wracked nation's security and stability.

Closer to India, they discussed ways to address the plight of the Rohingya refugees from Myanmar and the situation in that country, the statement said.

On North Korea, an issue at the top of US foreign policy priorities, the two leaders discussed further steps to denuclearise Pyongyang.

While China is working on forging close links with the nation of Indian Ocean atolls and backing Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen, New Delhi and Washington share a common perspective and want a return to democracy and an end to the state of emergency declared by Yameen on Monday.

After the Supreme Court overturned the terrorism conviction of former President Mohamed Nasheed as well as the convictions of eight other politicians on several charges, Yameen clamped down the emergency.

Two of the five Supreme Court judges were arrested by government forces and the other three overturned their unanimous ruling ordering the release of the nine politicians.

As part of his South Asia strategy, Trump wanted India to provide more aid to Afghanistan.

He also put Islamabad on notice for harbouring terrorists, and followed it up last month by withholding security assistance to Pakistan estimated at over $1 billion.

In the Indo-Pacific region, Trump is promoting cooperation between the four democracies - Indian, US, Japan and Australia - to be a countervailing force to China.

(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in)

--IANS

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The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), the apex body of Indian Muslims, on Friday ruled out any compromise on Babri Masjid, rejecting a proposal by one of its members Maulana Salman Nadvi reportedly supporting construction of Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya.

The Board announced after its executive meeting here on Friday night that there is no change in its stand that it is a mosque and when a mosque is constructed at a place, it remains a mosque till "qayamat" (the final judgement).

The land dedicated for mosque can't be sold, gifted or in any way alienated, it said in a statement.

The Board said it never rejected the offers of conciliation by Hindu religious leaders and urged them to come forward with justifiable and honourable settlement. "However, they always had one answer that Muslims should unilaterally give up the mosque but Muslims can't do this because giving a mosque for worship of anyone other than Allah is 'haram' and there is no scope for this in Shariat. If Muslims do this they will be accountable to Allah," said the statement released in Urdu.

"The matter is in court. Board has taken a stand that it will accept the court verdict. The matter being heard in the court is not of belief but a matter of the right of ownership and hence there is hope that the verdict will be in line with the stand taken by Muslims. If this happens, this will neither be victory of anybody nor defeat of anybody. This will be the victory of justice," said the statement read out by Board Secretary Umrain Mahfooz Rahmani.

Board's executive member and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi read out the statement in English.

"All the attempts to negotiate the settlements in past have been infructuous and there is no proposal offering settlement without sacrificing the basic tent has ever been put before the board," it said.

The Board reiterated its resolutions passed in 1990 and 1993. The announcement came after over four-hour long meeting of the executive on the first day of the three-day plenary.

Salman Nadvi also attended the meeting presided over by the Board president Maulana Rabey Hasani Nadvi.

After a meeting with spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Salman Nadvi reportedly favoured construction of Ram Mandir at the disputed site in Ayodhya. He also reported to have said that the mosque canAbe built on an alternative land near the disputed site.

Salman Nadvi gave a clarification in the Board's executive meeting about his proposal. Sources said he was isolated over the issue in the meeting attended by majority of 50 executive members.

Owaisi told the media that the meeting unanimously reiterated its stand. He, however, declined to answer any queries.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The three-day plenary of All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), the apex body of Indian Muslims, began here on Friday evening with the meeting of its executive.

The 50-member executive, being presided over by AIMPLB President Maulana Rabey Hasani Nadvi, is discussing triple talaq bill, community reforms campaign and other issues.

The meeting, which began amid tight security at an auditorium in the Owaisi Hospital complex, will also set the agenda for the deliberations in the general body, scheduled to meet on Saturday and Sunday.

AIMPLB General Secretary Moulana Syed Wali Rahmani presented his report on the action taken on the decisions of the previous plenary.

The executive is discussing the developments with regard to triple talaq bill, which is pending in Rajya Sabha.

AIMPLB spokesman Maulana Khalilur Rahman Sajjad Nomani had said on Thursday that the bill had many flaws and lacunae and hence it was unacceptable to them in its present form.

He said that the board is ready to welcome the bill if all the flaws are removed. He alleged that though the stated objective of the bill is to ban the practice of instant triple talaq, the real intention of the government is to do away with the system of talaq.

The executive will also review the progress made in the country-wide campaign for community reforms. It will discuss proposals to further strengthen the campaign to reach every village and every household.

The meeting will discuss how to effectively use social media to inform people of the board's activities.

The executive members include MIM president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi.

The general body meeting will be attended by the executive, founder and general members and invitees.

More than 500 leading religious scholars and prominent leaders representing all Islamic schools of thought will attend the meet.

The meeting will discuss triple talaq bill in detail and will review Babri Masjid case, currently being heard in the Supreme Court.

It will also take stock of the cases relating to Muslim Personal Law and pending in different courts besides working out the strategy on triple talaq bill.

The plenary will chalk out roadmap for the next one year and approve the budget.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A high level North Korean delegation including Kim Jong-un's sister arrived here on Friday to attend the opening ceremony of the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games and to hold a meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

The high-level government delegation to the quadrennial event, headed by North Korea's ceremonial head of state Kim Yong-nam, arrived at Incheon International Airport on a North Korean airplane, reports Yonhap News Agency.

The 22-member delegation includes the North Korean leader's sister Kim Yo-jong, who is also a key propaganda official of the ruling Workers' Party.

They are expected to soon travel to the eastern city of PyeongChang, located some 180 kkm from Seoul, where the opening ceremony will take place later in the day.

Kim Yong-nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, is also scheduled to attend a reception dinner hosted by Moon that will also involve US Vice President Mike Pence and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

The North Korean delegates will return to Seoul for a Saturday lunch meeting with Moon, possibly at his presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.

Kim Yong-nam is technically the highest ranking North Korean official to visit South Korea, while Kim Yo-jong is the only member of the Pyogyang's ruling family to have ever visited the South.

The divided Koreas have held two rounds of inter-Korean summits, in 2000 and 2007, both in Pyongyang.

The official delegation will return home Sunday.

Pyongyang agreed to take part in the Olympics in bilateral talks with Seoul last month, which marked the first inter-Korean dialogue in more than two years.

The North has sent 22 athletes and hundreds of cheerleaders, performers and taekwondo demonstrators to PyeongChang.

A 140-member art troupe from the North performed in the eastern city of Gangneung on Thursday and will do so again in Seoul on Sunday.

The Games will conclude on February 25.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Know some fabulous and easy techniques to handle stress with a smile; unravel one of the world's greatest conspiracies and the haunting story of a lost, ancient civilization; read the story of a detective who takes on one of the most powerful men in the US government and uncovers a conspiracy of almost unimaginable evil; and read how trees are silent observers and keepers of secrets.

These are the reads on the IANS bookshelf this weekend.

1. Book: Your Search For Happiness Ends Here; Author: Anubha Gupta; Publisher: Bookswagon; Price: Rs 395; Pages: 188

The book is a motivating book which draws out nine mantras to help people living in any society to look for happiness within themselves.

In this complex life, there are more than hundred solutions that confront the reader with some of the most complicated, yet day-to-day situations they are facing in life. The book also reveals some fabulous and easy techniques to handle stress with a smile, nurture relationships and overcome anger problems, while also gaining inner peace.

The separate sections of the book can be read and imbibed individually depending on one's needs. Some of the text does turn into self Question and Answer format that the reader will cherish for a long time, but has been written in simple language.

2. Book: Pralay; Author: Vineet Bajpai; Publisher: VB Performance LLP; Price: Rs 250; Pages: 331

"Even death is afraid of the White Mask"

1700 BCE, Harappa The devta of Harappa has fallen tortured and condemned to the dungeons of the dead. His murdered wife's pious blood falls on the sands of the metropolis, sealing the black fate of Harappa forever.

2017, Banaras A master assassin bites into cyanide, but not before pronouncing the arrival of an unstoppable, dark force. A maha-taantric offers a chilling sacrifice.

325 AD, Bithynian City (modern-day Turkey) Unable to foresee the monster he was untethering, an extraordinary monarch commissions a terrifying world-vision spanning millennia.

1700 BCE, East of Harappa A mystical fish-man proclaims the onset of Pralay -- the extinction of mankind. The Blood River rises to avenge her divine sons.

What happens to the devta of Harappa? Is Vidyut truly the prophesied saviour? Who are the veiled overlords behind the sinister World Order? What was the macabre blueprint of the mysterious emperor at Bithynian City? Turn the pages to unravel one of the world's greatest conspiracies and the haunting story of a lost, ancient civilization."

3. Book: Livia Lone; Author: Barry Eisler; Publisher: Thomas and Mercher; Price: Rs 399; Pages: 358

Seattle PD sex-crimes detective Livia Lone knows the monsters she hunts. Sold by her Thai parents along with her little sister, Nason -- marooned in America, abused by the men who trafficked them the only thing that kept Livia alive as a teenager was her determination to find Nason.

Livia has never stopped looking. And she copes with her failure to protect her sister by doing everything she can to put predators in prison.

Or, when that fails, by putting them in the ground.

But when a fresh lead offers new hope of finding Nason and the men who trafficked them both, Livia will have to go beyond just being a cop -- beyond even being a vigilante -- she'll have to relive the horrors of the past, take on one of the most powerful men in the US government, and uncover a conspiracy of almost unimaginable evil.

In every way, it's an unfair fight. But Livia has two advantages: her unending love for Nason.

And a lifelong lust for vengeance.

4. Book: The Trees Told Me So; Author: Purva Grover; Publisher: Niyogi Books; Price: Rs 395; Pages: 190

If trees could talk, they would have so much to tell -- the story of two broken hearts, that stolen first kiss, those last words of a mother to her son, endless cups of tea and never-ending chatter, of nostalgia, an act of brutality and a tale of passion.

In this collection of short stories -- "The Trees Told Me So" -- Grover draws a beautiful and poignant picture of love, life and loss, with an honest voice.

And the common thread running through the stories is that nature stands witness like an old soulful of wisdom and compassion. A silent observer, a keeper of secrets, yet the tree is always an integral part of the character's very being.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Leaders Congress and some other opposition parties on Friday met President Ram Nath Kovind and demanded a thorough investigation by an independent agency into "suspicious" death of Justice B.H. Loya.

Talking to reporters after the meeting, Congress President Rahul Gandhi said that apart from parliamentarians, people of the country also feel that the judge died in suspicious circumstances.

"We want to have proper investigation done by an independent agency that gives us the outcome. We feel there is suspicion in his death and the country also feels that," he said.

"There was a sentiment and 114 MPs felt this should be taken to the President," he added.

Gandhi said that the probe should be carried out by an independent special investigative team and should be monitored by the Supreme Court.

Justice Loya, who was holding the trial into the alleged staged shootout death of Sohrabuddin Sheikh and two others, died in December 2014. BJP President Amit Shah was an accused in the case but later discharged.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Qualcomm's board of directors unanimously rejected an acquisition proposal from rival Broadcom, saying that they are turning down the latter's $121 billion bid.

" 'unanimously rejected' an 'unsolicited proposal' to buy all of its shares at $82 each, of which $60 would be cash and $22 stock," TechCrunch reported on Friday.

The multinational semiconductor company says that it is still undervalued at $121 billion.

Broadcom had made a revised offer to on February 6, up from the previously proposed deal price of $70 per share.

"The board wrote a letter to Broadcom, stating it is worth more, specifically because your proposal ascribes no value to our accretive NXP acquisition, no value for the expected resolution of our current licensing disputes and no value for the significant opportunity in 5G," the report added.

However, chairman Paul Jacobs did not completely strike out the prospect of a deal, according to CNBC.

He also reportedly said the Qualcomm board would be open to meeting with Broadcom to explore "all options for maximising shareholder value".

Qualcomm, which has locked horns with Apple over patent licensing practices, sells both chips and charge a patent royalty for nearly all smartphones sold globally.

Notably, some major Chinese smartphone manufacturers have expressed concerns about the deal due to Broadcom's track record of cutting spending on research and raising chip prices.

According to a report, Samsung also appeared to be siding with Qualcomm.
Congress President Rahul Gandhi would be on a four-day visit in poll-bound Karnataka from Saturday to connect with people through public meetings and group inter-actions, a party leader said on Friday.

"As Gandhi is visiting the state for the first time after becoming party President in December, he wants to meet the people, interact with them and listen to their concerns ahead of the polls in the state," party leader and lawmaker V.S. Ugrappa told IANS here.

With assembly polls due in late April or early May, the party's state unit has scheduled a series of public interactions, road-side meetings and public rallies over the next four days in the state's northern districts of Ballari, Koppal, Yadgir and Kalaburgi.

"Gandhi will inform the people about the policies, programmes and achievements of the state government during the last five years and how the various social welfare schemes have benefitted them," said Ugrappa.

On arriving at Ballari from Delhi by special flight, Gandhi will address a public meeting at Hospet on Saturday afternoon and meet beneficiaries of Article 371-J under which people from the old Hyderabad-Karnataka region are given employment and seats for education on preference and priority.

He will also visit Huligamma temple in the neighbouring Koppal town and Gavi Siddheswara Lingayat Mutt to meet its head priest. He will address a public meeting at Kukanur near Yelburga in Koppal district in the evening.

"Rahu's visit to temples, mutts and dargahs is personal and in the tradition of Indira Gandhi who used to do the same, which people respect and admire as their places of worship are considered pious," said Ugrappa.

On the second day of his visit, Gandhi will travel on road for public receptions at Kushtagi, Kankagiri and Gangavati, followed by a public meeting at Karatagi in Koppal.

"The state unit of the Youth Congress will hold reception for Gandhi at Sindhanoor in the adjacent Raichur district. He will also interact with farmers on Sunday," said Ugrappa.

On the third day, Gandhi will visit Raichur, Yadgir and Kalaburgi districts for public receptions, participate in a tribal rally at Devadurga in Raichur district, interact with youth and students at Shahpur in Yadgir district, followed by public meetings at Jewargi and Kalaburgi towns.

On the fourth and final day, Gandhi will interact with professionals and business community at Kalaburgi and fly to Basavakalyan by a chopper to visit Anubhava Mantapa in Bidar district.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Rajasthan stands tops in execution of many projects, but the opposition will be able to see these developments only if they remove their glasses stuck in "political frames", said Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia on Friday.

Replying to a discussion on thanksgiving proposal after Governor's address in the assembly, she said that Rajasthan led the country in successful implementation of several ambitious schemes.

The state government implemented Bhamashah Yojana, constructed toilets, connected largest number of cities with air-route, implemented eMitra schemes and developed Annapurna Bhandars, "but surprisingly, the opposition fails to see all these developments", the Chief Minister said.

Scindia said that her government would stick to the goal of bringing "sushasan" (good governance) and "seva" (service) to the people of state. "W will continue working to this end until our last breath," she added.

She said that during the last four days of assembly session, the opposition continued focussing on their victory on three seats, and the greed to grab the power was very much evident in their discussions.

"However, we are confident of emerging victorious in the coming elections. Lotus will bloom again as people here have put their trust in our party.

"We will meet here again -- you on your seats and we on our seats, after the next assembly elections," she added.

Rajasthan state ranked 26th during the Congress regime in education, but the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government brought it to third position by improving educational standards, she noted.

"The Congress installed foundation stones for projects worth Rs 51,000 crore during their last months in the government, but it was us who started work on these projects," she added.

--IANS

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The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to the Election Commission, the Goa government and Goa Assembly Speaker on a plea filed by the Congress seeking disqualification of state Health Minister Vishwajit Rane.

A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud also sought response from the poll panel EC, Goa government and Speaker and Rane within six weeks.

Filing the petition, the Congress contended that Rane was elected to the assembly on its ticket and resigned before the Manohar Parrikar government proved its majority on the floor of the Assembly on March 17, 2017, and the Speaker wrongly accepted his resignation before the test.

Rane later got re-elected as a BJP MLA.

The Congress asked if the Speaker can accept the resignation of an MLA, who has incurred a disqualification by an act of defiance of a whip without conducting an inquiry as contemplated under the proviso to Article 190(3) (b) of the Constitution.

The party has approached the apex court challenging the October 11 last year order of the Bombay High Court of Goa bench that dismissed its disqualification petition filed against Rane, on the grounds that a disqualification petition was already filed before the assembly Speaker.

--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 Friday said that search and selection of the judicial and non-judicial members of all the tribunals, for now, would be made by an interim committee till it decides challenges to new regime vesting powers in the government.

A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said that the interim 'Search-cum-Selection Committee' would work till it decided the plea challenging the provision of the Finance Act 2017-2018, that vested the power of the search and selection of tribunal members and their tenure in the government.

The interim panel would have Chief Justice of India or his nominee as its Chairman, and Chairman, Central Administrative Tribunal and two Secretaries nominated by the government as its members.

The appointment to the post of Chairman shall be made by the Chief Justice of India.

The court order came after Attorney General K.K.Venugopal told the court that he had no objection to the interim arrangement.

Under the earlier regime, the members of the tribunal were appointed by the committee comprising the nominee of the Chief Justice of India, two Secretaries to the government and the Chairman of the tribunal concerned to which appointments were sought to be made.

The petitioners have questioned whether such a provision vesting in the government the powers to merge the tribunals and appoint their members thereby taking away the say of the Chief Justice of India could be brought by way of Finance Bill. They also contended that the provision the government has brought through the 2017 Finance Act were violative of the doctrine of the separation of powers and the principles of independence of judiciary.

After the government got the power to appoint members of the tribunals and merge them, it merged eight tribunals, reducing their strength from 26 to 19.

--IANS

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Seven candidates, including Congress nominee Aimong Lam, on Friday withdrew their candidature for the February 27 assembly elections, an election official said.

Lam withdrew his candidature from Noklak assembly constituency, while the six others are Independent candidates.

Following the withdrawal of the seven candidates, 219 candidates remained in the fray, the official said.

The last date of withdrawal of candidature is February 12.

--IANS

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The Syrian Foreign Ministry on Thursday condemned the US-led airstrikes on pro-government forces in the eastern province of Deir al-Zour, state news agency SANA reported.

In a statement, the ministry accused the US warplanes of "committing a massacre" against pro-government forces that were confronting the Islamic State (IS).

Calling it a "new barbaric aggression", the ministry said the US attack came in the framework of the Washington's "aggressive policies" against Syria, Xinhua reported.

The pro-government Syrian forces were confronting IS, "who are under the protection" of the US coalition and the allied forces of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), it added.

The Syrian government urged the UN Security Council to condemn the massacre and to hold the US coalition responsible for their "crimes and aggression that have left thousands of civilians either killed or wounded," the statement said.

Earlier in the day, the SDF said the US-led coalition struck positions of pro-Syrian government forces in the eastern Syrian province of Deir al-Zour to defend its partners.

The coalition's move was in retaliation for the pro-Syrian government forces' targeting of the U.S.-backed forces in the area, the SDF noted.

Meanwhile, SANA reported that U.S. warplanes carried out 10 airstrikes on the positions of the pro-government forces after midnight on Saturday.

According to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least 45 pro-government fighters were killed in the airstrikes.

Meanwhile, a statement from Deir al-Zour's Syrian tribes said the US coalition airstrikes killed their young fighters who were battling IS and the SDF on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River.

The tribes of Deir al-Zour will continue to fight the terrorists until their areas taken by the IS and the SDF on the eastern bank of Euphrates are all liberated, the statement added.

--IANS

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The Rajya Sabha was adjourned till 2.30 p.m. on Friday amid protests by members from Andhra Pradesh seeking special status for the state and the Congress demanding discussion on a privilege notice against Union Minister Kiren Rijiju for targeting Renuka Chowdhury on Twitter.

Soon after the House reassembled after its adjournment till noon, Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu informed the members about the health of member A.V. Swamy from Odisha, who fell down in the Parliament premises.

TMC member Derek O'Brian then urged the chair to continue with budget discussion and do away with the Question Hour.

Taking the sense of the House, Naidu asked Samajwadi Party member Neeraj Shekhar to continue with his speech.

But the members from Andhra Pradesh including TDP's C.M. Ramesh and Congress's K.V.P. Ramchandra Rao trooped near Chairman's podium and started sloganeering over the issue of special status to the state.

Congress member Renuka Chowdhury was also heard seeking to know from the Chair about the status of her privilege notice against Minister of State for Home Affairs Rijiju.

Responding to it, Naidu said: "You meet me in the chamber not in the House." But Chowdhury and other Congress members continued with their demand.

To this, Naidu said: "Let me go through the notice. Then I will decide."

As the ruckus continued, the Chair then adjourned the House till 2.30 p.m.

Rijiju on Thursday had posted a clip of mythological character Surpanakha from Ramanand Sagar's epic serial on Doordarshan "Ramayana" hinting probably about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's dig at Chowdhury during his reply to the motion of thanks to the President's address.

Earlier, Naidu was forced to adjourn the House till noon due to ruckus created by members from the TDP.

Soon after the House met for the day Naidu conducted important legislative business and allowed the members to raise their issues in the Zero Hour.

However, a group of members from Andhra Pradesh trooped near the Chairman's podium and started sloganeering.

"We want justice," the agitating members, including C.M.Ramesh, were heard saying.

Naidu urged the members to go back to their seats but they continued their protests.

When they continued with their protest despite his request, Naidu said he could not run the House amid ruckus and then adjourned the Upper House till noon.

Earlier in the day, the TDP and YSR Congress members protested near Mahatma Gandhi statue in Parliament house complex raising slogans demanding 'justice' for Andhra Pradesh.

Friday is the last day of the first half of Budget Session. It will resume on March 5, and conclude on April 6.

--IANS

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The Punjab Department on Friday suspended a government school Principal and two teachers on charge of moral turpitude after the rape of a Dalit girl student by two of them in a school in Jagraon last year came to light.

"Those placed under suspension with immediate effect are (Principal) Bharat Bhushan, a Lecturer in English at the Government Senior Secondary School, Nathowal, Ludhiana district; Harjit Singh, Punjabi Master at the Government Senior Secondary School, Nathowal, (now posted at Government Senior Secondary School, Manuke (Ludhiana); and Sukhvir Singh, Maths Master at the same school, for moral turpitude," Director Public Instructions (Secondary Education) Paramjit Singh said here.

The headquarters of these teachers will be the office of the Moga District Officer (Secondary Education) during their suspension from service.

Police said on Thursday that Harjit Singh and Bharat Bhushan had been arrested in connection with the rape of the 16-year-old Dalit girl student in Jagraon sub-division.

Both were booked under the POCSO Act, apart from other provisions of the law.

The crime was allegedly committed a year ago but came to light after another teacher came across a WhatsApp audio message in which two men -- reportedly the accused Principal and teacher -- were heard discussing the Class 11 student's abortion.

After the matter was brought to the notice of police and other authorities, the girl's statement was recorded before a Duty Magistrate.

Both were booked for rape and criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, Information Technology Act and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Police sources said after the girl became pregnant after rape, she was forced to abort and threatened to keep quiet.

Ludhiana (Rural) Senior Superintendent of Police Surjit Singh told the media on Thursday that the teenager alleged that she was raped by the teacher in the school library.

The Punjab State Commission for Protection of Child Rights had also sought a report from the District Officer in this matter.

Education Minister Aruna Chaudhary on Friday instructed Secretary, School Education, Krishan Kumar, to take strict action in the case of moral turpitude at a government school.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will kick off a nearly week-long tour on Sunday to Turkey and four other Middle East countries amid mounting tensions between Washington and Ankara over Turkey's military offensive in Syria, the US State Department said on Thursday.

In Turkey, Tillerson will meet with senior Turkish officials to discuss "a range of bilateral and regional issues," said the US State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert in a statement.

Tension has been escalating between the two NATO allies amid Turkey's ongoing military operation into the Syria's Afrin against the People's Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara considers as the Syrian affiliates of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), listed by Turkey, the European Union and the United States as a terrorist organization.

Ankara's operation followed US calls to establish a Kurdish-led "border security force (BSF)" in the future in Syria along the 900-km border with Turkey, a move that has angered Turkey.

The BSF would be mainly constituted by the YPG, which has been supported politically and militarily by the United States since 2014 in the battle against the Islamic State.

According to the statement, apart from Turkey, the top US diplomat will also travel to Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Kuwait on Feb. 11-16 and engage with leaders of the countries on topics including ongoing crisis in Syria.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Rome, Feb 9 (IANS/AKI) The United Nations' International Fund for Agricultural Development signed a $39.3 million dollar accord with Tajikistan on Friday for a six-year project to cut poverty and propel economic growth in poor rural communities in the Central Asian nation.

Under the agreement, IFAD will make a $15.3 million loan and a $15.3 million dollar grant. The Tajikistan government contribution's is estimated at $4.9 million while some $1.9 million is expected from private service providers in the agricultural mechanisation field, IFAD said.

A total of $250,000 will come from UN Food and Agriculture Organization co-financing and will contribute towards technical assistance and training of machinery service providers, IFAD said.

Approximately $1.6 million will be provided by beneficiaries of the project, which will be implemented over six years.

The project aims to reach over 48,000 households in Tajikistan's Devashtich, Dusti, Jaihun, Norak, Rasht, Shahriston and Tajikobod districts, where poverty levels are high and there is potential for agriculture development, according to IFAD.

The project will incorporate a strategy to ensure women's inclusion in community development and fair access to opportunities in the landlocked central Asian country, it underlined.

"IFAD's support through this project is to improve access of communities to productive infrastructure and services leading to sustainable agricultural production and equitable returns," said Hamid Abdouli, IFAD's programme manager for Tajikistan.

"We hope to do this by strengthening village organizations, developing business-oriented farmer groups and building the capacities of both public and private service agencies to deliver goods and services to smallholder farmers."

In Tajikistan, agricultural productivity languishes far below its potential, especially for key smallholder staples such as wheat, potatoes and apples. A primary cause of low productivity is the lack of access to modern technologies, notably farm equipment and machinery, IFAD said.

IFAD has since 2008 invested $80 million dollars in initiatives which have benefitted over 288,000 rural households in Tajikistan.

--IANS/AKI

vd

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A senior UN official has told Maldives Foreign Minister Mohamed Asim about Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's concerns over the declaration of a state of emergency there by President Abdulla Yameen, according to a UN spokesperson.

Miroslav Jenca, the Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, spoke to Asim and directly relayed to him the concerns Guterres had expressed in his statement on the Maldives, Farhan Haq, the Secretary-General's spokesperson, said here Thursday.

In the statement released on Tuesday, Guterres asked the Maldives 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."

On Wednesday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein made a harsh criticism of Yameen.

"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," he said.

"I am seriously concerned that the measures taken appear to go beyond those permissible during a state of emergency, restricting the basic tenets of democracy and undermining respect for fundamental rights in the country," he said.

Yameen clamped down the state of emergency on Monday after the Supreme Court overturned the terrorism conviction of former president Mohamed Nasheed, who lives in exile in Britain, as well as the convictions of eight other politicians on several charges. It also ordered the reinstatement of 12 suspended opposition members of parliament.

Two of the five Supreme Court judges were arrested by government forces and the other three overturned the court's unanimous ruling ordering the release of the nine politicians.

Guterres statement said he was seriously concerned about the entry of security forces into the Supreme Court.

The UN Mission of Kuwait, which is the president of the Security Council, had said that Jenca was expected to brief the Council during a closed briefing session on Thursday.

Kuwait's Permanent Representative Mansour Al-Otaibi, who briefed reporters on the day's Council proceedings would not confirm if the briefing had taken place.

(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in)

--IANS

al/ahm/

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This columnist no longer listens to the international media; luckily I still have the voices in my head. Which leads me to the following query.

Question: What is the main activity of the trained accountant? Answer: Embezzling money from clients, governments, charities and pretty much anyone who wanders by.

"Wait," says the nearest bean counter. "That can't be right. That's not our MAIN activity. We just do that in our tea breaks."

So you'd think. But type "accountant" into Google's news search function and items about them stealing stuff outnumber all reports about them doing mainstream accountant stuff such as auditing companies, filing tax returns, being boring, telling atrocious jokes, spilling coffee on their dark suits, flying to Bermuda with suitcases of cash, etc.

Clearly accountants are victims of the media's (and humanity's) inherent bias towards bad news.

I first got interested in this some years ago when there was a spate of articles about piano teachers molesting students. I was shocked. Piano teachers might be slow-rocking, hollow-eyed obsessives, yes, but uniquely evil?

Then came a spate of articles about DJs being uniquely evil for the same offence. I was shocked again. Then came articles about TV hosts being uniquely evil, priests being uniquely evil, parliamentarians being uniquely evil, etc.

A statistician eventually explained it to me. Pretty much everybody in the world has had to fend off a creepy guy at least once. That's 7.6 billion victims. So any journalist asking "has anyone been sexually harassed by a (insert profession here)" is guaranteed to get 500,000 people putting up their hands.

Andrew Cline, a professor who studies this, explained: "Once a master narrative has been set, it is very difficult to get journalists to see that their narrative is simply one way, and not necessarily the correct or best way, of viewing people and events."

A massive recent study in the US showed that the most common industries for sexual harassment cases were hotels, food service, retail and manufacturing. Piano teachers, DJs and TV hosts didn't even make the Top 10, and we all know that accountants and priests reproduce asexually, like algae and water fleas.

Fortunately, no one takes journalists all that seriously these days. By rights, we should be turning on the TV one night to find a newscaster saying: "Breaking news: Nobody believes us any more."

One of my colleagues says that whenever he hears a surprising piece of news, he asks himself: "Is it true or is it CNN?" I thought that was a bit cruel until I watched the channel and saw a report blaming Republicans for the last Ice Age, which was 2.6 million years ago.

When did we stop believing? In 2016, every major international media outlet repeatedly told the world that a) Hillary Clinton would be US President and b) a win for Trump would lead to instant financial collapse in every market. In both cases, the opposite was true.

Anyway, any accountant reading this can now go back to what you normally do. If it's embezzling, I don't want to know. My fingers are in my ears, la la la la la.

(Nury Vittachi is an Asia-based frequent traveller. Send ideas and comments via his Facebook page)

--IANS

nury/sac

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Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Derek O'Brien on Friday accused the Centre of "politicising" the budgetary allocation for the Railways and favouring BJP-ruled states.

He also alleged that the government was deliberately trying to muzzle the voice of the opposition as the ruling dispensation had no answers to the questions raised by it.

"Can the government answer why BJP-ruled states got increased share of budgetary allocation for railways? Uttarakhand got a raise of 165 per cent, Rajasthan 30 per cent raise and Gujarat 20 per cent from the last year's budgetary allocation," he said.

Meanwhile, the share for states such as Delhi, Kerala, West Bengal was brought down by 14, 23 and 15 per cent respectively, O'Brien claimed.

"They have always accused non-BJP railway ministers of politicising the Railway Budget, but now, it is the government that is politicising the budget," the TMC leader told reporters.

He accused the government of propagating hollow promises of providing employment, saying even though there were 1.75 lakh vacant posts in the Railways' safety sector, the government was ignoring the issue.

"Safety of railways has been compromised. People can get employment in railways. But this government is not even thinking about it," O'Brien said.

He also attacked the government of deliberately shutting down non-profitable routes in West Bengal to corner the state which is being ruled by an opposition party -- the TMC.

"Can you stop all non-profitable routes in all states? the railway ministry has a social responsibility", the leader asked.

He also questioned the priority of the ministry, alleging that it had ignored the freight corridor for the bullet train in Gujarat.

The Rajya Sabha member claimed that he was advised by his party supremo Mamata Banerjee, who was Railway minister in the UPA government, to raise the issues in the House to expose the government in Parliament.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday asked Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members to spread the message of the "pro-farmer" Union Budget 2018-19 by hosting "tiffin parties" for the people on every polling booth of their constituencies. By way of a story, the PM exhorted party MPs to pull their weight to ensure that the BJP does well in electoral contests.

Modi suggested that he has had to work overtime to deliver wins for the party, and the MPs needed to do more. The BJP was routed in the two Lok Sabha bypolls of Ajmer and Alwar in Rajasthan recently, and its ...
The 10th edition of India Art Fair opened here today with a "refreshed and expanded programme" and a continued focus on South Asian arts.

With Jagdip Jagpal as the new director, this year's fair promises to test new ideas with participation from galleries, artists, private foundations, arts charities, artists' collectives, and national institutions.

A total of 78 art galleries are attending the four-day festival at NSIC Grounds here with a "particularly strong representation of Indian galleries, enabling deeper engagement with artists from the local art scene".

Indian galleries returning to the fair include Chatterjee & Lal, Jhaveri Contemporary, The Guild, Threshold Art Gallery, Latitude 28, Kalakriti Art Gallery, Chemould Prescott Road, and Vadehra Art Gallery.

While DAG and Dhoomimal Gallery among others are showcasing the region's modern masters, younger galleries including TARQ and Anant Art, alongside first-time participants like Samara Art Gallery and ZOCA, focused on the region's cutting-edge emerging art scene.

"We are thrilled to announce the first highlights of our 2018 programme, which is about inspiring visitors to discover the best of the local and regional art scene, from its fascinating history through to its modern-day icons and emerging talent," Jagpal said.

She also said that the fair will be taking this opportunity to "explore and test ideas to shape the long-term future of India Art Fair, to ensure that it reflects the cultural diversity and distinct identity of the region".

The director also pledged to support the artists, galleries and institutions "not only at the fair but year- round".

Besides the focus on regional artists and galleries, the fair is also hosting international galleries including David Zwirner, Karla Osorio Gallery, Mo J Gallery and Richard Koh Fine Art participating for the first time.

Other international galleries like Sabrina Amrani, Aicon Gallery, baudoin lebon, 1X1 Art Gallery and Lukas Feichtner Galerie have also returned this year.

The art fair this year will see a larger participation of non-profit and public institutions compared to the previous years.

Institutions including Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, Foundation for Indian Contemporary Art, Floodlight Foundation and B M Anand Foundation, Gujral Foundation, Devi Art Foundation and KHOJ will engage with international institutions like Korean Culture Center, and the Institut franais en Inde.

The art fair will end on February 12.

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Delhi BJP's Sikh leaders today met Home Minister Rajnath Singh and demanded a fresh probe against Congress leader Jagdish Tytler in connection with the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

The meeting came after a video surfaced recently purportedly showing Tytler speaking about his alleged role in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

The BJP delegation, which included party national secretary RP Singh, submitted a memorandum to Singh, seeking a probe against Tytler based on the video released by Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee president Manjit Singh GK.

A memorandum was submitted to the home minister by the delegation demanding an "immediate, fresh SIT inquiry and prosection" against Tytler on the basis of the video, a Delhi BJP statement read.

Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari also met the home minister in this regard.

Manjit Singh had in a presser on Monday released the video, apparently of a 2011 sting operation, purportedly showing Tytler in conversation with a few people.

He had claimed receiving the video from an unidentified sender on February 3.

Tytler yesterday filed a police complaint against Manjit Singh charging that he had circulated the "doctored" video to tarnish his image.

A complaint has also been filed against Tytler by RP Singh on the basis of the video.

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The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces have captured two British Muslims in Syria who are said to be the remaining members of the Islamic State's "The Beatles" cell which is infamous for beheading hostages.

According to officials quoted by US media, Alexanda Amon Kotey, 34, and El Shafee Elsheikh, 29, were captured by the Syrian Democratic Forces, operating south of the Euphrates river, close to the Syria-Iraq border in early January and US forces were given access to them.

Kotey and Elsheikh, along with their ringleader Mohammed Emwazi or Jihadi John and Aine Davis, were part of the IS' insurgent cell which was nicknamed "The Beatles", the UK's famous four-member pop group, because of their British accents.

While John was killed in a US airstrike, Davis was captured and jailed on terror charges in Turkey last year.

Kotey, a convert to Islam, grew up in west London, and Elsheikh's family fled to the UK from Sudan in the 1990s.

Their capture was first reported by 'The New York Times', with the UK Foreign Office saying, it does not "comment on individual cases or ongoing investigations".

According to a US State Department's terrorist designation, Kotey operated as a guard for "The Beatles" cell and "likely engaged in the group's executions and exceptionally cruel torture methods, including electronic shock and waterboarding".

The State Department says Kotey was also responsible for recruiting several British nationals to fight for IS. And, Elsheikh travelled to Syria in 2012 and "earned a reputation for waterboarding, mock executions, and crucifixions while serving as an ISIS jailer".

The families of the men told the BBC they were not aware of the capture until the story was reported by organisations.

John, the group leader, was believed to be the masked militant responsible for gruesome beheadings of journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, which were captured on film and distributed in ISIS propaganda videos.

He was killed in a drone strike in the former ISIS stronghold of Raqqa in November 2015.

The group is believed to have met while growing up in west London before travelling to the war zone in Syria.

UK defence secretary Gavin Williamson told 'The Times': "These are people who have done absolutely vile and despicable crimes and brought absolutely so much misery. It is good that they have been hunted down and caught."



The group of ISIS operatives became known for their alleged brutalityand the US government has claimed that they were involved in the beheading of more than 27 hostages.

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Twenty-five Ethiopian migrants are missing off war-torn Yemen after being forced into the sea, the United Nations migration agency said today, highlighting the dangers of a well-traveled route from the Horn of Africa to rich Gulf nations.

Director of operations and emergencies Mohammed Abdiker said in a Twitter post that people in the last of four boats carrying migrants were forced to swim to shore Thursday as they approached Yemen's Shabwa province from Somalia.

No bodies have been found.

About 600 Ethiopian migrants, men and women, were aboard the boats, spokesman Joel Millman said an unusually large number of migrants to arrive off Shabwa at one time.

International Organization for Migration figures show that some 87,000 people sought to reach Yemen from the Horn of Africa by boat in 2017.

UN agencies have attempted to discourage migrants from countries such as Ethiopia and Somalia from embarking on the perilous trip.

But many are drawn to attempt the journey to rich Gulf countries beyond Yemen to find work, and there is no central authority to prevent them from travelling through the impoverished country where civil war has raged since early 2015.

Last month, a boat capsized off Yemen and killed at least 30 Africans. The IOM blamed "unscrupulous smugglers" who tried "to extort more money" from the migrants. Survivors reported gunfire as the boat capsized.

The UN agencies have blamed the prolonged Yemeni conflict for subjecting refugees and migrants to the risk of human rights violations, including arbitrary arrest, detention, trafficking and deportation.

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The authorities here have expelled 451 criminals from the district under the Goonda Act during the last 13 months, officials said.

According to Additional District Magistrate Harish Chander, police have booked 753 criminals under the Goonda Act, out of which 451 have been expelled from the district.

The Goonda Act is a special law enacted to prevent criminal activities.

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Eight persons, including two police officials, were injured in a clash between workers of ruling CPI(M) and Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT), a BJP poll ally, at Takarjala assembly constituency, 28 km from here today, police said.

Superintendent of Police (Police Control) Pradip De said, when the ruling CPI(M) candidate, Ramendra Debbarma from Takarjala constituency was campaigning at Brahmabari area of the constituency a group of IPFT supporters attacked their convoy by brick bating and by batons.

The CPI(M) workers also retaliated and a clash ensued as a result of which eight persons were injured including Officer in-charge of Amarendranagar police outpost - Bharat Debbarma and Sub-Inspector Ringrai Halam.

The duo was shifted to Gobind Ballabh Pant (GBP) Hospital at Agartala later.

Tripura assembly elections is scheduled for February 18.

Superintendent of Police (West Tripura) Abhijit Saptarshi and Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) K.V. Sreejesh rushed to the hospital to visit the injured cops.

Four CPI(M) workers, two IPFT supporters and two police officials were injured in the clash and were admitted at Takarjala hospital.

On the issue, CPI(M) Bishalgarh district committee secretary, Gora Chakraborty alleged that BJP and IPFT were behind the attack.

Their unholy alliance has been trying to intimidate common people for quite some time now. They have realized that given a free and fair election, they would face defeat, he said.

IPFT general secretary Mewar Kumar Jamatia in reaction said allegations against his party supporters were outright lies.

He claimed CPI(M) filed false police complaints against IPFT workers over the clashes today to defame the indigenous party.

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Actor-director Angelina Jolie is known all over for widespread humanitarian efforts and she hopes to pass it on to her daughters.

Jolie spoke with former US Secretary of State, John Kerry for Elle magazine's March issue and discussed a variety of topics such as systemic violence, politics and rape as a weapon of war.

Jolie has three daughters -- Zahara, 13, Shiloh, 11 and Vivienne, 9 -- and the actor disclosed the advice she gives to her daughters.

"I tell my daughters, 'What sets you apart is what you are willing to do for others. Anyone can put on a dress and makeup. It's your mind that will define you. Find out who you are, what you think, and what you stand for.

"And fight for others to have those same freedoms. A life of service is worth living,'" Jolie said.

Jolie described herself as "very patriotic" and "proud of what America stands for" and said that her children are afforded certain freedoms unavailable to many.

"It's only because we are a country based on people of different backgrounds and faiths coming together that I can have this family," Jolie said.

"My daughters have the freedoms they have because of being American. And we are at our best when we are fighting for others to have the same rights. Particularly other women," she added.

The United Nations goodwill ambassador and special envoy to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees also said that she makes sure her children, especially her daughters, remember the people who helped forged the path before them.

"I think of how hard women fought to get us to where we are today. Everything counts, from the way you hold yourself in your daily life and educate yourself on your own rights, to solidarity with other women around the world," Jolie said.

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A case has been registered on a complaint by an AAP worker alleging assault by his party's Kirari MLA Rituraj and other workers, police said today.

The complainant Sanjiv Singh alleged that he was abused and beaten by the Kirari MLA and other AAP workers during the party meet at Mubarakpur in outer Delhi yesterday evening.

"A case for causing hurt and wrongful restraint has been registered on the complaint filed at Aman Vihar police station. The matter is under investigation," said a senior police officer.

According to the complaint, Singh was stopped from going inside the meeting venue by some party workers and later, the AAP MLA along with other workers "abused" and "thrashed" him, the officer said.

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The Supreme Court today sought responses from the Uttar Pradesh government and the CBI on a plea of the special judge, who convicted Rajesh Talwar and Nupur Tawar in the Aarushi murder case in 2013, against his criticism in the Allahabad High Court verdict.

Special CBI judge Shyam Lal, now retired, alleged that the high court while acquitting the Talwars in the case on October 12, 2017, made "disparaging remarks" and "unwarranted comments" and sought their expunction.

A bench of justices Ranjan Gogoi and R Banumathi issued notice to the Uttar Pradesh government, the CBI and the Allahabad High Court and sought their response in four weeks.

Senior advocate S R Singh, appearing for the retired judge, said that the strictures passed against him are ultimately going to affect his reputation as an impartial and transparent judge and should be expuncted.

Singh said that the remarks in the judgement were neither warranted nor were in conformity with the settled law of apex court.

In his plea, Shyam Lal said that he is not aggrieved against the judgement of the acquittal of Talwars but he is aggrieved by the observations made by the a member judge of the division bench of the high court, in his separate concurring judgement dated October 12, 2017.

The high court judge in his separate but concurring judgement had said, "The trial judge has prejudged things in his own fashion, drawn conclusion by embarking on erroneous analogy conjecturing to the brim on apparent facts telling a different story propelled by vitriolic reasoning.

"Thus, basing the finding of conviction without caring to see that it being a case based on circumstantial evidence things cannot be presumed and stuffed in a manner like the present one by adhering to self-created postulates then to roam inside the circle with all fanciful whim."



The high court verdict further said that the trial judge took evidence and the circumstances of the case for granted and tried to solve it like a "mathematical puzzle when one solves a given question and then takes something for granted in order to solve that puzzle and question".

It also said the point is that "the trial judge cannot act like a maths teacher who is solving a mathematical question by analogy after taking certain figure for granted".

"... Like a film director, the trial Judge has tried to thrust coherence among facts inalienably scattered here and there but not giving any coherence to the idea as to what in fact happened", the verdict had said with various other comments.

Lal, while posted as special CBI judge at Ghaziabad, had on November 25, 2013, convicted the Talwar couple for murder of their daughter Aarushi and had sentenced them for life sentence.

"While allowing criminal appeals (of Talwars) no adverse comments has been made against the petitioner (Shyam Lal) in the main judgement but the second judge in his concurring judgement has made certain adverse remarks which seriously affect the reputation of the petitioner as independent and impartial judge," his plea said.

Lal claimed in his petition that during his 28 years of "unblemished service" before retiring on November 30, 2013, he dealt with high profile cases like that of Surendra Koli vs. State, properly known as 'Nithari case', graft case of former Uttar Pradesh chief secretary Neera Yadav, among others.

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was today arrested here in connection with a molestation case, police said.

Murthy, 52, was arrested in suburban Bandra, they said.

Murthy was booked on December 29 under IPC sections 354 (D) (stalking) and 509 (word or gesture intended to hurt the modesty of a woman) and relevant provisions of the IT Act, based on a 32 year-old woman's complaint, police said.

A case was registered by the Khar police here as the complainant, a Delhi-based entrepreneur, mentioned that the accused was a resident of Mumbai.

The Commission of Women (NCW) had written to the Maharashtra police about complaints it had received from several women against Murthy, a police official said.

The NCW had made an intervention, according to which Khar police filed a case against Murthy, under section 354 (D), 509 of IPC and section 67 of the IT Act, the official said.

"After investigating the case, we arrested Murthy today," Ramchandra Jadhav, Senior Police Inspector of Khar police station, told PTI.

Murthy is co-founder of Seedfund and founder and chief executive officer of Pinstorm Technologies Private Limited, a pay-for-performance digital brand management firm.

Last year, a business author alleged she was sexually assaulted by Murthy, a claim rubbished by him.

In April last year, a series of complaints surfaced on social media against Murthy. These included some charges dating back a decade ago, the official said.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Former Defence Minister Sharad Pawar said today that the services of the armed forces were used in healthcare and other sectors to win the trust of people when militancy was at its peak in Punjab in the early 1990s.

Speaking at a programme where Jammu and Kashmir N N Vohra was honoured with 'Sant Namdeo National Award', Pawar said the rural areas of then militancy-hit Punjab faced a shortage of healthcare professionals and skilled mechanic to repair trucks and tractors.

The Defence Ministry had to deploy a number of mechanic from the armed forces to repair tractors and help farmers and medicos from the Armed Forces Corps, the NCP leader said.

Pawar, who the defence minister between 1991 and 1993, said Vohra was the defence secretary then and he played a critical role in ensuring the task was completed successfully.

He added that soliders in plain clothes were also deployed in villages of Punjab during that time. "This helped win people's trust," Pawar said.

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Assam Forest Minister Pramila Rani Brahma today said the green cover of the state was under constant attack from human encroachment.

"It is a fact that there is pressure on forest land. There are various factors contributing to it. There is encroachment by bordering states. Then people of the state, who are displaced by flood and erosion, also encroach forest land," Brahma said in the Assembly.

During a discussion in Zero Hour, the Minister informed that the practice of jhum cultivation also leads to encroachment of forest land.

Brahma was replying on the issue of encroachment of forest land, raised by AIUDF MLA Mamun Imdadul Haque Chawdhury.

Referring to Forest survey of India reports, she said the forest area in the state has increased over the years although there has been an increase in encroachment as well.

Brahma informed that House that the Forest department has been conducting eviction drives from time-to-time in order to clear the encroachments.

Also, afforestation drives are being carried out across the state with a target of planting 10 crore saplings by the state government, the Minister added.

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Assam government has offered to sell dated securities for Rs 500 crore with 10-year tenure by auction, an official release said here today.

The state government will have the option to retain an additional amount up to Rs 100 crore and the auction will be conducted by the Reserve Bank of India at Mumbai, the release said.

All competitive bids will be submitted electronically on the Reserve Bank of India Core Banking Solution (E-Kuber) System.

Under the scheme, an investor can submit a single bid only in the auction of a State Development Loan, subject to a maximum of one per cent of the notified amount, through a bank or a primary dealer.

It may be mentioned that no bids will, henceforth, be accepted in physical format in the auctions of State Development Loans, except in extra-ordinary situations as may be specified by the Reserve Bank of India.

The bids may be submitted electronically to the Regional Director, Reserve Bank of India, Mumbai.

The result of auction will be displayed by the Reserve Bank of India on its website on the same day of auction.

The payment by successful bidders will be made on February 14, 2018.

The rate of interest, i.e. the cut-off yield determined at the auction will be the coupon rate percent per annum on the stock sold at the auction.

The interest will be paid on August 14 and February 14.

The investment in Government Stock will be reckoned as an eligible investment in Government Securities by banks for the purpose of Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) under Section 24 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, the release added.

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BJP MP Maheish Girri today dubbed Mughal ruler Aurangzeb a "terrorist" and hailed his brother Dara Shikoh as a scholar, who espoused "syncretic values", and pitched for building greater awareness about his life.

The MP from East Delhi was interacting with reporters on the sidelines of the inauguration of twin events- a conference 'Aurangzeb & Dara Shukoh: A Tale of Two Brothers' and an exhibition, titled, 'Dara Shukoh, the Forgotten Prince of Islam' at the IGNCA here. Dara Shikoh was also known as Dara Shukoh.

"Aurangzeb was a terrorist, in today's parlance... the punishment that he should have got he did not get, but at least, the road named after him, has been changed," he told reporters.

Aurangzeb Road in Lutyens' Delhi was rechristened Dr APJ Kalam Road in 2015. Girri had sent a proposal to the Centre for renaming the street after the former president.

Muslim groups had objected to the New Delhi Municipal Council's decision to rename Aurangzeb Road, terming it a "deliberate" move that is "likely to set the trend of rechristening other cities/streets distorting history".

Earlier, addressing a gathering at the launch of the events, he said, "I used to feel extrme pain whenever I saw that signage of a road bearing the name of a cruel ruler. I felt is was against the idea of India and not in the interest of the country. So, I went after it (renaming)."



"I also faced obstacles and received threats from people, but I went ahead," he said.

The Lok Sabha member hailed the qualities of the Mughal emperor's brother Dara Shukoh, and said his life and times, and the values he stood for, should be taught simulataneosly, while telling the story of Aurangzeb.

"When it come to Dara, history has not been told or portrayed, the way it should have been. He stood for the true values of Islam unlike his brother, who was cruel and oppressed people," Girri told reporters.

Dara Shukoh was the eldest son of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, who his heir apparent. Aurangzeb got him killed in 1659.

"In schools, when you teach Aurangzeb, you must also teach about his brother. It will not only present a balanced perspective, but also help people judge the two as to who was good and was bad. If you just show Aurangzeb, that teaching of history is also wrong," Girri said.

Former Speaker of Iranian Parliament Gholam Ali Haddad- Adel also hailed Shukoh as a "miracle of India".

"Instead of contemplating wars and bloodshed to expand the Mughal empire, Shukoh engaged in dialogue with people of different faiths and produced scholarly works. He promoted peace and co-existence," he said.

Later, on the sidelines, Adel said, "The world needs to focus more on Dara Shukoh than Aurangzeb".

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, who was scheduled to inaugurate the two events, was not present because of his preoccupation with Parliament. The vice president is also the chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

The exhibition of nearly 30 paintings by contemporary artists in Mughal style, depicting the life of Dara Shukoh, hosted at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), will end on Sunday.

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The All India Muslim Personal Law Board today said the land dedicated for Masjid cannot be sold, gifted or in any way alienated, reiterating its earlier stand on the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi dispute.

The working committee of the AIMPB met here this evening.

In a statement issued later, the board "once again emphasises the basic level of Shariah that the land dedicated for Masjid cannot be sold, gifted or in any way alienated."



The statement was released by Maulana Umrain Mehfooz Rehmani, secretary of All India Muslim Personal Law Board.

He was accompanied by AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi, who read out the statement in English. The two didn't take questions.

Rehmani, however, said the Board will abide by the Supreme Court's decision in the matter.

"The All India Muslim Personal Law Board reiterates its resolution dated December, 1990 and January, 1993 and once again emphasises the basic level of Shariah that the land dedicated for Masjid cannot be sold, gifted or in any way alienated.

"If once dedicated, it vests in Allah. All the attempts to negotiate the settlements in past have been infructuous and there is no proposal offering settlement without sacrificing the basic tenet has ever been put before the Board," the statement said.

The three-day 26th plenary session of the board began here today.

The Supreme Court, which has started final hearings on the Ayodhya dispute, said yesterday the case was purely a "land dispute" and will be dealt with in normal course.

A 2010 verdict of the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court, in a 2:1 majority ruling, had ordered the disputed land be partitioned equally among three parties -- the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla.

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The NHRC has sent notices to the Union Home Secretary and the city police commissioner over the death of man after his neck got stuck in a chain used to tie two police barricades in north west Delhi's Subhash Place.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has also asked the Delhi police chief to "inform whether any action has been taken against the guilty police personnel as, reportedly, there have been several such incidents in the past".

"Leaving them unattended, in such a careless manner, tantamount to criminal breach of duty. Due to clumsiness of the public servants, a precious young human life has been lost. This is a case of serious violation of human rights," the rights panel said in a statement.

The Commission has also issued notices to the Union Home Secretary, the Commissioner of Police, Delhi, and "sought detailed reports, along with existing guidelines for management of police pickets or barricades, their deployment and removal, and the extent to which they are in conformity with the smooth flow of traffic".

Response from both the authorities is expected in four weeks, the rights panel said.

"He (police commissioner) is also expected to inform whether there is a scheme to grant relief to the victims and their families in case of negligence by personnel of the Delhi Police in such cases.

"The relief, if any, given to the aggrieved family in this case, to be informed along with the report," the NHRC said in the statement.

The incident took place on February 7 night when Abhishek, who worked as a car driver and a part-time disc jockey, was going home on his motorcycle, a police official said.

The commission has also observed that the incident indicates that the 21-year-old man died, "undoubtedly, due to the negligence of the police personnel.

"They kept the barricades unattended and used a metal wire to tie them in a reckless manner, absolutely ignoring the dangerous consequences of their act," it said.

A case of death due to negligence has been registered at the Netaji Subhash Place Police Station. The SHO has been moved from his post and seven police personnel have been placed under suspension, the statement said.

Reportedly, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (North- West) has stated that a parallel probe has been ordered to find out the source of the metal wire and the police personnel, who had tied the barricades with it, the NHRC said.

"Allegedly, in several parts of the city, the police barricades are seen placed unattended leading to traffic jam and accidents. Several specific incidents have been mentioned in the reports," the statement said.

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A delegation of NDA MPs from Bihar, including Union minister Ram Kripal Yadav, today met Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and sought relaxation of the age bar for new recruitments advertised by the ministry.

The MPs, Sushil Kumar Singh and Arun Kumar besides Yadav, said the maximum age bar for these posts has been brought down by two years, depriving thousands of job-seekers a chance to sit in the recruitment examination.

"The Railway has advertised over 25,000 job vacancies in different grades. A recruitment drive on such a scale has come after three-four years. Lowering of age bar means that thousands of aspirants would not get a chance to apply," Yadav told PTI after the meeting.

The maximum age bar for candidates from general category used to be 30 years but is now 28 years and the age limit has been decreased in all categories by two years, he said.

Goyal, he said, has assured them to looking into the matter.

While Singh and Yadav are from the BJP, Kumar is a suspended member of BJP ally RLSP.

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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) today searched the Faridabad premises of a person allegedly linked to Robert Vadra in connection withits money laundering probe in a land scam case in Bikaner, officials said.

ED sleuths began searching Mahesh Nagar's premises in Faridabad, bordering the national capital, from early morning, the officials said.

Nagar is said to be associated with Ms Skylight Hospitality Private Limited, a firm with alleged links to Congress president Rahul Gandhi's brother-in-law Vadra.

In December last year, the agency had arrested Ashok Kumar, a close associate of Nagar, and another person, Jaiprakash Bagarwa.

The agency had searched the premises of both Kumar and Nagar in April last year.

The "authorised representative" in four cases of land purchase in Rajasthan's border town Bikaner was Nagar.

Kumar, the agency alleged, purchased land in the same area using the "power of attorney" of others.

The ED probe in the case is related to the purchase of 275 bigha land allegedly by the company in Bikaner's Kolayat area a few years back.

The ED had also attached assets worth Rs 1.18 crore of government officials and others in connection with the case under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

It had registered a criminal case under the PMLA in this matter in 2015, taking cognisance of FIRs filed by the state police after the local tehsildar complained about alleged forgery.

The agency, in this case, had also issued notices to the firm linked to Vadra and obtained certain documents from it.

However, the ED has not mentioned Vadra's name in its FIR filed under the PMLA. The FIR names some Rajasthan government officials and the "land mafia".

Vadra had denied any wrongdoing and the Congress called the action "sheer political vendetta".

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BJP today demanded that Congress take action against state minister Vinay Kulkarni who it alleged had "openly" threatened its MLA during a debate on murders in the Assembly that he would be the next target.

"Dear #10PercentCM @siddaramaiah, your minister Vinay Kulkarni is an accused in the murder of ZP member Yogesh Gowda & is now openly threatening @CTRavi_BJP sitting in the 'Temple of Democracy'.

"Do you have the courage to take action against your Rowdy Minister?,"BJP state unit chief B S Yeddyurappa tweeted.

The tweet comes a day after BJP member C T Ravi's name was mentioned when the party raised the issue of killing of S Kadiresh, husband of a BJP corporator, and was targeting the government over law and order, citing rise in murders.

Referring to such recent killings, BJP leader Ashoka had said "Yesterday Santosh, today Kadiresh and who is tomorrow?," to which Ravi's name was screamed out from the ruling side, inviting an angry reaction from party members.

State Agriculture Minister Krishna Byregowda had however said the minister had only mentioned Ravi's name in jest and he was sorry about it.

Santosh was killed on February 2 and Kadiresh five days later.

BJP claimed that Santosh was killed when festoons were being put up for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit on Sunday last.

Kadiresh, a rowdy-sheeter, was hacked to death two days ago, which police said, was due to old rivalry.

Yeddyurappa picked up the term '10 per cent Chief Minister' fromthe Prime Minister's jibe during his public meeting on February 4in Bengaluru that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's government in Karnakata takes a commission of 10 per cent to get the works done.

The Karnataka BJP demanded that Rahul Gandhi take action against the 'rogue MLA'.

"Dear @OfficeOfRG, while discussing Hindu murders in K'taka assembly, your MLA Vinay Kulkarni openly threatens our MLA @CTRavi_BJP that he will be the next target."



"Beforelanding in K'taka tomorrow, we dare you to take action againstthis rogue MLA," the party tweeted.

Rahul Gandhi will be on a four-day tour of the state from tomorrow to galvanise the party workers ahead of the assembly polls, which are due early this year.

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Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje today exuded confidence that upcoming Rajasthan assembly elections will be unaffected by the results of recently held bypolls on two Lok Sabha and one assembly constituency in the state where the party lost to opposition Congress.

In her reply to debate on the Motion of Thanks to the Governors address, Raje said that the Opposition has only one work to criticise the government on every single issue.

As soon as Raje began her reply, her own party dissident MLA Ghanshyam Tiwari created disruption which was strongly objected by the Speaker Kailash Meghwal and Parliamentary Affairs minister Rajendra Rathore and Home minister Gulab Chand Kataria.

Tiwari initially refused to sit down and said he will keep standing throughout the CM's reply and later boycotted following strict directions from the chair to maintain the discipline and order.

Deputy leader of opposition Ramesh Meena and independent MLA Hanuman Beniwal also walked out against the ruling partys attitude towards Tiwari.

After this, the chief minister began the reply and said the traditions which have been made over the years should be strengthened instead of setting such examples which would be termed as blot on parliamentary democracy.

She said that the Opposition was only looking for win in the upcoming assembly elections but this will not happen.

Raje said that she has the faith in policies of the Centre and the state government and development works carried out by the government which will help the (BJP's) 'lotus' to bloom again.

She also highlighted achievements of the state government.

After the Chief Ministers reply, the Motion of Thanks to the Governors address was passed by voice-vote and the House was adjourned for the day.

Earlier, the leader of opposition Rameshwar Dudi cornered the government on various issues and said the government has betrayed farmers and youths.

He said that farmers are not getting minimum support price of their crops and they are committing suicide but the government is not serious.

Dudi also claimed that there is resentment among youths as the government is not providing job opportunities.

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Chief Minister Raman Singh today launched a blistering attack on the Congress over several issues in Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly, adding that the BJP was working on a target to win more than 65 seats in the coming assembly polls in the state.

Replying on the debate on the motion of thanks on the Governors address, Singh said the political scenario in the entire country was changing rapidly and the election results of Lok Sabha elections 2014 and subsequent ones in various Assembly elections and bypolls were an eye-opener for the Congress.

It is the result of good governance by the BJP that it is in power in 19 states, he said, adding that the vision of a 'Congress Mukt Bharat' (Congress free India) would soon be fulfilled.

Singh claimed that the condition of the Congress had turned so poor in the entire country that whenever he delivered a speech in the Assembly, a Congress or a Congress-supported government fell.

Today again he was speaking and it seems the Congress government in Karnataka will fall, Singh added.

The Congress had tarnished the dignity of democracy and encouraged caste based politics, and it had misused Section 356 and imposed emergency several times in many states, he said.

Hailing the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Singh today said that country was moving ahead on the path of development due to its strong leadership.

He said that the party was working on "mission 65 seats" for the forthcoming state polls.

Earlier, taking part in the debate, the Leader of Opposition, TS Singhdeo, accused the state government of ignoring the interest of farmers and of weakening panchayati raj institutions.

Singhdeo also alleged that an attempt was being made to snatch land from tribals in the state.

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RSS-affiliate Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) has given a call for a nationwide agitation on February 20 to protest against "anti-labour policies" and is rethinking to attend Indian Labour Conference (ILC) later this month.

The Kendriya Karya Samithi (national executive committee or KKS) meeting of BMS held at Ambaji in Gujarat on February 8 has called for "nationwide agitation against the central government's anti-labour policies", BMS General Secretary Virjesh Upadhyay said in a statement today.

He said that the KKS has directed all its unions to observe February 20 as 'Black Day' and hold union-level protest demonstrations, wear black badges and hold gate meetings.

The KKS strongly condemns the central government for not keeping any of its promises made to the BMS delegation on November 17, 2017, after the historical Delhi rally.

The protest is against negligent attitude of the central government towards labour problems, the BMS said.

Indian workers belonging to different central trade unions have put forth burning issues of labour before the government but the Union Budget 2018 was totally silent about any of the issues raised by unions, it added.

After a gap of three years, the 46th Indian Labour Conference is scheduled to be held on February 26-27, 2018, at New Delhi which will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The KKS has directed all its districts, states & industrial federations to hold dharnas, huge demonstrations at district headquarters, state capitals and industrial estates on February 26-27, 2018.

In this connection, a huge demonstration before the ILC venue will also be organised at New Delhi on February 26 to mount pressure of the government to resolve labour issues.

The BMS has been pressing for increasing honorarium to aanganwadi workers and bringing them under social security coverage; reimbursement of Cess amount to concerned labour welfare boards affected due to GST; enhancing EPS pension from Rs1000/per month to Rs5000 and providing special funds to Sick PSUs which can be revived.

It has also sought a hike in income tax exemptions to salaried sections up to Rs 5 lakh; withdrawing anti-labour provisions bringing under the garb of Labour Law Reforms; hiking Unorganised Social Security fund up to Rs 2000 crore and implementation of Supreme Court verdict on Equal pay to Equal work.

The BMS demands the central government to review the budget immediately and take steps to redress the grievances. If, the Union Government does not take any step before February 25, 2018, the BMS will rethink its participation in the forthcoming Indian Labour Conference, it added.

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Brexit negotiations took a turn for the worse today as European Union chief negotiator Michel Barnier warned that the transition period "is not a given" if disagreements with the UK persist. (EU)



His intervention in Brussels came soon after Britain's Brexit minister David Davis accused the EU of using "discourteous language" in a leaked document on the ongoing negotiations.

During a proposed 21-month transition period, also termed as the "implementation phase" of Brexit, the UK would effectively stay in the EU and under its laws, but lose its seat on its decision-making table.

Thekey differences between both sides revolve around the UK's demand for power to object to new rules imposed on it during the transition period, restrictions on the rights of EU citizens who come to Britain during that phase, and the ability to opt in to certain European policies.

Barnier said the EU has "problems" in understanding the position of the British government.

He said, "I'm surprised by these disagreements and if they persist, a transition is not a given. I wasn't talking about a threat. We have to bear in mind what the UK has said. I have some problems understanding the position.

"They themselves asked for this transition period. The EU's 27 heads of government said yes on the basis of very logical positions. It's understandable. But if this disagreement were to persist there will undoubtedly be a problem".

Refusing to be drawn into a response to Britain's allegation of "discourteous language", the man in charge of striking a deal on behalf of the 27 EU member-states claimed he had remained objective and calm but insisted it was time for the UK to make choices on key issues such as the Northern Ireland border.

"It is important to tell the truth," Barnier said.

His briefing came at the end of a week of technical talks between both sides' negotiators in Brussels.

He also seemed to accuse the UK of cancelling a planned meeting due to a "diary clash", but British officials denied cancellation and claimed the meeting had merely been moved to a later time.

Both sides are working towards a deadline to reach an agreement on the transition period before the European Councilmeeting in March.

A failure to agree on the contours of the implementation phase could mean the UK would effectively crash out of the economic bloc without a deal on March 29, 2019 unless the negotiation period is extended by consent of all 27 EU countries, or Article 50 is revoked.

The Opposition Labour party's shadow Brexit minister Kier Starmer termed Barnier's intervention as a "wake up call" for the British prime minister.

"Theresa May must end the infighting within her Cabinet, drop her reckless red lines and accept Labour's proposals for a transitional deal. That means seeking to remain in a customs union with the EU and within the single market during that period," he said.

Meanwhile, Premier May chaired meetings of her Brexit sub-committee this week amid much disagreement between different factions of her Cabinet.

Davis claimed the atmosphere at these meetings, aimed at sketching out what the UK wanted its future relationship with the EU to look like, had been "very constructive" and there had been "lots of things resolved" but admitted there was "still progress to be made".

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Taking serious note of the escape of a jailed Pakistani terrorist, the Centre on Friday asked the government to fully review security measures in place in jails and transportation of inmates.

The Union Home Ministry also asked the state government to ensure that no such incident takes place in future and deploy CRPF in prison security.

"The home ministry has taken serious note of the issue and has advised the state government to fully review security measures and take action to prevent such incidents in future," a senior home ministry official told PTI.

The move came following a high-level meeting which was convened after the escape of Pakistani terrorist Naveed Jatt, who was lodged in Srinagar central jail.

He fled from a hospital in the city after some militants shot and killed two policemen accompanying him.

Jatt was taken to the hospital for medical checkup.

The home ministry has asked the government to fix responsibility for lapses and also to examine why a high-security prisoner was sent to the OPD of a hospital.

The official said the state government has also issued instructions to immediately review security of hardened terrorists who are lodged in Srinagar central jail and they are expected to be moved out to Jammu, Uddhampur, Leh jails and kept in isolation.

There were 16 Pakistani prisoners still in Srinagar jail, of whom seven are being shifted to Jammu and discussions are on where to shift the others.

The state government has been asked to involve CRPF in all aspects of central jail security -- not only perimeter security but also inside the prison.

Another official said that the government has assured the central government of taking necessary steps and reviewing the entire jail security.

Consequently, the state government has transferred Director General of Prisons S K Mishra and appointed Dilbag Singh in his place.

The Srinagar jail superintendent has been suspended and a high-level enquiry by the divisional commissioner ordered, the official said.
China today lodged a protest with Japan after Japanese officials sent condolences to Taiwanese authorities following the recent earthquake, and accused Tokyo of violating the 'one-China' principle under the pretext of disaster relief.

"The Japanese side openly attempted to create 'one China, one Taiwan' under the pretext of disaster relief and condolences," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang was quoted as saying by state-run Xinhua agency.

Responding to a question, he said some senior Japanese officials sent condolences to Taiwan politicians addressing them by their "so-called official titles".

He said such a move went against the 'one-China' principle as well as Japan's commitment on the Taiwan issue, adding that China was strongly dissatisfied and had lodged representations to Japan.

"We urge the Japanese side to abide by the principles set in the four China-Japan political documents, immediately correct its wrong practice, and not make new obstacles for bilateral ties," he said.

Geng said the Chinese mainland was concerned after the magnitude 6.5 earthquake that hit Taiwan late on Tuesday.

Zhang Zhijun, head of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, expressed sincere regards to Taiwan compatriots, and pledged to send rescue teams and aid.

As of today, 10 people have been confirmed dead in the earthquake which struck Taiwan's Hualien County.

The dead included four from the Chinese mainland. A total of 276 people were injured.

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The CID tonight arrested two police officers, apparently close to former IPS officer Bharati Ghosh, for their alleged involvement in misconduct and extortion from civilians, a senior CID officer said.

Inspector Subhankar De and sub inspector Chitta Pal were arrested in ongoing operations of the Daspur case, the officer told PTI.

Pal was officer-in-charge of Ghatal police station and De was circle inspector there.

The CID officers also seized approximately Rs 40 lakh cash and unaccounted wealth during raids at De's residence and approximately Rs 16 lakh cash and unaccounted wealth from Pal, he said.

All legal requirements were strictly fulfilled before, during and after these arrests, the senior IPS officer said adding that the duo will be duly forwarded to Court tomorrow,



"We will continue with our searches. Our CID officers have spread out beyond state borders for taking legal action against other suspects and accused," the officer said.

The CID has again served a notice at Ghosh's husband's residence for appearing before the investigating officer tomorrow.

The CID had earlier also served notice to Ghosh's husband asking him to appear before the investigating officer but he had sought more time.

The CID last week had raided the residences of Ghosh and two other police officers in connection with the case.

Gold jewellery, documents and a large sum of cash were seized from the residences of Ghosh, the officer said.

Police carried out the raid following a court order after a person complained that some police personnel had forcefully taken money from him last year, the officer said.

Ghosh, who was the West Midnapore SP, had resigned from the services after she was transferred to a less significant post - the commandant of the third battalion of the state armed police - in late December last year.

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A teacher of a private English- medium school in the city was detained today after a Class 2 student alleged that he had sexually abused her, police said.

The development triggered angry protests by parents, who gathered outside the school, demanding suspension and punishment for the accused.

A senior police official said the parents of the alleged victim alleged that their daughter was abused by the dance teacher.

The incident came to light yesterday when the girl complained about the teacher to her parents, he said.

One of the agitating parents alleged that the school authorities tried to downplay the matter when they were informed about it.

"It was then we decided to stage a protest outside the school," he said.

Police officials, who reached the spot to control the agitators, were also heckled, the officer said.

"We have taken the teacher with us to the police station," he said, adding the parents assaulted the accused when he was being taken away.

The incident brought back memories of another case in December last year when a four-year-old girl student was allegedly sexually assaulted by two teachers inside an English-medium school. Both the teachers were arrested.

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Cody Fern has joined the cast of Netflix's "House of Cards" as a series regular.

Streaming giant had resumed production on the sixth and final season of political drama recently.

Fern was last seen in "The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story" and also played the lead role in the film "The Tribes of Palos Verdes", reported Deadline.

Earlier, Diane Lane and Greg Kinnear had joined the final season. The details of their roles are being kept under wraps, but it is known the two will play siblings.

The sixth season of the show will consist of eight episodes, with Robin Wright starring.

Michael Kelly, Jayne Atkinson, Patricia Clarkson, Constance Zimmer, Derek Cecil, Campbell Scott and Boris McGiver will also star.

Production on the series was originally shut down in October after allegations of sexual assault and harassment were made against series star Kevin Spacey.

Shorty after the production was suspended, Netflix and studio Media Rights Capital (MRC) announced that they were severing all ties with Spacey.

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The Congress today alleged massive corruption by Assam government officials in distribution of tractors among farmers, a charge denied by the state government.

The leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, Debabrata Saikia, at a press meet in the Assembly premises alleged about irregularities in tractor distribution.

"In case of one particular tractor company, named Preet, the government paid a higher amount. The company quoted the price of one tractor in Farmer Portal as 5.83 lakh. But the Government e-Marketplace portal shows price of a tractor as 4.53 lakh," Saikia said.

This price difference hints at the "massive corruption" at the top level, he alleged, demanding an all-party House committee probe into the matter.

The scheme had also promised farmers their choice of brand for the tractors, but some "influential people" forced them to accept vehicles of just one particular company, he alleged.

When asked about the people involved in the matter, Saikia said, "Many officials and bureaucrats might have benefited from it. One of them is building his resort in Himachal Pradesh. You (media) please find out."



Stating that the Congress will raise the issue in the House during the ongoing Budget Session, he said the company in question is also under the scanner of the central government over various fraudulent activities.

On December 10 last year, the Assam government had started distributing tractors across the state as part of its initiative to double farmers' income by 2022, under the Chief Minister Samagra Gramya Unnayan Yojana (CMSGUY).

Talking about CMSGUY at the press meet, Saikia alleged it has become a "money making scheme" for some people in the government.

"In 2016, the government announced this scheme for rural development, envisaging an investment of Rs 30,000 crore over the next five years. So ideally, by the end of the first year, there should have been an investment of at least Rs 5,000 crore and till now, Rs 7500 crore should have been spent for the scheme Nothing of that sort has happened," he said.

Denying Saikia's allegations against the tractor distribution programme, Assam industries minister Chandra Mohan Patowary claimed an internal committee has already looked into the issue and found nothing objectionable in the entire process.

"These allegations were raised earlier and we had formed a five-member committee to look into the issue. It has recently submitted the report, which says no corruption has taken place," the parliamentary affairs minister and government spokesperson told PTI here.

The inquiry report has already been approved by the Cabinet, he added.

Talking about the purchase of the tractors, he said, "As the scheme allowed farmers to have tractors of their own choice, it was not done through the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal.

Goods or services can be purchased on the portal only when the state government buys them directly," said the minister.

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Congress Lok Sabha member from Arunachal Pradesh, Ninong Ering in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi has told him about possible natural hazard in the North East due to formation of "debris dam" in the Yarlung Sangpo belt.

Ering, the MP from Arunachal East seat in his February 7 letter to the prime minister informed him about the "debris dam" formed in the Yarlung Sangpo belt in China due to a powerful underwater earthquake in November last year.

A copy of the letter was released to the press here.

In the letter, Ering claimed an intense earthquake activity in November last year triggered widespread landslides on the Yarlung-Tsangpo river, 200 kilometre upstream from Tuting in Upper Siang district of Arunachal Prdesh.

The Brahmaputra river which had its origin in Tibet is called the Yarlung-Tsangpo river there.

"Three natural rockslide dams have formed on the river due to blockage by landslides and debris. It is only a matter of time before the natural dams burst and unleash a severe disaster along the Siang river valley," the Congress MP said in the letter.

He urged the prime minister to take proactive and necessary steps to keep people of the state safe from the imminent danger.

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The Congress party's policy planning group for Jammu and Kashmir today expressed deep concern over the unprovoked firing by Pakistan in the Jammu region "leading to deaths, devastation and exodus of a few lakh people".

The group met today under the leadership of former prime minister Manmohan Singh and expressed concern over inadequate relief and rehabilitation measures for the citizens.

It called upon the Jammu and Kashmir government to adequately provide for relocation and rehabilitation of citizens to safer places and provide succour.

Singh will depute individual members of the group to visit different district headquarters of the Jammu region for deeper deliberation with Congress members, civil society representatives as also the citizens, said party's communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala.

The group has visited various parts of the state earlier and met a number of residents to help build a dialogue with the people there to help bring about sustained peace in the trouble-torn state.

It was decided that the members would again visit the region in April 2018.

The group has top Congress leaders as members including Ghulam Nabi Azad, P Chidambaram, Ambika Soni and Karan Singh.

Nineteen people, including nine civilians, were killed and over 75 injured in Pakistani shelling along the LoC and the IB in Jammu region this year.

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shelled out Rs 47.19 billion towards activities in the first eight months of the current fiscal, with private sector entities accounting for major chunk of the expenditure, according to the government.

Under the Act, 2013, certain class of profitable entities are required to spend at least two per cent of their three-year average annual net profit towards activities.

Based on filings made by in the MCA21 registry, the total spending stood at Rs 47.19 billion till November 30 of current financial year, according to a written reply given in the Lok Sabha by Minister of State for Corporate Affairs P P Chaudhary.

Out of that amount, Rs 33.93 billion was spent by private sector companies while Rs 1,325.83 crore came from public sector undertakings.

In 2015-16, the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) expenditure was Rs 138.27 billion, higher than Rs 95.64 billion recorded in 2014-15.

Responding to a query, the minister said the board of the company is empowered to select programmes, projects, activities to be undertaken under CSR.

"Ministry of Corporate Affairs has no role to play in this regard," he added.

The CSR norms came into force from April 1, 2014.

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A chef at a curry restaurant in Wales was today found not guilty of assault over an allegation that he deliberately threw chilli powder in the face of an unsatisfied diner.

Kamrul Islam was accused of attacking David Evans at the Prince of Bengal in Tonypandy in January last year.

The 47-year-old, who also owns the Bangladeshi-origin eatery, had denied causing actual bodily harm and said he had acted in self-defence because Evans was being aggressive.

A jury at Merthyr Crown Court agreed with his version of events and declared him not guilty today.

"I am happy and relieved. I was very confident that the British system would find the right answer, Islam said after the verdict.

The prosecution case was that the curry house owner had grabbed a handful of chilli powder and threw it in the face of David Evans, thereby causing him "difficulties with his eyes".

The incident occurred over a dispute about the quality of the chicken served to Evans and his wife, who were dining at the Prince of Bengal on January 22, 2017.

Describing the chicken, Evan said: It tasted rubbery and like paraffin. It was shiny. I go to lots of Indian restaurants and I have never tasted food like that before.

Islam told the court that he was "very frightened" as the couple shouted at him and as he walked away from the table he could hear being followed.

I ran to get the chilli powder because I wanted to get it before he grabbed me, he claimed.

According to Wales Online, Islam said David Evans clenched his fist in the doorway of the kitchen and was shouting before he threw the chilli powder because he thought he was going to be attacked.

Evans doubled up in pain and was taken to hospital where a saline drip was used to clean his eyes and he was found to have suffered burns where the spice landed on him. Islam was arrested later the same evening.

Jurors were shown CCTV footage from the evening as the defence challenged the couples sequence of events.

"Mr Islam you have been found not guilty, you are discharged and you may leave the dock, Judge Richard Twomlow said after the jury read out its verdict.

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A court here today posted to February 12, the hearing of a petition filed by the DVAC seeking five days custody of suspended Bharathiar University vice-chancellor, A Ganapathy, who was arrested on graft charges.

Ganapathy was arrested on February 3 for allegedly accepting Rs 30 lakh as bribe from an aspirant for the post of an assistant professor.

He is lodged in the central jail along with chemistry professor Dharmaraj who allegedly brokered the deal.

Since the Special Court Judge, John Mino, was on leave today, the accused were produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Madurasekharan, who posted the hearing to February 12.

The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti Corruption (DVAC) had filed the petition before the court yesterday, seeking five days custody of Ganapathy for further interrogation.

While being taken back to the prison, Ganapathy asked journalists to report the matter as per their conscience and not sensationalise it.

"I will come out clean from this conspiracy," he said.

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The DBS bank will stop financing 'dirty-coal' or low-grade coal projects by the end of this year, but continue to support ventures in emerging markets that uses higher-quality coal, a top bank official has said.

The Singapore-headquartered bank, which is rated among the largest in Asia, will also focus on funding renewable energy projects, Chief Executive Piyush Gupta said.

At a DBS financial results briefing yesterday, bank's he said that the bank will stop financing projects that burn low-grade coal, also known as "dirty coal", by the end of the year.

But, he was quick to assure that the DBS will continue to lend to projects in emerging markets that burn "higher quality" coal, at the same time start developing a portfolio of renewable energy projects to shift the mix of its loans.

"In respect of coal, we start with one caveat: We have got to remember that the bulk of energy needs in our part of the world are from coal," he said.

Citing global energy reports on coal, according to which by 2040 it would still account for about 40 per cent of the power generation mix, he said, "It is important to understand that you can't turn this off."



"It's not that straightforward an outcome, for either society or the So you've got to be thoughtful about how we transition," Gupta was quoted as saying by the Straits Times.

DBS has still struck a few deals linked to burning such "low-grade" coal this year, and will not pull out of these loans due to pre-commitment.

A report, last month, by Australian environmental advocacy group 'Market Forces' said Singapore banks DBS, OCBC and UOB have financed 21 coal project deals since 2012 worth USD 2.29 billion.

Of these, more than half were for coal-fired power plants that are mostly in Indonesia and Vietnam.

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Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu today said he was "deeply disturbed" over the way there was utter disregard for the parliamentary procedure and the unruly behaviour of members during the budget session.

He urged members to maintain the prestige and decorum of the House and participate in constructive debates in the coming days when the House meets again on March 5.

"I must confess that I am deeply pained at the way this session has progressed... What I am deeply disturbed with is the utter disregard for the parliamentary procedure and the unruly behaviour so unbecoming of the high position we occupy in the society as parliamentarians," he said.

He was speaking just before Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was to give the reply on the debate on the union budget.

Naidu said as chairman, it was his responsibility as he was accountable to the people, who will see how the House was conducted and how discussions are done.

"Let us not have slanging matches between parties and stoop down to competing with each other on unparliamentary language or behaviour.

"When we meet again in March, it is my fervent hope and an earnest appeal to each one of you that we shall turn a new leaf in our Parliament's history through orderly, informed and constructive debates," he urged the members.

Naidu asked members to keep the prestige and the decorum of the House and said they should feel privileged to be in this House because of the people's trust on them.

"We must use the opportunity wisely by debating, discussing and evolving solutions to a vast number of public concerns," he said.

The chairman asked, "Can we ever make our Parliament an effective instrument of change through informed debates, constructive criticisms and orderly proceedings?"



He hoped that all members would collectively strive to uphold and maintain the dignity, sanctity and supremacy of Parliament as they had pledged in 2012 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the first sitting of Parliament.

"I shall still keep hoping that we shall exercise the necessary restraint and behave with appropriate civility and dignity. I find it a sad commentary on our functioning, that we have lost nearly ten hours during this brief Session due to disruptions and forced adjournments," he said.

Naidu added that the Question Hour and Zero Hour could not be held on five days.

He asked members not to carry on in this manner any longer and appealed to them to consider the House as a sacred institution which should reflect the hopes and aspirations of 130 crore people.

"This is not aimed at any party--this party or that party. As far as the Chair is concerned, I am concerned about the House. It is an institution that decides the destiny and charts the direction of national development. That is why people have high hopes on us," he said.

After the finance minister spoke and after some clarifications, the House was adjourned and will now meet on March 5.

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Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra today reviewed the security situation in Kashmir and visited forward posts along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Valley.

"Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra arrived here today for a review of the overall security situation in the Valley," a defence spokesman said here.

Mitra visited the forward areas along the LoC where he was briefed on the prevailing security situation. The Defence Secretary interacted with the commanders and troops on ground, the spokesman said.

"He was also briefed on the close coordination amongst all the government agencies in maintaining peace in the region," he added.

Mitra also visited Badami Bagh Cantonment, the headquarters of the Army's 15 Corps here, where he was briefed by Corps Commander Lt Gen A K Bhatt about the counter infiltration and counter terrorism grids functional in the Valley.

"Mitra appreciated the various measures instituted to strengthen the security posture and the good job being done by all the security forces," the spokesman said.

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Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today met the family of a 16-year-old boy who was found dead in his school in the Karawal Nagar area last week, and directed the department to submit a detailed report on the incident.

An official said Kejriwal assured all possible help to Tusshar Kumar's family.

"The chief minister has directed the department to submit a detailed report on the incident. Also, he assured Tusshar's family of all possible help from the Delhi government," the official said.

The 16-year-old Class 9 student was found dead under mysterious circumstances in his school on February 1. Police had apprehended three boys of the same school in connection with the incident.

According to police, CCTV footage revealed that some students allegedly punched Kumar in the neck and face in the school's washroom.

The victim died of internal injuries he suffered during the scuffle.

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BJP chief Amit Shah today targeted the Congress for its attack on the government over the Rafale fighter jet deal, saying disclosing its details in Parliament will harm national interest and that the UPA dispensation had also followed a similar practice.

At a BJP Parliamentary Party meeting, he told MPs that sharing all details of the deal such as expenditure incurred on its weaponry and the technological know-how will only alert India's enemies and harm the country's interests, according to some leaders present there.

Even the UPA government did not share details of defence deals finalised by it for similar reasons, he said.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said Shah told party MPs that broader details of the transaction, including that it would cost over Rs 58,000 crore, have been shared but break-up of expenditure cannot be made public.

Shah also lauded Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's reply on the matter in Lok Sabha yesterday.

Jaitley had accused the Congress of "seriously compromising" national security by demanding disclosure of details of the deal.

He had also asked Congress president Rahul Gandhi to "learn" from former defence minister Pranab Mukherjee "lessons on national security".

Shah, in his address, also dubbed Gandhi "undemocratic", saying that mindset was behind the Congress disrupting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech in Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

Hitting out at Gandhi, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said he did not question the Congress president's right to a reply.

"But he cannot play with national security in such a manner," Prasad said.

Referring to Jaitley's speech, Prasad said the finance minister gave examples of many past defence ministers, most of them from UPA government, to stress that details regarding such deals cannot be disclosed.

"These critical, sensitive issues ought not to be disclosed because the countries hostile to India's interest should not know about it. This confidentiality agreement was executed by the previous UPA government with Rafale," he added.

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The Assam Assembly was today adjourned as no minister was present in the House when it assembled for the afternoon session.

The opposition Congress and AIUDF claimed that this is a "shameful episode" in the history of Assam Assembly that never occurred earlier.

This prompted the Deputy Speaker Dilip Kumar Paul, who was running the House at that time, to warn everyone so that it never takes place again.

"We all are respected members. I request all to maintain dignity. There was no quorum for 4-5 minutes. Then there was no minister. We should be careful from next time so that no such things happen again," he said as soon as the House reassembled after the adjournment.

After the House assembled in the afternoon at 3 pm post the lunch break, business did not start because of lack of quorum, which requires presence of 21 members out of the 126 MLAs.

The House bell kept on ringing for almost seven minutes, following which the quorum was achieved with few more members entering.

However, as soon as the Deputy Speaker wanted to start the business with the scheduled discussion on Motion of Thanks of the Governor's Speech, the opposition pointed out that no minister was present in the House.

"If the ministers are such irresponsible, then how can the House run?" Congress MLA Abdul Khaleque said and requested the shouting BJP members to ask their alliance partner AGP's senior leaders Prafulla Kumar Mahanta and Pabindra Deka about the rules.

AIUDF member Aminul Islam asked who will listen to the grievances of the people if there is no government representative.

With no minister present even after 10 minutes, the Deputy Speaker adjourned the House for 15 minutes.

Congress MLA Rupjyoti Kurmi said: "It's a day of shame. Assam Assembly never witnessed such a shameful incident in its entire history."



After that, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary entered the House and sat in his position without uttering anything, although some ruling party MLAs were seen whispering in his ears.

The ongoing Budget Session began on February 6 this week and will continue till April 6.

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Stock exchanges today said they will immediately stop the trading of indices of Indian securities on foreign bourses as part of a joint effort to stymie migration of liquidity to overseas markets.

The decision of the three exchanges -- BSE, NSE and Metropolitan Stock Exchange of India (MSEI) -- came after Sebi asked them to suspend trading of their indices in international markets, officials in the know said.

The coordinated move from the bourses assumes significance at a time when Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX) has launched trading in single-stock futures in 50 of India's top companies that are part of the Nifty index -- a development that has triggered concerns about liquidity moving out of the country.

"The existing licensing agreements for licensing indices/ prices of Indian securities for trading derivatives on foreign exchanges and/or trading platforms shall be terminated with immediate effect," the bourses said in a joint statement.

The termination of pacts would be subject to notice periods required in respective licensing agreements.

It has been observed that for various reasons the volumes in derivative trading based on Indian securities, including indices, have reached "large proportions in some of the foreign jurisdictions, resulting in migration of liquidity from India, which is not in the best interest of Indian markets", the statement said.

Issued hours after the markets closed for the day, it did not mention the SGX issue.

According to the bourses, any other arrangement that is part of the licensing pacts would be grandfathered for a period of one month.

In apparent efforts to further ring-fence the domestic market from liquidity migration, the exchanges would also stop providing market data, including prices of securities traded on their platform, to any foreign bourse for trading or settling any products, including derivatives.

Currently, Indian stock exchanges through a licensing arrangement provide their market data at various levels to index providers for creating Indices.

Such indices are licensed by the index providers to prospective licensees, including foreign stock and derivatives exchanges and other foreign trading platforms for enabling them to provide products for trading and settlement on such foreign exchanges.

The curbs would not be applicable for indices trading in International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) at Gujarat's Gift City.

"End of day and final settlement prices of securities shall be displayed on the exchange website and forwarded to media organisations, two hours after close of the market," the statement noted.

On February 5, SGX introduced single-stock futures of Nifty 50 companies despite reservations expressed by the NSE.

Prior to the launch by the Singapore exchange, NSE chief Vikram Limaye had flagged such a move would shift liquidity out of the Indian markets.

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The Uttarakhand government is rolling out the red carpet for filmmakers to visit the hilly state endowed with abundant natural beauty and shoot their projects there.

Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said today his government has decided to not charge fees from filmmakers to enourage them to shoot in Uttarakhand and promote the state as a preferred shooting destination.

"We have decided not to charge any fee for film shootings in the state so as to attract more and more filmmakers from across the country and abroad to shoot their movies here," he told a gathering in Tehri city in Garhwal region, the land of many 'garhs' or forts.

He also clapped the 'mahurat shot' of Shahid Kapoor- starrer "Bijli Gul Metre Chalu" there. The film is to be shot in Tehri, Rishikesh, Dehradun and Mussoorie over the next two months.

Often referred to as "Devbhumi" because of Hindu temples and pilgrimage centres found across the state, Uttarakhand is known for the natural environment of the Himalayas.

Ancient rock paintings, rock shelters, palaeolithic stone tools, and megaliths suggest that the mountains of the region have been inhabited since prehistoric times.

Tourism is one of the key industries driving the state's economy. Increase in film shootings will generate direct and indirect employment opportunities for the people of the state.

"Abounding in locations of rare scenic beauty, Uttarakhand can be an ideal destination for outdoor shootings. All that is needed on part of the filmmakers is a passion to explore," Rawat said.

He said when he was first approached by the filmmakers he advised them to start their shooting from Tehri area, home to several tourist spots including the spectacular Tehri Lake.

Rawat said Tehri has a great potential as a tourist destination and added that the Tehri lake was being developed to encourage filmmakers to shoot around the lake.

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Seeking to quash the trial court proceedings in the alleged fisheries scam of Rs 450 crore, Gujarat Fisheries Minister Purshottam Solanki alongwith former minister Dileep Sanghani today argued before the High Court there was no case made out against them.

They knocked the doors of the HC two years ago after a special Anti-Corruption Bureau court in Gandhinagar issued summonses to them after taking into account an inquiry report of the ACB.

During today's brief hearing before Justice J B Pardiwala, lawyers for both the leaders claimed there was no concrete evidence against their clients and the trial against them should be scrapped.

Justice Pardiwala posted the matter for February 16.

The case dates back to 2008, when Solanki was minister of state for fisheries and Sanghani was the cabinet minister for agriculture.

At that time, Palanpur-based businessman Ishaq Maradia moved the Gujarat HC and alleged that Solanki flouted rules by allotting contracts without following tendering process.

Maradia alleged that Solanki was involved in Rs 450-crore "scam" by illegally granting contracts for fishing in 58 reservoirs across the state.

After initial refusal of the Gujarat government to grant sanctions to prosecute Solanki, Maradia moved the HC in 2012.

During past hearings in the HC, Solanki said the contracts of fisheries were granted by Sanghani as he was then designated as the cabinet minister.

The then state cabinet under the leadership of former Chief Minister Narendra Modi had refused to grant sanctions to prosecute Solanki.

However, the then Gujarat governor Dr Kamla Beniwal on July 30, 2012 overruled the state cabinet and sanctioned the prosecution of Solanki under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Following which, Maradia filed an application in the ACB court demanding criminal prosecution of Solanki and Sanghani under the PC Act.

After the case was lodged against Solanki and Sanghani, the Gandhinagar court had asked the ACB to conduct an inquiry during May 2013 and asked the officials to submit a report.

A report in this regard was submitted before the ACB court in 2015 which had indicated irregularities while awarding the contracts for fisheries.

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Five members of a Buddhist sect, including a father and two of his children, were jailed in Vietnam today for "disrupting public disorder" after clashing with police last year, a case of possible religious persecution according to rights groups.

Religion is state-controlled in Buddhist-majority Vietnam, which has been accused of curbing freedom of worship especially among those perceived to be engaged in activism or politics.

Three members of a family belonging to the Hoa Hao Buddhist sect were sentenced to jail on Friday along with two other people for between three and six years following a trial in southern An Giang province, according to state media.

Bui Van Trung and his son Bui Van Tham were sentenced to six years in prison.

Trung's daughter Bui Thi Bich Tuyen was jailed for three years, An Giang's official mouthpiece reported, adding that his wife Le Thi Hen was sentenced to two years of house arrest.

They were all found guilty of "causing public disorder", while Tham was also convicted for "resisting public officers", the report added.

Hoa Hao Buddhism is an officially recognised faith in communist Vietnam, but some followers oppose government control over religion.

Founded in 1939, the sect first emerged as an independence movement against the French and has had a historically thorny relationship with the state.

Several of its members are already behind bars, including four jailed last month for flying the flag of the defeated southern regime loathed by the ruling communists.

Friday's sentencing came after Trung and some family members were arrested last year following clashes with police whom they accused of seizing motorbikes from local residents.

One of his daughters, who was not involved in the melee, told AFP her family was unfairly targeted.

"The verdict from the court is very unfair and wrong... we are innocent, but they still charged us. They beat us but they accused us of beating them," Bui Thi Thuy said after the heavily-guarded trial.

Human Rights Watch earlier called for the group to be released and urged Vietnam to "stop harassing and arresting those who belong to unsanctioned religious groups".

"This appears to be the latest instance of official persecution of members of this religion," said Brad Adams, HRW Asia director.

The convictions come amid a crackdown on critics in the one party-state, where dozens of dissidents were convicted and arrested last year.

Lawyers, bloggers and activists are routinely jailed in authoritarian Vietnam, but a conservative leadership in charge since 2016 is accused of tightening its grip.

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Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said the government will take into account the actual input cost plus unpaid value of family labour while fixing the support price of crops at 50 per cent higher than the cost of production.

He had announced in the Budget earlier this month that the government will fix the minimum support price (MSP) of Kharif 2019 crops at least 1.5 times than the cost of production.

The Opposition and farm experts demanded the government spell out that formula to be adopted to determine cost of production.

Replying to a debate on Union Budget 2018-19 in the Rajya Sabha, Jaitley said the government will take the A2+FL formula (covering actual paid out cost plus imputed value of family labour) to determine the cost of production of agri-crops and fix accordingly the MSP.

Currently, the government fixes MSP of 23 commodities although it procures only wheat and paddy to supply subsidised foodgrain through ration shops under the Food Law.

Admitting that farmers do not get MSP despite the government fixing it, Jaitley said: "Therefore, the proposal given in the Budget aims at providing MSP to farmers. MSP is fixed by taking into consideration the input cost, labour cost. A2+FL and (the farmer) gets 50 per cent more."



The formula is "A2+FL, that is the understanding I have from the agriculture ministry", he said, while clarifying to Congress leader Jairam Ramesh who sought to know the formula to be used by the government while fixing MSP 1.5 times higher than the cost of production of agri-crops.

Presently, the government decides the MSP based on the recommendation of an expert body the Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices (CACP).

The CACP has three formulae to arrive at the cost of production: A2, A2+FL and C2.

A2 costs cover all paid-out expenses, both in cash and kind, incurred by farmers on seeds, fertilisers, chemicals, hired labour, fuel and irrigation, among others.

A2+FL covers actual paid-out costs plus an imputed value of unpaid family labour.

C2 costs are more comprehensive, accounting for the rentals and interest forgone on owned land and fixed capital assets respectively, on top of A2+FL.

After the Budget announcement on the MSP, Niti Aayog member Ramesh Chand had said: "Based on the principle announced by the FM, the overall increase in the support price could be between 8 per cent and 47 per cent depending on crops and their cost of production this year."



In October 2006, the National Commission for Farmers under eminent farm scientist M S Swaminathan in its report had recommended the MSP for crops to be fixed at least 50 per cent higher than the weighted average cost of production.

BJP in its 2014 general elections had promised to fix MSP at 50 per cent more than the cost of production.

Participating in a debate on Budget, SAD leader Naresh Gujral urged the government to fulfil its promise on MSP and not let down the farmers.

"I will not get into to the formula, I hope farmers will get a good deal," he added.

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The arrests of four people in the past few days has led to the solving of 21 cases of chain-snatching in the Vasai-Virar belt here, police said today.

Superintendent of Police Manjunath Shinge said that following a spike in chain snatching cases in the area since October last year, special teams were formed which led to the arrest of the four persons.

Shinge identified them as Faiaz alias Pappu Imitiaz Ansari (20), Malang Yassar Ali Zaffri (21), Jaffar Irani (34) and Rehamt Irani (25).

Shinge said that 18 cases of chain-snatching in areas like Manickpur, Arnala and Tulinj stood solved with the arrest of Ansari and Zaffri and 275 grams of stolen gold, worth Rs 8.25 lakh, had also been recovered.

Three offences registered with Arnala police station were also solved, he said, due to the arrest of the Irani duo, adding that 110 grams of gold, worth Rs 3.3 lakh, was recovered.

Additional SP Raj Tilak Roshan said that the arrested persons were also involved in cases in Mumbai and Thane.

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Gold deposits in Rajasthans Banswara and Dungarpur are estimated to be over 114 million tonne.

The exploration by Geological Survey of India (GSI) has revealed that the deposits of gold are 114.78 MT in Bhukia- Dagocha area.

The work of exploration of gold and copper in other areas like Kamalpura, Neem Ka Thana and Mundiawas Kheda area is also going on, Director General of the GSI department N Kutumba Rao told reporters here.

He also said that department is now looking for exploration beyond the depth of 300 meters but has no technology, therefore the department is procuring advanced drill machines so as to drill beyond 300 meters for mineral exploration.

During his visit to the GSI office here, the DG held meeting with the officials and discussed on progress of various exploration projects.

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The government has to acknowledge that even children have fundamental and human rights and they cannot be compelled to live in uncomfortable conditions merely because they have "no voice in the affairs" of state, the Supreme Court today said.

The apex court said that rights of children need to be "enforced equally strongly" and if the Executive ignores the mandate of Parliament with "continuing callousness", it would only be detrimental to the children of the country.

The top court's observations came while passing a slew of directions for effective implementation of the provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.

"It is said that children are the future of the country and if they are not looked after, it is the future of the country that is at stake," a bench comprising justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta said in its 62-page judgement.

"No one has any doubt that it is time for the State to strongly and proactively acknowledge that even children in our country have fundamental rights and human rights and they need to be enforced equally strongly," it said.

It directed the Ministry of Women and Child Development and all state governments to ensure that all positions in the national and state commissions for protection of child rights are filled up well in time and adequate staff is provided to these statutory bodies so that they can function effectively.

The bench said that the national and state commissions for protection of child rights have a very significant and proactive role to play in improving the lives of children.

"The state governments must ensure that all positions in the JJBs (Juvenile Justice Boards) and CWCs (Chile Welfare Committees) are filled up expeditiously and in accordance with the model rules or the rules framed by the state government. Any delay in filling up the positions might adversely impact on children and this should be avoided," it said.

The top court also requested the chief justices of all high courts to register proceedings on their own for effective implementation of the Act so that "roadblocks", if any, were meaningfully addressed after hearing authorities concerned.

"Finally, we request and urge the chief justice of each high court to seriously consider establishing child friendly courts and vulnerable witness courts in each district," the bench said.

It said that inquiries under the JJ Act and trials under other statutes like the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, trials in sexual offences cases were required to be conducted with a "high degree of sensitivity, care and empathy for the victim".

The bench said there was a need to have some "compassion" towards juveniles in conflict with law since they were entitled to the presumption of innocence and establishing child-friendly courts and vulnerable witness courts would help in reducing their pain and suffering.

"Another advantage of such child-friendly courts and vulnerable witness courts is that they can be used for trials in which adult women are victims of sexual offences since they too are often traumatised by the not-so-friendly setting and environment in our courts," it said.

The apex court said that state-level child protection societies and the district-level child protection units could take assistance of NGOs to ensure implementation of the Act.

It said the JJBs and CWCs must appreciate that they were required to have sittings on a regular basis to deal with cases involving juveniles.

It also asked the Centre to make effective use of information and communication technology for issues connected with the JJ Act such as having a database of missing and trafficked children.

It said that police authorities have an important role in this issue and there was a need to set up meaningful special juvenile police units and appoint child welfare police officers in accordance with the JJ Act at the earliest.

"The National Police Academy and state police academies must consider including child rights as a part of their curriculum on a regular basis and not as an isolated or sporadic event," the court said.

It said that less money earmarked by states under the JJ fund was a "bit of an embarrassment" and stressed upon to need to sensitise and give training to authorities like JJBs and CWCs.

The bench said copy of its verdict be sent to registrar generals of all the high courts so that it could be placed before the chief justices for initiating suo motu proceedings.

It has listed the matter for March 13.

The court also noted in its verdict that despite "nudging by the judiciary, judicial activism and criticism of it" over the last decade or so, states and union territories have not fully complied with the provisions of a Act.

The apex court's judgement came on a PIL seeking implementation of the Juvenile Justice Act and its rules. The petition has raised the issue of alleged apathy by the governments in implementing the welfare measure.

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Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das today said his government was trying to check migration by providing jobs to the people in the state, an official release said.

He said the Momentum Jharkhand-a Global Investors meet held in February last year at Ranchi-was the beginning to check migration.

Laying the foundation of stone of 7th phase of Ramkrishna Forging Limited (RKFL) in Seraikela-Kharswan district, Das said his government would provide one lakh jobs and assured that no outsider would be appointed.

The governments initiatives such as Momentum Jharkhand, Skill Jharkhand, etc has created conducive atmosphere for investment in the state, the release said quoting Das.

Hailing 3.25 crore populace of the state for accepting the change, the chief minister said unemployment and poverty had been the biggest challenge before the government.

Investors would certainly invest in the state if the intention and policies of the government were good, Das said claiming that his government has created a conducive atmosphere for investment in the state and investment has started taking place.

Das said the new plant would produce railway and auto components and would be the 2nd largest company in the country.

Referring opportunities for industrial growth in the mineral-rich state, the chief minister said forging and foundry segment has immense potential for growth in Jharkhand, which also has plenty of opportunity for the textile sector as well.

We have framed a textile policy, which is the best policy of the country, he said announcing that a Gujarat-based textile company will set up its unit in Seraikela-Kharswan district.

A foundation stone laying ceremony of the proposed company is schedule to take place in March, he said.

Jharkhand produces 82 per cent cocoon of the country and thread produced in the state was in great demand in the domestic as well as international market, he claimed.

Our target is to improve in segments like silk, sweet revolution, lac and handicraft, he said assuring that Jharkhand would be in the category of developed state of the country by 2022.

The chief minister said Adivasi Vikas Samity would be formed in villages having 50 per cent tribal population and a Gram Vikas Samity in village having less than 50 per cent population of adivasis.

The development fund would be given to these samities to carry out development works such as setting up Dova (small ponds), well, check dam etc and also assured to provide the benefits of Ujjawala Yojana in remote villages.

Later, Das also inaugurated the CCTV Monitoring system set up by the district administration.

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As Gujarat is staring at a water crisis this summer, the Narmada Control Authority has allowed the state to use 'seepage and dead water' of the Sardar Sarovar Dam over Narmada to provide drinking water.

Chief Minister Vijay Rupani made the announcement in Gandhinagar today.

The state could face a severe crisis due to the plummeting water level in the Sardar Sarovar reservoir following an unprecedented reduction in water inflow.

"The Narmada Control Authority today gave us (in a meeting in Delhi) the permission to lift seepage as well as 'dead water' from the Sardar Sarovar Dam to provide drinking water to people living in over 10,000 villages and 167 towns. I want to assure people that they will get drinking water (from the dam) till July 31," Rupani said.

'Dead water' storage refers to the water in a reservoir that can not be drained using the dam's outlets and can only be pumped out.

Last month, the Gujarat government had urged farmers not to sow summer crops in view of the looming water shortage.

According to the state government, the Sardar Sarovar Dam and upstream dams in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh received less water in 2017 due to scanty rainfall in the catchment area, which falls mostly in Madhya Pradesh.

Gujarat would get only 4.71 million acre feet (MAF) water from the dams on the Narmada this year, 45 per cent of the sanctioned share of 9 MAF.

To save water for drinking purpose, the government also asked farmers not to lift water illegally from Narmada canals. Several illegal connections were removed in the last two weeks.

Apart from curtailing water supply to industries, the state government also urged municipal corporations to utilise other sources.

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The Madras High Court today posted to February 12 the hearing of a PIL challenging a Tamil Nadu government order restricting the import and sale of river sand to the Public Works Department (PWD).

The First bench comprising Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice Abdul Quddhose adjourned the PIL by L Adimoolam, publisher of Tamil daily Dinamalar (Coimbatore edition) to Monday.

The high court had on November 29, 2017 directed the state government to stop all sand mining and quarrying activities in Tamil Nadu within six months and not open any new sand quarries.

The government should take a decision to import river sand by the state-owned corporation in order to meet the demand in the state if there were no legal impediments, it had said.

Subsequently, in December, the Tamil Nadu government issued an order stating that sale of imported ordinary sand or that brought from other states or Union Territories for construction purposes shall be done only by the PWD.

The petitioner contended that the regulation of imported sand or that brought from other states was the sole prerogative of the Centre.

Alleging that the Tamil Nadu government was trying to usurp the legislative field of the central government through the impugned government order, the petitioner said the Centre has also framed an "Import Policy on Sand" as updated from time to time, which does not prohibit sale or consumption of imported sand.

The petitioner also stated that the government has ignored the fact that free import, transportation and storage of sand for own use or sale would solve one of the most grave problems of the public as well as the construction and infrastructure sector.

He further submitted that there is no restriction on any other construction material to be imported, transported, stored to be used for own purposes or to be sold to public and similarly sand, which is also construction material cannot be restricted.

The government has failed to understand that the restrictions imposed will result in monopoly, hoarding and black marketing of the sand, the petitioner said.

Hence, he sought to quash the government order and prayed for a consequential direction to permit transportation, storage and sale of same imported sand from other countries, and that brought from other states, Union Territories for construction purposes to Tamil Nadu.

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The Delhi High Court today allowed the police to lead additional evidence before the trial court in the 2008 Batla House encounter case in which suspected Indian Mujahideen (IM) terrorist Shahzad Ahmed was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Nearly five years after Ahmed appealed in the high court against his conviction, the prosecution sought permission to bring in additional evidence to bolster its case.

A bench of justices S Muralidhar and I S Mehta allowed a Delhi Police application, filed last month, "in interest of justice".

It, however, imposed strict conditions on the police and the trial court regarding the recording of additional evidence in the case.

The bench directed the prosecution not seek any adjournment on any ground and be ready with its additional witnesses for being examined on a day-to-day basis before the trial court.

"The right of the appellant (convict) to cross-examine the said witnesses will be permitted in accordance with law," it said, noting that the lower court will complete the recording of the evidence in one month from February 19.

The bench said that the convict's statement with regard to additional evidence be recorded within one week after the conclusion of recording of additional evidence.

While asking the parties to cooperate in the proceedings before the trial court, the bench directed the authorities to place before it by April 30, the "entire transcript" of the process conducted before the trial court.

It also said that if the judicial officer is unable to record the evidence, he shall request some other judge to deal with it.

The bench said that the convict shall be produced before the trial court on every date of hearing.

The police moved the application in the pending appeal filed by the convict against the trial court's July 2013 verdict, sentencing him to life imprisonment for killing decorated police officer, inspector M C Sharma and injuring two other personnel.

The convict filed an appeal in September 2013 against the trial court order. Subsequently, the police also approached the high court seeking enhancement of the sentence awarded to him.

Senior advocate Dayan Krishnan, appearing for the police, had said that certain facts regarding the forensic report of the voice samples needed to be brought on record in the case.

Senior advocate Satish Tamta, appearing for the convict, had contended that allowing the application would result in an unnecessary waste of time and delay the decision in the appeal even further.

He submitted that the convict was in prison for over eight years.

Ahmed was convicted by the trial court in the September 19, 2008 Batla House encounter case.

A team of Delhi Police Special Cell had raided a Batla House flat in Jamia Nagar in south Delhi following a tip-off that terrorists allegedly involved in the September 13, 2008 serial blasts in the national capital, were holed up there.

He is also facing trial in the serial blasts case. The multiple blasts had left 26 dead and 133 injured.

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Himalayan blue sheeps, also known as bharals, have been spotted with "symptoms of eye infection" and difficulty in movement in the Gangotri National Park, the Uttarakhand government today told the National Green Tribunal.

The endangered species live on high-altitude mountains mainly in India, Nepal, Tibet, Pakistan, and Bhutan. Many Buddhist monasteries protect the bharals found around them.

The animal is categorised as 'Least Concern' by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. The population faces two threats: poaching for meat and competition with livestock.

Uttarakhand's forest department told the tribunal bench that its team had brought a baby bharal with symptoms of eye infection for medical examination, but the animal died during treatment.

"The Gangotri National Park teams did survey in Nelong, Kedartal and Gaumukh valley to observe bharals in September, October and November last year. They could only observe two bharals with symptoms of eye infection in Bhukhark area of Kedartal one of which was brought down for treatment," the department said in an affidavit submitted before the tribunal.

"Thus, it appeared that the eye disease was restricted to a very few animals in only one narrow area of the national park."



It said another team from the Wildlife Institute of India in Dehradun observed 353 bharals in the national park, out of which five blue sheeps were spotted with eye infection.

The department's submission came during the hearing of a plea filed by advocate Gaurav Bansal. He has sought shifting of infected animals from the national park to a safer place.

According to the plea, a group of BSF officers camping in Kedar Tal area of the park in September spotted several Himalayan blue sheep with their eyes popping out and bleeding.

"During camping, one of the officer found several blue sheep with their eyes popping out or bleeding or eye socket empty. He took photographs of some of the infected blue sheeps.

"The applicant also came to know that the BSF officer had informed the state forest department about the condition of the prevailing disease in the blue sheep, but it has failed to take proper measures to prevent and control the spreading of the disease," the plea had claimed.

The petition said that according to the National Wildlife Action Plan, 2017-2031, issued by the ministry, the infectious disease was a concern not only to humans but wildlife species. It said authorities were not taking action to protect the animals.

"In order to eradicate the disease, there was an urgent need to establish and strengthen the centres for wildlife rehabilitation and disease surveillance in and around the protected areas," it had said.

The petitioner has sought setting up of a high-level team to inspect the Gangotri National Park and formulate an action plan for the conservation of the eco-system and bio-diversity of the ecologically-sensitive area.

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Leading non-banking financial company Home Credit India Finance Pvt Ltd is aiming to expand its presence across India by establishing one lakh stores by 2020, a senior company official said today.

The company has a strong network of over 20,000 Points of Sales (PoS) at present in the country, where it services over five million customers through an employee base of over 19,000 in 100 cities in 20 states, Home Credit India Chief Sales Officer Artem Popov told reporters here.

The company has also lined up ambitious plans in Tamil Nadu, targeting its PoS network to 2,000 from the present 700 by the end of 2018, he said.

To support the expansion, the company plans to ramp up its employee base by hiring 100 people more next year, which would touch 500 from the current 390, Popov said.

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With a Jat outfit threatening to disrupt BJP chief Amit Shah's bike rally in Jind on February 15, the Haryana government has sought 150 companies of central forces to deal with the situation.

All India Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti (AIJASS) chief Yashpal Malik had cited non-fulfilment of a number of the group's demands as the reason behind the plan to block the BJP chief's rally with nearly 50,000 tractor trolleys.

"The state has sought 150 companies of central forces. We are closely monitoring the situation. We are holding a high- level meeting tomorrow," Director General of Police (DGP) B S Sandhu said today.

Top officials of the police and civil administration in the state, including DGP Sandhu, Additional Director General of Police Mohd Akil, Inspector General (Rohtak Range) Navdeep Singh Virk, Home Secretary S S Prasad among others, were keeping a close watch on the situation, an official said.

Meanwhile, Opposition Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) said today it would seek answers from Shah on the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue.

"We will ask him why Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal is not being completed despite clear directions from the Supreme Court. SYL is our lifeline, we will ask him why its construction is being delayed. If we do not get a satisfactory reply from him then we will not allow his rally," senior INLD leader Abhay Singh Chautala said.

The AIJASS would hold a "Bhaichara Nyaya Yatra" in Jind on February 15 to seek answers from government for allegedly not fulfilling promises made to the Jat community, Malik said.

"We will hold a roadshow in Jind on February 15 in which at least 50,000 tractor trolleys will be used, to oppose the BJP government's failure to meet our demands," he added.

Malik said the Jats and the Haryana government had arrived at an agreement in a meeting held in Delhi last year.

"However, the government has not fulfilled the demands which they agreed to at the meeting... Our legitimate demand of quota should be met, all cases registered against our community members should be withdrawn and suitable compensation to those who were injured in the quota stir should be given," the AIJASS said.

Malik maintained that he and other Jat quota leaders had also met Shah in August last year and requested him to expedite the withdrawal of cases against the Jats and the implementation of other demands.

"However, the the state government had slowed down the process thereafter," he alleged.

Notably, the Haryana government had recently given its nod to the withdrawal of 70 FIRs registered in connection with the February 2016 Jat quota stir violence.

During the past nearly two years, the government has approved withdrawal of 223 cases, in which a total of 2,027 people were accused, Home Secretary Prasad had said earlier.

Prasad had clarified that no case pertaining to heinous crimes like murder, would to be withdrawn.

These cases were filed in February 2016 after the Jat quota stir in the state turned violent. Around 30 people were killed and more than 300 people injured when the agitation led in large-scale violence.

Amit Shah's upcoming rally in Jind on February 15 would be participated by nearly one lakh bikers. Officials plan to deploy the majority of the central forces there to ensure the visit passes off smoothly.

The district authorities were making elaborate arrangements to ensure the event passes off peacefully, the officials added.

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Leading Indian-descent immigrant rights activist Ravi Ragbir whose long battle over deportation has drawn support from Democratic politicians in New York won't have to leave country before a First Amendment lawsuit is heard.

Ragbir, a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago who leads the New Sanctuary Coalition of New York City, a coalition of 150 faith-based pro-immigrant groups, says in a lawsuit that he and other activists have been wrongly targeted by immigration officials in an effort by the federal government to silence dissent.

"These activists have been surveilled, intimidated, harassed and detained, their homes raided, many have been plucked off the street in broad daylight, and some have even been deported," the lawsuit read.

Ragbir was taken into custody on January 11 after a routine check-in with immigration officials in New York. He previously served 30 months in prison for wire fraud because of work he did for a crooked mortgage company. He said he has been given a deportation order for February 10, but has at least one pending court appeal before then.

He was released last week after a federal ruled he hadn't been given enough time to say goodbye to his family. That judge, U.S. District Judge Katherine B. Forrest, expressed "grave concern" over allegations he was targeted for deportation because of his political activities.

The week before his arrest, another leader of the New Sanctuary Coalition, Jean Montrevil, was arrested in the street and deported to Haiti. Montrevil was sentenced to an 11-year prison sentence for selling cocaine.

US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement last month also detained the husband of an immigrant activist in Boulder, Colorado, who got media attention after seeking sanctuary from deportation in a church.

In a stipulation dated Thursday, federal prosecutors and Ragbir's lawyers agreed he won't be deported until the case is heard.

Separately, he was appearing in court in Newark to ask a judge to stay deportation while he appealed the 2001 wire fraud conviction.

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Leading Indian-descent immigrant rights activist Ravi Ragbir whose long battle with immigration officials has drawn support from Democratic politicians in New York won't be deported while a federal judge hears a lawsuit.

Ragbir was detained for deportation to his native Trinidad and Tobago on January 11.

In court papers dated yesterday, lawyers argued the federal government is wrongly targeting immigrant rights activists and it's a violation of the first amendment.

The parties agreed to allow Ragbir to stay while the case was heard. Separately today, he was asking a judge in Newark to allow him to stay in the country pending an appeal on a 2001 criminal conviction for wire fraud.

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Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's historic Palestine visit, President Mahmoud Abbas said he will discuss with him India's role in the Middle East peace process and the creation of a multilateral forum of negotiations to strike a final deal with Isarel.

Modi, the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Palestine, is reaching Ramallah tomorrow amid heightened tensions in the region after US President Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

The unilateral US decision to declare Jerusalem as the capital of Israel was challenged at the UN General Assembly where 128 nations, including India, voted to turn down the move as "null and void".

"We are receiving Prime Minister Modi in a historic visit that will demonstrate the strong ties and relations between the Palestinian people and the brotherly Indian people," Abbas told PTI in an e-mail interview.

Though India has shied away from becoming a party in the Israel-Palestinian conflict, the Palestinian leader on several occasions has stressed on a possible role for New Delhi in the Middle East peace process.

"We will discuss the recent updates with Prime Minister Modi, and the recent developments in the peace process, the bilateral relations, and the regional situations. And the possible role India can play in enhancing peace in the region, as well as discussing different economical aspects beyond the existing ties we already possess," Abbas said.

Describing India as a "very respected country in the international arena", the 82-year-old Palestinian President said that India can have a possible role in creating a multilateral forum of negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis to reach a final agreement.

He said Modi's visit to the region reflects India's long-held position of supporting peace and stability in the region.

"We believe in the importance of a possible Indian role...to reach a final agreement based on international consensus and resolutions, in which India and other countries can be part of," Abbas said.

"The long Indian position of supporting the two-state solution is well known. India has supported the Palestinian cause throughout the years of conflict, and we rely on the Indian support in order to reach the independence of the Palestinian State," he added.

As Palestine works to establish an international multilateral mechanism of negotiations, the Palestinian leader stated that "India can play a role in this".

"The relations between India and Palestine are historical...This visit will culminate the historic ties between the two brotherly people, and will help in increasing and strengthening these ties that we possess," he stressed.

The Indian Prime Minister would be skipping Israel during his forthcoming tour of Middle East in a clear message that New Delhi is de-hyphenating its ties with the Jewish state and Palestine. Modi had visited Israel last year in July in a standalone visit that had led to many analysts questioning the future of the Indo-Palestine ties.

When asked about India's growing engagement with Israel, an unperturbed Abbas said that "any state has the right to establish relations with other countries".

"We believe in the importance of our relationship with the brotherly Indian State, the support of India to the Palestinian people, and the relationship we possess with the Indian people, will not be effected by Indias relations with any other State," he emphasised.

"India has recognised the State of Palestine in 1988, and we cannot forget the last Indian vote in favour of Palestines rights in Jerusalem in the United Nations General Assembly, and all the political stands that India has taken to support the Palestinian rights in the international arena," Abbas said referring to India's vote at the UN.

India has consistently voted in favour of resolutions supporting the Palestinian cause at international forums, an issue that has bothered strategic partner Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently said that he was "disappointed" at the Indian vote at the UN but also expressed hope that there will be a possible change of heart over a period of time.

Appreciating India's assistance in strengthening Palestinian economy through executing several projects in the Palestinian areas, Abbas said that "he cannot forget" New Delhi's support and wishes to further discuss with Modi areas of cooperation in the economic sphere.

A number of MoUs are likely to be signed between the two sides during Modi's three-hour visit to Palestine under which India will provide funding for a number of projects in the fields of health, education, culture and womens empowerment.

"The Indian Government and its people have provided significant assistance and aid to the Palestinian people by establishing training centres, schools, and the necessary humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people under occupation in the West Bank and Gaza," Abbas noted.

"And in 2016 we laid the foundation stone to establish the Palestine India Techno Park project in Ramallah, and we are also looking forward the establishment of the Institute of Diplomacy that is kindly funded by the Indian Government", he noted.

A lot of Palestinian diplomats have received training in India and hundreds of Palestinians have availed scholarships to study at Indian institutions as part of New Delhi's effort towards capacity building in Palestine.

"We are working on promoting the economical relations through introducing businessmen and investors from both sides on the available opportunities in the sectors of tourism, technological exchange in many areas, including industrial, agricultural, and information systems, and on the other hand, signing government agreements to support businessmen and protect their investments," he said.

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Pakistan today said India has not responded to its queries on Indian death-row prisoner Kulbhushan Jadhav's passport and details of his service, calling it "regrettable".

Foreign Office spokesman Dr Mohammad Faisal said that Pakistan arrested "serving Indian Naval Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav", who confessed to his involvement in numerous terrorist incidents in Pakistan.

"It is regrettable that India has so far not given us any reply on how commander Kulbhushan Jadhav was in possession of the passport of Hussain Mubarak Patel, or any details of his retirement from Indian Navy," he said.

Jadhav, 47, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court in April on charges of espionage and terrorism.

The International Court of Justice in May had halted his execution on India's appeal.

Pakistan claims its security forces arrested him from restive Balochistan province on March 3 in 2016 after he reportedly entered from Iran. However, India maintains that Jadhav was kidnapped from Iran where he had business interests after retiring from the Indian Navy.

To another question, Faisal confirmed that a Pakistan delegation visited India for talks regarding intelligence and counter-terrorism but added that "it was not a bilateral meeting between Pakistan and India, but was held under the ambit of Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS), counter- terrorism cooperation mechanism under SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation)".

India and Pakistan attended the SCO summit last year in the Russian beach resort city of Sochi as permanent members for the first time.

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An Indian-American was killed and another critically injured when a man opened fire in two convenience stores in the US state of Georgia.

Parmjit Singh, a 44-year-old father of two high school students, was shot multiple times on Tuesday evening at the Hi Tech Quick Stop on Burnett Ferry Road, sheriff's officers said. The Floyd County coroner pronounced him dead on the scene.

Just 10 minutes after shooting Singh, the gunman entered another convenience store, Elm Street Food and Beverage, and stole money before shooting 30-year-old clerk Parthey Patel, sheriffs officers said. Patel was in critical condition.

The suspect, Lamar Rashad Nicholson, 28, was arrested on multiple charges, including murder, aggravated robbery, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm while committing a crime and use of a firearm by a convicted felon. He is being held without bond in the Floyd County jail.

Major Jeff Jones with the Floyd County police said officers did recover security video from the initial location and it shows the suspect walked into the store and immediately fired three shots at the Singh who was standing behind the counter, a local newspaper said.

A second employee, a female, was standing off to the side and was not injured, the newspaper reported.

Jones said there was no attempt to rob the store, that Nicholson simply walked in and opened fire.

Singh's brother, who owns several local businesses, told Rome Tribune that his older brother came to the area about eight years ago.

Police is investigating the motive behind the crime.

Nicholson is no stranger to law enforcement. He was arrested on January 9 after he violently snatched a 3-year-old girl by the arm and cursed in front of her and another child, authorities said.

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Indian Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat will embark on a three-day visit to Nepal next week to attend the Himalayan nation's Army Day and Maha Shivaratri celebrations, according to Army sources here.

The Indian Army chief and Nepal Army chief Gen Rajendra Chhetri will hold bilateral talks at Nepal Army headquarters during the visit beginning February 13, said Nepal Army sources without giving further details.

Rawat's trip is a regular visit and there is a tradition of exchange of visits between the chiefs of the two armies.

Rawat's visit comes days after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj visited Nepal.

Swaraj visited Nepal on February 1 where she called on President Bidya Devi Bhandari, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and held talks with CPN-Maoist Centre chairman 'Prachanda'.

Meanwhile, US Army Pacific Commanding General Robert B Brown held bilateral talks with Chhetri at the Army Headquarters.

During the meeting they discussed matters relating to bilateral interest and mutual cooperation, according to a statement by the Nepal Army.

The senior US Army official, who is here on a four day visit will return home on Sunday.

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Two foreign journalists, including an Indian national, have been detained in the Maldives for working in the country in violation of its immigration rules, the Maldivian police said today amid political turmoil in the island nation.

Maldives Police has handed over the two journalists, a British national and an Indian National, to immigration authorities, the police said in a statement.

"These individuals were found to be working and reporting as journalists while on a tourist visa, in contravention to the Immigration Act and Regulations," the statement said.

"We urge all foreign nationals to adhere to immigration guidelines and acquire the relevant visa that corresponds to the purpose of their visit. We note that several foreign journalists are currently working in the Maldives and welcome all those who wish to do so in the future," it said.

India has asked its Embassy in the Maldives to ascertain the details pertaining to the detention of the Indian national.

"We have received information about an Indian national, Shri Money Sharma, working as a journalist, who has been detained by the Maldivian authorities. We have asked our Embassy to get in touch with the local authorities to ascertain more details of the case," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said.

The action against the two journalists came as a privately-owned television station in the Maldives went off the air, citing threats during the country's current state of emergency.

Rajje TV, which highlights the views of the political opposition, said in a statement that it stopped broadcasting because the country's environment does not allow journalists to report freely and independently, the AFP agency reported.

Male, which has seen several political crises since the ouster of its first democratically-elected president Mohamed Nasheed in 2012, plunged into chaos last Thursday when the Supreme Court ordered the release of nine imprisoned Opposition politicians, maintaining that their trials were "politically motivated and flawed".

Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen has refused to obey the court orders and declared a state of emergency in the country.

Maldives' Supreme Court Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and another judge, Ali Hameed, were arrested hours after Yameen declared a state of emergency. Former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom was also arrested.

International community has asked the Yameen government to restore the constitutionally guaranteed rights of the people and institutions.

UN human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein has called the declaration of a state of emergency in the Maldives and the resulting suspension of constitutional guarantees an "all-out assault on democracy."



Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump have expressed concern about the political situation in Maldives over a phone call, the White House said today.

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A 19-year-old Indian has committed suicide by allegedly jumping from a building at a university campus in the UAE, a media report said today.

Officials found the student lying in a pool of blood and pronounced him dead, Khaleej Times reported.

The Dubai Police said that he had jumped from the fifth floor of the building at the Murdoch University campus here.

The identity of the victim was not revealed by the police.

According to a friend of the student, he had come to the university with his father to pay his fees and told his father that he wanted to use the washroom. It was after this that he jumped from the building.

"He was absolutely normal when he spoke to me last night before the incident," the friend said, adding that he did not notice any signs of depression.

The police are currently carrying out an investigation to ascertain the cause of his extreme step and ruled out any criminal motive behind the incident.

In a statement, Murdoch University, Dubai said: "We wish to express our sincere condolences to family members, friends and colleagues.

"We are working closely with the relevant authorities. The University is also providing counselling services to all students and staff".

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Private carrier Jet Airways today announced the launch of its second daily flight to Singapore from Bengaluru starting next month to meet the growing passenger demand on the route.

The new additional service, to be operational from March 15, will also provide Jet Airways' passengers connectivity beyond Singapore to Denpasar/Bali, Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur through codeshare flights with the partner carriers Garuda and Malaysian Airlines, a release said.

In late October, Jet Airways had launched a non-stop service to Amsterdam from Bengaluru, in codeshare with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Air France and Delta Air Lines, connecting guests to 106 destinations in Europe and onwards to North America.

The introduction of the second frequency forms part of Jet Airways focus to strengthen its presence in Bengaluru as the carriers upcoming third hub, in addition to Mumbai and Delhi, and aims to facilitate seamless onward connections for passengers across its global network of 64 destinations, including 44 in India, it said.

"This second daily service will benefit business travellers who are looking at tapping into India and Singapores promising commercial opportunities. In addition, Singapore boasts of a huge Indian diaspora that can avail of this opportunity to strengthen ties to their roots," Jet Airways whole-time director Gaurang Shetty said.

The second daily service to Singapore will also offer passengers travelling from destinations in the Indo-Pacific region such as Fiji, Darwin, Phuket, Penang, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane a seamless connection to Amsterdam via Bengaluru through codeshare operated by partners carriers like Fiji Airways, Jetstar Asia and Qantas, it said.

The second frequency will also enhance Jet Airways cargo capacity on this route to 5,000 kg from 2,500 kg each way, at present, it said adding it will also give movement of goods to access the Amsterdam market and other destinations in Europe.

This is made possible with a daily connection from Singapore to Amsterdam via direct dailies available between Bengaluru and Amsterdam, it added.

Jet Airways has also announced special introductory return economy fares from Bengaluru, starting at Rs 11,768.

Passengers can book tickets with these special fares starting February 15, for journeys commencing from March 15 onwards, Jet Airways said in the release.

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Kerala registered a healthy increase in domestic and foreign tourist arrivals last year because of initiatives launched by the state government, a tourism department official said here today.

"We have achieved 11.39 per cent increase in domestic tourist arrivals and 5.15 per cent increase in international tourist arrivals in 2017 compared to previous year," Nandakumar K P, joint director, Department of Tourism, Kerala, said during a programme organised to promote Kerala Tourism.

He said domestic tourist arrivals last year was 1.47 crore, while 10.38 lakh foreign tourists visited the state.

To reach out to the domestic market, a string of 'partnership meets' are being organised in Mumbai, Pune, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Chennai, Kolkata, Patna and New Delhi in the first quarter of 2018.

"Such meets provide an opportunity for the tourism trade in the respective cities to interact, establish contact and develop business relationship with a cross-section of tourism industry players from Kerala," he said.

"Kerala offers the much-needed succour and adrenaline rush to adventure-seeking travellers. Kayaking, trekking, paragliding, river rafting are a few activities that form a part of the Eco-Adventure package," he said.

Nandakumar said Kerala is gearing up to welcome every kind of traveller with the fifth edition of the Kerala Blog Express, a unique social media outreach that brings together international bloggers and influencers.

Kerala Blog Express starts on March 12, he added.

Scheduled in the middle of this year is a major B2B event, the Kerala Travel Mart, which has over the years helped showcase Kerala to the world.

"The event brings the business fraternity and the entrepreneurs behind Kerala's unparallelled tourism products and services, on a single platform to network and develop business. The 10th edition of this four-day event begins on September 27, which is also celebrated as the International Tourism Day," he said.

For art aficionados, the state endorses the dreamy lanes of Fort Kochi and a pilgrimage to the Kochi Muziris Biennale, which has changed the landscape of contemporary Indian art today and has helped make Kochi, the art capital of India, he said.

For history buffs, there's the Muziris Heritage Project. The remains of a once thriving port offering pepper, gold, silk and ivory, frequented by Arabs, Romans, Egyptians as early as the 1st century BC is today preserved across 25 museums as the largest heritage conservation project in India.

Another offering in the historical space is the Spice Route Project that rekindles the 2000-year-old ancient sea links and shared cultural legacies with 30 countries, he said.

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Loss making public utility service, the Kerala state Electricity Board, has expressed concern over its financial crisis and sought workers co-operation to overcome it.

In a letter to representatives of workers Unions, Board Chairman and Managing Director N S Pillai said the Board was facing a financial crisis and its accumulated losses as per the statutory audit of 2016-17 stood at Rs 1,877 crore.

He said KSEB was finding it difficult to deposit its share into the Employees Master Pension and Gratuity Trust.

Seeking their co-operation to turn around KSEB, Pillai in his recent letter, said all incomplete power projects should be completed on time bound basis and maximum potential of non-conventional energy sources have to be used. Efforts should be made to collect debts due to the board, he said.

KSEB's financial crunch comes at a time when the CPI(M) led LDF government is working out a package to bail out the ailing Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC).

The financial situation of KSRTC has resulted in non-payment of pension to about 40,000 former employees.

Yesterday, pensioners of loss making Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) called off their protest over hold up in the payments after the state government assured them that all arrears would be cleared at the earliest.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan gave the assurance during a meeting with representatives of striking workers, following which they called off their agitation.

The development yesterday came even as two former KSRTC employees committed suicide allegedly due problems faced by them following non-payment of pension.

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A terrorist of the Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) has been sentenced to seven years rigorous imprisonment by a local court here in a terror financing and money laundering case, officials said today.

Bilal Ahmed Quta alias Imran Jalal, who operated from Karnataka, has also been fined Rs 50,000 by the court, they said.

A special PMLA court of Judge Shivshankar Amarannavar pronounced the verdict yesterday.

The case dates back to January, 2007 when the man was arrested with an AK series assault rifle, 200 bullets, five hand grenades and a satellite phone by the KarnatakaPolice while he was getting down from a bus in Bengaluru.

He was charged with "waging war" against Government of India, possession of arms and explosives and other sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Quta was involved in these activities since 2001 and was a member of the LeT, they said.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) later booked Quta under the criminal provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in 2009, taking cognisance of the police charges and subsequent conviction by a local court.

The central probe agency had also "confiscated" Rs 34,830 funds of Quta under anti-money laudering laws as it identified the money to be meant for terror financing.

This is the fourth case of conviction under the PMLA in the country.

The PMLA was enacted in 2002 and implemented from 2005 to check serious crimes of tax evasion, generation of black money and money laundering.

The first conviction under the PMLA in the country had come in January last year when a Ranchi court convicted former Jharkhand minister Hari Narayan Rai and sentenced him to seven years rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh.

Subsequently, in March last year, a man identified as Alauddin was convicted in a money laundering case relating to illegal possession of narcotic drugs by a Kolkata court.

This was followed by the conviction of aPakistani terrorist Mohammed Fahad Hai, belonging to the banned terror group Al-Badr, who was sentenced to 7 yearsrigorous imprisonment by a Bengaluru court under the anti-money laundering law.

The stringent PMLA law allows for a maximum of seven years of imprisonment and a fine.

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The terrorists who rammed into pedestrians on London Bridge before stabbing people in nearby Borough Market killing eight people in June last year were high on steroids, a UK court was told today.

The three men, identified as Pakistan bornKhurramShazadButt, Moroccan-origin Rachid Redouane and Moroccon-Italian Yousef Zaghba,all had high levels of a drug called DHEA in their system, according to a toxicologist report presented at a pre-inquest hearing at the Old Bailey court in London.

Counter-terrorism officers had shot and killed the men, who were wearing hoax explosive vests,during the Islamic State (ISIS) claimed terrorist attack on June 3, 2017.

DHEA is available without prescription as a natural supplement and is widely believed to help build muscle.

"Analysis of samples taken from the attackers revealed the presence of DHEA, a steroid hormone, above the acceptable physiological range. These findings suggest use of steroid DHEA recently prior to death in a period ranging from several hours to days before death," Jonathan Hough, the counsel for the inquest, said in a written submission to the court.

The toxicologist will give evidence at the inquest hearings into the death of the victims and attackers, to be held separately and set to begin early next year.

Hough informed the court that the firearms officers who shot the terrorists will seek anonymity at the inquest hearings, and some evidence from MI5 intelligence service may have to be given in secret.

He said that 27-year-old Butt, believed to be the ring- leader of the terror group, had "been the subject of an MI5 priority investigation for almost two years, from mid-2015, and while 30-year-old Redouane and 22-year-old Zaghba had not been under MI5 surveillance, they were associates of Khuram Butt.

Chief Coroner Mark Lucraft said anyone wishing to remain anonymous including the families of the attackers will be required to make requests ahead of the inquest.

"Central London and another iconic bridge...was the scene of shocking events that devastated the lives of many. I hope the (inquest) will provide answers to the obvious and understandable questions that the families have...and give comfort in such difficult circumstances," he said.

A second pre-inquest review is scheduled to take place later this year before the two separate inquests start fully in 2019.

Police, security services, fire and ambulance services will attend the inquests, as well as the families of both the victims and attackers.

During the attack in June last year, the three attackers had ploughed into pedestrians in a white van on London Bridge and then went on a stabbing frenzywith 12-inch ceramic kniveson people on a night out at bars in nearby Borough Market area. The attack lasted eight minutes, claimed eight victims and injured 48 others.

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The Maharashtra government today appointed a judicial commission, under retired justice Jai Narayan Patel, to conduct a probe into the Bhima-Koregaon violence which erupted last month, a senior official said.

Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Sudhir Shrivastav said besides Patel, a former chief justice of the Calcutta High Court, Maharashtra Chief Secretary Sumit Mullick will also be a part of the two-member panel.

"The committee has been asked to look into the sequence of events that eventually led to the violence. Also, there will probe about who were the persons/organisations responsible for the violence and if there was adequate police presence at the spot at the time of the incident," Shrivastav told PTI.

He also said the commission has been given four months to conduct a detailed probe and submit its report.

Patel had presided over the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts trail in its initial stages before he became a High Court Judge.

On January 1, the event to mark 200th anniversary of the Bhima-Koregaon battle in Pune district, in which forces of the East India Company defeated Peshwa's army, was marred by incidents of violence, with one person getting killed.

Dalit leaders commemorate the British victory, as it is believed that soldiers from the Mahar community -- then considered untouchable -- were part of the East India Company's forces.

However, some right-wing groups in Pune had expressed opposition to celebration of the 'British' victory.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said his party had kept asking how could the government could suo-moto declare an inquiry under a serving judge, referring to the earlier announcement made by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

"@Dev_Fadnavis govt has fallen flat on it's face as request of govt to hv a serving Judge for Inquiry of #bhimakoregaonviolence has been denied by HC CJ," he tweeted.

"We kept asking that how can govt Suo Motu declare Inquiry under serving judge. Now enquiry to be conducted under retired judge," he said in another tweet.

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The Maharashtra government today opposed in the Supreme Court the pleas seeking an independent probe of the death of special CBI judge B H Loya, terming them as "motivated" and based on "yellow journalism".

Loya, who was hearing the high-profile Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case, had died allegedly of cardiac arrest in Nagpur on December 1, 2014 when he had gone to attend the wedding of a colleague's daughter.

"This hearing must come to an end after four judicial officers have recorded their statements. Either these judges will have to be believed or this court will have to say that they all are lying," senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Maharashtra, told a bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud.

Rohatgi objected to the submissions of senior advocate Indira Jaising, appearing for former Navy chief Laxminarayan Ramdas, and said that a person, who is seeking to intervene in the case, cannot be allowed to argue on facts and should confine oneself to the law.

Jaising, who referred to sequence of events to highlight her submission that a probe was needed to rule out any foul play, alleged a trial court judge in the Sohrabuddin case was transferred in a "tearing hurry".

Responding to her contention, Rohatgi said the trial in the case commenced six months back and that Jaising was raising the issue of the transfer of the judge hearing the case in 2014. He also referred to the apex court order that the special CBI judge hearing the case will not be transferred once the trial starts.

"Do you want to say that I have filed a motivated application," Jaising asked, adding that she did not care.

"Yes, this is a motivated petition based on yellow journalism," Rohatgi replied, adding that judicial time should not be wasted in this manner.

At the outset, Jaising referred to the first police report in the death of Loya, and said that requisites of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) were not followed.

After preparing the inquest report under Section 174 of CrPC, the police should have filed its report before the judicial magistrate concerned which was not done, she said.

Even the name of the deceased judge was "misspelt" in the records despite the claim that four judges accompanied him to hospitals and this gave rise to suspicion, she said.

Dr Prashant Rathi, to whom Loya's body was handed over, was not his close blood relative, she said. Morever, the 'panchanama' of Loya's belongings was not done by police, she said, adding the mobile phone of the deceased was returned to his family after five days.

Noting that the case diary was the most "crucial" document to ascertain the veracity of the sequence of events, she said police claimed that ECG was done on Loya at a hospital, but the report has not been filed before the court.

Jaising referred to the statement of judge R R Rathi, who had accompanied Loya to hospitals and said that ECG machine was not functioning at the hospital where he was taken first on the fateful morning of December 1, 2014.

Loya had no clinical history of any heart ailment and this has to considered while ascertaining the cause of the death, she said, and insisted on an independent probe monitored by the apex court.

At the fag end of the hearing, the bench objected to the reference of Justice Chandrachud's observations in the written submissions filed by All India Lawyers Association, an intervenor in the case.

"How can you make observations in the open court part of your note? This can't be done," the bench said, adding that questions asked during the hearing did not indicate the opinion of the judges.

The bar body promptly said it would delete the part of the submission containing observations of Justice Chandrachud. The bench would resume hearing the pleas on February 12.

The bench is hearing pleas including those filed by Congress leader Tehseen Poonawala and Maharashtra-based B S Lone seeking an independent probe into Loya's death in 2014.

The top court had earlier transferred to itself pleas pending in the Bombay High Court on Loya's death and restrained other courts from entertaining any petitions relating to it.

BJP chief Amit Shah was an accused in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case which had happened when he was Minister of State for Home in Gujarat. He was, however, later discharged.

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Describing the Congress and the Trinamool Congress as the two biggest opposition parties currently in the country, Patidar quota activist Hardik Patel today opined West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee should lead the opposition.

Patel, who met Banerjee at the state secretariat here tonight, also said she invited him to joined the TMC and manage its affairs in Gujarat, from where he hails.

"At the moment, the Congress and the Trinamool Congress are the two big opposition parties in the country. But, if didi (as Banerjee is lovingly called) or the Congress and other parties sit together and decide something, that will be good.

"But if you ask my personal opinion, I will say she is an intelligent woman who has a history of being a revolutionary leader and she should come forward to be the leader (of opposition parties)," he said after the hour-and-half long meeting.

"But for those who are against her, it will be a matter of tension."



He described the chief minister as "lady Gandhi". "I saw lady Gandhi. She is a simple and selfless person. After Indira Gandhi, she has been the epitome of struggle for the cause of the people," he said.

Patel said he invited Banerjee to visit Gujarat for women empowerment. "She had done a great work during the earthquake in Bhuj 2001."



Asked about the purpose of the meeting, Patel said he was here to seek blessings of Banerjee. "I have not come for any political reasons," he said.

Patel also said Banerjee invited him to join the TMC and manage its affairs in Gujarat.

"She has openly told me that whenever I want to join the door of TMC is open for me and you can manage the party in Gujarat. But I told her I do not have political aspiration now. But if I decide to join politics, I would definitely seek her advice," Patel said.

Enquired about his role during the Lok Sabha elections in 2019, the Patidar quota agitation leader said he would definitely come to West Bengal to campaign for the TMC.

"There are so many Gujaratis and people from the Kurmi community in West Bengal. Didi has sent a recommendation to include the Kurmi community in schedule tribe but not in the OBC...

"I will definitely come here to campaign during the Lok Sabha elections in 2019... But we all have to be united to fight those who are trying to divide the country," he said.

He said he did not see anything wrong as "spread by the oppositions about Kolkata".

"The picture is absolutely different from what I have heard. I have seen people are so happy here," he claimed.

On her part, Banerjee described Patel as "like my younger brother".

"He is very good and sensitive. He is fighting for the people of Gujarat...I have asked him to join and work for the good of the commonman," she said.

The meeting between Banerjee and Patel got delayed by half an hour as the chief minister's flight from Bagdogra got delayed due to some technical reasons.

"I do not know why my flight kept on roving in the sky for around 35 minutes," Banerjee told reporters after reaching the state secretariat.

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A 24-year-old man was today sentenced to life in prison for raping and killing a 12-year-old girl in Palghar district in 2014.

Additional Sessions Judge MP Divate held Rahul Gajanan Tumbada, a resident of Sharjamori village in Vasai, guilty of raping and killing the school girl under sections 302 and 376 (2) of the Indian Penal Code.

The court imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on Tumbada and directed that the case be referred to the District Legal Services Authority with recommendations to award adequate compensation to the parents of the victim.

Additional Public Prosecutor Ujjwala Moholkar told the court that on January 16, 2014, Tumbada offered the girl, who studied in a zilla parishad school, a ride home after school on his motorcycle.

He then took her to an isolated place, raped and strangled her to death, Moholkar told court.

The girl's body was found in a field in Kaman village on January 18. Following a probe, Tumbada was arrested.

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Two scientists in spacesuits, stark white against the auburn terrain of desolate plains and dunes, test a geo-radar built to map Mars by dragging the flat box across the rocky sand.

When the geo-radar stops working, the two walk back to their all-terrain vehicles and radio colleagues at their nearby base camp for guidance. They can't turn to their mission command, far off in the Alps, because communications from there are delayed 10 minutes.

But this isn't the red planet it's the Arabian Peninsula.

The desolate desert in southern Oman, near the borders of Yemen and Saudi Arabia, resembles Mars so much that more than 200 scientists from 25 nations chose it as their location for the next four weeks, to field-test technology for a manned mission to Mars.

Public and private ventures are racing toward Mars both former President Barack Obama and SpaceX founder Elon Musk declared humans would walk on the red planet in a few decades.

New challengers like China are joining the United States and Russia in space with an ambitious, if vague, Mars program. Aerospace corporations like Blue Origin have published schematics of future bases, ships and suits.

The successful launch of SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket this week "puts us in a completely different realm of what we can put into deep space, what we can send to Mars," said analog astronaut Kartik Kumar.

The next step to Mars, he says, is to tackle non- engineering problems like medical emergency responses and isolation. "These are things I think can't be underestimated." Kumar said.

While cosmonauts and astronauts are learning valuable spacefaring skills on the International Space Station and the US is using virtual reality to train scientists the majority of work to prepare for interplanetary expeditions is being done on Earth. And where best to field-test equipment and people for the journey to Mars but on some of the planet's most forbidding spots?



Seen from space, the Dhofar Desert is a flat, brown expanse. Few animals or plants survive in the desert expanses of the Arabian Peninsula, where temperatures can top 125 degrees Fahrenheit, or 51 degrees Celsius.

On the eastern edge of a seemingly endless dune is the Oman Mars Base: a giant 2.4-ton inflated habitat surrounded by shipping containers turned into labs and crew quarters. There are no airlocks.

The desert's surface resembles Mars so much, it's hard to tell the difference, Kumar said, his spacesuit caked in dust. "But it goes deeper than that: the types of geomorphology, all the structures, the salt domes, the riverbeds, the wadis, it parallels a lot of what we see on Mars."



The Omani government offered to host the Austrian Space Forum's next Mars simulation during a meeting of the United Nation's Committee On the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.

Scientists from across the world sent ideas for experiments and the mission, named AMADEE-18, quickly grew to 16 scientific experiments, such as testing a "tumbleweed" whip-fast robot rover and a new spacesuit called Aouda.

The cutting-edge spacesuit, weighing about 50 kilograms, is called a "personal spaceship" because one can breathe, eat and do hard science inside it. The suit's visor displays maps, communications and sensor data. A blue piece of foam in front of the chin can be used to wipe your nose and mouth.

"Terrestrial analogs are a tool in the toolkit of space exploration, but they are not a panacea," said Scott Hubbard, known as "Mars czar" back when he lead the US space agency's Mars program.

The European Space Agency's list of "planetary analogues" includes projects in Chile, Peru, South Africa, Namibia, Morocco, Italy, Spain, Canada, Antarctica, Russia, China, Australia, India, Germany, Norway, Iceland, and nine US states. Next Thursday, Israeli scientists are to run a shorter simulation in a nature preserve called D Mars.

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The leader of Opposition in the Assam Assembly, Debabrata Saikia, today alleged massive corruption in distribution of tractors among farmers and demanded an all-party House committee probe into the matter.

The senior Congress MLA also alleged mining irregularities by Coal India in the state and sought a CBI enquiry into the issue.

"In case of one particular tractor company, named Preet, the government paid a higher amount. The company quoted the price of one tractor in Farmer Portal as 5.83 lakh. But the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal shows price of one tractor as 4.53 lakh," Saikia said at a press meet on the Assembly premises.

This price difference hints at the "massive corruption" at the top level, he said.

"It may be a case of a few hundred or even thousand crore ... We demand an all-party House committee probe into the matter," Saikia said.

The scheme had also promised farmers their choice of brand for the tractors, but some "influential people" forced them to accept vehicles of just one particular company, he alleged.

When asked about the people involved in the matter, Saikia said, "Many officials and bureaucrats might have benefitted from it. One of them is building his resort in Himachal Pradesh. You (media) please find out," Saikia said.

Stating that the Congress will raise the issue in the House during the ongoing Budget Session, he said the company in question is also under the scanner of the central government over various fraudulent activities.

On December 10 last year, Assam government had started distributing tractors across the state as part of its initiative to double farmers' income by 2022, under the Chief Minister Samagra Gramya Unnayan Yojana (CMSGUY).

Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had said that Rs 1,000 crore earmarked for the tractor distribution programme will provide for 70 percent subsidy and 20 per cent of the cost will be borne by the banks. The rest has to come from the beneficiaries.

Talking about CMSGUY at the press meet, Saikia said it has become a "money making scheme" for some people in the government.

"In 2016, the government announced this scheme for rural development, envisaging an investment of Rs 30,000 crore over the next five years. So ideally, by the end of the first year, there should have been an investment of at least Rs 5,000 crore and till now, Rs 7500 crore should have been spent for the scheme Nothing of that sort has happened," he said.

Asked about the irregularities in coal mining, Saikia said the Congress has raised the issue several times in the past, but nobody paid heed to it.

It was only after RTI activist Akhil Gogoi flagged the matter last week, people took a note of it, he said.

"Syndicate pressure and over-loading of coal India trucks are old issues. There are rampant irregularities going on in the state. As the company (Coal India) is a government undertaking, we demand a CBI enquiry into the issue," he added.

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An eight-year-old Dalit girl was killed in Vishnupur village here allegedly over a land dispute, police said today.

The incident took place yesterday around 8.00 pm when the girl had gone for grazing the goats, Superintendent of Police Anil Kumar said.

The police said that a land dispute is believed to be the reason behind the alleged killing.

The deceased's father has lodged a complaint in this regard, naming his nephews as accused, he said.

A case in this regard has been registered against the two accused, the SP said, adding that the body has been sent for post-mortem.

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A tribal man in Sambalpur district allegedly died in police custody, sparking angry reaction from the locals who today attacked the police station.

Abinash Munda (22) of Bhaluapalli village, arrested on charge of theft, was found hanging inside the lockup of Ainthapali Police Station last night.

He was declared brought dead by doctors at a government hospital here.

Munda's family members alleged that he was beaten to death in custody. However, the police denied the allegation, claiming that he committed suicide by using a bed sheet.

Following the death, a mob attacked police personnel, ransacked the police station and set on fire vehicles parked in its premises. They also burnt documents inside the station.

The police said that many of its personnel posted at the police station were injured when the protesters resorted to stone-pelting.

Munda's family members also staged a road blockade before the police station.

Director General of Police (DGP) R P Sharma said, "Three police personnel, including the inspector-in-charge of the police station, have been suspended on charge of negligence."



"If any policeman is found responsible, he will not be spared," the DGP said, adding that the police had arrested Munda last night and kept him in the lockup where he used a bed sheet to hang himself.

He said that the Superintendent of Police (SP) and the District Magistrate of Sambalpur have been asked to submit a report within 24 hours.

The ADG of the Human Rights Protection Cell (HRPC) has been asked to go to the area, Sharma said.

Inspector General (IG) of Police, Northern Range, Sushant Nath, said, "Munda was found hanging in the lockup and declared dead after he was taken to hospital.

Nath along with Sambalpur SP Sanjeev Arora visited the police station.

The IG appealed to people to maintain peace and not to take the law into their hands.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik expressed grief over the incident and announced an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh for the next of the kin of Munda.

Opposition Congress and BJP targeted Patnaik, who also holds charge of the Home department.

"The chief minister, who is also the Home minister should be accountable for the death of a tribal man in police custody," Congress leader Narasingha Mishra said.

Mishra alleged that law and order had completely collapsed in the state. "When the people attack a police station, where is the law and order?" he asked.

BJP national general secretary Suresh Pujari, in a press conference, demanded a CBI probe into the incident and alleged that the state police may not give justice to the victim's family.

"The chief minister should quit the Home portfolio as he has failed to manage the department. Patnaik should announce an ex gratia of Rs 25 lakh for the victim's family," Pujari said.

The Odisha Human Rights Commission (OHRC) has directed the ADG of the HRPC and IG, Northen Range, to enquire into the alleged custodial death and submit a report to the commission.

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Mahyco Monsanto Biotech (MMB)today welcomed the Maharashtra government's decision to set up a special investigation team (SIT) to look into the illegal production and sale of BT cotton seeds, which contain unapproved genes, in the state.

Mahyco Monsanto Biotech (MMB) is a joint venture between Mahyco and Monsanto India.

"We are very encouraged by the formation of the special investigation team (SIT) in Maharashtra to comprehensively investigate and curb the proliferation of illegal herbicide tolerant cotton seeds," Mahyco Monsanto Biotech (MMB) said in a statement here.

The Maharashtra government had set up a special investigation team (SIT) to investigate the illegal production and sale of BT cotton seeds. The SIT, headed by state intelligence commissioner Sanjay Barve, will be assisted by Amravati divisional agriculture joint director Subhash Nagare.

Transgenic herbicide/glyphosate tolerant trait genes are used by several BT cotton seed production companies, hence an SIT is being formed to probe into this matter.

"The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee of the Union government has so far not given permission for the production of BT cotton seeds with herbicide tolerant transgenic gene," a government resolution (GR) earlier said.

"The SIT is expected to probe the involvement of seed producing companies having original seeds of Mahyco Monsanto Biotech (India), Monsanto Holdings and Monsanto India, with herbicide tolerant transgenic gene," it said.

MMB claims that the illegal cotton seeds planted include Monsanto's proprietary herbicide tolerant technology Bollgard II Roundup Ready Flex (BGII-RRF). These illegal seeds are sold without regulatory and environmental approvals, or verification of gene expression.

It lobbied saying that this activity makes farmers vulnerable to exploitation by opportunistic companies seeking to benefit from such proliferation and undermines our endeavour to steward technologies in compliance with the laws in India.

The company conducts all research and regulatory trials strictly in accordance with guidelines laid down under Indian laws and strongly believe introduction of technologies must be in line with the nation's environmental norms, MMB added.

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Naxals have killed a former colleague who, after surrendering, was working as a police informer, officials said today.

Hinga Madkami, who had surrendered in June last year, was shot dead by rebels last night at his native Phulpar village under Kuakonda police station limits, a senior police official told PTI.

After quitting the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist), Madkami was working as an informer for the Special Task Force (STF) in the area, he said.

On Thursday, Madkami had gone to Phulpar, located around 450 kms away from the capital, to take part in rituals being performed at his house following the death of his mother, the official said.

The rebels stormed his home, attacked him with sharp weapons before shooting him, the official informed.

A police team had rushed to the spot and combing operations were underway, the official said, adding that the body had been taken for postmortem.

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The Supreme Court today said it needs to take a holistic view of protecting the fundamental rights of citizens to protest, as well as protection of environment and rights of commuters, while earmarking the space for agitations in Delhi.

The Centre today sought time from the apex court saying deliberations are on to earmark a particular place in Delhi, where the citizens can exercise their right to protest.

A bench of justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan granted two weeks time to the Centre to file a comprehensive reply after taking a holistic view of the situation and posted the matter for further hearing on March 5.

The counsel appearing for the Centre said that deliberations are being held at the ministry level for arriving at a solution after taking a holistic view and earmark a space in Delhi, where citizens can stage their protest.

On December 4 last year, the apex court had said that proper guidelines should be framed on the issue of right to protest so as to ensure a balance between the fundamental right of the citizens to protest and the maintenance of law and order.

The apex court's observation had come as it issued notice to the Centre and the Delhi Police on a plea seeking to declare as illegal the banning of all assemblies and protests in central Delhi and the New Delhi area.

The plea had said that continuous imposition of prohibitory orders under section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) was an "arbitrary and unreasonable restriction" on the fundamental rights of citizens to hold peaceful protest.

The plea, filed by NGO Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sanghatan, had challenged the "repeated imposition" of orders by Delhi Police under section 144 of the CrPC, saying it virtually declared the entire central Delhi as a prohibited area for holding any public meeting, dharna or peaceful protest.

The petition, filed through advocate Prashant Bhushan, has sought directions to formulate guidelines for holding public meetings, dharnas, peaceful demonstrations in parts of New Delhi.

"As per sub-section 4 of Section 144 CrPC, an order can be issued for a maximum period of two months. Therefore, the Delhi Police has adopted the tactic of issuing the same order repeatedly," the plea said.

It also sought to quash several orders passed by police from January to October last year by which the entire Central or New Delhi areas were declared prohibited areas.

The National Green Tribunal had on October 5 entirely banned protests at Jantar Mantar near Connaught Place on the ground that it created nuisance for the local residents and violated environment protection statutes.

The plea before the apex court has claimed that, "With the NGT order banning protests at Jantar Mantar, it is evident that distancing a protest site from where it is most visible to the government and concerned authorities, will have the effect of diluting the impact that the protest seeks to gain.

"Besides the cost of using Ramlila Maidan for protests is Rs 50,000 per day which would make protests at the site practically impossible for the common citizens," it said.

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State is the absolute owner of its land even if it has not taken its possession and encroachers cannot be allowed to seek regularisation of colonies on such public land, the Delhi High Court has said.

The high court made it clear that if a land has been acquired by the government and it has not yet taken its possession, still the land is vested with the state pursuant to acquisition proceedings.

The court dismissed the plea of a person who had claimed that the land on which his house was built was never in possession of the government and he had become the owner of the land by purchasing it from another person.

He was dispossessed from the property in south Delhi by the DDA in January 2007.

Justice Valmiki J Mehta said the court cannot permit the argument that the land claimed by the plaintiff is included in the application of a private Residents Welfare Association for regularisation of the colony, so he should be entitled to protection under the National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Act, 2007.

The court noted that the plaintiff was an encroacher of a government land, whose ownership already vests with the state.

The court said if such an argument is allowed, it "would amount to giving licence by courts to persons to go and occupy government lands which are owned by government and thereafter make a colony and seeks its regularisation in terms of the 2008 policy".

An amendment to the NCTD law of 2007 provides protection to slums, unauthorised colonies and illegal structures in the national capital from penal action for a period of three years from January 2018 to December 31, 2020.

According to a 2008 policy, unauthorised colony means a colony/development comprising contiguous area, where no permission of the agency concerned has been obtained for approval of layout plan, and/or building plan.

The court said the object of the 2008 policy and 2007 Act are only to protect development without a layout plan or individual building sanction plan in those areas where acquisition proceedings began and reached the stage of passing of the award.

But, no possession was or could be taken by the government under the Land Acquisition Act because on such lands there had already come up buildings and a colony of buildings prior to taking possession.

It said the citizens cannot argue that they will do mass scale encroachment on government lands and thereafter seek regularisation of encroachment and constructed buildings allegedly on the ground of there existing the 2007 Act and the 2008 policy.

Making clear the definition of 'encroachment' under the 2007 law, the court said it cannot mean encroachment of public land is caused after government has already taken possession and the government becomes the owner pursuant to possession proceedings under the Land Acquisition Act.

"The meaning of encroachment has necessarily to be confined to government land which is acquired by an award passed under the Land Acquisition Act but with respect to such land, possession was not taken under the Land Acquisition Act," it said.

Regarding the suit property, the court dismissed the appeal and refused to agree with the arguments of plaintiff that merely because his land is shown as plot no. 163 in an application filed by RWA of Khirki Extension for regularisation of the colony, he would have protection of the 2007 Act.

The DDA had argued that the suit be dismissed as the land was already acquird and possession was taken by it as per the Land Acquisition Act and the authority was its owner.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Pakistan today distanced itself from the ongoing political turmoil in the Maldives, saying it is following a policy of non-interference in the internal matters of other countries.

Maldives Foreign Minister Mohamed Asim, who is on an official visit to Pakistan from February 8-10 as the special envoy of embattled President Abdulla Yameen, met Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and briefed him about the political situation in the island country.

The Maldivian minister briefed Abbasi on the developments that led to the declaration of a state of emergency in Male, the Foreign Office said in a statement.

"The prime minister stated that Pakistan firmly adheres to the policy of non-interference in the affairs of other countries and will continue to adhere to the principles of the UN charter in this regard," the statement said.

The prime minister said that the relations between Pakistan and the Maldives is characterised by cordiality, mutual respect and commonality of interests.

The special envoy reaffirmed the Maldives' support to Pakistan's initiatives for bringing peace and stability in the region, it said.

"He also appreciated Pakistan for its support to the people and the Government of Maldives," the statement said.

Male, which has seen several political crises since the ouster of its first democratically-elected president Mohamed Nasheed in 2012, plunged into chaos last Thursday when the Supreme Court ordered the release of nine imprisoned Opposition politicians, maintaining that their trials were "politically motivated and flawed".

Yameen has refused to obey the court orders and declared a state of emergency in the country.

Maldives' Supreme Court Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and another judge, Ali Hameed, were arrested hours after Yameen declared a state of emergency. Former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom was also arrested.

Yameen decided to send special envoys to China, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to brief them about the deepening political crisis in the country.

The Maldivian envoy in New Delhi said a special envoy could not be sent to India due to scheduling issues of the Indian leadership.

The government's move to send envoys to three nations came after president has been internationally condemned for his action.

The US asked Yameen to restore constitutionally guaranteed rights of the people in the country.

The UN human rights chief has called the declaration of a state of emergency in the Maldives and the resulting suspension of constitutional guarantees an "all-out assault on democracy."



UN officials offered to facilitate all-party talks to resolve the crisis in the country.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Assam government today denied the Congress allegation of irregularities in tractor distribution and claimed that an internal committee looked into the issue and found nothing objectionable in the entire process.

"After these allegations were raised earlier, we had formed a five-member committee to look into the issue. It has recently submitted the report and found that no corruption took place," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary told PTI here.

The inquiry report has already been approved by the Cabinet, he added.

Talking about purchasing the tractors through Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal, he said if it is procured directly by the state government, only then it can be done from GeM.

"As the scheme was for purchasing the tractors by the farmers with their choice of brand taking subsidy from the government, so it could not be done through GeM," said the Minister, who is also the Assam Government's Official Spokesperson.

Patowary further informed that the second round of tractor distribution will also begin and the government has decided to float tender soon.

On December 10 last year, Assam government had started distribution of 10,109 tractors across the state as part of its aim to make the farmers' income double by 2022 under the Chief Minister Samagra Gramya Unnayan Yojana (CMSGUY).

Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had informed that Rs 1,000 crore was earmarked for providing 70 per cent subsidy for the tractors, while 20 per cent of the cost were borne by the banks and rest 10 per cent by the beneficiaries.

Earlier in the day, the leader of Opposition in the Assam Assembly, Debabrata Saikia, had alleged massive corruption in distribution of tractors among farmers and demanded an all-party House committee probe into the matter.

The senior Congress MLA also alleged mining irregularities by Coal India in the state and sought a CBI enquiry into the issue.

"In case of one particular tractor company, named Preet, the government paid a higher amount. The company quoted the price of one tractor in Farmer Portal as 5.83 lakh. But the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal shows price of one tractor as 4.53 lakh," Saikia alleged at a press meet on the Assembly premises.

This price difference hints at the "massive corruption" at the top level, he alleged.

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Odisha Government today appointed new collector of Bargarh district, official sources said.

Jagatsinghpur district magistrate-cum collector Yamini Sarangi, a 2008 batch IAS officer, has been appointed as Collector and District Magistrate of Bargarh district, a notification issued by the general administration department said.

Sarangi replaced Bargarh district collector Khagendra Kumar Padhi, the notification said adding that the reshuffle was made in pursuance of Election Commission of India as bypoll would be held in Bijepur assembly constituency of the district.

Jagatsinghpur ADM Sachidananda Sahoo has been made in-charge collector of the district.

Earlier, the opposition BJP had lodged complaint against the Bargarh district collector and Superintendent of Police (SP) accusing them of working in favour of the ruling BJD.

Bijepur assembly segment under Bargarh district is going to by-polls on February 24.

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Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa today confirmed death sentences for seven "hardcore terrorists", the military said.

They were awarded capital punishment by the special military courts set up for speedy trial of militants, following the Peshawar school attack of December 2014 that killed 150 people, mostly schoolchildren.

The army said in a statement that those convicted "were involved in heinous offences related to terrorism, including killing of innocent civilians, attacking law enforcement agencies and armed forces of Pakistan".

"On the whole, they (the seven convicted men) were involved in killing of 85 persons and injuring 109 others. Arms and explosives were also recovered from their possession," it said.

The convicts were tried by military courts but the place and duration of the trials was not revealed due to security reasons.

The army said another five militants were handed down jail terms of varying durations.

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A Pakistani high court today handed over the custody of a minor Christian girl, who was abducted, converted to Islam and forced into a married by a Muslim man, to her parents.

Hearing a plea of the parents of a 12-year-old girl, Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) said, he was not convinced that the minor accepted Islam by free will.

He said it seems to be under "inducement and compulsion".

"I am constrained to observe that this sort of act of abduction and taking shelter of Islam is totally uncalled for and unacceptable," the judge said, adding that Muslims, Christians and all other citizens were equal when it comes to constitutional guarantees.

The judge handed over the custody of the minor girl to her parents after she expressed her willingness to go with them, when she was asked by the court.

Justice Siddiqui also warned the parents against any sort of torture or harm to the girl, but did not dissolve the marriage, saying for it the proper forum was the relevant Family Court.

The judge also asked the police to investigate the matter and take action if proved that the minor as abducted as alleged by her parents.

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Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte today declared himself beyond the jurisdiction of an International Criminal Court probe into thousands of deaths in his "drugs war", claiming local laws do not specifically ban extrajudicial killings.

In a typically bombastic speech today, a day after the ICC announced a preliminary inquiry into alleged crimes against humanity, Duterte renewed threats to withdraw from the world's sole war crimes tribunal.

Duterte, who has overseen the bloody anti-drug crackdown since taking power in 2016, acknowledged that a previous Manila government ratified the treaty that established the ICC, but claimed it had not passed into local law because of a technicality.

"There is no fucking provision of extrajudicial killing. It is not defined anywhere so how can you now accuse me of a crime," said Duterte, speaking in his home city of Davao.

Police say they have killed nearly 4,000 drug suspects in the narcotics crackdown, while rights groups claim the toll is around three times the official numbers.

The outspoken Philippine leader, who is accused of stoking the killings with inflammatory statements, took issue over the Philippines becoming the first southeast Asian nation put under a preliminary examination by the ICC prosecutor.

"There are so many massacres happening in all parts of Asia and you pick on me. You better clear that up because I will withdraw from the ICC," he warned, echoing an earlier threat.

In a separate speech to Davao businessmen late Friday, Duterte issued a veiled warning to ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda.

"Do not go into that adventure. It's a messy one," he said.

"You will know. You will get your comeuppance."



The ICC's initial inquiry is designed to help prosecutors determine if there is enough evidence of crimes that fall into its jurisdiction. It could lead to a full probe and eventually charges.

Duterte's spokesman Harry Roque said earlier Friday he was "very confident" he will escape ICC prosecution.

Roque said a United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings in 2007 investigated Duterte's role in 1,069 alleged death-squad killings in the southern city of Davao while he was mayor.

The mission did not lead to Duterte's prosecution and Roque said the president expects the same outcome.

Duterte won a landslide victory in 2016 elections largely on a pledge to eradicate drugs.

In addition to the official toll, authorities are also investigating some 2,000 other cases of "drug-related" killings by unknown suspects.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Jammu and Kashmir government today opposed in the Supreme Court the contention of the Centre that the state was "disowning" the minutes of joint meeting on setting up of the minority commission.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud considered and allowed the request of the state government to defer the hearing by four weeks on the plea that raised issues like whether majority Muslims can avail benefits, meant for minorities in the state.

At the outset of the brief hearing, Attorney General K K Venugopal said that the state government has "disowned" the minutes of the joint committee meeting between it and the Centre on setting up of the State Minority Commission.

Advocate Shoeb Alam, appearing for the Jammu and Kashmir government, vehemently opposed the Centre's submission that the state has disowned the outcome of the joint meeting.

Referring to the state's affidavit, the lawyer said, "The state government will consider and examine the need and feasibility of setting up state minority commission at the relevant point of time as and when need arises based upon the critical study of the social and educational backwardness of the minorities spread across various regions of the state."



To cater to the special needs of minorities, who are residing in the state, a special project -- Chief Minister Inclusive Development Initiative- is being formulated by the state government, Alam said.

"The said project will have focussed development effort for certain special segments of the society and will include upgrading of civic infrastructure such as health, education and water," the state government said in its affidavit.

The Centre had informed the court that it was still deliberating on a host of issues including whether Muslims, who are majority in Jammu and Kashmir, can be treated as minority to get benefits which are only available to minorities in the state.

The top court had earlier issued notice to the Centre, the state government and the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) on the plea filed by Jammu-based lawyer Ankur Sharma who alleged that benefits accruing to the minorities were being taken away by the 68 per cent-strong Muslim community in Jammu and Kashmir.

The plea has alleged that the rights of religious and linguistic 'minorities' in the state were being "siphoned off illegally and arbitrarily" due to extension of benefits to "unqualified sections" of the population.

Sharma had alleged the provisions of the National Commission for Minorities Act were not applicable to Jammu and Kashmir due to a caveat put by Article 370 of Constitution.

"Moreover, crores of rupees are being given to the members of the majority community under various schemes meant for linguistic and religious minorities," he had said.

The state government was violating Article 29 (protection of interests of minorities) and Article 30 (right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions) under the Constitution, he has alleged.

The PIL has also sought setting up of a state minority commission for identification of minorities and extension of National Commission for Minorities (NCM) Act, 1992 to Jammu and Kashmir.

"The population of Muslims in Jammu and Kashmir according to the 2011 Census is 68.31 per cent. Communities which are eligible to be notified as minorities, are not awarded their due share of scholarship owing to their non-identification as minorities, thereby jeopardising their constitutionally guaranteed rights enshrined under Part III of the Constitution of India," it has said.

"This clearly reflected the unfairness and discrimination of the state government towards other communities in Jammu and Kashmir which were eligible to be notified as minorities," the petition has alleged.

The petition has also demanded that a special investigation team (SIT), headed by a retired high court judge working under direct supervision of the top court, be constituted for investigating the illegal and arbitrary disbursement of minority benefits.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi today met Jordan's King Abdullah II here and said he had "wonderful" meeting that would further boost India-Jordan ties.

Modi arrived here on the first leg of his tour of three West Asian countries, including Palestine.

"Had a wonderful meeting with His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan. Our discussions today will give great strength to India-Jordan bilateral relations," Modi tweeted after meeting the King.

During the meeting, Modi told the King that he is looking forward to his visit to India in February end.

The King, meanwhile, described the meeting as the beginning of a new chapter in the bilateral ties.

"The Prime Minister expressed sincere thanks for logistical support extended for smooth facilitation for his Palestine visit," Kumar tweeted.

Kumar also tweeted a picture of Modi hugging the King.

"A warm hug between friends reflecting our relationship! PM @narendramodi had a very cordial meeting with His Majesty King of Jordan immediately upon arrival in Amman. In a gracious and personal gesture, the King invited Prime Minister Modi to his residence for the meeting," he said.

On his arrival here, Modi was received by Jordan Prime Minister Hani Al-Mulki.

This is Modi's first visit to Jordan and also the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister in 30 years. India and Jordan enjoy friendly ties since diplomatic relations were established in 1950, Raveesh Kumar, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson, said.

Tomorrow, Modi will leave for Palestine where he is scheduled to hold discussions with President Mahmoud Abbas and reaffirm India's support for the Palestinian people and the development of Palestine.

Modi will be the first-ever prime minister to visit Palestine.

The Prime Minister will leave for the UAE later in the day for a two-day visit.

In the UAE, Modi would hold meetings with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

He said he will also be addressing the 6th edition of the World Government Summit in Dubai, where India is the guest country.

During the visit, Modi said he will engage with leading UAE and Arab CEOs in Dubai on the vast economic opportunities in India and what more can be done to bolster business collaboration.

On the last leg of his trip, Modi would travel to Oman from February 11-12.

Modi will visit Oman for the first time as prime minister and will hold talks with the Sultan of Oman and other key leaders.

He would also interact with leading businesspersons of Oman on developing stronger economic and business links with India.

More than nine million Indians work and live in the Gulf region, of which about one third live in the UAE alone. In Oman, they constitute the largest expatriate community.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today met Jordan's King Abdullah II here and said he had "wonderful" meeting that would further boost India-Jordan ties.

Modi arrived here on the first leg of his tour of three West Asian countries, including Palestine.

"Had a wonderful meeting with His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan. Our discussions today will give great strength to India-Jordan bilateral relations," Modi tweeted after meeting the King.

During the meeting, Modi told the King that he is looking forward to his visit to India in February end.

The King, meanwhile, described the meeting as the beginning of a new chapter in the bilateral ties.

Talks between the two sides covered the Palestinian cause, and Jordan's role in protecting Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, based on the Hashemite custodianship over the holy shrines, Jordan's state-run Petra agency reported.

The talks, which were attended by Acting Prime Minister Mamdouh Abbadi, focused on coordination and consultation between the two countries in various fields, as the King highlighted the key role played by India in promoting security, stability and fighting terrorism.

"The Prime Minister expressed sincere thanks for logistical support extended for smooth facilitation for his Palestine visit," Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

Kumar also tweeted a picture of Modi hugging the King.

"A warm hug between friends reflecting our relationship! PM @narendramodi had a very cordial meeting with His Majesty King of Jordan immediately upon arrival in Amman. In a gracious and personal gesture, the King invited Prime Minister Modi to his residence for the meeting," he said.

On his arrival here, Modi was received by Jordan Prime Minister Hani Al-Mulki.

The Indian community enthusiastically welcomed Modi to Amman.

This is Modi's first visit to Jordan and also the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister in 30 years. India and Jordan enjoy friendly ties since diplomatic relations were established in 1950, Raveesh Kumar, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson, said.

Tomorrow, Modi will leave for Palestine where he is scheduled to hold discussions with President Mahmoud Abbas and reaffirm India's support for the Palestinian people and the development of Palestine.

Modi will be the first-ever prime minister to visit Palestine.

The Prime Minister will leave for the UAE later in the day for a two-day visit.

In the UAE, Modi would hold meetings with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

He said he will also be addressing the 6th edition of the World Government Summit in Dubai, where India is the guest country.

During the visit, Modi said he will engage with leading UAE and Arab CEOs in Dubai on the vast economic opportunities in India and what more can be done to bolster business collaboration.

On the last leg of his trip, Modi would travel to Oman from February 11-12.

Modi will visit Oman for the first time as prime minister and will hold talks with the Sultan of Oman and other key leaders.

He would also interact with leading businesspersons of Oman on developing stronger economic and business links with India.

More than nine million Indians work and live in the Gulf region, of which about one third live in the UAE alone. In Oman, they constitute the largest expatriate community.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will have a busy schedule in the UAE, with meetings lined up with the country's leaders, the Indian community and businessmen, India's envoy here has said.

Modi will reach here on Saturday from Palestine and then will have bilateral engagements in Abu Dhabi followed by a banquet, India's ambassador to the UAE Navdeep Singh Suri said.

This would be Modi's second visit to the country. He had visited the UAE in 2015.

On Sunday, the prime minister will go to Dubai where he will watch the live streaming of a Hindu temple inauguration ceremony and then address the Indian community gathered at the Opera House.

The UAE is home to over three million people of Indian origin.

He will proceed to the venue of the World Government Summit where to deliver keynote address.

He has meetings lined up with Gulf business leaders. He will also meeting the Ruler of Dubai and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid and also visit a paintings exhibition by Ramesh Shukla, Suri said.

Modi had said energy security and infrastructural investments in India would be the key topics that he will discuss with the UAE's leadership.

The investment from UAE to India exceeds $11 billion.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will have a busy schedule in the UAE, with meetings lined up with the country's leaders, the Indian community and businessmen, India's envoy here has said.

Modi will reach here tomorrow from Palestine and then will have bilateral engagements in Abu Dhabi followed by a banquet, India's ambassador to the UAE Navdeep Singh Suri said.

This would be Modi's second visit to the country. He had visited the UAE in 2015.

On Sunday, the prime minister will go to Dubai where he will watch the live streaming of a Hindu temple inauguration ceremony and then address the Indian community gathered at the Opera House.

The UAE is home to over three million people of Indian origin.

He will proceed to the venue of the World Government Summit where he will deliver a keynote address.

He has meetings lined up with Gulf business leaders. Modi will also meet the Ruler of Dubai and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid and visit a painting exhibition by Ramesh Shukla, Suri said.

Modi had said energy, security and infrastructural investments in India would be the key topics that he will discuss with the UAE's leadership.

The investment from the UAE to India exceeds USD 11 billion.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A preliminary inquiry conducted into the alleged blacking out of the first few minutes of Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brien's speech by Rajya Sabha Television has found that power failure was responsible for the four-minute break in transmission.

However, Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu has ordered a detailed inquiry into the matter, Rajya Sabha was informed today.

O'Brien had raised the issue in the Upper House on February 7, 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".

Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad had dubbed it as a "very serious issue" and said "don't convert Rajya Sabha TV into BJP TV."



BJP leader Satyanarayan Jatiya, who was in the Chair then, had assured a probe in the matter.

Making a statement in the Upper House today, senior BJP member Basawaraj Patil, who was in the Chair, said "an inquiry was conducted and it was found that there was a break in the live transmission of Rajya Sabha TV from 13:14 hours to 13:18 hours, four minutes when Derek O' Brien was speaking due to power failure."



Patil said that after the transmission resumed, the incident was regretted by the Rajya Sabha TV through a scroll. It also flashed that the entire speech of O'Brien would be telecast in the evening at 20:15. hours.

"The Chairman (M Venkaiah Naidu) has however ordered a detailed inquiry into the matter," Patil informed the members.

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A pro-opposition television network in the Maldives shut down today following threats to its staff, as the government continued a clampdown on dissent that has sparked international concern.

Raajje TV said threats to its employees over their reporting on the political crisis in the picturesque Indian Ocean archipelago had forced it to suspend broadcasts.

"The broadcaster received threats from government legislators and others," said opposition lawmaker Eva Abdulla.

The Maldives was plunged into crisis this week when President Abdulla Yameen declared a state of emergency and ordered the arrest of judges who had ordered the release of his political opponents.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged Yameen to lift the state of emergency while UN human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein has described Yameen's actions as "an all-out assault on democracy."



Yesterday a top UN official warned the Security Council that the situation was tense and may deteriorate even further.

Street protests have so far been relatively muted, but opposition and ruling parties have called their supporters onto the streets for rallies after Friday prayers.

Yameen, who has had almost all the political opposition jailed since he came to power in 2013, is resisted mounting international pressure over the crisis.

Yesterday he refused to meet with diplomats from the European Union, Germany and Britain who had travelled to the honeymoon island nation for talks.

China, India and several Western governments have advised their citizens against travelling to the Maldives in the light of the latest unrest.

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West Bengal Technical Education minister Purnendu Basu today urged the jute sector to focus in skill development.

"There is not much demand of apprentices from industry. At least, jute sector is doing more or less good and so skilling should be in that sector to protect it and Indian Jute Mills Association should come forward in this regard," Basu said.

He also said there was need for skilling the existing informal sector workers to empower them for better adaptability in the service sectors they are engaged into.

Skilling micro-farmers will be a major effort of the government, the minister said.

He also mentioned about 16 skill sectors signing MoUs for national level Assessments and Certification.

Meanwhile, former IJMA chairman Sanjay Kajaria said there is huge skill gap in the jute industry at the time when new a lot new technology had been introduced.

"The annual gap will be to the tune of 15,000 skilled manpower required for the industry to run the new machines and processes," he said.

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The Centre today informed the Supreme Court that besides the government sector, it has urged leading business associations like ASSOCHAM and FICCI to ensure effective implementation of the law on prevention of sexual harassment at workplace among their entities.

It said that all the states and union territories have been asked to organise workshops and awareness programmes regarding the law in each and every industry, business house and private sector under their jurisdiction.

The top court asked all the states to file their reply on a plea for protection of women from sexual harassment at workplace, cases of which an NGO claimed were on the rise.

A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud said that states should file their reply in two weeks while the petitioner NGO should file the suggestions, if any, for ensuring compliance of the Sexual Harassment At Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition) Act.

The Centre in its affidavit told the court that on June 2, 2017, the ministry issued advisories to all the states/UT governments for effective implementation of the Act, advising them to organise workshops and awareness programmes in the departments/offices for sensitising the employees about the provision of the said Act.

"Secretary industries/commerce of the states/UTs have also been advised to organise workshops and awareness programmes in each and every industry, business house, private sector," it said.

The Centre further said that request was made to leading business organisations like ASSOCHAM, FICCI and Confederation of Indian Society, Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) and NASSCOM to ensure effective implementation of the Act among their private sector entities.

"An online complaint management system titled the sexual harassment electronic-box (SHe-Box) has been developed for registering complaints related to sexual harassment at workplace.

"SHe-Box is an effort of government of India to provide a single window access to every woman, irrespective of her work status, whether working in organised or unorganised, private or public sector, to facilitate the registration of complaint related to sexual harassment," it said.

Elaborating, the Centre said that once a complaint is submitted to the 'SHe-Box', it will be directly sent to the authority concerned having jurisdiction to take action into the matter.

On January 4, the top court sought response from the Centre and state governments on the plea which sought immediate and proper implementation of the provisions of the Sexual Harassment At Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition) Act and for setting up redressal mechanism.

Delhi-based NGO Initiatives for Inclusion Foundation (IIF) filed the PIL through advocate Esha Shekhar in which it said that even the local district officers and complaints committees were not being appointed and the victims did not have an appropriate forum to file complaints even as such cases were on the rise.

"It will not be possible to effectively implement the provisions of the Act unless district officers are notified in all the districts of the states and UTs and local complaints committees are constituted," the PIL said.

It sought a direction to the state governments to give full support to district officers, ensure collection of annual compliance reports from all organisations.

It alleged that various RTIs filed by the NGO shows that a very little progress has been made by the states to implement the Act.

"The data collected nationwide presents a picture of apathy and inaction in implementation of an Act which was originally brought in to eradicate sexual harassment from workplace and subsequently to create an enabling, safe and secure working environment for women.

"There is practically no avenue, both in organised and unorganised sector, for women who experience sexual harassment at workplace to lodge their complaints and seek redressal," it said.

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The AAP government today told the Delhi High Court that quashing the protection husbands enjoy against prosecution for marital rape, where a spouse indulges in sexual relations without the other's approval, would lead to "creation of an offence", which is a legislative job.

The Delhi government contended that courts cannot create or legislate an offence, which would be the inevitable outcome of striking down of the exception in the Indian penal law that does not consider forcible sexual intercourse with wife as rape.

The argument was made before a bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar. The bench did not agree with the submission, and said: "We will declare it as unconstitutional. We will not legislate. The impact of which the state will have to deal with".

Delhi government Additional Standing Counsel Nandita Rao, however, said striking down the exception in the rape law would lead to creation of an offence - marital rape - and to that extent the court's verdict would not be legal.

Disagreeing with the argument, the bench said if her contention is accepted it would lead to a situation where any law which says something is not an offence cannot be challenged, as setting it aside would lead to creation of an offence.

Rao was also of the view that by quashing the exception, the court would be giving primacy to women who have suffered sexual abuse at the hands of their husbands as compared to those who have been subjected to physical battery, cruelty and mental harassment for years.

To this, the bench said that even the legislature has graded offences, starting from hurt and ending at murder, according to the degree of injury suffered by an individual.

During the more than an hour long argument, Rao said sexual abuse is considered an act of domestic violence under domestic violence law and as cruelty under Indian Penal Code, and therefore, there was no need to interfere with the exception to the rape law.

She said even the restitution of conjugal rights ordered by a court under the personal law cannot force a woman to have sexual relations with her husband who will then only have the remedy of seeking divorce on the ground of cruelty.

She said no law or court can compel or force a woman to have sexual intercourse with her husband.

However, the bench disagreed, saying "it is not whether anyone can compel. The issue is there is compulsion".

"Something is an offence when committed. But here the legislature says if married then it is not an offence," the court added as arguments by the Delhi government concluded.

The hearing in the matter will continue on February 21.

The court was hearing PILs, by NGOs RIT Foundation and All India Democratic Women's Association as well as two individuals, seeking a declaration that the rape law under the IPC to the extent it discriminates against the sexual assault of married women by their husbands, is unconstitutional.

The petitions have also sought setting aside of the exception in the rape law that protects husbands, saying that it violates the right to equality, freedom and to live life with dignity provided under the Constitution.

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Congress president Rahul Gandhi is expected to continue his temple visits in election-bound Karnataka during his four-day stay in the state as he had done before the Gujarat Assembly polls, party sources said today.

Gandhi will visit the Huligemma Temple in Koppal district tomorrow when he starts his visit to the Congress-ruled state. In the evening, he will visit the Gavi Siddeshwara Mutt in the district, the sources said.

The Congress chief will also address campaign rallies and programmes during the visit.

He will address a public meeting and launch a 'yatra' at Municipal Ground in Hosapete city in Bellari district. He will be given a reception by district congress committee workers at Munirabad Huligi Cross in Koppal district at 3pm tomorrow.

In the evening, he will address a meeting at Corporation Ground in Koppal, and a public meeting at Vidhyanand College Ground in Kukanur tomorrow.

Ahead of the Gujarat Assembly elections in December, Gandhi had visited several temples in the state, including the Somnath Temple. His temple run in Gujarat had invited criticism from the BJP, which had accused him of playing a "soft Hindutva" card ahead of the state polls.

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In a relief for Aizawl FC, star defender Masih Saighani today got the Protected Area Permit (PAP) required for Afghan nationals to enter Manipur, making him eligible to play in the I-League match against Neroca FC.

Defending champions Aizawl FC, currently placed sixth in ongoing edition, take on second-placed Neroca in an afternoon match here tomorrow.

"The Home Ministry has issued the PAP and we are hoping that he (Saighani) will be able to make it to Imphal from Guwahati by an early morning flight tomorrow morning. The match starts at 2pm, so we have some time," Aizawl FC owner- cum-president Robert Royte told PTI.

Aizawl are currently at the sixth position in the league table with 16 points from 12 games while Neroca are placed second with 27 points from 14 matches.

The 31-year-old Saighani landed here on Wednesday with his team and was initially not allowed to leave the airport and enter Imphal city. But, after the intervention of Neroca FC owner, he was allowed to spend the night at the team hotel on special permission. He left Imphal yesterday morning.

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RJD would approach the Election Commission to seek disqualification of Union Minister Giriraj Singh from Lok Sabha for allegedly concealing 3.5 cottah of land grabbed by him in the 2014 general elections affidavit.

RJD Vice President Shivanand Tiwary said that the party was seeking legal opinion on the issue and would move EC at the earliest preferably within a month.

Singh, BJP MP from Nawada, and who is Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, has landed in a soup after being named in a case of grabbing of land belonging to a dalit in his native Bihar.

An FIR was lodged against Singh and 32 others with Danapur police station here on February 2 by the order of a Special SC&ST court.

"We (RJD) will request the Election Commission to disqualify him (Giriraj) from the membership (of Lok Sabha) for concealing details of property in his affidavit which he had grabbed," Tiwary told reporters at RJD state headquarters here.

"In his affidavit filed by him (Giriraj) during 2014 Lok Sabha elections, he (Giriraj) has not mentioned the property which he has grabbed from a person belonging to scheduled caste. RJD will soon take it (this issue) to the Election Commission and file a complain with it on the basis of sale deed (which showed that Giriraj had fraudulently grabbed land in his name)," the RJD Vice President said.

Tiwary, who was accompanied by party spokesman and MLA Shakti Singh Yadav, alleged that Giriraj Singh fradulently got registered 3.5 cottah of land belonging to one Ram Narayan Prasad in his name through two separate land deeds.

The minister got two cottah of land registered in his name in 2008 while another piece of 1.5 cottah was registered in 2012, the RJD leader alleged.

Ram Narayan Prasad, who retired from Jharkhand government in 2006, got to know that the said land was no more registered in his name in 2010 when he had gone to deposit land rent for the said land, the RJD Vice President said adding that not only this, Prasad was abused by his caste name by the land grabbers.

The police should have lodged an FIR and would have filed either a closure report or charge sheet after carrying out investigation into the case but police did not act for six months, Tiwary said and charged Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his Deputy Sushil Kumar Modi for non registration of FIR.

The police officer lodged the FIR in order to evade the contempt proceedings against him, he claimed.

The leader of Lalu Prasad's RJD asked why Giriraj Singh, who has been made accused number 25, was not speaking on the issue instead of saying that he would speak only after going through the FIR.

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Jill Messick, a studio executive and former manager of Rose McGowan, has died of an apparent suicide. She was 50.

Messick, who was battling from depression for year and was recently diagnosed with bipolar disorder, committed suicide in Los Angeles, her family said in a statement, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

She served as McGowan's manager in 1997, the same year when Mcgowan's alleged rape by disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein happened.

Messick later served as a production executive at Miramax, a company owned by Harvey and Bob Weinstein, from 1997 to 2003.

In the aftermath of multiple exposes that revealed the length and breadth of Weinstein's sexual transgressions, McGowan went public with her own account.

McGowan had claimed that Messick arranged the Weinstein meeting, which began in a hotel room.

Messick's name was further dragged into the headlines as part of an email exchange released by Weinstein, where his attorney Ben Brafman showed an email from Messick to show her alleged defence of his client.

Messick's family said the whole saga had a devastating effect on her as she was already battling depression.

They said that Messick became "collateral damage" in Hollywood's current campaign against sexual abuse.

"Jill was victimised by our new culture of unlimited information sharing and a willingness to accept statement as fact. She became collateral damage in an already horrific story," Messick's family said in the statement.

Her family accused McGowan of making "slanderous statements" against Messick.

"Over the past few months, many women have come out with allegations against Harvey Weinstein, including Rose McGowan, who has repeatedly spoken with the press, striking out against not only her alleged attacker, but a great many others.

"One of them was Jill, who chose to remain silent in the face of Rose's slanderous statements against her for fear of undermining the many individuals who came forward in truth," the statement said.

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Rajya Sabha member A V Swamy was today rushed to a hospital after he collapsed in Parliament complex.

He was rushed in an ambulance to a hospital.

When the Rajya Sabha met for the Question Hour, Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu informed members that the member from Odisha had fallen down and rushed for treatment.

Whether it was due to sugar level or some other reason, it is yet to be ascertained, Naidu said.

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The Supreme Court today sought the response of the Election Commission, Goa government and others on a plea filed by the Congress seeking disqualification of state Health Minister Vishwajit Rane, who quit as a Congress MLA and joined the BJP ahead of the 2017 trust vote.

A bench, headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, issued notice to the poll panel, state government, Rane and others while asking the parties to file their response within six weeks on the appeal filed by the Congress and its Goa unit against a Bombay High Court order.

The Goa bench of the high court had dismissed the Congress plea, holding that due to the voluntary resignation of Rane from the Assembly, the question of disqualification under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution of India cannot be decided by it.

Claiming that the high court had erred, the petition said Rane was elected as an MLA on a Congress ticket and resigned before the Manohar Parrikar government proved its majority on the floor of the Assembly on March 17 last year.

"The Respondent No 5 (Sidharth Sripad) in collusion with Respondent No 6 (Rane) committed a fraud on the Constitution and as a result of which the Respondent No 6 was instrumental in engineering or ensuring the defeat of the petitioners in the floor test in March 2017. Thus, Respondent No 6 is not eligible to continue as a member of the House as a result of the disqualification so incurred," it said.

Rane, who had won the Valpoi Assembly seat on a Congress ticket in the state polls on February 4 last year, had resigned as a Congress MLA on March 16 to join the BJP.

He was inducted into the state Cabinet led by Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on April 12 and at present holds the health portfolio in the state government.

The plea also said that the Speaker wrongly accepted Rane's resignation as an MLA before the floor test.

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The Supreme Court today asked the Delhi government, DDA and civic agencies here to apprise it on whether an environment impact assessment was conducted before proposing to amend the city's Master Plan-2021, a move that would come as a big relief to traders facing the threat of sealing.

The Master Plan-2021 is a blueprint for urban planning and expansion in the metropolis to ensure overall development and the proposed amendements were for bringing a uniform floor area ratio (FAR) for shop-cum-residential plots and complexes at par with residential plots.

The FAR is the ratio of a building's total floor area (gross floor area) to the size of the piece of land on which it is built.

A bench of justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta noted the submissions of senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, assisting the court as an amicus curiae in the sealing matter, and asked the city government, Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and civic agencies to file an affidavit in this regard within a week.

It also sought details available with the Delhi Pollution Control Committee or Centre Pollution Control Board with regard to pollution here from 2006 onwards till date and the steps taken to reduce the pollution level.

The bench took a strong note of a report filed by a court-mandated Monitoring Committee, which said that during the process of sealing of offending premises, the officials were obstructed from performing their duties by a gathering at the instance of MLA Om Prakash Sharma and municipal councillor Gunjan Gupta.

The court issued show cause notice to Sharma and Gupta and asked them to explain why contempt of court proceedings be not initiated against them for the interference caused. It directed both of them to remain personally present before it on March 6, the next date of hearing.

"Since the Monitoring Committee is functioning under the directions of this court, any interference in its functions will amount to contempt of court," the bench said and directed the commissioner of Delhi Police to ensure that all protection was given to the members of the panel so that they were in a position to carry out their duties.

During the hearing, the amicus curiae told the court that the DDA has proposed to amend the Master Plan and steps have already been initiated in this regard.

He referred to the proposed amendments and said the authiorities should be asked whether they have conducted any environment impact assessment before making the proposals.

"Why the municipal and civic authorities are not taking action as per the law and why they succumb to pressure of one section of the society?" he asked.

The bench, while noting the submissions of the amicus, asked the DDA, Delhi government and municipal corporations to explain "whether any study has been conducted and whether any facts and figures are available with regard to congestion in the city of Delhi".

"Whether any steps have been taken to effectively manage traffic in consultation with the Delhi Police in view of the proposed changes," it noted, adding, "Whether fire safety measures have been considered and access to fire engines etc".

The court also asked them to give details as to whether steps for providing parking facilities have been provided for and taken into consideration before making proposed amendments and whether civic amenities, like availability of electricity, water, management of sewage disposal, solid waste management, were taken into account.

"Whether the safety of buildings which have been and which are sought to be constructed has been taken into consideration and whether any assessment has been made of all these buildings so that lives of the people in the buildings are safe and secure," the bench noted.

It also asked whether the issue of population density in Delhi, which was said to be in the region of 1.67 crore to two crore, was taken into consideration by the authorities.

The court has sought for statistics on pollution since 2006 till date, particularly when there was liberalisation in the roads notified for mixed or commercial use.

During the hearing, the counsel, representing the Delhi government, sought more time to file affidavit, saying the court has asked for so many details and it was not "humanly possible" to provide them within a week time.

To this, the bench said, when "they can change the Master Plan within three days, why they cannot do it within a week".

The apex court had earlier observed that the rule of law over sanction to construct buildings had "completely broken down" and expressed concern over illegal construction here.

It had also ordered restoration of its monitoring panel to identify and seal offending structures.

The committee, comprising K J Rao, former advisor to the Election Commission, Bhure Lal, chairman, Environment Pollution Control Authority, and Major General (Retd) Som Jhingan, was set up on March 24, 2006, by the apex court.

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The Supreme Court has re-opened a 17-year-old triple murder case, in which a woman and her two children were killed in Uttar Pradesh, and set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by former CBI Special Director M L Sharma to probe it.

The case relates to the killing of a woman and her two children on July 24, 2001, in which an FIR was lodged at Pilakhua near Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.

A bench comprising Justices J Chelameswar and S Abdul Nazeer ordered an SIT probe on a petition filed by the mother-in-law of the deceased woman who alleged that the Uttar Pradesh police had showed lackadaisical approach in carrying out the investigation.

The top court also noted that though the case was handed over to the CBI, the victims preferred to withdraw the case from the apex court allegedly under pressure from the accused.

Taking note of the entire facts of the case, the bench said, "We are of the view that it is necessary to have a fair, honest and complete investigation."



It appointed the SIT with Sharma as its chairman and granted him the liberty to choose officers of his choice.

It is evident that the real culprits responsible for murder have not been subjected to trial, the court said.

"We direct the SIT to proceed as regards further investigation...and to submit its report within a period of three months from today," the bench said.

It directed the state government to provide all logistics including travelling, boarding and lodging expenses to the members of SIT.

Seema Garg, daughter-in-law of Sunita Devi, her two children were killed under mysterious circumstances on July 24, 2001. The case was lodged by her husband Nitin Garg but he was arrested by police on suspicion.

The trial court had acquitted all the accused in the triple murder case but before that on July 16, 2002, Nitin Garg was also killed under mysterious circumstances while he was on bail.

For Nitin Garg's killing also the accused persons, Sunil Kumar Bansal, Pradeep, Harish and Rinku, were acquitted by the trial court and verdict was upheld by the high court and apex court for his murder.

Sunita Devi moved the apex court for a CBI probe but the petition was withdrawn. The order directing investigation by the CBI was also withdrawn by the top court on September 5, 2014.

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The Supreme Court today sought assistance of Attorney General K K Venugopal on a batch of petitions seeking live streaming or video recording of the judicial proceedings.

One of the pleas, filed by senior advocate Indira Jaising, has sought live streaming of matters of constitutional and national importance such as Aadhaar.

A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud asked the three petitioners to supply copies of their pleas to the office of the attorney general who would assist the court in the matter.

In a bid to bring in transparency, the top court had last year allowed the installation of CCTV recording with audio in trial courts and tribunals of each state.

Jaising has said that the citizens have the right to information and matters of constitutional and national importance can be live-streamed.

She has said in western countries, this system is in place and live streaming of court proceedings, including that of the International Court of Justice, are available on YouTube.

If live streaming of the top court's proceedings is not possible, then alternately video recording should be allowed, she said.

Another petition, filed by advocate Mathews J Nedumpara, has sought video and audio recording of the court proceedings for enhanced transparency and greater accountability.

He has sought a direction for making arrangements for video recording of the proceedings of the Supreme Court, high courts, all the courts below and tribunals in the country and allowing public access to such records.

A petition, filed by a law student, has also sought a direction for setting up live streaming rooms within the apex court premises and granting access to legal interns.

The plea, filed by Swapnil Tripathi, a student of National Law University in Jodhpur, has asked for requisite guidelines to facilitate witnessing of proceedings for the interns.

Jaising has said that with the top court hearing Aadhaar and other matters of great significance to the people, the proceedings can be live-streamed.

She said live streaming of Supreme Court cases of constitutional and national importance having an impact on the public at large, will empower and provide access to citizens who cannot personally come to the court due to socio-economic constraints.

The apex court may place restrictions on such videography and live streaming of proceedings, in cases where there are "countervailing interests of privacy as in family law cases, criminal law cases, as well as in the interests of witness testimonies in criminal matters", she said.

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Markets regulator Sebi has so far refunded Rs 91.52 crore to investors, who had invested in Sahara Group companies, Parliament was informed today.

This included Rs 50.08 crore as Principal amount and Rs 41.44 crore as interest, Minister of State for Finance Pon Radhakrishnan said in a written to the Lok Sabha.

The markets regulator has been making refund to investors of optionally fully convertible debentures (OFCDs) in two unlisted entities-- Sahara India Real Estate Corporation and Sahara Housing Investment Corporation -- who are lodging their claims after the verification.

It has not completed the refund process yet, Radhakrishnan said.

"Sebi has so far received claims from investors in respect of 43,574 deposits accounts only. Sebi has made refunds in respect to 32,719 deposit accounts for a total of Rs 91.52 crore including principal and interest," he added.

The regulator initiated the process of refunding investors in May 2013 by uploading the format on its website. It followed up the case with two advertisements, in August and December 2014, asking investors to submit their claims with the required documents.

Further, the minister said that the Supreme Court, in April 2017, appointed the official liquidator of the Bomaby High Court to conduct the auction for sale of the group's Aamby Valley project near Pune, under the guidance of two judges of the Bombay High Court.

Accordingly, the official liquidator is taking steps in this regard.

"The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has informed that the auction process is not completed and it is going under the aegis of the judicial mechanism," he added.

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The wife of senior Marathi theatre personality Dilip Kolhatkar was found dead in half-burnt condition at the couple's house here last evening, police said.

A case of murder has been registered against unidentified persons.

Half-burnt body of Dipali Kolhatkar (65) was found in the couple's flat in Erandwane area last evening.

Autopsy revealed that she had been throttled and there were internal head injuries.

"Only three people live in the house; Dilip Kolhatkar, the deceased and her 85-year-old mother," said senior inspector Rekha Salunkhe of Alankar police station.

"On Thursday, her mother saw smoke coming from the kitchen. When Dipali didn't respond to her calls, her mother called neighbours for help as Dilip Kolhatkar is bed-ridden for the last three years," the officer said.

Dipali was declared brought dead at the government-run Sassoon Hospital.

"Initially we thought it was a case of accidental death. But the post-mortem report today revealed that she had an internal head injury and had been throttled," Salunkhe said.

Police registered a case of murder against unidentified persons, she added.

The officer ruled out the robbery angle, as nothing was missing from the house.

An attendant hired from nursing bureau who looks after Dilip Kolhatkar had left around 7.30 pm when his duty hours ended, she said.

The housing society where the family lives has no CCTV cameras or security guards, she added.

Further probe is on.

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Sikh marriages in Delhi can now be registered under the Anand Marriage Act instead of the Hindu Marriage Act, with the Delhi government today notifying the provisions of the new Act.

As per the notification, the Anand Marriage Act will be registered with the Registrar under whose jurisdiction the marriage is solemnised or either the party resides.

"Delhi Govt notifies The Delhi Anand Marriages Rules, 2018. Long pending demand of the Sikh community fulfilled. Our govt is committed to work for protection of rights of all communities (sic)," Revenue Minister Kailash Gahlot tweeted.

The notification was issued, days after Lt Governor Anil Baijal gave his approval for the implementation of the new marriage act.

The registration fee under the Anand Marriage Act is Rs 500.

AAP MLA Jarnail Singh from Tilar Nagar said that besides new marriages, Sikhs whose marriages have been registered under Hindu Marriage Act can also get the same registered under the Anand Marriage Act.

"I want to thank the Delhi government for notifying the Anand Marriage Act, which had been cleared by the Centre in 2012, but Delhi was yet to notify it.

"I have raised the issue in 2015 when the Aam Aadmi Party government was formed. It was a long-pending demand of the Sikh community," Singh said.

Sikh groups had maintained that members of the community used to face problems abroad as their certificates were issued under the Hindu Marriage Act.

The Anand Marriage Act was passed by the Centre, but it was yet to be implemented in Delhi.

Last month, Delhi Revenue Minister Kailash Gahlot said that framing of provisions under the Anand Marriage Act is in the final stage.

In December, a Sikh community delegation, led by AAP legislators, had urged the Delhi government for the early implementation of the provisions of the Anand Marriage Act.

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Leading private security provider SIS India today bagged the contract for security arrangements at the Commonwealth Games scheduled in Australia this year, a company release said here.

"It is a matter of pride for us that SIS India has been chosen for providing its services for such a huge event. It is a matter of pride for Bihar and entire India", the release quoted its founder and BJP Rajya Sabha member Ravindra Kishore Sinha as saying.

"The contract for Commonwealth Games, scheduled to be held at Brisbane in April, was signed in Australia in presence of Managing Director Rituraj Sinha and CEO Uday Singh", the release said.

"In view of the mammoth scale of the international sporting event, the company plans to deploy around 4500 security officers, besides installation of hundreds of cameras, bollards, X-Ray machines and walkie talkies at the venues", it said.

Set up in the 1980s in Patna, SIS India is today one of the leading private security providers in the country. It operates through 300 branches and employs nearly two lakh security personnel, the release added.

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The CBI today argued before the Bombay High Court that the trial court hearing the alleged fake encounter case of Sohrabuddin Shaikh should not have discharged some police officials merely for want of government sanction.

Carrying out a "fake" encounter was not an act committed in discharge of official duty, and to prosecute the police officials for it did not need government permission, it said.

Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, who appeared for the CBI, argued against the discharge granted to Rajasthan Police constable Dalpat Singh Rathod by the trial court for want of prior sanction.

A prior sanction for prosecution of a public servant is needed only for an offence committed by him while discharging his official duty, Singh said.

"Being part of a fake encounter or concocting a false story to hide such incident is not the official duty of any police officer. Hence, we (CBI) did not need to take any prior sanction from the Centre or the state to prosecute the accused in the case," the additional solicitor general said.

The CBI's submission is significant as the high court, at a previous hearing, had asked whether the lack of sanction can be adequate ground for discharge of police officials.

The high court is hearing a bunch of petitions filed by Shaikh's brother Rubabuddin Shaikh challenging the discharge of a few accused in the case by a special CBI court.

The high court is also hearing two pleas filed by the CBI challenging the discharge of retired IPS officer N K Amin and constable Rathod.

Rubabuddin Shaikh has challenged the discharge of Gujarat IPS officers D G Vanzara and Rajkumar Pandian and Rajasthan IPS officer Dinesh M N.

Vanzara and Pandian have now retired from service.

Justice Revati Mohite-Dere today started a day-to-day hearing on these applications.

ASG Singh said while Tulsiram Prajapati was killed by a team of Gujarat and Rajasthan police officers on December 28, 2006, the accused concocted a false story that he escaped from police custody while being brought back by a train to Udaipur from Ahmedabad after a case hearing.

"Rathod and three other constables claim they were accompanying him on the train on December 27, 2006, and he managed to escape somewhere near Shamlaji in Gujarat... However, he was never on that train. He had been taken to the encounter spot near Ambaji village. The train (journey), the allegation that Prajapati threw some chili powder on the faces of the escort team and fled, are all a false cover-up story concocted by them," Singh said.

Rathod's lawyer Niranjan Mundargi denied Singh's allegations. While other police officials accompanying Prajapati on the train might have had played a role in the encounter, Rathod had no role in the conspiracy, he said.

ASG Singh also submitted that the statement of Nathuba Jadeja, driver of the vehicle in which Sohrabuddin Shaikh, his wife Kausar Bi and Prajapati were taken by the Gujarat ATS, had testified that that he saw Amin at the encounter spot.

CBI's arguments will continue on Monday.

Sohrabuddin, a gangster with alleged terror links, and his wife Kausar Bi were allegedly abducted by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad in November 2005. Shaikh was killed in an alleged fake encounter on November 2005 while his wife disappeared.

Prajapati, an eyewitness to the encounter, was allegedly killed by police in another fake encounter in December 2006.

The trial court discharged 15 of the 38 people named by the CBI in its chargesheet. Those discharged included several Gujarat police officials and BJP president Amit Shah.

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Congress chief Rahul Gandhi today called upon all political parties to unite on the issue of grant of special status for Andhra Pradesh and other demands, including the speedy completion of the Polavaram project.

"The Congress supports the just demands of the people of Andhra Pradesh for special category status and speedy completion of the Polavaram project. It's time for all parties to unite on this issue and support this call for justice," he tweeted.

Various parties have been raising the demand in both Houses of Parliament, leading to disruptions. The Congress and the TDP, which is part of the ruling NDA, have been at the forefront of protests inside and outside Parliament for granting special status to Andhra Pradesh.

They have also been pressing for early fulfilment of all their demands as per the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, after the bifurcation of the state.

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The Sri Lankan Government today recommended release of 113 Indian fishermen arrested in recent months by its Navy on charges of fishing in its territorial waters, a fishermen association leader here said.

A communication in this regard had been sent to the court in Jaffna, Tamil Nadu Mechanised Boats Fishermen Association President P Sesuraja said quoting information received from the Fisheries officials in Sri Lanka.

The fishermen from Tamil Nadu had been detained over a period of time and lodged in prisons in the neighbouring country. Their mechanised boats had been impounded.

The state government had taken up the issue with the Centre last month and sought release of the fishermen and the boats.

This is the second instance of release of Indian fishermen in large numbers since December last year. The Sri Lankan government had released 89 fishermen from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry in the last week of December.

Sesuraja said the court in Jaffna today set free four of the fishermen, whose release had been requested on an urgent basis following the death of the son of one of them here.

The other 109 fishermen were likely to be released in the next few days after completion of judicial process, he added.

The Indian High Commission in Sri lanka had requested for the release of Jayaseelan and three of his relatives on parole following the death of his son.

The Lankan government, however, recommended the release of the 113 fishermen who were detained till last month.

Another 27 fishermen, detained later, would still be under Lankan custody.

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Normal life in Kashmir was affected due to a strike called by separatists to press for the return of mortal remains of Parliament attack convict Mohammad Afzal Guru on his fifth death anniversary today even as authorities imposed restructions in parts of the city and Sopore town.

Shops and other business establishments remained closed in most parts of Kashmir due to the strike called by Joint Resistance Leadership.

Public transport remained off the roads but some private vehicles could be seen on some routes in the civil lines area of the city, officials said.

They said authorities imposed restrictions under Section 144 of the CrPC in seven police station areas of the city -- Khanyar, Kralkhud, Maharajgunj, Maisuma, Nowhata, Rainawari and Safakadal -- as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order.

"Restrictions have also been imposed the Sopore town (Guru's native town) to thwart any attempts at distrubing law and order there," the officials said.

Separatist leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik, under the banner of JLR, had called for a shutdown to protest Guru's hanging and to press for their demand for the return of his mortal remains.

Guru was hanged on this day in 2013 following his conviction in the 2001 Parliament Attack case. His body was buried inside Tihar jail in the national capital.

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A US military official says the American-backed Syrian Democratic Forces captured two British members of an Islamic State insurgent cell commonly dubbed "The Beatles" and known for beheading hostages.

The official says that El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Amon Kotey were captured in January in Syria. The two men are among four members of the IS cell that captured and beheaded more than two dozen hostages including American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and American aid worker Peter Kassig.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details of the Syrian capture.

The State Department imposed sanctions on both men. They are believed to be linked to the British terrorist known as Jihadi John, the masked IS militant who appeared in videos depicting the beheadings of Western hostages.

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US President Donald Trump signed a crucial spending bill today, reopening the US government after a brief shutdown, the second in three weeks, and a night of high drama in Congress.

Trump announced the signing on his Twitter account, hailing the bill's passage in the early hours of Friday as a boost for the US military and "JOBS, JOBS, JOBS!"



The House voted 240 to 186 in support of a bipartisan package that extends funding until March 23, hours after a conservative senator forced Congress to miss a midnight deadline, sparking the shutdown.

Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky had blocked a vote in the upper house, briefly bringing the government to a halt to protest big increases in spending on the military and domestic programs.

The compromise approved overnight also leaves many Democrats frustrated by failing to address the fate of hundreds of thousands of young immigrants threatened with deportation.

Trump defended the deal, but said it contained "much waste in order to get Dem votes."



"Our Military will now be stronger than ever before. We love and need our Military and gave them everything -- and more," he said.

"Without more Republicans in Congress, we were forced to increase spending on things we do not like or want in order to finally, after many years of depletion, take care of our Military. Sadly, we needed some Dem votes for passage."



Trump was referring to a provision in the bill that increases spending limits for the next two years and raises the federal debt ceiling until March 2019.

That is set to break the cycle of government funding crises in time for what will likely be a bruising campaign for November's mid-term elections.

But the dramatics in Congress spoke volumes about the political gridlock that defines Washington.

The rebellion that simmered among Republicans and Democrats over the budget agreement boiled over when a determined Paul brought the Senate's work to a halt.

The Kentucky Republican took the floor to blast the increase in federal spending limits, and in particular the fiscal irresponsibility of his own party.

"If you're against president (Barack) Obama's deficits, but you're for the Republican deficits, isn't that the very definition of hypocrisy?" he boomed, adding that he wants his fellow lawmakers "to feel uncomfortable" over the impasse.

Moving legislation swiftly through the upper chamber of Congress requires consent by all 100 members, but Paul objected.

Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer warned the delay put lawmakers "in risky territory," and several fellow Republicans confronted Paul in the chamber about his strategy -- but he refused to yield to allow an early vote.

Ultimately, enough members from both parties joined forces to get the temporary spending bill across the finish line, but the bill's fate in the House had been far from certain.

It incorporates a major budget deal reached last week between Senate leaders on both sides of the political aisle.

That agreement includes a $300 billion increase to both military and non-military spending limits for this year and 2019, and raises the debt until March 1 next year.

It also provides a massive $90 billion disaster relief package and funding to address the nationwide opioid abuse crisis.

Several fiscal conservatives in the lower chamber joined Paul in balking at adding billions of dollars to the national debt two months after passing a $1.5 trillion tax cut package.

And liberal stalwarts including top House Democrat Nancy Pelosi were also in revolt because the deal does nothing to protect immigrants known as "Dreamers," who were brought to the US illegally as children, from deportation.

"Nobody wants a shutdown," Pelosi told the House moments before the vote.

She said she wanted an assurance from Ryan that he would take up the issue of immigration in the coming weeks.

"Give us a chance to allay the fear that is in the hearts of these Dreamers and their families, and remove the tears from the Statue of Liberty observing what is happening here," she said.

Democrats have sought to link the funding debate to a permanent solution for the "Dreamers," who were shielded from deportation under an Obama-era program which ended last September by Trump, who set a March 5 deadline for resolving the issue.

The White House's current proposal -- one that would put 1.8 million immigrants on a path to citizenship, but also boost border security, and dramatically curtail legal immigration -- has been panned by Democrats, and several other bipartisan efforts have stalled.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Uttar Pradesh assembly today witnessed repeated adjournments and walkout by the opposition demanding a probe into the Kasganj communal flare-up by a sitting high court judge.

Raising the matter during Zero Hour, Leader of Opposition Ram Govind Chowdhury claimed that the violence in the western UP town was a "pre-planned conspiracy".

The demand was supported by Congress and BSP members.

"Kasganj is still burning. The violence was a pre-planned conspiracy. Muslims were deliberately attacked and police remained mute spectator," Chowdhury, a Samajwadi Party MLA, said.

Armed with copies of CCTV footages and other videos of the incident in his hand, Chowdhury said, "I am talking with proof that shops were burnt and a particular community was targeted and police were involved in it. The VHP, Bajrang Dal and similar organisations deliberately attacked Muslims due to which violence erupted and one person died in the firing."



He also demanded Rs 50 lakh compensation to the victim's family and said that those affected in the violence should be compensated by the government without any discrimination.

Chandan Gupta died of gunshot wounds after he was shot at during a motorcycle rally taken out to celebrate Republic Day. His killing led to communal violence in the western UP town. At least three shops, two buses and a car were torched.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna refuted Chowdhury's charges and said the unfortunate incident that took place on January 26 in Kasganj was due to the blocking of the way of a 'Tiranga Yatra' (tricolour march).

"The yatra was being taken out as per the tradition of 25 years on the traditional route. The way of the yatra was blocked by some persons by putting chairs... When those taking out the yatra insisted on following the same route, an argument took place leading to clashes in which Abhishek alias Chandan Gupta died.

"Had they been given way for the yatra, the incident would not have happened. There was no communal tension earlier. It was a government order that no new tradition is started but old practices are permitted," he said.

"It's wrong to say police encouraged...FIR was lodged against the accused. The opposition is trying to vitiate the atmosphere. We ensured that there is no reaction to this incident. Such incident is not a good thing for government. We ensured strict action and ensured no undue harassment to anyone," Khanna said.

He said that prohibitory orders have been enforced in Kasganj till March 10 and alleged that the "Samajwadi Party did not want peace in the state".

This led to sharp reaction from the SP members, who rushed into the well of the House and sat there leading to disruption, prompting Speaker Hriday Narain Dixit to adjourn the House for 10 minutes initially and later extend it.

Later, when the House again met, Khanna assured that the entire matter was being probed by an SIT and no guilty would be spared.

However, not happy with the response, the entire opposition including the SP, BSP and the Congress staged a walkout.

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The American ambassador to Israel attacked an Israeli leftwing newspaper today, questioning whether it had any "dignity" after a vitriolic column.

The quarrel erupted after Haaretz newspaper criticised US Ambassador David Friedman, personally selected by President Donald Trump, for his support of settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.

In the wake of the murder of an Israeli rabbi and father of four from the Har Bracha settlement on Monday, Friedman tweeted that he had provided an ambulance for the community 20 years ago.

Friedman then criticised Palestinian "leaders" for praising the killing, although Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said nothing about it.

In response Haaretz, which opposes settlement building in the Palestinian territories, ran a column by commentator Gideon Levy saying that "with Friedman's ambulance or without it, Har Bracha (literally, 'Mountain of Blessing') is a mountain of curses."



It accused Friedman, who was Trump's personal lawyer before being confirmed as ambassador in May 2017, of "encouraging and funding war crimes and violations of international law".

"What has become of .@Haaretz ? Four young children are sitting shiva (mourning) for their murdered father and this publication calls their community a 'mountain of curses.' Have they no decency?" Friedman tweeted on Friday.

In a reply on Twitter, Haaretz publisher Amos Schocken said on Twitter that "Gideon Levy is right" and that the US administration's support for Israel and its settlement policies was causing bloodshed.

"As long as the policy of Israel that your Government and yourself support is obstructing (the) peace process, practical annexation of the territories, perpetuating apartheid, fighting terror but willing to pay its price, there will be more Shivas," Schocken wrote.

More than 600,000 Israelis live in settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem that are considered illegal under international law.

Relations between Washington and the Palestinians have been severely strained since Trump's December decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital and move the US embassy there.

In remarks published today, Trump called the Jerusalem move "a very big point" in his first year as president.

Speaking to the Israel Hayom daily, Trump said that both Israel and the Palestinians "will have to make hard compromises to reach a peace agreement.

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The US has disqualified itself from being an "honest broker" in the Middle East peace process, Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas has said as he criticised his American counterpart Donald Trump for his "illegal" decision to declare Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

Trump's Jerusalem move angered the Palestinians, sparked protests in the Middle East and raised concern that it could further destabilise the region.

The status of Jerusalem is the centre of Palestine's conflict with Isarel. The city is home to key religious sites sacred to Judaism, Islam and Christianity, especially in East Jerusalem.

The Palestinians wants to make East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state.

Abbas lashed out at the United States' decision to declare Jerusalem as Israel's capital and slashing the aid package to the Palestinians as "unconstructive" measures.

He said Trump's move will only delay reaching a final agreement.

"The US Administration disqualified itself from being an honest broker, and should not be the sole mediator in the peace process," the Palestine president told PTI in an e-mail interview.

In a dig at Trump's assertion regarding working out an ultimate deal during his tenure, the Palestinian President said that they "have not received any proposals", but only "sudden and illegal decision on Jerusalem".

"Concerning the so called ultimate deal, we have not received any proposals for a peace plan until the moment. We keep hearing of an ultimate deal that the US President is going to present to the sides, but no one has proposed anything, but instead, President Trump announced his sudden and illegal decision on Jerusalem," he said.

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A high-level delegation of American energy industry has expressed their interest in investing in India's fast expanding energy sector.

Yesterday, the delegation met US Energy Secretary Rick Perry and held talks, ahead of his visit to India later this month. The meeting was organised by the US India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF).

Perry's visit to India comes as the two countries are exploring the possibilities of accelerating the pace of energy trade.

For the first time, the US is exporting Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to India following a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump at the White House in June last year.

Since this meeting, India has received three shipments of US crude oil, worth an estimate of USD 100 million.

Given the market size and opportunities that India presents, the energy trade could touch up to USD 2 billion in the coming years. The export of US crude oil and LNG to India will create jobs, economic stability and provide energy security to both countries.

Energy is an important part of the growing US-India relationship and gas-related exports are very significant contributions to environmental improvement.

"These discussions are pivotal in determining the priorities for the upcoming US India Energy Bilateral. As a long-term investor in India, Air Products is keen to share its technology, know-how and investment capacity which can bring great value to the US and India alike," said Richard Boocock, president for Air Products' Industrial GasesMiddle East, India, Egypt, and Turkey.

"Investments made by Air Products, which include the recent announcement to expand our Kochi Industrial Gas Complex to support the continued expansion of BPCL's Kochi Refinery, demonstrate how it is applying US technology and know-how as a key enabler to the Make in India initiative, and how they intend to continue growing presence and strong relationships in the region," he said.

"Energy is an important part of the growing US-India relationship and gas-related exports are very significant contributions to environmental improvement," Daniel Yergin, vice chairman of IHS Markit.

USISPF in a statement said, it believes that environment and energy are two pillars for enhanced strategic cooperation between the US and India.

American energy companies have been investing in the Indian renewable energy sector since the launch of the National Solar Mission with great success.

As the country modernises the electricity grid, security against cyber-attacks and grid stability will become an increasingly important area of collaboration between the two nations.

"USISPF believes natural gas generation can be integrated with renewable energy to increase energy reliability and advance economic development in India and we've advocated for this discussion to be raised during the upcoming bilateral discussions in Delhi," said Nolty Theriot, USISPF vice president of Policy & Advocacy.

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The US has urged Bangladesh to ensure "fair trial" for ex-prime minister Khaleda Zia who was sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment for corruption.

The 72-year-old three-time former prime minister and Bangladesh's main opposition leader was sentenced by Dhaka's Special Court in connection with the embezzlement of 21 million taka (about USD 250,000) in foreign donations meant for the Zia Orphanage Trust, named after her late husband Ziaur Rahman, a military ruler-turned-politician.

"We are aware of the conviction of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Khaleda Zia, and encourage Bangladesh to the guarantee of a fair trial," a State Department spokesperson said.

The verdict simultaneously sentenced Zia's "fugitive" elder son and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP's) senior vice president Tarique Rahman as he was tried in absentia. Rahman and four others have been sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Zia and three of her aides were accused of syphoning off about USD 400,000 from the Zia Charitable Trust alone. She is also accused of leading a group of five people in embezzling another USD 277,000 funds.

"We are concerned by reported arrests of opposition members. We encourage the government of Bangladesh to ensure fair trial guarantees for all of its individuals in Bangladesh," the spokesperson said.

The State Department also called on the government of Bangladesh to respect the rights of all individuals to gather peacefully and to freely express their opinions.

"We continue to call upon the Government of Bangladesh to provide the right to all individuals to freely express their political views, without fear of reprisal, and to hold elections that are free, fair, peaceful, and credible, reflecting the will of the Bangladeshi people," the spokesperson said.

"We also call on members of society to act peacefully and responsibly. We stress that all sides must eschew violence; violence hinders democratic processes," the spokesperson added.

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Actor Alicia Vikander has said veteran star Julianne Moore once came out in her defence after a powerful Hollywood figure made a crude joke about her.

The "Tomb Raider" star, who appears on the latest cover of Vogue, said incident happened on the sets of 2014 film "Seventh Son", and Moore not only reprimanded the person but also threatened to walk out of the film.

"I was really embarrassed, and I would have just laughed it off," Vikander said.

"But Julianne turned to him and said, 'If you ever do that again, I'm walking out of here and I'm not coming back.' She was just, like, 'Don't you f**king say that again.' It showed me that she had the power. And that meant so much to me," Vikander added.

Vikander was one of the prominent Hollywood personalities who turned up at the Golden Globes red carpet donning black in support of the Time's Up campaign that seeks to promote equality and safety in the workplace and fights against sexual misconduct.

"It was such a community that came together. I got on the phone with Natalie (Portman), whom I'd never met, and Reese (Witherspoon). Suddenly I felt like I made a lot of new friends. One thing that really got to me in their initial email was the fact that because women are not as well represented in all industries we often have to fight for jobs.

"The competition is so tough that instead of getting to know each other and working together, we learned at an early age to compete for that single spot. So then to get on the carpet yesterday and feel like I had actually made friends with the other actresses and people I admire, it was really cool," Vikander said.

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Three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka clinched just his second win of 2018 on Thursday when he defeated Slovak qualifier Martin Klizan 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 to reach the Sofia ATP quarter-finals.

The 32-year-old Wawrinka, who missed six months of the 2017 season to undergo two knee surgeries after Wimbledon, will face Viktor Troicki of Serbia on Friday for a place in the semi-finals.

"I expected a tough match," world number 15 Wawrinka told atpworldtour.com. "He's already played a few matches here."



Wawrinka had won just one match this year before the Bulgaria tournament, seeing off Ricardas Berankis at the Australian Open in January before falling to Tennys Sandgren of the United States.

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Jammu and Kashmir Minister for Revenue, Parliamentary Affairs, Haj and Auqaf Abdul Rehman Veeri today said one civilian was killed and three Army jawans injured in Pakistani firing in Poonch in the last 24 hours.

Replying to a question raised by NC MLA Mian Altaf Ahmad and other legislators over the loss of lives and damage to property in the recurrent incidents of cross-border shelling, the minister told the Assembly that at about 4.20pm yesterday, the Pakistani army started indiscriminate firing in Mankote sector, which is manned by the Indian Army's 22 Sikh Regiment.

He said one woman, identified as Zainab Bee (45), a resident of Nar Balnoi, was killed and three Army personnel, Havaldar Lakhvinder Singh, Havaldar Balvir Singh and Lance Naik Charandeep Singh, were injured.

Firing was also reported from Gulpur and Balakote sectors yesterday, however, there were no reports of loss of life, Veeri added.

The minister said the district administration in Poonch was taking steps to avoid loss of life and property.

Alternate arrangements were in place for boarding and lodging of the affected population, he added.

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A Chinese woman was sentenced to death today for setting an apartment on fire in which four members of a family were killed.

Mo Huanjing, a former nanny of the family of Lin Shengbin, was found guilty of arson.

Lin's wife and their three young children were killed in the incident last year, the Hangzhou Intermediate People's Court said in its verdict.

Mo started the fire using a lighter in the early morning after she searched the keyword "arson" online, according to the court.

Mo was also convicted of theft, state-run Xinhua agency reported.

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Actor James Marsden says it would be a great opportunity if his popular "X-Men" character Cyclops would get his own spin-off series.

The 44-year-old actor, who played Scott Summers, a mutant who could generate concussive force red-colored beams from his eyes, said the Marvel Universe has multiple characters that have great content to develop individual movies.

"I think that that could happen. I wouldn't be the one to decide. Who's playing the role or how old he is. Tye Sheridan (in 'X-Men: Apocalypse) did a nice job playing me 20 years ago. But I think what's great about the 'X-Men' Universe is that there are 50 odd different sagas and storylines that you could really do spinoffs with any of these characters.

"And there is a depth of storytelling and how they interweave different characters into it. Stan Lee is really gifted when it comes to that," Marsden said in a group interview here.

"I've stopped going to the gym. But that would be incredible," he added.

The actor was in the city as the global ambassador of International Scotch Day, along with Ervin Trykowski, brand ambassador, Diageo.

He starred in four films in the "X-Men" franchise, "X- Men", "X2", "X-Men: The Last Stand" and "X-Men: Days of Future Past".

Recently, "Enchanted" director Adam Shankman revealed that the script for the fantasy romcom sequel is almost ready.

Marsden had played the quintessential Price Charming in the 2007 film, who ventures into the real-time New York from an animated Disney film to search for his love, Giselle (Amy Adams).

The actor said he hopes the second installment finally comes through after 10 long years of wait.

When asked whether he would reprise his role in the sequel, Marsden said, "I loved that movie. It was a real joy to shoot that one. We didn't really know if it was going to work. The conceit of it is pretty unique. They've been talking about making the sequel about 10 years now. So, I hope it happens although I couldn't speculate."



"Till then we have 'Westworld' which is exactly like 'Enchanted'," the actor said.

Unlike "Enchanted", the universe of "Westworld" is extremely dark. Marsden stars as Teddy Flood.

The actor said he would love to star in another musical as with his children - Jack (17), Mary (12) and William (five) growing up, he could take out time to take up more intensive projects.

"I'd like to go back to some other musical. I'd like to try for Broadway as with kids it's difficult to commit for a- year-and-a-half... Eight shows a week and with 'Westworld' going on... It's a real passion of mine since I was young. It's one of the reasons I wanted to pursue this career. It's particularly ingrained in me as a part of my actor's fabric."



Marsden is a self-confessed fan of Indian food. The actor, who was in his first visit to the capital, said he tried chicken tikka masala and vegetable curry for lunch.

"It blew me away. It was something that I had never eaten before. I actually asked them to up the spices. At home, I eat Indian food at least three times a week. It was the best Indian food I had ever," he said.

Marsden said he had visited Mumbai some time back on a tour to promote a film but he would love to come back to India to explore the country.

"It's nice that as an actor you get to travel but you really never get to see the city. I hope I can get a few weeks off and come back again," he added.

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Former Bangladesh prime minister Khaleda Zia, sentenced to five years imprisonment in a graft case, spent her night as a lone inmate of a renovated facility of the old Dhaka's abandoned central jail, where an official said, she was "physically and psychologically alright".

Today, authorities allowed Zia's younger businessman brother and four other relatives to meet the 72-year-old leader.

Zia was convicted by a special court here in connection with the embezzlement of 21 million taka (about USD 250,000) in foreign donations meant for the Zia Orphanage Trust, named after her late husband Ziaur Rahman, a military ruler-turned- politician.

The chief of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) was sent to a renovated facility of the old Dhaka's abandoned central prison.

"She is physically and psychologically alright," a prison official told a private TV channel preferring anonymity.

But a senior BNP leader said, "She is in isolation", and alleged that her conviction was "part of a government blueprint to establish one-party rule".

Meanwhile, hundreds of BNP leaders and activists today staged protests in the capital and other major cities in protest at the verdict.

They also had scuffle with police but no incident of major violence was reported.

Officials, however, said they have detained several protesters during the demonstrations.

Yesterday, violence erupted in major cities across Bangladesh as of the guilty verdict spread, with BNP supporters clashing with police and activists from the ruling party.

Police fired rubber bullets at demonstrators in the northeastern city of Sylhet. At least four people have been injured in the clashes.

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By Pamela BarbagliaLONDON (Reuters) - Italy's largest motorway operator Atlantia has secured financing to raise its takeover bid for rival Abertis but any improved offer could take up to a month to materialise, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. A new bid is expected to value Spain's Abertis at no less than 19 euros a share, or around 17 billion euros, as the Italian firm needs to trump a 18.76 euro per share offer made by German builder Hochtief in October.Atlantia's top managers told U.S. investors in New York this week that the Rome-based firm was ready to pay only in ...
By Christoph SteitzFRANKFURT (Reuters) - Vestas is betting on geared wind turbine technology to meet the ambitious profit-margin target it promised when it reported quarterly results on Wednesday.The world's biggest turbine maker said it targeted a operating profit margin of 9-11 percent in 2018. While this represented a modest decline it was far higher than expected by analysts who forecast about 7-8 percent due to cost pressures in a wind power sector facing a drop in the government subsidies that have cradled it since the early 1990s.One of the main reasons Vestas expects to hit that goal, ...
By Darya Korsunskaya and Denis PinchukMOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian companies may start experiencing problems in their dealings with banks as a result of the U.S. government's so-called "oligarch list," several businessmen named in the list said on Friday.In late January, dozens of Russian billionaires were included in a list drafted by the U.S. Treasury Department, in line with a sanctions package signed into law last year, but the list did not imply the people named were, or would be in the future, subject to any restrictions."Compliance of all banks, of European banks in particular, will be ...
By Alexandria Sage, Dan Levine and Heather SomervilleSAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Uber Technologies Inc will pay $245 million worth of its own shares to Alphabet Inc's Waymo self-driving vehicle unit to settle a legal dispute over trade secrets, allowing Uber's chief executive to move past one of the company's most bruising public controversies.The settlement announcement on Friday brought an abrupt halt to the captivating case just before the fifth day of testimony was to begin at a jury trial in federal court in San Francisco. In a lawsuit filed last year, Waymo said that one of its former ...
Sajjan Jindal controlled JSW Steel, which is India's largest steelmaker with 18 million tonne (MT) a year capacity, has reportedly submitted a Rs 13,000 crore bid for financially sick Bhushan Power and Steel (BPSL) on Thursday. It got one rival bid from Tata Steel, which quoted Rs 11,500 crore, says Hindu Business Line.

JSW Steel has submitted its resolution plans for three companies --- Bhushan Steel, Monnet Ispat and BPSL--- and in all it emerged as the lead bidder. For Bhushan Steel (BSL), it submitted Rs 29,700 crore bid, including Rs 28,000 crore debt takeover and Rs 1,700 crore capital infusion.

Ajay Piramal's Piramal Enterprises is Jindal's partner in BSL takeover bid. Tata Steel has quoted Rs 24,000 crore plan for the company. Anil Agawal's Vedanta Ltd did due diligence for both the Bhushan companies but backed out from submitting the resolution plan.

JSW Steel-Aion consortium submitted Rs 2,700 crore debt takeover plan for Monnet Ispat, which was founded by Jindal's brother-in-law Sandeep Jajodia. The consortium offered 18 per cent equity to lenders and agreed to infuse Rs 1000 crore as equity capital for settling dues and working capital.

With three bids, Jindal made a financial commitment of Rs 45,000 crore. It's not sure how much of it will weigh down on the steelmaker's books as debt. Earlier, JSW Steel's Joint Managing Director & Group CFO Seshagiri Rao told Business Today that they want to keep the debt to EBITDA ratio of the company at 3.75 and debt to equity ratio at 1.75. The new bids along with the expansion plans of the company will make it tough for JSW to handle it in one go, say industry experts.

The new steel capacity Jindal wants to add will require investment of more than Rs26,800 crore over the next three years, including Rs15,000 crore to double the capacity of the plant in Dolvi, Maharashtra, from five million to 10 MT.



In addition, JSW group is now foraying into paint manufacturing, financial services and electric vehicles. The Rs66,000-crore JSW Group already has an aggregate debt of Rs60,000 crore, and Jindal's ambitious plans will only raise the figure.
Twitter, of late, has been making headlines in India due to hacked accounts of several celebrities but yesterday the social media company had cause to pop the bubbly. Overall revenue not only rose 2% to $731.6 million in the fiscal quarter ending December 2017 from a year earlier, but this is also the first time it has posted a quarterly profit since it went public in 2013. Twitter reported a net profit of $91.1 million, or 12 cents per share, compared to a loss of $167.1 million, or 23 cents per share, a year earlier.

Adjusted EBITDA stood at $308 million "or 42% of total revenue, reaching our long-term target range of 40-45% for the first time", said the company. This turnaround in its fortunes is all the more impressive because it hasn't been easy for new age consumer internet companies to make profits.

In response Chief Executive Jack Dorsey tweeted, "I'm so proud of the @Twitter team. We did what we said we were going to do. Our focus and self-discipline continues to improve. Thank you team! And thanks to all of our shareholders for the patience and support. 2018 is going to be a great year."

Twitter's previous inability to turn a profit or log consistent revenue growth has long confounded investors given its ubiquitous media presence and popularity among celebrities, athletes and politicians, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The unexpected return to revenue growth-analyst estimates had predicted $686.1 million, a fourth straight quarter of declines-was fuelled by expansion outside the United States. Revenue from outside the US rose 17%, making up for an 8% decline in domestic sales. Revenue from Japan rose 34% to $106 million, and Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal said Chinese exporters were strong advertisers abroad.

Apart from higher video ad sales and redesigned ad formats, Twitter said that revenue was further helped by using data to make the targeting of ads more individualized, a process known as machine learning. That raised clickthrough rates, or the ratio of users who click on a specific ad to the number that view it. In the latest quarterly results, advertising revenue is up 1% to $644 million from $638 million a year ago.

"They are showing the right tweets to the right people at the right time, and as you do that, not only do you drive consumers to use Twitter more, but you attract more and more advertisers to want to be on the platform," said analyst Richard Greenfield of BTIG Research. The company also reported $87 million in data licensing and other non-advertising revenue, up 10% from a year earlier.

The platform has seen the number of daily active users go up 12%-thanks to changes like doubling the number of characters allowed per tweet-but monthly active users grew more slowly, up 4% from a year earlier to 330 million. That was flat from the third quarter, which the company blamed in part on seasonal weakness and its purge of fake and spam accounts. In comparison, Facebook Inc has 2.1 billion monthly users, while Snapchat owner Snap Inc, which does not report a monthly figure, has 187 million daily users.

Twitter's quarterly profit and rising revenue has reignited speculation among some analysts that a larger company could try to buy it. The Walt Disney Co expressed interest in 2016, though at the time Twitter shares were trading around $18. Yesterday its share price jumped to more than two-year highs, closing 12.1% higher at $30.18 after hitting a high of $35.00.

In any case, the strong financials come as welcome news at a time when social media companies are grappling with a regulatory backlash in Europe and the United States over privacy concerns, possible user addiction and hate speech. The alleged abuse of Twitter accounts by Russia to sway the 2016 U.S. presidential election-when Donald Trump stormed the White House-did not help matters.

What lies ahead for the company? Opinion stands divided. Twitter Inc said it expects to be "GAAP profitable for the full year 2018," referring to generally accepted accounting principles. In its letter to the shareholders, the company said that for Q1, "we expect adjusted EBITDA to be between $185 million and $205 million". But the outlook is far from rosy.

As pointed out by The Washington Post, it's still not making a significant dent in digital ads, a space dominated by Google and Facebook. According to eMarketer, these two companies together make up an estimated 26% of the worldwide digital ad market while Twitter carries a mere 1.2%. And this status is unlikely to change anytime soon.

With Reuters inputs


Competition Commission of India on Thursday imposed a Rs 136 crore fine on Larry Page-led Google for unfair business practices in the country's online search market, the latest such penalty on the search engine. The order came on complaints filed back in 2012 by Matrimony.com and Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS) against Google LLC, Google India Pvt Ltd and Google Ireland Ltd. Google was accused of abusing its dominant position in the online search market through practices leading to search bias and search manipulation, among others.

The regulator said the penalty is being imposed on Google for infringing anti-trust conduct. "Google was found to be indulging in practices of search bias and by doing so, it causes harm to its competitors as well as to users," the CCI said in its order. The competition watchdog said it gave thoughtful consideration on the submissions made by Google on issue of penalty and found it appropriate to impose a fine.

The penalty amount of Rs 135.86 crore translates to 5 per cent of the company's average total revenue generated from India operations from its different business segments for the financial years 2013, 2014 and 2015, according to the CCI order. The company will need to deposit the fine within 60 days, the commission said.

CCI observed in its order that Google, being the gateway to the internet for a vast majority of internet users due to its dominance in the online web search market, is under an obligation to discharge its special responsibility. Further, prohibitions imposed under the negotiated search intermediation agreements upon the publishers have been held to be unfair as they restricted the choice of these partners and prevented them from using the search services provided by competing search engines.

In June 2017, the European Union fined Google parent Alphabet a record $2.9 billion antitrust fine against the company for allegedly abusing the power of its dominant search engine. EU ordered the search engine to treat competing shopping services "no less favorably" than its own.
Days after the Delhi High Court verdict dealt a body blow to Fortis Healthcare promoters - Malvinder Mohan Singh and Shivinder Mohan Singh - by upholding the Rs 3,500 crore arbitral award in favour of Daiichi Sankyo, the duo have quit as directors from the company's board

The Singh brothers, erstwhile promoters of Ranbaxy pharmaceuticals, have jointly resigned from the Board of Fortis Healthcare. The Board will discuss their resignation in a meeting on February 13, the company said in a filing to the BSE. "Malvinder Mohan Singh, Executive Chairman and Shivinder Mohan Singh, Non-Executive Vice Chairman have tendered their resignation from the directorships of the company," Fortis Healthcare said.

A single judge bench of Justice Jayant Nath of the Delhi High Court directed Singh Brothers to pay Rs 3,500 crore to Japanese drug maker Daiichi Sankyo.

The resignation is intended to free the organisation from any encumbrances that may be linked to the promoters, the letter said. "In light of the recent High Court judgement upholding the plea of Daiichi Sankyo to enforce the arbitration award, we believe this is in the interest of propriety and good governance," it added.

Daiichi had been allowed by the court to enforce the award. However, the court said the company can't enforce the Rs 3,500-crore award against the children of the Singhs. In a petition filed in the Delhi HC, Daiichi had sought to enforce collection of Rs 3,500 crore arbitration award it won at a Singapore tribunal in 2016 against Singhs' former company, Ranbaxy Laboratories.

In 2013, Daiichi had pleaded guilty in a US court after it was accused of selling adulterated medicines. Daiichi later settled the case for $500 million with the US government, but accused the Singh brothers of hiding information about manufacturing and selling adulterated drugs in the United States and producing false data, during the sale of the company in 2008.

Daiichi then sold its stake in Ranbaxy to Sun Pharmaceuticals for Rs 22,679 crore in 2015.

Appealing against the award in India as well as in Singapore's Court of Appeal, the Singh brothers had argued the award money was not enforceable under the laws of India.

With the resignation of the promoters, the board will be "better enabled and empowered to guide the future direction of the organisation without anyway being hampered by the Daiichi Sankyo judgement and our association at the Board," the letter said.

"The members of the board are also requested to look into all inter-group transactions and distance the promoter group from Fortis Healthcare Ltd in a manner that enables continuity of the operations of the organisation and deliver on its mission of enriching and saving lives," the Singh brothers wrote in the letter.

Daiichi had approached the high court in 2016 to seek the enforcement of a Rs 2,562 crore Singapore arbitral award passed in April 2016, along with an additional claim of interest and lawyers' fees incurred in connection with the proceedings.
In this Monday, Jan. 22, 2018, photo, Republican Utah lawmaker Jon Stanard is shown on the House floor at the Utah State Capitol in Salt Lake City. Stanard has unexpectedly resigned from the Legislature. House Speaker Greg Hughes announced Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018, that the representative from St. George resigned Tuesday night "due to personal and family concerns." (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

SALT LAKE CITY (AP)  A former Utah lawmaker purchased at least two hotel rooms with taxpayer money that he is accused of using to meet up with a prostitute last year, according to documents reviewed by a legislative official.

The DailyMail.com <a href=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5364591/Escort-claims-married-lawmaker-secretly-met-sex.html target=blank>reported</a> allegations Thursday that former Republican Rep. Jon Stanard twice hired a prostitute last year, leading House and state elections officials to review whether public funds or campaign money were used for hotel stays that the report alleges Stanard used for the trysts.

House Chief of Staff Greg Hartley told The Associated Press in a text message that Stanard, who abruptly resigned Tuesday, was reimbursed for hotel rooms in Salt Lake City in June and August 2017 when he was attending legislative meetings at the state Capitol. He lives four hours away in the resort town of St. George.

The dates and hotel names correspond with text messages reported by the DailyMail.com.

Republican House Speaker Greg Hughes said he didnt yet know if the House would ask Stanard to return the money.

If there has been an abuse of public funds or if public funds were used in a way thats inappropriate, we would, Hughes said. I dont have solid answers for those things. I would need to have a way that I would know conclusively that that is the case.

Phone and text messages to Stanards personal cellphone were not returned, but it indicated he read the texts seeking comment. His lawyer, Wally Bugden, declined to comment and did not respond to a follow-up email asking if he was denying the allegations.

Hughes said he did not yet know the Houses next steps to determine if the report was correct.

It was unclear if legislative leaders would be able to check whether Stanard used a state-issued cellphone to arrange encounters with the prostitute because it had been erased and no longer contained his text messages.

Hughes said he assumed Stanard erased his phone, not staffers, and he didnt know if there was a way to recover the texts.

House officials said they cant launch an ethics investigation because Stanard is no longer a lawmaker.

Stanard, who is married, had served five years in the House. He voted last year for stricter state prostitution laws, including raising the penalty for people who are convicted twice of solicitation.

The House announced his resignation Wednesday for personal and family concerns but did not offer details. That day, Stanard told the AP in a text message: My father has terminal cancer and I am going to spend a few weeks with him out of state while I still can.

He did not offer additional information.

The DailyMail.com reported that a prostitute, Brie Taylor, said Stanard twice paid her for sex last year during business trips to Salt Lake City and that he arranged the meetings with a number for a state-issued phone listed on his legislative profile.

The news site posted screenshots of messages that Taylor said came from Stanard, but the phone number was blurred out.

Taylor did not respond to a text message asking her to confirm the phone number and declined to speak with the AP.

Stanards 2017 campaign finance report shows he submitted an expense on March 10 for $1,510 for extra hotel expense session lodging at the Marriott Residence.

Text messages in the DailyMail.com story allege that Stanard was arranging for a visit with Taylor at the Marriott Residence Inn on March 8.

Utah Elections Director Justin Lee said state law bars personal use of campaign funds and that election officials were looking over Stanards reports.

The House speaker said that when Stanard met with him Tuesday night to tell him he was resigning, there were issues that were weighing on him. What exactly and to the nature, I wasnt aware. But it was clear that his priority was with his family and was not here.

Hughes would not say if Stanard spoke about the allegations, calling it a personal conversation but it ran the gamut of problems and I did not know there was a story coming, Ill just say that.

Salt Lake City police say they have no record related to solicitation allegations against Stanard. Unified Police Department of Salt Lake County said it had no record of contact with him.

I was absolutely shocked. I had never heard anything, there was nothing in my interaction  I sit next to him on the House floor  nothing in my interaction thats ever suggesting anything even remotely close to what were seeing today, GOP Rep. Mike McKell said.



Associated Press writers Brady McCombs and Lindsay Whitehurst contributed to this report.
From CNBC: White House instructs government agencies to prepare for shutdown



The Trump administration instructed federal agencies to get ready for a possible government shutdown as Congress moved closer to the midnight Thursday deadline without passing a funding bill, CNBC confirmed.



An Office of Management and Budget official said the office is preparing for funding to lapse as a Senate stalemate drags on with only hours until current funding expires. The Trump administration supports the massive bipartisan budget deal working its way through Congress and wants lawmakers to pass it, the official said.



Some government agencies will run out of money and have to furlough workers if Congress lets funding lapse. A shutdown would be the second in less than a month.



Hundreds of thousands of workers would not go into work Friday if a shutdown takes place through the start of the day. Others would have to work without getting paid at first.

If the shutdown happens - and doesn't end quickly - several agencies will probably not release regular government reports. There are no major economic releases scheduled for tomorrow (Friday), so there will probably be no impact on data if the shutdown ends before Monday morning.If the shutdown continues, the following week Housing Starts, CPI and Retail Sales will all probably be delayed. Also, next week is the reference week for the February employment report, and that report will probably be delayed if the data isn't gathered on a timely basis.Private data will still be released. All Federal Reserve data will continue to be released (separate funding).Also, the DOL will continue to process unemployment claims and release the weekly initial unemployment claims report.
| BY Lynchy |

CB Exclusive  Campaign Brief can reveal that McCann Sydney deputy executive creative director Marcus Tesoriero, who joined in November 2016, is set to take the executive creative role at The Brand Agency in Perth.

McCann Sydney ECD Jerker Fagerstrom told CB the parting was entirely amicable, due to family reasons: Marcus is a fantastic talent and we wish him all the best with his new life in Perth where he will continue to do great things.

Tesoriero brings with him extensive experience across traditional and digital fields, as well as specific expertise in mobile and data-driven creative.

Throughout his 19 year agency career, Tesoriero has collected a raft of local and international awards, from Australian Effies to coveted Lions from Cannes. His client list spans the likes of Audi, American Express, Qantas, The Commonwealth Bank, Lion Nathan, The RTA, Unilever and Coca Cola, and he has held senior creative roles at a succession of large integrated agencies such as DDB and Ogilvy, as well as more specialised digital shops such as The White Agency, AnalogFolk, DT Digital and Affinity.
| BY Ricki Green |

MercerBell has bucked the backlash against content by adding an editorial and content division to the agency, appointing Gary Andrews (centre) as the managing editor and Roslyn da Roza (right) as social media editor.

With a background in journalism and a successful career generating highly awarded content for corporates, Andrews and MercerBell are tightly aligned in their approach to offering quality content as part of the brand experience.

Says Julie Dormand (above, left), managing director, MercerBell: The editorial offering from MercerBell is something that we have put a lot of thought and strategy into designing so that we can provide our clients with real content that builds connections with their consumers, not a string of keywords that chases the ever-changing requirements of search engines.

We chose Gary to head up this exciting new division because he understands both how to design an editorial strategy for a brand, and how to execute content across screen and sound, and a wide variety of print formats.

Says Andrews: At MercerBell, we firmly believe that content is all part of the customer experience, and to offer the best content, no matter what its objective, there needs to be a wider awareness of the communications ecosystem that content plays in.

Previously, Andrews worked for Direct Line Group in the UK, where he headed up their social media division, and across the insurers house of brands, including Direct Line, Churchill, Green Flag, Privilege and Shotgun. Andrews led the multi-award winning #directfix campaign in the UK, which took home top prizes at the Chartered Institute of Marketing Awards, the Brand Republic Digital Awards and the Financial Services Forum Marketing Effectiveness Awards.

Andrews, who has a background in broadcast journalism, has also worked with insurer Hiscox and PR firm Ruder Finn in the UK.
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In November 2015, Bald Archies founder Peter Batey "died" three times. Eighty-four-year-old Batey's dramas started after he returned home to Coolac, a village in the Riverina north of Gundagai, after a weekend away. It was stinking hot and he decided to "strip off and water the pot plants". He collapsed and was found 26 hours later, naked with the hose still running, sunburnt beyond belief. He spent months in hospital recovering from third-degree burns and learning to walk again. "2016 was a pretty dramatic year," he says. But he's not talking about his horrific accident. He's talking about his beloved Archies, which this year celebrate 25 years of thumbing their nose at the "art snobs". In fact, even that triple near-death experience couldn't stop him turning up just months later to the Bald Archy opening to hear Maude, his sulphur-crested cockatoo, announce the winner. "There were two pictures that year. One was of Cardinal Pell, the other was of the Queen and Malcolm Turnbull," says Batey. "I was just out of hospital and I had a friend who was a nurse bring me over to Canberra and I was in this wheelchair and we're going from one painting to another. "I thought, there's Pell, that's a bit plain, he's in his robes, I don't get the joke. And then Sara [Hogwood, the Watson Art Centre's program manager] asked me what I thought of the Pell one, how amazing it was. "So on second look I saw that the nose morphed into the biggest, loose penis you've ever seen in your life. He was wearing a rainbow badge, a devil's tail twisted around his waist, he was giving the middle finger." The work, Nothing To Say, by Pat Hudson, won the Bald Archy that year and Batey thought the church would have a field day. But it was the monarchists "that went insane". "I was getting 30 emails a day, 'It's treason', they said, 'I haven't seen it myself but I'm told it's disgusting and it should be removed'. "It got worse ... Emails came from all over the world. 'I'm in Canada', one woman said, 'You should be beheaded and if you don't take it down we will take it that Australia is at war with Canada'." Batey's never wanted to go to war with anyone. Well maybe with the art establishment. Indeed, that's how the Bald Archies started back in 1994. Batey moved to Coolac in 1980 and ran a successful restaurant out of an old stone building for a few years. The locals would turn up in their utes with extra beer in the back and often not head home til three in the morning. "Mind you, I'd never been in a restaurant kitchen in my life, I'd thrown a few good dinner parties, sure, but if someone says open a restaurant, don't do it." Business died out when random breath testing was introduced a few years later - and Batey thought he might get back to the business he knew best - theatre. "But the industry wasn't what it was," says the man who was one of the pioneers of Australian theatre. He'd worked with June Salter, Ruth Cracknell, Frank Thring, Noel Ferrier. He was working with Barry Humphries in 1957 and the pair of them dreamed up Dame Edna Everage. "We were touring together in Twelfth Night through regional Victoria and we didn't have big parts so we had all this time backstage to work on this review we were writing. We came up with this average Melbourne housewife. I'd always thought Edna was one of the funniest names I'd ever heard." Decades later that's the world Batey wanted to get back into. "So I thought, let's start a festival. I couldn't call it an arts festival because no one would have come, let's be honest. Coolac's got a population of about 45, give or take a few itinerant shearers, so we called it the Festival of Fun." Batey called in a few favours and some of Australia's best entertainers wandered down the Hume Highway to help an old mate. "We had jazz, cabaret, comedy, classical music, I thought we needed a visual arts component. The Archibalds were being particularly pompous at the time so I said let's get 'em." And more than 25 years later he's still doing exactly that. He has some favourite portraits from over the years. Vincent de Gouw's John Howard Washes His Hands Of Pauline Hanson (Apologies To Manet) "was just delicious", he says. He got plenty of calls from "crazy" Hanson supporters about that one. Xavier Ghazi, who's won the Bald Archy five times, pushed the envelope with Bad Ass...ange in 2011, showing Julian Assange urinating in Uncle Sam's top hat. James Brennan's The Official Portrait of the Danish Royal Family in 2008 was "beautifully cast". "Mary and Fred look like a modern-day version of a Gainsborough family group," he recalls. "The princess is sitting on the throne breastfeeding the baby, Fred's leaning on the back of the chair in his jocks and thongs with a Heineken, there's a Tasmanian tiger rug, two totally stoned Tasmanian devils. "The calls went on and on non-stop for weeks: 'Mr Batey have you heard from the palace? Well you will!' In the end I had a call from the Danish press association who wanted to publish it in every newspaper in Denmark." There was a year when Batey heard from "the palace": Buckingham Palace. "Remember when Rolf Harris had that show where he painted the portrait of the Queen. Well this one was of the Queen painting Rolf Harris, he was naked, spread-eagled on a chair, Charles was peeking around a corner. It turns out the artist had sent a copy of it to Buckingham Palace and a couple of months later she responded. It got to me somehow and it was lovely, how the Queen was so amused by the painting - this was before Rolf got himself into some trouble though." Batey will be 85 in August, he's still recovering from the fall, his body a little frail, his mind as sharp as ever. He does wonder what will become of the Bald Archies when he's no longer around. There's been some discussions with the National Portrait Gallery but nothing is certain. He says a few things have happened in recent years that may well save the art prize, and what it stands for. "When satirical cartoonist Bill Leak died last year, three prime ministers turned up at the funeral. I think that raised comic portraiture up the ladder of the art world, gave us more standing." But more substantial is the support that the prize has received this year from Sydney philanthropist Dr Jerry Schwartz. "Honestly, we needed financial help. The first year I had to pretend I had the prize money, and you can't collect it all through the small entry fee we charge people. "I saw something in the news about Jerry opening the first five-star hotel in Sydney for decades, the Sofitel Darling Harbour. "There'd actually been a portrait of him some years ago so I tracked him down, I thought he must have plenty of money, and he was happy to offer up not only the $10,000 cash first prize but a few other things as well." Batey is hopeful this support might also allow him to tour the exhibition to places it hasn't been for a while, including Melbourne and Newcastle. The winner of the prize will be announced in Sydney this month. "Maude can't wait to check out the fancy hotel," says Batey of his beloved cockatoo, who's been his companion since 1982. "All my life I'd wanted a cockatoo as a pet and I was in Canberra having lunch with a friend and we walked past a pet shop and there she was." These days Maude flies free around Coolac, stopping by in the cool of the afternoon to check in on Batey. Her "disciples", as Batey calls them, join her on the lawn, squawking and carrying on. "To think that now she's an educated art critic, she has a PhD from the Marilyn Monroe University in Little Rock Arkansas and she's thinking of setting up an Instagram account. "Imagine the things she would say to those art snobs." This years's Bald Archy Art Prize exhibition is at the Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour from March 20. There is also a Best of the Bald Archies exhibition running in Wagga Wagga until May 13 at the Museum of the Riverina's Historic Council Chambers site.

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Canberra radio station 2CA has announced a replacement for sacked breakfast presenter Frank Vincent, with veteran broadcaster Paul Holmes taking the slot from February 26. The news comes as Canberra personal injury law firm Blumers Lawyers confirmed it had suspended its advertising with Capital Radio, and will review the suspension in four weeks' time. Blumers did not say why it had suspended its advertising, nor whether the decision was linked with the sexual harassment allegations that engulfed the station in January. Another advertiser, Canberra Legal Group, would not comment on its advertising agreement with the network, but in recent weeks posted a Canberra Times article about Vincent's sacking on its Facebook page. "Bullying and harassment in the workplace is never okay," the post said, followed by a contact in the firm for anyone facing these problems. New breakfast presenter Holmes has had a 40-year career in radio, and spent several years at Sydney's 2Day FM working alongside Wendy Harmer and Peter Moon, among others. General Manager of 2CA and its sister station, 2CC, Michael Jones, said Holmes was a "world-class broadcaster" who would be right across the Canberra community and its issues. Mr Jones declined to comment on any advertising arrangements. Capital Radio, which runs 2CA and 2CC, has faced criticism over its dealing of the sexual harassment allegations involving Vincent. Vincent has denied the allegations. Former staff went public last month with claims that managers of the station protected Vincent when initial complaints were made last year. The station's management ordered an investigation into the complaint, and made a unanimous decision to terminate his employment just one day after The Canberra Times put questions about Vincent's treatment of a junior journalist and other staff. In a statement to The Canberra Times last month, controlling company Radio Canberra said the decision had been made "unanimously" by the board when it received a report from an independent investigator appointed last year to look into harassment allegations.

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After being closed for more than a year, the National Capital Authority is throwing open expressions of interest for the sale of The Lobby restaurant. The venue's new owners would be buying a Canberra landmark, and while it doesn't have heritage listing, the authority said it would ensure that its heritage values are protected after the sale. "Once sold, the NCA and the Commonwealth will remain committed to protecting and preserving the heritage values of The Lobby as well as the Commonwealth Heritage listed landscape which it forms part of," the authority's chief planner, Andrew Smith, said in a statement. Development of The Lobby would need parliamentary approval but Mr Smith is keen to talk up its the potential of the space. "This sale presents an opportunity for the private sector to invest in and reinvigorate a much loved Canberra landmark. We're eager to see a revitalisation of the space, which has the potential to continue to be a successful establishment in one of Canberra's most prominent locations," he said. He expects that The Lobby will still be a hospitality venue, suggesting it could remain as a restaurant or become a bar or cafe. "If they wanted to use it for meetings and conventions and receptions, that's all consistent as well," he told Fairfax Media. "We're looking for proposals that really reinvigorate and add life and activity into the space." The price tag for The Lobby is being kept under wraps; Mr Smith said the authority wanted to get the maximum return for the property. Revenue from the sale will be spent on the parliamentary triangle, he said. The sale follows a series of divestments of Commonwealth assets, and the authority hopes the site it can follow in the steps of the former Hotel Canberra, now the Hyatt Hotel Canberra, the former Barton Cafeteria that is now Ottoman Restaurant and the NewActon precinct. Last year, the federal government raked in $122.5 million from the sale of four other properties in the parliamentary triangle. The East Block, Anzac Park West and East buildings and a site on Constitution Avenue were sold to developers, with plans including a boutique hotel. There were no further plans to divest assets managed by the National Capital Authority, Mr Smith said. The restaurant, with its recognisable wide glass windows, has had a storied history, opening in 1968 to meet the needs of politicians who wanted somewhere to dine near Old Parliament House. The past two years have been rocky times for The Lobby. The restaurant closed in early 2017 after a long-running stoush between the business's owner and the authority. The unused restaurant was occupied by Indigenous activists in November last year when Aboriginal tent embassy activists, who wanted access to the building for accommodation and access to toilets and a kitchen, were evicted. The authority said plans for the sale were under way before the occupation. The tender process is being managed by Civium Property Group and runs from February 10 until March 15.

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Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe says a cut to the company tax rate could be seen by some as "regrettable" but would not threaten Australia's return to surplus, as the Turnbull government moves to recast debate about the policy through a direct pitch to workers who deserve a pay rise. In a shift in language, Treasurer Scott Morrison on Friday made a case for workers to back the package by arguing an uncompetitive global tax rate "holds back the pay rise that Australians have been looking for". Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull also hosed down speculation the government might shelve the policy, committing to keep its $35.6 billion cost in the budget all the way to the next election even if, as expected, it is blocked by the Senate. Mr Turnbull told reporters he would "absolutely" retain the tax cuts on the books in the May budget and beyond to ensure "there are great jobs [for our children]". "Having a thriving private sector, a thriving business sector is vitally important for that," he said. Earlier, Dr Lowe told a gathering of financiers he understood the pressure to cut company tax rates. "There is international tax competition going on," he said, according to a transcript released Friday. "Some people might think that is a good thing, other people think it is kind of regrettable, particularly about balancing the budget. But it is going on and we need to pay attention to that." Dr Lowe added: "I'm assuming if there were further changes in the tax system it wouldn't put us off track on return to surplus." He also said the tax rate was not the only thing that influenced investment decisions. "There are a lot of investors here... I hope you are not here just because of Australia's tax rate, you are here because of a lot of other fantastic things in this country, we've got to think about a whole mix of things, not just the tax system." Legislation to lower the tax rate from 30 per cent to 25 per cent for companies with a turnover of more than $50 million passed the House of Representatives on Thursday but is blocked in the Senate. The government has been unable to win over the Nick Xenophon Team or One Nation to secure the votes it needs for the package, and Labor and the Greens remain firmly opposed. The government has also foreshadowed personal tax cuts for middle income earners as a priority in 2018, but only on the condition it does not risk the planned return to budget surplus by 2020-21. One government frontbencher told Fairfax Media that "if the choice is personal tax cuts or nothing, we'll do personal tax cuts". Other Coalition MPs said workers earning between about $60,000 per year and $120,000 per year were squarely in the government's sights for income tax relief, and the estimated cost to the budget bottom line would be at least $10 billion. Fairfax Media understands income tax cuts worth between $500 to $1000 per year are being floated in private discussions. On Friday, Mr Morrison told an event in Sydney that businesses could not give workers pay rises if Parliament "insists on them continuing to pay the government more in higher taxes". This only leaves Australian workers being left out," Mr Morrison said. "Labor and the Parliaments refusal to support lower taxes means Australian workers will be left behind on wage rises, as the jobs and the wage rises they should be getting get sent to the government in continued higher taxes, and also go offshore. Mr Morrison also said the government was committed to the right economic outcome and would "not go to water the first time that someone makes a criticism of your policy". Asked on Friday whether the government was preparing to abandon the company tax cut policy, Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said Mr Turnbull hadn't left "any wriggle room at all", and reaffirmed earlier commitments to take the cuts to the next election.

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The 14th Annual Irish Festival will be held Saturday, March 3, from noon to 8 p.m., and Sunday, March 4, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., at German American Social Club, which is located 2101 S.W. Pine Island Road, Cape Coral, FL 33991.

Sundays festival activities open with Roman Catholic Mass.

The public is invited to Celebrate All Things Irish at the two-day family festival featuring Irish and Celtic music, dance and song. The Boy Scouts and 4th Degree Knights of Columbus will also participate along with the Lee County Pipes & Drums Band.

There will be a Childrens Tent, kids 3  12, with free face painting, games, arts and crafts.

For the adults, there will be Guinness Stout, Smith-wicks and Harp imported beer on tap, plus 50/50 raffles and chance to win trip for two to the Emerald Isle.

Discounted festival tickets are available at the Cape Farmers Market every Saturday until Feb. 24.

Parking at the German American Club is free. Sorry no pets/no coolers.

The Irish Festival is sponsored by Cape Coral Irish American Club, a nonprofit organization that supports scholarships and local charities. Advanced tickets and information available at capecoralirishfest.com

The Cape Coral Irish American Club was founded and incorporated on April 7, 2003. Its purpose is to advance the knowledge of Irish culture in the community by educating members and interested parties in such areas as Irish history, art, dance, music, poetry, folklore, and others. Visit www.capecoralirishamericanclub.org
Its February, and that means Valentines Day is right around the corner. To help Southwest Floridians mark the day, the Gulf Coast Harmonizers is again offering Singing Valentines to help you say I love you to that special someone.

The Gulf Coast Harmonizers is Lee Countys only male singing group affiliated with the National Barbershop Harmony Society. For a $60 donation, special quartets made up of Harmonizers members will go to the location of your choice  home, workplace, school, restaurant, office, nursing home  and present a two-song serenade plus a rose, chocolates and personalized card to the recipient.

Each year the Gulf Coast Harmonizers donate its Valentines Day earnings to the Golisano Childrens Hospital Pediatric Speech Therapy Department. Nearly $30,000 has been donated by the group over the years.

The quartets will be singing Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, Feb. 12-14. To schedule a visit the day, time and location of your choice, call 855-425-3631.

Looking ahead, the Gulf Coast Harmonizers will be presenting its annual show, Main Street USA, March 24 at 2 and 7 p.m., and March 25 at 2 p.m., at Cypress Lake Presbyterian Church.

In addition to performances by the Harmonizers, the show will also feature Main Street, the 2017 Harmony Society International Quartet Champions, and the Sweet Adeline quartet Here N Now.

General admission tickets are $20, with reserved seating $25. Thirty percent of the proceeds from the concerts will be donated to Cypress Lake Presbyterian to repair damage to the church caused by Hurricane Irma.

For tickets or more information about the group, visit www.gulfcoastharmonizers.org or call 855-425-3631.
An author who uses little details from her day job to create a more realistic story, just released her 12th book, Perish, late last month.

Lisa Black began writing when she was a little girl. Over time, the little stories became longer, especially after she spent 10 years as a secretary sitting behind a word processor.

When the job as a secretary became boring, she decided to go back to school at Cleveland State University where she sought a degree in biology to become a forensic scientist. Seventeen years ago she became a civilian employee for the Cape Coral Police Department.

In 2005, Black published her first mystery using her forensic background. Most of her books are part of a series with a female forensic scientist as the main character.

I try to present the realities of how forensic works in the real world, she said.

Her latest books backdrop stems around the financial crisis of 2008  the housing bust and housing market crash  topics big in both Florida and Cleveland.

I got fascinated by the ins and outs of how that occurred. What happened to the country and why all the banks were failing and the housing crashed, Black said.

Perish centers around a mortgage firm that deals with credit lending with shady business practices.

This beautiful, now very rich young woman was found murdered on her living room floor, Black said.

The main character, Maggie, and a detective receive a crash course in finance to determine what is going on, especially when more murders follow, she explained.

The topic of the book was interesting for Black because Wall Street types are kind of exactly what you expect and not what you expect. They are very smart and very sharp. They usually work 16 hour days, but they are totally focused on making money.

The authors favorite part of writing a novel is the finished product.

When Im writing the book I am usually a ball of nerves. Im walking around saying when am I going to write next? I should have planned this better. Its very stressful sitting down typing words on a page, she confessed.

The process of writing a book takes about six months for Black with her first draft completed in three, or four months.

I go through a number of rewrites and feedback, she said.

Before Black sits down and writes the book she plans it out.

I know before I start who is going to get killed, by who and why and some idea how my detectives are going to figure it out, she said, of jotting down a sequence, drawing out a diagram, or having a calendar setup.

She has found that the best writing plan is to get into a routine with either pinpointing how many minutes she is going to write, or how many words she will write in a day.

They have been doing pretty well. My reviews have all been generally good and they sell fairly well, Black said of her novels. Im about to sign another contract with the publisher for another two books.

Those interested in reading her latest novel Perish can purchase the book from any bookstore, or check it out from the library.

Black has a couple appearances scheduled locally at Lakes Regional Library today and with the Friends of the Pine Island Library on Feb. 20.

For more information visit www.lisa-black.com.
Not happy that the county has not immediately embraced his plan to revamp of LeeTrans service routes, a local man has now reached out to city of Cape Coral officials.

Thomas Kanell, a former LeeTran employee who lives near the Cape Coral/North Fort Myers line, has proposed a plan he says will benefit riders who catch a bus in the Cape by reconfiguring routes and increasing meet points from 15 to nearly 200.

The plan would not add additional buses, Kanell maintains.

My plan is very common sense. The buses are there to serve the public. The public is not there to wait around for service, said Kanell, who adds My plan is more passenger oriented.

His plan to symphonize routes  as he says is done in neighbor Collier County  was given to LeeTran a year ago. The Lee County Board of County Commissioners gave LeeTran a year to analyze it and he was hoping for a positive outcome.

I had met with the people who run LeeTran back in 2016 by the direction of the Lee County Commissioners. I explained my plan and one of the managers of LeeTran said This plan would take us a year to analyze and implement,' Kanell said. One year later nothing has been done.

LeeTran spokesperson Katie Meckley confirmed they have received Kanells suggestions and plans and are evaluating them. She said LeeTran will take his proposal into consideration in the future when they look to enhance services.

LeeTran is constantly evaluating our service and striving to make it better for the residents and visitors of Lee County. However, LeeTran operates on a continuation budget and we do not envision major changes to our current service levels in the near future, Meckley said.

Kanell has now turned to city officials in hope of garnering support.

He has written letters to the Cape Coral City Council, with two members, Dave Stokes and John Carioscia, interested in more information.

What I did was to refer him to our staff. I must admit that Mr. Kanell, and any other resident who has a plan to make the Cape a better place to live, will always be sent by me to those city staff experts who are in the field of the residents proposal, Carioscia said via email.

Kanell also sent a letter to the mayor of Cape Coral last week.

Hopefully, the mayor can get behind it too. I think Cape Coral is severely hampered by this service that the county is giving them right now. Less than 6 percent efficiency is how I calculated it from 15 meet points to over 200. It doesnt need to be that way. A simple adjustment in the schedule would solve that, Kanell said.

He believes if the service was better, LeeTran would have more riders because they would not have long wait times to catch a bus.

Theres a link between efficiency of service and how many people use it. You are not going to want to take the bus if it takes you all day long to get to the doctors office and back because your car is broken down. You want a service that is efficient and gets you to where you need to go in the least amount of time possible, Kanell said.

He said he has witnessed firsthand how frequently passengers have to wait for their connecting bus.

I would always feel frustrated that customers had to do that because many times it was not necessary. The problem is that the planners never planned for buses to meet, so that is why I decided to go about actually designing a plan for buses to meet, Kanell said.

Although his plan includes all of Lee County, Cape Coral stands to benefit the most from what he is proposing, he said.

This system I developed is a standard model of transit in many parts of the country, he said about using the pulse system. Buses meet in a predictable regular pattern where passengers can count on catching their bus when they need to catch it.

Currently, Kanell said Cape Coral only has 15 meet points between buses throughout the entire day. His plan would increase that to close to 200 bus meet points.

Its just a matter of designing a plan where the buses are designed to meet, instead of being haphazard as they are now, Kanell maintained.

As presented, his plan includes two basic meet points within Cape Coral  the Cape Coral Transfer Center off of Southeast 47th Terrace and the Cape Coral Hospital.

They are beneficial because they happen to be a strategic place where bus routes have the right amount of time to meet just at that one place and they can continue on their route without delays, Kanell said.

The hospital would be better than the current basic meet point, Coralwood Center.

Moving the other meet point further north helps to integrate the routes with the North Fort Myers routes, he maintains. Cape Coral Hospital is ideally located.

Kanell said the 40 bus already meets at the Cape Coral Hospital and the 70 bus passes right by the hospital on Del Prado Boulevard.

I think the northbound bus stops in the little curved parking lot and the southbound bus passes by off of Del Prado and does not go into the parking lot, which is a mystery to me, he said.

The main reasoning around synchronizing the routes, Kanell explained, is because they currently run at all different lengths of time.

For example, he said, when he computed his plan, the 120 route was 80 minutes long, the 70 route 125 minutes long and the 40 route 138 minutes long.

If you were to make all the routes 120 minutes long, they would all meet up every time they come in and out of Cape Coral, Kanell said. If a passenger is being transferred from one bus to another bus they would be right there and wouldnt have to wait for the next bus to come an hour later, 30 minutes later. All the buses would meet every hour on the hour.

Currently, he said a bus passes by Coralwood Center 64 times a day, but it only has three bus meets.

Those who would like to learn more about his plan, can visit http://abetterleetran.site/Synchronized-Cape-Coral.php. He encourages people to also contact their County Commissioners.

It wouldnt cost anything because it wouldnt add on any more buses. It would just run them more efficient, Kanell said.
DebraMillet/iStock/Thinkstock(HIGHLAND PARK, N.J.) -- While United States immigration policy is the continuing focus of national debate and controversy, a dramatic ongoing situation in New Jersey is continuing to unfold. It

involves a passionate priest who has used his church to give sanctuary to Southeast Asian immigrants facing deportation back to their potentially dangerous homeland, pitting against one another

national civil rights advocates, federal judges, a president who has taken a hard-line stance against undocumented people and the agency challenged with enforcing American immigration law.



On Saturday, a central New Jersey pastor led a special prayer service with his congregants, many of whom are undocumented Christian Indonesian immigrants, giving thanks for what they saw as a

potentially life-changing court order. The order a by federal judge in New Jersey last Friday prevents their deportation back to Indonesia, where they fear religious persecution, violence, arrest

and possible death. The orders are in response to co-filings by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other attorneys.



The ruling capped eight days of fear and uncertainty following the arrests by ICE agents of church members on Thursday, Jan. 25. The two men detained, Roby Sanger and Gunawein Liem, remain at the

Essex County Jail, which is used by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) as a detention center for people arrested for immigration law violations. ICE also unsuccessfully tried

to arrest a third local Indonesian Christian that day.



Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Photo: CTV Sydney Freeman and Amber Forsyth show the nursery in their home

Last week we told you about Sydney Freeman and his girlfriend Amber Forsyth who were told their child would be apprehended at birth because they are deemed unsuitable parents.

This story has garnered a lot of attention and questions have been asked about the background of the parents and why the Ministry of Children and Family Development feels they are unfit.



Forsyth openly admits the Ministry is basing their decision on her parental capacity on incidents that have occurred in her past.



"I understand where the Ministry is coming from, they are looking at my past history, and they don't think we are not capable because of my past relationship," says Forsyth.

Photo: CTV Sydney Freeman and Amber Forsyth

She confesses she was in an abusive relationship when her first child was born and was not strong enough to leave her former partner back then.



Forsyth admits that at that time the Ministry offered to let her stay with her son if she left her boyfriend, but she declined. However, some time later she did move in with the foster family and her son.



"I did go and live with them for three years, but I decided to move out last year because of concerns I had, and that is how I ended up in the relationship I have now. It is a really good relationship," she says as she smiles at her current partner Freeman.



"I (filed) a report against the foster parents (to the Ministry) of what my concerns were and they didn't hear my voice or my concerns."



She claims her five and half year old son has faced neglect and abuse in foster care and she worries her unborn daughter will face the same fate.

Forsyth understands she was not a suitable parent five years ago when her son was born but says she isn't that person anymore.

I feel disgusted, when they say you are not good enough, you will never be good enough to be a good parent. I mean there is no perfect parent out there, so many things can go wrong to anyone, said Forsyth.

She says the incident happened over five years ago and Freeman isn't her ex, so the Ministry should reevaluate them both.



"They need to do more of an investigation into who we are today and what has been going on, instead of doing nothing."



The couple says a lot has changed in five years, and they are both in a stable relationship now.



"It is the past, why are they bringing up the past," says a tearful Freeman.

When we first heard they were taking her at the meeting, we both broke down, we cried, because it wasnt fair, he adds.

Photo: CTV Syd Freeman shows off the clothes they've collected for their daughter

The couple says they are more than prepared to take on the challenges of being parents and have even created a baby room and obtained all necessary supplies.

Its just upsetting to have everything here and think we wont be able to bring the baby home, it is just not right, says Freeman from the babys room.



They say another concern the Ministry is taking with them is that Freeman's father Ian, grandfather to be, was once charged with assault stemming from a family situation over 10 years ago.



Ian Freeman says the incident was a one off and nothing of that nature has ever happened since.



He also told Castanet he asked the Ministry what their exact mandate was by not furthering the investigation into the current living conditions of the couple, and the decision to remove the child once born. He says he was given no answer.



Freeman says their family doctor who will assist with Forsyth's birth has been very helpful to them, and he wishes the Ministry would speak with their doctor as a reference.



"He is an advocate for us and we trust him, my dad trusts him."



Forsyth says she is trying every avenue to keep her child and has offered to undergo a mental health as well as a Parental Capacity Assessment.



The couple now says they will be contacting their lawyer to see what can be further done to try and fight to keep their child.

We are hoping they will actually give us a chance and not discriminate, says Forsyth.

She also says as soon as her baby is born and they are all back home she will fight to get custody of her 5-year-old son back as well.

The Ministry of Children and Family Development will not comment on the specifics of this case, they did however issue the following statement to CTV:

The safety and well-being of a child is always the ministrys first priority.

Removal of a child is only considered if there is concern about the familys ability to safely provide care.

The ministry makes every effort to keep families together. In a case like this, we would look at placing the child with extended family  as long as they are assessed to be safe and appropriate to provide care.

In the case of a removal, the ministry must appear before the courts within seven days. A Judge makes the final decision about whether a child should remain in care or be returned to the parents.

Due to privacy laws, we cannot comment further.

-- With files from Jen Zielinksi and CTV
I think ICBC is doing a fine job and a public corporation for auto insurance is the way to go. Other provinces that have privatized auto insurance have only seen rates go up and services go down.

It has been well established that any financial losses at ICBC over the past few years have been because the BC Liberal Government was siphoning funds to "cook the books." Rate hikes are also necessary because there are too many accidents to underwrite and too many claims to pay out. That is also a government problem, the government must bring in measures to make driving safer and reduce claims.

Here are a bunch of ideas that many people won't like but would probably work. Reduce speed limits everywhere, re-install photo radar in problem zones, re-design problem intersections, illuminate high pedestrian crossings, enforce running yellow lights in Vancouver (it's a problem), eliminate right hand turns at red lights, fund attractive transit options, higher rates and deductibles for luxury vehicles, a rebate for dash-cam users, long driving suspensions for repeat offenders, mandatory re-examination following accidents, etc.

Not all of those ideas need to be implemented, they are just ideas after all, but there is no denying that they would all have a positive effect at reducing claims. Even broader policies like addressing the housing crisis, better land-use management and region-based urban planning would have positive spin-off effects on safe driving by reducing commutes, easing congestion, and providing other transportation options.

Saying "privatize ICBC" is a bit too simple and is not the silver bullet people think it might be. There are dozens of better options that will actually work at reducing rates and might end up saving lives in the process.

Stephen Atherton


Some people are just against any technology they dont understand, like the hecklers at Prime Minister Trudeaus recent town hall in BC.

They get news and get known and may give an impression to some people that society is against a project. Our Premier Horgan was like this in his earlier years (and bragged about it on TV) and now he has become premier by the skin of his teeth and joined with a party akin to Greenpeace. Together they are trying to rebel against our country and ruin its economy through their ignorance of the technology they fight.

I am a retired electrical engineer living in south central BC. I have extensive experience in electrical power companies and industry, including most of my latter years in pipelines of various types. Pipelines move energy, whether it is petroleum, petroleum refined products, or gas. This is similar to electric power lines (which most people accept as necessary). People talk about electrical services as power, but power is a measure of voltage (pressure) and current (flow) that moves energy on the electrical conductors. The meter at your home measures the energy used and not the power. The high voltage power lines, carrying this energy to your homes, pass through our beautiful forests. There can be failures, such as caused by lightning and other natural factors, which could cause sparking that could start a devastating forest fire; and we know the devastation of the 2017 fires.

However, the power companies install devices (protection relays) that open circuit breakers that remove that section of line from service. Most of the time this will prevent a fire, but the protection has to be set to provide the best of reliability and protection. Pipelines receive more bad press for failures than power lines do for causing fires. The pipeline industry has changed over the years from a long time ago when they only had a few manual sectionalizing valves to where the ones I know of are now more akin to electrical power lines. For

the last years of my career I worked on projects called EFRD (emergency flow restriction devices). It used to be that a person would jump into a truck and drive like a maniac to get to a valve when a pipeline leak was reported. I worked on projects that installed EFRD at critical locations like water crossings. Old pipelines may have had a manual valve at the upstream side of a waterway. The project would install a second valve at the downstream side of the waterway and both would be fitted with a motor operator. The pipe would have a combination of sensors that could include pressure, flow, and temperature on both sides of the waterway. In a small factory-built building there would be a programmable logic controller and a radio (or other communication device) that would link the installation to the central control room. With this installation both valves could be rapidly closed to minimize leakage, like the arcing for an electrical power line. Ive worked on

very remote locations that had solar panels and propane generator that provided both electricity and heat for the small building. The maniacs that want to stop the safest method of transporting this liquid energy dont consider the dangerous alternatives of rail and truck. Look at the tragedy in Lac-Megantic in Quebec and

more recently here in BC where it was coal that derailed and threatened fish habitat (what if it was oil) and the train derailment that ruined Lake Wabamun in Alberta. Just consider the rail lines along our beautiful rivers and a major derailment of many substandard cars that are apparently being used. Think of the carbon footprint of having thousands of trucks moving this energy.

Dont consider the bad press for pipeline leaks in the USA, like in Michigan. I worked on a project that the Canadian company bought an old pipeline in the USA to reverse it to take Canadian oil south. We were rebuilding the stations with new equipment as was our mandate to do. The USA electrical engineer for the project overruled this and the project refurbished old equipment. Then when something goes wrong, the press and public opinion blames the foreign company that owns the pipeline. I found the USA to be in a different world of reality. Based on this experience, their experiences cannot relate to Canada. Whether it is electrical energy or petroleum energy, our society still requires this to support the population we have on this planet. We need to live as a society and not succumb to nimby and fanatics. Our supplying oil to SE Asia will help alleviate their burning of coal that crosses the Pacific Ocean and pollutes our beautiful province. I have not seen the design proposal for the Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion. If it has sufficient emergency flow restriction devices, then it should proceed. If it does not, then it should add this to the design and not operate until this is implemented.

As for the port facilities, I should hope that the port authority would only allow double-hulled tankers to be filled and require tugboat escorts to protect the tankers out to sea. There are always safe ways to do things. Fanatics close their eyes and brains and simply say no. In this province this issue has sunk to political fanaticism.

Jerrilynn DeCock
You could have the missing piece of the puzzle that will help the RCMP put someone behind bars. Here are some recent crimes that Central Okanagan Crime Stoppers hope you can help solve by calling our anonymous tips line at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), visit our website at www.crimestoppers.net or text to CRIMES (274637), keyword Ktown.

CRIME: THEFT OF BICYCLE

DATE: January 27, 2018

RCMP FILE: 2018-4880

Kelowna RCMP were contacted on January 27th by a representative from a condo building located on the 100 block of Barber Road. A suspect forced his way into the building and roamed the parkade before breaking into a secure bicycle storage room. He left with a bicycle (details unknown) and abandoned the bike he had arrived with at the front of the building. If you can identify this person of interest, please contact Crime Stoppers or Kelowna RCMP.

Photo: Crime Stoppers

If you know anything about this crime, or any other crime, call the Central Okanagan Crime Stoppers anonymous tips line at 1-800-222-TIPS or visit our website at www.crimestoppers.net. Your information will be kept confidential and could lead to a reward of up to $2000.00.

CRIME: THEFT/ASSAULT

DATE: February 3, 2018

RCMP FILE: 2018-6125

A loss prevention officer from a grocery store located on the 300 block of Highway 33 West in Kelowna snapped these pictures of a male suspected of stealing some groceries. The officer confronted the male outside after watching him conceal the items and leave the store. The male, described as being a 510 tall Caucasian in his mid-20s with short brown hair, ran away with the Loss Prevention Officer on his tails. At one point the male stopped and pushed him so that he could get away. The officer was unharmed. If you recognize this person of interest please contact Crime Stoppers.

Photo: Crime Stoppers

You can help catch these suspects and qualify for a reward by calling Crime Stoppers anonymous tips line at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), visit our website at www.crimestoppers.net or text to CRIMES (274637), keyword Ktown.
Photo: Colin Dacre

An 11-person jury heard closing arguments Thursday morning in the BC Supreme Court trial of Cody Wilson in Penticton.

Wilson is charged with four firearm offences in connection to an incident in the Dennys parking lot on Oct. 7, 2016.

Police pulled Wilson out of his truck that afternoon, arresting him with two handguns after receiving a phone call from a distraught woman in the bathroom of the restaurant. Police say they found a gun in his front pocket, and one under the front passenger seat.

In his closing, defence lawyer Michael Patterson told the jury his client was set up by his girlfriend, the 911 caller, and that police testimony about one of the guns was either mistaken or a lie.

This was either a sloppy investigation, or maybe the officers thought we have a slam dunk case here  so the things that should have been done, didnt, he said, referring to a lack of fingerprint evidence.

The doubts are littered right throughout this case, he proclaimed.

Wilson and his girlfriend had travelled from their home in Princeton to Penticton so she could attend a court date. After court, the pair stopped at Dennys so she could use the washroom, which is when the police were called.

Patterson alleged she planted the gun under the passenger seat, and that police lied about finding a revolver in his pocket.

Crown prosecutor Andrew Vandersluys, in his closing, dismissed the defences story as unbelievable.

Unless the two police officers are lying, the only reasonable and logical result is that Mr. Wilson had the silver firearm in his pocket, he said.

He pointed to video of the arrest that showed officers yelling secure it while pulling something out of Wilsons pocket. The defence argued that something was actually a collapsible baton.

Police do not say secure it about batons, Vandersluys said, adding it's a phrase police use when dealing with firearms.

Judge David Crossin spent the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon delivering his charge to the jury, who now have Wilsons fate in their hands.
Photo: VPD Cameron Eugene Ratelle

Vancouver police are warning the public about a sexual predator with a high risk to reoffend.

Cameron Eugene Ratelle, 39, is living in Vancouver and poses a risk to the safety of young women, police say.

Ratelle is a federal offender who has been convicted of a sexual assault against a person under the age of 18, as well as university women living on campuses in Ontario. The VPD was advised on Feb. 8 that he would be living at a Vancouver halfway house, said Const. Jason Doucette.

The Corrections Canada has assessed Ratelle as a moderate to high risk for violent and sexual reoffending.

Ratelle is black, five feet eight inches tall, 160 pounds, with a stocky build, shaved head and brown eyes. He uses hearing aids. He is currently bound by his statutory release, which includes several conditions:

Not to go on the property of any educational institute or school (including university campuses)

Not to be in the presence of anyone under the age of 18 years of age without permission of parole officer

Abide by daily curfew from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m.

Not to possess, purchase or consume alcohol or non-prescription drugs

Not to possess, purchase or access pornography

Not to access any internet site or access any computer

Must reside at a community correctional centre or community residential facility

Must wear electronic monitoring device

Anyone who sees Ratelle in violation of these conditions is asked to call 911.
Photo: RDOS Electoral area D director Tom Siddon is "hanging up the spurs" this year after a lifetime in politics.

RDOS Electoral Area D director Tom Siddon said he doesn't plan to seek reelection this fall, which will mark the end of a political career that spanned decades.

"It's time to start thinking about doing what I can for the family as a priority instead of answering the phone and always going out to meetings, which is part and parcel of this job," Siddon said.

"I guess it's time to hang up the spurs."

The 76-year-old Siddon, who is a mechanical engineer by trade, began his political career more than 40 years ago.

He was elected to city council in Richmond in 1975. Three years later, he was elected as a Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament, and was elected for five-straight terms in the House of Commons between 1978 and 1993.

Siddon's legacy in federal politics will likely be remembered best from his time as Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development.

Soon after taking over that position in 1990, he handled the Oka Crisis land dispute in Quebec. Two years later, the agreement was made under him to create the new territory of Nunavut.

He retired to Kaleden in 1993 when he wasn't reelected to the federal cabinet. In 2008 he returned to the decision-making chair as a school board trustee for the Okanagan-Skaha School District.

After three years in that role, he was elected to his current seat at the RDOS table and will finish a second term this year.

"Politics has become a major part of my life... And to some extent, I'll miss the ability to interact and engage on the important questions of the people who elected me," Siddon said.

"While I still have the health to get up and walk around, I better do some other things... I think it's probably time to give a little time to my wife."

But with eight months ahead still in his political chair, Siddon hopes that a number of tasks can get done at the RDOS table.

One of those jobs is dividing Area D  which had a population of 5,874 in the 2016 census  into two areas, and creating a new Electoral Area I.

Area D would consist of Okanagan Falls and rural areas east of Skaha Lake, while Area I would include Kaleden, Apex and rural areas west of Skaha Lake.

Siddon said that decision is now in the province's hands and he suspects it will be approved by the end of March, which would allow time for candidates in those areas time to campaign for October's election.
Photo: Colin Dacre

The upcoming improvements to the 300 block of Main Street in Penticton will be undertaken by Grizzly Excavating, the same contracting company that did similar work on the 100 and 200 blocks in 2016.

The project will see $1.67 million of the total $2.18 million project budget update infrastructure like storm sewers, water mains, underground electrical, street lighting and updates to sidewalks and intersections.

The remainder of the budget will be used for aesthetic additions like landscaping, trees, benches, irrigation, bike racks and bollards.

Local businesses have contributed $299,960 to these beautification plans, a move that Mayor Andrew Jakubeit thinks will help revitalize downtown.

"The investment and vision to re-energize downtown is coming to fruition as there has been significant private investment to encourage people to live, work and play in the heart of our city," Jakubeit said.

The block will remain open to pedestrians throughout the expected four-month process, and will be open for business.

"This next phase in creating a more vibrant downtown will bring much needed upgrades to the 300 block, and the Downtown Penticton Association and the contractor will be working closely with area businesses and residents to ensure any disruptions or direct impacts are communicated and mitigated quickly," said DPA executive director Lynn Allin.

Construction will begin on Feb. 14, and barring weather delays, should be completed by June 15.
Photo: The Canadian Press

An alleged serial killer accused of murdering five men is expected to face more charges after Toronto police announced the discovery of more human remains on Thursday.

Homicide Det. Sgt. Hank Idsinga said that the remains of six individuals have now been recovered from a residential property where Bruce McArthur, a 66-year-old self-employed landscaper, had worked.

"I do anticipate more charges," Idsinga said outside 53 Mallory Crescent, where the remains had been discovered in several planters. "I don't have a timetable for that, I don't have a number for that, but I would expect more charges will eventually be laid."

Idsinga said police have identified at least one set of remains as belonging to Andrew Kinsman, one of the men McArthur is accused of murdering, but said investigators are still working to determine who the other alleged victims are.

McArthur was charged on Jan. 18 with 49-year-old Kinsman's death, as well as the presumed death of 44-year-old Selim Esen. Both men went missing from Toronto's gay village in 2017.

Late last month, police laid three more first-degree murder charges against McArthur related to the disappearances of Majeed Kayhan, 58, and Soroush Mahmudi, 50, as well as the death of Dean Lisowick, either 43 or 44, who had never been reported missing.

At that time, police had said skeletal remains belonging to three unidentified individuals had been discovered in planters in the backyard of the Mallory Crescent home. After working on the property for a week and a half, Idsinga said the number of remains recovered had doubled.

An extensive excavation of the home's back yard under the guidance of a forensic anthropologist was expected to get underway later on Thursday. Idsinga said police had been thawing the frozen ground for a week to expedite the dig, adding they have already identified some areas of particular interest.

Idsinga said the investigation, which he previously described as unprecedented in scope, is proceeding on multiple fronts.

Once police are finished with the evidence so far, Idsinga said they will re-examine "literally hundreds" of missing persons cases in search of potential links to McArthur.
Photo: The Canadian Press

Canada's largest school board will be supplying naloxone kits to more than 100 of its high schools, as cities across the country continue to deal with overdose deaths linked to opioids.

Toronto District School Board spokesman Ryan Bird said that two or three staff members at each school will receive training next month to properly spot an overdose and administer the antidote.

"It's not that there is any specific thing that happened that prompted this, but we do know that opioids are an increasing issue across the country," Bird said Thursday. "So, it's more of a preventative step that we're taking to ensure that, on the off chance that something like this were to happen, we do have the training and the naloxone to help these students."

The board will be covering the cost of the nasal spray, he said, adding that each kit costs between $150 and $200.

The move comes almost a year after the City of Toronto released an overdose action plan that included establishing three supervised injection sites.

Figures from Toronto Public Health indicate that in 2016, fentanyl replaced heroin and morphine as the most commonly present opioid in overdose deaths. The potent synthetic painkiller was present in 48 per cent of accidental opioid deaths in 2016, compared to 31 per cent in 2015. And, between August and the end of January, Toronto paramedics responded to more than 1,400 suspected overdose calls, 106 of which were fatal.

Statistics released by the Public Health Agency of Canada in December also show that at least 1,460 Canadians died from opioid-related overdoses in the first half of 2017, a number expected to rise, as not all provinces have reported final data for the period.

Meanwhile, other school boards have also stocked high schools with the overdose-reversing drug.

The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board has equipped all its high schools with kits that include two doses of naloxone nasal spray. Administrators received training from Ottawa Public Health in August, spokeswoman Sharlene Hunter said.

Peel District School Board, west of Toronto, said it doesn't have the kits in its schools, but officials said they are reviewing the decision with Peel Public Health.

Bird and Hunter said their school boards don't intend on supplying elementary schools with kits, adding that they were focusing on older students.

"We have EpiPens in our schools in case someone were to have a severe allergic reaction. We don't want to have to use them, but they are there just in case," Bird said.

"The same can be applied to naloxone as well."
Photo: Podcaster Katie Jensen.

Podcasts have enjoyed an explosion of popularity in recent years, and one of Canada's most prolific freelance producers is coming to Penticton to share her tips and tricks of the trade.

On Friday, Feb. 16, CFUZ Peach City Radio will present a talk by much-lauded produced Katie Jensen called "How to trick people into learning: Using humour in podcasting."

Jensen has worked on critically acclaimed shows such as CANADALAND, The Imposter and the Polaris Music Prize Podcast, and has most recently been producing a buzzed-about Canadian ''history with a twist" program called The Secret Life of Canada.

In her talk, she will discuss how humour can make education more palatable.

"Humour and joy are the key ingredients I look for when scouting for hosts and stories, even when talking about more serious topics," Jensen said.

CFUZ says this talk will be for "anyone who wonders how a successful series gets put together or who dreams of recording their own podcast someday."

The talk is part of the CFUZ Listen Up! speaker series which aims to educate about community radio in the hope of getting people involved. Previous speakers have included Rosemary Thomson of the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra and Janet Rogers, Mohawk radio host and documentarian.

Jensen's talk is free to attend, and will take place Feb. 16 at 7 p.m. in room 107 of the Ashnola Building, Okanagan College Penticton campus.
Photo: The Canadian Press

A civil liberties group and prominent figures in the legal community are calling on British Columbia's attorney general to help stop lawsuits that stifle public participation.

The B.C. Civil Liberties Association has sent an open letter to Attorney General David Eby urging him to bring in effective legislation against what are known as strategic lawsuits against public participation, or SLAPP.

Fifteen legal heavyweights have signed on to the letter, including two former Supreme Court of Canada justices, a former chief justice of B.C.'s provincial court, former B.C. premier Ujjal Dosanjh, and Wally Opal, a former B.C. attorney general and B.C. Appeal Court judge.

The letter says the so-called SLAPP lawsuits deter people or groups from speaking out by unfairly targeting them with legal action and exposing them to what are described as "onerous financial and emotional costs."

British Columbia briefly had anti-SLAPP legislation in 2001 under Dosanjh's former New Democrat government, but it was repealed that same year, soon after the Liberals took office.

The letter urges the B.C. government to follow Ontario's example and adopt a law that provides for speedy review of potentially abusive suits, while protecting those that have merit.

Oppal says the sole reason for SLAPP suits is to "censor public opinion, to intimidate people (and) to silence critics."

"We don't expect the government to stop all the presses and put this on the priority schedule, but on the other hand, it is something that needs to be done, and we expect that they will," Oppal says in an interview.

The letter says the legal experts signed on because they want to make B.C.'s justice system strong and protect it from abuse.

"The justice system must be duly resourced and there is no question that it is costly. The remedy we are urging here is not costly, and indeed, is likely to bring cost savings in properly preserving limited judicial resources," the letter says.

B.C. Attorney General David Eby said Thursday that his government is committed to introducing legislation on lawsuits that unduly limit expression on matters of public interest.

"British Columbians should have the right to participate freely in public debates without fear of retribution," he said in a statement.

"We are currently considering the means of ensuring that such legislation will be as fair and effective as possible."
Photo: RCMP

A South Okanagan man facing charges for the armed kidnapping of a woman in Princeton last year will go to trial this summer.

Afshin Ighani, 46, will face a judge-only, five-day Supreme Court trial starting June 4. A pretrial conference is set for May 3.

He is charged with 10 counts related to the alleged kidnapping of a woman on Apr. 22, 2017 that occurred while he was wanted for the attempted murder of another man three days prior.

The attempted murder charges were dropped in December after the victim died of a drug overdose several months after the shooting.

He is also facing four separate counts of assault with a weapon for the alleged prison stabbing of convicted wife-killer Peter Beckett and child molester David McHale. Ighani has not entered a plea to those charges yet.

Ighani has been ordered deported from Canada twice for his criminal activity, but both times had the decision overturned.
Photo: CTV

Two people have been arrested following a protest against the Trans Mountain pipeline in Coquitlam.

RCMP say nine people were peacefully protesting Thursday but police were called in when the protesters began blocking equipment and highway traffic.

Protesters said in an email that they "physically intervened" and forced construction to a halt on the Trans Mountain pipeline.

RCMP say in a news release that a 22-year-old woman, who locked herself to a piece of machinery, and a 23-year-old man were arrested.

The man was later released without charge and police are recommending a charge of mischief against the woman, who they say is an Ontario resident.

Police say the protest was not violent and no one was injured.
Photo: Contributed

Voters in the Kelowna West byelection continue to show up in less than enthusiastic numbers compared with previous elections.

During the third day of advance polls for next Wednesday's byelection, 1,002 residents made their way to the polls to cast a ballot.

That's 71 votes fewer than during the 2013 byelection, in what was then the Westside-Kelowna riding.

That vote had the star power of Christy Clark, who was attempting to win a seat in the legislature.

Five years ago, more than 4,500 votes had been cast over three days of advance polls, compared with 2,914 this time around.

Former MLA Ben Stewart (BC Liberals), Shelley Cook (NDP), Robert Stupka (Green), Kyle Geronazzo (Libertarian), and Mark Thompson (BC Conservatives) are seeking the seat left vacant by the resignation of Clark in August.
The latest episode of the globally-popular car show, The Grand Tour, features Oliver's Area 27 private speedway and Apex Mountain Ski Resort outside of Penticton

The trio of Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond  formerly of the BCCs Top Gear  were spotted in the South Okanagan last October, reportedly staying at the Penticton Lakeside Resort.

In the episode, the three test SUVs at Area 27 and on Apex Mountain.

After taking laps on the track, the three show hosts towed small boats up ski runs to test the vehicles.

"It was wild... but a lot of work," Apex general manager James Shalman said.

The show is available for streaming on Amazon Prime.
On Loan

Chelsea Here, Chelsea There: Gallagher and Palace shock Spurs, brace by Batshuayi, debuts for Baba and Bakayoko

In our round-up of the action involving Chelsea players on loan over the last week, there were a couple of impressive performances in the Premier League and Michy Batshuayi scored his first goals for Besiktas.
A team of materials scientists at NYU Tandon School of Engineering have developed the first process to 3D print components of syntactic foam, extremely strong and lightweight composites used in vehicles, airplanes, and ships. Their breakthrough holds particular promise for submarines because it will enable manufacturers to print components with complex shapes capable of surviving stresses at greater depths.

Syntactic foams, a mixture of billions of microscopic hollow glass or ceramic spheres in epoxy or plastic resin, are widely used in submarines like James Cameron's Deepsea Challenger and the next-generation Alvin deep-sea explorer because of their remarkable buoyancy and strength.

Nikhil Gupta, an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, student researchers in his Composite Materials and Mechanics Lab at NYU Tandon's Mechanical Engineering Department, and collaborators in India reported they had developed syntactic-foam filaments and processes to 3D print them using off-the-shelf commercial printers.

Currently, syntactic-foam parts are made by injection molding, and the parts must be joined with adhesives and fasteners, introducing vulnerabilities. 3D printing -- also called additive manufacturing -- could allow manufacturers to make complex parts such as vehicle shells and internal structures as single units, making them far stronger. Led by Ashish Kumar Singh, a doctoral student under Gupta, the team described how they overcame hurdles to additive manufacturing, such as the tendency of microspheres to crush during the mixing process and to clog the printer nozzle. They also demonstrated the recyclability of the filaments, making them environmentally friendly.

The researchers developed filaments of high-density polyethylene plastic (HDPE), a material used to manufacture industrial-grade components, and microspheres made of recycled fly ash. (Encapsulating fly ash - a waste byproduct of coal combustion - in the syntactic foam also keeps the toxic material out of landfills.)

"Our focus was to develop a filament that can be used in commercial printers without any change in the printer hardware," said Gupta, who collaborated with colleagues at the National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal, India (NIT-K). "There are a lot of parameters that affect the printing process, including build-plate material, temperature, and printing speed. Finding a set of optimum conditions was the key to making the printing of high-quality parts possible."

Gupta, who recently collaborated with industry partners to create an on-line design tool for syntactic foams, explained that that the hollow spherical particles used in the study have a diameter of just 0.04 mm to 0.07 mm. This size and shape combination makes it possible for the microspheres to flow through the 1.7-mm 3D-printer nozzle without choking the flow of material.

He explained that the process required the team to minimize crushing of the fragile hollow particles during mixing with the HDPE resin so that the resulting filament could have low density.

"We want to add as many hollow particles as possible to make the material lighter, but having a greater number of particles means more of them will break during processing," added Singh. "The survival of hollow particles first during filament manufacturing and then in the 3D-printing process requires a lot of process control."

Ignoring the benefits that the new process will bring in manufacturing complex components, the 3D-printed materials alone showed tensile strength and density comparable to those made by injection molding.

"The results show that the properties of 3D-printed syntactic-foam components are at par with the widely used traditional injection-molded parts of the same material," said Singh.

Gupta said the team, which includes Brooks Saltonstall, an undergraduate researcher at NYU Tandon; Balu Patil and Mrityunjay Doddamani of NIT-K; and Niklas Hoffmann, a visiting student from the Clausthal University of Technology, Germany, will now focus on optimizing the material properties for various applications, such as underwater vehicles capable of functioning at specific depths.
It also means that the two clubs will meet twice in a few days. Marseille visit Paris in Ligue 1 on February 25 and now must return for the cup game two or three days later.
The win for AbbVie comes a few months after two separate juries in the same federal courtroom awarded huge punitive damages  $150 million and $140 million  to two men who suffered heart attacks while taking AndroGel, a prescription gel men apply daily to their upper arms and chest. But inconsistencies in the first verdict led the judge to overturn it and order a new trial, scheduled to start in early March. He is considering AbbVies request he do the same with the second.
The discussions have been going on for months and no deal is imminent, nor is there any guarantee Boeing would reach a final agreement with Woodward, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are confidential.
There is no official tally of emotional support animals, which don't have to go through special training or have any certifications; most are simply recommended by a doctor or therapist. Nevertheless, the number of companies that say they provide those certifications is growing and with that, businesses say, the ranks of people trying to pass their pets off as support animals for illegitimate reasons are increasing as well.
In addition to carrying out the Republican tax overhaul, Rettig will also have an even more sensitive job -- overseeing an audit of the president's returns. Trump departed from roughly 40 years of tradition for presidential candidates by refusing to release his tax returns during the 2016 campaign. The president has said he's under a federal audit and won't release his returns until the audit is over.
"She the People" is a new revue at Second City featuring five women and the subtitle "A Girlfriends' Guide to Sisters Doing It For Themselves." Much of the show was penned before the current #MeToo movement, and its references to Ross and Rachel feel positively quaint. But things pick up in the second half when it snags an audience member for a game show and, inevitably and not unkindly, reveals she knows more about the Kardashians than ISIS. Up-and-comer Maria Randazzo is the natural leader here and her range is striking. She can play a CEO and a quirky, wacky woman  someone who "works with kids, animals or coffee"  and you believe her as both. Through April 1 in the UP Comedy Club at Second City, 230 W. North Ave.; $26-$41 at 312-662-4562 and www.secondcity.com
New this year will be a different theme for each day of the week. Feb. 13, for example, will be Eat & GREEK, a day when Smith said people who belong to Greek lettered organizations  such as fraternities and sororities  are encouraged to wear their Greek clothing and take photos at the restaurants. Feb. 15 will be Try Something New, a day to visit a new restaurant or try a new dish, she said, while Family Love/Date Night is the apt theme for Valentines Day, Feb. 14.
Ludlow Liquors will be a follow-up to Sportsmans Club and Estereo, which Donahue and McElroy operate in partnership with Heisler Hospitality. This project is separate from that partnership, though Kevin Heisner (one of the principals of Heisler) and his design team are executing the interiors. With cozy accents like the original bar, pressed tin ceiling and wood banquettes, itll be a comfortable Chicago tavern, the team hopes.
4) Drink beer and/or coffee (why choose?) while snacking on breakfast sandwiches at Metric Coffee's release party for its new Pilot Light blend. Proceeds from sales will benefit Pilot Light, which brings food education to Chicago Public School students. A portion of sales of Hopewells beer and the Publican Quality Meats breakfast sandwiches will also go toward the nonprofit. Admission is free. From noon to 5 p.m. Saturday. 2760 N. Milwaukee Ave., 773-698-6178, hopewellbrewing.com
Save the planet! And the rainforests and the ice caps and the whales and polar bears, too. Come April 22, make a celebratory toast on Earth Day that will last all year by transforming your home bar to green.



No, not absinthe-green, creme de menthe green, or green chartreuse, but greener than green, as in organic and environmentally friendly and good for the soul.



If you're a fan of berry-flavored vodka or rum, you might not want to replace them entirely but do try VeeV (www.VeevLife.com), the world's first acai berry spirit that's smooth, clean and not too sweet so that it mixes well with citrus.



Acai (pronounced ah-sigh-eee) berries, Brazil's national fruit, are the hot items of the moment, as they're reportedly filled with all sorts of powerful antioxidants. I mixed it three parts freshly-squeezed orange juice to one part VeeV for a screwdriver-like cocktail for a refreshing cocktail that seems at least semi-healthy.





Here's the recipe:



VEEV TREETINI (a strained Eco-Mojito)



2 ounces VeeV Acai Spirit 1/2 ounce agave nectar 4 lime wedges 6 mint leaves Club soda



Tear and slap mint leaves to release oils and drop into a cocktail shaker. Shake all ingredients well and strain into a chilled martini glass. Top with club soda. Stir and garnish as desired.



ORDER OF THE AMAZON



1.5 ounces VeeV Acai Spirit 1/2 ounce Benedictine 1/2 ounce simple syrup 3/4 ounce fresh lemon juice Dash of bitters Lemon peel, for garnish Shake all ingredients well with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with lemon peel.



Also in honor of Earth Month, look for Jack Daniel's (www.JackDaniels.com) in a special collectible bottle. The whiskey maker is partnering with the non-profit organization American Forests (www.AmericanForests.org) to release the bottle beginning April 1 to be in conjunction with a tree planting effort. For every bottle purchased American Forests will plant a tree, about 100,000 of them, that's to sequester about 33,000 of CO2 as they grow. That's about the same as taking nearly six thousand cars off the road for a year or conserving 3.3 million gallons of gasoline. Now those are figures worth a toast.



While ever-popular Jack & Coke is easy to make -- three parts Coke and one part Jack Daniel's -- the smooth, mellow taste blends well in whiskey cocktails.



LYNCHBURG LEMONADE



1 part Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey 1 part Triple Sec 1 part sour mix



Stir all ingredients with 4 parts lemon-lime soda. Garnish with a lemon slice and cherries.



HOT TENNESSEE TODDY



1 part Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey Spoonful of honey Cinnamon stick Good squeeze of fresh lemon juice Boiling water



Pour Jack Daniel's into a heavy mug. Add a spoonful of honey, cinnamon stick, and lemon juice. Top with boiling water and stir.



Liqueurs don't get much closer to Mother Earth than Benedictine (www.Benedictine.fr), as it's made with natural teas and 27 different herbs and spices. Dating to 1510 when it was cooked up by Benedictine monks, the French liqueur, reminiscent of warm honey and spice, is celebrating its 500th anniversary this year.



Benedictine has a romantic, sweet nose and palate and is an ideal complement to creamy desserts or simply as an after-dinner drink. Mix it with either coffee or try it premixed with brandy in the classic D.O.M. B&B. If you like cognac and brandy, you'll like Benedictine.



D.O.M. ICED TEA



25 ml Benedictine 100 ml green tea (cold)



Prepare green tea and let it cool down. Pour Benedictine into a stemmed glass or teacup, fill with cracked/crushed ice, and then pour in the green tea. Garnish with green tea powder and serve with a straw.



JASMINE BENEDICTINE (serves two)



Ingredients: 75 ml Benedictine 200 ml hot water Jasmine flower tea Prepare jasmine tea with hot water in a toddy mug, and then add Benedictine. Blend and serve.





Mary Ann Anderson writes On the Rocks for McClatchy-Tribune News Service.


According to a press release issued by their lawyer, the Vice family called the Starbucks, only to be informed that an employee had been bleeding and had been taken off the floor. The Vices claim that the Starbucks manager offered them free drinks for a week but that the family instead requested that the bleeding employee get a blood test to assess their vulnerability to any communicable diseases. The family alleges that the manager agreed, but that the employee did not take a blood test.
Taedonggang told the newspaper that this new beer, made with wheat instead of barley, is "better than existing beers in terms of its taste and smell." The name of this better tasting beer has not been released to the public. The paper cites leader Kim Jong-un as the inspiration for the new brew after his comments made in Seoul's Chosun IIbo tabloid saying South Korean beers lacked taste.
The Sun-Times stated last Sunday it was parting ways with Weiss. As some of the veterans of the community have noted since the announcement, much of what she witnessed was on the South Side of Chicago, where the Sun-Times long has been a fervently read publication. Neither Cassidy nor the Tribune in general were much present in theaters south of the Loop in the 20th century: Good luck finding coverage of, say, the Pekin Theatre, the first black-owned musical theater in the United States. Weiss, though, showed up early at the Chicago Theater Company, a crucially important Equity house that performed in the basement of the Hull House at 500 E. 67th St. Without Weiss, the surviving founders of that company have acknowledged, the theater would never have found its neighborhood audience, since so much of that audience was reading the Sun-Times. This is just one example of many. Of thousands.
A bright white floor and white masking draw the eye toward the back wall of the theater, which appears like a sheet of off-white graph paper. The whole company  more than 40 dancers in all  is dressed in brightly colored rehearsal clothes that bounce off their pure white surroundings, charging through the chaos with purpose like urban commuters at rush hour. Duets pop out from the crowd, distinguishable by their very 80s unitards and Robbins signature white socks. If not for those unitards, the dance could easily be mistaken as having been made now. Indeed, choreographers continue to be fascinated by composer Philip Glass, whose Rubic, Facades and Funeral form the epicenter of Glass Pieces. But the genius in Robbins handling of the seemingly unending pulse of each composition (expertly performed live by the Chicago Philharmonic) is in his refusal to let it go. Where todays choreographers tend to gloss over the driving pulse offered by nearly every Glass piece, Glass Pieces follows this incessant, driving beat all the way to the end.
Goodrich, a former schoolteacher who lives in Seal Beach, Calif., still meets regularly with her friends who retired from teaching. When the group gathered recently for a holiday cookie exchange, Goodrich  who has had serious back surgery and knee surgery over the past decade  heard several of the women, ages 65 to 83, complaining about their aches and pains. She stopped the discussion and said they would go around the table and give each woman five minutes to complain about her aches and pains. That's when everyone broke out laughing, recalled Goodrich.
Of course, I acknowledge being incredibly lucky that a snow day involves only this relatively paltry degree of adjustment. But if you're the stay-at-home parent, the one who's assumed to be handling the domestic role, even if you know it's the only logical arrangement, even if you know your wife's patient probably would like his surgery done today, even if you know you'd rather not have whale shark-size school buses slip-sliding all over the roads, it still feels like a burned opportunity, a day that won't be used to its potential. Instead, my attention will be pulled in at least three directions: Older son, younger son and whatever blinky thing on my computer that demands my attention. I wish this piece had a resonant end to it, some lesson or insight I glean from staring wistfully into the carpet of glittering white in the front yard, something more than wondering if this is what my mom felt when the phone rang at 6 a.m. But, alas, it doesn't.
Serial  the hit NPR podcast which re-examined the murder of Baltimore high school student Hae Min Lee in its first season and was downloaded more than 80 million times  has spawned a slew of copycats eager to get in on the action. The Onion recently consecrated the genre by launching a parody podcast with the spectacularly redundant title, A Very Fatal Murder.
Asked afterward by Inc. what his beef with the Tribune was, and whether he had, perhaps  before he helped bring down a corrupt president, won a Pulitzer and was flatteringly portrayed by a young Robert Redford in a hit movie  been overlooked for an internship here as a young lad growing up in Wheaton, Woodward scowled.
I can't really say how well she does her job, but in the last several days plenty of drama has come to campus after SIU's student newspaper The Daily Egyptian uncovered her sweet new gig and that of her husband who makes $45 an hour helping an interim vice chancellor.
3. The Friday morning commute is likely to be a mess even though Chicago plans to send out its full fleet of 300 salt-spreading plows. Among the priorities is Lake Shore Drive, which was shut down by the February 2011 blizzard.
Criminal sexual assault charges have been filed against a man accused of attacking three women since December, two in the South Loop and one in Wrigleyville, according to Chicago police.
Ahmann did however record the session on his cellphone and weeks later posted it on his politically charged Facebook page. He said the district in retaliation punished him by placing him on a one-day in-school suspension. Ahmann said in the lawsuit he wants this expunged from his record because having this permanent academic record of suspension hurts his future chances of being accepted into colleges and earning scholarships.
Knight, an investigator for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, was attempting to remove a 2-year-old from a home in Milledgeville, in western Illinois, when, according to authorities, Andrew Sucher knocked her down and kicked her in the head. The blows fractured Knights skull and caused permanent brain damage. Knight, 59 and from nearby Dixon, was airlifted to a Rockford hospital and underwent two brain surgeries.
To prevent this disgraceful treatment of a veteran who risked his life on behalf of our nation, I filed a private immigration relief bill on his behalf, Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat, said in a statement. Mr. Perez deserves the opportunity to stay in the country he was raised in and subsequently signed up to defend. He has close family ties to the United States and removal would have a serious adverse impact on the health of this combat veteran and that of his family.
Among the tactics of gang leaders was to issue "standing orders to shoot and beat" rivals and even attack Latin Kings who had fallen from good standing for one reason or another, according to the charges. These orders were sometimes referred to as "KOS" or "Kill on Sight," the charges alleged.
PARCC, the acronym for Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, had problems from the onset. School officials criticized the long hours of PARCC testing, and complaints from parents mushroomed into an opt-out movement that kept kids from getting tested. In 2015, Chicago Public Schools resisted PARCC testing and got into a standoff with the state, which threatened to yank hundreds of millions of dollars of funds from CPS. The district ultimately relented.
Two people were injured, but their conditions and hospital information were not immediately available, according to the Chicago Fire Department.
The man sexually assaulted her for about 20 minutes before he ran away toward Ridgeway Avenue, according to the alert.
The storm that began Thursday night had ramifications beyond the good deeds of neighborhood shoveling and the joys of a day off from work or school. The snow snarled traffic and led to dozens of crashes on the roads, canceled at least 1,000 flights and contributed to the death of a man in his 60s who had a heart attack while shoveling snow in Naperville, Edward Hospital spokesman Keith Hartenberger said.
As Reyes and Solache petitioned the court for a new trial, Guevara consistently invoked his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent when asked about the allegations against him. To try to get around that, prosecutors took the unusual step of granting Guevara immunity from prosecution in hopes his testimony would keep the judge from throwing out the confessions in the case.
"You know the length of the roast on the chain in 'Jaws'? Those idiots with the roast? That's how far away the gambling boat was," he said. "But you could gamble, and it was a casino. And it's gone now, it didn't work. It was illegal."
In the heat of a campaign, it is easy to lose sight of what is really important and what campaigns are really about, he said. There is so much negativity in our politics. Theres a focus on political attacks instead of new ideas. Theres a focus on politics instead of progress, and no one pays attention to those who are suffering the most.
But the unit also was carrying out much bigger heists, targeting people they believed to have large amounts of cash and finding ways to get to their property. Officers testified that Sgt. Wayne Jenkins, the units commander, often sought out the next target by asking victims whom they would rob if given the chance.
"Technology and machinery is cold," Wayne Promisel, a detective with the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office in Virginia and a former Fairfax County police detective, told The Washington Post in 2013. "It is also missing the ability to ask the questions in a certain way in an interview while having a sense of compassion" for victims.
An Amazon Echo Dot, which includes the virtual assistant Alexa, is displayed. Amazon's Alexa can be used to get Indiana travel advisories. (Elaine Thompson / AP)
Brand, who became associate attorney general in May, has kept a relatively low profile and, unlike other top officials, has not been personally targeted by Trump. Attorney General Jeff Sessions praised the "quality and leadership" of Brand and Rosenstein at a Justice Department event last week that focused on human trafficking, which was one of her stated priorities.
In January 2017, when McGahn learned of the allegations, he wanted Porter to stay put because he saw the Harvard Law-trained Capitol Hill veteran as a steadying, professional voice in the White House, according to people familiar with the matter. His view didn't change in June when the FBI flagged some of its findings to the White House. Nor did he act in September when he learned that the domestic violence claims were delaying Porter's security clearance, or in November when Porter's former girlfriend contacted him about the allegations, according to these people.
Porter got his job under Trumps first chief of staff, Reince Priebus, and continued under his second, Kelly. Neither did the due diligence that should have occurred when Porters security clearance didnt come through  or else they didnt think the allegations were any big deal. They either failed to inform themselves or didnt act on what they learned. It was just the latest from a president who is a master of the own goal.
White House Chief of Staff John Kelly (R) and White House Staff Secretary Rob Porter (L) walk to Marine One prior to departure from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., August 4, 2017. (Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty Images)
Springfield politicians should look at what was achieved in Ohio to bring both parties into the process. Our Independent Maps effort in 2016 demonstrated that the public is on the side of reform. And the candidates for governor, one of whom will get to approve or veto the next set of maps, are almost all on the record as being in support of fair maps. Springfield must stop dragging its feet.
But shovelers can be a bit too possessive of their spaces. Boston has a policy granting a 48-hour grace period after a major snowstorm for people to claim a spot. Those who have wittingly or unwittingly slid into spots claimed by dibsters sometimes return to their vehicles to find slashed tires or worse. Some irate dibsians leave caustic reminders on the intruders windshield. One read, I hope you crash your ugly-ass car, according to citylab.com. And: Feel blessed all of your windows arent smashed.
Well heres the thing: Article XIV, Section 2 offers a much more straightforward way to put an amendment on the ballot. The General Assembly can do it with a three-fifths vote of both houses. No petition drive. No silly arguments about the imaginary limitations on voter-drafted amendments. If its really true that the framers of the constitution meant to preclude voters from assigning the auditor general a role in redistricting  thats the argument that carried the day in 2016, folks  then its curious that they saw no reason to similarly tie the hands of legislators.
Will a big parade backfire on Trump? Not likely. This could be a brilliant way for the president to seize huge hunks of TV airtime, as Matt Latimer writes for Politico. And to cast naysayers (and Democrats) as unpatriotic parade scrooges who hate the military. It is likely to be another opportunity for Trump to preen and pose and deflect attention from controversies. That Russian probe thing? Who wants to talk about that? Look at that shiny tank. Wouldnt you love to climb in?
The media headlines report that Trump has considered firing Mueller. If he does that, he would be breaking the rule of law, which is the bedrock of our democracy. It is what separates us from the majority of other countries, where those in the most powerful positions are above the laws and can do whatever they want. One cannot be allowed to fire the appointed person investigating your administration. The people cannot allow that to happen without great repercussions. This investigation needs to run its course.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that sounds like a suicide kit. It has fueled a crisis that was responsible for 64,000 deaths in 2016, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, according to the DEA, and its relative carfentanil, widely described as elephant tranquilizer, is said to be 10,000 times more potent than morphine.
"And on the outside it's Ives showing him the whip giving him the stick...oh my, she's closing on Guv faster than you can say, sanctuary state..."
Nunez-Garcia is accused of abducting the female from a parking lot late in the evening Feb. 1, and taking her to a residence in West Dundee, police said in a news release. Police said she eventually escaped, but did not say for how long she was held captive. Police also did not say where the parking lot was where she was abducted.
"Our success at this event would mean awarding future subcontracts to small businesses from connections made at the fair," said Jane Graves, procurement administrator and event chairwoman, in a press release about the event.
Between the MI Homes development and the trends in retail, aldermen said the plan update is timely and necessary. At one point, planners saw the update as taking as much as nine months to do, but the contract was shortened to six months.
A: Part of our role is to get them in a safe place and assist them from having emotional reactions to recovery and planning. We talk to clients and say this is a safe place to sleep and get food and get information about disaster recovery efforts.
First, we must imagine what an equitable world looks like. Then we have to think about who is affected by the work we want to do. Then we must act.
"In view of the significance of Ash Wednesday, the obligation of fast and abstinence must naturally be the priority in the Catholic community. Valentine's Day can appropriately be celebrated the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday which also happens to be Mardi Gras, a traditionally festive time before beginning our Lenten observance," the statement issued last month to Chicago area priests says.
The Midewin Winter Lecture Series will feature a free program about the Midewin Interagency Hotshot Crew by quad leader Mike Bittner from 7 to 8 p.m. Feb. 15 at the Midewin Welcome Center, 30239 S. State Route 53, Wilmington. The primary duty of the Midewin Interagency Hotshot Crew is the suppression of wildland fires. As a national resource, the crew travels throughout the U.S. to assist with wildfires and other emergencies, such as hurricanes, flooding, and other natural disasters. The Midewin IHC also assists with prescribed fires throughout the Eastern United States, including at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. with light refreshments provided by the Midewin Alliance. Space is limited and registration is required at 815-423-6370 or Midewin_RSVP@fs.fed.us.
When faced with too much uncertainty, people leave. And potential newcomers take pause. Indeed, this is the biggest budget problem of all  a shrinking population for four years running, driven primarily by people leaving the state. The net outmigration of people from Illinois to other states since 2010 is equivalent to the population of the four largest cities outside Chicago combined.
Contests can get interesting when an incumbent decides to not seek re-election. That's the case this year in the 38th House District, where four Democrats are still in the race for the seat held by state Rep. Al Riley of Olympia Fields, who is not seeking another term. A fifth person was tossed from the ballot due to an objection to his candidacy petition.
Let me add a basic civic reminder to the mix. Having taught World History in U-46 for many years, I can fairly say that the history of the world is church-state conglomerates. The church and the state are wed in all ancient civilizations. The Pharaoh, the Caesar, the Emperor is both god and king. In Egypt, Mesopotamia, Babylon, Persia, Rome it is the same. An offense against the religion is punishable by the state. That is the history of the world. Until America.
"There was an altercation with at least one person," in which two shots were fired, Glew said. Semark was with a group of friends when he was shot.
They said that as police were watching the live post, they determined the vehicle was in an alley in the 800 block of Clark Street in the north suburb. When officers showed up a short time later, the men in the vehicle ran but Adams fell in the snow, dropped a loaded Glock .40-caliber handgun and was arrested, court records show.
Joe McElfee, a CSH principal in charge of development, said in January the firm also is under contract to purchase two properties to the west that are not immediately adjacent to the proposed development. The firm also has offered full asking price for the home at 1050 Central Avenue where Central Avenue and Deerfield Road converge, McElfee said.
The case also struck a chord because of the perceived disparity between Rousso, now 23, and the victim: Though both lived in Highland Park, Rousso was from a relatively prosperous family, was driving a luxury car at the time, was released from jail on a $500,000 bond shortly after her arrest and had a team of defense attorneys and experts at her trial. Jaclyns family was of more modest means and relied on donations to help pay for Jaclyns burial in her parents native Mexico.
The passenger managed to reach her mobile phone and called 911 at 11:30 a.m., Covelli said, and was speaking with and being instructed by a sheriff's office dispatcher for more than 15 minutes while she was still in the water as rescue personnel were directed to the scene.
While many commuters got an earlier start than usual to account for slower travel, Vince Peterkin pushed his work day back a couple of hours. He usually catches the 6:13 a.m. train from Waukegan to his job in North Chicago, but on Friday he wanted to wait until after sunrise, when he felt travel would be less dangerous. He also took the bus to the train station Friday morning; usually he walks the half-mile from his apartment.
"Jackie and Steve have a breadth of experience, a great sense of fairness, and a commitment to justice. They will be excellent additions to the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit and we look forward to them joining us in the near future," Chief Judge Jay Ukena said in a statement Thursday afternoon.
"A lot of times, when you have people come in, consultants come in, they come in one time and one time only," Cunningham said. "Then you think the fix is there. No. I'm looking for continuous (training), drilling in all these good habits, getting rid, maybe, whatever bad habits there may be."
U.S. and international news media, including television networks, quickly disseminated worldwide dramatic film and written reports of the carnage. This was thanks to the fact that the Johnson Administration refused to impose any sort of sustained military censorship in the war zone, in contrast to other wars before and since.
"Priests and bishops do not grant individual dispensations from the discipline of fasting and abstinence," Conlon said in the statement. "An individual could judge in conscience, on his or her own, that there is a serious enough reason to excuse oneself."
North Central College will host "Feed the Need," an annual event to help package meals to those in need Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 17 and 18, at the college's residence hall/recreation center, 440 S. Brainard St.
Brown, 30, was sentenced Thursday to 12 years in prison, two years to be served on probation, after pleading guilty in November to two counts of attempted aggravated battery. He was initially charged with two counts of attempted murder, among other charges, records show.
Dernulc, R-Highland and also chairman of the Lake County Republican Central Committee, said he routinely lists every contribution he receives for his campaign committee, but the lengthy days of discussion of campaign finance during the trial of former Lake County Sheriff John Buncich prompted him to be more detailed than normal.
"We have an older population in this area, which is kind of very much the trend across the country," Homan said. "That tends to be a large percentage of our patients."
Scott "Stretch" Miller, technical director of the opera house, said he went to the Star Plaza on Monday to get some tables and chairs and he and a few other volunteers had previously split some of the seats into sections so they could be carried out more easily.
Our military leaders today are using a similar reasoning for continuing to send U.S. troops into that country, just as our former leaders did in the 1960s with Vietnam. In short, if we don't battle terrorism in Afghanistan, or other Middle Eastern countries, it will spread to American soil, we are warned.
This Quickly is getting annoying with the day after day whining from the sore losers about Hillary losing the election. Are they ever going to get over it? The country is moving ahead with or with out the losers. You read Quickly and you think the world is ending tomorrow and then you read the rest of the paper and things look mighty good. What's it take to educate these people?
Supert said it is unknown if there would be any kind of warning light system at that location other than signage, but the engineering study would indicate if that would be possible. He said the type of flashing light system that is installed at the Woodlawn Avenue crossing is no longer permitted by the state due to motorist confusion issues, although existing installations can remain installed and activated.
North Vista Highlands' less expensive homes worry north Puebloans

Residents of north Pueblo voiced concerns about the proposed North Highlands Vista subdivision at the Planning and Zoning meeting on Wednesday.
Our weekly round up of other news affecting foreign investors throughout Asia:

French FDI in ASEAN Part I: Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam

ASEAN continues to be an important FDI destination for European investors. Read more about Frances investments in Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam in the first part of our two-part article on French FDI in ASEAN.

Indias 2018 Union Budget: Elections Focus behind Broad-brush Vision

Prime Minister Modis government presented its Union Budget for the financial year (FY) 2018-19 on February 1. While some foreign observers have overlooked this years budget, it takes on increased importance ahead of the election fight in eight states this year, and the general elections next year.

German Trade with Russia Increases 20% in 2017

German exports to Russia last year rose by more than a fifth over 2016, according to data by Germanys Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). This marked the first increase since 2012 when German exports to Russia stood at 38 billion before they started shrinking on the back of an economic slump in Russia compounded by sanctions imposed on Moscow.

Understanding Chinas Belt & Road MoU

The recent announcement by China that it intends to establish Belt & Road arbitration courts to resolve trade and related disputes along the Belt & Road routes  in China  has raised eyebrows as this goes against the generally accepted principle of utilizing an independent, third party as arbitrator.

Vietnamese Firms Shifting to e-Invoices

Vietnamese firms are shifting to e-invoices to minimize cost and reduce administrative burden. Further changes are proposed to make it mandatory for all firms in 2018. Read more to know about the transition to e-invoices, advantages for firms and tax authorities, and proposed changes for 2018.
An ardent admirer of Vincent van Gogh, contemporary Chinese artist Zeng Fanzhi created a series of vibrant new paintings for a special exhibition at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.



The select presentation started on Oct 20 and lasts until Feb 25.

It displays five works, either inspired by Van Gogh's famous paintings or using a similar theme, to pay tribute to the legendary Dutch artist in a special way.

Three portraits of Van Gogh, selected from six that Zeng painted from Van Gogh's original self-portraits, are spotlighted in the exhibition.

Van Gogh's style, appearance and personality are united in his many self-portraits, and Zeng replicated the Dutch artist's works before covering them with his own, distinctive, swirling lines.

According to Zeng, 54, by paying homage to the original pieces, he wanted to experience the way Van Gogh looked at himself, and the creative exercise made him familiar with the thought processes of the great post-impressionist master.

Zeng then added layers of his signature lines, until the image was again covered up, as if placing his identity over that of Van Gogh, before he finally rebuilt the image to conclude the "visual dialogue".

Self-portraits are an extremely personal form of creative expression for Zeng, who has explored his own likeness through them during different stages of his career.

"It's a process of observing and understanding myself better," Zeng said.

Besides Zeng's homage portraits, a painting inspired by Van Gogh's famous piece Wheatfield with Crows is showcased next to the original, as both artists have sought inspiration in landscapes.

The last piece, called Boots, was created by Zeng in 2009 and is put next to Van Gogh's still-life painting Shoes.

In Zeng's works, which come alive with their sinuous lines, the modern artist links his own style and identity to the life and work of Van Gogh.

"Before now, my understanding of Van Gogh was as 'a great artist'," Zeng said before the launch of the exhibition.

"But through the creation of these works, I found that I gradually had a deeper understanding of himnot the literal kind, but experiencing, as an artist, some momentary emotions of another artist."

A native of Wuhan in Hubei province who moved to Beijing in the early 1990s, Zeng has stood out as one of the most successful contemporary Chinese artists in recent years.

Zeng's art responds to his immersion in a more superficial environment, and his influential Mask series portrays the tensions between the artist's dominant existential concerns and an ironic treatment of the pomposity and posturing inherent in his contemporary urban life.

Over the years, he has held solo exhibitions not only in China but worldwide, in cities including Barcelona, Paris, London and New York.

"What I paint is, of course, my life, so Chinese people can understand my works better.

"But I don't want to remain a very regional artistan artist in Wuhan or in Beijing, but be part of the world's art," said Zeng during the fourth Award of Art China event in 2010.

The presentation of Zeng's latest work at the Van Gogh Museum is the first in a world tour.
The 2018 Havana International Book Fair, where China is the guest country of honor, is an opportunity to promote exchanges between the 220-member Chinese delegation of authors, publishers and officials and their Cuban counterparts, as well as the general public.

"Cubans ... are very hospitable and kind. And in an exchange session at Havana University, I learned a lot," Chinese novelist Liu Zhenyun told Xinhua.

The famed author and screenwriter enjoys sharing ideas with readers of different nationalities because it can help complement what they already know about China.

"The publication and distribution of my books in Cuba makes it possible for Cuban readers to get to know ... Chinese people, their attitude towards what they like, their lifestyle, their sorrows and happiness," Liu said.

Fellow novelist Mai Jia echoed him, saying literary creation is a form of communication between writers and the world, and a way to express both emotions and realities.

"People say a novel is the secret history of a nation, and reading literary works is the best way to understand a nation," Mai said.

Mai, the author of "Decoded", a thriller about a mathematical genius who is also one of the greatest code breakers in the world, and "In the Dark", another thriller about the shadowy world of secret service operators, was amazed by the high daily turnout at the fair at Havana's historic San Pedro de La Cabana Fort, particularly the interest in Chinese books and authors.

"I am (amazed) there are so many people coming to the fair, and that Chinese writers as well as their books are so popular here... I feel really honored," Mai said.

According to Liu, books not only offer insights into different cultures, but also common ground where those cultures can come together.

His book "Cell Phone" is a case in point. The Spanish translation of the story of relationships and betrayal, hinged on a phone accidentally left at home one day, has sold widely in Cuba and is already in its second edition.

The novel, which has been translated into some 20 languages, is very popular because it deals with a worldwide phenomenon, Liu said.

"The rise of the cellphone, the internet, Weibo or WeChat has changed people, their lifestyles and their attitude towards life. Science and technology has brought the same changes to our society as a whole, regardless of social system or religion," he said.

The emergence of new digital technologies has revolutionized the way people and societies communicate, and the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative is a reflection of that, using economy and culture to link people from different nations, Liu said.

Proposed by China in 2013, the initiative aims to build trade and infrastructure networks connecting Asia with Europe and Africa, and beyond, based on ancient land and maritime trade routes.

In the world of publishing, China's Renmin University has joined the initiative by creating an alliance of academic publishing houses. Cuba's Nuevo Milenio publishing house recently joined the alliance.

The idea is to establish bilateral or multilateral cooperation mechanisms through exchange programs to serve as a communication platform between China and the rest of the world.

The Havana book fair runs until Feb. 11.
Despite almost a decade passing since the release of the final Harry Potter book, the stories about the boy wizard remains the most interesting reading for surveyed students in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, of a recent survey conducted in a local bookstore.

The on-site survey conducted by the Qianjiang Evening News together with 200 questionnaires completed in local schools, including Hangzhou High School, Wenhui Middle School and Hangzhou Gongchenqiao Elementary School, formed the ranking categorizing the favorite books among young readers.

According to the survey, the Harry Potter series is the most popular book followed by "The Great Blue Yonder" by Alex Shearer and "Three Body Problem" by Liu Cixin, respectively.

"I bought the entire Harry Potter series once I had watched the first episode of the film," a local middle school boy said.

The Harry Potter series as well as the unfinished series of "A Song of Ice and Fire" which has been adapted into the superb highly rated US TV series had both fully sold out after only ten minutes, with the bookstore having to order more, the local newspaper reported.

In addition, the "Unworried Store" by Japanese mystery writer Higashino Keigo, also won favor with young Chinese readers, securing fourth spot on the ranking.

Despite their enthusiasm for reading mystery stories, the young readers' parents were nudging their children into the world of classics, even though they may have difficulty in understanding the context, let alone the archaic writing.

Xiao Yang, a pupil in grade five, complained that his parents had asked him to finish reading several classics, such as "Dream of the Red Chamber," whereas his favorite book is the "Monster Master" series.

"Some other classics are fairly ok, but the "Dream of the Red Chamber" is especially vague. I finished the first few chapters but was still bewildered as to what the book is trying to say," Yang said.

However, parents insisted that their children should dedicate their time to reading age-old Chinese classics, such as the "Three Character Classics" or "Thousand Character Classics" for elementary students, who are encouraged to recite them, and the Four Classics, namely, the "Journey to the West," the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," "All Men Are Brothers" and the "Dream of the Red Chamber," for older students.

The Chinese government is actively promoting reading as one of its targets since being included in the Government Work Report of 2014.
The restricted shares of Leshi Internet Information and Technology, the listed arm of debt-laden technology company LeEco, became tradable on Thursday, according to the company's announcement.





The restricted stocks, 213 million in total, or 5.35 percent of Leshi's share, were acquired by China Post Fund, Harvest Fund, Caitong Fund Management Co Ltd and Zhang Jianping, a non-institutional natural person account, through a private placement in August, 2016, Shanghai Securities News reported.





Given the original price was 45.01 yuan per share at that time (the price after the restoration of rights was 22.5 yuan per share), the four shareholders' aggregated loss reached 3.766 billion yuan at Wednesday's closing price of 4.85 yuan, the report said.





At the evening of Wednesday, Leshi announced it received a notice from financial service company CR Trust, the manager of Leshi's first employee stock ownership plan, China Securities Journal reported.





CR Trust informed Leshi it will early terminated the trust plan due to Leshi's fundamental changes and Leshi Holding (Beijing) Co's failure in fulfilling its obligation of adding fund. And it will assign the trust plan asset to the beneficiaries in its original condition.





On September 8, 2016, Leshi adjusted its first employee stock ownership plan, changing the pool plan preferred shares and posterior shares to 1:1 and keeping the upper limit of the shares at 510 million, China Securities Journal reported.





According to Leshi's announcement, CR Trust affirmed assets involved in the plan totaled at 21.9071 million shares of the listed company, which accounted for 0.5491 percent of the company's total shares.





Since its shares resumed trading from January 24 after being suspended trading since April last year, Leshi's shares traded in the Shenzhen Stock Exchange had dropped by the 10-percent daily limit for 11 straight days.





In its announcement, Leshi reiterated eight major risks faced by it at present, which include changes in the company's real controller and the problem of its related parties in retrieving receivables.





At present, Leshi's largest shareholder Jia Yueting holds 1.024 billion shares of the company, which account for 25.67 percent of its total shares.





The company was expected to suffer an annual loss of 11.605 billion yuan to 11.61 billion yuan in 2017, of which 3.7 billion yuan were operational losses, the report said.





As of September 30, 2017, the ending balance of Leshi's currency fund at the third quarter was 834 million yuan, National Business Daily reported.





Mired in the debt crisis, Leshi said it has owed a large number of arrears to its upstream suppliers that it cannot pay and is facing problems such as default and litigation.





On Tuesday night, Dongyang Kingrain Media Co Ltd, one of Leshi's creditors, announced it received a debt of 155 million yuan from Leshi and its subsidiaries according to their agreement.





Listed company Ciwen Media and Huace Group also received repayments from Leshi.





The report said some fund companies valued Leshi's share price at 3.91 yuan, which means the company will continue to plunge to daily limit for 13 straight days.





By 14:00 Thursday, Leshi's share price rose to 5.21 yuan from Wednesday's closing price of 4.85 yuan.




China's latest crackdown on gun and explosives crimes aims to further curb the manufacturing, smuggling and online sale of firearms and explosives because such crimes remain prominent factors threatening public security, officials from the Ministry of Public Security said on Thursday.

The number of gun and explosives crimes in 2017 has dropped by more than 81 and 64 percent respectively since 2012, said Li Jingsheng, an official of the ministry's Public Order Administration Bureau, at a news conference in Beijing.

Together with 23 other departments, the ministry launched a campaign on Wednesday to intensify the crackdown on gun and explosives crimes. The campaign will last until the end of 2019.

It will especially target online trading in firearms and parts as around 80 percent of illegal firearm transactions are currently via the internet, Li said. "Some people buy gun parts online and then assemble them. We will also step up control of the materials that can be used to make gun parts."

Besides reporting suspicious activities and transactions online, internet companies also need to step up security measures to prevent people from hacking into the websites to post gun- and explosive-related content, said Zhang Hongye, deputy director of the ministry's Internet Security Bureau.

Preventing people from smuggling firearms from neighboring countries is another focus of the campaign, Li said. Border officers will step up efforts to search for firearms during routine inspections, he added.

The Chinese authorities seized 1.01 million illegal guns and 56.61 million bullets from 2012 to 2017, and the number of gun crimes dropped from 311 in 2012 to 58 in 2017, he added. Individuals are banned from owning firearms in China.

"China is among the countries with the lowest gun and explosives crime rates. However, such crimes are prominent factors that threaten public security," Li said.

Although the number of violent gun crimes, including homicide, robbery and kidnapping, has dropped significantly in recent years, the incidence of illegal gun smuggling and sale has become high, said Dong Xiaogang, an official from the ministry's Criminal Investigation Bureau.

"Driven by profits, some people still choose to manufacture and sell illegal firearms and ammunition. Their behavior has posed severe threats to public security and led to the occurrence of serious cases sometimes," Dong said.

Public security departments around China have launched a series of campaigns targeting gun and explosives crimes in recent years. The ministry will monitor the progress of the latest campaign in areas where such a crime rate is relatively higher, Li said.
You are here: China

A woman in east China's Zhejiang Province was sentenced to death on Friday for starting a fire that killed a family of four in 2017, local authorities said.





Investigations found that Mo Huanjing, a former nanny of the family of Lin Shengbin, guilty of arson after she set fire to Lin's apartment in Hangzhou City on June 21, 2017, killing Lin's wife Zhu Xiaozhen and their three young children, according to the Hangzhou Intermediate People's Court.





Mo started the fire using a lighter in the early morning after she searched the keyword of "arson" online, according to the court.





The fire also caused economic losses of more than 2.57 million yuan (405,900 U.S. dollars).





Mo was also convicted of theft.
The Flag of International Olympic Committee [L] and the National Flag of North Korea [Photo/Xinhua]

Pyongyang announced on Feb. 4 that it will send a high-level delegation, led by Kim Yong-nam, the nominal head of state of the People's Democratic Republic of Korea, to be present at Friday's opening ceremony for the Winter Olympics held in Pyeongchang, South Korea.





President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea, the 90-year-old Kim has been within the top echelon of state leaders of the DPRK since the 1950s. His planned presence in Pyeongchang shows Pyongyang attaching importance to the event, as well as its good will.





To have Kim, who also made appearances at the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008 and the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014, beside him in Peyongchang, South Korean President Moon Jae-in would have enough reason to take a pride in his administration's diplomatic breakthroughs. On the part of the North, making a favorable impression on people living in the South can marginalize the anti-DPRK powers in the ROK.





The Winter Olympics also provide the North with a platform to engage in multilateral diplomacy. Pyongyang faces its harshest diplomatic isolation and economic sanctions in recent years under mounting pressure from the United States. Sending the man second only to top leader Kim Jong-un to Peyongchang is conducive to the DPRK having contact and dialogue with senior leaders from other countries participating in the event.





It is reported that leaders from 16 countries and international organizations will be present at the opening ceremony, including U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese Politburo member Han Zheng.





Although some think Kim is only a symbolic figure, he has rich experience in diplomacy and rare influence on the politics of the DPRK that few can match.





Apart from his meeting with Moon, the potential face-to-face encounters with U.S. and European leaders are the most anticipated of Kim's trip, which provide Pyongyang with an opportunity to relieve its diplomatic and economic pressure.





At a critical moment of the Korean nuclear issue, Pyongyang cherishes this opportunity of Olympic diplomacy to realize its diplomatic purposes. No wonder some conservatives in the South worry that the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics may possibly be transformed into the "Pyongyang Winter Olympics."





To some extent, the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics have already been bestowed with a deeper meaning beyond sports. That almost all relevant parties, except Russia, will send leaders to Pyeongchang justifies the expectation that the situation on the Korean Peninsula might take a sharp turn in a positive direction.





Despite this, past experience has given political and academic circles enough reason to be cautious about future developments in the Korean situation, toning down their expectations for the possible meetings between the DPRK and the West.





Previously, Pyongyang has more than once resorted to stalling tactics by using meetings and dialogues as buffer periods to prepare for further nuclear tests, which all relevant parties know well now so they will not retake the old path. They have never before reached such a unanimous consensus on the principle of denuclearization of the peninsula as they have now.





Unless the DPRK makes concrete declarations on its denuclearization, it will be very difficult for it to improve ties with the other countries. The Donald Trump administration's DPRK policy is undoubtedly clear that denuclearization is the premise for any dialogue. If not, the U.S. will continue to mount pressure, and even the possibility of military attack is not excluded.





Whether the DPRK will compromise depends on whether its economy can endure the economic sanctions that have already approached an extreme. Predictions are divided: Some believe the North's economy can endure for a long period of time, while others think the country's economy will soon collapse.





One sure thing is that, with the intensifying of the sanctions, Pyongyang's ability drifts farther and farther from the requirements of realizing its strategic objectives.





The DPRK wants to be a nuclear country. But it does not yet have the ability to realize that objective. Its backward industrial and agricultural productivity, as well as its energy and economic structures, lack the lasting ability to withstand pressure. When its endurance draws close to its breaking point , it will be possible for Pyongyang to make concessions to some extent.





Since the true circumstances in the DPRK are not completely known and given the unexpectedness and flexibilities of its previous strategic swerves, with Kim Jong-un's new year speech as the latest telling example, it is difficult to predict what diplomatic fruits will be achieved in Pyeongchang, and whether the Winter Olympics will mark a turning point leading to the mitigation of the Korean situation.





In brief, the Olympic games create a rare chance for the leaders of relevant countries to meet each other, presenting a window of opportunity to ease the tensions on the peninsula.





As the developments of the Korean nuclear crisis have disappointed the Korean people time and time again after a previous period of hope, we can only hold measured expectations for the possible Pyeongchang meetings.





The author is an assistant researcher of Korean Peninsula studies with the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.





This post was first published in Chinese and translated by Li Yang.




 Flash

South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) on Thursday dismissed media reports that President Jacob Zuma will resign on Saturday as "inaccurate and misleading."

"Whilst the ANC does not usually comment on caucus discussions because they are confidential internal matters of the ANC, we want to distance ourselves from reports that ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa reportedly told caucus that President Zuma will resign on Saturday and that he will not be granted immunity," The office of the ANC chief whip said in a statement.

Earlier on Thursday, South African media reported that Ramaphosa told a parliamentary caucus that Zuma's immunity is not party of the discussion.

The reports come after Ramaphosa on Wednesday asked South Africans to remain calm while they discuss pertinent issues with President Zuma.

Ramaphosa said progress has been made in their discussion with Zuma. Some in the ANC have asked Zuma to step down.

The ANC chief whip said the media reports are meant to disturb the constructive engagement currently in progress.

"These reports are false and the intention behind them is to negatively disturb the fruitful and constructive engagement between the president of the ANC and the president of the country around the question of transition," the statement said.

"The ANC in Parliament respects the ongoing engagement and eagerly awaits its imminent conclusion," it said.

The ruling party is on record as saying they want to prevent two centers of power in the party and government.

Zuma is the country's president while Ramaphosa is the ANC president.
You are here: World

 Flash

The Russian Defense Ministry will sign a contract this year to buy a dozen advanced stealth fighter jets, Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov said Thursday.

"We are taking the Su-57 for experimental combat operation," Borisov said during a visit to Gagarin, the aviation plant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur.

"This year, we will sign a contract for the first batch of 12 Su-57 fighter jets for the Armed Forces," Borisov said.

The first two planes of the batch may enter into service next year, Borisov said.

Asked about the performance of the new engine for the Su-57, Borisov said it is difficult to judge because there has been only one successful test flight. More trial flights will be conducted over two to three years.

In December 2017, Russia announced its fifth-generation stealth fighter Su-57 had completed its first test flight with a new-generation engine.

The warplane, formerly known as T-50, is being developed by Russia's Sukhoi Company. The single-seat twin-engine jet has super maneuverability and sustained supersonic flight capability.
 Flash

The Syrian Foreign Ministry on Thursday strongly condemned the U.S.-led airstrikes on pro-government forces in the eastern province of Deir al-Zour, state news agency SANA reported.

In a statement, the ministry accused the U.S. warplanes of "committing a massacre" against pro-government forces that were confronting the terrorist organization Islamic State(IS).

Calling it a "new barbaric aggression," the ministry said the U.S. attack came in the framework of the Washington's "aggressive policies" against Syria.

The pro-government Syrian forces were confronting IS militants, "who are under the protection" of the U.S. coalition and the allied forces of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), it added.

The Syrian government urged the UN Security Council to condemn the massacre and to hold the U.S. coalition responsible for their "crimes and aggression that have left thousands of civilians either killed or wounded," the statement said.

Earlier in the day, the SDF said the U.S.-led coalition struck positions of pro-Syrian government forces in the eastern Syrian province of Deir al-Zour to defend its partners.

The coalition's move was in retaliation for the pro-Syrian government forces' targeting of the U.S.-backed forces in the area, the SDF noted.

Meanwhile, SANA reported that U.S. warplanes carried out 10 airstrikes on the positions of the pro-government forces after midnight Saturday.

According to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least 45 pro-government fighters were killed in the airstrikes.

Meanwhile, a statement from Deir al-Zour's Syrian tribes said the U.S. coalition airstrikes killed their young fighters who were battling IS and the SDF on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River.

The tribes of Deir al-Zour will continue to fight the terrorists until their areas taken by the IS and the SDF on the eastern bank of Euphrates are all liberated, the statement added.




Photovoltaic products first exported from Shanxi to Argentina ( chinadaily.com.cn ) Updated: 2018-02-09

Jinneng Clean Energy Technology (Jinergy), a photovoltaic module producer based in Shanxi, has recently exported 400 Passivated Emitter and Rear Cell (PERC) solar cells to Buenos Aires, marking the first time that photovoltaic products have been exported from Shanxi to Argentina.

The rooftop power station project in Buenos Aires requires a high level of cell conversion efficiency and anti-potential Induced Degradation. To satisfy the needs of the project, Jinergy specially developed 360W PERC modules.

As the top photovoltaic products producer in Shanxi, Jinergy also leads domestic photovoltaic cell and module industries through its development of high-efficiency polycrystalline, PERC monocrystalline and ultra high-efficiency heterojunction technologies.

Jinergy has also been expanding its international market and foreign partnerships. Since the company won bids for projects along the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor in 2015, Jinergy has exported high-efficiency products to countries such as India, Pakistan, Mexico, Brazil and Kazakhstan owing to being in the top 5 percent of global companies in terms of production capacity and innovation ability.

Next, Jinergy will further partnerships with countries along the Belt and Road in energy industrial upgrading, and bring top Chinese photovoltaic production technologies to more power stations overseas, according to Yang Liyou, general manager of the company.
A Christian governor-candidate in Illinois has drawn flak from national media, leftists, and other Republicans for releasing an ad featuring the pro-abortion and pro-LGBT records of her GOP opponent ahead of the party's primary.

Jeanne Ives, a legislator from the 42nd district of Illinois, has released an ad featuring various people enumerating the milestones that Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner had helped achieve for abortion and the transgender cause. These so-called achievements included his support for transgender bathrooms and a law he signed last year which expanded taxpayer funding for abortion, Life Site News detailed.

In the controversial ad, one man sporting a dress and makeup "thanked" Rauner for approving the law which allowed him to use the women's bathroom. A woman also expressed gratitude to the Republican governor for forcing all families in the state to pay for her abortions.

Ives' ad has been described as "racist," "repulsive," and "transphobic." Slate magazine called it "bigoted" and said it made fun of transgender women.

However, Ives maintained that her ad conveyed the exact message of Rauner's policies. She has also not yielded to calls to take down the ad and instead was able to gather $2 million in donations to continue running it.

Meanwhile, a spokesman from Rauner's campaign slammed the ad as an attack against Illinois residents "based on their race, gender or humanity." The statement added that it had no place in the state.

On Feb. 6, Rauner retaliated with a commercial targeting Ives and accusing her of taking "thousands from a shady labor union" linked with House Speaker Mike Madigan. It also said she had voted against a measure to increase property tax exemption, the Patch reported.

In response to the latest ad, Ives' campaign said in a news release that she had prevented Madigan from skipping three years of pension payments. The statement also slammed Rauner as an "unrepentant liar" and America's most ineffective politician.
The Church of Ireland has rejected a proposal to allow unrestricted abortion in the first trimester of a pregnancy, maintaining its stance that such a procedure is unacceptable at any stage of gestation.

In a statement made on Feb. 5, the Church of Ireland primate Archbishop Richard Clarke and Archbishop of Dublin Michael Jackson acknowledged the dilemma that legislators and medical practitioners are confronted with on the issue of a first trimester abortion. The two said they were in favor of modifying the Eighth Amendment to allow abortion but "within clearly defined boundaries" only, The Irish Times relayed.

"However, unrestricted access to abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, or indeed at any stage, is not an ethical position we can accept," said Clarke and Jackson in the statement.

The latest development means that Ireland's four main churches are against the Oireachtas Committee's recommendation to allow abortion up to 12 weeks "with no restriction." The Catholic Church, Presbyterian Church in Ireland, and the Methodist Church have already previously expressed their opposition to the proposal.

The Church of Ireland said it had already considered abortion as justifiable in cases where a woman's life was in grave danger. It acknowledged that there were some who consider the procedure justified when the pregnancy is a result of a sexual crime or if a fetal abnormality had been ascertained medically.

Meanwhile, abortion service provider Marie Stopes has indicated that it may open a clinic in Ireland if the Eighth Amendment is repealed during a referendum on the issue in May. However, the organization will reportedly not express a formal interest in doing so until it has confirmed that the law will indeed be changed, The Irish Sun has learned.

At present, Marie Stopes runs 70 facilities in England. It had already closed its clinic in Belfast in December but gives women travelling from Ireland information if they want to avail of the organization's abortion services without approval from a general practitioner.
The Church of Sweden has experienced a massive exodus of its members in the last two years, and the main reason for this trend is the people's loss of belief in God, according to a report.

Based on the official internal church report Members in Motion, the Church of Sweden has lost 85,848 members in 2016 and 93,093 in 2017. The main reason for why the members opted out of the flock was because they had stopped believing in God amid the public controversies and the financial irregularities that the church has been facing, Sputnik News relayed.

"The absolutely dominant reason is that one simply does not believe in God," Church of Sweden press officer Martin Larsson told the Nyheter Idag outlet. "Then it's only natural to believe one should not be a member either."

The report said that the largest drop in membership was seen among younger men residing in big cities. It also showed that 40 percent of the members who exited from the Church of Sweden left because of loss of faith while 20 percent cited economic reasons. There were others who indicated that their membership with the church was no longer meaningful.

The mass exodus in 2016 was reportedly sparked by revelations alleging that officials used church funds for expensive trips abroad. A representative from the church said the media coverage of the issue may have also played a role in the decrease of its members, The Local Sweden reported.

Pernilla Jonsson, the Swedish Church's head of analysis for their department of research, said the figures they had obtained confirmed their initial suspicion that the decision to leave had involved a long process for most of the members. She explained that these people's relationship with the church was not strong enough or they were reminded that they were part of the church when the public controversies surfaced.

Larsson mentioned 2016 radio and tabloid reports which revealed that the Church of Sweden was experiencing financial irregularities. Last year, the organization caused some controversy over its policy of protecting illegal migrants. It also sparked some discussions when it decided to do away with the concept of God as a male entity.
The Deaf Bible Society is taking part in the Every Tribe Every Nation movement's goal of translating the Bible into every language by the year 2033, and that includes sign languages.

The ministries aim to complete full Bible translations in the languages used by at least 500,000 people in 2033 and to translate at least 25 chapters of the Bible for those with populations less than 5,000. However, they know that coming up with Bible translations in sign language is not that easy as there are limited available data for the task, Mission Network News detailed.

The Deaf Bible Society has been instrumental in improving the data to be used for sign languages. The organization's president, JR Bucklew, said they work with their partners to come up with the fastest way to reach their goal for Bible translations.

"The best way to do this is by starting locally sustainable sign language ecosystems where Deaf people are trained and equipped to do Bible translation and Scripture engagement work among themselves well; not for them to be eternally dependant on Deaf Bible Society," said Bucklew.

DBS and its allied ministries intend to begin work on 25 new sign language Bible translations this year. Bucklew said they believe that everyone --- including the deaf --- have the right to access the Scripture in their own language.

The Wycliffe Bible Translators have also joined the mission to reach the deaf through the ministry of Bible translation. Wycliffe USA director of global partnerships Andy Keener told the Christian Broadcasting Network that their mission was aligned with the Scripture's vision to take the Gospel to all people across the world before Christ returned.

However, Wycliffe knows that they still have a lot of work to do in order to complete their goal. There are still 160 million people who do not have Bible translations in their own languages.
The ruling ChristenUnie party in the Netherlands has pushed for harsher punishments for religiously or racially-motivated acts of violence in the wake of a vandalism incident targeting a kosher restaurant in Amsterdam.

Gert-Jan Segers, the head of the Christian party, said there should be more severe punishments for religiously or racially motivated violence. He compared it to a situation where the violence could affect public officials and explained that individuals who perform a public function were given extra protection in case they were attacked. He also said that the same principle must be applied to other victims of such acts because they are considered under threat because of their affiliation or belief, The NL Times detailed.

"If a Jewish restaurant is attacked because the owner is Jewish, it is a threat to the entire Jewish community," NOS quoted Segers as saying. "If an ex-Muslim, who became a Christian or atheist, is attacked because he is a heretic, then that is a threat to anyone who makes such a choice."

Segers' call stemmed from an attack at the Ha Carmel restaurant in December in which the assailant broke the establishment's windows while toting a Palestinian flag. The latter was accused of vandalism and of trying to steal the Israeli flag on display in the restaurant, but he was later released and is now waiting for his trial.

Segers believed that the suspect would be getting a punishment that was too light for what he did, and he lamented that it was not possible to inflict a harsher consequence upon him. As of now, it remains to be seen if the ChristenUnie proposal will be approved by the lower house of the Dutch parliament.

Last month, Rotterdam mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb stirred controversy after he told a radio program that all Muslims were a "bit of a Salafist" and could be viewed as a jihadi. Salafism is a conservative version of Sunni Islam which is often linked with extremism, The Dutch News relayed.

However, Aboutaleb explained that he viewed Salafism as an effort to live devoutly like the prophet Mohammed. For him, "jihad in its purest form" involved rising at 7 a.m. every day to serve his country.
The spread of the gospel is usually attributed to foreign missionaries, but the story is different on this Asian peninsula.

We tend to think that Christianity entered foreign lands only due to missionary work. Not so in Korea. Until the late 19th century, the mountainous Korean Peninsula was governed tightly by a Confucian tradition and closed off to most foreigners. Missionaries found it difficult to penetrate the reclusive nation, focusing instead on Koreas larger neighbors, China and Japan. Consequently, Koreans themselves played a more significant role in importing and later spreading Christianity to Korea. Three hundred years later, Christians make up more than a quarter of South Koreans and the country is responsible for one of the worlds largest missionary movements. What first caused Christianity to take hold in Korea?

Confucianisms decline

The spread of Christianity in China in the late 1700s made an impression on the Korean elite. Jesuit missionaries distributed philosophical and scientific literature, material that caught the attention of scholars looking to innovate and reform the Confucian system. The application of the teachings of the Chinese sage Confucius (551479 BC), which centered on wisdom and right social relations, had resulted in a remarkably stable society with a highly developed culture. However, it also produced an elitist culture, resistant to the innovations of the modern world and to possibilities of Christianity, which scholars saw as driving Western development.

Among those open to such reforms was aristocrat Yi Seung-hun, who was baptized by a French Jesuit in a Beijing Catholic church in 1784. Upon his return to Korea, Yi baptized several fellow scholars and together they formed the first Christian community in Korea. Today, the Korean Catholic Church is the only national Catholic church that is recognized as founded by a lay community.

However, the Korean authorities refused to tolerate the performance of non-Confucian religious rituals and soon discovered the fledgling church. The government disciplined Yi and several other aristocrats. But the churchs host, Kim Beom-u, who was of a lower social rank, was imprisoned, tortured, and banished. He later died of his injuries, becoming the Korean churchs first martyr.

As the government cracked down, Koreas new converts also faced pressure due to a change in policy of the Catholic Church. In 1790, Korean Christians learned that the pope had forbidden converts to venerate their ancestors according to the Chinese Rites. But such dereliction of duty especially drew the ire of Confucians for whom the veneration of the fathers by the sons was axiomatic for societal well-being. Christians who openly discontinued veneration were not only ostracized from their families but also risked persecution and death.

Despite these difficulties, the first Korean Catholics pressed the bishop to send them a priest (they could not observe mass without one) and in 1795, a Chinese priest was smuggled in. For a time, the priest was protected from authorities by Kang Wan-suk (Columba), a wealthy aristocratic woman, who was divorced by her husband for her evangelistic activities. Kang was part of the Unmarried Virgins, a community of mostly affluent women who refused marriage or otherwise bucked familial societal norms by living in community and practicing celibacy.

But Kangs status only protected her for a short time. She was tortured but refused to disclose the whereabouts of the priest. Later, the government beheaded Kang, as well as the priest and many other church leaders, in what later became known as the Sinyu Persecution of 1801. For the first time, Catholicism itself was officially prohibited nationwide.

Christianity spreads nationwide

Despite being started by aristocratic men, the first Korean Christians understood that the church was for all people. In a society stratified by ancestry and segregated by gender, early Christian communities included women and people of different ranks, and those from outcaste groups. Some aristocrats who converted to Catholicism or were sympathetic to the faith disguised their views, caring for exiled believers by allowing them to live on land they owned in more remote mountain areas or islands. Some of the exiled made their living as potters and itinerant tradespeople who spread the faith by disseminating Catholic literature and religious objects across the country.

The first Korean priest, Kim Dae-geon (Andrew), was ordained in 1845 after receiving religious training in other parts of Asia. However, shortly after re-entering Korea, Kim was discovered with incriminating Korean-language Christian texts and images. The authorities learned that he had been trying to help French priests enter the country from China and he was executed.

News of the incursions of Western powers and spread of Western ideas into China increasingly alarmed the Korean government, driving it to further isolationism and more aggressive suppression of Catholicism. Catholics foreign links also alarmed the government, provoking further crackdowns and deaths. The last officially sanctioned persecution started in 1866 when its estimated that 8,000 people, or half of the Catholic community, were killed. Pope Paul II canonized 103 martyrs when he visited South Korea in 1984.

The rise of the Protestant church

The locals role in the beginning of Koreas Protestant church in the 1880s closely resembled the early days of Catholicism. In addition to starting their own churches, Korean Protestants also lobbied for the entry of Western missionaries and supported their work. The seed had been sown, and the field was ripe already, in a sense, and was waiting for the harvest, wrote one foreign missionary who arrived in the late 19th century.

There were at least two seedbeds of Protestantism in Korea. One was in Uiju, near the modern-day border between North Korea and China. On business in Manchuria, several young Koreans met John Ross and John McIntyre, two Scottish Presbyterian missionaries, who had long been interested in Korea but were unable to enter. The party taught the missionaries the Korean language and helped them translate the Chinese Bible. After they were baptized in the late 1870s, several returned to Uiju and started a church there.

The second seedbed was Sorae, on the west coast, the hometown of one of the first Protestant evangelists, Suh Sang-ryun (18481926). Suh carried copies of a Korean translation of the Gospel of Luke there and began to pastor a group of Korean believers. That community is now regarded as the cradle of Protestant Christianity in Korea, a symbol of the self-supporting, self-governing, and self-propagating nature of Korean Christianity.

By the 1880s, the Confucian order was crumbling and Korean sovereignty was threatened not only by Western powers but also by the rise of Japan. Progressive Koreans sought to modernize the country and pressed for the entry of foreign missionaries to help with medicine and education. Some saw Christianity as the religious or ideological basis of Western society, believing the nation would benefit from a spiritual renewal of the people.

The first Western missionaries to enter Korea officially were Horace Grant Underwood and Henry Gerhard Appenzellerboth from the United States. Underwood, a Northern Presbyterian, and Appenzeller, a Northern Methodist, disembarked together from the same ship in 1885. Many of the first believers they baptized in Seoul were from Sorae.

One Protestant progressive was Yun Chi-ho (18671945), an aristocrat who had become a Christian at the Anglo-Chinese School in Shanghai, while in exile following the failure of a coup in 1884. He explained his desire for baptism was the hope that I may  God willing, live a useful life for myself and my brethren. Yun kept in touch with leaders of the US Methodist Episcopal Church South, which operated the Shanghai School. He urged them to send missionaries and also offered financial support for them.

When Southern Methodist missionaries arrived in 1896, they likened Yun to the man of Macedonia whom the apostle Paul saw in a dream saying Come over to Macedonia and help us. (Acts 16:9). Yun, like many future Christian leaders, regarded Christianity as a new energy for national revival.

Convinced that problems such as invasions by foreign powers and social instability in Korea were connected with the internal weakness of the country itself, Yun believed that the countrys fragility could be overcome by the civic morality and transcendent power of Christianity. In 1910, Yun served as one of the representatives of the native churches at the World Missionary Conference in Edinburgh in 1910 where he testified to the great receptivity of Korea to Christianity.

Despite the efforts of Yun and others, Western missionary numbers were comparatively low in Korea. Moreover, many missionaries did not master the Korean language, so they were dependent on their Korean co-workers for evangelistic work. From the first entry of Protestantism, colporteurs like Suh Sang-ryun sold Christian literature, and from the late 1880s, Korean Christians were engaged by missionaries as helpers to interpret for them, lead Bible studies, and organize churches.

In traditional Korea, male missionaries were prohibited from conversing with Korean women and from gaining access to the anbang, a private room for women in a Korean home. Because of this taboo, the missionary wives initiated womens ministry and Korean female evangelists, or Bible women, played an important role in the early spread of Protestantism. In fact, most of them were wives who had been neglected by their husbands in the patriarchal society of Korea. Nevertheless, they served as role models for modern women through their witness and Christian teaching, which included the principle of equality and the rights of women.

One of the most renowned Bible women was Kim Gang (Dorcas; 1848-?) who later testified that the day that Jesus Christ was preached in Korea began the emancipation of women from the bondage of thousands of years. She first heard the name of Jesus at the age of 50 and she was baptized and received into full church membership in 1899.

She remembered the day of her baptism as the happiest of my life. She explained that until then in Confucian society as a woman she had never been called by her name, only by that of her father, husband, or son, but when freedom had come to me,  I received a name, Dorcas that means deer. Living up to her name, Dorcas was given a preaching circuit of 1,450 miles of mountainous territory. As she walked it, she was sometimes verbally attacked, refused food by local people, and once imprisoned. Despite the opposition, Dorcas continued to evangelize Korea.

The Pyongyang Revival

The Pyongyang Revival or Korean Pentecost in 1907 was a seminal religious movement for Korean Protestant Christianity. Some of you go back to John Calvin, and some of you to John Wesley, but we can go back no further than 1907 when we first really knew the Lord Jesus Christ, Korean Christians were recorded as telling missionaries in 1913.

While spiritual in nature, the revival cannot be understood apart from the political context of the time. The power struggle in East Asia in 1905 was gradually being won by Japan, who defeated China in 1895, and Russia. In 1910, Japan would annex Korea and it would cease to exist as a separate country until the defeat of the Japanese Empire in 1945. The famous revival in 1907 occurred at a time of crisis as the nation was being lost.

Kil Sun-ju (18651935), who was ordained later in 1907 as one of the first ministers of the newly established Presbyterian Church of Korea, was the central leader of the revival. Before he converted to Protestantism, he had been deeply engrossed in Daoist ascetic practices. But, as Korea entered a period of national crisis, Kil grew increasingly cynical about Daoisms ability to help his country, blaming its pessimistic outlook and private spirituality. As foreign powers encroached on Korea, Kil searched for another religion that was socially engaged and offered hope for the future to save the country from its fate.

While losing his sight, Kil was introduced to Christianity by a Christian friend who asked him whether he could pray to God as father. Kil answered, How could man call God Father? But three days later, while praying, he heard a mysterious voice call his name three times. Kil was afraid and prostrated himself, crying out, God the Father who loves me, forgive my sin and save my life! After his conversion, Kil became an ardent Christian, church elder, and a Korean nationalist leader.

The Pyongyang Revival broke out in Kils church, Jangdaehyeon Church, after Kil publicly confessed his personal sin to church members. I am a man of Achans sin, he cried, referencing Joshua 7:18, and hundreds of others followed his example of repentance and forgiveness to save their souls and the nation. Kil and others preached across the country as the revival spread further to China and Manchuria. The religious movement also took on political overtones and became increasingly associated with Korean nationalism. Kil was one of the key leaders in the Independence Movement of March 1, 1919, against the Japanese colonization of the country.

The revival had lasting effects on Korean Christianity and on Korea. Indigenous Christian rituals such as sagyeonhoe (Bible study and the Bible-examining meetings), saebyoek gido (dawn prayer meetings), and tongseong gido (collective audible prayer) were formulated as part of Protestant practice. Korean Christian leaders led nationwide educational movements with the vision of making Korea a Christian nation.

The Great Revival transformed Protestantism from a foreign religion to a new national religion, laying the foundation for the most remarkable church growth in Asia in the 20th century and positioning South Korea as a global center of Christianity.

Kirsteen Kim is professor of theology and world Christianity at Fuller Theological Seminary. Her many publications include A History of Korean Christianity (Cambridge University Press, 2015) which was co-authored with her husband, Sebastian C. H. Kim.

Hoon Ko is a PhD candidate in intercultural studies at Fuller Theological Seminary researching how Korean Protestant preachers contributed to national revival from 1884 to 1919.
With the help of World Vision, more than 250 South Sudanese children will have the chance to return to school, reunite with their families, and receive counseling after years of being forced to serve as soldiers and domestic workers during their countrys civil war.

The New York Times reported this week that 87 girls and 224 boys were freed in the second-largest release by armed groups since the conflict began, and several hundred more are expected to transition in the coming weeks.

World Vision, which has worked in South Sudan since 1989 and currently reaches 1 million people displaced by the conflict, received the children on Wednesday and will oversee their recovery and reunification.

We are particularly concerned about a number of the girls being released who have experienced sexual or gender-based violence, said Mesfin Loha, interim national director at World Vision South Sudan. We will get them the support so they have a sense of hope again.

With high levels of poverty, widespread displacement, and lack of education (70 percent of South Sudanese children are not in schoolthe highest proportion in the world), youth in what World Vision ranks as the worlds most fragile state are particularly vulnerable targets for the armed groups.

The United Nations has coordinated the release of almost 2,000 of 19,000 children recruited and kidnapped since the civil war began in 2013.

World Visions reintegration program gets support from the UN Childrens Fund, or UNICEF. Moving forward, World Vision case workers in the city of Yambio will work with children in recovery, offer school and vocational training, and provide interim care for those unable to locate their families.

South Sudans children have already seen and experienced unimaginable violence. It is jeopardizing the countrys next generation, Loha said. These initiatives will help children have the opportunity to earn income in the future and help them navigate away from returning to the conflict.

South Sudan gained independence in 2011, making it the youngest nation in the world. Though the central African country is about 60 percent Christian, it still ranks among the worst places for Christian persecution (this year it was No. 4).

In initial news coverage following this weeks release, teens described their responsibilities as bodyguards, lookouts, and fighters, traumatized by the killings they witnessed. Most said they had been kidnapped and forced into one of the warring factions, the South Sudan National Liberation Movement or the Sudan Peoples Liberation Army-in-Opposition.

Child abduction is always in areas of cattle raids particularly between a tribe called Murle in Pibor. When this people go to raid cattle of the Nuer and Dinka, they end up stealing children as well, said Edward Dima, president of the Baptist Convention of South Sudan, who has fled to Uganda amid the conflict.

I pray for peace to be restored in the country to stamp out some of those practices.

Beyond those recruited by fighters, multitudes more have witnessed and suffered during the five-year civil war. The UN reports that 1 million children in South Sudan will require psychological support due to the emotional impact of conflict, loss of family members, separation, and displacement.

Christians serving in areas of active conflict have served as resources for trauma counseling, and faith has been shown to help survivors build resilience rather than despair in the wake of terror and violence.

At the same time, South Sudan has suffered food and water shortages as a result of the war. Last month, UNICEF estimated that a quarter million children were at risk of imminent death due to malnutrition.

In 2017, aid workers with evangelical charity Samaritans Purse were kidnapped by armed rebels and later released. Fighters regularly use violence against workers and try to block distributions.

The South Sudan Council of Churches has continued to pray for peace and ask for humanitarian assistance.

In 2015, CT traveled to South Sudan with World Vision president and CEO Richard Stearns to see first-hand why Christians remain hopeful about the worlds most fragile state.
M V Tronson thinks it is a good time to remind ourselves of the situation at that time.

What was the Evian Conference - to have an Australian Senator, 73 years later, call for an apology by the Australian Government?

Wikipedia describes it as: "The Avian Conference was convened at the initiative of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt in July 1938 to discuss the issue of increasing numbers of Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi persecution. For eight days, representatives from thirty-one countries met at Avian-les-Bains, France. Twenty-four voluntary organizations also attended, as observers, many of whom presented plans orally and in writing. Journalists came from all over the world to observe 'how the world reacted to the brutal German crushing of the rights and lives of fellow human beings.'"

What part did Australia play in the Evian Conference?

Australia had three delegates: Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas W. White, DFC, VD, MP, Minister for Trade and Customs; Alfred Thorpe Stirling, Australian liaison officer in the Foreign Office, London; and A. W. Stuart-Smith, Australia House, London.

At that conference, Thomas White stated: "It will no doubt be appreciated also that as we have no real racial problem, we are not desirous of importing one by encouraging any scheme of large-scale foreign migration "

Senator Barnett in his 2011 speech said: "It is a matter of national shame that White's statement on behalf of the government of Australia is still visible at the Yad Vashem holocaust memorial in Jerusalem as the single representative response for all other nations' responses of indifference at the Evian Conference and is viewed by thousands of tourists annually."

However, he did admit that a few months later after the infamous Kristallnacht when Nazis burned Jewish synagogues, businesses and books, that Australia did reassess its policy to admit 15,000 refugees over three years, compared to the previous quota of 1,800 per year. Perhaps, on reflection, this was still not enough, but progress was made.

His speech follows one by Kevin Rudd, Australia's Foreign Minister, who had expressed regret for Australia's initial refusal to open our doors to those fleeing Nazi persecution at anaddress to the Australia-Israel Leadership Forum in Jerusalem, December 2010.

However, the original statement of the Evian conference remains on the public forum.

Mark Tronson has been to the Yad Vashem holocaust memorial in Jerusalem and explained how he held his head in shame as he read White's words as the Australian position on this issue. He noted how he tried to use his body to cover up the words so passers bye would not read his own nation's sin of omission.

Senator Guy Barnett further stated: "I do not believe that Australia has gone far enough to formally and deliberately apologise for those offensive and insensitive comments..

"I ask the foreign minister to express regret and an apology on his next visit to Israel as foreign minister or, indeed, as part of the next Australia-Israel Leadership Forum.

" The formal apology should also be acknowledged on a plaque and presented to the Yad Vashem holocaust memorial in Jerusalem for public display"

However, Mark Tronson stated, Australia wasn't the only one.

Ultimately the conference was a failure, at least from the point of view of the Jews and their sympathisers, with both the United States and Britain refusing to take in substantial numbers of Jews. Most of the countries at the conference followed suit, the result being that the Jews had no escape and were ultimately subject to what was known as Hitler's "Final Solution to the Jewish Question". The conference was seen by some as an exercise in Anglo-American collaborative hypocrisy.

In her autobiography My Life (1975), Golda Meir, former Prime Minister of Israel, described her outrage being in "the ludicrous capacity of the [Jewish] observer from Palestine, not even seated with the delegates, although the refugees under discussion were my own people...."

After the conference Meir told the press: "There is only one thing I hope to see before I die and that is that my people should not need expressions of sympathy any more."

Chaim Weizmann who later became the first President of Israel elected 1 February 1949, was quoted in The Manchester Guardian after the Evian conference (1938) as saying: "The world seemed to be divided into two parts  those places where the Jews could not live and those where they could not enter."

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89vian_Conference

German Chancellor Adolf Hitler responded to the news of the conference by saying essentially that if the other nations would agree to take the Jews, he would help them leave. We do not know if he would have ever honoured his promise, as the world did not take him up on his offer. But certainly, for a short time, Jews were given passes to leave Germany.

Many Jewish children were sent by their desperate parents, unaccompanied, to England on one refugee program called the Kindertransports, which started in 1938. Experiences such as these are recorded in the autobiography of renowned scientist Leslie Baruch Brent, and reviewed here: www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMbkrev0902954

By the time the Western world started to realise the seriousness of the problem and had agreed to take refugees, Hitler had changed his policy and was interring the Jews in what he called 'work camps', treating them as criminals (along with as gypsies, mentally ill people, homosexuals, some academics with progressive ideas and others he regarded as a danger to society), and not allowing them to leave.

Subsequently Hitler and the Nazi's introduced the Final Solution. Six million European Jews were exterminated. Many historians and commentators believe that the world's collective guilt was the well-spring of support in 1948 by the United Nations for the establishment of the State of Israel.

Today, many Christians associate the 1948 establishment of Israel as part of the economy of God. Mark Tronson discusses this in an article published in Christian Today (24 March 2010) titled "Theology and History", the sixth in a series he wrote on Israel and Prophecy.

au.christiantoday.com/article/israel-series-6-theology-and-history/7859.htm
10 things to know about Giorgio de Chirico

The maverick Italian artist  who claimed to be the only man to have truly understood Nietzsche  was adored by the Surrealists, an influence on Hopper and Hitchcock, and loved by Warhol. Illustrated with works previously sold at Christies

1

He was from the city where the mythical Argonauts set sail

Giorgio de Chirico (1888-1978) was born to Italian parents in the coastal Greek city of Volos, where his father was employed as a railway engineer. In Greek myth, it was from Volos that Jason and the Argonauts had set out in search of the Golden Fleece. Although he would leave Greece as a boy, the country's classical history left a deep impression on him. Over the course of his career, Greek myth was a regular source of artistic inspiration. The final embrace of the Trojan prince Hector and his wife Andromache  before Hector fatally took on Achilles in solo combat  was a moment de Chirico turned to again and again.

2

Nietzsche was a huge inspiration

As a young man, de Chirico studied art in Munich and absorbed the late-Romantic style of Arnold Bocklin, with its air of mysterious, dreamlike melancholy. As significant an influence on him as any painter, though, was the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. In a letter to a friend in 1910, de Chirico declared, Im the only man to have truly understood Nietzsche  all of my work demonstrates this. The German had argued that man was an outsider in a godless world of alien and senseless things, where there are no obvious truths.

3

He was a surrealist before the Surrealists

De Chirico made his name with works (from 1910 onwards) dotted with seemingly unconnected and out-of-scale objects. These disquieting images also boasted a deliberately distorted perspective and, according to the Tate, captured a visionary world of the mind, beyond physical reality.

They came to be known as examples of a style called Pittura Metafisica (metaphysical painting) and would be a major influence on the Surrealists a decade or so later. The poet Guillaume Apollinaire hailed de Chirico as the most astonishing painter of our times.

4

He volunteered for military service in World War I  but wasnt accepted

Italy joined the Allied side in World War I in 1915, and de Chirico was stationed in the northern city of Ferrara. The major of the regiment to which he was assigned, however, felt hed be better suited to an office role. One advantage was that he could continue painting, and it was in this period that he introduced one of his best-known motifs: the mannequin. These have been interpreted in a variety of ways  by some, for example, as a suggestion that humans are little more than purposeless, empty-headed automata. Whatever their precise meaning, the mannequins added to the atmosphere of unease in de Chiricos pictures.

5

He was a highly-rated novelist

De Chirico wasnt an artist in any doubt about his own ability. He was known to sign paintings with the words Optimus Pictor  Latin for the best painter. In his seventies, looking back on his career, he said he saw consistent progress, a regular and persistent march towards those summits of mastery which were achieved only by a few consummate artists of the past. His talents also extended to literature, and his (only) novel, Hebdomeros, is regarded as an important Surrealist work.

6

A revelation in front of Titian transformed his art

At the end of the First World War, de Chirico moved to Rome. During a visit to the citys Borghese Gallery, he recorded having an epiphany of what great painting was in front of Titians masterpiece, Sacred and Profane Love. He duly turned his back on the avant-garde and looked to the Old Masters for inspiration. A good example of this shift can be seen in 1920s Piazza d'Italia (Mercurio e i metafisici). Unlike his Metaphysical scenes, which had been set at sunset, this is bathed in a warm, Mediterranean daylight  and observes traditional rules of perspective. In a piece of classical composition, the two main figures (the horse on the left and the naked man with a spear on the right) form an invisible triangle with the central tower.

7

He developed a penchant for Italian stallions

In the early 1920s, de Chirico visited Romes museums regularly and took to executing pastiches of Renaissance works by the likes of Raphael, Carpaccio and Lorenzo Lotto. He also began studying tempera and panel painting. His newfound fondness for the past even, it seemed, filtered through to his choice of wife: a Russian archaeologist, called Raissa Gourevitch Krol. Three new sets of subjects started appearing in his art around this time: Roman gladiators; horses on beaches; and himself, in self-portraits for which de Chirico often wore period costumes from centuries past.

8

He designed sets for the Ballets Russes

In the late 1920s, de Chirico was invited by the impresario Sergei Diaghilev to design sets for his dance company, the Ballets Russes. Theres an air of the stage-set about a number of de Chiricos paintings from this period, too. Showing he hadnt completely abandoned his affinity for the surreal, they often feature landscapes within a room.

9

He enjoyed repeating his greatest hits

In the latter decades of his career, de Chirico started making sculptures in terracotta and bronze. He also repeated  or, as its sometimes put, re-elaborated  many of the paintings from his metaphysical days. One example was 1918s Le Muse inquietante (The Disquieting Muses), set against a backdrop of Ferraras Castello Estense, to which he returned on more than 20 occasions. Such works divided critical opinion, but among their fans was Andy Warhol  an artist well-known for a practice of repeating his own images. The American hailed de Chirico as someone with whom he had so much in common that, I felt I had known him for ever. In homage, Warhol produced his own (silkscreen) takes on The Disquieting Muses in 1982: The Disquieting Muses (After de Chirico).

10

From Hopper to Hitchcock, his influence ranged far and wide

In 1978, de Chirico passed away in Rome, aged 90. By that point, his impact had been felt right across Western culture: most obviously on the Surrealists, but also Edward Hopper and numerous film-makers. Unsettlingly deserted cityscapes were a motif adopted by Hitchcock, Antonioni, Fritz Lang and a host of science-fiction directors.
A brief history of decorative silver in 13 objects

From an intricately worked 15th-century spoon to an elegantly simple Georg Jensen jug, via a Rococo sugar box made by the greatest silversmith of the 18th century. Harry Williams-Bulkeley, International Head of Silver, is your guide

1

The Wodewose spoon, circa 1440

Although early spoons are now rather rare, it was once common for any wealthy British person to own their own silver spoon which they would take with them on their travels. Because of the intrinsic value of the metal, outmoded or damaged examples were routinely melted down to be used in the making of other objects. This was particularly the case during Englands Civil War (1642-51) and Commonwealth (1649-60) periods, so that very little British silver pre-dating 1660 remains.

This Henry VI-era spoon is a very rare and very early example that once belonged to Sir Arthur Evans, the archaeologist who excavated the ancient palace of Knossos. It came to us from the Benson Collection, which Christies sold in 2013. What makes this spoon particularly special is the Wodewose finial. Wodewose is the Middle English term for a man of the woods, also known as a wild man or a green man. The archetypal figure is often seen in wood carvings and engravings, but this is a very early example as a finial. If you look closely you can see the hallmark  a small head of a leopard  stamped into the bowl of the spoon, which gives us an idea of the objects date. The hallmarking process was introduced in 1300 and the leopards head was used as the kings heraldic device.

2

An Elizabeth I silver communion cup, 1562

This engraved communion cup is typical of Elizabethan silver, and is impressive for its craftsmanship. Rather than being cast from a mould, it would have been raised from a single piece of sheet metal  a large circle or lump of silver, which the silversmith would have planished (flattened) out, before slowly hammering it up into a bucket shape. This would then have been heated until it was white hot, plunged into acid to soften it, and then hammered again. The process would have been repeated thousands of times.

An Elizabeth I silver communion cup, maker's mark indistinct, apparently an incuse flower-head, London, 1562. 8 in high (20 cm). Sold for 7,500 on 8 July 2014 at Christies in London, South Kensington

The final stages would have seen it hammered more carefully and smoothed down with whats called a water-of-Ayr stone  a very fine pumice stone. It's a method that is still in use for the production of hollow pieces today.

3

An Elizabeth I silver-gilt mounted ostrich egg cup and cover, 1590

The Tudors had a fascination with exotic materials such as ostrich eggs and coconuts, both of which were great rarities. The extraordinary thing about this particular object, known as the Whitfield Cup, is that it was sold alongside a painting by Pieter Gerritsz van Roestraten of around 1670, which depicted it in a traditional still life. The finest objects were treasured by the Tudors almost as relics  the cup would have been displayed at a banquet as an expression of wealth, but probably would not have been used. It's a complete contrast to the Elizabethan communion cup (above) in its extravagance. It is gilded, which would have been an additional expense  silver-gilt was often used to give the impression that a piece had been fashioned from gold, which was in reality too soft and too costly to be practicable. To achieve the desired finish the silversmith would create an amalgam of gold and mercury, paint it onto the silver, and then fire it. In the furnace the mercury would evaporate and the gold would fuse with the silver. It was a poisonous process, and is today illegal.

4

A Charles I silver ewer, 1635

Although the Charles I ewer below was dug up from a field in Dorset in the south of England, it was discovered in an extraordinary state of preservation and in need of only slight restoration. Its clean, almost minimal form is representative of much of the silver of the Commonwealth period.

It also serves as a reminder that silver itself is currency. The ewer might easily have been converted into cash if it had been taken to a moneylender, who would have paid out according to its weight. Had its owner commissioned something more ornate, the expense spent on decoration would have been lost when it came to be traded and melted down.

5

A Charles II silver porringer, 1676

With the restoration of the monarchy in England in 1660, people became more inclined to spend money on ornamentation again. This porringer (a two-handled vessel from which one could drink soup or eat stew, and an everyday object of the time) crafted in silver is a particularly fine example.

Its decoration is typical of the period, being heavily influenced by the Dutch style  a consequence of Charles IIs court having being exiled in the Netherlands. You can see this in the wonderful chased and repousse decoration of tulips and foliage.

6

The Bingley-Walpole wine coolers, 1713

Made during the reign of Queen Anne (1665-1714), these silver wine coolers were loaned to Robert Benson, 1st Baron Bingley, who was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary to Spain in December 1713. The monarchs representatives were provided with silver as emblems of their nations wealth. Benson never visited Spain, and returned most of his silver to the Royal Jewel House some years later.

The wine coolers, or ice-pails, were reissued in 1724  once the arms had been changed to those of George I  to Horatio Walpole, younger brother of the British Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole, when he was appointed to the British embassy in Paris. Walpole was allowed to keep them.

7

A pair of George II silver tea caddies by Paul de Lamerie, 1744

Paul de Lamerie was from a family of French Huguenots who sought refuge in London from religious persecution, and is regarded as the greatest silversmith to have worked in England in the 18th century. Besides members of the British aristocracy, his clients included Tsarinas Anna and Catherine of Russia, and King John V of Portugal.

This silver sugar box is a beautiful example of rococo decoration, its depiction of exotic landscapes and foliage evidence of the fashion for Chinoiserie that developed as a result of the opening up of trade routes.

8

The Rosebery wine cistern, 1773

Toward the end of the 18th century the influence of Neoclassism began to take hold  the Rosebery wine cistern, made for the third Earl of Rosebery, is one of the greatest examples of this style. Its an object that is considered to be slightly out of period because silver wine cisterns on this scale were very much a late 17th/early 18th-century form.

Traditionally a wine cistern would be filled with ice in order to cool bottles, although Queen Victoria was known to user hers as a punchbowl. At 34 inches (86 cm) wide, this one is very large, and architectural in style, with restrained ornament confined to the spirally-fluted foot and the drapery swags applied to the shoulders of the elliptical bowl.

9

The Duke of York centrepiece, 1824

What really sets Regency period silver apart is its quality. It was a period that saw the advent of vast workshops employing up to 1,000 workers using new manufacturing techniques, and a strong French influence. The masterpieces of the time are hugely heavy, often gilded and very sculptural, such as this candelabra depicting Hercules and the Hydra.

It was made by Edward Farrell for the Prince Regents (later George IV) brother, the Duke of York. Together the British royals were the most influential collectors and patrons of silver in the first quarter of the 19th century.

10

The Queens Cup, Ascot, 1861

Its difficult to choose a single object to represent Victorian silver because the period produced such an eclectic mix of styles. The industrial revolution brought new manufacturing techniques, which made it possible to create both larger and smaller objects more economically. Heralded by the development of Sheffield plate in the 18th century by Matthew Boulton, and the use of electroplating by Elkington & Co. in 1840, silver became more widely available to all.

A great number of extraordinary trophies were commissioned during this period, such as the Queens Cup, above, designed by Edmund Cotterill using the American West as a theme. The elaborate composition featuring Native Americans hunting bison allows the artist to show off his skills in creating what is essentially an Italian Renaissance form topped with a Victorian sculpture.

11

A Victorian electroplated and glass claret jug by Christopher Dresser, 1879

Christopher Dresser was an extraordinary, incredibly forward-looking designer who completely re-evaluated objects, stripping away meaningless decoration and ornament, as exemplified by the jug below.

There was a multiplicity of influences at play in the design of silverware during the 19th century  Gothic, Medieval and Renaissance Revival, another Rococo Revival, and sometimes all of these mixed together. In that context, this unusual example of form following function seems even more remarkable.

12

A Georg Jensen silver jug designed by Henning Koppel, 1952

The Georg Jensen jug below is another example of form following function, in this instance within the broader context of modernism. Henning Koppel (1918-81) originally trained as a sculptor but became one of Georg Jensens leading designers after joining the company in 1946. Blending strict functionalism with organic shapes, he made it his mission to make everyday objects beautiful as well as practical.

13

Silver Beakers by Rauni Higson, 2018

Rauni Higson is a part-Finnish silversmith who works in North Wales, and whose work Christies has sold online. Her highly sculptural work is characterised by organic forms and a focus on surface texture.
First look: The Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale

Outstanding works by Edgar Degas, Claude Monet and Pablo Picasso to be highlights of the London auction on 27 February

On 27 February, Christies Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale in London will include standout pieces by Edgar Degas, Claude Monet and Pablo Picasso. Degas Dans les coulisses, thought to have been executed between 1882 and 1885, is a snapshot of life at the opera in the midst of a modernising Paris; Monets Prairie a Giverny, executed around the same time, attests to the vitality of rural France in the face of technological change; Picassos Le coq saigne, painted in France more than 60 years later, may be read as an attempt to work through the traumatic events of the Second World War. Perhaps no other artist is as closely associated with the performance arts as Degas. Dans les coulisses transports the viewer to the world of the Paris Opera, which opened to great acclaim in 1875. Degas was a frequent visitor, and the Opera became one of his favoured subjects.

As Dans les coulisses attests, it was not the stage but the wings that fascinated Degas. Here he could capture dancers waiting to go onstage, their unselfconscious poses far more expressive than their practised routines. And he could depict the shadowy figures known as the abonnes : male members of Frances elite who, after paying a subscription fee, enjoyed unrestricted backstage access. Dans les coulisses brings the viewer directly alongside one of these men, who stands in extreme proximity to a blonde-haired girl who is about to perform. The flat plane forces the figures into the extreme foreground in an unequivocally modern composition. Although they are not overtly interacting, something about the pairs closeness alludes to a more intimate acquaintance. This visual ambiguity characterises the greatest of Degas works, and his radical pictorial construction  extreme cropping, audacious viewpoints and often theatrical staging  charges these everyday views with subversive meaning. From the 1880s, Degas increasingly left oil paint behind, preferring the immediacy of pastel. With pastel, he could perfectly convey the fragmentary nature of life in the modernising metropolis, and the inherently ephemeral quality of opera life.

After moving to Giverny in 1883, Claude Monet consistently sought inspiration in his new surroundings. Perhaps the most frequent motif he explored during this period was the expanse of pasture known as La Prairie, which he captured en plein air in virtually every season, tracing the annual cycle of growth and harvest that characterised this corner of rural France. In Prairie a Giverny, painted in 1885, the meadow that fills the lower half of the composition is rendered in thickly impastoed, richly coloured strokes of paint, while the profiles of the towering poplars in the middle ground are captured using short diagonal strokes. Focusing on the life cycle of the field and its surrounding trees, Prairie a Giverny is an important precursor to two of Monets most celebrated series of paintings from the 1890s: the Haystacks and the Poplars. There is a distinct sense of spontaneity in Prairie a Giverny, the brushstrokes suggesting the speed with which Monet sought to capture the fleeting effects of light. In this way, the work asserts Monets renewed dedication to Impressionism at a time when many of the movements pioneering members were abandoning it. The lush foliage also stands as a testament to the health of Frances agrarian traditions in the face of political, cultural and technological developments.
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AKRON, Ohio -- An Akron firefighter is accused of shooting a man in the shoulder during a domestic incident, police said.

Enrique Green, 31, is charged with felonious assault in the Feb. 2 incident at a house on McKinley Avenue near Hammel Street, police said in a news release.

He turned himself in Friday at the Akron Police Department. His arraignment is scheduled Saturday in Akron Municipal Court.

Green, who has been with the Akron Fire Department for six years, is currently on paid administrative leave, police said.

Green was visiting a woman just before 4 a.m. when her ex-boyfriend showed up. The two men argued, and the 28-year-old ex-boyfriend grabbed a brick and tried to throw it at Green, police said.

Green fired a shot at the ex-boyfriend that struck him in the shoulder, police said.

The ex-boyfriend drove himself to Summa Akron City Hospital for treatment.

Akron Municipal Court records do not show any criminal charges filed against the ex-boyfriend in connection with the incident.

Green has a valid permit to carry a concealed weapon, police said.

To comment on this story, visit Friday's crime and courts comments page.
AKRON, Ohio - An Akron high school student was arrested Thursday when authorities found a loaded gun in his locker, police said.

The 15-year-old boy is charged with inducing panic, carrying a concealed weapon and illegal conveyance of a firearm in a school in the incident at Buchtel Community Learning Center.

Another student went home just after 1:15 p.m. and told a parent that the boy had a gun in his locker, police said. The parent called a school administrator, and the administrator informed the school's resource officer.

The school was put on Safe School Watch while the resource officer identified the student and found the loaded 9mm handgun in his locker, police said.

The student, and any others who may have been involved in the incident, will also face disciplinary hearings at school, Akron Public Schools spokesman Mark Williamson said.

Classes are not interrupted when the school is on Safe School Watch. Entrances are secured and no one is allowed in or out of the building, Williamson said.

To comment on this story, visit Friday's crime and courts comments page.
AKRON, Ohio -- This week, Jobs for Ohio's Graduates marked 30 years of helping area young people prepare for the workforce. The organization, which operates in Summit, Medina and Stark counties, has plenty to celebrate.

The non-profit group has been awarded a $75,000 United Way of Summit County Bold Goals grant to support and expand its work in the public schools. It is also launching a new out-of-school program for young immigrants who have not achieved high-school equivalency since coming to the United States.

JOG has a proven track record for helping young people graduate and get jobs. For 23 years, the group has met or exceeded national stands set by Job's for America's Graduates. Those standards include a 90 percent graduation rate, with 80 percent of those young people working, studying in post-secondary schools or enlisted in the military. Of the young people who are working, 60 percent were employed full-time a year after graduation.

The organization, located in the North Hill neighborhood, offers a "coffee-shop feel" for the youth it serves. They range from about 16-24 years old, said Executive Director Chris Canova.

They're mostly juniors and seniors in the Akron Public Schools who need additional support achieving high school equivalency because of lower GPAs or high absenteeism. Most of the work is done during the school day, but some services have been provided for out-of-school youth.

JOG's employees, most with either education or social work degrees, are "career specialists" who identify the specific challenges of their clients.

"We identify barriers to graduation, so if it's reading we help them learn to read," Canova said. "Our career specialist is often a broker of services. If we can't help them we identify who can."

The support JOG provides runs the gamut, but much of it centers on helping young people learn skills like how to fill out a resume, use public transportation and set up a bank account. Supportive services are also available, such as transportation and childcare, with the goal always toward success in the workforce.

"We can be the person they turn to, if they have nobody," he said.

The $75,000 United Way Bold Goal grant will allow the group to reach more students. United Way has four Bold Goals. Bold Goal 2 -- to help 90 percent of Akron Public Schools students graduate in four years, with 60 percent college or career ready -- aligns with JOG's work.

"We'll be ramping up in-school services," said JOG Operations Manager Rob Whitmer. "This allows us to serve more kids with the services we've been offering for 30 years."

The organization also will launch a program to address one of its biggest challenges -- reaching youth in Akron's immigrant populations, which rarely seek assistance from community services, Canova said.

By mid-February a new program will be launched for young immigrants who didn't continue their education after they came to the U.S. Details of the program are being worked out, but the goal will be to help them earn their high school equivalency and get the training they need to enter the workforce.

JOG has already hired a Nepali career specialist to assist with the youth and families of one of Akron's largest immigrant populations, but the program will serve immigrants, and their families, of any origin.

"All populations come to our doors, and our doors are always open," Canova said.

Jobs for Ohio's Graduates is located at 55 E. Cuyahoga Falls Ave. in Akron. For information about its programs, call 3390-374-9445 or visit the website.

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CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Since the start of the state's shale gas revolution, Northeast Ohio's Columbia Gas of Ohio customers have paid much higher prices than their friends and relatives served by Dominion Energy Ohio.

It's as if the ultra-low-priced shale gas from Southeast Ohio could not get into Columbia's pipelines. That's because most of it could not.

And what shale gas that did get to Columbia could not be easily moved throughout the utility's system, say analysts, Ohio gas producers, and the company itself.

Now that's beginning to change. New or redirected long-distance pipelines are beginning to move Ohio and Pennsylvania shale gas from east to west and even out of the state. Some of that gas is going into Columbia's Ohio system.

Within the year, Columbia anticipates that its suppliers will be able to source up to one-third of the gas it delivers in Ohio from Appalachian shale wells, said Mike Andersen, director of Columbia's supply development.

Prices will creep slightly higher in the coming years for Dominion customers and will fall some for Columbia customers, though today the price gap between the two systems is still significant.

And even with more shale gas flowing into Columbia's pipelines, the price to consumers may never be as low as what Dominion charges because Dominion has significant underground gas storage in Ohio, while Columbia must rely on interstate pipeline companies for storage

The evidence for the price changes came in the latest state-monitored auctions each utility uses to choose the lowest priced suppliers for their residential customers who do not want to sign long-term contracts or who don't like government aggregation programs.

The utilities serve those customers with a program called the Standard Choice Offer, or SCO. The independent gas suppliers that survive each utility's annual mid-winter auction agree to charge consumers the same price in the coming year.

It's a monthly variable price. The utility sets this price by adding a fixed amount to the price set at the end of every month on the New York Mercantile Exchange, where gas contracts are traded right along side oil and other commodities.

Beginning in April and going forward through March 2019, Columbia will set its monthly SCO by adding $1.23 to the April NYMEX price set at the end the previous month.

A $1.23 is 22 cents less than the $1.45 Columbia has been adding to the monthly commodity price over the past year.

The auction that determines how much is added to the commodity price ends when bidders who cannot afford a lower amount begin dropping out, meaning the utility would have an inadequate amount of gas.

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, which had staff monitoring the auction, approved the $1.23 "adder" last week and will identify the winning suppliers later this month after they have contracted for the gas.

The PUCO this week reviewed Dominion's supplier auction results and ordered Dominion, beginning in April, to add 7 cents to the monthly NYMEX price.

That's 7 cents above the commodity price for Dominion residential customers versus $1.23 above the commodity price for Columbia customers, about 17 times higher.

The gap has been wider.

For the last year, Dominion has added 0 cents to the monthly NYMEX price. And in the previous year, the utility subtracted 5 cents from the monthly commodity price.

How could suppliers deliver the gas below market prices? They could do that because they were not paying the national price. The cost of gas in western Pennsylvania and in eastern Ohio has been well below national prices because of the glut of gas here without access to inter-state pipelines.

Jeff Murphy, Dominion's vice president for state regulations, said the slight increases in the auction prices over the last couple of years are "largely attributable to additional pipeline capacity in the region, which has given producers more options in selling their gas."

Even the slightly higher price won the praise of the Ohio Consumers' Counsel whose spokesman Dan Doron said the price "continues to be a conservative option for saving money..." when compared to contract offers from suppliers.

Columbia customers who realize how much more they are paying than Dominion customers are not happy and often call the newspaper. Ohio shale gas producers who want to move some of the shale gas glut directly into Columbia's system are also unhappy.

William Kinney, a long-time gas producer and chairman of an Ohio Oil and Gas Association committee working with Dominion and Columbia to build pipeline interconnections said eight years of talks "have not been fruitful."

"We have had half a dozen meetings and have identified interconnection points. Dominion wants to do it. There are a lot of Columbia customers who could benefit," he said.

Anderson said the company "left the door open for discussions."

"We do have ongoing discussions with Dominion. The last one was in November, looking at an area [for an interconnection] in Eastern Ohio. For a couple of reasons it just did not work for us," he said.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Ohio Supreme Court on Friday upheld the death sentence of Richard Beasley, who posted fake job offers on Craigslist to lure men for him to rob and kill.

Beasley, 58, teamed up with a teenager to use the free classified ad website to put up postings promising jobs on a southeastern Ohio farm. He killed Ralph Geiger, David Pauley and Timothy Kern. He also shot Scott Davis, who survived.

A Summit County judge sentenced him to death in 2013.

The Ohio Supreme Court voted 7-0 that the evidence presented at trial was enough for a jury to convict him and that any errors he alleged either were not errors or were harmless.

The justices also voted 6-1 that the death sentence was appropriate. Then-Justice Bill O'Neill was the lone dissenter, relying on a dissent he wrote in a previous case that said the death penalty is unconstitutional.

"Without question, the aggravating circumstances in this case, Beasley's murder of three individuals as part of a single course of conduct, outweigh the mitigating factors beyond a reasonable doubt," Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor wrote for the majority.

Despite his death sentences being upheld, the Ohio Supreme Court sent Beasley's case back to Summit County, ruling the judge did not take the proper steps when sentencing Beasley for his noncapital convictions.

Donald Gallick, Beasley's attorney, acknowledged that fighting death penalty cases in Ohio is difficult. Even designating the re-sentencing as a small victory would be "a bit of an overstatement," he said.

He said Beasley will likely ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review his case.

Brogan Rafferty, Beasley's co-defendant who was 16 years old at the time of the killings, is serving life in prison.

If you would like to comment on this story, please visit Friday's crime and courts comments section.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A Cleveland woman watching television on the couch was injured Thursday when someone fired several bullets into a home on the city's West Side.

The shooting happened shortly after midnight at a house on West 95th Street south of Madison Avenue in the Cudell neighborhood, according to a Cleveland police report.

A bullet struck the 53-year-old woman in the buttocks and traveled through her body before exiting through her abdomen. She was taken to MetroHealth, where police were told that she would be released later on Thursday, the report says.

The woman was watching TV in the living room when she heard four to six gunshots and felt pain in her lower body. Her daughter called police once they realized the woman was shot, a Cleveland police report says.

The woman's son told police that a man carrying a gun on his hip had visited him at the house that night. The man argued with him and walked outside moments before the shots were fired, the report says.

Investigators found two bullet holes in living room walls, and four bullet holes upstairs, the report says.

Police haven't announced any arrests in the case.

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TOLEDO, Ohio -- Nearly $5 million in Bitcoin, gold and silver bars, and coins were seized from an apartment by federal authorities in a case involving the production of false identification cards, reports say.

Mark Alex Simon, 34, of Toledo, appeared in federal court Thursday on 17 charges of transferring false identification documents and forgery, the Associated Press reports. He is being held in the Lucas County jail on a $5 million bond.

Sarah M. Alberts, 34, was arrested Thursday and charged with engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, conspiracy, money laundering, and manufacturing fake identification cards, according to the Toledo Blade. She is expected to appear in court Friday morning.

The Blade reports an affidavit filed Tuesday by the U.S. Secret Service in U.S. District Court shows agents found $4.7 million in Bitcoin in 30 "wallets" on a USB thumb drive.

Also taken from the apartment were 18 gold coins, more than 200 silver coins, 21 gold and silver bars, $7,000 in U.S. currency, computers and cellphones, and identifications not related to Simon.

Authorities began investigating Simon in October 2015, the AP reports. A bar in Springfield, Ohio, reported receiving several fake IDs.

To comment on this story, please visit Thursday's crime and courts comments page.
WASHINGTON - A brief government funding lapse ended Friday morning with a 240-186 House of Representatives vote on a $400 billion bipartisan spending bill that will add to federal debt by channeling more money into domestic and military programs.

Although the government was technically shut down between the midnight expiration of the last government funding measure and the new one's early morning adoption, the closure ended so quickly that it's not expected to cause problems.

The U.S. Senate approved the measure after midnight by a 71 to 28 margin with support from Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman and Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown. The vote was delayed by stalling from Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul, who objected that the bill will add more than $300 billion to the federal budget deficit.

The measure then passed the House with backing from most of its Republicans and a sizeable chunk of Democrats, including all from Ohio. Most Democrats who voted against the bill did so to back Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi's effort to secure a separate immigration policy vote.

A statement from Toledo Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur said she voted for the bill to avoid "another prolonged, needless and expensive government shutdown," and assure "a measure of stability in the operations of the federal departments of the United States for two years."

3/4 But GOP leadership should be ashamed of their refusal to bring a clean DREAM Act to the Floor. They are resisting the overwhelming will of the American people and tarnishing our moral standing by threatening to break our promise to these young people.  Congressman Tim Ryan (@RepTimRyan) February 9, 2018

"This bipartisan budget agreement is far from perfect, but it represents an important step forward in breaking the gridlock that has paralyzed Congress for far too long and hurt the American people," said a statement from Niles-area Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan.

Warrensville Heights Democratic Rep. Marcia Fudge said Democrats must hold House Speaker Paul Ryan to his promise to work together on an immigration measure that can become law.

"Just as we came together to fund our nation's government, we must work together to protect our nation's Dreamers," said a statement from Fudge.

Ohio Republicans who voted against the bill were House Freedom Caucus members Jim Jordan of Champaign County and Warren Davidson of Miami County, Steve Chabot of the Cincinnati area and Jim Renacci of Wadsworth. All said they were displeased by how the bill would increase federal debt.

A statement from the Freedom Caucus said the group backs military funding, "but growing the size of government by 13 percent adds to the swamp instead of draining it. This is not what the American people sent us here to do."

"I voted against this bill because it is fiscally unsustainable for us to keep spending money we don't have," added a statement from Renacci, who is running for Senate against Brown.

Brown released a statement on Twitter that called the measure a "compromise" where neither side got exactly what it wanted. But he praised the bill for funding opioid abuse programs, community health centers, the Children's Health Insurance Program, and taking steps to solve a crisis faced by underfunded pensions.

"It's time to pass this bill & provide certainty to families, businesses & our military," Brown's statement said.

Like any compromise, neither side got exactly what it wanted. But this deal delivers for OH, from funding CHCs & CHIP to fighting opioids & taking a step to solve the pension crisis. Its past time to pass this bill & provide certainty to families, businesses, & our military. -SB  Sherrod Brown (@SenSherrodBrown) February 9, 2018

Portman delivered a Senate floor speech that encouraged his colleagues to pass the bill because of the funding it contains to fight opioids.

"Ultimately, this is not going to be solved here in Washington, D.C.," Portman said. "It's going to be solved in our communities. It's going to be solved in our families. It's going to be solved in our hearts. Because this is an issue that ultimately is going to require all of us getting engaged on."

In a Thursday interview, Holmes County Republican Rep. Bob Gibbs said he backed the bill because of its boost to military funding at a time when the nation's armed forces are losing more troops in training accidents than in combat.

"We're funding our national defense at a time when we need to be funding it," Gibbs said.
Angel Arroyo

LORAIN, Ohio -- Lorain City Councilman Angel Arroyo was sentenced to six months of probation for a heated encounter with police on his birthday last year.

Arroyo, 34, pleaded no contest and was found guilty of disturbing the peace and obstructing official business, according to a Lorain Municipal Court records.

Charges of resisting arrest, disorderly conduct by intoxication and disorderly conducting fighting persisting were dismissed, records show.

Arroyo also is ordered to pay $500 in restitution to the city, pay a $350 fine and serve 30 hours of community service. A 60-day jail sentence was suspended.

"I apologize to my family, friends, council members and citizens of Lorain. I am moving forward with life and will continue to fight for the people of Lorain, Ohio," Arroyo said in a Twitter message. "I would like to thank those that have stood there with me and supported the past 2 months. Lastly I have chosen to cover pay the city back the money that they used for the special prosecutors so the residents of Lorain didn't have to."

Police responded about 12:30 a.m. Dec. 2 to a home on Jenee Drive near Jaeger Road to investigate a report of an intoxicated man in a driveway refusing to leave.

The man, identified as Arroyo, told police that someone ran over his leg at Diso's Bistro on Oberlin Avenue and his knee was hurt. Police said the injury was not consistent with someone having driven over it with a car.

When an officer spoke with Arroyo, he slurred his speech and could not construct sentences. The officer smelled alcohol on Arroyo's breath, police said.

Arroyo told police he was not intoxicated when asked how much he had to drink. He walked to another driveway to get something out of his car, police said.

When asked how Arroyo got home, he stated, "I did not drive," the report says.

Police spoke with someone who lives in the neighborhood and is friends with Arroyo.

The man said he, Arroyo and others went to Diso's Bistro to celebrate Arroyo's birthday. He took Arroyo's keys because he got intoxicated and wanted to drive home, the report says.

Arroyo jumped on the hood of the car to get the keys and fell back onto the ground, hurting his knee, the report says.

Arroyo's friend handed his keys to Arroyo's wife and left. After speaking with Arroyo's friend, police told him he was not welcome on the property and told to leave, police said. He requested an officer in charge.

Arroyo refused a ride home from officers and repeatedly said "A, B, C, D, 1, 2, 3" to convince the officers he was not drunk.

Officers said they arrested him because he didn't cooperate. While in handcuffs he pulled away in an "act of resistance," the report says.

Officers also had issues with Arroyo when they were trying to put him in the backseat of a police cruiser.

While at the police booking station he repeatedly kicked the holding cell door refusing to cooperate, police said.

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BRATENAHL, Ohio -- One person was arrested after leading Bratenahl police on a late-night chase Thursday in a stolen vehicle, ending with a crash, authorities said.

Officers with Bratenahl police contacted investigators in Lakewood after they were involved in the chase with the vehicle, which was stolen at gunpoint Tuesday night in Lakewood, Lakewood Sgt. William Deucher said.

Bratenahl police were unable to provide information immediately following the incident.

Deucher said the vehicle used in the chase was one of three identified in a rash of carjackings that occurred within a week in Lakewood.

Officials were investigating whether the incidents are connected.

Tuesday's carjacking happened about 10 p.m. at Clifton Boulevard and Fry Avenue after two men with a gun approached a woman, police said.

The woman handed over her belongings and the keys to her 2007 Nissan Xterra.

That carjacking came a day after a group of men robbed a 64-year-old man in a shopping plaza parking lot about two miles away.

That robbery happened about 8 p.m. Monday at City Center Shopping plaza on Detroit Avenue near Warren Road.

The first in the series of carjackings happened the evening of Feb. 1 outside the Aldi grocery store on West 117th Street near Madison Avenue.

A 74-year-old man told police that a group of men shoved him to the ground, took the keys from his hand and stole his 2014 Chevy Cruz, police said.

The carjackings and subsequent chase remain under investigation, Deucher said.

To comment on this story, please visit Thursday's crime and courts comments page.
LEWIS CENTER, Ohio -- The Ohio Republican Party has endorsed state Attorney General Mike DeWine, further solidifying his status as the GOP primary's strong front-runner.

The state GOP's central committee voted Friday 59 to 2 in favor of endorsing DeWine, a former U.S. Senator and longtime Ohio politician, over Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor. One member abstained.

Taylor, who has tried to position herself as the race's conservative outsider, had sought to block any endorsement. In a letter to committee members this week, she asked the state party to avoid putting its finger on the scales in the race, particularly since the party had not organized candidate debates.

DeWine's political operation, meanwhile, had courted the support of the state party aggressively, hoping an endorsement will help secure his status as the presumptive Republican nominee.

After the vote, Party Chair Jane Timken quickly issued a statement praising DeWine.

"Ohio's future brightened today as the State Central Committee voted to endorse a pro-growth, pro-family candidate in Mike DeWine," Timken said. "Mike DeWine is the right person to lead Ohio boldly into tomorrow. The Ohio Republican Party is proud to support Mike DeWine, and we look forward to his victory in November."

The party also endorsed U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci for U.S. Senate by an overwhelming margin. Renacci got 46 votes, while Cleveland banker Mike Gibbons and Melissa Ackison, a Marysville business owner who entered the race in September after appearing in a White House event, got a handful of votes.

The move caps a momentous series of events that saw Renacci drop his insurgent bid for governor to instead become his party's endorsed Senate candidate. Renacci jumped in the Senate race, with the Trump White House's backing, after Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel unexpectedly dropped out. On Friday, a bleary-eyed Renacci -- who had just flown back from Washington D.C. following an early morning vote -- referenced supportive comments Trump made during a Cincinnati appearance earlier in the week.

"The president clearly is supportive of me in this race and will continue to be supportive of me in this race," Renacci said.

The party also endorsed in uncontested down ticket races for attorney general, secretary of state and state auditor -- giving the nods to Auditor Dave Yost, State Sen. Frank LaRose and State Rep. Keith Faber, respectively. The party endorsed State Rep. Robert Sprague over Ashtabula County's Sandy O'Brien in the state treasurer's race.

The endorsements mean the chosen candidates will get a discounted bulk rate in campaign mailings, as well as access to the state party's candidate fund. It also places pressure on the non-endorsed candidates to drop out.

Following the party's endorsement of DeWine, Taylor issued a statement calling the state party's endorsement of DeWine "the kind of backroom dealing that voters despise."

"The people's endorsement is what I'm seeking, and that will come on May 8th. Let's let the voters decide," Taylor said.

In her pre-endorsement speech, Taylor disregarded advice from Timken to avoid personally attacking other candidates. For good measure, her fiery four-minute speech also criticized the GOP committee members.

Taylor referred to the suburban hotel conference room where the meeting took place as "Mike DeWine's living room," and called DeWine "a creature of the establishment, a shill for the entrenched special interests and lobbyists who stalk the halls of the Statehouse, looking for a handout."

Taylor also said DeWine is a "career politician" with a "liberal" voting record.

"I'm not asking for your endorsement today. With all the good-old-boy bullying and backroom deals that have gotten us to this point, I'm not even sure I want it," she said.

However, DeWine and running-mate Jon Husted in their pre-endorsement speeches essentially looked past Taylor, referencing not her, but Richard Cordray, the perceived Democratic gubernatorial front-runner. DeWine pledged to focus on raising the education level of Ohio's workforce, fighting the opioid crisis and helping encourage business growth. Husted, Ohio's secretary of state, said he and DeWine had put aside their egos to team up and focus on winning the governor's mansion.

DeWine previously defeated Cordray in the Ohio Attorney General's race in 2010, the year John Kasich defeated Democratic then-Gov. Ted Strickland.

"We cannot go back to the Strickland days. We cannot go back to the Cordray days. We must move forward," DeWine said.

Taylor, a former state representative, increasingly has railed against party leaders in recent weeks, particularly after loaning herself $3 million of her own money to compensate for poor fundraising.

Her speech on Friday was not well received by state committee members, nor were comments she made Thursday on a Marion radio program in which she said she would not support DeWine if he wins the Republican nomination.

In other business, the party also defeated a motion to remove former U.S. Rep. Bob McEwen from the list of endorsed GOP central committee members. Timken previously had said that McEwen should resign from the party committee if he failed to share a sexual misconduct allegation against former State Rep. Wes Goodman. Goodman resigned in November after he was caught having sex with a man in his state-issued office.

Committee members said that since McEwen was not there to answer questions, they put off voting on the issue.
We learn as schoolchildren that the United States stands for justice for all, whether a person is accused of being a heinous killer or an undocumented immigrant.

So the forced deportation of Youngstown businessman Amer Othman Adi to Jordan by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement late last month in defiance of a congressional panel's request for a six-month review is shocking and worrisome.

And there is fear, rightly, that ICE is stretching the law by hastily deporting, without adequate explanation and review, not just Adi but also other longtime residents based on old deportation orders, without determining whether those orders had a real basis in fact. That cannot stand.

Adi, a businessman who had lived in the United States for nearly 40 years, who has been married to a U.S. citizen for nearly 30 of those years, and who has four daughters who also are U.S. citizens, is credited with helping to revive downtown Youngstown with his business investments.

He landed on ICE's deportation list after being accused of marrying an American woman in 1980 so that he could get a green card to stay in this country.

But the case is murky. The woman later recanted her story regarding the brief marriage and said that it was not a marriage of convenience. And Adi's lawyer, David Leopold, argued that Adi did not get his day in court on the matter -- a goal reinforced by last month's bipartisan call for a six-month review of the case by the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security. ICE ignored that congressional request.

Deportations are sometimes necessary to eliminate threats and secure our borders. But old deportation orders ought to be carefully reviewed before they're used to deport otherwise upstanding residents. Adi's deportation did not meet that standard.

There were other inexplicable ICE actions in this case, but ICE has refused to say why it stayed an earlier order, prompting Adi not to leaving the country voluntarily Jan. 7 with his wife Fidaa Musleh, as the couple had planned.

More whiplash followed when ICE took Adi into custody Jan. 16 at what should have been a routine meeting, jailing him for about two weeks before forcibly deporting him the night of Jan. 29. By kicking Adi out of the country without a public review of the case or adequate explanation, ICE thumbed its nose not just at the congressional panel but also prominent local members of both political parties, including Democratic U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of the Youngstown area and Tracey Winbush, the Youngstown-based treasurer of the Ohio Republican Party.

An ICE spokesman, Khaalid Walls, said Adi need not be in the United States to get the congressionally requested review, but clearly that was not the intent of the House panel that asked for it.

Why would ICE not let Adi stay until a review could be finished? Why did ICE officials never offer a clear explanation of their contradictory actions in this case? One possible conclusion is that ICE's actions cannot withstand scrutiny.

ICE needs to be scrutinized in this case.

Congress should insist that ICE explain this and other rushed deportations of longtime U.S. residents who are pillars of their communities, churches and families. And, yes, ICE should thoroughly review Adi's case and publicly explain its actions.

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The photochemistry of avobenzone has extensively been studied; in particular, its compatibility with other organic molecules, in different matrices, in biological systems and its ability to provide effective photoprotection.15 These considerations are the main focus of this second article in a two-part series on avobenzone; part one appeared in the Cosmetics & Toiletries October 2017 issue.

Avobenzone with UV Filters

Table 1 shows how different molecules can influence the photodegradation of avobenzone; following is a discussion.28

Octinoxate (syn. octyl methoxy cinnamate or ethylhexylmethoxycinnamate): Octinoxates structure and absorption spectrum in cyclohexane are shown in Figure 9a. This molecule is an excellent UVB filter. Octinoxate can quench the triplet state of the keto form of avobenzone with a rate constant of 7.3  109 M-1s-1,29, 30 and thereby should stabilize avobenzone.

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However, the triplet form of octinoxate formed via the quenching of photo-excited avobenzone can undergo photoisomerization, minimizing its photoprotection effect.31 Octinoxate also does not exhibit reactivity with singlet oxygen. In the case of octinoxate alone, the issue is trans to cis photoisomerization and its innate photoreactivity ([2+2] photocycloaddition between two cinnamate molecules).32, 33

In addition, bimolecular photoreactions with the enolic form of avobenzone (Mayo reaction), leading to cyclobutylketone adducts and subsequent photodegradation, have been observed.34, 35 Due to the bimolecular nature of these degradation reactions, the concentrations of molecules during photolysis is important.36

Octocrylene: The structure and UV/visible spectrum of octocrylene is shown in Figure 9b. Octocrylene is photostable and possibly the best molecule for photostabilizing avobenzone.28, 36 Experiments performed with the methylated form of avobenzone, where only the keto form is present, indicate a rate constant for quenching the triplet state at 3.9  109 16 M-1s-1.29 The triplet form of octocrylene is also stable against photodecomposition.

Further, the reactivity of octocrylene with singlet oxygen is moderate (kq of ~106 M-1s-1).29 Thus, the efficacy of octocrylene in protecting against the photodecomposition of avobenzone arises from both quenching the triplet form of its keto isomer and octocrylenes own photostability. Ethylhexylmethoxcrylene, which is related to octocrylene, has been reported to quench the singlet excited state of the enolic form. Note this trait was determined by a change in fluorescence lifetime; data was not analyzed to obtain a quenching constant.12

Dioctyl butamido triazone (DBT; also iscotrizinol): Figure 10a shows the molecular structure of DBT. This material also improves the photostability of avobenzone by quenching the singlet oxygen produced from the triplet state of the keto form of avobenzone, with a rate constant of 1.8  108 M-1s-1without being degraded.29

Bis-ethylhexylphenol methoxyphenol triazine (also bemotrizinol or benzotrizinol): Figure 10b shows the structure of this molecule, which also is believed to photostabilize avobenzone.29, 37 bis-Ethylhexyloxyphenol methoxyphenyl triazine is proposed to act by quenching avobenzones triplet state and remain stable against photodecomposition; it does not quench singlet oxygen.37

Antioxidants: The photochemistry of avobenzone in the presence of different antioxidants has been reported as well. For example, with vitamins E and C and ubiquinone, in solutions of avobenzone in DMSO, some stabilization was observed but in this case, it did not scale with the concentration of antioxidant used.38

In another study, -tocopherol (of the vitamin E group) was incorporated with avobenzone into lipid-based nanoparticles using melt emulsification. Absorption spectra showed an increase in avobenzone intensity at 360 nm with irradiation but it is unclear how the intensity could increasei.e., if avobenzone is stabilized, its absorption spectra should remain constant. These researchers claimed, however, that the stability provided to avobenzone was due to antioxidants scavenging reactive oxygen species; although no direct experimental proof of this was provided.39

On the other hand, with the plant antioxidant rutin and avobenzone incorporated in o/w emulsions, rutin apparently did not alter the photostability of avobenzone.40 In another study with the naturally occurring antioxidant flavonoid quercetin, o/w emulsions with avobenzone were prepared.41 Under the photolysis conditions, avobenzone alone degraded by 40.3%, while in the presence of 0.5% w/w quercetin, its photodegradation decreased to 27.7%. This improvement in avobenzone photostability was, again, attributed to antioxidants quenching reactive oxygen and avobenzones triplet state.41

Doped TiO 2 : Finally, manganese-doped TiO 2 (Mn-TiO 2 ) also has been suggested to stabilize avobenzone.42, 43 With doped Mn, an increase in UVA absorption is observed, as is a reduction in reactive oxygen free radical generationby 97% due to electron-hole de-excitation via the Mn and free radical scavenging. Avobenzone was photodegraded down to 63% in the absence of titania but improved to 79% in the presence of Mn-TiO 2 (10 mW/cm2 of simulated solar radiation for 2 hr). Similar results were observed with mixtures of avobenzone and octinoxate.43

Thus, taken together, the stabilization of avobenzone is possible with additives that:

Do not react with it under photochemical conditions (octinoxate does; octocrylene, bemotrizinol and DBT do not).

Are efficient quenchers of avobenzones triplet state (e.g., octocrylene).

Are photostable on their own (e.g., octocrylene, triazines and triazone).

Quench singlet oxygen (e.g., triazones).

Are not degraded by singlet oxygen

(e.g., octocrylene, triazones).

(e.g., octocrylene, triazones). Have some overlap with both UV-A and -B spectra, so that photons are absorbed, minimizing decomposition (e.g., triazines, triazones).

Provide singlet-singlet quenching by molecules to retard avobenzone photodestruction (e.g., ethylhexylmethoxcrylene, diethylhexyl-2, 6-napthalate and diethylhexylsyringylidene).

Include antioxidants and doped TiO 2 , which trap free radicals.

Avobenzone in Different Matrices

The photochemistries of avobenzone entrapped in polymeric nanoparticles, lipid particles and cyclodextrins have been reported.44 Polyamide-based nanocapsules and nanoemulsions were used to entrap avobenzone. From both of these substrates, avobenzone was released37% from nanocapsules and 95% from nanoemulsions.45 Photodegradation within 10 min after encapsulation (< 3% of avobenzone released) also showed that both the released and encapsulated avobenzone were photodegraded. The amount of degradation depended on the photon flux. For example, with 0.5 J/cm2 (20 MED), ~20% of the avobenzone in nanocapsules was degraded, compared with 40% non-encapsulated or in the nanoemulsion.

Lipid microparticles formed with a solid lipid core surrounded by a layer of surfactant molecules has also been used to entrap avobenzone via a hot emulsion technique.46 Here, avobenzone escaped from these particles into propylene glycol. The kinetics of release varied with the lipid composition. The best results were obtained with glyceryl behenate and poloxamer, with ~80% release in 2 hr. After just 1 hr of simulated solar radiation illumination, free avobenzone/octinoxate/octocrylene showed a degradation of 28.6%, versus lipid microparticle avobenzone/free octinoxate/octocrylene at 26%, and lipid microparticles of avobenzone with octocrylene at 21.5%.46

The photodegradation of avobenzone decreased in emulsions prepared with the naturally occurring antioxidant quercetin.

The photochemistry of avobenzone nanoparticles, avobenzone trapped in polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA)both prepared by rapid injection of a tetrahydrofuran (THF, also known as oxolane) solution into water, and avobenzone dissolved in THF were compared.47 The photodegradation, as measured by UV-visible spectroscopy for 60 min, indicated avobenzone degradation was similar in THF and PMMA, while the avobenzone nanoparticles exhibited more degradation (as estimated from the areas under the absorption bands).47 In this study, it was unclear why the authors concluded PMMA stabilized the avobenzone.

Silica glass microcapsules prepared by the sol-gel method with a size distribution of 0.33 microns also has been used to encapsulate avobenzone. This study did not report on the photostability of avobenzone; the focus of the encapsulation was to decrease leaching and avoid contact with the skin.48

There are also several reports on the encapsulation of avobenzone in cyclodextrins.49, 50 Complexation with hydroxypropyl--cyclodextrin (HPCD) was reported to photostabilize avobenzone, and the free radicals released upon photolysis of the avobenzone-HPCD complex was lower than free avobenzone, presumably due to the cyclodextrin trapping the radicals or radical recombination in the encapsulated state.50

In another study, HPCD (20%) was found to uptake ~0.12 mg/mL of avobenzone from aqueous solutions. Upon encapsulation, there was a slight blue shift in the absorption spectra, possibly due to the formation of an inclusion complex. With 30% HPCD, the avobenzone was most stable, reaching a recovery rate of 79.3% after 50 J/cm2 of > 290 nm radiation for 80 min; without HPCD, the degradation was 16.6%. Lower radiation dosage (up to 10 J/cm2) did not alter the recovery with and without HPCD.49

Finally, zeolites are microporous aluminosilicates with cages and channels of molecular dimensions. Several organic filters have been incorporated into zeolites, including p-aminobenzoic acid and oxybenzone. Incorporation into zeolites reduced biological damage as well as reduces contact with the skin although there are no reports of avobenzone encapsulation by zeolites.5153

Based on these studies of encapsulating avobenzone in different matrices, shown schematically in Figure 11, it can be surmised that:

The main benefit of encapsulation is that the avobenzone is isolated from its surroundings, including the skin.

Leakage from the encapsulating matrix is relevant.

There can be some protection from photodecomposition, though why that is the case is not clear. The most likely explanation could be the polarity of the encapsulating medium, which promotes the reformation of the enol from the photo-excited state.

Avobenzone in Biological Systems

Irradiated mixtures of DNA and avobenzone result in strand breaks, i.e., plasmid nicking of the DNA, caused by the reaction of the carbon-centered radicals (or peroxyl radicals) from the photodecomposition of avobenzone with DNA.25 Such DNA breaks can be avoided in the presence of piperidine nitroxide or indolinic nitroxide radicals since these react with the carbon-centered radicals.25

Carbonyl formation in bovine serum albumin, indicative of oxidative damage, also has been shown to increase with both time of irradiation and concentration of avobenzone, and are attributed to the formation of carbon-centered radicals formed upon photodecomposition of avobenzone.54

However, avobenzone mixed with Chinese hamster ovarian cells and subjected to irradiation did not increase the photoclastogenic activity.55 In addition, a protective effect on human lymphoid cells was noted in the presence of avobenzone upon UVA/UVB irradiation.14 Thus, it appears the photobiology of avobenzone is controlled by the formation of the radicals from the photoexcited keto state.

The photobiology of avobenzone appears to be controlled by the formation of the radicals from the photoexcited keto state

Photo-allergy and Other Biological Interactions

Several reports have indicated photo-allergies in relation to organic filters that include avobenzone.5665 Thus, the toxicity of avobenzone has recently been reviewed.66 A substance applied to the skin is considered phototoxic if a non-immunological toxic response, e.g., dermatitis such as erythema, edema, vesiculation and pigmentation, is observed after exposure to light. Such phototoxic responses do not require an induction period.67 Photoallergic contact dermatitis arises when light induces the formation of a hapten or antigen, which can trigger the allergic response;67 however, it is difficult to estimate the prevalence of these effects.

In one European study of 1,031 patients exposed to 19 organic UV absorbers and five nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, 200 patients (19.4%) tested positive to photoallergic contact dermatitis as measured by the photopatch test. Eighteen patients reacted negatively to avobenzone and 41 to octocrylene, which is often used to photostabilize avobenzone.63

Avobenzone photoproducts, in particular the arylglyoxals, were observed to be strong sensitizers in a mouse local lymph node assay.68 Avobenzone also exhibited phototoxicity potential as detected by the 3T3 Neutral Red Uptake Phototoxicity test.67 However, the phototoxicity was not observed when tested on a human 3-D skin model, possibly because it did not penetrate the skin.67

In a year-long test on hairless mice, avobenzone or its photoproducts were found to protect against UV-induced skin tumor formation.69 In another study, avobenzone alone or in combination with octinoxate was applied to Skh-1 albino hairless mice and irradiated with full spectrum or UVA for 8 hr daily, five days/week, for 1632 weeks. At 2% avobenzone (oil/water emulsion), reduced photodamage to connective tissue was observed. At the lowest 0.75% level of avobenzone, no photoprotective effect was noted.

Mixtures of organic molecules (UV filters) can also enhance sensitization.6, 70 For example, amongst cosmetic products such as sunscreens, hair styling products, lip cosmetics and perfumes, sunscreens are responsible for majority of cases of photoallergic contact dermatitis, stemming from high concentrations and mixtures of UV filters. Avobenzone is the most widely used UV filter in sunscreens; the second most used in cosmetics (after octinoxate). Thus, not surprisingly, it yields the most positive photopatch test reactions.

Octocrylene, which has been associated with photoallergy to ketoprofen, also results in a large number of photoallergy reactions.70 In most formulations involving avobenzone, octocrylene is added to improve photostability due to the reasons discussed above. An issue with octocrylene, however, is that it is both a photocontact and contact allergen,70 with the latter being prevalent more in children.71

In vitro studies of avobenzone showed no increase in cell proliferation of MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Also, uterotrophic assays conducted by feeding avobenzone to immature Long-Evans rats exhibited no effect. Therefore, avobenzone is not considered an agent for endocrine activity, though other commonly used filters such as octinoxate can exhibit some activity.72

All in all, the toxicity of avobenzone appears to arise from the large number of photo decomposed products and their accumulation on the skin. Cellular culture studies suggest avobenzone itself is non-toxic.

Relevance to Sun Protection

A review of cosmetic products in the United Kingdom showed UV filters are present in a wide variety of cosmetics; avobenzone was in some 48.7% of 4,447 products.6 Several studies have reviewed the use of avobenzone as an organic filter for sunscreens.3, 73, 74 In most practical applications, triplet quenchers such as octocrylene, cinnamates and 4-methylbenzylidene camphor are included with avobenzone, as noted above, to minimize photodegradation channels from the triplet keto state. Compounds such as octinoxate and 2-ethylhexyl-4-dimethyl-aminobenzoate (padimate O) must be avoided in formulations with avobenzone since these molecules react with it in the presence of sunlight.75

The toxicity associated with avobenzone appears to arise from its photodecomposition products, not avobenzone itself.

In one study, the photodegradation of avobenzone present in a variety of commercial sunscreens was examined using a solar simulator and its extent varied depending on the additives use. Overall, the SPF decreased in cases where the avobenzone was not stabilized.18 This study pointed out that frequent application of sunscreens that decompose can address inadequate photoprotection but that the photodegraded products still build up on the skin surface.18

Finally, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration guidelines do not allow mixtures of avobenzone with TiO 2 or ZnO,75 possibly because avobenzone is unstable in their presence (both anatase and rutile TiO 2 ). This metal oxide-mediated degradation can be slowed if the TiO 2 or ZnO are coated with silanes, methicones, stearic acid, long-chain fluoro compounds or lignins.76

Thus, for the practical application of avobenzone as a sunscreen:

It must be photostabilized.

Its decomposed photoproducts can be toxic and photoallergenic, and they accumulate on skin.

The molecules added to stabilize avobenzone can also be photoreactive and phototoxic.

Conclusion: Parts I and II

Avobenzone exists primarily as the enol isomer and its photochemistry is controlled by three rotamers formed via rotations around single and double bonds connecting the two benzene rings in the dibenzoyl derivative. The excited state dynamics are complicated, with two of the rotamers formed via single bond rotation, returning to the enol on picosecond time scales.

However, the species formed via isomerization around the double bond is long-lived (milliseconds) and can transform into the keto form of avobenzone. This conversion to the keto form is controlled by the polarity of the solvent and favored in nonpolar media.

The keto form has its own photochemistry, driven primarily by a long-lived triplet state, which can undergo photodegradation and form singlet oxygen. This is the primary channel for photodegradation of avobenzone. In the initial step of the photodegradation of the keto form, carbon-centered free radicals are formed. These reactive radicals can combine to form numerous products, most of them absorbing in the UVC range.

For practical applications with avobenzone, it is essential that the molecule be photo-protected, which is typically accomplished by the addition of other organic molecules primarily to quench the triplet state of the keto form. Encapsulation strategies have been attempted to provide photostability with little success due to either the leakage of avobenzone or photochemistry within the encapsulant.

Avobenzone has excellent absorption properties in the UVA region and provides significant health benefits as a sunscreen agent. Based on in vitro studies, it also appears to be nontoxic. The disadvantages associated with avobenzone include the accumulation/toxicity of its photoproducts, and/or the toxicity of molecules added to stabilize avobenzone.

Finally, long-term stability is a potential possibility if entrapment does not allow for isomerization around the double bond. This will require strict spatial control but also lengthen the time of photo-protection afforded by avobenzone.

Acknowledgments: The authors wish to acknowledge helpful discussions with Steve Jones, CEO of ZeoVation; David Bergeron, VP, Rev 1; and Jay Dahlman, Ph.D., of Ohio State University.

References

Continued from Part I

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As the first column by the Cosmetics, Toiletry and Perfumery Association (CTPA) of 2018, we thought it would be useful to provide a review of key issues from 2017.

As well as addressing issues in the U.K., the CTPA worked closely last year with the European personal care association (Cosmetics Europe) and contributed significantly to its work. CTPA also was heavily involved in the International Associations Collaboration (IAC).

EC Cosmetics Regulation Amendments

During 2017, seven regulations (Adaptations to Technical ProgressATPs) to the European Commission's (EC's) Cosmetic Products Regulation were published in the Official Journal to the European Union, covering:

Restriction of the preservative methylisothiazolinone to 15 ppm in rinse-off products;

Reduction of the level of benzophenone-3 allowed as a UV filter to 6%;

Amendments and additions to entries in Annex III concerning specific hair and eyelash dyes;

Amendments to the Annex IV entry for zinc oxide to avoid its use in applications that may lead to exposure of the end user's lungs by inhalation;

Prohibition of the fragrance ingredients hydroxyisohexyl 3-cyclohexene carboxaldehyde (HICC), atranol and chloroatranol; and

Restriction of the protein content in peanut oil and peptide content in hydrolyzed wheat proteins.

Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety

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In Europe, the EC and EU member states keep cosmetic ingredients and their safety under constant review, assisted by the commissions independent panel of experts, the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS). During 2017, seven requests were made for opinions (mandates), eight final opinions were issued and four opinions were issued for comment.

SCCS mandates covered: The hair dye hydroxypropyl p-phenylenediamine; zinc pyrithione; aluminium; the fragrance ingredient butylphenyl methylpropional (p-BMHCA); nail acrylates HEMA and Di-HEMA trimethylhexyl dicarbamate; the UV filter phenylene bis-diphenyltriazine; and the Skin Sensitization Quantitative Risk Assessment for fragrance ingredients (QRA 2).

Final opinions were published on: Climbazole; the UV filter methoxypropylamino cyclohexenylidene ethoxyethylcyanoacetate; the hair dyes dimethylpiperazinium aminopyrazolopyridine HCl, Basic Blue 99 and Tetrabromophenol Blue; hydroxyethoxyphenyl butanone (HEPB), also known as ethylzingerone; additional coatings for titanium dioxide (nano); and polyaminopropyl biguanide (PHMB).

Opinions are being finalized for: Water-soluble zinc salts used in oral hygiene products; titanium dioxide (nano form) as a UV filter in sprays; skin sensitization quantitative risk assessment for fragrance ingredients (QRA 2); and butylphenyl methylpropional (BMHCA).

The SCCS also issued a statement on Checklists for applicants submitting dossiers on cosmetic ingredients to be evaluated by the SCCS.

Carcinogenic, Mutagenic and Reprotoxic (CMR) Substances

The date of application for Article 15 of the EU Cosmetics Regulation was Dec. 1, 2010. Since that date, the EC has considered that all CMR substances classified by the Classification, Labeling and Packaging (CLP) Regulation are automatically banned in cosmetics, without the need for specific listing in Annex II of the Cosmetics Regulation. Therefore, although these substances are considered banned during this period, it is up to companies to trace classifications via the CLP Regulation to ascertain this.

Cosmetics Europe challenged this interpretation and, in 2015, after obtaining an independent legal opinion, submitted a position paper to the EC outlining the rationale for requiring specific listing of banned CMRs in Annex II and/or delisting from the positive lists, as appropriate. In 2016, the EC delivered its response after consultation with legal services. This response provides for, in the future, specific listings of banned CMRs in Annex II and/or delisting from the positive lists within 15 months of the CMR classification application date. During the interim years (20102016), the application of a horizontal ban has led to uncertainty over the status of substances because:

The CMR status is listed in horizontal legislation and not in the Cosmetics Regulation;

There is a lack of transparency over ingredients being evaluated for continued use (i.e., after the date of application for the CMR classification); and

Those present on the positive lists to the Cosmetics Regulation have not been removed.

Therefore, all new CMR classifications from the interim period (20102016) have been proposed to be transferred to Annex II and/or delisted from the positive lists as part of a "CMR Omnibus," which was due to be implemented during 2017. However this action has not taken place; it is next expected to be discussed in March 2018.

The ingredients most affected are:

D4, to be added to Annex II (prohibited);

Formaldehyde, to be added to Annex II (prohibited);

Reduction of polyaminopropyl biguanide (PHMB) level to 0.1% in Annex V;

Restriction of trimethylbenzoyl diphenylphosphine oxide (TPO) to professional products only; and

Restriction of furfural (0.001%).

The European Commission and EU member states keep cosmetic ingredients and their safety under constant review.

Nanomaterials Catalog

The Cosmetics Regulation contains a legal obligation for the EC to publish a catalog of nanomaterials used in cosmetic products on the European marketby January 2014. However, publication of this information at that time would have highlighted a large number of non-compliances in product notifications.

In fact, when the EC reviewed the notifications submitted through the Cosmetic Product Notification Portal (CPNP) for products containing nanomaterials, it found in excess of 400 substances listed. Many of these were assumed to be errors; however, a catalog containing such a number of errors or non-compliances would be detrimental to the cosmetics industry and potentially cause unnecessary concern among consumers.

Over the past few years, the industry, the EC and EU Member State Competent Authorities have worked to take corrective actions prior to publishing the catalog. As such, the commission finally announced the publication of a first version of the catalog in June 2017. Some errors may still remain but the current list contains only 43 substances.

The EC has emphasized that the catalog is for information purposes only, and that the commission will continue working with EU countries and the industry to constantly monitor and improve the quality of the data on nanomaterials given by operators. The list will also continue to be updated regularly.

Preservatives

Preservatives are, of course, incredibly important ingredients to help ensure cosmetic products remain safe and effective for consumers during storage and use. However, they are also one of the ingredient categories to receive the most negative media attention.

Given the importance of preservatives, Cosmetics Europe has been mandated to develop and implement a strategy to support the adequate preservation of cosmetic products, with the ultimate aim of safeguarding the future use of as many preservative ingredients as possible for cosmetic products.

The preservation strategy is based on four pillars:

Risk assessment;

Risk management;

Efficacy; and

Communication.

Cosmetics Europe is working internationally with colleagues both from the American cosmetics industry associationi.e., the Personal Care Products Council (PCPC), and with the European Federation for Cosmetic Ingredients (EFfCI), as preservation is a global issue.

In 2017, Cosmetics Europe undertook an in-depth preservative survey to capture a good picture of preservative use across the whole spectrum of different cosmetic products. This survey will help provide key insights that Cosmetics Europe can draw on for various discussions with European institutions, stakeholders and consumers.

However, it must be asked: What is wrong with preservatives, anyway? The problem of poorly preserved and potentially dangerous cosmetic products should not be underestimated. Communications is one of the four pillars of the Cosmetics Europe Preservation Strategy, and it is an overarching tool to improve the "public relations" of preservatives, globally.

Other stakeholders active in this area include the EC and the International Cooperation on Cosmetics Regulation (ICCR). Therefore, another question to ask is: If the EC and international regulators understand the importance of preservatives and highlight their safetythen why dont we, as cosmetic scientists?

Plastic Microbeads

Another international issue is that of plastic microbeads, with regulatory actions already occurring in the United States, Canada, Taiwan, France, Italy, Australia and Sweden; and actions pending in New Zealand, Ireland and the U.K.

It must be stressed that plastic microbeads from cosmetic products are a very small fraction of microplastic marine litter problem. Indeed, a Eunomia report1 stated that the contribution to the wider marine microplastic litter of plastic microbeads from cosmetic and personal care products is estimated at 0.29%. Then again, marine plastic litter is a global issue, as one PCPC infographic2 clearly illustrates.

This column was written just as a new law was passed banning plastic microbeads in rinse-off cosmetic products in the U.K. The manufacture of rinse-off cosmetic products containing plastic microbeads is now banned from Jan. 9, 2018, and the sale of such products must not take place after June 20, 2018.

The definitions in the U.K. law are as follows:

Rinse-off personal care product means any substance, or mixture of substances, manufactured for the purpose of being applied to any relevant human body part, in the course of any personal care treatment, by an application which entails, at its completion, the prompt and specific removal of the product (or any residue of the product) by washing or rinsing with water, rather than leaving it to wear off or wash off, or to be absorbed or shed, in the course of time;

Microbead means any water-insoluble solid plastic particle of a size less than or equal to 5 mm in any dimension; and

Plastic means a synthetic polymeric substance that can be molded, extruded or physically manipulated into various solid forms that retains its final manufactured shape during use in intended applications.

Claims

Finally, claims for cosmetic products are extremely important. They explain to the customer what the product can do, and why customers should buy one product instead of another. As such, laws have been put into place to stop false or misleading claims.

For instance, the Cosmetics Regulation requires any claim to be substantiated by robust evidence, and that claim to be interpreted according to the general impression that the averagely well-informed consumer would have in the context of product presentation or advertising. Furthermore, all advertising must be legal, decent, honest and truthful.

This CTPA column has previously covered claims not only as an indication of their importance, but to highlight that the self-regulation of cosmetic claims should not be abused. For example, when the EC issued a report3 on Article 20 of the Cosmetics Regulation in 2016, in relation to the common criteria for cosmetic claims. That report raised free-from and hypoallergenic as claims of concern.

In relation, in conjunction with its Claims Working Group, the EC has now developed more detailed guidance on hypoallergenic and free-from claims. This guidance has been published in a technical document4 on the EC's website. While the document is not legally binding, it has been issued by the EC and it does come with an implementation dateso, there is clear anticipation that action will be taken. Furthermore, a transition period of two years, ending on July 1, 2019, will be applicable to any new elements expressed in the document.

Note that this technical document also has been issued as a reference for national authorities, and therefore will be used by Member States in their market surveillance activities, as further evidence for the acceptability, or otherwise, of certain claims and in taking regulatory action. And, given the level of concern from some Member States, it is possible that action may be taken on the basis of the guidance before the stated date of July 1, 2019.

As an aside, Cosmetics Europe and the CTPA support this technical document and strongly advise companies to abide by it.

The CTPA looks forward to seeing what 2018 holds for the cosmetics industry, and to sharing its views with Cosmetics & Toiletries readers (and we didnt mention Brexit once!)

References

All web sites accessed on Jan. 10, 2018.

eunomia.co.uk/reports-tools/plastics-in-the-marine-environment/ cosmeticsinfo.org/understanding-microplastic-litter eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM:2016:580:FIN ec.europa.eu/docsroom/documents/24847
Alfresco Software, a developer of open-source enterprise content and business process management applications, agreed Thursday to an acquisition by Boston-based private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners.

Alfresco CMO Sydney Sloan told CRN the deal makes sense from a strategic perspective, as it will infuse the company with cash to scale in a competitive market that's in transition.

With funding from the private equity firm, Alfresco will be in a stronger position to disrupt that business process automation market faster than it already is doing, she said.

[Related: Business Outsourcer Premier BPO Acquires dinCloud, A VDI And Cloud Services Provider]

"The strategy for growth is one that T H Lee invested in. It's Alfresco's strategy as well. Growing faster than the market, that is the continued plan," Sloan told CRN.

"From the perspective of our customers and partners, it's business as usual," she added.

The private equity firm has a track record of expanding the market opportunity for companies it invests in, Sloan said.

"That is the investment strategy they follow," Sloan said of Thomas H. Lee Partners, adding the private equity firm had been eyeing the market for awhile before making an offer to Alfresco.

The software company, founded in 2005 with dual headquarters in San Mateo, Calif. and Maidenhead, U.K., has more than 1,300 customers using its cloud-based platform for managing content and automating business processes. Those customers include Cisco Systems, Bank of NY Mellon, Liberty Mutual, Capital One, U.S. Department of the Navy and NASA, according to a statement.

Alfresco has been focused in recent years on scaling its channel efforts after introducing a new partner program in 2016 with the goal of driving more revenue through partners.
Go-to-market superstar Robert Vrij, who spearheaded partner engagement and drove channel sales at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, is taking his leadership talents to Lenovo, according to sources.

Renowned as a channel advocate, Vrij is slated to become senior vice president and president of EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) for Lenovo. In addition to running Lenovo's EMEA business, he will also take ownership of some the vendor's key channel relationships with global partners such as CDW and Insight as well as distributors such as Ingram Micro and Tech Data, sources said. Lenovo is expected to announce Vrij's hiring publicly this week.

Solution providers said hiring Vrij will be a game-changer for Lenovo.

"Robert's going to bring a lot of channel credibility to Lenovo and their program," said Kenneth Lamneck, president and CEO of Tempe, Ariz.-based Insight, ranked No. 13 on the CRN 2017 Solution Provider 500 list. "He set up a really solid strategy for HPE and partners, and set up some great programs. He has great follow-through to really execute on everything.  This is a really strong move by Lenovo. He will have an immediate impact at Lenovo for sure."

[Related: Lenovo Hires AMD Veteran As President For North America Biz]

Vrij previously was senior vice president of HPE's Enterprise Group and managing director of HPE Americas. He was responsible for leading enterprise sales across the region as well as coordinating business strategies before leaving in late 2016. Vrij has just completed his 12-month non-compete clause after leaving HPE, according to sources.

Sources said former HPE America's superstar Vrij will now lead Lenovo's EMEA data center group, worldwide global accounts and the growth and strategy of selected top global partners. Lenovo did not respond to a request for comment by press time.

"He's a very senior, talented, experienced executive that will bring an amazing set of talents to Lenovo," said Robert Dutkowsky, chairman and CEO of Clearwater, Fla.-based distributor Tech Data. "He'll be able to build programs that will comprehensively deliver products into the market and improve the overall operations of [Lenovo's] go-to-market model."

Dutkowsky said Vrij is a sales leader who builds programs that leverage the strengths of partners with the ability to work hand in hand with the channel to close deals.

"I'm excited to see him in a role where he can influence the channel because he understands what makes a successful vendor," said Dutkowsky.

Lenovo recently has seen some executive leadership turnover, including the departure of its North America president, Emilio Ghilardi; Gary Smith, COO and head of the company's PC and mobile device business; and Sammy Kinlaw, vice president and channel chief for Lenovo's North America PC business.

"Lenovo has had a number of challenges over the years with executive leadership," said one source familiar with the matter. "So this is a good move for channel partners to have somebody of Robert's caliber that's responsible for growing the data center business.  He put in a number of stopgaps into the HPE system, which moved more of the enterprise business to the channel. So this is a big deal for guys like Tech Data, Ingram Micro, CDW, and it will be a big deal for partners with global customers.  Robert is an unbelievable fan of the channel. He'll be a champion for the channel."

Vrij joined HPE in 2013 after serving five years at Alcatel-Lucent as executive vice president and chief of global sales and marketing, as well as president and chairman of Alcatel-Lucent USA. He was responsible for managing $15 billion in sales, as well as global alliances, marketing and communications. Vrij also spent nearly a decade at AT&T and Lucent Technologies, including a role as president and CEO of Lucent Technologies for EMEA.

"He knows this market very well. He knows the key partners and knows the technology," said Insight's Lamneck. "Overall, he knows all the partners very well, and has a very strong following and strong relationships that will help Lenovo.  We're very excited."
Eaton is pushing its channel partners to think beyond the data center and look to new opportunities in power management around edge computing and the Internet of Things.

Herve Tardy, vice president and general manager for the Distributed Power Quality Division in the Americas for Raleigh, N.C.-based Eaton, told partners at this week's Eaton Partner Summit that the IT market is being driven in part by disruptions caused by a push to get everything connected.

Tardy cited the recent CES show as a place where vendors were showing connected toilet paper holders to let people know when to replace a roll, connected egg trays for checking the egg count remotely, and connected cows to help farmers raise cattle more efficiently.

[Related: Eaton's Brad Amano, 54, Leaves Legacy Of Friendship, Channel Leadership]

"The connected cow is a reality," he said. "We're talking IoT."

For now, Tardy said, IoT is still in its infancy, but early market entrants in IoT can find the edge computing resources required by IoT deployments to be a likely path to produce new UPS sales.

"You will not become excited about a new UPS technology," he said.

Edge computing is a way to move data processing away from the core data center out to the edge of the network closer to where the data is collected while maintaining connectivity to the core data center.

At the edge, one will typically find servers and appliances with a lot of automation but no IT staff, he said. Many of those devices might be expected to run 10, 20 or more years without human intervention, which plays well into Eaton's power management technology.

Eaton even now still sells products based on 40-year-old technology. At the same time, the company is in the process of switching from lead-acid batteries, which need to be replaced every three to four years, to lithium-ion, or Li-ion, batteries which need to be replaced every 10 years, Tardy said.

"Eaton enables IoT solutions," he said.

Eaton is already making the right moves to be a big part of the IoT business, said John Kuo, CEO of Neutron USA, a State College, Pa.-based solution provider and Eaton channel partner that is already helping manufacturers apply IoT technology to medical devices, packaging machines, and other products.

While IoT is still in the early stages of adoption, Eaton is positioning itself well to be a part of the business, Kuo told CRN.

"Eaton is keeping it simple," he said. "They're not trying to do a wide range of product lines, but are instead focusing on power management with a particular effort on the software. They're on the right track."

Kevin Mullin, vice president of sales at A-Trac Computer Sales and Service, a Waltham, Mass.-based solution provider and Eaton channel partner with a focus on tying IoT with big data in the health care market, said his company is doing a lot on the edge with medical devices and wearable devices.

"We're seeing customers deploy in server closets because they can't afford any latency with their devices," Mullin told CRN.

Many of those devices depend on applications that take advantage of artificial intelligence, which can be very power-intensive, Mullin said. "Those applications might require a long time to finish," he said. "So uptime is critical, meaning a big need for power management."
Apple is launching shipments of its HomePod smart speaker Friday, but by all accounts, the emphasis with HomePod is much more on the speaker than on the smarts.

The CRN Test Center was not offered a tryout unit of the $349 HomePod, but multiple reviews confirm that Siri on the HomePod lacks some basic voice assistant capabilities, such as managing your calendar (not even your Apple calendar).

[Related: 10 Cool Smart Home Assistants At CES 2018]

The HomePod version of Siri reportedly cannot read out calendar entries or add new onessomething that the iPhone version of Siri can do just fine.

By contrast, the assistants in three other smart speakers that we've tried at the CRN Test CenterAlexa in the Amazon Echo, Google Assistant in the Google Home, and Cortana in the Harman Kardon Invokeare adept at managing calendars.

Amazon's Echo supports all of the major calendar appsGoogle, Microsoft (Outlook/Office 365/Exchange) and Apple. Google Home only supports the Google calendar, while the Invoke supports both Google and Microsoft calendars.

In terms of business uses for voice assistants, Apple's lack of support in HomePod for even basic features that businesspeople would appreciatesuch as calendarsdoesn't bode well for Apple's future in the B2B voice assistant space.

"Apple's not that strong in enterprise, other than on BYOD," said Michael Oh, CTO of Cambridge, Mass.-based solution provider TSP. "Clearly, there are a lot of Siri devices out there, but they've barely been able to leverage Siri in the home environment, much less in business. I think it's between Google and Amazon."

A few other typical smart speaker tasks that the HomePod reportedly can't do: find a recipe, make a phone call or summon an Uber (although Apple CEO Tim Cook claimed the HomePod works with Uber during an earnings call last week).

"Siri on HomePod is embarrassingly inadequate, even though that is the primary way you interact with it," wrote Brian Chen in his review of HomePod for The New York Times. "Siri is sorely lacking in capabilities compared with Amazons Alexa and Googles Assistant. Siri doesnt even work as well on HomePod as it does on the iPhone."

What does the HomePod do, then? Its chief selling point appears to be a high-quality speaker for using the Apple Music service--but not any other rival services. By contrast, Google Home and Amazon Echo each support both Spotify and Pandora, in addition to their own respective music services (though they reportedly fall far short of HomePod on audio quality).

Even when handling interactions with Apple Music, Siri is far from a joy to use on the HomePod, according to Chen. "Whenever I asked HomePod to 'play some music,' it never played music that was relevant to my preferences or listening history," he wrote, even though Apple has claimed that HomePod will excel at learning user's musical tastes.

From the look of it, Apple sees HomePod mainly as a way to extend the reach of its Apple Music service, not Siri.

After failing to capitalize on the lead it had on voice assistants by launching Siri back in 2011, Apple appears to have missed a big opportunity with Siri yet again with HomePod.
Apple is contending that the posting of iOS source code online will not affect iPhone security, but enterprise mobility solution providers aren't so sure.

"To allow this type of leak could be damaging to the strides [Apple has] made in securing their OS," said Paul Troisi, chief customer officer at Peabody, Mass.-based Troy Mobility. "There have been so many vulnerabilities that have surfaced over the past couple of years and for them to lose care, custody and control of the most important aspect of their OS is shocking."

[Related: Apple Security Risks Keep Rising As iPhone Source Code Leaks]

Source code for iOS, the iPhone's operating system, was posted on code-sharing site GitHub, and then reportedly removed after a request from Apple that cited copyright law.

The so-called iBoot source code is involved in securely booting up iPhones, and was actually a part of iOS 9 -- although it's likely to still be a part of the current version of iPhone operating system software, iOS 11, reports said.

The exposure of the code could raise the risk of hacking and jailbreaking activity related to Apple's iPhone, according to reports.

In a statement to CRN, Apple downplayed the impact of the source code leak.

"Old source code from three years ago appears to have been leaked, but by design the security of our products doesn't depend on the secrecy of our source code," Apple said in its statement. "There are many layers of hardware and software protections built into our products, and we always encourage customers to update to the newest software releases to benefit from the latest protections."

Troisi, however, told CRN that he does believe there's a heightened risk of exploits as a result of the iPhone source code leak.

"The goal is to stay one step ahead of the bad guys. If you give them an opening, they will exploit it," he said. "It may take them a little while, but they could exploit that OS. Even though [Apple] claims the code is from three years ago, we still see iOS 9 floating around on older devices. Not common, but still out there on older hardware. And due to the age of the hardware, an upgrade to the newest version may not be possible."

Jay Gordon, vice president of sales at Plano, Texas-based Honeywell Enterprise Mobility, called the incident "a significant situation for Apple, which differentiates itself on being a closed, highly secure platform."

The development "proves that third-party security software from the likes of MobileIron, AirWatch, SOTI and others remains a needed part of any mobility strategy to thwart jailbreaking and intrusions to the enterprise," Gordon said.

Douglas Grosfield, founder and CEO of Kitchener, Ontario-based Five Nines IT Solutions, said the incident raises other questions about Apple, as well.

"How did the code get leaked out?" Grosfield said. "Basic technologies such as data leakage protection should keep that kind of thing from happening."

The iPhone source code leak follows other recent Apple security issues including a bug in macOS High Sierra that allowed access simply by typing in the username "root," as well as the so-called "Fruitfly" malware, which could be used for such surveillance activities as taking webcam photos and capturing keystrokes. Mac users saw a 240 percent increase in malware during the first three quarters of 2017, according to cybersecurity vendor Malwarebytes.

In terms of iPhone security, a cyberattack that could involve taking over an iPhone user's camera and microphone if a user clicked a text message link was revealed in August 2016. That same month, Apple revealed a bug bounty program to pay researchers that uncover security vulnerabilities in its products.
Cisco Systems says the initial fix for a recently disclosed software security vulnerability was incomplete, and attackers have more ways to exploit the bug than originally thought.



"After further investigation, Cisco has identified additional attack vectors and features that are affected by this vulnerability," the company said in a security advisory issued Monday. "In addition, it was also found that the original fix was incomplete so new fixed code versions are now available."



Cisco said the new, fixed code is now being made available. There are no workarounds for the vulnerability.



[Related: How Partners Can Benefit From The New Cybersecurity Insurance Offering By Cisco, Apple and Allianz]



The vulnerability and its remedies have proved to be a logistical challenge for TekLinks, a Birmingham, Ala., solution provider that works with Cisco.



"We have hundreds of clients with on-premises equipment, as well as managed services clients that we need to work with to update these platforms, and we have had to go back and update them all multiple times," said Mike Girouard, TekLinks executive vice president.



"Cisco does a really good job of getting us the patches and notifying us, but it is a logistics challenge to schedule multiple platform updates and answer so many clients' questions around the impact of delaying patching," Girouard said.



The San Jose, Calif., networking giant provided more details Monday about the nature of the vulnerability and how attackers could exploit it. The vulnerability is the result of a problem allocating and freeing memory when processing a malicious XML payload, Cisco said in the advisory. "An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted XML packet to a vulnerable interface on an affected system. An exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary code and obtain full control of the system, cause a reload of the affected device or stop processing of incoming VPN authentication requests."



A Cisco spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.



The vulnerability is in the XML parser code of Cisco's Adaptive Security Appliance [ASA] software and could allow unauthenticated, remote attackers to cause a reload of affected systems or to execute code remotely, Cisco said in the advisory. It is possible, the company said, that the ASA could stop processing incoming VPN authentication requests because of "a low memory condition."



The vulnerability was found in several Cisco firewalls, servers, routers, switches and security software and could allow attackers into VPN devices. The vulnerability was classified as "critical" in Cisco's initial security advisory.



The vulnerability affects 10 Cisco products, including:



 The 3000 Series Industrial Security Appliances.

 The 5500 Series Adaptive Security Appliances.

 Cisco's 5500 X-Series Next-Generation Firewalls.

 The ASA Service Module for Catalyst 6500 Series switches and 7600 Series routers.

 The ASA 1000v Cloud Firewall.

 Cisco's ASAv virtual appliance.

 The Firepower 2100 and 4110 security appliances.

 The Firepower 9300 ASA Security Module.

 Cisco's Firepower Threat Defense software.
VoIP provider CoreDial has acquired contact center provider Voice4Net to combine UCaaS with customer engagement tools to give channel partners a more compelling sales opportunity, the company told CRN exclusively.

CoreDial, a channel-only company, said that once it integrates its own contact center technology with Voice4Net's solutions, partners can expect to earn up to a 40 percent margin on contact center sales -- that's double the 15 percent to 20 percent margin that most solution providers are earning today on the same technology.

"Voice4Net's omni-channel platform has attracted a number of customer over the years, large and small. We believe the features and functions will allow us to compete very favorably against companies like InContact, RingCentral and Vonage, through our partners," Alan Rihm, CEO of CoreDial, told CRN.

[Related: CoreDial Puts Partners In Driver's Seat With Platform Updates, BroadWorks Integration ]

Financial terms of the deal are not being disclosed.

Blue Bell, Pa.-based CoreDial was torn between building or buying customer interaction tools, but after partnering with Voice4Net, the two companies decided to combine their assets. CoreDial plans on integrating Voice4Net's Interactive voice response (IVR) and WebRTC-based contact center technology, including text, SMS mobile customer engagement, voice and call routing, into its existing cloud communications platform.

Voice4Net's contact center solutions today integrate with Salesforce.com and will soon integrate with several other industry-leading platforms, including Broadsoft, the company said.

CoreDial today has more than 800 channel partners, with 90 partners alone joining the program last quarter, according to Rihm. Voice4Net has a small channel program consisting of agent partners, which CoreDial will inherit.

Solution providers haven't had a contact center offering available through CoreDial. These partners have had to go to separate vendors for these solutions, often earning between 15 percent and 20 percent margins on this product set, typically in an agent partner model. CoreDial solution providers today earn between 50 percent and 60 percent margins on its cloud communications through its reseller partner programs. Voice4Net's contact center solutions, integrated with the CoreDial platform, is estimated to offer these MSP and reseller partners up to a 40 percent to 50 percent margin, Rihm said.

"Our platform and method of going to market helps our channel realize that kind of margin," he said.

And partners will earn monthly recurring revenue on the contact center solutions, the same model they get paid for virtually all of CoreDial's services today, he added.

"Now partners have mobile, UC, and will have contact center on top of a really robust service delivery platform. It's a complete solution," Rihm said.

In addition to selling Voice4Net's contact center integrated with CoreDial's UCaaS platform, partners will also be able to sell contact center as a stand-alone, SaaS product. Partners will have access to the contact center solutions beginning after March.

Rick McFarland, Voice4Net's CEO, is joining CoreDial as vice president of contact center solutions, reporting to CoreDial CTO Don Nawrocki. Voice4Net's staff, including its engineers, will also be joining CoreDial.
Check Point said its new subscription bundle provides customers with holistic security protection while reducing their total cost of operations.

The San Carlos, Calif.-based company said Infinity Total Protection could boost partner margins by 15 percent to 20 percent as compared with selling the individual network hardware, network software, endpoint, cloud and mobile components separately, said Pierre-Paul Allard, EVP of worldwide sales. It's very difficult for partners to avoid falling into a fulfillment role when selling point products, he said.

"When you're looking at everything on a piece-part basis, the competitive world around us has created price wars on every single deal we do," Allard told CRN. "We've simplified the way partners can sell, taking away the price point and making it much more of a value proposition."

[Related: Check Point Launches Advertising, Co-Op, Digital Marketing Offensive To Boost Brand Awareness]

Selling the entire Infinity platform as a per-user, per-year subscription allows partner-delivered services and integration capabilities to take center stage, Allard said. Roughly a dozen Check Point customers have piloted Infinity Total Protection since it launched in beta in December, Allard said, with adoption expected to accelerate following this week's CPX 360 conference in Las Vegas.

Customers in the pilot program, meanwhile, enjoyed a 25 to 35 percent reduction in operating costs, compared with buying the piece parts and providing the software licenses and support on their own, Allard said. Having a full architectural play out of the gate allows customers to avoid the costs associated with ongoing management, licenses and operation of the security components, Allard said.

"If we're developing and promoting product sets and architectural views to customers, we need to price from an architectural standpoint," Allard said. "Customers are looking for consumption models, defining the application needs for each user, and achieving the architectural play that they're looking for."

Although Check Point offers the subscription on a per-year basis, Allard said most customers opt for at least a three-year deal, with some clients locking in a five-year subscription. Longer-term contracts offer more benefits, Allard said, particularly as it relates to price stability.

"It takes a while to put this together," Allard said. "They don't want to spend three months of every year negotiating a 12-month contract, and then do it again."

Check Point is willing to mix and match any combination of its threat prevention, network security, cloud security, mobile security and data protection capabilities into a client's Infinity Total Protection toolset, with the price of the bundle varying based on the numbers of users and the capabilities being deployed.

Allard believes customers will get more out of Infinity Total Protection if they're leveraging the cloud, mobile, management and orchestration capabilities and not just using it to procure firewalls or other core technology.

"The more you consume, the better it is for you," Allard said. "That's really where the advantage lies."

Check Point found during the pilot program that Infinity Total Protection still holds value for clients that aren't the size of General Motors or JP Morgan Chase, Allard said. Small and midsized businesses can just scale down the services or support provided to fit the needs of their company, he said.

Larger customers often opted to procure Infinity Total Protection for a small subset of their workers rather than making it a full architectural play across their whole employee base, Allard said. For instance, Allard said a European bank purchased Total Protection just for its financial markets team since they face the greatest security risk, and will apply the lessons learned there to the rest of the company.

"There's no customer too little or too big to absorb this," Allard said.

NTSec has discussed Infinity Total Protection with a couple of clients and is hoping to show that customers will benefit from the new consumption model, according to Bruno Nobrega, CIO of the Brasilia, Brazil-based solution provider.

The cost-benefit of Total Protection starts to make sense for NTSec clients that have at least 500 users, Nobrega said. Adoption of the all-inclusive offering will allow NTSec customers to leverage the full value of Check Point's platform, Nobrega said, rather than doing specific projects or buying next-generation firewalls on an ad-hoc basis.

The current process of pricing 30 different security items or modules for each enterprise or mid-market customer can be very complicated, according to Michael Yassin, president of Mississauga, Ontario-based Conexsys Communications. But Infinity Total Protection will allow Conexsys to avoid having to explain individual pieces of technology to the CFO and simplify the company's message to the marketplace.

"The customers will react very positively to a single price," Yassin said.
Infocyte has tapped former SonicWall General Manager Curtis Hutcheson to double the company's headcount and size of its partner community over the next year.

The San Antonio-based threat hunting startup appointed Hutcheson as CEO in conjunction with the company's close of a $5.2 million Series B funding round, which was led by Newport Beach, Calif.-based venture firm Toba Capital. Hutcheson started last month and replaces Peter Klante, who served as Infocyte's CEO for one year.

"The company is about a great product and a great platform," Hutcheson told CRN exclusively. "I think it's the right time to really scale the business."

[Related: CRN Exclusive: SonicWall Names New CEO As It Closes Dell Spinout Deal]

Hutcheson recently spent 19 months leading Dell Security's $550 million software business unit, which included the SonicWall network security practice and the One Identity identity and access management team. In that role, Hutcheson restructured the division to become a stand-alone business with full P&L authority in preparation for its 2016 sale to Francisco Partners and Elliott Management.

Prior to that, Hutcheson spent nearly two years leading Dell's $8 billion North American data center business. After leaving Dell, Hutcheson has evaluated hundreds of security companies for potential investment as a partner at Toba Capital.

Hutcheson said he had been planning to step into a leadership role with a security company when a strong opportunity arose. And based on Infocyte's potential for mainstream threat hunting, which only the largest enterprises have had the capability to do themselves up until now, Hutcheson felt the timing was right.

"Every enterprise deals with the problem of 'How do I know my network is clean?'" Hutcheson said. "I think it's been cost-prohibitive. I think it's been too complex."

Until now, threat hunting has primarily been the domain of military and top-tier financial institutions that often rely on manual and time-consuming techniques to sift through analytics and behavioral data, according to Infocyte.

From a partner perspective, Infocyte has grown its channel community from just 10 solution providers a year ago to 54 partners today as the company's products gain traction in the market, according to co-founder and Chief Product Officer Chris Gerritz. Hutcheson said Infocyte is "definitely in recruit mode" when it comes to channel partners, and plans to double its base of solution providers in 2018.

"There's tons of turf out here," Hutcheson said.

Infocyte also plans to introduce a formal, tiered partner program this quarter, Hutcheson said, with solution providers receiving greater rewards for holding more certifications and being able to deliver higher levels of expertise to customers.

The company is most interested in channel partners that have experience managing protection tools, networks and endpoints for customers since they know how the network is configured and are already trusted by customers, Hutcheson said. Infocyte isn't that concerned about a partner's size or scale since solution providers only need a few security experts to deliver value to clients.

Infocyte is also seeking out partners with deep expertise in verticals such as retail, finance, banking, insurance, health care or government, according to Hutcheson. Health care and finance tend to attract a lot of adversaries since they have valuable assets, Hutcheson said, while government agencies are also an appealing target due to the sensitive data in their domain.

From a personnel standpoint, Infocyte plans to double its headcount from 25 workers today to 50 employees a year from now, according to Hutcheson. The company has up until now has invested primarily in its product and platform, meaning that the new hires will allow Infocyte to make significant gains from a coverage and marketing perspective.

The company's signature product, Infocyte Hunt, simplifies the threat hunting process by reducing the skill set requirement for pursuing malware and advanced persistent threats (APTs). The product significantly reduces the period of time between infection and discovery, according to the company, denying bad actors the ability to operate undetected.

As a result, Infocyte said the business impact of malware or APTs is reduced and trust in the network's health is restored. The offering was developed by former U.S. Air Force cybersecurity officers, and leverages military-grade techniques and practices in an automated platform.

Infocyte goes beyond a basic vulnerability assessment or penetration test by letting end users know what  if any  malware or persistent threats have gotten through the holes in their coverage, according to Chad Smith, CEO of San Antonio-based Everon Technology.

"It opens up a really great conversation, especially at the executive level," Smith said. "It filled a gap that we were really looking for."

Everon has run six Infocyte assessments thus far, Smith said, and expects to close agreements with four or five additional customers by the end of the quarter. In time, Smith hopes to incorporate Infocyte's technology into a bundled package that combines the company's offering with classic penetration testing.

"They're really fulfilling a need in the industry," Smith said. "They're a fast-growing company, and they're going to rise quickly."
Of course it's no surprise to discover that Goldman Sachs is linked to the Soros Brexit sabotage operation.

For one of those at the dinner was Stephen Peel, a former Goldman Sachs investment banker and backer of the Best for Britain group.

Alumni of the finance giant that's valued at 68billion have muscled their way into positions of power across the world and try to manipulate government policies.

For example, under chairman Lloyd Blankfein, it was a shameless cheerleader for the Remain campaign during the 2016 referendum, donating 500,000.

Under chairman Lloyd Blankfein, it was a shameless cheerleader for the Remain campaign during the 2016 referendum, donating 500,000.

Blankfein made a dig at Brexit in November, tweeting that Britain should hold a second referendum, and, in a jibe at London, he's said Frankfurt should be a post-Brexit financial centre.

Don't forget Goldman Sachs was deeply implicated in the debt crisis that ravaged Greece and destabilised the eurozone.

In 2001, when Greece was intent on joining the eurozone, Goldman used sleight of hand to disguise the scale of the country's national debt. It allowed Greece to meet the criteria for signing up to the euro  a disastrous decision that helped cripple its economy and drive millions out of work.

Despite this, Goldman bosses soon afterwards got 79million in bonuses, which were branded an outrage.

In 2009, as the euro crisis loomed, the bank again assisted the Greek government in easing its debt problems. It was a cynical case of playing both sides against the middle. It's believed Goldman made millions out of this business.

Meanwhile in the US, Goldman had used ruthlessly amoral techniques to sell so-called sub-prime mortgages to the poor, many of whom were unable to repay the loans. This created a debt crisis that spread from the housing market to the banking system and triggered a recession.

Then, having found itself with mountains of toxic mortgage loans, the bank made even more money for itself by selling these debts on to unsuspecting investors.

Goldman bosses denied allegations that investors had been deliberately misled, but when held to account by US authorities, the bank had to pay a 400million fine.

Alumni of the finance giant that's valued at 68billion have muscled their way into positions of power across the world and try to manipulate government policies

Elsewhere, the bank has been busy speculating against the currencies and debt of weaker economies to make huge profits, oblivious to the social dislocation and human suffering this activity causes.

The US-based bank, which employs 6,000 in London, often behaves as if it has a divine right to interfere in the politics of countries where it operates. It shows no contrition for past mistakes despite having been censured on occasion by financial regulators around the world. The bank's arrogance is buoyed by the fact its alumni hold many of the top global finance jobs.

They include Mark Carney (Bank of England governor), Mario Draghi (head of the European Central Bank), Bill Dudley (president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank) and Steve Mnuchin (US Treasury Secretary). They personify the smug elite who paraded their self-importance at the World Economic Forum in Davos last month.

The bank has a history of putting its interests above everyone else, and falling foul of rules. In 2010, it was fined 350million by the US Securities and Exchange Commission for mortgage-related chicanery. Two years ago, Goldman agreed a 3.65billion settlement with US authorities after behaviour described as 'serious misconduct' when it sold pools of loans having made 'false and misleading representations' to prospective investors.

No wonder a critic once rebuked the Wall St giant for the immoral way it 'relentlessly jams' itself 'into anything that smells like money'.
A serial bridesmaid has told how she finally met her own prince charming after playing a central role at a staggering 15 weddings.

Madeline Langston Fagg, 27, Christchurch, Dorset, got her long-awaited happy ending after watching over a dozen friends and family members tie the knot over a period of nearly 20 years.

The serial bridesmaid has worn everything from a vintage Harrods white frock with a flower crown, to a lime green wrap dress and a sweeping pink ballgown.

The mother-of-one married Luke Fagg on April 11th 2014 just a year after they met, with Madeline admitting her multiple stints as a bridesmaid meant that planning her own nuptials was a breeze.

Madeline, who works as a copywriter and virtual assistant, told MailOnline FEMAIL: 'My family call me the real life 27 Dresses, but were not quite there yet!

Happy ending: After 18 years and 15 weddings, serial bridesmaid Madeline (centre) married Luke Fagg on April 11th 2014 and the many weddings she's been to made planning a breeze

Madeline (third left) aged five in her first stint as a bridesmaid at the Greenacre wedding, June 1996 (she's third from left). She said: 'This wedding set the bar - I still have the dreamy vintage beauty from Harrods'

'Being a bridesmaid has never lost its fun, I just love a wedding. For me it is actually quite strange going to a wedding and wearing whatever I want.'

She is just one of hundreds of women who have been nominated for Britains Best Bridesmaid competition, run by Red7.

Madeline, who admits that having a little girl of her own has 'rekindled' her love of weddings, added: 'I couldnt possibly tell you which my least favourite dress was... but the pictures speak for themselves.

'Fashions change and looking back makes me laugh. I had open-brain surgery in 2010, and you can see my hair growth progression throughout the pictures.

Madeline (far right) at the Harris wedding in August 1996. She got her long-awaited happy ending after watching over a dozen friends and family tie the knot over nearly 20 years

Older and wiser: Madeline (third left) at the Langston wedding in March 24th 2007. The serial bridesmaid has worn everything from a vintage Harrods white frock with a flower crown, to a lime green wrap dress and a sweeping pink ballgown

Lady in red: Madeline (right) in a vibrant crimson bridesmaid dress for the Falsone wedding in May 2008. The mother-of-one married Luke Fagg on April 11th 2014 just a year after they met

Think pink: Madeline (second right) at the Lee wedding in August 2009. Madeline admits her multiple stints as a bridesmaid made planning her own nuptials a breeze

Same hair, different dress: Madeline (far right) dons a lilac dress with a white bolero for the Elston wedding in December 2011. She is just one of hundreds of women who have been nominated for Britains Best Bridesmaid competition, run by Red7

'It wasnt easy wearing a "princess dress" when I felt quite boyish with my pixie crop. I felt self-conscious as I was used to having very long hair to hide behind but with short hair youre totally exposed.'

When it comes to wedding disasters, Madeline has certainly had a few - including the time she nearly gave the bride a black eye.

'I will never forget the night before my cousin's wedding - I was maid of honour - and we took a selfie the night before.

'I dropped the phone on her face almost causing a black eye - I felt terrible! Not my finest hour but we laugh about it even now. Weve had many fab hen dos and countless bridal showers.'

After open-brain surgery, Madeline (second right) was forced to cut her hair short for the Wheat wedding in January 2012, donning a pink midi sleeveless dress with a white shrug

Green and serene: Madeline (second left) dons a strapless pistacchio number for the Barker wedding in October 2012. She told FEMAIL: 'Being a bridesmaid has never lost its fun'

Madeline (far right) dons a vibrant green wrap dress for the Rayfield wedding in August 2013. The mother-of-one admits she often giggles looking back at her frocks over the years

Madeline admits she's lost count of the number of times she's been compared to Katherine Heigl's character in 27 Dresses - and even has a wardrobe in her spare room with 'every single dress' stored in it.

And before tying the knot herself, she's had to put up with more than her fair share of pressure from family members wondering when it would be her turn to walk down the aisle.

She said: 'At each wedding I would hear "your turn next" or "no ring on your finger yet Mads?" But I was having a great time!'

Elegant lace for the Langston wedding in September 2017 (Madeline pictured second right). Madeline admits: 'I just love a wedding. For me it is actually quite strange going to a wedding and wearing whatever I want'

For her most recent stint as a bridesmaid at the May 2017 Laborero wedding, Madeline (centre) donned a sweeping, floor-length oyster number. Madeline admits that having a little girl of her own has 'rekindled' her love of weddings

Almost 15 weddings later, Madeline met now-husband Luke Fagg in Bristol in April 2013, and he popped the question just six months later.

'As soon as I met Luke I knew he was the one,' she said. 'We married a year after so the wedding planning was a whirlwind but i'ts not like I hadnt had any practice!'

Having played such a central role in the nuptials of all of her friends, Madeline admits that choosing bridesmaids for her own big day posed something of a challenge.

In the end, she chose her sisters-in-law as well as her best friends Ashley, Beth and Alice.
Dogs across Australia are leaving their leashes at home in favour of yoga mats.

Real Dog Yoga classes are being held where dogs learn more than 30 different yoga position, 15 actions and ten expressions all designed to reduce their anxiety.

Radica Raeves, who carries out dog yoga home visits in Sydney, Australia, says the animals are picking it up quickly.

'Real dog yoga is where the dog is actually taught to take certain positions,' says Radica Raeves who takes classes in Sydney

Lying down and crossing the paws is one of yoga moves the dogs learn during the sessions

The dogs learn 30 different yoga position, 15 actions and ten expressions all designed to reduce anxiety

She said: 'The dog actually starts to learn "oh hang on, this actually feels good, this is relaxing. I could use this in a circumstance where I'm not feeling so confident and I need to de-stress".'

'Real dog yoga is where the dog is actually taught to take certain positions and to make certain movements and do certain facial expressions.'

It is about teaching dogs different yoga positions that help them stay calm in stressful situations.

Paws in the moment: Real Dog Yoga is about teaching the pooches to stay calm in stressful situations

Before the private session is held owners are asked to watch their pooches for 30 minutes to help them understand the dogs behaviour

Radica has been running the classes for seven months and gets the owners to sit and watch their dogs in silence for half an hour before the training begins.

Using treats and a dog training clicker they slowly teach each dog the various stretches.

Four one-hour sessions over a month will set the dog's owner back $199.

Dog Yoga is becoming a fad with trainers across Europe, the U.S and Australia.

The real Downward dog: Trainers use treats and a clicker to teach the dogs the yoga moves

It helps dogs deal with separation anxiety, aggression on the lead and low self confidence

It was started in the UK by Jo-Rosie Haffenden, 31, an animal behaviorist who wrote the book Real Dog Yoga

It is meant to help with aggression on the lead, separation anxiety, low self-confidence and hostility towards other canines.

Like regular yoga each stretch has a name says Jo-Rosie Haffenden, 31, the animal behaviorist behind the book Real Dog Yoga.

'Each instructor tends to train to different cues. For example the head in-between the paws is called "sad" in the book but lots of people call it "guilty" or "paws'',' she says.

Real Dog Yoga goes one step above 'force-free' training, where there is no pain or fear involved, to actually give the dogs full control over the yoga session.

If they sit on the mat it signals that they're ready for the stretch session and can end it at any time by walking off.

Jo-Rosie, who lives in the UK, developed the training after adopting her pit bull, Archie.

Namaste, pooches: Real Dog Yoga classes are being held across the U.S., Europe and Australia

Paws and stretch: Jo-Rosie, 31, developed the training after adopting her rescue dog

He had been mistreated, with his ears cut off and was emotionally distressed. Jo-Rosie had been in a car crash at 21 and used yoga as part of her recovery.

She saw a connection between the two and started teaching Archie stretches to help him.

'I just thought, perhaps Ill teach him to hold relaxed postures. So I trained him some of the body language I saw that he wasnt practicing And so yoga was born,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

She was spotted by a vet using the same technique on her other dog and they suggested she write a manual for owners. Instead she approached publishers and her book, Real Dog Yoga was picked up.

'Real Dog Yoga empowers both you and your dog on a journey which increases the connection between you,' it says in the book

It goes one step above force free training that means their is no pain of fear involved

The dogs have full control over the sessions. If they want to start they can hop on the mat and they can end it at any time by hoping off

The book says: 'Yoga is defined as the stilling of the sense. It is a practice which involves people taking and holding specific postures, focusing on the present and working on physical stimulation as a pathway to still themselves mentally.'

'Real dog Yoga shares the same aims, as well as improving focus, body consciousness and dog-human connection.'

'Real Dog Yoga empowers both you and your dog on a journey which increases the connection between you, seeking to create a new, fluid inter-species dialogue with patience, compassion and respect at the heart.'

The yogi dogs and their owners normally go through a six-week class, mastering the stretches and learning to control their behaviour.
First there were the mumpreneurs, now there are the moonpreneurs.

But this doesn't have anything to do with space. Moonlighting is the act of launching a business on the side, hoping to pursue a different passion (and some extra cash).

Now more than 80 per cent of Australians have a side hustle, and many revealed to the NBN that it was because they feel unfulfilled with what they're doing full-time.

For some, including Kristy Payne and Anna Lavdaras, these side businesses have become so successful that the women were able to leave their full-time jobs.

Now Kristy, the creator of candle company Maison Blanche, and Anna, who launched cashmere boutique Phile, have shared with FEMAIL just how they did it.

Kristy Payne (pictured), 27, turned a passion for making candles for family and friends to a million-dollar business that sold 20,000 products

Anna Lavdaras (pictured) got Phile, which sells cashmere blankets and scarves, off the ground while working as a beauty writer at Harper's Bazaar

Kristy, 27, turned a passion for making candles for family and friends to a million-dollar business that sold 20,000 products.

The Sydney entrepreneur was working at Lush Cosmetics when she decided to create a natural and soy candle that would stop leaving soot on her walls.

It was her mum who pushed Kristy to put the candles online and see how they would fare with people who weren't among her relatives or friends.

'That push got me to opening an Etsy store, and Maison Blanche grew from there,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

Kristy had no formal training in business, and thus had to teach herself everything from marketing to accounting with the help of Google.

There were plenty of obstacles, including when shelving collapsed the day before Christmas sales and lost the brand $1,000 worth of stock.

Kristy was working at Lush Cosmetics when she decided to create a natural and soy candle that would stop leaving soot on her walls

Kristy had no formal training in business, and thus had to teach herself everything from marketing to accounting with the handy help of Google as she launched Maison Blanche

'When you're a small scale business, any loss is a massive setback,' Kristy said. 'But I just decided it was the cost of doing business.'

Any money that was made from the Etsy store went right back into the product, as Kristy continuously worked to keep improving her candles.

But even as she juggled the business with her full-time customer service job at Lush, Kristy's side hustle never truly felt like work.

'I would rush home to work on the website or the images or the candles,' she said. 'It never felt like a chore because I absolutely loved what I was doing.'

It was exactly how Anna felt as she tried to get Phile, which sells cashmere blankets and scarves, off the ground.

Anna first got the idea for Phile a couple of years ago while trying to finding a christening gift.

She couldn't find anything for less than $1,000 and decided to start 'blindly contacting cashmere suppliers overseas', she told Daily Mail Australia.

There were many late nights and weekends of work as Anna tried to turn Phile into a reality, but she was learning so many new things 'it didn't feel like a chore'

She made sure to think of everything - from the product to the logo and the illustration on the tissue paper that every blanket or scarf would be wrapped in.

'The more I investigated, the more I got invested in the idea of offering simple, chic cashmere pieces at an affordable price point.'

Like Kristy, Anna had 'no idea' what she was doing as she first looked into starting her own business.

But the Harper's Bazaar writer said she followed her gut and focused all of her energy into the look and feel of the brand.

She made sure to think of everything - from the product and the logo and the illustration on the tissue paper that every blanket or scarf would be wrapped inside.

Then she used the skills she had learned from working on the magazine to find a photographer, create a moodboard, and help style Phile's first campaign shoot.

'When it all went live, it was one of the most satisfying moments because it was all so personal,' she said.

There were many late nights and weekends of work as Anna tried to turn Phile into a reality, but she was learning so many new things that 'it didn't feel like a chore'.

But whenever deadline time came around for the magazine, Phile's progress would suffer.

Then she used the skills she had learned from working on the magazine to find a photographer, create a moodboard, and style Phile's first campaign shoot

That is why Anna recently decided to leave her job at the magazine and focus on Phile full time.

Kristy likewise left her job at Lush when she realised she was neglecting certain aspects of Maison Blanche to focus on her full-time job.

'I felt dissatisfied with what I was doing full-time and I really enjoyed what I was doing with Maison Blanche,' she said.

'I decided I was willing to struggle financially with the hopes that in a year or two I'd be able to get some money out of it.'

That decision has paid off as Maison recently launched diffusers, hand creams, and soaps and plans to expand internationally in 2019.

For aspiring moonpreneurs, both Kristy and Anna advise to start slow with your idea.

'You can start small and test the market to see if your idea is going to be something that's going to grow organically enough to be a viable product,' Kristy said.

Kristy has turned Maison Blanche into a million-dollar business and sold more than 20,000 candles last year

'And if you have a good support system and people who are honest with you, they'll tell you if it's something achievable.'

'I think the most important part is auctioning your idea,' Anna agreed. 'I hear friends mention great business ideas all the time, but they never really see it through.'

'It obviously comes with risk, but no reward is without it.'

Both Anna and Kristy agree that there will also come a time in the business when it's best to outsource some of the responsibilities.

'Outsourcing is the best thing I've learned,' Kristy said. 'Hire people who are better than you at their jobs.'

'All my staff, I believe, are better than I could be. Otherwise, I should be doing it.'
A mother who produces ten times as much breastmilk as the average woman is urging people to donate for a cause that's particularly special to her.

Elisabeth Anderson-Sierra, 29, from Beaverton, Oregon, devotes a staggering ten hours a day to pumping her milk - which she describes as her 'labor of love', admitting that it has become like a full-time job.

The mom-of-two was diagnosed with Hyperlactation Syndrome in 2014 which means she produces around 225oz, or 1.75 gallons, of breastmilk a day.

Little fighter: A woman in Oregon who produces ten times the average amount of breastmilk plans to send the liquid to a Puerto Rican baby whose mother died during childbirth

Overcome birth: Baby Joaquin's father Guardin Sosa is finding it incredibly difficult to find breastmilk to give his three-month-old son

'Liquid gold': Mother-of-two Elisabeth Anderson-Sierra, 29, from Beaverton, Oregon, has Hyperlactation Syndrome and has donated gallons of breastmilk over the years

But because the mother does not want the breastmilk to go to waste, she has decided to put it to good use and feed 'thousands' of babies with more than 600 gallons of the precious liquid.

One family she is hoping to help through her 'Breastmilk for Joaquin' campaign is the Sosa's who lost their wife and mother during childbirth.

She wrote on the campaign's website: 'As many may have read, three-month-old Joaquin's mother Maria Cristina left this earth after an incredibly difficult childbirth.'

'Guardin Sosa is the widower and father to daughter Amaris, and son Joaquin who was able to overcome birth and graduate the NICU after 24 days.'

'This family is located near San Juan Puerto Rico and has been affected not only by the natural disaster of hurricane Maria, but loosing their beloved Maria shortly after The birth of their son.'

Changing lives: The Sosa family is located near San Juan, Puerto Rico, and has also been affected by Hurricane Maria as well making their situation all the more difficult

Doing his best: Elisabeth said that 'Guardin is a father who is doing the best job possible' but added that she wants to help him care for and provide for his child

'Guardin is a father who is doing the best job possible for his children after the loss of his wife during a difficult childbirth.'

She added: 'He is doing what he believes his wife would want for their son and in his own words said "I just want the best possible for Joaquin and will continue as long as possible" - this means providing their son with breastmilk.'

The father-of-two has been purchasing breastmilk from the US for $750 for approximately a weeks worth of milk.

The price of breastmilk along with shipping costs is taking a serious financial toll on the family who is still grieving the loss of their wife and mother.

And although there are lower cost options available to get more breastmilk to Joaquin, money for shipping costs and ensuring that the family's freezer has power at all times is required.

Financial toll: The cost of the breastmilk and shipping in order to get it to their home has been an incredible burden on the family

Precious liquid: Elisabeth stores her breastmilk in freezers in her home; it needs to be kept cool and transported in special packaging to ensure it can still be used

So Elisabeth has created a fundraising campaign to assist the family while fulfilling the wishes Joaquin's mother would have had.

She said: 'I ask that if you are able to, please consider this amazing family.'

'It takes a village, and even more so in this situation. This baby needs breastmilk until at least one year of age. Let's make this happen!'

Elisabeth started to donate her breastmilk to local moms who are unable to produce enough milk themselves, gay couples, and a milk bank for premature babies after the birth of her second daughter, Sophia, in December 2016, which she said 'ramped up' her milk production.

The precious liquid is packaged, labeled, and stored in four huge freezers in the house where the dedicated mom lives with her two girls and her husband, public safety officer David Sierra, 52.

But the mom doesn't resent the time she has spent pumping every day for the former US Coast Guard boatswain's mate says producing the 'liquid gold' is her 'labor of love', insisting that she is happy to be able to help other parents and children such as Joaquin.

She said: 'I realized I was an overproducer when I was pregnant with my first child, but when I had my second baby my supply ramped up.'

Helping hand: Elisabeth often donates the milk to other families, as well as milk banks - but she believes that she can also make a difference in the life of

Apparatus: The family's home is filled with apparatus required for the pumping process

Sophia is now a one-year-old who no longer requires breastmilk but when she did he the mother would pump five times a day - as soon as she would wake up, after breakfast, after lunch, after dinner and again at midnight.

Elisabeth said she would produce up to 0.625 gallons of milk during her first pump alone and spend around five hours a day just pumping and eight to ten hours 'storing, labelling, sterilizing etcetera'.

She said: 'Pumping is not fun - it is uncomfortable and it hurts - but it is my labor of love. It's more than a full-time job but it's instant gratification when I donate locally because I see the babies and I see them thriving.'

'It will have helped thousands of children. The milk at the milk bank goes to micro pre-emies, so just 1 fl oz can feed three or four babies.'

'I don't discriminate - I have donated to gay couples and to mothers who are on medication or had their breast removed due to breast cancer - it's an amazing feeling.'

Elisabeth usually breastfeeds at home but will also pump discretely in restaurants, while driving and in other public spaces.

Devoted: The mom said 'donating has been a massive part of my life for the past few years'

Process: Elisabeth spends up to five hours, in addition to the pumping time, packaging, labeling and storing her milk before donating it

Around half of her milk is picked up from her house by local moms or couples who often choose to compensate her for her time.

The other half is donated to California milk bank Prolacta Bioscience.

Elisabeth is paid $1 for every fl oz she donates to the company to cover her time but says that she does not profit from her work.

Instead, she spends the money on the equipment, storage and extra food she needs to continue pumping and sharing her milk.

The devoted mom said: 'Donating has been a massive part of my life for the past few years.'

'When I first started it was very very hard, mostly because there is really no price on it and all the blood sweat and tears that go into making it.'

'It was like giving away a portion of the paintings on the Sistine Chapel... priceless and hours of work.'

Devoted: Elisabeth, pictured with her daughters and her husband David Sierra, 52, receives $1 for every fl oz that she donates to a milk bank, but uses that to buy the necessary equipment

'There was also fear. What if I gave away all my milk and something happened to me to where I then dried up and couldn't feed my own baby?'

'I'd hear horror stories about that happening to mothers all the time! I'd then be the one in the position that I'd be desperate to find donor milk.'

'I eventually got over it, and kept donating everything I had on hand.'

'It makes me feel like I am giving back to my community and I'm participating in humanity.'

'I would encourage other moms to reach out to their own community and consider donating.'

'Breastmilk is like liquid gold - it should never be thrown away. And there is a high need for it out there.'
He's set to become a father-of-three when the Duchess of Cambridge gives birth in April, but Prince William has admitted he's relieved Kate is not expecting twins.

According to Hello! magazine William joked with Raymond Stoner, boss of Anston Properties, at last night's Centrepoint awards about the new arrival and admitted he's getting as much sleep as possible in the meantime.

When Mr Stoner suggested he could save time by having twins, William replied: 'Twins? I think my mental health would be tested with twins.

'Two is fine, I don't know how I'm going to cope with three, I'm going to be permanently tired.'

Last night's awards honoured the achievements of young people who have overcome homelessness at a reception at Kensington Palace, attended by celebrity supporters of the charity, including actress Emilia Clarke, TV presenter Jonathan Ross, and Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes.

Prince William attended Centrepoint's annual awards ceremony at Kensington Palace last night

William and Kate are set to welcome their third child in April, and the Duke admits he's been catching up on as much sleep as possible ahead of the birth

William joked that he'd struggle to cope with twins as he's already nervous about having three young children to look after

The Centrepoint awards, which are being held for the third time, recognises young people for their efforts in personal development, sport and education.

The organisation, which turns 50 next year, provides physical and mental health support to 16 to 25 year-olds to people who are homeless.

William has long been a supporter of the charity, officially becoming a patron in 2005.

His mother Princess Diana was also a patron of Centrepoint before she died.

William was seen laughing with award winners Nabila Mirza, Claudette Shay and Talisha Reid-Clementson (pictured from left to right)

The Duke of Cambridge looked in high spirits as he met guests at the reception

The royal, 35, spoke to young people who have been helped by the homelessness charity

William looked animated as he chatted to guests at a reception ahead of the ceremony

Last year, William helped launch a new helpline for the charity, which helps young people with advice and support on housing, as well as related issues such as mental health, relationships, money and work.

It has been a busy day for William, who visited the Ark Burlington Danes Academy in Shepherd's Bush, west London, this morning along with rapper Professor Green.

Speaking to pupils at the school, he revealed his worry for young girls who feel pressure to emulate the airbrushed pictures they see online.

The prince presented the Centrepoint Life Transformation Award to Nabila Mirza

Talisha Reid-Clementson received the Centrepoint Sport Award from the Duke of Cambridge

William presented the Centrepoint Education Award to Joshua Gargett (left) and the Personal Development Award to Tamara Cobb (right)

The Duke of Cambridge pictured with Centrepoint CEO Seyi Obakin (far left) and tonight's award winners

The prince said: 'I worry for you girls. The touched up pictures are not real.

'Don't try to recreate them or think that's what you've got to aim for. There's a lot of fakeness online so don't worry about that.'

He added: 'For your mental health, get outside, come away from the screen.'

William, who has daughter Princess Charlotte, two, was taking part in a discussion about how to stay safe and happy online.

The Duke of Cambridge enjoyed chatting to award winners after the ceremony tonight

The prince was seen shaking hands with guests during the reception at Kensington Palace

He later presented awards to seven outstanding young people who have been helped by the homelessness charity

William has long been a supporter of Centrepoint, becoming a patron of the charity in 2005

Prince William delivered a speech as he took to the stage at the 2018 Centrepoint Awards

Julian Fellowes (far right) spoke during the ceremony, as Emilia Clarke and Jonathan Ross looked on

Game Of Thrones actress Emilia Clarke was among the celebrity guests at the reception
On Thursday night he was hosting the likes of pop star Cheryl and Burberry model Neelam Gill at a glittering charity gala at St James' Palace.

But the following morning Prince Charles' diary of engagements looked quite different - kicking off with a face to face meeting with a ram.

The Prince of Wales was at the Bulford Camp in Salisbury, Wiltshire on Friday, to visit the 1st Battalion of The Mercian Regiment, starting with its four-legged mascot - named Private Derby XXXII.

The royal's visit marked his 10 year anniversary as Colonel-in-Chief of the regiment.

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The Prince of Wales arrived at the Bulford Camp in Salisbury, Wiltshire, to visit the 1st Battalion of The Mercian Regiment on Friday

The Prince, 68, was snapped petting the inquisitive creature as he chatted to members of the regiment in Wiltshire.

Kitted out with the regiment's headgear, the ram appeared taken with Charles, nuzzling his hand gently.

Charles then moved on to greeting members of the regiment individually, shaking the hands of the soldiers.

The Prince donned a helmet before later taking a spin on a tank at the barracks in Bulford

Charles, who is Commander in Chief of the Mercian Regiment, wore protective gear to man the tank during a training exercise

The Royal's visit marked 10 years as colonel-in-chief and 40 years since becoming colonel-in-chief of the Cheshire Regiment, which preceded it

Prince Charles attended in full military uniform, and greeted members of the regiment along with meeting their mascot goat

As well as the visit to the Bulford Camp 1st Battalion of The Mercian Regiment, Charles had a range of activities lined up in Wiltshire.

He was due to go on to present medals to officers returning from Iraq and South Sudan, as well as meeting their families.

The Prince was due to finish his day with a trip to the Salisbury Plain, where the regiment was set to showcase its equipment and capabilities.

Contrast: The previous night, the Prince hosted Cheryl, Dame Helen Mirren and others at St James's Palace

Kitted out with the regiment's headgear, the ram took quite an interest in the Prince, nuzzling his hand gently

Dressed in the full camouflage military uniform, Charles was seen greeting the mascot goat, before petting the inquisitive creature

The members of the Regiment appeared quite amused at the creature's curiosity

On Thursday night the Prince welcomed a glittering crowd to St James's Palace for the Invest in Futures reception.

Guests included Dame Helen Mirren, Tom Jones, and Cheryl.

The initiative raises funds to help disadvantaged young people in the UK become economically active.

The royal looked right at home in control of the tank at the barracks in the Wiltshire countryside

He seemed quite taken with the regal ram as he joked with the soldiers

Charles then moved on to greeting members of the regiment individually, shaking the hands of the soldiers

In 2007, the 22nd (Cheshire) Regiment, the Staffordshire Regiment and the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters merged into one and was named the Mercian Regiment

At the time he said: 'I have no doubt that the Mercian Regiment will stand firm and strike hard just as its predecessor regiments did in all four corners of the world.'

Prince Charles was later seen talking to troops during a training exercise on his visit

Officers helped Prince Charles adjust his helmet as he prepared to ride on the tank

He appeared in good spirits as he enjoyed a ride on the magnificent vehicle

He chatted to the officer as he enjoyed the ride through their barracks in Wiltshire
Ivanka Trump read up on the news this morning as she headed to work in an SUV with her head buried in a newspaper.

The first daughter, 36, left around 7:30 this morning at the back of her Secret Service vehicle. While she is often seen walking from her house in the upscale neighborhood of Kalorama to her parked car, this morning she chose to leave straight from her garage.

Also this morning, Ivanka wished Olympians good luck in a video she shared on her Instagram Story, telling Team USA to 'bring home the gold'.

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Headlines: Ivanka Trump read up on the news this morning as she headed to work in an SUV while reading a newspaper at the back of the vehicle

Indoors: The first daughter, 36, left around 7:30 this morning. While she is often seen walking from her house to her parked car, this morning she chose to leave straight from her garage

Look: Ivanka appeared to be wearing dark colors and had her hair tucked into a low bun, with dangly earrings as the finishing touch to her outfit

Ivanka recorded the video on Thursday, when she wore a long-sleeved, knee-length blue dress with shoulder pads and a mock neck.

She paired the dress with the black boots, which lace up at the front and up to the ankle. The model is by Italian designer Gianvito Rossi and retails for $1,340.

The White House adviser, who wore her hair in soft waves, finished off her outfit with sparkly earrings.

This morning, she also appeared to be wearing dark colors, but had her hair tucked into a low bun, with dangly earrings as the finishing touch to her outfit.

Before she departed her home, Ivanka shared her good luck wishes for Team USA on Instagram, posting the video she recorded at the White House.

'Today is the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics and we are all so excited. We'll be watching,' she said. 'Go Team USA. Bring home the gold.'

Thumbs up! Also this morning, Ivanka wished Olympians good luck in a video she shared on her Instagram Story, telling Team USA to 'bring home the gold'

Wishes: 'Today is the opening ceremony of the winter Olympics and we are all so excited. We'll be watching, she said. 'Go Team USA. Bring home the gold'

Past: Ivanka recorded the video on Thursday, when she wore a long-sleeved, knee-length blue dress with shoulder pads and a mock neck

At the bottom of her video, Ivanka used the hashtag Go #TeamUSA, along with a Stars And Stripes sticker.

No doubt Ivanka will be following the Olympics closely, since she is scheduled to lead 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, a White House official told CNN.

Vice President Mike Pence, meanwhile, led the US delegation during the opening ceremony on Friday.

On Thursday morning, Ivanka was seen leaving her house with her husband and fellow White House adviser Jared Kushner, 37, wearing the same outfit she donned in her Instagram video.

The pair departed for their morning commute a little after 7, smiling as they walked towards their parked Secret Service vehicle side by side.

Ready! On Thursday morning, Ivanka was seen leaving her house with her husband Jared Kushner, 37, wearing the same outfit she donned in her Instagram video

In high spirits: Both Jared and Ivanka smiled as they walked towards their parked Secret Service vehicle side by side

Jared stuck to his usual work outfit, donning a black suit and matching tie along with a white shirt.

Ivanka and Jared do not always leave for work together; most mornings, Jared leaves about an hour earlier than his wife, and each of them gets driven to work in a different Secret Service vehicle.

The first daughter was seen later on Thursday morning during the National Prayer Breakfast, and was photographed mingling with other attendees before the arrival of her father, President Donald Trump.

Jared and Ivanka's joint departure came the day after Ivanka headed to work in an all-dark outfit, donning eye-catching sunglasses.

The first daughter left for work a little before 9am on Wednesday, 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.

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 D.C. were in the thirties that 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.

Greeting the day: Ivanka cut a classic figure as she headed on Wednesday morning in an all-dark outfit and donning eye-catching sunglasses

Back to business: She took a morning call on her way to work on Monday morning, after returning from a weekend getaway in Florida with her family

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

On Monday, Ivanka didn't waste any time getting back to the grind after spending a relaxing weekend away from Washington with her family.

She was pictured on Monday morning leaving her house a little before 8 in a Secret Service SUV, holding her phone up to her ear as she took a call during her commute.

She appeared to be wearing a combination of burgundy and black, with her hair pulled back in a ponytail.

Ivanka 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.
Eyebrows were raised when Primark launched its first budget beauty range with lipsticks starting at just 1.

But the high street giant has just been the official seal of approval from one of the leading voices in the beauty world - who claims the collection is 'the best thing she's discovered this year'.

Blogger turned entrepreneur, Huda Kattan, who has some 24 million Instagram followers, has penned a blog on Primark's latest range - raving about the eyeshadow's 'amazing staying power' and 'pretty' glitter shades.

Primark's beauty range, which launched in 2014, starts at just 60p for a bottle of nail polish with the most expensive item a 6 foundation.

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Dubai-based millionaire beauty mogul Huda Kattan, who shot to fame making DIY beauty tutorials on Instagram, has praised Primark's beauty range which starts at just 60p

Kattan wrote: 'Are we expecting amazing pigmentation and long-lasting lipsticks, no, but were down to try them anyway!

'Primarks new makeup collection, PS, has pretty much everything, from foundation and contour sticks to liquid eyeliner, glitter palettes, lip liners, nail varnish and tons more.

'You could probably fill an entire makeup bag for less than 30, so of course, we had to play with them.'

The standout product for Huda and her team was Primark's 4 Gold Rush eyeshadow palette, which comes in 28 shades - which they note works out at less than 15p per shade.

Although they were disappointed by some creasing and the 'very plastic' packaging it has been hailed as offering overall value for money.

Seal of approval: The standout product for Huda and her team was Primark's 4 Gold Rush eyeshadow palette, which comes in 28 shades - which works out at less than 15p per shade

Praise: Huda also lauded Primark's Insta Girl Diamond Lip Topper (2.50, left), which gives a 'pretty shimmer', and the Holographic nail polishes (2, right)

One of the products mentioned in the blog post is the 4.50 After Party eyeshadow palette, although it is not clear whether Huda and her team tried it out themselves

Next up was the 'surprisingly pigmented' Matte Metallic Liquid Lipstick (3.50), which impressed with its metallic finish - despite somewhat lacking in staying power.

The Dubai-based millionaire beauty mogul, who shot to fame making DIY beauty tutorials on Instagram, also lauded Primark's Insta Girl Diamond Lip Topper (2.50), which gives a 'pretty shimmer', and the holographic nail polishes (2).

Primark launched its PS beauty range in 2014, and two years later moved into skincare with its PS PRO collection.

And copycat eyeshadow palette from Primark, based on a pricier Urban Decay item, gained cult status last year after coming to the attention of bargain beauty hunters.

Overnight success: attan, 34, successfully made the transition from blogger to businesswoman when her husband quit his high-flying job to work for her

The doyenne of beauty has even graced the cover of Harper's Bazaar Middle East, and has her own range which is stocked in Harrods and Sephora - making her praise for Primark's range all the more surprising

The latest nod of approval from beauty guru Kattan, whose own makeup range is stocked in Harrods and Sephora (an eyeshadow palette from the range costs 56), is likely to silence their critics once again.

Kattan, 34, successfully made the transition from blogger to businesswoman when her husband quit his high-flying job to work for her, and she has even graced the cover of Harper's Bazaar Middle East.

She has said of her meteoric rise to fame: 'We were surprised by all the craziness when we first launched.

'Sephora, customers were running to the counters. At Harrods, customers were queuing outside from early morning, wanting to get their hands on every product.'
An all-girls Catholic high school that prides itself on fostering its students' 'independence of judgement' and 'strength of character' is threatening to expel a sophomore because of a Planned Parenthood sticker on her laptop, the girl's parents have said.

Kate Murray, who attends Sacred Heart Greenwich in Connecticut, has been told she will be banned from the school if she doesn't get rid of the sticker, Brian and Tracy Murray told the Greenwich Time.

The sticker, one of several on Kate's laptop, states 'I stand on Planned Parenthood' and could bar Kate from attending classes at the institution, which has branded itself as in inclusive organization for students of all religions and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Banned: Sacred Heart Greenwich, an all-girls Catholic high school in Connecticut, has threatened to expel a student due to a Planned Parenthood sticker, her parents have said

School officials have given Kate two choices, according to her parents: either remove the sticker and continue her education as normal, or keep it and leave immediately or at the end of the school year.

For now, Kate has removed the sticker and attended classes on Wednesday and Thursday. However, no decision has been made as to whether she will continue her education at Sacred Heart Greenwich, which charges its students in grades nine through 12 $43,600-a-year in tuition fees.

'It is a small sticker. It is not incendiary, it is not vulgar. It is not hurtful,' Tracy told the Greenwich Time.

'It is a statement of my daughter's belief and she deserves the same respect for her beliefs that the administration and part of the faculty are demanding for theirs.'

Brian, meanwhile, said the sticker addresses a political issue about government funding and does not violate church doctrine.

The head of the school, Pamela Hayes, said the institution cannot comment on individual students' issues, but wrote that the school discourages the display of anything 'supporting or opposing political candidates, positions or organizations'.

In its mission statement, Sacred Heart Greenwich presents itself as an empowering school for girls, aiming to help them reach their full potential.

'Sacred Heart, steeped in a solid academic tradition, educates women to have independence of judgment, personal freedom, and strength of character so that they can become leaders with broad intellectual and spiritual horizons,' the statement reads.

Message: A petition created to support the student, sophomore Kate Murray, has so far received more than 2,000 signatures

She stands with Kate: Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards has expressed her support for the student too

Students at the school are encouraged to use their faith 'in a positive way', according to a presentation video posted on its website.

'As a Catholic school, Sacred Heart holds deeply to the development of the faith of each student,' the institution's mission statement reads. 'Their spiritual development is reinforced through coursework, prayer, reflection and liturgy so they will experience God in their own way.'

'Open dialogue is alive and well on our campus and that's why we discourage the displays of slogans and bumper stickers, which in an educational environment can have the unintended consequence of stifling open debate,' Hayes wrote on the school's website. 'We know there are better forums.'

The Catholic Church has historically opposed abortion and birth control, both among the services provided by Planned Parenthood.

Kate's parents, attorneys based in Wilton, are usually very happy with the school but feel that their daughter is facing an 'extreme reaction' from administrators.

The sophomore, whose older sister Alex graduated from the same school in 2012, has no discipline record and is an excellent students, the Murrays added.

A petition created to support Kate has so far received more than 2,000 signatures, with people voicing their disagreement with the school's decision in the comments section.

'You can't pick some causes to favor and reject those you don't like,' someone wrote. 'Kate Murray is an excellent example for ALL WOMEN to stand up and protect our democratic ideals, including free speech.'

'It is unacceptable to expel a student because you don't agree with them,' someone else added.

Beliefs: The Catholic Church has historically opposed abortion and birth control, both among the services provided by Planned Parenthood

It was a friend of the Murray family named Stephanie Viola, herself a 2012 graduate of Sacred Heart Greenwich, who started the petition, the Greenwich Time reported. Stephanie has also written to the school to make it clear that she, too, stands with Planned Parenthood.

'The actions you are taking make you no better than the oppressive forces you are teaching women to question,' she wrote before referring to the school by its former name, Convent Of The Sacred Heart.

'My CSH education is why I'm speaking out now in defense of a student's right to support an institution that provides professional medical care to men and women alike. I support Kate Murray. I support Planned Parenthood. I support all-girls' Catholic education.'

Other alumnae have written to the school with similar messages of support for Kate.

The president of Planned Parenthood, Cecile Richards, has expressed her support for the student too.

'Kate, Planned Parenthood is so proud to count you as a supporter,' she tweeted on Thursday. 'Keep fighting for what you believe in. #IstandwithKateMurray.'

The all-girls school is not a diocesan school, but the Bridgeport diocese has said it supports the decision. A statement from the diocese says the school should affirm the church's opposition to abortion while respecting the right of students to raise questions about moral issues.
A fast-causal pizza chain is truly going all-out for National Pizza Day this year.

Firenza Pizza, which has 13 locations across the US, is celebrating the February 9 food holiday with a very luxurious specialty pizza  which will set diners back $500 for a single pie.

The Golden Surf & Turf Pizza is topped with lobster, steak, caviar, and even edible gold leaf for a seriously lavish dining experience.

That's-a pricey pizza pie! Firenza Pizza is selling a $500 pizza today through February 18

Fancy: It's topped with lobster bisque, obster meat, filet medallions, and caviar, as well as a pretty dusting of gold leaf

The 10-inch pizza appears to be a sort of white pie, made without tomato sauce. Instead, there's lobster bisque with the cheese.

On top, there's lobster meat, filet medallions, and caviar, as well as a pretty dusting of gold leaf.

The pizza will be available starting today through February 18, presenting the possibility for a unique Valentine's Day meal. Because of the special ingredients, it needs to be ordered 48 hours in advance.

Though the chain doesn't say so, it seems likely that this pricey pizza  which, if cut into eight slices, comes out to $62.50 a slice  is meant to be eaten with a fork and knife, and not one's hands.

Pre-order: The special pie needs to be ordered 48 hours in advance from one of its 13 locations

Though the dish is certainly extravagant, it's far from the most expensive pie ever offered by a restaurant.

A year ago, New York City's Industry Kitchen unveiled its $2,000 24K Pizza, which also, as one might gather from the name, is topped with gold leaf. It, too, needs to be ordered 48 hours in advance.

The pizza comes with squid ink dough, Stilton cheese, 24-karat gold leaves, caviar, truffles, and foie gras.

Other pricey pies include the $1,000 one at Nino's Bellissima in New York city  which is topped with creme fraiche, four types of caviar, sliced lobster tail, salmon roe, and some wasabi  and an $8,200 one once sold at Favittas Family Pizzeria in Henrietta, New York, which came with a diamond ring and a bottle of Dom Perignon.

Price to beat: Industry Kitchen in New York City sells a $2,000 24-karat pizza

Wowza: Theirs comes with comes with squid ink dough, Stilton cheese, 24-karat gold leaves, caviar, truffles, and foie gras

For those sticking to a tighter budget this National Pizza Day, there are much more affordable pizza specialties available at chains across the country.

Baskin-Robbins is offering free samples of its Sweetheart Polar Pizza Ice Cream Treat, Blaze Fast Fire'd Pizza has a buy-one-get-one-free pizza deal non its app, and California Pizza Kitchen is letting diners try its new cauliflower crust for no additional charge before the price goes up to $2.50.

Domino's, Little Caesars, Pap John's, Pizza Hut, and &Pizza are also offering deals today.
A baby born with 'large and firm' testicles twisted both of them inside the womb, an 'extraordinary' new case report reveals.

Doctors warn it has caused the unnamed boy irreversible damage, and he will never be able to have children of his own. It is unclear how they twisted.

The specialists, from a hospital in Devon, were so intrigued by this rare case, that they have written about it in BMJ Case Reports.

Only a handful of cases of bilateral testicular torsion - when both have been crippled - have ever been recorded in babies in the womb.

Estimates state testicular torsion strikes six in every 100,000 children - but the vast majority are unilateral - affecting only one testicle.

Dr Richard Viney, a consultant urological surgeon at The Bladder Clinic, Birmingham, explained the boy's chances of having children were 'stuffed'.

Describing the case as 'extraordinary', he told MailOnline: '[At this age] testes haven't developed to the point of manufacturing sperm.'

Dr Viney said it was a 'shame for the kid' - but added there was a slimmer of hope in the fact that his testes could 'spontaneously untwist'.

Doctors warn it has caused the unnamed boy irreversible damage, and he will never be able to have children of his own (pictured are his testicles that have been twisted)

Writing in the journal, medics at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital said that a 'male neonate' was noted to have 'large and firm testicles on routine examination'.

They added: 'Neonatal torsion is almost always unilateral and only a few cases of bilateral in utero torsion as in this case have been described.

'For a baby to be born and by a few hours of age have irreversible torsion of both testicles simultaneously is very rare.'

WHERE WAS THE BABY BORN?

The baby, delivered after 36 weeks gestation by midwives at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, weighed 8lbs 13oz.

Scans throughout pregnancy showed no issues, and he required little medical help at first - other than being born with his neck wrapped by the umbilical cord.

But after an hour of entering the world, the baby began to breathe abnormally fast and started to grunt, prompting concerns from doctors.

Only a handful of cases of bilateral testicular torsion - when both have been crippled - have ever been recorded in babies in the womb (pictured the thickening of his tunica)

Writing in the journal, medics said: 'A male neonate... was noted to have large and firm testicles bilaterally on routine examination' (stock)

WHAT IS TESTICULAR TORSION? Testicular torsion is a rare disorder that most frequently affects boys, often around puberty. It usually needs to be treated as an emergency, with surgeons untwisting the testicle through a small cut in the skin of the scrotum. It is often caused during physical activity, when the tissue surrounding the testicles has not yet become firmly attached to the scrotum. However, it can also occur while a man sleeps. If the testicle twists around, it pulls with it the spermatic cord, a narrow bundle of fibres and tissues that runs from inside the abdomen to the testicle, supplying it with blood. If this remains twisted, it blocks blood flow, causing the testicle to 'die' after around six hours. Then it would have to be removed. Advertisement

They raced him to the hospital's neonatal care unit, where doctors assumed he had sepsis and was given antibiotics to treat the 'silent killer'.

But further examinations revealed his body wasn't being attacked from the inside, and doctors were left baffled as to what was causing his symptoms.

RULED OUT TORSION...

Tests repeatedly noted that his testes were 'enlarged and firm' - but testicular torsion was ruled out every time, they revealed in the journal.

It was considered to be an unlikely diagnosis, because the baby 'never showed signs of distress' and there was no family history of the agonising condition.

Because of the continuing uncertainty of his symptoms, a testicular ultrasound was arranged on his third day of life, to check they were healthy.

Specialists, led by Dr Michael Clarke, explained the scan was 'sadly consistent' with bilateral testicular torsion - when the blood supply is cut off to both.

Both of his testes were full of fluid and 'irregular in outline'. No visible vascular flow could be seen, either. This is usually a sign of testicular torsion.

Urologists then deemed the twisting had occurred 'in utero' and surgery was not possible to reverse the damage already done.

WHAT TREATMENT WAS THE BOY GIVEN?

Doctors made the decision to let his testicles, which show no signs of functioning, curl naturally, in the hope they may untwist.

He was started on testosterone replacement therapy, because tests indicated he had low levels of the essential hormone.

It is hoped the treatment will allow the boy to develop normally, as testosterone helps bring on puberty. A lack of it can affect children.
Doctors removed a tiny snail from inside an 11-year-old's abscess in the first recorded case of its kind in medical literature.

The crustacean was slowly growing inside a pus-filled lump on the unnamed boy's elbow.

Paediatricians in Los Angeles allowed the 'visibly excited' boy to keep the snail when it was removed so he could share his tale with his friends.

But the 4mm slimy subject, later identified as a chequered periwinkle marine snail, is believed to have died just a day later.

Intrigued doctors at the Loma Linda University's paediatrics department stumbled across the bizarre case and published it in the BMJ Case Reports.

It is believed the boy was inoculated with a snail egg when he grazed his elbow while playing in a tidal pool, home to thousands of the molluscs.

A snail egg then got in the wound, hatched and then grew, triggering an abscess - a painful collection of pus caused by an infection, before it was removed.

In the first recorded case of its kind in medical literature, the crustacean was slowly growing inside a pus-filled lump on the unnamed boy's elbow

Writing in the prestigious journal, they said: 'An extensive literature review of major medical and scientific databases... was performed.

'We found no documented case reports in medical literature of... marine snails living inside a bacterial skin abscess for any length of time.'

The new tale mirrors the well-documented case, in 2013, of a four-year-old boy, from Orange County, who also had a snail hatch inside his body.

Paul Franklin picked up the tiny crustacean he later nicknamed Turbo when he grazed his knee while falling on the rocks during a holiday.

But, for reasons unknown those doctors never spoke of the case, which made headlines across international media outlets, in a medical journal.

However, the doctors revealed there were many similarities between the two cases, and suggested it was likely the snail entered the body in the same way.

In the new report, astounded paediatricians revealed the Hispanic boy a visited an outpatient clinic with a 'blister' on his left elbow.

He initially noticed the lesion one week before he became concerned, and noted that it had slowly been getting larger.

Upon questioning, he explained he slipped on a rock while exploring tide pools in San Pedro - seven miles (11km) away from Long Beach.

HOW CAN A SNAIL GROW INSIDE AN ABSCESS? In a bizarre case revealed in the BMJ Case Reports, doctors in Los Angeles revealed an 11-year-old boy had a tiny sea snail growing inside his abscess. They said the mollusc survived in the boys abscess, described as a hostile environment for a snail, because of its ability to seal moisture within its shell. Most skin abscesses are caused by harmless bacteria that humans carry on their skin, but occasionally can be triggered, more unusual, ways. A slight graze, like what the boy endured after falling on the rocks, can open the door to parasites or opportunistic organisms, such as a tiny snail. Advertisement

His unidentified parents, who took him to the clinic after they suspected it was an infection, cleaned his wound at the time.

The boy's skin was red, swollen and his elbow was tender. However, he claimed it wasn't painful and didn't itch - two other signs of an infection.

After closer inspections, doctors decided to drain the small lump on the 4ft9in boy's elbow using a sterile needle.

They removed a small amount of pus - but were shocked to discover a 'small, darkly coloured foreign body'.

A sea snail and its shell, measuring 4mm in diameter, were removed from the lump. It was then sent for tests to confirm its identity.

Dr Albert Khait, who published the case, revealed they dished out antibiotics to the boy. His wound healed fully after a week.

Doctors said the mollusc survived in the boys abscess, described as a hostile environment for a snail, because of its ability to seal moisture within its shell.

Most skin abscesses are caused by harmless bacteria that humans carry on their skin, but occasionally can be triggered, more unusual, ways.

A slight graze, like what the boy endured after falling on the rocks, can open the door to parasites or opportunistic organisms, such as a tiny snail.

The chequered periwinkle, found along the western coast of the US, Mexico and Canada, can grow up to 15mm in diameter.

Dr Emma Wedgeworth, consultant Dermatologist and British Skin Foundation spokesperson, told MailOnline: 'This is an incredibly rare case.

'It is fascinating that the snail managed to survive inside the skin.

'Whilst foreign bodies do account for some causes of abcesses, this is certainly not the underlying reason for most abcesses, which occur due to a localised skin infection.
Women facing infertility have been given new hope after British scientists managed to grow human eggs in a laboratory for the first time.

The researchers were able to grow the eggs from immature cells taken from human ovarian tissue  something that has only been achieved in mice before.

The technique paves the way for harvesting thousands of eggs from a small piece of ovarian tissue. Existing techniques yield only a small number. These eggs, once grown to maturity, could be used in IVF  or frozen to be used at a later date.

A new technique pioneered by British scientists could help infertile women to conceive

The new breakthrough could assist those with early menopause or cancer patients

Beneficiaries could include cancer patients who want to preserve their fertility, women facing an early menopause, or those who want to delay having children.

The technique has been pioneered by Professor Evelyn Telfer and colleagues at Edinburgh University. They removed egg cells at their earliest stage of development and grew them to the point at which they were ready for fertilisation.

The study  published in the Molecular Human Reproduction journal  represents the first time a human egg has been developed in the laboratory from earliest stage to full maturity.

The eggs were not fertilised to create embryos  but the research is seen as a proof of concept which will lead to further advances.

Professor Telfer, of the universitys school of biological sciences, said: Being able to fully develop human eggs in the lab could widen the scope of available fertility treatments.

The researchers used immature ovarian tissue taken from biopsies on ten women aged between 25 and 39 having Caesarean sections.

Some 87 follicles  tissue containing immature eggs  were developed. Of these, nine eggs were grown.

Further research will be necessary to see if the eggs can be used to grow human embryos.

Currently, women facing cancer treatment  which can destroy fertility  have two options.

They can have their eggs stimulated with daily hormone injections, but this delays cancer treatment for two or three months. The other option sees ovarian tissue removed and reimplanted after treatment.

This has led to several successful births around the world, including one in the UK. But it poses the risk of reintroducing cancerous cells from parts of the body which may be hidden in ovarian tissue.

With the new technique, immature eggs recovered from patients ovarian tissue can be taken without any delay.

The technique has been pioneered by Professor Evelyn Telfer, pictured, and colleagues at Edinburgh University

Professor Telfer told the Daily Mail: This is a huge advance in basic science but it also has potential practical applications.

If our technique is refined, and we can show that these eggs are healthy, we could use it to produce embryos.

Some young women do not relish the idea of having an ovarian tissue transplant so this gives us more options for fertility preservation or restoration. Professor Telfer said the treatment could have wider uses, adding: In theory you could get a lot more eggs than you get through hormonal stimulation, and you would not have to go through multiple cycles.

It could be an alternative to conventional IVF.

Women undergoing premature menopause  which can strike in their 20s  could also benefit. These women may still have egg cells that could be developed in the laboratory.

Professor Telfer said it was unlikely that it would be of much benefit for women undergoing a menopause at the normal stage between 45-55 as they would no longer have egg cells that could be used. Experts said that much more work was needed to ensure the process was safe for humans.

Darren Griffin, professor of genetics at the University of Kent, said: It will be a while until this is implemented in the clinic but, if and when it is, this will be seen as one of the seminal advances.

The study was supported by the Medical Research Council.

The first mouse created using lab-produced eggs was born in the US in 1996. Named Eggbert, the animal died young after suffering poor health and obesity.

But later experiments on mice went on to produce normal, healthy offspring.
The Health and Social Care Secretary Jeremy Hunt today accepted that it has been 'very, very tough' on the NHS

The NHS has endured its worst ever winter, Jeremy Hunt admitted last night.

The Health and Social Care Secretary apologised to patients and said frontline services had been put under enormous strain by the worst flu outbreak in seven years.

He said the outbreak has been very, very tough on frontline staff but stopped short of apologising to them.

When they signed up to go into medicine, they knew there would be pressurised moments, he said. I take responsibility for everything that happens in the NHS, he told ITV News. I apologise to patients when we havent delivered the care that we should.

The extent of the winter crisis engulfing the NHS was laid bare yesterday with record numbers of patients left languishing on trolleys. Official figures revealed:

January was the busiest on record with more than half a million emergency admissions.

More than 1,000 patients had to endure waits of over 12 hours on a trolley.

Some 81,000 patients were left waiting more than four hours for a bed to become available.

The four-hour wait performance at major A&Es was the worst ever.

All casualties missed waiting time targets for the 30th month in a row.

Public Health England warned flu levels remain high but are stabilising.

Hospitals are creaking at the seams despite measures to relieve pressure including postponing thousands of operations and outpatient appointments. NHS England data showed only 85.3 per cent of patients were seen within four hours across all A&Es, well below the Governments target of 95 per cent.

It was the 30th month in a row that the target was missed but marked a slight improvement on December.

Of the two million patients seen at A&E last month, 1.7million were treated within four hours, up more than 5 per cent on the same period last year. Officials cited the figures as proof the system has coped in spite of the enormous strain caused by the worst flu season in seven years.

Some 81,000 patients were left waiting more than four hours for a bed to become available

But John Appleby, of independent health charity Nuffield Trust, said: A year ago we warned that corridors had become the new emergency wards. It is deeply concerning that 12 months on the position has worsened, with many harrowing reports of patients treated in corridors by stressed and overworked staff.

The busiest Type 1 emergency departments which see around 70 per cent of patients recorded the worst ever performance for four-hour waits at 77.1 per cent.

Last month NHS chiefs ordered hospitals to postpone thousands of non-urgent operations and outpatient appointments to relieve some of the extreme and sustained pressure. But frontline staff warned this was not enough and there could be worse to come.

United nations of NHS: 1 in 8 staff from abroad One in every eight staff members in the NHS is foreign, official figures reveal. The data lays bare the health services huge reliance on doctors, nurses, cleaners and porters from other nations. The figures, included in a briefing paper by the House of Commons Library, reveal that staff of 202 different nationalities make up the NHS workforce. Of the 1.2 million staff, 976,288 are British  87.5 per cent of the workforce. That leaves 137,000, or 12.5 per cent, of foreign nationality, made up of 62,000 EU nationals and 75,000 from the rest of the world. The data lays bare the health services huge reliance on doctors, nurses, cleaners and porters from other nations The report dismisses fears that the Brexit vote of June 2016 would lead to an exodus of European staff. The percentage of EU staff has changed little since the referendum, it said. It even seems to suggest a rise in foreign staff from 11.1 per cent in 2009, although the report authors admit many staff did not reveal their country of origin for the older study. Experts have previously criticised health bosses for being over-reliant on overseas staff, accusing the Government of a fundamental failure in workforce planning. The NHS is most reliant on other countries for the provision of doctors. Some 36 per cent gained their medical qualification outside the UK, half of whom qualified in Asia. Foreign doctors and nurses have to pass language tests to work in the NHS. But health officials last year made tests for foreign nurses easier, because so many were being turned away due to their poor English. The NHS Providers organisation, which represents hospitals and ambulance trusts, says a failure to train enough doctors and nurses lay behind the reliance on foreign staff. Advertisement

Dr Taj Hassan, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said patients are being made to pay for inadequate resources and continued underfunding.

Royal College of Nursing chief executive Janet Davies said: Distressing scenes of frail elderly people in corridors on trolleys have become an all too familiar sight this winter. Nursing staff do not want to provide this kind of undignified care and it is pushing people to quit the NHS.

An NHS England spokesman said: Despite the worst flu season in seven years, A&E performance was better in January than both the month before and the same time last winter.

Hospitals are jeopardising the recovery of hip fracture patients by forcing them to wait up to three months for a physiotherapist visit.

Vulnerable patients risk loss of mobility  or fatal infections  if they are not properly monitored at home. But research by the Royal College of Physicians showed that while the average wait for rehabilitation after a broken hip was 15 days, some patients had to wait up to 80 days.
A woman who battled breast cancer at the same time as her beloved dog has revealed they both defied the odds to survive.

In May 2015, Sara Page, 54, discovered she had an aggressive tumour in her left breast just nine months after being told her Border Collie-Labrador cross Freyja, aged nine, had incurable cancer.

Despite her beloved pet being given just six months to live, Ms Page, a property damage restoration technician, believes her dog defied its terminal prognosis to help her get better.

Describing her loyal pet as her 'saviour', Freyja even gave Ms Page something to smile about when she lost her hair during chemo.

Ms Page, who lives near Looe in Cornwall, is now in remission, however, Freyja is still battling cancer four years after her owners were told she did not have long left.

She said: 'We don't know what the future holds for Freyja as she still has cancer, but is not showing any signs of it. She really is the dog who lived.'

Sara Page battled breast cancer at the same time as her beloved dog Freyja fought the same disease, with her pet even being the one to motivate her to get a lump checked out

Ms Page (pictured during her chemotherapy) discovered she had an aggressive tumour in her left breast just months after being told Freyja had incurable cancer

Freyja is Ms Page's main companion while her husband Rob (pictured) works away

CAN DOGS GET BREAST CANCER? Breast cancer is the most common form of the disease in female dogs. Cancerous tumours nearly always result in the animal's death, even with treatment, due to them spreading. The majority of dog breast cancers are discovered during routine examinations by vets, however, owners may notice: Lumps or swellings around the nipples

Abnormal secretions coming from the breasts

Enlarged lymph nodes under the armpits or around the groin

If the cancer has spread, for instance to the lungs, the dog may have difficulty breathing Causes may be hormonal, genetic or dietary related. Obese dogs appear to be more prone to breast cancer than their fitter counterparts. How is it prevented and treated? Female dogs that have their reproductive organs removed, known as spaying, before their first heat cycle, which usually occurs between six and seven months of age, have an extremely low risk of developing breast cancer. Breast cancer treatment focuses on surgically removing the cancerous cells. Radio and chemotherapy can be options but often carry side effects. If the owner decides not to treat the disease, therapy aims to improve or maintain the dog's quality of life for as long as possible. The animal's outlook depends on their tumour's size and type, as well as whether it has spread. Source: PetWave Advertisement

'It was completely devastating'

Ms Page, who was motivated by her dog to have a check up, said: 'We were watching TV, when a cat appeared on the screen and Freyja went crazy.

'She jumped up and was barking like mad, but when she did that she caught my left breast with her paw.

'I thought to myself "I must chase up about my mammogram". I'd spoken to the doctor the month before asking when I could have it done. Perhaps Freyja was reminding me to demand to get it done.'

After calling the GP, Ms Page was told she would be given an appointment in due course.

Yet, in February 2014, as she waited for her letter, Ms Page began to notice some unusual symptoms in Freyja.

She said: ' I was giving her a belly rub and noticed a lump where her nipples are.

'I took her to the vet who said it was probably a cyst and said to keep an eye on it.'

A few weeks later, Ms Page saw Freyja had a few more small lumps and insisted they were removed and tested.

After surgery to remove the tumour, Ms Page and her husband Rob were told Freyja had aggressive breast cancer that had spread to her lymph nodes and had just six months to live.

Due to the disease being so advanced, chemotherapy was not an option.

Ms Page. who is originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico, said: 'Instead they said to go home and give her the best final six months. It was completely devastating, as we adored Freyja.

'I don't have any family in the UK and not that many friends, so she is my companion. When Rob is working I spend all my time with her.'

With Freyja still battling cancer, Ms Page believes she defied her prognosis to help her owner

Ms Page relied on Rob to help walk Freyja while she underwent her grueling treatment

Ms Page spends most of her time with Freyja who she describes as her 'saviour'

WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF BREAST CANCER? Around 55,200 people are diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK each year. One in eight women develop the disease during their lifetime. The illness can cause a number of symptoms, but the first noticeable symptom is usually a lump or area of thickened breast tissue. Most breast lumps aren't cancerous, but it's always best to have them checked by your doctor. According to NHS Choices you should also see your GP if you notice any of the following: A change in the size or shape of one or both breasts

Discharge from either of your nipples, which may be streaked with blood

A lump or swelling in either of your armpits

Dimpling on the skin of your breasts

A rash on or around your nipple

A change in the appearance of your nipple, such as becoming sunken into your breast Breast pain isn't usually a symptom of breast cancer. Advertisement

'Freyja was my saviour'

In May 2015, just nine months after Freyja's diagnosis, Ms Page, who had her mammogram that month, was told she had stage one breast cancer.

Ms Page, who met Rob at a tribute Iron Maiden concert, said: 'Doctors found a 35mm tumour on my left breast.

'It felt so cruel that Freyja and me were both battling breast cancer at the same time. I kept thinking, "Why us?"

'I really believe dogs have a sixth sense. I think Freyja survived so she could stick around and help get me through my cancer battle.

'If she had died, I don't know what I would have done without her. I would have been so lonely with Rob working away a lot. That dog is my best friend and I needed her by my side.'

After having a lymph node and part of her breast tissue removed in June 2015, Ms Page underwent six rounds of chemotherapy between August and December 2015 before having radiotherapy the following January.

Throughout it all, Freyja was by her side. Ms Page said: 'I lost my hair and felt really, really down and was either in the hospital or at home. But Freyja was my saviour. She never left my side.

'We even took her to my radiotherapy and chemotherapy sessions, and Rob walked her whilst I had my treatment. It was really comforting knowing she was there too.'

Ms Page took her 'companion' with her while undergoing radio and chemotherapy sessions

Freyja reminded Ms Page to have a mammogram when she jumped up and knocked her breast

The dog even gave Ms Page something to smile about when she felt low after losing her hair

'I was heartbroken'

Determined to stay positive, Ms Page tried to make her beloved pet's final months as special as possible.

She said: 'It was so hard to keep happy as I was heartbroken at the thought of losing her. But we spoilt her rotten and loved her with all our hearts.

'Every day we thought to ourselves, "Could this be her last?" and were determined to make the best of it for her. She deserved it.'

Yet, after six months, Freyja did not appear to be getting any sicker.

She therefore underwent a second surgery to remove the remaining tumours, which were benign. Vets confirmed, however, she was still battling cancer in her lymph nodes, which they believed to be terminal.

They told Ms Page that Freyja would need palliative care and was given steroids, while she lived out her 'final' days at home.

Ms Page said: 'She was still battling cancer but luckily it hadn't taken her as soon as we had feared.

'She survived against the odds. Given six months to live and almost four years later, and she has survived so I can tell the tale. She's a super star.'

According to research by Pets at Home and Petplan insurance, animals are capable of helping people navigate life's challenges, with 69 per cent of pet owners claiming them have helped them through a difficult period in their life.

Freyja, who is doing remarkably well, is having palliative care, not treatment
The flu virus spreading through the air can be killed off by special ultraviolet light lamps costing just 700 each, a new study suggests.

Continuous low doses of far ultraviolet C (far-UVC) light kills airborne flu viruses without harming human tissues, causing skin cancers or cataracts.

The findings could pave the way to installing the overhead lamps in hospitals, surgeries, schools and airports to help stop seasonal epidemics.

The results, led by Columbia University, come amid the worst flu outbreak in recent years in the US, with every state except rocked by the virus.

And the deadly outbreak has claimed the lives of more than 200 people in the UK, but appears to be slowing down as the end of season approaches.

Scientists, led by Professor David Brenner, conducted the new trial on the H1N1 virus - the same strain that killed 50 million in the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic.

But, in theory, far-UVC light could also kill the H3N2 strain, dubbed 'Aussie flu', which has sparked widespread fears of a similar pandemic this winter.

Continuous low doses of far ultraviolet C (far-UVC) light kills airborne flu viruses without harming human tissues, causing skin cancers or cataracts

Far-UVC light, which has a wavelength of between 200 to 400 nanometers (nm), is expensive, but if mass produced costs should sink.

It would offer a separate way of preventing people from becoming ill, alongside the conventional vaccines that protect millions each year.

Professor Brenner, from the Columbia University's Centre for Radiological Research, added that far-UVC is likely to be effective against all flu strains.

It comes amid widespread fears that this year's vaccine has been ineffective, with several studies showing it to work just 20 per cent of the time.

And Public Health England officials were forced to admit in January that the jab dished out to thousands didn't protect against 'Japanese flu'.

The strain, known as B-Yamagata, has been widespread across the UK this year, and is responsible for half of the flu hospitalisations.

The results, led by Columbia University, come amid the worst flu outbreak in recent years in the US and the UK

Professor Brenner said: 'If our results are confirmed in other settings, it follows that the use of overhead low-level far-UVC light in public locations would be a safe and efficient method for limiting the transmission and spread of airborne-mediated microbial diseases, such as influenza and tuberculosis.

WHAT FLU STRAINS ARE IN THE UK IN 2018? There are many different types of flu circulating around the world, but four main types are being seen in Britain this winter. H3N2 - Dubbed Aussie flu after it struck Australia hard last winter, this strain is more likely to affect the elderly, who do not respond well to the current vaccine. This is one of the most common strains seen so far this winter, with at least 63 confirmed cases seen in official laboratories. H1N1 - This strain  known as swine flu - is generally more likely to hit children, who respond well to vaccination. This has been seen nearly as often as H3N2 so far this year, with at least 50 cases confirmed in labs. In the past it was commonly caught from pigs, but that changed in 2009 when it started spreading rapidly among humans in a major global pandemic. B / Yamagata - This is known as 'Japanese flu'. Only people who received the four strain vaccine - which is being slowly rolled out after it was introduced for the first time last winter - are protected against the Yamagata strain. Those who received the normal three strain vaccine are not protected. This strain has been seen in at least 63 lab cases so far this winter. B / Victoria - This strain is vaccinated against in the normal three strain vaccine, but has hardly appeared so far this winter, with just around four confirmed cases. Advertisement

'And unlike flu vaccines, far-UVC is likely to be effective against all airborne microbes, even newly emerging strains.'

Scientists have known for decades that broad-spectrum UVC light is effective at killing bacteria and viruses by destroying the molecular bonds that hold their DNA together.

This conventional UV light is routinely used to decontaminate surgical equipment.

But Professor Brenner explained that conventional UV light is also a 'human health hazard' that can lead to skin cancer, which 'prevents its use in public spaces'.

Several years ago he and colleagues hypothesised that a narrow spectrum of ultraviolet light called far-UVC could kill microbes without damaging healthy tissue.

Professor Brenner said: 'Far-UVC light has a very limited range and cannot penetrate through the outer dead-cell layer of human skin or the tear layer in the eye, so it's not a human health hazard.

'But because viruses and bacteria are much smaller than human cells, far-UVC light can reach their DNA and kill them.'

Earlier studies demonstrated far-UVC light was effective at killing MRSA, a common cause of surgical wound infections, but without harming human or mouse skin.

The flu virus is spread through breathing in fine liquid droplets, or aerosols, that become airborne when infected people cough, sneeze, talk or just breathe.

The new study was designed to test if far-UVC light could efficiently kill aerosolised influenza virus in the air, in a setting similar to a public space.

In the study, aerosolized H1N1 virus, a common strain of flu virus, was released into a test chamber and exposed to very low doses of 222nm far-UVC light.

A control group of aerosolised virus was not exposed to the UVC light, according to the results published in Scientific Reports.

The far-UVC light inactivated the flu viruses, at the same efficiency as conventional germicidal UV light.

And in tests on dog kidney cells, the exposed samples were unable to infect the cells. However, the viruses not exposed to far-UVC light still managed to.

REVEALED: SIX OF THE UK VICTIMS WHO DIED FROM FLU DURING THE WINTER OF 2017/18 Melissa Whiteley, 18, passed away from flu on January 27 - after falling ill on Christmas Day. The engineering student, from Hanford, Staffordshire, could barely walk when she was admitted to hospital. She was placed in an induced coma but did not recover, her heartbroken twin sister revealed. Miss Whiteley passed away at Glenfield Hospital in Leicester surrounded by her loved-ones - including her twin sister Megan - on January 27. Coby Simons, nine, from Exeter, passed away on January 24 - two days after being struck down with the killer virus. His parents initially asked for his identity to be hidden. Public Health England at the time confirmed the gifted maths pupil tested positive for flu. He becomes the sixth victim across the UK to have been named. Tributes have flooded in for the year 5 pupil, who was shown to have influenza B in his post-mortem. He was described as 'absolutely perfect' by his parents. His mother Louise told DevonLive: 'He was just such a lovely boy. He was absolutely perfect; I wouldnt have changed anything about him, not even when he was in a bad mood.' Dylan Day, 12, died from flu, his heartbroken parents revealed. The schoolboy, from Stoke-on-Trent, passed away after developing sepsis, triggered by a a strain of influenza B he was fighting, on January 20. Tributes flooded in for the keen footballer, with family and friends describing him as an 'amazing' and 'cheeky' young boy who will be 'greatly missed'. Dylan's mother Sarah announced his death in a poignant Facebook post, revealing he had 'really suffered' before his eventual death. Bethany Walker, 18, died after taking ill at home - initially from flu symptoms which later developed into pneumonia. Miss Walker, of Applecross, Scotland, was airlifted to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness but died later on January 5. Tributes poured in on social media. Her mother Heather Teale wrote on Facebook: 'My beautiful Daughter Bethany Walker was taken from me. Miss Walker wanted to study midwifery and was due to head for Aberdeen University later this year. Melanie Coombs, 56, who defied her death sentence and beat terminal cancer three times died from 'Aussie flu'. Ms Coombs, from Hailsham, East Sussex, eventually succumbed to pneumonia and passed away in hospital shortly after Christmas. Her grieving son, Anthony Butler, 30, believes the deadly H3N2 strain of influenza A, dubbed 'Aussie flu' was responsible for his mother's eventual death. Speaking about his 'inspirational' mother's ordeal for the first time, he told Mirror Online: 'She said, "cancer won't kill me" - and she was right. Owen Hardy, 95, from Chichester, lost his battle to the bug on January 4. His family said his death is a huge loss for the nation. The World War II Spitfire veteran died after contracting one of the killer flu strains that is currently circulating the UK, his grieving daughter revealed. During his time serving for the RAF in the war, the wing commanders heroics saw him be awarded the top medal for valour  the Legion dHonneur. His heartbroken daughter, Debbie Elliott, told the Chichester Observer: Its a huge loss. Were all devastated. He has left a huge gap in all of our lives. Sean Hughes, from Dublin, died from the 'flu' on January 12, his heartbroken parents revealed days after. The 15-year-old, who was an aspiring rapper, passed away in hospital after being rushed for emergency treatment the evening before. Doctors were adamant Sean, known to his friends as Lil' Red, had the flu when they saw him on Wednesday. Tributes flooded in for Sean, who was 'loved by everyone' and described as a 'larger-than-life young man' who was 'way ahead of his years'. Advertisement

The rocketing number of flu cases in the UK has been put down to a surge in four aggressive subtypes attacking the population simultaneously.

One includes the so-called 'Aussie flu', a strain of influenza A which triggered triple the number of expected cases in Australia during the country's winter.

Experts fear the virulent H3N2 strain could prove as deadly to humanity as the Hong Kong flu in 1968, which killed one million people.

Another is a strain of influenza B, called Yamagata and dubbed 'Japanese flu', which has been blamed for the majority of cases so far this winter.

Its rapid spread has raised concerns because it is not covered in a vaccine given to the elderly. However, experts claim it is less severe.

Usually, just one subtype, of either influenza A or B, is responsible for the majority of cases. The bug spreads easily in the cold weather.

Health bosses blamed the rapidly escalating cases of flu for their controversial decision to cancel 55,000 operations at the beginning of January.

The same move was also made by French officials as the European country also battled an epidemic of 'exceptional magnitude'.
Women should freeze their eggs at the age of 25 if they want to prolong their chances of having children, experts have warned.

Dr Hana Visnova, a celebrated specialist in reproductive health, says women who choose to put motherhood on ice in their 30s are being sold 'false insurance'.

Each year thousands of UK women undergo elective freezing for 'social reasons' in the hope of stopping their biological clocks and delaying having children until later life.

But Dr Visnova warns these women might face fresh disappointment when they come to use them because they did not freeze their eggs while they were in their 20s.

Fertility rates drop rapidly in a woman's 30s and make egg freezing less viable

Dr Visnova, medical director of IVF Cube in Prague, Czech Republic, said: 'The quality and quantity of a woman's eggs diminishes with age. As such, egg freezing has become much more common. But it is not the miracle cure that many women think.

'The human egg is the largest cell in the body and once it is frozen it becomes difficult to thaw, with eggs less likely to survive the defrosting process compared to embryos.'

During egg freezing the patient undergoes the first part of the IVF process, which includes the hormonal stimulation of the ovaries. The eggs are then retrieved and cryopreserved in tanks with liquid nitrogen.

When they are ready to be used, they are thawed and those that survive are injected with sperm to fertilise the egg.

'Just 14 per cent of attempts with frozen eggs resulted in births'

In the UK in 2013 just 14 per cent of attempts with frozen eggs resulted in births. This rate was far lower for women over the age of 38, according to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA).

Research by IVF Cube showed their pregnancy rate with fresh eggs was 68.05 per cent, while with frozen eggs it was just 42.86 per cent.

Dr Visnova points to research which suggests that to achieve a 90 per cent probability of having a pregnancy from frozen eggs, around 35 eggs will need to be retrieved.

The ovaries are stimulated, to provide as many eggs as possible, and then are stored in liquid nitrogen

In each cycle around six to eight eggs are retrieved, on average.

Dr Visnova said: 'If someone wants to freeze their eggs between the ages of 25 and 30 they can get around 15 to 20 eggs from one stimulation.

'At such a young age, she can maybe repeat the stimulation twice and get a sufficient number of eggs for the future.

'But if you get close to 40, then we can expect her to have six, maybe eight eggs. Sometimes only four.

'And if the estimated amount to achieve a pregnancy in the future is around 30 to 35 eggs then this can mean she needs to repeat the stimulation six or seven times, and then you're looking at huge costs and all the associated risks.

'If a woman has been through stimulation in her 30s and not retrieved enough eggs, then she will face new disappointment in her 40s when she discovers that from 10 frozen eggs, maybe only five have survived the thawing process.'

In 2001 just 29 women chose to freeze their eggs for later use. In 2014, 816 opted to freeze their eggs - a 25 per cent increase from the year before.

More recent figures are not available but it is expected that in the last four years this number will have again risen significantly.

'Women should be freezing from the ages of 25 to 28'

Dr Visnova said: 'Vitrification is still a relatively new method, so we're only now starting to see the outcomes, and they usually only relate to the pregnancy rates from frozen eggs from young donors.

IT IS BETTER TO FREEZE EGGS EARLIER RATHER THAN LATER? Fertility specialists are now advising women who want to delay pregnancy to freeze eggs at younger ages then they already are. Currently, the majority of women use these treatments in their thirties. However, at this age already a woman produces fewer eggs than she did in her twenties. In order to collect eggs for freezing, the ovaries are stimulated to release eggs. A younger woman, according to Dr. Visnova, can release 15 to 20 eggs per cycle. A woman in her forties may only get four. It's said 35 eggs will give a woman 90 per cent change for a fertilised egg. However, only 14 per cent of frozen eggs have resulted in a child, according to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA). Each cycle costs around $10,000 (7,200), not including the thawing and insemination processes. An older woman therefore could face intimidating expenses to have the same chance of getting pregnancy as someone who froze her eggs early. Advertisement

'We still don't have enough evidence of the outcomes for frozen eggs from older women, but what we have seen from them are quite disappointing.'

She advises women should be freezing their eggs a decade earlier than previously thought.

Dr Visnova said: 'Women should be freezing from the ages of 25 to 28, 10 years younger than the group of women who are now attending clinics for egg freezing.

'It is difficult, because at 25 many women don't consider their future fertility, and are too young to think about what might happen 10 years down the line.

'There's also the financial implication, which at such a young age isn't really a priority for many.'

In the UK the average cost of retrieving and freezing eggs ranges from 2,500 to 5,000. Storage costs can then vary from between 150 and 400 a year.

Eggs can be stored for up to 10 years, although some women may be eligible to store their eggs for up to 55 years.

In the Czech Republic egg freezing procedures, including egg retrieval, cost around 1,750.

Dr Visnova added: 'After being made fully aware of the pros and cons some women in their late 30s and early 40s do still want to do this.

'They want to increase their chances, even if it's just by a very small amount, wherever possible.

'This is fully understandable. But those in the fertility industry must protect women against false hopes and be realistic about the expected outcomes from frozen eggs.'
Life expectancy in the US has fallen for the second year in a row, new data from the World Bank reveal.

Opioid overdoses, alcohol abuse and suicide are the three factors driving the decrease, particularly among middle-age, white Americans and those living in rural communities, researchers warn.

The average American had a life expectancy of 78 years and 7.2 months in 2016, down 0.1 years from 2015 - and nearly two years lower than other developed nations.

'This story is less about the size of the drop and more about the fact that life expectancy in the US is not increasing at the rate of other developed countries,' Dr Steven Woolf at Virginia Commonwealth University, co-author of the British Medical Journal report, told Daily Mail Online.

The graph above from the BMJ shows how life expectancy rates in the US have increased at a considerably lower pace than in other developed countries over the past three decades

In 1960, the US had the highest life expectancy in the world, 2.4 years higher than the average for countries in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Since the 1980s, Dr Woolf said, the pace has fallen off because medical advances haven't kept up with other health issues.

The life expectancy fell below the OECD average in 1998, plateaued in 2012, and is now one-and-a-half years lower than the average.

Dr Woolf said he was not surprised to see a second year of decline, and that 'all factors point to the same thing happening next year.'

The three key factors are drug abuse, alcoholism and suicide.

HOW AMERICA GOT HOOKED ON OPIOID DRUGS Prescription opioids and illicit drugs have become incredibly pervasive throughout the US, and things are only getting worse. In the early 2000s, the FDA and CDC started to notice a steady increase in cases of opioid addiction and overdose. In 2013, they issued guidelines to curb addiction. However, that same year - now regarded as the year the epidemic took hold - a CDC report revealed an unprecedented surge in rates of opioid addiction. Overdose deaths are now the leading cause of death among young Americans - killing more in a year than were ever killed annually by HIV, gun violence or car crashes. Preliminary CDC data published by the New York Times shows US drug overdose deaths surged 19 percent to at least 59,000 in 2016. That is up from 52,404 in 2015, and double the death rate a decade ago. It means that for the first time drug overdoses are the leading cause of death for Americans under 50 years old. Advertisement

Rates of fatal drug overdoses rose by 137 percent between 2000 and 2014, a crisis fueled by the rapid increase in abuse of highly addictive opioid drugs.

The opioid epidemic in America claimed the lives of 42,000 people in the US in 2016, up from 33,000 in 2015.

Experts have estimated that the crisis is costing $96 billion per year.

Overall, 63,600 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2016, down slightly from 64,000 the previous year.

Overdose deaths are now the leading cause of death among young Americans - killing more in a year than were ever killed annually by HIV, gun violence or car crashes.

The government is scrambling to halt the opioid crisis by reducing access to the druge, improving emergency responses to reverse overdoses and prevent deaths, and enhancing access to effective addiction treatment.

Alongside drug overdoses, deaths from alcohol abuse have also increased.

Alcohol is the third leading preventable cause of death in the US behind tobacco and poor died and physical inactivity, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

An estimated 88,000 people - approximately 62,000 men and 26,000 women - die from alcohol-related causes annually.

In 2014, the World Health Organization reported that alcohol contributed to more than 200 diseases and injury-related health conditions including liver cirrhosis, cancers, injuries and alcohol poisoning.

The CDC reported that alcohol misuse cost the US nearly $250billion in 2010.

The third factor that's seen significant increases is suicide, which is now the 10th leading cause of death in the country.

The suicide rate in the US rose 24 percent between 1999 and 2014.

The rate is disproportionately high among white Americans, especially adults aged 25-59 years, those with limited education, and women.

The steepest increases have occurred in rural areas and regions with longstanding social and economic challenges.

Suicide costs the US an estimated $69 billion annually, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

Dr Woolf points out that while drug abuse, alcoholism and suicide draw a lot of attention, there are many other factors behind the life expectancy trend.

'In our research we've found dozens of other areas in which the US is behind other nations, including children's medical care, teen pregnancy, injury treatment, and chronic diseases like diabetes,' Dr Woolf said. 'It's just a matter of connecting the dots.

A 2013 panel investigated the compared decline and found that Americans are more likely to engage in unhealthy behaviors such as heavy caloric intake, drug abuse, and heavy alcohol consumption.

They are also more likely to live in cities that favor cars over pedestrians and are more likely to own firearms.

To top it all off, the panel said, the US to have weaker social welfare supports and lacks universal health insurance.

'The consequences of these choices are dire: not only more deaths and illness, but also escalating health care costs, a sicker workforce and a less competitive economy. Future generations may pay the greatest price,' the report says.

Dr Woolf said that in order to reverse the trend back to increasing life expectancy, policymakers need to stop defaulting to a 'set of policies for downstream problems'.

'It's a mistake not to look upstream at the driving factors behind the decline,' he said.

'There are a few policies out there that would actually address the issues of education and social inequality, but they're not getting the attention they deserve.'

Dr Woolf said that addressing underlying issues will impact the country in many different ways.

'The good news is, addressing root causes behind those three factors will close the gap across many health domains as well as bring economic stability to the middle class that has been begging for it.'
Two new prostate cancer drugs could extend men's lives by two years by slowing its painful spread.

Many men with prostate cancer fall into a sort of medical limbo after they have been treated for prostate cancer but before the disease has spread.

During that stage, doctors have had little to offer them to delay the inevitable.

International teams of physicians in two studies experimented with using a drug approved to treat later stage prostate cancer and another entirely new therapy to treat men in this in-between phase.

In the studies, co-led by doctors at Massachusetts General and Northwestern University, each drug significantly delayed the painful and deadly spread of the disease throughout this group of men's bodies.

Two new drugs may stave off the spread of prostate cancer in men, studies show

Prostate cancer is the second most deadly form of the disease for men in the US, and the American Cancer Society anticipates that it will kill nearly 30,000 people this year alone while another 164,000 are diagnosed.

Affecting more one in every nine men here, most forms of prostate cancer grow slowly, meaning they may not be detectable for many years.

Even once these tumors are big enough to be found by scans, it is nearly impossible to predict how quickly they will grow from there, making it difficult for patients and doctors to determine the best course of treatment.

One of the primary markers of prostate cancer is high levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA). Elevated levels of the protein are not a diagnostic for the cancer itself, but do help doctors have some notion of its stage.

Male hormones  called andogens  encourage the growth of prostate cancer, so doctors use hormone therapy to suppress testosterone and manage the growth of a tumor.

However, even when their hormone levels are reduced as low as they can go, some mens cancers continue to grow and spread.

The new studies  presented at the Genitourinary Cancers Symposium in San Francisco on Thursday - both recruited men whose cancers had not spread, or metastasized, but were still at risk of this happening.

One of these, co-led by researchers from Northwestern and an institution in Rome, patients were given enzalutamide, or Xtandi, which the Food and Drug Administration has already approved to treat metastatic prostate cancer.

Xtandi  which is already on the market for more than $7,450 a month  delayed the spread of cancer by an average of 36.6 months for 1,401 men.

The second study treated patients with a new experimental therapy, called apalutamide.

For the 806 out of 1,207 men that received the drug in the study, taking 240mg a day for 10 months delayed the spread of cancer by 40.5 months on average.

By way of comparison, prostate cancer metastisized after 17.7 months and 16.2 months, respectively, in the study participants that got placebos.

In addition to extending these mens lives, their quality of life would undoubtedly be drastically improved for them.

Research suggests that as much as 80 percent of prostate cancer cases ultimately metastasize into the bones, especially the hip, pelvis and spine.

The growth of cancer and tumor cells in the bones can be extremely painful, and cause debilitating muscle weakness for men.

Both therapies may soon offer a longer, healthier life for men living with prostate cancer who were previously left largely helpless to wait for whatever might come next.
Former students with 9/11-related illnesses due to toxins that settled over their school - mere blocks away from the Twin Towers - came forward yesterday to urge others to get screened before it is too late.

More than 15 years after the 2001 attacks, scores of people are still developing illnesses just from being near Ground Zero, including cancers, asthma and gastrointestinal illnesses.

Shoshana Dornhelm, who was a sophomore when the planes hit the Twin Towers, has endured six rounds of chemotherapy to treat the Hodgkin's lymphoma she developed from exposure to the debris.

Lila Nordstrom feared her prestigious school was making her sick, but couldn't bring herself to leave in the middle of her senior year, despite her worsening asthma.

Now, the two women and their classmates aim to raise awareness among others before they develop potentially fatal illnesses that have already killed many first responders.

Shoshana Dornhelm, 31 (left), developed cancer and Lila Nordstrom (right), 34, suffers from multiple illnesses due to the toxins that engulfed their high school on 9/11

Though it took years for scientists to document and for the government to acknowledge just how much lasting damage the attacks did to more than 400,000 people exposed to contaminants, some effects were immediate, and the signs were in the air.

Witnesses and rescue workers have described the thick, dusky yellow haze hanging over the city streets and the inescapable, acrid smell.

Among those witnesses were students at Stuyvesant High, a prestigious school in New York City from which the Twin Towers were once visible from its windows, glinting like beacons of the students bright futures.

Now, Shoshana, 31, counts herself as not just a witness but a victim of the attacks as she has battled Hodgkin's lymphoma since 2010.

'The 6 months of treatment were awful, physically, mentally, and emotionally,' she says.

Her most recent scans were clean, but Shoshana spent much of her twenties in and out of hospitals, trying to work out what was wrong with her and enduring six rounds of chemotherapy.

'Now that I'm over one year post-treatment I feel fine, but sometimes I'm still in shock over what happened,' Shoshana says.

Rates of Hodgkin's lymphoma are more than 50 percent higher among emergency responders to the Twin Towers attacks than they are in the general population, according to statistics from a National Institutes of Health study.

But monitoring and awareness of the deadly chemicals they were exposed to and the illnesses these can cause still lag behind in groups like Stuyvesant students who were mere blocks from Ground Zero.

It was hard to make the connection, Shoshana says. When she was diagnosed, it was so far from the actual event that I didnt really think about it until I saw more numbers. Then I saw that there were some pretty clear connections.

Stuyvesant High School is only four blocks from Ground Zero and was engulfed by toxic fumes

In the chaos of the day of the attack, no one at the school knew the danger they were in.

Many of the instructors had been teaching there eight years prior when the World Trade Center was bombed in 1993.

On 9/11, they assumed it was on that scale, so my teacher taught through the collapse of the first building, Lila, who was a senior at the time, told Daily Mail Online.

When the school was finally evacuated  long after both towers were ablaze  Lila wanted to put as much distance between herself and the danger.

Stuyvesant High School, in lower Manhattan was engulfed in toxins on September 11, 2001

Even though she lived on the Lower East Side  less than two miles away  Lila says she walked 10 miles that day, all the way to Queens because I was so scared of what was to come, she says.

We just kept walking until we felt like we were in such a boring neighborhood that we thought no one would bother us there, Lila says.

But no amount of distance could protect her and countless other students, teachers and employees of Stuyvesant High that had already infiltrated their bodies.

One month after the towers fell, Stuyvesant students were back in school.

Lila, who had already had asthma, noticed that her symptoms were more severe, and visited her doctor, himself a Stuyvesant alum.

You really shouldnt be down there, but you cant leave Stuy in the middle of the year, he told her, its such a major opportunity.

Seeing that opportunity through led Lila on to a career as a creative executive in Los Angeles, but left her with more severe asthma, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and PTSD.

It took a long time for everyone to come to terms with that, she says.

In 2010, as an increasing number of reports that emergency responders were getting sick emerged, Lila says she was not shocked to learn her own symptoms were related to 9/11.

Shoshana Dornhelm (left) and Lila Nordstrom (right) spoke yesterday at their alma mater, Stuyvesant High School to warn their classmates to get screened for 9/11-related illnesses

Shattered glass, smoke and asbestos were among the toxins scattered into the air when the World Trade Center towers exploded on 9/11

But I was frustratedit felt toxic there. The angerthat was more influential, she told Daily Mail Online.

In 2011, a law was enacted to provide funding to those who are still feeling the effects of the terrorist attack long after the dust has settled, but the former students are fighting to raise awareness of the subtle signs of sicknesses that have rippled far beyond Ground Zero and first responders.

The James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act became law in 2011, establishing a federal program that recognizes hundreds of illnesses related to the attack and provides funding to help people diagnosed with any of them.

Now, the World Trade Center Health Program covers expenses for those suffering illnesses caused by the attacks, including respiratory and digestive problems and 70 cancers.

Lila founded StuyHealth, a program to help raise awareness and funds for students like herself and Shoshana Dornhelm, who was a sophomore at Stuyvesant in 2001.

Tragically, so many former students are now getting serious illnessesthey were breathing the same toxic dust as the firefighters, as the cops, and unfortunately our government did them all a disservice by not telling them that it was not safe, says Michael Barasch, a victims rights attorney who has represented victims of the aftermath of 9/11.
A 58-year-old grandmother who beat the flu once this season has been killed by another strain of the virus.

Angie Barwise, of Fort Worth, Texas, was diagnosed with influenza Type A three days after Christmas and recovered after being prescribed Tamiflu.

But the grandmother-of-13 fell ill again just weeks later and was diagnosed with influenza Type B, another strain of the virus that has just begun to emerge this season, which led to pneumonia and sepsis, killing her on Saturday.

Angie is just one of the flu cases to come out of Dallas-Fort Worth, an area that has been hit particularly hard this season with more than 20 deaths, leaving others with amputated limbs and fighting for their lives against the deadly virus devastating the US this record-breaking season.

Angie Barwise, 58, of Fort Worth, Texas, was killed by the flu on Saturday after pneumonia and septic shock set in

Her husband Greg (left) said that his wife was diagnosed with influenza Type B a month after fighting off influenza Type A

Angie's family said they took her flu diagnosis seriously both times.

After Christmas she tested positive for influenza Type A along with bronchitis and step throat.

She likely had the most-common H3N2 strain, dubbed the 'Aussie flu', which has been dominating this year and was responsible for the devastating 2014/15 flu season.

Doctors prescribed Angie Tamiflu and other antibiotics and she was feeling better within days, her husband of 17 years Greg told Fox 4.

However, exactly a month later she fell ill again and was diagnosed with influenza Type B.

Greg said her fever was difficult to control.

'Every four and a half hours, we'd have to give her medicine to get the fever down,' he said.

Angie took Tamiflu once again but when her symptoms persisted for two days, Greg took her to the hospital where tests were done and they were sent home.

The next day she was back in the hospital after blood test results revealed she was suffering from pneumonia and sepsis, both secondary infections from the flu.

That Saturday, just two days after being admitted to the hospital, Angie died.

'I left for just a few minutes - I thought everything was going to be okay,' Greg told CBS DFW. 'I got a phone call that she had just passed.'

'We're devastated,' Greg said. 'She's a wonderful wife, a wonderful mother and wonderful daughter.'

Angie's brother Brian Smith took to Facebook to warn everyone about how deadly the flu can be.

He wrote: 'My sister should have not died from the flu. If you have a friend or family member with the flu, it needs to be taken very seriously.'

The grandmother-of-13 is from Fort Worth, Texas - an area that has been hit particularly hard this season with more than 20 deaths

Health officials are warning people to get their flu shot even if they have already had the virus this season as new strains have emerged

WHAT ARE THE FLU STRAINS HITTING THE US THIS YEAR? There are many different strains of flu circulating around the world, but four main types are being seen, or are set to emerge, in America this winter. The vaccine is 34 percent effective against the H3N2 strain, however it will offer more protection from the new strains, H1N1 and B viruses, emerging in the next few weeks. H3N2 - Dubbed 'Aussie flu' after it struck Australia hard last winter, this strain is more likely to affect the elderly, who do not respond well to the current vaccine. This is one of the most common strains seen so far this winter. H1N1 - This strain  known as 'swine flu' - is generally more likely to hit children, who respond well to vaccination. This has been seen nearly as often as H3N2 so far this year. In the past it was only commonly caught from pigs, but that changed in 2009 when it started spreading rapidly among humans in a major global pandemic. B / Yamagata - This is known as 'Japanese flu'. Only people who received the 'four strain' vaccine - which is being slowly rolled out after it was introduced for the first time this winter - are protected against the Yamagata strain. Those who received the normal 'three strain' vaccine are not protected. B / Victoria - This strain is vaccinated against in the normal 'three strain' vaccine, but has hardly appeared so far this winter, with just four confirmed cases. Advertisement

The Dallas-Fort Worth area has been hit particularly hard this flu season as Angie's flu diagnosis and death is not isolated.

Heather Holland, 33, was a Weatherford second grade teacher and mother-of-two who died of the flu on Sunday after contracting influenza Type B and developing pneumonia.

Joei Smith, 33, of Dallas, is a gym fanatic who got his flu shot but developed sepsis and pneumonia and suffered kidney failure after contracting the virus.

He is set to have all of his fingers and toes amputated due to septic shock.

Joei's case comes just a day after married father-of-two Brian Herndon, 51, revealed he was undergoing multiple amputations due to the flu.

This flu season is putting record-breaking numbers of people in the hospital and is on track to becoming one of the worst flu seasons in recent history.

The CDC revealed today that 10 more children were killed by the flu this week, bringing the total number of pediatric deaths to 63 this year.

Speaking on Friday, acting CDC director Dr Anne Schuchat said: 'Influenza-like illnesses are now as high as we observed at the peak of the 2009 pandemic.'

Health officials warn that we may not have reached the peak yet as the H1N1 strain and B viruses, like the one that killed Angie and Heather, are still emerging.

Dr Schuchat said the CDC continues to recommend getting vaccinated with this year's flu shot, even if you've had the flu this season.

She said that like in the case of Angie, you can still fall ill with another strain of the virus even if you have already been infected with the flu this season.

It is unclear if Angie got her flu shot either before or after her first bout with the flu.

The vaccine is 34 percent effective against the H3N2 strain but offers more protection against the H1N1 strain and B viruses.

There are two B viruses prevalent in the US this season: Yamagata, known as the 'Japanese flu' and the Victoria.

Only those who receive the 'four strain' flu vaccine are protected against the Yamagata strain.

The Victoria B virus is included in the 'three strain' vaccine.

The number of people with influenza-like illness this year (in red) has climbed past every other year including the 2009 swine flu pandemic (in gray), as demonstrated in a new graph from the CDC
One of the UK's largest travel companies Thomas Cook has said demand for summer holidays abroad shows no sign of slowing but warned of a competitive and 'unpredictable' market.

The group's revenue rose 7 per cent in the three months to December 31, cheering a 'good start' to the financial year.

It cashed in on the collapse of rivals such as Monarch in the UK and Air Berlin in Germany to narrow its seasonal loss by 10 million to 42 million in the quarter.

The group cheered a 'good start' to the financial year with revenue up

Its airline arm saw a 'particularly strong performance' in the first quarter, with an 8% rise in passengers to 3.5 million in the period, while it has seen a 'double-digit rise' in summer 2018 bookings.

Boss Peter Fankhauser said the group had 'got off to a good start' and that it remained on track to hit full-year forecasts despite a highly competitive and unpredictable market.

'From all that we see so far, customers' appetite for a summer holiday abroad shows no sign of slowing down. We've taken early action to meet strong demand for destinations in the Eastern Mediterranean.

'This has enabled us to shift capacity out of the Spanish islands where we have seen a continuation of the margin pressures we experienced last summer, particularly for the UK market.'

Fankhauser, who pocketed a 837,000 bonus last year and a total pay package of 1.8 million, added the recently launched 'Choose Your Favourite Sunbed' service would be available in at least 30 Thomas Cook hotels this summer.

It plays a part in Thomas Cook's push for more tailored holiday packages with its 'Choose Your Room' feature in place across 300 hotels this year.

Boss Peter Fankhauser said it was a 'good start' to the year - but shares dipped after the update

Total UK bookings are flat for the winter season and 3 per cent higher for the summer season so far despite hotel price hikes for two of its biggest markets - the Canaries and Spain.

Thomas Cook is facing off a heightening price war in Spain and is turning its focus to more profitable destinations such as Egypt and Turkey

The latest trading update come after Thomas Cook announced in December that it is to close 50 UK high street shops by March, putting 400 jobs at risk.

The closures will affect Thomas Cook and Co-operative Travel branded stores.

The update did little to sway investors with the company's share price falling 3.15 per cent by mid morning.

Neil Wilson, a senior market analyst at ETX Capital, said: 'Demand is rising but Thomas Cook is facing significant margin pressure in holidays to Spain that is eating into profits.'

'Nevertheless, as we noted in November after the full-year numbers, the recovery in other destinations points to a solid year ahead, particularly as these will offer better margins,' he added.
Making the headlines: Emma Walmsley is in charge of 100,000 employees worldwide

When Emma Walmsley was growing up, her family would hold an annual debate as to where they should spend their summer holidays.

Little Emma would present her choice, listing the advantages, and pointing out why the other options were rubbish. She always won.

Walmsleys early aptitude for winning people over through well-researched analysis has set the tone for much of her soaring career. She is chief executive of GlaxoSmithKline, the 80bn pharmaceuticals giant. It is a role which makes her, at just 48, the most powerful businesswoman in Britain, if not the world.

Steely, sharp-as-a-tigers tooth, with a slightly haughty head girl demeanour, what Walmsley lacks in warmth she more than makes up for in gritty determination.

Nice but utterly ruthless, is how one ex-colleague described her to me this week, with skin as impenetrable as sheet metal.

Scour You Tube and youll find a wonderfully combative performance from her years ago on BBCs Watchdog, presenter Anne Robinsons customary exocets bouncing off her like ping-pong balls.

As well as being in charge of 100,000 employees worldwide, for which she could earn as much 8.8m this year, Walmsley is also the mother of four children.

Husband David Owen is a former businessman whom she met at a party in her mid-20s. Friends say she spent the morning after their first meeting avoiding his calls, reluctantly relenting to his requests for a date almost through guilt. They married a year later.

Her global jet-setting means squeezing in school plays and parent evenings can be a struggle, but then Walmsleys own upbringing was somewhat higgledy-piggledy.

Born in Cumbria, the eldest of three, her fathers occupation as a naval vice-admiral meant the family was often relocating. In her early life, the Walmsleys moved four times in six years. School was St Swithuns, a brainy boarding school in Winchester, where teachers remember her as her years stand-out pupil. She developed a passion for classics, which she studied at Oxford, but not before taking time out to travel through China.

After graduation, Walmsley landed a marketing job with French cosmetics giant LOreal. She performed management roles in London, Paris and New York, before heading back east in 2007 to run the consumer products division in Shanghai. With four young tots now in tow, she made a point of not living in an expat community in order to immerse her family in the Chinese way of life.

She appeared destined for a global role at LOreal until 2010, when she met with Glaxos then boss Sir Andrew Witty. What she assumed was a networking lunch turned out to be an offer to run the firms European business. She was reluctant at first. Her reassuring hubby intervened, however, offering to step back from a business hed set up in China to allow her to take the job. In a rare moment of public tendresse, she described joining Glaxo as the second best decision I have made  after marrying David.

Her elevation last year to Wittys job took many by surprise. The role has traditionally fallen to a pharmaceuticals expert, whereas Walmlsey hails from the consumer side, flogging products such as Horlicks and Aquafresh toothpaste.

Although it was hailed as a glass ceiling-shattering moment for women, questions were raised as to whether she would be able to apply herself to pharma. The City agreed, with shares dipping on the day of her appointment.

But she has answered the sceptics by overhauling her senior management and bringing in big-hitters from pharmaceuticals rivals while boosting research and development spending. This week, in her first set of results since taking over, GSK reported record 30bn sales.

Just like that precocious young tot with her holiday plans, slowly but surely shes winning the doubters over to her side.
It is a desperate scene that is repeated every afternoon at the bus station in McAllen, Texas.

White buses with bars on the inside of the windows pull up and between 100 and 400 tired and hungry migrants disembark.

They have all been apprehended trying to get into the United States illegally, detained, then released to attend court at a later date  a 'catch and release' system condemned as 'stupid' by President Donald Trump on Tuesday.

At the bus station they are met by volunteers from Sacred Heart refuge run by Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley who escort them to their center three blocks away.

Photos show the long line of men, women and children walking through this southern Texas city as they take their first steps on what they hope will be a new life in America.

Catholic Charities in McAllen, Texas, are aiding undocumented immigrants travel across the United States by helping them buy bus tickets. Pictured: Migrants who have just been released after detention by the U.S. Border Patrol wait for assistance at the center

Nuns give the undocumented immigrants food, a place to sleep and help them purchase bus tickets to get to their final destination in the US. Pictured: Sister Norma Pimentel, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, assists a migrant

The 'catch and release' system of illegal immigration was condemned as 'stupid' by President Donald Trump on Tuesday as he strives for tougher immigration policies

Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley started meeting the migrants at the bus station in 2014 because they considered it to be a humanitarian crisis arriving every day on their doorstep.

But their actions, which have been praised by Pope Francis, are at odds with the Trump administration's hard-line approach to immigration.

In an interview with DailyMail.com Daniel Flores, the Bishop of Brownsville who represents 1.2 million Catholics and is head of its charities in South Texas, said that he disagreed with Trump's approach.

He asked the president to tone down his rhetoric and warned him against the human 'capacity we have to simply not want to see'.

Bishop Flores said: 'Jesus didn't ask us to check what papers they had, Jesus asked us to check: are they hungry, are they thirsty, do they need a place to stay?'

DailyMail.com understands that the buses that arrive each day in McAllen are arranged by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Migrants who were a threat to public safety and national security would be far more likely to remain in custody, but a lack of space means that not everyone can be held.

The rest are taken in by Sacred Heart where such matters are forgotten and everyone is welcome, regardless of their background.

On a Monday in January the new arrivals, who had mostly come thousands of miles from Guatemala and Honduras, were given a bowl of chicken soup, which for many was their first meal in days.

Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley started meeting the migrants at the bus station in 2014 because they considered it to be a humanitarian crisis arriving every day on their doorstep. Pictured: Migrants that have just been released after detention by the U.S. Border Patrol walk through downtown McAllen toward a respite center

DailyMail.com understands that the buses that arrive each day in McAllen are arranged by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and drop off the migrants there (pictured)

A nun at the charity said: 'They weren't aware immigration was going to allow them to travel, so they're relieved and somewhat lost, so we welcome them and we help them to understand at what point of their journey they are on now'

Sister Norma Pimentel, the founder of the refuge, took down their details and called their families to get them to pay for a bus ticket to their next destination. Those who needed a bed for the night were housed at the dormitory a few blocks away.

Sister Norma, the Executive Director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, said: 'We help them because they're people, they're human beings and they are here in our country and they need help and this is what the community began to see, these families they were not from here and they were in dire need of help.

'We saw them at the bus stop, we saw them hungry and we saw them crying so our community responded.

'The families from our community have to help these families. I took the lead in organizing that desire that the community wanted to help. We saw the need to restore their dignity'.

Sister Norma, who was singled out for her work by Pope Francis in 2015, and the other volunteers gave each person a bag of toiletries with a razor, toothpaste, toothbrush and some soap inside.

The migrants' immigration documents are put into a folder with a sign in English stapled to the back which reads: 'Please help me. I do not speak English. What bus do I need to take? Thank you for your help!'

Sister Norma said: 'They're in a very difficult state because they've been traveling for a while. They're scared because border patrol detained them for two days.

'They weren't aware immigration was going to allow them to travel, so they're relieved and somewhat lost, so we welcome them and we help them to understand at what point of their journey they are on now.'

The migrants' immigration documents are put into a folder with a sign in English stapled to the back which reads: 'Please help me. I do not speak English. What bus do I need to take? Thank you for your help!'

Sister Norma Pimentel (far right), the founder of the refuge, took down their details and called their families to get them to pay for a bus ticket to their next destination. Those who needed a bed for the night were housed at the dormitory a few blocks away

Photos show the long line of men, women and children walking through this southern Texas city as they take their first steps on what they hope will be a new life in America

Sister Norma continued: 'We give them an opportunity for them to receive food, a nice warm meal, to take a shower, clean clothing, call their family and buy themselves a ticket so they can travel.

'We give them an orientation and explain to them their bus ticket and how it works, you're going to New York it will take two and a half days, you will have several stops.to warn them against anybody taking advantage of them so they can stay on track.

'We explain the next step with immigration, that they are expected to show up in court and they should find legal representation and they need somebody to speak to them so they can have a better opportunity for their case to be heard'.

Among the migrants was Evan Reyes, 32, who said he paid coyotes around $2,000 to come from Honduras to the US with his son Christopher, seven.

He said that he started out in a group of 150 people and that they took some buses and went on foot. Reyes planned to go to see his cousin in Miami and find work to support his two other children back home.

He said: 'I'm here to work, I want to send money home. The crossing was very difficult and it took about 20 days. We were held in detention for three days before being taken here'.

Carlos Dominguez, 43, broke down in tears with relief as he ate a bowl of chicken soup.

His journey from Honduras lasted two months and in Mexico he was held to ransom by thugs who forced him to sell his house to them.

Among the migrants was Evan Reyes, 32, who said he paid coyotes around $2,000 to come from Honduras to the US with his son Christopher, seven. He said: 'I'm here to work, I want to send money home.' Pictured: The father and son

Walter Rodriguez, 40, had been in the US for some years and had returned home to see his family. He was now coming back again with his son Jason, 16, (pictured together) to 'have a better life', he said

He arrived with his son Willy Anthony, 14, and was hoping to take a two day bus ride to Maryland to find work.

Dominguez said: 'I'm not coming here to be rich, I'm coming here to support my family and send money back home to my five children in Honduras and my wife'.

Walter Rodriguez, 40, had been in the US for some years and had returned home to see his family. He was now coming back again with his son Jason, 16, to 'have a better life', he said.

Sister Norma said that when Trump was elected the numbers of migrants coming each day reached 400, though it has dropped off now.

She said: 'I think before we can look at whether they have a right to be in the country we have to realize that they are here already and they need help and that's a priority first for us as people to ensure that we take of someone who is in dire need of help'.

Speaking at his office in McAllen, Bishop Flores said that he saw parallels between the President's treatment of migrants and the message from the Gospel of Luke.

One parable in particular talks about a wealthy man who shunned a beggar and was sent to Hades where he burned in eternity for being selfish.

Illustrations of the verse show the man walking over flames with fire coming out of his body as he pleads for mercy.

Bishop Flores said that If Trump were listing to one of his sermons he 'wouldn't look to give him a message' and would let scripture do the talking instead.

Carlos Dominguez, 43, broke down in tears with relief as he ate a bowl of chicken soup. His journey from Honduras lasted two months and in Mexico he was held to ransom by thugs who forced him to sell his house to them. He arrived with his son Willy Anthony, 14, (pictured together) and was hoping to take a two day bus ride to Maryland to find work

Pictured: A migrant that has just been released after detention by the U.S. Border Patrol receives assistance at the respite center

THE BIBLE STORY OF THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS THE BEGGAR Luke 16:19-26 There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell[a] from the rich man's table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Then he cried and said, ''Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.'' But Abraham said, ''Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.'' Advertisement

But with a wry smile he said: 'I think the Bishop's responsibility is to preach the gospel and if the gospel text that day happened to be Matthew 25, I would expound the gospel text and I would talk about the responsibility of a Christian to respond to those who suffer with a sense of open eyes and compassion'.

The verse he referred to is Matthew 25:40 which reads: 'And the King will answer them, ''Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.''

Bishop Flores said: 'It's simply not a Christian option to pretend people are not suffering because that's the indictment of Lazarus and the rich man in the ospel because Lazarus was sick, was starving at the door and the rich man didn't see him.

'There's a capacity we have to simply not want to see. I don't believe in using the pulpit to poke people, I think we need to preach the gospel and it's quite sufficient to explicate why it is, certainly from a Catholic ethos the faith has to manifest itself in a human response to the Christ who is suffering in front of you'.

The story of the rich man and the beggar Lazarus - not the same Lazarus who was brought back from the dead by Jesus in the Gospel of John - is in Luke 16:19-26.

It talks of a man 'clothed in purple and fine linen' who 'fared sumptuously every day', a description which does not seem too far away from Trump.

Lazarus begged to eat the crumbs from the rich man's table and was so destitute the dogs licked his sores. Both men died and Lazarus went to heaven whilst the rich man was sent to Hades where he spent eternity in agony being burned alive.

The rich man pleaded to Abraham for mercy but Abraham told him: 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented'.

Bishop Flores said that in the current climate he was particularly concerned about the partnering of local law enforcement forces with federal agencies because it discouraged people from reporting crimes.

He said that Trump, and other politicians, should tone down their rhetoric and stop making 'the immigrant the problem'.

An ICE spokesman said that since the Flores Settlement Agreement of 1997, which governs the standards for the detention, ICE has been 'severely limited' in how it can detain families and that it can only do so in 'designated facilities'

Volunteers give to each person a bag of toiletries with a razor, toothpaste, toothbrush and some soap inside (pictured)

He said they feel 'that if we could just get rid of this problem, deport everybody or whatever else then we will all live happily ever after, which is very unrealistic'.

He said: 'The rhetoric that points to the immigrant as taking stuff away from us has encouraged a certain sense of unease.

'If we could just calm the rhetoric and make the distinction between people who are here because they are fleeing violence and people who want to be violent, which under the current immigration law we can't even distinguish, which is part of the problem'.

A spokesman for ICE said that its deportation officers only release a migrant after weighing a variety of factors.

The spokesman said they include 'the person's criminal record, immigration history, ties to the community, risk of flight, and whether he or she poses a potential threat to public safety'.

The spokesman added that since the Flores Settlement Agreement of 1997, which governs the standards for the detention, ICE has been 'severely limited' in how it can detain families and that it can only do so in 'designated facilities'.
Chinese rap and hip hop seemed poised to break out after a wildly popular singing show bestowed fame and legitimacy on a musical scene that had struggled to find its voice in China.

But an abrupt official backlash against the edginess of hip hop culture has tamed the swagger of artists who fear that Chinese rap, like a once-promising homegrown rock-and-roll movement, will be nipped in the bud by Communist politics.

'I don't need to be such a superstar - it's very dangerous,' Shanghai rapper Mr Trouble said of the sudden shift in climate.

He is now back in the studio, watering down a new album to avoid blowback.

Scroll down for video

This picture shows Shanghai rapper Naggy singing in his studio in Shanghai. Naggy is one of the many Chinese hip hop musicians who are worrying about their 'unclear' future

'We've gotta find a way,' said Naggy, who is seen posing outside his studio in Shanghai. Last month, a leaked government directive showed Beijing was to ban air time for

'You gotta be a smart person. Even though it's soft and weak, it's a hip-hop album. I put my attitude in it. If you are smart too, you can dig it out,' said Mr Trouble, 28, whose real name is Hong Tianlin.

The past year has given Chinese rappers a case of whiplash.

China lacks the racial issues and 'gangsta' street culture that made rap and hip hop social and cultural forces in America.

But it slowly took root as artists infused beats with commentary on issues like China's growing economic inequalities, and ancient Chinese philosophical references, often rapped in earthy local dialects.

Then came the smash-hit reality show 'Rap of China'.

Debuting last year, the internet-based rapping contest became one of China's most-watched programmes, thrusting rap onto the national stage and earning its stars fame and recording contracts.

An internet-based rapping contest 'Rap of China' became one of China's most watched programmes last year, but now artists such as Naggy (pictured) fears for their future

Chen Wei, the show's producer, told state media last July that Chinese hip hop was 'on the threshold of becoming really big and mainstream'.

The benefits trickled down to the likes of Mr Trouble, a chain-smoking self-taught musician and record producer.

'Even if we didn't like that show, it influenced us a lot. We earned more money, and more girls love us,' he said, chuckling.

But rap's brief spring seemed destined to end under President Xi Jinping, whose government has tightened the screws on anything considered antithetical to the ruling Communist Party's values.

Shanghai rapper Mr Trouble, Hong Tianlin, poses outside his studio in Shanghai. Amid the rumoured ban, the artist confessed: 'I don't need to be such a superstar - it's very dangerous'

In August, an artist known as 'Fat Shady' raised eyebrows with a profane rap against foreigners living in China.

And last month, PG One, co-winner of 'The Rap of China', came under fire over a 2015 track containing sexual and drug references, and a rumoured fling with a married actress.

Finally, in mid-January a leaked government directive banned air time for 'artists with tattoos, hip hop music' and other content that 'conflicts' with party morals.

An abrupt official backlash against the edginess of hip hop culture has tamed the swagger of artists like Naggy (right) and Mr Trouble (left). Both are talented by cautious musicians

Shanghai rapper Naggy (left) sings in his studio while fellow rapper Mr Trouble (right), is reflected in the studio window. The past year has given Chinese rappers a case of whiplash

A second season of 'The Rap of China' is now in doubt and artists say music venues are snubbing rap acts.

Li Dalong, chief operating officer of Mao Livehouse, which has eight venues across China, said hip hop artists now face 'more careful screening' for 'ideological mistakes' in their music.

'The biggest difficulty facing rappers is that sponsors are fleeing. I don't even know if 'Rap of China' season two will be allowed,' he told AFP.

Rapper GAI (pictured), who has a huge social media presence, was suddenly absent from a popular reality show, sparking rumours that the government is cracking down on hip hop

In the 1990s, Chinese rock was similarly poised for a breakthrough as rockers tapped into angst about rapid socio-economic change.

But it was soon tamed or forced back underground after the government banned it from television and restricted live performances.

Some fear the same for hip hop, or worse - being co-opted by the party.

Hip hop groups like CD Rev from the southwestern city of Chengdu deal in patriotic rap, working with the Communist Youth League to release songs like 'This is China' that voice party-approved national pride. Purists deride it as propaganda.

For edgier artists like Shanghai's Naggy, the future is unclear.

'We've gotta find a way. But we don't want to have to 'find a way' to express ourselves. We just want to express ourselves,' he said.

China's official media have highlighted lyrics from one of PG One's songs (artist pictured) in which he boasts obscenely about forcing himself on a woman and appears to promote drugs

Shzr Ee Tan, an ethnomusicologist at Royal Holloway University of London, said hip hoppers are unlikely 'to simply shut up.'

'What could get interesting is how they react to the ban, creatively and socio-politically. Do they dig in deeper into their perceived non-mainstream positions?' she said.

'I suspect quite a few artists will actually choose to work with the government... as rockers have done in the past.'

The ban encompasses anything embodying China's so-called 'sang' culture, a catch-all for youthful pessimism and despondency.

But it also hurts middle-of-the-road artists like Mr Trouble, whose raps touch on romance, his beloved parents, and his Shanghai childhood.

Despite his bad-boy nickname, Mr Trouble says China's government 'is doing well' at managing the huge country.

But he's now tempering his dreams.

'We still got fans, and we still see hope. But even if hip hop is dead in China, I will still make rap songs. I will record them and sing to myself.'
A man has been the victim of persistent hacking attempts by a team of criminals despite installing tight security features to his phone - the latest in a string of failures by major telecommunications companies.

The Sydney resident, who wanted to be referred to as David, has a business account with Optus that is attached to his company, bank accounts and email addresses.

He claims he was targeted twice late last year, the second of which happened despite attaching a four-digit pin code to his account that was required to be quoted to gain access to his information.

The Sydney resident, who wanted to be referred to as David, has a business account with Optus (stock pictured) that is attached to his company, bank accounts and email addresses

He claims he was targeted twice late last year, the second of which happened despite attaching a four-digit pin code to his account that was required to be quoted to gain access to his information (stock image)

'I'm so angry. I can't even sleep because I'm scared these people have my employees information,' David told Daily Mail Australia.

David owns a Sydney-based IT consultancy company. The first attack on his information came on October 31, 2017.

The scammers were able to trick Optus into transferring his mobile number to a different device and subsequently hacked into his email by requesting a password change which sent a four-digit pincode to his number.

'My phone went dead, I thought it was my signal, but it was the hackers. These guys rang up Optus, no security check or anything, gained access with limited information,' he claimed.

David owns a Sydney-based IT consultancy company that mostly deals business-to-business. The first attack on his information came on October 31st, 2017 (Pictured receipt of hackers transferring his mobile number)

Pictured is a note on the Optus system alerting David his number was exported to a new sim

Armed with his banking information and phone number, the scammers attempted to withdraw money in $500 increments using Westpac's 'cardless cash' feature - which was ultimately blocked by the bank.

It comes as another Sydney man revealed hackers drained his bank account of $91,000 following a similar mobile number scam.

The criminals posed as him on Optus' online chat and were able to transfer his number to a different device simply by knowing his full name and birthday.

Optus told Daily Mail Australia the hackers were able to 'pass verification procedures' in this 'unfortunate' case.

The scammers were able to trick Optus (Stock image) into transferring his mobile number to a different device and subsequently hacked into his email by requesting a password change which sent a four-digit pincode to his number

Following the first attempt David added a series of extreme security measures in case the criminals made another attempt at his account.

The second attack was the one that infuriated David the most, as they were able to access his account using the live chat feature without being prompted to provide the four-digit code he set up and with only his date of birth and business address.

'That was enough for them to get the sim card ported to another fake, bogus sim card. They hacked my phone number, hacked into my personal and work emails, took money from my bank account,' David told Daily Mail Australia.

'They accessed contractors and employees data. I have 25 people that work for me and all of their details have been exposed, all because Optus did the same thing twice.

'I have so many contacts in my phone and emails, and for all I know they've been targeted. Even my neighbour was targeted because of me - they had a Telstra account put in her name.'

David frantically called the telco giant, and was forced to freeze all his bank accounts again and ensure his business hadn't been compromised.

'I went into an Optus retail shop and they didn't have a clue,' he alleged.

Pictured is a receipt from when Optus allowed David's business account to be transferred over to an unknown 26-year-old woman

It was then David realised his company accounts had been transferred into the name of a 26-year-old woman he had never met, who was also the victim of identity fraud.

'I tracked this woman down, people were using her name against me to get money out of my account,' he said.

'I've had anxiety issues the last month, its really effecting people around me.'

David has since switched providers from Optus to Telstra and has warned his friends, colleagues and neighbours about his disaster experience.

He has lost thousands of dollars worth of business and wasted endless time and energy trying to build security walls the scammers easily tore down.

'The general public have no idea how vulnerable they are. It is crazy how easy it is for your security to be compromised,' he added.

'There needs to be more protection.'

Daily Mail Australia contacted Optus and they have apologised for David's experience.

'Optus apologises to the customer and were reviewing our procedures in view of their experience,' a spokesperson said.

'Situations where a fraudster provides an Optus customers personal details to gain access to their account are rare and the vast majority of our customers find their interactions with us convenient and secure.'
Barnaby Joyce was on a taxpayer funded business trip to Sydney when he was seen drinking at a bar with the staffer-turned-lover now pregnant with his fifth child.

The Deputy Prime Minister was photographed with Vikki Campion - his media advisor at the time - at Different Drummer, a bar in inner-west Glebe, on February 23, 2017.

Photos obtained by Daily Mail Australia show the pair looking happy together almost a year before Mr Joyce's marriage break up and affair was revealed.

Publicly available documents showed The Nationals leader charged taxpayers a total of $1868.66 for his visit to Sydney from February 23 to 25 for his business trip.

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Barnaby Joyce was on a taxpayer funded business trip when he was photographed drinking at a Sydney bar with then staffer Vikki Campion (pictured), who is the mother to his fifth child

The deputy PM charged taxpayers a total of $1868.66 for his three-day business trip to Sydney during which time he was seen at Different Drummer Bar in Glebe with Ms Campion (pictured)

British journalist Roger Tavener was in the Different Drummer that night and took the pictures published by Daily Mail Australia.

Mr Tavener said he got a surprise to see the Deputy PM in a small bar in Glebe and he was recognised also by other patrons.

'There's other people in the bar going: "It's Barnaby Joyce",' he said.

'He just came across to us and shook hands, said hello, he was really nice.'

Hours before his Thursday night catch up with Ms Campion at the bar in the city's inner-west Mr Joyce flew from Tamworth, in regional New South Wales, to Sydney.

The one-way domestic flight came at a cost of $356.69 to taxpayers.

He was then chauffeured by an official commonwealth driver into the city at a cost of $72.88.

Mr Joyce's office initially refused to provide a statement about his three-day trip to Sydney, avoiding countless questions other than to say: 'Work purposes mate'.

When asked what the purpose of the visit to the bar was, Mr Joyce's office did not answer that directly.

A spokesman later said: 'The Deputy Prime Minister was in Sydney for those dates to attend three Cabinet committee meetings as well as meet with the Prime Minister of Israel.'

Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting Mr Joyce and Ms Campion were having an affair at the time of his trip to Sydney, nor that he claimed bar expenses from that night.

Ms Campion was a media advisor for Mr Joyce until April last year, when she was shifted into a job for MP Matt Canavan. It was this week revealed that she is pregnant with Mr Joyce's child

Mr Joyce married Natalie Abberfield (left) in 1993 and the pair share four daughters. The leader of The Nationals announced last December that the pair had split

During the weekend that he was in Sydney the Deputy PM attended Cabinet committee meetings and met the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu

During the same business trip Mr Joyce videoed himself at a bar in the neighbouring suburb of Annandale and shared it to Facebook as a joke for opposition MP Anthony Albanese.

The next day, Friday, February 24, Mr Joyce travelled to Scone in north-east NSW for a visit to the Scone Saleyards. He returned to Sydney that night.

Mr Joyce also cancelled two more commonwealth cars that day.

Overall he cancelled three commonwealth cars in the space of 48 hours, costing the taxpayer a total of $120 in wasted trips.

Mr Joyce charged taxpayers $442 for his accommodation on the Friday night, with a total of $884 spent on hotels.

On Saturday the deputy PM caught a commonwealth car to the airport, coming in at a cost of $78.60, before flying back to Tamworth, with his airfare costing $356.69.

BARNABY JOYCE'S EXPENSES FOR SYDNEY TRIP ON FEBRUARY 23-25: February 23 Tamworth to Sydney domestic flight - $356.69 Accommodation in Sydney - $442 Ms Campion (pictured) drank with Mr Joyce on the evening of February 23 Car cost - $72.88 Car cost - $40.00** February 24 Accommodation in Sydney - $442 Car cost - $40.00** Car cost - $40.00** February 25 Car cost - $78.60 Sydney to Tamworth domestic flight - $356.69 TOTAL: $1,868.86 **Indicates a cancelled or no-show commonwealth car Advertisement

The day after his drink with Ms Campion, Mr Joyce travelled to Scone in north-east NSW for a visit to the Scone Saleyards (pictured)

In a statement, Mrs Joyce (far left) said she had been 'hurt' by her husband's affair: 'I am deeply saddened that my husband is now having a child with a former staff member,' she said

In a statement released this week, Mr Joyce's 'hurt' wife Natalie said her husband's affair went on for months as she sacrificed her own career to support him.

'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.

'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.

'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.'

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

Mr Joyce (centre) and Natalie (left) have four daughters, pictured here claiming an election victory in 2016

Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the National Party Barnaby Joyce, at coffee with his wife Natalie and dog Missty

Ms Campion worked as Mr Joyce's media advisor before she moved into a senior six-figure role with Resources Minister Matt Canavan last April.

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.

According to The Daily Telegraph the pair are now 'madly in love' and have moved in together ahead of the birth of their child, who is due in April.

A friend of the Deputy PM 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.'

He was forced to stand for re-election in the seat of New England last December, but won the election comfortably and was returned to parliament.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has lashed out at police in a rare attack with detectives reportedly on the verge of recommending his indictment for accepting bribes.

Pressure has built on Netanyahu as police investigating him in the long-running probe reportedly prepare to submit their recommendations to the attorney general next week.

Israeli media have reported that police are expected to recommend his indictment for bribery, fraud and breach of public trust.

Benjamin Netanyahu (pictured) has lashed out at police with detectives reportedly on the verge of recommending his indictment for taking bribes

Israeli authorities have refused to comment publicly on the reports. The attorney general is expected to take weeks or months to decide how to proceed after receiving the recommendations.

On Wednesday night, Police Commissioner Roni Alsheich said in an interview with Channel 2 television that detectives probing Netanyahu had been targeted by private investigators to dig up dirt on them.

Netanyahu posted a response on Facebook late Wednesday in which he lashed out at the police commissioner, calling suggestions that he sent private investigators on such a mission 'ridiculous'.

'It is shocking to discover that the commissioner has repeated the mistaken and ridiculous suggestion that Prime Minister Netanyahu sent private investigators after the police who are investigating him,' the post said.

He also referred to claims that sexual harassment allegations against the head of the unit investigating Netanyahu were an attempt to smear him because of the graft probe.

'Any honest person would ask himself how people who say such delusional things about the prime minister can objectively investigate him and honestly give unbiased recommendations,' the post said.

'A large shadow was cast tonight over the police investigations and their recommendations related to Prime Minister Netanyahu.'

The investigation has raised the possibility that Netanyahu, prime minister for a total of nearly 12 years, will eventually be forced to resign.

Israeli press reported police are expected to recommend Netanyahu is indicted for bribery, fraud and breach of public trust, which could lead to his resignation

Police are investigating Netanyahu over suspicions that he received expensive gifts, including pricey cigars, from wealthy supporters such as Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan and Australian billionaire James Packer.

His wife allegedly received bottles of pink champagne.

The gifts were reportedly worth some tens of thousands of dollars.

They are also probing allegations that he sought a secret deal for favourable coverage with the publisher of top-selling newspaper Yediot Aharonot.

According to Israeli media, police are expected to recommend the indictments in the first case, but no decision has been made in the second.

Netanyahu has been questioned seven times by police over the allegations.

A separate investigation is also underway in which Netanyahu allies have been questioned by police over the purchase of German submarines.

Netanyahu has not been named as a suspect in the submarine investigation, but the probe has added to the pressure building around him.

Netanyahu took to Facebook on Wednesday, attacking the police commissioner and describing suggestions he sent private investigators 'ridiculous'

The 68-year-old premier has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and says he is being targeted by political opponents. He repeated that in a video posted to Facebook on Wednesday.

He said he was 'confident in the fact that at the end of the day, the legal authorities will arrive at the only conclusion possible, the simple truth: There is nothing.'

Netanyahu's allies have in the past said there is no crime in friends exchanging gifts, but investigators have reportedly arrived at the conclusion that they were in fact bribes.

An indictment alone would not legally oblige Netanyahu to resign, though he would likely face mounting pressure to do so. He would be legally forced to resign if convicted and with all appeals exhausted.

Parliament, however, could also enact a special procedure against him before his case is exhausted if he is found to be guilty of moral turpitude.

Netanyahu's time as premier is fast approaching Israel's revered founding father David Ben-Gurion's 13 years, and he has shown himself to be a shrewd politician.

But an indictment is sure to encourage his political rivals -- including those from within his own party -- to move against him.

Israel has not shied away from pursuing criminal cases against top politicians.

Ex-prime minister Ehud Olmert resigned from office after police recommended he be indicted for graft. He was freed from prison in July after being granted parole from a 27-month sentence.

He has largely remained out of the public eye since his release, but Israeli media reported that he broke his silence on the Netanyahu case on Wednesday.

'I wish for the prime minister that he end his term quickly and in a seemly manner,' Olmert, also known for his taste for fine cigars, was quoted as saying at an event in Tel Aviv.
A man captured on video punching a woman during a shocking road rage incident on the New South Wales Central Coast last year has been let off with a good behaviour bond.

Clint Matthew Pollard, 41, appeared in Wyong Local Court this week, where he pleaded guilty to punching Bianca Lee Sams at Lake Munmorah last July.

Dashcam footage of Mr Pollard getting out of his car and punching the young mother in the face went viral after it was posted on Facebook by another motorist at the time.

Clint Pollard received a three-year good behaviour bond and was fined $900 after he pleaded guilty to assaulting Bianca Sams in a brutal rage rage attack on the New South Central Coast last July

The court was told more details of the incident that weren't captured in the footage when the driver of the other car, Taylor Benbridge, also appeared in court this week.

The court was told Ms Sams had earlier thrown nails towards Pollard's car, the ABC reports.

Ms Benbridge faced court on a number of charges, including driving in a manner dangerous to the public.

Mr Pollard received a three-year good behaviour bond and was fined $900.

Ms Benbridge was given a suspended five-month jail sentence, with Magistrate Peter Feather noting she had bragged of her actions on Facebook at the time.

She was also fined $600 and had her licence suspended for three years.

Ms Sams, 21, faces a number of charges for her involvement in the incident, including damaging property, being armed with intent to commit an indictable offence, intentionally throwing an object at a vehicle, having part of her body outside the car window and not wearing a seat belt.

She will appear in Wyong Local Court on March 15.
Hollywood producer Jill Messick, who was Rose McGowan's manager in 1997 at the time the actor alleges Harvey Weinstein raped her, took her own life on Wednesday in Los Angeles.

The family of Messick, age 50, released a statement on Thursday confirming that the studio head had committed suicide.

Messick's family revealed the executive had suffered privately from depression and at least one manic episode, in an essay that was intensely critical of Weinstein, McGowan and the press, saying their loved one 'became collateral damage in an already horrific story.'

'Words matter,' the statement read. 'Someones life may depend on it.'

This comes after the January 30 release of McGowan's book, Brave, which claims Messick did little to help her after she confided in her about the alleged attack by Weinstein.

Hollywood producer Jill Messick (pictured), who was Rose McGowan's manager in 1997 at the time the actor alleges Harvey Weinstein raped her, died by suicide on Wednesday

Messick, who her family said had battled depression over the years, was dragged into the spotlight in the midst of a public exchange between Weinstein's attorney, Ben Brafman, and McGowan.

Messick was the manager who set up McGowan's now-infamous meeting with Weinstein, at the Sundance Film Festival in 1997, where McGowan alleges Weinstein raped her.

When McGowan was previously asked if she told anyone about her alleged assault, specifically her manager, McGowan said: 'Yes, but she got a job with him for seven years right afterwards.'

That was a reference to Messick taking a job at Miramax as vice president for development, shortly after McGowan had discussed with her that 1997 meeting with Weinstein.

Messick's family said that she chose not to speak out following comments by McGowan, made publicly and included in her book, because she believed in the #MeToo movement, which the family only referred to as 'the movement.'

They said she didn't comment even though McGowan's personal battle resulted in Messick's misrepresentation.

'Now that Jill can no longer speak for herself, its time to set the record straight,' the statement read.

Rose McGowan speaks onstage during the NBCUniversal portion of the 2018 Winter Television Critics Association Press Tour at The Langham Huntington in Pasadena on January 9

Harvey Weinstein is seen here in New York City on September 7

The family went on to say that having her name wrapped up in allegations of sexual misconduct against McGowan, allegedly perpetrated at the hands of Weinstein and by implication with her aid, was too much for Messick, who 'was just starting to get her life back on track' after suffering a manic episode five years ago.

'What makes Roses inaccurate accusations and insinuations against Jill ironic was that she was the first person who stood up on Roses behalf, and alerted her bosses to the horrific experience which Rose suffered,' the family added.

Messick's family added that seeing her photo in an international news story of such a nature was a reminder that 'the media is a fearsome tool which cannot be used indiscriminately or even inadvertently to create further victims.'

'There is a responsibility when using a platform to accurately expose criminals, predators, mistruths and misdeeds while protecting the actual truth of third parties,' the statement read.

Brafman, acting on behalf of Weinstein, chose to make public an email that Messick had sent to Weinstein, at Weinstein's request according, to the family statement.

Messick had sent the email months before the allegations of decades of sexual assault by the executive came to light, when they were first reported in October.

That email spoke to part of the circumstances surrounding some of the allegations of sexual assault that McGowan has lodged against Weinstein.

McGowan and Weinstein are seen here in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2007 at an awards ceremony

Messick is seen here with Paramount's Brady Grey in Los Angeles in 2007

DailyMail.com obtained that email on January 30, which included the following passage, written by Messick:

'When we [McGowan and Messick] met up the following day, she hesitantly told me of her own accord that during the meeting that night before she had gotten into a hot tub with Mr. Weinstein. She was very clear about the fact that getting into that hot tub was something that she did consensually and that in hindsight it was also something that she regretted having done.'

Brafman suggested what Messick wrote in her email about McGowan getting into the hot tub 'consensually' actually meant that Messick said any sex act that occurred at that time was also consensual.





But the email from Messick to Weinstein falls short of describing McGowan's interaction with Weinstein on that day as consensual sex, despite including some language that would suggest Messick believed McGowan had embellished her account of that meeting.

Lawyers from Addis-Wechsler & Associates also said that it was Messick who headed up settlement talks between McGowan and Weinstein, as they were asked by her to meet with the now-disgraced mogul, but the family refutes that statement.

Messick is seen here with family in a photo shared to social media

McGowan is seen out and about in Manhattan on February 1, near Weinstein's former office

The statement relayed a more detailed account of what Messick's family said had remained the producer's consistent story since 1997.

It read: 'In January 1997, Jill was an entry-level manager at Addis Wechsler. One of her first clients was Rose McGowan, and one of Jills first duties was to set up a breakfast meeting with Harvey Weinstein during the Sundance Film Festival. Following the meeting, Rose told Jill what had happened  that she made the decision to remove her clothes and get in the hot tub with him  a mistake which Rose immediately regretted. Rose never once used the word rape in that conversation.

'Despite this, Jill recognized that Harvey had done something untoward to Rose, if not illegal. She immediately went to her bosses, the partners of Addis Wechsler, to recount Roses story and to insist that they immediately address the situation. They told Jill that they would handle the situation.

'The ensuing arrangements between Rose and Harvey were then negotiated, completely without Jills knowledge. At that time, all Jill knew was that the matter was settled and that Rose continued making films with the Weinsteins. She never knew any details until recently, when Rose elected to make them public.'

Messick shared this photo with her family to social media on July 30, 2016

Neither McGowan or Weinstein have commented publicly on Messick's death, or the family's statement.

Neither could immediately be reached for comment by DailyMail.com.

Messick is survived by two children, Jackson and Ava, their father, Kevin Messick, her father, Michael, her brother, Jan, and her partner, Dan Schuck.

She attended Santa Barbara High School and later graduating with a degree in communications rrom the University of Southern California.

Messick was born on July 27, 1967.

Ready the full statement by her family, below.

The National Suicide Prevention line is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 1-800-273-TALK.
The waters off the east coast of Australia are teeming with deadly great white sharks, with the latest estimate putting the population at 12,800.

These new figures, which include juvenile sharks, have thrown the debate about how to protect swimmers from the high-profile predator back into the spotlight.

Researchers are hoping that the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation studies will provide solid evidence on policy, where emotion and shark attack fears can dominate debate.

It estimated that about 750 adult great whites live in waters off Australia's east coast (pictured)

The adult population between Australia and New Zealand (pictured) could be as high as 1030

The $1.5 million research project, consisting of an initial study and an update, is the first robust estimate of Australia's great whites, using tagging, DNA fingerprinting and advanced statistics.

When preliminary figures were released in December, Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg said the Western Australia Labor government must consider 'more rigorous and proactive measures to protect its citizens from shark attacks'.

Adult white shark numbers in the south west are about twice as high as in the east, but a CSIRO spokesperson said shark density was not necessarily twice as high.

Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg said the Western Australia Labor government must consider 'more rigorous and proactive measures to protect its citizens from shark attacks' in December 2017

Researchers hope the new data is the first step in assessing efforts to conserve great white populations and will help inform policy-making and design 'defensible' strategies to rebuild the threatened species.

In both shark groups, adult population size is estimated to have been stable, or declining slightly, since protections were introduced in the late 1990s. There was no evidence that shark numbers were increasing.

The project is part of the federal government's National Environmental Science Programme Marine Biodiversity Hub.

Adult population size is estimated to have been stable since extra protections were introduced

Adult white shark numbers in the south-west are about twice as high as in the east, but a CSIRO spokesperson said shark density was not necessarily twice as high in the same area

In recent years, shark attacks off the north coast of New South Wales prompted the deployment of 'smart' drumlines and a shark net trial, raising conservation fears.

Shark nets operate at more than 50 NSW beaches in the warmer months, and have been known to kill great whites and other species. Queensland also deploys nets and drumlines covering 85 beaches.

In Western Australia in 2014, the former Liberal government established 'kill zones' near beaches and surf breaks, allowing sharks to be caught and destroyed. The policy was dumped after a public outcry and advice from environment officials.

Humane Society International marine scientist Jessica Morris said up to a decade of research was needed to determine how sharks were affected by overfishing and habitat degradation

'There are ... studies showing killing sharks does not make our beaches safer,' Ms Morris said

Humane Society International marine scientist Jessica Morris said up to a decade of research was needed to determine how white sharks were being affected by overfishing, habitat degradation and shark control programs before decisions could be made about removing protections.

'Sharks are incredibly important for healthy ecosystems, and our government needs to be informed about the nature and necessity of these species,' she said.

'There are many studies showing killing sharks does not make our beaches safer.'

West Australian senator Linda Reynolds (right) said the large west coast great white population meant 'there must be an honest and informed discussion' about the protected shark species

Shark nets operate at more than 50 NSW beaches in the warmer months (Coogee pictured)

West Australian senator Linda Reynolds said the larger west coast white shark population meant 'there must be an honest and informed discussion about whether great whites still need to be considered a protected species'.

She said sharks had killed 15 people in her state since 2000, compared to one death at protected beaches in NSW and Queensland in 50 years.

A suite of measures including nets and drum lines should be considered for the west coast, Senator Reynolds said.

'Environmental ideology has been allowed to take over ... Human lives must come before fish,' she said.
Russian influence in the United States wasn't limited to meddling with the 2016 election, according to an FBI informant who has told three congressional committees that Moscow tried to buy influence with Hillary Clinton by steering money to her family foundation.

William Douglas Campbell says Russia paid the American lobbying firm APCO Worldwide $3 million over the period of a year in the early days of the Obama administration, when Hillary Clinton was secretary of State.

APCO was supposed to lobby a multi-agency board called the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to approve the Russian company Rosatom's purchase of Uranium One, a Canadian company that controlled 20 per cent of the U.S. uranium supply.

The U.S. secretary of State is one member of the CFIUS.

Former FBI informant William Douglas Campbell says Russia paid the American lobbying firm APCO Worldwide $3 million of a period of a year in the early days of the Obama administration, when Hillary Clinton was secretary of State

APCO was expected to work for the Clinton Global Initiative, an arm of the Clinton Foundation, for free as part of the Russian contract, a move Moscow say as currying favor with Hillary Clinton  who would have to approve Rosatom's purchase of Uranium One

Campbell's lawyer, Victoria Toensing, says that despite her client telling the government how corrupt Rosatom was, it still got permission to buy Uranium One  a move that gave the Russian state-run firm control over 20 per cent of America's uranium mining potential

The company was also expected to provide pro-bono support to the Clinton Global Initiative as a way of currying favor with Hillary Clinton.

An internal CGI document dating from the fall of 2011 described APCO's fee-free help as being worth $275,000 during one year.

APCO officials have acknowledged providing more than $1 million worth of support to the Clinton Foudation arm since 2008.

The Uranium One deal was green-lighted in late 2010 despite the FBI knowing a year earlier that Russian agents were using bribery and kickbacks to help expand Russia's access to atomic-energy raw materials in the U.S.

The Hill and the Fox News Channel have outlined the Russian plot, reporting that Campbell went undercover for years to document it for the FBI.

As a result, the FBI knew in 2009 that Rosatom subsidiary Tenex was engaging in bribery and money laundering. Criminal convictions followed in 2015.

Vladimir Putin's Russia is engaging in a 'strategic plan' by Russian President Vladimir Putin to 'take over the uranium industry,' according to Campbell's lawyer Victoria Toensing

Russia saw purchasing Uranium One as part of a plan to dominate the global uranium market, making the U.S. dependent on them

Russia saw purchasing Uranium One as a vital part of a larger plan to dominate the global uranium market. This, the Kremlin believed, would make the U.S. dependent on them when developing both nuclear energy and weapons technologies.

Campbell's attorney Victoria Toensing told Fox News that her client told the congressional committees about a 'strategic plan' by Russian President Vladimir Putin to 'take over the uranium industry.'

'[The Russians] were so confident that they told Mr. Campbell with the Clintons' help, it was a shoo-in to get CFIUS approval,' Toensing said on the 'Hannity' program.

'They were so confident in that that they even had him open up [a] new office because they were planning on the kind of business they were going to do as soon as CFIUS approved it.'

In early 2009 Clinton was engaged in what would ultimately be a failed 'reset' of U.S.-Russia relations on behalf of President Barack Obama, an effort that Republican critics charge empowered the kremlin to become bolder in its efforts to take advantage of the United States.

Months before the Rosatom purchase of Uranium One was approved, Bill Clinton accepted a $500,000 one-day speaking fee from a Russian bank tied to the deal.

The Uranium One deal came together against the backdrop of newly minted Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's public effort to 'reset' U.S.-Russia relations

President Donald Trump has tried to persuade Congress and the media to make more of the Uranium One deal, believing that it has the potential to redirect Americans' suspicions about the degree to which the Kremlin is interfering in America's political life

He also sought permission from the State Department to meet with an unnamed Rosatom board member while he was in Moscow.

The FBI is engaged in a broader probe of the Clinton Foundation, according to multiple media reports.

The investigation concerns donations to the foundation in exchange for political favors while Hillary Clinton was America's top diplomat from 2009-2013.

In November the Justice Department informed House Judiciary Committee chairman Bob Goodlatte, a Virginia Republican, that Attorney General Jeff Sessions was evaluating the need to investigate the Uranium One sale.

The Clinton Foundation said late last year that it had already repeatedly disproven allegations of wrongdoing.

'Time after time, the Clinton Foundation has been subjected to politically motivated allegations, and time after time these allegations have been proven false. None of this has made us waver in our mission to help people,' foundation spokesman Craig Minassian said in a statement.

Toensing told Fox News that Russia was 'so confident that they told Mr. Campbell with the Clintons' help, it was a shoo-in' to get approval for the Uranium One sale

Nick Merrill, a spokesman for Hillary Clinton, told The Hill that the probe was 'a sham' and said Sessions was 'doing [President] Trump's bidding' by pursuing the case.

APCO officials say their support for the Clinton Global Initiative was not linked in any way with its work on behalf of Russia. They also insist that their lobbying work was not focused on the Uranium One deal, but on helping Russia compete more effectively for nuclear fuel contracts in the U.S.

She also said the FBI had told Campbell that Barack Obama was personally made aware of the plot he had uncovered.

'He was told that President Obama had it in his daily briefing twice,' Toensing said.
A heartbroken New Zealand couple are mourning the brutal death of their 10 month-old puppy allegedly stabbed to death by their flatmate.

Jack Vanbiljon watched in horror as his beloved staffy-kelpie cross Turbo bled to death after he was slashed in the throat with a knife north of Auckland on Monday.

He and girlfriend Casey Halpin's other dog, bull terrier Nova, also had its throat slashed and needed eight staples but survived the shocking attack.

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Jack Vanbiljon is shattered following the death of his best friend Turbo in a shocking attack north of Auckland on Monday

Ten month-old staffy-kelpie cross Turno died in a pool of blood after his throat was allegedly slashed

'I lost my best friend,' Mr Vanbiljon he told the NZ Herald.

'I am distraught. I don't know what to do. He came to work with me every day, did everything with me, 24/7. When I wake up in the morning he not being there is the hardest thing.'

The couple had just been evicted on short notice and were packing their belongings when Mr Vanbiljon heard his girlfriend scream after she saw their flatmate near her car with a blood-stained knife.

Turbo was in the car at the time.

'He'd basically bled out in my car,' Ms Halpin told the NZ Herald.

Jack Vanbiljon has taken to social media to thank everyone for their support after Turbo's death made media headlines this week

A online page set up to raise funds for Turbo's cremation has raised more than $365 so far.

'My brother tragically lost his dog in an awful manner,' Jack's sister Almay Vanbiljon wrote.

'This page it set up to help him raise the money to get him cremated and put to rest. Please help every dollar count to help him put his little boy to peace.'

A man was charged with possessing an offensive weapon and will appear in North Shore District Court on Friday (February 9).

The Royal New Zealand Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is investigating the incident.

The distraught couple have since moved in with Ms Haplin's parents.

A online page set up to raise funds for Turbo's cremation has raised more than $365 so far

'I would just like to say a massive thank you to everyone who has given us support and everything with what's happened it really means a lot and to see how many really good kind-hearted people are out there,' Mr Vanbiljon posted on Facebook on Friday.
In Mexico's western state of Jalisco, the heartland of the tequila industry, 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, spikey-leaved succulent used to make the alcoholic drink, has risen six-fold in the past two years.

The rising prices are squeezing smaller distillers' margins and leading to concerns that shortages could hit even the larger players.

It's even leading to growing theft of agave right out of the ground, 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.

Last year 15,000 plants were reported stolen, more than triple the number in 2016, according to the Tequila Regulatory Council (CRT).

A field worker cuts agave at the Patron plantation in Jalisco, Mexico in this file photo. Rising agave prices are causing a shortage, and thieves are even stealing plants from the fields

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.

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 17.7million blue agaves planted in 2011 in Mexico for use this year fall far short of the 42million the industry needs to supply 140 registered companies, according to figures from the CRT and the National Tequila Industry Chamber (CNIT).

Tequila is rising in popularity around the world, putting a crunch on producers and leading to fears of a shortage if distilleries can't keep up with demand (file photo)

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.

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.

A woman is seen drinking tequila in this file photo. Distillers are feeling the pinch of rising agave prices as rising demand outpaces farmers' ability to produce

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 $5.1billion.

In 2017, after years of speculation, Mexico's Beckmann family launched an initial public offering of Jose Cuervo , raising more than $900million.

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.

'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.'
George Soros was told to 'butt out' last night after it emerged the billionaire is bankrolling efforts to keep Britain in the EU.

Senior Tories raised the alarm after the American financier confirmed he had donated more than 700,000 to groups working to water down or block Brexit.

Mr Soros famously bet against sterling on Black Wednesday in 1992  earning him 1billion and the nickname 'the man who broke the Bank of England'. The fiasco cost taxpayers 3.3billion.

Best for Britain, which has received 400,000 from Mr Soros, admits its campaign for a new referendum could cause the Government to fall.

The group should hand back the cash, according to Iain Duncan Smith.

The former Conservative leader said it was wrong for foreign plutocrats to 'undermine democracy' in Britain.

Billionaire investor George Soros, pictured in Brussels last year, is said to have handed 400,000 to a campaign arguing against Brexit

Lord Lamont, a former Tory chancellor, said: 'George Soros is a brilliant financier, but he should stick to finance and stay out of British politics.'

Conservative MP Henry Smith said Mr Soros should 'butt out'.

As Downing Street insisted Britain will leave the EU in March next year even if MPs vote down a divorce deal:

- Best for Britain co-founder Gina Miller, who has since quit the group, said it had become 'undemocratic';

- Its leader said ditching the referendum result would be like abandoning a wet holiday in Cornwall;

- Mr Soros was said to be so angry at the criticism that he was considering a further six-figure donation;

- It emerged that his money could be funding six UK organisations, including a parliamentary group dedicated to watering down Brexit;

- David Davis condemned EU threats to punish Britain if it stepped out of line during a transition period;

- Cabinet ministers agreed to pursue an 'ambitious' trade deal with Brussels that would allow the UK to diverge from its rules.

Gina Miller, the millionaire businesswoman who took the Government to court over Brexit, promised 'the biggest tactical voting effort in our history' when she launched the Best for Britain campaign in April last year

Best for Britain made a presentation to six Tory donors at Mr Soros's Chelsea home this week, the Daily Telegraph reported. They were told the group aims to pressure MPs into voting down a Brexit agreement negotiated by Theresa May in the autumn.

A document circulated to those present said if they were successful 'it is likely to trigger a new referendum, or election'. It added: 'We must prevail decisively, so reassuring Europe that our return will be permanent.'

The group, which is expected to launch a mass advertising campaign next month, said it would use 'guerilla marketing tactics'. It said its aim was to 'wake the country up and assert that Brexit is not a done deal. That it's not too late to stop Brexit'.

None of the Tory donors at the presentation is thought to have pledged any money. Mr Soros's donations were revealed yesterday.

Tory MPs last night said Mr Soros, who was born in Hungary, had no right to try to undermine the result of the largest democratic exercise ever undertaken in Britain.

Mr Duncan Smith said: 'However this is dressed up, George Soros is interfering in the British political system

'I do have a problem with people taking money from wealthy non-British citizens to undermine the democratic process in this country.

'They should give it back  if they can't raise the money in this country then they should not be doing it.'

Henry Smith said: 'George Soros has never been a friend of Britain's best interests. As a US citizen he should butt out of telling the UK they should remain under Brussels' yoke.

'Serious questions need to be asked as to how a foreign national can be funding a British political campaign.'

Jacob Rees-Mogg, a leading Conservative Eurosceptic MP, said the revelations underlined the need for Brexit supporters to keep making the case to leave the EU.

'It is quite clear there is a lot of money behind the continuing Remain campaign and a lot of Establishment support for overturning Brexit,' he added.

'We must keep making the arguments that Britain will be better off out of the EU.'

Mr Soros (pictured with EU commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in 2017), previously said it was possible that the UK would apply to rejoin the European Union soon after Brexit

One pro-Brexit minister said Remain forces were trying to 'demoralise' the British public and 'delay' Brexit in the hope of overturning it.

Tory MP Peter Bone added: 'This is more evidence of an Establishment push to overturn the referendum result.

'It is being run by people who take the view they know better than the British people and that the people who voted for it are stupider than they are. That is the complete reverse of the truth.

'No one should underestimate the effort they are putting in. This is a significant push being orchestrated in secret and bankrolled by very wealthy individuals. No one should think that winning the referendum guarantees Brexit will be delivered.'

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said Mr Soros was entitled to fund political campaigns. But he insisted that Mrs May would not be deflected from her pledge to respect the referendum and lead Britain out of the EU next year.

WHO ARE BEST FOR BRITAIN AND WHAT DO THEY WANT? Best for Britain was launched by Gina Miller as a campaign to encourage tactical voting against Brexit Best for Britain is a campaign group dedicating to moderating and ultimately reversing Brexit. It was launched by Gina Miller, the former model who successfully challenged the Government in court over to Article 50, to encourage anti-Brexit tactical voting at the election. Ms Miller left the group soon after the election and former Labour minister Mark Malloch-Brown took over as chairman. The group is actively fundraising for its efforts to frustrate Brexit. As well as big money donations from people like George Soros, it run crowdfunding - including a new campaign to 'stand up for free speech'. It urged MPs to vote against the flagship Brexit Withdrawal Bill and campaigns to protect universities from what it describes as a right-wing witch hunt. The group draws cross party support, frequently issuing statements from MPs including Daniel Zeichner from Labour, Tom Brake from the Lib Dems and Green Caroline Lucas.. The board includes former Olympian Stephen Peel economist Anatole Kaletsky, businessman Clive Cowdery, while the CEO is activist Eloise Todd. Advertisement

He confirmed that the Commons vote this year would be a question of 'deal or no deal', adding: 'The PM's position is clear. The country voted to leave, that is what we are going to deliver and there will not be a second referendum.'

Sources at Best for Britain yesterday denied claims that the group has operated in a 'shadowy' manner, saying it had always been clear about its aim of stopping Brexit.

As well as running its own campaign, the group is planning to fund other anti-Brexit organisations, including Open Britain.

It also funds the all-party parliamentary group on EU relations, which is working to water down Brexit in parliament.

Prominent members include former Tory minister Anna Soubry and former Labour cabinet minister Lord Adonis, who has pledged to 'sabotage Brexit'.

Mr Soros has spent millions promoting democracy movements around the world through his Open Society Foundation.

In a statement last night the foundation said its grants to anti-Brexit campaigns were in line with its 'worldwide mission to build vibrant and tolerant democracies whose governments are accountable to their citizens'.

The group's president Patrick Gaspard added: 'A fundamental principle of open societies is that people get to decide how they are governed, knowing exactly what they stand to gain and what they stand to lose.'

Miss Miller said the public had a right to know who was backing Best for Britain.

Lord Malloch-Brown, who chairs the group, told the BBC that MPs should ignore the referendum result and vote down whatever deal Mrs May secures with Brussels.

He suggested that reversing the referendum result because of fears the economy would suffer was comparable to simply changing holiday destinations because of the weather.

He said: 'It's like being told let's go to Cornwall for a beach holiday and it's going to be sunny and it rains every day and you're allowed to change your mind.

'There are a lot of people out there terribly frustrated, growing in numbers. So we're putting together a campaign which is actually democratic in its funding too, It's got some big donors including I'm very proud to say George Soros but also thousands of small donors as well.'

He said his goal was to 'mobilise public opinion in favour of Remain in order to bring that change in public opinion to bear on parliament when it has the meaningful vote on Mrs May's Brexit package sometime at the end of this year'.

He claimed the referendum had betrayed British democracy and urged MPs to ignore the result, adding: 'I wish MPs would take responsibility for this and would be willing to vote on their conscience and their knowledge of the issues and then face their electors at the next election.'

He laughed off claims he was trying to subvert democracy and insisted he was trying to 'empower' it instead.
Photos reveal the moment an alleged drug dealer was arrested in a dawn drug raid in Melbourne.

A 27-year-old man dressed in grey shorts and a grey t-shirt was arrested at a property in Hampton Park, about 42 kilometres south-east of Melbourne, after investigators searched the house.

Dandenong Divisional Response Unit members seized a number of drugs including ice, cannabis, ecstasy and prescription drugs as well as cash.

Photos reveal the moment an alleged drug dealer was arrested in a dawn drug raid in Melbourne (right). A sniffer dog (left) searches the back of what appears to be a four-wheel-drive car with a pram in the boot

A 27-year-old man dressed in grey shorts and a grey t-shirt was arrested at a property in Hampton Park, about 42 kilometres south-east of Melbourne, Friday morning (pictured)

Dandenong Divisional Response Unit members seized a number of drugs including ice, cannabis, ecstasy and prescription drugs as well as cash

Photos show a sniffer dog searching the back what appears to be a four-wheel-drive car with a pram in the boot.

Investigators were seen carrying at least two large brown bags from the house at about 5am Friday.

The young man was charged with a number of drug offences including trafficking of drugs and growing narcotic plants.

The 27-year-old was charged with trafficking methylamphetamine, possessing methylamphetamine, trafficking cannabis, possessing cannabis, cultivating a narcotic plant, possessing ecstasy and four counts of possessing prescription drugs and dealing property suspected to be proceeds of crime.

The man was granted bail and is expected to appear at Dandenong Magistrates Court on April 16.
George Soros, in a rare moment of candour, once confessed to being driven by what armchair psychiatrists would call a Messiah complex.

'I have always harboured an exaggerated view of my self-importance.'

He wrote: 'To put it bluntly, I fancied myself as some kind of god...as I made my way in the world, reality came close enough to my fantasy to allow me to admit my secret. Needless to say, I feel much happier as a result.'

The remark, in a 1987 memoir called The Alchemy Of Finance, may at least partly explain why the self-made billionaire has chosen to spend the final years of his life meddling in day-to-day politics in almost every corner of the globe.

Soros wants to use his vast wealth as ammunition to reverse what he describes as 'The Brexit calamity'

Fuelled by a fortune that makes him the world's 29th richest man, the 87-year-old already ploughed around $14billion into largely left-leaning causes, seeking (among other things) to liberalise abortion and immigration law, legalise drugs, and prevent a host of conservative politicians  most famously U.S. presidents George W Bush and Donald Trump  from gaining office.

Now, of course, Soros wants to use his vast wealth as ammunition to reverse what he describes as 'The Brexit calamity'.

It's an ironic mission, given that the Hungarian-born, American financier is best known on these shores as 'the man who broke the Bank of England' on Black Wednesday in 1992, when he turned a billion-dollar profit by making currency bets that forced the UK out of the Exchange Rate Mechanism.

Ironically for this Europhile, his actions on that day forever dented public confidence in the European project, not to mention the moneyed elite who have always been its most loyal cheerleaders.

Without them, one might argue that the UK's decision to leave the EU some 24 years later would never have happened.

Billionaire investor George Soros, pictured in Brussels last year, is said to have handed 400,000 to a campaign arguing against Brexit

When it comes to what he likes to call 'philanthropy'  but critics increasingly call 'political interference'  Soros has always been a man riven by contradictions.

Take, for example, his Open Society Foundation, the enormous grant-making organisation set up to run non-profit activities, which has branches in 37 countries, including a smart office in London's Millbank Tower, along with an arsenal of tens of billions of dollars, including $18 million he transferred into it before Christmas.

This organisation cites, by way of a mission statement, that it seeks 'to build vibrant and tolerant democracies whose governments are accountable and open to the participation of all people.'

Yet now he seeks to use financial muscle to overturn the result of the Brexit referendum, which with more than 30 million votes cast was one of the greatest exercises in democracy, and therefore accountability, in British history.

Take, to cite another pertinent example, the vigour with which Soros has in recent years endorsed the fashionable cause of forcing the rich to pay more taxes, arguing that 'market fundamentalism' has undermined capitalism by causing the so-called 'one per cent' to grow wealthy at the expense of everyone else.

Meanwhile, his own hedge fund has been largely headquartered in the tax haven of Ireland. In 2015, Bloomberg revealed that it had paid just $962 in tax there, while funnelling $7.2billion to investors  and controls three offshore investment vehicles named in the Panama Papers.

These, and many other anomalies, perhaps explain why many critics regard George Soros as a living monument to elitism. Elected by no one, he spends much of his time among fellow billionaires (last month he was, inevitably, holding forth at the World Economic Forum in Davos) whose only contact with the real world comes via interactions with the domestic staff who cushion their luxury and run their homes.

Though he prefers understated navy or grey suits to the loud pinstripes other Wall Street titans prefer, his lifestyle is anything but modest. Indeed, a rare glimpse into his gilded existence emerged at an industrial tribunal a few years back when the reclusive financier's former butler won 17,500 from him in an unfair dismissal case.

During proceedings, it emerged that Soros was in the habit of urging his private chef to use Chateau Lafite claret (a fine wine currently worth 1,500 a bottle) to perk up the beef stew served over dinner at his Chelsea mansion. The tribunal also heard he once replaced a washing machine because its fuse had blown.

The butler, who was in turn accused of melting 18th century French silverware in the dishwasher (and then hiding it in a safe), portrayed this supposed champion of the downtrodden as a vindictive employer who had ploughed his way through five pairs of 'domestics' and a further five nannies in the previous three years.

Perhaps ironically, given this luxury lifestyle, Soros has often remarked that he doesn't particularly enjoy being rich, or making money. 'I'm just good at it,' he once insisted.

Mr Soros (pictured with EU commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in 2017), previously said it was possible that the UK would apply to rejoin the European Union soon after Brexit

His success, and at least some of his political convictions, were forged in Hungary, where he was born in 1930, the son of a lawyer. During his teenage years, when their native Budapest was under Nazi occupation, the family evaded deportation to the death camps, at one stage by getting young George to pose as the godson of a government official.

Then, after living under Communism for two years after the war, Soros escaped to London aged 17. Here, he took casual jobs before enrolling as a philosophy student at the London School of Economics.

By 24, he was working in the City, and a couple of years later moved to the U.S., where he would later take citizenship, in order to take a job on Wall Street.

Initially, he vowed to spend only five years making money, before returning to university to study the work of Karl Popper, an Austrian widely regarded as one of the greatest philosophers of science. But Soros soon discovered that he boasted a rare talent for investing, quickly rising through the ranks of blue chip firms.

In 1973, he struck out on his own, raising $13million to launch investment firm Soros Fund Management. Within eight years, it had $400million under management. By 1981, he was dubbed 'The World's Greatest Money Manager' by Institutional Investor Magazine. A few years later he was a billionaire.

Soros's skill as an investor came not as a picker of individual stocks, but instead by predicting wider economic trends and betting accordingly.

He was also influenced by Popper, a contrarian. 'The prevailing wisdom is that markets are always right,' Soros often said. 'I take the opposite position. I assume markets are always wrong.'

While his campaign to topple Brexit may gain the approval of our financial and political elite, it will only enrage critics who accuse him of using wealth to undermine democracy

Perhaps his most famous 'coup' on this front, came on Black Wednesday, after Germany's central bank had raised questions about the strength of the UK economy. Though the Bank of England promised to spend billions to support the pound, and most investors believed them, Soros became convinced our currency would fall.

He duly used some $15billion to short-sell the pound and buy deutschmarks, spooking the markets in the process.

When, in panic, the Major government devalued sterling, costing UK taxpayers 3.3 billion, Soros banked a $1billion profit. Though this earned him a reputation as what commentators called 'the big, bad wolf of international finance', he expressed 'not even a shadow of remorse', explaining: 'I didn't speculate against the pound to help England. I didn't do it to hurt England. I did it to make money.'

This notorious episode highlighted Soros's gift for knowing when to, as they say in the trade 'pull the trigger'  by either making an investment or cutting his losses. This characteristic is also said to define his personality.

Colleagues have described his approach to life as 'transactional,' saying that Soros ends relationships abruptly when they no longer suit him. The term can certainly be applied to his love life, which has seen Soros have three wives, each of them two decades younger than the predecessor, and produced five grown-up children.

Current wife Tamiko Bolton was, at 40, less than half his age when they became engaged in 2012.

The previous year his colourful private affairs were chewed over by the U.S. courts when an ex-girlfriend called Adriana Ferreyr filed a $50million lawsuit alleging that he'd caused her 'emotional distress' by reneging on promises to buy her a $2million apartment.

Ferreyr, a Brazilian actress, said she began dating Soros in 2007 when she was 23 and he was 76, and added that on New Year's Day in 2010 he promised to buy her the property in New York.

However, she claimed, he instead gave it to a rival girlfriend.

That sparked a row in which she was whacked with a lamp, causing shards of glass to become embedded in her foot.

She was initially offered around $6.9million in settlement, but wanted more. Then, during a court hearing, she lost her temper and lunged at one of his lawyers. The case was duly dismissed.

As for his philanthropy, Soros started the Open Society Foundation in 1979, initially funding scholarships for black students in apartheid South Africa.

By the 1980s he was using the organisation to promote democracy in Cold War Eastern Europe, for example supplying large quantities of Xerox photocopiers to Communist Hungary, thereby breaking its government's control over information.

Though political in nature, such projects were hardly controversial.

But then, in the 1990s, he began spending large quantities of cash on more divisive campaigns to legalise marijuana and liberalise abortion laws in a number of American states.

Soon, he was pouring money into party politics, spending some $15million seeking (unsuccessfully) to unseat President George W Bush in 2004, and ploughing millions more into Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton's presidential bids.

This year, he's campaigning for an anti-Trump 'landslide' at the 2018 mid-term elections.

These often provocative campaigns are at odds with those of contemporaries such as Bill Gates  who spends his billions on uncontroversial projects such as seeking to cure AIDS and malaria.

In 2016, for example, Soros announced that he was spending $500million lobbying on behalf of refugees, seeking among other things to persuade EU nations to liberalise their immigration laws.

He's also recently backed campaigns against authoritarian governments of Turkey, Poland and his native Hungary.

They, in turn, have responded with ugly campaigns portraying Soros as a foreign interloper who is seeking to, in the recent words of Romania's ruling social democrat party, help 'finance evil'.

Now, of course, he's bankrolling the campaign to topple Brexit.

While that may gain the approval of our financial and political elite, it will only enrage critics who accuse him of using wealth to undermine democracy.
Jon Venables former lawyer has backed calls for the killers lifelong anonymity to be lifted.

Laurence Lee spoke out as dozens of photographs purporting to show him living under his new secret identity were published on social media yesterday.

The images were posted after 35-year-old Venables was jailed for 40 months for child porn offences.

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Jon Venables, pictured here aged 10, was given a new identity following his release from prison after the murder of two-year-old James Bulger in 1993

Solicitor Laurence Lee, pictured, who represented Jon Venables between 1993 and 1994 said he now believes his former client should lose his anonymity following his latest conviction

Hes had his chance, said Mr Lee, who was Venabless solicitor when he and Robert Thompson, then both ten, were arrested for the murder of James Bulger in 1993.

Mr Lee told Good Morning Britain: I have every sympathy with the Bulger family and if I were in their shoes I would be clamouring as loudly as they are for his anonymity to be lifted.

Hes committed two very, very serious sets of offences and anonymity has been wasted on him a lot of people would say ... As a boring lawyer that has to be balanced  because theres a difference between being a decent human being sometimes and having to look at it through a lawyers eyes. If there was no anonymity we would be returning to the mob rule scenes that we faced outside court back in 1993.

That is why in all probability his anonymity will not be lifted but I have every sympathy for anybody who says that it should be. When I first set eyes on him in the cell he looked like an eight-year-old  very polite, very respectful like his mum was and I thought he couldnt possibly be involved in something as evil and heinous as this.

It was only in subsequent interviews it was clear hed been lying and when he was found out he broke into hysterical tears and was hugging his mum and hugging the officers. It was then I realised he was capable of this awful, heinous crime.

Also speaking on the ITV programme, the Bulgers former police family liaison officer Mandy Waller agreed Venabless anonymity should possibly be lifted. But she added: Its very doubtful it will be lifted, theyre going to take the view they have to safeguard Venables, which is sad.

Jamess father Ralph, 51, launched a High Court bid to have the anonymity order overturned after Venables was convicted on Wednesday of hiding 1,170 vile images of child abuse as well as a paedophile manual. His ex-wife Denise Fergus has also called for an investigation into the official handling of the case and last night a petition for a public inquiry had attracted more than 27,000 signatures.

Venables and Thompson had lifetime anonymity orders granted by the High Court in 2001. Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss said there was the real possibility of serious physical harm and possibly death from vengeful members of the public and from the Bulger family.

The injunction means no pictures or details can be published that could identify them.

If an order is overturned it is believed it would be the first time in UK legal history.

The case is due to be heard by the High Court later this year. Lawyers representing the Bulger family will argue the order needs to be reassessed given the nature of the subsequent offending.

For the injunction to be lifted the court would have to be satisfied Venables was no longer at risk of physical harm as a result of his identity being made public. It is estimated that the total cost of his new protected identities has reached 1.5million.

The authorities have had to relocate him under a new name as many as four times.

The Attorney General was investigating complaints last night that a number of social media users had breached the anonymity order. Despite the risk of a prison sentence, users posted images claiming to show Venables as an adult taken after his release from jail in 2001.

He had served eight years for the kidnap, torture and murder of two-year-old James in Bootle, Merseyside, in 1993.

A spokesman for the Attorney General said: We have received complaints that the anonymity order has been breached and we are investigating.
The setting was an elegant Victorian townhouse in Chelsea.

The guests included six Tory donors and senior members of Best for Britain, a pressure group openly campaigning for a second referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union.

The host was George Soros, the international financier who 'broke the Bank of England' when Britain exited the European Exchange Rate Mechanism on Black Wednesday, back in 1992.

The topic under discussion was Brexit...and how it might be overturned.

The host was George Soros, the international financier who 'broke the Bank of England'

As Lord Malloch-Brown, the former Labour minister who is now chairman of Best for Britain, told the guests: 'The time is now.' The hope appeared to be that the rich Conservative donors present that evening would provide the group with much-needed financial support for its anti-Brexit campaign.

But  unfortunately for those bent on frustrating the 2016 referendum result  it seemed no one opened their cheque books.

Mr Soros' Chelsea home comprises two grand Victorian properties knocked into one.

At the meeting  on a Monday night in late January  were Lord Malloch-Brown, the former City minister; and another board member of Best for Britain, the former Olympic rower and former Goldman Sachs banker Stephen Peel. They were joined by Sir Martin Sorrell, chief executive of advertising firm WPP  a key opponent of Brexit.

The identities of the six Conservative donors have not been revealed. They were reportedly told that the goal was to launch a campaign to overturn the vote to leave the EU.

The plan was to 'raise public support for Remain to a clear and growing national majority by June/July 2018 and channelling that pressure into MPs' mailbags and surgeries'.

The Daily Telegraph yesterday revealed the strategy document, leaked from a meeting of the Best for Britain group. According to this, the campaign  which will begin by the end of this month  must 'wake the country up and assert that Brexit is not a done deal. That it's not too late to stop Brexit'.

The document concluded that the movement 'must then win the meaningful vote that Mrs [Theresa] May has promised on her Brexit deal in October', adding that if she were to lose, 'it is likely to trigger a new referendum, or election'. 'We must prevail decisively so reassuring Europe that our return will be permanent,' the document reportedly stated.

Some of the attendees at Mr Soros' meeting already had links to Best for Britain, which was originally set up by pro-EU lawyer Gina Miller last year, though she has since left.

Some of the attendees at Mr Soros' meeting already had links to Best for Britain, which was originally set up by pro-EU lawyer Gina Miller last year, though she has since left

Mr Peel had already given 25,000 to the group. Lord Malloch-Brown, who recently became chairman of the body, told the meeting that Parliament had won a 'meaningful vote' on the Brexit deal  which Remainers believed could be a chance to strike a significant blow against it.

According to the Telegraph, he laid out how that vote would be the campaign's target. He said he wanted the separate Remain groups to orchestrate their campaigns.

And a marketing blitz would target young people and assert that the course of Brexit could be changed. He revealed that they already had a range of 'guerilla marketing tactics' in preparation to seize attention.

Support from business and unions would be harnessed, and the European Movement  another pro-EU group  would help create pro-Remain pressure.

Lord Malloch-Brown said they would create a 'national field presence, concentrated on seats where MPs need to be brought into the Remain column'. He allegedly told the guests he believed that this, combined with an inevitably worsening economy, would turn the public against Brexit eventually.

This would mean the public would pile pressure on MPs to vote against the Government's final EU deal.

If Mrs May lost the vote, he said she would have to offer a new referendum or a fresh election to renew her mandate. This election, so the plan went, could lead to a pro-Brussels majority which could decide to keep Britain in the EU.

However, the dinner apparently did not achieve the hoped-for result.

Mr Soros and Mr Peel had already donated to Best for Britain  but the Tory donors were less keen. They were apparently not happy that the plot seemed to hinge on bringing down a Conservative prime minister. And none of them pledged money for the campaign, despite Lord Malloch-Brown's best efforts.
Most teenagers struggle to survive a school day without one  but Vladimir Putin has revealed that he rules a nation of 144million without using a smartphone.

The Russian President, a self-confessed technophobe, has already admitted that he never uses the internet, preferring to have aides look things up for him instead.

The Soviet strongman, 65, confirmed his antipathy to apps at a meeting with scientists and academics in Siberia when the head of the Kurchatov nuclear research institute remarked that everyone has a smartphone in their pocket.

Russian president Vladimir Putin, right, admitted he does not own a smart phone

The former KGB man said he prefers to tell his staff to look matters up on his behalf

Mr Putin interjected, to laughter: You said that everyone has smartphones. But I dont have a smartphone.

In the past he has claimed the internet is a special project of the CIA and half pornography. He has also said he has no interest in joining social media networks  unlike his US counterpart Donald Trump who deploys Twitter as his own personal political weapon.

Last year while meeting schoolchildren, Mr Putin was asked if he looked at Instagram or other social networks in his spare moments. He replied: I personally practically dont use this. My hard-working day finishes so late, Im not up to Instagram.

Mr Putins comments come amid reports of Russian hackers attempting to influence elections in Western democracies.
A California Democratic assemblywoman who is a prominent female campaigner in the #MeToo movement has taken a leave of absence following allegations she groped a male aide.

Cristina Garcia, the head of the Legislative Women's Caucus and a leading figure in the state's anti-sexual harassment movement, is accused of inappropriately touching Daniel Fierro, a staffer from another lawmaker's office, during a softball game in 2014.

'Upon reflection of the details alleged, I am certain I did not engage in the behavior I am accused of.

'However, as Ive said before, any claims about sexual harassment must be taken seriously, and I believe elected officials should be held to a higher standard of accountability.

'Therefore, I am voluntarily taking an immediate unpaid leave from my position in the State Assembly, including any accompanying committee assignments, so as not to serve as a distraction or in any way influence the process of this investigation.

Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia (pictured), has been accused of sexual harassment by a younger, male aide and will take an unpaid leave of absence from her post as the allegations against her are investigated

'I implore the Assembly Rules Committee to conduct a thorough and expeditious investigation, and I look forward to getting back to work on behalf of my constituents and for the betterment of California,' Garcia, 38, said in a Friday statement that used similar language to one she issued Thursday.

Fierro said Thursday that Garcia stroked his back, squeezed his buttocks and attempted to touch his crotch in a dugout after a legislative softball game in 2014.

Garcia, whose photo appeared in Time Magazine's Person of the Year issue on being one of the 'Silence Breakers' on sexual harassment, is now being investigated by the Assembly.

Daniel Fierro said Thursday that Garcia stroked his back, squeezed his buttocks and attempted to touch his crotch in a dugout after a legislative softball game in 2014

Garcia, whose photo appeared in Time Magazine's Person of the Year issue on being one of the 'Silence Breakers' on sexual harassment, is now being investigated by the Assembly. She is not pictured on the cover

Fierro didn't report it at the time but in January told his former boss, Democratic Assemblyman Ian Calderon, who reported it to Assembly leaders.

Garcia's spokeswoman Teala Schaff said the assemblywoman learned January 23 a complaint was filed but was given no details and only learned the specifics of the allegations from Politico, who first published the accusation.

'Every complaint about sexual harassment should be taken seriously and I will participate fully in any investigation that takes place,' the Los Angeles-area lawmaker said in a statement Thursday.

'I have zero recollection of engaging in inappropriate behavior and such behavior is inconsistent with my values.'

The investigation into Garcia is one of many in statehouses nationwide following a wave of sexual misconduct allegations against men in power since an October expose of movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.

Fierro said he decided to tell Calderon about the incident because of Garcia's outspokenness in the #MeToo movement, which references the social media campaign used by millions to tell personal experiences with sexual harassment.

'If the person leading the charge on it isn't credible it just ends up hurting the credibility of these very real stories,' Fierro said.

Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, a Democrat, said in a statement he is directing human resources to reach out to Garcia's staff to make sure they feel safe.

'I trust that while the investigation proceeds, Assemblymember Garcia will respond appropriately and in a way that fortifies the Legislature's effort to create a new climate,' he said.

Fierro, who was 25 at the time, said he was interviewed by an outside law firm hired by the Assembly Rules Committee last Friday.

A lobbyist who declined to be named claimed Garcia made crude sexual comments and tried to grab his crotch at a 2017 fundraiser, according to Politico.

Garcia was elected in 2012 and has carved out a name as a champion of women's issues and environmental health for poor communities and chairs the Women's Caucus.

Fierro didn't report the alleged abuse at the hands of Garcia (right) at the time but in January told his former boss, Democratic Assemblyman Ian Calderon (left), who reported it to Assembly leaders

Democratic Senator Connie Leyva, co-chair of the women's caucus, said she was 'shocked and disturbed' at the allegations and she will ask the group to meet soon to discuss Garcia's fate as leader.

Garcia's photo was featured in Time Magazine's Person of the Year issue on being one of the 'Silence Breakers' on sexual harassment.

In October, she tweeted: 'I refuse to work with (Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra) and anyone who takes part in harassment or assault,' after it was reported Bocanegra had been disciplined in 2009 for groping a colleague.

'Upon reflection of the details alleged, I am certain I did not engage in the behavior I am accused of,' Garcia's statement reads in part

Bocanegra later resigned after more women made public accusations.

Garcia was a fierce advocate for legislation signed by Governor Jerry Brown on Monday giving legislative staff members whistleblower protections for reporting sexual misconduct or other misbehavior.

She spoke at a rally on the Capitol steps after its passage and tweeted repeatedly about the importance of sexual consent in recent days.

Fierro and the lobbyist said it appeared Garcia was inebriated at the time of the encounters.

In a November interview about alcohol-fueled fundraisers and other after-work events that are a part of regular business in Sacramento, Garcia said blaming alcohol isn't an acceptable excuse for sexually inappropriate behavior.

It's men who chose to misbehave, not the social events themselves, that create the problems, she said.

'I would say that most of the public realizes that our job is based on relationships, and so we are expected to go out there and socialize,' she said.

'I think our public also expects us to hold ourselves to a higher standard.'

The Assembly committee said last week that eight allegations of sexual harassment are pending in the Assembly but did not divulge any names.

Debra Gravert, the chief administrative officer, didn't respond to an email seeking clarification whether Fierro's allegation is one of the eight pending.

Fierro said he was contacted by Rules several days after telling Calderon about the incident for an initial interview before speaking with outside lawyers for more than an hour last week.

Fierro, of Cerritos, left the Assembly in 2016 and now runs a communications firm. Calderon, his former boss, is now the majority leader.

Lerna Shirinian, Calderon's communications director, said Fierro told her about the incident right after it happened.

'He was in shock, I was in shock - but the culture was very different back then,' Shirinian told Politico.
David Staples, pictured, has written to the Equality and Human Rights Commission over portrayal of Freemasons in the media

The Freemasons have been discriminated against and are undeservedly stigmatised in the media, the chief executive of the secretive organisation claimed.

Dr David Staples revealed he has contacted the Equality and Human Rights Commission over the recent portrayal of the Freemasons in newspaper reports.

He also announced lodges across the country will be hosting a series of question and answer sessions for the public to learn more about the United Grand Lodge of England.

The chief executives comments come after it was reported that two lodges for politicians and journalists are operating within Westminster.

New Welcome Lodge, which was created for politicians in the 1920s, boasts 22 members, while Gallery Lodge, for journalists, has 45 members.

After the revelations came to light, Conservative MPs and the National Union of Journalists called for the lodges to reveal their membership.

The chief executive of the United Grand Lodge of England took out full page advertisements in yesterdays Times and Daily Telegraph where he criticised the media for misrepresenting the society.

Dr Staples said the Grand Lodge raised 33million for charity last year and have always embraced everyone.

He wrote: As an organisation we welcome individuals from all walks of life, of any race, faith age, class or political persuasion. Throughout our 300-year history, when people have suffered discrimination Freemasonry has embraced them into our lodges as equals.

The United Grand Lodge of England believes that the ongoing gross misrepresentation of its 200,000 plus members is discrimination. Pure and simple.

Our members shouldnt have to feel undeservedly stigmatised. No other organisation would stand for this and nor shall we.

I have written to the Equality and Human Rights Commission to make this case.

Freemasons will open 'question and answer' sessions across the country over the next six months to show the public what happens within the organisation

Over the next six months our members will be running a series of open evenings and Q&A events up and down the country. These will be promoted in the local media and on our website.

Dr Staples also said he was happy to answer any questions about the Freemasons personally and closed the statement with the words, were open.

The first Freemason lodge in England was founded in the 18th century and since then, the organisation has remained largely secretive.

Only men are allowed to join the secular group and members have included Rudyard Kipling, Prince Philip and Buzz Alrin.
Former Newsnight host Jeremy Paxman said the elderly should be banned from voting

There years after he quit Newsnight, it would appear Jeremy Paxman has lost little of his combative style.

But instead of taking on politicians in the TV studio, hes decided to rail at an entire generation  pensioners.

The 67-year-old presenter accused his peers of betraying young people and holding politicians to ransom  and called for a ban on votes for the over-65s.

He added: I think that my generation have behaved like spoilt children. And, like spoilt children, our response is its not my fault. Its never our bloody fault.

Actually, it is, because we have failed to recognise the consequences of our behaviour.

He said he did not take his state pension and he lamented the money given to the elderly, including the winter fuel allowance. I dont take the fuel allowance and I was offended to be offered it frankly  while I appreciate that some people do need it, he said.

And I dont take the pension. Theyve still got to be paid for by other people.

He admitted he was very fortunate and was able to keep working. Id like to carry on annoying people for a bit longer, he said.

The presenter, who hosted Newsnight for 25 years before stepping down in 2014, said his generation had enjoyed free university education and a booming jobs market. He claimed none of his friends had found it difficult to get work.

He went on to blame his generation for the housing crisis, saying they had enjoyed cheap property, while the young struggled to get on the housing ladder.

In that period between getting a job and demanding our pensions, we have sat on our arses and watched our houses appreciate in value to the point where property prices bear no relation to peoples earnings, he said.

In 2006, it was revealed that Paxman's annual salary was 240,000 for University Challenge and 800,000 for Newsnight

The Cambridge graduate also accused pensioners of exploiting their vote by forcing politicians to focus on their own problems. He was speaking at an event run by debating organisation Intelligence Squared.

Betrayal is a harsh word  and refusing to recognise the consequences of your own actions is in itself an act of betrayal, he said.

Those consequences, according to Paxman, are a highly competitive job market, limited prospects and sky-high property prices.

He said older people had too much power over political debate. He added: Im in favour of limiting the franchise  by stopping people voting at 65.

'The problem is that we demand things of politicians and they give it to us because they know well go out and vote.

They keep making them [pensioners] promises  and in particular, they promised that they will improve their pensions.

Since stepping down from Newsnight, it is not clear how much Paxman now earns.

But in 2006, it was revealed his annual salary was 240,000 for University Challenge and 800,000 for Newsnight.

Last year, it emerged that he had split with his wife of 34 years, TV producer Elizabeth Clough, and he was seen in the company of Canadian researcher Jillian Taylor, 38. He has three grown-up children.
A mother who secretly giving birth in her home, placed her daughter in a trash bag and then tossed her into a dumpster has been found guilty of attempted murder.

Shelby Taylor of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina was found guilty on Thursday.

All of this occurred while her husband, Patrick Taylor, and then-15-month-old daughter, slept in the same household during the early morning hours of April 9, 2015, Myrtle Beach Online reported.

The child survived and is currently in the care of her biological grandparents, who said the mother of the newborn - who was 23 at the time - denied her pregnancy the entire time leading up to her attempted murder of the child.

Shelby Taylor of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina was found guilty on Thursday of the attempted murder of her newborn baby, for placing her in a dumpster and leaving her for dead in 2015

The woman cried as she testified on Tuesday, calling her husband abusing and controlling, and saying the two of them were not financially secure enough to have a second child and she did not want him to leave her.

This was a change to the story she gave in April 2015, just 12 hours after she gave birth, when she said she had a 'good husband.'

Taylor updated her remarks during her testimony on Tuesday, saying she was protecting her husband at the time.

The woman turned herself in to authorities on the same evening that she dumped her baby in a garbage bin, after she saw a surveillance photo of herself on TV, according to WWLP-22 News.

Officials reportedly found a receipt in the trash bag that they found the newborn in, and when they checked the surveillance tape of the store where the receipt was from, they found the footage of Taylor, which she then saw.

Trinity Grace (seen here at age 1) survived. She is currently in the care of her grandparents

The woman turned herself in to authorities on the same evening that she dumped her baby in a garbage bin, after she saw this surveillance photo of herself on TV

The surviving little girl has been nicknamed 'Baby Hope' by her family

Taylor tossed her newborn into this dumpster within hours of her birth on April 9, 2015

Shelby Taylor (right) is seen here with the father of Trinity Grace, Patrick Taylor (left); This photo was taken in 2013 and shows Shelby pregnant with a previous child

The baby girl was found by two teenage boys, who thought they heard a kitten crying while taking out the trash, but found the child, instead.

Raymond Price, who was 13 years old at the time of the incident, testified that he 'found the bag with the babys face pressed up against the bag.'

The newborn's umbilical chord was wrapped around her neck, ABC News 15 reported.

Price and his brother ripped open the bag, and freed the child, now named Trinity Grace, according to ABC.

'Baby Hope' is seen here at age 1 with her grandmother, Cheri Taylor

Cheri and Peter Taylor have custody of Trinity Grace

Trinity Grace is seen here in a photo shared to social media

Horry County Fire Rescue paramedic Captain Keith Drabick described the scene when he arrived after the teens pulled the child from the dumpster.

Drabick said that when they found the little girl, she had food and other debris around her face.

'I got into the back of the ambulance, still maintaining care of the child,' he said.

'[I] sat on the stretcher, and they strapped me in as I held the baby, and we transferred the baby to Waccamaw Hospital caring for it.'

Trinity, whose nickname is Baby Hope, is now in the custody of her grandparents, according to WDPE.

'We just thank God for the boys that found her,' said grandmother Cheri Taylor.

'Without them, we never would have known about her. We didn't know her mother was pregnant. She denied it the whole time.'

Trinity Grace is seen here with her father, Patrick Taylor, who was married to Shelby in 2015

Trinity Grace will turn 3 on April 9; She lives with her biological grandparents

The mother's defense attorney tried to argue on Thursday morning that she did what she did due to a rare psychological condition called 'transient perinatal psychosis,' which is a severe form of postpartum depression.

Experty Psychologist Robert McCarthy testified for the defense that there are about 100 diagnosed cases of the condition, each year.

McCarthy said that transient perinatal psychosis is commonly associated with what he called 'baby dumping.'

But Prosecutor Scott Hixsons closing argument won out, as he told the jury that Taylor not only intended to kill her baby, but had to intentionally deceive everyone in her life to do it.

'Thats not a mental disease or defect, thats infanticide,' Hixson said.

Taylor has not yet been sentenced for her crime.
A three-year-old boy was left in tears after over-zealous park police stopped him playing with a remote-controlled car in a park.

Idrees Waiyasil and his father Hariz were enjoying a day out at Battersea Park, south west London, when they were approached by officers in stab vests.

They were warned they were breaking bylaws and that their red cars were banned because they are classed as 'mechanically-propelled vehicles'.

Hariz Waiyasil and his three-year-old son Idrees were playing with remote-controlled cars in a park when police officers approached them and ordered them to stop

Little Idrees was playing with this car when officers told him and his father they were breaking bylaws

Mr Waiyasil, a mechanic, was even threatened with a caution and father and son were asked to leave the area, reports the Sun.

The furious father said: 'My son just burst into tears. I have nothing against the police but is this really the best use of their time? We weren't causing a nuisance or annoying anyone.

'I explained that they were just battery-operated remote-controlled cars, not the noisy petrol ones.

'But the officers said, "We'll give you a warning now, but if you carry on we'll issue a caution".'

The father and son were playing in Battersea Park (pictured) when they were warned they were breaking bylaws and that their red cars were banned because they are classed as 'mechanically-propelled vehicles'

This is the car Idrees was playing with when officers told him and his father they were breaking bylaws

Idrees was playing with a small remote-controlled toy powered by two AA batteries. It was a miniature version of his father's.

Mr Waiyasil claims he offered to put his car away if it means Idrees could continue playing - but officers refused.

The father and son were on a private road used by cyclists and joggers and a sign on the barrier leading up to it reads: 'No unauthorised motor vehicles beyond this point'.

Wandsworth Council employs Parks and Events Police, who patrol the area. They are separate from the Metropolitan Police but have powers of arrest.

A council spokesman said officers may have considered the cars were causing a nuisance to others.


Two heavily-tattooed men armed with a gun are on the run after a dramatic crash and a high-speed police pursuit in Melbourne's east.

A stolen car one of the men was travelling in slammed into a road sign on Monahans Road in Cranbroune before the vehicle rolled and landed on its side.

Police said the man fled before getting into a second stolen vehicle, which the driver used to ram a police car.

Two heavily-tattooed men armed with a gun are on the run after a dramatic crash and a high-speed police pursuit in Melbourne's east

One of the men was pictured walking away from the scene wearing a blue singlet and carrying a firearm

A short police pursuit unfolded but it was soon called off for the sake of public safety.

No injuries were sustained by police officers.

One of the men was pictured walking away from the initial crash wearing a blue singlet and carrying a firearm.

The pair are believed to be travelling in a Toyota Aurion sedan with registration WPQ300.

Both are perceived as Caucasian in appearance and heavily tattooed.

Anyone who sights the car or has information is urged not to approach the vehicle but to contact police.
Thousands of patients could soon be sent for a controversial spinal tap to check whether they have dementia.

Proposals by the health watchdog NICE urge doctors to extract spinal fluid via a needle from patients who have an unclear diagnosis.

The procedure is uncomfortable, sometimes painful, and can cause side effects such as severe headaches and infections.

Medics may be able to use a spinal tap to test whether patients have dementia, file photograph

Experts say they are nervous about the test, adding that it misses some types of dementia.

Currently, suspected sufferers are offered a memory test. Questions can include the Prime Ministers name, the date and whether they can draw the time on a clock face.

In about one in ten cases results are unclear. Doctors are told to order a scan that shows changes in brain activity levels.

But draft NICE guidelines instruct doctors to carry out a cheaper, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) test, which extracts the fluid with a lumbar puncture and assesses it for two proteins, tau and beta-amyloid, strongly linked to dementia.

John OBrien, psychiatry professor at Cambridge University, told the Dementias 2018 conference in London yesterday the test might miss vascular or Lewy body dementia, which are rarer than Alzheimers disease but account for up to 40 per cent of cases.

He said CSF advocates say its simple, well-tolerated, cheap  much cheaper than some of the brain scans, the diagnostic accuracy isnt bad  we should all be doing it.

But I see some nervousness and Im slightly nervous myself. The converse view is that its actually quite complicated, its not well-tolerated, there are side effects, its certainly not well delivered in memory services at the current time.

He added that the tests do not show how much of the brain is affected or which part.

Dementia patients are often asked whether they can name the Prime Minister, pictured left

The guidelines are due in June. The draft version tells doctors to offer CSF tests, the first time they have been urged to do so, or a scan. But as the CSF test is mentioned first, doctors may assume they should prioritise that option.

Neurologist Dr Matthew Jones of Manchester University said patients may react badly and need admitting to hospital, and that it is hard to justify invasive tests if there is no cure.

A third of sufferers have never had a formal diagnosis, which charities say is vital so they can get support and treatment.

A NICE spokesman said CSF tests should be used only if they are required to reduce diagnostic uncertainty and if the patient agrees.

The Alzheimers Societys Dr Tim Shakespeare said the test is generally safe, adding: It can take several years to get an accurate diagnosis  technology that can speed up the process is a positive development.
Elite universities have attacked disproportionate plans to force them to publish salary details of all staff earning more than 150,000.

The new Office for Students has pledged to tackle the excessive pay of vice chancellors and proposes that universities publish data on the highest salaries.

Institutions must also disclose full details of the remuneration packages of those staff, including bonuses and pension contributions and provide a justification of this pay that references performance against outcome measures.

The University of Birmingham (pictured), which paid 48 staff more than 150,000 last year, said it had concerns about the regulatory burden of publishing salaries

Under the plans, published in the OfS consultation on its new regulatory framework, releasing these details would be an ongoing condition of registration to the new higher education regulator.

The proposed new requirement is likely to oblige universities to report details of hundreds of academics and high-earning administrators, in addition to vice-chancellors.

In its response to the OfS consultation, the Russell Group, says that around three-quarters of those paid over 150,000 are on academic contracts (including clinical academics where the pay scales are set by the NHS).

Describing the plans as disproportionate, the Russell Group says that they risk undermining the ability of institutions to compete in an international market for academic and professional services talent.

It would be counterproductive to UK higher education and research to make the reward arrangements of top-performing academics and managers known to competitors, it adds.

The Russell Group has urged the OfS to allow universities to continue with current arrangements under which they sign up to the Committee of University Chairs voluntary code on pay, which is currently under review, according to the Times Higher Education magazine.

At the University of Cambridge (pictured), four staff members were paid more than the 355,000 salary earned by Sir Leszek Borysiewicz in 2016-17

The University of Birmingham, which paid 48 staff more than 150,000 last year, said it had concerns about the regulatory burden of publishing salaries.

It says: We support the need for greater transparency in senior staff remuneration but have concerns about the regulatory burden that will be imposed by [these] detailed requirements.

The requirement will also lead to greater transparency in the rare cases where some universities staff are paid more than the vice-chancellor.

At the University of Cambridge, four staff members were paid more than the 355,000 salary earned by Sir Leszek Borysiewicz in 2016-17.

The highest-paid earned between 640,000 and 650,000, university accounts show.

Three staff members at the University of Oxford earned more than Louise Richardson, its vice-chancellor, whose salary was 366,000 that year, with the highest-paid earning between 880,000 and 890,000.
Senior aid workers for one of Britains biggest charities were accused of paying survivors of the Haiti earthquake for sex.

Three Oxfam employees were allowed to resign and four were sacked for gross misconduct after an internal investigation found some workers had used prostitutes in the war-torn region.

The former director in the country was also accused of inviting prostitutes to his flat rented by Oxfam, according to a leaked report seen by the Times.

Oxfam was also accused of covering up evidence as the Charity Commission said it had never been shown the specific allegations of sexual abuse mentioned in the 2011 investigation report.

Oxfam Director Roland van Hauwermeiren admitted using prostitutes in the wake of the Haitoan earthquake but was not part of the 'Caligula' claims

Director Roland van Hauwermeiren, 68, was allowed to resign in August 2011 just a week after an internal investigation was announced.

But according to the leaked report, Mr van Hauwermeiren admitted using prostitutes at the villa Oxfam rented for him in Haiti, though his case is separate from the orgy claims.

He later resigned from his post.

In separate claims made against charity workers, one source told the paper employees organised a full-on Caligula orgy filled with girls dressed in Oxfam T-shirts.

They claimed staff had recorded videos of the night, but Oxfam said no recording had been submitted to the investigation.

Even though some of the employees who contacted the Times said they were concerned aid workers had sex with under-age girls. The report found the claim could not be ruled out.

In early August 2011, it was reported a small number of employees were being investigated over allegations of gross misconduct.

Other Oxfam workers, not thought to be British, left as a result of the investigation.

Three Oxfam employees were allowed to resign and four were sacked for gross misconduct after an internal investigation found some workers had used prostitutes in the war-torn region (file photo)

A spokesman at the time confirmed allegations of misconduct are not connected to any incidents of fraud.

The Haitian earthquake, which hit the capital Port-au-Prince in 2010, killed 220,000 and injured 300,000.

In the first wave of humanitarian aid after the earthquake, Oxfam helped around 700,000 people in the Caribbean country.

Oxfam has been working in Haiti since 1978.

A Charity Commission spokesman said: In August 2011, Oxfam made a report to the Commission about an ongoing internal investigation into allegations of misconduct by staff members involved in their Haiti programme.

The report explained that the misconduct related to inappropriate sexual behaviour, bullying, harassment and the intimidation of staff.

The former director in the country was also accused of inviting prostitutes to his flat rented by Oxfam, according to a leaked report (file photo)

The report did not detail the precise allegations, nor did it make any indication of potential sexual crimes involving minors. However, the charitys internal investigation was still ongoing.

We are currently engaged with the charity regarding its approach to safeguarding following more recent allegations.

As part of that, we have already asked the charity to review historic safeguarding allegations and its response to them at the time.

We expect the charity to include in their review incidents that occurred in 2011. We will expect the charity to provide us with assurance that it has learnt lessons from past incidents and is taking all necessary steps to safeguard all who come into contact with it.

In October last year, the Times also reported seven senior officials at the charity have been investigated for misconduct including sexual harassment.

There were 87 cases of alleged sexual exploitation in Oxfam between 2016 and 2017.

An Oxfam spokesman said: This was not a cover-up. Oxfam treats any allegations of misconduct extremely seriously. As soon as we became aware of the allegations in Haiti in 2011 we launched an internal investigation.

Oxfam was also accused of covering up evidence as the Charity Commission said it had never been shown the specific allegations of sexual abuse mentioned in the 2011 investigation report (file photo)

'The investigation and its outcome were publicly announced and we kept Oxfam Trustees, the Charity Commission and the DFID informed.

Allegations that underage girls may have been involved were not proven.

A number of staff were dismissed as a result of the investigation and others left the organisation before it was completed

The country director took full responsibility for events that took place under his management and was permitted to resign on the basis that he fully cooperated with and supported the investigation.

After the investigation, we carried out a thorough review of the case which resulted in the creation of our dedicated Safeguarding Team and a confidential 'whistleblowing' hotline as part of a package of measures to ensure that we do all we can to protect our staff, prevent sexual abuse and misconduct happening in the first place and improve how we handle any allegations.
The ship hired to search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 which mysteriously disappeared for three days was reportedly 'refueling' in Australia.

The Seabed Constructor turned off its transponder in the Indian Ocean, prompting speculation that crew had found the plane's wreckage but wanted to be sure of payment before revealing it to the Malaysian government.

'There is nothing to be worried about. We urge family members not to listen to rumours or fake news,' Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai told AFP.

The Transport Minister said the search would continue 'as planned'.

The ship docked south of Perth on Thursday after its brief disappearance and came back online Tuesday.

The Seabed Constructor's Texas-based operator, Ocean Infinity, refused to explain the blackout at the time.

The company only said the ship will be docked for a short time before continuing the search.

The Seabed Constuctor (pictured) hired to search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 which mysteriously disappeared for three days was reportedly 'refuelling' in Australia

It comes after a leading aviation expert predicted a disaster like MH370 will happen again soon.

David Stupples, a professor of electronic and radio systems at City, University of London, said: 'You can't say MH370 won't ever happen again, because it will.'

He was referring to the fact that international requirements for new planes to broadcast their locations every minute don't come in until 2021.

'Until 2040 or 2050, there's going to be a large number of aircraft flying around that don't have that tracking system fitted,' he said.

Currently some airlines including Malaysia Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Qantas Airways and Qatar Airways track planes every 15 minutes, which will become a requirement this November.

But still a jet travelling at 575mph that has been missing for 15 minutes requires a search zone of 170,000 square kilometers - an area the size of Florida. This makes finding any survivors very unlikely.

MH370 vanished en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur on March 8, 2014 with 239 people on board.

It disappeared after its aircraft communications, addressing and reporting system (Acars) was switched off less than an hour after taking off.

The vessel was tasked with searching the zone aviation specialists say is most likely to be where MH370's fuel reserves were exhausted, dubbed the 7th Arc

On 2 January, The Constructor left the Port of Durban to begin its search on a 'no find, no fee' deal.

It planned to use sonar scanning equipment to find the aircraft, after a failed multinational search cost Australian, Malaysian and Chinese authorities $200million.

The Malaysian Government will pay US company Ocean Infinity more than $55million if it finds the plane within 90 days.

The freelance boat's designated search area was located just outside the 120 square kilometres previously scoured along the 7th Arc - the zone aviation specialists say is most likely to be where MH370's fuel reserves were exhausted.

No sign of the plane was found and an Australian-led hunt - the largest in aviation history - was called off in January last year.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) attempted to find missing aircraft MH370 for two years. A private company has renewed its pledged to locate the wreckage on a 'no find, no fee' basis

The plane vanished after its aircraft communications, addressing and reporting system (Acars) was switched off less than an hour after taking off

The Constructor is not the first to comb over this patch of ocean.

Fugro Equator, Fugro Discovery and Havila Harmony have all attempted to find the presumably downed plane.

Only three confirmed fragments of MH370 have been found, all of them on western Indian Ocean shores, including a two-metre wing part known as a flaperon.

Each ship's progress was tracked meticulously by aviation enthusiasts and conspiracy theorists.

Keeping tabs on the Constructor has proved more challenging: the vessel went dark last week, causing massive speculation.

One online user speculated the vessel it had found MH370 but planned to keep its location secret until it had confirmed its government-funded fee.

Another speculated Ocean Infinity had failed to find the missing Boeing 777 and had instead detoured towards the wreckage of what is believed to be the S.V Inca - a Peruvian transport ship that vanished on the way to Sydney more than 100 years ago.

Four kilometers inside the 7th Arc, the century-old ship was spotted by one of the Constructor's predecessors, the Havila Harmony, which mistook the shipwreck for the lost plane's fuselage.

A multinational search cost Australian, Malaysian and Chinese taxpayers $200million. This piece of aircraft debris discovered on the island of Pemba, off the coast of Tanzania

MH370 was tracked by amateur aviation enthusiasts and conspiracy theorists alike

On its discovery there were chatters that it was searching for lost treasure and Inca gold.

The Constructor's involvement in this new chapter in the aircraft's bizarre disappearance has not be to everyone's liking.

Aviation journalist Jeff Wise was critical of the new search in his blog.

As a former member of the independent group of investigators tasked with advising the Australian Transport Safety Bureau in its search for MH370, Wise is personally invested in the case.

'As I write this, the scan of the innermost section of the Primary Search Area has been completed, but the assessment has not yet been released.

'However, the fact that Seabed Constructor has moved on to another area suggests that probably nothing was found there, either.

'A big caveat: we don't really know how long it takes the search team to assess the data collected during each pass.
Bishops are being chosen for their management skills rather than their intellect, a Church of England report warned yesterday.

The scathing assessment of the CofEs 42 top bishops raised several causes for anxiety over the appointments system.

One was that Church politics had led to the selection of bland and inoffensive bishops who offer false unity.

Members of the General Synod of the Church of England have been warned that Bishops

Another was that an obsession with management skills encouraged a pragmatic approach to decisions that ought to be principled and which could weaken the intellectual and moral authority of the House of Bishops.

The row over female bishops, it added, may have distracted from the need for a wider diversity of gifts among leaders.

The review was delivered to the Churchs parliament, the General Synod, by a group of academics charged with examining the effectiveness of the Crown Nominations Commission, which selects senior bishops.

It complained that in a Church once dominated by dons, no current diocesan bishop has worked as a university academic. The authors said this raises questions about a loss of intellectual depth.

The research was conducted by Reverend Oliver O'Donovan of Edinburgh University

The Commission should look for bishops who can teach the gospel, they added. The Synod yesterday voted to approve the report, and its suggestions will be considered.

The review was written by eight academics and theologians, led by the Reverend Oliver ODonovan, emeritus professor of Christian ethics at Edinburgh University.

The Commission, which consists of three clergy and three lay members, was set up in the 1970s. Jobs heading key dioceses are often hotly, if quietly, contested by the liberal and conservative wings of the CofE, and the report suggested uninspiring candidates were often chosen to avoid controversy.

It added: There are some fears that newly-introduced programmes for leadership development may impose a pyramidal structure of institutional promotion based on transferable management skills.
A man who slashed his father to death with a Samurai sword as a part of an elaborate ploy to cash in on his life insurance has been jailed for 37 years.

Michael Phillip Martin Jr, a skilled martial arts fighter, rekindled his relationship with his estranged father before taking out three separate life insurance policies worth $2.5 million.

He pleaded guilty to killing 46-year-old Michael Anthony Martin at his unit in South Murwillumbah, northeastern New South Wales, in June 2014, after telling police his father had been savagely murdered by home invaders.

Michael Phillip Martin Jr, (pictured) a skilled martial arts fighter, rekindled his relationship with his estranged father before taking out three separate life insurance policies worth $2.5 million

He pleaded guilty to killing 46-year-old Michael Anthony Martin (pictured) at his unit in South Murwillumbah, northeastern New South Wales, in June 2014, after telling police his father had been savagely murdered by home invaders

Martin, 28, had attempted to kill his father in April 2014 after brutally bashing him and his flatmate, however Mr Martin Sr survived the attack and was taken to hospital in a serious condition.

Months later, he struck again, this time making sure the deed was done by hacking the man to death with a Samurai sword.

Martin went to great lengths to set up the crime scene to look like a botched home invasion.

He tied himself up and lay at the bottom of the stairs screaming for help after the murder, the court heard.

The father-of-two was found guilty by a jury in October last year after a chilling nine-page confession letter he penned to his wife Candace Martin emerged.

The letter allegedly referred to the murder plot as a 'bright idea', The Daily Telegraph reports.

Mrs Martin was sentenced to 10 years in prison in November last year for her role in the planning of the murder.

Martin, 28, (pictured during police interview) had attempted to kill his father in April 2014 after brutally bashing him and his flatmate, however Mr Martin Sr survived the attack and was taken to hospital in a serious condition

The father-of-two (pictured) was found guilty by a jury in October last year after a chilling nine-page confession letter he penned to his wife Candace Martin emerged

Police believe Martin Jr had been driven by hate, built up from years of abuse as a child, to kill his father for the insurance payout.

His defence told the court the events of June 12 were the result of a 'mental explosion' triggered by childhood abuse.

But Justice Peter Hammill concluded the murder was 'a cold blooded execution for money'.

'The offence was carried out with a cold-blooded determination scarcely imaginable to ordinary members of the community guided by moral and ethical standards inherent in most human beings,' Justice Hammill told the NSW Supreme Court in Lismore on Friday.

Video footage has emerged of a chilling documentary which featured Martin Jr four years before his father's murder.

Mrs Martin (pictured) was sentenced to 10 years in prison in November last year for her role in the planning of the murder

Speaking about his 'country cowboy lifestyle', Martin Jr spoke candidly about his struggles with former abuse and suicide attempts.

'I'll never become something like that, child abusing, bloody women raping bastard,' he said of his father.

'I said (to him) 'I'm becoming something.... I'm going to make a life myself.'.

He was sentenced to a maximum of 37 years' and a minimum of 27 years and 9 months years' jail.
Police have re-interviewed two friends of a man shredded alive in an industrial woodchipper who were there at the time of his suspected murder.

Bruce Saunders, 54, died after becoming trapped in the woodchipper while helping a woman clear her drive of trees with two friends on a rural property at Goomboorian near Gympie, southeast Queensland.

His death on November 12 was declared accidental at the time but police have now launched a murder investigation after discovering 'several items of interest' during a search of the area on Sunday.

In a press conference today, Detective Inspector Gary Pettiford refused to comment on the evidence but said: 'We have re-interviewed two friends of the victim who were with him at the time and we have other persons of interest that we will be talking to.'

Det Insp Pettiford did not say who the friends were but said he expected to lay charges 'in the near future.'

The horrific death of a man (pictured) who was trapped in an industrial woodchipper has been declared suspicious

Bruce Saunders, 54, died after becoming trapped in the woodchipper (pictured) on November 17 last year near Gympie, south-east Queensland

In a press conference today, Detective Inspector Gary Pettiford refused to comment on the evidence but said: 'We have re-interviewed two friends of the victim who were with him at the time and we have other persons of interest that we will be talking to.'

Officers from the Homicide Investigation Unit joined detectives from the Gympie Criminal Investigation Branch to execute a search warrant on Sunday.

Several items were seized for forensic examination and police said they are confident of determining exactly how Mr Saunders died.

'We have a number of detectives and police experts investigating this incident,' said Det Insp Pettiford.

'Information we received during the course of our coronial investigations has lead us to believe that the death is suspicious.'

Mr Saunders, who worked as a butcher in his father's shop Saunders Quality Meats, was described as a 'decent fella with a heart of gold' by friends.

His sister and nephew described him as 'a happy go lucky person' and 'someone you could sit and talk to about anything'.

Pettiford said the machine was not faulty and would not pull someone into the machine if they fell, meaning he was likely pushed.

'Nothing was wrong with the machine, including all safety features,' he said.

He revealed that it was one of Mr Saunder's friends who dialled 000. They were believed to be up a nearby road at the time of the tragedy.

The men were on the last day of helping their female friend, who had recently been widowed and was selling her house, clear her driveway of trees. Police have not linked the woman to Mr Saunder's death.

Paramedics were unable to revive Mr Saunders after arriving at the scene about 8pm.

Police officers executed a search warrant on Sunday and seized items of interest (pictured is the local area)

Talking about the tragedy when it was believed to be accidental in November, Gympie police acting inspector Paul Algie said the circumstances were horrific.

'He was placing a tree into a tree shredder; he's become entangled within the machine and has died as a result of his injuries,' he said.

'He was found by his two friends, they attempted to get him out of the machine and were unable to do so.'

The scene was one of the most harrowing he had come across in 16 years of policing, he said.

'I went out there this morning to speak to officers from Brisbane and I'd have to say it's one of the worst incident scenes I've ever seen.

'There was nothing that could be done to save this gentleman.'
Pauline Hanson wants to make it more difficult for migrants to become Australian citizens in case they turn out to be criminals.

The One Nation party leader proposed that migrants live in Australia eight years before acquiring citizenship by conferral, significantly longer than the current one year requirement.

In a bill presented to Federal Parliament Wednesday, Ms Hanson said there should be more rigorous safeguards in place to protect the country from 'bad characters', SBS reports.

Pauline Hanson (pictured) proposed that migrants live in Australia eight years before acquiring citizenship by conferral

Under the Federal Government's proposed legislation, it wants the waiting period for permanent residents to achieve citizenship to be extended to four years - but this move has been harshly opposed by migrants groups.

Ms Hanson believed having migrants on permanent resident status for longer would make them easier to 'get rid of' if they 'want to go and fight for ISIS'.

'If these people want to become Australian citizens, what's the problem in being permanent residents for eight years,' Ms Hanson said.

'Once these people become Australian citizens, it becomes very difficult to get rid of them if they are a bad character, want to go and fight for ISIS or they are actually criminals'.

Ms Hanson believed having migrants on permanent resident status for longer would make them easier to 'get rid of' (Malcolm Turnbull pictured presenting citizenship certificates)

The Queensland senator said immigrants should prove their 'worth to us' by 'behaving in a manner consistent with the Australian values'.

The amendments may not go beyond the Senate however, given Labor and the Greens opposition to making it difficult for migrants to gain citizenship.

Permanent residency gives people the right to live in Australia indefinitely, while citizenship grants them rights to vote and access to Government support.
A man has been accused of engaging in sexual activity with a minor and creating child pornography in the United Kingdom.

The 24-year-old from Thornbury, Melbourne allegedly travelled to the UK to meet with a child and commit a range of offences, Australian Federal Police said.

A raid at the man's home on Thursday led to him being charged and he is due to face the Melbourne Magistrates Court on June 1.

The maximum penalty for the offences the man has been charged with is imprisonment for 15 years.
Billionaire PayPal founder, Facebook director and frequent adviser to President Donald Trump Peter Thiel is building a panic room in New Zealand.

Mr Thiel was granted New Zealand citizenship in controversial circumstances after only being in the country for 12 days.

A four-bedroom property Mr Thiel purchased in Queenstown on New Zealand's South Island for $4.8million in 2011 has a walk-in closet described in plans as a 'panic room', the New Zealand Herald reported.

Billionaire PayPal founder, Facebook director and adviser to President Donald Trump Peter Thiel is building a panic room in New Zealand

A four-bedroom property Mr Thiel purchased in Queenstown on New Zealand's South Island for $4.8million in 2011 has a walk-in closet described in plans as a 'panic room'

The property is known as the 'Plasma Screen' because of its large windows.

He also purchased a 193 hectare block of land in Wanaka for $13,5million in 2015.

Mr Thiel became a New Zealand citizen in 2011, but it was not widely known until it was first reported by the New Zealand Herald in 2017.

New Zealand is seen by Silicon Valley tycoons as a destination to avoid government influence.

One of Mr Thiel's PayPal co-founders Reid Hoffman, who later went on to create LinkedIn, told the New Yorker said New Zealand was seen as insurance for the collapse of the United States.

'Saying you're "buying a house in New Zealand" is kind of a "wink, wink, say no more",' Mr Hoffman said.

Mr Thiel has invested in New Zealand accounting software company Xero, and its chief executive Rod Drury said American billionaires 'treat New Zealand as a bit of a bolthole'.

'There's plenty of people that have done that. So I can understand the attraction from him.

Peter Thiel meets with US President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence

'I wouldn't have met a senior US venture capitalist who doesn't own property down here. Peter's very high-profile, but there's a whole lot of people that fly under the radar.'

Mr Thiel told Business Insider in 2011 he had found 'utopia' in New Zealand, and met with senior ministers including Prime Minister John Key and Finance Minister Bill English.

Authorities defended their decision to grant Mr Thiel citizenship saying he had been a great ambassador and salesperson for the country.
Two grandparents have been charged in an international parental kidnapping case involving their daughter's eight-year-old boy.

Police say Carlos and Jemima Guimaraes, the grandparents of Nico, who was three at the time he was brought to Brazil in 2013, were taken into custody at Miami International Airport Wednesday on the charges.

The grandparents are accused of assisting Nico's mother, Marcelle Guimaraes, of moving the child to their native country of Brazil after claiming a relative's wedding had been taking place there. The mother later applied for sole custody of the child.

In March 2017, a criminal complaint was filed by federal officials against Carlos, Jemima and Marcelle. The complaint was made public this week.

Now eight-year-old Nico (shown right with his father Chris Brann) was taken to Brazil in 2013 to begin a new life with his mother and Brann's ex-wife Marcelle (left)

Nico's grandparents Carlos and Jemima Guimaraes (shown) are accused of assisting Marcelle in moving the child to their native country of Brazil

Brann had been given visitation rights of Nico in Brazil, but only in the presence of armed security guards

The father was prohibited from bringing him back to the United States with him

Tearful Houston, Texas doctor and dad to the young boy, Chris Brann, said he is hopeful the grandparents' arrest will bring him 'a step closer' to getting his son back, he said, while speaking with WYFF.

'People like me, who have had children abducted to countries like Brazil have little, if any chance, hope of ever seeing their child again,' Brann said of his concern over the past five years.

Brann had been given visitation rights of Nico in Brazil, but only in the presence of armed security guards.

The father is pictured on his Facebook page smiling next to his joyful son Nico in this image

The father was also prohibited from going anywhere alone with his son or bringing him back to the United States with him.

Brann said he is 'prepared to ask the U.S. Attorney's Office to be lenient in how it handles Carlos and Jemima's cases' if given back the rights that were stripped from him, according to a statement obtained by the Star Advertiser.

'I always felt like if I could just see him, if I could just be in his life, he wouldn't forget me,' Brann told WYFF, in tears.

'I always felt like if I could just see him, if I could just be in his life, he wouldn't forget me,' Brann said

'He'd ask about me... and what to know who his dad is,' he added.

Mom Marcelle, who has dual citizenship in both countries, has yet to be arrested. She and Nico currently reside in Brazil.

After years of fighting for his rights, Brann believes he will soon be a unit once more with his son.

'It's the first time in five years that I had a glimmer of hope that my son might come home.'

After years of fighting for his rights back, Brann believes he will be a unit once more with his son
Technicians and airport employees have been captured in a viral photo pushing a 35,000 kilogram plane along an Indonesian runway.

The bizarre incident involving a Garuda Indonesia aircraft is believed to have unfolded at Tambolaka Airport in the province of East Nusa Tenggara on Thursday.

Around 20 men were seen slowly pushing the plane backwards in the direction of the terminal as passengers on board filmed the pandemonium.

Social media users suggested the plane had broken down and passengers were forced to help, but the airline soon put an end to the speculation.

Technicians and airport employees have been captured in this viral photo pushing a 35,000 kilogram plane along an Indonesian runway

Around 20 men were seen slowly pushing the plane backwards in the direction of the terminal

Garuda's public relations manager Ikhsan Rosan revealed the pilots took a wrong turn after landing and became stuck.

'After the plane landed, it should have turned left towards the apron [parking area]. The plane missed [the turn] slightly,' he said, according to Detik.

'There was no pushback available, the thing that pushes and tugs aeroplanes back. So it was pushed by technicians and employees at the airport.

'Everything is running smoothly... Everything is fine,' he reportedly concluded.

The CRJ1000 aircraft has a maximum landing weight of 36,968 kilograms.
The RSPCA has criticised pet owners after receiving more than four reports a day of dogs being left in hot cars as temperatures are set to rise.

RSPCA Queensland warned that leaving dogs in cars can cause heat stress or death and said it had received 183 reports of the problem since January 1.

In the same period there were 584 calls about animals being left with insufficient or no water and 303 reports of animals being unable to access shade.

The RSPCA has criticised pet owners owners after receiving more than four reports a day of dogs being left in hot cars as temperatures are set to rise

The society's stark warning come as temperatures are set to hit 40C on the east coast this weekend.

RSPCA spokesman Michael Beatty described the numbers of complaints as astonishing and said he couldn't understand how people were unaware of the dangers.

'If it's 30 degrees outside, the temperature inside a car can potentially rise to well over 40 degrees in less than five minutes,' he said.

'It beggars belief that people are ignoring the warnings.'

RSPCA Queensland warned that leaving dogs in cars can cause heat stress or death and said it had received 183 reports of the problem since January 1

An extreme heatwave is sweeping across Australia, with temperatures hitting the mid-40s in parts of the country

'Temperatures between 37 and 40 are forecast until Sunday when maximums should return to the low-30s,' Weatherzone meteorologist Joel Pippard said of Sydney. Bondi Beach is pictured

A huge crowd is seen on Bondi Beach at 7pm with the temperature still sitting at 34 degrees celsius in Sydney

He said owners needed to be more mindful of the need for animals to have access to shade and water.

'A dog can survive for days without food, but in these temperatures, if they don't have shade or can't reach water they'll die,' Mr Beatty said.

The RSPCA is recommending all owners provide two to three containers of water for their pets and to avoid exercising them in the middle of the day.
A huge cyclone is expected to strike Samoa at the weekend, but it is not yet known where exactly the storm will hit.

The tropical cyclone has been upgraded to moderate to high with wind speeds of up to 86k/h expected.

The super cyclone could hit the usually tropical paradise within the next 12 to 24 hours.

The Category 1 cyclone risk will get stronger as it moves towards the east of Samoa and American Samoa, according NZ Herald.

Scroll down for video

A huge cyclone is expected to strike Samoa at the weekend, but it is not yet known where

The tropical cyclone has been upgraded to moderate to high with wind speeds of up to 86k/h

The usually tropical paradise (right) is already being hit with heavy rain (left) flooding houses

While it is too early to know if Cyclone Gita will hit New Zealand, the publication reported the cyclone would be a 'powerful system' that would be 'much bigger than Fehi'.

Former Tropical Cyclone Fehi slammed New Zealand last week, flooding South Island towns and sparking a state of emergency.

The Government of Samoa shared a warning on Facebook instructing people to take 'precautionary measures'.

A video shared online shows murky brown storm water flooding a family home, gushing through the property as it sweeps away cars and belongings.

One person wrote on Facebook she was beginning to feel 'uneasy' as the cyclone approached.

'Workers are finishing early to prepare their families for it ... thinking about my family especially,' they birthday.

Flights from Samoa to Fiji and ferry trips have been cancelled according to Samoa Observer.

Students were sent home from school and transport around the island is limited.

The Government of Samoa shared a warning on Facebook instructing people to take 'precautionary measures'
The man who guessed the password on Sarah Palin's personal email account and posted details online when she was a nominee for vice president in 2008, died last week in California.

David Kernell, 30, died of complications related to progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) late Friday or early Saturday, according to a statement his family released on Thursday.

Kernell, the son of former Democratic state representative Mike Kernell, was a 20-year-old economics major at the University of Tennessee Knoxville when he hacked into the account.

David Kernell was a 20-year-old economics major at the University of Tennessee Knoxville when he hacked into Sarah Palin's personal email account in 2008 (both pictured in 2008)

Successfully guessing the security answers to Palin's Yahoo! account, Kernell changed her password to 'popcorn' before posting the new password, family photos and emails to the message board 4chan.

His family shared that Kernell had been diagnosed with MS in 2014 and began participating in clinical research trials at the Cedars-Sinai Neurosciences Research Center in Los Angeles.

He hoped to help develop cures and treatments for other victims of MS, the page-long statement detailed.

Kernell, 30, died of complications related to progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) late Friday or early Saturday in California (pictured in 2010)

Kernell, once ranked in the top 10 per cent of chess players in the country, also enjoyed spearfishing, free diving, rock climbing, wilderness exploration and online games.

'David did not let this incident define him,' the family said, according to Commercial Appeal.

'He returned to UT Knoxville to complete his economics degree and further refined his programming skills by helping his local community.

'He first volunteered his expertise to Tennessee Voices for Children, a child advocacy non-profit group. Later, he moved to California and worked to develop facial recognition software that could identify children at risk of abuse.'

Palin was devastated by the hacking, comparing it to Watergate in 1972 which ultimately led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon. While at trial, Palin called the hacking 'the most disruptive and discouraging' moment of the campaign (pictured in 2016)

Kernell had read that Palin conducted official business as governor of Alaska on her personal email, prompting the hacking. He didn't find anything politically damning.

Palin was devastated by the hacking, comparing it to Watergate in 1972 which ultimately led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon.

While at trial, Palin called the hacking 'the most disruptive and discouraging' moment of the campaign.

Under the pseudonym Rubico, Kernell posted the new email password 'popcorn', family photos and emails to the message board 4chan

Kernell faced only one felony charge and served 10 months in a minimum-security prison for obstruction of justice because he destroyed the evidence from his computer.

He was also booked on a misdemeanor charge for illegally accessing Palin's email. Kernell was released from U.S. Probation Office supervision in 2013.

Wade Davies, Kernell's attorney during the case, had argued that what his client did was more in line with a prank. He furthered his argument by asserting that the prosecution wouldn't be as critical had the victim not been Palin.

Allan Bogle, host of the program Into the Deep on radio station WEVL FM 89.9, claimed to know Kernell through the Memphis Chess Club, adding that he grew up to be a 'very smart guy.' Bogle added that Kernell used 'Rubico' - the pseudonym he posted Palin's information with - to play online chess.

'For a brief period of time he was the most famous chess player in the country,' Bogle added.

Services are being planned in Newport Beach, California, and in Germantown.

Endowments are being taken at the Memphis Chess Club, Cedars-Sinai Neurosciences Research Center, and the Tennessee Voices for Children.
Anthony 'AJ' Weber, age 16, was fatally shot by a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deputy on Sunday in Los Angeles, which prompted his father to demand answers at an emergency community meeting on Wednesday.

But John Weber, the teen's father, said authorities avoided his questions about his son's death at the New Congregational Missionary Baptist Church in South Los Angeles.

'They wouldnt answer,' Weber told ABC News. 'The only comments they wanted to make was that AJ was a gang member. People were screaming at the police.'

Police said the boy matched the description of a suspect believed to have pointed a gun at a 9-1-1 caller, and that they saw a gun on him as he ran away, but no weapon was found when law enforcement searched his body.

The teen leaves behind a 9-month-old daughter, multiple siblings, and his mother and father.

Anthony 'AJ' Weber, age 16, was fatally shot by a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deputy on Sunday in Los Angeles, leaving behind a 9-month-old daughter, Violet

At the meeting meant to lessen tensions between law enforcement and the community, things got so intense that the forum was called to a close, The Los Angeles Times reported.

'Where's the gun?' the boys father asked. 'I know where the bullets are, they're right in my baby's back.'

None of the Sheriff's officials responded to the father's question and statement at that moment.

At another point, a man screamed, 'You killed a 16-year-old!'

'Was my brother murdered? Yes or no?' the slain teen's brother, also named John Weber, asked of the officials.

The crowd answered for them, screaming, 'Yes!'

The teen's family and community members spoke passionately with officials at the meeting; The late teen's brother, also named John Weber, is shown here engaging with officials on Wednesday at the New Congregational Missionary Baptist Church in South LA

Friends and loved ones of the teen shared their grief at the loss of his life

LA County Sheriff's Department Capt. Chris Bergner said deputies said the boy matched the description of a suspect believed to have pointed a gun at a 9-1-1 caller, and that they saw a gun on him as he ran away, but no weapon was found when they searched his body

The teen's bother Weber also asked the law enforcement at the meeting if his brother's family or community was 'due something,' following the boy's death.

'Absolutely not,' LA County Sheriffs Department Captain Chris Bergner said.

When an angry group surrounded the panel, the meeting was called to a close.

The Sheriff's Department later provided a statement on Thursday that said that Bergner couldn't hear the question being asked of him.

What he said he thought he heard was the teen's brother asking, 'Don't you think we are doomed?' the department said.

'That is the only reason why he replied, "Absolutely not,'" according to the statement.

The sixteen-year-old was reportedly at a Super Bowl party on Sunday, when police came on the scene as they were responding to a 9-1-1 call

Police said they saw Anthony Weber, that he matched the description of the suspect and that he had a gun tucked into his waistband, but no gun was found on his shirtless body

The sixteen-year-old was reportedly at a Super Bowl party on Sunday, when police came on the scene as they were responding to a 9-1-1 call about a 'young man' pointing a pistol at another man, CBS reported.

Police said they saw Anthony Weber, that he matched the description of the suspect and that he had a gun tucked into his waistband.

Police then said the teen started to run away, and turned around and pointed the gun at them, at which point they opened fire on him, shooting and calling him.

But no weapon was found at the scene when police searched the boy's body.

John Weber, the teen's 57-year-old Marine veteran father, said authorities avoided questions about his son's death at the New Congregational Missionary Baptist Church in South LA

'He didn't deserve this,' his mother, Demtra Johnson, said. 'He doesn't have that kind of heart'

'He had no shirt on so you could clearly see his waist,' a witness said, implying that deputies should have been able to see whether he had a firearm on his person.

Officials said between 30-40 people came out, once shots were fired, and that they suspected one of those people may have taken the firearm that Sheriff's deputies said they saw.

'Deputies saw a gun when the shooting occurred,' Bergner said.

'Then with the 30 to 40 people that came out of the apartment complex. They were trying to maintain security of that and they believe that at some point somebody may have reached in and may have taken the gun.'

A memorial with photos and trinkets was placed near the site of the teen's shooting

Officials said between 30-40 people came out, once shots were fired, and that they suspected one of those people may have taken the firearm that Sheriff's deputies said they saw

The teen was described as a 'great father' to his 9-month-old daughter, Violet (seen here)

But the teen's family has said that does not fit the character they know to be true of their loved one.

'He didn't deserve this,' his mother, Demtra Johnson, said. 'He doesn't have that kind of heart.'

'My son was a good son. He was a great brother,' she added. 'He had the biggest heart. He was a wonderful father.'

The last conversation the boy had in person with his father was a day earlier, on Saturday, about a request for baby formula from the grocery store owned by the 57-year-old Marine in South Los Angeles, ABC reported.

The now deceased teen wanted the formula, for his 9-month-old baby girl, Violet.

The teen's family has said that running from police and pointing a gun at them does not fit the character they know to be true of their loved one

Anthony 'AJ' Weber was shot and killed at around 8.20 pm Pacific on Sunday in the 1200 block of West 107th Street, near the edge of South Los Angeles

The boy's father said the Sheriff's Department has not been forthcoming about information related to the shooting, which was the reason the emotionally-charged meeting was held on Wednesday.

The community meeting was organized by a board convened by the city of Los Angeles to serve as watchdog over the sheriff's department.

The group is called the Civilian Oversight Commission.

'We saw that there was a huge community interest in the shooting so we put this forum together,' executive director Brian Williams said.

'It was tough. There was a very large crowd there, people were angry and wanted answers.'

Over 150 people showed up at the Commission's meeting on Wednesday.

An investigation is ongoing into the officer-involved-shooting and death of Anthony 'AJ' Weber.

He was shot and killed at around 8.20 pm Pacific on Sunday in the 1200 block of West 107th Street, near the edge of South Los Angeles.
An electrician who won more than $20million in a Powerball jackpot has given half of his winnings away less than a week after his life-changing win.

The man in his 50s bought the ticket from New Zealand's Hornby Lotto Mall, in Canterbury, but delayed checking it after hearing the store sold a winner so he could continue 'dreaming for a while'.

When he finally checked it mid-week, one of his first reactions on receiving the jaw dropping news was to start divvying it out to family, to keep him on an 'even keel',' New Zealand Herald reports.

The man in his 50s who won more than $20million in a Powerball jackpot has given half of his winnings away less than a week after his life-changing win (stock photo used)

The Christchurch winner described feeling an overwhelming sense of relief when the 'Lotto lady' handed him the paper with $20.2 million written on it.

'You think you know how you're going to react when you get news like that, but to be honest all I felt was this huge sense of relief.

'My first thought was 'yay, I can retire now'.'

The gobsmacked sparkie went straight to his partner's workplace to present the news, where they shared 'a few tears and a couple hugs'.

'We had to hold it together as she had to go back to work. I don't think she got much done that day,' he said.

The Christchurch winner described feeling an overwhelming sense of relief when the 'Lotto lady' handed him the paper with $20.2 million written on it (stock photo used)

Later, the couple sat down for a drink and started calling family to break the exciting news and tell them about the money they'd be handing over.

'Family is the most important thing and we are so excited to be able to share our luck with the people we love most  and know that it's not just our life that has changed.'

He said giving out half the money would help save him from 'going crazy' with his winnings.

A portion of the money is set to go towards a holiday for both his families next year.
Trudeau's socks on Thursday had the Star Wars Wookiee character Chewbacca

Sporting a pair zany of Star Wars-themed socks, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has appealed to Silicon Valley executives to take advantage of Canada's generous immigration laws.

It came just days after Trudeau made headlines by insisting - on feminist grounds - that 'mankind' be replaced with 'peoplekind'. He now says the remark was in jest.

Trudeau made the rounds in the San Francisco Bay Area on Thursday, promoting Canadian globalism and the country's new fast-track work visa as reasons to relocate north of the border.

As American technology employers worry about access to the ranks of foreign programmers that they have grown accustomed to hiring, Canada is offering a two-week, fast-track employment permit for certain workers, dubbed the 'global skills strategy visa.'

Government-sponsored billboards in Silicon Valley pitch: 'H1-B Problems? Pivot to Canada.'

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a visit to the offices of AppDirect on Thursday. He is pitching Canada as a destination for tech firms that want to hire immigrants

Trudeau leans in for a selfie with employees as he leaves the offices of Salesforce on Thursday

Trudeau demurred when asked whether President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement efforts are making the sales pitch easier, pointing to the power of globalism.

'We know that bringing in great talent from around the world is an enormous benefit, not just to the companies that want to do that, but to Canadian jobs and to our country as a whole, so we're going to continue to do that,' he said.

Trudeau's charm offensive is already yielding some early successes.

On Thursday, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff announced the online business software company will invest another $2 billion in its Canadian operations over the next five years.

And San Francisco-based AppDirect, an online management platform whose co-CEO first met Trudeau in political science class at McGill University in Montreal, said it would add another 300 jobs in Canada in the next five years.

Trudeau is also meeting with Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos to promote Toronto as the location for Amazon's second headquarters.

Toronto, which has created a government-sponsored innovation hub for tech companies, was the only one of several Canadian cities that applied to make the shortlist.

Justin Trudeau, right, meets with eBay CEO Devin Wenig on Thursday in San Francisco

Trudeau's stop in San Francisco also highlights the already strong ties between Canada and California, particularly in research, academia and technology.

While much of the attention on the North American Free Trade Agreement has focused on physical commodities such as vehicle manufacturing, dairy and timber, skilled workers have also become increasingly mobile between the US, Canada and Mexico.

Google built its latest DeepMind artificial intelligence facility at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, after several of its graduates came to work on the project.

The next round of talks over the 24-year-old NAFTA trade pact in Mexico later this month loomed over Trudeau's visit. Trump has called the agreement a job-killing 'disaster' on the campaign trail and has threatened to withdraw from it if he can't get what he wants.

The lengthy talks have increased the political pressure and the rhetoric in Canada, where the stakes are high.

Trudeau is on a charm offensive to convince American companies to invest more in Canada

AppDirect President and Co-CEO, Dan Saks (left) speaks before introducing Trudeau

Trudeau declined to talk about NAFTA deal specifics Thursday, but said Canada wants an agreement that is 'win-win-win' for all three countries.

'We're going to continue to make an argument that it's not enough to just trade, we have to ensure that the benefits of trade are properly and fairly shared,' he said.

There are hundreds, maybe thousands - no one can say for sure - of Canadians in the tech industry in Northern California, many of them on visas made possible through the trade pact.

Without NAFTA, 'those (jobs) go away. That could cause immediate disruption for the tech community' on both sides of the border, said Daniel Ujczo, an international trade lawyer based in Columbus, Ohio, who has been part of the talks, now in their sixth round.

'It's unfortunately not an area that is up for discussion. Canada and Mexico keep raising worker mobility issues, but the US won't discuss it,' he said.

Trudeau will meet with Governor Jerry Brown and Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom, both Democrats, on Friday before he travels to Southern California to deliver a speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

The location is a symbolic choice, referring to the longstanding trade relationship between the US and Canada. In 1988, Reagan and then-Prime Minister Brian Mulroney signed the first free trade agreement - a precursor to NAFTA.
A British banker jailed for life for the horrifying murder of two Indonesian women at his upscale Hong Kong apartment in a cocaine-fuelled rampage has had his appeal rejected, a court ruled Friday.

Rurik Jutting, 32, tortured Sumarti Ningsih, 23, for three days before slashing her throat with a serrated knife and stuffing her body into a suitcase.

Days later, and with Ningsih's corpse on his balcony, the Cambridge University graduate picked up Seneng Mujiasih, 26, for the same purpose, and killed her when she started screaming.

Back in jail: Rurik Jutting jailed for life for the horrifying murder of two Indonesian women at his upscale Hong Kong apartment in a cocaine-fuelled rampage has had his appeal rejected

Jutting, now 32, had pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility but was found guilty of murder, with the judge at the time describing the killings as 'sickening in the extreme'.

Jutting's defence team had argued that judge Michael Stuart-Moore repeatedly gave incorrect directions to the jury during the trial last year when explaining how they should determine whether Jutting's state of mind had impaired his responsibility for his actions.

Defence lawyer Gerard McCoy said the judge had 'wrongly and prescriptively directed the jury' to focus on whether Jutting had mental disorders, arguing that 'abnormality of mind need not be a disorder'.

A judgment handed down by the Court of Appeal on Friday rejected the appeal bid, saying there is 'no merit in this ground of appeal'.

A panel of three judges unanimously ruled that they were 'satisfied' with the judge's directions to the jury.

Killer: Jutting tortured and killed Sumarti Ningsih, 23, and Seneng Mujiasih, 26, in 2014

In the original gruelling ten-day trial in the autumn of 2016, the jury heard how Jutting became obsessed with slavery, rape and torture - fantasies he acted out on his first victim, Ningsih.

The jury was forced to watch iPhone footage of parts of the attack as well as Jutting's own self-recorded descriptions of how he had used pliers, sex toys and a belt during the killing.

He then went on to murder his second victim, Mujiasih, slashing her throat in his living room.

At the end of the trial, Stuart-Moore said Jutting had known what he was doing and described him as an 'archetypal sexual predator' who presented an extreme danger to women.

The jury in the original trial did not find that Jutting suffered from a mental disorder such as sexual sadism disorder or narcissistic personality disorder, according to the judgement.

'The applicant had traits only of sexual sadism and narcissistic personality, rather than disorders,' it said, meaning that there were no grounds for a ruling of 'diminished responsibility' for the crimes.
Rob Porter's ex-wife has claimed that if he isn't already abusing girlfriend Hope Hicks, it is only a matter of time before he does.

Porter stepped down from his role as White House staff secretary this week following on-the-record claims to DailyMail.com from his ex-wives, Colbie Holderness and Jennifer Willoughby, about the abuse they had suffered during their marriages.

Hicks, who has been romantically involved with Porter for months, has supposedly told some people that she doesn't think the allegations made by Porter's two ex-wives are true, a source told Vanity Fair.

The source added that the White House communications boss has been privately defending Porter in the wake of the scandal.

But Porter's second wife, Willoughby, revealed on Thursday that she feared for Hicks.

'I don't think he's changed,' Willoughby told CNN's Anderson Cooper.

'It definitely worries me because if I'm being frank with you, if he hasn't already been abusive with Hope, he will. Particularly now that he's under a lot of stress and scrutiny. That's when the behaviors come out.'

White House comms director Hope Hicks was seen leaving her DC apartment and heading to work on Thursday morning in the wake of lover Rob Porter's domestic abuse allegations

Porter's second wife, Willoughby, revealed on Thursday that she feared for Hicks

Ex-wife says Porter asked her to "downplay" blog post describing abuse https://t.co/ttochQpgjN  Anderson Cooper 360 (@AC360) February 9, 2018

A downcast Hicks was spotted leaving her home alone on Thursday morning before getting into a car, presumably heading to work.

It was expected to be Porter's final day in the White House.

Holderness, Porter's first wife, told DailyMail.com earlier this week that he had choked and punched her, providing photographs of one alleged attack.

His second wife, Willoughby, revealed on Tuesday that he had 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 two sets of revelations have stunned the White House and led to a dramatic exit for Porter.

In a press briefing on Thursday, White House Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah revealed Porter was terminated before he offered his resignation.

But the White House refused to say in the briefing when Chief of Staff John Kelly, or anyone else, found out about the allegations of spousal abuse against Porter.

Shah, filling in for the vacationing Sarah Sanders, would only say that Kelly became 'fully aware' of the accusations when DailyMail.com published photos of Porter's first wife Holderness that she says were taken after he punched her on a vacation.

DailyMail.com revealed last week that White House comms director and high level staffer Rob Porter and Hope Hicks are dating, and were seen kissing in a cab on the way back to her apartment

Hicks, 29, appeared downcast as she stepped out of her apartment building carrying a black handbag and wrapped up in black coat over a purple turtleneck dress and leopard-print heels

Colbie Holderness, 37, (left) 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 (right)

'I'm not going to get into the specifics regarding who may have known what pieces of information because they were all part of an ongoing background check investigation,' Shah said in his debut behind the White House podium.

But the FBI learned about the allegations after conducting a background check on Porter. It concluded that he could be subjected to blackmail due to what was uncovered, a source tells DailyMail.com.

The FBI refused to give him permanent security clearly because of what they found.

Shah called the images 'graphic' and the women's allegations 'credible' in a televised briefing where Porter's resignation led the discussion.

He said the White House official was 'terminated' on Wednesday, although he'd been seen on the property earlier in the day.

At issue in the briefing was Porter's handling of classified information in his role as staff secretary even though he had never been approved for permanent security clearance.

Porter was operating on 'interim' clearance while the background check process that has stretched for more than a year continued to unfold, Shah claimed.

'This is part of an ongoing investigation. We trust the background check process. The chief of staff does not get detailed updates about what may or may not have been alleged,' he said.

Senior White House aides - possibly even John Kelly - were made aware of spousal abuse allegations against Porter in November after the FBI learned about them during a background check.

Despite this, Porter remained in his sensitive post.

Kelly had initially fiercely backed Porter calling him a man of 'integrity and honor' but issued a statement late Wednesday expressing his shock over the 'new' allegations

'To have someone in that job who can be so easily blackmailed is crazy,' Democratic Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, who served as staff secretary for Bill Clinton, told DailyMail.com.

'Every day there's a stack of red folders on this guy's desk that have the most secret info the government possesses and he has been walking it into the president,' he said.

He noted that the staff secretary only has two 'direct reports': the chief of staff and the president.

'To have someone in that job for 14 months with no national security clearance, is outrageous. And John Kelly owns that and has some very tough questions to answer, not just about why he's still defending him, which is outrageous, but about why you would allow someone to be in this position who can be so easily blackmailed. It's crazy.'

Maloney is calling for a House Oversight Committee investigation into what happened and singled out Kelly's role.

Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, blasted his Republican colleagues on Thursday for stonewalling his request to obtain information about the security clearance process.

'If you had agreed to any of our previous requests for information on these matters, the White House would have been required to answer key questions about why Mr Porter was denied a final security clearance, who at the White House was aware of this information, and how Mr Porter was allowed to remain in his position,' Cummings wrote in a letter to committee chairman Trey Gowdy.

Kelly is coming under fire for his efforts to shield Porter on several fronts at a time when the #MeToo movement is rocking Hollywood and the national culture.

A leading feminist organization is demanding the White House chief of staff's head over his 'pathetic' defense of Porter. The National Organization of Women called Kelly an 'enabler of sexual absusers' in a Thursday morning statement and said he must also resign.

NOW President Toni Van Pelt said: 'It's not honorable to beat up women. There is no integrity involved in being violent when you go home. These are not American values.'

Colbie told 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

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.'

Kelly had described Porter as a 'man of true integrity and honor' after he was informed that on-the-record spousal abuse allegations from the senior official's second wife would be appearing in a story on DailyMail.com.

'I think its clear, starting at the very top in our country, that they see women as collateral damage that they see women as objects,' Van Pelt said. 'They are actually giving permission to abusers. They are giving permission to men to disrespect women and to treat them with disregard.'

Hicks helped draft the supportive statement on Porter on behalf Kelly.

Other strong statements of support for Porter were released by Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Senator Orrin Hatch, although the latter walked by some of his remarks after learning details of the alleged abuse.

Kelly had initially fiercely backed Porter calling him a man of 'integrity and honor.'

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

It was not until the 9pm hour on Wednesday - exactly 12 hours after DailyMail.com published its second story - that Kelly said he was 'shocked by the new allegations' against Porter.

'There is no place for domestic violence in our society,' Kelly stated.

But digging in his heels on his defense of Porter, Kelly added: '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.'

In the fallout from Porter's resignation on Wednesday it has emerged from sources inside the White House that some White House aides had known for months about the domestic abuse allegations against Porter.

During the taxi ride back to Hope's apartment 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 new couple was seen dining with friends in the capital. Above Porter and Hicks are seen drinking at the low-key Rosa Mexicana restaurant

Rob was seen opening the door as the couple returned to Hope's D.C. apartment after dinner

Both Holderness and Willoughby told DailyMail.com that they had reported the domestic abuse to the FBI during security clearance interviews for Porter earlier this year. He was working at the highest level of government, with daily access to President Trump, with only a temporary security clearance.

A source told DailyMail.com that the FBI learned about the allegations after conducting a background check and it concluded that Porter could be subjected to blackmail due to what was uncovered.

Officials also knew in advance about a 2010 protective order that DailyMail.com published in the original story, according to Politico.

As staff secretary, Porter has had access to every piece of classified information that goes through the White House. He was a key ally of Kelly is his effort to vet information that reaches the president and impose discipline on the flow.

The allegations delayed Porter's ability to get permanent security clearance, but he was granted interim clearance when he joined the White House in January 2017.

Temporary clearances are common in the first 4-6 months of an administration, and in the first three months of a new senior level hire. But his extended for 13 months.

It was not immediately clear if Porter was able to operate under a temporary clearance pending approval, or if he had access to less than the full array of information that would normally be required of his high-level post.

Last week DailyMail.com revealed that Hicks, a 29-year-old former model, was dating Porter, a 40-year-old Harvard-educated Rhodes scholar, after obtaining exclusive pictures of them dining with friends in the capital.

Porter and Hicks dined with Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner's spokesman Josh Raffel and two other friends, but were at pains not to show any sign of affection. The pair did not sit next to each other at the low-key Rosa Mexicana restaurant.

But the moment they got in the cab to go back to Hicks' 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 said.

The couple were also spotted at a D.C. area church service on January 7, sources told DailyMailTV. They prayed together even though they come from different religions. Porter is a Mormon while Hicks is Roman Catholic.

Porter, 40, was working at the highest level of government, with daily access to President Trump, with only a temporary security clearance

Porter had been living with a willowy blonde political appointee, according to sources. The woman split with Porter around Thanksgiving, a White House source told DailyMailTV exclusively.

She walked out of his apartment after discovering suggestive text messages between Porter and Hicks, one of Trump's closest and most trusted advisors.

Additionally, both of Porter's ex-wives independently told DailyMail.com that they were in contact with a third woman who is believed to be the former White House aide's longtime girlfriend.

DailyMail.com is declining to name her because she is an alleged victim of domestic abuse and she has not come forward. Attempts to reach her have been unsuccessful.

In messages, reviewed by DailyMail.com, the woman also describes abuse from Porter and was reaching out for advice from the ex-wives.

In December 2016, the woman wrote to Holderness: 'Over the years I have desperately wanted to reach out to you, but Rob forbade me.

'I have been with Rob off and on now for a little over three years, and don't know where to turn to discuss my experience or how to escape it. I work in politics, and despite Rob's repeated abuse, some of which I think many know about, he continues to rise and I'm afraid to go against him.'

In a later message, she wrote: 'I guess the questions that keep going through my head are 'is it just me?!' and then sort of wondering, just what IS it with Rob, what is his psychological condition and is it redeemable or can he get help?? He can go from being the sweetest kindest person to a complete abusive monster in minutes.'

She also speaks about her desire to speak up to FBI about the abuse but said: 'I am just scared and feel tremendous stress over this'.

Rumors about Hicks and Porter were sparked after the couple were seen at a Washington, D.C. area church service on January 7

'Rob was abusive, degrading, a liar and a cheater and during the course of my relationship with him, I found out that he was to others, too,' the woman wrote to Willoughby in February 2016, in a message shared with DailyMail.com. 'I am just searching for someone who might be able to relate to the hell I have gone through.'

Hicks is the younger daughter of Paul Hicks, a former head of public relations for the NFL. She was born and raised in Greenwich, Connecticut, and was co-captain of her high school lacrosse team.

She and her sister Mary Grace both modeled as teens getting work for Ralph Lauren, Macy's, Sears, Target, and The Limited Too.

She started working in public relations after graduating from Southern Methodist University and got work helping with Ivanka Trump's fashion line. Eventually Ivanka lured her to join the company full-time.

Though both her parents had worked for former congressmen - Paul Hicks for Connecticut Republican Stewart McKinney and mom Caye Hicks for Tennessee Democrat Ed Jones - Hope herself had had no prior political experience.

Before being tapped to join the new administration, Porter 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,' it 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.
A mother was caught drink driving almost five times over the legal limit with her three children in the car.

The woman, 42, was pulled over in Miles, Queensland, on the Western Darling Downs late Wednesday afternoon and allegedly blew 0.23 per cent in a roadside breath test.

Police said she was travelling with two children under 12 and a third teenage passenger.

A mother was caught drink driving almost five times over the legal limit with her three children in the car (stock image)

The woman was charged with high-range drink driving and wilful damage, her licence was suspended, and she was expected to appear in the Chinchilla Magistrates Court on March 1.

Local police sergeant Werner Crous said it was the highest blood alcohol reading in the Miles area for a long time and was concerning considering the time of day.

'All we ask is that if driving, be responsible and look after yourself and others,' he said.

'We have seen fatalities right across the country caused by people driving who are affected by alcohol and drugs - please do not take the chance.'
A truck driver has died after his vehicle slammed into at least five cars and a guard rail at a busy Queensland intersection on Friday.

Emergency services were called to the accident before 1pm near the intersection of Nudgee Road and Airport Drive at Hendra in Brisbane's north east.

The semi trailer was coming off the Southern Cross Way ramp when it crashed into 'a number of vehicles' and a guard rail, a police spokesman said.

The truck driver died at the scene.

A semi trailer slammed into at least five cars and a bollard at a busy intersection near Brisbane Airport on Friday

The age and identity of deceased driver are yet to be confirmed.

Queensland Ambulance spokesman told Daily Mail Australia four people were treated at the scene.

A woman in her 20s was taken to Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital in a stable condition for spinal precautions and a shoulder injury.

A second patient was taken to Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital for minor seat belt injuries.

A third person declined to be taken to hospital while a fourth didn't require hospital treatment.

Motorists have been advised to avoid the area or delay travel on Friday following a fatal accident which left one person dead and another two in hospital

Investigations are underway to determine whether he had a medical episode prior to the crash, the Courier Mail reported.

Forensic Crash Unit police remain at the scene.

Queensland Police have advised motorists avoid the area or delay travel.
A 30-year-old man has been arrested in relation to the seizure of 2000 litres of 'liquid ecstasy', with a potential street value of $10 million.

The sting was conducted on Wednesday following a joint operation between Australian Federal Police and Australian Border Force that begun early February.

A 'high-risk' shipping container that was identified as it arrived in Sydney was found to contain 120 drums which tested positive to gamma-butyrolactone, or GBL.

Following in-depth forensic analysis, officers executed a series of search warrants across Sydney in Warwick Farm, Marrickville, Moorebank and Lewisham - eventually arresting the 30-year-old man.

A 30-year-old man has been arrested in relation to the seizure of 2000 litres of 'liquid ecstasy', with a potential street value of $10 million

He was charged with one count of importing a commercial quantity of a border controlled substance.

AFP Commander Chris Sheehan referred to the 'party drug' as a 'coma in a bottle', saying predators had used it in the past to enable rape.

'It is vital we continue to work with our partners at the border to stop any dangerous drug that can contribute to these sorts of crimes in our community,' he said.

'What people are actually ingesting is an industrial chemical solvent. The World Health Organization says it is the kind of substance commonly found in paint strippers, stain removers, and circuit board cleaners.'

The man was charged with one count of importing a commercial quantity of a border controlled substance

GBL metabolises into the drug gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) in the body and can cause abrupt loss of consciousness, memory loss, respiratory difficulties, coma, and death.

Investigations into the importation are ongoing, and authorities revealed further arrests have not been ruled out.

Anyone with information about the importation of illicit drugs is encouraged to contact Border Watch by visiting www.homeaffairs.gov.au/borderwatch.
The family of the 'hero grandmother' who was killed after pushing her grandson's pram out of the way of a reversing truck have been left 'shocked and heartbroken'.

Dee Why mother Hane Mathieson died on Thursday morning after she was knocked to the ground by a reversing garbage truck during her daily walk.

The 58-year-old woman managed to push her 18-month-old grandson's pram away before she was fatally struck. It is understood this heroic act was caught on traffic cameras.

Hane Mathieson died on Thursday morning after she was knocked to the ground by a reversing garbage truck during her daily walk

The 58-year-old woman managed to push her 18-month-old grandson's pram away before she was fatally struck

Her family have asked their lived ones to 'be patient and gentle with us as we navigate the coming weeks'

Her family have asked loved ones for patience as they expressed their heartbreak and shock in the touching Facebook message.

'Our deepest thanks and love for your prayers, love, and the food that has already begun to pile up in our homes. We feel well supported and are so thankful.

'Please be patient and gentle with us as we navigate the coming weeks. As we're sure you can understand, Emily, John, and Rachel are all very overwhelmed and emotional.'

The driver of a rubbish truck has been charged with dangerous driving.

The 58-year-old woman was walking with her grandson and saved his life by pushing his pram out of harms way before the truck hit her.

She suffered critical injuries to her lower body about 11.45am on Thursday and died at the scene near Moorilla Street in Dee Why, on Sydney's northern beaches.

The driver of a rubbish truck that killed a grandmother by reversing into her has been charged with dangerous driving

The 58-year-old woman was walking with her grandson and saved his life by pushing his pram out of harms way before the truck hit her

The 58-year-old woman was walking with her grandson and saved his life by pushing his pram out of harms way before the truck hit her

Witnesses said the United Resource Management truck was reversing into a cul-de-sac when it her her.

A rescue helicopter made an emergency landing as witnesses tried to keep the woman alive, but she could not be saved.

Police arrived to investigate and returned the 18-month-old boy to her mother in a tearful, bittersweet reunion filmed by news cameras.

The child's parents were seen embracing and comforting each other as they looked over the scene and police carried the toddler to them.

The child's parents were seen embracing and comforting each other as they looked over the scene and police carried the toddler to them

A woman (left) broke into tears after being reunited with her unharmed toddler while being told her mother was killed by the reversing truck

The 27-year-old driver was overnight charged with dangerous and negligent driving causing death and will face Manly Local Court on March 7.

He was a 'loving father himself' who was 'extremely distressed' by the accident, his employer URM said.

NSW Police Inspector Ellen Kaserman said the truck driver was 'traumatised' and 'very distressed' by the accident.

Witnesses said the United Resource Management truck was reversing into a cul-de-sac when it her her

A rescue helicopter made an emergency landing as witnesses tried to keep the woman alive, but she could not be saved

He was taken to hospital for mandatory blood and urine tests, which returned negative results.

URM said the truck appeared to have all safety features working, and neither speed nor mechanical failures were factors in the incident.

The vehicle was doing a collection run on behalf of the local council and trucks were always inspected before every run.

URM said the truck appeared to have all safety features working, and neither speed nor mechanical failures were factors in the incident
A truck driver who jumped a red light and killed a young woman days away from being proposed to has been jailed for two and a half years.

David Grice, 60, received the sentence on Friday for running over 26-year-old Danielle McGrath in Caringbah, Sydney on November 8.

Ms McGrath was killed instantly as she crossed the road at a busy intersection after the pedestrian light went green.

Minutes later her boyfriend Aaron Roberts - who was planning a surprise wedding proposal - arrived at the horrific scene.

Truck driver David Grice (pictured right), 60, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving occasioning death last year and was sentenced to 2.5 years in jail

Ms McGrath was crossing the intersection of Port Hacking Road and the Kingsway in Caringbah, south of Sydney, at a green pedestrian light when she was hit by Grice, who had run a red light

Judge Peter Maiden today told Sydney District Court how Ms McGrath was walking in the centre of the road when she was hit. Pictured: The scene at Caringbah after the crash

He was held up by traffic caused by her death, and eventually arrived to find her body under a sheet in the middle of the road, and her handbag and belongings strewn across the ground.

Grice was sentenced to 31 and a half months in jail with no option of parole for 18 months after pleading guilty to dangerous driving occasioning death.

Court heard how Grice's sentence was reduced due to his fragile mental condition' and because hes a cancer patient, 9 News reported.

Judge Peter Maiden today told the Sydney District Court how Ms McGrath was walking in the centre of the road when she was hit.

'Shortly after this, the side of the truck at a point some distance behind the driver's door came into contact with Ms McGrath. She was thrown to the ground and the truck proceeded to crush her,' he said.

Ms McGrath's family wept as the judge went on to describe how she was 'concentrating' but 'not aware of the truck coming from her rear and left.'

Grice insisted he was concentrating at the time but admitted not checking to his right, News.com.au reported

Aaron Roberts (left) revealed he was preparing to propose to his partner Danielle McGrath (right) before she was hit by a truck in November 2016 and killed

Mr Roberts knew Danielle had died when he saw her handbag strewn across the road

He said in court: 'I had just decided it was safe to continue and focused on cars coming towards me ... I was conscious of that and focused on that.'

Judge Maiden praised the McGrath family's dignity and said the pain of the loss of a young woman in the 'prime of her life would never go away.'

As Ms McGrath's family left court on Friday, her father Bill said: 'We are just happy Danielle had her day in court.'

During victim impact statements last week, an emotional Mr Roberts told a packed courtroom: 'I lost the brightest part of my day, my best friend and my future wife.'

Court also heard how he still placed a diamond ring on his girlfriend's finger at her funeral, two weeks after she died.

Mr Roberts described Ms McGrath as 'the brightest part of my day, my best friend and my future wife' in his victim impact statement

Mr Roberts was able to give Ms McGrath the engagement ring he had purchased for her, when he slid it on to her hand at her funeral

Ms McGrath's body was so badly damaged in the crash that only her left hand was left visible when her family came to view her body. Pictured: the scene in Caringbah in 2016

Mr McGrath, told the court his wife Helen had fallen to the ground when the couple were told what had happened to their daughter.

'Life will go on but, without Danielle, it will never be the same,' he said. 'The world has lost a beautiful angel.'

Mr Roberts said he would never forget the face of the police officer who confirmed to him it was Ms McGrath.

Danielle's body was so badly damaged in the crash that only her left hand was left visible when her family came to view her body.

Grice told the court he did not see the red arrow, and he was devastated to know he was responsible for the young woman's death.

'I am grieved to the depths of my being... I can't change it & I am so terribly, terribly sorry,' Grice told the court.

Ms McGrath's father told the court his life would never be the same after losing 'a beautiful angel'. Pictured: Ms McGrath and her boyfriend
Gay former NRL player Casey Conway has labelled Anthony Mundine a 'vile human' after he appeared to support the death penalty for homosexuality.

The sportsman-turned-model took to social media on Friday to blast the 42-year-old for his 'disgraceful' comments made after leaving the 'I'm A Celebrity' jungle.

Mundine suggested capital punishment is the only way to deter homosexuality, which he said should be 'behind closed doors, how it used to be'.

Conway slammed the boxer, posting to Twitter: 'Anthony Mundine is a vile human and his comments should be condemned.

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Gay former NRL player Casey Conway (pictured) labelled Anthony Mundine a 'vile human' after he appeared to support the death penalty for homosexuality

The sportsman-turned-model took to social media on Friday to blast the 42-year-old (pictured) for his 'disgraceful' comments made after leaving the 'I'm A Celebrity' jungle

Mundine suggested capital punishment is the only way to deter homosexuality, which he said should be 'behind closed doors, how it used to be'

Conway - a proud Indigenous Australian and activist for the LGBTI community - also denounced his use of Aboriginal culture as an example in his rant.

'Using our culture as a basis for his harmful opinions is disgraceful.

'Women and LGBTI people are your equal Anthony, youre not better than anyone. Educate yourself.'

Mundine's apparent endorsement of the death penalty for gay people came after he lasted less than two weeks in the African jungle.

'If we were to live in a society, just like in Aboriginal culture, that homosexuality is forbidden and you do it and the consequences are capital punishment or death, you think you are going to do it? Or think twice about doing it?' he told the Daily Telegraph.

Conway slammed the boxer, posting to Twitter: 'Anthony Mundine is a vile human and his comments should be condemned

The father then said paedophiles should be hanged to 'see if they have the balls to do it again'.

After he was asked to clarify whether he thought gay people should be executed, he told the paper he meant 'the paedophiles mainly'.

He added: 'They are not going to be happy until they have primary school kids being gay.

'If you are going to be gay, do it behind closed doors, that is how it used to be.'

Conway (pictured) - a proud Indigenous Australian and activist for the LGBTI community - also denounced his use of Aboriginal culture as an example in his rant

Mundine's apparent endorsement of the death penalty for gay people came after he lasted less than two weeks in the African jungle

Former Sydney Roosters player Conway (pictured) came out publicly as gay following his 2005 retirement

Conway said Mundine's views on the LGBTI community and women are 'out of touch'.

He also said Aboriginal culture and teachings don't reflect his 'harmful' views.

'Id love to know what his basis is in aligning our richly diverse culture to his personal opinions of homosexuality. This is far from my personal experience and that of many other indigenous LGBTI mobs,' Conway told News.com.au.

'We have our struggles of acceptance the same way that many others from any cultural background but to attribute his opinions to Aboriginal culture is ridiculous and unfounded.'

The former Sydney Roosters player came out publicly as gay following his 2005 retirement.
White House Chief of Staff John Kelly sent a memo to staffers on Thursday evening denouncing domestic violence in response to the 'shocking and troubling' allegations of spousal abuse against Rob Porter from his two ex-wives.

Kelly has faced intense criticism for his defense of Porter, who was allowed to resign from his position as staff secretary, earlier in the week.

He has refused to issue a mea culpa but claimed in an email to staff that he does not take allegations of physical abuse lightly.

'While we are all processing the shocking and troubling allegations made against a former White House staffer, I want you to know that we all take matters of domestic violence seriously,' he wrote. 'Domestic violence is abhorrent and has no place in our society.'

Kelly added that there were resources available at the White House for those seeking counseling.

John Kelly, who has faced criticism for initially defending Porter earlier this week, emailed the memo out to White House staffers on Thursday night

The memo, a copy of which was tweeted out by CNN's Jim Acosta, had the subject headline: 'A Letter from the Chief of Staff.'

Kelly issued the memo on Thursday as pressure mounted on him to abandon his support for Porter, whom he'd fought to keep in a highly-sensitive West Wing job after a first wave of accusations of spousal abuse.

Porter stepped down from his role as White House staff secretary on Wednesday following on-the-record claims to DailyMail.com from his ex-wives Colbie Holderness and Jennifer Willoughby about the abuse they say they suffered during their marriages to the former Trump aide.

Holderness claims Porter choked and punched her during their marriage, while Willoughby says he dragged her wet and naked out of the shower and was verbally abusive.

The White House has refused to say when Kelly found out about the allegations.

A spokesman for President Trump would only admit that Kelly became 'fully aware' of the accusations when DailyMail.com published photos of Porter's first wife that she says were taken after he hit her on a vacation.

'I'm not going to get into the specifics regarding who may have known what pieces of information because they were all part of an ongoing background check investigation,' deputy press secretary Raj Shah said in his debut behind the White House podium.

Shah called the images 'graphic' and the women's allegations 'credible' in a televised briefing where Porter's resignation consumed the discussion.

He said the White House official was 'terminated' on Wednesday, although Porter been seen on the property earlier in the day, as he drove a full-scale defense of the White House's initial reaction to a pair of Daily Mail reports on the staff secretary's past.

Kelly sent a memo to staffers in the wake of the 'shocking and troubling' allegations of spousal abuse against Rob Porter from his two ex-wives on Thursday evening

The White House would not say earlier on Thursday when Kelly found out about the allegations of spousal abuse against Rob Porter from both of his ex-wives

The reports were the first that President Trump learned of the accusations against Porter, Shah definitively said. He would not offer the same clarity on Kelly's knowledge of the situation during the televised event.

Senior White House aides - possibly even Kelly - were made aware of spousal abuse allegations against Porter in November after the FBI learned about them during a background check  yet Porter remained in his position.

The FBI found out about the allegations after conducting a routine background check on Porter, who resigned Wednesday. It concluded that he could be subjected to blackmail due to what was uncovered, a source tells DailyMail.com.

Shah insisted Thursday that the White House was right to give Porter the benefit of the doubt until the FBI had completed its review. 'We short-circuit an investigation just because allegations are made, unless they could compromise national security or interfere with operations at the White House. The truth must be determined.'

But Democratic Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, who served as staff secretary for Bill Clinton, said, 'To have someone in that job who can be so easily blackmailed is crazy.'

'Every day there's a stack of red folders on this guy's desk that have the most secret info the government possesses and he has been walking it into the president,' Maloney said.

He noted that the staff secretary only has two 'direct reports': the chief of staff and the president.

'To have someone in that job for 14 months with no national security clearance, is outrageous. And John Kelly owns that and has some very tough questions to answer, not just about why he's still defending him, which is outrageous, but about why you would allow someone to be in this position who can be so easily blackmailed. It's crazy.'

Maloney is calling for a House Oversight Committee investigation into what happened and singled out Kelly's role.

Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, also went after his Republican colleagues on Thursday for stonewalling his request to obtain information about the security clearance process.

'If you had agreed to any of our previous requests for information on these matters, the White House would have been required to answer key questions about why Mr. Porter was denied a final security clearance, who at the White House was aware of this information, and how Mr..Porter was allowed to remain in his position,' Cummings wrote in a letter to committee chairman Trey Gowdy.

Kelly is coming under fire for his efforts to shield Porter on several fronts at a time when the #MeToo movement is rocking Hollywood and the national culture.

WHAT JOHN KELLY SAID ABOUT ROB PORTER ON TUESDAY '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.' Advertisement

A leading feminist organization is demanding the White House chief of staff's head over what it said was a 'pathetic' defense of Porter. The National Organization of Women called Kelly an 'enabler of sexual absusers' in a Thursday morning statement and said he must also resign.

In a phone call, NOW President Toni Van Pelt said, 'It's not honorable to beat up women. There is no integrity involved in being violent when you go home. These are not American values.'

Kelly had described Porter as a 'man of true integrity and honor' after he was informed that on-the-record spousal abuse allegations from the senior official's second wife would be appearing in a story on DailyMail.com.

'I think its clear, starting at the very top in our country, that they see women as collateral damage that they see women as objects,' Van Pelt said. 'They are actually giving permission to abusers. They are giving permission to men to disrespect women and to treat them with disregard.'

As staff secretary, Porter has had access to every piece of classified information that goes through the White House. He was a key ally of Kelly is his effort to vet information that reaches the president and impose discipline on the flow.

Two of Porter's ex-wives have said they spoke to the FBI during its standard background check on the White House official who was seeking a government security clearance for his high-level position.

The allegations delayed Porter's ability to get permanent clearance. He was granted interim clearance when he joined the White House in January 2017.

Temporary clearances are common in the first 4-6 months of an administration, and in the first 3 months of a new senior level hire.

But his extended for 13 months.

WHAT JOHN KELLY SAID ABOUT ROB PORTER ON WEDNESDAY '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.' Advertisement

Nevertheless, he remained in his role, where he acted as a key gatekeeper for information that gets to President Trump's desk.

Porter's handling of classified information in his role as staff secretary, even though he had never been approved for permanent security clearance, came under serious scrutiny on Thursday at the White House, where Shah was briefing in press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders' stead.

'This is part of an ongoing investigation. We trust the background check process. The chief of staff does not get detailed updates about what may or may not have been alleged,' Shah said.

Kelly joined the White House staff in July of 2017. He would not have been part of the team that vetted Porter during the transition.

Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie was leading those operations until he was booted just after the election and replaced at the top of the president's transition team by Vice President Mike Pence.

Christie told ABC News in a Wednesday podcast that Porter's name never came up when he was in charge of Trump's transition team.

'If they didnt know, its a failure of vetting,' he said of Porter's personal history.

The ex-politician who left office last month after two consecutive terms as New Jersey's chief executive said that Porter brought disgrace to his name and his reputation with the resignation.

'Because he didnt resign voluntarily. Its clear that he was forced to resign given the circumstances,' Christie assessed.

White House Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah called the images of Porter's first wife 'graphic' and the women's allegations 'credible' in a televised briefing where the staff secretarie's resignation consumed the discussion

Sanders said Wednesday from the podium that Porter made a 'personal decision' to leave and it was 'one that he was not pressured to do, but one that he made on his own.'

Despite stating twice in his remarks today that Porter had been 'terminated,' Shah insisted that the staff secretary had not been fired.

He let on that the White House had regrets about how it had handled the debacle, though, telling a journalist, 'I think it's fair to say that we all could have done better over the last few hours, or last few days, in dealing with this situation.

'But, you know, this is a Rob Porter that I and many others have dealt with, that Sarah had dealt with, that other officials including the chief of staff had dealt with. And the emerging reports were not reflective of the individual who we had come to know.'

Shah declined to say, when asked later, what exactly the the White House wishes it had done differently.

'I'm not going to get into a tick-tock on all these detailed specifics,' he replied. 'I think a lot of individuals were involved with the White House response to this, myself included, and a lot of us could have done better.'

The White House stood by Porter on Wednesday even after DailyMail.com published a follow-up story that included photos and new allegations from the official's first wife.

'Rob has been effective in his role as Staff Secretary, and the President and Chief of Staff have had full confidence and trust in his abilities and his performance,' White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a televised statement.

It was not until the 9pm hour on Wednesday - exactly 12 hours after DailyMail.com published its second story - that Kelly said he was 'shocked by the new allegations' against Porter.

'There is no place for domestic violence in our society,' Kelly stated.

But digging in his heels on his defense of Porter 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.

'I accepted his resignation earlier today, and will ensure a swift and orderly transition.'

Van Pelt, the head of NOW, said, Thursday that she believes 'it's good that the abusers and the predators themselves are seeing consequences' in the Me Too era.

'But the reason that they continue is because of people like John Kelly,' she said.

Mentioning the photos and the restraining order that accompanied DailyMail.com articles, Van Pelt asked, 'What more does it take?'

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and Staff Secretary Rob Porter follow President Donald Trump as he walks to board Marine One to head to Missouri to push the Republican tax plan, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2017

Porter is dating White House Communications Director Hope Hicks. She, like Porter, accompanied President Trump to an economic conference in Davos, Switzerland. She also assisted in crafting statements responding to the allegations against Porter

As DailyMail.com first revealed in an earlier article, Porter is dating White House Communications Director Hope Hicks.

In another unusual twist, Hicks participated in crafting Kelly's defiant statement on the matter Tuesday. Kelly was on Capitol Hill for immigration negotiations when staff learned about the DailyMail's exclusive on Porter.

Shah on Thursday ducked questions on Hicks' drafting involvement in the White House's response to the allegations, yet asserted, 'The Communications Director did recuse herself from some matters concerning it.'

The White House and Kelly had stood firm and issued a defiant statement defending Porter as DailyMail.com published the allegations from Porter's second wife.

'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,' Kelly said. 'I am proud to serve alongside him.'

It was not until a second statement Wednesday night and Porter's resignation that Kelly said, 'I was shocked by the new allegations released today against Rob Porter' and that 'there is no place for domestic violence in our society.'

After DailyMail.com contacted the White House Tuesday, Porter's former boss, Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch, also vigorously defended him. Hatch released a new statement hours later condemning assault.

The retiring Senator told ABC News on Thursday that he doesn't believe all of the allegations against Porter, 'But there's enough there that you have to take it very seriously.'

It was only after DailyMail.com published additional allegations, and a photo of first wife Colbie Holderness with a black eye she says Porter gave her when he punched her during their marriage, that a new round of statements went out and the White House announced that Porter would resign.

Porter's official day at the White House was Wednesday, Shah said. He was at the White House on Thursday 'to clear out his stuff.'

President Trump was not aware of the allegations against Porter, according to a source

Other outlets have reported the information had made its way to the White House prior to DailyMail's reporting on it.

Aides knew about allegations against Porter since last year, the Washington Post reported.

ABC News reported that 'high level' officials knew about the domestic violence accusations. Officials also knew in advance about a 2010 protective order that the DailyMail published in the original story,Politico reported.

CBS also reported the FBI told White House officials about the abuse allegations in November.

The allegations delayed Porter's security clearance. Both of his ex-wives said they spoke to the FBI about the abuse they say he committed. Nevertheless, he remained in his role, where he acts as a key gatekeeper for information that gets to President Trump's desk.

Axios reported after the initial story that Kelly wanted Porter to 'stay and fight.'

Kelly considers Porter, a Harvard-trained former Rhodes scholar a key advisor, and Kelly has said one of his own chief reforms was better organizing the White House to filter the information that gets to Trump.

Porter, described as one of the most important players in Trump's circle, resigned from his role as White House staff secretary on Wednesday following claims of domestic abuse

A former White House official told Vanity Fair, 'Its beyond disbelief. Everyone is trying to figure out why Kelly is leading the charge to save him.'

Hatch, Porter's former employer, issued a statement Tuesday scolding the 'vile attack' on Porter.

Hatch called it '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.'

After DailyMail.com's second story, Hatch  less than 15 hours after his initial statement  said he was 'heartbroken by today's allegations.'

Despite the White House's knowledge of the looming issue, Porter traveled with the president to an an economic conference in Davos, where he played a key role in drafting Trump's speech. Hicks also attended.

Porter also had a role in crafting the president's State of the Union address the following week.

Kelly's claim that he 'shocked' by new domestic violence allegations leveled against Porter goes against reporting that Trump staffers had known about the accusations for months.

The allegations made by Porter's two ex-wives had reportedly been known among senior aides to President Trump since at least November, multiple sources told CNN and CBS.

Porter resigned from his role as White House staff secretary on Wednesday after his first ex-wife Colbie Holderness told DailyMail.com that he choked and punched her during their marriage.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Wednesday Porter was resigning but could be in his job for weeks during a transition period

Colbie Holderness, Porter's first wife, (left) claims he repeatedly punched and choked her. His second wife Jennifer Willoughby has also claimed that Porter was abusive in their marriage

His second wife Jennifer Willoughby revealed on Tuesday that he had 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 two sets of revelations have stunned the White House and led to a dramatic exit for Porter.

Kelly had earlier described Porter as a man of 'true integrity and honor', adding that he couldn'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.

Sources said Trump and his daughter Ivanka both learned of the allegations this week and were said to be upset and deeply disturbed.

Porter denied the claims made by the two women but still resigned.

'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.'

Porter's first wife, Holderness, 37, who is a senior analyst for the U.S. government, spoke on the record to DailyMail.com about their five-year marriage, 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 said she was interviewed by the FBI  as was his second wife Willoughby  about their marriage after Porter was tapped for his current White House position as staff secretary. She shared the photos of her injuries with the FBI.

Porter required a security clearance  which he has not received.

'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,' Holderness said.

In 2010, Willoughby  Porter's second ex-wife  filed a protective order against him after he violated their separation agreement and refused to 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.

Last week, DailyMail.com revealed that Porter, who is Mormon, and Hicks are dating, and were seen kissing in a cab on the way back to her apartment from a D.C.restaurant
Shocked shoppers were confronted with a couple performing a sex act outside a popular mall in broad daylight.

The woman was seen with her head buried in her partner's lap outside the Hervey Bay shopping centre in Queensland on Thursday.

Security officers rushed to pull the pair apart while they showed their affection for one another on a table outside the front door.

Shocked shoppers were confronted with a couple performing a sex act outside Hervey Bay shopping mall

The man was seen perched on the table with his partner's head buried in his lap, the Fraser Coast Chronicle reported.

But shoppers walked past the incident visibly shocked as parents tried to divert their children's attention.

The centre's security officers put the public display of affection to an end at around 6.20pm.

It is reported the couple left the centre after they were caught in the act and the police have not been involved.

One witness told the Chronicle it was 'a very odd sight'.
A Japanese school's plan to introduce Armani-branded uniforms for its students, costing nearly 525 each, has sparked heated debate extending as far as parliament.

The local education board confirmed that the Taimei Elementary School in Tokyo's up-market Ginza district will adopt the designer uniforms from April.

While the school says the new uniforms are not mandatory, critics said parents would feel compelled to buy them to ensure their children were not left out.

Japan has a reputation for some of the trendiest school uniforms in the world - with some schools actively encouraging pupils to be as stylish and fashionable as possible

While the school says the new uniforms are not mandatory, critics said parents would feel compelled to buy them to ensure their children were not left out

The Taimei Elementary School (above) is in an up-market part of Tokyo and it is argued the uniforms are compatible with the area

Kyodo news agency said the local education board had received a string of complaints from parents, unconvinced by the school's explanation that the designer uniform would be good branding.

Japan has a reputation for some of the trendiest school uniforms in the world - with some schools actively encouraging pupils to be as stylish and fashionable as possible.

The authorities are reported to have justified the move by arguing that the outfits were necessary so that pupils at the 150-year-old school would not look out of place in Ginza district.

But that did little to sway public opinion.

'This shouldn't have been about designer brands, or tradition. The officials should have thought about the children and made a decision after holding discussions,' one parent, who did not wish to be identified, told national broadcaster NHK.

'This is outrageous, kids' sizes change,' one disgruntled commentator wrote online.

Uniforms in general and school uniforms in particular are treated very seriously in Japan which prides itself as a trailblazer in school fashion

Armani is one of the best known fashion brands in the world and not usually associated with school uniforms

The uniform features sharply tailored blazers as well as add-ons like bags that can push the total set's cost even higher. Commentators described the new outfits as 'just too expensive for uniforms for fast-growing children'.

Opposition lawmaker Manabu Terada even raised the issue during a parliamentary session, questioning the logic of such an expensive uniform at a public school with students from a range of backgrounds.

Asked to comment on the issue, Finance Minister Taro Aso, known for his own tailored Savile Row-style suits, acknowledged that he thought the planned attire was 'expensive for an elementary school'.

'It might be problematic if only one student cannot afford it,' he said.

Italian brand Armani retains a particular nostalgic prestige for some in Japan, who associate it with the boom years of the economy.

But with those days long past, the pricy uniforms appear all the more incongruous to some.

'These uniforms are far more expensive that the suits I'm wearing,' one commentator grumbled.

Japan attaches great importance to uniforms - whether worn by civic workers, police or the military.

School uniforms have been around for about 150 years and are not only seen as a symbol of youth but also play an important role in the country's culture, jpninfo.com reported. There are many types of uniforms that range from the standard to the unorthodox.

Initially uniforms resembled European-style naval uniforms which moved on to a more Western-pattern Catholic uniform style with girls wearing white blouses with ties, blazers with their school crests, and skirts. Boys also wore white shirts with ties, blazers, and tailored trousers.

But more recently some schools have encouraged pupils to bend the rules as much as possible.




The publisher of the Daily Mirror newspaper has struck a 126.7 million deal to buy a string of titles from Northern & Shell, including the Daily Express, the Daily Star and OK! magazine.

Trinity Mirror will stump up an initial payment of 47.7 million, followed by 59 million between 2020 and 2023 and a further 20 million by issuing 25.8 million shares to Northern & Shell priced at 10p each.

The move marks a major shake-up of Britain's media landscape, bringing together the politically left-leaning Sunday Mirror, with more right-wing publications such as the Sunday Express.

Trinity Mirror said on Friday it would pay an initial cash consideration of 47.7m, a deferred cash consideration of 59m payable between 2020 to 2023. File photo

The deal will also see Trinity Mirror seize control of Daily Star Sunday, celebrity magazines New! and Star, and a 50% slice of the Irish Daily Star.

Northern & Shell is owned by Richard Desmond, who acquired the Express titles in 2000 for 125 million.

Trinity Mirror chief executive Simon Fox said: 'This deal is a really exciting moment in Trinity Mirror's history, combining some of the most iconic titles in the UK media industry.

'It is good for our readers, good for our customers and good for our shareholders.

'Northern & Shell's titles have a large and loyal readership, a growing digital presence and a stable revenue mix and offer an excellent fit with Trinity Mirror.'

Trinity Mirror will also shift 41.2 million to the Northern & Shell pension scheme and make further payments of 29.2 million as part of the scheme's recovery plan.

The print media industry is grappling with a decline in advertising and any combination could herald cost savings and a shared cut of a larger advertising pool.

Mr Desmond, chairman of Northern & Shell, said: 'The Express newspapers and our celebrity magazine titles have been a key part of the Northern & Shell portfolio for many years, and I am immensely proud of building them into one of the largest newspaper and magazine groups in the UK.

'Today's transformational transaction is a logical and natural next step in the evolution and consolidation of the media sector and will create a larger and stronger platform serving all stakeholders.

'In Trinity Mirror we have a great partner, who will be an excellent steward of the business going forward, and I am delighted to be able to retain an ongoing interest in the combined group.'
Taxpayer funds were used to pay for at least two hotel rooms that a Utah lawmaker who resigned this week is alleged to have used to meet up with a prostitute last year, according to records found by a state House of Representatives official.

DailyMail.com revealed exclusively on Thursday that Republican Rep. Jon Stanard, who is married with three kids, twice hired a prostitute in 2017. The allegations were a shock since Stanard preaches family values and has fought to get stricter solicitation laws.

After the report was published, House and state elections officials said they were checking to see if taxpayer or campaign money was used for Stanard's hotel stays with the prostitute.

House Chief of Staff Greg Hartley told the Associated Press in a text message that Stanard, who resigned Tuesday night, was reimbursed for hotel stays in Salt Lake City in June and August 2017 when Stanard was attending legislative meetings at the state Capitol, four hours from his home in St. George.

Utah state Rep. Jon Stanard (pictured on January 22) may have stayed in taxpayer or campaign-funded hotel rooms when he had trysts with a prostitute last summer

Call girl Brie Taylor (above) told DailyMail.com on Wednesday that Stanard paid her for sex during two business trips to Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2017

The dates of their hook-ups correspond to times Stanard was staying at a Residence Inn in Salt Lake City for legislative sessions. Above, the Residence Inn closest to the Utah state Capitol. It's unclear if this is the exact Residence Inn he stayed at

The dates and hotel names correspond with the text messages seen by DailyMail.com

'It looks like they were legislative days,' Republican House Speaker Greg Hughes told The Associated Press Thursday night.

Hughes said he didn't yet know if the House would ask Stanard to return the hotel reimbursements.

'If there has been an abuse of public funds or if public funds were used in a way that's inappropriate, we would,' Hughes said. 'I don't have solid answers for those things. I would need to have a way that I would know conclusively that that is the case.'

Jon E. Stanard is a married Republican lawmaker who voted for stricter laws against prostitution. He is seen above on the left with his wife, Leanne, and one of their three children

Phone and text messages to Stanard's personal cellphone were not returned, but it indicated he read the texts seeking comment. His lawyer, Wally Bugden, declined to comment and did not respond to a follow-up email asking if he was denying the allegations.

Hughes said officials had not had any contact from Stanard Thursday.

It was unclear if the House would be able to check whether Stanard used a state-issued cellphone to text the prostitute and arrange encounters because someone electronically wiped the phone and it no longer contains his text messages.

The House Speaker said he assumed Stanard erased his phone, not House staff, and Hughes said he didn't know if there was a way to recover text messages from the phone.

House officials said they can't launch an ethics investigation because Stanard is no longer a lawmaker.

Stanard, a married Republican from the southern Utah resort community of St. George, resigned after serving five years in the House. He voted last year in favor of a law that made state prostitution laws stricter, including raising the penalty for people who are convicted twice of solicitation.

The House announced his resignation Wednesday for 'personal and family concerns' but did not offer details. That day, Stanard told the AP in a text message: 'My father has terminal cancer and I am going to spend a few weeks with him out of state while I still can.'

He did not offer additional information.

The phone number the text messages were sent from matches Stanard's public profile on the Utah House of Representatives website. Above and below are some of the texts Stanard exchanged with the prostitute

In a text exchange dated March 7, 2017, Stanard informs Taylor he would not be able to meet her because he needed to take care of his sick son

Brie Taylor told DailyMail.com that Stanard twice paid her for sex last year during business trips to Salt Lake City and that he arranged the meetings with a number for a state-issued phone listed on his legislative profile.

The date and time of the messages indicate Stanard would have been texting her to arrange meetings on days the Legislature was in session in March and when lawmakers were in meetings at the Capitol in summer and fall.

Stanard's 2017 campaign finance report shows he submitted an expense on March 10 for $1,510 for 'extra hotel expense session lodging' at the 'Marriott Residence.'

The texts indicate Stanard was arranging for a visit with Taylor at the Marriott Residence Inn on March 8.

In one particular exchange, Taylor asks Stanard if she should bring any 'accessories' or 'toys', perhaps a 'corset'

Utah Director of Elections Justin Lee said state law bars any personal use of campaign funds and elections officials were looking over Stanard's reports.

Hughes said that when Stanard met with him Tuesday night to tell him he was resigning, 'there were issues that were weighing on him. What exactly and to the nature, I wasn't aware. But it was clear that his priority was with his family and was not here.'

He would not say if Stanard spoke about allegations he paid a prostitute for sex, saying it was a personal conversation between colleagues but 'it ran the gamut of problems,' and 'I did not know there was a story coming, I'll just say that.'

'I was absolutely shocked. I had never heard anything, there was nothing in my interaction - I sit next to him on the House floor - nothing in my interaction that's ever suggesting anything even remotely close to what we're seeing today,' GOP Rep. Mike McKell said.

Salt Lake City police say they have no record related to solicitation allegations against Stanard. Unified Police Department of Salt Lake County said it had no record of contact with him.
HMS Queen Elizabeth sailed through the sunny Mediterranean this morning for its first overseas trip to Gibraltar.

The 65,000 tonne, 3.1billion aircraft carrier made its way through the Strait of Gibraltar this morning in preparation for an onshore visit to the British overseas territory.

Queen Elizabeth will be at sea for the next month for rotary wing trials involving helicopters taking off and landing on the four-acre flight deck.
Indonesia will make gay sex illegal as a part of a raft of sweeping new laws critics blame on a wave of religious fundamentalism.

The proposed shake up, which also takes aim at condom use and adultery, continues to win unprecedented support ahead of the 2019 presidential elections.

It comes after parliamentary speaker Bambang Soesatyo called this week for a crackdown on the LGBT community's 'excesses'.

Government officials, religious hardliners and influential Islamic groups have lined up to support the new law which bans gay sex in Indonesia

The country's health ministry announced it would release a medical guide classifying homosexuality as a 'mental disorder'.

Gay sex is currently legal everywhere in secular Indonesia except for Aceh where it is banned under the semi-autonomous province's Islamic law.

But that may soon change. Parliament is drawing up the new code with all the major political parties reportedly on board.

The draft is expected to be tabled in the coming months.

Wide swathes of Indonesian society, including heterosexual couples who might face jail for having sex outside wedlock or having an affair, may be affected if the laws pass.

But the Southeast Asian nation's small LGBT community may be the hardest hit

'Some politicians see it as an opportunity to cater to the religious base,' said political analyst Yuventius Nicky.

'There's this supposed morality threat that is being queer.'

Government officials, religious hardliners and influential Islamic groups have lined up to make anti-LGBT statements in public recently.

Last month, Google pulled one of the world's largest gay dating apps from the Indonesian version of its online store in response to government demands.

Muslim protesters pray as they burn an effigy during an anti-LGBT rally in Banda Aceh. The country's health ministry announced it would be classifying homosexuality as a 'mental disorder'

One of two Indonesian men is publicly caned for having gay sex in Aceh in May last year. The United Nations human rights chief blasted the proposed law in a meeting with the President this week

And police have used a tough anti-pornography law to criminalise members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

The UN human rights chief blasted Indonesia's proposed laws and raised them in talks with President Joko Widodo this week.

'The hateful rhetoric against this [LGBT] community that is being cultivated seemingly for cynical political purposes will only deepen their suffering and create unnecessary divisions,' UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein told reporters.

'Any discriminatory provisions [in the new law] need to be removed,' he added.

WHAT WILL THIS MEAN FOR TOURISTS IN INDONESIA? Tourism plays a hugely important part in Indonesian economy, and some 12million people visited the island nation in 2016. The potential change to the criminal code outlawing gay sex and consensual sex between unmarried men and women would affect tourists as well as Indonesian citizens. Andreas Harsono, Indonesia Researcher for Human Rights Watch, says: 'The wording is anyone who commits this crime, which means locals and also foreigners. 'On paper, the law will affect anyone, however, it might not be enforced against tourists, at least not in multicultural areas. It can depend on how much a hotel cooperates with police. 'In strict Muslim areas, such as Aceh and West Sumatra, couples already have to prove that they are married when they book a hotel room together.' Advertisement

The code's latest draft carries a five-year jail term for extramarital sex or adultery, fuelling concerns that same-sex couples, who cannot marry in Indonesia, could be caught up in the dragnet.

It also carries penalties for 'showing or offering contraception tools without authorisation' and calls for stiffer blasphemy sentences.

Supporters of the changes include the Family Love Alliance, a lobby group which made a failed attempt to get the constitutional court to outlaw extramarital and same-sex relations.

Last month, police in Aceh made global headlines by publicly humiliating a group of transgender women, in the latest challenge to Indonesia's reputation as a bastion of progressiveness and religious tolerance.

'If these laws were passed it would give them (police) legitimate reasons or a basis for them to conduct these kinds of raids,' said human rights lawyer Ricky Gunawan.

'This is a worrying and alarming trend of persecution against LGBT and other minorities.'

Hardliners' ultimate goal, some say, is nationwide Islamic law modelled on Aceh, where public flogging is a common punishment for a slew of activities that are legal elsewhere in Indonesia, including pre-marital sex and selling alcohol.

'This is their grand scheme,' said LGBT activist Dede Oetomo.

The idea is not without public support.

A poll last month said nearly 90 percent of Indonesians felt 'threatened' by the LGBT community, while a 2013 Pew survey said 72 percent of Indonesian Muslims supported replacing the secular code with Islamic law.

A sign prohibits prostitution or any kind of sexual acts including kissing or hugging at a park in Tangerang, in the suburbs of Jakarta

In a case that highlighted growing links between politics and religion, Jakarta's first Christian leader was jailed on blasphemy charges levelled by supporters of his challenger, who won a come-from-behind race for city governor.

Rights groups are now scrambling to muster resistance to the proposed laws with a nearly 57,000 signature petition.

Widodo has veto power, but he needs to buoy support among increasingly influential Islamic groups ahead of a 2019 re-election bid.

'People in the government are carefully trying to fend that off,' said rights lawyer Gunawan.

'Gay sex is deplorable,' Alliance leader Rita Soebagio told AFP.

But the new law 'does not mean that many people would be arrested. It's just like when the law on corruption was passed, not everybody was arrested for corruption'.
The estranged son of late hospitality tycoon John Hemmes has been awarded $1.75 million of his estate, despite the pair never meeting.

Graphic designer Edward Cameron, 27, was awarded the sum on Friday after a one-day hearing in the New South Wales Supreme Court.

Mr Cameron sued for a $4.1million portion of Mr Hemmes' estate, claiming he was born to the business identity and Fiona Cameron - a woman with whom he allegedly had an affair with between 1983 and 1989.

Justice Geoffrey Lindsay made his decision after court heard details of how Mr Cameron never met his father before he died from cancer in March 2015, Sydney Morning Herald reported.

The estranged son of late hospitality tycoon John Hemmes, Edward Cameron (pictured), was awarded $1.75 million of his estate on Friday, despite the pair never meeting

Mr Cameron sued for a $4.1million portion of Mr Hemmes' (right) estate, claiming he was born to the business identity and Fiona Cameron. Pictured: Bettina Hemmes, Justin Hemmes and John Hemmes

His mother's relationship with Mr Hemmes ended once she became pregnant, and he only began paying child support to her in the mid 1990s after several court cases.

DNA tests at the time found that Mr Cameron was 99.6 per cent likely to be Mr Hemmes' son.

But Mr Cameron said his father never acknowledged him or spoke to him and even took out an apprehended violence order when he tried to find him, NSW Supreme Court heard on Thursday.

'John Hemmes had serious doubts as to the legitimacy of Edward Cameron being his biological son,' a spokesperson from his family's Merivale empire told the publication on Friday.

When Mr Hemmes - the owner of dozens of Sydney venues including Ivy and Coogee Pavilion - died of cancer aged 83, $5.7million was transferred from a Swiss bank account to his two legitimate children, Justin and Bettina, the court heard.

But Mr Hemmes also had a superannuation fund worth $4.1million, money from which he had used to pay child support to Ms Cameron.

In court on Thursday, Mr Cameron's mother Fiona (pictured outside court) said she visited all of Mr Hemmes' houses during their relationship and and even advised him on property deals. She took the magnate to court to win child support payments for her son

The tycoon (right) left his son and heir Justin (left) in charge of his empire named after his wife Merivale

Mr Cameron, who went to high school on the Gold Coast before moving to Germany for a while, demanded the $4.1million went to him instead of Mr Hemmes' widow Merivale.

His lawyer, Lindsay Ellison SC, said in court on Thursday that it was a reasonable amount to ask to set him up in life, reported the Sydney Morning Herald.

The executor's barrister Noel Hutley SC admitted that Mr Cameron was 'irrefutably presumed to be the son of Mr Hemmes' but said that any money awarded should be less than $1million.

He urged the judge to avoid granting what he called Mr Cameron's 'wish list' of money to buy a car and home.

Mr Cameron said his father (right) never acknowledged him or spoke to him and even took out an apprehended violence order when he tried to find him. Pictured: Amber L'Estrange, Justin Hemmes, Merivale Hemmes and John Hemmes (left to right)

Ms Cameron said she visited all of Mr Hemmes' houses including this home called The Hermitage

In court on Thursday, Ms Cameron said she visited all of Mr Hemmes' houses during their relationship and even advised him on property deals.

She also claimed that even when she became pregnant, the magnate would still call her and ask her out.

The court also heard that Mr Cameron sent his father pictures of himself from Germany and tried to get in touch - but was told by his father's manager Kerrie Boylett that he would have to undergo more DNA testing if he wanted to see him.

Mr Cameron allegedly decided not to go through with the tests but later tried to find his father's home, only to turn up at the wrong address.

John Hemmes died in 2015 after a long battle with multiple myeloma, a rare cancer of the blood cells. Pictured: The Newport Arms, part of his empire

Originally a fashion house, Merivale has grown into a portfolio of more than 50 restaurants, bars, pubs and hotels in Sydney including the Coogee Pavilion (pictured)

Justin Hemmes is now CEO of his late father's Merivale empire which consists of some of the most popular venues in Sydney. He is pictured with his model girlfriend Kate Fowler

This prompted Ms Boylett to threaten an apprehended violence order if he tried again, the court heard.

Justice Lindsay said the case was 'tragic' and had caused Mr Cameron much 'anxiety.'

He declined to comment when contacted by Daily Mail Australia. Mr Hutley has not responded to a request for comment.
The first picture of ISIS 'Beatle' Alexanda Kotey in custody has emerged, days after it was revealed he had been captured by Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic forces while trying to smuggle himself back into Europe.

Kotey, who was detained alongside fellow Londoner El Shafee Elsheikh, is one of four British fanatics nicknamed 'The Beatles', whose leader 'Jihadi John' beheaded foreign hostages on camera.

He and Elsheikh were attempting to move west via Turkey, according to a senior official from the group.

The first picture of Kotey, exclusively obtained by ITV News, shows the jihadist bearded and unkempt following his detainment by the Syrian-backed forces.

First pictures of ISIS Beatle Alexanda Kotey have emerged, days after it was revealed he had been captured by Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic forces

Redur Khalil, the spokesman for the YPG in Syria, said: 'We captured some big commanders. One of them is Alexanda Kotey. He was captured by an anti-terrorism unit on January 24 in the countryside near Raqqa. He was trying to escape to Turkey in coordination with his friends and contacts on the Turkish side.'

Kotey and Elsheikh look set to be extradited to the US - a move that British officials are not likely to oppose, according to the Daily Telegraph.

Kotey was from Paddington and is seen in an undated photo. He is understood to have been attempting to smuggle himself into Europe via Turkey

The New York Times, which broke the news of the capture, said Kotey and Elsheikh have had their British citizenship revoked - but this has not been confirmed by authorities in the UK.

Along with Mohammed Emwazi - the killer nicknamed Jihadi John - and Aine Davis, the pair are thought to have been part of a group named after the '60s band because of their English accents.

The four Londoners were linked to dozens of hostage murders in Iraq and Syria while serving under the self-styled caliphate.

Nicolas Henin, a former hostage of the brutal cell, said he was satisfied to know they will now pay for their actions and 'justice is what I want.'

He told ITV News: 'Just like a guess for most of the former hostages and the relatives of those who have been killed, it is a satisfaction to know these people are not free anymore.

'They will pay for what they have done. For me, this is the first stage of the trial. Justice is what I want.'

It comes as the daughter of British aid worker David Haines, who was beheaded by the Beatles, said the capture of its last two members brings her 'some comfort' but added 'they shouldn't be breathing'.

El Shafee Elsheikh, 27, (pic in an undated image) who was known as one of the brutal terrorists known as The Beatles because of his British accent, has been captured in Syria

Bethany Haines, whose father David was killed in 2014 after being held captive for 18 months, said she hoped the pair's detention could bring some closure for relatives of those killed.

She told ITV's Good Morning Britain: 'I got a call late last night to say that they had been captured and the first thought was relief, finally to know that the people that were involved in my dad's murder have been caught and will sort of serve some justice.'

Asked what she would like to see happen now, she replied: 'In my opinion, they shouldn't be breathing but that's not really a realistic kind of expectation.

'I think that they should be locked up with the key thrown away and never to be released.'

She added: 'It was always kind of the unanswered question as to where they were and could they do this sort of thing again?

'And yes, this sort of thing might happen again but the specific people that carried it out before have now all been caught and I think it will bring a lot of closure to all the families.'

Diane Foley, mother of murdered hostage James Foley, also gave her reaction to the men's capture.

Ms Foley told the BBC today the arrests announced on Thursday won't bring her son back, but said 'hopefully it protects others from this kind of crime.'

She said: 'Their crimes are beyond imagination. They really have not done anything good in the world, so I think they need to spend the rest of their life being held.'

Mohammed Emwazi, who was killed in a US air strike in 2015, appeared in a number of videos in which captives including British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning were beheaded

Unnamed US officials told the New York Times that Kotey, 34, and Elsheikh, 29, were identified by fingerprints and other biometric means.

Kotey and Elsheikh's fate remains unclear although the US would be keen to prosecute them as they were involved in the executions of at least three Americans.

The men could also have information about other hostages, including British journalist John Cantlie, who was abducted in 2012.

Since he was taken hostage, Mr Cantlie has appeared in several IS propaganda videos.

Last night, Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson welcomed the news.

How the two Beatles were snared by their fingerprints... and may already be handing over vital information Kotey and Elsheikh were captured by the Kurdish-led Syrian democratic forces and identified by fingerprints and other biometric means, according to anonymous U.S. officials speaking to the New York Times. They were carrying mobile phones and other electronic equipment, which intelligence officials have gleaned for information. American spies will be especially keen to quiz the pair on the locations of surviving ISIS militants hiding out along the Euphrates River Valley near the border between Syria and Iraq. And officials will hope the men will have information about other hostages, such as the British journalist John Cantlie, who was abducted with his U.S. colleague James Foley in 2012 and has appeared in a series of ISIS propaganda videos. Advertisement

He said: 'These are people who have done absolutely vile & despicable crimes & brought absolutely so much misery. It is good that they have been hunted down and caught.'

The ringleader of the 'Beatles', Mohammed Emwazi - known as Jihadi John - was killed in an airstrike in 2015 in Syria. A fourth man, Aine Davis, is imprisoned in Turkey on terrorism charges.

The US government said the Beatles beheaded more than 27 hostages.

According to the State Department, Kotey 'likely engaged in the group's executions and exceptionally cruel torture methods, including electronic shock and waterboarding.'

Kotey also acted as an ISIS recruiter and was responsible for recruiting several Brits to join the murderous organisation.

The State Department said 'Elsheikh was said to have earned a reputation for waterboarding, mock executions and crucifixions while serving as an ISIS jailer.'

Former child refugee Elsheikh supported Queens Park Rangers and worked as a fairground mechanic.

He was born in Sudan, but his family fled the country and came to Britain in the early 1990s.

Elsheikh became heavily influenced by the sermons of a West London imam known for his radical beliefs.

His father, Rashid Sidahmed Elsheikh, a translator and poet living in London, said his son had travelled to Syria to fight for jihadis at the start of 2012.

He described his son's radicalisation as 'lightning-fast'.

He said: 'We tried to handle this in a mild, considerate way but before we could do anything, he just left.'

Unnamed US Officials said Kotey and Elsheikh were captured by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces which were fighting the last remaining pockets of ISIS fighters near the river Euphrates on the Iraq/Syria border (pictured)

Elsheikh's mother, Maya Elgizouli, said Elsheikh was the middle son of three raised alone by her after the family moved to Britain.

But she said he was affected badly when his eldest brother Khalid was sentenced to ten years in prison for possessing a firearm after the killing of a gang member involved in a dispute with the family.

Along with Mohammed Emwazi - the killer nicknamed Jihadi John (pictured) - and Aine Davis, Kotey and Elsheikh are believed to have been part of a group named after the Beatles because of their English accents

Elsheikh's younger brother, Mahmoud, was killed fighting for ISIS in Iraq last year after following him to the war zone as a 17-year-old.

Salah al-Bander, a former Cambridge Liberal Democrat councillor who raised the alarm about Elsheikh's journey to Syria in 2012, said he had a stall outside Shepherd's Bush tube station from which he used to preach, adding that he was 'completely transformed' into a radical in a short period.

He told The Guardian: 'El Shafee was a really very quiet, kind, reflective young person. In a very short period of time, I mean weeks, he turned to be very radicalised, with very strong views about everything.'

Kotey, also a QPR supporter, was from Paddington and raised in a Greek Orthodox family. Neighbours said he was a 'reserved, polite boy'.

He converted to Islam after falling in love with a Muslim woman and had two daughters with her.

In January 2017, US authorities named Kotey as a member of the cell and said they had imposed sanctions on him.

Emwazi (pictured as a 15-year-old) before he became the knife-wielding killer known as Jihadi John

Davis, a former tube driver and drug dealer from Hammersmith in west London who went to Syria in 2013, reportedly told a BBC journalist to 'f*** off' when asked to comment on the verdict.

According to the BBC, Davis was asked in court about his involvement with the terror cell and denied involvement.

'I am not ISIS. I went to Syria because there was oppression in my country,' he said.

Davis is thought to have converted to Islam shortly after being jailed in the UK in 2006 for possessing a firearm.

The son of a dinner lady and a John Lewis shopworker, he took the name Hamza and travelled the Middle East.

The fourth member, Davis, was convicted of being a member of a terrorist organisation and jailed for seven-and-a-half years at a court in Silivri, Turkey, in May 2017

He befriended Emwazi at a mosque in west London shortly before leaving for Syria.

He is believed to have travelled to Syria in late 2012, where he fought for ISIS.

He abandoned four children by two different mothers when he left Britain on a flight to Amsterdam.

In 2014 Davis's wife, Amal El-Wahabi, then 27, became the first woman to be jailed for terrorism offences connected to Syria after she was caught paying a smuggler to take 20,000 (17,000) in cash to Turkey for her husband.

She was jailed for two years.

EXC: 'The fact he's still alive will be a big relief': Mother of ISIS Beatle suicide squad member is COMFORTED by his capture in Syria as daughter of aid worker beheaded by the gang says death is only punishment

By James Fielding and Sarah White for MailOnline

The mother of one of the two ISIS Beatles feels 'comforted' that her son has been captured as it means he will not die as a jihadist like her other child, according to a family friend.

El Shafee Elsheikh, 29, was detained in January by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces alongside Alexanda Kotey, 34, a fellow member of the brutal execution squad.

His capture will be a relief to his mother, Maha Elgizouli, according to a friend, who told MailOnline: 'I don't know when or even if she will ever see her son Elshafee again but knowing he is at least alive will bring her comfort.'

Elsheikh other brother, Mahmoud, also adopted a fundamentalist version of Islam and was killed in 2015 fighting near Tikrit in Iraq.

The neighbour, a 52-year-old mother of four who gave her name only as Ola, said: 'She has already lost one son fighting in Syria so has been through that pain before.

'I remember the day she found out her youngest son Mahmoud had died in 2015, she was sitting down and crying uncontrollably.

'The whole family had arrived to console her but she was in pieces and kept saying the words 'they've killed him' over and over.

'I don't know when or even if she will ever see her son Elshafee again but knowing he is at least alive will bring her comfort.'

Mother Maha Elgizouli said her two sons Shafee (right) and his younger brother Mahmoud went to fight for ISIS. She was told last March last year that Mahmoud (left) was killed in Iraq

Miss Elgizouli eldest son, Khalid, was sentenced to ten years in prison for possessing a firearm after the killing of a gang member involved in a dispute with the family.

But despite the siblings' disastrous adult lives, Ola insisted they were still a 'good family'.

She added: 'Her eldest son Khalid is in jail in this country and she still speaks to him, he's the only she has spoken to for years.

'They are a good family. Growing up the boys were very western in their behaviour and what they wore.

'They used to play football and other games with my kids in the street outside. The family would have parties and invite friends and family round to their house.

'But in recent years, the stress of everything began to take its toll. Whenever she spoke to me about her boys in Syria she would break down and cry.

'They were from a warm loving family so I don't know why they decided to go over there and do what they did.'

His mother broke down in tears after being told in May 2016 that he had been involved with the Beatles, which murdered and tortured dozens of people.

'No, no, not Shafee,' she sobbed. 'That boy now is not my son. That is not the son I raised.'

Both Elsheikh's parents fled the civil war in Sudan in the 1990s - where they were members of the Communist Party - but the father, poet Rashid Sidahmed Elsheikh, left the family when Elsheikh was just seven years old.

As a young man, Elsheikh enjoyed working on bikes and motorcycles in the family's garden, and went on to study mechanical engineering at Acton College.

Elsheikh was close to his siblings, according to a close family friend, who told The Independent: 'The brothers loved each other very much.

He found work in a garage and then as a mechanic for a local funfair, but in 2011 became friends with a young man whose father was an Islamist rabble-rouser advocating jihad.

His mother said: 'I came straight to him and said, 'Never in your life come into this home and talk about jihad.' Me, I teach my kids about religion, not you. Don't give them any information about anything.'

Miss Elgizouli claims her son was radicalised by Hani al-Sibai, an infamous Islamist preacher who described the London 7/7 bombings as a 'great victory'.

She said that one day she heard her son listening to a CD with the teachings of Sibai, who is said to have inspired last year's Tunisian beach massacre and be linked to Jihadi John.

She added: 'I found him with him in the back garden listening to a CD. He passes me the CD and it is a man who is working in a mosque in the high road.'

Miss Elgizouli once caught him watching a video of the imam espousing the virtues of dying in the name of God.

She said she asked her son: 'Shafee, you want to go and be a dead Muslim?' He answered, 'No mummy', she said.

She claims that within 17 days, her 'perfect' son was wearing long robes, growing a beard, and preaching holy war.

And she says she powerless to protect her sons because, as a single woman - after the boys' father left - she was not allowed into mosques to hear what the imams were telling them.

A keen QPR fan, Alexanda Kotey (pictured far left, and right) was from a Greek Orthodox family. Neighbours say he was a 'reserved, polite boy'

A family friend told Buzzfeed that one day he came from prayer and pointed at his mother aggressively, then told her Allah teaches that your mother can be your enemy.

When he went to Syria, she said he just left her a note saying 'gone to fight for God'.

Kotey, like Elsheikh, was radicalised as a young adult and even attended Greek Orthodox Church as a child.

The father of two grew up in Paddington and has been described as of a Ghanaian and Greek-Cypriot background.

Catherine Downie, Kotey's step-aunt from Hove, East Sussex, initially claimed she did not know how he was.

But then told MailOnline: 'I never met him, I never knew him, no-one ever speaks about him.'

She said her husband Jason no longer spoke to his own brother, Mark, and his wife, Christina, in London adding: 'They're all estranged. No-one sees them anymore.'

The family live in a large 750,000 Victorian townhouse in an upmarket area of Hove.

Kotey's aunt Amanda was listed at a smart two-bedroom basement flat in a large Victorian mansion less than half a mile from the seafront.

Once described as a 'polite' boy by neighbours, Kotey is said to have attended the al-Manaar mosque in Ladbroke Grove with Emwazi and Aine Davis, another Beatles member.

A local community worker said the trio were 'physically ejected' from the mosque because of their extremist views.

The worker said 'He would definitely be standing there with, I'd say a dozen boys all listening to him. He was the speaker. He was the spokesman in that little group.

'It was Alex most definitely who was the lynchpin. The mosque did so much to keep these people at the fringes.'

'The way he secretly operated he was a roadman, a gangster.

'He had the skills of influencing people he could see as influential or vulnerable so they could bring their friends in.

Bethany Haines, 20, whose father David was abducted in Syria in early 2013 before being murdered in September the following year, spoke to Good Morning Britain today on the phone

'They would have used the same tactics as gangs to recruit people. Like grooming, he gave them a sense of belonging. They couldn't get job or uni course they wanted.

'Through remote network and services, he would have people he delegated responsibility to. They could have helped and advise them on how to get to Syria.'

A statement released by the wider family said they were aware of Kotey's capture: 'The Kotey family has seen news about Alexe today.

It comes Bethany Haines, whose aid worker father David was killed in 2014 after being held captive for 18 months, said she hoped the pair's detention could bring some closure for relatives of those killed.

She told ITV's Good Morning Britain: 'I got a call late last night to say that they had been captured and the first thought was relief, finally to know that the people that were involved in my dad's murder have been caught and will sort of serve some justice.'

Asked what she would like to see happen now, she replied: 'In my opinion, they shouldn't be breathing but that's not really a realistic kind of expectation.

'I think that they should be locked up with the key thrown away and never to be released.'

She added: 'It was always kind of the unanswered question as to where they were and could they do this sort of thing again?

'And yes, this sort of thing might happen again but the specific people that carried it out before have now all been caught and I think it will bring a lot of closure to all the families.'

The capture of Elsheikh and Kotey means all of the Beatles are now killed or captured.

Mohammed Emwazi, also known as Jihadi John, was vaporised by a drone strike in November 2016.

The fourth member, Aine Davis, was convicted of being a member of a terrorist organisation and jailed for seven-and-a-half years at a court in Silivri, Turkey, in May 2017.

'John': Man Utd fan who turned into the most reviled man in the world Mohammed Emwazi later became the most reviled man in the world as ISIS's most notorious executioner Jihadi John Kuwaiti born Mohammed Emwazi, became the most reviled man in the world as ISIS's most notorious executioner Jihadi John. However, reports suggest he appeared to embrace British life after moving to the country as a six-year-old in 1993. Neighbours remember a polite, quiet boy who supported Manchester United, wore 'Western clothing' and played football on the affluent streets of west London. He became more religious after moving to Quintin Kynaston Community Academy, a secondary school in St John's Wood, in 1999. But it was only after he won a place studying computing at the University of Westminster that his behaviour began to change. The university has since been linked with several proponents of radical Islam - and Emwazi appeared to have fallen under their sway. He began attending different mosques and was known to associate with Bilal el-Berjawi, who was killed by a drone strike in Somalia four years ago. Emwazi, Alexanda Kotey and Aine Davis all attended the al-Manaar mosque in Labroke Grove, where Kotey emerged as the ring leader. The knife-wielding killer - dubbed 'Jihadi John' - beheaded hostages, including British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning, on camera. Emwazi is also believed to have killed the American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, as well as Abdul-Rahman Kassig, an aid worker. Advertisement

'Ringo': A 'polite' west London boy who fought for ISIS Alexanda Kotey, said to be a fan of Queens Park Rangers, was also described by neighbours as a 'polite' boy Alexanda Kotey, said to be a fan of Queens Park Rangers, was once described by neighbours as a 'polite' boy. But after he left the UK to join ISIS in Syria, he used social media to continue radicalising young men, an old friend told ITV. They added: 'The way he secretly operated he was a roadman, a gangster. 'He had the skills of influencing people he could see as influential or vulnerable so they could bring their friends in. 'They would have used the same tactics as gangs to recruit people. Like grooming, he gave them a sense of belonging. 'They couldn't get job or uni course they wanted. 'Through remote network and services, he would have people he delegated responsibility to. They could have helped and advise them on how to get to Syria.' Father-of-two Kotey, who is half Ghanaian, half Greek Cypriot, is believed to have been one of ISIS' key recruiters and helped them radicalise young men from London. He used to be a member of the Greek Orthodox Church but is said to have converted to Islam in his teens. He attended the al-Manaar mosque in Ladbroke Grove, west London, with Emwazi and Davis, it was reported. A local community worker said the trio were 'physically ejected' from the mosque because of their extremist views. They said 'He would definitely be standing there with, I'd say a dozen boys all listening to him. He was the speaker. He was the spokesman in that little group. 'It was Alex most definitely who was the lynchpin. The mosque did so much to keep these people at the fringes.' Advertisement

'George': Former mechanic who beheaded 27 hostages The fourth and final member of the infamous ISIS execution squad with Jihadi John El Shafee Elsheikh (pictured, as a teen) The third member of the infamous ISIS execution squad with Jihadi John El Shafee Elsheikh. Described as a 'kind and softly spoken' former fairground mechanic, from west London, he turned into a ISIS extremist who was part of the gang that beheaded 27 hostages and tortured many more in Syria. Elsheikh grew up in White City, just a few miles other members of the cell, and his mother said he was radicalised at local mosques within weeks of hearing sermons by infamous hate preacher Hani al-Sibai. He later travelled to Syria in 2012 to fight his holy war, and his younger brother Mahmoud followed him - and was killed fighting in Iraq last year. Elsheikh's identity was confirmed by a former US counter-terrorism official and investigators working to find The Beatles. The terrorist, who lived in Syria with two wives and two young children, has been captured after being hunted by security services on both sides of the Atlantic. His mother, Maha Elgizouli, revealed how the family moved to White City in west London when Elsheikh was just five years old, along with his two brothers. Both of his parents had fled the civil war in Sudan in the 1990s - where they were both members of the Communist Party - but the father, a poet, left the family when Elsheikh was just seven years old. They grew up a few miles from the first of the infamous Beatles group to be exposed, Mohammed Emwazi - who later became known as Jihadi John but was killed in a drone strike in 2015. Advertisement

'Paul': A west London gangster and gun runner turned ISIS guard The third so called 'Beatle', Aine Davis, originally from Hammersmith, travelled to Syria to become an ISIS guard The fourth so called 'Beatle', Aine Davis, originally from Hammersmith, travelled to Syria to become an ISIS guard. Prior to fleeing the UK, Davis was convicted six times for possessing cannabis and was also heavily involved in gang circles, where he was known as 'Biggz.' The gangster worked as a gun runner, selling handguns before the weapons factory he worked for was busted by police. Davis is thought to have converted to Islam shortly after being jailed in the UK in 2006 for possessing a firearm. The son of a dinner lady and a John Lewis shopworker, he took the name Hamza and travelled the Middle East. He met his wife Amal el-Wahabi at Westbourne Park mosque in 2006 and despite the disapproval of her parents, they developed a close relationship. Davis' new found interest in religion led him to persuade his girlfriend that they should move to Yemen. He was detained by police in Turkey last year on suspicion of plotting a terrorist attack. His wife, Amal El-Wahabi, was jailed in 2014 for funding terrorism. When police raided his wife's home, Davis's iPod revealed he used to listen to lectures by radical American cleric Anwar al-Awlaki. Advertisement

The Western hostages captured, tortured and killed by the beheading gang

American journalist who kept up fellow prisoners' morale James Foley, from Illinois, USA, was a journalist who first went missing in November 2012 James Foley, from Illinois, in the US, was a journalist who first went missing in November 2012. On his way to an internet cafe, while reporting for the GlobalPost, he had been taken hostage at gunpoint by militants from the group Jabhat al Nusra in Taftanaz, northern Syria. Jabhat al Nusra subsequently joined forces with ISIS - which did not exist in anything like its current form when Mr Foley was taken. Mr Foley joined other prisoners, who were European and British, in the ISIS prison and despite attempts to rescue him, he was eventually murdered by his captors. His fellow prisoners spoke kindly of Foley, who called people 'Bro' and never argued over shortages of food, despite meagre rations equating to cup of food-a-day, often sharing his portion and his blanket. Mr Foley often made efforts to maintain prisoners' morale, persuading them to play games and to give talks on their favourite subjects. He even organised a 'Secret Santa' during Christmas 2013, encouraging hostages to make gifts out of whatever they could find. ISIS posted his execution video, titled 'A Message to America' to social media as proof of his death. In scripted remarks before his killing, kneeling in an orange jump suit, he said: 'I wish I could have the hope of freedom and seeing my family once again. 'But that ship has sailed. I guess all in all I wish I wasn't American.' Advertisement

'The guy lit up a room': US freelance journalist who was an avid rugby player Steven Sotloff, 31, from Miami, who freelanced for Time and Foreign Policy magazines, vanished in Syria in 2013 US journalist Steven Sotloff, 31, vanished in Syria in August 2013. Mr Sotloff was not seen again until he appeared in a video released online by ISIS on August 2014, that showed James Foley's beheading. In a second clip, published weeks later, entitled 'A Second Message to America,' Mr Sotloff appeared in a orange jumpsuit before he is beheaded by an Islamic State fighter. The grandson of Holocaust survivors, Mr Sotloff grew up Miami, before attending the Kimball Union Academy boarding school in New Hampshire before studying at the University of Central Florida. While at Kimball, Mr Sotloff was an avid rugby player and on moving to UFC began working for the student newspaper there, the Central Florida Future. He left this paper in 2005 and began to pursue his dreams of journalism full time. 'The guy lit up a room. He was always such a loyal, caring and good friend to us,' former roommate Josh Polsky told the New York Times. 'If you needed to rely on anybody for anything he would drop everything on a dime for you or for anyone else.' Sotloff travelled to the Middle East as a freelance journalist and wrote reports from Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, Turkey and Syria. He often had pieces in Time and Foreign Policy magazines. 'A million people could have told him what he was doing was foolish, as it seemed to us outsiders looking in, but to him it was what he loved to do and you weren't going to stop him,' his friend, Emerson Lotzia, said. 'Steve said it was scary over there. It was dangerous. It wasn't safe to be over there. He knew it. He kept going back.' Advertisement

British taxi driver who volunteered as an aid worker Alan Henning, a father-of-two, was kidnapped on Boxing Day 2013 as he delivered aid to Syrian refugees Alan Henning, a father-of-two, was kidnapped on Boxing Day 2013 as he delivered aid to Syrian refugees. The taxi-driver, from Manchester, was kept hostage until he was beheaded by Jihadi John on video in October 2014. Before he was killed, Mr Henning was forced to tell the camera that he was being murdered in retaliation for parliament's decision to attack ISIS. Originally from Salford, he had seen the suffering first hand during a life-changing visit to a refugee camp, which inspired him to help the innocents whose lives were being wrecked by the conflict. After volunteering with a Muslim charity, the 47-year-old agreed to drive 3,000 miles in a convoy of old ambulances to help the aid effort and take much-needed medical supplies to hospitals in the northern Syrian province of Idlib. Known as 'Gadget' to friends and family for his fondness for technology, Mr Henning had been washing cars in the UK to raise money for donations before setting off on his fourth visit to the country. He travelled with eight others from charity Al-Fathiha Global, who intended to deliver vital equipment, including NHS ambulances packed with baby milk, nappies, food and defibrillators, but was kidnapped by ISIS extremists on Boxing Day, shortly after making the 4,000-mile journey to the town of Al-Dana. A fan of Phil Collins, which he enjoyed playing as he drove, Mr Henning was incredibly popular and during one trip insisted on sleeping inside his ambulance instead of a hotel to save money so it could be donated to the refugees instead. Kasim Jameel, leader of the convoy on which Mr Henning was travelling when he was kidnapped, described his friend as a 'big softie.' Dr Shameela Islam-Zulfiqar, who was also in the convoy, said Mr Henning was 'remarkable.' 'He's such a compassionate and selfless human being,' she said. 'It just simply wasn't enough for Alan to sit back and just donate or raise awareness. He had to get up and do something about what he'd seen Every time the convoys went he had a yearning to go. That really motivated him, to see, practically, first-hand the difference he was making.' Advertisement

Scottish father-of-two who spent his career as an aid worker David Haines, who was beheaded a week after Steven Sotloff, was the first British victim of Jihadi John David Haines, who was beheaded a week after Steven Sotloff, was the first British victim of Jihadi John. The father-of-two, from Holderness, East Yorkshire, was taken hostage while working for relief agency ACTED in Syria in March this year. He was captured near the Atmeh refugee camp, just inside the Syrian border with Turkey. Mr Haines spent his career as an aid worker helping to protect innocent civilians in developing nations. For more than two decades, he travelled with aid agencies through Syria, Libya, the former Yugoslavia and South Sudan. He dedicated his life to promoting peace in places of violent conflict and oversaw projects to save civilians from land mines. The 44-year-old was described as a hero by his family, who were inspired by him to travel the world on further aid missions. He had a teenage daughter in Scotland from a previous marriage with his first wife, and a four-year-old daughter, Athea, in Croatia from his second wife. Mr Haines was brought up in Perth, Scotland, and studied at Perth Academy before joining the military aged 17. According to his online CV he spent 11 years in the military, holding 'various positions covering security and threat assessments in a number of different countries' between 1988 and 1999. It did not specify with which armed forces he served, although his ISIS execution video claimed he had been in the Royal Air Force. His brother Mike later confirmed this, saying he was an engineer. Advertisement

26-year-old who was helping refugees while living in Beirut Peter Kassig, a 26-year-old from Indiana, was beheaded by ISIS executioner Jihadi John in November 2014 Peter Kassig, a 26-year-old from Indiana, started a non-profit organisation called Special Emergency Response and Assistance (SERA). The Iraq war veteran, who was living in Beirut to provide relief for refugees of the Syrian crisis, was beheaded by ISIS executioner Jihadi John, in November 2014. Writing on his profile page on fundraising website FundRazr, Mr Kassig said he had previously worked as a medic in a hospital in Tripoli, Lebanon. He said: 'When I first started this cause to help those in need, I was on my own but I saw first-hand the shortages in available resources and supplies for people who were suffering in Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey as a result of the violence. 'The amount of feedback and support from people all around the world motivated me to get organised and develop a platform through which people could send donations to support the continuation of my work.' Kassig joined the U.S. Army Rangers in 2006 and was deployed to Iraq in 2007. He was honourably discharged for medical reasons after a brief tour and returned to the United States to study political science. However, in 2010, he decided to take time off from his studies and began his certification as an emergency medical technician. He then decided to travel to Beirut to try and help those in need as a result of the Syria crisis. It was after a short time in the country that he started up his own aid group, SERA. Few details are publicly known about how Kassig was taken captive. Advertisement




A Brief Discourse of Rebellion & Rebels by George North shows similarities to Shakespeare's work

Software commonly used to uncover cheating students has revealed an 16th Century manuscript may have inspired some of Shakespeare's greatest plays.

A Brief Discourse of Rebellion & Rebels by George North bares striking similarities to themes and characters used in King Lear, Macbeth, Richard III and Henry V.

The unpublished manuscript was discovered by Shakespeare experts Dennis McCarthy and his co-author June Schlueter.

Mr McCarthy, 53 claims that the previously unknown source was without a doubt an inspiration for the Bard however they are not suggesting he ever plagiarised North.

After Shakespeare's works were run through WCopyfind, which is a form of plagiarism detecting software to pick out common phrases, the writers found that similar 'rare' language had been used.

Likenesses were drawn between Richard III and King Lear's Fool to characters depicted in North's work as well as the breeds of dog Macbeth compares to men.

George North's unpublished manuscript A Brief Discourse of Rebellion & Rebels was discovered by Shakespeare experts Dennis McCarthy (pictured) and his co-author June Schlueter

Director of the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, Michael Witmore told the NY Times: 'If it proves to be what they say it is, it is a once-in-a-generation  or several generations  find.'

Shakespeare has previously been known to take inspiration from other sources, such as Holinshed's Chronicles for his plays, however nothing has been discovered for centuries.

Mr McCarthy, who believes A Brief Discourse of Rebellion & Rebels was Shakespeare's 'go-to work', said: 'It is really astounding. It seems like this work was thoroughly digested from the opening dedication to the final pages,' reports The Times

According to the manuscripts decoders the playwright may have used the source for more than 20 passages throughout his famous scripts.

Shakespeare has previously been known to take inspiration from other sources

North, a minor figure in Queen Elizabeth's court, is believed to have written the novel in the 1500s which was later bought by the British Library in 1933.

Mr McCarthy, from New Hampshire, US unearthed the secret source in a 1927 catalogue of rare books which had a 'tantalising' description about its parallels with Shakespeare's work.

After foraging for the Discourse for more than a year Mr McCarthy discovered it in the British Library.

He then took to his computer and typed out the entirety of North's work before running it through the plagiarism software.

The software was able to analyse the use of phrases and word groups, it found that no other texts from 1473 to 1700 contained the same words in a similar sized passage.

However the findings have already been queried by Shakespeare scholars who have claimed that it would suggest a 'radical rewriting of how Shakespeare wrote' as he had never been found to use other sources this way.

Despite having no doubts about their findings Mr McCarthy predicted that Shakespeare scholars would be made 'very uneasy about this discovery'.

Mr McCarthy and Ms Schlueter, will reveal their findings in a book published this month by DS Brewer and the British Library.

A Brief Discourse of Rebellion & Rebels To view our own proportion in a glass, whose form and feature, if we find fair and worthy, to frame our affections accordingly, if otherwise she have by skill or will deformed our outward appearance and left us odible to the eye of the world. Advertisement
A landmark ruling means police can be sued if bystanders are injured by suspects being chased by officers.

The Supreme Court's decision came after 76-year-old Elizabeth Robinson was crushed beneath officers who were trying to arrest a suspect.

She will now be able to sue for negligence after she was hurt and traumatised by the incident.

The Supreme Court (pictured) has ruled that people will be able to sue the police if they are injured by suspects officers are chasing

It is feared the ruling will cause 'defensive policing', The Times reports, as Serjeants' In barrister Ian Skelt said it risks exposing officers to 'a wide liability' as he represented police.

Mrs Robinson was knocked to the ground in July 2008 after she alighted from a bus in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.

Two police officers were chasing a suspected drug dealer when all three fell on top the pensioners, leaving her with scarring and serious orthopaedic injuries.

The Court of Appeal rejected Mrs Robinson's case in 2014 after she fought for compensation from the force.

But their decision was overturned by the Supreme Court, which ruled police were liable as the injuries were caused by the man being arrested.

Lady Justice Hallett (pictured) rejected Mrs Robinson's attempt to claim compensation

The court found there was foreseeable risk to the 76-year-old when officers tried to arrest the suspect.

The Police Federation of England and Wales vice-chairman, Che Donald, said he worried the ruling 'puts officers in an invidious position' as they fear being sued for performing their duties.

'We would regret any injury that is caused to any bystander as an officer goes about their duties but this was a rare incident and officers always have it in their minds to protect the public,' he added.

Public law barrister Adam Wagner said perceived police immunity had been turned on its head and said forces face being sued more often.

'If a pedestrian is injured whilst officers are chasing a suspect, and the police were driving in a negligent way, that pedestrian may be able to sue for damages,' he said.

In 2014 the Court of Appeal expressed 'sympathy for Mrs Robinson' but Lady Justice Hallett said a victory for her risked encouraging 'defensive policing'.

The court found the public interest in fighting crime outweighed her rights as a citizen.
Anh Nhu Nguyen claimed his family died in the Grenfell Tower blaze to claim money and accommodation meant for real victims

A fraudster who claimed his family died in the Grenfell Tower blaze so he could claim money meant for real victims has been jailed for 21 months.

Anh Nhu Nguyen told volunteers a bogus tale that he'd lost his home, wife and son when fire ripped through the 24-storey London tower block in June.

The serial conman - who had never lived in the tower block and had neither a wife or children - even shook Prince Charles's hand when the royal visited a relief centre set up in the wake of the disaster.

The Vietnam-born 53-year-old, from Beckenham, south-east London, showed no reaction as he was sentenced by Judge Philip Bartle QC today.

He will only serve half of his sentence behind bars and, with the time he has already spent in custody since his arrest, he is expected to be released before the first anniversary of the tragedy in June.

Kensington and Chelsea Council said his was one of 'several' similar cases they have referred to police.

It is understood Nguyen is not implicated in any other pending cases.

Deputy leader Cllr Kim Taylor-Smith said: 'We are awaiting the outcome of a number of investigations. We cannot go into further detail at this stage.'

Nguyen managed to scam around 12,500 from charities and Kensington and Chelsea Council during the two weeks after the fire.

Nguyen even appeared on TV news as he lied about having fought his way out of the building

Nguyen, of Beckenham, south-east London, previously admitted two counts of fraud by false representation at Southwark Crown Court and one count of making an untrue statement for the purpose of obtaining a passport.

He was born in Vietnam, has been in the UK since the 1980s, is a British citizen and has 17 aliases.

He also has 28 previous convictions for 56 offences spanning more than 30 years, including theft, dishonesty offences, arson and grievous bodily harm.

In an impact statement, survivor Manuel Alves said: 'The actions of this fraudster have totally ripped the heart and faith out of the Grenfell Tower community, and I personally have lost the little trust I had in the system.'

Volunteer Loubna Aghzafi said the fire was 'devastating', and expressed 'disbelief and shock' at the fraud, adding: 'We started to be cautious in trusting people who came forward to say they were survivors.'

Nguyen spent a 249 night in the Hilton Hotel on June 18, and stayed in a Holiday Inn from June 19, worth 1,940, paid for by Kensington and Chelsea Council, and was given cash sums including 5,000.

Nguyen even met Prince Charles when the royal family visited victims and survivors

Nguyen received a mobile phone and two laptops from the Rugby Portobello Trust and food, clothes and toiletries from other charities.

He received a total of 10,270 in cash, while the electronic goods, food clothes and toiletries came to at least 1,000.

Defence barrister, Keima Payton, said a report compiled by a psychologist found Nguyen had an 'astonishingly low' IQ that placed him in the bottom 2.5% of people in Britain.

The report also found he was suffering from 'long-term, untreated post-traumatic stress disorder', depression and low empathy.

It concluded that part of why he had acted was to 'feel part of a group, to be looked after, wanted and welcome', she said.

Genuine victims of the fire have said Nguyen's crimes ripped the heart from the community

More than 80 people were killed in the blaze which devastated the flat block this summer.

The fire - which hit a building housing some of London's poorest residents - shocked Britain and left scores homeless. Some residents have still not been rehoused.

Conman Nguyen was given a hotel room, clothing, food, electrical items and money after posing as one of the survivors.

His lies were exposed after he gave several different flat numbers, some of which did not even exist. One apartment he claimed he lived was the home of a real victim.

Nguyen spoke to TV crews and reporters after the fire in a bid to bolster his lies.

He told one reporter that he had fled from the 15th floor of the burning high-rise with his wife and 12-year-old son.

Police believed 71 people were killed in the blaze which swept through the west London block

He claimed the fire had destroyed 'everything' he owned, and that he was so upset about having lost his wife and son that he could not eat or concentrate.

In an invented story of his supposed escape, he said the smoke became so thick he became separated from his family.

He said he had lost his passport and ID in the fire, and that he was in contact with the authorities about trying to get family over from Hong Kong for his wife and son's funeral

At a previous hearing, Judge Bartle branded the crime 'contemptible'.
An impassioned plea written by the estranged son of John Hemmes to his biological father has been revealed in full after he was awarded $1.75 million of his estate on Friday.

Correspondence tendered to the New South Wales Supreme Court shows the hospitality tycoon shot down his reaching out son Edward Cameron, 27, in an email sent by proxy.

Mr Cameron eventually worked up the courage to contact the late Sydney business identity as a 20-year-old, before suing for a $4.1million portion of his estate this week, Daily Telegraph reported.

An impassioned plea written by the estranged son of John Hemmes (left) to his biological father has been revealed in full after he was awarded $1.75 million of his estate on Friday

Correspondence tendered to the New South Wales Supreme Court shows the hospitality tycoon shot down his reaching out son Edward Cameron (pictured), 27, in an email sent by proxy

'It has taken me a long time to write this letter, not only because not knowing what to write and how to address you, but also being scared of denile (sic),' he wrote.

'I have always wanted to meet you, speak to you and know you since I could remember, but not until now have I been strong enough to do something about it..'

Mr Cameron continued by introducing himself to his father as the graduate of a dual diploma in marketing and advertising, living abroad with his German girlfriend.

He concluded the letter by leaving his email address and saying how he would 'love' to get to know 'Dad, John, Father, Mr Hemmes'.

But all Mr Cameron received in reply was an email written by his father's general manager of administration Kerrie Boylett, telling him to 'not under any circumstances' try and find him at his private address.

Ms Boylett - who Daily Telegraph reported was left $2million in Mr Hemmes' will - wrote: 'Until a DNA test is completed with regard to yourself and Mr Hemmes, Mr Hemmes does not want to have any contact with you.

Mr Cameron eventually worked up the courage to contact the late Sydney business identity (pictured) as a 20-year-old, before suing for a $4.1million portion of his estate this week

All Mr Cameron received in reply was an email written by his father's general manager of administration Kerrie Boylett, telling him to 'not under any circumstances' try and find him at his private address. Pictured (left to right): Bettina Hemmes, Justin Hemmes and John Hemmes

'As previously mentioned, Mr Hemmes does not believe that you and himself have the same DNA.'

The letter continued to explain that Mr Hemmes was only willing to meet with Mr Cameron if another DNA test proved their relation.

Ms Boylett added: 'This meeting is to be set up through myself. Once again, Mr Hemmes has asked that if DNA is to show that you both have the same DNA, that you do not contact him direct, but rather myself to set up a time to meet.

'Once again, please contact me direct for any questions or queries otherwise any correspondence sent to Mr Hemmes will be returned unopened.'

EDWARD CAMERON'S REACH-OUT LETTER TO HIS FATHER IN FULL Dear Dad, John, Father, Mr Hemmes  It has taken me a long time to write this letter, not only because not knowing what to write and how to address you, but also being scared of denile (sic). I have always wanted to meet you, speak to you and know you since I could remember, but not until now have I been strong enough to do something about it.. I wanted to keep this letter relatively short, so I will now tell you a little about myself. I am currently 20 years of age, graduated school and completed a Dual Diploma of Marketing and Advertisement. I am now living in Germany with my girlfriend who is German I love it here it is very beautiful. I have been in Germany for three months and plan on staying a long time.. The reason for this letter is to have the chance to get to know you and for you to get to know me, it would mean alot [sic] for me to understand that missing person in my life.. So if you would like to get in contact with me my personal email address is:  I would love to hear from you soon. Lots of love Edward. Advertisement

Mr Cameron was awarded $1.75 million on Friday after claiming he was born to Mr Hemmes and Fiona Cameron - a woman with whom he allegedly had an affair with between 1983 and 1989.

Justice Geoffrey Lindsay made his decision after court heard details of how Mr Cameron never met his father before he died from cancer in March 2015, Sydney Morning Herald reported.

His mother's relationship with Mr Hemmes ended once she became pregnant, and he only began paying child support to her in the mid 1990s after several court cases.

DNA tests at the time found that Mr Cameron was 99.6 per cent likely to be Mr Hemmes' son.

But Mr Cameron said his father never acknowledged him or spoke to him and even took out an apprehended violence order when he tried to find him, NSW Supreme Court heard on Thursday.
Theresa May issued a plea for ministers to be 'bold' as her Brexit war Cabinet failed to hammer out a strategy for negotiations with the EU.

The Prime Minister urged her senior team to show 'ambition' during a two-hour meeting yesterday.

But the deadlock between Remain and Brexiteer factions has not been broken - with hopes now being placed in a Cabinet 'away day' at her Chequers country residence later this month.

The Cabinet subcommittee - made up of Mrs May and her top ministers including Philip Hammond, Amber Rudd, Boris Johnson and Michael Gove - discussed the Ireland issue on Wednesday afternoon.

Theresa May (pictured meeting Japanese business figures in No10 yesterday) is trying to get Cabinet agreement on the Brexit strategy

David Davis (pictured right) with the government's chief Brexit diplomat Olly Robbins (left), UK representative to the EU Sir Tim Barrow (centre) and another official during a meeting at 9 Downing Street yesterday

The talks also covered the potential immigration arrangements for after we leave - while yesterday the group was considering future trade arrangements.

Following the sessions, Brexit Secretary David Davis said a 'lot of things were resolved' but admitted there was still 'progress to be made'.

'Theres still progress to be made, but theres a great deal of progress been made,' he said.

A Number 10 source said: 'The PM told the Brexit Cabinet that the Government had to be ambitious in the deal we seek.

'She said her starting point was to aim for something that hadn't been done before in order to come to a new relationship that will last a generation or more.

'Her approach is to seek a deal that is bold, in the best interests of the UK and that will carry widespread support.'

MailOnline revealed earlier this week 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.

Mr Barnier is due to give a press conference in Brussels on progress in talks about a Brexit transition later today.

Boris Johnson, pictured in Downing Street ahead of the war Cabinet yesterday, is urging a clean break from the EU

Attorney General Jeremy Wright was in Downing Street yesterday ahead of the Cabinet subcommittee meeting. Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson is also a member of the group

The Government wants a transition deal agreed at March's European Council summit.

But the atmosphere around the issue has soured after Mr Davis criticised the 'discourteous' EU for publishing plans that would allow it to sanction the UK during the transition.

Turning up the heat as technical talks drew to a close, Mr Davis said he regarded the Brussels documents as 'political', 'unwise' and not in 'good faith'.

He was referring to an EU position paper showing it wants to put in place a method to rapidly curtail the UK's single market benefits if it breaches the terms of a transition deal.

Meanwhile, Japanese investors - including representatives from car giants Nissan, Honda and Toyota - who gathered for a meeting at Downing Street made clear that they expected access to the single market to continue after Brexit.

Japan's ambassador to the UK Koji Tsuruoka said there were 'high stakes' and firms would not be able to continue operating unless they could remain profitable.

Mrs May told the gathering Brexit was 'no small undertaking' but presents an opportunity to 'strike free trade deals around the world and build on our already strong relationship with Japan'.
A Japanese woman who says she survived years of domestic abuse from her own grandfather has shared photos of herself weighing just 37lbs.

In a series of Twitter posts, she revealed how her grandfather had refused to feed her and physically abused her when she was caught eating.

Selfies taken just before she was hospitalised ten years ago, shows the woman, from Kyoto, central Japan, looking shockingly thin with protruding hipbones and rib-cage.

Shocking: The Japanese woman shared images from when her weight plummeted down to just 37lbs or 16.8kg - allegedly as a result of being starved by her grandfather

Recovered: The woman, pictured left with a friend, is now in her 20s and has recovered from her ordeal a decade ago

The woman described how when living in the care of her grandfather more than ten years ago, he repeatedly starved her.

She claimed in a tweet that she was 'forbidden to eat' by her abusive grandparent, who would 'kick me in the belly' or force her to spit the food out when she was caught eating in secret.

The physical abuse, she said, would then make her vomit.

She finally ended up weighing just 16.8 kilograms - a shocking 37 lbs - on the scale.

In her social media post, she urged those suffering from similar abuse or eating disorders not to wait, saying they should 'ask for help before it's too late'.

Abused: The woman claims she was 'forbidden to eat' by her abusive grandparent, who would kick her 'in the belly' if he caught her eating

Proof: When her story was questioned on social media, the young woman shared another series of photos, reprtredly taken when she had been hospitalised,

Starved: Images of the woman's hands and legs show how shockingly thin she had become right before she was hospitalised

When she was eventually rescued, experts told her she was 'ten minutes away from death', she added.

When social media users accused her of faking the images, she posted a series of other photographs which were reportedly taken in hospital, which also shows bruises on her chest and neck.

Now, ten years later and in her 20s, she says she has recovered from her ordeal and is of a healthy weight.

The woman has not divulged if any actions were taken against her grandfather nor where any other family members were at the time.
A man in south-east China had to rush to the hospital at midnight after noticing a mysterious ball-sized lump fallen out of his anus.

Doctors said the lump, which was still attached to his rear, was his rectum and it had lost its attachment to his body, according to reports from China.

They also said the condition, called rectal prolapse, could be caused by the fact that the man had sat on the toilet for more than 30 minutes.

According to the man, he had been playing mobile games while trying to defecate.

A man in China had to rush to hospital after seeing a mysterious lump coming out of his anus

The incident took place in Zhongshan, Guangdong Province, on February 4, according to Kan Kan News.

The patient, whose identity was not revealed, was treated by Dr Su Dan from the gastrointestinal surgery division of The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University.

Dr Su told the reporter that the man was diagnosed with rectal prolapse, a condition that sees the last part of one's intestines losing its attachment to the body and becoming visible from outside the body.

Dr Su said the patient's situation was severe.

'The patient has had rectal prolapse since he was four years old, but the bulge was able to retract in the past,' said Dr Su.

She added: 'But he did not have the condition treated, so the situation got worse.'

A CT scan from a hospital in Guangdong shows the lump sticking out from the mans' anus

Dr Su said spending too much time on the toilet could weaken one's muscles in the pelvis

The bulge that comes out from the anus can sometimes be retracted back inside the body

A computed tomography (CT) scan showed a ball-shaped bulge outside the patient's anus. The lump had a diameter of 16 centimetres (6.3 inches).

Dr Su said there were bruises and blood spots along the patient's intestinal wall.

According to Dr Su, rectal prolapse usually occurs on children or elderly people. For some young children, the condition could be related to innate dysfunction.

Although the patient has had the condition since early ages, Dr Su added that the cause of the prolapse was the long duration spent on the toilet.

Dr Su said when the patient was trying to defecate, the action could have weaken his muscles in the pelvis.

Surgeons successfully removed the lump from the man on the same day, and the man is now recovering.

Dr Lv, a colleague of Dr Su's, explained to MailOnline that whether one is sitting or squatting over a toilet, the pressure in the abdomen builds up which would force the rectum to stick out as the pelvic muscles are not strong enough to hold.

Dr Lv said for anyone who has had similar situation, they should get the condition treated as soon as possible.
The unnamed motorist tried to pull activists off the sliproad, believed to be at junction three for Swanley, Kent, as another man repeatedly yells at a policeman: 'I just don't understand why you won't move them'. The driver trying to break-up the protest and tear down banners was then dragged away by officers who then returned to guarding the members of Insulate Britain, a new offshoot of Extinction Rebellion . There was also disruption and long queues at junction six for Godstone in Surrey, 14 for London Heathrow Airport, 20 for Kings Langley in Hertfordshire and 31 for Purfleet in Essex near the Dartford Crossing. Obstruction of a British road 'without lawful authority or excuse' is an offence under Section 137 of the Highways Act 1980, with a punishment of a fine and up to six months in prison. Yet Junction 14 of the M25, close to Heathrow, it took four hours to arrest the activists and reopen the road at one of the busiest stretches of motorway in the UK. With police again accused of being too scared of tackling climate change activists, one critic tweeted the video from this morning with the message: 'Public servants stand by while the public do the job they are paid for. This bl**dy country at times is just beyond. They were happy to arrest people for going for a walk or stopping on a bench for a coffee'. Officers from Kent, Surrey, Essex, Hertfordshire and the Metropolitan Police dealt with the incidents that caused delays of up to three hours at rush hour. There have been 78 arrests but many questioned why it took up until Midday to break-up protests that began at 8am.
Ex-AFL star Andrew Lovett has avoided jail time after he repeatedly grabbed a young mother by the throat and threw her to the ground while her baby slept nearby.

The 35-year-old former Essendon midfielder pleaded guilty to assaulting the woman on August 4 at a home in Rye, on the Mornington Peninsula, after she took him in while he was homeless.

He was convicted on Friday, but walked away from Frankston Magistrates' Court with just a $2,500 fine, Herald Sun reported.

Ex-AFL star Andrew Lovett (pictured in 2011) has avoided jail time after he repeatedly grabbed a young mother by the throat and threw her to the ground while her baby slept nearby

The 35-year-old former Essendon midfielder (pictured in 2011) pleaded guilty to assaulting the woman on August 4 at a home in Rye, on the Mornington Peninsula, after she took him in while he was homeless

The court heard Lovett is a recreational drug user who assaulted the woman after going through her messages to find she told a friend he sold his prized footy medals and mobile to fund an alcohol and gambling habit.

He then smashed her mobile, grabbed her by the neck and hurled her to the ground - repeating the process every time she stood up, court heard.

The court also heard the victim hit the father-of-three in self-defence, but he overpowered her and held the mother down on the couch.

'I was angry ... I was trying to calm her down,' he told police, according to the publication.

The woman was left with neck and chest injuries.

Lovett's lawyer argued he was a 'good citizen' who should be spared conviction to allow him to pursue mentoring opportunities.

The court heard Lovett (pictured in 2011) assaulted the woman after going through her messages to find she told a friend he sold his prized footy medals and mobile to fund an alcohol and gambling habit

Among the medals Lovett sold was the Anzac Medal which he won for his best on ground performance in the 2005 Anzac Day match against Collingwood

The request was refused by Magistrate Charles Tan, who described Lovett's actions as a serious breach of trust.

He added: 'She was nice enough to take him in when he needed a place to stay. There are no excuses for such a significant assault.'

Among the medals Lovett sold was the Anzac Medal which he won for his best on ground performance in the 2005 Anzac Day match against Collingwood.

His career abruptly ended at St Kilda in 2009 amid rape accusations, which he was found not guilty of in 2011.

He now works in a low-paid job as a labourer in Melbourne's south-east while living with his mother, Herald Sun reported.
A low-cost airline has announced they are offering discounted flights from WA to Europe and Asia.

Singapore-based air carrier Scoot has the competitively priced flights to global hot-spots including Athens, Hanoi, Hong Kong and Ho Chi Minh City, Perth Now reported.

In their latest promotion, trips from Perth to Singapore will cost as little as $109 one way.

A low-cost airline is offering discounted flights from WA to Europe and Asia (pictured: Athens)

The Singapore-based air carrier Scoot has competitively priced flights to hot-spots (pictured: Singapore)

One-way flights from Perth to both Hanoi and Hong Kong will start from $169.

The fares include taxes, but food and bags are considered extras.

Flights from Perth to Langkawi and Ho Chi Minh City are from $129 one way, while one-way fares to Chiang Mai are from $179.

A trip from Perth to Athens could cost just $319 as the airline looks ahead to including Berlin in their Europe destinations later in the year.

The discounted fares are available until February 18, and are valid for travel from March 10 to October 27, though blackout periods may apply.

One-way flights from Perth to both Hanoi and Hong Kong (pictured) will start from $169
The father of a man convicted of kidnapping a child lashed out at a Nine News reporter and cameraman outside of a Sydney courthouse on Friday.

Anthony John McGauley faced a possible 10 years in prison but instead walked free on Friday on an 18-month good behaviour bond.

The 41-year-old pleaded guilty taking or detaining a child with intent to remove from parental control.

McGauley took a two-year-old child from the Penrith Westfield Shopping Centre in July, but told the court he mistook the girl for his own granddaughter because he was high on Xanax and heroin.

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Angry John McGauley placed his hand on the camera

Following his release, his father, John McGauley senior, was recorded threatening to throw a Sprite bottle and hit a Channel 9 cameraman in front of the Penrith District Court.

Mr McGauley was seen waving the soft drink bottle around as he strolled down the street.

'I'll throw it at you,' he can be heard saying.

Mr McGauley was also filmed grabbing the Nine News reporter's microphone.

Strolling down the street with his bottle, John McGauley threatens to hit the cameraman
Large swathes of the Midwestern United States is gearing up for almost one foot of snow as a major storm forced schools and government buildings to close while grounding over 1,100 flights throughout the region on Friday.

Chicago officials say about 6 to 7 inches of snow has fallen on the city and they're gearing up for three more waves through the weekend.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel said at a Friday morning news conference that the city, its workers and residents are up to it.

He says 'we're tried and tested here.'

City officials say they're expecting another round of snow later Friday, one overnight and then a final round Saturday night into Sunday.

Those could bring another 3 to 9 inches total.

More than 1,000 flights have been canceled at the city's O'Hare and Midway international airports.

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Pedestrians photograph Cloud Gate, known as the Bean, during a snow storm in Chicago on Friday

Roger Smedley, an employee of Downtown South Bend, shovels a downtown sidewalk as northern Indiana continues to be hit by a significant winter storm on Friday

Snow is blown onto commuters while an arriving Chicago Transit Authority train arrives on Friday

Delays at O'Hare are averaging 35 minutes and less than 15 minutes at Midway.

Thousands of air travelers are being delayed by the snowstorm that's moving across the across the upper Midwest.

The Chicago Department of Aviation reported Friday morning that about 550 flights were canceled at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and about 230 flights were canceled at Chicago's Midway Airport.

By early Friday, more than 100 flights were canceled at Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Romulus, Michigan, according to Fox 11 TV.

More than 1,000 flights have been canceled at the city's O'Hare and Midway international airports.

A woman navigates a snowy path to a car in Chicago on Friday

Airlines had warned travelers earlier in the week to expect flight cancelations to and from Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio.

Chicago Public Schools canceled classes Friday.

CPS officials say they anticipate students being back in classrooms Monday.

Friday's forecast calls for temperatures well below freezing in much of the Midwest.

The weather forecast calls for icy conditions in large Midwestern cities like Cleveland, Indianapolis, and St. Louis.

The weather forecast calls for icy conditions in large Midwestern cities like Cleveland, Indianapolis, and St. Louis

Winter alerts are in effect this weekend for the Great Lakes region as well as the Great Plains

The map shows snowy conditions along the shores of the Great Lakes as well as into parts of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, and Iowa

Friday's forecast calls for temperatures well below freezing in much of the Midwest

By Saturday, more snow is expected in the Midwest, while the South, the Appalachian region, and the Northeast are due for some rain

Snow will continue to blanket Chicago, Detroit, and much of the Midwest on Sunday while rain is due once again for much of the Atlantic coastal region

Large parts of the northern United States will be covered by between one and 12 inches of snow by the time the storm ends late Sunday

Snow is piling up from a winter storm that's moving across the across the upper Midwest, snarling traffic and closing some freeways.

The National Weather Service says Friday morning it's received reports of between 9 and 11 inches of snow over a 24-hour period in Fort Dodge, Iowa.

Eight inches was reported in parts of northern Illinois.

Totals could be about a foot by day's end.

Portions of northern Indiana were hit hard, with 8 inches reported in New Carlisle.

Snow across southern and central Michigan ranged from 7 inches on the western side of the state to more than 2 inches so far in the Detroit area.

Crashes were reported, including a multi-vehicle smashup that closed a stretch of eastbound Interstate 94 near Ann Arbor.

Some courts and government offices shut down, joining schools in the path of the storm that closed for the day in Illinois, Indiana and Michigan.

Court closings were reported in Chicago and Detroit, and driver's license offices were shut in the Chicago area.
A drug addicted gang leader who lured Apex members with the promise of women, hotels and parties to carry out jewellery store robberies has cried in court.

Mahmoud Taha's phone was tapped by police who heard him plan the robberies that netted thousands in cash and jewellery, the Herald Sun reported.

The 21-year-old cried as he pleaded guilty at the County Court on Friday to organising the brazen robberies which occurred on July 7, 2016.

Mahmoud Taha's phone was tapped by police who heard him plan the robberies that netted thousands in cash and jewellery

A drug addicted gang leader who lured Apex members with the promise of women, hotels and parties to carry out jewellery store robberies has cried in court (heist pictured)

Police listened in on phone calls to Taha organising the jewellery store robberies. Locations, times, and how they would divide the loot were discussed

Taha, the youngest of 10 children, began his criminal career by stealing cars in exchange for cocaine.

Police listened in on phone calls to Taha organising the jewellery store robberies. Locations, times, and how they would divide the loot were discussed.

In court, Taha was described as being close to mentally disabled.

He struggled at school and was a regular user of ice and cocaine.

Taha used the profits from crime to buy designer clothing, expensive dinners, hotels, drugs and hookers.

At the time of the most recent offence, Taha was free on an 18-month Community Corrections Order over a 2015 attack on two police officers.

He will be sentenced at a later date.
Trainee beautician Mireille Gold, 44, (pictured in an undated pic) was the 'Mrs Fix It' who fielded heroin and cocaine deliveries at her home in Cumbria from a crime gang based 100 miles away in Merseyside

A mother of two beautician who ran a drugs racket supplying tourists in picturesque Lake District towns with what she dubbed 'turkey and stuffing' has been jailed for almost four years.

Mireille Gold, 44, was the 'Mrs Fix It' who fielded heroin and cocaine deliveries at her home in Cumbria from a crime gang based 100 miles away in Merseyside.

Group text messages saying 'On with both' would be sent out to addicts when the drugs were available for sale and at Christmas a message would go out saying: 'On with Turkey and Stuffing.'

It is thought many of the drugs were sold to visitors to the Lakes which attracts 16 million people each year.

Gold, who lived in Barrow-in-Furness close to the national park, was said to be a 'trusted, local sub-dealer' and a user of the so called '950 phone' - a drugs hotline run by the Liverpool hoodlums.

Police arrested Gold in March last year after an operation against drug traffickers in the area and was found to be in possession of crack cocaine.

She claimed she peddled the drug as she was in debt and was offered 500 to collect a package and bring it back to Barrow hidden inside her underwear.

At Burnley Crown Court, Gold admitted conspiracy to supply drugs and was jailed for three years and nine months.

Andrew Calland, 31, who delivered many of the drugs to Barrow and collected cash for their sale was jailed for four years and four months.

Gold, (undated photo) who lived in Barrow-in-Furness, was said to be a 'trusted, local sub-dealer' and a user of the so called '950 phone' - a drugs hotline run by the Liverpool hoodlums

Lee Beattie, 31, was jailed for three years and nine months for conspiracy whilst his girlfriend Kasey Browne, 29, a mother of three was given a six months jail suspended for a year after she admitted allowing her premises to be used for drug dealing.

The court heard police launched Operation Sequel to stop the gang fielding drugs from Liverpool into South Cumbria between November 2016 and May 2017.

'In terms of the text messages sent out to potential customers, they were 'on with both,' said Peter Barr prosecuting.

'They plainly meant they had both diamorphine and cocaine available for onward supply.

'The supply was managed from Merseyside by means of group text messages indicating when drugs were available but was dependent upon couriers supplying to a local agent who engaged in street-level dealing.

'But a phone number, used by the police, had managed to infiltrate the distribution lists of the defendants.

Police arrested Gold (seen with a friend in an undated pic) last year after an operation against drug traffickers in the area and was found to be in possession of crack cocaine

'This meant that the police were in receipt of the text messages sent by the drug dealers when they advertised they had drugs available.

'By December 2016 the principal phone used by the dealers was sending out messages advertising that drugs were available.

'On December 1 2016: "On with both. Out Late." Similar messages were distributed on further dates.

'On the 26th of December a message with a festive twist read: "Merry Christmas everyone on with Turkey and Stuffing".'

Calland was the main driver to and from the Merseyside area and used a vehicles hired from a company based in Stockport area.

He was said to be the 'trusted lieutenant' of the drugs boss controlling the '950 phone' and the principal driver.

Beattie was the 'main man' on the ground in Barrow who acted on behalf of the user of the 950 phone whilst Browne allowed her home to be used as a drugs HQ.

Gold came to the attention of the police towards the end of the operation.

Mr Barr added: ' It was clear that she was a trusted, local sub-dealer acting for Andrew Calland and/or the user of the 950 phone.'

'When she was interviewed she admitted the offence of possession with intent to supply.

'She stated that she was in debt and that she was offered 500 to collect a package and bring it back to Barrow.

Gold (seen in undated photos) claimed she peddled the drug as she was in debt and was offered 500 to collect a package and bring it back to Barrow hidden inside her underwear

'She stated this was agreed the day before in a face to face conversation. Gold refused to name the individuals concerned and refused to say where she collected the package from.

'Gold stated that the package contained crack cocaine and that it was about her person.

'Gold said that she only collected this one package. Regarding the mobile phone that was recovered in from her car, Gold answered no comment to all questions relating to its ownership and use.'

Gold (seen in an Army fancy dress costume) admitted possessing Class A drugs with intent to supply

Gold admitted possessing Class A drugs with intent to supply. Her lawyer David Traynor said: 'Ms Gold was involved for about a month.'

'She was living at an address and working for a man who took her rent out of her wages and she was essentially taken advantage of giving her very little money.

'She is determined not to become involved in this life style again. She is doing beauty courses in prison and when she is released she will to college.

'Her daughter works in a hair dressers already and the plan is to set up a business together.

'Her mother was diagnosed with cancer shortly before her remand and Miss Gold has been useless to her.

'She is the long-term carer for her son who had a car accident some years and she was the registered carer for him. She knows people need her.'

Sentencing, Judge Beverley Lunt said: 'The offences in question arose out of an operation which reviewed a very organised operation committed over a period of six months from people from Liverpool intent on making money from the misery of drug addicts in Barrow.

'This was a well organised conspiracy but there is no question that the principal organisers are not stood before me today.

'There would have been a substantial amount of drugs delivered and the use of drug addicts to supply to other drug addicts is all too familiar with me.'
Ryanair pilot Annie Hellner (pictured) said that she had to deal with sexism from passengers to get her dream job

A female pilot says that she has had to overcome sexism from passengers in order to follow in her father's footsteps in the profession.

Londoner Annie Hellner, 25, originally from Malmo, Sweden, said that she had to deal with sexist rants and comments before becoming a pilot for budget airline Ryanair.

Miss Hellner, who was inspired to become a pilot by her father, revealed the difficulties she has faced, with one passenger telling her that flying an aeroplane was 'a man's job'.

According to her Facebook, she started her job at Ryanair in June 2016.

Miss Hellner highlighted the sexism she has faced, though she praised some passengers for the support they gave her.

She said: 'There's been passengers who have doubted my ability to fly the plane, simply because I'm a woman.

The pilot revealed how she was subjected to a rant from one male passenger who said that flying aeroplanes was a 'man's job'

'I remember one man who, when he found out that I was the pilot, started to complain about why I was let into the flight deck, and that women shouldn't be flying airplanes because it's a man's job.

'I think I speak for all female pilots when I say that every female pilot has had similar experiences at least once in their career.

Miss Hellner revealed how she was inspired by her father who was a pilot in the 1980s (pictured)

'Most of the comments I get are positive though, many passengers tell me that they're glad to see a woman in the flight deck and that I should be proud of myself.

'I just hope that we can come to a point when there's no male or female pilots but simply just pilots, because that's exactly what we are.'

Miss Hellner paid tribute to her father and also discussed the formative years that inspired her to take to the skies.

She said: 'My father was the one who inspired me to become a pilot.

'He was a pilot himself back in the eighties and flew commercial for a couple of years until he unfortunately lost his license due to sickness.

'He always brought me and my older brother to all kinds of air shows and flight museums, listening to him telling stories about when he was a pilot made me fall in love with aviation as well.

'When I was 12 or 13 I decided that I too wanted to become a pilot and started to work hard in school to achieve my goal.

'I started my pilot education in August 2012 and finished in January 2016, three weeks later I got my first airline job as a First Officer.

The Londoner, who is originally from Malmo, Sweden, said that she was inspired to become a pilot and to follow her dreams by her pilot father (pictured with her)

'After deciding all that time ago where I wanted to be, here I am 13 years later in the right seat of a Boeing 737!'

The pilot, who has so far touched down in 30 countries during her career, went on to detail the perks of her role.

She also gave advice to any other women who want to follow their dreams despite the barriers they sometimes face.

'The rush of adrenaline is simply amazing, when you move the thrust levels for take-off and hear the jet engines spool up, it's something you'll never get tired of. Sometimes I still can't believe that I'm piloting a Boeing 737,' she said.

Miss Hellner said that she decided to become a pilot when she was young, she said: 'When I was 12 or 13 I decided that I too wanted to become a pilot'

'There are definitely a few perks, the first one being the office view of course. I would bet that I have the best view in the world.

'You'll get to watch sunsets and sunrises, different kinds of weather phenomena and see famous landmarks like the Eiffel Tower in Paris and Colosseum in Rome.

'I also like that it's not a 9 to 5 kind of job. Every day is different, it never gets boring.

The pilot, who has so far touched down in 30 countries during her career, also urged women to follow their dreams and ignore sexist comments and pressure

'Some days you're on early shift and have to get up at 3 in the morning and other days on the late shift going to bed at 3 in the morning.'

'My father always said to me that you can do anything as long as you have the strength, willpower and courage to do it, and I've lived by these words.

'Basically, don't give up and never stop believing in yourself
This is the dramatic moment a young livestock worker was rescued after surviving eight days trapped in the snow in Spain with little food or firewood.

The man had to take refuge in a tiny wooden shack as the temperature plummeted to sub-zero and huge drifts enveloped the roof.

Two police officers on skis managed to reach him after members of his family raised the alert and he was eventually rescued by an emergency helicopter.

Members of the Rescue and Mountain Group and Civil Guard eventually found the stranded man in his cabin, despite being hampered themselves by the tough conditions

The rescued man was ruining out of food and had no firewood in freezing cold conditions

Help is on it way: The rescued man had to take refuge in a tiny wooden shack as the temperature plummeted below zero and huge drifts enveloped its roof

Huge parts of Spain are still experiencing extreme weather conditions, with snow even on popular tourist beaches and dozens of sightseers caught out when visiting summit beauty spots.

More than 30 provinces are on snow alert, with traditional carnival celebrations in many areas being threatened by the bad weather conditions.

Both Barcelona and Madrid have been under snow, with homeless people being offered free shelter.

The man trapped for eight days in Asturias had ventured out to tend to some livestock but was unable to get home through the drifts.

Weather experts say conditions will improve today after a week of unseasonal conditions

Recent snow in Barcelona - More than 30 Spanish provinces are on snow alert, with traditional carnival celebrations in many areas being threatened by the bad weather

Both Barcelona (above) and Madrid have been under snow while police have been working flat-out in more rural areas to rescue people trapped in blizzards

The sudden dip in temperature this winter has meant the Costa del Sol has been hit by heavy rain and thunderstorms at a time of year when temperatures should have been balmy

Worried relatives told the police they had contact with him for a few days and knew he was inside a shelter in Agueria de Barzana de Quiros. He told them he had just a little bit of food left but no firewood.

In a later phonecall, he said he had run out of both and after that, nothing else was heard from him.

Members of the Rescue and Mountain Group and Civil Guard eventually found him in the cabin, despite being hampered themselves by the conditions.

Two of the officers on skis had to trample on the snow to make a base for the emergency helicopter to land.

The man had managed to survive and was described as 'well' given the extreme circumstances.

The Civil Guard has been involved in numerous other rescues of people trapped in blizzards, including a group of 40 school-children who had to spend a night in a refuge covered by snow.

Weather experts say conditions will improve today after a week of unseasonal conditions.
The London Bridge terror attackers who killed eight people had taken large amounts of steroids, a court heard today.

Khuram Butt, 27, Rachid Redouane, 30, and Youssef Zaghba, 22, ploughed into pedestrians in a white van on the bridge before stabbing victims in the nearby market with 12-inch ceramic knives on June 3 last year.

The attack lasted from 10.07 to 10.16pm when the attackers, who killed eight people in total, were shot dead by police at the scene.

Khuram Butt, Rachid Redouane and Youssef Zaghba had large amounts of steroids in their systems when they carried out the London Bridge terror attack, a coroner has heard

The trio were shot by police after killing eight people in their rampage last summer

Canadian Christine Archibald, 30, and Frenchman Xavier Thomas, 45, died as a result of the van attack. Alexandre Pigeard, 26, Sara Zelenak, 21, Kirsty Boden, 28, Sebastien Belanger, 36, James McMullan, 32, and Ignacio Echeverria, 39, died as a result of the knife attack.

Chief Coroner of England and Wales Mark Lucraft QC, leading the inquest, started the pre-inquest hearing by expressing his condolences to the families of the victims, who were present at the Old Bailey today.

Jonathan Hough QC told the court that a toxicologist would be required for the inquest to prepare a report on the potential steroid use of the attackers.

He said: 'Analysis of samples taken from the attackers revealed the presence of DHEA, a steroid hormone, above the acceptable physiological range in each of the attackers.

'These findings suggest use of the steroid DHEA recently prior to death i.e. in a period ranging from several hours to days before death.

'A suitable expert has been instructed to prepare a report on the implications of these findings.'

(Top row left to right) Canadian Christine Archibald, James McMullan, Alexandre Pigeard, chef Sebastien Belanger and (bottom row left to right) Australian nurse Kirsty Boden, Australian Sara Zelenak, Xavier Thomas and Spanish banker Ignacio Echeverria died in the attack

The chief coroner for England and Wales is holding a pre-inquest hearin into the deaths from the London Bridge and Borough Market terror attack.

Coroner Mark Lucraft QC is expected to give initial directions to pave the way for a 'rigorous and thorough' investigation during the hearing at the Old Bailey.

He is responsible for the inquests into the deaths of the eight victims as well as those of the terrorists.

The coroner is being assisted by Jonathan Hough QC and Aaron Moss as counsel to the London Bridge and Borough Market Inquests.

Two inquests, one into the deaths of the victims, and the other into the deaths of the attackers, will take place in early 2019 at a date to be set.

Investigators at the scene following the attack in June last year. Two inquests will look at the circumstances surrounding the attack will take place next year

Coroner Lucraft said the purpose would be to discover: 'who died, when they died, where they died, and how they died.'

Analyses have been performed on items found at the scene, including the attackers' knives, mobile phones, and the 'fake suicide belts', which were actually a set of bottles strapped to their bodies with tape.

A police appeal to members of the public to provide video and picture evidence had 'produced some useful material' which has been considered in the investigation, the court heard.

Khuram Butt, one of the attackers, was the subject of an MI5 priority investigation from mid-2015, but Rachid Redouane and Yousseff Zaghba had never been investigated by the agency, according to counsel submissions.

Flowers laid near Borough Market in the days after the shocking attack

A jury will sit into the inquest into the death of the terrorists as they died at the hands of police officers. A jury is required even if there is no basis for thinking any officer did anything wrong.

There will be no jury for the inquest into the victims.

The victim inquest will include accounts of the aftermath of each attack and the care, assistance and treatment given to the victims, as well as the injuries they sustained and the cause of death.

The hearing concerning the death of the perpetrators will cover each of the attacker's personal backgrounds, whether and how they came to the attention of UK national authorities.

It will also determine whether there were any 'warning signs' - during their planning and preparation for the attacks and whether they received any assistance from others.

Representatives from the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), London Ambulance, London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority, Met Commission, and Home Office were all at the packed Old Bailey hearing today.

A similar inquest into the Westminster Bridge attack, which saw five people dead and more than 50 injured, will likely be held in autumn this year.
A rogue wedding dress boutique conned brides-to-be out of nearly 12,000 for 'hand-made' white gowns - stitched up in a factory in China.

Bridal boutique owner Melanie Bishop, 36, and her mother Patricia, 60, tricked 13 brides into thinking they were buying bespoke gowns for their big day.

A court heard the pair advertised handmade bridal dresses up to 1,000 from the Bishops workshop in Wales.

Furious brides first found out they had been duped when they spotted 'made in China' labels on their dresses - and launched a campaign to get their cash back.

Bridal boutique owner Melanie Bishop (left), 36, and her mother Patricia, 60, tricked 13 brides into thinking they were buying bespoke gowns for their big day

But Bishop quickly shut up shop leaving more than 100 other brides worried they would be left without their white dresses on their big day.

Both women now face possible jail after pleading guilty to 18 counts of 'engaging in unfair commercial practice' after heartbroken brides complained to consumer watchdogs.

Before she was charged with fraud Bishop spoke about the 'hellish nightmare' that led to close her bridal boutique Anna Sara Bridal in Newport, South Wales.

One bride Nichola Pakau, 34, said: 'It has been an awful experience. It has affected my home life and work life.'

Another bride's mum Kim Burroughs, 55, said: 'You expect everything to be perfect for your daughter's wedding. I didn't expect this.'

Furious brides first found out they had been duped when they spotted 'made in China' labels on their dresses and launched a campaign to get their cash back

Melanie Bishop (pictured) claimed her customers should have known their dresses from 700 to 1,000 were manufactured in China

Bishop and mum Patricia pleaded guilty at Cardiff Crown Court to 18 counts of engaging in unfair commercial practice between March 2015 and April 2016.

Melanie Bishop claimed her customers should have known their dresses from 700 to 1,000 were manufactured in China - and said she was the victim of a campaign of 'abuse and lies'.

Bishop said: 'In the space of three weeks my reputation is in tatters and I believe I will lose my house, my livelihood and the business I worked so hard to build up from scratch.

'I haven't stopped crying since it all spiralled out of control.

'The reality is that these women have rallied together and whipped themselves up into a hysteria that is only based on one thing - the fact that my dress suppliers are based in China.

'The dresses are not worth 40 and from eBay as these women believe. That couldn't be further from the truth.

'We own a factory that is staffed by 15 seamstresses. We run a legitimate business and I am devastated that this Facebook campaign of hate and lies is stopping my genuine customers from receiving their dresses.

Bishop said her reputation was 'in tatters' and said she feared she would lose her house and her livelihood

Bishop was forced to close her bridal boutique Anna Sara Bridal in Newport, South Wales, amid the furore

'It's not that we set out to deliberately mislead people, that's not it.

'When I said our dresses were all our own designs that was true.

'The only thing I could have done differently was be explicitly clear about the origins of the dresses, but so many shops outsource their materials and labour from China.

'It's not uncommon and I never hid it. I left the made in China labels in.

'And yes there is a mark up. As a company we pay around 200 for each dress and sell them to the customer from 700-1000.

'That's how a business operates. That's how I paid my rent, taxes, import fees and overheads but that markup does not take away from the quality of the product offered.'

Bishop and her mother pleaded guilty to failing to inform customers the wedding dresses were actually made in China, falsely stating they would be made in their local workshop

But an investigation by Newport Trading Standards ended with Bishop and her mother being charged with fraud.

The court heard they accepted they had claimed to have designed and made the dresses themselves.

The pair pleaded guilty to failing to inform customers the wedding dresses were actually made in China, falsely stating they would be made in their local workshop.

Another 20 charges will lie on file.

Judge Patrick Curran QC told them he will not be the sentencing judge and warned them: 'All appropriate sentencing options are open.'

Both women, of Oakdale, near Blackwood, South Wales, were granted bail ahead of their sentencing in March.
A gambling-obsessed nanny who lost 6,800 in one night was sentenced to death today after setting her employer's flat on fire during her desperate attempt to find money for her debts, according to a Chinese court.

The blaze caused a mother and all of her three children - aged between six and 11 - to be killed last June at their 17th floor home in eastern China.

The court said the former nanny, named Mo Huanjing, had intended to set the fire then put it out, hoping her 'brave act' could win her middle-class employer's gratitude. This way, she could expect them to lend money to her.

This handout picture taken on February 1, 2018 and released by the Hangzhou Intermediate People's Court on February 9 shows Mo Huanjing (centre) speaking in the court in Hangzhou. The former nanny has been sentenced to death today after setting her employer's flat on fire

The fire caused Ms Mo's employer and all her three children to be killed at their 17th-floor home on June 22, 2017. The court said Ms Mo's addiction to online gambling had led to the tragedy

However, the fire went out of control killing the family of four during the wee hours at their four-bedroom home in Hangzhou, a bustling metropolis.

The children's father was reportedly on a business trip, hence survived the tragedy. The nanny managed to escape the fire.

The court claimed that Ms Mo was addicted to online gambling games and had been buried under debts.

She lost 6,800 after gambling online from the night of June 21 into the early hours of June 22 - right before she decided to set the flat on fire - said the court.

The 34-year-old woman is originally from Dongguan, southern China, and she left her hometown in 2015 to dodge gambling debts, according to a previous report from Xinhua New Agency.

The picture, taken on June 22, 2017, shows the aftermaths of the building after Ms Mo set her employer's four-bedroom home on fire in a desperate bid to find money for her debts

Lin Shengbin's wife and three children were killed by the fire after Ms Mo. The man is surrounded by journalists at Hangzhou Intermediate People's Court on December 21, 2017

Before setting the family's home on fire, she had stolen luxury watches and jewellery from the family on several occasions before pawning them off for 180,000 yuan (20,000), said the court.

Ms Mo was found guilty of arson on February 9.

She was sentenced to death by a first instance judgment at the Hangzhou Intermediate People's Court, according to People's Daily Online, citing a court report.

According to a video of the sentencing, shared by Chinese new site Sina, Ms Mo remained silent throughout the process.

The picture, taken on June 22, 2017, shows people gathering in front of the fire incident site

The incident took place in Hangzhou, a bustling metropolis and a provincial capital in China

In addition, the court also found Ms Mo guilty of theft and sentenced her to five year in jail alongside a fine of 10,000 yuan (1,142).

The court said she had repeatedly stolen from her employers while working as a nanny in nearby Shanghai and Shaoxing during 2015 and 2016

The court said considering both sentences, it decided to give Ms Mo a death penalty, deprivation of political rights and a fine of 10,000 yuan (1,142).

The court has not proposed a date of the execution.

It is currently unclear whether Mo will appeal the verdict.
David Davis hit back at Michel Barnier's latest Brexit ultimatum this afternoon, warning the EU chief he could not 'have it both ways'.

The Brexit Secretary blasted the 'fundamental contradiction' in Mr Barnier's claims to both want an amicable transition and strong powers for the EU to punish Britain.

Mr Barnier enraged the British negotiators earlier today by threatening to call off the planned Brexit transition period if the UK quits the EU customs union.

The two chief negotiators have spent all week in an escalating war of words and Mr Barnier gave a tetchy press conference in Brussels this morning, warning of a hard border in Northern Ireland and demanding continued free movement to Britain.

David Davis (pictured in 9 Downing Street yesterday) slammed Brussels for threatening to punish Britain during the Brexit transition period today

In response, Mr Davis said: 'Given the intense work that has taken place this week it is surprising to hear that Michel Barnier is unclear on the UK's position in relation to the implementation period.

'As I set out in a speech two weeks ago, we are seeking a time-limited period that maintains access to each other's markets on existing terms.

'However for any such period to work both sides will need a way to resolve disputes in the unlikely event that they occur.

'But there is a fundamental contradiction in the approach the Commission is taking. Today they acknowledged that a way to resolve disputes and infringements is needed.

'Yet at the same time they dismissed the UK's push for reasonable safeguards to ensure our interests are protected. It is not possible to have it both ways.'

The latest evidence of rising tensions came as:

Davis Davis slammed the EU for threatening to punish Britain during the Brexit transition period.

EU officials are said to be refusing to continue negotiations next week amid suspicions they are dragging their heels to increase pressure on the UK.

Mrs May's Brexit war Cabinet again failed to break its deadlock on what 'end state' it wants from the negotiations, with hopes now resting on an 'away day' at Chequers expected later this week.

A leaked EU memo claimed that Jeremy Corbyn is ready to keep the UK in the customs union - even though it would mean not being able to sign trade deals with the rest of the world.

Mr Barnier's intervention today came after Theresa May confirmed that Britain will not be in any form of customs union with the bloc after Brexit.

But Mr Barnier insisted the UK had already committed to a soft border between Northern Ireland and the Republic in the divorce agreement - vowing to make sure that is 'unambiguously' spelled out in a legal text.

In what amounted to an ultimatum, he added: 'It is important to tell the truth. A UK decision to leave the single market and to leave the customs union would make border checks unavoidable.'

At a press conference in Brussels today the EU chief negotiator signalled a tough line as tensions escalated with David Davis over efforts to thrash out a deal

Mr Barnier said checks on the Irish border would be 'unavoidable' if Britain left the EU's customs union

DUP MP Ian Paisley voiced anger at the attempt to force Britain into keeping close ties

The blunt comments caused Brexiteer fury that the EU is trying to force Britain into keeping close ties.

DUP MP Ian Paisley said: 'Well then Mr Barnier, go right ahead and start building your hard border. Or else negotiated a sensible free trade deal with the UK.

'The choice is now yours.'

Earlier this week it emerged the EU wants powers to penalise Britain by closing off sectors of the single market if it fails to follow EU rules after Brexit takes place in March 2019.

But a clearly angry Mr Barnier told journalists today that he was not in any way 'discourteous'.

The divorce deal struck in December stated that there would be enough regulatory alignment to avoid the need for a hard Irish border.

Mr Barnier said the EU was determined to 'start legally defining how this scenario would work in operational terms'.

Brussels officials are drawing up plans for Northern Ireland to stay tied to the customs union, he said - although the UK has insisted two other options for organising the border are being looked at in parallel.

Mr Barnier said there were still key areas of disagreement with the UK over the divorce agreement.

He also jibed that the UK 'needs' a transition deal, but warned there are 'substantial' disagreements over the terms.

Theresa May (pictured meeting Japanese business figures in No10 yesterday) is trying to get Cabinet agreement on the Brexit strategy

The Brexit Secretary (pictured with, from left, aides Olly Robbins, Sir Tim Barrow in Downing Street yesterday) said the EU was not acting in 'good faith' over December's political agreement on the terms of the Brexit divorce deal

GERRY ADAMS SAYS BREXIT HAS MADE CALLS FOR IRISH UNITY 'MORE PREVALENT' Gerry Adams took a parting shot at the UK today Gerry Adams took a parting shot at the UK today as he claimed Brexit had made calls for Irish unity 'more prevalent'. The Sinn Fein President ends his political career on Saturday as he hands over his post after 34 years. Amid growing tension in the Brexit negotiations over the future state of Northern Ireland, Mr Adams insisted his party would continue to campaign for a united Ireland. Mr Adams, suspected of being an IRA commander at the height of the Troubles, also claimed to regret it took until 1994 for the first ceasefire. His departure is a landmark moment as the last of the major players behind the 1997 Good Friday Agreement to leave the political stage. In a valedictory interview before stepping down, Mr Adams said: 'I'm not saying there is a direct correlation between Brexit and Irish unity, and in fact I think those of us who want a united Ireland need to be very careful that we are not accused of trying to exploit Brexit. 'But I just think the notion of Irish unity, in terms of public debate, is now much more prevalent. 'We want to see a referendum on Irish unity as part of the Good Friday Agreement. 'We are going to continue to campaign for that and we also want to win that.' Advertisement

He insisted the EU wanted people who come to the UK during the 21-month interim period to have permanent residency rights.

Britain also wanted a way of objecting to new Brussels rules, and to have a say in how they are developed.

In a clear threat, Mr Barnier said: 'If these disagreements persist the transition is not a given.'

He insisted he had 'not been in the least discourteous or vindictive'. 'We never wished to punish the UK - it's totally foreign to my state of mind, and this has been true from the very beginning and this will be true until the very end of the negotiations.'

Both sides have signalled broad support for a status quo transition for around two years but Britain wants flexibility to start negotiating trade deals.

Following Cabinet talks on Brexit yesterday, Mr Davis launched his salvo at Brussels.

He said: 'What we're about, is building an implementation period, which is to build a bridge to a future where we work well together.

'And I do not think it was in good faith to publish a document with frankly discourteous language, and actually implying that they could arbitrarily terminate, in effect, the implementation period.

'That's not what the aim of this exercise is, it's not in good faith, and we think it's unwise to publish that.'

Meanwhile, a leaked EU memo has claimed that Jeremy Corbyn is ready to keep the UK in the customs union - even though it would mean not being able to sign trade deals with the rest of the world.

The Labour leader is said to have privately signalled his willingness to make a series of deep concessions if he takes charge of negotiations.

The commitments - which fly in the face of the party's official policy - emerged in records of a meeting with Mr Barnier that took place earlier this week.

But Labour denied that Mr Corbyn said he would maintain existing customs arrangements, insisting he merely floated the idea of a new form of customs union.

It could be weeks until the full Cabinet thrashes out a stance that will be taken into the negotiation process with Brussels in March.

Michel Barnier (second from left) held talks with Keir Starmer (left), Jeremy Corbyn and Emily Thornberry (right) when he was in London on Monday

Boris Johnson, pictured in Downing Street ahead of the war Cabinet yesterday, is urging a clean break from the EU

The Cabinet subcommittee - made up of Mrs May and her top ministers including Philip Hammond, Amber Rudd, Boris Johnson and Michael Gove - discussed the Ireland issue yesterday afternoon.

The talks also covered the potential immigration arrangements for after we leave - while today the group was considering 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 earlier this week 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.

Following today's meeting, Mr Davis said: 'Well the atmosphere is very constructive - I'm not going to give you a detailed blow-by-blow of a Cabinet committee - that obviously never happens.

'Very constructive, a lot of things resolved. Bear in mind we've already got a very, very strong framework of what we want to achieve.'

Mr Davis said this was an 'overarching free trade agreement' with Brussels that would allow frictionless free trade with Europe and trade deals abroad.

He added: 'There's still progress to be made, but there's a great deal of progress been made.'

WHY DO THE CUSTOMS UNION AND SINGLE MARKET MATTER AND WHAT COULD HAPPEN AFTER BREXIT? When Britain stays in a custom union with Brussels (the European Commissions headquarters is pictured) is one of the main points of Brexit contention The customs union and single market have emerged as crucial battlegrounds in the struggle over Brexit. The customs arrangements could decide the fate of the overall deal - as the UK has already said it will ensure there is no hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic. Here are the main options for what could happen after Britain leaves the bloc. Staying in the EU single market A Norway-style arrangement would be the deepest possible without formally staying in the EU. The single market rules out tariffs, quotas or taxes on trade, and guarantees free movement of goods, services, capital and - controversially - people. It also seeks to harmonise rules on packaging, safety and standards. Staying in the EU customs union The customs union allows EU states to exchange goods without tariffs, and impose common tariffs on imports from outside the bloc. But they also prevent countries from striking deals outside the union. Theresa May has repeatedly made clear that the UK will be leaving the customs union. Forging a new customs union Some MPs and the Labour leadership have raised the idea of creating a new customs union with the EU. This could be looser than the existing arrangements, but still allow tariff free trade with the bloc. However, many Eurosceptics believe it is impossible to be in a union without hampering the UK's ability to strike trade deals elsewhere. They also complain that it would mean accepting the EU's 'protectionist' tariffs against other parts of the world in areas like agriculture. The PM has also ruled out this option. A customs partnership Less formal than a union, this proposal would seek to cherry pick the elements that facilitate tariff-free trade - without binding the UK's hands when it comes to deals with other countries. One possibility could be keeping the UK and EU connected for trade in goods, but allowing divergence for the services sector. The partnership option was floated by the government in a position paper last year. 'Highly streamlined' customs This scenario would be a 'bare minimum' customs arrangement between the EU and UK. New technology would be deployed alongside a simple agreement to minimise friction. But there are fears that this could hit trade, and it is unclear how the system would work with a 'soft' Irish border. Advertisement

It has emerged that the EU 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.

Negotiating guidelines published yesterday 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.'

Earlier this week, Irish deputy premier Mr Coveney 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.'
A premature baby died due to mistakes made by medical staff from two of the UK's worst hospital trusts, an inquest heard.

George French-Russell passed away 12 days after he was delivered on the landing on his parents home in Buxton, Derbyshire by panicked paramedics.

The newborn, who was born in breach, was starved of oxygen in the crucial first few minutes of his life which caused devastating brain damage.

Expecting mother Katie French, 26, told the coroner: 'It felt like I was delivering the baby on my own.'

George French-Russell, pictured above with parents Brendan and Katie, passed away 12 days after he was delivered on the landing on his parents home in Buxton, Derbyshire by panicked paramedics

The grieving parent, who was forced to switch off George's life support, described the chaotic labour to Stockport Coroner's Court this week for an inquest into her son's death.

An inquest revealed a catalogue of mistakes which saw:

High-risk Miss French's 30-week scan cancelled because staff were on leave

Miss French advised by unqualified midwife assistant after calling up in agony

East Midlands Ambulance arrive eight minutes late after Miss French called 999

Paramedics request for midwife or doctor to be sent to scene ignored

Doctor advising paramedic on the phone allegedly ends the call before birth

Prolonged birth causes George to be starved of oxygen and cause brain damage

The court was told how George was a 'much wanted baby', by parents Miss French and Brendan Russell, 41, who were excited for his arrival.

Miss French had been previously identified as a 'high risk pregnancy' but was positive as scans showed the baby was developing well.

The cook told the hearing: 'I could feel him kick all the time, moving about and I heard his heartbeat. He was just perfect.

'At 20 weeks they told me he was breech, but they said not to worry as he had plenty of time to turn'.

Her next ante-natal clinic was cancelled because the NHS consultant was on leave and no replacement was available, so a planned scan did not take place.

She said: 'I then had an appointment in early January and I saw the midwife, she said everything was fine.'

Devastated: Miss French and Mr Russell, pictured together above, told the court they felt let down by the care and advice given by the NHS

But tragically the inquest heard how the family's ordeal began on January 11 last year after Miss French woke up in pain after going into labour early.

She was told by an unqualified assistant to take two paracetomol.

The young mum said the pain got worse, so she rang partner Brendan at work and he rushed home.

But rather than ring the hospital back she called the community midwife team based just two miles down the road. No one was available to speak.

It was another 30 minutes before they called back and made an appointment for her to visit the unit later that afternoon. But then she started bleeding heavily.

Frantically she dialled 999 and East Midlands Ambulance Service dispatched a crew. She told the call handler she was having contractions.

The ambulance should have been with her within eight minutes, it took more than double that time. Full details of the unfolding emergency were not properly relayed to the crew.

Paramedic Anthony Herritt said he requested a midwife but was told to instead move Katie to the hospital, which was not feasible as it was more than 30 minutes away.

He said Dr Raid Hamoudi advised him over the phone to carry out an internal examination.

Speaking in court, he said: 'He told me I was going to have to do it, then I managed to release the other foot.

'It was a very short call and I wasn't happy about it being ended. It was one of those situations when you have an expert on the phone you want all the advice you can get.'

Dr Hamoudi denied that he was uninterested or rushed to get off the phone. He claimed the paramedic ended the call after the baby had arrived.

South Manchester Senior Coroner Alison Mutch questioned why the doctor had shown a lack of interest in the outcome and why paramedics had not made further efforts to seek expert assistance.

Giving her evidence Miss French said: 'It felt like I was delivering the baby on my own.'

Another ambulance arrived George and was delivered weighing in at 5lbs 5oz. Crucially it was 25 minutes after his foot first appeared and 15 minutes after the call with the doctor ended.

It was only then two community midwives, who had been alerted to the emergency, arrived at the house to help the baby who appeared 'floppy and pale'.

Both mother and child were rushed to Stepping Hill. Later that day the infant was transferred to a specialist unit at The Royal Bolton Hospital, but it soon became clear he had suffered serious brain damage due to a lack of oxygen during the prolonged birth.

It just killed me. I didn't want to do it, but we couldn't let him suffer

After 12 days doctors gave his parents the news that his condition was unlikely to improve, and they took the heartbreaking decision to withdraw life support on January 23.

'It just killed me. I didn't want to do it, but we couldn't let him suffer,' sobbed Miss French.

Giving a narrative conclusion Ms Mutch said: 'Baby George died from a recognised complication of footling breech, contributed by the absence of expert advice during the delivery.'

She said she was troubled by the way information had been exchanged and that some calls and conversations were poorly documented. She also urged the hospital to make it clear the triage number is the only one to be used in such incidents to avoid any repeat.

Last night a grieving relative said: 'The men and women of the NHS are, on the whole, wonderful people. But on this occasion, they have failed us terribly.'

At the end of the three-day hearing George's grandfather Wayne Russell said: 'The inquest was open and thorough and on the whole we are satisfied.

'But there are no winners in these matters. We've lost a son and a grandson who would just have celebrated his first birthday.

'It gives us no pleasure to see NHS staff brought before a court to see how they made such horrendous mistakes.'

The inquest heard the closure of the town's maternity unit in July 2012 as part of a 3 million cost cutting exercise left pregnant women under the care of Stepping Hill Hospital 16 miles away in Stockport, Greater Manchester.

The coroner heard how at the time of George's death last year the maternity department was short of six staff, while community midwives based locally had heavy caseloads.

A senior midwife told the coroner there was a shortage of maternity experts at the hospital but they 'just had to cope'.

It gives us no pleasure to see NHS staff brought before a court to see how they made such horrendous mistakes

Both EMAS and Stepping Hill claimed steps have been taken to improve the way cases are handled and information shared since the tragedy.

In 2016 the hospital was ordered to improve by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), but when inspectors returned last year they said standards had dropped even further.

The health watchdog warned Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, of patient care being 'compromised' by staff shortages.

A Trust spokeswoman said: 'This was a very tragic case and our sympathies are with George's parents and family. His delivery was very difficult and followed an unexpected course.

'The advice that was provided to George's mum on the day of his delivery was clinically appropriate. The coroner made no findings in relation to staffing levels or their role in George's death.'

Dr Bob Winter, Medical Director of EMAS said: 'Our ambulance crews are highly trained and experienced however, they are not maternity experts and rely on other healthcare professionals to support them.

'After this incident we proactively reviewed our response to this emergency. We will consider recommendations made by the coroner.'
A suspect on the run for five-days wanted in connection with the death of a mother in South Australia has been arrested.

Travis Kirchner was picked up by police on Friday night along with two other people at a house in Doveton, south east Melbourne, in relation to their investigation into the death of Sally Rothe.

He had been named as a wanted man by police following her suspected murder in Murray Bridge on Sunday and officers from Victoria Police visited the property after receiving a tip off.

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WANTED: South Australian detectives desperately hunting Travis Kirchner, 43, arrested him in Melbourne on Friday

Kirchner was arrested shortly after 6pm 'without incident' along with a man and a woman at the house on suspicion of assisting an offender escape apprehension, police said.

Ms Rothe's family have been told of the arrests in Victoria, police said.

Officers have carried out searches of 110 properties in a massive manhunt since Ms Rothe was found brutally killed in the town east of Adelaide.

This included extensive use of investigation resources ranging from uniformed police, dog and water operations to STAR Group and the Murray Mallee Local Service Area's Criminal Investigation Branch.

Kirchner, 43, will appear in court on Monday in Dandenong as investigators from South Australia travel to Melbourne to apply for extradition orders for the trio to face charges in their home state.

The two other people arrested alongside Kirchner were a 49-year-old man and 50-year-old woman, both from Murray Bridge.

VICTIM: 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

A statement from SA Police said: 'Police have arrested wanted man Travis Kirchner, along with another man and woman who he was in company with, at a Victorian home this evening.

'Kirchner was wanted in connection with the death of mother-of-three Sally Rothe in Murray Bridge on Sunday night.

'Officers from Victoria Police Fugitive Task Force and Homicide Squad attended a home in Doveton after receiving information from SAPOL's Major Crime Investigation Branch and arrested Kirchner without incident.

Crime scene: Neighbours woke up to shocking scenes in sleepy Murray Bridge on Monday following the slaying death of Sally Rothe

'The arrest comes after extensive searches of more than 110 properties since Sunday utilising numerous SAPOL resources.

'The family of Sally Rothe have been notified of the arrests.

'SA Police would like to thank everyone especially the Murray Bridge community for their assistance and cooperation during the investigation and to all of those who passed on information through Crime Stoppers.'

Detectives are continuing to appeal for anyone with information relating to the investigation to come forward and call Crime Stoppers South Australia.

Ms Rothe was killed by a man known to her, and well known to police, Detective Superintendent Des Bray told reporters

It comes just days after two other people were arrested by cops who pulled them over on a busy highway.

Footage was captured near the Murray Bridge on Wednesday afternoon of two men being held on the ground by officers.

Kirchner's sister Tracy released a statement on Tuesday calling for her brother to hand himself in.

She said: '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.'

Anyone with information on the woman's death is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000

Police previously said they were desperately searching for a man with a tiger tattoo and 'possible' rat's tail following the brutal slaying of a 'very spiritual' mother-of-three on Sunday.

Sally Rothe, 54, 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.

A dog-walking neighbour rang police after spotting a man trying to kick Ms Rothe's door.

Ms Rothe body was discovered with 'significant injuries', Detective Superintendent Des Bray said.
Alaeldien Ahmed , 27, randomly stabbed father-of-four Anthony Banting to death at a tram stop in Birmingham in an unprovoked attack

A paranoid schizophrenic calmly walked away from the scene after stabbing an innocent father-of-four to death in an unprovoked attack.

Alaeldien Ahmed randomly attacked Anthony Banting at a tram stop in Winson Green, Birmingham on March 31 last year, stabbing him 60 times.

He then walked away from the scene, leaving the much-loved father bleeding to death on the pavement.

Ahmed, 27, from Eva Road, Winson Green, was cleared of murder but found guilty of manslaughter by diminished responsibility by a jury at Birmingham crown court after a two week trial.

The brutal and unprovoked attack happened at around 4.40pm after 57-year-old Mr Banting left the tram stop in Winson Green to meet his son at a nearby pub.

Ahmed (pictured) can be seen calmly walking away after the shocking and unprovoked killing of Mr Banting

As he walked towards the tram stop exit, he was approached by Ahmed who attacked him in a violent and sustained assault.

Mr Banting was stabbed multiple times with police saying that, over the course of a few minutes, he sustained 60 stab wounds.

A court heard how Mr Banting (pictured) was randomly attacked by Ahmed and had done nothing to provoke the assault

The court heard that Mr Banting had been stabbed around three minutes after getting off the tram.

Ahmed then left the scene and a passer-by found the seriously hurt Mr Banting.

Emergency services were called and paramedics worked tirelessly to save him.

However, despite their best efforts he died at the scene.

After an investigation by British Transport Police's Major Crime Team, forensic evidence placed Ahmed at the scene of the shocking attack.

Mr Banting's blood was found on both of his attacker's shoes.

Senior investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Paul Langley said: 'Mr Banting did not know his attacker; he was an innocent and law-abiding citizen who was heading to meet his son at a local pub in Winson Green.

'His family have been left devastated by the actions of a man he had never met before.

'In the space of a few minutes, Mr Banting sustained 60 stab wounds.

'The viciousness and brutally of this attack is deeply shocking.

The court heard that Mr Banting had been stabbed around three minutes after getting off the tram and his blood was later found on Ahmed's shoes

'We'll now work with the courts to ensure that the right sentence is handed down to his attacker.

'Ahmed is a violent and dangerous individual and it is essential he receives a tough sentence which ensures he cannot bring tragedy to another family.'

Ahmed will now be sentenced on March 9.

Flowers were left at the scene where Mr Banting was stabbed and died, he had been on the way to a nearby pub to meet his son
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Pita Taufatofua, the Tongan who captured global attention as the oiled and topless flagbearer at the Rio Olympics, has again sent pulses racing by revealing his torso at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics.

The toned athlete - renowned for his film star looks - seemed unfazed by the bitter South Korean cold as he again waved the flag of his tiny Polynesian nation.

He competed in taekwondo in Rio, but has since retrained as a cross-country skier, practicing on sand with planks tied to his feet to get a feel for the sport.

Pita Taufatofua, the Tongan who captured global attention as the oiled and topless flagbearer at the Rio Olympics, has again sent pulses racing by revealing his torso at the opening ceremony in Pyeongchang

Taufatofua carried his national flag aloft with a beaming smile despite temperatures in the main stadium being as low as -3C

The athlete's decision again to go topless in South Korea comes despite him warning earlier that it was too cold to do so

Taufatofua, who competed at the Rio Summer Olympics in the Korean martial art of taekwondo converted to cross-country skiing in order to compete at these Games

Members of the crowd seemed to remember him from his last appearance as he stopped for selfies in the stadium

Taufatofua only the second Tongan to earn a place at the Winter Olympics, and joins a selective group of athletes to have competed at both Summer and Winter Games.

He chose to work for the honour despite being offered numerous modelling and film contracts after Rio, saying he picked cross-country skiing because it was the 'hardest' thing he could think to do.

'It still feels quite strange actually being here, because it took me 20 years to get to Rio, and just one year to get here,' the former youth worker said.

'It's just an honour. I mean, how many countries in the Pacific get to go to a Winter Games?'

A complete unknown until the Rio curtain raiser, it later emerged that he was a part-time model and worked with homeless children - only adding to his allure.

Taufatofua at the time lived in Brisbane, Australia, but chose to represent Tonga, an island nation with a population of 105,000, because that is where his father comes from.

Before Rio the athlete has failed to qualify for three previous Olympics and suffered a slate of serious injuries, including six broken bones and three torn ligaments.

But having finally made it, he was handed the honor of carrying the Tongan flag in the parade of nations wearing nothing but a ta'ovala, or Tongan mat.

Who is Pita Taufatofua? The oiled-up Tongan flagbearer who stole the show in Rio and Pyeongchang A complete unknown when he walked out carrying Tonga's flag at the Rio Olympics, Pita Taufatofua's gleaming pecs and bulging arms catapulted him to worldwide fame within moments. Born in Australia, Taufatofua had to work for 20 years to earn his place at Rio competing in taekwando, suffering six broken bones and many torn ligaments along the way. Despite being an Australian citizen he was allowed to compete for Tonga - an island nation with a population of 105,000 at the Games because that is where his father is from. Pita Taufatofua appeared shirtless at the Pyeongchang Olympics for the second time - having been catapulted to worldwide fame in Rio after his oiled muscles won him a legion of fans Having competed in taekwando in Rio he retrained in cross-country skiing, initially walking around on wooden planks on sand to get a feel for the sport, before competing across Europe Before becoming an Olympian, Taufatofua worked counselling homeless youths and says his main mission in life is to inspire others by setting 'impossible' goals, then moving mountains to achieve them. Having competed in Rio - where he was knocked out in the first round to Iranian fighter Sajjad Mardani by a score of 16-1 - he set his sights on competing at Pyeongchang. Beginning his training near his home of Brisbane, he initially worked using planks of wood strapped to his feet and 'skied' on sand to get a feel for the balance. Next he trained for four weeks in Germany before competing at the world championships in Finland, where he finished behind an Indian skier. Back in the Pacific he trained for a time on roller-skis before going on to compete across Europe and earn his place at the Pyeongchang Games. Taufatofua said at the time of the Rio Olympics that he was single and has made no announcement since then, so could still be on the market. He turned down the opportunity to do film and modelling work after Rio in order to compete a second time, and has not ruled out trying for a third Games. Taufatofua's legacy as an athlete is less bright than his typically glistening torso, having been kicked out of the Rio Olympics in the first round, defeated 16-1 by Iranian Sajjad Mardani Having turned down modelling and film work in order to compete at Pyeongchang, Taufatofua has not ruled out trying for a third Games Advertisement

Taufatofua made his name when he unexpectedly appeared in all his oily glory carrying Tonga's flag in Rio in 2016

Athletes from both North and South Korea marched out together at the opening ceremony of the Pyeongyang Winter Olympics under a flag depicting a unified Korean peninsula

In total North Korea has send 22 athletes to the games who will be competing across five disciplines, including figure skating, skiing and speed skating

The ceremony was capped by the lighting of the Olympic torch by Kim Yu-na, the 2010 Olympic champion in figure skating, using a mechanism that extended up towards the cauldron before it ignited

The children were accompanied on their quest by the White Tiger, one of the four guardian gods and protectors of peace

Alongside the huge puppets were spectacular light displays and thousands of dancers wearing traditional Korean costumes

The drummers were part of the mesmerizing display that finished as the parade of nations began

The children celebrate completing their quest as the first part of the opening ceremony finishes

Intel set a Guinness World Record for the most drones flown simultaneously  more than 1,200  during the first drone light show in the history of Olympic Games

Kim Jong-un's sister sits right behind US Vice President Mike Pence at the Winter Olympics North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un 's sister was seen enjoying the Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Pyeongchang, South Korea sitting right behind U.S. Vice President Mike Pence. Kim Yo Jong had taken her seat just feet away from the Vice President, behind his wife Karen Pence, after shaking the hand of South Korean President Moon Jae-in as they entered the stadium for the event. Kim Jong Un's younger sister is part of a high-level diplomatic delegation led by the North's ceremonial head of state Kim Yong Nam, and she is the first member of Pyongyang's ruling dynasty to set foot in the country since the Korean War. Diplomatic progress? Kim Jong-Un's sister Kim Yo-Jong is seen sitting just feet away from U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen during the opening ceremony Kim Yong Nam was earlier seen meeting with President Moon, the two leaders shaking hands ahead of the opening ceremony. President Moon has pushed the Games as a 'peace Olympics' that will open a door for dialogue to alleviate tensions on the peninsula and seek to persuade Pyongyang to give up its atomic ambitions. There is reportedly a 'good chance' that Ms Kim will invite President Moon to Pyongyang during a lunch on Saturday, CNN reports. Peace Olympics': Kim Yo-Jong was seated next to North Korea's ceremonial head of state Kim Yong Nam, behind President Moon and his wife, and Mr and Mrs Pence Making friends: Ms Kim is seen shaking hands with President Moon Jae-in ahead of the opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games Sources told CNN that the potential visit would be 'sometime this year', and if it goes ahead it would be the first visit from a South Korean president in 11 years. The last member of the Kim family to set foot in Seoul was Yo Jong's grandfather Kim Il Sung, the North's founder, after his forces invaded in 1950 and the capital fell. Three years later the conflict ended with a ceasefire rather than a peace treaty, leaving the peninsula divided by the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone, and the two sides technically in a state of war. Advertisement

Taufatofua - the only athlete from his country competing in South Korea - said the oil was part of a tradition in Tongan culture to accentuate the athlete's power and sexual prowess.

The Tongan was just one highlight in an opening ceremony which saw athletes from both North and South Korea walk into the main stadium amid a ceremony featuring huge puppets, 1,200 drones and thousands of dancers that was themed around the search for peace.

As they came into the stadium they were greeted by a song called Arirang, a folk tune that was later used as the resistance anthem when Korea was under Japanese imperial rule

Inside the area 30,000 people, including a 200-strong North Korean cheerleading squad, watched in -3C temperatures as they were encouraged to bang drums given to them in an extreme weather kit to keep warm.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean ceremonial head of state Kim Yong Nam, who had earlier shaken hands in an historic meeting, clapped and waved in unison as the team entered.

Sitting alongside them in the world leader's box was Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, and US Vice President Mike Pence, who were sitting just one row apart.

Four Korean singers then took to the stage to perform 'Imagine' by John Lennon, who were then backed by a film showing street musicians around the world singing the song.

The show, directed by Korean actor Song Seung-whan, uses the South Korean flag  the Taegeukgi - and the traditional janggo drum to represent the harmony of yin and yang.

South Korea's Royal Marching Band and the Traditional Guard of Honour  both in national dress, wowed the crowd.

South Korea's leader proclaimed the Pyeongchang Olympic Games as a 'path to peace' as he opened the Games in a spectacular ceremony.

Eight former South Korean Olympians entered the stadium with their flag which was raised before the national anthem

Team GB were led into the stadium by Lizzy Yarnold who won gold at the women's skeleton during the 2014 Olympics

Erin Hamlin, four-time Olympic luger, led out the United States during the parade of nations having won the honor from speed skater Shani Davis with a controversial coin toss

Russian Olympians entered the stadium under the Olympic flag. The country is officially banned from competing after a state-sponsored doping ring was uncovered but individual athletes who can prove they are clean are permitted to attend

Snowboarder Scotty James, who became Australia's youngest Olympian in 50 years when he secured at the 2010 games aged just 15, led out his national team

Athletes from China wave flags during the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang

The Bermudan Olympic team drew gasps from the audience  and praise from other athletes  as they marched into the stadium in shorts

Who is Kim Yo-Jong? Kim Jong-Un's younger sister hailed as the 'political princess' of North Korea Kim Jong Un's increasingly influential sister has become one of his closest confidantes in a country where power has always been a family affair. Kim Yo Jong made history Friday as the first member of the North's ruling dynasty to set foot in the South since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. Believed to be aged 30, Yo Jong is one of three children born to Kim Jong Il and his third known partner, former dancer Ko Yong Hui, making her a full sister of Kim Jong-Un. Right-wing woman: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, left, seen with his sister Kim Yo Jong who has become an increasingly prominent figure in the country's leadership Like her brother, she received her primary educated in Berne, Switzerland in the 90s, and later returned to North Korea to study computer science in Pyongyang. The siblings' time together in Europe, during which they attended school under fake identities and were kept in semi-isolation under the protection of guards and party officials, has made them particularly close. Her existence was barely known to the wider world until their father's funeral, when she was seen standing right behind her brother on state television, looking tearful and ashen-faced. But she was rapidly ushered up the ladder after Kim Jong-Un took the helm and she is now one of the most powerful women in the isolated regime. A state of Kims: The family tree of North Korea's ruling Kim dynasty 'She is one of a very few people who can talk freely about anything with the leader Kim,' said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korea Studies in Seoul. 'She must have far bigger capacity than any other North Korean official when it comes to decision-making and policy coordination with the leader,' he said, adding she is fluent in English and French. Yo Jong is currently an alternate member of the political bureau of the party's powerful central committee, and deeply involved in the party's propaganda operations - an important role. She was elected as a member of the Supreme People's Assembly - the country's rubberstamp parliament - at the age of just 27. In December 2014, Yo Jong reportedly married a man named Choe Song, son of Workers' Party's party secretary Choe Ryong Hae. The couple is said to have one child, born in 2015. Advertisement

President President Moon Jae-in told a packed stadium  and an international audience of millions in 200 countries  that sport had the power to bring 'reconciliation between East and West'.

He said: 'I would like to welcome everyone who has joined us here in at Pyeongchang for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games.

'The Seoul 1988 Summer Games paved the way for reconciliation between East and West by breaking down the wall of the Cold War.

'Thirty years after hosting the Summer Games, the Pyeongchang Olympic Winter Games has commenced with a hope for peace from everyone around the world.

'It was with an ardent desire that the people of Korea aspired to host the Olympic Winter Games, as the dream and future of Korea, the only divided nation in the world, mirrors the Olympic spirit in its pursuit of peace.

'The people of Korea rewrote the history of democracy last year with peaceful and dignified candlelight protests. We have also been very committed in our preparation of the Olympic Games as a festival and celebration of peace.

'I believe the Olympic Flame that opens the Winter Games will illuminate the path of peace for everyone who has travelled to be with us in the beautiful winter wonderland of Korea.

'This is the start. With passion that will bring supporters and athletes together regardless of outcome, and with the Olympic spirit that seeks peace and a love for humanity, the Winter Games held on the snow and ice here in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province, will be for everyone to enjoy and celebrate.'

Who is North Korea's head of state? 90-year-old Kim Yong Nam is unquestionably loyal to the Supreme Leader Kim Yong-nam, North Korea's ceremonial head of state and leader of the North's high-level government delegation North Korea's ceremonial head of state Kim Yong Nam is a career diplomat whose unquestioning loyalty has ensured his survival for decades in the regime's top ranks. Kim, who turns 90 this month, has served the North's ruling Kim family for three generations, despite periodic purges of the Workers' Party. Leader Kim Jong Un had his own uncle executed for treason two years after coming to power, and his half-brother Kim Jong Nam was assassinated in a Malaysian airport last year, but Kim Yong Nam - who is not a close blood relative of the ruling family - has always survived. Analysts ascribe his longevity to his suave manner and reliable devotion. 'He has never been considered a threat to the regime,' said professor Yang Moo-jin of the University of North Korean Studies. 'He is an amiable technocrat who faithfully follows the leader's directions,' he told AFP. South Korean analysts have nicknamed him 'Tape Recorder', he added, 'as he always parrots what has been said by the supreme leader'. Kim Yong Nam arrived in the South Friday for a three-day visit, at the head of the North's diplomatic delegation to the Winter Olympics, accompanied by leader Kim's sister, two other senior other officials, and 18 support staff. As president of the presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, the North's rubberstamp parliament, he is the country's ceremonial head of state and technically the highest-level Northern official ever to visit the South. But he is largely considered a figurehead whose public diplomatic role, representing the country at international events, leaves it unclear how much political power he really has. He issues letters of credit for North Korean diplomats and receives foreign representatives, but Kim Jong Un holds the real authority as the Supreme Leader and head of the Workers' Party. Kim Yong Nam's diplomatic roles were especially convenient for the current leader's late father and predecessor Kim Jong Il, who was known for a propensity to avoid contact with foreign guests, according to analysts. 'He is not a politician but a typical technocrat who has spent decades handling international relations,' said Yang. But he pointed out that whenever the North's state media reel off the names of officials who attend ceremonies, 'Kim Yong Nam's name always comes next after that of Kim Jong Un.' 'This means he is the number-two in the official party ranks,' he added. According to the South's Unification Ministry, Kim Yong Nam was born in February 1928 in Pyongyang. He studied at the North's prestigious Kim Il Sung University before graduating from Moscow University in 1953 with a bachelor's degree in international relations. He was recruited into the international affairs department of the party's Central Committee, where he started moving up the career ladder, becoming its head in 1972. He has spent his entire career in Pyongyang, and in 1983 the North's founder Kim Il Sung named him as foreign minister. Under Kim's son and successor Kim Jong Il he was elevated to his current position in 1998. As the head of state, he took part in both North-South summits in Pyongyang, meeting South Korean president Kim Dae-jung in 2000 and his successor Roh Moo-hyun seven years later. He will meet his third South Korean president, Moon Jae-in, at a lunch on Saturday. Pyeongchang will also be his third Olympics - he led the North's delegations to Beijing in 2008 and Sochi four years ago. Advertisement

The spectacular display featured thousands of fireworks and a dazzling light display, along with mesmerizing and frequently bizarre performances by dancers and five child actors depicting a quest for peace

The ceremony closed as four Korean pop stars sang a rendition of John Lenon's Imagine amid a sea of swaying lights

Performers created the symbol of a peace dove around the five singers as the opening ceremony entered its final stages

Each seat was equipped with a special light square that illuminated different colours and became part of the show

The South Korean flag was used in the display alongside the janggo drum to represent the harmony of yin and yang

Performers with light-up boxes featured as part of the ceremony in an incredible visual display

As the box lights were extinguished the columns were illuminated, creating a spectacular effect
A Brazilian money launderer who stashed nearly $20 million in cash in a box spring has been sentenced to almost three years in a federal prison.

Cleber Rene Rizerio Rocha, 28, was sentenced Thursday in a Boston federal court after pleading guilty in October to money laundering and conspiracy charges.

The money was found in Westborough in January 2017 during an investigation into TelexFree Inc., a defunct internet telecom company claiming to sell voice-over-internet telephone service that prosecutors say was actually a billion-dollar pyramid scheme.

TelexFree made little to no money selling its service while taking in millions of dollars from thousands of people who paid to sign up to be 'promoters' and post ads online for it, prosecutors said.

Cleber Rene Rizerio Rocha, 28, has been sentenced to 33 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to money laundering and conspiracy charges. He had hidden nearly $20million in a box spring (pictured) in a Westborough, Massachusetts apartment

The company, which was founded by U.S. citizen James Merrill and Brazilian national Carlos Wanzeler, collapsed in 2014.

It inflicted more than $3billion in losses on nearly 1.89million people worldwide,

Merrill was arrested in 2014. He was sentenced in March to six years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy and fraud charges.

Wanzeler fled to Brazil in 2014, where he cannot be extradited from, leaving behind tens of millions of dollars he laundered from TelexFree accounts, prosecutors said.

Rocha (pictured) was acting as a courier for the former executive of what prosecutors said was actually a billion-dollar pyramid scheme called TelexFree, which purported itself to be an internet telecom company selling voice-over-internet telephone service

Rocha was a courier for a fugitive TelexFree executive who came to retrieve the money to move it out of the U.S., authorities said.

In 2015, Leonardo Casula Francisco, Wanzelers nephew, asked someone who became a cooperating witness to help transfer cash generated from the scheme that Wanzeler had hidden in the greater Boston area out of the United States, prosecutors said.

The pair agreed someone would be sent to the United States to deliver the money in increments to the witness, who would send it to accounts in Hong Kong where it would be transferred to Brazil, prosecutors said.

In December, Casula sent Rocha to the United States to deliver money to the witness, an indictment said.

This witness was in fact cooperating with authorities working on the case, Telegram.com notes.

After a January 4 meeting in a parking lot where Rocha gave the cooperating witness $2.2million in a suitcase, federal agents followed Rocha to a Westborough, Massachusetts, apartment complex, prosecutors said.

They said that after Rocha was arrested, he helped agents locate the apartment, where they found roughly $20million hidden under a mattress.

His charges each carried up to 20 years in prison, but prosecutors previously agreed to recommend a 40-month term based on his cooperation in the case.

His sentence ended up being 33 months in prison followed by a year of supervised release.
Police in the Thai capital Bangkok say they have arrested a Russian national accused by U.S. authorities of running a huge online cybercrime marketplace.

They said that Sergey Medvedev was arrested at the request of U.S. authorities and is now awaiting extradition.

He is accused of numerous criminal enterprises ranging from selling stolen credit card information to selling hardware that enables ATM security to be breached.

Sergey Medvedev, 31, center, was arrested outside the Bangkok apartment where he is accused of playing a role in an international identity theft ring that sold stolen credit card information on the dark web, leading to losses of more than 383 million

Medvedev, center, is reported to have remained silent during his arrest on Friday - he now faces extradition to the U.S.

The U.S. says that Medvedev, 31, was InFraud's co-founder along with Svyatoslav Bondarenko, and said he had operated a payment system for the forum's members

The Russian is also accused of using InFraud, a dark web marketplace selling stolen credit card info, malware and other tools to conduct identity theft.

He said nothing to police at the time of his arrest, and had been monitored by Thai and US authorities since last year, Thai police were reported by khaosodenglish.com as saying.

The U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday announced indictments against 36 people accused of being active on Infraud - founded in 2010 and operated under the slogan 'In Fraud We Trust'.

They ran an anonymous online forum that the department described as a 'one-stop shop for cybercriminals' and had nearly 11,000 members who traded more than 4.3 million credit cards, debit cards and bank accounts worldwide.

The dark web is an expanding online crime area, blamed among other things for data breaches, extortion of young people for child pornography and fraud

Ransomware eclipsed most other forms of cybercrime as on-line crime surged in 2017, European policing agency Europol said last year, citing high-profile attacks such as 'WannaCry' that reached millions of computers (Stock image)

Banks are often the targets of online fraud - the fraudsters claim to have targeted 795,000 log-ins for British customers of HSBC

Their activities led to losses of more than 383 million for legitimate users and businesses.

The U.S. indictment described Medvedev, 31, as the group's co-founder along with Svyatoslav Bondarenko, and said he had operated a payment system for the forum's members.

It said Medvedev became the website's owner and administrator when Bondarenko went missing in 2015.

Thai Police arresting officer Nuthapong Rattanamongkolsak said U.S. officials had tracked the group for several years but only recently started to make arrests.

'Before the operation could be ready, they had to recheck their targets in various countries,' Nutthapong said, adding that the case against the Infraud began in 2014 when a U.S. Homeland Security officer sent an undercover agent to sign up as a member of the Dark Web forum.

On Thursday, 13 wanted persons were taken into custody across the globe, including in California, New York and Alabama. Suspects arrested in France, Britain, Italy, Australia, Kosovo and Serbia are awaiting extradition.

Medvedev will be extradited to face prosecution in the U.S., Nutthapong said.

A Thai police statement said they seized 29 electronic items from Medvedev's Bangkok apartment, while the Infraud main servers were seized Wednesday in Paris.

The police statement said officers were able to arrest Medvedev by performing stake-outs, behavioural analyse and by investigating his online activity.

Nutthapong said Thai police are tracking several other similar online syndicates.

Last year Thai authorities arrested the alleged operator of Alphabay, a massive Dark Web marketplace where illicit items such as narcotics and guns could be sold or purchased by anyone, unlike Infraud, which vetted its members.

The alleged Alphabay administrator, 26-year-old Canadian Alexandre Cazes, was found dead in his Thai prison cell shortly after his arrest, a suicide by hanging according to Thai police.
Twice a year, the UK switches between Greenwich Mean Time and British Summer Time as part of Daylight Savings Time.

This means that when the clocks change people will have an extra hour for a lie-in in winter, but an hour less in summer time.

However, in early February 2018, the European Union decided to reassess Daylight Savings Time in a full evaluation that will examine the putative pros and cons of the system.

But when do the clocks go forward and back, and what is Daylight Savings Time? Heres all the information on when the clocks change and why.

Under Daylight Saving Time (DST) the clocks go forward and back by an hour twice each year

When do the clocks change in the UK?

In 2018, the clocks go forward by an hour on Sunday, March 25, marking the start of British Summer Time (BST).

BST will begin at 01:00 GMT, meaning that people in the UK will have one hour less of sleep as 1am becomes 2am.

The reasoning behind switching to BST is to have more daylight in the evenings.

When do the clocks go back in 2018 in the UK?

GMT resumes in autumn, on Sunday, October 28. At 02:00 BST, the clocks will go back an hour to become 01:00 GMT again. This is so there is more daylight hours during the winter months.

An easy way to remember how clocks change is the phrase: Clocks spring forward in spring, fall back in fall.

What is Daylight Savings Time (DST)?

Daylight Savings Time is generally attributed to an Edwardian builder named William Willett, who wrote a pamphlet in 1907 entitled The Waste of Daylight.

Willett fervently campaigned for the adoption of British Summer Time.

In his pamphlet, he proposed that the clocks move forward by a total of 80 minutes in four stages throughout the month of April. That way, Willett argued: We shall have 8o minutes more daylight after 6 p.m. every day during May, June, July and August.

Willetts said that the benefits of adopting Daylight Saving Time included 210 extra hours of daylight and an annual saving of 2,500,000.

In 2018, the clocks go forward on March 25 marking the start of British Summer Time (BST)

However, for many years Willetts ideas and bill proposals were rejected. In a cruel twist of irony, Willett ultimately ran out of time, dying just before his proposals were adopted.

In 1916, Germany, seeking to conserve coal during the First World War, introduced Sommerzeit and put the clocks forward by one hour at 11pm.

The UK followed several weeks later with the 1916 British Summer Time Act. The act stipulated that the clocks should go forward by one hour from May 21 to October 1.

Many other European countries followed suit shortly after. The US also adheres to Daylight Savings Time, however they alter their clocks before the UK and Europe.

EU Daylight Saving Time Review

At the beginning of February, a proposal was floated on whether to scrap Daylight Saving Time and thus British Summer Time. On February 8, the EU Parliament voted to begin a review of DST.

The review comes after impact assessment suggested the existence of negative effects on human health, agriculture and road traffic safety.

The research claims that one day after the clocks change, the risk of heart problems in older people increases, traffic accidents jump up by a third and children struggle in school.

The research says these events are down to the fact that the the human body is made for a steady biorhythm and the clocks change affects it.

Benefits and drawbacks of Daylight Saving Time

As Willett outlined, the rationale for adopting Daylight Saving Time is that, by increasing the amount of daylight hours, energy consumption drops.

Another more social reason is that 9-5 societies would prefer to have an extra hour of sunlight after the working day is over. By rising earlier, some argue that DST helps depression sufferers, while others argue extra sunlight during the afternoon allows for outdoor exercise.

However, as the EU review shows, not everyone is for Daylight Saving Time. A 2015 YouGov poll found that people who opposed British Summer Time outnumbered its proponents 40-33 per cent. Just under a quarter of the British population (23 per cent) had no opinion either way.

When clocks change people have an extra hour in bed in winter, but an hour less in summer

Over half of people over the age of sixty (53 per cent) wanted to scrap the practice.

The main criticism of Daylight Saving Time is that the energy saving evidence is, as the French MEP Karima Delli said during the EU debate, not convincing.

Studies that show an increase in road accidents or sleep trouble during the time change must be taken seriously, he added.

Two American psychologists go so far as to argue that Daylight Saving Time produces harmful effects that contribute to the US sleep crisis, and that it actually increases energy costs.
A stroke victim has been reunited with his beloved husky, 18 months after a woman found the dog on the street and refused to give him back.

David Guindon, of San Bernardino, California, got Zeus in 2014 following a devastating stroke and heart attack in 2012 that left him unable to walk on his own.

The husky is vital to Guindon 's life and helps him get around his home in his motorized wheelchair.

'If I want to go outside I just tell him, "Open the door." He'd flip it open for me,' Guindon said to ABC7 Los Angeles.

'[He would] hold it open long enough so I could get towards it and get out.'

But Zeus somehow ran through the front door of Guindon's home in May of 2016.

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David Guindon, of San Bernardino, California, has been reunited with his beloved service dog Zeus after 18 months apart

Guindon got Zeus in 2014 after he suffered a devastating stroke and heart attack that left him unable to walk

Even though Zeus was fitted with a microchip, no one could find him.

A year and a half after Zeus' disappearance, Guindon got a call from the microchip company saying they had found him, but a woman was trying to register him as her own through.

The microchip company wouldn't identify the woman, but said she lived an hour away in Lake Elisnore, California.

The stroke victim was devastated after Zeus bolted out of the front door in May 2016

Zeus helped Guindon get around his home in his motorized wheelchair and would open doors for him

Zeus, pictured here as a puppy, was found via microchip after running away in 2016 - but the woman who discovered him on the street initially refused to give him back

Zeus turned up in Lake Elisnore, California, nearly an hour away from his home in San Bernardino

The woman who found Zeus initially refused to give him back.

Then, on Wednesday night, she returned him to a shelter, clearing the way for Guindon to get his pal back.

Guindon said that Zeus' looked a little thin when they were reunited, but he's glad to have his dog back.

'I'm glad she finally did the right thing, and I thank you,' he said. 'It's like my child. I mean he's my family member,' Guindon said.

Guindon says he has now bought Zeus a GPS collar to avoid this situation in the future.
Some speculate it contains Inca gold and that the Seabed Container went dark so it could search both ships withouth being tracked

Nearby is the SV Inca - a Peruvian transport ship that vanished 100 years ago

The chest was found resting 4KM beneath the surface of the south Indian Ocean

Photos of a 'sunken treasure chest' taken off the coast of Australia have sparked conspiracy theories surrounding the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight 370.

It comes after the high-tech Seabed Container 'went dark' for three days as it searched for the downed flight last week

The mysterious chest was found resting at the bottom of the southern Indian Ocean, nearly four kilometres beneath the surface, in an area called Shipwreck #1.

Photos of a 'sunken treasure chest' (pictured) have sparked conspiracy theories surrounding the disappearance of MH370

Nearby is Shipwreck #2, thought to be the the SV Inca - a Peruvian transport ship that vanished on the way to Sydney more than 100 years ago.

Its discovery sparked chatter about lost treasure and Inca gold.

Both sites are within the 7th Arc - the zone aviation specialists say is most likely to be where MH370's fuel reserves were exhausted.

Four kilometers inside the area, the century-old ship was spotted by one of the Constructor's predecessors, the Havila Harmony, which mistook the shipwreck for the lost plane's fuselage.

In fact, four sites were found by Fugro - a company previously contracted to search for the missing flight.

Shipwreck #3 was found further north at a depth of 3,700 metres and is thought to be a fishing vessel, intact and complete with nets.

Shipwreck #4 was described as a small wooden fishing vessel with substantial damage to the bow.

Nothing further is known about this wreck, which was also found further north in the search area.

The chest, marked with a red circle, was found four kilometres under the surface of the south Indian Ocean

Much of the ship had disintegrated but an anchor remained which was used to date the ship from 1820

Excitement spread throughout the Frugro Equator on March 7 2015 after its sonar system detected what appeared to be a debris field.

Just 12 miles east of the 7th Arc, a cluster of objects were scattered across the sea floor.

The crew thought they had found the lost flight.

But on close inspection they realised they had discovered a graveyard of sunken ships.

'We got really excited', Fugro CEO Paul Kennedy told a conference in Perth, Australia.

MR Kennedy said: 'We don't know where the ship came from.

'The WA Maritime Museum have got no records of the boat - it may have been coming from South Africa to Australia and just got lost and everybody died on board.'

The Seabed Constuctor (pictured) hired to search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 which mysteriously disappeared for three days was reportedly 'refuelling' in Australia

Some have suggested that Seabed Container detoured to search the mysterious chest

The vessel was tasked with searching the zone aviation specialists say is most likely to be where MH370's fuel reserves were exhausted, dubbed the 7th Arc

The ship's anchor turned out to be the key to identifying the vessel. It was of a style popular around 1820, dating the ship around that time.

Aside from a bell and some bracketing, the only surviving item on the ship was a large, rectangular box.

'What there is down there, the only thing that's really left, is a big chest,' Kennedy said.

'And the whole ship was deteriorating and coming away ... and there's this big chest in about 4,000 metres of water, and our question was 'what's in the box?'

Don Thompson, an original member of the MH370 Independent Group (IG) which advised the government on the possible whereabouts of the missing plane, said he believed the box was likely used to store water.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) attempted to find missing aircraft MH370 for two years. A private company has renewed its pledged to locate the wreckage on a 'no find, no fee' basis

The plane vanished after its aircraft communications, addressing and reporting system (Acars) was switched off less than an hour after taking off

'The Fugro report incorporated in the ATSB's Final Operational Report even describes the box as a 'water tank',' he said.

Fugro Equator, Fugro Discovery and Havila Harmony have all attempted to find the presumably downed plane.

Only three confirmed fragments of MH370 have been found, all of them on western Indian Ocean shores, including a two-metre wing part known as a flaperon.

Each ship's progress was tracked meticulously by aviation enthusiasts and conspiracy theorists.

Keeping tabs on the Constructor has proved more challenging: the vessel went dark last week, causing massive speculation.

It was in the vicinity of Shipwreck #1 and Shipwreck #2 that freelance search vessel Seabed Constructor switched off its transponder, making it impossible to track.

Unsurprisingly, its still-unexplained disappearance rekindled conspiracy theories surround the fate of the doomed line which vanished en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur on March 8 2014 with 239 people on board.

Some speculated the vessel it had found MH370 but planned to keep its location secret until it had confirmed its government-funded fee.

Others thought Ocean Infinity had failed to find the missing Boeing 777 and had instead detoured towards the wreckage of what is believed to be the S.V Inca.

The Constructor's docked south of Perth on Thursday after its brief disappearance and came back online Tuesday.

A multinational search cost Australian, Malaysian and Chinese taxpayers $200million. This piece of aircraft debris discovered on the island of Pemba, off the coast of Tanzania

MH370 was tracked by amateur aviation enthusiasts and conspiracy theorists alike

The Seabed Constructor's Texas-based operator, Ocean Infinity, refused to explain the blackout at the time.

The company only said the ship will be docked for a short time before continuing the search.

It comes after a leading aviation expert predicted a disaster like MH370 will happen again soon.

David Stupples, a professor of electronic and radio systems at City, University of London, said: 'You can't say MH370 won't ever happen again, because it will.'

He was referring to the fact that international requirements for new planes to broadcast their locations every minute don't come in until 2021.

'Until 2040 or 2050, there's going to be a large number of aircraft flying around that don't have that tracking system fitted,' he said.

Currently some airlines including Malaysia Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Qantas Airways and Qatar Airways track planes every 15 minutes, which will become a requirement this November.

But still a jet travelling at 575mph that has been missing for 15 minutes requires a search zone of 170,000 square kilometers - an area the size of Florida. This makes finding any survivors very unlikely.

On 2 January, The Constructor left the Port of Durban to begin its search on a 'no find, no fee' deal.

It planned to use sonar scanning equipment to find the aircraft, after a failed multinational search cost Australian, Malaysian and Chinese authorities $200million.

The Malaysian Government will pay US company Ocean Infinity more than $55million if it finds the plane within 90 days.

The freelance boat's designated search area was located just outside the 120 square kilometres previously scoured along the 7th Arc.

No sign of the plane was found and an Australian-led hunt - the largest in aviation history - was called off in January last year.
Malcolm Turnbull signed off on the creation of a second job for Barnaby Joyces girlfriend Vikki Campion after she lost her position with resources minister Matt Canavan.

The prime minister authorised the specially made role for the 33-year-old after she lost her senior advisor role in Senator Canavan's office following his resignation from Cabinet over his Italian citizenship in July.

Room was made for the expectant mother of Mr Joyce's child in the office of Nationals chief whip Damian Drum, where she acted as a media advisor, even though he already had one, the Daily Telegraph has reported.

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Malcolm Turnbull (pictured) signed off on the creation of a second new job for Barnaby Joyces girlfriend Vikki Campion after she lost hers with resources minister Matt Canavan

The prime minister authorised the specially made role for the 33-year-old (pictured) after she lost her senior advisor role in Senator Canavan's office following his resignation from Cabinet over his Italian citizenship in July

The expectant mother of Mr Joyce's child was then made room in the office of Nationals chief whip Damian Drum as a media advisor, even though he already had one

Mr Drum's staff allocation was increased from six to seven - with Mr Turnbull's approval - to accommodate Ms Campion's appointment, a senior government source told the publication.

Callum Whitehead was already working as Mr Drum's 'personal' media advisor, making less than $80,000 when Ms Campion was appointed.

Ms Campion reportedly retained the six-figure salary she was earning while working for Senator Canavan.

The position wasn't advertised to any other candidates, but a spokesperson for Mr Turnbull said 'all staffing appointments were made in the usual way'.

Parliamentary rules state any increase in staffing allocations must be approved by the prime minister's office.

Mr Turnbull said he's unaware of 'any inappropriate expenditure of public funds' and declined to answer any further questions.

Mr Drum's (pictured) staff allocation was increased from six to seven - with Mr Turnbull's approval - to accommodate Ms Campion's appointment, a senior government source told the publication

This week it was revealed Mr Joyce, 50, and Ms Campion are in a private relationship and are expecting a baby

Mr Turnbull (pictured) broke his silence on his deputy's relationship with Ms Campion, describing it as 'a tough and distressing episode'

But he broke his silence on his deputy's relationship with Ms Campion, describing it as 'a tough and distressing episode'.

This week it was revealed Mr Joyce, 50, and Ms Campion are in a private relationship and are expecting a baby.

'It is a tough and distressing episode and I am very conscious - Lucy and I are very conscious - of the hurt occasioned to Natalie and their daughters in particular,' Mr Turnbull said.

'It's a private matter, it's a tough matter and I don't have any more to say about it.'
A lethal motorist smashed into three of his own family when he ran down a neighbour who complained about a party.

Yasin Ahmed, 23, from east London, ploughed a Ford Fiesta into his victim, who was left with three broken ribs after complaining about noise at a summer party.

After the complaint, Ahmed furiously jumped into the hatchback and reversed the car in the direction of the man, in his 40s, without realising that three of his family members were in his path.

Yasin Ahmed, 23, from east London, ploughed a Ford Fiesta into his victim, who was left with three broken ribs after complaining about noise at a summer party

Yasin Ahmed, left, used his Ford Fiesta, right, to ram his victim on August 7 last year

He then turned the car around and drove into the neighbour, of the Isle of Dogs, east London, at speed to try and intimidate him on August 7 last year.

Three members of Ahmed's family were left with minor injuries during the savage attack, which has now seen him disqualified from driving for five years.

At Snaresbrook Crown Court the driver, of Bethnal Green, east London, pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm with intent, dangerous driving and three counts of assault on 17 January.

On Friday Ahmed was handed six years and nine months behind bars and was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of 170.

Detective Constable Michael Dixon of Tower Hamlets CID, who led the investigation, said: 'Not only did Ahmed hit three of his own family members, mobile phone footage showed him being just feet away from hitting a number of young children too.

'Ahmed is incredibly lucky he did not kill someone. He is a dangerous individual and London is now a safer place with him off the streets and behind bars.'
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has said that he would prefer to face a firing squad than be jailed, as he faces an investigation by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.

Duterte is set to be investigated by the Hague court over the deaths of thousands of Filipinos as a result of his ferocious 'war on drugs'.

Speaking during a press conference in his native country, the president addressed the ICC saying 'If you want to find me guilty, go ahead.'

Accused: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte gestures as he speaks about the allegations during a press conference in Davao City, in the southern island of Mindanao

The firebrand leader also whether the ICC had jurisdiction to indict him over the deaths of thousands of Filipinos in his war on drugs. He denied ever giving an order to police to kill drug suspects.

ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said on Thursday the preliminary examination into Duterte's campaign sought to establish whether it had the jurisdiction, and if crimes against humanity had been committed.

'I would ask for the rare privilege of talking to you. Just the two of us in the room,' Duterte said during the news conference, referring to Bensouda.

'I welcome you. If you want to find me guilty, go ahead. So be it. Find a country where they kill people with a firing squad and I'm ready.

'If you haul me into a rigmarole of trial and trial, no need. Go ahead and proceed in your investigation. Find me guilty, of course. You can do that.'

Controversial: Duterte is set to be investigated by the International Criminal Court in the Hague over the deaths of thousands of Filipinos in his war on drugs

About 4,000 mostly urban poor Filipinos have been killed by police in Duterte's signature campaign that has alarmed the international community.

Activists believe the death toll is far higher and accuse police or systematic cover-ups and executions. Police and the government dismiss that.

The examination is the first formal step the ICC prosecutor takes when considering whether a situation in a member state could eventually lead to charges. The process may take years.

Central to whether it proceeds is if the court has jurisdiction, since it can only prosecute crimes when a member state fails to do so.

Duterte's legal counsel and his attorney general on Friday said several cases related to the anti-drugs crackdown were pending in courts and a Senate investigation had found no evidence of wrongdoing.

The ICC complaints came from a lawyer and two lawmakers and include the accounts of two self-confessed hit men who say they killed at Duterte's behest when he was a city mayor, and public statements he made as president that they say amounted to 'shoot-to-kill' orders.

Duterte said it was doubtful the ICC had jurisdiction in the Philippines because its accession to the ICC's Rome Statute in 2011 had never been announced in the country's official gazette, as required to be considered lawful.

He also vented his anger at allegations of extrajudicial killings during his campaign, saying the term could not be defined.

'What is extrajudicial killing?' he said. 'There is no provision for extrajudicial killing, it is not defined anywhere.'
This is the shocking moment an armed Belgian policeman tells two travellers he would shoot them in the head if he could as a young girl watches on.

The video starts with the officer, who is visibly angry, telling the Irishmen they have to leave the campsite.

As they try to explain that they have paid to camp on the land, the policeman says he would shoot them 'right through the f****** head' if it was up to him.

He mimics the sound of two gunshots as he makes the threat, watched by a little girl with painted nails no older than six.

One Belgian who has viewed the video believes from the officer's accent that it may be in the Flemish region of the country.

It is believed officers were called out over a dispute about unpaid charges at the camp site before one of them goes on a hate-filled rant.

The video starts with the officer, who gets progressively more angry, telling the Irishmen they have to leave the campsite

The 90-second clip, which appears to have been filmed without the officer realising, was uploaded to Facebook this week and then removed shortly afterwards.

The officer, speaking English, says: 'You just come here, and I do whatever I want, all you people you think you can do that. That's what you're like.'

When one of the men asks what he means, he sighs and says: 'I f****** hate you guys, you know that?

'If it was up to me, bomb through the head and bomb through your head.

'That's what I want to do. I can't do that, but f*** you. You go.'

When one of the men says that he has paid 270 euros to stay at the campsite, the officer shouts back: 'You didn't pay. I just checked with them, don't sell me b*******. Don't lie to me. You go.'

One of the men then responds by saying that he has spoken to his solicitor and is on bail at the address, but the policeman continues his tirade.

A young girl, no older than six, is present during the officer's foul-mouthed rant

He can be heard shouting: 'No, no. You think you can do anything in the country. You just come here, you slack to the rules, you don't give a s***.'

When one of the men can be heard saying to someone in the background that the policeman wants to shoot them, the police man responds by saying: 'If it was up to me, I would do that yeah, right through your f****** head.'

When asked why the police man says: 'Because you're s***, s***.'

One man says: 'You should be an officer of the law, you should not be allowed to say that. You should know that'. The young girl stays quiet throughout the confrontation

After the pair argue with the policeman, one man says: 'At the end of the day you have your opinion but you cannot say that. You should be an officer of the law, you should not be allowed to say that. You should know that.'

The cop, visibly angered, raises his finger and replies: 'I follow the law for people who respect the law. You guys you don't respect anything.'

When the policeman is asked yet again why he wants to shoot them, he backs down, saying: 'I don't want to shoot you man, you've got to respect the rules.'
An Ohio man has been sentenced to 62 years behind bars for the brutal murder of a 16-year-old girl whose body he carried in a playpen bag to a landfill after killing her.

Ricki Williams, 22, was jailed on Tuesday for the 2014 murder of Gina Burger.

Burger had been at her birth mother Jackie Bacher's apartment in Austintown, Ohio, when she vanished not long after telling her she was going out to get bags for ice tea.

The teenager was adopted when she was three and taken out of Bacher's care.

She grew up in Texas, with adoptive mother Michelle Bennett, and had traveled to Ohio to spend time with her birth siblings after reconnecting with them on Facebook.

On June 23, she ended up in the apartment of her birth mother's neighbor where Williams, who is homeless and who she did not know beforehand, was staying.

He stabbed her to death and chillingly pulled the knife out of her chest to smell it afterwards.

Remorseless Ricki Williams, 22, (seen left in court on Tuesday) was jailed for a minimum of 62 years for the 2014 killing of 16-year-old Gina Burger (right) who he stabbed in the chest

The neighbor Ronisha Johnson, testified against him and described the killing. She said Williams held her and Gina hostage and the teenager pleaded for her life before being stabbed to death.

After he killed her, Williams used a bag that Johnson used to carry her son's portable playpen to move the teenager's body out of her apartment.

He brazenly left it in the dumpster outside where it sat for a whole day before being taken by trash collectors to a landfill 20 miles away across state lines near Hermitage, Pennsylvania.

As he left the apartment complex with Gina's body in the bag he was carrying, he walked past Bacher, who had called police to report her missing and sickeningly asked her if she wanted to 'buy it'.

It is not known if he was aware she was the victim's mother at the time.

This is the dumpster where Williams dumped the dead teenager's body after removing her from his friend's apartment in a bag that she used to carry her toddler's playpen around in

The killing happened at this apartment complex in Austintown, Ohio. Gina, who was raised in Texas, was visiting her biological family who lived there and Williams, who is homeless, was staying with a friend. He snatched the 16-year-old as she went out to get bags for iced tea

After stabbing the 16-year-old in the chest, Williams removed the bloody knife from her body to smell it

The teenager's body was found at a landfill near Hermitage, Pennsylvania, 20 miles away two days later. It had been collected by trash men

On Tuesday, Williams was sentenced to 62 years in jail.

He was remorseless and maintained his innocence, telling the judge: 'I didn't kill that girl.

'I just want to put that out there.

'I didn't do it and I'm sticking with it,' he said, according to WYTV which attended the sentencing hearing.

In earlier proceedings, he tried to plea guilty by way of insanity. He was convicted on a plea deal but claims he only accepted it to avoid being executed.

'I didn't do it': Williams maintained on Tuesday that he was innocent, despite entering a guilty plea and previously arguing that he was insane

In 2014, he smiled at Gina's family as he left court after one of his first appearances

Bacher, who overdosed on heroin days after Gina's murder and who paraded herself to local media as her mother in the immediate aftermath of her death, was not present for the sentencing.

Bennett was there, having travelled from Texas to see Gina's killer put behind bars.

In a stern victim impact statement, she labeled him a 'piece of s***' and 'waste of oxygen.'

I am the p***** off mother of a murdered child who you had no right to take away from me, her father and our family.

Gina was staying with her birth mother Jaqueline Bacher at the time. She was removed from her care as a toddler but ended up back in her apartment after reconnecting with her biological siblings on Facebook. Days after her murder, Bacher overdosed on heroine and had to be revived by paramedics

Michelle Bennett adopted Gina when she was three and raised her in Texas. She traveled to Ohio for Williams' sentencing on Tuesday and read a powerful victim impact statement in which she labeled him a 'piece of s***'

Bennett has always said that she blames herself for letting Gina travel to Ohio to visit her biological siblings. She is pictured after Williams' sentencing on Tuesday

''You're a piece of s*** who killed a defenseless and innocent 16 year-old, 5ft 3, 100lb child.

Gina's family said she was 'innocent, defenseless' and had already endured a 'bad life' when she was killed

'That's correct, she was a child.'

Gina's biological siblings told of her troubled upbringing at the time of her death.

'She had such a bad life,' one told The Youngstown Vindicator.

She had gone to Ohio to visit her birth family with the permission of her adoptive mother who thought it would help her.

For weeks beforehand, she had been acting out in Texas and complained to her school that she had been abused in some way by her adoptive mother.

Bennett blames herself for the killing, saying she should never have let her go to visit.

She did not know that Bacher would be there at the time and had only agreed to let Gina go because she thought she would only spend time with her siblings.
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A series of black and white photographs of the Vietnam War have been expertly colorized for the first time.

The images show US riflemen charging toward Viet Cong positions while holding machine guns, wounded US Paratroopers being helped to a medical evacuation helicopter and US Army helicopters providing support for ground troops.

Other striking shots show women and children taking cover in a muddy canal from intense Viet Cong fire, US Army helicopters pouring machine-gun fire into a tree line and a US machine gunner peering from the brush of an overgrown rubber plantation during a half-hour fire fight.

Wounded US paratroopers are helped by fellow soldiers to a medical evacuation helicopter on October 5, 1965, during the Vietnam War. Paratroopers of the 173rd Airborne Brigade's First Battalion suffered many casualties in the clash with Viet Cong guerrillas in the jungle of South Vietnam's D Zone, 25 miles Northeast of Saigon

US riflemen from the 173rd Airborne Brigade charge toward Viet Cong positions, holding machine guns in a wooded area of War Zone D during the Vietnam War, March 21, 1967

US Army helicopters providing support for US ground troops fly into a staging area fifty miles northeast of Saigon, Vietnam, August 28, 1966. Helicopter fuel is stored in the large rubber tanks, foreground

Women and children crouch in a muddy canal as they take cover from intense Viet Cong fire at Bao Tai, about 20 miles west of Saigon, Vietnam

Soldiers Laying Down Covering Fire with a M60 machinegun - Vietnam 1966. The incredible images show US riflemen charge toward Viet Cong positions while holding machine guns, wounded US Paratroopers being helped to a medical evacuation helicopter and US Army helicopters providing support for ground troops

A wounded US paratrooper grimaces in pain while waiting for medical evacuation at base camp in the A Shau Valley near the Laos border in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War, May 19 1969

The original black and white pictures were painstakingly colorized over a period of 10 hours by electrician Royston Leonard, 55, from Cardiff, Wales.

'Vietnam is a war that went on for years before the world noticed it,' he said.

'America went to help and ended up drawn in to something it did not want, but could not walk away from once started.

'The soldiers all look so young; kids in uniform some would say. I see marines no different from World War Two doing their jobs the best they could.'

The Vietnam War was a conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from November 1, 1955, to the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975.

It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam and the government of South Vietnam.

The North Vietnamese army was supported by the Soviet Union, China and other communist allies and the South Vietnamese army was supported by the United States, South Korea, Australia, Thailand and other anti-communist allies.

The war is therefore considered a Cold War-era proxy war. The war is considered a humiliation for the United States.

The Viet Cong (also known as the National Liberation Front, or NLF), a South Vietnamese communist common front aided by the North, fought a guerrilla war against anti-communist forces in the region, while the People's Army of Vietnam, also known as the North Vietnamese Army (NVA), engaged in more conventional warfare, at times committing large units to battle.

US machine gunner Specialist James R Pointer, left, of Cedartown, Georgia, and Private First Class Herald Spracklen of Effingham, Illinois, peer from the brush of an overgrown rubber plantation near the Special Forces camp at Bu Dop during a half hour firefight, Dec. 5, 1967. Their company-size patrol avoided an ambush when a patrol dog alerted the unit to the presence of enemy forces

An American soldier wears a hand lettered War Is Hell slogan on his helmet (left) in Vietnam, 1965, and soldiers making their way through the country's dense woodland

Hovering US Army helicopters pour machine-gun fire into the tree line to cover the advance of South Vietnamese ground troops as they attack a North Vietnamese army camp eighteen miles north of Tay Ninh, near the Cambodian border, March 1965

As the war continued, the military actions of the Viet Cong decreased as the role and engagement of the NVA grew.

US and South Vietnamese forces relied on air superiority and overwhelming firepower to conduct search and destroy operations, involving ground forces, artillery, and airstrikes.

In the course of the war, the US conducted a large-scale strategic bombing campaign against North Vietnam.

Direct US military involvement ended on 15 August 1973.

The capture of Saigon by the North Vietnamese Army in April 1975 marked the end of the war, and North and South Vietnam were reunified the following year.

Striking images like these are featured in British author Michael D Carroll's new book, Retrographic on the colourisation of historical images. It is available on Amazon now for 16.85.
Sir Walter Gavin Gilbey pictured outside court, where he denies assault

The aristocrat heir to a world-famous gin company allegedly 'attacked' his 95-year-old mother and 'snapped her walking stick into pieces' after a furious argument.

Sir Walter Gavin Gilbey is said to have 'violently pulled' his mother Lady Elizabeth Gilbey from a chair 'causing bruising as she fell to the floor' at her home in Pulborough, Sussex on August 26 last year.

The Eton-educated 68-year-old, the 4th Baronet of The Gilbey Baronetcy, has denied assault, telling Horsham Magistrates' Court his mother was 'in the process of assaulting him'.

Lady Elizabeth Gilbey, who shares her home of twenty years with her 86 year-old housekeeper, told the court it was approaching 5.30pm when her son assaulted her.

'I was sitting on my sofa in my little sitting-room, reading. He came into the room, we had an argument and he came back into the room with a rather menacing look on his face.

'I raised my stick to defend myself and he has mentioned that I hit him, which I never did, I don't even hit my dog.

'He snatched the stick from me and broke it into five pieces. He grabbed my arm and flung me on the floor and I landed on my face.

'I tried to get up again and he just stood over me. I was so scared I ran into the neighbour's house for protection.

'The hearing aid was in my ear and when I hit the floor it came out of my ear and shot under the stove.

'I went to my bedroom and barricaded the door with a lot of chairs and went to bed. He pushed the barricade of chairs and came into the bedroom.'

Sir Walter is also alleged to have snapped his mother's walking stick into 'several pieces over his knee before violently lifting her up, causing her to fall heavily to the floor', the court heard today.

Sir Walter lost Power of Attorney in 2014 and his lawyer Mr. Blandford suggested: 'You and your daughter Camilla have put your heads together to ensure he is out of the picture and Camilla has control of the estate.'

He lost POA after an enquiry by the office of Public Guardian, and prosecutor Miss Burrows asked: 'Is the defendant so incensed that POA was removed he's gone out of him way to portray his mother as someone losing her memory, losing her marbles.'

Lady Gilbey said it was nothing to do with her daughter and also dismissed her GP's evidence of a history of falls. 'I've never fallen. The only falls I've had is when he yanked me out of the chair and flung me on the floor.'

She said 'hatred' was too strong a word to describe her son and daughter's relationship: 'Maybe dislike. She's with me now, she's a very dutiful and beautiful daughter.'

Sir Walter's lawyer Mr John Blandford told the court Lady Gilbey 'invented' the allegation in revenge for her son hiding her car keys to prevent her driving

The court heard Sir Gilbey was visiting his mother from his home in the Scottish Highlands.

Prosecutor Miss Amanda Burrows told the court: 'The defendant had been staying with her some days, her housekeeper was away and there was nobody else in the house.

'Lady Gilbey says the defendant came into the room where she was watching television and they started arguing and she says her son came towards her in a threatening manner.

'She placed her walking cane in front of her and he snatched it and broke it into several pieces.

'He grabbed her violently from her chair and she fell to the ground so hard her hearing aid fell from her ear.'

She told the court Lady Gilbey suffered 'significant bruising' to the left side of her chest.

However Sir Walter's lawyer Mr John Blandford told the court Lady Gilbey 'invented' the allegation in revenge for her son hiding her car keys to prevent her driving.

He said: 'Lady Gilbey was driving on a regular basis even though she has glaucoma, which she should have informed DVLA about.

'The defendant was very concerned she was driving and causing a risk to other road users and on two occasions took her car keys away.

'This led to rows and threats and that is the reason for the false allegation.'

Sir Walter says his mother struck him with her walking stick, shouting: 'You're ruining my life,' when he took her car keys.

'It is very important for me to be able to drive. I live right out in the country, I have to drive,' said Lady Gilbey, giving evidence via a videolink.

Sir Walter says his mother struck him on August 24 and 26, last year, forcing him to confiscate her walking stick and telling her: 'Mum, you've got to stop hitting me.'

The Eton-educated 68-year-old, the 4th Baronet of The Gilbey Baronetcy, denied assault at Horsham Magistrates' Court

However, she insists he was the aggressor. 'The way he came into the room in such a threatening manner and when I put my stick up he snatched it in such a menacing manner.

'I landed on my face and missed the metal stove by a matter of inches. That might have killed me.

'I went to my doctor to show him all the bruising because I thought I'd broken my ribs.'

The court heard Sir Walter told officers: 'I deny assaulting my mother in any way whatsoever.

'I have not acted in any way that is considered threatening or intimidating. I did not cause any injury or bruising to my mother.'

Lady Gilbey saw her GP with her daughter Mrs Frederick, 64, a mother-of-two.

Lady Gilbey's GP told the court her injuries were 'in keeping' with the alleged attack.

A photo shown to the court of the bruise was taken several days before the visit to Dr Fooks, the court heard.

He said: 'The injury I was shown was a significant bruise which would have been in keeping with what I was informed had occurred.'

Sir Walter is the 4th Baronet of The Gilbey Baronetcy and the title's seat is Elsenham Hall, Essex.

The title was created on September 4, 1893 for the wine merchant, stock-breeder, agriculturalist and philanthropist Walter Gilbey.

He was chairman and co-founder of W & A Gilbey, established in 1857, a wine merchants and distillers most famous for London dry gin.

The brand is now owned by industry giants Diageo.

Twice-divorced Sir Walter is known by his middle name Gavin and was a director of Giblet's International Inc between 1986 and 1992.

He succeeded as fourth Baronet on October 29, 1991.

Sir Walter denies common assault. The trial continues.
Devrick R. Gail, 29, was arrested in the shooting death of Davon R. Daniels

A Virginia man who four years ago wrote to a judge that he was a 'threat to society' and needed mental health treatment has been arrested for murder.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports 29-year-old Devrick R. Gail was arrested Monday for the shooting death of Davon R. Daniel, who was found dead January 2.

In 2014, Gail wrote a letter to U.S. District Judge Robert E. Payne while still incarcerated.

In it, he cites a 66 percent recidivism rate and says 'that's not a statistical category I want to be a part of'.

Gail also said he was 'mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually exhausted' and was 'more of a detrimental threat to society' than ever before.

Four years ago Gail wrote to a judge that he was a 'threat to society' and needed mental health treatment in order to stop re-offending

' I can offer a monumental argument that I am more of a detrimental threat to society at this given moment than I was eight years ago,' he wrote

'I am mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually exhausted... My inability to control anger and aggression keeps me in a continuous conflict with my environment and the people who are closest to my heart...' he continued

It also stated he had an inability to control his anger continuously caused conflicts.

He asked Judge Payne, the senior judge for the Eastern District of Virginia, to transfer him to an in-patient mental health treatment facility.

'In less than three years, I am scheduled to be released from prison,' Gail wrote. 'I can offer a monumental argument that I am more of a detrimental threat to society at this given moment than I was eight years ago.'

'My inability to control my anger and aggression keeps me in a continuous conflict with my environment and the people who are closest to my heart,' Gail said.

Davon R. Daniels, left, was found with a gunshot wound from which he died. Police suspected Devrick Gail, right, was behind the killing because he had been seen in the area

Gail said he'd received six disciplinary incident reports for fighting with other inmates and had to be transferred between three different prisons.

After serving 70 months for possession of a firearm by a felon he was released, but one month later, he was a suspect in a murder.

Daniels was shot and killed on January 2. Police immediately began looking for Gail who was often in the area of the shooting.

Gail was just beginning three years of probation when Richmond police charged him with murder in January.

He's now facing a parole violation in federal court, and Richmond police say more charges are pending.

According to data released in 2016 by the National Institute of Justice, 67.8 percent of released prisoners were arrested again within three years and 76.6 percent were arrested again within five years.
Gerry Adams, pictured today leaving Stormont for the last time as Sinn Fein president, took a parting shot at the UK today as he claimed Brexit had made calls for Irish unity 'more prevalent'

Gerry Adams took a parting shot at the UK today as he claimed Brexit had made calls for Irish unity 'more prevalent'.

The Sinn Fein President ends his political career on Saturday as he hands over his post after 34 years.

Amid growing tension in the Brexit negotiations over the future state of Northern Ireland, Mr Adams insisted his party would continue to campaign for a united Ireland.

Mr Adams, suspected of being an IRA commander at the height of the Troubles, also claimed to regret it took until 1994 for the first ceasefire.

The outgoing party president, 69, is handing his role Mary-Lou McDonald, with Northern Ireland leader Michelle O'Neill becoming deputy president.

His departure is a landmark moment as the last of the major players behind the 1997 Good Friday Agreement to leave the political stage.

In a valedictory interview before stepping down, Mr Adams said: 'I'm not saying there is a direct correlation between Brexit and Irish unity, and in fact I think those of us who want a united Ireland need to be very careful that we are not accused of trying to exploit Brexit.

The Sinn Fein President, pictured today, ends his political career on Saturday as he hands over his post after 34 years

'But I just think the notion of Irish unity, in terms of public debate, is now much more prevalent.

'We want to see a referendum on Irish unity as part of the Good Friday Agreement.

'We are going to continue to campaign for that and we also want to win that.'

Turning to the Troubles, Mr Adams said: 'I regret that it took so long and that those who would condemn, denounce, use moral denunciations as a subterfuge for just not talking, therefore it took almost from 1976/77 to 1994 before there was the first cessation.

'That's an awful long time and a lot of people were killed or injured and traumatised in between.'

Reflecting upon the thousands of people killed and injured during the Troubles, he said it was something he regrets.

The outgoing party president, 69, is handing his role Mary-Lou McDonald (pictured in Belfast last month) after a 34-year run

'I regret the fact anyone was killed, particularly those who were killed by the IRA. Of course I do.

'All victims deserve the truth and justice and their families deserve that.'

Mr Adams, who has always denied being a member of the IRA, has been both hailed as a peacemaker and vilified as a terrorist.

He said: 'People will judge me whatever way they want to judge me and I accept that. I have been very moved by the generosity and grace of some people who were really hurt in the conflict.

'What we all have to do is make sure it never happens again.'

When asked how he would judge himself, Mr Adams replied: 'To tell you the truth, I haven't thought of that.

In the interview, Mr Adams added that he felt 'blessed' to still be alive, having survived a number of assassination attempts.

He was once shot in the neck, shoulder and arm as a number of gunmen opened fire on his car in 1984. He also had a hand grenade thrown into his home.

'I have escaped a number of attempts to kill me and so on. I have been blessed by some very incompetent assassins, so there are lots of good things in life,' he said.
A report showing the number of sharks living in the south-west are double the number in the east has triggered a war between politicians from opposing sides.

The CSIRO study 'A national assessment of the status of White Sharks' stated the South West of Australia has an estimated 1,460 adult great white sharks compared to 750 in Eastern Australia.

The report, believed to be one of the first of its kind in the world, reveals shark rates in Australia are on the rise.

Federal Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg, from Victoria, exchanged blows with Western Australian Water and Fisheries Minister Dave Kelly on the issue Friday.

Great white sharks in the South West are double the numbers in the East Coast of Australia

Mr Frydenberg said the results make a 'compelling case' for the Western Australian Government to 'take a more proactive approach' to protect the public from shark attacks.

He said Queensland and New South Wales Governments have done more to manage sharks for many years compared to Western Australia.

'It's time the Western Australian Government took considered proportionate and effective action which, based on the experiences of New South Wales and Queensland, can save lives,' Minister Frydenberg said.

But Western Australian Minister Kelly said it was time for Mr Frydenberg to 'stop playing politics and actually help us make our beaches safer'.

A debate is ranging about the best way to tackle the increasing white shark populations

'On several occasions, I have asked the Federal Environment Minister to commit more funding for research into the southern-western white shark population,' he said.

'Since coming into Government, we have introduced a number of new shark mitigation measures based on new technology and science, including the use of drones and personal shark deterrants.'

Fifteen people have died from shark attacks off the WA coast since 2000, including 17-year-old Laeticia Brouwer who tragically died in April 2017 while surfing with her father in Esperance.

Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg (pictured) speaking in Parliament while Minister's Barnaby Joyce (left) and Christopher Pyne (right) listen carefully to the debate

State WA Minister Dave Kelly hit back at Mr Frydenberg accusing him of 'playing politics'

The new figures, which include juvenile sharks, have thrown the debate about how to protect swimmers from the high-profile predator back into the spotlight.

Researchers are hoping that the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation studies will provide solid evidence on policy, where emotion and shark attack fears can dominate debate.

The $1.5 million research project, consisting of an initial study and an update, is the first robust estimate of Australia's great whites, using tagging, DNA fingerprinting and advanced statistics.

While adult white shark numbers in the south west are about twice as high as in the east, but a CSIRO spokesperson said shark density was not necessarily twice as high.

Researchers hope the new data is the first step in assessing efforts to conserve great white populations and will help inform policy-making and design 'defensible' strategies to rebuild the threatened species.

In both shark groups, adult population size is estimated to have been stable, or declining slightly, since protections were introduced in the late 1990s. There was no evidence that shark numbers were increasing.

The project is part of the federal government's National Environmental Science Programme Marine Biodiversity Hub.

Adult population size is estimated to have been stable since extra protections were introduced

Adult white shark numbers in the south-west are about twice as high as in the east, but a CSIRO spokesperson said shark density was not necessarily twice as high in the same area

In recent years, shark attacks off the north coast of New South Wales prompted the deployment of 'smart' drumlines and a shark net trial, raising conservation fears.

Shark nets operate at more than 50 NSW beaches in the warmer months, and have been known to kill great whites and other species. Queensland also deploys nets and drumlines covering 85 beaches.

In WA in 2014, the former Liberal government established 'kill zones' near beaches and surf breaks, allowing sharks to be caught and destroyed. The policy was dumped after a public outcry and advice from environment officials.

Humane Society International marine scientist Jessica Morris said up to a decade of research was needed to determine how sharks were affected by overfishing and habitat degradation

'There are ... studies showing killing sharks does not make our beaches safer,' Ms Morris said

Humane Society International marine scientist Jessica Morris said up to a decade of research was needed to determine how white sharks were being affected by overfishing, habitat degradation and shark control programs before decisions could be made about removing protections.

'Sharks are incredibly important for healthy ecosystems, and our government needs to be informed about the nature and necessity of these species,' she said.

'There are many studies showing killing sharks does not make our beaches safer.'

West Australian senator Linda Reynolds (right) said the large west coast great white population meant 'there must be an honest and informed discussion' about the protected shark species

Shark nets operate at more than 50 NSW beaches in the warmer months (Coogee pictured)

West Australian senator Linda Reynolds said the larger west coast white shark population meant 'there must be an honest and informed discussion about whether great whites still need to be considered a protected species'.

She said sharks had killed 15 people in her state since 2000, compared to one death at protected beaches in NSW and Queensland in 50 years.

A suite of measures including nets and drum lines should be considered for the west coast, Senator Reynolds said.

'Environmental ideology has been allowed to take over ... Human lives must come before fish,' she said.
Jakub Jarzynski, 32, was driving a van on the A34 when he dozed off and 'forgot' which country he was in, crashing into the grandmother

A Polish delivery driver has been jailed for leaving a grandmother with serious injuries when his van smashed into her car after he went the wrong way down a dual carriageway - because he forgot what country he was in.

Jakub Jarzynski, 32, was driving on the A34 in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire last December when his vehicle collided head-on with the victim's Mercedes.

Jarzynski admitted to dozing off while driving and Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard he had only had around four hours sleep in the two days leading up to the accident - he has now been jailed for eight months.

The delivery driver said he 'forgot' he was in another country when he made the wrong turn from Whitmore Road onto the A34 near Hanford.

Jarzynski has now been jailed after pleading guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

Prosecutor Charles Crinion said: 'On December 1 at about 8.30am, the defendant was driving a large van when he turned in the wrong direction and drove northwards on the southbound carriageway.

'He travelled 400 yards then collided with a car being driven by a female. She said, all of a sudden, she saw a van travelling towards her, in her lane. 'She hit the brakes but it ran into her.'

Jarzynski, who was uninjured, told paramedics that he had driven from Finland and had only had four hours sleep in the past two days.

Mr Crinion said: 'Tiredness was the reason given for making this mistake. He said he had fallen asleep at the wheel.'

The injured grandmother was taken to the Royal Stoke University Hospital, where she was found to have fractures to her foot, wrist and finger.

She later had to have surgery on her foot and had metal plating put into her wrist.

She remained in hospital for two weeks and could face further surgery in the future.

Mr Crinion said: 'In a victim impact statement, she described the excruciating pain she suffered.

'She said she is now completely reliant on her husband and family. She is completely immobile and needs equipment to manoeuvre her.

'This accident has had a huge impact on her life. She has suffered from panic attacks and feels depressed.

The accident happened after Jarzynski turned from Whitmore road onto the A34, pictured is a general photo of the road and turning

'Before this happened she worked as a receptionist, went to the gym and cared for her grandson, taking him to and from nursery. In fact, she had just taken him to nursery when the accident occurred.'

Jarzynski was interviewed and told police he was driving from Dover to Cheshire when the incident happened.

The driver, who is a father of two, lives in Poland but has been staying with a friend in Oldham, Greater Manchester, since the incident, as he has been banned from leaving the country.

Jason Holt, defending, said: 'From the outset he has never sought to blame anybody but himself and has been open and honest about his situation.

'He acknowledges as a professional driver, showing signs of fatigue, he shouldn't have been driving.'

Passing the sentence, judge Paul Glenn said: 'You are a professional driver and you were driving a sizeable van. No reason has been put forward as to why you didn't take a rest.

'You knew you were drowsy and losing concentration, but you carried on driving. 'The consequences of your driving were serious. They could have been even worse.'

Jarzynski was also disqualified from driving for two years, and must pass an extended retest to get behind the wheel again.
Police have released images of two 'violent' suspects wanted in connection with the murder of a retired company director who was battered in his own home.

Arthur Gumbley, 87, died three weeks after thugs brutally attacked him when they stormed his 700,000 gated property on November 21.

The pensioner, known as Bob, was found in a pool of blood after he was repeatedly kicked and punched at his house in leafy Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands.

Jimmy Michael Connors, 28, and Tom Joseph Ward, 17, are wanted by police who wish to quiz them about their whereabouts on the day of the incident.

Jimmy Michael Connors (left), 28, and Tom Joseph Ward, 17, are wanted by police who wish to quiz them about their whereabouts on the day of the incident

The raiders fled with jewellery, cash and a purse belonging to Mr Gumbley's late wife during the robbery which happened between 6pm and 9pm.

Staffordshire Police released shocking pictures of Mr Gumbley's injuries as he lay in his hospital bed in a bid to catch his attackers while he was still alive.

Officers arrested two men and two women following his death on suspicion of murder and they have since been released on conditional bail.

On Friday the force released mugshots of a man and a teenager wanted in connection with the callous murder.

Arthur Gumbley, 87, died three weeks after thugs brutally attacked him when they stormed his 700,000 gated property on November 21

Staffordshire Police released shocking pictures of Mr Gumbley's injuries as he lay in his hospital bed in a bid to catch his attackers while he was still alive

Connors, who is part of the gypsy community, is described as 5ft 5ins, of average build and with an Irish accent.

Ward, who is said to reside occasionally in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, is described as 5ft 8ins, of average build and with an Irish accent.

A spokesperson for the force said: 'Both men are considered violent, so please do not approach them.'

Detective Inspector Dan Ison added: 'Both men have links throughout the country and are known to frequent the London, Birmingham, Stoke-on-Trent and Yorkshire areas.

'It is imperative they are caught as soon as possible and help from the public is needed to track them down.'

Mr Gumbley, pictured before the attack, ran a successful heating and plumbing supplies company before retiring

Speaking at a press conference after the attack, Mr Gumbley's daughter Sue said before he died: 'It's started to become real to him now, and he's said he's scared.

'His question is, why did it happen to him? What did he do wrong? How do you tell somebody that? That he did nothing wrong?

'To see your dad, that you've looked up to all these years, sitting in a pool of blood is just awful.'

Mr Gumbley ran a successful heating and plumbing supplies company before retiring.

The charity Crimestoppers is also offering up to 10,000 in cash for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible.

Anyone with information is asked to call 101 quoting incident number 828 of November 21.


Wanted fugitive Rodney Clavell was given a lift by police when his car broke down, an inquest has heard.

Officers in South Australia have been accused of missing precious chances to arrest him before an 12-hour stand off at a brothel in Adelaide, which ended with Clavell dying.

An inquest opened in his death in the state capital on Friday.

Rodney Clavell was the most wanted man in South Australia when he died following a police stand off outside an Adelaide brothel

The coroner was told about one occasion when a police officer picked up Mr Clavell, unaware he was the most wanted man in the state.

Questions are being asked about the overall performance of the police force and how the operation led to the stand-off in June 2014, Nine reports.

Senior police officers are being quizzed over the reasons for why Clavell's status was raised to the Serious Crimes Task Force and it becoming a high-profile and public appeal.

Police said throughout the appeal through media releases that Clavell was high risk and had previously shot at police.

Tough questions have been raised about the steps police took during the lead up to the stand off in June 2014

But it was alleged by counsel assisting Ahura Kalali that incorrect information had been released including the claims about Clavell shooting at police.

Mr Kalali also questioned why his pursuit was so intense when warrants for his arrest when his alleged offences were only linked to car thefts and an unlawful possession of a firearm.

'While Holden Hill police were making efforts to find Mr Clavell, good old-fashioned community policing had Mr Clavell in the back of a police car,' Mr Kalali said.

'There's no explanation as to why Rodney Clavell was deserving of such a media campaign and why this matter was to be handled by Serious and Organised Crime.'

The inquest is set to investigate further aspects of the investigation, the police conduct and whether the death of Mr Clavell - a 46-year-old father of 11 - could have been avoided.

Detective Inspector John Gerlach defended the decisions as an inquest into Clavell's death opened in Adelaide on Friday

His family were in court before to hear details and cases put forward including from the South Australia Police detective in charge of the operation preceding Mr Clavell's death.

Detective Inspector John Gerlach defended the decisions to list Mr Clavell as being highly dangerous and a risk to the public and surround him at the brothel.

He said Clavell's previous violence and unpredictability made him a 'high-risk offender', the court was told.

The inquest will continue.
At least four students walked out of professor Lawrence Rosen's lecture on Tuesday

A white Princeton University professor had several students walk out of his class after he allegedly refused to stop using the n-word during a lecture.

In his Tuesday class, titled Cultural Freedoms: Hate Speech, Blasphemy and Pornography, professor Lawrence Rosen asked students what would be worse, a white man punching a black man or a white man calling a black man the n-word, the Daily Princetonian reported.

The 76-year-old anthropology professor used the racial slur two times after the initial question, students in the class told the university paper.

'All the black students were looking at each other, as if asking whether he actually said that,' student Destiny Salter said.

Things came to a boil when Malachi Byrd, a black, third-year student, allegedly asked Rosen if he was going to keep using the n-word.

'Yes, if I think it's necessary,' the professor replied, per the Daily Princetonian.

Things came to a boil when Malachi Byrd (above) allegedly asked Rosen if he was going to keep using the n-word, and walked out of the class when the professor said he would

The Princeton University class in question is called Cultural Freedoms: Hate Speech, Blasphemy and Pornography

Byrd then walked out of the class, followed by three other students.

Senior Devyn Holliday told the university paper that Rosen defended his choice of words after the student walk-out.

He allegedly said: 'It's supposed to deliver a gut punch, so that's why I used it.'

Byrd eventually returned to the lecture and he and other students continued to press Rosen for an apology, to which he allegedly replied: 'I don't think I need to apologize; I did not oppress anyone.'

Students E Jeremijenko-Conley and Destiny Salter said they filed a complaint with the university's director of studies for Rockefeller College at Princeton.

Director Justine Levine told the Princetonian in an email that she will work with students to resolve the issue.

Many on social media said students should've expected to be shocked in Rosen's class

One student, Kevin Ramos, plans on dropping the class after the incident.

'The professor saw how uncomfortable the students were with his language,' said Ramos. 'If he doesn't respect the students' opinion, then it's not worth learning from him,' he said.

The course asks 'how civility relates to free speech, how codes may channel expression without oppression, and how cultural difference can relate to shared values and orientations,' according to its description on the university website.

One Twitter user took issue with the student walking out of the class, calling them 'snowflakes'

Twitter user Mack Jackson, on his part, agreed with the student-walk out

Many took to social media to disagree with the students who walked out, calling them 'snowflakes' and asking what they expected to hear in a class about hate speech.

One Twitter user said: 'Given the title of the course, people should have been prepared. Not every class is designed to make you comfortable. They are not children anymore.'

Another added: 'So students don't expect to be shocked in a class called, 'Cultural Freedoms: Hate Speech, Blasphemy and Pornography'? How can wer have an honest conversation?'

According to the university's website, professor Rosen was set to retire last year after 40 years of teaching.
A driver crashed his truck after a turkey flew straight through his windshield and caused him to lose control.

The semi was on U.S. 52 in Prichard, West Virginia when the bird smashed through the glass and ended up in the cabin, WSAZ reports.

The unexpected visitor caused the driver to lose control of the vehicle, which ended up flipping on its side.

A semi driver traveling on U.S. 52 in Prichard, West Virginia crashed after a turkey flew through his windshield. The bird is seen sitting in the truck's cabin after the crash

The turkey was found walking around the truck completely unharmed

The driver lost control of the semi and it flipped on its side. The driver was taken to a hospital and treated for minor injuries

The turkey survived the incident and was seen walking around the vehicle when emergency crews arrived.

The driver was taken to the hospital and treated for minor injuries.

Prichard is a rural town of less than 1,000 residents.

The nearest large cities are Cincinnati, Ohio and Louisville, Kentucky.
A teenager was lured to a remote area of Massachusetts by someone he met on the dating app Grindr and then viciously beaten by four other teens.

The victim, who has not been named, told investigators he had made contact with an individual on Grindr and arranged to meet them on Sunday night at a local reservoir, where they would smoke marijuana.

Instead, the victim said that after he, his online acquaintance, and another person drove to the nearby woods in Haverhill, two other cars pulled up behind them, according to Fox 25 TV.

Haverhill is a community located approximately 35 miles north of Boston.

The two teens who were in the car that initially picked up the victim were identified by authorities as Lorenco Gjegji, 19, and Joshua Blanchard, 18, both of Haverhill.

Lorenco Gjegji (left), 19, met another teen on Grindr. Police say he and a friend, Joshua Blanchard (right), 18, both of Haverhill, Massachusetts, lured the teen to a remote wooded area and set up an ambush with three other accomplices

The five teens were arrested on charges of assault, armed robbery, and kidnapping. The image above shows Millvale Reservoir in Haverhill, where the alleged assault and robbery took place late Sunday night

A group of 18 and 19-year-olds then got out of the cars and dragged the victim out of his car.

They then allegedly beat him with a baton. The victim was also punched and kicked in the head, according to police.

They also stole the victims Nike Air Jordan sneakers, $140 in cash, and his cell phone, authorities said.

After the assault, they allegedly kidnapped the victim by driving him against his will to a nearby town, Lawrence, in an effort to get marijuana.

Afterward, the victim was dropped off back in Haverhill.

Gjegji and Blanchard are alleged to have planned and set up the ambush.

Their three alleged accomplices have been identified as Cade Ford (above), 18, of Haverhill; Joseph Clohisy, 19, of Haverhill; and Richard Pedro, 18, of Methuen. Ford and Pedro have reportedly acknowledged to police taking part in the ambush

It was Blanchard who was driving the 2006 Honda Accord, according to the Eagle-Tribune.

Gjegji was the teen who had met the victim on Grindr, a dating app geared toward the LGBT community, police say.

Their three alleged accomplices have been identified as Cade Ford, 18, of Haverhill; Joseph Clohisy, 19, of Haverhill; and Richard Pedro, 18, of Methuen.

Police opened up an investigation late Sunday after they were called to an area hospital where the victim was treated.

The victim had visible signs of violence. It was reported he may have suffered a concussion during the assault.

Police opened up an investigation late Sunday after they were called to an area hospital where the victim was treated. The victim had visible signs of violence. It was reported he may have suffered a concussion during the assault

Clohisy told police that the victim had ripped him off of more than two pounds of marijuana, it was reported.

He also told investigators that he brought a collapsible baton with him to attack the victim.

Clohisy told police that it was Pedro who was the first to assault the victim.

Both Ford and Pedro also were interviewed by police. They reportedly also acknowledged taking part in the ambush.

All five teens were arraigned on charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, kidnapping, and armed robbery.

They have been held without bail.

A dangerousness hearing is scheduled for Friday. Under Massachusetts law, anyone charged with a felony could be held in jail until trial depending on the severity of the alleged crime.
A woman has been saved from near death after her car plunged over a retaining wall and started to sink.

A brave police officer jumped into the water, swam to the car and smashed the back window with his baton.

He pulled the 'trapped woman' from the car and helped her to safety while another officer called for assistance.

A brave police officer jumped into the water and swam to the rescue of a 25-year-old woman

A public bystander had flagged down the police on Layman Road in Geographe in the south-west of Western Australia.

South West District WA Police force posted about the ordeal on Facebook explaining 'The 25-year-old female driver was trapped inside.'

'A Ford Falcon sedan had crashed over the edge of a retaining wall,' police said.

'The vehicle continued down an embankment into a body of water that was adjacent to the road and was sinking.'

Two police officers rescued a woman from a sinking vehicle after her Ford Falcon sedan crashed over the edge of a retaining wall on Layman Road (pictured) in the South West of WA

Social media users reacted positively to the news on Friday.

'Well done Officer, you are what our community depends on when it comes to safety of others,' one user said.

'Wow, great rescue guys, talk about being in the right place at the right time,a very lucky young lady,' said another user.
A Perth woman who stole handbags from unsuspecting shoppers and used the credit cards inside has pleaded guilty.

Alison Rose Abdullah went on a series of crime sprees last year, only a month after a suspended sentence for similar offences, WAToday reported.

Abdullah, 42, stole purses containing credit and debit cards from shoppers across Perth.

Abdullah, 42, stole purses containing credit and debit cards from shoppers across Perth

She used the stolen cards at chemists, pubs, petrol stations and on taxis.

Abdullah also stole mobile phones, drivers licences and even diamond rings during her crime sprees, court documents revealed.

The documents showed she targeted at least 16 people between August 2016 and September 2017.

For most of her transactions she used paypass and spent less than $100.

She was sentenced to 20 months jail in the Fremantle Magistrates Court in January after pleading guilty to over 100 charges.

In 2013, Abdullah was listed as one of the countrys most wanted people.

At the time she was wanted for breaching her parole and had prior convictions including reckless conduct endangering life and assault.
Thomas R. Bromen, 63, has been charged with three gross misdemeanor counts of drunken driving

A Minnesota school bus driver has admitted to driving drunk with at least 50 children on board.

Thomas R. Bromen, 63, has been charged with three gross misdemeanor counts of drunken driving.

The bus driver from Sauk Centre allegedly ran a red light and missed multiple stops while dropping off children on Monday, according to the Star Tribune.

Police got three calls about Bromen's driving. Two were from day care providers who said he had skipped their stops, and the third was from a truck driver saying Bromen had run a red light.

Bromen refused to take a roadside sobriety test, but did tell officers he was drunk.

When he was given a breathalyzer test at the police station more than three hours after he reported for work, his blood alcohol level registered at 0.16, twice the legal limit.

The Minnesota school bus driver ran a red light and missed stops while he had 50 children on board

However, commercial vehicle drivers have a legal limit of .04 percent, and bus drivers break the law 'when there is physical evidence present in the person's body of the consumption of any alcohol.'

Fortunately no children were injured. The students all came from the high school, junior high, elementary school in the district and Holy Family School.

Sauk Centre School District has fired Bromen, who drove for the district for six and a half years.

He remains in jail on a $4,000 bond.
Not guilty: Kamrul Islam (pictured outside Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court yesterday) has been cleared of assault

The Indian restaurant owner who threw chilli powder into a complaining customer's face has been found not guilty of assault.

Kamrul Islam said he was relieved to have been cleared of assaulting David Evans at his former eatery the Prince of Bengal in Tonypandy, South Wales on January 21 last year.

Today the jury at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court took three hours and 45 minutes to clear the 47-year-old father after a five-day trial.

Diner Mr Evans and his wife Michelle were described as 'unreliable witnesses' after they were found to have drank two bottles of wine and two beers before the confrontation.

In her closing speech to the jury, Ruth Smith, representing Islam, said the couple were were 'clearly unreliable witnesses' who had 'tailored their account', which was 'riddled with inconsistencies' to give a false impression of their behaviour.

She said there were 'vast chunks of the evening that they have no recollection of' including the number of times various staff members went to their table, which was shown on CCTV.

She asked the jury to consider 'whether Mr and Mrs Evans were drunk in the restaurant and as a result of drink became abusive, on occasions using swear words and in the case of Mr Evans aggressive and threatening violence to Mr Islam'.

The trial heard the couple ordered two bottles of wine and two Cobra beers but Mrs Evans told the jury they had not started the second bottle of wine by the time of the incident.

Ms Smith said Mrs Evans had 'exaggerated' the effects of the chilli powder on her husband's eyes, claiming his vision was still not good and he had shadows, despite Mr Evans being discharged from hospital with 'good vision' recorded, within a few days.

She added: 'It is clear that the consequences of the chilli going into Mr Evans' eyes were unpleasant but just because one person ends up with an injury does not mean they are a victim.

The trial heard Mr Evans went to dine in the restaurant with his wife Michelle, arriving at around 6pm and ordering food and drinks.

Unreliable: Jurors were told to consider David Evans, 47, and his wife Michelle (pictured) were not credible witnesses after drinking two bottles of wine and two beers before confrontation

The couple said their starters were not right but they did not complain, however they claimed the chicken in their main meals tasted of paraffin and was shiny, rubbery and tough.

The Evanses told jurors Islam asked what the problem was in an aggressive way and then started swearing at them.

Mr Evans claimed Mr Islam stood at the kitchen doorway, pointing and shouting, before the hot spice was thrown at him.

Ms Smith said Mrs Evans had 'exaggerated' the effects of the chilli powder on her husband's eyes, claiming his vision was still not good and he had shadows, despite Mr Evans being discharged from hospital with 'good vision' recorded, within a few days.

She added: 'It is clear that the consequences of the chilli going into Mr Evans' eyes were unpleasant but just because one person ends up with an injury does not mean they are a victim.

CCTV video showed the moment before Kamrul Islam (left), throws chilli powder in the face of customer David Evans

'It was unpleasant but it doesn't make him a victim': Mr Islam's barrister told the court Mr Evan's injuries didn't necessarily make him a victim

Ms Smith said Mrs Evans had 'exaggerated' the effects of the chilli powder on her husband's eyes, claiming his vision was still not good and he had shadows, despite Mr Evans being discharged from hospital with 'good vision' recorded, within a few days

'Mr Islam told you that through his years of experience he was alert to the sense of aggression and once the backing away and giving of space to Mr Evans had not worked, that he had continued to act aggressively he felt under threat.'

Ms Smith said Islam did not pick up a knife or something similar when he went back to the kitchen because 'his intention wasn't to hurt Mr Evans but to prevent violence being used against him'.

But Mr Evans followed Islam to the kitchen and the chef reacted in self-defence by hurling the condiment in his face. CCTV footage was shown in court earlier this week.

The case concluded today following a five-day trial.

The couple had planned to enjoy a romantic evening at the Prince of Bengal restaurant in Tonypandy, Rhondda, South Wales

Mr Evans claimed Mr Islam stood at the kitchen doorway, pointing and shouting, before the hot spice was thrown at him in the restaurant (interior pictured)

Judge Richard Twomlow said: 'Mr Islam you have been found not guilty, you are discharged and you may leave the dock.'

Speaking outside court, Mr Islam, who said he was now working as a certified air conditioning engineer having closed the restaurant down, said: 'I was very confident that the British system would find the right answer.'

Mr Islam said the people of the Rhondda had given him 'so much' in the 20 years he ran restaurants in the area and the result meant there was now no question about him.

He thanked friends and family who had supported him over the last 13 months.

Customer David Evans, pictured right with actress daughter Sophie, complained after dining at Mr Islam's restaurant
Arnold Perry, 34, was sentenced Thursday in Youngstown, Ohio after pleading guilty to two counts of rape and one count of sexual battery

A man who impregnated 14-year-old twins and their 12-year-old sister while living in their Ohio home has been sentenced to 27 years in prison.

Arnold Perry, 34, was sentenced Thursday in Youngstown after pleading guilty to two counts of rape and one count of sexual battery in November, The Vindicator reports.

Perry was a friend of the family.

The girls' mother allowed him to live at their Youngstown home when he needed somewhere to stay, Assistant Mahoning County Prosecutor Jennifer McLaughlin said in court.

'These girls will suffer the rest of their lives because of this,' McLaughlin told the court.

She added that Perry had abused the family's trust.

The girls were impregnated in 2015 and 2016.

One of the twins had an abortion while her sisters had babies because their pregnancies were discovered too late to end them, McLaughlin said.

Perry's attorney declined to comment Friday.

Authorities say he impregnated 14-year-old twins and their sister, 12. The girls' mother allowed him to stay in their home because he had nowhere else to go. One twin had an abortion; the others had babies because their pregnancies were discovered too late

The 27-year sentence, handed down by Judge Maureen Sweeney, is two years more than the recommended 25-year sentence, The Vindicator reports.

Prosecutors said Perry had been convicted of similar crimes in the past.

Defense attorney Mark Lavelle said in court that Perry's was the most heinous case he'd ever handled, yet argued his client should be sentenced to between 15 and 16 years in prison.

Lavelle said Perry suffered a brain injury as a child that prevents him from having feelings about his actions.

Perry apologized before sentencing.

'I know now what I did was wrong,' he said. 'I wish I could take it back.'

The girls' mother said she is raising two babies, and that Perry's family isn't helping her.

Upon his release from prison, Perry will need to register as a Tier 3 sex offender, WFMJ reports.

Tier 3 sex offenders are considered high risk individuals and are considered as such for the remainder of their lives
This is the dramatic moment a heroic policeman catches a woman with his bare hands after she fell from heights in China.

The woman, said to be drunk, had just had an argument with her boyfriend when she climbed onto the edge of a building threatening to commit suicide, according to a Chinese TV station.

The suicidal woman, 28, was unhurt, and the police officer, 23, sustained soft tissue injuries around the waist, said the police.

Police officer Liu Cong, circled, notices a woman dangerously climbing up the barriers

The incident happened at 11:15pm, on February 7, when the officer, Liu Cong, was heading home from work, according to Hubei Television.

Mr Liu was walking past the Wuchang train station when noticed a woman climbing up along a barrier at a shopping mall above the train station, roughly at six metres (20ft) above ground.

Security camera footage captures the moment Liu dashes to the scene and opens his arms to catch the woman. He falls onto the cement floor after the woman landed on him.

A nearby shop owner told Chutian Metropolitan Daily that the policeman was 'bleeding in the mouth' and the woman appeared to be drunk.

28-year-old Ms Zhang, reportedly struggled with relationship problems, jumps off at 20ft high

She is luckily saved by officer Liu as she falls onto him when she leaped off at a train station

Officer Liu suffered minor injuries in his waist and is now recovering in hospital in central China

Both Liu Cong and the woman were taken to the hospital by paramedics.

Liu had soft-tissue injuries in the waist but no fractures.

Police identified the suicidal woman as 28-year-old Ms Zhang, living in Xiangyang city.

According to a police statement, Ms Zhang had been drinking after having an argument with her boyfriend. She went on a suicide attempt under the influence of alcohol.

She was luckily saved by officer Liu and remained unhurt.

Last December, a security guard was fatally stuck by a suicidal woman who had leapt from her 12 storeys home in Shaanxi Province, northwest China.

The Good Samaritan extended his arms in a bid to catch the woman but was crushed by her weight and died at the scene. The woman was also pronounced dead at scene.

For confidential support in the UK, call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch, see samaritans.org
A North Carolina sheriff's deputy pepper-sprayed a 16-year-old student in the face in front of a crowd of teenagers during a heated confrontation in a high school bus parking lot.

A shocking video shot at Seventy-First High School in Cumberland County by a bystander shows the boy and the cop shouting at each other and then getting into a scuffle.

The confrontation was apparently sparked by a fight between two female students outside the school.

The student got into an argument with the deputy after trying to intervene in the fight between the two girls as the deputy tried to break it up, according to a report by ABC11.

The student was pepper sprayed after getting in the officer's face.

Frank Rivers, 16, got into an altercation with a Cumberland County, North Carolina sheriff's deputy after the officer tried to break up a fight between two female students

The student was later charged with resisting a public officer and possession of marijuana.

The student has been identified as Frank Rivers, but there hasn't been a name released yet for the officer who deployed the pepper spray.

Regarding the incident, the Cumberland County School District directed questions to the sheriff's department, but did release a short statement.

Rivers got into the officer's face after he, according to the sheriff's office, 'inserted himself into the situation'

'Per the Feb. 6 incident at Seventy-First High School, there are consequences for our students' actions that led up to the event per the Cumberland County Schools' Student Code of Conduct,' a spokeswoman for the school district said in the statement.

'He (the student) felt it was a good idea to interject himself into what the officer was doing, trying to break up a fight,' said Lt. Sean Swain of the Cumberland County Sheriff's Department. Swain added that it is 'department policy to use 'intermittent' weapons, such as pepper spray, when people resist officers as they try to do their jobs,' according to a report by WNCN.

The 16-year-old student was pepper sprayed after getting into an altercation with the deputy following a fight between two female students
Sexual violence is rampant is Greek refugee camps where bathrooms and latrines have become no-go zones after dark for women and children, the UN has warned.

Asylum seekers suffer widespread sexual violence and harassment in the country's overcrowded reception centres.

The situations has become so bad in some centres, like Moria on Lesbos and Vathy on Samos, that even bathing during the daytime is a risk.

Women and children asylum seekers suffer widespread sexual violence and harassment in Greece's receptions centres. Pictured: Migrants arriving by boat from Turkey on the Greek island of Lesbos are met by an army of volunteers

'In these two centres, bathrooms and latrines are no-go zones after dark for women and children,' said UN refugee agency (UNHCR) spokesperson Cecile Pouilly, adding that 'even bathing during the daytime can be dangerous'.

Pouilly said there is a reluctance to report such violence out of fear, shame and concerns about discrimination, retaliation and stigma.

'The actual number of incidents is therefore likely to be much higher than reported,' she told reporters in Geneva, acknowledging that the UN has only a 'very partial picture of what the reality is.'

In Moria, one woman told UNHCR staff that she had not showered for two months for fear of being attacked.

In 2017 alone, the UNHCR received reports from 622 survivors of sexual and gender-based violence on the Greek islands.

About one third of those said they had been assaulted after arriving in Greece.

These centres are currently holding around 5,500 people - double their capacity, Pouilly added.

She said an acceleration in recent weeks of transfers to the mainland had slightly reduced overcrowding.

Even bathing during the daytime is a risk in camps on the islands of Lesbos and Samos. Pictured: An Afghan family in Moria, Lesbos, waiting to find out if they are to be sent back to Turkey

But she warned that even now 'crowded conditions hinder outreach and prevention activities.'

In Moria, 30 government medical staff, psychologists and social workers are squeezed together in three rooms where they conduct examinations and assessments with little to no privacy, she said.

UNHCR welcomed measures taken by Athens to reduce the violence, but said other steps were needed.

It said, for instance, that women should not be forced to live in close quarters with men they do not know.

Reception centres on the island now service twice as many refugees as they were disigned for

In Moria, one woman told UNHCR staff that she had not showered for two months for fear of being attacked

The UN agency also called for more efforts to reduce overcrowding and improve lighting in toilet and shower areas, as well as an increased police presence.

The Aegean Sea had been a main point of entry for asylum seekers to Europe, which has been facing its worst migrant crisis since World War II.

But the flow of migrants to Greece has been sharply cut since the EU signed a controversial deal with Turkey in 2016 to send back migrants.

Greece said last month that it still shouldered a 'disproportionate burden' of the EU's asylum applications in 2017, taking 8.5 percent of the bloc's total requests.

The country of 11 million people recorded 58,661 applications last year, making Greece the European country with the highest number of asylum seekers per capita, according to the Greek Asylum Service.
Prospective German Foreign Minister Martin Schulz has announced that he will not take up a ministerial post in the next coalition government.

His decision is a setback for Chancellor Angela Merkel's plans for a fourth government shortly before before it is due to have been sworn in.

The decision by Mr Schulz was made as he came under intense pressure from his Social Democratic Party (SPD) to give up the role.

Dormer European Parliament President Martin Schulz has had a disastrous year that saw him lead the SPD to its worst-ever score since WW2 in September elections

Both Merkel's CDU party and Schulz's SPD party have expressed disquiet about the progress of coalition negotiations

A deal to govern with Chancellor Merkel's conservatives still has to be endorsed by SPD members.

Mr Schulz, facing criticism inside the party, said he did not want disagreements about his role to damage the chances of forming a new coalition.

Schulz faced anger within the SPD for his willingness to take the foreign ministry job, despite vowing never to serve in a Merkel-led cabinet - it would also have been a move that would have been both unpopular in the party and left it with a significant credibility problem.

'I hereby declare my decision not to join the federal government and at the same time I sincerely hope that this will end the personnel debates within the SPD,' Mr Schulz said.

Mrs Merkel - seen here in Berlin earlier this month - has been frequently called on in recent weeks to detail the progress of the coalition talks

Schulz's choice to step aside 'deserves the highest respect and recognition', said Andrea Nahles, his likely successor as party chair

'My own personal ambitions must be placed behind the interests of the party.'

The move defuses a crisis that was threatening to rip the SPD apart ahead of a vote on whether to approve the coalition agreement that was clinched by the party this week with the conservative CDU/CSU bloc.

A rebellion is also growing in the ranks of Merkel's conservative CDU, with former allies arguing that she had ceded too much power to the left-leaning SPD in order to rule for a further four years as the head of a coalition government.

The perception among SPD activists that Schulz had constructed a life raft from the wreckage of an election disaster led many analysts to predict that the party's rank and file membership would not authorise the coalition deal sealed just two days ago.

The deal negotiated by Schulz in the coalition deal with Merkel's CDU/CSU gave the SPD six ministries as well as securing a string of policy concessions.

SPD party members still smarting over his decision to renew the loveless 'grand coalition' despite initially pledging to take the SPD into opposition.

Schulz's choice to step aside 'deserves the highest respect and recognition', said Andrea Nahles, his likely successor as party chair.

His announcement leaves the former European Parliament president empty-handed after a disastrous year that saw him lead the SPD to its worst-ever score since WW2 in September elections, with just 20.5 percent of the vote.

The result of the SPD vote is expected to be announced on 4 March, with CDU delegates also getting a chance to vote on the coalition deal at a party congress on 24 February.

Analysts predict there is little chance they will block it - although the gathering will show off just how much Merkel's star has faded among a base that has long been loyal to the hilt.
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 woman convicted of using a counterfeit check has received a reduced sentence after getting medically sterilized at the suggestion of the judge.

U.S. District Judge Stephen Friot showed leniency to 34-year-old Summer Thyme Creel during her sentencing Thursday because she had surgery to prevent pregnancies.

Creel was sentenced to a year in federal prison and three years on supervised release. She also was ordered to pay more than $15,200 in restitution.

Friot had suggested the medical procedure in a June order, noting that the admitted drug user had relinquished her parental rights to six of her seven children from different men.

Creel gave up her parental rights after a 2012 Oklahoma Department of Human Services investigation showed that she had failed to adequately protect her children from harm. Her seventh child was born four years after the investigation.

On Thursday, the judge gave her a lenient one year prison sentence because she underwent the surgery. She faced a maximum of 10 years in prison

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

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.

She faced a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

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, urged 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.
Surveillance footage captured the moment a store clerk holds her own against three teenagers who attempted to shoplift in Fresno, California

Surveillance footage captured the moment a brave store clerk holds her own against three teenagers who attempted to shoplift in Fresno, California.

Police are asking for help identifying three juveniles who brazenly shoplifted at a Big 5 on January 11.

The security camera shows how one of the suspects selected multiple pieces of clothing and waited by the front door, while another suspect did a price check on several items.

The first suspect tried to leave the store without paying, and the store clerk confronted him and grabbed the merchandise

He cursed at her and forcefully ripped the clothes out of her hands before fleeing out the door

The first suspect tried to leave the store without paying, and the store clerk confronted him and grabbed the merchandise.

He cursed at her and forcefully ripped the clothes out of her hands before fleeing out the door.

Another suspect tried to run out the door with a stolen shirt, and the shop assistant again tried to stop him. He pulled it away from her and all three juveniles fled.

Fresno police released the surveillance footage on February 7, hoping it will help identify the three suspects.

Another suspect tried to run out the door with a stolen shirt, and the shop assistant again tried to stop him
A mentally ill man who pushed a global financial expert in front of a Tube train has admitted murder and has issued a 'heartfelt apology'.

Alain Lesjongard, a 55-year-old compliance executive, was seriously injured when a District Line train ran him over at Bayswater Underground Station in central London.

Alan Alencar, 29, from Edinburgh, had been on day release from a mental health facility in Scotland and travelled to London to see his mother, who herself was in a psychiatric unit. Shortly after meeting with her, Alencar pushed Mr Lesjongard under the tracks.

Despite the driver applying the brakes, Mr Lesjongard, a father-of-two who lives in a 1million flat in Putney, west London, with his Deutsche Bank worker wife Monique Hubaille, was still hit.

He managed to crawl out from underneath the carriage and was taken to hospital with serious, but non-life threatening injuries.

Alencar appeared at the Old Bailey today to plead guilty to attempted murder.

His barrister, Andrew Forsyth said: 'Mr Alencar wishes for me to send heartfelt apologies to Mr Lesjongard and his family for the difficulties they are suffering as a result.

Alan Alencar, 29, appeared in court today accused of shoving a global finance expert beneath a Tube train during rush hour

Alain Lesjongard, a 55-year-old compliance executive (left), was allegedly pushed in front of a train by Alan Alencar. Mr Lesjongard lives in a 1m flat with wife Monique Hubaille (right)

A mental health unit patient appeared in court today accused of shoving a stranger beneath a tube train during rush hour while on day release.

Mr Lesjongard, who lives in a 1 million flat in Putney (pictured) with his Deutsche Bank worker wife Monique Hubaille, managed to crawl out from underneath the carriage

'It is clear Mr Alencar was, on any view, very seriously ill at the time of this incident.

'He had been released on a temporary discharge from a facility where he was detained in Edinburgh. But he hadn't taken his oral medication and he should have done.'

Alencar had been in a 'bad way' before his attack after going to visit his mother, who herself was in a psychiatric unit, his barrister said.

His doctor believed that he had been suffering from a 'breakthrough psychosis at the time of the incident'.

Mr Forsyth said: 'He doesn't remember it in any detail, but describes being immediately regretful and remembers trying to indicate for the train to stop but that was futile in the circumstance.'

Alencar was remanded in custody until a sentencing hearing on March 9, where he could be held indefinitely in a secure mental health facility.

Mr Lesjongard describes himself as a 'senior compliance executive with 25 years of global financial services experience working for major US banks'.

District Judge Tan Ikram said there had been no bail application and ordered Alencar to appear at Blackfriars Crown Court on December 1

It is understood he was previously head of international compliance for the US banking giant BNY Mellon.

The defendant, of Northcote Street, Edinburgh, is alleged to have 'calmly' walked away after pushing Mr Lesjongard.

The court heard Alencar was on day release from a mental institution in Scotland when the alleged attack happened.

During a hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court, Alencar, who appeared in a grey tracksuit, spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth.

He indicated through his defence counsel that he intended to plead not guilty to the offence.

District Judge Tan Ikram said there had been no bail application and ordered Alencar to appear at Blackfriars Crown Court on December 1.

The court heard Alencar was on day release from a mental institution in Scotland when the alleged attack happened

During a hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court, Alencar, who appeared in a grey tracksuit, spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth

Alleged victim Alain Lesjongard, a 55-year-old compliance executive, was seriously injured when the westbound District Line train ran over him at Bayswater Underground Station
Pascale Mitterrand (pictured), 41, confirmed to MailOnline, after being outed by French media, that she was indeed the woman who filed a complaint with police

The alleged rape victim at the centre of the sex scandal engulfing Emmanuel Macron's government is the granddaughter of former French president Francois Mitterrand, it emerged today.

Pascale Mitterrand, 41, issued a statement through her lawyers corroborating a report which claimed she had filed a complaint with the police against Nicolas Hulot, who is now the Ecology Minister.

Her alleged rape claim was investigated by detectives for three months, but then dropped because the alleged crime had taken place 11 years before  putting it beyond the statute of limitations.

Despite such disturbing claims being published across France today, Mr Macron is standing by his colleague and friend Mr Hulot, saying there is currently no question of the 62-year-old being sacked.

Ms Mitterrand was a 20-year-old apprentice photographer working for the SIPA agency when she allegedly had sexual relations with Hulot, then 42, while spending a week picturing him at his holiday home on the Mediterranean island of Corsica in 1997.

In statements filed with police in 2008, Ms Mitterrand said: 'We could have met in many other places, but he insisted that it happened at home.'

Ms Mitterrand's barrister, Michel Dufranc, said on Friday: 'Pascale Mitterrand's name has been linked without her consent to a media storm around Nicolas Hulot. She and her family in no way welcome this publicity.'

Socialist politician Gilbert Mitterrand, Pascale's father and the son of Francois Mitterrand, told Paris magazine Ebdo  which originally broke the story: 'My daughter became different after that.'

Mr Mitterrand said Pascale, now a married mother of two, had left France and was now living abroad.

It all means that there are now two members of Mr Macron's government who have been accused of sex attacks.

Budget Minister Gerald Darmanin, 35, is said to have attacked a married former call girl, but has also kept his job.

French Minister for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition Nicolas Hulot (pictured) looks on as he leaves the Elysee palace following the weekly Cabinet meeting. The incident allegedly occurred 21 years ago

Both men vehemently deny any wrong doing, with Mr Hulot saying: 'I'm afraid of the rumours, I'm not afraid of the truth,' adding: 'I hate sexism and macho behaviour.'

Mr Hulot is also said to have sexually harassed a second unnamed woman he met through his Hulot Foundation - an organisation that campaigns on environment issues.

The alleged rape victim is the granddaughter of former French president Francois Mitterrand (pictured) seen here at the age of 79 in his Paris office

Money is said to have been paid out by the Foundation as part of a settlement with Mr Hulot's former lover, but this has been denied by him and his organisation.

Mr Darmanin is meanwhile the subject of a preliminary enquiry into 'abuse of weakness, abuse of power' and rape.

He is said to have attacked Sophie Spatz, now 46, a decade ago while he was working as a legal advisor.

French politics is notorious for its sex scandals, with presidents and their most senior lieutenants regularly having affairs, leading to frequent allegations of establishment cover-ups.

The political career of former Socialist finance minister Dominique Strauss-Kahn was brought to a halt by a succession of rape allegations, but none were ever proved.

The Socialist President Mitterrand infamously kept a secret family on the French state, using police and secret agents to protect it.

It was not until after his death in January 1996 that his mistress and love child were finally identified.
'Serial killer': Joseph Brant, 48, has admitted to killing four women in New Orleans a decade ago

A suspected serial killer already convicted in a fatal stabbing in New Orleans was charged on Thursday with slaying three other women, among them a young San Francisco activist who was gunned down while visiting the city in 2008.

Joseph Brant, 48, was indicted on three counts of first-degree murder in connection with the cases going back a decade.

Brant already faced a mandatory life sentence in the 2008 killing of Jessica Lou Hawk, a 32-year-old botanist, in her New Orleans home.

He was finishing up an unrelated burglary sentence in a Texas prison when he recently confessed to the three other unsolved New Orleans killings, Cannizzaro said in a news release.

Brant now is charged in the 2007 slaying of an unidentified woman and that of another woman, identified as Jody Johnson, in January 2008. Both of the bodies in those cases were set afire.

Authorities said his third victim was 25-year-old Kirsten Brydum, killed while visiting from San Francisco in September 2008.

Justice for Kirsten: Brant, who was already convicted in a fatal stabbing, was indicted in the September 2008 shooting death of social activist Kirsten Brydum (left and right). The 25-year-old was visiting New Orleans from San Francisco when she was killed and robbed

She had been shot to death and robbed of her bicycle and tote bag, according to police.

Brydum was an organizer of a monthly San Francisco gathering at which people exchanged goods and services called the Really Really Free Market. She had arrived in New Orleans two days before her body was found.

This confession and indictment are the first steps toward bringing long-delayed justice to this defendants victims and their families, Cannizzaro said.

The news release said Cannizzaro dispatched an investigator to the prison outside Huntsville, Texas, after Brant told his attorneys he wanted to provide information on other unsolved killings in New Orleans in exchange for an agreement that he would not face the death penalty and that he would serve his sentences in a Louisiana penitentiary.

The expected guilty pleas and mandatory life sentences that will follow cannot bring back the loved ones, but hopefully can provide some degree of closure for these grieving families, Cannizzaro said.

Cannizzaro said work has begun to immediately extradite Brant to New Orleans to face the new charges.

In exchange for his confession, Brant will be spared the death penalty for the killings.

All four murders attributed to Brant were carried out between October 2007 and September 2008.

During an interview on February 6, Brant told investigators that on October 17, 2007, he solicited an unnamed woman for sex, pulled a knife on her after she rejected his advance, then strangled her to death while trying to rape her.

In 2016, Brant pleaded guilty to stabbing to death Jessica Lou Hawk (left and right), a 32-year-old botanist, in her New Orleans home on August 11, 2008

Brant said he then placed the woman's body inside a stolen car abandoned by the train tracks, doused her with gasoline and set her alight in order to cover up the murder, reported The Advocate.

On January 11, 2008, Brant said he saw Jody Johnson walking in the 7th Ward and solicited her for sex. He drove the woman to Piety Street, where she forced her to perform oral sex on him at gunpoint. Afterwards, Brant forced the victim out of the car, shot her in the head and set her body on fire.

On August 11, 2008, Brant stabbed Jessica Hawk, a botanist, inside her home on Chartres Street in Bywater.

The fourth victim was Byrdum, whose body was discovered in the 3000 block of Laussat Place in the Upper 9th Ward on September 27, 2008.

Brant confessed to the Hawk slaying in 2013 and three years later pleaded guilty to charges of second-degree murder and obstruction of justice.

A judge sentenced him to life in prison, to be served after he completed his previous 11-year sentence for an unrelated burglary conviction in Texas.

Brydum was a social activist who spent months traveling around the country to communities facing economic hardships, and writing about her experiences in her blog. New Orleans was supposed to be the last stop on her so-called Collective Autonomy tour.

Her final journal entry described arriving in New Orleans on September 25, where she was to spend just 36 hours before returning to San Francisco.

'Right now I'm rolling into New Orleans. I really don't know what to expect,' Brydum wrote. 'The sun is setting on the bayou-licked lands and I am truly fortunate.'

The woman's family released a statement to Nola.com on Thursday's addressing Joseph Brant's murder confession.

'We miss Kirsten's radiance every day,' wrote her father Steen Brydum. 'We are relieved to know that the man who extinguished her incredible flame can never harm another woman.'
Good things come to those who wait.

That's certainly true for married military veterans John Banvard, 100, and Gerard 'Jerry' Nadeau, 72, who are living their retirement together, as openly gay men, in a military home in Chula Vista, California.

Speaking to NPR, Vietnam vet Jerry and WWII vet John shared how they found love with each other later in life, and how they have come to be accepted after nearly 25 years together.

In a tender exchange, Jerry asks John: 'What would it have been like if you didn't meet me?'

John Banvard, 100, (left) and Gerard 'Jerry' Nadeau, 72, live together in a veteran retirement home in Chula Vista, California

John (left) said he would be 'absolutely lost' without his partner of nearly 25 years, Jerry

John was expecting to be 'ridiculed' when he married Jerry in 2013 at the veteran home (pictured), but, instead, the other residents were accepting of their relationship

'I would have continued being lonely,' John says. 'I'd been absolutely lost.'

Jerry said when he and John moved to the veterans home in 2010, people wondered what exactly their relationship was.

'Well, when we got married, they knew what our relationship was,' he added with a laugh.

John was expecting to be 'ridiculed' when he married Jerry in 2013, but, instead, the residents of the home were welcoming to their relationship.

'We'd gotten married at the veterans home, and we said, 'If you came to see the bride, you're out of luck,' said Jerry.

They had an 'informal' ceremony where they served hot dogs, or as John called it: 'hardly wedding food.'

John (pictured in his days in the military) joined the Air Force one week after the attack in Pearl Harbor and also worked as a teacher in speech and drama

Jerry (pictured in his days in the military) served in Vietnam, working in communications

The couple said they realized their relationship had become more official in the eyes of others when they were at the home's cafeteria and someone introduced them as husbands

The couple realized their relationship had become more official in the eyes of others when they were at the home's cafeteria and someone introduced them as husbands.

'That was very nice,' John said of the moment.

It was a long road to the altar for the veterans, who were both 'sort of in the closet' when they met in 1993, back when neither had ever been in a serious relationship with a man.

When they met in 1993, neither of the vets had ever been in a relationship with a man (pictured left is John and right is Jerry)

When John (pictured middle right) met Jerry, he had been a widower for nearly 10 years

John is a fan of art and theater while Jerry (pictured) likes the outdoors, but their differences haven't gotten in the way of their relationship

John's wife of more than 35 years had died almost 10 years before he met Jerry during a trip to California.

Within months of meeting, John sold his house in Texas and moved in with Jerry.

Although the two vets seemed very different at first sight - John is a fan of art and theater while Jerry likes the outdoors - they became inseparable and have been together ever since.

'You've made my life complete,' Jerry tells John.

'I could say the same to you,' John replies.

'I think we're probably as happy together as any two people you're likely to meet.'
McDonald's fans are panicking after the burger chain's new Grand Big Mac fell victim to a shortage.

Fast food fans rushed to try out the new burger but the clamour has led to depleted stocks - with shortfalls reported in Teesside, Lincolnshire and Devon.

One restaurant in Middlesbrough put a sign up warning of a 'national shortage' of the burger, which contains a whopping 741 calories, compared to the original's 508.

It said: 'Unfortunately we cannot sell any Grand Macs due to a national shortage.

McDonald's fans are panicking after the burger chain's new Grand Big Mac fell victim to a shortage. Cities across the UK have reported a shortfall of the giant burgers

'We hope to rectify this within 24 hours.

'We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused.'

And other McDonald's fans were left disappointed in Lincoln.

People visiting the city's Cornhill branch on Friday afternoon were told the burger had completely sold out.

Meanwhile, in Plymouth, three restaurants had sold out. Signs in the window said: 'So tasty it's sold out'.

A McDonald's spokesman told Gazette Live: 'Due to the overwhelming popularity of our new Grand Big Mac some of our restaurants experienced higher than expected demand resulting in the burgers being sold out for a short period of time.

McDonald's have revealed they are launching two limited edition versions of the popular burger- a junior one (far left) and a supersized one (far right)

'Customers should be able to get their hands on the Grand Big Mac at restaurants across the country from tomorrow if not before.'

McDonald's announced it is launching two limited edition versions of its most famous burger earlier this week, with a supersized one and a 'junior' one with 400 calories.

The new additions have been released to mark 50 years since the original Big Mac was released, but will only be available from February 7 to March 20 across both the UK and the United States.
Police in California are searching for a man who they say sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl from China inside a hotel room after watching her and another minor through the window for 30 minutes.

The Covina Police Department has released screenshots from surveillance footage showing the unidentified male suspect lurking outside a local hotel after hours.

According to a news release, the incident took place just after 8pm on Wednesday at the Vanllee Hotel and Suites on East Garvey Avenue North.

Do YOU know him? Police in Covina, California, are searching for this man who is accused of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl after spying on her through a hotel window

Getaway vehicle: The suspect fled the scene in his dark-colored Dodge 4500 Ram pickup truck (pictured in CCTV screenshot)

Investigators say the male suspect drove through the hotel parking lot until he noticed a lit room with drapes open.

He parked his dark-colored Dodge 4500 Ram pickup truck directly in front of the window of the hotel room, which was occupied by two girls, who were on a school trip from China, reported CBS Los Angeles.

'The suspect masturbated while watching the two minors,' according to the press release.

The man then emerged from his truck and stood outside the window, pretending to be on his cellphone for more than 30 minutes.

Afterwards, the suspect walked through the hotel lobby, knocked on the door of the girls room and forced his way inside when they opened the door, thinking it was their chaperone.

The victim was staying at Vanllee Hotel and Suites in Covina while on a school trip from China

The man sexually assaulted the 13-year-old girl and then fled in his truck.

The incident was labeled in the press release as an 'oral copulation investigation.' Police said the parents of the victim have been notified.

The suspect in the attack is described as a man with a stocky build, balding head, a short beard and prescription glasses. He was last seen wearing a tan or brown suit with a light-colored striped shirt.

Anyone with information or questions regarding this crime is urged to contact Covina Police Department Detective Ramirez (626) 384-5621, Watch Commander (626) 384-5665, or Crime Stoppers (800) 222-TIPS (8477).
The Welsh Ambulance Service has been accused of 'playing God' after a woman died of a heart attack without knowing she was being used as a 'guinea pig' for a controversial medical trial.

Trudy Jones, 49, died after suffering a cardiac arrest at home in Wrexham, north Wales, in January 2016.

But her husband Ron, 56, only discovered during her inquest two years later that she had been part of a trial that gives some cardiac patients a placebo saline solution instead of adrenaline.

Mr Jones was horrified to learn the five ambulance service trusts taking part in the trial 'assume' consent of their patients.

They have today been accused of 'playing God' and using members of the public as 'guinea pigs'.

Trudy Jones (pictured), 49, died after suffering a heart attack at home in Wrexham, north Wales, in January 2016

Mr Jones, of Rhosesni, Wrexham, said: 'The first thing we heard about the Paramedic2 trial was at the inquest, two years down the line.

'I don't feel the ambulance service have been totally honest with us with the things they were telling us. It just makes me really angry.

'They didn't mention it to us. I don't disagree with having the trial but you should be given the choice to be in it or not.

'We have asked them if they used adrenaline or saline on Trudy. We have been waiting for an answer since last November.

'She was a lovely person and she didn't deserve this.'

Mr Jones started asking questions about his wife's death because of the delay in paramedics getting to her.

His wife was at home with him and their 22-year-old son Steven when she became ill on January 2 last year.

He called 999 at 11.33pm but had to call again at 12.14am because paramedics had not arrived and she had gone into cardiac arrest.

But her husband Ron (pictured with her on their wedding day in Las Vegas in 2001), 56, only discovered during her inquest two years later that she had been part of a trial that gives some cardiac patients a placebo saline solution instead of adrenaline

An ambulance finally came at 12.21am and between then and 12.45am when she was pronounced dead she was given either adrenaline or the placebo solution.

Mr Jones claims to have asked the Welsh Ambulance Service twice whether Mrs Jones had been used in the trial, but received no answer.

It emerged during her inquest late last year that she had in fact been involved in the trial - called Paramedic2.

But it is still unclear whether she was one of the patients who had the placebo solution, which has no effect on heart attack patients, or not.

A leading North Wales patients' rights advocate said he believed 'assumed consent' of 'guinea pigs' in medical trials was unethical.

Geoff Ryall-Harvey, chief officer of the North Wales Community Health Council, said: 'The trial might be legal, but is it moral?

'North Wales CHC does not believe that it is moral, but that it is playing God.

Mr Jones was horrified to learn the five ambulance service trusts taking part in the trial 'assume' consent of their patients

'In my experience if patients have a chance of survival with a treatment they will want it. It should be given, not withheld secretly.

'It is my belief that if people were asked if they wanted to participate in this trial they would probably say no.

'The public are being used as guinea pigs without their knowledge.' He said the scheme was not publicised well enough.

He added: 'I have discussed this trial with a lot of people in the health service and they are not aware of it.

'There has been publicity but it's been half-hearted and ineffective - it should have been a big campaign.

'They are playing 'Russian Roulette' with patients.'

Research studies have suggested that although adrenaline may restart the heart, it may lower overall survival rates and increase brain damage in patients.

But that evidence is not strong enough to stop using adrenaline on cardiac patients, prompting the Paramedic2 trial, which ends in December this year.

In the 'double blind trial', neither the patient or the paramedic treating them know whether they are being administered adrenaline or saline.

Patients wishing to opt out can write, email or call the trial coordinators at Warwick University, and demand a 'no study' bracelet.

But only 1,157 bracelets have been issued since December 2014 - out of a trial area population of almost 24 million people, involving patients from the five ambulance trust areas of Wales, North-East England, London, South-Central England and West Midlands.

The Welsh Ambulance Service has apologised and paid the family 750 after the Public Services Ombudsman found there had been an 'unacceptable delay' in them reaching Mrs Jones. File image used

During the hearing last year, assistant Coroner Nicola Jones, said: 'Although it cannot be established with certainty that Mrs Jones would have survived if help had reached her promptly after the first call, it is reasonable to find that she would have survived long enough to be transported to hospital for consideration of further medical treatment.'

The Welsh Ambulance Service has apologised and paid the family 750 after the Public Services Ombudsman found there had been an 'unacceptable delay' in them reaching Mrs Jones.

Welsh Ambulance Service Medical Director and deputy chief executive Brendan Lloyd said of the Paramedic2 trial: 'Members of the public who don't wish to take part in the trial can request a stainless steel bracelet and our clinicians are trained to look for these.

'All patients will still receive treatments which are proven to provide the best chance of survival from a cardiac arrest, such as CPR and early defibrillation.

'Six months before the trial was launched a major media campaign was conducted in Wales with coverage in newspapers, TV and radio, and a further press release was issued nine months later which generated further widespread press coverage.

'Posters and bilingual information leaflets have been distributed across health and community settings and detailed information can also be found on the Welsh Ambulance Service website.

'Patients and their relatives aren't automatically made aware of a patient's involvement in the study.

'However, on this occasion details of Mrs Jones' involvement were shared at the inquest.

'We fully appreciate the concerns of Mrs Jones' family and will be offering to meet with them in order to answer any questions they have.

'We would once again like to take this opportunity to extend our thoughts and deepest sympathies to Mrs Jones' family.'
President Donald Trump defended his former staff secretary Rob Porter on Friday, even after strong accusations that he beat his two ex-wives led to his abrupt departure from the administration.

'I found out about it recently and I was surprised by it. But we certainly wish him well. It's obviously a tough time for him,' the president said.

'He did a very good job when he was in the White House and we hope he has a wonderful career, and hopefully he will have a great career ahead of him.'

'It was very sad when we heard about it,' Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, 'and certainly he's also very sad.

'Now, he also, as you probably know, he says he's innocent. And I think you have to remember that. He said very strongly yesterday that he's innocent. So you'll have to talk to him about that. But we absolutely wish him well. He did a very good job when he was at the White House.'

President Donald Trump defended his former staff secretary Rob Porter on Friday following accusations that he beat his two ex-wives

John Kelly, who has faced criticism for initially defending Porter earlier this week, was told in October that Porter (right) had a history of domestic violence

Colbie Holderness, Porter's first wife, (left) claims he repeatedly punched and choked her. His second wife Jennifer Willoughby has also claimed that Porter was abusive in their marriage

The president didn't mention Porter's two ex-wives, who have both said publicly that he physically abused them.

Former Vice President Joe Biden sounded off hours after Trump made his remarks.

'Is there any other crime  and it's a crime,' he said during an event targeting sexual assault on college campuses. 'where there'd be an explanation, that the reason why we shouldn't pay attention to the transgression is because they're good at something?'

Porter is in a romantic relationship with White House Communications Director Hope Hicks, who is Trump's longest-serving personal aide.

Trump's astonishing defense of a man accused of a long history of domestic abuse was reminiscent of Trump's decision to side with accused child molester Roy Moore in November as the Alabama politician was in a tight race for the U.S. Senate.

'He totally denies it. He says it didnt happen,' Trump said of Moore as he left the White House for the Thanksgiving holiday last year. 'And, you know, you have to listen to him also.'

Kelly stood in the Oval Office on Friday as reporters crowded around Trump

DailyMail.com first reported that Hope Hicks (right) is in a romantic relationship with Porter

A media feeding frenzy erupted in the Oval Office when Trump called the press pool in

Trump wished Porter well and said he hopes the former aide hsa a great career ahead of him  but did not mention his alleged victims

Porter stepped down from his job following on-the-record claims to DailyMail.com from his ex-wives Colbie Holderness and Jennifer Willoughby about the abuse they say they suffered during their marriages to the former Trump aide.

Holderness claims Porter choked and punched her during their marriage, while Willoughby says he dragged her wet and naked out of the shower and was verbally abusive.

The Porter saga is quickly developing into a full-scale crisis for the Trump administration as questions swirl about who in the White House knew about his past  and when.

Chief of Staff John Kelly was told in October 2017 that Porter's ex-wives were prepared to level devastating accusations of spousal abuse against him.

Porter's then-girlfriend told Kelly personally that Porter had abused his two exes, according to a White House official.

White House counsel Don McGahn had known since early 2017 that Porter was at risk of being accused of being violent with the women.

But the news made it to Kelly when Porter's girlfriend told him, after contacting a White House aide who reported to him.

Trump himself was not informed about Porter's alleged history of abuse until Tuesday night when DailyMail.com first reported the ex-wives' claims.

The Washington Post reported Friday that McGahn was aware of the potential crisis a year ago. Politico reported that Kelly knew long before DailyMail.com first reported about Porter's spousal abuse.

Former Vice President Joe Biden said hours after Trump spoke that Porter's strong job performance can't excuse the 'crime' of domestic assault

Trump's defense of Porter was reminiscent of his words about Roy Moore on November 21, 2017 as he left the White House for the Thanksgiving Day holiday

Moore is the unsuccessful U.S. Senate candidate who was accused of molesting teen girls decades earlier

WHAT JOHN KELLY SAID ABOUT ROB PORTER ON WEDNESDAY '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.' Advertisement

Kelly also learned from federal law enforcement in November, weeks after Porter's live-in girlfriend spoke with him, that accusations against Porter were keeping him from receiving a permanent security clearance.

But he continued to give Porter more and more responsibilities to control the flow of information to the president.

DailyMail.com is not identifying the girlfriend because she is a victim of domestic abuse accusations.

The White House declined to comment on Friday.

Porter has denied the 'vile' accusations, but was unceremoniously bounced from his White House job this week.

Kelly sent a memo to staffers on Thursday evening denouncing domestic violence in response to the 'shocking and troubling' allegations.

He has faced intense criticism for his defense of Porter, who was allowed to resign from his position as staff secretary earlier in the week.

White House Counsel Don McGahn (left) was told a year ago that Porter's past spousal abuse might be an issue for the administration

In August 2017 Politico reported that a senior White House official said Kelly was 'auditing everyone and figuring out what everyones role is, and if people are in the right place.'

He has refused to issue a mea culpa but claimed in an email to staff that he does not take allegations of physical abuse lightly.

'While we are all processing the shocking and troubling allegations made against a former White House staffer, I want you to know that we all take matters of domestic violence seriously,' he wrote. 'Domestic violence is abhorrent and has no place in our society.'

Kelly added that there were resources available at the White House for those seeking counseling.
Salma Hayek posted a touching tribute to Jill Messick the former Miramax executive, and one time manager of Rose McGowan, who killed herself Wednesday.

Messick was McGowan's manager during the time that the actress alleges Harvey Weinstein raped her in 1997.

Hayek took to Instagram to say she is 'deeply saddened' by the loss of Messick.

'Jill was Frida's executive at Miramax. She always navigated the frustrating and hostile environment of Miramax with grace and elegance. She became my ally and my friend,' the actress wrote of her time filming the Academy Award winning movie.

Salma Hayek shared a touching tribute (pictured left alongside Frida producer Sarah Green) to former Miramax executive, Jill Messick, who committed suicide this week- as Messick's family blames the loss on her being dragged into the Harvey Weinstein scandal

Hayek, who starred in Frida, wrote Messick navigated the 'hostile environment at Miramax' with grace and elegance

McGowan and Weinstein are seen here in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2007 at an awards ceremony

'In the many years we worked together I witnessed her professionalism while being pregnant, a mother and through incredible pressure. She was a girls girl and a romantic when it came to fighting for the underdog.'

'I will forever be grateful for her support and kindness. My heart is with her husband Kevin, her precious children Jackson and Ava and her friends and family, that like me cherish her memory. May she Rest In Peace,' Hayek wrote in closing.

The family of Messick, age 50, released a statement on Thursday confirming that the studio head had committed suicide.

Messick's family revealed the executive had suffered privately from depression and at least one manic episode, in an essay that was intensely critical of Weinstein, McGowan and the press, saying their loved one 'became collateral damage in an already horrific story.'

'Words matter,' the statement read. 'Someones life may depend on it.'

This comes after the January 30 release of McGowan's book, Brave, which claims Messick did little to help her after she confided in her about the alleged attack by Weinstein.

Hollywood producer Jill Messick (pictured), who was Rose McGowan's manager in 1997 at the time the actor alleges Harvey Weinstein raped her, died by suicide on Wednesday

Messick, who her family said had battled depression over the years, was dragged into the spotlight in the midst of a public exchange between Weinstein's attorney, Ben Brafman, and McGowan.

Messick was the manager who set up McGowan's now-infamous meeting with Weinstein, at the Sundance Film Festival in 1997, where McGowan alleges Weinstein raped her.

When McGowan was previously asked if she told anyone about her alleged assault, specifically her manager, McGowan said: 'Yes, but she got a job with him for seven years right afterwards.'

That was a reference to Messick taking a job at Miramax as vice president for development, shortly after McGowan had discussed with her that 1997 meeting with Weinstein.

Messick's family said that she chose not to speak out following comments by McGowan, made publicly and included in her book, because she believed in the #MeToo movement, which the family only referred to as 'the movement.'

They said she didn't comment even though McGowan's personal battle resulted in Messick's misrepresentation.

'Now that Jill can no longer speak for herself, its time to set the record straight,' the statement read.

Rose McGowan speaks onstage during the NBCUniversal portion of the 2018 Winter Television Critics Association Press Tour at The Langham Huntington in Pasadena on January 9

Harvey Weinstein is seen here in New York City on September 7

The family went on to say that having her name wrapped up in allegations of sexual misconduct against McGowan, allegedly perpetrated at the hands of Weinstein and by implication with her aid, was too much for Messick, who 'was just starting to get her life back on track' after suffering a manic episode five years ago.

'What makes Roses inaccurate accusations and insinuations against Jill ironic was that she was the first person who stood up on Roses behalf, and alerted her bosses to the horrific experience which Rose suffered,' the family added.

Messick's family added that seeing her photo in an international news story of such a nature was a reminder that 'the media is a fearsome tool which cannot be used indiscriminately or even inadvertently to create further victims.'

'There is a responsibility when using a platform to accurately expose criminals, predators, mistruths and misdeeds while protecting the actual truth of third parties,' the statement read.

Brafman, acting on behalf of Weinstein, chose to make public an email that Messick had sent to Weinstein, at Weinstein's request according, to the family statement.

Messick had sent the email months before the allegations of decades of sexual assault by the executive came to light, when they were first reported in October.

That email spoke to part of the circumstances surrounding some of the allegations of sexual assault that McGowan has lodged against Weinstein.

Messick is seen here with Paramount's Brady Grey in Los Angeles in 2007

DailyMail.com obtained that email on January 30, which included the following passage, written by Messick:

'When we [McGowan and Messick] met up the following day, she hesitantly told me of her own accord that during the meeting that night before she had gotten into a hot tub with Mr. Weinstein. She was very clear about the fact that getting into that hot tub was something that she did consensually and that in hindsight it was also something that she regretted having done.'

Brafman suggested what Messick wrote in her email about McGowan getting into the hot tub 'consensually' actually meant that Messick said any sex act that occurred at that time was also consensual.





But the email from Messick to Weinstein falls short of describing McGowan's interaction with Weinstein on that day as consensual sex, despite including some language that would suggest Messick believed McGowan had embellished her account of that meeting.

Lawyers from Addis-Wechsler & Associates also said that it was Messick who headed up settlement talks between McGowan and Weinstein, as they were asked by her to meet with the now-disgraced mogul, but the family refutes that statement.

Messick is seen here with family in a photo shared to social media

McGowan is seen out and about in Manhattan on February 1, near Weinstein's former office

The statement relayed a more detailed account of what Messick's family said had remained the producer's consistent story since 1997.

It read: 'In January 1997, Jill was an entry-level manager at Addis Wechsler. One of her first clients was Rose McGowan, and one of Jills first duties was to set up a breakfast meeting with Harvey Weinstein during the Sundance Film Festival. Following the meeting, Rose told Jill what had happened  that she made the decision to remove her clothes and get in the hot tub with him  a mistake which Rose immediately regretted. Rose never once used the word rape in that conversation.

'Despite this, Jill recognized that Harvey had done something untoward to Rose, if not illegal. She immediately went to her bosses, the partners of Addis Wechsler, to recount Roses story and to insist that they immediately address the situation. They told Jill that they would handle the situation.

'The ensuing arrangements between Rose and Harvey were then negotiated, completely without Jills knowledge. At that time, all Jill knew was that the matter was settled and that Rose continued making films with the Weinsteins. She never knew any details until recently, when Rose elected to make them public.'

Messick shared this photo with her family to social media on July 30, 2016

Neither McGowan or Weinstein have commented publicly on Messick's death, or the family's statement.

Neither could immediately be reached for comment by DailyMail.com.

Messick is survived by two children, Jackson and Ava, their father, Kevin Messick, her father, Michael, her brother, Jan, and her partner, Dan Schuck.

She attended Santa Barbara High School and later graduating with a degree in communications rrom the University of Southern California.

Messick was born on July 27, 1967.

Ready the full statement by her family, below.

The National Suicide Prevention line is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 1-800-273-TALK.
Robbers posing as plumbers kidnapped the daughter of a cash van driver and demanded the vehicle's contents as ransom, investigators said today.

The plot, which authorities claim would have netted them over 20 million euros (17.7million), took place yesterday near the French-Swiss border.

In Lyon, two men pretending to be plumbers kidnapped a young woman from her apartment, a source close to the investigation told AFP.

Robbers posing as plumbers kidnapped a young woman from her apartment in Lyon then demanded the contents of a van driven by her father which transports money between companies and banks (file photo)

They bundled her into a car and then had accomplices ring her father, who works for a Swiss company that transports money between companies and banks, to demand a ransom.

The father, who lives in the French border town of Annemasse, was carrying out a cash delivery when the call came through, Europe 1 radio reported.

He agreed to meet the kidnappers in a car park just across the border on the Swiss side, to hand over the van's contents, investigators said.

After the woman was taken, her father, who is a cash vehicle driver, was called and told to meet the ransomers in a car park (file photo)

Police in the Swiss canton of Vaud said that the father was en route to the Swiss city of Lausanne when he was forced to exit the motorway and head for the car park where he was met by robbers wearing gloves and balaclavas.

'There, several armed men who were awaiting the van made him park it. They then held up the delivery drivers, completely emptied the van's contents and fled in a dark-coloured Porsche SUV,' the Swiss police said in a statement Friday.

A French police source told AFP that the van was carrying 'between 20 and 30 million Swiss francs (15-23 million pounds)'.

'We have no reason to question her story,' a French source with knowledge of the investigation said, adding that police suspected a criminal gang (pictured: Annemasse, where the cash van driver lives)

A spokesman for the police in Vaud refused to confirm the amount.

The driver's daughter, who is in her twenties, was found unharmed at around 10pm (2100 GMT) on a road on the outskirts of Lyon.

She was questioned by police on Friday and said to be still in a state of shock.

'We have no reason to question her story,' a French source with knowledge of the investigation said, adding that police suspected a criminal gang.

No arrests have been made yet in the probe, which is being led by French police.

Swiss police said they were looking for three men with accented French, 'maybe from the south of France or North Africa' and called on any witnesses to come forward.

'Many details remain unexplained,' the French source said, adding that the investigation was expected to take some time.
A 26-year-old police officer who was shot dead after a man opened fire on him and two sheriff's deputies as they tried to arrest him was expecting his second child any day.

The shooting occurred in Locust Grove, 40 miles southeast of Atlanta, Georgia, on Friday morning as the officers were serving an arrest warrant. The charge was related to a failure to appear in municipal court.

Sheriff's deputies Ralph Sidwell 'Sid' Callaway and Michael Corley arrived at the home first and spoke with the suspected shooter - 39-year-old Tierra Guthrie - for around 10 minutes before trying to arrest him.

He resisted and they called for backup.

Chase Maddox, a 26-year-old married father who had been a police officer for just four years, arrived to help them. All three were shot.

Police officer Chase Maddox, 26, (pictured with his pregnant wife who is expecting their second child) was killed by the suspect

Sheriff's Deputies Michael Corley (left) Ralph Sidwell Callaway (right) were both injured and taken to hospital. Callaway was hit in the lower abdomen and required surgery. Corley's injuries were less serious

Maddox was described by officials as a 'smart young man'.

He and his wife Alex have one son and she is pregnant with their second child.

The young police officer is the only one the police department has ever hired straight out of school.

'He was a good young man who did a good job,' Locust Grove Mayor Robert Price said.

'His wife is expecting their second child any day now, I'm told. We just need a lot of prayers for he and his wife and the baby that's coming into this world without a daddy because of somebody...' the mayor said, choking up. 'We got to pray for the two county officers that's wounded. One's not doing so hot and the other is better.'

Corley's brother spoke outside the hospital where he was taken to ask reporters and well wishers for prayers.

Both of the sheriff's deputies were wearing bullet proof vests at the time.

The bullet which struck Corley went through his vest and grazed his ribs but he was not seriously hurt.

Callaway was struck in the lower abdomen in an area which the vest was not protecting.

He required surgery immediately after arriving at the hospital.

The scene on the street where the shooting happened in Locust Grove, Georgia, on Friday morning. Police closed off the entire residential street to investigate

Maddox had worked for the police department for four years and was hired straight out of school

Corley's brother Wade asked for prayers for the officers' families and said he felt lucky his brother was not more seriously hurt.

'Thank God for the bulletproof vest.

'The bullet went through the vest and caught him near the right side of his ribs,' he told WFAA.

Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Nelly Miles said Friday night that Corley was released from the hospital hours after Friday's shooting. Miles said Callaway was listed in stable condition at a hospital.

The home where it happened is nestled inside a suburban subdivision known as Hawthorn at Linden Park.

There are many families on the street and the streets surrounding it.

At a press conference on Friday afternoon, Henry County Sheriff Keith McBrayer said: 'You never know when you go to take somebody into custody what kind of response you are going to get.

'From our information, it was obvious that the individual was not going to go.
Disabled BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner was left stuck on a flight at Heathrow after his wheelchair assistant failed to show up.

Mr Gardner, who was paralysed after being shot six times by al-Qaida in Saudi Arabia in 2004, complained about his treatment on Twitter after flying from Tunisia to London.

It is the second time in a month Mr Gardner has been stuck on a plane, following a similar incident at Gatwick in January.

Disabled BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner tweeted his anger after he was left stuck on a flight at Heathrow after his wheelchair assistant failed to show up

The veteran journalist told his 77,000 Twitter followers about the incident and received a full apology from Heathrow

Mr Gardner, who was paralysed after being shot six times by al-Qaida in Saudi Arabia in 2004, complained about his treatment on Twitter after flying from Tunisia to London

Today, the journalist tweeted a picture of himself sitting on an empty Tunisair flight, along with the message: 'Another epic fail by @HeathrowAirport on the wheelchair front.

'Still stuck on the plane at T4 long after all passengers are off. Tunis airport was far more efficient.'

Heathrow said airlines were responsible for assisting passengers to and from their aircraft.

But Mr Gardner told his 77,000 followers: 'For the record, the Tunisair crew were so helpful, it wasn't their fault.'

Mr Gardner later tweeted: 'Received 'unreserved apology' from @HeathrowAirport for being left on plane again today.

'Really hope they can stop this happening, there are so many better things to do in life!'

It is the second time in a month Mr Gardner has been left on a plane, following a similar incident in January

Following last month's mix-up, Mr Gardner complained the aircraft was parked just yards from an airbridge, pictured, which could have been used to help him from the Airbus without a 30-minute delay

A spokesman for Heathrow said: 'We apologise unreservedly if the service Mr. Gardner received today fell short of the experience we aim to provide to our passengers.

'We are working with the responsible airline to investigate what went wrong in this case.'

MailOnline contacted Tunisair for comment.
A Minnesota man has been been charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault and burglary after he allegedly attacked a priest.

Chad Legare, 42, was arrested on Tuesday in Alexandria after he allegedly assaulted Rev. Robert Wapenski at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Anamoose, North Dakota.

However, during his bond hearing on Thursday Legare accused the reverend of being a rapist.

Chad Legare, 42 (left), has been charged with attempted murder after he allegedly attacked Rev. Robert Wapenski (right)

'As long as John Doe didn't rape any other women, he's safe from me,' Legare said in court after the judge asked if he posed a threat to anyone, according to inforum.com.

The priest is referred to as John Doe in court documents, which also state that Wapenski was strangled on January 30 but survived.

The Catholic Diocese of Fargo said they had previously received a report from Legare with the allegations against the priest. When they contacted the alleged victim, she denied the claims.

The Diocese said in a statement Thursday that it's 'cooperating with law enforcement into the investigation of the assault of Father Wapenski and its surrounding circumstances. The Diocese encourages anyone with knowledge of a crime concerning a church worker to report the crime to appropriate authorities.'

Legare appears in court on Thursday at his bond hearing

Legare allegedly assaulted the priest at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Anamoose, North Dakota

St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church serves a town of about 250 people. The reverend is known to his patrons as 'Father Bob.'

Legare is being held on a $250,000 bond. If found guilty, he could face up to 35 years in prison.

He also has a criminal record in Minnesota includes a felony domestic assault by strangulation charge in July 2015 that was dismissed after he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor, according to Duluth News Tribune.
A vicious brawl between a California high school cafeteria worker and students broke out after a pupil refused to listen to the employee's plea to dispose of trash.

The fight occurred in at Chaffey Joint Union High School in Ontario in an outdoors student area around noon and was caught on Snapchat video.

The clip from Wednesday sees the employee in a cap and green shirt standing chest to chest with a group of students. He throws his hands up as if beckoning them to initiate a fight.

A California high school cafeteria worker got into a fight with a mob of students and the brawl was all caught on tape on Snapchat video

The video sees the man in the green shirt and cap throw punches to several students

Standstill: The clip sees the employee stand in front of a group of students. When one gets too close, he pushes them back, which stirs the students to start punching him

When a student wearing a red hoodie gets too close, he pushes the student back, inciting the group of young pupils to jump on the worker with a series of blows.

The cafeteria worker then throws punches back. The video sees him hit multiple students with great force.

Soon a mass of students gather to watch the fight, several throwing their own punches. The students herd the worker fighting back towards the front of a nearby car where they encircle him and the worker ends up on the ground.

According to students at the scene of the fight, the brawl broke out after the employee asked a student to dispose of some trash.

Instead of listening the student swung a punch at the cafeteria worker, who then hit back.

High school security and staff immediately broke up the fight.

No serious injuries were reported.

The school: The fight took place at Chaffey Joint Union High School in Ontario, California

The fight started when the worker asked a student to pick up trash. The student responded to the request by punching the worker

The employee, above in green, was caught on tape hitting several students with force

High school Superintendent Mathew Holton confirmed in a statement that trash left in the area where the students sat incited the confrontation.

'The employee has been placed on administrative leave and seven students involved are not at school today (Thursday), pending results of the investigation,' Holton said.

'Its amazingthe disrespect we have for staff members,' sophomore Jared Winslow said to KTLA5.

'If he wouldn't have pushed that kid, maybe that wouldn't have happened,' Winslow said to ABC7.

Another pupil described the fight as just 'dumb'.

'It was just dumb. This kid littered on the floor basically and then the janitor got mad, like, pick it up,' student Alfredo Alvarado also said to ABC7.

A third pupil said the incident could have been avoided.

'[The janitor] could have been a little more mature and taken it more serious, and taken it to the principal instead, and not actually fight back to the students,' Marian Ramirez said.
Hillary Clinton's mystery cough reemerged during a 'Raise Your Voice' event for women, as she struggled to raise her own.

During the conference on a live feed from New York, the former Democratic nominee gave closing remarks for the three-day Makers Conference in Los Angeles, which urged women to continue raising their voices in speaking out against sexism, racism and bigotry.

'We're in the midst of war on truth, facts and reason,' Clinton said, taking a jab at the Trump administration.

Hillary Clinton struggled to get through a speech about raising your voice during a live-feed from New York at the conclusion of a three day conference for women

'I know at times it can be overwhelming, but every one of us has the power to hold people accountable.'

'From Hollywood to politics to factory floors, everywhere women are telling the truth about their lives,' Clinton said in a clip from the address, posted to Twitter.

'You know. We have to be brave. We have to be brave enough to engage with people who disagree with us, brave enough to question and examine our own beliefs, brave enough to acknowledge that even those of us who have spent much of our life thinking about and fighting about gender issues  who even have first-hand experiences navigating male-dominated industries  may not always get it right,' she continued.



'I pledge to continue to speak out. I pledge to never give up ,' Clinton said as she began coughing.

'I will do everything I can ,' she tried to continue.

'To keep my voice, number one  to advance the rights and opportunities of women,' she said as the audience laughed. 'In the midst of this snowstorm  stay on the front-lines of democracy.'

Clinton's coughing fits were a repeated hindrance to her message throughout the 2016 campaign.

A candidate's cough: Then Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton struggled to contain a coughing fit as she spoke at the Jewish Federation in Iowa in January of 2016

February of 2016 the cough continued during a speech in Manhattan as she struggled to speak

Post candidate Hillary: Delivering the commencement address at Wellesley College- May, 2017

The then candidate had frequent coughing fits on the campaign trail which she blamed on pollen.

The real cause of the coughing became the subject of huge speculation about her health, and months of denial of any long-term problem ended in embarrassment when she collapsed at a 9/11 memorial in New York.

Hours later her doctor said she was being treated for pneumonia.

Her coughs have continued through speaking engagements post-election.

And even before she hit the campaign trail, Clinton had to dig out a lozenge during the 2015 Benghazi hearings.

Despite never raising her voice, at the ten-and-a-half-hour mark Clinton broke down in a coughing fit that ended only after she took a lozenge from her purse and then rejected a suggestion of a short break from Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy, a South Carolina Republican.
This is the hilarious moment a student interrupts their head teacher's TV interview - by accidentally running them over on a sledge.

Siv Stenlund, head teacher of a language school in Umea, Sweden, was talking with a reporter about the activities experienced by exchange students visiting her school.

As such, the 61-year-old was engrossed in the discussion and failed to notice the pupil racing down the snowy hill towards where she stood.

This is the hilarious moment a student interrupts their head teacher's TV interview - by accidentally running them over on a sledge

The person on the sledge couldn't seem to control the sled and collided with the teacher.

In the clip, Ms Stenlund fell straight out of view after being knocked down.

But the camera soon followed the teacher and she could be seen looking unimpressed as she tried to get back onto her feet.

'There was no danger! We had a great day that was not affected by the fall,' the 61-year-old told SVT.

Students from all around the world, including Spain, Finland, Greece and Northern Ireland, were visiting the city to experience a Swedish winter.

'This is very exotic for those who come from Spain and Greece and the Netherlands,' says Siv Stenlund.
Since Britain committed itself to unpopular ground wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, soldier suicides have occurred with tragic regularity, writes Richard Pendlebury (pictured)

When I last saw Bombardier Gareth Crabbe, he appeared to be thriving. In fact, that is an understatement.

The veteran of wars in Bosnia, Kosovo and Iraq was up on stage at London's Theatre Royal in the West End, singing in front of a celebrity-studded first-night audience.

He was one of the stars of The Two Worlds Of Charlie F  a show about, and performed by, injured veterans.

There is a picture from the time of 'Crabby' posing with the actor Ray Winstone  his new friend and mentor.

Bombardier Crabbe's military career had ended when his back was crushed by a 105mm howitzer while training for deployment to Afghanistan.

In 2012, the year he was medically discharged from the Army, he was offered a new direction in life: the theatre. Charlie F got five-star reviews and toured the UK and Canada. By then, Bombardier Crabbe had embraced the arts.

Lieutenant-Colonel Stewart Hill, a mutual friend and fellow Charlie F cast member who was grievously wounded in Afghanistan, recalls taking part in a poetry reading with Gareth Crabbe in London in 2016.

It was Colonel Hill's birthday, and Crabbe gave him a book that night  an anthology of life-affirming poems called Staying Alive.

The first to be reported this year was that of Warrant Officer Nathan Hunt (circled next to Prince Harry), 39, who had served alongside Prince Harry in Afghanistan in 2008 and was Mentioned in Dispatches. He suffered from severe PTSD and took his life at his home on New Year's Day

On the flyleaf, he had written: 'Thank you for all the support you have given me when I needed it the most. This book has given me the will to go on.'

'Crabby told me that night that poetry had saved his life,' Colonel Hill says.

'He was coming off painkillers and had joined a military self-help group near his home. Everything was 'fantastic'.'

But a few weeks later, 38-year-old Gareth Crabbe killed himself.

The subsequent inquest into his death heard that he had been unable to shake off the severe depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) caused by his accident and by the brutalities he had witnessed on active service in Bosnia, Kosovo and Iraq.

A divorced father-of-two, he had also become addicted to the painkillers prescribed for the spinal injury.

His house had been burgled and he felt helpless. His ex-wife said he had felt 'neglected' by the Army after he left.

Having joined up at the age of 18, soldiering had brought him both pleasure and, in the end, unbearable pain and the loss of the will to live.

Has the military done enough to help these often forgotten or unrecognised victims of our recent wars? What more can be done to save them from themselves?

Since Britain committed itself to unpopular ground wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, such deaths have occurred with tragic regularity.

Afghan veteran Lance Corporal James Ross (pictured), 30, was serving with 2nd Battalion, The Rifles, when he apparently took his own life at his barracks in Northern Ireland, in December 2012

The first to be reported this year was that of Warrant Officer Nathan Hunt, 39, who had served alongside Prince Harry in Afghanistan in 2008 and was Mentioned in Dispatches.

He suffered from severe PTSD and took his life at his home on New Year's Day.

And so the statistics stack up.

Shockingly, in 2012  two years before Britain pulled most of its forces out of Afghanistan  the combined total of suicides by serving soldiers and veterans (49) outstripped that of frontline fatalities.

The number of soldiers who had served in Afghanistan and were newly diagnosed with PTSD more than doubled between 2009 and 2012. The year 2009 was Britain's bloodiest of the war.

The year 2013-14, meanwhile, saw the number of serving soldiers who had deployed to Afghanistan or Iraq and then had an initial diagnosis of PTSD reach a new high of 319 cases, according to figures released in November.

Of the serving soldiers diagnosed with PTSD, around four-fifths had served in those two warzones.

The charity Combat Stress said that, in 2015, six new veterans a day asked it for help  its busiest period in a 96-year history, and more than double the number seen the year before.

Iraq veteran Aidan Knight (pictured) tried four times to take his own life. In April 2015 he succeeded. He was 29

Of course post-traumatic stress need not lead to suicide, but it is a warning that the sufferer urgently needs help. If he  or she  has left the forces without the condition already having been diagnosed, let alone treated, then the sufferer is in a particularly vulnerable situation.

One former soldier who has struggled badly in civilian life is Jason (whose surname we have withheld for security reasons), who had two spells in the military. He has been told he has probably suffered from some form of PTSD for the past 20 years.

He first served in his local county infantry regiment, including a tour of Northern Ireland in which one of his team was shot in the head by an IRA sniper.

The regiment was later sent to Bosnia as part of UN forces. Outside Sarajevo in 1995, Jason was involved in a vehicle accident and, as a result, taken captive for several days by Serb forces.

On leaving the Army in 1997, he lived by himself, grew his hair and smoked pot all day. His family then intervened and he pulled himself together sufficiently to go to university.

After graduation, and having trained for 21 SAS selection, Jason joined a military intelligence unit, working alongside UK Special Forces.

In this role, he was deployed in 2009 to the badlands of Afghanistan, helping to fight narcotics trafficking along the Pakistan border.

In 2011, he returned for a second tour of the country as an intelligence specialist.

By then, a number of 'issues' which were the first signs of PTSD had been noted by an officer during a basic mental health assessment.

In the UK, Jason had been drinking heavily, sleeping badly and had anger issues. Nothing was done.

In 2012, he was sent back for a third high-pressure Afghan deployment, once again with Special Forces. He was a corporal by now.

'By the time I got back to the UK again I was burnt out,' he says. 'I spent two weeks in bed and my partner grew very worried.

'I told [the military] what was happening, and they said they would get me in front of a mental health specialist. But again that never happened. Instead, I was sent on exercise to Kenya, and that is where I snapped.'

He says he threatened to shoot an officer he saw bullying a soldier. Then he threatened a member of the exercise's directing staff.

'That is when my world began to collapse. The military saw the cracks  and all of a sudden I became a liability rather than a colleague who needed help. Eventually I was called in front of a panel.

They pushed my resignation papers across the desk and suggested that I sign them.'

He left the Army in 2015.

'They missed the opportunity to diagnose me with PTSD on a number of occasions,' he says.

'In Afghanistan, I was told things like 'Make sure you see someone when you get back to the UK'. My job was too important to remove me.

'But once I left the military, I was alone with the heavy drinking and the nightmares, when I would wake up grabbing for a rifle that wasn't there.

I suffered extreme paranoia and thought I was being followed and watched, and my phone was tapped.

'But at the same time I wasn't aware that any of this behaviour was odd, or that it was all symptoms of PTSD.'

In the end, his partner Natalie 'dragged' him to a psychologist 'and within half an hour I had been diagnosed with complex PTSD and burn-out.

That was a year ago, and I am still in cognitive behavioural therapy. I still have some way to go.

'I feel let down by the organisation and people I trusted. They had their pound of flesh from me, but failed in their duty of care when I needed them the most.'

He admits he has thought about taking his own life. He says that, even as we speak, his heart is pounding. He has never talked to a stranger about his problems before.

Jason continues to fight his battle for stability, but for many others the struggle proved too much.

Afghan veteran Lance Corporal James Ross, 30, was serving with 2nd Battalion, The Rifles, when he apparently took his own life at his barracks in Northern Ireland, in December 2012.

His mother, Linda Ketcher, said: 'It has been a very tough time.

I have had to seek counselling myself as the Army does absolutely nothing to help. I think it has a duty of care not just to its soldiers but to their families, too.'

Lance Corporal Ross's family still don't understand what led to his death  an inquest has been delayed and is due in May.

His mother wonders if it was PTSD or a reaction to anti-malarial drugs the troops were given before the Afghan deployment.

'James had just been promoted and was enjoying organising his first mess dinner,' she says.

He had been home in November 2012, when he had a great time meeting up with family and friends, she recalls.

'There was no sign of there being anything wrong with him. He couldn't come home for Christmas but he said there was plenty for him to do on the base and he would be back in the New Year.

'I wonder if there were signs of PTSD which were missed. His regiment suffered heavy casualties in Afghanistan and obviously that was a very difficult tour.

'At the time of James's death, there had been two suicides and eight incidents of serious self-harm [at his barracks] in a seven-month period. Surely that would indicate to most people there was some underlying problem?

'The Army should be more mindful of those who serve them so well, and their families. But these young men and women are treated as numbers, not people.

They take them off to fight, but then they don't want to have to deal with what they have to see and do, and what that does to them.'

Iraq veteran Aidan Knight's mother tried everything she could to save her soldier son from his demons.

But in the end she was helpless in the face of his self-destructive determination.

Aidan saw frontline action with 2 Para as a teenager. He left the military in 2008 after five years, saying that he had seen 'too much death'.

He suffered from nightmares and cold sweats and other familiar signs of intense stress  but it was the sudden death of his beloved brother, George, which helped precipitate his own, says his mother Angie.

Her son tried four times to take his own life. In April 2015 he succeeded. He was 29.

A coroner recorded a suicide verdict but refused to accept it was due to PTSD, even though Aidan had finally presented himself for treatment in the months before his death.

But he was not considered a high enough risk to be admitted to hospital, and there was a delay in seeing an NHS psychiatrist.

Angie said: 'He was a tortured soul. He bottled it all in and never spoke of what he did out there in Iraq. We did our best to support him but we are not experts.

'I tried everything to reason with him, to help him and get him to seek some treatment.

'I tried tough love by telling him to get a grip. He leaned in the car as I drove off that day and told me he didn't want an open casket.

'As a mother, looking back, it is very difficult. He had said things about dying before, and you just hope he didn't mean it and wouldn't go through with it. I begged doctors to help him but they couldn't unless he asked for it.'

A serious case review by the NHS concluded more could have been done to help Aidan and operational changes have been implemented. A compensation claim for his three children is being negotiated.

Angie added: 'It's so important the military, the NHS and coroners realise there is a problem with this, and they need to recognise they need to deal with it. If highlighting my son's case helps, then his death will not have been in vain.'

Yesterday, an MoD spokesperson said: 'We have invested 20 million in mental health services, have committed to tackling the stigma of mental health and launched our mental health and wellbeing strategy alongside partnering with the Royal Foundation.'

Neil Greenberg is the Professor of Defence Mental Health at King's College, London. He served in the military for 20 years and developed the now widely used Trauma Risk Management (TRiM) procedure, which is designed to help commanders pick up on early signs of PTSD among their men.

He says: 'We know that people who work in a combat role are at increased risk of suffering poor mental health as a result of deployment.

There is a lot of scientific evidence showing that 'social support' is generally very protective of people's mental health.

'But even with the best support, some people can be psychologically injured by severe stress.'

Jason, the former military intelligence officer, underwent TRiM assessment four times, but there was no follow-up when his problems were spotted.

'It needs to be part of a process,' he says. 'Not an end in itself.'

He felt alone and helpless. Bombardier Crabbe felt the same.

As did Nathan Hunt and the scores of other Afghan and Iraq combat veterans who felt they had nowhere to turn. For them, the greatest battle began when they got home.

Additional reporting: Simon Trump
A Maine man kicked and punched a massive 150-pound black bear with his own hands after it mauled his puppy while in the woods.

Dustin Gray, 29, of Bangor, Maine, parked his car and took his pet 30 feet into the woods to let his dog Clover, 11, pee when a black bear appeared and began to bite the pup.

Gray was shocked to find the creature that usually hibernate during these winter months, and attacked it with punches and kicks until it stopped attacking his dog.

Dustin Gray, 29, of Bangor, Maine attacked a bear after it began to maul his puppy Clover

The Bangor, Maine man was shocked to see a 'big, black circle of fur' bite his dog

But then the bear proceeded to knock him over before running off.

Gray said he knew something was wrong when he felt the leash rip from his hand and saw a 'big, black circle of fur' attacking his pet.

The Maine Warden Service is investigating Gray's report from Monday that a bear mauled his puppy in the woods off of Route 1A in Dedham, Maine around 3:30pm.

'It was a bear. I was right on it,' Gray insisted after he reported the incident.

After the attack, Gray took his dog to Penobscot Veterinary Services, where vet technician Nicole Ireland said Clover's injuries are 'consistent with a large animal attack'.

Bear attack: After he kicked and punched the animal Gray though 'it was ready to eat me'

After the attack he drove himself to Eastern Maine Medical Center where he was treated for cuts and bruises, his dog suffered more severe injuries and has 'significant wounds'

Gray said the dog is recovering but is in devastating shape. He, however, was left with only scratches and bruises.

'Definitely that was the last thing on my mind, seeing a bear in the winter. Clover is in worse shape, and still recovering from significant puncture wounds,' Gray said to Bangor Daily News.

Reliving the attack, Gray said he charged to protect his barking dog.

'I stuck my finger right in its eye,' he said.

In retaliation the bear knocked him to the ground leaving the 6-foot-5 Gray out of breath and with bruises.

'I thought it was ready to eat me, like it was my turn,' he added.

He believes the animal weighed around 150pounds and the fight lasted about 30 seconds.

Gray went to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor where he was treated for minor scratches and bruises on his arms and swollen hands. His chest was sore afterwards as well from the bear's slam.

His ex-wife Ashton Warf picked up Clover from the hospital and took the puppy to the vet.

This morning Gray worked with a local game warden to retrace his steps. Authorities are still trying to verify his account.

Black bears aren't due to emerge from their hibernation dens until spring.

Since the 1980s in Maine less than a dozen state citizens have fended off a bear, none of whom have died, according to Bangor Daily News archives.
A 17-year-old member of the notorious MS-13 gang was sentenced to 40 years in prison on Friday after pleading guilty to taking part in the death of a teen who was stabbed 153 times in a Maryland park in June 2016.

Juan Gutierrez-Vasquez, who was just 16 years old at the time, agreed to participate in luring a suspected member of a rival gang to a park in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

It was there that prosecutors say Christian Villagran Morales, 18, was ambushed by a group of MS-13 gang members.

In May of last year, Vanesa Alvarado, 20, admitted to luring Morales to Malcolm King Park on the night of June 16, 2016, with the promise of a sexual encounter.

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Juan Gutierrez-Vasquez, 17, was sentenced to 40 years in prison by a Maryland judge after he pleaded guilty to taking part in the murder of an innocent teen in 2016

Christian Villagran Morales (above), 18, was ambushed by a group of MS-13 gang members after he was lured to a park by a young woman with the promise of a sexual encounter

She then laughed and cheered on the knife-wielding assassins as they slaughtered Morales.

Gutierrez-Vasquez admitted that he held Morales down as he was being stabbed by others, Fox 5 DC reported.

Alvarado, who was born and raised in Montgomery County, Maryland, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.

She was sentenced to 40 years in prison.

Alvarado, the mother of two young children, was arrested just two weeks after the brutal murder along with Gutierrez-Vasquez, who also later admitted to his role in the ambush attack, claiming that the victim was a rival gang member.

In May of last year, Vanesa Alvarado (left), 20, was sentenced to 40 years in prison after she pleaded guilty to setting the honey trap. Jose Cuadra-Quintanilla (right), who was also arrested in connection with the murder, awaits trial

Morales was stabbed 153 times at Malcolm King Park in Gaithersburg, Maryland in June 2016

Jose Coreas-Ventura (left) and Oscar Ernesto Delgado-Perez (right) were also arrested in connection with the murder. Delgado-Perez faces charges in an unrelated immigration case while Coreas-Ventura awaits trial

According to prosecutors, however, Morales did not belong to any criminal enterprise, but rather was a hardworking landscaper who had relocated from New Jersey, where his mother lived, to Maryland for work, and who dreamed of eventually moving back to his native Guatemala to start a small farm.

In the months after the man's stabbing death, police in Montgomery County arrested three other suspects in the murder, among them Jose Coreas-Ventura, Oscar Delgado-Perez and Josue Cuadra-Quintanilla.

Coreas-Ventura and Cuadra-Quintanilla are awaiting trials.

The case against Delgado-Perez was dropped to clear the way for federal prosecutors to bring him up on charges related to immigration violations, to which he has pleaded guilty, reported The Washington Post.

By the time of Morales' murder, Delgado-Perez had been deported back to his native El Salvador twice, in October 2014 and February 2015, according to federal authorities.

Details of the violent attack on Morales were laid bare in court documents filed as part of Alvarado and Gutierrez-Vasquez's guilty pleas.

According to the filings, not long before his violent death, the landscaper had a chance encounter with Gutierrez-Vasquez, Cuadra-Quintanilla and Coreas-Ventura at a store where he would usually go to pick up candy or juice after work.

WHO ARE MS-13? The ultra-violent street gang MS-13 was the first to be designated as an international criminal group. With as many as 20,000 members in 46 states, the gang has expanded far beyond its initial roots. Members are accused of major crimes including murder, kidnapping, prostitution, drug smuggling and human trafficking. Major roundups of MS-13 members have taken place across the country since the early 2000s. In Charlotte, N.C., 53 gang members were arrested as part of Operation Fed Up, which targeted MS-13 members. In 2016, 58 members of MS-13 were rounded up as part of 'Operation Mean Streets'. Previously, two of their most notable killings include stabbing to death a federal witness in 2004 and chopping the hands off of a 16-year-old boy in 2005. Advertisement

The trio asked the 18-year-old if he belonged to a gang, to which Morales replied that he did but refused to state his gang affiliation.

When asked by the trio of suspected MS-13 gang members to show hand sings for any gangs, according to the documents, the 18-year-old landscaper responded by flashing signs associated with the 18th Street gang, which is a rival of MS-13, an international gang founded in Los Angeles, California, with factions throughout the US as well as Central America.

Following the meeting with Morales, one of the three men called the leader of the local MS-13 gang, who immediately put out a hit on the perceived rival, according to prosecutors.

The gang then allegedly devised a plan in which Alvarado, a high school dropout with a history of heavy drug use who was friends with the local MS-13 gang, and who also knew Morales, would act as a honey trap.

On June 16, 2016, Alvarado texted Morales, saying she wanted to have sex with him and asking him to meet her in the densely wooded Malcolm King Park.

Police said she was in on the murder plot as a 'known associate of MS-13.'

Four MS-13 members accosted the pair in the Gaithersburg park and asked Morales if he wanted to smoke marijuana before they fell upon him, knives drawn, and proceeded to stab him 153 times.

Despite his small stature, Morales had a powerful built owing to weightlifting, and at first he was able to put up a fight, but eventually he became overwhelmed and pleaded his attackers to spare his life, but to no avail.

According to prosecutors, Alvarado not only witnessed the slaying but egged on the killers and laughed at the victim, and after the murder she led her friends to the scene of the crime to look at Morales' body.
Arriving in a hot, dusty and teeming Cairo, the general's wife was thinking of what exciting times lay ahead in her role of consort to the new commander of the British Cavalry Brigade stationed there.

A glittering social life, of course, with cocktail parties, dinners and invitations to tea. All the duties, but also the kudos and fun that went with being a leading Memsahib of an expat community.

As she waited for a staff car to pick her up at the railway station, Dorothy Brooke  known to her friends as Dodo  looked around, and was horrified.

Lined up nearby were rows of gharries, the ramshackle carriages that plied the rough streets of the Egyptian capital as cabs.

Harnessed to each one, head bowed, was a sad-faced, skeletal, undernourished and overworked horse.

Some were barely able to stand, let alone drag a taxi, but were whipped on by owners with apparent indifference. Her heart skipped a beat.

Army general's wife Dorothy Brooke (pictured) was horrified when she arrived in Cairo in 1930 to see Britain's forgotten war horses were being starved and abused

Brooke was a horsewoman through and through. She loved riding at home in Wiltshire, as did her husband the general, a champion steeplechaser, polo player and show jumper.

Both hated any cruelty inflicted upon any of these proud beasts.

But what distressed her even more that day in 1930 was that on the wasted flanks of the bigger animals she could clearly see the arrow-shaped brand of the British Army.

These were horses that had been shipped in large numbers from the UK to the Middle East in World War I.

Under fire they had carried cavalrymen and pulled guns and supply wagons in battles against Turkey, Germany's ally, and in defence of the Suez Canal.

British war horses, no less. They had done their duty, survived combat . . . and for what?

When the war ended, it was considered too expensive to transport them back to the green paddocks of home, even if quarantine regulations had allowed it.

Nor would anyone take responsibility for humanely destroying them, though some cavalrymen quietly rode them out into the desert, put a gun to their foreheads and shot them.

The rest were ditched, thousands of them, sold off locally, and now, a dozen years later, were the broken-down nags of Cairo.

When the war ended, it was considered too expensive to transport the horses (pictured) back to the green paddocks of home, even if quarantine regulations had allowed it

Brooke could see them all around her in the crowded streets, straining to pull trams and wagons loaded to the gunwales with goods, or standing waiting forlornly for their next bout of back-breaking labour, without shelter from the sun or even water to quench their thirst.

At night she guessed they would be confined to overcrowded, unkempt, evil-smelling stables and fed as little as their owners could get away with.

Forget the cocktail parties, she told herself. Her mission would be to save them.

As author Grant Hayter-Menzies writes in a newly published biography of Dorothy Brooke, what moved her to tears  and, more important, to action  was the sight of 'innocent animals that had fought wars they had not caused and been left behind through no fault of their own to suffer a misery they did not deserve'.

Taking up their cause was, as she soon discovered, entering a minefield. Locals  particularly the gharry drivers with their powerful union  were not going to welcome a bossy, interfering do-gooder from far-away telling them how to run their lives and treat their animals.

The British community also warned her off  stay out of Egyptian affairs, she was advised. It was better that way for all sides.

But if Brooke wavered for a second in her resolve, her mind was made up by the massive chestnut stallion she found in what passed for an animal shelter in a Cairo back street.

Nor would anyone take responsibility for humanely destroying them, though some cavalrymen quietly rode them out into the desert, put a gun to their foreheads and shot them. The rest (two pictured) were ditched, thousands of them, sold off locally, and now, a dozen years later, were the broken-down nags of Cairo

'Without exception,' she wrote later, 'he was the most dreadful-looking horse I had ever seen in my life.'

Lame, with swollen joints in all four trembling legs, this once magnificent charger was as thin as a rake.

His ribs showed through his skin, his coat was scarred. His eyes lacked shine and depth. He was more dead than alive.

Yet, she discovered to her further horror, he was only at the shelter to rest for a day or two on police orders before going back to his owner and put to work again.

Brooke could not bear the thought of Old Bill  as she decided to call him  suffering any more.

He needed to be put out of his misery. She agreed to pay a not inconsiderable 9 (more than 500 today) for him, the amount his owner would need to buy a replacement.

While waiting to take legal possession, she fed and cosseted Old Bill for two days as he lay on soft straw for the first time in years. When the deal was sealed, she had him painlessly put down.

It was this that baffled the locals. Who would pay good money for a broken-down horse and then destroy it? It didn't make sense.

But that became her cause  to end their suffering if they were so far gone they could not be saved.

When word got around that a crazy Englishwoman was handing out hard cash for knackered horses, all of Cairo seemed to be lining up to trade in their nags.

On what she called 'buying days', she would sit at a table in her sun hat with a local vet at her side, examining one sad, broken creature after another, then haggling over the price.

Discussions could become heated. One aggrieved owner of a mule with a broken leg was so angered by the sum she offered him that he lunged across the table at her with a knife.

The animals received the same treatment. As with Old Bill, they were led out of the sun's heat into a cool box strewn with fresh straw, then fed on clover and bran mash  a throwback to their distant Army days, which it was obvious from their delighted whinnying that some remembered and couldn't believe had come again.

Those still with some life in them were treated for their injuries, fed properly and kept going as long as possible.

The desperate cases were comforted before being humanely dispatched.

She hated the killing, but it had to be done. 'Their suffering must cease,' she said.

It would be easy to dismiss Dodo Brooke as a typical colonialist, imposing her high-and-mighty Western values on uncomprehending natives  and no doubt some of today's 'snowflakes', with their own high-and-mighty agenda about the evils of Britain's imperial past, will see her in that light.

But, back then in the Thirties, she understood something that is only slowly being realised by many people even now  that you best help people out of poverty not by indiscriminate handouts but by enabling them to work.

The Egyptian owners of these down-trodden horses were down-trodden themselves.

They worked their beasts of burden until they dropped down dead between the shafts not because they were intrinsically heartless or cruel, but because they themselves were on the edge of destitution and desperately needed to make a living.

Brooke's cash provided them with a way to stop the cruelty they were inflicting while still earning money.

She also managed to spread the word that better care for the animals they relied on was in their long-term interest if the cycle of poverty, ignorance and suffering was ever to be stopped.

But it was inevitably going to be a lengthy process. There would be no quick fix for Britain's lost war horses.

Saving them was going to need time and commitment . . . and money, lots of it.

At first, the cash came out of her own pocket and those of close friends. It didn't last long, and it became obvious that the problem she was trying to solve was much bigger than she had realised.

Word came to her of former war horses now working in the mines and quarries outside Cairo, in awful conditions.

There were also the thousands of ex-Army mules condemned to plod through the desert to and from the Pyramids with tourists on their backs.

It was fast becoming a burden she could not carry alone, as she explained in a heart-tugging letter to the readers of The Morning Post newspaper in London: 'These old horses, many of them blind, all skeletons, were born and bred in the green fields of England  how many years since they have seen a field, heard a stream of water or a kind word in English?

'They drag out wretched days of toil in the ownership of masters too poor to feed them  too inured to hardship themselves to appreciate the sufferings of animals in their hands.'

Brooke's words  bolstered by a photo she had taken of Old Bill on his last, emaciated legs  appealed directly to the sentimental side of the animal-loving British public.

Letters of support poured in for her Old War Horse Fund, along with cheques and postal orders. Even the King and Queen chipped in.

With money in the bank  administered for her by the Army Pay Corps as a gesture of goodwill  she persevered with her rescue work and eventually established her own animal clinic, the Brooke Hospital.

It was in an unsavoury area of Cairo where most of her compatriots wouldn't dare to walk, but she never showed any fear.

If she saw a gharry owner beating his horse she thought nothing of wading in and grabbing the stick.

One of her stern stares quelled most troublemakers. It helped, too, that bemused locals classified her as insane. They weren't going to risk upsetting her.

But it was never going to be an easy ride for a Memsahib presuming to tell the Egyptians what to do. A Cairo vet who had been one of her keenest supporters took against her and made trouble.

There were complaints to the British High Commission that she was interfering with traditional business practices and upsetting local sensibilities. Attempts were made to rein her in.

Her fellow Britons didn't help much either. Most scoffed behind her back that she was a gullible fool, and that spivs were conning her into paying hugely over the odds for any old nag. Brooke didn't care. Extending compassion and kindness to all the animals that came her way was what mattered to her.

Even she, though, had her favourites among the thousands of animals she rescued, notably a thoroughbred she fittingly called Dauntless.

He'd been a pampered polo pony, mount of a British officer, but was sold on until he ended up pulling a heavy cart through the streets, despite open sores on his neck.

He still had a party trick, though, remembered from the good old days  holding up his fore-foot in supplication, to be rewarded with a lump of sugar.

Brooke recalled the anxious look on his face when he first tried this on her.

'So many people must have ignored this gesture, learned when young. It nearly broke my heart to think how often he must have lifted that tired old foot to unheeding masters before he realised it produced no results.'

He finally got the reward for his persistence, from her.

She too soldiered on in her mission, shrugging off the political constraints and the naysayers, as dauntless herself as Dauntless.

Her lump of sugar was seeing an end to suffering and, where possible, a horse made well again. A handful even returned to England.

After five years in Cairo, Brooke and her husband moved to India. She left her horse hospital in capable hands, but made regular visits to check on progress.

It kept up its rescue work through World War II and afterwards, despite the new nationalist, anti-British climate.

Still going, it has never closed for a single day since it opened in 1934. Brooke is now the world's largest equine charity, offering veterinary services and training owners how to care for their animals in countries across the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Central America.

As for its founder, she died in 1955 while on a visit to Cairo  debilitated by emphysema from long years of smoking, an antidote to the stress she underwent.

There was one last sick and suffering horse to caress  another former polo pony named Rosie. She, too, lifted a hoof to ask for treats, having been taught somewhere in her dim past to say 'please'.

Observers recalled them together, two elderly and ill ladies leaning against each other for comfort.

To Monty Roberts, the renowned American 'horse whisperer', Dorothy Brooke remains a legend and an inspiration.

'She saw suffering,' he writes of her in a foreword to this new book, 'and did not look the other way. She rolled up her sleeves and got to work to make the world a kinder, healthier place for the animals who serve us and love us.

'As she well knew, compassion is the key.'
A 19-year-old man from Washington State has been arrested for allegedly raping a female acquaintance as she was dying from an opioid overdose, bragging about what happened to friends and then stuffing her body into a bin to go to work.

Brian Roberto Varela, of Lynwood, was taken into custody on Tuesday on suspicion of manslaughter, homicide by controlled substance and second-degree rape in the death of 18-year-old Alyssa Mae Noceda.

According to a graphic police report filed in court and obtained by DailyMail,com, on Saturday night, Noceda, a student at Mariner High School, had gone to a party in a mobile home park in Lynwood, where she met Varela.

Noceda, who had recently split from her boyfriend, followed Varela to his bedroom, where she snorted a long line of the prescription painkiller Percocet and passed out after Varela offered her a 'dab' of liquid THC, as the suspect and other witnesses told police.

Callous crime: Brian Varela (left), 19, of Washington state, is suspected of manslaughter, homicide by controlled substance and second-degree rape in the overdose death of 18-year-old Alyssa Mae Noceda (right)

Victim: Noceda died after snorting painkillers and taking a 'dab' of liquid THC

Instead of calling for help, or taking Noceda to the hospital, Varela allegedly raped her. He later told his friends that he did not know 'if she was alive when he ejaculated into her,' according to the report, also seen by KIRO7.

Later that night, some of Varela's friends received a group text message that included photos of a unconscious woman with swollen blue lips dressed in nothing but a pair of white Calvin Klein underwear.

'LOL I think she od'd, still breathing,' Varela texted, according to the report.

The suspect then added, using a crude term for sexual intercourse: 'I'm smashing her to pass the time.'

The incident took place during a house party at this trailer in Lynwood, Washington

Varela took photos of an unconscious Noceda (left and right) dressed only in her underwear, and texted them to friends, writing: 'LOL I think she od'd'

He later reportedly boasted to a friend that Noceda 'died having sex with me.'

Varela briefly considered driving Noceda to the emergency room, but told a friend he was 'too tired to do so' and went to bed instead, leaving the teenage girl for dead, the report stated.

When he woke up the next morning, he discovered that Noceda has died. He allegedly showed her body to his roommate, who later recalled to the police that the victim appeared stiff and had foam around her mouth.

Instead of contacting police, Varela locked his bedroom, with the woman's lifeless body still inside, and went to work a double shift at a Dairy Queen.

As his co-workers told police, Varela allegedly bragged at work about having sex with Noceda and described in graphic detail how he had broken her legs to load her body into a plastic bin, which he was planning to fill with onions and bury.

One of Varela's colleagues contacted the authorities after seeing a Facebook post written by Noceda's mother reporting that her daughter was missing.

Police responded to Varela's mobile home on Tuesday morning and found Noceda's lifeless body stashed inside a black bin.

Varela told friends at work he had broken Noceda's legs after her death to stuff her body into a plastic bin, which he then planned to bury

One of Varela's co-workers at this Dairy Queen called police after seeing a Facebook message from Noceda's mother saying her daughter was missing

When questioned by police, the 19-year-old suspect admitted to having sex with Noceda but insisted that even though she was 'out of it,' the encounter was consensual.

Cover-up: Varela said he used Noceda's thumb to unlock her phone and post a message on her Snapchat saying she had run away

After the teen died of a suspected drug overdose, Varela said he attempted to wash his DNA from her body, stuffed it inside a crate and researched how to get rid of a body. He claimed he was too scared to call the authorities.

After reading Noceda's mother post on Facebook, Varela said he used Alyssa's thumb to unlock her iPhone and update her Snapchat to make it appear as if she had run away from home, which she had done before. He then dumped the device at a construction site.

Police have since recovered the dead woman's phone and are reviewing its contents.

Varela made his initial court appearance on Wednesday and was reportedly seen smirking, reported The Daily Herald.

A prosecutor argued that Varela showed 'a callous and shocking disregard for human life,' and a judge ordered the man held in jail on $500,000 bail.

Noceda's aunt has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for her funeral. As of Friday afternoon, just short of $5,000 has been raised.
Reality TV star Millie Mackintosh has become the unlikely source helping Meghan Markle plan her wedding to Prince Harry

Her closest family and friends are spread across the US and Canada. So Meghan Markle is turning to an unlikely source to help organise her Windsor wedding.

Prince Harrys fiancee is making plans with reality TV star Millie Mackintosh, former wife of rapper Professor Green, after the pair became London-based best friends.

According to one royal insider, Miss Mackintosh, 28, has become so invaluable that some are predicting she could be chosen as a bridesmaid.

The development is the latest example of how the young and rich stars of Channel 4 reality show Made In Chelsea are forging surprisingly close links to the Royal Family.

Last year Pippa Middleton, sister of the Duchess of Cambridge, married hedge fund manager James Matthews  whose brother Spencer was the programmes resident lothario. Spencer was best man at Pippa and Jamess wedding, which was also attended by Kate, Prince William, Harry and Meghan.

Last week Spencer, 28, who counts Pippas brother James Middleton as a friend, announced his engagement to model Vogue Williams.

Miss Mackintosh, 28, pictured here with Meghan in a snap posted to Instagram, has become so invaluable that some are predicting she could be chosen as a bridesmaid

Meanwhile former Made In Chelsea star Chloe Green, daughter of retail tycoon Sir Philip Green, is friends with Princess Beatrice.

And Beatrices sister Princess Eugenie is friends with the programmes Ollie Proudlock and once dated his co-star Hugo Taylor  who is now engaged to Miss Mackintosh.

On top of all that, Prince William is on good terms with Miss Mackintoshs ex Professor Green because he and the rapper share an interest in mental health issues.

Miss Mackintosh herself is said to have met Meghan, 36, shortly before the actress began dating Harry in July 2016, having been introduced by a mutual friend.

With the wedding due to be held at Windsor on May 19, the royal source said: Some very knowledgeable people are saying she is actually being considered as a bridesmaid.

While I would personally find that surprising, as members of the Royal Family tend to choose the children of their closest friends and relatives, Millie couldnt have been more hands-on with helping Meghan organise the wedding so far.

Prince Harrys fiancee Meghan Markle is making plans with reality TV star Millie Mackintosh, former wife of rapper Professor Green, after the pair became London-based best friends

They have a really close relationship and Millie has been a real source of support to Meghan during her move from Toronto and her new life in London.

In the summer of 2016 the pair spent time at the Soho Farmhouse members club in Oxfordshire, with Meghan posting several pictures of them together on Instagram and gushing: The best afternoon with Millie Mackintosh. So proud of you darling.

Meghan has also cited Miss Mackintosh as one of her go-to friends to exercise with, and both have their own fashion lines.

Other bridesmaids at the wedding could include Princess Charlotte and Mia Tindall, four-year-old daughter of Zara Phillips.
For an MP claiming to be too ill to attend a parliamentary inquiry, Keith Vaz has been a busy man.

The investigation into the Labour veteran's involvement with Romanian male prostitutes was suspended in December 'for medical reasons'.

But it appears that, despite his health problems, Mr Vaz, 61, has since been able to take part in a number of engagements  including travelling nearly 5,000 miles to India, and taking a trip to Saudi Arabia.

The Leicester East MP has opened a new swimming pool in the city, attended planning meetings and met a housing developer, while he was even allegedly spotted at a music gig.

Now the parliamentary standards watchdog is facing calls to reopen its inquiry into Mr Vaz.

The investigation into the Keith Vaz's involvement with Romanian male prostitutes was suspended in December 'for medical reasons'. But last week in his Leicester constituency he was seen opening a swimming pool (pictured)

North West Leicestershire MP Andrew Bridgen, who instigated the original complaint in September 2016, said Mr Vaz appeared in 'fine fettle'.

Tory Mr Bridgen said his office had compiled a dossier on Mr Vaz's appearances that it would be passing to the standards commissioner.

Married Mr Vaz, who has two children, apologised to his family and quit as chairman of the Commons home affairs committee in 2016 after his involvement with male prostitutes was revealed.

He also discussed class-A drugs, with undercover film footage obtained by the Sunday Mirror showing him telling one of the rent boys he would pay for cocaine, but did not want to take it himself.

And text messages allegedly showed him asking the escorts to bring poppers  sex-enhancing drugs  with them to the North London flat he owns.

In December 2016, Scotland Yard dropped an investigation into Mr Vaz over the allegations.

A separate probe by the Commons sleaze watchdog was due to look at whether Mr Vaz was guilty of a conflict of interest as he had been leading a review of vice laws at the time of the allegations.

It was also examining whether the former Europe minister had caused 'significant damage' to Parliament's reputation.

On January 10 Vaz was pictured at a meeting with Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn

But in December, then-standards commissioner Kathryn Hudson cited medical reasons when she suspended the investigation.

That month, Mr Vaz reportedly went on a trip Saudi Arabia, while last month he posted a picture of himself in Goa, India.

Just last Saturday he was photographed cutting a ribbon at the Cossington Street Pool in Belgrave, Leicester.

In the Commons, Mr Vaz has tabled a number of written questions, including on energy drinks and school meals. And on January 10 he was photographed alongside Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Mr Bridgen said: 'He is supposedly unfit to answer questions about his conduct in relation to rent boys and cocaine, but he appears to be out and about in Leicester and elsewhere. He is the most healthy-looking 'ill' person I've ever seen.

'At the end of the day if he's unfit to be held to the standards of an MP then he's not fit to be an MP.

The parliamentary standards watchdog says she has independent medical advice to say that he cannot face questions. But he looks surprisingly well to me.'

The standards commissioner's office said: 'When she has fresh independent medical advice, the commissioner will review it.' Mr Vaz's office did not respond to request for a comment.

In March 2001, when Mr Vaz faced another conduct inquiry, he went on extended sick leave after collapsing during a TV interview.

He later quit as Tony Blair's Europe minister but was cleared of failing to declare cash to watchdogs.
Mary Doogan sees herself like the driver of the getaway car in an armed robbery.

'Would the police say that because he wasn't actually in the bank, brandishing the gun, he isn't guilty? Of course, they wouldn't.'

This retired midwife, demurely dressed in a coral cardigan and smart court shoes, is the least likely of criminals, and it is sad that she carries even a hint of guilt about her 'crime'.

After all, it was committed only in her own eyes (and God's, she would say) and was a matter of conscience.

In the course of her duties in an NHS hospital, Mary, a devout Catholic, supervised colleagues as they participated in abortions. Although never hands-on herself, she admits she always felt implicated.

'It's why I later took the stance I did,' she says, referring to the court case that ultimately cost her job as a labour ward co-ordinator at the Southern General Hospital in Glasgow.

Mary Doogan (pictured), a devout Catholic, had been a midwife for 30 years. But she was forced to quit her job at a NHS hospital in Glasgow for refusing to oversee abortions

'I don't believe any midwife should be put in that position. It goes against why I went into midwifery in the first place.

'My role was to bring life into the world. My patients were the woman and the baby. I have always felt a professional duty to both.

'The thing that I could never get my head around was how you had to watch the words you used,' she adds.

'You'd never say 'baby' while with a woman who had chosen a termination. You'd talk about her 'pregnancy' or her 'labour'.

'With the next patient, though, who was in for a check-up, it would be all about the baby. It drove some of the girls mad, even the ones who had no objections to abortion.'

Pointedly, Mary doesn't use the word 'foetus' once during our interview.

It was in 2014, after a gruelling six-year battle that had taken Mary, now 63, and a fellow midwife, Connie Wood, all the way to the Supreme Court in London that they finally lost their case.

The judgment effectively decreed that while midwives can opt out of 'frontline' abortion work, those in senior positions  like Mary and Connie  still have to supervise.

The judgment effectively decreed that while midwives can opt out of 'frontline' abortion work, those in senior positions  like Mary (pictured at home) and Connie  still have to supervise

The ruling overturned an earlier decision, in an Edinburgh court, which supported the women's claim that they were 'conscientious objectors'.

As the law now stood, they could be disciplined for refusing to take part. So, having delivered some 5,000 babies over three decades in a job she adored, Mary felt she had no choice but to take early retirement.

Now she is telling her story because the issue is back in the political frame, with campaigners pushing for a change in the law to protect health professionals who, as a matter of conscience, do not want to be involved in abortions.

Given the power of the pro-choice lobby, she and other supporters of the bill  including Lord Alton and Lord Mackay, the former Lord Chancellor  fear that it has a slim chance of success unless public support can be galvanised.

'It's not only about midwives,' says Mary of her fight. 'The issue of conscientious objection in the NHS will become even more important with things like end-of-life care. We need to tackle it now.'

That Mary is a woman who lives by her beliefs is clear from the moment you enter her neat home on a quiet cul-de-sac in Glasgow.

She's at pains to point out that her anti-abortion stance isn't a Catholic quirk, though.

'What about the Jewish people who don't agree with it? What about atheists? It is not about religion. It's about conscience.'

Warm, funny and worldly, Mary started her career delivering babies, often in slum conditions, all over Glasgow.

Now she is telling her story because the issue is back in the political frame, with campaigners pushing for a change in the law to protect health professionals who, as a matter of conscience, do not want to be involved in abortions

In the Eighties she worked for five years in a hospital in Saudi Arabia, and she has volunteered with the nuns of Mother Teresa's order in India.

She has never married, although had life gone in a different direction, she would have liked a family of her own.

'People have said to me 'you should have been a nun, Mary' but I've had boyfriends. It just never happened that I found someone I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. But you won't find a bigger romantic than me. Mills & Boon. I love all that.'

She never wanted to be anything other than a midwife: 'It's a vocation, not a job,' she says firmly.

Her efforts to distance herself professionally from abortions throughout her career  supervising staff when she had to but never taking an active role  had largely been successful and was accepted by colleagues and managers.

'Other staff would volunteer to oversee them for me. They respected my feelings.

Then, in 2008, a restructuring in the hospital led to more abortions being carried out in the labour ward (previously they had been split between the gynaecology ward and the labour ward, depending on the stage of pregnancy), and Mary asked her managers for clarification on her position legally.

Mary Doogan lost a six-year legal battle after it ended up in London's Supreme Court (pictured)

She had always understood that she was protected by a 'conscience clause' in the Abortion Act of 1967 which gave her the right not to be involved in a termination at any level.

She wanted to be sure, she told managers, and to formalise her arrangement in everyone's interest.

'It was becoming more difficult,' she says. 'The squeeze on resources meant fewer staff, so more pressure.

'When the buzzer goes, you don't know what is coming in. At one point I transferred to a Parentcraft position (teaching new mothers how to care for their babies) to try to avoid the termination issue.

'On the second day I was asked to help out in theatre on a gynaecology ward.

'The last three procedures on the list were terminations.

'I just went out of the room  they only had to have me on hand, I wasn't directly required  but that's an impossible situation to be in.'

It was a growing cause of anxiety for her.

'Even in a supervisory role, ultimately that patient is your responsibility. And if there are more inexperienced staff  as there are these days  then you may be required to step in.

'I would never leave a woman unattended if she needed help. But I don't think I should have been put in that position, though, and I was.'

At first, her managers seemed a bit baffled by her request, then the lawyers got involved.

Despite the ruling in favour of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Authority, Mary stands by her decision, despite developing stress-related illnesses since leaving her job

'When the managers came back and said that we had to supervise, no exemptions, I was floored  absolutely stunned,' Mary says.

She says she was warned that she would face disciplinary action if she didn't comply and participate in abortions when needed.

More lawyers were consulted, culminating in the Edinburgh court case where three judges found in Mary and her colleague Connie Wood's favour.

When the decision was overturned in the Supreme Court two years later, both women were devastated.

'I think I was numb', says Mary. 'I so believed we had the law on our side. When I heard the ruling, I couldn't speak at all. I was so devastated and drained I came home and took to my bed.'

(The NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Authority yesterday said it adheres to The Nursing And Midwifery Council's code on professional standards, and that GMC and RCOG recommendations are also respected.)

For Mary there was also the realisation her career was over.

'I had no choice. I couldn't go back to work in that environment, knowing I would have to do things that conflicted with my conscience.'

In fact, she hadn't worked since 2010 because of the acute stress brought on by the legal wrangles.

She developed a debilitating condition called angioedema, which causes hives and a painful swelling of the skin.

'It's stress related. It makes everything swell up. My throat felt as if it was closed tight. I was on steroids. So painful. It was dreadful.'

Mary has now carved a new life in voluntary work. She counsels women who have had abortions they regret, while neighbours know they can always call on her for help with their babies.

She continues to take an interest in her profession but finds herself at odds with its hierarchy.

In 2016, Professor Cathy Warwick, then chief executive of the Royal College of Midwives, declared that abortion should be 'part' of the job of the modern midwife.

The 'rights and wrongs' of abortion should not be a consideration, Professor Warwick said, and backed a bid to axe any time limit on them.

'Shameful,' says Mary. 'It goes against everything we stand for.'

She is keen to stress that 'the women I cared for would never ever have known my views on abortion.

'I would never have judged them on their own choices either. I've got people close to me who went down that road and I'd go out of my way to support them  the person, not the action,' she says. Was it worth the sacrifice, I wonder?

'Yes. I still believe I did the right thing. And the fight isn't over yet. I don't think any midwife should be forced into the position where they have to choose between their conscience and their career.'

What a tragedy it is that this compassionate and experienced woman's determination to uphold her principles led to the NHS losing her when it is currently suffering a 3,500 shortfall in midwife numbers.

Does she feel any guilt about quitting? 'I would never have chosen this way to end my career,' she admits. 'But how can you go against your conscience?

'There is a saying that no pillow is more comfortable to sleep on at night than a clear conscience. I still believe I did the right thing.'

Why this is a vital matter of conscience

By Lord Alton

Call The Midwife has become a national institution, and is the BBC's most popular drama.

Up to ten million people tune in to this heart-warming serial, and its stars, such as Jenny Agutter and Helen George, have reminded people what a high calling it is to bring children into the world.

Yet I think that many viewers would be horrified to realise that today, in 21st century Britain, midwives can lose their jobs unless they are willing to facilitate abortions  even though, in ending the life of an unborn child, they must do something that is instinctively the opposite of their calling.

To put a midwife  or any other healthcare professional  in that invidious position is to me wholly unacceptable. It is almost totalitarian.

What sort of society are we creating, if we tell a midwife that she (or he) must facilitate abortions, however strong their objections, or face the end of their career?

A brave attempt to right this wrong is being made in Parliament: Baroness O'Loan's Conscientious Objection (Medical Activities) Bill which passed its second reading in the House of Lords last month.

Sadly, this occurred with no fanfare and I suspect that the majority of readers are unaware of the legislation.

Although it has the welcome support of senior peers, including Lord Mackay, the former Lord Chancellor, without vigorous support from the public, the bill is probably doomed.

And yet, as I shall explain, this is not a hypothetical issue but one that increasingly affects the lives and careers of men and women working in the NHS  and not just midwives but other healthcare professionals, too.

It was in 2014 that two Catholic midwives in Scotland, Mary Doogan and Connie Wood, lost their court battle to be treated as 'conscientious objectors', and be excused from participating in abortions.

The Supreme Court ruled that the women had the right to refuse to carry out the procedures themselves, but that they were obliged to delegate these duties to other staff and to supervise the staff during the abortions.

Recently, I met with Mary Doogan. She is an extraordinary individual  a kind and compassionate woman who was deeply committed to caring for those in her charge, and serving her patients through the happiest, and occasionally the saddest, of times.

Her forced resignation from her post as labour ward co-ordinator at Southern General Hospital in Glasgow was a grievous loss both to her and to the NHS, and one that could have been avoided had there been a basic respect for her deeply-held beliefs.

As she told a recent conference on the rights of the unborn child, 'For years (Connie Wood and I) had no problem exercising our consciences.

It was never an issue. But with fewer senior staff and more early terminations, the incidence (of abortions) was increasing, and we had more problems with trying to resist being involved.

'I personally started taking the issue to my managers, asking them to do something about it. And they started changing the interpretation (of the law).'

In other words, she was told she had no choice. Ultimately, it was her courage that got her into trouble.

She spoke up and, instead of trying to accommodate her concerns, her managers turned it into a confrontation.

They tried to use the law to force her to comply, or to leave the NHS (which has a serious shortage of midwives). I find it especially abhorrent that this was done in the name of liberal principles.

Mary Doogan and Connie Wood happen to be devout Catholics.

But religion is not at stake here. A Muslim, a Jew or an atheist might equally feel obliged to obey the dictates of conscience, to uphold the sanctity of human life. This goes directly to the core of the kind of society we are.

Britain in 2018 is so diverse, so tolerant and accepting of every kind of culture  but not, it seems, of the motives that draw an individual into midwifery.

If our society is to pass any test of ethics and decency, then I believe we must respect that individual's right to choose not to be involved in abortion procedures.

This is a fundamental matter of principle. If we coerce people into acting against their conscience, we undermine all civilised codes of behaviour  and we damage the individuals who are forced to betray their beliefs.

History shows us how that goes: at first people resist, but soon the crime of conscience becomes normal and routine.

This is the path to moral chaos  which is why I am a great advocate of Baroness O'Loan's Bill, not least because our current law on protection for healthcare professionals is deficient.

That law was framed in 1967, introduced by David Steel (since ennobled) and passed as the Abortion Act by a free vote. It was envisaged as a law to be used in exceptional circumstances.

Anyone who tried to warn that, within 50 years, Britain would become a place where an abortion is carried out every three minutes, or 20 times an hour, or 600 every working day, would have been greeted with disbelief and accused of scaremongering.

Lord Steel has told me that when he was framing the law, some of his colleagues had deep conscientious objections.

To provide for their concerns, a clause was introduced  Clause Four  that established the absolute right of doctors to abstain from carrying out abortions.

It went further than that, as David Steel told the Commons: 'The Bill imposes no obligation on anyone to participate in an operation.'

He added that the clause also 'gives nurses and hospital employees a clear right to opt out.'

For Mary and Connie that assurance proved not to be worth the paper it was written on when challenged almost 50 years later.

That clause remains on the statute books, but as Lord Mackay said just this week, following the Supreme Court ruling the reality is it provides weak protection for healthcare professionals and even those working in healthcare more generally  and in many cases none at all.

For instance, 30 years ago, a GP's receptionist in Salford was dismissed from her job after she refused to type a letter of referral for an abortion.

A few years later, a young environmental scientist at a hospital in the North of England objected to monitoring the emissions from the incinerator when the bodies of aborted foetuses were being burned. He too was sacked.

Quite recently a pharmacist lost his job because he would not dispense morning-after pills. All these people were acting not on a whim, or out of malice, but because of deeply- held convictions.

Some of the most highly respected thinkers and moralists in parliament have thrown their weight behind Baroness O'Loan's bill.

Baroness Caroline Cox, a former vice president of the Royal College of Nursing, says the diminution of the rights of healthcare staff has reached danger levels.

Professor John Wyatt, one of the country's most experienced paediatric specialists, says the erosion of conscience in medicine is a slippery slope.

But the speaker who perhaps impressed me most last month was Katie Ascough, a 20-year-old science student at University College Dublin (UCD). Kate is feisty, intelligent and articulate.

She is also a former president of UCD students' union. Her own union impeached her, with more than 1,000 members signing a petition against her, because she refused to hand out literature promoting abortion.

After she received an award for her commitment to human rights and human dignity at the House of Lords, she told me that she was one of a large family. One of her brothers was miscarried at 14 weeks.

Katie said: 'I held Lawrence in my hand when my mum miscarried and I promised him that I would fight for the life of the unborn child. That made a big difference to me. I felt compelled to protect all life.'

In Britain today, it is becoming difficult to express dissent. There's too much Political Correctness, and not enough Political Courage.

Our society is losing the ability to distinguish between principled objection and 'hate crimes'  instead of taking a stand, backed by rational argument and morals, people are being intimidated into submissive silence.

Listening to Katie Ascough and her ready courage was an inspiration. It gives me faith that the next generation won't be silenced.

We should all emulate her bravery and that of Mary Doogan and Connie Wood, and loudly demand that the Conscientious Objection Bill gets the safe passage through Parliament that it fully deserves.

n David Alton  Lord Alton of Liverpool  is an Independent Crossbench Peer. In 1987, as an MP, he introduced a bill to reduce the legal limit for abortions from 28 weeks to 18.

The bill was talked out by opponents but as a direct result of the debate around it, the limit was reduced to 24 weeks.
Vice President Mike Pence says he, too, was unaware of Rob Porter's background, even though he in charge of the hiring process when the ex-White House staff secretary would have been vetted.

Pence told NBC in an interview on Friday that he was 'appalled' by the allegations against Porter.

'The time that he resigned is when I first became aware of the allegations of domestic abuse,' he said in a sit-down with Lester Holt on the sidelines of the Winter Olympics in South Korea. 'And there's no tolerance in this White House and no place in America for domestic abuse.'

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Vice President Mike Pence says he, too, was unaware of Rob Porter's background, even though he in charge of the hiring process when the ex-White House staff secretary would have been vetted

Holt did not press Pence in a teaser of the interview on his role in Porter's hiring.

The vice president's knowledge, or lackthereof, about Porter's wives' allegations has come under scrutiny, though, amid aggressive finger-pointing within Trump's orbit.

Pence took control of the Trump transition team several days after the 2016 presidential election. Porter was in the first wave of staffers to fill the White House after Trump's inauguration.

The White House official was terminated on Wednesday, and left the property for good on Thursday after a pair of DailyMail.com reports revealed allegations of abuse from both of Porter's ex-wives.

Colbie Holderness and Jennifer Willoughby made on-the-record claims to DailyMail.com about abuse they say they suffered during their marriages to the top Trump aide.

Holderness said Porter choked and punched her during their marriage. Willoughby says he dragged her wet and naked out of the shower and was verbally abusive.

President Trump finally spoke out about the matter on Friday in a surprise Oval Office appearance where he said he only just found out about the abuse allegations.

'I was surprised by it. But we certainly wish him well. It's obviously a tough time for him,' Trump said. 'He did a very good job when he was in the White House and we hope he has a wonderful career.'

Trump did not say anything about the women, and he did not condemn domestic abuse in the brief remarks that came in response to a request for his reaction to the revelations about Porter.

Instead, Trump said, 'As you probably know, he says he's innocent. And I think you have to remember that. He said very strongly yesterday that he's innocent. So you'll have to talk to him about that.'

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly has been a target during the turmoil because of his initial support for Porter, which quieted as the week went on and was reduced to a claim in a Thursday memo to staff that physical violence is never acceptable.

The vice president's knowledge, or lackthereof, about Porter's wives' allegations has come under scrutiny amid aggressive finger-pointing within Trump's orbit. Porter is seen in the Oval Office handing a document to Trump on Jan. 20, 2017

But Kelly, who is said to have done a staff audit when he took the reigns, did not become White House staff in July of 2017, meaning he would not have been part of the team that vetted Porter during the transition.

Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie was leading those operations until he was booted just after the election and replaced at the top of the president's transition team by the vice president.

Christie told ABC News in a Wednesday podcast that Porter's name never came up when he was in charge of Trump's transition team.

'If they didnt know, its a failure of vetting,' he said of Porter's personal history.

Pence has been on a trip abroad since Monday of this week. He side-stepped questions about Porter from his traveling press corps on Thursday in Japan.

'Were on our way to the Olympics, and I learned as I awoke this morning of those developments. And so well comment on any issues affecting White House staff when we get back to Washington,' he said.

The vice president wasn't able to duck Holt's questioning as easy, however, in his interview NBC host before he departed South Korea.

'I think the White House has acknowledged that they could have handled it better,' he said, distancing himself entirely from the scandal.

Pence pledged that when he returned to Washington, though, 'I'm going to look into the matter.'
A convicted criminal jailed for a coward-punch attack has transformed from jailbird to clothing entrepreneur making a six-figure salary.

Nathan Leonard Richards is a heavily tattooed, cage-fighting ex-con who boasts about being friends with outlaw motorcycle gang members - but his passion is now business.

The 24-year-old Gold Coast man was convicted of a one-punch attack on a security guard in 2015 and sentenced to 18 months prison.

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Nathan Leonard Richards (pictured) is a heavily tattooed, cage-fighting ex-con who boasts about being friends with outlaw motorcycle gang members - but his passion is now business

The 24-year-old Gold Coast man (pictured) was convicted of a one-punch attack on a security guard in 2015 and sentenced to 18 months prison

However his attraction to Australia's criminal underbelly hasn't stopped him making music and running his profitable fashion label A-K Clothing, which he claims makes him well over $100,000 per year.

'When I started A-K Clothing haters said 'who tf gonna buy that sh*t',' he wrote in an impassioned Instagram post.

'Now it turns over 6 figures, I live off it, I work for myself, when I want how I want, and it sells all over Aus and the world.'

Richards' online presence is a sea of luxury cars, guns, drugs, glamorous women and motorcycles.

His clothing brand also emulates his love of delinquency with themes of guns and violence, including a pair of women's gym tights with a picture of a firearm emblazoned on the back.

Richards' (pictured) online presence is a sea of luxury cars, guns, drugs, glamorous women and motorcycles

Richards' (pictured) online presence is a sea of luxury cars, guns, drugs, glamorous women and motorcycles

'When I started A-K Clothing haters said 'who tf gonna buy that sh*t',' Richards (pictured) wrote in an impassioned Instagram post

However his attraction to Australia's criminal underbelly hasn't stopped him making music and running his profitable fashion label A-K Clothing, (Pictured) which he claims makes him well over $100,000 per year

The convicted criminal admits it is his 15,000 Instagram followers who helped catapult his business into profitability.

'My social media following has helped because people know my reputation and who I am. They know not to f*ck with me,' he told news.com.au.

Richards claimed to news.com.au his business is '100% legitimate' however admits he did run it from his jail cell for several months last year.

His second business, named A-K Records, reportedly signed on artists from around the world and he records his own original rap tracks.

The convicted criminal (pictured) admits it is his 15,000 Instagram followers who helped catapult his business into profitability

The convicted criminal (pictured left) admits it is his 15,000 Instagram followers who helped catapult his business into profitability

Richards (pictured) claims his business is '100% legitimate' however admits he did run it from his jail cell for several months last year

In one of his tracks Richards brags about being an 'A-list criminal' and he even enlisted members of the Bandidos Motorcycle Club to feature in the song's video clip.

'To the people who think our money comes from crime, we sold 30,000 albums at $30 an album ... you do the math,' he told the publication.

'We don't need to do anything illegal to make money anymore. The clothing appeals to a market that was previously left untouched.'

Richards' 2015 coward-punch attack on a security guard on the Sunshine Coast saw him jailed for 18 months with immediate parole.

He was put behind bars for breaching his parole after being found in possession of weapons and was released in April last year.
Children as young as 12 are turning up to school 'stoned' on anxiety drugs such as Xanax (stock image)

Children as young as 12 are turning up to school 'stoned' on anxiety drugs which they combine with alcohol for a heroin-like high, according to a youth charity.

Sydney-based Waverley Action for Youth Services has warned of an epidemic of drug-taking in the city's most affluent suburbs which has forced it to send children to rehab because counselling is not enough.

It said that children are increasingly taking alprazolam - better known by brand name Xanax - for recreational purposes.

'They take a couple of "xanies" in the mornings and rock up to school stoned... the kids pop it in the car or pop it on the bus,' Dr Terri Said, general manager of WAYS, told the Daily Telegraph.

She said that at least one child in every school in the east or west of Sydney is abusing Xanax.

'They're starting to really combine Xanax with alcohol in large quantities,' she added. 'We've had to make referrals in terms of rehab.'

In 2014 the Therapeutic Goods Administration increased restrictions on alprazolam by making it a schedule eight drug instead of schedule four, meaning it became harder to get hold of.

As a result, the number of alprazolam-related calls to the Poisons Information Centre dropped by 50 per cent.

But Dr Said said that teenagers are accessing the drug on the 'dark web' and selling it at school.

Describing its effects, she said: 'It's along the lines of a heroin-type thing, even though heroin is far worse. It's the zombie effect. You're very slurry.'

The charity said that children are increasingly taking alprazolam - better known by brand name Xanax - for recreational purposes (stock image)
Sources claim Trump has been talking about replacing Kelly with and is considering several people including economic adviser Gary Cohn

Chief of Staff John Kelly reportedly told President Trump he's willing to resign over how the Rob Porter situation was handled

Chief of Staff John Kelly reportedly told President Trump he's willing to resign over how the Rob Porter situation was handled

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly reportedly told President Donald Trump that he's willing to step down after the commander in chief expressed his frustrations over how the Rob Porter controversy was handled.

Sources told ABC News Friday that within the past 24 hours Kelly told the president that he's willing to resign amid the backlash the White House is receiving.

Sources further added that Trump has been talking about replacing Kelly and is considering economic adviser Gary Cohn, Office of Management and Budget director Mick Mulvaney and Rep. Mark Meadows.

Investor Tom Barrack was reportedly approached to gauge his interest in the chief of staff position but he said he won't take it, according to the outlet.

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly was caught trying to rewrite history in the Rob Porter scandal on Friday as he claimed to staff behind closed doors  and then several reporters  that he ousted the former staff secretary immediately after learning that a domestic abuse allegation were credible

The report came as Kelly was caught trying to rewrite history in the Porter scandal on Friday, claiming to staff behind closed doors  and then several reporters  that he ousted the former staff secretary immediately after learning that a domestic abuse allegation were credible.

Kelly told White House staffers to claim he acted against Porter 40 minutes later, the Washington Post this morning revealed.

He told several reporters this afternoon that he found out Tuesday evening 'that the accusations were true' and '40 minutes later he was gone.'

The claims are a total about-face from what the White House has already said publicly and fly in the face of advice that Kelly is receiving from former White House officials like Anthony Scaramucci who warned the chief of staff not to 'cover-up' what happened.

Scaramucci told David Axelrod, a former aide to Barack Obama, in an episode of 'The Axe Files' that 'the cover-up is always worse than the crime.'

'I would say, "Jeez, you know, I knew about it. I was going to give the guy a pass because he told me it wasn't true and I apologize to the American people for that. He's been let go, and I'd still like to keep my job,' Scaramucci said, according to 'Axe Files' partner CNN. 'That's what I would do if I was General Kelly.'

Kelly was gunning to protect his position on Friday - urging staff not only to alter the timeline and impetus for Porter's departure but also to deny the ABC News report that he is willing to step down.

White House spokesman Hogan Gidley officially went on record denying the claims saying in a statement that Kelly has not offered his resignation to the President.

Kelly told NBC himself amid the hullabaloo that the item that had also claimed Trump was considering Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney for his role was not true.

The denial capped off four days chaos in the White House as it struggled to respond to the Porter allegations.

On Tuesday evening, when DailyMail.com first reported on the accusations of spousal abuse from Porter's second wife, Kelly issued a glowing statement that referred to Porter as a 'man of true integrity and honor.'

At a news conference on Wednesday after a second report ran that included photos and accusations from Porter's first wife, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders read a statement from the departing Trump aide that proclaimed innocence and announced his resignation.

It was not until that evening that Kelly began to back off from his support for Porter.

At the White House press briefing on Thursday, though, Raj Shah, another Trump spokesman said that Porter had not been fired.

'He resigned and we accepted his resignation,' Shah asserted.

On Friday, the White House announced that former deputy staff secretary Derek Lyons had been promoted to acting staff secretary and would replace Porter.

Kelly sent a memo to staffers later that evening denouncing domestic violence in response to the 'shocking and troubling' allegations of spousal abuse that did not mention Porter by name.

Today at the White House it was the president's turn to answer questions about his former staff secretary.

Trump astonishingly said, 'We hope he has a wonderful career, and hopefully he will have a great career ahead of him. But it was very sad when we heard about it. And certainly he's also very sad. Now, he also, as you probably know, he says he's innocent.'

Soon after, the president was contradicted by Kelly, who told several reporters, including CNBC's Eamon Javers, that he told Porter to hit the road on Tuesday less an hour after he found out the allegations against Porter 'were true.'

The claims are a total about-face from what the White House officials like Sarah Sanders (left) had already said publicly and fly in the face of advice that Kelly is receiving from former officials like Anthony Scaramucci (right) who warned the chief of staff not to 'cover-up' what happened

The senior-most Trump aide has faced intense criticism for his defense of Porter, who was by all accounts, except for Kelly's, allowed to resign from his position as staff secretary earlier in the week.

Porter stepped down from his role as White House staff secretary on Wednesday following on-the-record claims to DailyMail.com from his ex-wives Colbie Holderness and Jennifer Willoughby about the abuse they say they suffered during their marriages to the former Trump aide.

Holderness claims Porter choked and punched her during their marriage, while Willoughby says he dragged her wet and naked out of the shower and was verbally abusive.

Kelly has refused to issue a mea culpa but claimed in an email to staff on Thursday that he does not take allegations of physical abuse lightly.

'While we are all processing the shocking and troubling allegations made against a former White House staffer, I want you to know that we all take matters of domestic violence seriously,' he wrote. 'Domestic violence is abhorrent and has no place in our society.'

Kelly added that there were resources available at the White House for those seeking counseling.

The memo, a copy of which was tweeted out by CNN's Jim Acosta, had the subject headline: 'A Letter from the Chief of Staff.'

Kelly issued the memo as pressure mounted on him to abandon his support for Porter, whom he openly fought to keep in a highly-sensitive West Wing job after a first wave of accusations of spousal abuse.

The Post quoted a senior White House official as saying Friday morning that Kelly was instructing staff to adopt a new version of the story.

'He told the staff he took immediate and direct action,' the person said.

Kelly told Javers and several other reporters on Friday afternoon that he first learned of the allegations against Porter last fall.

'In November, I got an update about some of the investigations, and the update was that there were some things that needed to be looked into and literally that was it,' Kelly said. 'And Tuesday night I found out. And that's what I've been saying.'

In a follow-up tweet Javers said Kelly claimed that Tuesday is when he found out 'that the accusations were true. 40 minutes later he was gone.'

The White House had refused to say when Kelly found out about the allegations.

A spokesman for President Trump would only admit that Kelly became 'fully aware' of the accusations on Wednesday when DailyMail.com published photos of Porter's first wife that she says were taken after he hit her on a vacation.

'I'm not going to get into the specifics regarding who may have known what pieces of information because they were all part of an ongoing background check investigation,' Shah said in his debut behind the White House podium.

Kelly sent a memo to staffers in the wake of the 'shocking and troubling' allegations of spousal abuse against Rob Porter from his two ex-wives on Thursday evening

Shah called the images 'graphic' and the women's allegations 'credible' in a televised briefing where Porter's resignation consumed the discussion.

He said the White House official was 'terminated' on Wednesday, although Porter been seen on the property earlier in the day, as he drove a full-scale defense of the White House's initial reaction to a pair of Daily Mail reports on the staff secretary's past.

The reports were the first that President Trump learned of the accusations against Porter, Shah definitively said. He would not offer the same clarity on Kelly's knowledge of the situation during the televised event.

Kelly confirmed Friday that he knew about the spousal abuse allegations against Porter in November, when the FBI discovered them during a background check  yet Porter remained in his position.

The FBI concluded that Porter could be subjected to blackmail due to what was uncovered, a source previously DailyMail.com.

Shah insisted Thursday that the White House was right to give Porter the benefit of the doubt until the FBI had completed its review. 'We short-circuit an investigation just because allegations are made, unless they could compromise national security or interfere with operations at the White House. The truth must be determined.'

But Democratic Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, who served as staff secretary for Bill Clinton, said, 'To have someone in that job who can be so easily blackmailed is crazy.'

The White House would not say earlier on Thursday when Kelly found out about the allegations of spousal abuse against Rob Porter from both of his ex-wives

'Every day there's a stack of red folders on this guy's desk that have the most secret info the government possesses and he has been walking it into the president,' Maloney said.

He noted that the staff secretary only has two 'direct reports': the chief of staff and the president.

'To have someone in that job for 14 months with no national security clearance, is outrageous. And John Kelly owns that and has some very tough questions to answer, not just about why he's still defending him, which is outrageous, but about why you would allow someone to be in this position who can be so easily blackmailed. It's crazy.'

Maloney is calling for a House Oversight Committee investigation into what happened and singled out Kelly's role.

Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, also went after his Republican colleagues on Thursday for stonewalling his request to obtain information about the security clearance process.

'If you had agreed to any of our previous requests for information on these matters, the White House would have been required to answer key questions about why Mr. Porter was denied a final security clearance, who at the White House was aware of this information, and how Mr..Porter was allowed to remain in his position,' Cummings wrote in a letter to committee chairman Trey Gowdy.

Kelly is coming under fire for his efforts to shield Porter on several fronts at a time when the #MeToo movement is rocking Hollywood and the national culture.

A leading feminist organization is demanding the White House chief of staff's head over what it said was a 'pathetic' defense of Porter. The National Organization of Women called Kelly an 'enabler of sexual absusers' in a Thursday morning statement and said he must also resign.

In a phone call, NOW President Toni Van Pelt said, 'It's not honorable to beat up women. There is no integrity involved in being violent when you go home. These are not American values.'

WHAT JOHN KELLY SAID ABOUT ROB PORTER ON TUESDAY '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.' Advertisement

Kelly had described Porter as a 'man of true integrity and honor' after he was informed that on-the-record spousal abuse allegations from the senior official's second wife would be appearing in a story on DailyMail.com.

'I think its clear, starting at the very top in our country, that they see women as collateral damage that they see women as objects,' Van Pelt said. 'They are actually giving permission to abusers. They are giving permission to men to disrespect women and to treat them with disregard.'

As staff secretary, Porter has had access to every piece of classified information that goes through the White House. He was a key ally of Kelly is his effort to vet information that reaches the president and impose discipline on the flow.

Two of Porter's ex-wives have said they spoke to the FBI during its standard background check on the White House official who was seeking a government security clearance for his high-level position.

The allegations delayed Porter's ability to get permanent clearance. He was granted interim clearance when he joined the White House in January 2017.

Temporary clearances are common in the first 4-6 months of an administration, and in the first 3 months of a new senior level hire.

But his extended for 13 months.

WHAT JOHN KELLY SAID ABOUT ROB PORTER ON WEDNESDAY '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.' Advertisement

Nevertheless, he remained in his role, where he acted as a key gatekeeper for information that gets to President Trump's desk.

Porter's handling of classified information in his role as staff secretary, even though he had never been approved for permanent security clearance, came under serious scrutiny on Thursday at the White House, where Shah was briefing in Sanders' stead.

'This is part of an ongoing investigation. We trust the background check process. The chief of staff does not get detailed updates about what may or may not have been alleged,' Shah said.

Kelly joined the White House staff in July of 2017. He would not have been part of the team that vetted Porter during the transition.

Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie was leading those operations until he was booted just after the election and replaced at the top of the president's transition team by Vice President Mike Pence.

Christie told ABC News in a Wednesday podcast that Porter's name never came up when he was in charge of Trump's transition team.

'If they didnt know, its a failure of vetting,' he said of Porter's personal history.

The ex-politician who left office last month after two consecutive terms as New Jersey's chief executive said that Porter brought disgrace to his name and his reputation with the resignation.

'Because he didnt resign voluntarily. Its clear that he was forced to resign given the circumstances,' Christie assessed.

White House Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah called the images of Porter's first wife 'graphic' and the women's allegations 'credible' in a televised briefing where the staff secretarie's resignation consumed the discussion

Sanders said Wednesday from the podium that Porter made a 'personal decision' to leave and it was 'one that he was not pressured to do, but one that he made on his own.'

Despite stating twice in his remarks on Wednesday that Porter had been 'terminated,' Shah insisted that the staff secretary had not been fired.

He let on that the White House had regrets about how it had handled the debacle, though, telling a journalist, 'I think it's fair to say that we all could have done better over the last few hours, or last few days, in dealing with this situation.

'But, you know, this is a Rob Porter that I and many others have dealt with, that Sarah had dealt with, that other officials including the chief of staff had dealt with. And the emerging reports were not reflective of the individual who we had come to know.'

Shah declined to say, when asked later, what exactly the the White House wishes it had done differently.

'I'm not going to get into a tick-tock on all these detailed specifics,' he replied. 'I think a lot of individuals were involved with the White House response to this, myself included, and a lot of us could have done better.'

The White House stood by Porter on Wednesday even after DailyMail.com published a follow-up story that included photos and new allegations from the official's first wife.

'Rob has been effective in his role as Staff Secretary, and the President and Chief of Staff have had full confidence and trust in his abilities and his performance,' White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a televised statement.

It was not until the 9pm hour on Wednesday - exactly 12 hours after DailyMail.com published its second story - that Kelly said he was 'shocked by the new allegations' against Porter.

'There is no place for domestic violence in our society,' Kelly stated.

But digging in his heels on his defense of Porter 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.

'I accepted his resignation earlier today, and will ensure a swift and orderly transition.'

Van Pelt, the head of NOW, said, Thursday that she believes 'it's good that the abusers and the predators themselves are seeing consequences' in the Me Too era.

'But the reason that they continue is because of people like John Kelly,' she said.

Mentioning the photos and the restraining order that accompanied DailyMail.com articles, Van Pelt asked, 'What more does it take?'

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and Staff Secretary Rob Porter follow President Donald Trump as he walks to board Marine One to head to Missouri to push the Republican tax plan, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2017

Porter is dating White House Communications Director Hope Hicks. She, like Porter, accompanied President Trump to an economic conference in Davos, Switzerland. She also assisted in crafting statements responding to the allegations against Porter

As DailyMail.com first revealed in an earlier article, Porter is dating White House Communications Director Hope Hicks.

In another unusual twist, Hicks participated in crafting Kelly's defiant statement on the matter Tuesday. Kelly was on Capitol Hill for immigration negotiations when staff learned about the DailyMail's exclusive on Porter.

Shah on Thursday ducked questions on Hicks' drafting involvement in the White House's response to the allegations, yet asserted, 'The communications director did recuse herself from some matters concerning it.'

The White House and Kelly had stood firm and issued a defiant statement defending Porter as DailyMail.com published the allegations from Porter's second wife.

'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,' Kelly said. 'I am proud to serve alongside him.'

It was not until a second statement Wednesday night and Porter's resignation that Kelly said, 'I was shocked by the new allegations released today against Rob Porter' and that 'there is no place for domestic violence in our society.'

After DailyMail.com contacted the White House Tuesday, Porter's former boss, Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch, also vigorously defended him. Hatch released a new statement hours later condemning assault.

The retiring Senator told ABC News on Thursday that he doesn't believe all of the allegations against Porter, 'But there's enough there that you have to take it very seriously.'

It was only after DailyMail.com published additional allegations, and a photo of first wife Colbie Holderness with a black eye she says Porter gave her when he punched her during their marriage, that a new round of statements went out and the White House announced that Porter would resign.

President Trump was not aware of the allegations against Porter, according to a source

Porter, described as one of the most important players in Trump's circle, resigned from his role as White House staff secretary on Wednesday following claims of domestic abuse

Hatch, Porter's former employer, had issued a statement Tuesday scolding the 'vile attack' on Porter.

The Utah senator called it '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.'

After DailyMail.com's second story, Hatch  less than 15 hours after his initial statement  said he was 'heartbroken by today's allegations.'

Despite the White House's knowledge of the looming issue, Porter traveled with the president to an an economic conference in Davos, where he played a key role in drafting Trump's speech. Hicks also attended.

Porter also had a role in crafting the president's State of the Union address the following week.

The former staff secretary's first ex-wife Colbie Holderness told DailyMail.com that he choked and punched her during their marriage.

His second wife Jennifer Willoughby revealed on Tuesday that he had 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 two sets of revelations have stunned the White House and led to a dramatic exit for Porter.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Wednesday Porter was resigning but could be in his job for weeks during a transition period

Colbie Holderness, Porter's first wife, (left) claims he repeatedly punched and choked her. His second wife Jennifer Willoughby has also claimed that Porter was abusive in their marriage

Porter denied the claims made by the two women but still resigned.

'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.'

Porter's first wife, Holderness, 37, who is a senior analyst for the U.S. government, spoke on the record to DailyMail.com about their five-year marriage, 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 said she was interviewed by the FBI  as was his second wife Willoughby  about their marriage after Porter was tapped for his current White House position as staff secretary. She shared the photos of her injuries with the FBI.

Porter required a security clearance  which he has not received.

'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,' Holderness said.

In 2010, Willoughby  Porter's second ex-wife  filed a protective order against him after he violated their separation agreement and refused to 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.

Last week, DailyMail.com revealed that Porter, who is Mormon, and Hicks are dating, and were seen kissing in a cab on the way back to her apartment from a D.C.restaurant
The last two members of the notorious British terror cell dubbed The Beatles were stripped of their UK citizenship even before they were captured in Syria, it emerged yesterday.

Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh were henchmen of Mohammed Emwazi  Jihadi John  who beheaded hostages including British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning on camera.

The extremists, both dual nationals, had their UK citizenship taken away by the Home Office to stop them re-entering the country.

Alexanda Kotey (left) and El Shafee Elsheikh (right) were henchmen of Mohammed Emwazi  Jihadi John  who beheaded hostages including British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning on camera. Both had their citizenship stripped even before their capture, it emerged

The Government said it was happy for the two Islamic State jihadists to stand trial on terror and murder charges in America, ensuring the pair face justice in a court of law.

But one former hostage of the gang said he did not want Donald Trump to detain the pair in Guantanamo Bay, the US military prison in Cuba. Nicolas Henin, a French journalist. said depriving terrorists of their rights turns them into victims.

Last night officers from the CIA and MI6 were interrogating Kotey, 34, and Elsheikh, 29, in a bid to prise out information about the terror group.

One source said the captives were potentially a treasure trove of intelligence.

The pair, along with Emwazi, 27, and Aine Davis, 33, were known as The Beatles because of their English accents.

Kotey was caught while on the run from IS trying to smuggle himself back into Europe, ITV News reported last night.

The four west Londoners, who revelled in the torture, murder and humiliation of their prisoners, slaughtered at least 27 hostages during the Islamist uprising in Iraq and Syria.

The pair, along with Emwazi (pictured), 27, and Aine Davis, 33, were known as The Beatles because of their English accents. Emwazi, who was killed in a US air strike in 2015, appeared in a number of videos in which captives including David Haines and Alan Henning were killed

Emwazi was killed in a drone strike two years ago. Davis was convicted of terrorism offences and jailed for seven and a half years in Turkey last year.

Kotey and Elsheikh were captured by the Kurdish-led US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, which were battling the last remaining pockets of IS fighters in January. They were handed to American special operations forces who confirmed their identities using fingerprints and other biometric data.

Kotey, a half-Ghanaian, half-Greek Cypriot nicknamed Ringo, and Elsheikh, who fled Sudan with his family aged five and was known as George, had been deprived of their UK passports on national security grounds after they travelled to Syria.

Emwazi (pictured) was killed in a drone strike two years ago. Davis was convicted of terrorism offences and jailed for seven and a half years in Turkey last year

Between 2006 and 2015 at least 81 deprivations of citizenship orders were made including 36 because it was conducive to the public good, but reports have put the number as high as 150 for those fighting with IS.

It means they are not allowed back into the UK. Security sources said UK foreign fighters were increasingly having citizenship removed so they did not have to be dealt with in the UK courts if they are captured. Officials fear that if UK jihadis are sent back to Britain much of the evidence could be inadmissible in the courts, for instance if they had been tortured and mistreated by local forces, and they would be set free on the streets.

Whitehall sources said there was a small chance the pair could stand trial in the UK but other countries were in front of us in the queue. The insider said: We just want them brought to justice and banged up.

Another source said: When we stripped their citizenship, we washed our hands of them. It is not clear if the US Justice Department will eventually prosecute the pair or if the military will take custody of them.

Major Adrian Rankine-Galloway, from the US Department of Defence, said: We are still considering options regarding Elsheikh and Kotey, but our intention is to hold anyone accountable who commits acts like those they are alleged to have committed.

He confirmed that Kotey and Elsheikh were being held in a detention location in Syria.

How the two Beatles were snared by their fingerprints... and may already be handing over vital information Kotey and Elsheikh were captured by the Kurdish-led Syrian democratic forces and identified by fingerprints and other biometric means, according to anonymous U.S. officials speaking to the New York Times. They were carrying mobile phones and other electronic equipment, which intelligence officials have gleaned for information. American spies will be especially keen to quiz the pair on the locations of surviving ISIS militants hiding out along the Euphrates River Valley near the border between Syria and Iraq. And officials will hope the men will have information about other hostages, such as the British journalist John Cantlie, who was abducted with his U.S. colleague James Foley in 2012 and has appeared in a series of ISIS propaganda videos. Advertisement

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said: These people have turned their back on Britain, killed innocents and tried to bring terror to the streets of our country. I am glad they have been hunted down and now is time for them to be held to account and pay the price for their barbaric crimes.

Tory MP Tom Tugendhat, chairman of the Commons foreign affairs select committee, said: Those who take up arms against their country are traitors.

These jihadists deserve to have the full force of the law used against them... But it is important that we use the law not brutal, summary justice of the kind these men used on their victims.

The US State Department says Muslim convert Kotey took part in the torture of hostages and acted as a recruiter for IS. Elsheikh, a former mechanic who supported Queens Park Rangers, earned a reputation for waterboarding, mock executions, and crucifixions, it said. Both men are designated terrorists by the US, which says they have used exceptionally cruel torture methods.

British intelligence and military officials were made aware of the capture last month. UK officials hope it will lead to information on the fate of John Cantlie, the British journalist who has been in IS captivity since 2012.

The pair could also answer questions about what happened to the British fighters as the so-called caliphate disintegrated, including how many returned home.

A senior US official said Kotey and Elsheikh had provided valuable details about the remaining IS leadership and support structure.
A woman swimming nude at a newly banned 'skinny dipping' spot in Byron Bay has been left distraught after a male masturbated in front of her.

She was swimming at Tyagarah Lakes, which recently enforced a $500 fine as part of its 'zero tolerance' policy on nudity.

While the strict rules had divided locals, police said they were committed to lowering the number of sexual assault reports, the Gold Coast Bulletin reports.

A woman swimming nude at newly banned 'skinny dipping' spot Tyagarah Lakes (pictured) in Byron Bay was left distraught after a male masturbated in front of her

Superintendent Wayne Starling recalled the moment a distressed woman approached him after allegedly having a male expose himself in front of her.

'She was obviously very distressed and she said a male stranger had come up to her and masturbated in front of her,' Mr Starling said.

'When I saw the state of the woman it hit hard and I knew we had to do something.'

The new policy banning skinny dipping at the spot has continued to divide locals, with a 56-year-old woman outraged at being fined for 'behaving offensively'.

A sign erected near the swimming spot reads, 'Tyagarah Nature Reserve is not a designated clothes optional (nude) area'.

Tyagarah Lakes recently enforced a $500 fine as part of its 'zero tolerance' policy on nudity

'Offensive behaviour carries a $500 fine.'

The woman, known only as Maxine, couldn't understand what was 'offensive' about baring her naked body.

'The fine is for offensive behaviour  I'm 56 for God's sake  how can someone swimming naked be fined $500 for offensive behaviour?' she said.

'It's so un-Byron Bay, it's so intolerant, it's excessively punitive.'

A week and a half later, a male couple were stung by the same infringement after they were caught having sex on the beach.

Byron Bay Mayor Simon Richardson slammed the fine for being excessive, saying it was up to officers to exercise discretion when deciding what offences warranted a fine.
Victims of the Beatles gang yesterday called for them to be locked up for life.

The daughter of British aid worker David Haines, who was murdered in 2014 after 18 months of grim captivity, acknowledged her wish for the jihadis to die a long, slow, painful death was unlikely to happen. Instead, she said, they should never be released from jail to set an example for others.

The mother of murdered US journalist James Foley similarly wanted the Beatles jailed for life, but only after a fair trial. And surviving hostage Nicolas Henin, a French journalist held by the gang for ten months, said proper trials were vital to stop jihadis claiming the moral high ground.

The daughter of British aid worker David Haines, who was murdered in 2014 after 18 months of grim captivity, acknowledged her wish for the jihadis to die a long, slow, painful death was unlikely to happen. Instead, she said, they should never be released from jail to set an example

Bethany Haines, whose former RAF engineer father was just 44 when he was murdered, said: I got a call late last night to say that they had been captured and the first thought was relief, finally to know that the people that were involved in my dads murder have been caught and will sort of serve some justice. Asked what she would like to see happen now, the 20-year-old of Scone, Perthshire, said: In my opinion, they shouldnt be breathing but thats not really a realistic kind of expectation.

They should be locked up with the key thrown away and never to be released. She said the gang should be made an example of to show there is zero-tolerance for terrorism and these sort of crimes.

Mr Foleys mother Diane said: I would like them to spend the rest of their lives being detained in a prison. Their crimes are beyond imagination ... Id like them to be brought to trial in the US  but as long as theyre brought to fair trial and detained and justice is served I would be most grateful.

Mr Henin described his torturers as especially violent, saying: They were doing it for revenge, against all the grievances against the Western world, which were largely fantasies.

But he added: Im looking for justice and not revenge ... Revenge is just another call for violence, and a call for another revenge.

The worst thing we can do with a terrorist is to deprive him from his rights. Because then you make from a terrorist a victim.
An asteroid larger than a blue whale will skim past Earth today - and it was only discovered on Sunday.

The space rock, called 2018 CB, is set to blaze past at just one-fifth of the distance between our planet and the moon.

The space agency describes asteroids as 'hazardous' if they come within 4,600,000 miles (7,403,00km) of our planet and this space rock will fly just 39,000 miles (64,000 kilometres) away.

According to Nasa the asteroid will pass by at around 17:30 EST (22:30 GMT) today.

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An asteroid larger than a blue whale will skim past Earth today at less than one-fifth the distance between our planet and the moon (stock image)

The asteroid 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'.

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) today

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 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.
A strange video from the 1950s has emerged showing how our forebears dealt with the Great Smog in London.

The quirky footage shows a woman wearing an outlandish mask that looks like a fishbowl or a space helmet as she walks down a crowded street.

Another bit of footage from the clip reveals how the mask works, with a man using a match to light a wick in a compartment attached to the side of the mask to defrost it.

The purpose of the device was to block out thick smog or polluted air, and the helmet appears to be a prototype.

'It's a smog mask carrying a few cubic beads of pure salubrious air for its wearer to breathe, complete with a candle power defroster,' the narrator of the video says.

'A bit cumbersome, murmur the sceptical, but some people persist to try and do something about the weather; if you can't change it, shut it out, which is the general idea behind this space helmet type gadget.

'As for being impractical  not at all. It's ingeniously adapted for the wearer's convenience', he narrates.

In one of the shots, the woman is seen sipping her tea through a straw which is fed in the hole of the mask.

'All social amenities may be observed', he says.

'And sustenance can be taken in.

A video has been unearthed showing how some Londoners tackled The Great Smog of 1952. The footage shows a woman dressed in black wearing the mask, which looks similar to an outlandish space helmet or fishbowl, walking down a crowded street where she draws stares

HOW DID THE GREAT SMOG OF LONDON IMPACT THE CAPITAL? The Great Smog of London was a 1952 environmental disaster where a combination of smoke and cold fog hovered over London. This resulted in smog which led to up 12,000 deaths - killing mostly infants and the elderly, who contracted respiratory illnesses such as bronchial asthma and pneumonia. The event also resulted in the asphyxiation of cattle at the Smithfield Market and areas surrounding it. Some of these cattle were fitted with gas masks to prevent further loss. Thick fog blacked out large areas of London, including Brixton pictured above, and the Home Counties while bringing road and rail traffic to a crawl in December 1952 During the 19th and early 20th century, London was known for thick fogs that occurred in late autumn, due to pollution from the city's large urban population. Factory emissions and smoke from domestic coal fires produced the smog phenomenon. The smog, dubbed 'pea soupers' (due to the smog's yellowish colour) caused disruption and disease. But these conditions reached a new level of danger in December 1952, when a high-pressure weather system moved over London and stayed there for several days. IA tugboat docked on the Thames near Tower Bridge, London during heavy smog in December 1952 The cool air its brought meant that Londoners burned even more coal to stay warm, but the smoke from burning coals became trapped under the air - mixing the fog with smoke and keeping it close to ground level. Many schools and businesses closed. Airports and most forms of public transportation could not operate. Even movie theatre-goers weren't able to see the screen, as the smog entered via building ventilation systems. Building facades became black from the soot, and most deaths were due to heart or lung damage. Snug in the smog: Two-year-old Jill Hamlin, from Oxted, is seen at a mask fitting at Bourne And Hollingsworth store In order to improve air quality, most London homes switched to natural gas and other low-emission fuels. In 1956, the Clean Air Act was implemented, making it mandatory for industrial, residential and commercial sectors to improve upon the way the generate power. They also had to move away from coal as a domestic heating source and used cleaner-burning fuels and vehicles with greater fuel-efficiency. But the Clean Air Act took several years to come into complete effect, and during that time London continued to experience incidents of smog - in December of 1962, 750 people died from another smog event. Deadly fog: A young couple pictured wearing their home-made smog masks on their way to work in London during the Great Smog Advertisement

The last shot of the video shows the woman sipping her tea through a straw which is fed in the hole of the mask (pictured)

The motion picture, called Smog Helmet Is Snug, was produced by MCA and Universal Pictures in February 1959. The Great Smog of London was a severe air-pollution crisis that impacted the British capital in early December 1952

'A girl could even fit a new chapeau under that dome.'

The motion picture, called Smog Helmet Is Snug, was produced by MCA and Universal Pictures in February 1959.

The Great Smog of London was a severe air-pollution crisis that impacted the British capital in early December 1952.

Recent research reveals that more than 12,000 people died during the incident in the capital.

It was a period of cold weather, mixed with an anticyclone and windless conditions which collected airborne pollutants to form a thick layer of smog over the city.

It was brushed off by Prime Minister at the time, Winston Churchill, who dismissed it as a 'weather event'.

In order to tackle the infamous smog of 1950s London, some people wore helmets to block out the air pollution. This image reveals how the mask works. Pictured is a man using a lit match to light up a wick in a compartment attached to the side of the mask. He then switches a fan on

Recent research reveals that over 12,000 people died during 'The Great Smog of London' in 1952. Pictured is a man using a lit match to light up a wick in a compartment attached to the side of a woman's mask to defrost it

The purpose of the smart device was to block out thick smog or polluted air. Pictured is a man using a match to light up a wick in a compartment on the side of the mask

The Clean Air Act 1956 was an Act passed in response to the event but wasn't in effect until 1964.

It was sponsored by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government in England and the Department of Health in Scotland.

It introduced a variety of measures to reduce air pollution, including 'smoke control areas' in some towns and cities where only smokeless fuels could be burned.

By ushering homes' sources of heat towards cleaner coals, electricity and gas, it reduced the amount of smoke pollution and sulphur dioxide from household fires.

The smog mask carried a few cubic beads of pure salubrious air for its wearer to breathe. The narrator of the video claimed that it was not impractical and was 'ingeniously adapted for the wearer's convenience.' Pictured is a man lifting the mask of a woman's face and kissing her
Apple's AirPods may be at risk of exploding, if one Florida man's experiences are anything to go by.

According to the gym-goer, he was working out when the wireless headphones began smoking.

Apple says it is investigating the claims, which could have resulted in serious burns had the man not quickly removed the allegedly faulty gadget.

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Apple's AirPods may be at risk of exploding, if one Florida man's experiences are anything to go by. According to the gym-goer, he was working out when the wireless headphones began smoking

Jason Colon, from Tampa, ran to get help after he noticed the white smoke billowing from the device.

When he came back, he found that the right ear bud had exploded, with the case showing signs of charring and the internal components laid bare.

Mr Colon says he believes the gadget's battery was responsible for the damage.

Speaking to local news station News Channel Eight, he added: 'Its the craziest thing I ever went through.

'I didn't see it happen, but I mean, it was already fried! You can see flame damage.

'I dont know what wouldve happened to my ear but Im sure since it hangs down, [my] ear lobe couldve been burnt.'

An Apple spokeswoman told the news station that the firm is investigating the claims.

This is not the first time that a popular electronic product has hit the headlines for exploding.

Jason Colon, from Tampa, ran to get help after he noticed the white smoke billowing from the device. When he came back, he found that the right ear bud had exploded, with the case showing signs of charring and the internal components laid bare

Apple says it is investigating claims, which could have resulted in serious burns had the man not quickly removed the allegedly faulty gadget (stock image)

In 2016, South Korean manufacturer Samsung's flagship Galaxy Note 7 was hit by a spate of exploding batteries.

Samsung blamed two separate issues for numerous fires in the tablet smarphone hybrid.

The first was that the battery components in the Galaxy Note 7 did not fit in the battery's casing.

This caused the battery cell's upper right corner to be crimped by the casing.

The second affected the devices sent to replace the original faulty phones.

These were caused by manufacturing issues, including poor welding at the battery manufacturer.
Google could be making Big Brother-style smart home technology to discipline your children so you don't have to.

A dystopian patent filed by the company suggests smart homes of the future could monitor naughtier members of the household with cameras, microphones, motion sensors and thermal imaging.

The Google Home system could use this real-time information to decide if the person in question is misbehaving and needs telling off.

In another patent Google described a device that would give advice to parents for 'areas of improvement' such as spending more time with their children at supper.

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Google could be making Big Brother-style smart home technology to discipline your children so you don't have to. Pictured is a Google Home, the tech gianta's voice-controlled smart speaker

'When children are near a drinks cabinet or are in their parents' bedroom alone, the system may infer that mischief is likely to be occurring', the patent read.

On detecting mischievous behaviour, the smart device could even hand out punishments such as restricting mobile phone use, writes The Times.

It could also notify parents remotely of the children's' bad behaviour.

It could also monitor 'chore completion' and record when certain people fail to take out the rubbish after being asked.

Infrared sensors may record body temperatures and the system could also understand the meaning of sounds such as laughter and crying.

'It may be beneficial to monitor the emotional state of occupants in a household,' the patent read.

Filed in 2015, the patent was only recently spotted by Tucker Carlson of Fox News.

In another patent spotted in 2016, the company showed a smart device that is able to spot a 'Godfather' novel by the user's bed.

The information could be used to steer people to watching the film on TV later that night.

In another patent spotted in 2016, the company showed a 'Godfather' novel by the user's bed. The information could be used to steer people to watching the film on TV later that night

The system could use this real-time information to decide if the person in question was misbehaving and needing telling off (stock image)

Google told Fox News; 'We file patent applications on a variety of ideas that our employees come up with.

'Some of those ideas later mature into real products or services, some don't.

Google declined to comment when asked for comment from MailOnline.

At the end of last year patent applications by Amazon and Google revealed ways their Voice Assistant powered smart speakers could already be spying on people.

The findings were published in a report created by Santa Monica, California based advocacy group Consumer Watchdog.

It says patents reveal the devices' possible use as surveillance equipment for massive information collection and intrusive digital advertising.

The study found that digital assistants can be 'awake' even when users think they aren't listening.

DO SMART SPEAKERS LIKE APPLE'S HOMEPOD LISTEN IN ON YOUR CONVERSATIONS? Like every home speaker, the HomePod has an 'always-on' mic that has the potential to hear private conversations. But it may come with a way to turn it off. Experts recently discovered icons in the latest version of iOS that suggest always-listening microphones on Apples Homepod speaker can be disabled. The delayed 350 ($349) Echo-killer, which actives when it hears 'Hey Siri', released February 9 2018. The microphone mute feature assuages privacy concerns raised over smart speakers eavesdropping on conversations. The find was reported by Apple expert Filipe Esposito, based in Londrina, Brazil, who discovered Homepod icons with microphone off symbols in the developer build of iOS 11.2.5. The icons were found buried in the assets for Apples Home app. Some of the microphone mute icons also contain the text 'Siri-off' in their filenames, lending further support to his conclusion. As with other smart speakers, like Amazon's Echo and Google's Home ranges, command phrases are used to trigger voice activated services. But some users are uncomfortable with the idea that the devices are always listening out for these vocal prompts. Users previously uncovered a quirk in some models of the Google HomeMini which meant that the gadget was constantly monitoring and recording their speech. Due to what Google has called 'phantom touches', the Home Mini was in a constant state of anticipation, listening for and awaiting verbal instructions, even before the 'Ok Google' vocal prompt was given. While this in itself is a fairly minor inconvenience, it has major implications for the privacy of users and could, in theory, let Google monitor everything that is said in your home. This information is also transmitted to the Mountain View firm's servers, raising the possibility of the information being recorded. The ability to switch off the microphones until they're needed may go some way to addressing similar privacy concerns in the Homepod. Advertisement

The digital assistants are supposed to react only when they hear a so-called 'wakeword.'

John Simpson, Consumer Watchdog's privacy and technology project director, said at the time: 'Google and Amazon executives want you to think that Google Home and Amazon Echo are there to help you out at the sound of your voice.

'In fact, they're all about snooping on you and your family in your home and gathering as much information on your activities as possible.

'You might find them useful sometimes, but think about what you're revealing about yourself and your family, and how that information might be used in the future.

'Instead of charging you for these surveillance devices, Google and Amazon should be paying you to take one into your home.'
Despite having lived two millennia ago, what Jesus looked like is a question that still fascinates people.

Jesus' physical appearance is still up for debate, with academics and theologians arguing over everything from his skin tone to style of facial hair.

New research claims to have narrowed down his choice of clothing, however, which would have been 'shameful' and unkempt by the standards of the day.

Joan Taylor, professor of christian origins and second temple Judaism, from King's College, London, explains about the attire and appearance of the Christian martyr in an article for The Conversation.

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Despite having lived two millennia ago, what Jesus looked like is a question that still fascinates people. New research claims to have narrowed down his choice of clothing, however, which would have been 'shameful' and unkempt by the standards of the day

Over the past few decades, the question of what Jesus looked like has cropped up again and again.

Much has been made of a digital reconstruction of a Judaean man created for a BBC documentary, Son of God, in 2001.

This was based on an ancient skull and, using the latest technology (as it was), shows the head of a stocky fellow with a somewhat worried expression.

Rightly, the skin tone is olive, and the hair and beard black and shortish, but the nose, lips, neck, eyes, eyelids, eyebrows, fat cover and expression are all totally conjectural.

Putting flesh on ancient skulls is not an exact science, because the soft tissue and cartilage are unknown.

Nevertheless, for me as a historian, trying to visualise Jesus accurately is a way to understand Jesus more accurately, too.

The Jesus weve inherited from centuries of Christian art is not accurate, but it is a powerful brand.

A man with long hair parted in the middle and a long beard  often with fair skin, light brown hair and blue eyes  has become the widely accepted likeness.

We imagine Jesus in long robes with baggy sleeves, as he is most often depicted in artworks over the centuries.

In contemporary films, from Zefirellis (1977) onwards, this styling prevails, even when Jesus clothing is considered poorly made.

There were many reasons why Jesus was portrayed in what has become the worldwide standard, and none of them were to do with preserving historical accuracy.

I explore these in my new book, What did Jesus look like?, but ultimately I look to clues in early texts and archaeology for the real Jesus.

In 2015, Retired medical artist Richard Neave has recreated the face of 'Jesus' by studying Semite skulls using modern-day forensic techniques. His portrait shows Jesus may have had a wide face, dark eyes, a bushy beard and short curly hair, as well as a tanned complexion

For me, Jesus' appearance is not all about flesh and bones.

After all, our bodies are not just bodies.

As the sociologist Chris Shilling argues, they are 'both personal resources and social symbols that 'give off' messages about identity'.

We can be old, young, tall, short, weighty, thin, dark-skinned, light-skinned, frizzy-haired, straight-haired, and so on, but our appearance does not begin and end with our physical bodies.

In a crowd, we may look for a friend's scarf rather than their hair or nose. What we do with our bodies creates an appearance.

And so Jesus' appearance would have had much to do with what he was wearing.

Once we've got the palette for his colouring right, given he was a Jewish man of the Middle East, how do we dress him? How did he seem to people of the time?

A man with long hair parted in the middle, a long beard, fair skin, light brown hair and blue eyes has become the accepted likeness

Dressed in basics

There is no neat physical description of Jesus in the Gospels or in ancient Christian literature.

But there are incidental details.

From the Bible (for example, Mark 6:56) you can discover that he wore a mantle  a large shawl ('himation' in Greek)  which had tassels, described as 'edges'; a distinctively Jewish tallith in a form it was in antiquity.

Usually made of wool, a mantle could be large or small, thick or fine, coloured or natural, but for men there was a preference for undyed types.

He walked in sandals, as implied in multiple Biblical passages (see Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:7, 6:9; John 1:27), and we now know what ancient Judaean sandals were like as they have been preserved in dry caves by the Dead Sea.

He wore a tunic (chiton), which for men normally finished slightly below the knees, not at the ankles.

Among men, only the very rich wore long tunics.

Indeed, Jesus specifically identifies men who dress in long tunics ('stolai', Mark 12:38) as wrongly receiving honour from people who are impressed by their fine attire, when in fact they unjustly devour widows' houses.

WHY IS JESUS DEPICTED IN DIFFERENT WAYS? No physical description of Jesus is found in the Bible. He's typically depicted as Caucasian in Western works of art, but has also been painted to look as if he was Latino or an Aboriginal. It's thought this is so people in different parts of the world can more easily relate to the Biblical figure. The earliest depictions shown him as a typical Roman man, with short hair and no beard, wearing a tunic. I t's thought that it's not until 400AD that Jesus appears with a beard. This is perhaps to show he was a wise teacher, because philosophers at the time were typically depicted with facial hair. The conventional image of a fully bearded Jesus with long hair did not become established until the sixth century in Eastern Christianity, and much later in the West Medieval art in Europe typically showed him with brown hair and pale skin. This image was strengthened during the Italian Renaissance, with famous paintings such as The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci showing Christ. Modern depictions of Jesus in films tend to uphold the long-haired, bearded stereotype, while some abstract works show him as a spirit or light. Advertisement

Jesus's tunic was also made of one piece of cloth only (John 19:23-24).

That's strange, because mostly tunics were made of two pieces sewn at the shoulders and sides.

One-piece tunics in first-century Judaea were normally thin undergarments or children's wear.

We shouldn't think of contemporary underwear, but wearing a one-piece on its own was probably not good form. It was extremely basic.

This artists impression, provided by Professor Joan Taylor, depicts an updated view of what Jesus looked like. A tunic made from one piece of material, unkempt hair and a notable lack of elaborate decoration

'Shamefully' shabby?

Perhaps it is unsurprising, then, that Jesus was remembered as looking shabby by a scholar named Celsus, writing in the mid second century, in a treatise against the Christians.

Celsus did his homework.

He interviewed people, and he  like us  was quite interested in what Jesus looked like.

From Jews and others he questioned, he heard that Jesus 'wandered about most shamefully in the sight of all'.

WHEN DID CHRISTIANITY COME TO BRITAIN? In the first century after Christ, Britain had its own gods: Pagan gods of the Earth, and Roman gods of the sky. But soon after, Christianity came to the British Isles. While people tend to associate the arrival of Christianity in Britain with the mission of St Augustine, who was dispatched to England by the Pope to convert the pagan Anglo-Saxon kings, in 597AD, Christianity arrived long before then in the 1st century AD. It started when Roman artisans and traders who arrived in Britain began spreading the story of Jesus along with stories of their Pagan gods. Marble head representing Emperor Constantine the Great, at the Capitoline Museums At the time, Christianity was one cult among many, but unlike roman cults, Christianity required exclusive fidelity from its followers. This led to Roman authorities persecuting Christian, who were then forced to meet and worship in secret. But Roman Emperor Constantine saw appeal in a single religion with a single God, and he saw that Christianity could be used to unite his Empire. From 313 AD onwards, Christian worship was permitted within the Roman Empire. During the 4th Century, British Christianity became more visible but it had not yet become widespread. Pagan beliefs were still common and Christianity was a minority faith. It looked as if Paganism might pervade over Christianity when, after the departure of the Romans, new invaders arrived: Angles, Saxons and Jutes. Yet Christianity survived on the Western edges of Britain. Missionary activity continued in Wales and Ireland, and in Western Scotland Saint Columba helped to bring a distinctly Irish brand of Christianity to mainland Britain. It can also be argued that it was St Augustine's famous mission in 597 AD from the Pope in Rome to King Aethelbert of Kent that definitively set up the future of Christianity in Britain, creating an alliance between Christianity and royals. Advertisement

He 'obtained his means of livelihood in a disgraceful and importunate way'  by begging or receiving donations.

From the perspective of respectable people, we can surmise then that Jesus looked relatively rough.

When the Christian writer Origen argued against Celsus, he rejected many of his assertions, but he did not dispute this.

And so while Jesus wore similar clothes to other Jewish men in many respects, his 'look' was scruffy.

Jesus garb would have been a far cry from the depiction in da Vincis The Last Supper. Wearing a basic tunic that other people wore as an undergarment would fit with Jesus' detachment regarding material things and concern for the poor

I doubt his hair was particularly long as depicted in most artwork, given male norms of the time, but it was surely not well-tended.

Wearing a basic tunic that other people wore as an undergarment would fit with Jesus' detachment regarding material things (Matthew 6:19-21, 2829; Luke 6:34-35, 12:22-28) and concern for the poor (Luke 6:20-23).

This, to me, is the beginning of a different way of seeing Jesus, and one very relevant for our times of massive inequality between rich and poor, as in the Roman Empire.

Jesus aligned himself with the poor and this would have been obvious from how he looked.

The appearance of Jesus matters because it cuts to the heart of his message.

However he is depicted in film and art today, he needs to be shown as one of the have-nots; his teaching can only be truly understood from this perspective.
The first ever 'virtual' language A-level could launch in the UK in September.

The Spanish qualification will do away with the need for teachers in the classroom, and instead use iPads and computers to deliver lessons.

Advocates say it is a cheap way to deal with teachers shortages, but unions warn that the standard of online education is still poor compared with traditional classes.

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Pearson, a London-based educational company, currently teaches 65,000 students across the US using online courses. Now, a virtual Spanish A-level could be introduced to UK schools in September (stock)

The A-level is being provided by Pearson, an educational provider from London that currently teaches 65,000 primary and secondary-aged students in the US online.

Sharon Hague, Pearson's senior vice-president for schools, told the Times Educational Supplement that the company was interested in bringing virtual courses to the UK.

This could help schools 'manage their time and budgets' and maintain 'the breadth of their curriculum'.

She said: 'It would provide the school with course content, structure and some of the delivery with a view to enabling schools to maintain the breadth of their curriculum.'

The courses are supervised by teaching assistants, but do not require a teacher to be present.

Much like regular A-levels, the course will involve five hours of 'contact time' a week.

One hour will be delivered by a fully-qualified Pearson teacher in small-groups and the other four will involve students working though 'guided interactive and engaging learning resources'.

Pearson is launching its Spanish A-level in September but is hoping to launch other subjects in the near future including Maths, Physics and French (stock)

Virtual learning environments and digital aids have been common in schools for a long time and Malcome Trobe, deputy general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders told the MailOnline that they are 'best suited to compliment and supplement existing methods.'

Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union told the MailOnline: 'Digital tech is rapidly changing how young people experience and engage with their world.

'Virtual teaching and automation are unlikely ever to be able to replace teachers or support staff.

'It has changed how teachers communicate with each other, share resources and exchange ideas their subject.'

HOW DO VIRTUAL A-LEVELS WORK? Educational company Pearson currently educates more than 65,000 students in the US via online courses. As of this September, the company is launching it's first recognised UK school qualification - A-level Spanish. The course will take still take place in school, but a teacher will not be needed to be in the classroom. Like every A-level course, it will involve five hours of teaching time. One hour will be delivered by a fully-qualified Pearson teacher in small-groups and the other four will involve students working though 'guided interactive and engaging learning resources'. Schools have shown considerable interest in the virtual qualification, according to Pearson. Teacher Unions warn that although virtual tools have advantages, there is still no substitute for real teachers in a classroom. Advertisement

Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of National Education Union, said that while integrating online elements into lessons could prove to be 'useful', she remained sceptical about virtual courses.

'The evidence over the last 10 years is that the highly inflated claims about online learning have not come to reality,' she told Tes.

'What's been consistently found is that the actual standards achieved, and the progress of people just involved in only online learning, is very slow and very low.'

Pearson said it had received interest in the courses from schools and sixth forms from all over the country.

Unions warn that although virtual teaching aids can aid and assist teachers and students, there is no substitute for a traditional relationship between pupil and teacher and that teachers will have to adapt (stock)

Mr Courtney told MailOnline that although automation and technology plays a greater role in education now than ever before, teachers need to adapt.

'Teachers need to be constantly flexible - no lesson ever goes to plan.

'Teaching, and learning, relies on relationships - between humans, and not machines. Children learn when they feel safe and included and providing that learning environment is a very human skill.'

Schools and the government are pushing to increase modern languages education in schools but are finding a severe shortage of language teachers.

Mr Trobe said that the supply chain from GCSE to A-level through to higher education is dwindling.

'Since modern languages were made non-compulsory, and less students are entering school, the base of the pyramid is narrowing and the climb is becoming steeper,' Mr Trobe said.
In the next 30 years, our sun could dim significantly, leaving us with conditions that could create a 'mini ice age.'

That's according to new research from scientists who say they've figured out a way to track the sun's 11-year cycle.

It's commonly known that the sun moves through an 11-year cycle where, similar to a heartbeat, it experiences active and quiet periods known as the solar maximum and solar minimum.

Now, scientists from the University of California, San Diego believe they've pinpointed exactly when the next solar minimum could occur, saying the sun could become 'unusually cool' as soon as 2050.

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By 2050, the sun could experience conditions last seen during the 'Maunder Minimum,' an event in the mid-17th century when temps were low enough to freeze London's River Thames. File photo

They're calling the next cold period a 'grand minimum,' during which conditions could echo those experienced in Europe in the mid-17th century.

Called the 'Maunder Minimum,' temperatures were low enough to cause London's River Thames to freeze over.

Additionally, the Baltic Sea was frozen to such an extent that a Swedish army was able to invade Denmark in 1658 on foot by marching across the ice.

Scientists have said the conditions during this time were similar to a 'mini ice age.'

Physicist Dan Lubin, who lead the study, analyzed the Maunder Minimum and determined we may experience even worse conditions than those that occurred during the mid-17th century.

Specifically, the sun may become much dimmer than is usually experienced during a solar minimum.

The sun is heading into a period known as a solar minimum, when ultraviolet radiation is significantly reduced, therefor dimming the sun's brightness and cooling temps on Earth

WHAT IS THE SOLAR CYCLE? Conventional wisdom holds that solar activity swings back and forth like a simple pendulum. At one end of the cycle, there is a quiet time with few sunspots and flares. At the other end, solar max brings high sunspot numbers and frequent solar storms. It's a regular rhythm that repeats every 11 years. Reality is more complicated. Astronomers have been counting sunspots for centuries, and they have seen that the solar cycle is not perfectly regular. Advertisement

The 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, the study notes.

When the sun experiences a solar maximum, the nuclear fusion at the sun's core forces more magnetic loops to the surface, due to extreme ultraviolet wavelengths.

In a solar minimum, the sun's magnetism diminishes, fewer sunspots form and less ultraviolet radiation makes it to the surface of the planet.

As a result, the sun's surface is clearer and it becomes dimmer.

Scientists have previously been able to predict when the next solar minimum will occur.

But new data collected over the span of 20 years has helped the team of researchers determine just how much the sun could dim during the 'grand minimum.'

During the grand minimum, the sun is likely to be 7% cooler than the lowest point of its 11-year cycle, according to the scientists.

When the sun's energy is reduced, the first effect it will have on earth is 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 study notes.

However, the cooling is not uniform.

Again, the scientists refer to the Maunder Minimum, during which areas of Europe chilled significantly, but other areas such as Alaska and southern Greenland warmed.

Pictured is the sun when it has surface activity such as sunspots and solar flares. During a solar minimum, the sun's surface becomes almost clear as ultraviolet radiation diminishes

Some may be wondering whether the ultra-cooling of the sun would potentially stop the effects of global warming.

According the scientists, it's unlikely to put a stop to climate change, but it could slow down the effects 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,' according to the study.

Scientists estimate that the grand minimum would probably only result in cooling the earth by about 0.25 percent between 2020 and 2070.

As a result, the surface of the earth would cool by up to several tenths of a degree Celsius, which isn't enough to halt global warming, but it could at least ease its effects in part.
Human presence in the Arabian Peninsula dates back one million years.

Out of 4,000 registered archaeological sites in Saudi Arabia, 1,500 include rock art.

The earliest examples date to around 12,000 years ago.

These depictions show masked men and women dancing, and experts believe they could be mythological figures, although the meaning remains unclear.

Between ten and eight thousand years ago people started herding animals and carrying out primitive agriculture.

During this period, drawings increasingly show cattle and dogs.

Experts believe these animals had been domesticated and were part of their everyday life.

Some include images of rare antelope, aurochs, wild camels and African asses, previously not known to live in this area.

Aurochs, the ancestors of modern domestic cattle, were also depicted in the drawings as well as wild camels and African wild asses.

Archaeologists also uncovered drawings from this period depicting a hunter drawing his bow surrounded by a pack of 13 dogs, two of which appear to be tethered.

The find is thought to be the oldest ever depiction of a dog, as well as such restraints being used to control them.

Previously, the earliest evidence came from a wall painting in Egypt which is believed to date back around 5,500 years.

All of the carvings show medium-sized creatures with pricked up ears, short snouts, and curled tails, suggesting they are domesticated rather than wild animals.

Experts say they closely resemble the modern species of Canaan dog, found running wild in the deserts of the Middle East today.

From five thousand years ago, circular stone structures and other archaeological remains suggest sedentary communities were starting to form.

They had temples and sculpted images of deities on stones or rock faces.

There are lots of similar depictions of goddesses with wide hips, raised hands and open fingers.

Source: Bradshaw foundation
There's no shortage of places to enjoy a tipple or two in Paris. From romantic hideaways and cool cocktails, to live music halls, here are our top 10 favourite drinking holes in the City of Light.

Check out Les Ombres for the perfect place to enjoy the panoramic views of the city

Best for rooftop views  Les Ombres

Boasting magnificent views of the Eiffel Tower, this stunning rooftop bar perched on top of the Musee du Quai Branly is unsurprisingly one of Paris' most popular spots for a sundowner. Book a table or hunker down on one of the squishy sofas and sip a glass of Champagne as the sun sets over the Iron Lady. Metro: Alma-Marceau

Address: 27, quai Branly, 75007 Paris, France

Contact: +33 1 43 16 33 74

Opening times: Mon-Sun 6pm-2am

Price: 

Best for cocktails  The Experimental Cocktail Club

Hidden away in the Montorgueil district in the 2nd arrondissement, The Experimental Cocktail Club woos the city's hipsters with its creative concoctions. Underneath fussy chandeliers and exposed brick walls, stylish locals lounge on Chesterfield sofas sipping Tommy's Margarita Especials. Each night a DJ works the decks, while slick mixologists perform magic behind a zinc-topped bar. Metro: Sentier

Address: 37 Rue Saint-Sauveur, 75002 Paris, France

Contact: +33 1 45 08 88 09

Opening times: Mon-Thurs 7pm-2am Fri-Sat 7pm-4am Sun 8pm-2am

Price: 

Best for people-watching - Cafe Marly

Overlooking the Louvre's famous glass pyramids, the stylish terrace at Cafe Marly is the perfect spot for people-watching. As the sun sets, it becomes a favoured haunt of the city's fashion set who come to sup icy cold sauvignon blanc or cocktails made from fresh raspberries and pear eau de vie, a colourless fruit brandy.

Metro: Palais Royal-Musee du Louvre

Address: 93 Rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris, France

Contact: +33 1 49 26 06 60

Opening times: Mon-Sun 8am-2am

Price: 

Best for craft beer - Societe Parisienne de Biere

Hidden away in the 17th arrondissement, the craft beer emporium is the brainchild of beer expert, Fabien Nahum. It offers a huge selection of craft beers from all over Europe from its well-stocked shop, while the cave a bieres is a rustic, atmospheric bar studded with fairy lights. Kick back with the local brew-fans with a Bendorf Kollane Lill from Strasbourg or a Wild Beer Modus Operandi from Somerset.

Metro: Brochant ou La Fourche.

Address: 5 Rue des Moines, 75017 Paris, France

Contact: +33 7 64 09 92 27

Opening times: Mon-Sun

Price: 

Best for wine tasting - Bar Etna

The best way to avoid a stinking hangover is to drink organic wine. Thankfully, all of the 350 wines on offer at Bar Etna are made from organic grapes. This stylish little wine bar near Odeon is awash with exposed stone and polished wood and attracts the city's many oenophiles. There's no wine menu, you have to trust the sommelier, but there's an extensive choice, plus plates of olives, cheese and charcuterie to soak it all up.

Metro: Odeon

Address: 33 Rue Mazarine, 75006 Paris, France

Contact: +33 1 46 34 84 52

Opening times: Tues-Sat 5pm-2am

Price: 

Best for atmosphere  Chez Georges

Tucked away in a vaulted wine cellar in the upmarket district of Saint-Germain-des-Pres, the utterly charming Chez Georges has been a local institution since the 1950s. Unlike most wine bars, especially those in such prestigious locations, the atmosphere is young, lively and immensely fun, with singing, dancing on tables and salutations galore. The choice of wine is pretty good, too. Metro: Mabillon

Address: 11 Rue des Canettes, 75006 Paris, France

Contact: +33 1 43 26 79 15

Opening times: Sun-Fri 6pm-2am, Sat 3pm-2am

Price: 

Paris is beautiful and the bars are no exception, here's a round-up of the best

Best for late-night tipples - Lipstick

For late-night tipples, head to SoPi (south of Pigalle) and Lipstick, a gloriously kitsch drinking den on Rue Frochot. This former hostess bar is decked out in a saucy swathe of leopard skin and pink chandeliers. Open until 0400, it serves a mix of top-notch classic and house cocktails and tapas, along to a cool, rhythmic DJ set. Don't miss the nightly Happy Hour until 2200. Metro: Pigalle

Address: 5 Rue Frochot, 75009 Paris, France

Contact: +33 6 14 40 82 02

Opening times: Tues-Sat 6pm-5am

Price: 

Best for live music - L'International

Located just off Rue Oberkampf, this relaxed live music bar and venue is open until 0200 and features a varied collection of cool bands, including rock, pop and hip-hop. And best of all, it's absolutely free. Upstairs is a well-priced bar, which gets lively for happy hour (until 2100) then venture downstairs and catch an up-and-coming acts in the clubby basement.

Metro: Menilmontant

Address: 5/7 Rue Moret, 75011 Paris, France

Contact: +33 9 80 53 76 41

Opening times: Tues-Fri 7pm-2am Sat 7pm-6am

Price: 

Guaranteed a great night at Lipstick with the fancy drink making and fun atmosphere

Best for cheap drinks - Le Requin Chagrin

Popular with the arty student set, this vibrant bar in the Latin Quarter is great for a cheap drink, or three. Le Requin Chagrin, which translates as the narked shark, has a cosy wooden bar and tall tables, plus a small terrace out the front. It serves all the usual suspects, plus good value tasting platters of beers. It's open way into the wee hours on a Friday and Saturday, until 0500.

Metro: Place Monge

Address: 10 Rue Mouffetard, 75005 Paris, France

Contact: +33 1 44 07 23 24

Opening times: Sun-Thurs 4pm-2am Fri-Sat 4pm-5am

Price: 
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You can cover some serious ground exploring the Museumplein and the museums that surround it. The Rijksmuseum alone has 130,000 sq ft (12,000 sq m) of exhibition space. Add the Van Gogh Museum and Stedelijk Museum to your itinerary and youre guaranteed to work up an appetite. Fortunately, this part of Amsterdam is dense with restaurants serving everything from pancakes to sushi.

Just like the museum it's located in, Rijks' dishes showcase Amsterdam culture combined with the international influences that helped shape the city (Credit: Jan-Kees Steenman)

Rijks

Rijks is conveniently located inside the Rijksmuseum. Just as the museum is dedicated to showcasing Amsterdams history and culture, this eatery is devoted to showing off the citys traditional cuisine and bringing to light all the international influences that have shaped it over time. You can eat here at both lunch and dinner. Order dishes like scallops with hazelnut and pumpkin and dry aged duck breast from the a la carte menu, or go for the six-course tasting menu, which costs 70. The restaurant is open 11302200.

Tram: Rijksmuseum

Levant

Cross the bridge over the Spiegelgracht Canal, just north of the Rijksmuseum, and youll arrive at Levant in two or three minutes. Its a Turkish restaurant, so youll find mezze on the menu for starters and dishes like Turkish bouillabaisse, prawns and tabbouleh, and Turkish meatballs on offer for your main course. The restaurant is open 17302300.

Tram: Spiegelgracht

Head to Mankind for a dinner that won't break the bank, served with a side of no-nonsense Dutch charm

Mankind

Just across the Museumbrug bridge from the Rijksmuseum, Mankind has a reputation for serving tasty food that wont break the bank. Its menu features a range of salads and hot sandwiches, including a meatball one made to grandmas secret recipe. In the evenings, a daily dinner special is available for 11. The restaurant also has an outdoor terrace, which looks out over the canal and Amsterdams gabled houses. Its closed on Sundays. The restaurant is open 12002300.

Tram: Spiegelgracht

The Pantry

This restaurant, five minutes from the Rijksmuseum, is Dutch through and through. Inside The Pantry youll find sturdy dark wood tables and chairs and walls adorned with watercolour landscapes and traditional Delft plates. The menu flies the national flag, too. Starters include salted herring with onions and pickles and Dutch sausages with bread, mustard and pickles, and the main course menu features dishes like Boerenkoolstamppot  a potato, kale, sausage and meatball dish  and Zuurkoolstamppot, which is similar to Boerenkoolstamppot but with sauerkraut. The restaurant is open 11002230.

Tram: Leidseplein

De Vier Pilaren

Eating pancakes is a rite of passage in Amsterdam. De Vier Pilaren, a five-minute walk from the Rijksmuseum, dedicates almost its entire menu to them. You can order savoury options such as ham and cheese or chicken and vegetables or you can buy sweet versions like apple and cinnamon or Nutella. De Vier Pilaren also serves traditional poffertjes  plump pancake balls served with butter and powdered sugar. Theres also an outdoor terrace with patio heaters that keep it cosy in the colder months. The restaurant is open 09002000.

Tram: Leidseplein

"Pannekoeken"  pancakes and "poffertjes"  plump pancake balls served with butter and powdered sugar  are the focal point of De Vier Pilaren's menu

La Cacerola

Amble over the Spiegelgracht and Lijnbaansgracht canals behind the Rijksmuseum and youll find yourself at La Cacerola in three minutes. This restaurant has been up and running for almost 60 years. It describes its cuisine as comfort food and its menu features dishes such as paella, wild boar skewers and wild duck. If you want a surprise you can plump for the chefs choice menu, which gives you the option of either three, four, five or six-courses. The eatery is open 18002130, closed Sundays and Mondays.

Tram: Spiegelgracht

De Blauwe Hollander

The timeline of De Blauwe Hollander can be traced back more than 40 years, when its owners named the place after the blue uniforms of the navy men who used to be sent to Indonesia and Suriname as permanent representatives of Holland. Its had a refurb since it was opened all those decades ago, but it still serves traditional Dutch food like croquettes and stampotten  warming stews made with sausages and meatballs. The restaurant is open 12002300.

Tram: Leidseplein

Taiko's dishes are not only pleasing for the taste buds, but pleasing on the eye as well

Taiko

This contemporary Far Eastern restaurant is located inside the Conservatorium Hotel, a two-minute walk from the Van Gogh Museum. The dishes at Taiko look like they belong in a picture frame rather than on a plate. You can choose to order from the a la carte menu, which features dishes like sashimi, sushi and dim sum or you can opt for one of the omakase menus. Omakase means chefs choice and comes in progressive or classic varieties. The restaurant is open MondayThursday 18302230, and Friday to Saturday 18302330.

Tram: Van Baerlestraat
Thered be an elephant in the room if you talked about Amsterdam and didnt mention, even in passing, De Wallen. The Red Light District (RLD) is one of the most famous  or infamous  parts of the city. The area is the nucleus of Amsterdams legalised prostitution industry and, as such, is home to a couple hundred shopfront-style windows where sex workers try to entice customers in the glow of red lights.

Obviously, its not Amsterdams most squeaky-clean region, but its not off limits to tourists, either. In fact, visit at the right times and in the right way and you can walk away having had a really insightful experience. Of course, if the concept of the area makes you feel uncomfortable, its probably best to spend your time in other parts of Amsterdam.

Climb on top of the Oude Kerk for a view of De Wallen (Credit: Wim Hanenberg)

Visitor information

Metro: There are no tram stops inside the Red Light district. Get off at Nieuwmarkt Square and walk two minutes north.

Opening times: The windows of De Wallen are only officially closed for two hours a day, between 0600 and 0800. Its much quieter in the daytime. The peak time to see the windows is around 2300.

Tickets: Its free to wander around De Wallen. Guided tours of the area cost around 15. The Amsterdam Tourist Board recommends RLD Amsterdam Tours. Entry to the Erotica Museum is 7, the Sex Museum is 5, the Old Church is 10, and the Museum of Prostitution is 10 or 8 online.

Tips to avoid the queues: In peak season, theres not really any getting around the queues at places like the Sex Museum. Try to get to places as soon as they open and youll get in quicker.

History of De Wallen

De Wallen is one of the oldest parts of Amsterdam. The Oude Kerk (Old Church) in its centre is more than 800 years old. The guides that run RLD tours will tell you that prostitution existed in the city from the year dot, that brothels became popular in Victorian times, and that the first law to legalise prostitution was passed in the early 19th century, although pimping was still illegal and there were loopholes in the law. In the late 1980s, the Dutch government started to recognise prostitution as a profession in order to safeguard the sex workers of the city. In 2008, the mayor of the Amsterdam launched an initiative called Project 1012 that was designed to clean up the area. The 10-year plan saw a number of disreputable businesses closed for good. Today, kooky bars, independent shops and non-green coffee shops are also springing up in the Red Light zone.

Getting around

De Wallen stretches from just below Central Station in the north to the banks of the Rokin Canal in the south. There are areas where prostitution is much more concentrated, though. The streets around the Oudezijds Voorburgwal and Oudezijds Achterburgwal canals have the most activity. The best way to get around the RLD is on foot. If youre visiting without a guide its best to explore with at least one other person, especially at night. Also, bear in mind that tourists are not supposed to take pictures of the workers in the windows.

The windows

The red lit windows of De Wallen look in on little rooms which are usually furnished with a couple of chairs and a bed. Prostitutes walk around behind the glass in lingerie. If curtains are closed, it means the rooms are occupied by customers. Look out for blue-lit windows, too, as these signal that the prostitute inside is transgendered or a transvestite.

Between the debauchery, there's still space for the Oude Kerk, a charming Gothic church (Credit: Bibi Veth)

The Oude Kerk (Old Church)

This Gothic church has served as the final resting place for many high-profile locals, such as Rembrandts wife and naval hero Jacob van Heemskerck. Today, Oude Kerk hosts regular art exhibitions. Visitors can explore by themselves or pick up the soundwalk audio tour from the front desk. The church is open MondaySaturday 10001800, and Sunday 13001730.

Condomerie The Condomorie is a specialist condom shop. As well as selling a full range of standard condoms, it also sells quirky gifts, such as condom lollipops, a condom washing line and condom mugs. The museum is open Monday 11002100, Tuesday 11001800, WednesdaySaturday 11002100.

Today, Oude Kerk hosts regular art exhibitions (Credit: Robert Glas)

Erotica Museum

As the name suggests, the Erotica Museum at Oudezijdsachterburgwal 54, is all about eroticism and the forms it has taken over the ages. Exhibits include art and sculptures, and theres an area dedicated to sadomasochism. The museum is open SundayThursday 11000100, and FridaySaturday 11000200.

Sex Museum

Just outside De Wallen on Damrak 18, the Sex Museum charters the history of sexual love. Its exhibits include artwork, photographs, recordings, lingerie and sex toys. The museum is open daily 09302330.

Museum of Prostitution

Located at Oudezijds Achterburgwal 60, this museum catalogues the history of prostitution around the world. Inside, you can listen to the stories of prostitutes, visit an example of the sort of room they work in, and experience what it feels like to sit in a window. The museum is open daily 11002400.
When in Rome, tasting some fine Italian wine is a must. Whether you prefer fruity Chianti, full-bodied Barolo or some chilled Prosecco, theres plenty of places to enjoy a glass or two of vino in the Eternal City. From outdoor terraces for long summer evenings to cosy corners perfect to hole up in during the winter, take your pick of these great Roman wine bars.

Peruse our list of fantastic wine bars to sample some local bottles

Cul de Sac

As one of Romes oldest wine bars, Cul de Sac should definitely be top of your list to try. Its centrally positioned near Piazza Navona and, while the traditionally decorated space is quite small inside, its made up for by the huge selection of wines on the book-sized menu. From Italian classics to the best global wines from the rest of Europe and beyond, theres something for every wine-lover here. Plus, if you get peckish as you drink, Cul de Sac has a tempting menu of Italian cold cuts and cheeses as well as other Mediterranean classics.

Address: Piazza di Pasquino, 73, 00186 Roma, Italy

Contact: +39 06 68 80 10 94

Opening times: Mon-Sun midday-12:30am

Price: 

VinAllegro

Nestled down a street in the trendy Trastevere neighbourhood, VinAllegro offers visitors an authentic taste of Italy with its welcoming ambience and selection of reasonably priced wines that can be bought by the glass or by the bottle. Sit on wooden stools and soak up the atmosphere in the bar area or take a seat outside and enjoy a glass by candlelight. VinAllegro also offer an aperitivo from 1900 each night, meaning you can pair your chosen wine with some tasty Italian treats.

Address: Piazza Giuditta Tavani Arquati, 114, 00153 Roma, Italy

Contact: +39 34 74 08 81 06

Opening times: Mon-Sun midday-2am

Price: 

Il Goccetto

Il Goccetto, tucked away behind a church on Via dei Banchi Vecchi, is a typical enoteca (wine cellar) thats simply bursting with Italian charm. Its a favourite of locals and has a romantic setting thanks to its intimate size and classic decor. Bottles of wine are stacked from floor to ceiling, and there are only a few tables so its common for drinkers to spill out into the street. Il Goccetto also specialises in cheese as well as wine, offering a huge selection of both to suit all tastes.

Address: Via dei Banchi Vecchi, 14, 00186 Roma, Italy

Contact: +39 06 686 4268

Opening times: Mon 6:30pm midnight Tues-Sat 11:30-2:30pm 6:30pm-midnight

Price: 

Trimani

Round the corner from Termini station is Trimani, an elegant wine bar thats perfect for a glass of your favourite vino and a bowl of gourmet pasta. The interiors are bright and spacious with plenty of tables and large windows ideal for people watching, while the drinks menu itself is huge and includes regional and global wines. The staff are mostly multilingual and always happy to offer recommendations, and theres an adjoining wine shop  ideal for picking up a drinkable souvenir to remind you of your time in Rome.

Address: Via Goito, 20 - 00185 Roma, Italy

Contact: +39 06 446 9661

Opening times: Mon-Sat 11:30am-3pm 5:30pm-midnight

Price: 

Discover bars in the Eternal City full of great wine and Italian cheese

Il Piccolo

Another option near busy Piazza Navona is Il Piccollo, a typical enoteca with a generous outdoor space to spend long summer evenings. Its a popular hangout for locals thanks to its friendly atmosphere, laidback decor, generous glass sizes and wallet-friendly prices. If youre travelling with someone whos not much of a wine drinker, Il Piccolo also have a decent selection of local beers. It additionally doubles as a restaurant if you fancy a break from the surrounding touristy eating options, plus you have the option of buying any of the bottles lining the walls to take home.

Address: Via del Governo Vecchio, 74, 00186 Roma, Italy

Contact: +39 06 6880 1746

Opening times: Mon-Sun midday-2am

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Litro

Sophisticatedly decorated and with a spectacular drinks selection, Litro is one of Romes newest wine bars and well worth the trip to its more secluded location. Found outside the tourist hub in the quiet Monteverde neighbourhood, its a hidden gem loved by locals and visitors alike. Litro specialises in natural and biodynamic wines that have little to no chemicals added, and it serves up bottles sourced from both large wineries as well as small unknown vineyards. Its menu complements the wine selection beautifully too, offering up Italian classics as well as more unusual international dishes.

Address: Via Fratelli Bonnet, 5, 00152 Roma, Italy

Contact: +39 06 4544 7639

Opening times: Mon-Sat 7:30am-midnight

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When in Rome trying out different wines and regional specialities is a must

La Mescita at Enoteca Ferrara

If you want a taste of traditional Rome, head to Enoteca Ferrara in Trastevere. Ideal if you want to splash out on some exceptional vino and great-tasting nibbles, it has two giant menus filled with over a thousand varieties of red and white wines. Enoteca Ferrare itself is spread over three floors with its wine bar, La Mescita, situated in a cosy room with a terrace spilling out onto the lively Piazza Trilussa. It also has an in-house sommelier to help you choose your wines, and the adjoining restaurant is well-known for serving up mouth-watering slow-cooked Italian dishes.

Address: Via del Moro, 1 Piazza Trilissa, 41, 00100 Roma, Italy

Contact: +39 06 580 3769

Opening times: Mon-Sun 6pm-2am

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Antica Enoteca

Rustic interiors and beautiful frescoes are what makes Antica Enoteca so charming inside, but its the extensive wine list and hearty food that brings people back. First opened in 1842, Antica Enoteca still boasts its original 19th-century bar, which is the perfect place to prop yourself up for some wine and antipasti. Its very central, being just a few minutes from the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain, plus it has a generous outdoor terrace to while away those long summer evenings.

Address: Via della Croce 76b, Roma, Italy

Contact: +39 06 679 0896

Opening times: Mon-Sun midday-1am

Price: 
Looking for culture, history and a lively atmosphere? Barcelonas Gothic Quarter has it all. Nestled in a set of crooked cobbled alleyways youll find striking Medieval architecture, fascinating museums and galleries, and plenty of hidden pleasures.

Talented buskers with acoustic guitars give your visit a classical Spanish soundtrack  adding atmosphere while you enjoy a pit stop in an outdoor bar or cafe. With so much culture to soak up, its important you visit the best bits. This guide will help you get the most out of your visit to Barrio Gotico.

Placa del Rei, a peaceful and picturesque square in the heart of the Gothic Quarter

Barcelona Cathedral

Probably the most-visited attraction in the Gothic Quarter, this magnificent cathedral cannot be missed from your Barcelona itinerary. Built in the Middle Ages  as reflected in its remarkable Gothic design  the church is dedicated to Saint Eulalia, who was killed after refusing to dismiss Jesus as the son of God. Now, 13 white geese (to represent her age) are kept in the church in her honour.

For breath-taking Barcelona views, you can take the lift to the church roof to see a gorgeous Spanish skyline  but if heights arent really your thing, the carved arches around the cathedrals doorway make the perfect frame for your obligatory visitor photo.

Placa del Rei

This peaceful square in the heart of the Gothic Quarter, where you can find the Royal Palace, exemplifies the citys Medieval past. The picturesque plaza surrounds you with ancient Roman ruins, and its arguably one of the most atmospheric corners of the city.

Whats more, Placa del Rei, meaning Kings Square, is home to one of the citys most fascinating historic museums that will take you back through centuries. Learn about Emperor Augustus reign and see how the locals lived  walk over ruins of streets, sewers and the wine and fish factories that once flourished.

View of the famous Barcelona Cathedral and King Marti's Tower

Placa de Sant Felip Neri

Tragic yet beautiful, this tranquil square is also a must-visit. Placa de Sant Felip Neri was where one of the saddest attacks of the civil war took place, where around 200 people were killed in daylight - including refugee children that were playing out in the square.

At this moving attraction you can still see the shrapnel marks against the wall of the Baroque church from the famous Italian bombing in 1938.

Carrer del Bisbe Irurita and Bishops Bridge

Youll stroll through a lot of cute cobbled streets as you explore Barcelonas Gothic Quarter, but Bisbe Irurita Street is an extra-special gem. Youll need your camera at the ready, as this street is home to Barcelonas most photographed bridge.

Although Bishops Bridge blends in beautifully with the surrounding Gothic architecture, it was built much later in 1928 in a plan to create a new series of Gothic buildings. This was rejected  but the bridge remained. In her rage, the architect secretly carved a skull and dagger onto the inside of the bridge, which according to legend casts an evil spell on passers-by.

Bishop's Bridge is the centrepiece of Bisbe Irurita Street

The Picasso Museum

Barcelonas Gothic Quarter is home to the enchanting Picasso Museum, where you can see the artists revolutionary work spread across five adjoining palaces, from his first childhood portraits to sketchy landscapes.

If you want to further follow in the footsteps of the famous artist, head to Els Quatre Gats for tapas and wine afterwards. This is where Picasso held one of his first exhibitions, and it was a popular hangout for many famous artists in Catalonia  including Antoni Gaudi.

Santa Maria del Mar

Just around the corner from the Picasso Museum sits Santa Maria del Mar, a beautiful Gothic church built in the 14th century. Step inside and admire the sheer size of the building, the detailed religious carvings and the vibrant stained-glass windows that flood the church with light.

Within the Santa Maria del Mar famously sits a precious sculpture of a Black Madonna to represent the Virgin Mary  see if you can spot it when you enter.

Behold the sheer size of Santa Maria Del Mar, a 14-century Gothic church flooded with light

El Call

Located right in the heart of Barrio Gotico is the Jewish quarter, which is rich with history that dates back to the Middle Ages. Back then, 15 per cent of the population was Jewish, until the Spanish Inquisition in 1391 when Jews forced to leave the city or convert to Christianity.

Today, the ancient foundations still remain  and thats what makes the area so fascinating. Look out for Ancient Hebrew signs and engravings as you wander the small streets, and if you stop for a bite in a cafe, you may well be sitting above secret female Jewish baths. Spains oldest synagogue, Sinagoga Major de Barcelona, is filled with artefacts that give you a powerful sense of how the community lived.
Close to Las Ramblas and plenty of Barcelonas most famous sights, the beautiful Gothic Quarter is a popular place to stay for many people visiting the city. In amongst remnants of its Roman past, there are hotels to suit all budgets in the area. Making life easier for you when choosing a place to stay in the city, here are eight of our favourite spots to stay in Barri Gotic.

Stunning views from the Wittmore's rooftop sundeck

Grand Central Hotel Barcelona

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Close to the Picasso Museum and next to Barcelona Cathedral, this upscale Art Deco option has a rooftop infinity pool and terrace with stunning views of the city. Rooms at Grand Central are modern yet luxurious and there are several different types of suites available. Theres also a small spa offering treatments, a thermal suite and a fitness room, plus a calm library space. The restaurant serves Mediterranean bistro-style dishes with a twist, plus theres a bar which serves cocktails and hosts DJs.

Metro: Placa Catalunya

Rooms at Grand Central are modern yet luxurious

Hotel Barcelona Catedral

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Set in Cathedral Square just two streets from Las Ramblas and close to the beach, this modern hotel has a rooftop pool with sun terrace, as well as a gym. Free bike rental is available and on Sundays, Hotel Barcelona Catedral offers free tours of the Gothic Quarter. Rooms are in muted colours with wooden floors, comfy chairs and vintage-style phones. Theres a Mediterranean-style restaurant, as well as a bar with terrace which serves breakfast, snacks and tapas all day and well into the evening.

Metro: Placa Catalunya

The Wittmore

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Close to the Picasso Museum and discreetly tucked away in an alley, this small adults-only hotel is set around an indoor/outdoor central patio with a restaurant and bar. The classy rooms at The Wittmore are graded as tiny to extra-large and are decorated in traditional British style. Theres also a rooftop sundeck with a shallow pool. Lunch at its elegant restaurant, aptly named Witty, which also offers unfussy international dishes such as lamb chops and beef Wellington for dinner.

Metro: Jaume I

The classy rooms at The Wittmore are decorated in traditional British style

Ohla Barcelona

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With a glass-sided rooftop pool and shower cubicles integrated into the centre of some of the open-plan Design Rooms, this modern boutique hotel in a neo-classical building offers something a little different. Stylish rooms have wooden floors and some feature floor-to-ceiling windows and Juliet balconies. Ohla has a Michelin-starred restaurant as well, with large windows overlooking the Carrer Comtal. Theres also a cosy cocktail bar, ideal for evening drinks.

Metro: Urquinaono

Ohla, a modern boutique hotel in a neo-classical building that offers something a little different

Mercer Hotel Barcelona

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This historic hotel with just 28 rooms features walls dating back to Roman times, as well as medieval arches and 12th century paintings, that blend effortlessly with its modern decor. Given its very central location, its surprisingly tranquil with a rooftop lounge with plunge pool, terrace and bar. The chic open-plan rooms at Mercer feature exposed stonework, oak floors and clean lines  rooms facing the courtyard are particularly quiet. Theres a gourmet restaurant, a more casual eatery that serves tapas and other traditional dishes, and an intimate cocktail bar set within 2,000-year-old walls.

Metro: Jaume I

Mercer Hotel's exposed stonework gives away its historical roots

The Serras

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Offering stunning views of Port Vell from its rooftop pool and terrace, this boutique hotel dating back to 1846 is set within the walls of Picassos first studio. The 28 urban-chic rooms have sea or city views and most have balconies  there are also some impressive suites. With a hip, modern interior, The Serras features a fine-dining restaurant overlooking the old city and has an all-day rooftop cocktail bar which hosts DJs at weekends. Theres also a cool 24-hour mezzanine bar overlooking the lobby.

Metro: Barceloneta

The Serras is a boutique hotel with a hip, modern interior

Yurbban Trafalgar Hotel

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Opened in 2014, this modern, budget-friendly hotel comes with a rooftop pool and bar with stunning city views. Theres a restaurant with an outdoor courtyard and a free wine and cheese reception every evening. Yurbban Trafalgar will lend you bikes free of charge to help you explore the city and theres an on-site gym, as well as self-service laundry. Rooms are clean and functional, and some have terraces; if you book a junior suite, you can even request a tepee for the kids.

Metro: Urquinaona

Yurbban Trafalgar Hotel's piece de resistance is its rooftop pool and bar with stunning city views

BCNGotic

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Close to the Picasso Museum and just 492ft (150m) from the sea, this mid-range hotel is set in a period building and offers modern apartment-style rooms with a homely feel  ideal for families, longer stays and people who dont always want to eat out. The rooms at BCNGotic have full kitchens with stainless steel appliances and washer/dryers, and some apartments have up to three rooms and can accommodate up to six people. The apartments here are tasteful and bright; some have terraces and feature walls with cityscapes or murals.

Metro: Jaume I
Las Ramblas is the beating heart of Barcelona. Lined with shade-giving trees, it stretches from the central Placa de Catalunya square to the costal Port Vall. Just under a mile in length, youll find everything here from boutique clothing shops and local flower stalls to the best family friendly restaurants and cafes in Barcelona. It makes sense, then, to base yourself nearby. With that in mind, here are the best, affordable, hotels in the area.

There is an array of accommodation within close proximity of Las Ramblas. Above, Hotel Pulitzer

Hotel Espana

Chic interior at Hotel Espana

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Enter a world of Catalan Modernism, courtesy of Lluis Domenech i Montaner (the same architect behind the citys Palau de la Musica concert hall). Inside this four-star hotel, originally opened in 1859, rooms here have a comfortable and vintage appeal, which your children will feel just as at home in as you. Rooms at Hotel Espana start at 92/night and Las Ramblas is just around the corner. Your children will love the open-air swimming pool, too, while we venture you might develop a soft spot for the solarium.

Chic & Basic Ramblas

60's and 70's inspired interior

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The clue here is in the name, but this relaxed and friendly hotel is rather more chic than basic. Taking inspiration from the citys 1960s and 70s period, the decor is bright, loud and cool, with an easy going atmosphere more akin to a trendy youth hostel than a three-star hotel. With prices starting at 55/night, however, youd be forgiven for thinking someone had made a mistake with your booking. Relax, from the billiard room to the bright and open restaurant and in-house laundry service, everything at Chic & Basic Ramblas is designed to make your stay simple.

Hotel Canton

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Located just off Las Ramblas in Barri Gotic (or, The Gothic Quarter), Hotel Canton places you right in the centre of Barcelonas historic Old Town. Inside, rooms are simple, but available from single sleepers to triple rooms for those with young children, with prices varying from 40-80/night. Each room also has its own fridge, handy if youd rather stock up on snacks and refreshing drinks instead of being tempted into each cafe you pass (good luck, by the way). The citys Old Port is just a few minutes away and offers spectacular evening and dawn views, too.

Le Meridien offers wonderful views across the city

Le Meridien Barcelona

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Operating at the other end of the scale (expect to pay almost 200/night) the luxurious but unpretentious hotel Le Meridien Barcelona forms the perfect backdrop for a special anniversary or significant birthday treat. Located close to the Boqueria market on Las Ramblas, the hotel also includes a spa including a heated hydromassage bath, sauna and steam room. The sun terrace isnt to be overlooked, either. Lounge here, filling up on the hotels well-known eclairs, or head out into the bustle of the street for a typically Spanish contrast between relaxation and excitement.

Las Ramblas on your doorstep at Hotel Lloret

Hotel Lloret Ramblas

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It doesnt get much closer to Las Ramblas than a hotel located right on it, which is exactly what makes Hotel Lloret a brilliant choice for those wishing to get to the heart of the city. Situated towards the Placa Catalunya end of the city, certain rooms feature private balconies overlooking the room. Its worth dining in too  meals can be taken in a one-of-a-kind early 20th-Century lounge room unmatched anywhere else in the city. For even more culture, Barcelona Cathedral and the MACBA Modern Art Museum are located a short, five minute walk away. Best of all, prices start at around 70/ night.

Hotel California offers affordable yet comfortable rooms

Hotel California

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With rooms beginning at 85/night, the Hotel California is one of the more affordable options nestled close to Las Ramblas. Like the US state from with which it shares its name, everything here is about taking it easy, with a 24-hour reception on hand to assist with everything from planning your day to procuring theatre and museum tickets. Rooms are large and modern and have won many awards for quality. Best of all, it runs a number of reduced rate offers throughout the year, so check the website before booking.

Hotel Peninsular

Hotel Peninsular

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Located in the trendy, multicultural Raval neighbourhood, the Peninsular is a lively place to spend a few days. Grab a drink and head out onto the plant-lined patio, or take a nap in the air-conditioned rooms if the bustle of Las Ramblas gets too much. Boqueria Market is just 250 metres away and is one of Barcelonas most famous attractions. Its also easy to slip out into Raval to take in street performers and some of the citys most welcoming bars.

Hotel Pulitzer is a real treat, minutes walk from the hustle and bustle of Las Ramblas

Hotel Pulitzer

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Stylish and modern, Hotel Pulitzer is located just a five-minute walk from Placa Catalunya at the top of Las Ramblas. The rooms are modern and fresh, with edgy, hip furniture and a unique style in each. Prices can start around 120/night, but there are always plenty of last-minute deals to be had. During the day you can chill out in its rooftop bar, while, at the weekends, local DJs come to perform. Naturally, the crowd here tends to be younger, but anyone ready and willing to embrace life is welcome.
Its difficult not to like the idea of tapas  small plates of traditional food usually shared with friends around a table. You can eat as much or little as you like, no agonising over your menu choice and no sense of disappointment when someone elses meal looks better than yours. There are countless tapas restaurants in Barcelona offering everything from traditional tapas to quirky, modern interpretations of the dishes. Here are some of our favourites.

La Plata is unusual in that it only serves four dishes, like its famous deep-fried sardines

Quimet I Quimet

Opened in 1913, this tiny bar specialises in made-to-order montaditos (tapas on a slice of bread) and conservas (preserved shellfish). Other highlights include salmon with yoghurt and truffled honey, melt-in-the-mouth pork cheeks and foie gras with volcanic salt. The walls are lined with bottles of wine and its standing room only  dont be surprised if you have to stand out on the street.

Carrer del Poeta Cabanyes, 25 - Metro: Paralel-Lel

Tickets Bar

Owned by Ferran Adria who ran the three Michelin-starred elBulli (now closed), Tickets is a bar for real foodies. Five open kitchens each specialising in different preparation methods surround the 90-seater restaurant. The tapas options are thoroughly modern and include mussels with butter foam, marinated prawn with frozen salt and oysters served five different ways. The dessert room has more than 1,000 pieces of fibreglass resin fruit and flowers hanging from the ceiling and looks like a Willy Wonka creation. Be sure to book well in advance  reservations are only taken online.

Av. del Paralel, 164 - Metro: Poble-sec

El Xampanyet

Set on a narrow, cobbled alley close to the Picasso Museum, this traditional family run tapas bar with ceramic-tiled walls dates back to 1929. Named after the Cava it serves both by the glass and bottle, its known for its house tapa of Cantabrian anchovies. The bar is popular with locals and tourists alike  be prepared to stand.

Carrer Montcada, 22 - Metro: Barceloneta

Goat cheese salad with beef carpaccio from La Tossa

El Quim de la Boqueria

Opened in 1987 as a three-metre long counter (its since expanded), this is now considered one of the best tapas bars in Barcelona. The family-run bar with colourful stools is the heart of one of Europes largest food markets Mercat de la Boqueria, about two thirds the way up La Rambla. Traditional tapas options sit alongside new and interesting additions to the menu. Popular dishes include fried eggs with baby squid, wild mushrooms in port and freshly grilled seafood. Get there early  you cant book in advance  and the bar is not open in the evening.

Mercado de La Boqueria Rambles, 91 - Metro: Liceu

La Plata

Opened in 1945, this bar is unusual in that it only serves four dishes  and they never change. Just one block from the port, La Plata is also just across the road from Picassos first studio. Today its run by the grandson of the founder serving the same four dishes  a tomato, onion and olive salad, botifarra (Catalan sausage), fresh anchovies and deep-fried sardines (the bar sells more than 40kg of these each week). Red, white and rose wines are served straight from the barrel into small glasses.

Carrer de la Merce, 28 - Metro: Barceloneta

La Plata is also famous for its botifarra (Catalan sausage)

La Cova Fumada

Opposite Placa Del Poeta Bosca in the Barceloneta seafront area, this hole-in-the-wall tapas bar, popular with locals, its said to be the birthplace of the famous deep-fried potato and meatball bomba. The bombas are still served here today with a choice of spicy sauces  the bar is also well-known for its fresh seafood. Without even a proper sign outside the door it can be difficult to find  look out for the crowd of people on the pavement waiting their turn.

Carrer Baluard, 56 - Metro: Barceloneta

Maitea sells more than 100 different versions of pintxos (the Basque version of tapas)

Tossa

Not far from the Sagrada Familia and yet surprisingly un-touristy and reasonably priced, this simple, traditional bar has a large, heated terrace as well as a decent amount of space inside. The bar has been running for over 40 years and its homemade croquetas in various varieties such as chicken, cheese and mushroom are said to be some of the best in the city.

Carrer de Napols, 29 - Metro: Verdaguer

Tossa's grilled octopus with rosemary

Maitea

Generally thought of as one of the best Basque bars in the city, Maitea sells more than 100 different versions of pintxos (the Basque version of tapas) as well as larger plates. All the pintxos, both hot and cold, are the same price  you can either choose for yourself or simply let the young, cheerful serving staff bring you a selection  perhaps bacon and quails egg, cod-stuffed pepper or smoked salmon wrapped around crab. Keep your toothpicks  theyll be counted at the end of your meal to work out what you owe.

Carrer de Casanova, 157 - Nearest Metro: Hospital Clinic
The colourful remains of the Berlin Wall are visible in much of the German capital, but visitors often forget to explore the Walls most famous gap: Checkpoint Charlie. The notorious military post sat on the border between communist East Berlin and the capitalist West of the city, and is hugely symbolic of the Cold War and the many families torn apart by it. Here are eight facts you need to know.

Checkpoint Charlie was once the only way into East Berlin for foreigners

If you wanted to visit East Berlin between 1961 and 1990, the only way to get there was by passing Checkpoint Charlie. It was erected in West Germany at the one place where Allied diplomats, officials, and foreign tourists were allowed to cross into Soviet-occupied East Germany. The US, France and Britain posted their military police at the checkpoint to ensure their officials were able to cross over. Once on the other side, visitors had to get through an intimidating East German checkpoint.

The Allies didnt want Checkpoint Charlie to look impressive

Checkpoint Charlie used to be nothing more than a tiny wooden shack. Despite having the means to build a grander structure, the Allies wanted to keep their operation simple to signify that they did not see the division of Berlin as permanent. The humble hut was in direct contrast to the much larger East German checkpoint that sat just a few feet away, across the border. A replica version of the guardhouse now sits at Checkpoint Charlie, but you can see the original one at the Allied Museum in Berlin.

Checkpoint Charlie in the early days

A man lowered his car and drove under the barriers to freedom

Over the years, Checkpoint Charlie attracted a number of daring escape attempts. In 1962, an Austrian man called Heinz Meixner escaped with his East German girlfriend and her mother by lowering the windshield on his convertible car and simply speeding underneath the checkpoints barrier. In another incident, photographer Horst Beyer organised a fake photo shoot at Checkpoint Charlie and simply hopped over the border while pretending to snap images. Once a defector was over the border, the East German guards could not open fire  although the Allies at Checkpoint Charlie were not supposed to aid escapees. Tragically, not all who tried to escape made it.

It was a travel information hub for foreign tourists

Foreign tourists travelling to East Berlin would stop to be registered at Checkpoint Charlie. It was the job of the soldiers stationed there to ensure those leaving West Berlin knew that once they were on the other side of the wall, they would no longer be in a democratic society. This meant the guards stationed there would commonly fill tourists in on what they could expect on their journey beyond the wall.

The soldiers at Checkpoint Charlie are actors

You might be surprised to see soldiers in full uniform stationed at Checkpoint Charlie. Dont worry  these imposing figures are actually just actors. For a few euros, they will even pose for a picture with you at the historic site. Visiting now, youll see a replica of the original checkpoint. Explore the heart-wrenching stories of attempted escapees on the open-air exhibit nearby, or visit the Mauermuseum (open daily, 09002200) to learn more about the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, and the families tragically separated by them.

A trip to the opera triggered a tank standoff at the checkpoint

US diplomat Allan Lightner attempted to cross Checkpoint Charlie to attend the opera in East Berlin in 1961. The East German border guards refused to let him through without seeing his papers. Outraged, he left and returned with a number of US soldiers and armed jeeps. He was then permitted to pass to enjoy his theatrical evening in the East. However, when the East German guards continued to refuse access to Americans, the US moved 10 tanks into position around the checkpoint, which were met by Soviet tanks from East Germany. A tense 16-hour standoff followed, until President John F Kennedy convinced the Soviets to stand down.

There was also a Checkpoint Alpha and Checkpoint Bravo

Checkpoint Charlie was one of just three checkpoints between East Germany and West Germany. Checkpoint Alpha was in Helmstedt and Checkpoint Bravo in Wannsee. Due to its unique location, however, Checkpoint Charlie became the most well-known. It has since featured in films and books, including the John le Carre novel The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, Steven Spielbergs movie Bridge of Spies, and the James Bond film Octopussy.

A political gaffe marked the end of Checkpoint Charlie and the Berlin Wall

If you were at Checkpoint Charlie on 9 November 1989, you would have seen East and West Germans flooding through the gates, embracing their countrymen in scenes of joy. However, this was never supposed to happen. Earlier in the day, the government had announced an easing of its rigid travel restrictions. A government official accidentally said the laws would take effect straight away, and the borders turned into a free-for-all. After a four-hour standoff, confused guards at Checkpoint Charlie opened the barriers and people were able to pass freely between East and West Berlin for the first time in almost three decades.
Amsterdams museum scene is dominated by its world-class art galleries, the most famous of which are located on Museumplein in the Museum Quarter. But theres more to the citys cultural scene than art in its purest sense, with maritime, Jewish and Canal District history also featuring prominently. Here's a quick guide to what's on offer.

Amsterdams museum scene is dominated by its world-class art galleries, like Stedelijk Museum (Credit: Jan van Rooij)

The Rijksmuseum

Also known as the Museum of the Netherlands, the Rijksmuseum is an essential stop on any visit to Amsterdam. Among the finest art museums on the planet, its chock-full of masterpieces from the Dutch Golden Age, including works by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Pieter de Hooch and Jan Steen. The museum also provides a broad overview of Dutch history, from the Middle Ages to the present day, and following an extensive refurbishment it now displays more than 8,000 objects  all in an entirely reinvented space.

Bus/Tram: Rijksmuseum

The Rijksmuseum is an essential stop for an introduction to Dutch art, with its collection from the Golden Age

Amsterdam Museum

Dedicated to the history of the city, the Amsterdam Museum spreads across an assortment of buildings, including the old municipal orphanage. One of its defining features is the arcade that leads to the main entrance. Known as the Civic Guard Gallery, it displays 15 large-scale portraits from Golden Age masterpieces to modern day renderings of contemporary Dutch celebrities. If youre pressed for time, the Amsterdam DNA tour offers a fascinating, hour-long overview of how the Netherlands capital evolved into the vibrant, free thinking city it is today.

Tram: Spui

Van Gogh Museum

The Van Gogh Museum is the largest museum in the world dedicated to a single artist, and a testament to Van Goghs life, work and legacy. Spread across two buildings, the museum contains more than 200 paintings and 400 drawings by the troubled artist, including selected self-portraits and major highlights from the Sunflowers and Almond Blossom series. Notable works from many of Van Goghs contemporaries are also on display, including paintings by Paul Gauguin and Claude Monet and sculptures by Auguste Rodin.

Tram: Van Baerlestraat

Immerse yourself in the work of one of the most prolific Dutch artists at the Van Gogh Museum (Credit: Jan Kees Steenman)

Stedelijk Museum

The largest contemporary and modern art museum in the Netherlands is the third of the major Museumplein institutions. Known for the juxtaposition of its original 19th-century building with a dazzling white bathtub-inspired extension, its collection encompasses art and design from the early 20th century to the present day, and includes works by Matisse, Kandinsky, Dumas, Mondrian and Warhol. Young, up and coming artists are also well represented, with a continuous rotation of solo exhibitions.

Tram: Van Baerlestraat

Stedelijk Museum exhibits a mix of iconic modern art and up and coming talent (Credit: Jan van Rooij)

Anne Frank House

Currently undergoing a two-year renovation (though remaining open throughout), the Anne Frank House museum is dedicated to the teenage wartime diarist who hid in a secret annex along with seven others to escape Nazi persecution during the Second World War. Located on Prinsengracht, one of Amsterdams major canals, the museum houses a permanent exhibition on Anne Franks life, and meticulously preserves the secret spaces in which she and her family found refuge.

Tram: Westermarkt

At The Rembrandt House Museum, visitors can gain a rare insight into the artists life and times

Science Center NEMO

One of the best family attractions in Amsterdam, the Science Center NEMO is less a traditional museum and more an interactive childrens play area. That said, the five-storey building in the citys docklands does contain 11 semi-permanent galleries dedicated to various science-related subjects. Areas covered include water power, smart technology and a journey through the mind, and theres also a striking roof terrace with an open-air exhibition on renewable energy.

Bus: Kadijksplein

Science Center NEMO's interactive nature makes it fun for the whole family

Museum Willet-Holthuysen

Known as much for its Canal District setting as its interior exhibits, this double-fronted canal house museum on Herengracht offers an insight into life during the Dutch Golden Age and onwards into the 19th century. Occupied by various notable families over the years, its final owner, Louisa Holthuysen, bequeathed the house to the city of Amsterdam, along with its assorted artistic treasures. Now you can admire its fine art, ceramics and silverware collections, and wander its well-preserved period rooms, including a ballroom, conservatory and servants quarters.

Metro: Waterlooplein; Tram: Rembrandtplein

Wander through a well-preserved period house at Museum Willet-Holthuysen (Credit: Hans Fonk)

National Maritime Museum

Situated near the old harbour, the National Maritime Museum was recently renovated and now includes a glass-roofed inner courtyard. Telling the story of how the sea shaped the culture of the Netherlands, the museum uses hands-on exhibits to illustrate more than 500 years of maritime history. It's family-friendly throughout, with many exhibits designed especially for children. Moored just outside is the replica Dutch East India Company ship Amsterdam, where you can take an onboard tour with Rinus the Rat.

Bus: Kadijksplein

The sea is central to Dutch history, as the National Maritime Museum confirms (Credit: Eddo Hartmann)

The Rembrandt House Museum

Here at the house where Rembrandt lived and worked for 20 years, visitors can gain a rare insight into the artists life and times. After he went bankrupt in 1656, he made a complete inventory of his belongings in preparation for auction, and it was this list that allowed the museum to carry out such a precise refurbishment, bringing in authentic furnishings, decor and objets dart from the artist's time. Today the house offers a near-complete collection of Rembrandt's etchings, as well as many works by his contemporaries.

Metro: Nieuwmarkt; Tram: Waterlooplein
The early bird catches the worm has never been truer than when planning a city break that wont break the bank. The cost of your travel, hotel, public transport, attractions and food can all add up, so it pays to think ahead. Heres how to do a city break in Amsterdam on a budget.

Visit De Gooyer windmill and grab a fresh pint at Brouwerij' t IJ, only a stone's throw away

When to go

If you want to see Amsterdams famous tulips and walk the canals without a coat, go in spring or summer. In April, Amsterdammers celebrate Kings Day and the whole city turns into one big orange festival, which is well worth experiencing but means flights and hotels can be a lot more expensive than usual. Head to Skyscanner and search by the cheapest month to find the best price for your dates.

The best way to save money on your flight to Amsterdam is to go between October and February. Temperatures may dip to 3C but youll be rewarded with cheaper flights, sometimes a 50 round trip.

The easiest way to get into the city centre from Schiphol Airport is via train. The train station is underneath the airport so just follow the signs, and save time by buying your ticket online for 8.50 before you leave the UK. Trains run every 10 minutes and take 15 minutes.

On King's Day, the entire city of Amsterdam turns orange

Where to stay

WestCord Art Hotel is only a 10-minute bus ride to the city centre and you can bag a room from 40 a night. Book direct with the hotel to get the best price as well as an earlier check-in and later check-out.

For a boutique vibe that doesnt cost the earth, try Mr Jordaan in the trendy Jordaan area of Amsterdam. Prices start at around 80 a night and that includes extras like coffee-to-go every morning and a locally sourced lunchbox for the plane when you leave.

QbicWTC is next to the World Trade Centre and offers fresh, no-frills rooms from 65 a night. Subscribe to its online newsletter and youll get 15 per cent off your stay.

Airbnb is worth a look too  you can stay in an apartment or houseboat from as little as 18 a night, with the added advantage of a knowledgeable local for a host.

Getting around

The easiest way to get around Amsterdam is on your own two feet. The second, is on two wheels, and you can rent a bike in advance via A-Bike. If youre on a stricter schedule, the buses and trams are really simple to use, and youll find ticket machines at all metro stops and stations. Locals are friendly, so if you need assistance using a ticket machine, help is always at hand.

The easiest way to get around Amsterdam is on two wheels

Things to do

Forward-thinking city breakers will be happy to learn about the I amsterdam City Card, which gets you unlimited tram and bus travel throughout Amsterdam and free entry into places like the Van Gogh Museum, Rembrandt Museum and Hortus Botanicus. A 24-hour card is 50 and a 72-hour card is 68.

You cant make a visit to Amsterdam without sampling some cheese. A 45-minute session with one of the experts at Henri Willigs Tasting Room includes a quick film about the art of cheese making, four different cheeses and two glasses of wine or beer, all for just 9.

Windmills and beer are big in Amsterdam, so why not tick off both at Brouwerij' t IJ, a small brewery opposite De Gooyer windmill? Every weekend, it puts on a 20-minute tour for 4.50, including a free beer of your choice. Tickets are only available at the bar on the day, so arrive early to guarantee your spot.

There are lots of things to do in Amsterdam that dont require any money at all. Take a ball to Vondelpark, visit the Floating Flower Market, watch a lunchtime orchestra recital at The Royal Concertgebouw, or head to artsy Amsterdam North via the free Buiksloterweg ferry.

Admire some flora at the Hortus Botanicus

Food and drink

Its wise to get your first breakfast in Amsterdam sorted before you arrive, and Pancake House Upstairs is a great choice  as the queue at the door every morning will attest. The menu comprises nothing but sweet and savoury pancakes and everything costs less than 12. One pancake is enough to see you through until lunchtime, possibly even longer.

Hutspot hodgepodge, mussels in white-wine sauce, salted herring, mustard and leek soup, and venison steaks all await at Haesje Claes, a traditional restaurant near Dam Square. The ornate rooms and antiques might have you thinking its more expensive than it is, but lunch  think beef meatballs or omelette, served with a crusty roll and salad  is 8 and theres a three-course dinner option for 30. This place fills up with locals and tourists alike very fast, so be sure to make a reservation at least a week before you visit.

Peruse through some lovely bouquets at the Bloemenmarkt

Consider Foodhallen, your go-to for lunch, when you havent got anything booked. The Netherlands first indoor food market takes place in an old tram depot and is brimming with stalls offering filling local food and international snacks from as little as 5.
Drinking coffee and eating cake as you watch the world go by isnt merely an afternoon activity in Amsterdam, its a way of life. Make like the locals and spend a few hours nursing an expertly made flat white, spritely espresso or whatever takes your fancy until youre ready to explore more of this exciting city. Here are our suggestions for the best places for a cup of Joe in Amsterdam.

Drinking coffee as you watch the world go by is a staple of a good day in Amsterdam

Back to Black

Its the friendly, higgledy-piggledy charm that keeps locals and visitors alike returning to Back to Black. Its also really close to Museumplein, so its in the perfect spot for a mid-afternoon break from all that culture. They have their own roastery, which uses beans bought directly from farmers at a fair price, and as well as a great cappuccino, owners Noortje and Inge offer smoothies and homemade cakes. Try to nab a window seat for a view of the canal.

Tram: Spiegelgracht

Rum Baba

Whether youre a coffee connoisseur who wants to watch the whole roasting process or a mere fan of the bean, Rum Baba is well worth a visit. Espressos and flat whites sit alongside Monkey Chief Tea and some seriously indulgent American-style bakes to satisfy your sweet tooth, or if you want to stick around a bit longer, try one of the toasties. Its bright and modern in here, and they welcome workers, so if you need to catch up on emails, bring your laptop and settle in.

Tram: Pretoriusstraat

Watch people cycle by from a "terras" (or outdoor cafe)

Lot Sixty One

Only the best quality green beans from the current harvest season make the cut at Lot Sixty One, and they are then hand-roasted on a Probat roaster that excels in extracting the unique flavours of each type of bean. The range is also great in this cafe that brings a taste of Australias coffee culture to Amsterdam. Expect Bombora from Brazil, Doi Pangkhon from Thailand, Los Pirineos from El Salvador and more.

Tram: Kinkerstraat

2 Coffee & Such

Stylish without trying to be, 2 Coffee & Such is a must-visit for coffee lovers with a penchant for presentation. Eating in? Why not enjoy your hot drink with a vegan, gluten-free or dairy free cake? The music is so good youll find yourself whiling away more than an hour, and you can take home their coffee in packaging that youll be proud to have in your kitchen at home.

Tram: Central, then Veer Buiksloterweg ferry

The Coffee Virus

A LAB is Amsterdams answer to a co-working space. Its a place where young freelancers, startups, and anyone looking for somewhere to hunker down or network can go, and it houses The Coffee Virus for those much-needed caffeine breaks. If youre sticking around in Amsterdam for a while, get involved in the espresso bars Lunch Roulette scheme. You pay 4, leave your business card, and the friendly people behind the counter will organise for you to meet up with someone else interesting in the building  over coffee, of course.

Tram: Central, then Veer Buiksloterweg ferry

Mellys Cookie Bar

If you only drink the coffee to get the sweet treat that comes with it, youll love Mellys Cookie Bar. As the name suggests they sell a wide range of cookies  were talking coconut and lime, triple chocolate, and Grannys lemon, as well as traditional Argentinian cookies. The locals would recommend the latter, which is basically two cookies sandwiched together and filled with gooey dulce de leche, then dipped in chocolate.

Tram: Dam

Make like the locals and spend a few hours nursing an expertly made flat white, spritely espresso or whatever takes your fancy until youre ready to explore more of this exciting city

Koffie Academie

Koffie Academie is renowned for its knowledgeable staff who are more than happy to impart their coffee wisdom while they work on your freshly roasted brew, and the fact that pretty much everything you see is yours for the buying. The dark-wood decor gives it a moody, tranquil vibe thats perfect for winding down in after a busy morning in the city.

Tram: Overtoom

Bakers and Roasters

For a fun vibe, great coffee, and brunch dishes destined for Instagram, head to Bakers and Roasters. Its a New Zealand-style cafe with a bold injection of Brazilian flair, so you can expect fresh fruit, baked goods and eggs and avocado served every which way  as well as really great coffee. If youre feeling a little worse for wear on the morning after the night before or want a slow, lazy eating and drinking session with friends, this is the place to go.

Tram: Stadhouderskade
He has been best friends with Kim Kardashian for over a decade.

And Jonathan Cheban has admitted that he has caught baby fever after meeting the newest West family addition, Chicago West, according to Page Six.

The 43-year-old reality star is so serious about starting a family of his own that he has even put a 'two year deadline' on his reproductive plans.

Baby fever: Jonathan Cheban has admitted that he has caught baby fever after meeting the newest West family addition, Chicago West, according to Page Six

Jonathan, who runs an Instagram page called Foodgod, said to the website: 'Soon. Little food babies. Give it two years for the food babies to start!'

Jonathan also told US Weekly, 'I need to find someone to have kids of my own. I had a girlfriend [Anat Popovsky] for three years but we broke up so now Im back on the hunt.'

The Instagram food blogger got his practice with newborn babies, while stopping by the hospital the day Chicago was born.

'[Shes] very cute,' Jonathan told the publication. 'I saw her for one second and then I ran off to Miami because Im just filming non-stop, so I saw her for one second in the hospital,' he said.

The former Big Brother contestant also revealed that he gifted Chi and her parents with an unusual present while stopping at the hospital.

Getting started: The 43-year-old reality star is so serious about starting a family of his own that he has even put a 'two year deadline' on his reproductive plans

A new edition: Kim and Kanye West's daughter Chicago was born January 15 via Surrogate

Jonathan said: 'I bought her 20 boxes of pizza from Chicago because what else do you get her?'

The best friend of the beauty mogul ended: 'I think from Giordanos, which is one of their favorite pizzas. I sent them a whole thing because everyone always sends flowers and its no fun.'

Kim and Kanye West's daughter Chicago was born January 15 via surrogate.

While the Kardashian-Jenner clan continues to grow, the three-week-old made her first public appearance in Kylie Jenner's pregnancy video.

How generous: Jonathan delivered 20 pizzas to Kim and Kanye when Chicago West was born

Family friend: Although Jonathan has met Chicago, the 43-year-old said he 'hasn't has a second' to introduce himself to Kylie's newborn

On Sunday, Kylie Jenner announced that she welcomed her first child, Stormi Webster, on February 1.

The 20-year-old co-parents her daughter with rapper Travis Scott, 25.

Although Jonathan has met Chicago, the 43-year-old said he 'hasn't has a second' to introduce himself to Kylie's newborn.

The Kardashian family is still waiting to welcome Khloe's little bundle of joy with boyfriend Tristan Thompson.
She first dipped her toes into the pop world more than 50 years ago.

And on Thursday, 51 years after her triumph with Puppet on a String, Sandie Shaw was belatedly honoured with an MBE at Buckingham Palace.

Barefoot and bewitching, the songstress became synonymous with the Sixties, winning hearts and giving Britain its first Eurovision victory.

Shaw-footed Sandie! Sixties Eurovision champion is FINALLY honoured with an MBE from the Prince of Wales

Why? Why has it taken so long for you to get here? Prince Charles had a question for the 70-year-old as he presented her with the award at the ceremony

Prince Charles had a question for the 70-year-old as he presented her with the award at the ceremony.

Why? Why has it taken so long for you to get here? he asked her.

She said afterwards: I told him the truth. The truth is that women in music havent tended to be honoured in the past, certainly not in the Sixties.

'He said he was glad I was here now. He was a bit stunned it had taken so long.'

At last! 51 years after her triumph with Puppet on a String, Sandie was belatedly honoured with an MBE at Buckingham Palace

History repeating: Sir Paul McCartney and Sandie Shaw met with Queen Elizabeth II at A Celebration of the Arts in 2012

Puppet mistress: She first dipped her toes into the pop world more than 50 years ago

Well deserved: Barefoot and bewitching, the songstress became synonymous with the Sixties, winning hearts and giving Britain its first Eurovision victory

Thrice-married Sandie, who quit the music business in 2013, also wore some comfortable shoes on the chilly day in London, albeit a lacework pair with open heels and toes.

Her decision to go barefoot in the Sixties was a practical one because she could never find the right size shoes, she once explained.

Over the years going barefoot has become my trademark, she once said. I now feel it is more of a mindset... an expression of inner and outer freedom!'

Despite her 1967 victory, Sandie admitted she takes no interest in Eurovision now.

Asked if she had seen SuRies track Storm being chosen on Wednesday night to represent the UK at this years event, she said: No, I watched Silent Witness.
She was given an early boot on Dancing On Ice this year.

And Candice Brown was back to her glamorous self as she stepped out with her fiance Liam Macaulay for the Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Love GOSH charity on Thursday night.

The 33-year-old reality star oozed glamour in a one-shouldered skintight red gown as she cosied up with her suited and booted other half.

Scroll down for video

Hot couple: Candice Brown, 33, stepped out with her fiance Liam Macaulay for the Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Love GOSH charity on Thursday night

Candice looked sensational in the glamorous scarlet number which boasted a soaring thigh high split and showcased her lean legs to perfection.

With her brunette locks were styled into a chic chignon, the GBBO star looked in her element as she attended the charity bash with her husband to be.

Liam looked every inch the hunk in a slick black blazer, white shirt and a black bow-tie.

Regal: Candice looked sensational in the glamorous scarlet number which boasted a soaring thigh high split and showcased her lean legs to perfection

Dapper: Liam looked every inch the hunk in a slick black blazer, white shirt and a black bow-tie

Last October, Candice and Liam confirmed they were set to tie the knot after he proposed at the spot of their first date.

Sharing the news with HELLO! magazine in a new engagement shoot, the gorgeous baker said she was 'feeling very lucky' following an 'amazing' year.

However, just days after announcing their engagement joy, Candice raised eyebrows when she was spotted sharing a farewell kiss with Paul Hollywood, with whom she worked closely on The Great British Bake Off.

Despite sending the rumour mill into overdrive, the pair both laughed off claims the moment was anything more than a friendly peck, with Candice writing on Twitter:

In love: Last October, Candice and Liam confirmed they were set to tie the knot after he proposed at the spot of their first date

Candice tweeted first, writing: 'So invisibility cloaks are real. I was so sure you were there all night too!!

'No kisses or hugs hello or goodbye from now on- handshakes or waves only!'

Paul replied: 'Incredible!', while broadcaster Shelagh Fogarty - who was also sat the pair's table - quipped: 'I think maybe saluting eachother is the way to go?!'

Shortly afterwards, Paul announced his split from his wife of 20 years Alexandra but Candice dismissed any speculation of a budding romance.

She told The Sun at the time: 'It's absolutely not for me to say anything.'
Trouble At The Zoo

Rating:

James Bulger: A Mother's Story

Rating:

Rarely has a documentary left me angrier than Trouble At The Zoo (BBC2)  not only for the incompetence and negligence it revealed, but for the easy ride given to all involved.

This hour-long look at the South Lakes Safari Zoo in Cumbria made no effort to hold anyone to account for the catalogue of cruel neglect at the park, where nearly 500 animals have died in the past four years  a figure dismissed by the zoos director.

The number doesnt mean anything, said Andreas, and this film was too lily-livered even to tell us his last name.

We learned at the start that the zoo had lost its licence temporarily in 2014, after an invasive species escaped  in fact, they were ibises, though the voiceover didnt bother with that detail.

Trouble at the Zoo (pictured): This hour-long look at the South Lakes Safari Zoo in Cumbria made no effort to hold anyone to account for the catalogue of cruel neglect at the park

It didnt bother either with spelling out other horrors that inspectors found in 2016. Three animals starved to death, and two more died after eating rat poison. A rhino was crushed to death by its partner. A dead squirrel monkey was found behind a radiator.

Much was made in this one-off report of the zoos determination to appease the international animal authorities by sending their young female snow leopard to Australia, as part of a breeding programme.

What viewers were not told was that two years ago, snow leopard cubs called Miska and Natasja  whose birth was heavily publicised by the zoo, to attract visitors  were found partially eaten by other leopards in their enclosure.

The cameras could not ignore all the malpractice. Most appalling was the death of four-year-old lion Nero, a magnificent animal who appeared to be frenzied with distress in his cage. One morning he was discovered comatose: zoo policy was to feed their cats with condemned meat from an abattoir, and Neros dinner had been heavily laced with barbiturates.

Even when the cause of death was discovered, the keepers did not throw out the remainder of the poisonous meat  nor change their supplier.

Individual staff members did seem to care. Red panda keeper Cathy wept buckets after finding a dead cub. But she was quick to blame the panda mother for her inexperience  when it was clearly the employees, not the animals, who didnt know what they were doing. Above all, this film failed to point the finger at the real culprits: the authorities who gave this zoo its licence back. That animals can legally be treated this way in Britain is simply criminal.

A crime of unparalleled horror was explored by Sir Trevor McDonald in James Bulger: A Mothers Story (pictured)

A crime of unparalleled horror was explored by Sir Trevor McDonald in James Bulger: A Mothers Story (ITV), about the abduction and slaughter of a toddler from a Liverpool shopping centre by two ten-year-old boys in 1993.

Murderers Jon Venables and Robert Thompson were released from custody in 2001 and, though one is now in jail again, the other is a free man. The account of Jamess death has lost none of its power to disturb, and the years have done nothing to blunt mother Denise Ferguss grief.

Much of the story is familiar, and this is not the first time Mrs Fergus has spoken in depth about the incident and her emotions, but Sir Trevors gently skilful questioning helped us to understand how the trauma still haunts her.

Six CCTV cameras watch the Fergus home: its unlikely, but not impossible, that her sons killer will pay them a visit. We all remember the awful crime, but its easy to forget the familys lifelong sentence.

Best job of the week: Conservationist Marlice van Vuuren described herself as mum to young cheetahs Odyssey, Shylou and Wonder, on Animals With Cameras (BBC1). Every cat lover in the UK must have felt a twinge of jealousy.
Hot French playwright Florian Zeller has lured Eileen Atkins and Jonathan Pryce back on the stage.

The theatrical giants will star in Zellers new piece, The Height Of The Storm, which has been adapted  as were all Zellers hits, including the acclaimed The Father  by Christopher Hampton.

Pryce said he thinks really hard before doing a play, saying that stage has to be something you can create and recreate eight times a week for two months.

Hot French playwright Florian Zeller has lured Eileen Atkins and Jonathan Pryce back on the stage

He read The Height Of The Storm twice. The second time I cried. Its a very moving, passionate, poetic piece, which is what attracted me to it, said Pryce, who will play Andre, a novelist who has been married to Madeleine, Atkinss role, for 50 years.

Director Jonathan Kent also cried when he saw the play in Paris, as did Hampton.

So, why does it have this effect on the tear ducts? Its about grief, loss but above all its a celebration of love, said Kent.

But, he added, the play is also a forum for two of our greatest actors. Eileens a phenomenon, he continued. Shes of a certain age [shes 83], but shes ageless.

They will begin performances at Wyndhams on October 2 following the theatres two-month period of refurbishment.

Before it begins its run in the West End, the plays producers, Simon Friend, Mark Goucher and Howard Panter, have booked it on a short tour playing at Richmond Theatre from September 1, followed by Cambridge Arts Theatre and Theatre Royal Bath.

Pryce said hed been involved with projects that Ms Atkins had worked on, but usually shed completed her part by the time he got there. He recalled filming the BBC series Cranford, where Atkins had finished her scenes. We had a cardboard cut-out of her because the rest of the cast missed her so much, he said.

Now hell be working with her in the flesh. Shes up there as one of the best, he said.

Years ago Pryce thought 60 would be the best age to retire because he didnt want to become one of those older actors who are patronised by the young.

Fortunately, Im managing to stave that off, said the 70-year-old. I couldnt imagine what Id do if Id stopped ten years ago.

Sharon's simply a maid in heaven as sweet as Caroline

Sharon D. Clarke, who plays the maid named in the title of Tony Kushner and Jeanine Tesoris musical Caroline, Or Change, will be joined by some new faces when rehearsals start on Monday for the transfer from Chichester to Hampstead.

The show  about how parenting, race, religion, money and the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy intersect in Louisiana  begins performances at Hampstead on March 12.

New cast members include Naana Agyei-Ampadu, Carole Stennett, Sharon Rose, and TShan Williams

Sharon D. Clarke who plays the maid named in the title of Tony Kushner and Jeanine Tesoris musical Caroline, Or Change,

I saw productions at New Yorks Public Theater and at the National, but I was struck by how director Michael Longhurst staged it in West Sussex and was knocked out by the power Ms Clarke invested in Caroline.

Adam Speer, the executive producer at the Ambassador Theatre Group, told me that the show at Chichester was one of the most exciting, timely and beautiful productions he saw last year, which is why AGT is putting what he called enhancement money into the Hampstead move.

The hope is that if Caroline takes off in North London, it will move to the West End.

Speers observed that the show is timely. One lyric, an orphan ship of state drifting driverless refers to Kennedys death, but drifting driverless could allude to Donald Trump.

Ciaran Hinds, currently whipping up a storm in The Girl From The North Country at the Noel Coward, will be heading to the National to join director Ian Ricksons new production of Brian Friels Translations.

The play, set in Ireland circa 1833, is about how the British insisted on changing Gaelic place names into English.
Saoirse Ronan is determined not to let the film world engulf her

Saoirse Ronan is determined not to let the film world engulf her.

Its very easy to make the industry your whole life and just stay in that bubble, but its not good for you to work and do nothing else, the 23-year-old told me.

Ronans been acting for half her life, garnering the first of three Oscar nominations aged 13 for Atonement, so she knows of what she speaks.

In order to have a perspective on life, you have to live it, she said.

The Irish-American actress took herself off to New Zealand last year and travelled around the Asia-Pacific region, meeting up with friends. I needed to do that, she sighed.

When she returned from her trip, she went straight to work with director Josie Rourke, taking the lead role in Working Titles Mary Queen Of Scots.

She was filming the historical drama in London when Lady Bird, a movie shed made earlier with Greta Gerwig directing, had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival, where critics fought over which superlative to best describe it.

The guy from the New York Times simply called it perfect.

The picture, written by Gerwig, is set in Sacramento, with Ronan playing a high school student called Christine who insists on being called Lady Bird.

Its a coming-of-age story that overlaps with a mother-daughter relationship tale and explores class, gender sexuality and a little thing called love.

Coming-of-age films, especially the ones with teenage girls, seem to focus mostly on romance and are a little superficial, where I think this whole world has been fleshed out in Lady Bird, Ronan told me on the phone from Los Angeles.

Ronan notes that her character is recognisably human, and even a bit unlikeable at times, but she has a lot to offer. All the highs and lows of what it is to be a teenager seem to be in this one young woman.

Ronans portrayal reels you in. I saw the film three times because I was fascinated by her sublime performance and the tiny details Gerwig had poured in to her screenplay, such as how Lady Birds often exasperated mother (a fabulous Laurie Metcalf) works double shifts at the hospital to make ends meet and how shes tougher on her daughter than her soft-hearted husband.

Lady Bird, written by Greta Gerwig, is set in Sacramento, with Ronan playing a high school student called Christine (pictured) who insists on being called Lady Bird

Be the best version of yourself, the mother pleads.

Lady Bird  like Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, The Shape Of Water and, to some extent, The Post, which all have strong female lead roles  arrives at a time when, as Ronan put it, girls are finding their voice in a way they havent before.

She added: Even before #MeToo sexual allegations, people were hungry for stories led by women.

She wondered whether Lady Bird would have elicited as much attention if it had opened at a different time.

In my view? Absolutely. The film would have won attention whenever it chose to open.

Ronans heading to London next weekend for the Baftas, and then back to Los Angeles for the Academy Awards on March 4, where Lady Bird has five nominations, including Best Picture.

Gerwig (pictured, with Ronan) is in the Best Director race  shamefully, its only the fifth time a woman has been nominated for director in the Oscars 90-year history

For Best Actress, Ronan will be up against four powerful performances  Sally Hawkins in The Shape Of Water, Frances McDormand in Three Billboards, Margot Robbie in I, Tonya and Meryl Streep in The Post.

Gerwig is in the Best Director race  shamefully, its only the fifth time a woman has been nominated for director in the Oscars 90-year history.

In June, Ronan can be seen in Dominic Cookes beautiful adaptation of Ian McEwans On Chesil Beach, and in September, Mary Queen Of Scots opens.

At some point, she quite fancies the idea of doing a movie musical, an idea prompted by singing audition scenes in Lady Bird. It has to be in a film. I cant sing on stage  Im not Anne Hathaway! Anyway, Broadway hasnt called me up yet, she joked.

Bard to get Games of Thrones makeover

Timothee Chalamet, the dashing young actor who has become the award seasons heart throb, is in talks about playing Prince Hal in a film based on Shakespeares Henry IV and Henry V.

Chalamet is likely to work with the Australian actor and film-maker Joel Edgerton, who has adapted the two plays. He has been working on the scripts for several years.

He once told the film site Indie Wire that hed written the Henry plays as a period film, but with our own (modern) dialogue.

Timothee Chalamet (pictured) , the dashing young actor who has become the award seasons heart throb, is in talks about playing Prince Hal in a film based on Shakespeares Henry IV and Henry V

For lack of a better explanation, its Game Of Thrones meets Shakespeare only in that you can watch Game Of Thrones and understand whats going on, he said. The Bard does the kind of roundabout version of telling you simple things.

So we just wanted to let the audience understand exactly whats going on, and not just some people but everybody.

The film will shoot on locations in the UK and Hungary, starting in late May or early June.

Chalamet made his name in Homeland, playing the son of the Vice-President. He went on to appear in several films, including favourites of mine, Lady Bird and Hostiles, but he broke through playing a youth who has a summer of love with a slightly older man (Armie Hammer) in Call Me By Your Name.

The movie garnered four Oscar nominations including a Best Actor citation for Chalamet, who finds himself in contention with Daniel Day-Lewis, Daniel Kaluuya, Gary Oldman (the favourite) and Denzel Washington for the Oscar crown.

Chalamet has met with director David Michod, who will direct the Shakespeare film, called King.

The movies being backed by Netflix and will have a theatrical run first and then go onto the streaming service.

Its being produced by Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner, who run Brad Pitts film company, Plan B. They were also closely involved with Oscar-winning Best Films 12 Years A Slave and Moonlight.

Edgerton starred in last years inter-racial romance film Loving, also starring Ruth Negga, and will soon be seen in the spy thriller Red Sparrow with Jennifer Lawrence.

Revealing The Jungle's human side

The Jungle is on the move. The breathtaking Young Vic sensation could take root at the Playhouse Theatre, near Charing Cross.

The play, by Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson, explored the ramshackle refugee and migrant camp in Calais.

All too often the occupants of the Jungle camp are depicted as less than third-class citizens, but this production gave them names and faces, and, for a change, told their side of the story.

Director Stephen Daldry and designer Miriam Buether are liaising with the Young Vic, the National Theatre, Sonia Friedman Productions and Good Chance Theatre on how Buethers excellent set can be shifted into the Playhouse.

Discussions are ongoing about how to reconfigure the Playhouse stage and transform the auditorium.

The projects at an early stage, but if the design can be sorted then The Jungle hopes to be up and running in the Playhouse by early June. Its an unmissable theatrical experience.
Britain's Got Talent presenter Ant McPartlin and judge Amanda Holden have been pictured engaging in a seemingly very heated conversation.

Amanda, 47, appeared furious as she chatted intensely with Ant, 42, backstage at Manchester's Lowry Hotel on Thursday afternoon before their pre-audition photocall began.

In one image, the TV personality seemed to be snarling at the show host, before a member of the Britain's Got Talent production team interrupted their conversation and the event started.

Chat: Britain's Got Talent presenter Ant McPartlin and judge Amanda Holden appeared to engage in a heated conversation backstage at the Lowry Theatre, before the show's photocall began in Manchester

The reason for the apparent dispute is not known.

MailOnline has contacted representatives for Ant and Amanda for comment.

A source close to Amanda told MailOnline: 'Amanda and Ant are just chatting.

'This picture was taken whilst they were posing in front of hundreds of fans and press. There simply wasnt any form of heated discussion whatsoever.'

Ant has been going through a stressful time of late after announcing he and wife Lisa Armstrong, 41 - a make-up artist on Britain's Got Talent - are set to divorce after 11 years of marriage.

In a statement released to MailOnline on January 13, a spokesperson said: 'In response to the recent speculation in the media, Ant is very sad to announce that, after 11 years, he is ending his marriage to Lisa McPartlin.

Hit show: Ant, 42, and Amanda, 47 looked tense as they chatted intensely before one of the Britain's Got Talent team interrupted their conversation and the photocall started

Reunited: Ant and Amanda were joined by co-host Declan Donnelly, 42 and judge Alesha Dixon, 39

'Ant asks for privacy at this difficult time, for both himself, Lisa and their immediate families. No further statement will be made.'

Glamorous Amanda showcased her braless cleavage in a plunging ivory peplum jacket which featured statement shoulder-pads.

Adding a bridal-inspired edge to the look, the star paired the jacket with a floor-length tulle skirt.

Her blonde tresses were styled sleek and straight while her sparkling peepers were enhanced with voluminous lashes and her make-up look completed with a glossy pink lip.

Cheeky:Glamorous Amanda showcased her braless cleavage in a plunging ivory peplum jacket as she posed with equally stylish judge Alesha Dixon, 39

Ant looked sharp in an all-black ensemble of a fitted shirt and jeans, which rocking a quiffed hairstyle and a handsome smattering of stubble.

Ant and Amanda later looked delighted as they posed with the rest of the Britain's Got Talent team - co-host Declan Donnelly,42, head judge Simon Cowell, 58 and judges David Walliams, 46 and Alesha Dixon, 39.

After another successful series in 2017, Britain's Got Talent has been travelling round the country again in a bid to find the next big star.

The show has been having auditions in London since Saturday after travelling to Blackpool earlier in January.

BGT's cast and crew will head to Manchester next week for the final round of auditions, with the series set to return in the spring.

Dapper: Ant wore a black fitted shirt, jeans and maroon brogues for the show

Last year saw pianist Tokio Myers take the 250,000 prize and a spot on the Royal Variety performance.

This year's hopefuls will be vying for the coveted Golden Buzzer, which awards them an automatic place in the live semi-finals.

So far, both Amanda and David revealed they had already pressed the button for a contestant who auditioned in Blackpool, so it remains to be see who the rest of the panel, and Ant and Dec, decide to support.

Simon has been vocal about his plans to make some changes to the formet this series, after the judges lost their chance to make a casting vote in the live semi-finals.

He told the Daily Star: 'On the live shows we actually don't do anything,' he admits. 'Amanda says it is like a posh Gogglebox. All we do is talk. I don't think we will be like this again. It is like 'why have I bothered to turn up?'
Donald Crowhurst, played here by Colin Firth, was the weekend sailor who had never even crossed the Channel, yet in 1968 set off from Teignmouth in Devon on a circumnavigation of the globe  on a boat hopelessly ill-equipped for the purpose.

Somewhere in the Atlantic, realising that he couldn't press on but feeling unable to turn back, he began to send fake reports of his whereabouts.

His wife and children were among those, back in England, who were duped into thinking that he was progressing around the world at record-breaking speed. But the deception did not continue.

When eventually his boat, the Teignmouth Electron, was found, Crowhurst wasn't on it.

Donald Crowhurst, played here by Colin Firth (pictured), was the weekend sailor who had never even crossed the Channel, yet in 1968 set off from Teignmouth in Devon on a circumnavigation of the globe  on a boat hopelessly ill-equipped for the purpose

The last of his increasingly incoherent log entries suggests he jumped overboard to embrace a certain, welcome death. 'It is finished . . . it is the mercy,' he wrote.

It's a sad, well-known story that was chronicled in a fine 2006 documentary called Deep Water.

Dramatising it is a trickier task, requiring speculation to be treated as fact, and reliant on the convincing depiction of a man's slow, salty descent into madness.

The casting of Crowhurst needs to be spot on, and it is. By the end it's hard to imagine who else but Firth might have played him.

He is 20 years older than Crowhurst was at the time but somehow that doesn't matter, not least because half a century ago, slightly repressed middle-class Englishmen in their 30s looked passably like slightly repressed middle-class Englishmen in their 50s do now.

When Crowhurst sets off on his doomed adventure, he is wearing a collar and tie under his bright yellow sou'wester, as if the dolphins or the trade winds might object if he turns up sloppily dressed.

Somewhere in the Atlantic, realising that he couldn't press on but feeling unable to turn back, Crowhurst (pictured) began to send fake reports of his whereabouts

The film begins at the 1968 Boat Show, where Crowhurst, there to sell a navigation system he's invented, is captivated by an address given by the round-the-world yachtsman Sir Francis Chichester (Simon McBurney).

The great man announces a new race, the Golden Globe. With a window of several months in which to set off, there are handsome cash prizes for both the first and the quickest sailor to complete a solo, non-stop circumnavigation.

I am just old enough myself to remember the hoopla caused by Chichester's own 1967 circumnavigation, with only a single stop, in Gypsy Moth IV.

Firth has said that it is one of three events in the Sixties, along with the moon landing and Churchill's funeral, of which he still has vivid memories.

So it's easy to understand why the challenge might have inspired a dreamer like Crowhurst.

His wife and children (played by Rachel Weisz, pictured) were among those, back in England, who were duped into thinking that he was progressing around the world at record-breaking speed. But the deception did not continue

He is motivated partly by the romance of the notion, but also by pragmatism. His business is failing, and the 5,000 prize being donated by the Sunday Times newspaper will bail him out.

He persuades a local entrepreneur, Stanley Best (Ken Stott), to give him financial backing, and pledges the deeds of his family house as collateral, should he drop out of the race.

And in a move somewhat ahead of its time, he hires a PR man, a rather unscrupulous former journalist called Rodney Hallworth (David Thewlis), to keep him in the public eye.

Thanks to Hallworth's tenacity, the BBC give him a 16mm camera to record his adventures, and the brewer Whitbread offers to supply him with barley wine.

All this unnerves his loyal wife, Clare, played by the distractingly beautiful Rachel Weisz. I watched The Mercy with my own wife, who thought Weisz, as fine an actress as she is, was miscast.

It's probably true, with all due respect to that characterful little Devon town, that Teignmouth housewives in 1968 didn't look like her.

When eventually his boat, the Teignmouth Electron, was found, Crowhurst (pictured) wasn't on it

Still, there are bigger problems with James Marsh's film, knocking it off an entirely even keel.

The storytelling, once the voyage is underway, sometimes becomes confusing. Crowhurst is a good enough sailor to reach Argentina, where he lands and seeks help with much-needed repairs.

But it's not entirely clear why he returns to sea at all, or why the Argentinian coastguard doesn't rumble him.

Also, I found the script by Scott Z. Burns just a little pat in places.

When the press converge on the Crowhurst home after Donald's disappearance has been confirmed and his deception revealed, Clare berates them not with the vocabulary of a grieving wife, but that of a screenwriter at his keyboard.

'Last week you were selling hope, now you're selling blame,' she scolds.

Nonetheless, there are far more reasons to see The Mercy than there are to give it a miss.

Chief among them is Firth's convincing and deeply moving performance as a decent man, devoted to his family, who finds himself out of his depth in more ways than one.

It's a sad, well-known story that was chronicled in a fine 2006 documentary called Deep Water

At the start of the film he radiates almost Tiggerish enthusiasm (again I'll cite my wife, who says he reminded her at this early stage of Tom in The Good Life).

But even before he sets off, the scope of the challenge and the manifest unsuitability of his trimaran have sapped his spirit.

He knows he is insufficiently prepared, and the scene in which Clare and the children wave him goodbye  a high-pitched 'good luck, Daddy' carried away on the wind  is heartrendingly sad.

It is no longer buoyant optimism but misplaced pride that propels him over the horizon and out of sight.

From that point on, Marsh overcomes the obvious difficulty of how to tell the story of a lone sailor  with flashbacks to cheerful family life, and by cutting to scenes of burgeoning excitement back home as news emerges of Crowhurst's amazing progress.

But, to paraphrase another Donald, it is fake news.

The Mercy is similar in some ways to Marsh's 2014 hit The Theory Of Everything, about Stephen Hawking.

This too is a story defined by its period setting and by a certain doughty, middle-class Englishness.

But where The Theory of Everything was a tale of triumph over seemingly insuperable odds, here, alas, it is the insuperable odds themselves that conquer.
In her soap opera days, shoulder pads were a wardrobe staple.

Now the handiest outfit item for Dame Joan Collins is...a pair of gloves.

Although the veteran actress has been wearing them on the red carpet for more than six decades, they're no longer a fashion statement  but a barrier to avoid getting the flu.

And the 84-year-old Dynasty star said she is so keen to avoid germs she avoids greeting anyone with a kiss on the cheek.

Her admission came after revealing how she was struck down with the virus on a plane to Dubai last December.

The veteran actress has been wearing gloves on the red carpet for more than six decades, they're no longer a fashion statement  but a barrier to avoid getting the flu

Writing in the Spectator magazine, the actress said she contracted the less serious 'but still awful' B-strain despite having the flu injection.

However, she soldiered on and managed to get through her one-woman show, An Evening with Dame Joan Collins, in the Gulf state.

She wrote: 'The show must go on, so I staggered on to the stage, the words of my ex about the roar of the greasepaint ringing in my ears, and managed to get through it, in spite of several coughing fits.

The Dynasty star's admission came after revealing how she was struck down with the virus on a plane to Dubai last December

'Back in London I took to my bed like a Victorian lady with a case of the swoons  legs shaky as spaghetti, ribs aching from a hacking cough. Bed-bound for a fortnight, I missed several amusing Christmas parties and almost felt that the end was near. (I'm an actress  you have to expect some drama.)

'Now I wear gloves whenever possible to protect myself against virulent germs  it may appear eccentric but just wait till I put on that surgical mask.

'I avoid shaking hands, much less this ghastly fad of kissing and hugging strangers as if they're pals.' She added: 'Dining at a popular restaurant, the maitre d' was shaking hands with the patrons and when he came over to me, all Uriah Heep-like, proffering his appendage  his hand, I mean  I refused to shake it as I imagined it covered in germs. He was quite offended but my doctor told me that lightning can strike twice.'

The Golden Globe-winning actress said on a flight to London she even blocked the air vent above her with duct tape and swabbed the seat and media screen with disinfectant wipes.

In 2015, Dame Joan posted an image of herself online in black satin gloves and wrote: 'Always a fashion statement.'
With a dazzling array of costumes and a bevy of plucky contestants, it has become a Saturday night television fixture in homes up and down the country.

But former Strictly Come Dancing head judge, Len Goodman, fears the show is in danger of losing its Britishness if it continues to employ professional dancers from abroad.

The 73-year-old has warned producers the show will suffer if it keeps employing foreign pro dancers  and hopes they replace the departing Brendan Cole with a Brit.

Strictly Come Dancing head judge, Len Goodman, fears the show is in danger of losing its Britishness if it continues to employ professional dancers from abroad

He told the Mail: 'I think all those pros are brilliant but I do like that you've got Kevin from Grimsby, and Anton from up the road.

'You don't want to end up with a load of people from... you know... as good as they are. It's nice to have some British dancers in there.'

Following news of New Zealander Cole's axing from the hit BBC1 series, fans now fear fellow professional, Anton Du Beke  who has been in Strictly since it first aired in 2004 - will also leave.

Earlier this week the 51-year-old Kent-born favourite admitted his future is uncertain ahead of this year's series, and 'did not know' whether he would return.

Goodman's comments, meanwhile, are sure to strike a chord with viewers.

During the most recent series of the ballroom contest, which was won by soap star Joe McFadden, only four of the 12 dancers were British: AJ Pritchard, Amy Dowden, Kevin Clifton and Du Beke.

The 73-year-old has warned producers the show will suffer if it keeps employing foreign pro dancers  and hopes they replace the departing Brendan Cole with a Brit

The rest came from more exotic climes including Australia, Slovenia, Venezuela, Russia and America.

While some dancers are paid more than others, most are paid around 30,000 per series.

Those with higher profiles  like Du Beke and Cole  are understood to be paid around 35,000-40,000 for the entire run.

Speaking about Cole, 41, not coming back to Strictly, and Du Beke's potential non return, Goodman  speaking at the Oldie awards in London last week  added: 'I'm so sad; I don't understand why.

'You can't say he didn't do a great job. He did and there was always a bit of an edge with him: the bad boy of ballroom - he didn't mind answering you back.

'I hope me leaving didn't cause it and I just hope Anton doesn't go the same way. It'd be a bloody tragedy - he's got so much character. He's terrific for the show. But there always has been egos with the professionals and it was the same when I danced, with anything competitive.'
They've been together since August 2017 and they're still going strong.

Rachel Lindsay and Bryan Abasolo, stepped out for the American Heart Association's Go Red for Women Red Dress Collection event on Thursday night in New York City.

The popular couple from last year's The Bachelorette made a dashing pair with Rachel in a long, red gown by Pamella Roland and Bryan in a sharp, grey suit.

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Go red: Rachel Lindsay and fiance Bryan Abasolo walk the red carpet in New York City on Thursday

The attorney-turned-reality-star showed off her left leg and metallic heels with a high slit on her dress. The bodice of her Roland also featured nude paneling for that extra punch of sexiness.

Lindsay shared on her Instagram the importance of getting behind the movement that is working toward ending heart disease and stroke for women.

'Excited and honored to be walking in this year's @american_heart Go Red for Women Red Dress Collection Fashion Show and to use my platform to educate women about the #1 disease killing women today,' she wrote alongside an image of she and her love on the red carpet.

True love: The Bachelorette couple are still going strong and Rachel admits she doesn't speak to ex Peter Kraus since the show ended

The end: She told US Weekly that the finale gave her closure and that was it

For Bachelor Nation fans who were disappointed that Rachel picked Bryan over Peter Kraus, it seems that she's not had a change of heart after all this time.

During an interview with US Weekly, the Dallas native admitted that after they said goodbye, she never spoke to him again.

'For me, the reason there was so much emotion [in the finale] was because that was closure for me, that was it,' she said on Tuesday.

True love: Rachel and Bryan have been engaged since August 2017

All heart: The Dallas native says there's no blood between her and Peter and she'd totally watch him if he would compete on The Bachelor

'And I really haven't talked to him because I don't have anything else to say. From what I hear, he's doing well too.'

She also admitted that should Kraus be chosen as a Bachelor in the future, she would totally watch.

'Oh yeah! I mean, come on now. I'm in this thing, you know. I'm Bachelor Nation, I'm a part of the franchise. It doesn't matter who the Bachelor is,'she said.

'And just because it didn't work out with Peter and I, there's no bad blood. I hope that he's able to find whatever it is that he's looking for, you know, even if that was on The Bachelor.'

Supermodel Niki Tyalor wore a form fitted red gown with her hair up for the event

Velvet glam: Kathy Ireland wore a red velvet gown with dramatic sleeves by Marc Bower

So chic: Model and dietician Maye Musk showed off one shoulder in her red carpet ensemble paired with strappy black heels

Other attendees at the big soiree included Marisa Tomei, Ginger Zee, Melissa Joan Hart, Kate Walsh, Niki Taylor, Star Jones, Marion Ross, Maye Musk, Tatyana Ali and Grace Helbig.

Daytime chat show host Wendy Williams also attended but was the only one who chose to wear a dress that wasn't red.

She did, however, accessorize her black dress with a red jacket.

Strike a pose: Wendy Williams decided to wear a black dress and accessorize it with a bright red coat

Embrace the lace: Adrienne Houghton wore a Galia Lahav gown for the fashion show

Strike a pose: Kate Walsh posed with designer Rubin Singer who worked together creating this gown

13 Reasons Why star Kate Walsh wore a custom Rubin Singer gown that she worked with the designer to create.

'I am OBSESSED w this dress, she told her Instagram fans. 'So much fun working w/@rubinsinger to create it!'

Her hair was left loose with soft waves for a hint of old school glamour.

Showstopper: The Panamanian and Trinidadian stunner opted for a glam pantsuit with a sexy, sheer top

Spotted: Star Jones supported the cause in red pants, white top and a furry red jacket

Superstar: Marisa Tomei, who will guest star in season 2 of The Handmaid's Tale, wore a low cut red dress in a unique shade

Shine bright! Maye Musk donned a sequins red suit

Serving looks! Ginger Zee and Marisa Tomei stepped out in floor-length gowns

Kate Walsh's gown featured PVC material, which she teamed with gold pointed-toe heels

Thighs the limit: Liz Hernandez and Adrienne Houghton sported thigh-high red gowns

Cindy Herron-Braggs, Terry Ellis and Rhona Bennett walked the run way in black boots
Julianne Moore stuck to classic black as she arrived to view Tom Ford's Fall Winter 2018 show at New York Fashion Week on Thursday.

The actress, 57, paired a scoop-neck top with drawstring pants with cuffs at the ankles.

She added a tailored jacket that she wore with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows.

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Simple style: Julianne Moore stuck to classic black as she arrived to view Tom Ford's Fall Winter 2018 show at New York Fashion Week on Thursday

The Still Alice Oscar winner stepped out in black gladiator-style heels and carried a black purse.

She wore her signature flame-red hair loose with a center parting.

Julianne kept her make-up low-key with a touch of black mascara, rosy blush and dark pink lip color.

Looking good: The actress, 57, paired a scoop-neck top with drawstring pants with cuffs at the ankles. She added a tailored jacket and black gladiator-style heels

Julianne was accompanied to the runway show by her husband Bart Freundlich, 48, who looked sharp in a black two-piece suit with a white shirt that he left unbuttoned at the collar

Julianne was accompanied to the runway show by her husband Bart Freundlich.

The 48-year-old director looked sharp in a black tailored two-piece suit with a white shirt that he left unbuttoned at the collar.

The couple have been married since 2003 and share two children - daughter Liv, 15, and son Caleb, 20.

Flawless: Julianne wore her signature flame-red hair loose with a center parting and kept her make-up low-key with a touch of black mascara, rosy blush and dark pink lip color

Meanwhile, Swedish actress Alicia Vikander has told Vogue that Julianne came to her defense on the set of their 2014 movie Seventh Son.

Alicia, 29, revealed how a man in a position of power on the production made a joke at her expense during filming.

'I was really embarrassed, and I would have just laughed it off,' the new Tomb Raider star told the magazine. 'But Julianne turned to him and said, If you ever do that again, I'm walking out of here and I'm not coming back.''

'She was just, like, Don't you f--king say that again.' It showed me that she had the power. And that meant so much to me,' she added.
She slipped into a sexy shimmering gown to attend the annual amfAR gala on Wednesday evening.

And Jessica Hart turned up the heat another notch at the Tom Ford Fall Winter 2018 Fashion Show in New York the following evening.

The Australian supermodel took the plunge and went braless in a very revealing tuxedo jacket by the designer.

How low can you go? Jessica Hart takes the plunge and goes braless in a very revealing tuxedo jacket at Tom Ford fashion show

The blonde beauty teamed the jacket with a pair of tight satin trousers and mesh stilettos.

She let the sexy androgynous outfit do the talking by paring back her accessories - wearing a designer watch on her wrist and carrying a designer clutch.

With her golden locks out in a sexy tousled bedhead style, she accentuated her blue eyes with metallic purple eye shadow.

Monochrome magic: The blonde beauty teamed the jacket with a pair of tight satin trousers and mesh stilettos

Jessica also stunned at the amfAR Gala in New York on Wednesday.

She stepped out at the event looking nothing short of glamorous in a purple sequinned gown.

Flaunting her trim figure, she flashed her trademark gap-toothed grin, as she joined a host of models and famous faces at the event that supports aids research.

Keeping things simple: She let the sexy androgynous outfit do the talking by paring back her accessories - wearing a designer watch on her wrist and carrying a designer clutch

The 31-year-old first role to fame when she won the Dolly Magazine model search competition in 2000.

She has since modelled for the likes of Guess and Victoria's Secret.

Jessica has also posed for Vogue and is based in the US.
He's known for his unconventional approach to the arts.

And Joaquin Phoenix seemed to be making his own rules as he lit up a cigarette underneath a No Smoking sign while dining with a friend at Little Dom's in the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles on Thursday afternoon.

The 43-year-old actor seemed to be enjoying his meeting as he puffed away on an American Spirit amid reports the Walk The Line star is set to portray Joker in an upcoming Todd Phillips film, according to Variety.

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Puff: Joaquin Phoenix seemed to be making his own rules as he lit up a cigarette underneath a No Smoking sign while dining with a friend at Little Dom's in the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles on Thursday afternoon

Joaquin sported a casual black T-shirt and light khaki pants that were cuffed above his ankles as he puffed away.

Navy blue-and-white striped socks with a thick tan cuff peeked out from underneath his trousers as the Irrational Man actor donned a pair of black Converse trainers.

He carried a black sweater by his side before sitting down with a friend to chat over coffee and cigarettes.

Casual: The 43-year-old actor seemed to be enjoying his meeting as he puffed away on an American Spirit amid reports the Walk The Line star is set to portray Joker in an upcoming Todd Phillips film, according to Variety

Rule breaker: Joaquin sported a casual black T-shirt and light khaki pants that were cuffed above his ankles as he puffed away

Fun! Navy blue-and-white striped socks with a thick tan cuff peeked out from underneath his trousers as the Irrational Man actor donned a pair of black Converse trainers

Phoenix's shaggy salt-and-pepper beard and mustache matched his short hair as he kept a pair of dark sunglasses on his eyes.

He is reported to be in talks to play the Clown Prince of Crime in Todd Phillips' as-yet untitled Joker movie, according to Variety.

The publication reports that studio negotiations are not yet underway, but Phillips clearly wants Phoenix in the lead role.

Lunch: He carried a black sweater by his side before sitting down with a friend to chat over coffee and cigarettes

Sources say that Phillips is on board to co-write and direct the movie, having met with Phoenix before the new year to further discuss the project.

The film would possibly be able to expand and explore more opportunities within the DC Comics world, with more details to further the iconic comic-book characters.

'Insiders stress that Jared Leto - who starred in Suicide Squad as the Joker - is still on board as the character in the DC universe and that Phoenix has no effect on what happens with Letos character in future DC films,' Variety wrote.

Joaquin recently wrapped filming The Sisters Brothers with Jake Gyllenhaal and John C. Reilly, and stars with girlfriend Rooney Mara in the upcoming Mary Magdalene film.
On Friday, Bali's most famous drug runner became Australia's safest driver.

Schapelle Corby, who would almost certainly drive 10 kilometres below the speed limit with her hazards on than risk a reunion with police, can now legally drive.

The 40-year-old, who got her learner's licence just weeks ago, took to Instagram on Friday to reveal she'd passed her provisional licence test.

From drug runner to car driver! Schapelle Corby, 40, FINALLY gets her provisional licence and celebrates her freedom by sharing a happy snap from behind the wheel

She celebrated that fact by sharing a snap from behind the wheel of her ritzy new car.

Sporting a print shirt emblazoned with imagery of perfectly legal plants, Schapelle raised her Queensland provisional licence up with glee.

'I got it,' she wrote in the caption, 'I passed'.

'I've been home since May 2017, why has it taken me so long to get my licence?... well that'd be because i had a broken leg of cause,' she explained.

Doesn't have to take the scenic route anymore! The 40-year-old, who got her learner's licence just weeks ago, took to Instagram Friday to reveal she'd passed her provisional licence test

She looked refreshed and jubilant, despite having just endure the typically long wait times at Queensland's Department of Transport and Main Roads.

After all, 35-minutes is nothing compared to the nine-years Schapelle had to wait to be called for release at Kerobokan Prison in 2014.

'Good for you. Enjoy the freedom, you deserve it,' a fan wrote on Instagram.

Why so long? 'I've been home since May 2017, why has it taken me so long to get my licence?... well that'd be because i had a broken leg of cause,' she explained

But just like the three years of parole she had to spend in Indonesia before returning home, the drug-trafficker-turned-pop-icon isn't completely free just yet.

Her P-plate restrictions mean she won't be able to exceed 90 kilometres per hour, or use her mobile phone while driving - even when waiting at traffic lights.

It's assumed Schapelle took Friday's photo with her engine off, and her car parked out of the line of traffic.
She's been reuniting with magician Hans Klok for a series of performances around Germany since the beginning of the year.

And on Thursday night Pamela Anderson once again played the assistant in a show for a packed crowd in Berlin.

The 50-year-old sex symbol showed off her busty figure in a racy black leotard paired with fishnets and towering black heels.

Showstopper: Pamela Anderson once again played the assistant to magician Hans Klok in a performance in front of a packed house in Berlin, Germany, on Thursday night

It was another triumphant night for Pam and Hans who have been recreating their famous Las Vegas showcase which they first debuted 10 years ago.

The 48-year-old Dutch magician and illusionist starred in The Beauty of Magic at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino during a six-month run in 2007.

Pamela replaced another Baywatch babe Carmen Electra as Klok's sidekick.

Reunited: The 50-year-old former Baywatch star and the Dutch illusionist, 48, are doing a series of shows across Germany 10 years after they did a residency in Las Vegas

Sex symbol: Pamela showed off her busty figure in a racy black leotard paired with fishnets and towering black heels

Old hands: The pair starred in The Beauty of Magic at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino during a six-month run in 2007

The blonde bombshell looked incredible in her skimpy outfit which ensured all eyes were drawn to her sensational figure.

Looking every inch the showgirl, limber Pamela was bursting with energy as she paraded around the stage, later planting a kiss on Hans's cheek.

The illusionist then carried the beauty in his arms as she waved at the cheering audience.

Busty look: The blonde bombshell looked incredible in her skimpy outfit which ensured all eyes were drawn to her sensational figure

Elated: Pamela planted a kiss on Hans's cheek after their performance

Riding high: The illusionist carried the beauty in his arms as she waved at the cheering audience

Crowdpleasers: Their tour has been a huge success

Just hours earlier, Pam had been in London where she turned heads as she headed to a rendezvous with Julian Assange at the Ecuadorian Embassy.

The former Baywatch star oozed glamour as she stepped out in a little black dress that clung to her famous curves.

The one-shouldered dress showed off her decolletage and toned arms while the garment cinched in at her slender waist.

Pamela finished off the look by styling her glossy golden locks in a chignon bun whilst she accessorized with cat eye shades.

The pinup and the Wikileaks founder who's been accused of rape in Sweden were introduced by Dame Vivienne Westwood and Pamela began visiting him at the embassy 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 British capital.

Glamorous: Just hours earlier, Pam had been in London where she turned heads as she headed to a rendezvous with Julian Assange at the Ecuadorian Embassy on Wednesday

Dressed to impress: Pam oozed glamour as she stepped out in a little black dress that clung to her famous curves








They're the smitten couple who want to shout their love from their social media platforms.

And this week, model Natalie Roser, 27, and her boyfriend Harley Bonner, 26, took to Instagram to announce their one-year anniversary.

The Aussie actor kicked off the online love fest by posting a selfie to Instagram of himself and Natalie cuddling in bed.

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'One year with him. The first of forever.' Australian fashion model Natalie Roser, 27, and actor beau, Harley Bonner, 25, celebrate one year anniversary and mark the occasion with romantic Instagram tributes

In the photo, the pair look into the camera lovingly, as Natalie gently caresses Harley's forehead.

The former Neighbours star accompanied the intimate shot with an equally warm caption.

'I wake up everyday thankful for your love and extremely grateful that I have you by my side to share this beautiful ride,' he wrote alongside the post.

He added, 'Happy 1 WHOLE YEAR, my angel!'

The 25-year-old seamlessly capped off his tribute by including an original quote.

'"How could I possibly love you more. I guess I'll find out in the morning."' - Me, inspired by her,' he wrote.

Happy Anniversary! Natalie shared a photo of the pair, dressed in white enjoying a loving peck in public. In a bold move, Natalie wrote 'One year with him. The first of forever.'

On the same day, Natalie shared a photo of the pair, dressed in white enjoying a loving peck in public.

The 27-year-old blonde model was so moved by Harley's tribute, she decided to quote him in the caption, echoing his statement.

In a heartfelt albeit bold move, Natalie added, 'One year with him. The first of forever.'

Happy Snap! The beaming couple are more than willing to share their special moments together on social media. Just last week, Natalie took time out of her busy schedule to enjoy the Laneway festival with Harley in Melbourne

The happy couple are more than willing to share their special moments together on social media.

Just last week, Natalie took time out of her busy schedule to enjoy the Laneway festival with Harley in Melbourne.

Clad in a floaty blouse and retro sunglasses, the stunner took to Instagram to share clips from the music festival.

Cheers to the weekend! Model Natalie Roser, 27, looked chic in a floaty blouse and retro sunglasses as she attended Laneway Festival last week

The blonde beauty began the day by sharing a short clip of herself showing off her luscious blonde locks and pearly smile while readjusting her sunglasses.

In the next clip, the swimsuit model captured herself taking a sip out of a test tube with her beau mimicking her as she guzzled the beverage.

Exhausted by the day's activities so far, the couple then took a break from partying by lying on the ground together.

Cute couple alert! Joining her at the trendy event was her boyfriend Harley Bonner, who featured in a video of her drinking from a test tube

Harley pillow! Exhausted by the day's activities so far, the couple took a break on the grass

Next, she shared a photo of herself posing with her arms around Harley as they watched Billie Eilish perform on stage.

Their music festival date comes after she recently fronted the cover of Women's Health Magazine in December 2017.

She spoke to the publication about her struggles with body confidence.

'My body confidence is good now, but there have always been doubts  if you don't get a job, you think, 'Is it because my measurements are bigger than the girl who did?' Natalie told Women's Health Magazine.

'Little things play on your mind. But I learnt pretty quickly that it's not necessarily me; it's about what the client is looking for to represent their brand.'

'Once I realised that perhaps I just didn't fit the bikinis or clothes the way they wanted, I relaxed and started to take care of myself for me,' she continued.

Bikini babe: Their music festival date comes after she recently fronted the cover of Women's Health Magazine in December 2017 and spoke to the publication about her struggles with body confidence
She reportedly fell in love with former Bachelor contestant Jake Ellis while filming Bachelor in Paradise in Fiji late last year.

But Megan Marx hasn't stopped island hopping yet, continuing to strip down in teeny-tiny bikinis while enjoying the luxurious Maldives.

On Friday, the leggy blonde took to Instagram Stories to flaunt her figure in the Maldives, while sporting a skimpy white bikini.

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From Fiji to the Maldives! Megan Marx hasn't stopped island hopping yet since filming Bachelor in Paradise, continuing to strip down in teeny-tiny bikinis while enjoying the luxurious Maldives

The busty 27-year-old was quick to post a picture of herself, laying on a hammock over the island's turquoise waters.

'This place is heaven  maybe leisure is the mother of philosophy after all,' she captioned the post.

Megan is reportedly in the Maldives for both business and pleasure, having taken to Instagram in late January to inquire about accommodation recommendations.

Living her best life! On Friday, the leggy blonde took to Instagram stories to flaunt her on-water Maldives bungalow, while sporting a skimpy white bikini

Posting a barely-there bikini snap while exiting a swimming pool, the former Bachelor contender wrote: 'Help! I'm heading to the Maldives in a couple of weeks. The first ten days are organised for accommodation (work, yeehaa) but I'm looking for something for four or five days after. Any recommendations?'

While the beauty didn't disclose what was meant by 'work', she took to Instagram to respond to her curious followers, explaining that she is paid by various brands to travel and post pictures to her Instagram account.

With more than 140 thousand followers and counting, Megan has also shared that she will be heading to Thailand late April until mid-May.

Pleasure or business, Marx? While the beauty didn't disclose what was meant by 'work', she took to Instagram to respond to her curious followers, explaining that she is paid by various brands to travel and post pictures to her Instagram account

As for the blonde bombshell's relationship status, she has been caught hanging with a mystery man while in the Maldives  and not with her reported Bachelor in Paradise beau, Jake Ellis.

Channel 10 is yet to confirm the official air date for Bachelor in Paradise, but the series is set to return to screens soon.
A man alleged to have been stalking Bella Hadid since December was arrested Thursday night.

TMZ reported the unnamed 37-year-old was picked up by cops outside the model's apartment after she alerted police officers to his presence.

Bella, 21, recognized the man as she was heading back to her building, according to TMZ, and called law enforcement.

The website said he'd been sending messages via social media threatening to kill her and her family.

Stalked: A man alleged to have been stalking Bella Hadid, pictured, since December was arrested Thursday night outside her New York apartment, TMZ reported

Just 24 hours earlier, Bella was seen out and about in the Big Apple wearing a busty sweater that featured an eye-popping cut-out atop her ample assets.

The younger sister of model Gigi teamed the top with equally sizzling leather trousers and a matching leather jacket with dramatic bell-sleeves.

The IMG Models-repped beauty kept her things in a black satchel with red details that was casually slung on one shoulder.

Patent leather lace-up heels and micro-sunglasses helped tie her look together along with diamond huggie earrings.

Watchful: TMZ reported Bella, 21, recognized the man as she was heading back to her building about 9:30 p.m. and called law enforcement

Busy week: Bella, pictured Wednesday, is in demand during New York Fashion Week this week

While Bella is a pro these days, she revealed that red carpet moments used to overwhelm her with anxiety while appearing on her mom's show Making a Model with Yolanda Hadid last month.

'Believe me, I get it and I understand it. I was totally there. My sister is very bubbly and very out there, and I was always very reserved.

'I would literally start crying and shaking if I had to do interviews at red carpet events. It was really nerve-racking and it's scary, and it's not only you,' she told one of the show's talents.

'It gets a lot better once you have to talk to people every day. Then you're like, "OK, I guess it's my job, I have to do it!"' the starlet concluded her advice.
She welcomed her third child, Chicago West, via surrogate on January 15.

And three weeks after her daughter's birth, Kim Kardashian oozed glamour on the cover of Vogue Taiwan.

The 37-year-old entrepreneur channeled the nineties in a furry coat with her blonde locks loose for the cover of the high fashion magazine.

Stunner: Kim Kardashian oozed glamour on the cover of Vogue Taiwan

Kim rocked voluminous tresses with glossy nude lips, adding smokey eye makeup.

For the cover, the mother of three rocked diamond and gold jewelry, including a statement ring and earrings.

She donned a textured white coat while looking off camera in the sizzling image.

For an inside picture, Kim looked straight ahead in an animal printed fur look.

What a lady: The 37-year-old entrepreneur channeled the nineties in a furry coat with her blonde locks loose for the cover of the high fashion magazine

The photographer for the shoot was Dennis Leupold, with makeup by Mario Dedivanovic, hair by Andrew Fitzsimmons and Tom Bachik nails.

Tom gave a behind the scenes look on his Instagram page; she rocked a cream fur coat with a statement diamond ring.

On January 15, Kim welcomed her third child, daughter Chicago West, via surrogate.

Wow: Tom gave a behind the scenes look on his Instagram page; she rocked a cream fur coat with a statement diamond ring

Kim and husband Kanye are also parents to kids North, four, and son Saint, two.

Her sister Kylie Jenner welcomed her first child, a daughter, on February 1st with boyfriend Travis Scott.

On Tuesday, the 20-year-old Kylie Cosmetics founder revealed she named her daughter Stormi Webster.

Travis, her boyfriend since April 2017, was born Jacques Webster.

Sister Khloe Kardashian is 29 weeks pregnant with her first child; she and boyfriend Tristan Thompson will welcome their baby in March.

Family is everything: On January 15, Kim welcomed her third child, daughter Chicago West, via surrogate

Here she is: Chicago is Kim and Kanye's third child; they have kids North and Saint too
He's the 54-year-old singleton who is trying his hand at love for a second time on Married At First Sight.

And John Robertson has revealed that, this time around he took a casual approach to his budding relationship with 'bride' Melissa, describing their time together as 'like a big blind date.'

Speaking on the 9Honey Talking Married podcast, John said that he took a philosophical approach to the romance, admitting he felt little pressure despite the nation's eyes watching the couple's every move.

Looking for love: MAFS star John Robertson has revealed that, on his second time on the reality show he took a casual approach to his budding relationship with 'bride' Melissa, describing their time together as 'like a big blind date'

'I treated it like any other relationship,' he said. 'It's just like a big blind date, isn't it?' If it works out, it works out. If it doesn't, it doesn't. You just give it your best shot.'

He continued: 'Relationships - some are great and some fail so what will be will be. I don't let that [pressure] get to me. I don't think too far ahead in the future. I don't overthink things, I just take each day as it comes.'

Despite his casual approach to the show, John was full of praise for his on-screen bride Melissa.

'I treated it like any other relationship,' he told 9Honey's Talking Married podcast. 'It's just like a big blind date, isn't it?' If it works out, it works out. If it doesn't, it doesn't. You just give it your best shot.

'She's as equally beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside,' John gushed. 'She's so down to earth and so easy to get along and we really communicated well.

'She ticks every box, Melissa...and as I said, those stunning good looks don't hurt at all.

John, who also revealed that his daughters urged him not to apply to the show for a second time, appears to be having a much better time of it in the current season.

Gushing: Despite his casual approach to the show, John was full of praise for his on-screen bride Melissa.

In his first attempt, John was paired with 53-year-old Deborah Brosnan who often voiced her displeasure over the fact that John wasn't of Polynesian descent.

During the couple's beachside wedding ceremony, Deborah said she had expected someone Polynesian.

Tellingly, when asked on the podcast to describe his first experience in one word, John chose 'awkward' while going with a much more positive 'magnificent' to describe his time with Melissa.
Oprah Winfrey believes Reese Witherspoon suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder when the Harvey Weinstein scandal broke.

The media mogul said during her Super Soul Sunday Conversation special with Salma Hayek that her Wrinkle in Time co-star reacted oddly when the allegations against the now disgraced movie producer surfaced in October.

'I was on set with Reese Witherspoon, who has since spoken out ... and some other actresses, who haven't spoken out, so I won't say who they were, and this was like two days after the Harvey scandal had broken in The New York Times,' Oprah said, according to ET.

'Everyone, including Reese.... was acting like, I was seeing some of the girls at my school behave, who were suffering from PTSD. Everybody was acting like they were afraid and they were having the conversation,' the 64-year-old said.

Opinion: Oprah Winfrey says she believes Reese Witherspoon suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder when the Harvey Weinstein scandal broke. The two are pictured in 2014

PTSD symptoms: Oprah, who just filmed A Wrinkle In Time with Reese, recalled how the actress started crying at the mention of Weinstein's name and said she wasn't able to sleep

Oprah described the Big Little Lies star, 41, as crying at the mention of Weinstein's name and not being able to sleep.

She recalled: 'I remember Reese saying, 'Oh god, this is just so upsetting. And someone mentions his name, I start tearing up. And every time I hear someone else speak, it just causes me to be upset and I haven't slept in two days.''

'So I said, 'Jeez, you guys are suffering from PTSD. Did something happen to you?' Nobody said anything at the time.'

Weinstein is pictured with Witherspoon at the Bloomberg Vanity Fair White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) dinner afterparty in Washington, D.C in 2012

The Walk The Line actress said the scandal surrounding the movie mogul made her face up to an abuse relationship she suffered when she was younger.

She said: 'A lot of these women with stories are my very dear friends, like Salma Hayek and Gwyneth Paltrow.

'These are some of my closest friends and colleagues, and I had known their experiences were difficult, but I had never understood the depth of the harassment.

'I was just floored, and then I realized, 'This is the moment to tell what happened to me when I was young. This is the moment where healing begins.''

To be shown on TV: Oprah made her remarks about Reese during her Super Soul Conversation in New York City with Salma Hayek on Wednesday

Victim: Salma told Oprah that she 'lived in fear' of Weinstein (pictured with him left, in Cannes, France in 2010, and right, in an undated photo) after he allegedly threatened her

During her conversation with Oprah, Salma revealed that Weinstein once allegedly threatened to 'break her kneecaps' after she spurned his advances.

The actress admitted that she 'lived in fear' of the disgraced producer while working on movie Frida.

Hayek said in conversation with the TV host on Wednesday, that Weinstein told the film's director, Julie Taymor: 'I am going to break the kneecaps of that C-word.'

'I don't want to get into the details because we have more important things to talk about... but I was depressed,' the 51-year-old actress added. 'I was paranoid. I lived in fear. I tried to get out. I couldn't get out.'

Weinstein has since issued an apology for what he referred to as 'his boorish behavior', although cited the 'creative friction on Frida' as being a force that 'served to drive the project to perfection.'

'Mr. Weinstein apologizes for the way he may have approached the situation. He hopes all involved can at least agree that the movie was fantastic,' his spokesperson told DalyMail.com, adding that Weinstein 'never fought with Ms. Hayek on set' and 'doesn't recall ever saying such an awful thing.'

Candid: The Frida star told Oprah that she felt like a coward after declining to participate in a New York Times article about Weinstein, who'd threatened to 'break her kneecaps'

Moving on: Salma, 51, who's married to French multimillionaire Francois-Henri Pinault, said it was important to be productive instead of angry about what had happened

Regret: The actress said that, for years, she felt too ashamed to come forward and talk about Weinstein's sexual harassment

The Wild Wild West star said that for years she felt too ashamed to come forward and talk about Weinstein's sexual harassment, and was worried about going public because she didn't want her 10-year-old daughter Valentina to know.

Salma, who's married to French multimillionaire Francois-Henri Pinault, told Oprah that she decided it was important to speak out because her pain was 'so small' compared to other people's.

She said: '[The New York Times] contacted me to be a part of the first story and already by this contact, there was all this turmoil and I started crying when they asked and I ended up not doing it.

The Mexican actress added: 'It's important to take responsibility for the things we do to others, but we must stop apologizing for being attacked and we must move into a place where you can actually have a conversation.

'It is important to release the anger. I don't want us to go from victims to angry. I don't want our anger to be our motto. That doesn't mean we are not angry ... I am a short, Mexican-Arab, angry woman ... but I don't let that anger blur my vision. I can use that energy to be productive,' she said.
They jetted off to Samoa to celebrate their nuptials with an idyllic honeymoon.

But Married At First Sight's Gabrielle Bartlett and Nasser Sultan's romantic getaway risked turning into the holiday from hell when a giant cockroach almost caused their car to crash.

The reality TV bride was left hysterical when the pesky insect scuttled across the roof of their taxi - before dropping onto the driver's head while he was driving along a narrow strip of road.

Look out! Married At First Sight's Gabrielle Bartlett and Nasser Sultan's romantic honeymoon in Samoa risked turning into the holiday from hell when a giant cockroach almost caused their car to crash

In a hilarious video, Gabrielle was seen yelping with horror when she spotted the cockroach in the cramped car.

She began screaming: 'What is it?' as Nasser stifled a laugh and replied: 'It's a big cockroach.'

As Gabrielle and other female passengers screeched in panic, Nasser reassured the driver: 'You just drive, don't worry.'

But Gabrielle's terror reached fever pitch as the insect zipped over their heads, prompting her to shriek: 'I just want to get out! I just want to get out! Get it out!'

She then yelled: 'Where is it?' to which her new husband pointed above the driver's head: 'Up there!'

Oh dear! Gabrielle was left hysterical when the pesky insect (pictured) scuttled across the roof of their taxi - before dropping onto the driver's head while he was driving along a narrow strip of road

Trapped: Gabrielle's terror reached fever pitch as the insect zipped over their heads, prompting her to shriek: 'I just want to get out! I just want to get out! Get it out!'

Appearing gripped by panic himself, Nasser shrilled: 'S**t open your window!' as another passenger frantically tried to wind the window down.

Recalling the terrifying moment on Talking Married, the dating programme's after-show, Nasser admitted they almost had a 'terrible accident'.

'In Samoa, the cockroaches are massive  the girls are screaming and I'm just telling them to keep driving or we're going to have an accident,' Nasser revealed.

He added that when they opened the window, the cockroach flew out - before flying back in again.

Lucky escape: Recalling the terrifying moment on Talking Married, the dating programme's after-show, Nasser admitted they almost had a 'terrible accident'

Luckily their car managed to avoid a crash as they dealt with the insect and the newlyweds made it to their idyllic hotel.

Elsewhere on the honeymoon Gabrielle confessed to her new 'husband' Nasser that she suffers from alopecia.

After the revelation in Tuesday's episode, the 44-year-old told Channel Nine's The Fix that it was an intense conversation.

As Nasser held her hand, Gabrielle explained to him: 'So when I was a kid, when I was about five, I lost a patch of my hair.'

'It was important to tell him early on': Married At First Sight bride Gabrielle has recalled the nerve-racking moment she revealed to her husband Nasser that she suffered from alopecia

She continued: 'Then when I was about 11, another patch of hair disappeared and then another patch and another patch. So eventually my hair fell out. It's something called alopecia.'

'I don't know, I really don't know. I'm almost speechless. Just have to go on with it, I guess,' a surprised Nasser later said to camera.

He added: 'I'm not going to judge her, it doesn't matter to me.'

Reassuring Gabrielle that the condition doesn't faze him, Nasser said: 'You have everything a beautiful woman has. Now you've told me, let's just move on and have some steak.'
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She recently revealed she'd had a boob job to correct her 'uni-boob'.

And Charlotte Crosby wasn't shy about showing off her cleavage in a very daring little black dress, putting on an eye-popping display when she arrived at the In The Style Valentine's Party, held at Libertine nightclub in London.

The former Geordie Shore star flaunted her ample bust in the skimpy dress, which featured daring cut-outs on the sides.

Busty: Charlotte Crosby wasn't shy about showing off her cleavage in a very daring little black dress, putting on an eye-popping display when she arrived at the In The Style Valentine's Party, held at Libertine nightclub in London

Charlotte showcased her long legs in the thigh-skimming number, setting off the look with simple strappy heels.

The 27-year-old reality favourite wore her dark locks in tumbling curls and opted for a matte make-up look.

The brunette was ushered into the event by a male companion, turning heads as she strutted down the street.

Leggy: Charlotte showcased her long legs in the thigh-skimming number, setting off the look with simple strappy heels

Making a statement: The 27-year-old reality favourite wore her dark locks in tumbling curls and opted for a matte make-up look

Looking good: Charlotte opted for a matte pink lipstick and a sweep of bronze eye shadow

She recently unveiled the results of her early weight loss on Instagram, telling fans she had already lost five pounds in 12 days.

Charlotte's followers rushed to compliment the star on her incredible new look, after she posted a snap of her new figure in a very tight red minidress.

The 27-year-old left little to the imagination in the racy number, which the star wore for a Valentine's Day-themed photoshoot.

Covering up: The star carried a lightweight black jacket in one hand

Covering up: Charlotte ensured she didn't spill out of her dress on the red carpet

Jaw-dropping: This comes after Charlotte unveiled the incredible results of her five pound weight loss, posting a snap in a skintight red dress on Instagram - she claims it took her 12 days

Charlotte captioned the post: 'Shooting a very exciting valentines campaign with @inthestyle But being single ive decided to give you girls an early galentines gift from me!!'

The gorgeous star teamed her look with a matching statement red lip, along with a dramatic smoky eye and brows look, with her chocolate brown tresses poker straight.

Fans could not hold back their compliments for the stunning Geordie Shore star, with one saying she looked 'better than ever' in her new darker tresses.

Another wrote: 'Well looking beautiful' while a third commented: 'Red hot beauty.'

Gushing: Fans rushed to comment on Charlotte's snap on how amazing she looks, with one saying she looked 'better than ever'

The Heartbreak Diet: Charlotte previously revealed she had lost five pounds in twelve days, posting a snap in skintight gym wear

Charlotte unveiled the first results of her weight loss on Thursday, posting a snap in skintight gymwear.

She captioned the post: 'day12 of #30DayBlitz smashed 5 pounds down.'

The former Geordie Shore star recently admitted she wanted to 'shape up' following her split from Bear, speaking on This Morning about her plans for the future.

Moving forward: Charlotte recently revealed she was on a mission to 'shape up' following her split from Stephen Bear

She said: 'You have to turn it into a positive, to look the best you can look to get back at them, so they are looking at you going "How did I let them go?'"

The TV personality also revealed she had undergone a secret boob job in November after online trolls cruelly labelled her breasts 'deformed'.

Charlotte is also no stranger to weight loss struggles, after unflattering bikini snaps in 2014 spurred the star to lose two-and-a-half stone and four dress sizes.

Sensational: Charlotte has also revealed that she had a boob job in November after trolls left nasty comments on social media labelling her breasts 'deformed'

The beauty unveiled her new look in 2015 during an appearance on This Morning, after she admitted to drinking pints of Irish cream Baileys.

She said: 'I've changed my lifestyle to be healthier. I still drink but I've cut it down, I used to have pints of Baileys, I loved it.

'Before I didn't do any exercise. I did not want to go to gym, I felt intimidated as I didn't know what I was doing and I felt like people were staring at me.'
She's become unforgettable thanks to her flirty antics and acid-tongued remarks on Married At First Sight.

And Davina Rankin proved she's always been a scene-stealer, as she stripped down to a plunging scarlet outfit for a sizzling glamour shoot from 2012 for Harlem Productions.

Flaunting her surgically-enhanced assets, the 26-year-old model looked worlds away from the make-up free appearances she has put in on the hit Channel Nine show.

Throwback: Davina Rankin stripped down to a plunging scarlet outfit for a glamour shoot from 2012 for Harlem Productions - looking worlds away from her make-up free self on MAFS

The Brisbane-based bikini model certainly took centre-stage in her lace-trim camisole, which teased a peek of her cleavage thanks to several undone buttons.

Davina, who was 20 during the shoot, finished off her look with a skimpy pair of red string bikini bottoms that offset her bronzed tan.

Styling her dark tresses in tousled waves, she framed her features with smoky eyeshadow and dusky pink lipgloss.

Davina is known for her gorgeous good looks, however she revealed on MAFS that being beautiful has a downside.

Turning heads: The Brisbane-based bikini model certainly took centre-stage in her lace-trim camisole, which teased a peek of her cleavage thanks to several undone buttons

'I've dated a lot of different guys, but they see the bikinis, they see boobs, and they do just want one thing,' she lamented.

'When it comes to a third date or a second date, they don't want to go to dinner, it's not about that for them.

'They just wanna get into your pants.'

She continued: 'It's incredibly difficult for me to find anything genuine. I would just love a normal tradie, just a normal Aussie bloke that will look after me.'

Self-ie obsessed! The 26-year-old bikini model looked much different compared to the glossy selfies she posts on social media

She's got a big following! Davina boasts over 250,000 followers on Instagram

The stunner was paired with Aussie tradie Ryan Gallagher on MAFS, but Davina was less than impressed after he seemingly commented on her cleavage at the altar.

She later dodged two kisses from him, and made him sleep on the couch when they got back to their hotel.

Davina also admitted to finding Dean Wells attractive during Married At First Sight's first dinner party.

Promo girl! Back in 2013, before she was a reality star, the bronzed beauty worked as a Monster Energy drink promo girl, with pictures surfacing on Friday

She later continued to gush about the controversial 'alpha male' contestant, telling The Fix he was what she was looked for in a husband.

'In the outside world, Dean is 100 per cent someone I would turn my attention to because he is kinda what I would want in a partner,' the 26-year-old said.

Davina previously appeared on Channel Seven's First Dates back in 2016.
They had a summer of romance on hit ITV2 show Love Island last year.

And it seems Jess Shears and Dom Leaver's summer romance is still going strong as they shared a sweet smooch outside Thursday night's star-studded In The Style Valentine's Party, held at London's Libertine nightclub.

Jess, 24, looked stunning in a strapless top and high-waisted satin trousers as she walked hand-in-hand with her handsome beau, who she is set to marry this summer.

Kiss me quick! Jess Shears and Dom Leaver's summer romance is still going strong as they shared a sweet smooch outside Thursday night's star-studded In The Style Valentine's Party

The besotted couple couldn't resist packing on the PDA as they arrived, leaning in for a series of kisses.

Dom couldn't take his eyes off his gorgeous fiancee who showed off her curves in her olive green trousers, which were cropped at the calf to show off her towering heels and ankle tattoo.

A simple black strapless top further accentuated her hourglass figure, while she slung a leather jacket around her shoulders for the finishing touch.

Hand in hand: Jess, 24, looked stunning in a strapless top and high-waisted satin trousers as she walked hand-in-hand with her handsome beau, who she is set to marry this summer

Dom, 26, meanwhile stuck to all black, looking smart in an unbuttoned shirt and skinny jeans.

Jess recently opened up about her upcoming Mykonos nuptials to fiance Dom, revealing while she is yet to say yes to the dress, preparations for the ceremony are slowly coming together, and the pair are desperate to start a family.

In a candid new interview with Closer Magazine, the busty model said the couple are looking forward to their intimate ceremony in Greece.

The look of love: Dom couldn't take his eyes off his gorgeous fiancee who showed off her curves in her olive green trousers

PDA: The couple couldn't resist a smooch or two as they arrived at the London party

Dressed to impress: Jess' cropped trousers showed off her intricate leg tattoo as she strutted along the pavement with her beau

Besotted: The Love Island stars are set to marry in Greece this summer a year after meeting on the ITV2 show

Bride to be: Jess recently opened up about her upcoming Mykonos nuptials to fiance Dom, revealing while she is yet to say yes to the dress

She said: 'I'm so excited. I've never wanted a big wedding as my friendship group is tight-knit and I've only got a small family, we've only got around 30 or 35 guests which is perfect.

'I've tried on a few dresses but I need to start looking properly. It's slowly all coming together.

And the hot couple, who announced their engagement in September after three months of dating, are keen to start a family in the not too distant future.

Jess said: 'I'm so broody. Dom and I are both desperate for a baby, we'd like three kids in total. Hopefully when the time is right, it's something that will happen.'

Inseparable: The couple have barely left each other's sides since falling in love on the smash hit dating show

Party look: Jess teamed her statement trousers with a simple black strapless top and heels

Party spirits: Jess couldn't wipe the smile off her face as she partied with her man

Looking suave: Dom stuck to all black for the night out, showing off his tanned chest in an unbuttoned short paired with skinny jeans

Come here you! The hot couple, who announced their engagement in September after three months of dating, are keen to start a family in the not too distant future
She's an advocate of body confidence and is illustrious for encouraging women to embrace their bodies.

And Iskra Lawrence proudly showcased her hourglass curves as she attended The Prince's Trust gala at St. James's Palace in London on Thursday night.

Joined by the Prince Of Wales and a host of stars, the model, 27, pulled out all the stops as she slipped her incredible physique into a form-fitting black gown.

Queen of curves: Iskra Lawrence proudly showcased her hourglass curves as she attended The Prince's Trust gala at St. James's Palace in London on Thursday night

Iskra oozed glamour in the slinky ensemble while teasing a glimpse of her trim waist with its backless design.

The English beauty complemented the dress with black point-toe Sergio Rossi heels and gold drop earrings.

She styled half her long blonde tresses into an elegant top-knot, while letting some locks tumble down her back.

The body confidence activist accentuated her striking looks with fluttery eyelashes, gold eye-shadow and a slick of nude pink lipstick.

A royally good night: Joined by the Prince Of Wales and a host of stars, the model, 27, pulled out all the stops as she slipped her incredible physique into a form-fitting black gown

Glam: Iskra oozed glamour in the slinky ensemble while teasing a glimpse of her trim waist with its backless design

At the glittering gala, Iskra was joined by the likes of TV presenter Katie Piper, Cheryl Tweedy and Helen Mirren.

The blonde beauty beamed with happiness as she greeted Prince Charles at the charity event.

Iskra has always been passionate about body confidence and she has refused to label herself a plus size model and previously protested against the lack of diversity during London Fashion Week.

It is no wonder the blonde has bagged many high-profile invites, after forging a successful modelling career, with the aim to change the industry's perceptions on beauty and size.

Happy: The blonde beauty, centre, looked delighted to be meeting the Prince of Wales at the opulent gala dinner

The body confidence champion divulged how she battles with online trolls who label her a 'fat pig' on her social media account.

Iskra told Harper's Bazaar in January: 'I get comments like fat pig and I just think whatever, but sometimes its good to make something positive from it.

'I deal with it in two ways. I either just block and delete because I know that it's not personal.

'There are people out there that unfortunately, usually because hurting, like to hurt other people  its for attention or whatever. Other times I like to do something positive with it.'
She is one of the industry's best known actresses, with a career spanning more than five decades.

But Helen Mirren has revealed she felt a sense of female inequality back in her 20s - in wake of the recent scandal in Hollywood.

Speaking on ITV's Lorraine on Thursday, the actress, 72, questioned why it has taken so long for the issue to be addressed, before admitting her own lack of self-confidence on the red carpet.

'It's taken too long': Helen Mirren has revealed she felt a sense of female inequality back in her 20s - in wake of the recent Hollywood scandal

Back in the day: Speaking on Lorraine, the actress, 72, questioned why it has taken so long for the issue to be addressed, before revealing her own lack of confidence (pictured in 1971)

Helen weighed in on the recent sexual harassment and abuse scandal with Lorraine Kelly - and claimed it was 'about time' for the Time's Up movement to occur, after so many years of immortality in the industry.

She said: 'I think it's more of a volcanic explosion than a tipping point! Little cracks of smoke and fire have been coming out, but finally the magma is appearing.

'It's certainly about time. It has come a long way but not nearly far enough, and its taken too long in my opinion.'

Looking back: Helen claimed it was 'about time' for the Time's Up movement to occur, after so many years of immortality in the industry

Not good enough: She said of the recent sexual harassment allegations: 'It's certainly about time. It has come a long way but not nearly far enough, and its taken too long in my opinion'

Confused: She added: 'I was feeling and thinking those thoughts in my teens, so I dont understand why its taken so long to get here' (pictured in 1975)

Revealing even she felt a sense of inequality in her youth, she added: 'I was feeling and thinking those thoughts in my teens and early 20s, so I dont understand why its taken so long to get here.'

However, Helen did praise the progress of women in the directing and production fields, and even applauded a female camerawoman in Lorraine's studio.

Looking around at the crew, she said: 'That has changed and is changing, although not enough as I look around...' before spotting a female, and declaring: 'Ah! There's one!'

She went on: 'See, thats great to see. Ten years ago that would not have happened,' before urging another camera man to pan on to her, and give her time to shine.

Making moves: However, Helen did praise the progress of women in the directing and production fields, and even applauded a female camerawoman in Lorraine's studio

Surprising: Helen also revealed her own insecurities when on the red carpet - an issue she believes is stronger in women than men

Fake it til you make it: She said: 'Its a lack of self-worth maybe. But it's a normal natural part of human life, so I say continue faking it until it weirdly becomes true!' (pictured in January 2018)

Helen is currently promoting her new film with Donald Sutherland, but also her new confidence initiative with L'Oreal and the Princes Trust.

The campaign, titled All Worth It, aims to help 10,000 young people in the UK who are plagued with self-doubt and insecurities - with the likes of Helen, Cheryl, Louisa Johnson and Katie Piper acting as ambassadors.

Helen explained she chose to involve herself in the movement after feeling low self-esteem on the red carpet herself for many years.

She said: 'Its a lack of self confidence, lack of self-worth maybe. I think women in particular suffer from this. But it's a normal natural part of human life, so I say fake it and continue faking it until it weirdly becomes true!'

Back to her best: Aside from her charity work, the Oscar winner was also promoting her new flick The Leisure Seeker

Emotional: Teasing at the new project, which also stars Donald Sutherland, she said: 'It's about a very sad situation two older people are facing, but its done with great sense of comedy'

Aside from her charity work, the Oscar winner is also currently promoting her new flick The Leisure Seeker.

Teasing at the new project, she said: 'It's about a very sad situation two older people are facing, but its done with great sense of comedy.

'Its a road movie but we literally took a road trip as we filmed. So I discovered a lot about RV parks which I didnt know a lot about for example!'

Gushing of the opportunity to visit new and exciting places, she added: 'America is an extraordinarily varied and complex country, full of extraordinary people. It's always fun to get down there and be with real people.'

The film debuted at the Venice Film Festival back in September, and is set for release in March 2018.

Stunning: Helen was effortlessly chic in a black tea dress, which cinched in at her waist with a belt and was adorned with bright pink roses all over
Jamie Laings new teen girlfriend is the daughter of an Italian American self made billionaire financier.

The Made In Chelsea star, 29, has been keeping coy on his relationship with Heloise Agostinelli, 19, but MailOnline can reveal that she is the child of Robert Agostinelli, is the 416th richest American, according to Forbes.

Heloise's mother is Mathilde Favier-Meyer, a Public Relations Manager at Dior Couture, so the teen is a well-known face on the social circuit.

New couple: Jamie Laings new teen girlfriend Heloise Agostinelli is the daughter of an Italian American self made billionaire financier (pictured together last week)

Whilst Jamie has kept details of his new love under wraps, he has shared snaps with the stunning brunette and recently gushed over their new romance.

He told The Sun: 'I have been having a lot of date nights with this new mon amis (my friend) and it is actually making me slightly excited and giddy for life.

'Shes 19, so what? It doesnt make a difference. I will never ever be in the same decade as her. When I turn 30, she turns 20.'

Stunning: The Made In Chelsea star, 29, has been keeping coy on his relationship with Heloise Agostinelli, 19, who is the daughter of an Italian American self made billionaire financier

The pair were first seen together as they left Spencer Matthews and Vogue Williams' engagement drinks last week.

Jamie went on to upload a snap of the pair together, put he paid no mention to her in the caption, simply writing: 'I like bubble gum'.

The new romance comes following his split from Frankie Gaff last summer.

Proud parent: Heloise Agostinelli, 19, is the child of Robert Agostinelli (left) who is the 416th richest American, according to Forbes (pictured with his son Massimo, Artist)

Meanwhile, Jamie's ex Frankie, 23, has been hinting that she's in a new romance with model Jon Hosking.

The blonde has been seen in various photos on her account, draped over the model, and gushing about him.

Jamie and Frankie's relationship hit a final wall during this summer's MIC: Ibiza - with Frankie seen to be enjoying the holiday without her beau when he had to fly back home to London on business.

Chic: Heloise's mother is Mathilde Favier-Meyer, a Public Relations Manager at Dior Couture, so the teen is a well-known face on the circuit (pictured at the Dior PFW show in September)

She was instead seen flirting with Harry Baron, coming to the realisation that she wasn't fussed about Jamie not being there.

The pair went back and forth when back in London, but it seems that the relationship has finally come to a frosty end.

Jamie told co-star and podcast co-host Francis Boulle on their Private Parts show: 'Honestly, when I broke up with Frankie I didnt think I could fancy any one again and it turns out you can. Gentlemen, what Im trying to say is, I think Im falling in love!'
She's the blonde bombshell who just finished shooting Bachelor in Paradise on the idyllic tropical island of Fiji.

And on Friday, Leah Costa gave fans a glimpse of what to expect when the reality show airs later this year.

Taking to Instagram, the blonde beauty shared a sizzling snap of her almost busting out of a royal blue lace bra while appearing to apply fake tan.

Dare to bare! Bachelor star Leah Costa (pictured) shared a sizzling snap of herself flaunting her ample cleavage in blue lace lingerie.

In the close-up snap, the blonde flaunted her slender shoulders and glowing skin as she gave a slight smile, flashing her pearly white teeth to the camera.

The cut of the lingerie accentuated her ample cleavage, with the reality star covering her taut tummy with a tanning glove.

Her trademark blonde hair fell loosely around her shoulders.

New couple alert! Recently, Leah was snapped getting very cosy with ex-Married At First Sight groom Jesse Konstantinoff

In the sexy snap, the reality star was clearly up for a laugh: 'Fridays are for Marinating,' she started, referring to her self-tanning ritual.

'Honestly nothing makes me feel more ready to tackle the weekend than some fake tan! I've tried every one on the market and @Bondisands dark is without a doubt my go-to choice,' she continued.

The blonde Melbourne-based architecture student clarified it was not a paid advertisement, instead, she simply wanted to share what made her feel good.

New love? Jesse shot to fame on Married At First Sight last year, after being paired with Perth twin Michelle Marsh

It comes after the blonde beauty was snapped getting cosy with season four Married At First Sight star Jesse Konstantinoff, with the pair putting on a flirty display while out in Bondi last month.

Former MAFS star Nick Furphy also joined the pair, and previously confirmed to Daily Mail Australia that the pair were romantically linked.

'Jesse and Leah are dating,' he said, outing the couple.

Together? MAFS star Nick Furphy confirmed to Daily Mail Australia Leah and Jesse (pictured) 'were dating'

Meanwhile, on the show there was also speculation the blonde vixen shared a romance with former Bachelorette star Michael Turnbull.

The pairing came after Leah was also linked to Bachelorette 'villain' and male model David Witko, with the pair reportedly enjoying a long-standing relationship.

Reportedly Tara Pavlovic, Apollo Jackson, Michael Turnbull, Jake Ellis, Laurina Fleure and Jarrod Woodgate will all feature in Bachelor in Paradise, which is due to air this year.
She's the veteran TV presenter who is known to share jealousy-inducing snaps of her travels abroad.

And, after fans speculated that Lisa Wilkinson was heading to the South African jungle for a 'special' I'm A Celebrity...Get me Out Of Here! interview, the Project host has popped up in Las Vegas.

Lisa took to her Instagram story on Friday to share a short clip of the neon-drenched Las Vegas Strip.

Sin City! After fans speculated that Lisa Wilkinson was heading to the South African jungle for a 'special' I'm A Celebrity...Get me Out Of Here! interview, the Project host popped up in Las Vegas, sharing a snap to her Instagram Story of the famous Strip

Hinting on Thursday that she was heading overseas for a special interview for The Project, Lisa followed the clip with a shot on Instagram that showed her preparing for a chat.

Taken in a luxuriously appointed hotel room, the interview's location was a far cry from the greenery of the South African jungle.

'Our very special @theprojecttv guest is about to arrive... Can you guess who it is?' she captioned the photo.

The snap caused her legions of followers to offer their thoughts of who it could be.

While some suggested Oprah Winfrey, the other top contenders were Celine Dion, who is set to tour Australia in July, Barack Obama and Meghan Markle.

The former Today show star also teased fans on Thursday night, when she posted a picture of herself at the airport.

Special guest: On Thursday, Lisa shared a shot on Instagram that showed her preparing for an interview in a very well appointed hotel room

Is Lisa Wilkinson going on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!? The Project host hinted she was heading to South Africa with airport snap... before revealing she actually jetted off to the United States

'Right now heading somewhere on this board for a VERY special interview for @theprojecttv - can you guess where?' she wrote in the caption.

Several flights to Johannesburg were seen on the departure board behind her.

Fans flocked to the comments section to speculate she was heading to South Africa.

Is she or isn't she? Fans flocked to the comments section to speculate Lisa was heading to South Africa to join Chris Brown (left) and Julia Morris (right)

'My tip you are going to Johannesburg AKA the jungle for a cameo appearance!' one wrote.

'Welcome to the Jungle!' another wrote, while others simply remarked 'Im a celebrity get me out of here!!!'

Lisa made her debut on The Project on earlier this month, but only shared the desk with the news program's regular hosts Waleed Aly and Peter Hellier, Carrie Bickmore on Thursday.

Carrie shared a selfie with her new co-star before the show started, the pair were nothing but smiles.

Meanwhile, Lisa shared a group shot of her and the other presenters with the caption: 'About to go live with these guys!'

Gone! Anthony Mundine sensationally quit I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! this week
She played teenage runaway Maddy Osborne on Home And Away for four years.

But Kassandra Clementi has waved goodbye to Summer Bay and set her sights on Hollywood stardom, after landing a role on US drama UnREAL - following in the footsteps of fellow former soap star turned Hollywood actress Margot Robbie.

The 27-year-old Australian beauty will play Crystal on the show - which is a fictional series about the making of Everlasting, a dating show similar to The Bachelor.

Hollywood stardom: Home And away's Kassandra Clementi has landed a role on US drama UnREAL - following in the footsteps of Neighbours star Margot Robbie who found global fame after moving to the States

She will enter the show's third season as the girlfriend of Chet (Craig Bierko), who plays the producer of Everlasting.

Meanwhile, Chet has explosive romantic history with acid-tongued executive producer Quinn (Constance Zimmer) - meaning Crystal will surely be caught in a love triangle.

Kassandra, who wowed with her video audition in Sydney and was flown to Vancouver for filming, said she relishes her character.

'I loved how it was such a dramatic show and yet so funny with the black comedy of the show,' she told Cosmopolitan.

Exciting: The 27-year-old Australian beauty will play Crystal on the show - which is a fictional series about the making of Everlasting, a dating show similar to The Bachelor (pictured with onscreen boyfriend Chet - Craig Bierko)

'I loved that it was centred around two female characters who were these bold, bad**s, strong women who weren't afraid to say whatever they wanted even if it was to the detriment of others.'

Asked if she was a fan of shows like The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, she admitted: 'I haven't seen them before actually, and it wasn't until I was working on UnREAL that I got an interest in these shows, like I wonder what these reality shows are like, and I wonder if this kind of almost puppeteering happens behind the scenes.'

It's possible Kassandra received some good TV advice from her ex-flatmate Margot Robbie, formerly of Neighbours and now a bona fide Hollywood star.

Love triangle: Chet has explosive romantic history with acid-tongued executive producer Quinn (Constance Zimmer) - meaning Crystal will surely be caught in a love triangle

The pair shared a house together in Melbourne when they were teenagers, and Kassandra told AAP in 2014: 'Shes doing really well and shes a lovely girl. She deserves it.'

After quitting Neighbours in 2011, Margot relocated to America and landed her breakout role opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in The Wolf of Wall Street two years later.

Kassandra, who rose to fame playing teenage runaway Maddy in the long-running soap, quit the soap in 2016 to move to LA and look for acting roles - following in the footsteps of notable ex-Home and Away stars like Chris Hemsworth and Isla Fisher.

In the past: Kassandra, who rose to fame playing teenage runaway Maddy in the long-running soap, quit the soap in 2016 to move to LA and look for acting roles - following in the footsteps of notable ex-Home and Away stars like Chris Hemsworth and Isla Fisher

Speaking of a possible return to Summer Bay, she said: 'I just have to see how life pans out. At the moment Maddy's definitely gone so we'll see.'

She also joked about the difficulties the crew faced by her amputee character, adding: 'I don't know how the wardrobe department would feel about putting that fake prosthetic arm on every day again!'

If Kassandra does find post-TV success in the States, she will be joining the ranks of late Oscar-winner Heath Ledger and Mentalist star Simon Baker, among many others.

Home and Away has a track record of producing bona fide Hollywood royalty - but there have also been many who attempted to 'break' America and failed.
He is one of the most famous faces on the music scene who is known for his abrasive attitude.

And Liam Gallagher didn't hold back as he hit out at the Brit Awards via Twitter on Friday after they rejected his request to perform at the upcoming ceremony.

The Oasis frontman, 45, who famously swore, dropped his microphone and gave his award to the crowd during his acceptance speech at the Brits in 2010, labelled show bosses 'too scared' to have him among the line-up.

Angry: Liam Gallagher didn't hold back as he hit out at the Brit Awards via Twitter on Friday after they rejected his request to perform at the upcoming ceremony

He tweeted: 'So the Brit awards have ballooned it again.

'All I wanted to do was play LIVE but there too scared too cosy the cheeky c**** asked me if I wanted to host it are they having a laugh (sic).'

One fan told the Wonderwall hitmaker Noel would have 'jumped at the opportunity' to which an irked Liam replied: 'Course he would him and his Mrs they'd be all over that exactly why I run a mile ewwww.'

Shocking: The Oasis frontman, 45, labelled show bosses 'too scared' to have him among the line-up. Pictured in 1996 at the Brit Awards

When contemplating the prospect of being a host, he joked: 'I ain't setting there table cooking the food then doing the dishes f**k that I'd rather be stung by a heard of goats (sic).

He added: 'I get it I've had my time and it was fun but don't ask me to come smile and clap some whopper.'

Liam is up for British Male Solo Artist at the awards on 21 February, having made a comeback to the music scene.

Rant: He tweeted: 'So the Brit awards have ballooned it again' after he claimed bosses blocked his request to perform at the renowned event

The rocker is known for his erratic behaviour at the ceremony, on receiving an award for the best album of the past 30 years in 2010, Gallagher swore while he thanked all the former members of Oasis except for his brother.

He then dropped the microphone and gave the award to a member of the crowd as the audience gasped.

Liam will compete against Ed Sheeran, Loyle Carner, Rag'n'Bone Man and Stormzy in the Best British Male Solo Artist category.

Outburst: The Wonderwall hitmaker, who has been nominated for British Male Solo Artist, took to Twitter to vent his fury

In 2009, Liam and brother Noel, 50, who formed Oasis, disbanded in a sensational fashion, when Noel quit after a backstage blow-up.

On the band's website, Noel admitted his relationship with Liam had become unbearable and caused him to walk out.

'It is with some sadness and great relief to tell you that I quit Oasis tonight. People will write and say what they like, but I simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer,' he wrote, explaining his abrupt departure.

In the years since, the pair have had a number of public spats, including Liam blasting Noel by calling him a 'sad f**k' on Twitter in 2017 after the latter didn't perform at Ariana Grande's benefit concert.

However in an interview with Nova's Summer Breakfast Show earlier this month, Liam confessed he wouldn't rule out trying to patch things up.

'We should never have split up  that's the only thing,' he said.
He has been best friends with Kim Kardashian for over a decade.

And Jonathan Cheban certainly found a unique gift for his bestie's newest addition, Chicago West.

The self-proclaimed Foodgod presented Kim and family with a tasty present, telling Us Weekly he sent over '20 boxes of pizza' from the newborn's namesake city of Chicago, 'because what else do you get her?' while in New York Wednesday.

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How generous! Jonathan Cheban had 20 pizzas sent to best friend Kim Kardashian after daughter Chicago West was born January 15

While in the city for fashion week, Jonathan continued: 'I think from Giordanos, which is one of their favorite pizzas. I sent them a whole thing because everyone always sends flowers and its no fun.'

Talking about his first encounters with the youngest member of the Wests the former PR wiz said: '[Shes] very cute.'

'I saw her for one second and then I ran off to Miami because Im just filming non-stop, so I saw her for one second in the hospital.'

But it seems like the little one certainly made an impression on the epicurean, who told Page Six that Chicago might have given him a case of baby fever.

Bouquets are boring! The star, who runs an Instagram called Foodgod, said he chose pizza for the little one (above) 'because everyone always sends flowers and its no fun'

Getting started: The 43-year-old reality star told Us that meeting Kim's daughter Chicago has inspired him to start a family of his own while in NYC for fashion week

Biological clock: The self-proclaimed Foodgod is so serious about starting a family of his own that he said he's even put a 'two year deadline' on his reproductive plans

Casual: The star cut a low-key figure in a green parka jacket with a furry lining as he headed out for dinner in the city on Friday

Low-key: He paired the look with a black hoodie, dark denim jeans and velvet boots

The 43-year-old reality star told the site that he's so serious about starting a family of his own that he has even put a 'two year deadline' on his reproductive plans.

Jonathan, who runs an Instagram page called Foodgod, said to the website: 'Soon. Little food babies. Give it two years for the food babies to start!'

Jonathan also told US Weekly, 'I need to find someone to have kids of my own. I had a girlfriend [Anat Popovsky] for three years but we broke up so now Im back on the hunt.'

The Instagram food blogger got his practice with newborns last month, while stopping by the hospital the day Chicago was born.

Happy: The former Celebrity Big Brother star appeared in high spirits as he headed to a lavish restaurant with a female pal

A new edition: Kim and Kanye West's daughter Chicago was born January 15 via surrogate

Kim and Kanye West's daughter Chicago was born January 15 via surrogate.

While the Kardashian-Jenner clan continues to grow, the three-week-old made her first public appearance in Kylie Jenner's pregnancy video.

On Sunday, Kylie Jenner announced that she welcomed her first child, Stormi Webster, on February 1.

Family friend: Although Jonathan has met Chicago, the 43-year-old said he 'hasn't has a second' to introduce himself to Kylie's newborn

The 20-year-old co-parents her daughter with rapper Travis Scott, 25.

Although Jonathan has met Chicago, the 43-year-old said he 'hasn't has a second' to introduce himself to Kylie's newborn.

The Kardashian family is still waiting to welcome Khloe's little bundle of joy with boyfriend Tristan Thompson.
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She's the ex-wife of veteran today host Karl Stefanovic.

And Cassandra Thorburn has spoken for the first time about Karl's engagement to Jasmine Yarbrough, admitting that the impending nuptials do not register with her 'on any level'.

Speaking to Fairfax Media, the 46-year old this week claimed she wasn't bothered by the impending union.

Speaking out: Cassandra Thorburn has spoken for the first time about ex-husband Karl Stefanovic's engagement to Jasmine Yarbrough, admitting that the impending nuptials do not register with her 'on any level

'His engagement doesn't register with me on any level,' she told the publication.

Seemingly taking a subtle dig at Karl, Cassandra continued: 'I am just focused on helping those affected by the ever-changing landscape of my ex-husband's life, to navigate it.'

Jasmine confirmed her engagement to Karl by wearing a giant diamond sparkler on her ring finger during a celebratory lunch earlier this month.

Moving on: Taking a subtle dig at Karl, Cassandra added: 'I am just focused on helping those affected by the ever-changing landscape of my ex-husband's life, to navigate it'

Confirming the persistent rumours, the happy couple were spotted dining with family and friends at Otto in the Sydney suburb of Woolloomooloo.

The blonde beauty, 34, who has been dating 43-year-old Karl for just over a year, was seen flashing the rock as she raised her glass for a toast during the gathering.

The lunch comes just days after Jasmine's 34th birthday, which was celebrated with a rowdy party last week.

It's unclear whether last Friday's gathering was another celebration of Jasmine's birthday, or whether the group had gathered to clink glasses over the couple's engagement.

However, one of the couple's friends shared video footage showing the assembled guests singing 'Happy Birthday' to Jasmine as she blew out a candle.

There it is!The ring was also spotted in a picture of the gathering shared by a friend on Instagram

Claims Karl and Jasmine were engaged first emerged in a Fairfax report over the summer holidays.

The publication claimed the couple's 'wide circle of friends' received loved-up text messages that confirmed the engagement.

Here comes the bride! Pictured alongside Karl, close family and friends, guests are seen raising a toast, with Jasmine's impressive rock seen front and centre on her wedding finger

Happy Birthday! One of the couple's friends shared video footage from the gathering, which showed the group singing 'Happy Birthday' to Jasmine as she blew out a candle

Then, on Monday night, Jasmine appeared on Instagram in what was seemingly just a normal image from her 34th birthday party.

She was seen crouching down on the grass in her backyard, posing for a happy snap.

But eagle-eyed fans were quick to notice: 'There's a rock on her finger!' triggering a wave of congratulatory messages on the post.

Best kept secret: Claims Karl and Jasmine were engaged first emerged in a Fairfax report over the summer holidays (ring pictured on Jasmine's wedding finger, in right of frame)

It was later claimed the event may have actually been an engagement party.

Social snaps showed the former runway model posing alongside a set of big neon lights that spelled out her name.

Hours later, images surfaced of an '&' symbol being wheeled into the venue by staff, despite the symbol not being seen in social snaps from the event.

The text: The publication claimed the couple's 'wide circle of friends' received loved-up text messages that confirmed the engagement

Eagle-eye! Then, on Monday night, Jasmine appeared on Instagram in what was seemingly just a normal snap from her 34th birthday party, until eagle-eyed fans noticed: 'There's a rock on her finger!' triggering a wave of congratulatory messages on the post

Just a birthday party? It was later claimed the event may have actually been an engagement party, after pictures that showed 'JAS' in neon letters were later contradicted

It was unclear why Jasmine would have a '&' symbol at her solo birthday party, unless the sign was actually meant to spell 'Jasmine & Karl'.

Fairfax have also claimed the pair are remaining silent in public to protect a 'media deal.'

The publication alleged: 'the couple have struck a (paid) media deal and intend to make a "big splash" with the news in the very near future'.

Congrats! It was unclear why Jasmine would have a '&' symbol at her solo birthday party, unless the sign was actually meant to spell 'Jasmine & Karl'

The report continued: 'In recent days, Karl has confided to family members that he and Jasmine intend to get married sometime in 2018.'

Karl split from Cassandra, 46, in September 2016, before meeting Jasmine at a boat party that December.

They share three children together, daughter Ava, and sons Jackson and River.
Real Housewives Of Orange County alum Gretchen Rossi has revealed she is planning to have IVF in a bid to start a family.

Giving DailyMail.com a tour of her Costa Mesa, California home, the reality star opened up about her struggle to get pregnant with fiance Slade Smiley.

The 39-year-old explained: 'God willing, I can get pregnant in 2018!'

Abs-olute stunner! Former Real Houswives of Orange County Gretchen Rossi happily showed off her fantastic home gym and enviably toned body while giving a tour of her Costa Mesa, California residence Friday

What a stud! The star accessorized with diamond studs while styling her hair in a glam ponytail and wearing lilac lacquer on her nails

While Gretchen has no children, her fiance has two sons from a previous relationship. She said the journey to parenthood hadn't been easy.

'It is no secret that we tried IVF in the past and Slade also had his vasectomy reversed but we are going to try again to see if we can get pregnant.

'We have had good feedback from our doctors about our bodies and "God willing" I can get pregnant in 2018.

'I know that Slade and I would make great parents because we both love kids and I feel like I am a great mom to our three dogs, so, lets give it a shot.'

Good eats! Later the Baylor University alum took things to the kitchen, where she demonstrated her healthy eating habits by picking out some fresh fruit

Meanwhile Gretchen is making sure to keep herself in great shape - with her home gym coming in handy.

Showing DailyMail.com around her luxury home, she donned workout gear and demonstrated her healthy eating habits by picking out some fresh fruit.

Despite leaving RHOC four years ago the Orange County resident says she does not have any regrets about no longer being on the reality series.

She does, however, admit to missing some of the exotic trips and exciting opportunities, like meeting Oprah Winfrey, that the show afforded her.

Plum position: It was clear that the California blonde, 39, was making great use of her workout room as she flaunted her fabulous figure in a grey sports bra and tight plum leggings

Having a ball! Rossi offered up a glimpse at her perky backside while perching upon a purple exercise ball

'Look, some of those trips and experiences I had were amazing and I would be lying if I said I did not miss those and some of the fun times I had with the other women but thats about it.

'But being in a Real Housewife can be brutal too  those ladies can be really tough and it brings a lot of negative energy with it as well.

'I do not miss the fighting and all that drama can be very toxic with people saying horrible lies just for a pay check.'

Busy bee! Since leaving RHOC four years ago Gretchens life has been very busy both professionally and personally

Food for thought! The star made time for a second look, displaying her full bust in a front-zip sports bra teamed with grey leggings

All on the ups! Rossi says she's excited about where things are going for her business, Gretchen And Christine, explaining shoppers can expect more handbags and beauty products from the brand in 2018

With rumors swirling that Peggy Sulahian was axed from the show, the former RHOC has some sympathy for her predicament and has some advice to offer her as well.

'When I saw Peggy on the reunion show she looked totally lost and I felt sad for her because those women are really tough, not only that she was battling breast cancer as well and she seemed to be getting the short end of the stick,' she said.

'My advice to her would be to stay true to herself and her family because they are what really matters at the end of the day.'

Starting a family: Adding to her blessings, the star and her husband Slade Smiley have decided to try and have a baby once again via IVF treatments in the New Year

Ready for the responsibility! The star thinks she and her husband 'would make great parents'

Moving on! Since leaving the show, the Orange County resident says she does not have any regrets about no longer being on the infamous reality series

Since leaving reality TV Gretchen has been hard at work building up her own business Gretchen And Christine - which is set to really expand in 2018 after being bought over by a larger company.

The deal made sure that Gretchen remained CEO and Creative Director of the company while their offices are just a 15 minutes drive from her home in Newport Beach.

Gretchen says she's excited about where things are going for the brand, dishing: 'We are going to do more handbags, make-up and beauty products in 2018, it is such an exciting time for me professionally and I feel very blessed.'

Amazing opportunities! She does admit, however, to missing some of the exotic trips and exciting opportunities, like meeting Oprah Winfrey, that the show afforded her

Tough cookie! Gretchen made no illusions about the 'brutal' parts of being on the reality show, explaining 'those ladies can be really tough'

Relaxing: Rossi explained she thinks 'all that drama can be very toxic' for people
Jennifer Lopez bonded with her nine-year-old daughter Emme Maribel Muniz on Friday after expressing solidarity with the feminist #MeToo movement.

'I'm super excited about the time we are living in right now - especially for my daughter,' the 48-year-old Golden Globe nominee told Billboard on January 31.

'It's a beautiful time for women. We are really finding our voices. We are really coming out of the shadows and saying how we feel. [It's about] knowing our worth and our value and making the opposite sex aware of our worth and our value.

'I'm super excited about the time we are living in right now - especially for my daughter': Jennifer Lopez bonded with her nine-year-old daughter Emme Maribel Muniz on Friday after expressing solidarity with the feminist #MeToo movement

The GUESS Girl also has a fraternal twin son Max with her ex-husband #3 Marc Anthony, whom she divorced in 2014 after a decade-long marriage.

Meanwhile, Jennifer's boyfriend Alex Rodriguez was in Miami where he shared a 'dinner time' snap with his daughters Natasha & Ella with ex-wife Cynthia Scurtis.

Lopez and the 42-year-old commentator celebrated their first anniversary as a couple last Saturday, and she dedicated her song Us to him during a pre-Super Bowl concert.

'We've been together for one year today,' the Amor Amor Amor songstress gushed onstage the Armory in Minneapolis.

Amicable exes: The 48-year-old Golden Globe nominee also has a fraternal twin son Max with her ex-husband #3 Marc Anthony, whom she divorced in 2014 after a decade-long marriage

'#DaddysGirls': Meanwhile, Jennifer's boyfriend Alex Rodriguez was in Miami where he shared a 'dinner time' snap with his daughters Natasha & Ella with ex-wife Cynthia Scurtis

'I love you!' The GUESS Girl and the 42-year-old commentator celebrated their first anniversary as a couple last Saturday, and she dedicated her song Us to him during a pre- Super Bowl concert (pictured Sunday)

'I don't want to get all mushy or anything, but baby, this song's for you. I love you.'

JLo and A-Rod - who are both native New Yorkers - share much in common and they're of Puerto Rican and Dominican descent, respectively.

The two-time Grammy nominee was up late Thursday recording her ninth studio album - due out in September - with Venezuelan music producer Motiff and Miami crooner Jencarlos Canela.

Last week, the World of Dance judge officially confirmed that her next single is called Dinero and features fellow Bronx-born rap star Cardi B.

'#disruptive': The two-time Grammy nominee was up late Thursday recording her ninth studio album - due out in September - with Venezuelan music producer Motiff and Miami crooner Jencarlos Canela

'I don't know what the video is going to be yet': Last week, the World of Dance judge confirmed that her next single Dinero features fellow Bronx-born rap star Cardi B (pictured October 17)

'I feel like you already know that I collaborated with Cardi B,' Jennifer told Latina.com.

'I do have a record coming out with her and it's coming out soon. The name of the song is Dinero. I don't know what the video is going to be yet but we'll see what we come up with.'

Lopez will then kick off the eighth leg of her $50.4M-grossing, 108-date All I Have residency on February 21 at Planet Hollywood's AXIS auditorium in Las Vegas.
She famously played the princess in Cinderella.

And Lily James proved to be the belle of the ball once again, as she made a stunning entrance to the Vienna Opera Ball on Thursday.

Looking a picture of glamour in a floor-length white gown and gold jewellery, the 28-year-old actress was beaming as she attended the glitzy event.

English rose: Lily James proved to be the belle of the ball once again, as she made a stunning entrance to the Vienna Opera Ball on Thursday

The English rose put her statuesque figure on full display as she posed in the chic dress, which featured floral and a constellation pattern on the front.

She wore her chocolate-brown tresses in a glamorous up-do, which perfectly suited the evening's high-class dress code.

Lily wore quirky gold star earrings for the night, and had just a touch of make-up on to showcase her natural beauty.

She was seen enjoying a glass of champagne alongside model Barbara Meier and entrepreneur Klemens Hallmann.

Belle of the ball! Lily looked radiant as she posed with model Barbara Meier and entrepreneur Klemens Hallmann

Stunning: Lily looked a picture of glamour in a floor-length white gown and gold jewellery, and the 28-year-old was beaming as she attended the glitzy event

Tall and slender: The British rose put her statuesque figure on full display as she posed in the chic dress, which featured stitched constellations on the front

Keeping it cool: Lily wore quirky gold star earrings for the night, and had just a touch of make-up on to showcase her natural beauty

Good time: The British actor was ready to have a good time, as she was pictured looking out onto the dance floor of accompanied by German actor Heiner Lauterbach

The British actor was ready to have a good time, as she was pictured looking out onto the dance floor alongside German actor Heiner Lauterbach.

Her friends were also dressed exquisitely for the evening's events as 31-year-old model Barbara looked graceful in a long flower-print gown.

Barbara's hair matched her British counterpart, as she her fiery red locks were pulled back into a tight ponytail.

She complemented the look with extravagant jewellery, and held a small clutch bag tightly in one hand.

Three's company: She was seen posing for pictures alongside model Barbara Meier (right) and entrepreneur Klemens Hallmann (centre)

Dancing around: Lily was in high spirits as she twirled around with other guests

Natural beauty: Her light make-up ensured that her striking features stood out

Social calendar: The ball season in Austria is an important part of its culture and runs from November to Lent, with the Opera Ball being the last event in the calendar

Earlier in the evening she looked out onto dancers performing below as she watched performances from the orchestra of Wiener Staatsoper and the Vienna State Ballet.

Lily was pictured with a number of guests at the big social event, including Swiss photographer Michael Comte.

The ball season in Austria is an important part of its culture and runs from November to Lent, with the Opera Ball being the last event in the calendar.

Out time: After the main performances finished the guests headed to the main floor to dance

Stylish friend: Her friends were also dressed exquisitely for the evening's events as 31-year-old model Barbara looked graceful in a long flower-print gown

Excited: As the evening progressed Lily seemed to be having a lot of fun with those around her
2018 is set to be a busy year for Kourtney Kardashian, with the oldest Kardashian sister becoming an aunt to Kylie Jenners and Khloe Kardashians babies.

In January, her sisters Khloe and Kim Kardashian, mocked Kourtney for her apparent lack of work ethic after she revealed she was interested in developing an interior design show.

However, it looks like Scott Disicks ex is serious about increasing her net worth outside of Keeping Up With the Kardashians.

Kourtney Kardashian's on-again-off-again relationship with Scott Disick ended in 2015

In late January 2018, it was reported that the 38-year-old reality TV star was planning to emulate her sisters success by launching her 'own make-up line called Kourt.

With so many new developments in her life, here is all the information on Kourtney Kardashians net worth and how she made her money.

Who is Kourtney Kardashian?

Born in Los Angeles on April 18, 1979, Kourtney Mary Kardashian is the oldest child of reality TV momager Kris Jenner and OJ Simpsons lawyer, Robert Kardashian.

She has two younger sisters, Kim Kardashian West and Khloe Kardashian, and one younger brother, Rob.

After her mother divorced Robert and married Caitlyn Jenner (then Bruce Jenner), Kourtney became step-siblings with Burton, Brandon, Brody, Kendall and Kylie Jenner.

gotcha A post shared by Kourtney Kardashian (@kourtneykardash) on Nov 3, 2017 at 5:54pm PDT

Kourtney graduated from the University of Arizona with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre Arts, with a minor in Spanish.

Kourtney Kardashians first brush with TV fame was not in 2007, when Keeping Up With The Kardashians was released, but in 2005s Filthy Rich: Cattle Drive - an E! Show in which affluent children of celebrities worked on a farm in Colorado.

Other cast members included George Foremans son George Foreman III and Shannon Ferrigno, the daughter of TVs Hulk star Lou Ferrigno.

After Keeping Up With The Kardashians proved to be a hit, Kourtney went on to star in its various spin-offs including Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami, and Kourtney and Kim Take New York.

In 2011, Kourtney made a guest appearance on ABC soap One Life to Live, although the critics reviews of her performance were less than favourable.

Kourtney is most famous for her relationship with Scott Disick, the father of her three children: Mason, Penelope and Reign Disick.

The couple first met in 2006, at a party thrown by the creator of Girls Gone Wild, Joe Francis, and have had an off-again-on-again relationship for 12 years. Through his connection to Kourtney, Scott became a frequent presence on KUWTK.

Their relationship officially ended in 2015 and Kourtney has since begun dating model Younes Bendjima.

What is Kourtney Kardashians net worth?

Kourtney Kardashians net worth has accumulated to approximately $35 million (25.3m), according to Celebrity Net Worth.

How did Kourtney Kardashian make her money?

Kourtney Kardashian has been on Keeping Up With The Kardashians since the show's inception

Kourtney Kardashians TV fame has allowed her to become a celebrity endorser and brand ambassador to several high-profile companies.

Kourtney was an ambassador for New Zealand skincare brand Manuka Doctor. In January 2018, she joined her sisters Kim, Khloe, Kendall and Kylie for a Calvin Klein underwear campaign.

This is not the first time the sisters joined business forces. In 2010, Kourtney, Khloe and Kim created a new fashion line called Bebe.

In 2010, Kourtney and her sisters worked with Perfect Science Labs to create a skin care product called PerfectSkin.

However, the product received customer complaints and the sisters are reportedly no longer connected to the company.

Kourtney also collaborated with online shop, Pretty Little Thing, on her own fashion line.

With more than 60 million followers on her KourtneyKardash Instagram, Kourtney pulls in significant amounts of money from her product endorsements on social media platforms that also includes Twitter and Facebook.

In 2016, Kourtney could earn 'anywhere between $75,000 to $300,000' for product posts across Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter accounts, a CBC Marketplace research found.
As one of the world's most in-demand models, Bella Hadid has a very busy New York Fashion Week ahead.

And she proved a pure professional as she kept her mind on work while jetting from one event to the next wearing a boxy Vivienne Westwood suit and edgy crop top on Friday.

The IMG model's outing came just hours after the arrest of her stalker at her NYC apartment on Thursday.

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Work it! Bella Hadid kept her eyes down while jetting from one event to the next wearing a boxy Vivienne Westwood suit and edgy crop top this Friday

Under her open jacket, the younger sister of model Gigi flaunted her flat abs in a cropped turtleneck.

She teamed her look with stacked Doc Martens and white socks.

Bella sported microscopic orange sunglasses on her face while carrying a comic book inspired Prada satchel on her arm.

The Dutch-Palestinian beauty tied her hair back into a slick bun while keeping her face makeup-free to let her natural beauty shine through.

Rip it up and start again! Under her open jacket, the younger sister of model Gigi flaunted her flat abs in a cropped turtleneck

Orange crush! Bella sported microscopic orange sunglasses on her face while carrying a comic book inspired Prada satchel on her arm

Grounded: She teamed her look with stacked Doc Martens and white socks

Stalked: A man alleged to have been stalking Bella Hadid, pictured, since December was arrested Thursday night outside her New York apartment, TMZ reported

The outing came after a man alleged to be stalking her since December was arrested Thursday night.

TMZ reported the 37-year-old was picked up by cops outside the model's apartment after she alerted police officers to his presence.

The 5foot9 star recognized the man as she was heading back to her building, according to TMZ, and called law enforcement.

Watchful: TMZ reported Bella, 21, recognized the man as she was heading back to her building about 9:30 p.m. and called law enforcement

Dangerous situation: The website said he'd been sending messages via social media threatening to kill her and her family

Reoccurring incident: The suspect is believed to be the same person who's been sending the model threats since October of last year

According to the site, Bella's security team helped track the suspect as he was leaving the building before police picked him up about a mile north of the star's apartment.

The website said he'd been sending messages via social media threatening to kill her and her family.

The suspect is believed to be the same person who's been sending the model threats since October of last year.

Tough times: Brian Perez, 37 was seen in a New York Criminal Court on Friday after going to the model's home

TMZ reported the 37-year-old was picked up by cops outside the model's apartment after she alerted police officers to his presence

The 5foot9 star recognized the man as she was heading back to her building, according to TMZ, and called law enforcement.

Make-over! Elsewhere Bella remained still as a make-up artist worked their magic on the stunner backstage at the Jason Wu show during New York Fashion Week

Pout and about: The stylist also looked at primping the model's shoulder-length brunette tresses for the catwalk

Gorgeous girl: The make-up artist gave the beauty her final dusting of make-up to polish off her glamorous looks

Posing: The catwalk queen looked beautiful when she debuted her make-up enhanced looks, including cat-eye flicks to accentuate her features

Shopping siren: The model also enjoyed a shopping spree at designer Alexander Wang store in New York City
He's more than just a wrestler-turned-actor-turned-TV host.

John Cena is also a wedding officiant.

And the 40-year-old showed off his special skill when he presided over the nuptials of couple Jordan and Kyle on Friday's edition of Today.

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New string to his bow: Wrestler-turned-actor-turned TV host John Cena presided over the nuptials of competition winners Jordan and Kyle on Friday's edition of Today

Last month, co-hosts Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford invited couples to submit their love stories for a chance to win a dream wedding planned by viewers.

Jordan and Kyle were declared the lucky winners.

And John was ready to help the couple tie the knot at a special ceremony that took place in the show's New York studio in front of their friends, family and all the viewers.

Blooming beautiful: Surrounded by flowers, the bride wore a stunning Rivini lace gown with a long train chosen by viewers while her groom looked suave in a black tuxedo and bow tie.

The bride wore a stunning Rivini lace gown with a long train chosen by viewers, plus blue suede shoes, while her groom looked suave in a black tuxedo and bow tie.

John pulled off his officiating duties flawlessly, from overseeing the ring exchange to pronouncing the two husband and wife.

He said: 'I look at this beautiful couple from the eyes of someone who is about to embark on their own journey down the aisle, and I feel inspired and fortified in the knowledge that the love between two people is not only real but it's also magical.

Filmed live: The happy couple were surrounded by friends and family while viewers watched around the country

'And when it's true like theirs, it's the most extraordinary thing in the world.'

Graciously calling the pair 'a couple of adventurers just crazy enough to share your special day with us,' he added, 'with that said, let's get it on!'

John later surprised the pair with tickets for a romantic honeymoon to Italy.

The celebrity proposed to his longtime girlfriend and wrestling partner Nikki Bella, 34, in the ring at WrestleMania 33 last April.
Her Instagram platform is lined with a slew of sizzling bikini snaps.

But Elizabeth Hurley proved she was just as fabulous on a casual day, as she stepped out in London on Friday.

The 52-year-old shielded herself from the bitter February chill in a grey padded jacket and low-key denims as she strutted along with some bags in tow.

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Casually clad: Elizabeth Hurley, 52, proved she was just as fabulous on a casual day, as she stepped out in London on Friday.

Clad in a pair of black tinted shades, Elizabeth looked sensational as she headed down the street in the British capital.

The movie star ensured her warmth with the elongated padded jacket which boasted a faux fur trim at the bottom and she teamed the look with a bulky black scarf.

A pair of casual black boots completed the look as she strolled forth with her hair billowing in the wind as she toted her belongings in a Louis Vuitton suitcase and a green holdall.

Earlier this week, Elizabeth was wowed her fans with yet another stunning bikini snapshot, sharing a jaw-dropping snapshot of her slender frame.

Low-key style: The actress shielded herself from the bitter February chill in a grey padded jacket and bulky scarf as she strutted along

Enviable: Earlier this week, Elizabeth wowed her fans with yet another stunning bikini snapshot, sharing a jaw-dropping snapshot of her slender frame

The star can be seen in an idyllic beachfront location, modelling a leopard print two-piece from her own range.

Elizabeth's skimpy swimwear made the most of her ample cleavage and her flat stomach.

Cutting a rather youthful figure, the star pulled her hood up over her head and shielded her eyes behind a pair of shades.

She captioned the snap: 'Launching tomorrow @elizabethhurleybeach new #summer18 collection #cheetahbikini #pixierobe'.

Last month, the bronzed beauty donned an aqua blue bikini, accented with tiny gold hoops on the string straps, giving just a glimpse of her toned stomach and gym-honed arms.

'Nothing beats a string bikini': Last month, the bronzed beauty donned an aqua blue bikini, sending her fans wild with another sizzling snap

Elizabeth showed off her natural beauty in the make-up free pic, as she pulled her best model pout while keeping the sun rays out of her eyes with giant gold rimmed sunglasses.

She swept her trademark brunette tresses up away from her face, leaving delicate wisps of hair to frame her youthful complexion.

She captioned the saucy snap: 'Trends come and trends go, but nothing beats a string bikini #aquariusbikini #aqua.'

It's not the first time Elizabeth has set tongues wagging with her social media uploads. On Monday, The Royals star continued to steal the limelight as she stripped down to a skimpy pink bikini during a sun-soaked throwback video.

The model sent fans wild as she showed off her sensational age-defying physique while dancing seductively on an idyllic sandy beach.

The Austin Powers star looked incredible as she spun around and shimmied to the camera as guitar music played in the background.

Wearing a fuschia two-piece from her own bikini line, the mother-of-one certainly turned heads as she danced around on the pristine white beach.

Elizabeth, who has a 15-year-old son Damian with ex Steve Bing, ran her hands through her hair as she beamed at the lens.

She captioned the seductive video: 'Happy Sunday. @elizabethhurleybeach #Islabikini.'

Her followers went wild for the video, flocking to praise her incredible figure in the comments section.

Throwing some shapes: The Austin Powers star looked incredible as she spun around and shimmied to the camera as guitar music played in the background

Island life: The British beauty wore her half-wet tresses in tousled waves and appeared to show off her natural beauty by foregoing make-up

'I'm 52 and I am not going to eat ever again. Or Until I look like this, whichever comes first,' one quipped.

Another gushed: 'Looked up youthful exuberance in the dictionary and I was re-directed here!'

A third wrote: 'B***dy beautiful and ageless' while a fourth agreed: 'Wow, sure looks GREAT for fifty-two!'

The veteran actress' skimpy display was a stark contrast to her look just days earlier, as she donned a camouflaged balaclava helmet.

The words Watch out were emblazoned across the bottom of the snap, hinting that Hurley could be teasing fans with a possible new acting role.

Beach babe: Wearing a fuschia two-piece from her own bikini line, the mother-of-one certainly turned heads as she danced around on the pristine white beach

Sensational: One follower gushed in the comments section: 'I'm so in love with you, you're a goddess' while another added: 'Looked up youthful exuberance in the dictionary and I was re-directed here!'

Hurley was catapulted to stardom in 1994 when she wore a skimpy Versace dress held together with safety pins while attending the Four Weddings And A Funeral premiere with now-ex Hugh Grant.

She later cemented her sex symbol status playing Mike Myers' love interest in the 1997 comedy Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery.

Hugh recently talked about their relationship, admitting he bonded so much with Hurley as they were initially both out of work.

Speaking on The Jess Cagle Interview, Hugh said: 'Were like brother and sister... I think its partly because we went from zero to somewhere together.

'We went through terrible years at the beginning when neither of us had any work, living in a tiny flat. It was quite bonding.'

He also reflected on the cause of their split, admitting he was an 'idiot' for the 1995 scandal in which he was arrested for lewd conduct with a prostitute.

The Notting Hill star was arrested over two decades ago in Los Angeles for his actions with a prostitute named Divine Brown a week before his movie Nine Months was due for release.

Now reflecting on his actions, Hugh claimed he should have claimed he had a 'psychological problem'.

He explained: 'I was just an idiot. I didnt try to say, "Ive got this psychological problem." I just said, "I did it"'.
He earned a reported $100,000 for one minute of work at Fashion Week last year.

But despite his lucrative income, Jordan Barrett has admitted that being a model is 'not that hard'.

The 21-year-old spoke frankly about his career with BW magazine ahead of walking the runway for David Jones' Autumn Winter 2018 Collections Launch on Saturday, saying: 'It's not that hard to walk down a runway, is what I usually tell he people.'

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Light work: Jordan Barrett has acknowledged being a model is 'not that hard', ahead of walking the runway for David Jones' Autumn Winter 2018 Collections Launch

'You're just walking in clothes, really. Then you change them and put some shoes on. I'm usually barefoot, so I put shoes on and I walk,' he added.

Jordan made headlines in May 2017 when he was paid a rumoured $100,000 to appear in a Justin Cassin show for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Sydney.

The Byron Bay-raised talent has forged friendships with fellow high profile models including Gigi and Bella Hadid, Hailey Baldwin and Kate Moss.

'You're just walking in clothes, really. Then you change them and put some shoes on. I'm usually barefoot, so I put shoes on and I walk,' he added

Support system: According to The Sydney Morning Herald, he has become one of Kate's 'closest friends' and she is his 'favourite collaborator'

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, he has become one of Kate's 'closest friends' and she is his 'favourite collaborator'.

'I love to work with Kate, anything around Kate. She is just amazing, [I have a] great time with her,' he told the publication.

Jordan's mother Julie, who flew from the Gold Coast to Sydney to watch him walk in the David Jones show, had nothing but praise for her 'wild child' son.

'I was here at the David Jones show the first time he walked [when he was 16] and I'm here now. I am very, very proud of him,' she gushed.

Jordan was discovered at age 14 by a model scout working for international agency IMG.

The chance meeting took place when he was caught stealing matches from a convenience store.
It's been nearly twelve years since she released her hit single, Stars Are Blind.

And fans of Parish Hilton are just days away from the release of her new song, I Need You.

Ahead of its debut, the recently engaged heiress has been promoting her track on social media, with the help of a vintage-themed photo shoot.

'5 Days': Paris Hilton, 36, has been teasing the release of her new single, I Need You, on social media. The former reality star shared this snap on Instagram on Friday

'5 Days till #INeedYou,' wrote the blonde beauty, in an Instagram post on Friday.

The photo, which was uploaded to the popular picture-sharing site, featured Paris dressed dressed in a pink swimsuit, coordinating furry shrug and matching heels.

The 36-year-old wore bold, fuchsia make-up, with hair styled in a high ponytail.

The former Simple Life star sat on a lip-shaped couch next to a personalized Hermes bag, decorated with Swarovski crystals,said to be worth $65,000.

'I thank God you came to me': The stunner shared a sample of the lyrics from her upcoming song in another post

'6 Days': On Thursday, the hotel heiress shared another photo, that featured the star stirring frosting, with an array of sweet treats around her

What to expect: According to the New York City native, her single, which, reports E! , is 'about... [her] fiance,' is set for release on Valentine's Day next week

In another photo shared on Friday, Paris shared lyrics from her upcoming single.

'I wanna be the bunny in your Easter. And I wanna kiss you every New Years Eve. You bring my heart to life. Make everything all right. I thank God you came to me,' it read.

Paris started the countdown to her new release on Wednesday.

The beauty was styled in a blonde wig and white dress, head resting against a wall of roses.

'Countdown starts now, Day 7 #INeedYou,' read the photo's caption.

Her single is set for release on Valentine's Day next week.

Busy: On Wednesday, Paris was seen out and about in LA, before heading out of LAX

Making a statement: The New York native was styled in black tank and animal print sweater

On Wednesday, Paris was seen out and about in LA, before heading out of LAX.

For her flight to Brazil, the professional DJ was joined by fiance Chris Zylka, 32.

The two became engaged over New Year's weekend, while on a skin trip in Aspen, CO.

Love of her life: For her flight to Brazil, the professional DJ was joined by fiance Chris Zylka, 32. The two became engaged over New Year's weekend, while on a skin trip in Aspen, CO

'I've been traveling a lot since I got engaged so I'm going to have a meeting with my mom soon,' Paris began, in an interview with E!.

'We've been on the phone all the time just trying to figure out where we want to do it and the date. It's a lot to plan.'

'It's so hard to plan something like this. My schedule is so crazy. I have friends and family all over the world and I really want it to be the perfect day. Hopefully somewhere close so that everyone can make it from my family.'
As'ad's Bio

As'ad AbuKhalil, born March 16, 1960. From Tyre, Lebanon, grew up in Beirut. Received his BA and MA from American University of Beirut in pol sc. Came to US in 1983 and received his PhD in comparative government from Georgetown University. Taught at Tufts University, Georgetown University, George Washington University, Colorado College, and Randolph-Macon Woman's College. Served as a Scholar-in-Residence at Middle East Institute in Washington DC. He served as free-lance Middle East consultant for NBC News and ABC News, an experience that only served to increase his disdain for maintream US media. He is now professor of political science at California State University, Stanislaus. His favorite food is fried eggplants.
John Gavin, star of films such as Psycho and Spartacus, has died aged 86.

The actor died at his Beverly Hills home on Friday surrounded by family, following a bout of pneumonia.

Gavin, who played Sam Loomis in the classic horror flick, died from pneumonia, following a long battle against leukemia.

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Gone but not forgotten: John Gavin, seen with wife Constance Towers in LA in 2009, died of pneumonia at 86 on Friday after a long illness

According to TMZ, the former actor was first hospitalized shortly before Christmas.

Having made his name in a string of iconic films, Gavin later turned his hand to politics, becoming the Ambassador to Mexico in 1981.

Appointed by Ronald Reagan, the Republican served in the role for five years.

Iconic: Gavin and Janet Leigh play Sam Loomis and Marion Crane in the horror picture Psycho

Classic: Gavin and Leigh were posed with Vera Miles (L) in this still from the 1960 film

Check-in time: Miles and Gavin were seen with Anthony Perkins (R) in this shot from the Alfred Hitchcock classic

A Korean War veteran, Gavin went into acting, landing a starring role in the 1958 film A Time To Love And A Time To Die, for which he was awarded a Golden Globe.

He is best known for his roles in 1959's Imitation of Life, 1960 films Spartacus and Psycho, and the 1967 film Thoroughly Modern Millie.

Gavin was also signed up to play James Bond, in the 1971 film Diamonds Are Forever, following on from George Lazenby. However after Sean Connery accepted a lucrative offer to return to the role, Gavin was replaced.

Classic cinema: Gavin was seen in 1960's Spartacus with Laurence Olivier (L), as he played Julius Caesar in the film

Handsome: The veteran actor was snapped in 1970 amid his Hollywood career

Government duty: Gavin, who later turned to politics, was snapped with late First Lady Nancy Reagan in 1985 after a devastating earthquake in Mexico City

Tribute: Gavin's filmmaker friend William Friedkin took to Twitter to pay memorial to the actor

He was then considered for 1973's Live And Let Die, but producer Harry Saltzman insisted a British actor be chosen for the role - leading to the casting of Roger Moore.

Gavin and Connie Towers, a soap opera actress who appeared on General Hospital for 10 years, had wed in September of 1974.

According to the AP, Reagan appointed Gavin as Mexicos ambassador in 1981, as it was a country Gavin already had ties with. His father had invested in the countrys mines, and ancestors of his Mexican-born mother had been among Californias first Spanish settlers. Gavin had often visited Mexico in his youth and was fluent in Spanish and Portuguese.

Gavin is survived by his wife, Connie, 84, and their two children. Connie told TMZ: 'We lost our best friend, father and husband. We were so grateful to have him.'

Towers' confidante and colleague, filmmaker William Friedkin, took to Twitter on Friday, calling it 'a sad day' upon learning about the death of Gavin, who he described as a 'great friend,' 'like a brother' and 'one of the finest men I knew.'

'May he Rest In Peace,' Friedkin added.
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'Hot Felon' Jeremy Meeks shot to fame in 2014 when his mugshot was posted on Facebook by the Stockton Police Department.

The former criminal, who had been arrested on felony weapons charges in California, became an internet sensation.

His piercing blue eyes and full lips attracted thousands of likes and comments.

But Meeks is not the first criminal to make waves with a very attractive mugshot, and one Tumblr is collecting the nation's prettiest alleged offenders.

Meet 20 females from across the United States whose good looks belie their unattractive alleged crimes...

This fiery felon (left), with a beaming smile and wild golden locks, was brought into custody at Brazos County Sheriff's Office in Texas for possession of marijuana. Brown-eyed beauty Paola Crespo, 20, (right) was pulled into Dade County Sheriff's Office in Florida in 2015 charged with battery by strangulation

Blonde bombshell Jennifer Montes, 29, was photographed at Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office in Florida last year after being arrested for trafficking heroin and possession of cocaine. Gabriella Joya, 20, with her endless eyelashes, was brought into Brown County Sheriff's Office in Wisconsin last year for disorderly conduct and assault

With her hair slicked back into a tight bun and a perfect peach pout, Jenna Artzer was arrested for possession of marijuana in 2009 and had her mugshot taken at Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office in Florida. Blonde Storey Howard was also arrested for possession of marijuana and brought into Denton County Sheriff's Office in Texas last year. She was later released without charge.

Montgomery County Sheriff's Office in Texas brought in Satara Dyse (left) for possession of marijuana last year. After being arrested for operating under the influence, this woman was brought into Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office in Michigan for her mugshot

Charged with trespassing on property after warning, this young lady - wearing a skimpy spaghetti vest top - posed up for her mugshot at Orange County Sheriff's Office in Florida. Polk County Sheriff's Office in Florida arrested this woman for possession of cannabis and drug paraphernalia

Suleyma Torres, 23, (left) found herself under the spotlight at Orange County Sheriff's Office in Florida in 2016 after being arrested for battery. This sultry brunette with blue eye shadow was brought into Polk County Sheriff's Office in Florida for possession of cannabis and narcotic equipment

Jenna Ray, 18, (left) was arrested in Florida for possession of a stolen vehicle and ended up posing for a mugshot in Buncombe County Sheriff's Office last year. Porn star Blanca Diaz posed for her mugshot at Miami Sheriff's Office in Florida after being arrested for possession of cocaine and domestic battery

This woman (left) was brought into Orange County Sheriff's Office in Florida for possession of cannabis. Yurielys Russo, 20, found herself in front of the same lens at Polk County Sheriff's Office in Florida, also for possession of cannabis

This woman (left) was brought into Tulsa County Sheriff's Office in Oklahoma for failure to stop for a red light and driving under the influence. Katie Fierros, 24, was arrested for possession of marijuana and posed for her mugshot at Maricopa County Sheriff's Office in Arizona
Health Minister Greg Hunt is pledging an extra $30 billion for hospitals from 2020, but many states are still unhappy with the offer.

The commonwealth wants to continue to provide 45 per cent of hospital funding, with growth capped at 6.5 per cent, and will outline the deal to premiers on Friday at the Council of Australian Governments meeting in Canberra.

The proposal matches the arrangement agreed to in April 2016, which put back some money Tony Abbott tried to cut.

"It's not just a good deal, it's a deeply profound, generous deal," Mr Hunt told ABC radio ahead of COAG.

"We've given ourselves a long lead-in period, but it's far and away the greatest value of any deal in Australian history, a $30 billion increase."

But South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill isn't interested in the deal.

"Given the billions that have been ripped out, there needs to be a commitment for meaningful reform, functional and financial reform, that actually sets us on a new pathway," he said.

"Not just signing some insubstantial document to give the prime minister the illusion of a victory."

Victoria and Queensland also have concerns about the offer.
A weekly round-up of news affecting your health.

EYES

Middle aged diabetics are at the greatest risk of losing their vision due to a cataract, a new study has found.

Researchers in the UK analysed the medical records of nearly 60,000 patients with diabetes aged 40 or over and found they were twice as likely to develop cataracts as the general population.

A cataract was diagnosed at an overall rate of 20.4 per 1000 people. This compares to a rate in the general population of 10.8 per 1000.

The study, published in journal Eye, found diabetics aged between 45 and 54 were considerably more likely than non-sufferers to develop cataract.

Those diabetic patients aged between 45 and 49 were 4.6 times more likely to, and diabetics aged between 50 and 54 were 5.7 times more at risk than their healthy counterparts.

Co-author Rupert Bourne, Professor of Ophthalmology at Anglia Ruskin University's Vision and Eye Research Unit says the findings highlight the need for improved screening of eye disorders for diabetics.

"The report has shown that having diabetes doubles your risk of being diagnosed with a cataract, and that this risk is six times higher if a diabetic patient has significant diabetic retinal disease, called diabetic maculopathy," said Professor Bourne.

YOGA

Yoga has been shown to benefit patients with metabolic syndrome - a collection of conditions including high blood pressure, obesity, high cholesterol and insulin resistance.

A recent international study found one year of yoga training decreased levels of pro-inflammatory adipokines - signalling proteins released by fat tissue - and increased an anti-inflammatory adipokine in adults with metabolic syndrome.

The findings, published in Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, support the notion that yoga exercise might serve as an effective lifestyle intervention to help prevent disease.

"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 Dr Parco Siu, of The University of Hong Kong.

BACK PAIN

Researchers are calling for back pain to be more closely monitored among older people to prevent future loss of mobility.

A US study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found many highly active older adults experienced back pain, which was linked to poorer walking endurance.

"In this study, we found that back pain affected nearly half of well-functioning, highly active older adults," said lead author Dr Eleanor Simonsick, of the National Institute on Aging.

The analysis of the Longitudinal analysis of Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging data also found that back pain was linked to less energy efficient walking and poorer endurance.

Dr Simonsick says the findings suggest that better back pain management may help older adults remain active for longer.

"Older adults are living longer and healthier active lives, so paying attention to conditions that may threaten independent function is increasingly important," said Dr Simonsick.

AUTISM

Poor sleep among children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is to be investigated in Australia.

Researchers at Deakin University have announced the launch of a trial to explore whether improving kids' sleep could bring wide-ranging benefits for children with ASD, including reducing the severity of their symptoms.

The trial, led by Dr Emma Sciberras, is the second stage of a four year study, funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council.

During the trial, two groups of kids with ASD will be evaluated, with one to receive a sleep intervention developed at Deakin and the other receiving regular care.

Evidence suggests about 80 per cent of kids with ASD will have trouble with sleep however the cause for this is unknown.

Dr Sciberras says the cause might be biological or environmental.

"For example, children with ASD may have difficulty picking up the 'sleep social cues' - say, seeing a sibling getting ready for bed - vital to establishing healthy sleep-wake cycles."

What is known is that this issue has a significant impact on the child and their families, says Dr Sciberras.

"Sleep problems can make things worse when it comes to stress, bad behaviour and focusing at school."

"This can result in stress for the whole family and can make children more irritable if they have not had enough sleep the night before. So we believe that if we can improve a child's sleep this will have flow on benefits to so many other areas."

Researchers are seeking Victorian children aged between five and 12 who have an ASD diagnosis and are experiencing sleep problems to take part in this trial.

To find out more, visit www.sleepingsoundASD.com.au or call (03) 9246 8937.
Fruit fly trapping has ramped up in Tasmania's north as the state's biosecurity department combats the invasive pest at two control zones.

Two more adult flies were trapped on Thursday at Spreyton, near Devonport, meaning 18 have now been discovered there and on Flinders Island since larvae was found in January.

"We will be intensifying trapping around this site (Spreyton) as part of ensuring that we do identify and eradicate any active fruit fly within these areas", Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment general manager Lloyd Kumpp said in a statement on Friday.
A northern NSW man has been jailed for at least 27 years and nine months for using a samurai sword to brutally murder his father so he could claim his life insurance.

"The offence was carried out with a cold-blooded determination scarcely imaginable to ordinary members of the community guided by moral and ethical standards inherent in most human beings," Justice Peter Hammill told the NSW Supreme Court in Lismore on Friday.

In 2017 a jury found Michael Phillip Martin guilty of murdering Michael Anthony Martin, 46, at Murwillumbah in northern NSW in June 2014 and of the attempted murder of him in April of that year.
A disastrous morning with the bat has left Tasmania in dire trouble in their Sheffield Shield match against Queensland in Brisbane.

Tasmania replicated Queensland's batting collapse from the opening day but, unlike the Bulls, the tail failed to come to the rescue.

Resuming at 2-60 in pursuit of Queensland's 255, Tasmania were dismissed from just 34 overs for 115, for a 140-run deficit on the first innings.

Queensland reached 1-15 at lunch, with Lachy Pfeffer dismissed by Jackson Bird for 2.

The Tigers' morning was summed up across a four-over period as four top-order wickets were lost for the addition of just eight runs.

Luke Feldman did all the damage with his medium-pace to return figures of 6-32, which included four top-order scalps.

Michael Neser chipped in with a couple of crucial wickets to return 2-43 as the Bulls' bowlers made the most of the Dukes ball at the Gabba.

Former Queenslander Simon Milenko added 21 down the order for Tasmania, with captain George Bailey (25) the only other batsman to pass 20.

Queensland had been struggling at 6-143 on day one only to be saved by their lower-order, most notably a career-best 47 from No.11 Feldman.
Queensland police have charged two people with fraud after they allegedly obtained 11 puppies by using fake bank transfer receipts.

The 28-year-old man and woman from Loganholme, south of Brisbane, are accused of contacting several breeders using classifieds websites.

Between August 2017 and January 2018, the pair allegedly claimed they had transferred money for the puppies through the use of invalid bank transfer receipts.

They then received 11 puppies from four breeders.

Police allege they also obtained cosmetics using the same methods.

The pair were arrested and charged on Thursday with 10 counts of fraud.

They are expected to front Beenleigh Magistrates Court on February 23.
Nick Xenophon has made a royal commission into South Australia's health system a non-negotiable issue if his SA-Best party has the balance of power after the March election.

Mr Xenophon says he will want that inquiry to be conducted by health experts of the highest authority and expertise and be finalised within 12 months.

"We will want that inquiry to look at every scandal, those that are already known, and those still hidden," he said as he released the party's health policy on Friday.
Australian's best-known wombat, George, has left the home he's known since he was rescued from his mother's pouch after she was killed on the NSW Central Coast in 2016.

George has been living at the Australian Reptile Park but on Friday was transferred to his new digs at Ceder Creek Wombat Sanctuary.

"We are sad to see George go and miss him already," reptile park general manager Tim Faulkner said.

"There will always be that empty space beside my desk where he used to sleep."

The adorable marsupial will initially need to start digging burrows in a large enclosure at the sanctuary before he's released to frolic with other wombats in the wider 90-hectare Ceder Creek park.

"He can just come and go into the enclosure as he pleases after he is released," reptile park spokesperson Rebecca Plumridge told AAP on Friday.

George the wombat became famous after his mother was hit and killed by a car while he was still in her pouch in October 2016. A passerby took him to the Australian Reptile Park.

The little wombat won over the general public after he was filmed bonding with the park's general manager, who was tasked with feeding, nursing and raising the orphaned marsupial.

One video posted online generated more than 40 million views worldwide and a poll in September 2017 named George as Australia's "most adorable animal".
I don't know how many young women come to this blog or how many are parents of teenage or young adult women, but here are some safety tips from Kelsey's Army:

T

I

P

S

1. Trust your instincts - If something feels wrong then something probably is wrong.2. Know your surroundings - know who and what is around you.3. Always have a plan for where you would go and what you would do if a situation arises.4. Be willing to make a scene in order to be noticed.5. Let someone know where you are going and when you will be back.Remember the acronym TIPS:ake Chargenform others of your whereaboutsrepare for any situationurvival Mentality (role play situations so you will respond should they happen)For more information, go to Kelsey's Army
Disaster assistance will be provided to people, small businesses and primary producers affected by flooding in Western Australia's Kimberley and East Pilbara regions last month.

The assistance, for five local government areas, is being provided through the jointly-funded Commonwealth-State Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements.

Federal minister Angus Taylor said the tropical low brought heavy rainfall and strong winds in excess of 100km/h.

"Some communities were left isolated and many of these roads had also suffered previous damage from the recent tropical cyclones Hilda and Joyce," he said.

"This activation of the NDRRA will ensure funding is available to help affected communities and restore damaged public infrastructure, such as roads."
Federal police have seized some 2000 litres of the drug GBL which was hidden inside car wash shampoo containers and was allegedly destined to hit Sydney's streets in time for next month's Mardi Gras parade.

Authorities on Friday said a 30-year-old Warwick Farm man has been arrested after the drugs, worth up to $7 million, were seized following a tip-off.

They were allegedly hidden inside the shampoo containers and smuggled into Australia on a ship which had travelled from China to Sydney, the Australian Federal Police and Australian Border Force said during a joint press conference at Port Botany.

The bust is the second largest haul of GBL - often nicknamed "coma in a bottle" - in Australia and the biggest since 2008.

GBL can cause irrational behaviour, seizures and potentially death.

The 30-year-old is expected to face a Sydney court on Friday afternoon or Saturday morning.
The Northern Territory chief minister is ropeable with the federal government's response to the royal commission into its youth justice system.

Michael Gunner has warned the NT public service will not cooperate with a federal government's proposed audit into how commonwealth money is spent in the territory.

"We want to get on with fixing a broken youth justice system and we don't want to have another inquiry into the NT," Mr Gunner told reporters in Canberra on Friday.

"I will not take a single worker off the front line or offline or provide a single document."

The royal commission was set up after the ABC aired footage of boys being tear gassed, wearing spithoods and being shackled at the notorious Don Dale detention centre in Darwin.

Federal Labor was also disappointed with the Turnbull government's a lack of leadership in its response to the commission's commonwealth-specific findings.

"The government's response is hopelessly inadequate," Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said, noting only two of 28 recommendations were supported, the rest were subject to further consultation or supported in principle.

He seized on the time of the response's release - at the end of a parliamentary sitting week.

"The protection and detention of Australian young people is a national issue and a national responsibility - and it deserves commonwealth leadership," he said.

The federal government committed itself to improved data collection, an audit of all federal funding going to the Northern Territory and more community engagement.

It rejected a recommendation from the commission to give juvenile detainees access to Medicare services and taxpayer subsidised medication.

Canberra argued the responsibility for prisoner health lies with state and territory governments and it was important to prevent services being funded twice from public resources.

Amnesty International dismissed the federal government's response as weak, saying it had failed indigenous kids around the country.

The NT government has agreed with the commission's recommendation to close down Darwin's notorious Don Dale Detention Centre.

It also recommended raising the age of criminal responsibility, ending long periods of isolation and restraints for child inmates and increasing rehabilitation and community programs rather than "tough on crime" solutions.

The final report of the $54 million royal comission was released in November.
Men in Australia are more than three times more likely to commit crime than women, although the number of female offenders remains on the rise, new national crime data shows.

The number of female offenders rose for the fifth consecutive year, with a two per cent increase in 2016-17 to 97,913 offenders, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Despite a two per cent decrease, male offenders still numbered 314,997.

Crime rates dropped in Australia by one per cent, down to 413,894 offenders, since 2015-16.

The data also showed a decrease in drug offences and homicides over the past seven years, while theft and robbery or extortion were on the rise.

Illicit drug offences remained the most common offence (20 per cent), followed by acts intended to cause injury - the majority being assault.

Western Australia recorded the largest increase in the offender rate for assaults, while the Northern Territory continued to have the highest assault rate, followed by South Australia.

The increased trend of sexual assaults and related offences continued into a sixth year, marking a 40 per cent rise in offenders since 2010-11 (an increase of 2327 offenders).

Illicit drug offences among Australian youth increased by nearly 30 per cent in the past seven years, despite an overall 28 per cent decrease in youth criminal offending rates.

The largest decrease in youth offending was related to public order offences (down by 50 per cent, or 5105 offenders) and theft (down by 16 per cent, or 3663).

Although the figures for indigenous offending rates were incomplete due to the quality of reporting, data presented showed acts intended to cause injury were the most common offences among the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population.
Western Australia are heading towards a handy first innings lead at lunch on day two of the Sheffield Shield match against NSW at the WACA Ground.

WA progressed solidly through the opening session of the second day, only losing Test opener Cameron Bancroft for 38.

But another former Test batsman, Hilton Cartwright, is looking good 56 not out, with Ashes star Shaun Marsh with him on 11.

That sees the Warriors just 86 runs behind NSW's first innings score of 204 at 3-118 after NSW captain Peter Nevill won the toss and decided to bat first.

NSW started well on the opening day to be 1-89 before Mitch Marsh and the swinging Dukes ball got on a roll.

The Test allrounder claimed 4-50 as the Blues lost their last nine wickets for 115 runs to be all out for 204.

WA did lose Will Bosisto (0) and nightwatchman Matt Kelly (1) late on the first day to be 2-17 by stumps. Trent Copeland was the successful NSW bowler on both occasions.

While the Dukes ball was still swinging throughout the opening session, Bancroft and Cartwright were coping well.

That was until Bancroft miscued a pull shot off second-gamer Charlie Stobo with Ed Cowan taking a good catch at square leg.

Bancroft was out for 38 with the score 3-98 before Cartwright continued on bringing up his half-century joined at the wicket by Shaun Marsh, who is coming off an Ashes where he scored 445 runs and averaged 74.
Tasmania's major parties have faced questions about political donations on week two of the campaign trail, with poker machines again proving a touchy topic.

Premier Will Hodgman hit out at opposition leader Rebecca White on Wednesday after The Australian revealed gaming giants ALH Group bought dinner for high-profile party figures in Melbourne last year.

In a point of difference to the Liberals, Labor pledged to remove pokies from pubs and clubs by 2023 if elected at the March 3 poll.

"Rebecca White goes interstate, takes money under the table from gambling giants, then comes back here and pays out on anyone who's involved in the gaming industry," Mr Hodgman told reporters.

Labor returned serve though, and said the Liberal party's refusal to disclose donations meant they were in the pockets of Federal Group, which owns a monopoly license on electronic gaming machines in the state.

It drew headlines away from policy, as the Liberals focused on cost of living pressures.

Mr Hodgman, who didn't attend COAG in Canberra with the state government in caretaker mode, spent most of his week in the Apple Isle's south around Hobart.

He promised a land tax exemption for properties built with a one-year rental plan and to halve stamp duty for first-home buyers.

He pledged free access for a year to Tasmania's 19 national parks for senior citizens but denied it was a vote-grab.

"Older Tasmanians deserve to get out and enjoy our national parks just like everybody else," Mr Hodgman said on Friday.

Labor, meanwhile, unveiled their education policy as Ms White racked up the kilometres.

She announced a $63 million plan to employ more than 300 more teachers and support staff over four years.

On Thursday she was in the state's northwest to spruik a $150 million development package for the region.

Biosecurity was also front and centre amidst a fruit fly incursion in the state's north that prompted Taiwan to suspend fruit imports from two affected zones.

Ms White said Labor would spend $5.7 million of combined federal and state funding on 20 extra frontline biosecurity officers.

"There is no option but to ensure we are protecting our brand and our export economy," she said.
The United Nation's High Commissioner for Human Rights has taken the Papua New Guinea government to task over corruption and land rights.

Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein met PNG leader Peter O'Neill and other high-level officials during his visit to Port Moresby on Friday.

Mr Hussein said it was "unacceptable" the government had granted licences to mining companies to extract resources without the free and informed consent of local communities.

"The reported actions of some major corporations engaged in the extractive industries in Papua New Guinea are shameful," he said.

"Many communities have been forcibly evicted from their homes, often reportedly violently, with impunity and allegedly sometimes with the complicity of local police."

He was troubled to hear about attacks against human rights defenders and journalists working on sensitive issues, particularly relating to land rights and corruption.

Mr Hussein said as PNG gears up to host the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit it had to take decisive action to stamp out violence associated with sorcery accusations.
Malcolm Turnbull will urge greater effort to improve indigenous health and education when federal parliament sits on Monday.

The prime minister and state leaders heard the views of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders on Friday about new targets, as the 10-year-old Closing the Gap strategy struggled to meet its aims.

The targets would be "refreshed" after consultation, which had been extended to October, and Mr Turnbull will made a statement about the program's most recent outcomes on Monday.

"We have made gains, and efforts to date have improved the lives of many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, but plainly we have not been able to achieve as much success as we would like and we need to work harder," Mr Turnbull told COAG on Friday.

Former prime minister Kevin Rudd will address the National Press Club on Monday about the 10-year anniversary of his Stolen Generations apology and he said he didn't want to see Closing the Gap watered down.

"I'll be the first one leading the charge against (any watering down) by any side of politics," Mr Rudd told reporters at NSW parliament on Friday.

Two Tasmanian senators will be sworn in on Monday - one old and one new.

Devonport mayor Steve Martin will replace Jacqui Lambie, but sit as an independent after he was kicked out of her party for refusing to stand aside to let her return to the Senate.

And former tourism minister Richard Colbeck, who lost his spot thanks to a factional dispute, will return to replace his Liberal colleague Stephen Parry.

New Labor senator and former NSW premier Kristina Keneally is also set to be sworn in once NSW parliament confirms her appointment to replace Sam Dastyari.

Another new senator, the Liberals' Jim Molan, will give his first speech in parliament, while on Tuesday the full bench of the High Court will consider whether former senator Skye Kakoschke-Moore is eligible to reclaim her seat.

The government would look to push through its second round of company tax cuts, despite strong opposition from Labor and the Greens, who argued businesses are not passing on profits to workers.

"I think we are now the second highest (company tax rate) in the whole OECD," Mr Turnbull said.

"We are backing Australian businesses and Australian companies."

The Senate will debate the government's cashless welfare debit card legislation and revenge porn laws.

Labor and the Greens were set to vote against an amendment to the Murray Darling Basin Plan, as they pushed for a new review to restore confidence in the distribution of water in the region.

Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe will be grilled by MPs on the economics committee in Sydney on Friday.
Greens MP Adam Bandt has offered a more comprehensive apology to Liberal senator Jim Molan after questioning the retired major-general's military record in Iraq.

Mr Bandt suggested in a TV interview on Wednesday the senator may have committed war crimes during the battle for Fallujah.

Senator Molan, a retired major-general who served as the chief of operations of the US-led coalition forces in Iraq, threatened to pursue the Greens MP through the courts for defamation.

Mr Bandt offered a brief written apology, but Senator Molan was deeply disappointed by it and kept the defamation action "on the table".

Mr Bandt issued a longer statement on Friday.

"I wish to publicly say that I was wrong to make such accusations and inferences against Senator Molan," he said.

"I sincerely apologise and express my regret to Senator Molan and to those who have served in Australia's operational theatres and to their families and friends who were offended by my comments.

"I propose to make a donation to a veterans organisation as an expression of my sincerity over this issue."
Manly have officially denied claims of salary cap rorting after lodging their reply to the NRL's breach notice on Friday.

Manly chairman Scott Penn told AAP that the Sea Eagles have rejected all claims made against his club.

The Sea Eagles were given three extensions to lodge their reply to the preliminary findings of an NRL integrity unit investigation.

The NRL has threatened the club with a significant fine and a potential adjustment of their 2018 salary cap.

"We've met the deadline and now we'll probably meet mid to late next week to talk it through further and take it from there," Penn told AAP.

"We've totally refuted all claims and put forward a full defence."

The possible adjustment of their salary cap has affected Manly's pursuit of a replacement for departed five-eighth Blake Green.

It affected their ability to pursue ex-Newcastle playmaker Trent Hodkinson, who this week signed with Cronulla.
Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan on Thursday received Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Belarus to the Republic of Armenia Igor Nazaruk.

February 9, 2018, 11:41 There are vast opportunities and serious potential to boost Armenia-Belarus economic ties  prime minister

STEPANAKERT, FEBRUARY 9, ARTSAKHPRESS:The officials discussed issues related to the implementation of the agreements reached recently at the meeting of the heads of Armenian and Belarusian governments in Almaty, the governments press office reported.

Ambassador Nazaruk emphasized that following the meeting with his Armenian counterpart; the Belarusian Prime Minister set the task of activating economic ties with Armenia and gave appropriate instructions to the heads of different government departments. He advised that a working group has been set up, which will visit Armenia in the near future, headed by the deputy prime minister of Belarus.

Karen Karapetyan expressed conviction that there are vast opportunities and serious potential to promote bilateral economic ties. In the context of its implementation, the two officials looked at possibilities for implementing joint projects in agriculture, including animal husbandry and farm production, information technologies, transport, tourism, diversification of air flights, Belarusian companies involvement in Meghri Free Economic Zone, etc.
A young girl who's at "extreme risk" of self harm at Nauru detention centre must be brought to Australia to receive mental health treatment, the Federal Court has ruled.

The girl, not yet a teenager, arrived at Christmas Island in 2013 with her family as an unauthorised arrival.

They were placed in Nauru's offshore processing centre and granted temporary settlement visas after being deemed to be refugees.

She attempted to take her own life on December 9 last year and has continued to express the wish to end her life, the Federal Court judgment, handed down on Friday, notes.

Judge Bernard Murphy granted an urgent injunction to bring the girl to a place with a specialist child mental health facility.

Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467.
The NSW branch of the Liberal Party will vote on changes suggested by former Prime Minister Tony Abbott which are designed to empower the members and prevent factionalism.

Mr Abbott, the member for Warringah, is behind the move to transform party preselection into a "one member one vote" grassroots process that would see members directly elect their candidates.

Currently, preselection is left to branch delegates and supporters of the so-called Warringah Motion argue that nurtures factionalism.

Some have speculated the motion will not succeed despite being backed by former prime minister John Howard, Warringah conference president Walter Villatora, and new NSW Senator Jim Molan.

The alternative, Philip Ruddock's Bennelong Motion, would leave about 10 per cent of the preselection vote to the state and council executive.

It would also not allow party members to vote on candidates for the NSW upper house or the Senate.

The motions will be voted on at the state Liberal annual general meeting at Sydney Town Hall on Saturday.
Queensland Resources Council boss Ian Macfarlane has called on Annastacia Palaszczuk's Labor government to put its weight behind Adani as it faces further setbacks to its proposed coal mine.

The Indian miner's $16.5 billion Carmichael project was dealt a blow on Friday when freight operator Aurizon announced it was pulling out of plans to build a railway line through the Galilee Basin coal fields.

A railway linking the region to the Abbot Point coal terminal is critical to Adani's project, with their own bid to build a line hamstrung by Ms Palaszczuk's decision to veto a taxpayer-funded loan.

Adani insists it is not impacted by Aurizon's decision and remains focused on pushing ahead with early works.

But that hasn't stopped QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane from calling on the premier and her cabinet to stand up for Adani.

"Recent Queensland government statements regarding the development of the Galilee Basin and Adani have been confusing," he said on Friday.

"Premier Palaszczuk and her ministers need to be categoric and emphatic in their support of the Queensland resources sector and its potential for expansion, including the Adani mine."

A Queensland government spokesperson said it was up to Adani to decide how to proceed in light of Aurizon's decision.
Pentagon chief James Mattis says US-led coalition strikes on pro-regime forces in Syria's Deir Ezzor province were 'self-defense'

Deadly air strikes by a US-led coalition on pro-regime forces in eastern Syria were purely an act of self-defense, Pentagon chief Jim Mattis said Thursday, in an apparent effort to tamp down controversy over the incident.

"It was self-defense," Mattis told reporters. "We are not getting engaged in the Syrian civil war."

More than 100 forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad were killed in the attack by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Deir Ezzor province, a US official said late Wednesday.

Calling the incident "perplexing," Mattis expanded on the US Defense Department's version of what happened in the incident near the city of Deir Ezzor. The US-led coalition has said the strikes came to fend off an attack on its Kurdish allies.

"For some reason, pro-regime forces -- and again, I cannot give you any explanation of why they would do this -- moved against SDF positions" where US special forces were also on the ground, Mattis said.

The pro-Damascus forces "began shelling it with artillery," he added. "They were moving with tanks, obviously in the same direction as they were firing.

"At the end of our effort to defend ourselves, their artillery was knocked out, two of their tanks were knocked out, they had casualties."

Mattis did not offer a specific death toll. The Pentagon would not confirm the figure given by the US official late Wednesday.

The US-led side quickly contacted their Russian counterparts to attempt to ensure the situation did not escalate, Mattis said, adding: "The Russians, at that time, were telling us they did not have forces there."

The fighting took place less than 10 kilometers (six miles) east of the so-called "deconfliction zone" set up by the US and Russia along the Euphrates River, with Russian forces to the west and US forces to the east.

Moscow and Washington coordinate their air and ground operations against the Islamic State (IS) group in this zone.

Mattis said he could not identify the attackers.

"We know they were pro-regime forces but... Iranian, Assad, Russians, mercenaries... I can't tell you," he said.

He explained that the US-led coalition had picked up on the movements of pro-regime forces in the area a few days before, but they were not immediately hostile.

"This is self defense. If we were involved in a broader context, then you would have had an initiative on our part. The fact is we did not then move to the other side of the deconfliction zone," Mattis noted.
A dinghy from the MV Butiraoi ferry that sank off Kiribati is spotted from the air carrying seven survivors

The Kiribati government faced criticism Friday for obstructing foreign journalists attempting to cover a major ferry disaster that has left the tiny Pacific nation in mourning.

More than 80 people, including 23 children, died when the ferry MV Butiraoi sank on January 18, the same day it set off from Nonouti island bound for the capital South Tarawa.

The alarm was not raised until eight days later, with a subsequent search finding seven survivors in a dinghy and only scattered debris from the missing ferry.

Michael Morrah, a journalist with New Zealand's Newshub, said he and a camera operator had their passports seized when they arrived in Kiribati this week to report on the disaster.

He said immigration officials also visited their hotel and demanded they delete interviews with the ferry's owner and a couple who survived the sinking.

"They said we were no longer allowed to report on the ferry sinking in Kiribati," Morrah told Radio New Zealand.

"The reason for this was because, in their words, the sinking was a very sensitive matter."

Kiribati ferry disaster

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation also reported this week that officials told its journalists they would not be welcome to travel to Kiribati and report on the tragedy.

Morrah rejected the government's argument that media interviews with those connected to the tragedy would interfere with an official inquiry into the sinking.

"I think it's a step backwards for democracy and the principles of openness and transparency that we've become used to in the Pacific," said the reporter, who left Kiribati on Thursday.

Teena Brown Pulu, a specialist in Pacific development at Auckland University of Technology, said journalists should not face political obstruction.

"(It's) not the time for a cover-up. What is (the) government hiding from the public?" she tweeted.

Former Kiribati president Ieremia Tabai said he was baffled at the government's handling of the media.

"This is a free country and the media is part of our system," he told the ABC.

Officials are yet to explain why it took eight days to launch a search and why the 17.5-metre (57-foot) wooden catamaran was carrying so many passengers.

Ferries are a transport lifeline in Kiribati, which consists of 33 atolls and reefs scattered over an area the size of the continental United States.

The country's last major ferry disaster was in 2009, when the Uean Te Rao II sank with the loss of 35 lives.

A subsequent investigation found the vessel was unseaworthy and not carrying an emergency beacon, flares or sufficient life jackets.

It also found safety standards on the Kiribati domestic fleet were not sufficiently enforced.
The e2o NXT from Mahindra Electric, which is the only company producing electric vehicles in India

Electric cars bask in the limelight at India's flagship auto show, where an ambitious plan to phase out polluting clunkers has manufacturers racing to lure millions of new drivers to their green vehicles.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government wants all new cars on India's roads to be electric by 2030 to combat smog that routinely eclipses dangerous levels in the nation of 1.25 billion.

Some auto giants at the motor show in New Delhi have expressed reservations about the aggressive roll out, when so little of India is equipped to charge electric cars and most drivers cannot afford the hefty price tags.

But few are willing to risk a golden opportunity in the world's fifth-largest car market, where owning a four-wheeler is a status symbol.

"We are a strong believer in electric, and with a leap of faith, we started investing even before the government announcement," said Mahesh Babu, CEO of Mahindra Electric, currently the only company producing electric vehicles in India.

The Indian auto firm is a "pioneer in e-mobility", investing $75 million in its electric fleet since 2010 with another $90 million earmarked as production ramps up in the next three years, Babu said.

Others are racing to produce competing models at lower prices, with Maruti Suzuki -- India's biggest maker of passenger vehicles -- promising to launch an electric car in 2020.

Banking on big sales, Maruti has poured $180 million into a new plant to construct lithium-ion batteries in partnership with Japan's Denso and Toshiba.

Tata Motors, part of the sprawling tea-to-steel conglomerate, in September won a contract to supply 10,000 electric cars for the government.

- Hesitation -

The cars, priced at nearly $15,500, are the first attempt by the government to replace its half-a-million fleet of diesel and petrol guzzlers with electric vehicles.

Tata Motors is also experimenting with electric buses, and is looking to revamp its popular small Nano model as a battery-powered vehicle.

Car ownership is steadily rising in Asia's third-largest economy, where four million new cars were sold in 2016. PriceWaterhouseCoopers expects annual sales to grow to nearly seven million by 2022.

But the lion's share still run on petrol and diesel, worsening already atrocious air quality in a country that ranks among the world's most polluted.

Maruti Suzuki, India's biggest maker of passenger vehicles, aims to launch an electric car in the country in 2020

A government report in May said the mobility of passengers through shared and electric vehicles can cut India's energy demand by 64 percent and carbon emissions by 37 percent in 2030.

India is not alone in wanting all-electric cars -- Britain and France hope to achieve this by 2040 -- but New Delhi wants to go faster than others.

But the transition has been slow, and some global auto giants are hesitant to take the plunge in India.

Mercedes has described the 2030 deadline as rushed, while Elon Musk postponed the India launch of his Tesla Model 3.

The California-based company is slated to open a factory in China, India's regional rival where the electric car market is booming.

- 'Crystal ball gazing' -

At the auto show in New Delhi, car makers pointed out that India lacked the charging points needed to refuel depleted batteries -- a major roadblock to taking electric cars nationwide.

"Who will develop this, who will fund this? All this is unclear at the moment. It is absolutely crystal ball gazing," said Manohar Bhat from South Korean giant Kia Motors, which is expected to soon unveil an electric vehicle exclusively for the Indian market.

Other vendors at the car fair said securing enough lithium to build batteries for millions of electric vehicles would be challenging and costly.

India wants all new cars on India's roads to be electric by 2030, though some auto giants have expressed reservations about the agressive roll-out

Mahesh Bendre, an auto industry analyst with Karvi Stock Broking, said electric cars would only succeed in India if the price was right.

"The government can push it to some extent but in the end it will boil down to making the right product available to the consumers at the right cost," he told AFP.

Fully electric cars are expected to make up 12 percent of the global market in 2025, analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch forecast last year. But that share is expected to reach one third by 2030 and 90 percent midway through the century.

Bhat, of Kia, said different markets would go electric when the time was right.

"I wouldn't say we have missed the bus," he said.
Kurdish peshmerga fighters are seen firing from their position near the Altun Kubri checkpoint, 40kms from Kirkuk, in October 2017

Human Rights Watch on Friday accused Iraqi Kurdish security forces of carrying out mass executions of detainees alleged to be members of the Islamic State jihadist group.

The watchdog said the Kurdish peshmerga fighters detained Iraqis and foreigners at a school in Sahel al-Maliha, 70 kilometres (45 miles) northwest of second city Mosul, from which IS was expelled in July.

"The evidence suggests that Asayish (Kurdish) security forces conducted mass executions of captured ISIS (IS) suspects night after night for a week, perhaps killing scores or even hundreds of male detainees," said Lama Fakih, HRW's deputy Middle East director.

"Iraqi and KRG (Kurdish Regional Government) authorities should urgently and transparently investigate the allegations of mass executions and hold those responsible to account," she said in a statement.

The executions allegedly occurred between August 28 and September 3.

Questioned about the report by HRW, Iraqi Kurd government official Dindar Zebari denied the accusations.

Zebari said that according to the head of the Asayish, the peshmerga were battling IS on a 71-kilometre front line as the jihadists attempted to flee to Syria.

During the clashes, many IS and peshmerga fighters died, and "the corpses of the killed ISIS members in this fighting were probably brought in one place to be buried", he was quoted as saying.

The front line is located about 40 kilometres from the site at which the bodies were found, said HRW, casting doubt on his account.

"This explanation does not match the state the bodies were found in, shot in the head" and buried "in a solitary desert area, far from where any fighting had occurred," said the watchdog.
From street to star: Lebanese chef Alan Geaam is described as 'gentle, shrewd, self-taught'

When Lebanese chef Alan Geaam first arrived in Paris two decades ago he found himself sleeping on the streets, lost and penniless with hardly a word of French.

This week Geaam, who began his career as a dishwasher while he was sleeping rough in a Paris park, received his first Michelin star from the French gastronomic bible for his acclaimed new restaurant within a stone's throw of the Arc de Triomphe.

"I never thought the Michelin would be interested in someone like me, who was self-taught, who had to sleep in the street at 19 and who began as a dishwasher," he told AFP.

"I thought the guide was about chefs in big fancy hotels or those trained by the great masters. But it turned out to be the opposite. It's a wonderful surprise," said the 43-year-old, who was born to Lebanese parents in Liberia, before they exchanged one war zone for another by returning to Beirut.

By then Geaam's fascination with food was clear, watching cookery shows on television rather than cartoons after school.

He started cooking while doing his national service in Lebanon, and the colonel of his regiment was so impressed he made him his personal chef.

But Geaam never thought we would be able to cut the mustard in France, and only got his break when the chef of the restaurant where he was washing the dishes was rushed to hospital when he slashed his hand with a knife.

- 'But you can cook!' -

"I worked during the day as a construction worker and at night delivering pizzas and washing dishes. One night the cook cut his hand and had to go to hospital. No one asked me, but I just took over. There were 14 tables and so I just feed the customers and at the end of the night they were delighted.

"The owner said to me, 'But you can cook!' and I said, 'Yes.'"

Geaam poses in his eponymous restaurant 'Alan Geaam'

"The reason I cook is to make people happy," said Geaam. And he has certainly spread joy among restaurant critics with Michelin's rival Gault Millau guide raving about his langoustines and chard and its dark chocolate-coloured sauce tinged with Vietnamese cardamom.

Alexander Lobrano, author of "Hungry for Paris", was even more effusive, declaring this "gentle, shrewd, self-taught chef as one of quiet men of Paris gastronomy... who has a brilliant future ahead of him."

Although Geaam delights in bringing the very best of French produce to his table, Lobrano said he also brings the "tender buds of his very personal cooking that makes references to the lost world of a little boy born to a foreign family living in tropical Africa."

- Pomegranate lacquered foie gras -

And the influence of his Lebanese roots is never far away either.

One of Geaam's favourite dishes at the moment is "an escalope of foie gras lacquered with pomegranate molasses served with a tartlette of beetroot and pomegranate.

"I ate a lot of pomegranates when I was a kid," he said. "I made juice with them, I made lots of reductions with them, and I loved putting this very Lebanese touch with something so French as foie gras."

Since Geaam got his Michelin star on Monday night his restaurant's phone has not stopped ringing.

His said his small, tight team of highly-talented chefs -- whose CVs he admits look far more impressive than his own -- "really feel that something has happened in our lives.

"You can criticise the Michelin guide but I can tell you the effect, a star massively boosts a restaurant."

Within hours the restaurant was booked up for three weeks. "It is quite something," he said.

Geaam, who told how his son boasted to his friends at school that his father got a Michelin star, put his success down to his own parents, who "lost everything" in Liberia only to have to struggle again in Lebanon during the civil war.

He said working with his father in his grocery shop from the age of 10 gave him a taste for business while his mother "taught me how to love people and how to cook".
The majority of taxis are hailed from cab ranks in Japan

Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing announced a deal with Japanese telecom firm SoftBank on Friday to develop a taxi app in Japan, where services like Uber have struggled to make inroads.

SoftBank and Didi Chuxing announced a "partnership to provide platform services for the taxi industry" with trial runs expected to be launched in major Japanese cities "within the year".

The two firms are also in discussion about creating a joint venture, a SoftBank spokesman told AFP, without offering more details.

Taxi-hailing apps have found it challenging to crack the Japanese market, where risk-averse passengers prefer to stick to their high-quality traditional taxi service.

Hailing a taxi rarely takes more than a few seconds in major Japanese cities and there has been a relatively sluggish uptake of services like Uber, where consumers order an unlicensed car via smartphone.

Another barrier has been that the vast majority of taxis are hailed or hired from a cab rank, with a relatively small percentage of taxis connected to a smartphone.

Didi Chuxing said it would use its "advanced AI technologies... to enhance efficiency for both taxi operators and drivers."

The deal represents another step for the Chinese firm in its attempts to rival Uber. It bought a Brazilian app in January and has previously made acquisitions in India and the United States.

SoftBank is also heavily present in the taxi market and recently took at 15-percent stake in Uber.

The deal comes a day after carmaker Toyota announced an investment of 7.5 billion yen ($69 million) in the JapanTaxi app, which says it is the biggest taxi-hailing app in Japan.
Four-year-old Tie Hsiung, whose name translates to "Iron Hero", braved dangerous aftershocks on his first field test to search for survivors after a 6.4-magnitude quake struck the popular eastern tourist city of Hualien on Tuesday, killing 10 people

A rookie golden labrador on his first ever mission has won praise for helping Taiwanese search and rescue workers find two people trapped in a severely damaged building following a deadly earthquake.

Four-year-old Tie Hsiung, whose name translates to "Iron Hero", braved dangerous aftershocks on his first field test to search for survivors after a 6.4-magnitude quake struck the popular eastern tourist city of Hualien on Tuesday, killing 10 people.

Thanks to the determined dog, one person trapped for 15 hours was finally located relatively unscathed and pulled from the wreckage of the precariously leaning Marshal Hotel.

"The terrain was quite dangerous with glass and nails," 28-year-old trainer Li Chun-sheng told AFP, beaming with pride.

Earthquake search and rescue dog Tuei Tuei waits to be given the go ahead to eat some dog biscuits in the Taiwanese city of Hualien

"I thought he may be too afraid, but he was able to overcome this to go into the rubble pile, so I think he did great."

The other person pulled from the rubble succumbed to their injuries.

As soon as the quake struck, Tie Hsiung flew out with a rescue team from the western city of Taichung alongside his training companion, fellow labrador Tuei Tuei ("Leg-Leg"), who is also four years old.

It was a mission the canines had trained extensively for -- but until now they had never been truly tested.

Thanks to the determined dog Tie Hsiung, one person trapped for 15 hours was finally located relatively unscathed and pulled from the wreckage of the precariously leaning Marshal Hotel

Tuei Tuei's trainer Lin You-zhun applauded his own black labrador who was sent to search the hotel's upper floors.

"Usually we choose where and when we train, and it is always in a safe area. But during a natural disaster, we never know when there will be aftershocks," said Lin, also 28.

Taichung mayor Lin Chia-lung gave a special mention to the canine pair, praising them for "achieving a great merit" while netizens quickly dubbed the duo the "pride of Taichung" as photos of the dogs went viral.

Li said Tie Hsiung had to be taken to the vet Thursday morning as he suffered inflammation in his ear, which may have been due to allergies, the weather, or stress.

- 'Too lively' to be drug dogs -

The pair were picked from a customs training centre where they failed to make the cut as drug detection dogs -- which according to Lin was because they were "too lively."

But that asset was exactly what authorities were looking for in earthquake rescue dogs.

Rescue dog teams were not fully established in Taiwan until about seven years ago, according to Chou Tsung-chi, a senior trainer with the National Fire Agency

"When choosing a dog, we want one to be playful and like to eat so we can incentivise them to work. They also have to be bold, so not to be afraid of any sound or machinery," said Li.

Rescue dog teams were not fully established in Taiwan until about seven years ago, according to Chou Tsung-chi, a senior trainer with the National Fire Agency.

He recalled how teams flew in from other countries to assist Taiwan in the aftermath of a massive earthquake in 1999 that killed around 2,400 people.

"Everyone had search dogs, but we didn't," said Chou, adding that Taiwan today has trained up around 50.

"Dogs have an incredibly strong olfactory ability," he told AFP.

"No matter how sensitive or skilled a person is, they are no match for dogs."
"With the war in Afghanistan winding down, now is the time to keep with longstanding American tradition and kick off a campaign for the first New York City welcome home parade for troops that served in Iraq and Afghanistan," Schumer said in a statement. "In years past, we've honored our troops with a parade along the iconic 'Canyon of Heroes' route and those who served in these post-9/11 wars also deserve a hero's welcome  and New York is the only place to do that."
Sultan Begium lives Wakhan Corridor in Afghanistan, a region so remote that its residents are unaware that the country has been ravaged by war for decades

"Taliban -- what's that?" asks Sultan Begium shyly from her freezing home in Afghanistan's mountainous Wakhan Corridor, a region so remote that its residents are untouched by the decades of conflict that have devastated their country.

The frail-looking grandmother whose harsh life has etched deep lines in her face, is a woman of the Wakhi, a tribe of roughly 12,000 nomadic people who populate the area.

Known to those who live there by its Persian name Bam-e-Dunya, or "roof of the world", it is a narrow strip of inhospitable and barely accessible land in Afghanistan bordered by the mountains of what is now Tajikistan and Pakistan, and extending all the way to China.

Few venture out, even fewer venture in -- but this isolation has kept the Wakhi sheltered from almost forty years of the near constant fighting that has ravaged their fellow Afghans.

Few venture out, even fewer venture in -- but this isolation has kept the Wakhi tribe sheltered from almost forty years of the near constant fighting that has ravaged their fellow Afghans

"War, what war? There has never been a war," Begium says, poking at a dying fire of yak dung, though she remembers people speaking of Russian soldiers dispensing cigarettes on the border at the other end of the corridor.

Such decades-old anecdotes are all the tribe really know of the Soviet invasion and US-funded mujahideen fightback, a brutal nine-year conflict that may have left as many as one million civilians dead and hundreds of thousands more displaced.

The subsequent civil war, in which tens of thousands more people were killed and uprooted, and the rise of the extremist Taliban regime seem to them like folklore.

"Taliban are very bad people from some other country who rape sheep and slaughter humans," says Askar Shah, Begium's eldest son, who has heard stories about them from Pakistani traders.

Known to those who live there by its Persian name Bam-e-Dunya, or "roof of the world", the Wakhan Corridor is a narrow strip of inhospitable land in Afghanistan bordered by the mountains of what is now Tajikistan and Pakistan, and extending to China

There is little knowledge of the US invasion or the bloody resurgence of the Taliban, and more recently the emergence of the Islamic State group, that have killed or injured hundreds of thousands across the nation.

"Foreigners invaded our country?" Askar Shah asks incredulously after being told how America and its allies went to war with the Taliban regime in 2001.

"No, they can't do that. They are good people," he says.

- 'Everyone is addicted' -

Created in the 19th century as a Great Game buffer zone between tsarist Russia and British India, the corridor has since remained untouched by any kind of government.

Afghanistan's mountainous Wakhan Corridor, a region so remote that its residents are untouched by the decades of conflict that have devastated their country

It can be reached from surrounding countries, but only via treacherous journeys by horse, yak or on foot through the "Pamir Knot", where three of the highest mountain ranges in the world converge.

Known in Afghanistan itself as Pamiris, the Wakhi form the bulk of the corridor's population -- the nomadic Kyrgyz tribe, which numbers just 1,100 people, live separately at its northern end.

The Wakhi are moderate Ismaili Muslims, followers of the Aga Khan. The burka -- which is ubiquitous elsewhere in Afghanistan and is regarded by critics as a symbol of women's oppression -- is unknown.

Their life, largely free from crime and violence, revolves around yaks and cattle, which they barter for food and clothes from the few traders who visit the remote region.

Without electricity they have no internet or mobile phone service, often communicating with one another across the vast terrain by walkie-talkie.

The lives of Afghanistan's Wakhi tribe revolve around yaks and cattle, which they barter for food and clothes from the few traders who visit the remote region

Occasionally they have access to radios, listening to Russian broadcasts or Afghan news -- Iranian music is also popular -- however such opportunities are rare, and once the batteries run down they fall silent until the traders arrive again.

But with temperatures below freezing for more than 300 days a year, this is no rural idyll.

Even minor flu can kill, and childbirth means death nearly as often as it means life. The endless grief helps fuel use of the only drug freely available in Wakhan: opium.

Opium is "the only Afghan identity we have", says Nazar, a Wakhi who goes by one name, adding: "The whole population is addicted to it."

But change may be coming: The Afghan government says it's conducting aerial surveys to assess potential routes to connect Wakhan to the rest of Badakhshan province by road.

The Chinese are also in talks with Kabul to help build a military base at the northern end of the corridor, according to Afghan officials.

If it all comes to fruition, it could bring more trade, tourism, and much-needed medical facilities.

It could also spell the end of the Wakhi's protection from the brutality of war.
Wa Lone (back C) and Kyaw Soe Oo (C) face up to 14 years in prison on charges of possessing classified documents

Two Reuters journalists detained for two months by Myanmar authorities were arrested for investigating a massacre of 10 Rohingya men, the news agency said in a report that detailed the grisly killings.

It is the first time Reuters has publicly confirmed what Myanmar nationals Wa Lone, 31, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 27, were working on when they were arrested on December 12 on the outskirts of Yangon.

The pair now face up to 14 years in prison on charges of possessing classified documents in violation of the colonial-era Official Secrets Act.

Their plight has sparked global alarm over withering press freedoms in Myanmar and government efforts to curb reporting in northern Rakhine state -- where troops are accused of waging an ethnic cleansing campaign against Rohingya Muslims.

Nearly 700,000 Rohingya have fled the area since last August, carrying stories of atrocities at the hands of troops and vigilante groups in the Buddhist-majority country.

Myanmar authorities deny the allegations but have virtually cut off northern Rakhine, barring independent media from accessing the conflict-hit areas.

On Thursday Reuters published a report describing how Myanmar troops and Buddhist villagers executed 10 Rohingya men in Rakhine's Inn Dinn village on September 2, 2017 and dumped their bodies into a mass grave.

"The Reuters investigation of the Inn Din massacre was what prompted Myanmar police authorities to arrest two of the news agency's reporters," the report said.

The account was based on testimony from Buddhist villagers, security officers and relatives of the slain men.

It included photographs of the victims, hands bound kneeling on the floor before the killing -- and of their bodies in a pit after.

The United Nations said the report's details were "alarming".

"This once more attests to the need for a full and thorough investigation by the authorities of all violence in Rakhine State and attacks on the various communities there," UN spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters in New York.

- 'Justice and accountability' -

The US State Department also said the report showed the need for Myanmar to cooperate in an independent probe.

"As with other, previous reports of mass graves, this report highlights the ongoing and urgent need for Burmese authorities to cooperate with an independent, credible investigation into allegations of atrocities in northern Rakhine," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.

A month after the journalists' arrest, Myanmar's army issued a rare statement admitting that security forces took part in extrajudicial killings of 10 Rohingya "terrorists" in Inn Din village.

The Reuters report said witnesses denied there had been any major attack from Rohingya militants before the alleged massacre.

A Myanmar government spokesman could not be immediately reached for comment.

But Myanmar vehemently denies systematic abuses by its security officers, despite a mounting volume of evidence pointing to atrocities.

Judges have denied bail to the two reporters during a pre-trial hearing period, despite calls for their release from human rights groups and diplomats around the globe.

The next hearing is scheduled for February 14.
Tom Ford put female empowerment center stage at New York Fashion Week on Thursday, kicking off the Fall/Winter 2018 season with models prowling the runway in cat prints and power suits.

The 56-year-old Texan-born designer-turned-movie-director was not one to let the #MeToo movement pass him by, and incorporated the concept of 'pussy power' in to his collection  quite literally.

In addition to bold leopard patterns, skintight fabrics, tailored suits, and oversized coats, Ford send model Grace Hartzel down the catwalk with a sparkly bag emblazoned with the words 'Pussy Power.'

No beating around the bush! Tom Ford's latest fashion show was all about 'pussy power'

Big deal: The designer showed his Fall 2018 collection at New York Fashion Week on Thursday

Meow! The collection had a female empowerment theme, by way of all things pussy cat

Sexy: Models prowled the catwalk in bold cat prints in bright colors

On the first day of New York's first women's fashion week since the sexual harassment watershed exploded last October  just weeks after the Spring 2018 shows were presented  the Ford woman of Fall/Winter 2018 is an alley cat, a superwoman with a 'Pussy Power' purse.

With barely a skirt in sight, the pant suit ruled. Models prowled the catwalk, their legs enveloped in tight pants, leggings or opaque tights of red, orange, yellow, and green leopard print.

Messy hair kept off their forehead protest-style with black headbands, owning the streets.

If pink pussy hats were the uniform of women demonstrators against the Trump administration  a reference to the president's use of a vulgarity on a leaked Access Hollywood tape to refer to women's genitals  then Ford's cat theme took the play on words to another level.

Even without the animal print pants, there were jaguar and zebra print kitten heels, tight lame leggings, a riot of sequins, patchwork and snakeskin on oversized coats, and boxy blazers that were belted for business.

Written plainly: A few accessories really drove the message home

It says so right on the shoes! He put the 'pussy power' line on heels and bags

Loud: Animal prints were a major theme, as were glitz and florals

All over: Many of the models wore animal prints from head to toe

Throwback: Large hoops and headbands gave a nod to the '80s

Star-studedd: Kaia Gerber was one of several models to take on the animal-print clothes with her zebra pants, shoes, and bag

A-list: A celebrity audience was in attendance for the NYFW event

Apart from daring cut-out backs barely skimming the top of the seat and cut-out waists, there were few flashes of flesh. Dresses were restricted to high-necked minis and were often paired with tights, and most featured long sleeves.

In a throwback to '80s hip-hop, models wore silver ball hoop earrings, and there were lashings of black  the color actresses opted to wear at the Golden Globes to protest against harassment.

'Every single thing you design, at least in the luxury sector, has to be potent,' Ford told Women's Wear Daily in an interview. 'It has to be the most amazing thing. No one needs just another black skirt.'

'I get calls from our store managers all the time saying we need more things that are more expensive. When (they) say more expensive, they mean more special,' he added.

Statement: Many of the models were also dressed in black

Time's up! The black looks may have been a nod to the all-black red carpet at this year's Golden Globes

Truth: Certainly, Tom Ford seemed to be making several statements about women and sexism

Here kitty kitty! The shoes also featured leopard patterns and kitten heels

'Every single thing you design, at least in the luxury sector, has to be potent,' Ford said

Review: After seeing the collection, Vogue called Tom Ford 'confident in the extreme and irreverent to the edge of defiance'

His models, led by 16-year-old Kaia Gerber (daughter of supermodel Cindy Crawford), debuted a new collection of cosmetics called Extreme and were watched by the likes of Julianne Moore and Zayn Malik.

Fellow designer Tadashi Shoji tapped into the feelings of the post-Harvey Weinstein world as well, by offering women a sleek, powerful red carpet collection oozing 1940s Hollywood glamour, which was modernized with cut-outs, pleating, and plenty of black.

Women, he said, must never apologize for what they chose to wear or for wanting to look seductive  regardless of how male harassers may choose to excuse predatory behavior given a woman's looks.

'So I did very sensual, sexy dresses, this time. Our dresses are about the empowerment of women and making women's body look beautiful,' the 70-year-old Japanese-born designer told AFP.

'Women have the right to enjoy life. It's ok. Why would you have to apologize? Men don't.'
North Korea's ceremonial head of state Kim Yong Nam (C) has served the ruling Kim family for three generations, despite periodic purges of the Workers' Party

North Korea's ceremonial head of state Kim Yong Nam is a career diplomat whose unquestioning loyalty has ensured his survival for decades in the regime's top ranks.

Kim, who turns 90 this month, has served the North's ruling Kim family for three generations, despite periodic purges of the Workers' Party.

Leader Kim Jong Un had his own uncle executed for treason two years after coming to power, and his half-brother Kim Jong Nam was assassinated in a Malaysian airport last year, but Kim Yong Nam -- who is not a close blood relative of the ruling family -- has always survived.

Analysts ascribe his longevity to his suave manner and reliable devotion.

"He has never been considered a threat to the regime," said professor Yang Moo-jin of the University of North Korean Studies.

"He is an amiable technocrat who faithfully follows the leader's directions," he told AFP.

South Korean analysts have nicknamed him "Tape Recorder", he added, "as he always parrots what has been said by the supreme leader".

North Korea's ceremonial head of state Kim Yong Nam (2nd L) and Kim Yo Jong (C), North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's younger sibling, head to a train station upon their arrival at Incheon airport, on February 9, 2018

Kim Yong Nam arrived in the South Friday for a three-day visit, at the head of the North's diplomatic delegation to the Winter Olympics, accompanied by leader Kim's sister, two other senior other officials, and 18 support staff.

As president of the presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, the North's rubberstamp parliament, he is the country's ceremonial head of state and technically the highest-level Northern official ever to visit the South.

But he is largely considered a figurehead whose public diplomatic role, representing the country at international events, leaves it unclear how much political power he really has.

He issues letters of credit for North Korean diplomats and receives foreign representatives, but Kim Jong Un holds the real authority as the supreme leader and head of the Workers' Party.

Kim Yong Nam's diplomatic roles were especially convenient for the current leader's late father and predecessor Kim Jong Il, who was known for a propensity to avoid contact with foreign guests, according to analysts.

"He is not a politician but a typical technocrat who has spent decades handling international relations," said Yang.

But he pointed out that whenever the North's state media reel off the names of officials who attend ceremonies, "Kim Yong Nam's name always comes next after that of Kim Jong Un."

"This means he is the number-two in the official party ranks," he added.

- Third Olympics, Third President -

According to the South's Unification Ministry, Kim Yong Nam was born in February 1928 in Pyongyang.

He studied at the North's prestigious Kim Il Sung University before graduating from Moscow University in 1953 with a bachelor's degree in international relations.

Kim Yong Nam, North Korea's ceremonial state shown here following leader Kim Jong Un in 2016, is heading the delegation to the Winter Games

He was recruited into the international affairs department of the party's Central Committee, where he started moving up the career ladder, becoming its head in 1972.

He has spent his entire career in Pyongyang, and in 1983 the North's founder Kim Il Sung named him as foreign minister.

Under Kim's son and successor Kim Jong Il he was elevated to his current position in 1998.

As the head of state, he took part in both North-South summits in Pyongyang, meeting South Korean president Kim Dae-jung in 2000 and his successor Roh Moo-hyun seven years later.

He met his third South Korean president, Moon Jae-in, at leaders' reception in Pyeongchang Friday ahead of the Winter Olympics opening ceremony.

It is also his third Games -- he led the North's delegations to Beijing in 2008 and Sochi four years ago.
A badly damaged hotel in the Taiwanese city of Hualien, which was hit by a 6.4-magnitude quake late on February 6

Taiwan began demolishing three dangerously damaged buildings Friday as rescue workers combed the rubble of a hotel in a last-ditch effort to find seven people still missing after a deadly earthquake.

At least 10 people were killed when the 6.4-magnitude quake hit the eastern tourist city of Hualien Tuesday. A family of five Chinese mainland nationals and a Canadian-Chinese couple remain missing.

They are all "believed to be trapped in the second floor of Yun Tsui building," Hualien mayor Fu Kun-chi said on local television Friday, warning that the chances of finding people alive were now slim.

"Rescuers will seize the 'golden 72 hours of rescue time' to make an all-out effort for rescue," he added.

The powerful tremor left a handful of buildings badly damaged -- some tilting at precarious angles -- as well as roads torn up.

Three of the partially collapsed buildings have been cleared of people and are now being demolished "in order to maintain safety for the public," the mayor said, adding that authorities are probing possible construction irregularities.

The major focus for emergency responders remains another damaged building, the Yun Tsui apartment block, which housed the Beauty Stay Hotel on its lower floors. Seven of the dead perished in that building and the remaining missing were hotel guests there.

The lower floors of the 12-storey tower pancaked, leaving the structure leaning at a fifty-degree angle and sparking fears of an imminent collapse.

National Fire Agency search and rescue team leader Liang Kuo-wei told AFP it had taken 12 hours to break through to the second-floor hotel room where the Canadian couple were staying.

They had found their suitcase and "running shoes, sunglasses, and thermos," he said, adding that they had earlier detected "signs of life" but had been unable to locate the couple and were now encountering smells of decay.

The Chinese family of five were all sharing a room on the second floor.

The daughter of victim Chiang Chen-chang, who was employed at the Beauty Stay Hotel, said she saw her father's name on the missing persons list during her shift working at the emergency operation centre.

Japanese rescue personnel in front of a collapsed building in Hualien on February 8, 2018

"I had to keep composed so I could carry on my work. It was only when I was alone that the emotions came," Hsu Pao-yu said as she struggled to hold back tears.

Hualien is one of Taiwan's most popular tourist destinations as it lies on the picturesque east coast rail line and near the popular Taroko Gorge.

The Hualien quake came exactly two years to the day after a similar sized tremor struck the western city of Tainan, killing 117 people -- most in a single apartment block which collapsed.

Five people were later found guilty over the disaster, including the developer and two architects, for building an inadequate structure.

The island's worst tremor in recent decades was a 7.6-magnitude quake in September 1999 that killed around 2,400 people.

That quake ushered in stricter building codes but many of Taiwan's older buildings remain perilously vulnerable to even moderate quakes.
Dozens of North Korean fishing vessels have washed up on Japan's coast in recent years, with the number hitting a record 104 in 2017, up from 66 the previous year, according to the Japanese coastguard

Eight North Koreans rescued from a boat adrift near an island in northern Japan last year were deported home via China on Friday, an immigration official told AFP.

The eight men were part of a group of 10 North Korean "fishermen" spotted aboard a tiny wooden boat struggling in bad weather last November.

They are to return to North Korea from a Hokkaido airport via Beijing, a spokeswoman for the Sapporo Regional Immigration Bureau told AFP.

Two other crew members remain in Japan, one of them in hospital with tuberculosis and the other, the boat's 45-year-old skipper, facing charges of theft, she added.

The captain was arrested and indicted last year for stealing a power generator from a local fishery cooperatives facility on the island, part of Hokkaido -- the northernmost of Japan's four main islands.

According to the indictment, the captain took the lead in stealing some 40 items ranging from home appliances to solar panels worth 5.65 million yen ($45,000), public broadcaster NHK said, adding that he will stand trial in a Japanese court.

Dozens of North Korean fishing vessels have washed up on Japan's coast in recent years, with the number hitting a record 104 in 2017, up from 66 the previous year, according to the Japanese coastguard.

Experts say some North Korean fishermen are travelling further out to sea in order to satisfy government mandates for bigger catches.

But their old and poorly equipped vessels are prone to mechanical and other problems, including running out of fuel, and there are few ways for them to call for rescue.

Some of the boats wash up on Japanese shores with the crew on board dead, a phenomenon referred to by the local media as "ghost ships."
The Maldives was plunged into crisis this week when President Abdulla Yameen declared a state of emergency

A pro-opposition television network in the Maldives shut down Friday following threats to its staff, as the government continued a clampdown on dissent that has sparked international concern.

Raajje TV said threats to its employees over their reporting on the political crisis in the picturesque Indian Ocean archipelago had forced it to suspend broadcasts.

"The broadcaster received threats from government legislators and others," said opposition lawmaker Eva Abdulla.

The Maldives was plunged into crisis this week when President Abdulla Yameen declared a state of emergency and ordered the arrest of judges who had ordered the release of his political opponents.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged Yameen to lift the state of emergency while UN human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein has described Yameen's actions as "an all-out assault on democracy."

On Thursday a top UN official warned the Security Council that the situation was tense and may deteriorate even further.

Street protests have so far been relatively muted, but opposition and ruling parties have called their supporters onto the streets for rallies after Friday prayers.

Yameen, who has had almost all the political opposition jailed since he came to power in 2013, is resisted mounting international pressure over the crisis.

On Thursday he refused to meet with diplomats from the European Union, Germany and Britain who had travelled to the honeymoon island nation for talks.

China, India and several Western governments have advised their citizens against travelling to the Maldives in the light of the latest unrest.
Kim Yo Jong, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's sister, is believed to be among his closest confidantes

The interplay between protocol and power was put on show when North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's sister and the country's ceremonial head of state arrived in the South Friday on a historic trip.

As president of the presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, Kim Yong Nam, who turns 90 this month, is technically the highest-level Northern official ever to visit the South.

But Kim Yo Jong, believed to be 30, has her brother's ear and is believed to be among his closest confidantes, an increasingly influential figure in Pyongyang.

When they were greeted by the South's unification minister in an airport reception room, the older diplomat sought to defer to his young colleague, motioning to her to sit down first.

Grinning, she returned the gesture, and the two went back and forth for a few seconds, before they settled on equality and took their seats almost simultaneously -- Kim Yong Nam a fraction ahead.

North Korea's ceremonial head of state Kim Yong Nam (R) and Kim Yo Jong (C), sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, are greeted by South Korea's unification minister Cho Myoung-gyon (L) on their arrival at Incheon airport

While he is officially the head of the delegation, many analysts expect Kim Yo Jong to take the lead in discussions with Southern officials, and she was seen talking with Seoul unification minister Cho Myoung-gyon and his deputy.

She is believed to be carrying a personal message from her brother to the South's President Moon Jae-in.

She is the first member of the North's ruling Kim dynasty to set foot in the South since the end of the Korean War in 1953 and media interest in her visit is immense.

A horde of cameras and journalists recorded her every move as she made her way through Incheon airport, closely surrounded by four bodyguards.

She looked relaxed and TV footage showed her smiling constantly, occasionally glancing around at the facilities -- in the manner of someone used to the public spotlight.
Masked cops swooped on Medvedev's Bangkok condo on February 2, making the arrest before US justice officials indicted other alleged members of the ring

A Russian man accused of co-running a global cybercrime network shuttered in a US-led crackdown this week has been arrested in Bangkok and will face extradition, Thai police said Friday.

Sergey Medvedev, 31, is accused of co-founding the "Infraud Organization," an online network that stole and sold credit card and other personal identity data, causing $530 million in losses, according to US authorities.

On Wednesday the US Department of Justice indicted 36 people of racketeering conspiracy and other crimes for their roles in the crime syndicate.

Thirteen defendants hailing from around the globe were arrested in the US and six other countries, including Australia, the UK, France, Italy, Kosovo and Serbia.

Medvedev was not listed as one of the 36 suspects charged this week but was described in the indictment as co-administrator of the network with its Ukraine founder Svyatoslav Bondarenko, who remains at large.

Masked cops armed with automatic weapons swooped on his Bangkok condo on February 2, making the arrest before US justice officials indicted other alleged members of the ring.

"(Medvedev) is now being detained at Bangkok Remand Prison waiting for US authorities to take him for prosecution in the US," said Nuthapon Rattanamongkolsak, a Thai officer from the Crime Suppression Division.

The US Embassy in Bangkok declined to comment.

The Russian national frequently travelled in and out of Thailand over the past six years on tourist visas, the officer said.

"He has no real job here and spent his life as any other tourist," Nuthapon told AFP, adding that he expected authorities to extradite Medvedev within the month.

Infraud was founded in Ukraine in 2010 and touted itself with the slogan "In Fraud We Trust."

It became the "premier destination" on the web for purchasing goods with counterfeit or stolen credit card information, according to US authorities.

The organisation, which had 10,901 approved "members" by 2017, also provided an "escrow" service for transactions in crypto-currencies including Bitcoin, the indictment said.

Mevedev is not the first alleged cybercriminal to have used Thailand as a base.

Last year Thai police arrested a 26-year-old Canadian who was wanted by the US for running AlphaBay, at the time the world's largest dark web marketplace for drugs and other contraband.

The suspect, Alexandre Cazes, died in Thai police custody before he could be extradited.

Officers said the computer programmer hanged himself with a towel in his detention cell in Bangkok.
U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand differed with her New York colleague, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, on a multi-year budget deal that Congress passed early Friday.

Gillibrand, D-N.Y., announced her opposition to the two-year budget agreement that will increase defense spending by $165 billion and domestic spending by $131 billion. The package also includes disaster aid for Florida, Texas, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

But for Gillibrand, it's more about what's not in the budget agreement. The spending plan doesn't include a permanent solution to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. President Donald Trump rescinded the executive order authorizing the program, which provides legal status to undocumented immigrants who were brought the U.S. illegally as children.

Congress has until early March to reach an agreement on a permanent DACA fix, but several Democrats believe it should have been addressed in the two-year budget deal.

"I have made it clear that I won't vote for any long-term spending deal that doesn't include protections for our Dreamers," Gillibrand said in a statement Thursday. "Republican leadership has refused to do the morally right thing by protecting the young people who know only this country as their home."
Egyptian soldiers guard at a hospital treating the wounded from a jihadist attack that killed more than 300 worshippers at a North Sinai mosque on November 24, 2017

The Egyptian army announced the launch on Friday of a major operation in the Nile Delta and the northern Sinai Peninsula, heart of a persistent Islamic State group insurgency.

Police and troops have been put on "maximum alert" for the duration of Operation Sinai 2018, the army said in a statement.

The goal is to tighten control of border districts and "clean up areas where there are terrorist hotbeds".

The security forces have been increasingly targeted by jihadists since the army overthrew Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

Most of the violence has been in North Sinai province, but there have also been attacks on the military, police and even churches elsewhere, including Cairo.

In November, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who is seeking re-election in polls next month, ordered the armed forces chief of staff to restore security in Sinai within three months after militants killed more than 300 worshippers at a mosque.

Jihadists have also attacked tourists, killing all 224 on board a Russian plane carrying holidaymakers in 2015.
Hwang Pyong-So, shown speaking with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, has been removed as director of the military's General Political Bureau

North Korea state media on Friday confirmed the sacking of the country's military chief Hwang Pyong So, after Southern reports said he had been fired for corruption.

The North's KCNA news agency, reporting on a military parade in Pyongyang the previous day, introduced armed forces minister Kim Jong Gak as vice marshal and director of the military's General Political Bureau -- a post previously held by Hwang.

The General Political Bureau is the North's most powerful military body, in charge of assigning officers to posts and keeping ideological control over its estimated 1.3 million troops.

Hwang had been dismissed following an inspection into the bureau and sent to a party school for re-education, the South's National Intelligence Service said earlier this week. News reports said Hwang was caught taking bribes.

North Korea's military generals, high-ranking officials and even members of the ruling Kim family are subject to periodic purges under the rule of leader Kim Jong Un.

The nuclear-armed North is on an Olympics-linked charm offensive, sending athletes, a troupe of performers, hundreds of female cheerleaders, the ceremonial head of state and even Kim's sister to South Korea.

But the military parade in Pyongyang on Thursday added to critics' doubts in the South over the sudden rapprochement, which follows a series of weapons tests.
Nine of the 12 people killed in the quake perished in the Yun Tsui building, which was left leaning precariously

After hours of painstaking search efforts, Taiwanese rescue workers pulled two more bodies from the flattened remains of a hotel Friday, bringing the death toll from a deadly 6.4-magnitude quake to 12.

Scores of emergency responders combed the rubble of the lower floors of the 12-storey Yun Tsui apartment block, which housed the Beauty Stay Hotel and had pancaked during the quake, leaving the building leaning at a 50-degree angle which complicated the rescue effort due to fears of an imminent collapse.

"The rescue mission was difficult as the space is narrow but rescuers continued to work hard and finally found the Canadian couple," a government statement said.

"A doctor evaluated that there is no sign of life and their bodies have been sent to a funeral parlour," it added.

The couple, who were Hong Kong-Canadian, were identified as Freda and Peter So.

The new discovery means that nine of the 12 people killed when the quake hit the eastern tourist city of Hualien Tuesday perished in the Yun Tsui building.

The remaining missing, a Chinese family of five, were also hotel guests there. They were sharing a room on the second floor of the building, officials said.

National Fire Agency search and rescue team leader Liang Kuo-wei told AFP it had taken 12 hours to break through to the second-floor hotel room where the Canadian couple were staying.

They had found their suitcase and "running shoes, sunglasses, and thermos," he said, which had raised initial hopes that the couple would be found alive.

- Damaged buildings demolished -

The powerful tremor left a handful of buildings badly damaged -- some tilting at precarious angles -- as well as roads torn up.

Three of the partially collapsed buildings have been cleared of people and are now being demolished "in order to maintain safety for the public," Hualien mayor Fu Kun-chi said, adding that authorities are probing possible construction irregularities.

The daughter of victim Chiang Chen-chang, who was employed at the Beauty Stay Hotel, said she saw her father's name on the missing persons list during her shift working at the emergency operation centre.

Rescue teams remove a body found in the Yun Tsui building

"I had to keep composed so I could carry on my work. It was only when I was alone that the emotions came," Hsu Pao-yu said as she struggled to hold back tears.

Hualien is one of Taiwan's most popular tourist destinations as it lies on the picturesque east coast rail line and near the popular Taroko Gorge.

But the mountains that rise up behind the city -- and bestow Taiwan's east coast with such majestic beauty -- are a testament to the deadly tectonic faultlines that run through the island.

The government said 16 foreigners sought medical treatment for minor injuries.

The Hualien quake came exactly two years to the day after a similar sized tremor struck the western city of Tainan, killing 117 people -- most in a single apartment block which collapsed.

Five people were later found guilty over the disaster, including the developer and two architects, for building an inadequate structure.

The island's worst tremor in recent decades was a 7.6-magnitude quake in September 1999 that killed around 2,400 people.

That quake ushered in stricter building codes but many of Taiwan's older buildings remain perilously vulnerable to even moderate quakes.
Sri Lanka's Roshen Silva reacts after scoring a half century as Bangladeshi wicketkeeper Liton Das looks on

Roshen Silva hit an unbeaten half-century to put Sri Lanka in command of the second Test after stretching their lead to 312 against Bangladesh in Dhaka on Friday.

The visitors reached 200-8 at stumps on day two in their second innings. The batting effort came after debutant spinner Akila Dananjaya led an inspirational attack to dismiss Bangladesh for 110 in the morning session.

Silva was batting on 58, his second fifty in the game, which came amid a regular fall of wickets on what seemed a difficult batting pitch at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.

The highest successful run-chase at the ground is England's 209-1 against the hosts in 2010.

"I don't think it is possible to get more than 300 runs on this wicket. It is common sense but cricket is a funny game," Silva told reporters.

"We bowled them out for 100 and we wanted to get more than 300-plus runs actually.

"We passed it," added Silva, playing just his third Test since his debut in India last year.

Suranga Lakmal, who claimed three wickets with his pace bowling, was keeping Silva company on seven as the islanders kept building on their sizable first-innings lead of 112.

Paceman Mustafizur Rahman took three wickets while spinners Taijul Islam and Mehedi Hasan Miraz claimed two each.

Opener Kusal Mendis was out early after veteran left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak trapped the batsman leg-before for seven.

Left-handed opener Dimuth Karunaratne, who made 32, and Dhananjaya de Silva, who hit 28, got starts but failed to convert them into bigger scores.

Silva got to the grind building crucial partnerships including a 51-run fifth-wicket stand with skipper Dinesh Chandimal, who made 30.

Bangladesh's Mehedi was hoping against hope for a turnaround.

"Anything can happen in cricket. You can lose wickets for zero or one or two runs. It can happen in the first innings," the allrounder said.

"But if we can learn from our mistakes from the first innings then I believe we can perform well in the second innings and can win the match."

Earlier Bangladesh, who started the day on 56-4 in response to Sri Lanka's 222, faltered against Dananjaya's mystery spin that rattled the hosts' middle and lower-order.

Dananjaya, who is playing his first Test after 19 one-day internationals and nine Twenty20 games, returning impressive figures of 3-20.

The 24-year-old Dananjaya has off-spin as his stock delivery but can can surprise the batsmen with leg-spin googly and carrom balls.

Dananjaya cleaned up skipper Mahmudullah Riyad for 17, and got two more wickets in Sabbir Rahman -- out for a duck -- and Razzak to flatten the Bangladesh batting.

The first Test ended in a draw in Chittagong.
Supporters of the African National Congress Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa demonstrated against President Jacob Zuma outside ANC party headquarters in Johannesburg earlier this week

The leaders of South Africa's ruling party pulled out of a series of public engagements Friday, fuelling speculation that they will meet to finalise the departure of embattled President Jacob Zuma.

African National Congress (ANC) party officials met with Zuma over the weekend to request his resignation, but he refused, triggering a week of dramatic political manoeuvering.

The ANC said in a statement on Thursday that it was awaiting the "imminent conclusion" of negotiations between Zuma and his deputy Cyril Ramaphosa, the president-in-waiting.

The sudden decision by the party's "Top Six" leadership to abandon plans to attend events in Cape Town marking the 100th anniversary of Nelson Mandela's birth has prompted speculation that they will join efforts to ease out Zuma.

"The national officials of the ANC will no longer participate... This is because of various other commitments they are required to attend to," said a brief party statement.

Local media reported that Ramaphosa and Zuma would meet in the capital Pretoria on Friday while analysts speculated the "Top Six" party officials would be drafted in to heighten pressure on the head of state to go.

The government also postponed an awards ceremony scheduled for Saturday at which Zuma was due to officiate, effectively clearing the president's short-term diary.

Zuma, 75, who has been in office since 2009, has clung to power despite a string of corruption scandals, economic slowdown and record unemployment.

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.

The ANC has been under pressure from both within the party and the public to get rid of Zuma.

"The ANC have been pushed into the corner and so have to act and take a decisive decision," political analyst Ralph Mathekga told AFP. "I think they might be announcing something over the weekend."
Bangladesh opposition leader Khaleda Zia has dismissed the charges as politically motivated

Bangladesh's main opposition party named the exiled eldest son of Khaleda Zia as its acting head on Friday, a day after a court jailed its leader for corruption.

Zia, 72, spent the night in jail after she was sentenced to five years over the embezzlement of $252,000 meant for an orphanage, a charge she has dismissed as politically motivated.

Her son Tarique Rahman, who was also found guilty of involvement in but escaped prison because he lives in London, will be the party's interim leader.

"He is the new acting chairman in accordance with the party's constitution," Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) secretary general Fakhrul Islam Alamgir told AFP.

The conviction could prevent Zia from running in a general election slated for December, although she is expected to appeal.

She spent the night in what her party officials say is a disused jail in the old part of Dhaka.

"She is in isolation," said Alamgir, adding that her conviction is "part of a government blueprint to establish one-party rule".

Rahman, 53, fled to London in 2008 after he was detained by an army-backed government for more than 18 months.

In 2016, he was convicted in absentia and sentenced to seven years in jail on charges of money laundering.

Prosecutors have also sought his death sentence over a 2004 grenade attack at a rally of current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in which more than 20 people were killed and she was injured.

The BNP plans to stage nationwide demonstrations late Friday afternoon in protest at the verdict.

Alamgir said opposition parties had been barred from holding protests and alleged curbs on media freedom by the government.

Violence erupted in major cities across Bangladesh as news of the guilty verdict spread on Thursday, with BNP supporters clashing with police and activists from the ruling party.

Police fired rubber bullets at demonstrators in the northeastern city of Sylhet. At least four people have been injured in the clashes.

Authorities have for days been on high alert for protests in tense Dhaka, where political demonstrations by BNP and its Islamist allies in 2014 and 2015 left nearly 200 people dead.

Around 3,500 opposition activists and officials were arrested in a sweep by security forces ahead of the verdict, according to the BNP.

Zia is a former ally turned arch-foe of Hasina. Her party boycotted 2014 polls in which Hasina was re-elected but is expected to contest the upcoming general election.
A woman walks past an advertisement for the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 at the company's showroom in Seoul

Pyeongchang Olympic organisers said they had apologised to Iran on Friday after a diplomatic furore over its athletes being denied special Samsung phones issued for the Games.

The head of the Pyeongchang organising committee, Lee Hee-beom, confirmed he had written to the Iranian team "to apologise for the misunderstanding".

The problem started on Wednesday, when Games organisers said Iranian and North Korean athletes would be refused the Galaxy Note 8 devices from sponsor Samsung, loaded with essential logistical and competition information.

Although the organisers later backtracked, it sparked anger in Iran, where Samsung has a major commercial presence, and its athletes refused to accept the phones until there was a full apology.

The source of the misunderstanding was not explained.

The committee had initially claimed the phones were denied "because of existing UN sanctions", even though all UN sanctions on Iran were lifted in 2015 apart from those linked to arms and nuclear technology.

Samsung billboards and flagship stores are seen all over Iran, and the South Korean company has sponsored many large-scale cultural events, including the current exhibition at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art.

Samsung sought to distance itself from the spat, saying in a statement that it was "not responsible for the distribution of the phones" and referring questions to Olympics organisers.

Prior to the apology, Iran's official IRNA news agency reported that Telecoms Minister Mohammad-Javad Azari Jahromi was looking into the issue, and was considering whether to block imports of Samsung phones.

IRNA reported Thursday that "an informed source" had said Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif would stop using his Samsung mobile if there was no apology.

Although this was not confirmed, the report appeared to trigger a series of "No to Samsung" protests on Twitter.

"If I were a famous person, in response to Samsung's big insult, I would have thrown my Samsung mobile away on camera, and would have asked other famous people to join me," wrote one Twitter user.

Others had a more light-hearted response, with one saying he had slammed the door of his Samsung fridge particularly hard after hearing the news.

"The fact that our revolutionary friends haven't climbed the walls of the South Korean embassy is a big improvement in itself," joked another Twitter user.
Cardinal Joseph Zen is a staunch opponent of any rapprochement between the Vatican and Beijing

A war of words between a Hong Kong bishop and the Vatican escalated Friday with the outspoken Cardinal Joseph Zen calling the Pope's warming ties to Communist China "evil".

Beijing and the Vatican severed diplomatic relations in 1951, and although ties have improved in recent years as China's Catholic population has grown, they remain at odds over which side has the authority to ordain bishops.

The Vatican relaunched long-stalled negotiations three years ago and now seems to be nearing concrete steps towards solving the major stumbling block of how to designate bishops.

The issue has flared up again after two underground Chinese bishops, recognised by the pope, were asked by a top Vatican diplomat to resign in favour of state-sanctioned prelates, including one who was excommunicated by the Vatican in 2011.

Cardinal Joseph Zen, bishop emeritus of semi-autonomous Hong Kong and a staunch opponent of any rapprochement between the Vatican and Beijing, last month accused the Holy See of "selling out" to Beijing by reportedly promoting bishops endorsed by the Chinese government.

On Friday, the cardinal stepped up his rhetoric again.

"I am not objecting to an imperfect agreement -- that I can accept -- but not an evil one, not one that runs counter to the principle of our church," Zen said on a local radio programme.

"They say they are doing it step by step, and yes it's fine to do it step by step, but you can't make a sinful step," he added.

China's roughly 12 million Catholics are divided between a government-run association, whose clergy are chosen by the Communist Party, and an unofficial church which swears allegiance to the Vatican.

The secretive negotiations between the two sides could come down to the Vatican recognising some of the bishops chosen by the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association in exchange for a more benevolent attitude from Beijing.

Zen revealed earlier that he had appealed to the pope in a private meeting in Rome last month, where he delivered a letter from one of the bishops who was asked to step aside, Zhuang Jianjian.

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Aid workers warn that relentless bombardment by the Syrian military of the rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta is hampering vital relief operations for its 400,000 trapped civilans

Relentless bombardment by the Syrian military of the rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta is hampering vital relief operations, an international aid group warned on Friday.

The intensity of the air strikes, which have killed more than 220 civilians in just four days, has made it extremely difficult for relief workers to assist the estimated 400,000 people who live in the enclave under siege, CARE International said.

"Our partners are having a hard time moving around, so how can they reach vulnerable people?" the group's communications director for Syria, Joelle Bassoul, asked.

A CARE-supported community centre in the town of Douma was among the buildings hit, forcing those using it into underground shelters.

More than 4,000 families in Eastern Ghouta are living in basements and bunkers, according to Save the Children.

The enclave, just east of the capital, is supposed to be one of four "de-escalation zones" declared last year in a bid to reduce the bloodshed.

But Damascus has intensified its bombing of the district's towns and is also conducting a major offensive in another of the zones -- Idlib province in the northwest.

UN aid officials appealed for a month-long humanitarian truce to allow aid to be delivered and the sick and wounded brought out for treatment.

But on Thursday the Security Council failed to back the proposal which regime ally Moscow described as "not realistic."

Bassoul warned that without a truce, the consequences for civilians would be disastrous.

"If there is no ceasefire, if this is all left unheard, we cannot imagine the scale of the humanitarian disaster," she said.
The Pacific nation of Tuvalu -- long seen as a prime candidate to disappear as climate change forces up sea levels -- is actually growing in size, new research shows.

A University of Auckland study examined changes in the geography of Tuvalu's nine atolls and 101 reef islands between 1971 and 2014, using aerial photographs and satellite imagery.

It found eight of the atolls and almost three-quarters of the islands grew during the study period, lifting Tuvalu's total land area by 2.9 percent, even though sea levels in the country rose at twice the global average.

An analysis of aerial photographs and satellite imagery between 1971 and 2014 suggests the island isnt being swallowed up, as previously thought  instead, it appears to be growing. Examples of its changing size can be seen above, with dates indicated as different color lines

Co-author Paul Kench said the research, published Friday in the journal Nature Communications, challenged the assumption that low-lying island nations would be swamped as the sea rose.

'We tend to think of Pacific atolls as static landforms that will simply be inundated as sea levels rise, but there is growing evidence these islands are geologically dynamic and are constantly changing,' he said.

'The study findings may seem counter-intuitive, given that (the) sea level has been rising in the region over the past half century, but the dominant mode of change over that time on Tuvalu has been expansion, not erosion.'

It found factors such as wave patterns and sediment dumped by storms could offset the erosion caused by rising water levels.

Scientists have long feared it would be a victim of sea-level rise caused by climate change, with predictions suggesting it could shrink dramatically. This would put the population at great risk. File photo

The Auckland team says climate change remains one of the major threats to low-lying island nations.

But it argues the study should prompt a rethink on how such countries respond to the problem.

Rather than accepting their homes are doomed and looking to migrate to countries such as Australia and New Zealand, the researchers say they should start planning for a long-term future.

'On the basis of this research we project a markedly different trajectory for Tuvalu's islands over the next century than is commonly envisaged,' Kench said.

The study found eight of the atolls and almost three-quarters of the islands grew during the study period, lifting Tuvalu's total land area by 2.9 percent, even though sea levels in the country rose at twice the global average. An aerial view of Tuvalu's capital, Funafuti, is shown

WHAT IS TUVALU AND WHY WAS IT THOUGHT TO BE 'SINKING'? Tuvalu is a Pacific island nation encompassing nine atolls and 101 reef islands. Scientists have long feared it would be a victim of sea-level rise caused by climate change, with predictions suggesting it could shrink dramatically. Climate change remains one of the single greatest environmental threats to the livelihood and well-being of the peoples of the Pacific, researchers from the University of Auckland wrote in a new paper, published to the journal Nature Communications. The fate of small island states confronted with the spectre of sea-level rise has raised global concern, and prompted a labyrinth of international programmes to consider how Pacific nations can and should adapt to the threats of climatic change. The Pacific nation of Tuvalu -- long seen as a prime candidate to disappear as climate change forces up sea levels -- is actually growing in size, new research shows. Tuvalu can be seen on the map above, in magenta Islands considered most at risk of physical destabilisation are low-lying atoll nations. Erosion, combined with increased frequency of overwash flooding of island margins4 is expected to render islands uninhabitable. But, the new research indicates there may be hope, yet. An analysis of aerial photographs and satellite imagery captured between 1971 and 2014 suggests the island isnt being swallowed up, as previously thought  instead, it appears to be growing. Researchers found eight of the atolls and almost three-quarters of the islands grew during the study period, lifting Tuvalu's total land area by 2.9 percent, even though sea levels in the country rose at twice the global average. Advertisement

'While we recognise that habitability rests on a number of factors, loss of land is unlikely to be a factor in forcing depopulation of Tuvalu.'

The study's authors said island nations needed to find creative solutions to adapt to climate change that take into account their homeland's evolving geography.

Suggestions included moving populations onto larger islands and atolls, which have proved the most stable and likely to grow as seas rise.

'Embracing such new adaptation pathways will present considerable national scale challenges to planning, development goals and land tenure systems,' they said.

'However, as the data on island change shows there is time (decades) to confront these challenges.'
"Anthony Brindisi is a liberal Albany politician who supports public assistance for illegal immigrants," Renna said. "In Congress, he will stand with Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer to block efforts to secure the border, crack down on sanctuary cities and prevent illegal immigrants from receiving public benefits at the expense of the American people."

The vote on the Dream Act in New York came as Congress debates the fate of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. DACA protects certain undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children.

Ellen Foster, Brindisi's campaign manager, said Tenney is "confused" about how the state Dream Act would work. She noted that a student wouldn't receive tuition assistance unless they were known to the government and in good academic standing.

Tenney voted against the Dream Act while she was a member of the state Assembly.

"But the real point here is that if Congress fulfilled their promise to fix DACA, this entire subject would be moot," Foster said. "Ms. Tenney should focus on the looming government shutdown and local issues rather than worrying about scoring political points in Washington."
US ambassador David Friedman visits the Western Wall in the old city of Jerusalem on May 15, 2017

The American ambassador to Israel attacked an Israeli leftwing newspaper Friday, questioning whether it had any "dignity" after a vitriolic column.

The quarrel erupted after Haaretz newspaper criticised US Ambassador David Friedman, personally selected by President Donald Trump, for his support of settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.

In the wake of the murder of an Israeli rabbi and father of four from the Har Bracha settlement on Monday, Friedman tweeted that he had provided an ambulance for the community 20 years ago.

Friedman then criticised Palestinian "leaders" for praising the killing, although Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said nothing about it.

In response Haaretz, which opposes settlement building in the Palestinian territories, ran a column by commentator Gideon Levy saying that "with Friedman's ambulance or without it, Har Bracha (literally, 'Mountain of Blessing') is a mountain of curses."

It accused Friedman, who was Trump's personal lawyer before being confirmed as ambassador in May 2017, of "encouraging and funding war crimes and violations of international law".

"What has become of .@Haaretz ? Four young children are sitting shiva (mourning) for their murdered father and this publication calls their community a 'mountain of curses.' Have they no decency?" Friedman tweeted on Friday.

In a reply on Twitter, Haaretz publisher Amos Schocken said on Twitter that "Gideon Levy is right" and that the US administration's support for Israel and its settlement policies was causing bloodshed.

"As long as the policy of Israel that your Government and yourself support is obstructing (the) peace process, practical annexation of the territories, perpetuating apartheid, fighting terror but willing to pay its price, there will be more Shivas," Schocken wrote.

More than 600,000 Israelis live in settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem that are considered illegal under international law.

Relations between Washington and the Palestinians have been severely strained since Trump's December decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital and move the US embassy there.

In remarks published Friday, Trump called the Jerusalem move "a very big point" in his first year as president.

Speaking to the Israel Hayom daily, Trump said that both Israel and the Palestinians "will have to make hard compromises to reach a peace agreement."
The two nations continue to lock horns over the emotional issue of former wartime sex slaves

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowed on Friday to improve frayed ties between the US allies, both of them threatened by nuclear-armed North Korea.

Abe had previously hinted he might skip Friday's opening ceremony for the South's Pyeongchang Winter Olympics as the two nations continue to lock horns over the emotional issue of former wartime sex slaves.

The issue of women forced into sexual slavery for Japanese troops during World War II has marred relations between the neighbours for decades.

Park Geun-Hye, Moon's ousted predecessor, struck a deal in 2013 with Tokyo under which Seoul promised not to raise the issue again and Japan paid 1 billion yen ($8.9 million) to a foundation dedicated to supporting the victims.

The agreement, in which Tokyo fell short of taking legal responsibility, angered some victims and after taking office Moon condemned the deal as a "wrongful" solution and urged Japan to make a "heartfelt apology".

In a meeting ahead of the Olympics opening ceremony -- the third between the two heads of state -- Moon expressed a desire to improve ties but stressed a need to "confront the history".

"Like I've said many times, I am hoping... to seek future-oriented bilateral cooperation by joining wisdom and strength with you while we confront the history," Moon said.

Abe agreed on the importance of building a "forward-looking relationship" but stressed that "a promise" made between the nations should be respected as a "cornerstone of the bilateral relationship."

He also voiced concerns over the North's nuclear threats but warned that "dialogue for the sake of dialogue is meaningless", Abe's office said.

Many South Koreans remain bitter about abuses under Japan's ruthless 1910-45 colonial rule -- including the issue of the wartime sex slaves, also known as "comfort women."

Most Japanese feel they have atoned enough for the country's wartime aggression, including the comfort women issue, after numerous apologies and statements on the war.
Duterte has overseen a crackdown on narcotics that according to official figures has left nearly 4,000 drug suspects dead at the hands of police, while rights groups claim the toll is around three times the numbers given by authorities

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday declared himself beyond the jurisdiction of an International Criminal Court probe into thousands of deaths in his "drugs war", claiming local laws do not specifically ban extrajudicial killings.

In a typically bombastic speech Friday, a day after the ICC announced a preliminary inquiry into alleged crimes against humanity, Duterte renewed threats to withdraw from the world's sole war crimes tribunal.

Duterte, who has overseen the bloody anti-drug crackdown since taking power in 2016, acknowledged that a previous Manila government ratified the treaty that established the ICC, but claimed it had not passed into local law because of a technicality.

"There is no fucking provision of extrajudicial killing. It is not defined anywhere so how can you now accuse me of a crime," said Duterte, speaking in his home city of Davao.

Police say they have killed nearly 4,000 drug suspects in the narcotics crackdown, while rights groups claim the toll is around three times the official numbers.

The outspoken Philippine leader, who is accused of stoking the killings with inflammatory statements, took issue over the Philippines becoming the first southeast Asian nation put under a preliminary examination by the ICC prosecutor.

"There are so many massacres happening in all parts of Asia and you pick on me. You better clear that up because I will withdraw from the ICC," he warned, echoing an earlier threat.

In a separate speech to Davao businessmen late Friday, Duterte issued a veiled warning to ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda.

"Do not go into that adventure. It's a messy one," he said.

"You will know. You will get your comeuppance."

The ICC's initial inquiry is designed to help prosecutors determine if there is enough evidence of crimes that fall into its jurisdiction. It could lead to a full probe and eventually charges.

Duterte's spokesman Harry Roque said earlier Friday he was "very confident" he will escape ICC prosecution.

Roque said a United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings in 2007 investigated Duterte's role in 1,069 alleged death-squad killings in the southern city of Davao while he was mayor.

The mission did not lead to Duterte's prosecution and Roque said the president expects the same outcome.

Duterte won a landslide victory in 2016 elections largely on a pledge to eradicate drugs.

In addition to the official toll, authorities are also investigating some 2,000 other cases of "drug-related" killings by unknown suspects.

The ICC on Thursday announced the unprecedented decision to launch two inquiries at once, one in the Philippines and a second on alleged abuses during Venezuela's political unrest.
Critics said parents would feel compelled to buy the designer uniforms to ensure their children were not left out

A Japanese school's plan to introduce Armani-branded uniforms for its students, at a cost of nearly $750 a pop, has sparked complaints and fierce debate, even reaching as far as parliament.

The local education board confirmed to AFP that the Taimei Elementary School in Tokyo's flashy Ginza district will adopt the designer uniforms from April, with a full set costing parents around 80,000 yen ($740).

While the school says the new uniforms are not mandatory, critics said parents would feel compelled to buy them to ensure their children were not left out.

Kyodo news agency said the local education board had received a string of complaints from parents, unconvinced by the school's explanation that the designer uniform would be good branding.

In a letter announcing the uniform, the administration reportedly said the outfits were a bid to tie the 150-year-old school to the upscale Ginza district where it is located.

But that did little to sway public opinion.

"This shouldn't have been about designer brands, or tradition. The officials should have thought about the children and made a decision after holding discussions," one parent, who did not wish to be identified, told national broadcaster NHK.

"This is outrageous, kids' sizes change," one disgruntled commentator wrote online.

School principal Toshitsugu Wada admitted the price was "not low" but flatly denied any plans to back down, saying he wants to seek parents' understanding.

"There are many brand shops in Ginza and I wondered if it is an option to borrow the strength of one of the brands" in order to further develop the school, Wada told reporters.

The principal also said he sounded out other brands such as Burberry, Chanel and Hermes about producing its school uniform.

The uniform features sharply tailored blazers as well as add-ons like bags that can push the total set's cost to around 90,000 yen, a price another commentator described as "just too expensive for uniforms for fast-growing children."

Opposition lawmaker Manabu Terada even raised the issue during a parliamentary session, questioning the logic of such an expensive uniform at a public school with students from a range of backgrounds.

Asked to comment on the issue, Finance Minister Taro Aso, known for his own tailored Savile Row-style suits, acknowledged that he thought the planned attire was "expensive for an elementary school".

"It might be problematic if only one student cannot afford it," he said.

Italian brand Armani retains a particular nostalgic prestige for some in Japan, who associate it with the boom years of the economy.

But with those days long past, the pricy uniforms appear all the more incongruous to some.

"These uniforms are far more expensive that the suits I'm wearing," one commentator grumbled.
Plumes of smoke billow over the rebel-held Syrian town of Erbin on February 7, 2018 as air strikes pummel the Eastern Ghouta enclave

Fresh bombardment hit the Syrian rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta on Friday, AFP correspondents reported, the fifth straight day of a bombing campaign that has killed more than 240 civilians.

Syrian warplanes and artillery have battered the enclave's towns since Monday, trapping thousands of families in makeshift bomb shelters and overwhelming rescue workers.

World powers failed to back an appeal by UN officials for a month-long ceasefire to allow for desperately needed aid deliveries and medical evacuations.

Bombardment resumed on several Eastern Ghouta towns on Friday morning, killing 13 civilians, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor.

At least six were killed in Douma, including two children.

"There were eight families living in this neighbourhood," said Abu Ezzo, a 29-year-old resident of Douma.

"The airplane hit the houses, and every single resident came out either wounded or dead," he said.

Eastern Ghouta

One of the raids hit Douma's local civilian council, starting a fire on the upper levels.

Multiple strikes also killed seven civilians in Erbin, where medics reported being overwhelmed by the relentless bombardment.

Friday's toll was less than on previous bloody days, but it put the week's deaths at more than 240 including 60 children, according to the Observatory.

- Aid workers 'all alone' -

Eastern Ghouta is home to an estimated 400,000 people who have lived under crippling government siege since 2013.

More than 4,000 families live in basements and bunkers for fear of air strikes.

Relief organisations on Friday warned that the intensity of the air strikes was hampering life-saving aid operations.

"Our partners are having a hard time moving around, so how can they reach vulnerable people?" asked Joelle Bassoul, CARE International's communications director for Syria.

A family runs for cover through the dust cloud kicked by an air strike on the rebel-held Syrian town of Jisreen, on February 8, 2018

"If there is no ceasefire, if this is all left unheard, we cannot imagine the scale of the humanitarian disaster," she said.

Mercy Corps said members of its local relief partners have been killed in bombardment in recent months.

"People are dying and aid workers trying to help them are dying also. These Syrian aid workers are all alone -- they are the only ones trying to help their communities," said senior communications officer Christy Delafield.

"This is a de-escalation area, but this is some of the worst violence we've seen in what's now going on eight years of conflict," she told AFP.

Eastern Ghouta is ostensibly included in a "de-escalation" deal reached last year in an attempt to reduce the bloodshed.

UN aid officials appealed this week for a month-long humanitarian truce to allow aid to be delivered and the sick and wounded brought out for treatment.

But the Security Council on Thursday failed to support the proposal, with long-time regime ally Moscow dismissing it as "not realistic".

Russia says the rebels in Eastern Ghouta are "terrorists", and has previously backed Syrian government offensives against them.

- 'Unbearable deterioration' -

On Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron asked his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to help ease civilian suffering in the enclave.

Wounded pro-regime fighters receive treatment in the Syrian city of Deir Ezzor on February 8, 2018 after US-led air strikes which Russia described as "criminal"

Macron urged Putin "to do everything so that the Syrian regime puts an end to the unbearable deterioration in the humanitarian situation in Eastern Ghouta", a statement said.

As it is last rebel-held district on the capital's doorstep, the government is more determined than ever to clear Eastern Ghouta, said Nick Heras, an analyst at the Center for New American Security.

"This strategy of laying siege to the Ghouta is at its basic element a strategy of collective punishment, of making the entire population of the area suffer for its choice to rebel against Bashar al-Assad and his regime," he told AFP.

Syria's conflict began with widespread protests against Assad's rule in 2011, but a crackdown on demonstrations paved the way for a complex war drawing in world powers.

The US-led coalition on Thursday said it hit forces allied to the Damascus regime in eastern Syria and that at least 100 pro-regime fighters were killed.

US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said the coalition acted in self-defence after pro-Damascus forces moved on an area under the control of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.

The Syrian foreign ministry condemned the bombardment as a "war crime" against its forces fighting the Islamic State (IS) group, an accusation echoed by the Russian ambassador to the UN.

"To confront those who really fight international terrorism on the ground in Syria is criminal," Vassily Nebenzia said.

The Syrian army announced Friday that it has driven out all IS fighters who had returned to the provinces of Hama in the centre of the country and Aleppo in the north.

"Syrian army units and allied forces have successfully wound up combat operations and liberated a large number of localities, villages and farms in the Hama, Aleppo and Idlib regions," the military said in a statement.

The Observatory, for its part, said the army had captured more than 80 villages in a week-old operation that had expelled the jihadists.
The asylum seeker murdered the woman in front of two of her children outside a supermarket in the southern city of Prien am Chiemsee last April.

A German court on Friday handed a life term to an Afghan asylum seeker who stabbed to death a compatriot mother-of-four because she had converted to Christianity.

The 30-year-old, who was not named by authorities, murdered the woman in front of two of her children outside a supermarket in the southern city of Prien am Chiemsee last April. She was stabbed 16 times.

Prosecutors told the court in the town of Traunstein that the accused was furious because she had turned her back on the Islamic faith.

The 38-year-old woman had earlier asked the man if he wanted to convert too, a request that was "irreconcilable with his Muslim faith," prosecutors said during the trial.

The accused's lawyer had asked the judges to show leniency, saying his client had had a difficult life and was exposed to violence from a young age, according to DPA news agency.

The suspect apologised to the victim's family in his final remarks in court.

In Germany, a life sentence means a convict can apply for parole after spending 15 years behind bars. But in this case the judges highlighted the "gravity" of the crime, meaning the accused is unlikely to be considered for early release, DPA reported.

Two of the woman's children, aged five and 11, watched as the man killed their mother. Her two other children are adults.

Passers-by tried to stop the attacker by hurling a shopping trolley at him.

After his arrest, the man claimed he had acted out of frustration about his looming deportation as a rejected asylum seeker.

He was initially held in a psychiatric ward for about three months and then transferred to standard pre-trial detention.

He will likely be deported after serving his sentence.
Egyptian army spokesman Colonel Tamer al-Rifai announces the launch of a major operation against jihadists on February 9, 2018

The Egyptian army announced the launch on Friday of a major operation against jihadists across swathes of territory including the Sinai Peninsula, heart of a persistent Islamic State group insurgency.

The security sweep in the Sinai, Nile Delta and Western Desert near the border with Libya comes as the country prepares for polls next month in which President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is seeking re-election.

Police and troops have been put on "maximum alert" for the duration of "Operation Sinai 2018", which also involves the air force and navy, the army said in a statement on Friday.

Warplanes will bomb areas where jihadists are hiding while troops, tanks and armoured vehicles will be deployed on the ground, security sources said.

Egypt has been under a state of emergency since April last year, after two suicide bombings at churches claimed by IS killed at least 45 people in the cities of Tanta and Alexandria.

The goal of Operation Sinai 2018 is to tighten control of border districts and "clean up areas where there are terrorist hotbeds", army spokesman Tamer al-Rifai said in a televised address.

Egyptian soldiers guard a hospital treating the wounded from a jihadist attack that killed more than 300 worshippers at a North Sinai mosque on November 24, 2017

In a later update, he said the air force had targeted a number of homes and hideouts in the north and west of the Sinai.

The navy was boosting maritime border security "to cut off the influx of terrorists", he added.

Security sources and eyewitnesses confirmed that the operation was under way in the Nile Delta and North Sinai province.

Also on Friday, the interior ministry announced a parallel operation against Hasam, a group which authorities have branded "the armed wing of the Muslim Brotherhood".

Three jihadists were killed and 14 arrested in raids around the country that had foiled attacks aimed at disrupting next month's election, it said.

- Churches, tourists attacked -

Egypt's security forces have been increasingly targeted by jihadists since the army in 2013 overthrew Islamist president and Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Morsi.

Most of the violence has been in North Sinai province, but there have also been attacks on the military, police and even churches elsewhere, including in Cairo.

Jihadists have also attacked tourists, killing all 224 people on board a Russian plane carrying holidaymakers in 2015 that crashed in the Sinai, which neighbours the Gaza Strip and Israel.

The New York Times reported this week that Israel has for more than the past two years carried out a "covert air campaign" against the jihadists in Sinai.

The Israeli army has declined to comment on the report, which has been denied by the Egyptian military.

Egypt closed its border with Gaza on Friday, a day earlier than planned, Palestinian officials said, after the anti-jihadist operation began.

In November, Sisi ordered his armed forces chief of staff to restore security in Sinai within three months after militants killed more than 300 worshippers at a mosque.

Sisi, who is expected to easily win another four-year term next month after several potential challengers were either hobbled or dropped out, said on Facebook he was "proudly following the heroism" of the security forces.

Egypt has previously announced several major offensives aimed at tackling the jihadist threat.

It also carried out air strikes against IS in Libya in 2015 after a video was released showing the beheading of 21 Christians, almost all Egyptian Copts, on a Libyan beach.

The military has boosted its operations on the border with Libya and repeatedly expressed concern about militants crossing from the chaos-wracked country to launch attacks.
Far right Israeli MP Yehuda Glick speaks at a make-shift office he set up outside Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound, also known as the Temple Mount complex, on August 14, 2017 to protest a ban on lawmakers from entering the compound

An Israeli parliamentarian will meet Austrian vice chancellor and head of the far-right party founded by former Nazis next week, a spokesman said Friday, despite the government cautioning against such meetings.

Yehuda Glick, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party, will meet Heinz-Christian Strache "next week in Vienna", the spokesman said.

Glick is also due to meet Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl, another senior figure in Strache's far-right Freedom Party (FPOe), the spokesman said without further details.

The FPOe agreed a deal with Austria's conservatives in December to set up a coalition government following elections in October.

The Israeli government said at the time it would work with the new Austrian coalition government but "for the moment" would not have direct contact with FPOe ministers.

Netanyahu said he planned to have direct contact with the country's chancellor Sebastian Kurz, head of the Christian Democratic party.

Public radio quoted sources close to Glick saying the planned meeting had been given the green light by Israeli authorities.

Founded by former Nazis, the FPOe emerged in the late 1990s as the main far-right force in Europe.

Israel suspended relations with Austria when the FPOe entered the government in 2000, eventually normalising them in 2003.

Strache, 48, has sought to soften the party's image and has visited Israel several times, the last time in April 2016 when he met members of Netanyahu's government.

He has been an outspoken criticism of Islam in Europe, calling for a partial ban.

The left wing Israeli party Meretz condemned the planned meeting, saying the "hate of Muslims pushed the Likud to whitewash antisemities".
Libyans inspect the interior of a mosque in Benghazi on February 9, 2018, after it was hit by a twin bomb attack

Twin bomb blasts struck a mosque in Benghazi in eastern Libya on Friday, killing at least one person and wounding 149 in the latest attack to target worshippers in the city.

The explosions hit the mosque at the start of weekly prayers in Libya's second city, which lies 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) east of Tripoli, a security source told AFP.

In the wake of the blasts debris was left scattered across the floor of the mosque, with windows blown out and bloodstains smeared on the wall.

The security source said one bomb had been hidden in a coffin in the courtyard of the mosque and another in a shoe cabinet at the entrance.

One person was killed and 149 wounded, according to Moataz Trabelsi, spokesman for the health ministry of the parallel administration based in the east of the North African country.

A previous hospital bulletin spoke of 62 wounded.

The blasts follow twin car bombings outside a mosque in Benghazi after prayers on January 24 that left nearly 40 people dead.

Libyans inspect the interior of a mosque in Benghazi on February 9, 2018, after it was hit by a twin bomb attack

There was no claim of responsibility for that attack, which underscored the ongoing chaos in the Benghazi region which is controlled by the forces of military strongman Khalifa Haftar.

Haftar, who opposes a UN-backed unity government based in Tripoli, announced Benghazi's "liberation" from jihadists in July last year after a three-year campaign, but sporadic violence has continued.

- 'Heinous act' -

The United Nations mission in Libya condemned the latest "brutal bombings" and said the reports of civilian casualties were "deeply concerning".

"This heinous act should not provide a justification for revenge attacks. Prompt, impartial investigations should bring perpetrators to justice," the mission said on Twitter.

Fears over potential reprisals are heightened by the reported summary execution of around 10 jihadist prisoners by a commander loyal to Haftar following last month's bombings.

Libyans inspect a Benghazi mosque on February 9, 2018, after a twin bomb attack

Video showed Mahmoud al-Werfalli -- who was already wanted by the International Criminal Court over 33 suspected extra-judicial killings -- apparently shooting dead the detainees at the scene of the blasts.

Werfalli on Tuesday said he had handed himself in to military police under Haftar's command, but it was not possible to confirm his arrest from an independent source.

Libya has been wracked by violence and divisions since dictator Moamer Kadhafi was toppled and killed in a 2011 NATO-backed uprising.

The UN-backed unity government based in the capital has struggled to assert its authority outside western Libya. Haftar supports the 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.

Forces loyal to military strongman Khalifa Haftar patrol the roads leading into the Libyan city of Benghazi on February 7, 2018

On September 11, 2012, suspected jihadists linked to Al-Qaeda attacked the US consulate in Benghazi, killing ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.
The Philippine president came to power in 2016 promising a ruthless war on drugs, and at times boasted of overseeing a so-called "death squad" behind the killings of more than a thousand petty criminals

The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor has announced a "preliminary examination" into Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's alleged crimes against humanity committed as part of his deadly war on drugs.

Here are five things to know about a campaign that has allegedly led to the deaths of thousands of drug suspects:

- 'Mass murder' -

The case against Duterte was brought by a Philippine lawyer who accused the president of ordering the "mass murder" of thousands of people for dealing or using illegal drugs.

Police say they have killed nearly 4,000 suspects in legitimate police operations, while nearly 2,000 homicide cases that police describe as "drug-related incidents" are under investigation.

Rights monitors estimate the actual toll is now more than 12,000 deaths. Critics say police and vigilantes kill defenceless and innocent suspects in slums then plant drugs or guns on them.

- Popular crackdown -

Despite the outcry from rights groups and the dominant Catholic church, the crackdown is widely popular with a public fed up with high crime and a glacial judicial system that is perceived to favour the rich.

The case against President Duterte was brought by a Philippine lawyer who accused the president of ordering the "mass murder" of thousands of people for dealing or using illegal drugs

The Philippine president came to power in 2016 promising a ruthless war on drugs, and at times boasted of overseeing a so-called "death squad" behind the killings of more than a thousand petty criminals and his political opponents when he was mayor of the southern city of Davao for two decades.

Since his election as president, he has publicly called on police to "shoot-to-kill" suspects who resist arrest, and vowed to protect law officers from prosecution, maintaining the anti-crime operations are tough but legitimate.

- 'No jurisdiction' -

The ICC tribunal only acts when a country's legal system is unable or unwilling to handle a crime against humanity -- a situation that the lawyer's suit alleges now exists in the Philippines, a signatory to the treaty creating the tribunal.

There have been few prosecutions for the killings and no police officer has been convicted, but the government insists the ICC has no jurisdiction because the country's courts are fully functioning.

- Assassins' confessions -

The complaint includes depositions by two former Duterte security aides who confessed to being his hitmen who assassinated suspected criminals as well as political opponents while Duterte was mayor of Davao.

Jude Sabio, the Filipino lawyer who filed the ICC complaint, promises more witnesses if the prosecutor decides to proceed to a formal investigation. He also cites Duterte's own pronouncements about killing suspects and mocking human rights.

- 'I don't give a damn' -

The president denies being behind extrajudicial killings, and has frequently lashed out at any foreign entity criticising his drug war, be they the US president, the European Union, the United Nations, or even the ICC itself.

"I don't give a damn about being prosecuted in the ICC. Go ahead. It would be my pleasure to go to prison for my country. It would be a distinct honour for me, even if they don't make me a hero, to die for my country," he said last year after the complaint against him was filed.
U.S. Rep. John Katko has secured his first Republican committee endorsement as he seeks a third term in Congress.

The Wayne County Republican Committee unanimously endorsed Katko, R-Camillus, for re-election at the party's nomination meeting Thursday.

Assemblyman Bob Oaks, who chairs the Wayne County GOP, said Katko has a "strong legislative record" on the issues that affect the county.

"We appreciate his efforts to keep our country safe, combat the heroin and synthetic drug epidemic, and fight for local farmers and manufacturers, as well as our vast veterans community," Oaks said. "We look forward to re-electing Congressman Katko this November."

Katko has won Wayne County in each of his two previous 24th Congressional District campaigns. As a challenger in 2014, he received 69 percent of the vote against incumbent U.S. Rep. Dan Maffei. In 2016, he won 68 percent of the vote against Democratic challenger Colleen Deacon.

In both races, he won the overall tally by at least 20 points.

The Wayne County Republican Committee's endorsement was expected. He doesn't have a primary opponent and likely won't face a challenge for the GOP nomination.
A member of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces removes an Islamic State group flag in the town of Tabqa on April 30, 2017

A US-backed Syrian force confirmed on Friday that it had caught British Islamic State group fighter Alexanda Amon Kotey last month as he attempted to flee from Syria to Turkey.

"We captured some big commanders. One of them is Alexanda Kotey," Redur Khalil, a spokesperson and senior official in the Syrian Democratic Forces, told AFP in the northeastern town of Amuda.

"He was captured by an anti-terrorism unit on January 24 in the countryside near Raqa. He was trying to escape to Turkey in coordination with his friends and contacts on the Turkish side," he said.

The SDF spearheaded a four-month operation that culminated in mid-October last year with the retaking of Raqa, which had been the inner sanctum of the "caliphate" declared by IS in 2014.

That victory was the doom of the jihadist proto-state, the last pockets of which were then retaken within weeks by the SDF and other forces in Iraq and Syria.

Kotey was part of a four-member IS kidnapping cell dubbed "The Beatles" that was notorious for videotaping beheadings.

Victims of the Islamic State kidnapping and beheading gang known as "The Beatles": (Top L to Bottom R) Japanese freelance video journalist Kenji Goto, US aid worker Peter "Abdel-Rahman" Kassig, US freelance reporter James Foley, Japanese national Haruna Yukawa, US freelance writer Steven Sotloff, British national Alan Henning and British aid worker David Haines

A US defence official on Thursday announced his arrest by the SDF, together with that of fellow Briton El Shafee el-Sheikh.

The pair are believed to have "participated in the detention, exploitation and execution of Western detainees," the official said in a statement.

A third IS member, Aine Davis, is being held in Turkey, while Mohammed Emwazi -- dubbed "Jihadi John" -- was killed in a 2015 coalition drone strike.

Redur Khalil could not confirm Sheikh's capture however, saying he had no information about the second British jihadist.

He said that Kotey was being interrogated but did not specify who by.

"He is being interrogated. We think that he was a member of a group that has been torturing foreign hostages," the Kurdish official said.

Last year, the US State Department said the London-born Kotey had "likely" taken part in executions and used "exceptionally cruel torture methods, including electric shock and waterboarding," while guarding the group's captives.
A drone downed in Syria believed operated by the Islamic State group: the US blackisted a Turkish man alleged to have provided $500,000 worth of drone equipment to the group

The US Treasury on Friday placed three men it said were part of the Islamic State's global financial network on its sanctions blacklist, as it seeks to shut down the flow of funds to the group.

The Treasury said Abdulpatta Escalon Abubakar of the Philippines, Yunus Emre Sakarya of Turkey, and Mohamed Mire Ali Yusuf of Somalia all provided financial, material or technological support for the Islamic State group.

Abubakar is alleged to have been instrumental in getting funds to the IS network in the Philippines in 2016 and 2017, handling transfers from IS outside the country. He also helped the group obtain weapons and explosives, the Treasury said.

Abubakar was arrested by Filipino authorities last September after he flew into Manila from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The Treasury said Sakarya supplied IS with materials for drones from his Turkey-based company, Profesyoneller Elektronik. The company handled some $500,000 worth of orders for unmanned aerial vehicles and related equipment in 2016, it said.

Mire Ali livestock trading business Liibaan Trading "served as a front for ISIS-aligned groups in the Bari region of Somalia," the Treasury said.
Palestinians take part in a protest against the US move to freeze funding for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) at the Rafah refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip on February 6, 2018.

One month after the Trump administration announced a drastic funding cut to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, only one country, Kuwait, has stepped forward to offer additional funding, senior UNRWA officials said Friday.

The United States announced in January that it would give $60 million to UNRWA -- a fraction of the more than $350 million annual contribution that it has previously provided to the agency's budget.

Kuwait stepped in to contribute $900,000 and about 15 donor countries, including Sweden and Japan, decided to speed up their donations to keep UNRWA afloat, said UNRWA's representative in New York Peter Mulrean.

But Mulrean told reporters at UN headquarters that the agency was facing an "existential financial crisis" as it seeks to fill the gap from the US funding cut.

The United States is the biggest single donor to UNRWA, which provides schools and health clinics to 5.3 million refugees in the Palestinian territories, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

Last month, US Ambassador Nikki Haley said the United States would not provide aid to the Palestinians until they agree "to come back to the negotiation table" and reach a peace deal with Israel.

"The US has not yet explained to us the rationale behind its decision on the $60 million," Mulrean said, adding that Washington had not presented any concerns about reforms.

In an interview to Voice of America, Haley said UNRWA needed to be reformed, because they consider "any Palestinian as a refugee" and "what they're teaching in schools is not necessarily the right way to have things run."

UNRWA has been repeatedly accused of promoting anti-Israel sentiment in schools, a charge it has flatly rejected.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will attend a ministerial-level donors' conference for UNRWA to be held next month in Geneva to fill the gap in funding, but it remains unclear if the United States will attend.

UNRWA's director for the West Bank, Scott Anderson, said all of the agency's services remain up and running for the time being, but that the decision had left many Palestinians anxious.

"People are frightened and concerned about what this means for them, their families and their future," he said.
Since October, troops have staged a crackdown on English-speaking activists in Cameroon's restive western regions

The Cameroonian army on Friday denied its troops were responsible for alleged atrocities against separatists in English-speaking regions after unverified footage apparently involving soldiers was posted online.

"These accusations of atrocities are dreamt up. We are victims of disinformation and fake news," army spokesman Colonel Didier Badjeck told AFP, just days after the appearance of the latest of a string of grisly video clips.

None of the clips could be independently verified by AFP, with Badjeck insisting the army had "a culture of respect for human rights" and accusing the separatists of being "skilled at disinformation".

Since October, troops have staged a crackdown targeting activists in Cameroon's restive western regions where the English-speaking minority has staged protests against the government in this predominantly francophone country.

Dozens of people have died. Official figures, though, refer to the 23 police and soldiers killed but do not provide a detailed count for civilian or separatist casualties.

In the absence of any formal acknowledgement of the toll among separatists, eyewitness accounts of brutality against civilians have proliferated on social media and in parts of the press.

On Wednesday, the European Union condemned the violence in Cameroon, referring to the recent deaths of three members of the security forces and a number of civilians as "unacceptable" and calling on the police and army to exercise restraint.

"It remains crucial for the security forces to be proportionate in their use of force while carrying out their duties," it said in a statement which followed similar condemnation from the US State Department a day earlier.

But the Cameroon army spokesman said they were at risk of falling foul of a campaign of disinformation.

"It's important that the bodies with which we maintain good relations don't just listen to one side," he said.

- 'We are harassed' -

Cameroon's Northwest and Southwest Regions are home to an anglophone minority that accounts for about a fifth of the country's population and which has long complained of discrimination at the hands of the French-speaking majority.

In October, separatists issued a symbolic declaration of independence for the putative state of Ambazonia, prompting a crackdown by a government firmly opposed to secession.

Anglophone separatists have responded by escalating their own operations against state institutions. The spiralling violence has forced an estimated 30,000 Cameroonians to flee to neighbouring Nigeria.

Badjeck said a soldier had died on Thursday after being stabbed in the eye with a knife in the main western town of Bamenda, with his death raising the toll among the police and security forces to 23.

"Our soldiers are struck down every day. We are harassed. It may happen that there are reactions on the ground, that a soldier loses his self-control. But it hasn't happened yet," he said.

And last weekend, at least four civilians were shot dead by troops during several incidents in the Northwest Region, witnesses said. One told AFP that men "in military uniform came and started smashing up houses."
President Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo is facing more calls from the powerful Catholic church to step down

The Democratic Republic of Congo's powerful Catholic church vowed Friday to maintain pressure on President Joseph Kabila to step down, at a highly-charged mass for people killed in a protest march last month.

"The march of Christians will not stop," Abbot Francois Luyeye said to loud applause at the packed Notre Dame cathedral, the capital's largest church.

"We have a sacred duty to continue the good fight for the emergence of a new Congo in which the right man will be in the right place," the priest said in a sermon.

The mass was held in memory of the victims of a January 21 march in Kinshasa when security forces opened fire on Catholic-organised rallies against Kabila. The United Nations reported seven dead, the government two.

Luyeye called for more marches which he said "will demonstrate you are the church, even if it displeases those who believe that faith must remain shuttered in the sacristy."

Kabila hit out at the church's political broadsides at a January 26 press conference.

"Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's," he said.

"When you try to mix the two it is dangerous. The result is always negative."

Effigies of five of the dead were placed before the cathedral altar while video footage of the violence were shown on a screen.

Several diplomats, opposition figures and activists attended Friday's mass led by influential Kinshasa bishop Laurent Monsengwo.

Kabila, 46, has been in power since 2001, at the helm of a regime widely criticised for corruption, repression and incompetence.

His term in office expired in December 2016 but he has stayed on, stoking a bloody spiral of violence.

The church, which brokered a deal for him to remain in power provided new elections were held in 2017, wants him to pledge to stand aside in the presidential vote set for December 23 this year.

Meanwhile former prime minister Samy Badibanga called Friday for an international humanitarian aid conference to raise $1.68 billion (1.37 billion euros) to ease the country's plight.
Lebanon holds a ceremony on February 9, 2018 to sign its first contract to drill for gas and oil in the eastern Mediterranean Sea with energy giants Total, ENI and Novatek, including in a block disputed by Israel

Lebanon Friday signed its first contract to drill for oil and gas off its coast with a consortium comprising energy giants Total, ENI and Novatek, including in a block disputed by Israel.

Israel says one of two blocks in the eastern Mediterranean where Lebanon wants to drill for oil belongs to it, and last week denounced any exploration by Beirut as "provocative".

President Michel Aoun said at a signing ceremony that Lebanon has "entered a new chapter in its history and is now a member of energy-producing countries".

Looking to tap potential oil and gas reserves after major offshore discoveries by neighbouring Israel and Cyprus, the country in December approved a bid on blocks four and nine of the 10 predefined by Lebanon and the five that were the subject of the tender.

Block nine is the disputed block with Israel.

Exploration is set to begin in 2019.

French energy giant Total and Italy's Eni each hold a 40-percent stake in the consortium, and Russia's Novatek has a 20-percent stake.

Total welcomed the deal, saying it stipulates that drilling will take place in "at least one well per block in the first three years" and that the "consortium's priority will be to drill a first exploration well on Block 4 in 2019".

"As for block 9, Total and its partners are fully aware of the Israeli-Lebanese border dispute in the southern part of the block that covers only a very limited area (less than eight percent of the block's surface).

"Given that, the main prospects are located more than 25 km (15.5 miles) from the disputed area, the consortium confirms that the exploration well on block 9 will have no interference at all with any fields or prospects located south of the border area," it added in a statement issued in English.

- The right to drill -

Last week, Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman accused Lebanon of "provocative behaviour".

"They issue a tender on a gas field -- including a bloc which by all accounts is ours -- to international groups that are respectable companies, which to my mind are making a serious mistake since it's against all rules and protocol in cases like this," he said.

Lebanese Energy Minister Cesar Abi Khalil responded by saying Lebanon would defend its right to drill there.

"Israel will do what it can to block us from taking advantage of our oil wealth, and we will do everything in our power to defend it," he said.

And Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil told AFP: "Diplomatic efforts will continue to prevent Israel from carrying out a possible aggression against the maritime wealth" of Lebanon.

He said any conflict "would have catastrophic repercussions on both Lebanon and Israel".

The United States this week sent to Beirut its Assistant Secretary of State for Middle East Affairs, David Satterfield.

At a meeting on Thursday with Aoun, Satterfield presented "proposals to maintain stability and calm in the border area", according to a statement issued by the presidency.

Tensions between the two neighbours -- which are technically still at war -- have also mounted as Israel pursues the construction of a wall along the border.

A picture taken on February 8, 2018, from Lebanon's southern border town of Naqura, shows an Israeli crane unloading blocs of cement from a lorry as Israelis build a wall between the two countries

Lebanon says part of the wall follows the UN-demarcated "Blue Line" drawn up after Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000, and insists some sections will cut into its territory.

Israel dismissed the claim and said on Tuesday the work is being carried out on Israeli territory.

Israel began building the wall in 2012, six years after fighting a devastating war with Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah.
Dozens of immigration activists, clergy members and others protest the imprisonment and potential deportation of immigration activist Ravi Ragbir on January 29, 2018 in New York City

A New York activist for immigrant rights whose struggle against deportation got the backing of Mayor Bill de Blasio received a temporary reprieve Friday from US officials.

Ravi Ragbir feared he could have been arrested on Saturday again for deportation to Trinidad and Tobago, his country of birth which he hasn't seen in a quarter-century.

The reprieve came as Ragbir, backed by several activist groups, sued US immigration authorities for allegedly targeting those working to help immigrants.

They say such targeting violates free speech rights guaranteed under the First Amendment of the US Constitution.

As a result of the lawsuit, immigration agents agreed to defer any new arrest of Ragbir, said the New York Immigration Coalition, a migrants' defense group.

It is the latest court skirmish as the administration of President Donald Trump tries to clamp down on both illegal and legal migration.

"Like so many people who are living in this country under the threat of deportation, I know how important it is to raise our voices against the injustices in the system," said Ragbir, who is married to an American immigration lawyer and whose daughter is American.

"This lawsuit is not just about me, it is about all of the members of our community who are speaking out in our struggle for immigrant rights."

Scuffles erupted between his supporters and police after Ragbir, 53, was arrested on January 11 in the New York borough of Manhattan at his annual appointment with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

He was held on the basis of a wire fraud conspiracy conviction in 2001, for which he already served his sentence.

Trump's administration has increasingly targeted those with any kind of criminal misdemeanor, in contrast to previous governments which prioritized deportation only of violent criminals.

In late January a judge ordered Ragbir's release, though he still faced deportation.

Ragbir is executive director of the New Sanctuary Coalition of New York City, a coalition of more than 150 faith-based groups that advocate for immigrant rights.

Hundreds of people mobilized to support Ragbir, and de Blasio, a Democrat and critic of Trump's immigration policies, wrote authorities this week to ask that Ragbir not be deported.
Mexican authorities trace Jose Maria Guizar Valencia's criminal career back to at least 1998, when he was identified as a mid-level drug trafficker in the western state of Michoacan

Mexican marines have captured a kingpin in the violent Zetas drug cartel who had a $5-million reward on his head in the United States, authorities said Friday.

Jose Maria Guizar Valencia, alias "Z43," was arrested Thursday in the upscale Mexico City neighborhood of La Roma "without the use of force," the head of the National Security Commission, Renato Sales, announced in a press conference.

Guizar, who has dual US-Mexican citizenship, had several warrants out for his arrest in both countries on charges including drug and arms trafficking, organized crime, murder and kidnapping.

"He is believed to be responsible for trafficking drugs from South America to the United States, and was one of the main drivers of violence in the states of southeastern Mexico," said Sales.

The US State Department, which says Guizar is 38 years old, says he launched his own faction of the Zetas group in southeastern Mexico after the 2012 killing of the cartel's founder, Heriberto Lazcano, and the 2013 arrest of his successor, Miguel Angel Trevino.

"Guizar Valencia is responsible for the importation of thousands of kilograms of cocaine and methamphetamine to the United States on a yearly basis," his State Department rap sheet says.

"The Zetas, under the command of Guizar Valencia, have murdered an untold number of Guatemalan civilians during the systematic overtake of the Guatemalan border region with Mexico."

Mexican authorities trace his criminal career back to at least 1998, when he was identified as a mid-level drug trafficker in the western state of Michoacan, said Sales.

By 2005 he had extended his operations to three other states, Tamaulipas, Veracruz and Chiapas, recruiting local cartels into his network along the way.

Since 2007, he has been the Zetas's point man for smuggling Colombian drugs into the United States via Guatemala and Mexico, and also had connections with suppliers in other countries in Central and South America, Sales said.

Sales did not say how the cartel's command structure would now stand.

The Zetas are considered one of the most cruel criminal organizations in Mexico, accused of melting enemies in a barrel of "stew," slaughtering 72 migrants in August 2010 and igniting a fire that killed 52 people in a Monterrey casino in 2011.

The group, founded by former elite soldiers, was originally the armed enforcer of the Gulf Cartel until the two groups split in 2010, unleashing a wave of violence in northern Mexico.
The agreement came as Senegalese President Macky Sall, shown in this February 2, 2018 file photo, visited the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott

Mauritania and Senegal on Friday signed an agreement on joint exploitation of a vast offshore gas field, but gave themselves more time to address a dispute over fishing.

The two countries signed an intergovernmental cooperation agreement for the Grand Tortue/Ahmeyim gas field, which straddles their shared maritime border.

The gas field is estimated to hold 450 billion cubic metres (nearly 16 trillion cubic feet) of gas. Senegal, announcing its discovery in January 2016, described it as the biggest offshore gas deposit in West Africa.

The agreement was signed on the second day of a trip to the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott by Senegalese President Macky Sall, an AFP reporter saw.

An official at the Mauritanian ministry for oil, energy and mines said the accord covers "development of the exploitation and sharing of resources" of the field as well as a dispute settlement procedure.

Sall visited Mauritania on the heels of protests in northern Senegal after a young local fisherman was killed by coastguards in Mauritanian waters.

He and Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel discussed "conditions for exploiting fishing resources," according to a joint communique, but no agreement on the spat was announced.

Instead, they called on fishery ministers "to take every precaution to strengthen cooperation in this area, with a view to signing a protocol of agreement by the end of March 2018".
The Pentagon acknowledges that Hashd al-Shaabi, a pro-Iranian Iraqi paramiltary group pictured here in the desert bordering Syria, used US M1 Abrams tanks that had been sold exclusively to the Iraqi army

US Abrams tanks sold to Iraq have been used by a pro-Iranian paramilitary group in fighting against the Islamic State group in Syria, the Pentagon said Friday.

The tanks, however, were later returned to the Iraqi military, Pentagon spokesman Eric Pahon said.

M1 Abrams tanks have been sold to Iraq over the past decade, Pahon said, but Washington "has not provided defense articles to the Shia Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), which are part of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) by law."

The PMF, or Hashed al-Shaabi, is a paramilitary group with close ties to Tehran, and was actively engaged in combat against the IS in Syria.

"We have discovered incidents where some US origin equipment, including M1 Abrams tanks, came into the possession of certain PMF groups. This equipment was subsequently used by these groups" in the fight against the IS jihadists.

"All of these tanks were recently returned to Iraqi Security Forces custody," Pahon said.

The Islamic State group, composed of Sunni extremists, seized large parts of Iraq and neighboring Syria in 2014, declaring a cross-border "caliphate" and committing widespread atrocities.

Backed by a US-led coalition, Iraqi forces have gradually retaken all territory lost to the jihadists.

Iraq's parliament considers the PMF to be a state force operating within the framework of the constitution.

The various forces within the Hashed -- established in 2014 following a religious call for Shiites to take up arms against IS jihadists -- have between 60,000 and 140,000 fighters.

Washington remains wary of Tehran's influence over those units.

"We will continue to screen and vet all forces that receive US-origin defense equipment ... to ensure that this equipment remains in the possession of the designated end-user," Pahon said.

The spokesman also denied press reports that the Abrams manufacturer, General Dynamics, had canceled its maintenance contract with Iraq.

"The Abrams maintenance program for the Iraqi Security Forces remains active," Pahon said.
"I had worked in a lot of kitchens for a long time and it was time for me to kind of branch out on my own and do my own thing," he said, noting that he specializes in weddings and personal cheffing. "I've done dinners for two and dinners for 2,000 ... so things are really moving."

The 37-year-old said he focuses on "family-style" meals that provide a warm, home-cooked, fresh feeling. While his menu changes four to six times a year, he said there are some things his customers can always rely on, like his homemade pasta and fresh, raw salads. He estimated 85 to 90 percent of his ingredients are locally grown, harvested and made.

"Everything is made from scratch ... and everything is based seasonally," he said.

Currently, Szabo's menu offers starters like sweet potato gnocchi and traditional Caesar salad followed by a lobster ravioli entree and lavender profiteroles for dessert. He has also been working on some special smoked dishes with Smoke Inc. owner Dick Benedetto for Saturday's Valentine's Day dinner.

"We thought this would be a good year to put our heads together ... combining (Benedetto's) smoking techniques and my fresh ingredients," Szabo said.
The DR Congo government of President Joseph Kabila, pictured in this January 26, 2018 file photo, had announced it was waging "war" on the Yakutumba rebels

DR Congo's army claimed Friday to have "annihilated" a rebel group in the country's chronically troubled east, killing at least 48 insurgents, capturing 150 others and winning back key territory.

The offensive against forces loyal to William Amuri Yakutumba, a deserter fighting President Joseph Kabila, saw thousands of Congolese crossing Lake Tanganyika into Burundi as clashes raged between government forces and Yakutumba rebels in the eastern province of South Kivu.

"The operation was a success, the rebels have been annihilated. There is no more fighting and we are in the midst of cleaning up operations," said army spokesman Major Louis-Claude Tshiwanga.

He said since the launch of the operation on January 21, "48 Yakutumba have been killed and 150 captured".

The army paraded the captured rebels as well as cannons and machineguns seized during a press conference on Thursday in the town of Uvira.

The Yakutumba attacked Uvira at the end of September in a naval operation before being pushed back from the area by MONUSCO, the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The army spokesman said people were slowly returning to the town.

Security sources said the rebel chief had not been captured but could have been wounded in fighting last week.

But the UN radio Okapi, citing General Philomen Yav who was in charge of the offensive, said 83 rebels and six government soldiers had died in the fighting.

"Almost all the territory under the control of the Yakutumba has been recovered," the radio said.

The DR Congo government has announced it is waging "war" against two militias in the east -- the Yakutumba and the Ugandan Islamist rebels of the Allied Democratic Force (ADF).

The Congolese Yakutumba are in South Kivu while the ADF are active in North Kivu.

Both regions border Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania.

Rival militia groups have long held sway over large areas in the two provinces, often competing for their rich mineral resources.
US President Donald Trump praised his embattled former aide Rob Porter

A second White House staffer in a week resigned Friday over domestic abuse claims, in a widening scandal that called into question the president's judgment and tainted his chief of staff John Kelly and longtime aide Hope Hicks.

White House speechwriter David Sorensen denied his wife's claims of abuse, but resigned -- hours after President Donald Trump was criticized for wishing staff secretary Rob Porter a "wonderful career" after he too resigned amid similar accusations.

Porter -- who denies abuse alleged by two ex-wives, one of whom released a photo of herself with a black eye -- worked at the heart of the White House throughout the first year of Trump's administration, despite being denied full security clearance.

He only stepped down from his post Wednesday after the accusations became public.

Trump, who has himself been accused of sexual harassment or assault by two dozen women, fueled the scandal by praising Porter and suggesting he had a bright future.

He made no mention of the ex-wives or the alleged domestic abuse.

"We certainly wish him well, and it's a tough time for him," Trump said in the Oval Office.

"He did a very good job when he was in the White House. And we hope he has a wonderful career and he will have a great career ahead of him."

White House staff secretary Rob Porter (L) -- seen here with White House Chief of Staff John Kelly -- has stepped down over allegations of domestic abuse made by his ex-wives

"As you probably know, he says he's innocent, and I think you have to remember that."

That prompted a sharp rebuke from Democrats like Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, who slammed the White House's "culture of misogyny."

Chief of Staff John Kelly was aware of the allegations and also praised Porter's conduct in the White House, maintaining that "every individual deserves the right to defend their reputation."

Hicks, perhaps Trump's most trusted aide, had helped craft the response to the scandal as White House communications director, despite being romantically involved with Porter.

Deputy White House spokesman Raj Shah said the White House only learned late Thursday about allegations against Sorensen, the speechwriter.

"We immediately confronted the staffer, he denied the allegations and he resigned today," Shah said.

Sorensen's ex-wife Jessica Corbett told The Washington Post that while they were married, he ran a car over her foot, extinguished a cigarette on her hand, threw her into a wall and grabbed her by her hair, but that she did not report the incidents due to her then-husband's connections to law enforcement.

While Sorensen's post as a Council on Environmental Quality speechwriter did not require security clearance, Corbett said she had described his behavior to the FBI as it conducted an ongoing background check of Sorensen in the fall.

- 'Alarming' -

"It's alarming Rob Porter remained in an influential role," said Democratic Representative Ann McLane Kuster, "even as revelations about his domestic abuse were apparently known among senior Trump staffers."

Trump confidant and former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski -- who was formerly romantically involved with Hicks -- pointed a finger of blame at former Marine corps general Kelly.

"The general is there to put in policies and processes and procedures. And in this case, those didn't work and we need to find out why," he told Fox News.

The White House was forced to quell rumors that Kelly was ready to resign.

Trump and "many" White House staffers were irritated by Kelly's support for Porter's character and for falsely insisting he that he aggressively sought to have him fired once the abuse allegations surfaced, according to The New York Times.

Vice President Mike Pence, who is attending the Olympics in South Korea, tried to distance himself from the issue, but also stressed in an NBC interview that "there is no tolerance in this White House, no place in America for domestic abuse."

- 'Could have done better' -

White House Communications Director Hope Hicks (R) seen here with Counselor Kellyanne Conway in the Oval Office, helped craft the response to the scandal over Rob Porter, despite being romantically involved with him

Trump was elected promising to bring "the best people" with him to "drain the swamp" in Washington.

In reality, he has struggled to hire high-caliber staff, with many experienced Washington operatives keeping their distance.

"A lot of us could have done better," Shah told reporters in a rare show of contrition from the Trump White House.

Shah refused to confirm in detail when and how Kelly in particular became aware of the claims, or Hicks's role in shaping the White House response.

Until hours before the Harvard graduate left his post, the White House was praising him as an upstanding and integral member of staff.

"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," said spokeswoman Sarah Sanders.

In an interview with CNN, Porter's ex-wife Jennifer Willoughby detailed allegations of abuse, saying that during her marriage she lived under a "low-grade constant terror of not knowing what I might do to set something off."

Trump's administration has been beset by scandal and staff departures.

Porter had been a rare staffer inside the White House who knew Washington, was widely respected and was seen as good at his job.
Deputy US Attorney General, Rod Rosenstein,(L), and Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand: Brand is stepping down after nine months, the New York Times reported

The third-ranking official at the US Justice Department is resigning just nine months after taking the powerful position at the agency that President Donald Trump has been criticizing sharply.

Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand would have inherited oversight of a probe into possible Trump campaign links to Russian interference in the 2016 election if the president forced out the Justice Department's number two, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

Trump and Republican legislators have stepped up attacks on the agency over Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe.

"The men and women of the Department of Justice impress me every day," said Brand, a national security law expert who is due to take up a position in the private sector in the coming weeks.

"I am proud of what we have been able to accomplish over my time here."

Brand, 44, was named to the Justice Department by then president George W. Bush in 2003, and left four years later to work in the private sector.

In 2012, president Barack Obama -- a Democrat -- appointed her to the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, which reviewed the legality of the National Security Agency's surveillance programs, especially its data collection on US citizens, which Brand defended.

She rejoined the Justice Department in May, appointed by Trump and working directly below Rosenstein and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who recused himself from involvement with the Mueller probe due to his own work for the Trump campaign.

Sessions praised Brand in a statement, saying she had "shown real leadership over many important divisions at the department."

Trump, frustrated by the Russian investigation, has reportedly considered firing Rosenstein, the only person empowered to dismiss Mueller.

A recent memo from congressional Republicans took aim at Rosenstein for his role in obtaining wiretap warrants on a member of the Trump campaign who had numerous Russian contacts, which the memo described as an abuse of power.

If Rosenstein were forced out, that would have put Brand uncomfortably in the White House's crosshairs, at least until a new deputy attorney general could be nominated and then approved by Congress.
MOSCOW (AP) - Tens of thousands of Russians attended a mourning ceremony Thursday for a Russian pilot who blew himself up to avoid being captured by the militants in Syria who downed his plane.

Maj. Roman Filipov bailed out successfully Saturday from the burning plane over Syria's northern Idlib province, but was surrounded by al-Qaida-linked militants when he landed. The Russian Defense Ministry said he engaged in a gun battle with the militants and then blew himself up with a hand grenade when they came close.

President Vladimir Putin has posthumously awarded Filipov with the nation's highest medal, the Hero of Russia.

Russian honorary guards stand next to a coffin with the body of Russian Roman Filipov, the pilot of the Su-25 jet who ejected after Syrian insurgents shot down his plane traded fire with militants on the ground and then blew himself up to avoid being captured, during a funeral service in Voronezh, Russia, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018. (Vadim Savitsky/Pool Photo via AP)

Filipov's body has been repatriated to Russia. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and the top military brass paid tributes to him at an air base outside Moscow before his body was flown to the southwestern city of Voronezh for the funeral.

Over 30,000 people attended the funeral ceremony for the married pilot with a four-year old daughter.

Filipov's Su-25 ground attack jet was struck by a portable air defense missile, the first time a Russian warplane has been shot down by insurgents since Moscow launched an air campaign in support of Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces in 2015.

The Russian military is investigating where the missile had come from and has warned that such missiles could threaten civilian aircraft.

Russian officers carry a coffin with the body of Russian Roman Filipov, the pilot of the Su-25 jet who ejected after Syrian insurgents shot down his plane traded fire with militants on the ground and then blew himself up to avoid being captured, during a funeral service in Voronezh, Russia, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018. (Vadim Savitsky/Pool Photo via AP)

Russian honorary guards stand next to a coffin with the body of Russian Roman Filipov, the pilot of the Su-25 jet who ejected after Syrian insurgents shot down his plane traded fire with militants on the ground and then blew himself up to avoid being captured, during a funeral service in Voronezh, Russia, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018. (Vadim Savitsky/Pool Photo via AP)

People lineup to pay their last respects to Russian Roman Filipov, the pilot of the Su-25 jet who ejected after Syrian insurgents shot down his plane traded fire with militants on the ground and then blew himself up to avoid being captured, during a funeral service in Voronezh, Russia, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018. (Vadim Savitsky/Pool Photo via AP)

Russian honorary guards stand next to a coffin with the body of Russian Roman Filipov, the pilot of the Su-25 jet who ejected after Syrian insurgents shot down his plane traded fire with militants on the ground and then blew himself up to avoid being captured, during a farewell service at Chkalovsky military airport, just outside Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018. (Vadim Savitsky/Pool Photo via AP)

Russian honour guards stand next to a coffin with the body of Russian Roman Filipov, the pilot of the Su-25 jet who ejected after Syrian insurgents shot down his plane traded fire with militants on the ground and then blew himself up to avoid being captured, during a farewell service at Chkalovsky military airport, just outside Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018. (Vadim Savitsky/Pool Photo via AP)

A Russian officer holds a medal 'Hero of Russia' of Russian Roman Filipov, the pilot of the Su-25 jet who ejected after Syrian insurgents shot down his plane traded fire with militants on the ground and then blew himself up to avoid being captured, which was awarded posthumously, during a farewell service at Chkalovsky military airport, just outside Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018. (Vadim Savitsky/Pool Photo via AP)

Russian honour guards carry a coffin with the body of Russian Roman Filipov, the pilot of the Su-25 jet who ejected after Syrian insurgents shot down his plane traded fire with militants on the ground and then blew himself up to avoid being captured, during a farewell service at Chkalovsky military airport, just outside Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018. (Vadim Savitsky/Pool Photo via AP)
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump told a prayer breakfast Thursday that faith is "central to American life and liberty."

In remarks to the annual gathering of lawmakers, religious leaders and dignitaries, Trump noted that America's founders invoked "our creator" in the Declaration of Independence, U.S. currency declares "In God We Trust" and "we place our hands on our hearts as we recite the Pledge of Allegiance and proclaim we are one nation under God."

Trump said the rights that all Americans enjoy "are not given to us by man" but that "our rights come from our creator."

President Donald Trump prays during the National Prayer Breakfast, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

"No matter what, no earthly force can take those rights away," he said at the 66th National Prayer Breakfast at the Washington Hilton hotel.

The president also spoke about seeing the "power of God's love" in Americans, particularly during the response to recent hurricanes and mass shootings.

"We can all be heroes to everybody," said Trump, who spoke in a subdued tone for about 15 minutes.

House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., who was gravely wounded last summer when a gunman opened fire on Republican members of Congress, was among those seated on the dais with Trump and was scheduled to deliver a keynote address, along with Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-La., chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus. Jeannette Kagame (keh-GAH'-may), the first lady of Rwanda, delivered the opening prayer.

Trump enjoys strong support from evangelical Christians, who helped power him to the White House.

Christians have cheered Trump during his first year in office as he appointed conservative judges, sought to weaken rules governing political activity by certain religious groups that receive tax exemptions and declared Jerusalem the capital of Israel.

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Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump waves as he arrives for the National Prayer Breakfast, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump listens during the National Prayer Breakfast, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Ivanka Trump mingles before the arrival of President Donald Trump to the National Prayer Breakfast, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Environmental Protection Agency administrator Scott Pruitt mingles before the arrival of President Donald Trump to the National Prayer Breakfast, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
BRENTWOOD, N.H. (AP) - A man accused of shooting and wounding two police officers pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity on Thursday and was ordered to spend five years in a state prison psychiatric unit.

Ian MacPherson has previously pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and assault in the officers' shootings but announced in December he'd be changing his plea.

MacPherson was accused of shooting Manchester officers Ryan Hardy and Matthew O'Connor in May 2016 after they tried to question him in a gas station armed robbery that had happened the previous night.

Hardy was shot in the face, neck and back. O'Connor was treated for a gunshot wound to the leg. Both officers have returned to work.

MacPherson was arrested hours after the shootings and gave police a statement that included fictitious crime families and mind control, WMUR-TV said. He later was diagnosed as delusional and psychotic.

Rockingham County Superior Court Judge Andrew Schulman on Thursday praised the bravery of the officers before calling the shooting "a really, really sad case," WMUR reported .

The judge said that reports from a doctor of MacPherson's delusional, paranoid thinking combined with a handgun were a "really bad mixture."

There were about 50 Manchester police officers in the courtroom for the sentencing. Among them was police Chief Nick Willard, who said he talked with MacPherson's parents to say that this wasn't their fault. He said he expects that McPherson will be committed for the rest of his life.

A recent study by the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors found that more than 10,000 mentally ill people who haven't been criminally convicted, such as those found not guilty by reason of insanity, are involuntarily confined in psychiatric hospitals, The New York Times reported.

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This story has been corrected to show the shooting happened in 2016, not last year.
WASHINGTON (AP) - A third committee in Congress is launching an investigation into the Larry Nassar scandal.

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee announced the probe Thursday. It sent letters to the U.S. Olympic Committee, USA Gymnastics, Michigan State University, the Twistars gymnastics club in Michigan and the Korolyi Ranch.

The probe is the third inquiry opened in Congress, joining the House Energy and Commerce Committee and a subcommittee of the Senate's commerce committee. Those two panels want information by Friday.

Democratic Rep. Carolyn Maloney of New York says Congress must investigate the "systemic failure" that enabled Nassar to sexually abuse girls for so long.

Nassar worked at Michigan State University and was team doctor for female Olympic gymnasts. He's serving decades in prison for sexual assault and possession of child pornography.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The Latest on Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's visit to San Francisco (all times local):

4:15 p.m.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in San Francisco to pitch Canada as a destination for tech investors.

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)

He's already having some success.

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff said Thursday the online business software company will invest another $2 billion in its Canadian operations.

Trudeau also visited online management platform AppDirect, which says it is creating another 300 jobs in Canada in the next five years.

The prime minister didn't answer directly when asked if the current immigration climate in the United States is making his sales job easier.

But he says technology companies are always looking for global talent. He noted that Canada created a new visa to fast-track skilled worker permits in just two weeks.

Trudeau says Canada will continue pushing the U.S. to talk about workforce issues in the talks over the North American Free Trade Agreement.

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8:35 a.m.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is visiting San Francisco with two agendas.

He is pitching Canada as a destination for American tech firms amid increasing unease over U.S. immigration policies.

Trudeau is also reminding California of its longstanding trading relationship with Canada, despite President Donald Trump's threat to pull out of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Trump called it a "disaster" on the campaign trail.

The heated debate over immigration since Trump's election has provided a clear opening for Canada to pitch itself to Silicon Valley. As American employers worry about access to foreign workers, Canada offers a two-week fast-track employment permit for skilled workers.

Experts say thousands of jobs in the tech sector would be disrupted if NAFTA fell apart.

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)
ATLANTA (AP) - The family of a longtime guitarist for 3 Doors Down is accusing an Alabama doctor of fueling the rocker's opioid addiction before he died of a drug overdose.

Matthew Roberts, 38, was found dead in August 2016 in the hallway of a hotel outside Milwaukee, where he was to perform in a charity concert.

In a lawsuit filed recently in Alabama, Roberts' family says Dr. Richard Snellgrove began prescribing high levels of opioids to the musician in 2006. The prescriptions continued for years, with one break when Roberts sought help at an Arizona rehabilitation center, until days before his death, according to the suit.

FILe - In this Sept. 19, 2005 file photo, Matthew Roberts of Three Doors Down performs at halftime of the New York Giants New Orleans Saints game in East Rutherford, N.J. The family of Roberts, who died of a drug overdose in 2016, says in a lawsuit that an Alabama doctor fueled the musician's opioid addiction. In a lawsuit filed recently in Alabama, Roberts' family says Dr. Richard Snellgrove began prescribing high levels of opioids to the musician in 2006 and continued doing so until days before he died. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun, File)

"It's unfortunate that Mr. Roberts passed away, but Mr. Roberts passed away because of his abuse of his prescriptions in addition to using other drugs that weren't associated with his prescriptions," said Dennis Knizley, who is defending Snellgrove in a separate federal criminal case that arose from the death. "It was definitely unfortunate, but it's certainly not at the hands of Dr. Snellgrove."

In the criminal case, Snellgrove faces charges of distributing medications for no legitimate medical need, according to court records in U.S. District Court in Alabama's southern district.

Fentanyl is "the drug at the center" of the criminal case, prosecutors wrote in court documents that describe it as up to 100 times more potent than morphine.

The death of the musician Prince, 57, in April 2016, at his mansion outside Minneapolis, was blamed on an accidental overdose of fentanyl.

Rock artist Tom Petty had a mix of prescription drugs - including fentanyl - in his system when he died in October in Santa Monica, California, a medical examiner reported last month. Petty, 66, had suffered from a fractured hip and had been prescribed pain medications including fentanyl patches, his family said in a Jan. 19 statement.

In Alabama, prosecutors cited Snellgrove's own medical records in outlining one reason they say he was prescribing patches containing fentanyl for Roberts: The musician "was in the studio producing a new album and playing the guitar and his hand pain is increasing but he has to do the job," prosecutors wrote in court records.

A trial date in the criminal case has been set for May, Knizley said.

"We fully anticipate the case to be tried to a jury," the lawyer said. "He has done nothing but engage in proper medical care for this patients and all the other patients that he's seen."

Other defendants named in the lawsuit include Rite Aid pharmacies, which the family said failed to report Roberts' suspected drug abuse to state and federal authorities. A representative of Pennsylvania-based Rite Aid on Thursday said she'd look into the case to see whether she could comment.

Roberts was a founding member of 3 Doors Down, begun in 1996 in Mississippi. He co-authored the band's hit song "Kryptonite," which in 2001 was nominated for a Grammy award for best rock song.

Snellgrove began prescribing opioids to Roberts in 2006, which involved 178 prescriptions for opioids and other drugs from that time until the winter of 2012, the lawsuit states. After the band's 2012 European tour, Roberts left the band and checked into the Arizona center, court records state. He didn't rejoin 3 Doors Down, but continued to play guitar.

He had gone to Wisconsin to perform with another band in a benefit concert for military veterans when he died.

In 2014, Snellgrove resumed prescribing "high levels of opioids" to Roberts along with other drugs, the lawsuit maintains. It includes a chart of 88 prescriptions from the fall of 2014 through Aug. 18, 2016.

On Aug. 20, 2016, Roberts was found dead at a hotel in West Bend, Wisconsin, with a guitar case beside him and a patch that delivers fentanyl on his body, a special agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration wrote in an affidavit. A medical examiner later ruled the cause of death to be an overdose involving fentanyl, hydrocodone and alprazolam, the affidavit stated.
Oregon senator Jeff Kruse is resigning after an investigation determined he had harassed multiple women in the Capitol building

An Oregon state senator says he is resigning after an investigation determined he had harassed multiple women in the Capitol building with prolonged hugging, groping and other unwelcome physical contact.

Sen. Jeff Kruse said in a statement Thursday that he denies the allegations, but he is stepping down so his colleagues may focus on serving Oregonians without distraction. His resignation is effective March 15.

The move comes after an investigative report documented allegations that Kruse harassed or groped female colleagues while talking to them in public areas of the Senate.

The investigation also found that Kruse continued the behavior despite warnings, and escalated his harassment of female colleagues after being told not to touch women at work.

Kruse, a Republican from Roseburg, who has served more than 20 years in the Oregon Senate, had been stripped of his committee assignments by the Senate president late last year because of the complaints.

Senate Majority Leader Ginny Burdick praised the women who spoke up about the harassment.

Democratic state senators Elizabeth Steiner (left) Hayward and Sara Gelser (right) accused Kruse of sexual harassment last fall

Kruse allegedly told investigator Dian Rubanoff (pictured) that his behavior was 'instinctual' and that 'It's not easy to change when you have been doing something for 67 years'

'Women showed incredible courage to come out with their experiences, and hopefully this will provide them with some comfort,' the Democrat told reporters.

Democratic state senators Sara Gelser and Elizabeth Steiner Hayward accused Kruse of sexual harassment last fall. It was a formal complaint by Geiser that triggered an outside investigation arranged by a legislative committee.

Independent investigator Dian Rubanoff found the senator engaged in a 'longstanding pattern of unwelcome physical contact' that victimized 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, according to Oregon Live.

Sen Jeff Kruse said in a statement Thursday that he denies the allegations, but he is stepping down so his colleagues may focus on serving Oregonians without distraction (file photo)

Sen Jeff Kruse's desk, center left, is empty as senators attend Legislative opening ceremonies at the Capitol on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018, a day after a report accused him of harassment and the governor and house speaker called for him to resign

According to the report, one of the law students said Kruse called her 'little girl' and 'sexy' while she worked at the Capitol. The anonymous woman also said the disgraced senator would pull her into tight hugs at least twice per week.

Kruse allegedly told Rubanoff that his behavior was 'instinctual' and that 'It's not easy to change when you have been doing something for 67 years.'

The president of the Oregon state Senate said Sen. Jeff Kruse made the right decision in resigning after an investigation determined he had harassed women in the Capitol building with hugging, groping and other physical contact.

Senate President Peter Courtney, a Democrat, said the resignation by the long-serving Republican ends a difficult chapter for the Legislature but the discussion on ending harassment must continue.

Jackie Winters, the state Senate Republican leader in the Legislature dominated by Democrats, thanked Kruse for his 22 years of service, and said lawmakers must work to provide a safe work environment for everyone.
A convicted rapist pleaded guilty to second-degree attempted arson Friday for terrorizing a woman with an ax and crossbow and lighting her on fire, the Cayuga County District Attorney's Office said.

Milton K. Richardson Jr., 52, was arrested Aug. 30 and charged with several felonies and misdemeanors, including first-degree unlawful imprisonment, second-degree arson, third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, second-degree menacing, second-degree reckless endangerment, criminal mischief and assault.

In a press release, Cayuga County District Attorney Jon Budelmann said the incident occurred last summer at a garage in the town of Brutus. Richardson  who was released from a Florida prison in July  was living in the garage with his former girlfriend. The garage had no electricity, heat or running water.

According to the district attorney, on Aug. 22, Richardson poured stove oil over the bed and floor as well as the victim's head and body. He then lit the victim's clothing on fire, threatening to kill her and create "an inferno."
PYEONGCHANG, South Korea (AP) - U.S. Olympic Committee leaders defended CEO Scott Blackmun's response to sex-abuse complaints from gymnasts, and said no decision on Blackmun's future would be made until an independent investigation spells out how he, and the USOC as a whole, handled the matter.

Blackmun is under fire from critics who say he didn't do enough upon learning about abuse by Larry Nassar, who treated gymnasts on the U.S. team in his role as a volunteer doctor. Two U.S. senators and a group led by gold-medal swimmer Nancy Hogshead-Makar, which includes 17 other Olympians, are among those calling for the CEO's resignation.

Blackmun is home in Colorado Springs, Colorado, recovering from surgery to treat prostate cancer, leaving chairman Larry Probst and America's other two IOC members, Anita DeFrantz and Angela Ruggiero, to speak about the CEO's future Friday at a pre-Olympics news conference in which 14 of the 20 questions asked were about the gymnastics scandal.

FILE - In this June 30, 2015 file photo, U.S. Olympic Committee Chairman Larry Probst speaks during a news conference in Redwood City, Calif. Leaders of the U.S. Olympic Committee said they have no plans to part ways with CEO Scott Blackmun and will wait for results from an independent investigation into the federation's handling of sex-abuse complaints from gymnasts before making any major moves. Probst used the USOC's traditional pre-Olympics news conference Friday, Feb. 9, 2018, to apologize to the hundreds of gymnasts abused by Larry Nassar, who served as a doctor for the U.S. Olympic gymnastics team. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

"I've known him for a very long time. I thought he's done a great job for us, and think he deserves to have everything cleared before we take any action," DeFrantz said. "I don't know what the investigation will show, but I'm pretty confident it will show he did a great job."

At issue is Blackmun's response in the summer of 2015 upon learning about allegations against Nassar after a phone conversation with Steve Penny, who was president of USA Gymnastics. The USOC has said that USAG reported it was in the process of contacting appropriate law enforcement agencies when it notified the USOC of the case.

Penny reported Nassar to the FBI's Indianapolis office in July 2015, and USAG cut ties with Nassar. The FBI investigation took several months, and while it was ongoing, Nassar, who also worked at Michigan State, continued to assault patients until a woman filed a complaint with police and went public with her story in August 2016.

During a sentencing hearing for Nassar, more than 150 women and girls testified in gut-wrenching detail about how they were abused. A number of them, including Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman, called for consequences for the USOC.

Last year, Blackmun pressed for Penny's resignation. Last month, Blackmun called for and received the resignations of the entire USAG board.

"Scott has served the USOC with distinction since 2010," Probst said. "We believe he did the right thing at the right time. The board fully supports Scott and will wait to see results of the investigation before taking any decision or action."

More immediately, the USOC is reviewing its working relationship with the more than 40 sports organizations it oversees, known as national governing bodies (NGBs). It's those organizations that have the day-to-day responsibility for running programs that eventually produce Olympians.

Previous abuse scandals involving Olympic swimmers, speedskaters and taekwondo athletes, among others, were part of what triggered Blackmun to form the U.S. Center for SafeSport, which is responsible for investigating all abuse cases involving Olympic athletes.

The center opened only last year, however, and critics of the USOC's response say the federation has been turning a blind eye to abuse for decades.

In calling for Blackmun's ouster, Hogshead-Makar's committee put out a news release that said "Blackmun and the USOC refused to hold themselves or NGBs accountable for their failures to protect athletes in order to avoid civil liability." The committee put out a 14-page list, dating to 1988, of incidents when it claimed either Blackmun or the USOC failed to act to protect athletes.

Probst used the news conference to reiterate an apology to abused athletes, and for failing to send a representative to listen to the testimony at Nassar's first sentencing hearing, which was for federal child pornography crimes.

"We are not trying to absolve ourselves from responsibility," Probst said. "We could have done more. You can always do more. People say, 'Should we have done an investigation?' The FBI was notified. They do criminal investigations. We don't do that. But of course, we could've done more."

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More AP Olympic coverage: https://wintergames.ap.org
PYEONGCHANG, South Korea (AP) - The chairman of the U.S. Olympic Committee says there will be no American bid for the 2026 Winter Games but the USOC will keep its options open for 2030.

Larry Probst said the financial logistics of hosting the Winter Olympics two years before Los Angeles hosts the Summer Games in 2028 are too complex.

There is a possibility the IOC could award 2026 and 2030 together, and Probst said if that's the case, the USOC is prepared to be part of the process.

Volunteers take photos in front of the Olympic rings near the finish area during men's downhill training at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Jeongseon, South Korea, Friday, Feb. 9, 2018. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Earlier this week, Salt Lake City said it would try to become the American candidate for a 2030 bid; Denver is also considering a bid.

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More AP Olympic coverage: https://wintergames.ap.org
CHICAGO (AP) - A winter storm pounding the Midwest caused at least two deaths Friday, authorities said, while closing schools and forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights.

Snow-related crashed snarled highways across southern Michigan, with one person killed when a semitrailer struck the rear of a car stopped in traffic on U.S. 23 near Flint, police said.

A Michigan State Police trooper was hospitalized after a pickup truck lost control and slammed into his stopped squad on Interstate 94 northeast of Detroit. A pileup on the same highway just east of Kalamazoo in southwestern Michigan of collected 38 vehicle including 16 semitrailers in eastbound lanes Friday afternoon, causing only minor injuries.

Vehicles rest along the snowbound shoulder along Interstate 94, Friday, Feb. 9, 2018, near Galesburg, Mich., after scores of vehicles were involved in an accident. (Mark Bugnaski/Kalamazoo Gazette-MLive Media Group via AP)

In Naperville, Illinois, just west of Chicago, a man in his 60s died after suffering a heart attack while shoveling snow Friday morning, Edward Hospital spokesman Keith Hartenberger told the Chicago Tribune.

The National Weather Service reported 10 inches (25) of snow on the ground Friday afternoon in suburban Chicago and 11 inches (28 centimeters) near South Bend, Indiana. Chicago was forecast to receive as much as 14 inches (35 centimeters) of snow with Detroit expecting up to 9 inches (23 centimeters).

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said the city was gearing up for three more rounds of snow through the weekend.

"The good news is we're tried and tested here," he said. "We're up to it."

Three northern Indiana counties posted travel watches, recommending only essential travel

More than 1,000 flights were canceled at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and more than 300 were canceled at Midway, the Chicago Department of Aviation reported Friday afternoon. More than 260 flights were canceled at Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Romulus, Michigan.

Hank Stawasz was out shoveling his driveway by hand, clearing a path for the retiree to exit his home in the Detroit suburb of Livonia.

"It's part of living in Michigan," a smiling Stawasz said from underneath his Detroit Red Wings winter hat. "I saw the plows come by, so I figured I'd get a jump on it so I wouldn't have to shovel it when it's 4 feet high."

Thousands of children got a rare snow day off school after school districts in Chicago, Detroit and Milwaukee canceled classes. Schools across Nebraska and Iowa also closed or delayed the start of classes.

It made for a great day for kids to go sledding, make snow angels and play with pets outside instead of reading, writing and arithmetic. Angela Lekkas took her children sledding in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood.

"The kids couldn't wait to get out today," she said. "This is the first true snowfall of the season."

The Indiana Department of Transportation resorted to sending teams of as many as four plows simultaneously to clear some highways. Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation Commissioner John Tully said 300 salt-spreading plows hit the streets late Thursday and would continue their work through the weekend.

Will Monk, 8, plays with his dog Zoey, a 2 year-old goldendoodle, in his backyard in Barrington, Ill., Friday, Feb. 9, 2018. The upper Midwest is preparing for a wintry blast as a winter storm is expected across the region, with forecasters saying up to a foot of snow is expected in some areas.(Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune via AP)

Houston Ellinger,10, and Leah Ellinger, 9, take advantage of the new fallen snow on Friday, Feb. 9, 2018, at Shoaff Park , Fort Wayne, Ind. (Cathie Rowand/The Journal-Gazette via AP)

Jennifer Maconochie and her son Ilias Maconochie, 3, enjoy sledding down Cricket Hill, near Montrose Harbor,, Friday, Feb. 9, 2018, in Chicago. The upper Midwest is preparing for a wintry blast as a winter storm is expected across the region, with forecasters saying up to a foot of snow is expected in some areas.(Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune via AP)

A couple walk past steam from a local business along Sheffield Ave., as a winter storm makes its way through several Midwest states Friday, Feb. 9, 2018, in Chicago. The upper Midwest is preparing for a wintry blast as a winter storm is expected across the region, with forecasters saying up to a foot of snow is expected in some areas. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Commuters arrive and depart the Chicago's La Salle Street train station while METRA worker Kevin Doyle clear a doorway as a winter storm makes its way through several Midwest states Friday, Feb. 9, 2018, in Chicago.The upper Midwest is preparing for a wintry blast as a winter storm is expected across the region, with forecasters saying up to a foot of snow is expected in some areas. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

A Divvy bicycle rider deposits his bike in a rental kiosk as a winter storm makes its way through several Midwest states Friday, Feb. 9, 2018, in Chicago.The upper Midwest is preparing for a wintry blast as a winter storm is expected across the region, with forecasters saying up to a foot of snow is expected in some areas. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

A commuter train pulls into the LaSalle Street station under a heavy snow fall early Friday, Feb. 9, 2018, in Chicago. The National Weather Service issued winter-weather warnings and advisories across the upper Midwest. The snow that began falling late Thursday afternoon was expected to continue through Friday as the storm moves east. (AP Photo/Charles rex Arbogast)

A man walks along the ice-covered south pier Thursday. Feb. 8, 2018, in St. Joseph, Mich. (Don Campbell/The Herald-Palladium via AP)

David and Sharon Bieberich make use of some fresh snow fall Friday, Feb. 9, 2018, for cross country skiing at Shoaff Park, Fort Wayne, Ind. (Cathie Rowand/The Journal-Gazette via AP)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Republican leaders, top Democrats and President Donald Trump are all claiming big wins in the $400 billion budget agreement signed into law Friday. But the push to pass the massive legislation underscored enduring divisions within both parties, and those rifts are likely to make the next fight over immigration even more challenging.

In Washington's latest display of governance by brinkmanship, the bipartisan accord bolstering military and domestic programs and deepening federal deficits crossed the finish line just before dawn - but not before the government shut down overnight.

Passage left nerves frayed and Democrats with little leverage to force congressional action on their most high-profile priority: preventing deportation of hundreds of thousands of the young immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children and remain here without permanent legal protection.

The Capitol Dome of the Capitol Building at sunrise, Friday, Feb. 9, 2018, in Washington. After another government shutdown, congress has passed a sweeping long term spending bill which President Donald Trump is expected to sign later this morning. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Lawmakers rushed to limit the disruption and impact over the lapse in government funding, voting in the middle of the night to reopen agencies before workers were due to report to the office. It was the government's second shutdown in three weeks, and most lawmakers were eager to avoid a big show of dysfunction in an election year.

Sen. Rand Paul did not share the urgency. Late Thursday, the tea party leader and Kentucky Republican put the brakes on the bill in protest over Congress' sudden willingness to embrace big deficit spending. Paul noted that he and many in his party railed against deficit when Democrats held the White House, but now seemed willing to look the other way with Republicans in control.

He said he hoped his stand would teach conservatives "to not accept just anything because it comes from a GOP Congress."

Paul's call clearly angered Republican leaders - Sen. John Cornyn called it "grossly irresponsible" - and it exposed a contradiction that may come to haunt Republicans as they try to fire up conservatives in midterm elections.

The budget measure provides Pentagon spending increases sought by Trump and the GOP, more money for domestic agencies demanded by Democrats and $89 billion that both wanted for disaster relief. The two-year pact, which also continues the government's authority to borrow money, postpones any possible federal default or likely shutdowns until after the November elections.

But the 652-page budget bill says nothing about protection for the "Dreamer" immigrants. That omission largely explains why a quarter of Senate Democrats and two-thirds of House Democrats voted no, and why immigration now because the next battle. In January, after a three-day closure, Senate Democrats secured from GOP leaders the promise of a debate and vote on a deal to protect the younger immigrants from deportation.

"Democrats have fought hard but, in the end, many opted to say yes to other priorities and leave Dreamers behind," said Frank Sharry, executive director of the pro-immigration America's Voice. He called that decision plus opposition by many Republicans "inhumane and indecent."

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., set next Monday as the start of a free-wheeling immigration battle, a debate he promised when Democrats agreed to vote to reopen the government last month. Ryan hasn't scheduled House consideration, infuriating Democrats, but he said Friday, "We will focus on bringing that debate to this floor and finding a solution."

Democrats want to extend the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, which lets the immigrants temporarily live and work in the U.S. but that Trump would end March 5. The Democrats also want to make the immigrants eligible for citizenship or permanent residence.

In exchange, Trump wants $25 billion to build his beloved, proposed U.S.-Mexico border wall and other barriers. He also wants reductions in legal immigration, including limiting the relatives whom legal residents can sponsor and eliminating a lottery that offers visas to residents of diverse countries.

There's no obvious compromise that could win the 60 votes from Republicans and Democrats needed to prevail in the Senate. The most promising outcome may be a narrow bill extending DACA protections for a year or so and providing some border security money for Trump.

Whatever happens, this week's budget battle dealt a clear immigration defeat to Democrats, who'd initially vowed to block spending bills until there was a deal to help the Dreamers. The setback left party members divided.

No. 2 Senate Democratic leader Richard Durbin of Illinois, a leader in the immigration fight, said the budget pact "opens the door" for Senate votes on protecting the young immigrants. But Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., said anyone supporting the spending measure was "colluding with this president and this administration to deport Dreamers."

Such disputes won't help the party energize the Hispanic and liberal voters it will need as it tries capturing House and perhaps Senate control in November.

Immigration divides Republicans, too.

Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona is preparing compromises to offer during his chamber's upcoming debate and says his party will suffer in November if the issue isn't addressed. No. 3 House GOP leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana says Republicans still disagree about "how to handle this number of people that Barack Obama encouraged to come in here illegally."

With the immigration fight looming, Congress voted overnight to finance the government through March 23, giving budget-writers time to craft detailed legislation funding agencies through the rest of this fiscal year.

The House voted 240-186 to approve the bill just before dawn Eastern time, hours after the Senate approved the measure 71-28, with some of Congress' most conservative and liberal lawmakers voting no. Trump signed it as business hours began, and he couldn't resist a dig.

"This Bill is a BIG VICTORY for our Military, but much waste in order to get Dem votes," he tweeted. "Fortunately, DACA not included in this Bill, negotiations to start now!"

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Associated Press writers Matthew Daly and Andrew Taylor contributed to this report.

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This story corrects that about two-thirds, not one-third, of House Democrats voted against the bill.
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - Turkish jets have resumed airstrikes in the Syrian Kurdish-run enclave of Afrin after a brief lull, the military and media reports said Friday.

The state-run Anadolu Agency said F-16 jets resumed their aerial bombing campaign late Thursday, striking the northwestern enclave's Mount Bafilun, the villages of Sheik Huruz and Kefer Jenne and the regions of Sheran, Jinderes and Raju, among other targets.

Turkey's military issued a brief statement Friday saying its jets bombed a total of 19 targets, including shelters, ammunition depots and gun positions belonging to "terror" organizations. All planes returned to base safely, the statement added.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses local administrators in Ankara, Turkey, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018. Turkish officials say the leaders of Turkey, Russia and Iran will meet in Istanbul to discuss peace efforts for Syria. The officials said and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin agreed to the summit during a telephone call on Thursday. (Kayhan Ozer/Pool Photo via AP)

Separately, the Turkish chief of military staff, Gen. Hulusi Akar, and other commanders inspected the operation from an airborne warning and control plane, the military said.

Unconfirmed Turkish media reports had said that Turkey halted flights after Russia closed the airspace over Afrin after militants shot down a Russian Su-25 fighter jet in northern Idlib province on Feb. 3. Russia effectively controls the skies over the region.

Turkey launched an offensive into the enclave three weeks ago to rout Syrian Kurdish fighters whom Ankara considers to be a security threat because of their links to outlawed rebels in Turkey.
ANMOK BEACH, South Korea (AP) - About 500 North Koreans are temporarily staying in South Korea as part of their country's participation in the Pyeongchang Olympics, the largest presence of its kind since the 2002 Busan Asian Games.

The reaction of South Koreans has been decidedly mixed. Some have been welcoming while others say they are skeptical of the North's intentions of sending such a large delegation. One calls the North Koreans "puppets" of dictator Kim Jong Un. But many are totally indifferent to the North Korean visitors, who include athletes, orchestra musicians, cheering group members and Kim's powerful younger sister, Kim Yo Jong.

Some of the diverse views were reflected in interviews with South Koreans at a beach near the Olympic venues.

In this Feb. 8, 2018 photo, Lee Kyoo Hong, a 64-year-old local resident, speaks during an interview at Anmok Beach in Gangneung, South Korea. "I know it's still rare to see them here but I'm not curious about them," Lee said walking along the beach with his wife. (AP Photo/Hyung-jin Kim)

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LEE TAE-HO

Lee, a 46-year-old taxi driver, is critical of the North's Olympic participation but said he still wants to meet the North Koreans and say: "Hello. It's nice to meet you here."

When Lee drove past a concert hall in Gangneung, he saw female members of a North Korean art troupe standing outside the building hours before their performance.

"I know many of them are from wealthy families but they are still all pretty. I realize 'Nam nam buk nyeo' is absolutely right," Lee said, referring to an age-old Korean phrase that says handsome men are down south while beautiful women are up north. "They all smiled brightly but I think some shadows fall across their faces."

Lee, who served a mandatory military service in a front-line guard post, lambasted Kim's leadership: "They threatened to nuke us until recently and many in foreign countries had said a war could break out on the Korean Peninsula. So how can I accept the fact that hundreds of North Koreans are now here for the Olympics?"

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WOO NAM-CHUNG

Woo, a 55-year-old civil servant, said it's "not bad" to have North Koreans near his neighborhood because "we are actually the same Korean people."

"If you imagine that they just wear like we do and walk around here, we won't recognize they are North Koreans," he said.

"If I see them, the question that I'd like to ask the most is whether they eat enough, as I've heard many died of hunger and whether food are really scarce," Woo said. "If they really lack food, the entire world should help them to prevent anyone from starving."

Woo, who described himself as a conservative, said the Olympics are world festivals that North Korea can also enjoy together with other countries.

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LIM SOO-YOUNG

Lim, 45, said she hates North Koreans and considers those who came to South Korea for the Olympics to be Kim's "puppets."

"I really don't like North Korea ... If we are unified with North Korea, I would think about emigrating to another country," said Lim, who visited the beach with her husband, Kang Il-Han, for a vacation.

When she saw news about the North Korean Olympic delegation, Lim said, she thought immediately of the money being spent to help finance their visit.

"They are all our taxes that we've paid through our hard works at our work sites," she said.

Kang, a 46-year-old office worker, once worked at a now-stalled joint factory park in North Korea from 2004-2006. He had bad memories of North Korean workers.

"We became close to some North Koreans. Then, they sometimes asked us to do something for them. When we didn't accept their demands, they abruptly changed and took some collective actions," he said. "Maybe it's the traits of those living in socialist or communist countries. They are so proud of themselves and they are united well, too. But they can't do lots of things on their own and they are not open to others."

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LEE KYOO HONG

Lee said he wasn't that surprised or excited about the North's massive presence because similar things happened during a past era of inter-Korean detente from 1998-2008.

"I know it's still rare to see them here but I'm not curious about them," he said during a walk along the beach with his wife.

Lee, 64, said he's fine with the North coming to the Olympics.

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HAN WOO GYEONG

Han, a 22-year-old college student visiting from Seoul with her friend for a two-day trip, said she doesn't want to welcome the North Koreans.

"I don't have a favorable view on North Korea. That's because its image isn't really good," Han said. "But I don't think it's strange to see those many North Koreans being here to take part in the Olympics."

Han said she has never met North Koreans but that she has no intention of hanging around any places in Gangneung or Pyeongchang to try to see any of the North Korean Olympic delegation.

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Follow Hyung-jin Kim on Twitter at @hyungjin1972

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More AP Olympics: https://wintergames.ap.org

In this Feb. 8, 2018 photo, Lee Tae-ho, a 46-year-old taxi driver, speaks beside his taxi during an interview at Anmok Beach in Gangneung, South Korea. Lee is critical about North Korea's Olympic participation but said he still wants to meet the North Koreans and say "Hello. It's nice to meet you here." (AP Photo/Hyung-jin Kim)

In this Feb. 8, 2018 photo, Kang Il-han, a 46-year-old officer worker, speaks during an interview at Anmok Beach in Gangneung, North Korea. Kang, worked at a now-stalled joint factory park in North Korea from 2004-2006. "We became close to some North Koreans. Then, they sometimes asked us to do something for them. When we didn't accept their demands, they abruptly changed and took some collective actions," he said. (AP Photo/Hyung-jin Kim)

In this Feb. 8, 2018 photo, Woo Nam-chung, a 55-year-old local civil servant, speaks during an interview at Anmok Beach in Gangneung, South Korea. Woo said it's "not bad" to have North Koreans near his neighborhood because "We are actually the same Korean people." "If you imagine that they just wear like we do and walk around here, we won't recognize they are North Koreans," he said. (AP Photo/Hyung-jin Kim)

In this Feb. 8, 2018 photo, Han Woo Gyeong, a 22-year-old university student from Seoul, talks about her view on North Korea's Olympic delegation during an interview at Anmok Beach in Gangneung, South Korea. "I don't have a favorable view on North Korea. That's because its image isn't really good," Han said. "But I don't think it's strange to see those many North Koreans being here to take part in the Olympics." (AP Photo/Hyung-jin Kim)
JOHANNESBURG (AP) - The drama over whether South African President Jacob Zuma soon will leave office because of corruption allegations is overshadowing commemorations of the centenary of Nelson Mandela's birth.

Top leaders of the ruling African National Congress won't take part in events leading up to a big rally Sunday that will be addressed by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, the party said Friday. It said the leaders, who have participated in discussions on Zuma's exit, dropped out because of "various other commitments."

The timing and circumstances of the early exit of Zuma, who is under intense pressure to resign, pose a challenge for the party that was the main anti-apartheid movement during white minority rule and has led South Africa since the first all-race elections in 1994. The ANC has lost moral stature because of the president's scandals but Ramaphosa, Zuma's expected successor and new party leader, appears intent on managing an exit for the 75-year-old president that minimizes internal divisions.

South African President Jacob Zuma leaves parliament in Cape Town, South Africa, Wednesday, Feb 7, 2018. Zuma's exit from power because of scandals appears to be getting closer with his deputy, Cyril Ramaphosa, who is expected to replace him, saying he anticipates a "speedy resolution" to transition talks he is holding with Zuma. (AP Photo/Brenton Geach)

Ramaphosa this week has held discussions with Zuma on a power transition and said he anticipates a prompt resolution, though critics accused the deputy of making a mockery of South African democracy with confidential talks that have left the country in political limbo. Speculation is swirling in the absence of any information about the talks; some wonder whether Zuma is pushing for immunity from prosecution in exchange for his resignation.

South Africans are hoping for clarity by the time Ramaphosa speaks in Cape Town on Sunday, the 28th anniversary of Mandela's release from prison. Jailed for 27 years, the anti-apartheid leader addressed an ecstatic crowd from the balcony of Cape Town's City Hall on Feb. 11, 1990 and was elected as South Africa's first black president four years later. He died in 2013 at the age of 95.

Ramaphosa, an anti-apartheid activist who held the microphone for Mandela during the City Hall speech, was a key negotiator during the transition to democracy in the early 1990s.

Zuma spent a decade at the Robben Island prison where Mandela was held, and became the ANC's intelligence chief before the end of white minority rule. He became president in 2009 and has been enmeshed in scandals, including multi-million-dollar upgrades to his private home and the alleged looting of state enterprises by his associates.

On Friday, a judicial commission that will investigate alleged state corruption during Zuma's tenure moved a step closer to beginning its work. Newly published regulations will allow the inquiry's head, Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, to collect evidence and summon witnesses to testify, the justice ministry said.

Referring to Zuma's possible resignation, the opposition Democratic Alliance party said Zuma's "schedule might soon become lighter" and that he should be the first witness to testify.

The president, who denies wrongdoing, is due to end his second five-year term at elections next year. Many former supporters in the ANC, the party of Mandela, want him to resign immediately so that they can try to recover the confidence of alienated voters.

Ramaphosa would become acting president if Zuma leaves office, and likely would be elected president in a parliamentary vote that must happen no more than 30 days after Zuma's exit. The period from then until national elections in 2019 would not count as a term; South African presidents can hold office for a maximum of two terms.

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Follow Christopher Torchia on Twitter at www.twitter.com/torchiachris
PARIS (AP) - A French appeals court upheld the far-right National Front's decision to expel party founder Jean-Marie Le Pen over anti-Semitic remarks, a stinging defeat for him and a victory for his daughter and rival Marine.

Friday's decision by the court in Versailles was the latest episode in a bitter power struggle between controversial father and ambitious daughter over the identity of the anti-immigration party. The elder Le Pen anointed his daughter to succeed him in 2011 and now bemoans fundamental decisions she has made.

Marine Le Pen and party decision-makers expelled the elder Le Pen in 2015 for a series of remarks considered a liability to the party's image, including repeating a remark that Nazi gas chambers are a "detail" in World War II history.

FILE - In this May 1 2017 file photo, former far-right National Front party leader Jean-Marie Le Pen clenches his fist at the statue of Joan of Arc, in Paris. A French appeals court has upheld Friday Feb.9, 2018 the far-right National Front's decision to expel party founder Jean-Marie Le Pen over anti-Semitic remarks. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)

Jean-Marie Le Pen sued - his lawyer said the decision to expel him was made by an "execution squad" - but a lower court in 2016 confirmed the ouster. In the appeals court ruling Friday, the judge echoed the lower court's arguments that National Front was justified in removing Le Pen as a rank-and-file member because of damage he caused to the party.

However the court also ordered the National Front to pay thousands of euros in damages and other costs - and confirmed the lower court's ruling that the 89-year-old Le Pen can retain the status of party president for life, which allows him access to high-level party meetings.

Jean-Marie Le Pen's lawyer welcomed that decision as a sign of victory, according to French media reports.

It may be short-lived: The party leadership hopes to eliminate the president-for-life position at a party congress next month, breaking the father's last ties with the party he founded in 1972.

The congress is also expected to vote on a new name for the National Front in a final break with the party's past. Jean-Marie Le Pen said in a Tweet last month that a name change would amount to "veritable treason" toward decades of party followers.

At the time of the anti-Semitic remarks, Marine Le Pen was in the midst of an image clean-up campaign ahead of the 2017 presidential race, and she and her cohorts felt her father's verbal provocations risked undoing her. The elder Le Pen contended his remarks fall into the domain of free expression.

Marine Le Pen was runnerup in last year's French presidential election but she suffered a resounding loss to Emmanuel Macron, and her party is now in a tailspin.

Neither Le Pen was present for Friday's ruling.
ATHENS, Greece (AP) - A convicted gunman from the armed far-left group November 17 has been granted a prison leave for the second time in three months, drawing protests from Britain and the United States.

Dimitris Koufodinas, 60, is serving life for participating in 11 of the group's 23 assassinations, including of diplomats and military officials from the U.S., Turkey and Britain. He was granted a 48-hour leave, and walked out of an Athens prison where he was greeted by relatives and friends.

Heather Nauert, a spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department condemned his temporary release, adding: "We fundamentally believe that convicted terrorists do not deserve a vacation from prison."

Koufodinas and 15 others were arrested and convicted after one of the group's members was seriously injured in a failed bomb attack in 2002.
BERLIN (AP) - The German government says another German national held in Turkey on what Berlin considers political grounds has been released from custody.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Rainer Breul said the man was released on Monday, but proceedings against him continue and he isn't allowed to leave Turkey. He wouldn't give further details Friday on the case.

Breul said the release reduces to six the number of German citizens still held in Turkey for what his government considers political reasons.

The jailing of German or German-Turkish nationals over terror-related allegations has been a major irritant in German-Turkish relations over the past year. A number have been released in recent months but the most prominent case - that of journalist Deniz Yucel, a correspondent for German daily Die Welt - remains unresolved.
"Words can't undo what I did," he said.

Stein was sentenced to a total of two years in prison followed by 10 years post-release supervision. Upon his release, Stein will also have to register as a sex offender.

Also in court:

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 A 16-year-old admitted trying to rob a man in downtown Auburn last summer.

Tertius Lovett, a former resident of Cayuga Centers, pleaded guilty Thursday to third-degree attempted robbery, a felony, and third-degree menacing, a misdemeanor.

During his plea, Lovett told the court that he and a co-defendant attempted to mug a 38-year-old man outside the Cayuga County Courthouse in June. However, Lovett said the victim tricked the teens into following him to Parker's Grille, where he then called police.

In exchange for Lovett's pleas of guilty, Leone agreed to sentence the teen to one to three years in prison with a shock camp order. He also said he would consider granting youthful offender status at the time of sentencing.
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) - A privately owned television station in the Maldives said Friday it has gone off the air because of threats during the country's current state of emergency.

Rajje TV, which highlights the views of the political opposition, said in a statement that it stopped broadcasting because the country's environment does not allow journalists to report freely and independently. It said a mob had gathered at the station and called for it to be burned down, and government lawmakers had asked the broadcasting regulator to close it.

It said the regulator, the Maldives Broadcasting Commission, has been taken over by the military, and police have withdrawn security for the television station despite the threats.

"Given the present circumstances, especially with the curtailing of the right to free media, we have no choice but to suspend our regular services to ensure the safety and security of our station and our staff," the station said.

President Yameen Abdul Gayoom declared a state of emergency after the Supreme Court ordered the release and retrial of his jailed political opponents. However, the court reversed its decision after police arrested two of its judges and accused them of accepting bribes to work against the government.

Rajje TV was burned down ahead of the 2013 presidential election. No one has been convicted in the case.

Maldives, known for its expensive tourist resorts, became a multiparty democracy 10 years ago after decades of autocratic rule.

Yameen has rolled back much of the democratic gains since being elected in 2013.
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - The Latest on Syria-related developments (all times local):

4:30 p.m.

French President Emmanuel Macron says he's concerned about signs that chlorine gas may have been used multiple times against Syrian civilians in recent weeks.

Macron's office said in a statement that he expressed his concerns in a phone call Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The statement didn't indicate who Macron thinks is responsible, but Macron said France is determined to hold anyone who uses chemical weapons accountable.

A U.N.-mandated investigation team is probing reports that bombs allegedly containing weaponized chlorine were used on two recent occasions in Syria.

Macron asked Putin to "do everything" so that Syria's government stops "intolerable degradation of the humanitarian situation" in Eastern Ghouta and Idlib province.

A punishing campaign by the Syrian government and Russia has battered the Eastern Ghouta region near Damascus and the northwestern province of Idlib as President Bashar Assad's government tries to bring them under control.

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1 p.m.

Turkey's state-run news agency says authorities have issued detention warrants against the co-leader of the country's pro-Kurdish party and 16 other activists for speaking out against Turkey's military offensive in northern Syria.

Anadolu Agency said Friday that People's Democratic Party, or HDP, chairwoman Serpil Kemalbay and other activists are wanted for questioning for reading out a declaration against the operation during a conference last week. Her co-chairman, Selahattin Demirtas, was jailed last year, accused of links to Kurdish rebels.

Turkey has detained hundreds of people in the past two weeks for allegedly engaging in terrorist propaganda for speaking out against the Turkish military offensive against the enclave of Afrin aimed at rooting out Syrian Kurdish militia. Ankara says the militia group is an extension of the rebels fighting inside Turkey.

The detention warrant for Kemalbay comes as the HDP prepares to hold a congress on Sunday to elect a new leadership.

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9:20 a.m.

Turkey's state-run news agency says Turkish jets have resumed airstrikes in the Syrian Kurdish-run enclave of Afrin after a brief lull.

Anadolu Agency said F-16 jets resumed their aerial bombing campaign late on Thursday.

Unconfirmed Turkish media reports had Turkey had halted flights after Russia, which effectively controls the skies over the region, had closed the airspace over Afrin, following the Feb. 3 downing of a Russian jet in northern Idlib province.

Anadolu said the warplanes struck Mount Bafilun, the villages of Sheik Huruz and Kefer Jenne and the regions of Sheran, Jinderes and Raju, among other targets.

Turkey launched an offensive into the enclave three weeks ago to rout Syrian Kurdish fighters whom Ankara considers to be a security threat because of their links to outlawed rebels in Turkey.
BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) - A top Moldovan official on Friday accused Russia of meddling in domestic politics in an election year and called on Moscow to respect the former Soviet republic.

Parliamentary speaker Andrian Candu told The Associated Press that pro-European officials fear Russian interference will escalate ahead of parliamentary elections this fall.

Parliament adopted a declaration Thursday condemning alleged Russian attacks on cybersecurity and accusing the Russian secret services of financing Moldovan political parties. Pro-Russian lawmakers walked out of the session.

Pro-Russian President Igor Dodon called the declaration "the most impulsive anti-Russian message" in the past 25 years.

In January, Moldova's parliament passed a law that effectively bans the rebroadcasting of Russian news, military or political programs.

Candu said Moldova would collaborate with Russia "based on mutual respect... not from a dominant state to a dominated state."

The developments are the latest friction between Moldova and Russia. Last year, Moldova accused Russia's intelligence service of intimidating 25 pro-European politicians and other officials, amid an ongoing probe into a $22 billion money laundering case involving money sent from Russia to the private Moldinconbank.

Bilateral relations began to deteriorate after Moldova signed an association agreement with the European Union in 2014. Russia then placed an embargo on Moldovan wine, fruit and vegetables.
LONDON (AP) - Former Islamic State hostages and families of the group's victims are urging Britain and the United States to put two recently captured extremists on trial, arguing that denying them justice will fuel the hatred and violence they supported.

French journalist Nicolas Henin, who was held by the men and their comrades for 10 months, said he wants justice following the arrest of the two Britons, who were part of the notorious cell dubbed "The Beatles." Henin said the men should be tried in the U.K., not shipped to Guantanamo Bay, because revenge will just breed more violence.

"What I'm looking for is justice and Guantanamo is a denial of justice," he told The Associated Press on Friday. "There hasn't been a single trial in 16 years there....Guantanamo was actually one of the reasons for their engagement in extremism, in jihad. So if we perpetrate this kind of atrocity, we are not helping our quest for justice."

FILE - This Oct. 19, 2017, image from drone video, shows damaged buildings in Raqqa, Syria, two days after Syrian Democratic Forces said military operations to oust the Islamic State group ended. A U.S. military official says that the American-backed Syrian Democratic Forces in January 2018 captured two notorious British members of an Islamic State insurgent cell commonly dubbed "The Beatles" and known for beheading hostages. (AP Photo/Gabriel Chaim)

U.S. officials have confirmed that El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Amon Kotey, who grew up in London before traveling to the Middle East to join the Islamic State group, were captured in early January in eastern Syria.

U.S. officials have interrogated the men, who were part of the IS cell that captured, tortured and beheaded more than two dozen hostages, including American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and American aid worker Peter Kassig.

Hundreds of foreign citizens fought alongside IS as it took control of large parts of Syria, raising concerns that they will bring terrorism with them if they ever return home.

The capture of Elsheikh and Kotey could yield precious intelligence about what happened to those fighters as IS was defeated on the battlefield, and information about the fate of their hostages, said Shiraz Maher, a senior research fellow at the International Center for the Study of Radicalization and Political Violence at King's College London.

"It's hugely significant for a lot of the Western countries who had hostages who were captured by Islamic State," he said. "I think it demonstrates that there remain high-value, significant players at large."

Maher agreed that Elsheikh and Kotey should be brought to trial because it will help bring closure to their victims and send a message to anyone who considers joining IS or other extremist groups.

"These guys had an absolute sense of their own invincibility," he said. "They were filled with euphoria. (Trials) will make people think twice."

The two are believed to be linked to Mohammed Emwazi, the masked British insurgent known as Jihadi John who appeared in several videos that showed the beheading of Western hostages. The cell was nicknamed "The Beatles" because all four members had English accents.

The American-backed Syrian Democratic Forces captured the two men last month, and the U.S. helped identify them with biometric data and other tools. Their capture was first reported by The New York Times.

The U.S. has been training the SDF in border and internal security, including how to screen individuals and determine if they are foreign fighters or other enemies hiding in the general population.

Elsheikh a former child refugee, was a mechanic from White City in west London. Kotey is from London's Paddington neighborhood. Kotey's family issued a statement saying they were aware of the arrest and asking that their privacy be respected.

The U.S. State Department last year imposed sanctions on the two men after declaring they were terrorists.

Elsheikh traveled to Syria in 2012, initially joining al-Qaida's branch in the country before moving on to IS, the State Department said. Kotey served as a guard for the execution cell.

Elsheikh, it said, "earned a reputation for waterboarding, mock executions and crucifixions while serving as an (IS) jailer."

"As a guard for the cell, Kotey likely engaged in the group's executions and exceptionally cruel torture methods, including electronic shock and waterboarding," the State Department said.

Emwazi died in a U.S. air strike in 2015. The fourth member of the cell, Aine Lesley Davis, was convicted of being a member of a terrorist organization and jailed for 7 1/2 years by a court in Turkey in May 2017.

Diane Foley, James Foley's mother, said Elsheikh's and Kotey's crimes are "beyond imagination" and they should spend the rest of their lives in prison.

"I'd like them to be brought to trial in the U.S., but as long as they're brought to fair trial and detained and justice is served I would be most grateful," she told the BBC.
LOWELL, Mass. (AP) - The former office manager at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell's recreation center has abruptly pleaded guilty to stealing about $217,000 from the facility.

The Sun reports that 55-year-old Denise Daly changed her plea Thursday, even as a jury deliberated for the fourth day following a weeklong trial.

Prosecutors say from 2008 until 2013 Daly was responsible for accepting cash payments for things like locker fees and towel rentals and then depositing that cash into the proper university accounts. Authorities say she kept some of the money because her family was struggling and then fixed the books to cover her tracks.

Her attorney said there was no evidence that pointed to his client and suggested other people were responsible for the thefts.

She faces sentencing Monday.

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Information from: The (Lowell, Mass.) Sun, http://www.lowellsun.com
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - An Oklahoma woman convicted of using a counterfeit check has received a reduced sentence after getting medically sterilized at the suggestion of the judge.

U.S. District Judge Stephen Friot showed leniency to Summer Thyme Creel, 34, during her sentencing Thursday because she had surgery to prevent pregnancies, The Oklahoman reported.

"She will receive a shorter sentence because she made that decision," Friot announced before sentencing Creel.

Friot had suggested the medical procedure in a June order, noting that Creel had relinquished her parental rights to six of her seven children.

"Comparing the dates of Ms. Creel's periods of habitual use of crack cocaine and methamphetamine ... with the dates of birth of her seven children, it appears highly likely that some of Ms. Creel's children were conceived, carried and born while Ms. Creel was a habitual user of these illicit substances," the judge wrote in his order.

Friot said he could consider anything about Creel's background, character and conduct during sentencing.

Creel was sentenced to a year in federal prison and three years on supervised release. She also was ordered to pay more than $15,200 in restitution.

"I'm sorry for the mistakes that I made," Creel said.

Creel pleaded guilty last year to using a counterfeit check at a Walmart in Moore in 2014. She faced a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
ATHENS, Greece (AP) - The United Nations refugee agency is urging Greece's government to provide separate housing and washing facilities for women and children at island refugee camps, citing the risk of sexual violence.

The UNHCR says it has received reports from about 180 camp residents who say they have suffered some form of sexual or gender-based violence after arriving in Greece.

A UNHCR statement Friday said the situation is particularly worrying in the crowded refugee camps of Moria on Lesvos and Vathy on Samos, where toilets and washing facilities are "no-go zones" after dark for unaccompanied women and children.

It cited a woman in Moria who said she had not showered for two months for fear of attack.

The UNHCR called on Greece to do more to protect camp residents.
FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) - Environmental health specialists from Virginia are heading to the U.S. Virgin Islands to help with hurricane-recovery efforts.

Two teams are scheduled to head Sunday to the islands of St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix and return on Feb. 27.

Five of the 12 specialists being deployed are from Fairfax County. The rest are from the state, Henrico County, and the cities of Alexandria, Chesapeake and Richmond.

The teams will work with local officials to conduct restaurant inspections and provide education on sanitation issues.

Hurricanes Irma and Maria battered the islands in September.

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This story has been changed to correct the spelling of the U.S. Virgin Islands.
NEW YORK (AP) - There's not an Academy Awards category this year that doesn't feature some element of exciting new talent, captivating backstories or the possibility of an Oscar landmark victory.

But, oh, that best director category.

In even the glittering array of nominees to the 90th Academy Awards, the best director category stands out. Want history-making diversity? Check. First-time nominees? Check. Overdue veterans? Check.

This combination photo shows nominated directors, from left, Guillermo del Toro for "The Shape of Water," Christopher Nolan for "Dunkirk," Greta Gerwig for "Lady Bird," Jordan Peele for "Get Out," and Paul Thomas Anderson for "Phantom Thread." The 90th Academy Awards will be held on Sunday, March 4. (AP Photo)

Just about the only thing missing from this year's directing nominees (that is, not counting "The Post" director Steven Spielberg and "The Florida Project" filmmaker Sean Baker) is cutthroat competition. The five nominees - Guillermo del Toro ("The Shape of Water"), Jordan Peele ("Get Out"), Greta Gerwig ("Lady Bird"), Christopher Nolan ("Dunkirk") and Paul Thomas Anderson ("Phantom Thread") - have effusively praised one another as they've navigated their way along the awards-season campaign trail.

They have, like everyone else, seemingly come to the conclusion that this is one heck of a good bunch of filmmakers.

"Everybody is my opinion, for different reasons, had one of their best moments," said del Toro in a recent interview. "Paul Thomas Anderson making a movie that is faithful to his obsessions, exacting and deep in a way he always his. Chris Nolan creating a symphonic work of cinema. Greta Gerwig, first movie off the bat, is a movie that's in appearance simple but is incredibly complex, well-calibrated audio-visually, incredibly intimate."

And Peele, del Toro said, shared love of horror - a genre that seldom reaches the highest honors of the Oscars.

"We've been brothers in arms in a way because we took a genre that's normally not in the conversation and through each of our personal alchemies we transformed it with other genres," he said. "In my case, musical theater, comedy. In his case, he makes it into a social parable of enormous potency."

Del Toro, a meticulous maestro of dark Gothic fantasies, is considered the favorite of the five for his sumptuously made period monster romance, the Oscars-leader with 13 nods. He won the highly predictive top honor from the Directors Guild. But whoever wins, it will be their first directing Academy Award - or, provided none win best screenplay earlier in the ceremony, their first Oscar, period.

That personal history will be made is for certain. But larger milestones could be set, too.

Gerwig, whose coming-of-age drama artfully turns on a mother-daughter axis, is just the fifth woman nominated for directing in the nine-decade history of the Oscars, a distinction she has been proud to celebratewhile remaining vocal about the disgrace of that statistic as an emblem of the movie industry's wider gender imbalances. But in a Hollywood that has lagged behind in inclusiveness, she and Peele - both making their solo directorial debuts, both in their '30s - represent the future. On the morning of Oscar nominations, Peele was one of Gerwig's first calls.

"I feel connected to him because we're part of the group to come up," said Gerwig in a recent interview. "We've been on this journey together, in a way. It's both of our first films. I love his film so much. It's so groundbreaking, it's so wonderful. It deserves everything."

If Gerwig were to win, she would be only the second woman to be awarded best director, after Kathryn Bigelow (2008's "The Hurt Locker"). If Peele were to win, he would be the first black filmmaker to take the honor. (Previously nominated were John Singleton, Lee Daniels, Steve McQueen and, last year, Barry Jenkins.)

Peele set out to make a rip-roaring thriller propelled by a powerful social critique of latent racism. That "Get Out," released last February, has made it all the way to the Oscars has been an unexpected affirmation.

"I've been dreaming about this moment since I was 13. And to be honest I've gone through times where I believed in it and times when I didn't believe in it," said Peele. "It comes with a really important lesson and realization for me which is that it's bigger than me. It's an important thing for a lot of people and the people who supported the film and the people out there who have the same dream but feel like they can't do it for whatever reason."

Del Toro is, himself, the third Mexican-born filmmaker nominated for best director, a mark all the more meaningful at a time when anti-immigrant rhetoric courses through U.S. politics. With a nomination, del Toro joins his close friends and countrymen: Alfonso Cuaron (who won for 2013's "Gravity") and Alejandro Inarritu (a nominee for 2006's "Babel" and a winner for both 2014's "Birdman" and 2015's "The Revenant"). The trio were dubbed "the three Amigos" when they stormed Hollywood more than a decade ago, and have often relied on each other for feedback on scripts and editing advice.

"When we came onto the landscape, it was a very different landscape when you're talking about Latin American directors in the industry," said del Toro. "It was a lot of effort to change it and to get here, so it's to be celebrated."

And then there's Paul Thomas Anderson and Christopher Nolan - both among the very most revered and most ambitious filmmakers of the last two decades, both 47-year-old and in their prime. And yet neither has taken home an Academy Award. (This is Nolan's first best director selection and Anderson's second, following one for 2007's "There Will Be Blood.") They have navigated far different paths - Anderson, a thoroughly independent filmmaker who eludes classification; Nolan, a big-screen maximalist drawn to IMAX-sized spectacles - but both are slavish devotees to celluloid who have in recent years banded together to help preserve film in an increasingly digital industry.

In praising each of his fellow nominees' films at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on Tuesday - "all of the films are just incredible work" - Nolan noted that since taking his kids to see "Phantom Thread," they have taken to calling him Mr. Woodcock, after the film's demanding, egotistical protagonist.

It's entertaining to imagine other crosspollinations. What if Peele directed "The Shape of Water"? What if Gerwig directed "Phantom Thread"? But the impossibility of those hypotheticals only reinforces how no one else could have made any of these five films except those who did. All either wrote or co-wrote their movies. All are carried forward by the expansive and idiosyncratic imaginations of their creators. There isn't a bad choice in the bunch.

___

Associated Press writer Sandy Cohen contributed to this report from Los Angeles.

___

Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP

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For full coverage of awards season, visit: https://apnews.com/tag/AwardsSeason
AUBURN  The city of Auburn identified 12 areas in the community that will benefit from its 2018-2019 Community Development Block Grant funding from the federal government.

The funding, which the city has received from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development since 1974, is used to fund services and projects that benefit low-to-moderate-income city residents, Senior Planner Renee Jensen said Thursday during a presentation of the CDBG Annual Action Plan to the Auburn City Council.

Direct-benefit activities include housing assistance, domestic violence programs and programs for youth, senior citizens and the disabled. Anyone who meets a certain income criteria can benefit from these programs. Repairing sidewalks, playground renovations and neighborhood improvements qualify as area-wide activities. Only areas where more than 51 percent of residents are low-to-moderate income, according to U.S. Census data, can benefit from CDBG funding.

Staff writer Natalie Brophy can be reached at (315)282-2239 or natalie.brophy@lee.net. Follow her on Twitter @brophy_natalie.

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TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - A Florida man who blackmailed five teenage girls so they would pose nude and engage in sexual conduct on web cameras has been sentenced to 12 years in prison in New Jersey.

Daniel Derringer III also must register as a sex offender under the sentence imposed Friday. The 29-year-old Lake Worth man pleaded guilty in November to manufacturing and distributing child pornography and debauching the morals of a child.

Authorities say the former Union City, New Jersey, resident posed online as a young girl to trick teen girls into exposing themselves on their web cameras. Investigators say he threatened to post those images online if the girls didn't engage in further sexual conduct.

Three victims were 15 when the offenses occurred. The other two were 14 and 16.
WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio stepped up his typically strong rhetoric against the Venezuelan government Friday by suggesting its army should rise up in rebellion.

The Florida senator, who has been an outspoken critic of the government of President Nicolas Maduro, said on Twitter that the world would support the country's armed forces "if they decide to protect the people and restore democracy by removing a dictator."

That tweet did not mention the Venezuelan president by name. But it came just before another one that said that soldiers eat out of garbage cans and their families go hungry while Maduro and his friends "live like kings" amid the economic collapse in the South American country.

FILE - In this Jan. 25, 2018 file photo, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., speaks with reporters as he leaves the office of Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who is moderating bipartisan negotiations on immigration, at the Capitol in Washington. Rubio stepped up his typically strong rhetoric against the Venezuelan government Friday, Feb. 9 by suggesting its army should rise up in rebellion. The Florida senator, who has been an outspoken critic of the government of President Nicolas Maduro, said on Twitter that the world would support the country's armed forces "if they decide to protect the people and restore democracy by removing a dictator." (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Later, he quoted the revered 18th century Venezuelan leader Simon Bolivar and the American Declaration of Independence in a flurry of tweets advocating the right to rise up against oppressive government.

"The Maduro regime is an illegitimate government which has brought suffering and misery to the people of Venezuela," Rubio said in an email after The Associated Press requested comment about the tweets. "As long as he remains in power there is no hope for a return to democracy."

Rubio, a Florida Republican, represents thousands of people who moved to his state to escape crime, economic deprivation and unrest under Maduro and his predecessor, the late Hugo Chavez. The senator was the main driver of sanctions against top level officials for human rights abuses and ties to drug trafficking. He was also behind an Oval Office visit for the wife of detained opposition activist Leopoldo Lopez at the start of the Trump presidency.

Venezuela's government had no immediate reaction to the tweets, which came days after U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson finished a tour of Latin America and the Caribbean and said the U.S. is considering restricting oil sales from Venezuela because the political situation there has steadily worsened.
BOSTON (AP) - A Brazilian man arrested in connection with the discovery of about $20 million cash hidden inside a box spring in a Massachusetts apartment was sentenced Thursday to nearly three years in prison, federal prosecutors said.

Cleber Rene Rizerio Rocha, 28, had pleaded guilty in October to money laundering charges.

The money was found in Westborough in January 2017 during an investigation into TelexFree Inc., a defunct internet telecom company that prosecutors say was actually a billion-dollar pyramid scheme.

Marlborough, Massachusetts-based TelexFree had few actual customers and made most of its revenue from people buying into the company with a promise of payouts for posting online ads. They were paid with money from new recruits, often friends and family of earlier investors.

Authorities have said a million people worldwide were swindled out of nearly $1.8 billion.

TelexFree filed for bankruptcy in 2014, its assets were frozen, and its two principals were indicted on federal charges of wire fraud and conspiracy.

One of them, former chief executive James Merrill, was sentenced last March to six years in prison.

The other, co-founder Carlos Wanzeler, fled to his native Brazil where he remains a fugitive. But in his haste to flee, he left millions of dollars hidden, prosecutors said.

Rocha was sent to the U.S. to retrieve some of that money, prosecutors said, so it could be transferred to Brazil after being laundered through Hong Kong.

According to court documents, Rocha, acting as a courier for Wanzeler's nephew, flew from Brazil to New York City and met a cooperating witness at a restaurant in Hudson, Massachusetts, where Rocha handed over a suitcase containing $2.2 million intending that the cooperating witness help move it out of the U.S.

After the meeting, agents tailed Rocha to the Westborough apartment.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Middle East messes await Secretary of State Rex Tillerson as he embarks this weekend on a five-nation tour of the region.

From his first stop in Egypt to his last in Turkey, Tillerson will be confronting crises with partners and allies that threaten military success against the Islamic State group. The other stops are Kuwait, Jordan and Lebanon, where he'll face mounting unease over the Trump administration's Mideast strategy, particularly its approaches to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Iran.

U.S. officials allowed on Friday that most of Tillerson's discussions would be difficult, singling out those in NATO ally Turkey as especially prickly given Turkish military action against U.S.-backed Kurdish rebels in northern Syria and escalating anti-American rhetoric in Ankara. But the officials said diplomacy is necessary to cement anti-IS gains and restore regional stability as the administration presses other nations and private companies to help with post-war reconstruction.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson speaks during a media opportunity with Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic at the State Department in Washington, Friday, Feb. 9, 2018. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Tillerson will arrive in Cairo late Sunday, days after Egyptian security forces launched major security operations against militants in the Sinai, Nile Delta and Western Desert. His meetings Monday include President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi.

The U.S. is offering help countering extremism. Tillerson also will raise human rights and democracy issues, according to officials, who previewed the trip on condition they not be quoted by name. The timing is sensitive: El-Sissi is seeking a second four-year term with no serious contenders in a March presidential election. The opposition is boycotting as some potential rivals have been arrested or barred from running.

He then travels to Kuwait to lead the U.S. delegation to two international gatherings: That of the 74 members in the U.S.-led anti-Islamic State coalition and a conference on Iraqi reconstruction.

Tillerson will seek to sharpen the priorities of the coalition, many of whose members are increasingly distracted by national interests in Iraq and Syria.

The U.S. officials said the aim was to keep the coalition focused on the complete defeat of IS and other groups, and then rebuilding war-devastated zones to prevent extremists from regaining territory. They said the coalition would look at containment and elimination of IS outside of Iraq and Syria by strengthening intelligence sharing, law enforcement cooperation and counterextremist messaging.

Tillerson will not be making any new U.S. assistance pledges at the Iraq Reconstruction Conference, the officials said. Instead, he'll press companies and banks to boost activities in Iraq to spur long-term development. Some 2,300 representatives from the private sector, including from more than 100 American companies, are slated to attend.

In Kuwait City, Tillerson will meet Kuwaiti officials who are attempting to mediate a resolution to disagreements between Qatar against its Arab neighbors Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

In Jordan, Tillerson is doing damage control after President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital and decision to withhold aid money from the U.N. agency assisting Palestinian refugees. Jordan, which has a large Palestinian population, including refugees, is among the most concerned. In Amman, Tillerson is expected to sign a multiyear, multibillion dollar U.S. aid package with Jordan to shore up the relationship.

Tillerson finishes the trip in Ankara with surely tense talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The U.S. officials said Tillerson will repeat warnings for Turkey to show restraint in military operations in Kurdish areas of Syria. He'll look to address Turkey's concerns about its borders in way to avoid killing civilians.
Designer Carolina Herrera is stepping down as creative director of her fashion label, and handing the reins to young American designer Wes Gordon.

Herrera, who founded her label in 1981, announced the move in a statement on Friday, just a few days before the Venezuelan-born designer, 79, is set to present her final New York Fashion Week collection.

After taking her final bow on the runway at the Museum of Modern Art, Herrera will then transition to a new role as global brand ambassador, allowing 31-year-old Gordon to take the reigns as far as design and artistic direction.

A fashionable farewell: Carolina Herrera has announced she will step down as creative director of her label after her upcoming Fall/Winter 18 show at New York Fashion Week

A new era: 31-year-old Wes Gordon will assume the role of creative director at the brand, having served as a creative consultant for the past year

Gordon presented his own womenswear label in New York from 2010 to 2016 and has been working with Herrera and her brand as a creative consultant for the past year.

In her statement, Herrera called Gordon 'the right one for this position to further build on our great momentum', adding: 'I am thrilled with the evolution of the company over the past 37 years.

'Our success has been tremendous and a true dream. There is still so much opportunity and I look forward to continuing to represent this House and our projects all around the world.'

And in an interview with the New York Times, Herrera made sure to stress that the move is by no means her form of retirement.

'Just don't say I am retiring,' Herrera was quoted as saying. 'I am not retiring! I am moving forward.'

Farewell: Herrera's last show will take place at the Museum of Modern Art, which also served as the setting for her Spring/Summer catwalk event in September

Fan favorite: The designer's shows have played host to dozens of stars, both on and off the runway, including Bella Hadid (right) and Emmy Rossum and Christina Ricci (left)

Herrera, who always cuts an elegant figure in her signature crisp white blouse, is known for her luxurious designs, especially for evening.

Over the years, she has attracted a huge A-list following; Michelle Obama wore her designs several times as first lady, including a beautiful gown that she modeled at a 2014 state dinner with France.

The stunning piece featured a lace bodice and full lavender-blue skirt and made quite the statement at the event.

Both Melania and Ivanka Trump have also worn Herrera designs, and Caroline Kennedy got married in a Herrera bridal gown.

Her Fashion Week shows also tend to attract quite the A-list crowd, both on and off the runway, with the likes of Gigi Hadid and Karlie Kloss both strutting their stuff on the designer's catwalk, while past front row guests include Christina Ricci, Emmy Rossum, Nicky Hilton, and Anna Wintour, to name a few.

Herrera's upcoming, and final, NYFW show will be her second season in a row at the Museum of Modern Art; in September, she showcased a stunning Spring/Summer collection in the museum's sculpture garden.

While Herrera stayed true to her glamorous and feminine silhouettes for the collection, she injected a fresh energy into the designs courtesy of bright hues of red, iris and yellow.

Bold: Although she has had many professional successes, Herrera also suffered tragedy this past year, when her nephew was killed by a gang in Venezuela in May 2017

'It's a celebration of color because color is very powerful and color is an art, in fashion, everywhere,' Herrera said of the designs at the time. 'So its mixing colors, color blocks, but no flowers because the flowers are in the garden already.'

Dramatic shoulders dominated the runway as models strutted their stuff in block heels, which provided a wonderful contrast to their beautiful breezy dresses that were cinched at the waistline and grazed sculptures by Picasso and Calder as the ladies walked along the catwalk.

'Fashion is art in movement, so I need the clothes to be very glamorous, and to move in the right way,' Herrera said.

Hemlines were long, skirts full and there was plenty of vibrant prints and patterns within the innocent, playful and highly feminine collection.

Despite her successes on the runway, however, it has not been the easiest year for Herrera who suffered a personal tragedy in May 2017, when her nephew was killed by a gang in Venezuala.

At the time, the designer lashed out at the country's leadership, noting that she hoped the shocking loss of 34-year-old Reinaldo 'will serve to mitigate the terrible carnage and murders that are committed against our youth in Venezuela'.
A North Carolina man pleaded guilty Friday to fatally stabbing his 6-year-old daughter rather than give up custody of the girl when national park rangers approached the pair in 2016.

Seth Willis Pickering, 38, of Leicester, North Carolina, is expected to spend the rest of his life in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree murder for killing his daughter in September 2016, federal prosecutors said.

Two national park rangers said he stabbed Lila Pickering, 6, in the heart and lung as they were walking toward him to talk along the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina.

Seth Willis Pickering, 38 (in 2016 with lawyer LeeAnn Melton), pleaded guilty to first-degree murder Friday for killing his daughter, Lila Pickering, rather than give up custody of her when approached by authorities

Two national park rangers said Seth stabbed his daughter Lila, 6, in the heart and lung as they were walking toward him to talk along the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina in 2016

'Now they will never be able to take her away from me,' Seth later told a ranger, according to an affidavit filed by an FBI investigator.

It added that he also said something to the effect of 'she's happier now. ... It's what she wanted.'

Lila had been in protective custody for a month when her father, who was allowed to see his daughter in supervised visits, took her from the home over the objections of her temporary caretaker.

The first-grader had previously lived with Seth.

It's unclear why social workers removed Lila from her father's care and placed her in the home of a classmate.

Lila's mother, Ashley Pickering, who is Seth's estranged wife, lived in Florida at the time.

Seth and his estranged wife, Ashley Pickering, were involved in a custody battle over Lila, after Ashley moved to Florida. Seth had won a restraining order against Ashley in 2015

At the time of her death, Lila had been in protective custody for a month. Seth was allowed supervised visits and had taken her away over the objections of her temporary caretaker

Seth's plea agreement states that he will be sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole, sparing 'the family the trauma of a lengthy trial and decades of appeals,' U.S. Attorney R. Andrew Murray said in a statement.

Pickering, clad in a baggy brown jumpsuit and chains, declined to make a statement Friday before U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. accepted the plea agreement, the Citizen-Times of Asheville reported.

Defense attorneys S. Frederick Winiker and Mary Ellen Coleman declined to comment after the plea deal was accepted.

After allegedly killing his daughter, Seth told an FBI agent, 'Now they will never be able to take her away from me'

Winiker said Seth has been treated for mental illness in the past and is taking a prescription drug used to treat symptoms including depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder, the Citizen-Times reported.

Seth also had been treated for alcohol abuse a month before he killed his daughter, Winiker said.

His estranged wife, Ashley Pickering, told the Citizen-Times in 2016 that she had since been fighting for custody of Lila after moving to Florida, adding that Seth Pickering was a doting father and Lila idolized him.

Seth won a restraining order against Ashley Pickering in 2015 after alleging that she threatened him and the child.

Rangers approached Seth and his daughter near nightfall on the day of the slaying after noticing a car parked along the scenic parkway that's part of the National Park System.

The rangers noticed a man and young girl walking down an embankment in an area with no trails, picnic areas or designated campsites less than an hour after Seth took his daughter from her custodian's home without permission, the FBI agent's affidavit said.

Seth had built a small fire with underbrush that he cut before the rangers approached to investigate the illegal campfire and other possible violations.
NEW LONDON, Conn. (AP) - A prosecutor in Connecticut says a police officer was justified in firing shots at a 23-year-old man who then jumped to his death from the fourth floor of a parking garage at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in September of 2016.

New London State's Attorney Michael Regan released a report Friday that notes Michael Goodale had pointed a gun at police Sergeant Kevin Leach, who was trying to make an arrest for an outstanding probation violation.

Regan's report says Leach fired two shots at Goodale, hitting the suspect in the foot.

Witnesses told police that Goodale then leaped from the garage. An autopsy showed he died from blunt force injuries.

Regan says Leach would have been justified in using deadly force, but noted the death resulted instead from the 81-foot (24.6 meter) fall.
NEW YORK (AP) - A federal appeals court on Friday rejected a 2014 jury verdict that found Jordan-based Arab Bank liable in overseas suicide bombings that harmed Americans, triggering an already reached settlement between the bank and the victims in the closely watched case.

The ruling by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found a lower-court judge gave faulty instructions to the jury and normally would have set the stage for a retrial, but the litigants negotiated how to settle the case under terms dictated by how the appeals court ruled.

The terms were undisclosed, but it was believed the decision rejecting the verdict means that the bank will make lower payouts to American victims of tbe deadly wave of Hamas-sanctioned attacks in Israel in the early 2000s.

Plaintiffs' lawyer Gary Osen said the plaintiffs would have liked "a sweeping victory" but were still "very satisfied" with the result.

"The plaintiffs will receive meaningful and very substantial compensation for their injuries, and today's decision doesn't diminish the fact a jury found Arab Bank liable for knowingly supporting Hamas," Osen said.

Arab Bank said in a statement it was thankful the ruling brings the case to a close, adding it "continues to believe that the District Court's errors at trial all but dictated an adverse outcome."

The victims had sued the international bank, which has several branches in Gaza and the West Bank, in 2004. At a 2014 trial, the jury heard Hamas experts and other plaintiff witnesses try to link extremists to Arab Bank accounts and detail how cash payments were funneled through the bank and into the hands of the families of suicide bombers.

It marked the first time a bank had faced a trial under the Anti-Terrorism Act, which allows victims of U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organizations to seek compensation.

The U.S. Department of State designated Hamas a terrorist group in 1997.
CHICAGO (AP) - This week's death of an Illinois child welfare worker who was beaten last year has been ruled a homicide.

Sauk Valley Media reports that the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office said after an autopsy Friday that 59-year-old Pamela Knight died Thursday in a Chicago hospital of "complications of blunt force head injuries due to assault."

Knight was trying to take a child into protective custody last September at the Carroll County home of Andrew Sucher's parents when Sucher allegedly kicked her in the head with such force that she suffered a fractured skull.

The 25-year-old Sucher was indicted in December on a number of charges, including attempted first-degree murder. Prosecutors in Carroll County did not immediately return a call for comment on whether the charges against Sucher would be upgraded.
A former Miss America has sounded off against an Arkansas politician after he publicly criticized University of Arkansas at Little Rock for putting up a billboard touting its dance program.

Sen. Bart Hester wrote on Twitter: 'Why higher ed does NOT need increase funding. They lease a sign to encourage computer science degrees or math teachers? No they push for dance majors. Lots of hardworking Arkansans subsidizing this! Not ok @UALR.'

Savvy Shields, who danced to jazz music on her way to the 2017 Miss America title, was less than impressed and fired back at the real estate businessman arguing that society needs both entertainers and engineers to move forward.

Miss America Savvy Shields, a University of Arkansas art major pictured here in September 2016, disagreed with an Arkansas politician after he publicly criticized University of Arkansas at Little Rock for putting up a billboard touting its dance program

Sen. Bart Hester publicly criticized University of Arkansas at Little Rock for putting up a billboard touting its dance program by posting a photo on Twitter (picture here)

Savvy Shields, who danced to jazz music on her way to the 2017 Miss America title, was less than impressed and fired back at the real estate businessman arguing that society needs both entertainers and engineers to move forward

Shields questioned why the state had to choose. 'In the Renaissance, we had the growth of both the sciences and the arts,' she said in an interview Thursday night.

Hester, a Republican from Cave Springs, said arts programs are important but shouldn't deter from developing highly skilled professionals.

'We are starving for an educated workforce,' Hester said. 'A state school should be supporting the needs of the state on a priority basis.'

College advertising sprouts every midwinter, as schools hope to attract high school seniors. UALR's series of billboards include one showing a dancer and the words 'Dance Major' and 'Unlimited pathways. Close to home.'

Shields, an art major at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, said investments in the arts run to the millions of dollars. At the time the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art opened in 2011 - eight miles from Hester's home town - it was revealed that the Walton Family Foundation had set up $800 million in endowments.

'The arts influence everything without you realizing it - advertising, graphic design, marketing, the clothes you pick out,' she said. Even telephones, once they're engineered, are fine-tuned for their aesthetics, she said.

Savvy Shields, a University of Arkansas art major, is pictured here dancing at the Miss America pageant in Atlantic City, N.J. in September 2016

Hester, who played baseball for the University of Arkansas, said he hadn't seen any number of billboards that promote public college sporting events.

'At the end of the day, the universities can spend their money how they want to,' he said. 'They're saying they don't have enough money, but they want to spend it on things that are not clearly a priority for the state right now. ... As legislators, we debate on what a priority for spending is.'

Arkansas legislators will begin work Monday on next year's budget.
City

 Justin M. Tillmon, 31, 144 Washington St., Apt., Auburn, was charged Feb. 5 with endangering the welfare of a child.

 John Hook, 58, 36 Franklin St., Auburn, was charged Feb. 5 with petit larceny.

 Kyle D. Amidon, 30, 58 Henderson Lane, Weedsport, was picked up Feb. 6 on a bench warrant.

 David C. Mitchell, 32, 42 South St. Apt. 5, Auburn, was charged Feb. 6 with fourth-degree grand larceny.

 Joshua A. LaClair, 31, 19 Frazee St., Auburn, was charged Feb. 6 with second-degree unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.

 Neil E. Burt, 30, 101 Lansing St., Auburn, was charged Feb. 7 with third-degree unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and using a vehicle without an ignition interlock device.

 Leslie F. McLeod, 43, 9 John St., Auburn, was picked up Feb. 8 on a bench warrant.

 Jacob W. Stepro, 32, 200 Woodlawn Ave., Apt. 1, Auburn, was picked up Feb. 8 on a bench warrant.

State
The Department of Justice's third-ranking official is planning to step down at a time of turmoil in the agency.

Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand is leaving the DOJ for the top legal job at Walmart, a press release on the department's website confirmed Friday.

'I know the entire Department of Justice will miss her, but we join together in congratulating her on this new opportunity in the private sector,' Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in the statement.

'She will always remain a part of the Department of Justice family.'

Brand will leave her position 'in the coming weeks,' the statement said.

Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand is leaving her third-ranking role at the Department of Justice for the top legal job at Walmart, a friend and colleague said. She is seen here speaking at the DOJ in Washington, DC on February 2

'The men and women of the Department of Justice impress me every day,' Brand said, also in the statement.

'I am proud of what we have been able to accomplish over my time here. I want to thank Attorney General Sessions for his leadership over this Department. Ive seen firsthand his commitment to the rule of law and to keeping the American people safe.'

Sessions applauded Brand for her service to the DOJ, calling her 'a lawyer's lawyer'.

'As Associate Attorney General, [Brand] has played a critical role in helping us accomplish our goals as a Departmenttaking on human trafficking, protecting free speech on campus, and fighting sexual harassment in public housing,' he said.

'When I asked her to take the lead in the Departments efforts on Section 702 re-authorization, she made this her top priority and combined her expertise and gravitas to help pass legislation keeping this crucial national security tool. Rachel has shown real leadership over many important divisions at the Department.'

Attorney General Jeff Sessions (left) is accompanied by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein (center) and Associate AG Brand (right), during the summit on Efforts to Combat Human Trafficking at Department of Justice in Washington, DC on February 2

Sessions makes opening remarks at the US Southern Command Opioid Summit on Thursday in Doral, Florida

Brand's departure comes as the Justice Department has been subject to accusations of bias by President Donald Trump, related to its early stages of investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

Trump's broadsides have strained morale at the institution, which has long been praised for its independence from the White House.

Brand's decision to leave the DOJ and return to work in the private sector is particularly interesting because had she stayed with the Justice Department, she could have been in line to assume a key role in the Trump-Russia investigation.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein has been repeatedly criticized by Trump.

Rosenstein is the official overseeing special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into whether there was Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

If Rosenstein had been fired or quit, oversight of Mueller's investigation would have fallen to Brand. That job would now fall to Solicitor General Noel Francisco, in such a scenario.

Rosenstein (left) and Brand (right) participate in a summit to discuss efforts to combat human trafficking, at the Justice Department, on February 2 in Washington, DC

Trump, who has openly lamented his inability to influence Justice Department decisions, has stepped up his criticism in recent weeks, fueled by the release of a politically explosive memo alleging the FBI abused its surveillance powers in the Russia investigation.

Brand, who became Associate Attorney General in May, has kept a relatively low profile and, unlike other top officials, has not been personally targeted by Trump.

Sessions praised the 'quality and leadership' of Brand and Rosenstein at a Justice Department event last week that focused on human trafficking, which was one of her stated priorities.

In her current capacity, she oversaw a number of politically challenging areas of the department, including the civil rights, antitrust and civil divisions.

Brand recently pushed Congress to renew a foreign intelligence surveillance program that gives the US government authority to spy on foreigners located outside the country.

She has also been vocal about the department's efforts to support students who say their free speech rights are being violated on college campuses.

Walmart sought Brand to be head of global corporate governance at the retail giant, a position a friend and former colleague, Jamie Gorelick, said has legal and policy responsibilities that will cater to her strengths.

'She felt this was an opportunity she couldn't turn down,' Gorelick told the Associated Press.

'It really seems to have her name on it.'

Brand also served the DOJ under Barack Obama, and was a high-ranking official in the department under George W. Bush.

She is a graduate of Harvard Law School, clerked at the Supreme Court, she worked at the White House, in academia, and has served in leadership positions spanning three administrations.
NEW YORK (AP) - The Latest on the arrest of the government's star witness in the bribery trial of a former top aide to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (all times local):

5:35 p.m.

Prosecutors say their main witness in the bribery trial of a former top aide to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (KWOH'-moh) is expected to resume testifying Monday after his arrest for violating his cooperation deal.

Consultant Todd Howe was arrested Thursday for violating his bail conditions and briefly appeared in Manhattan federal court Friday.

Howe has testified his friend Joseph Percoco accepted $300,000 in bribes to help three businessmen with state business. On cross-examination Thursday, Howe admitted failing to tell prosecutors he tried to cheat a hotel out of $600 after signing his plea deal.

Percoco has said he accepted no bribes and acted legally.

Percoco directed Cuomo's 2014 re-election campaign. The Democratic governor is not accused of wrongdoing and has said he'll be sad if the allegations against Percoco are true.

___

3:15 p.m.

The government's prize witness in the trial of a longtime top aide to Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has agreed to remain imprisoned.

Todd Howe appeared in Manhattan federal court Friday after his arrest a day earlier for allegedly violating his bail conditions.

His arrest came hours after he testified that he violated the terms of his cooperation agreement when he lied to a credit card company to try to get it to remove a $600 fee for a night he spent at a luxury Manhattan hotel.

His arrest was an unusual development because he is still testifying in the trial of former Cuomo aide Joseph Percoco and three businessmen.

Percoco's lawyer says Percoco did not take bribes and that Howe tells too many lies to be believed.

___

12:25 p.m.

The government's star witness in the bribery trial of a former top aide to Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been arrested.

The arrest of Todd Howe came after he admitted Thursday during testimony that he violated the terms of his plea deal in the case against former Cuomo aide Joseph Percoco and others.

A judge signed an order Thursday, saying the government notified him that the revocation of Howe's bail was appropriate at this time.

Howe testified since Monday, supporting the government's claims Percoco accepted over $300,000 in bribes from three businessmen in exchange for helping them with the state.

On Thursday, Howe admitted he breached his plea deal by trying to get a hotel room charge taken off his credit card bill.

His lawyer declined comment.
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump has offered lots of supportive words for men accused of misconduct toward women. He says he's personally been falsely accused, after all.

The president has voiced far less sympathy for women who have accused - and toppled - powerful men across Congress, the media, Hollywood and more.

The president made no mention Friday of the women who have accused Rob Porter, Trump's staff secretary until he resigned this week, of domestic abuse. But Trump advised people to remember that Porter says he's innocent.

President Donald Trump listens as Don Bouvet speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, Feb. 9, 2018, in Washington. Trump gifted $10,000 to Bouvet's son Shane, a campaign volunteer, and that money was used to pay for Don Bouvet's cancer treatment. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Here's a look at what the president has said about various misconduct allegations.

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"We wish him well. He worked very hard. This is obviously a tough time for him but he did a very good job while he was in the White House. And we hope he has a wonderful career. Hopefully he will have a great career ahead of him. ... And I think you have to remember that, he said very strongly yesterday he's innocent."

Trump, speaking Friday about Porter, who resigned after public reports that two ex-wives have accused him of abuse.

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"He totally denies it...He says it didn't happen. And look, you have to look at him also."

Trump, in November 2017, on the accusations against Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore, who was accused of pursuing romantic relationships with teenagers when he was in his 30s.

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"Some of the women that are complaining, I know how much he's helped them, and even recently. And when they write books that are fairly recently released, and they say wonderful things about him. And now, all of a sudden, they're saying these horrible things about him."

Trump, in July 2016, on the late Roger Ailes. Ailes was ousted from Fox news after being accused of assaulting women.

"How do you know those bruises weren't there before?"

Trump, in March 2016, defending former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski against a battery charge stemming from an altercation with reporter Michelle Fields.

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"He is a good person. I think he shouldn't have settled; personally I think he shouldn't have settled. Because you should have taken it all the way... I don't think Bill would do anything wrong."

Trump, in April 2017, speaking about Bill O'Reilly, the host forced out by Fox News after multiple accusations of sexual misconduct.

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"That's locker room."

Trump, to reporters in October 2017, when asked about allegations against him and the "Access Hollywood" recording in which he spoke of groping women without their consent.

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"Every woman lied when they came forward to hurt my campaign. Total fabrication. The events never happened. Never. All of these liars will be sued after the election is over."

Trump, during an October, 2016 campaign rally. No lawsuits have been filed against the more than a dozen women who say Trump harassed or assaulted them.

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Follow Kellman on Twitter at http://www.twitter.org/APLaurieKellman
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Sir Ben Ainslie isn't taking any time off from his pursuit of sailing's greatest prize.

The British sailing star is back in San Diego for the second time in four months, this time with top crew members to begin a new season of sailing to help stay fresh in the long, somewhat uncertain buildup toward the 2021 America's Cup.

The core of Ainslie's Land Rover BAR team will race with Tony Langley's British sailing team Gladiator on the TP52 circuit this year. The newly formed Land Rover BAR Gladiator will debut in the SCYA Midwinter Regatta out of the San Diego Yacht Club this weekend.

FILE - In this Friday, July 24, 2015, file photo, skipper Sir Ben Ainslie, of LandRover Bar Team Great Britain, gives interviews during the practice day of racing in the Americas Cup World Series qualifying events off Portsmouth, England. Ainslie is not taking any time off from his pursuit of sailing's greatest prize. The British sailing star is back in San Diego for the second time in four months, this time with top crew members to stay fresh in the long, uncertain buildup toward the 2021 America's Cup. (AP Photo/Tim Ireland, File)

It's not match racing and the sloops don't rise up on hydrofoils like the next generation of America's Cup boats will. With that high-performance monohull still in the conceptual stage, Ainslie, one of the world's most accomplished sailors, simply wants to be back on the water.

"There's quite a lot missing, but in terms of just getting out there, racing with the guys, building on those relationships on a tough, tight circuit, that's going to be really good for us," Ainslie said Thursday evening after a day of training. "This is obviously not the foiling, not the high performance thing, but it's sort of the pure sort of racing element of it."

Ainslie, the most-decorated Olympic sailor ever with four gold medals and one silver, remains committed to becoming the first to hoist the America's Cup in victory for Britain. He's won it before, but with Oracle Team USA in 2013.

His countrymen have been trying and failing to win back the silver trophy ever since the schooner America won it by beating a fleet of British ships around the Isle of Wight in 1851.

After helping Oracle Team USA mount its stunning comeback from an 8-1 deficit to beat Emirates Team New Zealand in 2013, Ainslie formed Land Rover BAR. The British squad had a bit of a rough go in the challenger trials in Bermuda in June, losing in the semifinals to Emirates Team New Zealand. The Kiwis went on to win the challenger finals and then stunned defending champion Oracle Team USA in the America's Cup match.

While evaluating what went right and what went wrong in Bermuda, Ainslie hired four-time Cup winner Grant Simmer as CEO and Nick Holroyd as chief designer. Holroyd, formerly of Team New Zealand, is the mastermind who brought foiling to the America's Cup.

"Those are two really big moves for us and big players in the America's Cup game, so I'm very happy with how that's played out," Ainslie said. "We're developing and learning and making some changes with the goal being to be a stronger team this next time around."

The last two America's Cup regattas were contested in foiling catamarans. The 36th America's Cup will be sailed in radical, 75-foot monohulls that will rise up on hydrofoils and speed across the tops of the waves. Team New Zealand released concepts last fall and is due to release the class rule by March 31. They're expected to be expensive and perhaps hard to sail.

"I think the challenge is there with a new class of boat, for all of the teams," Ainslie said. "It's going to be an awesome challenge but we've made some difficult decisions. I think we've got ourselves in a much better place to have a shot at winning this thing."

Ainslie was in San Diego last fall to helm Land Rover BAR Academy's 32-foot catamaran in the Extreme Sailing Series. The academy is an offshoot of Land Rover BAR, designed to give young sailors a path to the America's Cup team.

For the TP52 series, the crew will include Land Rover BAR mainstays Jono Macbeth, David "Freddie" Carr, Andy McLean and Giles Scott, himself an Olympic gold medalist. New to the team is Joey Newton, a two-time America's Cup winner with Oracle Team USA.

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Follow Bernie Wilson on Twitter at http://twitter.com/berniewilson
MIAMI (AP) - Federal officials have declared catastrophic fishery disasters for areas affected by Hurricanes Irma and Maria last fall.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced the designations in a news release Friday.

The governors of Florida, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico had asked the Department of Commerce to determine whether a commercial fishery failure occurred because of storms making landfall last August and September. Officials concluded that it did.

Through these fishery disaster declarations, participants are eligible for Small Business Administration disaster loans. And because these fisheries are in areas where the president has declared a natural disaster, public fishery infrastructure-related losses are eligible for federal emergency money.
The decision to suspend Twitter accounts linked to far-right group Britain First was not prompted by Donald Trump retweeting one of their messages, the social media firm said.

It was a coincidence of timing that the accounts were suspended in December 2017 just weeks after the US President retweeted a video from the groups deputy leader Jayda Fransen.

Labour MP Jo Stevens hit out at the fascist organisation whose videos president Trump retweeted.

Britain First Twitter suspensions are not linked to Donald Trump, according to the social media giant (Andrew Milligan/PA)

At a special session of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee in Washington DC, she told Twitter bosses: Im really concerned about the flaws in your policing system for your platform because it was only after president Trump retweeted those videos from Britain First that you took Britain First down from the platform.

Nick Pickles, Twitters UK policy chief, said: It was a policy question that we discussed a lot internally.

The actions of any user in retweeting another user are not factors in our policy framework.

We had announced we were reviewing our approach to non-terrorist violent extremist groups.

Our policy prohibits the promotion of terrorism and there are certain groups who fell into the non-terrorist organisation space.

We then took the best part of three months to try and carefully understand where would the lines of that policy fall, not just in the UK but in India, in the US and other countries.

So when we then enforced that policy Britain First were one of the organisations affected through it but it wasnt a decision to remove an account because of another accounts actions.

Ms Stevens asked: So I shouldnt read anything more in to it other than it was a coincidence of timing.

Mr Pickles replied: Yes.
Two British extremists believed to have been members of Islamic States brutal executions group dubbed The Beatles have reportedly been captured.

Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh were detained by US-allied Kurdish militia fighters in January, the New York Times (NYT) said.

Along with Mohammed Emwazi  the killer nicknamed Jihadi John  and Aine Davis, they are believed to have been part of a group named after the 60s band because of their English accents.

The four Londoners were linked to a string of hostage murders in Iraq and Syria during the bloody Islamist uprising.

British hostage Alan Henning, a cab driver-turned-aid worker from Lancashire, was killed by Jihadi John in 2014 (Family handout/PA)

Unnamed US Officials told the NYT that Kotey, 34, and Elsheikh , 29, were captured by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces which were fighting the last remaining pockets of IS fighters near the river Euphrates on the Iraq/Syria border.

It added that the men were identified by fingerprints and other biometric means.

Former child refugee Elsheikh was a mechanic from White City in west London, and Kotey was from Paddington.

In January 2017, US authorities named Kotey as a member of the cell and said they had imposed sanctions on him.

In a statement at the time, the State Department said Kotey was one of four members of an execution cell for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil).

It went on: The notorious cell, dubbed The Beatles and once headed by now-deceased Mohamed Emwazi (also known as Jihadi John), is responsible for holding captive and beheading approximately two dozen hostages, including several Westerners. Among them: American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and American aid worker Peter Kassig.

As a guard for the cell, Kotey likely engaged in the groups executions and exceptionally cruel torture methods, including electronic shock and waterboarding.

Kotey has also acted as an Isil recruiter and is responsible for recruiting several UK nationals to join the terrorist organisation.

Elsheikh, it said, was said to have earned a reputation for waterboarding, mock executions, and crucifixions while serving as an Isis jailer.

Emwazi, who was killed in a US air strike in 2015, appeared in a number of videos in which captives including British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning were beheaded.

The fourth member, Davis, was convicted of being a member of a terrorist organisation and jailed for seven-and-a-half years at a court in Silivri, Turkey, in May 2017.

The Foreign Office said it did not comment on individual cases or ongoing investigations.
The family of a woman murdered by her boyfriend five years after he killed another lover have told of their fury after an independent inquiry found police 'missed opportunities' to catch him.

Robert Trigg was jailed for life last July after he was found guilty of the 2011 murder of Susan Nicholson, 52, and the manslaughter of 35-year-old Caroline Devlin in 2006.

He was in a relationship with both women when he killed them in their homes, which are barely two miles apart in Worthing, West Sussex.

Ms Nicholson's parents, Elizabeth and Peter Skelton, spent six years, and more than 10,000 of their savings, trying to convince the police to reopen the investigation.

Robert Trigg killed two of his girlfriends but claimed they had died accidentally in their sleep

Trigg was finally convicted of killing Susan Nicholson (left) and Caroline Devlin (right) last year after avoiding justice for years

A review into Sussex Police's investigations of the two deaths have now been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) to decide whether 'any issues' should be addressed, the force has said.

The full report is not expected to be made public for some time, until other independent inquiries are concluded.

Ms Nicholson's parents, of Goring, Oxfordshire claim they were 'ignored' and 'failed' by the force and every public body tasked with holding them to account. They have continued to accuse police of a 'cover-up'.

Mrs Skelton, 81, said: 'Finally people are starting to listen to us. Finally we feel like we are being taken seriously.

'The more you look back at it all, the more furious you feel about how it was handled. They made fools of us. We keep thinking 'How could the police do such a thing?'

'It's very important for us that the full reports are made public so this can't happen to anyone ever again.'

Peter and Elizabeth Skelton say they are finally being listened to after complaining about the way police handled the investigations into the women's deaths

At least two of the same police officers were involved in both investigations and were aware of Trigg's connection to the cases. He had a history of violence towards them and other women he met before and after.

But the force did not find the similarities between the cases suspicious and treated Trigg like a bereaved lover rather than a suspect.

An inquest never took place after it was determined that Ms Devlin died of natural causes.

A coroner ruled that former Coutts bank employee Ms Nicholson died accidentally when Trigg claimed he rolled on top of her unintentionally while they slept on a sofa.

A police spokesman said today: 'Thames Valley Police have completed an independent review of the investigations. The review refers to potential missed opportunities and we have therefore referred it to the IOPC for their consideration as to the way in which they wish those issues to be progressed.

'We are truly sorry it took so long to get justice, and it is important we learn any lessons and provide answers for the families.'

Trigg was jailed for at least 25 years after being found guilty of murder and manslaughter

Responding to the announcement, Mr Skelton, 83, said: 'This confirms what we knew all along. They can't just say this was a mistake. We have been going on about this for six years. The evidence was pointing to this the whole time.

'Now we want to see the information they have.'

Mrs Skelton, who had a minor heart attack during her campaign for justice, added: 'We want to read the findings in full and seek legal advice. We won't rest until all our questions are answered.

'Now is the time for the (IOPC) and (Sussex police and crime commissioner) Katy Bourne to step in and hold the police to account where they failed to do so before. We have been very unimpressed so far.'
The increasing number of vape shops on British high streets may help reduce the number of smokers, new research suggests.

Vape shops can provide effective behavioural support to help smokers quit, the study found.

The study come after officials at Public Health England (PHE) urged smokers to try e-cigarettes to help them quit.

Vape shops can provide effective behavioural support to help smokers quit, study finds (PA)

Earlier this week, PHE said that hospitals should sell the devices and that it hoped that they would soon be available as prescription items on the NHS.

Our animation shows the difference between e-cigarettes and cigarettes. Read our blog on our latest evidence update here: https://t.co/cXLh82thcd #EcigEvidence pic.twitter.com/OpgCZ3aSbD  Public Health England (@PHE_uk) February 6, 2018

Experts at the University of East Anglia conduct interviews with 40 people who switched to e-cigarettes to attempt to quit smoking.

Their study, published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, also saw researchers work with six shops in a range of locations to observe interactions between staff and customers.

Southampton Healthy Living is a partnership which provides help to those quitting smoking. The partnership has piloted a scheme with selected vape shops by providing vouchers. SHL also offers tailored support and advice for any smoker looking to quit - https://t.co/LYp32pZjxV  solentnhstrust (@SolentNHSTrust) February 7, 2018

Lead researcher Dr Emma Ward, from UEAs Norwich Medical School, said: At present there are no e-cigarettes licensed for medicinal use and vape shops are often the frontline for cessation support.

We found that vape shops provided effective behavioural support to help quitters stay smoke free.

Shop assistants were really keen to understand customers smoking preferences and give tailored advice about the most appropriate products. And they were an ongoing point of contact for practical help.

Commenting on the study, Martin Dockrell, tobacco lead at PHE, said: Specialist vape shops have valuable expertise and product knowledge to offer smokers who want to quit with the help of an e-cigarette.

Weve seen some great examples of these retailers working in partnership with their local stop smoking service to offer smokers a wrap-around package, with tailored behavioural support and practical advice on choosing the right product and getting the best out of it.

Estimates suggest there are 2.9 million vapers in Britain. The researchers said that there are around 2,000 vape shops in the UK and the industry is estimated to be worth over 600 million in the UK alone.
A British banker has lost an appeal against his convictions for murdering two Indonesian women at his Hong Kong apartment.

Rurik Jutting abused and tortured Sumarti Ningsih over several days prior to her death in October 2014, with her body found in a suitcase on the balcony of his property.

The body of his second victim  Seneng Mujiasih  was found in a pool of blood in the living room, her throat having been cut.

Rurik Juttings appeal was rejected in Hong Kong (Vincent Yu/AP)

Jutting, formerly of Cobham in Surrey, was given a mandatory life sentence for the killings which the trial judge Michael Stuart-Moore called one of the most horrifying murder cases to come to the courts in Hong Kong.

The former Cambridge University graduate who worked for Bank of America-Merrill Lynch had sought to appeal against his conviction, with his representatives claiming the trial judge had misled the jury on points relating to his defence of diminished responsibility.

Appeal Court judges in Hong Kong said there was no merit in the grounds of appeal and dismissed the application.

We are satisfied that the judges directions correctly applied the law to the evidence adduced at trial, the ruling said.

Jutting moved to Hong Kong from London in July 2013 and is understood to have quit his highly paid job in the days before the deaths.His confessions, both on the iPhone and to the police, were more in the nature of a boast

The then 31-year-old had admitted the manslaughter of 23-year-old Ms Ningsih and Ms Mujiasih, 26, with his representatives saying he suffered from four mental disorders: alcohol abuse, cocaine abuse, sexual sadism disorder and narcissistic personality disorder.

At his sentencing hearing, Judge Stuart-Moore said: During this trial, we have been made to dredge the very depths of depravity through the defendants descriptions of what he did during the three days of torture which he subjected his first victim to. That is Sumarti Ningsih and that is also before he killed her.

He used cocaine and alcohol to fuel his sadistic fantasies, which he then turned into reality. He used dire threats. Amongst other things, he said that he was part of a gang of experts who tortured and killed people and he had done this many times before, and this so terrified that defenceless woman into believing that she would die if she did not allow the defendant to do whatever he wanted that she put up no resistance even to his most depraved acts.

No wonder she was scared. At various points in monologues which he recorded on his iPhone, where he described some of the repulsive things he had forced his first victim to do, he described himself as evil and a monster, and neither description is adequate to bring home the true horror of what he did to that woman.

Jutting recorded his thoughts about the first killing on his iPhone, saying he had enjoyed the experience and later told police he realised it was not going to be a one-off thing, court documents said.

It had awoken, he said, something in him, and once it was opened, he knew there would be more, the judge said.

In the killing of Ms Mujiasih, Jutting told police I cut her and when she continued to struggle I continued to try and cut her more deeply.

The judge said: His confessions, both on the iPhone and to the police, were more in the nature of a boast, as if he were proud of what he had done, and in his monologues he hints at wanting the world to know what he had done.

These things occurred at a time in the defendants life when he was so morally corrupted by pornography and drugs and alcohol and a general life of debauchery, with a huge salary to fund his deprivations.

But, in the end, nothing short of a sadistic torturing of victims and killing of young women for the sheer enjoyment that it gave to himself could satisfy his sexual desires.
AUBURN  Erika S. Chanko, 73, widow of Richard J. Chanko, passed away Monday, Feb. 5, 2018, in Strong Memorial Hospital, Rochester, N.Y.

A longtime resident of Auburn, she was the daughter of Bernice Szadurski. She was formerly employed at Marine Midland Bank, Chappells Department Store, and H. R. Wait Company. She was a communicant of St. Hyacinths Church.

Erikas ability to travel was limited by her disabilities, although she was able to travel locally. Her favorite destination was to Skaneateles and the Sherwood Inn for a wonderful lunch overlooking the beautiful lake. She absolutely loved her iPad; it gave her the ability to see so much thats out there and also the ability to communicate with friends and family.

Surviving are her brother-in-law, Ronald Chanko, of Auburn; nieces, Kristine Wills-Farley, of Tampa, Fla., and Melissa McConnell, of Charlotte, N.C.; and nephew, Matthew Chanko, of Germantown, Md.

There will be no public visitation. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 12, 2018, in St. Hyacinths Church, 61 Pulaski St., Auburn. Interment will be in St. Josephs Cemetery, Fleming.

We would like to extend our appreciation to the staff of Strong Memorial Hospital for their wonderful care and support.
Jill Messick, who served as a producer on films such as Frida and Baby Mama, has taken her own life, her family said in a statement.

The mother of two died on Wednesday in Los Angeles, aged 50.

Messick had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and struggled with depression for years, the family said.

But they added she had also been distraught from the recent spotlight on her after details emerged on alleged sexual misconduct by Harvey Weinstein, saying she became collateral damage in an already horrific story.

Actress Rose McGowan claims Weinstein raped her at the Sundance Film Festival in 1997. She recently said that Messick, who was her manager at the time, had failed to support her fight against Weinstein and then took a job with him.

Rose McGowan has alleged she was assaulted by Harvey Weinstein (PA)

Messicks family said McGowan reported the incident to her without calling it rape, but that Messick, realising something inappropriate if not illegal had happened, reported it to her senior bosses months before she went to work under Weinstein at Miramax.

Weinsteins lawyers quoted from an email from Messick to defend him last month. The email said that McGowan told Messick she consensually got into a hot tub with Weinstein and later regretted it.

Weinstein has denied the rape allegations.

The family said Messick chose not to come forward and defend herself in fear of undermining other women from coming forward on the issue.

She opted not to add to the feeding frenzy, allowing her name and her reputation to be sullied despite having done nothing wrong, the statement said.

But she suffered nonetheless in silence, the family said.

Seeing her name in headlines again and again along with Harveys desperate attempt to vindicate himself, was devastating for her, the statement said.

After-hours messages left with representatives seeking comment from Weinstein and McGowan were not immediately returned.
The Eiffel Tower has been closed and authorities are telling drivers in the Paris region to stay at home as snow and freezing rain have hit a swathe of northern France.

The company that manages France's most-visited monument said the 19th-century Eiffel Tower will be closed all day Friday and Saturday 'to ensure the security of visitors'.

Workers with hand shovels will carefully clear snow from the intricate ironwork and de-ice stairs and platforms.

Workers with hand shovels will carefully clear snow from the intricate ironwork and de-ice stairs and platforms

More snow is forecast on Friday and authorities are warning of dangerous conditions in about a quarter of the country

The company said they cannot use salt because it could corrode the metal and damage the elevators.

Heavy snowfall across northern France overnight caused widespread travel disruption on Wednesday with hundreds of motorists spending the night in their cars and around 700 travellers sleeping in two Paris train stations.

French authorities set up makeshift shelters at roadsides across the Paris region, near Orly airport to the south of the capital and at the Austerlitz and Montparnasse stations in the city.

People walk on a snow-covered path in the Bois de Vincennes in Paris. Heavy snowfall across northern France overnight caused widespread travel disruption on Wednesday

S-no-w problem: Geoffrey, 32, rides his snowboard down the Montmartre hill, with the Sacre Coeur Basilica in background

The Eiffel Tower pictured at sunrise during warmer weather

In all, around 1,500 people had to be sheltered between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.

Some flights were cancelled at Orly, according to the airport's travel information.

More snow is forecast on Friday and authorities are warning of dangerous conditions in about a quarter of the country.
Bear Grylls has said he thinks Donald Trump could be a good survivor in the wild, although he is unsure if the presidents hair would cope.

The TV adventurer previously featured President Barack Obama on his survival skills programme Running Wild in 2015, and he said he would consider doing the same with Mr Trump.

Grylls told ITVs Good Morning Britain that he believes Mr Trump is a survivor.

Donald Trump (Matt Cardy/PA)

He said: Its funny, we actually had the same executive producer on NBC when he was doing The Apprentice and we were doing Running Wild over there, so when he was running for president wed just finished the Obama one, and we went lets do it.

But Im not sure his hair would cope.

Grylls added: I actually kind of admire his resilience, and his dogged determination and tenacity. Whatever you think of his politics, he definitely has that.

And actually as a survivor in the wild, that is an important quality.

I never judge any book by its cover. Ive learned from so many different adventures and shows, whether its The Island or whatever, its actually about whats in here.

Quoting the founder of Scouting, Robert Baden-Powell, Grylls said: Its not the veneer without, its the spirit within.

Grylls, who is the Scout Associations Chief Scout, appeared on the programme to praise the institutions impact on its young members.

He said: Scouting changes lives, Ive been Chief Scout for eight years and its an incredible honour.

As Scouts, we already know that Scouting develops socially engaged young people  individuals who are curious, kind, welcoming, active, resilient and extraordinarily equipped with skills for life. Now, we have evidence to back it up! https://t.co/P4fdsrX6Bv  Bear Grylls (@BearGrylls) February 9, 2018

Were part of a worldwide family of 40 million young heroes who just do so much to help communities and help people in vulnerable areas, and give people access to adventure that maybe would never normally get a chance to experience the outdoors.

Im super proud to be a small cog in this incredible worldwide family.
Prime Minister Theresa May has been urged to tell Ireland what her Governments proposals are to solve the Irish border issue after Brexit.

Irelands European affairs minister Helen McEntee said the number of proposals being taken off the table seemed to make finding a solution more and more difficult.

Her comments come after the British Government ruled out remaining in any form of customs union, instead pursuing a customs partnership or arrangement in an attempt to maintain frictionless trade.

Helen McEntee (Niall Carson/PA)

Ms McEntee told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: It seems more and more difficult the more proposals or options you take off the table. However, we are yet to see any proposals in its absence.

Will be on @BBCr4today after 8 this morning where I'll be discussing #Brexit pic.twitter.com/SrYyVMD5LA  Helen McEntee TD (@HMcEntee) February 9, 2018

So we need the UK Government, we need Theresa May and her team, to start looking at and to start I suppose letting us know what the proposals are coming from their side and what their options are.

They have always been very clear and before the agreements in Christmas or on December 15 they made it very clear that they felt they would not need this backstop position or this backslide, that they would be able to work with the EU to create this close relationship.

She added: So what we need to see now is how is that going to happen.

On our part we feel that a lot of the ways of doing that have been taken off the cards  there are a lot of red line issues  so we need to see what is possible and how thats actually going to work, and to date we havent seen that.
Billy Morgan admits to fear becoming a factor as he seeks to take snowboarding to new limits.

The 28-year-old will begin his second Olympics campaign in Pyeongchang on Saturday, riding in qualification for the snowboard slopestyle.

Morgan has already blazed a trail  landing the first triple rodeo flip in 2011 and the first 1800 quadruple cork in 2015  and the inclusion of the Big Air event for the first time at the Olympics provides an additional opportunity for the Southampton rider.

Great Britains Billy Morgan is competing in the snowboard slopestyle at the Winter Olympics on Saturday (Mike Egerton/PA Wire)

Morgan has a carefree persona, but, with maturity comes the realisation of the risks involved  and experience of injuries, which are part of the job.

Theres always more we can do as snowboarders, especially if they build the course to suit it. The skys the limit, Morgan, who finished 10th in the slopestyle at the Sochi 2014 Games, told Press Association Sport.

Recently Ive got more scared, I worry about things a lot more.

Its worrying about snapping bones. Its a pain in the bum when you do that.

The kids do seem to be fearless, like I was when I was younger.

But we have experience being a bit older, so its swings and roundabouts.

One of those kids is 18-year-old Norwegian Marcus Kleveland, who is hot favourite for both the slopestyle and Big Air events.

Marcus is pushing the boat out quite far now. Youll see some pretty rad stuff from him, added Morgan, who could yet try some new tricks here.

One concern Morgan must put to the back of his mind is a knee problem which does not affect his trickery, but means there could be major repercussions if he misjudges a landing.

Morgan added: There are certain ways I cant crash, because if I crash like that my knee will bust and it will be game over. Hopefully that doesnt happen.

I just dont worry about it. Its one certain movement on a certain landing where, if I get it wrong, itll hurt it. It should be all right, as long as I stay focused and try to avoid that.

Morgans immediate priority is qualifying from Saturdays first round.

He added: Its one step at a time, taking each round as it goes. Id like to get through to the finals and if I get through to the finals Ill be stoked.

Jamie Nicholls, also competing at his second Games, is also in the snowboard slopestyle event, along with Rowan Coultas, while Aimee Fuller is in the womens event.

The crew out in S.Korea checking out the Slopestyle course for PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics. @TeamGB #WeAreTheGreat pic.twitter.com/iekCvWjgrY  GB Park+Pipe (@GBParkandPipe) February 6, 2018

There are high hopes of adding to Great Britains first Olympic medal on snow, won by Jenny Jones in the snowboard slopestyle in Sochi.

Weve got a really good crew going for this one, Morgan added.

Weve got a good chance of doing well. Its going to be exciting.
Gerry Adams has said he regrets that it took until 1994 for the first IRA ceasefire.

In an interview with the Press Association Mr Adams said he first began dialogue with Catholic priest Father Alec Reid, who was considered pivotal to the Northern Ireland peace process, as far back as 1977.

But it was not until 1988 that Fr Reid brokered Mr Adams dialogue with the then SDLP leader John Hume, which led to the IRA ceasefire six years later.

Gerry Adams is stepping down as Sinn Fein president (Brian Lawless/PA)

The Sinn Fein TD, who will step down on Saturday after 34 years as party president, said he regretted the deaths and injuries caused during those years.

I regret that it took so long and that those who would condemn, denounce, use moral denunciations as a subterfuge for just not talking, therefore it took almost from 1976/77 to 1994 before there was the first cessation.

Thats an awful long time and a lot of people were killed or injured and traumatised in between.

He said that when he and Mr Hume eventually met in 1988 they did what is just the imperative, the primacy of any process (which) is to talk, to listen.

And out of that came the Hume/Adams principles, he added.

Mr Adams criticised past UK prime ministers who refused to talk to Sinn Fein during the Troubles. He called them the stupid ones.

Probably the toughest (prime ministers to deal with) were the stupid ones who wouldnt talk.

If you consider that I was an elected official along with others and other elected officials wouldnt talk to us and the British prime ministers handed over the future  to generals, to military bosses, to people who brought in collusion, internment, shoot to kill and all the rest of it and just militarised the situation with all the awful consequences of that.

Mr Adams said that John Major had the chance to help bring peace to Northern Ireland but failed to do so, while Tony Blair seized the opportunity with both hands.

He also said that while he admired Mr Blair for helping to bring about the Good Friday Agreement he believed the former prime minister had done dreadful things in Iraq and that he and the late Martin McGuinness had warned him against going to war.

John Major was given an opportunity for peace on a plate and he let the plate drop. Tony Blair had the good sense when he was given the same opportunity that he seized it with both hands.

But he himself has said reflectively that he couldnt have done what he did if it hadnt been in the early sort of glow of the first early phases of government, he said.

(Blair) helped along with the rest of us to author the Good Friday Agreement. Now he did dreadful things in Iraq and that was folly.

Myself and Martin McGuinness warned him against the consequences of going into anyone elses country with military force. We actually said to him look at whats happened here. Unfortunately we were right, added Mr Adams.
A mother-of-five died after doctors dismissed meningitis as a migraine.

Lissa Beechey, 39, from Bridgend, Wales, was sent home with paracetamol after going to hospital on September 10 2015 complaining of fatigue, crippling headaches and eyes so sensitive she was forced to wear sunglasses.

Doctors even missed the tell-tale symptom of shadows on her lungs when they showed up in an X-ray taken three months earlier.

Ten days later, Ms Beechey, who was initially urgently referred by her GP with suspected meningitis, was rushed to A&E with severely worsening symptoms but later passed away from tuberculosis meningitis.

After taking legal action, solicitors acting for Ms Beechey's husband Simon Aberstone, 49, said the Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board have reached an undisclosed out-of-court settlement.

Tuberculosis meningitis affects just 150-to-200 people each year in the UK.

Mother-of-five Lissa Beechey died after doctors dismissed meningitis as a migraine

Ms Beechey (pictured with her husband Simon Aberstone) was sent home with paracetamol after going to hospital complaining of fatigue, crippling headaches and sensitive eyes

WHAT IS TUBERCULOSIS MENINGITIS? Tuberculosis (TB) meningitis is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which leads to the condition in just one-to-two per cent of infected people. It affects between 150 and 200 people every year in the UK and US. Between 15 and 30 per cent of sufferers die despite receiving treatment. Of those who survive, at least 20 per cent experience long-term complications, such as brain damage. Early symptoms include aches and pains, loss of appetite, fatigue, and a persistent headache. After several weeks, these develop into more specific meningitis symptoms, such as dislike of bright lights and neck stiffness. TB meningitis is caused by bacteria entering the body via droplet inhalation, for instance from an infected person coughing or sneezing. If the bacteria travel to the meninges, which are the protective layers over the brain, it can cause TB meningitis; even years after the initial infection. Treatment varies according to the patient but takes place in hospital. A BCG vaccine against TB is offered to at-risk people in the UK. Source: Meningitis Now Advertisement

There were chances to save Lissas life

Mr Aberstone, who met Ms Beechey during a whirlwind holiday romance, said: Lissa used to bring everyone together and it was one of the things I loved most about her.

She had time for everyone, especially when they needed her help. We used to call her the Mother Teresa of Bridgend.

Even I didnt realise how many peoples lives she touched until her funeral. It was incredible, there wasnt even standing room.

Mr Aberstone, who is trying to stay strong for him and his wifes three children, aged eight and 12-year-old twins, added: Im still so angry that this was allowed to happen.

You dont rule out TB until youve tested for it and if just one doctor had followed the correct procedures and given her the right medication then Lissa would still be here.

The familys lawyer, Kelly Lloyd-Davies, from Slater and Gordon, said: The heart-breaking reality is there were chances to save Lissas life, but procedures werent followed and as a result these were missed.

While nothing can bring her back, lessons must be learned to prevent mistakes like this from happening again before any more lives are needlessly lost.

Ten days later, Ms Beechey, who was initially urgently referred by her GP with suspected meningitis, was rushed to A&E with severely worsening symptoms but later passed away

We can assure Mr Aberstone we took immediate action

Ms Beechey, who had two children from a previous relationship, was initially seen at the Princess of Wales medical assessment before being rushed to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, where she later died.

A spokesman for the Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board said: We would once more offer our sincere condolences to Ms Beacheys family for their sad loss and apologise for the shortcomings in her care.

We can assure Mr Aberstone we took immediate action, such as increased staffing, additional training and awareness-raising.

Additionally, a system was put in place to ensure all investigations are followed up promptly.

Although these measures have led to improvements, we are continuing to closely monitor the situation and will take any additional action required to ensure the improvements are maintained.
Lee Westwood put himself in contention at the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth after reaching the halfway stage as joint leader.

The Englishman started two strokes off overnight leader Brett Rumford as the Perth native shot an impressive 64 on the opening day at Lake Karrinyup Country Club.

But Westwood reeled in the defending champion with a colourful two-under-par 70 in windy conditions to join him at the top of the leaderboard on eight under.

Lee Westwood looks in pole position to qualify for Sundays final round matchplay at the ISPS Handa World Super 6 in Perth (Owen Humphreys/PA)

The field has been cut from 156 to 80 players for Saturdays third round, where the top 24 players after 54 holes  with the top eight players seeded  will compete in a six-hole matchplay format to determine the winner.





Playing partners Rumford and Westwood finish their rounds joint-top. #WS6Perth pic.twitter.com/OJomBZgNrd  The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) February 9, 2018

Westwood carded three birdies and two bogeys in his opening nine holes but still remained two shots behind Rumford after his solitary gain before they both picked up a shot at the 11th, only to each hand it back at the 13th.

The 44-year-old Westwood hit a stunning eagle at the 15th, which he also achieved in the first round, to draw level at nine under and when his Australian rival bogeyed the penultimate hole, he was one ahead.

However, Westwood dropped a shot at the last to fall back to eight under alongside Rumford, with Thailands Prom Meesawat, Dane Thorbjorn Olesen, Scotlands Grant Forrest and Australian Lucas Herbert one stroke further back.

Olesen produced one of the rounds of the day with a five-under 67 which saw six birdies and a bogey, while Herbert hit three under in a rollercoaster second round of six gains, a double-bogey and one dropped shot.

Meesawat became co-leader with Westwood and Rumford following six birdies and three bogeys, only to drop a shot on the final hole, with Forrest hitting a flawless five under on the back nine to surge up the leaderboard and join the trio at seven under for the tournament.

Westwood played alongside his joint leader during the first two days and will be with the Australian once again for the third round as he looks to battle for supremacy with the reigning champion.

We both played well. Westwood told europeantour.com. We havent given too many shots away, made a few putts and I chipped in a couple of times. Its been fun over the first couple of days.

Three chip-ins 

Share of the lead 1

Quokka selfie 



Good week to be @WestwoodLee. pic.twitter.com/kMfXmdqUV6  The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) February 9, 2018

Im just trying to shoot as low as possible. I know if I carry on playing like Im playing and a few putts start to go in, because I didnt really hole any putts today, Ill be thereabouts on the leaderboard.

To be perfectly honest, matchplay is anybodys. Youre going to need a lot of luck to win it.

South African Zander Lombard sits on six under for sole seventh, while Australian trio Anthony Quayle, Adam Blyth and amateur Min Woo Lee, Thai Kiradech Aphibarnrat, who was at nine under before four successive bogeys, American Sean Crocker and Italys Andrea Pavan are a shot further adrift.
The publisher of the Daily Mirror newspaper has struck a 126.7 million deal to buy a string of titles from Richard Desmonds media empire, including the Daily Express, the Daily Star and OK! magazine.

Trinity Mirror will stump up an initial payment of 47.7 million to Northern & Shell, followed by 59 million between 2020 and 2023 and a further 20 million in shares to the privately-owned firm.

The move marks a major shake-up of Britains media landscape, bringing together politically left-leaning titles like the Sunday Mirror, with more right-wing publications such as the Sunday Express.

As part of the deal, Trinity Mirror will seize control of Daily Star Sunday, celebrity magazines New! and Star, and a 50% slice of the Irish Daily Star.

Trinity Mirror chief executive Simon Fox has ruled out a shift in editorial tone across the major titles, but said it would spark 20 million a year in cost savings which will lead to job losses.

Speaking to the Press Association, Mr Fox said: The titles have separate editors and they know their readers best and have full control over the content  that will not change.

Trinity Mirror share price (PA)

The Mirror wont become right wing and the Express wont be turning left wing, that would be absolutely ridiculous for us to do that. 

Mr Fox said a chunk of the cost savings would come from sharing stories across titles, with the same sport and features content being used in both the Daily Mirror and the Daily Express.

However, he said it would be entirely inappropriate to take the same approach with the newspapers political teams.

Focusing on cost savings, he said: There will changes to both businesses over time and what we will do, as we did when we brought Local World, is to look to remove duplication.

Thats why we are stronger together than we are separate. Both organisations have finance teams, HR, newspaper sales, marketing and so on.

Therefore, there will be consequences for a number of jobs, but it is far too early to work out exactly how many.

He said the changes would hit the production side and potentially the creation side, but stressed that both organisations would have bigger teams going forward.

Mr Desmond acquired the Express titles in 2000 for 125 million but the industry has had to grapple with sliding advertising revenues.

Circulation of the flagship titles have also come under pressure, with the Daily Express and Daily Star falling 6.8% and 11.1% respectively in December.

Major newspaper organisations have been attempting to offset falling advertising revenues in print by raking in more money from online adverts.

The Express.co.uk and the Dailystar.co.uk recorded 280 million page views in December, with Trinity Mirror securing 649 million across its websites and apps.

Trinity Mirror CEO Simon Fox tells staff that the company has bought the Daily Express and Daily Star pic.twitter.com/0CFqFx1Nx8  Michael Greenwood (@greenwood100) February 9, 2018

Mr Desmond, chairman of Northern & Shell, branded the deal a transformational transaction.

He said: (It is) a logical and natural next step in the evolution and consolidation of the media sector and will create a larger and stronger platform serving all stakeholders.

In Trinity Mirror we have a great partner, who will be an excellent steward of the business going forward, and I am delighted to be able to retain an ongoing interest in the combined group.

Alongside the publications, Northern & Shells Luton printing press will fall into Trinity Mirrors hands, if the deal wins backing from shareholders and competition regulators.

Trinity Mirror has five printing plants across the country producing its own titles, and printing for news organisations such as the Guardian and Scotsman owner Johnston Press.

Mr Fox said the deal could also lead to efficiencies on the print production side of the business.

The group, which owns regional titles such as the Manchester Evening News and the Liverpool Echo, said it will shift more than 70 million into the Northern & Shell pension scheme following the tie-up.

Northern & Shell has also agreed to lease out space to Trinity Mirror at its headquarters in Lower Thames Street, London, where the Express and Star teams will remain.

Shares in Trinity Mirror rose more than 7% in morning trading on the London Stock Exchange.
The US house of representatives has voted to reopen the federal government and pass a 400 billion dollar (287 billion) budget deal, overcoming opposition from both liberal Democrats and tea party conservatives to endorse enormous spending increases despite looming trillion-dollar deficits.

The 240-186 vote came in the pre-dawn hours, putting to bed a five-and-a-half hour federal freeze  the second such shutdown in three weeks.

The breakdown came largely in the senate, the upper chamber of congress, when Republican senator Rand Paul of Kentucky went rogue and stalled a vote in protest over his partys willingness to approve spending increases.

Democrats also experienced divisions, largely on account of liberals upset the measure was not tied to any plans to assist the Dreamer immigrants, brought into the country illegally as children.

Senator Rand Paul was bitterly opposed to the bill (AP)

Most Democrats opposed the measure, following the lead of minority leader Nancy Pelosi, who tried and failed to use the moment to secure a promise for a separate vote on immigration. Up to the final minutes, it was not clear the bill would pass and many Democrats held their votes, allowing the tally to creep slowly and giving no indication which way it might fall.

House speaker Paul Ryan urged congress to avoid a second needless shutdown in a matter of weeks  entirely needless.

There was far less drama in the senate, where the measure sailed through by 71-28. US president Donald Trump has promised to sign the bill into law.

The White House was forced to order the government shutdown shortly after midnight, but leaders moved quickly before federal employees were due back at work, hoping to minimise the disruption. A shutdown essentially cuts the federal workforce in half, with those dubbed non-essential not allowed to work, while military and essential workers remain on the job.

The House vote ensured most employees would report for work as usual. Under federal law, passage of the measure is enough to call off the shutdown; Mr Trump is expected to sign the measure as soon as he receives it.

Senator Bernie Sanders walks to his office at Capitol Hill (AP)

The White House kept its distance from the quarrelling on Capitol Hill  Mr Trump did not tweet on the matter, and advisers did not try to assign blame.

Senate Republicans, however, were clearly irked by the debacle. In his attempt to sway Rand Paul to relent, senator John Cornyn of Texas declared his fellow Republican was wasting everyones time and prompting a shutdown for no good reason. But Mr Paul, the resident contrarian, repelled suggestions to stand aside.

I didnt come up here to be part of somebodys club, Mr Paul said. I didnt come up here to be liked.

The bill includes huge spending increases sought by Republicans for the Pentagon along with a big boost demanded by Democrats for domestic agencies. Both sides pressed for 89 billion dollars (63 billion) for disaster relief, extending a host of healthcare provisions, and extending a slew of smaller tax breaks.

It also would increase the governments debt cap, preventing a first-ever default on US obligations.
HIT: To the preservation of more Cayuga County land.

The Finger Lakes Land Trust announced this week that it has purchased 74 acres  including 1,100 feet of shoreline  on Owasco Lake in the town of Niles. According to a news release, the site features forested bluffs overlooking the lake as well as meadows, hay fields and a rugged gorge. A hiking trail will one day provide easy access for people to explore the property.

The land trust said that it intends to manage the site as a public conservation area and undertake wetland restoration to filter runoff to the lake.

MISS: To more severe winter weather.

It seems that not a week goes by this winter without another storm or a bout of single-digit temperatures, and this week was no exception as heavy snow fell throughout the day on Wednesday. Schedules were disrupted as schools and offices closed, and travel once again became a slow, slippery and dangerous endeavor. We would like to believe that each week closer to spring means a lesser chance of snow  but we're not holding our breath.

HIT: To quick work by police to catch a suspected purse snatcher.
A prolific paedophile who blackmailed online victims into depraved acts was a VIP member of internet child sex abuse forums, a court has heard.

Dr Matthew Falder was a member of several virtual communities of abusers, and in one such forum on the so-called dark web had a membership rank level of Rapist', prosecutors said.

Falder forced one victim to film herself licking toilet seats, a used tampon and eating dog food, and set up secret cameras in bathrooms to record women and girls naked.

Another was blackmailed into eating his faeces and drinking urine, while the 29-year-old also encouraged the rape of a boy, aged two, by his own father.

The Cambridge graduate has admitted 137 offences related to 46 victims whom he blackmailed, manipulated and deceived.

Falder then shared his material with hundreds of thousands of other paedophiles on secret internet forums, prosecutor Ruona Iguyovwe told Birmingham Crown Court on Friday.

She added that despite Falder being caught, the victims were left feeling the material now existed in perpetuity online, adding that the virtual abuse continued.

A British undercover National Crime Agency (NCA) officer helped build the case against predatory serial offender Falder, posing as a member of one of these online groups in order to snare the depraved abuser.

Falder lived a double life, by day a respectable geophysics lecturer at Birmingham University, but online  hiding behind different personas  enjoying special membership in the paedophile underworld.

Dr Matthew Falder is to be sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court for serious sex offences (Joe Giddens/PA)

He posted material of vile torture and sexual abuse under online handles such as Evilmind, covering his tracks by using secure browser Tor and anonymous email addresses.

In one such post, Falder, under the name 666devil, posted paedophile material of an instructional video on how to sexually abuse young children without being detected.

Ms Iguyovwe added: The images of many historical abuse victims were distributed on a very large scale on those websites, the memberships of which run into the many hundreds of thousands.

The sites were associated with paedophiles and those interested in hurtcore  material which depicts rape and abuse.

Falder, who treated victims both as sex objects and as objects of derision, posted on one forum 100 things we want to see at least once.

In remarks in that post, he suggested a young girl being used as a dartboard, production of a video depicting a childs bones being slowly and deliberately broken, and the abuse of a paralysed child.

Ms Iguyovwe, prosecuting, said he had enticed his own victims to produce increasingly severe self-generated indecent images of themselves, the focus of these images being to humiliate and degrade the victims.

Further grim details of Falders offending, including sharing and distribution of vile and depraved abuse material, were described on the third day of his sentencing hearing.

Falder was only snared after an NCA-led investigation, with help from GCHQ, the United States Homeland Security Investigations, and law enforcement in Israel, Slovenia, Australia and New Zealand.

Charting the exceptional gravity of the case, prosecutors invited the judge to consider a discretionary life sentence for highly manipulative Falder, of Edgbaston, Birmingham.

The hearing continues.
The Prince of Wales has met one of the newest recruits to the Mercian Regiment  a ram called Private Derby XXXII.

Despite having a reputation of being feisty, the regimental mascot was happy to be stroked by Charles when he visited a military base to mark his 10 years as colonel-in-chief of the fighting force.

The heir to the throne was introduced to the 20-month-old Swaledale, which only took up its role a few weeks ago, by Ram Major, Corporal Philip Thornton and Ram Orderly, Private Lee Bradbury at Bulford Camp near Salisbury.

The Prince of Wales meets Private Derby XXII, a Swaledale Ram and the Regimental Mascot during his visit to the 1st Battalion the Mercian Regiment (Peter Nicholls/PA)

The Mercian Regiment has been at the forefront of military operations since its foundation in 2007, deploying twice to Iraq and seven times to Afghanistan.

Its capabilities include a light role infantry battalion, an armoured infantry battalion equipped with the Warrior fighting vehicle, and an Army Reserve battalion.

Wearing combat fatigues, black boots and a beret the prince asked Cpl Thornton if the ram was trained and when he was told Private Derby was, asked does he behave himself reasonably well? and was told hes a little bit feisty.
A jury has retired to consider verdicts in the trial of a builder who is accused of kidnapping, raping and slitting the throats of two young women.

Mujahid Arshid, 33, is on trial at the Old Bailey accused of murdering his niece Celine Dookhran, 20, and the attempted murder of a second woman.

The court has heard how Arshid, with the help of labourer Vincent Tappu, 28, snatched the women in July last year and bundled them into a pick-up truck bound and gagged.

Court artist sketch of Vincent Tappu (left) and Mujahid Arshid in the dock of the Old Bailey (Elizabeth Cook/PA)

The defendant allegedly took them to a six-bedroom house he was renovating in Kingston, south west London, where he killed Barclays worker Ms Dookhran and stuffed her body into a freezer.

Jurors have heard how the other woman survived by talking Arshid around after he cut her throat.

But the defendant has blamed the surviving woman for killing Ms Dookhran in a fit of jealousy after he had consensual sex with both of them.

Arshid, formerly of south-west London, denies murder, attempted murder, rape of both women and the previous sexual assault and assault by penetration of the surviving woman when she was about 13.

Together with Tappu, from Acton, west London, he has also pleaded not guilty to the womens kidnap and possession of a taser.
Boris Johnson will raise the plight of Rohingya Muslims with de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi on a visit to Burma.

The Foreign Secretary described the suffering the people have endured as one of the most shocking humanitarian disasters of our time.

Speaking ahead of the trip, where he will visit a refugee camp on the Bangladesh-Burma border near Coxs Bazar, as well as northern Rakhine, Mr Johnson said the man-made tragedy was one that could be resolved with political will.

More than 600,000 men, women and children are estimated to have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh following persecution from the Burmese military in their native state of Rakhine, which began in August.

Mr Johnson will raise the plight of Rohingya Muslims with Burmas de facto leader Ms Suu Kyi (Paul Faith/PA)

The plight of the Rohingya and the suffering they have had to endure is one of the most shocking humanitarian disasters of our time, Mr Johnson said.

This is a man-made tragedy that could be resolved with the right political will, tolerance and co-operation from all those involved.

I want to see and hear for myself the terrible things these people have been through, and I will be talking to State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and other regional leaders about how we can work together to resolve this appalling crisis.

His visit comes after Reuters news agency said two of its journalists were arrested by Burma police while reporting on a massacre of 10 Rohingya men in Rakhine state.

On the four-day trip, Mr Johnson will also travel to Bangladesh  the first official visit by a foreign secretary in a decade  where he will meet Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmud Ali.

He will go on to Bangkok, Thailand, for talks with Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, and will also meet the chair of the Advisory Board on the Rakhine Advisory Commission, Surakiart Sathirathai, the Foreign Office said.
The Prince of Wales met one of the newest recruits to the Mercian Regiment  a ram called Private Derby XXXII  when he visited Bulford Camp near Salisbury.

Charles was at the military base to mark his 10 years as colonel-in-chief of the fighting force.

The Prince of Wales inspects troops and meets Private Derby XXII, a Swaledale Ram and the Regimental Mascot during his visit to the 1st Battalion the Mercian Regiment Peter Nicholls/PA Wire

The 20-month-old Swaledale ram, who has a reputation for being feisty, was happy to be stroked by Charles (Peter Nicholls/PA)

The Prince of Wales meets Private Derby XXII, a Swaledale Ram and the Regimental Mascot during his visit to the 1st Battalion the Mercian Regiment Peter Nicholls/PA Wire

The Prince of Wales inspects troops during his visit to the 1st Battalion the Mercian Regiment to mark 10 years as its colonel-in-chief and 40 years since becoming colonel-in-chief of the Cheshire Regiment (Peter Nicholls/PA)

Its capabilities include a light role infantry battalion, an armoured infantry battalion equipped with the Warrior fighting vehicle, and an Army Reserve battalion (Peter Nicholls/PA)

The Prince of Wales during his visit to the 1st Battalion the Mercian Regiment to mark 10 years as its colonel-in-chief and 40 years since becoming colonel-in-chief of the Cheshire Regiment. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Friday February 9, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Charles. Photo credit should read: Peter Nicholls/PA Wire

He spent time chatting to recruits ... (Peter Nicholls/PA)

The Prince of Wales inspects troops during his visit to the 1st Battalion the Mercian Regiment (Peter Nicholls/PA Wire)

Prince Charles also rode in a Warrior Tracked Armoured Vehicle... (Peter Nicholls/PA)
A drug dealer caught with more than 700,000 in cash stashed in the walls of his home and more than 2.5 million of heroin and cocaine has been jailed for 13 years.

Daljinder Bassi was arrested by the Organised Crime Partnership (OCP), a joint project between the Met Police and the National Crime Agency, along with officers from West Midlands Police as he drove along the M6 with three kilos of heroin in his car in October last year.

The 36-year-old used his house to cut, package and store large quantities of class A drugs before distributing to dealers in the West Midlands.

More than 2.5m of heroin and cocaine was found at Bassis home in Wolverhampton. (National Crime Agency/PA Wire)

After searching the property on Stafford Road in Wolverhampton, cash and class A drugs in powder, rock and block form were found hidden under floorboards, beneath the loft insulation and within wall cavities.

The National Crime Agency said the cash hidden in the walls was only accessible from the loft using a home-made pulley system.

Officers seized 737,000 in cash and a further 22kg of heroin, cocaine and mixing agents. The total drugs recovered would have had a total estimated street value of 2.5 million.

Bassi admitted three counts of possession with intent to supply class A drugs at a previous hearing and was jailed at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Friday.

Class A drugs and cash were found under floorboards, under loft insulation and inside wall cavities. (National Crime Agency/ PA Wire)

Matt McMillan, from the Organised Crime Partnership, said: Bassi was a major distributor of class A drugs in the West Midlands.

By shutting down his illegal enterprise, not only have we eliminated a key link in the chain between high end traffickers and street level dealers, but a huge amount of cash has been removed from the criminal economy.
South Korean player Kim Geguri Se-yeon is set to become the first female player in the Overwatch League.

Reports suggest she will join the Shanghai Dragons alongside two other signings  Lee Fearless Eui-seok and Cheon Ado Ki-hyun.

Geguri is best known for her off-tank play and in particular her ability on Zarya for which she has been touted as one of the best in the world.

A trio of South Koreans have moved to Shanghai team (PA Archive)

BREAKING: Geguri set to join Shanghai Dragons, will become Overwatch League's first female player, sources say - https://t.co/gFlDjnGR2P pic.twitter.com/H637v6L13P  ESPN Esports (@ESPN_Esports) February 6, 2018

The Chinese organisation has had an abysmal start to life in the Overwatch League. Heading into the final week of the first stage, the Dragons sit rock bottom of the table having failed to win a single match this season.

They sit bottom with no wins and nine defeats, having only won six maps in total and having lost 36. The Dragons have one game left to play, but it is against the Los Angeles Valiant who are in solid form which means they are expected to finish the first stage with an undesirable 0-10 record.

So close to our first win today. But still a wonderful and intense game with @DallasFuel. Want to thank all the fans who give us the energy, we will keep fighting in the coming match with @LAValiant at 8pm on Feb.9.  pic.twitter.com/oZYhqNRaLt  Shanghai Dragons (@ShanghaiDragons) February 8, 2018

There are likely to be teething issues with three South Korean players joining the Dragons, who are all from China.

None of the Korean players speak Mandarin and equally, none of the existing Dragons speak Korean. It has been reported that all three incumbent players will learn as much Mandarin as they possibly can before they arrive to join the team.

Communication in esports is incredibly important and learning a whole new language to mesh with a team is not going to be easy.
A serial conman who pretended his family died in the Grenfell Tower fire to obtain thousands of pounds in relief funds is likely to be released from prison before the one year anniversary of the tragedy.

Fraudster Anh Nhu Nguyen, 53, was jailed for 21 months at Southwark Crown Court for his two-week web of deceit which saw him receive about 11,270 from charities and Kensington and Chelsea Council (RBKC).

Nguyen spun a cruel tale to family liaison officers and journalists, describing in detail how he and his family wrapped themselves in sheets and towels before he lost sight of them in the smoke-clogged stairwell.

His deception spread to the highest level, with Nguyen seen shaking the hand of the Prince of Wales when he visited a relief centre to show his support.

But the day after the June 14 fire, which killed 71 people, the fraudster was seen on CCTV at a housing charity nine miles away appearing happy and lighthearted, prosecutors said.

On Friday at Southwark Crown Court Judge Philip Bartle QC told Nguyen, who showed no reaction as he stood in the dock, that he would serve half his sentence in jail.

File photo dated 17/06/17 of Grenfell Tower in west London, as former Labour leader Ed Miliband and a resident of Grenfell Tower who prophesied the disaster are to join a new commission scrutinising social housing in Britain.

Taking into consideration the seven months he has spent behind bars, this could see Vietnam-born Nguyen released in mid May.

The judge dismissed claims from a psychological report read by Nguyens barrister Keima Payton, that part of his motivation was to feel part of a group, to be looked after, wanted and welcome.

He said: The offences to which you have pleaded guilty are ones which you committed knowing full well what the consequences were. I do not accept that the acts were in some way an attempt to be part of a community and that you were in some way reaching out in order to be embraced by that community.

I am sure from everything I have seen that despite your low IQ you knew full well what you were doing, you knew that you were taking advantage of these genuine victims at this terrible time of this terrible tragedy.

Nguyen has an astonishingly low IQ that places him in the bottom 2.5% of people in Britain, Ms Payton said.

A psychological report also found he was suffering from long-term, untreated post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and low empathy, she added.

She said Nguyen had been attacked a number of times while behind bars, adding that she was in no doubt that a recent severe beating had left his body riddled with bruises and cuts.

Judge Bartle said the effect the deceit had on the local community and Nguyens previous criminal record were both aggravating factors in deciding his sentence.

He emphasised this was in no way a victimless crime, citing those directly affected by the Grenfell Tower fire, local volunteers, the public, the local council and the police as victims.

One former tower resident, whose statement was read out in court, said: The actions of these fraudsters have totally ripped the heart and faith out of the Grenfell Tower community and I personally have lost the little trust I had in the system.

A local volunteer, Loubna Aghzafi, said the fear of encountering fraudsters led to her and others becoming cautious, adding: This is not how we wish to work because we just want to help real survivors.

Undated handout file photo issued by the Metropolitan Police of Anh Nhu Nguyen, a serial conman who pretended his family died in the Grenfell Tower fire to obtain about 12,500 meant for the victims.

The court also heard how one man, was forced to give a statement explaining his father, who died in the fire, lived in one of the flats Nguyen had claimed to inhabit, which had caused him extreme distress.

The court was told Nguyens previous appalling criminal record spanned from his teenage years in 1983 to the present day.

He has 28 previous convictions for 56 offences spanning more than 30 years, including theft, dishonest offences, arson and grievous bodily harm.

Some 26 of these are for matters of fraud and dishonesty.

Nguyen was born in Vietnam, has been in the UK since the 1980s, is not a British citizen and has 17 aliases.

Judge Bartle said his past offending showed a consistent pattern of lying.

At a hearing in November, he admitted two counts of fraud by false representation and one count of making an untrue statement for the purpose of obtaining a passport.

He obtained two laptops, a mobile phone, food, clothes and toiletries as well as cash.
The Royal Navys new 3 billion aircraft carrier has arrived in Gibraltar for its first overseas port visit.

The 65,000-tonne warship has called in at the British Overseas Territory for a routine logistics stop having left its home base of Portsmouth, Hampshire, for helicopter trials.

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said: As the Rock casts its shadow over the flight deck of our world-class aircraft carrier, Gibraltar rightfully marks HMS Queen Elizabeths first overseas stop as she refuels and takes on supplies before continuing her sea trials.

The Royal Navys new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth on its way to Gibraltar (L(Phot) Dave Jenkins/PA)

Im sure our friends in Gibraltar will be proud to see our future flagship sail through British waters into their famous port.

Commanding officer Captain Jerry Kyd: It is a great privilege for me to be bringing our new aircraft carrier into Gibraltar for her first ever overseas port visit.

Gibraltar is the perfect stop for HMS Queen Elizabeth as we conduct our flying trials in the waters off the Iberian Peninsula.

And our visit also underlines the incredibly rich history and special relationship the Royal Navy and Royal Marines share with Gibraltar.

Since departing the UK for the first time since being commissioned into the Royal Navy, HMS Queen Elizabeth and its ships company of 1,000 men and women have been undergoing training in dealing with a series of lifelike exercise scenarios including fires, floods, man overboard drills and a simulated crash on deck.

The governor of Gibraltar, Lieutenant General Edward Davis, said: I wish HMS Queen Elizabeth and her crew Godspeed as they make us all proud to be British.

The carrier reached a major milestone last week when a Naval Air Squadron embarked in the ship for the first time.

And for the first time, a tandem-rotor RAF Chinook helicopter was stowed in the carriers hangar which is large enough to house the 99ft-long helicopter even without its rotors folded.

The commander of British Forces in Gibraltar, Commodore Mike Walliker, said: It is utterly appropriate and no surprise that the Rock is the first port of call for the ship as she embarks on an exciting journey which has taken her from the builders yard to eventually assuming her rightful position at the vanguard of the British fleet.

There is never any doubt in a sailors mind that Gibraltar is the Mediterranean home from home of the Royal Navy, as the Rock has been for centuries now, and will continue to be the maritime gateway to everywhere.

The ship was escorted into Gibraltar by the Royal Navys Devonport-based Type 23 frigate HMS Somerset.

On leaving Gibraltar HMS Queen Elizabeth will return to sea to conduct helicopter trials with the specially equipped Merlin and Chinook aircraft from the Aircraft Test and Evaluation Centre at MoD Boscombe Down.

These tests will be followed by further trials with the fixed wing F35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter off the east coast of the USA later this year.
Agreement on a transition period to smooth Britains exit from the EU is not a given, Brussels chief Brexit negotiator has warned.

After the latest round of talks between officials in Brussels, Michel Barnier said three substantial disagreements remain over the transition, expected to last around two years after withdrawal in March 2019.

Declaring himself surprised by the UK stance, Mr Barnier said Britain had to accept the ineluctable consequences of its own decision to quit the EU.

Mr Barnier also warned that checks at the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic will be unavoidable under Theresa Mays plans for the UK to leave the single market and customs union.

He confirmed that Brussels is drawing up a legal definition of the regulatory alignment that must continue between Northern Ireland and the EU to avoid the creation of a hard border.

London had provided no proposals for the kind of technological fix which could get around this, he told a press conference in the Belgian capital.

The EUs publication of a position paper on the proposed transition deal provoked fury from Mr Davis, who branded the document discourteous and unwise.

But Mr Barnier said he could not understand the uproar in London over the position paper.

There is no wish whatsoever to punish, he said. We are trying to draft an international agreement on a solid basis that can be effectively implemented.

Mr Barnier said it was clear that three substantial points of difference remain between the two sides visions of how the proposed transition period would work, said Mr Barnier.

These were:

 The UKs refusal to guarantee permanent rights to EU nationals who come to live and work in Britain during the transition period

 The UKs demand for a right to object to the application of any new EU rules and laws introduced during the transition period

 Britains wish to continue participating in the development of new policies in the area of justice and home affairs during the transition

Disagreement also remained over references to European Court of Justice jurisdiction in the withdrawal agreement, which Brussels regards as essential for the deal to be credible and sustainable, Mr Barnier said.

He added: To be frank, I am surprised by these disagreements. The positions of the EU are very logical, I think.

The UK wants to enjoy the advantages of the single market, the customs union and common policies. It has therefore to accept all the rules and the obligations until the end of the transition. Thats very logical.

It also has to accept the ineluctable consequences of its decision to leave the EU, to leave its institutions and its policies.

Unlike after previous negotiation rounds, Mr Davis did not travel to Brussels for a joint press conference with Mr Barnier.

Instead he responded in a statement claiming that Brussels was trying to have it both ways over the transition by setting up a dispute resolution mechanism but dismissing a UK push for safeguards.

Given the intense work that has taken place this week it is surprising to hear that Michel Barnier is unclear on the UKs position in relation to the implementation period, he said.

The UK was seeking a time-limited period that maintains access to each others markets on existing terms.

He said that for any such period to work, both sides will need a way to resolve disputes in the unlikely event that they occur.

But there is a fundamental contradiction in the approach the Commission is taking.

Today they acknowledged that a way to resolve disputes and infringements is needed. Yet at the same time they dismissed the UKs push for reasonable safeguards to ensure our interests are protected. It is not possible to have it both ways.

He said the UK wanted to stay the closest of friends and allies with the EU and it is in that spirit that the UK continues to approach negotiations with the commission.
Lexus China sales surges 45% YoY to 13,677 units in January

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Lexus, the Japanese automaker Toyota Motor's luxury vehicle brand, sold 13,677 vehicles in China last month, jumping 45% year on year.



The monthly sales of its hybrid series reached 4,095 units in January, accounting for 30% of total Lexus' China sales. The cumulative sales of the hybrid power models have already exceeded 150,000 units in China.

As to models, the major driving force was ES with 5,764 units delivered last month. Besides, January sales of RX and NX reached 2,679 units and 2,813 units respectively.

The brands two flagship models, all-new LS and all-new LC, have already received 1,247 orders in total since they went on sales last month.

Lexus boasted a year-on-year sales growth of 22% with an annual sales volume of 132,864 units in China throughout 2017, hitting a record high of annual sales in this country. Leading sales for the lineup was the ES sedan, followed by the NX and RX crossovers.

On February 8, Lexus China's new executive vice general-manager Hitoshi Ohtake revealed that in 2018, the company will focus on improving the brand image and optimizing the supply chain management to achieve a sound development of the whole value chain.
Sinn Fein and the Democratic Unionists are hammering out details of a potential deal that could end Stormonts 13 month powersharing crisis.

Northern Irelands two main parties were locked in negotiations through Friday, scrubbing a scheduled round table meeting with the regions smaller parties, amid mounting speculation an agreement may be in sight.

On Friday evening, Sinn Fein and the DUP acknowledged progress had been made toward a breakthrough but insisted issues remained. Both parties said the talks process should conclude next week.

Party president Gerry Adams, who will step down from his leadership role on Saturday, said: It isnt sorted out as we speak. We have made some progress but there are still considerable obstacles but as I said to our unionist friends, this is the last chance agreement.

They need to embrace the need for rights for everybody and agree a space where we can all moderate our differences.

DUP leader Arlene Foster said progress had been made (Brian Lawless/PA)

Arlene Foster added: We have had a very intensive week of discussions. Progress has been made.

We have more work to do. I have set out the parameters for a deal. It must be fair and balanced.

Our negotiating team will continue working next week. I want to see Ministerial led government restored to Northern Ireland.

I hope that can be achieved by devolved Government and will work towards that end.

Stormonts five main parties had been due to meet for round table discussions with Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley and Irelands deputy premier Simon Coveney at Parliament Buildings in Belfast on Friday afternoon.

The DUP and Sinn Fein did not attend, with Mrs Bradley telling the other participants the meeting would not proceed as planned because the main parties were involved in intense exchanges elsewhere in the building.

The episode has fuelled expectation of a possible breakthrough.

Meeting lasted around 30 mins.  David Young (@DavidYoungPA) February 9, 2018

The parties are working to end an impasse that has left Northern Ireland without a properly functioning devolved executive for more than a year.

The last DUP/Sinn Fein-led coalition imploded last January amid 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 main sticking point preventing the restoration of an executive is the Irish language.

Sinn Fein want a stand-alone piece of legislation to protect speakers  an Irish Language Act  but the DUP has long insisted it would only countenance new laws if they also incorporate other cultures, such as Ulster Scots.

Finding a compromise resolution to the thorny language dispute that will satisfy both parties is key to unlocking the Stormont deadlock.

SDLP Leader Colum Eastwood and MLA Nicola Mallon (Niall Carson/PA)

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said it was clear the negotiations were an exclusive two-party process, adding: The SDLP are not here to window dress but we want to be constructive.

Ive told both governments when the two-party process is concluded and they are ready to engage in five-party negotiations, the SDLP will be ready to negotiate.

With a hard Brexit coming down the tracks that will cause economic, social and political chaos to our island, I also stressed to the Irish and British governments the need for the formation of a government urgently.

Everyone across these islands is talking about the threat of a hard border, yet here we have a political vacuum.

A Ulster Unionist Party source said: Sinn Fein and the DUP are clearly running these talks and the two governments are just bystanders.

Mary Lou McDonald will formally be selected as Gerry Adams successor on Saturday (Brian Lawless/PA)

Substantive negotiations between the two main parties are unlikely to continue through the weekend as Sinn Fein is holding a special party conference in Dublin on Saturday to formally select Mary Lou McDonald as Mr Adams successor as president.

The DUP is also traditionally averse to doing business on Sunday.
Catastrophe star Rob Delaney has revealed his two-year-old son Henry has died.

The actor and writer, 41, said his family were devastated following the toddlers death from cancer in January in a lengthy statement on Facebook.

Henry had surgery and treatment to remove a brain tumour shortly after turning one in 2016 before the cancer returned last autumn.

He had been left with significant physical disabilities by the tumour, Delaney said, but had quickly learned sign language and developed his own method of getting from A to B shuffling on his beautiful little bum.

His drive to live and to love and to connect was profound, he added.

I am astonished by the love-in-action displayed by Henrys mom and his brothers.

They are why I will endeavour to not go mad with grief. I dont want to miss out on their beautiful lives. Im greedy for more experiences with them.

Delaney called Henry a joy and praised the NHS nurses and doctors, home carers and charity workers who helped during his illness.

Writers and stars of Catastrophe Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney (Jonathan Brady/PA)

He was smart, funny, and mischievous and we had so many wonderful adventures together, particularly after hed moved home following fifteen months living in hospitals, he added.

He said he was desperately sad and urged people to help other families in the UK with sick children by supporting the Rainbow Trust or Noahs Ark organisations.

Our family would be in much worse shape right now if it werent for them. I would also urge you to take concrete and sustained action to support the NHS, however you can. Do not take it for granted.

The NHS nurses and doctors and the home carers and charity workers who helped our family survive Henrys illness will be my heroes until the day I die. I am desperately sad right now, but I can say with authority that there is good in this world.

Thank you, beautiful Henry, for spending as much time with us as you did. We miss you so much, Delaney added.

Last year the US star, who lives in London, said it would be bad parenting if he moved back to the States with his children in the current political climate.

He said he was concerned about US President Donald Trumps stance on healthcare, and will not return.

In the United States of America you could be denied healthcare if you have a pre-existing condition, which can literally include has had a child, Delaney told the Radio Times.

It would be bad parenting for me to bring children back to that country.

He said: Im crazy about London, I love it so much. I love the NHS. I love the BBC. I love the Tube. I love the bus. I love tea. I love bacon sandwiches, I really do.
Donald Trump has said that a former aide accused of domestic abuse by two ex-wives did a very good job at the White House.

The US president added: We certainly wish him well.

Mr Trump emphasised that former staff secretary Rob Porter maintains his innocence, and the president made no mention of the women who have reported physical and emotional abuse.

It was his first comment on the allegations against Mr Porter, who had been one of his most trusted staffers until this week.

Mr Porter resigned after his ex-wives allegations became public.

Mr Trump offered his sympathy, saying: Its a, obviously, tough time for him. He did a very good job when he was in the White House. And we hope he has a wonderful career.

A number of US politicians have criticised White House Chief of Staff John Kelly (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

The president said he was sad to learn of the allegations, but added: As you probably know, he says hes innocent. And I think you have to remember that.

The comments came the day after White House chief of staff John Kelly tried to assure staff that the Trump administration takes domestic violence very seriously.

But there are growing questions about how Mr Porter managed to maintain a position of high influence despite the allegations.

Mr Porter, who was arguably Mr Kellys closest aide, cleaned out his desk on Thursday.

The fallout from his resignation reverberated amid concerns about his access to classified information and about how long senior staffers had known about the allegations.

Mr Porter has denied the allegations, calling them outrageous and part of a co-ordinated smear campaign.

Though the accusations against Mr Porter became public this week, Mr Kelly learned last autumn that something was amiss with the staff secretarys attempts to get a security clearance.

The chief of staff had sought information about the status of security clearance applications for senior aides, and it was then he learned there were allegations against Mr Porter from his ex-wives.

Mr Porter and Mr Kelly later discussed the allegations, and White House counsel Don McGahn was informed of at least some of the accusations at least four times, including in January 2017.

In November, one of Mr Porters ex-girlfriends called Mr McGahn to describe allegations of domestic abuse against him.

A White House official said staffers felt misled about how Mr Porter downplayed the allegations, both to Mr Kelly and Mr McGahn.

Mr Kelly himself faced criticism for initially defending his aide  only to later shift course after the publication of photos showing one of Mr Porters ex-wives with a black eye.

Its fair to say we all could have done better over the last few hours or last few days in dealing with this situation, said White House deputy press secretary Raj Shah on Thursday.

Mr Kelly sent a memo to staff late on Thursday saying that while we are all processing the shocking and troubling allegations made against a former White House staffer, I want you to know that we all take matters of domestic violence very seriously.

He said: Domestic violence is abhorrent and has no place in our society.

When the allegations first emerged against Mr Porter a number of senior aides rallied around him, and the White House acknowledged that personal relationships may have played a role in their response.

Communications director Hope Hicks, who was dating the staff secretary, helped draft the original statements defending him.

Mr Kelly, meanwhile, was Mr Porters loudest defender, including in the first hours after the graphic photos of alleged abuse emerged.

Mr Shah said that Mr Trump was not aware until Tuesday of the accusations against Mr Porter, who was a frequent presence in the Oval Office and helped craft last weeks State of the Union address.

A number of politicians criticised Mr Kelly, and a leading womens group called on him to resign.

"White House Chief of Staff John Kelly must resign. His pathetic defense of staff secretary Rob Porter reveals his true naturean enabler of sexual abusers, a betrayer of trust and an avoider of responsibility." Read NOW's latest statement here: https://t.co/CdwJrxT89a  National NOW (@NationalNOW) February 8, 2018

Both of Mr Porters ex-wives have detailed the nature of the abuse they said they suffered at his hands and said they informed the FBI.

One of them, Jennifer Willoughby, posted about it in detail on Instagram in April 2017 and wrote of Mr Porter: When I tried to get help, I was counselled to consider carefully how what I said might affect his career.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has warned it is too early to make comparisons between Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Thierry Henry.

Club-record signing Aubameyang shone on his Gunners debut last weekend, scoring in a 5-1 victory over Everton.

The Gabon international has taken the number 14 shirt at Arsenal previously worn by Henry  the clubs all-time leading goalscorer.

Henry scored a record 228 goals during two spells at Arsenal. (Owen Humphreys/PA)

Having joined the club from Borussia Dortmund on transfer deadline day, Aubameyang compared his style to Henry and said the Frenchman is an example to strikers.

Ahead of Arsenals north London derby against Tottenham at Wembley on Saturday, Wenger urged caution over likening the pair  although he was pleased Aubameyang has set such lofty aspirations.

It is an ambitious statement but it is a good one, he said.

1 Arsenal appearance

1 Arsenal goal



This place is feeling like home already, right @Aubameyang7?  pic.twitter.com/cDwlOyPt5p  Arsenal (@Arsenal) February 3, 2018

(Henry is) the best goalscorer ever in Arsenals history, so it doesnt mean he will score as many goals but why not?

I would say (Aubameyang is most like) Thierry Henry with his quality of runs. But its a bit too early to compare him to the best player ever who played here.

He has played one game. But its a good example to follow. His finish was brilliant. His finishing is good. You dont score by coincidence for so many years, if you score many goals.

Aubameyang scored on his Arsenal debut against Everton last week (Victoria Jones/PA)

Aubameyangs goalscoring record at Dortmund was impressive, 98 goals in 144 Bundesliga appearances, but Wenger also knows that does not guarantee goals in the Premier League.

What we have observed is that the transfer nowadays from the goals scored in other leagues does not necessarily transfer 100 per cent to the English Premier League, he said.

When we played at Swansea, we played against 10 men in the last 25 yards and that doesnt exist anywhere in Europe. To be as prolific in the Premier League is today much more difficult.
By Navodya Weligamage

The smile of a baby brings joy and happiness to everybody in the family, including the parents. The parents are awaiting their newborn with millions of expectations and heartfelt love. How would it feel if the parents get to know their newborn is Autistic? Yes, it is true that the arrival of an autistic child disrupts the entire family life. It is necessary to organize differently to accommodate this child with different behaviour. But how do you know if its autism?



Before you come to any conclusion, it is very important to have a wide knowledge of this disorder. First, we must know what autism is.



There are plenty of definitions on this special disorder. However, we could identify Autism as a severe and early developmental disorder of the child appearing before the age of three. It is characterized by isolation, disruption of social interactions, language disorders, non-verbal communication and stereotyped activities with restricted interests. Usually present in infancy, autism spectrum disorder may appear more prominently when entering school.



Autism spectrum disorder is characterized by significant difficulties in two areas, says the website of the Quebec Federation of Autism which adds, that is, communication and social interactions and behaviors, activities and restricted or repetitive interests. Each person with ASD is therefore different, unique, with a set of signs and symptoms. In addition, events can also change over time, and it is often said that there are as many forms of autism as autistic people!

Autism affects three main areas of the child

Social interactions

Communication, both verbal and nonverbal

Behaviour, with repetitive, stereotyped gestures, rituals, narrow interests

What is social interaction?

Interaction plays an important role in ones life when it comes to his or her social life. Without interacting with others, we would not have a better social life. The neurological disorders such as autism disturbs the development of the child and prevents him from building up better relationships with others. The main reason for this is that people with autism will tend to over-interpret or not understand some formalities of everyday life. In the same way, the behaviours induced by this disease are therefore often poorly adapted and poorly understood by people not yet sensitized. People with autism seem to have difficulty in attributing emotions, thoughts and feelings to other people. It must be understood that someones thinking is essential for community life. For example, we know how a child feels when the ice cream cone in ones hand drops! People with autism have great difficulty in recognizing another persons emotional states, as much as they fail to interpret their own emotions, making social interactions very complex.



What to expect

The childs behaviour will sometimes be inappropriate in the interactions between the child and the parents, but also in a less private situation.The child, who does not understand his environment, risks isolating himself or herself from everyday interactions. It will be very difficult for a person like this to make friends or join groups. Also the child will have difficulty in understanding the socially shared rules (do not make inappropriate comments, etc.). Sometimes we see some of the parents find it very difficult to deal with the inappropriate comments of their autistic child. It is important to have better knowledge of his or her behaviour otherwise, he or she will be helpless.



Also the child will not use his non-verbal abilities (gestures and facial expressions) to facilitate understanding of ideas. He will not naturally seek the company of his peers and may be refractory to interaction in general. Most importantly, an autistic child will avoid the eyes of people who communicate with him. This greatly disrupts the childs ability to build lasting relationships with others.

Causes

To date, no single cause has been found for autism and it is likely that several different causes may lead to the development of signs in autism.Current research strongly suggests that there are neurological and genetic bases. The risk of developing autism does not depend on the social or educational level of the family or ethnicity.



Identifying that your child is autistic has always been a challenge. Lets have a look at the signs and symptoms of Autism.



Signs and symptoms

Although autism is hard to diagnose before the first 24 months, symptoms often surface between 12 and 18 months. If signs are detected by 18 months of age, intensive treatment may help to rewire the brain and reverse the symptoms. That is why scientists say that it is important to identify an autistic child. According to helpgide.org, the earliest signs of autism involve the absence of normal behavioursnot the presence of abnormal ones so they can be tough to spot. In some cases, the earliest symptoms of autism are even misinterpreted as signs of a good baby, since the infant may seem quiet, independent, and undemanding. Some autistic infants dont respond to cuddling, reach out to be picked up, or look at their mothers when being fed.



If your baby doesnt:

Make eye contact, such as looking at you when being fed or smiling when being smiled at

Respond to his or her name, or to the sound of a familiar voice

Follow objects visually or follow your gesture when you point things out

Point or wave goodbye, or use other gestures to communicate

Make noises to get your attention

Initiate or respond to cuddling or reach out to be picked up

Imitate your movements and facial expressions

Play with other people or share interest and enjoyment

Notice or care if you hurt yourself or experience discomfort

As a parent, youre the best person to identify any situation your child is in. There is no one who knows your child better than you. Perhaps you would think that it is the responsibility of the pediatrician. No it is not! You are the one who is responsible for your childs betterment. A quick visit to your pediatrician doesnt allow him to identify all the signs and symptoms of any kind of disorders specially autism. If you are a parent or parent to be, it is your duty to make yourself well educated. The key is to educate yourself so you know whats normal and whats not.



Here we give away the keys to widen your knowledge on this topic. According to scientists and Britannica.com, what you are supposed to do is:



Monitor your childs development.

Autism involves a variety of developmental delays, so keeping a close eye on whenor ifyour child is reaching the key social, emotional, and cognitive milestones is an effective way to spot the problem early. While developmental delays dont automatically point to autism, they may indicate a heightened risk.



Take action

Every child develops at a different pace, so you dont need to panic if your child is a little late to talk or walk. It can be natural as well as unnatural. When it comes to healthy development, theres a wide range when using the word normal in everyday conversation. But if your child is not meeting the milestones keeping with his or her age, or you suspect a problem, share your concerns with your childs doctor immediately. Dont wait!



Dont accept a wait-and-see approach.

Many concerned parents are told, Dont worry or Wait and see. But waiting is the worst thing you can do. You risk losing valuable time at an age where your child has the best chance for improvement.

(The writer can be reached at weligamagenavodya@gmail.com)
DHAKA (REUTERS): Bangladeshs Central Bank will file a lawsuit against a Philippines bank over its role in one of the worlds biggest cyber-heists two years ago, a deputy governor said on Wednesday.



Unidentified hackers stole US $81 million from Bangladesh Banks 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 three months in connection with the reserve theft, Bangladesh Bank Deputy Governor Abu Hena Mohd. Razee Hassan told Reuters.



We are in talks with the Federal Reserve Bank and SWIFT to join us as they are also victims, he added.



For its part, RCBC said the cyber heist was an inside job and Bangladesh Bank was engaging in a cover-up by maligning it.



Bangladesh Bank should stop making RCBC its scapegoat, the Philippine bank said in a statement.



RCBC has revealed everything it legally could to the Senate and to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, referring to the Philippine central bank.

SWIFT spokeswoman Natasha de Teran declined comment, saying SWIFT does not comment on customers.



Reuters reported in December that Bangladesh Bank had asked the New York Fed to join a lawsuit it was considering filing against RCBC seeking damages.



After two years, there is no word on who was responsible and Bangladesh Bank has been able to retrieve only about US $15 million, mostly from a Manila junket operator.

The Philippine Central Bank fined RCBC a record one billion pesos (US $20 million) in 2016 for its failure to prevent the movement of the stolen money through it.



RCBC has blamed rogue employees and Philippine prosecutors have filed money laundering charges against a former RCBC bank manager and four people who owned the bank accounts where the funds were sent, but are not identifiable since the accounts were in fake names. They are the only people to be formally cited anywhere in the world in association with the crime.



RCBC has said it would not pay any compensation to Bangladesh Bank and the Dhaka bank bore responsibility for the theft since it was negligent.
In a hard hitting letter to the two pro-LTTE British MPs, who demanded the withdrawal of Defence Attache Brigadier Priyankara Fernandos diplomatic status, Minister Navin Dissanayake yesterday said Brigadier Fernando enjoys diplomatic immunity for actions performed within the embassy premises and that it was most disturbing and offensive to witness protesters being allowed to carry flags belonging to the LTTE in the UK where the organisation has been banned.

The letter addressed to British MPs Joan Ryan and Siobhain McDonagh by the minister identified himself as the son of late Gamini Dissanayake, a presidential candidate who was assassinated by the LTTE and was the deputy leader of the UNP at the time.

My father was assassinated by the LTTE, the political wing which both of you surreptitiously support. The LTTE has been banned in your country and has been designated as a terrorist organisation by many countries including yours.

February 4, marks the Independence Day of Sri Lanka and is a day of joy and celebration to all Sri Lankans. The front organisations of the LTTE, which both of you support, gathered a few hundred supporters to protest outside our embassy in the UK on this day. What is most disturbing and offensive to us Sri Lankans was the carrying of the LTTE flag and the abusive and vituperative comments made by the protesters, he said.

He said Brigadier Fernando was within the premises of the Sri Lankan Mission and his acts cannot be questioned either diplomatically or legally because he enjoys full diplomatic immunity for acts done within the embassy compound.

This tradition is the accepted practice in diplomatic regulations and the tradition is followed everywhere. As the protesters behaviour was offensive to Sri Lanka, Brigadier Fernando who is a vigilant officer of the Sri Lanka Army pointed to the lion emblem in his uniform to countenance the disgust he felt when he saw LTTE flags displayed in front of him, he said.

Dissanayake said both the MPs have been carrying out a deeply hateful, vindictive and offensive campaign against Sri Lanka.

At a time when brutal terrorism has been eradicated and all communities are building bridges to live as one nation, the MPs continued support to front organisations of the LTTE is self-serving and pathetic, he pointed out.

Tell your contacts in these front organisations to contribute to their own brethren in the north and east without continuing to fuel the flames of hatred and ethnic division. Sri Lanka needs a real sense of reconciliation without individuals like you trying your utmost to belittle the real achievements that are taking place on the ground. In any event, we stand with Brigadier Fernando steadfastly and he will continue as our Defence Attache in the UK, he said.
Sri Lankan employees at the Emirates Group came together to offer their compatriots greetings and share their thoughts on Sri Lankas 70th anniversary of independence.



Their heart-warming one minute video, titled Celebrating Sri Lankas Independence Day where they share their national pride and poignant memories of home, can be viewed on Emirates YouTube page. The Sri Lankans featured in the video represent several Emirates Group departments including airport services, flight catering, corporate communications marketing and brand, engineering and dnata.



Dubai is a second home to thousands of Sri Lankans. Emirates Group currently employs more than 1,350 Sri Lankans who are an important segment of our truly multinational employee base, contributing to the success of our company in their diverse roles. Emirates ties with Sri Lanka span over three decades, and we are proud to contribute to Sri Lankas continued economic development through the provision of air transport links that facilitate tourism and trade, and supporting thousands of jobs directly and indirectly throughout the aviation and tourism supply chain, said Emirates Commercial Operations (West Asia and Indian Ocean) Senior Vice President Ahmed Khoory.



Emirates relationship with Sri Lanka dates back to the launch of the airline, with Colombo becoming the fourth destination on its network, which today numbers 155 destinations. Emirates commenced operations to Sri Lanka in April 1986 and now operates a total of 35 flights a week from Colombo, 28 flights westward to Male and Dubai and seven eastward to Singapore.
The European Parliament has confirmed that Sri Lanka, Tunisia and Trinidad and Tobago were on the European Commissions blacklist of countries at risk for acts of money-laundering.

In a statement, the European Parliament on Wednesday said despite intense efforts by some Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), they have failed to achieve the 376-vote absolute majority needed to reject the inclusion of Tunisia, Sri Lanka, and Trinidad and Tobago in the European Commissions list of non-EU countries considered to have strategic deficiencies in their anti-money laundering and terrorism financing regimes.

The vote on Wednesday reflected the split in Parliament over the issue, with 357 votes in support of the motion to 283 votes against and 26 abstentions, it said.

As part of its obligations under the EUs Anti-Money Laundering Directive, the European Commission is periodically obliged to draw up a list of high-risk third countries.

European Parliament has veto power over the blacklist, which is one of the tools in the European Unions armoury to protect its financial system against money laundering and terrorist financing.

In mid-December, in line with its custom of following the lead of the international Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the Commission has decided to include Sri Lanka, Tunisia and Trinidad and Tobago to its blacklist.

In a statement to Parliament on Monday, the Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, Vera Jourova, declined some MEPs requests to de-list Tunisia as one of the blacklisted countries
China and India have a complex and prickly relationship: a consequence of geography, history and recent experiences between the two.

An unresolved territorial and border dispute led to a brief war between the two countries in October 1962 and the humiliation of India in that confrontation remains part of its collective national memory. This reality shapes Indias response to Chinas increasing influence and power in the region today.



When it comes to assessing national power, the differing trajectories of Chinese and Indian gross domestic product (GDP) since 1960 and the current disparity between them is quite stark. In 1960, Chinas GDP was half that of Indias. In 2017, Chinas nominal GDP is estimated to be US $ 11.8 trillion, while Indias is closer to US $ 2.45 trillion. China has successfully risen and some expect it to displace the United States as number one within a decade.



Despite this, democratic India remains the intangible challenge in Asia for Beijing.



Indias efforts at enabling the birth of Bangladesh in December 1971 stoked a deep anxiety in China and Beijing came to the conclusion that India had to be contained within the subcontinent and kept in a state of extended disequilibrium.



This geopolitical template provides the context for the strategic partnership that China has maintained with Pakistan since the early 1970s. Beijing has used its comprehensive economic and military capability to enhance its footprint in Indias neighbourhood, including in Bangladesh and most recently the Maldives. Most of these states have become heavily dependent on China rather than India for their economic and military needs  partly because of the difference in the two countries military and economic power.



Bangladesh illustrates how growing Chinese power has shrunk Indias profile. Over the past decade, China has displaced India as Bangladeshs largest trading partner  in 2015, imports from China (including Hong Kong) were 27 percent of Bangladeshs total imports, while India held closer to 12 percent. The Bangladeshi military is also importing material from China (including submarines). So two of Indias closest neighbours  Pakistan and Bangladesh  are becoming more dependent on Beijing, compounding Indias security dilemma.



But Chinas strengthening military relationships in the region and an unresolved India and China on the Doklam plateau from June to August 2017 are only part of Indias security challenge.



Chinas investment in the aims to help it overcome the Malacca dilemma, in which most of its energy supply needs must pass through the Straits of Malacca. The Chinese investment in ports along the Indian Ocean littoral has often been described as a string of pearls and both Gwadar in Pakistan and the Chinese military station in Djibouti indicate a near-permanent Chinese presence in the Indian Ocean.



So how has this spread of Chinese power affected India?



The Indian response to the spectrum of challenges presented by Chinese power is multipronged. Doklam is a reflection of the current Indian resolve to act unilaterally and remain firm, even if China adopts an intimidating posture.



At the bilateral and multilateral levels, Indias Modi government is exploring new partnerships, particularly in the maritime domain. Good order at sea and freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific is now packaged as a collective security objective and China is being encouraged to come on board.



Indias bilateral partnerships with the United States and have acquired a visible naval and maritime sheen and the possibility of this evolving into a with Australia as a partner has been endorsed by President Donald Trump on his recent trip to Asia.



If this acquires greater military and policy credibility, then a diamond necklace could emerge  stoking the Malacca dilemma in an unambiguous way.



Much will depend on the domestic politics in the four democracies  India, Australia, Japan and the United States  and the degree to which their corporate and security elites harmonise their views about how to manage China.



But the exigency to constrain China by suasion will not unfold in a linear manner, nor is it set in stone. The USChina relationship is more opaque and deeply intertwined than it publicly appears. Trumps five-nation tour through Asia in November 2017 and its outcome will offer valuable cues about how Beijing under a more confident Xi will use its power and the degree to which can accommodate it.



Whether China becomes more revisionist or is willing to maintain an evolving status quo in global affairs will have significant regional implications that will shape Indias response in the longer term.



(Chitrapu Uday Bhaskar is a retired Indian Navy Commodore and Director of the Society for Policy Studies, New Delhi)
China January PV sales increase 7.1 percent year on year

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Chinas passenger vehicle sales reached 2,224,306 units, growing 7.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA). The January growth rate of Chinas passenger vehicle sales was much higher than that of last year.

Here, we use passenger vehicle in its narrow sense, which covers locally-produced sedans, SUVs and MPVs, and also includes the export passenger vehicles.

Last month, the gap between sedan sales and SUV sales got narrower. The January sales of SUV reached 1,014,019 units, jumping 14.6 percent year on year. The sales of SUV segment were only 35,000 units less than those of sedan segment. Last month, the sedan sales in China grew by 6.1 percent to 1,049,184 units. The MPV sales slumped 20.9 percent from a year earlier to 161,103 units.

In January, FAW-VW was first on the top 10 passenger vehicle automakers with a total sales volume of 237,022 units. Changan Ford failed to enter into the list while GAC Honda became a new entrant on this list. With 114,371 vehicles handed over, Changan Auto ranked sixth in January.
Sri Lanka, a country strategically positioned in the Indian Ocean, is well in the spheres of attention of the world powers.

China, on the one hand, has linked up with Sri Lanka for Strategic Partnership Cooperation.

Envisaged here is the collaboration for Chinas Belt and Road Initiative that seeks to enhance greater connectivity with the rest of the world.

Against the backdrop, there is the emerging ally of the United States, India, Japan and some other western nations to counterbalance power over the worlds crucial sea lanes that bestride Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean region. These sea lanes account for trading in a bulk of the worlds high value items such as fuel, motor vehicles and electronic items.

As such, the country is in the spotlight as the world economic powers pursue super power goals. These countries leave no stone unturned in their diplomatic efforts to stop Sri Lanka from being driven to the sphere of dominance of each other.

In an interactive session with a group of journalists from the countries with strategic positioning in the Indian Ocean, Japanese Professor Shin Kawashima of Tokyo University speaks about his countrys perspective on the Indian Ocean policy. Here are his views to the questions raised by the journalists:

Excerpts:

Q: Whenever the Japanese leaders visit Sri Lanka or any other country for that matter, they stress on the free and open Indo-pacific policy. What does it really mean?

A: At first, the Trump administration of the United States does not pay strong attention to this area. As you know, the Obama administration showed some cooperation for this area in the fields of economy and security.

In fact, US President Barak Obama requested Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to make a new network of security. Abe visited Australia many times. Abe had strong ties with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In economic field, Abe and other leaders pursued Transpacific Partnership (TPP).

These were done for multi-lateral cooperation in these areas. The intention was to keep the present norm and to counter China. However, US President Donald Trump does not pay attention to such a multilateral network.

Trump is basically for bilateral cooperation with Japan and so son. Actually, he also has mentioned India-Pacific, but nobody knows the contents of India-Pacific. India has also proposed such Indo-pacific policy. That is all to keep the norm and to counter Chinese expansion.

Q: Here, China says categorically that it is pursuing only economic interests. Then, why are other countries so worried about it?



A: If Chinese expansion is only for commercial purposes, there will be no problem. It is perfectly alright then.

However, Chinese aim is to combine economy with security. More than ten years ago, the Chinese government distinguished between the two.

Now, there is combination of the two. Abe knows it, but he proposed a new policy on China, that is not the cooperation on security field, but on economic field with China.

If the Chinese expansion is only for commercial purposes, there will be no problem. It is perfectly alright then. However, Chinese aim is to combine economy with security. More than ten years ago, the Chinese government distinguished between the two. Now, there is a combination of the two

Q: How do you support your argument that China combines economy with security matters?

A: The President Xi also said that China utilizes economic power for its diplomacy. And I had the opportunity of interviewing many Chinese officials and scholars. It is simple. Originally China set the purpose of foreign policy on economic development itself, but in about ten years ago, China changed it to sovereignty, security and economic development

Q: You visited Sri Lanka earlier. According to your meetings with the Sri Lankan leaders, what is their attitude towards your policy?

A: I understand that Sri Lanka is feeling the need to strike a balance between India and China.

When I went to Sri Lanka two years ago, I understood that Sri Lanka faced some threats from India. India has bigger power in this region, so Sri Lankas perception was understandable. Japan can inject some form of balance between the two. The United States isnt so positive here to do anything in this point. Also, Japan cannot provide big aid or assistance to Sri Lanka, like China. Therefore, it is natural for Sri Lanka to approach China. Sri Lanka can maintain the balance. It is not a problem. Sri Lanka should remain alert to the Chinese attitudes.

Chinas attitude towards Nepal is changing strongly after the earthquake.

Q: In what way is it happening?

A: Originally, China was not so aggressive to Nepal. China was paying attention to Indias attitude towards Nepal. When the earthquake happened, India supported Nepal so much, but China found that there were rooms that China could support to Nepal. It is a great chance for China.

China is a later addition to the super power status. It is natural for China to adopt such policies.



Q: Actually, China has invested a lot of money in Asia and Africa. China argues that it has legitimate right to protect these investments. How do you see it?

A: If China has invested in economic projects, it is not a problem. China has a lot of money. Japan also welcomes Chinese investments. But, Chinese enterprises that join the foreign projects are mostly state-owned.
This weeks State of the Union (SOTU) address by American President Donald J. Trump offers instructive lessons on CEO communication.



Immediately after his address, Trumps job approval rating shot up from 32 percent to 42 percent (CNN). His detractors will be quick to point out that his tweets will bring down this figure in no time.



In his address, Trump had to accomplish at least three goals: fire his base to come out and vote at the mid-term elections in November  globally, parties in power tend to lose mid-term elections; soften his rival party lawmakers (Democrats) to support his agenda  at least in part and unite the country after his divisive rhetoric over the past two years.



Through a careful analysis of his speech, I will attempt to arrive at a conclusion whether or not Trump achieved these three communication objectives.



Responding to stakeholders



Trump usually pitches to his base  the affluent, xenophobic and losers of globalisation (lets call them LOGLOs: Americans whose jobs have been exported overseas or taken over by foreigners at home). He did not let these three groups down.



He commented on his tax cut, which mostly benefits the affluent  according to some reports, the top one percent gets 83 percent of the tax benefit. He also articulated tough immigration policies and fair trade deals that would delight the xenophobic and LOGLOs.



Therefore, Trump has no doubt helped his Republican lawmakers to sell these policies and accomplishments in their home constituencies and thereby win votes in November. Since Trump spoke mainly to his base, it remains to be seen how the rest of the US electorate would respond to him in the weeks and months ahead  especially since most Americans are not wealthy, xenophobic or LOGLOs.



Appealing to emotions



Trump succeeded in appealing to both sublime emotions as well as base emotions of human beings through effective storytelling. For example, by showcasing the humanity and generosity of a police officer who adopted the child of a female drug addict, he showed the Americans exemplary human values.



On the other hand, Trump appealed to the Americans fear or dark side by scaring them with a story of how children of illegal immigrants killed two teenage girls. However, it is creditable that most of Trumps stories appealed to the higher angels of Americans.



Adding value to stakeholders



Audiences expect leaders to add value to their lives. This is done through sharing of knowledge, insights and experience.



In the SOTU, Trump referred to tax cuts, new job growth, low unemployment rates, return of some manufacturing jobs to the US, modernising infrastructure and renegotiating trade deals, as some of his value additions to his stakeholders.



However, there were no new announcements that would benefit rank and file Americans: this was a lost opportunity for Trump.



Instilling confidence in leader



Leaders speeches must inspire confidence in their leadership and ability to realize their vision. Trump alluded to his actions to deregulate industries and repeal of Obamacare as examples of his leadership. It must be noted that these actions are  at best  controversial to most Americans. Therefore, these statements might further fragment, not unite, the American people.



Dealing out optimism



Leaders are dealers in optimism: optimism about their organisations, optimism about their people and optimism about their collective future. Although Trumps speech started and ended on a positive note, the address lacked optimism. He seemed to be bored to be there. This lack of optimism was accentuated by his sombre tone.



Articulating core values



CEOs are chief expressive officers of organisational values. Like most past US presidents, Trump too articulated some of the core values of the US: dreaming, hard work, achievement, etc. However, since some of his personal values are anathema to some Americans, Trump was wise to stick to the values that most Americans can agree with.



Staying on message



Staying on message is a critical skill in CEO communication. Trump is notorious for his off the cuff comments and controversial tweets. However, in the SOTU address, Trump stuck to his script on the teleprompter. His staff must have been relieved that he did this.



On a more serious note, this shows why it is very important for CEOs to read off a script when they are announcing something very important, serious, difficult, divisive or controversial. This eliminates or minimises gaffes that can hurt a CEOs cause.



Body language and controlling nervousness



Body language never lies. Trumps body language indicated that he was not very comfortable delivering the SOTU via teleprompter  he is at his most comfortable best speaking off the cuff: the thing that also lands him in controversy. This was indicated by his continuous pacing back and forth behind the lectern and standing some distance away from the lectern. However, he did well in giving credit to lawmakers by pointing at them to acknowledge their role.



Applause



Leaders are supposed to lead the applause or acknowledge applause. By the same token, leaders are not expected to clap for themselves: this happened many times in the SOTU, where Trump applauded himself or his achievements.



This behaviour might confirm the view of his detractors that Trump is a narcissist. Some of the people Trump recognised knew better than the US president: when recognized, they waived or bowed and acknowledged the applause  which is the correct response.



In closing, given the analysis above, we may conclude that through his SOTU address, Trump achieved the first goal: fire his base. However, he failed to achieve the two other communication objectives: get rival lawmakers on to his side (most Democrats did not clap most of the time) and unite the deeply divided American population.



More importantly, I hope this analysis helped you get a better understanding of the building blocks of CEO communication.



(Yukthi K. Gunasekera is a specialist in CEO communication. He is a linguist with fluency in English, German and Sinhala, with a basic competency in French. He is a US-educated lawyer who also holds a postgraduate diploma in marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing, UK. Encompassing over 10 years of experience in corporate communication at IBM Sri Lanka and John Keells Holdings, his mission is to enable people to live rewarding lives through his proprietary training method Communicate By Objective (CBO). He welcomes reader comments to this article  yukthigunasekera@gmail.com)
Delighted to send my greetings and congratulation to dearest, Emmanuel Cecil Sandrasegara of Mathagal, Jaffna, born on January 24, 1918, gifted and blessed to celebrate his unique journey reaching one-hundredth birthday.



The centenary was celebrated on January 24, 2018, in Colombo.



All his beloved children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, relatives and friends from abroad celebrated the god gifted precious day at the Mount Lavinia Hotel, Sri Lanka.



Late Mr Muthiah Sandrasegara and late Mrs Victoria Chellammah Sandrasegara were orthodox Catholic parents of Mathagal and were blessed with four sons and two daughters.



Emmanuel as the third chubby and fair son in the family enjoyed the love and affection of all and became the pet of all.



After completing his secondary education at St Henrys College, Illavalai Emmanuel joined the Bank of Ceylon very early in life and served with exemplary records and retired in September 1976 after serving his full term.



His honesty, punctuality and hard work appreciated by his Superiors enriched with promotions and he received the highest respects from his colleagues and juniors.



Mathagal is a village in the Jaffna Diocese, where St Joseph Vaz preached the Word of God and converted many to Christianity.



The Catholic inhabitants built a church in honour of St Anthony and invoked his blessings.



Emmanuel having inherited his faith in God from his parents became deeply religious in his faith and in St Anthony Patron of Mathagal.



Cecil Emmanuel better known as Sinnathamby in Mathagal and among his relatives cherished a long fruitful life by the graceful blessings of Saint Anthony.



Emmanuel married Mangiairkarasy and both were blessed with one daughter Ratneswary and two sons Raveendran and Pullen ran.



Being a devoted husband and affectionate father, educated his children and brought them up in the fear of God, instilled in them noble qualities to blossom in their lives.



A man of sound character with virtuous qualities ever cheerful with pleasant and charm disposition, greeting everyone with his radiant smile. He is always there to serve others voluntarily in their needs and never spoke harsh words or ill of others. Very talented to entertain his friends with witty jokes and laughter by relating their family history and spirits up all at parties even being a teetotaler.



His priority in life is to attend all weddings when invited and to be there always for all the funerals of friends, relatives, and every known person in the village.



His life was not that rosy. He lost his beloved wife Mangai and his daughter Ratnes but his faith in God and St Anthony sustained him in all his trials and triumphs.



The Late Augustine Sandrasegara, the elder brother of Emmanuel, who was working as Govt. Officer in Kayts often visited our home in Karampon to renew the family relationship with my mother Thangarasam Soosaipillai.



In fact, his mother late Mrs Chellammah Sandrasegera called Akka by my mother brought the marriage proposal for my sister Clinett to Dr Joe Peter from Green Shade, Mathagal and he became my bro-in-law.



As an Extraordinary Eucharistic Minister of Holy Communion from St Lawrences Parish, I was privileged to visit Emmanuel at the Elders Home in Wellawatte and offer him to receive Holy Communion on 1st Fridays.



May Lord Almighty shower choicest Blessings on Emmanuel and grace him Good Health and Long life.

S.B.David

Colombo 06.
The recent nabbing of a frozen pangolin in the kitchens of a Chinese restaurant in the heart of Colombo has shed a much-needed spotlight on the importance of curbing the illegal exploitation of these shy mammals, which are a globally endangered species and nationally a near threatened one.



There are four species of pangolin restricted to Asia. The one found in Sri Lanka is the Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) and is commonly called the scaly anteater (Sinhala: Kaballawa, Aya; Tamil: Alungu). Pangolins can be identified by the distinctive scales, which cover their entire body and they are found in both the wet and dry zones of Sri Lanka.



Although pangolin meat, scales and bile have been used extensively in traditional Indian and Southeast Asian medicines, there is no evidence that pangolins in Sri Lanka were hunted for medicinal or Ayurvedic purposes. In Sri Lanka, pangolins are prized as bush meat. They usually get entangled in traps left for other animals such as porcupines and are consumed by local communities. There is no past evidence to suggest that a roaring illegal trade was present in the country.



Increasing market demand



Today, the Indian pangolin in Sri Lanka is under severe hunting pressure due to the rising demand for its scales and meat in East Asian markets, especially in the Chinese markets, according to the IUCN Red List 2018. The scales are either used whole or in powdered form in traditional medicines and as curios. The Indian pangolins skin has also been used in leather manufacturing, particularly as footwear.



The market demand in the species available in Sri Lanka is driven even more today by the fact that the numbers of the Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) and the Malayan pangolin (Manis javanica) have significantly fallen due to trafficking, forcing smugglers and illegal traders to look towards alternative species of pangolin, like the one present in Sri Lanka.



Booming illegal trade



It is suspected that the Indian pangolin populations worldwide will fall by at least 50 percent by 2039, if the demand and supply continue to rise unchecked. The IUCN has estimated that pangolin trade in just the last decade has seen over a million individuals crossing international borders, giving this shy mammal the dubious title of Worlds Most Trafficked Mammal.



The market price for pangolins has been known to start at US $ 600 (Rs.100,000) for a kilogramme of scales and a kilogramme of meat can sell for anything upwards of US $ 250 (Rs.40,000). These values are double what they were in 2008, indicative of the growing demand.



According to the Environmental Investigation Agency, the known seizures of pangolin scales since December 2016 total more than 14 tonnes worldwide and around 20,000 individual pangolins may have been hunted to supply this amount. This is the conservative estimate and its alarming.



Last year, the Customs Department of Sri Lanka reported four cases of pangolin products being caught at Bandaranaike International Airport. In each case, the smugglers destination has been Chennai, India. The largest pangolin-related bust in Sri Lanka took place last year as well, when police in Kalpitiya discovered 130 kilogrammes of pangolin scales in the possession of five persons in a house near the Kalpitiya lagoon. Wildlife experts estimate that approximately 150 pangolins may have been killed to extract the skutes. Police reported that these scales were earmarked for export to India.



Pangolins are nationally protected in Sri Lanka by the Flora and Fauna Protection (Amendment) Act No. 22 of 2009 (included in Schedule ll). The National IUCN Red List (2012) lists it as a Near Threatened species in the country. It is listed as endangered in the Global IUCN Red List. This makes it illegal to hunt and be in possession of a pangolin or pangolin products within country borders (or any other wildlife or flora protected by the ordinance), and perpetrators stand to face penalties including fines and imprisonment.



A wake up call



The pangolin has never really penetrated into the publics consciousness as a mammal which needs conservation in quite the same way that elephants or leopards have. This may be due to the fact that it is rarely seen by humans, being an elusive nocturnal eater of ants and termites. They also rarely survive in captivity. Only six zoos in the world have any, making it a mammal that is relatively unknown, especially in the West.

The recent nabbing of the frozen pangolin in Colombo has sparked public interest in protecting the local biodiversity and authorities such as the Wildlife Conservation Department should use the momentum created to strengthen efforts to protect this scaly mammal. The crackdowns must come fast and strong, in order the nip the growing local demand in the bud.



The Sustainable Development and Wildlife Ministry and other research bodies need to take up the mandate of carrying out more research regarding the numbers and habits of the pangolin in Sri Lanka. If not, we stand to lose this beautiful creature before we have even understood it.

The scourge of illegal wildlife trafficking has placed many species under enormous threat. The fight against it must become equally powerful in order to prevent mass extinctions in our generation.



(Amayaa Wijesinghe works as a research assistant at SLYCAN Trust. She studied biological sciences at the Zoology and Environment Sciences Department of the Faculty of Science, University of Colombo. Her research interests lie in the role natural ecosystems can play in helping the planet face climate change and is currently carrying out research on policies for adaptation and mitigation)
There is a growing clamour for corporations to innovate across their products, markets and customer offerings. As a result of globalization, in order to survive, companies have to go beyond the norm by investing in product innovation, market research, scientific testing and quality analysis to develop high-quality products at the lowest cost while bringing them to the market in the shortest possible time. A company that found success in streamlined testing, Auxenta, is instrumental in assisting organizations to ride the wave of innovation. Establishing its credentials in quality management and testing services, Auxenta is helping telcos, financial services and independent software vendors to deliver flawless products and services with an enhanced customer experience. As a result of its clearly superior solutions, Auxenta was featured in the CIO Review amongst 20 most promising quality management solutions providers of 2017.

A key strength of Auxenta is its ability to assess the maturity of QA processes through a strong set of quality consultancy services. Its test automation frameworks and tools empower non-technical QA engineers to develop test automation scripts, which act as an accelerator for test automation with improved quality. The company is investing in building teams with high-end QA and testing skills.

Chandana Ranasinghe - Co-Founder and COO of Auxenta elaborates: Auxenta's open source-based solution possesses the capability to build tools that can meet specific test automation needs. Using SpecFlow, Auxenta's test automation framework defines, manages, and automatically executes human-readable acceptance tests using behavior driven development and testing (BDD) technique. It describes the behavior of clients systems using human-readable syntax, which is then bound to the application code to automate the testing of the system. Based on the current maturity level, Auxenta develops a roadmap for the client and systematically leverages Test Maturity Model integration (TMMi) to enable a testing center of excellence and establish or enhance the QA CoE.

Auxentas quality management and testing services facilitate a wide range of testing solutions to achieve never-before cost-effective software products. The companys diverse testing services comprises of several core offerings designed to complement an organization's existing quality assurance activities, including test automation, performance testing, mobile application testing, and enterprise QA services. Auxenta assists clients to streamline API testing for a smarter and faster delivery as enterprises increasingly convert their traditional single-tier applications to multi-tier API-based applications.

The company proved its expertise while helping an Asian telco to export over 1,000 internal APIs. The client was facing major hurdles while exporting the APIs as a service  since each of them had to go through a series of tests before being exposed to the market. The clients traditional methods of manual testing were taking up to one year. Taking on the challenge, Auxenta developed a state-of-the-art API test automation tool specifically for this requirement and was able to automate the testing of more than 1,000 APIs. This tool not only brought down the time taken for testing from one year to less than a month, but it also enabled reusable capability. As a result of Auxentas expertise, the telco now possesses the ability to modify the developed APIs, revamp the tools, and instantly certify the APIs - helping them drastically reduce issues for end customers.

Auxentas proven QA framework boasts cutting-edge methodology and innovative QA tools. These are aimed at increasing the capacity of organizations, such as independent software providers as well as in-house clients end customers, to meet market demands while sustaining high quality. Auxenta's vast portfolio not only covers consultation and development services for mobile applications, but also spans software development and testing services in all areas such as .NET and Java.

By leveraging Microsoft Dynamics line of software applications, the company has further demonstrated expertise in functional consultancy as well as application development in CRM and ERP platforms. As a forerunner in innovation, Auxenta pioneered a Bitcoin-based solution in Sri Lanka using Block-chain Technology.
THE HINDU, 08th FEBRUARY, 2018-Amid growing calls internationally for the Maldivian government to abide by the rule of law, human rights organisations working in the region have strongly condemned the recent developments in the Indian ocean island.



South Asians for Human Rights (SAHR) said it was deeply concerned at the political crisis engulfing the Maldives, following President Abdulla Yameens increasingly authoritarian and undemocratic actions.



It said, Mr. Yameen stands accused of multiple charges of corruption and human rights violations  allegations that he has denied in the past  the human rights organisation noted that the strongman President has been politically isolated.



The Maldives has been witnessing a heightening political crisis since February 1 when the Supreme Court delivered a major ruling ordering the release of nine Opposition leaders, including exiled former President Mohamed Nasheed. On February 5, Mr. Yameen declared a state of emergency, citing security concerns. While the Chief Justice and a Supreme Court judge were arrested soon after, the remaining three judges on Tuesday annulled the portion of the order releasing dissident leaders.



SAHR chairperson Sultana Kamal said in a statement that Mr. Yameens actions attacked two key pillars of liberal democracy  Parliament and the judiciary. These acts show blatant disregard for rule of law and have justly drawn both international criticism and local protests in Male.
New Zealand business delegation to visit Sri Lanka this April





The recently signed Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement has been able to create a lot of enthusiasm among New Zealand companies operating in Singapore, India and Middle East to look for opportunities in investing in Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka-Australia-New Zealand Business Council (SLANZBC) said.



In this backdrop, a New Zealand trade delegation is scheduled to visit Sri Lanka this April.



Consul General and Trade Commissioner for New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, Ralph Hays said Sri Lankan enterprise is being viewed as an attraction and a compelling investment opportunity, particularly in augmenting the global supply chain.



The trade mission is set to take place in April and will provide Sri Lankan businesses the opportunity to participate in B2B meetings and forge business partnerships with New Zealand delegates.



Currently 15 New Zealand companies have signed up for the trade mission with keen interest in entering the Sri Lankan market.



Amongst the products that delegates seek to promote in Sri Lanka are Information Technology, infrastructure, manufacturing, healthcare, and food and beverage.



With more delegates expected to come aboard the trade mission, the promotion of more products is anticipated. This being the third consecutive trade delegation from New Zealand speaks of its market success, SLANZBC said in a statement.
The government today confirmed that former Sri Lankan Ambassador to Russia Udayanga Weeratunga has been released by the UAE authorities but he has been prevented from leaving the territory of the UAE until investigations are concluded.

In a joint statement, the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Law and Order Ministry said Mr. Weeratunga was intercepted in the UAE on Sunday 4th of February 2018 when he attempted to leave to the United States.

This arrest was made on the basis of a Blue Notice issued by the Interpol. The purpose of this notice was to trace and locate Mr. Weeratunga as a person of interest in a criminal investigation. However, as the law in the UAE and the rules governing Interpol blue notice prevented the continued detention of Mr. Weeratunga, he had been released by the UAE authorities subsequently, the statement said.

It said Mr. Weeratunga presently remains in the UAE and the Police in the UAE are investigating this matter. Mr. Weeratunga has been prevented from leaving the territory of the UAE until the conclusion of these investigations, he said.

In the meantime, the FCID, which is investigating the allegations and complaints against Mr. Weeratunga in Sri Lanka, are working with the Interpol in Abu Dhabi on this case, the government said.

The Sri Lankan Embassy in Abu Dhabi has also retained Lawyers in the UAE specializing in immigration matters to advice the Government of Sri Lanka on this matter. Moreover, a delegation of Sri Lankan officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Attorney Generals Department and the FCID are presently in the UAE having discussions with the concerned authorities in the UAE with the aim of having Mr. Weeratunga deported to Sri Lanka to answer the allegations leveled against him, the statement said.
AFP: US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson welcomed Chinese state councillor Yang Jiechi to Washington on Thursday as the worlds two most powerful diplomats talked trade, drugs and North Korea.



Yang is in Washington for two days at a time when relations between the top powers are dominated by the North Korean nuclear stand-off and President Donald Trumps concerns about their trade imbalance.



His first port of call was the State Department, where he held closed door talks and had a working lunch with Tillerson, who is keen to keep China on board with a diplomatic push to force Pyongyang to negotiate its own nuclear disarmament.



During the meeting, both sides reaffirmed President Trump and President Xis commitment to keep up pressure on North Koreas illegal nuclear weapons and missile programs, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.



They discussed the need to achieve a fair and reciprocal bilateral economic relationship, and shared approaches to stemming the flow of deadly narcotics, she added.



Yang told Tillerson that the two countries could address trade disputes by further opening their markets to each other and making a bigger cake of cooperation, the official Xinhua news service reported after the meeting.

Washington is also pushing China to support Trumps maximum pressure drive to force Pyongyang to abandon its quest to build nuclear-armed long-range missiles capable of hitting US cities.



We hope that China will do more because we know that they can do more in terms of adhering to UN Security Council resolutions and sanctions that have been put in place against North Korea, Nauert said.



In the talks, however, Yang apparently stuck to Chinas long-standing position that the issues on the Korean peninsula should be solved through dialogue and negotiation, Xinhua reported, implying that Washingtons approach could damage peace efforts.



Nauert said some diplomatic conversations are best kept private but noted that: We have a frank exchange of ideas and information, and our viewpoints. Our president has made it very clear his concerns about trade imbalances, thats the kind of thing that comes up.



Chinas long-standing trade surplus with the United States grew 10 percent last year to $276 billion, a sum Trump finds intolerable, and senior officials from both countries are in talks to try to head off a trade war.



Were not seeking an adversarial relationship with the government of China, Nauert said.



We are simply identifying actions that China has taken that undermine a rules-based order.



Washington is also pushing China for more cooperation on cutting off the flow of synthetic drugs and chemical precursors used in the production of narcotics to Latin America, as these are often smuggled into the United States and fuel an epidemic of opioid addiction.
We are soon going to have a clash between President Donald Trump and international law. This is predictable when one examines the presidential discourse over what to do about North Korea and its possession of nuclear-tipped rockets. He has threatened fire and fury which doesnt sound like the opening words of the UNs Charter: We the peoples of the United Nations determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war..and to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintainedand for these ends to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbours.



There should be no question that if the Charter is followed that Trump cannot legally make a pre-emptive strike, be it either nuclear or conventional, unless war is imminent because of threatening moves by the antagonist. He could only do it legally, as a self-defensive move, if North Korea was seen actually preparing for an attack - which can be judged from ultra-aggressive troop movements or the loading (which takes some time) of liquid fuel into rockets.



For Trumps part he should stop doing things that provoke North Korea and make them feel that the US is practising for a preventive strike, such as holding military exercises close to its borders. That is not, as the Charter says, taking effective measures for the prevention and removal of the threats to peace, and for the suppression of acts of aggression.



Up until the end of the nineteenth century politicians were convinced that every state had the customary right to embark upon war whenever it pleased. Statesman would recite a host of justifications for war: to retrieve unpaid debts, territorial incursion, dynastic disputes, regional destabilization, the pacification and civilizing of colonies-to-be, honour etc. Wars in this period were given legitimacy in political not legal terms. Few go along with this today. War can only be for self-defence.



The US managed to persuade the member nations of the UN Security Council to approve the going to war with Iraq when it seized Kuwait to grab its oil fields. Legality was important to President George H.W Bush.



On the eve of the Second Gulf War his son, George W. Bush, brushed aside legality, refusing to accept calls to wait until the UNs arms inspector, Hans Blix, had ascertained whether Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. After the US/UK invasion when it became certain that Bush and the UKs prime minister, Tony Blair, had bent the evidence and Saddam Hussein had no weapons of mass destruction there was no effort by the UK/US to admit to wrongdoing.



With the UNs Anti-Torture Convention- which two previous conservative leaders of the US and UK, Ronald Regan and Margaret Thatcher, decided to ratify- there was a legal dance by Bush and Blair to avoid its restrictions. Bush and Blair did not refute the Convention. They simply argued that torture was not torture as practised. Waterboarding and other forms of what most of us would describe as torture were no more than enhanced interrogation.



Later, Bush junior and President Barack Obama extended the self-defence argument to the use of drones to pick off leaders of Al Qaeda. The Charter is clear: self-defence is only allowed in emergencies before the Security Council has had time to consider the crisis. Then, if the Security Council deems that a country has been attacked, it can use all the resources of itself and its allies to repel the invader. North Korea is not creating such an emergency.



In an impressive and balanced new book, How To Do Things With International Law the American legal scholar, Ian Hurd, writes that the US and UK interpretation of self-defence can make the ban on war look more like an authorization of the use of force than a constraint upon it.



This interpretation, writes Hurd, has evolved under the influence of strong states. Nevertheless, the Charters power and standing is still acknowledged in principle by the big powers and thus it is more difficult for states to engage in wars of aggression, profit, the defence of democracy, and humanitarianism. At least we can say that these days certain categories of war are not acceptable, even by the big powers.



Bush rode over the UN Charter on one of its central points. So did President Bill Clinton when he invaded ex-Yugoslavia and later Kosovo in an attempt to end the murderous civil war and to roll back Serbian influence. So did President Vladimir Putin with his invasion of Crimea.



Bush, Blair, Clinton, Obama and Putin were all in the wrong. They didnt understand that international law is a necessary contribution to a stable and peaceful world.



Tragically, it is becoming obvious that Trump might well give it the hardest knock of all.

For 17 years the writer has been a columnist and commentator for the International Herald Tribune/New York Times.
Didi Chuxing releases its first intelligent driving video

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing (Didi) released its first intelligent driving video at its annual meeting. From the video, Didi's CTO Zhang Bo, sitting in the passenger seat, experienced this intelligent driving with a staff sitting in the drivers seat with his hands off the steering wheel.



The video records that the vehicle completed some smart operations relying on the mapping localization and in-vehicle sensors' detection, such as making a turn, bypassing obstacles and other vehicles.

On January 26 this year, Didi announced that it has opened an artificial intelligence lab (AI Labs) in Beijing that will work on technologies for the company's intelligent traffic initiative.

According to Didi, the lab will explore AI technologies to meet the challenges in AI field. The company stated that the AI Labs will focus on areas ranging from machine learning, natural language processing, speech recognition, computer vision, operational research, statistics and other promising technologies.

According to relevant information, the driverless vehicle project of Didi was initiated one year ago.

Didi is not the first company who releases intelligent driving videos. In July 2017, a video pulled from the live stream of a technology conference showed Robin Li, CEO of Baidu, riding in the passenger seat of an autonomous vehicle on Beijing's 5th Ring Road. This video attracted a lot attention very soon. Besides, Pony.ai also released its first batch of videos to the public, which recorded some of routine vehicle tests without human manipulation in October last year.

A few days ago, Li Xiaopeng, Minister of China's Ministry of Transport revealed at a conference that the Ministry is formulating a technical regulation about driverless vehicle operations and has already started building a testing base. Meanwhile, it unites with other relevant departments to draw up guidance documents of driverless vehicle test.
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Honda has confirmed that the new 2018 Amaze, a pre-production prototype of which is on display at the Auto Expo 2018, will get an automatic transmission with the diesel engine. The automatic gear shift duties for the diesel engine in the new Amaze will be handled by a CVT, in what is going to be a first for Honda.

The Japanese carmaker has also revealed that the new Amaze will continue to draw power from the 1.5-litre diesel engine that powers the current Amaze. In its current configuration, it makes a maximum power figure of 100PS and peak torque of 200Nm and is paired with a 5-speed manual transmission. The Amaze petrol is already powered by a 1.2-litre petrol engine with a CVT.

At present, only the Maruti Suzuki Dzire and Volkswagen Ameo sub-compact cars are available in India with an automatic transmission paired with a diesel engine. The Dzire diesel gets an AMT which is not as sophisticated as the dual-clutch automatic transmission that the Ameo diesel gets but is significantly cheaper in comparison. For perspective, the automatic versions of the Dzire and Ameo cost around Rs 47,000 and Rs 1.3 lakh more than their respective manual options. A CVT, which is also available on the existing Amaze petrol, on the other hand, costs around Rs 1 lakh more than the manual variant. We expect the CVT to attract about as much premium in the upcoming diesel Amaze when it is launched here in India.

Currently, the Amaze diesel starts at Rs 6.75 lakh and goes up to Rs 8.5 lakh. Honda offers the CVT in the top three most-loaded variants of the Amaze petrol. If the carmaker takes the same approach, the new Amaze diesel with the CVT will certainly go close to the Rs 10 lakh mark. The top Zdi+ AMT variant of the Dzire costs Rs 9.43 lakh while the Ameo diesel with DSG costs around Rs 10 lakh (all prices ex-showroom).

Source: CarDekho.com
Mumbai: Actress Tamannaah Bhatia has a huge fan following. But popularity comes with its own share of detractors too, as Tamannaah may have recently learnt.

The actress became the victim of a miscreants frivolous behaviour. Recently, a footwear was hurled at Tamannaah by a 31-year-old man at a jewellery store in Hyderabad.

When asked about the same, Tamannaah said, 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, she adds.

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.
The Organisation also revealed that the auditions for Miss India 2018 will commence from February 9.

Mumbai: After traveling across the country as a part of their Beauty with a Purpose (BWAP) Tour, Miss World Organisation along with six continental winners came together with Miss India Organization to celebrate the 55 years of legacy of fbb Colors Femina Miss India 2018 at Carnival Cinemas, Imax Wadala.

The chief guests for the evening included Miss World 2017 Manushi Chhillar , Chairman and CEO Miss World Julia Morley, Miss World Europe  Stephanie Jayne HILL (from England), Miss World Americas  Alma Andrea MEZA CARMONA (From Mexico), Miss World Africa  Magline JERUTO (From Kenya),Miss World Asia  Ha Eun KIM (From Korea), Miss World Caribbean  Solange Johnson SINCLAIR (From Jamaica), Miss World Oceania  Annie Diana EVANS (From New Zealand) and Miss World 2016 Stephanie Del Valle.

The press conference saw 30 school children of Muktangan School representing 30 states sing the National anthem highlighting the fact that this year too the pageant will explore potential talent in all 30 states of India (including Delhi).

This year the mentors include Neha Dhupia (North Zone), Pooja Chopra (East zone), Pooja Hegde (West zone) and Rakul Preet Singh (South Zone).

Speaking at the event Chhillar said that she was elated and excited as her BWAP project which is on menstrual hygiene is being supported by the Miss World Organisation and that it has been started in her home country India.

Chhillar also spoke about how it was Stephanie who crowned her at Miss India as well as Miss World pageant and gave advice to all those contestants that are aspiring to be Miss India.

The Organisation also revealed that the auditions for Miss India 2018 will commence from February 9 with Andhra Pradesh auditions happening at Vizag and the top 3 contestants from every state will proceed to the States Zonal crowning ceremony which will be held in Bangalore (South Zone) on February 24, Kolkata (East Zone) on March 22, Delhi (North Zone) on April 12 and Pune (West Zone) on May 13.

Speaking at the event, Rohit Gopakumar, COO, Miss India Organisation said, 2017 saw Miss Haryana Manushi Chhillar winning the fbb Colors Miss India pageant and she went forth to win the coveted Miss World Title for India after 17 years. With the Introduction of a new format last year wherein state pageant winners compete for the national title has helped Miss India permeate to smaller towns across India, helping young women re-write their destiny.
In the traditional Indian scenario, the patients suffering from importence prefer to conceal the problem and face the consequences rather than seek medical support. (Photo: Pixabay)

New Delhi: Erectile Dysfunction or sexual impotence is a condition where men have trouble in getting an erection, maintaining an erection or witness a lack of sexual desire.

In present times, it is not merely a medical condition but a word which has become synonymous to the 'lack of power' in an individual.

Hence, in the traditional Indian scenario, the patients suffering from importence prefer to conceal the problem and face the consequences rather than seek medical support.

"The cases of erectile dysfunction have risen significantly in the past decade. While men believe that the main cause for the disorder is aging, it isn't necessarily true. Changing lifestyles, stress, lack of exercise excessive smoking and drinking can have substantial impact on a person's sexual health," said Dr. S.S. Vasan, Manipal Fertility, Bengaluru.

"We must also keep in mind that India is the diabetic capital of the world and has high incidence of hypertension and metabolic disorders, which in a way also lead to an increased risk of ED."

Due to the stigma associated with ED, people pursue temporary home-made solutions to the problem rather than gaining a proper understanding of the causes behind the disease.

Apart from a sedentary lifestyle, medical conditions such as heart diseases, type 2 diabetes, chronic kidney disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity and injury to the urinary system, spinal cord or penis can lead to erectile dysfunction.

Moreover, regular intake of antidepressants, antiandrogens, sedatives and hypertension medication can occasionally become the cause of this problem. Age can also play a role in the issue.

"Many researches have revealed that ED is one of the major causes of unconsummated marriages in India, leading to high psychological impact. Patients have the same queries, 'Does this mean that I can never be a father?' 'Is IVF now my only option? Most of the individuals suffering from the disease don't know that there are multiple treatment options available for them. There are implants available where a device is inserted in the penis that can be activated whenever the requirement arises. Moreover, with the advancement of technology, many painless yet effective ways to manage the problem have emerged," explained Dr. Vineet Malhotra, Diyos Men's Health Center

There are many solutions available in the market which are much more effective than 'viagra' or home remedies. Some of them include:

Oral Medications: Certain drugs can help in relaxing the muscles found in male sexual organs, and increase blood flow to the penis, in response to sexual stimuli.

Self-Injections: Sometimes a doctor can prescribe a medication called alprostadil that men are required to inject at the base of the penis. The treatment is painless, as the medication is performed through a fine needle.

Pumps or vacuum devices: Vacuum erection devices involve placing a small cylindrical device that is placed over the penis. It puts negative pressure and pulls blood into the organ, causing an erection. A band is then placed at the base to maintain the erection, which lasts for about 30 minutes.

"The problem is also significantly rising amongst young men between the age groups 30-40, causing a discord in family life. While often ignored, this can have serious consequences on not only physical intimacy but also social relations. If you have the problem, don't be afraid to talk about it, both to your spouse and your doctor," said Dr. Rupin Shah, Lilavati Hospital, Mumbai.

"Moreover, females need to be sensitive about the issue and seek professional solutions rather than breaking off the relationships. Erectile dysfunction is a lifestyle problem which can affect anybody and can be treated in time. So many patients let the problem psychologically affect them, becoming depressed in the process. They need to understand that erectile dysfunction does not mean that the possibility of a happy life has ended."

With the rising incidents of patients with ED, there is a need to understand the problem completely and act accordingly. Individuals must remember that avoiding proper medical condition due to shame or embarrassment will fuel the problem rather than treating it.
While a lot has been discovered about human history over the past several decades, there are still some mysteries that remain unsolved. As experts still try to figure out what details about structures like the Stonehenge, similar cases keep surfacing from time to time.

Sand mounds in Australia were once thought of as abandoned bird nests but it has now been revealed that they were actually graves. The burial sites of indigenous Australians are actually found to have been built before Egypts pyramids.

Hundreds of such mounds have been located on a 60 kilometre stretch on the coast of Mapoon. Local indigenous people have also expressed fear that these structures may be surrounded by ghosts.

Some of the mounds which may contain human remains are up to four metres high. Archaeologists used ground penetrating radar to catch a glimpse of burial practices inside the earth.

Stones, corals and spears have also been found in some mounds which are built on burnt surfaces. This could change the understanding of indigenous burial rites in Australia.
The police has been able to discover that she is a graduate who had come to the city to buy text books and decided to meet her ex boyfriend.

Hyderabad: High drama prevailed at the Hussainsagar Lake at 7 am on Friday, when a woman jumped into the lake in a suicide attempt and two men who saw what she was doing, jumped in after her to rescue her.

The two heroes were an NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) jawan and a police constable who happened to be passing by. As early morning walkers and office goers watched in amazement, the two men without a second thought dived in and attempted to rescue the woman.

The woman, a 29-year-old BEd graduate from Godavarikhani, at first resisted their efforts. Police Constable Yadagiri of the Gandhinagar police, who was first in the water, says he was out on a morning walk with his friends when he noticed the woman. I saw that she was alive and could be saved and I just jumped in. However, it was not easy for me to pull her out as she was resisting, making me also lose my balance in the water.

Noticing the commotion, NDRF constable, Janaiah, who was on his way to office at Mehdipatnam, stopped his bike, and asked if he could help. I noticed that the man (Yadagiri) was unable to get her out and he was struggling so I jumped in to help. We both got her out, said the brave man.

The rescue operation took just three or four minutes, said Mr Janaiah. He said he threw in a cable rope for them to hold on to before he jumped in to help. She was successfully rescued and no CPR was needed as she was conscious, he added.

The woman, whose name is not being revealed, was sent to Bharosa Centre by the Lake police for counselling.

The police have been able to discover that she is a graduate who had come to the city to buy text books and decided to meet her ex boyfriend, a resident of Rasoolpura, with whom she had been in a relationship for nine years. The two had mutually decided to end the relationship as the woman was to be married, but on Friday morning they did meet near old Love Hyd point at the Hussainsagar. No one yet knows what happened and why she jumped into the lake.

Low fence makes it easy to access lake

The fence around the Tank Bund lake is too low, making it easy for people to jump in if they want to, said Police Inspector Dhanalaxmi of the Lake Police station

We come across cases where people book cabs from far off places to commit suicide here. We have written to the concerned authorities to increase the height of the fence to put a stop to this, but in vain. We hope necessary action will be taken now, she said.

The height of the fence must be increased to stop such tragic occurrences, the police say.

Brave act praised, rewarded

Higher officials of IG Battalion and the Police Commissioner of Hyderabad, V.V. Srinivasa Rao, commended the two men who averted the suicide attempt on Friday morning and awarded them `2000 each for their bravery and presence of mind.

We were also told that we will be receiving a letter of appreciation, said Mr Janaiah, an NDRF jawan attached to the 10th Battalion.

The woman would have died within seconds but because of the timely act of the two brave men, she survived, said Inspector Srinivas, Gandhinagar.

I was called by the Commissioner of Police on Friday afternoon who appreciated my bravery and now I will be visiting Lake Police Station as well, where I was called for some more pats on my back, said the proud police constable Mr Yadagiri.
Rajinikanth had all along faced the ire of pro-Tamil parties, including Nam Tamizhar party, for his political entry in a pointer to his non-Tamil Nadu origin. (Photo: File)

Chennai: Ruling AIADMK on Friday took exception to top actor Rajinikanth's remark that the "system" in Tamil Nadu needs to be changed, saying such generalised statements are not acceptable.

"If there is a mistake please point it out, but making generalised remarks is not acceptable," senior party leader and fisheries minister D Jayakumar told reporters in Chennai.

Following up on his "system is rotten" remark in May last year, Rajinikanth on Thursday said that the system needs to be corrected first in Tamil Nadu.

Asked whether his "system is rotten" remark referred to Tamil Nadu alone or the nation in general, Rajinikanth had said "first of all, in Tamil Nadu you have to correct it."

Jayakumar asked the actor, who is set to join politics, to first work with the government to secure the rights of Tamil Nadu in securing Cauvery water from Karnataka.

He asked Rajinikanth not to "provoke" AIADMK, and took potshots at the actor, asking him if he was an engineer as it was only they who talk of 'system'.

The minister dared the actor to make this remark in terrorism-hit regions of the country. Without specifying to any particular state, he said that in view of terrorism in some regions in north India, there was no security in such areas. "Let him set right the system there," he said to a question on the actor's "system" remark.

Targeting Rajinikanth for his "spiritual politics," slogan, the Minister claimed Tamil Nadu is a haven of peace with a commitment to secularism.

Though Rajinikanth had said "spiritual politics" meant a polity beyond religion, caste and a commitment to good governance, the minister asked the actor to clarify what he meant by it.

Referring to the Cauvery issue, Jayakumar recalled the long drawn out political and legal battle, steered by the late Chief Minister 'Amma,' (J Jayalalithaa), to secure Cauvery waters.

Stating that the Tamil Nadu government was working to get the Cauvery waters and secure the "rights" of the state and delta farmers, he alleged that Karnataka was denying release of Tamil Nadu's share of water.

"I appeal to Rajinikanth, let him correct the system there (Karnataka)... if he takes efforts with us to secure our right of 205 tmc ft Cauvery water, it will be a good thing.'

Asked if Rajinikanth should clarify his stand on the Cauvery issue, the Minister said 'yes for sure, he is not talking about it.... let him clarify."

Rajinikanth had all along faced the ire of pro-Tamil parties, including Nam Tamizhar party, for his political entry in a pointer to his non-Tamil Nadu origin.

On May 19 last year, Rajinikanth had said that "Tamil Nadu has good leaders, the system however is rotten."

Last December, the actor had categorically asserted his political entry ahead of State Assembly election.
The SC asked all the high courts to seriously consider establishing child-friendly courts and vulnerable witness courts in each district. (Photo: File)

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday passed a slew of directions for effective implementation of the Juvenile Justice Act and asked the Centre and states to ensure that all positions in national and state commissions for the protection of child rights are filled up.

A bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta also directed the states to ensure that all positions in juvenile justice boards and Child Welfare Committees are filled up expeditiously and in accordance with rules.

Any delay in filling up the positions might adversely impact on children and this should be avoided, the bench said.

The top court also requested the chief justices of all high courts to register proceedings on their own for effective implementation of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.

It asked all the high courts to seriously consider establishing child-friendly courts and vulnerable witness courts in each district.

"The Ministry of Women and Child Development in the Government of India and the State Governments should ensure that all positions in the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and the State Commissions for Protection of Child Rights (SCPR) are filled up well in time and adequate staff is provided to these statutory bodies so that they can function effectively and meaningfully for the benefit of the children," the bench said.

The apex court's judgement came on a PIL seeking implementation of the Juvenile Justice Act and its rules. The petition has raised the issue of alleged apathy by the governments in implementing the welfare measure.
Group Captain Arun Marwah was arrested on charges of providing details of secret Indian Air Force documents to Pakistani spy agency, ISI. (Photo: Facebook | arun.marwaha.39)

New Delhi: The Delhi Police Special Cell arrested Group Captain Arun Marwah on Thursday on charges of providing details of secret Indian Air Force (IAF) documents to Pakistani spy agency, ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence).

The arrest of Group Captain Arun Marwah was confirmed by DCP (special cell) Pramod Khushwah and an FIR has been filed under sections 3 and 5 of the Officials Secrets Act on the complaint by a senior IAF official.

Marwaha, 51, allegedly used his smart phone to click pictures of classified documents pertaining to combat exercises at the IAF headquarters and sending them across via WhatsApp.

The Group Captain had been detained by the IAF for investigation on January 31 after his activities were found suspicious.

According to sources, Marwah had been honey-trapped online by the ISI through Facebook accounts in mid-December. ISI operatives were masquerading as models through these profiles. After being lured through seductive conversations for a week or so, he was enticed to share information pertaining to IAF exercises.

According to a report, cops have not found any evidence of a monetary exchange till now and say Marwaha was passing on classified information after allegedly exchanging intimate messages. The documents mostly comprised training and combat-related air exercises. Gagan Shakti was one such exercise whose details he passed on to the ISI, a source told the paper.

While police remained tight-lipped, reports say Marwaha was produced before the court of Deepak Sehrawat at Patiala House and sent to five days of police custody by the special cell. He is being interrogated at the cell's headquarters in Lodhi Colony in New Delhi and is also being probed if he had any accomplices.

The police now aim to identify the Pakistani handlers and gather more details about the shared documents.

Marwaha's phone has been confiscated and sent for forensic examination. He has confessed to have had access to many secret documents and plans due to his posting at the air headquarters.
Chennai: Sidelined AIADMK leader and lawmaker TTV Dhinakaran on Friday said that "if he wanted, he could get the ruling AIADMK government in Tamil Nadu dissolved".

Exuding confidence, he said his faction will throw out the "anti-Amma people" from the government soon.

Speaking on the Cauvery water issue, Dhinakaran said the ruling AIADMK did not take up the issue properly with the Centre as it did not want to create problems for the BJP in Karnataka which is going to contest the upcoming Assembly elections.

Karnataka Assembly polls are due sometime in April. The term of the 224-member Karnataka Assembly ends in May.

The Bharatiya Janata Party wants to wrest power from the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah-led Congress, which rules the state now.

The ruling AIADMK earlier on Friday expelled over 150 dissidents from the party in the wake of its loss in the December 21 RK Nagar Assembly bypoll, for bringing 'disrepute' to the organisation.

TTV Dhinakaran had won the RK Nagar bypoll, necessitated due to the death of late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in December 2016.
TNAU has figured 28th and 17th place in Overall and Universities categories respectively, by the NIRFof Ministry of Human Resource Development and we are ranked 105 among BRICS nations.

COIMBATORE: Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) and PSG College of Technology have found a place in the Asia University Rankings 2018. The two are slotted under a noteworthy category.

Speaking to DC, Dr K. Ramasamy the vice-chancellor of TNAU said, our TNAU has figured 28th and 17th place in Overall and Universities categories respectively, by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) of Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India (GOI) and we are ranked 105 among BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) nations by the QS World University Rankings of 2018.

The city-based educational institution has witnessed a stage by stage development during the last four years. Curriculum was modified to make it on par with industry standards, external funding for the university has also improved over the last couple of years. Of the 1,100 students who attempted the National Eligibility Test (NET) as many as 480 students cleared the test and qualified for Junior Research Fellowship (JRF).

Ranked at 33 by the National Institutional Ranking Framework in 2017, PSG College of Technology is another college from Coimbatore that has made it to the Asia University Rankings 2018 list. Among the engineering colleges in India, the Coimbatore-based college was ranked at 13 in a survey conducted by India Today magazine in 2017 and 'Outlook India' ranked the college at 17th place in a survey carried out in 2017. The institution has strong industry- institution tie-ups.

We have established a partnership with more than 20 Indian and International companies who have set up their research centers at our campus which enables our faculty and scholars to carry out research Mr. L Gopalakrishnan, managing trustee, PSG Institutions said.

To calculate the top universities in region, Asia University Rankings 2018 used the same 13 university parameters as used by the World University Rankings. This year, over 350 universities from the 25 countries in the region were judged on attributes like teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook.

The study points out that Singapore is home to the continents best universities for the third time in a row.

Maximum number of universities, as many as 89, from Japan have made it to the list this year, making it the most representative from a nation.
Quta was involved in these activities since 2001 and was a member of the LeT. (Representational Image)

Bengaluru: A terrorist of the Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) has been sentenced to seven years rigorous imprisonment by a local court here in a terror financing and money laundering case, officials said today.

Bilal Ahmed Quta alias Imran Jalal, who operated from Karnataka, has also been fined Rs 50,000 by the court, they said. A special PMLA court of Judge Shivshankar Amarannavar pronounced the verdict yesterday.

The case dates back to January, 2007 when the man was arrested with an AK series assault rifle, 200 bullets, five hand grenades and a satellite phone by the Karnataka Police while he was getting down from a bus in Bengaluru.

He was charged with waging war against Government of India, possession of arms and explosives and other sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Quta was involved in these activities since 2001 and was a member of the LeT, they said.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) later booked Quta under the criminal provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in 2009, taking cognisance of the police charges and subsequent conviction by a local court.

The central probe agency had also confiscated Rs 34,830 funds of Quta under anti-money laudering laws as it identified the money to be meant for terror financing.

This is the fourth case of conviction under the PMLA in the country.

The PMLA was enacted in 2002 and implemented from 2005 to check serious crimes of tax evasion, generation of black money and money laundering.

The first conviction under the PMLA in the country had come in January last year when a Ranchi court convicted former Jharkhand minister Hari Narayan Rai and sentenced him to seven years rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh.

Subsequently, in March last year, a man identified as Alauddin was convicted in a money laundering case relating to illegal possession of narcotic drugs by a Kolkata court.

This was followed by the conviction of a Pakistani terrorist Mohammed Fahad Hai, belonging to the banned terror group Al-Badr, who was sentenced to 7 years rigorous imprisonment by a Bengaluru court under the anti-money laundering law.

The stringent PMLA law allows for a maximum of seven years of imprisonment and a fine.
Parents staged protests in front of the school, alleging that the school did not take any lessons from the G D Birla incident and no special security was arranged for the students. (Photo: ANI/Twitter)

Kolkata: A teacher of an elite South Kolkata school has been booked for sexually harassing a student of class three over the past one year, in an incident eerily similar to the molestation of a 4-year-old in G D Birla school in Kolkata in December 2017.

The dance teacher in Carmel has been sexually abusing the girl for over a year, but the incident only came to light in the last couple of days, when the student stopped coming to school.

According to reports, the teacher also threatened the girl with dire consequences if she informed anyone else about it, even saying he will bury her in the school grounds if she opens her mouth.

Despite the threats, the incident was revealed and led to resentment among the parents.

On Friday, parents started protesting in front of the school, alleging that the school did not take any lessons from the GD Birla incident and no special security was arranged for the students.

Also Read: Kolkata student sex assault: Principal reveals victim name; school says 'accident'

They also maintained there was no CCTV camera in the school that is supposed to keep a tab on such incidents from happening.

The South Kolkata school campus literally turned into a fortress on Friday with massive police presence.

The parents got into a brawl with the police and the Officer and Additional Officer-in-charge of the local police station were injured.

The police said that they were trying to provide a safe passage for the students stuck inside the school, while the parents alleged they were trying to rescue the accused.

Also Read: Another Kolkata school under fire for sex assault of 3-yr-old, staffer held

The protesting parents started hitting the police with helmets, which injured the two officers. One person was identified in the scuffle and was forcibly sent elsewhere in a taxi.

Following this, the agitated parents took to the road in front of the school and continued their protests.
Political leaders and farmers protest outside the administrative building of the Enumamula Market Yard.  DC following the death of a cotton farmer on Thursday (Photo: DC)

WARANGAL: A cotton farmer, Banoth Ravi, 41, died after he was run over by a truck at the Enumamula Market Yard during the early hours of Thursday. The farmer who hails from Devaruppula of Jangaon district brought his produce to sell on Wednesday. However, the market officials refused to buy it as it contained more than 15 per cent moisture in it. They suggested to him to dry the cotton and put it on sale again.

The farmer spread his 50 bags of cotton on the market campus for drying. He was also provided with a tarpaulin cover as there was some rain. He covered the cotton from getting wet and he too slept under the same cover. At about 2.30 am, a truck arrived at the market.

The driver wanted to reach a godown but the road was blocked due to the presence of several vehicles, cotton bags and some produce spread over the place. He drove over the produce of Ravi but did not see him sleeping under the tarpaulin cover. The wheels ran over the legs of the sleeping farmer.

Other farmers and officials who heard Ravis painful cries rushed him to a nearby private hospital. He suffered excessive blood loss and was shifted to the MGM hospital where he succumbed to injuries. The truck driver fled from the spot.

Following the death of the farmer, protests erupted at the market yard demanding justice for the farmer. With the protestors turning violent, the police arrested several of them.

Congress leaders Gandra Venkata Ramana Reddy and Janga Raghava Reddy were among those taken to the Matwada police station.
In August 2017, US President Donald Trump had punted on a new Afghan Plan that envisaged a higher degree of commitment, aggression, boots-on-the-ground and the calling of the Pakistani bluff on its insincere fight against terror. The intended squeeze on the terror infrastructure in Afghanistan was expected to drive the caged Ashraf Ghani government towards reclaiming territories beyond Kabul and the other urban clusters. The plan was predicated on pressuring the Pakistanis to stop sustaining the Afghan Taliban and other ISI-supported outfits like the Haqqani Network, with the ultimate gameplan of coercing various terrorist outfits onto the negotiating table for a political solution in Afghanistan. Six months since the announcement of the new Afghan plan, the Pakistanis have not changed their tracks; worse still is the fact that Kabul is under a virtual siege and facing an unprecedented level of violence that is being perpetuated by the Taliban, the Haqqanis and the local chapter of Islamic State. And, in its 16th year with a cumulative bill of $1 trillion, the longest US combat operations on foreign soil is testing the patience, will and contours of the new Afghan plan. Two back-to-back terror attacks in Kabul within a couple of weeks have revealed the reach and capability of the terror organisations. First, the Taliban militants laid siege to the Intercontinental Hotel, killing at least 40 people, and then there was this dastardly act of ramming an explosive-laden ambulance in the heart of the Kabul, in which 100 people were killed. Irrespective of the counter-claims by the Islamic State apparatus, officials in Kabul point towards Islamabad, with Afghan intelligence chief Mohammad Masoom Stanekzai stating that the recent pressure on Pakistan had translated into revenge on the Afghan people.

Even Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai echoed the Pakistani retaliatory line by saying: They did it at the behest of their masters so that their masters can get out of political isolation. Mr Trumps earlier irate tweet that Pakistan had thanklessly gobbled up $33 billion in American aid and reciprocated in nothing but deceit and lies had an ominous ring of truth, as the continued tragedy of the proverbial great game in Afghanistan, acquired even more sinister proportions. Today, Kabul has checkpoints choking the dangerous streets; the walls of the protected compounds of expats have gone higher and thicker, and the US government officials landing at Kabul International Airport are no longer taking the three-km road to their destination, they are instead ferried back and forth from the airport to the US headquarters by helicopters. Suicide bombers lurk everywhere and the spate of attacks on government buildings, mosques, embassies and local police stations have wounded the psyche of the city under unrest. The Afghan President solemnly admits: There are factories producing suicide bombers. We are under siege. The latest vortex of violence in Kabul defies the usual cycle of the terror-lull in winters. The inherent symbolism of shifting the epicentre of violence from the rural swathes to the fortified government encampment in Kabul is not lost on either Washington or Islamabad.

Neither the Intercontinental Hotel attack nor the ambulance suicide attack had any military target or objective for the terror-perpetuators, the grotesque irony of abusing the ambulance to inflict the macabre massacre was unprecedented in its moral perversion. The frequency and intensity of the Kabul-specific violence is testing the resolve and confidence of the already-beleaguered Afghan Army, as well as the faltering and confused administration of President Ashraf Ghani. It is little consolation that some experts attribute these desperate terror attacks in Kabul to the consequences of a cornered terror industry and its principal benefactor in Islamabad, as the mutation of terrorism in Afghanistan towards full-fledged urban warfare in Kabul will surely test the competencies and instincts of the still-developing Afghan security forces. Urban warfare by its nature is asymmetric, hybrid and entails tactical sophistry that unintentionally ends up pitting locals against their own government forces, given the collateral damage to life and property, in such conflicts.

The viciousness of the bloodbath in Kabul resulted in Afghan interior minister Wais Ahmad Barmak and Afghan spy chief Masoom Stanekzai to rush to Islamabad and hand over yet another set of incontrovertible evidence that had its fingerprints traceable to the terror nurseries in Pakistan  the eerie sense of deja vu in the analogous optics of the multiple dossiers given by the Indian government to Islamabad of the Pakistani complicity in terror acts is writ all over the Afghan initiative, including the fate of such dossiers and its expected dismissiveness by the Pakistanis. The road to the disentanglement of the virtual siege in Kabul and the empowerment of the Ashraf Ghani-led Afghan government ultimately lies in Islamabad. Washingtons tough talk of expanding the military hits beyond the sovereign borders of Afghanistan has got clarified with a carte blanche to its military commanders to deal with, terrorist safe havens in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The US security aid to Pakistan is already under suspension given its established misuse and duplicitousness. Further, Washington could also use its obvious muscle to extract similar restraining orders from other multilateral donor agencies towards Pakistan. Till now, the Pakistani establishment has got away with vacuous platitudes, infrequent compliance and even sheer bravado by waving the Beijing card as a counter-narrative to the US aid. However, it is a fact the threatened noose of sanctions and embarrassment against Pakistan has never been implemented in their entirety. But now the growing portents of a possible failure of the new Afghan Plan for Mr Trump may force him to unleash punitive measures, both military and economic, on Pakistan  giving Islamabad its first real taste of the consequences of imposing wars in its neighbourhood. As US secretary of state Rex Tillerson concludes: There can be no tolerance for those who support or offer sanctuary to terrorist groups.
The government has not been too forthcoming on the Dassault deal for the purchase of 36 Rafale multi-role medium combat aircraft for the IAF despite the issue gaining serious connotations with the Opposition making repeated demands for more information on the details while imputing there are irregularities involved. While there is no reason to suspect bribery is an issue on facts known at the moment, the changed contours of the deal  from an initially envisaged purchase of 126 aircraft, of which 18 would be ready-to-fly plus transfer of technology that would have been closer to partially filling the huge gap between IAF requirements and the number of squadrons operative now  has led to so many whispers. The government must feel obliged to share at least the broad details of the deal with prominent Opposition leaders so as to put a stop to the endless chatter.

The hardened attitude of the government towards what the Opposition  principally the president of the Congress Party  has been saying on the subject is clear in the note that the defence ministry put out. The tone and tenor of the explanation was more political than it should have been, particularly as it comes from the ministry of defence and not the ruling party. By refusing to part with any information either in Parliament or in closed door briefings with the Opposition, the government has only allowed more questions to be raised as Rahul Gandhi did on Friday while serving notice on Parliament to be allowed to speak on the subject. Since the deal to buy one of the most modern aircraft can only be for the good of national defence and for equipping the Air Force with the best possible resource, the government should ideally address the issue rather than shy away from it.

No defence deal after Bofors was ever likely to sail smoothly. In fact, because of the allegations over the gun purchase in the 1980s, defence preparedness also suffered in the last UPA decade with the then defence minister making a virtue of his integrity and virtually refusing to sign any deals, even at the cost of leaving the forces underprepared. As Rafale  at a basic price of Rs 670 crore per aircraft plus weaponry and performance-based logistics support  is the biggest defence deal in years, there were bound to be any number of issues rising around it. Since the basic pricing and other details are already available in the public domain, the need for secrecy now because there are fears over national security seems like a political argument stretched. There is a need for clarity on certain issues like Dassaults discharge of the 50 per cent offset component built into the deal for making aircraft parts in India with a private Indian defence company. A decision to keep at least the Opposition abreast of details has to come from the highest in the land since he had personally driven the clinching of the deal.
Qualcomm rejected a record $121 billion hostile bid from computer chip rival Broadcom but offered to meet with the Singapore-based firm to discuss the recently increased offer.

The California-based group said in a letter to Broadcom that the latest offer unveiled earlier this week "materially undervalues Qualcomm" and does not take into account the possibility of a failure to win regulatory approval. The letter from Qualcomm chairman Paul Jacobs to Broadcom chief executive Hock Tan, however, opened the door to talks to discuss "the significant issues that remain unaddressed" in the hostile proposal.

The Qualcomm board "has unanimously determined that your amended offer materially undervalues Qualcomm and falls well short of the firm regulatory commitment the board would demand given the significant downside risk of a failed transaction," Jacobs said in his letter. "However, the board is committed to exploring all options for maximising shareholder value, and so we would be prepared to meet with you to allow you to explain how you would attempt to bridge these gaps."

The move comes three days after Broadcom boosted its offer to $82 a share to create a global giant in the chip-making sector, a deal worth some $146 billion including assumed debt. Jacobs said the offer "raises more questions than it answers" and also fails to address the planned takeover by Qualcomm  the dominant producer of chips for mobile devices  of Dutch manufacturer NXP.

"What is the true highest price at which you would be prepared to acquire Qualcomm? Is it $82 per share or is it higher?" Jacobs said. The letter said the bid "ascribes no value" to NXP or to Qualcomm's plans to roll out new devices for the fifth generation of wireless networks known as 5G. "Your proposal is inferior relative to our prospects as an independent company and is significantly below both trading and transaction multiples in our sector," the Qualcomm chairman wrote.

Broadcom made its first offer on November 6th following a visit by its CEO to the White House, where he met President Donald Trump and announced plans to move the tech company back to the United States from Singapore. If completed, the deal would be the largest-ever in the tech sector and create a powerful player in the booming sector fueled by growth in smartphones and an array of connected devices from cars to wearables. Any merger deal would need to pass muster with regulators in the United States and other markets.

Broadcom, which has begun a process to reincorporate in the United States, called its sweetened bid its "best and final offer." The rich offer puts pressure on Qualcomm, which is set to hold its annual shareholders meeting next month.

In a letter to Qualcomm board members this week, Tan called the offer "extremely compelling compared to any other alternative available to Qualcomm" and called on the board to open talks on the proposal. But he said the deal would be off the table if it fails to win shareholder approval. In December, Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf argued there was "no real path to value" with Broadcom.

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CFIUS has become more cautious since Trump was inaugurated a year ago amid growing political and economic tensions between the United States and China.

Proposed legislation in Congress aimed at preventing China from acquiring sensitive technology is being softened after protests by big US companies that fear a loss in sales, four people with knowledge of the matter said this week.

Two bills in the House of Representatives and Senate would broaden the powers of the inter-agency Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) in hopes of stopping Chinese efforts to acquire sophisticated US technology. The bipartisan legislation has the support of President Donald Trumps administration.

We are concerned that it vastly expands the scope and jurisdiction (of CFIUS), said Nancy McLernon, chief executive of the Organization for International Investment, a group that represents global companies with US operations. Given the alarm that the legislation has caused, Senator John Cornyns staff is drafting changes to address industry concerns, according to three sources. Cornyns office did not respond to a request for comment.

Representative Robert Pittenger, who is shepherding the House version of the bill, said some clarifications are being considered to prevent businesses from being inadvertently affected. But he added the bill would still meet its goal of protecting US national security. Are we listening to input? Yes. Will we make appropriate tweaks and adjustments to not inadvertently clamp down on legitimate investment? Yes, he said. Will we soften this bill so that China or other countries with malicious intent can continue to exploit our companies to threaten Americas national security? Never.

CFIUS currently looks at foreign acquisitions of US companies or stock transactions that may hurt national security. The bill would broaden its power, some critics say, to the point where it would scrutinize some commercial sales. CFIUS has become increasingly sceptical of high-tech deals involving China in particular and has blocked transactions that would have given it access to sophisticated semiconductors or data of American citizens. Certain American companies need to decide whose national security they really care about: Americas or Chinas? Pittenger said.

CFIUS has become more cautious since Trump was inaugurated a year ago amid growing political and economic tensions between the United States and China. This is a very high priority. Were spending a lot of time on it, said Josh Kallmer, senior vice president of global policy at the Information Technology Industry Council, which represents some of the companies asking for changes to the bill. ITIC members include Google parent Alphabet Inc, Facebook Inc, IBM Corp, Intel Corp, Qualcomm Inc and a long list of other hardware and software companies.

Concerns focus on two one-paragraph provisions in the nearly 80-page bills. One is that foreign investment can be scrutinized by CFIUS if it relates to critical technology or a critical infrastructure company, terms industry representatives said create uncertainty and give regulators too much leeway on which deals they choose to scrutinise. We need some guardrails around the definitions to make sure we dont thwart foreign direct investments, said McLernon of OFII. Other industry groups want the industries under scrutiny by CFIUS spelt out, for example, robotics or artificial intelligence.

The other concern is CFIUS expanded powers would include reviewing sales of high-tech equipment or software licenses, duplicating the current export control regulations and adding uncertainty to the sales process. The two changes would require an already overburdened panel to add untold numbers of transactions to its workload and create delays that would make it hard for US companies to compete with non-US rivals, critics said.

POTENTIAL CHANGES

One potential fix would be for lawmakers to identify the critical technologies in the bill to narrow the number of companies whose sales would go before CFIUS. Another fix would be to remove those paragraphs and have US government agencies that enforce export control rules monitor the technologies. The bills, introduced in November by Republicans Cornyn and Pittenger, have Republican and Democratic co-sponsors.

Companies affected by the legislation did not see the language of the bills until they were introduced and, in any case, were focusing their lobbying efforts on tax reform before moving to the CFIUS legislation.

The legislation would expand CFIUS reach to allow it to review, and potentially reject smaller investments and add new national security factors for CFIUS to consider. Those factors include whether information about Americans, such as Social Security numbers, would be exposed as part of the transaction or whether the deal would facilitate fraud.

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Mashkoor Ahmad Lari is the owner of Kathmandu's five-star Everest Hotel, which remained closed after its building developed major cracks in 2015 earthquakes. (Screengrab | theeveresthotel.com)

Kathmandu: A top Indian hotelier in Nepal who was wanted by the Interpol, was arrested on Thursday on charges of drugs trafficking.

Masur Ahmad Lary was arrested from Maharajgunj area of Kathmandu, said a senior police officer of Kathmandu Metropolitan Police Office.

The police was searching the hotelier after narcotic drugs were found inside a parcel dispatched by him from Kathmandu to the Netherlands during a security check at Frankfurt Airport in Germany, police said.

Lary is the owner of Kathmandu's five-star Everest Hotel, which remained closed after its building developed major cracks in 2015 earthquakes.

He has been operating the hotel in Kathmandu for the last 30 years.

Police has filed a case on drugs trafficking against Lary in Kathmandu District Court after taking him into custody.
Ramallah: Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's historic Palestine visit, President Mahmoud Abbas said he will discuss with him India's role in the Middle East peace process and the creation of a multilateral forum of negotiations to strike a final deal with Isarel.

Modi, the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Palestine, is reaching Ramallah on Saturday amid heightened tensions in the region after US President Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

The unilateral US decision to declare Jerusalem as the capital of Israel was challenged at the UN General Assembly where 128 nations, including India, voted to turn down the move as "null and void".

"We are receiving Prime Minister Modi in a historic visit that will demonstrate the strong ties and relations between the Palestinian people and the brotherly Indian people," Abbas said in an e-mail interview.

Though India has shied away from becoming a party in the Israel-Palestinian conflict, the Palestinian leader on several occasions has stressed on a possible role for New Delhi in the Middle East peace process.

"We will discuss the recent updates with Prime Minister Modi, and the recent developments in the peace process, the bilateral relations, and the regional situations. And the possible role India can play in enhancing peace in the region, as well as discussing different economical aspects beyond the existing ties we already possess," Abbas said.

Describing India as a "very respected country in the international arena", the 82-year-old Palestinian President said that India can have a possible role in creating a multilateral forum of negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis to reach a final agreement.

He said Modi's visit to the region reflects India's long-held position of supporting peace and stability in the region.

"We believe in the importance of a possible Indian role...to reach a final agreement based on international consensus and resolutions, in which India and other countries can be part of," Abbas said.

"The long Indian position of supporting the two-state solution is well known. India has supported the Palestinian cause throughout the years of conflict, and we rely on the Indian support in order to reach the independence of the Palestinian State," he added.

As Palestine works to establish an international multilateral mechanism of negotiations, the Palestinian leader stated that "India can play a role in this".

"The relations between India and Palestine are historical...This visit will culminate the historic ties between the two brotherly people, and will help in increasing and strengthening these ties that we possess," he stressed.

The Indian Prime Minister would be skipping Israel during his forthcoming tour of Middle East in a clear message that New Delhi is de-hyphenating its ties with the Jewish state and Palestine.

Modi had visited Israel last year in July in a standalone visit that had led to many analysts questioning the future of the Indo-Palestine ties.

When asked about India's growing engagement with Israel, an unperturbed Abbas said that "any state has the right to establish relations with other countries".

"We believe in the importance of our relationship with the brotherly Indian State, the support of India to the Palestinian people, and the relationship we possess with the Indian people, will not be effected by Indias relations with any other State," he emphasised.

"India has recognised the State of Palestine in 1988, and we cannot forget the last Indian vote in favour of Palestine's rights in Jerusalem in the United Nations General Assembly, and all the political stands that India has taken to support the Palestinian rights in the international arena," Abbas said referring to India's vote at the UN.

India has consistently voted in favour of resolutions supporting the Palestinian cause at international forums, an issue that has bothered strategic partner Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently said that he was "disappointed" at the Indian vote at the UN but also expressed hope that there will be a possible change of heart over a period of time.

Appreciating India's assistance in strengthening Palestinian economy through executing several projects in the Palestinian areas, Abbas said that "he cannot forget" New Delhi's support and wishes to further discuss with Modi areas of cooperation in the economic sphere.

A number of MoUs are likely to be signed between the two sides during Modi's three-hour visit to Palestine under which India will provide funding for a number of projects in the fields of health, education, culture and women's empowerment.

"The Indian Government and its people have provided significant assistance and aid to the Palestinian people by establishing training centres, schools, and the necessary humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people under occupation in the West Bank and Gaza," Abbas noted.

"And in 2016 we laid the foundation stone to establish the Palestine India Techno Park project in Ramallah, and we are also looking forward the establishment of the Institute of Diplomacy that is kindly funded by the Indian Government", he noted.

A lot of Palestinian diplomats have received training in India and hundreds of Palestinians have availed scholarships to study at Indian institutions as part of New Delhi's effort towards capacity building in Palestine.

"We are working on promoting the economical relations through introducing businessmen and investors from both sides on the available opportunities in the sectors of tourism, technological exchange in many areas, including industrial, agricultural, and information systems, and on the other hand, signing government agreements to support businessmen and protect their investments," he said.
The spiralling political crisis in Maldives is reason for grave concern for Maldivians as well as the international community, especially India. Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen is on a confrontationist course. After ignoring a Supreme Court ruling ordering his government to release jailed opposition leaders and reinstate parliamentarians who were stripped of their seats for defecting to the opposition, he has declared a state of political emergency in the country. Judges he deems 'hostile' have been jailed and the judiciary is stacked with his loyalists. The latter have overturned the apex court ruling that triggered this crisis in the first place. Former president Maumoon Gayoom is in detention, too. The past week's events indicate that Yameen will go to any extent to crush challenges to his grip over power. Should mass protests gather momentum, he can be expected to unleash extreme force. Unrest will hit Maldives' tourism-dependent economy. Lives and livelihoods of the masses are in peril.



As the regional power and a democracy, India is keen to see democracy restored in Maldives. The international community is looking to Delhi to resolve the crisis. However, India is in a dilemma. It has limited leverage with Yameen as Delhi's ties with him have been strained. However, India cannot look the other way while the archipelago burns. Former president Mohamed Nasheed has called on India to send an envoy backed with troops to Maldives to defuse the crisis. His request is understandable; Yameen has shown himself not amenable to persuasion and sane advice. But military intervention may not help the cause of democracy in Maldives. For democracy to survive there, it must evolve locally, not be transplanted or heli-dropped from elsewhere.

Some in India are advocating sending troops to Maldives. This is necessary, they argue, for India to protect its security interests and strengthen regional stability. If it fails to act now, Maldives will move closer to China, they warn. However, military intervention in Maldives could deepen anti-India sentiment there. Besides, China is unlikely to stand aside quietly while India sends troops to Maldives. The possibility of Beijing stirring trouble for India, either in Maldives or along the Sino-Indian border cannot be ruled out. Rather than intervening, India must persist with the diplomatic approach, even if this produces results slowly. Maldives lies near international sea lanes. Instability there will impact global trade. India must lead an international campaign to press Yameen to hold free and fair elections. It is unfortunate that the Narendra Modi government rebuffed Yameen's bid to send a special envoy to Delhi to discuss the crisis. Here was an opportunity for India to offer Maldives its good offices. Delhi blundered by rejecting Yameen's outreach.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump have expressed concern over the political crisis in the Maldives during a phone call in which they also reviewed the security situation in Afghanistan and the Indo-Pacific region, the White House said today.



The Maldives plunged into a political chaos on last Thursday when the Supreme Court ordered the release of nine imprisoned opposition politicians, maintaining that their trials were "politically motivated and flawed".



The Maldivian government led by President Abdulla Yameen has refused to implement the ruling, prompting a wave of protests in Maldives capital, Male. The government also arrested two top judges, including the chief justice.



"Both leaders (Trump and Modi) expressed concern about the political crisis in the Maldives and the importance of respect for democratic institutions and rule of law," the White House said in a readout of the phone call, the first between the two, this year.



The White House said the two leaders also pledged to continue working together to enhance security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.



"Affirming President Trump's South Asia strategy, they reiterated their commitment to supporting Afghanistan's security and stability," the White House said.



Modi and Trump also exchanged views on Myanmar and ways to address the plight of the Rohingya refugees.



Some 680,000 Rohingya refugees have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh, putting enormous pressure on the country's economy.



Recently, Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed on a roadmap to facilitate the return of these refugees to their homes in Myanmar.



The US believes that this is not the right time for the return of Rohingya refugees.



According to the White House, during the call, Trump and Modi also discussed further steps to ensure denuclearisation of North Korea.



"Finally, the leaders agreed to strengthen security and economic cooperation as they look forward to the '2+2' ministerial dialogue between their defence and diplomatic officials in April," the White House said.



The '2+2 dialogue' was announced after the White House meeting between Modi and Trump in June 2017.



The dialogue would involve External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman from India along with their American counterparts Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defence Secretary Jim Mattis.
The US has urged Bangladesh to ensure "fair trial" for ex-prime minister Khaleda Zia who was sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment for corruption.



The 72-year-old three-time former prime minister and Bangladesh's main opposition leader was sentenced by Dhaka's Special Court in connection with the embezzlement of 21 million taka (about USD 250,000) in foreign donations meant for the Zia Orphanage Trust, named after her late husband Ziaur Rahman, a military ruler-turned-politician.

"We are aware of the conviction of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Khaleda Zia, and encourage Bangladesh to the guarantee of a fair trial," a State Department spokesperson said.

The verdict simultaneously sentenced Zia's "fugitive" elder son and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP's) senior vice president Tarique Rahman as he was tried in absentia. Rahman and four others have been sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Zia and three of her aides were accused of syphoning off about USD 400,000 from the Zia Charitable Trust alone. She is also accused of leading a group of five people in embezzling another USD 277,000 funds.

"We are concerned by reported arrests of opposition members. We encourage the government of Bangladesh to ensure fair trial guarantees for all of its individuals in Bangladesh," the spokesperson said.

The State Department also called on the government of Bangladesh to respect the rights of all individuals to gather peacefully and to freely express their opinions.

"We continue to call upon the Government of Bangladesh to provide the right to all individuals to freely express their political views, without fear of reprisal, and to hold elections that are free, fair, peaceful, and credible, reflecting the will of the Bangladeshi people," the spokesperson said.

"We also call on members of society to act peacefully and responsibly. We stress that all sides must eschew violence; violence hinders democratic processes," the spokesperson added.




America is a nation of believers, President Donald Trump today said at the annual National Prayer Breakfast.

In his second appearance at the annual National Prayer Breakfast, Trump steered clear of partisan politics and focused on his belief in the country's dependence on God.

"America is a nation of believers, and together we are strengthened by the power of prayer, Trump said, addressing a gathering of national and international religious leaders and people of eminence.

Addressing the 66th annual event, Trump said each year, this event reminds that faith is central to American life and liberty.

"Our founders invoked our Creator four times in the Declaration of Independence. Our currency declares, 'In God We Trust'. And we place our hands on our hearts as we recite the Pledge of Allegiance and proclaim we are 'One Nation Under God'," he said amidst applause from the audience.

The National Prayer Breakfast is a massive ecumenical gathering put on annually by a group of Christians who want to focus on a shared admiration of Jesus.

Every president since Dwight D Eisenhower has attended the event, which draws several thousand people from around the world, especially evangelicals, who have proved strong supporters of the Trump administration.

"Our rights are not given to us by man; our rights come from our Creator. No matter what, no Earthly force can take those rights away. That is why the words 'Praise be to God' are etched atop the Washington Monument, and those same words are etched into the hearts of our people," he said.

"So today, we praise God for how truly blessed we are to be American," he said.

"We see the Lord's grace in the servicemembers who risk their lives for our freedom. We see it in the teachers who work tirelessly for their students, and the police who sacrifice for our communities -- and sacrifice they do, he said.

"And we see the Lord's grace in the moms and dads who work two and three jobs to give their children the chance for a better and much more prosperous and happier life."

He praised first responders and citizens who rushed to help victims of hurricanes, wildfires and mass shootings, as examples of the goodness of the human soul.

"When catastrophic hurricanes struck, first responders and everyday citizens dove into rushing waters to save stranded families from danger. And they saved them by the thousands. Neighbors opened their homes to those in need of food, clothes, shelter. Firefighters braved blinding smoke and flames to rescue children from devastating wildfires," said the US president.

Trump said when Americans are able to live by their convictions, to speak openly of their faith, and to teach their children what is right, families thrive, communities flourish, and the nation can achieve anything at all.

"Together, as Americans, we are a tireless force for justice and for peace. We have witnessed this truth over the past year. For years, ISIS had brutally tortured and murdered Christians, Jews, religious minorities, and countless Muslims," he said.

Today, the coalition to defeat ISIS has liberated almost 100 per cent of the territory just recently held by these killers in Iraq and all throughout Syria, he said.

"Much work will always remain, but we will never rest until that job is completely done. And we are really doing it like never before," he said.

He said that millions of people in Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, North Korea, and other countries suffer under repressive and brutal regimes.

"America stands with all people suffering oppression and religious persecution," Trump said in his address.
A senior UN official warned the Security Council that the situation in the Maldives where the president has declared a state of emergency may deteriorate even further.



The top UN body met behind closed doors to discuss the crisis sparked by President Abdulla Yameen's decision to arrest judges who had ordered the release of his political opponents.

UN Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenca told the top UN body that while there were no reports of violent clashes, "the situation in the Maldives is tense and may deteriorate even further," according to UN sources.

It was the first time that the council discussed the crisis since it began on February 1, but there was no statement released after the meeting.

The crisis was triggered by a surprise Supreme Court decision to release from jail former president and opposition leader Mohamed Nasheed and eight other political prisoners.

Nasheed was in self-imposed exile abroad after travelling out of the islands on prison leave.

Four days after the court order, Yameen declared the state of emergency and ordered his security forces to the court to arrest the chief justice.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged Yameen to lift the state of emergency while UN human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein has described Yameen's actions as "an all-out assault on democracy."

Jenca this week spoke by phone with the Maldives foreign minister and asked him to release the chief justice urgently.

Jenca said the government must resolve the political crisis through all-party talks and offered UN assistance to facilitate those negotiations.

On Thursday, Yameen refused to meet with diplomats from the European Union, Germany and Britain.

Western governments, as well as neighbouring India and China, have asked their citizens not to go on holiday in the picturesque but troubled nation of coral islands.




Syrian regime jets have pounded Eastern Ghouta, sending the death toll from a four-day assault on the rebel enclave on the outskirts of Damascus soaring past 220.

Violence also flared in eastern Syria on Thursday, where the US-led coalition said it had killed at least 100 pro-regime fighters to fend off an attack on its Kurdish allies.

The clash marked a fresh escalation between Washington, which has threatened the regime over its alleged use of chemical weapons, and Damascus, which labelled the latest incident in eastern Syria a "war crime".

Moscow also slammed the US-led strikes, with Russia's UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia saying he had lodged a protest about the assault during a closed-door Security Council meeting.

"To confront those who really fight international terrorism on the ground in Syria is criminal," he said.

The UN Security Council yesterday failed to back a UN appeal for a month-long humanitarian ceasefire in Syria.

In Eastern Ghouta, which lies east of the capital and has been besieged since 2013, residents had no time to mourn their dead or treat their wounded from the previous day's bombardment.

"These are the worst four days that Eastern Ghouta has ever gone through," said Hamza, an overwhelmed doctor at the Erbin clinic who was treating wounded patients.

"From 2011 until now, there has never been the level of bombardment we've seen in the last 96 hours."

The death toll mounted steadily throughout Thursday, with the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights giving 75 civilians dead by the evening. Three died of wounds suffered on Wednesday.
A terrorist of the Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) has been sentenced to seven years rigorous imprisonment by a local court here in a terror financing and money laundering case, officials said today.



Bilal Ahmed Quta alias Imran Jalal, who operated from Karnataka, has also been fined Rs 50,000 by the court, they said.

A special PMLA court of Judge Shivshankar Amarannavar pronounced the verdict yesterday.

The case dates back to January 2007 when the man was arrested with an AK series assault rifle, 200 bullets, five hand grenades and a satellite phone by the Karnataka Police while he was getting down from a bus in Bengaluru.

He was charged with "waging war" against Government of India, possession of arms and explosives and other sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Quta was involved in these activities since 2001 and was a member of the LeT, they said.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) later booked Quta under the criminal provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in 2009, taking cognisance of the police charges and subsequent conviction by a local court.

The central probe agency had also "confiscated" Rs 34,830 funds of Quta under anti-money laundering laws as it identified the money to be meant for terror financing.

This is the fourth case of conviction under the PMLA in the country.

The PMLA was enacted in 2002 and implemented from 2005 to check serious crimes of tax evasion, generation of black money and money laundering.

The first conviction under the PMLA in the country had come in January last year when a Ranchi court convicted former Jharkhand minister Hari Narayan Rai and sentenced him to seven years rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh.

Subsequently, in March last year, a man identified as Alauddin was convicted in a money laundering case relating to illegal possession of narcotic drugs by a Kolkata court.

This was followed by the conviction of a Pakistani terrorist Mohammed Fahad Hai, belonging to the banned terror group Al-Badr, who was sentenced to 7 years rigorous imprisonment by a Bengaluru court under the anti-money laundering law.

The stringent PMLA law allows for a maximum of seven years of imprisonment and a fine.
The Supreme Court on Feb. 9 agreed to hear on Monday the plea of the father of an Army officer, who was booked as an accused by Jammu and Kashmir Police in the recent Shopian firing incident.



A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud considered advocate Aishwarya Bhati's submission that the plea of the father be heard on an urgent basis.



The lawyer said the FIR has illegally been lodged against Major Aditya Kumar in connection with the firing incident in Shopian.



"We will hear it on Monday," the bench said.



Lieutenant Colonel Karamveer Singh said his son, a major in the Indian Army's 10 Garhwal Rifles, was "wrongly and arbitrarily" named in the FIR as the incident relates to an Army convoy that was on bonafide military duty in an area under the AFSPA and was isolated by an "unruly and deranged" mob that was pelting stones, which caused damage to military vehicles.



Two civilians were killed when Army personnel fired at the stone-pelting mob in Ganovpora village in Shopian, prompting the chief minister to order an inquiry into the incident.



The FIR was registered against personnel of 10 Garhwal Rifles, including Major Kumar, under sections 302 (murder) and 307 (attempt to murder) of the Ranbir Penal Code.
Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) based United Jihad Council (UJC), an umbrella of various militant groups operating in Kashmir, had supported the protest shutdown.

Authorities had imposed restrictions in Srinagar and other parts of the Valley to prevent separatist-called protests with heavy deployment of paramilitary CRPF and police personnel, reports said.

Curfew like restrictions were imposed in Srinagar and other parts of Valley. Contingents of police and paramilitary troopers were deployed in strength in these areas.

In uptown areas, a complete shutdown was observed with all the shops, businesses and offices remaining closed. However, scarce movement of private vehicles was witnessed in uptown areas.

Reports said despite restrictions, mourners - including some second-rung separatist leaders - reached the residence of Afzal in Jageer Ghat village of Sopore in north Kashmir to offer condolences and demand his mortal remains.

Most of the separatist leaders had either been kept under house arrest to thwart protests. Separatists had called for strike on Friday to press their demand for the return of Afzal's mortal remains to his family. They have also called for a strike on Sunday demanding the return of mortal remains of Maqbool Bhat, founder of the JKLF, who was hanged in the same prison on 11 February 1984.
Three Army jawans were injured in intermittent firing and shelling by Pakistani troops along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district, officials said today.



The army officials said intermittent firing was underway when reports last came in.

The Pakistan Army continued firing and shelling overnight along the LoC in the Krishnagati sector of Poonch district, the officials said.

In the firing and shelling, three jawans suffered minor splinter injuries, they said.

On Thursday, a 45-year-old woman was killed in shelling by the Pakistani troops along the LoC in the KG sector of Poonch.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that Congress Parliamentary Party Chief Sonia Gandhi's call for alliances with like-minded parties to beat the BJP applies to the national level, but not in Karnataka.



He said that the recently announced BSP alliance with JD(S) would have no impact on the Congress in the upcoming Karnataka elections.



He spoke to reporters at the helipad near Bellodi, Harihar taluk, where he was set to attend the Kanaka Guru Peetha silver jubilee function on Friday.



Congress has conducted a survey to gather opinions and determine the list of candidates for the upcoming election, said Siddaramaiah. He said that the party had dispatched observers to gather information.



"I have taken cognizance of Bisi-Oota workers' protests. The concerned minister will visit them and find out their demands," he assured.



The caste census will be made public once the commission tables its report, the CM stated in reply to a question.



"The government has no intention of taking over any mutt or temple," Siddaramaiah reiterated.



"We have merely published the same order passed in 2007 by the coalition government in the state then. This is not our proposal. The media has misunderstood this," the CM remarked.
Congress chief Rahul Gandhi today called upon all political parties to unite on the issue of grant of special status for Andhra Pradesh and other demands, including the speedy completion of the Polavaram project.



"The Congress supports the just demands of the people of Andhra Pradesh for special category status and speedy completion of the Polavaram project. It's time for all parties to unite on this issue and support this call for justice," he tweeted.

Various parties have been raising the demand in both Houses of Parliament, leading to disruptions. The Congress and the TDP, which is part of the ruling NDA, have been at the forefront of protests inside and outside Parliament for granting special status to Andhra Pradesh.

They have also been pressing for early fulfilment of all their demands as per the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, after the bifurcation of the state.
China today said it is in touch with India to discuss a way to resolve the political turmoil gripping the Maldives and underlined that Beijing doesn't want the issue to become another "flashpoint".



While China officially continues to maintain that there should not be any external interference specially in the light of reports of India's special forces ready for deployment, Beijing is also in touch with New Delhi to resolve the crisis, Chinese official sources said.

China doesn't want Maldives to become another "flash point", the sources told PTI here today.

The stand-off between India and China in the Dokalam area and Beijing's opposition to declaring Pakistan-based Masood Azhar as a global terrorist at the UN had been major irritants in bilateral ties in the past.

Answering a spate of questions on the Maldives, including today's telephonic conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump, in which the situation in the Maldives figured prominently, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said international community should respect sovereignty and independence of the Maldives.

"The current situation in the Maldives is its internal affairs. It should be properly resolved through dialogue and consultations by all relevant parties," he said.

Maldives President Abdulla Yameen sent his Economic Development Minister Mohamed Saeed to China but India said it did not find the dates "suitable" for the visit of Maldives' foreign minister as special envoy to New Delhi.

The UN Security Council too met to discuss the Maldives situation. Ahead of the meeting, UN Assistant Secretary- General Miroslav Jenca reported to have informed the top UN body that while there were no reports of violent clashes, "the situation in the Maldives is tense and may deteriorate even further".

Geng, while replying to a question on reports that Indian Special Forces were ready for deployment in the Maldives to evacuate Indians, said "non-interference in other countries is an important principle of international relations".

"The international community should respect the will of the Maldives and play a constructive role in the stability and development of Maldives instead of doing the opposite," he said.

He said Saeed in his meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has introduced the current situation in the Maldives and said that the government is committed to uphold the rule of law and social order independently resolving the current issue and achieving national stability and development.

"The Maldives has the ability to protect the security of the Chinese personnel and the institutions," Saeed told Wang.

For his part, Wang said China is closely following the situation in the Maldives and believe that the government and people there have the ability to properly resolve the current issue and restore the normal order in the country in accordance with law, Geng said.

"China will not interfere in the internal affairs of the Maldives. This is also an important principle enshrined by UN charter. We support the Maldives government to properly resolve issues through dialogue and consultations with relevant parties and uphold independence, sovereignty and legitimate rights and interests of Maldives," Wang told Saeed according to Geng.

"China has offered self-less assistance to Maldives" for its social development, Wang said adding that the cooperation benefits all the peoples in Maldives.

However, it is not yet clear what is the takeaway from Saeed's China visit.

Asked how the Maldives can resolve the problem independently and unilaterally when top judges and leaders have been locked up by Yameen government, Geng retorted saying that "I think you should raise this question to Maldives government. How will they resolve their internal affairs (problems) you should ask them".

"I want to emphasise that China believes that the Maldives and people have the wisdom and capability to properly resolve the current issue faced them," he said

To another question whether Saeed sought China's help to tide over the crisis, Geng said.

"I can tell you that diplomatic channels between the two countries is smooth. China and the Maldives maintain normal and friendly exchanges," he said

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 Madras High Court today banned people from carrying mobile phones to Madurai's famous Meenakshi Amman temple where a fire mishap gutted several shops last week.



Justices N Kirubakaran and R Tharani of the Madurai bench also suggested the deployment of CISF personnel to maintain security at the ancient temple.

The court said the Tamil Nadu government should examine the possibility of forming a high-level committee of archaeological experts for maintaining the temple periodically and providing advice on safety and security aspects.

It ordered that mobile phones should not be carried by anyone barring security officials in the interest of the security of the temple. The order was issued while hearing a PIL seeking to direct the central and state governments to frame guidelines and safety and security code and implement these immediately.

Petitioner Muthukumar, an advocate, submitted that the recent fire accident in the temple had shocked the devotees, adding though only 115 shops had been permitted, in reality, 300 shops had been functioning inside.

The judges also directed the management to inspect the stability of the temple structure as a whole and ensure that fire prevention equipment were kept ready round-the-clock.

The temple staff should also be trained to handle the fire safety and security equipment, the judges observed. Also, the judges said the entire electrical wiring system in the temple could be re-laid so that there were no short circuit issues.

The judges directed the state government to file a report on or before March 13 regarding the safety and security measures taken so far at the temple.

The petitioner submitted that the recent fire accident in the temple had shocked the people adding though only 115 shops had been permitted, in reality, 300 shops had been functioning inside the temple.

He also said the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which inspected the temple in 2009 asked the shrine to be provided "very high-level security" in view of the threats. However, the recommendations of the NIA had not been implemented, the petitioner contended.

The PIL also said the Meenakshi temple had in 1997 been declared a heritage temple by a government order but no action was taken subsequently.
A day after Narendra Modi launched a high-pitch poll campaign in Tripura asking voters to "throw away" the Left Front government, the Congress today denounced him for speaking like a BJP leader and not a prime minister.



The retort came from Congress General Secretary C P Joshi, who is also the in-charge of party affairs in Tripura which will go to polls on February 18.

"It's very unfortunate that a prime minister did not deliver like a prime minister, but like a BJP leader," Joshi told reporters.

Modi held a rally each at Sonamura in Sipahijala district and Kailashahar in Unakoti district yesterday.

"Throw away manik (Sarkar government) and go for 'hira' for prosperity and development in the state in the upcoming election," he urged the gathering at Sipahijala.

Modi coined a new acronym 'HIRA'--H for highways, I for Internet way, R for roadways and A for airways--, hardselling the BJP as a tool for ushering in prosperity and development in the state which the Left has ruled for 25 years on the trot. Joshi said it was for the first time the Congress was fighting the elections in Tripura without an electoral understanding with any party.

"In all earlier elections, we forged an alliance with regional, indigenous parties but this time we are going alone. We would make an all-out effort against the CPI (M) and the BJP in the polls," he said.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi will be here on February 16 to hold a rally, but the details of the programme are not finalised yet, Joshi said.

He said the Congress would continue to organise small meetings instead of holding big rallies to reach out to the electors.

Commenting on a vertical split in the party and former Congress MLAs joining the BJP, he said, "Those who have joined the BJP have no moral value. Tides and ebbs are an integral part of politics. But I can say that the Congress will reincarnate and dominate the countrys politics."
Stepping up its offensive on the Rafale deal, the Congress today posed a set of questions to the government, asking it to disclose the "purchase price" of each fighter aircraft and details of how the agreement was reached.



Congress communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala also accused the government of "doublespeak" and "sacrificing" national interests.

He cited instances during the previous UPA government when details of every defence deal were made public and placed before Parliament.

"As the Modi government stumbles and fumbles, hides and conceals, indulges in doublespeak, sacrifices national interest and refuses to answer on loss to the public exchequer, India will continue to demand answers," he told reporters.

He listed a series of questions for the government, including on the price, the secrecy surrounding the deal, the government's silence on the issue and alleging that prior permission of the Cabinet Committee on Security was not taken.

"What is the price per aircraft of the 36 Rafale aircrafts being purchased by the Modi government? Did Raksha Mantri Nirmala Sitharaman not agree to share the price of Rafale aircrafts in a press conference in Raksha Bhawan on November 17, 2017? Why are PM, RM & FM hiding the purchase price?" he asked.

According to Surjewala, while Sitharaman refused to disclose the price on grounds of a "secrecy agreement", Finance Minister Arun Jaitley did not do so for reasons of "national security".

"Isn't a full disclosure of price of Rafale aircrafts in the national interest? Why are two ministers of the government speaking in two different voices? Who are they trying to shield? Why is the price of aircrafts shrouded in secrecy and cover-up?" he asked.

Surjewala wanted to know whether the per aircraft price of Rafale, according to international bids opened on December 12, 2012, comes to USD 80.95 million (Rs 526.1 crore) as against the Modi government's per aircraft negotiated price of USD 241.66 Million (Rs.1,570.8 crore) as per current exchange rates.

He also asked whether Qatar had purchased 12 Rafale fighter jets in November 2017 for USD 108.33 million per aircraft (Rs 694.80 crore), according to current exchange rates.

"If this is correct, why has the Modi government paid such an astronomically higher price for Rafale aircrafts?"

According to Surjewala, Rafale and Eurofighter Typhoon aircrafts were found equal on all technical requirements by the Indian Air Force.

Did Eurofighter Typhoon give a written offer to then defence minister Arun Jaitley on July 4, 2014, offering to reduce prices by 20 percent, he asked.

"Why did PM Modi and defence minister then not ask both the companies to submit fresh bids through the 'intergovernmental agreement route' so as to get the lowest price in favour of India's public exchequer?"

"Why was no prior permission of the Cabinet Committee on Security taken by PM Modi? Why was the Defence Procurement Procedure violated with impunity? Why are the prime minister, defence minister and finance minister completely silent on this issue?" he went on to pose.

The Congress leader also questioned the government on why Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, a government PSU, was superseded for a Rs 30,000 crore 'offset contract' in favour of a private company.

This was despite the fact that HAL had already signed a work share agreement on March 13, 2014, with Dassault Aviation, he said.

The government has denied the Congress charge that there is a huge scam in the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets from France.
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will hold the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for medical aspirants on May 6.



Announcing the date for the nationwide test, the board opened registration for candidates from Thursday midnight. The online application of the NEET aspirants from India and abroad will be accepted by the CBSE till March 9 till 23:50 hrs. (Indian Standard Time).

Students of all government-recognized secondary school examination boards including Karnataka Board of Pre-University Education are eligible to apply for the test except those who have passed class XII board examination through the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) or any other open school in India.

Students who have passed their class XII board examination as "private candidates" are also not eligible to take the test.

"Candidates who have passed 10+2 from open schools or as private candidates shall not be eligible to appear for NEET. Furthermore, study of Biology/Bio-technology as an additional subject at 10+2 level also shall not be permissible," the CBSE said.

The Medical Council of India (MCI), under Health Ministry, has barred open school students from taking the entrance test from this year on the ground that the students clearing their class XII board examinations through such schools cannot be considered on par with the students of other secondary school examination boards who complete their 12th year of schooling in a regular mode with practicals in the science subjects.

The NIOS, which functions under the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry, had requested the MCI not to bar its students from taking the NEET, pointing out that its examination system was rigorous and the passing certificates that it issues to the students were valid for all purpose including higher education and employment.

The HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar and Health Minister J P Nadda in January held a meeting to resolve the issue. Official sources told DH that the health minister was "almost convinced" at the meeting that the NIOS students should be allowed to take the test.

"The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India has decided that Indian students who wish to pursue MBBS/BDS from a foreign Medical Institute need to qualify NEET (UG)," the CBSE said in its notification.

The board, however, did not specify as to why students aspiring to pursue MBBS/BDS abroad are required to clear NEET exam. It has also not specified the list of countries or medical colleges abroad where NEET scores would be required for admission.

"The duration of the test will be of 3 hours.The conduct of the NEET would be videographed. The candidates are required to keep their head in upright position and face the camera during videography so that their identity could be clearly established," the CBSE said.
China has confirmed "resumption" of Kailash Mansarovar Yatra through the Nathu La route, Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh has said.



He also noted that the Kailash Mansarovar yatra via Nathu La was not undertaken last year after the Chinese government cited "unfavourable conditions" to ensure the safe and smooth conduct of the yatra on this route.

The yatra was stopped by China in the aftermath of the military face-off with India last year at Doklam. China demanded withdrawal of Indian forces from the site.

The standoff began on 16 June after the Indian troops intervened and stopped the Chinese Army from building a road in the area claimed by Bhutan as it posed a security risk to Chicken Neck, the narrow corridor connecting India with its north-eastern states. Finally, the two armies "disengaged" on 28 August.

"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. Subsequently, the Chinese government has confirmed resumption of the yatra on this route," Singh told Lok Sabha in a written reply recently.

Yesterday, addressing a gathering at the 'Chinese Spring Festival' reception at the embassy here, Chinese ambassador Luo Zhaohui said, "New Year is like a blank book. The pen is in our hands. We have already started writing a new chapter of China-India relations. Recently, State Councilor Yang Jiechi and Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited India successfully. The Pilgrimage arrangements have been made now."

The four-month travel period to the Kailash Mansarovar yatra starts from June.
A shift in political affiliations often begets bitterness toward the party worker who made the switch and at times, violence directed at him. In Kerala, children from families in the line of political cross-fire seem to be adopting new ways to stay safe.



Ashwini, a Class 11 student at a government school in Kasaragod, has posted a video on Facebook alleging that her father C K Sukumaran a Karinthalam resident who recently switched from CPI-ML (Marxist-Leninist) to the BJP is facing death threats from local CPM workers. She said five CPM workers had intercepted Sukumaran as he was dropping her home after school and threatened, as she watched, to kill him. "They said they would not let my father live as a BJP worker and threatened to kill him in the town itself. They said we could complain to the police and they weren't scared," Ashwini said in the five-minute video which has been widely shared on social media.

Ashwini who also named the CPM workers who allegedly threatened her father said she had to make an appeal for help from the public on Facebook since she felt it was the only option she had. It's learnt that a police complaint in connection with the issue was filed on Thursday. The CPM leadership in the district has dismissed the allegation. "This is only part of a political campaign against the CPM," the party's district secretary M V Balakrishnan told DH on Friday.

BJP district president K Sreekanth alleged that threats to Sukumaran started soon after he joined the BJP late last month at Kanhangad, in the presence of party state president Kummanam Rajasekharan. "His family lives in an area with a strong CPM presence. CPM workers have been threatening him saying that they won't let a Leftist switch to BJP. Sukumaran who was earlier associated with CPI-ML had a break from politics before he joined BJP," Sreekanth told DH.
Pakistan today said India has not responded to its queries on Indian death-row prisoner Kulbhushan Jadhav's passport and details of his service, calling it "regrettable".



Foreign Office spokesman Dr Mohammad Faisal said that Pakistan arrested "serving Indian Naval Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav", who confessed to his involvement in numerous terrorist incidents in Pakistan.

"It is regrettable that India has so far not given us any reply on how commander Kulbhushan Jadhav was in possession of the passport of Hussain Mubarak Patel, or any details of his retirement from Indian Navy," he said.

Jadhav, 47, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court in April on charges of espionage and terrorism.

The International Court of Justice in May had halted his execution on India's appeal.

Pakistan claims its security forces arrested him from restive Balochistan province on March 3 in 2016 after he reportedly entered from Iran. However, India maintains that Jadhav was kidnapped from Iran where he had business interests after retiring from the Indian Navy.

To another question, Faisal confirmed that a Pakistan delegation visited India for talks regarding intelligence and counter-terrorism but added that "it was not a bilateral meeting between Pakistan and India, but was held under the ambit of Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS), counter-terrorism cooperation mechanism under SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation)".

India and Pakistan attended the SCO summit last year in the Russian beach resort city of Sochi as permanent members for the first time.
With the Karnataka elections fast approaching, the Congress high command is in a fix as host of its senior leaders have started lobbying for the party tickets to their children or kin.



Amidst a section of senior leaders pressuring the party top brass to give ticket to only loyal party workers instead of encouraging dynasty culture, a large number of leaders have started knocking senior leaders door in national capital seeking their blessing.

Surprised over many senior politicians demanding tickets to their children or kin, Karnataka incharge General Secretary K C Venugopal was learnt to have conveyed the party top leadership that the issue should be handled carefully.

He also learnt to have said that before giving the ticket to any of the relatives of senior leaders, the party has to analyse the popularity of every candidate in their respective region and winnability chances.

The party entertained every leader's demand, a large number of young aspirants may desert the organisation, he reportedly told the party leadership here.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah already express his keenness to field his son, Yathindra, either from Chamundeshwari or Varuna constituency, senior leader M Veerappa Moily seeking ticket for his son Harsh Moily from Karkala segment.

Public Works Minister H C Mahadevappa, Urban Development Minister R Roshan Baig, Law Minister T B Jayachandra, Legislative Assembly Speaker K B Koliwad, former Union Minister Margaret Alva, and former Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Rahman Khan are also lobbying with the party high command to get ticket for their sons in constituencies of their respective districts.

Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy has been lobbying hard to get ticket for his daughter Sowmya Reddy from Jayanagar seat in Bengaluru city, while K H Muniyappa, Kolar MP, is keen on fielding his daughter Roopakala from KGF constituency. Motamma too has been trying to get ticket for her daughter in Kadur constituency of Chikkamagalur.

Small Scale Minister Ramesh Jarkiholi is trying for party ticket to his brother Lakan Jarkiholi from Yamanakaradi assembly segment.

"Asking ticket for children or kin is not wrong. Ultimately the party leaders will take a call taking into account of winnability," Moily said.

"It is not who's relative is contesting, winning the poll and adding the seats are most important," he added.
Over 100 MPs, led by Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday petitioned President Ram Nath Kovind for an independent Supreme Court-monitored investigation into the death of special judge B H Loya and his two associates, making clear their lack of faith in the CBI and the NIA.



A memorandum signed by 114 MPs from 15 Opposition parties was handed over to the President at the Rashtrapati Bhavan by a multi-party delegation led by Gandhi that included representatives from Congress, CPM, CPI, Trinamool Congress, AAP among others.

"A large number of MPs feel suspicious and uneasy over the death of judge Loya and two others. They wanted an independent probe and did not want the investigation to be handed over to the CBI," Gandhi told reporters. He was flanked by senior leaders including Ghulam Nabi Azad, Kapil Sibal, Anand Sharma, D Raja, T K Rangarajan and Idris Ali.

Gandhi said the president gave them a positive response.

Judge Loya was handling the fake encounter case of Sohrabuddin Sheikh at the time of this death on December 1, 2014. BJP president Amit Shah was one of the accused in the case. He was subsequently discharged citing lack of evidence.

Loya's case came into the spotlight in November last year when his family members raised questions about his death claiming that he was under tremendous pressure regarding the Soharabuddin case.

The Supreme Court is hearing a public interest litigation that seeks an independent probe into judge Loya's case.

"This cannot be decided through public interest," senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal told reporters and demanded a Special Investigation Team of officers selected by the Supreme Court.

"There should be an SIT (Special Investigation Team) but not of CBI officials. We don't trust the CBI or NIA (National Investigation Agency) because we know what CBI and NIA officials do," Sibal said, referring to the 2G spectrum allocation case in which a special court let off all accused including former communications minister A Raja.

"Such a procedure will ensure the credibility of the institution in the eyes of the public. We sincerely hope you will use your good offices to serve the cause of justice," the MPs told the President.

The memorandum also mentioned that two confidants of Loya - lawyer Shrikant Khandalkar and retired district judge Prakash Thombre - also died under suspicious circumstances.

"We believe that if lives of judges and lawyers are jeopardised for doing their duty, then democracy is under grave threat. Recently, four senior-most puisne judges of the Supreme Court also expressed the sentiment that democracy was in peril," the MPs said, referring to the sensational press conference by Supreme Court judges last month that brought to the fore differences in the top judiciary.
BJP today demanded that Congress take action against state minister Vinay Kulkarni who it alleged had "openly" threatened its MLA during a debate on murders in the Assembly that he would be the next target.



"Dear #10PercentCM @siddaramaiah, your minister Vinay Kulkarni is an accused in the murder of ZP member Yogesh Gowda & is now openly threatening @CTRavi_BJP sitting in the 'Temple of Democracy'.



"Do you have the courage to take action against your Rowdy Minister?," BJP state unit chief B S Yeddyurappa tweeted. The tweet comes a day after BJP member C T Ravi's name was mentioned when the party raised the issue of killing of S Kadiresh, husband of a BJP corporator, and was targeting the government over law and order, citing the rise in murders.



Referring to such recent killings, BJP leader Ashoka had said "Yesterday Santosh, today Kadiresh and who is tomorrow?" to which Ravi's name was screamed out from the ruling side, inviting an angry reaction from party members.



State Agriculture Minister Krishna Byregowda had, however, said the minister had only mentioned Ravi's name in jest and he was sorry about it. Santosh was killed on February 2 and Kadiresh five days later. BJP claimed that Santosh was killed when festoons were being put up for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit on Sunday last. Kadiresh, a rowdy-sheeter, was hacked to death two days ago, which police said, was due to an old rivalry.



Yeddyurappa picked up the term '10 percent Chief Minister' from the Prime Minister's jibe during his public meeting on February 4 in Bengaluru that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's government in Karnakata takes a commission of 10 percent to get the works done. The Karnataka BJP demanded that Rahul Gandhi take action against the 'rogue MLA'.



"Dear @OfficeOfRG, while discussing Hindu murders in K'taka assembly, your MLA Vinay Kulkarni openly threatens our MLA @CTRavi_BJP that he will be the next target."



"Before landing in K'taka tomorrow, we dare you to take action against this rogue MLA," the party tweeted. Rahul Gandhi will be on a four-day tour of the state from tomorrow to galvanise the party workers ahead of the assembly polls, which are due early this year.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that his visit to Ramallah on Saturday would reaffirm India's support to "Palestinian people and development of Palestine".



Prime Minister on Friday left New Delhi to visit to Palestine, United Arab Emirates and Oman.

He will have an overnight stopover in Amman and will leave for Ramallah by a helicopter on Saturday. During his stopover in Amman, he will call on King of Jordan, Abdullah II, who incidentally had just returned from a visit to Pakistan.

Modi's visit is going to be the first visit by a Prime Minister of India to Palestine. He will pay homage to late Yasser Arafat, the first president of Palestinian National Authority, at his mausoleum in Ramallah. He will later hold talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

"I am looking forward to my discussions with President Mahmoud Abbas and reaffirming our support for the Palestinian people and the development of Palestine," Modi said shortly before his departure from New Delhi. His visit to Palestine comes less than a year after he became the first Prime Minister of India to visit Israel. It also comes less than a month after he hosted Israeli Prime Minister to New Delhi and the capital of his home-state, Ahmedabad.

Prime Minister had not visited Palestine during his maiden tour to Israel in July 2017. It was aimed at de-hyphenating India's relations with Israel from that with Palestine.

Modi chose Amman, but not Jerusalem as a transit for his visit to Ramallah a ostensibly in keeping with his government's policy of de-linking its ties with Palestine and Israel.

President Pranab Mukherjee's visit to Palestine in October 2015 had been the first by a Head of the State of India. He had travelled to Palestine after visiting Israel.

New Delhi had announced five more projects during his visit to Ramallah, with India committing assistance worth $ 17.79 million for Palestine. New Delhi's commitment had included a $ 12 million for Palestine India Techno Park and $ 4.5 million for Palestine Institute of Diplomacy a both in Ramallah a and $ 1 million for India-Palestine Centre of Excellence in Information and Communication Technology in Gaza.

Prime Minister and Palestinian President are likely to witness exchange of some Memorandums of Understanding with India committing further support to Palestine's infrastructure development and nation-building efforts, B Bala Bhaskar, Joint Secretary (West Asia and North Africa) at the Ministry of External Affairs, said.

Modi is likely to convey to Abbas in Ramallah that India remains in favour of "early resumption of talks between Palestinian and Israeli sides to move towards finding a comprehensive resolution". He will also reiterate New Delhi's position that the peace-process should result in a "sovereign, independent, united and viable Palestine, co-existing peacefully with Israel".

Bhaskar said that Prime Minister would convey to the Palestine President that India had been steadfastly supporting the cause of Palestine at the United Nations and other international forums and the prime minister's visit to Ramallah would reaffirm New Delhi's commitment to continue to do so.

India's assurance to Palestine of continued support in international fora will be significant as the Palestine Liberation Organization's executive committee last week decided to demand that the UN Security Council recognise the State of Palestine within the 1967 borders with Jerusalem as its capital.

India in December 2017 voted at the United Nations General Assembly in favour of a resolution asking the United States to withdraw President Donald Trump's recent decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. India itself however stopped seeking East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine.

New Delhi earlier voted in favour of Palestine's admission to Interpol as a full member.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday conducted searches at a person's premises, who is claimed to have links with Robert Vadra, in connection with its money laundering probe.



The probe relates to a land grab case in Rajasthan's Bikaner.

The searches were conducted at Mahesh Nagar's premises in Haryana's Faridabad, officials said. Nagar is claimed to be associated with Ms Skylight Hospitality Private Limited, which has links with Vadra.

The ED has registered a money laundering case in connection with the land grab case based on 18 FIRs filed by Rajasthan Police in August 2016 after the local tehsildar filed a complaint.

It came after the ED suspected that money was laundered in connection with the case of transfer of government land in 34 villages of Bikaner, to be used for expanding the army's firing range in the area, to private persons using "forged and fabricated documents".

However, the ED has not mentioned Vadra's name in its FIR filed under the PMLA. The FIR names some Rajasthan government officials and the "land mafia".

The ED had attached assets worth Rs 1.18 crore of government officials and others in connection with the case.

In December last year, the ED had arrested Ashok Kumar, a close associate of Nagar, and another person, Jaiprakash Bagarwa. The agency had searched the premises of both Kumar and Nagar in April last year.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi today again targeted Finance Minister Arun Jaitley over the Rafale aircraft deal, twisting his name to indicate that he spoke untruths.



Gandhi is already facing a privilege motion for his word play on Jaitley's surname.

"Dear Mr Jaitlie, You said the UPA never released prices of Defence purchases?

"To nail your lie, here are 3 Parliamentary replies by the UPA with full transparency on pricing.

"Now do ask our Raksha Mantri to tell India how much each RAFALE jet cost," he said on Twitter.

Questioned by a journalist outside the Rashtrapati Bhavan on whether he had used a spell check before putting out the tweet, Gandhi replied in mock surprise, "I need to look at the spell check."

"Arun Jaitley said yesterday in Parliament that we did not show the price (of defence deals). We have shown that we did. So what else do I have to call him. Because he is not telling the truth," he said, referring to the Rafale jet deal.

In an earlier tweet in December last year, Gandhi had addressed the finance minister the same way.

On this, BJP MP Bhupender Yadav moved a privilege motion against him.

Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu has sent it to the Lok Sabha speaker for further action, noting that there seemed to be a prima facie case of privilege against Gandhi.

Yadav, in his complaint, had alleged that there is a "breach of privilege" by Gandhi as he used derogatory words against the finance minister and leader of the House.

"Dear Mr Jaitlie - thank you for reminding India that our PM never means what he says or says what he means. #BJPLies," Gandhi had tweeted on December 27.

The Congress president had yesterday said, "Q-Why did the Raksha Mantri change her stance from: I will reveal the price of the RAFALE planes in Nov 2017 to the price is a state secret in Feb 2018. A. Corruption. B. To protect Modiji. C. To protect Modiji's friend. D. All of above."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the BJP MPs to carry forward the "big message" of his government's 2018-19 Budget to the masses, by highlighting how it "delivers on promises."



Addressing the BJP parliamentary party on the last day of the first part of Parliament's budget session, Modi suggested they hold "lunch pe charcha" (discussion over lunch) in different villages of their constituencies to spread its "good points" among people.

Modi recalled how he had held discussions with party cadres in his Lok Sabha constituency of Varanasi over lunch by bringing his own tiffin.

The PM had led his 2014 Lok Sabha poll campaign by holding "chai pe charcjha" (discussion over tea) across the country.

He said if the BJP MPs took to popularising the Budget proposals, it would lead to their party winning in the next polls. Rejecting criticism of the Budget, the PM described the proposals as "positive" for the middle class and farmers.

Praising Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's reply in the Lok Sabha, Modi asked them to hold "mock" parliaments in various places to discuss the Budget.

Modi also heaped praise on BJP chief Amit Shah for his maiden speech in the Rajya Sabha.

In his address, Shah described Congress president Rahul Gandhi's behaviour as "undemocratic" and suggested ways to counter his criticism of the Rafale fighter deal.

"Never before in the parliamentary history was a prime minister's reply to the president's address disrupted by the Oppositon," Shah said, referring to Congress' protests in the Lok Sabha well during Modi's over 90-minute speech on Wednesday.

Shah responded to a BJP MP who raised the issue of farmers linking it to the party's defeat in the Rajasthan by-polls. "Don't look at Rajasthan defeat. See towards the victory that will be ours in 2019," Shah said.

At the meeting, two booklets containing the Prime Minister's speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos and Shah's speech at various platforms were distributed among the MPs.

The booklet, with the title "Unbeatable Global Legend", contains articles published in around 25 global newspapers about Modi's speech at Davos. The booklet was prepared by party general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya.
The Election Commission has issued notices to Congress MP Vincent H Pala and a Hills State Peoples Democratic Party (HSPDP) candidate for laying a foundation stone of a hostel allegedly in violation of model code of conduct (MCC), officials said on Friday.



Both Pala, Lok Sabha member from Shillong, and D Jyndiang, HSPDP nominee in West Khasi Hills district, had attended a foundation stone-laying function of Hostel Umyiap District of a Church at Tiehsaw village in West Khasi Hills as guests last week.

Chief Electoral Officer F K Kharkongor said the Nongstoin returning officer P D Sangma had issued notices to the two persons in connection with the programme with a direction that their replies be submitted within five days.

He said the department is waiting for their replies to ascertain the actual position and the same will be forwarded to the Election Commission for necessary action.

Pala on the other hand defended his position and said, I do not think I violated the MCC. I attended the program of the Church as an invited guest. He said he will reply to the show cause is consultation with his lawyers.

The regional party HSPDP candidate from Nongstoin constituency also denied any violation of the MCC. He told reporters on Thursday at Nongstoin that he attended the church program as a common man and not as a politician and there was no announcement of any scheme there.
Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma, who is making effort to enter the Assembly for the fifth time, has filed nominations from a second constituency, in addition to his traditional seat of Ampati.



The Congress strongman is in the fray from Ampati in South West Garo Hills district as well Songsak in East Garo Hills district for February 27 state elections.

This is for the first time that Sangma, who is Meghalaya's chief minister for past 10 years, is also contesting from a second seat.

After end of scrutiny of nomination papers, Ampati has only three contestants, including the CM.

Songsak has seven candidates including Sangma in the fray.

At Ampati, Sangma would face a triangular contest after the BJP fielded former bureaucrat Bakul Hajong from the seat.

Independent candidate Joyanto Marak is also a strong contender from the constituency.

Altogether 374 candidates have been cleared for fighting the state poll after scrutiny of nominations.

Out of this, there are 33 women and 85 Independent candidates, chief electoral officer F R Kharkongor told PTI on Friday.

Rongjeng constituency in East Garo Hills district has maximum number of 11 candidates in the field for the poll for 60 constituencies of Meghalaya.

Tikrikilla and North Tura constituencies have 10 candidates each.

The CEO said the last day of withdrawal of nominations is February 12. The date of counting will be on March 3, three days before the tenure of the current Assembly ends.

Besides, Ampati seat, two other constituencies - Sohiong and Bajengdoba - also have only three candidates in the fray.

Chief Minister's colleague and close confidant H Donkupar Roy Lyngdoh, who was given plump portfolios in charge of Home and Transport in the last re-shuffling, will also face a triangular contest at his Sohiong constituency in East Khasi Hills district.

Samling Malngiang, a candidate of the Hills State Peoples Democratic Party (HSPDP) is the regional parties best bet against the Donkupar whose eldest son was defeated in the autonomous district council elections over a year ago.

Judah J M Wahlang put up by the Peoples Democratic Front, a new political party floated last year, may crack in either of the vote banks spoiling any of the top runners votes.

The third triangular contest in this election will be in Bajengdoba constituency where the Congress, the National Peoples Party and the BJP will put in their best bet against each other.

Brigaddy Marak who joined the Congress last month will contest against the former MLA and BJPs candidate John Manner Marak and the NPPs candidate Pongseng Marak from Bajengdoba seat.
Smoking by villagers near grass, which is used as fodder, may have led to the accidental fire at the Bellandur Lake in Bengaluru in January, the government today said.



Minister of State for Environment Mahesh Sharma in a written reply in the Lok Sabha said cutting grass in the lake area by the neighbouring villagers and use it as a fodder for their cattle is a common practice.

He said the ministry has taken note of the massive fire at the lake on January 19.

"It has been observed that dense smoke was releasing from the grass with organic sludge (Muck). Since long it is a common practice of grass cutting in the lake area by the neighbouring villagers to use it as a fodder for their cattle.

"In such time, while they smoke, there may be chances of accidental fire in the grass and this could be the reason for the accidental fire in Bellandur Lake," he said.

He further added that the fire may also be due to igniting debris of biomass, dry plants, solid waste (consisting of predominantly dry grass and waste plastics etc.) and aggravated by methane generation in the lake.

He said the state government has informed that an accidental fire incident in Bellandur Lake took place around 9.30 am at few locations within the lake bed mainly around the Defence area adjacent to tank bed, towards Iblur and Ejipura side.

The fire flaring with orange flames and dense smoke engulfed the Defence area which belongs to ASC Center, Bengaluru, he said.

The defence personnel, state fire force department in coordination with Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) Officers reached the spot at 11.00 am and all efforts were made to extinguish the fire immediately.

However, as the fire locations were within the water spread area of the tank, the fire force and Defence personnel struggled to reach the fire spots.

"However, the team could restrict the spreading of fire to different parts of the civil and Defence land.

"The team could stop the major fire havocs duly by extinguishing the fire in the ground area and restricting the same in the water spread area of the tank," he said.

He said the state government has taken all preventive measures to address the froth issue at Bellandur Lake waste weir points.

The measures include fixing of wire net mesh to a height of 20 feet (6 m) to prevent the air disbursal of froth all along waste weir length near Bellandur road crossing, ensuring that there is no froth in the lake anywhere and froth is occurring only at the waste weirs, among others, he said.
The Election Commission on Friday announced that the crucial bypolls in Gorakhpur and Phulpur parliamentary constituencies of Uttar Pradesh will be held on March 11.



The two seats fell vacant in September 2017 when Yogi Adityanath and Keshav Prasad Maurya of the BJP resigned from the membership of the Lok Sabha after taking over as chief minister and the deputy chief minister of the state.

The two bypolls are going to be the first electoral challenge for the BJP in Uttar Pradesh after its landslide victory in the state Assembly polls in February-March, 2017.

The EC on Friday also announced that the bypolls to Araria parliamentary constituency in Bihar will be held on March 11 as well.

The seat fell vacant due to the demise of Rashtriya Janata Dal MP, Mohammed Taslimuddin, in September 2017.

Gorakhpur has since long been a stronghold of the BJP. Adityanath, himself, got elected to the Lok Sabha from the constituency for five consecutive terms since 1998.

Phulpur had once been a pocket borough of the first prime minister of the country, Jawahar Lal Nehru, although the Congress could not win the seat after 1984.

While Atique Ahmed of the Samajwadi Party and Kapil Muni Karwariya of the Bahujan Samaj Party won from Phulphur in 2004 and 2009, Maurya of the BJP was elected from the constituency in 2014.

Though BSP chief Mayawati is purportedly contemplating on contesting the bypolls in Phulpur, the party had not yet declared her candidature officially.

The bypoll in Araria in Bihar assumes significance as it would be the first election after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar steered the JD(U) out of an alliance with the Congress and the RJD to enter into a coalition with the BJP.

The notification for the three byelections will be issued on February 13, beginning the process of filing nomination papers.

While votes will be cast on March 11, counting will be held on March 14, the EC said.
HCL Technologies (HCL), the fourth leading IT services in the country, is named a top employer in the United Kingdom for the twelfth consecutive year in recognition of its best-in-class employee engagement and people practices.



The Top Employers Institute assessed HCL Technologies' employee practices across various criteria such as talent strategy, workforce planning, on-boarding, learning and development, performance management and leadership.

HCL received this prestigious award at Old Billingsgate, London, on 1st February 2018 from the Top Employers Institute.

HCL Technologies Chief Human Resources Officer V V Apparao said "To be recognized by The Top Employers Institute twelve years running is a true testament to HCL's longstanding reputation as one of the best places to work in the UK".

"We believe that our continued success stems from having productive employees that are empowered to drive our Mode 1-2-3 growth strategy by taking ownership of tasks and making decisions for themselves. To enable this, we place great importance on creating the culture of trust, transparency and flexibility that modern 21st Century Enterprises thrive on," he said.
The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) has termed the Medical Council of India's (MCI) decision to barring its students from taking the NEET from this year as unfortunate and discriminatory.

The medical education regulator's decision has "jeopardised" the interests of the thousands of meritorious students who have got a senior secondary certificate from the NIOS after clearing the class XII examination, a senior official of the open school told DH.

Around 2,950 students of NIOS registered for the national eligibility-cum-entrance test (NEET) in 2017. Out of them, 2,710 students took the nation-wide test and 864 of them were declared qualified last year.

About 500 NIOS students also cleared the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) last year. Many of NIOS students have cleared JEE-Advanced and have got admission in Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) in the past, the official added.

"There is absolutely no reason to debar the NIOS students from taking the NEET when the MCI had already given recognition to our senior secondary (Class XII) certificates in 2012. It is not out of place to mention here that we evaluate the learners more vigorously than any other formal board," the NIOS official said.

The NIOS, which offers education up to pre-degree level through open and distance learning mode, follows the "same syllabus" for classes XI and XII as followed by any other board including the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).

While the board examinations conducted by the regular secondary school examination board covers the syllabus of Class XII only, the NIOS students take their class XII board examinations covering syllabus of Classes XI and XII both.

"Practicals are performed by the students in Physics, Chemistry and Biology. Classroom training in Physics, Chemistry and Biology are also provided as personal contact programme only in the CBSE or state board affiliated schools," the official said.

The NIOS, set up as an autonomous body under the HRD ministry, is the only national-level organisation providing "educational access," from elementary to senior secondary, to all those who are outside the formal education system since 1979. Its operation was first started as "a project with in-built flexibilities" by the CBSE and later made an autonomous body under the HRD ministry in 1990 to carry forward the government's mandate.

"I am very pained with the MCI's decision. We made representations before the MCI but it's sad they have not taken care of our students. I am not speaking against the Government. It's about safeguarding the interests of our students. It's less privileged students who enroll with the open schools," the NIOS chairman CB Sharma told DH.
India on Friday asked China to play "a constructive role" in Maldives, after President Abdulla Yameen's government in Male called upon Beijing to send troops to protect its investment in the Indian Ocean archipelago.

"We note that China has said that Maldives government has the ability to protect the security of Chinese personnel and institutions in Maldives," Raveesh Kumar, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, said. He was responding to a query on Maldives' request to China for support to maintain the communist country's investments in the island nation. "We hope that all countries can play a constructive role in Maldives, instead of doing the opposite," Kumar said, tacitly asking Beijing not to pay heed to Male's request to send troops to the Indian Ocean archipelago.

After Prime Minister Narendra Modi and American President Donald Trump discussed the situation in Maldives, China too got in touch with India, stating that it did not want the island nation to be another flashpoint. Hours after Modi and Trump "expressed concern" over the turmoil in Maldives and "pledged to continue working together to enhance security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region", China on Friday indicated that it was in touch with India to help resolve the political crisis in the island nation.

A PTI report from Beijing on Friday quoted "Chinese official sources" as saying that China was in touch with India to resolve the crisis in Maldives. The report also quoted "sources" as saying that China did not want Maldives to become another "flashpoint".

Maldives' president sent his Economic Development Minister Mohamed Saeed to Beijing to brief the Chinese government and secure its support for his refusal to abide by the order of the Supreme Court to release all political prisoners, arrest of Chief Justice of the apex court and declaration of State of Emergency in the tiny archipelago.

Saeed, the special envoy of Maldives president, had a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing. Geng Shuang, a spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chinese government, told journalists in Beijing that the international community should respect sovereignty and independence of Maldives. "The current situation in Maldives is its internal affairs. It should be properly resolved through dialogue and consultations by all relevant parties," PTI quoted Geng as saying.

His comment came after Trump and Modi underlined the "importance of respect for democratic institutions and rule of law" in Maldives.

The tiny Indian Ocean island has of late been yet another scene where India and China are in competition to expand geopolitical influence.

Yameen's arch-rival and former president of Maldives Mohamed Nasheed already called upon New Delhi to send a special envoy to Male and follow it up with a military intervention to make the government in Maldives stop misusing its powers.

Yameen also sent special envoys to Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. The Embassy of Maldives in New Delhi claimed that Male wanted to send a special envoy to India on Thursday. New Delhi, however, declined to host Maldivian President's emissary as the prime minister was busy electioneering in Tripura and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj was out on a tour to Saudi Arabia on Thursday.

Sources told DH that Male had not informed New Delhi about the purpose of the visit by the special envoy of Maldivian president. Besides, New Delhi conveyed its disappointment to Yameen's government in Male over its failure to allay the concerns expressed by the international community and India. "Democratic institutions and the judiciary continue to be undermined and concerns of the international community ignored," a source said, sharing New Delhi's view on the prevailing situation in Maldives. "These issues need to be properly addressed (by Maldives' government)."
Amid rising tension on the border, Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra and Vice Chief of Army Staff (VCOAS) Lt Gen Sarath Chand on Friday reviewed the overall security situation in Kashmir. They were on a one-day visit to the state.



Defence spokesman Col Rajesh Kalia said Mitra arrived in Srinagar to review the overall security situation in the Valley. "During the visit, the defence secretary visited forward areas along the Line of Control where he was briefed on the prevailing security situation. He also interacted with the commanders and troops on ground,"Kalia said.



Mitra, he said, was also briefed on the close coordination among all the government agencies in maintaining peace in the region. "He (defence secretary) also visited Badami Bagh Cantonment where he was briefed by Lt Gen AK Bhatt, Chinar Corps Commander, on the counter-infiltration and counter-terrorism grids functional in the Valley," the spokesman said.



Meanwhile, during the visit, Lt Gen Chand was briefed by the commanders on the ground regarding operational preparedness as well as the measures taken to meet security and weather-related challenges, the spokesman said.



"The vice chief also interacted with troops and emphasised the need for undertaking relentless intelligence-based operations to sustain pressure on militant groups and maintain a high degree of vigil along the LoC to eliminate any infiltration bid," the spokesman said.



The visit comes at a time when tension has gripped people living close to the international border and the LoC in the state due to regular ceasefire violations by Pakistan. The hostilities rose between India and Pakistan since December last year after both accused each other of killing soldiers on either side.



The LoC and the IB remained volatile last year also. According to official figures, 860 incidents of ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops were reported in 2017, compared with 221 the year before.
Hours after the Mumbai Police arrested venture capitalist Mahesh Murthy in a sexual harassment case filed by a Delhi-based woman, the start guru tweeted that he has been granted anticipatory bail.

"The court granted me anticipatory bail in this case some time ago. I am told it was a procedural technical arrest and I have already been released on surety," Murthy tweeted.

He further said that he had filed a case on the same issue in the Bombay High Court and it has already passed an interim order in his favour and against the complainant in April 2017.

"This is an attempt to counter-sue. I will fight this too in court to defend my reputation," he added.

The complaint against Murthy was forwarded by the National Commission of Woman to the Maharashtra Police, which passed it on to the Mumbai Police for investigations.

According to the Khar police station, Murthy, a resident of Bandra, had sent an indecent message on social media to the complainant on Christmas.

He has been booked under Indian Penal Code sections 354 (D) (stalking offline and online) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) and section 67 (publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form) of the Information Technology Act.

"Based on a complaint filed at the Commission and following NCW's successful intervention, #MaheshMurthy has been arrested by @MumbaiPolice today u/Sec 354 IPC read with 67A of IT Act. @sharmarekha @MinistryWCD," the NCW tweeted.

The Mumbai Police had registered a case on December 29, 2017. Besides this, there have been similar complaints against him including by an author, who had accused Murthy of sexual harassment 13 years ago at a cafe in Mumbai.

Murthy is the managing partner and co-founder of Seedfund.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday took on the Opposition Congress for the economic mess it created in over five decades of its rule and said he was "stunned" when his predecessor P Chidambaram questioned why this year's Budget reduced corporate tax to 25%, something he himself had suggested as a finance minister.



"It was strange that he raised the issue during the discussion. I was stunned. When Chidambaram was finance minister, he drafted the new direct tax code in which he advocated bringing down the corporate tax rate to 25% so that firms invested more and created jobs," Jaitley said, replying to the part of Budget discussion in the Rajya Sabha.

In a strong rebuttal to Chidambaram's 12 posers during the discussion on the Union Budget, Jaitley said the NDA government improved almost all economic growth parameters after it came to power, be it health, MNREGA, subsidies or government finances.

He said the Congress has a peculiar habit of opposing the reforms they themselves had started, whether it was Aadhaar or reduction in corporate tax or anything else.

"Today you are criticising all those policies you yourself had started. I am forced to ask what are your economic policies and is there any consistency in them," Jaitley said in his reply.

On the issue of the biggest health scheme which too was criticised by the Opposition, he said it was just a beginning and that the Niti Aayog was readying a fine print of how the cost will be shared between the Centre and the states. His remark was countered by many members, including Trinamool Congress' Derek O'Brien, who said many states like West Bengal were already running a successful health scheme and the Centre was merely "thrusting" on them its own model.
When Congress president Rahul Gandhi shares the dais with former BJP MLA Anand Singh, who joined the Congress recently, at the launch of the party's poll campaign "Janashirvaada yatra" at Hosapete in Ballari district on Saturday, the ruling party would come a full circle as far as the illegal mining issue is concerned.



Just about five years ago, illegal iron ore mining in Ballari was a major poll plank for the Congress, which was then in the Opposition. The issue helped the party return to power after a gap of seven years. The party even took out a padayatra from Bengaluru to Ballari, protesting against illegal mining. Surprisingly, illegal mining appears to have become a non-issue for the ruling party in the 2018 polls.

The party recently inducted Anand Singh, who was once a close associate of Reddy brothers of Ballari and has been facing illegal mining charges.

Singh, with another mining scam accused and Ballari district incharge Minister Santosh Lad, is overseeing all arrangements for the launch of Rahul's yatra at Hosapet that is part of the Vijayanagara constituency that Singh used to represent as the BJP MLA till recently.

Not only Singh, the Congress led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is eager to embrace another mining scam accused, B Nagendra, the Independent MLA from Kudligi (ST Reserve) in Ballari. Like Singh, Nagendra, too, was once a close associate of the Reddy brothers and is facing charges of illegal mining. The Congress is also eyeing BJP MLA from Kampli in Ballari, T H Suresh Babu, a nephew of Ballari MP B Sriramulu.

Babu, who is also an accused in the mining scam, is said to be reluctant on joining the Congress. Incidentally, Singh, Nagendra and Babu had been jailed in illegal mining cases and are out on bail.

As per Siddaramaiah's own admission, Rahul himself gave the green signal for inducting these leaders. The party has only one criterion for the polls: Winning as many seats, irrespective of candidates' background. So much so that the party has chosen to ignore stiff resistance from the local leaders in this regard. The Congress lacks strong candidates to take on the BJP in these constituencies.

Four-day yatra

Rahul will have a packed schedule during his four-day yatra in Hyderabad-Karnataka region from Saturday.

Rahul will be touring Ballari, Koppal, Raichur and Kalaburagi districts, taking part in public rallies and interactions with various sections of people. Besides, he will be visiting famous temples and dhargas in the region.

BSY takes dig at Rahul

In a tit for tat, BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa on Friday took to twitter to take a dig at Rahul Gandhi on the eve of his visit to the state.

"I heartily welcome #ElectionHindu@OfficeOfRG to Ballari. The #Congress President will fulfil our dream of #CongressMuktKarnataka," Yeddyurappa tweeted.
The BBMP is reconsidering its controversial plan to make kitchen pulverisers (food waste crushers) mandatory in every household.



Mayor R Sampath Raj had come up with the proposal to tackle the city's garbage problem. But residents and experts opposed it, saying Bengaluru's sewers are just not equipped to handle the load.

Kitchen pulverisers are electrical food waste disposers that can be attached to the kitchen sink and their blades will grind the garbage into liquid, which will be drained into the sewer.

Solid waste management (SWM) experts believe the process will require lots of water, something that will be difficult in a city facing water shortage. "The process of pulverising food requires a lot of water. At least 10-21 litres of water is required to push the food waste from the source and some more to force it down the drain. The process may cause sewers to overflow," an expert said.

An online petition entitled #KitchenPulveriserBeda was recently launched by Bangalore Eco Team against the mandatory installation of food waste crushers. The petition, which warns the move will lead to bigger disasters such as clogged drains and water wastage, has received over 2,000 signatures.

The civic body recently held a meeting with citizen groups. A BBMP official said they would get an expert opinion on installing kitchen pulverisers.

Speaking to DH, the mayor said the proposal would be sent to the IISc for an opinion and a decision would be taken based on its report.
The Goa government on Friday charged that Karnataka has not scientifically studied the water availability and annual rainfall in the Mahadayi river basin before planning the diversion of river water.



The Goa government, in its arguments before the Mahadayi Water Dispute Tribunal, said that the Karnataka government just submitted the Central Water Commission report to the tribunal to substantiate its arguments that the total water availability in the Mahadayi catchment area was 199 tmcft.

Claiming that the CWC report was totally wrong and unscientifically prepared, Atmaram Nadkarni, the advocate representing the Goa government, alleged that the Karnataka government is trying to mislead the tribunal with its contention that the river basin has sufficient water.

The Goa government also said the report on water availability in the Mahadayi river and its catchment areas, prepared by A K Gosain, Professor, IIT, Delhi, was also not scientific.

Gosain appeared as a witness of Karnataka before the tribunal.

Heated arguments

At one point in time, a heated argument took place between Nadkarni and Mohan V Katarki, the advocate representing Karnataka.

While making reference to Gosain report, Nadkarni said that perhaps Karnataka engineers are wiser than its witnesses. Katarki said the advocate should stay away from making sarcastic remarks. "I can also make such comments against the Goa government witness," Katarki said.

"Goa has touched a new low. We don't want to show now what language the Goa minister had used. But, I will point out when my turn comes," Katarki said.
Jet Airways on Friday announced a second daily flight from Bengaluru to Singapore, given the growing passenger traffic on the route.



The introduction of the second flight forms part of the airline's focus to strengthen its presence in Bengaluru, as its upcoming third hub, besides those in Mumbai and Delhi.

The new daily flight - 9W 26 - will depart from Bengaluru at 2.05 am (IST) and reach Singapore at 9.15 am (LT), helping corporate and business travellers. In the return journey, flight 9W 25 will depart from Singapore at 10.15 am (LT) and arrive in Bengaluru at 12.10 pm (IST).

Jet Airways has announced special introductory return economy fares from Bengaluru, starting Rs 11,768, and tickets can be booked from February 15 onwards. The inaugural fares are applicable for journeys starting March 15.

With the introduction of the second flight between Bengaluru and Singapore, Jet Airways' cargo capacity will double on this route to offer 5,000 kilos each way. From Bengaluru, the primary commodities uplifted for Singapore are perishables, flowers, garments, computer parts and accessories. From Singapore, the primary commodities being shipped are electronic goods and accessories, computer parts and peripherals.
Namma Metro, the inexorable part of the city landscape in recent times, is turning into an eyesore, thanks to advertisement posters and political banners wrapping its pillars.



Since the 42-kilometre network began functioning last June, the metro has become an essential choice of commute for thousands. Yet, the pillars and medians underneath the elevated corridors of the city's most expensive transit system tell a different story.

Political posters and cheap advertisements regularly deface the pillars, while the medians have been turned into garbage dumps of hideous proportions.

"It's time we ask ourselves if these are mere infrastructure or potential heritage structures," said civic evangelist V Ravichandar. "Our approach is to regard new structures as part of the city's heritage."

Though the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited had earlier called tenders for advertisement displays on metro pillars, the focus has shifted from monetising to beautifying them. The BMRCL recently joined forces with private firms to paint the pillars with artistic designs. Sadly though, this has not put an end to the poster culture.

"We expect people to respect the public infrastructure, but they don't," regrets BMRCL Public Relations Officer U A Vasanth Rao. "Last year, we sued a company for defacing pillars near the Trinity metro station. We began painting the pillars, which seems to have reduced the menace."

Urban architect Naresh Narasimhan said a paradigm shift in attitude towards public spaces is necessary for urban aesthetics. "Politicians should set an example by refusing to put up posters and flexes," he said. "Political leaders and officials should ensure people feel proud of their city."

Urban anthropologist Usha Rao, who studies open spaces, said anonymity allows people to get away with defacement. "People feel boxed in by the metro elevated corridors. Officials should work to make the altered landscape more pleasant and allow them to be curated," she said.

Ravichandar said restricting posters on the pillars would be a challenge with the Assembly elections round the corner. "Forget about banning flexes and posters, we're getting new infrastructure like skywalks and underpasses meant for advertisement banners," he said.



Metro technical snag: Single track used

A single track was used at the Yelachenahalli Metro Station due to a technical snag on the other track on Friday.

This also caused a delay in operations of Metro trains. Commuters had to use the same platform for both onward and return journey.

AS Shankar, executive director, operations and maintenance, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) said the glitch would be attended soon

However, there was no official communication regarding the issue.
Primary and Secondary Education Minister Tanveer Sait on Friday conceded that there were as many as 240 typographical and factual errors introduced in school textbooks distributed during the current academic year.



Replying to Tara Anuradha (BJP) in the Legislative Council, Sait said that his department was, however, taking measures to ensure that the same mistakes aren't repeated the coming academic year.

Tara attacked the Education department for its lackadaisical attitude. She said that the quality of education had taken a hit, because of the department's shoddy job in printing and distributing textbooks.

Stating that the tender process for printing textbooks had been initiated, Sait said that last year there was a severe issue of paper availability, which had caused the delay.

Practice-cum-activity book

The minister said that the department would distribute practice-cum-activity books along with textbooks to students, to improve their creativity.

He said that such a decision was taken after the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) noted that the state syllabus textbooks in Karnataka were not "learner-centric" -- thereby not encouraging creativity among students.

Fresh rules

Sait said that the state government was in the process of finalising fresh rules for regulating the unauthorised fee structures and imposition of fines by private schools.

Replying to P R Ramesh (Congress), Sait said amendments had been introduced to the Karnataka Educational Institutions Rules.

The move was to check exploitation of parents and students. The minister said that District Education Regulatory Authorities had been constituted in all districts, which were addressing the problems of parents and students.

Sait said that around 36,000 classrooms in government schools, found to be in dilapidated conditions, would be demolished and rebuilt. The department would also be constructing an additional 19,000 classrooms, he added.

Replying to K T Srikantegowda (JD-S), Sait said that Rs 243 crore unspent MLA funds (between 2002-2012) would be utilised for carrying out the repair and reconstruction works.
"I had dreamt of being a doctor and was also interested in biology. I can survive even if i do not become a doctor, but I will not be able to survive without food," said Sahana Bhat, one among the gold medalists who graduated from the University of Agricultural Sciences-Bangalore on Friday.



Sahana, who won eight gold medals and five donor gold medals for her BSc Agriculture degree, said that she understood that she could be of help in the field of food security especially when farmers are in a crisis. The increasing population in the country has lead to food shortage and malnutrition, she added.

Speaking about her future plans, she said, " I want to research on various varieties of foodgrains and be an agricultural scientist. I believe that through this, I will be able to help the farmers in the country."

Another topper, K P Saurabha from the department of B.Sc Agriculture, who also wanted to be a doctor, said that now she wants to be an agriculture officer and help the striving farmers.

Saurabha from Vijayapura bagged one gold medal and five donor gold medals. She said that she would like to return to her hometown to study further in the field of agriculture. "I want to curb various diseases affecting crops and focus on creating various varieties of crops," she stated.

The University also had toppers from postgraduate degrees. M S Udaykumar, one among the toppers got one gold medal and six donor gold medals in MSc (Plant Pathology).

Udaykumar, who too wanted to be a doctor, said that he is happy to have topped the subject.

S Soujanya, who got her doctorate, won a gold medal and two donor gold medals. She said that students of agricultural sciences should not limit themselves to books but also take up cultivation.

The university had 967 students graduating this year, among which 631 were undergraduate students and 272 postgraduate students. As many as 64 students received their doctorate degrees.
The Cubbon Park police arrested a stenographer with a private hospital in Central Bengaluru for stealing gold ornaments from her colleagues.



Bhavya (33), a resident of Sunkadakatte, stole gold from two of her co-workers by serving them buttermilk laced with sedatives. The police recovered 97 grams of gold ornaments from her. They arrested Bhavya and said they had solved both the cases of theft.

On January 20, Bhavya gave the sedative-laced buttermilk to her colleague Shivamma, who felt dizzy after drinking it. Bhavya took her to the washroom, where she removed Shivamma's gold ornaments and sent her home in an autorickshaw.

When Shivamma found her gold jewels gone, she asked Bhavya if she saw them. The stenographer denied having seen them and suggested Shivamma would have lost them on her way home. A suspicious Shivamma lodged a police complaint against Bhavya at the Cubbon Park police station.

During investigation, the police stumbled on a similar case filed on December 2, when Mangalamma from the same hospital had lost 25 grams of gold ornaments from her hospital locker.

Realising that the thief could be an insider, the police examined CCTV footage and found Bhavya's movements suspicious on the two occasions when the thefts occurred. The stenographer had served buttermilk to both women.

Bhavya confessed to stealing gold jewels from Shivamma and Mangalamma during interrogation. The police recovered one necklace, two bangles and a mangalsutra worth Rs 2.91 lakh from her.

Bhavya was produced before a magistrate and remanded to judicial custody.
A terrorist belonging to Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) who operated from Karnataka, has been sentenced to seven years rigorous imprisonment under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The Principal City Civil Judge and Special Judge convicted Bilal Ahmed Quta alias Imran Jalal for financing the terror group and also fined him Rs 50,000. The court also said that in case the convict fails to pay the penalty, he will be liable to further imprisonment of six months.

Quta was arrested in Bengaluru on January 2007. He hails from Kashmir and was studying in Bengaluru. He had settled down in Hampi and was running a handicrafts store there. The police had seized an AK-56 rifle, ammunition, magazines, five hand grenades, a satellite phone and sketches of vital installations to be blown up. He even targeted the Infosys campus.

The Yeshwantpur police had booked Quta for 'waging a war' against the country and possession of arms and explosives and other sections under IPC. The investigation revealed that he was involved in terrorist activities since 2001 and was a member of the LeT.

In 2009, taking cognisance of the police charge sheet and subsequent conviction, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) later booked Quta under the provisions of PMLA. Following the investigation conducted under PMLA, the charges were confirmed by the adjudication authority, New Delhi, that seized Rs 34,830 from Quta under the anti-money laundering laws as it identified the money to be meant for terror financing.

Examining the charge sheet and all the evidence, the court sentenced him to seven years imprisonment with Rs 50,000 fine.

This is the fourth case of conviction under the PMLA in the country. It was enacted and implemented in 2005 to check serious crimes of tax evasion, black money hoarding and money laundering.
Carmel Valley community members grassroots efforts to preserve and restore Carmel Del Mar Park are making an impact.

Informally known as the Friends of Carmel Del Mar Park, they took their appeals about the lack of watering and maintenance that resulted in dying trees and slopes filled with dried brush all the way to the mayors office.

At the Carmel Valley Community Planning Board meeting on Jan. 25, Steven Hadley, representative for City Councilmember Barbara Bry, said their voices are being heard.

Hadley said since the residents banded together to fight for the park, plans are now in the works to restore the slope with drought-tolerant plants and low-growing trees to replace those lost, fix the irrigation system and bring it back into shape in a way thats sustainable.

Trees have been removed from the slope since the fall. (Karen Billing )

The Friends of the well-loved and once-magical park, which is located at 12345 Carmel Park Drive in Carmel Valley, first spoke out at the Carmel Valley planning board in October 2017 and followed up at Carmel Valley Recreation Council meetings in December and January 2018.

Ruby Evans, the resident leading the efforts, found that due to drought watering restrictions, the irrigation to the slope had been turned off since July 2016. As a result, the dead and dying trees presented a falling risk for children playing in the park next to the school as well as a fire hazard to the entire community.

In November, residents noted the landscaping crew responded by cleaning up the slope that was four to five inches thick with pine needle detritus and dead vegetation. Since fall, Evans has also observed the sprinklers being used as needed on the slope but said that many sprinklers are capped, broken, blocked and the irrigation system is antiquated.

For some trees, the efforts came too late--in late 2017 four trees (three dead and one falling hazard) were removed from the park slopes and Evans believes more were lost on the slope above Carmel Del Mar Schools parking lot.

Evans has requested that the Carmel Valley Recreation Council create a subcommittee composed of city representatives and community members to facilitate restoration of the slopes.

We believe we can help the city create a more efficient and effective method of irrigation and help address the impact of park goers hiking on the slopes and sometimes breaking sprinkler heads and trampling plants, Evans said. We may also be able to create a volunteer group to manually water the new trees as they get established.

The slopes are not included in the Maintenance Assessment District (MAD) that surrounds the park which Evans noted were not under the same watering mandate as those trees have remained lush and maintained. The residents requested that the slopes be turned over to that MAD for enhanced levels of maintenance, however, it is a difficult task, one that would involve a citywide vote.

According to Kathryn Ruiz, deputy director for Community Parks I Division of the San Diego Park and Recreation Department, the city reviewed the request and per the engineers report, the MAD cannot assume responsibility for the slopes.

In an email to Evans, Ruiz confirmed that the city will be moving forward with the repair and restoration of the irrigation system on the slopes.

While we will not be watering extensively, we do anticipate, given the ongoing dry weather, increasing watering to the slope to improve the health of the trees and shrubs already there, as well as helping to establish whatever new shrubs we plant, Ruiz wrote.

Evans said she is encouraged by the efforts to re-establish and operate irrigation on the slopes, replace trees and plant more drought-tolerant shrubbery.

I would like Park and Recreation to find a way to engage the community to help keep our parks and trees alive and well which is why I proposed a subcommittee, Evans said. I hope we can work cooperatively moving forward and prevent the unnecessary loss of any more trees.

Last year, resident Benay Berl brought her concerns to the Carmel Valley Rec Council about the triangle planter of jacaranda trees at the front of the park, at the end of the greenbelt that leads down to the school and park from the community. She was concerned not only that the trees were not being watered but that there were plans for that triangle to be paved over as part of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) improvements to the park.

The ADA-funded remodel of the park was an agenda item at the December rec council meeting and the engineering firm confirmed that it no longer has plans to pave over the planter due to community concerns regarding loss of the trees.

The city is in the beginning planning stages for a new playground structure and remodel of the restroom facilities at the park.
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SEATTLE  Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan said $3.1 million in new state grants will help upgrade trail systems, playfields and outdoor recreation facilities in the city.

Here are some of the projects that will get funding: $250,000 to convert Brighton Playfield to synthetic turf with new LED lighting; $374,950 to renovate Don Armeni Boat Launch; $250,000 for the Smith Cove Youth Playfield; $1 million to construct a transient moorage float in Leschi and $768,000 to improve Stan Sayers Boat Launch.





. . .
US authorities have charged 36 people after they bust an international cybercrime ring that pilfered $530 million through identity fraud and malware.

The justice department yesterday announced the racketeering conspiracy along with the arrest of 13 people, eight of whom would be extradited from Australia, the UK, France, Italy, Kosovo and Serbia. Five members of the group, called the Infraud Organization, were arrested in the US.

''Today's indictment and arrests mark one of the largest cyber-fraud enterprise prosecutions ever undertaken by the Department of Justice,'' said acting assistant attorney general John Cronan. ''Infraud operated like a business to facilitate cyberfraud on a global scale.''

According to prosecutors, the group was created in October 2010 by Svyatoslav Bondarenko, a Ukranian who sought to create ''the premier destination'' for purchasing retail items on the internet with counterfeit or stolen credit-card information. The case was unveiled in Nevada.

The members of the group were directed to ''vending'' websites serving as conduits to traffic in stolen identities and banking information along with malware and other stolen illicit goods, prosecutors said.

The group also provided an escrow service to facilitate digital currency transactions among its members, according to the government.

The cyber crime network, which operated as an online discussion forum, ran a sophisticated scheme that facilitated the purchase and sale of Social Security numbers, birthdays and passwords that had been stolen from around the world, according to the department.

Of the 36 people indicted, according to justice department officials,13 were arrested in the US, Australia, the UK, France, Italy, Kosovo and Serbia.

They have been charged with identity theft, bank fraud, wire fraud and money laundering.

''Today marks a significant step in the battle against transnational cyber crime,'' deputy assistant attorney general David Rybicki told reporters on a conference call.
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welcomia/iStock/Thinkstock(LOCUST GROVE, Ga.) -- A police officer is dead and two sheriff's deputies are injured after they were shot while attempting to serve an arrest in Henry County, Georgia, Friday.



The two Henry County sheriffs deputies arrived at the home on St. Francis Court in Locust Grove early this morning to serve the arrest warrant and soon realized they would need backup, so they radioed for help, Henry County Sheriff Keith McBrayer said in a press conference. A Locust Grove officer then arrived on the scene to assist.



But while trying to serve the warrant, an altercation broke out, according to the sheriff, and all three officers were shot.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has identified the officer who died as Chase Maddox of the Locust Grove Police Department. GBI also identified the two wounded deputies as Michael D. Corley and Ralph Sidwell "Sid" Callaway.



The Locust Grove police officer died shortly after at the hospital. One sheriffs deputy is in serious condition and in surgery right now at Atlanta Medical [Center]. The other sheriffs deputy is in fair condition at Atlanta Medical, McBrayer said.



When asked about reports that the warrant stemmed from a traffic violation, McBrayer said he was not sure.



The suspect is deceased, according to the sheriff. Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokesperson Nelly Miles said officials are still notifying next of kin before identifying the suspect.



It is a very emotional time for the Henry County community, Miles said.



There were other people in the residence at the time of the shooting, the sheriff added, but none of them were injured.



Both sheriffs deputies were wearing bulletproof vests at the time of the incident, McBrayer said.



You never know whats going to happen when you take someone into custody, he added.



GBI is currently investigating the incident.

Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Jesse Wolfe of Emmetsburg has announced that he is a Republican candidate for the Iowa Senate seat in District 1. The position is currently held by David Johnson, who changed his political affiliation to independent in June 2016 after serving as a Republican member of the Iowa Senate for more than a dozen years.

I am seeking the office of Senator of District 1 because I desire to bring effective representation to the residents of Northwest Iowa. It is essential that civility is returned to the political process. The citizens can trust that I will uphold the beliefs and values that make their communities and counties so exceptional. I believe in Iowas future.

Wolfe has been the Chair of the Palo Alto Republican Central Committee since 2012. He has been effective in advancing Republican candidates and policies in the county. In 2017 Wolfe was elected as the Chairman of the 4th Congressional District Executive Committee (4th DEC). The 4th DEC represents the 39 counties that make up Iowas 4th Congressional district, providing leadership and assistance to the Republican Central Committees in each county.

The 4th Congressional District is by far the largest region in square miles in Iowa. One of the challenges that we face is doing business for a District that stretches from the Missouri River to Chickasaw County and from Ames all the way up to the Minnesota border. The solution is to use technology through teleconferencing and developing communication platforms that will shrink the distance required to hold meetings. The 4th DEC is directing subcommittees such as our Communications Committee to develop and implement this strategy. In this way we can be more effective in assisting in candidate surfacing, fundraising and communication.

Along with his conservative values and beliefs, thinking and implementing outside the box strategies is one of Wolfes strengths. I am looking forward to meeting each one of you in District 1. I will work hard for you and I am asking for your vote in the Republican primary on June 5th.

Wolfe has been married to his wife Janice, a retired teacher, for 33 years. Together they raised their four children in Northwest Iowa.

Their sons, Jesse and Josh, graduated from Emmetsburg High School. Jesse is a foot and ankle surgeon in his second year of surgical residency, and Josh will begin his surgical residency in July. Their daughters, Jean and Jenna, also graduated from Emmetsburg High School. Jean is a nurse and Jenna is a senior at Iowa State, receiving dual degrees in Accounting and Finance in May.

You will find more information about Jesse Wolfe and his campaign on his website, wolfeforiowasenate.com. His email address is

wolfeforiowasenate@gmail.com.
Palo Alto County Sheriff Lynn Schultes is warning area residents to be extra-aware of tax scams as tax season shifts into high gear.

Many taxpayers have encountered individuals impersonating IRS officials in person, over the telephone and via email.

Every year it seems more and more people are falling prey to the IRS Scammers in different parts of the United States, even Palo Alto County had some reports last year regarding IRS Fraud and Theft.

The IRS initiates most contacts through regular mail delivered by the United States Postal Service. However, there are special circumstances in which the IRS will call or come to a home or business, such as when a taxpayer has an overdue tax bill, to secure a delinquent tax return or a delinquent employment tax payment, or to tour a business as part of an audit or during criminal investigations.

Even then, taxpayers will generally first receive several letters (called notices) from the IRS in the mail. Please call the Sheriffs Office at 712-852-3535 or your local law enforcement agency if some presents themselves in person as an IRS agent and you doubt their identity.

Here is a list of things IRS SCAMMERS routinely do.

1. They will contact you and demand immediate payment.

2. They will demand that you pay taxes without giving you the chance to question or appeal the amount they say you owe.

3. They require you to use a certain payment method for your taxes, such as a prepaid debit card or credit cards.

4. They will ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.

5. They may request your bank account information to obtain payment.

6. They threaten to bring in local police or other law-enforcement to have you arrested for not paying.

These requests can be made by phone, by email, fake mailings, text messages and social media channels. The IRS doesnt initiate contact with taxpayers by email, text messages or social media channels to request personal or financial information. This includes requests for PIN numbers, passwords or similar access information for credit cards, banks or other financial accounts.

The IRS also cannot revoke your drivers license, business licenses, or immigration status. Threats like these are common tactics scam artists use to trick victims into buying into their schemes.

If you receive some sort of communication from someone claiming to be from the IRS asking for money and you feel it is a scam, be very cautious with your private information. Do not give any information, personal or financial, to them. If you feel it is a scam report to the following:

Contact the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration to report a phone scam. Use their IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting web page. You can also call 800-366-4484.

If you know you owe taxes or think you might owe, call the IRS at 800-829-1040.
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is extending the muskrat trapping season on Trumbull Lake from Feb. 1 to April 1, 2018 to reduce the muskrat population and preserve the beneficial vegetation in the marsh. This extension is only for muskrats and only for Trumbull Lake.

Trumbull Lake covers about 1,200 acres, offers excellent habitat for wetland wildlife.

Muskrats primarily use emergent vegetation (plants that grow up out of the water) to build their huts. The current population on Trumbull Lake is high and they require a lot of vegetation for hut building.

Trappers participating in this special extension will be allowed to place their traps directly into the muskrat dens, which is a change from the regular trapping season.

Trappers are allowed to place their traps in the muskrat house (in-house trapping only) to reduce the chance for catching a non-targeted animal.
UN reports YPG terrorists oppressions on civilians

Terror organizations PKK/YPGs oppressions like blocking displacement out of Afrin and Family separation on civilians is reflected in the UNs OCHA report.

United Nations OCHAs report dated 07 February 2018, Recent Developments in Northwestern Syria, YPGs violation of right targeted civilians was mentioned.

Its stated that Local authorities in Afrin district reportedly continue to block displacement out of Afrin district. However, on 06 February that many civilians, who are not originally from Afrin, were allowed to cross to GoS-held areas through the Ziyara Afrin crossing.





According to the report, personal documents were distrained. Reportedly 10% of IDPs do not have personal documentation. Family separation is reported because of displacement, conscription inside Afrin district and additional restrictions on freedom of movement targeting adult males.

Its reported that children are separated from their parents due to crossing point closures.

The report also mentioned attacks on civiliancontinue with at least ten attacks on health care facilities, schools, local markets. Water and sanitation infrastructure were reportedly also impacted by hostilities. Civilians wounded by attacks were transferred to hospitals in Turkey for treatment.
Scheana Marie came to the defense of Katie Maloney on Monday night after she was cruelly fat-shamed by Kevin Lee, a party planner in Beverly Hills.

Following last night's new episode of the sixth season of Vanderpump Rules, Scheana Marie took to her Twitter page and defended her on-screen nemesis, telling fans that while she and Maloney have butted heads for years, Lee's behavior was unacceptable.

"Just want to say, @MusicKillsKate despite our differences we've had, you are gorgeous and the comments made about your weight that night made me cringe," she tweeted. "You are a beautiful woman. Have fun on @BravoWWHL tonight!!"

Lee made a series of mean comments to Maloney during Monday's show, including a comment stating that she should be working on her weight. He even said that she seemed out of control with her size. Right away, Maloney went to her boss and friend Lisa Vanderpump for comfort.

In response to Scheana Marie's post, a number of Twitter users weighed in on the events of last night's show and took aim at Kevin Lee.

"Really! Who does Kevin Lee think he is? It's not like he's one of Katie's best friends....even then it's wrong to say crap like that," one person said.

"Fat shamming is not cool!!! Watching this really struck a nerve!!!" another fan wrote.

A third commenter even called for a boycott.

"Could not BELIEVE IT, when I heard it...hes classless...#boycottkevinlee," they tweeted.

In other Scheana Marie news, the reality star has been single for the past several months due to what she claims were hurtful comments made by Maloney and others about her relationship with Robert Parks-Valletta. As Scheana Marie explained to Life & Style magazine last month, Maloney and the other women of the show, including Stassi Schroeder and Kristen Doute, accused Parks-Valletta of cheating on her during season 6. Midway through production, they called it quits.

Since Scheana Marie and Parks-Valletta ended their relationship in August of last year, they have been seen together just a handful of times.

To see more of Scheana Marie, Katie Maloney, and their co-stars including James Kennedy, Lala Kent, Lisa Vanderpump, Robert Parks Valeltta, Tom Sandoval, Tom Schwartz, Ariana Madix, and Stassi Schroeder, don't miss new episodes of Vanderpump Rules season 6 on Monday nights at 9 p.m. on Bravo TV.
It's the hottest event of the year, but the guest list for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's spring nuptials is still under wraps.

The Hottest Ticket In Town

Still, one name has been confirmed, and that's Sarah, Duchess of York, aka Fergie. According to a source, Harry's close relationship with Fergie's daughter, Princess Eugenie, ensured that her mother would get an invite to the May 19 event.

"Prince Harry and Princess Eugenie are very close, and therefore I wouldn't be surprised to see her welcomed back into the family fold for at least part of the wedding. If not the church ceremony, then maybe the wedding reception," said PEOPLE Now royals contributor Imogen Lloyd Webber.

Fergie's inclusion is interesting, considering she hasn't been an official member of the royal family for over 20 years, following her 1996 divorce from Prince Andrew. She had been very close friends with Princess Diana but was involved in several headline-making scandals in the intervening years that further eroded her relationship with the family.

However, thanks to her ongoing, cordial relationship with her ex-husband, and the fact she still lives with him in Windsor, Fergie has managed to reacquaint herself with the Royals. The Queen has even allowed her back into the royal enclosure at Royal Ascot.

She did not get an invite to William and Kate's wedding, but she'll be a big part of Eugenie's upcoming nuptials in October. She will also attend Harry and Meghan's big day.

Fergie joins the hotly-rumored likes of Victoria and David Beckman, Barack and Michelle Obama, and Sir Elton John on the guest list. Prince Harry has admitted that they don't have the final list yet. Only the royals such as The Queen, Prince Charles and Prince William are confirmed guests for the event as of date.

There will be fewer people attending the ceremony compared to William's wedding to Kate Middleton back in 2011. William and Kate married at Westminster Abbey which has a capacity of 2,000, while St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, where Harry and Meghan will tie the knot, can only seat 800 people.

Playing With Fire And Fury

Foreign royals and dignitaries will no doubt attend. However, with an American marrying into the royal family for the first time, speculation has been rife on whether President Donald Trump will get an invitation.

Government mandarins are reportedly in talks with Harry to invite both the current President and the former or neither. Asking Obama alone may be seen as a snub to Trump in a time when the relationship between the U.S. and the U.K. is already fraught with tension.

An invitation for former President Barack Obama seems like a sure thing after Harry became friendly with him and wife Michelle during their meeting at the Invictus Games.

Likewise, Sir Elton was a close friend of Harry's mother, Princess Diana, and was one of the few celebrities to attend and perform at his brother's wedding to Kate Middleton.

"So who knows who is going to be invited or not. I wouldn't want to ruin that surprise," Harry teased when asked about the guest-list recently.

The couple released their engagement photos shortly before Christmas, with the May wedding date confirmed shortly after that. Harry himself was baptized in St. George's Chapel, making it an extra-special location. He and Meghan claimed that they are looking to involve the public in the wedding as much as possible.
Former Glee star Mark Salling may further rest in peace. Authorities have dropped the child pornography case against the actor amid news that he committed suicide.

Judge Dismisses Mark Salling's Charges

United States District Judge Otis D. Wright was the one to sign off on the documents that tossed out the case against Salling.

For good cause shown, it is hereby ordered that: The governments motion to dismiss the indictment pursuant to Rule 48 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure is granted, read court documents. The indictment in the above referenced case is dismissed without prejudice.

Interestingly enough, it was the prosecuting side in the case that initially moved for the case to be thrown out for good. The actor reportedly committed suicide and was found dead the morning of Jan. 30. He was said to have hung himself from a tree close to the Los Angeles River.

The Shock Of It All

Salling had already pleaded guilty to child pornography charges shortly after his arrest in December 2015. He was supposed to be sentenced in March this year and faced between four and seven years behind bars.

Authorities revealed he had more than 25,000 photos and 600 videos of underaged pornography and sexual abuse in on multiple computers and thumb drives. The youngest victim was reportedly 3 years old.

Sallings attorney shocked fans when he released a statement that confirmed his passing.

Mark was a gentle and loving person, a person of great creativity, who was doing his best to atone for some serious mistakes and errors of judgment. He is survived by his mother and father, and his brother. The Salling family appreciates the support they have been receiving and asks for their privacy to be respected.

While his charges were dropped, his family and loved ones are still dealing with the fallout of his decisions and history.

Warning Signs Preceded Salling's Decision

Aurelie Wynn, who used to date Salling, said she wasnt surprised that he took his own life. She described him as lonely and quiet in his last days. He had been in therapy in hopes of recovering from mental illness and his very public criminal charges.

Wynn pointed out that she wanted to visit him after his first attempt at suicide in August. He had relocated back to California from Texas, which Wynn hinted she didnt think was a good idea. She wanted to go visit him, but the star had already done the unthinkable.

Be sure to keep up with Enstars for the latest.
Salma Hayek shocked fans when she revealed that she was on the long list of celebrities and famous actresses who fell victim to Harvey Weinsteins sexual misconduct. The actress has spoken out again and revealed why she waited so long to speak.

Salma Hayek Explains Hesitation

Hayek first came forward in December when she revealed what really happened during the time she worked with Weinstein on the film Frida that hit theaters back in 2002. The film went on to win an Academy Award, and it was a huge price to pay for Hayek who said Weinstein sexually assaulted her. He has since maintained his innocence.

Hayek went into even more detail during an interview with Oprah Winfrey for the talk show hosts Oprahs Super Soul Conversation Live Event. Hayek said that considering her incident with Weinstein took place more than 15 years ago, she had opportunities to expose him but decided not to.

She explained that she couldnt handle it when The New York Times first approached her about sharing her story.

there was all this turmoil and I started crying when they asked and I ended up not doing it. And then I felt ashamed that I was a coward. I was supporting women for two decades but I couldnt do thisI thought of my daughterI thought of the shame.

She said she was even more ashamed that she didnt speak up when other women shared their similar experiences with the disgraced movie producer. At the same time, she said that since there were so many women speaking up, her story wouldnt make much of a difference. Still, she changed her mind and decided to move forward with her own essay two months after the Times contacted her.

Harvey Weinstein Strikes Back

Weinstein's publicity team spoke out and said that Weinstein holds Hayek at the highest regard. They even added that Jennifer Lopez was also up for the part in Frida and was a bigger star than Hayek, but Weinstein cast Hayek instead.

Hayek stands by her story and shared advice for women who have been in similar situations.

Its important to take responsibility for the things we do to others, but we must stop apologizing for being attacked and we must move into a place where you can actually have a conversation, said Hayek. It is important to release the anger. I dont want us to go from victims to angry. I dont want our anger to be our motto. That doesnt mean we are not angry.

Be sure to keep up with Enstars for the latest.
As cold temperatures continued to overtake most of the United States, many Miami citizens in Florida are experiencing the warmth of a megastar.

Drake Delivers A Surprise

On Feb. 6, the Degrassi: The Next Generation alum visited homeless shelter Lotus House in Miami, Florida. He surprised the residents with $150 gift cards from Target

Next, Drake continued spreading his good cheer to the Lotus House organization by donating a $50,000 check to Lotus House. He hoped that the organization could use the money not only to increase the quality of life for Lotus House residents but also to buy new toys and games for the children.

Attention Shoppers, Your Groceries On Drake

Billboard reported that Santa Drake was not done with his generosity. That same day, a Miami grocery store, Sabor Tropical Supermarket, received their best sales day ever as the "One Dance" artist paid for over $50,000 in groceries.

One of those lucky shoppers who was at Sabor Tropical Supermarket was Guille Deza. The Miami native took a selfie with the hip-hop icon as he was exiting the grocery store. He later shared on Twitter about his lucky encounter.

Before visiting both Sabor Tropical Supermarket and Lotus House, the rapper began his Miami journey on Monday, Feb. 5, when he visited Miami Senior High School. The rapper gave the school over $25,000 in donations and also surprised their band by giving them new uniforms.

The fan-favorite rapper was in Miami to shoot a new music video for his latest single. Page Six revealed that multiple residents spotted crew members filming all of the action.

Drake's Greatest Moments

In addition to handing out numerous donations to the people of Miami, Drake has showcased a plethora of surprising activities over the past few months.

Last month, Drake opened his first restaurant called Pick 6ix in his hometown of Toronto, Canada. Sources state that Pick 6ix features marble walls and a 2,100-square-foot open patio enclosed by glass.

On Dec. 8, 2017, Drake released his clothing line called October's Very Own. This collaboration with legendary fashion brand Canada Goose includes scarves, beanies, and a variation of hats.

In November 2017, Drake stopped in the middle of a concert in Australia as soon as he saw a fan molesting a concertgoer.

"Stop that sh--. If you don't stop touching girls, I'm gonna come out there and f--- you up. If you don't stop putting your hands on girls, I'm going to come out there and f--- your ass up," screamed Drake from the stage.

Drake's threatening message went viral.

Enstars has reached out to Lotus House for a statement.
Despite their Hollywood upbringing, Angelina Jolie wants her children to live their lives with a humanitarian mindset. The famous actress especially tells her three daughters the importance of service to others.

Humanitarian Efforts

Jolie talked about her humanitarian efforts and her children in her cover interview for the March issue of Elle magazine. The Oscar winner discussed humanitarian issues with former U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry and revealed that she tells her daughters about why "a life of service is worth living."

"I tell my daughters, 'What sets you apart is what you are willing to do for others. Anyone can put on a dress and makeup. It's your mind that will define you. Find out who you are, what you think, and what you stand for. And fight for others to have those same freedoms," Jolie said.

Two of the actress' daughters with Brad Pitt, 11-year old Shiloh and 9-year-old Vivienne, joined their mother for the photoshoot with the magazine. Jolie, a goodwill ambassador and UN special envoy, is also mother to four adopted children: Knox (9), Pax (14), Zahara (13), and Maddox (16).

The mother-of-six reflected on how America helped her achieve the family that she has now and how her daughters have the freedoms because they are Americans. Jolie wished for everyone to have the same right of freedom as her children, adding that people are at their best if they are "fighting for others to have the same rights."

Sexual Violence

In the same interview with Kerry, Jolie discussed some of the sensitive and important topics in today's world, including sexual violence against women. The First They Killed My Father filmmaker talked about the women refugees she met who are survivors of systematic rape. She pointed out that people still treat violence against women as a lesser crime, although in some countries it is less of a taboo discussion. Instead, it is something that people expect their leaders to respond to.

Jolie has been a women's rights activist for the past years. She cofounded the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative in June 2012 and has been working with several organizations, including NATO, to provide more support for victims of sexual violence.

"I was in Kenya last summer as UN peacekeeping troops received new training, since peacekeepers have been part of the problem. We're working with NATO on training, protection, and getting more women in the military. But there is so far to go," the 42-year-old Jolie told revealed.

Jolie graces the cover of Elle in honor of International Women's Day on March 8.
The Master actor Joaquin Phoenix is reportedly the preferred thespian to play the iconic DC clown, Joker, in a stand-alone film by Todd Phillips.

The still nameless project is still in wraps, though Variety said that Warner Bros. and Phillips were already engaging in discussions. Even so, the director, whose list of handiworks includes The Hangover film series, already expressed his intentions of hiring Phoenix as the lead character, in contrast with reports that Leonardo DiCaprio was the top contender for this role.

Sources said that Phoenix had agreed on taking the role, even though negotiations are still absent. But fans should take this news with a grain of salt, as there were many times the Gladiator actor had been offered a challenging villain role in the DC world, but eventually refused.

As avid and well-versed fans could remember, Phoenix was also handed the role of Lex Luthor for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Obviously, he passed on the project and the character eventually went to Jesse Eisenberg. Apart from this, he was offered a role in Doctor Strange, but declined as well.

To back up their claims, sources said that Phoenix and Phillips had already met in December to talk about the project. Apparently, the two were just waiting for the studio to give them the green light.

Stand-alone Film

The film is cowritten by Phillips and Scott Silver. It would take a long, hard look on Joker's background story and what he did to become one of the most intellectual villain in the DC world.

Insiders revealed that the film would take place in the '80s. But audience should know that this Joker film would not affect the role in other DC movies.

Jared Leto, who played Joker in Suicide Squad, is believed to be reprising the same role in the sequel of the hit sci-fi action film. With this taken into consideration, Phoenix's character would not have any effect on Leto's character's storyline.

With this said, the studio and Phillips have not said any target date for the film's release. As mentioned, essential details were still undisclosed and are expected to leak in the following months.

Fans' Reactions

The news spread like wildfire and fans have had so far expressed mixed emotions on social media.

"Joaquin Phoenix as The Joker is such a massive upgrade from Jared Leto that I'm retroactively mad at him not being the first choice for SUICIDE SQUAD," user Stefano De La Cuesta tweeted.

Another one joked and cited an instance where Phoenix's and Leto's character would meet, and supported it with a photo that had two Spider-Man.
George Clooney opened up about his children and wife, Amal, on this week's episode of My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman, where he revealed that Amal is so precious to him that he would trade his life for her.

Precious Wife

In a rare moment of talking about his personal life, the Hollywood star looked back at the time when he realized that Amal was the one for him. He talked about how his life shifted from the moment he met Amal and when they became a family.

"I have to say, before I had the twins I felt that about her [Amal]. I felt that I met someone who I would absolutely you know, trade my life for," Clooney said, when the show host told him that the purpose of his life is not about him anymore but about his family.

"You know I would... I've met someone that her life meant more to me than my life and I never had that experience before," the actor candidly admits.

Courtship Stage

In a previous clip, the 56-year-old Clooney revealed how he won over Amal's heart. The actor resorted to some unusual ways to woo the lawyer in the early stages of their relationship. He used her profession as a human rights lawyer to make up stories about his dog getting hostaged. Clooney said that he used to write her letters as his dog Einstein.

"I would write letters from Einstein to her saying, 'I'm being held hostage, and I need a lawyer to get me out of the room,'" the actor recalled with a laugh.

Clooney also invited Amal to a historic recording studio in London, England, her adopted hometown. He said he purchased tickets to a recording at Abbey Road to try to impress the lawyer.

"I went to London to score a movie at Abbey Road, which is a pretty cool thing, you've got a 150-piece orchestra and I thought, 'If you're ever going to impress somebody,'" he explained.

Amal gladly accepted the invite after Clooney called her to come to Abbey Road. The actor recalled with amusement that she left a meeting with the Muslim Brotherhood, where she was trying to hold them accountable for something, just to score a movie.

Clooney and Amal are proud parents to 8-month-old twins Alexander and Ella. My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman airs Fridays on Netflix.
Oprah Winfrey opened up about how Reese Witherspoon responded to news about the sexual assault and harassment allegations against Harvey Weinstein when it came out in October.

The Weinstein Conversations

Winfrey recalled that it was during a conversation with other women that they happen to talk about Weinstein's scandal. The pair was filming A Wrinkle In Time when the conversation happened. It was also a couple of days after victims of Weinstein's assault came forward with their accusations in an exclusive interview with the New York Times.

The talk show host told Salma Hayek, during the special taping of her Oprah at the Apollo show on Wednesday, that Witherspoon displayed signs of having post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD. She suffered from sleepless nights and would tear up at the mention of Weinstein's name.

"Everyone, including Reese  I've said this to her  was acting like, I was seeing some of the girls at my school behave, who were suffering from PTSD. Everybody was acting like they were afraid and they were having the conversation," Winfrey said, adding that she remembered how Witherspoon acted and felt toward the scandal.

"And I remember Reese saying, 'Oh god, this is just so upsetting. And someone mentions his name, I start tearing up. And every time I hear someone else speak, it just causes me to be upset and I haven't slept in two days,'" Winfrey recalled.

It was at that moment that she pointed out that the actress and the other women in the conversation could be suffering from PTSD. Winfrey then prodded them for details and asked whether something similar to Weinstein's alleged sexual assault happened to them. However, no one opened up to her at that time.

Sexual Assault

Later that month, Witherspoon opened up about her personal experience of sexual assault during her passionate speech at Elle magazine's 24th Annual Women in Hollywood Celebration. She admitted that Weinstein's scandal brought back memories of the time when a director, whose name she did not divulge, assaulted her when she was 16 years old. It brought other painful memories of sexual assault, which she rarely talks about.

In the same podcast interview, Hayek shared that she also suffered from PTSD following her personal experience of sexual assault from Weinstein. The Frida actress recalled tearing up when the New York Times asked for her side of the story. Hayek ended up not doing the interview because she started crying because of her PTSD. She eventually detailed her allegations against Weinstein in December.

Oprah at the Apollo airs on Feb. 27 at 10 p.m. EST on Oprah Winfrey Network. The show is also available at Winfrey's Super Soul Conversations podcast.
Baby Stormi isn't even a week old but she's already courting controversy, as Kylie Jenner's ex Tyga thinks he is the daddy.

Baby Daddy Difficulties

Jenner's ex, whom she dated on and off for three years, is reportedly sniffing around in hopes of catching a glimpse of Stormi. Tyga is convinced, despite all evidence to the contrary, that he is the baby's real father.

Jenner named her baby Stormi Webster, specifically because her partner Travis Scott's real name is Jacques Webster. But this isn't enough proof for Tyga, who is demanding to see a photo of the baby's face to check if there's any likeness.

"Tyga has heard through the grapevine that Stormi looks a lot like his little son King when he was a newborn. Tyga wants to see for himself. He's trying to get a picture so he can get eyes on Kylie's little girl and be the judge," a source told Hollywood Life.

Tyga has even broken out the big guns, going to the head of the Kardashian dynasty, Kris Jenner, to try to sway her to his side.

"He has tried to get Kris (Jenner) to get him a picture but she's iced him out suddenly. She's stopped taking his calls. Tyga's pissed but he's not backing down on this. He wants to get to the bottom of this," the source said.

When that didn't work, Tyga resorted to badgering fellow sort-of Kardashian outcast Scott Disick for intel.

"He's started bugging Scott Disick, he knows he'll be seeing the baby soon enough. He's asked Scott to get him a picture but Scott hasn't made any promises yet," the source advised.

The Shock Of The Year

Much like everybody else in the world, Tyga was shocked by the rumors of Kylie's pregnancy. The two broke up just one month before Jenner hooked up with Scott, in April 2017. The timeline for their breakup may be what's giving Tyga hope that he could be Stormi's father.

Jenner, however, has never given any indication that the child's paternity is in doubt. Scott is listed as Stormi's father on her birth certificate and, as per a recently-shared video, was there throughout Kylie's pregnancy as well as during the birth itself.

Jenner was super close to Tyga's son, with ex Blac Chyna, King Cairo, the two often appearing in cute social media posts together. It stands to reason that Tyga probably imagined them starting their own family someday.

Stormi Webster was born on Feb. 1 after months of speculation. Jenner returned to social media after almost a year of barely posting anything to finally share news of her pregnancy and the baby's birth. She has yet to share a full picture of the little girl but the glimpse given thus far is pretty adorable.
Supermodel Bella Hadid has had her fair share of troubles lately, with an online stalker harassing her. The police reportedly arrested the man.

Acting Supermodel Fast

The 21-year-old called the New York Police Department to report the man, who had been stalking and harassing her since the end of December last year.

The man, a 37-year-old named Ryan Perez, was subsequently arrested near her apartment building this past Thursday. He was picked up by police around 9:35 p.m. after Hadid noticed he had posted a photo of the front of her apartment building.

Police believe it's the same man who Hadid reported had left her and her family several threatening and unwanted messages in their respective social media accounts.

Perez has since been charged with stalking and aggravated harassment. The investigation is ongoing, but it's unclear whether he is still in custody or has been released.

Hadid later headed out with her sister, and fellow supermodel, Gigi to celebrate a friend's birthday. She wasn't put off sharing the night on Instagram either since she posted several updates throughout the night.

The two recently landed on the cover of the March issue of British Vogue.

"I love it. Love the skin you're in, baby!" their mother, Yolanda Hadid, enthused about the cover, which sees both women posing fully nude.

Taking It In Her Stride

Bella Hadid recently appeared on her mother's Lifetime reality series, Making a Model, and revealed her initial insecurities with posing nude or partially clothed.

"My sister [Gigi Hadid] is very bubbly and very out there, and I was always very reserved. I would literally start crying and shaking if I had to do interviews at red carpet events. It was really nerve-racking and it's scary, and it's not only you," she said.

The two are self-confessed best friends, as well as work colleagues, with older sister Gigi recently revealing how protective she feels over Bella.

"She's one of the only people I'll get aggressive for. She makes me so proud. I would do anything for her," Gigi said recently.

Hopefully, she won't need to tackle any intruders anytime soon. Given the NYPD's quick response to Bella's call, the stalker who has been terrorizing their family has been subdued. So, Gigi's sisterly protective services would, most likely, be unnecessary for the time being.
Kim Kardashian West landed her sixth Vogue cover just a few weeks after giving birth, by surrogate, to daughter Chicago West, and it is stunning.

Yet Another Beautiful Cover

The 37-year-old mother of three shared the gorgeous picture with her 100 million Instagram followers.

The cover for Vogue Taiwan's February Beauty issue showcases a more subtle look for the super-glamorous Kardashian sister. She explained in the post that she's discussing her KKW Beauty makeup range in the interview, for which she models six different beauty looks.

Kardashian West debuted her showstopping icy blonde look at New York Fashion Week back in September. This is her second cover as a blonde, with her signature look being deep brunette much like her famous siblings.

Kardashian West also appeared as a blonde on a June 2015 cover for Vogue Brasil, the look for which was inspired by the most famous blonde of all time, Marilyn Monroe.

The social media superstar and business mogul has appeared on several international Vogue covers over the years, including Spain (Aug. 2015), Australia (Feb. 2015 and June 2016), and the U.S. (Apr. 2014).

Keeping Up With Anna Wintour

Kardashian West's desire to land a Vogue cover was a major plot point on her hit reality show, Keeping up with the Kardashians. Her very first one, with husband Kanye West in celebration of their wedding, was a major talking point.

Many felt infamous Vogue editor Anna Wintour was losing her touch for allowing a low-rent reality TV star like Kim Kardashian to grace the cover of the legendary fashion magazine.

Kardashian West isn't the only one to come under fire for a Vogue cover. Supermodel sisters Bella and Gigi Hadid were criticized for their recently-revealed British Vogue cover, on which they pose together completely naked.

Inappropriate And Creepy

The two appear together, legs intertwined, with Gigi's hands placed tenderly on Bella's chest. The pose, in particular, has led fans to call the image creepy and inappropriate.

Steven Meisel took the picture of the Hadid sisters. The photographer is well-known for his provocative and sexy images including those featured in Madonna's book Sex.

"This picture is weird and doesn't make me want to read the magazine," one fan commented on the Instagram post sharing the image.

The accompanying interview focuses on how close the sisters, who frequently describe themselves as best friends, are. Gigi, the elder of the two, describes how she would do anything to protect her sister.
Sibling relationships have their ups and down, but what happens when one of them withholds that not only is she expecting but also just gave birth?

Brody In The Dark

For the past nine months, Brody Jenner was just like the rest of the world as he was shocked with the news that his half-sister, social media influencer and beauty entrepreneur Kylie Jenner, was expecting a baby girl.

"To be honest, I did not know that she was pregnant for the entire pregnancy," Jenner told TMZ.

Jenner stated that he would love to see his half-sister and baby girl, Stormi Webster. He also revealed that he had not spent time with his youngest half-sister.

"She has been incredibly busy. It has been over two years since I last saw her," said Jenner.

Kylie's Social Media Return

While her half-brother tries to clear up his schedule to meet Stormi, the new mom returned to social media in a huge way.

On Tuesday, Feb. 6, Jenner introduced her baby daughter to her 103 million Instagram followers and the photo has become one of the social media platform's most liked photos of all time.

Before Jenner unveiled her daughter to the entire world, she returned to Snapchat on Monday, Feb. 5. The youngest member of the Kardashian-Jenner family revealed all the floral arrangements that she received from family members, friends, and well-wishers.

The Travis Scott Factor

Sources told US Weekly that the Keeping Up with the Kardashians co-star has changed since giving birth to her daughter.

"She is very focused on trying to keep motherhood private for right now. She used to love being in the limelight, but that has totally changed," the source stated.

However, the harsh spotlight could be cast on Kylie and Stormi thanks to Travis Scott's questionable antics. On Wednesday, Feb. 7, the "Butterfly Effect" rapper pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in Arkansas for allegedly inciting a riot on May 13, 2017 at the Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion.

If Scott continues his shenanigans, Jenner could go to a California court and disallow the rapper to not see their daughter.

Other Kardashian-Jenner News

In addition to Brody Jenner returning to the public eye, other members of the Kardashian-Jenner family have been making their headlines.

Kim Kardashian West shocked the world when her daughter, North West, took a topless photo of her at the Kardashian West estate.

Her older sister and future mom-to-be Khloe Kardashian announced that her child would not have a "K" name like her siblings.

Enstars reached out to Brody Jenner's representatives for a statement.
Its not clear how many people were really anticipating former White House staffer Omarosa Manigault-Newmans debut on Big Brother. Still, she made quite the splash as she didnt waste time to spill insider secrets.

Omarosa Lets It All Out

While Manigault has insisted that she is no longer on the Donald Trump train, she is still getting the side eye for how she acted when she was on his payroll to begin with. She opened up about her time in the White House, possibly in an effort to prove that she really isnt down with Trump anymore.

When asked if she would ever cast a vote in his favor again, Manigault said, Never in a million years. She told her co-stars and housemates when they asked why she ever agreed to it that she felt like it was her responsibility to serve under Trump. One co-star bluntly asked if anyone ever challenges or tries to check Trump. Manigault said she did her best. Instead, acoording to her, his people and the administration returned the favor and shut her out.

Manigault was also asked who was really in power and the state of the future of the country. She was also candid with her response.

I dont know. Im not there. Its not my circus, not my monkeys. Id like to say not my problem but I cant say that because, its badNo its not gonna be okay. Its not. So bad.

Are Omarosa And Keshia Knight Pulliam That Different?

Manigault went on to reveal to another co-star that she lost hundreds of friends because of her connection to Trump for the last couple of years. Intersetingly enough, she seemingly tried to get a friend out of Keshia Knight Pulliam. She compared Pulliams support for disgraced actor Bill Cosby during his sexual assault trial, to her former support for Trump. Pulliam made it clear she wasnt buying it.

She said in a confessional that she and Manigault could not be any further from polar opposites in terms of our political viewsIts a different situation because this man is running our country and being a voice of a whole country of people.

Manigault continued to stand by her statement in her own confessional. She said Pulliam has no right to judge her considering the world sees how very similar those two relationships are.

Big Brother airs on CBS Thursdays at 8/7c on CBS.

Be sure to keep up with Enstars for the latest news on your favorite celebrities and shows.
European lawyers are increasingly raising the issue of the danger of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) being involved in EU international treaties. This comes as a follow-up to the EU-Morocco fisheries deal that was invalidated in a non-binding opinion by an ECJ advisor on the grounds of violation of the rights of people from Western Sahara. Other legal experts, however, claim that if such proceedings continue, this would have very negative consequences on the issue since the deal on fisheries is key to the EU-Morocco partnership.

The mood in the EU is generally very supportive of the deal. Many member states, led by Spain, have expressed their support for the renewal of the fisheries agreement with Morocco. Some are worried that, in legal terms, the EUs judiciary is stepping into the territory of diplomatic and foreign policy issues. Such meddling of the judiciary in foreign policy involves the sovereignty of a state on its territories and is therefore likely to be subject to biased opinions.

Should the ECJ follow the Advocate Generals recommendation in its judgment, this would set a dangerous precedent. Groups advocating Kurdish or Catalan independence will feel entitled to challenge the legality of treaties signed between the Commission and Turkey or Spain, said Jean Claude Martinez, Law Professor at the University of Paris and former Member of the European Parliament.

Mr. Martinez also added that in case the ECJ invalidates the fisheries deal, this would encourage separatist groups around the world to follow suit, challenging agreements signed by the EU. It would be ludicrous for the ECJ to dedicate resources to the dismantling of the ongoing agreements the EU has with Turkey, for the reason that they apply to areas claimed by Kurdish nationalists.
BMW SA Open hosted by the City of Ekurhuleni

Glendower GC, City of Ekurhuleni, Gauteng, South Africa


A judge has ruled that a group of British expats in the Netherlands can have their case to keep all their rights when Britain leaves the European Union heard in the European Court of Justice.The group of five expats want the Dutch Government to guarantee their rights after Brexit including free movement, which is currently due to end when the UK leaves the EU in March 2019. They argue their EU rights should be guaranteed by the Dutch Government regardless of what deal is done over Brexit or what Britain's future relationship with the EU ends up being.Experts say that if they win the case then it could pave the way for other British expats to argue that their rights should be retained by other EU Governments and could affect about a million British citizens living in the EU.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, said one of the group Stephen Huyton.British Prime Minister Theresa May has already said EU citizens currently living in the UK will be able to apply for settled status after Brexit and the understanding is that British expats should have the same right in other EU countries.But the exact outcome of what it will mean for British expats is still unclear, especially regarding free movement which is due to come to an end in March next year but it now looks as if there will be a transition period almost two years.But May is not keen on freedom of movement remaining during a transition period. During her recent trip to China she said that she wants to deny rights to EU expats who arrive in the UK during a transition period.The EU has indicated that it wants a status quo transition period of just under two years and this would include free movement and full rights for EU citizens arriving in the UK. May believes there should be a distinction between EU expats already living in the UK and those who arrive in the full knowledge the UK is about to leave.But according to EU Brexit co-ordinator Guy Verhofstadt the issue of EU citizens rights during a transition period is simply non-negotiable as the bloc will not accept a two tier situation for EU citizens.Details of the transition period are still unclear. It means that the positon of expats is now thrown into doubt from the period from Brexit happening in March next year and a 20 month transition period.In the UK Frances OGrady, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, called for clarification over workers rights during a transition period. We hope the UK and the EU can quickly reach an agreement that retains a level playing field on workers rights. And it must make sure UK workers benefit from any new rights that the EU introduces during the transition period, she said.
Hello fellow friends,



I submitted 189 EOI and now have 70 points waiting for my invitation.

No work experience need to prove, no family or spouse included in my application.



Just wondering if it is necessary for my to hire an agent to help me with the rest?

A quote I got was 1,000aud just for visa application. I feel it's not really worth it.

Any one can tell me if it is easy to finish the visa application on your own after a 189 invitation?





Thank you.
Im applying for my spousal visa but have some questions about paperwork. I have children who are non-applicants and I need proof of where they live from my ex and my exes birth certificate. What do I do if he wont provide me with these documents?

Ive organised all of my paperwork in a binder, in sections, so they can easily find everything.

Also Im here on a tier 2 visa now so I can support myself well above the minimum requirement. Do I need to send financial information for my English born spouse or can I rely on just my income?

Thank for the help!
I used a lady called Kitty Falls she lives near London but was very good and knows what she is about. Others wanted an astronomical fee just to advise me. She is well worth a call, google her and get in touch. Good luck.
Yours truly confused said: I cannot help you with the tax accountant question but we have just arrived permanently in the Cote dOr, but we are using a local agency to help us trawl through all the necessities to open our micro enterprise.



I attended the obligatory 30 hour course to be able to register our business this week and next week we will seek registration. As you already have a business you may be exempt from this stage. The one thing I really understood is that it is complicated and the authoritys are trying to become more vigilant.



The speaker from the SSI suggested if we had any questions to just make an appointment at the office in Dijon, the Impots likewise. We will be using the agency to guide us but will make appointments if needed.



If you want more info please send me a PM. Click to expand...

Thanks. I am off on a business trip until the end of the month tomorrow but when I get back, I will send you a PM. I am really trying to understand the tax implications of having a consulting business there before I actually decide to do it. I have a lot of expenses/deductions, so the "micro entrepreneur" path would not work for me. But, I also need to better understand what one is allowed to deduct if one were to have an EURL and if it is similar to Switzerland.The Swiss allow for a lot of deductions (any work-related expenses, healthcare premiums, even some for work clothing and odds and ends that do not fit anywhere). The Swiss like to keep things simple and much more straightforward, it seems (not a big surprise there). But in Switzerland, I don't have a limited company, only an "independent activity", which is like the "micro entrepreneur". But it is much more relaxed and one can still have deductions. So, having an actual company would be more complicated even in Switzerland than my current arrangement. But in Switzerland, it isn't necessary like it would be in France. So, I might have to do a course anyway since I really do not understand how limited companies work.I will be in touch. Thanks!
My UK GB driving licence entitles me to drive a manual/automatic car and tow a trailer/caravan and unlimited motorcycle. SA category EB and A. I took an assessment in SA in an automatic car to prove I can drive safely and passed. This is the only vehicle I have. My temporary SA exchange licence only gives me category EB Automatic. The driving licence office says I need to do an assessment on a motorcycle to get category A. They keep missing the fact i am restricted to automatic although i have pointed this out lots of times. They also wanted me to bring a trailer to be assessed towing. Can anybody confirm the conversion process and do i have to take multiple assessments to get all my categories i am entitled to? I have surrendered my UK GB licence and provided proof that i am entitled to have EB manual and automatic and A categories. I live in the North West and there is no contact information on line for this area. On line information does not say i need any assessment and it should be a straight conversion. I have been told this is out of date. I do not think it is right that i need to do multiple assessments as what is the point of proving the categories already on my UK GB licence?
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NEWS FLASH





Corendon Dutch Airlines will commence a new seasonal service between Maastricht, in the southeast of the Netherlands, to Ohrid this summer. The carrier, which already maintains seasonal operations from Amsterdam to the lake-side city, will introduce the flights on July 6. The service is aimed at Dutch holidaymakers and tickets will be sold as part of tour packages. Several carriers will launch new flights to Ohrid this summer including Brussels Airlines, Nordica and TUIfly.
Model aims to combat flush and bust

If you talk to most farmers, they will tell you there is one word that strikes fear into them more than any other - and that is drought.
CENTRAL Queensland-based agricultural technology pioneer, SwarmFarm Robotics, is poised to start commercial production of its SwarmBot mini driverless tractors, with help from about $14 million of fresh investment capital.

The company, which operates from the Bate familys Emerald district cattle and cropping property at Gindie, has just launched a capital raising effort through business advisory giant PwC Australia to help fund its commercial agenda.

Financial projections for SwarmFarm Robotics suggest initial positive earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) by 2020-21, growing to $50m by 2023.

Early versions of the lightweight, sensor-guided autonomous units  slightly larger in size than a farm quad bike  already operate in paddock teams on the familys Central Highlands farm.

The research prototypes have been powered by 18 kilowatt diesel motors, working at about eight kilometres an hour, spot spraying weeds and mowing.

Hydraulic and electronic components can be easily swapped or replaced if required.

The first commercial-scale prototype is about to be built in Victoria with help from development partner and driverless car technology leader, Bosch.

Bosch is providing mechanical engineering expertise, system design knowledge and manufacturing and component supply for the SwarmBot platform.

The first of 50 commercial units are expected for release to farmers from mid-year on a managed lease basis for a monthly fee likely to be about $6000.

The SwarmFarm technology aims to lift farming system productivity by using the small, high-tech robotic gear in fleets, or swarms, for key broadacre and horticultural cropping system tasks, including planting, weed and pest control, fertiliser application and harvesting.

SwarmFarm director and co-founder, Jocie Bate, said the SwarmBot robots, mounted with eight-metre spray booms, had achieved a level of consistency and cost efficiency unattainable using traditional farming methods on the familys farm.

We believe this is the ideal platform to deliver the next wave of agricultural technology to farmers around the world, Ms Bate said.

Her husband Andrew developed the original concept in 2010.

The project evolved from his partnership with robotics teams at the Australian Centre for Field Robotics at the University of Sydney, New South Wales and the Farm Robotics Unit at Queensland University of Technology.

Mr Bate said once up and running commercially, SwarmFarms robotic technology would generate a regular investment return from the SwarmBot leases and sale of replacement parts, plus provision of ongoing software upgrade and related technology support to farmers over the life of each unit.

SwarmFarm business development director Neville Crook said farmers worldwide were lining up to use the technology.

Innovative farmers have been watching SwarmFarms progress with keen interest ever since our concept bots were demonstrated in 2015, Mr Crook said.

Theyre incredibly keen to access this technology.

Bosch Australia president Gavin Smith said farmers were ready to enter the fourth revolution in agriculture, harnessing the power and potential of automation, sensing equipment, cloud computing and real-time data usage.

We are delighted to be partnering with SwarmFarm to help bring about this transformation in Australian farming and the rest of the world, Mr Smith said.

Also on board as a global business partner is crop protection chemical company, Adama, a division of global giant, ChemChina.

Adama is thrilled to partner with SwarmFarm and to help take this young innovative Australian company to the world, said strategy and resources senior vice president Dani Harari.

PwC Australia will act as SwarmFarms lead financial advisor for the capital raising and business growth phase for the next two years.
Martin Abell, of United Kingdom-based farming services company Precision Decisions Ltd.

WESTERN Australian grain growers and industry stakeholders will this month have a unique opportunity to hear about the worlds first crop grown exclusively using autonomous vehicles and drones.

Martin Abell, of United Kingdom-based farming services company Precision Decisions Ltd ,will outline how this has been achieved during a keynote address to the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) Grains Research Update at Crown Perth on Monday, February 26 and Tuesday, February 27.

The ground-breaking Hands Free Hectare Project (HFHa) will headline the Perth events innovations session, which also features information from Australian grain growers about the practical application of research outcomes that make a difference to their profitability.

Mr Abell will also present to regional audiences at the GRDC Grains Research Update events to be held in Northampton on Friday, February 23, Darkan on Wednesday, February 28 and Corrigin on Thursday, March 1.

He said the HFHa project attracted global attention when its researchers successfully grew one hectare of spring barley in 2017 without humans entering the field.

It has proven automated agriculture is possible and shown that there are no technological reasons why automated cereal farming should not take place commercially, Mr Abell said.

Carried out by Harper Adams University in Shropshire with Precision Decisions Ltd, the HFHa researchers created the worlds first automated field growing cycle that incorporated sowing, agronomy practices and harvesting and produced a barley crop that yielded 4.5 tonnes per hectare.

The project team used modified conventional agricultural machines equipped with an open-source autopilot from a drone.

Mr Abell said such automated agriculture practices were in early stages of commercialisation in the UK, with major equipment manufactures and start-ups offering these types of systems to the market.

One of the objectives of our one-year project was to utilise machinery and technologies that are available and affordable, not bespoke and expensive, he said.

In fact, it is legislation that remains the primary barrier to widespread adoption of automated machines within all technological sectors  including agriculture.

More information: giwa.org.au/2018researchupdates or grdc.com.au/updatedates.
HEATWAVES are happening more often and researchers are responding with practical climate engineering strategies to take the edge off the impacts of extreme hot spells.

Modifying the land surface in urban and agricultural areas can reduce extreme temperatures by up to two to three degrees Celsius, according to the findings from a collaborative international study led by ETH University Zurich, Switzeralnd, with researchers from Australias Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes, University of Tasmania, CSIRO and the United States.

Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science director, Andy Pitman, said land modification may be able to knock the critical last two degrees off a severe heat spike .

Were not suggesting this would have profound implications and cool all of Australia right down, Mr Pitman said.

Potential techniques for climate engineering include crop varieties bred to be lighter in colour, use of more reflective mulch, leaving lighter stubble on cropped land or no-till practices that produce soils that absorb less heat.

The centre contributed to the research and is investigating local applications for urban and rural landscapes but more work is needed to develop specific applications.

I would stress that were not telling farmers how to function, or suggesting they should lay bright plastic across the land, Mr Pitman said.

Were saying theres potential to use simple techniques to moderate extreme temperatures.

Mr Pitman said techniques needed to be applied across a lot of land.

Were talking about vast scales, like across a wheatbelt, and making it slightly more reflective to the parts of sunlight that arent used for photosynthesis, he said.

Mr Pitman said further research was needed to understand local impacts and practical applications.

An obvious commercial benefit would be when climate engineering is used to moderate an extreme heatwave that would otherwise have risked plant losses.

While Europes extreme events are relatively cool compared to the scorchers of inland Australia, it can be severely impacted by significant temperature spikes like the 2003 heatwave that claimed more than 70,000 lives.

Much of the work to date on this climate engineering method has been done in Europe, in both farming areas like the Black Sea wheat region and urban environments.

These are not new strategies, but the clever thing we did in this research was to tease out that the impacts of these methods has most impact at the extreme end of temperatures, Mr Pitman said.

People in the Mediterranean have had light coloured roofs for many hundreds of years.

Theres a strange thing about Australia that we seem to like black roofs.

Its not a cost thing, its purely taste.

Even half a degree cooler in a city can provide considerable value, like cooling the temperature by half a degree and prevent the electricity grid exceeding a threshold and causing a brownout.

There is another factor in the differences between extreme heat events in Australia and Europe, but more work is needed to determine the significance of its impacts.

Water evaporating from tree leaves into the atmosphere (transpiration) has a modest cooling effect.

But native European trees cannot transpire under extreme heat.

But in Australia Eucalypts have evolved to cope.

Normal trees cant transpire if theyre heat stressed, Mr Pitman said,

But eucalyptus arent normal.

Like the animals here are really weird relative to the northern hemisphere, our vegetation is similarly weird.

Eucalypts respond to extreme heat by sweating as a strategy to cool themselves down.

Theyve adapted to almost always have access to water and they have a range of strategies to cope with extreme heat that most people in the bush already understand.

The first response is pumping water into the atmosphere, which involves putting out volatile organic compounds  which is why the Blue Mountains look blue.

And they let their leaves droop so they are almost vertical to the sun, to absorb less heat.
EXCITING topics weaving innovative agricultural technology, farm investment opportunities and personal development journeys are on the agenda for the first Innovation Generation (IG) Local conference that will be held at Wickepin on Thursday, February 22.

The Facey Group has teamed up with peak national grain representative body, GrainGrowers, to bring local young farmers and agribusiness people together for a program of networking and discussion.

Not-for-profit body, Future Farmers Network, which is focused on building engagement and networking of young people in agriculture, is also supporting the event.

Speakers leading the conversation include Lewis Johnstone, a fourth-generation WA grain farmer who took over his familys cropping and sheep farm at just 21 and will share his personal and professional farming journey.

He will talk about opportunities to step off-farm.

Mr Johnstone completed the GrainGrowers Australian Grain Farm Leadership Program in 2016.

Also speaking will be Blake OMeagher, an agronomist from the Farmanco agronomy team who recently travelled to the United States to view the use of drones in agriculture and whose passion for new and emerging technology is infectious.

His talk will analyse current and prospective technology solutions and their integration in Australian agriculture.

Financial advisor, David McCarthy, Bedbrook McCarthy, will talk about investing for the farm business and how its important for everyone.

More than 50 eager young farmers and agribusiness people from as far away as Williams and York are expected to attend the event which will be held at Wickepin Community Centre.

We have listened to our younger farmers and have ensured our program includes the top topics they said they wanted to hear about, through our recent survey, said Facey Group executive officer Sarah Hyde.

There will be plenty of opportunity to quiz the speakers.

We have included time for networking, with a sundowner at the conclusion of the day.

GrainGrowers chief executive officer Michael Southan said the conference had grown from the need to take the GrainGrowers national farming conference to regional areas and to young farmers who, through the pressures of work on the farm or distance and cost, cannot make it to the annual event.

The first event in Moree (New South Wales) last year was so successful that GrainGrowers is now planning several more in other regional areas, Dr Southan said.

The idea of bringing the best bits of the IG conference program to Wickepin has been well supported by Facey Group and we are pleased to be involved with them.

More information: innovationgeneration. com.au
Its not just fake news media lining up against Donald Trump, world trade experts are warning Australia about the fallout from the Presidents protectionist policies.

Australia exporters including dairy and grain are expectantly eying the recently renegotiated Trans Pacific Partnership, despite the US absence.

But University of Adelaide George Gollin Professor of economics Kym Anderson argues the outcome from the biennial meeting of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in December told a pretty disappointing story.

Australia takes the view the best way to improve its trade standing is through the WTO, where we can get agreement among all countries, so you can negotiate once and get a global outcome, he said.

Mr Trump is a strident critic of the WTO and the US threw its weight to hold up negotiations over future trade deals and blocked the appointment of Appellate Judges to the WTOs dispute resolution body, creating a logjam of bickering nations.

The President has a very shallow understanding of how trade works, and he doesn't seem to understand that imports arent a bad thing for an economy

- Professor Vince Smith

The US withdrew from the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) last year and Mr Trump is flirting with an exit from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

However, on the domestic front, a presidents influence on domestic subsidies and price regulation is buried under the weight of lawmakers in Senate and House ag committees who control the US Farm Bill - and routinely in favour of the partisan interests of their states.

Australia is lobbying Mr Trump to back away from his protectionist policies, but Malcolm Turnbull recently said he did not expect the US to join the TPP anytime soon.

We're certainly not counting on it. It would be great if they did, it is a real engine for jobs, for investment.

Mr Anderson spoke at the Australasian Agricultural and Resource Economics Societys conference in Adelaide this week.

The alternative is time-consuming regional bilateral negotiations. But the risk is that the next day another county comes along, signs another agreement and all our benefits are diluted, he said.

The US may yet be tempted to sign up and gain its slice of the long-awaited deal between 11 Asian and South American nations, expected to be confirmed in March.

There are several options which the US could take. It could join under the terms of the current arrangements, but its likely Trump would want to dictate terms, Mr Anderson said.

There is also the prospect China may look to join the TPP, which would be a great achievement in its own right, and that might frighten the US into joining.

If China joins there might be some losses to existing preferential trade arrangements, but overall it would be a great gain for our economy.
Right now, those who are best implementing the social doctrine of the Church are the Chinese, said Bishop Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo, the chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences. He contrasted China, which has a positive national conscience, favorably with U.S. President Donald Trump, whom he believes is overly influenced by liberal [read: free market] thought.

One could quibble with this description of President Trump. However, China violates the most fundamental pillars of Catholic social doctrine:

1. Denying the freedom of religion. Curtailment of the religious freedom of individuals, wrote Pope John Paul II in Redemptor Hominis, is above all an attack on mans very dignity, independently of the religion professed. China has been an equal opportunity represser, making the suppression of faith an ecumenical experience. As I wrote at Providence magazine, China persecutes its Uighur Muslims, Tibetan Buddhists, and a growing share of its Christian population. This excludes members of the Falun Gong, who are subject to widespread and severe human rights violations, according to Freedom House.

Chief among the persecuted is Chinas Catholic population. Beijing recognizes only the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, not the official hierarchy loyal to the Vatican. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI once deemed this incompatible with Catholic doctrine. The New York Times reports that Pope Francis is considering a plan to replace two underground bishops with hierarchs selected by Beijing, one of whom has been excommunicated, provoking widespread backlash.

2. Denying human dignity, especially through forced abortion. Social justice can be obtained only in respecting the transcendent dignity of man, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The person represents the ultimate end of society, which is ordered to him. Furthermore, Pope John Paul II wrote that unconditional respect for the right to life of every innocent person  from conception to natural death is one of the pillars on which every civil society stands.

China continues to practice forced abortion, if expectant parents cannot pay fines that run as high as $39,000 (U.S.). Although the Communist Party modified its one child policy to allow most people to have a second child, Officials continue to enforce compliance with population planning targets using methods including heavy fines, job termination, arbitrary detention, and coerced abortion, according to the Congressional-Executive Commission on Chinas 2017 report. Chinas two child policy continues the human rights abuses and gender-based violence of the one child policy, said Reggie Littlejohn, a human rights advocate with Womens Rights Without Frontiers.

3. Denying the rule of law. Pope Paul VI wrote that government is to see to it that equality of citizens before the law, which is itself an element of the common good, is never violated. While he specified religious discrimination, the Holy See has testified at the UN that although the rule of law is not in itself sufficient, it remains nevertheless an indispensable instrument for the protection of human dignity.

However, the Congressional-Executive Commission on China has reported an ongoing and significant discrepancy between official [Chinese] statements that affirm the importance of law-based governance  and the actual ability of citizens to access justice. Events observed in 2017 continued to demonstrate that individuals and groups who attempt to help citizens advocate for their rights do so at significant professional and personal risk.

4. Denying private property rights. Every man has by nature the right to possess property as his own, wrote Pope Leo XIII in the groundbreaking encyclical on social justice, Rerum Novarum. It must be within his right to possess things not merely for temporary and momentary use, as other living things do, but to have and to hold them in stable and permanent possession.

Since 1978, China has implemented free market reforms that have lifted 800 million people out of extreme poverty. Yet neither personal nor intellectual property rights remain stable. A 2012 study found that the government had confiscated land from 43 percent of Chinese villages. Farmers received an average compensation of $17,850 an acre, a fraction of the mean price authorities themselves received for the land (778,000 yuan per mu or $740,000 per acre, mostly in cases of commercial projects). Chinese violations of intellectual property rights are notorious, costing American firms $48 billion in 2009 alone.

5. Denying political freedom. While the Magisterium allows the existence of different forms of government, the Compendium on the Social Doctrine of the Church holds that a source of concern is found in those countries ruled by totalitarian or dictatorial regimes, where the fundamental right to participate in public life is denied at its origin. (Emphasis in original.) The USCCB adds, We believe people have a right and a duty to participate in society. China ranked among the 10 nations with the least amount of electoral freedom, in a new report by the Foundation for the Advancement of Liberty. Beijing restricts political freedom to the cadre of Communist Party members, whom President Xi Jinping has said must be unyielding Marxist atheists. Political participation has narrowed further under Xi, whom some have described as being in the early stages of a personality cult.

These are but a few of many reasons China is not an exemplar of Catholic social teaching. Additional grounds are presented by Religion & Liberty Transatlantic contributor Philip Booth in his Catholic Herald article, Dont look to China for an example of Catholic social teaching.

(Photo credit: Public domain.)
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We are dedicated to providing the reliable, local journalism you have come to expect. We are committed to serving you with renewed energy and growing resources. Let the Fauquier Times be your community companion throughout 2021, and for many years to come.
Lupita Nyong'o thinks "people are ready" to see a film like 'Black Panther'.

Lupita Nyong'o

The 34-year-old actress plays Special Forces warrior Nakia in the new Marvel Cinematic Universe movie, and recently described the heroine as a "war dog" who proves to be very useful to the titular hero T'Challa [Chadwick Boseman].

The movie is the first superhero adventure to be led by a black character and has a predominantly black cast and Lupita thinks it's great for people of her ethnicity to get this film.

Speaking at the European premiere of the new movie at London's Eventim Apollo on Thursday (08.02.18), Nyong'o told ITV News: "I think people are ready to see a film like this. A predominately black cast, African story and a celebration of African culture on a very big scale. It's a look and feel like something you've never seen before.

"It is [ground-breaking]. It is a beautiful thing to behold. All of us are often asked to relate to white characters and now it's time for the world to relate to black characters and what you realise is that we are the same. This kind of thing it's amazing that it is happening now, it's a beautiful thing. This is time for it and we're ready."

The motion picture is expected to expand on the storyline that was first introduced in 'Captain America: Civil War' of how T'Challa becomes the Black Panther.

T'Challa's father T'Chaka is king of the African nation Wakanda and has the ceremonial title Black Panther as the chief of the Panther Tribe, but is killed when a bomb goes off at the UN making his son the Black Panther.

Other actors in the movie include Forest Whitaker, who will take on the role of Zuri, an elder statesman in Wakanda, and 'The Walking Dead' star Danai Gurira, who is to portray Okoye, the head of the Dora Milaje, the Black Panther's personal bodyguards.
Calvin Harris is done with "impersonal" festival appearances.

Calvin Harris

The 'Feels' hitmaker has admitted he hated playing to large crowds in muddy fields because he had "no connection" to the audience with the only good thing about it being the large paycheque.

Instead, he plans on focusing on his Las Vegas residency at OMINA, which was recently renewed until 2020.

Calvin - who was named the world's highest-earning DJ for the fifth year in a row in 2017 - spilled: "All that stuff got a little bit too impersonal, standing up there and it's the fireworks and all that stuff, but you've got no connection with anyone.

"And that's why I actually love playing Vegas at the moment because I get to see people's faces and get to see people enjoy their night.

"Those big festival shows which I wasn't getting into personally other than a bit of money and money is, you know, the root of all evil."

The Scottish DJ has revealed he's heading back to his dance roots after releasing star-studded funk LP 'Funk Wav Bounces Vol.1'.

He told Zane Lowe on Apple Beats 1 radio: "I'm going to release more and also I'm taking it one song at a time.

"The songs are all going to be based on dance music because I love it again...I basically took a year off dance music when I did all the Funk stuff [on last album Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1].

"I thought I didn't like it anymore ... I was like wait, wait, wait.

"So actually some of the best producers in the world are EDM producers, even though they got s*** on by everybody, the critics and cool music lovers.

"I'm sorry, but some of the best producers in the world are EDM and some of the best producers are Dutch."

Calvin's latest single, 'Nuh Ready Nuh Ready', features rapper PartyNextDoor who the 34-year-old star says is a "genius".

He said: "I thought he was a genius for a few years. The thing is, I feel now more than ever, if you don't come out acting like a genius then you don't get called a genius.

"And because he's to the outside a very reserved and very like just off limits, you don't know what he is; you don't know what he's like.

"You just see an image and you hear a voice and you hear his writing in it and and it's amazing, but you don't know what it's all about."
Shane Jenek is in a "love triangle" with Andrew Brady and his alter-ego Courtney Act.

Shane Jenek as Courtney Act

The 'Celebrity Big Brother' winner has admitted he's fallen in love with the 'Apprentice' contestant - who he met in the famous house last month - but there's nothing he can do about it because he knows the businessman only fancies him when he's in drag.

Speaking to The Sun Online, Shane said: "It's not an unrequited relationship, I've been in relationships with straight guys - well friends who I've been in love with and they haven't loved me back that way, and it was damaging to my own psyche.

"I've come through the other side and understand that dynamic now... I understand that he's very handsome and wonderful we have this friendship that was forged in the peculiar environment and we just get on so well. I don't think my love is unrequited with Andrew, I think we both feel the same way about each other but he's just not attracted to male bodied people. It's like a love triangle, because he likes Courtney and I love him."

And, even if Andrew was attracted to him, Shane doesn't think they'd ever get into a relationship because their friendship is so strong and he wouldn't want to ruin that.

He said: "I see Andrew and I as a friendship and I don't think we would be boyfriends even if he was attracted to me. I just value our friendship so much; it brings me joy."

The pair spent over a month with each other in the 'CBB' house but will now separate as Shane is returning to the US, while Andrew continues to live his life in the UK.

But, the help him cope with the separation, Andrew gave Shane a teddy bear.

He explained: "I slept with it [the teddy bear called Brady] last night and woke up with it in my arm, and it sounds pathetic but it was actually so pacifying."
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The team the worked on the original Macintosh computer claimed that Apple co-founder Steve Jobs had a reality-distortion field. As Andy Hertzfeld explains, the reality distortion field was a confounding melange of a charismatic rhetorical style, an indomitable will, and an eagerness to bend any fact to fit the purpose at hand.

Some countries have this same ability that Jobs had. The Soviet Union, for example, used to be able to convince American leftists that Russia was becoming a utopia rather than a land of authoritarianism and starvation. Similarly, China seems to have engaged its reality-distortion field for some members of the Vatican. As Acton Research Director Samuel Gregg says,

[Bishop Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo] is the Argentine-born and Vatican-based long-time Chancellor of what are called the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences. Having recently visited China, the bishop described the one-party communist state as extraordinary. Why extraordinary, you might ask? Well, according to Bishop Sanchez, China has no shanty-towns and young people dont take drugs. Moreover, he said, China takes climate change so much more seriously than most other nations. Thats hard to square with Chinas relentless emphasis on economic growth. But, above all, the bishop exclaimed, those who are best implementing the social doctrine of the Church are the Chinese. At this point, I started to wonder how the Argentine bishop reconciled some well-known facts about the Chinese communist regimeits policy of forced-abortions in the name of population-control; its use of mass labor camps; its ongoing problems with rampant corruption; the growing cult of personality surrounding President Xi Jinping; its absence of democracy; its bellicose and militaristic stance in the South China Sea; the surveillance and censoring of anyone deemed a threat to the Communist Partys monopoly of power by the Ministry of State Security; its appalling treatment of the Nobel Peace Prize activist, the late Liu Xiaobo; its oppression of the people of Tibet and other ethnic minorities; its demolition of Evangelical and Catholic churches; and its relentless harassment of Catholic clergy and laypeople who wont support regime-puppets like the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Associationwith Catholic social teaching.

Read more . . .
After creating eight factories across the U.S. over the past decade, GE Aviation is working to narrow the "skills gap" facing many young Americans seeking jobs in today's advanced manufacturing plants.

More than ever, GE Aviation collaborates with universities, community colleges, and public schools on job training programs in communities where it operates plants. Nowhere is it more critical than at GE's jet engine assembly plant in Lafayette, Indiana, in the shadow of storied Purdue University.

This is because GE's Lafayette operation, which opened in 2015, is in the throes of the fastest production ramp-up for a commercial jet engine since jetliners were first introduced in the 1950s. Also, Lafayette needs shop-floor technicians holding a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) powerplant license to perform the diverse technical tasks on sophisticated equipment inside the new facility. It's not your father's factory.

GE's Lafayette factory produces the "LEAP" engine for CFM International, the successfully 50/50 joint company of GE and Safran Aircraft Engines of France. More than 14,000 LEAP engines are on back order to power three popular twin-engine airplanes: the Airbus Industrie A320neo, Boeing 737 MAX, and China's COMAC C919. The Airbus and Boeing airplanes are now in airline service.

Two GE Aviation factories in the U.S. (Lafayette and Durham, North Carolina) assemble half of the LEAP engines, and Safran's plant in Villaroche, France, assembles the balance. In addition to final assembly, the two GE plants produce the "hot section" (compressor, combustor, high pressure turbine) core for every LEAP engine assembled in U.S. and France.

The GE and Safran factories delivered 459 LEAP engines in 2017. The LEAP delivery goal for 2018 is up to 1,200 engines, and in the 1,800-engine range in 2019. Lafayette's LEAP deliveries will grow from 193 LEAP engines in 2017 to 600 engines in 2018. And delivery rates will continue to grow for several years afterwards.

When plant manager Eric Matteson opened the Lafayette plant, he knew he faced a work-skills challenge. "I needed FAA-licensed assemblers," he says. "Many people want to work at our site, but they need the license to handle the scope of work which can range from operating $3 million grinders to unique inspection machines. But the community is rallying around our challenge."

In 2016, Ivy Tech Community College, walking distance from the GE plant, established a two-year Associate of Applied Science degree in aviation maintenance technology with a powerplant concentration. The college then teamed with neighboring Purdue University in a co-enrollment program to ensure the two-year degree also provided for an FAA powerplant license. Purdue doesn't offer two-year degrees, but offers powerplant courses, the FAA license testing and provides access to its aviation equipment for the co-enrolled Ivy Tech students.

Ivy Tech's hopes to have about 20 graduates from the program each year to provide a pipeline for GE's Lafayette operation and other manufacturing operations, says Dr. Todd Roswarski, Ivy Tech's vice chancellor for academic affairs. Ivy Tech currently has 17 students in the program with the first graduates expected within a year.

Why is this the program critical to GE's Lafayette plant? Today, the plant has 100 FAA-licensed technicians. By year's end, it needs another 65 technicians. And more are needed in 2019. "We are counting on Ivy Tech to be a long-term local pipeline," said Matteson. "These kind of manufacturing challenges are very common today."

Matteson needs licensed technicians for more than engine assembly. They are engaged in full disassembly of LEAP engines as part of field inspection programs. In addition, Lafayette is also a designated LEAP maintenance shop.

GE's FAA-licensed technicians are not only critical to Lafayette, but they can be deployed across GE Aviation's worldwide network of support sites when engine issues arise. After all, GE and CFM have 36,000 in airline service around the world. On occasion, Lafayette technicians are deployed to GE Aviation's massive outdoor test operation in Peebles, Ohio, to ensure timely LEAP delivery. Every LEAP engine assembled in the U.S. is tested in Peebles before final delivery.

The FAA license also provides GE employees with a career path. "We've already promoted several of our licensed technicians to management salaried roles," Matteson said.

While Ivy Tech ramps up its associate degree program in aviation technology, GE is also actively recruiting FAA-licensed technicians from the Aviation Institute of Maintenance (AIM) and the Vincennes Aviation Technology Center, both at the Indianapolis International Airport.

The Ivy Tech and Purdue University two-year program is one of several initiatives in Lafayette focused on the growing "skills gap" in manufacturing. The Greater Lafayette Commerce has initiated a "Workforce 2030" team of business and academic leaders focused on school awareness programs and curriculum strategies to put a greater focus on the career opportunities in manufacturing.

Roswarski says Ivy Tech is more aligned with local manufacturers to address their personnel challenges.

"We are looking to design more programs that bring a technology focus to the manufacturing floor," he says. "These programs help manufacturers promote from within and show a meaningful career path for entry-level workers."

Brad Rohrer, manager of human relations for Subaru of Indiana Automotive in Lafayette, applauds Ivy Tech's efforts. Rohrer, like Matteson and Roswarski, is engaged in the local "Workforce 2030" initiative.

"The vocational training at the high school level has declined and it impacts our ability to grow manufacturing," he said. "We are going directly to the high schools with summer camps on manufacturing and job fairs. We need to get young men and women excited about manufacturing again."

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180208006498/en/

Contacts:

Rick Kennedy -- Executive Communications

GE Aviation

Cincinnati, Ohio

rick.l.kennedy@ge.com

Cell: 513.607.0609
A rare and beautiful 1936 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic was named the winner of the prestigious The Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Award today at The Peninsula Paris hotel.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180208006584/en/

(Photo: Business Wire)

Now in its third year, The Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Award brought together eight of the world's finest classic cars-the best of show winners from the top international concours-to compete for the title of the most exceptional motor car in the world. The Bugatti is co-owned by the Mullin Automotive Museum, and Rob and Melani Walton, located in California, USA, and was named "Best of Show Concours d'Etat" at the 2017 Chantilly Arts Elegance.

Speaking of the award's legacy, The Hon. Sir Michael Kadoorie, Chairman of The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited and co-founder of the award said, "My great hope is that we not only succeed in thrilling long-term car enthusiasts, but that this award will also ignite a new-found passion for those just discovering the world of motoring."

Powered by a supercharged engine and considered by many to be the first supercar ever made, the winning Bugatti is one of four Type 57 Atlantic models ever produced, with only three in the world remaining. The vehicle was designed at the height of the art deco movement by Jean Bugatti, Ettore Bugatti's son. Jean based the car on his other design, the 1935 Aerolithe concept car, which was famously riveted externally, for fear of the magnesium-alloy body parts catching fire. Jean kept this signature riveted seam on the all-aluminium body of the Atlantic.

"The Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic is the crown jewel of the automotive circuit," said Bugatti Head of Tradition Julius Kruta. "This car was Jean Bugatti's masterpiece with its beautiful and breath-taking lines, plus its unmatched performance for the time. Today, it remains the ultimate expression of the Bugatti legacy: unparalleled power and beautiful design."

This model, chassis number 57374, was the first Type 57 Atlantic produced and is the only surviving "Aero Coupe," a designation given to the first two cars that were mechanically very similar to the Aerolithe. The car was delivered new in 1936 to Britain's Nathaniel Mayer Victor Rothschild, third Baron Rothschild, and has since passed through few owners in its 82-year history. The car has been displayed internationally, and most recently, was on display at the Los Angeles-based Petersen Automotive Museum for the "Art of Bugatti" exhibit.

"The Atlantic represents the pinnacle of everything I adore about French automotive styling and is widely described as the Mona Lisa of the automobile collector world," said Peter Mullin, Founder and CEO of the Mullin Automotive Museum. "From its signature curves to its aviation-inspired rivets, to the Jean Bugatti designed sleek all-aluminium body, the car is truly a remarkable piece of art. I'm very honoured to have shared it with the world amongst other worthy 'Best of the Best' contenders."

"I second Peter's thoughts the other seven nominees were simply stunning, which makes winning the award feel even more special," said Rob Walton, co-owner of the winning car. "What this award does is allow us to take a step back and admire the quality and beauty of the greatest classic cars in existence today. For an automotive fan like myself, it's a joy."

The founders of The Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Award are each known as some of the world's foremost motoring experts, and were brought together by their shared passion for fine motor vehicles, impeccable restorations, as well as the preservation of tradition and heritage.

The Hon. Sir Michael Kadoorie, together with award co-founders Christian Philippsen, William E. "Chip" Connor and Bruce Meyer, created the award. The gentleman each cite a passion for automotive excellence as the inspiration behind the creation of The Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Award

According to Bruce Meyer, "For the third year, the ultimate standard for judging The Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Award was that of uncompromised quality and design. Of course, this made the selection process most challenging for the esteemed group of panellists." He continued: "In the end, the 1936 Bugatti Type 57 SC Coupe Atlantic emerged victorious, with its exceptional, bespoke design making it a marvellous combination of art and technology."

Previously presented during Monterey Car Week, the award moved to Paris this year to be presented during the world-famous Retromobile event. The Bugatti was presented at an exclusive reveal party in The Peninsula Paris' subterranean garage, following a private dinner.

The winning vehicle was selected after being reviewed by 24 automotive experts, designers and notable celebrities within the motoring world. Learn more about each judge, in addition to the seven other nominees by clicking here.

The Peninsula Hotels, owned and operated by The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited, is proud to sponsor The Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Award, a natural extension of the group's passion and appreciation for luxury, travel and the motoring lifestyle. With 10 hotels in global gateway cities throughout Asia, USA and Europe, The Peninsula Hotels celebrates glamour in travel, and aims to showcase the ultimate in sophistication, innovation and design. Known for its timelessly elegant hotels, discreet integration of technology and functionality, and extensive fleet of luxury transport, the group aims to bring its heritage and expertise to celebrate the very best in the world of motoring.

For more information, please visit http://peninsula.com/bestofthebest.

About The Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Award

The Peninsula Classics Best of the Best Awardis among the top automotive awards in the world. In its milestone development of the international motoring world's top accolade for most exceptional classic car, The Hon. Sir Michael Kadoorie, Chairman of The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited, launched the award in 2015 with co-founders Christian Philippsen, William E. "Chip" Connor and Bruce Meyer to celebrate the best of what defines the automotive world. Each founder shares a common passion and appreciation of fine motor cars, the preservation of their heritage and immaculate restoration projects. The award, sponsored by The Peninsula Hotels, brings together eight of the concours circuits' elite best of show winners from around the globe.

http://signatureevents.peninsula.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180208006584/en/

Contacts:

Media:

JMPR Public Relations

Sanaz Marbley/Elana Cates, 818-992-4353

smarbley@jmprpublicrelations.com

ecates@jmprpublicrelations.com
VANCOUVER, Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --Ondine Biomedical Inc. today announced that Vicente Fox, Former President of Mexico (2000 - 2006) has been appointed to Ondine's Board of Directors.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/640330/Vicente_Fox.jpg

Since leaving the Presidency, Mr. Fox has returned to private life in his home state of Guanajuato, actively supporting three Foundations together with his wife, Marta MariaSahagunde Fox, including the Vicente Fox Center of Studies, Library and Museum ('Centro Fox'). Centro Fox is a non-profit organization dedicated to the development and harnessing of compassionate leaders that will help shape a better world. Under the Fox Administration and leadership, the Mexican Government introduced policies to ensure basic healthcare access for all its citizens. Mr. Fox remains active in the development of improved healthcare access for all Mexicans, including the establishment of a hospital treating patients with complex neurological disorders.

"We are truly honoured to welcome Former President Fox to our Board of Directors," said Carolyn Cross, CEO and Chairman, Ondine Biomedical Inc. "From our earliest interactions with the Former President, his deep commitment to improving the lives of people across Mexico and Latin America - and indeed worldwide - has been abundantly evident. He is passionate in his belief that healthcare is a right, not a privilege, and that optimal healthcare means patients should never suffer from healthcare associated infections. Mr. Fox, a well-known Humanitarian, believes that helping mankind is a 'shortcut to happiness', a philosophy that aligns with Ondine corporate mission and culture."

"As President of Mexico, I worked tirelessly to improve living conditions for all Mexicans, including the establishment of health insurance coverage, modernizing hospitals as well as introducing new hospital equipment throughout Mexico," stated Mr. Fox. "While we have made great strides, we are nevertheless in urgent need of scalable solutions to healthcare problems we share with other developed nations, including the problem of hospital-acquired infections and the troubling rise in antibiotic resistance. I look forward to assisting Ondine in deploying their photodisinfection technology across Mexico and Latin America, and ultimately, across the globe".

Former President Fox joins the board with two new board members: The Honourable Jean Charest, Former Premier of Quebec and Deputy Prime Minister of Canada, and Mr. Joseph Sowell III, Senior Vice President and Chief Development Officer of Nashville, TN-based HCA Healthcare.

About Ondine Biomedical Inc.

Ondine Biomedical Inc. is dedicated to the development of non-antibiotic anti-infective therapies for a broad spectrum of bacterial, viral and fungal infections. Ondine is the global leader in the development of a revolutionary platform technology called Photodisinfection, a patented light activated technology that provides rapid antimicrobial efficacy without encouraging antibiotic resistance. Ondine's lead product is the MRSAid' nasal decolonization system which is used to decolonize the nose of all pathogens including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and fungi. Pre-surgical nasal decolonization has been proven, across numerous clinical studies, to significantly reduce surgical site infections. Several next-generation products in the hospital-associated infection market are currently under development.

For further information: Contact Ondine Biomedical Inc., Angelika Vance, Director Corporate Development, avance@ondinebio.com


KAWASAKI (dpa-AFX) - Pioneer Corp. (PNCOF.PK) reported third-quarter net loss attributable to owners of Pioneer of 2.86 billion yen or 7.56 yen, narrower than net loss of 3.99 billion yen or 10.88 yen per share in the prior-year period.



The narrower net loss was due to the decrease in foreign exchange loss and the extraordinary loss mainly associated with restructuring, despite a decrease in operating income.



Operating income for the quarter fell 96.6 percent to 63 million yen from 1.87 billion yen in the year-ago period, due to the deterioration in the cost of sales ratio mainly as a result of foreign exchange rate movements, and the decline in net sales.



Consolidated net sales for the quarter declined 3.8 percent to 94.70 billion yen from 98.41 billion yen last year, mainly due to lower sales of Car Electronics and the effect of the transfer of the cable TV system-related equipment business more than offsetting the positive effect of the Japanese yen's depreciation.



Car Electronics sales declined 2.9 percent year on year to 75.97 billion yen. In the Others segment, sales declined 7.1 percent year on year.



Pioneer said it resolved at a meeting of its board of directors held today to revise its consolidated business forecasts for fiscal 2018, the year ending March 31, 2018, and to pay no year-end dividend.



For fiscal 2018, Pioneer now forecasts net sales of 370.00 billion yen, operating income of 5.0 billion yen, and net loss of 3.00 billion yen. Earlier, the company expected net sales of 380.00 billion yen, operating income of 10.00 billion yen, and net income of 3.50 billion yen.



The company said it revised the full-year net income forecast downward, mainly because of the decrease in operating income and the increase in net non-operating expenses. The lower net sales outlook reflects recent slow sales of the consumer market products in Car Electronics.



Pioneer also said that the decision to not pay a year-end dividend is attributable to anticipating a consolidated net loss attributable to owners of the company for fiscal 2018.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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Regulatory News:

With this acquisition, Groupe PSA (Paris:UG) will be able to accelerate the rollout of its aftermarket offering in China by rapidly establishing its position in the market, which represents 130 million vehicles.

Created more than 20 years ago, Jian Xin is currently the leading spare parts distributor in the Shanghai region. Every year, it sells more than 5 million parts sourced from major original equipment manufacturers.

By obtaining control of Jian Xin, Groupe PSA will be able to establish a position in the independent aftermarket (IAM) in China. It will gain access to a competitive and efficient supply chain distribution system offering delivery times and frequencies that meet the highest market standards. Its objective is to accelerate growth in sales of multi-brand parts, including in its new Eurorepar range, which Groupe PSA developed specifically for the Chinese market.

The acquisition also represents an opportunity for the Group to expand its network of multi-brand Euro Repar Car Service garages, as most Jian Xin customers are independent auto repair shops, many of which are likely to join the network. Following a recruitment fair in Shanghai in October (attended by Christophe Musy, Executive Vice President, PSA Aftermarket), more than 23 auto repair shops have already joined the network.

"Our multi-brand aftermarket strategy, one of the pillars of the Push to Pass strategic plan, aims to meet the needs of all after-sales customers around the world, regardless of their purchasing power and the make or age of their vehicle," said Christophe Musy."China will soon be the world's biggest aftermarket, and we have set ourselves very high ambitions there, which is why we're already securing strong market positions."

About Groupe PSA

The Groupe PSA designs unique automotive experiences and delivers mobility solutions to meet all client expectations. The Group has five car brands, PeugeotCitroenDSOpel and Vauxhall, as well as a wide array of mobility and smart services under its Free2Move brand, aiming to become a great carmaker and the preferred mobility provider. It is an early innovator in the field of autonomous and connected cars. It is also involved in financing activities through Banque PSA Finance and in automotive equipment via Faurecia. Find out more at groupe-psa.com/en.

Media library: medialibrary.groupe-psa.com @GroupePSA

Communications Division www.groupe-psa.com/en - +33 1 40 66 42 00 @GroupePSA

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180209005196/en/

Contacts:

Groupe PSA

Presse:

Cecile Damide: 06.77.14.53.75

or

Karine Douet: 06.61.64.03.83
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 9, 2018) - Arctic Star Exploration Corp (TSXV: ADD) (OTCQB: ASDZF) (FSE: 82A1) (WKN: A2DFY5) ("Arctic" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that a diamond drill rig will arrive at site on its 100% owned Timantti Diamond Project in Finland (the "Project") on February 12, 2018 and will commence drilling shortly after. The drill will test newly identified kimberlite targets.

Since early December geophysical crews have been active in the field conducting magnetic, electromagnetic (MaxMin) and gravity surveys over much of the 243 Ha Exploration Reservation area. In mid-January the Company deployed an excavator to collect till samples to further support geophysics results. The basil till covering potential kimberlites on the Project is only one or two metres thick.

The purpose of conducting ground magnetic, electromagnetic and gravity surveys is to search for new kimberlitic targets and to discriminate these from non-kimberlite geophysical responses. A total of 41-line kilometres of electromagnetic (MaxMin) is planned, of which approximately 50% has been completed. Approximately 35 kilometres of gravity survey is also planned, of which 55% has been completed. There are also 61-line kilometres of ground magnetics planned of which 35% is now complete.

The Wolf kimberlites are moderate magnetic highs in a fairly magnetically noisy background with iron formations and mafic volcanics producing similar or more intense responses. At this stage, there are over twenty magnetic anomalies that may represent kimberlite targets in the general Wolf area, the gravity and MaxMin survey will help further prioritize these targets prior to drilling. The Wolf kimberlites for example also have an electromagnetic response.

The excavator is sampling the basal till, "down-ice" of the more promising geophysical anomalies. Four targets have been tested to date, and the samples have been sent to laboratory to extract indicator minerals. The drill will be directed to any of these that report diamond indicator minerals.

The drill will also be utilized to further delineate the Wolf kimberlites and return a larger caustic fusion micro-diamond sample to further determine the size and grade for a decision to bulk sample these diamondiferous kimberlites.

Buddy Doyle VP of Exploration commented, "By rapidly deploying these different exploration tools to our exploration permit, we expect to obtain multiple layers of evidence of new kimberlites that can be drill tested. We know there are more kimberlites in this area by the expression of diamond favorable indicator minerals in the region, which the Wolf kimberlites cannot explain. The company also will produce a steady stream of caustic diamond fusion results from drilling the Wolf kimberlites, which, so far have produced encouraging micro-diamond counts. The next six weeks will be an exciting time for the company."

The Qualified Person for this news release is Roy Spencer, Fellow AUSIMM, a Geologist of over thirty years' experience in diamonds.

ABOUT ARCTIC STAR: The Company owns 100% of the recently acquired Timantti Diamond Project including a 243 Ha Exploration Permit and a 95,700 Ha Exploration Reservation near the township of Kuusamo, in Finland. The project is located approximately 450km SW of the operating Grib Diamond Mine in Russia. Arctic is commencing its exploration in Finland on the Timantti Project, where two diamondiferous kimberlites may represent the first finds in a large kimberlite field. The Company also controls diamond exploration properties in Nunavut (Stein), the NWT (Diagras and Redemption) and a rare metals project in BC (Cap).

Arctic Star has a highly experienced diamond exploration team previously responsible for several world class diamond discoveries.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF ARCTIC STAR EXPLORATION CORP.

"Scott Eldridge"

Scott Eldridge, President & CEO

+1 (604) 722-5381

scott@arcticstar.ca

Patrick Power, Executive Chairman

+1 (604) 218-8772

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: Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements in this press release include that the Timantti Project transaction is a pre-eminent opportunity.
Recently, the Trump Administration proposed an immigration plan that would eliminate the legal immigration based on family reunification. In exchange, Mr. Trump promises to provide path to citizenship to 1.8 million DACA recipients he essentially made deportable overnight by rescinding the DACA. This proposal, if passed, would essentially cut the number of legal immigrants by half.

Nancy Pelosi, the Democrats leader in House, characterizes the Presidents plan as Making American White Again, reflecting the fact that non-white immigrants are the main beneficiaries of immigration systems based on family re-unification. Her painting of the plan draws criticism from both sides of the aile in Congress. Joe Manchin, the democratic senator from West Virginia, for one called Mrs.Pelosis comment crazy rhetoric. A disagreement on immigration policy, Mr. Manchin argued, should not be turned into racial bickering.

Mr. Manchin seems to have a point. Or, really?

Mrs.Pelosi, an ethnic Italian American, who seems to enjoy all the white privileges nowadays, certainly is a student of history.

The first major US immigration reform, adopted at the dawn of 20 thcentury, was an act purely based on racism and prejudice. Under that law, over 70% immigration quota were preserved for three northern European nations: UK, Germany and Ireland that produced the kind of white immigrants perceived as most desirableto American. Sound familiar to the question Mr. Trump asked not a long ago? Why dont we have more immigrants from Norway As a result, Italians, whose racial stereotype back then, along with other southern European immigrants, was having darker skinn color and possibly of biological inferiority, only received a yearly quota of 3,400, contrasting the 51,000 allowance for a higher white race, say, Irish.

In fact, it is quite fascinating to note that Irish in 1921 was even considered as ideal immigrants for American. Merely half a century ago, the ragged Irish immigrants, fleeing famine and political prosecution, swarmed into the new continent, the promising land. They were from shithole countries by the contemporaneous standard, allowing myself to steal a term from Mr. Trumps non-so-rich vocabulary. People said the character of Irish immigrants is so degenerate that they can never become real American. Here was outcry: why do not we have more immigrants from Germany, a more prosperous people from a more prosperous country?

But do not even get me started with German.

Nobody is immune from bigotry, not even our founding father. This is how Ben Franklin portrayed German immigrants in 1700s:

Why should Pennsylvania, founded by the English, become a Colony of Aliens, who will shortly be so numerous as to Germanize us instead of our Anglifying them, and will never adopt our Language or Customs, any more than they can acquire our Complexion.

I could not tell the difference in Complexion between President Trump, whose ancestor was from Germany, and someone with Anglo or Norwegian inheritage. And to be fair, Ben Franklin made the disparaging remarks right after the enterprise for his Germany newspaper quickly went under. But still.

This is just the prejudice the European immigrants had to face when they first arrived in their adopted home. Dont even get me started with the Chinese, who were banned from migrating to US for more than half a century, the Japanese Americans, who were thrown into concentration camp during WWII without due process, the Mexican immigrants, many of whom were native born American citizens, were massively deported to Mexico during the infamous Mexican Repatriation in 1920s

The list goes on.

The more things changed, the more they remain the same, as the history and current immigration debate intertwine. However, we, everyone of us, as immigrants or surely descendants of immigrants, can make the difference by learning from our history, even an inconvenient one from time to time.
SHANGHAI, China, Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/-- The Organizing Committee of Shanghai International Ballet Competition (SIBC) announced on February 8th that the 6th SIBC will take place at Shanghai International Dance Centre from August 3rd to 11th, 2018, and the registration is open to dancers around the globe from now on until 24:00 May 31st, 2018 (Beijing time). The amount of Grand Prix Award for this year is USD 50,000. 2018 SIBC's slogan is "Dance to the Rhythm of Shanghai".

The competition jury for the 2018 SIBC will consist of internationally recognized personalities of the dance world. The competition is divided into two groups: Junior Division for dancers aged 15 to 18 and Senior Division for dancers aged 19 to 26. Participants shall enter the competition either as soloists or in couples/pas de deux. Effective from today, dancers could register online at SIBC's official website: www.shanghaiibc.cn. To find out the rules and regulations and schedules, please visit SIBC official website.

The Grand Prix Award for this year's competition has increased from USD 30,000 to USD 50,000 for the winner.

Prize amounts for Senior Division medalists are: one Gold Medal for Male and one Gold Medal for Female (USD 15,000 each); one Silver Medal for Male and one Silver Medal for Female (USD 11,000 each); one Bronze Medal for Male and one Bronze Medal for Female (USD 7,000 each);

Prize amounts for Junior Division medalists are: one Gold Medal for Male and one Gold Medal for Female (USD 10,000 each);one Silver Medal for Male and one Silver Medal for Female (USD 7,000 each); one Bronze Medal for Male and one Bronze Medal for Female (USD 4,000 each);

Additional prizes include one Best Choreography Award, USD 4,000; one Jury Special Award, USD 3,000; one Best Couple/Pas de Deux Award, USD 1,500 each; and three Special Acknowledgement Awards, USD 1,000 each.

Xin Lili, Chairman of Shanghai Dancers' Association and well-known ballet artist, stated that raising the amount of Grand Prix Award is to attract more talents to participate and present a feast for eyes with their stunning performances. In order to discover and foster ballet promising stars both home and abroad, professional institutes like Shanghai Ballet would offer the winners opportunities to take part in performances or further their studies, and create more platforms to show their talents.

As one of the cultural and artistic landmarks in Shanghai, the newly-built Shanghai International Dance Center officially opened in the second half of 2016. In August this year, the 6th SIBC will be held in this artistic architecture. In addition to this competition, it will be home to a variety of events and activities, such as Opening & Closing GALA, Forum, Master Class and Summer Camp. Ballet contestants and students all over the world shall have the chance to interact with top-class ballet masters face to face, whereas ballet professionals could communicate and exchange ideas on ballet teaching, creation, performance and development.

To share the exciting moments of SIBC with ballet lovers, the Organizing Committee will organize a series of featured activities to the public like "You are the Ballet Ambassador" auditions, "Top of Shanghai, Capture the Moments" photo shooting and "Shanghai Service" volunteer recruitment. Contestants might have the chance to take part in video shootings like "Date with Shanghai", "Dancing in Shanghai" and "Bloom in Shanghai".
Moody's Analytics has earned the "Highly Commended" distinction in the annual Financial Innovation Awards. Our Customer Service team earned this recognition in the Service Team of the Year category, which honors teams that innovate to provide exceptional customer service and benefit their organizations.

"We're honored for our Customer Service team to be recognized in the Financial Innovation Awards," said Sheena Sweeney, Managing Director at Moody's Analytics. "We invest in our Customer Service personnel to help them gain skills and develop their careers. The team is talented, motivated, and committed to going above and beyond for our clients."

Our Customer Service team has redefined its mission and strategic direction as part of Project D.R.I.V.E., which started in 2015. The goal of this global initiative reflects our vision, which is to consistently advance the delivery of superior client service through innovations in technology and our dedicated and talented workforce. The impact Project D.R.I.V.E. has made on the team is reflected in this recent recognition and in our wins at the last two annual Stevie Awards for Sales Customer Service.

The Moody's Analytics Customer Service team has staff in 14 locations including London, Hong Kong, Tokyo, New York, and San Francisco.

About Moody's Analytics

Moody's Analytics helps capital markets and risk management professionals worldwide respond to an evolving marketplace with confidence. The company offers unique tools and best practices for measuring and managing risk through expertise and experience in credit analysis, economic research, and financial risk management. By providing leading-edge software, advisory services, and research, including the proprietary analysis of Moody's Investors Service, Moody's Analytics integrates and customizes its offerings to address specific business challenges. Moody's Analytics is a subsidiary of Moody's Corporation (NYSE: MCO), which reported revenue of $3.6 billion in 2016, employs approximately 11,700 people worldwide and maintains a presence in 41 countries. Further information is available at moodysanalytics.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180209005033/en/

Contacts:

Moody's Analytics

NEW YORK

Justin Bursztein, 001-212-553-1163

Senior Communications Strategist

Corporate Communications

justin.bursztein@moodys.com

or

LONDON

Tracey Scott, 044-207-772-5207

Assistant Vice-President

Corporate Communications

tracey.scott@moodys.com


BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks were trading lower on Friday as worries over rising bond yields and budget disputes in Washington kept investors nervous.



While Asian stocks succumbed to heavy selling pressure after carnage on Wall Street overnight, losses across Europe remained limited in view of a rebound in U.S. stock futures.



The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index was down half a percent at 372.02 in late opening deals after declining 1.6 percent the previous day. The index is now on track for a 4 percent weekly loss.



The German DAX was moving down 0.3 percent, France's CAC 40 index was declining 0.4 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was down about half a percent.



TalkTalk Telecom tumbled 2.5 percent in London, a day after the company warned on profits and slashed dividend.



Tullow Oil slid half a percent, Total SA eased 0.3 percent and BP Plc dropped 1 percent as oil prices fell for a sixth straight session on reports that Iran plans to boost production.



Transport and logistics company A.P. Mller - Mrsk A/S shed 1.7 percent after its fourth-quarter profit missed expectations.



French asset manager Amundi tumbled 6 percent after it set out a new growth target for the 2018-2020 period.



Belgium's Umicore jumped as much as 8 percent after the company reported better-than-expected full-year results.



Tesco gained over 1 percent after an U.S. activist investor said Booker Group should get a better offer from the grocery and general merchandise retailer. Booker shares also advanced 1 percent.



Shares of L'Oreal advanced 1.5 percent in Paris after strong demand in Asia helped the cosmetics giant boost its fourth-quarter sales.



On the data front, France's industrial production expanded more than expected in December, reversing a drop in November, the statistical office Insee said.



Industrial production grew 0.5 percent month-on-month in the month, in contrast to a 0.3 percent fall in November. Output was expected to grow 0.1 percent.



U.K. industrial output decreased 1.3 percent month-on-month in December, marking the first fall in nine months, while the country's visible trade deficit widened at the end of the year, separate reports showed.



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The "2018 Italy Telecom Market Analysis and Outlook Report" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The research work strategically analyzes Italy telecommunications market, examining the recent trends, drivers and challenges across diverse dimensions such as growth, demand, pricing, competition, consumer behaviour, infrastructure, policies and others.

The study also provides in-depth analysis of segment wise telecommunications including mobile, fixed line and fixed broadband services. The number of subscribers and penetration rates are forecast for each of the sub-segment including mobile, fixed landline and broadband segments from 2005 to 2025.

Italy telecommunication revenues, investment and infrastructure details are also covered in the report. Further, emerging business environment in Italy together with comparison to five competitive benchmark countries are included, to assess the country's prominence on regional front.

On the competitive analysis front, leading companies along with their market shares are identified. Further, key business strategies of market leaders, their tariffs and SWOT profiles are included. In addition, the research work forecasts the demographic and economic drivers of Italy that enable strategy planners to formulate their pricing and branding strategies.

The report also includes latest telecommunication market developments, mergers, acquisitions and launches, spectrum availability, tenders and other aspects are analyzed.

Key Topics Covered:

Executive Summary Italy Telecom Market Strategic Analysis Italy Telecom Market Outlook Italy Telecom Competitive Environment Italy Telecom Industry Benchmarking Italy Economic Outlook to 2025 Italy Demographic Outlook to 2025 Competitor Analysis Recent Industry Developments

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/89ltzx/italy_telecom?w=4

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Related Topics: Telecommunications and Networks
Quantzig, a global analytics solutions provider, has announced the completion of their latest customer lifetime value study on the wireless telecommunication industry. A prominent wireless telecommunications provider wanted to know the past spending habits of the customers and offer products and services to meet the customer's preferences. The client wanted to forecast the monetary worth of the customers and sufficiently distribute the money to acquire new customers.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180209005017/en/

Customer Lifetime Value Engagement How Quantzig Helped a Wireless Telecommunications Provider Estimate their Marketing Spend. (Graphic: Business Wire)

According to the customer lifetime value experts at Quantzig, "The main objective of customer lifetime value is to acquire a lot of customers and optimize their acquisition spending to maximize the value."

There is a rise in the competitive pressure in the wireless telecommunication industry. This growth is due to the companies in adjacent sectors such as technology and media moving into space. With the mounting innovations in the telecom industry, companies are using IoT in their applications to restructure their operations and deliver efficient services. The rapid growth in the wireless telecommunications industry is due to the growing internet penetration, access to smart mobile devices, and advances in wireless technology.

Request a free demo to see how Quantzig's solutions can help you.

The solution presented by Quantzig helped the client to design robust advertising campaigns such as Facebook ads and YouTube ads to acquire new customers. The client was able to track their marketing accounts and sufficiently allocate their budgets to obtain and sustain the most promising customers.

This customer lifetime value solution provided benefits that helped the client to:

Understand their spending on acquiring a new customer

Make business decisions on sales, marketing, and product development

To read more, request a free proposal

This customer lifetime value solution provided predictive insights on:

Gaining profound insights into the previous transaction history

Maintaining a robust customer retention strategy to acquire new customers

To learn more, request a free proposal

View the complete customer lifetime value study here:

https://www.quantzig.com/content/wireless-telecommunications-customer-lifetime

About Quantzig

Quantzig is a global analytics and advisory firm with offices in the US, UK, Canada, China, and India. For more than 14 years, we have assisted our clients across the globe with end-to-end data modeling capabilities to leverage analytics for prudent decision making. Today, our firm consists of 120+ clients, including 45 Fortune 500 companies. For more information on all of Quantzig's services and the solutions they have provided to Fortune 500 clients across all industries, please contact us.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180209005017/en/

Contacts:

Quantzig

Anirban Choudhury

Marketing Consultant

US: +1 630 538 7144

UK: +44 208 629 1455

hello@quantzig.com

https://www.quantzig.com/contact-us
Commercials to Air During Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018

TOYOTA CITY, Japan, Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --Created in honor of Toyota's shift to a mobility company and its eight-year worldwide partnership with The International Olympic and Paralympic Committees, "Start Your Impossible," Toyota's first-ever global marketing campaign, will roll out in 27 countries at the start of and through the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018.

Experience the interactive Multichannel News Release here: https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8271451-toyota-olympic-paralympic-games-start-your-impossible/

"Start Your Impossible" shares Toyota's evolution by highlighting real-life mobility stories of Olympic and Paralympic athletes as well as everyday athletes who demonstrate the values of humility, hard work and never giving up. The campaign marks Toyota's long-term commitment to support the creation of a more inclusive and sustainable society in which everyone can challenge their impossible through stories of determination as well as through Toyota technologies. The two creative pillars of the multi-platform global campaign include, "inspiration," which celebrates the human spirit and product "evidence," showcasing Toyota's ideas for innovations that can help people move freely.

"Start Your Impossible" commercials include:

"Frozen": Showcasing iconic moments in Olympic and Paralympic history, "Frozen" aims to further spark the conversation on global warming and the imminent impact that it may have on the beauty, hope and heroes of the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

Showcasing iconic moments in Olympic and Paralympic history, "Frozen" aims to further spark the conversation on global warming and the imminent impact that it may have on the beauty, hope and heroes of the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. "Thin Ice": The human spirit is powerful and irrepressible. Where obstacles appear, exceptional people are ready to face the hurdles. American Olympic figure skater and medalist, Ashley Wagner returns to the ice with the idea that every day is a chance to dance, to move and to float across the ice.

The human spirit is powerful and irrepressible. Where obstacles appear, exceptional people are ready to face the hurdles. American Olympic figure skater and medalist, returns to the ice with the idea that every day is a chance to dance, to move and to float across the ice. "Lanes of Life" an optimistic celebration of life's journey for six Olympic snowboarders : Eva Samkova ( Czech Republic ), Lindsey Jacobellis , ( USA ), Belle Brockhoff ( Australia ), ChloeTrespeuch ( France ), Carle Brenneman ( Canada ), and Isabel Clark Ribeiro ( Brazil ).

an optimistic celebration of life's journey for six Olympic snowboarders Eva Samkova ( ), , ( ), ( ), ChloeTrespeuch ( ), ( ), and ( ). "Dreams": The smallest mistake could change an athlete's dream, so could a small mistake on the road. "Dreams" showcases Toyota's Guardian technology to coach you on the road.

The smallest mistake could change an athlete's dream, so could a small mistake on the road. "Dreams" showcases Toyota's Guardian technology to coach you on the road. "Magic": Toyota's Human Support Robot helps a bedridden young boy.

Toyota's Human Support Robot helps a bedridden young boy. "Runner": A man outruns pain, fear and doubt to take the most difficult step of his life.

A man outruns pain, fear and doubt to take the most difficult step of his life. "Join the Team": Dedicated to pure celebration of going after what we strive for, an ordinary boy has his moment as an Olympian realizing that with persistence he can soar.

Toyota will also run previously released spots including "Good Odds"highlighting the real-life story of Canadian Para alpine skier Lauren Woolstencroft, who overcame tremendous odds to become a legendary Paralympic gold medalist and the "Mobility Anthem"featuringmobility stories of individuals, ages 1 to 100, celebrating Toyota's efforts to make movement better for everyone.

"Toyota believes that 'mobility' goes well beyond cars and that movement is a human right. This campaign, and our worldwide partnership with The International Olympic and Paralympic Committees, are a reflection of our commitment to providing freedom of movement for all," said Ed Laukes, Group Vice President, Toyota Division Marketing, Toyota Motor North America. "'Start Your Impossible' tells the stories of exceptional human strength and triumph."

"Start Your Impossible" is a global corporate initiative that aims to inspire Toyota employees, partners and customers, and connect them with the company's core beliefs," said Noriaki Yamashita, General Manager of Sales & Marketing Support Division, Toyota Motor Corporation.

"Start Your Impossible" was created in partnership between Saatchi & Saatchi and Dentsu.

For more information about Toyota's worldwide partnership with The International Olympic and Paralympic Committees, and to learn more about the "Start Your Impossible" campaign, please visit www.mobilityforall.com or Toyota Global YouTube.

About Toyota Motor Corporation

Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) is the global mobility company that introduced the Prius hybrid electric car in 1997 and the first mass-produced fuel cell sedan,Mirai, in 2014. Headquartered in Toyota City, Japan, Toyota has been making cars since 1937. Today, Toyota proudly employs 370,000 employees in communities around the world. Together, they build around 10 million vehicles per year in 27 countries, from mainstream cars and premium vehicles to mini-vehicles and commercial trucks, and sell them in more than 170 countries under the brands Toyota, Lexus, Daihatsu and Hino. For more information, please visitwww.toyota-global.com
Regulatory News:

Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. ("PSH") (LN:PSH) (NA:PSH) announces that Jonathan Kestenbaum has informed the Board of his decision to retire as a non-executive director of the Company due to the increased demands of his executive commitments. Jonathan Kestenbaum has been a non-executive director since 2014. His retirement from the Board will take effect as of 12 February 2018.

Anne Farlow, Chairman of PSH, said: "On behalf of the Board, I want to thank Jonathan for his contribution to PSH since 2014. We have benefited greatly from his wise counsel during that time, and he retires from the Board with our best wishes for the future."

An announcement on the appointment of a new non-executive director will be made in due course.

About Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd.

Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. (LN:PSH) (NA:PSH) is an investment holding company structured as a closed ended fund that makes concentrated investments principally in North American companies.

Notes:

1. Jonathan Kestenbaum has been an independent non-executive director of Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. since 2014. He is currently Chief Operating Officer of JRCM Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of RIT Capital Partners.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180209005333/en/

Contacts:

MEDIA CONTACT

Maitland

Seda Ambartsumian Sam Turvey

+44 20 7379 5151

PSH-maitland@maitland.co.uk
LAS VEGAS, Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --Rael, founder and spiritual leader of the International Raelian Movement, has welcomed the recent announcement made by Iceland MPs to outlaw circumcision for boys, saying that it is a wonderful decision.



Rael has repeatedly denounced this practice in Jewish and Muslim communities as 'mutilation'. "Circumcision in men, just like clitoral excision in women, constitutes sexual mutilation and should be outlawed," expressed Rael in a previous address.

"Adults can choose to have it done on themselves for whatever reason suits them, as they are free to do with their bodies as they see fit. But when it comes to performing it on children, it should definitely be forbidden and children should be protected."



Rael has also decried for years the control of large religious groups over our society. "Circumcision is a primitive behavior, and should be banned worldwide. If any new religious minority, disrespectfully labeled as a "cult" or a "sect," were performing such a mutilation, all its members would immediately be prosecuted and sentenced to go to jail. Why the double standard?"



Ten years ago, Rael launched a worldwide campaign against female genital mutilation (FGM) to bring hope to survivors of genital cutting and help women who have suffered this millennia-long custom. The non-profit organization, Clitoraid (www.clitoraid.org), has since helped hundreds of women undergo reconstructive surgery not only to help them regain their clitoral sensations - since it is now possible to restore the damaged clitoris - but also their sense of dignity.

Clitoral repairs are currently sponsored every month in the USA, Burkina Faso, and in Kenya in August.
Further Strengthens State Street's Market-Leading Foreign Exchange Solutions Business

State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) today announced that industry veteran David Ullrich has rejoined State Street as North American head of sales for FX Connect, a market-leading foreign exchange (FX) execution venue that helps asset managers to efficiently manage multiple portfolios, connect with liquidity providers and streamline global FX operations.

Ullrich rejoins State Street from FlexTrade, where he was senior vice president of Execution Strategies, responsible for expanding their FX offering. Prior to that he held various positions at Credit Suisse, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley. Ullrich previously worked for State Street as head of asset manager FX sales for North America.

"We are looking forward to David's return to State Street," said Beverley Doherty, global head of FX Connect. "The skills and knowledge that David brings from his more than 30 years of FX experience across the buyside and the sellside, including his knowledge of our institution, will add tremendous value to our business, particularly as we look to develop and deploy new functionality to meet our clients' evolving needs."

State Street is a market leader in FX services. The firm's FX connect platform was recently honored with two awards from Profit Loss including 'Best Platform for Hedge Funds' and 'Best Platform for Asset Managers'.

For more information on FX Connect, click here.

About State Street Corporation

State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) is one of the world's leading providers of financial services to institutional investors, including investment servicing, investment management and investment research and trading. With $33.10 trillion in assets under custody and administration and $2.80 trillion* in assets under management as of December 31, 2017, State Street operates in more than 100 geographic markets worldwide, including the US, Canada, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. For more information, visit State Street's website at www.statestreet.com.

*AUM reflects approx. $35 billion (as of December 31, 2017) with respect to which State Street Global Markets, LLC (SSGM) serves as marketing agent; SSGM and State Street Global Advisors are affiliated.

State Street Corporation One Lincoln Street, Boston, MA 02111-2900.

 2018 State Street Corporation All Rights Reserved

2020074.1.1.NA.RTL

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180209005394/en/

Contacts:

State Street Corporation

Brendan Paul, +1 617-662-2903

BPaul2@StateStreet.com

@StateStreet
PUNE, India, February 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

The report "Battery Monitoring System Market by Component (Hardware, Software), Type (Wired, Wireless), Battery Type (Lithium-Ion Based, Lead-Acid), End-User (Telecommunications, Automotive, Energy, Industries), and Region - Global Forecast to 2022", published by MarketsandMarkets', the market is expected to grow from an estimated value of USD 2.37 Billion in 2017 to USD 5.47 Billion by 2022, at a CAGR of 18.23%, from 2017 to 2022. The global market is set to witness significant growth due to the increasing demand for electric vehicles and the need to prevent unplanned power outages.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160303/792302 )



Browse 62 tables and 41 figures spread through 139 pages and in-depth TOC on "Battery Monitoring System Market - Global Forecast to 2022"

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/battery-monitoring-system-market-256167204.html

Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report

The hardware segment is expected to hold the largest share of the Battery Monitoring System Market, by type, during the forecast period.

The hardware segment is expected to hold a major share of the Battery Monitoring System Market during the forecast period. Hardware components include sensors, hubs, controllers, data loggers, data recorders, and communication networks. All these components are easy to install, can record real-time battery parameters, require less cabling, and have high-resolution data recording capabilities. For instance, sensors have advanced circuits that help in powerful measurement algorithms and fast data sampling, thereby, resulting in the efficient use of data accumulated from batteries. All these factors have resulted in the larger share of the hardware segment of the Battery Monitoring System Market.

The lithium-ion based segment accounts for the largest share of the Battery Monitoring System Market, by battery type, during the forecast period.

The lithium-ion based segment is expected to be the largest market, by battery type, from 2017 to 2022. The key applications of lithium-ion battery monitoring systems are electric and hybrid electric vehicles, power tools, and power supply backup. The increasing deployment of lithium-ion batteries in these applications has resulted in the largest share of the lithium-ion batteries segment compared to other battery types.

Download PDF Brochure @ https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownload.asp?id=256167204

The telecommunications segment is expected to be the largest end-user segment of the Battery Monitoring System Market during the forecast period.

The telecommunications segment is expected to be the largest Battery Monitoring System Market from 2017 to 2022. In the telecommunications segment, data centers are the prime users of battery monitoring systems as they heavily rely on UPS systems for reliable backup power. These systems aid in assuring the performance of backup battery power systems and reducing UPS battery maintenance and replacement costs. Moreover, continuous monitoring allows for an all-time knowledge of the state-of-health of batteries. Battery monitoring systems enable UPS backup batteries to consume lesser energy, be protected from failure, and last longer which, ultimately, leads to overall decreased expenditure for the company. All these factors are likely to drive the telecommunications segment of the Battery Monitoring System Market.

Asia Pacific: the fastest growing market for battery monitoring systems.

In this report, the Battery Monitoring System Market has been analyzed with respect to 5 regions, namely, North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East & Africa, and South America. The market in Asia Pacific is expected to grow at the fastest rate due to increasing investments in the data centers sector and growing renewable power generation in the region. The Chinese market is expected to dominate the Battery Monitoring System Market in Asia Pacific. The Battery Monitoring System Market is expected to grow at a high rate in countries such as China, South Korea and those in South-East Asia. An all-round effort by the governments of various countries in the region to reduce greenhouse gases and an emphasis on obtaining power from renewable sources is also likely to drive the Battery Monitoring System Market in the region.

Make an Inquiry @ https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_Buying.asp?id=256167204

To enable an in-depth understanding of the competitive landscape, the report includes the profiles of some of the top players in the Battery Monitoring System Market. These include NDSL (UK), Texas Instruments (US), PowerShield (New Zealand), BatteryDAQ (US), Canara (US), and Eagle Eye (US). The leading players are trying to establish themselves in the markets in developing economies and are adopting various strategies to increase their market shares.

Browse Related Reports:

Advanced Energy Storage Systems Market by Technology (Electro Chemical Technology, Mechanical Technology, Thermal Storage Technology), by Application (Transportation and Grid Storage), and Region - Global Forecast to 2022

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/advanced-energy-storage-systems-market-1306.html

Distributed Generation Market by Technology (Solar PV, Wind, Reciprocating Engines, Microturbines, Fuel Cells, Gas Turbines), Application (On-Grid, Off-Grid), End-User (Industrial, Commercial, Residential), and Region - Global Forecast to 2022

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/distributed-generation-market-67245289.html

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People say that there are only 3? (7? 11?) basic plots in the whole of world literature. Goethe claimed it was 36, but apparently he nicked the idea from a guy named Gozzi. I suspect the exact number will be argued as long as people tell stories but they can spin yarns of such striking likeness it makes one wonder how these plots travel, cropping up in different times and places, in seemingly disparate worlds.

Orwells Animal Farm is a good case in point. As discussed in two previous blog posts, for close on 60 years it was the prime example of a political allegory using the ancient form of animal fable to comment on 20th century politics, but the rediscovery of two earlier stories of animal revolutions, Wadysaw Reymonts Bunt, and Nikolai Kostomarovs Skotskoi Bunt in recent years has raised the question of whether the three stories share the same genetic lineage. If they do, the next question is: how did the original idea travel from Russia to Poland to Britain?

The first possible route that immediately comes to mind is via Sonia Brownell, the girl from the Fiction Department, Julia from 1984, and Orwells future wife. They met in the early 1940s at Horizon magazine where Sonia was working as a secretary to the writer and critic Cyril Connolly, but already had solid editorial experience as assistant to Eugene Vinaver, a Russian post-revolutionary emigre and another specialist in fairy tales, though in his case they were Malorys Arthurian tales.

Eugene was the son of Maxim Vinaver who was born, raised and educated in Warsaw before making a career as a lawyer in St Petersburg. He played an active role in the Russian Revolution but escaped to France before it could swallow him up. While settled in St Petersburg, the Vinaver family would almost certainly have subscribed to the legendary magazine Niva, which published Kostomarovs story in 1917, as no respectable bourgeois family could function in society without it.



Maxim Vinaver as a member of the first Russian Parliament in 1905, from Pamiatnaia knizhka pervoi Gosudarstvennoi dumy (St Petersburg, 1906). RB.31.c.577

Its practically certain too that Maxim Vinaver knew Reymonts work; after all they went to school in Warsaw at the same time, a fact which wouldnt have been lost on Maxim when Reymont won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1925. As a sociologist and a lawyer fighting for Jewish rights, he must have been familiar with Reymonts rural and industrial novels of the Russian Empire, Chopi (The Peasants; Warsaw, 1904; 12591.b.52.) and Ziemia Obiecana (The Promised Land; Warsaw, 1899; 12591.cc.39) and also with his journalism dealing with the rights of Polish minorities subjected to heavy Russification in the Lublin Governorate after 1912. Maxim might have even read Bunt, and would have shared both its anti-revolutionary sentiment and its interest in folklore  he was a founding member of the Russian Jewish Ethnographical Society and apparently infected his son with his interests badly enough for the young Eugene to study mediaeval literature and eventually to become an academic specialist in fables.

Clearly both Vinavers had good first-hand knowledge of both the mechanics of revolution and the art of fairy tales. Just as Orwell had towards the end of his spell at the BBC when he was working on radio adaptations of fairy tales. At that time he had already met Sonia Brownell. Could it be it was then she passed Vinavers infection (in-fiction?) on to Orwell?

Another possible route from 1920s Poland to 1940s Britain for the story of animal revolt as a parable of Russian Revolution could be via Teresa Jelenska, Animal Farms Polish translator (in fact the first translator of Animal Farm into any language). Jelenska was an aristocratic socialite in pre-war Poland, moving in European literary and political circles, who found herself as a refugee in London in 1941. Working as a journalist she met Orwell and the two became friends.



Photo of Teresa Jelenska (Rome, 1924) from: Jaroslaw Iwaszkiewicz, Teresa Jelenska, Konstanty A. Jelenski, Korespondencja (Warsaw, 2008). YF.2011.a.6916

Jelenskas son, Konstanty, or Kot, later an influential essayist and translator of Witold Gombrowicz, after the war ran the Eastern European division of Congress for Cultural Freedom (its Manifesto was drafted by Arthur Koestler, a close friend of Orwell). In a letter to Jonathan Brent of 7 August 1985, explaining the biographical introduction to his first collection of essays Zbiegi okolicznosci (Coincidences; Paris, 1982; X.950/16831), Konstanty recalled, During my war years in England I discovered the Horizon and Partisan Review and met some English writers like Evelyn Waugh, John Betjeman, Cyril Connolly, Raymond Mortimer and George Orwell (a friend of my mother). It must have been at the same time that he met and befriended Sonia Brownell, though their shared interest then was probably more in painting than literature.

Title-page and frontispiece of Konstanty A. Jelenski, Chwile oderwane (Gdansk, 2008). YF.2009.a.16241

Jelenskas name doesnt register in any biography of Orwell as one of his friends but only as a translator. Yet their paths apparently crossed quite frequently (probably after Jelenska and Kot moved to Scotland in 1942), and their friendship, or at least their working relationship, was close enough for Orwell to trust her with the typescript of Animal Farm before publication. They may have been also Orwells Polish liaison behind his piece in Tribune (Sept. 1944) on the Warsaw Rising, in which he denounced the West for not helping the insurgents and Stalin for holding up the offensive and waiting for the Uprising to bleed to death. They corresponded regularly until Orwells death in 1950.

Its unlikely that the Jelenskis would not have known of Reymonts story but whether they talked about it with Orwell remains unknown, as does whether Sonia Brownell regaled Orwell with stories heard from Eugene Vinaver about his years in St Petersburg or his fathers knowledge of a fellow Varsovians work on revolution. The readily available literature is mute on the subject, perhaps the secrets are still buried in the archives? These are mostly uncharted waters but perhaps one day someone out there will map them out. Sails up.

Wiesiek Powaga, Polish translator


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - President Donald Trump signed a massive budget deal into law early Friday morning, ending a brief government shutdown.



Trump announced the signing of the bill on Twitter but complained that the legislation includes increases in spending on both defense and domestic programs.



'Without more Republicans in Congress, we were forced to increase spending on things we do not like or want in order to finally, after many years of depletion, take care of our Military,' Trump tweeted.



He added, 'Sadly, we needed some Dem votes for passage. Must elect more Republicans in 2018 Election!'



The signing came after the House voted 240 to 186 in favor of the spending bill. Seventy-three Democrats joined with 167 Republicans to pass the legislation.



The Senate voted 71 to 28 in favor of the bill earlier in the morning after Senator Rand Paul, R-Ken., blocked action on the deal before a midnight deadline, leading to the second government shutdown in three weeks.



The bill funds the government until March 23rd and raises budget caps by $300 billion over the next two years, including $165 billion for defense and $131 billion for non-defense.



Trump called the bill a 'big victory' for the military but argued that it includes 'much waste' in order to win Democratic votes.



The spending bill also raises the debt ceiling and provides nearly $90 billion in disaster aid for Texas, Florida, California, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.



A number of Democrats opposed the bill due to its failure to address protections for young illegal immigrants brought to the country as children.



After the spending bill was approved, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ken., moved to debate an immigration bill next week.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 9, 2018) - Cava Resources Inc. (TSXV: CVA) ("Cava" or the "Company") announced today that it has closed the second tranche of its previously announced private placement financing. The Company issued an additional 3,700,000 units at an issue price of $0.20 per unit for proceeds of $740,000 which together with the first tranche resulted in a total issuance of 8,854,000 units for total gross proceeds of $1,770,800.

Each unit consists of one common share and one-half of one share purchase warrant, with each warrant entitling the holder to purchase one common share at $0.50 per share until the close of business on the day which is 36 months from the date of issue of the warrant.

For the second tranche, the Company paid finder's fees totaling $23,100 and issued 115,500 finders warrants, with each finder warrant exercisable into a common share of the Company at an exercise price of $0.20 per share for a period of 18 months.

The securities issued pursuant to the private placement are subject to a hold period of 4 months and one day from the closing date.

About Cava Resources Inc.

Cava is a junior exploration company whose primary property consists of its Casa Berardi properties which comprises two non-contiguous claim groups (the Casa Berardi North and the Cancor Extension) that are located in the Casa Berardi area of northwestern Quebec. Cava holds a 70% interest in these properties.

During the past year, Cava has been investigating other opportunities and carrying out due diligence. It has now entered into an agreement with Gold Rush Cariboo Inc. ("Gold Rush") to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Gold Rush in exchange for 12,600,000 shares of Cava. Gold Rush has an agreement with Goldlands Inc. to acquire the Horseshoe Bend property in southwest British Columbia and an option to acquire an additional 14 properties. Further details of this transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval, can be seen in Cava's press release dated September 29, 2017.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the timing of future exploration work or drilling, and the expansion of the mineralization. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of Cava Resources Inc., including, but not limited to, the impact of general economic conditions, industry conditions, volatility of commodity prices, risks associated with the uncertainty of exploration results and estimates, currency fluctuations, dependency upon regulatory approvals, the uncertainty of obtaining additional financing and exploration risk. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. This press release is not, and is not to be construed in any way as, an offer to buy or sell securities in the United States.

The TSXV has not reviewed this news release and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. The TSXV has neither approved nor disapproved of the contents of this news release.

For further information contact:

R. Brian Murray,

President, 416-985-7810
PUNE, India, February 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

According to the new research report"Aircraft Fire Protection Systems Marketby Product (Fire Detection System, Alarm & Warning, Fire Suppression), Application (Engine, Cabin & Lavatory, APU, Cargo Compartment), Fit (Linefit, Replacement), Aircraft Type and Region - Global Forecast to 2022", published by MarketsandMarkets' , the market is projected to grow from an estimated USD 911.6 Million in 2017 to USD 1,157.7 Million by 2022, at a CAGR of 4.90% between 2017and 2022.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160303/792302 )

Browse 75 tables and 33 figures spread through 132 pages and in-depth TOC on"Aircraft Fire Protection Systems Market - Global Forecast to 2022"



https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/aircraft-fire-protection-system-market-196160462.html

Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report

Increasing demand for aircraft, modernization of the existing aircraft, and the replacement of old aircraft with new aircraft which are more fuel efficient and lighter in weight are the few major factors driving the aircraft fire protection systems market.

Based on application, the cargo compartments segment is projected to grow at a higher CAGR during the forecast period

Based on application, the engine segment of the aircraft fire protection systems market is estimated to grow at a higher rate during the forecast period. The growth of this segment can be attributed to the large number of smoke detectors and automated fire suppression systems. Cargo compartments are installed with extra layers of enhanced fire protection systems as aircraft crew is unable to enter cargo compartments during flight.

Download PDF Brochure : https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownload.asp?id=196160462

Based on product, the fire suppression systems segment is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period

Based on product, the fire suppression systems segment of the aircraft fire protection systems market is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. The growth of this segment can be attributed to the increasing demand for new aircraft from airlines coupled with mandates laid by various regulatory bodies over replacement of the fire suppression agents with halon free agents for both, existing and new fleets.

Based on fit, the linefit segment is expected to grow at a higher CAGR than the retrofit segment during the forecast period

Based on fit, the linefit segment of the aircraft fire protection systems market is projected to grow at a higher CAGR than the retrofit segment during the forecast period. The higher growth rate of the linefit segment is attributed to the increase in aircraft orders as well as deliveries, economic growth across regions, and an increase in air passenger traffic.

Based on aircraft type, the civil aircraft segment is estimated to grow a higher CAGR during the forecast period

Based on aircraft type, the civil aircraft segment is projected to grow at a higher CAGR during the forecast period. The civil aircraft segment has been witnessing significant growth in the past few years due to increasing air traffic and rise in the disposable incomes of middle-class populations across the globe. Increased demand for new aircraft around the world is also fueling the growth of the civil aircraft segment.

Inquiry Before Buy @ https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_Buying.asp?id=196160462

The Asia Pacific market is expected to witness the highest growth during the forecast period

Among regions, the aircraft fire protection systems market in the Asia Pacific is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. The aviation industry is growing at a significant pace, due to increasing air passenger traffic and improving economic conditions in the region. The growth in air passenger traffic has resulted in increased demand for new lightweight and fuel-efficient aircraft from the region. In addition, new emerging aircraft manufacturers in China, Japan, and India are expected to fuel the demand for aircraft fire protection systems during the forecast period.

Major companies profiled in the aircraft fire protection systems market report are United Technologies (US), Meggitt (UK), Diehl Aerospace (Germany), Siemens (Germany), Halma (UK), Advanced Aircraft Extinguishers (US), Gielle Industries (Italy), H3R Aviation (US), Amerex Corporation (US), and Aerocon Engineering (US), among others.

Browse Related Reports

Aircraft Evacuation Market by Equipment Type (Life Vest, Evacuation Slide & Raft, Ejection Seat, & Emergency Floatation), Fit (Line fit & Retrofit), Aircraft Type (NB, WB, VLA, RTA, Fighter Jet, & Helicopter), and Region - Global Forecast to 2022

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/aircraft-evacuation-market-39874901.html

Aircraft Cabin Interior Market by Type (Seating, IFE, Lighting, Galley, Lavatory, Windows & Windshields, Stowage Bin, Panels), Vendor (OEM, Aftermarket, MRO), Aircraft Type, Material and Region (OEM, Aftermarket, MRO) - Global Forecast 2022

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/aircraft-cabin-interior-market-74760139.html

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Shell International Finance B.V. and Royal Dutch Shell plc

9 February 2018

Publication of Prospectus Supplement

The following documents (the "Documents") are available for viewing:

Prospectus Supplement dated 7 February 2018

Royal Dutch Shell plc unaudited consolidated interim financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2017

The Documents must be read in conjunction with the Information Memorandum dated 8 August 2017, as supplemented by the first supplement dated 4 September 2017 and the second supplement dated 3 November 2017, relating to the Programme. The Information Memorandum constitutes a base prospectus for the purposes of Article 5.4 of Directive 2003/71/EC as amended. Full information on Shell International Finance B.V. and Royal Dutch Shell plc is only available on the basis of the Information Memorandum.

The Documents are available for viewing at the 'Financial Publications' section of Shell's website. To view the Documents, please paste the following URLs into the address bar of your browser.

Royal Dutch Shell plc unaudited consolidated interim financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2017

http://www.shell.com/investors/financial-reporting/quarterly-results/2017/q4-2017

Prospectus Supplement dated 7 February 2018

http://www.shell.com/investors/financial-reporting/euro-medium-term-note-programme.html

Other content available on Shell's website and the content of any other website accessible from hyperlinks on Shell's website is not incorporated into, and does not forms part of, this announcement.

The Documents have also been submitted to the National Storage Mechanism and will shortly be available for inspection at http://www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/nsm.

Enquiries:

Shell Media Relations

International, UK, European Press: +44 (0)207 934 5550

Shell Investor Relations

Europe: + 31 (0)70 377 3996

DISCLAIMER - INTENDED ADDRESSEES

Please note that the information contained in the Information Memorandum may be addressed to and/or targeted at persons who are residents of particular countries (specified in the Information Memorandum) only and is not intended for use and should not be relied upon by any person outside these countries and/or to whom the offer contained in the Information Memorandum is not addressed. Prior to relying on the information contained in the Information Memorandum, you must ascertain from the Information Memorandum whether or not you are part of the intended addressees of the information contained therein.

This publication does not constitute an offering of the securities described in the Information Memorandum for sale in the United States. This is not for distribution 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 "Securities Act") or under any relevant securities laws of any state of the United States and are subject to U.S. tax law requirements. Subject to certain exceptions, the securities may not be offered or sold within the United States or to or for the account or benefit of U.S. persons, as such terms are defined in Regulation S under the Securities Act. There will be no public offering of the securities in the United States.

Your right to access this service is conditional upon complying with the above requirement.
On February 9, 2017, subsidiary of AUGA group, AB (Company), signed an agreement to sell 100% of shares in OOO Karakash Agro, a company engaged in agricultural business in Crimea peninsula, to investor from Russia. 100% of shares in OOO Karakash Agro were sold for EUR 0.50 million. In addition, during the next three years the acquirer will pay EUR 2.58 million for the transfer of receivables from OOO Karakash Agro and 15% annual interest on deferred payments, which can reach EUR 0.78 million. OOO Karakash Agro became part of AUGA group, AB in 2014 when the Company (then called AB Agrowill group) increased its share capital and part of its newly issued shares (14 151 252 shares of total nominal value EUR 4.10 million) were paid with 100% of shares of OOO Karakash Agro controlling company. In the middle of 2014, after the introduction of international sanctions to Crimea the Company was not able to implement its initial business plan of growing organic vegetables and grain in Crimea and exporting them to the EU markets. At the end of 2014, considering the uncertainty of the situation in Crimea peninsula, the Company impaired investment value to OOO Karakash Agro controlling company to EUR 0 and OOO Karakash Agro assets accounted in group financial statements were impaired to EUR 0.29 million. During the last years OOO Karakash Agro was growing various crops and selling them in local market. On the bases of long term lease agreements, OOO Karakash Agro cultivates approx. 10 thous. ha of arable land in Crimea peninsula. Based on unaudited financial statements of 30 September 2017, value of OOO Karakash Agro assets was EUR 2.79 million and liabilities to third parties (excluding related companies) - EUR 1.16 million. For the 9 months of 2017, unaudited net income of OOO Karakash Agro was EUR 0.72 million. Without a possibility to integrate OOO Karakash Agro into AUGA group, AB business model of organic food production, it was decided to sell this asset. General Manager Linas Bulzgys +370 5 233 5340
DUBLIN, Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

The "Global Syphilis Testing Market 2018-2022" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global syphilis testing market to grow at a CAGR of 2.12% during the period 2018-2022.

Global Syphilis Testing Market 2018-2022, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market. To calculate the market size, the report considers the revenue generated from the retail sales of kits, reagents, and instruments used in syphilis testing.

The latest trend gaining momentum in the market is increase in premarital screening. Premarital screening is a health assessment test for soon-to-be married couples who are tested for infectious diseases, possibility of genetic diseases, and transmissible diseases.

According to the report, one of the major drivers for this market is Increase in prevalence of syphilis. STDs refer to a group of illnesses that can be transmitted from one person to another through the sharing of body fluids, blood, and vaginal fluids. STDs include more than 25-30 infectious diseases that are spread through sexual activity and syphilis is one of them. Syphilis is a genital ulcerative disease caused by the bacterium T. pallidum. Syphilis has mild initial symptoms like a painless sore or no symptoms at all. As the disease progresses, severe rashes appear, and the disease eventually causes blindness or damage to internal organs and death.

Further, the report states that one of the major factors hindering the growth of this market is Lack of trained professionals. Clinical laboratories and diagnostic centers require trained specialists in medical diagnostics. However, there is a global shortage of these specialists in diagnostic centers and hospitals.

Generally, most rural hospitals in the US face issues such as limited patient volume to justify hiring specialists who charge high. Most times, the expenses associated with bringing specialists in-house is cost prohibitive, especially for smaller medical facilities. Limited public spending, decline in funding, and controlled allocation of funds to laboratories for quality assurance are some of the reasons for lack of specialists in countries such as India.

Key vendors

Abbott

Beckman Coulter

Bio-Rad Laboratories

F. Hoffmann-La Roche

Siemens Healthcare

Key Topics Covered:



PART 01: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY



PART 02: SCOPE OF THE REPORT



PART 03: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY



PART 04: MARKET LANDSCAPE



PART 05: MARKET SIZING

Market definition

Market sizing

Market size and forecast

PART 06: FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS



PART 07: MARKET SEGMENTATION BY TECHNOLOGY

Segmentation by technology

Comparison by technology

Global syphilis testing market by conventional testing

Global syphilis testing market by POC testing

Market opportunity by technology

PART 08: CUSTOMER LANDSCAPE



PART 09: REGIONAL LANDSCAPE

Geographical segmentation

Regional comparison

Market opportunity

PART 10: DECISION FRAMEWORK



PART 11: DRIVERS AND CHALLENGES



PART 12: MARKET TRENDS

Increase in premarital screening

Rapidly increasing demand for POC testing

Increasing importance of promotional activities

Rising rates of syphilis among men

PART 13: VENDOR LANDSCAPE

Overview

Landscape disruption

PART 14: VENDOR ANALYSIS

Vendors covered

Vendor classification

Market positioning of vendors

Other prominent vendors



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/hb9bsp/global_syphilis?w=5

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

press@researchandmarkets.com



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Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 9, 2018) - Altamira Gold Corp. (TSXV: ALTA) (FSE: T6UP) (OTC Pink: EQTRF), ("Altamira" or the "Company") is pleased to provide drill results from the first phase drill program at the Crepori project located in southern Para state, Brazil. Highlights are as follows:

Hole CPR-1 which was drilled at the Ze Milton target below an area of historic workings and sheeted veining exposed on surface which has grab values of 6.54 - 39.24g/t gold, cut three zones of mineralization including 1m @ 4.55g/t gold, 4m @ 3.23g/t gold and 5m @ 1.81g/t gold

Hole CPR-2 which was drilled at the Raimundo target below surface workings, cut a narrow high-grade structure which returned 0.4m @ 8.52g/t gold and a second lower grade structure further down the hole which returned 0.6m @ 0.66g/t gold

and a second lower grade structure further down the hole which returned 0.6m @ 0.66g/t gold Hole CPR-3 which was drilled at the Ze do Bode target below historic surface workings cut two narrow low-grade but mineralized structures which returned 2m @ 0.55g/t gold and 2m @ 0.56 g/t gold

The 100% owned Crepori project is located in southern Para state in Northern Brazil and has been the focus for significant but small scale historic placer gold production which is estimated to have been in the order of at least 0.5Moz. The area has never been previously drilled with a view to identifying the source of this gold. With this objective in mind, Altamira drilled a total of 7 holes for 876m at Crepori during November and December 2017. Holes were located in six separate areas where high grade veins had been mapped on surface but surface exposures in the area are sparse with +99% of the area being covered by recent soils.

Hole CPR-1 was drilled below an area of historic workings on a sheeted vein zone at the Ze Milton target with surface grab samples returning ranges of 6.54 - 39.24g/t gold. Hole CPR-1 returned 1m @ 4.55g/t gold from 79-80m, 4m @ 3.23g/t gold from 98-102m and 5m @ 1.81g/t gold from 104-109m. The grades and widths encountered in this first hole at Ze Milton are considered very encouraging and require further drilling and follow up.

Hole CPR-2 was drilled below a surface showing at the Raimundo target, which previously returned values of 8.61 - 148.24 g/t gold from surface grab samples. Hole CPR-2 returned 0.4m @ 8.52g/t gold from 34.8 - 35.2m and a second lower grade structure further down the hole which returned 0.6m @ 0.66g/t gold from 84.4 - 85.0m depth.

Hole CPR-3 was drilled below a surface showing at the Ze do Bode target and returned 2m @ 0.55g/t gold from 35 - 37m and 2m @ 0.56g/t gold from 51 - 53m depth.

No significant results were returned from Holes CPR-4 to CPR-7. The bulk of the placer gold previously mined from the area was mined upstream from the Ze Milton and Ze de Bode targets in an area with virtually no outcrop and will be the focus of further work aimed at identifying the bulk of the placer gold previously mined from the Crepori area.





Drill Results from Crepori Project, Brazil

To view an enhanced version of this image, please visit:

http://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/4500/32735_a1518204915023_86.jpg

Commenting on these results, Mike Bennett, President & CEO stated "the results of the first phase drill program at Crepori were mixed. Whilst we are encouraged by the presence of significant mineralization in the Ze Milton area, the bulk of the alluvial gold mined from surface at Crepori and estimated to have been in the order of 0.5Moz, remains unexplained. Further drilling will be required in order to identify the hard rock source of the alluvial gold, but in view of the recent discoveries in the Baldo East area at Cajueiro, additional drilling at Crepori will be a secondary priority".

The company follows industry standard procedures with a quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) program. 2 Blank, 2 duplicate and 2 standard samples were inserted in each batch of 40 samples. Sample preparation and analysis was done at SGS GEOSOL in Vespasiano, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Analysis is performed by fire assay with 50g fusion and Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy.

About Altamira Gold Corp.

The Company is focused on the exploration and development of gold deposits within western central Brazil. The Company holds 12 projects comprising approximately 200,000 hectares, within the prolific Juruena gold belt which historically produced an estimated 7 to 10Moz of placer gold. The Company's advanced Cajueiro project has an NI 43-101 compliant resources of 8.64Mt @ 0.78 g/t Au (for 214,000oz) in the Indicated Resource category and 9.53Mt @ 0.66 g/t Au (for 204,000oz) in the Inferred Resource category and an additional 1.37Mt @ 1.61 g/t Au in oxides (for 79,000oz in saprolite) in the Inferred Resource category.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors,

ALTAMIRA GOLD CORP.

"Michael Bennett"

Michael Bennett

President & CEO

Tel: 604.676.5660

info@altamiragold.com

Guillermo Hughes, P. Geo., a consultant to the Company as well as a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, supervised the preparation of the technical information in this news release.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor it 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 document which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. It is important to note that actual outcomes and the Company's actual results could differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, we do not undertake to update these forward-looking statements.
NEEDHAM, MA--(Marketwired - February 09, 2018) - Cambridge Healthtech Institute (CHI), a division of Cambridge Innovation Institute, announces agenda updates and special events planned for the Ninth Annual SCOPE: Summit for Clinical Ops Executives at the Hyatt Regency Orlando, FL, February 12-15, 2018.

February 12:

Plenary Keynote Panel: Where are Clinical Trials Headed for 2018?

Pre-Conference User Group Meeting & Hosted Workshops

February 13-14:

Protocol Development, Global Site Selection, Feasibility and Site Management

Enrollment Planning and Patient Recruitment

Clinical Trial Forecasting, Budgeting and Contracting

Mastering an Outsourcing Strategy

Implementing Risk-Based Monitoring - Part 1

Clinical Data Strategy and Analytics

Sensors, Wearables and Digital Biomarkers in Clinical Trials

Late Stage Research and Observational Studies

Biospecimen, Central Lab and Technology for Precision Medicine Trials

February 14-15:

Improving Site-Study Activation and Performance

Patient Engagement, Enrollment and Retention through Communities and Technology

Resource Management and Capacity Planning for Clinical Trials

Managing Outsourced Clinical Trials

Implementing Risk-Based Monitoring - Part 2

Artificial Intelligence in Clinical Research

Clinical Technology and Innovation

Leveraging Real World Data for Clinical and Observational Research

Clinical Supply Management

"SCOPE has grown over the past eight years into a must-attend clinical ops gathering with over 1,600 delegates," said Micah Lieberman, CHI's executive conference director. "CHI's primary objective is to build a world-class program for large and small biopharma companies, CROs, tech vendors, sites, and academia so they can overcome clinical operations challenges, generate innovative ideas, find common ground with their peers, and meet new partners."

In addition to the 18 co-located conferences across popular clinical trial topics, SCOPE 2018 will include 3 plenary keynotes with pharma and CRO leaders and countless formal and informal networking opportunities. Day One officially kicks off with a Plenary Keynote Panel at 5:00 pm on Monday, February 12, 2018. Leading CROs will forecast new trends, changes in process, and what's in store for CRO-Sponsor partnerships for 2018 at the panel "Where are Clinical Trials Headed for 2018?" Representatives from UBC, DrugDev, Syneos Health, and Eli Lilly & Co. will be on the panel. Tuesday's plenary keynote & panel session focuses on patient centricity with Shwen Gwee (Biogen), Roslyn Schneider, M.D. (Pfizer), and Paulo Moreira (EMD Serono).

Wednesday's plenary keynote session starts with the annual Clinical Informatics News' "Best Practices Awards" and then a 2-part keynote by Joe Kim, MBA, a Senior Advisor of Clinical Innovation at Eli Lilly and Company; and Jeff James, CEO at Wilmington Health. Joe will discuss how to conduct clinical trials on patients that are hard to reach or forgotten. Jeff's insight is about Pharma-ACO collaboration and delivery systems: facilitating the linkage between healthcare's triple aim. A panel discussion will follow on clinical technology and what is needed to shake-up the current ecosystem and truly transform patient health.

There are plenty of other highlights as well, a Trifecta Clinical User Group, Participant Engagement Awards, 21 roundtable breakout discussion groups, networking functions, and an exhibit hall with 150 exhibitors. Premier Sponsors include Acurian, Appian, Bioclinica, BSI Business Integration Systems AG, Clinical Ink, Cognizant, Comprehend, CPI Global CRO, DrugDev, ERT, Medidata, OmniComm, Pharma Intelligence, Praxis, Syneos Health, TriNetX, United BioSource (UBC), and Veeva Systems Inc.

For more information, visit http://www.scopesummit.com.

Members of the media are encouraged to participate. Please contact Lisa Scimemi at lscimemi@healthtech.com to apply for a press pass and to inquire about opportunities for coordinated faculty interviews.

About Cambridge Healthtech Institute (www.healthtech.com)

Cambridge Healthtech Institute (CHI), a division of Cambridge Innovation Institute, is the preeminent life science network for leading researchers and business experts from top pharmaceutical, biotech, CROs, academia, and niche service providers. CHI is renowned for its vast conference portfolio held worldwide including PepTalk, Molecular Medicine Tri-Conference, SCOPE Summit, Bio-IT World Conference & Expo, PEGS Summit, Drug Discovery Chemistry, Biomarker World Congress, World Preclinical Congress, Next Generation Dx Summit and Discovery on Target. CHI's portfolio of products includes Cambridge Healthtech Institute Conferences, Barnett International, Insight Pharma Reports, Cambridge Marketing Consultants, Cambridge Meeting Planners, Bio-IT World, Clinical Informatics News and Diagnostics World.

Media Contact:

Lisa Scimemi

Cambridge Healthtech Institute

lscimemi@healthtech.com
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 9, 2018) - Stina Resources Ltd. (CSE: SQA) (OTCQB: STNUF) (the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has closed the first tranche of a non-brokered private placement for gross proceeds of $365,999 through the issuance of 1,355,555 units ("Units") of the Company at a price of $0.27 per Unit (the "Offering"). Each Unit consists of one common share (a "Common Share") of the Company and one-half of one Common Share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase a Common Share at an exercise price of $0.45 for a period of three (3) years following the closing of the Offering.

An eligible person (the "Finder") was paid a cash commission equal to 6% of the proceeds raised from subscribers introduced to the Company by such Finder and Broker Warrants equal to 6% of the Units issued pursuant to the Offering.

Closing of the Offering is subject to receipt of all necessary corporate and regulatory approvals, including the approval of the Canadian Securities Exchange. All securities issued in connection with the Offering are subject to a hold period of four months plus a day from the date of issuance and the resale rules of applicable securities legislation. Proceeds of the Offering will be used for general working capital purposes.

For further information, please contact:

Brian Stecyk

President

Telephone: 780-953-0111

The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed this press release and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

This news release may contain forward-looking statements including but not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt of property titles, potential mineral recovery processes, etc. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore, involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements.

Not for distribution to U.S. news wire services or dissemination in the United States.
The latest market research report by Technavio on the global urinary catheters marketpredicts a CAGR of above 5% during the period 2018-2022.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180209005506/en/

Technavio has published a new market research report on the global urinary catheters market from 2018-2022. (Graphic: Business Wire)

The report segments the global urinary catheters market by product (internal urinary catheters and external urinary catheters), by end-user (hospitals, healthcare centers, and home-care), and by geography (the Americas, EMEA, and APAC). It provides a detailed illustration of the major factors influencing the market, including drivers, opportunities, trends, and industry-specific challenges.

Here are some key findings of the global urinary catheters market, according to Technavio healthcare and life sciences researchers:

Rising geriatric population with urinary incontinence: a major market driver

Technological improvements in catheter design and use of biocompatible materials: emerging market trend

In 2017, the internal urinary catheters segment dominated the market by occupying almost 93% share

The Americas dominated the global urinary catheters market with 59% share in 2017

B. Braun Melsungen, C.R. Bard, Coloplast, Hollister, and Medtronic are the leading players in the market

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Rising geriatric population with urinary incontinence: a major market driver

The demand for urinary catheters is growing due to the increasing prevalence of chronic urological disorders such as urinary incontinence, BPH, multiple sclerosis, and neurogenic bladder diseases. According to the American Urological Association, one-third of men and women in the US experience urinary incontinence.

Controlling the bladder sphincter muscle becomes difficult for people above 65 years of age due to which urinary incontinence is most common among people of such age group. It is also more prevalent in women when compared with men. The growth of the global urinary catheters market can be attributed to the increasing prevalence of BPH. The CDC states that in 2010, 138,000 prostatectomy procedures were conducted in the US. Urinary incontinence also leads to a significant financial burden on the individual as well as the society. The global urinary catheters market is expected to grow due to the increasing number of people with urological disorders such as urinary incontinence, stress incontinence, bladder obstruction and prostatitis, and prostatic hyperplasia.

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Technological improvements in catheter design and use of biocompatible materials: emerging market trend

Design and development of novel medical devices that can be customized as per patients' requirements are possible due to the growing technological advances in the healthcare industry. Competitors focus on different technological platforms, which has also led to the development and availability of a broad range of urinary catheters with different designs and sizes, thereby simplifying the catheterization process and enhancing patient care.

According to a senior analyst at Technavio for research on urology devices, "Acknowledging the anatomical differences in women, men, and pediatric patients, catheters are now available as gender specific. Players in the market are concentrating on improving tip designs, funnel length, and catheter size, to cater to the huge demand from patients and caregivers."

Geographical landscape

The Americas dominated the global urinary catheters market with a market share of around 59%, followed by EMEA and APAC. In North America, the US was the major revenue contributor due to the availability of adequate reimbursements from Medicare and Medicaid and awareness about the availability of a broad range of urinary catheters in the market. Increasing prevalence of urinary incontinence, growing geriatric population, and rising cases of spinal cord injuries, dementia, or multiple sclerosis were the leading factors that are contributing to market growth in the region.

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UPDATED

Congress and the White House came together Friday on a two-year budget deal to boost domestic spending, help schools ravaged by hurricanes and wildfires, and invest in child care and childrens health.

But K-12 advocates arent popping the champagne just yet. For one thing, its unclear just how muchor ifK-12 schools will benefit from the spending increase. And Congress still hasnt come to an accord on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, leaving the fate of hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrations brought to the country as children in doubt, including teachers and students.

The deal, which President Donald Trump signed Friday, calls for $300 billion in new military and non-defense spending, which includes funding for the U.S. Department of Education. The agreement will be in effect until the fall of next year. It puts a temporary kibosh on across-the-board cuts known as sequestration which had tightened spending at the education department for years.

Under the deal, domestic spendingthe category that includes educationwould rise by $138 billion over the next two years, according to an analysis by the Washington Post. Congress though, will still need to fill in the blanks when it comes to funding for individual programs, such as Title I and special education spending.

And its unclear how much of the new money will go to K-12. Trump has proposed slashing the education departments nearly $70 billion budget by more than $9 billion, a 13 percent cut. Congress isnt poised to go along with that proposal, but it is still a signal that hiking K-12 spending isnt a priority for the administration.

We are pleased that Congress was able to raise the budget caps in a way that acknowledged the importance of investing in not only defense spending but also non-defense funding, which could include education, said Noelle Ellerson Ng, the associate executive director for policy and advocacy at AASA, the School Superintendents Association.

But she added,"Im not 100 percent assured that there will be significant investment in educationand where there will be investment in education that it will be focused on public education, given the Trump administrations interest in private school vouchers.

The measure also includes some $2.7 billion in relief money for schools and colleges impacted by recent hurricanes, including Puerto Rico, which was devastated by Hurricane Maria last year.

The islands schools are so financially strapped and in such rough shape that Gov. Ricardo Rossello has proposed closing more than a quarter of them, in part to save money desperately needed for rebuilding and repair. The disaster aid will also benefit schools and colleges in Texas, Florida, and other hurricane-damaged regions, as well as those damaged by wildfires on the West Coast.

And the legislation includes $650 million to help Head Start centers hit by those natural disasters, according to an analysis by the Committee for Education Funding, a lobbying coalition.

School districts that welcome students displaced by the natural disasters can tap federal funding to help offset the cost of educating them. They can receive up to $8,500 for each general education student they take in, up to $10,000 for students in special education, and $9,000 for English-language learners.

Both public and private schools are eligible for this aid. That was also the case for schools that took in students whose families fled New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 .

The budget deal also calls for $5.8 billion for the Child Care and Development Block Grant program , which helps states expand childcare for low-income families. Thats double the amount of money the program received previously, according to the Center for Law and Social Policy, an advocacy organization in Washington.

And the legislation would extend the Childrens Health Insurance Program through 2028. The program recently got a six-year extension in the most recent budget agreement, but this gives states even more certainty that CHIP will stick around. The agreement also includes resources for abstinence education.

In addition, the deal would raise the debt ceiling until March of next year, averting the need for another fiscal showdown anytime soon. And it would extend government funding until March 23, giving Congress time to finalize the budget for fiscal year 2018, which started way back on Oct. 1.

But crucially, the agreement doesnt include a resolution for students affected by DACA, a program that Trump terminated last year. If Congress doesnt act by early next month the program will end, throwing into question the status of 800,000 undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children to remain who have benefitted from the program in question.

Nine thousand DACA recipients are teachers, according to the Migration Policy Institute, an advocacy organization. And another 250,000 K-12 students have become eligible for DACA since President Barack Obama started the program in 2012.

Meanwhile, Trump is expected to release a program-by-program spending proposal for fiscal year 2019, which starts Oct. 1, on Monday.

Dawn breaks over the U.S. Capitol Building on Feb. 9 in Washington.

--Andrew Harnik/AP

Follow us on Twitter at @PoliticsK12 .
Backpacker Panda, a Pune, India-based backpacking hospitality platform, raised $1.4m in Series A funding.

The round was led by 37.37 North Capital. As part of the transaction, Manpreet Mattu, CIO of 37.37 North Capital, will join the board of directors. General Partner Bhavish Sood will join as a board observer.

The chain will use new funds to enhance customer experience, build its brand, strengthen its tech team, and expand its footprint in domestic and international markets.

Led by Kumar Vivek, Founder and CEO, Backpacker Panda operates a luxury backpacking hostel chain providing 14 properties across India. With its newly launched flagship Colaba property, BPP is pioneering luxurious properties with common area facilities that allow backpackers traveling across India to meet and socialize.

FinSMEs

08/02/2018
B Capital Group, a global digital technology investment firm, closed B Capital Fund, L.P. at $360m.

Led by Singapore based Eduardo Saverin and Los Angeles-based Raj Ganguly, as well as and Chairman Howard Morgan, the firm invests in healthcare, financial services & insurance, industrial, and consumer enablement companies.

Through its sponsorship from The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), B Capital Group provides the right introductions at the right time and partners with new companies to build and scale sustainable businesses.

The fund has supported a diverse set of portfolio companies including AImotive, Bright.md, Capital Match, CXA, Evidation Health, Icertis, INTURN, Lanetix, Mswipe, Ninja Van and SilverCloud Health.

The firm has offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and Singapore.

FinSMEs

08/02/2018
Honest Buildings, a NYC-based real estate technology company, raised additional $8m in its Series B funding, bringing the total round to $21m.

The company announced a $13m Series B funding in October 2017.

This capital will allow the Honest Buildings to continue expanding across North America and into select international markets, and to grow its product and business development teams.

The investment was led by real estate owners Oxford Properties Group, who own and manage 60 million square feet of commercial real estate globally, as well as New York-based The Durst Organization and national owner DivcoWest Real Estate Investments. They joined existing Series B industry investors Brookfield Property Partners, Rudin Ventures and C-III Capital Partners, in addition to venture capital funds Navitas Capital, Greensoil Building Innovation Fund, Bienville Capital Management, Riverpark Funds, The Westly Group, Rockport Capital, Circle Ventures and Thrive Capital. In conjunction with the funding, Michael Turner, Oxfords Executive Vice President, Canada, is also joining the Honest Buildings Board of Directors.

Led by CEO Riggs Kubiak, Honest Buildings provides a project management technology platform built for such commercial real estate owners as Brookfield, Oxford Properties, Beacon Capital Partners, Invesco, SL Green, The Durst Organization, Silverstein Properties, JBG Smith, Harvest Properties, Parkway Properties, and Rudin Management to ensure capital and construction projects are completed on time and on budget.

FinSMEs

09/02/2018
Storetail, a Paris, France-based provider of digital retail media technology, closed 5m in Series B funding.

Backers included Ventech and ISAI.

The company intends to use the funds to bolster the technical and commercial teams, to develop new product offers and to enter new markets, especially in Europe and North America.

Founded in 2014 in Paris by Mathieu Azorin, CEO and Elie Aboucaya, COO (both formerly with Dentsu-Aegis and WPP), Storetail provides a software suite specialized in driving customer visits through e-commerce sites.

Storetail technology allows a brand or an on-line retailer to recreate the physical in-store customer experience on an e-commerce site. This includes highlighting products and sales promotions, while specifically targeting those consumers who might be attracted by a given offer.

The solution provides increased visibility for advertised brands, a source of monetizing for stores and a personalized commercial experience for consumers.

Storetail can also be used by retailers for their own promotions and is already available to advertisers on a self-service basis.

Storetails suite is used by Europes leading retailers, including Leclerc, Carrefour, Auchan, DIA, Intermarche, Fnac, Darty, Sephora, La Redoute and leading brands such as PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Heineken, Danone, Kronenbourg, Nestle and Microsoft.

FinSMEs

08/02/2018
Union Budget 2018 focusses on strengthening the rural economy in all aspects including from farmers to the salaried class, cutting across the poor and middle class society

The Finance Minister announced Union Budget proposals for the financial year 2018-19 on 1 February 2018 which was more focused towards agricultural development along with showing commitment towards the welfare of farmers and growth in rural employment. The Budget was also focused on incentivising Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises (MSMEs) wherein industry enhancement has been witnessed post-demonetisation and introduction of Goods and Services Tax (GST).

The government has aimed at substantially increasing investments in the agricultural sector and has committed to keeping Minimum Support Price (MSP) for all the unannounced kharif crops at atleast 1.5 times of production cost. Policy measures have also been announced to boost investments for developing and upgrading agricultural market infrastructure to eventually support farmers for direct sale to consumers and bulk purchasers. This will help farmers to sell at attractive prices directly to consumers and maximise returns which is currently earned by the intermediaries who charge a hefty mark-up before selling the same to the end consumers.

As part of the development of the food processing sector which is growing at the rate of 8 percent per annum, the government has almost doubled the allocation towards the Ministry of Food Processing to Rs 1,400 crores and will also promote establishment of specialized agro-processing financial institutions in this sector.

In order to overcome the challenge of providing perishable items such as tomatoes, onions, potatoes, etc. which are consumed throughout the year, the government has proposed to provide support for agri-logistics, processing facilities and professional management for delivering such items directly to consumers. It has also been proposed to make investments in setting up of state-of-the-art testing facilities to liberalise the export of agricultural produce and increase Indias potential to export its agricultural produce.

As part of tax incentives, a 100 percent tax deduction has been extended to the Farm Producer Companies having a total turnover of up to Rs 100 crores which includes income from marketing of agricultural produce, purchase of agricultural implements, seeds, etc., or processing of agricultural produce. Accordingly, giving full deduction for farmer producing companies is a win-win announcement and will certainly lead to an overall increase in the standard of living of the farmers as well as the common man. This will have a cascading impact on retail of perishable goods.

The Finance Minister has also proposed a strong support to the MSMEs terming them as the major engine of growth and employment in the country. In its move to incentivise the MSMEs, the government has proposed to extend the benefit of lower corporate tax rate of 25 percent to companies with a reported turnover of Rs 250 crores. The government has also generated a database of MSME businesses which will help in financing their working capital requirements.

It has also been proposed to revamp the online loan sanctioning facility for MSMEs for ease of financing. Such measures will help these budding enterprises to improve their performance and take advantage of such facilities to become key contributors to the growth of the consumer-related sector. Special tax benefits have also been proposed for enterprises in the footwear and leather industry which will act as a helping hand to these enterprises to increase their resources by reducing their tax outflow.

In addition to the above, the government has announced various measures for consumers for gold exchanges, transport and travel infrastructure, relief to salaried persons, increase in disposable income in the hands of the salaried class as well as senior citizens which will lead to increase in their consumption pattern leading to acting as a catalyst to growth of the retail sector.

Union Budget 2018 focusses on strengthening the rural economy in all aspects including from farmers to the salaried class, cutting across the poor and middle class society. With special mention to the MSMEs, the government has provided them with various types of incentives to grow and prosper. The focus on providing stimuli to the domestic farmers and artisans industry, allocation to various schemes and funds created in the agricultural sector is a smart way to boost the economy and achieve the desired growth target.

In summary, Union Budget 2018 has sowed the seeds of growth for the agriculture sector which is the backbone of the Indian economy. The proposals have the potential of leading to a solid platform for overall increase in the standard of living, per capita income and ultimately resulting in macro-economic growth.

Click here for full coverage of Union Budget 2018

(Talreja is Partner, Deloitte India; Khire, Director and Shah is Manager, Deloitte Haskins and Sells LLP)
The ruling has come on complaints filed by Matrimony.com and Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS) -- back in 2012 -- against Google

New Delhi: The Competition Commission on Wednesday imposed a fine of Rs 136 crore on internet giant Google for unfair business practices in the Indian market for online search. After a detailed probe on the complaints filed in 2012, the regulator through a majority order said the penalty is being imposed on Google for "infringing anti-trust conduct".

On the CCI ruling, a Google spokesperson said the company is "reviewing the narrow concerns identified by the Commission and will assess our next steps".

Globally, this is one of the rare cases where Google has been penalised for unfair business ways, even as it has been under probe in several countries. It was alleged that Google is indulging in abuse of dominant position in the market for online search through practices leading to search bias and search manipulation, among others. For this case, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) considered markets in India for online general web search services and for online search advertising services as the relevant ones.

The penalty amount of Rs 135.86 crore translates to 5 per cent of the company's average total revenue generated from India operations from its different business segments for the financial years 2013, 2014 and 2015, according to the CCI order. The CCI said it has given thoughtful consideration on the submissions made by Google on issue of penalty and found it appropriate to impose a fine.

The ruling has come on complaints filed by Matrimony.com and Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS) -- back in 2012 -- against Google LLC, Google India Pvt Ltd and Google Ireland Ltd.

While the majority order is by chairperson D K Sikri and three members, two members have issued a dissent order saying that they don't find Google in violation of Section 4 of the Competition Act. This section pertains to abuse of dominant position. The Google spokesperson said the company has always focused on innovating to support the evolving needs of users.

"The Competition Commission of India has confirmed that, on the majority of issues it examined, our conduct complies with Indian competition laws. We are reviewing the narrow concerns identified by the Commission and will assess our next steps," the spokesperson said in a statement. On the basis of the probe report submitted by the Director General, the CCI broadly looked at four aspects -- whether Google biases its search results, whether it imposes unfair conditions on advertisers, whether the company's distribution and intermediation agreements restrict competition.

"The Commission is cognizant of the fact that any intervention in technology markets has to be carefully crafted lest it stifles innovation and denies consumers the benefits that such innovation can offer. "This can have a detrimental effect on economic welfare and economic growth, particularly in countries relying on high growth such as India," the order said.

The regulator also noted that product design is an important and integral dimension of competition and any undue intervention in designs of SERP (Search Engine Results Page) may affect legitimate product improvements resulting in consumer harm.

"Having said that, it is made clear that such regulatory forbearance from interfering with search design is only by way of self-imposed restraint but if in a given case the Commission finds the conduct to be egregious, appropriate remedies and directions shall be issued to correct such a distortion," the order said. Further, the CCI said it has examined the issues within the permissible parameters in technology markets. Get latest news & live updates on the go on your pc with News App. Download The Times of India news app for your device. Read more Business news in English and other languages.
Fortis founders Malvinder Singh and his brother Shivinder Singh have been alleged to have siphoned off around Rs 500 crore or $78 million out of the publicly-traded hospital, Fortis Hospitals Ltd. (FHSL), without board approval a year ago, Bloomberg reported, quoting sources.

Fortis founders Malvinder Singh and his brother Shivinder Singh have been alleged to have siphoned off around Rs 500 crore or $78 million out of the publicly-traded hospital, Fortis Hospitals Ltd. (FHsL), without board approval a year ago, Bloomberg reported, quoting sources. However, in a letter sent to the exchanges, FHsL has denied the allegations.

The letter said that, FHsL has deployed funds in secured short-term investments with companies in normal course of treasury operations. These entities as of the quarter ended 31 December, 2017 have become part of the promoter group due to a shareholding change in those entities. Subsequently, the same loans have been recognised as related party transactions in compliance with necessary regulatory requirements. These loans are adequately secured and the repayment has since commenced. The total value of the loans mentioned amounts to approximately Rs 473 crore.

Further, we categorically deny the alleged news that 'auditors have refused to sign the accounts for Q2', and would like to update you that as informed to you . letter dated 14 November, 2017 that the results for the Q2 could not be tabled before the Board for approval. The limited review process for the results of both Q2 and Q3 are in progress and as has already been intimated to your good office vide our letter . dated 7 February, 2018, the un-audited financial results of the Company for quarter and period ended 30 September, 2017 will be presented before the Board of Directors at their scheduled on 13 February, 2018.

The Bloomberg report mentioned that the funds reported on the balance sheet of FHsL as cash and cash equivalents was money routed and placed under the control of the Singhs at the time, according to the people in the know of the matter.

Meanwhile, in another development, PTI reported that the Singh brothers Malvinder and Shivinder have resigned as directors from the companys board following the Delhi High Court order upholding the Rs 3,500 crore arbitral award in favour of Daiichi Sankyo.

The Singh brothers have jointly tendered their resignation to the Board of Fortis Healthcare, which will discuss it in the meeting on 13 February, the company said in a filing to the BSE.

Malvinder Mohan Singh, Executive Chairman and Shivinder Mohan Singh, Non-Executive Vice Chairman have tendered their resignation from the directorships of the company, Fortis Healthcare said.

The resignation is intended to free the organisation from any encumbrances that may be linked to the promoters, the letter said.

In light of the recent High Court judgement upholding the plea of Daiichi Sankyo to enforce the arbitration award, we believe this is in the interest of propriety and good governance, it said.
A tribunal in Singapore had passed the verdict in favour of Daiichi holding that the former Ranbaxy promoters had concealed certain information

Fortis Healthcare promoters Malvinder Mohan Singh and Shivinder Mohan Singh have resigned as directors from the companys board following the Delhi High Court order upholding the Rs 3,500 crore arbitral award in favour of Daiichi Sankyo.

The Singh brothers have jointly tendered their resignation to the Board of Fortis Healthcare, which will discuss it in the meeting on 13 February, the company said in a filing to the BSE.

Malvinder Mohan Singh, Executive Chairman and Shivinder Mohan Singh, Non-Executive Vice Chairman have tendered their resignation from the directorships of the company, Fortis Healthcare said.

The resignation is intended to free the organisation from any encumbrances that may be linked to the promoters, the letter said.

In light of the recent High Court judgement upholding the plea of Daiichi Sankyo to enforce the arbitration award, we believe this is in the interest of propriety and good governance, it said.

The Delhi High Court had on 31 January upheld an international arbitral award of Rs 3,500 crore passed in favour of Japanese pharma major Daiichi Sankyo, which has alleged that the former promoters of Indias Ranbaxy Laboratories had concealed information about proceedings against them by American food and drug department.

A tribunal in Singapore had passed the verdict in favour of Daiichi holding that the former Ranbaxy promoters and brothers, Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singh, had concealed information that the Indian company was facing probe by the US Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Justice, while selling its shares.

With the resignation of the promoters, the board will be better enabled and empowered to guide the future direction of the organisation without anyway being hampered by the Daiichi Sankyo judgement and our association at the Board, the letter said.

The members of the board are also requested to look into all inter-group transactions and distance the promoter group from Fortis Healthcare Ltd in a manner that enables continuity of the operations of the organisation and deliver on its mission of enriching and saving lives, the Singh brothers wrote in the letter.

The High Court order paved the way for enforcement of the 2016 arbitral award passed by the Singapore tribunal against the Singh brothers who had sold their shares in Ranbaxy to Daiichi in 2008 for Rs 9,576.1 crore. Sun Pharmaceuticals Ltd later acquired the company from Daiichi.

Daiichi had approached the High Court in 2016 to seek the enforcement of a Rs 2,562 crore Singapore arbitral award passed in April 2016, along with an additional claim of interest and lawyers fees incurred in connection with the proceedings.

The tribunals award had come after the Japanese company invoked arbitration clause against Singhs alleging that they concealed important information while selling Ranbaxy in 2008.

Daiichi had entered into a settlement agreement with the US Department of Justice, agreeing to pay $ 500 million penalty to resolve potential, civil and criminal liability.The company had then sold its stake in Ranbaxy to Sun Pharmaceuticals for Rs 22,679 crore in 2015.
The home page of the original RBI website looks the same as of the duplicate one that also contains an account verification section

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has alerted customers about a fake website www.indiareserveban.org that was recently created with a fake motive of helping customers update their bank account details.

A lay person could easily be duped if they visit the page as the layout of the said website has been kept exactly similar to the original one https://www.rbi.org.in on which the central bank wants to spread awareness about.

Interestingly, like the home page of the original website looks the same as of the duplicate one that also contains an account verification section.

Read RBI's press release here.

The home page of the fake website also contains a provision for Bank verification with online account holders which appears to have been created with a fraudulent intent of obtaining personal and confidential banking details of customers of banks, RBI said in a statement.

The RBI further revealed that it never asks for any information from customers about their bank accounts. The top bank alerts people that responding online on such websites could result in financial and other losses.

The central bank further says such websites as www.rbi.org, www.rbi.in etc are also not genuine. These URLs may appear similar to the website of RBI, the bank said in a statement.
A 45-year-old man committed suicide by jumping off the fifth floor of Mantralaya, the state secretariat in south Mumbai.

Mumbai: A 45-year-old man committed suicide by jumping off the fifth floor of Mantralaya, the state secretariat in south Mumbai, on Thursday evening, police said.

The incident happened a day after a 32-year-old unemployed man attempted suicide outside the building, forcing Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to call for an overhaul of the security system at building. Following the two incidents, opposition parties have dubbed Mantralaya a "suicide point".

Harshal Raote, who was convicted of killing his sister, was out on parole since 10 January. He committed suicide on the last day before his parole expired, according to police.

A Mumbai resident, Raote carried a card which identified him as a paralegal working with the Maharashtra State Legal Services Authority.

Police said they have found a suicide note from him, but did not reveal the content of the letter.

After he jumped off the building, Raote was rushed to the St George Hospital where doctors declared him brought dead.

Leader of the Opposition in the assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil and his counterpart in the state council, Dhananjay Munde, along with former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar visited Mantralaya soon after the suicide.

The suicide showed that Mantralaya has become a "suicide point", Vikhe Patil said.

He spoke to Raote's father over phone. "Raote's father informed us his son was serving a 14-year jail term in a murder case and was out on parole," he told reporters.

School Education Minister Vinod Tawde said police officials were investigation the case based on the information given by Raote's father.

The Opposition parties alleged that the BJP government's policy failure was forcing people to take the drastic step.

On Wednesday, Avinash Shete had tried to commit suicide there. Security personnel foiled his bid and recovered a bottle of kerosene and a matchbox from him, before handing him over to police.

Shete had appeared for an examination for employment at the agriculture department through the Maharashtra Public Service Commission and was upset after he failed to clear it because of what he said were "technical glitches".

Last month, 84-year-old Dharma Patil, a farmer from Dhule, died a few days after consuming poison at Mantralaya.

Last year, a visitor threatened to commit suicide from the ledge of the annexe building, when protesters led by the NCP had barged into the building after breaching the security.

CP leader Nawab Malik said problems faced by the people were not addressed at the district level, forcing them to come to Mumbai.

Repeated attempts by people to commit suicide outside Mantralaya is a signal of growing desperation among citizens and shows that the BJP-led government has failed to solve the common man's issues, Malik said.

Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said: "Since 2014, more than 13,000 farmers have committed suicide. Earlier farmers used to come to Mantralaya to end their lives. Now, even educated youth are facing a tough time," he said.
A decade ago, cellphones were devices that students in the Katy Independent School District used to complete their academic work at home, but were restricted from using during class.

Now, students in the eastern Texas school system use their cellphones to access reading and math programs via a mobile app. They rely on the devices to complete assignments and quizzes on their smartphones, and to check grades on the districts learning management system, Canvas.

They are even allowed to scan their work on notebook paper using their phones and submit that file via Canvas for grading.

Angelia Garcia, who teaches at Golbow Elementary School in the district, uses a website where she can monitor students activity on mobile devices while they are completing work and give them real-time feedback by messaging them from her computer.

Smartphones have become a ubiquitous tool for many K-12 students today. A nationally-representative survey , released in 2015 by Pearson, found that 53 percent of 4th and 5th graders, 66 percent of middle schoolers, and 82 percent of high school students regularly used a smartphone. In addition, 41 percent of polled students reported using a smartphone at least twice a week to complete schoolwork, according to the survey, conducted of about 2,300 elementary, middle, and high-school students.

Usage of these devices has even grown among young children. As EdWeek reported in October 2017 , the time children ages 8 and younger spent engaging with screen media on mobile devices, such as a smartphone or tablet, has tripled since 2013, from 15 to 48 minutes a day, according to a Common Sense Media national survey .



But the widespread presence of smartphones and the possibility of excessive screen time have raised concerns about negative effects for younger students and encouragement of anti-social behavior.

Jeffrey Knutson, the senior producer for Common Sense Educations teaching strategies project, said a critical standard for judging whether to use cellphones in classrooms is whether students are engaging with the devices in meaningful ways.

When it comes to kids screen time, it is an issue of not only moderation and media balance, but also the context in which it is happening, Knutson said. Theres a significant difference between parking your child or all of your students in front of a screen to sit and absorb, and engaging with a screen or using a screen to engage with others.

Best practices for schools often require nuanced decision-making, Knutson added. Its up to educators to help students learn how and when to use devices responsibly and in ways that are healthy for themselves, and healthy for their communities.

A recent survey of the nations school districts suggests that many districts acknowledge the widespread use of cellphones and are taking steps to integrate their use into instruction.

Data collected in the survey , conducted by the Center for Digital Education and National School Boards Association, found that 88 percent of polled districts have policies governing the use of mobile devices and 56 percent provide a smartphone app to students. In addition, mobility is listed among the top five digital priorities for districts.

One of the biggest challenges districts have in integrating smartphones in classrooms is providing professional development on how to effectively use them, said Kecia Ray, executive director of the Center for Digital Education . The devices, on their own, are of little use unless teachers and students have instructional support.

Ray said that teachers, principals, technology officers, and superintendents believe that smartphones are a beneficial tool, but added that if you want to measure student learning, youre going to have to direct your research toward a particular app or software on the tool rather than the physical device.

Students are likely to resist efforts to ban smartphones from classrooms, said Ray. A better approach is for teachers to show students effective ways to use their devices, instead of assuming they know that already.

There are many practical uses of cellphones that teachers can easily master, Ray said. Those include performing calculations for a course, participating in a class poll or assessment, completing research, and logging into a learning management system, Ray said.

The Katy Independent School District, among the first K-12 districts in the nation to incorporate smartphones in the classroom, started a pilot program in 2009 with 150 of its 5th-graders at Cimarron Elementary.

District officials at the time saw how students were using the devices to communicate and collaborate outside of school, and thought there was no better place than school to show them how to work in this digital world, explained Darlene Rankin, Katys Instructional Technology Director.

Excitement from parents and students about the pilot, and the potential for the program to change Katys learning experience, influenced Rankin and other district administrators to take the effort districtwide.

At first, she said some teachers and administrators were uncertain mobile learning would be successful in Katy, and that it took time to change the norms in the district concerning technology. Even today in Katy, Rankin said teacher discretion determines when students can use their devices in class.

Its important that our students learn and understand how to work in this digital world, Rankin said. But it took training for teachers to understand the change in rules, and how they could leverage the devices their students are so engaged with.

The district has other policies in place to encourage productive use of the devices. Students in the K-12 system sign classroom and district-wide technology contracts at the start of the school year, which include guidelines for appropriate technology use and responsibility for devices.

Dont Make a Ban, Have a Plan':

Setting clear expectations for cellphone use in classrooms, and establishing models for appropriate use, are good alternatives to simply forbidding their use, said Knutson.

Our motto here at Common Sense is Dont make a ban, have a plan, he said. Bans may put teachers in unnecessarily adversarial roles with their students. They could be even bigger distractions than phones ringing or students sending texts.

Knutson, who was a high-school English and English-language learner teacher for 10 years, said schools should consider the potential benefits that smartphones bring in teaching students about moderation in the use of technology.

Setting smart cellphone policies can be a systematic way to address the distractions and inappropriate use of technology. We have to help guide students, and model for them, what healthy media balance looks like.

Elliot Soloway , a professor at the University of Michigan, said schools that allow smartphones have the power to encourage student inquiry.

If all students have is a textbook, they cant answer their own questions, Soloway said, but if you give them a smartphone, now the world is open to them.

One of the biggest challenges smartphones pose for schools is determining how lessons conducted via smartphones should be integrated into existing curricula, he said. Schools need to focus their efforts in figuring out which learning activities are most effective with smartphones, and which ones arent a good fit.

For years, many of the nations schools have moved in the direction of bring your own device, or BYOD policies, Soloway noted. Now with smartphones, BYOD is almost taken for granted, yet too many schools arent taking advantage of the opportunities that smartphones offer to engage students.

I walked into an elementary school just last August and a sign said, Cellphone Equals Suspension, Soloway recalled. Too many schools are still afraid of what children are going to see.

Soloway believes students and parents will continue to push for students use of cellphones in schools. Schools, he said, cannot hold this train back; the train is moving.

See Also:
Hitting out at triple talaq bill proposed by BJP-led NDA government for its 'flaws', the AIMPLB vowed to work towards removing them

Hyderabad: Hitting out at the triple talaq bill proposed by the BJP-led NDA government for its "flaws", the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) on Thursday vowed to work towards removing them.

Describing the "flaws" in the bill as being against the Constitution and fundamental rights, AIMPLB spokesperson Maulana Syed Khaleel-ur-Rahman Sajjad Nomani alleged that the proposed bill bans the institution of talaq itself.

"It is generally publicised that this bill is presented to stop triple talaq. But, the fact is, if you read the bill, it is to ban the entire institution of talaq," Nomani told reporters in Hyderabad on the eve of the board's three-day 26th plenary session.

"The flaws in it, because of them, it (the bill) is against the Constitution of India, judgements of the Supreme Court, women and children rights and fundamental rights. Those flaws be removed," he said.

The AIMPLB also claimed efforts are being made to enact a "very wrong law".

The spokesperson, however, said the "board was not opposed to the bill, but wanted the flaws removed".

The board requested all the opposition parties to consider whether the bill can be passed in its present form, he said.

The triple talaq bill has already been passed in the Lok Sabha, but it is yet to get a nod in the Rajya Sabha, where the BJP-led NDA lacks majority.

The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017, criminalises instant talaq and provides for up to three years of imprisonment for accused Muslim men.

The bill also enables any person from anywhere to complain against a Muslim man vis-a-vis divorce, he claimed.

"Even if the wife says he (her husband) has not given divorce and that it was a wrong report (on the matter), police will say you have to prove that in court and that we have to arrest. This is a strange legislation. That means, the truth is, it makes us feel ashamed not just as a Muslim but as a citizen of this country," Nomani said.

He said an effort was being made to make a "very wrong" type of law.

"I challenge categorically there is no such law in the whole world. This is very shameful type of drafting. An effort was being made to make a very wrong type of law. There are other such flaws. The Muslim Personal Law Board's stand is to get those flaws removed," Nomani said.

The board would exercise all the democratic options regarding the bill, he said.

The board sought an appointment with the prime minister after the bill came into public domain, but no response was received from the PMO, Nomani alleged.

The Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi dispute, pending before the Supreme Court, would also be discussed in the meetings, he said.

Replying to a query on 'nikahnama' (marriage contract), he said that the issue would be taken up if any member raises it with the permission of the Chair.

To a query on the Ayodhya issue, he said no proposal has been received officially or unofficially by the AIMPLB.

The spokesperson said it was contempt of court to talk about the outcome of the Ayodhya issue as it is sub-judice.
He particularly highlighted the roles of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Manmohan Singh in particular in advancing penetration of technology

Former President Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday said that almost all the Prime Ministers have had their contribution in promoting science and technology in the country.

He particularly highlighted the roles of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Manmohan Singh in particular in advancing penetration of technology in the common people's lives.

"From the very beginning of our nation-building, our leaders have emphasised on the role of science and technology," Mukherjee said at a book release event at Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) here.

"Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru throughout his life, not only just as the Prime Minister, but his whole life, emphasised on creating scientific temperament among the common people," Mukherjee said while releasing the book A Contribution in Time - India's Electronics Revolution by former Union Minister MM Pallam Raju and his brother Anand Mallipudi on the life of their father and Indias first Electronics Minister, MS Sanjeevi Rao.

"It is fortunate for us that all the Prime Ministers of the country, Pandit Nehru in particular, Indiraji, Rajivji, Dr Manmohan Singh and many others have contributed in the development of science and technology," he added.

He said that the earliest leaders' emphasis on higher quality education in science has led to the establishment of IITs, NITs and scores of IISCs.

Mukherjee recalled how Nehru established the Atomic Energy Commission and it helped India become a nuclear power today.

He said that when Rajiv Gandhi talked of easy communication through latest technology, many people did not believe him. However, the success India subsequently achieved in mobile phone density is "simply mind-boggling".

Mukherjee said that for development in a vast country like India, application of science and technology is required.
Arun Jaitley said that centre was sympathetically working on issues concerning Andhra Pradesh and a decision on a special package would be finalised soon

New Delhi: Union finance minister Arun Jaitley said on Thursday that the centre was sympathetically working on all issues concerning Andhra Pradesh and a decision on a special package would be finalised over next few days.

Jaitley, who was replying to the debate on the general budget for 2018-19 in the Lok Sabha, told agitating members from Andhra Pradesh including those from the ruling Telugu Desam Party, a NDA constituent, that a package was promised to the people of Andhra after Telangana was carved out of it, and while several parts of the package had been implemented, some work was being done.

Many institutions had gone to Telangana and funds have been given to a several institutions being created in Andhra Pradesh and will "continue to be given as these are built (further)," he said, adding that the Central government has made some payments for backward districts development and was also assisting in the Polavaram project.

Jaitley said the state wants the amount in lieu of special package to come as externally aided projects. "The chief minister of Andhra Pradesh wrote to me saying that this should be given through NABARD," he said.

He said an arrangement has been worked out and the officers of the state have to inform the expenditure department about their acceptability.

Jaitley said the government will expedite it "as soon as we get consent of state government".

Referring to the state's demand concerning revenue deficit, he said it was expecting more and the Central government was trying to bridge the gap.

"It will be worked out in the course of next couple of days," he said.

On the issues pertaining to railway and petroleum ministries, he said the government was in discussion with them and "our friends from Andhra Pradesh" to try to find out best solution.

"We will try and do it extremely early. We are very sympathetic to the people of Andhra Pradesh and would look into each one of these issues expeditiously," he said.

Jaitley, who faced interruptions from Congress members over his remarks pertaining to Rafale fighter aircraft deal, had to tell the protesting members from Andhra Pradesh to come near him to listen.

The two houses on Thursday continued to witness protest from the members of the TDP and YSR Congress over demand for special status to Andhra Pradesh and other financial benefits to the state.

In Lok Sabha, members of the two parties again staged separate protests, forcing a brief adjournment during Question Hour while the Rajya Sabha witnessed pandemonium over the issue even as the attempts to resolve the issue by Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu failed.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met Jordan's King Abdullah II in Amman and said he had 'wonderful' meeting that would further boost India-Jordan ties.

Amman: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met Jordan's King Abdullah II in Amman and said he had "wonderful" meeting that would further boost India-Jordan ties.

Modi arrived in Amman on the first leg of his tour of three West Asian countries, including Palestine.

Had a wonderful meeting with His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan. Our discussions today will give great strength to India-Jordan bilateral relations. pic.twitter.com/PgavBb7RXe  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 9, 2018

During the meeting, Modi told the King that he is looking forward to his visit to India in February end. The King, meanwhile, described the meeting as the beginning of a new chapter in the bilateral ties. "The Prime Minister expressed sincere thanks for logistical support extended for smooth facilitation for his Palestine visit," MEA spokesperson Ravish Kumar tweeted. Kumar also tweeted a picture of Modi hugging the King.

A warm hug between friends reflecting our relationship! PM @narendramodi had a very coordial meeting with His Majesty King of Jordan immediately upon arrival in Amman. In a gracious and personal gesture, the King invited PM @narendramodi to his residence for the meeting. pic.twitter.com/mDw1NG3Dyi  Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) February 9, 2018

On his arrival in Amman, Modi was received by Jordan Prime Minister Hani Al-Mulki. This is Modi's first visit to Jordan and also the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister in 30 years. India and Jordan enjoy friendly ties since diplomatic relations were established in 1950, Raveesh Kumar, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson, said.

On Saturday, Modi will leave for Palestine where he is scheduled to hold discussions with President Mahmoud Abbas and reaffirm India's support for the Palestinian

people and the development of Palestine.

Modi will be the first-ever prime minister to visit Palestine. The Prime Minister will leave for the UAE later in the day for a two-day visit. In the UAE, Modi would hold meetings with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

He said he will also be addressing the 6th edition of the World Government Summit in Dubai, where India is the guest country.

During the visit, Modi said he will engage with leading UAE and Arab CEOs in Dubai on the vast economic opportunities in India and what more can be done to bolster business collaboration.

On the last leg of his trip, Modi would travel to Oman from 11-12 February. Modi will visit Oman for the first time as prime minister and will hold talks with the Sultan of Oman and other key leaders. He would also interact with leading businesspersons of Oman on developing stronger economic and business links with India.

More than nine million Indians work and live in the Gulf region, of which about one third live in the UAE alone. In Oman, they constitute the largest expatriate community.
The Maharashtra government on Friday appointed a judicial commission, under retired justice Jai Narayan Patel, to conduct a probe into the Bhima-Koregaon violence.

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government on Friday appointed a judicial commission, under retired justice Jai Narayan Patel, to conduct a probe into the Bhima-Koregaon violence which erupted last month, a senior official said.

Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Sudhir Shrivastav said besides Patel, a former chief justice of the Calcutta High Court, Maharashtra chief secretary Sumit Mullick will also be a part of the two-member panel.

"The committee has been asked to look into the sequence of events that eventually led to the violence. Also, there will probe about who were the persons/organisations responsible for the violence and if there was adequate police presence at the spot at the time of the incident," Shrivastav said.

He also said the commission has been given four months to conduct a detailed probe and submit its report.

Patel had presided over the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts trail in its initial stages before he became a high court judge.

On 1 January, the event to mark 200th anniversary of the Bhima-Koregaon battle in Pune district, in which forces of the East India Company defeated Peshwa's army, was marred by incidents of violence, with one person getting killed.

Dalit leaders commemorate the British victory, as it is believed that soldiers from the Mahar community  then considered untouchable  were part of the East India Company's forces.

However, some right-wing groups in Pune had expressed opposition to celebration of the British victory.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said his party had kept asking how could the government could suo-moto declare an inquiry under a serving judge, referring to the earlier announcement made by Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.
The BMC has submitted its chargesheet following its investigation into the fire at Lower Parel's Kamala Mills compound on 29 December, in which 14 persons lost their lives, and has named five officials

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has submitted its chargesheet following an investigation into the fire at Lower Parel's Kamala Mills compound on 29 December, in which 14 persons lost their lives. The civic body has chargesheeted five officials who were suspended on the day of the tragedy.

A report on The Times of India said that all five have been charged with dereliction of duty. The five officials  designated officer Madhukar Shelar, sub-engineer Dinesh Mahale, junior engineer Dhanraj Shinde, medical officer health Dr Satish Badgire and assistant divisional fire officer S S Shinde  had been suspended from their posts hours after the fire broke in December 2017.

The report mentioned that a full-fledged inquiry against them is underway, and is being conducted by additional municipal commissioner Vijay Singhal. Sources also told the newspaper that a detailed, seven-page chargesheet has been issued against each official, detailing the exact reason how they failed to perform their duties.

A senior civic official privy to the inquiry was also quoted in the report as saying, "The Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act 1888 clearly stipulates the roles and responsibilities of municipal officers. Besides, we have also made use of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (Service Regulations 1989) to exactly point out their culpability."

The BMC chargesheeting its own employees for a tragedy is a new development, following up from what municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta had told Firstpost last month in an exclusive interview.

Mehta had said that BMC will emphasise on self-regulation and self-compliance, however, he had insisted that people who are responsible will be pulled up, regardless of whether they are contractors or officers.

Hitherto, officials working for BMC would be rapped or suspended, but criminal action being pursued against them for dereliction of duty is a new trend. It happened once in 2016 in a road repairs scam when three senior BMC engineers were chargesheeted.

As reported by The Times of India in October 2016, three senior BMC employees were arrested and chargesheeted for their role in the Rs 353 crore road scam. In all, 62 people have been booked in the scam and 25 have been arrested, including former chief engineers Ashok Pawar and Uday Murudkar, executive engineer Kishore Yerme, contractor Dipan Shah (the director of Relcon Infra Projects) and 10 road work quality auditors. However, the chargesheet named only the three BMC officials.

The chargesheet had accused the engineers of being in connivance with the contractors to give misleading reports about the thickness levels of the roads, so they could save the amount of material that gets used. The civic body was also given exaggerated bills. And when engineers didn't go on inspections, contractors falsified the inspection reports as well, the report said.

Furthermore, the chargesheet also contained reports that the contractors used trucks fitted with a vehicular tracking system (VTS) to bring ready-mix concrete from their factories to the sites, but then manipulated the system to alter readings for their own benefit.

Similarly, there was also the desilting scam in which the BMC took action against its own staff. In 2015, 14 BMC officials were suspended for an alleged drain desilting scam, The Times of India reported, following which the civic body said it would file a chargesheet against all the 14 officials.

The scam came to the fore after heavy rains were witnessed in 2015 that threw life out of gear in Mumbai and proved the civic body's claims of being monsoon-ready as false. Mehta had ordered a probe into the matter which found that civic officials had connived with contractors by signing payment bills even though desilting work on drains hadn't been done properly by the contractors.
The Rajasthan Assembly Thursday witnessed an uproar over the issues of farmers and the law and order situation in the state when Congress and an independent MLA boycotted the Question Hour

Jaipur: The Rajasthan Assembly Thursday witnessed an uproar over the issues of farmers and the law and order situation in the state when Congress and an independent MLA boycotted the Question Hour while a ruling party MLA cornered the BJP government over atrocities on Dalits.

Ruling party MLA Ghanshyam Tiwari also staged a walk-out after he was not allowed to speak in a debate on the governor's speech.

As soon as the House began at 11 am, Speaker Kailash Meghwal said the first question in the list was transferred to the cooperative department from the agriculture department and the answer would be given when questions for the department are listed.

The question about farmers' loan waiver was listed on the first number in a list of questions by independent legislator Nandkishore Maharia.

He opposed the transfer of the question and alleged that the government was trying to evade and is not serious on farmers issues.

Deputy Leader of Opposition Ramesh Meena and Congress MLA Sukhram staged a dharna in the Well of the House, demanding loan waivers to farmers and were joined by other Congress members.

In the meantime, Maharia tore the question paper as a protest.

The speaker asked Congress whip Govind Dotasara to maintain decorum but the Congress members ignored the speaker and continued their protest.

After nearly 10 minutes of protest in the Well of the House, Congress MLAs and independent MLA Maharia boycotted the Question Hour.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rajendra Rathore and Speaker Kailash Meghwal condemned the behaviour of the opposition members.

"The government was ready to answer the question when it is the day for the cooperative department but they behaved like this, used unparliamentary language and boycotted the session. The house condemns this," Rathore said.

At the beginning of the Zero Hour, Niwai (Tonk) BJP MLA Heera Lal raised the issue of the molestation with a minor Dalit girl in Tonk and accused the local police of not taking any action in the case.

He said the family of the minor victim met the Superintendent of Police of Tonk but she ignored them saying she had no time.

The legislator said neither the local Station House Officer nor the SP listened or sympathised with the plea of the 17-year-old girl.

The girl was allegedly molested by her school principal a few days back.

Opposition Congress, who had entered the House after the boycott, again created an uproar over the issue, saying that though the BJP MLA was targeting the government, the government was not serious about Dalit issues.

The law and order situation in the state has deteriorated, the Congress alleged, demanding a reply from Rajasthan Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria.

Kataria was not present in the House at that time.

With them, the BJP MLA also continued targeting the government and demanded that action against the local SHO and other police officials in the case.

State Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rajendra Rathore signalled Lal to sit down, but the MLA ignored it.

SP (Tonk) Preeti Jain, said the girl has alleged in the FIR that she was molested by the government school principal last week.

She informed that the girl was scheduled to record her statement before a magistrate today, but she fell sick.

Therefore, she could not record the statement and further action would be taken after it is recorded, the SP said.

BSP MLA Manoj Kumar also raised the issue of law and order, and referred to a gang-war and shootout incident that took place last month at the Rajgarh court, in Churu district.

Responding to this, Home Minister Gulabchand Kataria admitted that there was no mechanism in courts to check people entering the premises for weapons, and assured the House that a system would be put in place soon so that such incidents were not repeated.

One person had died and an advocate was injured in the firing incident at Rajgarh court on 18 January.
Traders in the national capital on Valentine's Day would present roses to officials demanding an ordinance by the Centre to end the sealing drive in Delhi

New Delhi: Traders in the national capital on Valentine's Day would present roses to officials demanding an ordinance by the Centre to end the sealing drive in New Delhi.

This would be followed up by a mega rally against the drive at the Ramleela Maidan on 15 February, traders' body Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said on Friday. Thousands of traders from across the city would participate in the rally, CAIT, general secretary, Praveen Khandelwal told reporters.

"We will press for our demand for an ordinance by the Centre to end the sealing drive," he said. Khandelwal also said that traders would also give roses to civic agency officials under the 'My Valentine-My Shop' campaign on 14 February .

The civic bodies are conducting the sealing drive against commercial units, under the supervision of a Supreme Court-appointed monitoring committee, since December last year. Scores of commercial units have been sealed and fines have been imposed on traders over violations of Delhi Master Plan 2021 and non-payment of conversion charges.

Khandelwal alleged that the sealing drive was going on in "violation" of the laws. "The so-called guilty are being punished without following the due process of the law," he said.

The confederation will approach the Supreme Court against conducting of the sealing drive by the monitoring committee. A meeting with the Union Home minister Rajnath Singh is also planned, he said
It is common knowledge that criminals and politicians lodged in jails across India enjoy the luxury of good foods and smartphones.

It is troubling how easy it is for a Pakistani terrorist to escape custody in India. On 6 February, Mohammed Naveed Jaat aka Abu Hunzalaa Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist from the Pakistani city of Multan who had been in an Indian prison since 2014escaped when his associates fired as he was brought for a medical check-up to a hospital in Srinagar. It is more troubling that in prison he had access to communications equipment, possibly a mobile phone or other internet-enabled devices to alert other militants about his upcoming visit to the hospital.

This writer is not an expert on how prisons in India are managed. But, Naveed's escape reveals that for prison officials in Jammu and Kashmir, nothing seems to have changed since the 1990s when full-blown jihadi militancy was underway in Kashmir. Some light can be shed on this issue of prison management from a book Maulana Masood Azhar wrote in 1999 when he was lodged at the Kot Bhalwal jail, near Jammu. Masood Azhar, the founder of Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM), was among three jihadis freed by India in December 1999 in exchange for the passengers of the Indian Airlines plane IC-814 hijacked to Kandahar when the Taliban were in power in Afghanistan.

During June to December 1999, Masood Azhar was provided numerous books to author a highly antisemitic book, Yehud ki Chalees Bimariyan (Forty Diseases of the Jews)  a review of which by this author will be published soon by the US-based Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI). In the Urdu book, Masood Azhar reveals that he accumulated 250 reference books. The figure of 250 was not the total number of books available at Kot Bhalwal prison but belonged to his own library in his ward. Masood Azhar also reveals that some like-minded Kashmiri militants who were about to be transferred to some other jail handed over many of these books.

While it can be understood that prisoners need to be given a few books such as the Quran to fulfil their religious obligation, it's not clear why a prisoner, especially a known terrorist, can be given so many books by jail officials. Masood Azhar also writes that he was able to procure books from Pakistan, which were delivered to him through his lawyer. As per the book's introduction, Masood Azhar signed off the first volume of the book on 20 September, 1999 when he was still in the Indian prison and sent for publication to Maktaba Hassan, a publishing house in Pakistan.

At present, two lead Pakistan-backed terror groups are active in Jammu and Kashmir: Jaish-e-Muhammad led by Masood Azhar, who operates from the Osman-o-Ali Mosque at Bahawalpur in Pakistan; and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) led by Hafiz Muhammad Saeed who functions from Al-Qadsia Mosque in Lahore. Naveed, who escaped on 6 February, belonged to LeT. During the rule of prime minister Manmohan Singh, India freed Pakistani prisoners in a gesture of goodwill, many of them militants.

In April 2011, Saiful Maluk, a militant freed by India, was given a welcome party by Jaish-e-Muhammad at Bahawalpur. In January 2011, five Jaish-e-Muhammad militants freed by India were welcomed right when they crossed the international border into Pakistan, as per a report by Haftroza Al-Qalam, an Urdu weekly published by JeM. While the intelligence agents cannot be expected to be everywhere, it still is a failure of intelligence agencies that during those years, Jaish-e-Muhammad routinely hired Indian lawyers to represent its members before courts in India, ensuring their freedom. Intelligence agencies remained in the dark about the past background of these militants.

After the escape of Naveed, a report in The Times of India highlights how prisoners in the central jail of Srinagar are able to enjoy all the luxuries of the modern world  from smartphones with internet data packs to mutton delicacies. The report also notes how Kashmiri journalists get press releases from Qasim Faktu alias Ashiq Faktu, a militant jailed for killing human right activist HN Wanchoo. The incident involving Naveed is not only unique but also reflects poorly on the Indian mindset involved in managing prisons across the country. It is common knowledge that criminals and politicians lodged in jails across India enjoy the luxury of good foods and smartphones. Escapes like that of Naveed cannot happen without the complicity of officials.

For example, on 9 February, the National Investigating Agency (NIA) arrested two Indians for terror financing of Lashkar-e-Taiba: Dinesh Garg alias Ankit Garg and Adish Kumar Jain from Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh. Others arrested on these charges include Shaikh Abdul Naeem aka Sohel Khan of Aurangabad, Dhannu Raja aka Bablu aka Bedar Bakth of Gopalganj, Touseef Ahmed Malik of Pulwama, Mahfooz Alam resident of Gopal Ganj and Abdul Samad of Roorkee. Elsewhere, this writer has argued that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is proactive across India and its agents, both Hindus and Muslims, have been routinely arrested over the past decade. Here is what we learn from incidents like Masood Azhar's ability to write a book to the escape of Naveed: the 1990s militancy in Kashmir, as well as terror attacks like 9/11 and 26/11, haven't sensitised us about how to manage prisoners and prisons in India.

The author is Senior Fellow for Islamism and Counter-Radicalization Initiative at the Middle East Media Research Institute, Washington DC. He tweets @tufailelif
Former president Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday emphasised on encouraging research, especially at the university level.

New Delhi: Former president Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday emphasised on encouraging research, especially at the university level for development of science and innovation.

He said India has 753 universities, 16 IITs, 30 NITs and many Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISCERs) and they are doing a fine job but a lot needs to be done. There is "no scope of sitting on laurels", he said.

"Basic fundamental research has to be developed in the country and particularly in the areas of higher education, especially at the university level...We must emphasise on quality education, development of science and equally emphasise on research and encourage innovative minds," Mukherjee said.

The former president was speaking at the launch of a book based on former Union Minister for Electronics and chairman of the Electronics Commission MS Sanjeevi Rao.

Mukherjee said the country's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru throughout his life emphasised on nation-building and creating scientific temperament among the people.

"He established the Atomic Energy Commission and India became a nuclear power and under the prime ministership of Manmohan Singh it was recognised internationally as a nuclear power," Mukjerjee said.

He said Nehru and his predecessors worked on applicability of science to benefit the common people.

"We are fortunate that all the prime ministers of the country, starting from Pandit Nehru, particularly Indiraji, Rajivji (Gandhi), Dr Manmohan Singh and many others have contributed very effectively in the development of science and technology," Mukherjee said.

Recalling his association with Rao, Mukherjee said he and the former Electronics Minister worked together in Parliament and in the government.

Mukherjee said he was amazed with Rao's victory margins in elections and recollected how he once went unopposed to the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly.

Several Congress veterans including former prime minister Manmohan Singh, former Defence Minister AK Antony, Anand Sharma, Deputy Opposition Leader in the Rajya Sabha, Ambika Soni, Rao's son and former Union minister MM Pallam Raju, one of the co-authors of the book, were present at the event.
The Salt Lake City school system will change the name of its Andrew Jackson Elementary School to honor Mary Jackson, NASAs first black female engineer.

Mary Jacksons story is among those depicted in the book Hidden Figures, which focused on the lives of black women who worked as mathematicians and engineers for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration during the Space Race. A film adaptation of the book was released in 2016. Jackson also worked as a math teacher in an all-black school in Calvery County, Md., before rising through the ranks at NASA.

Jackson Elementary opened in the 1890s as a one-room schoolhouse. When the change occurs, the 550-student school may also be the first Utah K-12 school named for a woman, the Salt Lake Tribune reports .

The school, which has an English-Spanish dual-language-immersion program, has a note on its website that reads, Our students represent the diversity of America.

Andrew Jackson, who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837, was a slave-trader. Abolitionist Harriet Tubman is eventually slated to replace Jackson on the front of the $20 bill.

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A government school principal and a teacher have been arrested on the charge of raping a 16-year-old Dalit girl student in Jagraon sub-division of Punjab

Chandigarh: A government school principal and a teacher have been arrested on the charge of raping a 16-year-old Dalit girl student in Jagraon sub-division of Punjab, police said on Thursday.

Both have been booked under the POCSO Act, apart from other relevant provisions of the law.

The crime was allegedly committed a year ago but came to light after another teacher came across a WhatsApp audio message in which two men - reportedly the accused principal and teacher - were heard discussing the Class 11 student's abortion.

After the matter was brought to the notice of police and other authorities, the girl's statement was recorded before a duty magistrate.

Accused teacher Harjit Singh and school head Bharat Bhushan have been booked for rape and criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, Information Technology Act, and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Police sources said after the girl became pregnant after rape, she was forced to abort and threatened to keep quiet about the matter.

Ludhiana (Rural) Senior Superintendent of Police Surjit Singh told the media that the teenager alleged that she was raped by the teacher in the school library.

The teacher is no longer posted in the school where the girl was studying.

The Punjab State Commission for Protection of Child Rights has sought a report from the District Education Officer in this matter.
High-profile investor and Seedfund co-founder Mahesh Murthy was arrested by the Mumbai Police on Friday in a sexual harassment case against him.

Mahesh Murthy, high-profile investor in the Indian startup ecosystem and Seedfund co-founder, was arrested by the Mumbai police on Friday in a sexual harassment case registered in January against him, according to several media reports.

Hindustan Times reported that Murthy was arrested from his Mumbai residence on Friday after he returned from Goa in the morning. He has been accused of sexually harassing a Delhi-based woman and using obscene language in their interaction on WhatsApp.

"We have arrested him under Sections 354 (D) (stalking) and 509 (word, act or gesture to outrage modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code and under relevant sections of the Information Technology Act," Senior Inspector Ramchandra Jadhav of Khar police station was quoted as saying by DNA.

The police had filed an FIR against Murthy in January following several complaints from women to the National Commission of Women (NCW) about his alleged use of objectionable language against them online.

NCW took to Twitter to confirm the report on Murthy's arrest.

Based on a complaint filed at the Commission and following NCWs successful intervention, #MaheshMurthy has been arrested by @MumbaiPolice today u/Sec 354 IPC read with 67A of IT Act. @sharmarekha @MinistryWCD  NCW (@NCWIndia) February 9, 2018

According to Hindustan Times, one of the women had approached the commission in 2017 with a written complaint alleging that Murthy used "objectionable, derogatory, obscene signs and sexual remarks" against her on social media.

Following the filing of the case, the venture capitalist had told the police that he never met the complainant and it was just one WhatsApp message that was being held against him, according to Mumbai Mirror .

On 25 December 2016, the woman sent me Christmas greetings via WhatsApp and I replied with the lips emoticon. She found this message objectionable and started venting her anger on social networking sites. When I came to know about it, I apologised to her and she accepted it, the report quoted Murthy as telling the police.

Murthy had reportedly got interim relief from a Mumbai court till 30 January.

Early in 2017, a series of complaints surfaced on social media against Murthy.

Entrepreneur Pooja Chauhan had called out Murthy on her LinkedIn page, alleging that Murthy had shared a lewd response to her Christmas greeting. This encouraged another entrepreneur Wamika Iyer, founder of FrshDay.in to share her experience. Iyer said that she approached Murthy for mentorship and received responses which were sexual in nature.

However, Murthy rejected the claims in a blog post in February 2017.
Group Captain Arun Marwaha, 51, who was posted at the IAF headquarters in New Delhi, was suspected of leaking official documents on new fields of cyber warfare, space and special operations

An Indian Air Force officer, who was taken into custody by the counter intelligence wing of the force for alleged involvement in espionage and leaking classified documents to Pakistan's ISI, has been charged under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) and handed over to the police, sources said.

Group Captain Arun Marwaha, 51, who was posted at the IAF headquarters in New Delhi, was suspected of leaking official documents on new fields of cyber warfare, space and special operations, according to NDTV. Marwaha was handed over to Delhi Police on Wednesday after nearly 10 days of questioning by the counter-intelligence wing of the force.

"The Delhi Police will now carry forward the probe. The officer has been slapped charges under Official Secrets Act," a source told PTI.

As per media reports, the IAF officer befriended an ISI agent on Facebook in mid-December, who posed as a model. The two chatted on Facebook for a while before exchanging numbers and communicating through WhatsApp, reported Deccan Chronicle. After a week of "flirtatious" conversation over WhatsApp, the woman reportedly lured the officer to leak classified documents through WhatsApp.

According to The Indian Express, Marwaha, who faces imprisonment up to seven years under the Officials Secrecy Act, confessed to leaking the documents. However, the report also added that Marwaha shared classified documents with two women.

"During questioning, he admitted that he had taken pictures of the classified documents, which were in his custody, on his cellphone. He also confessed that he had sent the pictures of the documents to the two women on WhatsApp and Telegram chats. His cellphone was recovered, and sent to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) of the CBI, the report quoted a senior police officer as saying.

The officer was caught red-handed with his cellphone, which is not permitted, at the IAF headquarters. Police officials said they are in regular contact with the Intelligence Bureau and Research and Analysis Wing.

The investigators from IAF's counter intelligence wing were also probing if he was part of a larger espionage ring being run from Pakistan, sources said. The officer was indulging in certain "unwanted activities" through unauthorised electronic devices which is against existing orders, sources had told PTI.

The IAF officially did not comment on the matter.

With inputs from PTI
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit the United Arab Emirates (UAE) during his West Asia trip.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit the United Arab Emirates (UAE) during his West Asia trip. Modi, who will be in the UAE on 10 and 11 February, is slated to address the sixth World Government Summit in Dubai. This will be Modi's second UAE trip  the first was in August 2015, when Modi became the first Indian leader to visit the UAE in 34 years. The trip is seen as the government attempting to further bilateral ties with the oil-rich nation.

According to a report in the Economic Times, security and economic ties between the two nations have deepened since Modi's 2015 visit and since India reciprocated by inviting many Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders to the 2017 Republic Day parade, including Abu Dhabi crown prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who was the chief guest and who Modi broke all protocol to greet at the airport. Indeed, India and the UAE used the afterglow of both visits to sign a slew of bilateral agreements.

Khaleej Times reported that in February 2016, during Al Nahyan's visit to New Delhi, India and the UAE signed agreements on cyber security, infrastructure investment and insurance. Nahyan and Modi deliberated extensively on combating the threat of terrorism including from the Islamic State, and explored ways to enhance bilateral cooperation in counter-terrorism, maritime security and defence, the newspaper reported.

According to a report in Livemint, in February 2017, the countries signed several pacts, including one to boost Indias energy security by establishing a framework for setting up a strategic reserve of crude by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co, and agreed to ramp up defence cooperation, including manufacturing and research and development between public and private sector institutions of the two countries. However, an agreement which aimed at assembling an administrative structure for the management of funds from the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and Indias National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) did not materialise, according to the report.

This Firstpost article argued that while the media attention focused on investment between the two nations, it is security where the most progress has been made. "While India and UAE agreed signed an extradition treaty back in 2000, they did little else which could be considered a component of a strategic relationship," the article stated. "However, during Modi's landmark 2015 visit, they agreed to elevate the relationship to a 'comprehensive strategic partnership' and stated that they were looking 'forward to the early signing of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement' during Mohammed's February 2016 visit to India, and both sides finalised and signed a framework agreement", the article stated.

Suparna Dutt D'Cunha, writing in Forbes, argued that four high-level visits in the last three years have expanded relations between the countries. "PM Modis government has sped up the process to transform the ties between India and the UAE from just a buyer-seller relationship into a strategic alliance. The initial momentum to elevate the bilateral relations came from the comprehensive strategic partnership, signed by Al Nahyan and Modi."

"The initial momentum to elevate the bilateral relations came from the comprehensive strategic partnership, signed last year by Al Nahyan and Modi," she wrote, adding that Indian ambassador to the UAE Navdeep Singh Suri, praising India's relationship with the Gulf nation, used the golden era. "That is not an exaggeration," she wrote in Forbes.

'UAE's $75 billion pledge unfulfilled'

However, Rajeev Sharma, a commentator on global strategic affairs, speaking to the UAE newspaper The National, said that Modi would be looking to follow up on the UAE pledging to invest $75 billion in India, a promise which was made two-and-a-half years ago during his Abu Dhabi visit. Sharma stated that although a deal worth $1 billion was announced last year, it remains unclear whether the amount was transferred to India.

Nothing concrete has been achieved on this front yet. The Modi government needs this fund at the soonest possible for its own domestic political reasons. With elections due in 2019, if the $75bn UAE investment were to materialise quickly, it would demonstrate to the electorate the Hindu nationalist governments credibility in the international community, particularly as it would be coming from a Muslim nation like the UAE, Sharma told the newspaper.

'Second visit indicates importance of relationship'

"Prime Minister Narendra Modis second visit to the UAE is an indication of the special importance we attach to the India-UAE relationship," India's Ambassador to the UAE Navdeep Singh Suri said. According to him, the visit builds in the momentum that has developed since India hosted Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed as chief guest on Republic Day in 2017.

Besides bilateral engagements, Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to address members of the Indian community at the Dubai Opera House. "During the year, we have seen major UAE investments into India, a significant increase in defence and security cooperation, a transformation in our energy ties from a buyer-seller relationship to a strategic partnership. "For the community, the first Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi will be great news," Suri said.

Echoing Suris sentiments, the UAE ambassador to India Ahmed Al-Banna said the visit "tells us the direction that India and the UAE have in mind and also the characteristics of our respective leaderships."

"The leadership has put us on a challenging and interesting track where the relationship is very important, on many sectors, and our leaders are pushing to rewrite future plans for both nations," Al-Banna said. While Ambassador Suri highlighted the trade and investment component of this rapidly-evolving relationship, Ambassador Al-Banna chose to emphasise on the connectivity aspect of it.

"There are 1,076 flights a week between India and the UAE, which is the largest operation of its kind. More than 50 percent of Indians, who travel outside India to different destinations, such as Europe or America, use Dubai and Abu Dhabi as their transit hub," he said. Close to three million Indians are living in the UAE and repatriating $13.6 billion a year from the Gulf nation to India.

With inputs from PTI
Opposition leaders are set to meet President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday at 5 pm to discuss CBI Special Judge BH Loya's death case

Opposition leaders are set to meet President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday at 5 pm to discuss CBI Special Judge BH Loya's death case, according to media reports.

Opposition leaders to meet President Ram Nath Kovind today at 5 pm over #JudgeLoya death case.  ANI (@ANI) February 9, 2018

The meeting comes two days after it was reported that several Opposition members and Members of Parliament from both Houses had signed a three-page letter to the president regarding suspicions surrounding Judge Loya's death. The letter spoke of the need for an independent probe explaining the case in detail and mentions the new "revelations" related to the case.

Judge BH Loya, who was hearing the sensitive Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case, had died of cardiac arrest in Nagpur on 1 December, 2014, when he had gone to attend the wedding of a colleagues daughter. Some members of Loyas family had alleged foul play in his death.

On 31 January, Congress leader Kapil Sibal held a press conference in New Delhi demanding Loya's death must be probed independently by a Supreme Court-monitored Special Investigation Team.

Addressing the media, 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.

The petitioners in the case have also urged the Supreme Court to order an independent probe 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.

During a hearing on the case, the Supreme Court on Monday warned that the courtroom should not be reduced to the level of a "fish market" after heated exchanges broke out.

As the hearing in the cases heated up again, the apex court took umbrage at the verbal duel between two senior lawyers Dushayan Dave and Pallav Shishodia, calling it "unacceptable".

The bench fixed the matter for further hearing on 9 February.
The Maharashtra government opposed in the Supreme Court the pleas seeking an independent probe of the death of special CBI judge BH Loya, terming them as 'motivated' and based on 'yellow journalism'.

New Delhi: The Maharashtra government on Friday opposed in the Supreme Court the pleas seeking an independent probe of the death of special CBI judge BH Loya, terming them as "motivated" and based on "yellow journalism".

Loya, who was hearing the high-profile Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case, had died allegedly of cardiac arrest in Nagpur on 1 December, 2014 when he had gone to attend the wedding of a colleague's daughter.

"This hearing must come to an end after four judicial officers have recorded their statements. Either these judges will have to be believed or this court will have to say that they all are lying," senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Maharashtra, told a bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud.

Rohatgi objected to the submissions of senior advocate Indira Jaising, appearing for former Navy chief Laxminarayan Ramdas, and said that a person, who is seeking to intervene in the case, cannot be allowed to argue on facts and should confine oneself to the law.

Jaising, who referred to sequence of events to highlight her submission that a probe was needed to rule out any foul play, alleged a trial court judge in the Sohrabuddin case was transferred in a "tearing hurry".

Responding to her contention, Rohatgi said the trial in the case commenced six months back and that Jaising was raising the issue of the transfer of the judge hearing the case in 2014. He also referred to the apex court order that the special CBI judge hearing the case will not be transferred once the trial starts.

"Do you want to say that I have filed a motivated application," Jaising asked, adding that she did not care.

"Yes, this is a motivated petition based on yellow journalism," Rohatgi replied, adding that judicial time should not be wasted in this manner.

At the outset, Jaising referred to the first police report in the death of Loya, and said that requisites of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) were not followed.

After preparing the inquest report under Section 174 of CrPC, the police should have filed its report before the judicial magistrate concerned which was not done, she said.

Even the name of the deceased judge was "misspelt" in the records despite the claim that four judges accompanied him to hospitals and this gave rise to suspicion, she said. Prashant Rathi, to whom Loya's body was handed over, was not his close blood relative, she said. Moreover, the 'panchanama' of Loya's belongings was not done by police, she said, adding the mobile phone of the deceased was returned to his family after five days.

Noting that the case diary was the most "crucial" document to ascertain the veracity of the sequence of events, she said police claimed that ECG was done on Loya at a hospital, but the report has not been filed before the court.

Jaising referred to the statement of judge RR Rathi, who had accompanied Loya to hospitals and said that ECG machine was not functioning at the hospital where he was taken first on the fateful morning of 1 December, 2014.

Loya had no clinical history of any heart ailment and this has to considered while ascertaining the cause of the death, she said, and insisted on an independent probe monitored by the apex court.

At the fag end of the hearing, the bench objected to the reference of Justice Chandrachud's observations in the written submissions filed by All India Lawyers Association, an intervenor in the case.

"How can you make observations in the open court part of your note? This can't be done," the bench said, adding that questions asked during the hearing did not indicate the opinion of the judges.

The bar body promptly said it would delete the part of the submission containing observations of Justice Chandrachud. The bench would resume hearing the pleas on 12 February.

The bench is hearing pleas including those filed by Congress leader Tehseen Poonawala and Maharashtra-based BS Lone seeking an independent probe into Loya's death in 2014.

The top court had earlier transferred to itself pleas pending in the Bombay High Court on Loya's death and restrained other courts from entertaining any petitions relating to it.

BJP chief Amit Shah was an accused in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case which had happened when he was Minister of State for Home in Gujarat. He was, however, later discharged.
As things stand, after three days in detention, Khaleda Zia can apply for bail and experts say the judge has the discretion to not bar her from contesting the December elections, although such a course appears unlikely

The conviction and rigorous imprisonment for five years of Bangladeshs Opposition leader and former prime minister Khaleda Zia by a Dhaka special court is cool comfort for India that has had a consistently happy relationship with her bete noire and current prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

It would be impolitic for the Narendra Modi government to say so in public, but that Hasina is the best bet for India is indisputable. Right since the days of Bangladesh's first prime minister. Mujibur Rahman when he and then Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi enjoyed an excellent equation, New Delhi under various governments and Mujibs daughter Hasina have had close ties. The thought of Khaleda returning to power in this Decembers election had been worrying New Delhi since, by common perception, Khaledas two terms as prime minister  1991-96 and 2001-06  were years of Bangladeshs unholy nexus with Indias northeastern separatists and of an undercurrent of strained relations with India .

By contrast, Hasina has been well-disposed towards India and has proved it by her actions.

With China assiduously wooing Bangladesh especially after Chinese president Xi Jinping visited Bangladesh in 2016, and dramatically handed over a cheque for $26 billion to Hasina, Khaleda could well have taken the equation further with Beijing if she had returned to power. Now, it is on the cards that because of the conviction, Khaleda will be barred from contesting elections and Hasinas reign will continue smoothly. Predictably, the Hasina regime will cold-shoulder Beijing beyond a point.

Xi followed his visit to Dhaka with the sale of two submarines from China and also allowed Chinese companies to build some infrastructure around the Chittagong port. But the underlying subtle message from Bangladesh is 'thus far and no further'.

The principal troublemaker for India in Khaleda's dispensation was her son Tarique Rahman who is now living in hiding in the UK and has been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment in the same case as his mother  the Zia Charitable Trust corruption case  for misappropriation of funds. Tarique was a pastmaster at needling India when Khaleda was in the saddle, funnel;ing secret funding and giving shelter to dreaded Indian separatists like Paresh Baruah.

What has queered the pitch for Khaleda further is the charge by Saudi authorities as part of the Crown Princes crusade against corruption that she was complicit in money-laundering and corruption, and that she and her sons had an investment of around $12 billion in malls and other infrastructure projects in Saudi Arabia. What was funnelled was money made through bribery and extortion. While Tarique is in the dock, equally into shady deals was Khaleda's other son Arafat alias Koko, who died in January 2015, the Saudis say.

As things stand, after three days in detention, Khaleda can apply for bail and experts say the judge has the discretion to not bar her from contesting the December elections, although such a course appears unlikely.

If the Opposition leader is not barred, she could well pose a challenge to Hasina whose uninterrupted decade-long rule has made her unpopular with some sections of the populace. But the Saudi narrative could well compound the damage that has been done to her by the latest corruption case for which she has been hauled up by the special court.

The example of the Maldives is fresh in the minds of Indian policymakers where China has been able to expand its footprint because of Indias lack of an equation with President Abdulla Yameen after he took over from pro-India Mohamed Nasheed. Significantly, when External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj visited Dhaka a few months ago, she made it a point to call on Khaleda.

There indeed are few parallels of the animosity between Hasina and Khaleda. They are at daggers drawn. It was small wonder, therefore, when Hasina, who blames Khaleda for having incited violence against her party during 2013-15 said at a recent public rally, "The Throne of the Almighty Allah gets shaken when one carries out repression on people. Those who burnt people to death face such consequences. And that justice is being done."

History too has played a role in the bad blood between Hasina and Khaleda. While Hasina nurses a grudge against Khaleda for her husbands purported role in her father Mujib's assassination, Khaleda blames Hasina for a role in her husbands assassination. All in all, Khaleda looks to be on a sticky wicket. Not only does she have to contend with the current case, there are other cases in the pipeline too that could pin her down on corruption, bribery and perhaps even murder.

As for India, it can ill-afford to adopt the big-brotherly, patronising attitude that it did towards Nepal. The sensitivities of people have to be respected and handled with care.
Kolkata Police rushed to the spot to contain the situation and took the accused teacher in custody.

A teacher of the Carmel Primary School in Kolkata has been arrested for allegedly molesting a minor, on Friday, after angry parents surrounded the school and demanded access to the accused, several media reports said.

According to a report in India Today, a Class 2 student was molested by her dance teacher at the school in Rashbehari Avenue near Deshapriya Park. . CNN-News18 said that the teacher had been harassing the child for months now, and had threatened to bury her alive if she complained. The child reported the incident to her parents, who in turn, informed their relatives and other parents. The angry parents then surrounded the school and demanded that the accused teacher be handed over to them.

One of the agitating parents alleged that the school authorities tried to downplay the matter when they were informed about it. "It was then we decided to stage a protest outside the school," he said.

Kolkata Police rushed to the spot to contain the situation and took the accused teacher in custody. The police also managed to safely escort him away from the angry parents and an investigation has been launched.

The India Today report also said that a policeman was reportedly injured while trying to shield the accused from the beatings of the angry parents.

Another report in Zee news said that the molestation was going on for almost a year. The parents also alleged that the school was trying to shield the accused and had not made enough security arrangements, including CCTV cameras on the campus.

Police officials, who reached the spot to control the agitators, were also heckled. "We have taken the teacher with us to the police station," a senior police officer said, adding the parents assaulted the accused when he was being taken away.

The incident comes almost two months after the GD Birla sexual harassment case, in which two school teachers were arrested for allegedly trying to rape a 4-year-old child. The police have arrested the two physical training teachers in connection with the incident and have also formed a special committee to look into the allegations of negligence and false representation on part of the school. The incident also led to the dismissal of the school principal, who refused to take responsibility for the lack of CCTV cameras in the school.

As the guardians stood demonstrating outside the Carmel Primary School the scene was eerily similar to the disquiet outside GD Birla Centre for Education in posh south Kolkata locality, where angry parents had camped outside the school for hours, leaving the principal and staff stuck inside the school.

The same educational incident was also at the centre of another similar incident in 2014. According to The Indian Express, a six-year-old girl was molested on her way to the washroom by the driver and the helper of a Volvo bus, hired by the school to ferry the students to a cultural event.

"When the girl returned home, she was bleeding profusely and had to be treated at a private hospital. Her parents met the school authorities with a medical report of the child the next day, but the school allegedly tried to hush up the incident on the grounds that it might tarnish the schools reputation and also affect the childs future," the report said.
Meghalaya CM Mukul Sangma hit out at Centre for rejecting the visa application of Baptist World Alliance chief, Reverend Paul Msiza, to attend the 150 years celebrations of Christianity in the state's Garo Hills region

Shillong: Meghalaya chief minister Mukul Sangma on Thursday hit out at the NDA Central government for rejecting the visa application of Baptist World Alliance chief, Reverend Paul Msiza, to attend the 150 years celebrations of Christianity in the state's Garo Hills region.

"It is highly condemnable to reject the visa application of a global religious leader to attend the sesquicentenary celebrations of Christianity organised by the Garo Baptist Convention.

"In the past, many religious leaders be it Pope (John Paul II) or Dalai Lama or Sri Sri Ravi Shankar have visited Meghalaya without any objection. We have never opposed to any of their visit since we have no hidden agenda," Sangma said, adding the step only demonstrates the hidden agenda of the BJP government against the Christians and other religious communities.

The Garo Baptist Convention is celebrating 150 years of Christianity at Rajasimla in East Garo Hills from 8-11 February. The Baptist Church set foot in Garo Hills at Rajasimla in 1867.

The BJP which is trying to unseat the ruling Congress in the Christian-dominated state, said that the issue is being "communalised".

"Why are you giving this a communal and religious angle. Countries like England and Canada rejects visas to so many people irrespective of their religion. So does it mean these countries are anti-Christians? Ministry of External Affairs has to follow a standard protocol," said Union Tourism Minister KJ Alphons.

Condemning the development, Hill State People's Democratic Party President, Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit said, "BJP is not a secular party.... This is not the first time that the BJP government is not allowing the foreign Christian missionaries to visit India. We do not know why BJP is so against the Christians communities in India."

The Baptist World Alliance is a worldwide alliance of Baptist churches and organisations, formed in 1905 in London.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Jordan on the first leg of his tour of three West Asian countries, including Palestine, during which he would hold talks on deepening cooperation in strategic areas such as security and trade

Amman: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday arrived in Jordan on the first leg of his tour of three West Asian countries, including Palestine, during which he would hold talks on deepening cooperation in strategic areas such as security and trade.

"We arrived in Amman. I am very grateful to His Majesty King Abdullah II for facilitating flight and access," Modi tweeted after landing in Amman.

Landed in Amman. I thank His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan for facilitating the transit: PM @narendramodi pic.twitter.com/padkgjKAR9  PMO India (@PMOIndia) February 9, 2018

The prime minister's visit will begin from Palestine from Saturday after transiting through Jordan, where he will meet King Abdullah later in the day.

Describing the Gulf and West Asia region was a "key priority" in India's external engagement, Modi ahead of his visit said his trip was aimed at strengthening ties with the region.

He said it would be his fifth visit to the Gulf and the West Asian region since 2015.

"This region is a key priority in our external engagement. We enjoy vibrant multi-dimensional ties with the countries here. I look forward to strengthening India's growing and important ties with West Asia and the Gulf region through the visit," Modi had said in his departure statement.

More than nine million Indians work and live in the Gulf region, of which about one third live in the UAE alone. In Oman, they constitute the largest expatriate community, he noted.
Utahs state board of education last week voted to ask for a waiver from the Every Student Succeeds Act instead of complying with requirements that it sanction schools that dont test at least 95 percent of their students.

Utahs statewide laws contradict the federal laws testing requirements, and state board members decided last week that theyd rather abide by the states laws instead of the federal laws. Close to 6 percent of the states students last year opted out of Utahs SAGE test. A state law protects any parent that would like to opt out of the test.

In order to get a waiver from the law, Utah faces significant hurdles.

Under ESSA, any state seeking a waiver must prove to the federal government that what its proposing to do is just as, or more, effective than what the federal law requires. The politically thorny process can take months and pit local, state and federal officials against each other.

Last month, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy Devos rejected New Yorks waiver request to create special testing rules for students with disabilities or those still learning English. And DeVos department is in a standoff with Colorados state education department which wrote an ESSA plan that conflicts with the opt-out provision.

In Utah, board members used its meeting last week as a sort of rally to support state law rather than federal law.

We are in control of our education system, and we are going to follow our state laws, said Alisa Ellis, the state boards vice-chairwoman, according to the Salt Lake Tribune . The state receives close to $123 million from the federal government in order to assist its poor students. But board members last week encouraged state legislators to replenish schools with that money if the federal government rejects their waiver.

An Education Week analysis of state plans shows that of the 34 states that turned in their ESSA plans last fall, only 11 technically punish schools if fewer than 95 percent of students participate in the state test.

Proponents of the 95 percent participation rule argue that enough students have to participate in a states proficiency exams in order for the state department to properly assess where schools need help.

Opponents to the rule argue that standardized tests are not a legitimate way to evaluate teachers and schools and that the pressures to perform well on the high-stakes tests have come to overwhelm the day-to-day goings on in schools.

Several states testing and accountability laws conflict with ESSA.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked BJP MPs to take welfare schemes announced in the budget to the masses, saying that popularising them would lead to the party winning in the polls

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked BJP MPs to take welfare schemes announced in the budget to the masses, saying that popularising them would lead to the party winning in the polls, according to leaders present at the meeting on Friday.

The MPs' success is linked to the party's performance, the prime minister told the BJP parliamentary meeting, the

leaders said.

Party president Amit Shah also spoke at the meeting and blamed Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's "undemocratic" politics for his party members heckling the prime minister during his speech in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

Modi dwelt at length on the Union budget, calling it especially positive for farmers and the poor while citing the announcement of a health insurance scheme for 10 crore families, parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar told reporters.

Modi asked MPs to inform the masses about various pro- people features of the budget.

The prime minister also asked the gathering to hold meetings at booths to take various welfare schemes announced in the budget to people and run intensive campaigns to propagate them, Kumar said.

Some leaders present in the meeting later said the prime minister underlined the importance of popularising these

schemes for winning polls and told them that their win was linked to the party's victory. He asked them to hold mock parliaments in various places to discuss the budget and praised finance minister Arun Jaitley's reply in the Lok Sabha during a discussion on it.

Modi also heaped praise on Shah for his maiden speech in the Rajya Sabha. Modi made a reference to his rally in Tripura, which goes to the polls on 18 February, on Thursday and said a huge crowd had arrived despite attempts of the state's Left government to prevent people from attending it. Shah hit out at Congress chief Rahul Gandhi in his

address, Kumar said.

Never before in the parliamentary history was a prime minister's reply to the president's address disrupted by the Oppositon, Shah said, referring to Congress protests in the well of the Lok Sabha during Modi's over 90-minute speech on Wednesday.

Gandhi's mindset is "undemocratic" and that is why the prime minister had to speak amid disruptions, he said.

When Manmohan Singh was prime minister for over 10 years, such a situation never occurred, he said.

Shah also touched on the Congress' attack on the government over the Rafale aircraft deal, saying Jaitley in

his speech had touched on its various aspects. "The broader details of the deal have been shared in Parliament. But every detail, including those about its weapons and their cost, cannot be made public," Kumar quoted Shah as saying.
After authoring a book on the issue, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will now address students' examination-related concerns in person on 16 February.

New Delhi: After authoring a book on the issue, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will now address students' examination-related concerns in person on 16 February at Talkatora Stadium in New Delhi where school students from across the country are expected.

On Thursday, Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Prakash Javadekar said he had directed the state education ministers to relay the programmes in all schools and colleges.

"We all know about the book now ('Exam Warriors' written by Modi), but since exams are a big exercise where around 29 crore school children and three crore colleges students take part... So, this is not a political topic, it's a household topic."

"To address the students' concerns, prime minister will hold a 'Pareeksha Pe Charcha' on 16 February, where he will tell the children how to give stress-free examination," Javadekar told reporters in New Delhi.

"I have recommended to education ministers of all states (except West Bengal) to relay the programme in institutions of learning at all levels," he added.

The minister also said that the government would implement its Prime Minister Research Fellowship scheme from this academic season, under which 1,000 meritorious B Tech students would get scholarship of Rs 70,000 and a one time research grant of Rs 2 lakh.

The scheme which has been allocated a total budget of Rs 1,650 crore, was given the cabinet approval on Wednesday.

"This is the most ambitious scheme...this is the biggest scholarship for research. At present, the maximum amount any scholarship gives is Rs 28,000," Javadekar said.

He said that the scholarship holders would also be exempted from doing masters and allowed to enrol directly for PhD.

"Only those countries advance which are innovating. We are not an innovating country...Our attempt is to turn the 'brain drain' into 'brain gain', which we will achieve by providing guidance, research facilities and scholarships  things for which our students go to foreign shores," said the minister.
It was a surprise when Modi spoke to Gulf News ahead of his three-nation tour to Palestine, United Arab Emirates and Oman.

Narendra Modi gave an interview to Xpress, a UAE-based weekly newspaper, ahead of his three-nation tour to Palestine, United Arab Emirates and Oman. The interview, which was published on 7 February, was largely centered around the prime minister's personal interests and daily routines, but it also shed light on his bilateral visit to the UAE and the agenda he seeks to pursue when he meets the leadership of UAE.

The prime minister told the Dubai-based news organisation that "energy and infrastructural investments" will remain the key focus of his visit and his interactions with the UAE leadership. He said that several of the initiatives agreed upon between the two countries previously have "come to fruition now."

Modi last visited the UAE in August 2015, in what was the first ever visit to the UAE by an Indian prime minister. Subsequently Abu Dhabi's crown prince Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed visited India in 2017 when he was the chief guest of the Republic Day Parade.

Highlighting the growing bilateral relationships between the two nations, the prime minister also commented on the existing cooperation and people-to-people contact.

"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 told Xpress.

"The Indian community has acted as a bridge between the two countries and I hope my visit will further strengthen these ties," he added saying that the UAE is home to over three million people of Indian origin.

During the visit, Modi said he will engage with leading UAE and Arab CEOs in Dubai on the vast economic opportunities in India and what more can be done to bolster business collaboration. In a tweet put out on Thursday, Modi said that he will be holding talks with the crown prince and the ruler and prime minister of Abu Dhabi.

In UAE, I will hold talks with His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi. @HHShkMohd @MohamedBinZayed  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 8, 2018

The prime minister will also address the sixth edition of the World Government Summit on the UAE government's invitation as India is also designated the Guest of Honour country.

At the invitation of the leadership of the UAE, I will be addressing the 6th edition of the @WorldGovSummit in Dubai, where India is the Guest Country of Honour. https://t.co/Kq3smWsJp9  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 8, 2018

Describing the Gulf country as a "valued strategic partner", Modi said that India has fast-tracked cooperation with the UAE in all major spheres, including economy, energy, high technology and security.

Meanwhile, apart from the bilateral issues, Modi's interview also gave some insight into his personal life. The prime minister answered questions about a number of aspects, including his morning routine to his favourite food items. When asked about his favourite food, he said that he is not much of a foodie and enjoys a simple vegetarian meal. He also denied reports that a personal butler accompanies him on foreign tours, and said that he was happy to accept whatever his "gracious hosts" offer him.

The prime minister is on the three-nation tour from 9-12 February. He said it would be his fifth visit to the Gulf and the West Asian region since 2015. "This region is a key priority in our external engagement. We enjoy vibrant multi-dimensional ties with the countries here," he said. "I look forward to strengthening India's growing and important ties with West Asia and the Gulf region through the visit," Modi said. The prime minister said he will visit the UAE from 10-11 February.
The NHRC has taken cognisance of a complaint filed by three children of Army officers alleging the violation of human rights of the force's personnel in recent incidents of stone-pelting in Jammu and Kashmir

New Delhi: The NHRC has taken cognisance of a complaint filed by three children of army officers alleging the violation of human rights of the force's personnel in recent incidents of stone-pelting in Jammu and Kashmir.

In a statement on Friday, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said the complainants have also sought its "intervention for an appropriate enquiry into the incident of stone-pelting and assault by an unruly and disruptive mob on army personnel in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir on 27 January".

In their complaint, the children have said they were "disturbed" by the recent incidents of stone-pelting and assaults by mobs on security forces, according to the statement.

The commission has observed that in view of the facts narrated and allegations levelled in the complaint, "it will be appropriate to call for a factual report from the Ministry of Defence, through its secretary, to know the present status of the situation and steps taken by the Union government on the points raised by the complainants regarding alleged humiliation and violation of the human rights of the Army personnel in the state of Jammu and Kashmir".

A communication has been sent to the defence secretary, seeking a report in four weeks, it said.

The complaint has also raised the issue of safety of soldiers and officers of the Army deployed in insurgency-hit areas in Jammu and Kashmir and other states.

It has sought to draw the attention of the commission to the "innumerable and frequent instances of violation of human rights of the army personnel, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir", the statement said.

Quoting news reports, the complaint said that though the "attack on an Army convoy in Shopian district was completely unprovoked and unwarranted, still an FIR was registered against army personnel".

"They (children) quoted, date-wise, a series of incidents wherein, allegedly, the Army faced hostilities from the very people it was deployed to protect. Not only that, even FIRs were registered against the army," the statement said.

The complaint also alleged that the administration, which is being assisted by the army, had "failed to safeguard the human rights of the members of the armed forces".

It cited "instances of various countries, wherein severe punishment is meted out to those involved in stone-pelting on armed forces", the statement added.
NIA has arrested two men, suspected to be hawala operators, from UP in connection with its probe into activities of Pakistan-based Lashker-e-Taiba in India

New Delhi: The NIA has arrested two men, suspected to be hawala operators, from Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh in connection with its probe into the activities of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba in India, an agency spokesperson said in New Delhi on Thursday.

With these arrests, the total number of people taken into custody in this case has risen to seven, he said.

The two have been identified as Dinesh Garg alias Ankit Garg (34) and Adish Kumar Jain (57), the National Investigation Agency said, adding they were "acting as hawala

operators".

The spokesperson said the central probe agency had searched the premises of the two men in Muzaffarnaghar on 3 February.

According to him, they were "in telephonic contact with some Indian gold smugglers, based in the Saudi Arabia".

They were found "paying the cost of the smuggled gold purchased by them in cash to their conduits and couriers", he said.

One of the conduits, the spokesperson said, was Abdul Samad, arrested in this case a few days ago. Samad is said to be a hawala operative.

He said the agency had found cash worth Rs 15 lakh, two note counting machines, a pistol and some ammunition, a laptop, four mobile phones and a few documents after searches during Dinesh Garg's premises.

It had also found Rs 32.84 lakh in cash, a Chinese-made pistol, some documents containing mobile numbers of associates and currencies of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, the US, Japan, Thailand, Oman, and two laptops and three mobile phones from the premises of Jain, the spokesperson said.

The NIA, in the recent past, had arrested Shaikh Abdul Naeem of Aurangabad in Maharashtra, Dhannu Raja and Mahfooz Alam, both residents of Gopalganj in Bihar, and Touseef Ahmed Malik from Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir.

The case started with Shaikh 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, they said. 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 Kashmir Valley were surveyed, they had said.

The 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 three owners of the 1Above pub were arrested in Mumbai for allegedly not having paid Provident Fund (PF) to the tune of Rs 8.65 lakh to nearly 100 employees.

The three owners of the 1Above pub, which was gutted in a fire in the Kamala Mills Compound in Mumbai last year, were arrested on Thursday for allegedly not having paid Provident Fund (PF) to the tune of Rs 8.65 lakh to nearly 100 employees.

NM Joshi Marg police arrested Kripesh Sanghvi, his brother Jigar and their partner Abhijeet Mankar, confirmed Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Zone III, Virendra Mishra.

The trio was booked on 20 January, according to The Hindu, for deducting money from nearly 100 employees' salaries and not depositing it in their Provident Fund accounts. Provident Fund forms a part of the cost to company (CTC) and it is mandatory for the employer to maintain such an account under the Employees Provident Fund Act of 1952.

The three of them have been booked under Section 406 (punishment for criminal breach of trust) and Section 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant, or by banker, merchant or agent) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 14 (filing prosecution against defaulters) of Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Act 1952, reported Hindustan Times. The case was registered after the Kamala Mills fire and the arrests were made on Thursday, the DCP told PTI. They were produced before the Bhoiwada court and are now in police custody.

The 1Above owners were already in custody in connection with the Kamala Mills fire case, along with Mojo's Bistro's owners Yug Pathak and Yug Tulli.

"The three were in Arthur Road jail. We got them to the police station and arrested them again, NM Joshi Marg police station's senior police inspector Ahmed Pathan told The Indian Express. According to the report, the investigation revealed that the three of them had not paid the Provident Fund amount from May 2017 to November 2017.

The trio will remain in police custody till 10 February, said Pathan.

The Sanghvis and Mankar were arrested in connection with the 29 December, 2017, fire at the Kamala Mills in which 14 people were killed. 1 Above and another pub Mojo's Bistro were gutted in the devastating blaze. The pubs shared a common terrace.

The two brothers and Mankar were charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder, among other offences, police had said.

With inputs from PTI
A preliminary inquiry conducted into the alleged blacking out of the first few minutes of Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brien's speech by Rajya Sabha Television has found that power failure was responsible for the four-minute break in transmission.

New Delhi: A preliminary inquiry conducted into the alleged blacking out of the first few minutes of Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brien's speech by Rajya Sabha Television has found that power failure was responsible for the four-minute break in transmission.

However, Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu has ordered a detailed inquiry into the matter, Rajya Sabha was informed on Friday.

O'Brien had raised the issue in the Upper House on 7 February, 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".

Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad had dubbed it as a "very serious issue" and said "don't convert Rajya Sabha TV into BJP TV."

BJP leader Satyanarayan Jatiya, who was in the Chair then, had assured a probe in the matter.

Making a statement in the Upper House on Friday, senior BJP member Basawaraj Patil, who was in the Chair, said "an inquiry was conducted and it was found that there was a break in the live transmission of Rajya Sabha TV from 1.14 pm to 1.18 pm, four minutes when Derek O' Brien was speaking due to power failure."

Patil said that after the transmission resumed, the incident was regretted by the Rajya Sabha TV through a scroll. It also flashed that the entire speech of O'Brien would be telecast in the evening at 8.15 pm.

"The chairman (M Venkaiah Naidu) has however ordered a detailed inquiry into the matter," Patil informed the members.
Congress leader Renuka Chowdhary interrupted Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Rajya Sabha speech on Wednesday with loud, piercing laughter, prompting Rajya Sabha chairman Venkaiah Naidu to suggest that Chowdhary 'see a doctor'.

Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury interrupted Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Rajya Sabha speech on Wednesday with loud, piercing laughter, prompting Rajya Sabha chairman Venkaiah Naidu to suggest that Renuka "see a doctor". It is not a passing admonishment or a casual scolding, it is a proper dressing down and would have gone on further if Modi had not ad libbed a snappy retort. "Mr Chairman, please don't stop Renuka ji from laughing. Last time we heard such laughter was when Ramayana was on television," Modi had said.

In itself, the comment was no big deal and should have just been water under the bridge. Compared to other disturbances and utterances and acts of physical misbehaviour in both, the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha, and also in state Assemblies. This was not even a blip on the bad conduct radar.

However, now that it has been made into a cause celebre, a few things need to be said.

This is not some schoolyard prank where you can engage in high jinks and be a giggly little kid. This is the house of the elders and one expects a modicum of maturity. You can rib your science teacher and be the class clown if you want to but when you represent the people and your prime minister is speaking you do not regress into this chortling child for a moments cheap popularity.

While the prime minister could have ignored the rudeness of the deliberate interruption he chose a bit of dark humour and hit back. Why is it suddenly wrong to defend oneself if you are being heckled? Where is the male chauvinism? While there was no need for Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju to join the fray and play loyal servant to his boss by tweeting inane messages seeing as how Modi is capable of handling himself by the same token the bristling indignation in the Congress ranks is also a lot of crock.

There will be very few buyers for Renuka's decision to seek a privilege motion against the prime minister for comparing her laughter to character from Ramayana. She asked for it and it was conduct unbecoming. You make a ninny of yourself, you show no respect for the sanctity of the House, you snigger and snicker and chuckle as if sharing a private joke just like you would as a teenager and when given a verbal slap you get all holier than thou and make it all about a man-versus-woman-thing. And to take it to that ridiculous length it is made into a comprehensive all-encompassing female thing like every woman in India is offended on Renuka's behalf.

No they are not. If anything they are annoyed with the way this lady behaved during the address and chairman Naidu's irritation with her ongoing silliness was palpable.

What is perhaps even scarier is that trivia like this has now become hard news and eclipses the real issues of the day. Renuka's laughter, good, bad or raucous is not on the national agenda.
Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury whom prime minister Narendra Modi made fun of on Wednesday for her loud laughter in the Rajya Sabha during his reply to the President's address

New Delhi: Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury whom prime minister Narendra Modi made fun of on Wednesday for her loud laughter in the Rajya Sabha during his reply to the President's address, said on Thursday that she would move privilege notice against him.

Addressing reporters after Congress women members' delegation met Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu over the prime minister's jibe at Chowdhury, the Congress MP said she would take a final call on the privilege motion after discussing the issue with the party leadership.

The women delegation demanded that the prime minister should tender an apology as it was anti-women.

"I have decided to move privilege notice against prime minister on this issue. I will speak to my party and then decide how to move forward. I am mother of two daughters and a wife. The prime minister has denigrated the status of women."

"All women MPs of Congress met the Chairman and demanded an apology from the PM," Kumari Shailja told the media.

NCP leader DP Tripathi advised the Congress not to drag the issue but said that his party would go with the Congress if they take any decision.

"For the opposition's unity we will be with Congress, whatever decision they take," Tripathi said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday took a dig at 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.

While replying to the Motion of Thanks on the President's address, Modi said that the Congress keeps saying we brought Aadhaar prompting Chowdhury to laugh at his claim.

Click here for LIVE updates.
Washington

If MLK was here today ... He would stand with us and say ... We choose public schools! We choose public schools!

Led by a high schooler from the South Side of Chicago, a crowd of about 50 critical of U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos chanted those words outside the U.S. Department of Education on Thursday. They carried boxes filled with 80,000 report cards grading DeVos first year as education secretary .



Close to 90 percent of the report cards gathered by the American Federation of Teachers and several other organizations representing educators, students, administrators, and community members gave DeVos an F.

Those participating in the anti-DeVos rally walked to the public entrance of the Education Department headquarters at 3 p.m., only to find the doors were locked, frustrating AFT President Randi Weingarten, who led the demonstration.

Actions speak louder than words, Betsy, Weingarten said in an interview after the rally. We are all Americans who have the right to have a conversation with the head of the Department of Education ... and we have been locked out.

Weingarten said her staff had asked DeVos for a meeting prior to the rally and that they were transparent about their intent to give what she called thoughtful feedback to DeVos.

Education Department Spokeswoman Elizabeth Hill, in an e-mail, called the rally a two-hour political publicity stunt, and said union leaders should have been aware they would not be able to get in without an appointment.

Building security staff followed standard protocols to secure the building, Hill said. This is a long-standing practice.

Hill said, If they would like to send a representative to the department to deliver their feedback, wed be happy to accept it. ... We do so daily from other groups.

The AFT hosted the event and was joined by other union and activist groups including the National Education Association, the AFL-CIO, the Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools, the Badass Teachers Association, Color of Change, Daily Kos, and the Journey for Justice Alliance, as well as individual educators, and students.

A common theme: that DeVos was not doing her job because she appears not to care about public schools, or that she does not spend enough time visiting public schools. An Education Week map has tracked DeVos 36 visits to schools in her first year. She has visited 18 public schools, nine private schools, eight charter schools, and one funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Controversy surrounding the appointment and confirmation of DeVos has centered on her position favoring school choice and voucher programs, along with claims that she is unqualified for the position.

NEA president Lily Eskelsen Garcia also spoke at the rally. She said DeVos was out of touch with the mission of the Education Department and with the educators, students, and families involved in public schools.

Secretary DeVos has failed the American people, Garcia said.

Photo: Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, speaks at a rally criticizing U.S. Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on her first year in office.Rachel Wegner/Education Week
Authorities imposed restrictions in Srinagar and other parts of the Kashmir Valley on Friday to prevent separatist-called protests on the death anniversary of Parliament attack convict, Afzal Guru

Srinagar: Authorities imposed restrictions in Srinagar and other parts of the Kashmir Valley on Friday to prevent separatist-called protests on the death anniversary of Parliament attack convict, Afzal Guru.

Afzal was hanged inside the Tihar Jail in Delhi on 9 February, 2013, for his role the in 2001 attack.

The protest was called to observe his death anniversary and to reiterate the family's demand for his mortal remains. Afzal was buried inside the jail premises.

According to the police, the restrictions were imposed in old city areas of Srinagar, the uptown area of Maisuma and in some north and south Kashmir areas.

Senior separatist leaders, Syed Ali Geelani and Mirwaiz Umer Farooq continue to remain under house arrest while Muhammad Yasin Malik has been lodged in the Central Jail.

Muzaffarabad-based umbrella of militant groups called the United Jihad Council (UJC) headed by Syed Sallauddin has supported the protest shutdown.

Contingents of police and paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in full riot gear have been deployed in the restriction imposed areas.

Train services between north Kashmir's Baramulla town and Bannihal town in the Jammu region have been suspended as a precautionary measure.
The Uttar Pradesh Assembly on Friday witnessed repeated adjournments and walkout by the Opposition demanding a probe into the Kasganj communal flare-up by a sitting high court judge.

Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh Assembly on Friday witnessed repeated adjournments and walkout by the Opposition demanding a probe into the Kasganj communal flare-up by a sitting high court judge.

Raising the matter during Zero Hour, Leader of Opposition Ram Govind Chowdhury claimed that the violence in the western Uttar Pradesh town was a "pre-planned conspiracy".

The demand was supported by Congress and BSP members.

"Kasganj is still burning. The violence was a pre-planned conspiracy. Muslims were deliberately attacked and police remained mute spectator," Chowdhury, a Samajwadi Party MLA, said.

Armed with copies of CCTV footages and other videos of the incident in his hand, Chowdhury said, "I am talking with proof that shops were burnt and a particular community was targeted and police were involved in it. The VHP, Bajrang Dal and similar organisations deliberately attacked Muslims due to which violence erupted and one person died in the firing."

He also demanded Rs 50 lakh compensation to the victim's family and said that those affected in the violence should be compensated by the government without any discrimination.

Chandan Gupta died of gunshot wounds after he was shot at during a motorcycle rally taken out to celebrate Republic Day.

His killing led to communal violence in the western Uttar Pradesh town. At least three shops, two buses and a car were torched.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna refuted Chowdhury's charges and said the unfortunate incident that took place on 26 January in Kasganj was due to the blocking of the way of a 'Tiranga Yatra' (tricolour march).

"The yatra was being taken out as per the tradition of 25 years on the traditional route. The way of the yatra was blocked by some persons by putting chairs... When those taking out the yatra insisted on following the same route, an argument took place leading to clashes in which Abhishek alias Chandan Gupta died.

"Had they been given way for the yatra, the incident would not have happened. There was no communal tension earlier. It was a government order that no new tradition is started but old practices are permitted," he said.

"It's wrong to say police encouraged... FIR was lodged against the accused. The Opposition is trying to vitiate the atmosphere. We ensured that there is no reaction to this incident. Such incident is not a good thing for government. We ensured strict action and ensured no undue harassment to anyone," Khanna said.

He said that prohibitory orders have been enforced in Kasganj till 10 March and alleged that the "Samajwadi Party did not want peace in the state".

This led to sharp reaction from the Samajwadi Party members, who rushed into the well of the House and sat there leading to disruption, prompting Speaker Hriday Narain Dixit to adjourn the House for 10 minutes initially and later extend it.

Later, when the House again met, Khanna assured that the entire matter was being probed by an SIT and no guilty would be spared.

However, not happy with the response, the entire Opposition including the SP, BSP and the Congress staged a walkout.
Attorney General KK Venugopal in SC complained that J&K govt has opted to go back on its word to set up a minority commission in state

The Supreme Court on Friday postponed the hearing of the case regarding the minority status for non-Muslims in Jammu and Kashmir by four weeks.

Attorney General KK Venugopal in Supreme Court on Friday complained that Jammu and Kashmir government has opted to go back on its word to set up a minority commission in the state to identify non-Muslims as minority groups, said media reports.

Responding to the attorney general's complaint, the Jammu and Kashmir government, according to ANI, told Supreme Court that the state minority commission was taking all steps to make a blueprint in the case.

Plea seeking to identify and provide the rights to non-Muslims in J&K: J&K government told Supreme Court that the state minority commission is taking all steps to make a blueprint in the case and the same would be made within four weeks.  ANI (@ANI) February 9, 2018

Centre Vs J&K plays out in SC over minority status to Hindus. Attorney General complains J&K has opted to go back on its word to set up a minority commission to identify minority groups. State maintains it still needs to take a call on its requirement. SC to hear after 4 weeks.  Utkarsh Anand (@utkarsh_aanand) February 9, 2018

Delhi BJP leader and lawyer Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay in November last year had filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court seeking minority status for Hindus in Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Lakshadweep apart from Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir, News18 had reported.

Upadhyay had contended that Hindus were treated as a majority in these states despite being a minority in the population.

The Supreme Court in November last year had refused to entertain the petition, saying that the issue needed to be decided by National Commission for Minorities and had asked the petitioner to approach the commission, The Times of India had reported.

In December 2017, the apex court observed that it could not direct the Jammu and Kashmir legislature to legislate on the issue and had posted the matter for hearing after eight weeks.

The Supreme Court, however, had asked the Centre to deliberate on constituting a minority commission in Muslim-majority Jammu and Kashmir.

In August 2017 also, a PIL was filed by Jammu-based lawyer Ankur Sharma, stating that in a Muslim majority state like Jammu and Kashmir, non-Muslims should have been granted minority status to avail benefits of various governmental schemes.

With inputs from agencies
The Supreme Court directed the Delhi government and Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to apprise it whether an environmental impact assessment was conducted before proposing amendments in the Delhi master plan, 2021

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Delhi government and Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to apprise it whether an environmental impact assessment was conducted before proposing amendments in the Delhi master plan, 2021.

A bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta also asked DDA, Delhi government and the municipal agencies to file within a week an affidavit giving details on whether issues like safety of buildings, traffic congestion, parking and availability of civic amenities were taken into account before proposing the amendment.

The bench also asked the authorities to apprise it about the availability of statistics with the Central Pollution Control Board and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee regarding the pollution level in Delhi from 2007 onwards.

It took serious note of a report of the court-mandated monitoring committee, which is carrying out a sealing drive in Delhi, that MLA OP Sharma and councillor Gunjan Gupta along with their supporters had obstructed the panel members from carrying out their work in Shahdara zone in New Delhi.

The bench issued show cause notices to Sharma and Gupta asking them to explain why contempt of court action be not initiated against them for interfering in the committee's work.

It directed both of them to remain present before the court on the next date of hearing and listed the matter for further proceedings after two weeks.

The top court also directed the Delhi police commissioner to ensure that protection is given to the members of the monitoring committee so that they can carry out their duties.

The DDA recently proposed bringing uniform floor area ratio (FAR) for shop-cum-residence plots and complexes at par with residential plots, a move that would come as a big relief to traders facing the threat of sealing.

FAR is the ratio of a building's total floor area (gross floor area) to the size of the piece of land upon which it is built.

The apex court had earlier observed that the rule of law over sanction to construct buildings had "completely broken down" in Delhi and expressed concern over illegal construction.

It had also ordered restoration of its 2006 monitoring committee to identify and seal such offending structures.

The monitoring committee, comprising KJ Rao, former advisor to the Election Commissioner, Bhure Lal, Chairman, EPCA and Major General (Retired) Som Jhingan, was set up on 24 March, 2006, by the apex court.
The Centre has decided to move all Pakistani prisoners in Srinagar to jails in Uddhampur and Leh, two days after LeT terrorist Abu Hanzula alias Naveed Jaat escaped from police custody after a planned shootout in Srinagar

Two days after Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Abu Hanzula alias Naveed Jaat escaped from police custody, the Centre has decided to move all Pakistani prisoners in Srinagar to jails in Udhampur and Leh.

News18 reported that seven prisoners have been moved out the central jail in Srinagar following this decision. The news comes after Inspector General of Police Kashmir range Muneer Khan said that the police has apprehended four more people, including two terrorists and two Lashkar overground workers, in relation to Hanzula's escape.

Shakil Ahmed Butt and Tika Khan, both hailing from Pulwama, have been arrested for hatching a criminal conspiracy and helping a prisoner escape. The plan was allegedly hatched four months ago. Another local militant Hilal remains at large along with the main accused Naveed, Khan added.

In the wake of the attack on a Srinagar hospital on Tuesday, there was a major reshuffle in the senior ranks of the Jammu and Kashmir police as well. Swayam Prakash Pani has been appointed as Kashmir range Inspector General of Police, replacing Muneer Khan. Pani was earlier the Deputy Inspector General (DIG), South Kashmir range.

The attack on Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) hospital, which led to the killing of two cops, was carried out in broad daylight by militants in the Karan Nagar area of Srinagar. The attack happened when six inmates were being taken to the hospital, accompanied by a police party for a medical checkup. These included Naveed, who is a top LeT commander. He had, according to police sources, complained of severe chest pain a few days ago.

Police sources said when the cops brought down Naveed from the van in the premises of the hospital, at least two pistol borne militants fired at the police, and managed to flee with the LeT commander. Security forces have launched a massive operation to nab Naveed and the other local militant Hilal.

With inputs from agencies
Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba visited Saudi Arabia from 4-8 February and held extensive talks with its top defence brass to further consolidate cooperation between the armed forces of the two countries, officials said

New Delhi: Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba visited Saudi Arabia from 4-8 February and held extensive talks with its top defence brass to further consolidate cooperation between the armed forces of the two countries, officials said on Friday.

Evolving security threats in the region and enhancing cooperation to pursue common strategic interests were the focus of Lanba's talks with the Saudi military establishment, they said.

"The visit was aimed at consolidating cooperation between the armed forces of both India and Saudi Arabia and also to explore new avenues of defence cooperation," Navy spokesperson Captain DK Sharma said.

The Navy chief held talks with Saudi Arabia's Deputy Defence Minister Mohammad bin Abdullah Al-Aysesh, Chief of General Staff of Royal Saudi Armed Forces General Abdul Rahman bin Saleh Al-Bunyan and Commander of Royal Saudi Naval Forces Vice-Admiral Fahd bin Abdulla Al-Ghofaily.

He also interacted with the commanders of the Royal Saudi Arabian Land Forces, Air Forces and Air Defence Forces.

The admiral, who is also chairman of the powerful chiefs of staff committee (CoSC), which comprises chiefs of the Army, Navy and Air Force, visited a number of key naval installations in Saudi Arabia.

These included the Naval Operations Centre and the Western Fleet at Jeddah. He also visited HMS Dammam, an Al-Riyadh class frigate.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had paid a bilateral visit to Saudi Arabia from 6 to 8 February.

Security and counter-terror cooperation between India and Saudi got a boost after then prime minister Manmohan Singh's visit to the Gulf nation eight years back during which the two countries elevated their ties to a strategic partnership level.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Saudi Arabia in April 2016. Both sides had decided to further ramp up their defence and security ties, including counter-terrorism cooperation.

The Indian Navy cooperates with the Royal Saudi Naval Forces on many fronts, including training exchanges and hydrographic cooperation.

Warships from Indian Navy have been regularly visiting ports in Saudi Arabia.

Officers from the Royal Saudi Armed Forces have been undergoing training at various Indian defence training institutes, including the National Defence Academy and the National Defence College.
A day after deciding that the politically-sensitive 70-year-old Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute will be treated as 'pure land dispute', the Supreme Court on Friday will take up a PIL filed by senior Supreme Court lawyer Indira Jaising for live streaming of proceedings in the apex court.

Friday will be a busy day for the Supreme Court of India. A day after deciding that the politically-sensitive 70-year-old Ram Temple-Babri Masjid title dispute will be treated as a "pure land dispute", the apex court will take up a PIL filed by senior lawyer Indira Jaising for live streaming of proceedings in the Supreme Court.

Jaising had approached the top court demanding live streaming and video recording of cases of national importance on 18 January when the Supreme Court was divided over questions of transparency in its functioning.

In her petition, Jaising had said that live telecast of cases (of national importance) will increase access to courts, and will "negate the chances of any misreporting, errors or second-hand information".

A report in Live Law, however, added that Jaising's petition acknowledged that the court may place restrictions on such videography in cases involving countervailing interests of privacy, such as family law and criminal law cases.

Arguing that citizens have a right to information, Jaising contended that the PIL was to advance the rule of law and bring accessibility and transparency in the administration of justice.

Minority status for Hindus in Jammu and Kashmir

The Supreme Court will also take up a PIL seeking minority status for Hindus in Jammu and Kashmir. In December 2017, the apex court observed that it cannot direct the Jammu and Kashmir legislature to legislate on the issue and posted the matter for hearing after eight weeks.

The Supreme Court had asked the Centre to deliberate on constituting a minority commission in Muslim-majority Jammu and Kashmir. A PIL filed in the Supreme Court in October demanded that Hindus be notified as a minority community in eight states, including Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir, and be given legitimate benefits meant for them.

Advocate Ashwini Kumar had filed the PIL and sought minority status for Hindus in Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Lakshadweep apart from Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir.

Citing the 2011 Census, Kumar had said that the Hindus were in minority in eight states  Punjab (38.4 percent), Jammu and Kashmir (28.44 percent), Manipur (31.39 percent), Arunachal Pradesh (29 percent), Meghalaya (11.53 percent), Nagaland (8.75 percent), Mizoram (2.75 percent) and Lakshadweep (2.5 percent). He contended that Hindus were being treated as a majority in these states despite being minority in population and were illegally being deprived of benefits meant for minority communities, PTI had reported.

Apart from the aforementioned cases, the Supreme Court is also expected to hear a PIL seeking ban on firecrackers. The apex court may also issue an order on the juvenile justice system, News18 reported.
The English version of Exam Warriors was released on 3 February by Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Union Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar.

The Hindi translation of the book Exam Warriors written by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be released on Saturday in a book launch programme to be held in Delhi. A source in the publishing house Penguin Random House informed Firstpost that the book will be released by Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath.

The launch programme of the Hindi version of the book, which is expected to have a far wider appeal than its English variant, will be held at Nehru Memorial Museum and Library in Delhi at 4.30 pm on 10 February.

The English version of Exam Warriors was released on 3 February by Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Union Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar. The book is meant for students and deals with the issue of making exams stress free.

The book also prescribes yoga exercises among other stress busting methods to excel in exams and fight stress.

"I feel deeply honored to have published Exam Warriors by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The idea for the book came from the author based on his interactions with students and his Mann Ki Baat radio talk on examinations," said Milee Ashwarya, editor-in-chief, commercial and business wing of Penguin Random House.

She further added, "The book is aimed at the youth and students (especially those appearing for board examinations) in India and across the world, who often feel burdened under the stress of scoring high marks. It is rare for serving premiers to have authored books and the fact that the honorable Prime Minister wrote Exam Warriors is testament to his vision and passion for education and the youth. I am excited that he chose Penguin Random House as the home for his book."

Significantly, the release of the Hindi version of the book is seen as the prime minsters fresh move in the direction of connecting specifically with the young Indians.

Soon after the launch of the English version of the book, the prime minister announced that he will interact with students with a programme named Pariksha Pe Charcha on 16th of February.

In this programme the prime minister will connect with lakhs of students and thousands of schools across the country, and discuss exam-related issues through a video conference from Delhi's Talkatora Stadium at 11:00 am.

As per a report published in NDTV, a letter was issued from the Prime Ministers Office asking students from Class 6 to 12 to tune in to Doordarshan, All India Radio, YouTube or government websites to catch the broadcast of what has been dubbed the Pariksha Pe Charcha (discussions on exams)".

The report also said that senior students of Class 9 or above can ask questions to the prime minister. Students can also interact with Prime Minister Modi via the Narendra Modi app, the MyGov website, or through social media by using the hashtag #ExamWarriors

The schools have to submit a video on Pariksha Pe Charcha or four paragraphs about it by the very next day.

The move has received mixed reaction from various quarters, as some teachers have welcomed it and some experts are skeptic about its intent.

Shashi Kant Singh, a principal in a Delhi government school who is yet to receive any instruction from the PMO said, "This is certainly a good move in the direction of awakening the students with the methods of stress busting, as it not only increases performance of the students in exams but also their attentiveness during the class."

Apart from that he also said that the prime minister addressing children's core issues will also enhance their faith in the government.

But Ashok Agarwal, a noted social activist, expressed skepticism on the move as he smells political intentions in it.

"There is nothing wrong in the prime minister addressing students. But asking the schools to submit videos of students watching the programme or four paragraphs about it by the very next day gives the sense that the move is politically motivated," he said. He further said that if the intention was only to motivate students, then voluntary participation should have been encouraged.
The 25-year-old gallery empire, David Zwirner, means business with its decision to participate in the 10th edition of the India Art Fair | #FirstCulture

Boasting artists like Jeff Koons, Yayoi Kusama and Richard Serra in its stable, and with outposts in London, New York, and more recently, Hong Kong, theres no mistaking that the 25-year-old gallery empire, David Zwirner, means business with its decision to participate in the 10th edition of the India Art Fair (9-12 February 2018). Named after its founder who appears consistently in the top 10 ranking of the infamous Art Review Power 100 list, the gallerys decision to showcase work to Indian audiences is part of its larger plans for cementing its Asian nexus.

We spoke with James Green ahead of the opening of the VIP preview of the IAF.

What prompted your decision to participate in the 2018 edition of the India Art Fair?

With the gallery opening a space in Hong Kong last month (our first outpost in Asia), and increasing our presence in the region through fairs and institutional exhibitions with the artists we represent, we have been engaging with South Asia a lot more. We have been connecting with Asian collectors through our galleries in London, New York and, as of January 2018, Hong Kong  so it is a natural progression to come to India and exhibit at the fair.

Who are the artists youre showcasing to Indian audiences? What were some of the factors that contributed to your selection?

We are presenting work by eight artists who reflect the broad range of our programme. We are delighted that Yayoi Kusama, who already has a following in India, made brand new works for the fair. Alongside Kusama, we have groups of works by Sherrie Levine, Thomas Ruff and James Welling  artists who are key to our gallery but are perhaps less well known in India, who we would like to introduce to an Asian audience. We have also brought works by Oscar Murillo, Alice Neel, Chris Ofili and Luc Tuymans.

Is your participation a way of testing the waters, or are you looking at a long-term vision of investing in the regions collectors?

We are certainly looking long-term and view this as the beginning of our engagement with collectors in India and beyond.

Visit the David Zwirner booth at #E1 at the India Art Fair at NSIC Grounds, Okhla Industrial Area, New Delhi
In the first incident of pre-poll violence in Tripura, some rival activists on Friday attacked supporters of a candidate of the ruling CPM in Takarjala, injuring five Left members and two policemen, police said

Agartala: In the first incident of pre-poll violence in Tripura, some rival activists on Friday attacked supporters of a candidate of the ruling CPM in Takarjala, injuring five Left members and two policemen, police said.

Inspector General of Police KV Sreejesh told IANS that no one had been arrested and a hunt had been launched for the attackers.

Tripura Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) Secretary Bijan Dhar, in a letter to Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Sriram Taranikanti, said that during an election campaign by Takarjala candidate Ramendra Debbarma, some Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) cadres attacked a car accompanying him and his supporters, injuring five CPM members.

The injured were shifted to a government hospital.

"Without any provocation, IPFT goons also ransacked the CPM office at Takarjala and demolished it though it was situated close to the Takarjala police station. The attack took place in front of the police who did not try to stop the miscreants," the letter said.

"The IPFT is an electoral partner of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). This incident has vindicated our previous apprehensions as the IPFT had made a series of unprovoked attacks on CPM supporters earlier too."

The Left party demanded immediate deployment of paramilitary forces in Takarjala, Golaghati and Ampinagar Assembly constituencies, all reserved for tribals, to ensure a free, fair and smooth election on 18 February.

After forging an electoral alliance with the IPFT, the BJP has fielded 51 candidates and left nine seats for the junior partner.

The IPFT since 2009 has been agitating for a separate state by upgrading the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council.
The ruling AIADMK expelled over 150 dissidents from the party in the wake of its loss in the 21 December RK Nagar Assembly bypoll, for bringing 'disrepute' to the organisation.

Chennai: The ruling AIADMK on Friday expelled over 150 dissidents from the party in the wake of its loss in the 21 December RK Nagar Assembly bypoll, for bringing 'disrepute' to the organisation.

Former minister G Senthamizhan and senior leader Parithi Ilamvazhuthi were among the 150-odd office-bearers of the party's Chennai South and Cuddalore West units who were booted out by AIADMK coordinator O Panneerselvam and co-coordinator K Palaniswamy.

While Senthamizhan was a minister for a short period in the 2011-16 AIADMK rule, Ilamvazhuthi is a former DMK minister who joined the ruling party in 2013.

Both Senthamizhan and Ilamvazhuthi are supporters of sidelined party leader TTV Dhinakaran, who won the RK Nagar bypoll, necessitated due to the death of late chief minister J Jayalalithaa in December 2016.

In a joint statement, Panneerselvam and Palaniswamy said the action was being taken against the partymen for "acting in contravention to the party's policies and ideals," and for "bringing disrepute" to it.

They were being expelled from all their present posts, besides from AIADMK's primary membership, the two leaders said.

They asked the party workers not to have any truck with the expelled members.

Palaniswamy and Panneerselvam, who merged the factions led by them in August, 2017, had in January warned of action against those going against the party line, following the AIADMK's loss in the RK Nagar bypoll, which was won by Dhinakaran.

The duo had earlier expelled a number of functionaries, while stripping some of Dhinakaran's key aides of party posts.
Ruling AIADMK took exception to top actor Rajinikanth's remark that the 'system' in Tamil Nadu needs to be changed, saying such generalised statements are not acceptable

Chennai: Ruling AIADMK on Friday took exception to top actor Rajinikanth's remark that the "system" in Tamil Nadu needs to be changed, saying such generalised statements are not acceptable.

"If there is a mistake please point it out, but making generalised remarks is not acceptable," senior party leader and fisheries minister D Jayakumar told reporters in Chennai.

Following up on his "system is rotten" remark in May last year, Rajinikanth on Thursday said that the system needs to be corrected first in Tamil Nadu.

Asked whether his "system is rotten" remark referred to Tamil Nadu alone or the nation in general, Rajinikanth had said, "first of all, in Tamil Nadu you have to correct it."

Jayakumar asked the actor, who is set to join politics, to first work with the government to secure the rights of Tamil Nadu in securing Cauvery water from Karnataka.

He asked Rajinikanth not to "provoke" AIADMK, and took potshots at the actor, asking him if he was an engineer as it was only they who talk of 'system'.

The minister dared the actor to make this remark in terrorism-hit regions of the country.

Without specifying to any particular state, he said that in view of terrorism in some regions in north India, there was no security in such areas. "Let him set right the system there," he said to a question on the actor's "system" remark.

Targeting Rajinikanth for his "spiritual politics," slogan, the minister claimed Tamil Nadu is a haven of peace with a commitment to secularism.

Though Rajinikanth had said "spiritual politics" meant a polity beyond religion, caste and a commitment to good governance, the minister asked the actor to clarify what he meant by it.

Referring to the Cauvery issue, Jayakumar recalled the long drawn out political and legal battle, steered by the late chief minister 'Amma,' (J Jayalalithaa), to secure Cauvery waters.

Stating that the Tamil Nadu government was working to get the Cauvery waters and secure the "rights" of the state and delta farmers, he alleged that Karnataka was denying release of Tamil Nadu's share of water.

"I appeal to Rajinikanth, let him correct the system there (Karnataka)... if he takes efforts with us to secure our right of 205 tmc ft Cauvery water, it will be a good thing.'

Asked if Rajinikanth should clarify his stand on the Cauvery issue, the Minister said 'yes for sure, he is not talking about it...let him clarify."

Rajinikanth had all along faced the ire of pro-Tamil parties, including Nam Tamizhar party, for his political entry in a pointer to his non-Tamil Nadu origin.

On 19 May last year, Rajinikanth had said that "Tamil Nadu has good leaders, the system, however, is rotten."

Last December, the actor had categorically asserted his political entry ahead of state Assembly election.
BJP chief Amit Shah described Congress president Rahul Gandhi's style of politics in Parliament as 'undemocratic' after the Opposition party created a ruckus during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech.

New Delhi: BJP chief Amit Shah on Friday described Congress president Rahul Gandhi's style of politics in Parliament as "undemocratic" after the Opposition party created a ruckus during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech.

Shah's comments came at a meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party Parliamentary Party, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar told reporters. The meeting was attended by Modi too.

Slamming the Congress for disturbing Parliament over the Rafale jets deal with France, Shah explained the main points about the agreement. "But will it be good for the nation to discuss details of each and every component?"

Shah also praised the Union Budget 2018, saying it was meant to benefit the farmers and the middle class.
With Tripura Assembly elections scheduled for 18 February, the BJP looks set to go to polls in alliance with the Indigenous Peoples' Front of Tripura (IPFT).

Agartala: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) is in power in five states in the north east, out of which three are ruled by the leading party. With Tripura Assembly elections scheduled for 18 February, the BJP looks set to go to polls in alliance with the Indigenous Peoples' Front of Tripura (IPFT). All the prominent leaders of its splintered faction, IPFT- Tipraha, joined BJP on 1 February. However, none of them are contesting the elections. But it is now clear that it is the BJP, and not NEDA, which is leading the opposition in Tripura polls, since the position of any of the indigenous parties of the state in NEDA is far from clear.

NEDA was formed in May 2016 to protect the collective interests of Northeastern states as well as to unite non-Congress parties in the region.

While leaders of the IPFT and the Indigenous Nationalist Party of Twipra (INPT) stressed that no indigenous political party from the state is a member of NEDA yet, Assam finance minister and NEDA convener Himanta Biswa Sarma, approved of their claim.

The BJP's pre-poll alliance with IPFT, despite being opposed to the latter's radical demand for a separate state, signifies the saffron party's urge to topple the Left-front government in the state. However, the party has left its former ally, the INPT, out in the cold. Those leading the BJP's poll campaign in the Left Front-ruled state said the decision was triggered by the fact that the INPT had demanded too many seats despite its rapidly shrinking political support base in the state.

"We requested the INPT to join us, but the number of seats (six seats) they demanded was way too much. That's why, we couldn't form an alliance with them," said Sunil Deodhar. Deodhar is responsible for expanding the BJP's presence in Tripura. The BJP was willing to offer the BK Hrangkhawl-led INPT one or two seats.

Exuding confidence that the BJP-IPFT alliance in Tripura will form the next government with a two-third majority, Deodhar said that if the INPT had joined hands with them, both the parties would have benefitted from the deal. He claimed that voters who had earlier sworn allegiance to the INPT were increasingly switching sides to either the BJP or the IPFT. The BJP is contesting from 11 reserved tribal seats and the IPFT from nine. Of the total 60 seats in the Tripura assembly, 20 are reserved for tribals and 10 for Scheduled Caste.

Those overseeing the BJP's election preparations in Tripura corroborated Deodhar's belief that anti-Left INPT supporters will cast their votes for the BJP-IPFT alliance as it is the strongest contender at the moment. The INPT is contesting from 15 reserved tribal seats and has allocated three seats to the National Conference of Tripura.

INPT president BK Hrangkhawl accused the BJP of underestimating his party and backing out at the last minute. He said the reason for his party's fallout with the BJP was the latter's refusal to consider the fact that INPT would lose its registration with Election Commission of India if it contested from less than six seats.

Cloud over IPFT and INPT's status in NEDA

Veteran tribal leader Hrangkhawl, who chose to walk out of the alliance rather than merge with the BJP, said that INPT was not a member of the NEDA and hadn't attended any of its meetings. Sarma, too, said that no regional party from Tripura was a member of NEDA yet. Media reports published last year, however, had a different story to tell. Sarma evaded the question of the INPTs membership in NEDA by stating that he had no channel of communication with the tribal party.

Some in the BJP, however, clarified that NEDA was a much bigger platform than a mere electoral truck and said that INPT was very much a part of the alliance. Human rights activist Anthony Dev Verman said the two indigenous parties had been invited to NEDA meetings but no one is sure whether they are formal members of the alliance.

In September last year at a NEDA meeting, BJP chief Amit Shah had expressed hope that all eight chief ministers in the northeast would be from the NDA. The BJP is in power in three states  Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur  while its allies rule Nagaland and Sikkim. Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura are going to polls towards the end of the month. Mizoram is currently ruled by the Congress.

The BJP was counting on its NEDA regional allies to gain a foothold in these three states. But given the BJPs Hindutva image, the going may not be easy for it in Christian-majority Meghalaya and Nagaland. In Meghalaya, the National Peoples Party (NPP) is keeping its distance as the polls near, and in Nagaland, the ruling Naga Peoples Front (NPF) recently resolved to severe its 20-year-old ties with the BJP. Given these setbacks, the BJP is now focusing on Tripura.

Alliance only for election purposes, says IPFT

The BJP and the two regional parties are changing their stance every other day in the rapidly changing political scenario in Tripura. The BJP-IPFT alliance rests on uneasy grounds as the two parties have completely opposite stands on the Twipraland issue. While the saffron party stands for an undivided Tripura, IPFT maintains that its demand for a separate state is non-negotiable.

IPFT president NC Debbarma insisted that the BJP approached his party for an electoral alliance after jilting the INPT, which was keen on tying up with the BJP after realising that "they were a politically spent force". Stressing that the electoral understanding with the BJP is only aimed at ousting the Left Front government, the IPFT said that it would withdraw support to the BJP, if the latter manages to form the next government with a landslide majority, but fails to entertain its demand.

The absence of any IPFT leaders while releasing the joint statement of the two parties has raised questions about the future of the alliance. Shrototaranjan Khisa, the editor of Chini Kok, INPTs mouthpiece and a member of its organising committee, claimed that IPFT had already given up its demand for a separate state and was only misleading the tribal people.

The author is an Imphal-based freelance writer and a member of 101Reporters.com, a pan-India network of grassroots reporters.
Congress leader Ashok Gehlot and his party should not act arrogant after winning just three seats in Rajasthan by-polls, said state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Ashok Parnami

Jaipur: Congress leader Ashok Gehlot and his party should not act arrogant after winning just three seats in Rajasthan by-polls, said state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Ashok Parnami on Thursday.

Parnami was talking to the media on the sidelines of an organisational meeting called by the Rajasthan BJP to chalk out an strategy for the forthcoming assembly elections in the state.

"BJP will emerge victorious in the 2018 state assembly elections and we are targeting 180-plus seats this time. Lotus will bloom in the state once again, as the party has worked for overall development of the state," he said.

Flaying the opposition Congress, the state BJP chief said while the BJP and its members had been working day and night for the well-being of the state, they were busy making false statements.

Former chief minister Ashok Gehlot had been misleading people by citing wrong figures in public, he said.

Parnami said such organisational meetings would be called once in every two months. "In this meeting, we evaluated the works done in last two months in the state and also planned a strategy to pursue progressive works in the coming months."

The meeting reviewed several ambitious projects such as Tiranga Yatra, Man ki Baat and Mandal Pravas, among others.

V Satish, the BJP's national joint general secretary (organisation), said the party would work hard and come out with flying colours in the coming elections.

Speaking on the occasion, state general secretary (organisation), A Chandrashekhar, said that all district unit chiefs would chalk out a plan to visit people from all sections of the society and apprise them of the plans and policies of the party.

BJP's state general secretary Bhajanlal Sharma and district presidents, state office-bearers also attended the meeting.
Continuing his attack on the NDA government for maintaining secrecy on the Rafale deal, Congress president Rahul Gandhi took a dig at Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

Continuing his attack on the NDA government for maintaining secrecy on the Rafale deal, Congress president Rahul Gandhi took a dig at finance minister Arun Jaitley, and repeated his 'Jaitlie' swipe at him.

Speaking to reporters after an Opposition delegation met President Ram Nath Kovind over alleged foul play in judge BH Loya's death, Rahul after referring to the finance minister as 'Jaitlie,' said, "Perhaps, I should use a spellcheck."

Rahul's statement came minutes after he used the jibe on Twitter to criticise the Centre's claim that the UPA government had never released details of defence purchases. He has used the term before to criticise the finance minister.

Dear Mr Jaitlie, You said the UPA never released prices of Defence purchases? To nail your lie, here are 3 Parliamentary replies by the UPA with full transparency on pricing. Now do ask our Raksha Mantri to tell India how much each RAFALE jet cost.#DealMeinKuchKalaHai pic.twitter.com/txb2Cc1BHh  Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) February 9, 2018

Jaitley had accused the Congress on Thursday of "seriously compromising" the country's security by seeking details of armaments purchased along with the aircraft.

He had also advised Rahul Gandhi to "learn lessons on national security" from former defence minister Pranab Mukherjee.

"Your party was stigmatised when you were in government because of allegations of corruption. Now the new act is, let us manufacture an allegation of corruption against the NDA. So when you couldn't find anything, you said please disclose the price of the Rafale deal," Jaitley said while replying to the debate on the budget.

Addressing the media with Congress leader Kapil Sibal and CPI leader D Raja, Rahul said on Thursday that Jaitley should "come clean on the deal."

The defence ministry had denied the charges of graft by the Opposition on Wednesday and called the demand to disclose the details and value of the contract "unrealistic".

With inputs from PTI
It is clear that Congress president Rahul Gandhi wants to keep the political pot boiling over the judge Loya case, even after his son's statement to the media.

Rahul Gandhi does not want to wait for the Supreme Court verdict on the case pertaining to judge BH Loya's death. He thinks that the judge died under suspicious circumstances, and he has thus petitioned President Ram Nath Kovind to intervene and order a probe by a special investigative team (SIT).

The Congress desires that the investigative team must not comprise of officers from the CBI or NIA, the two agencies under the command of the Centre. The party which ruled the nation for 60 years believes that these agencies are compromised and would act per the instructions of the government of the day.

That gives rise to the question  if the CBI and NIA are not to be a part of the SIT (if at all it is to be constituted in future), then who would lead it or be a part of it? The Congress obviously will not trust the Maharashtra or Gujarat police, or the police force of any of the 19 states in which the BJP is part of the government.

The Congress partys argument for petitioning the President for an independent probe, without waiting for the outcome of the pending case in the Supreme Court, was rather interesting  that the Supreme Court is only hearing PILs pertaining to the case. This line of argument is highly debatable, as there have been numerous instances where criminal cases have been registered on the orders of lower courts as also the higher judiciary.

The manner in which the Congress president has structured his demand before the President of India clearly indicates that his party and its allies (who are opposed to the BJP) want to keep the political pot boiling, even as judge Loya's son Anuj was quoted by PTI as saying that his father died of natural causes, our family is convinced it was a natural death I have made myself clear that we do not have a suspicion.

Rahul said that there was a sense of discomfort among parliamentarians because a judge (he first said "judge of the High Court, and then, on prompting by Kapil Sibal, corrected himself by saying CBI judge) died under suspicious circumstances. We only want the investigation to be done by an independent body, as we have suspicions.

The Supreme Court is presently seized of the matter and the case is being heard by a bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra.

Three years after judge Loya's death, the case evokes a great deal of curiosity in political circles and sections of the media. This is because when he passed away, he was handling the Sohrabuddin Shaikh case, in which BJP president Amit Shah was one of the accused. Any suggestion of foul play in Loya's death thus has serious implications, both political and legal. The Congress would like to see that irrespective of the deliberations of the apex court, judge Loya's death continues to be debated and discussed in public.

On the last day of the first half of the Budget session, the Congress secured the signatures of 114 members of 15 parties to seek an appointment from the President to submit a petition to him.

When Rahul came out after petitioning the President and stood in the foreground of the Rashtrapati Bhavan to brief the media, three things were particularly noticeable. The implications of these go beyond the Loya case.

Firstly, the newly elected Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh stood next to Rahul, indicating a possible alignment of his party with the Congress. The Congress had so far kept AAP away from any outreach for opposition unity in Parliament and outside it. This is despite suggestions in the past by West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee to the Congress to include the AAP in deliberations on opposition unity.

The AAP had originated out of the Anna Hazare-led movement against the corruption of the UPA regime. However, lately, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has given several signals of softening his stance against the Congress, including asking his party supporters in Gujarat to vote for the party which could defeat the BJP (read the Congress).

Sanjay Singhs maiden speech in the Rajya Sabha, in which he blasted the BJP, was supported by senior Congress members. One is not sure how Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken, who is fighting the AAP in the capital, would take it. Early signals of Congress-AAP friendship come at a time when there is a strong possibility of bypolls being held in 20 Delhi Assembly seats. There will be a great deal of interest among the citizens of Delhi and outside on the issue of how the relationship between the Congress and AAP takes shape.

Secondly, Kapil Sibal assumed the task of speaking about the petition and the merits of the Congress' arguments, without being asked to do so by his leader Rahul Gandhi. At times, he spoke over Rahul, responding to most questions that were posed by the media for the Congress president. At one point, Sibal said I dont want to interfere, but Amit Shah happened to be an accused in the case Being an accomplished lawyer, Sibal would know the nuances of the Loya case better. However, interrupting the party president is not something that is seen to happen often, least of all in the Congress party.

Thirdly, Rahul himself digressed from the Loya case and began talking about the Rafale deal. He began by saying I dont want to shift attention from the Loya issue. However, he went on to talk about why he thought the inter-government Rafale deal between India and France was a shoddy one.
The Left parties  CPM and CPI  have decided to jointly negotiate with the HD Deve Gowda-led JD(S) on alliance for the upcoming Assembly elections in Karnataka

Hyderabad: The Left parties  CPM and CPI  have decided to jointly negotiate with the HD Deve Gowda-led JD(S) on alliance for the upcoming Assembly elections in Karnataka.

CPI General Secretary Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy said on Friday that a senior party functionary of the JD(S) has spoken to him on a possible tie-up for the polls.

The term of the 224-member Karnataka Assembly ends in May.

"I had a talk with Sitaram Yechury (CPM General Secretary); we together want to negotiate with them (JD-S), if there is a possibility, we will discuss with them," Reddy told PTI here.

He said he has also suggested to Yechury to talk to his Karnataka unit on the issue.

Reddy has asked his party unit in Karnataka to discuss at the state-level between the party and the CPM and then take a decision on joining hands.

Reddy noted that former prime minister Deve Gowda had already said that his party is ready for an understanding with the Left for the polls to the Assembly.

The BSP and the JD(S) on Thursday announced that they are entering into an alliance to contest the Karnataka Assembly polls together, and said it would continue in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections as well.

As per the understanding, the BSP will be contesting from eight reserved and 12 general Assembly constituencies spread across 14 districts of the state.
Though Rahul's Ballari visit was on cards for some time, it assumes significance after Modi's branding of the Siddaramaiah regime as a 10 percent govt.

When Rahul Gandhi lands in Ballari (earlier spelt as Bellary) district around noon on Saturday to launch the Congress election campaign in Karnataka, he will have a sense of deja vu. For 19 years ago, Sonia Gandhi had similarly landed in the dusty district to contest her maiden election from Ballari constituency. It was a high-pitched, high-profile and vitriolic campaign, in which she defeated BJP's Sushma Swaraj by 56,000 votes. But since she contested and won from Amethi as well, and she subsequently vacated the Ballari seat.

Back then, in 1999, Ballari had not achieved the notoriety that it did a decade later when former Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde described it as the 'Republic of Ballari'. The tag was a reference to the political clout of the Reddy brothers, who were the lords of the mining business in and around Ballari. It was their money, much of it ill-gotten according to the CBI, that allegedly funded 'Operation Lotus' in 2008, to lure MLAs from other parties to ensure the then BS Yeddyurappa government became a majority regime.

That meant that over a period of time, the Reddy brothers  especially then Tourism minister Gali Janardhana Reddy  virtually controlled the government. The allegation was that chief minister Yeddyurappa ran Karnataka but not Ballari and that not even a constable could be transferred in Ballari without the nod of the Reddy brothers.

Even today, if you step into Ballari, people talk in awe about Janardhana Reddy's money and muscle power. Though the BJP keeps a distance from Reddy, he had expressed a desire last June to work to bring the party back to power.

With Reddy out on bail after a long stint in Hyderabad and Bengaluru prisons and barred from entering Ballari, unless with court permission, the influence of the Reddy brothers is no longer what it used to be. That perhaps explains why B Nagendra and Anand Singh, two MLAs with a BJP pedigree and known for their proximity to Reddy, have decided to join the Congress. The event on 10 February is to mark their formal entry into the party.

Though Rahul's visit to Ballari was on the cards for some time, it assumes significance after Narendra Modi's branding of the Siddaramaiah government as a 10 percent government. By making his first pitstop in Ballari, Rahul will send across a reminder message to the BJP that it should not forget the days when Ballari ran Karnataka. That Modi calling the Congress in Karnataka corrupt is like the pot calling the kettle black.

The problem, however, is that the two imports are not squeaky clean either, proof that during election time all that matters is the winnability factor. Anand was arrested in 2013 in connection with the illegal transport of illegal iron ore from Belikeri port. His firm also was mentioned in the Lokayukta report on illegal mining in Ballari. Likewise Nagendra, who is in the transport business, too was arrested on charges pertaining to the illegal transport of iron ore.

But the Congress will feel good kickstarting their campaign from Ballari. Eight years ago, taking a leaf out of former Andhra chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy's padayatra of 2003, Siddaramaiah had led a padayatra from Bengaluru to Ballari. That was the time when the Reddy brothers were all powerful and the 310-kilometre-long walk was the first step towards turning the public mood against the BJP. It eventually resulted in its defeat in the 2013 elections, with Siddaramaiah now walking into Vidhana Soudha as chief minister.

Strategists in the Congress believe they are on a stronger wicket in Karnataka than in Gujarat. In the western state, being out of power for over two decades had led the Congress unit there into a state of decay. In Karnataka, they have in Siddaramaiah a leader who is from the more combative Deve Gowda school of politics, who gives it back to opponents in good measure. The plan is to add to the mix elements of the Gujarat campaign, that the party thinks worked for it in December 2017.

So, over the next four days, Rahul will also indulge in a temple run, a la Gujarat. Touring the Hyderabad-Karnataka region, which will include politically crucial districts like Bidar, Gulbarga and Raichur, Rahul will visit a Hindu temple, two Lingayat mutts and a Muslim dargah.

The Lingayats, who are 17 percent of Karnataka's population, have traditionally backed the BJP and Yeddyurappa is seen as the tallest political leader from the community. But the Congress move to back the demand from a section of the Lingayats to be recognised as a separate religion instead of being a part of Hinduism, has set the cat among the pigeons. If the Congress manages to woo up to 10 percent of the Lingayat vote that would otherwise accrue to the BJP, it can damage the saffron party in select constituencies.

The BJP as part of the Parivartana Yatra had questioned the Hindu credentials of the chief minister, with Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath challenging Siddaramaiah to ban beef if he was a true Hindu. Siddaramaiah retorted pointing to the 'Siddha' and 'Rama' in his name. Rahul's itinerary shows corruption, caste and cow will dominate Karnataka's political discourse once again over the next few days.
By blaming the Congress in Parliament on Wednesday for partitioning India, Modi ran the risk of making a needless point, even if unwittingly, to Pakistan

On 21 February, 1999, the then prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee visited Minar-e-Pakistan during his famous bus journey to Lahore. He wrote in the visitors book there that India and Indians accepted Pakistans creation. A stable, secure and prosperous Pakistan, he added, was in Indias interest and said that no one in Pakistan must have a doubt about it.

Vajpayee couldnt have found a better place for extending this friendly assurance to Pakistan. The 62-metre-tall minar stands at the place where, in 1940, the Muslim League had for the first time called for an independent Pakistan.

Sixteen years after thison 25 December, 2015 to be preciseNarendra Modi made a surprise stopover in Lahore on his way back to India from Kabul. He wished Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif a happy birthday and attended the wedding of his granddaughter. Though Modi made no formal comments in visitors books, it was amply clear that, like Vajpayee, he honestly and sincerely wanted not only an independent Pakistan but also close relations with it.

It is another matter that Pakistan responded to Vajapyees visit with an act of aggression in Kargil and to Modis stopover with an assault on the Pathankot air base. But both Vajpayee and Modi won diplomatic acclaim from around the world by doing the very best they could to remove any fears in Pakistan that the BJP was out to undo partition. That has always been something that Pakistan claims India in general and the BJP in particular is bent upon doing.

But by blaming the Congress in Parliament on Wednesday for partitioning India, Modi ran the risk of making a needless point, even if unwittingly, to Pakistan and the rest of the world. He said: When you (Congress) partitioned India, you sowed such poison that not a day has passed in 70 years when 125 crore Indians dont pay for it.

The obvious implication of Modis outburst was that partition was something that should never have happened. Modi and his supporters could argue that disagreeing with the partition does not necessarily amount to an intention to undo it. But those harping on Indias division in remorseful tones also leave themselves vulnerable to the charge of pursuing a vengeful policy to strangle Pakistan financially, militarily and diplomatically. This was, of course, quite the opposite of what Vajpayee and Modi, as the BJPs prime ministers, had sought to convey on their respective visits to Lahore.

Keeping hardliners in check

Scoring political points against the Congress is one thing, but setting back a diplomatic effort that the world had acclaimed is quite another. Modi must be aware that what keeps the adrenaline flowing for Pakistans hardliners is the fearwhich is a figment of their collective imaginationthat India, especially the BJP, wants to reverse partition and grab all its territory.

Let Modi attack Pakistans leaders for turning their country into a rogue nation that breeds and exports terror, for turning it into a tin-pot democracy that is actually run by trigger-happy generals, for being pathologically obsessed with India, for the economic mess that they brought on their country in the process, for transforming their sovereign nation into a de facto vassal state of China, for hallucinating about a parity with India that exists only in their minds, and for stoking a visceral hatred for Hindus only to keep their country from breaking up.

Let Modi mince no words in blaming Pakistan for all that and more, or even carry out more surgical attacks across the border when and if necessary. However, he must desist from questioning the very founding of Pakistan. Reconciling to Pakistans existence would mean keeping alive the tiny chance that peace stands. Questioning Pakistans very creation would only deprive India of its diplomatic and moral edge and would add to the excuses of those who run that country to step up their anti-India madness.

Besides, that would strengthen the hands of Pakistans hard-nosed fanatics and weaken the few saner elements there who want peace and who dream of a life befitting 21st century civilisation.

The other part of Modis Parliament speech on how the Congress ruined democracy in India is bound to have many takers. Modi did well in censuring the Congress for using Article 356 of the Constitution more than 90 times to dismiss state governments, for being a party that runs on the whim and fancy of a dynasty, for insulting its own chief ministers and for breaking up states to suit its political interests.

Modi didnt say it, but he canand he mustalso attack the Congress for turning itself into a party of unashamed sycophants, for communalising India with its vote-bank politics and appeasement of minorities, for institutionalising corruption and for sending the country into the darkness of Emergency for two dreadful years.

Let Modi do all this but he must stop accusing the Congress of being solely responsible for the countrys partitionand must stop regretting it.

Nehru wasnt always wrong

Regretting something that cant be reversed can only serve as a distraction for a prime minister from the more urgent tasks on hand. Lets recall what Jawaharlal Nehru, Indias first Prime Minister, said about going back on partition.

Some might argue that Nehru was equipped with an intellectual faculty suited only to producing literature and university lectures rather than running a vast country with a hostile neighbour breathing down its western flank. But Nehrus March 1948 lecture at Aligarh Muslim University on partition should stop all argument over undoing partition. Its truer today than it was 70 years ago.

He said: There is no going back in history ... If today, by any chance, I were offered the reunion of India and Pakistan, I would decline it for obvious reasons. I do not want to carry the burden of Pakistans great problems. I have enough of my own.

Who said Nehru was always wrong?

The author tweets @sprasadindia
After the 'chai pe charcha' campaign during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday asked his party MPs to hold 'lunch pe charcha' to spread the good points of the Union Budget 2018-19 among the people.

New Delhi: After the "chai pe charcha" campaign during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday asked his party MPs to hold "lunch pe charcha" to spread the good points of the Union Budget 2018-19 among the people.

The prime minister's suggestion came at a BJP Parliamentary party meeting where party chief Amit Shah described Congress president Rahul Gandhi's behaviour as "undemocratic" and suggested ways to counter his criticism of the Rafale fighter deal.

Sources present at the meeting said the prime minister described the Union Budget as positive for the middle class and farmers and asked them to discuss its benefits among the masses.

Intervening in Shah's speech, Modi described how he held discussions with party cadres in his parliamentary constituency Varanasi over lunch by bringing his own tiffin.

The sources said Modi asked the MPs to hold such 'lunch pe charcha' by bringing their own tiffin in every Assembly segment of their constituency during the Budget Session break.

At the meeting, two booklets containing the prime minister's speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos and Shah's speech at various platforms were distributed among the MPs.

The booklet, with the title "Unbeatable Global Legend", contains articles published in around 25 global newspapers about Modi's speech at Davos. BJP sources said the booklet was prepared by party general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya.

In his address, Shah attacked the Congress and its president for raising questions over the Rafale deal and creating pandemonium in the Lok Sabha during the Prime Minister's reply to the debate on the president's address.

"Rahulji's style of politics is undemocratic. Hence there was such disruption in the Lok Sabha during the speech of the prime minister," Ananth Kumar, the parliamentary affairs minister, quoted Shah as saying.

Elaborating Shah's speech, Kumar said the President spoke about main points of the Rafale deal and justified every component of the agreement. He asked the MPs to counter the opposition's onslaught over the Rafale deal.

"This is Rahul culture in Congress. The finance minister has spoken in detail over the issue. Everything can't be disclosed in view of national security and the country's interest," a source quoted Shah as saying.

According to sources, a party MP raised the issue of farmers linking it to the party's defeat in the Rajasthan by-polls.

"Don't look towards Rajasthan defeat. See towards the victory in 2019," Shah told him and urged the members to go to the people with positive aspects of the budget for farmers and the middle class.

In 2017, Modi brought his own tiffin to lunch with BJP booth workers in Varanasi, where he addressed a rally and shared his experiences.
The Opposition parties' main demand is to launch a SIT-monitored investigation into the death of CBI judge BH Loya.

A group of MPs from 13 Opposition parties, led by Congress president Rahul Gandhi met President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday at 5 pm to discuss CBI special Judge BH Loya's death case. The delegation included representatives from AAP, AITMC, CPI, and CPM apart from nine other political parties.

The Opposition parties' main demand was to launch a SIT-monitored investigation into the death of judge Loya, who was looking into the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case at the time of his death.

Speaking to the press after meeting the President, Rahul said that 114 MPs felt that the judge's demise occurred in suspicious circumstances and an investigation is needed. "There was an atmosphere of suspicion in the Parliament House and 114 members of 15 parties felt that this should be taken to the President and a SIT will be the right way to go forward," Rahul said.

He said, "We just want that an independent investigation should happen and the people should know its outcome... We just want that the law should take its course."

CPI leader D Raja said, "It is not that just the Members of Parliament or politicians are agitating, the people of the country at large are protesting."

Congress leader Kapil Sibal also reasserted points made by Rahul, while adding that it was most peculiar that a judge died while hearing a case naming incriminating powerful politicians and there is not even an FIR.

"There is no FIR, there is no probe. The Supreme Court is merely hearing a PIL. Such matters are not decided by PILs; an investigation is needed to find out the truth," Sibal said.

Speaking about the nature of investigation they seek, he said, "We told the President we don't trust CBI and NIA. We want an independent SIT-monitored probe, like there was one in the 2G-scam. If an SIT can be formed for a commercial matter, this relates to someone's death."

The meeting came two days after it was reported that several Opposition members and Members of Parliament from both Houses had signed a three-page letter to the President regarding suspicions surrounding judge Loya's death. The letter spoke of the need for an independent probe explaining the case in detail and mentions the new "revelations" related to the case.

Judge Loya, who was hearing the sensitive Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case, had died of cardiac arrest in Nagpur on 1 December, 2014, when he had gone to attend the wedding of a colleagues daughter. Some members of Loyas family had alleged foul play in his death.

On 31 January 2018, Sibal held a press conference in New Delhi demanding Loya's death must be probed independently by a Supreme Court-monitored Special Investigation Team.

Addressing the media, 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.

The petitioners in the case have also urged the Supreme Court to order an independent probe 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. The government has argued that the case should be shut and there is no need for an investigation as the four judges accompanying Loya on the day of his death have reported there were no untoward incidents to create suspicion. Two of these four judges have now been elevated to the high court.
Congress chief Rahul Gandhi called upon all political parties to unite on the issue of grant of special status for Andhra Pradesh and other demands, including the speedy completion of the Polavaram project

New Delhi: Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on Friday called upon all political parties to unite on the issue of grant of special status for Andhra Pradesh and other demands, including the speedy completion of the Polavaram project.

"The Congress supports the just demands of the people of Andhra Pradesh for special category status and speedy completion of the Polavaram project. It's time for all parties to unite on this issue and support this call for justice," he tweeted.

The Congress Party supports the just demands of the people of Andhra Pradesh for special category status and speedy completion of the Polavaram project. It's time for all parties to unite on this issue and support this call for justice.#INCStandsWithAndhra  Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) February 9, 2018

Various parties have been raising the demand in both Houses of Parliament, leading to disruptions. The Congress and the TDP, which is part of the ruling NDA, have been at the forefront of protests inside and outside Parliament for granting special status to Andhra Pradesh.

They have also been pressing for the early fulfilment of all their demands as per the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, after the bifurcation of the state.
Chandrababu Naidu called an emergency meeting with TDP MPs and said that 'the Centre was behaving in such a way that it was making people of Andhra Pradesh feel that they were not part of the nation

The rift between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and ally Telugu Desam Party (TDP) seems to be widening further, with the latter expressing displeasure over the allocation given to Andhra Pradesh in the Union Budget, and TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu asking party MPs to keep pressuring the government to demand a substantative announcement for the state, media reports said.

Naidu, currently in Dubai, called an emergency teleconference meeting with TDP MPs late on Thursday and said that "the Centre was behaving in such a way that it was making people of Andhra Pradesh feel that they were not part of the nation", said a report in The Times of India.

During the conference, some of the TDP MPs told Naidu that the party should keep up the tough stance towards the Centre. "Naidu told us to protest in a serious way. The chef minister expressed unhappiness over the response from the Centre over the last 3-4 days," Thota Narasimham, TDP floor leader in the Lok Sabha, was quoted as saying in the report.

Naidu also told the MPs that he will conduct another round of teleconferencing with them on Friday, according to a report in Deccan Chronicle.

Naidu, according to India Today, has also said that a "crucial decision" regarding the alliance will be taken in a couple of days.

Special package to Andhra Pradesh

Naidu's teleconference came hours after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Thursday said that the Centre was sympathetically working on all issues concerning Andhra Pradesh, and a decision on a special package would be finalised over next few days.

Jaitley, who was replying to a debate on the general Budget in the Lok Sabha, told agitating members from Andhra Pradesh, including those from the TDP, that a package was promised to the people of Andhra Pradesh after Telangana was carved out of it, and while several parts of the package had been implemented, some work was being done.

Cracks in TDP-BJP alliance

Unhappy with Jaitley's statement in Parliament and claiming inadequate allocation of funds to Andhra Pradesh, Naidu on Thursday reportedly told the TDP MPs that the state was being given step-motherly treatment by the Centre.

TDP, BJP's biggest ally in the South, earlier expressed disappointment over Jaitley's Budget that it said did not address the state's needs. Since the last few weeks, there has been a "strong mood" among TDP leaders to break away from the alliance with the BJP.

Some senior TDP leaders on 2 February said off the record that almost everyone, including many district unit chiefs, wanted the party to end the alliance. Naidu has also reportedly expressed "serious displeasure" over the Union Budget and wondered why the Centre ignored the state.

Naidu's dilemma

Naidu and the TDP have repeatedly shifted their stance on the alliance with BJP in the last few days. On 2 February, Naidu apparently dissuaded his senior party colleagues from speaking about the fate of the alliance with BJP.

Two days later, the TDP said its alliance with BJP in Andhra Pradesh and the Centre was very much alive.

"As and when it is required, the chief minister and party chief will take the decision. As of today, it (the alliance) is just going on. We never said (about snapping ties)...it's all speculation," TDP leader and Union minister Y Satyanarayana Chowdary was quoted as saying by PTI on 4 February.

Three days later, launching a scathing attack on the government, TDP gave the Centre an ultimatum. The party even hinted that if the demands were not met, the TDP would leave the alliance.

"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," TDP MP Jayadev Galla was quoted as saying by IANS.

With inputs from agencies
Rajya Sabha saw two adjournments on Friday as members from Andhra Pradesh, including NDA ally TDP, continued their protest demanding a special package for the state.

New Delhi: The Rajya Sabha saw two adjournments on Friday as members from Andhra Pradesh, including NDA ally TDP, continued their protest demanding a special package for the state.

When the House met for the day and papers were laid on the table, Congress MP KVP Ramachandra Rao walked into the Well of the House holding a banner that read: "Implement Special Category Status, Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, assurance given by PM on 20.02.2014."

A group of TDP members soon joined him with their own placards and shouted slogans like "We want justice."

Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu asked members to return to their seats so that the Zero Hour could be taken up.

With members refusing to heed to his requests, Naidu said he had two options before him - adjourn the house or name the MPs.

TMC MP Derek O'Brien urged the chair to take action against MPs so that the Zero Hour and further discussion on the Union Budget could take place. Congress MP Satyavrat Chaturvedi too urged Naidu to take action so that the Zero Hour could be taken up.

Naidu, however, adjourned the proceedings till 12 pm.

When the House met again, Opposition members including O'Brien suggested that the Question Hour be done away with and discussion on the Budget commenced.

The chairman consented and Samajwadi Party MP Neeraj Shekhar began his speech. He said the Budget was not in the interest of weaker sections.

However, members of the TDP and Rao again moved to the Well of the House. TDP members began shouting "We want justice" slogans.

Chairman Naidu then adjourned the House till 2.30 pm.

Some opposition members stood on their seats to show their unhappiness as they were keen on the Budget discussion.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, BJP chief Amit Shah, Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad and others were then seen engaged in a discussion.
The incumbent Chief Minister Manik Sarkar has been in power since 1998, making him one of the longest-serving state chiefs in the country.

"Throw the old Manik, adopt HIRA BJP."

This was the leading theme of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's political rally in Tripura's Sonamura and Kailashahar. HIRA was another of his acronyms - standing for Highway, Iways, Roads and Airways. Manik was soon trending on Twitter.

"The BJP government was the first, after Independence, to take forceful multi-pronged steps to develop North East India," Modi said. Attacking the Left Front government in the state, Modi said that the northeastern state can't be cut off from the rest of the country as India's development depended on the development of Tripura.

Tripura is India's only state ruled by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPM. The state has been ruled by the Left Front since 1978 with only a five-year break in between (1988 and 1993) when a Congress-led coalition ruled the state.

Since 2014, when the BJP formed the government at the Centre, Modi and his core team's strategy in the North East has been a significant part of the saffron party's agenda of extending their ever-increasing electoral base in the country.

It was in the early 1990s when the Indian government introduced its "Look East" policy for the first time ushering the region at least in the perspective of development and growth. Unfortunately, while the erstwhile "Look East" policy opened up significant bilateral cooperation with Southeast Asia and the ASEAN regional group, the North East per se did not feature much in this initiative beyond the rhetoric.

It was only with the coining of the "Act East" policy by the Modi-led government that the perspective of this region has undergone some change. The government has positioned the North East as the gateway to Southeast Asia and beyond and, through multi-pronged efforts of a sustained engagement, developing physical connectivity and encouraging greater investment flows, has given rise to a distinct upbeat view about the region.

This brings us to Modi's rally in Sonamura and Kailashahar on Thursday. The prime minister attacked the CPM government for failing to "develop" the state despite staying in power for two decades. He also slammed the Sarkar government over unemployment among youths and the "stagnant" quality of life in the state. However, Modi's speech was repetitive of prime minister's earlier promise of acche din and vikas that the BJP has been selling in all elections.

The incumbent chief minister Manik Sarkar has been in power since 1998, making him one of the longest-serving state chiefs in the country. As with any long-serving governments, Tripura, too has seen its share of good and bad days.

While the Manik Sarkar government has been lauded for reducing militancy in the state and getting the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) repealed, it has also been criticised for its stand on demands for a separate state of Twipraland (also called Tipraland). Let's take a look at issues which could pose an electoral headache for Sarkar.

Unemployment

According to the Economic Survey, India's unemployment rate has registered a slight increase since the BJP government began its term in May 2014, despite the government's professed emphasis on job creation. The unemployment rate in 2015-16 was five percent of the labour force, up from 4.9 percent in 2013-14, the year before the BJP assumed power. The 2016-17 Economic Survey, based on data from the labour ministry, stated: "Employment growth has been sluggish."

Among states, Kerala has the third highest unemployment rate in the country, just after Tripura and Sikkim. According to this document, Tripura has the highest unemployment rate of 19.7 percent followed by Sikkim (18.1 percent) and Kerala (12.5 percent).

During his two-day visit to the state, BJP chief Amit Shah claimed that in a small state like Tripura, which has a population of a little over 36 lakh, seven lakh youths were unemployed. "Those in the CPM say, (Tripura) chief minister Manik Sarkar is a good man. We know that the unemployment problem is acute here, but they say Manik babu is a good man. What I want to know is, if he is good, why is the condition of the people of the state not so good," he said.

Allegations of corruption

Several media reports have dubbed this year's election in Tripura as the "toughest electoral battles" in Sarkar's lifetime. After a winning spree in the North East (Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh), the BJP will hope to consolidate its hold over the other five states. While fissures between the Bengali-speaking majority and the 31 percent indigenous people has been the leitmotif of Tripura's political battle and political parties in the fray continue to explore these fault lines, the saffron party has raised issues of corruption against the Sarkar government.

Addressing a rally in Tripura's Kulai in early February, Shah alleged that many Tripura ministers were directly involved in chit fund scams and added that they would be sent to jail if the saffron party wrested power from the CPM in the upcoming Assembly polls. The BJP chief said that the party had demanded a CBI inquiry into the Rose Valley chit fund scam in the northeastern state and alleged that the Left Front government did not order a probe to protect their own interest.

Out of the 30 years that the CPM has been in power in the state, Sarkar has governed Tripura for 20 years and his known for his "scrupulous honesty". The chief minister was also found to be the poorest chief minister of the country. In his election affidavit, he said he had Rs 1,520 in his wallet and about Rs 2,410 in his bank account. According to the affidavit, he does not own a car, house, or any other assets and has never filed an income tax return.

Addressing the Sonamura rally on Thursday, Modi said while the chief minister wore white kurta, he has a "dark side" which is hidden from the public. Modi claimed that the Left government, he said, "cheated the people by giving poor wages" when people in other parts of the country got paid more. "The Manik Sarkar government is unable to spend Central money properly. The Left government is looting the money of the poor. Out of every Rs 100 spent in Tripura, the Central government is giving Rs 80," the prime minister said.

'CPM has not delivered anything to the state'

Sarkar is a formidable opponent for the BJP. With all the claims of corruption, unemployment and the lack of development in the state, the BJP knows that hike to Tripura won't be an easy one. Himanta Biswa Sarma, who has been appointed as the in-charge for election in Tripura, had conceded that Tripura could be the most difficult battle for the BJP in the region.

However, BJP leader Sunil Deodhar, who has been entrusted with the responsibility of the state, cited several reasons as to why Sarkar won't return as the chief minister of Tripura. "Even though he has been on the chief minister's chair for the last 20 years, the percentage of people below the poverty line is 67 percent. This in itself, proves that he has done nothing for his state. When he became the chief minister, the number of registered unemployed youth was 85,000 and now it is 7.25 lakh in the state. The crime rate is high, the conviction rate is low. He is running the government for the party and not for the state. And that is why there is a strong anti-incumbency sentiment in the state against him, his government and his party. That is the main reason why I think that this time CPM is going to lose the state."

Even though the News X- Jan Ki Baat opinion poll has predicted that BJP-IPFT coalition in Tripura is likely to win 31-37 seats out of the total 60 Assembly constituencies in the state, it is too early to say anything at all at this point. The survey also predicted that the ruling CPM may get 23-29 seats; while the Congress and other parties may not win any seat in the state.
Hitting out at criminal elements, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath said those who wanted to disturb the peace, and believed in the language of the gun, deserved to be answered in the same tongue.

Gorakhpur: Hitting out at criminal elements, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday said those who wanted to disturb the peace, and believed in the language of the gun, deserved to be answered in the same tongue.

"Everyone should be guaranteed security, but those who want to disturb peace of the society and believe in the gun, should be given the answer in the language of the gun itself. I would tell the administration, that there is no need to worry on this," Adityanath said in Gorakhpur.

No political inclination could provide respite to those spreading anarchy or breaking parliamentary traditions, the chief minister warned.

Earlier speaking to reporters in Lucknow, Adityanath had said, "The opposition leaders' ... rude, unparliamentary, indecorous and indecent behaviour... is despicable."

"This type of behaviour shatters the parliamentary tradition ... Paper balls were thrown, balloons were flown. The use of foul language for the governor by the Samajwadi Party members in the presence of their leaders is indeed unparliamentary and an despicable act," he had said.

The behaviour pointed to the anarchy that was there in the state under the earlier rule, Adityanath added.

"These people are yet to come out of their mindset of anarchy  which they had allowed in the state  and they do not want the House to be free from that anarchy," he said.

The Uttar Pradesh chief minister on Thursday inaugurated the Gorakhpur Industrial Development Authority building and LED road lights from Kalesar to Nausad Chauraha and also the laid foundation stone of a government polytechnic college in Hardi village of Sahjanwa area of the district.

He said, "Development is the only way for prosperity. With the polytechnic becoming operational, youth will be able to get technical education in their area. If we want to stop migration from villages, we need to develop the villages."

Taking a jibe at the previous state governments, he said, "Previous state governments were more interested in appeasement and vote bank politics. Samajwadi Party government was more interested in slaughter houses and we are interested in development. At the place where Samajwadi Party government had wanted to open a slaughter house, we will open the gateway of development. After 26 years, the fertiliser workshop opened."
Karan Pradhan

"It first came to our attention on the morning of 10 July, 2010, when soon after my daily directors briefing, the Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team watch officer informed me about a call we received from our partner agency in Germany about a malware sample they received that had some very unique characteristics, recalls Sean McGurk  then director, Control Systems Security at the US Department of Homeland Security  about his first run-in with Stuxnet.

A couple of years after a 28- year-long stint with the US Navy, McGurk was in the role that put him in the eye of the Stuxnet storm. He would later be appointed director, National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Centre (NCCIC) at the DHS, before moving to the private sector. Now, over seven years since his run-in with Stuxnet, McGurk serves as a senior policy advisor at the Industrial Control System Information Sharing and Analysis Centre.

While Iran bore the greatest brunt of Stuxnet in losing nearly 1,000 of its 6,000 centrifuges in its Natanz power plant, such countries as Indonesia, India, Azerbaijan, the US, Pakistan and a handful of others also felt its wrath. Stuxnets emergence  as a worm that targeted Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA for short) systems  marked a watershed moment in global security.

Stuxnet

With the release of malware specifically targeting industrial control systems, we moved into a new domain of cyber-risk, explains McGurk, adding, Before Stuxnet, the main focus of information security was on enterprise networks and business and personal information. Most of the concern was on theft and fraud and not on destroying physical systems through cyber means. The situation changed markedly in the era in the post-Stuxnet world, where he notes an increase in physical attacks not only for the purposes of government-sponsored activity but also for commercial purposes and financial gain. The part about physical attacks is important because its worth keeping in mind, Stuxnet wasnt simply stealing information or manipulating data in the cyber-realm; it had jumped out into the real world where it was actually causing physical harm to systems.

But lets get back to 10 July, 2010.

After the call with the German partner agency, it began to send McGurks team a sample with some initial analysis. I asked why the malware team of the US Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) was not taking the lead. Thats when I was informed that the malware in question appeared to be infecting control systems, so the Industrial Control Systems (ICS) CERT had the lead, he notes, I left directions to notify me when the sample was received, and work was started on the analysis. And we began our tracking process to document the activity.

Having shared samples with partners, domestic and international, both ICS-CERT and US-CERT personnel started malware analysis. Once the work began, we forwarded a sample of the code to our Control Systems Security Lab for additional analysis and review. I received a call from the malware team at approximately 4 pm that day that this was a very sophisticated piece of malware that appeared to be targeting a specific manufacturer of industrial control systems, says McGurk. As it would later transpire, the manufacturer was Siemens.

Unfortunately, he adds, Progress was delayed due to the use of enhanced encryption in the code that would require further analysis. By midday on 12 July, we began to understand the extent and possible impact of this type of malware attacking control system networks. It was five days later, that ICS-CERT published the first public notification on the malware and its potential impact. From this point on, internal briefings with government, industry and international partners commenced with daily updates on the status of analysis.

Whodunnit?

Over the years, reports have emerged indicating that the US and Israel were responsible for the creation of Stuxnet, that it was a weapon that emerged from a cyber strategy devised by George W Bush and accelerated by his successor Barack Obama and so on.

Comments? Although there is much speculation as far as the origin and the intent of the malware there has never been any indicators in the code to attribute it to a specific group, groups or nation-state, the former US Navy command master chief told Firstpost, adding, Keep in mind, Stuxnet was one of the most sophisticated and advanced pieces of malware discovered at that time.

McGurk puts the sophistication of Stuxnet into perspective in five points:

First, Stuxnet made use of four significant zero-day vulnerabilities. Most malware uses existing vulnerabilities or may exploit a single zero-day vulnerability.

Second, two Stuxnet variants each used a different digital certificate taken from technology companies located at the Hsinchu Technology Park (Taiwan). These were valid software certificates attesting to the authentication of the code.

Third, with over 4,000 functions, Stuxnet contains as much code as some commercial software products.

Fourth, Stuxnet used many advanced programming techniques that demonstrate advanced knowledge in many areas including anti-virus and network communications protocols.

And fifth, it used a sophisticated infection and data exfiltration method previous not identified in other malware samples.

Cyberweapons of today

If all of this sounds frightening, its worth bearing in mind that Stuxnet happened a whole seven-plus years ago. Offensive cyber capabilities globally have come a long way since then. Today, as a result of Stuxnet, we see not only the capability to disrupt business but the desire to do so. There are numerous examples of malware campaigns such as Shamoon, Mahdi, Duqu, Flame, Skywiper, Black Energy and Petya/Notpetya that are designed to deny, disrupt and destroy your ability to conduct business and deliver goods and services, points out McGurk.

As a people, we arent naive enough to imagine this sort of thing only belongs in the world of sci-fi anymore. However, like most of the best sci-fi, theres plenty of room for things to be much worse. With the recent identification of the Hatman/Trisis/Triton malware that targets safety systems, we have moved into a new era of risk to critical infrastructure and life and safety, explains McGurk somewhat ominously.

According to the NCCIC, the job of safety systems in critical infrastructure is to provide a way for a process to safely shut down when it has encountered unsafe operating conditions, and provide a high degree of safety and reliability with important monitoring capabilities for process engineers. Take that away and what youre left with is an immensely dangerous scenario. The key aspect of safety systems is that they are designed in a manner that even if they were to fail, the manner of failure would be entirely predictable. Worst-case scenarios are usually known and importantly, predictable. Take away the safety net of the ability to anticipate and what youre left with is an immensely dangerous situation.

On cyberwar

Swindling a few million dollars from a major multinational is one thing, but sabotaging the safety systems of critical infrastructure like a power plant or air traffic control  and putting the lives of potentially millions of innocent people  is another altogether. Its here that a crucial question needs to be asked: How do you draw the line between an act of cybercrime and cyberwar?

It is difficult to distinguish between the two but perhaps a distinguishing factor may be for financial gain as opposed to a national or economic advantage, offers McGurk, Nation-states or nation-state-sponsored criminal activity may utilise the same tools, techniques and procedures (TTPS) but for different purposes or outcomes.

He continues, I support a global approach to cyber activity, however, lacking clear definitions on what constitutes a cyber act of war makes developing a protocol or convention difficult.

In Laws of War: Opening of hostilities under the Hague Convention of 1909, war must be declared  The contracting powers recognise that hostilities between themselves must not commence without previous and explicit warning, in the form either of a reasoned declaration of war or of an ultimatum with conditional declaration of war, as per Article 1  and other nation-states must be made aware of the state of war  The existence of a state of war must be notified to the neutral powers without delay, and shall not take effect in regard to them until after the receipt of a notification, as per Article 2. When at war, the Geneva Convention and International Humanitarian Law governs all the acts contained within the said state of war, including the idea that non-combatants and civilians may not be targeted.

But how on earth do you govern something like cyber war, that by its nature is covert, unspoken and largely targets non-combatants? Bear in mind, cyber weapons work best when they are unleashed without warning and attribution (ie pinpointing the source of an attack) is still far from accurate. Does this mean then that we need to assume we are permanently in a state of war with one and all in cyberspace?

The Geneva Convention addresses conduct during wartime actions, acknowledges McGurk and offers, We require a more comprehensive approach that extends to normal online activity. There is a place for a digital Geneva Convention to address wartime activity, however, we need something that applies day-to-day.

As of the time of writing, there is neither consensus nor a clear idea of what that will look like and there isnt reason to be optimistic that theres such a document on the horizon, what with nation-states rarely even acknowledging their own offensive cyber capabilities, leave alone discussing them with other nation-states.

What nation-states should do

In order to move forward, a directed public/private partnership is necessary, says McGurk. Its no secret that private players are far more proactive than the public sector in most countries and that government red tape frequently slows down the speed of development. Governments, internationally, must develop a framework for cyber systems, communications, connectivity and security. The private sector must work with the framework to develop secure by design systems and mitigate the risk associated with legacy-based systems, he adds. This, it is believed, will provide a way to address gaps and close vulnerabilities within critical infrastructure.

The world learned its collective lesson about the perils of atomic bombs after the 1945 bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As of 2018, while countries have built and strengthened nuclear capabilities, not one nuclear weapon has been used by one nation-state against another in the 73 intervening years. Could the same happen with cyberweapons?

I do not believe we need a digital major disaster in order for governments and industries to understand and address the threats that cyber warfare may pose. We are all raising the level of awareness within our respective areas, says McGurk. Its worth recalling at this point, a statement made by the former DHS man back at a Senate hearing in April 2011. He had said, No single agency has sole responsibility for securing cyberspace, and the success of our cybersecurity mission relies on effective communication and critical partnerships.

Globally, it stands to reason that this should apply to governments across the world when it comes to securing cyberspace. Needless to say, that isnt something thats happening. My concern is that we are taking a limited national approach as opposed to a global approach. No one government agency or private sector company will be able to solve the problem. It will take the coordinated effort of the global community in order to properly address the risk, says McGurk and offers a sliver of encouragement, Simply because of the installed base and infrastructure investments India has made, it is in a position to lead that effort on a scale that other nations cannot match.

He elaborates, Numerous reports cite India as the largest connected country globally. From digital identity, digital banking and data usage, India is ideally positioned to provide worldwide leadership in the digital era.
tech2 News Staff

While the network icons on top right corner of your Android smartphone may not be accurate to a T, they still do give you an idea about the quality of the cellular network in your area. According to an XDA find in the Android Open Source Project (AOSP), things may get a bit complicated with the upcoming Android P milestone software update, where carriers get to define what we see on those LTE network bars.

Over time, many have questioned how accurate the representation of these network indicators really are. The same was the case with Apple's Antennagate where the tech giant simply fixed its low network hardware problem on the iPhone 4 with a simple software update. So the big question right now is how accurate are those network indicators actually are?

To make things more complicated (or worse) commits in the AOSP have revealed that carriers might get control over what a smartphone owner (or subscriber) perceives is the signal strength (e.g. one bar means low strength) on their smartphone in terms of the network bars.

XDA reports that the carriers mentioned in the commits include "Vodafone Libertel in the Netherlands (20404), Verizon Wireless in the United States (311480), and Telstra Corp. in Australia (50501, 50511, 50571, 50572)".

In theory, carriers with Android P will be able to adjust (read tweak) the bars to better reflect the signal specific to a location. This could be for regularisation of what network strength really means to different countries. For example, what is excellent strength (full four bars or a full triangle) in India may be average according to cellular networks in the UK.

Of course, this also opens up a can of worms if or when carriers try to mask the network bars on your smartphone to show that the signal is excellent, while what you are really getting is far from it.

Thankfully, as XDA reports it's not complete control, as third-party apps in the Play Store are currently able to bypass the software controls to and access the hardware without any restriction, to reveal the true signal strength of the networks around you.

Currently, only the carrier-specific (or carrier locked) smartphones that currently allow for such tweaking. As for the rest of us, the signal strength thresholds can only be defined by our smartphone manufacturers.
tech2 News Staff

Hardware behemoths, Qualcomm and Samsung have announced a multi-year strategic relationship agreement where both companies will work together to enhance their strengths in various technology areas, across a range of mobile devices.

Qualcomm Incorporated's Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. subsidiary in particular will work with Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. in a longstanding deal that will see the industry transition from 4G to 5G.

The announcement today underscores the importance of our longstanding strategic relationship with Samsung in driving core mobile technology into many different segments, said Cristiano Amon, president, Qualcomm Incorporated. As Qualcomm continues to lead the world to 5G, the opportunities between our companies are growing and this agreement sets us both on a path for continued success.

We value our strategic relationship with Qualcomm Technologies, said TM Roh, executive vice president and the head of mobile R&D, Samsung Electronics. And look forward to working together to deliver leading technologies in the years ahead.

The news surprisingly comes a week after a Bloomberg report pointed out the fact that Apple over the years, has turned into a chip building 'powerhouse' as it gradually threatens to move away from both Qualcomm and Intel.

The report revealed citing an insider that Apple is working on three new Mac models that will feature custom co-processors to be launched this year. The same will be used on both desktops and laptops.

When it comes to smartphones, Apple seems eerily close to building (or may already have) its own wholly-made SoC, which would eliminate its dependence on Qualcomm (and Intel) entirely for baseband modems.

Apple since the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X, (after it kicked out Imagination Technologies), is only reliant on Qualcomm and Intel (market specific) for its modems on the A11 Bionic SoC.
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Reuters

Technology companies including Alphabet Inc and Facebook Inc on 8 February threw their weight behind a congressional bid to reverse the Trump administrations plan to repeal Obama-era rules designed to protect an open internet.

US Senate Democrats said last month they had the backing of 50 members of the 100-person chamber for a reversal of the Federal Communications Commissions (FCC) plan, leaving them just one vote short of a majority.

The FCC voted along party lines in December to repeal net neutrality regulations. Those rules, introduced in 2015, were lauded by tech companies and consumer groups but denounced by internet service providers as hindering investment.

The Internet Association, which represents Googles parent, Facebook, Amazon.com Inc, Microsoft Corp, Netflix Inc and many others, said in a letter on 8 February to Senate leaders that it backed the Senate effort to reverse the vote, but also called for a long-term fix.

The internet industry urges Congress to legislate a permanent solution, the group said in the letter made public on 8 February. The time has come for a bipartisan effort to establish permanent net neutrality rules.

A public backlash against the FCCs plan, especially among younger people, has raised concerns among some politicians about how the issue might play out in the 2018 congressional elections.

More than 20 US state attorneys general are also mounting a legal challenge of the FCCs vote to reverse the rules introduced in 2015 that prevent internet providers, such as AT&T Inc and Comcast Corp, from obstructing information they transmit to customers or offering paid fast lanes, also known as paid prioritisation.

While the FCC reversal will lift those restrictions on providers, a future FCC could reimpose them and internet providers have also urged Congress to write new laws to end a decade-long dispute over the future of the internet. Democrats have shown little interest in working to write new rules.

Internet companies say that without net neutrality protection, many Americans will have little recourse. The letter on 8 February said that more than half of all Americans have no choice in their provider, and 87 percent of rural Americans have no choice.

USTelecom, which represents AT&T, Verizon Communications Inc and other phone companies, said we couldnt agree more that Congress needs to engage on (net neutrality) to craft a bill that addresses the key issues, includes all players in the ecosystem and finally resolves the disruptive policy back and forth.
Reuters

YouTube found no evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 Brexit referendum, a senior executive told a British parliamentary committee inquiry into fake news.

Britains Digital, Media, Culture and Sport Committee took evidence on 8 February at George Washington University as part of its inquiry.

Juniper Downs, YouTubes global head of public policy, said the Google division found no evidence of Russian interference in the Brexit referendum.

Relations between Russia and Britain are strained. In 2017, the British Prime Minister Theresa May accused Moscow of military aggression and said there was evidence of Russias meddling in foreign elections.

The Kremlin, which under Vladimir Putin has clawed back some of the global influence lost when the Soviet Union collapsed, has denied meddling in elections in the West. It says anti-Russian hysteria is sweeping through the United States and Europe.

Britain says it has not seen any evidence that Russia interfered in British elections, though May has said it has planted fake news stories and photo-shopped images in an attempt to sow discord and undermine the West.

Facebook executive Simon Milner told the hearing that Britains Electoral Commission had asked it to investigate whether Russian fake information was disseminated through Facebook in connection with the Brexit referendum.

Milner said Facebook did provide some information in late 2017 to the Commission but that agency felt the companys work was inadequate, so Facebook is now undertaking more work which will be completed by the end of February.
The killings in the coastal village of Inn Din marked another bloody episode in the ethnic violence sweeping northern Rakhine state, on Myanmar's western fringe

Bound together, the 10 Rohingya Muslim captives watched their Buddhist neighbors dig a shallow grave. Soon afterwards, on the morning of 2 September, all 10 lay dead. At least two were hacked to death by Buddhist villagers. The rest were shot by Myanmar troops, two of the gravediggers said.

"One grave for 10 people," said Soe Chay, 55, a retired soldier from Inn Din's Rakhine Buddhist community who said he helped dig the pit and saw the killings. The soldiers shot each man two or three times, he said. "When they were being buried, some were still making noises. Others were already dead."

The killings in the coastal village of Inn Din marked another bloody episode in the ethnic violence sweeping northern Rakhine state, on Myanmar's western fringe. Nearly 690,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled their villages and crossed the border into Bangladesh since August. None of Inn Din's 6,000 Rohingya remained in the village as of October.

The Rohingya accuse the army of arson, rapes and killings aimed at rubbing them out of existence in this mainly Buddhist nation of 53 million. The United Nations has said the army may have committed genocide; the United States has called the action ethnic cleansing. Myanmar says its "clearance operation" is a legitimate response to attacks by Rohingya insurgents.

Rohingya trace their presence in Rakhine back centuries. But most Burmese consider them to be unwanted immigrants from Bangladesh; the army refers to the Rohingya as "Bengalis". In recent years, sectarian tensions have risen and the government has confined more than 100,000 Rohingya in camps where they have limited access to food, medicine and education.

Reuters has pieced together what happened in Inn Din in the days leading up to the killing of the 10 Rohingya  eight men and two high school students in their late teens.

Until now, accounts of the violence against the Rohingya in Rakhine state have been provided only by its victims. The Reuters reconstruction draws for the first time on interviews with Buddhist villagers who confessed to torching Rohingya homes, burying bodies and killing Muslims.

This account also marks the first time soldiers and paramilitary police have been implicated by testimony from security personnel themselves. Members of the paramilitary police gave Reuters insider descriptions of the operation to drive out the Rohingya from Inn Din, confirming that the military played the lead role in the campaign.

The slain men's families, now sheltering in Bangladesh refugee camps, identified the victims through photographs shown to them by Reuters. The dead men were fishermen, shopkeepers, the two teenage students and an Islamic teacher.

Three photographs, provided to Reuters by a Buddhist village elder, capture key moments in the massacre at Inn Din, from the Rohingya men's detention by soldiers in the early evening of 1 September to their execution shortly after 10 am on 2 September. Two photos  one taken the first day, the other on the day of the killings  show the 10 captives lined up in a row, kneeling. The final photograph shows the men's bloodied bodies piled in the shallow grave.

The Reuters investigation of the Inn Din massacre was what prompted Myanmar police authorities to arrest two of the news agencys reporters. The reporters, Burmese citizens Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, were detained on 12 December for allegedly obtaining confidential documents relating to Rakhine.

Then, on 10 January, the military issued a statement that confirmed portions of what Wa Lone, Kyaw Soe Oo and their colleagues were preparing to report, acknowledging that 10 Rohingya men were massacred in the village. It confirmed that Buddhist villagers attacked some of the men with swords and soldiers shot the others dead.

The statement coincided with an application to the court by prosecutors to charge Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo under Myanmar's Official Secrets Act, which dates back to the time of colonial British rule. The charges carry a maximum 14-year prison sentence.

But the military's version of events is contradicted in important respects by accounts given to Reuters by Rakhine Buddhist and Rohingya Muslim witnesses. The military said the 10 men belonged to a group of 200 "terrorists" that attacked security forces. Soldiers decided to kill the men, the army said, because intense fighting in the area made it impossible to transfer them to police custody. The army said it would take action against those involved.

Buddhist villagers interviewed for this article reported no attack by a large number of insurgents on security forces in Inn Din. And Rohingya witnesses told Reuters that soldiers plucked the 10 from among hundreds of men, women and children who had sought safety on a nearby beach.

Scores of interviews with Rakhine Buddhist villagers, soldiers, paramilitary police, Rohingya Muslims and local administrators further revealed:

 The military and paramilitary police organised Buddhist residents of Inn Din and at least two other villages to torch Rohingya homes, more than a dozen Buddhist villagers said. Eleven Buddhist villagers said Buddhists committed acts of violence, including killings. The government and army have repeatedly blamed Rohingya insurgents for burning villages and homes.

 An order to "clear" Inn Din's Rohingya hamlets was passed down the command chain from the military, said three paramilitary police officers speaking on condition of anonymity and a fourth police officer at an intelligence unit in the regional capital Sittwe. Security forces wore civilian clothes to avoid detection during raids, one of the paramilitary police officers said.

 Some members of the paramilitary police looted Rohingya property, including cows and motorcycles, in order to sell it, according to village administrator Maung Thein Chay and one of the paramilitary police officers.

 Operations in Inn Din were led by the army's 33rd Light Infantry Division, supported by the paramilitary 8th Security Police Battalion, according to four police officers, all of them members of the battalion.

Michael G. Karnavas, a US lawyer based in The Hague who has worked on cases at international criminal tribunals, said evidence that the military had organised Buddhist civilians to commit violence against Rohingya "would be the closest thing to a smoking gun in establishing not just intent, but even specific genocidal intent, since the attacks seem designed to destroy the Rohingya or at least a significant part of them".

Evidence of the execution of men in government custody also could be used to build a case of crimes against humanity against military commanders, Karnavas said, if it could be shown that it was part of a "widespread or systematic" campaign targeting the Rohingya population. Kevin Jon Heller, a University of London law professor who served as a legal associate for convicted war criminal and former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, said an order to clear villages by military command was "unequivocally the crime against humanity of forcible transfer".

In December, the US imposed sanctions on the army officer who had been in charge of Western Command troops in Rakhine, Major General Maung Maung Soe. So far, however, Myanmar has not faced international sanctions over the violence. Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi has disappointed many former supporters in the West by not speaking out against the army's actions. They had hoped the election of her National League for Democracy party in 2015 would bring democratic reform and an opening of the country. Instead, critics say, Suu Kyi is in thrall to the generals who freed her from house arrest in 2010.

Asked about the evidence Reuters has uncovered about the massacre, government spokesman Zaw Htay said, "We are not denying the allegations about violations of human rights. And we are not giving blanket denials."

If there was "strong and reliable primary evidence" of abuses, the government would investigate, he said. "And then if we found the evidence is true and the violations are there, we will take the necessary action according to our existing law."

When told that paramilitary police officers had said they received orders to "clear" Inn Din's Rohingya hamlets, he replied, "We have to verify. We have to ask the Ministry of Home Affairs and Myanmar police forces."

Asked about the allegations of looting by paramilitary police officers, he said the police would investigate.

He expressed surprise when told that Buddhist villagers had confessed to burning Rohingya homes, then added, "We recognise that many, many different allegations are there, but we need to verify who did it. It is very difficult in the current situation."

Zaw Htay defended the military operation in Rakhine. "The international community needs to understand who did the first terrorist attacks. If that kind of terrorist attack took place in European countries, in the US, in London, New York, Washington, what would the media say?" he asked.
Bangladesh's main Opposition party named the exiled eldest son of Khaleda Zia as its acting head on Friday, a day after a court jailed its leader for corruption.

Dhaka: Bangladesh's main Opposition party named the exiled eldest son of Khaleda Zia as its acting head on Friday, a day after a court jailed its leader for corruption.

Zia, 72, spent the night in jail after she was sentenced to five years over the embezzlement of $252,000 meant for an orphanage, a charge she has dismissed as politically motivated.

Her son Tarique Rahman, who was also found guilty of involvement, but escaped prison because he lives in London, will be the party's interim leader.

"He is the new acting chairman in accordance with the party's constitution," Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) secretary general Fakhrul Islam Alamgir told AFP.

The conviction could prevent Zia from running in a general election slated for December, although she is expected to appeal.

She spent the night in what her party officials say is a disused jail in the old part of Dhaka.

"She is in isolation," said Alamgir, adding that her conviction is "part of a government blueprint to establish one-party rule".

Rahman, 53, fled to London in 2008 after he was detained by an army-backed government for more than 18 months.

In 2016, he was convicted in absentia and sentenced to seven years in jail on charges of money laundering.

Prosecutors have also sought his death sentence over a 2004 grenade attack at a rally of current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in which more than 20 people were killed and she was injured.

The BNP plans to stage nationwide demonstrations late Friday afternoon in protest at the verdict.

Alamgir said Opposition parties had been barred from holding protests and alleged curbs on media freedom by the government.

Violence erupted in major cities across Bangladesh as news of the guilty verdict spread on Thursday, with BNP supporters clashing with police and activists from the ruling party.

Police fired rubber bullets at demonstrators in the northeastern city of Sylhet. At least four people have been injured in the clashes.

Authorities have for days been on high alert for protests in tense Dhaka, where political demonstrations by BNP and its Islamist allies in 2014 and 2015 left nearly 200 people dead.

Around 3,500 Opposition activists and officials were arrested in a sweep by security forces ahead of the verdict, according to the BNP.

Zia is a former ally turned arch-foe of Hasina. Her party boycotted 2014 polls in which Hasina was re-elected but is expected to contest the upcoming general election.
America is a nation of believers, President Donald Trump said on Thursday at the annual National Prayer Breakfast.

Washington: America is a nation of believers, President Donald Trump said on Thursday at the annual National Prayer Breakfast.

In his second appearance at the annual National Prayer Breakfast, Trump steered clear of partisan politics and focused on his belief in the countrys dependence on God.

"America is a nation of believers, and together we are strengthened by the power of prayer, Trump said, addressing a gathering of national and international religious leaders and people of eminence.

Addressing the 66th annual event, Trump said each year, this event reminds that faith is central to American life and liberty.

"Our founders invoked our Creator four times in the Declaration of Independence. Our currency declares, 'In God We Trust'. And we place our hands on our hearts as we recite the Pledge of Allegiance and proclaim we are 'One Nation Under God'," he said amidst applause from the audience.

The National Prayer Breakfast is a massive ecumenical gathering put on annually by a group of Christians who want to focus on a shared admiration of Jesus.

Every president since Dwight D Eisenhower has attended the event, which draws several thousand people from around the world, especially evangelicals, who have proved strong supporters of the Trump administration.

"Our rights are not given to us by man; our rights come from our Creator. No matter what, no Earthly force can take those rights away. That is why the words 'Praise be to God' are etched atop the Washington Monument, and those same words are etched into the hearts of our people," he said.

"So today, we praise God for how truly blessed we are to be American," he said.

"We see the Lord's grace in the service members who risk their lives for our freedom. We see it in the teachers who work tirelessly for their students, and the police who sacrifice for our communities  and sacrifice they do, he said.

"And we see the Lord's grace in the moms and dads who work two and three jobs to give their children the chance for a better and much more prosperous and happier life."

He praised first responders and citizens who rushed to help victims of hurricanes, wildfires and mass shootings, as examples of the goodness of the human soul.

"When catastrophic hurricanes struck, first responders and everyday citizens dove into rushing waters to save stranded families from danger. And they saved them by the thousands. Neighbours opened their homes to those in need of food, clothes, shelter. Firefighters braved blinding smoke and flames to rescue children from devastating wildfires," said the US president.

Trump said when Americans are able to live by their convictions, to speak openly of their faith, and to teach their children what is right, families thrive, communities flourish, and nation can achieve anything at all.

"Together, as Americans, we are a tireless force for justice and for peace. We have witnessed this truth over the past year. For years, ISIS had brutally tortured and murdered Christians, Jews, religious minorities, and countless Muslims," he said.

Today, the coalition to defeat ISIS has liberated almost 100 percent of the territory just recently held by these killers in Iraq and all throughout Syria, he said.

"Much work will always remain, but we will never rest until that job is completely done. And we are really doing it like never before," he said.

He said that millions of people in Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, North Korea, and other countries suffer under repressive and brutal regimes.

"America stands with all people suffering oppression and religious persecution," Trump said in his address.
A US bill that encourages reciprocal visits by US and Taiwanese government officials threatens stability in the Taiwan Strait and the United States must withdraw it, Chinas Foreign Ministry said

Beijing: A US bill that encourages reciprocal visits by US and Taiwanese government officials threatens stability in the Taiwan Strait and the United States must withdraw it, Chinas Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

The bill passed the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations this week and will now move to the Senate.

Beijing considers democratic Taiwan to be a wayward province and integral part of one China, ineligible for state-to-state relations and has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control.

The United States has no formal ties with Taiwan but is bound by law to help it defend itself and is the islands main source of arms. China regularly says Taiwan is the most sensitive issue in its ties with Washington.

Speaking at a daily news briefing in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said though the clauses in the bill are not legally binding they are a serious violation of the one China principle.

If it is passed and put into effect, it will cause serious disturbances to Sino-US relations and the situation in the Taiwan Strait, Geng said.

China is extremely dissatisfied and resolutely opposed to this and has already lodged stern representations with the US side, he added.

The One China principle is the political basis of Sino-US relations.

The United States should stick to its promises made to China about Taiwan, cease discussion of this bill and protect relations between the two countries and stability in the Taiwan Strait, Geng said.

Taiwan has welcomed the bill, which would allow senior US government officials to travel to Taiwan to meet with their Taiwanese counterparts.

The passage of the bill by the committee shows the strong bipartisan support to deepen two-way exchanges and interactions of officials from both sides, Taiwans foreign ministry said in a statement.

The foreign ministry expresses its welcome and its thanks, it said.

China has become increasingly hostile to Taiwan since the election as president of Tsai Ing-wen from the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party in 2016.

China suspects Tsai wants to push for formal independence, a red line for Communist Party leaders in Beijing, though she has said she wants to maintain the status quo and is committed to ensuring peace.
China has deployed the newly-acquired Russian-made Su-35 fighter jets in its combat mission over the disputed South China Sea to challenge recurring US aerial and naval patrols

Beijing: China has deployed the newly-acquired Russian-made Su-35 fighter jets in its combat mission over the disputed South China Sea to challenge recurring US aerial and naval patrols asserting freedom of navigation and over-flight in region.

The Chinese air force recently sent its Su-35 fighter jets to take part in a joint combat patrol over the South China Sea, the Chinese air force said in a statement.

The US military is periodically sending warships and air force jets to assert freedom of flights and navigation over the South China Sea, as China claims most of it. Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have counter claims over the area.

This is the first time the People's Liberation Army Air Force has made public the deployment of its Su-35s, introduced to China in late 2016, the State-run People's Daily reported. The air force did not reveal when the patrol took place.

The release said the multi-role fighter jet's participation in combat exercises will help strengthen the air force's long-range operational capability. The air force will continue pushing forward training to improve combat capabilities, it said.

Officials from Russia's State technology corporation Rostec said earlier that Russia and China signed a contract that was estimated to be worth $2 billion for 24 Su-35s. The Su-35 is a multi-role fighter aircraft that can attack targets on the ground and the sea. The fighter aircraft can significantly improve the combat capability of the air force overseas.

"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 Guangyu, a retired major general and senior adviser to the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association, told State-run Global Times.

Although the air force did not reveal 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.
While China officially continues to maintain that there should not be any external interference especially in the light of reports of India's special forces ready for deployment, Beijing is also in touch with New Delhi to resolve the crisis, Chinese official sources said

Beijing: China on Friday said it is in touch with India to discuss a way to resolve the political turmoil gripping the Maldives and underlined that Beijing doesn't want the issue to become another "flashpoint".

While China officially continues to maintain that there should not be any external interference especially in the light of reports of India's special forces ready for deployment, Beijing is also in touch with New Delhi to resolve the crisis, Chinese official sources said.

China doesn't want the Maldives to become another "flashpoint", the sources told PTI in Beijing on Friday.

The stand-off between India and China in the Doka La area and Beijing's opposition to declaring Pakistan-based Masood Azhar as a global terrorist at the UN had been major irritants in bilateral ties in the past.

Answering a spate of questions on the Maldives, including Friday's telephonic conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US president Donald Trump, in which the situation in the Maldives figured prominently, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said international community should respect sovereignty and independence of the Maldives.

"The current situation in the Maldives is its internal affairs. It should be properly resolved through dialogue and consultations by all relevant parties," he said.

Maldives President Abdulla Yameen sent his Economic Development Minister Mohamed Saeed to China but India said it did not find the dates "suitable" for the visit of Maldives' foreign minister as special envoy to New Delhi.

The UN Security Council too met to discuss the Maldives situation. Ahead of the meeting, UN Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenca reported to have informed the top UN body that while there were no reports of violent clashes, "the situation in the Maldives is tense and may deteriorate even further".

Geng, while replying to a question on reports that Indian special forces were ready for deployment in the Maldives to evacuate Indians, said "non-interference in other countries is an important principle of international relations".

"The international community should respect the will of the Maldives and play a constructive role in the stability and development of Maldives instead of doing the opposite," he said.

He said Saeed in his meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has introduced the current situation in the Maldives and said that the government is committed to uphold the rule of law and social order independently resolving the current issue and achieving national stability and development.

"The Maldives has the ability to protect the security of the Chinese personnel and the institutions," Saeed told Wang.

For his part, Wang said China is closely following the situation in the Maldives and believe that the government and people there have the ability to properly resolve the current issue and restore the normal order in the country in accordance with law, Geng said.

"China will not interfere in the internal affairs of the Maldives. This is also an important principle enshrined by UN charter. We support the Maldives government to properly resolve issues through dialogue and consultations with relevant parties and uphold independence, sovereignty and legitimate rights and interests of Maldives," Wang told Saeed according to Geng.

"China has offered self-less assistance to the Maldives" for its social development, Wang said adding that the cooperation benefits all the peoples in the Maldives.

However, it is not yet clear what is the takeaway from Saeed's China visit.

Asked how the Maldives can resolve the problem independently and unilaterally when top judges and leaders have been locked up by Yameen government, Geng retorted saying that "I think you should raise this question to Maldives government. How will they resolve their internal affairs (problems) you should ask them".

"I want to emphasise that China believes that the Maldives and people have the wisdom and capability to properly resolve the current issue faced them," he said

To another question whether Saeed sought China's help to tide over the crisis, Geng said.

"I can tell you that diplomatic channels between the two countries is smooth. China and the Maldives maintain normal and friendly exchanges," he said

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 international community should play a constructive role in promoting stability in the Maldives, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi told a visiting envoy from the troubled Indian Ocean island state, China's foreign ministry said.

Beijing: The international community should play a constructive role in promoting stability in the Maldives, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi told a visiting envoy from the troubled Indian Ocean island state, China's foreign ministry said on Friday.

The Maldives' embattled President Abdulla Yameen has sent envoys to friendly nations such as China, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to brief them on a political crisis that prompted him to impose a state of emergency on the tiny Indian Ocean archipelago, best known for its luxury hotels and dive resorts.

Regional power India has joined Britain, the United States and the United Nations in calling for the lifting of the emergency and the freeing of two Supreme Court judges who had sparked the crisis by ruling last week that imprisoned opponents of Yameen should be released.

Meeting in Beijing on Thursday, Wang told economic development minister Mohamed Saeed that China believes the Maldives government and people have the "wisdom and ability to appropriately handle the issue facing them and return the country to normal order in accordance with the law", China's foreign ministry said in a statement.

"China does not interfere in the Maldives internal affairs, which is also an important criterion of the rules of the United Nations charter," Wang said.

China supports the Maldives government to resolve differences via dialogue and consultation with all relevant sides, to protect the countrys independence and sovereignty, he added.

"The international community should play a constructive role in promoting the Maldives stability and development on the basis of respecting the Maldives wishes," Wang said.

China has provided selfless aid to the Maldives, he added.

The ministry cited Saeed as saying that the Maldives was committed to resolving the current problem themselves.

Rivalry between India and China for influence in the Maldives became more evident after President Yameen signed up to Beijings Belt and Road initiative to build trade and transport links across Asia and beyond.

India, which has had longstanding political and security ties to the islands about 400 kilometre away, has sought to push back against China's expanding presence in overwhelmingly Muslim country of 400,000 people. Maldivian Opposition leaders have urged New Delhi to intervene in the crisis.
Egypt began a major assault against militants on Friday focused on the Sinai peninsula, where Islamic State attacks have killed soldiers, police and civilians.

Cairo: Egypt began a major assault against militants on Friday focused on the Sinai peninsula, where Islamic State attacks have killed soldiers, police and civilians, aiming to crush their insurgency by an end of February deadline set by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

The former general on 29 November ordered the military to defeat militants in North Sinai within three months, after an attack on a mosque which killed some 300 people, the deadliest such incident in the Arab world's most populous country.

Residents said they saw warplanes flying above the Suez Canal city of Ismailia, which borders North Sinai to the west. To the North East of the vast, remote desert region, people in the Gaza Strip said they heard explosions coming from Egyptian territory.

A military spokesman said the operation would cover large parts of Sinai, but also parts of the Nile Delta and the Western Desert, where other militants have waged attacks, some believed to be staged out of neighbouring Libya.

The campaign, which involves the army, navy, air force, border patrol and police, takes place ahead of a March election in which Sisi is seeking a second term. He is widely expected to win.

Sisi posted on his Facebook account on Friday: "I follow with pride the heroic actions of my sons in the armed forces and police to clear Egypts territory of terrorist elements."

Security sources said on Thursday the operation, which had been in planning for some time, was unprecedented in its scope, coordination and size, involving thousands of troops, but did not provide further details.

"The armed forces call upon the Egyptian people in all parts of the country to closely cooperate with law enforcement forces to confront terrorism, uproot it and immediately report any elements threatening the security and stability of the country," military spokesman, Colonel Tamer al-Rifai, said in a televised address.

Rifai said in a second statement the air force had targeted militant hide-outs in north and central Sinai, while the navy tightened its maritime control to cut off supply lines.

A security source told Reuters on Thursday that security measures had been tightened with increased patrols in North Sinai provinces capital al-Arish and checks of residents.

Some schools in al-Arish held emergency evacuation drills on Thursday, residents said.

Deadline ahead of elections

Egypt's 2018 presidential election will be held on 26-28 March. The three-month deadline Sisi gave the military would expire at the end of February.

The success or failure of the militarys latest push will most likely not affect the result of the election. Sisi faces only a single, last-minute challenger who has said he supports the incumbent.

All opposition figures thought to pose a serious challenge to Sisi have pulled out of the race, accusing the government of underhand tactics to ensure Sisi an easy win. Sisi says there is equal opportunity for all candidates and that the election will be free and transparent

Egypt's military has struggled to put down the Islamic State insurgency in Sinai since the group set up a branch there in 2014. Islamist attacks against the army and police in Sinai had begun to escalate the previous year, and have killed hundreds of soldiers and policemen.

Sisi led the military overthrow of former Islamist president Mohamed Mursi in 2013, and was elected in a landslide vote the following year.

Sisi's critics say support for the former military commander has eroded because of tough economic reforms and a crackdown on dissidents.

His supporters say such measures are necessary to ensure stability in a country which was rocked by unrest following a 2011 uprising that toppled former leader Hosni Mubarak.
Posted 2/8/18

Citizens Memorial Hospital will offer free Safe Sitter classes for children in sixth through eighth grades this summer. Classes are offered May 30, June 20 and July 11. Class times are usually 9 a.m. 
Two foreign journalists, including an Indian national, have been detained in the Maldives for working in the country in violation of its immigration rules, the Maldivian police said on Friday amid political turmoil in the island nation

Male: Two foreign journalists, including an Indian national, have been detained in the Maldives for working in the country in violation of its immigration rules, the Maldivian police said on Friday amid political turmoil in the island nation.

Maldives Police has handed over the two journalists, a British national and an Indian National, to immigration authorities, the police said in a statement.

"These individuals were found to be working and reporting as journalists while on a tourist visa, in contravention of the Immigration Act and Regulations," the statement said.

"We urge all foreign nationals to adhere to immigration guidelines and acquire the relevant visa that corresponds to the purpose of their visit. We note that several foreign journalists are currently working in the Maldives and welcome all those who wish to do so in the future," it said.

Press Statement: PMC/2018/06

Two journalists (a British national and an Indian national) have been handed over to @ImmigrationMV to take action against them for working in Maldives against Maldives Immigration Act and Regulations. pic.twitter.com/K3aVMXKrny  Maldives Police (@PoliceMv) February 9, 2018

India has asked its embassy in the Maldives to ascertain the details pertaining to the detention of the Indian national.

"We have received information about an Indian national, Shri Money Sharma, working as a journalist, who has been detained by the Maldivian authorities. We have asked our embassy to get in touch with the local authorities to ascertain more details of the case," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said.

The action against the two journalists came as a privately-owned television station in the Maldives went off the air, citing threats during the country's current state of emergency.

Rajje TV, which highlights the views of the political opposition, said in a statement that it stopped broadcasting because the country's environment does not allow journalists to report freely and independently, the AFP news agency reported.

Male, which has seen several political crises since the ouster of its first democratically-elected president Mohamed Nasheed in 2012, plunged into chaos last Thursday when the Supreme Court ordered the release of nine imprisoned Opposition politicians, maintaining that their trials were "politically motivated and flawed".

Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen has refused to obey the court orders and declared a state of emergency in the country.

Maldives' Supreme Court Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and another judge, Ali Hameed, were arrested hours after Yameen declared a state of emergency. Former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom was also arrested.

The international community has asked the Yameen government to restore the constitutionally guaranteed rights of the people and institutions.

UN human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein has called the declaration of a state of emergency in the Maldives and the resulting suspension of constitutional guarantees an "all-out assault on democracy."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US president Donald Trump have expressed concern about the political situation i the Maldives over a phone call, the White House said on Friday.
Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina are known as the 'Battling Begums' for their bitter rivalry that has poisoned Bangladeshi politics for nearly three decades.

A court in Bangladesh sentenced Opposition leader Khaleda Zia to five years in jail on Thursday after convicting the former prime minister of embezzling money meant for an orphanage.

Zia, the leader of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), was found guilty of stealing $252,000 from a trust created for an orphanage, a charge she had dismissed as "politically motivated". Her son, Tarique Rahman, and four others were also jailed for 10 years each at the end of a case that lasted nearly 10 years.

Khaleda and the BNP say the charges are part of a plot to keep her and her family out of politics.

Current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda, both related to former national leaders, have dominated Bangladesh politics for more than two decades, and have nursed a long and bitter rivalry.

Significantly, Khaleda's imprisonment will, in all likeliness, not allow her to contest elections in Bangladesh slated for December and is likely to inflame their rift further.

Bitter rivals

Zia, 72, and Hasina, 70, are known as the 'Battling Begums' for their bitter rivalry that has poisoned Bangladeshi politics for nearly three decades.

Since 1991, when Khaleda first became prime minister, the office has largely swung back and forth between the two warring women. Both have also laid claim to aspects of Bangladesh's independence.

Hasina is the daugher of Mujibur Rahman, who led the country to independence from Pakistan in December 1971. He was assassinated in a military coup in 1975, along with most of his family. Khaleda, leader of the Opposition, is the wife of Zia-ur Rahman, an army officer who was the country's first military dictator. He was president from 1977 to 1981, before he, too, was assassinated.

According to a report in The Economist, both Mujibur and Rahman grew dictatorial in power and had resorted to violence to settle scores. This tendency is now seen in Hasina and Zia as well. "When Hasina came to power for the second time, in 2009, she took a more aggressive approach, going after her enemies and settling scores... Hasina has outsmarted Zia, who shows signs of frailty," the report said.

"When Sheikh Hasina refused to give way to a caretaker government before the general election of 2014, the BNP played into her hands by boycotting the poll and encouraging violence," the report added.

Terming Zia's conviction as natural consequences of her past deeds, Hasina accused her arch-rival of looting public property and burning to death over 500 people in a "demonstration of extreme brutality". "The reign of brutality unleashed by Khaleda even shook the throne of the almighty... so her conviction was very much natural," she added.

She said that in 2015, Khaleda declared she would not return home without toppling the Awami League government and to make this happen, she opted for brutal violence sitting in her office.

Hasina was referring to the protracted blockade enforced by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its crucial ally Jamaat-e-Islami coinciding with the 2014 elections demanding polls under a neutral government. The BNP eventually boycotted the elections and became the Opposition having no representation in Parliament.

Hasina's Awami League came to power for a second consecutive term after a bloody parliamentary election that was boycotted by Khaledas party.

Such is their rivalry that in 2013, Khaleda chose to celebrate her birthday on 15 August, to mark the occasion on which Hasina lost almost her whole family in a bloody military coup.

According to ANI, a BBC report revealed that Khaleda deliberately chose to celebrate her birthday when the rest of Bangladesh observes the death anniversary of Hasina's father, the 'Father of the Nation' Mujibur Rehman.

Khaleda also accused Hasina of "selling out" Bangladesh to India in order to stay in power, during the latter's visit to India to meet Narendra Modi. "Hasina dreams of remaining in power for life. She has done many things for this. She kept nothing for the country, sold everything," Khaleda had said, according to PTI.

On the other hand, Hasina inaugurated a new cantonment at Patuakhali in the south-western coastal district which she named after herself, the 'Sheikh Hasina Cantonment'.

Political implications

The renewed tension between them raises the spectre of a long, destabilising spell of unrest for Bangladesh and its economy. Khaleda is due to run in parliamentary polls set for December and can still do so if an appeal is pending.

According to a report in The Indian Express, "The BNP had refused to contest the last general elections in 2013 as well, thereby allowing Hasina to rule the roost for the last five years. But this time, the BNP was all set to contest and believed it would reap the advantage of Hasina's falling popularity."

"In fact, it was also being whispered  loudly  in Dhaka that if elections were to be held in Bangladesh today, Hasina's Awami League would lose," the report added.

Khaleda has an upper hand because of the element of "faith" she has in the armed forces. According to DailyO, "The call for army deployment (ahead of the elections) is a clever political move by the BNP leader... it is an obvious political initiative to woo the army and at the same time a possible bid to wean them away from those at the helm of power."

Meanwhile, some reports suggest that the political rivalry could also be fuelling terror attacks in Bangladesh.

Zia's arrest, and subsequently BNP's continued absence from the political scene, will all but decimate the party's political influence across Bangladesh. Hasina, meanwhile, looks set to become stronger and even more powerful, much in the manner of her idol Indira Gandhi, The Indian Express report adds.

With inputs from agencies
Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have expressed concern about the political situation in Maldives over a phone call

Washington: US president Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have expressed concern about the political situation in Maldives over a phone call, as they also discussed the situation in Afghanistan and enhancing security in Indo-Pacific region, the White House said.

"Both leaders expressed concern about the political crisis in Maldives and the importance of respect for democratic institutions and rule of law," the White House said in a readout of the phone call between Trump and Modi, the first in this year.

Maldives plunged into a political chaos on last Thursday when the apex court ordered the release of nine imprisoned opposition politicians, maintaining that their trials were "politically motivated and flawed".

The Yameen government has refused to implement the ruling, prompting a wave of protests in Maldives capital, Male.

Maldives' Supreme Court Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and another judge, Ali Hameed, were arrested hours after Yameen declared a state of emergency.

The White House said the two leaders also pledged to continue working together to enhance security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.

"Affirming President Trump's South Asia strategy, they reiterated their commitment to supporting Afghanistan's security and stability," the White House said.

Modi and Trump also exchanged views on Myanmar and ways to address the plight of the Rohingya refugees.

As of now there are some 6,80,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh putting enormous pressure in the economy of Bangladesh.

Recently Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed on a roadmap of return of these refugees to their homes in Myanmar.

The US believes that this is not the right time for the return of Rohingya refugees.

According to the White House, during the call, Trump and Modi discussed further steps to ensure denuclearisation of North Korea.

"Finally, the leaders agreed to strengthen security and economic cooperation as they look forward to the '2+2' ministerial dialogue between their defence and diplomatic officials in April," the White House said.

The '2+2 dialogue' was announced after the White House meeting between Modi and Trump in June 2017.

The dialogue would involve External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman from India along with their American counterparts Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.
Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's historic Palestine visit, President Mahmoud Abbas said he will discuss with him India's role in the West Asia peace process.

Ramallah: Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's historic Palestine visit, President Mahmoud Abbas said he will discuss with him India's role in the West Asia peace process and the creation of a multilateral forum of negotiations to strike a final deal with Israel.

Modi, the first Indian prime minister to visit Palestine, is reaching Ramallah on Saturday amid heightened tensions in the region after US president Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

The unilateral US decision to declare Jerusalem as the capital of Israel was challenged at the UN General Assembly where 128 nations, including India, voted to turn down the move as "null and void".

"We are receiving Prime Minister Modi in a historic visit that will demonstrate the strong ties and relations between the Palestinian people and the brotherly Indian people," Abbas told PTI in an interview.

Though India has shied away from becoming a party in the Israel-Palestinian conflict, the Palestinian leader on several occasions has stressed on a possible role for New Delhi in the West Asia peace process.

"We will discuss the recent updates with Prime Minister Modi, and the recent developments in the peace process, the bilateral relations, and the regional situations. Also, the possible role India can play in enhancing peace in the region, as well as discussing different economical aspects beyond the existing ties we already possess," Abbas said.

Describing India as a "very respected country in the international arena", the 82-year-old Palestinian president said that India can have a possible role in creating a multilateral forum of negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis to reach a final agreement.

He said Modi's visit to the region reflects India's long-held position of supporting peace and stability in the region.

"We believe in the importance of a possible Indian role...to reach a final agreement based on international consensus and resolutions, in which India and other countries can be part of," Abbas said.

"The long Indian position of supporting the two-state solution is well known. India has supported the Palestinian cause throughout the years of conflict, and we rely on the Indian support in order to reach the independence of the Palestinian State," he added.

As Palestine works to establish an international multilateral mechanism of negotiations, the Palestinian leader stated that "India can play a role in this".

"The relations between India and Palestine are historical... This visit will culminate the historic ties between the two brotherly people, and will help in increasing and strengthening these ties that we possess," he stressed.

The Indian prime minister would be skipping Israel during his forthcoming tour of West Asia in a clear message that New Delhi is de-hyphenating its ties with the Jewish state and Palestine. Modi had visited Israel last year in July in a standalone visit that had led to many analysts questioning the future of the India-Palestine ties.

When asked about India's growing engagement with Israel, an unperturbed Abbas said that "any state has the right to establish relations with other countries".

"We believe in the importance of our relationship with the brotherly Indian State, the support of India to the Palestinian people, and the relationship we possess with the Indian people, will not be affected by India's relations with any other State," he emphasised.

"India has recognised the State of Palestine in 1988, and we cannot forget the last Indian vote in favour of Palestine's rights in Jerusalem in the United Nations General Assembly, and all the political stands that India has taken to support the Palestinian rights in the international arena," Abbas said referring to India's vote at the UN.

India has consistently voted in favour of resolutions supporting the Palestinian cause at international forums, an issue that has bothered strategic partner Israel. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently said that he was "disappointed" at the Indian vote at the UN but also expressed hope that there will be a possible change of heart over a period of time.

Appreciating India's assistance in strengthening Palestinian economy through executing several projects in the Palestinian areas, Abbas said that "he cannot forget" New Delhi's support and wishes to further discuss with Modi areas of cooperation in the economic sphere.

A number of MoUs are likely to be signed between the two sides during Modi's three-hour visit to Palestine under which India will provide funding for a number of projects in the fields of health, education, culture and women empowerment.

"The Indian government and its people have provided significant assistance and aid to the Palestinian people by establishing training centres, schools, and the necessary humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people under occupation in the West Bank and Gaza," Abbas noted.

"And in 2016 we laid the foundation stone to establish the Palestine India Techno Park project in Ramallah, and we are also looking forward the establishment of the Institute of Diplomacy that is kindly funded by the Indian Government", he noted.

A lot of Palestinian diplomats have received training in India and hundreds of Palestinians have availed scholarships to study at Indian institutions as part of New Delhi's effort towards capacity building in Palestine.

"We are working on promoting the economic relations through introducing businessmen and investors from both sides on the available opportunities in the sectors of tourism, technological exchange in many areas, including industrial, agricultural, and information systems, and on the other hand, signing government agreements to support businessmen and protect their investments," he said.
Syrian regime jets have pounded Eastern Ghouta, sending the death toll from a four-day assault on the rebel enclave on the outskirts of Damascus soaring past 220.

Erbin: Syrian regime jets have pounded Eastern Ghouta, sending the death toll from a four-day assault on the rebel enclave on the outskirts of Damascus soaring past 220. Violence also flared in eastern Syria on Thursday, where the US-led coalition said it had killed at least 100 pro- regime fighters to fend off an attack on its Kurdish allies.

The clash marked a fresh escalation between Washington, which has threatened the regime over its alleged use of chemical weapons, and Damascus, which labelled the latest incident in eastern Syria a "war crime".

Moscow also slammed the US-led strikes, with Russia's UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia saying he had lodged a protest about the assault during a closed-door Security Council meeting.

"To confront those who really fight international terrorism on the ground in Syria is criminal," he said. The UN Security Council on Thursday failed to back a UN appeal for a month-long humanitarian ceasefire in Syria.

In Eastern Ghouta, which lies east of the capital and has been besieged since 2013, residents had no time to mourn their dead or treat their wounded from the previous day's bombardment.

"These are the worst four days that Eastern Ghouta has ever gone through," said Hamza, an overwhelmed doctor at the Erbin clinic who was treating wounded patients.

"From 2011 until now, there has never been the level of bombardment we've seen in the last 96 hours."

The death toll mounted steadily throughout Thursday, with the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights giving 75 civilians dead by the evening. Three died of wounds suffered on Wednesday.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson welcomed Chinese State councillor Yang Jiechi to Washington as the world's two most powerful diplomats talked trade, drugs and North Korea

Washington: US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson welcomed Chinese State councillor Yang Jiechi to Washington as the world's two most powerful diplomats talked trade, drugs and North Korea.

Yang is in Washington for two days at a time when relations between the top powers are dominated by the North Korean nuclear stand-off and US president Donald Trump's concerns about their trade imbalance.

His first port of call was the state department, where he held closed door talks and had a working lunch with Tillerson, who is keen to keep China on board with a diplomatic push to force North Korea to negotiate its own nuclear disarmament. "During the meeting, both sides reaffirmed President Trump and President Xi's commitment to keep up pressure on North Korea's illegal nuclear weapons and missile programs," state department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.

"They discussed the need to achieve a fair and reciprocal bilateral economic relationship, and shared approaches to stemming the flow of deadly narcotics," she added.

Washington is pushing China to cut off a flow of synthetic drugs and chemical precursors used in the production of narcotics to Latin America, as these are often smuggled into the US and fuel an epidemic of opioid addiction.

China has agreed to support some new sanctions on Kim Jong-Un's North Korean regime in support of Trump's "maximum

pressure": Drive to force Pyongyang to abandon its quest to build nuclear-armed long-range missiles capable of hitting US

cities.

"We hope that China will do more because we know that they can do more in terms of adhering to UN Security Council resolutions and sanctions that have been put in place against North Korea," Nauert said. "We're not seeking an adversarial relationship with the government of China. We are simply identifying actions that China has taken that undermine a rules-based order."

China's long-standing trade surplus with the US grew by 10 percent last year to $276 billion, a sum Trump finds intolerable, and senior officials from both countries are in talks to try to head off talk of a trade war.

Nauert said that some diplomatic conversations are best kept private but noted that "we have a frank exchange of ideas and information, and our viewpoints. Our president has made it very clear his concerns about trade imbalances, that's the kind of thing that comes up".
US House of Representatives joined Senate in approving a bill to end an overnight federal shutdown, averting a serious interruption of the govts business.

The US House of Representatives joined the Senate early on Friday morning in approving a bill to end an overnight federal shutdown, averting a serious interruption of the governments business.

The bill, approved 240-186, would end an hours-long government shutdown that started on Thursday at midnight when current government funding expired. President Donald Trump is expected to sign the bill into law. The Senate approved it earlier on Friday.

House Speaker Paul Ryan was quoted as saying by BBC the bill was "a great victory for our men and women in uniform" as the military would get more resources.

He said: "Ultimately, neither side got everything it wanted in this agreement, but we reached a bipartisan compromise that puts the safety and well-being of the American people first."

The shutdown, which started at midnight, was the second this year under the Republican-controlled Congress and Trump, who played little role in attempts by party leaders earlier this week to head it off and end months of fiscal squabbling.

A carefully crafted, bipartisan stopgap funding and budget package was introduced with confidence earlier this week by Senate leaders, who predicted swift passage before the expiration at midnight on Thursday of current funding authority.

But in an unexpected turn of events, the deadline was missed because Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul, objecting to deficit spending in the bill, engaged in a nine-hour, on-again, off-again protest and floor speech that leaders could not stop.

Paul's dissent dragged the Senate proceedings into the wee hours past the deadline, underscoring the persistent inability of Congress and Trump to deal efficiently with Washington's most basic fiscal obligation of keeping the government open.

"Republican majorities in the House and Senate have turned the (budget) process into an embarrassing spectacle, running from one crisis directly into the next," said Democratic Representative Nita Lowey prior to the House vote.

"Loot the treasury"

After an all-night session of debating and voting, the bill ending the shutdown finally won House passage only after Democrats provided enough votes to offset the opposition of 67 Republicans, a remarkable rebellion in the partys ranks.

While Paul's performance in the Senate strained the patience of his colleagues, he focused on the same concern that caused so many House Republicans to oppose the bill - deficit spending.

The budget bill raises military and domestic spending by almost $300 billion over the next two years. With no offsets in the form of other spending cuts or new tax revenues, that additional spending will be financed by borrowed money.

That part of the overall package was a bipartisan attempt by Senate leaders to end for many months, at least beyond Novembers midterm congressional elections, the fiscal policy quarrels that increasingly consume Congress.

But the deficit spending in the bill will add more red ink to Washingtons balance sheet and further underscore a shift in Republican thinking that Paul was trying to draw attention to.

Once known as the party of fiscal conservatism, the Republicans and Trump are quickly expanding the nations budget deficit and its $20 trillion national debt.

Their sweeping tax overhaul bill approved in December will add over 10 years an estimated $1.5 trillion to the debt, an accumulation of past years of annual budget deficits.

The $300 billion in spending included in the bill just approved will ensure the annual budget deficit will exceed $1 trillion in 2019, said the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a private fiscal policy watchdog group in Washington.

"I ran for office because I was very critical of President Obamas trillion-dollar deficits," Paul told fellow senators.

"Now we have Republicans hand in hand with Democrats offering us trillion-dollar deficits. I cant ... in good faith, just look the other way because my party is now complicit in the deficits. Really who is to blame? Both parties," he said.

Paul voted for the deficit-financed tax bill in December.

With inputs from Reuters
US has urged Bangladesh to ensure 'fair trial' for ex-prime minister Khaleda Zia who was sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment for corruption.

Washington: The US has urged Bangladesh to ensure "fair trial" for ex-prime minister Khaleda Zia who was sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment for corruption.

The 72-year-old three-time former prime minister and Bangladesh's main opposition leader was sentenced by Dhaka's Special Court in connection with the embezzlement of 21 million taka (about $250,000) in foreign donations meant for the Zia Orphanage Trust, named after her late husband Ziaur Rahman, a military ruler-turned-politician.

"We are aware of the conviction of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Khaleda Zia, and encourage Bangladesh to the guarantee of a fair trial," a State Department spokesperson said.

The verdict simultaneously sentenced Zia's "fugitive" elder son and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP's) senior vice president Tarique Rahman as he was tried in absentia. Rahman and four others have been sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Zia and three of her aides were accused of syphoning off about $400,000 from the Zia Charitable Trust alone. She is also accused of leading a group of five people in embezzling another $277,000 funds.

"We are concerned by reported arrests of opposition members. We encourage the government of Bangladesh to ensure fair trial guarantees for all of its individuals in Bangladesh," the spokesperson said.

The State Department also called on the government of Bangladesh to respect the rights of all individuals to gather peacefully and to freely express their opinions.

"We continue to call upon the Government of Bangladesh to provide the right to all individuals to freely express their political views, without fear of reprisal, and to hold elections that are free, fair, peaceful, and credible, reflecting the will of the Bangladeshi people," the spokesperson said.

"We also call on members of society to act peacefully and responsibly. We stress that all sides must eschew violence; violence hinders democratic processes," the spokesperson added.
The US Treasury has placed three Pakistani nationals  Rahman Zeb Faqir Muhammad, Hizb Ullah Astam Khan, and Dilawar Khan Nadir Khan  on its blacklist.

The US Treasury has placed three Pakistani nationals  Rahman Zeb Faqir Muhammad, Hizb Ullah Astam Khan, and Dilawar Khan Nadir Khan  on its blacklist of "Specially Designated Global Terrorists".

It named the Pakistani nationals 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. This was done in an effort to disrupt the group's ability to obtain and distribute financing.

Here's what we know so far about the three Pakistani nationals:

Rahman Zeb Faqir Muhammad

The US Treasury said that Rahman Zeb has been in charge of raising funds and materials for LeT in the Gulf region, and helped Shaykh Aminullah travel to the Gulf in 2014.

It further said that Zeb was "designated for providing financial, material, or technological support for, or other services to or in support of" LeT. In early 2016, Zeb coordinated transfer of funds with a Pakistan-based LeT facilitator.

As of mid-2014, Zeb was also involved in operations of the terror group in Afghanistan.

Hizb Ullah Astam Khan

Hizb Ullah was designated for acting on behalf of Aminullah. in 2016, Hizb Ullah gathered support for Aminullah and was the financial oficial of a madrassa in Peshawar which was co-founded by Aminullah, according to the US Treasury.

In 2015, Hizb Ullah also helped Aminullah during his travel in the Gulf and facilitated his travel to the Gulf in 2013.

He had also worked as an improvised explosive device (IED) expert in Afghanistan's Kunar province, where he deployed IEDs against Afghan and coalition forces. Hizb Ullah was also involved in sending shipments of IED chemicals from Pakistan to Afghanistan to terror groups, including Taliban and Jamaat ul Dawa al-Quran.

Dilawar Khan Nadir Khan

Acting as Aminullah's assistant, Dilawar was responsible for Aminullah's accommodations in Pakistan and relaying his messages. His other responsibilities included facilitating Aminullah's fund transfers, including international transactions.

In 2014, Dilawar made arrangements for Aminullah to travel within Pakistan and to the Gulf. In 2013, Dilawar was one of the leaders of the Ganj madrassa, which had been designated by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in August 2013 for being controlled by Aminullah and providing support to LeT and Taliban.

With inputs from AFP
Posted 2/9/18

Continued from last week.

Candy maker Russell H. Keller was enjoying a brisk business in post World-War II Springfield, despite the slow development of the Plaza Shopping Center, where his store 
.        ,    , ,      ,   .     ,           ,       ,       ,   .           ...
Posted 2/9/18

Citizens Memorial Home Medical Equipment-Buffalo recently donated $250 and diapers to The Haven, a family services program in Buffalo. The gift was presented to Carrie Hulsey, director of The Haven, 
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Android Messages has received a new update with version number V2.9. The update doesnt bring any major U.I change but there quite a few additions that hint at upcoming features including Allo-like web interface, payments to businesses and more.

Google is getting ready to introduce a web interface that would allow users to pair their phones with a computer for texting needs. It also hints that the company might also be planning to offer its enhanced chat features to work with RCS messaging. Finally, there may be the possibility of buying things from companies right from within Android Messages.

A teardown of the APK further revealed more insights about whats coming. The Allo-like web interface is being codenamed Ditto, but might be labeled Messages for web when it launches. Just like WhatsApp, you will need to visit a website and a follow a simple procedure to pair your phone to receive messages directly from the PC. Since the strings of code mention all the available browsers, it should have compatibility with most browsers.

On the other hand, Google is speeding up RCS, encouraging people to text over Wi-Fi and suggesting that they upgrade immediately. It is interesting to see Google offering some functionality rather than dumping it on carriers. There is also a mention of chat features are powered by Google, making Google act as an intermediary for messaging. All of the features like messaging status, read receipts, and sending photos should be on board.

Google will also bring the ability to Android Messages that may allow users to make purchases. Back in November, Google added support for sending money to friends with the use of Google Wallet. Theres pretty less information on this, but we can expect to come across more details as we move forward. The Google Android Messages update started rolling out, you can wait for the Play Store to fetch the update. Instead, you can download the APK from here and manually side-load it.

Source
Finnish-based handset maker, Jolla has announced its MWC 2018 event on February 26. At the event the company will unveil the major Sailfish OS 3 update and will also introduce new Sailfish devices, and probably Sailfish X support for more Sony Xperia devices. Last year at the MWC the company introduced Sailfish X for the Sony Xperia X.

The company said that it will also reveal Sailfish licensing and technology development details such as updates and progress from Sailfish partners and solutions around the world in the fields of blockchain, corporate solutions, and more.

Last week, in a blog post, the company said that it will work on bringing new Sailfish OS updates throughout the year. It will release 2.1.4 Lapuanjoki in a few weeks that will bring several fixes, especially for Sailfish X, and will release 2.2.0 Mouhijoki in a couple of months that will add Dual SIM support for the Dual SIM variant of Xperia X. It will also be adding NFC and fingerprint authentication support in future releases.

In the first half of the year it will be adding memory card encryption, filesystem encryption, and email encryption. In the second half it will continue to improve security frameworks of the OS, and adding more security features like improved VPN support. This year it will also update Android runtime compatibility to a newer Android version.

The company has also promised that it will begin sales in Turkey and India during the first quarter of 2018, then expand to selected Asian markets (Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand), and further expand to South America (Brazil, Argentina) by the end of Q2, 2018. Hope we can expect some new Sailfish OS devices from Indian OEMs at the MWC later this month.

The Jolla event is scheduled for Monday 26 February and starts at 11.30 AM CET (4:00 PM IST) in Barcelona. We will bring you all the details from the event.
United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. ISSAC DAVIS, Defendant-Appellant. No. 17-10680 Decided: February 08, 2018

Before JULIE CARNES, ANDERSON, and HULL, Circuit Judges.

Issac Davis appeals his 180-month sentence, the statutory mandatory minimum under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), after pleading guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. On appeal, he argues that the district court erred in designating him as an armed career criminal because his Fla. Stat.  812.13 convictions for attempted armed robbery, armed robbery, and strongarm robbery are not violent felonies under the elements clause of the ACCA. Davis also argues that the district court erred in assigning criminal history points for two Florida misdemeanor marijuana cases in which the state court withheld adjudication.

I.

We review de novo whether a particular conviction is a violent felony under the ACCA. United States v. Seabrooks, 839 F.3d 1326, 1338 (11th Cir. 2016), cert. denied, 137 S. Ct. 2265 (2017). We consider cases interpreting crime of violence under the Sentencing Guidelines to be authority for interpreting violent felony under the ACCA because the relevant parts of the definitions are identical. United States v. Fritts, 841 F.3d 937, 940 n.4 (11th Cir. 2016), cert. denied, 137 S. Ct. 2264 (2017). We are bound by circuit precedent unless it is overruled en banc or by a Supreme Court decision that is clearly on point. United States v. White, 837 F.3d 1225, 1228, 123031 (11th Cir. 2016) (quotations omitted).

When a defendant is convicted of violating 18 U.S.C.  922(g) by being a felon in possession of a firearm and has at least 3 prior convictions for a violent felony or a serious drug offense, he is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years. 18 U.S.C.  924(e)(1). A violent felony is any offense punishable by more than one year of imprisonment that (i) has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person of another; or (ii) is burglary, arson, or extortion, involves use of explosives, or otherwise involves conduct that presents a serious potential risk of physical injury to another. 18 U.S.C.  924(e)(2)(B).

Applying the categorical approach, we have previously determined that a conviction for attempted robbery under an identical version of Fla. Stat.  812.13 and  777.04(1) was categorically a felony crime of violence under the elements clause of the Sentencing Guidelines. United States v. Lockley, 632 F.3d 1238, 1246 (11th Cir. 2011). We have since applied this precedent to determine a conviction for robbery under Fla. Stat.  812.13 categorically qualifies as a violent felony under the elements clause of the ACCA. See Seabrooks, 839 F.3d at 134043; Fritts, 841 F.3d at 94042.

The district court did not err in designating Davis as an armed career criminal or in sentencing him to the ACCA mandatory minimum sentence. Our precedent demonstrates that all three of his prior convictions were violent felonies under the elements clause of the ACCA. See Lockley, 632 F.3d at 1246; Seabrooks, 839 F.3d at 134043; Fritts, 841 F.3d at 94042. Although Davis argues that intervening Supreme Court precedent has abrogated our prior holdings, the Supreme Court must actually abrogate or directly conflict with, as opposed to merely weaken our prior holdings for us not to be bound. White, 837 F.3d at 123031. Here, Supreme Court precedent has merely weakened our prior holdings, at most, and so we are bound by those decisions.

II.

We review de novo a district court's legal interpretation of the Sentencing Guidelines, taking into consideration the language of both the guidelines and the commentary. United States v. Fulford, 662 F.3d 1174, 1177 (11th Cir. 2011). Guideline commentary is binding on courts unless it violates the Constitution or a federal statute or is an inconsistent or plainly erroneous interpretation of the guideline. United States v. Birge, 830 F.3d 1229, 1232 (11th Cir. 2016). We interpret the Sentencing Guidelines following the traditional rules of statutory construction. Fulford, 662 F.3d at 1177. If a defendant fails to object to the facts of his prior convictions as set out in the PSI, he is deemed to have admitted to those facts. See United States v. Bennett, 472 F.3d 825, 83334 (11th Cir. 2006).

Criminal history points are assigned pursuant to U.S.S.G.  4A1.1 and 4A1.2. See U.S.S.G.  4A1.1, comment. Section 4A1.1(c) calls for adding one criminal history point for each prior sentence not already counted in subsections (a) and (b). U.S.S.G.  4A1.1(c). Although the Sentencing Guidelines do not specifically address withheld adjudications, the Sentencing Guidelines direct that a diversionary disposition resulting from a finding or admission of guilt, or a plea of nolo contendere, in a judicial proceeding is counted as a sentence under  4A1.1(c) even if a conviction is not formally entered. U.S.S.G.  4A1.2(f). We have determined that a state case in which the defendant enters a plea of nolo contendere and adjudication is withheld is properly included in a defendant's criminal history calculation, as a diversionary disposition. See, e.g., United States v. Rockman, 993 F.2d 811, 814 (11th Cir. 1993); United States v. Wright, 862 F.3d 1265, 1280 (11th Cir. 2017). Federal law, not state law, is used to determine the application of the Sentencing Guidelines. See United States v. Elliot, 732 F.3d 1307, 1312 (11th Cir. 2013). Thus, it is not relevant how Florida treats pleas of nolo contendere, but only how federal law applies those cases.

The district court did not err in assigning criminal history points for the two Florida misdemeanor marijuana cases in which the state court withheld adjudication. Our precedent, which remains binding, demonstrates that when adjudication is withheld and the defendant enters a guilty plea or a nolo contendere pleaas Davis did herethe case is properly included in the criminal history calculation. See Rockman, 993 F.2d at 814 (11th Cir. 1993); Wright, 862 F.3d at 1280.

Therefore, Davis's 180-month mandatory minimum sentence is

AFFIRMED.

FOOTNOTES

. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that the residual clause of the second prong is unconstitutionally vague. Johnson v. United States, 136 S. Ct. 2551, 255758 (2015).

PER CURIAM
Amazon is bringing its speedy delivery to Whole Foods  and Margot Good might never visit the organic grocery chain again.

"I can stay in my pajamas at home and have them deliver me my groceries," she said Thursday after learning about the new service outside a Cincinnati location.

The online retail giant plans to roll out two-hour delivery at Whole Foods this year to those who pay for Amazon's $99-a-year Prime membership. It is the company's biggest move since it bought the organic grocer last year.

It's also precisely the action rivals have been preparing for since the day Amazon  with the Prime program that's been so successful in cementing customer loyalty  announced plans to buy Whole Foods.

Amazon shoppers can order meat, seafood and other Whole Foods grocery items through the Prime Now app and website. Deliveries started Thursday in Austin, Texas; Cincinnati; Dallas; and Virginia Beach, Virginia; and will expand nationwide this year.

While convenient, not everyone wants other people picking out their eggs or fruit. A major hurdle for companies that offer grocery delivery is getting those people to sign up, said Darren Seifer, a food and beverage industry analyst at NPD Group.

"There are always going to be people who want their bananas a little green," he said.

Ade Ogbomo, a teacher in Dallas, said she orders everything from Amazon  except food.

"I like to get it myself," she said outside a Whole Foods store. She worries about the possible mishaps: "Maybe the bananas are bruised or the cookies are all broken up, and you can't really complain because you asked for it."

Good, though, said she thinks Whole Foods has high-enough quality produce that she's not worried about choosing items herself.

About 7 percent of U.S. households bought groceries online last year, according to NPD Group. Most of those  about three-quarters  get their orders delivered to their door; the rest pick it up at the store. NPD Group said it expects online grocery shopping to grow quickly, especially among young adults, who are more comfortable shopping online.

And grocery chains don't want to miss out when that happens.

Walmart, the country's largest grocer, is making it easier for customers to order groceries online and pick them up at the store. Target bought grocery-delivery company Shipt late last year. Kroger, the largest traditional supermarket chain, has been promoting store pickup for online orders and doing trials of home delivery.

Maggie Anderson, 38, a therapist in Cincinnati, said she has tried it at Remke, a regional chain.

"I just did my first order online at Remke this week because I was of out of town, and that was great," she said. "It saved me a whole hour and a half of time."

For Amazon, items will be pulled from Whole Foods stores, bagged and then delivered by Amazon drivers. Amazon, based in Seattle, said there's no extra fee for two-hour deliveries above $35, but one-hour delivery will cost $8. The company isn't saying where delivery will expand, but its Prime Now service is in more than 30 cities, including Chicago, Milwaukee and San Diego.

The announcement gives Amazon yet another way to get groceries to customer's doorsteps.

It already does so through AmazonFresh, but that requires a $15-a-month fee. And Prime Now delivers groceries from its facilities, but it has also offered grocery delivery from other physical stores, including Whole Foods rival Sprouts Farmers Market.

Whole Foods also offers delivery in some cities through a partnership with delivery service Instacart, which will continue.

Buying Whole Foods was the biggest part of a push into physical retail for the chain known for online shopping. Right after taking over Whole Foods, Amazon made a splash by cutting prices on bananas, yogurt and other items. It also began selling Kindle e-readers in some of its 470 stores, and started selling Whole Foods-branded food on its site.

Good's friend Debbie Alf, who picked up some fruit and lunchmeat on Thursday, said she's intrigued by the two-hour delivery pledge. Would she give it a try?

"Maybe sooner than you think," she said. "If I forgot something, maybe later today."

____

Pisani reported from New York and Sewell reported from Cincinnati. AP Business Writer David Koenig in Dallas also contributed to this report.

____

Contact Joseph Pisani at http://twitter.com/josephpisani
Two Ohioans have been arrested and charged in a fake-ID scheme involving $4.7 million in bitcoin.

Federal agents seized the digital currency as well as several gold and silver bars from the Toledo home of Mark Simon, who has been charged with transferring false identification documents and forgery involving the cryptocurrency.

Police believe Simon and Sarah Alberts, who was also arrested and charged with money laundering and manufacturing fake IDS, operated under the online pseudonym TedDanzigSR on the website Reddit.com. Posts on the website indicate that TedDanzigSR was known for providing fake IDs in exchange for bitcoin.

A spokesperson for Redditt did not immediately return a call from FOX Business requesting comment.

According to an affidavit filed Tuesday by the U.S. Secret Service in federal court, agents found about 30 wallets of the digital currency stored on a thumb drive.

In addition, police also seized 18 gold coins, more than 200 silver coins, 21 gold and silver bars and multiple fake identification cards, computers and cell phones, according to the website The Blade.

Local police said they began investigating Simon in 2015 after a college student, who was caught using a fake ID, told officers he bought it on Reddit.

Court documents said that buyers ordering from Simon had to follow strict instructions to hide the transactions by using bitcoin and other digital currencies that aren't tied to banks or governments.

Money laundering and criminal activity involving bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have been a big concern for financial regulators. In December, then Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen told reporters that bitcoin is a highly speculative asset and it is not a stable store of value.

The fact that bitcoin buyers and sellers are anonymous is a clear path for them to launder money, Andrew Bailey, who is head of the United Kingdoms Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), told BBCs Newsnight.

"You can't go somewhere and look up the record of who owns bitcoin," Bailey said. "If I thought there was evidence of people saying, 'You know what? I'm going to put my pension into bitcoin,' I would be very concerned, but we don't see that at the moment."
A limited-edition chocolate bar that is made from the beans of ancient cacao trees in Ecuador and sells for $385 may very well be the worlds most expensive chocolate bar.

We make chocolate with the oldest and the rarest variety of cacao on earth, Jerry Toth, co-founder of Toak, an Ecuadorian chocolate company, told FOX Business.

Toak ages the beans for four years in a French oak cognac cask, which drives up the price tag.

The company has partnered with multiple retailers around the world including Harrods in London, 2beans in New York, Wallys Wine & Spirits in Los Angeles as well as two locations in China.

The beans come from a native variety known as Nacional and were on the verge of extinction until Toth and his business partner, Carl Schweizer, stumbled across a valley in Ecuador that had a few old cacao trees left.

We actually had DNA tests done to make sure they were 100% genetic matches to the Nacional beans, Toth said.

The company said it has planted a seed bank of cacao trees in Ecuador to ensure production over the next decade.

The partners decided to establish Toak in 2013 and produce limited-edition bars for chocoholics around the world. Since its launch, the company has completely sold out each edition of the bars it has released, with about 100 bars per edition.

Our trees have extremely low yields, causing us to be limited on what we can produce, he said.

If youre on a budget, the company also offers a $355 chocolate bar that has been aged for two years in a single-malt whisky cask. Its first chocolate bar, the El Nino Harvest, sells for $275.

Its kind of like what you would do with a really expensive bottle of whiskey, Toth said. Our customers save it for a long time and wait for the right moment to break it out.

As for taste, Toth describes his candy as a dark chocolate with caramel and fruit notes with hints of kelp and sea water.
The Latest on Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's visit to California (all times local):

6:50 p.m.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the North American Free Trade Agreement has been good for the U.S. and his country, but he also wants to see it updated to lift those who are struggling despite surging economies.

His comments Friday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, come as President Donald Trump has threatened to withdraw from the 24-year-old pact.

According to prepared remarks, Trudeau says that the agreement has been an asset for Canadians and Americans, bringing prosperity with trade.

But he says income inequality is growing worldwide.

And he agrees with Trump that too many people have been left behind, and more needs to be done to share the benefits.

As a candidate, Trump has called NAFTA a job-killing disaster.

___

10:50 a.m.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has met privately with California's governor and lieutenant governor, with trade, the environment and health care on the agenda.

The separate meetings Friday with Gov. Jerry Brown and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom were closed to the media.

In brief remarks to reporters before meeting with Newsom, Trudeau said it was good to talk about all the issues that bind California and Canada.

Newsom thanked Trudeau for his energetic leadership on the international stage at a time of political uncertainty, an apparent reference to U.S. President Donald Trump.

Trudeau spent Thursday pitching tech companies on investing in Canada while touting the country's fast-track visa for highly skilled workers.

Later Friday, Trudeau will deliver an address at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

___

12 a.m.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau picked up promises of investments and jobs during his first visit to San Francisco where he promoted Canada as a destination for California technology firms frustrated by uncertain U.S. immigration laws.

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff announced the online business software company will invest another $2 billion in its Canadian operations.

And cloud subscription service AppDirect, based in San Francisco, says it will add another 300 jobs in Canada in the next five years.

Trudeau will spend a second day in California on Friday meeting with Gov. Jerry Brown and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The environment is also likely to be on the agenda, along with economic development.
The U.S. House of Representatives joined the Senate early on Friday morning in approving a bill to end an overnight federal shutdown, sparing Republicans further embarrassment and averting serious interruption of the government's business.

The stopgap funding and budget measure, approved by a 240-186 House vote, will go next to President Donald Trump. The White House said in a statement that he will sign it into law, which would extend government funding through March 23.

The shutdown, which started at midnight, was the second this year under the Republican-controlled Congress and Trump, who played little role in attempts by party leaders earlier this week to head it off and end months of fiscal squabbling.

A carefully crafted, bipartisan stopgap funding and budget package was introduced with confidence earlier this week by Senate leaders, who predicted swift passage before the expiration at midnight on Thursday of current funding authority.

But in an unexpected turn of events, the deadline was missed because Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul, objecting to deficit spending in the bill, engaged in a nine-hour, on-again, off-again protest and floor speech that leaders could not stop.

Paul's dissent dragged the Senate proceedings into the wee hours past the deadline, underscoring the persistent inability of Congress and Trump to deal efficiently with Washington's most basic fiscal obligation of keeping the government open.

"Republican majorities in the House and Senate have turned the (budget) process into an embarrassing spectacle, running from one crisis directly into the next," said Democratic Representative Nita Lowey prior to the House vote.

"LOOT THE TREASURY"

After an all-night session of debating and voting, the bill ending the shutdown finally won House passage only after Democrats provided enough votes to offset the opposition of 67 Republicans, a remarkable rebellion in the party's ranks.

While Paul's performance in the Senate strained the patience of his colleagues, he focused on the same concern that caused so many House Republicans to oppose the bill - deficit spending.

The budget bill raises military and domestic spending by almost $300 billion over the next two years. With no offsets in the form of other spending cuts or new tax revenues, that additional spending will be financed by borrowed money.

That part of the overall package was a bipartisan attempt by Senate leaders to end for many months, at least beyond November's midterm congressional elections, the fiscal policy quarrels that increasingly consume Congress.

But the deficit spending in the bill will add more red ink to Washington's balance sheet and further underscore a shift in Republican thinking that Paul was trying to draw attention to.

Once known as the party of fiscal conservatism, the Republicans and Trump are quickly expanding the nation's budget deficit and its $20 trillion national debt.

Their sweeping tax overhaul bill approved in December will add over 10 years an estimated $1.5 trillion to the debt, an accumulation of past years of annual budget deficits.

The $300 billion in spending included in the bill just approved will ensure the annual budget deficit will exceed $1 trillion in 2019, said the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a private fiscal policy watchdog group in Washington.

"I ran for office because I was very critical of President Obama's trillion-dollar deficits," Paul told fellow senators.

"Now we have Republicans hand in hand with Democrats offering us trillion-dollar deficits. I can't ... in good faith, just look the other way because my party is now complicit in the deficits. Really who is to blame? Both parties," he said.

Paul voted for the deficit-financed tax bill in December.

(Additional reporting by Eric Beech, Makini Brice, Katanga Johnson and Doina Chiacu; Writing by Kevin Drawbaugh; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg)
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) is preparing to launch a delivery service to compete directly with shipping stalwarts UPS (NYSE:UPS) and FedEx (NYSE:FDX).

The service will pick up packages from businesses and ship them to consumers, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal.

While the service will be tested with third-party sellers in Los Angeles, the e-commerce giant will expand the service to other cities and will open the service to other businesses beyond third-party sellers.

The Journal also reported that Amazon is planning to undercut UPS and FedEx on pricing.

Amazon has tested a few delivery services including Prime Air, a delivery system from Amazon designed to get packages to customers in 30 minutes or less using drones.

Amazon already delivers its own packages in some cities and is actively recruiting delivery people to work through Amazon Flex, which offers flexible hours and pay of $18-$25 per hour, according to Amazon.

In 2017, Amazon shipped more than 5 billion items worldwide with Prime.

Shares of UPS and FedEx were lower on Friday.

Ticker Security Last Change Change % FDX FEDEX CORP. 261.77 +4.21 +1.63% UPS UNITED PARCEL SERVICE, INC. 194.36 +1.04 +0.54% AMZN AMAZON.COM, INC. 3,457.17 -11.98 -0.35%

FOX Business reached out to UPS, FedEx and Amazon for comment.

Amazon declined to confirm the story in a statement to FOX Business.

When asked how much business UPS receives from Amazon, a UPS spokesperson told FOX Business, We do not report revenue for any specific customer, but no UPS customer exceeds 10 percent of global revenue.

FedEx commented, The headline in todays Wall Street Journal demonstrates a lack of basic understanding of the full scale of the global transportation industry.
Designer Carolina Herrera is stepping down as creative director of her fashion label, and handing the reins to young American designer Wes Gordon.

Herrera, who founded her label in 1981, announced the move in a statement Friday. The Venezuelan-born designer, 79, will present her final New York Fashion Week collection next week, and then will transition to a new role as global brand ambassador.

Gordon presented his own womenswear label in New York from 2010 to 2016. The 31-year-old has been working with Herrera as creative consultant for the past year.

In her statement, Herrera called Gordon "the right one for this position to further build on our great momentum."

In an interview with the New York Times, she stressed that this was not a retirement.

"Just don't say I am retiring," Herrera was quoted as saying. "I am not retiring! I am moving forward."

Herrera, who always cuts an elegant figure in her signature crisp white blouse, is known for her luxurious designs, especially for evening. Michelle Obama wore her designs several times as first lady, including at a 2014 state dinner with France  a gown with a lace bodice and full lavender-blue skirt.

Both Melania and Ivanka Trump have also worn Herrera designs, and Caroline Kennedy got married in a Herrera bridal gown.
A forthcoming deal to import natural gas from neighboring Romania means that the "age of the Russian gas monopoly in Hungary is ending," Hungary's prime minister said Friday.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that Hungary plans to get over 4 billion cubic meters (141 billion cubic feet) of natural gas a year from Romania, putting his country in a new and more favorable "geostrategic situation."

Speaking after a joint meeting with Serbian government representatives, Orban said the Romanian imports are expected to account for over half of Hungary's imported gas by 2021-2022.

"I announce with due modesty but happily, that the age of the Russian gas monopoly in Hungary is ending," Orban said after a meeting with Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic. "This is a totally new situation not only for Hungary, but for the region."

Orban said Hungary had already built the pipeline link to Romania and Romania's link to Hungary "is under construction now."

The diversification of energy sources puts Hungary in a "new geostrategic position, which is more favorable than the earlier one," he said.

Hungary is now highly dependent on Russia for oil and gas imports. Russia is also expanding Hungary's only nuclear power plant.

Hungary was forced to tap into its strategic gas reserves in January 2009 and to ration the industrial use of natural gas when European gas imports from Russia were temporarily suspended because of a pricing dispute between Moscow and Ukraine, a transit country for Russian gas supplies.

Hungary sent some of its gas reserves to Serbia, which was even more acutely affected by the crisis.

Regarding Serbia, Orban thanked Brnabic for her country's help in stopping the flow of migrants through the Balkans. He said Hungary was ready to help Serbia protect its southern borders if there is another surge of people trying to reach Europe.

Orban also praised Serbia's "exemplary" policies on minority communities, including the ethnic Hungarian population of about 250,000.
United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit. EDWINA ROSE TUCKER, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Defendant-Appellee. No. 17-11393 Decided: February 08, 2018

Before ROSENBAUM, JULIE CARNES, and HULL, Circuit Judges.

Edwina Rose Tucker appeals the district court's dismissal of her pro se Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) lawsuit. The court found that her complaint was time-barred and therefore frivolous under 28 U.S.C.  1915(e)(2)(B)(i). Tucker maintains that she timely filed her initial complaint because she mailed it to the court on the last day of the limitations period, and that the court committed several errors in handling her case. After careful review, we affirm.

We begin by summarizing the operative facts. On March 15, 2016, Tucker signed a complaint against the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs arising out of the hospitalization and subsequent death of her husband at the Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center in June 2014. Tucker alleged that her husband died from a fungal infection he contracted at the Medical Center due to the negligence of its staff. The complaint was stamped as received by the clerk of the district court on April 4, 2016.

The district court, acting sua sponte, dismissed the complaint for lack of jurisdiction over the named defendantthe Secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairsand directed her to re-file her complaint against the proper defendantthe United Stateswithin 30 days. When Tucker filed an amended complaint naming the United States, the district court construed it as a new case and directed the clerk to file the complaint under a new civil-action number.

The United States moved to dismiss Tucker's amended complaint soon after it was opened as a new civil case on August 1, 2016. The United States argued that Tucker's action was time-barred because she did not file her complaint within six months of the September 15, 2015, final administrative decision on her claim. See 28 U.S.C.  2401(b) (providing that tort claims against the United States shall be forever barred unless filed within six months of the agency's final decision). In response, Tucker asserted that her initial complaint was timely because it was dated for March 15, 2016 and deposited in the U.S. Mail with postage prepaid, which constitutes a legal filing with the U.S. Courts.

On March 14, 2017, the district court again dismissed Tucker's FTCA lawsuit. This time, the court found that Tucker's claim was time-barred because it was not filed within six months of the VA's September 15, 2015, final decision. The court first used the date Tucker's amended complaint was docketedAugust 1, 2016to determine that it was untimely. But the court determined that Tucker's initial complaint was untimely as well, rejecting her argument that the filing date of her initial complaint should have been March 15, 2016, when she deposited it in the U.S. mail. The date that mattered, according to the court, was the date the clerk received her complaint, which was April 4, 2016. The court found that it lacked jurisdiction due to Tucker's untimely filing, and so it dismissed her lawsuit as frivolous. Tucker filed a timely notice of appeal. The court denied Tucker's motion for reconsideration and her application for leave to appeal in forma pauperis, certifying that the appeal was not taken in good faith.

Under  1915(e)(2)(B)(i), the district court must, on its own initiative, dismiss the case of a plaintiff proceeding in forma pauperis if the court determines that the action is frivolous. 28 U.S.C.  1915(e)(2)(B)(i). A case is frivolous if it lacks an arguable basis in law or fact. Miller v. Donald, 541 F.3d 1091, 1100 (11th Cir. 2008). We ordinarily review a district court's sua sponte dismissal of a claim as frivolous under  1915(e)(2)(B)(i) for an abuse of discretion. Id. Here, however, the dismissal was based on the court's interpretation and application of a statute of limitations, issues we review de novo. Ctr. for Biological Diversity v. Hamilton, 453 F.3d 1331, 1334 (11th Cir. 2006). Therefore, we apply de novo review.

We liberally construe the filings of pro se parties. Campbell v. Air Jam. Ltd., 760 F.3d 1165, 116869 (11th Cir. 2014). However, we still require pro se parties to comply with procedural rules, Albra v. Advan, Inc., 490 F.3d 826, 829 (11th Cir. 2007), including statutes of limitations, see Outler v. United States, 485 F.3d 1273, 1282 n.4 (11th Cir. 2007) ([P]ro se litigants, like all others, are deemed to know of the  statute of limitations.).

[T]he United States, as a sovereign entity, is immune from suit unless it consents to be sued. Zelaya v. United States, 781 F.3d 1315, 1321 (11th Cir. 2015). Through the FTCA, the United States has, as a general matter, waived its immunity from tort suits based on state law tort claims. Id. But the United States may impose whatever conditions on its consent that it wishes, and courts must strictly observe those conditions and limitations. Id. at 132122.

As relevant here, the FTCA requires that tort claims against the United States be filed with the appropriate agency within two years after such claim accrues and in federal court within six months after the agency's final decision on the claim. 28 U.S.C.  2401(b). These time bars are non-jurisdictional and subject to equitable tolling. United States v. Kwai Fun Wong, 135 S. Ct. 1625, 1638 (2015). Equitable tolling is appropriate when a movant untimely files because of extraordinary circumstances that are both beyond her control and unavoidable even with diligence. Stamper v. Duval Cty. Sch. Bd., 863 F.3d 1336, 1342 (11th Cir. 2017) (alteration adopted) (quotation marks omitted).

Here, we agree with the district court that Tucker's claim is barred by the FTCA because her complaint was not timely filed within six months of the VA's final decision on her claim. See 28 U.S.C.  2401(b). In reaching that conclusion, we assume, as Tucker contends, that the court erred by construing her amended complaint as a new case. We also assume that her amended complaint relates back to her initial complaint for timeliness purposes. We therefore base our decision on her initial complaint, which, she says, she signed and mailed on the final day of the limitations period, March 15, 2016. Nevertheless, Tucker's initial complaint is still untimely because it was not filed by that date.

The general rule is that a complaint is filed for statute of limitations purposes when it is in the actual or constructive possession of the clerk.  Rodgers ex rel. Jones v. Bowen, 790 F.2d 1550, 1552 (11th Cir. 1986) (quoting Leggett v. Strickland, 640 F.2d 774, 776 (5th Cir. Mar. 1981) ); see Houston v. Lack, 487 U.S. 266, 273 (1988) ([R]eceipt constitutes filing in the ordinary civil case ); Fed. R. Civ. P. 5(d) (stating that a paper is filed by delivering it to the clerk or a judge who agrees to accept it for filing). Mailing alone is not enough. See Leggett, 640 F.2d at 766 (holding that a complaint mailed before but received after the expiration of the limitations period was time-barred).

The general rule is subject to a few exceptions, most notably for cases involving pro se inmates. The filings of pro se inmates generally are deemed filed when they are delivered to prison authorities for mailing to the court clerk. Houston, 487 U.S. at 266. Tucker's case, however, is subject to the general rule because she is not an inmate and no contrary rule or statute applies.

Construing the record in Tucker's favor, her complaint was not timely filed. Because the general rule applies, Tucker's complaint needed to be in the actual or constructive possession of the clerk by March 15, 2016. See Rodgers ex rel. Jones, 790 F.2d at 1552. But her initial complaint was not received until after that date. Even assuming that the clerk delayed docketing her complaint, the clerk would not have received her complaint by March 15, 2016, which was the date she deposited the complaint in the U.S. Mail. Accordingly, Tucker did not file her initial complaint before the expiration of the six-month limitations period applicable to claims under the FTCA. See 28 U.S.C.  2401(b).

Equitable tolling can in some circumstances excuse a failure to file on time. For example, in Suarez v. Little Havana Activities, a Title VII case, we applied equitable tolling where the complaint was mailed to the clerk two days before the limitations period expired but it was not docketed by the district court until four days later, after the period expired. 721 F.2d 338, 33940 (11th Cir. 1983). We held that equitable tolling applied because it was reasonable to mail a complaint in Miami and expect it to be delivered and filed in Miami within 48 hours of its mailing. Id. at 340.

Suarez's reasoning does not apply here, though, because Tucker mailed her complaint on the same day the limitations period expired. And it is not reasonable to expect an ordinary letter deposited in the U.S. Mail to be delivered that same day. See Hallgren v. U.S. Dep't of Energy, 331 F.3d 588, 591 (8th Cir. 2003) (refusing to apply equitable tolling where the plaintiff mailed his complaint from 450 miles away and expected it to be filed within 24 hours of its mailing). Because plaintiffs are generally responsible for ordinary delays in the mail service, id., equitable tolling is not warranted.

We acknowledge that a matter of a few days or even a few weeks seems trivial in comparison to the magnitude of Ms. Tucker's loss. But, despite our sympathy for her, we may not disregard the limitations periods established by Congress for actions under the FTCA. See Zelaya, 781 F.3d at 132122. So we must affirm the district court's decision to dismiss Tucker's lawsuit as time-barred. Although the district court erroneously concluded that it lacked jurisdiction as a result, see Kwai Fun Wong, 135 S. Ct. at 1638, that error is harmless because Tucker's claim was time-barred and she is not entitled to equitable tolling.

Finally, we lack jurisdiction to consider Tucker's argument that the district court erred in denying her motion for leave to appeal in forma pauperis. See Frulla v. CRA Holdings, Inc., 543 F.3d 1247, 1250 (11th Cir. 2008) (we examine our own jurisdiction sua sponte). The denial of an application for leave to appeal in forma pauperis is not a final order subject to appeal. Gomez v. United States, 245 F.2d 346, 347 (5th Cir. 1957). Instead, plaintiffs may file a motion to proceed on appeal in forma pauperis in the court of appeals after the district court denies leave to appeal in forma pauperis. See Fed. R. App. P. 24(a)(5). Accordingly, we dismiss Tucker's appeal as to the denial of her application for leave to appeal in forma pauperis. But we note that the district court's reference to the appeal not being taken in good faith was the court's assessment of her likelihood of prevailing on appeal, not a comment on her obviously sincere intentions.

For the reasons stated, we affirm the dismissal of Tucker's complaint, and we dismiss her appeal to the extent she seeks review of the district court's denial of her motion for leave to appeal in forma pauperis.

AFFIRMED IN PART AND DISMISSED IN PART.

FOOTNOTES

. This Court adopted as binding precedent all Fifth Circuit decisions prior to October 1, 1981. Bonner v. City of Prichard, 661 F.2d 1206, 1209 (11th Cir. 1981) (en banc).

. Before the district court, Tucker cited 26 U.S.C.  7502 (Timely mailing treated as timely filing and paying), which provides an exception to the general rule in some matters involving the Internal Revenue Service. See 26 U.S.C.  7502(a). But that statute expressly does not apply to the filing of a document in  any court other than the Tax Court. 26 U.S.C.  7502(d). Consequently, Tucker cannot rely on  7502.

. In her reply brief, Tucker asserts that she filed her complaint on March 15, 2016, by submitting it to the District Court's U.S. Mail Slot for after business hour submission of documents. But that assertion is inconsistent with her representation to the district court that she placed the complaint in the U.S. Mail with postage prepaid, and it was raised for the first time in her reply brief. Because Tucker raised that argument for the first time in her reply brief, we decline to consider it. See Timson v. Sampson, 518 F.3d 870, 874 (11th Cir. 2008) ([W]e do not address arguments raised for the first time in a pro se litigant's reply brief.).

PER CURIAM
A recent study by Wisconsin researchers suggests that the failure of any of the 25 aging locks on the upper Mississippi River could lead to an increase of nearly half a million truckloads of freight on highways between Minnesota and Missouri.

The study by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison estimates that a shutdown of the river at Hannibal, Missouri, would require trucks to move more than 12 million tons of grain during a nine-month shipping season, costing millions of dollars and damaging roads.

"We're talking about a system," said Ernest Perry, manager of the coalition and the lead researcher on the study. "If we don't take care of this one part of the system, it's going to negatively impact another part of the system."

Most of the shipments would travel through southern Minnesota and Iowa, while a smaller amount would move through Wisconsin and Illinois, causing nearly $29 million in road damage, the La Crosse Tribune reported.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimates the backlogged maintenance costs for locks and dams of the Mississippi and Illinois rivers totals to over $1 billion.

Bryan Peterson, navigation business line manager for the St. Paul District, said the Corps has been working to address maintenance issues as the budget allows.

"We definitely have needs," Peterson said. "I think we're maintaining them well enough until we can fill those needs."

___

Information from: La Crosse Tribune, http://www.lacrossetribune.com
Congress ended a brief government shutdown on Friday by reaching a wide-ranging deal that is expected to push budget deficits into the $1 trillion-a-year zone.

The bill passed by a wide margin in the Senate and survived a rebellion of 67 conservative Republicans in the House of Representatives thanks to the support of some Democrats. Those conservatives were mainly angry about non-military spending increases.

President Donald Trump signed the measure into law on Friday morning, ending a government shutdown that began just after midnight, when Congress was still debating the budget deal.

It was the second shutdown this year under the Republican-controlled Congress and Trump.

The deal is the fifth temporary government funding measure for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1 and replenishes federal coffers until March 23, giving lawmakers more time to write a full-year budget. It also extends the U.S. governments borrowing authority until March 2019, sparing Washington politicians difficult votes on debt and deficits until after mid-term congressional elections in November.

Once known as the party of fiscal conservatives, the Republicans and Trump are now quickly expanding the U.S. budget deficit and its $20 trillion national debt. Their sweeping tax overhaul bill approved in December will add an estimated $1.5 trillion to the national debt over 10 years.

Almost $300 billion in new spending included in the bill approved on Friday will ensure the annual budget deficit will exceed $1 trillion in 2019, said the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a private fiscal policy watchdog group in Washington.

Fridays budget deal allows for $165 billion in additional defense spending over two years that will help Trump deliver on his promise to rebuild the military.

That won over many Republicans, but some were still furious over the $131 billion extra made available for non-military spending, including health and infrastructure.
YouTube suspended ad's from Logan Paul's channels, citing behavior in his videos that makes his content "unsuitable for brands," Variety.com reported.

On Dec. 31, Paul, 22, posted a video during his trip to Japan that included footage of a person who had died from a suicide. YouTube, a unit of Alphabet's Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) deleted it and apologized.

More recently, Paul joked about taking the "Tide Pod challenge," which dares people to bite into the detergent capsules. In addition, he used a Taser on a dead rat in his most recent video, FOX Business reported.

"This is not a decision we made lightly," YouTube said in a statement Friday.

Representatives for Paul did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Variety.com.
His luck ran out Happy Valley.

Nope, thats not the title of a country song, but what happened to a career car thief in California who led police on a high-speed chase just after midnight on Wednesday.

Timothy Jack Parker and his accomplice Daniel William Harrington were on the run in a stolen Jeep Wrangler theyd allegedly grabbed from a car dealership in Anderson when a K-9 unit searching the area spotted them and a pursuit ensued.

The chase reached speeds of over 90 mph and continued into nearby Happy Valley, where the Jeep crashed through a cattle fence that got stuck to the front of it and continued down a dirt road, according to a police report on the incident.

About a quarter-mile later, the Jeep became disabled and the officer ordered the pair to surrender, warning them that if they tried to run hed send his K-9 partner, Aero, after them.

AERO IN ACTION:

They complied and exited the vehicle, Parker dressed in a shirt with the word "Lucky" and a four-leaf clover on the front.

Both were later found to be on probation for previous thefts they had been convicted of.

Parker was booked on charges of vehicle theft, felony evading a peace officer, evading a peace officer on the wrong side of the roadway, felony vandalism, and a probation violation, while Harrington is now facing charges of vehicle theft and a probation violation.

MAN NAMED "SHELBY MUSTANG GT500" ARRESTED FOR DRIVING WITHOUT A LICENSE

The police say that during his interview, the 32-year-old Parker told them that hed been stealing cars since he was 12 and figures hed robbed more than 500 since, flipping most of them in less than a day.

He also said that the reason hed turned down the dirt road, even though he didnt know where it led, was because he knew there was a K-9 unit after him and he didnt want to get bit.

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Your driver's license could be replaced by a cellphone app if a pilot program involving four states and the District of Columbia works out.

"We see great utility in the future with mobile driver's licenses that don't exist today with the physical plastic cards," said Paul Grassi with the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology. "With innovation occurring on mobile platforms it almost makes too much sense to add this as an option."

NIST provided a $2 million grant to a cybersecurity company called Gemalto to design and test a digital license in a two-year pilot program.

CALIFORNIA TO AUTO-REGISTER DRIVERS TO VOTE, SPARKING FRAUD CONCERNS

"The purpose of that pilot is really to test the technology before we went to a full-scale implementation," according to Tiffany Conway, field marketing director for Gemalto North America.

The company has already conducted field trials in Colorado, Idaho, Wyoming, Maryland and Washington, D.C.

"It's not just an image of a license on your phone," Conway said, it's really a new way of carrying and storing your credential that allows you to interact with verifying parties in a completely different way."

The cellphone app does show your license, front and back, just as it looks on your plastic version. But unlike the license in your wallet, the app has settings that allow you to limit what's shown, depending on the situation.

For example, when buying alcohol "you only see their picture and it says that they are of age," said Elizabeth Gregg, general manager of Applejack Wine & Spirits in Denver, which participated in field testing.

VERMONT CONSIDERS 3RD GENDER OPTION ON DRIVER'S LICENSES

Nothing else on your ID is seen by the store clerk.

"You're just checking the face recognition with the computer and they're off and running," Gregg said, adding that simplicity and speed would really help stores like hers that have thousands of transactions in a single day.

On the other hand, if you are pulled over while driving, your entire license will be available to the officer. But what about those of us frightened by the idea of giving police access to all the information in our phone?

"That's a fantastic point and something that we've really heard from the get go of this," Conway said, "that no one wants to hand their cell phone over to anyone for any purpose."

Gemalto's solution was to develop an app you can access separately from the other information in your phone, protected, of course, by a pin or fingerprint. Conway said it works a bit like a digital ticket to a movie or concert. You open the app and hold your phone close to a device that scans or reads the information.

"Whether you are at the airport, whether you are being pulled over by law enforcement, your phone never leaves your hand," she said.

Not everyone is thrilled with the idea, however  including criminal defense attorney and self-described civil libertarian Dan Recht.

"What comes to my mind is the possibility of frightening privacy invasion by the government," Recht said.

Recht believes people have gotten much too used to having all of their personal information stored electronically. While he said there is nothing inherently wrong with a digital driver's license, he said it leaves room for abuse.

"What keeps the government from overreaching? Recht said. What keeps them from going the next step? And it really is only another step or two, to a national ID where they know everything about you."

"One of the very first tenets is no national ID," Grassi said of the work NIST is doing. "And the mobile driver's license would be no different."

Each individual state will still be in control of driver's license information, as they are now, he said.

Diane Johanssen manages the driver's license office in Lakewood, Colorado, which took part in field testing Gemalto's product.

"Everyone wants it right now and I think that the digital license is the wave of the future, personally and professionally," Johanssen said.

Johanssen said one of the biggest advantages to going digital would be the ability to update license information remotely.

"It would basically keep them out of the office, and for all those people with special needs, that are in nursing homes that have an issue to just get to a driver's license office, she said, it's so simple."

There is still a year to go in the pilot during which Gemalto will focus on how to use the digital ID for things like setting up accounts online, instead of manually typing in information.

"And then we'll take all the results that we've found," Conway said, "...and we'll take the new refined technology and present it all to the states and it will really be up to them to determine when they'd like to implement this in a full-scale fashion."

Grassi believes most Americans will have the choice of using a digital driver's license, or sticking with the old hard copy, within the next five years.
Jill Messick, a longtime studio executive, producer and manager, reportedly has committed suicide at age 50. She was once the manager of actress Rose McGowan, who recently found herself in the middle of a very public battle with disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein.

Messicks family confirmed the news to The Hollywood Reporter along with a lengthy statement. They noted that Messick took her own life on Feb. 8 amid a longtime battle with depression and bipolar disorder.

She had worked as McGowans manager in 1997 during the time the actress claimed Weinstein raped her. Recently, Weinsteins lawyer, Ben Brafman, released to the public an email Messick sent him, allegedly without her permission. In the email she recalled her account of the events, which Weinstein's lawyer used as a defense to the public.

Messick's family noted that she sent the email upon request prior to The New York Times expose that led to dozens of women coming forward with similar stories of sexual misconduct involving Weinstein.

Jill was victimized by our new culture of unlimited information sharing and a willingness to accept statement as fact. The speed of disseminating information has carried mistruths about Jill as a person, which she was unable and unwilling to challenge. She became collateral damage in an already horrific story, the family wrote in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. Jill believed in the Movement. She supported every woman finally coming forward to share their dark truths and expose those who had committed previously unspeakable deeds. She was loyal. She was strong. Jill was many things, but she was not a liar.

Messick is survived by her two children, their father, her father, her brother and her partner. Her work as a producer has included Masterminds, Baby Mama, Hot Rod, Mean Girls and much more.

McGowan recently made claims in her book, "Brave," that her manager at the time of her alleged rape did little to help her, a claim her family denied.

At the time, her family explained that Messick, then a junior at her company, was among the first to bring McGowans story to her superiors. From there, Messick was not privy to McGowan and Weinsteins negotiations and further discussion of the matter, according to the family's statement.

Seeing her name in headlines again and again, as part of one persons attempt to gain more attention for her personal cause, along with Harveys desperate attempt to vindicate himself, was devastating for her. It broke Jill, who was just starting to get her life back on track, Messick's family said. What makes Roses inaccurate accusations and insinuations against Jill ironic was that she was the first person who stood up on Roses behalf, and alerted her bosses to the horrific experience which Rose suffered. Twenty years ago, as a very junior person in a management company hierarchy, Jill exhibited her integrity in doing the right thing  she raised the red flag with the heads of her firm. In the face of inappropriate behavior, Jill handled the situation appropriately.
YouTube star Logan Paul, who apologized for posting an offensive video in December that showed an apparent suicide victim, is the subject of controversy yet again -- this time for using a stun gun on rats.

Are we using weapons for this? Paul asks his two friends in the video, before pulling out a stun gun from his waist and zapping the already-dead rodents.

No rat comes into my house without getting tased, Paul says, to which a friend replies, Yo, hes already dead.

After a friend throws the dead rats in a trash can, Paul pulls out the stun gun to zap the creatures one more time.

Again, there he goes disrespecting the dead same old same old what changed and he said he learn from his mistakes, one YouTube user commented on the video.

This week's post came less than a month after Pauls return to YouTube following a brief hiatus, in which he took time to reflect following harsh backlash for a video that showed a man who appeared to be hanging from a tree in Japan's Aokigahara forest  a spot commonly used by people to commit suicide.

In the latest video, Paul also takes a fish out of a koi pond and places it on the ground, before a friend says, Put him back in the water.

Animal rights group PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) was so outraged by the video, it is calling on YouTube to remove it.

"This sort of content has no place on YouTube or anywhere else, as it could desensitize young people to cruelty to animals," PETA Senior Vice President Lisa Lange told TMZ.

Earlier this week, Paul took to Twitter to make light of the latest Internet challenge, dubbed the Tide Pod Challenge, in which people bite into packets of laundry detergent.

Swallowing 1 tide pod per retweet Paul wrote in a Feb. 7 tweet, the Sun reported.
Bette Midler shocked the Twitterverse on Thursday with a post suggesting Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., should be physically attacked for his stance on the spending budget in the Senate.

Midler tweeted Thursday evening, "Where's Rand Paul's neighbor when we need him?"

Midler's tweet was referencing a violent November incident during which Paul was assaulted by his neighbor and suffered several injuries.

Rene A. Boucher, 58, admitted to attacking an unsuspecting Paul in his yard and is facing 21 months in prison. Paul suffered bruises to his lungs and broken ribs, and contracted pneumonia following the attack.

One of Paul's aides, Sergio Gor, called out Midler for a tweet that crossed the line.

"This is disgusting @BetteMidler calling for violence. She should be ashamed," Gor tweeted.

So much for love trumps hate...  T.J. Eckert (@EckertTJ) February 9, 2018 Usually idc what celebrities say about politics, Ive loved Bette since I was a little kid- but this statement made me lose all respect for her. Ick  Heather (@starlasworld) February 9, 2018 I made sure i saved this tweet so I can show everybody how you are advocating violence against a sitting senator. What a great role model you are.  WhiteRabbit/pol/ (@WhiteRabbitPol) February 9, 2018 Ironic. pic.twitter.com/NQl1IR8Bbu  Kenett Kelly (@KenettK) February 9, 2018 So you are saying that having an ideological difference with someone is grounds for assault? So you give a pass to the bigot that assaults a person of a different race a pass? A person that assaults a lgbt person because of whatever excuse is cool with you?  Steve Harden (@steve13harden) February 9, 2018

A rep for Midler did not return Fox News' request for comment.

Rep. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania echoed Midler's tweet in an interview with Politico on Thursday.

"When Rand Paul pulls a stunt like this, it easy to understand why it's difficult to be Rand Paul's next door neighbor," Dent said.

The Hollywood star's tweet came after the former 2016 GOP presidential contender stalled his chamber's attempt to quickly pass legislation keeping federal agencies open.

The libertarian said "I object" when Senate leaders tried speeding a vote on the measure.

Paul complained the new budget accord would drive up federal deficits.

"I ran for office because I was critical of President Obama's trillion-dollar deficits," he told the chamber's leaders. "Now we have Republicans hand-in-hand with Democrats offering us trillion-dollar deficits."

He said he could not "look the other way because my party is now complicit in the deficits."

Paul said he was asking for a 15-minute debate and then a vote on his amendment, which was certain to lose. He said the 652-page measure was "printed at midnight" and was a bill that "no one has read."

Paul's fellow Kentuckian, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., had no intention of caving in, knowing that would inevitably spark demands for amendment votes by other senators. Instead, they offered him a procedural vote, which Paul declined.

The move led the government to temporarily shut down from 1 a.m. on Friday until the Senate passed the deal just before 2 a.m.. However, the government had been officially shuttered for nearly two hours.

The House rushed to approve its version, wrapping up the vote just after 5:30 a.m. President Donald Trump signed the bill three hours later, reopening the government.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A powerful Broadway producer with close familiy ties to President Trump on Thursday launched a web series reminiscent of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood"  with an added helping of ribald anti-Trump mockery, The New York Times reported.

Jordan Roth, whose company owns several New York theaters, has acknowledged that Trump attended his 2012 wedding. And his father, Steven, jointly owns two skyscrapers with Trump and served on the president's infrastructure advisory council.

But in the debut episode of his series, "The Birds and the BS," Roth begins by imploring viewers to "actually take the advice you give your children" and then presides over a veritable Trump roast.

"We grown-ups should know better than to make fun of people's appearances  even people we hate," Roth's guest, Billy Porter, says in the episode.

"Yeah, OK, someone's got an orange face," Porter continues. "So what, when they're a national disgrace?"

Porter continues by enumerating why he thinks Trump is truly worthy of derision: his "flabby punctuation," "premature vacations," "comb-over obfuscation," and "dumpy ... khakis."

The episode repeatedly plays off Trump's purported bragging about his penis size, exhorting viewers in explicit terms to take the high road: "Mock their bulls--t, not their pr--k," Porter sings.

In an interview with The New York Times, Roth acknowledged the tension between his political beliefs and his family ties to Trump.

Yes, he was at my wedding, but when it became clear what his politics were, and what his priorities were, and what his administration would do to things I hold dear  that was the change, Roth told the paper.

Its not meant to be personal, he added. Its saying something about where we are right now, and the language and the potential shock value of it is part of the point, because we are numb.
United States Court of Appeals, First Circuit. A.C. CASTLE CONSTRUCTION CO., INC. Petitioner, v. R. Alexander ACOSTA, Secretary of Labor; U.S. Department of Labor, Respondents. No. 17-1537 Decided: February 07, 2018

Before Torruella, Lipez, and Kayatta, Circuit Judges. James F. Laboe, with whom Orr & Reno, P.A. was on brief, Concord, NH, for petitioner. Amy S. Tryon, Senior Attorney, U.S. Department of Labor, with whom Nicholas C. Geale, Acting Solicitor of Labor, Ann S. Rosenthal, Associate Solicitor for Occupational Safety and Health, and Charles F. James, Counsel for Appellate Litigation, were on brief, for respondents.

General contractor A.C. Castle Construction Co., Inc. appeals fines imposed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for violations related to an accident at a construction worksite in Massachusetts. A.C. Castle argues, among other things, that OSHA wrongly held it responsible for the acts and omissions of a subcontractor. For the reasons below, we affirm.

I.

Two roofers fell over twenty feet and sustained serious injuries at a residential construction site in Wenham, Massachusetts on October 2, 2014, when a spruce board used for scaffolding snapped in half. OSHA inspectors promptly investigated the worksite and the two employers involved: A.C. Castle, the general contractor, and Provencher Home Improvements (PHI), the sole proprietorship of Daryl Provencher and the only subcontractor on the job. The Secretary of Labor, charged with enforcing the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, 29 U.S.C.  651678 (the OSH Act), subsequently cited both A.C. Castle and PHI under the OSH Act. The Secretary proffered two alternative theories for citing both companies, rather than just the roofing subcontractor PHI: first, that under Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (Commission) precedent, the two companies constituted a single employer; and, second, that under the common law agency test set forth by the United States Supreme Court in Darden, Daryl Provencher was a supervisory employee of A.C. Castle. See Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co. v. Darden, 503 U.S. 318, 112 S.Ct. 1344, 117 L.Ed.2d 581 (1992). Under either legal test, the constructive or actual knowledge that Provencher possessed of the worksite violations would be imputed to A.C. Castle. See Empire Roofing Co. Se., 25 BNA OSHC 2221, 2222 (No. 13-1034, 2016); Cent. Soya de P.R., Inc. v. Sec'y of Labor, 653 F.2d 38, 40 (1st Cir. 1981).

A.C. Castle and Provencher challenged the citations. Following a three-day testimonial hearing, the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) determined that Provencher and A.C. Castle acted as a single employer in the worksite and that Provencher was a supervisory employee working for A.C. Castle. In so ruling, the ALJ did not rest on her finding that Provencher was an employee of A.C. Castle as an independent and sufficient basis upon which to justify the citation of A.C. Castle. Instead, she relied on that finding to provide support for the conclusion that A.C. Castle and PHI could be treated as a single employer. The ALJ also rejected A.C. Castle's argument that it did not have fair notice that it would be treated as a single employer with PHI. Regarding the substance of the citations, the ALJ found that A.C. Castle willfully failed to ensure that the scaffolding was adequate to support the intended load, and assessed penalties totaling $173,500. The claims against Provencher were dismissed as moot because of his death after the hearing but before the ALJ ruled. After the Commission declined A.C. Castle's petition for review, A.C. Castle filed this appeal.

II.

The citations of A.C. Castle hinged on a finding that A.C. Castle was the employer of the affected workers at the site. Allstate Painting & Contracting Co., 21 BNA OSHC 1033 (Nos. 97-1631 & 97-1722, 2005); see also 29 U.S.C.  658(a). The ALJ reached this finding after properly placing the burden of proof on the Secretary. See Allstate, 21 BNA OSHC 1033. In now challenging that finding on appeal, A.C. Castle raises three issues: (1) whether substantial evidence supports the ALJ's conclusion that Provencher was a supervisory employee of A.C. Castle, (2) whether the ALJ erred in treating A.C. Castle and PHI as a single employer, and (3) whether the Secretary of Labor violated A.C. Castle's right to fair notice in treating PHI and A.C. Castle as a single employer where before it had not. We address these issues in turn.

A.

Brian LeBlanc is the owner and sole manager of A.C. Castle, which has its principal place of business at LeBlanc's home in Danvers, Massachusetts. A.C. Castle normally operates as a general contractor and claimed no direct employees of its own at the time of the OSHA investigation. LeBlanc was friends with Provencher, who was the sole proprietor of PHI, a construction subcontracting company based at Provencher's home in Beverly, Massachusetts. LeBlanc and Provencher had been friends for over thirty years at the time of the OSHA investigation. In 2015, ninety-five percent of Provencher's income came from A.C. Castle. Provencher estimated that generally around seventy-five percent of his projects came from A.C. Castle, as he occasionally performed work for other general contractors.

The ALJ found that Provencher was employed by A.C. Castle as a supervisor of the workers on the Wenham job site. In reaching this conclusion, the ALJ applied the common law agency test set forth by the Supreme Court in Darden. See Darden, 503 U.S. at 32424, 112 S.Ct. 1344. A.C. Castle argues that the record lacks substantial evidence to support the ALJ's conclusion in applying that test, as evidenced by the ALJ's failure to consider many of the Darden factors, and an undue reliance on facts that are typical of the relationship between a general contractor and a subcontractor.

Darden's test is as follows:

In determining whether a hired party is an employee under the general common law of agency, we consider the hiring party's right to control the manner and means by which the product is accomplished. Among the other factors relevant to this inquiry are the skill required; the source of the instrumentalities and tools; the location of the work; the duration of the relationship between the parties; whether the hiring party has the right to assign additional projects to the hired party; the extent of the hired party's discretion over when and how long to work; the method of payment; the hired party's role in hiring and paying assistants; whether the work is part of the regular business of the hiring party; whether the hiring party is in business; the provision of employee benefits; and the tax treatment of the hired party.

Darden, 503 U.S. at 32324, 112 S.Ct. 1344 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted).

In applying this multifactor test,

[A]ll of the incidents of the relationship must be assessed and weighed with no one factor being decisive. However, in most situations, the extent to which the hiring party controls the manner and means by which the worker completes her tasks will be the most important factor in the analysis.

AlbertyVelez v. Corporacion de P.R. Para La Difusion Publica, 361 F.3d 1, 7 (1st Cir. 2004) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted).

The ALJ properly focused on the most important factor, control, finding that LeBlanc exercised an unusual amount of control over Mr. Provencher's actions, atypical of a traditional contractor/subcontractor relationship. In expanding on this finding, the ALJ also looked at the source of instruments and tools, the assignment of work, the length of the relationship, and the hiring of other workers. Specifically, the ALJ stated:

Mr. LeBlanc and Mr. Provencher had a thirty-year working relationship. Mr. LeBlanc scheduled the roofing projects and told Mr. Provencher in what order they were to be done, which necessarily determined the location of the work. Mr. LeBlanc arranged for the building materials to be delivered to the worksites and provided the dump truck  He also arranged for the only safety training provided to the roofing crew and provided Mr. Provencher with a copy of A.C. Castle's safety program and instructed him to implement it. Mr. LeBlanc told Mr. Provencher when he needed to hire more employees to complete the contracted roofing projects on time. Mr. Provencher paid the roofing crew members on Fridays, after he received payment from Mr. LeBlanc. Mr. Provencher did not have a business license and could not bid on projects; he was dependent on A.C. Castle for the great majority of his work. Mr. LeBlanc conducted spot inspections on Mr. Provencher's worksites and instructed him to abate specific safety infractions.

LeBlanc also appears to have directed Provencher to double up the spruce planks sold at the hardware store when used as scaffolding (a direction ignored on the day of the accident). LeBlanc gave Provencher (who had no credit cards or money on hand) interest-free loans to purchase equipment and materials, which LeBlanc docked in $500 increments from amounts otherwise due to Provencher. LeBlanc influenced when that equipment needed to be replaced. For example, he told Provencher he probably need[ed] new ladders and then loaned the funds to buy them. LeBlanc also let Provencher purchase materials on A.C. Castle's account at the local hardware store, where A.C. Castle received a discount. Provencher could not complete purchases on A.C. Castle's account without the clerk first calling LeBlanc for authorization. A.C. Castle also provided tee-shirts and sweatshirts with A.C. Castle's logo for Provencher and other PHI workers to wear.

LeBlanc was also involved in the hiring and firing of PHI's workers. On several occasions when PHI needed to hire workers, LeBlanc placed ads in the newspaper on Provencher's behalf because, without a credit card, Provencher could not do so himself. Provencher would inform LeBlanc when he had trouble with worker attendance. He would ask LeBlanc for help firing absentee workers, saying on one occasion to LeBlanc, You need to get rid of this guy. LeBlanc would also suggest to Provencher how large a crew he would need to hire for a given project.

A.C. Castle argues that the foregoing findings describe only the close coordination often necessary between a general contractor and a subcontractor. Certainly, it is fair to say that such coordination often exists between such entities. After all, a principal role of the general contractor is to coordinate the work of the subcontractors. Here, though, we have a recurring relationship with one general contractor and one subcontractor in which the general exercises control not only over the timing and scope of the work, but also over the details of how the work is performed, and over many internal operations of the subcontractor, particularly the managing of personnel and equipment.

A.C. Castle correctly points out that the evidence was not one-sided. Provencher provided many of the tools Provencher and PHI workers used, did some small amount of work for other parties, signed contracts as a subcontractor for each job, was not paid in the form of a salary, and received an IRS Form 1099 rather than a W2. In nevertheless deciding that all of the evidence collectively described a principal-agent relationship, the ALJ considered how A.C. Castle itself portrayed the relationship in dealing with regulators and customers. For each building permit, A.C. Castle was required to submit an affidavit stating who held the workers' compensation insurance for the project. The form affidavit gave LeBlanc a choice: I am an employer with [blank] employees, or I am a general contractor and I have hired the sub-contractors listed on the attached sheet. In the forms on record, LeBlanc did not identify himself as a general contractor or Provencher as a subcontractor. Instead, he checked the employer box and filled in the number of workers. LeBlanc also made sure that his customers understood that all the workers on the project were his employees. To that end, he prohibited Provencher from describing himself to the customer as a subcontractor. And, as noted, A.C. Castle furnished the workers with tee-shirts bearing A.C. Castle's name, and placed A.C. Castle signs at each worksite. The ALJ found LeBlanc's insurance affidavits, as confirmed by his representations to customers, to be credible descriptions of his relationship with Provencher, and his attempts to recant those statements not credible.

A.C. Castle's representations were, in substance, representations that he controlled Provencher as an employee, not as an independent subcontractor. We see no error in the weight the ALJ gave to those representations in making the fact-intensive conclusion that the relationship between A.C. Castle and Provencher, for purposes of this case, is best seen as that of employer and employee. And with those representations added to the other facts in the record elucidating their distinctive relationship, there is enough to provide substantial evidence for the ALJ's conclusion.

B.

The ALJ might well have concluded her analysis after determining that Provencher was a supervisory employee of A.C. Castle. After all, the only other workers involved at the worksite were those whom Provencher in turn supervised, and who were presented as A.C. Castle employees in A.C. Castle's various representations. And that was, in substance, what the Secretary argued. Instead, the ALJ essentially gave A.C. Castle a second bite at the apple by also assessing the relationship between A.C. Castle and Provencher under the Commission's single employer test.

That test appears to have originated in Advance Specialty Co., 3 BNA OSHC 2072 (No. 2279, 1976). In that case, the Commission pointed to the practice of the National Labor Relations Board in treating as a single entity two businesses where there is a combination of most or all of the following factors: a common worksite, a common president or management, a close interrelation and integration of operations, and a common labor policy. Id. at *3. Without explanation, the Commission reformulated that test to hold that when  two companies share a common worksite such that the employees of both have access to the same hazardous conditions, have interrelated and integrated operations, and share a common president, management, supervision or ownership, the purposes of the [OSH Act] are best effectuated by the two being treated as one. Id. at *4. The Commission's reformulation, unlike the NLRB formulation of its rule, seems to require that all three (rather than a combination of most) factors be satisfied in order to treat two employers as one. Nevertheless, the Commission itself has since described its rule as essentially adopt[ing] the single employer concept of the [NLRB]. C.T. Taylor Co., 20 BNA OSHC 1083, (Nos. 94-3241 & 94-3327, 2003). One reviewing court has presumed the two tests to be the same, see Altor, Inc. v. Sec'y of Labor, 498 Fed. Appx. 145, 148 n.3 (3d Cir. 2012), while another has pointed out their differences, see Solis v. LorettoOswego Residential Health Care Facility, 692 F.3d 65, 74 (2d Cir. 2012), as well as the predominance of a four-factor version of the test in other statutory contexts, id. at 7374 (referencing the Labor Management Relations Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (citing Pearson v. Component Tech. Corp., 247 F.3d 471, 486 (3d Cir. 2001) (collecting cases) ) ).

For our purposes, we can ignore any uncertainty about the precise nature of the test, as the ALJ employed the three-factor formulation in a straightforward fashion, and neither party challenges the ALJ's stated formulation. Rather, the parties train their arguments on whether the ALJ properly found all three factors to be present to the extent that they warranted treating A.C. Castle as the employer of the affected workers. Our role in assessing those arguments is limited. We ask only whether the ALJ's findings of fact are supported by substantial evidence considering the record as a whole, 29 U.S.C.  660(a); P. Gioioso & Sons, Inc. v. Occupational Safety & Health Review Comm'n, 675 F.3d 66, 72 (1st Cir. 2012), and whether the findings are arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with the law, 5 U.S.C.  706(2)(A); Capeway Roofing Sys., Inc. v. Chao, 391 F.3d 56, 58 (1st Cir. 2004). With these standards in mind, we turn to the ALJ's precise findings and A.C. Castle's critique of those findings.

1. Common Worksite

The ALJ found that A.C. Castle and PHI shared as a common worksite the Parsons Hill Road home roofing site where the accident occurred. A.C. Castle argues that the common worksite test directs our attention to the business address of the two entities, rather than to the location at which their employees worked. While a shared headquarters or business address generally satisfies the common worksite factor, A.C. Castle points to no precedent indicating that a common business address or headquarters is necessary to satisfy this factor. And to rule that it is essential would rewrite the test as stating common business address rather than common worksite, which is the term used in Advance Specialty. 3 BNA OSHC 2072, at *4. Given the Act's focus on worker safety, see 29 U.S.C.  651, it is not unreasonable to look to the location at which the employees worked and were exposed to workplace hazards, i.e., the worksite, not just the business address. For this reason, we find nothing arbitrary, capricious, abusive, or violative of the law in the ALJ's finding that the construction site was the relevant site in applying the common worksite test.

At the same time, we agree with A.C. Castle that in cases involving general contractors and subcontractors, the common worksite factor as construed by the ALJ in this case will almost always be satisfied. In our view, though, all this means is that in this industry this factor carries with it less probative force than it otherwise might in decreeing two companies to be one and the same. And the other prongs of the test ensure that this factor alone is not dispositive.

A.C. Castle also argues that even the construction worksite was not common in this case because LeBlanc was not at the site when the accident occurred, and thus he was not exposed to the hazardous conditions. But LeBlanc had been to the site to secure and arrange the work, and A.C. Castle points to no precedent holding that workers from each entity must be at the site at the time the violation occurred, or directly exposed to the risk. Also, Provencher supervised the roofing crew that set up the faulty scaffolding apparatus at the worksite, and was himself physically present at the site shortly before the accident. As we have explained above, the ALJ reasonably treated him as an employee of A.C. Castle. So in that sense, A.C. Castle was present at the worksite.

2. Interrelated and Integrated Operations

The same factual findings employed in deeming Provencher to be a supervisory employee of A.C. Castle make clear that the operations of A.C. Castle and Provencher's sole proprietorship were integrated to a degree well beyond what one would expect to find in the customary relationship between a general contractor and a subcontractor. The integration of their operations also notably included the pertinent subject of workplace safety: PHI had no safety program of its own, and LeBlanc arranged for and at times paid for PHI workers to receive OSHA trainings hosted at LeBlanc's home. LeBlanc gave Provencher a binder containing A.C. Castle's safety policies and instructed Provencher to follow its dictates. See C.T. Taylor, 20 BNA OSHC at 1087 ([T]reating these two companies as one is an effective way of addressing the fact that, on this particular occasion, Taylor and Esprit handled safety matters as one company.)

As we have already discussed, A.C. Castle fairly protests that any integration was not complete. PHI did some work for other general contractors. There was no common payroll or benefits system. Provencher had his own workers' compensation insurance for his workers, and he had his own CPA. So, too, it is fair to say that some degree of direction is customarily given by general contractors to their subcontractors. For all of these reasons, we agree that this factor weighed only lightly in favor of a single employer finding. But, as with the common worksite factor, we see no abuse of discretion in finding that the weight of this factor, while small and likely insufficient in the normal case of construction general contractors and subcontractors, nevertheless incrementally added to the balance building in the direction of the ALJ's finding.

3. Common Management or Supervision

It is the final factor that provides the added heft necessary to tilt the balance in favor of the ALJ's single employer determination. As we have explained, the ALJ found that Provencher was a supervising employee of A.C. Castle. Whether that finding by itself might have justified holding A.C. Castle liable, as argued by the Secretary, we need not decide. The ALJ made more modest use of her finding that Provencher was A.C. Castle's supervisory employee, using it to support the conclusion that there was common management or supervision. And certainly it provides strong support for that conclusion, as it leaves a single line of management running from LeBlanc through Provencher to the workers supervised by Provencher. In short, the ALJ effectively found not a single employer merely because two employers acted as one; rather, she effectively found that there was only one employer. And, as explained above, substantial evidence supported that conclusion. We therefore find no reason to upset the ALJ's conclusion on the single employer test.

C.

Because OSHA had previously treated PHI and A.C. Castle as distinct entities, A.C. Castle says it lacked fair notice that OSHA would treat it as the employer of the PHI workers in this instance. We reject this argument.

The fair notice rule applies in scenarios in which OSHA informs a company (or suggests to it) that its procedures or processes are safe and satisfactory, but then issues a citation for the same procedures in a later inspection. Trinity Marine Nashville, Inc. v. Occupational Safety & Health Review Comm'n, 275 F.3d 423, 430 (5th Cir. 2001). Here, OSHA did not represent to A.C. Castle that any particular process or procedure complied with its rules. Instead, upon learning new information about the relationship between A.C. Castle and PHI, OSHA found it appropriate to cite the two companies together for violations related to the October 2014 accident. Neither the Commission's single employer test nor the Darden common law test were a secret to A.C. Castle. And the very fact that those inquiries are so fact-intensive means that for a given worksite inspection, the Secretary of Labor may or may not have grounds to treat two ostensibly distinct companies as one. Thus, we agree with the ALJ that A.C. Castle's fair notice argument has no merit.

III.

A.C. Castle also challenged before the ALJ, and challenges on appeal, the Secretary's claim that A.C. Castle willfully violated a rule requiring that any scaffold component be capable of supporting its own weight and at least four times the maximum intended load (Citation 2, Item 1: violation of 29 C.F.R.  1926.451(a)(1) ). A violation of an OSHA rule is willful when the relevant company actor exhibits plain indifference toward a safety requirement or when he or she has evidenced a state of mind such that, lacking actual knowledge of a given rule, if he or she were informed of the requirement, he [or she] would not care. Brock v. Morello Bros. Const., Inc., 809 F.2d 161, 164 (1st Cir. 1987); see also Kaspar Wire Works, Inc., 18 BNA OSHC 2178 (No. 90-2775, 2000).

Provencher, the supervisor of the roofing crew, purchased the rough spruce planks that did not meet OSHA regulations. The planks were incapable of supporting their weight and four times the maximum intended load, as 29 C.F.R.  1926.451(a)(1) required. Provencher claimed not to know that these planks were identified by the hardware store he and LeBlanc patronized as not for stagin[g], and thus were not graded for use in scaffolding. And Provencher seemed not to care that the planks were of a quality insufficient to support the weight required. He admitted that even if he had known that the boards he purchased for the scaffolding were not suitable for use as stagingwhich would have indicated to him that they could not support the required loadhe may have used them anyway. This admission demonstrates sufficient indifference to the requirements of 29 C.F.R.  1926.451(a)(1) to constitute willfulness under the rule set forth in Brock. Moreover, the evidence that Provencher used these planks for over twenty years, that the receipts from the hardware store always showed that they were not for stagin[g], and that LeBlanc knew Provencher used these planks for scaffolding and apparently instructed Provencher to double them up, supports the ALJ's conclusion that the willful standard has been met.

IV.

For the foregoing reasons, we deny A.C. Castle's petition for review.

KAYATTA, Circuit Judge.
Shiva Safai isnt interested in addressing the sexual assault accusations made against her fiance, Mohamed Hadid, by another woman.

Honestly I really dont want to talk about it, the Second Wives Club star, 37, said on SiriusXMs Conversations with Maria Menounos on Thursday. Ive decided to really just focus on myself and great things that are coming ahead.

The 69-year-old Hadid, father to fashion It girls Gigi and Bella, has been accused of rape by model Miranda Vee.

Vee came forward with her claim after fellow model Kate Upton accused Guess co-founder Paul Marciano of sexual misconduct last week.

Thank you @kateupton it is time people like @paulmarciano & @mohamedhadid get exposed for who they really are! I met with paul at his @guess headquarters that is actually a apartment where he sexually harassed me & after that passed me on to his friend [Mohamed] who was going to meet me for coffee, she captioned a screenshot of Uptons Instagram post.

I thought it was a professional meeting but It was just me, him & champagne where he date raped me in a apartment, she continued.All to get a test shoot for guess. LAST year when I [tried] to speak out about it they found out & made me sign a NON-disclosure agreement & I only agreed to sign because paul threatened me & said he would get me disappeared if I ever say anything. #TIMESUP Why should we have to stay quiet because they have the power? #METOO.

Hadid has since denied the accusations to TMZ, and is looking into filing a defamation suit against Vee.

When we met it was not a date and not once did I touch her, he said, adding that her story was outrageous and totally untrue.

Hadid and Safai have been engaged since 2014.

This article originally appeared in the New York Post
Its no secret that grocery bills can add up, making one platinum-selling rappers generosity all the more sweet.

On Feb. 6, Drake surprised shoppers at Sabor Tropical Supermarket in Miami when he rolled into the store around 4 p.m. and announced via megaphone that hed be footing the bill for all of their purchases, E! News reports. According to the outlet, the Grammy winner dropped over $50,000 as the 60 lucky customers filled their carts.

BUFFALO WILD WINGS TO OFFER 'WING BLING' IN HONOR OF THE OLYMPICS

"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, shopper Guille Deza told the outlet. During the fortunate event, Deza added that rumor spread through the store that Drizzy initiated the act of kindness as part of the forthcoming music video for his new song "God's Plan.

Adding that the star was extremely nice, taking photos and shaking hands with the customers, Deza said that Drake also helped people find items and encouraged them to fill up their carts. From Instagram to Twitter, shoppers sounded off on their thanks for the treat.

'HANGRY' IS OFFICIALLY A WORD IN THE OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Earlier in the week, he surprised a University of Miami student with a $50,000 scholarship and donated $25,000 to Miami Senior High School, CBS News reports.

Last 3 days were the best I have had in a very long time...theres nothing like seeing people experience a joyful moment when you can tell they need it the most, the star mused on Instagram, in a thoughtful-looking photo of himself he shared to Instagram on Feb. 8.

Looks like the star has a plan, indeed.

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For the first time, human eggs have been grown in a laboratory -- and the development could aid in the fertility of children undergoing cancer treatment, say researchers at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.

Because chemotherapy and radiotherapy can make one sterile, women can freeze their eggs before treatment, the BBC reported. But this is not possible for girls with childhood cancers.

Females are born with immature eggs in their ovaries that can fully develop only after puberty.

The other option for young females is to freeze ovarian tissue before treatment. The tissue is then put back during adulthood if the patient wants to bear children.

But making eggs in the laboratory is considered a safer option.

After decades of research, scientists can now grow eggs to maturity outside of the ovary, the report said.

This preliminary work offers hope for patients, Stuart Lavery, a consultant gynecologist at Hammersmith Hospital, told the BBC.

The next step is to fertilize one of the lab-made eggs to create an embryo for further research, but researchers still need to obtain a license or partner with a facility that does, the report said.

Click here for more from the BBC.
People expect to see the Army National Guard during disasters.

In Huntington, W.Va., the guard has been called in to help tackle the opioid crisis  which the governor has described as a disaster.

We have to stop this terrible drug epidemic, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice said. We have to. If we don't, it will cannibalize us."

Huntington has been called the overdose capital of America, with double the national average of overdoses, due in part to the decline of the coal industry, a lack of jobs and the easy availability of the drugs. And law enforcement is stretched thin.

I don't think there is a police department in America that has all the resources they need, Huntington Police Chief Hank Dial said. It is a complex problem and it needed a complex solution."

The guard is flying its Lakota helicopters on reconnaissance missions in coordination with local police, providing eyes in the sky during busts and while serving warrants.

But its primary role is technical and analytical support.

Guardsman, who asked not to be identified, are manning hotlines and working on computers inside Huntington Police Departments Criminal Investigation Bureau, helping track down dealers and drug networks so cops can focus on the street.

On Wednesday, the guard answered a call that led to the bust of an alleged dealer and the recovery of 430 grams of fentanyl, far more powerful than heroin, with a street value of $86,000.

We are solving a problem in our country, said Maj. Gen. James Hoyer, a West Virginia National Guard commander. And, at the same time, making sure we have the highest level of readiness to respond to something else that may be out there, somewhere else in the world."

U.S. Rep. Evan Jenkins, R-W.V., said this drastic step is needed to make a dent in the raging opioid crisis.

We have people's lives at risk, Jenkins said. We have horrifically lost way too many lives as result. It is a bold action but, you know what, we need to take action and we are doing that..."

There will not be Humvees blocking roads or soldiers on the street corners with long guns. But the guard could be deployed in this state for years  funded by the state  as long as cops say they need help.
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The budget caps deal produced by Senate Majority Leader McConnell and Minority Leader Schumer is a fiscal disaster parading as a military support bill. They argue that we need to fully fund the military. I agree. Thats why we sent a bill to the Senate earlier this week that fully funded the military  without adding more than $500 billion to our deficit over the next 18 months, as their plan does.

Further, the House fully funded the military in the budget bills sent to the Senate almost six months ago. The Senate has taken no action on those bills, but keeps forcing short-term spending bills, which even Senator Lindsey Graham agrees, is extremely harmful to our military.

This bad deal is an unconditional surrender on Republican principles and our platform.

If Congress approves the spending package, federal spending will grow by more than 10 percent. As a part of the deal, our nations debt limit will be suspended. This means that Congress will spend as much as it can borrow  without limits. Plan on even more national debt ahead.

Our troops are suffering now due to our lack of courage to pass a financially responsible, long-term budget, and our grandchildren will suffer later due to our propensity to kick the can down the road.

If we are going to spend more than the credit limits, not to mention more than we bring in on the revenue side each month, we should be enacting serious spending cuts. Spending reductions should not be treated as an afterthought on a massive spending package.

After caving in on spending, the bill actually funds our troops for only another six weeks, until we are forced to consider our sixth spending bill of the fiscal year just a few weeks from now. This is absurd  and irresponsible.

Congresss pattern of relying on short-term spending bills  on average, more than five times a year for the last 20 years  has brought on a plethora of problems. Our military is subjected to uncertainty in planning and execution of its missions. Our agencies incur the waste of preparing for government shutdowns multiple times each year. The dissipation incurred by failure of the Senate to pass the appropriations bills has also heaped an enormous national debt on this and future generations.

This is nothing short of self-immolation through legislative malfeasance. We are putting our grandchildren in an awful bind. If we cannot pass a budget and reduce the size of government now, we must wonder what kind of America they will see when they grow up. Will it be a thriving, free nation where they can fulfill their greatest aspirations, or will it be a broken and bankrupt country?

Almost six months ago, the House passed twelve appropriations bills and sent them over to the Senate. The Senate has had an opportunity for months to consider these bills and give them an up-or-down vote through regular order. This could have solved our problems. Yet, the other chamber has refused to perform its constitutional responsibility, threatening the financial stability of our military personnel.

Our troops are suffering now due to our lack of courage to pass a financially responsible, long-term budget, and our grandchildren will suffer later due to our propensity to kick the can down the road.

When will we act like the Republicans our constituents expect us to be? When will we cut spending, balance the budget, and eliminate our national debt? The time should be now, but sadly, we are too set in our free-spending, big government ways to change.

I strongly oppose this deal. We must drain the swamp and decrease the size of government. I implore my colleagues to vote against this legislation.
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Mark Janus is a child-support specialist in Illinois who is forced to pay union dues in order to keep his job. As a public employee, he believes that violates his First Amendment right to decide for himself what causes to fund. Soon he will get a chance to argue his case, Janus v. AFSCME, Council 31, before the U.S. Supreme Court  and the outcome will impact millions of Americans nationwide.

In about 20 states, public workers like Janus who are not members of a union can nonetheless be compelled to pay what are known as agency fees to a government employee union as a condition of employment. The fees ostensibly help defray the costs incurred by labor unions to collectively bargain on behalf of non-members.

But in reality, collective bargaining in the public sector is inherently political. Public workers like Janus are forced to pay a union to advocate on political questions such as taxpayer-funded wages and pensions.

And despite legal restrictions, agency fees fund more than just activities related to collective bargaining negotiations over wages, benefits and working conditions. Agency fees directly fund government unions more overt political agendas as well.

Will the Supreme Court rule that no worker should be forced to financially support an organization against his or her will, especially one that is highly political like public employee unions?

For example, the labor union named in the Janus case  the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 31  hosts conventions that are, at least in part, political in nature. Yet unions are permitted to charge non-members for these events. So AFSCME Council 31 uses agency fees to cover a portion of its convention expenses, which amounted to $268,855 in 2016.

Here is a snapshot at what took place at the national AFSCME convention in 2016, the most recent presidential election year. One program was titled AFSCME for Hillary. Union officials called on members to become engaged in the unions effort to take back the U.S. Senate and flip control of Congress. Breakout sessions were conducted to sharpen members political advocacy skills.

AFSCME is not alone in charging non-members for politics. Other prominent government employee unions, like the National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers, hold conventions that are political in nature. Those unions also pass on part of the cost onto non-members.

For decades, millions of public employees have been forced to pay union dues, resulting in one of the largest compelled-speech schemes in America. It is past time to end the practice and instead provide workers the freedom to choose how to spend their earnings.

Will the Supreme Court rule that no worker should be forced to financially support an organization against his or her will, especially one that is highly political like public employee unions?

Justice Samuel Alito once opined that agency-fee provisions unquestionably impose a heavy burden on the First Amendment interests of objecting employees. Lets hope his fellow justices agree and stop government from making public sector workers pay for speech they disagree with.
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The successful launch of SpaceXs Falcon powerful new rocket Tuesday at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida was a tremendous step toward reasserting American leadership in space.

The Falcon Heavy is the most powerful rocket launched in the U.S. since the Apollo missions  and the most powerful commercial rocket ever made. It can carry nearly 64 metric tons (141,000 pounds) into orbit. This is more than double the payload of the next-biggest rocket currently in operation.

For perspective, SpaceX says this is, a mass greater than a 737 jetliner loaded with passengers, crew, luggage, and fuel.

SpaceX owner Elon Musk also said the rocket system could launch payloads direct to Pluto and beyond without the help of a gravity assist.

This successful test flight should serve as a serious motivator for the National Space Council to jumpstart the nations focus on manned space flight.

When President Trump reinstated the Space Council on June 30, he challenged its members to think big in space again. The day before the new Space Council met for its first meeting on Oct. 5, Vice President Mike Pence wrote in The Wall Street Journal that the council will refocus Americas space program toward human exploration and discovery.

The council must redouble its efforts to meet these challenges.

Specifically, the Space Council should heed Vice President Pences charge: "To achieve these goals, the National Space Council will look beyond the halls of government for insight and expertise.

The vice president is absolutely right, and SpaceXs success on Tuesday proves it.

The private sector has shown that the conventional wisdom of the slow-moving, risk-averse space bureaucracy is wrong.

As Dr. Robert Zubrin, president and founder of the Mars Society, wrote after the launch: Seven years ago, the Augustine commission said that NASA's Moon program had to be cancelled because the development of the necessary heavy lift booster would take 12 years and 36 billion dollars. SpaceX has now done that, on its own dime, in half the time and a twentieth of the cost. And not only that, but the launch vehicle is three quarters reusable.

In fact, The Wall Street Journal reported in an article its print edition Wednesday titled For SpaceX, New Rocket Marks Coup that, the Falcon Heavy underscores the demise of what used to be the aerospace industrys reliance on federal dollars for technological breakthroughs.

The Space Council must see the new reality. It must recognize that companies like SpaceX are out-competing government rocket programs. This trend is likely to continue. Instead of focusing our tax dollars on duplicative efforts, the federal governments interaction with the space industry must change. We should help these companies achieve more.

The Space Council should aggressively develop systems for public-private partnerships with innovative companies such as SpaceX, Jeff Bezos Blue Origin, Sierra Nevada Corporation, and others, where the government takes on the role of an investor  an investor that would be paid back.

Additionally, The Wall Street Journal article noted that the successful test flight could mean the Falcon Heavy could start making paid missions to space within months. The National Space Council should nurture this possibility and quickly create a system that could help support as many U.S.-led launches into space as possible. Only this will create the environment necessary to establish a thriving U.S.-led business ecosystem.

If the U.S. does not do this, our competitors will. A future where China or Russia dominates in space is not a safe, secure or prosperous future for America.

The Space Council must also encourage a culture across all federal space programs that allows for failure and quick recovery.

One of the keys to SpaceXs success has been its ability to fail  and move on.

The companys Falcon 1 rocket failed three times before it was successful. The company has also had two failed Falcon 9 launches. Despite setbacks, SpaceX was able to quickly learn from its mistakes, make adjustments, and try again.

As a result, within 16 years SpaceX has gone from conceptualizing privately-funded, reusable rockets to launching the most powerful rocket we have seen in nearly half a century. Along the way, the company has achieved 47 successful missions with Falcon 9, five with Falcon 1  and Tuesdays success with Falcon Heavy.

This work has helped discover and drive American technological innovations at a rate that the bureaucratic, risk averse, old-space system could never have achieved.

Some of those innovations include the ability to bring rockets back to Earth after launch for reuse  as SpaceX did with the two booster rockets from the Falcon Heavy launch. This creates a tremendous savings and makes getting to space much less expensive.

A final important piece of this launch was SpaceXs decision to put Starman into space. This is the mannequin that was dressed in a spacesuit and put behind the wheel of a red Tesla Roadster, which was launched into orbit.

While some might be quick to assume this was merely a publicity stunt for Tesla, one of Musks other companies, it was much more than that.

Young Americans everywhere can go to YouTube and watch more than four hours of video recorded of Starman as he drifted through space looking down at our planet.

The extraordinary video from this car orbiting Earth makes clear to every young person in America that having a career in the space industry  even actually going to space  is as real, tangible, and achievable as becoming a dentist, a lawyer, a civil engineer, or any other job that requires focus and hard work.

In this way, this so-called stunt could help inspire young Americans across the country to pursue math, engineering, aeronautics, and astronomy the same way the Apollo program inspired a generation of Americans in the 1960s.

As the Tesla passes Mars in its elliptical orbit between Earth and the red planet, there may be more images and footage to come.

This is perhaps the most important aspect of SpaceXs successful launch. After the Apollo missions, as a country, we slowly lost our excitement over the wonder of space travel. Now landing on the moon has become ancient history. If we fail to continuously inspire, teach, and excite Americas youth, this regressive cycle could repeat itself.

The National Space Council  and all Americans  should consider what President Trump said when he reinstated the National Space Council: We will inspire millions of children to carry on this proud tradition of American space leadership  and to never stop wondering, hoping, and dreaming about what lies beyond the stars."

The National Space Council must build on the excitement of the Falcon Heavy launch  and help make sure America wins this new space race.
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What does marijuana have in common with Schedule I controlled substances like heroin, LSD, and date-rape drugs? Nothing, the average American would likely reply. I agree. Unfortunately, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions holds the opposite view and continues to lump pot in with far more dangerous drugs.

It appears that Sessions is using federal law enforcement to further his personal view that all marijuana use is wrong. This is the same mindset behind the prohibition of alcoholic beverages in the U.S. from 1920 to1933. That proved unsustainable, just as the total federal ban on marijuana has been shown to be a failure.

Since President Nixon launched the War on Drugs more than four decades ago, billions of taxpayer dollars have been spent each year fighting the perceived scourge of marijuana, employing the same fundamental strategy decade after decade. And year after year, Americans continue to smoke marijuana in increasing numbers, according to the governments own figures.

Common sense tells us that not all illegal drugs are alike. Heroin is far more dangerous and addictive than marijuana. LSD is powerful hallucinogen that is far more incapacitating than pot. And anyone using a drug to leave a woman helpless so he can rape her is committing a terrible crime far more serious than smoking a joint.

Moreover, Americans generally are aware that numerous medical studies have established that THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the primary active ingredient in marijuana, possesses significant positive properties for certain maladies, including glaucoma, cancers, seizures and post-traumatic stress disorder. Even many people who oppose recreational marijuana use dont want to deny the drug to sick people who could benefit from it medically.

Yet Sessions remains an adamant foe of all marijuana use. Full disclosure: I held the same view when I was a U.S. attorney in Georgia from 1986 to 1990 and when I served as a Republican congressman from Georgia from 1995 to 2003. But as more evidence emerged about marijuana in the past 15 years I reevaluated my position. I now believe states should determine how they want to regulate marijuana, without federal interference.

Sessions continues to maintain that marijuana is a dangerous drug that the federal government must combat, regardless of whether a states citizens have voted to legalize it.

In taking such a hardline approach to even medical marijuana legalization, the attorney general seems to have placed himself at odds with his boss. In numerous interviews in 2016, then-candidate Donald Trump was quite clear that questions regarding medicinal use of marijuana should be decided by the states and not the federal government.

This position, which President Trump has not expressly disavowed, reflects the fundamental principle of federalism: that matters affecting the citizens of a state should be decided by each state, unless they are clearly national issues or delegated to the federal government by the Constitution.

President Trumps position is in accord with a wide swath of the American electorate  94 percent of adults (including 90 percent of Republicans) support legalized adult use of marijuana for medical purposes, according to a recent Quinnipiac Poll. And a majority of Republicans favor legalization of marijuana in general, according to a Gallup Poll released in October.

President Trumps analysis also is in accord with the view of the Justice Department in the Obama administration  that using limited federal resources to prosecute people who use marijuana makes no sense.

Importantly, President Trumps view is also consistent with a majority of members of the U.S. House of Representatives. The House has voted every year since 2014 to prohibit the federal government from using any appropriated funds to prosecute medical marijuana cases in states where it has been legalized. This is the latest flashpoint between Sessions and the Congress.

Congressional supporters of this extremely limited exception to broad federal prosecution of offenses involving controlled substances are at a loss to understand the attorney generals position.

As an American citizen, Jeff Sessions is free to espouse whatever opinions he likes on marijuana and marijuana users. And under current federal law, he is correct that a state law legalizing marijuana use does not legally override federal law.

But Sessions is going beyond his proper role when he employs the power of his position as our nations top law enforcement official to use taxpayer resources as a cudgel with which to misalign federal policies and forcibly override the decisions of 30 states and the District of Columbia to legalize some form of marijuana use  medicinal, recreational or both.

Moreover, Sessions actions are not remotely consistent with the long-accepted principles underlying our constitutional republic. And his position is not supported by factual analysis.

Sessions and other marijuana hardliners contend that prosecuting users of medicinal marijuana in states that have legalized it is necessary because such use leads to violence, gang activity and funding of other criminal enterprises. But there is no evidence to support this conclusion, and even were it so, there are more than sufficient laws still on the books with which the feds can attack such activities.

Virtually everyone in Washington purports to support the principle of federalism, at least in word. Under federalism, the national government and state governments each possess a large degree of sovereignty. The Constitution grants few express powers to the federal government, reserving the remaining powers for the state.

Both Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin and Democratic House Leader Nancy Pelosi of California, for example, issued a statement last May endorsing the principle of federalism. And the most recent Republican Party Platform re-emphasizes the GOPs firm commitment to federalism as its governing lodestar. But brush away the smoke and quite a different reality emerges.

Ultimately, if President Trump and the Republicans in Congress refuse to halt the attorney generals mean-spirited and philosophically hollow policy, they will show themselves to be true faux federalists, and will pay a price in electoral battles to come.

Then there is the question of priorities. Neither the Department of Justice nor the federal government as a whole enjoy unlimited resources (thank goodness!). Prioritizing those resources  whether as a federal prosecutor, a member of Congress, or the attorney general of the United States  is and should be a primary responsibility of the officeholder.

Priorities change over time and circumstances. Failing to recognize this reality and continuing to adhere rigidly to yesterdays priorities when facing todays (or tomorrows) threats is not only costly but irresponsible.

To me  and to a significant majority of Americans  major threats facing our country today that are within the federal governments portfolio of responsibilities do not and should not include pursuing marijuana users. This is true whether individuals light up for medical or less noble reasons, and regardless of whether earlier times might have supported such a priority.

My concern for the principle of federalism always has served as a filter through which I have endeavored to evaluate government powers and actions.

Finally, there is the underlying and indisputable fact that the ways in which the government invades and undermines individual liberty today are far more numerous and invasive than when I last took an oath as a member of Congress. The War on Drugs has spawned many of these liberty-limiting powers  including the huge expansion of financial crimes and the massive use of electronic surveillance.

Our Founding Fathers recognized that every instance in which the government takes and uses power necessarily means individuals have lost a degree of liberty. This was problematic 15 years ago when I left Congress. It is frightening now. As a result, my decision to oppose the federal governments anti-marijuana crusade was an easy one to make.
Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee who has been leading a congressional investigation into President Trump's alleged ties to Russia, had extensive contact last year with a lobbyist for a Russian oligarch who was offering Warner access to former British spy and dossier author Christopher Steele, according to text messages obtained exclusively by Fox News.

"We have so much to discuss u need to be careful but we can help our country," Warner texted the lobbyist, Adam Waldman, on March 22, 2017.

"I'm in," Waldman, whose firm has ties to Hillary Clinton, texted back to Warner.

Steele famously put together the anti-Trump dossier of unverified information that was used by FBI and Justice Department officials in October 2016 to get a warrant to conduct surveillance of former Trump adviser Carter Page. Despite the efforts, Steele has not agreed to an interview with the committee.

Secrecy seemed very important to Warner as the conversation with Waldman heated up March 29, when the lobbyist revealed that Steele wanted a bipartisan letter from Warner and the committees chairman, North Carolina Republican Sen. Richard Burr, inviting him to talk to the Senate intelligence panel.

Throughout the text exchanges, Warner seemed particularly intent on connecting directly with Steele without anyone else on the Senate Intelligence Committee being in the loop -- at least initially. In one text to the lobbyist, Warner wrote that he would "rather not have a paper trail" of his messages.

TEXTS: Mark Warner texted with Russian oligarch lobbyist in effort to contact Christopher Steele on Scribd

An aide to Warner confirmed to Fox News that the text messages are authentic. The messages, which were obtained from a Republican source, are all marked "CONFIDENTIAL" and are not classified. They were turned over to the Senate panel by Waldman last September.

Waldman, who did not return calls seeking comments, runs the Endeavor Group in Washington.

Waldman is best known for signing a $40,000 monthly retainer in 2009 and 2010 to lobby the U.S. government on behalf of controversial Russian billionaire Oleg V. Deripaska. Deripraska had his visa revoked by the State Department in 2006 because of charges, which he has denied, that he has organized crime ties.

An aide to Burr, the Republican chairman, told Fox News that Burr was aware of the "contact" Warner made with Steele's representative but added, "I don't believe he was aware of the content of the text messages" initially.

The senators released a joint statement to Fox News stressing they are working together, while blasting the leaks of incomplete information.

They said the committee has been in possession of this material for several months and committee investigators have pursued all relevant investigative leads related to the material.

"From the beginning of our investigation we have taken each step in a bipartisan way, and we intend to continue to do so," Warner and Burr said in the statement. "Leaks of incomplete information out of context by anyone, inside or outside our committee, are unacceptable."

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., another member of the committee, tweeted Thursday night that Warner "fully disclosed this to the committee four months ago." He added that the disclosure "has had zero impact on our work."

The conversation about Steele started on March 16, 2017, when Waldman texted, "Chris Steele asked me to call you."

Warner responded, "Will call tomorrow be careful."

The records show Warner and Waldman had trouble connecting by phone. On March 20, Warner pressed Waldman by text to get him access to Steele.

"Can you talk tomorrow want to get with ur English friend," Warner texted.

"We have so much to discuss u need to be careful but we can help our country"  Warner, in text to lobbyist Adam Waldman, March 22, 2017

"I spoke to him yesterday," Waldman texted.

The two men appear to have finally connected about Steele by phone on March 22, according to the records.

"Hey just tried u again gotta give a speech but really want to finish our talk," Warner texted.

Waldman, at one point, texted back that Steele really wanted a bi-partisan letter requesting his testimony first. He added that Steele was concerned about word leaking to the media that they were talking.

In one text, Warner suggested he did not want Burr or any other senator included in the discussions: "Ok but I wud (sic) like to do prelim call u me and him no one else before letter just so we have to trail to start want to discuss scope first before letter no leaks."

Waldman noted repeatedly that Steele was concerned about leaks and was "spooked" by all of the attention he had received around the world. Steele, he said, was skittish about talking to Warner.

Warner texted back on March 30: "We want to do this right private in London don't want to send letter yet cuz if we can't get agreement wud rather not have paper trail."

On April 5, Warner texted, "Any word on Steele.

"Yes seems to have cold feet from the leaks. Said he wanted a bipartisan letter followed by written questions," texted Waldman, adding that the Wall Street Journal had contacted him asking if he was an intermediary between the panel and Steele.

In the text messages, Warner also discussed the possibility of a trip to see Steele.

On March 23, Warner texted, "Need to coordinate date for trip can u talk with my scheduler also want to discuss Paul," an apparent reference to former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, whose initials are used in the next text by Waldman.

On March 26, Warner texted, "Really need to set date things r going to really pick up."

"Standying by to do it," texted Waldman. "Awaiting call from your scheduler and also the letter he (Steele) would like they(sic) we discussed. And have second interesting thing to raise. Pls call."

But after calls back and forth, Warner made clear that he wanted to talk to Steele directly without Burr or anyone else being involved, even though Steele was insisting through Waldman that the contact start with a bipartisan letter inviting him to cooperate with the Senate panel.

"Hey can't we do brief (off the record) call today before letter so I can frame letter," Warner texted Waldman on March 29.

"Steele wants to have letter first. Or did you mean call w me?" Waldman texted back.

Trump reacted to the findings in a tweet late Thursday, writing, "All tied into Crooked Hillary."

Warners text messages were quietly given to the intelligence committee after he and Burr signed a joint request for the messages last June. Warner and Burr privately informed the rest of the Democratic and Republican senators on the panel of Warner's text messages in a meeting last October.

A Warner aide acknowledged that Warner and Burr revealed the texts to their colleagues on the panel because "they realized out of context it doesn't look great." But aides to Warner and Burr both stressed that the chairman was kept apprised of Warner's efforts.

An aide to Burr knew there was a "back channel" Warner was using to try and get to Steele and was not concerned that Warner was freelancing on the matter.

Warner began texting with Waldman in February 2017 about the possibility of helping to broker a deal with the Justice Department to get the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States to potentially face criminal charges. That went nowhere, though a Warner aide told Fox News that the senator shared his previously undisclosed private conversations about WikiLeaks with the FBI.

Over the course of four months between February and May 2017, Warner and Waldman also exchanged dozens of texts about possible testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee from Deripaska, Waldman's primary Russian billionaire client.

In January 2009, Harper's Magazine reported that Deripaska had hired an advisory firm with close ties to Hillary Clinton to help him get a visa to enter the United States." The magazine quoted Waldman as saying his firm does not lobby, though he filed paperwork with the Justice Department to represent Deripaska before the U.S. government.

In the dozens of text messages between February 2017 and May 2017, Waldman also talked to Warner about getting Deripraska to cooperate with the intelligence committee. There have been reports that Deripraksa, who has sued Manafort over a failed business deal, has information to share about the former Trump aide.

In May 2017, the Senate and House intelligence committees decided not to give Deripraska legal immunity in exchange for testimony to the panels. The text messages between Warner and Waldman appeared to stop that month.
The House of Representatives voted early Friday to approve a massive budget package that lifts spending caps while funding the government through March 23, all but ending a brief shutdown after a tumultuous night on Capitol Hill.

The 240-186 vote sends the $400 billion spending plan to President Trump, who has promised to sign it.

The budget deal, which includes a stopgap temporary measure to keep the government running, allows $300 billion more for the military and other programs over two years. The agreement also adds $89 billion in overdue disaster aid for hurricane-slammed Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico, a politically charged increase in the government's borrowing cap and a grab bag of health and tax provisions.

Passage of the measure came over the opposition of Democratic leaders who demanded the promise of a vote to protect "Dreamer" immigrants brought to the country illegally as children.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., called the budget plan a true compromise.

My commitment to working together on an immigration measure that we can make law is a commitment, he said.

Democrats like House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi wanted a commitment on a bill to help Dreamers. Such protections are about to expire in early March, a result of President Trump ending the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program.

But the bigger drama played out on the Senate side. A last-minute maneuver by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., delayed consideration of the bipartisan budget package in that chamber past midnight.

The result: the government endured a short-term shutdown in the wee hours of the morning, though most would never feel its effects.

Paul, though, objected on fiscal conservative grounds that the plan irresponsibly busted through budget caps and would grow the deficit even more.

"I ran for office because I was very critical of President Obama's trillion-dollar deficits," the Kentucky senator 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."

At one point, an exasperated Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., took to the Senate floor to lambaste Paul for what Tillis described as "theater."

"We can right now provide certainty to people who expect government to be open or we can play this game until 1 a.m.," said Tillis, who reminded Paul that "you have to convince 51 or 60 senators that your idea is good enough to support."

"You can make a point all you want, but points are forgotten," Tillis added. "There aren't a whole of history books about great points in the U.S. Senate."

Shortly after 10 p.m., Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, made six separate unanimous consent requests to hold a vote on the budget. Each time, Paul objected.

"I don't know why we're burning time here," Cornyn said before accusing Paul of "effectively shutting down the government ... for no real reason."

"It makes no sense to me," Cornyn added. "It will not accomplish anything."

As Paul stood firm, the Trump administration announced it was preparing for a "lapse" in appropriations, suggesting that officials expected a short shutdown.

The Senate eventually approved the bill.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., praised the plan in a statement shortly after the vote, writing that, "Funding for education, infrastructure, fighting drug abuse, and medical research will all, for the first time in years, get very significant increases, and we have placed Washington on a path to deliver more help to the middle class in the future.

Late Thursday, House GOP leaders advised members to prepare for votes "very roughly between" 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. Friday.

Trump has been urging Republicans and Democrats to support the Senate bill, tweeting that lawmakers must must support our troops and support this bill.

The House Freedom Caucus, the chambers fiscally conservative wing, also opposed the bill out of concerns that it would lead to more government spending.

The  caucus opposes the deal to raise spending caps on discretionary spending by nearly $300 billion over two years, the roughly 30-member group said Wednesday. We support funding for our military, but growing the size of government by 13 percent adds to the swamp instead of draining it. This is not what the American people sent us here to do.

Fox News' Chad Pergram and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit. UNITED STATES of America, PlaintiffAppellee, v. Anthony DRAPER, DefendantAppellant. No. 16-50960 Decided: February 07, 2018

Before SMITH, BARKSDALE, and HIGGINSON, Circuit Judges. Joseph H. Gay, Jr., Mark Randolph Stelmach, Esq., Assistant U.S. Attorneys, U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Texas, San Antonio, TX, for PlaintiffAppellee. Philip J. Lynch, San Antonio, TX, for DefendantAppellant.

For the first time on appeal, Anthony Draper claims that the magistrate judge (MJ) participated in plea negotiations in violation of Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11(c)(1). Because any error was not clear or obvious, we affirm.

I.

Draper was indicted for conspiring to possess with intent to distribute 280 grams or more of crack cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C.  841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(A) and 846. He retained his own counsel, Dan Wade.

Initial plea negotiations failed. Based on representations at the plea hearing, it appears that Wade proposed a 120-month sentence, but the government rejected that offer. Instead, the government proposed a plea agreement that waived Draper's appellate rights and stipulated to a factual basis, in exchange for a one-point reduction in the offense level under U.S.S.G.  3E.1(b). Wade determined the agreement was not in Draper's interest, identifying three defects: (1) The agreement waived Draper's appellate rights, which Wade considered essential; (2) it required Draper to stipulate to the offense as charged, without limiting his relevant conduct; and (3) it did not commit the government to allocuting at any particular sentence or range. The agreement committed the government only to the one-point reduction.

Draper consented to administration of his guilty plea and Rule 11 allocution by the MJ and appeared before the MJ to enter a guilty plea. At the plea hearing, Wade conveyed Draper's intent to plead straight up to the indictment. The MJ asked whether Wade had conveyed any and all formal plea offers from the government to Mr. Draper. Wade answered affirmatively. The prosecutor then noted that the government had proposed an agreement. Wade agreed that that proposal had been received and rejected. When the MJ asked Draper whether that was correct, Draper initially conferred with Wade before saying Yes. But, after the MJ clarified that he was asking whether that offer had been communicated and rejected, Draper responded that pleading straight up was the only plea [he'd] ever known about and that he was not aware a plea offer had been made.

The MJ then asked some questions to ascertain whether Draper had been aware of the government's proposal. Draper stated, No offer. No, sir. Wade explained why the agreement was not in Draper's interest and stated that Draper rejected it [o]nce he realized that he was giving up his right to appeal. Draper agreed that, even if he had not known about the offer beforehand, based on Wade's explanation, he kn[e]w about it now. The MJ said he would still let Draper accept the offer if Draper so desired. But Draper, after consulting with Wade, formally rejected it.

The MJ began to move on with the plea colloquy, but Draper interrupted to say [j]ust it was a misunderstanding right then. I didn't know. The MJ renewed his attempts to ensure Draper understood the offer and to ascertain whether Draper was rejecting it. Draper interrupted again: May I ask the Court a question? Draper asked: If I may ask the prosecution through the Court what is the offer that they have, like, as of right now besides me signing just the Factual Basis and stuff decide [sic] that I understand, if I may. You see what I'm saying?

The MJ asked whether the prosecutor, Ms. Young, would like to speak to that. She replied, I don't know that I can help anything, but the offer is plead with the Plea Agreement My understanding is that's been rejected, correct? You don't want to sign a Plea Agreement, correct? Wade then chimed in: He doesn't want to waive his right to appeal. So, yes, he doesn't want to sign it. Then the following exchange occurred:

MS. YOUNG: Well, let's let Mr. Draper answer so we actually have something on the record.

THE COURT: Mr. Draper, so they made you an offer as to the written agreement that she's holding in her hand. It includes a waiver of your right to appeal, I'm sure. Is that right, Ms. Young?

MS. YOUNG: That is correct as well as other mechanisms that you could agree with the government to do things that would be beneficial to you should you choose to do it. And you're rejecting that offer, correct?

THE DEFENDANT: No, ma'am.

THE COURT: You want that offer[?]

THE DEFENDANT: Yeah.

THE COURT: Okay. Let's take a break and have a seat and let Mr. Wade go through that with you.

When the recess ended, Draper, Wade, and Young had signed the government's proposed plea agreement. The rest of the plea hearing concluded without incident. The MJ recommended that the district court accept the plea agreement and plea of guilty and that Draper be adjudged guilty of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute crack cocaine in violation of 18 U.S.C.  846. The district court adopted the MJ's findings of fact and recommendation and accepted the guilty plea.

The Presentence Report (PSR) found Draper a career offender under U.S.S.G.  4B1.1. It identified three prior felony convictions of either a crime of violence or a controlled substance offense: (1) burglary; (2) possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute; and (3) delivery of a controlled substance. The career-offender status increased the offense level to 37 and the guideline range to 262327 months. The district court adopted the PSR without objection and sentenced Draper to 262 months.

Draper believes that the district court erred by labeling him a career offender; because of his waiver of appeal, however, he cannot appeal that alleged error directly. On appeal, he now claims that the district court participated in plea discussions in violation of Rule 11(c)(1). Thus, he requests that we vacate the conviction.

II.

The government contends that the appellate waiver bars this appeal. Draper responds that the waiver was not made voluntarily and knowingly and should not be enforced. Because the merits of Draper's Rule 11 objection implicate the validity of the waiver, we pretermit consideration of the waiver.

Draper did not object to the MJ's statements in the district court, so we review for plain error. To prevail, Draper must show (1) error (2) that is clear or obvious and (3) that affects his substantial rights. United States v. Jones, 873 F.3d 482, 497 (5th Cir. 2017). Even then, the court may correct the error only if the error seriously affects the fairness, integrity or public reputation of judicial proceedings.  Draper has not shown clear or obvious error, so his appeal fails.

Rule 11(c)(1) provides, An attorney for the government and the defendant's attorney  may discuss and reach a plea agreement. The court must not participate in these discussions. We take that prohibition seriously. It is a bright line rule  that constitutes an absolute prohibition on all forms of judicial participation in or interference with the plea negotiation process.  In short, the unambiguous mandate of Rule 11 prohibits the participation of the judge in plea negotiations under any circumstances: it is a rule that admits of no exceptions. That strict prohibition serves to diminish the possibility of judicial coercion of a guilty plea, id., as pressure is inherent in any involvement by a judge in the plea negotiation process.

Draper claims that the MJ's repeated questioning about whether Draper was aware of the proffered agreement, and the MJ's explanation of the agreement, violated Rule 11's prohibition on participation. Though we have reject[ed] the narrow view that improper participation is limited to the several discrete categories of factual circumstances where the courts have previously found it, Rodriguez, 197 F.3d at 159, our caselaw does provide some guidance.

For instance, judges clearly violate Rule 11(c)(1) where their statements could be construed as predictive of the defendant's criminal-justice outcome; suggestive of the best or preferred course of action for the defendant; or indicative of the judge's views as to guilt. See United States v. Ayika, 554 Fed.Appx. 302, 305 (5th Cir. 2014) (per curiam) (collecting examples). Conversely, it is clear that a judge does not violate the rule where performing the duties mandated by Rule 11(b). See, e.g., Miles, 10 F.3d at 1140. That is, once the defendant has agreed to plead guilty,

the district court is expected to take an active role by, inter alia, addressing the defendant in open court; determining that the plea is voluntary and not the result of force or threats; ensuring that there is a factual basis for the plea; and either accepting or rejecting the plea and stating its reasons for doing so.

Hemphill, 748 F.3d at 673. Thus, where evaluating an objection to improper judicial participation, [t]he proper inquiry is whether the court was actively evaluating a [defendant's decision to plead guilty], as the court is required to do, rather than suggesting what should occur or injecting comments while the parties are still negotiating. Id.

The government contends that there is a second category of per se permissible judicial questioning under Missouri v. Frye, 566 U.S. 134, 132 S.Ct. 1399, 182 L.Ed.2d 379 (2012), and Lafler v. Cooper, 566 U.S. 156, 132 S.Ct. 1376, 182 L.Ed.2d 398 (2012). Those cases held that defendants could have viable claims for ineffective assistance [IAC] if their counsel fails to communicate a plea offer and the defendant thereby loses the opportunity to plead to less serious charges or to receive a less serious sentence. Hemphill, 748 F.3d at 675. Though these holdings do not formally intersect the universe of Rule 11, dicta in Frye appears to encourage the use of Rule 11 plea colloquies to confirm that formal offers have been conveyed:

[T]rial courts may adopt some measures to help ensure against late, frivolous, or fabricated [IAC] claims [For example], formal offers can be made part of the record at any subsequent plea proceeding or before a trial on the merits, all to ensure that a defendant has been fully advised before those further proceedings commence.

Frye, 566 U.S. at 146, 132 S.Ct. 1399. According to the government, that language authorizes judges administering plea colloquies to perform a Frye inquiry, in which the court inquires into whether defense counsel has delivered all formal plea offerseven though such inquiries go beyond the requirements of Rule 11(b) and have not traditionally been considered part of the district court's active role. See Miles, 10 F.3d at 1140.

The one Fifth Circuit case to confront the issue, Hemphill, 748 F.3d at 675, is of limited use here. The panel assumed, without deciding, that Frye inquiries are proper; it found error anyway because the judge's comments went much farther than documenting the plea offer or informing [the defendant] of its terms, as contemplated in Frye. Id. Thus, the issue herea judicial statement that conforms to Frye, but otherwise exceeds the bounds of Rule 11(b)remains open.

We agree with the government that Frye's dicta seems to authorize some type of inquiry. But we recognize that authorization is in tension with Rule 11's prohibition on participation. Even assuming the Supreme Court would not ultimately authorize that inquiry such that the MJ's actions were erroneous, the dicta in Frye is enough to establish that there was no clear error here. See Frye, 566 U.S. at 146, 132 S.Ct. 1399.

And, unlike in Hemphill, the MJ's inquiries did not stray outside Frye's authorization. The MJ's initial questions as to whether Wade had communicated all formal plea offers to Draperincluding the offer to allow Draper to plead with a written agreement, and whether Draper agreed that he knew of all plea agreementsseem to exhibit a fairly standard Frye inquiry. Draper claims the MJ strayed from that inquiry when, after receiving affirmative answers to both questions, he explained that Draper had the right to know about all plea offers, and he reframed his question to Draper: [I]nstead of taking that formal offer of entering a written Plea Agreement or even a written Factual Basis, [you've chosen] to plead to the indictment  without an agreement, right?

Though we agree that sustained, unjustified repetition of the Frye inquiry could exceed the scope of Frye and would become improper involvement, the rule cannot require parsing the transcript so finely. To the extent Frye permits judges to engage in that type of inquiry, it must also allow them to ask reasonable follow-up questions and probe the parties' responses. Otherwise, a judge would not be able to probe an ambiguous or unclear answer. And the answer Draper gave to the initial question of whether the plea had been communicated was arguably ambiguous.

After being asked to clarify that he was rejecting the offer, Draper answered, That's the only plea I've known about, actually. That response appeared to contradict Wade's earlier representation that he had conveyed the plea-agreement offer to Draper. Thus, the MJ tried to confirm that Draper did not know about the plea offer, and the MJ sought Wade's views. Wade explained that he had conveyed the offer to Draper but that Draper had rejected it because (1) it gave up his appeal rights, which he regarded as essential, (2) did nothing to limit his relevant conduct at sentencing, and (3) suggested no sentencing range.

Draper still maintained he had never before heard the terms of that plea agreement. Draper now urges that the MJ used this exchange improperly to dr [a]w the parties into a discussion of plea agreement offers and terms. But the MJ was merely performing his task under Frye, 566 U.S. at 146, 132 S.Ct. 1399namely, ma[king] [formal offers] part of the record at a[ ] subsequent plea proceeding  to ensure that a defendant has been fully advised before those further proceedings commence, and it was not clear or obvious error to do so. A Frye inquiry is precisely concerned with ensuring the defendant knows of all plea offers, so that when a defendant claims, on the record, that he did not know about an offer, the judge is permitted to ask whether the offer was actually communicated, so long as the inquiry does not imply that the judge has an opinion about the propriety of taking the offer.

The closest the MJ arguably comes to crossing the boundaries of Frye is his statement in response to Draper's maintaining no knowledge of the agreement: If you would like to enter the written Plea Agreement, you can still do it. If the government will still offer it, I'll still let you do it. (emphasis added). Draper urges that this statement violated the plain words of Rule 11that is, constituted participation in the plea-agreement discussions. That view has intuitive appeal. At this point, the plea negotiations between Wade and the prosecutor were over. With that statement, however, the MJ resurrected the discussion, putting the rejected offer back onto the table.

It is in this statement that the tension between Rule 11 and a Frye inquiry is most evident. A revival of the plea discussions arguably involves participating in discussions as that word is ordinarily understood. But that alleged participation cannot be clear or obvious error in light of Frye, 566 U.S. at 146, 132 S.Ct. 1399, which authorizes district courts to ma[k]e [formal offers] part of the record so as to ensure against IAC claims based on counsel's failure to deliver an offer. The MJ reasonably believed he had uncovered an actual failure to deliver. How could it have been clear or obvious error for him to attempt to correct the IAC by still let [ting] Draper accept the late-delivered offer? On Draper's view, Frye permits district judges to identify IAC but not to remedy it. That is not what the Supreme Court meant or said.

After the MJ indicated that Draper could accept the plea if Draper desired, the defendant conferred with counsel and then explicitly rejected it. Satisfied, the MJ moved on with the plea colloquy and ended the Frye inquiry. But, without warning or apparent explanation, Draper interrupted to say the earlier Frye discussion had been a misunderstanding. It is unclear what Draper meant.

The MJ then explained his understanding of how the government had proposed a written agreement and how Draper had rejected it. The MJ spent several minutes trying to nail down (again) whether Draper understood and rejected the agreement. Upon Draper's request, the MJ asked the prosecutor to describe the undelivered offer again. The prosecutor demurred, saying only that the offer is to plead with the Plea Agreement. The prosecutor then asked Draper whether he was still rejecting that offer, and Wade answered that Draper had rejected the offer. The prosecutor, however, asked that Draper state for the record that he rejected the offer.

At that point, the MJ told Draper that the government had made him an offer to plead with a written agreement and that the proposed agreement would waive his appellate rights. The prosecutor agreed with that description and indicated to Draper that the proposed agreement came with other mechanisms that could benefi[t] him. The prosecutor then asked Draper whether he was rejecting that offer, and Draper replied, No. The MJ then asked the necessary follow-up, You want the offer[?] And, Draper answered affirmatively. The MJ called a recess for Wade to go through the agreement with Draper.

Draper urges that this latter discussion constitutes improper participation because it went beyond determining whether an offer had been communicated and explained the details of the offer. Though these statements may fall within the ordinary meaning of participation, given that the judge facilitated the conversation, this again seems to be the kind of participation blessed by Frye. The aim of the entire exercise is to ensure that [the] defendant ha [d] been fully advised of any formal offers, Frye, 566 U.S. at 146, 132 S.Ct. 1399, and that is exactly what the MJ was doing. Given Frye, these statements, under our plain-error standard of review, do not constitute the requisite clear or obvious error.

AFFIRMED.

FOOTNOTES

. After hearing Wade's explanation, Draper stated, I didn't know that the Plea Agreement was rejected, Judge I didn't evenI didn't know that.

. Draper ultimately ended up with an offense level of 34 because the PSR recommended a three-point reduction for acceptance of responsibility.

. See United States v. Story, 439 F.3d 226, 230 (5th Cir. 2006) (stating that appeal waivers are not jurisdictional); see also United States v. Harrison, 777 F.3d 227, 233 (5th Cir. 2015) (Although Harrison's plea agreement contains an unambiguous waiver of his right to appeal from his conviction and sentence, he alleges that his ratification of the plea agreement was involuntary due to its coercive nature [W]e have previously allowed appeals despite similar waivers of appeal where defendants have asserted claims of coercion); United States v. Rodriguez, 197 F.3d 156, 159 (5th Cir. 1999) ([P]ressure is inherent in any involvement by a judge in the plea negotiation process.).

. Id. (alteration removed) (quoting United States v. Moreno, 857 F.3d 723, 727 (5th Cir. 2017) ).

. United States v. Hemphill, 748 F.3d 666, 672 (5th Cir. 2014) (quoting United States v. Pena, 720 F.3d 561, 570 (5th Cir. 2013) ).

. United States v. Miles, 10 F.3d 1135, 1139 (5th Cir. 1993) (alteration, quotation marks, and citation omitted).

. Rodriguez, 197 F.3d at 159 (citing Miles, 10 F.3d at 1135).

. The caselaw describes the court's active role as being triggered when the defendant has agreed to accept a plea offer. Hemphill, 748 F.3d at 673; accord, e.g., Miles, 10 F.3d at 1140. That phrasing is imprecise. The triggering event is the defendant's decision to enter a guilty pleawhether with an agreement or not. See Fed. R. Crim. P. 11(b) (procedure for accepting pleas); cf. Fed. R. Crim. P. 11(c) (procedure for accepting plea agreements). That distinction is typically unimportant. It matters only in unusual cases, like this one, in which the government's proposed agreement is so unfavorable to the defendant that he would rather plead straight up to the indictment than accept it.

. See also, e.g., Rodriguez, 197 F.3d at 160 (Appropriate discussion of a [decision to plead guilty] is limited to exploration of the agreement in order to determine whether it is voluntary and just.).

. See also Frye, 566 U.S. at 142, 132 S.Ct. 1399 (At the plea entry proceedings the trial court and all counsel have the opportunity to establish on the record that the defendant understands the process that led to any offer (citing Fed. R. Crim. P. 11) ).

. But cf. United States v. Wiggins, 674 Fed.Appx. 396, 400 (5th Cir. 2017) (per curiam) (suggesting that the best practice under these circumstances would have been to ask [the defendant] to confer with his counsel to ensure that he understood the plea offer, but ultimately deciding the case on prejudice grounds, rather than the merits).

. See Hemphill, 748 F.3d at 675 (The district court clearly implied that a plea would be preferred.); see also United States v. Braxton, 784 F.3d 240, 24547 (4th Cir. 2015) (finding that the district court's advice to defendant encouraging him to accept the guilty plea fell outside Frye's permitted inquiry and thus was impermissible participation).

. Cf. Rodriguez, 197 F.3d at 159 (pointing out that when Rodriguez indicated that he might want to go to trial, [the judge] asked whether he was sure [he] want[ed] to do that ; that statement was by itself sufficient to constitute improper judicial participation).

. Before Draper answered whether all pleas had been communicated, the prosecutor interjected to make the record clear that [t]here was an offer  but he rejected it. The MJ then asked Wade whether that was right, and he said yes. When the MJ asked Draper whether that was right, Draper conferred with his counsel and then said, Yes, sir. Only then did the MJ seek to clarify that two-word answer to ensure not only had Wade communicated the offer but also that Draper had rejected it.

. Cf. United States v. Bradley, 455 F.3d 453, 462 (4th Cir. 2006) (explaining that the court participated in plea discussions by, among other things, initiat[ing] them); United States v. Tobin, 676 F.3d 1264, 1307 (11th Cir. 2012) (stating that the court participated by indicat[ing] that it would like the defendants to begin and engage in plea discussions), abrogated on other grounds by United States v. Davila, 569 U.S. 597, 133 S.Ct. 2139, 186 L.Ed.2d 139 (2013).

. See Frye, 566 U.S. at 142, 132 S.Ct. 1399 (approving use of plea hearings to ensure the defendant has been given proper advice or, if the advice received appears to have been inadequate, to remedy that deficiency before the plea is accepted (emphasis added) ).

. The transcript has that reply as ending with a period, as though the MJ made a declaration instead of asking a question. But, the entire context (especially Draper's reply) indicates that the MJ intended to ask Draper whether he wanted the offer. Thus, the reply rightly should be punctuated by a question mark.

. See also Hemphill, 748 F.3d at 675 (opining that Frye contemplated that judges can document[ ] the plea offer and inform [ ] [the defendant] of its terms).

JERRY E. SMITH, Circuit Judge
A California Democrat who was featured in Time magazines Person of the Year issue for her role in the anti-sexual harassment #MeToo movement has been accused of drunkenly groping a male legislative staffer at a softball game in 2014.

Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia allegedly stroked the then-25-year-old staffers back, tried to squeeze his buttocks and attempted to grab his crotch as he walked away from her.

The staffer, Daniel Fierro, worked for Assemblyman Ian Calderon at the time. He did not immediately report the incident but in January told Calderon, also a Democrat, who reported it to Assembly leaders.

Garcia was clearly inebriated during the 30- to 35-second episode, Fierro said.

Her hand was there and it slipped down to my butt and she tried to squeeze," Fierro added.

"Her hand was there and it slipped down to my butt and she tried to squeeze."  Daniel Fierro, former California legislative staffer

The Assembly is now investigating Garcia. Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, a Democrat, said in a statement he is directing human resources to reach out to Garcia's staff to make sure they feel safe.

Separately, Politico reported that a lobbyist who declined to be named claimed Garcia made crude sexual comments and tried to grab his crotch at a 2017 fundraiser.

"Every complaint about sexual harassment should be taken seriously and I will participate fully in any investigation that takes place," Garcia, a Los Angeles-area lawmaker, said Thursday. "I have zero recollection of engaging in inappropriate behavior and such behavior is inconsistent with my values."

Fierro said he decided to tell Calderon about the incident because of Garcia's outspokenness in the #MeToo movement. He was reportedly interviewed last Friday by an outside law firm hired by the Assembly Rules Committee.

Garcia was elected in 2012 and has carved out a name as a champion of women's issues and environmental health for poor communities and chairs the Women's Caucus.

"I refuse to work with (Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra) and anyone who takes part in harassment or assault," she tweeted in October after it was reported Bocanegra had been disciplined in 2009 for groping a colleague. Bocanegra later resigned after more women made public accusations.

In a November interview with the Associated Press about alcohol-fueled fundraisers and other after-work events that are a part of regular business in Sacramento, Garcia said blaming alcohol isn't an acceptable excuse for sexually inappropriate behavior. It's men who choose to misbehave, not the social events themselves, that create the problems, she said.

"I would say that most of the public realizes that our job is based on relationships, and so we are expected to go out there and socialize," she said. "I think our public also expects us to hold ourselves to a higher standard."

"I would say that most of the public realizes that our job is based on relationships, and so we are expected to go out there and socialize. I think our public also expects us to hold ourselves to a higher standard."  California Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia

The Assembly committee said last week that eight allegations of sexual harassment are pending in the Assembly but did not divulge any names.

Fierro, of Cerritos, left the Assembly in 2016 and now runs a communications firm. Calderon, his former boss, is now the majority leader. Lerna Shirinian, Calderon's communications director, said Fierro told her about the incident right after it happened.

"He was in shock, I was in shock  but the culture was very different back then," Shirinian told Politico.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A $45 monthly fee could end up costing big labor billions. Public unions are getting nervous, while those who dont like how they operate are claiming the free lunch may be over soon.

An explosive case regarding government employees and the First Amendment that the Supreme Court will hear on Feb. 26 could redefine the relationship between public unions and workers.

Petitioner Mark Janus works at the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services and didnt like that a certain amount was deducted from his paycheck  he didnt believe he should be forced to pay union dues or fees just to be allowed to work for the state. He didnt agree with the 1.3 million-member AFSCME unions politics, and so believed, under the First Amendment, he couldnt be forced to contribute.

In his court filing, Janus quotes Thomas Jefferson, who said to compel a man to furnish contribution of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves, is sinful and tyrannical.

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Janus argument, and the Supreme Court agreed to hear his appeal.

If the Supreme Court finds for Janus, it could have a major effect on labor unions. Without compulsory fees, union funding could decrease precipitously. States might attempt workarounds  paying employees less rather than deducting from their paychecks, and passing along the savings to unions  but that sort of thing could be politically difficult to pull off.

The merits of the case, and 40 years of Supreme Court precedent and sound law, are on our side, says Lee Saunders, president of AFSCME.

For Saunders, strong unions are important because they offer the strength in numbers [workers] need to fight for the freedoms they deserve, such as health care and retirement plans.

The merits of the case, and 40 years of Supreme Court precedent and sound law, are on our side.  Lee Saunders, president of AFSCME

The central question in Janus is this: Should the court overrule its 1977 decision Abood v. Detroit Board of Education? In Abood, the Supreme Court declared that schoolteachers could be required to pay fees to public unions as long as the money was spent on the costs of collective bargaining and related issues, and not on ideological causes.

Court watchers may be getting a sense of deja vu from Janus -- in the past several years, the Supreme Court has already looked at this question a couple of times.

There was Harris v. Quinn (2014), where the court determined that non-union employees couldnt be forced to pay fees to labor unions, even though they received compensation from government sources that was determined through collective bargaining. The case was decided 5-4, with the five justices generally considered conservative  Samuel Alito, Anthony Kennedy, John Roberts, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas  comprising the majority, and the four Justices generally considered liberal  Elena Kagan, Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor  dissenting.

More on point was Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association (2016), which asked if a school district requiring employees to join a union or pay a fee infringed on their First Amendment rights of free speech and assembly. In other words, the court was being asked to reconsider Abood.

And they might have done just that, except that Associate Justice Scalia died before the case could be decided. This left the court split with four liberals and four conservatives, so they simply put out a one-line opinion that affirmed the lower court decision, leaving the question for another day.

And now, with Janus, that day has come.

The biggest change since Friedrichs then, is not the facts of the case, but the makeup of the court. Scalia has been replaced with Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch, and many believe hell be the fifth vote to overturn Abood. (If President Barack Obamas choice to replace Scalia, Merrick Garland, had been seated, its possible the court wouldnt even be hearing the Janus case.)

In fact, many experts see the decision to take up the case as a sign that the court is ready to side with Janus and overrule their precedent.

As Fox News legal analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano notes, Justice Gorsuch . . . is pretty much a champion of the choice of individuals in this type of environment. Add that to the four justices already leaning his way, and it looks like theyre ready to hand Janus a victory.

Many states might not be happy with such a ruling, but, as Napolitano notes, the First Amendment supersedes state arrangements with labor. Indeed, Napolitano, a civil libertarian, would hail a decision on behalf of Janus, and hopes everyone who believes that the First Amendment means what it says would applaud.

One argument against changing Abood is that it is firmly established law and the states have learned how to work with it  now is not the time to overturn it.

A change in the law, many fear, could turn quite a few workers into free riders who wont have to pay for the unions but will still get to enjoy the benefits of collective bargaining.

Then theres the claim that present-day practices are consistent with the First Amendment. One person who has argued this in an amicus brief (the court has received more than 70 amicus briefs) is Eugene Volokh, professor of law at UCLA and a noted expert on First Amendment issues.

In fact, Volokh goes even further than the position the court took in Abood, stating to Fox News he doesnt believe that requiring people to pay money is a First Amendment problem, even if that money is used for ideological expression. Volokh notes were required to pay our taxes....and some portion of that is used by the government to express its views....and thats not viewed as speech restriction.

Volokh doesnt see why union fees should be treated any differently.

For his part, Napolitano cant summon up too much sympathy for these unions, since theyve gotten themselves into this situation. As he puts it, some labor leaders believe this will be almost a fatal blow  you know what, thats their fault.No one is saying that labor unions [shouldnt] exist; they just have to make themselves attractive so that people join voluntarily, rather than under the states compulsion.

Fox News' Kristine Kotta contributed to this report
Calling it "decaying and rotten," President Trump announced he is withdrawing the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal and will be imposing more sanctions on the Middle Eastern nation.

Trump signed a presidential memorandum on May 8 withdrawing the U.S. from the controversial agreement signed by his predecessor in 2015. He said he will be re-instituting the highest level of sanctions and warned other countries against helping the Iranian government.

Trump said the U.S. would "not be held hostage to nuclear blackmail" and will not allow "a regime that chants 'death to America'" to get nuclear weapons.

The nuclear deal with Iran has long been a point of contention, especially among Republicans who opposed it.

The administration extended waivers on Irans nuclear sanctions earlier this year, keeping alive the landmark deal for an additional few months.

Read on for a look at the agreement and why its so controversial.

What is the Iran nuclear deal?

The Iran nuclear deal framework  officially the "Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action"  was a historic agreement reached by Iran and several world powers, including the U.S., in 2015, under Barack Obamas presidency.

In part, the deal was made to reduce Irans ability to produce two components used in making nuclear weapons: plutonium and uranium. In return, crippling economic sanctions on Iran were to be abated.

"Every pathway to a nuclear weapon is cut off," Obama said at the time. "This deal is not built on trust. It is built on verification."

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL AFTER TRUMP DITCHES ACCORD

A point of contention for many opponents is the deal's so-called sunset clause which would ease some of the restrictions on Irans nuclear program over time.

The deal was reached after two years of negotiations.

Certification that Iran is complying with the deal must be sent to Congress every 90 days. The first under the Trump administration noted that Tehran was in compliance.

In October 2017, Trump decertified the nuclear deal under U.S. law, saying the sanctions relief was disproportionate to Iran's nuclear concessions. He contended the arrangement was contrary to America's national security interests.

What has Trump said about it?

During the presidential campaign, Trump accused Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, then his opponent, for making Iran a world power under the nuclear deal, which he called the highest level of incompetence.

If you take a look at Iran from four, five years ago, they were dying, Trump said during an event in September 2016. They had sanctions, they were being choked to death and they were dying. They werent even going to be much of a threat.

On Twitter, Trump has referred to the agreement as a direct national security threat, a catastrophe that must be stopped, the dumbest & most dangerous misjudgments ever entered into in history of our country and the best deal of any kind in history for Iran.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has warned the U.S. would pay a high cost if it backs out of the agreement.

What happens next?

Trump is expected to reimpose all sanctions on Iran that were lifted as part of the 2015 deal, according to the Treasury Department. These sanctions include precious metals, banknotes, shipping, the automotive sector and petroleum.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the agreement could survive without the participation of the U.S., but has warned that his country would restart enriching uranium "in the next weeks." If that happens, and the deal collapses completely, businesses and banks doing business with Iran would have to scramble to extricate themselves or run afoul of the U.S.

Oil markets are also on the alert following Trump's decision. However, analysts told CNBC the impact of the reimposed sanctions might not have the same impact it once did. And while some countries may limit their oil purchases from Iran out of respect to the U.S., there are other countries that might refuse to do so, according to CNBC.

Fox News' John Roberts, Brooke Singman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
White House Chief of Staff John Kelly is facing continued scrutiny over his handling of domestic abuse accusations against a former senior aide.

A GOP source told Fox News that President Trump spoke to former chief of staff Reince Priebus about Kelly, amid the controversy.

The exact nature of the call is unclear. One source told Fox News it was very likely that Trump called to express his frustration with Kelly. The New York Times, which first reported on the call, reported that Kelly is "in trouble" and that Trump has asked advisers what they think about budget chief Mick Mulvaney as a replacement.

However, a source with knowledge of the Priebus call said that while they spoke, Trump did not complain to Priebus about his current chief of staff.



While seen as the figure most responsible for imposing order in a once-freewheeling West Wing, Kelly's stock took a hit this week after his handling of abuse allegations against then-staff secretary Rob Porter.

At first, Kelly called Porter a man of true integrity and honor.

But within 24 hours, as images emerged of one of Porters ex-wives with a black eye and questions were raised about what Kelly knew about the allegations and when, Porter resigned.

Porter has vehemently denied the accusations, calling the criticism a "smear campaign."

White House spokesman Raj Shah said that Kelly only became fully aware on Wednesday of the allegations that Porter abused both of his ex-wives and suggested Kelly had not seen the now-public images of ex-wife Colbie Holderness with an apparent black eye until this week.

Im not going to get into specifics of who may have known pieces of information.  We all became aware of the news reports that emerged Wednesday morning and the graphic images, Shah said.

Kelly also sent an email to White House staff making clear that the White House had a clear stance on domestic abuse.

While we are all processing the shocking and troubling allegations made against a former White House staffer, I want you to know that we all take matters of domestic violence very seriously. Domestic violence is abhorrent and has no place in our society, Kelly wrote in the letter, obtained by Fox News.

Trump was asked about the Porter case on Friday and told reporters it was very sad when we heard about it. He added that Porter said he was innocent and said we absolutely wish him well.

"It's a tough time for him," Trump said.

Holderness told Fox News on Thursday that she got the black eye during a hotel-room fight when she and Porter were on vacation in Florence, Italy. Further, Holderness said she told her story to the FBI on Jan. 24, 2017 when she was interviewed as part of Porters security clearance investigation.

For Kelly, the controversy came just days after he sparked outrage from illegal immigration activists and Democratic lawmakers for musing about why some illegal immigrants eligible for protection under the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program had not signed up for it. He quipped that some have been afraid to sign up and others might be seen as "too lazy to get off their asses."

By Friday, the leaks of anonymous criticism of Kelly to the media turned into a flood.

The Times reported that Kelly had known about the allegations against Porter since the fall. Anonymous White House sources told The Hill that Kelly had suffered a serious blow to his standing, speculating about his future.

Well see this as an inflection point when he is fired, one source told The Hill, attacking Kelly as tone deaf and politically inept.

Vanity Fair reported that Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner had been discussing possible replacements already. The outlet also reported that former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski had called Trump and urged him to fire Kelly.

But Lewandowski told Fox News' Shannon Bream: I didnt speak to the president at all this week and so these stories are just false.

However, he told Fox News' Bill Hemmer Friday that there was "no question they could have handled it better."

"It seems like the process they were supposed to have in place failed. The checks and balances which should have been in place have failed," he said.

Democrats who already dislike Kelly have used the opening to hammer him.

One Virginia Democrat tweeted Thursday: John Kellys White House tolerates domestic violence.

However, there seems to be skepticism in some White House circles that Kelly could be the latest in a series of ousters at the White House. Axios reported that Kellys ambivalence to the job in the first place may shift Trumps thinking.

Trump is not going to fire him, a source close to the president told the outlet. And does Trump have the stomach to do what he normally does when hes fed up with them? He usually makes their lives miserable, publicly humiliates them. But now hes up against somebody who doesnt care and would happily leave.

Fox News' John Roberts contributed to this report.
Lawmakers were hoping to prevent another government shutdown in 2018  but failed to reach a deal by midnight on Dec. 22. As a result, the federal government witnessed its longest shutdown in history.

The government has now shut down a total of 21 times since Congress introduced the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act, which established the federal budget process in 1976. Half of those shutdowns occurred over a weekend.

"I call them 'fake shutdowns,'" Marc Goldwein, senior policy director of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget  a bipartisan, nonprofit organization that educates the public on fiscal policy issues  told Fox News. Most shutdowns occur over the course of a weekend. Were talking days or weeks  not months.

WHAT HAPPENS DURING A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN? 7 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

But there have been a handful of lengthy U.S. government shutdowns. According to data from the Congressional Research Service (CRS), seven shutdowns in the past four decades lasted more than 10 days.

On Jan. 12, the government reached its 22-day mark, breaking the record for the longest shutdown in U.S. history. The previous record-holder occurred during the Clinton administration in the winter of 1995 to 1996 when former President Bill Clinton and the Republican Congress were at odds and shut the government down for a total of 21 days. The third occurred during the Obama administration in 2013. A stalemate between the House and Senate led to a 16-day hiatus.

Here is a look back at every government shutdown in the history of the U.S.

President Gerald Ford

When: Thursday, Sept. 30 to Monday, Oct. 10, 1976

Duration (full days): 10 days

The first partial shutdown occurred under Gerald Fords presidency when Ford vetoed a $56 billion spending bill for the Departments of Labor and Health, Education and Welfare, according to a 1976 report from The New York Times.

This was the year the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act became law, allowing Congress to take an extension, known as a continuing resolution (CR).

President Jimmy Carter

When: Friday, Sept. 30 to Thursday, Oct. 13, 1977

Duration (full days): 12 days

When: Monday, Oct. 31 to Wednesday, Nov. 9, 1977

Duration (full days): 8 days

When: Wednesday, Nov. 30 to Friday, Dec. 9, 1977

Duration (full days): 8 days

There were three shutdowns, referred to as the "abortion shutdowns," in the late 1970s under the presidency of Jimmy Carter. The Democratic party may have dominated both the House and the Senate, but they couldn't get Republicans on board when it came to using Medicaid to pay for abortions.

When: Saturday, Sept. 30 to Wednesday, Oct. 18, 1978

Duration (full days): 17 days

In 1978, Carter vetoed a $37 billion defense authorization bill, which included a $2 billion nuclear-powered Nimitz-class aircraft carrier -- equipment he didn't consider essential to national security, The Washington Post reported. This led to the second largest shutdown in the history of the nation.

When: Sunday, Sept. 30 to Friday, Oct. 12, 1979

Duration (full days): 11 days

Another funding gap took place a year later when the House and Senate disagreed over raising pay by 5.5 percent for members of Congress and senior civil servants, The Washington Post reported. And there was yet again another debate over abortion funding.

President Ronald Reagan

When: Friday, Nov. 20 to Monday, Nov. 23, 1981

Duration (full days): 2 days

President Ronald Reagan vetoed a spending bill because it didn't make enough cuts.

When: Thursday, Sept. 30 to Saturday, Oct. 2, 1982

Duration (full days): 1 day

The government shut down for one day when Congress failed to pass the spending bill on time.

When: Friday, Dec. 17 to Tuesday, Dec., 21, 1982

Duration (full days): 3 days

Both the House and Senate wanted to increase public works spending in order to create more jobs -- a move Reagan opposed. The House also opposed MX missile funding, which, The Washington Post noted, was a "major defense priority" of Reagan's.

When: Thursday, Nov. 10 to Monday, Nov. 14, 1983

Duration (full days): 3 days

Reagan argued over the Democratic-controlled House's proposed foreign aid and spending cuts and their plea for an increase in funding for education. At the same time, Reagan was pushing for more funding for the MX missile.

Eventually, both parties reached an agreement.

When: Sunday, Sept. 30 to Wednesday, Oct. 3, 1984

Duration (full days): 2 days

In short, Reagan agreed to the House's proposed crime-fighting package, but he opposed their water projects package.

"Reagan offered to forgo his crime bill in exchange for junking the water package...but a deal wasn't reached in time to avoid a brief shutdown," The Washington Post reported.

When: Wednesday, Oct. 3 to Friday, Oct. 5, 1984

Duration (full days): 1 day

Lawmakers reportedly needed another day to discuss the spending bill.

When: Thursday, Oct. 16 to Saturday, Oct. 18, 1986

Duration (full days): 1 day

The Democratic-controlled House was once again in disagreement with Reagan and the Republican-controlled Senate. This time, over a welfare package deal.

When: Friday, Dec. 18 to Sunday, Dec. 20, 1987

Duration (full days): 1 day

Reagan and Democrats couldn't agree on funding for Nicaraguan "Contra" militants. Democrats also pushed to reinstate the "Fairness Doctrine," which required licensed broadcasters to give equal air time for people with competing political points of view.

President George H.W. Bush

When: Friday, Oct. 5 to Tuesday, Oct. 9, 1990

Duration (full days): 3 days

Only one shutdown took place during George H.W. Bushs presidency. It occurred in October 1990 after Bush vetoed a stopgap spending bill, The New York Times reported at the time.

But the timing was right. The shutdown happened over Columbus Day weekend and most federal workers were already off for the holiday.

President Bill Clinton

When: Monday, Nov. 13 to Sunday, Nov. 19, 1995

Duration (full days): 5 days

President Bill Clinton vetoed a continuing resolution in November 1995 over Medicare premium increases.

"The government is partially shutting down because Congress has failed to pass the straightforward legislation necessary to keep the government running without imposing sharp hikes in Medicare premiums and deep cuts in education and the environment," Clinton said during an address on Nov. 14, 1995.

When: Friday, Dec. 15, 1995, to Saturday, Jan. 6, 1996

Duration (full days): 21 days

It's the second longest shutdown in U.S. history: 21 days.

The government shut down after Clinton vetoed the spending bill proposed by the Republican-controlled Congress.

After a long three weeks, the president and Congress agreed to a seven-year budget plan, which included "modest spending cuts and tax increases," according to research by the Regional Oral History Office at the University of California, Berkeley.

President Barack Obama

When: Monday, Sept. 30 to Thursday, Oct. 17, 2013

Duration (full days): 16 days

Seventeen years later, the government shut down once again. Lawmakers couldn't come to an agreement on the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, in 2013.

The House passed several versions of the bill to fund the government. But each time, the Senate sent it back.

This is an unnecessary blow to America, Harry Reid, the Senate Democratic leader at the time, said of the shutdown.

John Boehner, the House speaker during the shutdown, said Republicans were fighting to keep the government open, but the Senate "continued to reject our offers.

President Donald Trump

When: Saturday, Jan. 20 to Monday, Jan. 22, 2018

Duration (full days): 3 days

When it comes to immigration and spending, President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers and Democrats were divided.

Republicans controlled the Senate but they still needed 60 votes to break a filibuster.

"When you only have 51 votes in the Senate, then you have to have Democrat support in order to keep the government  to fund the government," OMB Director Mick Mulvaney told reporters during a White House press briefing Friday.

Democrats said from the beginning that they'd reject any deal that didn't include a legislative fix for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, an Obama-era program, which offers protection for immigrants  also known as "Dreamers"  who came into the U.S. illegally as minors.

I'm proud of the House and Senate Democrats' unity in insisting on a budget that supports our military and the domestic investments that keep our nation strong and honors the values by protecting our DREAMers," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a statement as the government shut down.

Trump, on the other hand, said Democrats only had themselves to blame when it came to both shutting down the government and failing to make a deal on DACA.

PARTIAL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN TIMELINE: FROM TRUMP'S DEMANDS TO DEMOCRATS' PROPOSALS

"Deals cant get made when there is no trust! Durbin blew DACA and is hurting our Military," Trump tweeted. "DACA is probably dead because the Democrats dont really want it, they just want to talk and take desperately needed money away from our Military."

In the end, Democrats reached a compromise to reopen the government through Feb. 8  with one condition.

After several discussions, offers, counter-offers, the Republican leader and I have come to an arrangement," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, said on the Senate floor. "We will vote today to reopen the government to continue negotiating a global agreement, with the commitment that, if an agreement isnt reached by February 8, the Senate will immediately proceed to consideration of legislation dealing with DACA.

When: Friday, Feb. 9, 2018

Duration: 9 hours

Republican and Democratic senators announced a two-year budget agreement on Feb. 7 that included an increase in military spending, an extension for the Childrens Health Insurance Program and additional funds for disaster relief, among other issues.

"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, R-Ky., said in a speech on the House floor.

It's a deal "neither side loves, but both sides can be proud of," Senate Minority Leader Schumer, D-N.Y., added.

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.

In the end, Congress agreed to pass the $400 billion deal and it was on Trump's desks within hours. He announced that he had signed the bill at 8:40 a.m. ET.

When: Saturday, Dec. 22, 2018

Duration: Friday, Jan. 25, 2019

Democrats and President Trump were at an impasse over a spending bill  particularly in regards to funding for border security. As a result, and just ahead of Christmas, the government partially shuttered at midnight on Dec. 22.

Trump had urged Senate Republicans to use the so-called nuclear option to pass a spending bill that included enough funding for a border wall. The House scrambled to put together a package that included the $5.7 billion the president wanted but was unable to agree on a deal to fund the government by the deadline.

Trump has warned a closure could drag on for a very long time. When it surpassed the 22-day mark on Jan. 12, it became the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

Fox News' Kaitlyn Schallhorn contributed to this report.
The U.S. Navy SEAL who killed Usama bin Laden is not a fan of President Trump's call for a military parade in Washington, and he made his opinion clear on the commander-in-chief's favorite social media forum.

Robert O'Neill, who is also a Fox News contibutor, tweeted Thursday that the idea floated by Trump, whose campaign he supported, is not something the world's lone superpower should consider.

"A military parade is third world bulls---," O'Neill tweeted. "We prepare. We deter. We fight. Stop this conversation."

When a user pointed out that France and Russia conduct military parades, ONeill replied: "Yes. Third World. If Russia or France were powerful enough to take over the world, they would. We are yet we dont. Thats called First World."

ONeill has been a Trump supporter since the 2016 campaign. The two dined at the White House last fall and did a photo-op.

Trump reportedly said he was inspired to stage a military parade in Washington on July 4, after watching Frances Bastille Day military parade last July.

Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., told CNN Tuesday that she was "stunned by it," and that "we have a Napolean in the making here."

Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., said, "Basically anything," would be more useful than asking the Pentagon to waste money on a big military parade.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters on Wednesday that "nothing has been decided," and that the White House hasnt made a final decision.


An Obama State Department official has acknowledged he had regular contact with the author of the controversial anti-Trump dossier  coming forward in an apparent bid to blunt expected criticism from the Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.

In a Washington Post column posted late Thursday, Jonathan Winer detailed an extensive exchange of documents with ex-British spy Christopher Steele, a friend of his since 2009.

He said he shared more than 100 of Steeles reports with the Russia experts at the State Department over a period of two years. These werent related to American politics  but he would later share information about the Trump dossier with the top levels of the Obama-era State Department.

Further, Winer said he shared separate Trump-related material passed on by a Clinton contact with Steele  filling in the blanks regarding an exchange that was mentioned earlier this week in a Senate memo. And he acknowledged that material, originally from Clinton-tied activist/journalist Cody Shearer, made its way to the FBI.

Given that I had not worked with Shearer and knew that he was not a professional intelligence officer, I did not mention or share his notes with anyone at the State Department. I did not expect them to be shared with anyone in the U.S. government, wrote Winer, a former U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state and former Libya special envoy. But I learned later that Steele did share them -- with the FBI, after the FBI asked him to provide everything he had on allegations relating to Trump, his campaign and Russian interference in U.S. elections.

The details from Winer provide more insight into how well connected Steele was at one time with U.S. government figures --and how unverified information about then-candidate Donald Trump circulated at very high levels in 2016 with his involvement.

Steeles dossier was at the heart of the controversial memo released last week by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., with White House approval. The memo alleged that the FBI sought a surveillance warrant for a Trump associate based in large part on that dossier, without fully revealing that the research had been funded by Democratic sources.

Democrats called the memo incomplete and misleading, and are pushing for the release of their own rebuttal memo. Nunes isnt finished, either, and is pursuing a new phase in his investigation.

In publishing his Op-Ed late Thursday, Winer wrote that he suspects Nunes wants to know about his own relationship with Steele while at the Obama State Department.

This expectation seemingly prompted Winer to tell his story.

Amid the D.C. debate over the Nunes memo, meanwhile, a newly released version of a criminal referral for Steele appeared to back up some of the GOP chairmans claims.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., sent that criminal referral in early January to FBI Director Christopher Wray and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. They said the surveillance applications relied heavily on Mr. Steeles dossier claims and failed to disclose that the Clinton campaign and DNC helped fund the research.

CLINTON ASSOCIATES FED INFO TO TRUMP DOSSIER AUTHOR, SENATORS SAY

And the referral apparently referenced Winer  though his name was redacted. As Fox News previously reported, the referral said Steele got 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).

It has since emerged  and the Winer Op-Ed confirmed  that the Clinton contact was longtime confidant Sidney Blumenthal. Winer was apparently involved from the State Department.

The information Blumenthal shared was separate from the Trump dossier Steele was already compiling. Winer said Blumenthal showed him notes gathered by Shearer that, similarly, alleged the Russians had compromising information on Trump of a sexual and financial nature. Winer shared a copy with Steele.

I agreed to let him keep a copy of the Shearer notes, Winer wrote.

Further, Winer said that Steele alerted him in the summer of 2016 about disturbing information regarding possible ties between Donald Trump, his campaign and senior Russian officials. The two met in Washington in September 2016 to discuss what is now known as the dossier.

He reviewed the material and prepared a two-page summary he shared with top diplomatic official Victoria Nuland, who indicated that, like me, she felt that the secretary of state needed to be made aware of this material.

Winer also detailed how, after he returned to the State Department in 2013 (following previous service in the 1990s), Steele asked him if the department would want information he had.

Winer, in turn, contacted Nuland and shared several of those reports.

She told me they were useful and asked me to continue to send them. Over the next two years, I shared more than 100 of Steele's reports with the Russia experts at the State Department, who continued to find them useful. None of the reports related to U.S. politics or domestic U.S. matters, and the reports constituted a very small portion of the data set reviewed by State Department experts trying to make sense of events in Russia, he wrote.

Even before Winer published his op-ed, his name had appeared in an Atlantic article earlier this week asserting he was Nunes new target.

As reflected in Winers column, The Atlantic reported that Winer got a memo from Shearer and passed it to Steele. The Washington Examiners Byron York also reported in January about Steeles contacts within the Obama State Department, citing a Guardian journalist who said Nuland and then-Secretary of State John Kerry received some of his reports. The Guardian first reported on the Shearer memo.

Asked Friday by Fox News about Winers new claims, Nunes office had no comment.

Fox News' Catherine Herridge contributed to this report.
United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit. UNITED STATES of America, PlaintiffAppellant, v. Chaka CASTRO and Juan Olaya, DefendantsAppellees. No. 17-1590 Decided: February 07, 2018

Before: SUTTON, KETHLEDGE, and LARSEN, Circuit Judges. ARGUED: Andrew Goetz, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, Detroit, Michigan, for Appellant. James C. Thomas, JAMES C. THOMAS, P.C., Sterling Heights, Michigan, for Appellee Castro. Kenneth R. Sasse, Lake Orion, Michigan, for Appellee Olaya. ON BRIEF: Andrew Goetz, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, Detroit, Michigan, for Appellant. James C. Thomas, JAMES C. THOMAS, P.C., Sterling Heights, Michigan, for Appellee Castro. Kenneth R. Sasse, Lake Orion, Michigan, for Appellee Olaya.

OPINION

In December 2014, a string of home invasions struck Dallas, Texas. Law enforcement focused their investigation on Chaka Castro and Juan Fernando Olaya. Texas courts issued warrants to search their phones. Consistent with the warrants, state officers conducted detailed searches of Castro's phones and a cursory search of Olaya's phone, and the FBI conducted a full search of Olaya's phone. Each search turned up potentially incriminating evidence that the individuals had violated federal racketeering laws. The district court granted each defendant's motion to suppress. Because each search complied with the Fourth Amendment, we reverse.

I.

Over a three-day period in December 2014, a spate of robberies occurred in and around Dallas. The crimes fit a pattern. The robbers broke into the home, rounded up the occupants at gunpoint, and bound them with duct tape. Then they searched the home for valuables and took what they found.

On December 7, police interrupted a robbery attempt that fit this pattern. The robbers fled on foot. Later that day, police arrested Juan Fernando Olaya after finding him in a stolen vehicle with a suspected accomplice. The police inventoried the vehicle's contents and took custody of a Samsung Galaxy cell phone. Suspecting that Olaya was one of the robbers involved in the crime spree, the police obtained a warrant to search the phone from a state magistrate judge. The warrant incorporated a police affidavit, which explained why the cell phone probably contained evidence about the robberies.

An officer reviewed the contents of the phone by hand. He found potentially incriminating evidence and took screen shots of it, after which he stored the seized phone at an evidence storage facility.

In January 2015, Texas officials merged their investigation with a federal investigation based in the Eastern District of Michigan focused on a multistate criminal enterprise. Later that year, Texas officers transferred the Samsung Galaxy to the FBI for a more detailed analysis. The Bureau searched the phone based on the state court warrant.

Meanwhile, Texas officers came to suspect that Chaka Castro had organized the robberies. They followed a signal coming from a stolen cell phone to a house where Castro lived. Officers watched the home, searched it twice, and conducted a brief search of Castro's cell phones after obtaining her consent. Based on this evidence, a different Texas judge issued search warrants for Castro's two phones. Both warrants used the same language, save for the description of the phone. In relevant part, each said:

Proof having been made before me under oath by [the investigating officer] that there is probable cause to believe that evidence of violations of Texas Penal Code 29.03 (Aggravated Robbery), exists on named phone device , you are hereby COMMANDED to execute a search for but not limited to the following pieces of evidence:

Subscriber information, cell phone location data, business records, photographs, images, depictions[,] correspondence, notes, paper, ledgers, personal telephone and address books, voice messages, text messages, memoranda, telexes, facsimiles, or other documents (in any form printed or digital) which reflect the receipt, purchase, transmission, and/or communication of a crime or any other electronic, magnetic, optical, electrochemical, or high-speed data processing device performing logical arithmetic, or storage functions; hard disk, drum, CD ROM or scanner; communication facilities directly relating to or operating in conjunction with such device, or any other files, deleted or not involved in this or any other unlawful activities.

R. 1691 at 7; R. 1692 at 7.

Officers searched each phone and found incriminating evidence about the robberies.

The federal government charged Castro and Olaya with violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. The defendants moved to suppress the cell-phone evidence on the ground that the searches violated the Fourth Amendment. The district court granted the motions, and the federal government appealed.

II.

Castro. The Fourth Amendment demands that a search warrant particularly describ[e] the places law enforcement may search and the things they may seize. U.S. Const. amend. IV. Warrants empower and constrain. Riley v. California,  U.S. , 134 S.Ct. 2473, 2485, 189 L.Ed.2d 430 (2014).

In attacking the (two nearly identically worded) warrants, Castro claims that they flubbed the particularity requirement because they permitted searches for evidence of a crime, seemingly allowing the police to look at her phone in search of evidence of any crime rather than evidence of the robberies. A catch-all phrase at the end of the warrants made things worse, she adds, as it permitted officers to look for any other files, deleted or not involved in this or any other unlawful activities. Neither concern requires suppression.

Start with a crime. Castro claims that the officers should have used the rather than a, which would have cured the warrants' overbreadth. But that wording would have created problems of its own, as more than one armed robbery prompted the warrants. The affidavit lays out evidence of probable cause that Castro participated in several armed robberies. That is why the warrants mention violations of Texas Penal Code 29.03 (Aggravated Robbery). The officer wanted the search to cover all of the robberies listed in the affidavit. A general article (a) rather than a specific one (the) served that end.

The rest of the language in the warrants reinforces this interpretation. A warrant that empowers police to search for something satisfies the particularity requirement if its text constrains the search to evidence of a specific crime. See Andresen v. Maryland, 427 U.S. 463, 48081, 96 S.Ct. 2737, 49 L.Ed.2d 627 (1976); United States v. Raglin, 663 Fed.Appx. 409, 413 (6th Cir. 2016); United States v. Christie, 717 F.3d 1156, 116566 (10th Cir. 2013). Castro's warrants did just that. The first two lines of each warrant noted that they were based on probable cause to believe that evidence of violations of Texas Penal Code 29.03 (Aggravated Burglary) would be found on the phones. That language served as a global modifier that limited the scope of the warrant to evidence of aggravated burglary. United States v. Willoughby, 742 F.3d 229, 233 (6th Cir. 2014); see Andresen, 427 U.S. at 48081, 96 S.Ct. 2737. Read as a whole, the warrants told officers they could search only for evidence related to aggravated burglary.

Andresen v. Maryland considered a warrant that permitted the seizure of fruits, instrumentalities and evidence of crime at this (time) unknown. 427 U.S. at 479, 96 S.Ct. 2737. The word crime, the Court held, should not be read in isolation to encompass all crimes but to refer only to the crime of false pretenses mentioned earlier in the warrant. Id. at 48081, 96 S.Ct. 2737. A similar conclusion fits this case. See United States v. Johnson, 690 F.2d 60, 6465 (3d Cir. 1982) (upholding a warrant for a crime and a criminal offense).

This interpretation also respects another imperative in reading warrants: They need not meet the rigors of Roget, Merriam, Webster, Strunk, and White. A commonsense contextual reading usually suffices, and usually gets the point the magistrate and officer sought to express. See Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 23536, 103 S.Ct. 2317, 76 L.Ed.2d 527 (1983).

Consider an analogy. Suppose a mother gave her teenager a grocery list that said: I checked the pantry and we are out of Cheerios. Please go to the market and buy a box of cereal. The mother would be irritated if the teenager came home with a box of barley. Sure, barley is a cerealof sortsand, sure, it comes in a box, but the full statement and the context in which it was made would inform a reasonable person that the mother meant a box of breakfast cereal. So also today: Context shows that a crime refers only to the list of crimes already mentioned.

The catch-all phrase tacked onto the operative sentence in each warrantany other files, deleted or not involved in this or any other unlawful activitiesdoes not alter this conclusion. The government (to its credit) concedes that this phrase sweeps too broadly. But an infirmity due to overbreadth does not doom the entire warrant. United States v. Greene, 250 F.3d 471, 477 (6th Cir. 2001). The remedy is to sever the offending phrase from the warrant, suppress any evidence collected under it, and admit the evidence collected under the valid portions that remain. Id.; see also 2 Wayne R. LaFave et al., Search and Seizure  4.6(f) (5th ed. 2017); cf. Cassady v. Goering, 567 F.3d 628, 649 (10th Cir. 2009) (McConnell, J., dissenting) (recognizing that every federal court to consider the issue has adopted the doctrine of severance). Both warrants are good candidates for this remedy. In each warrant, the invalid section appears at the end of the operative sentence and can be severed without changing the meaning of the valid sections of the warrant. The remaining valid sections are sufficiently particularized, distinguishable from the invalid portions, and make up the greater part of the warrant. United States v. Sells, 463 F.3d 1148, 1151 (10th Cir. 2006). Nothing in the record shows that any evidence was seized under this section.

Castro makes several contrary arguments, all unconvincing. She points to three decisions from sibling circuits that invalidated warrants based on the use of the phrase a crime. But none tracks Castro's case. In United States v. George, 975 F.2d 72 (2d Cir. 1992), the Second Circuit held that the warrant swept too broadly after finding that [n]othing on the face of the warrant tells the searching officers for what crime the search is being undertaken. Id. at 76. The Tenth Circuit did much the same thing in Cassady v. Goering, noting that the warrant did not confine the scope of the search to any particular crime. 567 F.3d at 635. The same goes for Center Art Galleries-Hawaii, Inc. v. United States, 875 F.2d 747 (9th Cir. 1989), which said that [t]he warrants' provision for the almost unrestricted seizure of items which are evidence of violations of federal criminal law without describing the specific crimes suspected is constitutionally inadequate. Id. at 74950. In visible contrast to each of these cases, Castro's warrants describe the targeted crimes: aggravated robberies.

Even if we reached a contrary conclusion about the validity of these warrants, the good-faith exception to the exclusionary rule would apply. United States v. Leon, 468 U.S. 897, 91821, 104 S.Ct. 3405, 82 L.Ed.2d 677 (1984). For the reasons just given, this is not a case in which a simple glance at the warrant would reveal deficiencies glaring enough to make reliance on it unreasonable. United States v. Watson, 498 F.3d 429, 432 (6th Cir. 2007) (quoting Groh v. Ramirez, 540 U.S. 551, 564, 124 S.Ct. 1284, 157 L.Ed.2d 1068 (2004)). The relevant officer in fact limited his search to evidence of robbery, just as he thought the warrant commanded. All in all, this was not the kind of deliberate, reckless, or grossly negligent disregard for Fourth Amendment rights that triggers suppression. Davis v. United States, 564 U.S. 229, 238, 131 S.Ct. 2419, 180 L.Ed.2d 285 (2011) (quotations omitted).

Olaya. Olaya claims that these Texas warrants did not permit federal agents to conduct a full forensic search months after the state officers conducted a cursory search. We disagree.

Two Fourth Amendment rules apply. One relates to timing. Officers may conduct a more detailed search of an electronic device after it was properly seized so long as the later search does not exceed the probable cause articulated in the original warrant and the device remained secured. United States v. Evers, 669 F.3d 645, 65052 (6th Cir. 2012). That is true even if the officers conducted an initial search soon after the device's seizure but waited months or years to conduct a more intensive search. See United States v. Johnston, 789 F.3d 934, 94143 (9th Cir. 2015) (five years). It is sometimes the case, as it was the case here, that law enforcement officers have good reason to revisit previously seized, and still secured, evidence as new information casts new light on the previously seized evidence.

The other rule relates to federal-state investigations. At the same time that the Constitution permits the federal government and the States to pursue dual investigations and dual charges, see Heath v. Alabama, 474 U.S. 82, 89, 106 S.Ct. 433, 88 L.Ed.2d 387 (1985), it also permits the two sovereigns to coordinate law enforcement efforts. No one here claims that the Constitution bars federal officers from helping their state counterparts execute a state warrant. In our circuit, federal officers may help state officials search for evidence of a crime in connection with a state warrant so long as they are searching for the same evidence as the state officers and the same evidence authorized by the state warrant. See United States v. Garcia, 496 F.3d 495, 50910 (6th Cir. 2007).

Thus: federal officers may use a state warrant to conduct a follow-up search of a seized cell phone without obtaining a second warrant so long as the search does not exceed the probable cause articulated in the original warrant.

In this instance, the second search did not exceed the scope of the warrant or the explanation for it. After the state officers seized the phone, they kept it in secure storage until sending it to the FBI for a detailed forensic search. The state warrant and its incorporated affidavit established probable cause to believe that the phone contained evidence of aggravated robbery. The affidavit specified the cell phone by serial and phone number. It described why the officer thought there was probable cause to believe that the phone contained evidence of aggravated robbery. It gave officers authority to seize all physical and digital evidence stored within the phone. And it described the information that could be seized, including all electronic information stored or maintained on the phones' memory.

The federal officers were looking for the same evidence that the state warrant targeted because the same evidence showed violations of state and federal law. According to the FBI's Exam Service Request, the federal agents sought information about [a] group of individuals committi[ng] armed home invasions across the country. R. 1572. The assisting federal officers sought the same information that the state warrant authorized state officers to collect. Evidence proving that Olaya committed state aggravated robbery showed that he committed a predicate act for a RICO violation. 18 U.S.C.  1961(1), 1962. And evidence that Olaya belonged to a home invasion organization showed he participated in a criminal enterprise under RICO. See id.  1962. The same information supported state and federal charges.

Olaya tries to head off this conclusion by noting that the federal officers looked for evidence of additional criminal conduct: robberies in other States, the relationship between the predicate acts of a RICO violation, and the threat of further criminal activity. During a search, evidence not described in a search warrant may be seized if it is reasonably related to the offense which formed the basis for the search warrant. Evers, 669 F.3d at 652. The state warrant authorized a search for evidence of aggravated robbery and the existence of an organization coordinating home invasions. Evidence of robberies carried out by suspected members of the organization elsewhere in the country was reasonably related to whether the organization existed and whether its members committed aggravated burglary in Texas. So was evidence of the connection between the aggravated robberies, evidence of whether a risk existed that more robberies might occur in the future, and evidence of what a suspected organization did with any proceeds. Evidence of any acts of violence, intimidation, or use of a deadly weapon would support the aggravating elements of the Texas law. See Tex. Penal Code  29.03. The state warrant permitted a federal officer acting under it to seize any such evidence because it all related to the crimes identified in the warrant.

Olaya argues that the general rule is that a warrant authorizes only one search, United States v. Keszthelyi, 308 F.3d 557, 56869 (6th Cir. 2002), which happened when the police conducted a cursory search of the phone after they seized it. Beyond that, he claims, officers could search the phone again only if the second search was a reasonable continuation of the original warrantthat is, it must be a continuation of the original search and reasonable under the totality of the circumstances. Id. at 569.

But this veneer on Keszthelyi removes the decision from its setting: home searches. Residents, even residents suspected of a crime, need to be able to return to life as usual. When they do, the reasonable continuation rule stops the government from committing disturbance[s] or destruction of the peaceful enjoyment of the home repeatedly without a new warrant. Id. at 568. A repeated search of an electronic device removed from the home and permissibly secured by the police as evidence of a crime differs in degree and kind. After law enforcement seizes a device and finds that it contains incriminating information, a suspect loses the device to police custody, as the phone and its contents become evidence for a future prosecution. Olaya never regained custody of the phone after the state officers found incriminating evidence on it during the first search, while most people subjected to a search remain in custody of their home. A comparison of the two settingsa repeat search of an occupied home and a repeat search of a phone that remains in police custodygives analogy a bad name.

Olaya persists that the scope of the search is limited by the terms of its authorization. Walter v. United States, 447 U.S. 649, 656, 100 S.Ct. 2395, 65 L.Ed.2d 410 (1980) (plurality opinion). State warrants are creatures of state law, which (he claims) barred state officers from seeking federal assistance. But the opening linedirecting the search warrant to Texas officerstells us nothing about whether the warrant allowed federal assistance. Plus, Olaya misreads state lawnamely Article 18.08in claiming that it limits who can help with, and therefore whose assistance falls within the scope of, the warrant. Article 18.08 is a positive provision; it empowers state officers to call upon county citizens to aid the execution of a warrant. Tex. Code Crim. P. art. 18.08. Nothing in it limits a state officer's authority to seek assistance from other sources. The Texas Code even contemplates federal assistance, as Article 2.122 gives FBI agents the powers of arrest, search, and seizure under the laws of the state as to felony offenses. Id. art. 2.122.

Olaya says that the end of the warrant's execution period and the return of the warrant foreclosed the forensic search. But Texas law allows searches after the execution period expires. It says that, [n]otwithstanding any other law, any data or information contained in or on a device seized may be recovered and analyzed after the expiration of the time allowed. Id. art. 18.07(c).

Olaya notes that the state officers returned the warrant after they executed it and suggests that any power to search the phone ceased then. But Texas law says only that state officers shall execute the warrant without delay and forthwith return the warrant to the proper magistrate. Id. art. 18.06(a). The return of the warrant does not end an officer's authority to carry out later searches within the warrant's scope. Id. art. 18.07(c).

Even if we were wrong, even if the Fourth Amendment prohibited this later search, the good-faith exception to the exclusionary rule would apply. See Leon, 468 U.S. at 91821, 104 S.Ct. 3405. Nothing on the face of the warrant suggests that the federal search exceeded its scope. See Watson, 498 F.3d at 432. Both the state and federal rules of criminal procedure give law enforcement the authority to conduct searches of lawfully seized phones after they are seized. See Fed. R. Crim. P. 41(e)(2)(B); Tex. Code Crim. P. art. 18.07(c). And we have permitted federal officers to rely on state warrants while assisting state officers before. See Garcia, 496 F.3d at 509. The good-faith exception applies.

For these reasons, we reverse the district court's suppression rulings.

SUTTON, Circuit Judge.
An Oxford University study being spread by mainstream news outlets that claims Trump supporters share the most fake news is itself fake news.

Researchers at the Computational Propaganda Project, who are the recipients of over $200,000 in taxpayer funding, spent "several years" developing its "junk news" list, which is actually full of the most popular conservative websites on the internet.

Websites on the researchers' "watch list" of propaganda news outlets include the Washington Free Beacon, the Daily Caller, National Review, and the Drudge Report, which is the seventh most highly visited media publication in the United States.

Contrary to the claim that conservatives are sharing the most fake news, the study proves nothing other than finding conservatives tend to share conservative media online.

Philip N. Howard, Vidya Narayanan, Bence Kollanyi, and Lisa-Maria Neudert of Oxford University wrote the six-page study, along with Vlad Barash and John Kelly who work for Graphika, a social media startup that "provides the context needed to make strategic business decisions."

Oxford publicized its results Tuesday with a provocative press release that declared, "Trump supporters and extreme right share widest range of junk news.'"

Click for more from The Washington Free Beacon.
While Democratic lawmakers are fuming over President Trump's apparent desire for a military parade down Pennsylvania Avenue, some top Dems were marching to a different tune just a few years ago.

In 2014, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called for a welcome home ticker-tape parade for veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, calling it a longstanding American tradition.

With the war in Afghanistan winding down, now is the time to keep with longstanding American tradition and kick off a campaign for the first New York City welcome home parade for troops that served in Iraq and Afghanistan, Schumer, now the Senate minority leader, said, according to The New York Daily News.

The Daily News reported that Schumer sought approval from the Defense Department for a parade down the citys Canyon of Heroes featuring military brass, color guards, bands and flyovers.

The New York idea and what is being contemplated in Washington have their differences. While Schumer sought more of a public thanks for the troops, Trump purportedly is looking for a display of military machinery, inspired by the French Bastille Day parade. He reportedly floated the idea of a similar parade in the U.S. as a way to honor the Armed Forces.

Such parades are rare in the U.S., but not unheard of. The last one took place in 1991 under then-President George H.W. Bush.

White House 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.

But the news had Democrats thinking less of France -- a U.S. ally frequently admired by the American left -- and more of North Korea.

"In the past, we have held military parades to celebrate major national events such as the Gulf War or the end of World War II, as achievements by the American people who fought in and supported those efforts. A military parade like this  one that is unduly focused on a single person  is what authoritarian regimes do, not democracies," Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said according to Politico.

"Because authoritarian regimes like Russia and North Korea hold massive military parades does not mean that we must as well," fellow California Democrat Ted Lieu said.

In the nations capital, the Democratic-controlled D.C. Council indicated they would put the brakes on any such effort, and implied that President Trump (and by extension, French President Emmanuel Macron) was a despot.

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.

The plans also got a mixed reception from conservatives. Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said that America is the most powerful country in all of human history; you dont need to show it off.

Meanwhile, former NAVY Seal and Fox News contributor Rob ONeill called the idea third-world bulls---.

DC DEMOCRATS MOCK TRUMP'S MILITARY PARADE, WILL TRY TO STOP IT

But Schumer wasn't the only Democrat who once backed a military parade.

Liberal New York Mayor Bill de Blasio backed Schumer's call at the time, saying the Big Apple would proudly host such an event:

The brave men and women who have selflessly served our nation with courage and skill in Iraq and Afghanistan deserve a recognition for their sacrifice, de Blasio said. I stand with Senator Schumer in his call for a parade to honor our veteran heroes, and New York City would be proud to host this important event.

More recently in 2017, de Blasio floated another parade, only for himself.

When I think about how crimes gone down for four years, graduation rates up, test scores are up, more jobs than ever in our history  I think, Wow, just that quick profile, any candidate anywhere would want it, Hizzoner told New York Magazine in September.

Youd assume theyd be having parades out in the streets.

Fox News' Alex Pappas contributed to this report.
President Trump signed a massive budget package Friday morning that lifts spending caps while funding the government through March 23, ending a brief shutdown after a tumultuous night on Capitol Hill.

On Twitter, the president touted the bills billions in additional military spending.

Just signed Bill. Our Military will now be stronger than ever before. We love and need our Military and gave them everything  and more. First time this has happened in a long time. Also means JOBS, JOBS, JOBS! Trump tweeted.

The House sent the $400 billion deal to his desk after approving it in the pre-dawn hours, on a 240-186 vote. This followed objections from Democrats over the absence of any immigration component and from fiscal conservatives over the sheer level of spending.

Trump sought to address both camps on Twitter Friday, lamenting that the package contained "waste" in order to win Democratic votes -- while vowing to pursue talks on the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Trump plans to end that program, which protects illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. as children, next month unless Congress acts.

"Costs on non-military lines will never come down if we do not elect more Republicans in the 2018 Election, and beyond. This Bill is a BIG VICTORY for our Military, but much waste in order to get Dem votes. Fortunately, DACA not included in this Bill, negotiations to start now!" Trump tweeted.

The package itself includes a stopgap measure to keep the government running, while allowing $300 billion more for the military and other programs over two years. The agreement also adds $89 billion in overdue disaster aid for hurricane-slammed Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico, a politically charged increase in the government's borrowing cap and a grab bag of health and tax provisions.

Passage of the measure came over the opposition of Democratic leaders who demanded the promise of a vote to protect "Dreamer" immigrants.

But the bigger drama played out on the Senate side. A last-minute maneuver by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., delayed consideration of the bipartisan budget package in that chamber past midnight.

The result: the government endured a short-term shutdown in the wee hours of the morning, though most would never feel its effects. It was the second shutdown this year, after a three-day freeze in January.

Paul, though, objected on fiscal conservative grounds that the plan irresponsibly busted through budget caps and would grow the deficit even more.

"I ran for office because I was very critical of President Obama's trillion-dollar deficits," the Kentucky senator 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."

At one point, an exasperated Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., took to the Senate floor to lambaste Paul for what Tillis described as "theater."

"You can make a point all you want, but points are forgotten," Tillis added. "There aren't a whole of history books about great points in the U.S. Senate."

As Paul stood firm, the Trump administration announced it was preparing for a "lapse" in appropriations, indicating a short shutdown. The Senate eventually approved the bill, followed by the House, after that shutdown technically started.

After signing the bill, Trump on Friday defended the extra spending on Twitter: "Without more Republicans in Congress, we were forced to increase spending on things we do not like or want in order to finally, after many years of depletion, take care of our Military. Sadly, we needed some Dem votes for passage. Must elect more Republicans in 2018 Election!"

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., praised the plan in a statement shortly after the vote, writing that, "Funding for education, infrastructure, fighting drug abuse, and medical research will all, for the first time in years, get very significant increases, and we have placed Washington on a path to deliver more help to the middle class in the future.

The House Freedom Caucus, the chambers fiscally conservative wing, also opposed the bill out of concerns that it would lead to more government spending.

The  caucus opposes the deal to raise spending caps on discretionary spending by nearly $300 billion over two years, the roughly 30-member group said Wednesday. We support funding for our military, but growing the size of government by 13 percent adds to the swamp instead of draining it. This is not what the American people sent us here to do.

Fox News' Chad Pergram, Alex Pappas, Joseph Weber and Samuel Chamberlain and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The government was last partially shuttered on Dec. 22, 2018 as President Trump and Democrats reached an impasse over a spending bill  particularly in regards to funding for border security.

Trump at the time warned the closure could drag on for a very long time. The shutdown ended on Jan. 25, 2019.

Prior to the partial shutdown, Trump had urged Senate Republicans to use the so-called nuclear option to pass a spending bill that includes enough funding for a border wall. The House scrambled to put together a package late that included the $5.7 billion the president wants but was unable to agree on a deal to fund the government by the deadline.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has often rebuffed calls to use the nuclear option, which would change Senate procedure to require only a simple majority to approve the spending bill.

TRUMP CLASHES WITH PELOSI, SCHUMER ON BORDER SECURITY IN EXPLOSIVE OVAL OFFICE MEETING

Fox News asked Marc Goldwein, senior policy director of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget  a bipartisan, nonprofit organization that educates the public on fiscal policy issues  to explain a government shutdown, and he answered seven basic questions about the process that Americans should know.

What causes a government shutdown?

A shutdown occurs when Congress and the president fail to sign into law 12 appropriations bills (which determine spending for specific government agencies) in order to continue providing funding for government operations.

How can you prevent a government shutdown?

To avoid a shutdown, members of Congress can give themselves an extension, known as a continuing resolution (CR). The temporary funding measure keeps the federal government open and allows lawmakers more time to negotiate the remaining appropriations bills.

The bar for a CR is pretty low. Youre not agreeing to anything new politically; its a no-brainer, Goldwein told Fox News.

How long does a government shutdown last?

As long as it takes. Congressional leaders from both parties have to reach an agreement to fund the government.

It usually takes a weekend for this to happen.

A LOOK BACK AT EVERY GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN IN US HISTORY

Were talking days or weeks  not months, Goldwein said.

The federal government would be forced to shut down non-essential services." Who would be affected?

"Essential staff at top level agencies would continue working, but most federal employees whose jobs arent vital would likely be sent home," Goldwein said.

For example, those who work at national parks, monuments and museums would be told to go home.

"It doesnt feel awesome to be told youre not an essential employee. It's a little demoralizing to go home because youre not important," Goldwein added.

In the 2013 shutdown, roughly 850,000 employees were furloughed per day, according to the Office of Management and Budget.

But not everyone is required to take unpaid leave.

The president, presidential appointees and members of Congress are exempt. The Postal Service, the TSA and Air Traffic Control will also continue business as usual.

Americans will still be able to get their Social Security and Medicare benefits and food stamps. However, people expecting VA benefits, unemployment benefits, farm subsidies and tax refunds may experience delays.

Do federal employees still get paid?

Most likely. The problem: They're not sure when they'll get their money.

"Everyone loses from the government shutdown. An employee loses their paycheck at the time he or she needs it," Goldwein said. "Ultimately, were going to fund it anyway. Its kind of silly."

Federal employees typically receive back pay shortly upon their return, though, Goldwein says, nothing is certain. Every agency has their own contingency plan in the event of a shutdown.

How many times has the government shut down?

The government has shut down 20 times since 1976, the year Congress introduced the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budgets research. Half of the shutdowns occurred over a weekend.

Before 1980, the government didnt really shut down, Goldwein explained. A lot of others were over the course of weekends. I call them fake shutdowns.

Goldwein says there have really only been three significant government shutdowns in the history of the U.S.

Two occurred during the Clinton administration in the winter of 1995 to 1996. Former President Bill Clinton and the Republican Congress were at odds and shut the government down for a total of 26 days, Goldwein said.

The third occurred during the Obama administration in 2013 when a stalemate between the House and Senate led to a 16-day hiatus.

How much money can the country lose during a shutdown?

The 16-day government shutdown in 2013 cost the country $24 billion of lost economic activity, according to an analysis from ratings agency Standard & Poor's.

"The payroll cost of furloughed employee salaries alone  that is, the lost productivity of furloughed workers  was $2.0 billion," the Office of Management and Budget reported in 2013.

Goldwein says shutdowns "waste money" more than they "cost money."

"Were not going to spend more money. Were just going to spend it on worse stuff," he explained. "Instead of paying employees to work, were paying them not to work."

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

2018's partial government shutdown cost the U.S. economy $11 billion "due to lost output from federal workers, delayed government spending and reduced demand," according to Forbes.

The Congressional Budget Office further noted the shutdown delayed $18 million in federal spending and led to the suspension of several federal services.

Fox News' Alex Pappas, Judson Berger, Kaitlyn Schallhorn 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.
On April 1, 2014, the American Physical Society announced a landmark change in policy: All scientific papers authored by cats would henceforth become freely available to the public.

The announcement was a joke (it was April Fools' Day), but the cat that inspired it was not. His name is Chester  better known to the scientific community as F.D.C. Willard, arguably the most famous cat in physics after Schrodinger's.

In 1975, Chester/Willard's name appeared alongside Michigan State University physics professor Jack Hetherington's on an influential paperabout the low-temperature physics of helium-3 isotopes  versions of an element (helium, in this case) with different numbers of neutrons in their nuclei  published in the journal Physical Review Letters. Hetherington was Chester's owner, and he had initially included the 7-year-old Siamese cat's name on the paper to resolve a grammatical blunder. [The 18 Biggest Unsolved Mysteries in Physics]

As a colleague pointed out while editing the draft, Hetherington listed himself as the study's sole author, yet he had nevertheless written the entire paper using the "we" pronoun. This was against the journal's style rules, the colleague noted. Hetherington's paper would surely be rejected if it wasn't retyped.

Hetherington, however, was eager to submit his work. "Changing the paper to the impersonal seemed too difficult now that it was all written and typed," Hetherington said in the book "More Random Walks in Science" (CRC Press, 1982). "Therefore, after an evening's thought, I simply asked the secretary to change the title page to include the name of the family cat."

Of course, Chester's name was too well known to Hetherington's friends and colleagues, so an alias would be necessary. He settled on F.D.C. Willard  F.D.C. being an acronym for Felis Domesticus Chester, and Willard being the name of Chester's tomcat father.

And so, on Nov. 24, 1975, the paper co-authored by Hetherington and his cat was published in the 35th issue of Physical Review Letters. [Are Cats Smarter Than Dogs?]

Many of Hetherington's colleagues knew about the ruse, it turned out, and few seemed to care. Michigan State's physics department head, for one, embraced the feline deception. "The chairman was able to inflate some statistic requested by the administration by including Willard among the published authors from the Physics department," Hetherington wrote in a letter. "I'm not sure if it helped or hindered my own grant-getting efforts."

Chester's true identity was ultimately revealed when a student went looking for Hetherington with a question about the paper; when Hetherington couldn't be found, the student asked to speak with Willard instead. "Everyone laughed and soon the cat was out of the bag," Hetherington wrote.

Chester the cat subsequently retired from science, but his alias took on a life of its own. Several years later, a French paper on helium-3 appeared in the journal La Recherche under a single author's name: F.D.C. Willard. (Apparently, Hetherington wrote, the actual research team could not agree on a version of the paper that satisfied them all, so they decided to credit America's best-published cat instead.)

As of today, Chester's paper on helium-3 has been cited more than 50 times, and a menagerie of nonhuman study authors have followed in his formidable paw-steps. In 1978, immunologist and apparent "Lord of The Rings" fan Polly Matzinger co-authored a paper with one Galadriel Mirkwood  the nickname of her trusty Afghan hound. More recently, in 2001, a paper on gyroscopes authored by A.K. Geim and H.A.M.S. ter Tisha appeared in the journal Physica B: Condensed Matter. Geim won a Nobel Prize in 2010 for co-discovering graphene. Tisha was his pet hamster.

Originally published on Live Science.
New research may have identified a mechanism that limits just how powerful explosions from the sun can become, shedding light on their ability to damage communication satellites and power grids.

Solar flares are explosions of radiation from the surface of the sun that can harm satellites and astronauts in orbit. One type of solar flare, dubbed an eruptive solar flare, is associated with coronal mass ejections (CMEs), another type of solar explosion that releases torrents of super-hot plasma (clouds of electrically charged particles) into space. These floods of plasma can travel all the way to Earth's surface, triggering dangerous magnetic storms. For example, a solar flare blacked out the entire Canadian province of Quebec in 1989, nearly taking down U.S. power grids from the Eastern Seaboard to the Pacific Northwest. The other class of solar flares, known as confined, is not associated with CMEs.

The new study shows that the strength or weakness of "magnetic cages"  a complicated structure made of magnetic field lines that rise from the sun's surface  could help predict whether solar flares will be associated with a CME, the new study finds. Shedding light on the origin and evolution of solar flares could help scientists forecast how powerful these explosions occur, which could help experts prevent widespread havoc on Earth. [The Sun's Wrath: Worst Solar Storms in History]

Prior work found that eruptive solar flares were preceded by gigantic braided arches of plasma rising from the surface of the sun known as magnetic flux ropes. These possess spiraling magnetic field lines, as if a huge bar magnet had been twisted into a corkscrew.

However, it remained uncertain what triggered confined flares. One model suggested these flares were also triggered by magnetic flux ropes. Another model proposed that complex groups of loops of magnetic field lines, also known as solar arcades, gave rise to confined flares.

Until now, researchers could not analyze the magnetic fields at the hot, thin regions of the sun, where confined flares originate, with enough accuracy to decide between these models. Now, based on a new analysis of a powerful confined flare in 2014, scientists suggest that aspects of both models might help explain these explosions.

The researchers analyzed the growth of a very intense confined solar flare in 2014 using NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory satellite, which captured a series of high-precision measurements of the magnetic field of the sun's surface around the time of the flare. They ran simulations on supercomputers to reconstruct how solar magnetic fields evolved both before and during the explosion.

The computer models suggested that in the hours before the flare, a magnetic flux rope grew under a powerful solar arcade that acted like a cage. This magnetic flux rope lacked the energy to break past the multiple layers of this magnetic cage.

Once this magnetic flux rope developed a kink and became unstable, a major flare occurred that partially destroyed the magnetic cage. The researchers predicted that a weaker magnetic cage would have led to a more powerful eruption, destroying all the layers of the cage and resulting in a coronal mass ejection.

"A single mechanism may underlie all solar flares," study lead author Tahar Amari, an astrophysicist at the Polytechnic School in Palaiseau, France, told Space.com.

This work could help scientists forecast the maximum amount of energy that a solar flare can release, Amari added.

Amari and his colleagues detailed their findings in the Feb. 8 issue of the journal Nature.

Follow Charles Q. Choi on Twitter @cqchoi . Follow us @Spacedotcom , Facebook and Google+ . Original article on Space.com .
United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit. ESTATE OF Leon WALKER, Jr.; Wanda Jean Millbrook; Correll Taylor Millbrook; Victor Wayne Millbrooks, Jr. PlaintiffsAppellees v. Building Inspector Hershell WALLACE, in his individual capacity DefendantAppellant Detective Ronald E. Vaughn, a St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department policeofficer in his individual capacity; City of St. Louis, Missouri Defendants No. 17-1058 Decided: February 08, 2018

Before SMITH, Chief Judge, ARNOLD and KELLY, Circuit Judges. Counsel who presented argument on behalf of the appellant was Erin K McGowan, of Saint Louis, MO. The following attorney(s) appeared on the appellant brief; Thomas Richard McDonnell, of Saint Louis, MO. Counsel who presented argument on behalf of the appellee was W. Bevis Schock, of Saint Louis, MO. The following attorney(s) appeared on the appellee brief; Hugh Athelstan Eastwood, of Saint Louis, MO.

One morning, a SWAT team raided a St. Louis house in which the plaintiffs lived to execute a search warrant. According to the warrant affidavit, a detective suspected that the house contained heroin, illegal firearms, and drug-trafficking paraphernalia. The team knocked on the door, yelled police, and quickly began striking the door with a battering ram. The team also tossed a flash bang device through a window and into the house, and after gaining entry, the team handcuffed the residents who were present and brought them into a front room. The search turned up marijuana, some drug paraphernalia, and three firearms, which the plaintiffs' attorney characterized as some old firearms and some personal-use marijuana.

The detective then called for a building inspector to inspect the house under a city program called Project 87. See Saint Louis, Mo., Code of Ordinances ch. 25.32.020,  104.6. Under that program, police notify a building inspector of properties that constitute a nuisance, which is defined as a code violation that if not promptly corrected will constitute a fire hazard or a serious threat to the life, health or safety of the occupants of the building, structure, or portion thereof in which the violations occur. If the owner or occupant of the building refuses to permit a building inspection, the building inspector must immediately condemn the building and issue an order to vacate, and if the owners or occupants refuse to leave, the police must immediately remove them. The detective testified that it was police-department policy to request a Project 87 inspection routinely after a search warrant was executed. He did not identify any potential nuisance before he requested a Project 87 inspection in this case.

Building inspector Hershell Wallace arrived after receiving the inspection referral. He testified that he did not notice any potential building-code violations when he arrived except for the window that the police themselves had just broken. He approached one of the residents, 29-year-old Victor Millbrooks, and asked him to sign a consent-to-search form. At this point the parties' accounts begin to diverge, and since we are reviewing an order denying Wallace's motion for summary judgment, we construe the facts in a light most favorable to the house's residents. See Aulick v. Skybridge Ams., Inc., 860 F.3d 613, 620 (8th Cir. 2017). According to Millbrooks, he was handcuffed for no more than ninety minutes while the SWAT team searched the house, and the police uncuffed him only to sign the consent-to-search form and to use the restroom. Millbrooks testified that Wallace demanded that Millbrooks sign the consent-to-search form by saying that [b]asically if you don't sign this, I guess the house  forecloses or something was going to happen with the house. We would get put out, something like that, so it wasn't like I ha[d] an option. He also testified that no one directed any threats toward him. Millbrooks then signed the form and Wallace conducted the inspection, which turned up only minor violations.

When the residents of the house sued Wallace under 42 U.S.C.  1983, claiming that he unreasonably searched the house in violation of the Fourth Amendment, Wallace moved for summary judgment on the ground that qualified immunity protected him from suit. After the district court denied the motion, Wallace filed this interlocutory appeal. Because we conclude that Wallace did not violate clearly established law, we reverse and remand.

We first consider our jurisdiction to review this interlocutory appeal. The plaintiffs have moved to dismiss the appeal because, they argue, Wallace's request for qualified immunity was based on evidence insufficiency, or at least the district court viewed it that way when it denied the motion. It is true that, though [t]he pretrial denial of qualified immunity is an appealable final order to the extent it turns on an issue of law, Jackson v. Gutzmer, 866 F.3d 969, 975 (8th Cir. 2017), we do not have jurisdiction to the extent that the denial turns on genuine issues of material fact. New v. Denver, 787 F.3d 895, 899 (8th Cir. 2015). The district court did indeed mention that disputes of fact remain regarding whether Victor voluntarily consented to the inspection, and we have said that when the appeal from the denial of qualified immunity turns on whether the plaintiff consented to a search, which is a factually intensive inquiry, we lack jurisdiction. See Pace v. City of Des Moines, 201 F.3d 1050, 1053 (8th Cir. 2000).

We conclude nonetheless that we have jurisdiction. Wallace's briefs and oral argument make clear that he is challenging whether he violated clearly established law when he inspected the plaintiffs' house after receiving Millbrooks's signature on a consent-to-search form. Whether certain actions violate clearly established law is the archetypal question of law that is reviewable on interlocutory appeal. See Johnson v. Jones, 515 U.S. 304, 318, 115 S.Ct. 2151, 132 L.Ed.2d 238 (1995). We have said that the typical appealable issue is whether the federal right allegedly infringed was clearly established.  See White v. McKinley, 519 F.3d 806, 813 (8th Cir. 2008). This is precisely what Wallace asks us to review. The way in which the district court resolved the motion does not necessarily govern whether we have jurisdiction. See New, 787 F.3d at 899901. Where the appellant does not challenge that factual disputes exist but rather whether, even if the facts are construed in a light most favorable to the appellees, he violated a clearly established right, we have jurisdiction over the interlocutory appeal. We therefore turn to a consideration of the merits.

An individual defendant is entitled to qualified immunity if his conduct does not violate clearly established constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known. White v. Pauly,  U.S. , 137 S.Ct. 548, 551, 196 L.Ed.2d 463 (2017) (per curiam). To be clearly established, preexisting law must make the unlawfulness of the officials' conduct apparent so that they have fair and clear warning they are violating the constitution; qualified immunity therefore protects all but the plainly incompetent or those who knowingly violate the law. Id. at 55152. Because qualified immunity protects officials who make bad guesses in gray areas, Littrell v. Franklin, 388 F.3d 578, 582 (8th Cir. 2004), it gives them breathing room to make reasonable but mistaken judgments. Blazek v. City of Iowa City, 761 F.3d 920, 922 (8th Cir. 2014). The plaintiffs have the burden of showing that the law was clearly established. Hess v. Ables, 714 F.3d 1048, 1051 (8th Cir. 2013).

The district court denied Wallace qualified immunity because, if the jury believed the plaintiffs' version of the facts, then the evidence could show that the consent was not voluntary. True, but that is not the correct inquiry. The correct inquiry is whether, even if we construe the facts in a light most favorable to the plaintiffs, a reasonable official in Wallace's position would have known that he was violating the constitution when he searched the plaintiffs' house after receiving signed consent to do so in the particular circumstances. We believe that Wallace, at worst, made a bad guess in a gray area of the lawbut the law gave him the breathing room to make such a guess.

First, determining whether consent is voluntary requires a highly particular look at all the relevant circumstances. See United States v. Comstock, 531 F.3d 667, 676 (8th Cir. 2008). In Comstock we identified no fewer than eleven non-exclusive considerations that can bear on whether consent was voluntary. See id. at 67677. Since questions of consent necessarily turn on the particular facts of a case, it may be hard to show that prior decisions should have put Wallace on notice that his search under the circumstances was unconstitutional or that every reasonable official in his position would have understood that he was violating a constitutional right. See Pauly, 137 S.Ct. at 552. We do not mean that officials are always entitled to qualified immunity when dealing with questions of consent; it is easy to imagine facts that would alert a reasonable person that consent was not voluntarily given. We mean only to emphasize that officials should be given some leeway when acting in legally murky environments.

We believe that both the plaintiffs and the district court defined the right in question here too generally. The plaintiffs focus on the presumptive unreasonableness of searching a house (whether for evidence of a crime or for building code violations) without a warrant. The district court began its analysis with the observation that a government official's warrantless entry into a house does not violate the Fourth Amendment when one voluntarily consents to the entry, only to note then that consent may not have been voluntarily given here. But clearly established law should not be defined at a high level of generality and must be particularized to the facts of the case so that the unlawfulness of an official's actions are apparent. Id. Context is critical in determining qualified immunity in Fourth Amendment cases. See Mullenix v. Luna,  U.S. , 136 S.Ct. 305, 308, 193 L.Ed.2d 255 (2015) (per curiam). The first principles that the district court and the plaintiffs emphasized can only go so far. Nowhere do they identify any case applying these first principles in a context sufficiently similar to the situation in which Wallace found himself when he searched the plaintiffs' house. Though the plaintiffs need not provide a case directly on point, some existing precedent must place the question beyond debate, or the conduct must be so obviously unconstitutional that no precedent is needed. See Pauly, 137 S.Ct. at 55152. The plaintiffs have failed to carry their burden on this point.

Wallace alerts us to a case that holds that a building inspector in circumstances very similar to the present ones did not violate the constitution at all. See Memorandum, Appel v. City of St. Louis, No. 4:05-cv-772 (E.D. Mo. Aug. 15, 2007), ECF No. 168. In that case, a St. Louis building inspector and several police officers arrived at a residence to perform a Project 87 inspection. The building inspector requested the occupant's consent to search, and the occupant asked about his right to refuse. The building inspector told the occupant that failure to consent would result in immediate condemnation and would force the occupant to vacate the residence, so the occupant signed a consent-to-search form. Id. at 6. In granting the building inspector qualified immunity, the court considered whether the occupant voluntarily consented to the search, noting that whether consent was voluntary was a factually intensive question. The court explained that the occupant was an adult with full capacity who inquired about his rights and who was not detained or questioned for very long, threatened with physical harm or with punishment, or placed under arrest. The court noted that, though a large police presence at a housing inspection was unusual, it was not sufficiently intimidating to deprive an adult of the ability to give informed, knowing, and voluntary consent. That court also pointed out that, though the threat to condemn the house was disconcerting, it was not an empty threat because the building inspector had authority under the ordinance to condemn the house temporarily, and providing a citizen with accurate information about his rights does not invalidate his consent. The court ultimately concluded that the building inspector did not violate the Fourth Amendment. Id. at 2627.

The district court distinguished Appel on the ground that there was particularized knowledge of a building code violation so there was probable cause for the search. But Wallace does not contend that he had probable cause to search the plaintiffs' house; he contends instead that he had consent from one of the house's occupants. Wallace did not need probable cause if he received voluntary consent. See United States v. Wolff, 830 F.3d 755, 758 (8th Cir. 2016). In short, this is a consent case, and probable cause does not seem all that relevant to the issue before us.

We acknowledge that it appears that the occupant in Appel was evidently not in handcuffs when he gave his consent to search, but we have held that even a person who is arrested and handcuffed for two hours can voluntarily consent to a search, see, e.g., Comstock, 531 F.3d at 67778; so the handcuffs are not enough to deny Wallace the protection of Appel's shade and render Millbrooks's consent obviously involuntary. The plaintiffs themselves acknowledge that the fact that Millbrooks was handcuffed is not the hinge on which the immunity analysis turns. But even if Appel is distinguishable on this ground or others and can somehow be made to say that the consent given in this case was involuntary, we still think that the plaintiffs have failed to demonstrate how every reasonable official in Wallace's shoes would have believed that he was violating the plaintiffs' rights. A single case, which is not even a binding precedent in the district in which it was decided, seems hardly enough to count as one that establishes a clear legal principle. One swallow does not a summer make.

For these reasons, the plaintiffs have not carried their burden to show that the unconstitutional nature of Wallace's conduct was clearly established. We therefore reverse and remand for further proceedings.

I agree that Hershell Wallace is entitled to qualified immunity. I write to note that St. Louis's municipal liability is not before us on this appeal. The plaintiffs made three claims relating to Wallace's Project 87 inspection. One of those claims sought to hold Wallace personally liablethis appeal disposes of that claim. The remaining two claims seek to hold the City of St. Louis liable for an unconstitutional policy under Monell v. Dep't of Social Servs. of N.Y.C., 436 U.S. 658, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1978). We express no opinion on the district court's denial of summary judgment on these Monell claims. And, because we grant Wallace qualified immunity based on a lack of clearly-established law, our ruling is not determinative of whether his employer is liable for effectuating an unconstitutional policy. See Owen v. City of Independence, Mo., 445 U.S. 622, 65758, 100 S.Ct. 1398, 63 L.Ed.2d 673 (1980). Thus, our opinion does not foreclose the plaintiffs from pursuing their Monell claims based on Project 87 searches.

ARNOLD, Circuit Judge
Archaeologists in Israel have uncovered a rare multicolored Roman mosaic featuring three toga-wearing figures during excavations in the ancient city of Caesarea.

The mosaic, which dates back to the 2nd or 3rd-century A.D, measures around 11.5 feet by 26 feet. It features three figures, multicolored geometric patterns and a long inscription in Greek, explained Dr. Peter Gendelman and Dr. Uzi Ad, excavation directors for the Israel Antiquities Authority, in a statement. The figures, all males, wear togas and apparently belonged to the upper class. The central figure is frontal and the two other face him on either side.

The mosaic has been damaged by a building that was constructed on top of it during the Byzantine period about 1,500 years ago. The identity of the figures also remains a mystery. If the mosaic was part of a mansion, the figures may have been the owners, explained the archaeologists, in the statement. If this was a public building, they might have represented the donors of the mosaic or members of the city council.

DELICATE DISCOVERY: HOW A RARE ROMAN MOSAIC WAS LIFTED FROM THE GROUND

The images on the mosaic were depicted using tiny cubes of stone and brick called tesserae. The mosaic contains about 12,000 tesserae per square meter (3.3 feet by 3.3 feet) according to Jacques Nagar, head of the Israel Antiquities Authority Art Conservation Department.

The dig, which is receiving financial support from the Edmond de Rothschild Foundation and the Caesarea Development Corporation, is part of the largest conservation and construction project ever undertaken in Israel. This involves reconstruction work on the Crusader-era entrance bridge to Caesarea and the construction of a promenade from the nearby town of Jisr a-Zarqa to Caesarea National Park. As part of the project, archaeologists have also unearthed a large, opulent building that dates back to the Byzantine period. The Roman mosaic was discovered beneath the building.

The mosaic is just the latest in a series of impressive archaeological finds in Israel. Researchers, for example, recently announced the discovery of a mysterious 1,500-year-old pool and elaborate fountain at the site of an ancient church near Jerusalem.

MYSTERIOUS POOL AND FOUNTAIN DISCOVERED AT ANCIENT CHRISTIAN SITE IN ISRAEL

Archaeologists also recently uncovered a stunning 1,500-year-old Christian mosaic that was once the floor of a church or monastery in the ancient coastal city of Ashdod-Yam.

In a major discovery last year archaeologists in Jerusalem uncovered a new section of the Western Wall that has been hidden for 1,700 years.

Also in 2017 an ancient Greek inscription was found on a 1,500-year-old mosaic floor near the Damascus Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem.

Experts also believe they have found the lost Roman city of Julias, formerly the village of Bethsaida, which was the home of Jesus' apostles Peter, Andrew and Philip.

Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers
Secret 500-year-old letters sent by King Ferdinand II of Aragon to one of his military commanders have finally been deciphered.

Spains Army Museum called in experts from Spains intelligence agency, the Centro Nacional de Inteligencia (CNI), to help decipher the mysterious documents. The letters, which use a combination of 237 letter codes and 88 symbols, had baffled historians.

Ferdinand sent the letters to Gonzalo Fernandez de Cordoba, known as the Great Captain, during a military campaign in Italy in the early 16th century.

15TH-CENTURY MANUSCRIPT WITH 'ALIEN' CHARACTERS FINALLY DECODED

Spanish newspaper ABC describes the letters as one of the great mysteries in the history of Spain.

Documents belonging to the Dukes of Maqueda, a Spanish noble house, helped experts unravel the mystery. The trove contained 16 letters from Ferdinand to de Cordoba, which were transcribed into modern text by a handwriting expert. It was then that it was discovered that four of these letters were encrypted and the Museum put its effort into deciphering them, explained the Army Museum in a statement translated from the Spanish.

After historians were unable to crack the codes, the Museum turned to the CNI. A small piece of text deciphered by de Cordoba at the foot of one of the documents provided a vital clue that helped the CNI team unlock the code.

JACK THE RIPPER LETTER MYSTERY SOLVED? EXPERT SHEDS NEW LIGHT ON NOTORIOUS CASE

Nonetheless, the BBC reports that it took the intelligence agency almost half a year to decipher the letters.

The Museum noted the meticulous and detailed instructions given to de Cordoba by King Ferdinand: In addition to directions on troop movements, the King also discusses the administration of justice and even promotes marriage between the local widows and the Spanish military in an attempt to achieve greater social integration. Ferdinand also criticizes the commander for launching diplomatic initiatives without consulting him, according to the BBC.

The king, who is known as Ferdinand the Catholic, is a major historical figure. He played a key role in the Reconquista or Reconquest that ended centuries of Islamic rule in the Iberian Peninsula. Ferdinand, with his wife Queen Isabelle I of Castile, also sponsored the voyage of Christopher Columbus to the New World in 1492.

LONG-LOST 'NIGERIAN MONA LISA,' VALUED AT OVER $280G, FOUND IN 'MODEST' NORTH LONDON APARTMENT

The monarchs also laid the foundations for the unification of Spain when their two kingdoms were combined in the 15th century. Thanks to his marriage, Ferdinand became King of Castile following Isabelles coronation as Queen of Castile in 1474. He also became King of Aragon on the death of his father in 1479.

Now that the secret code has been unlocked, more letters could be deciphered, The Independent reports.

Modern techniques are also being used elsewhere to unlock the secrets of other centuries-old documents. Researchers in Canada, for example, recently said that they had harnessed artificial intelligence to decode a mysterious 15th-century manuscript. Discovered in the 19th century, the Voynich manuscript uses alien characters that have long puzzled cryptographers and historians.

Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers
Think about the children.

Thats the message a gathering of Silicon Valley alums and activists sent to the tech industry during a conference in Washington, D.C. focused on what they say is the addictive nature of social media.

Attendees were treated to panels and talks about the various potential links between heavy use of social media and other technology and negative consequences like anxiety, lack of sleep, isolation and depression.

MORE TROUBLE FOR FACEBOOK AS SEATTLE CLAIMS IT VIOLATED CITY CAMPAIGN FINANCE LAW

Conference organizer James Steyer, chief executive and founder of Common Sense Media, a nonprofit promoting safe technology and media for children, slammed huge companies such as Facebook, Google and Twitter. He said: Talk is cheap. Show me the money. Period.

There were pleas for Mark Zuckerberg, the Facebook co-founder and chief executive, and Sheryl Sandberg, the companys chief operating officer, to consider their own families when making changes to the social network or unveiling new features.

Steyer added: Mark and Sheryl at Facebook are good people. They are parents too. They have to think about their own kids when making a big picture decision there.

According to statistics from Common Sense Media, 48 percent of teens who spend more than five hours a day on electronic devices report at least one suicide-related outcome  felt very lonely and considered, planned, or attempted suicide  and the brains of young people diagnosed with internet addiction show significantly less gray matter, which is associated with planning, decision-making, and impulse control.

The conference comes amid a wave of anti-tech sentiment thats especially focused on how the powerful mobile devices we carry are impacting young people. A growing chorus of current and former technology leaders and executives have spoken out.

Evan Spiegel, the co-founder of Snapchat, has said that the combination of social and media has yielded incredible business results but has undermined our relationships.

The short-term, dopamine-driven feedback loops that we have created are destroying how society works, according to ex-Facebook executive Chamath Palihapitiya.

Even Apples Tim Cook said recently that he does not allow his nephew on social media.

Roger McNamee, an early investor in Facebook, said: What Id like [Sheryl Sandberg] to do is to bring the same values she has at home into the office. Remember that you have to have empathy. If you view your users as fuel stock for your profits youre not going to make the world a better place.

SOCIAL MEDIA SURVEILLANCE UNFAIRLY TARGETED MUSLIMS, REPORT SAYS

McNamee is one of the people behind the Center for Humane Technology, which is committed to reversing the digital attention crisis and realigning technology with humanitys best interests. The group has reportedly received $7 million from Common Sense Media to lobby in the battle against tech addiction.

Aza Raskin, a veteran of Mozilla and Firefox who is now chief strategy officer at the Center for Humane Technology, said: We end up replacing childrens sense of identity and self-worth with how many likes they get, reports the Guardian.

He even likened the technology to tobacco.

Tobacco only gets so addictive and tobacco doesnt know anything particularly about you or your habits. ... Imagine three years or five years from now when our new digital tobacco knows all of your habits. Thats the world that were thinking about, like if you think about when you point AI [artificial intelligence] at a chessboard. Once it wins, it wins; humans can never get better.
Talk about riding in style.

On Feb. 7, Queen Elizabeth II delighted locals when she was spotted at the Kings Lynn train station in Norfolk, England, boarding a train to head home to London. Travel + Leisure reports that the 91-year-old monarch had spent the last few weeks in the area, celebrating Christmas with family at Sandringham (Meghan Markle included) and later celebrating the 66th anniversary of her coronation.

IF YOU THINK LONDON, PARIS AND ROME ARE TOO EXPENSIVE TO VISIT, READ THIS

According to People, passersby were shocked to see the queen at the train station, but it was hard to miss the British royal in a bright orange coat, patterned headscarf and plenty of police escorts.

Upon her return to Buckingham Palace after the hour and 40 minutes trip, its safe to say the monarch was quick to get back to business, as 2018 is stacked to be a major year for her royal clan.

STRANGE SUPPORT ANIMALS SPOTTED ON COMMERCIAL FLIGHTS

Not only will two of her grandchildren, Prince Harry and Princess Eugenie marry their respective partners, but both the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as well as Zara and Mike Tindall are expecting babies.

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A Royal Caribbean cruise ship docked in San Diego Thursday morning with 24 sick people who reported symptoms of a gastrointestinal illness on board.

The Azamara Quest arrived in port around 5:30 a.m. with 22 passengers and two crew members who had been ill with whats believed to be norovirus while sailing from Costa Rica to San Diego for 15 days, the San Diego Tribune reports.

FOOTAGE CAPTURES ICE CHUNK FALLING FROM SKY, ALMOST SMASHING INTO PEDESTRIANS: IT WAS THE SIZE OF A BOULDER

Only four people on board showed symptoms within the last 48 hours before arriving in San Diego, but the other passengers and crew had reportedly recovered, Royal Caribbean spokesman Owen Torres said in a statement to Fox News.

"All other guests have recovered and were treated by our ships doctors and responded well with over-the-counter medication," Torres said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, crew collected stool samples from those who were sick and increased cleaning and disinfection measures. There were 663 passengers and 458 crew members on board in total.

We encouraged our guests and crew to wash their hands often, which health experts recommend as the best defense against stomach viruses, which each year affect as many as 300 million people worldwideonly the common cold is more prevalent, Torres said.

Crew members planned and executed comprehensive sanitation procedures and performed a full barrier sanitation cleaning of the ship before it departed for its next cruise later on Thursday.

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Gastrointestinal bugs seem to be fairly commonplace on cruise lines. Just last month, 47 Royal Caribbean passengers aboard The Grandeur of the Seas got sick on a cruise heading for the Bahamas.

Additionally, Princess Cruises is facing an impending class-action lawsuit after thousands of passengers claimed they caught norovirus while traveling on the cruise line.
A college student who claimed a Spirit Airlines employee suggested she flush her emotional support hamster down the toilet  and who ended up doing so  now has a new pet hamster, her lawyer said.

Belen Aldecosea, 21, of Miami Beach, Fla., told the Miami Herald she was considering legal action against the airline after she flushed her dwarf hamster, Pebbles, down the toilet on Nov. 21, 2017, at the suggestion of a Spirit Airlines employee.

She said the airline initially told her it was fine to bring her furry friend on the flight, but learned otherwise when she attempted to board the plane with it.

SPIRIT AIRLINE EMPLOYEE TOLD STUDENT TO FLUSH EMOTIONAL SUPPORT HAMSTER DOWN THE TOILET, STUDENT ALLEGES

The young woman said a Spirit Airlines employee advised her to either set the rodent free, into the wild, or flush it down the toilet. Aldecosea tried to rent a car instead, but was too young to do so. Her friends also lived too far away to come pick up Pebbles, so, running out of options, she did what she thought was most humane: She flushed her beloved pet hamster down the toilet.

She was scared. I was scared. It was horrifying trying to put her in the toilet, Aldecosea told the Miami Herald. I was emotional. I was crying. I sat there for a good 10 minutes crying in the stall.

Adam Goodman, Aldecoseas attorney, told USA Today he believed the student, even though there was no proof an employee advised her to get rid of the rodent.

"It's hard, but you really have to look at the circumstances because this whole thing only makes sense with someone telling her to (flush the animal)," Goodman told USA Today. "This is a situation where there weren't body cameras or anything."

EMERGENCY CREWS EVERYWHERE AFTER SOUTHWEST FLIGHT SLUMPS FORWARD ON NOSE AFTER SKIDDING OFF TAXIWAY IN MARYLAND

Goodman claimed adults advising his client on what to do  in this case, the Spirit employee  made it hard for her to make any other decision due to her age.

"This was a highly stressful situation and people react in a lot of different ways," he said. "She's only 21 years old, a kid still."

Goodman, however, revealed that his client has a new hamster, though she's still upset over the debacle.

"She's distraught," Goodman said. "Imagine anyone in that situation that has to make a choice like that. It was a horrible situation, and she's still distraught."

Goodman said he and Aldecosea are considering filing a lawsuit against Spirit Airlines.

"A hamster is the most innocuous animal. It's confined to a cage," Goodman said. "No one would have probably even known it was there."

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It was not immediately clear what Aldecosea named her new support hamster. Fox News reached out for a comment from Goodman regarding the incident.

After the story broke, PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch condemned the young woman's decision to flush the pet down the toilet.

"One phone call could have saved this animal, or some kind person at the airport could have helped, Nachminovitch told Fox News. Flushing a living being down the toilet is not only cruel but also illegal, and both the person who killed this animal and Spirit Airlines  if an employee did, in fact, advise the woman to drown the hamster  should be charged. This must have been a horrific, terrifying death."

Spirit Airlines spokesman Derek Dombrowski told Fox News that an employee misinformed Aldecosea by saying Pebbles was allowed on the flight, but denied that an employee suggested she flush the rodent down the toilet.

"After researching this incident, we can say confidently that at no point did any of our agents suggest this guest (or any other for that matter) should flush or otherwise injure an animal. It is incredibly disheartening to hear this guest reportedly decided to end her own pets life," Dombrowski told Fox News.

Aldecosea said Pebbles was a doctor-approved emotional support animal that helped her when she developed a growth in her neck while at school in Wilson College in Chambersburg, Penn. The student said she bought Pebbles for some company.

She (Pebbles) was so loving. It was like she knew I needed somebody, Aldecosea said.
An 88-year-old man who tried to kill his wife with a hammer at her New York nursing home has been sentenced to six months in jail.

Martin Turkiewicz told a judge on Thursday he wanted to end his wife's suffering from dementia. The Cheektowaga resident walked into the room of his wife of 60 years in September and hit her in the head with a hammer.

Rita Turkiewicz is recovering from a fractured skull.

Martin Turkiewicz pleaded guilty to assault in November and has been out on bail.

He told the judge he wanted to tell his wife how sorry he is. An order of protection bans him from seeing or contacting her except on holidays under supervision.
An Ohio man was sentenced in the murder of a teen girl whose body was concealed in a playpen and tossed into a dumpster.

Ricki Williams IV, 22, was handed a 62-year prison sentence Tuesday for the stabbing death of Gina Burger in Austintown, about 70 miles southeast of Cleveland, WFMJ reported.

Prosecutors said Williams invited the 16-year-old girl in June 2014 over to his apartment, where he fatally stabbed her in the chest.

His neighbor, Ronisha Johnson, testified that she watched him pull the knife from the teens chest and smell it, WFMJ reported.

He then reportedly enlisted Johnson to help hide her body in a portable playpen and throw it in a dumpster.

HUSBAND, 88, WHO TRIED TO KILL WIFE WITH HAMMER GETS SIX MONTHS IN JAIL

The teens body was later discovered by employees at a Grover City garbage transfer station.

Burgers mom, Jacqueline Bacher, told police that Williams, in a particularly disturbing move, asked her if she wanted to buy the playpen after the slaying.

Williams pleaded guilty to a slew of charges last month including aggravated murder, kidnapping and tampering with evidence.

Click to read more from the New York Post.
The investigation into a Michigan teen whose body was uncovered in the woods has police looking into an individual who she accused of raping her and was set to face during trial, officials told WOOD TV Wednesday.

Mujey Dumbuya, 16, of Grand Rapids was found dead in a wooded area in Kalamazoo on Jan. 28, a police news release said. The teen hadnt been seen for several days and police said they were treating her case as a homicide.

Dumbuya was going to testify in court in April against Quinn Anthony James, 42, after claiming that he sexually assaulted her, Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker told WOOD TV.

James is now being investigated by authorities in connection to her death, although he is not yet considered a person of interest in the case, Capt. Shannon Bagley of the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety told the outlet.

According to WWMT, Dumbuya claimed to police that James raped her a number of times beginning when she was 15 years old.

James reportedly admitted to having sex with Dumbuya in his car outside of a school but claimed it was consensual, the outlet said, citing arrest records from November.

He was charged with third degree criminal sexual conduct and was told to stay away from her, WOOD TV reported, citing online court records.

Currently held at Kent County Jail, James was arrested on Feb. 1 and charged with third degree criminal sexual conduct, assault and being a habitual offender, jail records said. But Becker told WOOD TV that the arrest stems from a different case from 2014.

James was previously employed by Kentwood Public Schools as a grounds and maintenance worker but was fired in November, according to a statement from the district obtained by WOOD TV.
Taxpayer funds were used to pay for at least two hotel rooms that a Utah lawmaker who resigned this week is alleged to have used to meet up with a prostitute last year, according to records a state House of Representatives official found Thursday.

After the British newspaper the Daily Mail reported allegations Thursday that Republican Rep. Jon Stanard twice hired a prostitute in 2017, House and state elections officials said they were checking to see if taxpayer or campaign money was used for the hotel stays that the report alleges Stanard booked.

House Chief of Staff Greg Hartley told the Associated Press in a text message that Stanard, who resigned Tuesday night, was reimbursed for hotel stays in Salt Lake City in June and August 2017 when Stanard was attending legislative meetings at the state Capitol, four hours from his home in St. George.

The dates and hotel names correspond with text messages reported in the Daily Mail.

"It looks like they were legislative days," Republican House Speaker Greg Hughes told The Associated Press Thursday night.

Hughes said he didn't yet know if the House would ask Stanard to return the hotel reimbursements.

"If there has been an abuse of public funds or if public funds were used in a way that's inappropriate, we would," Hughes said. "I don't have solid answers for those things. I would need to have a way that I would know conclusively that that is the case."

Phone and text messages to Stanard's personal cellphone were not returned, but it indicated he read the texts seeking comment. His lawyer, Wally Bugden, declined to comment and did not respond to a follow-up email asking if he was denying the allegations.

Hughes said he did not yet know what the House would do next to try to determine if the Daily Mail report was correct, and said officials had not had any contact from Stanard Thursday.

It was unclear if the House would be able to check whether Stanard used a state-issued cellphone to text the prostitute and arrange encounters because someone electronically wiped the phone and it no longer contains his text messages.

The House Speaker said he assumed Stanard erased his phone, not House staff, and Hughes said he didn't know if there was a way to recover text messages from the phone.

House officials said they can't launch an ethics investigation because Stanard is no longer a lawmaker.

Stanard, a married Republican from the southern Utah resort community of St. George, resigned after serving five years in the House. He voted last year in favor of a law that made state prostitution laws stricter, including raising the penalty for people who are convicted twice of solicitation.

The House announced his resignation Wednesday for "personal and family concerns" but did not offer details. That day, Stanard the AP in a text message: "My father has terminal cancer and I am going to spend a few weeks with him out of state while I still can."

He did not offer additional information.

The Daily Mail reported that a prostitute, Brie Taylor, said Stanard twice paid her for sex last year during business trips to Salt Lake City and that he arranged the meetings with a number for a state-issued phone listed on his legislative profile.

The newspaper posted screenshots of messages that Taylor said came from Stanard, but the phone number was blurred out.

Taylor did not respond to a text message asking her to confirm the phone number and declined to speak with the AP.

The date and time of the messages indicate Stanard would have been texting her to arrange meetings on days the Legislature was in session in March and when lawmakers were in meetings at the Capitol in summer and fall.

Stanard's 2017 campaign finance report shows he submitted an expense on March 10 for $1,510 for "extra hotel expense session lodging" at the "Marriott Residence."

Text messages in the Daily Mail story indicate Stanard was arranging for a visit with Taylor at the Marriott Residence Inn on March 8.

Utah Director of Elections Justin Lee said state law bars any personal use of campaign funds and elections officials were looking over Stanard's reports.

Hughes said that when Stanard met with him Tuesday night to tell him he was resigning, "there were issues that were weighing on him. What exactly and to the nature, I wasn't aware. But it was clear that his priority was with his family and was not here."

He would not say if Stanard spoke about allegations he paid a prostitute for sex, saying it was a personal conversation between colleagues but "it ran the gamut of problems," and "I did not know there was a story coming, I'll just say that."

"I was absolutely shocked. I had never heard anything, there was nothing in my interaction  I sit next to him on the House floor  nothing in my interaction that's ever suggesting anything even remotely close to what we're seeing today," GOP Rep. Mike McKell said.

Salt Lake City police say they have no record related to solicitation allegations against Stanard. Unified Police Department of Salt Lake County said it had no record of contact with him.
Just moments before Candace McQueen presented a new proposal that would allow the state to help fix five poorly-performing schools in Hamilton Countys poverty areas, Jill Levine could not contain her smile nor hide her emotions any longer. Its good  Its really good she stage-whispered as McQueen, the states Commissioner of Education, faced the school board late Thursday afternoon.

The one person in the whole room I wanted to see happy with the states proposal was the dynamic Levine because, since the opening of school, she has totally poured herself into about a dozen schools that need intensive care. She above all others knows there is a way to reach, educate, and nurture todays children who  through no fault of their own  are getting left behind. If a child in a poverty situation cannot measure up on the first day of kindergarten, when will that precious human being ever catch up?

For a year and a half the states McQueen has threatened to pirate Chattanoogas five troubled iZone schools into something called the Achievement School District that failed miserably in Memphis over the past five years. Today there are seven Memphis charter school that are being threatened to close, millions of dollars have been wasted and lost, and there is very little improvement to be found.

So when McQueen first started in Chattanooga, she proposed a foolish second school board, removing the five schools and all the children from any control by a Hamilton County educator, and embarking on a hare-brained scheme that would add insult to the misery in a school district where a full 60 percent of its third graders are unable to read at grade level.

In the past two years it has been discovered that wanton neglect by the elected school board and the elected County Commission have created horrific problems for public education. School buildings have been blatantly ignored, county officials have placed themselves over what is best for children, and leadership within the system has been allowed to decay miserably.

The roller-coaster ride is far from over but a Godsend in the millage rate, coupled with a zealous drive to hire a formidable superintendent in Bryan Johnson, and a renewed push by the community towards public education, has been notably impressive. McQueen said as much last night and offered a plan - believe it or not - had a sincerity and earnestness that shows the state is back to being us.

Gone is the scheme to rewrite school board laws. Total governance in the new partnership pattern will come totally from people elected by the people. There will be a seven-person advisory board  with four Hamilton County residents selected as state representatives and three more from within Hamilton County picked by the school board representatives.

The state will hire a facilitator of sorts to help guide the five iZone schools  Orchard Knob Elementary, Orchard Knob Middle, Woodmore, Dalewood and Brainerd  but, whoa! When Johnson charged Levin with the Innovation Zone, he included others, like Hardy, Barger, The Howard School, East Lake Elementary and Middle. Calvin Donaldson and Clifton Hills were added because many kindred problems are common in the inner city schools.

Dont you see? Johnson and Levine want to work their magic on more than five and McQueen has promised Levine the state will be happy to help with any other schools she names. It isnt a take-over, Jill said. This is a partnership and we have a far bigger stake in it than the state.

The commissioner and her team have been down here for most of the day, Jill said last night. Weve kicked around more ideas, talked about what our weaknesses are . Believe me, this is far, far, far different than what was scaring you. This is totally based on children. I know you believe the teachers of Hamilton County can do anything  and we can. But sometimes when you say I need a hand it strengthens your resolve to accept one.

Candace McQueen is perhaps in her last year. A new governor brings in a new team and, when the partnership is implemented in August of this year, Commissioner McQueen will have less than three months in office unless she can impress the next head of our state. Yeah, she and the school board will sign a five-year deal but  brother  a new administration can run that asunder in no time at all.

Yet thats not the focus. The True North is the child. Jill Levine tells me this partnership will work, and now it is a partnership. And best of all? We have a chance.

royexum@aol.com
A man wielding a shotgun held up a 7-Eleven store in San Diego Friday morning, but almost didnt get away because he apparently locked his keys inside his car.

Authorities said the gunman entered the 7-Eleven convenience store in the 4100 block of University Avenue shortly after 4:30 a.m.

The gunman demanded money from the clerk and left with an undisclosed amount of money, 10News reported.

In the parking lot, the suspect apparently noticed he left his car keys inside his getaway vehicle and was forced to smash in his window to unlock the car.

Police told the San Diego Tribune detectives believe the suspect also stole cash and pornographic magazines from an adult book store about 24 hours before.

He was described as about 6 feet tall and in his 20s with long hair.

Police said they are looking for a dark, four-door Nissan Sentra with a broken drivers side window.
The president's plan to build a wall along the southern border could come crumbling down before the structure is even built, thanks to a lawsuit filed by the State of California being argued Friday in San Diego.

The wall's first substantial legal challenge will be heard by a federal judge, Gonzalo Curiel, whom President Trump criticized during the 2016 campaign over the judge's Mexican heritage.

"Now, he is Hispanic, I believe. He is a very hostile judge to me," Trump said on "Fox News Sunday" back on Feb. 28, 2016, referring to Curiel's handling of a class-action case against the now-defunct Trump University.

Curiel could halt construction of the wall or any fencing along the U.S.-Mexican border, should he decide that California's complaint has merit and can proceed to trial.

"If he does that, it could definitely put a wrench in the works as far as the administration is concerned," said former Justice Department lawyer Thomas Dupree.

California filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, claiming its proposed wall would cause "irreparable harm" to the state.

The administration must follow up to 30 different state and federal environmental regulations before constructing any barrier along the border, including the National Environmental Policy Act, which would require a lengthy Environmental Impact Statement before contractors can initiate any fence building.

"Will it end the whole debate on the fence or the wall? No. But it could be a significant victory for one side or the other," said Andrew Gordon, a former Department of Homeland Security lawyer during the Obama administration.

The Trump administration argues its authority over border construction is absolute, based on a 1996 law that allows the federal government to "take such actions as may be necessary to install additional barriers ... to deter illegal crossings in areas of high illegal entry into the United States."

The president also argues that Congress, through the Real ID Act of 2005 and the Secure Fence Act of 2006, gave the Department of Homeland Security a waiver from any environmental rules to build that barrier. Government lawyers claim the waiver remains in effect.

"When Congress gave them the waiver authority, the waiver authority was supposed to encompass not just the projects that were on the books at that moment but any other projects that could have been done under the act," Gordon said.

The act called for 800 miles of double reinforced fencing, although today less than 100 miles of double fencing exists. Regardless, California argues that the waiver authority expired in 2008 and does not last forever.

"What the challengers are arguing is that when Congress passed this law, it didn't intend to give the DHS a blank check to make whatever border security improvements it wanted," Dupree said. "If Congress wants this administration to streamline the process to build the wall, it can pass legislation to that effect. But don't try to cite this statute that was passed years ago in furtherance of that goal."

Dupree and Gordon said both sides have a strong case.

"Fundamentally, and ultimately, the question is: How broad is the waiver authority Congress gave Homeland Security?" Gordon asked.

The California challenge is already slowing down Trump's border security effort. State lawmakers are considering a bill to blacklist any company that bids on the border wall or any other border project, including a plan to replace 14 miles of old, rusting, eight-foot-high primary fence outside San Diego.

The project, approved under the Obama administration, replaces a Vietnam-era steel landing mat starting near the Pacific Ocean and heading 14 miles east.

According to those familiar with the project, construction was to have begun in March but several contractors backed out for fear of losing future business with the state of California.

"Some of members have opted not to bid on these projects," said Peter Tateishi, CEO of the Associated General Contractors of California. "Penalizing the contracting community is not the right direction to go. Having fewer bids means fewer options and when we have less competition in these spaces, we tend to have higher prices."

The Border Patrol said the replacement fence is needed to protect the safety of its agents.

"Right now, the existing primary fence is almost like no fence at all," said Chris Harris, a spokesman for the agents' union. "It's eight feet high and, in some places, even less. We get rocked by the Mexican side. I've been hit. Other agents have suffered serious injuries. Why the state of California would want to endanger agents by objecting to a fence where one already exists is beyond me."

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra did not respond to inquiries this week from Fox News.
Who says law enforcement officers don't have a sense of humor?

The Flagler County Jail in Florida has been known as the Green Roof Inn. So the sheriff's office decided to make the nickname a little more official by installing three signs with the moniker.

One sign unveiled Thursday at the complex in Bunnell, Fla., uses classic neon lighting, with GREEN ROOF INN in green capital letters, and VACANCY flashing in red below, the Daytona Beach News-Journal reported.

Below the neon sign is a list of ACCOMMODATIONS, highlighting what "guests" of the jail can expect from their stay, including: No privacy, group bathrooms and showers, no meal selection, and free transportation to the courthouse or state prison.

We have a one-star rating and were working to lower that as Im speaking, Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly says in a video promoting the "inn," WESH-TV reported.

For those who complete their "stay," another sign near the exit reminds them that the Green Roof Inn always has a light on, the News-Journal reported.

Staly said the signs are an effort to make people think twice before breaking the law.

It is a warning to potential offenders that the jail is not a 5-star hotel," Staly told the paper. When you get arrested, we provide the minimum accommodations as required by law. Once an offender checks in, they lose their basic freedoms. They dont decide what to eat, wear, or do with their day.

The jail, which can hold more than 400 inmates, held approximately 217 prisoners as of Thursday.
A Brightline train struck a pedestrian in Florida on Thursday, marking the sixth incident since it started testing trains last year and the fourth since it began regular service Jan. 13, a report said.

The unidentified man was rushed to a local hospital, with what appeared to be a broken arm and non-life-threatening injuries, the Sun-Sentinel reported.

He was struck in Wilton Manors, about 30 miles north of Miami.

Fire officials said the man deliberately got down on the tracks as the train approached, Miami's WTVJ-TV reported.

The high-speed private rail line has had four fatal incidents and two non-fatal ones since testing its trains last year, the Miami Herald reported.

Police told the newspaper that in every incident the pedestrian or bicyclist has either attempted to cross or stand on the train tracks when a train was approaching.

Jeffrey D. King, 51, was killed Jan. 17 while riding his bicycle. Officials told the Sun-Sentinel that the gate arms were down at the time, but the man tried to cross the tracks anyway.

Melissa Lavell, 32, was killed less than a week earlier when she ducked under the train gates and tried to cross, officials said.

Its safety measures were not to blame, Brightline told the Herald.

Dont race the train, the companys president told the Sentinel last month.

Brightline has said any measures taken by the company cant succeed without the publics cooperation.

Meanwhile, U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio and Bill Nelson, both of Florida, called for a federal safety review of Brightlines operation, the Herald reported.

The rail company responded by inviting the lawmakers to tour its facilities.
Welcome to Fox News First. Not signed up yet? Click here.

Developing now, Friday, Feb. 9, 2018

The House has approved a budget deal that reopens the government after a temporary shutdown took effect overnight

FOX NEWS EXCLUSIVE: The top Democrat leading a congressional investigation into President Trump's alleged ties to Russia was offered contact with the author of the discredited Trump dossier, according to text messages obtained by Fox News.

The 2018 Winter Olympics officially opens Friday with a parade of athletes into the Olympic Stadium in Pyeongchang, South Korea

The Trump administration secretly reached out to Iran to propose a prisoner swap, according to a report

A California Democrat active in the #MeToo movement is accused of groping a male staffer

THE LEAD STORY  TEMPORARY OVERNIGHT SHUTDOWN ENDS: An overnight government shutdown has come to an end after the House approved a budget deal that funds the government through March 23 ... The House vote was 240 to 186. The bill now goes to President Trump to sign.

The stalemate began when Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., repeatedly objected to a quick vote on the deal struck by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. Paul, vehemently opposed to "Obama-era deficits," objected to the increases in government spending by $300 billion under the bipartisan deal and wanted a recorded vote on reversing the bill's spending increases. Paul's objections pushed the Senate votes on the budget deal past midnight into early Friday, sparking the temporary government shutdown.

U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs: When will we act like the Republicans our constituents expect us to be?

FOX NEWS EXCLUSIVE: TOP DEM OFFERED CONTACT WITH TRUMP DOSSIER AUTHOR: Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee who has been leading a congressional investigation into President Trump's alleged ties to Russia, had extensive contact last year with a lobbyist for a Russian oligarch who was offering Warner access to former British spy and dossier author Christopher Steele, according to text messages obtained exclusively by Fox News ... "We have so much to discuss u need to be careful but we can help our country," Warner texted the lobbyist, Adam Waldman, on March 22, 2017. "I'm in," Waldman, whose firm has ties to Hillary Clinton, texted back to Warner.

LET THE WINTER GAMES BEGIN: Expect to see athletes from around the world participate in the opening ceremony for the 2018 Winter Olympics ... The spectacle will start on Friday at 8 p.m. local time (6 a.m. ET) at the Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium in Pyeongchang, South Korea. A staple of the Opening Ceremony is the athletes parade, which features delegations from competing countries. This year, the delegations from North Korea and South Korea are expected to march together under a unification flag.

DIRECT CHANNEL TO IRAN?: The Trump administration secretly reached out to Iran in December to propose creating a direct channel to negotiate the release of prisoners held by each side, the Wall Street Journal reports ... However, Iran didnt respond and has refused to engage with U.S. officials on the offer, despite subsequent offers. The reported U.S. offer represented the first time since President Trump took office that the administration had signaled its willingness to engage in a potential prisoner swap.

Nearly 20 American hostages languish around the world

Family of missing ex-FBI agent Bob Levinson sues Iran

#METOO BACKLASH: A California Democrat who was featured in Time magazine's "Person of the Year" issue for her role in the anti-sexual harassment #MeToo movement has been accused of drunkenly groping a male legislative staffer at a softball game in 2014 ... Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia allegedly stroked the then-25-year-old staffers back, tried to squeeze his buttocks and attempted to grab his crotch as he walked away from her. The staffer, Daniel Fierro, worked for Assemblyman Ian Calderon at the time. He did not immediately report the incident. But in January, he told Calderon, who then reported it to Assembly leaders. Garcia was clearly inebriated during the 30- to 35-second episode, Fierro said.

AS SEEN ON FOX NEWS

BUSH BADGE OF HONOR: "The president should wear the tired Bush critiques as a badge of honor. Trump is doing what previous administrations were unwilling or unable to do."  Laura Ingraham, on "The Ingraham Angle," slamming former President George W. Bush's criticism of President Donald Trump's immigration policies during an appearance in Abu Dhabi. WATCH

'A ROTTEN DEAL': "Actually, we're going to bring back Obama-era deficits. I was elected to combat Obama-era deficits."  Sen. Rand Paul, on "Your World with Neil Cavuto" explaining why he held up the Senate's vote on a massive budget deal. WATCH

ACROSS THE NATION

NYPD ignored more than 1,500 federal requests to detain immigrants last year, official says.

Omarosa on 'Celebrity Big Brother': Trump tweets haunted me, had to 'serve' my country.

Prison for woman, 19, who livestreamed drunken-driving crash that killed sister.

2018 WINTER OLYMPICS

Who are the richest U.S. Winter Olympians?

Appeals by 47 Russians against Olympic bans rejected.

North Korea sanctions tested by Nike, Samsung products.

MINDING YOUR BUSINESS

Dow has second-worst day ever. Whats going on? | What will Jamie Dimon do this time?

Retirement savings: Money in accounts like IRAs, on average, now tops $100,000.

Pepsi challenges Coca-Cola with sparkling water line.

NEW IN FOX NEWS OPINION

At National Prayer Breakfast, was Donald Trump channeling Paul Harvey?

Canceling a father-daughter dance is an incredible example of political correctness gone out of control.

Todd Starnes: Godless! Atheists complain about gospel music at MLK Day celebration.

HOLLYWOOD SQUARED

Rose McGowan's former manager Jill Messick, embroiled in Weinstein scandal, commits suicide.

Uma Thurman's 'Kill Bill' crash could have resulted in 'decapitation,' stunt expert says.

Kim Kardashian sparks outrage with topless photo taken by 4-year-old daughter.

DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THIS?

Why the sun will soon get dimmer.

MillerCoors launching fruit-flavored cheap beer aimed at millennials.

Study finds beetle has hugely disgusting survival mechanism.

STAY TUNED

On Fox News:

Fox & Friends, 6 a.m. ET: Pollster Scott Rasmussen explains the "one major difference" between 2010 and 2018 midterm elections; Mike Huckabee and Ben Shapiro weigh in on the budget battle woes in Congress; Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk discusses the threats faced by conservative college students.

Tucker Carlson Tonight, 8 p.m. ET: Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach on why he wants to bring the citizenship question back to the U.S. census.

On Fox Business:

Mornings with Maria, 6 a.m. ET: Guests include: House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady; Jim Kallstrom, former FBI assistant director; Rep. Dave Brat; Howard Lutnick, Cantor Fitzgerald chairman and CEO.

Varney & Company, 9 a.m. ET: Maryland State Sen. Richard Madaleno; Michele Rigby Assad, former undercover officer in the National Clandestine Service of the CIA; Jack Ablin, Cresset Wealth Advisors Chief Investment Officer; Ron Paul, former Texas congressman.

Cavuto: Coast to Coast, Noon ET: David Stockman, former budget director under President Reagan.

On Fox News Radio:

The Fox News Rundown podcast: The 2018 Winter Olympics are underway in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Fox News foreign correspondent Simon Owen discusses ongoing tension between the U.S. and North Korea as the opening ceremonies begin. ISIS and Al-Qaeda have been pushed out of their respective territories, but their methods are evolving. Fox News' Lucas Tomlinson and Bryan Llenas explain. Plus, commentary from Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace.

Want the Fox News Rundown sent straight to your mobile device? Subscribe through Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and Stitcher.

The Brian Kilmeade Show, 9 a.m. ET: Chris Wallace and Chris Stirewalt take on the battle over the budget in Congress and the implications of the second government shutdown in two months. Geraldo and David Bossie take on the top political headlines of the day. eHarmony CEO Grant Langston talks Valentine's Day.

#OnThisDay

1964: The Beatles make their first live American television appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show," broadcast from New York on CBS.

1950: In a speech in Wheeling, W.Va., Sen. Joseph McCarthy, R-Wis., charges the State Department is riddled with Communists.

1870: The U.S. Weather Bureau is established.

Fox News First is compiled by Fox News' Bryan Robinson. Thank you for joining us! Enjoy your day, and weekend! We'll see you in your inbox first thing Monday morning.
A Georgia police officer was killed Friday and two sheriffs deputies were injured while serving an arrest warrant, police said. The slain officer was Chase Maddox, 26, Locust Grove Mayor Robert Price said, according to Fox 5 Atlanta.

The incident occurred around 11 a.m. after two Henry County Sheriffs deputies arrived at a residence in Locust Grove, about 40 miles southeast of Atlanta, Sheriff Keith McBrayer said during a news conference.

"It all happened inside the residence," McBrayer said. "They talked with the individual and after about 10 minutes of talking with him realized they were going to be making an arrest, and they were going to have issues placing him in custody," McBrayer said.

The deputies called for backup, at which point the Locust Grove officer arrived at the scene and an altercation occurred. The shooting began as officers attempted to arrest the male suspect, McBrayer said, but he wouldn't say who fired the first shot or how the situation unfolded.

There was no prior indication that the suspect would be violent, the sheriff said.

The slain officer died at the hospital, according to McBrayer, and was on the force for about five years. Maddox leaves behind a young child and his wife, who was due with their second child any day, Mayor Price said.

"We just can't believe this happened," he said.

The shooter was also killed during the incident, authorities said, and his identity was not going to be released until family members could be notified, according to Nelly Miles, the spokeswoman for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The agency was called in to investigate the shooting.

The injured deputies were identified as Michael D. Corley and Ralph Sidwell "Sid" Callaway, according to the agency.

One of them was in serious condition and having surgery after getting hit below his bullet-proof vest, the sherrif said. The other was hit in the vest and is said to be in fair condition.

Both are veterans of the department, one of whom has served for 20 years, the sheriff said.

Parts of the surrounding area were cordoned off by police, who were also turning away individuals who didn't live in the neighborhood. A nearby elementary school was also put on lockdown.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
It makes sense that its Republicans introducing laws because theyre the ones whose views are out of fashion in the academy now. A 2016 study showed there were 36 speakers disinviited, and pretty much all were conservative.  Thomas Lindsay, director of the Center for Higher Education at the Texas Public Policy Foundation

I went there that day to civilly protest Turning Point USAs Professor Watch List...I brought a polite sign, stood silently and apart from everyone else. If someone encounters opposition, that does not mean their First Amendment rights have been violated.  Amanda Gailey, University of Nebraska professor

I dont want to feel that my ideas are unwelcome on my own campus. They just seem to go to great lengths to shut down the ideas of groups they dont agree with.  Kaitlyn Mullen, University of Nebraska student

The pitched battle over campus free speech is expanding into state legislatures, with eight enacting laws on the issue, and more than a dozen others considering measures aimed at protecting First Amendment rights in colleges and universities.

Florida, Nebraska and Texas are in the midst of acting on introduced bills on campus free speech, and measures are pending in roughly 10 other states.

Republicans are the force behind the bills, which vary from one another on some aspects, but at their core seek to change policies and practices on college campuses that lawmakers and their supporters say disproportionately have been used to censor or curtail conservative speakers and student groups.

Free speech is under pressure. Were seeing a national push-back against censorship and the shout-downs on campuses, said Thomas Lindsay, director of the Center for Higher Education at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative-leaning think tank. It makes sense that its Republicans introducing laws, because theyre the ones whose views are out of fashion.

Lindsay said a 2016 study showed there were 36 speakers disinvited from campuses across the country, and said pretty much all were conservative.

He drew parallels to the free speech campus movement of the 1960s, when it was the left fighting for freedom of speech at colleges.

Lindsay, who testified on the issue recently at a Texas legislative hearing, said violent incidents last year at Berkeley and the University of Missouri brought this issue to the forefront, and its gaining steam."

States that have already enacted campus free speech laws are Virginia, Missouri, Arizona, Colorado, North Carolina, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin, according to the National Council of State Legislatures.

The debates among state lawmakers, unsurprisingly, are playing themselves out largely along party lines.

It makes sense that its Republicans introducing laws because theyre the ones whose views are out of fashion. A 2016 study showed there were 36 speakers disinvited, and pretty much all were conservative.  Thomas Lindsay, director of the Center for Higher Education at the Texas Public Policy Foundation

Republicans generally are fighting for states to, as they see it, protect First Amendment rights on campuses by pushing for measures that ban the common practice of restricting free speech activities -- such as protests or even handing out fliers that take a social or political stand on an issue  to designated areas. Many would like to see colleges drop often-cumbersome criteria for approving a lecture by a high-profile speaker or student political event  which many say are unevenly applied to conservatives.

Many Democrats say the Constitution already protects free speech, and that states have no need to micromanage how colleges handle student demonstrations and speakers. Many also object to the penalties some measures are calling for, such as fining or firing  in the case of professors and other college employees  those who are deemed to have deprived the free speech rights of a person or group.

A Florida bill approved by the Senate Education Committee, for instance, bans free speech zones on campuses and allows for suing the institution up to $100,000 in damages if the First Amendment rights of a speaker or protester are willfully violated.

This is to address a flourishing of the limitation of free speech, particularly across the country, said bill sponsor Sen. Dennis Baxley, a Republican, according to the Gainesville Sun. Many of our universities are restricting free speech to free-speech zones. And theres something antithetical about a free-speech environment saying you can only do it in this little square.

Democrat Sen. Perry Thurston unsuccessfully fought for the elimination of the liability provision, saying it presented a huge financial burden to colleges and universities that likely would be targeted in lawsuits.

This bill will chill freedom of expression on our states college campuses, said Kara Gross, policy counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, to the Orlando Sentinel. Because it would be up to our states institutions of higher learning to expend significant resources in defending against such frivolous lawsuits, this bill incentivizes those institutions to restrict students speech and peaceful assembly out of concern that someone might boo too loudly.

Nebraska lawmakers are debating a campus free speech measure introduced by Republican State Sen. Steve Halloran following an incident that made national headlines last year. A student at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln who set up a table near the Student Union to recruit new members for her conservative group, Turning Point USA, was confronted by a graduate teaching assistant and two faculty members  an incident that reduced Kaitlyn Mullen, 20, to tears, and prompted her to go home.

I brought a polite sign, stood silently and apart from everyone elseI oppose that organization (Turning Point USA) but I do not oppose her right to advocate for it and I would not harass a student. If someone encounters opposition, that does not mean their First Amendment rights have been violated.  University of Nebraska professor Amanda Gailey

The graduate teaching assistant, Courtney Lawton, flipped off Mullen and called her a neo-fascist, videos of the incident show. The footage also shows Lawton saying, among other things, that the student wants to destroy public schools, public universities.

A professor, Amanda Gailey, stood farther away than the others, off to the side of Mullen with a sign that read: Turning Point: Please put me on your watch list. Prof. Amanda Gailey. Turning Point USA advocates for conservative causes and maintains a professor watch list of faculty it views as radically liberal.

Gailey said her intention was to express her opposition to Turning Point USA, which liberal groups say conducts witchhunts of professors who hold views they find objectionable. Critics of the group say Turning Points actions are not harmless because they encourage, even if inadvertently, threats and harassment of liberal professors.

I went there that day to civilly protest Turning Point USAs Professor Watch List, Gailey told Fox News. I brought a polite sign, stood silently and apart from everyone else  I oppose that organization but I do not oppose her right to advocate for it, and I would not harass a student. If someone encounters opposition, that does not mean their First Amendment rights have been violated.

Gailey said that when she saw Mullen become upset, she put down the sign to check on the student.

Mullen said she did not anticipate the tensions that erupted over her idea to set up a table  which she manned by herself -- in an area on campus that had heavy traffic, and to raise awareness about Turning Point USA. Mullen sees the incident as a vivid illustration of anti-conservative aggression happening around college campuses.

I dont want to feel that my ideas are unwelcome on my own campus, she said. Ive gotten a lot of support, but also Ive heard from a lot of people who dont think I should be on campus, or that my club should be allowed on campus. We have a socialist group on campus, Ive seen them set their table up to recruit members. They just seem to go to great lengths to shut down the ideas of groups they dont agree with.

Gailey notes that she does not agree with designated free speech zones, saying that in general "most public places on campus should be open to free speech."

The university later decided not to renew Lawtons teaching contract, and has made changes to ensure free speech. Theyve made the right decision, Mullen said. Its disappointing that it took so long.

Lawton did not respond to messages from Fox News seeking a comment.

Lindsay said the free speech debates, as contentious as they are, occurring among college administrators and state lawmakers, speak well for the country.

"Everyone sees there is a problem, and everyone agrees on affirming the primacy of free speech," he said. "That is very heartening."

"The country is very polarized in many ways," Lindsay said. "That means there's growing anger on both sides. And when we become angry, we refuse to listen, and that is when the First Amendment is most in jeopardy, and it is also when the First Amendment is most needed."
A Las Vegas police officer -- who reportedly had been assigned to guard the door to gunman Stephen Paddocks hotel room during the Oct. 1 massacre -- barricaded himself in his home Wednesday evening, prompting an hourslong standoff with police and a police SWAT unit.

Officer Bret Theil, 38, of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, had recently been indicted on more than two dozen kidnapping and sexual assault charges involving a child, authorities said. The alleged offenses occurred between August 2005 and January 2007, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

Following Theil's arrest, a police spokesperson confirmed the officer was to be relieved of duty without pay.

Authorities responded to reports around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday of a suicidal man barricading himself in his home near Corn Creek  a desert area about 30 minutes north of metro Las Vegas.

The standoff ended around 5:30 a.m. Thursday, police said. Theil was taken into custody and booked into the Las Vegas Detention Center, the Review-Journal reported, citing police information.

According to the Review-Journal, Theil faces a slew of charges involving kidnapping, lewdness, sexual assault, and child abuse, neglect or endangerment  all of which involved minors. His bail was set at $1 million.

Theil has been a Las Vegas Metro officer since August 1998, Metro Officer Adan Ocampo-Gomez told the Las Vegas Sun.

North Las Vegas police said they would not provide more information because the investigation is ongoing.

Theil's role in the Oct. 1 police response was reported by Intellihub.com, which cited a Las Vegas police report.
Las Vegas police on the hunt for a potential serial killer say another homeless man has been found dead, this time in a desert northwest of Sin City.

Authorities announced Thursday that the body of Michael Hadley, 25, was found on Feb. 3 by people riding horses in Cold Creek, and it appeared that he was the victim of a homicide.

Police did not say though if the death might be tied to a potential serial killer who is still on the prowl after shooting four men and killing two in Logandale and Las Vegas. Three of those shot were homeless and investigators said the same gun was used in all the attacks, which took place from Jan. 29 to Feb. 2.

After killing two people and shooting two others, if he isnt [a serial killer], hes on his way to being one, Las Vegas Metro Police Department Capt. Robert Plummer said earlier this week.

Police said Hadley is also a homeless man and it is unclear how long his body was in the desert before it was found, or how he was killed.

Investigators working the case say Hadley was known to frequent the area of Charleston Boulevard and Bruce Street in Las Vegas, where a strip mall and numerous restaurants and businesses are located.

Detectives are seeking any information about this incident, or Hadleys whereabouts in the weeks before his body was found, a police press release said.

Those with information are urged to call the LVMPDs Homicide division at 702-828-3521.
A New Hampshire woman who claims to have won a $560 million Powerball jackpot -- but is fighting to remain anonymous -- is losing about $14,000 a day in interest, her attorney says.

Steven Gordon is trying to fast-track a court hearing in the case, telling the New Hampshire Union Leader that time is of the essence in this matter.

The winning ticket, purchased in January at Reeds Ferry Market in Merrimack, N.H., translates to a lump-sum cash prize of $352 million before taxes and $268 million after taxes.

The woman, who has not yet submitted her winning ticket to the New Hampshire Lottery Commission, is referred to as Jane Doe in the court documents.

Pushing the resolution of this case into March will subject Ms. Doe to serious and irreparable financial harm, Gordon told the Union Leader.

"Pushing the resolution of this case into March will subject Ms. Doe to serious and irreparable financial harm."  Steven Gordon, attorney for anonymous Powerball winner from New Hampshire

Privacy is a primary concern for the woman, a longtime resident of New Hampshire and an engaged community member who does not want to be known or targeted as the winner of a half-billion dollars, the Union Leader reported, citing court documents.

Gordon is hoping to expedite the hearing from Feb. 21 to Feb. 13, and the judge is reviewing the request, the paper reported.

The purported winner plans to contribute a portion of her prize to a charitable foundation, the report said.

Click here for more from the New Hampshire Union Leader.
How many people have to die or be crippled for life on I-24 and I-75 in Chattanooga by speeding tractor trailers before somebody sets up radar to control these monsters?

The fiery crash at the Moore Road exit Wednesday and the mangled fatal crash at the Rossville Boulevard exit the day before, both on I-24, were as result of uncontrollable speed by these "professional" drivers.

Going east below the ridge cut these trucks routinely hit 75 + MPH and there is no way they can stop for cars trying to merge onto the interstate.

The word is out that no law enforcement agency claims jurisdiction for the freeways within the city limits. The big trucks are killing Chattanoogans and nobody seems to care.

Harry Presley

* * *

Most deaths in large truck crashes are passenger vehicle occupants. The main problem is the vulnerability of people traveling in smaller vehicles. Trucks often weigh 20-30 times as much as passenger cars and are taller with greater ground clearance, which can result in smaller vehicles under-riding trucks in crashes.

Truck braking capability can be a factor in truck crashes. Loaded tractor-trailers take 20-40 percent farther than cars to stop, and the discrepancy is greater on wet and slippery roads. And yet, the cars still just pull out in front of them or cut them off before hitting their brakes. All this, mind you, while talking or texting.

So enjoy your stuff today because those monsters brought it to you.

BTW - The only thing I see killing Chattanoogans are Chattanoogans.

Michael Burns

* * *

I will admit that the trucks are moving freight across the country. The problem is there are too many on the highway and they will not stay out of the passing lane. The state could fix this by enforcing a speed limit and keep them in the right hand lane.The trucks are the reason that traffic backs up on the Ridge cut everyday.

Look at North Carolina. They enforce the speed limit and they know if they get into the passing lane they will be pulled over and I would bet that the fatalities caused by the trucks is way lower than the state of Tennessee.

Again, someone is being paid off by the industry and not looking out for the people who are paying the price.

Randy Saunders

* * *

This week Chattanooga police officers responded to a fatal crash at 17900 I-24 East and another multi-vehicle crash at 18500 I-24 East. No information has been released by the Chattanooga Police Department indicating uncontrollable speed played a factor in either crash.

The Chattanooga Police Departments Traffic Unit continues to investigate the fatal crash at 17900 I-24 East that occurred on Feb. 6. As previously released by CPD, a Honda Civic was entering the interstate from Market Street and attempted to change lanes too close to a Freightliner, the Civic then spun across all lanes of travel and into and under a Kenworth Class 8 truck. At this time, the investigation remains open and ongoing.

The multi-vehicle crash at 18500 I-24 East also was not a result of uncontrollable speed. It was determined by responding CPD Officers that the driver of a Chevy pickup truck lost control on wet roadway and struck the concrete dividing wall. Three vehicles then crashed into the pickup, the last one being a Freightliner. Not involved in the crash was a semi that caught fire. The driver stated his bunk heater caught his sleeper cab on fire and it spread. This vehicle did not strike anything, just happened to be in the same area as the crash.

The Chattanooga Police Department is the primary agency for all roadways including the interstate highways, within the city limits. We share jurisdiction within the city limits with other agencies such as the Hamilton County Sheriffs Office and the Tennessee Highway Patrol. The CPD Traffic Unit works with these agencies on a continuing basis to enforce all traffic statutes to reduce crashes and save lives.

It is the mission of the Chattanooga Police Department to keep you, your family, and our community safe, including the traveling public on all roadways within the city limits.

Elisa Myzal

Communications Coordinator

Chattanooga Police Department

* * *

Ms. Myzal ... that was a well orchestrated non-answer. Please tell us why speed limits are not enforced on interstates within Chattanooga city limits.

Robert Grier

* * *

Ms. Myzal,

I appreciate your feedback and I support the efforts to enforce traffic laws. However, I share the concerns that there seems to be a lack of enforcement (or lack of police presence) during certain times of the day. The speeders, including truckers, are well aware of this.

I get on the ramp toward I24E from S. Market Street and ride it out to the Lee Highway exit. At times, I have been forced to miss the 75N split because of speeders. Frequently, I am forced to miss the Lee Highway exit because of the speeders and the fast approaching traffic at the Lee Highway ramp. What a nightmare! Flowing with traffic around the Ridge cut is even more dreadful during the commute in the evening.

Regardless of the cause of those two accidents, speed has played a role in other accidents on this stretch of highway. The bottom line is that we are all seeking solutions on this matter. Perhaps one solution would be to increase police presence during the morning and evening commutes. Flashing police lights will get the attention of most speeders.

Karen Lee
A Massachusetts teen who believed he was being led to a remote area to smoke marijuana with a match on a popular dating app was dragged out a car and attacked with a baton in an unexpected ambush, police say.

The victim, whose exact age and identity were not made public, reportedly told Haverhill police that he was lured to the attack by a man he met on Grindr.

The teen told police that he thought he was being taken to Millvale Reservoir on Saturday night to smoke marijuana and was picked up in a car by Lorenco Gjegji, 19, and Joshua Blanchard, 18, Fox 25 Boston reported.

After the car parked by the woods, two more cars pulled up, police say. The victim was then thrown out of the vehicle and repeatedly punched, kicked and beaten with a baton, the station added, citing court documents.

The suspects  which include Gjegji, Blanchard, 18-year-old Cade Ford, 19-year-old Joseph Clohisy, of Haverhill and 18-year-old Richard Pedro  then reportedly stole the victims Air Jordan sneakers, $140 in cash and his cell phone before dumping him in Haverhill, according to Fox 25 Boston.

A police log viewed by the station said the victim was admitted to a local hospital Sunday night with extensive injuries including a possible concussion, although his condition was not immediately known Friday.

The motive for the attack is also unknown, but the five suspects are being held without bail ahead of a court appearance Friday. They have been charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, kidnapping and armed robbery.

The families of the accused did not want to speak when approached by a Fox 25 Boston reporter at their homes.
A 17-year-old MS-13 gang member was sentenced to 40 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to the horrific murder of a teenager who was stabbed 153 times at a Maryland park in 2016.

Prosecutors called the death of 17-year-old Christian Villagran Morales at the hands of Juan Gutierrez-Vazquez demonic. One other has been sentenced and another two are awaiting trial for the gruesome killing.

In court on Thursday, prosecutor Robert Hill said Gutierrez-Vasquez had just turned 16 when he agreed to take part in the brutal murder. His job, Hill said, was to hold down the victim while other gang members took turns stabbing Morales, a total of 153 times, Fox 5 DC reported.

Hill said Gutierrez-Vasquez had been a member of the MS-13 gang before coming to the United States from El Salvador.

According to authorities, the gang members believed Morales was part a rival gang after he allegedly flashed gang signs to three people he had just met, not knowing there were part of the notorious MS-13 gang.

He did flash some gang signs trying to impress these young men who were around him and he did not realize that they were part of MS-13, and that did cause them to report back to their hierarchy, Ramon Korionoff, spokesperson for the Montgomery County States Attorneys Office, told Fox 5 DC. In fact, he was greenlighted because of that.

Authorities said Morales may have been lured to the park by Vanesa Alvarado, who promised him sex, and then by the gang members who offered to smoke weed with him. Instead, they killed him.

The other two suspects were identified as Oscar Delgago-Perez and Jose Coreas Ventura.

Alvarado, 20, was sentenced to 40 years in prison in May 2017.

On Thursday, Gutierrez-Vazquezs lawyer asked for mercy, saying the teenager had a horrible childhood and only acted along with the gang due to peer pressure.

Im sorry, but my life was in danger, Gutierrez-Vazquez said during his sentencing hearing. Maybe they can forgive me. God has already forgiven me.

Morales mother told reporters that she was felt tranquil after the sentencing.

There was some justice, she said through a translator.
Enzo Russell spent his sixth birthday with a handful of new friends -- police officers from Kissimmee Police Department in Florida.

The officers gave the 6-year-old boy, the nephew of fallen Kissimmee Police Sgt. Richard "Sam" Howard, a gift he'll never forget. He was sworn in as a police officer on Wednesday, ready to continue the legacy his 10-year veteran uncle left behind.

"I Enzo, being a special policeman, promise that I'll be a good boy, that I will always love my parents," Russell repeated after Kissimmee Police Chief Jeff ODell during an informal swearing-in ceremony. "I will always love other policeman. I will always do my best. I will always have my badge with me."

The police department posted a minute-long video of the ceremony on Facebook and congratulated Russell on joining the force.

"Officer Enzos swearing in with Uncle Sams photo behind him. #KeepingTheMomentum," the department posted on Wednesday.

The post was viewed nearly 4,000 times and received several comments.

"Welcome to the brotherhood, Enz," one Facebook user commented.

"I love the 'promises' you gave Officer Enzo to uphold, Chief O'Dell," another wrote. "Truly good of all of us to do our best to keep!"

Howard, 36, was killed in the line of duty in August 2017.

He was responding to a call about three suspicious persons, alongside fellow officer Matthew Baxter. The police officers were shot shortly after their arrival.

Baxter died from his injuries minutes after the shooting and Howard died the next day, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

Theyre two wonderful men, Kissimmee Police Chief Jeff ODell told the local newspaper at the time. They are two officers who are committed to doing it the right way. They are both very committed to the community.

Everett Glenn Miller, 47, is accused of shooting both of the cops in the head. Miller was arrested at a nearby bar after the shooting and is now being held in Osceola County Jail.
A young woman in California has been sentenced to more than six years in prison for driving drunk while livestreaming the crash that killed her younger sister.

The Merced Sun Star reported that Obdulia Sanchez, 19, was sentenced Thursday after being convicted of gross vehicular manslaughter, DUI and child endangerment stemming from the July crash.

The car driven by Sanchez veered onto the shoulder of a road in Los Banos, about 100 miles south of San Francisco. Authorities say she overcorrected, causing the vehicle to swerve and overturn. Ejected and killed was her 14-year-old sister, Jacqueline.

Prosecutors say Sanchez was livestreaming on Instagram while driving, and the video shows her taking her hands off the steering wheel.

I didnt even know I looked like a monster  I look like a freaking horrible monster, Sanchez said in court last July.

That was not my intention at all. I just didnt know the video was so horrible.

Sanchez admitted that she often livestreamed on Instagram while driving, saying she would do it all the time.

Trust me, its like a reflex, she said. Everybody does it. Everybody does. They take Snapchats. Why not? People take video of them in cars like all the time.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A teen accused of shooting a police officers dog while trying to intimidate a boy who talked to his girlfriend will be tried as an adult, a Virginia judge has ruled.

The 17-year-old will appear in adult court on charges of armed burglary, conspiracy and animal cruelty, the Virginian-Pilot reported.

Teens 14 and older charged with certain violent crimes are tried as adults, according to Virginia state law. The charges against the 17-year-old were not part of the law, allowing Judge Deborah Bryan to exercise her judgment based on the teens history and evidence, the newspaper reported.

Authorities said the Virginia Beach resident was upset that another boy had been communicating with his girlfriend and planned to fight or scare him Dec. 17 at the rival's  where he lived with his police officer cousin, the Virginian-Pilot reported.

Officer Jerome Scurry was home at the time when the 17-year-old -- accompanied by two friends and his girlfriend -- arrived at the home. When the rival teen refused to step outside, the 17-year-old and a friend kicked the door down and entered with guns drawn, authorities said.

Scurry grabbed his service weapon to confront the intruders, but his pit bull Zulu responded first, charging at the teens. That's when the 17-year-old allegedly shot the dog.

Zulu underwent emergency surgery and was expected to make a full recovery, WAVY-TV said.

Hes doing good, Scurry told the station. Hes bouncing back to normal. Hes a strong dog.

The 17-year-old was ordered to remain in juvenile detention without bond until the court date. His attorney planned to appeal the judges ruling.
One of President Trumps main goals in office is to combat the notoriously violent MS-13 gang.

The gang, responsible for dozens of gruesome deaths throughout the U.S., was designated a priority last year by the Department of Justices Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force. Prosecutors are able to pursue any legal avenue to target MS-13, according to Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Read on for a look at the gang and the Trump administrations fight against it.

What is MS-13?

MS-13 was started by Central American immigrants, mainly from El Salvador, in Los Angeles in the 1980s. It has expanded since to include Hondurans, Guatemalans, Mexicans and other Central and South Americans.

MS-13s motto is mata, viola, controla  which means "kill, rape, control," according to Robert Hur, an official with the Justice Department.

They seek to live up to this motto through truly shocking acts of violence designed to instill fear: vicious machete attacks, execution-style gunshots, gang rape and human trafficking.

Gang members perpetuate a number of various criminal acts, according to the FBI, including: murder, rape, home invasions, kidnapping, carjacking and robbery. The FBI said most of the crimes are carried out against members of rival gangs, but often innocent people are hurt as well.

Is it a big threat?

MS-13 recruits are middle- and high-school students, predominantly in immigrant communities, who are said to risk violent retribution if they leave.

Authorities estimate the group has tens of thousands of members across several Central American countries and many U.S. states. MS-13's presence is higher in the western and northeastern parts of the U.S., according to the FBI.

OFFICIALS DETAIL BEST WAYS TO COMBAT MS-13

The gang is believed to be behind at least 25 killings on Long Island in the past two years. Many teenagers on Long Island have been held on gang accusations, swept up in various federal investigations.

What has the Trump administration said about MS-13?

Trump called on Congress to finally close the deadly loopholes that have allowed MS-13 members into the U.S. during his first State of the Union address. He also acknowledged parents of MS-13 victims  some of whom were guests of the White House for the speech  and said the country is praying for you.

Trump has often blamed the Obama administration for the rise of MS-13 across the country. The gang was sanctioned as a transnational criminal organization by the Treasury Department in 2012.

Trump's Justice and Homeland Security Departments have made targeting the gang a top priority. Sessions instructed his department's law enforcement agencies and federal prosecutors across the country to prioritize MS-13 members prosecution, as directed by an executive order Trump signed in February 2017.

The classification of MS-13 allows some local police departments to tap into federal money to help with investigations. Suffolk County was granted $500,000 by the federal government.

Trump has used the word "animals" to describe members of MS-13, and says he will continue to use the term when speaking about members of the gang.



In July 2017, Trump visited Brentwood, N.Y., a town that has experienced firsthand the tragedy caused by MS-13, and pledged to push Congress for additional federal immigration agents to crack down on gang members who are in the country illegally. He is back on Long Island in May 2018 to hold a roundtable discussion on gang violence.

What are some of MS-13s more notable killings?

-Two teenage girls from Brentwood, N.Y. were found dead after being brutally beaten and cut in September 2016. Kayla Cuevas, 16, was targeted by gang members and her friend, 15-year-old Nisa Mickens, tried to scare off the attackers, WPIX-TV reported.

-The remains of Oscar Acosta, a 19-year-old high school senior, were found in a wooded area in Brentwood in September 2016. Acosta, who had been missing for months, came to the U.S. from El Salvador and had told his mother he was worried about gangs, she told WNBC-TV.

-The remains of Miguel Garcia-Moran were found in the same area as Acostas in September 2016. He was 15 years old at the time of his death and had been missing since February. Police said he was the victim of a homicidal beating.

-Damaris Reyes Rivas, 15, was killed in January 2017 and found one month later buried under railroad ties. The teenager, from Gaithersburg, Maryland, was stabbed multiple times by MS-13 gang members who filmed the brutal attack. Venus Romero Iraheta, who was 17 at the time of the attack, pleaded guilty in 2018 to the murder. She told Reyes Rivas dont forget my name during the slaying, Iraheta told investigators.

-Police in Nassau County charged Kevin Granados-Coreas, 19, and Carlos Portillo, 22, with second-degree murder in the killing of Julio Cesar Gonzales-Espantzay. Police said MS-13 gang members lured the 19-year-old with the promise of marijuana and sex before they hacked him to death in a park. Gonzales-Espantzay was not a gang member, police said.

-Prosecutors said Christian Villagran Morales was stabbed more than 153 times in a Maryland park. Juan Gutierrez-Vazquez took part in the 2016 killing, holding down the victim while other gang members took turns stabbing him, prosecutors said. Gutierrez-Vazquez pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 40 years in prison. Vanesa Alvarado, who was accused of luring Morales to the park, was also sentenced to 40 years in jail.

-The bodies of four young men, ranging in ages from 16 to 20, were found in April 2017 in a park in Central Islip, N.Y. Police said all had signs of significant trauma. Justin Llivicura, 16; Michael Lopez Banegas, 20; Jefferson Villalobos, 18; and Jorge Tigre, 18; were reportedly lured to the park by two women associated with MS-13 before they were ambushed by more than a dozen gang members armed with wooden clubs and machetes.

-Angel Soler was 15 years old when he went missing in July 2017. His body was found a few months later in the Roosevelt hamlet of Long Island, police said. Soler was hacked to death with a machete as he was attacked by a group of people, police said. Several MS-13 members have been indicted or charged in connection to his murder.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Australian lawmakers are debating introducing a U.S.-style ban on legislators having sex with staff after the deputy prime minister and a former staffer were revealed to be expectant parents.

The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a resolution prohibiting members from engaging in sexual relationships with staff. On the same day, Australian newspapers reported that Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce and his former press adviser Vikki Campion are expecting a baby in April.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said on Friday that while lawmakers were accountable, they also have a right to consensual sexual relationships.

Some independent and minor party lawmakers see merit in the Australian Parliament considering a similar ban. But those in major parties are talking down the prospect.
The remains of at least six individuals were found on a Canadian property, reportedly connected to a man currently facing murder charges, authorities said Thursday.

Det. St. Hank Idsinga of the Toronto police said Bruce McArthur, 66, who was arrested in January in connection to the presumed deaths of five men, used the Toronto property as storage in exchange for doing landscaping jobs.

The remains were found in planters on the property and some of them belonged to Andrew Kinsman, whom McArthur is accused of killing, Idsinga said.

LANDSCAPER, MALL SANTA CLAUS WHO SOUGHT SUBMISSIVE MEN IS ALLEGED SERIAL KILLER, POLICE SAY

McArthur, a former landscaper and shopping mall Santa Claus, was described by authorities last month as an alleged serial killer after he was accused of murdering at least five people.

The suspect was first arrested on Jan. 18 and charged with two counts of first degree murder in connection to the disappearances of Kinsman and Selim Esen, two men last seen in the Gay Village district of Toronto.

More than a week later, he was charged again for allegedly murdering three other people after dismembered remains were found hidden in the bottoms of large planters. Idsinga said at the time that the remains had not been identified. McArthur was accused of killing Majeed Kayhan, Soroush Marmudi and Dean Lisowick.

"The city of Toronto has never seen anything like this," Idsinga said at the time. "It is unprecedented and draining. He's an alleged serial killer and he's taken some steps to cover his tracks."

A TORONTO-AREA MALL SANTA IS SUSPECTED OF KILLING 2 MEN

Authorities have not yet determined whether the remains belong to the men whom McArthur is accused of killing or other people.

The house and garage that sits on the property was searched by authorities. Officials are also digging up a portion of the lawn where the remains were found.

They have also checked at least 30 other places where McArthur had worked.

Police have said that they expect to find more remains in planters theyve recovered from around the city. So far, 15 have now been retrieved, Idsinga said.

Investigators have not yet released complete details, but McArthur is believed to have met his victims driving around the city in the van he used for work and on gay dating apps for older and large men with names such as "SilverDaddies" and "Bear411."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A French appeals court has upheld the far-right National Front's decision to expel party founder Jean-Marie Le Pen over anti-Semitic remarks.

The decision Friday by the court in Versailles is a stinging defeat for the man who for decades embodied France's anti-immigrant far right. It's a victory for his daughter and rival Marine Le Pen, party president and runnerup in last year's French presidential election.

Jean-Marie Le Pen sued the National Front for expelling him in 2015, but a lower court in 2016 confirmed the party's decision. Controversial father and ambitious daughter are in a long-running power struggle over the party's identity.

The court also confirmed a lower court ruling that the 89-year-old Le Pen can retain the symbolic status of party president for life. However, the party may eliminate the position next month.
The German government says another German national held in Turkey on what Berlin considers political grounds has been released from custody.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Rainer Breul said the man was released on Monday, but proceedings against him continue and he isn't allowed to leave Turkey. He wouldn't give further details Friday on the case.

Breul said the release reduces to six the number of German citizens still held in Turkey for what his government considers political reasons.

The jailing of German or German-Turkish nationals over terror-related allegations has been a major irritant in German-Turkish relations over the past year. A number have been released in recent months but the most prominent case  that of journalist Deniz Yucel, a correspondent for German daily Die Welt  remains unresolved.
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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...

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An international rights group has urged Myanmar's military to ensure humanitarian aid reaches all civilians who have been affected by clashes in the country's north between the army and an ethnic armed group.

Hostilities between Myanmar's military and guerrillas of the Kachin Independence Army escalated in mid-January to include three townships of Kachin state. The Kachin force is one of the most powerful ethnic militias and has skirmished with the military after a 17-year-old cease-fire pact broke down in 2011. Since then, more than 120,000 people have been displaced in the region along the border with China.

New York-based Human Rights Watch urged in a statement Friday that Myanmar's military allow humanitarian aid access to civilians caught up in the military's current offensive utilizing heavy weapons and airstrikes.
Several scientists working at a highly-guarded Russian facility that produced the Soviet Unions first nuclear bomb reportedly have been arrested after trying to use one of the supercomputers there to acquire Bitcoins.

The scientists were caught after the computer  which is supposed to be disconnected from the Internet to prevent intrusions  went online, the BBC reported, citing Russian media.

"There has been an unsanctioned attempt to use computer facilities for private purposes including so-called mining," said a statement from the Federal Nuclear Centre in Sarov.

Popular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin dont rely on a set of centralized servers but instead get the power for transactions from a network of computers around the globe. Those who donate processing power can be rewarded with Bitcoins, the BBC reports.

"As far as we are aware, a criminal case has been launched against them," the Interfax News Agency was quoted as saying.

The Federal Nuclear Centre has a supercomputer with a capacity of 1 petaflop, good for about 1,000 trillion calculations per second, according to the BBC.

The town of Sarov is guarded with barbed-wire fences and special permits are the only way to get inside.
A United Nations agency has been accused of breaking Israeli law by improperly expanding its Jerusalem headquarters.

According to Regavim, an Israeli non-governmental organization (NGO), the accusations include illegal encroachment and seizure of public property.

The agency being blamed is the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization. Incidentally, UNTSO is based in the same south Jerusalem neighborhood where the new U.S. Embassy will soon relocate, following President Donald Trumps decision to move it from Tel Aviv last year.

Regavim says it first discovered the U.N. agency's building activity in March of last year, and petitioned Israels Supreme Court to get the government to enforce the law.

The NGO describes itself as a research-based think tank and lobbying group dedicated to the preservation of Israels resources and protection of Israeli sovereignty through unbiased application and enforcement of the law.

Regavims spokesperson, Naomi Kahn, showed Fox News aerial pictures that she said reveals the illegal building. She explained that the unlawful work include demolition of historic buildings, construction of an illegal storage facility and a gas station, which she said has caused environmental damage to the surrounding area. Kahn said, To make matters worse, the compound has grown through illegal encroachment and seizure of public property from 11 acres to just over 19.

Eugene Kontorovich, a professor of international and constitutional law at Northwestern University, told Fox News that Regavims lawsuit is aimed against the Israeli government to compel them to enforce the law, but the U.N. is shielded by its longstanding immunity. Immunity means they cannot be sued in court  even if the court agrees their action is unlawful.

He said, The U.N. is behaving absolutely lawlessly in Jerusalem. Even if it considers Israel an occupying power, it is bound to heed the municipal and safety regulations of such a power, which are entirely lawful. The U.N. does not own the building and does not pay rent.

Last summer an understanding was reportedly reached between U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during Guterres visit to Israel. Its unclear what was exactly agreed upon since neither side responded to Fox News with a clear answer.

When asked by Fox News for an update, Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman for the U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, said he had nothing new: No, no change that Im able to report to you.

An Israeli official in Jerusalem who spoke on condition of anonymity told Fox News that, Like all democracies, Israel is a country where the rule of law is of utmost importance. No individual, or international organization, is above these laws and we expect everyone who visits or is stationed in our country to abide by them.

Kontorovich, who is also head of international law at the Kohelet Policy Forum, a Jerusalem think tank said he believes the state of negotiations are unclear at this stage telling Fox News that, The U.N. is not going to concede anything.

Asked by Fox News whether the U.N. was hiding behind diplomatic immunity, its spokesman Dujarric told Fox News, I think that those would be wrong accusations.

Kontorovich said he believes Trumps recognition of Jerusalem as Israels capital should encourage the government of Israel to assert its sovereignty over the site and block the illegal U.N. settlement activities. They can do this, for example, by demanding payment or rent, barring contractors from doing illegal work at the site, and even offer the premises to the U.S. as a location, or an annex for the new embassy, which will be in the same neighborhood.

The UNTSO headquarters sits on Israeli territory captured in the 1967 Six Day War. The U.N. took over the buildings in the 1950s and it has housed the UNTSO, which was originally set up to monitor a truce between Israel and its Arab neighbors following Israels War of Independence in 1948. The building used to house the British High Commissioner during the times of the British mandate, and was used as its headquarters.

According to Regavim, the U.N. signed a rental agreement which allowed them to continue to use the site free of charge to house UNTSOs ceasefire activities. But critics now say that should be null and void since two of the three countries it was monitoring, Jordan and Egypt, have peace treaties with Israel, and Syria is in the middle of a civil war.

Regavim spokesperson Naomi Kahn slammed the U.N. Not only does the U.N. deny Israel's historic connection to Jerusalem, it violates Israeli law, spits in the face of Israel's democratically elected government and its Supreme Court, and fails to honor the commitments Secretary General Guterres made to Prime Minister Netanyahu.

Questions sent to the spokesperson for UNTSO went unanswered.
Visiting Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi said in Washington on Thursday that China and the United States could address their bilateral trade issues through more open markets and "making a bigger cake of cooperation."

Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson meet with media before their talks on bilateral relations on February 8, 2018 in Washington. [Photo: China Plus/Liu Kun]

While meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Yang said he hoped the U.S. side could meet China halfway to ensure the stable and healthy development of bilateral ties in the long run. He said that positive China-U.S. ties are in the best interests of both peoples and the world.



He said China-U.S. economic and trade relations are reciprocal in nature, bringing huge benefits to the two peoples.

He urged the two nations to cooperate in such areas as energy, infrastructure construction and the Belt and Road Initiative, as well as enhance coordination on international economic concerns.

For his part, Tillerson said the U.S. side is willing to work with China to solve bilateral economic and trade issues in a more effective manner.

The China-U.S. trade ties have been bumpy since the Trump administration assumed office. The administration has threatened to limit Chinese investment, exports and visa applications.

Last April the Trump administration launched a so-called 232 investigation into imported steel products, a rarely-used trade tool to limit imports on the grounds of protecting national security.

On Aug. 18, 2017, it initiated an investigation into Chinese intellectual property and technology transfers under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. Trump also approved in January steep tariffs on imported washers and solar cells and modules.

Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Michael O'Hanlon predicted more "ongoing, specific, targeted" trade measures against China for years to come.

Douglas Paal, vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, also told Xinhua that he expects further U.S. tariffs, fines and exclusions on a range of products from China and elsewhere, although "whether these measures will be more substantial or symbolic remains to be determined."

For its part, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce launched in February an anti-dumping and counter-veiling investigation against sorghum imported from the United States. It also responded to the U.S. actions by saying that China would take "all appropriate measures" to defend its legal interests.

"America does not hold the trump card in its economic relations with China," said Stephen S. Roach, a Yale University expert, adding that getting tough on China while ignoring those consequences could be "a blunder of epic proportions."

Josef Braml, a research associate at the think-tank German Council on Foreign Relations, also noted that other nations might move closer to China, seeking more economic and monetary arrangements with the Asian country to offset Trump's protectionist trade measures.




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EU wheat exports have slumped to their slowest rate since 2011 creating a surplus of stocks that could put a ceiling on rising UK prices, according to AHDB analysts.

The slowdown in exports from the EU on to world markets is due to the strength of the euro and greater availability of stocks in Black Sea countries.

The euro hit its highest point against the US dollar for more than three years on 2 February at 1:$1.2492 making EU wheat less competitive on world markets.

At the same time Russia harvested a bumper crop in 2017 and the latest USDA export forecasts put 2017-18 Russian wheat exports at 33.5m tonnes, AHDB analyst James Webster explained.

See also: Dorset wheat crops look free of disease for now

In the latest Egyptian wheat tenders, Russian wheat dominated. The cheapest offer from Russia at $192.45/t was $15.55/t under the French offer, Mr Webster added.

The combination means just 2.6m tonnes of soft wheat has been exported from Europe since mid-December 2017, the lowest amount since 2011-12.

Total exports up

The total export for the season so far is also well down. Up until 28 January 12.2m tonnes had been exported, 2.8m tonnes lower year on year and the lowest volume for five seasons.

The lack of export means there is more available for home markets.

And, with global grain availability high, wheat prices have fallen. Imported EU feed wheat (East Coast quotes) has seen a fall, down 3/t from 11 September to the start of February.

But that contrasts strongly with the UK situation which has been experiencing flat or rising UK delivered prices.

Peter Collier, AHDB analyst said central Scotland delivered feed wheat prices had risen by 7.50/t from 145.50/t on 15 September to 153.00/t at the end of January.

Likewise, Yorkshire delivered prices had also climbed, up 5.50/t from mid-September to the end of January, Mr Collier said.

Limited availability

That was due to the limited availability in the UK caused by a poor harvest and high demand for compound feed.

Mr Collier said the UK surplus available for either export or free stock at 1.1m tonnes was down by 35% on year earlier figures.

This has pushed up prices to date, but the falling price of imports and high supply meant buyers were looking to source wheat from abroad.

At dockside there is only a 2-3/t difference between home-grown wheat in imports and, although it should not push prices down, it will create a ceiling that could slow further upward movement, Mr Collier suggested.
Farmers who have seen sheep scab (psoroptic mange) in their flocks in the past 10 years are being urged to complete a 10-minute anonymous online survey.

Results from the sheep scab survey will go towards formulating effective control strategies for the future and help calculate the direct costs of sheep scab to flockmasters.

This is according to leading scab expert Peter Bates of Veterinary Medical Entomology Consultancy who says the condition costs the UK sheep sector about 8m annually.

Costs to the producer and the obvious suffering of the affected sheep should be the obvious reasons for effective control, he told Farmers Weekly.

Costs of scab come from lower performance and costs of treatment.

See also: Test and dip is best approach for national scab control

The survey is being run by the University of Surrey.

Sheep scab in numbers 18 days  how long scab mites survive in the environment and still be infective to other sheep

14 days  typical lifecycle of scab mite from egg to adult

10,000 cases  UK flock sees between 8,000 and 10,000 cases/year

72% of cases result from infected neighbouring sheep or strays

8m/year  the cost of scab to the British sheep industry

1992  the year sheep scab was deregulated as a notifiable disease

Lower performance comes from fatalities, infertility, lower conception rates, smaller lamb crop, lower weight gain, worse carcass composition, damage to wool and leather and costs from delayed sales.

Sheep scab remains a notifiable disease in Scotland but not the rest of the UK. The Sheep Scab Order (1997) made it illegal to move or sell sheep visibly affected with scab.
Breaking News Oregon, Iowa enter top 5; Arkansas has 1st ranking since 16 Free Access By ERIC OLSON AP College Football Writer Oregon and Iowa were the big movers in The Associated Press college football poll after road wins over top-10 opponents. The Ducks victory over...

Gaffney flags down Mavericks In a game marred by imperfections, the Gaffney Indians were able to stay perfect at 3-0 on the season. The Indians jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the second...

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Today

Tropical storm conditions likely. Windy with rain likely. High 81F. Winds E at 25 to 35 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall may reach one inch..

Tonight

Windy. A steady rain. The rain may be heavy at times in the evening. Potential for flooding rains. Low 76F. Winds ESE at 25 to 35 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 5 to 8 inches of rain expected.
Fitzpatrick: Mueller Using 'Same Tactic' Against Trump as Used Against Military Veterans

Later that day, FBI agents and other officers saw Huff and more than a dozen others carrying weapons outside the courthouse, ready to take over the courthouse if necessary, Van Balen said.





After arriving in Madisonville that morning, Huff and friend Bill Looman went to Donna's Old Time Cafe to have breakfast and spent the morning and early afternoon there, with Fitzpatrick joining them after his arraignment hearing.



In that affidavit, Naval Academy graduate Walter Fitzpatrick is named as someone working with Huff; Fitzpatrick's name is mentioned in the FBI affidavit as being criminally involved with Huff. "That statement is false," Fitzpatrick said. "When you take that written statement that he swore out and was presented to a federal judge, they were doing the same thing that they did in 2017 for the application to the FISA court to go after the Trump campaign. It is exactly the same tactic."



Both Huff and Fitzpatrick were labeled "



The Wall Street Journal and other mainstream sources have reported that early in the Obama regime, the FBI, Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security targeted military veterans with an endeavor dubbed "



In



Republicans on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee chaired by Sen. Ron Johnson (WI) have issued an interim However, neither the FBI nor any other law enforcement entity made an arrest that day nor confronted anyone "carrying weapons" anywhere in the vicinity of the Monroe County courthouse. Since that time, no one other than Huff has been named as having violated the law.After arriving in Madisonville that morning, Huff and friend Bill Looman went to Donna's Old Time Cafe to have breakfast and spent the morning and early afternoon there, with Fitzpatrick joining them after his arraignment hearing.In that affidavit, Naval Academy graduate Walter Fitzpatrick is named as someone working with Huff; Fitzpatrick's name is mentioned in the FBI affidavit as being criminally involved with Huff. "That statement is false," Fitzpatrick said. "When you take that written statement that he swore out and was presented to a federal judge, they were doing the same thing that they did in 2017 for the application to the FISA court to go after the Trump campaign. It is exactly the same tactic."Both Huff and Fitzpatrick were labeled " Sovereign Citizens " by Tennessee state and local law enforcement entities and are pictured in a training program developed in conjunction with a division of the U.S. Justice Department. Both men have rejected that characterization.The Wall Street Journal and other mainstream sources have reported that early in the Obama regime, the FBI, Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security targeted military veterans with an endeavor dubbed " Operation Vigilant Eagle ." In May 2013, The Rutherford Institute wrote that "military veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are also being characterized as extremists and potential domestic terrorist threats because they may be 'disgruntled, disillusioned or suffering from the psychological effects of war.' As a result, these servicemen and womenmany of whom are decoratedare finding themselves under surveillance, threatened with incarceration or involuntary confinement, or arrested, all for daring to voice their concerns about the alarming state of our union and the erosion of our freedoms."In text messages released over the last several weeks, FBI staff attorney Lisa Page and FBI Director of Counterintelligence Peter Strzok, both of whom served on Mueller's "Russia" investigations, are seen expressing distaste for Trump and dismay when it appeared he would be elected over rival Hillary Clinton on November 8, 2016. Other messages show that the two appeared to know that Clinton would not be criminally prosecuted in connection with her email server and mishandling of classified information. Yet another message released on Tuesday morning shows Page telling Strzok that "potus wants to know everything we're doing" in a reference to Barack Obama and an unidentified investigation.Republicans on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee chaired by Sen. Ron Johnson (WI) have issued an interim report into the FBI's 2016 probe of Clinton's private email server which states (p. 3):

The text messages raise several important questions that deserve further examination: Whether, and the extent to which, any personal animus and/or political bias influenced the FBI's investigation;





Whether, and the extent to which, the Obama Department of Justice or White House influenced the FBI's investigation; and





Whether, and the extent to which, any personal animus and/or political bias influenced the FBI's actions with respect to President Trump

2018-02-07 Interim Report_The Clinton Email Scandal and the FBI's Investigation of It-1



A parallel investigation into alleged bias on the part of FBI agents involved in the Clinton email probe is being completed by the Justice Department's inspector general.



Unlike President Trump, Fitzpatrick believes that the FBI "rank and file are as dirty as senior management." Coincidentally, an article published on Thursday by Breitbart quotes a former FBI agent as having said that the exams given to FBI applicants "are written to recruit a certain type of person."



"We have as much dirt on Robert Mueller and his criminal conduct in 2010 that we're finding out about now with the current 'luminaries' of the FBI  McCabe, Comey  before them came Bob Mueller," Fitzpatrick said. "What this means is that Darren Huff's conviction can be completely overturned because it was based on a false, sworn affidavit which produced a warrant. It was fruit of the poisonous tree."



In a May 22, 2012 interview between FBI Agent Scott Johnson and FBI official Mollie Halpern posted at the FBI's website, Johnson told Halpern of Huff that "He thought he was going to ride in from out of town with the guns on his hips and right all the injustices."



Contrary to some reports, Huff was not carrying firearms on his person when he arrived in Madisonville.



It is well-documented that the alleged "courthouse takeover" emanated from Obama supporters who are members of an online group, The Fogbow, and admitted to calling in the false threats to the mayor of Madisonville.



Huff left his guns locked in his truck during his entire time in Madisonville and never approached the courthouse. He was not arrested until April 30, ten days after making the trip from Georgia.



As discussed in the May 22, 2012 FBI broadcast, Huff was eventually tried and convicted on a charge of transporting firearms across state lines with the intent to cause a civil disturbance, after which he spent three and one-half years in federal prison.



Before arriving at that verdict, the jury acquitted Huff on a second charge and was "hung" on the other. The judge, U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Varlan, then ordered them to "try again."



No media outlet which reported on the events of April 20, 2010 mentioned the systemic corruption of Tennessee county grand juries which prompted Fitzpatrick's attempt at a citizen's arrest of the Monroe County grand jury foreman on April 1, 2010 but instead instigated his own arrest and a series of incarcerations.



Fitzpatrick's accounts of judicial and grand jury corruption have been corroborated by scores of Tennessee inmates and their relatives in letters, emails and phone calls to The Post & Email over the last four years.



On Thursday Fitzpatrick said that he first spoke with an intern, Meera Patel, to whom he "began to explain that he had information which gave up Robert Mueller as a criminal."



Fitzpatrick said he summarized to Patel, as a result of recent revelations, that in 2016, a "false FBI statement was submitted" to the FISA court by an unidentified FBI agent along with an application for a surveillance warrant which ultimately was granted against Trump informal adviser Carter Page as stated in a memo released last week by the House Permanent Subcommittee on Intelligence (HPSCI).



According to the memo, the warrant application and three subsequent applications were signed by either then-FBI Director James Comey, FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, current FBI General Counsel Dana Boente, current Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, or then-Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates.



In May 2013, The Post & Email asked the question, "Has the FBI become a political tool?" after it was made public that then-U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder ordered the collection of communications made by then-Fox News Washington correspondent James Rosen, his parents, and the phone records of more than 20 journalists and their editors at the Associated Press.



A number of congressmen and political pundits have called for a second Special Counsel to investigate "the investigators" as well as the premise upon which the "Russia investigation" and Mueller's role were based. In the meantime, the mainstream media has largely ignored or visibly pushed back against the daily revelations indicative of political influence and corruption within "the premier law enforcement agency in the United States."


Meet David Huggins, the 74-year-old who claims to get it on with extraterrestrials, then recreates his out of this world encounters in the form of art. Beacause, art.

In a interview with Vice, Huggins reflects on his ongoing relationship with Cresent, his name for the 'woman' he's been pounding in the woods, fathering hundreds of alien babies, and the time he lost his virginity to an alien:

The coitus in question allegedly went down in 1961, when Huggins was a teenager living on his parents farm in rural Georgia. It wasnt the first time extraterrestrials had appeared to him; hed been seeing strange creatures since he was eight. But on this day, as he was walking through woods near his house, an alien woman appeared and seduced him.

According to Huggins, these visits from extraterrestrials, and his sexual relationship with them, continued into adulthood.

Once the shock wore off, Huggins says his encounters were weird, but not all that threatening. When he left Georgia in the mid 60s for art school in New York City, the beings followed. Nocturnal visits from Crescent, the ET who deflowered him, became routine. My relationship with Crescent was warm and friendly. A little strange. What do I mean, a little. Very strange. She was my girlfriend, really, Huggins says in the film. A very unconventional relationship, he adds.
A rainbow-themed police car will join the festivities at this month's Pride Parade on February 17.

New Zealand Police have launched the specially-designed rainbow car to mark their commitment to diversity and to acknowledge the important relationship between police and New Zealand's rainbow community.

Police Commissioner Mike Bush says that as an organisation they look to encourage staff to "use who they are", not "lose who they are" when becoming a police officer.

"Therefore it's important to encourage staff to show pride in the communities they represent," he said.

"We are a diverse organisation and I am proud of the work we've done over recent years to build relationships with the LGBTIQ+ community.

"I also encourage members of the LGBTIQ+ community to join us as future police recruits as part of our current recruitment drive."

The rainbow car follows Police's Te Reo pirihimana car, which was designed to support Maori Language Week.

Source: Newshub.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 9)  Break-ups don't have to be bitter.

That's what iconic '80s love team Sharon Cuneta and Gabby Concepcion show in their recent collaboration, a fast-food advertisement released Friday.

Their chance encounter in a McDonald's outlet is framed as bittersweet  sweet for the former couple, but with a hint of nostalgia for their fans, who took to the Internet to express their kilig.

The advertisement shows Cuneta eating alone, when Concepcion asks if he can join her.

"Ikaw naman," says Cuneta, "Parang wala tayong pinagsamahan."

[Translation: It's not like we haven't been through anything together.]

The scene of the former couple sharing a dinner is set to the song "Kumusta Ka," originally performed by Nonoy Zuniga, which contains the lyrics: "Kumusta ka? / May ibang kislap ang yong mata; / Halata na ang daigdig mo ngayon ay kay saya."

However, the commercial leaves out the lyrics about still being in love with the other person.

The caption, which included the hashtag #ShaGabLovesMcDo, read: "Noon pa man, love mo na sila. Your classic favorites na ang sarap balik-balikan!"

The fast-food chain compared the pairing to their bestselling combination of Chicken McDo and fries.

"The Chicken McDo with Fries Meal is one of our best-sellers and has truly become a favorite of our customers over the years. In the same way, ShaGab is one of the most-loved tambalans all time, truly transcending generations," shared Christina Lao, McDonald's marketing director.

McDonald's first teased the advertisement on Instagram with a post that read "Dear Heart, Kita kits! P.S. I love you" -- referencing two films by the iconic love team.

Related: Sharon Cuneta, Gabby Concepcion to reunite for commercial

Cuneta and Concepcion were married in the 1980s, but this was annulled in 1993.

The couple has a daughter, Kristina Cassandra "KC" Concepcion.

KC even teased the two, posting a screen cap of her father following Cuneta on Instagram. She wrote, "Well played, fam. #NeverInMyWildestDreams" in her caption.

Cuneta's husband, Senator Kiko Pangilinan, expressed support for her project with her former husband. He added, "It's her craft... and she's a professional."

Speaking to CNN Philippines' The Source in November, Cuneta previously dismissed the idea of collaborating with Concepcion on a film.

"If a movie's just gonna give me stress from other people, not necessarily from someone I'm working with, but people who create intrigue and just stress me out, I would rather just do another one," Cuneta said.
Representatives from international authorities around the world met with leaders from industry and research in Austria's capital at this year's Vienna Cyber Security Week 2018 (VCSW), a multi-stakeholder conference attracting participants of the highest calibre. After the event's successful premiere last year, high-level participants came together once again to discuss the protection of critical digital infrastructures in the face of new crime & terrorism threat scenarios.

Vienna (OTS) - The second Vienna Cyber Security Week (VCSW) held from 29 January to 2 February 2018 brought together representatives from public authorities, governments and organisations, including the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the International Atomic Energy Authority (IAEA) and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) for an international dialogue on the security of critical digital infrastructures. More than 300 high-level participants from 41 countries accepted the invitation and came to Vienna to engage in international dialogue on cyber security issues related to the energy sector. A total of 90 expert presentations and discussion groups as well as a technology exhibition and trainings provided the framework for examining how to protect our critical digital infrastructures from new crime & terrorism threat scenarios against critical energy infrastructure including security for smart cities.

After the successful launch of the VCSW last year, this international dialogue platform has again succeeded in positioning Vienna as a global centre for energy security and the cyber threat. This year the conference was organized again in a joint effort between AIT Austrian Institute of Technology and the Energypact Foundation, which works to raise global awareness of cyber security. VCSW 2018 was supported by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs (BMEIA), the Ministry of Defence (BMLV), the Ministry of Internal Affairs (BM.I), the Ministry of Transport, Innovation and Technology (bmvit), as well as the Austrian Government's Cybersecurity Platform (CSP), together with the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology as the scientific partner.

International experts from the public and private sectors in over three dozen countries and from international authorities discussed the challenges and opportunities created by digitalising critical infrastructures, and the need for global cooperation.

Thomas Stubbings, chairman of CSP: "The broad coverage of topics ranging from cyber diplomacy to research & innovation distributed over five days plus the high quality and diversity of speakers makes the Vienna Cyber Security Week unique. It is great to see that Vienna develops into a Cyber Security Hotspot with international significance and I am very pleased that the Cyber Security Platform of the Austrian Government can contribute as a co-organizer to this valuable event. I am already looking forward to the 2019 event!"

Alexandre Dimitrijevic, president of Energypact Foundation: "We are genuinely pleased and honoured to have held such a successful second edition of Vienna Cyber Security Week and thank our co-organizers and attendees of the event. The strong level of participation by leading experts and exceptional discussion further confirms the need for such forums to engage the international energy community in raising the global awareness and promoting confidence building with regards to energy security and the cyber threat. The Vienna Cyber Security Week has quickly become a fixture for international dialogue and information exchange. Planning has already commenced for a continuity of activities including Vienna Cyber Security Week 2019."

Helmut Leopold, Head of Center for Digital Safety & Security, AIT: "An intensive dialogue between research, industry and public authorities is essential for establishing a high cyber security protection and to effectively counter future global cyber threats."

This pioneering international multi-stakeholder conference has allowed Austria to strengthen its position as a high-tech cybersecurity location on the international scene.

Contact:

Michael Murling

Marketing and Communications

AIT Austrian Institute of Technology

Center for Digital Safety & Security

T +43 50550-4126 | M +43 664 2351747

michael.muerling@ait.ac.at | www.ait.ac.at
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) -- While we've said it before, we can never stress enough the importance of vehicle maintenance.

This especially applies to preventive maintenance and how it should be done on a regular basis. The boom in vehicle repair shops, along with an overload of data on the Internet, allows even not-so-car-savvy individuals to perform simple yet much-needed checks.

Yet this information overload can sometimes cause problems. That's because not everything you read about vehicle maintenance is true.

Just like anything out there, myths and urban legends tend to surface and cloud our judgment. So which information is considered as automotive mythology, you ask?

One common misconception is on oil changes, specifically the need to change oil every 5,000 kilometers. Sure, this may have been true in the olden days when this was the standard.

Nowadays, however, modern engines and motor oils are designed to last longer and have longer oil change intervals. Some manufacturers even recommend that you change oil every 10,000 kilometers. Check your owner's manual and service booklet to see which one applies to your vehicle.

When it comes to tire maintenance, some have said one should inflate the tires using the tire pressure listed on the tire's sidewall. This is not exactly true, as this figure is the maximum amount of air the tire can take. In short, this would cause your tires to be overinflated.

Rather, use the tire pressure rating listed on the driver's side door jam and/or inside of the fuel filler door. This is the vehicle manufacturer's recommended pressure.

Still on the subject of tires, there is this school of thought that says filling your tires with pure nitrogen will save you money by improving gas mileage and increasing tire longevity. The truth is that there isn't enough evidence to prove this.

Your best bet would be to simply fill up with pressurized air as 80 percent of it is already made up of nitrogen. It's cheaper and easier to source.

And probably the most common myth we've heard is that one should warm up one's vehicle before driving off. Sure, if you use an older vehicle with older tech under the hood.

Modern cars, however, tend to warm up faster while on the move. So yes, it's okay to drive off slowly upon starting a cold engine. Of course, you should still take it easy, not revving your engine. Just drive in a manner that will allow the oil to circulate properly and the engine to reach optimum operating temperature and efficiency.

So there you have it. Just a few tips to keep you well informed and hopefully, not fall for those automotive urban legends.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 7)  Coca-Cola FEMSA Philippines, Inc. has confirmed it is laying off workers due to restructuring.

In a statement, it said it is undergoing an "organizational structure assessment," but did not state how many employees would be laid off.

It said the restructuring comes in the light of recent developments within the beverage industry and the business landscape.

"The restructuring has been a very difficult decision. It was carried out only after an exhaustive and conscientious assessment of the evolving regulatory environment, our operational efficiency, and consequent performance in the market," it said.

The company assured those affected by the restructuring would be treated with "dignity, fairness, and respect."

"Everyone will be given career transition support, as well as separation packages that go beyond what is mandated by law."

The restructuring comes as the country imposes a hefty tax on sweetened beverages. The recently-enacted tax reform law imposes a 6 per liter for beverages using caloric and non-caloric sweeteners and 12 per liter for beverages using high fructose corn syrup.

READ: Duterte signs tax reform bill, 2018 budget into law

The company, however, made no mention of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law in its statement.

Coca Cola FEMSA Philippines is the largest franchise bottler of Coca-Cola products in the world. According to its website it has 15,306 employees, 19 bottling plants and 52 distribution centers in the country.

The lay-offs also come as the Department of Labor and Employment recorded some 424 companies that advised termination of employees in Metro Manila in January 2018. It recorded 6,644 employees terminated in the region.
The marine environment is critical to Grenadas economy and closely linked to the islands income generating tourism sector. Grenadas tri-island ocean state is not just a hub of maritime activity, but also home to unique marine biodiversity
The Trump administration has opened the door for states to add work requirements to Medicaid, the government-run insurance program for low-income people.Supporters believe public assistance should encourage employment, while critics believe health care is a key to people getting and keeping jobs.President Donald Trump, House Speaker Paul Ryan and some Republican governors want Medicaid work requirements, but what does the American public think? It depends on how you ask.This week, a poll from the liberal Center for American Progress (CAP) found that 61 percent of registered voters oppose work requirements for non-elderly adults on Medicaid. Several other polls, though, have found just the opposite, as illustrated in the table below.Although all four polls ask about requiring Medicaid recipients to work, they use different wording to describe the context and the purpose of the proposal.In a preface to its work requirement question, CAP said the policy was part of "Republican efforts to restrict eligibility and reduce overall spending on government assistance programs for low-income people." By contrast, the Kaiser Family Foundation listed the work requirement as one of many "specific changes to Medicaid currently being considered by Congress and the Administration."It makes sense that we got rather different results, says Ashley Kirzinger, a senior survey analyst for the Kaiser Family Foundation. We do know that framing of these issues matter.In the actual question, the CAP poll asked voters if they support "allow[ing] states to deny Medicaid health coverage to recipients ages 18 to 64 who do not have a job with a certain amount of hours and do not participate in state-approved work programs." That question emphasized the possible negative consequence of failing the requirement (losing health care), whereas other recent polls described work as a condition ofhealth care.CAP also found that when it asked about denying coverage to those who "cannot find a job" (instead of "do not have a job"), opposition rose from 57 percent to 61 percent.The choice was intentional, says Rebecca Vallas, vice president of the center's Poverty to Prosperity Program.Prior polls have generally used language like work requirements, mirroring what Republicans use when theyre trying to dress up what are 'cuts' to popular programs, she says. Thats what generates some level of support. That [support] then evaporates when people understand the consequences.The poll also found that most voters oppose cuts to a variety of programs and services for low-income households, including Medicaid, food stamps, home energy assistance and affordable housing. And theyre less likely to vote for candidates who support cuts to those programs.What pollsters call Medicaid can also affect public support.The Kaiser Family Foundation found that Americans disagree about whether Medicaid is a welfare program: Most Democrats and independents said Medicaid was primarily a government health insurance program, but nearly half (46 percent) of Republicans thought of it as a welfare program. And while only 12 percent supported spending cuts to Medicaid, more than twice that many (32 percent) favored cuts to welfare programs.It's not clear yet how far the Trump administration's push for work requirements will go.Some programs, such as food stamps and family cash welfare, already have work requirements. Since January, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has approved waiver requests from both Kentucky and Indiana to try work requirements with Medicaid. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has reportedly drafted legislation that would add work requirements to Section 8 rental vouchers as well.In the meantime, health groups have sued the Trump administration in an attempt to stop Kentucky from implementing the new policy.
Comprehensive coverage for more than 800,000 low-income people in New York and Minnesota who pay a fraction of the typical cost of a marketplace plan may be in jeopardy after the federal government partially cut funding this year.The Basic Health Program, in which these consumers are enrolled, was created under the Affordable Care Act to provide another coverage option for people with incomes up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level ($24,280 in 2018) who would otherwise qualify for subsidized marketplace coverage. Only New York and Minnesota have set up such programs.The funding dispute is tied to a high-profile decision by President Donald Trump to stop paying cost-sharing reduction subsidies, which reduce the deductibles and out-of-pocket costs for people in marketplace plans whose incomes are up to 250 percent of the federal poverty level (about $30,000 for one person). Money that would have paid for cost-sharing reduction subsidies also helps fund the Basic Health Program in New York and Minnesota.These plans must be as comprehensive and affordable as marketplace plans, but for many theyre significantly cheaper, with monthly premiums of either zero or $20 in New York and up to $80 in Minnesota, along with a very small or no deductible, combined with nominal copayments.In November, when May Brown lost her job as a produce repacker  breaking 40-pound boxes of fruits and vegetables down into 10-pound boxes for grocery stores  she lost her employer health coverage, too. On the advice of a friend, the 62-year-old signed up for MinnesotaCare this month. Her $50 monthly premium is about half what she was paying for coverage on the job.Brown, who lives in St. Paul, said she is pretty healthy but having this coverage gives her peace of mind.You never know. Life is unpredictable, she said. I like to have something.Under the Basic Health Program, the federal government is responsible for paying states 95 percent of the amount it would have paid in premium subsidies and cost-sharing reduction payments on the marketplace for these enrollees. In December, the Department of Health and Human Services notified the two states it would withhold the cost-sharing reduction portion of the payments  nearly $300 million in the first quarter of 2018, about a quarter of the total amount expected. Over the course of a year, the amount withheld will exceed $1 billion.When it cut back on funding of the Basic Health Program, the administration cited its October decision to eliminate cost-sharing reduction payments to insurers.Last month, the attorneys general of the two states filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to restore the federal funding.Noting that New Yorks Essential Plan, as its called, covers more than 700,000 low-income New Yorkers, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in a press release, I wont stand by as the federal government continues to renege on its most basic obligations in a transparent attempt to dismantle the Affordable Care Act.In their awsuit, Schneiderman and Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson argue that, among other things, the adminstrations decision to cut off CSR payments is procedurally flawed and violates its obligations under the health law. They want the court to restore the states Basic Health Program funding.Regardless of the lawsuits outcome, officials in both states have offered assurances that the program is safe  for now.In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomos budget included sufficient funds to leave the Basic Health Program intact for this year.Officials at the Minnesota Department of Human Services said in a statement, People enrolled in MinnesotaCare should feel confident in their coverage based on current information.Under the health law, any state can offer coverage under the Basic Health Program. One possible reason New York and Minnesota adopted the program is because they were already covering many in the target population through Medicaid, and typically sharing the cost equally with the federal government. Under the Basic Health Program, the states funding responsibility drops to just 5 percent.So what happens next year? If federal funding isnt restored, advocates are concerned that costs may rise and coverage shrink.It could trigger major changes to the eligibility structure, the benefits or increases in premiums, said Maureen OConnell, president of Health Access MN, which helps people enroll in marketplace coverage.Elisabeth Benjamin said shes really worried about the program next year if the courts dont order the federal government to start making payments. Benjamin, the vice president for health initiatives at the Community Service Society of New York, an advocacy group, said theres a snowball effect as states grapple with the delayed approval of Childrens Health Insurance Program funding for low-income kids amid continued uncertainty over federal funding for community health centers.Its terrifying how much the feds can do, particularly for states like New York that are so reliant on federal funding, Benjamin said.
Sen. Jeff Kruse filed resignation papers Thursday, capping a months-long sexual harassment scandal by agreeing to leave the Legislature after 22 years.The Roseburg Republican's resignation is not effective until March 15, which would allow him to serve out the remainder of the legislative session now underway.His action came days after an investigator concluded he had sexually harassed or groped multiple women in the Oregon Capitol over several years and did not stop despite warnings. The investigator found that he escalated his harassing conduct after being told not to touch women at work.Until he announced his resignation, Kruse had been defiant, saying he would not leave office and instead would challenge the investigator's findings. Still, he had been under intense pressure to resign from Democratic officials and some Republicans.Kruse, 66, maintained his innocence in a statement released Thursday afternoon."I continue to deny these allegations and I regret that I will not have the opportunity to defend myself before the Senate Conduct Committee," Kruse said. "However, today I tender my resignation so my colleagues may focus on serving Oregonians without distraction and my constituents may receive the fullest representation they are due."Kruse had for months been serving in the Legislature without any committee assignments -- hampering his ability to shape legislation -- a punishment handed down by Senate President Peter Courtney because of the harassment allegations and Kruse's persistent smoking in his Capitol office.Read the document: Sen. Jeff Kruse's resignation letterCourtney, a Salem Democrat, released a statement Thursday calling Kruse's stepping down "the right decision."Courtney said, "The report of the independent investigator released earlier this week made it clear that his inappropriate conduct went far beyond" what two of Kruse's accusers, Senate Democrats Sara Gelser and Elizabeth Steiner Hayward, had outlined in formal written complaints.The Senate president said he had been working with Senate Republican leaders since the release of the investigation to "secure" Kruse's resignation."While Senator Kruse's resignation ends a difficult chapter for the Legislature, we cannot allow it to end this discussion," Courtney said. "We owe it to the courageous women who came forward to seize this moment."Senate Republican Leader Jackie Winters, R-Salem, struck a different tone. She said of Kruse in a statement Thursday, "I want to thank him for his 22 years of service to Oregon. He has been a true advocate for his district and rural Oregon. As we move forward, we must work to provide a safe work environment for all."Steiner Hayward, one of Kruse's accusers, said in a statement that the senator's resignation is "long overdue" and she hopes the investigation into his conduct will encourage other women to speak up about harassment."His resignation will allow the many victims identified through the investigation to begin their healing, the Senate to move forward with the people's business and his constituents to once again have representation in the Legislature," said Steiner Hayward, a Portland Democrat.Gelser said she is unhappy that Kruse is delaying his exit. "I believe the resignation should have been immediate," Gelser said in a phone interview. House Speaker Tina Kotek tweeted that Kruse's delayed resignation is "exactly what's wrong with the power dynamic that exists at the Capitol."Investigator and private employment law attorney Dian Rubanoff concluded that Kruse subjected at least 10 women to tight, lingering hugs and other inappropriate touching. Many told Rubanoff they were horrified by his conduct but felt they had to endure it out of deference to a powerful, tenured lawmaker. They also said they did not report the harassment because it was widely known and tolerated in the Capitol and they feared speaking up would damage their careers.Rubanoffs 51-page report outlined how Kruse had called a law student who worked for him "sexy" and "little girl," would grab and tightly hug other Republican and non-partisan staffers to the point they felt trapped, had cupped the buttocks of a female lobbyist during a photo-op in the governor's office, kissed a staffer on the cheek and close to her mouth, and inappropriately touched three female senators and a state representative. Rubanoff based her report on interviews with victims and witnesses, videos and photographs and found the accusers credible. Kruse did not deny most of the accusations, and instead said he did not recall the incidents.Gelser praised those women, most of whom who were not named in the report, for speaking to the investigator about the harassment they endured. "I don't think people appreciate how brave those women were," she said, adding that members of the Legislature ought to improve the Capitol's workplace harassment rules.In October, The Oregonian/OregonLive was the first news outlet to report that Courtney, the Senate president, removed Kruse from his committee assignments because he'd been accused of inappropriate touching. The discipline came days after Gelser, Kruse's first accuser, posted a vague accusation of groping by a Senate Republican on Twitter. Kruse has not responded to requests for comment from The Oregonian/OregonLive since shortly after that story broke.Gelser later confirmed to The Oregonian/OregonLive that her tweet referenced Kruse. She said he sexually harassed her for years and did not stop despite officials' warnings after her complaints. Gelser later filed a formal complaint against Kruse. So did Steiner Hayward. Their complains sparked the formal investigation.By delaying his resignation until the end of the lawmaking session, Kruse will continue receiving his base pay and $142 per diem. He is also a vested member of the Public Employees Retirement System and will receive retirement benefits for his years spent in office.Kruse, a farmer by trade, first joined the Legislature in 1996. His resignation Thursday is actually the second time he has quit the Legislature. The first came in 2004 when he resigned from the House because he no longer lived in the district he represented.The last time an Oregon lawmaker resigned in disgrace was in 2005. That year, Dan Doyle, a Salem Republican, resigned after he was found to have misused tens of thousands of dollars in campaign funds for personal expenses. And Kelley Wirth, a Corvallis Democrat, resigned after police found meth in her car after a crash near the Capitol.Kruse said in his resignation statement Thursday, "For civil rights to be meaningful, there must be civil rights for all people, including the right to fundamental fairness for persons accused of harassment."The commissioners of the five counties Kruse's district overlaps must soon select his replacement from a group of nominees chosen by local Republican Party officials. The commissioners are required to appoint a Republican to replace Kruse.In his resignation statement, Kruse said he is "very proud" of the bills he authored affecting health care and education policy, and said he is looking forward to returning to Roseburg, where he still owns a working farm."Serving the people of Curry and portions of Coos, Douglas, Josephine and Jackson counties for the past 22 years has been the greatest honor of my life," he said.
The Eastern North Carolina town of Pikeville only has 670 people in it, so that narrowed the list of suspects for burning down the town hall in November.But the person recently arrested for the arson is among the last townsfolk would have suspected: Kelvin Robinson, a 38-year-old who's been a town public works employee since 2014.The NC State Bureau of Investigation made the arrest, media outlets report, and agents have accused Robinson not only of burning the building, but of taking $900 before setting the fire, reported TV station WITN. Pikeville is about 3 1/2 hours east of Charlotte, in Wayne County.Robinson was put on administrative leave when he was arrested Feb. 1 and fired on Tuesday after his first court appearance, reported the Goldboro News-Argus. He was placed in the Wayne County Detention Center under a $25,000 secured bond, reported the Goldsboro Daily News.The double-wide modular that served as town hall was destroyed by fire in the first week of November, media outlets reported. The fire led to a "total loss of contents," including the loss of town records, according to the News-Argus.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 9) - President Rodrigo Duterte has given his go signal to tap foreign experts who can help verify findings that several children might have died because of the Dengvaxia vaccine, spokesperson Harry Roque said on Friday.

"Nagsalita na po ang presidente na kung kinakailangan, kukuha tyao ng mga dayuhang clinical pathologist para pag-aralan kung itong mga kabataan na namamatay nga ay namatay dahil sa Dengvaxia vaccine," he said in a media briefing in Camarines Sur.

[Translation: The President already said we will tap foreign clinical pathologists, if necessary, to study if the children really died because of the Dengvaxia vaccine.]

He said this was among the president's directives during his meeting with Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II, Public Attorneys Office (PAO) Chief Persida Acosta, and Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption Chair Dante Jimenez in Malacanang.

Roque said Duterte vowed to hold accountable officials responsible for the controversial vaccine, which sent many parents of Dengvaxia-immunized children into a panic. Health Secretary Francisco Duque III has said unnecessary hysteria over Dengvaxia is affecting other immunization programs.

Roque also said Duterte had directed all public hospitals to assist children who had been vaccinated, promising that the government would pay for all expenses.

"Dapat magbigay ng serbisyo doon sa mga kabataan na naturukan ng Dengvaxia. Sasagutin na ng gobyerno yung halaga ng paggamot doon sa mga naging biktima ng Dengvaxia," he said.

[Translation: We will assist the children vaccinated with Dengvaxia. The government will shoulder the medical cost.]

Sanofi has rejected the Department of Health's request to financially support hospitalized vaccinated children.

Over 837,000 children have been vaccinated with Dengvaxia through the government's nationwide immunization program.

Last December 1, the government halted the program after Sanofi's study showed those with no previous dengue infection and got vaccinated could contract "severe diseases."

PAO's findings state the deaths showed "strong links" to Dengvaxia, although it admitted the results are inconclusive. However, the expert panel of UP-PGH found no direct link between the deaths and Dengvaxia.

The UP-PGH's Dengue Investigative Task Force on January 2 reported that three of the 14 children died of what is called "dengue shock syndrome" after receiving the vaccine. Experts said two of the three deaths may be caused by vaccine failure.
When your crime is no longer considered a crime, should it still count against you? Not when the crime is small-time marijuana possession, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan and City Attorney Pete Holmes said Thursday.Since Washington legalized marijuana in 2012, some people have been stuck with criminal records for misdemeanor pot convictions while watching others make killings off the business of selling legal weed.So Seattle will move to go back and vacate misdemeanor marijuana-possession convictions prosecuted by the city before legalization, Durkan and Holmes said.Describing the action as "a necessary step" to right the wrongs of what she called a failed war on drugs, the mayor said such convictions have been an unfair barrier for people trying to obtain housing, credit, jobs and educations. And that barrier has disproportionately affected black people, Durkan said."The war on drugs ended up being a war on people who needed help, who needed opportunity and who needed treatment," she said in a news conference at Rainier Community Center in South Seattle."We did little to stem the tide of the supply of drugs and instead incarcerated almost an entire generation of users who could have had a different way."Holmes will ask the Seattle Municipal Court to vacate all convictions and to dismiss all charges for misdemeanor marijuana possession prosecuted before pot was legalized statewide, he said at the news conference.He believes the move will result in the vacation of 500 to 600 convictions from 1997, when Seattle took over misdemeanor marijuana prosecutions from King County, until 2010, when the city stopped such prosecutions as a matter of policy.Seattle voters in 2003 approved a ballot measure making the investigation, arrest and prosecution of marijuana offenses, in which the pot was intended for adult personal use, the city's lowest law-enforcement priority.In 2010, soon after he was elected, Holmes dismissed all of the city's marijuana-possession cases and said his office would no longer prosecute such cases.As Seattle seeks to "undo" the consequences of the country's decades-long war on drugs, its challenges include a Trump administration, "which would like to turn back the clock," he said."We're going to do everything we can in the city of Seattle to hold our gains," Holmes said.The city attorney said he plans t0 file a single motion by early next week for all convictions to be vacated and said his office will set up a website where people can determine whether their convictions have been cleared. No action will be required by the individuals.Karen Donohue, the presiding judge for Seattle Municipal Court, is very supportive of the move, Durkan said.The mayor said vacating hundreds of convictions from the earlier period will help communities disproportionately impacted by the criminal-justice system and help the city try to eliminate racial disparities in Seattle.Marijuana-possession arrests in Washington increased sharply between 1986 and 2010, rising from 4,000 a year to 11,000 a year, said the mayor's office, citing the Drug Policy Alliance.There were 240,000 arrests in that period, with some communities affected more than others. In Washington, black people were three times more likely than white people to be convicted of marijuana crimes, Durkan said."Those numbers tell us we were dealing with an unjust system," she said, adding, "While we cannot reverse all the harm that was done, we can give back to those people a record that says they were not convicted, because that is the more just thing to do."The Rev. James Broughton, senior pastor at Damascus Missionary Baptist Church in South Seattle, called the city's plan a step in the right direction. Broughton said he'll be telling his congregants about the change, because some of them have relatives with low-level marijuana convictions."We're looking at our city and viewing people as people, not data," he said. "They can now have the opportunity for better housing and better jobs."Not everyone is thrilled with Durkan and Holmes. Douglas Hiatt, a defense lawyer and marijuana-reform activist, said even more decriminalization is needed.Local authorities, including Seattle officials, are still charging people with crimes and writing them tickets for some marijuana-related offenses, such as growing pot without all the correct paperwork, Hiatt said"I'm happy to see any kind of remedial action for anybody with a misdemeanor still causing them trouble," he said. "But I believe Jenny and Pete could be doing more."Post-legalization, the minorities most punished by marijuana prohibition have appeared to be underrepresented in ownership of the state's retail shops.Durkan said she would like to see officials at the county and state levels, who handle felony marijuana cases, follow the city's lead on vacating convictions. Felony prosecutions often involve the distribution of marijuana, Holmes said.The city attorney said he has long thought that misdemeanor convictions should be vacated but until recently was concentrated on advocating for the change statewide rather than only in Seattle.Washington legalized the possession and recreational use of marijuana for adults ages 21 years or older in 2012, when voters approved Initiative 502.Alison Holcomb, who was a leader of the initiative effort, said organizers wrote a conservative initiative with "political compromises" that left "a lot of work undone.""We had no sense, back then, how the law would be embraced and how willing elected representatives would be in continuing the work 502 started," Holcomb said Thursday. "We're seeing more and more elected officials taking up leadership roles on reforming marijuana laws."She said she hopes the city's action will send a signal to other leaders in cities across the country. Spokane took a similar step in 2015.Seattle's move follows an announcement last week by San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon, who said he would dismiss 3,038 misdemeanor marijuana charges and would consider reducing 4,900 felony marijuana charges."Seattle isn't the first city to do this and definitely won't be the last," said Kevin Oliver, executive director of Washington NORML, a marijuana-reform organization. "It's a good trend to see."
Disaster Relief

Health Care

Infrastructure

The Muncipal Market

Congress agreed on a two-year bipartisan spending deal just before dawn on Friday, after a brief shutdown of the federal government, which was the second shutdown in as many months.The agreement, which President Trump has indicated that he will sign, increases spending by $300 billion over the next two years. Slightly less than half of that increase is slated for domestic programs.John Hicks, executive director of the National Association of State Budget Officers, called the deal the first salvo of federal budget certainty that state and local governments have enjoyed in the Trump era.That said, he adds, House and Senate appropriators have the next six weeks to incorporate the additional funds into a 2018 spending plan. Trump is also expected to announce his 2019 budget on Monday, which will outline administration priorities.This all means that some states could benefit or take a massive hit financially, depending on how closely appropriators align themselves with the administration. For example, in Maryland , Trump has called for Congress to eliminate money for the Chesapeake Bay, a pair of high-tech biodefense laboratories in the state and several programs at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.That program-by-program specificity is yet to be determined, Hicks says. So as states are putting their budgets together now  it helps at least resolve some of the overarching framework at the federal level, but not the details.This weeks agreement avoids addressing the fate of the Dreamers, who face deportation after being brought to the U.S. illegally as children. That omission threatened to derail the bill entirely as top House Democrat Nancy Pelosi urged Democrats to oppose it and mounted a daylong filibuster earlier this week in attempt to force a later vote on legislation that would protect the Dreamers. Congressional leaders said Friday that vote will happen in the coming weeks.Other key areas affecting state and local governments in the new budget deal are as follows:The agreement calls for nearly $90 billion in disaster relief in response to last years hurricanes and wildfires. The money would represent the third -- and largest -- funding package for those communities hit by natural disasters since last summer.Lawmakers have earmarked more than $23 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's primary fund for recovery and repair programs, which was nearly tapped out in 2017. It also provides an additional $28 billion for block grants to rebuild housing and essential infrastructure.Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, which were decimated by hurricanes Irma and Maria, will get nearly $7 billion in aid. Most of that will go to cover Medicaid costs. Puerto Rico will also receive $2 billion to rebuild its power grid, which is operating at just 80 percent of capacity nearly five months later.The agreement provides long-term funding for several major health programs.The Community Health Center Fund, which serves more than 27 million mostly low-income Americans, was reauthorized for four years.The deal extends to 10 years total the federal funding reauthorization for the Childrens Health Insurance Program, which covers 9 million low-income children and pregnant womenAnd a federal program that provides home visiting services to at-risk mothers-to-be and new moms was reauthorized for five years.The deal slates $6 billion over two years to address the opioid crisis and mental health. But the amount is small in comparison to what state and local governments are spending annually on the epidemic and S&P Global Ratings analysts toldthe amount "is not likely to have a large impact on state finances, especially as there are likely restrictions tied to the use of these funds."Lawmakers are putting aside $20 billion in federal infrastructure spending over the next two years, a fraction of the $200 billion over 10 years Trump has previously outlined.That has led some to chastise parts of the deal as mere gestures, rather than real action.Were a long way with this bill for claiming weve done something about opioids and infrastructure, says G. William Hoagland of the Bipartisan Policy Center.The infrastructure funds would go toward existing projects for water and energy infrastructure, as well as expanding broadband to rural regions and improving surface transportation.While calling the investment important , industry groups stopped short of applause.Marc Ott, the executive director of International City/County Management Association, notes that localities stood ready to work with the private sector and the federal government as strong partners who recognize that there arent a lot of state and local [funds available to fill] the backlog of infrastructure needs.Its not just state and local governments that crave certainty from the feds. Municipal bond investors like it, too, and this weeks agreement gives them stability in at least one area.The deal lifts the debt limit until March 2019. While that has been criticized by fiscal hawks, it pushes future confrontations over that issue until after the midterm elections. In the past, when the federal government has come up against the debt limit, it has threatened the stability of certain types of municipal bonds.Still, it ended up keeping cuts imposed by sequestration in 2011 that trimmed federal subsidy payments made to issuers of Build America Bonds after initial reports suggested the deal would reinstate the full subsidies. Those cuts have left state and local governments scrambling to fill the void and in some cases, it cost them millions per year.
Description

GIS - 09 February, 2017: Government is very concerned about the effects of climate change, mainly the torrential rainfall during the past weeks that has severely affected planters and residents. It is unacceptable that people obstruct drains with their constructions, do not respect and disrupt the ecosystem. Government is very concerned about the effects of climate change, mainly the torrential rainfall during the past weeks that has severely affected planters and residents. It is unacceptable that people obstruct drains with their constructions, do not respect and disrupt the ecosystem.

The Minister of Agro-industry and Food Security, Mr Mahen Kumar Seeruttun, made this statement yesterday at a ceremony organised to mark World Wetlands Day at the London College, Port Louis. nd February every year. The theme for this year is: Wetlands for a Sustainable Urban Future. I World Wetlands Day is celebrated on 2February every year.The theme for this year is: Wetlands for a Sustainable Urban Future. I t highlights the important role of wetlands for sustainable urbanisation.

In his address, the Minister further underscored that Prime Minister Jugnauth is giving due consideration to the problem of water accumulation in some regions and has requested local authorities to ensure that the conditions are properly met before granting Building Permits. Mr Seeruttun emphasised the importance of wetlands that are vital for people's lives and called for each and every one to demonstrate a sense of responsibility to preserve the ecosystem.

On this score, he invited young people to report those who are polluting the environment by throwing old mattresses and refrigerators and other garbage in drains. He also spoke of the importance of planting trees across the island and dwelt on the programme embarked by his Ministry with the target of planting 100 000 plants yearly over a period of 5 years with 200 000 trees planted since 2016.

World Wetlands Day is celebrated to raise global awareness on the value and importance of wetlands to people across the world. Wetlands are the link between land and water. They reduce flooding, replenish drinking water, filter waste, provide urban green spaces and are source of livelihood.

The day also commemorates the adoption of the International Convention on Wetlands also known as the Ramsar Convention in the year 1971 in the city of Ramsar in Iran. Mauritius became a Contracting Party to the Ramsar Convention in September 2001 which also marks the designation of its very first Ramsar Site of International Importance namely the Rivulet Terre Rouge Estuary Bird Sanctuary.
Description

GIS - 09 February, 2018: Maritime, terrestrial and aviation cooperation between Comoros, Mauritius, Madagascar, Reunion Island and Seychelles are imperative to combat drug trafficking in the region. Maritime, terrestrial and aviation cooperation between Comoros, Mauritius, Madagascar, Reunion Island and Seychelles are imperative to combat drug trafficking in the region.

This statement was made yesterday by the newly appointed General Eric Vidaud, Commander in Chief of the French Armed Forces in the Southern Indian Ocean (FAZSOI) and Commander of the Defense base in Reunion-Mayotte, following a courtesy call on the Prime Minister, Minister of Home Affairs, External Communications and National Development Unit and Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, at the New Treasury Building in Port Louis.

General Eric Vidaud underlined that cooperation between FAZSOI and Mauritius in the field of defense and maritime security goes a long way back. He pointed out that every year around 150 to 250 Mauritian police officers are trained in Reunion Island and France. The FAZSOI provide a most valuable contribution to this cooperation through expertise and training sessions, he added.

He underscored the need to work together since both countries have a common destiny as regards illegal fishing, terrorism, and illicit drug, amongst others. He underpinned that he will have several meetings with representatives of the Ministry of Defence and Rodrigues, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, and the National Coast Guard to discuss further about enhancing efforts as regards the maritime component.

Since October 2017, General Eric Vidaud has held the position of Commander superior of the armed forces in the southern zone of the Indian Ocean and Commander of the Reunion-Mayotte defense base.

He has been engaged on several occasions in foreign operations in the Balkans, Somalia, the Republic of Central African Republic, Congo Brazzaville, Republic of Ivory Coast, Haiti and Afghanistan.

Officer of the Legion dHonneur and Commander of the national order of merit, General Vidaud was awarded the Cross of Military Valour with five citations.

The French Armed Forces in the Southern Indian Ocean

The armed forces in the southern Indian Ocean zone guarantee the protection of the national territory and facilitate regional cooperation from Reunion Island and Mayotte.

The FAZSOI are part of the forces of French sovereignty based in overseas territories. The defense base of the FAZSOI, created in January 2011, provides joint support missions to directorates and operational units of the Ministry of Defense stationed in Reunion Island and Mayotte.
Beth Blauer and Simone Brody, who are the executive director and founder of GovEx at Johns Hopkins University and the executive director of Bloombergs What Works Cities initiative respectively, recently lauded six women whose work in open data is improving the public sector.

The piece highlighted the women and their work in a medium post titled Data-driven Women to Watch.  The recipients of the honor were Nuria Rivera-Vandermyde, deputy city coordinator of Minneapolis; Joy Bonaguro, the chief data officer of San Francisco; Monica Croskey Chaparro, the strategic planning and performance manager of Raleigh, N.C.; Shireen Santosham, the chief innovation officer of San Jose, Calif.; and Kate Bender and Julie Steenson, deputy performance officers with Kansas City, Mo.

In addition to praising and detailing the women on the list, the piece also points out that a common misconception about data science work is that its only about numbers, but there is actually a human component to the work that benefits from a diversity of life experiences. Currently, only 25 percent of data scientists in the public and private sectors are women.

These women are leading by example and encouraging more women and girls to enter STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and computer science programs, Blauer and Brody wrote. And theyre women who are helping position our whole field  men and women alike  to think more critically about the biggest challenges facing our cities while, at the same time, ushering some of the biggest advances in public-services delivery in more than a century. This means better outcomes for all people, more responsive governments, and a pipeline of inspired, talented and emboldened females in the public-sector innovation workforce.

New Jersey joins multistate coalition suing FCC over net neutrality rollback

New Jersey is the latest jurisdiction to join a multi-state coalition suing the FCC and federal government over the rollback of net neutrality protections , a move that has drawn harsh criticism and warnings from IT officials at all levels of government.

In a press release this week, New Jerseys attorney general called an open and free Internet vital to state government services and virtually every aspect of daily life in New Jersey. New Jersey will now join a New York-led coalition of 22 other states in a lawsuit that alleges the FCC departed, without justification, from a long-standing policy and practice of defending net neutrality. It also accuses the FCC of misinterpreting or ignoring evidence of potential harm to consumers and businesses. This coalition has filed a petition for review of the FCCs decision in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

We are committed to taking whatever legal action we can to preserve the Internet rights of New Jersey consumers, and to challenge the federal governments misguided attack on a free and open Internet, said New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal in the press release. The Federal Communications Commission acted arbitrarily and against the evidence before it when doing its about-face on net neutrality. If the FCC has its way, ISPs will be able to play favorites on the internet, deciding which consumers can have access to what content and features  deciding, essentially, what consumers can do, say and view online.

In addition, some governors of the involved states have signed executive orders aimed at preserving net neutrality.

Code for America launches apprenticeship program

Code for America (CfA) is launching an apprenticeship program aimed at equalizing access to opportunities in tech, the group recently announced via a post on Medium

The apprenticeship program is a first for CfA, one that is designed for software engineering and data science for junior technical talent. Recipients of the apprenticeships will be paired with mentors, and they will work on some of CfAs ongoing headline projects, including its Integrated Benefits Initiative and GetCalFresh

The apprenticeships will be full time, and they will span a period of six months starting in early June. CfA officials are looking for applicants who have recently graduated from college or boot camp programs, who are returning to the workforce and want to update skills, or who are in their early careers and are in search of more experience.

Diversity and inclusion are core values here at Code for America, the group wrote in the post. We serve ALL Americans with our work. As we make decisions, our employees in the room must be representative of those we serve. Its key to our programmatic and organizational success. We are also acutely aware that access to opportunities in tech are not equal. Many people land their first break through networks and connections, of which access is often determined by power and privilege.

Interested technologists can apply here , and applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

San Francisco looks to hire eight for its digital services team

In other opportunities news, San Francisco is looking to make eight new hires for its digital services team.

The team is currently made up of 18, and it includes product managers, designers and developers. The new recruits are needed for a range of work, including roles within the Affordable Housing Services team, which is of particular import in a city and state suffering from a continuing housing crisis. The positions the team is seeking to fill are also varied, and they include a product manager, a full stack engineer, a Salesforce engineer and a designer, among others.

Other work for new hires includes the design and development of a new digital service for cannabis businesses, which have just become legal in California. The San Francisco Digital Services team notes that it is looking for ways to do permitting online while also tying into the citys new physical permit center that is currently under development. A senior service designer is needed for that project.

Meanwhile, the city is also rebuilding its website from the ground up to include a service-led approach that makes it easier for users to quickly find what they need.

Interested technologists can find more information here

Oakland, Calif., launches a civic design lab

Oakland, Calif., has launched its first Civic Design Lab, which is an innovation department designed to help solve long-time bureaucratic bottlenecks and make local government easier to navigate and more accessible for both residents and public employees.

The Civic Design Lab is a collaboration between Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, City Community Development and 100 Resilient Cities, according to a recent press release . The Civic Design Lab plans to use design strategies to find new solutions for some of the citys oldest problems. This, officials note, is a new approach to government, one that seeks to maximize limited resources and to make Oaklands communities more equitable.

While the announcement of the design lab was recent, work is already under way. In fact, the Civic Design Lab has redesigned the citys Rent Adjustment Program , creating an online portal that is more user-friendly for tenants and property owners. They have also improved the Healthy Housing inspection process and streamlined partnerships between city programs and entrepreneurs related to equitable economic growth in Oakland.

The Civic Design Lab can redesign our government to make it a more responsive city government for all Oaklanders, said Mayor Libby Schaaf in a press release. If we want different outcomes in our city, we need a fresh set of eyes, a nimble team, and a compassionate heart to solve problems in creative new ways.

The lab is now embedded in Oakland City Hall. Future undertakings include a revamped summer youth jobs program and a financial justice project.The state of Indiana has introduced an update to its Amazon Alexa skill, Ask Indiana. The newly revamped tool allows constituents to more quickly access county travel statuses throughout the state.For example, the skill will push specific travel information to Alexa users when asked, Alexa, ask Indiana for travel advisories. In addition to advisories, users will also be alerted to watches and warnings, which constitute more serious and limiting travel conditions.Access to information is a key component of preparedness, Bryan Langley, executive director of the Indiana Department of Homeland Security, said in a press release. This important step will allow Hoosiers yet another way to rapidly access information and make informed decisions to keep themselves and their family safe.
The State of Internet Access  A straightforward map showing both access to high-speed Internet availability by county, as well as one showing whether fiber, DSL or cable is predominant in each location. As you zoom into each map, they kick over to ZIP codes to see more local nuances and differences.

High-Speed Internet Deserts  Using population and the high-speed at home variable, Esri identified the 10 ZIP codes in the U.S. with the highest population but lowest penetration of high-speed Internet access. These areas were geoenriched to pull basic demographic statistics, like population and median income, as well as the predominant Internet uses. The idea behind this map was to highlight the areas that have already been left behind to identify any commonalities among them.

What Americans Do Online  This series of layers explores different types of Internet behavior and how changes to net neutrality might affect them. Of particular interest is the map examining excess Internet usage. This is essentially the inverse of the Internet deserts, although rather than looking at access, the map highlights the locations where the greatest number of people spend 10-plus hours a day online. These are the places likely to be most disrupted by any net neutrality changes, given their high usage under the current system.

The recent repeal of net neutrality regulations has concerned cities across the country about how the rollback will impact their communities. The repeal is likely to make it more difficult for municipal governments to foster digital equity, even with many cities dedicating resources to ensuring that all residents have access to the Internet, equipment they need to get online and the skills to successfully manage cyberspace. These communities are typically low income, and their lack of equal access to the Internet is contributing to what is being termed the digital divide. As with wealth inequality, low-income and remote communities could pay a dire economic price for this gap in Internet access.While the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), effectively sharing duties, the charge of ensuring that Internet service providers (ISPs) dont abuse the policy falls solely on the latter agency. Chairman Ajit Pai of the FCC has stated that the rollback of previous regulations will not have a negative socioeconomic impact. However, the FTC does not have specialized expertise in telecommunications, nor do they employ engineers with technical experience in data network management practices. The repeal of net neutrality has the very real potential to make the digital divide even greater, cutting off access to this vital lifeline to communities most vulnerable populations, and even hobbling emerging business enterprises before they get off the ground. Part of the new deal between the FCC and the FTC involves reviewing complaints by consumers regarding the failure of ISPs to comply with regulations. This shifts the burden of collecting this data to the shoulders of the communities whom it will affect the most severely.Cities, with the guidance and leadership of their citizens, must begin to form oversight of ISPs themselves. And location intelligence is critical to this task. With regards to halting and reversing the growth of the digital divide  and the impact of rescinding net neutrality  communities across the nation must understand the costs to underserved populations before permanent damage is done. Will people have to pay more for Internet and do more to get quality service? And will people who arent able to afford these higher prices be able to reach their full scientific, entrepreneurial and creative potential? These are the questions that should concern municipal governments when considering the possible economic and social repercussions of this legislative shift, and how to react.In the near future, there will be a need to deploy citizen-driven government oversight with respect to helping the FTC do their job. Communities will need to find a way to more accurately track Internet access and usage on their own. And when it comes to big data, location intelligence technologies such as spatial analytics can connect disparate pieces of data to help local governments make better-informed decisions. But the costs of inaction may not be as apparent since commercial technology often moves at a faster pace than the rules crafted to accommodate it. And more and more individuals and organizations rely on digitally transformative capabilities regardless of their geography.Businesses today  big and small  utilize Internet connectivity in areas far more diverse and revolutionary than simply allowing personnel to access the Web for email and Web searches. Increasingly, the physical machinery these businesses employ is itself wired online through a network of sensors known as the Internet of Things (IoT), allowing them to control and monitor their performance, and to keep better track of entire industrial systems. But this network that businesses depend on might not be as fast and well-connected for some as it is for others. Smaller businesses will find mere high-speed Internet availability an impassable barrier to entry. IoT processes cant work without access to the same quality of internet the rest of the country enjoys. And at the very least, these entry-level players will be cut off from vital parts of the supply chain.By starting with a baseline map of access and usage of any location in the U.S. on Dec. 14 (the date of repeal), there may be a way, in nearly real time, to monitor ISPs to ensure they dont hamper Internet access in underserved communities. Taking this capability a step further, cities could take that baseline geospatial gap analysis of who does and does not have access to broadband in an area  then overlay schools, social service locations, low-income housing locations and so forth  thus helping provide a more comprehensive picture of the most at-risk areas, allowing cities to develop and implement plans to help them.Three maps were prepared using location intelligence technology to help contextualize this issue further, and which examine this gap in access with the following data sets, in a visual, geographic context:We havent yet seen the consequences of the FCC net neutrality rules repeal. But we do know what the digital divide looks like; and a lack of oversight could mean the potential for ISPs to further exacerbate the problems that communities already deal with in providing high-speed Internet access to less fortunate citizens. This makes it all the more important to make capabilities available to monitor these possible problems down the road. Because the Internet isnt just an information tool anymore  it is an engine that powers and connects literally every aspect of our world, from small business up to national government. And the more communities, individuals and organizations are able to have access to that engine, the more productive the economy can be as a whole.
(TNS)  A deep entanglement of online currency, gold, and silver, and false identities appeared to unravel this week with the police seizure of $4.7 million in Bitcoin and criminal charges against two northwest Ohioans implicated in a prolific fake ID scheme.Two people  Toledoan Mark Alex Simon, 34, of the 4700 block of Stengel Drive, and Sarah M. Alberts, 34, of Perrysburg  have been arrested following a multiyear investigation into the production of false identification cards.Authorities believe Mr. Simon operated under the online pseudonym TedDanzigSR on the website Reddit.com. Posts on the website show Reddit users knew TedDanzigSR was someone they could go to when they needed fake IDs.User Iserj21, for example, asked 11 months ago if TedDanzigSRs Utah IDs were in-state passable.Eh... probably not, TedDanzigSR replied. Maybe? [Michigan] will be for sure.According to a lengthy affidavit filed Tuesday by the U.S. Secret Service in U.S. District Court, agents seized from Mr. Simons Stengel Drive home approximately $4.7 million in Bitcoin  a form of online currency  that was contained in approximately 30 wallets stored on a USB thumb drive.They also seized 18 gold coins, more than 200 silver coins, 21 gold and silver bars, documents relating to gold purchases, $7,000 in U.S. currency, a Bitcoin receipt, USB storage devices, identification cards not issued in Mr. Simons name, multiple computers and cell phones, and several printing-related items.Shackled and dressed in an orange jumpsuit, Mr. Simon made a brief appearance in federal court Thursday, where Magistrate Judge James Knepp ordered that he be detained pending trial.Noah Hood, an assistant U.S. attorney, told the court Mr. Simon currently is charged with three counts that each carry maximum sentences of 15 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine.These charges relate to conduct that occurred between Jan. 12, 2016, and Feb. 6, 2018, specifically related to the production and transfer of Ohio drivers licenses, Mr. Hood said.Mr. Simon likely will be indicted by a federal grand jury on additional charges  a procedure that must take place within 30 days, officials said.Judge Knepp found Mr. Simon indigent based on a financial affidavit listing his assets and liabilities and then appointed Toledo attorney Jane Roman to represent him. He scheduled a preliminary hearing for Feb. 23.Mr. Simon, did you understand everything that just happened here? Judge Knepp asked.Yes, your honor, he replied.Court documents show Mr. Simon made no statements to agents upon his arrest, but asked for a lawyer.Ms. Roman said afterward that she had just met Mr. Simon and knew little about the case. She confirmed that Mr. Simon had no previous criminal convictions.Mr. Hood declined to answer questions about the case after the hearing, saying he could not comment on an ongoing investigation.Mr. Simon is being held in the Lucas County jail on a $5 million bond, which was set Wednesday by Toledo Municipal Court Judge Joseph Howe.Ms. Alberts is charged with engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, conspiracy, money laundering, and manufacturing fake identification cards, according to affidavits filed in Toledo Municipal Court. She was arrested Thursday, according to jail records, and was scheduled to appear in municipal court at 9 a.m. Friday.No one answered the door when The Blade visited Mr. Simons home or Ms. Alberts apartment Thursday. Attempts to reach Mr. Simons family were unsuccessful.According to the federal affidavit filed in Mr. Simons case, the Ohio Department of Public Safety began investigating a fake ID scam in October, 2015, after receiving a number of fake ID cards collected at a bar in Springfield, Ohio. A Wittenberg University student told agents he and a friend got a fake ID through the Reddit.com website.From there, investigators discovered a source for the phony Ohio drivers licenses and identification cards that could be purchased with Bitcoin. Mr. Simon is believed to be the seller who went by the name of TedDanzigSR, on Reddit, the affidavit shows.Reddit is divided into niche forums, known as sub-reddits. These online communities break down into a variety of interests, covering everything from kittens and puppies to pornography and drugs.TedDanzigSR was the username of one of four moderators for the TedDanzig subreddit.Making a purchase from TedDanzigSR required consumers to go through a number of online communities, following exact protocols that could be found in a detailed FAQ  frequently asked questions  on the website Reddit.Visitors to the subreddit could ask questions about the details of fake IDs and leave reviews of previous purchases. They could also explore a FAQ that detailed, among other things, how to make a purchase through dark web browsers such as Tor; how the sellers determine pricing and shipping options, and even how to utilize a rewards program for leaving positive reviews.The dark web is a segment of the Internet considered hidden from normal web browsing. Accessing sites on the dark web often require having special encryption or special software.In a private message between vendors, TedDanzigSR told another person he employed three people on the production side.In one public Reddit thread labeled, Buying things with resell money, TedDanzigSR posted about income and the potential about being audited.I havent bought much at all with the profit, the user wrote in the post, which was quoted in the affidavit from Mr. Simons case. Saving for retirement. If you look at my possessions, you would think lower middle class, at best (wife beaters all winter long). But I dont really see it being a problem if someone wanted to. Just dont funnel money through any accounts in your name and there isnt too much to worry about (in terms of IRS, etc.)Using a dark web browser, consumers could make ID purchases on Mondays at 6 p.m.  a protocol initiated because of overwhelming demand.The dark web site  which says the operation began in 2012  also provides consumers with a guide on how to properly take a photo for a fake ID.On Thursday afternoon, within hours of Mr. Simons federal court appearance, Reddit users began posting about the news.Im somewhere between shock and denial, user SVACER870 posted. We lost a legend today guys. Ted you will be missed.One person, who has not been charged, told investigators Ms. Alberts approached him to join in the production of the counterfeit identifications scheme, according to court records. He joined the operation, and he said he would be paid in Bitcoin or gold.According to that person, Mr. Simon received all of the orders and photos for the fake IDs, as well as customers personal information, and mailing labels, the affidavit showed. That information was sent to the employee, who produced the fake ID. Once completed, that person alerted Ms. Alberts.Ms. Alberts would take the package to be mailed, court records state.The employee was paid by Mr. Simon in Bitcoin, while Ms. Alberts offered to pay the employee in gold coins or gold bars, according to the affidavit.A Twitter account with the same name, @TedDanzigSR, was created in March, 2013, and posts began a month later referencing fake identifications.Several of the posts refer to orders being shipped, new equipment being purchased, or specials  such as only $425 for 5 people! Many of them included the hashtag #FakeID. Here is one post:LIMITED TIME SPECIAL. 1 person $80 or 3 people for $200. Both include free overnight shipping. Email us at TedDanzigSR@hotmail.com #FakeID TedDanzigSR (@TedDanzigSR) July 22, 2017However other Twitter users  including users who billed themselves as fake ID sellers  claimed the TedDanzigSR Twitter account was fake. They urged those looking to buy fake IDs to visit Reddit.Sorry to hear you got scammed. No real vendor would use a hotmail email account Fake ID Legend (@Fakesid) July 2, 2017According to Meghan Cunningham, a University of Toledo spokesman, Mr. Simon received bachelor of science degrees in mathematics and physics from UT in 2007 and received a doctorate in physics in 2011.He worked as a postdoctoral research associate for the physics department from May, 2011, to June, 2012, but is not currently associated with the university, she said.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 9)  President Rodrigo Duterte said he needs to lead like a "dictator" to move the country forward.

"If you say dictator, I will be (a) dictator. Because if I will not be a dictator, nothing will happen to this country," Duterte said in Cebuano in a speech on Wednesday before communist rebel-surrenderees.

CNN Philippines has reached out to Malacanang for clarification on the President's statement.

Duterte earlier said it is not his nature to be a dictator, even denying allegations he wanted to stay in power beyond his term. He even even ordered soldiers to shoot him if he does not step down when his term ends in 2022.

Local and international human rights groups have criticized the Duterte administration for alleged extrajudicial killings in the anti-drug war and for attempts to silence groups and personalities critical of the government.

The Movement Against Tyranny, composed of activitist organizations, said they will stage a huge protest on February 25 against the "dictatorial and tyrannical" rule of Duterte. February 25 is the anniversary of the 1986 People Power Revolution that toppled the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos.

Critics: PH does not need a dictator

Opposition senators criticized the President's statement on Thursday, saying the country does not need a dictator.

"Hindi diktador ang kailangan, sa halip ay pinunong may kakayahan at tunay na malasakit sa buong bayan, lalo na para sa mahihirap nating kababayan," Senator Bam Aquino of the Liberal Party said in a statement.

[Translation: "What the country needs is not a dictator, but a leader with the ability and concern for the people, especially to the poor."]

Senator Antonio Trillanes, one of Duterte's staunchest critics, said the Duterte's dictatorship has not been effective.

"Bakit, wala pa naman magandang nangyayari pagkatapos ng 2 years na dictatorial style nya. Ginulo lang nya ang Pilipinas, pinatay ang mga mahihirap, pinahirap ang buhay ng mga Pilipino at giniba ang mga democratic institutions," Trillanes said.

[Translation: "Nothing good has happened after two years of his dictatorial style. He just put the country in a mess, killed the poor, made Filipinos' lives more difficult, and abolished democratic institutions."]
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 9)  President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday told the Armed Forces to discontinue a helicopter deal with Canada, a day after the Canadian government ordered a review of the purchase.

I want to tell the Armed Forces to cut the deal. Wag na ituloy [Dont continue] and somehow we will look for another supplier he said.

Duterte cited conditions imposed by the American country, which had sold the equipment under the terms they would be used for evacuation and emergency purposes only.

He said while he respects Canadas stand, he no longer wants to purchase military equipment from Canada or the United States because there is always a condition attached.

Duterte said this after Canada on Thursday ordered a review of its $233 million deal to sell 16 Bell helicopters to the Philippines.

The review was ordered following criticism that the helicopters may be used against Filipino citizens, including rebels from the New People's Army.

Duterte, however, reasoned the equipment would invariably be used against rebels and terrorists.

He said if he cannot use the equipment against locals contaminated by ISIS, he might as well surrender the government to them.

Earlier, Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque had said the helicopters will be used for humanitarian operations, although he kept silent on other uses for the new military hardware.

Duterte said while he did not question Canadas logic, his logic was based on reality on the ground.

If you cannot use it against the terrorist or Filipino citizen, then prepare for the eventual collapse of this country, the President said.

Despite this, Duterte assured Filipinos they could still buy other products from Canada. He also mentioned his support for U.S. President Donald Trump, whom he met during the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' Meeting last year.

I assure you, I am supporting Trump. He is a good president. He is doing it also for his country. People just dont understand, said Duterte.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 9)  Students, teachers, and personnel were stranded after transport authorities apprehended nearly a hundred jeepneys in the University of the Philippines Diliman (UP Diliman) Thursday.

The jeepneys, their route popularly called 'ikot,' are the main mode of public transport in the 493-hectare Quezon City campus.

The Inter-agency Council on Traffic (I-ACT) deployed teams in the university to implement its "Tanggal Bulok, Tanggal Usok," which is part of the government's jeepney modernization program.

According to data from I-ACT Spokesperson Aileen Lizada, 22 jeepneys were apprehended for smoke-belching, 20 for defective parts, and 53 for violation of Republic Act 4136 or the Traffic Code.

Violators were fined 5,000.

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) deployed 10 solar-powered jeepneys to make up for the lack of in-campus vehicles. However, the UP Diliman University Student Council (USC) said the units were not enough to meet commuter demand.

USC members had to organize biking and carpool services to help their colleagues get around the campus.

Other students, along with jeepney drivers who did not ply their routes, flocked to the main University Avenue to stage a protest against the sudden crackdown on UP jeepneys.

"The University Student Council continues to firmly stand against the current form of the jeepney modernization. The events today only manifest our concerns with the project, casting aside the welfare and the livelihood of current jeepney drivers without a proper means of transition or compensation," the USC said in a statement.

Meanwhile the DOTr said operations against defective and faulty jeepneys has been "long overdue".

"The surprise operations was conducted after Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade received text complaints from UP students during an interview in a radio program that there are a lot of old, dilapidated, and smoke-belching jeepneys roaming in UP," said the agency in a statement.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 9)  Vice President Leni Robredo took a swipe at former Senator Bongbong Marcos on Thursday, saying his poll protest was full of "publicity stunts."

"'Yung kaso dinala na sa public, maraming kasinungalingan na sinasabi, maraming propaganda, tingin ko alam niya na matatalo siga," Robredo said at the sidelines of a photo gallery opening in Palawan province.

[Translation: The case was brought to the public, there were so many lies, so many propaganda, I think he knows he's going to lose.]

Robredo also said Marcos was using social media vlogs (video blogs) and her name to promote himself.

"Ito mali 'to eh, kasi nasa rules naman ng korte na kapag naka-file na sa korte, 'yung korte na 'yung magdi-disisyon," she said.

[Translation: This is wrong. According to the rules of court, once filed in court, it's the court who decides.]

A word war between both parties' legal counsels began Sunday, after Marcos' lawyer Vic Rodriguez dared the Vice President to withdraw all pending motions at the Presidential Electoral Tribunal. Robredo's camp took on the challenge.

On Tuesday, the former senator called on Robredo via a Facebook post to sign a joint manifestation, waiting for her to affix her signature. But her camp refused to sign, adding that Marcos sent in the wrong document.

"Yung manifestation, wala naman siyang weight," Robredo explained.

[Translation: The manifestation has no weight.]

However, both camps vowed to do away with further motions to delay the manual recount on March 19.

READ: Robredo, Marcos lawyers: No more motions to delay manual recount

Marcos' lawyer also said they are not using the Vice President's name for publicity, as the former senator has no intent of running in the 2019 senatorial polls.

READ: Bongbong Marcos won't run in 2019 polls, claims he won VP post

Marcos lost to Robredo by over 263,473 votes in the 2016 elections.

Palawan-based journalist Catherine Santos contributed to this report.
Careful.

This is not what you want to find in your latte. A California family claims that Starbucks served them coffee containing a baristas blood, and is now suing the chain on grounds that it inflicted stress, nervousness, fright, anguish, grief, anxiety, worry, and shock.

Amanda and Louis Vice say that in 2016, they ordered some drinks to go from a Redlands Starbucks  one was a Java Chip Frappuccino that their 2-year-old started promptly licking. Once back home, they noticed a red smear on the cup as well as a strong metallic smell. Closer examination allegedly revealed drops of blood both on and in the plastic Frappuccino cup. Their complaint says that when Louis called up the cafe and said, My wife and my baby just drank someones blood, the store didnt really dispute that: It acknowledged that a barista had been bleeding, and that she was instructed to stop making beverages. The manager also offered the family free drinks for a week, KTLA reports.

Now, Amanda tells the station that she was seized by a fear that her daughter had acquired a communicable disease. She expressed this concern to Starbucks, but the chain allegedly told the Vices to go conduct blood tests on their own and report back. The results were negative, fortunately, and Starbucks reportedly offered $1,000 to each family member to make amends.

Their lawyer turned the cash down and sued the company instead, arguing that the amount does not begin to compensate them for their damages. Starbuckss only statement so far is that its prepared to fight the familys claims in court.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 9)  The Supreme Court granted on Friday the Solicitor General's request to suspend legal proceedings against former President Benigno Aquino III over the bloody Mamasapano encounter.

The Office of the Solicitor General had asked that Aquino's arraignment on February 15 be canceled as it urged the high court to order the filing of multiple homicide charges against Aquino and two former police officials involved in the botched Mamasapano operation in January 2015.

READ: SolGen asks SC to revive homicide charges vs. Aquino over Mamasapano encounter

The Ombudsman had dropped the charge of reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide against the three respondents when it filed the case with the Sandiganbayan.

The Supreme Court reached a decision on February 7 and issued a temporary restraining order, stopping the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan from proceeding with Aquino's arraignment where he was to plead either guilty or innocent of the charges.

CNN Philippines obtained a copy of the TRO on Friday.

Solicitor General Jose Calida commended the high court for "upholding the sacred duty of the State to prosecute crimes."

"This is the first step to hold those responsible for the senseless killing of the SAF44," Calida said in a tweet. He was referring to 44 members of the Philippine National Police's elite Special Action Force (SAF) who were killed in the botched Mamasapano operation on January 25, 2015.

Aquino's spokesperson Abigail Valte, however, said no one can predict what will happen after the issuance of the TRO.

"It's a good development for the petitioners because they wanted to stop the proceedings in the Sandiganbayan. The former president made a similar motion before the Sandiganbayan to just ask for time until his motion to quash is resolved," Valte told CNN Philippines in a phone interview.

Aquino on Friday also asked the Sandiganbayan to suspend the hearings and resolve his plea to dismiss the charges. Valte said the former President and his lawyers were ready to face the high court.

"The former president is quite confident that he can ably argue his case before the Supreme Court if called to do so," she said.

SolGen wants homicide charges vs. Aquino

The Solicitor General on January 25 this year further asked the court to "annul, reverse or set aside" the Ombudsman's resolution of June 13, 2017 dismissing the complaint for reckless imprudence resulting in homicide against Aquino, former Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Alan Purisima and PNP-Special Action Forces (SAF) Commander Getulio Napenas Jr.

The three face charges of graft and corruption, and usurpation or unlawful use of authority for the incident which killed 44 SAF members.

Aquino earlier asked the Sandiganbayan to resolve his plea to dismiss the charges.

The OSG said Aquino, Purisima and Napenas were all liable for the death of the SAF 44's deaths.

"Respondents' liability is grounded on the faulty planning and execution of Oplan Exodus. This is regardless of the presence of hostile forces in the battle ground," it said.

Purisima was under preventive suspension at the time of the encounter. However, text messages presented at a Senate hearing in February 2015 showed Aquino and Purisima discussed the operation.

In setting aside the earlier homicide case, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales said what Aquino did wrong was to allow Purisima to play a major role in the Mamasapano operation because the former PNP chief was under preventive suspension at the time.

Aquino posted a P40,000 bail to secure his provisional liberty even before the Sandiganbayan could order his arrest.

The SAF 44 were killed in an encounter with Moro rebels in the town of Mamasapano in Maguindanao, despite an ongoing ceasefire with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. The combined military-police team were on a mission to capture Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir alias "Marwan."

At least 18 rebels and five civilians were also killed in the botched operation.




Haiti - Security : Graduation of the 3rd Promotion of the Tourist Police





Thursday at the National Police Academy on the Route of Freres, Michel Ange Gedeon the Director General of the National Police of Haiti (PNH) accompanied by among others Menos Colombe Emilie Jessy, the Minister of Tourism and Secretary of State for Public Security Ronsard St Cyr attended the graduation ceremony of the 3rd Promotion of the Tourist Police (PoliTour).



Michel-Ange Gedeon and Ronsard St Cyr, did not fail to praise and encourage the initiative of PoliTour, before handing them their certificates.



The 41 police officers and 13 supervisors (44 men and 10 women) of this 3rd Promotion, who started their training in mid-November 2017 https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-22731-haiti-tourism-beginning-of-training-of-the-3rd-promotion-of-politour.html have sworn in this ceremony to defend the cause of tourism.



Recall that the PoliTour, created under the Minister of Tourism Stephanie Balmir Villedrouin in 2013 https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-8356-haiti-security-acceleration-of-the-creation-of-the-tourist-police.html has for mission is to monitor the tourist sites and monuments of the country, guide tourists and take action against any individual adversely affecting the tourism sector.



Minister Menos welcomed them, saluting their courage and urging them to remember and observe every word of their oath.



In his speech Michel-Ange Gedeon recalled "[...] From time immemorial, there has always been interpenetration of peoples in a logic of peace, exchange, distraction, discovery and living together. It is in this logic that tourism is an activity of discovery of other places for its joy and pleasure.



We must have fun in confidence, safe from danger, in a serene and quiet climate. This gives meaning to a police force responsible for securing tourists and tourist activities. Tourism is essential nowadays, as a key vector for economic growth of Haiti. The dominant concern of the public authorities is to place this country on the tourist map of the world in general and the Caribbean in particular [...]"



See also :

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-22253-icihaiti-security-the-tourist-police-celebrates-its-4th-anniversary.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-11025-haiti-tourism-2nd-promotion-of-the-politour.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-10850-haiti-tourism-new-taxis-and-politour-in-toussaint-louverture-international-airport.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-9540-haiti-security-graduation-of-the-first-promotion-of-the-tourist-police.html



HL/ S/ HaitiLibre


























Haiti - NOTICE : BHDA scholarships, call for expressions of interest





For the sixth year in a row, the Haitian Copyright Office (BHDA) is launching its 100,000 Gourdes Scholarship Program for graduating law students who write their essay on copyright.



To be eligible, it is necessary :



- Have a certificate of completion of legal studies granted by a recognized Faculty of Law;

- Submit a transcript;

- Have a memory director;

- Present a memory project validated by its memory director;

- Having chosen a subject dealing with one of the many aspects of copyright in Haiti;

- Undertake to support his dissertation by 30 September 2018 at the latest;

- Make a commitment to give 2 copies of his thesis for the BHDA library.



The files must be sent to the BHDA located at 31 rue Cheriez, Canape-Vert, between February 22 and March 15, 2018



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Bizoton : 30,000 people have access to quality water thanks to the European Union





On Thursday, the European Union (EU) with Bizoton Communal Section Board (CASEC), the Association of Progressive Citizens for the Advancement and Reconstruction of the Country (ACPARP) and the Cesar Foundation for the Weakest of Haiti (FCPFH), have closed a project for the supply of drinking water and sanitation in the localities of Fonds-brache, Grand-quail and Bel-air, started in May 2015 https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-13980-haiti-reconstruction-things-are-moving-in-the-commune-of-bizoton.html



As part of the Civil Society Organization Support Program (OSC) and the local authorities of the European Union, this  437,000 project funded by the EU will improve access to a drinking water of quality in the targeted areas, in particular by protecting and sanitizing the immediate environment of the water source of Chaud. The goal was also to reduce the water chore by reducing the distance to go to get drinking water.



In his speech, Vincent Degert, Ambassador of the European Union to Haiti, said "The project that we are closing today is fully in line with this approach and will improve access to quality water and a water system and sanitation for 30,000 people in the area."



In concrete terms, this project has made it possible to: capture the source of Chaud, the construction of 2 reservoirs and 4 water kiosks, the construction of a fence to secure the perimeter of the catchment, the erection of 5,000 cubic meters of dry stone thresholds around three gullies which threatened the site and the planting of 10,000 seedlings. In addition, 90 family latrines were built, along with family training in the management and maintenance of these latrines, as well as training sessions in participatory project management, community leadership and good governance to the benefit of 30 CSO representatives and seven local elected representatives.



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-13980-haiti-reconstruction-things-are-moving-in-the-commune-of-bizoton.html



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Education : Towards an Education Capacity Building Plan for the country





A two-days workshop on how to strengthen the role of Haitis ten Departmental Directorates of Education (DDE) in planning and managing the countrys education system is took place in Ennery.



With support from the European Union, the two-day workshop is part of a larger project coordinated by the UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP-UNESCO) and the Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training (MENFP).



Bringing together some 40 participants from all the DDEs, the central Ministry, and development partners, the workshop provides an opportunity to validate and discuss a just released diagnostic report on the planning capacities of the Haitian education administration.



The origins of this report, conducted by IIEP, are rooted in the countrys shift towards deconcentrating Haitis public administration and the overall acknowledgement that the DDEs will need to play an expanded role in managing the education system. The core question at the workshop is to define together  with both the central and local education authorities  the next steps for how to move towards deconcentration.



Watch this video with DDE staff who are currently training at IIEP in Paris (video is in French)







Strengthening the system, from administration to the classroom



Overall, the diagnostic found that despite a common set of challenges facing education and society at large  including political instability, natural disasters, and poor governance there are numerous areas where it is possible to implement feasible solutions to improve the planning and managerial functions of the MENFP and DDEs.



At the institutional level, the report found :



The DDEs role in planning must be strengthened to improve the poor implementation rate of educational plans and programmes. The diagnostic recommends that the political discourse occurs in tandem with concrete steps to make the DDEs more autonomous and effective.



Existing recruitment procedures must be consistently applied and the overall process must be more transparent. The diagnosis revealed a lack of transparency and this poses major challenges to staff motivation.



At the organizational level, the report found :



The DDEs must comply with overall procedures in planning and management. The diagnostic recommends that the new manual is implemented and is backed by sufficient financial and human resources.



The DDEs need greater material and financial resources to properly function. This was identified by the DDE staff as the most important way to improve the performance of the DDEs.



Strengthened collection and use of educational data. The diagnosis stressed that the data must be made available to the right public. By sharing more systematically the existing data with the DDE staff, this will help improve the quality of the data as well as contribute to the EMIS having a more central place in the work of the DDE.



At the individual level, the report found:



There needs to be more recruitment of planners at the DDE level. The diagnosis found that there are currently only seven planners at the DDE level. The low salary level has resulted in some planners leaving their posts for more lucrative positions.



Skills development in educational planning is needed amongst managers at the DDE level because there is currently a mismatch between profiles and competencies.



Paving the way forward :

During the workshop, discussions around all these areas from the diagnostic report will lay the foundation for the development of a detailed and budgeted capacity development plan. This plan will enable educational officials at the departmental level to better implement Haitis national vision for education.




















Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 9)  President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered his labor secretary to bring home distressed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from Kuwait in 72 hours.

"I have given the (Labor Secretary Silvestre) Bello 72 hours. Seventy-hours to go there and pick up the Filipinos na gustong umuwi (who want to go home)," Duterte said in a press conference Friday night.

He said he will also tap major airlines to make this possible.

"Those who want to be repatriated. With or without money, I will ask PAL (Philippine Airlines) and Cebu Pacific to provide transportation," he said.

Duterte made the statements shortly after receiving reports that a Filipina overseas worker's body had been found in a freezer in Kuwait.

READ: Body of Filipina found in freezer in Kuwait

The worker was identified as Joanna Daniela Demafelis. Authorities said her body was found with torture marks and there were indications she was strangled to death.

A furious Duterte upheld the ban of Filipino workers to Kuwait as he spouted strong words over the death of another Filipina worker in the West Asian Country.

Duterte decried the mistreatment of Filipino workers overseas, saying he was ready to take "drastic steps" to preserve their lives.

"We do not intend to offend any government or anyone. But if a ban is what is needed, then let it be so," said Duterte.

Duterte, who just weeks ago had asked Kuwaitis to treat Filipino workers with "dignity," decried Demafelis' fate, along with that of other Filipino workers mistreated abroad.

"The Filipino is no slave to anyone, anywhere and everywhere," he said.

Kuwait is a top destination for Filipino workers. The latest data from Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) said there are some 86,019 Filipinos in the country as of 2015.

Duterte said the Philippines expects the assistance of the Kuwaiti government and other countries with OFWS to help ensure the "inhumane" treatment of Filipino workers ends.

READ: Duterte to Kuwait: Treat Filipino workers with dignity

"Every unlawful physical injury that is inflicted on an OFW is an injury [that] I personally bear as the head of this Republic," he said.

Duterte said, Filipinos do not seek special treatment or privileges for workers, but only want "respect for their dignity and basic human rights."

He also lamented the government's inability to help troubled OFWs, saying its actions do not match its praise of the overseas workers.

"This is a national shame and yet we proclaim the OFW's the modern heroes of our Republic," he said.

Bello, meanwhile, urged the Kuwaiti government to sign a Memorandum of Understanding which provides additional protection for Filipino workers in that country.

The document has been pending for the last three years.

The Department of Labor and Employment in January implemented the immediate suspension of the deployment of OFWs to Kuwait as authorities probe the death of seven other OFWs in the West Asian Country.

In a media briefing Thursday morning, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said Duterte has plans to visit Kuwait.

CNN Philippines' Eimor Santos contributed to this report.




Haiti - FLASH : More than 250 Haitians arrested in Santiago, dozens of false documents seized





Wednesday during an operation in the historic center of Santiago and avenues Estrella Sadhala, 27 de Febrero among others, immigration inspectors accompanied by members of the army of the Dominican Republic arrested more than 250 Haitians in situation of irregular migration and seized dozens of fake cards of the National Plan for the Regularization of Foreigners (PNRE), as well as false visas and Dominican identity cards (cedulas) that were in the hands of Haitians, according to the reports of the immigration and military authorities.



Most of our arrested compatriots who will be repatriated to Haiti, were dedicated to the sale of different products at traffic lights, in the streets, avenues and public places, an activity prohibited by the mayor for both Haitians and for the Dominicans without a patent in good standing.



In recent months, several thousands of falsified PNRE cards and hundreds of fake Haitian passports have been seized by the Dominican authorities https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-23374-haiti-dr-seizure-of-hundreds-of-falsified-pnre-cards.html A practice more and more widespread among our compatriots who find near the networks of forgers, besides cards of the PNRE and falsified Dominican cedulas, of false passports, false visas, birth certificates and even fake certificate of marriage among others...



Recall that the hundreds of thousands of our compatriots in irregular migration in the Dominican territory, who risk expulsion at any time, are easy prey for networks of counterfeiters of Dominican and Haitian thugs, who get richer by selling at a high price PNRE cards that are immediately discovered during a biometric check. Remember that these falsified cards that usually usurp the identity of a Haitian regularly registered with the PNRE, lead to the expulsion of the holder but also to the exclusion of the PNRE and the expulsion of the real owner if the latter does not can prove that he has filed a prior complaint for the theft of his card.



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-23374-haiti-dr-seizure-of-hundreds-of-falsified-pnre-cards.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-22776-haiti-dr-seizure-of-141-passports.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/article-22708-haiti-pnre-fausses-cartes-plus-d-une-centaine-d-haitiens-vont-etre-expulses.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-21746-haiti-flash-dismantling-in-dr-of-a-mobile-laboratory-of-false-haitian-papers.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-20762-haiti-dr-seizure-of-more-than-2-200-false-documents-in-the-hands-of-haitians.html



SL/ HaitiLibre


















Story updated to include statement of Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III.

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 9)  A body of a dead Filipino was found stored in a freezer in Kuwait, according to multiple sources.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III identified the body as that of Joanna Daniela Demafelis, born June 24, 1988.

In a report by Arab Times, authorities said the body was found in an apartment in the Al Shaab area, where it may have been kept for over a year.

Initial investigation showed Demafelis' Lebanese employer, Nader Essam Assaf, is wanted for cases related to falsified cheques.

ACTS-OFW Party-list Representative John Bertiz said Demafelis' body is now with authorities.

"Yes it's confirmed the body is with the police forensic and autopsy, we are condemning this act to its highest degree!"

Meanwhile, in a text message to CNN Philippines, Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Robespierre Bolivar said the Philippine embassy in Kuwait is still verifying the report.

Authorities found traces indicating Demafelis may have died by strangulation or torture.

The death comes after the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) suspended in January the deployment of OFWs to Kuwait in the wake of reports of abuse and deaths.

Bertiz called for a total OFW deployment ban on Kuwait.

DOLE is still probing the deaths of seven OFWs in the West Asian country.

The country is a top destination of migrant workers from the Philippines. The latest data from Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) said there are some 240,000 Filipinos in Kuwait as of 2016.

In a media briefing Thursday morning, Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said President Rodrigo Duterte, who just last month had appealed to Kuwaiti's to treat Filipinos "with dignity," has plans to visit Kuwait.

READ: Duterte to Kuwait: Treat Filipino workers with dignity
Hawai'i Free Press Current Articles | Archives Thursday, February 8, 2018 Jones Act leads to surreptitious imports of Russian LNG

By Michael Hansen @ 11:01 PM :: 5261 Views :: Energy, Jones Act Jones Act leads to surreptitious imports of Russian LNG by Michael Hansen, Hawaii Shippers Council, February 8, 2018 The New York Times published on January 30, 2018, the opinion-editorial  Americas Natural Gas Hurdles , reporting that a cargo of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) was surreptitiously imported into the United States on January 28, 2018 at Boston, Massachusetts, in apparent violation of the sanctions imposed by President Barack Obama in 2014 in response to the Russian incursions in the Ukraine Republic. The cargo originated at the Russian Yamal Gas Project, which is located on the Yamal Peninsula in Northwest Siberia bordering the Arctic Ocean, was discharged at the Isle of Grain LNG Terminal on Brittan, and then reloaded on another LNG carrier for discharge at Boston. On the initial movement from Yamal to Isle of Grain, a newbuild specialized icebreaker tanker  of a type known as the ARC7  was employed on the Northwest passage along the margin of the Arctic Ocean from Siberia to Greenland. The South Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DMSE) is contracted to build up to sixteen Arc7 double acting ice-class gas tankers for the project.[7] Tankers will be chartered and operated by the Russian national shipping company Sovcomflot. A double acting ship is a type of icebreaking ship designed to run ahead in open water and thin ice, but turn around and proceed astern (backwards) in heavy ice conditions. In this way, the ship can operate independently in severe ice conditions without icebreaker assistance but retain better open water performance than traditional icebreaking vessels. As the author explains because of the Jones Act a cargo of domestic LNG could not be shipped to the North East to alleviate the shortage of natural gas due to the severe winter conditions. There are no Jones Act LNG carriers, and no U.S. shipyard has constructed an LNG carrier since the late 1970s nearly 40 years ago, which would met the Jones Act domestic ship build requirement. In the meantime, the U.S. is exporting LNG from Sabine Pass Liquefaction, LLC, a subsidiary of Cheniere Partners, a LNG export terminal located in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, which began operation in September 2016, to worldwide destinations on foreign flag LNG carriers. However, the LNG from this and five other U.S. export terminals currently under development can not be shipped to elsewhere in the U.S. where it may be needed. Anna Mikulska with the Center for Energy Studies at Rice Universitys Baker Institute for Public Policy wrote in Forbes on February 6, 2018: ...the U.S. has to import LNG not because it lacks sufficient natural gas production but because market and non-market mechanisms prevent natural gas from being delivered to the northeastern part of the country whenever demand increases rapidly and at a relatively short notice. The underlying obstacle here is insufficient pipeline and storage capacity to bring in and store otherwise abundant U.S. natural gas. In addition, the region is not able to cost-effectively import U.S.sourced LNG due to barriers caused by the Jones Act. This 1920 policy prevents ships built and registered outside of the U.S. from delivering goods between U.S. ports. And there are currently no U.S.-made, U.S.-flagged LNG tankers. This issue also affects the noncontiguous jurisdictions especially Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. Alaska is currently a small producer of LNG and ha the potential to become a very large producer but because of the Jones Act cannot ship to other U.S. ports. Puerto Rico currently imports LNG from Trinidad and Tobago, but would also like to purchase LNG from the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and expand its use. Hawaii has considered LNG and would be a natural pairing with Alaska. Key excerpts from the NYT : Despite American sanctions against Russian natural gas producers, a cargo of liquefied natural gas that was most likely produced at Russias Yamal plant arrived in Boston this past weekend. This development would seem to fly in the face of the sanctions imposed by President Barack Obama in 2014, though those restrictions apply to the financiers and producers of Russian oil and natural gas, not the output. But the arrival of the gas in the Northeast after frigid temperatures does raise questions about whether President Trumps efforts to pursue American energy dominance in the world are falling short. The journey of this liquefied natural gas from the Yamal Peninsula in northern Siberia to Boston may at first appear like a well-orchestrated move from the Kremlin playbook to hide what might be an embarrassing delivery for the United States. First, despite being the largest natural gas exporter in the world, Russia has ranked only seventh as an exporter of liquefied natural gas, and Yamal is expected to improve the countrys position (the United States is expected to be the third-largest L.N.G. exporter by 2020). Thus it was under the proud eyes of Mr. Putin that the first cargo from Yamal L.N.G. was loaded into the Russian icebreaker/tanker Christophe de Margerie (named after the recently deceased chief executive the French energy company Total, which holds a 20 percent interest in the project.) The cargo was initially intended for Asia, but as gas prices soared in Britain, it made its way to the Isle of Grain terminal near London on Dec. 28. Here the gas was briefly stored but never made its way to the British grid. On Dec. 30, the French energy company Engies Gaselys tanker picked up cargo and set off for Boston, where gas prices were soaring because of the cold winter. Because the time between the unloading of the Russian vessel and loading of the Gaselys vessel at Grain was brief, it is safe to assume that the Gaselys vessel was carrying at least some, if not all, of the Russian gas from the Yamal L.N.G. project. The storage facility in London might also have been holding L.N.G. from other producers. Nonetheless the Russia news media has gloated over this gas delivery to Boston and claimed it as Russian. In the globalizing natural gas markets, we can expect more of these trades. Once, natural gas was primarily a regional resource delivered by land-based pipelines, but in recent years, there has been a rapid growth in the shipping of natural gas in liquefied form across the globe. Indeed, another shipment of Russian liquefied natural gas via France is expected to arrive in New England in February. Bottlenecks in the natural gas pipeline network this winter led to significant increases in oil-fired and dual-fuel electricity generation to meet energy demands in New England. That development demonstrates the importance, despite grass-roots environmental opposition, of building pipelines connecting the Appalachia gas-producing region  namely the Marcellus and Utica shale gas reserves  with New England markets. Otherwise, New England is likely to continue to have the nations highest energy prices and remain dependent on L.N.G. imports and burning oil. Moreover, Washington and industry need to re-evaluate the 1920 Jones Act, which stipulates that shipping between United States ports must be on American built, registered and crewed vessels. None of the vessels carrying L.N.G. from the Gulf Coast meet this requirement and thus cannot supply New England with domestic gas.




1. U.S. acceptance of coexistence as the only alternative to atomic war.

2. U.S. willingness to capitulate in preference to engaging in atomic war.

3. Develop the illusion that total disarmament of the United States would be a demonstration of moral strength.

4. Permit free trade between all nations regardless of Communist affiliation and regardless of whether or not items could be used for war.

5. Extension of long-term loans to Russia and Soviet satellites.

6. Provide American aid to all nations regardless of Communist domination.

7. Grant recognition of Red China. Admission of Red China to the U.N.

8. Set up East and West Germany as separate states in spite of Khrushchev's promise in 1955 to settle the German question by free elections under supervision of the U.N.

9. Prolong the conferences to ban atomic tests because the United States has agreed to suspend tests as long as negotiations are in progress.

10. Allow all Soviet satellites individual representation in the U.N.

11. Promote the U.N. as the only hope for mankind. If its charter is rewritten, demand that it be set up as a one-world government with its own independent armed forces. (Some Communist leaders believe the world can be taken over as easily by the U.N. as by Moscow. Sometimes these two centers compete with each other as they are now doing in the Congo.)

12. Resist any attempt to outlaw the Communist Party.

13. Do away with all loyalty oaths.

14. Continue giving Russia access to the U.S. Patent Office.

15. Capture one or both of the political parties in the United States.

16. Use technical decisions of the courts to weaken basic American institutions by claiming their activities violate civil rights.

17. Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers' associations. Put the party line in textbooks.

18. Gain control of all student newspapers.

19. Use student riots to foment public protests against programs or organizations which are under Communist attack.

20. Infiltrate the press. Get control of book-review assignments, editorial writing, policymaking positions.

21. Gain control of key positions in radio, TV, and motion pictures.

22. Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all forms of artistic expression. An American Communist cell was told to "eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings, substitute shapeless, awkward and meaningless forms."

23. Control art critics and directors of art museums. "Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art."

24. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them "censorship" and a violation of free speech and free press.

25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV.

26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as "normal, natural, healthy."

27. Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with "social" religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity which does not need a "religious crutch."

28. Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of "separation of church and state."

29. Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old-fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis.

30. Discredit the American Founding Fathers. Present them as selfish aristocrats who had no concern for the "common man."

31. Belittle all forms of American culture and discourage the teaching of American history on the ground that it was only a minor part of the "big picture." Give more emphasis to Russian history since the Communists took over.

32. Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture--education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics, etc.

33. Eliminate all laws or procedures which interfere with the operation of the Communist apparatus.

34. Eliminate the House Committee on Un-American Activities.

35. Discredit and eventually dismantle the FBI.

36. Infiltrate and gain control of more unions.

37. Infiltrate and gain control of big business.

38. Transfer some of the powers of arrest from the police to social agencies. Treat all behavioral problems as psychiatric disorders which no one but psychiatrists can understand.

39. Dominate the psychiatric profession and use mental health laws as a means of gaining coercive control over those who oppose Communist goals.

40. Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce.

41. Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents. Attribute prejudices, mental blocks and retarding of children to suppressive influence of parents.

42. Create the impression that violence and insurrection are legitimate aspects of the American tradition; that students and special-interest groups should rise up and use united force to solve economic, political or social problems.

43. Overthrow all colonial governments before native populations are ready for self-government.

44. Internationalize the Panama Canal.

45. Repeal the Connally reservation so the United States cannot prevent the World Court from seizing jurisdiction over nations and individuals alike.
1 / 3 Aditya Dave, founder of Plena Data, poses with his wife, Saydi Dave. Courtesy Rich Breshears 2 / 3 Promotional image showing Plena Data's reporting platform. Courtesy Plena Data 3 / 3 Aditya Dave, founder of Plena Data. Courtesy Plena Data  

One Highland man traveled 7,000 miles just to follow his dream of starting a business.

Aditya Dave, 26, was born and raised in India. About seven years ago, Dave started researching Americas founding documents and became fascinated with following their ideals and starting his own business.

He felt he was meant to be an entrepreneur, but felt this was a less-accepted path in his native country. As he explained it during an interview at a corner table of the Lehi Starbucks last week, businessmen in India are not seen in a favorable light in India. On the other hand, those that pursue business in America are viewed as contributing to and building wealth for the local and national economy.

Dave immigrated alone to the United States in 2012. He earned a bachelors degree and then obtained a masters degree in computer science from the University of Utah in 2014.

Coming here, I had no idea it was going to work out, but I just had a hope it was going to happen, Dave said.

Dave did well after college, gaining experience at a few startups before landing at Adobe. He said his experience there was invaluable for fostering his entrepreneurial drive, and for helping him see how to solve problems. He struck out on his own in 2016, founding Plena Data. The company officially launched in July 2017.

We have too much data, and there was no tool to seamlessly organize data. I found no one was catering to small- and medium-sized businesses in data analytics, so I came up with the solution to that problem, Dave said. Were now helping small and medium-sized businesses track their metrics and automate their reporting.

He said Plena Datas approach is different in that the software does the heavy lifting of the analytics, so clients dont need to build their own task forces to tackle it.

Plena Data is still in startup phase right now, but Dave is sure it will continue to grow. He and his team concentrate on those smaller businesses that need automated analytics reporting. Their offering touches all industries, and can even be custom built for each client.

Overall, Dave is excited to be living his goal of only a few years ago.

Its been quite the roller coaster journey, but the generous benevolence of this country astounds me. Enough people gave me a shot to prove my ability and I couldnt be more grateful, he said.

His words belie the obstacles he faced to get where he is, his wife Saydi Dave said by email.

He doesnt like to focus on himself, so hed never tell you the extent of the struggles hes gone through. Not only was he born in humble circumstances, he was born in humble circumstances in a third-world country, India. He faced struggles most of us cant imagine or relate to, Saydi Dave said.

Saydi Dave appreciates her husbands work ethic. She explained that she comes from hard-working farm stock and has watched other family members build businesses.

But my husband has an entrepreneurial drive Ive never seen before. Much like my grandfather and father, Dave dedicates himself to what he does. Plena Data is more than a job; its his passion, she said.
We remain embroiled in a debate over the nature and extent of our own governments spying on us. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which was enacted in 1978 as a response to the unlawful government spying of the Watergate era, was a lawful means for the government to engage in foreign surveillance on U.S. soil, but it has morphed into unchecked government spying on ordinary Americans.

The journey that domestic spying has taken in 40 years has been one long steady march of massive increase in size and scope. The federal government now employs more than 60,000 people to spy on all Americans, including the White House, the Pentagon, the federal courts and one another. As well, the National Security Agency and the intelligence arm of the FBI have 24/7 access to the computers of all telecoms and computer service providers in the U.S. And certain politicians have access to whatever the NSA and the FBI possess.

Last week, we witnessed a new turn as politicians engaged in cherry-picking snippets from classified raw intelligence data that support their political cases  pro-Trump and anti-Trump.

Raw intelligence data consists of digital versions of telephone conversations and copies of text messages, emails and other communications, as well as fiber-optic internet traffic (legal, medical and banking records, for example) and secret testimony and briefings intended only for the eyes and ears of those who possess a security clearance.

The surveillance state is now here.

The Republican members of the House Intelligence Committee fired the first salvo by releasing a memo derived from classified raw intelligence, which they claimed would show a conspiracy in the Obama Department of Justice, including the FBI, to spy on Donald Trumps campaign and pass along the fruits of that spying to the Democrats. The issue they chose to highlight is the DOJ application to a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court judge for surveillance on Carter Page, a former foreign policy adviser to candidate Trump who once boasted that he also advised the Kremlin.

The memos authors wrote about intelligence data they did not personally see; they selectively extracted and purported to summarize raw intelligence data but quoted none of it verbatim; they intentionally sat on their conclusions that the feds regularly have abused FISA authorities throughout the congressional debate to expand FISA; and a principal drafter of the memo  Rep. Trey Gowdy  advises that the raw data he saw and the memo he wrote have nothing to do with special counsel Robert Muellers investigation of the president.

The Republican memo also reveals that former MI6 agent Christopher Steele, the author of the dossier that accuses Trump of pre-presidential money laundering and grossly inappropriate personal behavior but has many parts that have not been publicly verified, was a longtime FBI source, and a summary of his work was part of the DOJs application for continued surveillance of Page.

That quoted phrase is today a major headache for the DOJ, as the American and British governments, which regularly share intelligence and occasionally spy for each other, have agreed not to recruit the services of each others agents. But the FBI obviously recruited Steele. If Steele was an FBI asset while still a British spy  if he was spying for the FBI and MI6 at the same time  he may be exposed to a criminal prosecution in Britain.

The Democrats on the committee have written their own memo, which the committee voted unanimously to release. It will be up to the president to permit or bar its full or partial release. The Democrats claim that their memo will show that the DOJ was candid and truthful when it sought a FISA surveillance warrant on Page and that the application for the renewal included far more than Steeles tainted work.

Why should anyone care about these political games?

The loss of liberty rarely comes about overnight or in one stroke. In a democracy, that loss is normally a slow process, often pushed along by well-intentioned folks who do not even realize until it is too late that they have created a monster. FISA is a monster. It began as a means of surveilling foreign agents in the U.S., and today it is used for surveilling any American at any time.

If you call a bookstore in Florence from a telephone in New Jersey, the governments computers will be alerted. A federal agent will download the digital copy of your conversation, even though it was only about ordering a book. Then that communication may be used to justify surveillance of you whenever you talk to anyone else, in the U.S. or in any foreign country.

This is blatantly unconstitutional, and it is often fruitless. And we know it can happen to anyone.

The Supreme Court has ruled that electronic surveillance constitutes a search under the Fourth Amendment. That amendment prohibits warrantless searches and requires probable cause of crime as the sole trigger for judges to sign search warrants. FISA only requires probable cause relating to a foreign agent on one end of a phone call  a far lower standard  to trigger a warrant. The government has convinced the FISC that it should grant warrants based on probable cause of talking to someone who has ever spoken to a foreign person, whether an agent of a foreign government or an innocent foreign bookseller.

That judicially created standard is so far afield from the Fourth Amendment as to render it legally erroneous and profoundly unconstitutional. Yet the FISA expansion that the president signed into law last month  after the debate during which House Intelligence Committee Republicans intentionally remained mute about their allegations of FISA abuses  purports to make this Stasi-like level of surveillance lawful.

The political use of intelligence data makes the owner of the data a serious threat to personal liberty, and it renders his instruments monstrous.
WHIPPANY, N.J. (New Jersey Jewish News via JTA)-If Bea Slater had ever been a shrinking violet, her sudden celebrity might be uncomfortable. At 90, the great-grandmother has her image plastered on billboards and bus shelters up and down Manhattan and in Brooklyn. There's even one on the roof above Junior's, the famous cheesecake place.

Along with three other women nearly as old as she, she has become the face of JDate, the Jewish matchmaking site. They're not poster girls for senior dating. Rather, JDate is promoting their images to suggest that it is "yentas" like them who are working out the site's algorithms to find that perfect match. One ad, featuring Slater hard at work on a laptop, reads "Her dreidel game is filthy. But her code is clean." (Translation: She's a great dreidel player, and even better at writing computer code.)

The "Powered by Yentas" concept came from copywriter and standup comedian David Roth, who produced the campaign with Hogarth Worldwide for JDate's parent company, Spark Networks SE. Roth said grandmothers have labored forever to ensure that young Jews meet and procreate in order to sustain the tribe.

"Bea was an instant star," he said. "She has one of the most expressive and comedic faces I've ever seen. We had an embarrassment of riches-so many funny photos of Bea to choose from. She was hilarious on set and an absolute delight to work with."

Slater, not a coder though a savvy computer-literate social media user, is taking her celebrity status in stride, loving every aspect and eager for more. Chatting in her home in Springfield, New Jersey, where she has lived for 65 years, she talked more readily about her family (two sons, Mitch and Jeff Slater; a daughter, Diane Bedrin; four grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren), but was content to answer questions about how she is enjoying her newfound fame.

"When my picture is up in the subway, then I'll really be a star," she said.

Though she has never modeled professionally-and the last time she did any acting was in eighth grade-posing came easily. Slater, who grew up in West Philadelphia, was a much-pictured daughter of a photographer. She became a photographer herself when she grew up, at least until she turned her focus to raising her kids. Almost every wall in her home is adorned with family photos, assembled and collaged by her father and, after he passed away, by her husband Jack, who died in 2009.

In November, a friend mentioned to her son Mitch that JDate was trying to find older women for a marketing campaign. He told his older brother, Jeff, a marketing executive, who initially dismissed the idea, sure their mom wouldn't be up for it. But the younger brother, a financial adviser, called back Jeff within minutes to let him know that not only did he decide to broach the subject with their mother, but Bea had agreed on the spot.

"I said, 'You never know...'"-which happens to be her response to virtually every question.

It's a principle she applies to herself as well as those around her. A few years ago, Slater persuaded her granddaughter Fanny Slater to enter TV personality and celebrity cook Rachael Ray's "Great American Cookbook Competition." Slater was in the audience when Fanny was named the winner, and in February, both grandmother and granddaughter will appear on "The Best Thing I Ever Ate," a show on the Cooking Channel.

A few months ago Mitch, who has a wide circle of friends in showbiz, including Bruce Springsteen and his cohort, arranged for his mother to introduce Steve Van Zandt (of the Boss's E Street Band) and his band, Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul, at a concert on Staten Island. She admitted to being nervous standing alone in the spotlight (with the protective Mitch hovering nearby).

"I didn't want to disappoint Steve," she recalled. Later, to her astonishment, Slater was mobbed by fans who wanted to take selfies with her.

Slater was chosen by the Donna Grossman Casting Agency. Speaking for Grossman and her team, Paul Bernstein said they auditioned approximately 40 women, though many more applied. They were looking for "authentic Jewish grandmothers in their late 80s to 90s," Bernstein said, and Slater and her co-stars stood out because of "their heart, their humor, style. They all had their own chutzpah and heimishe feel."

The photographs for JDate were taken by Randal Ford, a sought-after commercial photographer.

Some 60 years ago, Slater and her husband helped co-found their synagogue, Temple Shaarey Shalom, the Reform congregation near her home. It was a big part of their and their children's lives. Going on without Jack was a challenge, Bea acknowledged, and many of her friends are gone, too, or not as youthful as she is. Still, she attends the temple's Renaissance Club, drives (though not at night) and keeps up an active social life. And now she's auditioning for other advertising campaigns.

Asked what Jack would make of her celebrity, Slater laughed.

"He'd have said, 'Do you know what you're getting yourself into?' He was much more conservative than me," she said.

As for using JDate herself, she is adamant that she has "absolutely no interest in meeting anyone. I'd never find anyone as good as what I had."

But like so many Jewish grandmothers, Slater is eager to help others find love.

"There should be more money next time, though," she added, with exactly the kind of twinkle in her eyes that got her the JDate gig in the first place.
Shimon Abta and his wife, who asked not to be named, visiting the Western Wall in Jerusalem in happier times.

NEW YORK (JTA)-It shouldn't have been complicated. Shimon Abta, an expert Israeli cannabis agronomist, was sent by his employer to consult with American companies in states where medical marijuana is legal. He was living in Las Vegas and met an American Jewish woman on JDate. They married last year and together started becoming more religious. Both in their 30s, they are eager to start a family.

But on Jan. 8, U.S. immigration officials told Abta to withdraw his application for permanent residency status and leave for Israel that very day or face arrest on felony charges of illicit drug trafficking. He was given two hours to pack and say goodbye to his wife, who did not want her name used in this article.

Though he left voluntarily, if under pressure, when he landed in San Francisco to change planes, uniformed border patrol agents boarded his flight and escorted him off, handcuffing him in full view of other passengers, Abta told JTA. They confiscated his passport, cellphone and cigarettes, and refused to tell him where they were taking him, Abta said. They wouldn't let him answer the phone as his wife called repeatedly-"frantically," she told JTA.

Eventually they walked Abta through the airport to his connecting flight. Other passengers stared as the bearded Israeli, surrounded by uniformed officers, was ushered to the gate.

Now Abta is in Israel while his wife remains in Las Vegas finishing a master's degree that will, ironically, equip her to counsel opioid addicts. They desperately want to be reunited, both told JTA in separate interviews.

Abta appears to be the lone cannabis industry worker expelled from the United States due to a gap between federal and state law. Federal U.S. law deems any involvement in the marijuana industry illegal, while Nevada is one of 29 states and the District of Columbia where credentialed doctors can prescribe cannabis. Israel is a worldwide leader in research on its medical uses and Abta's former employer, Tikun Olam Ltd., is one of Israel's largest suppliers of medical cannabis and a major presence in the U.S. market, providing its technology and expertise to growers and manufacturers here.

Specialists in immigration law and in the U.S. and Israeli cannabis industries say Abta is the only person they know of who has been caught in the breach between federal and state law.

"I haven't heard of anyone being deported for that," said Saul Kaye, founder and CEO of iCan: Israel-Cannabis, which promotes Israel's industry overseas.

Abta's "voluntary" removal comes at a time when the Trump administration has demonstrated great zeal for deporting foreign citizens.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service, or USCIS-the Department of Homeland Security arm tasked with processing Green Cards-sent Abta a letter dated Dec. 20 denying his application for a Green Card.

According to the letter, the "USCIS has determined that you are an illicit trafficker of controlled substances. Therefore, you are inadmissible to the United States. There is no waiver for this inadmissibility."

His wife, who asked not to be named to preserve her privacy, said she nor her husband want him arrested, "and definitely not on false charges."

"Everything he was doing was legal," she said. "He was basically defamed, calling him a drug trafficker. He's a scientist.

"Part of what made me fall in love with him is a real desire to improve people's quality of life when they have chronic illnesses."

Asked about Abta's case, USCIS spokeswoman Maria Elena Upson said, "While many states have changed their laws to make the sale and possession of marijuana legal under certain circumstances, immigration law requires the agency to apply federal law in adjudicating these cases...[A]s a federal agency, we are legally unable to make special considerations in these cases unless or until federal law is changed."

Abta's immigration lawyer, Ed Prudhomme, told JTA that "to threaten to file a trafficking felony charge against this guy was just unconscionable," adding that 'having the charge of felony trafficking would be a forever bar" to Abta's returning to the United States. Prudhomme has filed an appeal and asked that Abta's case be reopened.

That, experts say, will be an uphill battle.

"Now that he has left the U.S., it becomes much more difficult for him to get permission to return," said Angie Junck, supervising attorney at the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, which advises lawmakers and attorneys on immigration policy. "It concerns me that he accepted his own removal. ... You're held to higher standards once you leave."

Abta's case illustrates "overreach and overcriminalization [of marijuana] at the federal level, using it as leverage against individuals," Junck said. This is "a very difficult case. He has many hurdles to overcome."

U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman Jaime Ruiz said that Abta can file a complaint online about his treatment by CBP officers or at the U.S. Embassy in Israel.

CBP "officers treat all travelers with integrity, respect and professionalism. CBP officers follow strict national standards regarding the transport and detention of travelers deemed inadmissible in the U.S.," Ruiz wrote in a statement. "The use of restraints on detainees during transport is conducted in a manner that is safe, secure, humane, and professional. Without compromising their safety, CBP officers remain cognizant of an individual's religious beliefs while accomplishing an enforcement action in a dignified and respectful manner. If a traveler believes that CBP officers acted unprofessionally, they can file a complaint. CPB tracks and records all complaints and resolves them if possible."

Another CPB employee told JTA that handcuffing foreign nationals deemed inadmissible is "standard operating procedure. You don't know how they're going to react. They might try to flee. Use of restraints does not mean that you have committed a crime. It is a preventative measure."

Abta -- whose name in Hebrew is pronounced Avta and is occasionally spelled that way by family members -- first came to the U.S. in April 2016 and lived in an apartment rented by Tikun Olam. Between then and January 2017, when he married, Abta made seven or eight round trips between Las Vegas and Israel on behalf of his employer, he told JTA. Each time he entered the United States on a B-1 visa, issued for work purposes, he told border patrol agents he was an agronomist for an Israeli medical cannabis company.

"It was never a problem," Abta said.

A few months into his life in the U.S., one client, CW Nevada, which has licensed Tikun Olam's cultivation technologies and intellectual property, told Abta he needed a Nevada state medical marijuana staff identification card to be able to come into their facilities. About a month after filling out a simple form, Abta received a state-issued medical marijuana staff ID. CW Nevada is listed as a cultivation facility and his employer, though he was never an employee there.

Abta and Prudhomme are trying to get a letter from CW and one from Tikun Olam making clear his relationship with each, they told JTA in separate interviews. But both companies are worried about legal trouble and thus far have left Abta out to dry, Prudhomme said.

Abta said he quit Tikun Olam in August. According to Prudhomme, the company said he was fired.

No official from CW Nevada, Tikun Olam Israel or Tikun Olam USA responded to multiple requests for comment sent over 10 days by email, direct message and phone message.

Once Abta married and knew he would apply for a green card, he returned to Israel to close his apartment because once individuals apply, they cannot leave the U.S. until they are issued travel documents.

Abta also claims he received legally compromising counsel from a woman he thought was an immigration lawyer. Abta heard about Eugenia Schall from an Israeli he met at a Las Vegas restaurant, he told JTA, and entrusted her to submit his Green Card application. Public records list Schall as president of Coast to Coast Visa & Immigration Service in Valley Village, California.

Abta said Schall told him he needed to submit a government-issued ID with the paperwork. The only one he had was the Nevada state medical marijuana staff ID. She submitted it.

But Schall is no attorney. The company website, which is mostly in Cyrillic, says it gets people visas to Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Armenia.

"We are not attorneys and are not a law firm. We do not give legal advice," the website says.

The company did not respond to several phone and email inquiries from JTA.

Had Abta "been working with immigration attorneys of good standing, they would have advised him to provide proof of status other than a medical marijuana ID card," said cannabis industry analyst John Kagia, executive vice president of industry analytics at New Frontier Data. "Given that it's not recognized at the federal level would raise eyebrows and additional scrutiny."

On Sept. 30, Abta had his U.S.-issued travel document, called an advance parole, stolen from a Las Vegas hotel. He filed a police report.

In December, his brother-in-law contracted a life-threatening neurological disease and Abta rushed to Israel to be with his family. He wasn't supposed to leave the country without the advance parole card. He had a police report but had not replaced the card.

Upon returning to the United States on Dec. 14, Abta was questioned for several hours by officials at the San Francisco airport but eventually released. The next day was his first Green Card interview. Five days later the government issued its letter of denial.

"I haven't heard of another case like this," Kagia said. "The lack of familiarity with legal cannabis within immigration enforcement agencies coupled with the proactively aggressive approach that the Department of Justice is taking means that participation in this industry will be looked at with greater scrutiny than under previous administrations."

Eitan Weiss, deputy chief of mission at Israel's Los Angeles consulate, said the consulate cannot help Abta.

"This entire story is something we have no jurisdiction over," Weiss told JTA. "I can't come to the American administration and say they have mistreated him."

He added: "The only thing Israeli consulates can do is help Israelis in case of emergencies. We can't help them more than that."

Now Abta is stuck in Israel rather than living with his wife of just a year Both say they want only to be reunited. Last year they bought a five-bedroom Las Vegas house hoping to fill it with children. But that doesn't seem likely anytime soon. Neither understands why.

His wife said she has started the process for making aliyah with Nefesh B'Nefesh, an agency that facilitates moves to Israel, but doesn't really want to go.

"I have to finish my studies here," she told JTA. "And this is my country."

She has started a Change.org petition addressed to President Donald Trump and other elected officials. More than 850 people signed the petition in its first four days online.

At his immigration interviews, Abta "kept saying he worked for a company in Israel, didn't do anything in America," his wife said. "He was an expert witness on multiple cases for the police in Israel cracking down on illegal marijuana.

"If my husband is being labeled a drug trafficker because he had a marijuana staff card, then what is everyone in the state of Nevada?"
WASHINGTON (JTA)The gap between how Republicans and Democrats view Israel is widening, a Pew Research Center poll found.

The poll posted Tuesday showed 79 percent of Republicans sympathize with Israel over the Palestinians whereas 27 percent of Democrats sympathize with Israel over the Palestinians. Pew said this was the widest divide since 1978. The poll showed that 42 percent of Independents sympathize with Israel more than Palestinians.

The drop among Democrats was especially sharp in recent years; in April 2016, 43 percent of Democrats said they were likelier to sympathize with Israel. The rise among Republicans has also been sharp since 2001: In that year, 50 percent of Republicans said they sympathize more with Israel

This years poll showed 6 percent of Republicans sympathize with Palestinians more and 25 percent of Democrats sympathize with the Palestinians more. Overall, 46 percent of Americans sympathize more with Israel, about the same amount it has been since 1978.

Differences were also sharp in how the respondents view Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Among Republicans, 52 percent view the Israeli leader favorably and 15 percent view him unfavorably. Among Democrats, it was 18 percent favorable and 39 percent unfavorable. With Independents, it was 31 percent favorable and 28 percent unfavorable.

Netanyahu openly clashed with President Barack Obama, a Democrat, and has warmly welcomed the presidency of Donald Trump, a Republican.

The telephone poll reached 1,503 adults between Jan. 10 and 15. The margins of error were 2.9 percentage points overall, 5.7 points for Republicans, 5.1 points for Democrats and 5 points for Independents.
The first modern insurgencyand how the British crushed it.

The war in South Africa was over.

Field Marshal Lord Frederick Sleigh Roberts, the legendary British commander, marched his 38,000 men into the main plaza in Pretoria, then capital of the Boer confederation. It was 2:15 on the afternoon of June 5, 1900. They had marched 300 miles across the Transvaal wilderness in just 34 days, meeting very little Boer resistance. Roberts had taken Johannesburg and its gold mines a week earlier. The citizens of Pretoria, knowing they were next, had basically handed the city to Roberts by fleeing in terror.

Riding at Roberts side was Lord Horatio Herbert Kitchener. Both men had made their reputations in Britains imperial warsRoberts was awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery during the 1857 Indian Rebellion, while Kitchener was fresh from decisive victories in North Africa that led to the reoccupation of Khartoum in the Sudan. The white-haired Roberts was 67, and Kitchener, with his fierce black mustache that seemed to spread from one ear to the other, almost 20 years younger. Together they represented the past and future of British imperial military power.

This was Britains second war with the Boers. The first, 19 years earlier, had been a humiliation. Its signature British defeat was the rout of Sir George Colleys forces atop Majuba Hill. Colley himself took a snipers bullet through the head as he turned to retreat. Within days Britain sued for peace.

Now, as Roberts men snapped to attention, the aging Union Jack that once flew over Majuba was run up the flagpole in Pretoria. Roberts was linking the finale of both wars, replacing the memory of Colleys epic blunder with his own epic triumph. All he needed was for the Boers to come forth and discuss terms.

Two days later, Boer leader Christiaan de Wet did step forward. But surrender was the last thing on his mind. Striking with lightning speed, the guerrilla leader and his band of commandos killed or captured more than 700 British soldiers near the railway line in Roodewal. They also captured more provisions, arms and ammunition than at any previous point in the warso much that de Wet expressed deep regret about having to leave most of it behind.

So began a two-year game of cat and mouse between de Wet and Kitchener. The tactics and consequences would serve as foreshadowing for guerrilla wars of the 20th century as well as the means used to crush them.

I should like to be present at their meeting, for meet they must, wrote a New York Times correspondent of the much-anticipated clash between the British and de Wets Boer forces. The reporter added: If [de Wet] is not killed in one of his forays. That he lives is the expressed wish of all the English officers and of Kitchener himself.

I will give Lord Roberts three years to catch me, de Wet had reportedly boasted to friends. I will give Kitchener three months.

Actually, just three days would pass until their next encounter: Advancing with a force of more than 12,000 men and anticipating that de Wet remained in the vicinity of Roodewal, Kitchener surprised the Boers as they prepared to demolish the rail line into Pretoria, seeking to deprive British troops of sorely needed foodstuffs.

But my plan was to come to nothing, wrote de Wet. British and Boer forces engaged one another in the night near the Leeuwspruit railway bridge. A train happened to approach from the British side of the lines, recalled de Wet, on which the burghers opened such a fierce fire that it was speedily brought to a standstill. General [C.C.] Froneman at once gave orders to storm the train, but his men did not carry out his orders.

The Boers had no way of knowing, but Kitchener himself was on board. Had the Boers attacked the train, de Wet seethed, Lord Kitchener would have fallen into our hands!

Instead, Kitchener offloaded a horse from one of the rail cars, mounted up and raced alone into the nightescaping what would have been a humiliating capture by de Wet.

Ubique means, Theyve caught de Wet, an now we shant be long.

Ubique means, I much regret, the beggars goin strong!

Rudyard Kipling, Ubique

Roodewal was not the first time the British had heard of de Wet. He was 45 and arguably the most famous Boer general. Born in the Orange Free State in 1854, the year Britain granted it independence as a republic, he had spent his entire life defending that freedom. In 1865 the 11-year old de Wet fought alongside his father in the second of a series of wars against the Basotho tribe. Sixteen years later, de Wet participated in the storming of Majuba Hill. Give me one man like de Wet, and I will send home one-third the army, Kitchener reportedly said.

The Boer leader was a broad-shouldered man who favored homburg hats and knee-high leather riding boots. De Wet spoke with a lisp, which might have prevented him becoming such a leader of men were it not for his furious temper and profound ability to preach fire and brimstone about the cause of Afrikaner independence.

In the early years of what has since become known as South Africa, it was the Dutch ancestors of the Afrikaners who settled the southern tip of the continent. The Dutch East India Company, needing a long-range supply port for its ships traveling between Europe and the spice-rich lands along the Indian Ocean, established Cape Town in 1652. British ships and such famous voyagers as Captain James Cook made the Cape Colony a regular stop on any long journey, but it remained profoundly Dutch.

In the lead-up to the Napoleonic Wars, however, Britain seized the region to better control the seas. The colony soon split between the more urban British and the agriculturally oriented longtime residents, who had rechristened themselves as trekboers (wandering farmers). This was later shortened to Boers. To them, the arrogant, easily sunburned Britons were rooineks (rednecks) giving rise to the derogatory term still in use today.

The Boers were a blend of Dutch, German, Flemish and French Huguenots who had come to the region as colonists during the reign of the Dutch East India Company. Boers were renowned for their independence and piety and were defiantly anti-government. As farmers who often spent their days hunting, they were expert trackers, crack shots and formidable horsemen.

Such were also the basic skills required of a soldier. As part of the Cape Colonys defense system against hostile African tribes, men between the ages of 16 and 60 were required to make themselves available for military service in case of attack. When called, each man mobilized with his own horse, rifle, ammunition and enough food to last eight days. This mobile force would become the model for de Wets commandos.

In the mid-1830s, fed up with British rule, the Boers abandoned the Cape Colony and embarked on what became known as the Great Trek. This 12,000- person exodus sent Boers en masse to the north and east in search of farmland beyond the reach of British rule. Just as with the westward migration occurring simultaneously in America, the newcomers warred with the native inhabitants. Hostilities between the Boers and the Basotho and Zulu were brutal and deadly, killing thousands on each side. Within a decade, however, the Boer had their farms. Soon after, they established the independent republics of the Orange Free State and Transvaal.

But the discovery of diamonds and gold in those regions in the 1870s and 1880s roused British interest. The metal is so uniformly distributed, war correspondent and Sherlock Holmes author Arthur Conan Doyle wrote of the Rand gold mines, that the enterprise can claim a certainty which is not usually associated with the industry. It is quarrying rather than mining. Years of diplomatic maneuvering followed, but the descent into a second Boer War is all but traceable to Conan Doyles simple observation. In an era long before oil became the currency of war, it was gold and gems that sent an empire on the marchnot once, but twice.

The Boers were the first military force of European heritage the British had faced since the Crimean War. But the Boers did not comprise a standing army, and their hit-and-run guerrilla tactics had more in common with forces the British had faced in Afghanistan, India and the Sudan. The burghers, as Boer citizens were known, elected their top military officers. The service of all citizen soldiers was gratis, with few exceptions. A typical military unit was composed of men from a single region and was known as a commando. Each burgher would train individually for battle, as the commando met only sporadically at a wapenschouw (field day, from the Old English for weapon show). At the close of battle, Boer units disbanded, and the men returned to their farms. Loosely organized as their commando system may have been, the Boers had perfected it long before the Great Trek and Zulu wars. Roberts and Kitchener may have captured Pretoria, but they were caught up in conventional military thinking. The commando system was alive and well all around them, able to rise up and go to ground at a moments notice. The solution, as the British learned all too well after the massacre at Roodewal, lay in not just holding key cities, but also capturing key commando leaders. And none was more determined to elude them than de Wet, who had vowed never to let his men surrender.

Six weeks after Roodewal, the British found de Wet again. They had trapped the Boer commander, along with three other guerrilla leaders, within the Brandwater Basin, amid the peaks of the Orange Free State. Dividing the 9,000 Boers into four separate columns, de Wet and the other leaders attempted to break out through the high passes.

Only two of the columns made it. De Wet and 2,000 burghers rode to freedom, even as the British captured 4,000 others. To de Wets horror, many of the Boers had given up voluntarily. A more senseless course of action could hardly be imagined, he later wrote.

De Wet and his band took it upon themselves to wreak havoc on the British forces. Between July and November, his men cut communication lines, destroyed railways, captured supplies and ammunition and generally hit the enemy when and where they least expected it. The British ran themselves ragged giving chase. The enemy had not been able to pursue the laager [camp], as their draft-cattle and horses were so completely exhausted that they had fallen down dead in heaps, wrote de Wet. I would soon begin again to wreck railway lines and telegraph wires.I had made it a rule to never to be in the neighborhood of a railway without interrupting the enemys means of communication. At one point his swath of destruction was so great that de Wet was forced to repeat himself. The bridge I had destroyed had been rebuilt, he lamented in September, and so I was forced to burn it again.

Burghers rallied to his cause, and his army swelled. Roberts controversial tactic of burning Boer farms brought hundreds of newly homeless recruits. De Wets whereabouts became the worlds greatest mystery, as correspondents marveled at his ability to disappear. By the end of November, Roberts was no closer to finding him than he had been in June. In the British Empires version of mission accomplished, Roberts declared victory, handed over command to Kitchener and returned to London a hero.

In December 1900, Kitchener set a trap. Suspecting that de Wet might attempt to cross the Orange River, the border between the Cape Colony and the Orange Free State, he positioned men at all bridges and fords. With the river at flood stage, de Wet had no other means of reaching the opposite bank. We reached the Orange Riverbut alas! what a sight met our eyes! wrote de Wet. The river was quite impassable, owing to the floods, and, in addition, the ford was held by English troops.Oh, the English had caught me at last!

Kitchener had given the British orders not to take prisoners. All through the evening, de Wet and his men raced from bridge to bridge, searching for that elusive unguarded crossing. They had cornered me, to use one of their own favorite expressions, he lamented.

Just before sunset, de Wets persistence was rewarded. The Boers found an unguarded ford 12 miles upriver.

A furious Kitchener gave chase. This time the Boer leader led his men on a daring dash through a gap in Kitcheners lines. The distance, de Wet wrote of their sprint to freedom, [was] 3,000 paces. Over these terrible 3,000 paces our burghers raced, while a storm of bullets was poured in upon them from both sides. And of all that force8,000 strongno single man was killed.

In another echo of the American West, Kitchener ordered the plains of the Boer homeland be fenced. But instead of livestock, he was enclosing men. Each length of barbed wire was five strands high and connected to fortified blockhouses a few hundred yards apart. Some blockhouses were round, others sharply angled. Each had an iron roof and gun slits about four feet from the ground. Narrower and narrower did the circle become, wrote de Wet, hemming us in more closely at every moment.The English seemed to think that a Boer might be netted like a fish.

They were right. Little by little, the British captured more and more burghers and their cattle. Kitchener increased the pressure by intensifying his scorched-earth campaign. His troops forced families from their homes at gunpoint, then moved in to fire the structure and fields. The British then led these homeless women and children to another of Kitcheners tools of persuasionthe concentration camp.

De Wet remained at large but felt the effects of these heartbreaking tactics at a logistical level: Burghers took to leaving their family wagons at home when joining their commando units, so their wives and children might flee in advance of the British. But this diminished the Boers ability to transport ammunition and supplies.

Kitcheners three-pronged tactic of fencing, farm burning and civilian internment was working. But his inability to capture de Wet made the burgher commando a folk hero in the British press, while Kitcheners cruel tactic of turning out families, destroying their homes and then interning them for fear they would seek revenge made him a lightning rod for controversy.

The concentration camps, in particular, were considered a method of barbarism, as one parliament member decried. Kitchener did not invent them, but they were in vogue among military thinkers at the time. A few years earlier, the Spanish had used concentration camps to suppress Cuban rebels, and the United States had used them to similar effect in the Philippines.

But what had begun as an impulsive British desire to punish rebels and their families soon turned into a tragedy. An estimated 160,000 women, children and elderly men were incarcerated (if captured, their POW husbands were shipped to Ceylon or St. Helena). The camps were rife with dysentery, cholera, measles and typhoid. The British had built them for military purposes with little regard to location, causing many deaths from exposure in the winter. In all, according to a postwar investigation by Transvaal archivist P.L.A. Goldman, 26,521 women and children and 1,421 old men died in the camps. The numbers are even more startling when one considers that total British war casualties numbered 21,942 and the Boer commandos lost between 7,000 and 9,000.

None of those statistics bothered Kitchener as much as his inability to capture Christiaan de Wet. By December 1901, 18 months after the fall of Pretoria, de Wet was still at large. Kitchener had conducted three intensive de Wet hunts, to no avail. The full weight of the war had fallen on Kitcheners shoulders, and the workaholic commander was starting to show signs of strain. His gifts were those of an administrator who practiced rigid economy and who had an inordinate capacity for hard work, wrote South African historian S. Burridge Spies. These gifts and his resolution and drive were offset, however, by his reluctance to delegate authority, by his rigid and at times stubborn adherence to his chosen course of action, and by the fact that he often neglected the human element in his calculations.

At no time was this more obvious than in December 1901. Fencing the veld was yielding roughly 1,000 prisoners a month, which was a coup but certainly not the sort of number that would end the Boer conflict anytime soon. Farm burning had backfired in many ways, as British troops had gotten into the habit of burning all farms, even those of British sympathizers, who were quick to complain to Kitcheners superiors back in London. And the uproar about the concentration camps had become so great that British military officials had been forced to let an independent humanitarian group investigate. Kitchener, for his part, blamed the unsanitary habits of Boers for the casualty rate.

On Christmas Day, 1901, came the devastating news that the unstoppable de Wet had struck again. At 2 a.m. de Wet had led 600 men up a steep gully in a surprise attack against a blockhouse at Tweefontein. Walking in their stocking feet so as not to be heard, de Wet and his men came up over the crest of the ravine and raced down onto the British tents. They fired as they ran, killing many in their sleep. The British rallied, and for 40 minutes the two sides fought in brutal combat, some of it hand to hand. When it was over, 300 of the 550 British soldiers stationed there were dead or wounded. The Boers were so short of clothing from their months on the run that some wore womens dresses. The next day, before setting the remaining 250 British free, the Boers stripped them naked and took their clothes.

It is very sad and depressing that the Boers are able to strike such blows, Kitchener wrote, adding that desperate men were always a threat in the night.

Just when it seemed the guerrilla war might drag on forever, Kitcheners stubborn adherence to his own course of action paid off. On Feb. 5, 1902, his line of blockhouses and barbed wire was finally complete, with some 8,000 blockhouses and nearly 4,000 miles of fence. Supplementing his own forces with specially armed black African troops, he began a series of sweeps designed to end the Boer War once and for all.

In the northern section, the Boers made a most desperate effort to break through, reported The New York Times on February 14. The British pickets opened a terrible fire, and the Boers were everywhere met with a relentless hail of bullets.This lasted for some 20 minutes, when gradually the rattle died down until only the crack of single shots was heard. Then all was again quiet. The Boers attempt to break the British circle had failed. A few of them succeeded in crossing the line, and among these was General de Wet.

But over time, Kitcheners relentless sweeps paid off. Many commandos were starving, thanks to Kitcheners destruction of farms and livestock. Morale was disastrously low among those whose wives and children were interned. And many more were anxious about family members who had escaped the camps only to roam the veld, easy prey for roving bands of British soldiers, hostile Africans and wild animals. The time had clearly come to talk peace.

Fittingly, Kitchener and de Wet met face to face for the first time in Pretoria. The date was May 19, 1902, a Monday. They shook hands and sat down at the negotiating table in Melrose House, Kitcheners stately Pretoria headquarters. Kitchener was uncharacteristically humorous, attempting a few light jokes. De Wet was as defiant as ever, promising to continue the fight if talks broke down. As the talks continued over the next 10 days, Kitchener managed to pull de Wet aside so the two of them could craft a civil surrender. Of the two British negotiators, it was Kitchener who insisted on lenient terms.

The treaty was signed at 10:30 p.m. on May 31. Kitchener sat at the head of the dining room table. De Wet sat at his right hand.

The two men turned to one another afterward. We are good friends now, said a weary Kitchener.

Then, and only then, did de Wet ride out and order his men to lay down their arms.

For further reading, Martin Dugard recommends: The Boer War, by Denis Judd and Keith Surridge, and The Boer War, by Thomas Pakenham. Christiaan de Wets Three Years War offers the most vivid descriptions.

Originally published in the May 2010 issue of Military History. To subscribe, click here.
Only recently have national leaders gone eye-to-eye. Is the world safer?

FOR MOST OF HISTORY, national leaders seldom met. Travel was tough. Emissaries handled foreign relations. But in the 20th century, contact between heads of stateincluding American presidentsbecame possible, then routine. Executives could be their own diplomats.

An apogee of highest-level diplomacy was the bond President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Britains prime minister, Winston Churchill, established during World War II, each serving as his own

best ambassador. Family history prepared them for the interaction: FDRs parents introduced him to European travel when he was a boy, Churchill had an American mother. Their early careers coincided during World War I, when both managed their countries navies. Their strategic visions were similar: the two democrats saw Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan as threats to peace and freedom, and welcomed the Soviet Union as a necessary ally in crushing the Axis. Roosevelt and Churchill lubricated their relationship with vast amounts of charm. Both liked a good story and a stiff drink; Churchill likened meeting Roosevelt to uncorking a bottle of Champagne.

But what if a president meets face to face with counterparts who are stone-faced?

The third player in World War IIs Grand Alliance was Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. Brute strategic facts underlay his partnership with FDR and Churchill. The 1939 German-

Soviet non-aggression pact blew up less than two years later when Hitler invaded his ally. To save himself and his besieged country, Stalin needed American materiel. The democracies needed the Soviets and their armies to tie down and chew up the Nazi war machine.

A master of the personal touch, FDR felt he could charm Stalin as he had Churchill. I think I can personally handle Stalin better than either your Foreign Office or my State Department, the president wrote the prime minister in March 1942. Stalin hates the guts of all your top people. He thinks he likes me better, and I hope he will continue to do so. After Roosevelt met Stalin at the Tehran conference in late 1943, he told Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins that he felt himself on very good personal terms with Marshall Stalin. He liked him and found him extremely interesting. Stalin knew this, too, thanks to bugs his secret police had planted in Roosevelts rooms at Tehran, and later at the Yalta conference. I was able to establish from my eavesdropping, a top Soviet spook wrote in his memoirs, that Roosevelt felt great respect and sympathy for Stalin.

FDR thought that warm personal feelings would pay foreign policy dividends. You know, he told Perkins, I really think the Russians will go along with me about having no spheres of influence in postwar Europe. He could not have been more wrong. Stalin put his faith in facts on the ground. The heart of the matter, he explained to Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov, is the correlation of forces. Churchill handled Stalin more realistically when he presented him

in October 1944 with a secret frameworka naughty document, in Churchills wordsdivvying the Balkans, with Britain playing

a lead role in Greece. Stalin agreed; when Greek communists subsequently attempted

a coup against the monarchy, the Soviets did not back them. In Romania and Bulgaria, Stalin was givenand wieldeda free hand.

FDR had used charm all his life, from his happy-go-lucky college days to his mid-life struggles with paralysis. Camera lenses loved his sunshine smile and his cigarette holder cocked like Cyranos nose. But charm did not work on a Georgian ideologue who had clawed his way to the top of a totalitarian state and stayed there by murdering rivals.

Face time between presidents and communist chieftains often has been unproductive. John F. Kennedy, who met Nikita Khrushchev in Vienna in 1961 to discuss divided Berlin, came away believing that summit had been the worst thing in my life.he just beat the hell out of me. Khrushchev, mistaking Kennedys inexperience for weakness, responded by building the Berlin Wall. Richard Nixon touted his 1972 meeting with Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai as historic, as indeed it was: for 23 years, the United States had refused ostentatiously to recognize Chinas communist government. But some observers thought the trip went to Nixons head: conservative pundit William F. Buckley Jr. wrote that the president presented his visit as a pageant of moral togetherness. [He] managed to give the impression that he was consorting with Marian Anderson, Billy Graham and Albert Schweitzer. George W. Bush, upon meeting Vladimir Putin in Slovenia in 2001, said I was able to get a sense of his soul. Hes a man deeply committed to his country and the best interests of his country. Bushs last two assertions were certainly truewith the caveat that Putin is even more deeply committed to running his country. But Putins soul is a chilly landscape that will not bear much inspection. Barack Obama, tilting in the other direction, felt personal distaste for Putin, which he showed too candidly. I know the press likes to focus on body language, and hes got that kind of slouch, looking like the bored kid in the back of the classroom, Obama said in 2013. Butwhen were in conversations together, oftentimes its very productive. Probably not often after that remark.

Having met some of the worlds strongmen, President Donald Trump has emulated predecessors in personalizing those encounters. Two weeks before his 2017 trip to Beijing, Trump told an interviewer that Chinas President Xi Jinping is a very good person.We have a very good relationship, and thats a positive thing. In China, he told Xi, my feeling toward you is incredibly warm. We have great chemistry. I think well do tremendous things, China and the U.S. At the Asia-Pacific Economic Summit in Da Nang, Vietnam, Trump and Putin chatted several times, Trump absolved the Russian of meddling in the 2016 election. Every time he sees me, he says, I didnt do that, Trump declared later. And I believe, I really believe, that when he tells me that, he means it.

Like a contestant on The Apprentice, Trump was feeling opening-night thrills. His air-kiss to Xi came after he spent the 2016 election attacking China as a currency mani- pulator. His faith in Putin is simply incredible: the Russians did not flip the election, but anyone with a Twitter account knows they tried to muddy it. Even I, lowly historian, had a made-in-Russia follower. His name was American, but his avatar was Putin flexing a bicep, and his English clearly had come from a textbook.

Politics is communal; no matter what the form of government, pols deal with superiors, inferiors, or rivals. But democratic politicians also must deal with voters, putting a premium on bonhomie, however crude. Candidates for office must cultivate people skills; winning encourages them to believe their share of those skills is considerableand they are, in societies where hands are shaken and babies kissed. But in the hard world of hierarchies, prison camps, and secret police, politicians cast a cold eye on one anotherand keep a tight rein on such feelings they still possess.

Given time and patience, President Trump may learn. He will have many chances to.
Few place names evoke such strong emotions in the American psyche as Valley Forge, site of the 1777 78 winter encampment of Maj. Gen. George Washingtons Continental Army. Although it was just one of seven such Revolutionary War cantonments for the Americansincluding Morristown, site of a much harsher 177980 winter layoverValley Forge is the one that inspired legendary stories of misery and suffering, dedication and patriotism.

Following British Maj. Gen. Sir William Howes textbook September 1777 capture of Philadelphia, the forces of King George III settled in for a relatively comfortable occupation. When told of the citys seizure while in Paris, ambassador Benjamin Franklin confidently replied, No, Howe has been taken by Philadelphia. Indeed, the British army entrenched itself behind a system of fortifications and rarely ventured forth for the next nine months.

Meanwhile, Washington selected Valley Forge, within 20 miles of Philadelphia, as an almost impregnable position from which the Americans could readily observe the British and react to any enemy movement. Washingtons chief engineer, French Brig. Gen. Louis Duportail, diligently planned the American encampment around Valley Forges natural defensive features as a route of retreat. He designed a series of fortified redoubts and entrenchments, though much of the planned interlocking defensive works remained unfinished by spring.

On Dec. 19, 1777, following a six-mile march from White Marsh, the American army entered the field camp at Valley Forge (re-enactors commemorate the march with an annual ceremonial program), which lacked shelter of any kind. Washington ordered the construction of huts14 feet by 14 feet, with proper roofs, fireplaces and doors. But in their impatience for protection from the elements, the troops ignored their commander in chiefs instructions and threw together 1,000 or so wooden cabins in whatever manner feasible with the few available tools.

Although Valley Forge for many calls to mind anguish in the face of seemingly insurmountable difficulties, it should also be remembered as the place where the American Army came together as an effective force capable of defeating the British army. Valley Forge is also where that same American Army achieved a diversity not seen again for generations: The 1st Rhode Island Regiment of General James Mitchell Varnums brigade, for example, comprised primarily blacks and American Indians, while other regiments represented a range of nationalities. On Wednesday, May 6, 1778, Maj. Gen. Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steubens troops conductedmuch to the delight of Washington and his staffan elaborate grand parade and feu de joie (literally fire of joy, a gun salute) in exact order and with precise discipline to celebrate the new alliance with France.

Valley Forge evolved into a site of national recognition when Romantic-era historians and generations of schoolteachers essentially reinvented the experience, relating stories of widespread starvation, mountains of snow and a lone Washington in silent prayer. In reality, the winter was among the mildest of the 18th century, diseasenot starvationwas the primary cause of death, and the iconic image of Washington was an unsubstantiated tale promulgated by 19th century parson and author Mason Locke Weems (who also invented the tale of Washington and the cherry tree). Still, the winter at Valley Forge did bring hardship: nearly 2,000 soldiers of Washingtons 12,000-man army died.

Americans held observances to honor the Continental Army at Valley Forge as early as 1828. Campaigns throughout the 19th century sought to preserve and memorialize the area, culminating in its 1893 establishment as Pennsylvanias first state park. By the 1960s, Valley Forge had become primarily an open green space in which visitors enjoyed many interests apart from history. Park managers did retain the camps lines of fortification, an artillery park, Washingtons headquarters in the Isaac Potts House, the parade grounds, recreated soldiers huts, memorials, monuments and markers. The dominant manmade feature is the National Memorial Arch, dedicated in 1917 to commemorate the soldiers patience and fidelity that winter. Valley Forge became part of the National Park System in 1976.

Today, Valley Forge National Historical Park [www.nps.gov/vafo] encompasses approximately 3,500 acres and welcomes more than 1 million annual visitors. A series of touring roads traverse the park, offering visitors the chance to appreciate the defensive capabilities of the encampment, a characteristic the British never managed to put to the test.
On June 30, 1960, amid violent riots after 52 years of colonial rule, Belgium reluctantly granted independence to Congo. No longer satisfied with the status quo, black enlisted men in the Force Publique (Congos military) mutinied against their white Belgian officers, and the country soon erupted in anti-white violence. Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba subsequently Africanized the military as the Armee Nationale Congolaise, prompting Belgium to deploy its own troops to safeguard white citizens. Lumumba in turn petitioned the United Nations for the removal of the Belgian troops. The U.N. Security Council passed a resolution to that effect and ordered peacekeeping troops to the country.

On July 11, four days before the first U.N. troops arrived, the southeastern province of Katanga, with support from Belgian troops and businessmen, seceded from Congo. The move augured financial collapse, as the majority of the nations revenue came from the mining region. The last Belgian troops left Congo proper by July 23, but Belgian and mercenary forces remained in Katanga.

As tensions threatened to erupt into civil war, the U.N. sent additional troops, and by early 1961 its peacekeeping force numbered 20,000 men. That August the U.N. ordered its Blue Helmets into the breakaway province. Their primary mandate was to arrest and repatriate Belgian troops and mercenaries, effectively ending the revolt. The troops lacked accurate intelligence and were ill equipped, carrying gear better suited to their original policing mission. Furthermore, the Katangese, white and black alike, largely regarded the peacekeepers as invaders.

Among the U.N. forces was the 158-man Company A of the Irish armys 35th Infantry Battalion, led by Commandant Pat Quinlan. In early September the unit was sent to the remote mining town of Jadotville, 80 miles northwest of the Katangese capital of Elisabethville. Though most of Quinlans men were in their late teens or 20s and had never seen action, they had gained experience and developed a solid rapport while patrolling the region in previous weeks. They were armed with modern FN FAL battle rifles, but much of their supporting equipment dated to World War II, including Vickers machine guns, 60 mm mortars and a Bren gun.

Noting a buildup of hostile forces, Quinlan ordered his men to stockpile water and dig trenches. The assault came on the morning of September 13, as 3,000 Katangese soldiers attacked the garrison under the direction of foreign mercenaries. Though outnumbered 20-to-1, Company A held its ground for five days. Finally, on September 17, his units ammo, food and water exhausted and with no orders to the contrary, Quinlan was compelled to surrender. Some 300 Katangese lay dead, another 1,000 wounded. Company A had suffered just five wounded.

After weeks of negotiations between U.N. officials and the Katangese, the Irishmen were sent home. Treated as outcasts for having capitulated, they were branded the Jadotville Jacks. Their reputation was somewhat restored by a 2016 film about the siege.
Bray Comedy Festival kicks off on Valentines night with a stellar line up from The Rubber Bandits to funny man Dermot Whelan

Single or taken, this years Bray Comedy festival is where you need to be this Valentines day. This years stellar line up has been put together than Ireland's best known funny man Adam Burke and kicks off on February 14th with The Legends of Lounge; Steven Cummins and his ensemble featuring Totally Wired, Paul Marsh and Paul Currie. The festival runs from the 14th-18th and includes The Rubber Bandits who are playing Bray's Esplanade Hotel on Friday, Karl Spain's 'Load of Carp" at Bray's Sea Life and from BBC's Whose Line Is it Anyways, legendary Steve Frost with his "Comedy Improve" with special guest Dermot Whelan supported by Hardy Bucks' Owen Colgan (Buzz McDonnell) and Martin Maloney, (Eddie Durkan). Surely the best value date night going with tickets selling at 20 a pop.

The Comedy Festival all began in the much loved Harbour Bar four years ago and it's still the heart of the laughter for this year with host That's savage Ted! with Joe Rooney being joined by Pat McDonnell, John Colleary and Gar Murran on Friday 16th- this particular part of the festival is a hot runner as it's been a sell out for the past two years so be sure to book that night in advanced. Next up we have The Shoreline Club play host to Laughter Yoga which does exactly what it says on the tin and combines the trendy bendy exercise with lots of belly laughs on both Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th at noon, entry is 12.

Kids will also be accommodated for with Punch Lion Kids Comedy and Science Magic with Donal Vaughan i Bray's Town Hall, also a sell out for the past two years. Bray Bowl which is very popular with the little rugg-rats is also offering discounted off-peak rates for players quoting "Bray Comedy Festival".

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All bookings can be made at www.braycomedyfestival.ie
The upcoming collaborative album 'Johnny Cash: Forever Words' features songs inspired by previously undiscovered poems and lyrics written by the Man in Black himself.

Before his untimely death, the late Chris Cornell recorded a track for it with The Jayhawks.

The album also feature Elvis Costello, Ruston Kelly & Kacey Musgraves, Rosanne Cash, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Kris Kristofferson & Willie Nelson, Brad Paisley, John Mellencamp, and Carlene Carter.

The album will be released on 6 April 6 via Sonys Legacy Recordings.




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Andrea Canter Matos On Getting Music Licensed [INTERVIEW]

In this insightful interview, Andrea Canter Matos of Castle Peak Music discusses her background in synch licensing, the sort of music she looks for when placing it in either film, television, or an ad spot, as well as some of the more common mistakes and oversights she sees from artists who send in their music hoping for placement.

____________________________

Guest post by Rick Goetz of MusicConsultant

Andrea Canter Matos is the owner of Castle Peak Music, a licensing agency that places songs from independent artists in films, television shows, ads, trailers and promos. Andrea has extensive experience in the Film & TV licensing world and has held positions with major companies such as Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing and EMI Music North America. From 2002-2007 she produced and hosted a music show on Santa Monica public radio station 89.9 KCRW. Considered a tastemaker, she was the first to play songs by Jose Gonzales, Angus & Julia Stone, and the Airborne Toxic Event. Andrea founded Castle Peak Music in 2010 with a handful of artists. Todays roster includes a range of artists from San Francisco, Nashville, Brooklyn, Chicago, Los Angeles and Copenhagen.

Andrea talked about her background in sync licensing and what grabs her attention when looking for music to place in films, television and commercial spots. She also shared the biggest mistakes she sees artists make when sending their music to industry gatekeepers and delivered some advice for those who want to get their music licensed.

Music Consultant:

Thanks so much for taking some time to chat, Andrea. How did you get started in the music business?

AM:

I grew up in a musical home. My mom was a songwriter who had a publishing deal with a major Hollywood producer named Glen Larson. One of her songs was performed on camera in a show called The Fall Guy, and I got to visit the set the day it was recorded. Basically I was destined to end up in the music licensing world.

I got my professional start in the music business at 89.9 KCRW in Santa Monica. I worked my way up from phone drive volunteer, to office volunteer, to music show volunteer, assisting Anne Litt on Weekend Becomes Eclectic every Sunday for two years.

During that time I made a demo, and Nic Harcourt gave me my first DJ gig online for one hour per week. I had been temping at music companies like Maverick Records and Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG). When a position opened up at UMPG in the licensing department, I took that full-time gig and worked at KCRW on the side. Even though I dont DJ anymore, I still get the similar experience of exposing independent artists to a broader audience.

MC:

How did you select the current artists on your roster? Is there a quality that you can point to that makes something more synchable than others?

AM:

First of all, I have to love the music before I sign an artist or band. Second, I want to feel like I can be successful with placing the music, meaning that I think the sound will fit the music search briefs that have been coming across my desk, or the shows that are currently on the air. I also try to keep a diverse roster by not signing a ton of artists from one particular genre. There are definite trends in the industry, and songs with universal appeal will have good licensing potential, but at the end of the day, Im just hoping to be wowed by what I hear.

Music Consultant:

How much does an artists current track record determine your interest or the interest of a music supervisor in any given artist?

AM:

I prefer to be the first one to pitch an artists music to the music supervision community, so it doesnt matter to me if s/he has had any previous licensing experience. When alls said and done, its the quality of the songs that matters.

Music Consultant:

Does your roster consist purely of people with original music looking to get it licensed, or do you also work with people who create custom pieces of music to fit a spot  or a show, movie, etc.?

AM:

I like working with artists and bands that tour and record albums. Some of my artists are also producers and I go to them with custom music needs. Im not currently looking to sign composers or instrumental-only artists.

Music Consultant:

Im told that a great deal of music that gets placed is purely instrumental or TV tracks. Is this the case in your experience?

AM:

Most of the instrumental music Ive placed has been in ads. Placements in other media (television series, promos, trailers, film) have primarily been songs with vocals.

Music Consultant:

As someone who runs a company that provides a service artists are in dire need of, you must get approached all the time. Other than links to their music, what is the best way someone should approach you? What facts and figures really grab your attention?

AM:

Short and sweet is key: just a one paragraph introduction, and a streaming link to an artists latest project. And the newer, the better. Im not really interested in music older than one or two years unless its part of someones back catalog. I also like to know upfront if someone controls their masters and the publishing rights to the material. Emails with attachments, such as mp3s, EPKs or bios will be immediately deleted, because they clog up my inbox. This also goes for emails that are not personally addressed to me (because I know its just a copy and paste situation).

Music Consultant:

What are some of the biggest mistakes you see artists making when it comes to trying to license their music?

AM:

Not having instrumentals (preferably mastered). Not having clean edits of any songs that have explicit language. Not having splits worked out in advance if there are other parties involved. Signing with multiple agencies for representation.

Music Consultant:

Any parting words of advice for musicians of music business executives who are looking to be successful at getting their music placed?

AM:

Watch television shows. movies, trailers and commercials to get an idea of what songs are being licensed. I dont have time to watch everything, which is why a site like Tunefind has become a great resource. Also, make sure your music sounds as good as possible. First impressions are really important. If youre submitting your music to an agency, check out the other artists on the roster. If your music sounds as good as what you hear, then youre on the right track. If not, youve got more work to do.

For more information about Andrea Matos and the work she does, visit the Castle Peak Music website.

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Cheshire Water Fails to Make Finals in National Competition

CHESHIRE, Mass.  Cheshire may have the best tasting water in Massachusetts but it wasn't quite good enough to be the best in the nation.

Water Department Superintendent Travis Delratez had sent a sample of Cheshire's exemplary water to compete at the Rural Water Rally Great American Taste Test in Washington, D.C., this week. The taste testing of the best of the best water systems in the nation comes during the annual three-day rural water conference.

Cheshire had high hopes of making it into the finals but, alas, this wasn't the year. The five semi-finalists chosen were from Iowa, Louisana, North Dakota, Maryland, and Wisconson.

Arcadia Water Utility of Wisconsin won the gold medal with City of Salisbury (Md.) Paleo Water Plant taking silver and the Southeast Water Users District in North Dakota, bronze.

The judges were Kevin Baily, on the staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry; Claudette Fernandez, assistant administrator for water and environment programs, Rural Utilities Service; and Sarah Tyree, vice president of government affairs for CoBank. The water samples were rated on clarity, bouquet and taste.

Delratez was taking the opportunity to travel the halls of Congress and met with three Massachusetts congressman to speak on drinking water issues, according to the Town Administrator Mark Webber.
Hinds Secures $29.7M for Local Projects in State Capital Bill

BOSTON  State Senator Adam G. Hinds, D- Pittsfield, has been able to place $1.2 million toward design and engineering for a new North Adams public safety building, $4 million toward a Pittsfield Police station, and $500,000 toward a new roof on Clarksburg School.

The funds were secured in the $29.7 million in capital spending authorizations for local projects in S. 2279, "An Act providing for capital facility repair and improvements for the Commonwealth," a bond bill engrossed by the state Senate.

"Securing these spending authorizations is critical for timely and much needed capital investments in our local schools, housing stock, public safety facilities and downtown infrastructure," said Hinds.

The bill also includes $6 million for the Columbus Avenue Parking Garage in Pittsfield, an amount previously earmarked in a 2014 capital bill that has not been released. The entire cost of replacing the structure was pegged at $9.4 million four years ago.

During its formal session the state Senate voted to authorize up to $3.65 billion in bonds for repairs and improvements of capital facilities across the commonwealth. Spending authorizations in the bill include bonds for state university and community college campus improvements, public safety and security facilities and clean energy and efficiency programs.

North Adams has been seeking a solution to its outdated and dilapidated public safety building for a number of years. The city is under an order by the U.S. Department of Justice to resolve the 60-year-old structure's noncompliance with the U.S. Americans with Disabilities Act.

Clarksburg, last fall, rejected a $19 million renovation and rebuild of its outdated school. A group of volunteers , in cooperation with school and town officials, is hoping to rectify the most egregious building issues by providing free labor. The roof and heating system have been targeted as priority items.

Hinds secured capital spending authorization for seven local infrastructure projects located in his Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin & Hampden District:

$12 million for renovations at the Central Berkshire District Court in Pittsfield;

$6 million for the replacement of the Columbus Avenue Parking Garage in downtown Pittsfield;

$5 million for repairs, renovations and improvements at the Turnure Terrace housing complex in Lenox;

$4 million for the engineering, design and siting of a new police station in the City of Pittsfield;

$1.2 million for the engineering, design and siting of a new public safety facility in the City of North Adams;

$1 million for the construction of a new public safety complex in Heath; and

$500,000 for roof repairs at the Clarksburg School.

Further, S. 2279 includes authorization for the Office of the Trial Court to begin roof, masonry and window work at Pittsfield Superior Court.

A bond bill is different from a budget bill, as these spending authorizations are not equal to actual appropriations. Instead, spending authorizations signal to the Executive Branch that the Legislature has approved and prioritized capital spending on these projects in the states capital plan.

In addition to Hinds' local projects, S. 2279 authorizes the issuance of bonds for the improvement of capital facilities and for general government operations, including:

$680 million for general state facility improvements;

$675 million for trial court facility improvements;

$500 million for public safety and security facilities;

$475 million for state university and community college campus improvements;

$475 million for the University of Massachusetts system campus improvements;

$193.4 million for a municipal facility improvement grant program;

$150 million for the Accelerated Energy and Resiliency program, which develops and implements energy and water savings projects statewide; and

$85 million for the Clean Energy Investment Program to improve the energy efficiency of state-owned facilities.

The bill also increases previous spending authorizations for University of Massachusetts, state universities and community colleges campus facilities and increases several project control and supervision, design and construction thresholds for the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM), to keep pace with current costs of construction in Massachusetts.

The bill will now be reconciled with a version recently passed by the House of Representatives.
The nurses at BMC went on strike in October and say there still hasn't been enough progress with negotiations.

BMC Nurses Schedule Second Strike

PITTSFIELD, Mass.  The registered nurses at Berkshire Medical Center plan to go on strike for the second time.

The local chapter of the Massachusetts Nurses Association voted to hold a one-day strike on Tuesday, Feb. 27. Some 800 nurses have been in difficult contract negotiations with the hospital for about a year and a half after the last agreement expired in September 2016.

In October, the nurses held a one-day strike, which the hospital followed with a four-day lockout. For that week in October, the nurses held rallies and picketed outside the medical center's campuses. The nurses have been primarily focused on raising staffing levels, saying there are far too few nurses to handle the number and condition of the patients.

"We've been really clear that patient safety is our number one priority," said Mark Brodeur, who sits on the bargaining committee. "We want a guarantee that things won't get worse. Our patients are getting sicker, getting older, and getting more complicated."

But hospital officials don't want to get contractually locked into set numbers of registered nurses and say care is provided through multiple disciplines. The hospital has presented a few options including staffing committees but those didn't give the nurses enough of a guarantee that the situation would improve.

The union's most recent proposal calls for charge nurses to be unassigned to patients. At the same time, the union wants language ensuring the staffing ratios currently outlined at the hospital aren't diminished. Brodeur said that is to ensure that the other nurses on the floor won't end up taking on additional patients.

"We want to make sure there is some improvement," Brodeur said. "We've been saying this has been a problem for years ... we need something that makes things better."

The staffing issue has been taken up by MNA chapters throughout the state and nurses at multiple hospitals have gone on strike. The issue will also find a place on the state election ballot, as advocates have pushed for the patient to nurse ratios be written into law. Those similar efforts in the commonwealth have led BMC officials to believe that the standoff isn't over conditions at Berkshire Medical Center but rather a piece of the union's statewide agenda.

Since the strike, the two sides have returned to the table multiple times. But, the union says the hospital is unwilling to negotiate on the staffing issues. At the same time, the nurses are also still seeking information on the hospital's health insurance proposal, which is eyed to shift a greater percentage of the cost to the employees. Brodeur said at this point the union wants more details about the plan.

Brodeur said without all of the data the union doesn't have the ability to negotiate the changes. He said he hopes the hospital will provide that information soon so the two sides can make progress there.

The hospital previously rejected much of the info requested saying the union was overstepping its bounds. The hospital provided the details on how the rates were set, including local.

The union then asked for detailed information on the current medical and prescription drug plans; monthly paid claims separated by medical and prescription drug claims; monthly enrollment for three years; all changes made; the most recent data on administration, network, case management, clinical program, stop loss, and other fees associated with the prescription plan; the working rates for plans, and a census of employees eligible and enrolled in the various plans including date of birth, gender, zip code, status, and medical tier.

So, 17 months since negotiations began, the union is willing to go on strike over the contract. The union is assuming the one-day strike will be followed by another lockout. The hospital has not commented on the strike notice yet.

"The nurses are unified and dedicated to their patients," Brodeur said. "We're willing to keep fighting for this, to do what it takes."

The union is required to provide a 10-day notice of a strike. Brodeur said the union opted to provide additional time in hopes the two sides can reach a settlement before the hospital enters contracts for replacement nurses.

"We also gave them extra time so they can come and meet with us and negotiate with us," Brodeur said, saying the union is will to negotiate not only at the next scheduled session on Tuesday but at any time. "Are they really willing to spend another $4 million of our community's money to pay people from Texas and Orlando?"

During the last strike the hospital contracted with traveling nurses for the week - and the lockout was attributed to the need to sign a weeklong contract with the replacement nurses - and in all the strike was estimated to cost $4 million.

"Nurses should never be forced to go on strike to protect patient care," said Alex Neary, co-chair of the bargaining committee, in a statement issued Thursday night.

"The hospital has told us they will not give up the right to make staffing worse if they want to. This is unacceptable to us. Our nurses and our community have empowered us to stand up for what is right. We hope management will make the right decision and reach a settlement."

The hospital hasn't issued a comment on the scheduled strike yet. But, when the union's membership voted by 82 percent in favor of giving the bargaining committee the authority to call one, Brenda Cadorette, BMC's chief nursing officer, responded in a letter saying the hospital was disappointed in the vote and believes the two sides were working collaboratively.

"Our positive experience in the three negotiating sessions since October led us to believe that we could work collaboratively with the union to resolve the remaining outstanding issues with our registered nurses," Cadorette wrote at the time. "We were, therefore, both surprised and disappointed to learn that the MNA had scheduled votes on January 11 and 16 to authorize a second strike ... "We remain hopeful that the cooperative spirit that the bargaining committee showed at the most recent negotiating sessions will continue in future ones and will result in a fair and reasonable agreement that serves the interest of the registered nurses, the other hospital employees, the hospital itself and, most importantly, the community that we all, collectively, serve."
Greylock Employee Promoted to Vice President

PITTSFIELD, Mass.  Greylock Federal Credit Union has announced the promotion of JamieEllen Moncecchi to the position of vice president/administration.

In this role, Moncecchi will lead organizational initiatives focused on improving efficiency and strengthening culture, act as liaison with Greylocks board of directors and be responsible for planning credit union activities and events. She will also be providing direction for the credit unions community support initiatives and investments.

Previously, Moncecchis title was assistant vice president/Administration.

JamieEllen is one of our longest-serving and most trusted employees, said John L. Bissell, Greylock president and CEO. This promotion is well deserved in light of her strong work ethic and many contributions to Greylocks success. We wish JamieEllen well in her new position.

In her 23 years working at Greylock, Moncecchi has held positions of increasing responsibility in marketing, consumer and commercial lending, and other departments. Currently she serves on the Pittsfield High School Business Tech Advisory Committee and is a board member for the Hilltown Junior Olympics. Previously, Moncecchi was a Girl Scout Troop Leader and also served on the board of Success By 6, an early childhood movement led by Berkshire United Way.

She lives in Windsor, Mass., with her husband Joe and has two children.
GE is appealing a decision that would force it to transport contaminated soil from the Housatonic out of state.

Mass Delegation Calls on Pruitt to Uphold Rest of the River Plan

PITTSFIELD, Mass.  The region's congressional delegation is pushing Environment Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt to uphold the EPA's 2016 order that contaminated material in the Housatonic River be "shipped off-site to existing licensed facilities for disposal."

U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Edward J. Markey and U.S. Rep. Richard Neal have sent a letter to Pruitt calling on him to ensure General Electric lives up to its commitments in the $613 million "Rest of the River" cleanup.

Keeping the contaminated soil and sediment in the county would save GE roughly $250 million.

GE, once a powerhouse in Pittsfield, left behind tons of polychlorinated biphenyls used in its transformer manufacturing between the 1930 and 1970s. The EPA has estimated thatup to 600,000 pounds of toxic PCBs, a suspected carcinogen, are left in the river and pose a threat to the region's health.

Under conditions established in the Consent Decree and in the 2011 Final Removal Design & Action Plan, GE was required to finance the dredging of hundreds of cubic yards of "hot spot" sediment and additional shoreline sediment along Silver Lake in Pittsfield. The company also was ordered to address the estimated 1.3 million pounds of PCBs it discharged into the Hudson River in New York, an effort that's cost $1.7 billion.

The "Rest of River" cleanup plan was initially proposed more than three years ago to address contamination in the Housatonic from Pittsfield through South County. It was vetted by the EPA and the state and was determined to be in the best interest of the people of Western Massachusetts. However, a critical component of the cleanup plan was recently called into question by the Environmental Appeals Board (EAB), which instructed the EPA to review requirements involving the location of toxic waste disposal from the clean-up. GE has fought this cleanup and appealed the EPA's Housatonic cleanup decision to the EAB.

"The EPA and Commonwealth have repeatedly stated that the contaminated material must be shipped off-site to existing licensed facilities for disposal -- and there is no such a facility in Massachusetts," wrote the members of congress. "To allow local disposal of GE's toxic waste scraped from the riverbed would be incompatible with Massachusetts state law and a complete disregard of the affected Massachusetts communities who have been plagued with this corporate pollution for far too long."

The EPA's proposal was for GE to remove nearly 1 million cubic yards of contaminated soil from the Housatonic over a period of 13 years. The $613 million plan would clean up 300 acres of the river and wetlands from Pittsfield into Connecticut. According to the plan, the soil would have to be taken to a licensed facility, but none exists in Massachusetts.

"Completing the Housatonic River Project is about protecting our environment and public safety," the letter states. "This is about protecting the health of our families that deserve to be able to fish, hike and play alongside the river and its banks."

Mass Delegation Letter to EPA on 'Rest of the River' by iBerkshires.com on Scribd




iciHaiti - Diaspora : Success of the special evening at the Embassy of Haiti in Washington





The Embassy of Haiti in Washington, D.C. was pleased to welcome members of the "Things to Do D.C." experience and of the Embassy on February 2 for a special Haitian cultural evening at the Chancery. Over 300 professionals from the Washington metropolitan area and from diverse disciplines were welcomed by senior diplomats and guided throughout the Embassys current exhibits, including an exhibit showcasing the contributions of individuals of Haitian descent to the advancement of American society.



The guests enjoyed a curated buffet of traditional Haitian cuisine and the Embassy's signature cocktail infused with rum Barbancourt. Throughout the evening, the guests were entertained by a professional Haitian-American dance company, Les Belles Danseuses, through a series of traditional dances.



The evening was co-organized as part of the Embassys larger objective to introduce a country thats rich in culture and history. This was echoed during Ambassador Paul Altidor's closing remarks when he seized the opportunity to invite the guests to join the movement to change the Haiti narrative.



SL/ iciHaiti


















Treading lightly on Tanna We go on a new ecotourism adventure tour in North Tanna
There has been a marked increase in investments by Japanese investors in foreign real estate funds, but the marketing of such funds in Japan is subject to many regulations, including the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (FIEA). The following is a brief summary of the two principal regulations applicable to operators of typical foreign real estate funds, such as limited partnerships, investment trusts or real estate investment trusts (Reits) that are established under foreign laws, and which are marketed to institutional or professional investors in Japan.

Regulations applicable to offering businesses

Fund operators seeking to directly solicit interest or units of foreign real estate funds to investors in Japan must comply with certain licensing and registration requirements which apply to securities offering businesses generally. Fund operators are required to obtain FIEA registration or otherwise retain a registered Japanese securities firm (or a securities broker licensed in another jurisdiction but permitted to conduct certain institutional investor solicitations as set forth in FIEA) to conduct such solicitation. For funds classified as collective investment schemes under the FIEA, under which limited partnerships would fall, however, the sophisticated investor exemption may be applicable if at least one qualified institutional investor (QII), as defined under the FIEA, is an investor in the fund, and provided all other requirements applicable under the FIEA are satisfied. It should be noted that solicitation is broadly interpreted because there is no specific definition in the Japanese securities regulations. For this reason, a broad range of actions and conducts in relation to marketing a particular fund may constitute solicitation under Japanese law.

Regulations applicable to investment management business

Operating funds classified as collective investment schemes under the FIEA, that are managed by the issuer itself and that primarily (ie more than 50% of their assets) invest in securities as defined under the FIEA, are required to obtain registration under the FIEA (the so-called self-management regulation). There are certain exemptions from this registration requirement, including the above mentioned sophisticated investor exemption. For foreign investment trusts or foreign Reits there are no fund operator related registration requirements or regulations generally.

The FIEA was amended, with effect from March 1 2016, whereby the requirements to qualify for the sophisticated investor exemption were raised, with relevant operators of funds becoming subject to additional requirements, including conduct-related rules.

Katsunori Shirozu

 2021 Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC. For help please see our FAQs.

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St Vincent has released a stunning cover of Rihanna's song "Consideration" as part of a Spotify session.

The MASSEDUCTION artist got involved in the streaming service's ongoing series of sessions which asks artists to perform an alternative version of one of their album tracks, along with a cover.

The artist born Annie Clark picked Rihanna's album opener from ANTI - which originally featured a guest vocal from SZA - and added some heavy, juddering bass with brilliant effect.

Check out the track below:

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St. Vincent is performing at a whole host of festivals this year, including the brand new All Points East, alongside the likes of Patti Smith, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, and Courtney Barnett.

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A family is suing Starbucks for allegedly serving them a beverage that contained a baristas blood.

When Amanda Vice and her family visited a branch of Starbucks in San Bernardino, California, they werent bargaining on having a little something extra added to their drinks.

It wasnt until they returned home with their drinks that they realised something was amiss.

My mother-in-law went to go take a drink of the cup, she put it to her lips and she could smell the blood, Amanda told KTLA.

Amanda and her husband Louis noticed that there was a red mark on the side of one of the cups and that it notably smelt like blood.

They then realised that their two-year-old daughter had been drinking from another cup with a similar stain on the inside of the rim.

The youngster had even been licking the lid and eating whipped cream from the cup, none the wiser that her drink had been seemingly contaminated.

Amanda and Louis Vice realised that their two-year-old daughter had been drinking from a cup with a red stain on the rim (KTLA)

After ascertaining that no members of the family had been bleeding, they contacted Starbucks to inform them of what had happened.

According to a news release summarising a 19-page lawsuit issued by the Frish Law Group, a Starbucks employee had in fact been removed from the floor that day due to bleeding.

The familys main concern was organising blood tests to ensure that none of them had been infected.

Recommended Parliament used a million disposable coffee cups and lids last year

They asked for the manager of Starbucks to arrange for the employee to have a blood test so that they could determine whether the individual was HIV positive or carried any other disease.

However, despite offering the family free drinks for a week, the employee at the centre of the controversy wasnt forced to have their blood tested by Starbucks.

The family were forced to sort out their own blood tests, which involved having a first round of tests and then another six months later.

Fortunately, the first round of blood tests came back negative for the whole family.

The Vice family don't think they've been treated fairly by the coffeehouse chain (KTLA)

Starbucks has offered $1,000 (716) to each family member concerned.

However, the family and their attorney Stan Pekler do not believe this amount of compensation reflects the torment that theyve endured.

The news release states that the family underwent extreme emotions of anguish, fright, horror, nervousness, grief, anxiety, worry, shock, humiliation, and shame, and so they want to be compensated accordingly.

When reached for comment, a representative from Starbucks told The Independent:

"We take great pride in ensuring our customers have a good experience and any time they are not satisfied, we work diligently to make it right.

"We've been working directly with the family to find a resolution since they informed us of their alleged experience two years ago.

"It was a surprise to learn about the lawsuit and the news release their legal team distributed with these allegations.

"We are fully prepared to present our case to the court in this matter."
Jonas Cullwick, a former General Manager of VBTC is now a Senior Journalist with the Daily Post. Contact: jonas@dailypost.vu. Cell # 678 5460922
The European Commissions chief Brexit negotiator has denied holding parallel private negotiations with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn behind the back of the UK government.

Michel Barnier said he had only repeatedly met with Mr Corbyn as part of his open door policy with interested senior figures, pointing out that he had also met with Nigel Farage and other leading eurosceptics.

The top Commission official said he that the only person he was negotiating with was Theresa May and that he had made this clear to the Labour leader every time Ive met him.

On Jeremy Corbyn, my door is open, its open to everybody, he told reporters at a press conference in Brussels.

I even met Mr Farage the other day, which was a very stimulating discussion. Mr Corbyn is an important figure in British political debate and he asked to meet me and I had no reason not to meet him. I can tell him where we stand.

But Im not negotiating with Jeremy Corbyn. The only person were negotiating with is Theresa May, and Davis Davis, and the British government. I made this very clear to Jeremy Corbyn at the beginning and Ive said that to him every time Ive met him.

I want to listen to everybody to fully understand whats happening in the UK, I want to take the time necessary to understand and respect the British political debate.

European Union chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier (AFP/Getty Images)

Mr Barnier was questioned about his meetings with the Labour leader after a report in the Daily Telegraph newspaper, based on leaked minutes of one of the meetings, that Mr Corbyn had said he was open to the UK staying in the customs union.

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

Commenting on the memo, Mr Corbyns office said: Jeremy did not say he was open to staying in the customs union. He said that a customs union was a viable end point.

We have been clear all the way through that you can't be in the customs union if you are not in the EU.
Under-fire ride sharing service Uber has announced the launch of a driver feedback programme across the UK, responding to calls for greater rights and protections for workers in the so-called gig economy.

The rights of Uber drivers have been a source of fierce debate since the San Francisco-based company started growing rapidly in Britain, and especially since Transport for London last year announced that it was revoking the groups licence to operate in the capital in its current form.

Uber has since committed to improving the service it offers customers and the conditions under which drivers work. On Friday it said that the creation of a formal feedback programme would hold the company more "accountable".

Recommended Uber to introduce compulsory rest breaks for UK drivers

Licensed drivers who use our app are absolutely vital to our business. Thanks to their feedback weve already made a number of improvements like investing in discounted illness cover and in-app tipping. But we know we can do a better job of listening to drivers and acting on what they say, said Tom Elvidge, Ubers UK general manager.

Our new driver advisory groups in each city will not only formalise how we listen to drivers, but also help generate ideas for further changes we can make, he added.

Under the initiative, a panel of five drivers in each UK city in which Uber operates will dedicate time to meet other drivers each week.

That advisory group will gather feedback and then meet with senior Uber staff on a monthly basis to discuss their findings. The company said that it will then report back each month with a detailed response to the feedback.

The whole process will be overseen by an independent review board made up of three licensed private hire drivers who use the app and three people independent of Uber. The independent representatives will be Natasha Grice, Virgin Trains general manager for the West Midlands, Polly Mackenzie, director of think tank Demos, and Chris Bryce, the chief executive of the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self Employed (IPSE).

The private hire drivers that use the Uber app are the companys greatest advocates and their input is vital to Ubers continued success, said Ms Grice. I look forward to working as part of the independent Review Board, sharing my experiences and thoughts on how best to nurture people to give them a real sense of purpose.

Ms McKenzie said that the best way to manage and regulate the UKs labour market is to have a comprehensive understanding of it.

That has to start with a deep conversation with those in it. That's why it's good to see Uber making a real effort to understand what the private hire drivers that use its app need and want, she said.

Workers rights have been a topic of fierce discussion across the UK since ex-Tony Blair adviser Matthew Taylor last year published his extensive review into working practices and how workers can be better protected.

Earlier this week, Theresa May 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.
Whats new?

This is the first time the process of egg cell (oocyte) maturation, which normally takes place in an ovary, has been done in a lab.

Immature eggs, contained in follicle cells which line the ovary, were removed from health volunteers and developed in the lab to a point where they could be fertilised with a sperm.

How have they done it?

By replicating the hormone levels and biological conditions necessary to promote each step of the oocytes development in an artificial growth medium.

Why hasnt it been done before?

Because these cells are so sensitive to their environment there have been many failed attempts in thirty years of trying.

Teams have been able to do parts of the maturation processor and it has been done in animals before, but In this case ovarian tissue is much more abundant which gives more potential eggs to successfully mature.

Even this team were only able to cultivate nine fertilisable oocytes, from numerous follicle cells.

What could it be used for?

At present it gives scientists the opportunity to study in detail how eggs mature which could unlock more secrets of human reproduction.

In future, if eggs grown this way are shown to be healthy and fertilisable, it could be used to offer women a chance of having their own biological children.

This could include women who do not ovulate naturally, and do not respond to the hormone treatments used in IVF to stimulate egg production for implantation.

It could, in theory, also help young girls with cancer. Were they have had ovarian tissue preserved before chemotherapy eggs could be grown in a lab, instead of having the tissue re-implanted, to avoid the risk of reintroducing cancerous cells.

Could it work in post-menopausal women?

Professor Evelyn Telfer, who led the University of Edinburgh team told The Independent, it was theoretically possible.

It would be difficult to get a piece of ovary that contains enough egg cells, she added. The honest answer is we really dont know at this stage.

When will patients start to benefit?

The process has yet to show the eggs can be successfully fertilised, and this will require regulatory and ethical approval.

If its safe and further refining makes it more efficient it will still be several years before it can be used in patients.
At 5.15pm on 24 Nov 1993 the nine men and three women of the jury filed back into Court No 1 of Preston Crown Court.

The foreman delivered the unanimous verdict: guilty.

And as he did so, the eyes of an eleven-year-old boy widened.

Jon Venables, and his partner in crime Robert Thompson, in an adult court dock that had to be specially modified so they could see over it, had just become the youngest convicted murderers in Britain for almost 250 years.

Recommended Bulger killer Venables admits having indecent images of children again

As ten-year-olds, on February 12, 1993 they had taken little James Bulger from his mother as she let go of his hand for a few seconds to pay for sausages at a butchers in Bootle, Merseyside.

They led the two-year-old to a lonely stretch of railway track, and began torturing him.

They poured modelling paint into the toddlers eyes, stoned him and clubbed him with half-bricks. They kicked and stamped on him, before battering him with a 22lb iron bar they found lying by the track.

Then they left the toddlers dead body on the railway line, to be sliced in two by a train.

The judge, Mr Justice Morland described it as a cunning and wicked act of unparalleled evil and barbarity.

As the 11-year-old murderers left the dock, one of the dead toddlers relatives shouted from the public gallery 'How do you feel now you little bastards?', thus providing one tabloid with next mornings front page headline.

A crowd of 200 watched the two police vans leave court, to cries of kill them, hang them.

The only mitigation came from Venables QC Brian Walsh, who reminded the court that the boy had shown remorse as he confessed to killing James.

'What about his Mum?, he had asked. Tell her I am sorry.

Venables and Thompson became the youngest convicted murderers in Britain for almost 250 years.

So from the start, and for the following 25 years, the terms of public debate were clearly framed. For some, there was the implacable certainty that the boys were simply evil: fiends, monsters.

Others were equally convinced that these were children who did evil but were subject not to justice, but to vengeance: tried in an adult court, identified on conviction and turned into targets for a hatred forever afterwards stoked by a media that knew a good story when it saw one.

It all allowed for blaming the parents and the boys upbringing, for a good moral panic about video nasties (that Venables and Thompson almost certainly never watched).

It allowed Conservative Home Secretary Michael Howard to appear tough on crime, raising the killers' sentences, in a way later deemed unlawful by the European Court of Human Rights.

It allowed Shadow Home Secretary Tony Blair to make his standing rise still further after he very effectively made [the case] into a symbol of [broken] Tory Britain - as he said so himself in his memoirs.

What it didnt allow for was a great deal of calm, constructive discussion.

James Bulger, was seen on CCTV being led away to his death (PA Archive/PA Images)

Perhaps one day there will be an end to the shouting of certainties, from both sides of the ideological battle lines.

Then, perhaps, a truer, more complex, more human, but equally depressing Jon Venables story might emerge, one in which no-one is entirely right and no-one is completely vindicated.

But that hasnt happened yet.

And now we must confront the sequel.

On Wednesday  almost exactly 25 years after committing murder - Venables, now 35, was jailed again.

He admitted downloading 1,170 indecent images of children. A total of 392 of these online pictures and films were in the most serious Category A class. Some showed babies. James Bulgers killer had downloaded images of serious crimes inflicted on male toddlers.

Venables, it emerged, had even downloaded a paedophile manual, described by the judge as designed to encourage its readers to perpetrate the most serious sexual offences against very small children.

And Mr Justice Edis was well aware that this was Venables second child pornography offence. Released from his murder sentence in 2001, Venables had been jailed for two years in 2010 after admitting downloading and distributing indecent images of children.

On Wednesday the judge had no hesitation in telling Venables: You have a compulsive interest in serious sexual crime against small children. You present a high risk of serious harm to children.

Small wonder, then, that outside court there was renewed outrage.

There were calls for a public inquiry, demands that Venables new identity, kept secret since his release in 2001, should now be revealed.

Name this sexual deviant, screamed the headlines, Unmask the monster.

The grave of James Bulger (PA Archive/PA Images)

Few now could argue that the attempt to rehabilitate Jon Venables has been anything other than an abject  and expensive  failure.

Yet when The Independent spoke to the man who first brought Venables to justice, he refused to accept it had been futile to try to reform him.

Albert Kirby led the James Bulger murder investigation. He had to confront every detail of what the two killers did to the toddler. In fact, on more than one occasion in the intervening 25 years the retired Detective Superintendent has felt compelled to try to remind those in authority just how grotesque a crime it was.

Yet when asked on Wednesday whether in 1993 there had been a chance that Venables could have been rehabilitated, Mr Kirby replied: I have to say yes. Because you have got to look at Thompson. As far as I am aware, he has made a settled life.

If the newspaper reports are to be believed, Thompson has forged a life for himself and succeeded in keeping out of trouble since his release.

Venables, though, has been lost: the boy who told psychiatrists he wanted a world filled with chocolate, the defendant who wept to police: Huge, gulping sobs [becoming] one long, high, chilling, unforgettable howl, as one reporter who heard the interview tape remembered it.

Those who would loudly deplore mob justice, though, may also need to consider that some who sat through the whole trial challenge the conventional wisdom that Venables was the follower to Thompsons brutish leader.

Thompson, say these observers, may have defiantly stared out the reporters who watched him from the court press bench, but the evidence heard pointed to Venables being the one who first suggested, Lets get a kid lost.

Albert Kirby, moreover, advises you to look again at the true nature of the crime. It wasnt just unimaginable savagery, he insists:

What I have been trying to push forward over all these years - and I think it has been grossly under-assessed - is there was a sexual element to the Bulger murder.

We were able to prove, and put before the court the evidence that Jamies penis had been manually manipulated: moved, not by kicking, but by hand.

Yet it if you want to call Venables a monster and reveal his new identity, you may also need to reflect on what that entails, especially once he is released  if, indeed, he ever is released this time.

You might want to look again at the findings of Sir David Omand, the former Home Office permanent secretary who reviewed Venables case after he was jailed in 2010.

I have been struck throughout, Sir David observed, By the extreme difficulties caused by the original court decision to name Jon Venables and Robert Thompson upon their conviction.

Once the original trial judge decided the killers could be identified, it seems, the media could put names and photographs to the monsters - and Venables and Thompson could become targets.

It is difficult, Sir David said, To overstate the damaging impact over the years of the constant fear of exposure of his identity and whereabouts on Jon Venables state of mind and on the work of those managing his case.

In Sir Davids view, it greatly reduced the chances of Venables settling into the kind of secure normality that might  just possibly  have kept him from reoffending.

Instead, Sir David wrote, Venables was forced to live with a secret he could not share  the constant fear of exposure kept raw by lurid media stories  life as a virtual loner in terms of long term relationships for fear of the possible consequences of having to expose his true identity.

I regard it as significant, Sir David added, That when Jon Venables was visited by his offender manager shortly after being taken into custody [for child pornography offences, in 2010] he  seemed relieved and appeared to feel safer than when in the community under his false identity.

For many, the decision to identify Venables was the first and biggest mistake.

It also went to the heart of how Venables and Thompson were publicly demonised, as if they were fully-formed adults, when they were just children.

James Bulger (PA)

Ten years after he delivered the guilty verdict, the foreman of the jury looked back in shame at the atmosphere that had been created.

I am ashamed I allowed myself to be coerced by the judge and prosecution to agree to a verdict of guilty of murder," Vincent Moss told the Guardian.

"We should have gone back into court and said yes, we do have a verdict: our verdict is that these boys are in urgent need of social and psychiatric help."

Other countries, it has been argued, do allow children to be treated as children.

In 1994 Norway had what, for a time, seemed to be its own Bulger case. Silje Marie Redergaard, five, was found dead in the snow near her home in the village of Rosten on the edge of the city of Trondheim. Two boys aged six and one aged five were responsible.

At least one of them had kicked and beaten the little girl, despite her screaming for mercy. All three had left her unconscious in the snow with her coat pulled off, and when adults found her, Silje was dead.

Albert Kirby and others point to the unbridgeable gulf between the Silje case and the James Bulger murder. Silje was not directly killed by the boys. She froze to death in the snow. This was play between friends going disastrously wrong, not brutal, probably premeditated murder.

Some, however, still point to the fact that while the case shocked Norway, the boys responsible were back at kindergarten within a week. Hate mobs were conspicuous by their absence.

Terje Lund, the police officer leading the investigation, told the BBC he brought the boys toys from his own home before starting to question them.

Norwegian journalists worried that if they appeared too vengeful, reader disgust would cause newspaper circulations to drop.

I think, added one, It's more important the boys were given a chance to recover, to have a normal life later on."

Although, of course, that may be easy to say when its a case of play that got out of hand.

But whatever the reason, the British judiciary did seem to decide to do things differently after the Bulger murder.

In January 2010 it was confronted with what became known as the Edlington torture case.

Two brothers, aged 11 and 12, came before the court after subjecting two boys aged nine and 11 to a 90-minute ordeal of appalling and terrible assaults. The victims were sexually humiliated, beaten, stamped on, battered with bricks and burned so badly the older boy nearly died.

Again the perpetrators were called evil. But this time demands to name them were resisted. The brothers were released and granted lifelong anonymity in December 2016. They do not appear to have become targets like Venables and Thompson. Instead, the Edlington torture case appears to have faded from public memory. So far there has been no highly publicised return to custody.

The key phrase there, though, may be so far. In January 2010 some who discussed the Edlington torture incident referred to Venables and Thompson as case studies in how to rehabilitate criminally violent children.

This was somewhat unfortunate given that Venables was returned to custody a month later.

It does seem to speak to the possible official complacency, wishful thinking and back covering which, it has to be said, might also have played a part in the disaster of Jon Venables non-rehabilitation.

Officials had invested a great deal in Jon Venables, wrote Sir David Omand. They wanted him to succeed  and they may have therefore perhaps unconsciously been unwilling at times to accept that he could actually be letting them down in such a fundamental way as he did.

Perhaps there was a desire to prove the mob wrong and show that monsters were in fact children who could be rehabilitated. Perhaps that produced a reluctance among the professionals to admit even to themselves that things were going wrong.

Perhaps some of that wishful thinking was in evidence before Venables was released.

One forensic psychiatrist who saw Venables wrote, perhaps a little too smugly, There is no doubt that in Jons case, had he not been placed in secure accommodation at the age of 10, he is likely to have continued on an escalating pattern of offending.

At about the same time, the eminent child psychiatrist Sir Michael Rutter reported that Venables posed a trivial risk to the public provided he was properly supported and monitored.

 James Bulger's mother says Jon Venables 2018 sentence a "farce"

But before condemning the professionals, it may be necessary to consider the extraordinary situation they were facing, because of that earlier decision to name Venables.

The need to protect him from vigilante vengeance had turned him into that rarest of offender: one trained to lie by the very officials whom, if he wanted, he could then deceive.

He had to undertake a complete change of identity to protect himself, Sir David wrote. A legacy life, a narrative had to be created for him. He was thus taught to lie and had to become good at it.

Perhaps, also, even without being trained to lie, Venables would have been reluctant to admit to psychiatrists and probabtion officers, and to himself, what was going on in his head.

And perhaps all these strands came together after Venables was released, and stopped him being returned to jail before he was found with child pornography.

Nowhere was this more arguable than in 2008, when Venables was arrested twice, first for a drunken scuffle outside a nightclub, and then for cocaine possession.

He could have been recalled to custody under the terms of his release on life licence. He wasnt. In his review Sir David described how those monitoring Venables took the view that cocaine and nightclub fights were not untypical of a significant number of young men of his peer group.

Yet as a child killer, Venables was of course wholly untypical of his peer group. Sir David did not explicitly point that out.

He did, however, note that after his cocaine arrest, Venables was given a one-hour psychiatric assessment, which concluded there were no underlying problems.

The assessor got Venables badly wrong.

The contrast, Sir David wrote, With the evidence given at his [2010] trial of his being on a downward spiral at that point, with increasing use of mephedrone and of pornography could not be more complete.

It is difficult not to conclude with hindsight that he was putting on an act to fob off intrusive questioning. The upshot was that [those managing his case] were lulled into not pursuing the issue.

With the benefit of hindsight we can see that it would have been better if greater efforts had been made to try to get him to accept some form of therapeutic counselling with a trusted professional who could know his true identity.

Indeed, the need for such counselling was all the more marked because from 2003, for little more than administrative reasons, Venables had not been under the supervision of a clinical psychiatrist, contravening a licence condition imposed at the express request of Home Secretary David Blunkett.

Sir David remarked mildly: I find it surprising that in 2008 and 2009, with the case appearing to be on a downward path, there was not a more active attitude to the provision of professional clinical support.

His review, which has been seen by many as a masterclass in Whitehall providing absolution for all officialdom, was still able to conclude that no-one could be blamed for the way that the offence involving indecent images of children came as a complete shock to all concerned.

But in 2013, Venables paedophile inclinations were known to the whole world. Why then was he released, when he could have been detained under the terms of his life licence until people were absolutely sure he had been rehabilitated?

The Parole Board, of course, is hamstrung by the fact it cannot comment on individual cases.

Albert Kirby, though, is clear.

It was a flawed decision, he said. Whoever made it, underestimated the whole character of the man.

Mr Kirby was backed by one of the few former senior officials ever to have commented publicly on the case, Malcolm Stevens, who in 1993 was the Home Secretary's professional adviser for children.

I cant understand it, Mr Stevens told The Independent. It was a hell of a risk to take in 2013.

And during Wednesdays court hearing it emerged that in 2015 Venables, already convicted of viewing online child pornography, had breached his Sexual Offences Prevention Order by accessing the internet.

Yet he was given a police caution instead of being returned to custody, as he could have been.

It did leave some wondering whether in 2015 a decision had been made that mirrored the questionable actions taken after Venables was arrested in 2008.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman insisted that Venables had not been accessing the internet for anything illegal in 2015: There was no evidence at that time of an increased risk to the public that would have justified recall [to custody].

Denise Fergus, mother of James Bulger (Peter Byrne/PA Archive/PA Images)

Denise Fergus, the mother of James Bulger, called the decision just to issue a police caution part of a pattern of collusion between Venables and the authorities.

The old battle lines were being redrawn.

The 40-month sentence passed by Mr Justice Edis was branded a joke, despite him stressing he had to judge present, not past offences, and that Venables life licence meant he might never be released.

A petition calling for a public inquiry into Venables and the James Bulger murder case raced past 130,000 signatures.

Venables, his lawyer said, had expressed remorse and admitted he needed help.

As he begins his third stretch inside, to the accompaniment of sound and fury outside, perhaps he is again relieved to be back in the place he has come to know best: custody.
Two captured British Isis militants should not be given the satisfaction of being put to death and becoming martyrs, a former hostage has said.

Nicolas Henin, a French journalist, was one of the few captives to survive brutal detention at the hands of the cell that became known as The Beatles in Syria.

He wants his former jailers, Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, to face a fair trial for their crimes.

The death penalty would achieve what these people claim they wanted when they went to Syria  martyrdom, Mr Henin told The Independent. You dont give your enemy such satisfaction.

Originally from London, the militants may have been stripped of their UK citizenship for joining Isis and it is unclear where they could be tried for the murder of both British and American citizens.

Mr Henin said he does not believe the Kurdish militias who currently have Kotey and Elsheikh in custody have the capacity for a thorough legal process.

Guantanamo Bay wouldnt be a satisfying solution either, as it is a denial of justice, he added.

What I want is an incontestable trial, as fair as possible, where my captors would have all the chances to defend themselves.

Alexanda Kotey was one of two remaining members of a British group of Isis fighters (BBC)

We must absolutely prevent them reversing the situation by depicting them as victims. We were the victims, not them. If they dont get justice, they will use it to fuel their propaganda.

Mr Henin was freed just four months before the group beheaded his former cellmate James Foley in 2014, starting a string of gory murders including British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning and Americans Peter Kassig and Steven Sotloff.

Their executioner, Mohammed Emwazi, became known as Jihadi John and was killed in a drone strike, while his fellow Beatle Aine Davis is imprisoned in Turkey.

The remaining two members of the cell  34-year-old Kotey and 29-year-old Elsheikh  remained at large until they were caught by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in January.

Colonel John Thomas, a spokesperson for US Central Command, said they were detained in eastern Syria and have been questioned by American officials following identification using biometric data and other tools.

He told the Associated Press their capture was certainly a big deal for America as well as their victims families around the world.

Hostages have told of their brutality, which included torture, waterboarding, electric shocks, mock executions, and crucifixions.

Mr Henin was the first Western journalist to enter Syria after the uprising started, being kidnapped in June 2013 alongside photographer Pierre Torres while filming in Raqqa, which would later become Isiss self-declared capital.

He described all four Beatles as arrogant, considering themselves as the elite forces of the caliphate, connected to the highest level of the leadership of the group, and regularly brutal.

Mohammed Emwazi became known as Jihadi John during the spate of beheadings

The journalist believes that other jihadis involved in his capture may still be at large but said knowing Kotey and Elsheikh were behind bars was important to his recovery, adding: I feel much better.

I believe both former hostages and the families of those murdered largely share my feelings. We all are looking for justice. It will not bring us what we lost, a year in our life or even a son, but its still necessary.

While Isiss self-declared caliphate across Iraq and Syria has collapsed, leaving only small pockets of militants surrounded in border areas, it continues efforts to inspire terror attacks around the world and has spread to countries including Afghanistan, Libya and Egypt.

Im still happy to see this monstrosity collapsing, also for the welfare of the local population, but am worried of the persistence of a lot of its ideas in the mind of people, both in the Middle East and in Europe, Mr Henin said.

Relatives of the hostages tortured and murdered by The Beatles have spoken of their relief.

Bethany Haines, whose father David was killed in 2014 after being held captive for 18 months, said she hoped Kotey and Elsheikhs detention could bring closure.

In my opinion, they shouldnt be breathing but thats not really a realistic kind of expectation, she told Good Morning Britain. I think that they should be locked up with the key thrown away and never to be released.

Diane Foley, the mother of the first hostage to be beheaded, said the arrests will not bring her son back, but hopefully it protects others from this kind of crime.

American journalist James Foley while covering the civil war in Syria (AP)

Their crimes are beyond imagination, she told the BBC. They really have not done anything good in the world, so I think they need to spend the rest of their life being held.

Elsheikh came to the UK as a child from Sudan, when his family were granted refugee status, and lived in White City, west London.

He had links to local gangs as a teenager, with his older brother jailed for gun possession, and was not known to be religious until he was introduced to a radical preacher.

He travelled to Syria in 2012 and joined al-Qaedas regional branch before an internal dispute led to a splinter group creating Isis.

Declaring him a Specially Designated Global Terrorist last year, the US State Department confirmed Elsheikh was a member of the The Beatles and said the cell had beheaded more than 27 hostages and tortured many more.

Elsheikh was said to have earned a reputation for waterboarding, mock executions, and crucifixions while serving as an Isis jailer, a statement said.

Kotey was put under the same sanctions months before, when the State Department said: As a guard for the cell, Kotey likely engaged in the groups executions and exceptionally cruel torture methods, including electronic shock and waterboarding.

Kotey has also acted as an Isis recruiter and is responsible for recruiting several UK nationals to join the terrorist organisation.

Born in London, he is half-Ghanaian, half-Greek Cypriot and grew up in Shepherds Bush.

Kotey is believed to have converted to Islam in his early twenties, and left two young children in Britain when he travelled to Gaza in 2009 as part of a controversial aid convoy organised by George Galloway.

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

In a statement, his family said they did not want to comment on his capture and asked for privacy.

The British militants are among hundreds of foreign fighters believed to have been imprisoned by US-backed forces in Syria, where their future has remained unclear.

The UK has removed British citizenship from some dual nationals known to be Isis members using powers for the public good.

But the Home Office would not confirm if Kotey and Elsheikh had been subjected to the measure, which aims to prevent militants returning to Britain.

Asked whether it would be seeking to transport the pair to the UK for trial, the Foreign Office said it did not comment on individual cases or ongoing investigations.

Dr Shiraz Maher, deputy director of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation at Kings College London, said the capture of Kotey and Elsheikh was hugely significant because the bulk of high-profile Isis targets are still at large or have been killed.

These men will have important intelligence about the fates of Western hostages in their custody, including some who remain captives of Isis, he added.

It also demonstrates that just because Isis has lost territory or moved off our television screens, the group has not gone away.

European foreign fighters very much remain a part of this organisation and continue to play a role in the next phase of its mutation as it reverts back to its insurgent roots.
The three terrorists who carried out the London Bridge attack might have taken steroids before launching the atrocity, a court has heard.

Isis supporters Khuram Butt, 27, Rachid Redouane, 30, and Youssef Zaghba, 22, had high levels of DHEA in their bodies, suggesting the steroid may have been consumed hours or days before the atrocity.

The Westminster attacker Khalid Masood had also taken steroids before carrying out his Isis-inspired rampage in March, another hearing was told last month.

Recommended Westminster terror attacker took steroids before massacre

The implications of the findings for the London Bridge attackers will be analysed by experts and considered at an inquest into their deaths, the Old Bailey heard.

Judge Mark Lucraft QC, the Chief Coroner of England and Wales, said those inquests will be held separately to those for their eight victims in early 2019.

Speaking at a pre-inquest hearing, he expressed hope that it would provide grieving families with answers and give comfort in such difficult circumstances.

Jonathan Hough QC, counsel to the coroner, said the process was of great public importance and would be full, rigorous and fair.

Canadian Christine Archibald, 30, and 45-year-old Frenchman Xavier Thomas were the first victims of the attack on 3 June. They were run over and killed as the terrorists ploughed a hired van into pedestrians on London Bridge.

 Met police officer describes taking on the London Bridge terrorists

The vehicle crashed into railings outside the Barrowboy and Banker pub and the trio emerged armed with large knives and fake explosive vests, immediately attacking passers-by.

Butt, Redouane and Zaghba entered pubs and restaurants as they made their way towards Borough Market, fatally stabbing Alexandre Pigeard, 26, as well as Sara Zelenak, 21, Kirsty Boden, 28, Sebastien Belanger, 36, James McMullan, 32, and Ignacio Echeverria Miralles de Imperial, 39.

Some witnesses said they believed the attackers were on drugs during the rampage, reporting hearing them shout Islam, Islam and this is for Allah.

Two unarmed police officers were severely injured while trying to fight the men, while members of the public hit them with chairs, glasses, bottles and even bread crates to try to let others escape.

As another man was being stabbed outside The Wheatsheaf pub, armed police arrived on the scene and shot the three terrorists dead in a hail of at least 50 bullets as they charged at them. The attack started at 10.07pm and ended nine minutes later.

The hearing was told that the inquests into Butt, Redouane and Zaghbas deaths must be held with a jury because they were caused by police, even though there is no suggestion of wrongdoing.

A report submitted to the inquest said police were concerned that the fake explosive vests worn by the attackers were real and that they could blow themselves up to cause further casualties, as seen in Isiss Paris attacks.

Lawyer Victoria Ailes, representing five of the victims families, said they were particularly concerned to find out about any CCTV footage or mobile phone film showing the attacks on their loved ones.

Videos taken by members of the public will be considered alongside police body-worn camera footage and other evidence, including forensic material from the knives and van used.

Almost 1,800 statements have been taken from witnesses to the attack, which came as the area around Borough Market was filled with Londoners and tourists enjoying a warm Saturday night.

London Bridge Terror Attack Show all 16 1 /16 London Bridge Terror Attack London Bridge Terror Attack Armed police on Borough High Street as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge PA London Bridge Terror Attack Armed Police talk to members of the public outside London Bridge Hospital as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge PA London Bridge Terror Attack Police Officers outside the Barrowboy and Banker Public House on Borough High Street as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge PA London Bridge Terror Attack Armed Police talk to members of the public outside London Bridge Hospital as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge PA London Bridge Terror Attack Armed police on Borough High Street as police deal with a 'major incident' at London Bridge PA London Bridge Terror Attack Emergency services near the scene of the incident Screengrab London Bridge Terror Attack People run down Borough High Street as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge Reuters London Bridge Terror Attack Emergency services arrive at the scene near Borough market at London Bridge Carl Court/Getty Images London Bridge Terror Attack Emergency personnel on London Bridge as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge PA London Bridge Terror Attack Police sniffer dogs on London Bridge as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge PA London Bridge Terror Attack A second helicopter lands on London Bridge as police are responding to three incidents in the capital, amid reports that a vehicle collided with pedestrians on London Bridge, Scotland Yard said. Officers are dealing with reports of stabbings in Borough Market, where armed officers attended and shots were fired. They are also at an incident in the Vauxhall area PA London Bridge Terror Attack Police attend to an incident on London Bridge in London REUTERS London Bridge Terror Attack Police attend to an incident on London Bridge in London, Britain Reuters London Bridge Terror Attack A police officer escorts members of the public to safety at London Bridge Getty Images London Bridge Terror Attack Police attend to an incident on London Bridge in London, Britain Reuters London Bridge Terror Attack Police attend to an incident near London Bridge in London, Britain Reuters

The inquests will hear evidence from police, the ambulance service, intelligence agencies and the families of both victims and attackers.

More than a dozen people were arrested and interviewed by police in the wake of the atrocity but no one has been charged with an offence.

The coroner will examine the background of each attacker, their radicalisation and preparations, and what MI5 knew before the atrocity.

A report released in December by David Anderson QC, the former Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, found that security services failed to prevent the attack despite having Butt under surveillance for almost two years.

Recommended Timeline of MI5 investigations into UK terror attackers revealed

The ringleader was a known associate of Islamist preacher Anjem Choudary and was the subject of a dedicated MI5 investigation for suspected attack planning from mid-2015 onwards.

But police and the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to launch a separate investigation after he was filmed praying to an Isis flag during a television documentary on a prolific group of Islamists, and believed his focus was moving away from terror attacks to travelling abroad.

An extensive intelligence operation had not flagged Moroccan-Italian Zaghba and Moroccan Redouane as threats and much remains unknown, even today, about the mindset of the three conspirators and the planning of the attack, the report concluded.

It revealed that Zaghba was put on a Europe-wide warning list after telling officials at Bologna airport he was travelling to Turkey to be a terrorist, but British authorities took no action.

Months later, Italy asked MI5 for information on Zaghba but it did not respond, possibly because the request arrived in the incorrect mailbox and was not chased up.

With Butt what you had was a man who was under active investigation from MI5, who did probably around the end of 2016 team up with his two co-conspirators, and yet MI5 and the police between them were not able to identify what they were actually planning, Mr Anderson said.

Additional reporting by PA
Intelligence extracted from two British Isis militants captured in Syria has already sparked operations hunting other jihadis down, security sources have told The Independent.

Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh were the last two members of the British Isis cell known as The Beatles to remain at large until they were detained by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) last month.

They were wanted for involvement in the torture and execution of hostages including the American journalist James Foley and British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning, whose families have hailed the first step towards justice for their loved ones.

Kotey and Elsheikh have been interrogated while in custody, while diplomats in London and Washington are understood to be in discussions about where they will be taken next.

One of their former hostages says he wants them to be given a fair trial, while calling on the US not to detain the jihadis at Guantanamo Bay.

The defence minister, Tobias Ellwood, also argued that the men should be tried in the International Criminal Court in The Hague, rather than being sent to the US detention camp in Cuba.

Security sources told The Independent information provided by Kotey and Elsheikh has already led to a number of operations hunting down Isis fighters.

Officials hope that further investigations may generate leads on what happened to remaining hostages including the British journalist John Cantlie, who disappeared after appearing in a series of Isis propaganda videos. It is also hoped that they may yield information about the whereabouts of their victims' bodies.

British journalist John Cantlie has not appeared in Isis propaganda videos since the battle of Mosul (AP)

Elsheikh and Kotey are among hundreds of foreign fighters captured by the SDF as it drives militants out of their self-declared caliphate, with biometric tests used to identify suspects.

Intelligence agencies had planned to capture the pair alive after killing The Beatles ringleader Jihadi John, whose real name was Mohammed Emwazi, in a 2015 drone strike, recognising their value in potentially providing intelligence.

The fourth militant in the cell, Aine Davis, has been jailed for terror offences in Turkey and information from his interrogations has been passed to Washington and London.

Recommended Jihadi John drone strike dealt an ideological blow to Isis

The US military vowed to hold Kotey and Elsheikh accountable for their crimes, although it remains unclear which country will assume responsibility for any prosecutions.

Eric Pahon, a spokesman from the US Department of Defence, told The Independent: We are still considering options regarding Elsheikh and Kotey, but rest assured our intention is to hold anyone accountable who commits acts like those they are alleged to have committed.

Both men were declared specially designated global terrorists last year for their roles in the group, with officials holding the cell responsible for beheading more than 27 hostages and torturing many more.

A small number of captives, including French journalist Nicolas Henin, were freed and have told of the British militants brutality.

Elsheikh, 29, was said to have earned a reputation for waterboarding, mock executions and crucifixions while serving as a jailer, while fellow guard Kotey was involved in beheadings and known for exceptionally cruel torture methods, including electronic shocks.

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

The 34-year-old is also accused of acting as an Isis recruiter and being responsible for drawing several other British extremists to join the terrorist group.

Born in London, Kotey is half-Ghanaian, half-Greek Cypriot and grew up in Shepherds Bush.

He is believed to have converted to Islam in his early twenties, and left two young children in Britain when he travelled to Gaza in 2009 as part of a controversial Gaza aid convoy organised by former Labour and Respect MP George Galloway.

In a statement, his family said they did not want to comment on his capture and asked for privacy.

Elsheikh came to the UK as a child from Sudan, when his family were granted refugee status, and was a mechanic from White City in west London.

He had links to local gangs as a teenager, with his older brother jailed for gun possession, and was not known as religious until he was introduced to a radical preacher.

Elsheikh travelled to Syria in 2012 and joined al-Qaedas regional branch before an internal dispute led to a splinter group creating Isis.

El Shafee Elsheikh was said to have earned a reputation for waterboarding, mock executions and crucifixions while serving as a jailer (Buzzfeed)

The UK has removed British citizenship from some dual nationals known to be Isis members using powers for the public good.

But the Home Office would not confirm if Kotey and Elsheikh had been subjected to the measure, which aims to prevent militants returning to Britain.

It would not prevent them being put on trial in the UK, even if the offences in question were committed abroad.

Asked whether it would be seeking to transport the pair to Britain, the Foreign Office said it did not comment on individual cases or ongoing investigations.

Dr Shiraz Maher, deputy director of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation at Kings College London, said the capture of Kotey and Elsheikh was hugely significant because the bulk of high-profile Isis targets are either at large or dead.

These men will have important intelligence about the fates of western hostages in their custody, including some who remain captives of Isis, he added.

It also demonstrates that, just because Isis has lost territory or moved off our television screens, the group has not gone away.

European foreign fighters very much remain a part of this organisation and continue to play a role in the next phase of its mutation as it reverts back to its insurgent roots."

Additional reporting by Alexandra Wilts
A man has died in what is believed to have been a suicide at HMP Nottingham less than a month after the prisons watchdog made an unprecedented warning that the lives of inmates were at risk.

Darren Capewell, who would have turned 38 next week, died in the prison on Wednesday. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said an independent investigation into the death would be carried out by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman.

A friend of Mr Capewell, who did not want to be named, told The Independent the 37-year-old took his own life. The MoJ did not dispute this.

The news comes after the Chief Inspector of Prisons issued the Justice Secretary with an urgent notification for the first time on 18 January, saying HMP Nottingham was fundamentally unsafe and required immediate action.

When inspectors visited the jail 10 days before  the third inspection in little over three years  they found serious failures in safety which were repeated from earlier inspections.

Since June 2016, levels of self-harm had risen very significantly and eight prisoners were believed to have taken their own lives, according to Chief Inspector Peter Clarke.

More than two-thirds of men said they had felt unsafe in the prison at some time, and more than a third felt unsafe at the time of the inspection, and there were high levels of drugs, violence and assaults and use of force by staff.

In a letter to Mr Gauke on 17 January, Mr Clarke said: Inspection findings at HMP Nottingham tell a story of dramatic decline since 2010.

But in spite of the warning, Mr Capewell has become the twelfth inmate to have died in the jail since the start of 2016.

Of the previous 11 deaths, nine were self-inflicted and the majority occurred in the first few days of their arrival. In the 14 years prior to 2016, a total of 13 men died while serving in HMP Nottingham.

Recommended Prison crisis laid bare as Government issued unprecedented warning

In light of the death, shadow justice secretary Richard Burgon urged the Government to "immediately" publish, and implement, the action plan required by the triggering of the urgent notification process.

"To delay any further only adds to the dangers faced by prisoners there. Across the country, our prisons are more dangerous than ever. Faced with this crisis, the government should be taking emergency action to make the prisons estate safe for inmates and staff alike," he said.

A spokesperson for Inquest, a charity which provides expertise on deaths in custody, told The Independent: We are deeply dismayed to hear of yet another death in HMP Nottingham, the tenth self-inflicted death in the prison since June 2016.

"HMP Nottingham had long been forewarned about systemic failings by inspection and monitoring bodies. Less than a month ago the inspectorate notified the Secretary of State of serious concerns about the fundamentally unsafe prison.

"So why has nothing been done? There must now be urgent, genuine action before yet another person dies unnecessarily.

A Prison Service spokesperson said: HMP Nottingham prisoner Darren Capewell (DOB 15/02/1980) died in custody on Wednesday 07 February 2018.

"As with all deaths in custody, there will be an independent investigation by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman. Our sincere condolences are with the family of Mr Capewell at this difficult time.

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On the HMP Nottingham Urgent Notification, Justice Secretary David Gauke said: We have been clear that we should be held to account for the state of our prisons and that is why we introduced this urgent notification process.

The Chief Inspector has rightly identified the very difficult challenges and circumstances staff at HMP Nottingham are facing and it is clear they need support to help deliver a safer establishment for staff and offenders.

We have already provided more experienced staff to the prison and boosted the number of prison officers by more than 100. I will be looking closely at the issues faced by the prison and will publish an action plan within 28 days which will urgently drive improvement required.
Spanish vessels breached United Nations (UN) rules by sailing into British Gibraltar territorial waters more than 1,200 times in less than three years, government figures have revealed.

Civil Guard, Spanish Navy or customs craft transited the area up to six times a day between January 2015 and 10 October last year, the data released by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) showed.

Britains Government has protested their movements with Spanish authorities. They were incompatible with the meaning of innocent passage as defined by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the FCO said in documents obtained by freedom of information.

The statistics come as Britains new 65,000-tonne aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth visits Gibraltar during its second stage of sea trials and a month after the UK and Spain held their their first informal Brexit-related talks.

Discussions in Madrid in January included how the UKs departure from the European Union (EU) could apply to Gibraltar, where 96 per cent of residents backed Remain in 2016s referendum.

The EUs guidelines on negotiations for Britains future relationship with the bloc granted Spain veto rights over the issue of Gibraltar, a tiny outcrop at the tip of the Iberian peninsula.

The FCO said the meeting was productive and that the Gibraltarian authorities who had been involved in arranging it had been briefed on it.

Last August Spain said it would not seek to use Brexit to recover sovereignty of Gibraltar, which it ceded in the Treaty of Utrecht three centuries ago.

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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. 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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

Following the release of the figures, an FCO spokeswoman said: The Royal Navy challenges all incursions in British Gibraltar territorial waters [BGTW], and we back this up diplomatically by protesting to the Spanish authorities. These actions effectively defend our sovereignty over BGTW.

Incursions are a violation of sovereignty, not a threat to it. They do not weaken or undermine the legal basis in international law for British sovereignty over Gibraltar, including BGTW.

A spokesman for the Spanish embassy in London told The Independent: Spanish official vessels carry out activities in Spanish waters in the exercise of routine tasks in fulfilment of their duties.

Spain does not recognise to the United Kingdom other rights and situations relating to Gibraltars maritime areas that are not covered by Article 10 of the Treaty of Utrecht, which ceded only the town and castle of Gibraltar, together with the port, fortifications and forts thereunto belonging.

The waters adjacent to Gibraltar are, therefore, Spanish. Spanish ships will continue to exercise their duties in Spanish waters in the same way they have always been doing.

Earlier this year Gibraltars chief minister, Fabian Picardo, told The Independent he believed the territory would have a veto over parts of any eventual Brexit deal if they do not work in its favour.

He has also called for a second vote on the final terms of the divorce agreement.

Additional reporting by agencies
MV Betsy Rose, the vessel under investigation by the Office of the Maritime Regulator
The Article 50 letter written by Theresa May that kicked off the Brexit process travelled to Brussels first class on a Eurostar train, it has been revealed.

It took two civil servants travelling in business premier class to take the letter to the European Council on 29 March 2017, at a cost of 491.50 per person.

A response to a freedom of information request posted on the Foreign Office website shows the total cost of delivering the letter was 985.50, including a 1.50 per person booking fee. The letter did not get its own seat.

Eurostar tickets from London to Brussels are available as little as 29 each way if booked well in advance, suggesting the practicalities of delivering the letter were not sorted out until the last minute.

Alternatively Royal Mail offers a guaranteed next day delivery service for letters from Britain to Belgium for 6.45 each.

The two civil servants escorting the letter handed it to Sir Tim Barrow, the UK's ambassador to the EU, who delivered it to European Council president Donald Tusk.

Upon receiving the letter Mr Tusk said: We already miss you. Thank you and goodbye.

 Donald Tusk tells UK 'we already miss you' after Article 50 triggered

Ms Mays letter to Mr Tusk insisted that the decision to leave the EU was no rejection of the values we share as fellow Europeans and that nor was it an attempt to do harm to the European Union or any of the remaining member states.

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

The FOI response states: There were no other quantifiable costs associated with their travel. Meals were provided on the Eurostar and the two civil servants stayed overnight at the Residence.

The letter was then delivered to the President of the European Council by Sir Tim Barrow as part of his duties as UK Permanent Representative to the European Union at no additional cost.
The EU would deny Britain the Brexit transition period requested by Theresa May if ongoing disagreements in negotiations are not resolved, Michel Barnier has warned.

The European Commissions chief negotiator told reporters in Brussels that a transition period was not a given and that there will undoubtedly be a problem if the UK sticks to its guns.

The UK is at odds with Brussels in a number of areas: it has demanded a power to object to new rules imposed on it during the transition period, restrictions on the rights of EU citizens who come to Britain during the transition, and the ability to opt in to certain European policies.

The EU says its plan for the transition agreed by the 27 member states, which does not include these aspects, is logical and non-negotiable.

Talks also appeared to be making little headway on Friday after Mr Barnier accused the UK of cancelling a planned meeting due to a diary clash. But British officials immediately denied cancelling the meeting and said it had merely been moved to the afternoon.

To be quite frank, if these disagreements persist, the transition is not a given, Mr Barnier said.

As I said, time is very short and we havent a minute to lose if we want to succeed, and we do want to succeed in this orderly withdrawal, and we have to discuss the future relationship as soon as possible.

I have some problems understanding the UKs position: they themselves asked for this transition period, the heads of state and government said yes on the basis of very logical conditions  because youre keeping the single market, customs union, the economic status quo for a limited period, its understandable that we should keep the regulatory and supervision structure, the way rules are applied, its the integrity of the single market thats at stake.

If this disagreement should [continue to] exist there will undoubtedly be a problem. I hope that we will be able to resolve this disagreement in the next round.

Turning to the issue is Ireland, Mr Barnier reiterated a warning that coming out of the customs union and single market made a hard border unavoidable. He said the specific solution on Ireland promised by the UK, or full regulatory alignment in Ireland could prevent such controls.

Both sides say they want to agree the transition period before the European Council meeting in March, giving them just under two months to make a deal on the issue.

Were a transition period to not be agreed, the UK would effectively crash out of the bloc without a deal in March 2019  unless the negotiation period were extended by consent of all 27 EU countries, or Article 50 were revoked.

Brexit Secretary David Davis (PA)

It is currently planned that the meat of the future relationship between the EU  effectively a trade agreement  would be negotiated during the transition period, meaning its absence would cause huge disruption for UK industry.

The transition period, which the Prime Minister requested in her Florence speech, was previously considered to be the most straightforward part of the Brexit process due to its simple nature. The UK has however raised objections with the EUs proposals after Tory right-wingers raised objections to the idea, arguing that it would make the UK a temporary vassal state of Europe.

Keir Starmer, Labours Shadow Brexit Secretary, same the comments should be a wakeup call for the Prime Minister.

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

"As Labour has said for months, it's vital the Government secures sensible transitional arrangements to prevent a cliff-edge for our economy. Yet with just a few weeks until the March deadline, its clear the Government is no closer to reaching an agreement.

Businesses and trade unions have been crystal clear that failure to secure strong transitional arrangements will mean companies pulling investment and staff out of the UK.

"Theresa May must end the infighting within her Cabinet, drop her reckless redlines and accept Labours proposals for a transitional deal. That means seeking to remain in a customs union with the EU and within the single market during that period. It means we would abide by the common rules of both.
David Davis has been dragged into renewed war of words with Brussels over the Brexit transition period, accusing the EU of having a fundamental contradiction in its approach and wanting to have it both ways after a week of fruitless talks.

Relations between Britain and the European Commission sank to a new low on Friday after Michel Barnier, the EUs chief negotiator, casually claimed at a press conference the UK had cancelled an important meeting due to a diary clash. UK officials behind the scenes took offence to the claim and said the meeting had not been cancelled at all and instead took place in the afternoon.

Mr Barnier sealed the state of mutual incomprehension, telling reporters in Brussels that he had problems understanding the UKs position on the transition period.

In a statement issued on Friday afternoon after Mr Barniers press conference  a solo affair in contrast to previous joint outings  Mr Davis said the EU could not have it both ways on the transition period.

Given the intense work that has taken place this week it is surprising to hear that Michel Barnier is unclear on the UKs position in relation to the implementation period, he said. As I set out in a speech two weeks ago, we are seeking a time-limited period that maintains access to each others markets on existing terms.

However for any such period to work both sides will need a way to resolve disputes in the unlikely event that they occur.

But there is a fundamental contradiction in the approach the commission is taking. Today they acknowledged that a way to resolve disputes and infringements is needed. Yet at the same time they dismissed the UKs push for reasonable safeguards to ensure our interests are protected. It is not possible to have it both ways.

We must not lose sight of the ultimate aim here  to build a new comprehensive partnership between the UK and the EU that sees us stay as the closest of friends and allies. It is in that spirit that the UK continues to approach negotiations with the Commission.

The European Commissions chief negotiator had earlier told reporters that a transition period was not a given and that there will undoubtedly be a problem if the UK sticks to its guns.

The UK is at odds with Brussels in a number of areas: it has demanded a power to object to new rules imposed on it during the transition period, restrictions on the rights of EU citizens who come to Britain during the transition, and the ability to opt in to certain European policies.

The EU says its plan for the transition agreed by the 27 member states, which does not include these aspects, is logical and non-negotiable.

Michel Barnier speaks to reporters in Brussels (EbS)

Mr Barnier told his press conference: I have some problems understanding the UKs position: they themselves asked for this transition period, the heads of state and government said yes on the basis of very logical conditions  because youre keeping the single market, customs union, the economic status quo for a limited period, its understandable that we should keep the regulatory and supervision structure, the way rules are applied, its the integrity of the single market thats at stake.

If this disagreement should [continue to] exist there will undoubtedly be a problem. I hope that we will be able to resolve this disagreement in the next round.

 Michel Barnier: Brexit transition deal 'not a given'

Turning to the issue is Ireland, he reiterated a warning that coming out of the customs union and single market made a hard border unavoidable. The chief negotiator said the specific solution on Ireland promised by the UK, or full regulatory alignment in Ireland could prevent such controls.

Both sides say they want to agree the transition period before the European Council meeting in March, giving them just under two months to make a deal on the issue.

Were a transition period to not be agreed, the UK would effectively crash out of the bloc without a deal in March 2019  unless the negotiation period were extended by consent of all 27 EU countries, or Article 50 were revoked.

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

It is currently planned that the meat of the future relationship between the EU  effectively a trade agreement  would be negotiated during the transition period, meaning its absence would cause huge disruption for UK industry.

The transition period, which the Prime Minister requested in her Florence speech, was previously considered to be the most straightforward part of the Brexit process due to its simple nature. The UK has however raised objections with the EUs proposals after Tory right-wingers raised objections to the idea, arguing that it would make the UK a temporary vassal state of Europe.

Labours Keir Starmer said it was vital for the Government to secure a transition period for the sake of the economy and said Mr Barniers comments should be a wakeup call for the Prime Minister.
Government officials have raised the prospect that hard-won workers rights could be reviewed by the Government after Brexit in an attempt to boost Britains economy, The Independent can reveal.

A Whitehall impact assessment singles out workers protections  such as preventing people from being forced to work too many hours  as an area that might be used for maximising regulatory opportunities after withdrawal.

MPs who have seen the document claimed it shows ministers are considering weakening employment rights post-Brexit  with one branding the paper an absolute disgrace.

Theresa May has consistently said she will not weaken worker rights after the UK quits the EU, and has even vowed to strengthen them, but she has failed to commit to maintaining specific protections to do with working hours.

MPs told The Independent the document refers to a Department for Business, Environment and Industrial Strategy review of the potential impact of amending or removing existing employment regulations.

The Government has faced intense questions over the Brexit assessment paper, which MPs can now view under strict conditions.

It has already been reported that the paper suggests the UK will be worse off after Brexit, even if the country secures free trade deals with the EU and other countries.

But MPs who have read it now claim that a part of the document in which officials explore areas for boosting the UKs economy also contains a lengthy section on maximising regulatory opportunities.

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

The section specifically mentions the EUs Working Time Directive as one of the regulations which could present an opportunity. The directive limits the hours someone can work in a week to 48 for most employees, makes annual leave compulsory and states that staff must be allowed at least 11 hours rest a day.

Labour MP Stephen Kinnock, who sites on the Brexit Select Committee and spent several hours reading the document, told The Independent: I think its an absolute disgrace that the Government is even looking at eroding workers rights.

When you look at it and the mask slips, its clear they want to turn the UK into a version of the Cayman Islands Labour MP Stephen Kinnock

Theyve told us repeatedly that Brexit is about enhancing rights, environmental standards and consumer protections.

When you look at it and the mask slips, its clear they want to turn the UK into a version of the Cayman Islands.

The Liberal Democrats Brexit spokesman, Tom Brake, who has also seen the analysis, said he was perplexed as to why the Government had included workers rights in their analysis, given previous ministerial claims they will not be eroded.

 Japan warns Theresa May its giant firms will quit UK if botched Brexit makes it 'unprofitable' to stay

If the Government was completely committed to maintaining existing rights, then officials would have been told not to include them in the analysis, he said.

I am very suspicious as to why this reference is there.

Other MPs told The Independent they feared the reference to regulatory opportunities was code for scrapping employee protections, though they admitted other parts of the paper included mention of a desire to maintain standards.

One member said they were particularly shocked by the reference to the Working Time Directive.

The MP said: It leapt out at me immediately because it was so out of keeping with the Government has been saying publicly.

Another added: It surprised me how much emphasis there was on diverging from existing regulations.

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

The Government had refused to publish the paper or give any details about it until last week, when a House of Commons vote forced ministers to release the document to MPs.

Members were given access on Wednesday via a reading room in government offices at 100 Parliament Street, opposite the Palace of Westminster.

But those viewing it had to sign a set of rules and were forced to hand over their mobile phones and tablets in order to stop them taking photographs.

A Government spokesperson said it was categorically untrue and a clear misrepresentation to suggest there are plans in place to scrap workers rights.

 What could the sticking points be in the Brexit trade deal?

We have firmly committed not to roll back workers rights, and the Government has shown its commitment to extending those rights when this is the right choice for the UK, the spokesperson added.

This will continue to be the case as we leave the European Union.

When officials at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy were asked if they had been tasked to conduct work looking at potential economic opportunities from amending employment rights after Brexit law, they declined to comment and referred The Independent to the earlier statement.

The EUs working time directive makes annual leave a legal requirement, states that most employees cannot be made to work more than 48 hours per week and gives them the right to at least 11 hours rest per day.

While Ms May has committed to maintaining and enhancing workers rights in general, she has refused to rule out the possibility that protections in the EU working time directive could be altered.

Other reports have suggested that Brexiteers Michael Gove, Boris Johnson and Liam Fox see changing the regulations as a way to boost economic growth.

Under the Governments EU (Withdrawal) Bill, all European law, including those enshrining workers rights, will be brought across on to the UK statute book on the day after Brexit.

 Robert Chote says an ideal Brexit impact assessment would be shared with the public

Ministers will then be granted Henry VIII powers to alter parts of regulation without requiring full parliamentary approval.

The Government has faced criticism, including from the Tory benches, over the Henry VIII powers, with many fearing they may be unduly used to swiftly scrap pieces of law.

More recently Ms May has faced pressure over the impact assessment, which predicted that regardless of whether the UK remains in the single market, leaves with a free trade agreement or trades with the EU on WTO rules, it will be worse off than it would be if it stayed an EU member.

It also predicted the North-east will be hit hardest by Brexit, with a potential 16 per cent fall in the size of its economy in a no-deal scenario.
A plot to bring down Theresa May would be the worst possible thing to do at this moment in time as Britain continues with the Brexit negotiations, Gina Miller has said.

The businesswoman and campaigner, who was behind the Supreme Court case that forced Ms May to get parliamentary approval for triggering Article 50, warned against any further uncertainty after reports of plans to oust the Prime Minister.

In recent months there have been several suggestions of coups against Ms May, ranging from backbench MPs making plans to remove her to Boris Johnson and Michael Gove providing the Prime Minister with a letter filled with Brexit instructions.

Ms Miller has now urged Ms May to show leadership and have the vision to make demands of the EU during the Brexit negotiations.

When it comes to bringing down Theresa May, I think it would be the worst possible thing to do at this moment in time, Ms Miller told The Independent. I would say that we are living in enough uncertainty without our Prime Minister being brought down.

The comments come as Ms Miller denied reports that billionaire financier George Soros had funded any of her recent campaigns.

The organisation Best for Britain, which was founded by Ms Miller, reportedly took a donation of 400,000 from the Hungarian-born businessman, who made 1bn by betting against the pound on Black Wednesday, just before the UK pulled out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism.

Mr Soross involvement with Best for Britain is understood to have emerged after he entertained six Conservative donors at his house in Chelsea.

Citing a leaked strategy document, The Daily Telegraph reported that Best for Britain was planning to target MPs to encourage them to vote against a final deal on Brexit, triggering another referendum.

Reports had linked Best for Britain to Ms Miller but she told The Independent she had left the group in 2017, and was adamant she had nothing to do with the donation or the organisation.

The report is completely untrue in connecting it with me. I have not had anything to do with that organisation, or the funders of that organisation, or the individuals in that organisation, since the day after the [general election] last June, Ms Miller 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

She did however say that as long as there was transparency she had no issue with Mr Soros donating money to organisations in the UK.

What I do know about Soros with my other hat on, which is a philanthropic one, is that he is a great believer and defender in democracy, not just in the UK but globally, Ms Miller said.

To give away 18bn of his money to fight for democracy and fight for individual rights, who am I or anyone else as far I am concerned, to say that he doesnt have the right to do that.

If he is donating his money to what he believes is defending democracy and is transparent about that, that is up to him to answer for his reasons."
A group of Labour MPs has demanded that thousands of grassroots members should be consulted over Brexit amid further confusion on the partys approach.

Pro-EU parliamentarians and campaigners have written to the partys ruling body to call for a new commission that would thrash out Labours stance on leaving the European Union.

In a letter to NEC chair Andy Kerr, the group, led by former Shadow Health Secretary Heidi Alexander, said it was deeply disappointed that there was no commission to look at Brexit among the eight policy groups the NEC established after the election.

 Jeremy Corbyn rules out Labour advocating a second referendum

The move will heap further pressure on Jeremy Corbyn to distance himself from the Government on Brexit, whose plan to leave the single market and the customs union was branded reckless and cavalier by the letters signatories.

It comes amid fresh confusion over the Labour leaders Brexit views, as the party was forced to deny suggestions Mr Corbyn had told the EUs chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier that he would be open to staying in the customs union.

The letter, coordinated by Ms Alexander and Wirral South MP Alison McGovern, supporters of the Open Britain campaign for a soft Brexit, said: Brexit is the single biggest issue facing our country and our members deserve a say.

This should be a deliberative process, such as that which has historically been enabled by our policy commissions, and should culminate in a full debate at party conference later this year. This is not a fringe issue and should not be treated as such.

With the European Union demanding clarity from the Government on its desired for the long term arrangements between the UK and the EU before the end of March, there is an urgent and pressing need for the Labour Party to set out an alternative approach.

Labour has managed to maintain a broad position on the future relationship with the EU but pressure is mounting on party leadership to take a clearer stance.

The leaders of four opposition parties wrote to Mr Corbyn urging him to rethink his stance on Brexit and work with them to keep the UK in the EU single market and customs union.

Carwyn Jones, the Labour Welsh First Minister, recently told The Independent he expected Mr Corbyn to announce a shift in policy in favour of staying in the customs union within months and warned that leaving the bloc would be economically daft.

A Labour Party spokesperson said: The NPF considers policy issues through eight policy commissions; that includes Britains exit from the EU, which is the responsibility of the International commission. The Commission and wider NPF are looking at the issue this year in meetings, evidence sessions and by considering all submissions received.

Meanwhile, a leaked EU memo of a meeting between the Labour leader and Mr Barnier, suggested that Mr Corbyn had said he was open to the idea of remaining in the existing customs union after Brexit, according to The Telegraph.

Labours current policy favours a form of customs union but it has committed to leaving the existing version, which allows tariff-free trade in goods between EU member states.

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 spokesman for the Labour leader said: Jeremy did not say he was open to staying in the customs union. He said that a customs union was a viable end point.

We have been clear all the way through that you cant be in the customs union if you are not in the EU.
Mary Lou McDonald is set to be named the new President of the Irish republican party Sinn Fein at a special Ard Fheis (party conference) in Dublin on Saturday.

At the same time Michelle ONeill is poised to become her deputy, as the two women were the only nominees for their respective posts.

To many in Irish politics, this is unsurprising, in part because they have essentially been anointed by outgoing leaders Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness over recent years.

Its no secret that Saturdays Ard Fheis is the culmination of what Sinn Fein have been describing as a 10-year period of generational change within the party  a refresh of the faces at the front to show theyre moving with the times.

It is also an apparent diminution of figures more associated with The Troubles  an effort to make the party more palatable to voters in the Republic of Ireland and to reach further into the centre ground between republicans and unionists in Northern Ireland.

Who is Mary Lou McDonald?

Ms McDonald was born in Dublin and had a private school education. She was initially a member of Fianna Fail but joined Sinn Fein in 1998 and had since risen up their ranks, serving first as an MEP in Brussels from 2004 to 2009 before winning a seat in the Dail (the Irish parliament) in 2011. She has been the partys Vice President since 2009.

Her Dublin-based status means that the Sinn Fein leadership is now rooted in the Republic of Ireland, in contrast to the northern born Adams and McGuinness.

The 48-year-old represents a new generation who came of age politically after the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, and has had none of the involvement in The Troubles which coloured previous leadership.

One major challenge for the new President will be where she places herself on issues of the past. Sinn Fein are a party committed to peace, but who still honour members of the IRA. Ms McDonald will have to maintain this balance to please the party faithful, but it will be all too easy for political opponents to claim the party has not sufficiently rejected its historic links to violence.

Who is Michelle ONeill?

Michelle ONeill has previously been the leader of Sinn Fein in Northern Ireland

Michelle ONeill was born in Tyrone, Northern Ireland, into a prominent republican family  her father was also a Sinn Fein councillor. She first became an MLA in the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2007 and served as Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development from 2011 to 2016. She was also named Minister of Health in 2016 before being elevated to lead the party in Northern Ireland after the resignation of Martin McGuinness in January 2017.

Aged 41, Ms ONeill is another of Sinn Feins fresh faces, aiming to move the party forward, but in April 2017 she attracted criticism for participating in an event which commemorated the deaths of eight IRA men in Loughall in 1987. She responded by saying, I see no contradiction whatsoever in commemorating our republican dead while reaching out to our unionist neighbours to build the future.

What does this change mean for Sinn Fein in the Republic of Ireland?

Saturdays Ard Fheis comes just three months after Gerry Adams announced his intention to stand down before the next election in the Republic of Ireland  which is almost certain to happen this year.

The current confidence and supply agreement between the two main parties, Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, is seen as temporary and unstable, and almost collapsed over a political scandal in December 2017. As the third largest party in the Dail, Sinn Fein are poised to become the effective opposition after the next election  that is, if they dont make it into a coalition.

The party has gone from having just one member of the Dail in 1997 to being an unavoidable force in the parliament in 2018. While the current ruling party Fine Gael would be highly unlikely to entertain Sinn Fein in coalition, Fianna Fail appear more likely bedfellows and have hinted at this possibility.

In part, it is the divisive figure of Mr Adams which has put many voters and politicians off this prospect in the past, but now thats all about to change.

A poll in January by Ipsos MRBI for the Irish Times found that a fifth of Irish voters are more likely to vote for Sinn Fein with Ms McDonald as leader, hence the need to hand over power before the country goes to the ballot boxes.

Mary Lou McDonald, Michelle ONeill and Gerry Adams carry the coffin of Martin McGuinness

What does it mean for Sinn Fein in Northern Ireland?

Sinn Fein have been steadily growing in strength in Northern Ireland in recent years, buoyed by a youth vote which has been attracted to their support for equal rights in groups such as the LGBT community and Irish language speakers, and more recently in their opposition to Brexit.

In the last Assembly elections in 2017, unionism lost its majority in Northern Ireland for the first time. In general, it looks like Sinn Fein are doing everything right north of the border, where their base is more inbuilt and unswerving. However, the loyalty of some of their more recent converts is at stake depending on how current talks to restore power-sharing with the Democratic Unionist Party play out.

Under Michelle ONeill, Sinn Fein are engaged in a stand-off with the DUP, first triggered by the resignation of Martin McGuinness in January 2017. They are refusing to reform the Executive  which requires the participation of both sides of the political divide  until the DUP agree to key equality measures such as same-sex marriage and a standalone Irish language act.

Those talks, chaired by Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley and the Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney, are ongoing, but the stakes are high for Sinn Fein. If they are seen to concede on their demands to achieve a deal, they may face criticism and lose votes in Northern Ireland. On the other hand, if they allow the governing of the region to revert to London under direct rule, their opponents in the Republic of Ireland will reiterate their claims that the party is not ready for government.

Ms McDonald and Ms ONeill are tasked with leading forward on Sinn Feins ultimate goal of uniting Ireland, but first they must stabilise the political system in the north, and prove their mettle in the south.
A man convicted of impregnating 14-year-old twins and their 12-year-old sister has been sentenced to 27 years in prison for rape and sexual battery.

Arnold Perry, the 34-year-old Ohio man convicted of the crime, abused the trust of the girls family, assistant Mahoning County Prosecutor Jennifer McLaughlin, said. The mother, she said, had allowed Perry to move into their home when he had nowhere else to go, according to the Youngstown Vindicator.

The rapes and following pregnancies occurred in 2015 and 2016, according to the prosecution. One of the sisters was able to get an abortion, while the other two girls carried their pregnancies to term because the pregnancy was discovered too late for a procedure.

Ms McLaughlin says that Perry had committed similar crimes when he was a juvenile.

These girls will suffer the rest of their lives because of this, Ms McLaughlin said.

Perry pleaded guilty on two counts of rape and one count of sexual battery in November. A 25-year sentence was included in his plea deal.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

His defense attorney, Mark Lavelle, said in court that Perrys case was the worst he had ever handled, but asked for a more lenient sentence between 15 and 16 years in prison. Mr Lavelle said his client had suffered a brain injury as a child, which has prevented him from experiencing feelings about his actions.

Perry, for his part, apologizsd before his sentencing.

I know now what I did was wrong, he said. I wish I could take it back.

The two babies that resulted from the rape are being raised by the girls mother. Perrys family is not helping her, she said.

Perry, once he is released from prison, will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

The AP contributed to this report
Los Angeles prosecutors are reviewing three sexual assault cases against Harvey Weinstein, adding new avenues for the fallen Hollywood mogul to potentially face criminal charges.

A spokesman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney confirmed the offices sexual assault task force was reviewing three cases forwarded by the Los Angeles Police Department.

It has already been examining two cases involving Weinstein brought by the Beverly Hills Police Department.

Dozens of women have accused the influential producer of sexual misconduct, allegations that Weinstein has rejected as false.

As the fallout from the allegations against Weinstein have rippled outward, helping to fuel the #MeToo movement which has brought down powerful men accused of sexual impropriety, multiple law enforcement organisations have said they were investigating him.

In November, a New York City Police Department official said authorities were building a rape case against Weinstein based on credible and detailed allegations from actress Paz de La Huerta.

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.

Authorities in London have also said they were examining allegations against him.

Through a representative, Weinstein has unequivocally denied any allegations of non-consensual relationships.
Oxfam has denied claims of a cover-up, after it emerged senior aid workers regularly used prostitutes during their time in Haiti following the 2011 earthquake.

Three members of staff were allowed to resign from the charity and four others were dismissed after an investigation unearthed sexual misconduct, bullying and intimidation while it was providing disaster relief services in the Caribbean country, The Times reported.

A whistleblower alleged that the men had conducted sex parties at the residence rented for them by the charity.

One party was like a full-on Caligula orgy, with girls dressed in Oxfam T-shirts, the paper quoted a source as saying.

It was also alleged that some of those aware of the misconduct had concerns the prostitutes may have been underage, although an Oxfam spokesperson said that these allegations were not proven.

Oxfam launched an investigation into the allegations, which included sexual exploitation and the downloading of pornography.

A subsequent report noted a culture of impunity that meant other staff members did not feel they could speak up about inappropriate behaviour.

The charity has been accused of a cover-up after it emerged the most senior staff member involved was allowed to resign before the conclusion of the internal investigation.

Country director for Haiti Roland van Hauwermeiren admitted using prostitutes during his time in there in 2011, the report stated.

He was allowed to tender his resignation due to his cooperation, the charity 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. 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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. 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A spokesperson later told The Independent: The country directors resignation was of course unsatisfactory but tough decisions had to be made to ensure that we unearthed the truth as quickly as possible.

Oxfam did not report the allegations to authorities in Haiti, saying they had received legal advice that it was extremely unlikely reporting would lead to any action being taken.

The charity, which receives 300m a year in donations and government funding, has denied claims it tried to cover up the behaviour, which took place in 2011.

The behaviour of some members of Oxfam staff uncovered in Haiti in 2011 was totally unacceptable, contrary to our values and the high standards we expect of our staff. As soon as we became aware of the allegations we immediately launched an internal investigation, a spokesperson said.

Our primary aim was always to root out and take action against those involved and we publicly announced, including to media, both the investigation and the action we took as a result.

Recommended UN peacekeepers in Haiti implicated in child sex ring

They added: After the investigation, we carried out a thorough review of the case which resulted in the creation of our dedicated safeguarding team and a confidential whistleblowing hotline as part of a package of measures to ensure that we do all we can to protect our staff, prevent sexual abuse and misconduct happening in the first place and improve how we handle any allegations.

None of the accused have been arrested or charged with any wrongdoing.

A spokesperson for the Charity Commission said Oxfam had shown them the report but that it did not detail precise allegations, or make any indication of potential sexual crimes involving minors.

At the time, and based on the information provided, we were satisfied that the trustees were handling matters appropriately and did not have regulatory concerns, the regulator said. The Commission did not see a final copy of the report.

They added: We are currently engaged with the charity regarding its approach to safeguarding following more recent allegations. As part of that, we have already asked the charity to review historic safeguarding allegations and its response to them at the time. We expect the charity to include in their review incidents that occurred in 2011. We will expect the charity to provide us with assurance that it has learnt lessons from past incidents and is taking all necessary steps to safeguard all who come into contact with it.
Young immigrants who enlisted in the military after receiving temporary legal status will not be deported, Secretary of Defence James Mattis has said.

So-called Dreamers  immigrants who are in America illegally after coming to the country as children  are at the nexus of a political fight over immigration after Donald Trump suspended a programme offering them work permits and a reprieve from deportation.

Hundreds of thousands of Dreamers who secured status from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative are in a state of anxious limbo, waiting to see if Congress will renew the programme. But Mr Mattis said the roughly 800 serving in the military should not worry.

We would always stand by one of our people, Mr Mattis told reporters.

The top general added that immigrants who had committed a serious felony or faced a federal judges deportation order could still be deported. That tracks with the rules set out by DACA, which still requires a clean criminal record and allows recipients to lose their status if they commit crimes.

As head of the Pentagon, Mr Mattis does not oversee immigration enforcement, a duty that falls to the Department of Homeland Security. Mr Mattis said he had received an assurance about Dreamers who are currently serving or were honourably discharged from Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.

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

Some 70,000 non-citizens enlisted in the military over the course of a decade, according to a 2011 study, comprising about four per cent of new recruits. But while serving in the military can offer an expedited path to citizenship, it does not offer immunity from deportation

A veteran of the conflict in Afghanistan and green card holder who is originally from Mexico is fighting his deportation after serving time for a drug crime.

 Fox News slams Trump's idea for a military parade

Donald Trump has said he supports offering Dreamers a path to citizenship in exchange for tougher border security, including funding for his proposed wall, and nixing a green card lottery and a mechanism for legal immigrants to sponsor relatives to move to the US.

Democratic leaders have rejected that type of tradeoff, advocating for a clean DACA deal that spins off Mr Trump's goals into a separate bill. Earlier this week House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi shattered the chamber's previous speaking record by talking for more than eight consecutive hours in an attempt to focus attention on Dreamers.
Britain may be tempted to outsource the prosecution of two Isis fighters captured in Syria to the US, where it has often been easier to secure terror convictions, experts believe.

The US military has confirmed British citizens Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, the last outstanding members of a group known as the Beatles for their English accents, were captured by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-led militia. They were detained last month and US Special Forces have been interrogating them.

As relatives of those killed by the men  the group was known for its torture and execution of Western hostages  welcomed their capture, the question of what to do with the men has suddenly become a pressing issue.

There are just 41 prisoners remaining at Guantanamo (Getty)

We are still considering options regarding Elsheikh and Kotey, but rest assured our intention is to hold anyone accountable who commits acts like those they are alleged to have committed, said Eric Pahon, a Pentagon spokesman.

Some experts believe although the men are British citizens, the UK government may prefer for them to be tried in the US, where courts have been willing to convict foreign terror suspects, even when their alleged offences have occurred outside the US.

The situation is complicated by Donald Trumps determination to keep open and expand Guantanamo Bay, seeing it as a preferred place to the civilian courts for dealing with so-called bad dudes.

Last month, in his State of the Union address, the President announced he had signed an executive order to keep open the prison, located in Cuba, therein reversing an order signed by Barack Obama to close it. At the height of George W Bushs so-called war on terror the camp had up to 800 inmates, but today houses 41.

The British government has largely been reluctant to extradite prisoners to the US if a trial could result in the death penalty, or if an individual is to be sent to Guantanamo.

Over the last ten years there been a pattern of the UK citizens being brought to the US  either by extradition or rendition, said Arun Kundnani, a British expert on terrorism who currently teaches New York University.

 Donald Trump pledges to keep Guantanamo Bay open at the State of the Union

What has been going on is the outsourcing of the prosecution of terrorism crimes.

Mr Kundnani pointed to the case of British resident Abid Naseer, a Pakistan-born al-Qaeda member of suspected of plotting to set off a bomb in Manchester and the New York subway system. He was extradited and tried in the US, where he was convicted after the British Crown Prosecution Service said evidence compiled by Greater Manchester Police was insufficient to try him.

He said another example was Mahdi Hashi, a dual national who was stripped of his citizenship after joining the Somali militant group Al Shabaab. He was tried in the US federal court, where he pleaded guilty to providing material support to Al Shabaab and sentenced to nine years.

Two other men extradited to the US for trial were Talha Ahsan and Babar Ahmad.

On Friday, the British Home Office would not confirm if Kotey and Elsheikh had been stripped of their citizenship. If they have, it would not prevent them being put on trial in the UK, even if the offences in question were committed abroad.

Laura Pitter, senior counsel for Human Rights Watch, said that if the US were to take custody of the two militants, they should also be tried in the US court system.

The US should not jeopardise their prosecutions by sending them to the dysfunctional military commissions at Guantanamo where important cases involving serious crimes have languished for years, she told Reuters.

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

Under the Obama administration, there was a concerted effort to use civilian courts to try terror suspects, even when confronted by problems such as then New York Mayor Michael Bloombergs opposition to trying alleged 9/11 ringleader Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and four other men over the attacks in the city. The five men are still held at Guantanamo.

Karen Greenberg, Director of the Centre on National Security at Fordham University School of Law, has written that civilian courts went out of their way to bend to special requirements needed for some terror trials. They did so to prove flexible enough to handle any difficulties presented by terrorism cases.

She said during his confirmation hearing, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, a career federal prosecutor, signaled his preference for using federal courts for terrorism prosecutions  a view that was shared within the department.

Under Trump and Sessions, things may be shifting. Sessions has repeatedly declared his opposition to closing Guantanamo. Trump, similarly, has embraced the idea of sending Americans to reside among the bad dudes at Gitmo. Under current law, US citizens cannot be sent to Gitmo, she wrote recently in The Atlantic.

Yet for of all the affection for Guantanamo voiced by Mr Trump and his Attorney General Jeff Sessions, efforts to prosecute militants there under controversial military commissions have repeatedly run into problems.

According to Human Rights Watch, just eight detainees have been convicted by the commissions after trial or plea bargain and three of these have been overturned or partly overturned. Of the 41 prisoners still being held, just seven face charges.

Nick Lewin, a New York-based lawyer who served for more than a decade as a federal prosecutor and senior FBI official, including as the Special Counsel to former FBI directors Robert Mueller III and James Comey, said that in counterterrorism cooperation with the US, Britain had been consistent about not sending people across the Atlantic if they could face the death penalty or be dispatched to Guantanamo.

Kotey and Elsheikh are alleged to have brutally murdered multiple American citizens and, for that, they may face the death penalty in US civilian courts, he said.

So the real question is this  will the US disregard the UKs objections and try to take custody of these men, either to be held as law-of-war detainees in Guantanamo Bay or subject to the death penalty in civilian court?

Clive Stafford Smith, Legal Director of Reprieve, a London-based human rights organisation that represents several men held at Guantanamo, said the UK government would be very ill advised to allow the Trump administration to the prison camp.

All sensible people agreed long ago that it was not a great advertisement for civilisation or the rule of law, he said.

He said if the two Britons captured in Syria were sent there, the move would likely be seized on by their supporters.

Guantanamo has always been used by mad extremists as a propaganda tool. It has made the world more dangerous and not safer.
A married Republican politician who voted for stricter laws against prostitution has resigned amid allegations he twice met an escort for sex.

Jon E Stanard, a father of three, campaigned for conservative family values and traditional marriage but is now reported to have paid a woman known professionally as Brie Taylor for sex during two business trips to Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2017.

The conservative lawmaker was elected to the Utah House of Representatives in 2012 and has three children with his wife LeeAnne.

Last year 43-year-old Mr Stanard, of St George, voted in favour of stricter laws on prostitution, including increasing the penalty for soliciting sex to $2,500 (1,800).

And on his website, which has now been taken down, he stated: "I am a strong advocate for conservative family values. I am pro-life, as well as for traditional marriage.

But text messages appeared to show that he met Ms Taylor, 39, in Salt Lake City twice last year, after seeing her advert online.

The number they were sent from matched Mr Stanards public profile on the Utah House of Representatives website, which has now been removed.

Ms Taylor claimed he paid her $250 for each of the one-hour sessions in June and August during which she says she performed oral sex on him and they had intercourse.

Republican Speaker of the House Greg Hughes released a statement announcing Mr Stanards resignation citing personal and family concerns.

Mr Stanards attorney Walter Bugden said: Given the current climate in this country with misconduct allegations and the way things are happening in the media right now, there isnt any explanation that my client could give that would overcome the shadow of these allegations.

He has resigned his office.

The Utah House is now investigating claims Mr Stanard used a state-issued mobile phone and hotel room paid for with taxpayer money.

House chief of staff Greg Hartley told the Associated Press in a text message that Mr Stanard, who resigned on Tuesday night, was reimbursed for hotel stays in Salt Lake City in June and August 2017 when he was attending legislative meetings at the state Capitol, four hours from his home.

It looks like they were legislative days, Mr Hughes said, adding he did not yet know if the House would ask Mr Stanard to return the hotel reimbursements.

If there has been an abuse of public funds or if public funds were used in a way thats inappropriate, we would, he said. I dont have solid answers for those things. I would need to have a way that I would know conclusively that that is the case.

Mr Hughes said that when Mr Stanard met him on Tuesday night to tell him he was resigning, there were issues that were weighing on him. What exactly and to the nature, I wasnt aware. But it was clear that his priority was with his family and was not here.

He would not say if Mr Stanard spoke about allegations he paid a prostitute for sex, saying it was a personal conversation between colleagues but it ran the gamut of problems, and I did not know there was a story coming, Ill just say that.

Ms Taylor described Mr Stanards political stance as hypocritical and said: It was inevitable that he had to resign. People here will be grossed out and appalled by this. They thought they knew him.

I was surprised when I found out that he voted in favour of stricter laws.

This is a Republican state so you have to stick with your buddies otherwise it will hurt your career but on the other hand, he is a john.

It is hypocritical because he is supporting laws that make it stricter for other men who do what he does.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

Ms Taylor claimed Mr Stanard, who represented about 32,000 people living in Utahs District 62, first approached her on 7 March 2017.

He allegedly wrote: Looking at your website. Can you meet?

In a second text he added: Would need to be tonight. Only in town a little. Anytime. Can do in or out. At hotel in downtown SL.

They exchanged a string of messages but Ms Taylor was unavailable because her 10-year-old son was sick.

He messaged her again the following month but she was again unavailable, and they met for the first time at a hotel in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah on 20 June.

Ms Taylor said: I already knew who he was because I screen all my clients using a phone number service and I Googled him.

I was surprised that he was using his real phone number. I thought that was kind of stupid but I knew he wasnt a psycho so I met him.

He opened the door and he was very nice. He was a gentleman.

We chatted just briefly and then I got changed out of what I was wearing into lingerie.

I [later] told him I had Googled him and we talked about what he does. He said he comes up to Salt Lake a lot and he would like to see me again.

He said he never does this sort of stuff in St George because it is really culturally strict down there.

The escort of three years has appeared in adult films and previously worked as a webcam performer.

Ms Taylor said Mr Stanard returned on a business trip that summer and they met at the same hotel on 22 August.

Screenshots appeared to show messages sent from Mr Stanards mobile phone beginning in March last year and running through to November 2017, when he most recently contacted Ms Taylor.

The scandal comes after Mr Stanard voted in favour of a bill which saw the crime of soliciting a prostitute reclassified from a class B to a class A misdemeanour in March 2017.

If convicted, he could face a $2,500 fine.

The amendment also made it easier for officials to prosecute escorts working independently, as opposed to those operating primarily in brothels or loitering in public.

The allegations against Mr Stanard created a backlash in fiercely Republican Utah, where the majority of the populace is Mormon and politics is heavily influenced by the church.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints doctrine bars sexual activity outside of marriage and adultery is regarded as one of the greatest of all the sins next to murder.

In 2016, Utah also became the first to decry pornography as a public health crisis in a bill that Mr Stanard supported.

SWNS/AP
US President Donald Trump has said that he will approve the release of Democrats' memo rebutting claims of FBI abuse laid out in a previous memo by Republicans.

"It's gonna be released soon. We're going to release a letter," Mr Trump said.

The Republicans' memo, authored by the Congressman Devin Nunes' staff, had alleged "serious violations of public trust" by the FBI over their conduct in the Russia investigation, per a statement from Mr Nunes.

The House Intelligence Committee voted unanimously to make the memo authored by ranking Democrat Adam Schiff public earlier this week.

The FBI had warned that the Republican memo left out crucial information that could have an impact on its accuracy.

It addressed issues Congressional Republicans had with a warrant issued by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, called a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant.

The memo claimed that the court issued the warrant based on a dossier authored by former UK intelligence officer Christopher Steele.

Republicans alleged that there was "clear evidence of [Mr Steele's] bias" against the President and that the former MI-6 officer had "anti-Trump financial and ideological motivations" since his fee for the memo was hired for by a research firm paid by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and opponent Hillary Clinton.

 Donald Trump says Nunes memo is declassified and Congress will "do whatever" with it

The firm, Fusion GPS, was started by a group of former Wall Street Journal reporters and began opposition research on Mr Trump in 2015 under a contract from the Washington Free Beacon, a conservative news outlet.

Once Mr Trump became the Republican nominee, the DNC and Ms Clinton's campaign paid to have Fusion GPS continue its research.

It then hired Mr Steele, who had previous ties to the US intelligence community and was an FBI informant, who authored the now-infamous dossier between June and December 2016.

The Nunes memo argued that Mr Steele should have been terminated by the bureau from his role as a paid FBI source at least one month earlier than he was because he violated confidentiality rules by speaking to the media and that senior officials within the Department of Justice (DOJ) were aware of Mr Steele's biases.

The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Show all 17 1 /17 The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Paul Manafort Mr Manafort is a Republican strategist and former Trump campaign manager. He resigned from that post over questions about his extensive lobbying overseas, including in Ukraine where he represented pro-Russian interests. Mr Manafort turned himself in at FBI headquarters to special counsel Robert Muellers team on Oct 30, 2017, after he was indicted under seal on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. Getty The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rick Gates Mr Gates joined the Trump team in spring 2016, and served as a top aide until he left to work at the Republican National Committee after the departure of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. Mr Gates' had previously worked on several presidential campaigns, on international political campaigns in Europe and Africa, and had 15 years of political or financial experience with multinational firms, according to his bio. Mr Gates was indicted alongside Mr Manafort by special counsel Robert Mueller's team on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. AP The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation George Papadopoulos George Papadopoulos was a former foreign policy adviser for the Trump campaign, having joined around March 2016. Mr Papadopoulos plead guilty to federal charges for lying to the FBI as a part of a cooperation agreement with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Mr Papadopoulos claimed in an interview with the FBI that he had made contacts with Russian sources before joining the Trump campaign, but he actually began working with them after joining the team. Mr Papadopoulos allegedly took a meeting with a professor in London who reportedly told him that Russians had "dirt" on Hillary Clinton. The professor also allegedly introduced Mr Papadopoulos to a Russian who was said to have close ties to officials at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr Papadopoulos also allegedly was in contact with a woman whom he incorrectly described in one email to others in the campaign as the "niece" to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Twitter The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Donald Trump Jr The President's eldest son met with a Russian lawyer - Natalia Veselnitskaya - on 9 June 2016 at Trump Tower in New York. He said in an initial statement that the meeting was about Russia halting adoptions of its children by US citizens. Then, he said it was regarding the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. In a final statement, Mr Trump Jr released a chain of emails that revealed he took the meeting in hopes of getting information Ms Veselnitskaya had about Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. He and the President called it standard "opposition research" in the course of campaigning and that no information came from the meeting. The meeting was set up by an intermediary, Rob Goldstone. Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort were also at the same meeting. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jared Kushner Mr Kushner is President Donald Trump's son-in-law and a key adviser to the White House. He met with a Russian banker appointed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in December. Mr Kushner has said he did so in his role as an adviser to Mr Trump while the bank says he did so as a private developer. Mr Kushner has also volunteered to testify in the Senate about his role helping to arrange meetings between Trump advisers and Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rob Goldstone Former tabloid journalist and now music publicist Rob Goldstone is a contact of the Trump family through the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant, which took place in Moscow. In June 2016, he wrote to Donald Trump Jr offering a meeting with a Russian lawyer, Natalya Veselnitskaya, who had information about Hillary Clinton. Mr Goldstone was the intermediary for Russian pop star Emin Agalaraov and his father, real estate magnate Aras, who played a role in putting on the 2013 pageant. In an email chain released by Mr Trump Jr, Mr Goldstone seemed to indicate Russian government's support of Donald Trump's campaign. AP images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Aras and Emin Agalarov Aras Agalarov (R) is a wealthy Moscow-based real estate magnate and son Emin (L) is a pop star. Both played a role in putting on the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow. They allegedly had information about Hillary Clinton and offered that information to the Trump campaign through a lawyer with whom they had worked with, Natalia Veselnitskaya, and music publicist Rob Goldstone. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Natalia Veselnitskaya Natalia Veselnitskaya is a Russian lawyer with ties to the Kremlin. She has worked on real estate issues and reportedly counted the FSB as a client in the past. She has ties to a Trump family connection, real estate magnate Aras Agalarov, who had helped set up the Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant which took place in Moscow. Ms Veselnitskaya met with Donald Trump Jr, Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort in Trump Tower on 9 June 2016 but denies the allegation that she went there promising information on Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. She contends that the meeting was about the US adoptions of Russian children being stopped by Moscow as a reaction to the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Mike Flynn Mr Flynn was named as Trump's national security adviser but was forced to resign from his post for inappropriate communication with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. He had misrepresented a conversation he had with Mr Kislyak to Vice President Mike Pence, telling him wrongly that he had not discussed sanctions with the Russian. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sergey Kislyak Mr Kislyak, the former longtime Russian ambassador to the US, is at the centre of the web said to connect President Donald Trump's campaign with Russia. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Roger Stone Mr Stone is a former Trump adviser who worked on the political campaigns of Richard Nixon, George HW Bush, and Ronald Reagan. Mr Stone claimed repeatedly in the final months of the campaign that he had backchannel communications with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and that he knew the group was going to dump damaging documents to the campaign of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton - which did happen. Mr Stone also had contacts with the hacker Guccier 2.0 on Twitter, who claimed to have hacked the DNC and is linked to Russian intelligence services. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeff Sessions The US attorney general was forced to recuse himself from the Trump-Russia investigation after it was learned that he had lied about meeting with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Carter Page Mr Page is a former advisor to the Trump campaign and has a background working as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch. Mr Page met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Mr Page had invested in oil companies connected to Russia and had admitted that US Russia sanctions had hurt his bottom line. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeffrey "JD" Gorden Mr Gordon met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republian National Convention to discuss how the US and Russia could work together to combat Islamist extremism should then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump win the election. The meeting came days before a massive leak of DNC emails that has been connected to Russia. Creative Commons The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation James Comey Mr Comey was fired from his post as head of the FBI by President Donald Trump. The timing of Mr Comey's firing raised questions around whether or not the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign may have played a role in the decision. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Preet Bharara Mr Bahara refused, alongside 46 other US district attorney's across the country, to resign once President Donald Trump took office after previous assurances from Mr Trump that he would keep his job. Mr Bahara had been heading up several investigations including one into one of President Donald Trump's favorite cable television channels Fox News. Several investigations would lead back to that district, too, including those into Mr Trump's campaign ties to Russia, and Mr Trump's assertion that Trump Tower was wiretapped on orders from his predecessor. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sally Yates Ms Yates, a former Deputy Attorney General, was running the Justice Department while President Donald Trump's pick for attorney general awaited confirmation. Ms Yates was later fired by Mr Trump from her temporary post over her refusal to implement Mr Trump's first travel ban. She had also warned the White House about potential ties former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to Russia after discovering those ties during the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign's connections to Russia. Getty Images

The memo also appeared to stoke more partisanship by naming DOJ officials who were holdovers from the administration of Barack Obama and signed off on the FISA warrant applications - former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, and Mr Comey.

However, it also named current Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein who was promoted by Mr Trump and signed off on the warrant for Carter Page, a former campaign adviser on foreign policy.

The memo claimed the only reason the warrant on Mr Page was Mr Steele's dossier, despite the former MI-6 agent's anti-Trump bias.

In response, Mr Schiff said at the time that the "Republican document mischaracterises highly sensitive classified information that few members of Congress have seen, and which Chairman Nunes himself chose not to review," Mr Schiff said.

He also said the memo was a "shameful effort to discredit" the FBI and DOJ, during the investigation into the Trump campaign's alleged collusion with Russian officials.

The White House has not announced a release date as yet.
A new proposal being drafted by the Trump administration would reportedly allow immigration officials to consider an immigrants use of government programmes when deciding whether or not to grant them permanent status.

The draft rule, seen by Reuters, is a sharp departure from current US law, which prevents immigration officials from taking immigrants use of public benefits like food assistance and health insurance subsidies into account when reviewing their application. The rule would not apply to permanent residents seeking citizenship, but would affect the hundreds of thousands of immigrants who apply for permanent status in the US each year.

The proposed rules, drafted by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), argue that legal immigrants who use public programmes are a burden on the state.

Recommended Hospital backtracks after woman denied vital liver transplant

Non-citizens who receive public benefits are not self-sufficient and are relying on the US government and state and local entities for resources instead of their families, sponsors or private organisations, the document states, according to Reuters.

It continues: An aliens receipt of public benefits comes at taxpayer expense and availability of public benefits may provide an incentive for aliens to immigrate to the United States.

The draft rule has not yet been approved by top leadership. The DHS did not return a request for comment.

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

Alvaro Huerta, a staff attorney for the National Immigration Law Centre, called the draft proposal "breathtaking in its scope and cruelty".

"This would severely restrict the ability of certain immigrants' families to be able to get by," he told The Independent.

Approximately 1.3m non-citizens used the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) programme, previously known as food stamps, in the 2016 fiscal year, according to the Department of Agriculture.

In early 2017, the Washington Post reported that food banks were seeing a decline in the number of immigrants applying for SNAP, and an increase in immigrants withdrawing from the programme. Advocates said many immigrants feared it would affect their citizenship or permanent residency applications.

I get calls from concerned parents all the time: Should I take my kids out of the program? Theyre risking hunger out of fear  and my heart just breaks for them. Luisa Fortin, the SNAP Outreach Coordinator for the Chattanooga Food Bank, told the Post at the time.

 Donald Trump falsely links violent crime to immigration in State of the Union address

The DHS draft rules would be consistent with Mr Trumps push to drastically cut legal immigration to the US. Just last month, the president unveiled an immigration plan that experts said would result in the biggest proposed reduction to legal immigration in decades.

The programme would end so-called chain migration, preventing US citizens to sponsor relatives from outside the country for a green card. It would also end the diversity visa lottery system, which allows people from countries with low representation in the US to immigrate to the country.

Mr Huerta said the latest draft rule from the DHS marked yet another attempt by the Trump administration to curtail legal immigration.

"Ultimately this is trying to limit family based immigration," he said. "This is trying to make it more difficult to come to the country lawfully, and really  for lack of a better way to say it  make America white again."
The US Navy Seal who killed Osama Bin Laden has called Donald Trumps plan for a military parade third world bulls***.

We prepare. We deter. We fight. Stop this conversation, Robert ONeill wrote on Twitter.

The member of the elite Seal Team Six which killed the al Qaeda leader in May 2011 at the compound where he was hiding out in the Pakistani city of Abbotabad, said: A military parade is third world bulls**t.

Mr Trump made the parade request of his military chiefs in late January, after reportedly being impressed by a French Bastille Day parade last year.

"It was one of the greatest parades I've ever seen," he told French President Emmanuel Macron at the time. "We're going to have to try and top it."

 Donald Trump salutes US troops in Bastille Day parade

But the idea has been criticised by his rival Democratic Party, who compared the plan to displays of military might organised by autocratic nations.

Retired US Army Major General Paul Eaton also claimed that the parade was about making a display of the military saluting him.

In a statement he said that Mr Trump had authoritarian tendencies and had previously praised Russian leader Vladimir Putin and former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

He added that the armed services should not be reduced to stagecraft to prop up Donald Trumps image.

It is unclear whether the parade will be able to take place in Washington DC.

There are options and we will explore those and the president will ultimately decide, said Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White, adding that the US Army was taking the lead in creating options for the event.

Her colleague, Colonel Rob Manning added: All options are being considered, including linking the parade to a significant event, perhaps a historical event.

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 citys council has also raised concerns that tanks and heavy military equipment would destroy the streets.

Defence Secretary James Mattis said they were putting together some options and well send them to the White House.

It is thought the parade will be linked to a significant event like Veterans Day or the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I.
Donald Trumps confrontation with Robert Mueller is eerily similar to Richard Nixons battle with a special prosecutor 45 years ago, say the journalists who broke the Watergate story.

Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, whose reports in the Washington Post almost 50 years ago helped set in motion the events that led to Nixons resignation, said Mr Trumps reported threat to oust Mr Mueller echoed the so-called Saturday Night Massacre of 1973, in which Archibald Cox was fired.

Were here again. A powerful and determined president is squaring off against an independent investigator operating inside the Justice Department, they write, sharing a byline for the first time in five years.

They said they had covered Mr Nixons decision to take on the special prosecutor and considered it an eerily similar confrontation.

Nixon didnt know it at the time, but the Saturday Night Massacre would become a pivot point in his presidency - crucial to the charge that hed obstructed justice. For him, the consequences were terminal, they write, in an updated extract of their book The Final Days.

Last summer, it was widely reported Mr Trump wanted to fire Mr Mueller, who was appointed to investigate possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russias alleged interference in the 2016 election, after the President fired FBI Director James Comey.

 Hillary Clinton takes dig at Trump in comparing him to Nixon

The White House repeatedly denied the claims. But last month, the New York Times confirmed that Mr Trump did indeed made such a decision, but changed his mind when White House counsel Donald McGahn threatened to quit if he did so

Nixons insistence on getting rid of Mr Cox led to the resignation of Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus, who refused to carry out Nixons command.

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

In the end, the task fell to Solicitor General Robert Bork, the third in command at the Justice Department, who accepted the order and signed the White House draft of a two-paragraph letter firing the prosecutor

At 8.22pm on October 20, White House press secretary Ron Ziegler announced the news, adding: The office of the Watergate Special Prosecution Force has been abolished as of approximately 8pm.

Soon thereafter, Nixon made two fateful miscalculations: He appointed another special prosecutor to replace Cox, and he turned over an initial batch of tapes, including one that vividly incriminated him, the two reporters add.

The Trump-Mueller history is yet to be written.
A New Zealand company is set to test out a scheme where workers receive five days' pay for working a four-day week.

Perpetual Guardian, a company that deals with wills and trust funds, will start the trial for more than 200 employees in 16 offices across the country for a period of six weeks. If it is deemed a success it will be adopted full-time from July onwards.

Employees who take part will not be forced to work longer hours for the four work day week and will receive the same salary for working 32 hours a week instead of 40.

Recommended Shift in working patterns means more men are working part time

"We have seen cases where employees work longer hours for fewer days of the week or they earn 75 per cent of their full-time salary, but that is not what we are doing here," Perpetual Guardian founder, Andrew Barnes, told the New Zealand Herald.

Christine Brotherton, head of people and capability at the firm, said there was a growing demand for increased flexibility among workers and they were keen to respond to the needs of employees.

She drew attention to global research which shows a correlation between workers engagement and their productivity.

Ms Brotherton said: "If employees are engaged with their job and employer, they are more productive. This is why we are adopting this trial. We believe efficiency will come with more staff focus and motivation."

The pilot scheme could potentially have ramifications for the wider New Zealand workforce. While New Zealanders worked 1,752 hours over the course of 2016  which makes them close to average when compared with their OECD peers  the amount kiwis work is significantly ahead of the 1,363 hours put in by the Germans.

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 is worth noting research has shown working fewer hours can result in you being more productive. Although Germany has the shortest working hours among OECD member countries, it manages to achieve among the highest productivity levels.

Stats show a German worker to be 27 per cent more productive than their British counterpart who works 1,676 hours a year.

While Germans work the fewest number of hours per year, they are closely followed by Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands. Mexicans, Koreans and Costa Ricans work the most.

Four-day work weeks have been tried out in companies such as Amazon, Google and Deloitte and in a number of countries such as Japan and the US.

In the UK the average full-time worker clocks up 37.5 hours a week. There is also the issue of unpaid overtime - according to the TUC workers put in 2.1bn unpaid hours in 2016 which amounts to a staggering 33.6bn of free labour.

Evidence has also shown that overwork leads to more time being taken off. In 2016, 12.5 million work days were lost due to work-related stress, anxiety or depression. In 44 per cent of cases the cause was workload.
A chef who once slept rough in a Parisian park while working as a dishwasher has recently gained a Michelin star for his highly commended new restaurant in the French capital.

Alan Geaam was born into a Lebanese family living in Liberia, where war forced them to return to Beirut, only for conflict to break out there.

The 43-year-old then embarked on a nomadic journey that saw him live in the US, Italy and the Czech Republic before he arrived in Paris 20 years ago.

At one stage, he said he found himself with around 70 in his pocket and was forced to sleep in a park.

Although he spoke no French, he managed to find work in a variety of restaurant kitchens, starting out as a dishwasher.

I worked during the day as a construction worker and at night delivering pizzas and washing dishes, he said. One night the cook cut his hand and had to go to hospital.

No one asked me, but I just took over. There were 14 tables and so I just fed the customers and at the end of the night they were delighted. The owner said to me, But you can cook and I said, Yes.

Mr Geaam, whose AG Les Halles restaurant, his fourth, is in the 1st arrondissement of Paris on the right bank of the River Seine, said his love of food began when he watched cookery shows on TV.

But he first took it up on his national service in Lebanon.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

He said he was still staggered that someone with his humble background would gain the ultimate hallmark of fine dining  a Michelin star.

I never thought the Michelin would be interested in someone like me, who was self-taught, who had to sleep in the street at 19 and who began as a dishwasher, he told France Today.

The chef, whose cooking style combines his zeal for the best quality French produce with his avid interest in and inventive use of spices.

After so many years of mastering the techniques of French cooking, I now feel confident enough to respectfully revise and tweak traditional French dishes to reflect my palate and my culinary story, he said.
Animal lovers have been rescuing around 100 wild goats from an almost-deserted Italian island in what has been called the biggest rescue operation ever attempted in Italy.

The goats have lived wild on the island of Palmaria off the coast of Liguria in northern Italy since the 1960s and are considered an invasive species.

No one is entirely sure how many goats are on the island but as the human population has dwindled to just 30 people, the goats have become an increasingly common sight on the islands steep cliffs.

The goats make the island popular with visiting tourists but eat the islands native plants and trample residents crops, making them a nuisance for the islanders.

The island is part of an archipelago which has been designated a Unesco World Heritage site and the regional government has come to an agreement with Italian animal protection charity, Enpa, after years of trying to rid it of the goats.

Following a national furore in 2016 when reports emerged the islands mayor was considering a cull, Enpa has now launched an ambitious operation to begin repatriating the goats to the mainland.

The operation began at the weekend and is expected to take around a year to complete.

They will initially carry out a goat census to find out exactly how many are on the island, using baited traps to lure goats which can be fitted with tracking collars, The Local reported.

The goats will be checked by vets and then shipped to a farm on the mainland where they will be kept in quarantine before being sent to their new home.

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

Enpa is inviting Italians to apply to adopt a goat but stressed they must be intended as a pet  not dinner.

Enpas vice president Massimo Pigoni told Italian newspaper La Stampa: Only 100 per cent cruelty-free adoptions are being considered.

So once they leave the island, we have to be sure that these animals won't end up at the end of a shotgun or in a cooking pot, nor put into production. Careful, though, they're not indoor animals and they can't be kept on a leash like a dog.

Enpa has also launched a crowdfunding page to help it cover its expenses during the rescue operation.

There are the costs of capturing the goats, transporting them, keeping them, the considerable costs of vet care and checks before and after adoption; costs to be borne until the last goat has reached its destination. In safety. Loved, cared for, protected, Mr Pigoni explained.
Yes. I will do my part to conserve household energy usage, even if I'm uncomfortable in my home.

No. It is too hot to conserve household energy usage.

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A Dubai court has sentenced an Indian worker to three months in prison for accusing a public body of ripping off the poor, local media reports.

The court also fined the 25-year-old 500,000 dirhams (97,000) and said he would be deported at the end of his jail sentence.

The man sent the country's Road and Transport Authority (RTA) an email in which he said public authorities were taking poor peoples money by making them intentionally fail in driving tests and forcing them to repeat the tests. He had recently failed his own driving test.

The RTA reported the email to Dubai Police.

Presiding judge Mohammad Jamal gave the 25-year-old the fine for mocking and offending a government department via email after the defendant pleaded not guilty.

The mobile device that was used in the crime will be confiscated. The defendant will be deported following the completion of his punishment, Gulf News reported him saying.

He has the opportunity to appeal the decision.

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

Migrant workers are heavily exploited and abused in UAE, according to Human Rights Watch. Restrictive sponsorship policies tie workers to employers, increasing their workers vulnerability.

The UAE has strict cyber crime laws that allow courts to heavily fine people for comments made online.
After a public embrace of Israel as a strategic partner, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is heading to the Palestinian territories and the Gulf on Friday to bolster long-standing political and economic ties.

India was one of the earliest champions of the Palestinian cause but in recent years turned to Israel for high-tech military equipment and anti-terrorism cooperation.

Under Mr Modi, whose nationalist party sees Israel as a natural ally against Islamist extremism, ties have flourished. Mr Modi made the first trip to Israel by an Indian prime minister last year followed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus visit to India last month.

But Indian officials said India continued to support the Palestinian cause and that Mr Modis visit is aimed at helping build up the Palestinians capacity in the health, information technology and education areas.

We have de-hyphenated our relations with Palestine and Israel and now we see them both as mutually independent and exclusive and as part of this policy the Prime Minister is undertaking this visit, B Bala Bhaskar, a joint secretary in the Indian foreign ministry, said.

The two sides are building an India-Palestinian technology park in Ramallah, the Palestinian seat of government, which will develop IT expertise and generate employment.

Mr Modi arrived in Jordan on Friday, meeting King Abdullah II and discussing the Israeli-Palestinian situation, as well as the Jordanian leaders role as custodian of major Muslim and Christian shrines in contested Jerusalem.

Mr Modi was set to travel to Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on Saturday. During his visit to Israel last year, he did not travel to the Palestinian headquarters as is usually the case with visiting leaders.

Looking forward to my discussions with President Mahmoud Abbas and reaffirming our support for the Palestinian people and the development of Palestine, Mr Modi said in a Twitter post.

India was among more than 120 countries to vote in favour of a resolution in December calling for the United States to drop its recent recognition of Jerusalem as Israels capital.

But the scale of Indias security and commercial ties with Israel dwarfs the engagement with the Palestinians. Israel is among Indias top three arms suppliers, doing business worth millions of dollars each year.

Mr Modi and Mr Netanyahu are now pushing for cooperation in agriculture, energy and cybersecurity in addition to defence.

Mr Modi will also travel to the United Arab Emirates, from where India gets half of its oil, and to Oman, with which Indias navy has built close security ties.

The Gulf is home to nine million Indians who remit $35bn (25bn) home each year, sustaining millions of families. The UAE committed an investment of $75bn in India when Mr Modi visited in 2015 and the two sides will be looking to advance that goal, the foreign ministry said.

Reuters
Donald Trump has told Israel it will have to make significant compromises if it wants to secure a peace deal with the Palestinians.

Two months after he angered Palestinians and their supporters by unilaterally declaring the US was recognising Jerusalem as Israels capital, the US President said both sides would need to work hard to create a deal that might stick.

In an interview with the conservative Hebrew-language newspaper Hayom, which is due to be published in full over the weekend, Mr Trump said: I wanted to make clear that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. Regarding specific borders, I will grant my support to what the two sides agree between themselves.

 The United Nations General Assembly votes 128-9 to declare the United States' Jerusalem capital recognition 'null and void'

He added: I think that both sides will have to make significant compromises in order for achieving a peace deal to be possible.

Mr Trump delighted many Israelis and Christian conservatives in the US, when he broke with more than 50 years of international diplomatic consensus to recognise Jerusalem as Israels capital and say he would be relocating the US Embassy from Tel Aviv.

The international community had for decades stuck to the position that the final status of the city was central to part of any peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

Mr Trump said he was only recognising a reality that already existed on the ground as Israeli government offices and departments were already based there. He claimed that by making the announcement, he had taken the issue off the table and made it easier to find a path to peace.

Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Show all 22 1 /22 Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Supporters of Difa-e-Pakistan Council a coalition of right wing Islamic parties, burn an effigy of US President Donald Trump, during a protest in Quetta, Pakistan EPA Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Israeli police scuffle with a Palestinian protester outside Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City Getty Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Palestinian protesters burn pictures of Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu following Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, in Gaza City AFP/Getty Images Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Israeli forces disperse Palestinian protesters outside Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City on 7 December 2017 AFP/Getty Images Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Supporters of the Difa-e-Pakistan Council (DPC), an Islamic organization, chant slogans as they burn Israeli and US flags during a protest against Donald Trump in Peshawar REUTERS Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Palestinians paint an 'X' over the face of a picture of US president Donald J. Trump which was painted on the Israeli separation wall in Bethlehem EPA Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Palestinian protestors burn the Israeli flag and a poster of US President Donald Trump in Gaza City AFP/Getty Images Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Supporters of a Pakistani religious party rally against Donald Trump in Lahore AP Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Palestinian protesters burn the US and Israeli flags in Gaza City AFP/Getty Images Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital A poster depicting U.S. President Donald Trump is burnt during a protest against Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, in the West Bank city of Ramallah REUTERS Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Israeli forces detain a Palestinian protester during clashes that followed protests against US President Donald Trump recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, in Hebron AFP/Getty Images Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Palestinian protesters burn an effigy of U.S. President Donald Trump AP Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Palestinian protesters shout slogans against Donald Trump EPA Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital A Palestinian protester wears a Guy Fawkes mask used by the anonymous movement during clashes with Israeli troops in Hebron AFP/Getty Images Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Palestinian demonstrators clash with Isralei troops during protests AFP/Getty Images Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Supporters of a Pakistani religious party chant anti-American slogans during a rally in Islamabad, Pakistan AP Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Pakistanis burn a representation of the U.S. flag during a protest rally in Hyderabad AP Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Young Palestinian women look on as smoke billows from burning tyres as fellow Palestinian demonstrators clash with Isralei troops AFP/Getty Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Protesters burn a picture of U.S. President Donald Trump at a protest in Islamabad REUTERS Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Protestors shouts slogans against US President Donald Trump as they hold Palestinian and Turkish flags during a protest near the US Embassy in Ankara, Turkey EPA Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Palestinian protestors put their feet over a picture of US president Donald Trump during a protest in the West Bank City of Nablus EPA Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Pakistani protesters burn tires at an anti-Donald Trump rally in Multan AP

Mr Trumps comments came across the backdrop of fresh strains between the Palestinians and the US Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, following the killing by a Palestinian of a Jewish settler.

Reuters said that after the settler was stabbed to death on Monday, Mr Friedman tweeted that he had previously donated an ambulance to the slain mans community and that he was praying for the next-of-kin, adding: Palestinian leaders have praised the killer.

The envoys tweet drew a rebuke from the Palestinian administration.

The American ambassadors statements make us wonder about his relationship with the occupation, said Nabil Abu Rdainah, a spokesman for President Mahmoud Abbas. Is he representing America or Israel?

Mr Abu Rdainah added: Friedmans recommendations and advice, which do not aim to achieve a just peace on the basis of international legitimacy, are what led to this crisis in American-Palestinian relations. Mr Friedman, among the top Trump advisers who promoted the Jerusalem move, is a former contributor to settler causes.

The liberal Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, published a column criticising Mr Friedmans stance and dubbing the settlement he had supported as a mountain of curses  a play on its Hebrew name, Har Bracha, which means Mount Blessing.

The envoy fired back at the envoy in another tweet on Friday. Four young children are sitting shiva (Jewish mourning rite) for their murdered father .... Have they (Haaretz) no decency, he said.

Haaretzs publisher, Amos Shocken, responded with comments that echoed Palestinian complaints.

He said: As long as the policy of Israel that your Government and yourself support is obstructing (the) peace process  there will be more Shivas.
Its 6 January  Epiphany  and Im standing in the French Quarter, beside the gilded statue of Joan of Arc on Decatur Street, the smell of beignets and chicory coffee from the nearby Cafe du Monde curling about my nostrils. The Maid of Orleans is 606 years old today, and here in New Orleans, for the 10th consecutive year, the Krewe de Jeanne dArc is paying homage to her.

Four hundred or so people are trooping past in medieval garb, on foot and horseback, some singing madrigals or playing pipes, others tossing handmade mementoes  cork horses, sword pendants and shield-shaped doubloons  into the crowd. All the main players from the Hundred Years War are here, and there are 10 Joans of different vintages, as well as a priory of monks and a band of angels.

Recommended What to do in New Orleans

Mardi Gras will soon be upon New Orleans. In the coming days, guests will outnumber locals four to one, but theyre undaunted. Not only have they been throwing this party  the greatest free show on Earth  for more than 160 years, theyve been up to their ears in festivities for more than a month already. Mardi Gras Day  Fat Tuesday, 13 February this year  is but the grand finale of a carnival season thats been going since Twelfth Night. No sooner had Christmas fed its trees into the chipper than the first parades took to the streets and beads rained down like hail.

On parade: New Orleans krewes do good socially as well as having fun during Mardi Gras (Getty Images)

This is the New Orleans way. This is a dark-days party town, with no let-up from Halloween till Lent. The porches of shotgun cottages stay decorated for six months  the purple, green and gold of Mardi Gras seamlessly replacing the nativity scenes that supplanted the giant pumpkins that superseded the killer clowns.

Though its not a religious holiday, the date of Mardi Gras is tied to Easter, the original moveable feast. Its the last day of unabashed indulgence  or, rather, of bacchanalian excess  before Ash Wednesday, when Lent begins. Like a lot of Christian calendar traditions, it has its roots in a pagan festival: the Lupercalia, a three-day Roman fertility rite that takes place in February. Not that anyone whos been here during Mardi Gras needs to be told that.

Mardi Gras was brought to what is now Louisiana at the turn of the 17th century by a couple of explorers, the French-Canadian Le Moyne brothers, Sirs Iberville and Bienville. The latter went on to found New Orleans in 1718  and for as long as the French controlled the city, the day was celebrated freely. Much of what we associate with the event today  social clubs (known as krewes) holding coronations, masked balls and processions, as well as debauchery  was established then.

Nonprofit organisations that serve their communities all year round, krewes fund their often astronomically costly parades themselves. Defrayed by fundraising revenues, membership dues, ball admission charges and raffling off rides on floats, the bills for the extravaganzas laid on by the super-krewes  such as Endymion, Bacchus and Orpheus  can run into millions.

At the Krewe of The Rex Den, theres no disguising where that money goes. Their HQ is a hangar-sized warehouse that strains to contain the 27 palatially dimensioned floats that will feature in this years parade. Instituted in 1872, Rex  whose regent is crowned the King of Carnival  is one of the oldest participating groups, and gave us many of the things that define New Orleanss Mardi Gras today, including its official anthem, flag and colours. It is dedicated to more than pomp and circumstance, however.

Out of Africa: The Zulu krewe were founded in 1909 (Getty)

Last years king, Dr Stephen Hales, explains: Rexs motto is Pro Bono Publico: for the public good. We set up a foundation with that name after Hurricane Katrina to help rebuild the city, and our aim now is to ensure that every child in New Orleans  whatever their background or ability  has access to an excellent education. In the past 12 months weve made grants to schools and supporting organisations of more than $5.5m [4m].

Founded in 1856 by six white protestants from Mobile, Alabama, the Mistick Krewe of Comus used to be the oldest parading group, but it withdrew from the schedule in 1992 after refusing to sign an ordinance that required it to certify publicly that it didnt discriminate on the basis of race, religion, gender, disability or sexual orientation. It still hosts a ball on Mardi Gras night, however, to which the King of Carnival and his queen are invited, and continues to keep its membership masonically secret.

And then theres the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club, a predominantly African-American krewe formed in 1909 in an attempt to grab for its members a piece of Mardi Gras in which they had only ever been offered bit parts, as lowly flambeau carriers, marching with kerosene torches to illuminate the amusement of others. Film director Spike Lee has been asked to ride with them as celebrity Grand Marshal this year.

The Zulus are scheduled to hit the road first on Fat Tuesday, at 8am, but they are often late  perhaps still reeling from the free party they put on the day before in Woldenberg Park. Should people live in the 6th Ward or Treme neighbourhoods and need a wake-up call, the North Side Skull and Bone Gang, a group of maskers who dress as skeletons, wake at dawn to knock on doors and bluesily chant: We come to remind you before you die. You better get your life together. Next time you see us, its too late to cry.

Keeping a float: a Rex parade through the French Quarter (Getty)

The parades may be raucous, but  as with the Joan of Arc one in January  the air is soft, the mood generous and the effect of it all wonderfully, deeply mysterious. I remember what Amy Kirk Duvoisin, captain and founder of the Krewe de Jeanne dArc, said about her Twelfth Night event. Joan has been an obsession of mine since I was a teenager, she told me. She saved France. Without her, New Orleans might never have happened. What a debt we owe this teenager. Without her single-mindedness of purpose and courage we wouldnt be here.

And without the krewes, I thought, we wouldnt be here either.
London-Amsterdam direct by train in three hours 41 minutes  that is what Eurostar promises from April.

The Channel Tunnel train operator says the new link will transform travel and expand the market between the two cities.

But because of a bureaucratic hold-up, passengers coming back will need to change trains at Brussels, with journeys taking an hour longer.

The outbound journey will depart twice a day on weekdays from London St Pancras, at 8.31am and 5.31pm; on Saturdays only the morning train will run, and on Sundays only the evening train.

It will run non-stop to Brussels, a record journey of just one hour 48 minutes, saving 17 minutes on the current time.

After the Belgian capital, it will stop at Rotterdam, three hours and one minute after leaving London  providing connections to a wide range of Dutch stations. The train will pass through Schiphol airport station before arriving at Amsterdams handsome Centraal station. The morning train will arrive at 1.12pm, the evening train at 10.12pm.

Eurostars chief executive, Nicolas Petrovic, said: The launch of our service to the Netherlands represents an exciting advance in cross-Channel travel and heralds a new era in international high speed rail.

With direct services from the UK to the Netherlands, France and Belgium, we are transforming the links between the UK and three of Europes top trading nations.

He told The Independent: We will take a bit of market share from the airlines, but we will grow the market.

London-Amsterdam is one of the busiest and most fiercely competitive air routes in Europe. A British Airways spokesperson said: We know our customers enjoy the choice of 17 flights from London a day, with airports to suit travellers starting their journey from all across the region. And with a flight time of just 80 minutes, theyll be sampling a beer by the canals long before the train pulls in.

And easyJet flies from four London airports to Amsterdam, offering 21 daily flights each way. We carry 1.9m passengers a year and provide easy and affordable fares from 29.99 one way, said a spokesperson.

Eurostars city-centre to city-centre fares will start at 35 one way. Mr Petrovic told The Independent: We need to build loyalty. We are back to the pioneering days of 1994, when we first served Paris. While the British know about Eurostar, the Dutch do not.

In addition to the London links, Eurostar will be selling tickets between Brussels and Amsterdam.

The problem with inbound trains revolves around finalising a deal between the UK and the Netherlands on juxtaposed border controls, allowing British officials to check passports of passengers at Amsterdam and the intermediate step of Rotterdam.

We need the two governments to agree how to do that, said Mr Petrovic.

Until agreement is reached, the best route for UK-bound passengers will involve a Thalys train from Amsterdam to Brussels Midi, and a change to a Eurostar service. The fastest journey time is four hours 40 minutes.

Trains between the UK and Dutch capitals have been long promised, with the German operator Deutsche Bahn announcing, and then cancelling, a link five years ago.

Eurostar was hoping to pilot the route last year, but a range of technical issues intervened.

Mark Smith, founder of the international rail website, Seat61, said: Eurostar is planning direct trains in an airline-competitive three hours 41 minutes, hassle-free, with room to work, power sockets, free wi-fi and, in 1st class, a meal and wine served at your seat.

Eurostar has already captured 70 per cent of the London-Paris market, and this new service is a game-changer for London-Amsterdam. I expect two trains a day is just the start.

Richard Gadsden tweeted connections for the morning outbound train from other UK cities: 5.05am from Manchester Piccadilly, 5.30am from Leeds, 6.10am from Birmingham New Street, 6.04am from Leicester and 5.32am from Nottingham.

Tickets go on sale on 20 February, the same day as a special promotional train will run.
Days ahead of the annual Carnival celebrations on the islands of Trinidad and Tobago, the Foreign Office has warned a terrorist attack on the Caribbean nation is very likely.

In an unusual late-night announcement, the FCO said: The Trinidad and Tobago authorities have arrested some individuals who planned to carry out attacks against Carnival on 12 and 13 February.

Despite the arrests, the Foreign Office warns of a continuing threat, saying: Terrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks in Trinidad and Tobago.

Recommended Man charged with murdering promising British cricketer in Trinidad

Carnival is the leading cultural event in Trinidad and Tobago. British visitors are told to remain vigilant and avoid crowded places and large gatherings.

Around 30,000 UK citizens visit Trinidad and Tobago each year. Some have family links with Trinidad, but most are tourists heading for Tobago. British Airways and Virgin Atlantic both fly twice-weekly from Gatwick to Tobago.

While the Caribbean is generally regarded as terrorist-free, Trinidad and Tobago is an exception. According to the Foreign Office, more than 100 citizens are believed to have travelled to Syria and Iraq to join Isis and are likely to pose a security threat on return.

 Montego Bay: tourists in Jamaica warned to 'stay in hotels' as state of public emergency declared

The recruitment rate, relative to the nation's population of under 1.4 million, is around six times higher than in Britain.

As Isis crumbles in Syria, there are fears that returning jihadis could bring terror to the islands  with the additional risk that people who have been radicalised but failed to travel may turn on their fellow citizens.

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. 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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. 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Theres also a threat from individuals who may have been inspired by terrorist groups, including Daesh and al Qaeda, to carry out so-called lone actor attacks targeting public events or places, says the Foreign Office.

Trinidad and Tobago, the southernmost nation in the Caribbean, is a diverse nation, with substantial numbers of people of African and Indian heritage as well as Chinese, European and Arab minorities. The government says: "Some of the major beliefs include Christianity, Hinduism and Islam."

According to the 2011 census, about 5 per cent of the population are Muslim, most of them moderate and integrated. But a small group known as Jamaat al-Muslimeen (Community of Muslims) launched a coup attempt in 1990, led by a convert named Yasin Abu Bakr. He is now an Imam on the island, and according to the groups Facebook presence, has a weekly 90-minute slot on a Trinidad radio station.

The mosque used by Jamaat al-Muslimeen (Community of Muslims) in Trinidad

Violent crime is an underlying problem in the nation. The Canadian government warns its citizens going to Trinidad: Shootings, kidnappings and other gang- and drug-related violence occur. There is a risk of you being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Crimes of opportunity tend to increase during the annual Carnival celebrations.

The advice concludes: There is little visible police presence in most areas of Trinidad.
For those who approach Valentines Day with a sense of dread, 14 February is a date to avoid. A combination of loved-up couples, amorous advertising and that Enrique Iglesias song played ad infinitum are enough to make even the most romance-tolerant singleton book a trip away.

However, with cupids arrow firmly wedged inside the travel industry, romantic getaways make escaping the event difficult for solo travellers.

It is possible, though; here are 10 cool cities to hole up in and circumvent gooey-eyed couples.

Vilnius, Lithuania

If youre looking for hearty food, cobblestone streets and an affordable night out, the likes of Prague and Krakow tick all the boxes.

However, with the former heaving and the latter increasingly busy with couples around Valentines Day, Vilnius makes for a good alternative.

The Lithuanian capital remains off the radar to most UK travellers but has numerous attractions including the historic Gate of Dawn, a beautiful Old Town and Uzupis, a self-proclaimed autonomous zone teeming with artists, bars and boutique shops.

Vilniuss pretty Cathedral Square (Getty Images/trait2lumiere) (Getty Images)

Antwerp, Belgium

Despite the violence (and hilarity) of assassin caper In Bruges, the West Flanders city remains a mainstay of loved-up couples visiting Belgium.

Antwerps Grote Markt (querbeet/Getty Images/iStockphoto) (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Travelling alone? Consider Antwerp instead, another Belgian gem thats enjoying a moment right now; its various districts have been reinvigorated with bars, cafes and restaurants, and the relaunch of the DIVA diamond museum in May 2018 created extra buzz. Try a bike tour, take a visit to its Plantin Moretus and Rubens House museums or indulge your sweet tooth at The Chocolate Line.

Budapest, Hungary

The Hungarian Parliament in the Paris of the East (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Often dubbed the Paris of the East, the Hungarian capital is popular with couples, but nowhere near as expensive or crowded as its (sort of) namesake. Its also fairly well known for stag parties and nightlife.

But even with this in mind, those willing to venture out on their own will discover a number of unique venues completely different to anything found in the UK, such as Instant, the citys biggest ruin bar.

Moreover, Budapest is an architectural gem, with fascinating museums such as the Museum of Terror (unlikely to be teeming with lovebirds on Valentines Day), stunning views from Buda Castle and the citys famous thermal baths.

Trieste, Italy

Triestes Piazza Unita dItalia (iStock/Getty Images/GordonBellPhotography)

Where Venice is awash with snogging couples, Trieste  on the other side of the Adriatic, a three-hour train ride along the coast  offers a Byronic kind of romance. Like its more famous neighbour, its on the coast  main square Piazza Unita dItalia is said to be the largest waterfront square in Europe.

But unlike La Serenissima, Trieste has yet to be trampled on by tourists, so you get the same mournful romance that only a foggy January day will get you in the Venetian lagoon. A place redolent of the past, when it was the Austro-Hungarian empires main port, its perfect for solo travel.

Wander the streets and seafront, browse secondhand bookshops, visit the castle of Miramare (it, too, has a tragic history) and take refuge in the Viennese-style coffee houses.

Madrid, Spain

Plaza de Cibeles in Madrid (Getty/iStock)

The Catalonian capital of Barcelona is Europes third most visited city, and consequently always busy  including on Valentines Day.

Madrid is never short of visitors either, but is calmer than Barcelona. With city parks such as Real Jardin Botanico de Madrid, Parque del Buen Retiro and Jardines de Sabatini beside Palacio Real, there are plenty of afternoon stroll options, while art lovers can spend hours at world-class galleries including the Museo del Prado, Centro de Arte Reina Sofia and Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza.

Bristol, UK

The canal-side in Bristol is lively at the weekend (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Bath has been popular since Roman times for its excellent spas, and in modern times remains a much-loved romantic weekend getaway; on Valentines Day that can mean a surplus of osculating couples.

Solo staycationers should head slightly west to Bristol. With its craft beer shops, countless bars and great street food, its arguably the best city in the UK to wander aimlessly on your tod, and one of the friendliest too.

Gothenburg, Sweden

Blue trams travelling through the streets of Gothenburg (Getty Images/iStock/Alicia_Garcia)

Gothenburg tends to get overlooked thanks to Stockholm, but Swedens second city has plenty going for it, including Majorna, a district teeming with vintage and retro shops and an interesting coffee scene. Music venues have hosted the likes of Goat, one of Swedens best alternative rock groups and the perfect anti-Valentines antidote for anyone looking to avoid the luvvy duvvy stuff.

Gothenburg is also known for its sustainable, environmentally friendly food trucks and is considered one of the most innovative cities on the planet.

Chicago, USA

Chicago is abuzz with activity year-round (Shutterstock)

Obviously, Valentines Day is more or less impossible to completely ignore anywhere in the US, but if youre looking to get away from the sheer number of couples who head to the Big Apple or Las Vegas for 14 February, you could do a lot worse than Chicago.

The Windy City is famed for its deep-dish pizza, blues music, cultural scene (the Art Institute of Chicago is one of the largest museums in the country) and its proximity to Lake Michigan, ideal for a solitary walk during the last days of winter.

Kerala, India

A houseboat on Keralas tranquil backwaters (Getty Images/iStock/The Palmer)

Goa has become a haven for party animals and couples alike in recent years, with its lively nightlife and golden coasts, while attractions such as the Taj Mahal are teeming with crowds year-round.

Though increasingly popular with tourists, Kerala remains a slightly off-the-beaten track (and couple-lite) destination with mountain ranges for hikers and wildlife sanctuaries, while the state is also gaining a reputation as a burgeoning foodie heaven.

Galway, Ireland

View of small port of Galway (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Dublin gets its fair share of couples over the Valentines Day period, and as such the Irish capital can seem like a canal-lite Venice for the duration.

Those wanting to see another part of urban Ireland should consider Galway. The Connacht city, on the west coast of Irelands Midlands, may be pocket-sized but has more than enough to keep visitors entertained for a weekend.

Its historic Spanish Arch and Galway City Museum are cultural highlights, while the city has a thriving nightlife and food scene, and a bustling city centre.

Montserrat, Caribbean

The active Soufriere Hills Volcano in Montserrat (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

With abundant sunshine, golden sand and a cracking cocktail, the Caribbean is an ideal getaway for Valentines Day.

However, if youre keen to see it without the crowds of couples, Montserrat is a good bet. Still recovering from the 1995 volcano eruption, which caused two thirds of the population to flee, the small island is on the up and has many of the same pristine beaches youd expect to find elsewhere.

Moreover, its the only country in addition to Ireland to officially celebrate St Patricks Day as its national holiday, so if you cant quite bring yourself to go that far for Valentines Day, keep it in mind for 17 March.
The writers of todays Daily Telegraph lead item embellished their story with a few very loud and disturbing dog-whistles.

George Soros, one of our funders, was apparently funding Best for Britain as part of a secret plot to thwart Brexit. What made the Telegraphs story more disconcerting was the fact it was bylined to, among others, Nick Timothy, once adviser to Theresa May and still believed to have the PMs ear.

Our plans at Best for Britain are not secret. We want as many people as possible to know that the biggest decision on Brexit is yet to come  and thats whether we should back the deal the Government negotiates or whether we stay in and lead in Europe.

Nick Timothy accused us of wanting to topple the Government. That makes for a decent headline, but we have only one aim  to stop Brexit and do whats best for Britain. We believe that the referendum result gave the Government the right to kick off their negotiations with the rest of Europe and the democratic process around those talks. But what that referendum did not do was give the Government a blank cheque.

When we kicked off Best for Britain last year we raised more than 413,000 over the course of the election campaign from people the length and breadth of Britain. We are proud of the support we have received from funders over the last months, including George Soros, which has allowed us to build a team following the election campaign. We now need to ramp up the fight so we can communicate to people across the country that its not too late to change course. Weve launched a crowdfunder to enable us to fight back stronger than ever for the right to be heard and to cut through the lies and obfuscations of the Brexiteers.

 George Soros donates to anti-brexit campaign

For a year now weve been focused on securing and winning a meaningful vote in Parliament, which means that all options can be kept on the table including staying in the EU. We are also open to a second referendum on our membership of the EU  which would also need to be passed via a vote in Parliament. Our only aim is to stop Brexit democratically. No one would be more delighted than us if the May government put all options on the table or offered a referendum on the terms of the deal.

Parliamentary sovereignty means its the duty of Parliament to hold the executive to account, and Parliament will have the right to approve, amend or reject the Governments deal with the rest of the EU. Parliament could also vote to give us a referendum. The failure of Theresa May and her government to take Parliament and our elected representatives seriously is particularly worrying.

The Government is so concerned about how it is mismanaging the process it invented a false choice between deal or no deal which amounted to nothing more than blackmail. It is the the Brexiteers and Number 10 who have been plotting against democracy  hiding the impact assessments of Brexit, attempting to quash a meaningful parliamentary vote and trying to set Exit Day in stone.

 What could the sticking points be in the Brexit trade deal?

Around the country people are worried about Brexit. It may not be a coincidence that The Telegraph attack on Best for Britain came just a day after the Brexit impact assessments were leaked. These top secret government documents show in detail how different regions of the country will be punished by Brexit. For example, the North East may suffer a 16% hit to economic growth over just 15 years with a hard Brexit.

The Vauxhall car plant in Ellesmere Port has already started reducing workers hours, with some staff laid off, causing huge emotional stress for families whose outgoings are now more than their income.

The reality of leaving the EU is hitting others too. I have spoken to people running start-ups that work across Europe who realise that their businesses may have to consider relocating abroad. There are citizens who have made their life in Britain who no longer feel welcome; and Brits in Europe who are in limbo, unsure if their right to work will continue, with decisions on renting flats, taking jobs and where to raise children being put in doubt.

Its time for everyone to come clean about the fact that Brexit is not a done deal. Nick Timothy, the Prime Minister and The Telegraph may want us to shut up, but its now time for people to speak up. Its this year, or were out of the EU for a generation.

Step up, your country needs you.

Eloise Todd is CEO of the Best for Britain campaign
There is an important distinction between justice and revenge, which is well understood by those with the greatest claim to either  such as the families of the victims of the two infamous British jihadis most recently rounded up in Syria, Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh.

Isiss rapidly evaporating caliphate has left a few of these most barbarous terrorists the subject of mopping-up operations, especially by Syrian Kurdish groups who have chosen to hand over their captives to the Americans to deal with.

The temptation  and it will be one no doubt felt most fiercely in the Trump White House  will be to deploy summary justice and incarcerate the pair at Guantanamo Bay or to some sort of kangaroo court in whats left of Syria before theyre shot or hanged. If not that, then they are likely to end up pleading in an American trial. That would mean a possible death penalty, depending on what jurisdiction they are transported to and what view the court takes of them.

Many will feel, understandably, that men capable of such medieval barbarity deserve little more. No doubt some would be content to see them tortured or beheaded. In any case these are variations of one thing: revenge, a corrosive urge that will only weaken our own civilisation and benefit the death cult of Isis. It is to be resisted.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 13 September 2021 Luke Jerram's 'Museum of the Moon' at Durham Cathedral PA UK news in pictures 12 September 2021 Inspirational young fundraiser Tobias Weller crosses the finish line, near his home in Sheffield, as he completes his latest epic feat where he swam and triked his way to the end of his awesome year-long Ironman Challenge. This is the third challenge Tobias, who has cerebral palsy and autism, has completed, raising more than 150,000 for his school and Sheffield Children Hospitals charity PA UK news in pictures 11 September 2021 British player Emma Raducanu, holds up the US Open championship trophy winning the women's singles final of the US Open in New York AP 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. 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

The victims are perfectly clear that justice has to be done, and the values of civilised societies upheld precisely to undermine the case that the extremists make that no Muslim can ever be offered a fair trial in an angry, vengeful Western tribunal. That is not true, and must be seen to be untrue. No matter that Isis had not the slightest notion of fairness, justice or mercy in its reign of terror, a perversion of Islam that has done untold damage.

The world needs urgently to reclaim the notion of justice and the peaceful values of Islam from those who seek only war and conflict. For that, after all, was the point of their shocking tactics of beheadings and burning prisoners of war alive, and of Osama bin Laden in 9/11: to make their enemies still angrier, and to unleash a religious or race war across the world. Too many fell for their provocations, just as was intended, and the rubble in Syria and Iraq and Afghanistan before is testament to that.

The cruelty they inflicted was not pure sadism, but a cool calculation of the effect on the minds of their enemies.

Nicolas Henin, a French journalist who spent 10 months as an Isis captive, has spoken movingly about his suffering, and warned that any attempt to deny the men of their human rights would only feed Isiss claims of victimisation by the West.

It is conceited to believe that only in the UK can they face a fair trial, but it is certainly a suitable location, where judicial execution was abolished long ago. The case is complicated anyway, because although it is their place of origin, Britain has now disowned them and cancelled their citizenship. The principle though is plain; they should be given all the facilities they denied to their captives: proper access to lawyers, evidence and humane treatment in captivity, including the right to practise their faith, or their version of it. Most likely they would simply ignore the proceedings, but that is their choice and they cannot be forced to participate. Still, at the conclusion justice would be secured, taking into account all of the circumstances.

There is an element of retribution, as there always is criminal justice, but the overriding consideration is the safety of the public and the eventual rehabilitation  though it seems far-fetched here  of the accused.

Now that Isis is being routed it would be very stupid to gift them a much needed propaganda coup to create martyrs out of their remaining soldiers. Although this pair is notorious, there are scores of other misguided fighters who volunteered to join Isis and travelled to Syria and Iraq. We know that they will, sooner or later, attempt to return to Britain and bring with them the threat they represent to life. The danger is real, and the temptation to simply exterminate them on the battlefield or by drone strike is very real. Indeed such a view has been expressed by at least one British minister, and Jihadi John was dealt with in just such a way.

There are particular reasons why such extrajudicial executions happen in war time, but, in the case of this pair, there is no excuse. No trial is too good for Kotey and Elsheikh.
Having already put up his feet once this year  only three weeks ago in fact  Uncle Sam has just finished his second vacation. And you thought Americans didnt get time off like we work shy Europeans.

The shutdown of the US Government this time around was mercifully brief for those in the unfortunate position of working for it.

The failure of the US Congress to pass a deal to fund its operations meant it ran out of money at 12.01am, only for the taps to be turned back on in the small hours before dawn broke over Washington DC.

The bill that was finally agreed extended the countrys debt ceiling and showered a staggering $165bn of extra cash on a Pentagon which must be wondering what to do with the stuff. You mean youre lighting that cigar with a ten dollar bill? Here, take a fifty!

In addition there was $131bn more for domestic spending, mercifully including childrens healthcare, disaster relief, community health centres, infrastructure and other programmes.

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

Republican national security hawks are the big winners. Their donors will be positively cock-a-hoop. Deficit hawks less so, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul in particular. His manoeuvrings played a big role in the brief shutdown. However, having passed the Trump tax cut his beating the drum for fiscal rectitude has to be taken with a very large pinch of salt, as critics were quick to point out.

The Democrats, and their restive left wing in particular, have far more reason than he has to be angry. They really didnt get much out of this. The money for community health centres and childrens health insurance has been characterised as a win for them. But if you consider that the failure to fund those programmes would have made the Republicans look like monsters, it isnt the victory it might seem to be.

Meanwhile, the status of the so-called Dreamers  undocumented migrants who arrived in the country as children and had their protection removed by President Trump  continues to remain up in the air, despite an eight hour speech in support of them by the senior Democrat congresswoman Nancy Pelosi.

Ironically their plight briefly put left wing Democrats on the same side as right wing Republicans in opposing a deal to reopen the Government. The irony will be a bitter one for them because they got nowhere.

At least Americas Government employees, who went to bed worrying only to wake up to the news that they would be able to turn up to work with the certainty of getting paid, will be able to enjoy their weekends. By which I mean, employees in non-essential occupations. Park rangers and more besides.

Those involved in national security  US troops for example  dont have to worry about their car loans when these increasingly common events occur. Putting their earnings at risk would be a step too far even in Americas toxic political climate, and so they always get paid.

 Sarah Huckabee Sanders: Trump plays golf to develop 'deeper and better relationships with members of Congress'

With President Trump pledging to sign the bill into law  over Twitter of course  those not in that position can look forward to a measure of stability, at least until next Autumn, which is when a new Congress might get the chance to repeat the process.

Americas system of Government was designed to encourage bipartisanship, and the sort of deal making in rooms that would have once have been describe as smoke filled that todays candidates for office like to rail against.

It cannot effectively function without compromise, and yet achieving that is getting ever harder. The process was under way well before Trump launched his hostile takeover of the Grand Old Party. He has only accelerated it. The midterm elections look sure to add still more fuel.

As a result Americas deficit is going to balloon. Making tough decisions is all but impossible in the current crisis.

But the US can more easily kick the can down the road than, say, Britain, because it boasts the worlds reserve currency and China will led it as much money as it needs to ensure that theres a market for its goods. At least for now.

So America has waved goodbye to fiscal conservatism. Its non-essential employees must wish they had the same luxury because Uncle Sam will surely have another vacation coming, and they will surely have more nervous nights worrying about their wages and their bills.

Its just a matter of when.
The capture of El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey ends the hunt for a group of British jihadis who achieved fame in the lexicon of terror by murders and tortures of helpless hostages. The end of The Beatles, as they became known, is of great symbolic significance, but the two men are of important practical value, eager as they are said to have been to offer information about their Isis comrades.

What happens to the pair is yet to be decided. The US military is unlikely to let go of them into the custody of others while the questioning by American and British intelligence officers yields gains. The information provided has, according to security sources, already led to a number of operations hunting down Isis fighters. Information gathered from their mobile phones and satellite phones may, it is hoped, lead to finding out what has happened to remaining hostages, including the Briton John Cantlie, who had appeared in a number of Isis propaganda videos but has since disappeared.

Cantlie was kidnapped along with the American Jim Foley, a fellow photojournalist, who was later beheaded on camera by another of the British group, Mohammed Emwazi, or Jihadi John. Emwazi was killed in a drone strike in 2015. The fourth member of the homicidal band, Aine Davis, is in a Turkish prison after being convicted of terrorist offences.

Recommended We must give the two British jihadis a fair trial

Emwazi had also decapitated two Americans, the journalist Steven Sotloff, aid worker Peter Kassig, and the British aid workers Alan Hemming and David Haines. All the beheadings were filmed and disseminated abroad in Isis snuff videos. Investigators hope Elsheikh and Kotey will be able to lead them to where the dead are buried.

Kuwait-born Emwazi, who was favoured by the Isis hierarchy for the international publicity he had gathered, was killed in a drone strike in 2015. It was a significant coup carried out by a number of international intelligence agencies which placed a tracking device to locate him. British security officials were well aware that the extrajudicial execution of a British subject would be controversial and lead to criticism. But it was felt that his elimination would be a significant psychological blow to Isis and send a message that terrorists, however well protected, can be tracked down.

Davis was arrested in Turkey in 2015 for allegedly planning attacks in Istanbul. Authorities in Ankara turned down informal approaches to have him extradited to the US and Britain. Information he has provided has, it is said, been subsequently passed on to London and Washington.

The plan had always been to capture Elsheikh and Kotey alive, say security sources, and gain intelligence rather than kill them, despite statements by politicians in London that British jihadis can expect to be killed. The details of the two men, as well as those of other high-value targets, were circulated among Western forces and their allies.

A rigorous system of biometrics and fingerprinting of prisoners had been instituted, and it is this which is said to have led to the detection of the two men when they attempted to present false identities at a checkpoint of the Kurdish-led SDF (Syrian Democratic Force) on the way to the Turkish border. The fighters handed them over to US special forces who carried out the tests to establish who they really were.

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 nickname The Beatles was given to the British killers by some European hostages the group had held. These prisoners were later freed, it is believed, after their governments paid tens of millions of euros in ransom. The US and UK have a policy of not paying money to kidnappers, and this played a part in sealing the fate of Jim Foley and the other American and British hostages. President Obama subsequently ordered a review of policy, but there has been no pronouncement on it from the Trump administration.

Some of us knew those who were murdered and missing. I had met Peter Kassig and Steve Sotloff, and I had, over the years, worked alongside Jim Foley in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and, lastly, in Syria. He was a good friend. I was supposed, before being sent to cover the Gaza War at the time, to go on the Syria trip with John Cantlie in which he disappeared.

Before their deaths, the hostages were tortured for days. Kotey, as well as taking part in some of the killings, was a keen inflictor of pain. According to other prisoners, as well as jihadi deserters, he specialised in waterboarding and administering electric shocks. Elsheikh was also fond of waterboarding and had taken part in crucifixions. The two men are believed to have been responsible for many of the 30 murders of prisoners the group had carried out.

The victims were brave people. The aid workers had gone to Syria to try and alleviate suffering in a terrible war. Jim Foley and other journalists had put themselves in harms way to shed light in a dark and pitiless corner of the world, carrying out the type of journalism which is more important than ever in our age of fake news.

There will be a debate now about what should happen to Elsheikh and Kotey. A lot will be said about what kind of judicial process they should face and where, and there will be calls to ensure that their rights are protected. One should also, amid all this, remember those who they had maimed and murdered, and the families left to cope with their grief.
Will Gore is right to draw attention to the cavalier tactics of extreme Brexiteers (The vilification of Soro shows we are at the mercy of Brexit conspiracy theorists). But the malignment of individuals such as George Soros is just part of the overall strategy.

Having recently researched my family history back to the 18th century, its clear to me now what Brexit is really all about and why posh boys such as Jacob Rees-Mogg and Boris Johnson have jumped so eagerly on board. True, on one level my research just confirmed what we already know about the Victorian era and the early decades of the 20th century. But to view it through the prism of your own family history comes as a shock.

Here was a society where the lid on working-class aspiration was clamped firmly and unyieldingly in place. It was not until the 1960s that anyone from my family could afford to go on to further education. Before that it was a never-ending story of youthful promise snuffed out, of a gig economy where if you lost your job you starved, and if a wife lost a husband she would swiftly find herself a pauper.

Healthcare was virtually non-existent and education beyond school-leaving age prohibitively expensive. Sound familiar? OK, we still have the NHS. But only just. And the welfare system that was the envy of the world is being wilfully and cynically reimagined.

The truth is that, for the likes of Rees-Mogg and Johnson, Brexit is not so much about sovereignty as about restoring a natural order lost in the aftermath of the First World War. If the Brexiteer militants succeed, this country will find itself in a very dark place indeed. The millions of voters  many of them working-class  who followed the pied pipers tune back in June 2016 need to realise what is really happening, and what they were really voting for, and press for a second referendum now, before its too late.

Rob Prince

London

A late start could help our children

Would education minister Nick Gibb please consider the following: making children sit exams every year already happens in most schools and, far from relieving the pressure by helping them get used to it, this actually means they are under continual pressure.

Adolescent mental health could, however, be significantly helped if their school day started at 10 or 11am to fit in with their natural body rhythms, something that has been widely reported and advocated after many studies.

Helen Watson

Goring Heath

Remain MPs should join forces with the Lib Dems

Why on Earth dont the Remain MPs of the Conservative and Labour parties walk across the House and set up stall with the Lib Dems?

With enough desertions (not that many), combined with the current lack of Tory majority, the Lib Dems could easily get into the position where they hold the balance of power.

In those circumstances, the Government would quickly find itself facing a difficult decision. Either call a general election and risk a Corbyn win, or agree to the Lib Dem demand for a second referendum.

Come on Soubry, Clarke, Starmer, Benn et al  put your money where your mouths are. Play the ace!

Richard Ferraro

London

Our European identity is not for sale

All Brits now are European citizens with enshrined rights in European law. For many, like me, that creates a more nuanced identity. In a landmark case brought by a group of Brexpats, the European Court of Justice will decide if anyone can remove those rights, once bestowed. My rights would necessarily be violated if a new legal agreement between the UK and EU subsumed my European identity and the rights that come with it. That identity is not for sale in trade talks.

Stefan Wickham

Oxted

Schools dont support children with special needs

I write in reference to the story about schools lying about being full to parents of vulnerable children.

This happened to me and my son after he started year 7 at one of the best, if not the best, boys school in central London. My son became very ill just before the first term finished  his health was just not improving. Eventually in December 2013 he was diagnosed with a genetic illness  he was born with it, but often the complications arise during puberty.

I thought the school would help us: how wrong I was. Their help came in the form of putting him in the downstairs in what they called the protective learning room, which in simple words means room for trouble makers that disrupt lessons. My son is the gentlest quiet person, never got in trouble ever, overachieved in every single subject  he was in fact being punished for being ill.

They had no arrangement even for those who were temporarily unable to go up the stairs due to a broken leg. As an example, they would have to stay at home until healed. I requested many times to speak to those in charge. Normally, apart for a couple of times, no one would appear, leaving us waiting for hours in the reception, we would give up and go home.

I was worried that he was missing so many lessons and his mental health was also declining. I decided to start home schooling, I have a suspicion they were very relieved and happy that they got rid of a burden. This school has no disabled access at all not even for the reception.

Soon after I asked another school nearby, one that is fully disabled-friendly, if they could accommodate my son. By then he needed a wheelchair to be out and about. I got a straight no, no space. So hes been home schooled for the past four years, starting his GCSEs this summer.

Name and address supplied

No conspiracy theories here

I am not quite sure which event surrounding political guru, Nick Timothy, is the more worrying? Firstly he appears to be fuelling conspiracy theories concerning George Soros, who, as most sane people realise, is a benevolent individual and should not be subjected to the vile accusations emanating from some East European states. Next, it is reported, that Theresa May is still in contact with said adviser, and presumably taking note of his ideas.

When will the Prime Minister learn?

Robert Boston

Kingshill
Sajid Nadiadwala has announced the second part of his highest-grossing film, Kick (2013). The filmmaker is also producing Housefull 4, which he has now announced in 3-D. (photo provided)
Kaushik Roy, the Edward G. Tiedemann Jr. Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, will serve as director of the Purdue University Center for Brain-inspired Computing Enabling Autonomous Intelligence. The centers goal is to develop neuro-inspired algorithms, architectures and circuits for perception, reasoning and decision-making, which todays standard computing is unable to do efficiently, the Indian American professor said. (Purdue University/John Underwood photo)
Bangladesh's former Prime Minister and Bangladesh Nationalist Party Chairperson Khaleda Zia waves as she arrives at a court hearing on two graft cases in Dhaka, Bangladesh, June 2, 2016. Zia was sentenced Feb. 8 to five years in prison. (Xinhua/IANS photo)
Finance Minister of India Arun Jaitley speaks during the launch of the Google Tez mobile app for digital payments in New Delhi Sept. 18, 2017. The Competition Commission of India has fined Google for search bias and abuse of its position. (Sajjad Hussain/AFP/Getty Images)
Tertiary Minerals operates three mining sites.





President Trumps executive order on December 20, 2017, was administered on the basis of identifying and securing industrial minerals that are deemed critical to the United States' economy. Yet production of fluorspar, which made the list, has been minimal since 1995, when 51,000 tonnes was produced.

The US natural fluorspar production market has been more or less dormant for over two decades despite a relative abundance of 4 million tonnes of proven reserves.

Historically, mining fluorspar in the US has been expensive, and was the dominant reason for mines closing down. But environmental clampdowns on polluting production in China has increased production costs in the Asian country and narrowed the cost gap between the US and China.

Hastie Mining, based in Illinois, US, produces 10,000 tonnes per year of fluorspar, most of which is metal-grade spar, 90% CaF2 purity or lower and used for production of metals. Meanwhile, the US imports around 82.5% of its fluorspar for manufacturing hydrofluoric acid, which requires 97% CaF2 fluorspar.

Bar Hasties production, the US imports all of its near-400,000 tpy of consumption. This comes primarily from four markets; Mexico, Vietnam, South Africa and Spain, although small amounts are sourced from Mongolia, China, Russia and the United Kingdom, according to 2016 data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

Around 320,000 tonnes of the total imports are acid grade, and almost all of which is accounted for by end-users Chemours and Honeywell.

Globally, 88% of demand for fluorspar comes from three sectors; steelmaking, aluminium smelting and the production of hydrofluoric acid.

Some 40% of fluorspar is required for manufacturing hydrofluoric acid, of this 60% is required for flurochemicals.

The US currently produces around 85 million tonnes of steel and 6 million tonnes of aluminium. The steel market is growing, and aluminium could soon receive a boost from incoming protectionist policies on Chinese products, according to Metal Bulletin Research.

The increasing cost of imported fluorspar

With strong and growing demand and US capacity at a minimum, it seems as though making the fluorspar supply chain secure is mission impossible.

Certainly there is the demand, although the time taken between commissioning projects, breaking ground, correcting issues in the production line, assuring quality and then delivering capacity means the effect of planned additional supply will not be felt in the short term.

There is also the issue of President Trumps stance on Nafta, an agreement he dubbed "one of the worst in history" due to the trade deficit it created with the signatories. Ending Nafta is likely to be adverse for Mexican producers, who exported 267,000 tonnes of fluorspar to the US in 2016, according to the USGS.

Mexico has a $63 billion annual trade surplus with the US whereas Canada's trade surplus comes to $12.5 billion, according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative, and on that basis it is unclear whether this would affect Canada Fluorspars anticipated 200,000 tpy capacity, which is due to hit the market in the coming months.

With the market extremely tight, Canada Fluorspar's output will provide some reassurance to the two US majors, who have received some of the first sales from the Canadian start-up, Industrial Minerals understands.

"If I had an additional 100,000 tonnes, I would have no problem selling it, judging from the serious inquiries I have had," one producer outside of the US told Industrial Minerals.

The market tightness is reflected in high fluorspar prices. Industrial Minerals assessed acidspar 97% CaF2, wet filtercake prices, fob China at $480-520 per tonne on February 8, which one India-based consumer described as "the highest I have ever seen, in my 15-year career."

Industrial Minerals understands that Chinese consumers have looked to buy material from Mongolia recently, although with limited success.

The cost of Chinese material went up on January 18 to $480-520 per tonne from $400-420 previously for acidspar 97% CaF2, wet filtercake, fob China, on a plethora of issues which can be partially linked to the rising cost of production due to the environmental controls now in place.

The high prices in China reinforce arguments in the market that fluorspar supply should be secured.

US consumers still have access to reasonably-price Mexican fluorspar, which is home to the worlds largest producer, Mexichem. The price for acidspar, 97% CaF2, dry filtercake, <5ppm,fob, Tampico, Mexico has been flat at $280-310 per tonne for several months, but if the market trend of China exporting very little continues or it becomes a net importer, that could place a higher demand on Mexican material and push the price up.

Tertiary Minerals' operation in Nevada.





Domestic production

Should the cost of imported fluorspar continue to rise, the price differential between imported and domestic fluorspar could narrow further and make US production an attractive prospect once again.

Domestically, the scope to expand fluorspar production and secure the supply chain is small. The Hastie Mining operation is primarily a limestone quarry with some deposits of fluorspar which run like veins through the rock.

The company imports around 100,000 tpy of fluorspar, while locally-produced material costs around 20% higher than imports, according to Don Hastie, partner at Hastie Mining.

But Hastie Mining has been developing a deposit in Kentucky for the past three years. It will have capacity to produce 20,000 tpy of fluorspar when it comes online in the second half of 2018. The Illinois quarry operation will then cease production because of the lower head grade quality - 40% as opposed to 55%.

The Kentucky mine is financially more viable as it is solely a fluorspar operation, meaning the costs are dramatically reduced to process fluorspar for sale and there is a "different thickness of ore material," according to Hastie.

There were no difficulties in processing the fluorspar from the limestone quarry though, Hastie added.

Nevada and California in the US also have fluorspar deposits, although no operations exist in California while UK-based Tertiary Mining is developing a mine in Nevada where the company has 2,500 acres under license.

There is 86 million tonnes of ore in this deposit, at 10% head grade, although it is believed that there are higher grades further down.

The company expects it will be able to produce in excess of 100,000 tpy of fluorspar when operational within the next five years, although this is subject to production costs, market status and offtake agreements.

This equates to around 25% of current US demand, and a few percentage points lower than that once the supply reaches the market accounting for growth in demand. That said, the company plans to export its material, it said, and has evaluated the potential for exporting to Asia from San Francisco, California.

Tertiary has signed an offtake agreement with Germany-based mineral trader Possehl Erzkontor. Under this, Possehl will take a minimum of 70% of acidspar production from Tertiarys three sites which also include Sweden and Norway. Possehl also provided pre-financing to Tertiary.

In a recent statement made to the London Stock Exchange, the company said it is progressing the scoping study, having completed flotation test work. Still outstanding is project feasibility, de-risking and development phases, and assessments of costs, further offtake agreements, market situation for when the project goes live and economies of scale, Industrial Minerals understands.

Yet with domestic production coming at a premium, and the worlds biggest fluorspar producer just across the southern border in Mexico having escaped the price spikes seen in China and South Africa, some market participants question whether the US needs domestic production.

And it begs the question why fluorspar has been placed in the critical minerals category by the Trump administration when its security seems unobtainable. It could be related to President Trumps promise to secure US jobs and US business, with Chemours and Honeywell both sitting within 2017s Fortune 500 list.

Additional supply will go some way to soften the reliance on foreign imports, but until any significant amount of acid grade production hits the US market, importers will endure a large exposure to global market conditions, and prices.
We now offer lithium prices and coverage free for reference. Click here to read all about it. Join our growing community of participants who want to learn more about electrification and how this market is developing.
"For us, Jadar is a great asset and has a by-product credit, which puts it at the lower end of the cost curve. We have to finalize the feasibility and pre-feasibility studies, and get board approval," Bold Bataar, Rio Tintos chief executive officer of energy & minerals, said in an...
Ohios attorney general has launched a legal action against Chemours in the latest legal setback for the companys fluorochemical arm, a major fluorspar buyer.

Chemours, and its former parent company DuPont, have already paid hundreds of millions of dollars to settle personal injury lawsuits, over allegations that the Fayetteville plant...
Living in an Orwellian Tyranny

By Gilad Atzmon

February 09, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - Yesterday Nick Timothy, Theresa May's former aide, was accused of using an antisemitic slur in his article on Brexit. He co-authored a Telegraph report titled, George Soros, the man who 'broke the Bank of England', backing secret plot to thwart Brexit.

Not only did Timothy not criticise Soros as a Jew, he didnt even refer to him as a Jew. But it seems the fact that Soros is a Jew was enough to censure Timothy as an antisemite. It took no more.

Stephen Bush wrote in The New Statesman , The reason that many find the Telegraph's treatment so disturbing is that Soros, who is Jewish, has been at the centre of a series of anti-Semitic conspiracies by the increasingly authoritarian governments in Poland, Hungary and Turkey. It is mildly amusing that the banal Stephen Bush cant see that he himself employs an authoritarian manner of thought. Unless guilt by association has become Britains press MO, the fact that some regimes not approved of by Bush or The New Statesman decided to cleanse themselves of Soros infiltration has little relevance to Timothy or his argument.

Bush adds that Timothy was the author of that citizens of nowhere speech only adds to feeling among many that the original speech was a coded way of talking about rootless cosmopolitans; aka the Jewish people. This passage describes a kosherly coded minefield that we can not possibly navigate unless Bush and The New Statesman provide us with the complete newspeak lexicon.

Stephen Pollard, editor of the JC, a funny looking character who routinely squirts freedom of speech advocacy articles, explained in a tweet why Timothy is anti-Semitic. Telegraph story is disturbing because of the use of the idea its a secret plot. Soros is incredibly open about what he does. Say its wrong; fine. But idea its a secret plot is exactly the line being used in Hungary and elsewhere precisely because he is Jewish.

I agree with Pollard that there are no Jewish conspiracies and secret plots. Jews organisations and individuals tend to do it all in the open. In the open AIPAC dominates American foreign policy. In the open the Conservative Friends of Israel do the same on this side of the pond. In the open Zionist organisations smear the British Labour Party and its leadership. In the open Daniel Janner QC, the son of alleged sex predator Lord Greville Janner, insists that he be allowed to question fantasists who accused his father of abuse. Finally, in the open Stephen Pollard himself describes Timothys legitimate argument as disturbing because the latter refers to Soros secret plot. So I wonder, would Pollard be less disturbed if The Telegraphs title read: George Soros, The Man who 'broke the Bank of England' is now thwarting Brexit. ?

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Their message for fellow journalists, commentators, academics and the rest of the Brits is clear: Jews are somehow beyond criticism. Any attempt to look into the actions of the Jewish lobby, finance, politics, Zionism and individuals will necessary lead to some severe consequences such as accusations of anti-Semitism, bigotry and racism. But ask yourself, if Soros were gay, would Timothys criticism be castigated as homophobic? Were Soros a woman, would Timothys reference to a secret plot make him a male chauvinist pig' or an ordinary misogynist? And what if Soros were Black? Would an accusation that he was thwarting Brexit in a clandestine manner lead us to assume that Timothy is a white supremacist? We know the answers to these questions. It seems it is the fact that Soros is Jewish that leads to the ludicrous accusation that Timothy is an antisemite who is engaged in racially charged rhetoric as decided by The New Statesmans Stephen Bush.

Britain is now an Orwellian Tyranny and, as in 1984, we have our Emmanuel Goldsteins -- controlled opposition apparatuses set to dominate the dissent. As we see freedom of speech evaporating, it is Stephen Pollard who takes care of the so-called opposition that advocates freedom of speech . Similarly, it is Jewish Voice for Labour , a racially oriented Jews only body, that is set to break up any Zionist monopoly. We also have Free Speech on Israel , again a Jewish body, that was formed to dominate the boundaries of the discourse on anti Zionism. The mission is clear. 'In the open,' Jewish organisations and individuals are set to dominate both poles of any debate that is relevant to Jewish existence.

It is frightening to witness how quickly Britain surrendered its precious liberal values of openness and freedom. It is even more frightening to watch the vast approval granted the growing tyrannical conditions. It is fascinating that Orwell predicted it all. As I argue in my recent book Being in Time, Orwell saw it coming. He located 1984 in Britain, he identified the Left as a potentially tyrannical realm. He illustrated the deceptive role played by Emmanuel Goldstein. The only question that remains open is whether Britain can save itself and reinstate its values or whether it is doomed.
America: Just Another Shit-hole?

February 09, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - The Deep State spying scandal rolls on, with more details coming out daily. Heres a few of the most shocking developments so far:

There was a second dirty dossier authored by the worst sleazebag in the Clinton camp, sent directly to the US State Department and from there via a convoluted route o the FBI. The dossier is said to be even sleazier than the Christopher Steele one. This was what went into the application to the FISA court to spy on the Trump campaign.

Michael Isikoff, former journalist, now just a receptacle for Deep State propaganda, was working with the DNC against Trump: his Yahoo piece was cited by the Obama administration in their application to spy on the Trump campaign.

The Senate Judiciary Committee has issued a criminal referral to the Justice Department against former MI6 agent Christopher Steele for lying to the Committee under oath.:

It appears the FBI relied on admittedly uncorroborated information, funded by and obtained for Secretary Clintons presidential campaign, in order to conduct surveillance of an associate of the opposing presidential candidate. It did so based on Mr. Steeles personal credibility and presumably having faith in his process of obtaining the information. But there is substantial evidence suggesting that Mr. Steele materially misled the FBI about a key aspect of his dossier efforts, one which bears on his credibility.

The Grassley-Grahama (Judiciary Committee) memo corroborates and expands on the Nunes memo, showing that the FBI lied to the FISA court, fed false information to the court, and exposes Rep. Adam Schiff as a serial liar.

Found among the FBI coup plotters text messages: we must prepare talking points for then FBI-Director James Comey because President Obama  wants to know everything were doing . So the criminality goes straight up to the White House.

Whats interesting, in a disgusting way, is the reaction of the left and some libertarians to this truly scary development  the use of the Surveillance State to spy on and frame up political opponents. Listen to this podcast conducted by The Intercepts Jeremy Scahill, who openly disdains the idea that anything untoward or illegal was going on with this kind of surveillance: he is joined by Julian Sanchez, the Cato Institutes privacy expert, who openly justifies the surveillance of suspicious Carter Page and tells us that there was basically nothing wrong with the Obama administration spying on the Trump campaign.

Its left to Peter van Buren, a former State Department official, to ask both of these jerks: Isnt there something unprecedented and wrong about the involvement of the FBI/CIA/NSA in a presidential election campaign? Of course, he doesnt get an answer to his question from either of these two jokers, although Sanchez is implicitly endorsing such interference in his later comments on Page.

By the way, when I brought up these points to Scahill, he accused me of being  wait for it!  a racist (!). Yes, really: see here .

These people are so tiresome, and so obviously deluded, that answering them is really beside the point. Well slide into tyranny with them standing on the sidelines, proclaiming their own virtue, and sucking up to @pierre Omidyar  the rabidly anti-Trump anti-Russian warmonger who finances The Intercept  until the cows come home.

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Its depressing to contemplate, but I am heartened by the work being done by Peter van Buren, whose common sense commentary and objective view of the surveillance scandal mirrors my own: he, too, sees that this isnt about Trump. Its about the future of our republic. Its about not ceding power to a gaggle of unelected bureaucrats. Its about preserving whats left of our constitutional liberties. The Omidyars and the Kochs dont get that: neither do their servants. Where is the American Civil Liberties Union on this issue? We havent heard a peep out of them.

During World War II, the ACLU and the liberals were all in favor of government repression: the internment of Japanese-Americans , the  Sedition Trial of 1944 , the groupthink and the censorship  it was all part of the progressive agenda. So dont expect any help or encouragement from what passes for the left these days: theyre the enemy. Were in this fight alone. And the stakes are high. The question is: will the US become just another shithole, with a secret police and a national security bureaucracy that holds the real power, with the ability to veto the democratic choices of the electorate?

Justin Raimondo is the editorial director of Antiwar.com, and a senior fellow at the Randolph Bourne Institute. He is a contributing editor at The American Conservative, and writes a monthly column for Chronicles. He is the author of Reclaiming the American Right: The Lost Legacy of the Conservative Movement [Center for Libertarian Studies, 1993; Intercollegiate Studies Institute, 2000], and An Enemy of the State: The Life of Murray N. Rothbard [Prometheus Books, 2000]. View all posts by Justin Raimondo

NOTES IN THE MARGIN

You can check out my Twitter feed by going here . But please note that my tweets are sometimes deliberately provocative, often made in jest, and largely consist of me thinking out loud.

Ive written a couple of books, which you might want to peruse. Here is the link for buying the second edition of my 1993 book, Reclaiming the American Right: The Lost Legacy of the Conservative Movement , with an Introduction by Prof. George W. Carey , a Foreword by Patrick J. Buchanan, and critical essays by Scott Richert and David Gordon ( ISI Books , 2008).

You can buy An Enemy of the State: The Life of Murray N. Rothbard (Prometheus Books, 2000), my biography of the great libertarian thinker, here .
Now Mattis Admits There Was No Evidence Assad Used Poison Gas On His People



By Ian Wilkie

February 09, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - Lost in the hyper-politicized hullabaloo surrounding the Nunes Memorandum and the Steele Dossier was the striking statement by Secretary of Defense James Mattis that the U.S. has no evidence that the Syrian government used the banned nerve agent Sarin against its own people.

This assertion flies in the face of the White House (NSC) Memorandum which was rapidly produced and declassified to justify an American Tomahawk missile strike against the Shayrat airbase in Syria.

Mattis offered no temporal qualifications, which means that both the 2017 event in Khan Sheikhoun and the 2013 tragedy in Ghouta are unsolved cases in the eyes of the Defense Department and Defense Intelligence Agency.

Mattis went on to acknowledge that aid groups and others had provided evidence and reports but stopped short of naming President Assad as the culprit.

There were casualties from organophosphate poisoning in both cases; that much is certain. But America has accused Assad of direct responsibility for Sarin attacks and even blamed Russia for culpability in the Khan Sheikhoun tragedy.

Now its own military boss has said on the record that we have no evidence to support this conclusion. In so doing, Mattis tacitly impugned the interventionists who were responsible for pushing the Assad is guilty narrative twice without sufficient supporting evidence, at least in the eyes of the Pentagon.

This dissonance between the White House and the Department of Defense is especially troubling when viewed against the chorus of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) experts who have been questioning the (Obama and Trump) White House narratives concerning chemical weapons in Syria since practically the moment these Assad-ordered events occurred.

Serious, experienced chemical weapons experts and investigators such as Hans Blix, Scott Ritter, Gareth Porter and Theodore Postol have all cast doubt on official American narratives regarding President Assad employing Sarin.

These analysts have all focused on the technical aspects of the two attacks and found them not to be consistent with the use of nation-state quality Sarin munitions.

The 2013 Ghouta event, for example, employed home-made rockets of the type favored by insurgents. The White House Memorandum on Khan Sheikhoun seemed to rely heavily on testimony from the Syrian White Helmets who were filmed at the scene having contact with supposed Sarin-tainted casualties and not suffering any ill effects.

Likewise, these same actors were filmed wearing chemical weapons training suits around the supposed point of impact in Khan Sheikhoun, something which makes their testimony (and samples) highly suspect. A training suit offers no protection at all, and these people would all be dead if they had come into contact with real military-grade Sarin.

Chemical weapons are abhorrent and illegal, and no one knows this more than Carla Del Ponte. She, however, was unable to fulfill her U.N. Joint Investigative Mechanism mandate in Syria and withdrew in protest over the United States refusing to fully investigate allegations of chemical weapons use by rebels (jihadis) allied with the American effort to oust President Assad (including the use of Sarin by anti-Assad rebels).

The fact that U.N. investigators were in Syria when the chemical weapon event in Khan Sheikhoun occurred in April 2017 makes it highly dubious that Assad would have given the order to use Sarin at that time. Common sense suggests that Assad would have chosen any other time than that to use a banned weapon that he had agreed to destroy and never employ.

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Furthermore, he would be placing at risk his patronage from Russia if they turned on him as a war criminal and withdrew their support for him.

Tactically, as a former soldier, it makes no sense to me that anyone would intentionally target civilians and children as the White Helmet reports suggest he did.

There is compelling analysis from Gareth Porter suggesting that phosphine could have been released by an airborne munition striking a chemical depot, since the clouds and casualties (while organophosphate-appearing in some respects) do not appear to be similar to MilSpec Sarin, particularly the high-test Russian bomb-carried Sarin which independent groups like bellingcat insist was deployed.

Americas credibility was damaged by Colin Powell at the United Nations in 2003 falsely accusing Saddam Hussein of having mobile anthrax laboratories. Fast forward to 2017 and we encounter Nikki Haley in an uncomfortably similar situation at the U.N. Security Council calling for action against yet another non-Western head-of-state based on weak, unsubstantiated evidence.

Now Secretary Mattis has added fuel to the WMD propaganda doubters fire by retroactively calling into question the rationale for an American cruise missile strike.

While in no way detracting from the horror of what took place against innocent civilians in Syria, it is time for America to stop shooting first and asking questions later.

Ian Wilkie is an international lawyer, U.S. Army veteran and former intelligence community contractor.

This article was originally published by " Newsweek " -

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Trump, Jr.: Americans should be scared about what's going on

Corporate Media Hires CIA, Pentagon Officials as Talking Heads - Who Push for More War

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Stephen Cohen, professor emeritus of Russian Studies and Politics at NYU and Princeton, and John Batchelor continue their discussions of the new US-Russian Cold War.

February 09, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - Referring to the memo whose preparation was overseen by Republican Congressman Devin Nunes and whose release was authorized by President Trump, and to similar reports likely to come, Cohen, having for years researched Soviet-era archive materials (once highly classified), understands the difficulties involved in summarizing such secret documents, especially when they have been generated by intelligence agencies. They must be put in the larger political context of the time, which can be fully understood only by using other sources as well, including open ones; and they may be contradicted by other classified materials not yet available.

Nonetheless, the Republican memo, as it has become known while we await its Democratic counterpart, indicates that some kind of operation against presidential candidate and then President Trump, an investigation, has been under way among top officials of US intelligence agencies for a long time. The memo focuses on questionable methods used by Obamas FBI and Justice Department to obtain a warrant permitting them to surveil Carter Page, a peripheral and short-tenured Trump foreign-policy adviser, and the role played in this by the anti-Trump dossier complied by Christopher Steele, a former British intelligence officer whose career specialization was Russia. But the memos implications are even larger.

Steeles dossier, which alleged that Trump had been compromised by the Kremlin in various ways for several years even preceding his presidential candidacy, was the foundational document of the Russiagate narrative, at least from the time its installments began to be leaked to the American media in the summer of 2016, to the US Intelligence Community Assessment of January 2017 (when BuzzFeed also published the dossier), the same month that FBI Director James Comey briefed President-elect Trump on the dossierapparently in an effort to intimidate himand on to todays Mueller investigation.

Even though both have been substantially challenged for their lack of verifiable evidence, the dossier and subsequent ICA report remain the underlying sources for proponents of the Russiagate narrative of Trump-Putin collision. The memo and dossier are now being subjected to close (if partisan) scrutiny, much of it focused on the Clinton campaigns having financed Steeles work through his employer, Fusion GPS. But two crucial and ramifying question are not, Cohen argues, being explored: Exactly when, and by whom, was this Intel operation against Trump started? And exactly where did Steele get the information that he was filing in periodic installments and that grew into the dossier? In order to defend itself against the memos charge that it used Steeles unverified dossier to open its investigation into Trumps associates, the FBI claims it was prompted instead by a May 2016 report of remarks made earlier by another lowly Trump adviser, George Papadopoulos, to an Australian ambassador in a London bar. Even leaving aside the ludicrous nature of this episode, the public record shows it is not true. In testimony to the House Intelligence Committee in May 2017, John Brennan, formerly Obamas head of the CIA, strongly suggested that he and his agency were the first, as The Washington Post put it at the time, in triggering an FBI probe. Certainly both the Post and The New York Times interpreted his remarks in this way. Equally certain, Brennan played a central role in promoting the Russiagate narrative thereafter, briefing members of Congress privately and giving President Obama himself a top-secret envelope in early August 2016 that almost certainly contained Steeles dossier. Early on, Brennan presumably would have shared his suspicions and initiatives with James Clapper, director of national intelligence. FBI Director Comey, distracted by his mangling of the Clinton private-server affair during the presidential campaign, may have joined them actively somewhat later. But when he did so publicly, in his March 2017 testimony to the House Intelligence Committee, it was as J. Edgar Hoover reincarnateas the nations number-one expert on Russia and its profound threat to America (though, when asked, he said he had never heard of Gazprom, the giant Russian-state energy company often said to be a major pillar of President Putins power).

The question therefore becomes: When did Brennan begin his investigation of Trump? His House testimony leaves this somewhat unclear, but, according to a subsequent Guardian article, by late 2015 or early 2016 he was receiving, or soliciting, reports from foreign intelligence agencies regarding suspicious interactions between figures connected to Trump and known or suspected Russian agents.

In short, if these reports and Brennans own testimony are to be believed, he, not the FBI, was the instigator and godfather of Russiagate. Certainly, his subsequent frequent and vociferous public retelling of the Russiagate allegations against Trump suggest that he played a (and probably the) instigating role. And, it seems, a role in the Steele dossier as well.

Where, then, Cohen asks, did Steele get his information? According to Steele and his many stenographerswhich include his American employers, Democratic Party Russiagaters, the mainstream media, and even progressive publicationsit came from his deep connections in Russia, specifically from retired and current Russian intelligence officials in or near the Kremlin. From the moment the dossier began to be leaked to the American media, this seemed highly implausible (as reporters who took his bait should have known) for several reasons:

 Steele has not returned to Russia after leaving his post there in the early 1990s. Since then, the main Russian intelligence agency, the FSB, has undergone many personnel and other changes, especially after 2000, and especially in or near Putins Kremlin. Did Steele really have such connections so many years later?

 Even if he did, would these purported Russian insiders really have collaborated with this former British intelligence agent under what is so widely said to be the ever-vigilant eye of the ruthless former KGB agent Vladimir Putin, thereby risking their positions, income, perhaps freedom, as well as the well-being of their families?

Originally it was said that his Russian sources were highly paid by Steele. Arguably, this might have warranted the risk. But subsequently Steeles employer and head of Fusion GPS, Glenn Simpson, wrote in The New York Times that Steeles sources in Russiawere not paid. If the Putin Kremlins purpose was to put Trump in the White House, why then would these Kremlin-connected sources have contributed to Steeles anti-Trump project without financial or political gainonly with considerable risk?

 There is the also the telling matter of factual mistakes in the dossier that Kremlin insiders were unlikely to have made, but this is the subject for a separate analysis.

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And indeed we now know that Steele had at least three other sources for the dossier, ones not previously mentioned by him or his employer. There was the information from foreign intelligence agencies provided by Brennan to Steele or to the FBI, which we also now know was collaborating with Steele. There was the contents of a second Trump-Russia dossier prepared by people personally close to Hillary Clinton and who shared their findings with Steele. And most intriguingly, there was the research provided by Nellie Ohr, wife of a top Department of Justice official, Bruce Ohr, who, according to the Republican memo, was employed by Fusion GPS to assist in the cultivation of opposition research on Trump. Ohr later provided the FBI with all of his wifes opposition research. Most likely, it found its way into Steeles dossier. (Mrs. Ohr was a trained Russian Studies scholar with a PhD from Stanford and a onetime assistant professor at Vassar, and thus, it must have seemed, an ideal collaborator for Steele.)

We are left, then, with a vital, ramifying question: How much of the intelligence information in Steeles dossier actually came from Russian insiders, if any? (This uncertainly alone should stop Fox Newss Sean Hannity and others from declaring that the Kremlin used Steeleand Hillary Clintonto pump its propaganda and disinformation into America. Such pro-Trump allegations, like those of Russiagate itself, only fuel the new Cold War, which risks becoming actual war any day, from Syria to Ukraine.)

And so, Cohen concludes, we are left with even more ramifying questions:

 Was Russiagate produced by the primary leaders of the US intelligence community, not just the FBI? If so, it is the most perilous political scandal in modern American history, and the most detrimental to American democracy. And if so, it does indeed, as zealous promoters of Russiagate assert, make Watergate pale in significance. (To understand more, we will need to learn more, including whether Trump associates other than Carter Page and Paul Manafort were officially surveilled by any of the agencies involved. And whether they were surveilled in order to monitor Trump himself, on the assumption they were or would be in close proximity to him, as the president once suggested in a tweet.)

 If Russiagate involved collusion among US intelligence agencies, as now seems likely, why was it undertaken? There are various possibilities. Out of loathing for Trump? Out of institutional opposition to his promise of better relationscooperationwith Russia? Or out of personal ambition? Did Brennan, for example, aspire to remaining head of the CIA, or to a higher position, in a Hillary Clinton administration?

 What was President Obamas role in any of this? Or to resort to the Watergate question: What did he know and when did he know it? And what did he do? The same questions would need to be asked about his White House aides and other appointees. Whatever the full answers, there is no doubt that Obama acted on the Russiagate allegations. He cited them for the sanctions he imposed on Russia in December 2016, which led directly to the case of General Michael Flynn (not for doing anything wrong with Russia but for lying to the FBI); to the worsening of the new US-Russian Cold War; and thus to the perilous relationship inherited by President Trump, who has in turn been thwarted by Russiagate in his attempts to improve relations through cooperation with Putin.

 With all of this in mind, and assuming Trump knew most of it, did he really have any choice in firing FBI Director Comey, for which he is now unfairly being investigated by Mueller? We might also ask, given Comeys role during Hillary Clintons presidential campaign (for which she and her team loudly condemned him), whether as president she would have had to fire him.

Listening almost daily to the legion of former US intel officers condemn Russiagate skeptics ever more loudly and persistently in the media, we may wonder if they are increasingly fearful it will become known that Russiagate was mostly Intelgate. For that we will need a new bipartisan Senate Church Committee of the 1970s, which investigated and exposed misdeeds by US intelligence agencies and which led to important reforms that are no longer the preventive measures against abuses of power they were intended to be. (Ideally, everyone involved would be granted amnesty for recent misdeeds, ending all talk of jail time, on the condition they now testify truthfully.) But such an inclusive investigation of Intelgate would require the support of Democratic members of Congress, which no longer seems possible.

Stephen F. Cohen is a professor emeritus of Russian studies and politics at New York University and Princeton University and a contributing editor of The Nation.
US Massacre Of Syrian Troops Threatens To Unleash Wider War

By Bill Van Auken

February 09, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - US warplanes and artillery batteries carried out an unprovoked massacre of up to 100 pro-government troops in the northeastern province of Deir Ezzor Wednesday, signaling the initiation of a new and far more dangerous stage in the more than three-year-old direct US military intervention in Syria.

The Syrian government denounced the attack as a war crime and direct support to terrorism, insisting that its forces came under US attack as they were carrying out an operation against Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) elements between the villages of Khasham and al-Tabiya on the eastern side of the Euphrates River.

While the Pentagon proudly claimed to have killed 100 pro-government fighters, Damascus allowed that the US strikes claimed the lives of dozens, injuring many others and causing massive damage in the area.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, meanwhile, said it had confirmed only 20 dead among the pro-government forces.

Whatever the precise number of casualtiesthe Pentagons figures are suspect given that the bombings and artillery barrages were not followed up by any ground attackthe incident marks a major escalation of US aggression against Syria, eclipsing the firing of 59 US cruise missiles last April in response to an unsubstantiated allegation of a chemical weapons attack in Idlib province.

The only previous US attack resulting in comparable bloodshed was the September 17, 2016 US airstrike against a Syrian army position near the Deir Ezzor airport, which killed 62 soldiers and wounded some 100 more. The Pentagon claimed that attack was the result of an unintentional, regrettable error.

This time around, the US military said that it was exercising its inherent right of self-defense in attacking the forces of a government whose territory American troops are occupying without either its consent or any mandate from the United Nations.

The official story from the Pentagon is that a column of 500 pro-government fighters, including tanks and artillery, had attempted to take control of territory east of the Euphrates River that had been seized by the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the US proxy ground force that is overwhelmingly dominated by the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia. It accused the government forces of launching an unprovoked attack on a well-established SDF position, where US Special Forces advisors who direct the Kurdish fighters were deployed.

Pentagon officials speaking on condition of anonymity told the media that they believed Russian military contractors operating with the Syrian government forces were among the dead.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported that it had no military personnel in the area. It also said it was aware only of 25 Syrian militia members having been wounded in the US strikes.

Russias Defense Ministry added in a statement that the American attack once again showed that the US is maintaining its illegal presence in Syria not to fight the Daesh group [ISIS], but to seize and hold Syrian economic assets.

The area where the fighting took place is a center of Syrias oil and gas fields. The village of al-Tabiya is the site of the Conoco gas plant, which was previously run by ConocoPhillips until the energy corporation turned it over to the Syrian government in 2005. After the area fell under ISIS control, the Islamist militia used gas and oil exports to secure much of its financing.

Washington is determined to deny the Syrian government control over these resources and to that end has sought to carve out a US zone of control covering roughly 30 percent of the country, while cutting off its borders with Turkey and Iraq.

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Russias Foreign Ministry raised pointed questions about the US version of events, particularly the vast disparity between the claim of 100 Syrian government troops killed and, on the other side, a total of one SDF fighter wounded.

"First of all, how could a 500-strong unit attack a headquarters with tank and artillery support and, as a result, inflict an injury on one counter-attacker? asked Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova. How could those who were in that headquarters remain in those conditions for the half hour or more needed to call in and ensure air support?

How, within such a short period of time, could a decision have been made to open massive fire for effect on Syrian armed forces? she continued. To clarify all these questions, and to get a full picture of what happened, relevant information is now being gathered, both through our military experts and through the Foreign Ministry.

Despite the words of protest from Moscow, the Pentagon reported that it had used its deconfliction line with the Russian military to provide advance notice of its strike on the Syrian government forces and remained in contact during and after the attack. We had a very productive conversation, said Pentagon spokesperson Dana White. ...we told them, they knew what was happening. They agreed not to attack Coalition forces. So, from that respect, it was successful.

The attack on Deir Ezzor is part of a steady ratcheting up of the multisided conflict in Syria, provoked overwhelmingly by Washingtons announced decision to maintain a permanent US military occupation of the country and pursue a post-ISIS policy centered on the original US objectives of Syrian regime change and rolling back Iranian and Russian influence in the region. Until launching the anti-ISIS campaign in 2014, Washington had sought the ouster of the government of President Bashar al-Assad by means of supporting and arming the Al Qaeda-linked militias out of which ISIS itself emerged. This sparked the bloody seven-year-long war that has claimed the lives of some 350,000 Syrians, while displacing millions of others.

Since invading the country over three years ago, the US military has relied primarily on the Kurdish YPG as its proxy ground force, but it also continues to arm and train Islamist militia groups. During the US-backed siege of Raqqa and other formerly ISIS-occupied towns, the US military and its Kurdish proxies organized the evacuation of large numbers of ISIS fighters and their redeployment to Deir Ezzor in order to turn them against the Syrian government forces advancing on the provinces strategically vital oil and gas fields.

To the west, the Turkish invasion of the Kurdish-controlled enclave of Afrin, which came in response to US plans to organize a 30,000-strong border security force based largely on the Kurdish YPG and create what Ankara sees as a de facto Kurdish state on its border, threatens to escalate into a direct conflict between the US and Turkey, ostensible NATO allies.

On Wednesday, the top US commander in Syria and Iraq, Lt. Gen. Paul Funk, visited Manbij, the Syrian city on the western side of the Euphrates that has been occupied by the YPG and its US Special Forces handlers. The visit came just one day after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan demanded that the American forces withdraw from Manbij, vowing that the Turkish military would extend its offensive into the city.

Asked if he was worried about the Turkish threat, Gen. Funk responded, Its not in my job description to worry; my job is to fight.

Meanwhile, both the US and French governments have issued condemnations of Damascus over bombings in Idlib province and Eastern Ghouta, as well as unverified allegations of using chlorine gas against civilian populations. The State Department issued a statement saying that the bombings must stop now.

The hypocritical Western media, which went largely silent as the US killed tens of thousands of civilians and razed entire cities to the ground in last years sieges of Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria, has suddenly woken up to report the civilian casualties resulting from the bombardments by Syrian and Russian warplanes. Once again they are churning out propaganda to prepare for a military escalation that has the potential of triggering a direct military confrontation between the worlds two major nuclear powers, the US and Russia.

This article was originally published by " WSWS " -

Copyright  1998-2018 World Socialist Web Site

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Beautifully situated in the city of Abeokuta, Ogun State, Olumo rock is a popular tourist attraction. This historic site has drawn a lot of tourists from all over the world and amazingly some people in Nigeria have never visited it. Well, here are six(6) things every one should know about it.

1. It was used as a fortress by the Egba people in the early 19th century. The Egba people found refuge at the Olumo rock during inter-tribal wars in the 19th century. The rock provided sanctuary to the people as well as a vantage point to monitor the enemys advance leading to eventual triumph in war. Abeokuta was originally inhabited by the Egba.

2. It stands at a height of 137 metres above sea level.

3.The name Olumo means troubles and sufferings are all over.

4. Olumo Rock is the most significant representation of Egba people. It is the distinctive monument linked with their heroism and freedom. The rock is a symbol of unity and freedom for the Egba people and all those that reside in Abeokuta.

5.One of Nigerias most fascinating tourist centres. Since the completion of new innovations like a new museum, restaurants, water fountain in 2006, the site has continued to draw tourists from all over.

6. The Olumo festival which holds around March sees sons and daughters of the town, comprising four sections, Ake, Owu, Gbagura and Oke Ona Egba, come from far and near to join in the celebrations.
Another TBoss in the house? Remember the classic Tboss rant when she said Trust me if you give me that N25million, I will spend that money before next week. I have people hitting on my that have freaking private jets. You guys dont like me, its a competion. Im not here to make friends, well Cee-C just quipped along that same line.

Cee-C was conversing with her fellow housemate, BamBam at the head of house suite, when she made the statment.

Money is not important to me. If today, tomorrow I leave this place, and I dont walk away with the 45 million I know Id make more than that What is 45 million? I swear to God, Id make that money in a week.. Cee-C categorically stated.

Watch the video below;

#bbnaija Ceec can make over #45m in a week.don't know what she is looking for in bbnaija. Help retweet. pic.twitter.com/41vmQauMdZ  olabanji (@banji53) February 8, 2018

See reactions afterwards

The housemates today, lost their wager for the second time in a row.. and biggie subtly told them, that they are not entertaining the viewers.

It should be recalled that Some Nigerians condemned the Big Brother Naija (BBN) show saying that the housemates arent entertaining the viewers.

Some of the viewers of the programme told newsmen that the show was an insult to their intelligence as it promotes immorality among contestants.

A balance should be created between fun and depth. They, while comparing the 2018 show with the 2017 edition with the theme  See Gobe, said that the 2018 show had not been entertaining enough.

This is the second week the show kicked off and many Nigerians had said that it was not entertaining enough.

Cassandra Smith, a banker, said that the housemates were not serious and it appeared that they were more interested in catching some fun in the house than winning the whopping prize money of N45 million.

She said they looked unambitious and were attending to issues nonchalantly referring to when the housemates lost their wager in their first week in the house. The housemates are not serious, they are there to entertain us, and they are not doing anything serious that compared to the housemates from the 2017 edition. They should be made to sit up and entertain the viewers because that is the essence of the show, she said.

Source  Gistreel
Punch

Troops of the Guards Brigade deployed to Mararaba, Nasarawa state for internal security operations arrested a man with arms and ammunition on Thursday during a stop and search operation at a military checkpoint.

Vanguard

PATANI  PRESIDENT emeritus of the Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, Dr. Chris Ekiyor, yesterday said he and other travellers along the Unenurhie axis of the East-West road, Delta State, escaped death by the whiskers when gunmen suspected to be Fulani herdsmen allegedly opened fire on them.

The Sun

Weeks after the Oyo State Governor, Abiola Ajimobi, and other state officials boycotted a presidential campaign programme launched in his state, the presidency has sent an emissary to the governor

Thisday

Following the mounting resistance to the federal governments proposal to establish cattle colonies as a panacea to the conflicts between herders of cattle and farmers that have led to several deaths in the country, President Muhammadu Buhari Thursday said that the proposal was not meant to colonise any part of the country as widely alleged.

Daily Trust

Members of the House of Representatives yesterday expressed anger over alleged Manipulation of Nigerias legal system in the retrial of Senate President Bukola Saraki.

Daily Times

Group Managing Director of Honeywell Group Plc, Dr Oba Otudeko, on Thursday, appeared before a Federal High Court Lagos, to give evidence, in relation to a N5.5billion debt allegedly owed Ecobank Nigeria Plc.

Guardian
It looks like it is becoming a trend for a BB Naija housemate to brag about what they can do with the 47 million prize money.

BB Naija 2018 housemate Cee C is following former housemate, Tbosss steps as she claims she can earn more than 47 million in a week. She didnt say how she would make it, but people people are reacting to it.

Watch the video and read comments about it.

Ceece can make 45 million in a week and she came to stay 65days in big brother house just to annoy viewers and housemates . Issorai #BBNaija pic.twitter.com/oFkH0u71QE  Bei (@Eberebei) February 8, 2018

Dear Tobi,

I regret to inform you that when you appear on that nomination list, we will not vote for you. This is because you have shown that if you win the 45 million you will give it to CeeC. It seems she has partnered with your village people to make you foolish!#BBNaija pic.twitter.com/Q67A1HbjOx  E.E.O (@ad_eyo) February 4, 2018

https://twitter.com/Membere_Okorite/status/961716240162197506

https://twitter.com/Membere_Okorite/status/961716240162197506

CeeC is even worse than Tboss And she's not even fine. With her over due hair. She can make 45m in a week but she cannot lose her hair. Well done ma#BBNaija pic.twitter.com/wSARWloeAo  Blackaeyla (@makayleehub) February 8, 2018

When I see people who brag like this, it makes me remember lying Lai Muhammed, I hear he is related to CeeC#BBNaija https://t.co/Rnsot5J4A6  Freke Idio (@freke_idio) February 9, 2018

#CeeC is a failed attempt of #TBoss . Im sure thats her strategy. She has played the toyboy card with #Tobi and how 45million doesnt mean anything to her because she will make it in a week shes hoping #bossnation will come through for her . Dont play yourself girl #BBNaija  Nkesosom Eze (@nkesosom) February 9, 2018

#CeeC is a failed attempt of #TBoss . Im sure thats her strategy. She has played the toyboy card with #Tobi and how 45million doesnt mean anything to her because she will make it in a week shes hoping #bossnation will come through for her . Dont play yourself girl #BBNaija  Nkesosom Eze (@nkesosom) February 9, 2018

#BBNaija CeeCYou'll face worse hatred than Tboss.Just don't come to Lagos oh.  KingOmene (@ovielutheromene) February 8, 2018

source: Twitter
February 9, 2018 (Investorideas.com Newswire) The leading presidential candidates, Petro, Fajardo, Vargas, Duque, Ramirez and de la Calle, participated in a survey held by Portafolio, a local financial newspaper, in which they were asked about key factors, such as potential fiscal and pension reforms and their strategies to reactivate economic activity growth.

Recall that on Mar-18, the right-wing coalition of the Centro Democratico and Conservative parties will decide on its candidate through a public consultation. Ivan Duque (Centro Democratico) and Martha Lucia Ramirez (Conservative) are the frontrunners, while Alejandro Ordonez has a slim chance, according to several polls.

The leading presidential candidates, Petro, Fajardo, Vargas, Duque, Ramirez and de la Calle, participated in a survey held by Portafolio, a local financial newspaper, in which they were asked about key factors, such as potential fiscal and pension reforms and their strategies to reactivate economic activity growth.

Recall that on Mar-18, the right-wing coalition of the Centro Democratico and Conservative parties will decide on its candidate through a public consultation. Ivan Duque (Centro Democratico) and Martha Lucia Ramirez (Conservative) are the frontrunners, while Alejandro Ordonez has a slim chance, according to several polls.

Ivan Duque, a former Senator and long-time servant of the BID, would push for a broad fiscal reform that would include the restructuring of public administration aimed at reducing 'unnecessary government expenses', while considering revenue-related measures, such as the implementation of tech platforms for VAT collection (i.e. electronic invoicing and big data). Moreover, Duque would try to simplify the tax code for companies in order to reduce red tape, while giving exemptions to job-creating businesses.

As for the potential pension reform, Duque would look to eliminate the public (Colpensiones) vs. private competition within the system and the subsidies for high-income beneficiaries, while making the contribution from individuals that are past the age of retirement but still working mandatory. With all this, the retirement age for men (62) and women (57) could stay put, according to the candidate. All this would be accompanied by a strong agenda aimed at fostering formal employment.

For Duque, the main drivers of higher GDP growth rates in the future should be the development of the agroindustry sector through small-scale producers, creative SciTech start-ups and a sustainable and more productive mining sector. Also, the further development of construction and infrastructure would be pursued in order to maintain its positive shock on employment and investment dynamics.

Martha Lucia Ramirez, Duque's rival in the coming public consultation and former Minister of Defense, would go with a three-pillar fiscal reform: i) an expansion of the taxable base accompanied by a reduction in the charge rates, ii) the strengthening of DIAN (the local tax-collection authority) in order to reduce tax evasion and smuggling, along with a temporary amnesty plan for non-declared assets and iii) an austerity and expenditure-efficiency plan by the government.

Regarding activity, Ramirez visualizes an economic model based on broad and universal access to education and stronger SciTech innovation in order to achieve higher productivity. Also, she would aim to narrow the trade balance deficit through higher exports of goods and services (including tourism) and to promote the agroindustry sector, all this while strengthening the legal stability for companies and investment.

German Vargas Lleras, the other right-wing candidate and former Vice President of the current administration, would go with revenue-positive, investment-enhancing fiscal reform. Such goals would be achieved through the broadening of the tax base, the reduction of the corporate income tax and the elimination of charges on capital goods acquisitions. All this while cutting the red tape of the regime. This should foster the competitiveness of all-scale enterprises in the country. Thus, Vargas's goal is to strengthen productivity and stimulate investment in order to achieve an increasingly-formal labor market. The sectors that would carry the burden would be the agricultural, tourism and manufacturing sectors, while Vargas would still favor the support on housing construction (both rural and urban) and the financing of infrastructure (specially 4G) and oil-mining projects.

Like Duque, Vargas wants to eliminate the public vs. private competition in the pension system and to cut the support for high-income beneficiaries, instead focusing on the low-income population. He is keen on an automatic-adjusted system regarding the retirement age, one that is in line with the evolution of the demographics of the country.

The chief negotiator in the peace process with FARC, Humberto De la Calle, would seek to boost fiscal revenues in the short term through the elimination of exemptions on the income tax (for both corporations and individuals) and the expansion of the VAT base. Moreover, De la Calle would restructure the income tax in order to make it more progressive (high-income individuals paying more), while cutting the corporate rate. All this would go hand in hand with a strong international management against tax havens, public spending control and a fight against corruption and tax evasion.

Regarding economic activity, the priority sectors that could change the course of growth would be: agroindustry, tourism, renewable energies and SciTech innovation. De la Calle pointed out that he would prefer not to support specific activities through subsidies.

De la Calle sees pension reform as an urgent factor given the low coverage of the system (below 25%) and its high fiscal burden (4% of GDP). He would seek to foster a current program (periodic economic benefits or BEPS, its Spanish acronym) of voluntary savings for low-income individuals, while maintaining subsidies for minimum-wage pensions. De la Calle does not rule out an increase in the contribution rate.

Gustavo Petro, former Mayor of Bogota and current left-wing candidate, would push for broad fiscal reform. The main proposals would be: i) taxes on unproductive or inactive large estates, ii) the elimination of exemptions on activities that do not stimulate information networks, the expansion of knowledge, clean energies and non-polluting transportation, iii) tariffs on imports according to their greenhouse gas emissions (during their production or consumption phases), iv) taxes on remittances of profits, and v) increasing royalties and taxes on dividends.

Petro visualizes a productive economy, rather than an extractive one, with the focus on agroindustry and overall agriculture, based on the 'associative property' of the peasants. Manufacturing (especially metalworking and electric transportation), sustainable tourism, infrastructure for education and the production of clean energies would also be fostered.

Sergio Fajardo, the leading candidate in most polls and former Mayor of Medellin and Governor of Antioquia, would seek reform aimed at increasing fiscal revenues through the elimination of 'non-justified' exemptions and the broadening of the tax base. However, Fajardo believes that such a goal could be achieved by proactive management from the national government, including the modernization of DIAN, electronic invoicing and the development of labor and businesses formalization. Thus, a tax reform would not necessarily be in his pipeline.

Fajardo's formula for higher economic growth includes first-order priorities such as education, SciTech and innovation. Moreover, he would support sectors within agriculture and manufacturing with exporting potential, tourism (ecotourism) and 'green growth'.

Finally, Fajardo explicitly said that he would seek pension reform in his first year in office in order to resolve the coverage issue. The reform would be aimed at guaranteeing full access to the public system (Colpensiones), while those with higher incomes would save in the private funds. He did not take a stance regarding the retirement age.

Fajardo and Petro continue to lead in recent voter intention polls. Having said that, blank votes and undecided voters jointly represent more than 20%, leaving significant room for upside for other candidates, particularly right-wing candidates, in our view. In fact, according to the latest Cifras & Conceptos' poll, ~40% of voters have not fully decided on their vote for the first round yet. In general, we continue to expect that a market-friendly candidate will win the election as the electoral base of the left remains narrow. For more details, please refer to our recently published update on the presidential elections.

For charts, tables and the full report, see the pdf file

Contact:

Daniel Velandia, CFA

+ (571) 3394400 ext. 1505

dvelandia@credicorpcapital.com

Camilo Duran

+ (571) 3394400 ext. 1383

caduran@credicorpcapital.com

More Info:

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Forget exploding iPhones, a Flordia man claims that smoke started billowing out of his AirPods while he was listening to music on it. The smoke was coming out of the right AirPod, and as soon as Jason Colon saw it, he removed them from his ear and placed it on a workout equipment.

He then went out to get some help but when he returned, he saw the right AirPod was already popped due to an explosion. Colon was thankful that he removed the AirPods from his ear when smoke first started coming out from it otherwise the results could have been worse.

In television interviews, he said that he believes the explosion occurred due to the battery exploding.

I dont know what wouldve happened to my ear, Colon said. But Im sure since it hangs down, it couldve been [my] ear lobe. Ear lobe couldve been burnt.

He warns others users as well saying that just because it happens to me doesnt mean it wont happen again. Apple has already confirmed that it is investigating the issue and will reach out to Colon.

Our Take

This is an isolated report of Apple AirPods exploding since their launch over two years ago. The AirPods were first released by Apple in 2016, and this is the first time that we are hearing reports of it exploding. Its possible that Colons AirPods ended up shipping with defective batteries or that his unit was somehow damaged in use thereby compromising its chassis and safety. More details about the explosion will only be available after Apple conducts its investigation into the matter. Whatever the end result might be though, it is definitely unnerving to know that there is a possibility of AirPods exploding due to faulty batteries.

[Via WFLA
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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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JURIST Guest Columnist L. Ali Khan of the Washburn University School of Law discusses troubling recent trends in the Pakistani Supreme Court

Judicial activism is a milder label to express what the Pakistan Supreme Court has done over the decades to frame the national constitutional jurisprudence. Since the 1950s, the Court has validated several military coups that overthrew elected governments. It has bestowed powers on the military dictators to single-handedly amend the constitution. The Court has endorsed the execution of a highly popular prime minister, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, in a murder case prosecuted under the thumb of a military ruler. More recently, the Supreme Court has disqualified two elected prime ministers, one for contempt of court and the other on a highly technical ground holding that the failure to report an un-received income is a violation of assets disclosure required under the election laws.

After the failure of the courts to prosecute General Pervez Musharraf for various crimes and letting him leave the country, a popular perception circulates in legal circles that the Supreme Court is hurried in punishing elected representatives for minor misdemeanors but incredibly reluctant to demand accountability from military generals who commit constitutional subversions. Pakistan, some jurists would say, is a country where the generals and justices jointly govern to protect constitutional democracy.

In Pakistan, the behavior of the Supreme Court as an institution oscillates with the personality type of the Chief Justice. When a Chief Justice craves no personal fame, the Court retreats into a reclusive mode and decides cases without making needless political waves. But when a Chief Justice is ambitious in seeking celebrity status, the Court becomes hyperactive in deciding politically explosive cases that may procedurally belong to lower courts.

The Supreme Court relies on two controversial judicial concepts, the suo motu jurisdiction to bring provocative cases under its original jurisdiction and the contempt of court punitive powers to fine, imprison, and disqualify parliamentarians, ministers, and prime ministers from public office.

Suo Motu Jurisdiction

Article 184(3) of the Pakistan constitution vests in the Supreme Court original jurisdiction over a question of public importance with reference to the enforcement of any of the Fundamental Rights enumerated in the constitution. The Court may exercise original jurisdiction when an aggrieved party files a petition. However, the Court has also exercised original jurisdiction on its own initiative if the Court finds a question of public importance in the domain of constitutional rights needs attention.

This self-generated original jurisdiction is called the suo motu jurisdiction. (India, Bangladesh, and Nigeria courts have also invoked the suo motu jurisdiction in various cases of public importance.)

The suo motu jurisdiction is a precious tool for a high court to take judicial notice of a pattern of governmental abuse that the state functionaries may refuse to acknowledge or prosecute. For example, a high court may invoke the suo motu jurisdiction to demand state accountability for enforced disappearances and torture of journalists. In a suo motu case, the Pakistan Supreme Court prohibited the public hangings . . . of even the worst criminals.

However, the Supreme Court uses the suo motu jurisdiction to intervene in cases that properly belong to the trial courts. For example, in a recent rape-murder case of a seven-year-old girl, which shocked the nation, the Court stepped in to oversee the police investigation of the case. Despite the good motive, the Court overlooked the fact that the Pakistani police known to frame innocent persons to solve intricate crimes could turn even more untrustworthy if placed under high-pitched pressure.

In the same case, the Court also took judicial notice of a TV talk show where a news anchor made outrageous accusations involving the defendant. The Court summoned the anchor, along with a dozen other news and media personalities to investigate the accusations. The courtroom scene mimicked a tribal Jirga as different media persons were supplying spontaneous advice to the Justices regarding what needed to be done.

By invoking the suo motu jurisdiction, the Supreme Court harms the function and credibility of trial courts. Furthermore, the provincial high courts are empowered to intervene under the suo motu jurisdiction if such intervention is necessary in select cases. No harm will occur if the Supreme Court entrust the suo motu jurisdiction to provincial high courts under some supervisory strictures and extricate itself from summary trials of questions raised in the electronic and print media.

Contempt of Court

Article 204 of the Pakistan constitution, titled Contempt of Court, vests in the Supreme Court and other High Courts the power to punish any person who disobeys court orders, obstructs the process or scandalizes the court or a Judge of the Court. In 2012, The Supreme Court invoked this constitutional power to remove Prime Minister Yousaf Gilani, who refused to obey an order. Last week, the Court ordered the imprisonment of a ruling party Senator who scandalized the Court through his speeches.

A few days ago, the Supreme Court Chief Justice took suo motu notice of anti-judiciary speeches by a minister and summoned him to appear before the Court. Several petitions have been filed under Article 204 against former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his politically active daughter for giving disrespectful speeches against the Supreme Court Justices who removed the prime minister from office.

The 2012 Contempt of Court Act restricts the consequences of contempt of court by limiting fine and punishments. The Act permits fair comments about the general working of the courts (or on the merits of a decision of a court) made in good faith in the public interest and in temperate language. The Act provides punishment for contempt but also allows court forgiveness if a bona fide apology is tendered at any stage of the proceeding.

Thus, the faultfinders of the Supreme Court and High Courts tread a fine line between permissible criticisms of the Court and its decisions and the constitutionally prohibited scandalization of the Court and its judges. Cases show that the inflammatory language in which the criticism is expressed is a prime factor in contempt convictions. In severe cases of contempt, the Court rejects a bad faith apology tendered merely to escape punishment.

Much like the suo motu jurisdiction, the contempt of court provision is trickier in the application and its overuse is potentially injurious to the credibility of the high courts. Given the unfortunate history of the Supreme Court in upholding military coups and refusing to punish defiant military generals either under the suo motu jurisdiction or the contempt of court provision, political parties believe that the Court uses these constitutional weapons only against elected officials, including parliamentarians, ministers, and prime ministers.

Conclusion

The suo motu jurisdiction is a precious legal tool to protect fundamental rights when state institutions decline to prosecute the perpetrators of torture, enforced disappearances, and extra-judicial killings. Likewise, constitutional protections against willful disobedience of court orders and indiscriminate vilification of judges ensure an independent judiciary committed to furnishing justice under the law. These constitutional instruments are efficacious when used thriftily and only in exceptional cases. As a broad principle, judicial restraint on part of the nations highest court is a superior value to judicial hyper-activism.

L. Ali KhanKhan has devoted much of his academic scholarship to Islamic law and conflicts involving Muslim communities. Khan has participated in Islamic law symposia and contributed ground-breaking articles on Islamic jurisprudence. In addition to law articles and academic books, Khan also writes for the popular press in the United States, the Middle East, and the Indian subcontinent, including for the BBC, Press TV, and NPR.

Suggested citation:L. Ali Khan,Pakistans Hyperactive Supreme Court, JURIST  Academic Commentary, Feb. 9, 2018, http://jurist.org/forum/2018/02/L-Ali-Khan-pakistan-supreme-court.php

This article was prepared for publication by Sean Merritt, an Assistant Editor for JURIST Commentary. Please direct any questions or comments to him at commentary@jurist.org
JURIST Guest Columnist Steve Koslovsky discusses how more judicial elections harm judicial independence

Remember Rose Bird? Back in 1986, Chief Justice Rose E. Bird, who was the first female Chief on the California Supreme Court, became the first Chief Justice removed from office . In a campaign organized largely by California conservatives and funded by business interests, voters removed her [PDF] from office largely based on her perceived liberal political views and consistent opposition to the death penalty.

Prior to her appointment to the Court, Bird had served as a public defender for eight years in Santa Clara County, and taught at Stanford Law School for two years. She died in 1999.

I mention Birds connections with Santa Clara County and Stanford University because feminist activists in the San Francisco area, led by another professor at Stanford Law School, are now seeking to remove by recall election Santa Clara County Superior Judge Aaron Persky for what they allege was an excessively lenient sentence of six months in jail, followed by three years probation, successful completion of a state sex offender rehabilitation program and lifelong registration as a sex offender, which Judge Persky gave to Stanford University swimmer Brock Turner, who had been found guilty of felony sexual assault of an incapacitated young woman in 2016.

The required signatures on the Persky recall petition were recently certified and the election is set for June of this year. One wonders whether the liberal Justice Bird would support or oppose the Persky recall effort. In addition to direct election of judges, and periodic retention elections for appointed judges, there are eight states which allow judicial recall elections. Of those, five states, including California, require no legal grounds whatsoever to support such a recall. Proponents need only satisfy the requirements for the number of signatures of registered voters, which varies from 10 to 30% of the voters who cast ballots in the last election for the office in question.

Three states (Georgia, Minnesota, and Montana) require that the petition state certain grounds for the recall. Among these are malfeasance, misconduct, failure to perform duties of the office, or conviction of a serious crime while in office. Georgia and Montana specifically exclude as grounds for recall the discretionary performance of a lawful act or mandatory duty.

However, even those states which require the petition to state grounds for recall have no mechanism in place to test the accuracy of a recall petitions stated grounds. Conviction of a serious crime is an objective standard, but what about malfeasance, misconduct, or failure to perform the duties of the office? Would Justice Birds opposition to the death penalty satisfy one of these grounds? How about Judge Perskys alleged lenient sentence? In those two states that exclude discretionary performance of a lawful act, probably not. Elsewhere, in todays hyper-partisan world, it is not difficult to imagine arguments spun on both sides.

It is certainly not news that judicial elections of every kind have become ever more politicized. Recall elections represent but another tool in the ongoing effort to politically influence the judiciary, from both the right and the left. However, recall elections have one distinct advantage over other judicial elections: they can be forced at any time so long as enough signatures are gathered on a properly worded petition. (Judge Persky, for example, would not be up for retention election until 2022). With the financial and organizational support of powerful political interests, these petition requirements are a low bar to clear.

Recall elections have the potential to subject judges to possible removal based on the political winds of the moment. Remember the 2010 judicial election in which three members of the Iowa Supreme Court were removed based on their vote in the unanimous decision to strike down a prohibition on same sex marriage?

Many commentators agree that judicial elections of all kinds, whether direct election to office, retention election after appointment, or recall elections based on voter petition, should be entirely eliminated from our judicial system. Judges should instead be appointed and evaluated based on their overall competence, and not how they rule on highly publicized cases. Otherwise, only the most courageous of future judges will be willing to risk political fallout from ruling as they feel they must in any notorious case.

Whether you agree or disagree with Justice Birds view of capital punishment, the Iowa Supreme Courts view of same-sex marriage, or the sentence handed down by Judge Persky in a high-profile criminal case, removal of judges with whom we disagree politically, whether initiated by the right or the left, can only lead to further politicization of the judicial branch of government.

Steve Koslovsky is an attorney who has been involved in and written about the judicial election and selection process. He is the author of Games Lawyers (and Judges) Play , which discusses judicial politics and other issues.

Suggested citation:Steve Koslovsky, Recall Elections Equal More Politicization of the Judiciary, JURIST  Professional Commentary, Feb. 9, 2018, http://jurist.org/forum/2018/02/steve-koslovsky-recall-elections-judiciary.php

This article was prepared for publication by Sean Merritt, an Assistant Editor for JURIST Commentary. Please direct any questions or comments to him at commentary@jurist.org
[JURIST] The Supreme Court of Ireland [official website] formally ruled in a unanimous decision on Friday that the complete employment ban [statute] on asylum seekers was unconstitutional.

Chief Justice Frank Clark [official profile] said [Irish Times report] the ban is no longer a part of the law. The legislature has four months to create a work permit for asylum seekers.

The plaintiff was a Rohingya asylum seeker.

The decision follows a May 2017 opinion, where the court unanimously ruled [opinion] that the ban was unconstitutional in principle. The opinion, by Justice Donal ODonnell [official bio], reads:

I have concluded that a right to work at least in the sense of a freedom to work or seek employment is a part of the human personality and accordingly the Article 40.1 requirement that individuals as human persons are required be held equal before the law, means that those aspects of the right which are part of human personality cannot be withheld absolutely from non-citizens.

At that time, the court gave the legislature six months to amend the statute. The case was then reheard in November.

The rights of refugees is an issue around the world. Last week Amnesty International accused [JURIST report] Australia of continued refugee abuses at Manus Island detention center. In December the EU referred [JURIST report] the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland to the Court of Justice for not accepting their quotas of refugees. That same month, the US ended [JURIST report] participation in the UNs global compact on migration.
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine [official website] filed a lawsuit [complaint, PDF] in the Washington County Common Pleas Court [official website] against DuPont [corporate website] alleging that the company intentionally released perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) into the Ohio River.

The discharges are accused of occurring from the companys Washington Works facility near Parkersburg, West Virginia. Exposure to PFOA has been linked to kidney and testicular cancer, thyroid disease, pregnancy-induced hypertension and low birth weight, high cholesterol, and ulcerative colitis. The releases are claimed to have occurred between 1951 and 2013. DuPont is accused of knowingly releasing PFOA to the air, river, and land despite knowing of its toxic nature. The company is also accused of intentionally concealing the dangers of PFOA from governmental entities and the public.

DuPont is being accused of negligence, nuisance, and trespass due to the releases. The lawsuit requests that DuPont be charged for damages, including punitive damages, as well as for the cost of cleanup. The lawsuit also calls for the court to indemnify Ohio of all expenditures the State is obligated to undertake in connection with PFOA contamination in Ohio.

The UN has previously called [JURIST report] for stronger anti-pollution legislation and enforcement in February 2017. Environmentalists have previously sued [JURIST report] the Environmental Protection Agency in September 2016 stating that the agency should enact new regulations for protecting water quality standards.
UN Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad Al Hussein [official website] urged [press release] the government of Papua New Guinea on Friday to provide greater enforcement of their laws and to combat corruption.

The high commissioner stated that Papua New Guinea has exemplary laws and policies in place to protect human rights, but they are reportedly often not enforced. Human rights defenders have claimed that the laws were often not translated into practice, and law enforcement officials and communities were often unaware of them.

The high commissioner claims major corporations in the country have violated the laws with impunity. Some have reportedly forcibly evicted people from their homes with the complicity of local police, and there are other reports of corporations engaging in sexual violence. The prime minister of Papua New Guinea, Peter ONeill, has stated that he will push forward a bill which will establish an independent human rights institution to facilitate the interactions between state and non-governmental institutions.

Papua New Guinea has been the center of ongoing human rights concerns due to the Australian refugee detention site on Manus Island in the country. The high commissioner once again called upon Papua New Guinea to identify durable solutions for the crisis on Friday. Amnesty International accused [JURIST report] Australia of continued refugee abuses at the facility earlier this month. Papua New Guineas Supreme Court dismissed [JURIST report] a request to transfer asylum seekers to Australia in October 2016.
ASHLAND, Ore. -- Thursday was a big day for a construction project at Southern Oregon University. The Thalden Pavilion Project is nearing completion. Construction workers added a 40-foot piece of timber to the project Thursday morning.

Christopher Brown, Architect with Arkitek: Design & Architecture, designed the project. He said he was inspired by Southern Oregon's natural resources.

"The locally sourced timber is milled in Eagle Point and it's being a big part of exemplifying the idea of working within our local watershed, our communities and the farm to table movement," Brown said.

Joe Mosley, Director of Community and Media Relations for SOU, said the project was fully funded from a donation by Ashland residents Barry and Kathryn Thalden.

"They've done amazing things in this community since they came here six years ago," Mosley said.

When the project is complete, it'll be used as an outdoor classroom, a play area for kids, and a stage for theatre and music.

"Some of the main influences we had here were an inspiration from the pinwheel form, the Nautilus shell found in nature, so almost the spiral, each of these wings sort of folding inside of each other and nesting," Brown said.

The project should be completed in April. That's when there will be a dedication ceremony to the community on Earth Day, which Brown said was the day he wanted.
GRANT'S PASS, Ore. -- Rogue County Community College (RCC) campuses evacuated all students and faculty today. The evacuation order was issued after an email threat from someone claiming to be an RCC student. The administration notified law enforcement.

Investigation from the Josephine County Sheriff's Office has revealed that the source of the email was not in fact a student at RCC. They believe that the sender's emailed was hacked, and that several similar emails were sent to multiple communities in Oregon, Colorado and Florida. The Sheriff's Office is now calling the threat a hoax.

RCC will re-open tomorrow morning at 8:00 A.M.
MEDFORD, Ore. -- A 25-year-old Medford man was arrested in Maryland, and extradited back to Jackson County after police say he shot another man during a robbery.

Police say Terell Stembridge and another man met at a residence on South Foothill Road in Medford on Wednesday, November 8, 2017. Police say the male and Stembridge were acquaintances, and met for a marijuana deal.

During the meeting, police say Stembridge pulled out a .40 caliber handgun and pointed it at the male, threatening to kill him.

Stembridge ordered the man to put the marijuana in a bag, which Stembridge provided, as he was conducting an armed robbery, according to police.

That's when the male grabbed the gun, and started to fight for control of it. During that fight, police say Stembridge fired several rounds, hitting the man three times. The man grabbed his own .45 caliber handgun and fired two rounds back at Stembridge, but did not hit him. Stembridge ran from the residence with the marijuana.

Police say the man drove himself to Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center, where he went into immediate surgery.

On November 14, 2017, a Jackson County Grand Jury indicted Stembridge on Attempted Murder, Assault in the first degree, and Robbery in the first degree. A nationwide search was issued for Stembridge.

Then, on December 12, 2017, a United States Marshal's Service fugitive task force located Stembridge in Baltimore, Maryland. Investigators believe the suspect committed the robbery to sell the marijuana illegally on the East coast.

Stembridge is now in the Jackson County Jail.
Medical marijuana is shown in Toronto, November 5, 2017. Canada's umbrella group for securities administrators says after a review of a U.S. clampdown on marijuana policies it will continue to allow cannabis companies with U.S. ties to trade on the country's exchanges as long as they disclose specific risks. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graeme Roy
Minister of Environment and Climate Change Catherine McKenna arrives for a press conference on the government's environmental and regulatory reviews related to major projects, in the National Press Theatre in Ottawa on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
B.C. Chief Justice Christopher Hinkson is seen in an undated handout photo. The chief justice of British Columbia's Supreme Court says he is frustrated with what he calls the "failure" of the federal Justice Minister to appoint judges and is calling on her to urgently fill at least nine vacancies in the province. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-British Columbia Supreme Court, William Huang, *MANDATORY CREDIT*
Sivaloganathan Thanabalasingham arrives for a detention review at the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada in Montreal, Thursday, April 13, 2017. A Sri Lankan man charged with killing his wife but set free after his legal proceedings took too long will likely never get a new trial in Canada, Quebec's appellate court ruled Friday in its decision to dismiss the Crown's appeal. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
An American customer service management company says it will invest $2 billion in its Canadian business over the next five years. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday, January 24, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson
Defence attorney Scott Spencer, right, and his client Gerald Stanley enter the Court of Queen's Bench on the day of closing arguments in his trial, the farmer is accused of killing the 22-year-old Indigenous man Colten Boushie, in Battleford, Sask., Thursday, February 8, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Liam Richards
Cory Bowles, director of "Black Cop," arrives on the red carpet as the Toronto International Film Festival announces their Canadian features for this year's programme in Toronto Wednesday August 9 , 2017. Halifax filmmaker Cory Bowles' first feature -- about a black man torn about his role as a police officer -- has been picked up for distribution in the U.S., where he says audiences are eager for honest depictions of the modern black experience. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
Mexico's chief negotiator Kenneth Smith Ramos speaks to the media at the sixth round of the North American Free Trade Agreement Tuesday, January 23, 2018 in Montreal. Mexico's chief NAFTA negotiator is brushing off the idea of breaking the three-country agreement into separate one-on-one deals. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland arrives to appear before a House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development on Canada's foreign policy priorities and the status of the NAFTA modernization talks, on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Montgomery County Clerk of Circuit Court Erica Williams swears in a witness in Montgomery County Circuit Court in Christiansburg Va., Thursday, Feb. 8 2018. David Eisenhauer is charged with first-degree murder, abduction and concealing a body in the 2016 killing of Blacksburg teen Nicole Lovell. (Matt Gentry/The Roanoke Times via AP, Pool)
This image provided by the Norman Rockwell Museum shows the watercolor on board painting "Army Soldier and Woman on Bicycle," created in 1944 by Gloria Stoll Karn. Karn, a pioneering artist, who had a brief but productive stint as an illustrator of pulp crime and romance magazines during the 1940s, is being celebrated with an exhibition of her works opening Saturday, Feb. 10, 2018, at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Mass. (Gloria Stoll Karn/Norman Rockwell Museum via AP)
2,018 cute snowman sculptures have been put on display at an ice and snow park in Harbin city, Northeast China's Heilongjiang province to greet the year 2018, attracting many visitors from around the nation to take a look. [Photo/IC]

A visitor poses for photos with 2018 sculptures of snowmen on display at an ice and snow park in Harbin city, Northeast China's Heilongjiang province to greet the year 2018, attracting many visitors from around the nation to take a look. [Photo/IC]

2,018 cute snowman sculptures have been put on display at an ice and snow park in Harbin city, Northeast China's Heilongjiang province to greet the year 2018, attracting many visitors from around the nation to take a look. [Photo/IC]

2,018 cute snowman sculptures have been put on display at an ice and snow park in Harbin city, Northeast China's Heilongjiang province to greet the year 2018, attracting many visitors from around the nation to take a look. [Photo/IC]

2,018 cute snowman sculptures have been put on display at an ice and snow park in Harbin city, Northeast China's Heilongjiang province to greet the year 2018, attracting many visitors from around the nation to take a look. [Photo/IC]

2,018 cute snowman sculptures have been put on display at an ice and snow park in Harbin city, Northeast China's Heilongjiang province to greet the year 2018, attracting many visitors from around the nation to take a look. [Photo/IC]

2,018 cute snowman sculptures have been put on display at an ice and snow park in Harbin city, Northeast China's Heilongjiang province to greet the year 2018, attracting many visitors from around the nation to take a look. [Photo/IC]

2,018 cute snowman sculptures have been put on display at an ice and snow park in Harbin city, Northeast China's Heilongjiang province to greet the year 2018, attracting many visitors from around the nation to take a look. [Photo/IC]


SALEM, Ore. (AP) - An audit released by the Oregon Secretary of State finds regulators charged with tracking the state's recreational marijuana business have been too lax.

The audit of the Oregon Liquor Control Commission released Wednesday comes after U.S. Attorney Billy J. Williams convened a summit last week to address what he called a "massive" problem with a marijuana surplus winding up on the black market in other states.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that the audit found monitoring and security of the tracking system for the $480 million legal recreational marijuana industry are inadequate.

The report says the OLCC doesn't have enough inspectors and should not rely on marijuana businesses to report their own data.

Steve Marks, OLCC executive director, says the audit is helpful and the agency is following up on its findings.
ALBANY, Ore. -- School officials are reviewing South Albany High School's mascot and are asking the public for their opinion.

According to the school's website, the Rebel mascot may possibly be changed. They said the school wants the symbol to be more inclusive.

Public forum will be held from 6:30 pm to 8 pm in the South Albany High School's Commons Building. Tuesday, February 20

Wednesday, February 21

Tuesday, February 27 You must sign up online to attend. Click here to be taken to the online registration.

The school district hired a consultant to collect input from community members about the mascot. Principal Brent Belveal said they will be taking public input in February.

Three public forums are scheduled for Feb. 20, 21, and 27. There are only 75 seats per forum and people will need to sign up online in advance.
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Explore new places with 'Travel Cafe'



Jaipur, the desert capital of India, popularly known as the Pink City is the land of palaces, lakes, maharajas, alluring architecture. Like the big cities, Jaipur has caught the speed in travel industry. In this sequence, the name 'Travel Cafe' has been included in the spotlight in the Jaipur Travel Industry. According to the information, the Travel cafe is planning to open 20 more offices across the country, which is already started its preparations.



Travel cafe director Ms. Durgesh Sharma said that after 8 years of marriage, she created this company, in which her husband Preet Sharma contributed a lot. Although she had no professional degree for it but never lost courage. Travel Cafe started with 4 people in October 2014 and now at present 15 professional people are involved in it. Durgesh Sharma with her team are moving forward firmly because of the hard work ,world class service and have given travel cafes to new heights of success.



Read More...


NEVADA, Iowa (AP)  Prosecutors say a central Iowa man charged in the death of his 2-month-old daughter killed the baby by placing pillows on her face.

The Des Moines Register reports that 29-year-old Calvin Curtis White, of Nevada, has been charged with first-degree murder and child endangerment causing death after his daughter was found not breathing Jan. 29 and later died. Police also say they found a recorded message on White's phone in which he said he killed the infant by placing pillows on her face to keep from hearing her cry.

Police say White was the sole caregiver of his daughter at the time of her death.

White remains in the Story County Jail on a $1 million bond. His public defender did not immediately return a phone message Thursday seeking comment.
MASON CITY, Iowa  Police have made an arrest for prostitution in connection with a North Iowa massage therapy business.

The Mason City Police Department says it conducted an investigation on Thursday of Asian Tuina on 525 South Washington Avenue. As a result, officers arrested 37-year-old Hong Yu for prostitution. Police say Yu also has an active arrest warrant out of Lee County for the same offense.

Yu has been booked into the Cerro Gordo County Jail on $2,000 bond.

The Iowa Department of Public Safety  Division of Intelligence and the North Central Iowa Narcotics Task Force assisted with this investigation, which is continuing. Mason City police say more arrests are possible.
ALBERT LEA, Minn.  A man arrested after police followed footprints in the snow is pleading not guilty.

45-year-old Jabar Pedro Morarend of Albert Lea is charged with 1st degree burglary. He was arrested on January 26 after officers responded to a report of a suspicious person and possible burglary.

The victim told law enforcement she woke to pounding on her door and ringing her doorbell. The woman says she got scared and went into her garage to leave. She says when she opened the garage door, she saw and male and female at the end of her driveway.

Officers searched the home and found the dresser drawers in the master bedroom were all partially opened.

A line of footprints was seen from the patio area around the south side of the house. Authorities say the footprints had a distinctive pattern on the sole. The tracks led behind the house to a fence, with the snow cleared from the top of the fence as if someone climbed over. Officers say the tracks resumed on the other side of the fence, continuing toward Highway 13 until eventually stopping at a home.

The owners of the home gave officers permission to enter and they says they found Morarend in the basement behind a bed sheet and sitting next to the washing machine. Officers say a pair of wet shoes behind the washing machine matched the tracks in the snow.

Morarend is scheduled to stand trial on April 6.
MASON CITY, Iowa  A woman is getting probation for setting a house on fire.

29-year-old Donyale Marie Jones of Mason City pleaded guilty to 2nd degree arson for a fire on September 2, 2017 in the 200 block of 8th Place SE. A witness told Mason City police Jones set a fire in the kitchen and set a mattress on fire in the living room.

Jones has been sentenced to three to four years of supervised probation. She must also spend up to 180 days at a residential correctional facility and get a substance abuse and mental health evaluation within 30 days.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa  A Butler County man has pleaded guilty to receiving child pornography.

The U.S. Attorneys Office for the Northern District of Iowa says 54-year-old David Myers of Greene received visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct between March 2005 and August 2014. As part of a plea agreement, two counts of possession of child porn and two counts of accessing child porn were dismissed.

Myers was convicted of 3rd degree sexual abuse in Floyd and Butler counties in 1998. The victim in those cases was under 14 years old.

Myers now faces between 15 and 40 years in federal prison, as well as a $250,000 fine and supervised release after prison ranging from five years to life.

Authorities say this case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide effort by the U.S. Department of Justice launched in 2006.
CHARLES CITY, Iowa  A holiday season robbery is sending a Floyd County man to prison.

A jury convicted 37-year-old Donald Edward McIntyre of Charles city of 1st degree robbery. Authorities say that he attacked a man in the 1200 block of E Street in Charles City on December 27, 2015. A criminal complaint was not filed, however, until December 2016. McIntyre was accused of hitting the victim in the head with a club and then choking him with the club until the victim almost passed out.

Police say the victim got McIntyre to leave by offering him $100.

On Friday, McIntyre was sentenced to up to 25 years in state prison and was ordered to pay $3,942.58 in restitution.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - A Des Moines woman has pleaded guilty after being arrested last fall when officer found her young children were being left unsupervised in a filthy, feces-covered home.

The Des Moines Register reports 26-year-old Destinee Kristine Miller pleaded guilty Thursday in Polk County District Court to neglect or abandonment of a dependent person. She also had faced three counts of child endangerment, but prosecutors dropped those charges in exchange for the guilty plea.

Police arrested Miller in October after her three children ages 4, 2 and 1 were found outside their home. One child was covered in feces and another had a full diaper.

Polk County Judge Heather Lauber set sentencing for March 26.

In December, Miller pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct after police say she stabbed an ex-boyfriend.
OTTUMWA, Iowa (AP)  A dog handler accused of leaving four dogs inside a hot vehicle last year, killing three, has pleaded guilty to three counts of confining animals.

The Ottumwa Courier reports that in exchange for Craig Eugene's recent plea, a fourth count was dismissed. Eugene was fined $300.

Police say the dogs were found in Eugene's car July 8 outside the American Kennel Club All Breeds Dog Show in Ottumwa. Two of the dogs were found dead in the car and a third died at a veterinary clinic.

Police say Eugene, of Marengo, Illinois, told officers his vehicle was running when he put the dogs inside, but it wasn't running when he returned. The National Weather Service says the Ottumwa temperature peaked at 89 degrees (32 Celsius) that day.
SARTELL, Minn. (AP)  It didn't take police long to catch up with a man who stole a woman's SUV from the Walmart parking lot in Sartell.

Authorities say the Sauk Centre man took the Jeep Grand Cherokee left running in the parking lot Monday and drove to Isle, about an hour away. Police say a woman later called the vehicle's owner and said a man was asking questions about the SUV. Then she put the man on the phone with the owner. He said he was with an auto glass company and repaired the vehicle and just needed to get it started again.

WJON reports the man gave the owner an address where OnStar could find the vehicle and start it. Isle police went to the address and arrested the man for stealing the SUV.
ROCHESTER, Minn.  A man facing multiple methamphetamine charges is pleading not guilty.

The Rochester Police Department says undercover officers purchased meth from 33-year-old Angel Castellanos on October 4 and October 5 in 2017. A search of Castellanos home was then made on October 25 and police say they found three meth pipes and a baggie containing meth residue near a five year old child.

Castellanos is charged with 1st degree sale of drugs, two counts of 3rd degree sale of drugs, and storing meth paraphernalia in the presence of a child. No trial date has been set.
MASON CITY, Iowa  The second defendant in a North Iowa home burglary is going to prison.

Authorities charged 30-year-old Thomas John Kerlin and 32-year-old Jamie Rose Nicholson, both of Rudd, with 1st degree theft for stealing over $10,000 worth of property from a home in the 100 block of Fair Meadow Drive in Mason City. Law enforcement says the property was taken in early September 2017.



Jamie Nicholson Jamie Nicholson

Kerlin and Nicholson pleaded guilty to reduced charges of 2nd degree theft. Nicholson was given a deferred judgment and three years of supervised probation. Kerlin has now been sentenced to up to five years behind bars.

The two must also pay restitution to their victim as determined by the Cerro Gordo County Attorneys Office.
MASON CITY, Iowa - Despite the snow, people came together on Thursday afternoon for the grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony of YSS Francis Lauer's residential treatment facility.

The home, located on site, will house up to 12 people, with rooms containing a bunk bed, bathroom, tread mill, desk, and a central living room and kitchen.

During the ceremony, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds was presented the Youth Advocacy Leadership Award for her work in youth addiction recovery efforts.

Reynolds was also a keynote speaker during the event, and says that facilities like YSS Francis Lauer will help youth who can foster a stronger future for their community and state.

"Nearly everything that's important to our future - schools, job opportunities, economic growth - depends on the health of our people. And if Iowa's youth aren't healthy, they can't learn, they can't earn, and for Heaven's sakes, they can't succeed," Reynolds says.

The cause is also near and dear to her, as she also described her own struggle with alcoholism before her time as governor.

"I understand the struggles, my family understands the struggles. But I also know that life can be so much better," Reynolds says.
MAPUTO, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Anadarko has received government approval to develop a gas field off Mozambique that promises to generate much-needed revenue for the impoverished country.

The Texas-based energy company plans to build a plant expected to cost around $15 billion to produce liquefied natural gas (LNG) from 2022 or 2023.

"The government has approved the resolution for the development plan for the Rovuma Basin Area 1 project to be implemented by Anadarko," said Ana Comoana, spokeswoman of the Council of Ministers.

Governmental approval means Anadarko can begin work on the Area 1 development project, which includes installation of underwater wells, equipment to carry gas to liquefaction facilities and a storage facility with a capacity of 5.99 million tonnes a year.

"Mozambique stands to amass $30.7 billion until 2047 from taxes and profit-sharing generated from the exploitation of natural gas," Comoana said.

Mozambique is desperate to plug gaps in government revenue after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) cancelled funding in 2016 citing concerns about how $2 billion in loans was spent. The project is located in the Rovuma basin off the northern coast of Mozambique, where consortia led by Anadarko and Italy's ENI are exploring. The basin boasts reserves of around 180 trillion cubic feet of gas.

Experts say the reserves are enough to supply energy to Britain, France, Germany and Italy for over 20 years.

(Reporting by Manuel Mucari; writing by Mfuneko Toyana; editing by James Macharia and Jason Neely)
PDAC International Convention, Trade Show & Investors Exchange is the world's leading convention for people, companies and organizations in, or connected with, mineral exploration. In addition to meeting over 1,000 exhibitors, 3,800 investors and 24,000 attendees from 130 countries, you can also attend technical sessions, short courses and networking events. The four-day annual convention held in Toronto, Canada, has grown in size, stature and influence since it began in 1932 and today is the event of choice for the world's mineral industry. By Kitco News For Kitco News Follow @kitconewsnow

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.
BEIJING, Feb 9 (Reuters) - China's central bank said on Friday that it has released temporary liquidity worth almost 2 trillion yuan ($316.28 billion) to satisfy cash demand before the long Lunar New Year holidays. The People's Bank of China had announced in December that it would allow some commercial banks to temporarily keep less required reserves to help them cope with the heavy demand for cash ahead of the festivities, which begin later next week. Interbank liquidity levels will remain reasonably stable, the PBOC said on its official microblog. ($1 = 6.3236 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk; Editing by Kim Coghill)

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.
HANOI, Feb 9 (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 0415 GMT.

February 9 USD/VND mid-point 22,440 USD/VND interbank 22,703/22,705 USD/VND unofficial 22,700/22,720 SJC gold (mln dong/tael) 36.57/36.77

Interbank offered rates Overnight 2.5-4.4

1 week 3.0-4.5

1 month 4.0-4.5

3 months 3.9-4.7

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)
SINGAPORE/LONDON, Feb 9 (Reuters) -

* Angola LNG sold an early February-loading cargo to a Chinese company, two traders said on Friday.

* The cargo is for Feb 2-6 loading and the buyer was likely to have been CNOOC at $10.70-$11 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), one of the traders said, though this could not be confirmed with the companies.

* The cargo was sold on a delivered ex-ship basis, meaning Angola LNG will deliver the cargo to a buyer, a third industry source said.

* The vessel earmarked for the delivery is the Cubal

* Angola LNG has also separately issued a tender for a March 6-13 cargo, traders said.

* The tender is likely to be awarded on Feb. 12.

(Reporting by Jessica Jaganathan in SINGAPORE and Oleg Vukmanovic in LONDON. Editing by Jane Merriman)
SAO PAULO, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Stocks in Brazilian retailers with strong e-commerce revenue hit session lows on Friday after Reuters reported that Amazon.com Inc was looking to lease a major new warehouse in Brazil. Units, a blend of shares in appliance retailer Via Varejo SA , extended their fall to 6 percent and reached a session low of 23.72 reais. Shares in Magazine Luiza SA touched 72.32 reais, down 5 percent. E-commerce firm B2W Companhia Digital fell 8.5 percent to 20.80 reais.

(Reporting by Paula Laier; Writing by Tatiana Bautzer; Editing by Daniel Flynn and Tom Brown)

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.
(The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.)

By Jamie McGeever

LONDON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Market seismographs are still twitching at levels almost twice the historical average and Wall Street's gauge of implied volatility needs to return below 20 percent for stocks to stabilise.

On the surface, Wall St's 8 percent drawdown in the last week is striking but hardly earth-shattering. The market is back to where it was only 10 weeks ago, which at the time was a record high.

But the surge in volatility that accompanied it was the highest on record, and the fall is far steeper and faster than the historical average.

The relationship between implied volatility and market moves is symbiotic, but it's not clear which drives which. Does low volatility push stocks higher, or does a rising market depress volatility?

Whatever the answer to that is, volatility is back and stock markets around the world are wobbling.

Not that policymakers are worrying about it. New York Fed president Bill Dudley said Wall Street's declines were "small potatoes" and ECB chief economist Peter Praet said: "I don't care. A big spike in volatility is fine, we can live with this."

Is the last week simply a long-overdue correction that paves the way for a resumption of the "melt up", or could it prove to be the point at which the "Goldilocks" view of buoyant stocks and permanently low volatility was shattered for good?

On a basic level, if volatility returns to low levels and remains well anchored, investors will be more likely to bid up stocks and other risky assets. Persistently high volatility will have the opposite effect.

Analysts at Goldman Sachs say it is still too early to call the end of the "low vol regime", a change that would fundamentally alter the balance of risks for investors.

"Whether volatility settles into a higher regime is critical to asset allocation from here and could still affect allocations from systematic investors," they wrote in a note this week.

20-20

Having spent over a year consistently below 20 percent, the VIX index of implied volatility one-month options on the S&P 500 surged above 50 percent this week. Tuesday's rise was the biggest since the index was first compiled 28 years ago.

The VIX, also known as the Wall Street's "fear index", was on course to close this week above 30 percent.

Goldman reckons the VIX below 15 percent is a "low vol" environment, and above 15 percent represents high vol. Others put the threshold at 20 percent. The median value of the VIX since its inception is 17.2.

In 1991-1996, the VIX was almost always below 20 percent. In those six years the S&P 500 rose around 140 percent.

The six and a half years from 1997 to mid-2003 was a higher vol regime, with the VIX almost always above 20 percent. The S&P 500 emerged from that period, which encompassed the Russian and Brazilian crises, Long Term Capital Management's implosion and the dotcom crash, about 30 percent higher.

The following four years, in which the Greenspan Fed embarked on a steady, gradual and telegraphed series of rate hikes, was a low vol era once again. Wall Street rose nearly 70 percent on its way to fresh record highs in October 2007.

The five years from mid-2007 to mid-2012 captured the global financial crisis. Unsurprisingly the VIX was mostly above 20 percent, although it had long spells around 2010-2011 below that threshold.

The market fell around 10 percent, but that period included the 60 percent crash over 2008 and into early 2009.

From mid-2012 to last month, the VIX was mostly back below 20 percent. It was anchored at record lows below 10 percent for much of last year although it did spike higher for much of the late 2015/early 2016 period.

Overall, though, that five-and-a-half-year period of low vol sowed the seeds for a rampant bull market. The S&P 500 doubled, setting dozens of record highs in recent months.

The pattern is clear: a consistently sub-20 percent VIX goes hand in glove with booming stocks, while a VIX consistently above 20 percent delivers very choppy market, meagre gains or slight losses.

Not to mention the risk of full-blown crash.

<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ VIX vs S&P 500 S&P 500 declines - historical averages ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting by Jamie McGeever; Graphics by Ritvik Carvalho; Editing by Larry King)
ACCRA, Feb 9 (Reuters) - The Bank of Ghana said the yield on its weekly 91-day bill rose to 13.36 percent at an auction on Friday from 13.32 percent at the last such sale, on Feb. 2.

The bank said it had accepted all 415.4 million cedis ($93.5 million) worth of bids tendered for the paper, which will be issued on Monday.

Ghana's treasury bill yields have fallen to around 13 percent in the past six months from 23 percent a year earlier as the government embarked on fiscal consolidation under a $918 million credit agreement with the International Monetary Fund.

For full details, click here: ($1 = 4.4425 Ghanaian cedis)

(Reporting by Kwasi Kpodo; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
* Fast cryptocurrency growth has worried regulators

* They are concerned about financial stability, consumers

* Patchwork of regulation around world so far

* Gibraltar to discuss new rules in coming weeks

By Huw Jones

LONDON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Gibraltar will introduce the world's first regulations for initial coin offerings with dedicated rules for the cryptocurrency sector whose fast growth has triggered concern among central bankers.

They are worried about financial stability and protecting consumers but regulators have so far adopted a patchwork approach to ICOs, ranging from bans in China to applying existing securities rules in the United States.

This has created legal uncertainty for transactions that sometimes straddle many countries.

An ICO involves a company raising funds by offering investors tokens in return for their cash or cryptocurrency such as bitcoin, as opposed to obtaining shares in the company from a traditional offering.

Over $3.7 billion was raised through ICOs last year, up from less than 82 million euros in 2016, a leap that has rung alarm bells among central bankers as some firms rush to issue tokens before new rules are introduced.

Gibraltar's government and Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC) said lawmakers will discuss a draft law in coming weeks to regulate the promotion, sale and distribution of tokens connected with the British overseas territory.

The GFSC said it would represent the first set of bespoke rules for tokens in the world.

"One of the key aspects of the token regulations is that we will be introducing the concept of regulating authorised sponsors who will be responsible for assuring compliance with disclosure and financial crime rules," said Sian Jones, a senior adviser to the GFSC.

The regulation will establish disclosure rules that require adequate, accurate and balanced information to anyone buying tokens, the government and Financial Services Commission said in a joint statement.

Central bankers have lined up in recent weeks to call for cryptocurrencies and ICOs to be regulated, saying that while innovation in finance can bring benefits, consumers must be protected.

"Tokens could post substantial risks for investors and can be vulnerable to financial crime without appropriate measures," the finance ministers and central bank governors of France and Germany said in a letter on Friday. "In the longer run, potential risks in the field of financial stability may emerge as well," said the letter calling on the Group of 20 economies (G20) to discuss cryptocurrencies at their next meeting.

Gibraltar's move is being closely watched by regulators from across the world, including Britain and Singapore, who may come forward with their own rules.

Jay Clayton, head of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, said on Tuesday that tokens are securities and subject to the same investor protection rules as share offerings. French markets watchdog AMF published a discussion paper last October on ICOs, but it has not yet said if it will push ahead with rules.

Gibraltar is looking to boost its thriving financial services industry beyond gaming after Britain, along with Gibraltar, leave the European Union in 2019.

It blazed a trail in January by introducing the world's first bespoke licence for "fintech" firms using the blockchain distributed ledger technology that underpins ICOs. "We remain fully committed to ensuring that we protect consumers and the reputation of our jurisdiction," said Albert Isola, Gibraltar's commerce minister.

Gibraltar is also reviewing its rules for investment funds that involve cryptocurrencies and tokens.

($1 = 0.8159 euros)

(Editing by Anna Willard)
BUDAPEST, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Hungary will soon sign a deal which will allow the imports of 4 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Romania annually over the next 15 years, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday.

Orban told a news conference that three Hungarian companies had won a tender in Romania for the gas. He did not name the companies.

"Within moments we will sign an agreement, which will allow for the next 15 years the imports of over 4 billion cubic meters of gas from Romania," Orban said.

"The era of Russian gas monopoly will come to an end in Hungary ...as we will be able to cover more than half of our imports from other, in this case Romanian sources."

(Reporting by Krisztina Than)
MILAN, Feb 9 (Reuters) - UBI Banca said on Friday it planned to sell a "substantial package" of bad loans over the next three years in an acceleration of efforts to clean up its balance sheet.

The bank said its aim was to speed up progress towards a gross non-performing loan ratio of less than 10 percent between 2019 and 2020, depending on market conditions.

"If market conditions allow ... we could achieve these objectives as early as 2019," Chief Executive Victor Massiah said in comments accompanying the company's results release.

In 2017, UBI Banca's had customer loans of 92.3 billion euros ($113.34 billion). Gross non-performing loans totalled 13.8 billion euros, the equivalent of 14.03 percent of its total gross loans.

The European Central Bank has stepped up pressure on Italian banks to offload debts that turned sour during the country's recession which ended in 2014.

Earlier this week, Italy's biggest retail bank Intesa Sanpaolo said it would halve its impaired loan burden under a new four-year plan, while the country's third largest lender Banco BPM stepped up its target for shedding bad debts by 5 billion euros. UBI Banca, Italy's fourth biggest bank by market value, reported a 2017 net profit of 690.6 million euros, including results from the three small rivals it bought last year.

This compares with a loss of 830.2 million euros on a standalone basis a year earlier.

The bank said its fully-loaded CET1 ratio - an indicator of financial strength - stood at 11.43 percent, including a planned dividend payout of 0.11 euros per share. ($1 = 0.8144 euros)

(Reporting by Stephen Jewkes. Editing by Jane Merriman)
(Kitco News) - Wall Street and Main Street continue to have opposing viewpoints on the short-term price direction of gold, although the difference has narrowed, based on the weekly Kitco News gold survey.

Wall Street Bullish Bearish Neutral VS Main Street Bullish Bearish Neutral

For the second Friday in a row, the largest Wall Street bloc of voters called for gold to fall over the next week, although the 50% who said lower is down from the 65% bearish vote a week ago. Main Street said higher, although the 56% bullish vote is down from 64% a week ago. Previously, both camps had been bullish for six weeks in a row.

Twenty market professionals took part in the Wall Street survey, with ten calling for gold to fall. Six voters, or 30%, said higher, while four, or 20%, called for the market to be sideways.

Meanwhile, 731 votes were cast in an online Main Street poll, with 408 voters bullish. Another 219, or 30%, said lower, while 104, or 14%, were neutral.

For the trading week now winding down, 65% of Wall Street voters were bearish while 64% of Main Street voters were bullish. As of 11:05 a.m. EST, Comex April gold was down 1.6% for the week so far to $1,316.40 an ounce.

Not counting the current week, Wall Street and Main Street are both 2-2 so far in 2018. For the year 2017, Main Street was right 31 of 50 times for a winning percentage of 62%.Wall Street forecasters collectively were right 30 of 51 times for 59%. (There were two weeks without a Main Street poll and one week without a Wall Street poll).

I am bearish on gold for next week and think it could fall to test $1,300, said Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist at The Fundamental Technician. Gold has completed a rounded top pattern while the U.S. dollar has completed a rounded bottom. Meanwhile, stocks and cryptocurrencies have stabilized and the short-lived flight into safe havens like gold has already started to subside.

Ken Morrison, editor of the newsletter Morrison on the Markets, suggested gold could test the $1,300 area next week but hold.

The week has generally seen money-managers paring down positions in commodities, especially gold and crude oil, as evidenced by price and open interest moving in the same direction  lower, Morrison said. I expect stability to return to equities next week, which probably means gold will lose some of its flight-to-safety support.



Ralph Preston, principal with Heritage West Financial, said he is looking for a technical test of $1,296 support on the back of a firming U.S. dollar.

Jasper Lawler, head of research at London Capital Group, is also bearish on gold next week.

Although it feels like gold is getting ready for a breakout, I think you cant ignore what the charts are showing. We are down two weeks in a row so I think we probably get a bit of a dip below $1,300 before the breakout comes, Lawler said.

Kevin Grady, president of Phoenix Futures and Options LLC, also sees further weakness, commenting that there has not been a strong correlation in which weaker stocks underpin gold. This is not 2008-2009, when we were worried about bank failures and things like that, he added.

Meanwhile, Bob Haberkorn, senior commodities broker with RJO Futures, looks for gold to rise although not dramatically. Support may come from uncertainty about equity markets, he said. He noted that much of the recent weakness has been due to worries about rising bond yields.

I think next week, youll see traders shake that off a bit, Haberkorn said.

George Gero, managing director with RBC Wealth Management, sees potential for shorts (bearish traders) to buy in order to cover positions if puts are not in the money.

Adam Button, currency analyst at Forexlive.com, also said higher.

The countdown to [the] Lunar New Year and a cool-off from the market fears should help gold bounce back, Button said. And the Olympics in South Korea should be a powerful reminder that nothing is better than gold.

Adrian Day, chairman and chief executive officer of Adrian Day Asset Management, is among those who see a largely unchanged gold market.

If the global stock markets continue to decline, people will be looking at gold as a source of funds for margin calls, etc., he said. But gold is also seen as a hedge so there will be buying, and we have seen some air out of the market in the last couple of weeks. So on balance, I would suggest little net change.
By Maiya Keidan

LONDON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Computer-driven hedge fund Harmonic Capital Partners, which bets on macroeconomic trends, said it is to close because of falling fees and low market volatility before recent turbulence.

The $1.6 billion London-based manager's closure, which was first reported by trade magazine HFMWeek, comes as hedge funds that bet on macroeconomic trends have struggled to perform.

Harmonic decided to shut before nerves about rising borrowing costs sent volatility soaring and put global stock markets on course for their worst week since the height of euro zone crisis in September 2011. "Sadly after 15 years we're closing and we have returned capital to investors," Alastair Smith, sales and investor relations partner at Harmonic, told Reuters.

"It's always a sad moment and a disappointment but in talking to investors, it was the right thing to do," he said.

"It's difficult to build a brand and provide an institutional service with a backdrop of low volatility market conditions and falling fees," he said.

A composite of Harmonic's macroeconomic strategy run for individual clients lost 7 percent in the 12 months to the end of January, while a similar composite of its currency strategy lost 16 percent over the same period, according to an index compiled by BarclayHedge.

Harmonic shut its Alpha Plus Macro fund last fall after it lost 27 percent in the 12 months to the end of September, showed the data.

So-called macro funds made gains of 2.24 percent in 2017 compared to the average hedge fund gain of 8.64 percent, according to data from industry tracker Hedge Fund Research.

Harmonic was founded in 2002 by David Pendlebury and Richard Conyers, who both left the firm in the summer of 2016. Pendlebury and Conyers retained a share in Harmonic's revenue, according to Smith.

The firm has been searching for a strategic partner for the past two years but the weakening performance and falling revenue from investor redemptions and low-fee products offered made it harder for a partner to come on board, said Smith.

(Reporting by Maiya Keidan; Editing by Jon Boyle)
MOSCOW, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Representatives for Russian lawmaker and businessman Suleiman Kerimov have submitted a list of candidates to join the board of mid-sized lender Vozrozhdenie , two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Friday.

Sources told Reuters on Wednesday that Kerimov was in talks to buy a stake in Vozrozhdenie from majority owners Dmitry and Alexei Ananyev. The Ananyev brothers have to reduce their stake in Vozrozhdenie to 10 percent under the terms of a central bank bailout for another lender they controlled. That Kerimov, whose family controls Russia's top gold producer Polyus, has submitted a list of proposed candidates suggests his intentions to buy a stake in the bank are serious.

The list, which has to be reviewed by Vozrozhdenie's board and later approved by shareholders, was submitted by investment firm Bonam Capital, which both sources said represented Kerimov's interests.

A spokesman for Kerimov did not reply to a request for comment. Bonam Capital declined to comment.

Kerimov's list consists of 11 names, including senior management from Bonam Capital and top managers from Renaissance Capital.

There could be other board proposals in addition to the list submitted by Kerimov's representatives as, according to the Russian corporate laws, owners of 2 percent or more in a bank can submit proposals for new members.

Renaissance Capital declined to comment.

Kerimov is under investigation by French prosecutors for alleged tax fraud and planned to travel from France to Russia to finalise the deal. French prosecutors said they had no objections to the trip. Kerimov has denied the allegations against him in France, Russian media have reported.

Russian pension fund Blagosostoyanie is another contender to buy Vozrozhdenie, sources have said. It was not clear on Friday whether a final decision on the bank's buyer had been made or whether the central bank had approved any change in ownership.

The Russian central bank declined to comment.

(Reporting by Tatiana Voronova and Katya Golubkova; Writing by Jack Stubbs; Editing by Mark Potter)
JOHANNESBURG, Feb 9 (Reuters) - South Africa sold 1.8 billion rand ($148.91 million) worth of three-month Treasury bills on Friday, at an average yield of 7.27 percent compared with 7.31 percent last week, central bank data showed. The bid-to-cover ratio fell to 2.5 from 2.7. Auction date: 09/02/2018 Settlement date: 14/02/2018 Days 91 182 273 364 Amount received (R'bln) 4.552 4.467 3.98 6.98 Amount on offer (R'bln) 1.8 2.0 2.1 2.3 Amount allotted (R'bln) 1.8 2.0 2.1 2.3 Bid-to-cover ratio 2.5 2.2 1.9 3.0 Avg discount rate (pct) 7.14 7.22 7.16 7.05 Average yield (pct) 7.27 7.49 7.57 7.58 ($1 = 12.0882 rand)

(Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; Editing by Alexander Winning)

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 9 (Reuters) - Here are news, reports and events that may affect Turkish financial markets on Friday.

The lira stood at 3.8202 against the U.S. dollar at 0515 GMT, little changed from a close of 3.8210 on Thursday.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year bond was at 11.97 percent in spot trade on Thursday and dipped to 11.95 percent in Friday-dated trade.

The main BIST 100 share index fell 1.13 percent to 114,263.53 points on Thursday.

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian stocks fell on Friday, with Chinese shares slipping to multi-month lows after Wall Street shares dropped again in the face of rapidly-rising bond yields, while perceived havens such as the yen and Swiss franc were in demand. In addition to pressure from the drop in global shares, Chinese equities were weighed by factors such as investors attempting to stay liquid ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays and pressure to meet rising margin calls. TURK TELEKOM The telecoms company reported a net profit of 1.14 billion lira ($299 million) in 2017 after a loss of 724.3 million the previous year. Its revenue last year rose to 18.14 percent from 16.11 billion a year earlier. SYRIA CONFLICT

Turkish warplanes resumed strikes on Kurdish YPG militia targets in Syria's Afrin region on Friday after a five-day lull that followed the shooting down of Russian warplane elsewhere in Syria, the Hurriyet newspaper and other media reported. TILLERSON VISIT

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will visit Turkey, as well as Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Kuwait from Feb. 11 to Feb. 16, the State Department said on Thursday. ERDOGAN

President Tayyip Erdogan will meet the head of the small Islamist Saadet Party (1115 GMT). He will then chair a meeting of his ruling AK Party's central decision-making executive committee (1230 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 = 3.8182 liras)

(Writing by Daren Butler)
By Stephen Lacey

NEW YORK, Feb 9 (IFR) - UBS has laid off six people as part of a restructuring of its US equity capital markets business, with the goal of improving profitability, people familiar with the matter told IFR.

The restructuring includes a commitment to increasing staff in other areas of potential growth, the people said.

The layoffs, across origination, derivatives and syndication, are designed to streamline communications and collaboration. Additional layoffs are not planned.

The Swiss bank has struggled to develop a significant presence in the US.

Last year it fell to 12th in the combined US equity and equity-linked league tables, with US$3.4bn of business for 49 companies, trailing European counterparts such as Barclays (US$15.7bn), Credit Suisse (US$11bn) and Deutsche Bank (US$5.8bn).

It ranked fifth and eighth on the tables in the EMEA and APAC regions, respectively.

In October, UBS reappointed Sam Kendall as global head of ECM, based in New York, to help revitalise the bank's US ECM business.

He was in the position from 2013 to 2016 before becoming head of corporate client solutions for Asia-Pacific.

UBS has made recent hires in areas of growth.

Chris Cormier, a long time Deutsche Bank and Bank of America Merrill Lynch ECM banker, will join the bank in March to oversee TMT origination in the Americas. Elias Ehrlich, a veteran of Santander, is also joining next month as head of LatAm ECM.

Additional junior and senior hires are likely to fill staffing, with an emphasis on significant ECM industry verticals TMT, healthcare and FIG, the people said.

(This story will appear in the February 10 issue of IFR Magazine; Reporting by Stephen Lacey)
KAMPALA, Feb 9 (Reuters) - The Ugandan shilling was on a firm footing on Friday, amid a slow down in demand from both importers and commercial banks. At 1144 GMT commercial banks quoted the shilling at 3,627/3,637, little-changed from Thursday's close of 3,630/3,640. UGX Spot Rate..... Ugandan Shilling Money Guide.... Calculated Cross Rates.......... Deposits..................... Deposits & Forwards............. Uganda Equities Guide....... Uganda All Share Index........ Shilling background ..... Ugandan Debt Guide............ All Uganda Bonds............. Uganda T-Bills.............. Uganda Benchmark............. Central Bank ................ Ugandan Contributor Index.... Uganda Coffee Prices....... (Reporting by Elias Biryabarema)

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 9 (Reuters) - Britain's economy probably grew by 0.5 percent in the three months to the end of January, unchanged from its pace of growth at the end of 2017, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) said on Friday.

Earlier this week, NIESR forecast that Britain's economy would grow by 1.9 percent this year and next - slightly faster than the Bank of England predicted on Thursday.

"At this speed, the economy could start to overheat unless the Bank of England withdraws some of the stimulus that it has injected by raising the policy rate," NIESR economist Amit Kara said.

A failure of Brexit talks would cause "a marked slowdown with damaging longer term consequences", Kara added.

(Reporting by David Milliken; editing by Stephen Addison)
LONDON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - The chair of a British parliamentary committee said on Friday she was pleased that the country's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) was trying to make available a report into historic misconduct by Royal Bank of Scotland.

The FCA said earlier on Friday that legal restrictions made it "highly unlikely" it could publish the report into RBS's treatment of small businesses by a Feb. 16 deadline set by the committee, though it would provide lawmakers with a confidential copy on request.

"I am pleased to see that the FCA is trying to get the report agreed for publication or handed to the Committee to meet its deadline," Treasury Committee chair Nicky Morgan said in response.

(Reporting by David Milliken; editing by Stephen Addison)
(Adds detail, SRB comment)

By Francesco Canepa

FRANKFURT, Feb 9 (Reuters) - European authorities used a "flawed" negative valuation for the sale of Spain's failing Banco Popular last year which undermined the process, a law firm seeking redress for investors who lost money on the bank's bonds said on Friday.

Popular's sale to Banco Santander in June for a nominal one euro included the writing off of all "subordinated" debt and was hailed by regulators as a successful first test of a new European model aimed at shielding taxpayers and depositors.

But law firm Quinn Emanuel is now contesting the Single Resolution Board's decision to write off Popular's shares as well as bonds totalling 2 billion euros, which was based on a valuation by consultancy firm Deloitte. Deloitte cautioned its valuation of Popular -- which was between 1.3 billion euros and negative 8.2 billion euros -- was "highly uncertain and provisional" and the real value could best be determined through an open sale.

As previous attempts to sell Popular had failed, the SRB instructed Spanish authorities to seek bids and previous suitors BBVA and Santander were offered the writedown of one or both classes of subordinated bonds to sweeten the bid.

"The flawed valuation of BP (Banco Popular) raises fundamental questions about the validity of every step taken by the SRB in this so-called 'textbook' resolution process," Quinn Emanuel lead partner Richard East said in a position paper.

An SRB spokeswoman said the authority had acted appropriately "given the circumstances" and did not want to comment on "accusations and speculations", while a spokesman for Deloitte declined to comment.

Popular, saddled with bad debt and facing a run on its deposits, was declared "failing or likely to fail" by the European Central Bank (ECB) on June 6.

On the same day, Deloitte put its best estimate at minus 2 billion euros, according to a redacted version of its report published by the SRB last week.

The SRB said in its June 7 authorisation of the sale of Popular that it considered Deloitte's valuation of minus 8.2 billion euros as "decisive", which would have implied even greater writedowns. But, having received Santander's offer, it decided to spare Popular's senior creditors.

Quinn Emanuel, which has challenged the SRB's decision in the European Union's General Court, is now considering further steps to obtain the redacted parts of the SRB documents.

The law firm is representing bondholders including asset manager Pimco and hedge funds Anchorage Capital Group, Algebris Investments and Cairn Capital.

(Reporting by Francesco Canepa; Editing by Balazs Koranyi and Alexander Smith)
(Adds details from report)

OTTAWA, Feb 9 (Reuters) - The Canadian economy lost the most jobs in nine years in January, pulling back after a robust 2017 as losses were heaviest in the service sectors, data from Statistics Canada showed on Friday.

The decrease of 88,000 jobs fell well short of economists' forecasts for a gain of 10,000 and made for the biggest decline since January 2009 when the economy was dealing with the global financial crisis. The unemployment rate edged up to 5.9 percent from December's revised 5.8 percent.

The drop in jobs was driven by a 137,000 decline in part-time work, the biggest fall on record, which eclipsed a 49,000 increase in full-time positions.

The services sector led the way down, shedding 71,900 positions in industries including educational services, finance, insurance and real estate, and professional and technical services.

Canada racked up strong employment gains last year, creating more than 400,000 jobs and setting the fastest pace of growth since 2002. The average hourly wage of permanent employees climbed 3.3 percent from last January, the strongest rate of gains since March 2016. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, raised the minimum wage to C$14 ($11.11) an hour at the start of the year, making it the highest in the country. ($1 = 1.2604 Canadian dollars)

<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Graphic - Canada jobs, unemployment Graphic - Full-time vs. part-time Graphic - Temporary vs. permanent Graphic - Canada economic snapshot ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting by Leah Schnurr; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
(Adds comments from South Korean finance minister)

* Swap pact to be formally signed on Feb. 20 - S.Korea c.bank

* Deal enhances S.Korea's global credibility- fin min

SEOUL, Feb 9 (Reuters) - South Korea and Switzerland are putting in place a bilateral currency swap agreement, the Bank of Korea said on Friday, strengthening buffers against external financial shocks for both countries.

The $10.6 billion agreement, to be formally signed on Feb. 20, will let both countries provide liquidity for the counterparty to support financial stability for three years, the BOK said.

The pact will enable Switzerland to provide Swiss francs to South Korean financial institutions and for South Korea to provide Korean won to financial institutions in Switzerland, up to a limit of 11.2 trillion won, or 10 billion francs.

"The currency swap will help stabilize financial markets and raise global credibility (of South Korea)," finance minister Kim Dong-yeon told reporters after meeting BOK Governor Lee Ju-yeol in Seoul.

Lee said he will meet Thomas Jordan, chairman of the Swiss National Bank's governing board, to sign the agreement in Zurich.

South Korea has added a number of currency swap agreements in the past year, including its first with Canada, signed in November. (Reporting by Shin-hyung Lee and Cynthia Kim; Editing by Richard Borsuk)
* Only 3 percent of the $290 million target raised

* Valuation, debt, coal were also concerns

* Global market also soured the environment

* Investors becoming more choosy about IPOs

By Mai Nguyen

HANOI, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Poor demand for the initial public offering (IPO) of Vietnam's Power Generation Corp 3 was due to volatile markets and company-specific factors such as a high valuation, and should not derail the country's privatisation drive, analysts and investors said.

Exchange data showed on Friday the government sold just 0.36 percent of Vietnam's second biggest generating company by installed capacity to raise around $8 million, far short of its target to sell a 12.8 percent stake for $290 million.

However, market players said that was not a sign investors were turning their back on the privatisation campaign of the fast-growing Southeast Asian country, but rather of this week's global stock market sell-off and concerns about Power Generation Corp's (EVNGENCO 3) debt, valuation, and coal-fired plants.

"It's not the right market environment right now," said Thomas Felix Baden, acting CEO at United Capital Management Company (UNICAP). "You also have a bit of a heavy balance sheet."

Though EVNGENCO 3's debt-to-equity ratio had fallen to 6.5 by September last year from 8.8 in 2016, analysts said debt remained a concern, particularly given the currency risk of its foreign loans.

Another worry was the fact that coal fuels about 40 percent of its electricity output, at a time when Vietnam's coal output is falling and environmental concerns are rising.

Investors also cited a high valuation. Vu Thu Ha, a senior analyst at Ho Chi Minh City Securities, said the company's prospective price-to-earnings ratio of 19 times compared with 15 for regional peers.

The IPO setback - following another for a rubber firm a week ago - contrasts with the $740 million raised in January from the sale of stakes in another electricity provider, an oil firm and a refinery. "EVNGENCO 3's IPO valuation is actually not that attractive, especially compared to the previous three," said Nguyen The Minh, deputy research director at Saigon Securities Incorp, who deals with retail investors.

Other negatives were a shortage of investor funds after the previous IPOs and the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, said Ho Chi Minh City Securities' Ha.

Despite the setbacks, analysts and investors remain optimistic that future IPOs could go well, with the Vietnamese economy growing 6.8 percent last year - the fastest pace since 2010 - and its stock market climbing almost 50 percent in 2017.

Some 127 more IPOs are planned before 2020 after years of sluggish privatisation activity, which had limited investors' options in allocating money to Vietnam.

"That has changed now, with many funds allocating money specifically for IPO deals," said Saigon Securities' Minh.

But it also means investors can be more choosy.

"They pick the nice cherries instead of just putting money into every IPO," said UNICAP's Baden, who recently moved from Hong Kong because he saw greater opportunity in Vietnam.

(Reporting by Mai Nguyen; Editing by Mark Potter)
Former South Pittsburg police officer charged with assault





Former South Pittsburg police officer Joshua Dale Chance . Photo courtesy of TBI.



CHATTANOOGA  Following an investigation by Special Agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, a former South Pittsburg police officer has been charged with assault and official misconduct.



At the request of 12th District Attorney General J. Michael Taylor, on October 10, 2017, TBI Special Agents began investigating then-South Pittsburg police officer Joshua Chance, on an allegation of assault. During the course of the investigation, Agents developed information that on October 7, 2017, during law enforcement response to a residence on Old Jasper Road, Chance assaulted an individual after that man had been detained by law enforcement officers. Joshua Chance is no longer an employee of the South Pittsburg Police Department.



On Monday, the Marion County Grand Jury returned indictments charging Joshua Dale Chance (DOB 11/28/1990) with one count of Assault, one count of Aggravated Assault, and one count of Official Misconduct. Thursday morning, Chance surrendered himself to a TBI Agent and was booked into the Marion County Jail on a $5,000 bond.





CHATTANOOGA  Following an investigation by Special Agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, a former South Pittsburg police officer has been charged with assault and official misconduct.At the request of 12th District Attorney General J. Michael Taylor, on October 10, 2017, TBI Special Agents began investigating then-South Pittsburg police officer Joshua Chance, on an allegation of assault. During the course of the investigation, Agents developed information that on October 7, 2017, during law enforcement response to a residence on Old Jasper Road, Chance assaulted an individual after that man had been detained by law enforcement officers. Joshua Chance is no longer an employee of the South Pittsburg Police Department.On Monday, the Marion County Grand Jury returned indictments charging Joshua Dale Chance (DOB 11/28/1990) with one count of Assault, one count of Aggravated Assault, and one count of Official Misconduct. Thursday morning, Chance surrendered himself to a TBI Agent and was booked into the Marion County Jail on a $5,000 bond. Published February 8, 2018










Meharry Medical College launches mobile dentistry clinic for underserved communities across Tennessee



NASHVILLE  Meharry Medical College, one of the nations oldest historically black academic health science centers, today launched a mobile dentistry clinic to bring critical dental services to patients living in underserved areas across the state. With the announcement, Meharry became the first academic institution in the state of Tennessee to own and operate a mobile dentistry unit.



Meharry launched a new Mobile Dentistry Clinic to provide critical dental care to Tennessee's underserved communities. Image courtesy of Meharry Medical College.



Tennessee is facing a serious oral health crisis, said Dr. James E.K. Hildreth, President and CEO of Meharry Medical College. According to HRSA, only 29 percent of our states dental health needs are met because there is a shortage of dentists. This makes it difficult for Tennesseans to receive even the most basic dental services. By launching this mobile dentistry clinic, we are further delivering on our mission of serving the underserved by providing care to those who need it right in their own hometowns.



Dr. Hildreth was joined by students and faculty of the Meharry School of Dentistry and members of the Meharry Board of Trustees at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Meharrys campus to celebrate the launch of the mobile clinic. He expressed gratitude to the United Methodist Church (UMC), which helped fund the purchase of the clinic with a $300,000 grant; and to the Elgin Childrens Foundation of Knoxville, which sold the clinic to Meharry and shares the colleges mission to provide dental care to the underserved.



This is a wonderful day as we stand beside Meharry and launch this mobile dentistry clinic, said Cynthia A. Bond Hopson, Ph.D., Assistant General Secretary of the Black College Fund and Ethnic Concerns at the UMC General Board of Higher Education and Ministry. At our core is the belief that we most fully demonstrate our love for God by loving our neighbors. Meharry students and faculty will be embodying this mission as they travel across the state and care for our neighbors who are in dire need of dental care.



The mobile clinic will be staffed by third-year students at Meharry School of Dentistry, with faculty oversight. It is fully equipped with four dental chairs, a portable x-ray machine and office space. All treatments and exams typically given at a dental practice will be available to patients at the mobile clinic at reduced rates. The clinic also will accept most forms of insurance.



Following the launch, the clinic will go into immediate service, travelling to facilities across Tennessee to provide care to children who are in state custody. Currently, these children must travel individually from their facilities to dental offices in nearby communities. Meharry will bring care to the children on-site.



In coming months, Meharry will also unroll a schedule of clinic stops at churches and senior centers in communities across the state which do not have local dentists. Specifically, Meharry will focus its outreach on communities in Appalachia in East Tennessee where the population faces the largest disparities in the nation when it comes to oral health.



Poor oral health has been directly linked to some of the most vexing diseases in our nation, including heart failure, diabetes, strokes and even premature, low-birth weights, said Cherae Farmer-Dixon, D.D.S., Dean of Meharrys School of Dentistry. With the mobile health clinic, our students can now meet patients right where they are and provide critical dental services that they desperately need. We also will be partnering with area dental practices to ensure that those who visit in the mobile clinic have options for follow-up treatment should they need it.



Farmer-Dixon said service on the mobile clinic will prepare students well for their future careers. Many of Meharrys dental students will practice in communities similar to those the mobile clinic will be visiting. Of its alumni, more than 83 percent of graduates of the Meharry School of Dentistry practice in underserved areas and nearly 18 percent of all dental alumni set up practice in Tennessee.



We are delighted that Meharry Medical College is able to make the very best use of this mobile clinic, said Tim Rogers, Vice President of Operations of the Elgin Childrens Foundation. The mission of the Elgin Childrens Foundation dovetails perfectly with Meharrys. We are both rooted in a commitment to serve the most vulnerable in our local communities. We are excited about the impact that Meharrys students and faculty will be making to dental health in Tennessee for years to come.



For more information on Meharrys School of Dentistry, please visit www.mmc.edu.



Meharry Medical College founded in 1876, is the nations largest private, independent historically black academic health center dedicated solely to educating minority and other health professionals. True to its heritage, it is a United Methodist Church related institution. The College is particularly well known for its uniquely nurturing, highly effective educational programs; emerging preeminence in health disparities research; culturally sensitive, evidence-based health services and significant contribution to the diversity of the nations health professions workforce. Diverse Issues in Higher Educations ranking of institutions annually lists Meharry as a leading national educator of African Americans with M.D. and D.D.S. degrees and Ph.D. degrees in the biomedical sciences.
Susan Loveday achieves board certification in medical practice management





Susan Loveday . Photo courtesy of Summit Strategic Solutions.



KNOXVILLE -- Susan Loveday, vice president of talent strategies and relations for Summit Strategic Solutions, has earned the professional designation of Certified Medical Practice Executive (CMPE) by the American College of Medical Practice Executives (ACMPE), the certification entity of the Medical Group Management Association.



The designation of CMPE demonstrates that Loveday has achieved board certification in medical practice management. She has passed rigorous ACMPE examinations that assess medical practice management skills, including business operations, financial management, human resource management, information management, organizational governance, patient care systems, quality management and risk management. Loveday also has earned a minimum of 50 continuing education credit hours.



Loveday, who has 20 years of management experience, holds memberships with the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) and American Medical Group Association. She also is an SHRM senior certified professional and a senior professional in human resources.



Loveday earned her bachelors degree in psychology from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, and her masters degree in industrial/organizational psychology from Radford University in Virginia. She resides in Sevier County with her husband, Chad.





KNOXVILLE -- Susan Loveday, vice president of talent strategies and relations for Summit Strategic Solutions, has earned the professional designation of Certified Medical Practice Executive (CMPE) by the American College of Medical Practice Executives (ACMPE), the certification entity of the Medical Group Management Association.The designation of CMPE demonstrates that Loveday has achieved board certification in medical practice management. She has passed rigorous ACMPE examinations that assess medical practice management skills, including business operations, financial management, human resource management, information management, organizational governance, patient care systems, quality management and risk management. Loveday also has earned a minimum of 50 continuing education credit hours.Loveday, who has 20 years of management experience, holds memberships with the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) and American Medical Group Association. She also is an SHRM senior certified professional and a senior professional in human resources.Loveday earned her bachelors degree in psychology from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, and her masters degree in industrial/organizational psychology from Radford University in Virginia. She resides in Sevier County with her husband, Chad. Published February 8, 2018










Government refuses to work transparently (video)

It turns out that in the past 10 years, when the Government sessions were open, the Government acted anti-democratic and worked inefficiently, says Shushan Doydoyan, Founder of the Freedom of Information Center, responding to the draft law "On the Government's Structure and Activity" submitted by the Ministry of Justice Government, according to which the NA sessions should be held behind the closed doors. "By closing the journalists' entrance to the hall, we violate their right of their freedom of expressing their own opinion and having immediate access to information. It will influence society on receiving information as journalists are mediators between the society and Government. " The role of journalists is to confuse the officials, Shushan Doydoyan is convinced. "During the Government sessions, they should think of spending millions of dollars on buying cognac or gifts on March 8, but thinking about repairing roads and installing lights on streets." "RA Justice Minister David Harutyunyan understands quite well that closed-door sessions do not demonstration democracy," said Ashot Melikyan, Chairman of the Committee to Protect Freedom of Expression.
Armen Sargsyan: I did not think in 2011 that you will change the Constitution

Armen Sargsyan, the HHK candidate for President, was satisfied with the meeting-discussion with the NA Yelk (Way Out) faction, although he knew that the Yelk would vote against him. "I respect their decision. It's their decision, but that does not mean that after those "if" I become the President I will not work with them. On the contrary, they are an opposition party and they want to present the opinion of a certain part of the society." According to the Constitution, the President of the Republic of Armenia may be the only a person who has been only the citizen of Armenia for the last six years and has resided in the country. Former Ambassador to Britain Armen Sargsyan does not hesitate to speak of his citizenship, which has led to controversy. "Yes, I've been a citizen of Great Britain. In 2000, when I was resigned from the post of Ambassador, by the way I was still working without a salary, after which I applied for citizenship of the UK and received it in 2002. After that, I resigned the citizenship in 2011. I did it because there was no need for it,I did not think in 2011 that you will change the Constitution, I will become the Ambassador and a candidate for President." He also touched upon other issues, particularly saying that he knew individuals who were viewed by the society as political prisoners and that such people should not be in our country. Armen Sargsyan also spoke about the news that he is an agent. "Also illuminate, alien, whatever you want..." The leader of the Yelk faction, in his turn, commented on the process of the meeting, mentioned issues that had been discussed as the possibility of Serzh Sargsyan's nomination of his candidacy for the future Prime Minister of Armenia, the events of March 1, the existence of political prisoners, the law on "Amnesty," and so on. "He has answered questions, we have accepted his answers, I do not consider it right to publish his answers because I think that there will be a public discussion on these issues if he is nominated as a Presidential candidate," said Nikol Pashinyan, head of the Yelk faction. The meeting did not make any changes to the position of the Yelk, they will vote against Armen Sargsyan's candidacy. The Yelk continues to defend Artak Zeynalian's candidacy.
A private jet carrying North Korea's high-level delegates for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics landed at Incheon International Airport, Friday. / Captured from YTN

A private jet carrying North Korea's high-level delegates for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics landed at Incheon International Airport, Friday. / Yonhap

Kim Yo-jong emerges from the private jet after arriving in Seoul for a three-day visit. / Yonhap



By Park Si-soo



A private jet carrying North Korea's high-level delegates for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, including leader Kim Jong-un's younger sister Yo-jong and the reclusive state's nominal president Kim Yong-nam, landed here Friday. They will visit for three days.

The Russian-made "Chammae-1" jet touched down at Incheon International Airport at 1:47 p.m. after flying a direct route over the western coast of the peninsula. The white aircraft was emblazoned with "Democratic People's Republic of Korea," the North's official name, while its tailfin carried a North Korean emblem.

It is the first time any member of the North's ruling Kim family has visited South Korea since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, sparking hopes that her historic visit will pave the way for a fundamental breakthrough on military tension on the Korean Peninsula.

Nearly 800 guards were at the airport to ensure the delegation's security.












U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, fourth from left, holds a meeting with North Korean defectors at the Navy's 2nd Fleet Command in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, Friday. Also present was Fred Warmbier, third from right, the father of Otto Warmbier, a U.S. student who died shortly after being released from a North Korean prison in a coma last year. / Joint Press Corps



By Kim Bo-eun, Joint Press Corps



U.S. Vice President Mike Pence denounced the oppressive state of North Korea in a meeting with four North Korean defectors, Friday, on his visit to South Korea for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.



"President Trump said the cruel dictatorship of North Korea is little more than a prison state, as people testified it is a regime that imprisons and tortures and impoverishes its citizens," he said after hearing the defectors' testimonies on the grounds of the Navy's Second Fleet in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province.



Among the North Korean defectors was Ji Seong-ho, who was invited as a guest at U.S. President Donald Trump's State of the Union address in Washington last week.



The image of Ji, who lost an arm and leg in a train crash in the North before he fled to the South, holding up his crutches and receiving a standing ovation at the address, was captured by the international press.



Also present at the meeting was Fred Warmbier _ the father of American college student Otto Warmbier who died after being released in a coma from a North Korean prison last year. Warmbier has joined Pence on his visit for the Olympics.



After embracing each other, Ji greeted Warmbier saying, "Nice to see you."






U.S. Vice President Mike Pence talks with a group of defectors from North Korea at the Navy's 2nd Fleet Command in Pyeongtaek, Friday. / Yonhap



U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on Friday visited memorials for South Korean sailors killed by the North's maritime attacks and met with a group of defectors from the repressive regime.

Pence used the second day of his trip to South Korea to highlight the danger, brutality and rights abuses of Pyongyang as he seeks to tackle its Olympic charm offensive seen as aimed at weakening international sanctions against it.

Pence, heading a U.S. delegation to the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, met President Moon Jae-in on Thursday.

On Friday, Pence paid tribute to victims of two rounds of inter-Korean maritime skirmishes in 1999 and 2002 in a memorial at the Navy's 2nd Fleet Command in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul.

Later, he met four North Korean defectors, including Ji Seong-ho, who was invited to U.S. President Donald Trump's State of the Union address last week.

On his Seoul visit, Pence is accompanied by the father of Otto Warmbier, the U.S. college student who was detained in North Korea and died shortly after being sent home in a coma last year. He joined the meeting with the defectors.












By Kim Jae-heun



The Seoul High Court sentenced the government to make compensations for building prostitution areas near U.S. military camps in Gyeonggi Province and training women to traffic sex there. It is the first time the court has ruled in favor of the women and recognized the nation's responsibility in creating the areas.



The court ruled the government to compensate all 117 women, who filed a suit for damages in the appellate trial, paying 7 million won to 74 women and 3 million won to 43 women.



The appellate court overturned the first trial by saying it is an illegal act for the country to build and supervise prostitution areas. The court further claimed government officials treated the women as "patriots" who were earning foreign currency and trained them to sit with knees high while crossing their legs.



"Not only did the nation tolerate the sex trafficking in town, but also encouraged and justified such actions. It exploited women sexually and undermined human dignity in the name of consolidating a military alliance and earning dollars," the justice department said.



The court also decided it was illegal to segregate women who contracted venereal diseases. When this happened they were forcibly taken to facilities nicknamed "monkey houses" where they received painful penicillin injections without a doctor's prescription, which could have caused side effects. The court saw it as a violation of their human rights.



In the first trial held in January 2017, the court restrictively recognized the nation's responsibility in isolating the women with venereal disease before the Infectious Diseases Prevention Act took effect in 1977 and ruled for the government to pay 5 million won to 57 people.



A total of 122 prostitutes filed the first lawsuit and began their trial in June 2014, but four have died of disease in the last three years. The women had asked for 10 million won damages per person.


Oeumsan Sanyacho has been designated as one of Gangwon Province's representative restaurant offering dishes made of local ingredients. /Courtesy of Oeumsan Sanyacho



By Kim Jae-heun



People come to different countries expecting to experience something new and unique _ be it architecture, food or lifestyle.



PyeongChang is a county in Gangwon Province, located about 160 kilometers east of the capital city. This month, the Winter Olympics come to PyeongChang, 30 years after Seoul hosted the Summer Olympics in 1988.



The city was never a popular tourist destination for Koreans before it was designated as the next Olympic host city, needless to say for foreigners.





Children experience making Kimchi at Oeumsan Sanyacho in Gangwon Province. /Courtesy of Oeumsan Sanyacho



As much as the town is unknown, it has many local attractions to offer. PyeongChang is home to many rural residents and the government thinks the genuine beauty of the city lies in its slow life culture.



The Rural Development Administration (RDA) introduces seven tourist destinations in six towns where foreign visitors can go to farms and experience slow life programs. The tourist towns include Yeongwol, Hoengseong, Hongcheon, Yangyang, Gangneung and Cheorwon _ all in Gangwon Province.



Honey Farm in Hoengseong offers experience programs for visitors to harvest honey. Osaek Herb Farm in Yangyang adopts herbs as its main theme, exciting the five senses of visitors. Tturu Tturu Migratory Bird School in Cheorwon invites tourists to enjoy a healthy meal among nature where migratory birds gather.



The RDA also introduces 30 local restaurants offering signature dishes that represent Gangwon Province.



Oeumsan Sanyacho restaurant brings a dining table full of seasonal medicinal herbs and native dishes. It is well-known for providing a box lunch for President Moon Jae-in during a recent trip to PyeongChang. The special set menu is named "President Lunch Box." "Friend of Mountain" also offers wild edible greens to promote farm food.





Two workers cook rice in a traditional iron pot to make Gangwon namul-bap at Oeumsan Sanyacho restaurant in Gangwon Province. /Courtesy of Oeumsan Sanyacho



Since 2007, the RDA has carried forward its plan to support local foods made of native materials farmed there. Around 117 farmhouses present local native dishes across the country and preserve authentic farm food culture.



"Gangwon Province, the host of the Olympic Games, is home to a clean environment and the place is especially beautiful in the winter. The city will offer various opportunities to visitors to learn about Korean farms and local foods made of native materials," said Kim Sang-nam, RDA director of the extension service bureau.



"Currently our farms play a role of not only harvesting agricultural products but also providing a place for people to get comfortable and study nature," Kim said. "We are continuing to promote the value of agriculture, farming and the foods there while improving the life quality of rural residents and making a place where people want to live."





Oeumsan Sanyacho restaurant offered its "President Lunch Box" to President Moon Jae-in during his recent trip to PyeongChang, Gangwon Province. /Courtesy of Oeumsan Sanyacho



Gangwon namul-bap, or rice with seasoned vegetables native to Gangwon Province, is a representative dish of the region.



The Gangwondo Agricultural Research and Extension Services (GWARES) developed namul-bap to introduce local food culture to the world during the PyeongChang Olympics.



Gangwon namul-bap is made of local materials and ingredients collected in the local region but people living outside Gangwon Province can substitute the ingredients with similar vegetables from their local markets.



Four kinds of wild greens are put in the dish such as aster, groundsel, Cirsium setidens and cow parsnip along with nutritious rice and shiitake mushrooms. Gangwon namul-bap has comparatively less sodium than ordinary bibim-bap and people can choose to eat with four different sauces according to their tastes.



Books on farm food released in English and Chinese





The cover of "Healing trip to Korea farm" /Courtesy of Rural Development Administration
President Moon Jae-in shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ahead of their summit at a resort in Yongpyeong near PyeongChang, Gangwon Province, Friday. / Joint Press Corps



By Kim Bo-eun



President Moon Jae-in urged Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to face up squarely to history so the countries can foster a future-oriented relationship during their summit, Friday.



Abe arrived here earlier in the day to participate in the opening ceremony for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.



"(The South Korean government) seeks future-oriented cooperation between the countries by putting together wisdom and efforts with Prime Minister Abe, while looking squarely back at the history (of the two nations)," Moon said at the meeting held in Yongpyeong, Gangwon Province.



"I also sincerely wish for the two countries to become true friends who have a mutual understanding of each other."



Abe called on South Korea to take follow-up measures sincerely in line with a bilateral agreement in 2015 to address Japan's wartime sex slavery in an "irreversible" manner. However, Moon raised the need to revise the deal, saying victims and the South Korean people would not accept it.



This was the heads of states' first meeting after the Moon administration stated the 2015 sex slave deal did not resolve the issue, earlier this year.



Abe said Japan "wishes to reaffirm a close cooperative relationship between Japan and Korea, as well as Japan, Korea and the U.S. with regards to the North Korean crisis, as well as discuss means for a future-oriented relationship between our countries."



In the controversial deal in December 2015, the countries agreed to put the long-disputed issue to rest, with Japan providing 1 billion yen in government funds to Korea.



In January, the Korean government stated it would set up its own 1 billion yen fund and decide whether to return it to Tokyo, following an investigation into how the agreement was made. The measure was devised because South Korea has received the fund from Japan and payments to victims have been made, with the exception of those who have refused it.



Civic groups and sex slave victims denounced the agreement reached under the former Park Geun-hye administration for being negotiated behind closed doors, without hearing their opinions.



Victims have been calling for Japan to acknowledge not only its ethical but also legal responsibility over the wartime atrocity, and clarify the nature of the funds -- which they claim should be legal reparations and not a form of humanitarian assistance.



Calls had grown for the deal to be renegotiated, and Moon during his campaign for president had pledged to take measures to this end.



After the inauguration of the Moon administration in May, the government conducted an investigation into the sex slavery deal.



The investigation concluded the agreement was "gravely flawed" in that Cheong Wa Dae proceeded with it without taking necessary communication measures.



Japan has maintained the deal cannot be subject to renegotiation.



Earlier in the day, Moon met with U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres for a luncheon in Gangneung and discussed a peaceful resolution to North Korea's nuclear threat.



Mon requested the U.N. chief's support for South Korea's policies toward the North in fostering peace on the occasion of the PyeongChang Olympics.



He stated the U.N. has assisted in the effort, citing its adoption last November of the Olympic Truce, which calls for a cessation of all global conflict during the period, as well as U.N. Under-Secretary-General Jeffrey Feltman's visit to Pyongyang last December.



The U.N. chief stated the peaceful denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula as one of his key tasks, and pledged close cooperation with Moon in this endeavor.



This is Guterres' first visit to South Korea since he took office in January 2017. It is also the first official visit by a U.N. chief in a decade, since former Secretary General Ban Ki-moon paid a visit in July 2008.



Moon and Guterres have held talks at the G20 Summit in Hamburg last July, and at the U.N. General Assembly last September.



Moon also met with Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte, and discussed means to work together to resolve the North Korea nuclear crisis.



The Netherlands is serving as a member of the U.N. Security Council this year and currently chairs the U.N. committee monitoring sanctions against Pyongyang.



The heads of state affirmed their relations, based on the Netherlands' participation in the 1950-53 Korean War in Gangwon Province, where the Olympics have kicked off.


Last week, in anticipation of the release of Rep. Devin Nunes' much-heralded but one-sided classified memo impugning the integrity of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Department of Justice, we wrote that it was a "diabolical" tactic because whatever claims the House Intelligence Committee chairman produced, they could not be immediately refuted because the information was classified.



We were fundamentally wrong in that view, and we apologize. Turns out, Representative Nunes couldn't even make a one-sided case especially well; his four-page memo is a muddled mess that's mostly about Carter Page and information collected about him by Christopher Steele, the former British intelligence officer. As it turns out, nobody needs additional classified information to question the veracity of this latest effort to shield President Donald Trump from special counsel Robert S. Mueller III.



Completely unsurprisingly, after several days of examination, the Nunes document isn't standing up to scrutiny, and President Trump has gone where he usually goes when he wants to take a policy argument to a coarser, less fact-dependent place _ Twitter.



On Monday morning, Trump tweeted that the ranking Democrat on Nunes' committee and the perhaps the memo's lead critic, Rep. Adam Schiff of California, is "one of the biggest liars and leakers in Washington" and, of course, gave him a title, "Little Adam Schiff," an insult about height being a Trump go-to attack (just ask Sen. Marco Rubio, North Korea's Kim Jong-un, or Sen. Bob Corker).



Schiff may be a California congressman, but he's a Massachusetts native so, perhaps still smarting from Sunday's Super Bowl loss, he returned fire suggesting the president stop tweeting "false smears" during "Executive Time" (which is allegedly what the president's staff euphemistically calls the hours Trump devotes to watching TV and tweeting).



The "American people would appreciate it if you turned off the TV and helped solve the funding crisis, protected Dreamers or ... really anything else," the congressman snapped back.



Admittedly, that's a pretty good comeback. But it's foolish to get into a Twitter fight with Trump, as that's something he actually knows something about. And if one is going to call the president out on Twitter, better to go after his earlier tweet _ the one where he said the Nunes memo had vindicated him and that "collusion" was "dead." Even the president's defenders in Congress don't make that claim.



The Nunes memo is about how a FISA warrant was obtained against Page and how much information came from the Steele dossier, not about Mueller's probe into Russian meddling in the last election. This surely isn't a "witch hunt" as Trump so often likes to claim because there have already been guilty pleas entered.



And speaking of guilty _ or at least mighty suspicious _ are Republicans really anxious to continue Nunes' line of questioning that suggests the FBI had no reason to suspect Page of any relationship with Russian leadership?



Weirdly, it appears the FISA warrant Nunes is all unhappy about was obtained after September 2016 when Page stepped down as a foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign _ but two months after he had delivered a speech at the Moscow Institute that was highly critical of U.S. and other Western countries for taking such a hard line with Russia.



Whether the Steele dossier is valid opposition research written by someone who is an acknowledged expert on Russian intelligence or a Democrat-financed hit job, the FBI clearly had plenty of other reasons to be scrutinizing Page as well as colleagues like Paul Manafort and Michael Flynn.



Releasing the Democratic memo that attempts to fill in some of the holes left by the Nunes memo would be a welcome return to, if not bipartisanship, a point-counterpoint approach to partisanship. But the public actually deserves more than that. What's needed is a lot less hysteria and a lot more thoughtful contemplation of serious issues. If Republicans believe the country's FISA standards are a problem, they should speak up and propose changes.



If they believe the FBI has become some kind of deep-state partisan goon squad, they ought to offer less flimsy evidence than uncovering a few career FBI agents who vote for Democrats (or are married to one).



Partisan memos, bizarre claims of widespread conspiracies (involving GOP appointees of all things) and early morning Twitter storms are no way to implement national security policy, and they are certainly ill-suited to deciding whether laws were broken at the highest levels of government.





The above editorial appeared in the Baltimore Sun. It was distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.


Serzh Sargsyan receives OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs

Serzh Sargsyan on February 9 received OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs Igor Popov (Russia), Stephane Visconti (France) and Andrew Schofer (USA), as well as Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk who arrived in Yerevan on the sidelines of the regional visit, the Presidential Office said. The Co-Chairs introduced Serzh Sargsyan on the results of their meetings held in Baku. Serzh Sargsyan drew the attention of the Co-Chairs on Bakus recent statements, stating that these are another proofs how far Azerbaijan is from the readiness to move forward the negotiation process over the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement based on the proposals of the Minsk Group Co-Chairs, as well as these statements also show how Baku reacts to the constant calls of the Co-Chairs to prepare societies for peace. The meeting participants attached importance to the adherence of the sides to the commitments in the negotiation process aimed at the peaceful settlement of the conflict, as well as the necessity to implement the agreements reached at the Vienna, St. Petersburg and Geneva summits. The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs informed Serzh Sargsyan about their future activity plans. Serzh Sargsyan reaffirmed Armenias readiness to continue the efforts with the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs aimed at settling the conflict through negotiated peaceful means.
Every year, some 700 refugees arrive in Charlotte hoping to start a new life. They are all fleeing horrific, usually violent, persecution.



They come from places such as Afghanistan and Syria, Eritrea and Iraq. They do not speak English, and they are dumped into a city they've never heard of with a culture that is entirely alien. They strive to find work and establish a more sustainable life for their families in this new, foreign world.



That is made easier by groups like Refugee Support Services. That Charlotte nonprofit, with five staffers and more than 250 volunteers, works to help refugees adjust. They communicate with schools, orient them to the grocery story, help line up medical care, read their mail to them. They help them find friends and build community and become self-sufficient.



"Their spirits are so resilient and they have such great hope," said Rachel Humphries, co-founder of RSS. "And to come to a community like Charlotte and find people with open arms and welcoming is life-changing for them."



Last month, the group held a giant birthday party for more than 250 refugees from more than a dozen countries. Many refugees don't know their birthdate and are assigned Jan. 1 as their birthday upon arrival in the U.S.



In a chaotic world and with anti-immigrant status in the U.S. at a fever pitch, it was a reminder of the humanity we should all show to people this country has long welcomed. And it was a small moment that made Charlotte's newest residents feel just a little bit more at home.





The above editorial appeared in the Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.) It was distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.




A system monitoring driver alertness warns of the driver's negligence in keeping his eyes forward while monitoring his facial expressions in this file photo. Hyundai Motor's fuel-cell electric buses driven at the Olympic venues feature the system. / Courtesy of Hyundai Motor



By Park Jae-hyuk



Hyundai Motor is set to offer financial support and 4,100 vehicles to transport athletes, government officials and workers at the world's largest winter sporting event.



Along with its sister company, Kia Motors, the tier-one sponsor of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics and Paralympics will provide sedans, vans and buses, as well as its futuristic autonomous vehicles.



Throughout the international event, the company will also showcase its next-generation hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles and buses.



According to the nation's leading carmaker, the buses will feature a system monitoring driver alertness to maintain safety.



Monitoring facial expressions of drivers in real time, the system warns of their negligence. It counts frequency and duration of drivers' blinks and yawns so as to raise the alarm when they appear tired or drowsy.



If drivers are negligent in keeping their eyes forward while driving, the system will sound an alarm.



Proper warning messages for each situation will be displayed on the bus's dashboard with a loud warning.



In addition, Hyundai said it would connect the system to wearable devices, such as smart watches, so drivers can be alerted through vibrations.



The carmaker will offer its third-generation hydrogen-powered electric buses as intra-city buses during the Olympics.



"For the safety of the many visitors to the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, we will operate fuel-cell electric vehicles equipped with cutting-edge technologies," a Hyundai Motor official said. "We will continue our efforts to improve the safety of commercial vehicles, even after the Olympics."



Hyundai said the company and the organizing committee will set up bus stops at Gangneung Station and the south gate of Olympic Park.



The bus stops for the hydrogen-powered buses feature the latest technologies, according to the company.



Visitors can get information through LED screens installed at the bus stops.



This is not the first time Hyundai Motor has provided its vehicles for international events held here. The company has already demonstrated its technical skills to the world by offering fuel-cell electric buses for the 2010 G-20 Seoul Summit and the 2012 Yeosu Expo in South Jeolla Province.


Booyoung Group Chairman Lee Joong-keun appears at the Seoul Central District Court, Tuesday, to attend a hearing to determine the validity of an arrest warrant request for him on multiple criminal charges. / Yonhap



Builder under one man's control facing leadership vacuum



By Park Jae-hyuk



Booyoung Group Chairman Lee Joong-keun was taken into custody this week over alleged tax evasion, embezzlement and several other crimes.



The arrest of the 77-year-old businessman is expected to place the builder in the worst crisis in its 35-year history.



Lee has alleged to have made unreasonable profits by fabricating prices of rental houses. He also faces allegations of giving his brother-in-law 20 billion won ($18 million) in severance pay and forcing the group's subcontractors to overbid, so that his nephew's company could win contracts.



The prosecutors filed for an arrest warrant last week on criminal charges including alleged embezzlement, malpractice, tax evasion and violations of the fair-trade and rental housing acts.



After declining to answer summons several times, Lee appeared at the prosecutors' office twice.



He denied the allegations, but could not avoid the detention.



Judge Kwon Soon-ho at the Seoul Central District Court cited possible destruction of evidence and legal grounds to believe that the chairman may be guilty of major charges as reasons for his approval of the arrest warrant.



Business risk



The chairman's absence has caused a leadership vacuum at the nation's 16th-largest conglomerate, considering that he has sole control the group.



Lee holds a 93.79 percent stake in Booyoung, the group's holding company. He also has the most shares in the group's 24 subsidiaries, all of which are unlisted companies.



Based on the large numbers of shares, he has exerted strong control over the group and its subsidiaries.



Lee has made most of the group's important decisions, including the investment of 3 trillion won in purchasing buildings. Booyoung bought Samsung Life headquarters building in Seoul and several buildings in Seoul and Incheon over the past three years.



His children and professional managers have only played minor roles. Lee's oldest son holds a 1.64 percent stake in Booyoung.



Industry officials said therefore that the construction firm will face setbacks in its businesses, after the arrest of the sole decision maker.



They are pessimistic about prospects of Booyoung's house rental business that it has focused on. Given that the chairman has been accused of profiteering by overpricing houses, observers expect the company will find it difficult to expand the business.



Moreover, the buildings that the company has aggressively purchased are facing declining profits. It may have to sell the buildings, but no one will be able to make the decision without Lee.



Tarnished corporate image



Even if the chairman is found not guilty, it will take time for Booyoung to improve its corporate image.



Although the entrepreneur is regarded as a self-made man and his company is recognized for its large donations, most people have a negative view on the chairman and Booyoung.



The company has been said to have received preferential treatment from the National House Fund. It has grown into Korea's 16th-largest firm over 35 years, after tapping into the house rental business that most builders disliked due to its low profitability.



Lee was also sentenced to five years of probation in 2008 over charges of embezzling 27 billion won, evading taxes worth 7.4 billion won and giving billions of won in bribes to a high ranking official at the tax authority. He was temporarily detained in custody at that time.



During the previous President Park Geun-hye's term, his company was investigated for tax evasion as well. The chairman allegedly "donated" 7 billion won to the scandal-marred K-sports foundation owned by Choi Soon-sil, a close confidant of the former President.



Booyoung was also embroiled in controversies over poor quality construction.



Residents of Booyoung's apartments in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, claimed they found 90,000 defects in them. Gyeonggi Province Governor Nam Kyung-pil called for a business suspension and liquidation of Booyoung.



Against this backdrop, the company was excluded from a meeting between President Moon Jae-in and conglomerate leaders at Cheong Wa Dae. Instead, Lee met the President last month as a chairman of the Korean Senior Citizens Association, during a luncheon held there.



Lee has represented the nation's senior citizens, after being inaugurated as the association's chairman last year.



In 2016, Booyoung posted 1.6 trillion won in sales and 334.8 billion won in operating profit. Since its establishment in 1983, the company has offered rental houses to 203,000 households over the past 30 years. It ranked 12th in construction capability last year.



The company has 24 subsidiaries including ones in the United States, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.


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Kendallville, IN (46755)

Today

Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 67F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 67F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.
KPC Mission Statement:

KPC keeps people connected with relevant news, marketing and other information shared in ways that engage and inspire.

KPCs Core Values:

Sound finances

Integrity

Employee development and well-being

High-quality news and information

Community leadership

Long-term growth

History

Kendallville Publishing Co. Inc., the predecessor of KPC Media Group Inc., was founded by O. E. Michaelis and George W. Baxter after merging their Kendallville daily newspapers into the Kendallville News-Sun on Aug. 7, 1911. The company was sold to C. O. Merica in 1913. He died in 1918 and his wife, Alice Merica, became the principal owner of the company for the next half century. At the time of her death on Jan. 25, 1969, at the age of 103, she was the oldest newspaper publisher in the United States. George O. Witwer, who came to Kendallville as editor and general manager of The News Sun in 1962, became the principal owner and publisher in 1969. Witwer family members continue as the owners and operators of the company. Terry G. Housholder, who first went to work for the company while in high school in 1969, was president and publisher from 2001 to 2018, when he stepped down as publisher but remained president of the board. The companys name changed to KPC Media Group Inc. in 2005, to reflect its expanded geographic market and additional products and services. The companys main office is at 102 N. Main St., Kendallville, in the same building where the publishing firm was founded a century ago. The companys other offices are in Auburn, Angola, Albion, Churubusco and Fort Wayne.

KPC Media Group Inc. remains a family-owned newspaper with family members still involved in day-to-day operations. It produces a variety of publications and websites. The following is a brief description and history of each:

The News Sun

The News Sun is the daily newspaper serving Noble and LaGrange counties in northeast Indiana. It traces its history back to the spring of 1859 or 1860 in Kendallville when Judson Palmiter began publication of the Noble County Journal, renamed the Kendallville Standard in 1870. In 1877, Dr. A.S. Parker launched a competitor to the Standard called the Weekly News. The two weeklies coexisted until 1898 when the publishers of the Standard hit the streets of Kendallville with the Daily Sun. Eight years later, in 1906, the Weekly News followed suit and began publication of the Daily News.

Daily competition existed in Kendallville for only five years. On Aug. 7, 1911, the Daily News and Daily Sun were consolidated into the Kendallville News-Sun. In 1965, the publishing company converted its letterpress printing operation to the offset process with the purchase of a four-unit press and folder. It was the third daily newspaper in Indiana to convert to the cold-type process. On July 2, 1984, with a redesign of the newspaper, the city name was dropped from the page one flag of The News Sun, reflecting the newspapers growing circulation area. On March 12, 2000, the newspaper added its Sunday edition. On April 6, 2009, it converted to a morning newspaper seven days a week.

Steve Garbacz, who has worked for KPC since 2015, is the managing editor of The News Sun.

The Star

The Star is the daily newspaper serving DeKalb County, Ind.. Its history reaches back into the 19th century. The Auburn Courier began publication as a weekly in 1871. Three years later, it found it had a competitor in the weekly Auburn Republican, renamed the Auburn Dispatch in 1885. They later merged.

In 1913, the Courier and Dispatch, a twice-a-week publication, became a daily named The Evening Star. The paper was owned and published by Verne Buchanan from 1916 until 1968, when it was purchased by Nixon Newspapers of Wabash, Indiana.

In December 1971, The Evening Star was purchased by KPC. On March 12, 2000, the newspaper added its Sunday edition. On April 6, 2009, it converted to a morning newspaper seven days a week. The newspapers name then became The Star.

David R. Kurtz is the editor of The Star.

The Herald Republican

The Herald Republican, serving Steuben County, Ind., traces its roots to the pre-Civil War publication, the Steuben Republican, first published in May 1857. The Angola Herald began publication as a Democratic newspaper in January 1876, as a counter to the Republican viewpoint. Both newspapers published continuously as separate newspapers, although printing of the two newspapers was consolidated in 1925 with the formation of the Steuben Printing Co. The two newspapers maintained separate ownership until the 1960s with the death of Angola Herald publisher and owner Harvey Morley. The Herald was then purchased by the Willis family, which had owned the Steuben Republican since 1907.

The Willis family continued to publish the Herald and the Republican weeklies separately until 1979 when the two newspapers merged, becoming the Herald-Republican. Then, in December 1982, the Willis family sold the Herald-Republican to Home News Enterprises of Columbus, Indiana. Home News expanded the newspaper to twice-weekly in April 1989, publishing first on Wednesdays and Fridays, and then Wednesdays and Saturdays, starting in September 1997.

KPC Media Group Inc. purchased the newspaper in August 2001, and expanded the paper on Sept. 12, 2001, to a daily newspaper.

The editor is Michael Marturello.

The Advance Leader

The Advance Leader, serving western Noble County, Ind., became part of KPC Media Group Inc. in May 1975. The weekly Cromwell Advance, founded in 1912 by Forrest Robbins, was purchased from Jim and Greta Wallace. The weekly Ligonier Leader, founded in 1880 by E.G. Thompson, was purchased from Norm Davis. The two mastheads were merged to form The Advance Leader, with the first issue published on May 14, 1975. The first co-editors were David Kurtz and Grace Witwer Housholder. The editor and general manager is Steve Garbacz, who joined KPC in 2015.

The Garrett Clipper

The Garrett Clipper, serving the Garrett and area community in southern DeKalb County, Ind., was purchased by KPC Media Group Inc. on Oct. 1, 1999, from Wayne and Pat Bartels. The Clipper of Garrett was formed in 1885 by A.J. Little and H. E. Little and is the oldest operating business in the city. The editor and publisher of The Clipper is Sue Carpenter, who joined KPC in 1974.

The Butler Bulletin

The Butler Bulletin, serving eastern DeKalb County, Ind., was purchased by KPC Media Group Inc. in December 2005, from publisher Joe Shelton, who founded the newspaper in 1976. The editor is Jeff Jones, who has worked for the weekly since 1985.

Albion New Era

The Albion New Era was founded in 1872 by Samuel E. Alvord, a native of Pennsylvania, who came to Noble County in 1849. He was a school teacher, lawyer, county clerk and journalist. The newspaper was sold to Jacob P. Prickett on Jan. 1, 1876. In 1896, the New Era was sold to J. E. Buchanan and then to Edwin L. Adair in 1903. Adair, an educator and former superintendent of Noble County schools, was the father of U.S. Rep. E. Ross Adair, who served northeast Indiana in Congress from 1951-1971. Richard C. Prickett, who was the longtime chief legislative aide to Congressman Adair, was owner and publisher of the New Era from 1940 until his death in 1978. Robert L. Allman took ownership of the company on Feb. 1, 1978. KPC acquired the paper in October 2014.

Northwest News

The Northwest News, serving the Huntertown, Arcola, Dupont and White Swan communities, was founded by Allman in August 1997. KPC acquired the paper in October 2014.

Churubusco News

The Churubusco News was established by Robert L. Allman in August 1992. Among the other Churubusco newspapers that previously existed were the Tri-County Truth (1891-1990), the Busco Paper (1914-1936) and the Churubusco Weekly Herald (1881-1882). KPC acquired the paper in October 2014.

IN|Whitley County

IN|Whitley County, a publication by KPC Media Group, is Whitley County's only free, all-local newspaper, which is delivered by mail to residents of Whitley County. The publication was launched by KPC in the spring of 2017.

Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly

The Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly, a newspaper dedicated to covering local and regional business news, debuted on March 14, 2005. It serves Fort Wayne and the 16-county region surrounding the Summit City. The editor is Lisa Long.

Times Community Publications  now IN|fort wayne Publications

The Times Community Publications, with free-distribution newspapers serving communities in Allen County, was purchased by KPC Media Group Inc. in December 2006, from founder Bill Fahlsing. The monthly publications serve five communities in Allen County: the Aboite area, New Haven, Northeast Allen County, Dupont area and downtown Fort Wayne.

The Smart Shopper

KPC has produced total-market-coverage print products since the mid-1970s. The Smart Shopper is a free newspaper and advertising publication that serves the residents in LaGrange, Noble, DeKalb and Steuben counties. This publication is delivered to more than 42,000 households every week.

KPC Phone Books & Directories

KPC has had a Phone Book Division since purchasing The Herald Republican in 2001. The previous owners had published the Steuben County phone book annually since 1986. In 2003, in addition to publishing the Steuben book, KPC published the first Noble/DeKalb County book. In 2004, KPC expanded to three books with a separate book for DeKalb County and a combined Noble/LaGrange County book.

Commercial Printing

In addition to the daily and weekly production of its own publications, KPC Media Group Inc. prints a wide variety of other publications on its high-speed Goss SSC 16 unit press with four-color capabilities. We offer printing on broadsheet, tabloid and mini-tab formats. Bindery, inserting and composition services are also offered.

KPC Direct (Direct Mail Services)

Direct mail is a fast, affordable way to grow and gain more customers when you only have a few seconds to get their attention. KPC Direct can deliver your message to a custom targeted list to ensure you reach your best potential customers with your newsletter, catalogue postcard and more. With superior customer service and unsurpassed expertise we can guide you through all of the intricacies of creating a direct mail campaign and get it delivered accurately, on time and at the lowest possible postage rate. Let us work with you to establish your business vision and with direct mail.
Mark Wilson/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- President Donald Trump, furious over the handling of domestic abuse allegations involving one of his closest aides, has spoken to confidantes about the possibility of replacing

embattled Chief of Staff John Kelly, sources close to the president tell ABC News.



One confidante  longtime friend and former executive chairman of his inaugural committee, Tom Barrack  was approached to gauge his interest in the chief of staff position, a source familiar with

the matter told ABC News. Barrack said he wont take the job, the source said.



Kelly has made clear to the president in the last 24 hours that he's willing to resign in light of the president's dissatisfaction over the West Wing's handling of the allegations against former

Staff Secretary Rob Porter, according to sources who have spoken with Trump and Kelly.



While Kellys fate is in question, sources familiar with the matter said they did not believe his departure is imminent. Kelly was seen working in the West Wing on Friday, leading his daily senior

staff meeting and joining Trump in the Oval Office during an afternoon photo op.

"General Kelly has not offered his resignation to the President," White House Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley said in a statement. When asked if Kelly has expressed interest in offering his resignation, Gidley said "Not to my knowledge, no."



Several Trump confidantes reached by ABC News said the president is considering multiple names as possible Kelly replacements, among those, top economic adviser Gary Cohn, Office of Management and

Budget director Mick Mulvaney and Rep. Mark Meadows.



Kelly, whose appointment as chief of staff was initially seen as a step towards restoring order and discipline, has been the subject of growing controversy over the past several weeks.



Kelly faced criticism earlier this week over comments labeling undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children as lazy, and received a public rebuke from President Trump after saying in

an interview last month with Fox News that the presidents campaign promises regarding a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border were uninformed.



But it was Kellys management of the most recent controversy involving Staff Secretary Porter that ignited a firestorm, after the Daily Mail published multiple allegations of domestic abuse by his

two ex-wives.



In response to the story, Kelly issued an on-record statement calling Porter a man of true integrity and honor but making no mention of the alleged victims.



Under pressure, Porter offered his resignation Wednesday afternoon. It wasnt until late that evening, and after images of the alleged abuse were revealed, that Kelly issued a new statement saying

he was shocked by the new allegations," adding there is no place for domestic violence in our society.



ABC News reported that senior members of Trump's administration knew for months that there was a personal issues haunting Porter, according to multiple sources  raising questions among staffers

about why he was allowed to continue in such a prominent role in the West Wing. Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah said Thursday that Kelly did not have detailed updates about what may or may not

have been alleged.



Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Rome, February 5 - Italy should return to the polls if no majority emerges from the March 4 general election, centre-right Forza Italia (FI) leader Silvio Berlusconi said Monday. He said there would be "no chance" of forming a grand coalition with the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) and "if that is the case it would be necessary to return to the polls". Berlusconi said "I don't agree with the word 'shady deal', in Germany there is a (grand) coalition formed in the light of day which must be distinguished from a secret accord".
PyeongChang, February 9 - Sofia Goggia is going into her first Winter Olympics with the aim of stealing the show from American superstar Lindsey Vonn. "I'd like to spoil the party, and beat Vonn," in the downhill, she said. Goggia also said she had "high hopes" in the giant slalom and the super-G, as well as the combined event.
Rome, February 9 - Italian police on Friday arrested a gang of youths accused of beating up a teen on the Rome metro last October. The so-called 'baby gang' kicked and punched the boy after he asked them to stop jostling him. The attack, between the stations of Numidio Quadrato and Subaugusta, left the victim with a broken vertebra and head and back injuries. The gang members were aged between 15 and 17, police said. Youth gang violence is a rising concern in Italy, and especially in the southern city of Naples.
Naples, February 9 - Italian police on Friday seized 1.2 million euros in assets from the heads of two gaming and gambling hall companies in Naples after what they called "massive" tax dodging. The companies are accused of dodging over 200,000 euros. Among the assets seized were a de-luxe apartment in the tony Naples district of Posillipo and a Jaguar SUV.
Rome, February 9 - Silvestro Scotti, the secretary of the Italian Federation of General Practitioners (FIMMG), told ANSA on Friday that "in the next five to eight years 14 million citizens will be without" a family doctor due to retirements. "It appears almost ridiculous to see that none of the political parties that aspire to govern the country are making proposals or commitments about territorial care," Scotti added. FIMMG and the union of medical managers ANAAO said Friday that 45,000 GPs and hospital doctors are poised to retire in the next five years. The situation will get even worse over the next 10 years, they said, with a total of 80,676 doctors retiring by 2028. That total will be made up of 33,392 GPs and 47,284 hospital doctors, the two organisations said. They said Italy was facing a "haemorrhage" of medical professionals.
Rome, February 9 - The year 2019 will be dedicated to 'slow tourism' in a project to invest in heritage railway lines to promote little-known Italian areas, Culture Minister Dario Franceschini has announced after a meeting with the president of Italy's railway FS (Ferrovie dello Stato) Foundation. The plan is to promote historic rail lines along with modern infrastructures to enable tourists to explore areas that are less known to the public yet rich in history and culture, Franceschini said at the culture ministry on Thursday. A total of over 130,000 tourists over the past two years travelled aboard historic trains along nine railway lines that were reactivated for this purpose for a total of 600 kilometers. "After the year of paths, that of villages and this year as the year of food, we will conclude an ideal voyage to promote little-known Italian territories with the year of slow tourism in 2019", Franceschini said. "And heritage railway lines, together with bicycle and trekking paths, are perfect", the minister noted. Moretti announced the restoration of historic luxury trains including the models Arlecchino ETR 250, Settebello ETR 300, Polifemo ETR 200 and Pendolino ETR 450) and the reactivation of an additional 100 km of rail lines. "After the National museum of Pietrarsa, which registered in 2017 110,000 visitors (up 58% on 2016 and up 647% on 2014), we are starting restoration work at the Museum of Trieste Campo Marzio for a total investment of 5 million euros with work to begin shortly", added Moretti. Meanwhile at the Senate on Thursday tourism business federation Federturismo Confindustria and the Parliamentary Observatory for Tourism presented a number of proposals ahead of national elections on March 4. The projects launched for the next legislature included creating a ministry of tourism with its own portfolio, cutting red tape and providing 'art bonuses' to help private museums, promoting the digitalization of businesses and focusing more on southern Italy. The president of the Observatory, Ignazio Abrignani, said that, "at the start of each legislature tourism is at the center, then it disappears from programs". "If tourism grows, Italy grows", said the president of Federturismo Confindustria, Gianfranco Battisti.
Rome, February 9 - Italian voters and politicians will engage through Facebook Live broadcasts ahead of the March 4 parliamentary elections as part of an initiative between the popular social network and the top Italian news agency, ANSA. Beginning next week, the interviews will be held in the Italian headquarters of Facebook in Milan and will focus on the main issues of the candidates' election campaigns. They will be moderated by ANSA journalists, who will also select questions from the public sent via the social network. "The same principles that have inspired our work since 1945 are at the basis of the current digital flows. We will apply them also in the Live appointments that we will hold with the most popular social network in the world, with whom we are please to collaborate, ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections," ANSA Editor-in-Chief Luigi Contu said. "The Facebook-ANSA project will give citizens a significant information tool at a decisive time for the political future of the country." "We are especially proud of the close collaboration with such an excellent partner as ANSA, since it will enable people to become aware of the position of different leading players on the political scene directly through their own words and to interact with them by asking questions and commenting on Facebook, Facebook Italia country director Luca Colombo said. "It is part of our continued fight against disinformation and comes in addition to what has been announced in recent weeks," he said. The Facebook Live broadcasts will be available both on the Facebook page and on the internet site of ANSA. It is not the only initiative that Facebook is bringing in for the Italian elections. In late January, it announced that it would be countering fake news and the initiatives 'Candidates' and 'Points of View' will be launched in the coming days. 'Candidates' will help those using the social network to come into contact with the candidates and parties in their area and get important information on events scheduled as part of the election campaign as well as how to vote using the new electoral system. 'Points of View' will show the positions of the 10 parties and political movements that surpass 1% of expected voting preferences according to the main polls. The information will be shown once every three days in the feed of Facebook users in Italy or ones that have set their devices to the Italian language. On election day, March 4, Facebook users will see at the top of their news feed a tool that will provide official information on how and where to vote and will allow them to tell their Facebook friends that they have voted. On the night of the election, after the voting stations have closed, the results will be posted on Facebook as they are counted and updated.
San Benedetto del Tronto, February 9 - Premier Paolo Gentiloni said Friday "let's not mix the migratory situation we are facing with that of security." He said "those who are fanning the flames (of anti-migrant sentiment) is finding room. But we are working on the opposite side. And it we do so we will have the majority of citizens" by our side. Gentiloni added that "justifying Fascism is outside the Constitution". He said that "no one is minimising criminal actions" such as the murder of Pamela Mastropietro near Macerata but this did not justify the actions of rightist activist Luca Traini who shot six migrants in a drive-by spree.
Brussels, February 9 - European Council President Donald Tusk and Italian Premier Paolo Gentiloni will have a bilateral meeting on Wednesday February 14 in Rome, sources said Friday. The encounter is part of customary consultations ahead of an European Union summit on Brexit and the post-2020 multi-year EU budget on February 23, the sources said.
Do you have flipper consciousness? The dolphins, whales and porpoises (cetaceans) that swim off La Jolla do. They navigate the seas with their flippers just like we navigate the land with our hands, arms and legs.

UC San Diego Dance Theatre MFA student Aurora Lagattuta, an advocate of inter-species communication, has been exploring flipper consciousness through dance. She presented a multimedia piece at the 2018 Calit2s Ideas Performances, where participating performers make use of the Qualcomm Institutes high technology and computer systems. Lagattuta, thinks we can learn a great deal from cetaceans and dance is her way of linking to that learning.

Humans tend to be isolated and alienated from each other, Lagattuta said, whereas dolphins are very pod-oriented. If we dance on land like dolphins swim in the oceans, it can lead us to flipper consciousness. In flipper consciousness, you find a natural being-ness and a highly sociable flowing stance toward the world. You realize  its OK to relax and just be.

Lagattuta has been performing her solo piece, Inside the Whale, across Europe. On Jan. 25, she was joined by visual arts film student Maya VanderSchuit, music student Kevin Zhang and four dancers to stage her most recent work, Cetacea, to a packed house at the Calit2 Black Box Theater on UCSD campus.

From the high ceiling, hanging delicately down to the floor, were two circular curtains of transparent tulle fabric. A relaxing strain of metallic computer music, composed by Zhang, wafted through the hall. Behind the sets on the Vroom bank of linked computer monitors, two black-and-white films of Lagattuta dancing underwater over the reefs in about 12 feet of water near The Marine Room at La Jolla Shores were running, side by side. The current swirled debris, like eel grass, as Lagattuta danced with a large piece of seaweed and a cellophane-like plastic sheet, over the rocky reef below.

In front of the films, which were shot with a waterproof camera by La Jolla native VanderSchuit, Lagattuta and her four dancers moved slowly and gracefully to the music, displaying a tai chi-like flowingness. Sometimes they assumed deep yoga stances or sat in half lotus meditation postures. Lagattutas next dance, The Human Body Time Machine, is set for April 12-14 in the Forum Theater on campus.

Aurora Lagattuta and Maya VanderSchuit perform in 2018 UC San Diego Calit2s Ideas Performances. (Will Bowen )

 A two-part show, illustrating the decline of the worlds coral reefs, happens 5-7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018 in the Reconfigurable Media Lab in Calit2 Theater in Atkinson Hall. The first part, conceived by Jacob Sundstrom and Anthony Vine, called Erasure, is a large-scale multimedia immersive experience featuring photo-mosiacs of coral reefs and accompanying percussion sounds by Fiona Digney. As more and more people enter the viewing space, the reef images and percussion distort and break down; as people leave, things reconfigure. Both processes symbolize human disturbance of reef ecosystems.

The second event, Hearing Seascapes, created by vocalist Lauren Jones and computer music student Eunjeong Stella Koh, takes place in the SunCAVE virtual reality (VR) space. Viewers will use a joystick to dive a coral reef and hear different sounds along the reef.

 On March 15, Trapped in the Clouds, Pondering the Night, by composer Robert Blatt and sound artist Jon Paden, will be shown. Blatt & Paden will use a 4K high-resolution camera to film the sky over UCSD, then project the results onto the Vroom computer display wall.

The image that will form is akin to a reflection pond, Blatt said. Visitors will have the ability to instrument themselves and fish in the pond with electrically modified fishing poles with a microphone and a camera on the end of fishing line where the hook should be.

 On April 19, Deep Listening: Rhythms, Vibrations and Voices from the Ross Ice Shelf, is planned. Last winter, Glenn McClure went on a 40-day exhibition led by SIO researcher Peter Bromirski to the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica. Their team retrieved seismometers buried in the ice. The data from the seismometers, along with field recordings of the ambient sounds of the Antarctic made by McClure, was used to create the musical score that will be performed.

 On May 31, a large-scale, multi-movement work by Felipe Rossi and Johannes Regnier, Wolflilieder, will be presented. It evokes the themes of the mad Swiss painter Adolf Wolfli (1864-1930), who was famous for combining musical notation, mathematics and mandalas in his paintings. It is said that he even tried to play the music on his paintings with a cardboard trumpet! Stephanie Richards will play live trumpet to projected background visual imagery for this piece.

 This years Ideas Performebes conclude with a dance directed by Elisabet Curbelo Gonzalez, who also composed the music. Veronica Santiago Moniello will dance while wearing a new breed of sensors that will feed information from her changing heart rate and body chemistry to the computer, thus altering sounds being played electronically.

 Want more details? Visit qi.ucsd.edu
FROM EIR DAILY ALERT

Book on Chinas New Silk Road in Germany Quotes EIR and Schiller Institute Research

Feb. 8, 2018 (EIRNS)A book on Chinas New Silk Road: Cooperation Instead of IsolationRole Change in World Trade (Chinas neue Seidenstrae: Kooperation statt IsolationDer Rollentausch im Welthandel) that came out in Germany in December extensively quotes EIR as precursor and authority on the New Silk Road policy. The authors intention was to positively influence the debate in Germany over China. This is all the more remarkable, as the book is published by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung which is rabidly anti-China.

The book quotes from EIR Special Reports in three places. It describes the idea of development corridors from the November 2014 EIR report in which

the New Silk Road is described as part of a World Land-Bridge. The comprehensive report is entitled The New Silk Road Becomes the World Land-Bridge and sees this type of development model as basis for a peaceful future for humanity.

Further on:
FROM EIR DAILY ALERT

Russian Ambassador to Pyongyang Urges, First, Reduce Tensions on the Korean Peninsula

Feb. 8, 2018 (EIRNS)Commenting on the crisis on the Korean Peninsula, Russias Ambassador to North Korea Alexander Matsegora told the Rossiya 24 TV channel today that the first step toward a resolution is to reduce tensions. He also said six party talks on de-nuclearization of North Korea are not likely to resume any time soon, but could in the future. The probability at the moment is perhaps not very high. We believe that the six-party format will be relevant without fail. However, it will be relevant at the next stages. The task now is to seek to reduce tensions in relations between Pyongyang and Seoul, and try to reduce tensions between North Korea and the United States, he said, continuing that the issue at hand at the moment is work in a bilateral format, according to a report in TASS.

Matsegora said that the North Korean authorities are inclined to discuss the issue of missiles and nuclear weapons only with the Americans. The six-party talks, begun in 2003 would include North Korea, South Korea, Japan, China, Russia and the United States, and were suspended in 2008.
Anne Raeffs Flannery OConnor Short Fiction Award-winning short story collection, The Jungle Around Us, included several stories that tracked the family of a single father, Isaac, and his two daughters, Simone and Juliet. In her new novel, Winter Kept Us Warm, Raeff returns to these characters, but instead of moving forward into Simone and Juliets lives as adults, as she began to do in the collection, Raeff gives us the girls history, complete with how Isaac became their father.

The book opens with a frame narrative, taking place in the early aughts: Isaac, a man in his late 70s or early 80s, arrives at Hotel Atlas in Meknes, Morocco. Hes exhausted by his journey, a flight from New Jersey and the strict post-9/11 TSA guidelines, followed by a long train ride from Rabat, on which he was forced to stand amid smokers and had to contend with his asthmatic lungs. But when he arrives at the hotel, he is lighted up and energized by Ulli, who is the owner of the hotel, and the woman he has come all this way to see.

Its been almost 40 years since Isaac and Ulli have seen one another, a distance of time that Raeff manages to render both significant and meaningless in tiny moments such as when Isaac tells Ulli she looks the same, though this was neither true nor what he had wanted to say. She looked like Ulli, but she was old now. From here, the book rewinds, and moves back and forth between this framing narrative of Isaacs visit to Morocco and the history he and Ulli share.

This history is at the heart of the narrative, with the missing 40 years between Isaac and Ulli serving as the puzzle the book is going to solve. In order to do so, though, we need to learn about Leo, a closeted gay man whom Isaac met in the U.S. Army when they were both working desk jobs during World War II, Isaac because of his asthma and Leo due to a heart condition discovered only when he tried to enlist. It soon becomes apparent that Leo and Ulli are the biological parents of Simone and Juliet, Isaacs daughters.

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Anne Raeffs Winter Kept us Warm (Counterpoint )

The characters back stories unfold in Raeffs deft prose, revealing three unique people whose lives crash together unexpectedly. Ulli, who is German, was too absorbed with an illicit romance with her high school math teacher in the years before the war, and in hindsight is grateful because it meant the Nazi fanaticism passed her by. Leo comes from Johnstown, Penn., where a decades-old flood still haunts the local imagination. And Isaac, whose silent yearning for Ulli is the novels emotional backbone, is the son of Russian parents who moved to New York when he was still young. The three meet in post-World War II Germany, where Leo and Isaac are working their desk jobs in Berlins American Zone, and where Ulli is plying her linguistic skills by going around to bars and offering to translate for American men trying to sleep with German women. Shes also living in an apartment not her own, one of those emptied when people fled the city during the worst of the Allies bombings.

Almost as soon as their paths cross, they become inseparable, with Isaac and Leo basically moving in with Ulli. As Leo and Ullis romance grows, Isaac gets left by the sidelines, watching, a part of him waiting for the day itll all fall apart. And, of course, we know from the start that things will collapse, because Leo isnt part of the frame narrative.

This is a novel about absence  the absence of those most harmed by the war; the emotional absence felt inside relationships, romantic or otherwise.

In many ways, this is a novel about absence  the absence of those most harmed by the war; the emotional absence felt inside relationships, romantic or otherwise; and the absence of Simone and Juliet from the narrative, which in turn points to the absence of their parents from their lives. It is about the choices people slide into almost by accident that end up shaping their lives, and how this becomes clear only with the wisdom of hindsight. This kind of drama is quiet and subtle, but Raeff knows how to wield her words in this space, and makes small pronouncements devastating  as, for example, in the frame narrative, when Ulli simply cant take Isaacs presence anymore and pulls away from him:

Dont be sorry, just dont do it, Isaac thought. It was what he used to tell the girls when they apologized about something they had done, though he knew they would make the same mistakes again and be sorry again. Ulli, he called, but she was already gone.

Indeed, one of the most remarkable things about the novel is how quiet it is, and how much respectful space Raeff allows her characters. While their inner thoughts and feelings are sometimes conveyed in a sentence or two, as above, Raeff largely documents these without dwelling there. This isnt a book obsessed with its peoples thoughts, and there are no long paragraphs of internal monologues. Instead, these characters are in the thick of their lives, and Raeff shows us their fullness in quick sketches, the way a skilled artist may convey movement and attitude with only a few penciled lines.

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Masad is a writer, critic and PhD candidate at University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Winter Kept Us Warm

Anne Raeff

Counterpoint: 304 pp., $26
After four days of blistering testimony that detailed the alleged theft of Waymo computer files and trade secrets  and Ubers reaction to it  Uber threw in the towel.

Under a settlement announced Friday, Uber said it has agreed to pay $245 million in Uber equity to Waymos parent, Googles Alphabet.

In a statement posted on its website Friday morning, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi struck a conciliatory tone, expressing regret over the companys actions.

To our friends at Alphabet: we are partners, you are an important investor in Uber, and we share a deep belief in the power of technology to change peoples lives for the better, he wrote. Of course, we are also competitors. And while we wont agree on everything going forward, we agree that Ubers acquisition of Otto could and should have been handled differently.

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Waymo sued Uber in February 2017, alleging that the ride-hailing start-up possessed stolen trade secrets covering driverless car technology.

The trial, which began Monday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, featured a string of witnesses that cast Uber in a bad light, including damaging testimony from former Uber board member and venture capitalist Bill Gurley, who admitted he did not read key due diligence documents before voting to pay alleged trade secret thieves $592 million.

The money bought a driverless truck company named Otto, run by former Google engineer Anthony Levandowski.

Further testimony on Thursday showed that Uber and the firm that authored the due diligence report, Stroz Friedberg, failed to reveal that Levandowski repeatedly plugged and unplugged devices into the laptop containing Google files, and transferred the files at least two times.

It fit in to the public perception of Uber as a company that plays fast and loose in an aggressive attempt to dominate the market for ride-hailing services around the world.

Khosrowshahi was named CEO in August in large part to boost Ubers image. Sexual harassment, loose protection of customer data, spying on journalists and encouragement of an over-aggressive bro culture were just a few of the controversies that led the Uber board to force out co-founder Travis Kalanick as CEO in June.

A former Expedia CEO, Khosrowshahi pledged to improve Ubers image, culture and corporate governance as he prepares for a public stock offering as early as 2019.

Continuing witness testimony and resulting bad press would have hurt their valuation, said Rebecca Lindland, an analyst at Kelley Blue Book. Its incredibly important that Uber clear their decks, get themselves back on solid footing and get this distraction out of the way, she said.

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While neither company said it won or lost, Kalanick, who remains an Uber board member, expressed vindication and theoretical victory in a prepared statement: As Ubers statement indicates, no trade secrets ever came to Uber.  The evidence at trial overwhelmingly proved that, and had the trial proceeded to its conclusion, it is clear Uber would have prevailed.

Dan Handman, a trade secrets attorney at Hirschfeld Kraemer in Los Angeles, begs to differ. When you settle a case for this amount of money in the middle of a trial, you do it because youll get worse if it goes to a verdict.

Google was seeking $1.8 billion in damages. Unlike the settlement, which will be paid in Uber equity, damages resulting from a jury verdict would have to be paid in cash, Handman said.

In the settlement, Uber did not admit to any legal wrongdoing.

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To be clear, while we do not believe that any trade secrets made their way from Waymo to Uber, nor do we believe that Uber has used any of Waymos proprietary information in its self-driving technology, we are taking steps with Waymo to ensure our Lidar and software represents just our good work, Khosrowshahi said.

Trial testimony made clear that Levandowski downloaded 14,107 proprietary documents from Waymo to his personal laptop before leaving to lead Ubers self-driving project in January 2016 and copied those files to external devices.

Although those files werent found on Uber servers, computer forensics experts testified that the information could be stored practically anywhere.

Waymo charged that the downloaded files contained eight trade secrets that Uber used in laser-sensor technology to try to catch up with Waymo in the potentially hot new market for self-driving cars. If the trial had continued to the end, the jury would have been instructed to determine whether the information was truly trade secrets, and that Uber possessed them.

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In its own statement, Waymo said it is committed to working with Uber to make sure that each company develops its own technology.

We have reached an agreement with Uber that we believe will protect Waymos intellectual property now and into the future, the company said.

We have always believed competition should be fueled by innovation in the labs and on the roads and we look forward to bringing fully self-driving cars to the world.

In 2013, Google invested in Uber. Kalanick said he thought the two would work together  Google on driverless cars, Uber on ride-hailing. But soon after, Google executives stopped answering his emails, Kalanick testified, before Google struck a deal with Uber arch-foe Lyft.

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Thats when Uber launched its own driverless technology program, which, the company said, will continue.

To Evan Rawley, a professor at the University of Minnesota who has followed Ubers exploits since the company was a start-up, the company is rethinking its decision to go it alone in driverless cars. He expects Uber now to partner with other companies to develop driverless technology, including, perhaps, Waymo. The fact that the settlement is in equity, not cash, is a golden opportunity for them to align themselves better with (Waymo parent) Google.

As for Levandowski and others involved in the file downloads, the U.S. Attorney in San Francisco has opened a criminal investigation on the matter.

russ.mitchell@latimes.com

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Twitter: @russ1mitchell

UPDATES:

Feb. 10, 12:45 p.m.: This article has been updated with information about a U.S. attorneys investigation.

2:45 p.m.: This article was updated with reaction and comments from a trade secrets attorney and a professor.

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10:20 a.m.: This article was updated with settlement details and analyst reaction.

9:40 a.m.: This article was updated with testimony from the trial.

8:30 a.m.: This article was updated to include a statement from Waymo and additional comments from Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi.

This article was originally published at 8:20 a.m.
Nestled between the much larger San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys lies the unincorporated community of La Crescenta-Montrose.

Its first European name was La Canada Valley, so named after the 5,000-acre spread of Ignacio Coronel, a Los Angeles schoolteacher whose exploits as a cavalry officer were rewarded with a massive land grant from the Spanish government. How rewarded he truly felt is unclear.

Although the Tongva people had resided near the site for thousands of years, the view among European and Mexican settlers was that the relative lack of free-flowing water in the valley presented an insurmountable obstacle to creating permanent settlements.

Coronels was no exception. He built his home in the relatively verdant Verdugo mountains and left the valley floor to his cattle and sheep, which coped with the canyons parched conditions and prodigious rattlesnake population as best they could.

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At the end of the Civil War, American veterans began to drift into the valley, with the first among them a former Southern soldier named Col. Theodore Pickens. He was by all accounts an intemperate, unpleasant man, a reputation he earned by promptly deforesting the valley highlands to sell as firewood in L.A. and for his questionable claim to the rights to the valleys meager water supply.

In 1881, former 49-er, ex-fruit magnate and medical doctor Benjamin Briggs visited the valley and found what he deemed the most healthful air in California. Briggs had earlier endured the death of his wife from consumption, a trauma that led him to dump his fruit business to pursue medicine and a cure for tuberculosis.

The warm, dry air of the valley seemed to Briggs to provide the perfect climate in which sufferers of lung diseases could convalesce. He bought the better part of the old Rancho La Canada, renamed it La Crescenta and began the process of building a sanitarium on the land.

Eventually more sanitariums followed, including Kimbal and Rockhaven, both of which became renowned for their celebrity patients during Hollywoods early era through its Golden Age. The towns that sprang up around these places of healing became popular destinations for well-to-do families seeking country living close to L.A.s urban amenities.

Todays La Crescenta-Montrose continues that tradition, with its proximity to Glendale (which has actually annexed some portions of the community), Pasadena and Los Angeles making it a popular bedroom community.

(@latimesgraphics )

Neighborhood highlights

Main Street, USA: Montrose Shopping Park is a walkable concentration of stores and restaurants, the type emulated by modern open-air shopping malls such as the Grove.

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Close, but not too close: From La Crescenta-Montrose you can drive anywhere from Pasadena to downtown Los Angeles in 30 minutes, but the area retains its distinct, suburban vibe.

Scenic beauty: Located adjacent to the Angeles National Forest, La Crescenta-Montrose offers access to plenty of scenic hiking and mountain biking trails.

Neighborhood challenge

A touch of gray: The population of La Crescenta-Montrose skews a little older, which may give pause to some younger home buyers looking for a more exciting lifestyle.

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Expert insight

During her 28 years of living in La Crescenta-Montrose, Sharon Hales of Dilbeck Real Estate has seen the community develop an identity based on great schools, safe neighborhoods and plenty of recreational opportunities.

Theres a joke here that were like Mayberry  one of the last frontiers, Hales said. Kids ride their bikes to school. Everyone meets up at the farmers markets.

She added that the neighborhood has grown much denser over the last decade and that instead of building anew, people are upgrading older homes.

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Were at the precipice of a renaissance here. Younger families with dual incomes are coming in and fixing up houses, and our identity is changing from 50s and 60s homes to properties fit for a more modern lifestyle.

Market snapshot

In the 91214 ZIP Code, based on 25 sales, the median sales price for single-family homes in December was $833,000, up 8.1% year over year, according to CoreLogic.

Report card

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All five public schools within the La Crescenta-Montrose boundaries performed well on the 2013 Academic Performance Index. Monte Vista Elementary scored the highest, at 946, followed by Mountain Avenue Elementary, at 942, and Rosemont Middle, at 937.

Crescenta Valley High scored 888, and La Crescenta Elementary scored 877.

Times staff writer Jack Flemming contributed to this report.

hotproperty@latimes.com

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In Esa-Pekka Salonens radiant and surprisingly hopeful new Cello Concerto, Yo-Yo Ma is asked to be a combination wave-maker and cloud seeder. What with our winter of drought, those are not unwelcome metaphors to begin the Los Angeles Philharmonics Composer Salonen series of programs celebrating the 60th birthday of its conductor laureate.

The Cello Concerto, which had its premiere with the Chicago Symphony 11 months ago, was a one-shot deal at Walt Disney Concert Hall on Thursday night, opening a weekend survey of Salonens three mature concertos. All feature the soloists for whom they were written  Yefim Bronfman in the Piano Concerto on Friday and Saturday, and Leila Josefowicz in the Violin Concerto on Sunday  and the composer on the podium. Next week Salonen returns to reprise Wing on Wing, which he wrote for the opening season of Disney. In April, Gustavo Dudamel will premiere a new Salonen orchestral work, as yet untitled, and, if Salonen follows form, far from finished.

Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts the Los Angeles Philharmonic on Thursday at Disney Hall. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times )

Following form for Salonen is not following form. Although he started out as an abstract Modernist, Salonens music has become increasingly personal, each piece requiring its own narrative structure. Wing on Wing, for instance, is an expression of his close friendship with architect Frank Gehry. The 2007 Piano Concerto likewise explores his long history of collaboration with Bronfman.

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The Violin Concerto, which Salonen finished and premiered as part of his final concerts in 2009 as the L.A. Phils music director, ends with a touchingly nostalgic slow movement, titled Adieu. This, he says, covering his tracks in a program note, is not a farewell to anything in particular. Just as the tears are about to well up, the music turns on a dime, ending on an unexpectedly luminous chord that is the beginning of something new.

The Cello Concerto gets its impetus from cosmology and our attempts to find our individuality amid a landscape of incomprehensible large forces. A science fiction buff, Salonen indicates that he begins with a representation of chaos, out of which the cellos voice emerges.

That chaos turns out to be a pretty nice place, a sparkling orchestral outer space where atoms contentedly swirl at random play. The cello melody that emerges with falling gestures is instantly memorable but not easily definable. It just keeps going like a jazz improvisation around a ballad. Different instruments in the large orchestra pick up on it a fraction of a second after the cello and a fraction of second before.

They layer with a complexity you cant necessarily follow. The sensation thus is that the cello is simultaneously generating, and being generated by, the cosmos. Its very presence also changes the nature of things. The beauty of it all makes it seem possible for humans to improve, not destroy, the environment.

Yo-Yo Ma performing Esa-Pekka Salonens new Cello Concerto. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times )

The cello emerges again from a big orchestra cloud in the middle movement, but this one is more explosive, mushroom-shaped. The cello exchanges radiance for radioactivity. Short solo cello fragments are recorded and played back through quadraphonic speakers. (If someone in the audience coughs, that gets caught in the loop as well.) Ma plays teasingly fleeting lines against himself, with an alto flute joining in. This is another planet. Could it be a soundscape preview of the science fiction opera that Salonen has long been planning to write and, rumor has it, may actually be about to?

The third movement is motoric. The orchestra has a large percussion section. After all the earlier glittering metal and mellow wood, rattles and the visceral skin of prominent bongos and congas take center stage. (Hipster alert: It looks like bongos are back; they also had notable role in Leonard Bernsteins Mass last week.) Ma here is pretty much buzzing, boogieing, pirouetting in perpetual motion, his feet maybe finally on firm ground.

In fact, thats a liftoff dance. In the Adieu of the Violin Concerto, Salonen spoke of the sensation of lying in bed and hearing the sound of a partners quiet breathing. In the final sections of the Cello Concerto, he calls for a big lung. The cello soars into outer space and keeps going until it can go no higher. The orchestra whistles in a range suitable for a dogs hearing, aided by more electronic looping. The Violin Concertos something new has become an altogether new world.

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Salonen conducts Beethovens Seventh. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times )

Composer Salonen extends to the role as creative program maker. Salonen introduced the Cello Concerto with Heinrich Bibers Battalia and ended with Beethovens Seventh Symphony (which will also be the case for the other concertos Saturday and Sunday). Battalia, written in 1673, is a startling nine-minute outlier for a handful of strings and harpsichord that describes battle from the point of view of drunken and wounded soldiers over the course of several tiny movements. Way ahead of his time, Biber employs eight folk songs played simultaneously for an example of 17th century dissonant chaos and a bass plunking strings against a sheet of paper to simulate drumbeats.

Salonen began Beethovens Seventh with an astonishing bang and never let up. He has always had a particular affinity for the symphony Wagner famously dubbed the apotheosis of the dance. But in the decade since he last conducted it with the L.A. Phil, that affinity has turned into something that now makes the symphony sound almost as though Salonen had written it himself.

Salonen finds a rhythmic drive in Beethoven that other conductors might strive for in Stravinsky. Crisp instrumental textures are kept so tart that they lack the sound of modern instruments without suggesting the dryness of period ones. Woodwind and brass, in particular, are balanced in such a way as to breathe new life into old harmonies with a big lung.

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Composer Salonen

Where: Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., L.A.

When: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday (Salonen Piano Concerto), 2 p.m. Sunday (Salonen Violin Concerto)

Tickets: $54-$188

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Information: (213) 850-2000, www.laphil.com

mark.swed@latimes.com

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Tim Robbins Actors Gang mines 300 years of immigrants stories in New Colossus

For celebrated pianist Stephen Hough, its time to show yet another side of himself
Wild and crazy guys for 30 years and counting, the members of Culture Clash take dead aim at the countrys fractured immigration policies in Sapo at the Getty Villa.

Very loosely based on Aristophanes The Frogs, the show is a fanciful melange that is almost indescribable  hyper, nutty, bawdy, savagely hilarious and also wrenching.

The show opens to the live music of the infectiously buoyant L.A. band Buyepongo. Recent footage of wildfire along the 405 Freeway flashes on the rear wall, courtesy of Yee Eun Nams witty projection design, which is incorporated into the action to wickedly subversive effect. Those images are just one indication of how topical this adaptation of ancient Greek theater will be.

Culture Clash members Richard Montoya and Ric Salinas display the comic mania that has characterized their performance collective since its founding. (Culture Clashs Herbert Siguenza does not appear in this show.) Under the direction of Sean San Jose, the rest of the cast matches them in madcap energy, rattling off one-liners with machine-gun accuracy while somehow maintaining an improvisational rhythm to the show.

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The action commences, simply enough, as a Latino father (Montoya) camps on the beach with his little girl (precociously effective Maryjane Santamaria, alternating in the role with Elise Rodriguez). The scene segues to Dionysus (John Fleck), a gender-fluid god, and his indispensable cholo slave, Xavier (Salinas), who must consult with Hercules (Seth Milwood) before embarking into hell in search of a powerful poet who can dethrone the present U.S. president.

From there, we travel back to the 1970s, where drug-addled music manager Ceasar (Montoya, again), strewing a blizzard of cocaine in his wake, is trying to score a record deal for his band, Sapo. Those guys (played by Buyepongo) just might get a better deal if they sign with God.

The free-wheeling text, credited to Culture Clash, never misses an opportunity to tweak the noses of the present administration, so those who might resent having their sacred cows burnt in effigy would be well advised to give this show a wide berth. And the final scene of the show  spoiler alert  brings the present immigration debate into poignant human focus, stopping the laughter in your throat as tears rise. Its a devastating denouement that gives this seemingly silly show an unforgettable punch.

         

Sapo

Where: Getty Villa, 17985 Pacific Coast Highway, Pacific Palisades

When: 8 p.m. Fridays, 4 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 4 p.m. Sundays; ends Feb. 18

Tickets: $20

Information: (310) 440-7300, www.getty.edu

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Running time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

See all of our latest arts articles at latimes.com/arts.

MORE THEATER

The 99-Seat Beat: City of Conversation, Henry VI and more Cake

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Mahogany The 1975 Diana Ross vehicle is most memorable these days for its stirring theme song, but several of the plot lines are decidedly timely. Ross aspiring fashion designer finds herself in a manipulative and sexually confusing relationship with a Svengali-like high-fashion photographer (Anthony Perkins) to whom she owes her career while her first love, a community organizer (Billy Dee Williams), fights gentrification in Chicago. Tony Richardson was the original director, but Motowns Berry Gordy took over. A discussion will follow as part of the Black Book series. Hammer Museum, Billy Wilder Theatre, 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, (310) 443-7000. Feb. 14, 7:30 p.m. Free. www.hammer.ucla.edu

Roman Holiday Audrey Hepburn won an Oscar for her first big American film role playing the surreptitious princess who spends an utterly ordinary and wonderful week with a puckish American reporter (Gregory Peck) in this 1953 film. Directed by William Wyler. Pre-movie bubbly, photo booth, and DJs. Los Angeles Theatre, 615 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, (323) 522-6870. Feb. 14; doors, 7 p.m.; film, 9 p.m. $33. Ages 21 and over only. www.ticketfly.com

Tim Burton Double Feature The Burbank-born writer-director may be the master of macabre, but the truth is the wild-haired Burton is a romantic in the deepest regions of his cardiac muscle. Johnny Depp was at his beguiling best as the titular Edward Scissorhands opposite a blond Winona Ryder in Burtons 1990 suburban fairy tale. Screening in 70 mm. With Burtons 2005 stop-motion-animated Corpse Bride (2005), a Victorian-era tale of an arranged marriage gone quite wrong. American Cinematheque, Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, (323) 466-3456. Feb. 14, 7:30 p.m. $12; $8 for Cinematheque members. www.americancinemathequecalendar.com/

Hairspray Sing-Along Sing your hearts out and shimmy in your seats to the 2007 musical comedy directed by Adam Shankman. With John Travolta, Nikki Blonsky and Queen Latifah. Costumes, bee-hives and bouffants encouraged. Gift bags included. La Mirada Theatre, 14900 La Mirada Blvd., La Mirada, (562) 944-9801. Feb. 16, 8 p.m. $15 in advance; $18 day of. www.lamiradatheatre.com

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Writers Guild of America West Groundbreakers The breakout-hit 1995 Waiting to Exhale, starring Whitney Houston and Angela Bassett, and 1972s Lady Sings the Blues, with Diana Ross as Billie Holiday, screen. There will be a discussion between films with Waiting writer Terry McMillan, who adapted her own novel, with Ronald Bass, and Suzanne De Passe, who started her career at Motown and received an Oscar nomination for co-writing Lady Sings the Blues. 35 mm. American Cinematheque, Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave., Santa Monica, (310) 260-1528. Feb. 15, 7:30 p.m. $12; $8 for Cinematheque members. www.americancinemathequecalendar.com/

See the most-read stories in Entertainment this hour 

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For Ingrid Jackel, the remodel of her Palm Springs weekend home was all about joy, emotion and color.

I have an intense job, said Jackel, chief executive of the natural beauty brand Yes To. So I went looking for an oasis where I can feel at peace.

As a fan of Midcentury Modern architecture, Jackel didnt have to go far from her Pasadena home to find a weekend pied-a-terre.

Your breathing changes when you are in Palm Springs, Jackel said of the deserts allure. Its an hour and a half away from L.A. and yet it feels like another world. I like that its charged with Old Hollywood glamour. I wanted to bring a home back to that time.

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After touring a four-bedroom, three-bath 1960 home designed by Glendale architect Clair Earl, she knew she had found her escape.

Despite being neglected for years, the bank-owned home had the classic midcentury touches that Jackel admired: A tall, pitched roof, tongue-and-groove ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows. The home also featured decorative-patterned concrete blocks and a larger scale than most of the homes she had toured. Ultimately there were 19 bids on the house.

She describes the preservation project that followed as deeply personal. I wanted it to be mine inside, Jackel said. I didnt want to return it to a museum state. I wanted my friends and their kids and dogs to be able to come here and celebrate with me.

Working with Kevin Kemper and Howard Hawkes of H3K, a Palm Springs interior design and restoration firm, Jackel transformed the house over 18 months. (The designers will offer remodeling tips, followed by a guided tour of the house, on Feb. 17 as part of Modernism Week.)

This house is so different from other midcentury homes in that its one-of-a kind, Kemper said. It has a Jetsons, Space-Age feel. The architect built three homes in a row [on the street] as show homes.

In an effort to balance that feel with modern living, the designers kept it simple. They retained the homes 2,200-square-foot layout and updated the plumbing, electrical, HVAC and roof. Low ceilings were raised to open up the interiors and clerestory windows were added to bring in more light and mountain views. Because of extensive termite damage  something of a surprise in the desert  they were forced to remove the drywall and plaster. And in an effort to provide better insulation, many of the original windows were replaced with period-appropriate dual-pane, low-e aluminum framed windows

In a move that opened up the main living area, the designers removed the wall between the kitchen and living room and ripped out the entire kitchen. New IKEA cabinets and a vibrant orange Silestone island are both functional and fun. It was the most vibrant color of orange we could find, Kemper said.

White porcelain tile floors, Wow ceramic kitchen tile and Dunn Edwards Whisper paint set a neutral palette that helps to accentuate Jackels obsession with the color orange, which explains why the house, which will also be open for tours during Modernism Week, is affectionately called Maison a lOrange.

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Its a happy color and makes me feel good, Jackel said. I love the sun. Im originally from the South of France. It appeals to my passionate side.

Indeed, its an uplifting place with bold pinks, oranges and aqua tones courtesy of the poolside umbrellas and chaise lounges, custom furnishings, wallcoverings and Trina Turk textiles.

And in a move that might explain why youll find people snapping pictures from the curb, the home features bright orange double doors, painted a custom Dunn Edwards color to match the kitchen island.

The house really struggled with its identity before, Hawkes said.

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No longer.

Its a happy home, Jackel said. I wanted to be able to enter the house and have a big smile on my face. Now, when we come,we dont want to leave.

What: Modernism Week

Where: Palm Springs

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When: Feb. 15-25

Admission: Individual events range from free to $150. Some events are sold out.

Info: modernismweek.com

For an easy way to follow the L.A. scene, bookmark L.A. at Home and join us on our Facebook page for home design, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest.

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lisa.boone@latimes.com

Twitter: @lisaboone19

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Photos: Inside our favorite desert homes and retreats
In his new book, Palm Springs: A Modernist Paradise, photographer Tim Street-Porter captures the optimism, architecture and midcentury style that defines one of Southern Californias most glamorous playgrounds.

Featuring a foreword by Los Angeles fashion designer Trina Turk, whose Palm Springs home, the Ship of the Desert, is also showcased, the inspiring coffee table tome is a love letter to modernism. When I do a project like this, said Street-Porter, there is a kind of romance with what Im working on, because you immerse yourself I wanted to show what I love about the place, and I hope to pass that on.

Palm Springs: A Modernist Paradise (Tim Street-Porter )

Artfully conceived photos illuminate the work of architects such as Richard Neutra, Albert Frey and Paul Williams. However, for modernist buffs who think theyve seen it all, Street-Porter is excited to prove them wrong.

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Apart from featuring a few classics like the Kaufmann House, I wanted to introduce some unexpected and amusing new stuff as well, said the author, who also incorporated a resource section for modernist furnishing stores and like-minded points of interest. I was lucky to find houses which arent the same old chestnuts that have appeared in earlier books.

Palm Springs: A Modernist Paradise (Tim Street-Porter )

He credits a friend and Los Angeles neighbor, interior designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard, whose 1964 showplace Villa Grigio graces the cover, with helping him discover the areas hidden gems.

Both Bullard and Street-Porter are scheduled to take part in a moderated panel discussion and book signing on Feb. 17 at Palm Springs Modernism Week .

Im very thrilled with how its all working out, said Street-Porter. The organizers for Modernism Week who I showed my photographs to were really enthusiastic and are making the book as much a part of the events as possible.

Modernism Week Keynote presentation and panel: Martyn Lawrence Bullard and Palm Springs: A Modernist Paradise

When: 3 to 4:30 p.m. Feb. 17

Where: Richards Center for the Arts, Palm Springs High School, 2248 Ramon Road, Palm Springs

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Cost: Starting at $20

Info: modernismweek.com/event/250631/

Home@latimes.com

Bonnie McCarthy contributes to the Los Angeles Times as a home and lifestyle design writer. She enjoys scouting for directional trends and reporting on whats new and next. Follow her on Twitter @ThsAmericanHome

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Flowers and candy are classic, but this year for Valentines Day consider gifting your sweetheart with an experience to remember (and possibly Instagram). Whether you opt for a gift certificate to be used on your next date together, or are looking to schedule something special during Valentines Week, weve found 14 ways to say: Youre the one I want to spend time with.

And isnt that the most romantic present of all?

Racing hearts

Get behind the wheel of a Porsche at the Porsche Experience Center in Carson and drive on almost four miles of track designed to simulate a variety of challenging conditions. Think: handling circuits, an ice hill, acceleration straightaways and more, starting at $385 for 90 minutes. On-site simulator experiences start at $35 for 30 minutes. Reservations: PorscheDriving.com.

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On Valentines Day, Restaurant 917, the centers fine dining experience overlooking the development tracks, will offer a four-course prix fix dinner ($125 per person) with wine pairing ($185 per person). Information: Restaurant917.com.

Oceans of love

Pucker up those fish lips. On Feb.14, the Aquarium of Pacific is offering sunset drinks on the Veranda (cash bar) followed by gourmet dinner in the Great Hall, $84. Limited VIP seating available in the Tropical Pacific Gallery for an additional $25 per person. Tickets and information: AquariumofthePacific.org, (562) 590-3100.

Romance at the aquarium. (Aquarium of the Pacific )

Super hero style

Reserve a pod or GloStation at the flagship IMAX VR experience in Los Angeles. There, you can strap on virtual reality gear and step into the shoes of Justice Leaguers, Star Trek or Star Wars characters and more. Shoot, soar, save the world together. Pod experiences last approximately eight to 15 minutes; GloStation is $25 per person for 45 minutes. To reserve tickets: IMAXVR.com.

The future of VR (IMAX )

Lovers leap (without jumping out of an actual plane)

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Indoor Skydiving at iFly Hollywood at Universal Citywalk gives you the freewheeling feel of flying (or being suspended on a cushion of air) without the fear factor. Packages start at $59.95 per person and include instruction, gear and personalized flight certificate. Reservations: iflyworld.com.

Indoor skydiving (iFly Indoor Skydiving )

Sports lovers

Head to Chavez Ravine for a Dodger Stadium Tour or Dodger Stadium and Clubhouse Tour and an exclusive look into the Dodger Dugout, a trip down to the field, trophy lounge and more. Clubhouse tours include the weight room, batting cages, interview room and bullpen. Adult tickets start at $20. Information and reservations: Dodgers.com/tours.

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Go behind the scenes at Dodger Stadium. (Matt Mesa )

Moonlight serenade

Cue the romance. The serenading gondoliers at Gondola Getaway in Long Beach are offering Valentines Week packages (Feb. 10-17) that include long-stemmed red roses, a decadent dockside dessert bar and complimentary corkage. BYO wine or champagne (ice, ice buckets and glasses are provided!) and cruise the Naples canals. Rates vary by date, starting at $120 per couple. Reservations: Gondo.net, (562) 433-9595.

Romantic cruising. (Gondola Getaway )

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Safari so good

Take your wild thing on a Wine Tasting Safari in a zebra-striped truck (starting at $65 per person) at Malibu Wines Saddlerock Ranch. The winery is also hosting an extravaganza of Valentines week activities (Feb. 9-18) including a wine and chocolate pairing ($15 per person); Outdoor Movie Night featuring the film 50 First Dates, free with the purchase of one bottle of wine; or a 2.5-mile couples-only nature hike to meet and feed exotic animals, including Stanley the Giraffe, and partake in wine tasting with cheese, crackers and chocolate, $160 per couple. Reservations: lasafaris.com.

Visit wine country at Malibu Wines Saddlerock Ranch. (Malibu Wines )

Ride off into the sunset

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Saddle up and take a trail ride (starting at $50), or pony up for a sunset ride with BBQ back at the ranch for $125 per person. Considering popping the question? Sunset Ranch offers a Proposal Package that includes a two-hour private tour to the top of Mt.Hollywood, starting at $250. Reservations: SunsetRanchHollywood.com.

Riding into the sunset together. (Sunset Ranch )

Is your love a masterpiece?

Book a Valentines Day HeART Tour on Feb. 14 through Dot Red Art Tours that whisks you through L.A.s downtown arts and culture scene to visit murals, intimate galleries and studios where you can speak with gallery owners and artists about the cities ongoing renaissance. V-Day dessert included, $45 per person. For reservations, email contact@dotred.co or call (323) 473-4810, Ext.102.

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Dot Red Art Tours (Jasen Chung )

Take a hike

Hit the local trails and get your heart pumping. For ideas on the best trails and how to get there, check out the following lists and blogs: ModernHiker.com; Hikespeak.com; and L.A. Walks from the Los Angeles Times own walking expert, Charles Fleming.

A movable feast

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Pack a DIY picnic or order a gourmet basket of Valentines goodies-to-go. There are many places to choose from, but heres one we like: Clementine in Century City or Beverly Hills. Choose from the Romantic Dinner section of the menu and build your own picnic. Picnicking recommendations include grilled steak or chicken, wild king poached salmon, cheese platters, SAmores and assorted desserts. Starting at $24. Order early. Call (310) 552-1080 or order at ClementineOnline.com.

Order dessert first from Clementines. (Clementines )

Sail away

Book a Sunset Cruise or Champagne Sail on a J/80 sailboat with a professional skipper at South Bay Sailing in Redondo Beach. Sailors are encouraged to bring snacks or a picnic onboard; plastic cups only; bottles allowed. Private cruises start at $135 for one hour (be sure to check Groupon for specials). Reservations and information: (310) 937-3180.

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Chart a private sail. (South Bay Sailing )

Trapeze Lesson

Fly through the air with the greatest of ease, or at least give it a try. Join a two-hour class and do something out of the ordinary. First-timers will learn the knee-hang and may try a catch. Starting at $55 with $10 registration fee. Checking off the bucket list: priceless. Trapeze School New York Los Angeles. Information: losangeles.trapezeschool.com.

Flying high (Trapeze School New York Los Angeles )

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Want more ideas?

Check out Groupon.com or LivingSocial.com to find deals on activities and events in your area.

Bonnie McCarthy contributes to the Los Angeles Times as a home and lifestyle design writer. She enjoys scouting for directional trends and reporting on whats new and next. Follow her on Twitter @ThsAmericanHome

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This effortless Midcentury look? It takes a lot of hard work  and attention to detail

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Less than two years after members of the L.A. school board chose a superintendent from the districts ranks, they now find themselves in search of a new one  and the task may be harder than ever.

The nations second-largest school system has a dizzying array of problems, but the board is divided on how to solve them. Meanwhile, there arent many candidates considered qualified for such a daunting job, and those who are may be getting other offers.



For the record: An earlier version of this article omitted the first name of former LAUSD Supt. Ramon Cortines. It also stated he served twice as L.A. schools superintendent. Cortines held the job three times. The first name of Frances Gipson also initially was spelled as Francis.

The challenge of improving large urban school districts  and of keeping the job for more than a year or two  can be seen in the job openings. New York City, the nations largest school system, also is searching for a superintendent. So was Chicago, the third-largest district, until a new leader recently was hired.

Being a superintendent today is a very different job than 10 or 20 years ago, said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers. There are lots of high expectations, few resources and very few people on the bench who really understand education.

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Supt. Michelle King recently announced that she has cancer and will not return from medical leave. A career district employee, her selection was considered an attempt by board members to restore calm and focus after years of tumult. It was also a milestone: King was the first African American woman to run the district.

But during her brief tenure, neither King nor the school board ever developed a detailed set of plans to improve the districts schools. Many wondered about the practically of her focus on 100% graduation  her mantra while in office.

This time around, the board could choose an insider again. If it doesnt, the pool of well-regarded superintendents of other large, urban school districts is limited.

Big-city superintendents tenures tend to be short  a 2014 study by the Council of the Great City Schools found they spend an average of just over three years in the job  and it is often difficult to determine how effective they have been.

The constant churn makes certain people perennial candidates. Some of the same names are being floated in both L.A. and New York City. They include Rudolph Crew, who led New York Citys schools in the late 90s; Alberto Carvalho, the superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools since 2008; and Andres Alonso, who was chief executive for six years of Baltimore City Public Schools before becoming a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

The two big school districts selection processes and political dynamics are markedly different.

New York Citys 1,800 public schools are under mayoral control, a system that gives Mayor Bill de Blasio complete authority to choose the next chancellor. This virtually assures that candidates there will reflect de Blasios political leanings, favoring public sector unions and more traditional approaches over market-based education reform ideas. They must also be content to finish out the remaining years of de Blasios second term, knowing that the next mayor will probably appoint someone new.

L.A. Unifieds seven-member board makes the choice, which makes it more complicated, both politically and practically. Last years elections upended the school boards balance of power, weakening the unions influence and empowering a four-person majority elected with the backing of wealthy charter school supporters. Charter-school advocates celebrated, hopeful that sweeping changes were coming.

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Then in September, local prosecutors filed criminal charges against board member Ref Rodriguez, who is accused of laundering campaign money and is under investigation for separate conflict-of-interest allegations. Rodriguez has pleaded not guilty to the charges and he remains a voting member of the board, which has led to speculation that the existing majority could still choose a superintendent who favors aggressive changes, such as increasing the number of charter schools and using standardized tests to evaluate teachers and principals.

If Rodriguez were forced out of office, the board would have no clear majority, a possibility that could lead its members to opt for a more moderate consensus pick.

This board is looking for long-term stability, said Carl Cohn, a former superintendent of Long Beach Unified and San Diego Unified, who now works with school districts such as L.A. Unified. That involves navigating the politics of a board of education, successfully getting along with unions, and strong stakeholder engagement in terms of direct contact with parents and local advocacy and civil rights groups.

Candidates likely to appeal to a politically divided board cant hold extreme views on charter schools, said Pedro Noguera, a professor at the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies at UCLA. As long as the person is perceived to be neither charter hostile or overly friendly, they should not be ruled out as a candidate, he wrote in an email.

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According to multiple sources, who requested anonymity to discuss a secretive process, some names being discussed for L.A. include Miguel Santana, L.A.s former chief administrative officer, who has advised the school board on financial matters; Joan Sullivan, chief executive officer of the Partnership for L.A. Schools, a nonprofit that oversees 18 district schools; and Matt Hill, superintendent of the Burbank Unified School District.

Candidates within the district include Chief Academic Officer Frances Gipson and Acting Supt. Vivian Ekchian.

There is recent precedent for picking a homegrown leader. In Chicago, Mayor Rahm Emanuel has burned through three public school chief executives during his tenure. Forrest Claypool, the latest to resign, had previously served as Emanuels chief of staff.

In December, the mayor named Janice Jackson, one of the districts top administrators and a graduate of the citys schools, as acting chief executive officer. She was formally appointed this month.

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One factor that is likely to loom large in the selection of L.A.s next superintendent is the districts budget woes.

While New York Citys public student population has held steady at 1.1 million, L.A. Unified has been losing students for more than a decade to charter schools, declining birth rates and rising housing costs that have priced low-income families out of many neighborhoods. The districts enrollment is directly linked to the amount of state funding it receives, and it is tanking. As one district official put it, L.A. Unified is losing the equivalent of a small school district each year.

At the same time, the districts pension and retiree healthcare costs are swallowing an ever greater portion of its funding.

L.A. will wind up bankrupt if it does not put in place a system that looks at evidence in funding programs that are successful, said Ramon Cortines, who served three separate stints as the districts superintendent. Were past the point where a modest amount of tweaking will do the job. It wont work.

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In addition to having to win over board members, superintendents here, as in other large school districts, face unending scrutiny from the media and the public, demands from labor unions and politicians, and outsized expectations. The job pays well  L.A.s superintendent makes $350,000 a year  but is no match for private-sector salaries.

Youre being pushed in every direction by every constituency that exists, said Jean-Claude Brizard, who was named chief executive of Chicagos public schools in 2011. He resigned after 17 months.

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A federal judge in Hawaii on Thursday declined to throw out a defamation case filed by director Brett Ratner against a woman who accused him of rape, but said a California law against lawsuits filed to silence critics was applicable in the case.

U.S. District Judge Helen Gillmor denied the motion to dismiss from attorneys representing Melanie Kohler, who accused Ratner of raping her 12 years ago in a Facebook post in October. Lawyers for the woman had argued Ratner offered no proof that Kohlers allegation was false, and contended the director was attempting to silence and intimidate Kohler and other women from divulging sexual misconduct.

In her ruling Thursday, Gillmor separately found that Kohlers post met the requirement for being a matter of public interest and constitutionally protected activity under Californias anti-SLAPP law, which protects against lawsuits designed to quash critics by burdening them with litigation.

Under the law, Ratner must now prove hes more likely than not to win his defamation case. Roberta Kaplan, an attorney for Kohler, said that part of the judges decision was significant because it shifts the burden of proof to Ratner.

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The judge said California law should apply in the case, rather than Hawaiis more restrictive anti-SLAPP law because the potential harm to Ratner was based in California, according to attorneys on the case.

Ratners attorneys welcomed the judges ruling and said it validated the sufficiency of Mr. Ratners defamation claim.

So it is clear, this lawsuit was never about silencing women, but rather about holding Ms. Kohler responsible for the false and defamatory statements she made about Mr. Ratner, attorney Andrew B. Brettler said in a statement.

Attorneys for Kohler also called the judges decision a step in their favor, saying the case was now going to be governed by the California statute, the strongest law in the country to protect free speech.

This means that Mr. Ratner now must prove that our client is lying. We dont think he can do that because, quite simply, Melanie is telling the truth. Kaplan said.

Ratner filed his lawsuit against Kohler, a former marketing executive who now lives in Hawaii, hours after The Times published allegations from six women who accused the director of sexual misconduct.

Brett Ratner raped me, she wrote in the post. She took it down within a couple of hours after receiving a threatening phone call from Ratners attorney.

Ratner, in his lawsuit, called Kohlers claims false, fabricated and fictional.

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The father of a 16-year-old teenager who was shot and killed Sunday by a Los Angeles County sheriffs deputy stood in front of a packed church seeking answers.

Wheres the gun? Wheres the gun? John Weber asked sheriffs officials as the crowd backed him up with chants and shouts. Sitting at a table with department officials Wednesday evening were members of the Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission, their faces grim. I know where the bullets are  theyre right in my babys back, Weber yelled.

The death of another young black man accused of possessing a weapon was a cruel blow in this South Los Angeles neighborhood that bears a disproportionate burden of violent crime, and it comes at a time when such encounters are under intense scrutiny nationwide.

Wednesdays emergency meeting, called in the wake of the shooting of Anthony Weber in Westmont, was intended to quell the inevitable anger among residents who already have a fractured relationship with law enforcement. But there was little dialogue, and it only seemed to inflame tensions that have long simmered and were stoked when, in the aftermath of the shooting, officials accused neighbors of taking a gun allegedly carried by the dead teenager.

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That gun is still missing.

A photograph of slain 16-year-old Anthony Weber is held up during the emergency town hall meeting. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times )

The meeting was cut short after a comment made by a Sheriffs Department homicide captain prompted loud outrage. By Thursday, activists were calling for Californias attorney general to mount an independent investigation into the shooting.

At the meeting Wednesday night, people shouted Stop lying at the department officials, along with profanities. At one point, Anthony Webers older brother, also named John Weber, stood to address the panel and asked whether there was a flaw in the system and whether the family and community were due something.

Absolutely not, replied Capt. Chris Bergner.

The comment immediately drew jeers as community members stood and began chanting. Officials, including Bergner, left out a side door. Community members and family were offended by the response.

In a statement Thursday morning, the Sheriffs Department said Bergner couldnt hear the question being asked because of the noise in the room. He heard, Dont you think we are doomed? the department said.

That is the only reason why he replied Absolutely not, the statement said. Bergner declined to comment Thursday and referred queries to the Sheriffs Departments information bureau.

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Capt. Chris Bergner and John Weber, brother of the victim, exchange words as the meeting ends abruptly. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times )

Xavier Thompson, a pastor and vice chairman of the Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission, said that the department missed an opportunity to foster better community relations and that its response to the gaffe was even more troubling.

I think this is typical damage control that law enforcement engages in when one of their own makes an offense, he said. We will not settle for spin.

Thompson, who is leading the commissions ad hoc committee on use of force by deputies, said Anthony Webers shooting death will be a driving force as the group prepares to issue findings and recommendations to the department.

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Kevin Twin Orange, 54, who works with young people in the area and was raised in Westmont, said deputies used to know youths better than they do now, and watched us grow up. That relationship has since deteriorated, and Orange said more dialogue needs to happen between the community and law enforcement.

Its going to be ugly before it gets better, he said.

Westmont, an unincorporated slice of land between Los Angeles and Inglewood, is one of the most violent neighborhoods in Los Angeles County, despite a countywide drop in homicides over the past decade. Webers killing comes a year and a half after that of Carnell Snell Jr., an 18-year-old college student who was shot and killed by a Los Angeles police officer just three blocks away.

Snell was one of five people in the last five years killed by law enforcement within a mile of where Weber died.

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Anthony Weber, 16, was fatally shot by sheriffs deputies Sunday in Westmont. (Family photo )

Snells death sparked at least two nights of protests in October 2016. People shut down traffic near the scene of the shooting and shouted profanities at officers in riot gear. Snell was running away from officers when he drew a handgun from his waistband and began turning toward police, the Los Angeles Police Department said. An officer fired six rounds at him, police said at the time.

In response to the community outcry, the department released surveillance footage that appeared to show Snell carrying a firearm just before he was killed. The Los Angeles Police Commission cleared Officer Leovardo Guillen in the shooting, but the district attorneys office is still reviewing the case.

In the shooting of Anthony Weber on Sunday at about 8 p.m., two deputies responded to a report of a young man in blue jeans and a black shirt pointing a handgun at a driver in the 1200 block of 107th Street. The caller, according to audio of the dispatch call, said he feared for his life.

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While on foot, deputies encountered a 16-year-old boy who matched the description. They spotted a handgun tucked into his pants, according to statements by the Sheriffs Department.

When they ordered him not to move, the teen ignored the deputies commands and took off running into an apartment complex known as a gang hangout, Bergner has said previously.

After entering a courtyard, the young man turned toward the deputies and one of them fired about 10 shots. The teenager was struck several times in the upper body, the department said in a statement.

Friends arrange a memorial for Anthony Weber at the site of his shooting on 107th Street in South Los Angeles. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times )

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After the shooting, the department said, neighbors immediately flooded the courtyard and the two deputies called for additional help to control the crowd as it swelled to 30 or 40 people. Deputies believe the gun went missing during the commotion, Bergner has said. The department is hoping to speak with more witnesses as it continues the investigation.

On Thursday, Margarita Ortega stood in the courtyard of the apartment complex and told the teenagers father what she saw that night. Ortega, 23, said she was in her bedroom when she heard a barrage of gunfire. She walked outside her door  only about 15 feet from the site of the shooting  and saw deputies standing near Webers body, as his friends shouted Give him CPR, give him CPR!

I dont know why they are saying there was like 40 people out here when there wasnt, she said. Everybody was so terrified they stayed inside their house.

John Weber, Anthonys father, listened to Ortega with tears in his eyes. He described his son as a father to an infant daughter and said the teen had recently started attending a charter school in the area. In his hand, he carried his sons ROTC uniform.

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In a fast-growing Inland Empire churning out new housing tracts, the city of Redlands is a throwback to an older, more regal era.

The college town is graced by historic mansions, old orange groves and a vintage downtown that stands in deep contrast to the regions big-box shopping centers and drive-through eateries. The town center is defined by century-old buildings filled with childrens boutiques, bakeries and cafes serving gourmet waffle sandwiches out of brick-lined alleys.

But danger lurks amid the idyllic charm of these brick buildings: As many as 74 in the city are not retrofitted to withstand a major earthquake, putting the public at risk should the bricks start to topple onto sidewalks, cars and pedestrians.

As many as 640 buildings in more than a dozen Inland Empire cities, including Riverside, Pomona and San Bernardino, have been marked as dangerous  but remain unretrofitted despite decades of warnings, according to a Times analysis of the latest building and safety records. These cities are far behind coastal regions of California, which have retrofitted thousands of buildings after devastating earthquakes exposed how deadly they can be.

The risks are all the more concerning because the Inland Empire is particularly vulnerable to a major earthquake.

Three of the states most dangerous faults  the San Andreas, the San Jacinto and the Cucamonga  intersect in this region east of downtown Los Angeles. The San Andreas alone, an ominous battleline visible from the foothills, is capable of unleashing a devastating magnitude 8.

Any shaking would be amplified by the precarious soil the region is built on  a basin of loose sediment that would rock like a bowl of Jell-O.

The Inland Empire is uniquely unprepared for a major earthquake, in large part because its economy has struggled in ways more-affluent coastal California has not. City officials and residents say myriad issues weigh on their day-to-days and seismic safety rarely tops the list.

Antonio Canul, a longtime restaurant owner in San Bernardino, shrugged off the risks and said there was no point in saving the city from an earthquake when it was already in such economic shambles. In the 34 years that hes lived in the city, Canul said, hes had more pressing matters to worry about.

Im just here to do business, feed people and make a living, said Canul, who cooks, cleans and serves each day, starting at 6 a.m. in an old brick building downtown. If youre gonna die, youre gonna die. Maybe its cancer, maybe its an earthquake.

Antonio Canul, owner of Molly's Cafe in San Bernardino, has leased the red-brick building for many years. Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times

Then there are the other obstacles: Poor data upkeep. Building chiefs who stick around for only a few years. Little, if any, public pressure. In dozens of interviews and records requests, The Times found a trail of starts and stops by officials in each city to identify and update lists of old brick buildings. One list dated back 27 years; others were marked by hand or indecipherable.

While Los Angeles, San Francisco and others have charged ahead on retrofitting many types of vulnerable buildings, many here still have not tackled what structural engineers say is the most basic, most dangerous, most unsupported type of building.

California learned the dangers of brick construction when a major earthquake struck Long Beach in 1933, crumbling schools, churches and shops. Some 120 people died. These so-called unreinforced masonry buildings, or URMs, are vulnerable because the mortar essentially crumbles apart during shaking, bringing down the roof and walls.

In-depth graphic: Why old brick buildings can collapse, and how they can be retrofitted 

Cities across California now ban this type of construction. URMs that had already been built were mostly left to fate. But as its history of destruction continued  Sylmar in 1971, Loma Prieta in 1989  a number of cities found the political will to compile a list of addresses and force owners to either demolish or add reinforcement to their brick buildings.

When a magnitude 6.5 earthquake in 2003 struck downtown Paso Robles, the two people who died were found crushed under an avalanche of bricks outside an unretrofitted historic building. The roof had slid onto the sidewalk, taking the clock tower with it. (The city, which had a retrofit law on the books, had given the owner until 2018 to complete the seismic strengthening.)

They are really dangerous.  Even with moderate earthquakes, we see  all the time  collapse of these structures, said UC San Diego structural engineering professor Benson Shing, who has researched the subject extensively. Theres no spine. You can see the blocks just one on top of another. So when you shake the structure, it will just rock and collapse.

Paso Robles, 2003 Rescue workers uncover cars after a powerful earthquake collapsed buildings and killed at least two people on Dec. 22, 2003 in Paso Robles, Calif. (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times) Long Beach, 1933 The ruins of St. Anthony's Church in Long Beach, Calif., after a massive earthquake struck on March 10, 1933. (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times) San Francisco, 1989 The fourth-story wall of this San Francisco brick building on Bluxome Street near Sixth and Townsend collapsed onto the street, crushing five people in their cars in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. (U.S. Geological Survey) Top: Rescue workers uncover cars after a powerful earthquake Dec. 22, 2003, in Paso Robles. (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times) Left: The ruins of St. Anthony's Church in Long Beach after a quake on March 10, 1933. (T.J. Maher / U.S. Geological Survey) Right: The fourth-story wall of this San Francisco brick building on Bluxome Street collapsed in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. (U.S. Geological Survey)

In Los Angeles, after three decades of chasing down the owners of 8,080 URMs, officials say there are now only three left in the city that still need to be retrofitted or demolished. When the Northridge quake struck in 1994, the retrofits proved lifesaving: Not a single person died in a brick building.

The Times started surveying Inland cities in the wake of the 2014 Napa earthquake, which once again exposed the vulnerabilities of brick construction. Reporters, under the California Public Records Act, requested URM data from 21 jurisdictions. Following these inquiries, a number of city officials restarted their efforts to identify which buildings remain at risk today.

We have to deal with it one way or the other, sooner or later, said Ramon Hernandez, who became Coltons building official 18 months ago and has been retracing the steps of his many predecessors. Hernandez drove around the city in December and updated a building list from 1991 in response to a Times inquiry. He said hes reached out to owners and is trying to find a solution.

Others have thrown up their hands, pointing to the same challenges their cities faced decades ago that are still holding them back today.

Forcing owners to retrofit or demolish these buildings just doesnt make sense in a predominantly working-class region like the Inland Empire, some city officials said. Many treasure the areas historical character, and a city could be put at an economic disadvantage if neighboring cities dont enforce the same strict rules.

The jurisdiction that does not require retrofit can outcompete their neighbor that does require retrofit when attracting new business, said Mike Gardner, a councilman in Riverside, where the historic Mission Inn and some of its surrounding brick buildings have been retrofitted. In all, the city has as many as 160 URMs left, the most out of any city examined by The Times.There is also a risk, Gardner said, that buildings that have not been retrofitted may be abandoned by their owners in economically depressed areas.

Orange Street Alley captures the charm and rich historic feel of the old brick buildings in downtown Redlands. Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times

Others shrug at the number of unsafe buildings. They say many are only occupied for a few hours each day and question whether retrofitting such old buildings  which might save lives but not necessarily the building after an earthquake strikes  is even worth it. It makes more sense to wait for real estate demand to kick in, they said, when new owners decide its more cost effective to tear these buildings down and build anew.

The city of Ontario at last count had 42 unretrofitted brick buildings. Thats not a high number, building official Kevin Shear said.

Seismologist Lucy Jones, whose work guided L.A. in 2015 to enact the most ambitious seismic safety laws in California history and is now helping dozens of smaller cities do the same, said she understands  but also questions  these economic arguments.

If you're going to use an economic argument, you have to ask: What's the value of human life? Seismologist Lucy Jones

If you're going to use an economic argument, you have to ask: What's the value of human life? she said. URMs are the reason you have earthquakes in Iran that kill 60% of the population. Most of us don't have them anymore. And the idea that we do know exactly which buildings are the most dangerous and where the dangers will be  whats the implication of a decision to not retrofit?

In San Bernardino, which sits directly on top of the San Andreas, officials acknowledged the implications and said its time to do something about the risks. Despite the challenges posed by a five-year bankruptcy, a weary working community and spotty records on the oldest properties in town, building officials have tried to push ahead.

It's a daunting task. A lot of people don't understand what a complicated issue it is. People just think, We've known that these are high-risk buildings for 25 years, why haven't cities done anything?  said Mark Persico, who took over the citys building and safety staff in 2014. One of the issues that weve had  because there's been a high turnover in staff as a part of the bankruptcy  is really coming up with a complete list of properties, because the city has started and stopped this process, I think like many cities have, since the early 1990s.

By April, Persico and his team had whittled the list down to 89 buildings still in need of retrofit. Many are boarded up and vacant in the citys downtown.

Tucked in an otherwise desolate stretch of aging brick buildings, Canuls corner restaurant, along historic Route 66, is one colorful hallmark to what a bustling downtown could be. Steps were taken in the 1990s to retrofit this building, when the city had tried a mandatory retrofit law. Facing pushback and limited success, the city repealed the ordinance in 1999, and it is unclear today whether the restaurant retrofit was completed, according to city records and preliminary surveys by Persico and his team.

The current building owner on record could not be reached for comment.

Orange Street Alley in downtown Redlands. Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times

Inside on one recent Wednesday, the lunch rush was lively. More than a dozen tables, along with the bar, were crowded with parents, children, police officers and government workers. An outdoor patio offered more seating along a painted brick wall.

Canul, dismissing the seismic risks, said the city needed to focus on more important problems than telling owners what to do.

Fix the economy first, he said. Create more businesses around here. Create an environment for more people to come. If they do, small businesses like this are going to have money to rebuild these old buildings.

Persico has hosted a number of community meetings to bridge this disconnect, broaching the idea of reviving a mandatory retrofit ordinance. Forcing building owners  most of them mom-and-pop business operators  to spend tens of thousands of dollars to retrofit was, and still is, unrealistic, Persico said. Unlike in Los Angeles, real estate values are so low that even taking out a commercial loan for a retrofit would be difficult.

The cost of retrofitting a brick building  which can involve using steel braces, rods and beams to hold up the bricks in a way that keeps them from coming apart during shaking  could cost an owner anywhere from $30,000 to more than $100,000.

Within the next year, Persico hopes to secure some form of grant to help owners pay for a percentage of the architectural or engineering cost of retrofitting.

Three ways to retrofit Making old brick buildings safer can require more reinforcing material like steel. Think of a wooden table  its more likely to fall apart without long steel screws that keep it together when shaken, Hussain says. (Raoul Ranoa/@latimesgraphics)

A handful of neighboring cities  both wealthy and working-class  have overcome the economic pushback. Following a magnitude 5.2 earthquake that damaged numerous brick buildings, Claremont in 1991 mandated all 33 of its URMs retrofitted or demolished. Rancho Cucamonga enacted a law that year forcing owners of URMs to retrofit or demolish within three years of notification.

By 2006, the city was down to 22 unretrofitted brick buildings. Today, just one  fenced off and red-tagged  remains.

In Chino, building officials in 1988 identified about 30 unsafe buildings and chipped away at the issue. Using redevelopment money, the city purchased a number of brick buildings in its downtown, demolished them and turned the empty lots into a community park and a new senior living complex.

For the remaining unretrofitted brick buildings, city officials bolted large signs by each entrance, declaring in English and Spanish: In the event of an earthquake, this building could be subject to structural damage that could cause death or injury to its occupants and/or persons near the building exterior.

In Chino, officials bolted large earthquake warning signs, in English and Spanish, by the entrance of unretrofitted brick buildings. Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times

One owner, hoping to attract more high-end retail tenants, took all the steps to retrofit his building and made a show of removing the placard during a ceremony in 2007, recalled community development director Nick Liguori. That was a big deal to him  to get that building retrofitted so he could take that placard off.

These placards were placed in accordance with a decades-old state law that requires owners to post warnings outside unsafe brick buildings  but cities are not required to enforce the law, and many in the Inland Empire do not, according to interviews and spot checks by Times reporters of a number of old brick buildings.

The lack of institutional memory in many of these cities is a major problem. Building officials tend to come and go, handing off old notes and addresses from one to another like a baton, with no finish line. Yucaipas building official currently is also the top building official for another city and the interim chief for a third.

Back at Redlands, Corrie Kates has been coming in twice a week as the citys latest building official. A third-party contractor, he replaces the former full-time building chief, who left last year.

Some of the brick buildings downtown have been retrofitted, Kates said, and any owner who wants to make significant renovations would be required to include a seismic update. But the reason there remain so many unretrofitted buildings in the city is simple.

The owners don't have the money to retrofit them, and theres no funding out there to help, he said. If there were public funds available, then cities would go make an effort to promote people to retrofit."

Kates said it was useful for the city to have its list of 74 addresses, last updated 13 years ago, that are considered hazardous.

If the alarm bells start ringing and the ground starts shaking, he said, fire and rescue officials will know where to check first.

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Israel Izzy Slodowitz was soaring over Costa Mesa in a single-engine airplane with a friend on his way to Van Nuys from a charity dinner in San Diego the night of Jan. 28 when something went wrong.

The engine on the Beechcraft Bonanza G33 he was flying suddenly quit.

Slodowitz, a 23-year-old Israeli special operations veteran in his junior year at USCs Marshall School of Business, made an emergency landing at about 7:50 p.m. on the northbound lanes of the 55 Freeway near the Del Mar Avenue exit.

He recounted the incident for the USC News website last week.

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Pilots are trained for these kinds of things, Slodowitz, a licensed commercial pilot, told USC News. Still, I went on total muscle memory and didnt let myself think of anything other than landing the plane.

His boss Beechcraft could glide for about 10 miles under normal conditions, and he was within sight of John Wayne Airport. But strong Santa Ana winds pushed him off course.

I realized that we werent going to make the runway, he said. And because it was night, I couldnt see what was in front of the runway. Im not going to lie  in the very back of my head, I could see how this might turn out badly.

Traffic on the 55 was light, so he turned off the planes battery to conserve power and glided under a freeway overpass, he said.

I saw an opening on the highway and I went for it right away, Slodowitz told KTLA-TV. I had to make a last-minute, last-second judgment on whether or not we could make it over [the overpass], and we didnt have the airspeed to make it over, so I went under it.

The plane didnt hit any cars or cause any collisions on the freeway, and Slodowitz was able to pull it to the shoulder of the road. No injuries were reported, and the plane was undamaged.

Authorities are investigating what caused the engine to fail.

Ill be back in the cockpit, Slodowitz told USC News, not because Im crazy but because Im logical. Aviation, statistically speaking, is safer than driving, even walking.
A federal judge in Los Angeles has ruled that police departments violate the Constitution if they detain inmates at the request of immigration agents, marking the latest legal setback for the Trump administrations plans to identify and deport immigrants in the country illegally.

In his order issued Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Andre Birotte Jr. found that a now-defunct policy of the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department violated the constitutional rights of inmates who were kept in custody at the behest of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.

Birottes strongly worded order bolstered similar previous court rulings, which found police cannot legally honor such detainer requests from ICE.

The LASD officers have no authority to arrest individuals for civil immigration offenses, and thus, detaining individuals beyond their date for release violated the individuals Fourth Amendment rights, Birotte wrote.

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The Sheriffs Department has not delayed releasing inmates on ICEs behalf since 2014 and none of Californias 58 sheriffs are willing to fulfill the ICE requests. Police in other parts of the country, however, continue to hold inmates to allow ICE agents time to take them into federal custody for possible deportation. Judges elsewhere could look to this weeks decision for guidance when deciding future cases.

In the 48-page ruling, Birotte found other old ICE and Sheriffs Department policies had run afoul of the Constitution as well.

Though many of the issues raised in the case have been addressed in previous cases or dont apply to new ICE and Sheriffs Department policies, Birottes order bars either agency from returning to old practices and will add to the growing set of cases impeding Trumps plans to aggressively ramp up the number of deportations.

As part of the administrations plans, ICE officials have increased the number of detainer requests the agency issues to local police departments. And Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions has tried to ratchet up pressure on local law enforcement agencies across the country that have refused to honor the detainer requests and cooperate with ICE in other ways.

This is a significant ruling, especially considering the national debate around immigration and the efforts of the Trump administration to strong-arm localities to honor immigration detainers, said Jennie Pasquarella, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, one of several groups involved in the lawsuit. Here is yet another court saying that any police department that does go along with detainer requests can be held liable.

Under Birottes order, an estimated 10,000 to 12,000 people who were improperly held in L.A. County jails on ICE detainers between 2010 and 2014 may be entitled to monetary awards, said Pasquarella.

Along with his finding that local police cannot legally hold people in custody at ICEs request, Birrotte ruled on other aspects of the detainer process.

He ruled, for example, that ICE was wrong to issue detainers for people who were born overseas but were not found in the massive databases federal agents rely on when determining a persons immigration status. ICE officials said in court filings that the agency stopped the practice in June 2015, although Pasquarella said she doubts the agency has changed its ways.

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And an ICE practice of issuing detainers for people without a warrant when there was no evidence that the subject was a flight risk was illegal, the judge ruled.

Under the terms of the lawsuit, the ruling voids any pending detainer requests that were issued by ICE officials in Southern California. That designation is important since ICE officers working out of a facility in Orange County issue detainer requests to police departments in dozens of states around the country.

Birotte also concluded that the Sheriffs Department practice of booking people with ICE detainers into jail even if their bail had been set at less than $25,000 was improper, Birotte said. Typically, the department did not put someone with bail under that amount behind bars. The department said the policy was changed in 2014.

For years, the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department ... callously denied immigrants constitutional protections that universally apply to all other jail detainees  unjustifiably holding them without cause as prisoners, said Lindsay Battles, one of the attorneys involved in the case. This decision holds law enforcement agencies accountable for their anti-immigrant abuse of their authority.

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ICE and sheriffs officials declined to comment, citing the ongoing lawsuit.

The order came in a class-action lawsuit that challenges several aspects of detainer requests  electronic alerts that ICE officers commonly issue when a local police department has custody of someone ICE believes should be deported. The notices, among other things, ask police to keep targeted inmates beyond when they would otherwise be released in order to give ICE agents time to take custody of them.

The lawsuit, which combined two separate cases, is being waged by several groups and law firms and has been winding its way through the court since 2012. One of the original cases was filed by U.S. citizens who were in Los Angeles County jails when ICE wrongly issued detainers for them. The other was brought by immigrants challenging the Sheriffs Departments cooperation with ICE.

Finding that some issues needed to be hashed out in front of a jury, Birotte did not rule on all aspects of the case.

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UPDATES:

4:40 p.m.: This article was updated with a comment from ACLU attorney Jennie Pasquarella and additional details about the ruling.

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This article was originally published at 1:20 p.m.
Federal prosecutors have quietly dismissed the case against a man accused of smuggling 77 immigrants in the back of a fake UPS truck.

In its request to drop the felony charge, the U.S. attorneys office cited certain factual issues, saying the interests of justice warrant dismissal of this case. No further details were given.

Its an ongoing investigation, and were not going to comment, U.S. attorneys office spokeswoman Kelly Thornton said.

A magistrate judge approved the dismissal Thursday and authorized the release of Shawn Lee Seiler, 25, from custody.

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The case was dismissed without prejudice, meaning prosecutors could bring charges later if they so choose.

Seilers attorney did not respond Friday to a request for comment.

A spokesman with U.S. Customs and Border Protection deferred comment to prosecutors, as did the California Highway Patrol, which also was involved in the arrest.

The discovery of so many immigrants being transported into the country would normally trigger a news release from authorities, but the arrest was never publicized.

According to the complaint, a CHP officer pulled over what appeared to be a brown UPS truck about 5 p.m. Jan. 29 in southeastern San Diego County. The truck had been weaving and had no tags, the document states.

A Border Patrol agent driving by came upon the stop and asked the officer if he needed help. Seiler was in the CHP vehicle by then, the complaint states.

The agent observed the truck was riding extremely low and had fresh paint on the rear, the complaint says. He also smelled body odor mixed with the scent of a soap popular in Mexico.

Seiler, a U.S. citizen, said the truck was his and gave permission to search, the complaint states. The agent found 77 people  including five minors  inside, sweating heavily and standing shoulder to shoulder.

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The complaint says Seiler waived his Miranda rights and agreed to talk to investigators. He said that he was to be paid $100 for each immigrant he transported and that he was expecting 50 people that night, the court record says.

A UPS spokesman said that Seiler has never worked for the company and that the truck was not a company vehicle.

Seiler was granted $35,000 bond during a detention hearing in San Diego federal court last week  an amount that prosecutors and his defense attorney already had agreed upon and presented to the judge  but he did not post it before the case was dismissed.

The government also charged two immigrants with illegally reentering the U.S. after being previously deported. Those charges were dismissed last week, indicating trouble with the cases.

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The rest of the immigrants were being held as material witnesses.

Davis writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune

kristina.davis@sduniontribune.com
Ringed by television cameras and photographers, Los Angeles politicians grinned and plunked coins Thursday into the bright orange meter newly installed in Grand Park.

As homelessness has surged in Los Angeles, this is a way for people to give. And its going to be right before them when theyre walking down the street, Councilman Jose Huizar said.

The machine, which looks like an unusually exuberant parking meter, will collect donations to support the City County Community program, which brings outreach workers into the streets to help homeless people. Huizar touted it as a new way for Angelenos and visitors to chip in and help address the crisis.

Six of the donation meters are being installed across downtown Los Angeles. In addition to spare change or credit card donations, the meters will generate money through sponsorships that cost $3,500 annually. Huizar is sponsoring the meter unveiled to reporters Thursday in Grand Park, which bore a hot pink sign with his name. Another is sponsored by County Supervisor Hilda Solis.

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The machines themselves were donated by the IPS Group. The six meters will cost $5,000 to operate and maintain each year and generate $21,000 from annual sponsorships, producing at least $16,000 for the outreach program, plus any money that people drop or swipe into the meters, according to Huizar spokesman Rick Coca.

Coca said that if the program doubles in size, as Huizar is hoping will happen within a year, the overhead costs per meter will drop. Sponsorship money will be collected by the Flintridge Center, which has coordinated similar programs in Pasadena and West Palm Beach, Fla., and sent to a nonprofit called the People Concern, which works with the outreach program.

So far, the machines are being set up only on private or county property, not city land, because the city has contractual obligations under an exclusive agreement with a company that installs bus shelters, Huizar said at the Thursday event.

The councilman credited downtown resident Brigham Yen, who blogged about seeing donation meters while he was in Maryland more than five years ago, for sparking the idea. Yen, who attended the Thursday unveiling and was honored by Huizar, said the meters would provide a needed alternative to simply handing spare change to panhandlers.

If you are going to give money to the homeless, do so in a way thats responsible, Yen said.

Such meters have generated debate as they pop up across the country: When donation meters were installed in Pasadena four years ago, some critics said they were meant to help cities push homeless people away and monopolize money that could go to panhandlers. Some homeless advocates have denounced them as a gimmick that does little to address the root problems.

The whole premise is, Money is not good for poor people, theyre going to use it for bad things, so lets give it to charities instead, said Paul Boden, director of the Western Regional Advocacy Project, a homelessness advocacy group in San Francisco. If youre broke, money is probably what youre looking for.

Hours after the television crews had left Grand Park, Daniel Salcido was surprised to learn about the new machine that had been installed, just steps away from where he was sitting in the afternoon sun. Salcido said he has been homeless for roughly eight years, but he wasnt worried that parkgoers might stroll past him and plunk coins into the machine.

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Money can make him a target for thieves on the street, he said. This way, Salcido said, you wont have people rushing you.

emily.alpert@latimes.com

Twitter: @AlpertReyes
In the decades following World War II, when the suburbs were young and the car was king, Los Angeles went on a land-buying spree.

The city bought parcels in every size and shape, demolished any buildings on them and opened parking lots to serve emerging commercial districts.

By the 1970s the buying had mostly stopped, and today these 119 public lots blend into the urban quilt all but indistinguishable from their free-market competitors.

But now the city is cultivating plans that could transform much of that land again, this time from asphalt to multistory apartment buildings to house chronically homeless people.

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Plans are already underway to develop housing on large public lots in Venice and Hollywood, while officials review the rest to determine which could support housing.

Advocates of the conversion see it as more than a solution to homelessness.

These opportunities ought to be evaluated in terms of the next vision of what the city ought to be, said Eric Moss, the architect on a project that would squeeze 140 units onto the Venice parking lot, along with a parking structure to preserve all the spaces there now. Those lots belong to a completely different history and a completely different time.

But how many of them ultimately prove viable will depend on many unknowns, among them the reaction of council offices and neighborhood groups and the ingenuity of architects in making the most of parcels that in many cases are small, oddly shaped and represent a prized resource.

I think were going backwards, Lincoln Heights real estate broker Steven Kasten said about a proposal to build on lots there. Merchants are not going to have parking. People are going to move out. Its going to hurt business.

The idea of converting public parking to housing has been around for decades in L.A. but has gained little traction. In the 1980s, Mayor Tom Bradley proposed leasing rights to developers to build multifamily housing, but there was no follow-up.

Northeast-area Councilman Gil Cedillo revived the idea in 2008 with a plan to build 80 units on three city lots near the Gold Line in Highland Park.

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That plan fell into limbo after a neighborhood group, Friends of Highland Park, sued, alleging the environmental review approved by the city was inadequate. A trial courts ruling for the city was overturned on appeal. The city chose not to appeal further, and the project remains stalled.

The new parking lot review grew out of an urgency to implement Proposition HHH, the $1.2-billion bond measure approved by the voters to help fund the construction of 1,000 permanent supportive housing units each year.

With taxpayer funds now committed, a new obstacle emerged. The scarcity of suitable land in the citys highly competitive real estate market could add years to the start-up time for new projects.

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Mayor Eric Garcetti and the City Council have promised the city would speed up construction by providing land from its portfolio of surplus property.

After sifting through more than 500 prospects, the City Administrative Office has narrowed the field to 129 sites that are potentially large enough and in suitable zones. All but 10 are public parking lots.

The citys Housing and Community Investment Department is also planning to offer affordable housing developers 24 city-owned lots, most acquired from the Community Redevelopment Agency when it was dissolved by the state in 2012.

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Combined, the properties could support thousands of new units. Some would go to low-income renters, whether they are homeless or not. But even if only half the units were set aside for homeless people, that would make up a substantial boost to the 10-year building goal.

But the hope that using city properties would dramatically speed the pace of construction is being tested by the realities of city procedures.

Yolanda Chavez, an assistant city administrative officer, said the office is reviewing lots a few at a time and will confer with the Department of Transportation to determine their suitability and the number of spaces that need to be preserved.

Then a motion from the City Council office is required to proceed with a planning report. After that the lot can be offered for bidding.

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Chavez said she hopes to offer several properties for proposals in February and then a few more twice a year.

Because the process incurs costs, such as appraisal fees, Chavez said she requires a show of support from a City Council member in the form of a motion before she will begin it.

Though there are city parking lots in almost every council district, only a handful of motions have been introduced so far.

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A Times survey of dozens of lots showed challenges unique to each.

The smallest, with only seven spaces on West Washington Boulevard in Mid-City, is among a few that may simply be too small for multistory buildings. The largest is unlikely to be replaced by housing. It is a structure with more than 3,000 spaces built into the Dolby Theatre complex in Hollywood, and generates $12 million a year in revenue.

Most are on side streets a block from major suburban boulevards and serve one- or two-story commercial buildings.

Architects will have to design three- to five-story buildings that blend with both the businesses and with adjoining residential neighborhoods.

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About two-thirds of the lots are metered and bring revenue to the city.

The amount of parking to be replaced would have to be decided case by case.

Because many of the lots are in clusters, there are opportunities for creative planning. Replacement parking could be built on one lot, for example, with housing on other ones nearby.

In almost every case, the scale of the project would change the character of a neighborhood, potentially bringing new life to aging business districts, but almost certainly stirring opposition in some. The strategy is getting its first test in Venice.

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Parking Lot 731, spanning the Grand Canal, provides 188 spaces in a parking-tight district where bohemian businesses, struggling artists and owners of multimillion-dollar homes mix only two blocks from the beach. It pulls in more than $1 million a year for the city.

Two nonprofits, Venice Community Housing and Hollywood Community Housing Corp., have been selected to develop the lot, with plans for 140 housing units in two buildings on either side of the historic canal.

The project is required to preserve all the public parking, with an additional 143 spaces for the tenants and retail, said Venice Community Housing executive director Becky Dennison.

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Preliminary designs by Eric Owen Moss Architects show the parking in two multistory structures encircled by the living spaces and retail  a configuration made possible by the size of the property, at 121,000 square feet one of the citys largest parking lots.

The plan has yet to be formally presented to the community, but preliminary plans released last year stirred opposition from some community groups.

Moss said capturing the spirit of Venice is his challenge as he is working carefully within a height limit, working carefully within a unit count, reconstitution of the canal, public sense of obligation to retail and art walks. Were fitting all of those intelligently onto the site.

Safran & Associates, a for-profit developer, has been selected to develop affordable housing on a lot on Wilcox Avenue in Hollywood, across the street from the high-end Dream Hollywood hotel.

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Two men walk through the parking lot at 1637 North Wilcox Avenue in Hollywood. Safran & Associates, a for-profit developer of affordable housing, has been selected to develop the lot which rests across the street from the high-end Dream Hollywood hotel. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times )

Tyler Monroe, Safrans vice president for development, said plans for the 45,000-square-foot lot are not set but will preserve the existing 149 spaces.

Because they are so large, the Venice and Hollywood lots are among the least challenging for designers.

Across the city, seven smallish lots scattered around North Broadway in Lincoln Heights may set the tone for how the program will unfold in other aging commercial centers, including Echo Park, Van Nuys, Reseda, Canoga Park and Sawtelle.

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The lots are not financial assets for the city. Three offer free parking, and the others generate only hundreds of dollars a year per space, compared with thousands for more-productive lots.

Collectively they provide a large building space, but it is cut into inconveniently small pieces. The smallest is only 10,000 square feet.

Cedillo, the areas councilman, has proposed to offer five of the seven lots for housing. But community reaction could be critical.

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At a January meeting of the Lincoln Heights Neighborhood Council, a field deputy for Cedillo faced more than 100 residents who were upset that two developers  WORKS, a northeast L.A. nonprofit, and the for-profit GTM Holdings  were given an exclusive negotiating agreement to build on the lots without public input.

The deputy, Jose Rodriguez, told the residents they would be able to work with the developer to design the plan.

Channa Grace, the president and chief executive of WORKS, said she expects the project to include senior housing and other affordable housing and some replacement parking, in addition to permanent supportive housing for homeless people.

Were looking to have a robust outreach and get input from the community, Grace said.Take what we find and go out into the community. Talk to folks, see what theyre thinking.

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Some who attended the neighborhood council meeting expected those talks to be tough.

There is no warmth for this project right now from this community, said Lincoln Heights resident and political blogger Scott Johnson.

doug.smith@latimes.com

Twitter: @LATDoug
A California teen who was driving drunk as she livestreamed a crash on social media that killed her younger sister was sentenced to more than six years and four months in prison on Thursday, officials said.

Obdulia Sanchez, 19, pleaded guilty last month to gross vehicular manslaughter, driving under the influence and child endangerment in connection with the July 2017 crash that killed her sister and gained international attention.

The Stockton resident recorded video of herself on Instagram Live behind the wheel of a 2003 Buick as her 14-year-old sister, Jacqueline Sanchez, and a second 14-year-old girl sat in the back seat.

The alarming video showed Sanchez losing control of her vehicle and crashing.

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Moments later, she showed the body of her sister and says: I  killed my sister, OK. I know I am going to jail for life, all right? This is the last thing that I wanted to happen, OK?

The California Highway Patrol said Sanchez was driving north of Los Banos when she swerved off the road and overcorrected. The car then veered across the road, crashed into a wire fence and rolled into a field.

The two girls in the rear seat, who were not wearing seat belts, were ejected from the vehicle, the CHP said.

Sanchez expressed remorse for the crash at her sentencing Thursday, Merced County Dist. Atty. officials said. She has been in custody since the crash and will receive credit for time served.

joseph.serna@latimes.com

For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna on Twitter.
Covina police are looking for a man they say sexually assaulted a minor after he forced his way into a hotel room Wednesday night.

Police say the man drove a newer-model Dodge 4500 Ram truck through the parking lot of the Vanllee Hotel in Covina until he saw a lit room with the drapes open. He parked facing the interior of a hotel room where two minors were staying and masturbated, authorities said.

He got out of the truck and stood outside their hotel window pretending to be on the phone for more than half an hour before he walked through the hotel and forced his way into the minors room.

Police say he sexually assaulted one of the minors and then fled in his truck.

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Police described the man as stocky, balding with hair around his ears, with a short beard and prescription glasses. He was last seen wearing a tan or brown suit with a blue-and-white striped shirt.

Police are asking anyone with information to contact the Covina Police Department Watch Commander at 626-384-5665 or Crime Stoppers 800-222-TIPS (8477).
Santa Barbara County sheriffs officials will no longer use voluntary in their evacuation alerts after concerns that the warnings they pushed out before devastating mudslides ravaged Montecito last month were ineffective in getting people to leave.

Many residents in neighborhoods under voluntary evacuation warnings decided to stay. Some assumed the threat was overblown just weeks after the Thomas fire triggered similar calls to evacuate.

For some, the focus was on the word voluntary rather than on the word evacuation,  Sheriff Bill Brown told reporters Thursday. The reality is that some people misinterpreted that and believed that there was a measure of safety there that there really wasnt.

The consequences were deadly.

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A majority of the 21 people killed when a torrent of mud and boulders swept through neighborhoods and destroyed homes on Jan. 9 lived in areas designated as voluntary evacuation zones. The two people still missing were also in those zones.

All of us in retrospect, and in 20-20 hindsight, have to answer the question honestly: Was what we did sufficient on January the 8th? Brown said at a community meeting Thursday evening. And obviously, in retrospect, it was not.

Now, 72 hours before any major storm, authorities will issue a pre-evacuation advisory putting the entire community on notice that residents should prepare to leave, said Undersheriff Bernard Melekian.

As the storm gets closer, affected neighborhoods will be divided into two evacuation categories: a recommended evacuation warning area and a mandatory evacuation order area.

The new definitions are more clear, said Kelly Hoover, a spokeswoman for the Sheriffs Office. We wanted to get the public right away familiar with these new evacuation definitions.

For those under a recommended evacuation warning, authorities strongly encourage they find a safer place to shelter.

It means that the danger exists, and it has been determined that you live in an area where theres a high risk for loss of life and property, Brown said. While personal discretion is allowed, it is not advised.

Those under a mandatory evacuation order  which indicates an extreme risk for loss of life and property  will be instructed to immediately head to a safer place.

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Residents who ignore the order should not expect rescue or other life-saving assistance after the onset of an emergency event, Brown said.

For the next few years, he added, we will all be experiencing a new normal about how we must deal with the potential dangers of approaching storms and resulting flooding and debris flows.

In the days leading up to Januarys storm, the county had issued numerous warnings about the possibility of mudflows on its website and social media, through news outlets and via community information emails that residents can sign up to receive.

But The Times reported earlier that the county 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.

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The storm ended up being worse than expected, and the debris caused destruction much farther south than the initial estimates.

Its not clear whether a broader evacuation warning would have made a difference. Officials estimated that only 15% of the residents in the mandatory evacuation zone left.

There were also technical glitches and conflicting maps that prevented earlier warnings from getting to residents.

Leading up to the storm, authorities released conflicting evacuation instructions that left the hardest-hit neighborhoods out of the warning zone.

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The Sheriffs Office posted a list of voluntary and mandatory evacuation areas for the town on Facebook and linked to the list from its website.

But a separate map on the countys main website included a larger voluntary evacuation zone that included dozens of homes not covered by the sheriffs list.

Times staff writer Joseph Serna contributed to this report.
When Angela Ochoa arrived at her fiances hospital bed, he was unconscious.

He had cuts to his hands, swelling to his face, to his abdomen. He obviously had to have put up a fight, Ochoa said.

But no one could tell her what had happened. Later that day, Nov. 19, Border Patrol Agent Rogelio Roger Martinez died.

To this day, no one can tell Ochoa what happened to the man she was to marry. Agents in the Border Patrol union say he was assaulted by rock-hurling migrants. President Trump and other officials held up his death as example of the dangers faced by the Border Patrol and as another reason to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico line. But this week the FBI said it had found no evidence of an attack; it offered no further explanation for Martinezs death.

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So for now, Ochoa continues to await answers. She said this week that on the last night of his life, Nov. 18, Martinez sent her a text message at 10:30 p.m.

He was letting me know he was going to be out and about  that they were sending him out, Ochoa said.

Martinez, a four-year veteran raised on the border, didnt talk much about the danger of his work. So his fiancee took the late-night patrol in stride.

OK, she texted back. Have fun.

Martinez, 36, was working along Interstate 10 about 120 miles east of their home in El Paso. He had just radioed the nearest Border Patrol station to say he was checking a sensor that had been activated in a concrete culvert frequented by migrants and drug smugglers. He would be sign cutting  searching with his flashlight for footprints and other signs of activity on a moonless night in the high desert.

Fellow Agent Stephen Garland, at a gas station a dozen miles away in the nearest town, Van Horn, was summoned to assist Martinez.

Soon after, Garland, 38, called his wife on his cellphone, disoriented. She alerted the station in Van Horn that he and Martinez were in trouble.

Garland then spoke with a dispatcher, saying he wasnt sure where he was but that the two were hurt and had run into a culvert.

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The agents were found in the 9-foot-deep culvert. Both were still wearing their utility belts. Martinez still had his flashlight in his hand.

An autopsy released this week found Martinez died of blunt-force trauma, but how he received his injuries remains unclear. His manner of death was ruled undetermined. U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan sent a memo to agents late Wednesday that revealed more.

The absence of evidence is a key factor in this case  not due to lack of effort or determination, but because evidence which would indicate the presence of other persons or the commission of a criminal act is not present, the memo said.

McAleenan wrote that the FBI had found no evidence the agents were attacked, and noted further evidence indicating an assault by smugglers was unlikely.

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There were no defensive wounds on Agent Martinez or his partner who suffered injuries in this incident, and there was no third-party blood or DNA evidence recovered from the scene or from the agents clothing, the memo said.

No footprints were found at the scene except those of the agents and first responders, and experienced trackers found no other sign of outsiders there, the memo said.

The memo said Agent Garland, 38, fell about 22 feet from Martinez, landing on his back and sustaining significant injuries to his back and skull.

His resultant injuries have impaired the agents ability to recall the events of the incident, the memo said.

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Brandon Judd, president of the union that represents agents, the National Border Patrol Council, took issue with the memo and insisted the agents were attacked.

In that area drug smugglers use booties to disguise their footprints, he said. The problem right now is there is no evidence of an attack, a vehicle accident, or a fall. And I would argue that where Agents Martinez and Garlands bodies were a fall is just not likely.

He said there was no evidence that a vehicle had approached the agents and knocked them into a culvert, and they had no injuries to their lower bodies from falling.

I have an agent out at the scene right now. Agent Garland was [lying] approximately 13 feet from the culvert tunnels. It would be impossible to fall off the top 13 feet away. Part of Agent Martinezs body was in the tunnel and part was out. Also not indicative of a fall, Judd said Thursday. Nothing makes sense except for an attack from behind. Especially when you consider they were specifically checking an area known for drug smuggling.

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Ochoa said she and Martinezs family had met with FBI investigators in recent weeks, but learned nothing new.

They havent given us any hope that theyve found any new leads. It just seems like theyre getting nowhere, said Ochoa, a medical assistant.

She didnt know Garland or his family before the incident and hasnt spoken with them.

He hasnt reached out to any of us, she said.

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She and Martinez had dated on and off for more than eight years. She watched him cast about for work after he studied graphic design at the University of Texas at El Paso. They lost touch when he joined the Border Patrol and moved across the state to work in Falfurrias, but reconnected when he returned home in 2016. By then, he wanted to settle down with his 11-year-old son, Sergio, in his hometown.

Sometimes he would tell her about the problems agents faced, including lousy radio reception. That was especially concerning to agents where he was patrolling the night he died  one of the most remote areas of the border where agents always work alone. Now Ochoa wonders why they didnt have better radios, and whether that played a role in her fiances death.

How can you not provide them that instead of spending all this money on a wall? What good is that when your agents are stuck out there? she said.

Martinez wasnt close with agents in Van Horn, and never talked about Garland, Ochoa said. She wants investigators to push the agent for more information.

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Garland is still doing physical therapy and has not been cleared to return to work. He declined interviews through local Border Patrol union officials. An FBI spokeswoman said Garland was assisting with the investigation, but union officials said he still couldnt remember what happened the night he and his partner were injured. The last thing he remembers that night was leaving home to start his shift, according to investigative reports.

I really think that Agent Garland knows a lot more than what he says. I dont believe that he doesnt remember anything ... there was nobody out there but them two, Ochoa said. The fact that theyre not getting answers is because theyre not interviewing the right person.

Ochoa, recalling her fiances attitude toward his work, said he tried to do his job humanely. He would tell her about agents mistreating migrants, and how it bothered him. He tried to reach out to migrants caught crossing the border illegally, especially to Central American and Mexican youths, whose numbers had increased in the months before his death.

He had a big heart. He really enjoyed spending time with the kids they would catch  kids that lived the hard life outside of this country. He enjoyed getting to know them, she said.

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Ochoas fiance used to leave love notes tucked in her lunch, her gym bag or under her windshield. The day he died, after she returned from seeing him at the hospital, she found one last note waiting, hidden in her makeup bag: I love you.

molly.hennessy-fiske@latimes.com

Twitter: @mollyhf
Frustrated with traditional therapies for chronic pain and post-combat stress disorders, a growing number of military veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are turning to medical marijuana for their treatment, a move that has put them at sharp odds with the Trump administration.

The White House has resisted calls from Democrats in Congress, pro-reform activists and even the American Legion, the nations largest wartime veterans service organization, to support research into whether marijuana can help veterans, apparently fearing that any move by the Department of Veterans Affairs to study its effectiveness will be another step toward nationwide legalization.

The VA thus becomes the latest flashpoint in the national debate over marijuana legalization, pitting proponents of greater study or medical use against an administration that has tried to halt or roll back a steady movement toward greater tolerance of marijuana.

We all understand that if the VA is able to prescribe medical cannabis and they determine this is the right way to go, then all of a sudden it is available in all 50 states and territories and the calculus changes dramatically, said Rep. Tim Walz (D-Minn.), a 24-year Army veteran who is the top Democrat on the House Veterans Affairs Committee.

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In December, VA Secretary David J. Shulkin refused a request by Democrats on the House committee to launch a study of marijuanas effects on chronic pain and post-combat stress, asserting that federal law restricts VAs ability to conduct research involving medical marijuana or to refer veterans to such projects.

In a letter to the Democrats, Shulkin claimed a review of previous research found links between marijuana use and suicide, mania and psychotic symptoms.

The VA is saying, We dont even want to investigate whether medical marijuana is valid,  said Rep. Mark Takano (D-Riverside), another member of the House committee. But veterans continue to suffer in large numbers and we should be exploring all the possible alternatives out there.

Post-traumatic stress disorder, a sometimes severe psychological condition that stems from exposure to combat and other disturbing events, afflicts an estimated 9% of VA patients and at least 20% of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, according to the VA.

VA doctors treat PTSD, as the disorder is known, with therapy and prescription drugs, as well as yoga, acupuncture, and other nontraditional therapies.

But some soldiers say those treatments are inadequate or produce undesirable side effects. Some former service members move on to abuse alcohol or illegal drugs, and even attempt suicide.

Twenty-six states, including California, offer access to medical marijuana for patients who obtain a physicians recommendation. Neither the VA nor the Defense Department, however, uses marijuana therapy or allows their healthcare providers to recommend it for medical purposes.

Under federal law, marijuana is still classified in the same category as heroin, and repeated efforts since the 1970s to reclassify it have failed.

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The American Legion, with about 2 million members, traditionally has been a conservative voice on social and political issues. But it stepped up its push for the VA to undertake research into the medical benefits of marijuana after commissioning a poll last year that found 92% of veteran families favor more study.

At the groups national convention last August, it adopted a resolution calling on the VA to allow its physicians and other health providers to discuss the use of medical marijuana with veterans, and to recommend it in states where it is legal  steps that are prohibited at the VA.

Dan Schmink, a 31-year-old former Army infantryman, said he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and a herniated disc in his back after a combat tour in Iraq in 2006 and 2007, one of the most violent periods of the war.

After leaving the Army and returning home to Arizona in 2009, Schmink received opioid painkillers from the VA for his back pain. He resisted taking prescription medication for his depression, insomnia and bouts of hyper-alertness, which are frequent symptoms of traumatic stress.

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Attending nursing school, he found himself unable to cope with routine daily situations. Id sit in the back in class and keep my eyes down to avoid talking with anybody, he said in a telephone interview. I drank a lot. Sometimes that was the only way to turn it off.

After a friend offered him marijuana  which he says he had never tried before  his back pain eased and he felt less anxious. In 2012, Schmink got a prescription for medical marijuana and began smoking it regularly.

I didnt have the hyper-awareness. I wasnt having hundreds of thoughts at once, he said. You got to a really good meditative state.

When he told his VA psychologist he was using marijuana, the reaction was completely negative, Schmink said. A notation was put in his medical record and he was placed on a watch for possible substance abuse.

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Another VA doctor was more receptive, allowing Schmink to ask questions about cannabis use. But when he sought another prescription for medical marijuana, the doctor refused, saying it was against the law.

Now living in San Diego, Schmink says he smokes marijuana every morning, and has figured out the right dose to avoid lethargy and anxiety. Its allowed me to become more of the person I was before I went into the service and started playing war, he said.

Demonstrating the benefits of marijuana with scientific data has proven more difficult, in part because of the VAs reluctance to participate, researchers say.

The challenge has been clear in Phoenix, where researchers have been unable to complete a $2.1-million clinical trial that was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2011. It is the first study to try to determine whether marijuana can effectively treat PTSD.

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For the findings to be statistically valid, the researchers needed to enroll 76 combat veterans who had suffered post-traumatic stress symptoms, were resistant to other treatment protocols and were not abusing marijuana. But only 38  half the total  have agreed to participate so far.

Marcel Bonn-Miller, a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania who is overseeing the study, said the research has been slowed, in part, because the Phoenix VA hospital refused to allow its doctors and therapists to mention the study to patients or let researchers put up fliers seeking participants, citing federal restrictions on marijuana research.

That forced researchers to comb through social media and make telephone cold calls to search for potential participants. The study required the patients to visit a private Phoenix clinic 10 times over 18 weeks, followed by six months of follow-up visits.

Asked about the study, Curt Cashour, a spokesman for the VA in Washington, said that federal law restricts the agencys ability to conduct research involving medical marijuana, or to refer veterans to such research projects. But researchers, he added, are free to work with veterans service organizations and state veterans officials who may not face such restrictions.

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Bonn-Miller said the VA is confused about federal restrictions on marijuana research. But the Phoenix study is politically explosive because it could establish for the first time whether marijuana has beneficial effects for veterans, he said.

If [the VA] were to cooperate it would make things easier, said Bonn-Miller. The VA cant recommend, give or prescribe cannabis for veterans, regardless of whether its legal in the state or not, but research is a separate thing.

david.cloud@latimes.com

Twitter: @davidcloudLAT
An immigration activist whose long battle over deportation has drawn support from Democratic politicians in New York wont have to leave the country before a 1st Amendment lawsuit is heard.

Ravi Ragbir, a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago, says in a lawsuit that immigration officials have wrongly targeted him and other activists in an effort by the federal government to silence dissent.

These activists have been surveilled, intimidated, harassed and detained, their homes raided, many have been plucked off the street in broad daylight, and some have even been deported, the lawsuit says.

Ragbir leads the New Sanctuary Coalition of New York City, a coalition of 150 faith-based pro-immigrant groups. He was taken into custody Jan. 11 after a routine check-in with immigration officials in New York. He had been technically in deportation proceedings for years, after a 2001 wire fraud conviction, because of work he did for a crooked mortgage company. But those proceedings had always been halted.

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His detention spawned protests that blocked traffic, and two City Council members were arrested during the rally.

News of Ravis extended stay in this country is not only a reason to celebrate, but proof that our work here is not done, said City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez, who was one of those arrested. May this encourage us to keep showing up for Ravi and the millions of hardworking immigrants in this country at risk of deportation.

Ragbir was released last week after a federal judge ruled he hadnt been given enough time to say goodbye to his family. U.S. District Judge Katherine B. Forrest expressed grave concern over allegations he was targeted for deportation because of his political activities.

The week before his arrest, another leader of the New Sanctuary Coalition, Jean Montrevil, was arrested in the street and deported to Haiti. Montrevil was sentenced to an 11-year prison sentence for selling cocaine.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement last month also detained the husband of an immigrant activist in Boulder, Colo., who got media attention after seeking sanctuary from deportation in a church.

In a stipulation dated Thursday, federal prosecutors and Ragbirs lawyers agreed he wont be deported until the case is heard sometime after March 14. Ragbir still must turn up for an immigration hearing Saturday.

The lawsuit argues the activists political speech is protected by the 1st Amendment, and the government should be barred from wrongly targeting them and spare Ragbir from deportation.

Separately, Ragbir appeared in a court in Newark, N.J., to ask a judge to halt deportation while he appeals the 2001 wire fraud conviction. The judge heard arguments in a courtroom packed with his supporters but didnt immediately issue a ruling.

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Scott Thompson, an attorney representing Ragbir, said he was encouraged that U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty clearly is looking at the case from the right perspective and wants to get it right.

Outside the courthouse, Ragbir said recent immigration cases show that the harm to families is irreparable, as weve seen. This is a step in the right direction. We need to battle to get access back into the courts for immigrants.

His wife, immigration attorney Amy Gottlieb, said, Were so grateful to have a little room to breathe. Hopefully the judge will do the right thing.
Turmoil at the Los Angeles County public defenders office may be putting the lives and liberty of thousands of county residents in jeopardy, and the immediate question is this: Is the appointment late last month of Nicole Davis Tinkham as interim public defender the problem? Or is it actually a necessary first step toward a solution?

For hundreds of unhappy deputy public defenders, who represent indigent people accused of crimes, the answer is simple. They are circulating a petition calling for Tinkhams immediate removal. #notmyPD wristbands and tweets have become quite the thing. A Monday rally decrying the appointment is scheduled for near downtowns Clara Shortridge Foltz courthouse  named for the pioneering late 19th and early 20th century lawyer and activist who is credited with the whole idea of public defenders in the first place. The deputies are hoping to be joined by activists for poor and marginalized people, who they argue are unfairly targeted for prosecution and who rely heavily on the advocacy of competent attorneys and a properly resourced defense office to conduct investigations, prepare exhibits and supply specialized expertise.

Their complaint is straightforward and undisputed: In her entire career, Tinkham has never tried a criminal case. She handled civil litigation and other matters at a private law firm and, more recently, at the county counsels office.

How, her deputies ask, can a lawyer with no criminal courtroom experience properly fulfill the 6th Amendments guarantee of effective assistance of counsel for criminal defendants, especially those without the means to hire private attorneys?

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This latest episode of trouble at the nations first public defenders office (founded in 1913) necessarily raises a number of related issues. There must be reasons that an office that was once a bastion of steadiness and self-confidence and was once on the cutting edge of criminal defense no longer is.

It certainly does not help that the Board of Supervisors has failed to appoint a permanent public defender since the last one, Ronald Brown, retired at the end of 2016. Lawyers in the office have worked for more than a year under one acting or interim leader after another. But morale was already crumbling, and allegations of mismanagement, poor communication and cronyism already were widespread before Brown left.

The problems may well affect the quality of representation. The most recent high-profile example is public defender client George Vasquez, who was locked up in a state hospital for 17 years awaiting trial  in part because the public defenders office kept switching his lawyers. Last year, a deputy public defender was alleged to have abandoned a different client, leading to State Bar disciplinary action  and a request for the county to pay for the deputys defense, and an allegation by the deputys supervisor that the interim public defender lied to the board about the circumstances of the case.

In her entire career, Tinkham has never tried a criminal case.

More generally, the office has fallen behind trend-setting counterparts such as the Bronx Defenders. That contract agency and others like it champion an approach known as holistic defense, in which lawyers go beyond merely seeking acquittals or the lightest sentence. They defend against collateral consequences of guilty pleas, including immigration sanctions. They provide a kind of aftercare, working with family lawyers and activists to see that their clients are connected with housing and other available benefits while their criminal cases are pending and after they are resolved.

Many lawyers in the Los Angeles County public defenders office want to provide the same scope of representation. But their office isnt equipped for that  they lack the resources and the seamless connections they need with other county agencies.

The Board of Supervisors called on its temporary appointees to help figure out how to improve the department, or to at least keep the status quo, pending fact-finding and recommendations. Tinkhams predecessors, however, havent delivered what the board needed. Now, along with Tinkham, the supervisors have sent over an entire team from the county counsels office.

Theyve made the job harder by picking someone in whom the deputies have little trust. If she wants to avoid merely continuing the tumult, Tinkham would be wise to spend at least part of her six-month tenure conducting a serious listening tour around the office  and also around the broader criminal justice community. She should be prepared to report not just on the offices management problems, but on its potential. For example, can clients, and justice, be better served by enhancing ties with county offices such as the Department of Children and Family Services? The Board of Supervisors ought to keep its collective ears and minds open as well, so the county can end up with a properly resourced and managed public defenders office that recaptures the leadership it once demonstrated.

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How closely did you read the packet of paperwork on your first day of work? Or the contract that came with your cellphone? Chances are good that you unknowingly signed away your access to the courts.

Arbitration clauses have become a fixture in American life. You can barely apply for a credit card, put a loved one in a nursing home or rent a car without having to agree to arbitrate all potential legal claims instead of take them to court.

The clauses are particularly common in the workplace. If an employee is cheated out of wages by being asked to work off the clock  an all too common business practice  its a violation of federal labor law. The worker could ostensibly sue her employer. But if she is bound by an arbitration clause, she must take her complaint before an arbitrator.

Even when a group of workers has been cheated in the same way by the same manager, if they have a signed a forced arbitration clause, they have to go the arbitration route. And in many cases they must do so individually, because almost half the companies that require arbitration also prohibit claims from being arbitrated as a group.

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The lawfulness of these waivers is now being considered by the Supreme Court in three consolidated cases, Epic Systems vs. Lewis et al. The question is whether requiring individual arbitration of workplace claims violates the National Labor Relations Act.

The Supreme Court should uphold decisions by the Seventh and Ninth Circuits, as well as decades of rulings by the National Labor Relations Board, and rule that forced arbitration waivers violate our federal labor laws. The NLRA clearly grants workers the right to join together in concerted activities, including in collective or class legal action against their employers. And these forced arbitration waivers clearly contradict both the letter and the intent of the NLRA.

More and more employees are being asked to sign away their right to seek justice should they experience sexual harassment, discrimination or wage theft.

A century ago, workers had to endure low wages, long hours and unsafe working conditions. Even then, employers required employees to agree in contracts that they would not collectively protest these conditions. In 1917, the Supreme Court upheld the lawfulness of what was known as yellow dog contracts, or agreements in which employees promised as a condition of employment never to join a union or act collectively. The contract before the court required employees to deal with their employer each man individually.

Yellow dog contracts were widely used. Waitresses in New York City, for example, were required to adjust all differences by means of individual bargaining, and industrial workers in Moline, Ill., had to renounce collective action with a view to securing greater compensation.

Then, in 1932, Congress enacted the Norris-LaGuardia Act, which prohibits federal courts from enforcing such contracts. The laws sponsor, Sen. George Norris, said yellow dog contracts deprived workers of human liberty.

Three years later, in 1935, the NLRA prohibited employers from requiring employees to agree to these contracts. Congress enacted the NLRA to protect the rights of employees to join together to improve their wages and working conditions, with or without a union.

Is there any difference between the yellow dog contracts of the past and todays contracts prohibiting employees from joining together to assert their legal rights?

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The employers in the Supreme Court case, supported by the Trump administration, say there is. They argue that employees are actually better off with forced arbitration. Instead of the procedural morass of litigating group claims in court, employees get an accessible, flexible, swift and inexpensive process, but only as individuals.

This claim is spurious. How would a non-unionized worker who is regularly cheated out of overtime find a lawyer willing to take her claim? Only if she joins together with other workers who have suffered the same. As the authors of one study pointed out, the argument is hard to square with the reality that few employees accept the invitation. Few, if any, employees can pursue their claims individually. Indeed, this is exactly what these employers are betting on.

Forced arbitration is quickly becoming the norm for non-unionized workers. More and more employees are being asked to sign away their right to seek justice should they experience sexual harassment, discrimination or wage theft.

According to a recent study by the Employee Rights Advocacy Institute for Law and Policy, 80% of Fortune 100 companies have used arbitration agreements to settle workplace disputes since 2010. Another recent paper, by the Economic Policy Institute, found that more than 60 million American workers are now bound by the agreements.

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These fine-print maneuvers enable employers to act illegally. The Supreme Court shouldnt turn the clock back on American workers.

Matthew Finkin is a law professor at Illinois College of Law.

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Plagiarism is impossible to avoid. Unless you speak glossolalicly  in tongues your words, phrases and systems of metaphor are not your private inventions. And if youve found yourself saying cuck or double down or take a knee in the last year  as if they just suddenly seemed right  you can be sure you inhaled those devilishly infectious memes like second-hand smoke.

Some information analysts even believe that meme campaigns on social media, especially the tendentious ones circulated by bots and trolls, compromise our cognitive security, exploiting mental vulnerabilities to false and dangerous narratives in the disorientation of the Internet.

Its well worth protecting yourself against bombardments of propaganda. But have no shame about being derivative. As T.S. Eliot wrote, Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal; bad poets deface what they take, and good poets make it into something better, or at least something different.

On Thursday, literary clickbait broke in the New York Times that Shakespeare, a good poet, had been caught red-handed in some plagiaristic adventuring. (In London, this was gossip hot enough to hit the tabloids.) Using software designed to nab kids who crib from SparkNotes, Dennis McCarthy, a self-taught Shakespearean, found that the language and ideas from an obscure 1576 manuscript pervade some of Shakespeares most famous plays, including the Now is the winter of our discontent soliloquy, from Richard III.

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Wills finished!

JK, as the texters say; thats short for infinite jest.

Its well known that Shakespeare built every single one of his plays, except possibly The Tempest, from source material. King Lear, as Harvard English professor Stephen Greenblatt and others have shown, draws from a 1603 Montaigne essay about clingy old men. Shakespeare also took ideas from Chaucer, Spenser and, above all, Plutarch, whose ideas Shakespeare filched from an English translation by Sir Thomas North.

The difference this time is that the source text is not by a luminary such as Plutarch, but a schmo courtier to Queen Elizabeth named George North. Paying attention? Yes, George North was likely a cousin to Thomas, the Plutarch translator, which is perhaps how Shakespeare found George and vaped his words.

Theres a difference between making your own poetry from the work of poets past, a sort of compliment, and property theft.

McCarthy says George Norths work informed so much of Shakespeares that it seems the poet leaned on it as a go-to resource. Unlike Thomas, though, George never found fame. Better late than never: McCarthy, with the renowned Shakespeare scholar June Schlueter, published Norths A Brief Discourse of Rebellion and Rebels on Friday.

How McCarthy found Norths quirky manuscript is a tale more Victorian than Elizabethan. The short version is that McCarthy, who had developed an interest in Thomas Norths influence on Shakespeare, saw a reference to cousin Georges A Brief Discourse online in an auction catalog. A tantalizing note marked the work as potentially similar to Shakespeare. McCarthy called up Schlueter, and together they enlisted a manuscript detective, a kind of Inspector Bucket of libraries. The inspector finally dug up the treatise stashed under a weird shelfmark at the British Library. The two fed North and Shakespeare into Wcopyfind  the open-source catch-a-plagiarist software  and voila.

Just one example of what they found: North used the words proportion, glass, feature, fair, deformed, world, shadow and nature in a passage about ugliness and beauty. A tidbit from North, with modern spellings: To view our own proportion in a glass, whose form and feature, if we find fair and worthy, to frame our affections accordingly, if otherwise she have by skill or will deformed our outward appearance and left us odible to the eye of the world.

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(Mental note: Use odible as soon as possible.)

Then Shakespeare used the same words in almost the same sequence in the opening to Richard III. The difference between North and Shakespeare is that North used the words to make a banal point about how homely people ought to cultivate inner beauty, whereas Shakespeare used them to show that Richard, who sees himself as exiled from beauty and pleasure, has doubled down on villainy.

Theres more. Macbeth, King Lear, Henry V and several other Shakespeare plays show Norths influence.

In a field of scholarship generally thought to have been picked clean by critics and historians, McCarthys discovery of this manuscript is a monumental contribution to both literary studies and Shakespeares biography. Michael Witmore, who directs the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, called it a once-in-a-generation  or several generations  find.

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At the same time, Ron Rosenbaum, the author of The Shakespeare Wars, cautions against making too much of Shakespeares influences. I distrust the tendency of source hunters to say the sources explain Shakespeare, Rosenbaum told me. Sources are a distraction from the question raised by the plays themselves: what makes Shakespeare Shakespeare?

Indeed, what makes any of us any of us if not our idiosyncratic interpretation of stock human thoughts, words and deeds?

Theres a difference between making your own poetry from the work of poets past, a sort of compliment, and property theft. This week, a journalist named Julie McDowall published a vivid piece in the Guardian about the dogs of Chernobyl, the site of the 1986 nuclear catastrophe. She had paid her own way for the trip, taken risks, won access. Almost as soon as the article appeared, the Daily Mail ripped it off, consigning McDowalls name to a footnote.

I paid for my nuclear trip, and the Guardian paid for the story. McDowall told me. The Mail have made no effort here. Theyre simply parasites.

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Thats odible. But years ago, my writing partner came across this sentence in a magazine: Most plagiarees are secretly pleased. Even as he knew that wasnt entirely true  most writers have been burned by a plagiarist at least once  he trimmed out the line, framed it and hung it over his desk. He liked the long e sounds. But he also liked the idea  someone elses idea, which he made his own.

There is little doubt that formerly forgotten courtier George North  now the biggest name in Shakespeare news  is posthumously pleased.

Twitter: @page88

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My friend Brian used to tell a charming story about the derivation of his last name. His paternal grandfather had been born Dam. But upon arriving at Ellis Island, the first thing Grandpa Harry saw was a fruit seller, so he changed his name on a whim to Fruchter, later changed again to the more easily spelled Frazer.

At least that was the story until I offered to help Brian with his family tree a few years ago. I found his grandfathers birth record from Navariya, a town in the former Austro-Hungarian province of Galicia. Harrys name at birth had in fact been Dam. But Fruchter was clearly listed on that 1904 document as well: it was his mothers maiden name. And Fruchter was actually the surname printed on Harrys Polish passport and the name he had given when he boarded the S.S. Paris in Le Havre to come to the United States in 1930, before ever setting foot on Ellis Island. It was all right there in black and white. Fruit seller indeed.

Myths and secrets  some benign in the fruit seller vein, some far more explosive  can burrow themselves into family narratives with surprising ferocity. But genealogists come along and unpack them. We turn up the hidden arrest records and the never-discussed babies who died in infancy. We know that Great-Aunt Sadie was really five years older than she let on and that Cousin Harold had a shotgun wedding. We know that Uncle Morris, who passed himself off as British even to his children, was born Jewish in Riga, Latvia. In genealogy, we always have receipts.

And its receipts that are sorely missing from the current debate over immigration policy. Ive watched in dismay as the rhetoric has become both increasingly fraught and increasingly divorced from reality, with policy positions justified by little more than variations of urban legend-ish fruit seller stories.

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Contemporary immigrants are demonized as bottom feeders living off handouts, uninterested in assimilation. They skulk their way into the country through what the right now calls chain migration, dragging hordes of unsavory associates across the border with them. As Mara Liasson of National Public Radio put it, The message is immigrants are coming here to kill us. (For the record, those migrants are simply people, and the chain they are part of is more often called a family.)

Immigrants of old, on the other hand, are beatified with nostalgic but grossly simplified generalizations: they worked 12 jobs and never took a penny of assistance from anyone. They effortlessly adapted to American life, casting off all traces of their native countries and burning the midnight oil to learn English as soon as possible. Oh, and they walked to school uphill both ways while carrying a hot potato.

Legal Italian immigrants didnt wave Italian flags coming into America, reads one social media meme. They didnt riot and try to stop the election process. They didnt try to make Americans speak Italian. They learned English.

Without fail, every generation of newly assimilated Americans has looked down upon the next and considered pulling up the ladder behind them.

The objective truth that emerges from census documents, naturalization papers, ships manifests and the like is nuanced and messy. Besides, crowing about legal immigration from Europe prior to 1924 is essentially meaningless, as there were almost no laws in place for immigrants to break.

Were our immigrant forebears all model Americans? Spend any time perusing census records and youll see that many early 20th century immigrants never learned to speak English, some of them even after living here for decades. In 1911, a congressional commission published the results of a comprehensive three-year study of immigration. Of more than 246,000 immigrants working in mines and manufacturing, for instance, only slightly more than half, 53.2%, were able to speak English. Didnt take handouts? The same commission found that, nationwide, roughly 38% of charity was given to immigrants. In 15 of the 43 cities studied, more than half of the charity recipients were immigrants.

Surely none of their descendants could possibly be among those now bashing immigrants for not learning English and draining the social services system, right?

The current nativist furor is shrouded by a puzzling selective amnesia. The founding narrative of our country is an immigrant narrative. American culture is an evolving amalgam  one built by eradicating native cultures and exploiting slave labor, to boot  so that the definition of American is always going to be a subjective moving target, at best.

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Of course, nativism is nothing new. Without fail, every generation of newly assimilated Americans has looked down upon the next and considered pulling up the ladder behind them; its practically a rite of passage.

Benjamin Franklin, for instance, worried that the Germans in Pennsylvania would shortly be so numerous as to Germanize us instead of our Anglifying them, and will never adopt our Language or Customs, any more than they can acquire our Complexion. Shortly? That was in 1751. (The reference to complexion is hardly coincidental, either, as racism plays an undeniably troubling role in our immigration history.)

Fifty, even thirty years ago, there was a rightful presumption regarding the average immigrant that he was among the most enterprising, thrifty, alert, adventurous, and courageous of the community from which he came, bemoaned the Atlantic 145 years later. Today the presumption is completely reversed. Those words were published, incidentally, before President Trumps Scottish mother and Vice President Pences Irish grandfather had even been born in their respective countries.

Ive seen this particular trope play out in my own family: my greenhorn grandfather, who arrived in 1920, was belittled by his American wifes sisters, who thought he was beneath them. One of those sisters was born in New York City in 1895, a mere four years after her mother had stepped off the boat from Ukraine. If that kind of entitlement can breed in just four years, imagine what can happen in 50 years. Or 100. Or 250.

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When Rep. Steve King of Iowa asks how we can restore our civilization with somebody elses babies, I say: How do we define our, exactly? Kings grandmother was once one of those very babies, arriving steerage at Ellis Island from Germany in 1894 with her family. Its all there on the ships manifest for the SS New York, which indicates they were headed to the United States for a protracted sojourn. I feel confident there wasnt a fruit seller in sight.

Jennifer Mendelsohn is a Baltimore-based freelance writer and the creator of #resistancegenealogy, a project that highlights the unifying nature of our immigrant past.

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Im a 30-year-old Brazilian with two young children, temporary employment and hopes for an eventual legal career. When I sought permission to terminate my pregnancy, I was thinking about my family, my finances and my future. In the process I found myself at the center of a political story, becoming the first woman in our country to fight for an abortion in court based on personal, nonmedical needs.

Last month, the United States marked the 45th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade  a landmark decision that secured the right of American women to have an abortion. It remains the law of the land, despite repeated attempts to reverse the decision. Since filing my petition with Brazils Supreme Court last year, many people have compared my suit to Jane Roes. But there is one crucial difference: She won. The court denied my plea and women in Brazil continue to risk their health and lives if they decide to terminate a pregnancy.

The lack of safe and legal options makes the possibility of grave injury and even death a constant reality for women seeking abortion services in Brazil.

Brazil has one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the world. Women are only able to access legal abortion services if the pregnancy is the result of rape, if a womans life is at risk or if the fetus is without a brain or skull. But restricting access to abortion services does not stop women from getting them. Each year, at least half a million Brazilian women have an abortion that doesnt meet the legal requirement  almost one every minute.

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Women take a gamble when they seek these services. Abortions often take place in unlicensed, underground clinics where the care ranges from safe to deadly. Whether youre rich or poor can dictate whether you receive a safe procedure or have to resort to dangerous methods. I couldnt pay for one of the clinics wealthy women use, and I worried about taking a medical abortion pill (also illegal) without receiving any medical advice.

The lack of safe and legal options makes the possibility of grave injury and even death a constant reality for women seeking abortion services in Brazil. Hundreds of thousands of women are taken to the emergency room each year due to complications from unsafe procedures and unsafe abortion is one of the leading causes of death related to pregnancy. Women and providers also face prosecution and jail time if theyre caught  even if the abortion occurred years before.

With these facts in mind, I had two obvious options: continue a pregnancy that I knew would have a damaging effect on my well-being and put my family in financial jeopardy, or have the procedure done illegally, risking arrest, injury or even death. I tried a third option instead: to fight.

The court said that I had no grounds to bring the case and declined to rule on it.

In the days and weeks that followed the courts denial, I was threatened, offered money and adoption services, vilified on social media and denied new job opportunities  all because I dared to speak out about what I wanted to do with my body and my life. In December I was lucky enough to receive abortion care in Colombia, a country that allows the procedure mental health grounds. After it was over, I felt immensely relieved, confident that I had made the right decision for myself and my family.

My abortion story has a conclusion, but for many Brazilian women, the story remains unfinished. Despite the efforts of Brazilian politicians to further control womens health and lives by advancing legislation to ban abortion in all cases, there is a strong and increasingly vocal movement in support of safe abortion care. Public support is shifting, with a recent survey finding that 64% of Brazilians believe that women should be the sole decision-makers on whether to have an abortion. Women are also speaking out more openly than before, sharing their abortion stories and taking to the streets to demand change.

And while the Supreme Court did not grant my appeal for a legal abortion, it has yet to rule on the broader petition on which my plea was filed, which seeks to decriminalize abortion services up to 12 weeks.

Roe vs. Wade marked a turning point in the U.S. My hope is that a landmark moment in Brazil is similarly upon us.

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Rebeca Mendes is a law student in Brazil. In November, she became the first woman in Brazil to petition for a legal abortion for personal reasons. This piece was written in Portuguese and the translation was approved by the author.

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To the editor: You cite a letter the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) sent me on its proposed moratorium on new gas hookups, an action I oppose because it unnecessarily impacts residents and businesses without measurably reducing the amount of gas at Aliso Canyon. (A natural gas crisis has put California at an energy crossroads, editorial, Jan. 27)

The PUCs claim that the county failed to step up for its residents following the Aliso Canyon disaster is absurd considering the months of hard work by multiple agencies assisting residents on issues ranging from promised relocation benefits to house decontamination. The county is in litigation with the Southern California Gas Co. and the PUC for ignoring our request to delay gas injections at the well until the root cause analysis was completed and earthquake risks were fully investigated.

To date, state regulators have still failed to require a full environmental and safety review at Aliso Canyon.

The PUC is deflecting from the fact that it failed to adequately regulate Aliso Canyon leading to the largest natural gas leak in U.S. history. However, Los Angeles County will continue to act to protect or residents from future leaks, and we look forward to the PUCs support of this important goal.

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Kathryn Barger, Los Angeles

The writer is a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

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To the editor: As a resident of Californias 22nd Congressional District, I care about water  and healthcare, and poverty, and jobs, and immigration, and the environment, and all the pressing issues that impact residents of the Central Valley on a daily basis. Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Tulare) consistently fails to attend to these important issues. (The Nunes memo made this congressman a national name. But his California district cares about water, not Russia, Feb. 7)

His constituents are among the most vulnerable in our nation; Fresno and Tulare counties rank among the poorest in the country. Over the last year, thousands have marched and protested about these issues, written letters and voiced their frustration over Nunes lack of attention to the needs of his district. He consistently ignores invitations to meet with his constituents.

I have no faith in Nunes or his true concern for this community. This is not a small spat over the Russia investigation; it is about the well-being of our district and our nation.

Laura Novak Winer, Fresno

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..

To the editor: I do not know what efforts the Los Angeles Times made to reach a cross-section of the voters in the 22nd District, where I have lived for many years.

The thousands of voters I know think Nunes is one of the most dangerous and worst representatives in Congress. He refuses to meet with his constituents.

If Nunes were truly concerned about the welfare and security of our country, he would be working with the members of the House Intelligence Committee he chairs on a bipartisan basis and not be a one-man operation working in secret to write a memo based on cherry-picked information.

Howard Watkins, Fresno

..

To the editor: Well folks, here we are. Has Russia won without firing a shot?

Many of Nunes constituents say they are more concerned about jobs and water than Russia. It appears the gullible have thrown in the towel when it comes to Russian meddling in the 2016 campaign.

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President Trumps businesses are apparently swimming in Russian money, and the Tulare County folks could not care less. America has a real problem that goes far beyond Trump.

Stephen J. Bost, Yucca Valley

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Congress achieved an ambitious two-year budget agreement Friday, but in doing so reignited ideological factions on deficit spending and immigration that are likely to flare as lawmakers turn to these issues next, ahead of a daunting midterm election season.

The rare bipartisan agreement dispatched $300 billion in new spending over this year and next for military and nondefense programs, plus $90 billion in disaster aid. It also ended a nearly nine-hour government shutdown that began when lawmakers failed to meet a midnight deadline, blocked by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), despite a grueling all-night session.

But President Trump, in signing the bill into law, foreshadowed the bitter fights ahead. Without more Republicans in Congress, we were forced to increase spending on things we do not like or want in order to finally, after many years of depletion, take care of our Military, Trump tweeted. Sadly, we needed some Dem votes for passage. Must elect more Republicans in 2018 Election!

Paul, an occasional Trump ally, forced the brief government shutdown by using Senate rules to run out the clock before voting could begin. In floor speeches Thursday night, Paul lambasted his fellow Republicans for supporting a bill that will worsen the deficit. He also pleaded his case to Trump in a phone call during the standoff.

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Nevertheless, the Senate passed the measure 71 to 28, followed by House approval, 240 to 186.

Though federal offices were largely unaffected by the off-hours shutdown, it was the second such disruption in less than a month, turning what was once a drastic, rarely seen tactic into something less surprising on Capitol Hill.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) moves next to the difficult issue of immigration, with a procedural vote set for Monday. He has promised a free-wheeling debate in an attempt to develop a legislative compromise on the status of the young immigrants known as Dreamers, who face deportation as Trump ends DACA, the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that protected them.

Theres no secret plan here to try to push this in any direction, and the Senates going to work its will, McConnell said. I hope that we will end up passing something.

McConnell was pressured to prioritize the immigration issue after the earlier shutdown in January, when Senate Democrats refused to support a stopgap spending bill until they won a commitment from the GOP leader to address the issue.

Even though court action is temporarily keeping DACA running, Democrats are under enormous pressure to protect the nearly 700,000 immigrants who came to the country illegally as children. Under the program, they are able to live and work in the U.S. without threat of deportation.

Many of the Dreamers and their advocates stayed up late with lawmakers Thursday, occupying the office of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) for hours, and knocking on the doors of Democrats and Republicans as they pushed Congress to stop them from being kicked out of the country. Some noted on Twitter that they were not, as White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly had said, lazy.

Pelosi, taking a page from the playbook of filibustering senators, tried to leverage the minoritys role by commandeering the House floor earlier in the week in a last-ditch effort to push Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) to provide the same commitment to address the issue that McConnell had given in the Senate.

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Ryan, who needed Democratic votes to pass the budget deal, promised to bring a bill forward, but his assurances were too vague to satisfy Democrats. But despite threatening to withhold scores of votes, many Democrats supported the spending deal.

Liberal groups chastised Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) for caving, but the more conservative members of their caucuses were not as eager to risk being saddled with choosing the fates of Dreamers over keeping federal offices open, particularly while preparing to face voters in the fall election.

Unfortunately, the Dreamers have become pawns in this whole process, said Rep. Raul M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.).

Lawmakers are struggling to develop a bipartisan solution that would include $25 billion that Trump wants for his promised border wall and other border security measures. It would protect 1.8 million Dreamers, many more than are now covered by DACA, but also impose new restrictions on visas for immigrants family members, or for those from underrepresented countries in the so-called visa lottery program that Trump wants to eliminate.

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Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) says the most Congress may be able to accomplish is a temporary measure to continue the DACA program for another year or more.

Some Democrats dismiss such a short-term compromise.

I very seldom disagree publicly with my friend Lindsey, but thats a horrible outcome, said Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), who has long worked with Graham on bipartisan immigration legislation. We cannot do that. The Dreamers have said, Do not do that to us and our families.

The White House is set to release Trumps budget on Monday, which is sure to stoke the outcry over deficits from fiscal conservatives, including Paul and the House Freedom Caucus, which opposed the two-year budget deal, sounding warnings against rising debt.

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The era of $1-trillion annual deficits will soon return, thanks to the combination of the budget deal and the 2017 GOP tax cut plan. Deficits have not reached those levels in years. President Obama cut them nearly in half in his second term.

When Republicans are in power, it seems there is no conservative party, Paul said during the overnight debate.

He wanted the Senate to vote on his amendment to stick to 2011 budget caps, but was denied, and called the package a bipartisan looting of the Treasury.

The measure boosts defense and nondefense accounts, and unleashes new funding for the opioid crisis; infrastructure investments in roads, bridges and broadband; and multiyear funding for community health centers and the Childrens Health Insurance Program.

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The package also includes $90 billion in disaster aid for coastal and Western states and Puerto Rico after a catastrophic hurricane and wildfire season. It lifts the nations debt limit to avoid defaulting and allow more borrowing into 2019.

lisa.mascaro@latimes.com

@LisaMascaro

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Trump is transforming the GOP against legal immigration. Will Congress follow?

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UPDATES:

1:35 p.m.: This article was updated with additional analysis.

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5:50 a.m.: This article was updated with President Trump signing the bill.

2:30 a.m.: This article was updated with the House vote.

This article was originally published 12:55 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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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
Donald Trump long thought the phrase Drain the Swamp was a little hokey, he has confessed to crowds. Yet it stayed. If Frank Sinatra had to croon My Way, even when he tired of it, Trump reasoned aloud, Trump could belt out his crowd-pleasing catchphrase.

More than a year into his presidency, Trump mouths the words a little less often. But rather than completely kill off a slogan that once rivaled Build the Wall in the Trump repertoire, he has done something more subversive: He has drained it of its meaning.

The motto no longer refers to Trumps promises of ethics and lobbying reforms  many of which have dropped by the wayside or been watered down  or to vows about stopping members of his administration from profiting from their service.

In recent months, Trump has rebranded the swamp to mean almost anything he objects to: reporters, opponents of his immigration plan, free traders, phonies, bureaucrats, politicians who vote against tax cuts.

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By ending excessive regulation, we are defending democracy and draining the swamp, Trump declared at a White House event in December where he stood by stacks of paper symbolizing government regulations. Truly, we are draining the swamp.

Many of those regulations were repealed after high-priced campaigns by industry lobbyists, the very swamp creatures Trump railed about on the campaign trail.

If Trump doesnt like it, it becomes draining the swamp, said John Kelly, who writes about language for Oxford Dictionaries, Dictionary.com and other publications. It becomes semantically bleached in that way. It becomes its own opposite.

The shift is emblematic of a wider trend with the administration, which often seems to have adopted Humpty Dumptys rule that a word means just what I choose it to mean  neither more nor less. The words fake news in Trumps lexicon mean almost any story he objects to.

Earlier this week, Trump declared Democrats who didnt clap for his State of the Union speech treasonous. And, as hes repeatedly shown, he likes to sprinkle superlatives on actions that dont measure up to labels like the biggest or the best.

It is Alice in Wonderland logic, said Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen, a liberal advocacy group. Its a tautology: Whatever Im doing is draining the swamp, by definition.

The White House did not respond to questions about its use of the phrase.

Trumps most prominent supporters have cast an even wider net around the slogan. To them, stocking the courts with conservative judges now counts as swamp-draining. So does cutting taxes and shrinking the Internal Revenue Service. Donald Trump Jr. invoked the war against the swamp to defend Trumps decision to fire FBI Director James B. Comey last year.

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Drain the Swamp came to mean two different things, said former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who speaks frequently for Trump, and has helped expand the phrases definition in television interviews.

One category is the sort of K Street lobbyist-political corruption kind of swamp that formed the basis of Trumps attacks on Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, he said.

The other is huge elements of power held by people virtually unaccountable  who basically impose their own values and prejudices with very little supervisions.

And who are they?

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Regulators, FBI agents. You name it.

Weissman and other critics point to myriad concerns over the kind of cronyism and self-dealing to which Drain the Swamp once referred.

This week alone, Republicans raising money for congressional seats are raffling off a weekend at Trump Winery, one of many product tie-ins ushered in during the Trump era. Trumps top public health official, Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald, was forced to resign last week after she was caught trading tobacco stocks, while his top housing official, Dr. Ben Carson, faced new scrutiny over whether his son was using his dads position to beef up business.

Mick Mulvaney, his budget director, who also runs the federal consumer protection agency, took thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from the payday loan industry while serving in Congress. Under Mulaney, the agency is pulling back from enforcement efforts aimed at cracking down on predatory lenders.

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Former top campaign officials have opened lobby shops. Trumps Mar-a-Lago club in Florida has doubled membership fees to $200,000, which includes access to what the administration actively promotes as the Winter White House. His hotel in Washington, operated in a government-owned historic building through a special lease deal, has foreign interests lining up to book rooms.

Those who seem to profit from their association with Trump have seized on alternative definitions for the swamp.

We hear what we want to hear out of the phrase, but I think that it was geared toward the establishment of government, said Barry Bennett, a former campaign aide whose lobbying firm has several ties to Trump.

Im part of the change, he insisted. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

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Etymologists trace Drain the Swamp  a metaphor for getting rid of disease-carrying mosquitoes  at least a century back. It has been used to rally Americans behind a variety of political causes: from stamping out capitalism on the far left to terrorism at the center to destroying big government on the right. The image is enriched by the legend that Washington is built over a swamp. It is not, at least mostly not, although it does get muggy in the summer.

When it entered Trumps lexicon, the phrase referred to a specific attack he was making on Clinton, an accusation that she was a leading force in a self-dealing culture, enriching herself through her political position and insulating herself from an FBI investigation through connections.

He used the slogan to roll out a series of ethics reforms that he promised would protect his administration from the opportunism that affects so many in Washington.

When he first said Drain the Swamp, the hair in the back of my neck stood up, said Eric Bolling, a former Fox News host who last year published the book, The Swamp: Washingtons Murky Pool of Corruption and Cronyism and How Trump Can Drain It.

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It was the right comment at the right time, said Bolling, a supporter who speaks on occasion with Trump.

Though his book title refers to Trumps original meaning, Bolling defines the swamp in the broader terms used by Trumps allies. To him, defeating the swamp means conquering opponents, including establishment Republicans in the Never Trump movement who dont support Trumps agenda.

But even the partys establishment seems to have taken a cue from Trump. In a year-end press release, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the Republican from Kentucky who epitomizes the GOP mainstream, touted the partys historic economic accomplishment: Draining the Regulatory Swamp.

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noah.bierman@latimes.com

Twitter: @noahbierman
Following the mudslides in Burbank last month, crews from the L.A. County Public Works department have been hauling debris out of six basins and transporting it to a sediment placement site in Glendale.

The cleanup operation is expected to continue through mid-March, though the effort could take longer if there are more heavy rains, according to Steven Frasher, a public works spokesman.

Drivers will be working from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, but the hauling frequency is expected to decrease as the project progresses, Frasher said.

For more information, call (800) 675-4357.

mark.kellam@latimes.com

Twitter: @lamarkkellam
Hollywood Burbank Airport ended 2017 on a positive note as it saw its total number of passengers improve by 14.4% over the previous year.

Nerissa Sugars, the airports manager of air service development, told members of the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority on Monday that 4,739,466 passengers went through the terminals last year, which was 596,523 more than in 2016.

Comparatively, Hollywood Burbank ended 2016 with 4,142,943 passengers, which was 199,314 more than in 2015.

The past year was rounded out by a strong performance in December, during which the airport had 427,499 passengers, a bump of 62,543 more than the previous year.

The airfield saw its peak number of passengers in November, during which officials reported 444,800 passengers.

Though Hollywood Burbanks passenger statistics continue to grow, officials said the airport is still below its peak figures in 2007, when about 5.9 million passengers flew in and out of the airfield.

Southwest Airlines, the largest carrier operating at Hollywood Burbank, showed growth in December. Officials reported 319,093 passengers for the month, a jump of 33,340 more than in 2016.

Alaska Airlines also had an impressive December, reporting 51,855 passengers. The 18,723-passenger improvement over the previous year was attributed to its successful flights to San Jose and switching to aircraft with more capacity, Sugars said.

United Airlines tallied 28,345 passengers in December, 8,331 more compared to 2016.

Delta Airlines had modest growth for the month, reporting 9,106 passengers, 1,974 more than the previous year.

JetBlue Airways also showed improvement, with 8,009 passengers in December, an increase of 1,139 passengers.

Mokulele Airlines, the newest carrier at Hollywood Burbank, had a short run. Sugars said the airline ended its operations at Santa Maria Public Airport on Nov. 30, which halted flights between the Central Coast and Southern California airports. There were 333 passengers who used Mokulele during its two months of service.

American Airlines, which continues to focus on its operations at Los Angeles International Airport, saw its numbers drop again at Hollywood Burbank. The carrier reported 11,091 passengers in December, a dip of 964 compared to 2016.

Most airports in the region also reported strong numbers for December and for 2017. LAX had 7,097,933 passengers for the month, a jump of 225,672 more than in 2016. It ended 2017 with 84,557,968 passengers, an increase of 3,636,441.

Long Beach Airport continues to see its statistics climb as well, reporting 339,183 passengers in December, a rise of 111,915 more than the year before. It finished 2017 with 3,737,571 passengers, 890,830 more than in 2016, which Sugars said was due to Southwest starting operations at Long Beach in 2017.

Ontario International Airport also had solid growth, with 410,000 passengers in December, which was a boost of 18,004 compared to the previous year. The airport tallied 4,551,835 passengers in 2017, which was 299,932 more than in 2016.

John Wayne Airport reported 899,451 passengers in December, which was 28,495 more than in 2016. However, the airport ended 2017 with 10,423,578 passengers, a decline of 72,933 passengers compared to the year before. Sugars said the drop was due to a passenger cap set at John Wayne.

Though passenger numbers are up at Hollywood Burbank, parking revenue remains flat. Denis Carvill, deputy executive director of engineering, maintenance, operations and airline relations, said the total revenue generated by the airports lots, structure and valet was about $1.47 million in December, which was roughly $20,000 less than in 2016.

However, the airport collected $217,329 from ride-sharing companies in December, said Mike Duong, the airports senior manager of business and compliance. There were 39,525 drop-offs and 32,918 pick-ups during the month.

For the year, there were a total of 397,763 drop-offs and 350,101 pick-ups made by ride-sharing companies, such as Lyft and Uber, at Hollywood Burbank, according to airport data.

anthonyclark.carpio@latimes.com

Twitter: @acocarpio
James Cummins isnt deaf, but his life revolves around helping those who cannot hear.

Cummins has worked as an American Sign Language interpreter for 22 years, most recently providing his services for theater performances at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa.

This challenging task, interpreting the words of multiple characters in real-time for deaf attendees, is something Cummins sees as beneficial to the deaf community.

Cummins, 43, of Torrance has been interested in ASL since a friend in high school who had deaf parents taught him some of the language.

This fascination incubated in him and he went on to earn three certificates, two from the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf and one from the National Assn. of the Deaf.

In 2004, Cummins was hired as a staff interpreter at El Camino College in Torrance and became lead specialist interpreter at the school about three years ago.

Considering that mastering ASL has been a lifelong venture for Cummins  hes well-versed in the language  it still was challenging when he started interpreting plays about three years ago.

A fair amount of preparation is needed for SCR performances, including careful readings of the source material. Cummins signs for about five performances a year.

Being on the spot interpreting is poor practice, Cummins said. We want to come off as polished as the actors.

For a recent rendition of Shakespeare in Love, Cummins was tasked with translating the enigmatic words of Shakespeare into a more understandable read, which was then translated into ASL.

For that play he also had to plan when to move out of the way when a sword fight commenced, though one of the usual difficulties he has to contend with is delineating between which character is talking on stage.

Were grateful for James and all the ASL interpreters who assist with our shows for the considerable amount of work they do to ensure that South Coast Repertory continues serving the deaf and hard-of-hearing community in the best manner possible, SCR spokeswoman Tania Thompson said. From the long hours of research and preparation to the valuable advice they provide us, their contribution to the patron experience is tremendous.

Cummins said hes always striving to better his grasp on the language, and while these challenging performances do aid this endeavor, immersing himself in the deaf community is the most important element to achieving this goal.

Like with any language, hanging out with the native speakers makes you better with the language, Cummins said. I make sure I have constant contact with members of the deaf community and my deaf mentors. Even with 22 years under my belt, there is always room for improvement. Its constant learning and growing.

While some may consider ASL a corrective for a hearing deficiency, Cummins said deaf people and interpreters generally believe ASL is its own unique language, with varying sentence structure, syntax and grammar.

Cummins said that due to his hearing abilities, he is still very much an alien to the language.

Its their language, not mine, Cummins said. Its a language I am borrowing from them.

A lot of times people tend to think you are working with people who have hearing loss, Cummins said. Hearing loss never comes into play in our work. The deaf community feels as if they are a linguistic and cultural minority. We as interpreters support that idea.

For a schedule of South Coast Repertory plays, visit www.scr.org/plays.

benjamin.brazil@latimes.com

Twitter:@benbrazilpilot
Israel Izzy Slodowitz was soaring over Costa Mesa in a single-engine airplane with a friend on his way to Van Nuys from a charity dinner in San Diego the night of Jan. 28 when something went wrong.

The engine on the Beechcraft Bonanza G33 he was flying suddenly quit.

Slodowitz, a 23-year-old Israeli special operations veteran and a transfer student in his junior year at USCs Marshall School of Business, made an emergency landing at about 7:50 p.m. on the northbound 55 Freeway near the Del Mar Avenue exit.

He recounted the incident for USCs marketing and communications department last week.

Pilots are trained for these kinds of things, Slodowitz, a licensed commercial pilot, told USC. Still, I went on total muscle memory and didnt let myself think of anything other than landing the plane.

His bosss Beechcraft could glide for about 10 miles under normal conditions, and he was within sight of John Wayne Airport. But strong Santa Ana winds pushed him off course.

I realized that we werent going to make the runway, he told USC. And because it was night, I couldnt see what was in front of the runway. Im not going to lie  in the very back of my head, I could see how this might turn out badly.

Traffic on the 55 was thin, so he turned off the planes battery to conserve power and glided under a freeway overpass, he told the university.

I saw an opening on the highway and I went for it right away, Slodowitz told KTLA-TV/5. I had to make a last-minute, last-second judgment on whether or not we could make it over [the overpass], and we didnt have the airspeed to make it over, so I went under it.

The plane didnt hit any cars or cause any collisions on the freeway, and Slodowitz was able to pull it to the side of the road. No injuries were reported, and the plane was undamaged.

Authorities are investigating what caused the engine to fail.

Ill be back in the cockpit, Slodowitz told USC, not because Im crazy but because Im logical. Aviation, statistically speaking, is safer than driving, even walking.

hannah.fry@latimes.com

Twitter: @HannahFryTCN
Costa Mesa will explore in detail options for filling the position of city attorney, following a split City Council decision earlier this week.

On a 3-2 vote Tuesday  with Mayor Pro Tem Allan Mansoor and Councilman Jim Righeimer opposed  the council directed city staff to study and prepare a report on the available alternatives for potentially moving on from the law firm Jones & Mayer, which Costa Mesa has contracted with since 2004.

Tom Duarte, a partner in the firm, has served as municipal counsel since 2011.

Options include launching a search for another law firm, hiring an in-house employee to assume the role or, potentially, seeking to make the city attorney an elected position.

The council also could opt against making a change.

Councilman John Stephens, who proposed the item, said his goal is to take a detailed look at all the options so the council can vet the pros and cons of each.

Im not convinced that were getting the best service, and Im not convinced were getting the most effective and most economical service, he said during the council meeting. Furthermore, as a matter of fiscal responsibility, this is a huge line item.

According to a staff report, the city has paid Jones & Mayer at least $1.3 million for legal services in each of the past five years. Last year, the bill topped $2.5 million.

Righeimer, however, intimated that the proposal stemmed from a disagreement between Stephens and Duarte over whether the council could remove member Katrina Foley from her appointed role as mayor and replace her with Sandy Genis.

In November, Duarte said his initial opinion was that the council could take that action, but Stephens  an attorney himself  said he believed the move violated the municipal code.

This is a personal vendetta against Tom Duarte because Johns upset, Righeimer said. Theres nothing more to this. This is a shot across the bow.

Stephens denied that assertion.

Sober-living resolution

In other business, council members unanimously adopted a resolution supporting federal legislative efforts that would enhance local authority to regulate residential recovery facilities and sober-living homes.

The proliferation of such facilities, which typically house recovering alcoholics and drug addicts, has for years been a major topic of concern in Costa Mesa. Residents and officials have said they can harm the character of local neighborhoods and lead to problems with traffic, litter, parking, noise and other issues.

However, because recovering addicts are considered disabled under state and federal laws, Costa Mesa is limited in terms of the regulations it can impose on sober-living homes.

Councilwoman Katrina Foley, who brought the resolution forward, said the councils support helps us when were trying to make changes in Sacramento and in Washington, D.C.

This is not a partisan issue, she said. This is a non-partisan, quality-of-life, quality-of-patient care issue.

Items trailed again

For the third time in as many meetings, council members opted to adjourn shortly after midnight and shelve several agenda items.

Among the delayed items were a proposed partnership with the Costa Mesa Sanitary District for a pilot program to provide mobile restrooms to serve the local homeless population and a discussion about noise issues stemming from John Wayne and Long Beach airports.

Both of those items originally appeared on the councils Jan. 16 agenda, but have yet to receive a hearing.

Also delayed was a scheduled discussion of whether the city should resume recording and broadcasting council candidate forums. City staff used to do so, but in 2016 the then-council majority ended the practice  citing concern about using public resources for events that might not be politically neutral.

luke.money@latimes.com

Twitter @LukeMMoney
The two canyon fires that blazed through wildland and residential areas in and around Orange County this past fall left their mark on local land.

Weir Canyon, which is owned by OC Parks and partially maintained by Irvine Ranch Conservancy (IRC), is one of the areas affected by the Canyon 2 fire, which began Oct. 9 and burned more than 9,200 acres, including 25 structures.

It just really cleared out all the undergrowth, said Nathan Gregory, IRC project manager and ecologist, adding that invasive non-native grass from last years rain had dried out and created fuel for the fire.

Weir Canyon is now undergoing a restoration effort by IRC because of the fire, as well as a result of an infestation by an invasive and non-native beetle, the goldspotted oak borer, which has been damaging trees in the area since 2014. Gregory said IRC has been working to reduce the size of the infestation and stop its spread.

Non-native plant and insect species underlie many of the challenges facing parks and wilderness areas. Not only do non-native weeds fuel fires, they restrict natural restoration of native plants once fires have hit.

The recent Canyon 2 fire burned down the larger mature coast live oak trees that had started to rot, but most trees were left intact. Grasses, shrubs and ground vegetation did burn.

The Irvine Ranch Conservancy is using goats to eat away brush to help prevent fires. (Don Leach / Staff Photographer )

Its just kind of a unique habitat, said Gregory, adding that the area hosts wildlife ranging from salamanders, snakes and lizards to deer, foxes, coyotes and mountain lions, as well as many species of birds. Losing these individual trees and losing that kind of cover really changes the environment.

The restoration effort, an experiment that began in November after the Canyon 2 fire was contained, includes planting sections of Weir Canyon with acorns. Wire baskets containing acorn seedlings were placed in holes in the ground with tubing placed on top to protect them from wildlife. In a couple of years, once the oak saplings are large enough, the tubes will be removed.

Itll take a long time, said Gregory, adding that the hope is that since the beetles only attack the mature, larger trees, the IRC will have that time to manage the beetle problem with targeted pesticides and removal of badly infested oaks.

In the meantime, Gregory and his team will also be monitoring the burned areas for any invasive weeds. An ancillary result of fires is that dirt and weed seeds can get moved around during firefighting activities such as bulldozing, which means non-native weeds may find new territory to take over.

On the upside, the burned out area made it easier to plant the acorns, and the exposed land appears to be making hunting easier for some predators, including birds of prey, Gregory said.

According to OC Parks public information officer Marisa ONeil, the Canyon 2 fire also affected Irvine Regional Park, Santiago Oaks Regional Park and Peters Canyon Regional Park.

While upper portions in the back country of Santiago Oaks were badly burned, the nature center and park office survived intact. Irvine Regional Park had some very badly burned areas, including the horse stables. Though the Orange County Zoo, which is at Irvine Regional Park, was evacuated during the fire, its buildings were not damaged.

They were able to return within a couple days, said ONeil of the zoo animals, which include two mountain lions and two bears.

Peters Canyon had some severe vegetation and tree damage in the top portion of the park. Park staff was unable to return for a couple of weeks while fire crews removed hazardous trees that were still smoldering.

All three parks are now open, although some trails are still closed. After the fire, residents reached out wanting to help. Peters Canyon held two restoration days for the public to do some planting.

Signs of recovery can be seen on the branches of a burned tree along the creek bed in Weir Canyon. (Don Leach / Staff Photographer )

Other restoration efforts have included spraying hydromulch (a slurry of seed and mulch) on very steep slopes at all three parks to help stabilize the slopes, along with the use of gravel bags.

Orange County Fire Authority wildland resource planner Dave Erickson said the challenge is always the invasive, non-native plants choking out native growth. He said native plant life has waxy leaves that make it more naturally fire-resistant. Non-native grasses, on the other hand, are more flammable and increase fire frequency.

He said although fires are a natural part of wildland areas, the frequency of Orange County fires is not. Wilderness areas need more time to naturally restore themselves. Part of the work he does is helping land owners manage fire within 150,000 acres of open space in Orange County, as well as educating the public to help prevent fires in the first place.

Part of what the land needs after a fire is time. ONeil said trails that are badly damaged are closed for good reason  public safety as well as safety of the area.

That will help the land recover, she said.

Jessica Peralta is a contributor to Times Community News.
As we enter February 2018, we continue to wrap up coverage of year-end holiday celebrations in the community.

Friends of Court Appointed Special Advocates (FOCASA) gathered for their holiday luncheon at Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point for tea and a fashion show.

It was the 22nd year recognizing CASAs work in Orange County. Since 1995 donors supporting CASA have raised $3.7 million earmarked to assist the work of mentors advocating for minors in the foster care system.

The 2017 event was a record breaker for CASA netting $426,000 at the annual holiday luncheon and fashion show.

Stefanie Stamirs and Marjie Zethraus, co-chairs of CASA holiday luncheon and fashion show. (Photo by John Watkins Photography )

Chaired by Stefanie Stamires and Marjie Zethraus and assisted by more than 60 committee members from an auxiliary group known as Friends of CASA, the luncheon attracted more than 600 guests with both their wallets and their hearts open to help foster children needing support.

The crowd was treated to a holiday fashion show which took on the theme Time To Shine produced by South Coast Plaza with special support from Intermix and celebrated shoe designer Jimmy Choo.

Needless to say, Time To Shine was a call for patrons to sparkle with holiday sequins, beads and plenty of sheen. The event featured two guest speakers.

Orange County resident Carrie Cook shared with the crowd her experience as a foster mother.

I welcome help and resources from anyone and anything to make it all work, Cook said.But one person who sticks out above all the people is the advocate from CASA. My kids call that person My CASA.

Cook was followed by speaker Peggy Mauro, a current CASA volunteer who had worked with a child in the foster care of Cook and her family.

CASA supporters Erika Pedersen and Jaynine Warner. (Photo by John Watkins Photography )

Spotted in the luncheon crowd were Danette Dye, Sandra Gee, Annette Hellmich, Elizabeth Hopkinds, Lori Jackson, Molly Jolly, Patty Juarez, Deborah Keillor, Debra Klein, Sandi Marino, Debbie Masek, Colleen Masterson and Kimberly DeLarmar Matties.

Also in the crowd were Sarah Minakary, Jennifer Gonzales Oxen, Erika Pedersen, Sara VanDusen, Janie Wald, Jaynine Warner and Kristin Wilson.

Newports amazing Lugano Diamonds donated an item of fine jewelry for the CASA opportunity drawing valued at $25,000 which was won by luncheon attendee Tammy Storino.

To learn more about CASA visit CASAOC.org.

Minnie Mouse, Sandy Segerstrom Daniels and Disneyland ambassador Mickey Trujillo at the Carousel of Possible Dreams Fundraiser held at Disneyland Resort. (Courtesy of the Festival of Children Foundation )

Festival of Children Foundation of Costa Mesa joined forces with the Disneyland Resort for the fifth annual Carousel of Possible Dreams Fundraiser.

The holiday gathering raised upward of $220,000, which is earmarked to benefit 12 Orange County childrens charities. They include Assistance League of Santa Ana, Changing Face of Beauty, Child Abuse Prevention Center, Family Support Network, Girls Inc. of Orange County, HOBY California, Orange County Childrens Therapeutic Arts Center, Orange County School of the Arts, Seneca Family of Agencies, Talk About Curing Autism and Western Youth Services.

Festival of Children Foundation of Costa Mesa was founded by Sandy Segerstrom Daniels who serves as executive director. In its fifth year the organization has raised $1.6 million from its annual event Possible Dreams.

In total some 480 childrens charities in the greater United States have received some form of support from Segerstrom Daniels efforts.

She commented:, It was truly magical day full of laughter and triumphs as these wonderful charities completed their fundraising campaigns funding their individual possible dreams.

The Carousel of Possible Dreams is a joy to host because it aligns with our focus in enriching the lives of children and their families, said Jill Bolton, director of corporate citizenship at Disneyland Resort.

B.W. COOK is editor of the Bay Window, the official publication of the Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach.
This email is shamefully overdue. I am a Los Angeles Times reader who lives behind the Orange Curtain. Obviously, youve figured out that some of us are able to read. I think the Times O.C. section is excellent. I always learn something, and I usually find myself saving an article or two each week about something I want to act on.

Last week it was the Silverado Canyon nursery story, and the week prior it was the story about giving out burritos to the homeless to combat hunger. In my opinion, the L.A. Times is one of the top newspapers in our nation, and you have added to the enjoyment and enlightenment I receive from it. Thank you for your stellar efforts in this difficult era for quality journalism.

Beckie Brown

Mission Viejo

405 widening project will help

Re: 400 celebrate groundbreaking for 405 Freeway expansion project: If the express lanes draw some traffic away from the free lanes, drivers using the latter obviously will benefit as well.

Craig Lesly

Tustin

How to get published: Email us at dailypilot@latimes.com. All correspondence must include full name, hometown and phone number (for verification purposes). The Pilot reserves the right to edit all submissions for clarity and length.
With this years flu epidemic still raging, lets go back 100 years to the waning months of 1918 as a dreaded influenza made its way to Southern California.

The 1918-19 epidemic, which became known as the Spanish Flu, was a global disaster that killed more people in one year than Europes infamous Black Death, known as the Bubonic Plague, which lasted from 1347 to 1351, according to the Stanford University website.

Last centurys Spanish Flu acted very quickly. A person could be healthy in the morning and dead by evening. Although physicians tried every treatment then available, the epidemic continued to grow.

It first appeared in this country in early 1918 at a Kansas military camp, according to the Stanford website.

The virus was carried around the world by travelers along trade routes and shipping lanes and was also carried by military troops.

Since World War I battles dominated the news, the flu initially didnt get much notice as it quickly spread around the globe.

The epidemic reappeared in the United States in September and entered California late that month, apparently brought by a traveler from Chicago, according to newspapers on file in Special Collections at the Glendale Central Library.

On Oct. 10, the Glendale Evening News published an order from Los Angeles Mayor Frederick Woodman to close schools, churches, theaters and all public places in Los Angeles.

The next day, R.E. Chase, Glendales health officer, gave the same directive. Sharing the front page was the story of a soldier from Glendale, Reginald Whitaker, who had fallen to the flu.

The following week, the paper published Influenza, How To Avoid It, offering precautionary measures to prevent an epidemic in Glendale.

The guidelines, issued by the California State Board of Health in Sacramento, recommended going to bed if symptoms such as a chill, headache, unusual tiredness or fever were present.

Other advice: before going to bed, open all the windows; have enough bedding to keep yourself warm; eat nourishing food, such as milk, eggs or broth, every four hours; sneeze or cough into a handkerchief, which should then be boiled or burned; and take medicine to open the bowels freely.

Those caring for the sick were instructed to wear a gauze mask available from the Red Cross.

Despite these precautions, three local deaths were reported on Oct. 26.

One person who died was Lou W. Kerri, an employee of Kent & Son, who had been in Glendale for eight years.

Another was May Chase, wife of health officer Chase. She had fallen ill a week before and seemed to be mending, then suffered a relapse. She was one of the founding members of the local Red Cross chapter and a former president of the Tuesday Afternoon Club of Glendale.

The third victim was C. Verne Horner, who died at Thornycroft Hospital the evening of the day he fell ill.

Novembers Armistice Day celebration, complete with parties and parades, was a disaster from a public-health standpoint, causing a rebirth of the flu in some cities.

A flare-up in Los Angeles in mid-December caused local schools to shut down again but medical officer Chase assured Glendale readers that there was not a lot of local trouble.

The epidemic raged on into 1919, finally coming to an end that summer.



Note to Readers:

The Alexander Theatre, named for Alexander Langley, son of an official in the Langley chain, opened on Sept. 4, 1925.

Inspired by the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, it was one of the largest and earliest of the many extravagantly designed movie houses then going up all over the area.

In 2015, during the Alexs 90th anniversary celebration, $75,000 was raised to refurbish the spire and starburst above the theaters entrance.

On the evening of Sept. 4, more than 300 people looked on as the beacon of light was ceremoniously re-lit.

The Illuminate Fund created that year provides funding for ongoing maintenance and repair of the theaters spire, starburst and marquee.

Support the cause by joining Glendale Arts and the Alex Theatre at an Illuminate Dinner at 7 p.m. on Feb. 24, at PIRCH Glendale, 101 S. Brand Blvd., in the Glendale Galleria.

Tickets are $150 per person and include food and wine and a fine wine auction presented by Nancy Hathaway of the Wine Vault. Space is limited.

Tickets may be purchased at TheIlluminateDinner.eventbrite.com.

KATHERINE YAMADA can be reached at katherineyamada@gmail.com. or by mail at Verdugo Views, c/o Glendale News-Press, 202 W. First St., Second Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90012. Please include your name, address and phone number.
Four teens were arrested this past Saturday after police allegedly found them in possession of burglary tools, authorities say.

Sometime around 1 a.m., an officer with the Glendale Police Department stopped a vehicle near Colorado and Kenwood streets for having illegally tinted windows.

The four had told the officer they were from Los Angeles and were on their way to a party in Glendale, according to the department. But the youths could not tell the officer where the party was being held.

A search of the vehicle was conducted and, according to police, the officer found bolt cutters, a hammer, a change of clothes, gloves and hooded sweatshirts. Clothes with security tags still attached were also found.

Police said one of the cars occupants admitted to using the items to commit thefts with another passenger. All four were arrested on suspicion of burglary.

It was later discovered that two of the youths gave fake names. One of the four also had a history of burglary-related arrests, according to police.

andy.nguyen@latimes.com

Twitter: @Andy_Truc
Forget stars homes. These tours visit pot growers and bong makers By Hugo Martin In Napa and Sonoma, tour bus operators ferry oenophiles between tasting rooms and vineyards. In Hollywood and environs, they shepherd the starstruck past the homes of the rich and famous. Now theyre giving customers a mind-expanding look at one of Los Angeles burgeoning industries: pot. Since recreational use of marijuana became legal a year ago, a pot tourism business has emerged, taking visitors behind the scenes of Californias estimated $7-billion cannabis industry. Read More Facebook

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Plans for a state-backed pot bank arent feasible, a study says By Sam Dean Hopes that California might create a public bank to serve the states legal marijuana industry are nothing but a pipe dream, the authors of a new feasibility study told state officials Thursday. In the end we were not able to find any approach to doing this that makes any sense whatsoever, said William Roetzheim, founder and chief executive of Level 4 Ventures, the consulting firm hired to carry out the study for the State Treasurers Cannabis Banking Working Group. California voters approved Proposition 64 in 2016 to legalize growing, possessing and selling marijuana for recreational use. But since cannabis remains illegal under federal law, most banks which are federally chartered and insured by the FDIC  refuse to hold weed money. Read More Facebook

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Santa Cruz marijuana company fined $50,000 for explosion that badly burned employee By Hannah Fry A Santa Cruz-based marijuana manufacturing company is being fined more than $50,000 by state regulators for safety violations after an employee was severely burned in a propane explosion, officials have announced. An employee at Future2 Labs Health Services was working alone inside a 128-square-foot portable storage container in Watsonville on June 19, extracting oil from cannabis leaves with propane, when a spark ignited the tank and it exploded. The worker was hospitalized with severe burns, according to the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health. The process of using a highly flammable gas to extract oil from cannabis leaves is dangerous, Cal/OSHA Chief Juliann Sum said Thursday in a prepared statement. Read More Facebook

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FDA casts shadow on hemp win, calling CBD products illegal By Associated Press The hemp industry still has work ahead to win legal status for hemp-derived cannabidiol, or CBD oil, as an ingredient in food or dietary supplements despite the big farm bill President Trump signed this week designating hemp as an agricultural crop. CBD oils have become increasingly popular in lotions, tinctures and foods, but their legal status has been murky and the Food and Drug Administration has sent warning letters to some companies making health claims for CBD. In a statement following Thursdays bill signing in Washington, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb restated his agencys stance that CBD is a drug ingredient and therefore illegal to add to food or health products without approval from his agency. Read More Facebook

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One year of legal pot sales and California doesnt have the bustling industry it expected. Heres why By Patrick McGreevy When Californians voted in 2016 to allow the sale of recreational marijuana, advocates of the move envisioned thousands of pot shops and cannabis farms obtaining state licenses, making the drug easily available to all adults within a short drive. But as the first year of licensed sales comes to a close, Californias legal market hasnt performed as state officials and the cannabis industry had hoped. Retailers and growers say theyve been stunted by complex regulations, high taxes and decisions by most cities to ban cannabis shops. At the same time, many residents are going to city halls and courts to fight pot businesses they see as nuisances, and police chiefs are raising concerns about crime triggered by the marijuana trade. Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom, who played a large role in the legalization of cannabis, will inherit the numerous challenges when he takes office in January as legislators hope to send him a raft of bills next year to provide banking for the pot industry, ease the tax burden on retailers and crack down on sales to minors. Read More Facebook

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Hemp is about to be legal under the 2018 farm bill. You cant get high from it  but you can wear it By Kurtis Lee Hemp  a close relative of marijuana that can be used to make textiles and other products  has long been classified as a Schedule I drug by the federal government. Thats set to change. President Trump is soon expected to sign a farm bill that includes a section that legalizes the commercial cultivation of hemp nationwide. The bill, years in the making, comes as public support for cannabis legalization has increased over the years, offering a cover of sorts to politicians who see the potential for boosting state tax revenue. Read More Facebook

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Students sent home after Marysville middle schooler brings pot brownies for class to eat By Alejandra Reyes-Velarde Several students at a middle school in Marysville, Calif., were sent home this week after eating marijuana-laced brownies, officials said. Staff at Anna McKenney Intermediate School called police Wednesday morning after learning that a 13-year-old girl had passed out the brownies to her classmates, said Marysville Police Sgt. Jason Garringer. Nine students were sent home, Garringer said, but no one who ate the brownies showed obvious signs of being under the influence. Read More Facebook

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Mistletoke, luxe vape cases and other gift suggestions for the cannabis enthusiast on your nice list By Adam Tschorn Now that some form of cannabis use is legal in 33 U.S. states and the District of Columbia and Californias era of legal adult-use weed is almost a year old (though it remains illegal under federal law), its easier than ever to find a little something special for the cannabis consumer on your nice list. Below are a few items that  with the exception of the first item which is available in L.A. only  are legal, widely available and, if ordered soon, can still be under the tree in the U.S. by Christmas Day. For those who want to do good while feeling good  and score a little holiday decor at the same time  L.A.-based Zoma Cannabis is prepared to send some lucky L.A. residents a limited-edition floral-meets-cannabis Mistletoke arrangement that intertwines sprigs of mistletoe with three trimmed buds (roughly five grams total) of its Santa Cruz-grown True OG and/or Gelato strain cannabis flower all tied up in a big red Santa-worthy bow. No purchase is necessary, but recipients are highly encouraged to make a donation to the charity reforestation group One Tree Planted to aid in the recovery efforts from the 2017 and 2018 California fires. Zoma will match donations dollar for dollar. Each dollar donated means one tree gets planted, and that means the green you donate for its green means a greener Golden State moving forward. Zoma is set to deliver the decor right to your door if you live in L.A., are over the age of 21 and are one of the first 50 folks to fire off an email to info@zomacannabis.com with the word Mistletoke in the subject line. Supplies willing, orders placed as late as Dec. 20 will arrive in time to make your Christmas very merry indeed. Read More Facebook

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3 marijuana businesses win OK in Costa Mesa as another is put on hold By Bradley Zint The Costa Mesa Planning Commission this week approved three new marijuana facilities but postponed a decision on a fourth due to the absence of one commissioner, whose vote likely will decide the fate of the business. After two commissioners expressed support and two expressed opposition for Triiads proposal for a marijuana distribution facility, the panel voted 3-1 on Monday night, with Commissioner Jeffrey Harlan absent, to hold a special meeting Monday to reexamine the matter. Commissioner Carla Navarro Woods dissented. The proposed location at 3525 Hyland Ave., Suite 265, is in Hyland Plaza, north of South Coast Collection in an area identified under city law as permissible for marijuana uses. Read More Facebook

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Marlboro cigarette maker places a $2.4-billion bet on marijuana By Associated Press Altria Group Inc., one of the worlds biggest tobacco companies, is diving into the cannabis market with a $2.4 billion buy-in. The Marlboro cigarette maker is taking a 45% stake in Cronos Group Inc., the Canadian medical and recreational marijuana provider said Friday. Altria will pay an additional $1.4 billion for warrants that, if exercised, would give Altria a 55% ownership stake in the Toronto company. Read More Facebook

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Utah voters approved medical marijuana in November. State lawmakers just passed big changes to the ballot measure By Associated Press Lawmakers in Utah passed sweeping changes Monday to a voter-approved medical marijuana ballot measure under a planned compromise that secured the support of the influential Mormon Church but sparked a backlash from pot advocates. Supporters of the compromise cheered the vote, saying it would help suffering patients while creating safeguards against broader recreational use. I believe this agreement was a landmark day for our state, and we are helping people, said outgoing Republican House Speaker Greg Hughes, who sponsored the legislation and helped bring together the players for talks. Read More Facebook

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Los Angeles County sheriffs deputy, two others arrested on drug charges after heist at pot warehouse By Maya Lau The Los Angeles sheriffs deputy pulled up to the pot-filled warehouse just after three in the morning. He held up an official-looking document to a guard, who promptly unlocked a gate. The deputy and two other men, each of them armed and dressed in sheriffs jackets, got out. After locking the guard and two other employees in the back of the deputys SUV, the men went to work lugging bags of marijuana from the warehouse. Read More Facebook

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Cannary West dispensary to host Higher Standards pop-up shop Saturday through Feb. 28 By Adam Tschorn The Higher Standards X Cannary West pop-up is slated to run from Saturday through Feb. 28. (Higher Standards) Following its successful (and still running) pop-up space inside the Pottery dispensary in L.A.s Mid-City, purveyor of luxury-level cannabis accoutrements Higher Standards has announced plans to take up temporary residence inside the Cannary West dispensary in the Rancho Park neighborhood just in time for the holidays. On track to pop-up on Saturday (with a 20% opening day discount) and run through the end of February, itll serve up a similar curated mix of high-end smoking tools and accessories from brands like Marley Naturals, Grav Labs, Dr. Dabber and Puffco (makers of the futuristic-looking Peak dab rig) as well as home goods for the discerning head by Jonathan Adler, Malin+Goetz and Forestry Wool. Higher Standards X Cannary West Where: 2435 Military Ave., Los Angeles. Entry is restricted to those 21 and older. Hours: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays from Saturday through Feb. 28. Info: cannarywest.com, higherstandards.com Facebook

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I fell off the way. A charismatic pastor-turned-marijuana smuggler heads to prison By Kristina Davis On Easter Sunday 2007, Pastor John Lee Bishop drew about 15,000 worshipers to a sports arena in Portland, Ore. With a flair for showmanship, Bishop  a jeans-clad minister sporting a youthful, moppish haircut  relished building buzz around his Living Hope Church, based in Vancouver, Wash., on the north bank of the Columbia River. One time, it was bringing a Bengal tiger onstage. Another, according to an account in the Columbian newspaper, it was advertising a sermon series with the word sex prominently facing a busy street. Read More Facebook

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For all your weed needs, theres now a pot superstore in Las Vegas By David Montero The employee in the red shirt counseled the two men on what  or what not  to buy. Now, if you start thinking dolphins are talking to you, that might be too much, she explained. The two young men nodded slowly. One stroked his beard. Neither had ever talked to dolphins before. Or even yelled at them on Sundays when they play against the New England Patriots. Above them, the continuous light show on the ceiling was like an electric lava lamp  orbs expanding and dividing in an endless trip. Then it was gone and replaced by flowers and a Saturn-like planet floating in the sky. Read More Facebook

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4 more marijuana permit applications await Costa Mesa Planning Commission review By Luke Money The recent parade of permit applications from marijuana manufacturing and distribution businesses looking to open in Costa Mesa will continue next week, when the city Planning Commission is scheduled to review four more. All the requests on Mondays agenda are for conditional use permits, which are among several approvals required to open a cannabis company in the city. Here is the latest lineup of applicants: Read More Facebook

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With Jeff Sessions out at the Justice Dept., the marijuana movement exhales By Kurtis Lee He described marijuana as a very real danger and has said its effects are only slightly less awful than those of heroin. Once, during a drug hearing when he was a Senator, he said he wanted to send a clear message: Good people dont smoke marijuana. So when Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions was ousted recently, a collective sigh of relief rose up from proponents of legalized pot  activists, politicians, investors  who felt targeted by the nations top law enforcement officer. Sessionss departure has translated into spiking stocks for cannabis companies and a reset of sorts for the legalization movement which, since 2012, has seen nearly a dozen states pass recreational pot measures. Read More Facebook

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This is what a cannabis executives party pad looks like By Kavita Daswani Dont expect to find bongs, water pipes and empty packets of Funyuns at the Los Angeles-area home of Will Htun. When we asked to look inside the home of the CEO of cannabis brand Sherbinskis, we found a sleek and minimal space where he could host chef-catered, cannabis-paired dinners on the rooftop and take meetings in a high-ceilinged front room. Htun, 34, moved into the 2,700-square-foot townhouse in July 2016, after he and brand founder Mario Sherbinski, who is based in San Francisco, decided it would make an ideal live/work space. With its three en-suite bedrooms, Htun opens up the home to associates in town for business instead of housing them in a serviced apartment. Read More Facebook

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First recreational pot shops in Eastern U.S. to open in Massachusetts By Associated Press Two marijuana stores in Massachusetts have been given the green light to begin selling to recreational customers, making them the first commercial pot shops in the eastern United States. Both stores, one located in Northampton and the other in Leicester, said they would open Tuesday morning after the Cannabis Control Commission, the states marijuana regulatory agency, on Friday authorized them to begin operations. The announcement ended a long wait for commercial sales to begin in Massachusetts. The states voters legalized the use of recreational marijuana by adults 21 and older in 2016, but its taken more than two years for state legislators and regulators to reach the point where the first stores can finally open. Read More Facebook

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Heres whats behind Mexicos radical move toward legalizing marijuana during its war on drugs By Kate Linthicum Mexico may soon legalize marijuana, a radical shift for a country whose prohibition on narcotics has been at the heart of its long and violent war against drug traffickers. Legislation submitted to Congress last week by the party of leftist President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador would regulate cannabis, allowing it to be grown, sold and consumed for recreational use. Proponents of legalization say it would reduce bloodshed in Mexico by weakening drug cartels and freeing up police officers and prosecutors to focus on more serious crimes. But the proposal has critics, including the Catholic Church, which holds significant sway in Mexican politics. A poll in Mexico last year showed a majority of respondents opposed legalizing marijuana. Read More Facebook

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Curious about all the CBD-infused products you see? By Kavita Daswani Some chew it, or place a few drops under the tongue or let it soak in through the skin. There are numerous ways to consume cannabidiol  better known as CBD. Its touted for its therapeutic effects, but, unlike its better-known cousin THC, does not get you high. Hemp-derived CBD is increasingly in the limelight these days, at natural products stores and even fashion boutiques, catering to widening demand from consumers who find it helps them with pain, anxiety and insomnia. Despite Californias marijuana-friendly laws, however, the state announced earlier this year it is waiting for the federal government to rule on the use of CBD oils and products before giving the green light to sales. Critics, meanwhile, have been asking for clarity, to help consumers who want options. Read More Facebook

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6 cannabis cookbooks with recipes from basic to gourmet By Amy Scattergood As cannabis is legalized  although it remains illegal under federal law and goes mainstream in California and other states, the cookbook industry has churned into high gear with books on what ways to use jazz cabbage beyond the bong. What to look for? A lot depends on your level of expertise  not just in the kitchen but with cannabis itself. If youve been making batches of pot brownies and want to expand your repertoire to, say, French macarons, there are cookbooks to help you out. Many books have lengthy introductions that outline the specifics of cooking with cannabis, so find one that fits with what you know  or dont know. Bong Appetit: Mastering the Art of Cooking With Weed by the editors of Munchies (Ten Speed Press, $30) This book, based on the Munchies and Viceland television series Bong Appetit, was published in October by Ten Speed Press. (This is in itself notable, as Ten Speed is one of the best cookbook publishers around, and continues the legitimate trajectory of the cannabis cooking genre.) The book has a comprehensive introduction that includes topics such as dosing, techniques, methods of decarboxylation and infusion, cannabis pairing tips, questions to ask your dispensary, tips on equipment and more. The recipes are sourced from the Munchies test kitchen and from many well-known chefs, whose recipes are recalibrated to add cannabis. Thus: Korean fried chicken from Deuki Hong of San Franciscos Sunday Bird; fried soft-shell crab with shishito pepper mole from Daniela Soto-Innes of Cosme and Atla; and (my favorite) Joan Nathans preserved lemons. The Munchies test kitchen also has some fun ones, including herb focaccia with, well, herb; and confit octopus, in which a whole octopus is poached in cannabis-infused olive oil. If that sounds too aspirational, there are instructions for making an apple bong  a hollowed-out apple filled with weed-infused mezcal  at the end of the drinks chapter. Read More Facebook

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Sativa or indica? CBD or THC? What to know before cooking with cannabis By Brette Warshaw Dont know the difference between MSG and THC? Heres a guide to the terminology youll encounter. Cannabis sativa and cannabis indica are two of the three species of cannabis. (The third species, cannabis ruderalis, is less attractive due to its smaller stature and low concentration of THC.) Sativa is a warm-weather species characterized by tall plants and thin leaves. The plant takes 10 to 15 weeks to mature and is known for a cerebral, energetic and invigorating high thats particularly suited for daytime use. Medically, it can be used to help people with depression and chronic pain. Read More Facebook

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California pot tax revenue improves but is still short of projections (Mathew Sumner / Associated Press) The amount of money collected by the state from taxes on cannabis grown and sold legally in California continues to increase but is still falling short of budget estimates, according to figures released Wednesday. Tax revenue reported from the cannabis industry totaled $93.1 million for the three months ending Sept. 30, according to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. That is an increase from the $80.2 million collected during the second quarter of the year. If revenue continues to grow by the same 16% per quarter, pot taxes will bring in $471 million during the fiscal year that began July 1, while the budget approved by the governor and Legislature estimates the taxes would bring in $630 million during the fiscal year. Read More Facebook

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Eaze launches (nearly) nationwide delivery of hemp-derived CBD products By Adam Tschorn Eaze Wellness offers non-psychoactive CBD products derived from hemp. (Eaze) Eaze, the San Francisco-based technology platform thats been coordinating dispensary-to-consumer home deliveries of cannabis in Los Angeles since April, has expanded its reach  for CBD-containing products, that is  to most of the United States. (CBD, a.k.a cannabidiol, is a cannabis compound said to have anti-inflammatory and anti-anxiety properties but none of the high associated with THC. These claims have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.) Through the just-launched Eaze Wellness website, consumers over the age of 21 in 41 states and the District of Columbia can order a range of hemp-derived CBD tinctures, tablets, balms, bath bombs, patches, vape pens and pet products for delivery within four to six days. (Shipping is free for orders $50 and up; otherwise, itll cost you $5.) Much like its in-state marijuana-delivery service, which coordinates deliveries with local dispensaries, Eaze isnt doing the shipping itself, but rather working with a third-party partner to get goods from brands such as Plant People, Cannuka, BeTru Wellness and Vital Leaf from point A to point B. Although the laws surrounding the legality of CBD are murky at best (a loophole in federal law has been widely interpreted as making CBD derived from hemp grown for research purposes legal), one point B that Eaze Wellness wont be coordinating shipping to is its home state of California. (The company cites state regulations as the reason.) Yes, California, where cannabis  even the kind that gets you high  has been legal under state law since the beginning of the year. Additional information is available at www.eazewellness.com. Facebook

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What THC-infused edibles are most popular? Fruit-flavored gummies and chocolate-covered coffee beans for starters By Adam Tschorn Nearly a year in to the state-legal cannabis scene, theres no shortage of THC-infused items on the market for 21-and-older consumers, from sachets of herbal tea and cans of citrus-flavored soda to honey mustard pretzels, with analysts and dispensary owners seeing it as a growing side of the business. Since recreational use was legalized in January, edibles have seen a 20%-30% hike in sales, said Nick Danias, managing partner of the Pottery and Cannary West dispensaries in Los Angeles, who added that edibles have proved particularly popular with new cannabis users who might be reluctant to start experimenting by smoking cannabis flower. Edibles companies have been able to offer consumers micro dosing that allows for a controlled amount of THC to be ingested, he said. (State law requires that edibles be portioned or scored into servings that contain no more than 10 milligrams of THC per piece and no more than 100 milligrams of THC per package.) Read More Facebook

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5 more marijuana permit applications await Costa Mesa Planning Commission By Luke Money The torrent of applications from marijuana manufacturing and distribution facilities looking to open in Costa Mesa continues Thursday, when city planning commissioners will review five more during a special meeting. Should the commission grant all the requested conditional use permits, it would bring the total number of marijuana facilities with such approvals to 22  including nine in the past month. The applications up for review this time are: Read More Facebook

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Two shot and killed in Koreatown marijuana dispensary By James Queally Two people were shot and killed early Monday morning after gunfire erupted inside a Koreatown marijuana dispensary, authorities said. Officers responded to reports of a shooting in the 400 block of Western Avenue in Koreatown around 4:20 a.m. Monday, according to a statement issued by the Los Angeles Police Department. There, they found a locked and sealed marijuana dispensary, according to the statement. A female employee told police she and several customers were inside the dispensary when they heard gunshots in the waiting room. They fled through the back of the building, and when officers gained entry, they found two people who were pronounced dead at the scene. Read More Facebook

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Party of Mexicos president-elect wants to legalize marijuana By Associated Press The party of Mexicos president-elect submitted legislation Thursday that would legalize marijuana possession, public use, growing and sales. Sen. Olga Sanchez Cordero presented the measure, saying that everyone should have the right to carry up to 30 grams [1 ounce] of cannabis. People could carry more than an ounce if they obtained a permit to do so under the proposal. From the point of view of negative effects, there is no reason why marijuana should not be legal, if alcohol and tobacco are, according to the bill. Read More Facebook

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Want to grow your own marijuana? This class will show you how By Jeanette Marantos California law lets anyone over 21 grow up to six marijuana plants in their yard or home, as long as the plants are not accessible to the public. (Check your City Hall for any additional local rules.) Unsure how to start? Check out Fig Earth Supplys two-hour workshops, Cannabis Cultivation for the Home Grower, on Nov. 10 or Nov. 17, taught by professional cannabis growers. Attendees must be at least 21. No plants or seeds will be sold. Workshops cost $95 and start at 5 p.m. at 3577 N. Figueroa St., Los Angeles. More info: figearthsupply.com Read More Facebook

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Whats that smell? Survey asks Venice Beach denizens if theyre vexed by odor of marijuana By Joseph Serna They descended on free-wheeling Venice Beach with clipboards and questions in hand. Their goal: to gauge humanitys tolerance for the smell and sight of public pot smoking. Akbar Karriem considered them ridiculous. Everybody be smoking, Karriem said as he sat on the boardwalk and lit a marijuana pipe. Its part of the culture here. Its like a religion. Read More Facebook

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Las Vegas newest and biggest pot shop aims to entertain By Jay Jones Prepare to be entertained at Las Vegas newest and biggest cannabis store a mile west of the Strip. Planet 13 combines light shows and fog-making fountains to wow visitors at the shop, which sells recreational pot, cannabis extracts and cannabis-infused products. The idea is to meld a cannabis shop with an entertainment complex. Visitors, who must be at least 21, can change the colors of 13 giant LED-lighted lotus flowers blooming on the roof of the building. Read More Facebook

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CBD-infused products are being sold everywhere in California  but are they legal? By Laura Newberry Greg and Gary Avetisyan make no secret of it: They proudly sell all manner of products infused with CBD, from essential oils to bath bombs to fruity tea-like beverages that promise calming relief in a frantic world. CBD, short for cannabidiol, is a molecule derived from cannabis. But unlike its chemical cousin THC, it wont get you high. What it might do, according to some research, is alleviate anxiety, seizures, chronic pain and dozens of other ailments. The Avetisyan brothers belief in the alleged benefits of the extract is so steadfast that they opened Californias first CBD-only store, Topikal, in Tarzana last year and opened a second along the Venice Beach boardwalk in April. Read More Facebook

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Review: Documentary Weed the People looks at cannabis and pediatric cancer By Kimber Myers An urgent cry for help, Weed the People explores the effects of cannabis on pediatric cancer, as well as the establishments disinterest in researching its efficacy. With the lack of scientific studies available, Abby Epsteins moving documentary primarily devotes its time to five children and their families who are trying to survive using the alternative treatment. Weed the People doesnt ease into its multi-story narrative, wasting no time in sharing the stories of these kids with cancer. With parents desperate for their children to feel better, they turn to medical marijuana to ease the pain, as well as directly addressing the cancer cells. Without studies and lack of nationwide legalization, there is little regulation in the industry. Enter Mara Gordon, a former process engineer who brings precision and rigor to her medical cannabis company, offering the families hope for healing. Read More Facebook

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Denver verdict on pot odor and property values could discourage homeowners from filing RICO lawsuits By Associated Press A Colorado jury likely threw cold water on future legal challenges against cannabis companies by homeowners who consider filing racketeering lawsuits alleging that proximity to pot operations hurts their property values, analysts and industry lawyers said Thursday. A federal jury in Denver on Wednesday rejected claims involving the odor from a pot farm made in a case that was closely watched by the marijuana industry. It was the first such lawsuit to reach a jury. Three others are pending in California, Massachusetts and Oregon. Read More Facebook

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Santa Barbara County Sheriffs Office makes its largest seizure of illegal marijuana plants By Joseph Serna An estimated 400,000 marijuana plants were destroyed by Santa Barbara County sheriffs investigators this week in what authorities are calling the countys largest seizure of pot plants at one site. The plants were hidden among farmland in Santa Maria and discovered by sheriffs investigators on Monday, the sheriffs office said in a statement. The crop belonged to a resident who, authorities said, had applied for a temporary state cannabis license using false information and did not have a valid cannabis license. Investigators found the 400,000 plants in various levels of maturity and tapped state Department of Fish and Wildlife personnel to help in the case. Read More Facebook

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Is Rohrabacher trying to lose Republican voters by caving on marijuana policy? To the editor: I was disappointed to read in a column on voters trying to flip an Orange County congressional district that Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Costa Mesa) wants to weaken federal laws against marijuana. Recently-approved state laws legalizing marijuana have not been beneficial. In Colorado, following the legalization of recreational marijuana, the number of traffic fatalities involving marijuana-impaired drivers more than doubled. Surveys have found a majority of marijuana users in Colorado do not believe driving high is dangerous, leading some to get behind the wheel impaired. As a retired law enforcement officer who has had the opportunity to work with people impacted by drug addiction, and as a lifelong Republican, I feel Rohrabacher is making a mistake. Read More Facebook

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Berners Melrose birthday bash celebrates a new dispensary  and a collaboration with the G Pen Gio By Adam Tschorn The Cookies dispensary at 8360 Melrose Ave. celebrated its grand opening on Saturday. (Grenco Science) On Saturday morning, the lines were stretching around the corner and down the block outside the bright blue Beverly Grove storefront with the word Cookies above the door. The enthusiastic members of the crowd werent queued up for baked goods, though. They were waiting to get into a new cannabis dispensary  and to help celebrate the birthday of its founding partner, Bay Area rapper and entrepreneur Berner (born Gilbert Millam Jr.). Minimalist, awash in natural light and appointed in the brands blue and white color scheme and emblazoned with the cookie-with-a-bite-missing logo, it marks the second Cookies dispensary in Los Angeles County; the first, Cookies Los Angeles, is located in Maywood. Like that one, its stocked with a wide variety of cannabis flower, oils, edibles and the like, with a particular emphasis on the proprietary strains from the Cookie Family collective (the growers who originated the strain formerly known as Girl Scout Cookies as well as other dessert-named strains such as Gelato and Sunset Sherbet). It also stocks three different Cookies-logoed colors (blue, white and black) of the new G Pen Gio ($29.95), a vaporizer pen that uses cannabis concentrate cartridges for a super-simple, draw-activated plug-and-puff experience. The Cookies G Pen Gio from Grenco Science x Berner collaboration officially launched at the Saturday Berner bash, and includes Gio cannabis-oil cartridges filled with Gelato, London Poundcake, Sunset Sherbet or Snowman strains ($60 for 500 mg, which Tim Patenaude, Grencos vice president of marketing, says marks the first time those Cookie strains have been commercially available as concentrates. (Gio pod cartridges are now available at 500 dispensaries across 12 states, according to Patenaude, including MedMen, BARC and the Pottery locally, as well as through the Eaze delivery service.) Shown are Berners blue-and-white birthday cake, left, and vape pens and cartridges from his Cookies G Pen Gio collaboration. (Grenco Science) Patenaude says the partnership with Berner has its roots in Grencos 2014 partnership with another rapper  Wiz Khalifa (Wiz Khalifas weed guy was Berner, Patenaude said, and thats how we first met him.). He calls Berner the most important person in cannabis today, citing not only Berner and his partners wildly successful strains, but the rapper/entrepreneurs brand-building abilities outside of the cannabis space. His Cookies clothing label is sold in every Zumiez in every mall in America, Patenaude said. In a chat with the Los Angeles Times Rolling Paper, Berner said that the Cookies SF streetwear label he launched out of his garage less than a decade ago saw $12.8 million in revenue in 2017 and that hes aiming to open a store next door to the dispensary  hopefully in time for the Black Friday shopping season. (Theres currently a single flagship store in San Francisco.) He also said the dispensary opening bash was a good way to usher in his 35th year on the planet. Man, I couldnt be happier, he said. Were turning [over] customers left and right, theres no holdup anywhere, everyone is super-juiced and there was a line down the block and wrapped around [the corner] at 6 a.m. You cant ask for anything else. Cookies Melrose, 8360 Melrose Ave. (at North Kings Road), Los Angeles. Additional information on the G Pen Gio (including local availability) is at gpen.com. Facebook

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2 Chainz wants to put a THC tiger in your tank with his new cannabis brand Gas By Adam Tschorn Rapper 2 Chainz attends the launch party for Gas, his fuel-themed cannabis line now available in flower and pre-rolled joints. (Adam Tschorn / Los Angeles Times) Rolling into the Friday launch party for his new cannabis brand Gas, the first thing Grammy-winning rapper 2 Chainz did was brandish a joint in one hand and a smartphone in the other to record the rows of boldly packaged cannabis flower and pre-rolled joints in a video to share with his 5.7 million Instagram followers. The second thing he did was stand back and take in the moment. I cant believe it, thats why I was over here just trying to take it all in, 2 Chainz said about seeing all the green, yellow and black plastic pouches filled with marijuana, and a jerrycan converted into a display tray overflowing with green buds. Ive been told for over a year that we were doing this line, so now Im just trying to live in the moment. I dont do that a lot. The launch party took place at the Mid-Wilshire offices of Green Street Agency, a cannabis-focused branding and licensing company that is one of the rappers two Southern California partners in the venture. The other is L.A.-based Mazel Management Group (owners of the Westside Station dispensary in Van Nuys). Before joining the throng of well-wishers, industry friends and employees dressed in logo-emblazoned overalls, 2 Chainz (born Tauheed Epps), chatted with the Los Angeles Times Rolling Paper about his new project, how cannabis branding is like music and what took so long for the project to come to fruition. (Hint: There was lots of taste-testing). The Rolling Paper: Where does the name of your line  Gas  come from and what does it mean? 2 Chainz: Its Atlanta lingo that we use that basically signifies that this is a stronger type of flower  a stronger cannabis. Ive been saying it since I came into the rap game and Ive used it in a few verses of a few songs. At first people were like: What do you mean by [the line] gas in the ashtray? After it caught on and basically went mainstream, I figured why veer off from what got me here? So we started a legal line of cannabis called Gas. TRP: Ive heard that you were pretty picky in the development process. 2C: It took months and months and about 30 different kinds of [cannabis] flower. I think I was looking for that first impression  that first pull  how it made me feel. Were there fireworks or no fireworks? What kind of memory did it create? Thats what I was looking for. TRP: The three different types of flower youre launching with dont have names but numbers  87, 89 and 93  are those supposed to be kind of like octane ratings but for marijuana? 2C: Thats a great way of describing it. The 87, for example [a Petrol OG hybrid, with a THC content of 14%] is for functioning throughout the day, [and for] people who are on the go [or] at work and cant get that whole indica sleepy feeling during the middle of the day. I think 87 will be sufficient. The 89 [a Sour Gas hybrid, 17% THC] is for when people go out for cocktails after work, when they want to get ready for the wind-down  it signifies the medium [strength]. And the 93 [an indica called Gods Fuel No. 2 with a THC level of 20%] Id definitely say is the strongest. Thats for night-night. TRP: How did the fuel theme and octane ratings and all that evolve from the name? 2C: I approached this the way I do in my music  which was come up with the concept and follow all the way through with it. So, when you have Gas, you have to have the gas cans and the imagery that actually represents the gas pumps and things that tie in to the brand itself. I think that gives it legs  gives it a little more substance and sustainability. And I used these colors because I knew they would be very catching and appealing to the eye and I know that I will kind of have to muscle my way in as far as getting where I need to be on [dispensary] shelves these days. I figure I could be on the back of the shelf and you could still see this green, this yellow and this black packaging. Gas prices range from $12 to $14 (for 1-gram pre-rolled joints) and $36 to $48 for 3.5 gram packages of flower. Currently available at Westside Station, 7022 Valjean Ave., Van Nuys. Facebook

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A chemical found in liverwort has surprising similarities to the THC in marijuana By Noga Tarnopolsky Its an amazing plant that produces hypnotic effects, according to online testimonials. Some people who have ingested it or inhaled its smoke say it gave them a mild, marijuana-like high. Now scientists have weighed in. In experiments with more than 100 mice, they found that chemicals in the liverwort plant produced four of the same key effects as THC, the primary psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. An hour after being injected with the experimental chemicals, the mice entered a trance-like state, lost some of their ability to move, became less responsive to pain and experienced a drop in body temperature, according to a study published this week in the journal Science Advances. Read More Facebook

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Hours-long standoff at Tarzana weed dispensary ends after police learn building is empty By Hailey Branson-Potts The police standoff lasted more than six hours, shutting down a busy six-lane stretch of Ventura Boulevard in Tarzana for most of the evening. An armed robbery suspect, authorities said, had barricaded himself inside an illegal marijuana dispensary in a strip mall in the 18300 block of Ventura Boulevard. He was believed to be one of four suspects and was thought to have a female hostage. But when officers searched the building after 8:20 p.m., there was no one inside, said Officer Mike Lopez, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department. Read More Facebook

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State officials decline to drop plan to allow home deliveries of pot in California cities that ban marijuana stores Cities and law enforcement leaders say a state proposal to allow pot delivery to homes would increase crime. (Mathew Sumner / Associated Press) Despite objections from cities and police chiefs, state officials on Friday declined to drop a proposal allowing marijuana firms to deliver to homes everywhere in California, including in areas that have banned pot shops. The proposed rule, which was made public in July, was opposed by the League of California Cities, which represents the states 482 municipalities, and the California Police Chiefs Assn., which said it would jeopardize public safety. But the state Bureau of Cannabis Control announced Friday that it is moving forward with the proposed rule after a series of public hearings and after weighing hundreds of comments from residents and interested parties. Read More Facebook

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San Diego plans to crack down on marijuana ads, especially billboards By David Garrick San Diego officials say they plan to crack down on marijuana advertising, particularly the billboard ads that have become increasingly common with recreational use of the drug now legal in California. Legislation proposed by City Councilman Chris Cate aims to keep marijuana billboard ads out of areas where young people congregate and to prevent illegal marijuana businesses from advertising anywhere. The proposal, which would go beyond relatively new state laws that govern marijuana advertising, will be included in a series of city code updates that Mayor Kevin Faulconers staff plans to present to the City Council next year. Read More Facebook

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Drinking before a flight is common. Now some fliers are turning to pot before takeoff By Hugo Martin Commercial flights can be so stressful  cramped seats, delays, turbulence, loud seatmates  that more than 60% of travelers in a recent survey said they down a drink or two before heading to the airport. But the survey by a drug treatment organization found that nearly as many fliers are now turning to marijuana to relax before getting on a plane. The online survey of 1,137 people who have flown in the past year was taken by Florida-based Delphi Behavioral Health Group. It found that nearly 30% of respondents said they had smoked marijuana and another 25% had consumed pot-infused snacks before arriving at an airport. Read More Facebook

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Marijuana issues dominate Costa Mesa Planning Commission agenda By Luke Money Cannabis-related companies will be front and center in Costa Mesa again Monday, when city planning commissioners will consider four applications for proposed marijuana manufacturing and distribution facilities. Should the Planning Commission OK all the requests, it would bring the number of marijuana businesses with city-approved conditional use permits to 17. First up will be Aureus LLC, which is looking to open in a 5,556-square-foot industrial space at 3505 Cadillac Ave., Building A. The company proposes to manufacture cannabis concentrates, particularly oils intended for use in vaporizer cartridges, according to city planning documents. Read More Facebook

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Canada is now the worlds largest legal marijuana marketplace By Associated Press Ian Power was among the first to buy legal recreational marijuana in Canada but he has no plans to smoke it. He plans to frame it. Canada became the largest country with a legal national marijuana marketplace as sales began early Wednesday in Newfoundland. Power was first in line at a store in St. Johns, Newfoundland. I am going to frame it and hang it on my wall. Im not even going to smoke it. Im just going to save it forever, Power said. Read More Facebook

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Bloom Farms doubles its meal donations on Oct. 16 in observance of World Food Day By Adam Tschorn Bloom Farms Pineapple Single Origin vape cartridge is a World Food Day exclusive that will be available only in October. (Bloom Farms) In recognition of the United Nations designation of Oct. 16 as World Food Day 2018, Oakland-based cannabis company Bloom Farms is doubling its usual meal-donation-per-sale for purchase made through the Eaze delivery service (which is doing its part by offering a day-long 20% discount on all Bloom Farms products) as well as participating dispensaries statewide (including Buds & Roses, Urban Treez and Green Dot locally). The company says that since 2014 it has donated about 1.4 million meals to food banks statewide through its one-for-one program, with a goal of donating 5 million meals. World Harvest Food Bank in Los Angeles and the San Diego Food Bank are among the SoCal beneficiaries of the Bloom Farm donations. Although the double-down on meal donations lasts only one day, Bloom Farms has a couple of slightly less time-sensitive promotions to raise awareness and drive donations in furtherance of the U.N.s mission of a zero-hunger world by 2030. One is a partnership with vaporizer maker Pax  which has pledged $10,000 to fund meal donations  that includes a free Pax Era vape pen (custom-engraved on-site) with the purchase of two Bloom Farms Pax pods at special dispensary events throughout the month, the second is an exclusive, October-only Pineapple Single Origin vape cartridge that, after the purchase of any two Bloom Farms products  can be purchased for just a penny. Additional information  and a calendar of dispensary events and demonstrations  can be found at getbloomfarms.com/events. Facebook

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Screened at U.S. border, Canadians who are honest about using marijuana could be banned from the U.S. By Kurtis Lee Bill Powers flipped through the sworn statement he gave to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the printed pages taking him back to that August afternoon  back to the border checkpoint into Washington state where agents asked if he had ever smoked marijuana. Yes, he answered, not initially thinking much of the question. The 57-year-old Canadian has a license for medical marijuana, and pot had been legal in Washington for six years. Like that, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents turned him away with an extreme decree: He had been banned from the United States. Its absolutely out of control. Here I am being honest with the United States and I get the boot, Powers said on a recent afternoon as he stood in his driveway in this farming town an hour east of Vancouver. I have a license  yet theyre turning people away for pot? It makes not a single bit of sense. Read More Facebook

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Newport mayor says he wants to sell his boat factory site, not grow marijuana on it By Hillary Davis Despite having local and state approvals to cultivate or distribute medical marijuana on the site of his boat factory in San Bernardino County, Newport Beach Mayor Marshall Duffy Duffield says he isnt a pot farmer. Rather, he says, he sought the entitlements to make the property more attractive to buyers so he can move his factory to Utah. Duffield said in a statement emailed to the Daily Pilot on Sunday that he split his 4.7-acre property in Adelanto into thirds and sought a cannabis distribution permit from the California Bureau of Cannabis Control to take advantage of increased property values that followed Adelantos passage of a medicinal cultivation ordinance in 2015 and creation of a cultivation zone in 2016 that later expanded to include the factory site. As a property owner, I am trying to maximize the value to sell the land, not grow pot, Duffield said. I am actively manufacturing electric boats at the plant and there is no room to be growing pot. Read More Facebook

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NHL: Legal pot in Canada wont affect league policy By Associated Press Now a handful of years into retirement from more than a decade of junior and pro hockey, former enforcer Riley Cote is a proponent of cannabis and its oils as an alternative to more addictive drugs commonly used by athletes to play through pain. Marijuana can be detected in a persons system for more than 30 days, is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency without a specific therapeutic use exemption and is illegal in much of the United States. Canada on Wednesday will become the largest country in the world to legalize recreational marijuana. That means it will be available under the law in seven more NHL cities (its been legal to adults in Denver since 2012). The move is a step forward for those who, like Cote, believe marijuana has been stigmatized and should be accepted as a form of treatment. It was so tainted for a long time, Ottawa Senators forward Matt Duchene said. And now people are starting to learn a little bit more about it and there is definitely some positive uses to different elements of it. Read More Facebook

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Costa Mesa council to review marijuana permit decision By Luke Money Costa Mesas review process for marijuana-related businesses will enter uncharted territory Tuesday when the City Council takes a second look at an earlier decision to award a required permit. So far, whats separated this particular application by Pivot Naturals LLC from the dozen other marijuana manufacturing and distribution facilities that previously sailed through City Hall isnt so much the question of whether the business should be allowed to open, but when. City planning commissioners decided last month to grant the business a conditional use permit to operate within a 5,283-square-foot industrial space in Suite 101 at 3595 Cadillac Ave. However, they added a new wrinkle by restricting hours to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. Read More Facebook

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Business linked to Newport mayor paid councilman to help create marijuana facility in Inland Empire, records show By Hillary Davis A business linked to Newport Beach Mayor Marshall Duffy Duffield paid his City Council colleague Scott Peotter to help convert part of Duffields boat manufacturing facility in San Bernardino County to a medical marijuana cultivation or distribution hub, records show. Peotter made at least $10,000 from DC Developments, a Duffield-associated company, according to Peotters state-required statement of economic interest forms. A string of corporations that financially tie the two together appears to answer a question  has Peotter ever worked for Duffield?  that has dogged them for weeks as they seek reelection in November. Read More Facebook

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Following California, pot legalization campaigns across the U.S. aim to throw out old convictions By Kurtis Lee Rob Jenkins tried for four years to find a job, scouring the internet for anything that seemed at all appealing  a maintenance position at a Chevron refinery, a counselor for foster kids, a clerk at Hertz. Some employers seemed interested, until they found out about his 2008 misdemeanor conviction for growing marijuana. I was stuck, recalled the 37-year-old college graduate. No job opportunities were coming in. Read More Facebook

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Canada is about to legalize marijuana. How did that happen? Justin Trudeau, for starters By Kurtis Lee Politicians herald it as transformative. Residents offer resounding support in the polls. Investors see billions of dollars on the horizon. When Canada legalizes marijuana on Oct. 17, it will join Uruguay as the only countries to allow recreational cannabis nationwide. The South American country became the first in 2013. The effort, years in the making, is unlike the piecemeal approaches to marijuana legalization that have been passed in the United States and the Netherlands. For pot proponents around the world, Canadas implementation of legal marijuana is being closely watched. Read More Facebook

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Can you carry marijuana in LAX? Yes, but its more complicated than that By Chris Erskine LAX wants you to know this about the marijuana you may be taking with you on your trip: Whats legal on the street is also legal in the terminals. Up to a point. Travelers can carry the legal amount of marijuana in California  up to 28.5 grams through the airport areas that are under city supervision, that is up to pre-security checkpoints. Read More Facebook

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Dont you dare light up at Las Vegas new cannabis museum By Jay Jones Inhale  we mean through your nose  in the new marijuana museum in Las Vegas. You wont smell a thing, even though recreational pot is legal in Nevada. Signs in the elevators at Neonopolis, the downtown entertainment, dining and retail center thats home to the immersive Cannabition museum, make it clear that consumption in public is still against the law. Just steps away, a colorful mural covering the museums exterior depicts the changing attitudes toward marijuana, from the scare tactics of the 1930s to strict law enforcement in the 80s to growing tolerance today. That history is depicted in greater detail once youre inside. Read More Facebook

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Costa Mesa Planning Commission awards permit to 13th marijuana business By Luke Money A 13th marijuana manufacturing and distribution facility took a step closer to opening in Costa Mesa after the city Planning Commission decided Monday to grant it a required permit. The 3-2 vote, with Chairman Stephan Andranian and Vice Chairman Byron de Arakal opposed, awards a conditional use permit to Pivot Naturals LLC to operate in an existing 5,283-square-foot industrial space in Suite 101 at 3595 Cadillac Ave. Pivot Naturals intends to process cannabis oils into a powder for use in a variety of products, including tablets, food and beverages. Read More Facebook

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Kindergartner can take cannabis drug to school, judge says By Associated Press A kindergartner can keep bringing a cannabis-based drug used for emergency treatment of a rare form of epilepsy to her public school, a judge ruled Friday. The Santa Rosa Press Democrat reported that a judge sided with the family of 5-year-old Brooke Adams. The Rincon Valley Union School District in Santa Rosa sought to ban the ointment from school grounds because it contains the active ingredient in marijuana. Read More Facebook

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Glendale police seize hundreds of marijuana plants after reportedly discovering elaborate grow operation By Andy Nguyen What started as a routine wellness check by Glendale police officers on Monday led to the alleged discovery of an illegal marijuana grow operation and the seizure of more than 600 plants. Officers with the Glendale Police Department were in the 100 block of Wonderview Drive at around 12:40 a.m. after receiving a call about a person yelling for help from one of the homes in the neighborhood. After speaking with the homes occupant, 38-year-old Rui Yun Guan, officers entered the residence and discovered it had been converted into an elaborate marijuana grow operation, according to Tahnee Lightfoot, a spokeswoman for the department. Read More Facebook

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Tilrays wild ride shows how hyped pot stocks are catching up to the crypto craze By Craig Giammona Tilray Inc. investors could probably use a bit of the companys products right now. The Canadian maker of medicinal cannabis extracts finished a whipsaw session Wednesday with its share price 38% higher. But Tilray was up as much as 94% earlier in the day, peaking at $300. Fifty-three minutes and four trading halts later, it was in negative territory. The closing flourish that added $63 to the share price  it finished up $59.08 to $214.06  took just six minutes. It left a sea of bodies, both longs and shorts, behind in its wake, said Dave Lutz, managing director at JonesTrading. Read More Facebook

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Marijuana industry fights stoner, pot and other words that stigmatizes people By Gary Robbins Theres a badge on her uniform, possibly a gun on her hip, and her arms are spread a little, suggesting shes ready for anything. You might think that youre looking at a police officer walking a beat. But what youve seen on billboards and, more recently, the internet is an effort by MedMen Enterprises of Culver City to remind you that marijuana users come from all walks of life. They can be cops, nurses, teachers, scientists, construction foremen and grandmothers. Read More Facebook

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Police arrest eight people after searching illegal cannabis store in San Fernando Valley By Alejandra Reyes-Velarde Los Angeles police arrested eight people at an illegal cannabis store in the San Fernando Valley after serving a search warrant, officials said Wednesday. About 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, the Los Angeles Police Departments Mission Area Narcotics Unit searched a cannabis retail shop in the 15400 block of Devonshire Street and confiscated several items of evidence and contraband, police said in a news release. The store was operating without proper permits and was considered a nuisance location, authorities said. Read More Facebook

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More than 2 million U.S. middle and high school students have vaped marijuana, study finds By Karen Kaplan Electronic cigarettes are the most popular tobacco product among U.S. teens, but tobacco isnt the only thing theyre vaping. A new report from researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that more than 2 million middle and high school students have used an e-cigarette to vape marijuana. That figure is based on survey results from the 2016 National Youth Tobacco Survey, which polls a representative sample of American students in grades 6 through 12. Among the questions the 20,675 participants were asked in 2016 was, Have you ever used an e-cigarette device with a substance besides nicotine? One of the possible answers was this: Yes, I have used an e-cigarette device with marijuana, THC or hash oil, or THC wax. (THC, short for tetrahydrocannabinol, is the mind-altering chemical that produces marijuanas high.) Read More Facebook

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Police chiefs warn of increased crime if California allows pot deliveries statewide By Patrick McGreevy The prospect of vans loaded with pot delivering to homes in quiet Morgan Hill makes Police Chief David Swing uneasy. Like most cities in the state, the upscale San Jose suburb has banned pot shops. But now, as California considers a proposal to allow marijuana businesses to send home-delivery vans into communities where retail stores are prohibited, Swing and others in law enforcement say they are preparing for the worst. This will make it easier and more lucrative to rob a delivery person than a liquor store, said Swing, who is president of the California Police Chiefs Assn. He notes drivers would be allowed to carry up to $10,000 in cash. Robberies are the tip of the iceberg. They can lead to other crimes, including aggravated assaults and homicides. Read More Facebook

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Tesla erupts in chaos after senior executives leave and Elon Musk tokes up By Dana Hull The turmoil at Tesla Inc. reached a fever pitch Friday, as news emerged that two senior executives will leave Elon Musks electric-car maker a matter of hours after he smoked marijuana during an hours-long interview with a comedian. Chief Accounting Officer Dave Morton gave notice Tuesday that he was resigning less than a month into the job, according to a filing. Teslas stock plunged, then extended declines after Gabrielle Toledano, the head of human resources whos been on a leave of absence, told Bloomberg News that she wont rejoin the company. Morton, a former chief financial officer for computer-drive maker Seagate Technology Plc, joined Tesla the day before Chief Executive Musk tweeted that he was considering buying out some investors at $420 a share and taking the company private. Musk abandoned that take-private effort 17 days later, and in the process drew a subpoena from the Securities and Exchange Commission and a series of lawsuits alleging market manipulation. Read More Facebook

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Elon Musk smokes a blunt live on YouTube with podcaster Joe Rogan By Russ Mitchell Elon Musk apparently smoked dope with comedian and podcaster Joe Rogan live on YouTube late Thursday night, then giggled about turning Mars into a big Jamaica. I mean, its legal, right? Musk said, accepting a lit blunt from Rogan in the Los Angeles studio, where The Joe Rogan Experience is webcast live. Rogan told Musk hed rolled marijuana in tobacco leaves. Musk took a single deep toke. If the pair were joking about what they were smoking, they didnt say so. Read More Facebook

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L.A. launches crackdown on unlicensed marijuana businesses; more than 500 people are charged By Joseph Serna A police crackdown on local unlicensed marijuana businesses has ended with misdemeanor charges against more than 500 people in Los Angeles, the city attorneys office said. In 120 criminal cases filed since May, City Atty. Mike Feuer has charged 515 people in connection with 105 illegal marijuana businesses, grow sites, extraction labs and delivery companies located throughout the city, his office announced Friday. All of the defendants were charged with unlicensed commercial cannabis activity within the city, which carries a potential sentence of six months in jail and $1,000 in fines. Local judges have been hearing the cases since May with arraignments scheduled through the end of October, Feuers office said. Read More Facebook

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12th marijuana business wins permit approval in Costa Mesa By Luke Money Costa Mesa planning commissioners Monday evening gave their blessing to another local marijuana manufacturing and distribution facility, bringing the total number of approvals to 12. On a 4-0 vote  with Chairman Stephan Andranian absent  the commission awarded a conditional use permit to Pure Labs Inc., which is looking to open in a 2,025-square-foot space in Unit M-103 at 3505 Cadillac Ave. The decision is final unless appealed to the City Council within seven days. Read More Facebook

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Former L.A. mayor Villaraigosa joins board of local cannabis firm MedMen By James Rufus Koren Former L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is joining the board of publicly traded cannabis company MedMen, marking his return to the business world following a resounding defeat in Junes Democratic gubernatorial primary. MedMen, a Culver City company that operates high-end cannabis shops in California, Nevada and New York and has aggressive expansion plans, announced Villaraigosas appointment Wednesday morning. Villaraigosa adds political and governmental experience to a board made up of branding, entertainment and accounting executives. Other recent additions to the companys board include Stacey Hallerman, a former executive at the conglomerate that owns luxury brands Montblanc and Cartier, and Jay Brown, the chief executive of of RocNation, the entertainment company co-founded by Shawn Jay Z Carter. Read More Facebook

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Newport man accused of operating illegal marijuana dispensary in Costa Mesa By Luke Money A Newport Beach man is accused of operating an illegal marijuana dispensary in Costa Mesa, according to authorities. Omid Delkash, 47, was charged Monday with four misdemeanor counts of unlawful transportation, sale and furnishing of marijuana. He pleaded not guilty and is in custody at Orange County Jail, records show. He is scheduled to appear in court Friday for a pretrial hearing. Costa Mesa law prohibits the retail sale of marijuana or marijuana products anywhere in the city. Read More Facebook

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California lawmakers want the state to collect data on drivers under the influence of pot By Patrick McGreevy After she was injured in a car accident allegedly caused by a driver impaired by pot, state Controller Betty Yee is backing a bill approved Monday by the Legislature that aims to begin addressing the problem of drugged driving on California roads. The measure sent to Gov. Jerry Brown would require the California Highway Patrol to report on how many motorists stopped for impaired driving are allegedly under the influence of marijuana. Its what other states have done  like Colorado and Washington  to at least start collecting state-level data, Yee said. They just want to understand the extent of cannabis-impaired driving. Read More Facebook

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Marijuana use is rising among pregnant patients. Not so fast, doctors warn By Jenny Gold Marijuana may be losing its image as a dangerous drug, but mounting research suggests women should steer clear of it if they are pregnant or breastfeeding, according to new recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics. The advice comes as more than half of the states, including California, have legalized marijuana for medical or recreational use. Growing acceptance of the drug has made it seem harmless, or even beneficial. As a result, doctors fret that more and more babies are being exposed to the drug. The march toward legalization has outpaced scientific research about marijuanas health effects. Because it is a Schedule 1 drug  one with potential for abuse and no approved medical use  studies have been limited by federal law. Read More Facebook

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Mormon Church ramps up opposition to medical marijuana effort in Utah, speaking out publicly By Kurtis Lee The Mormon Church has played a quiet role in the fight against an effort to legalize medical marijuana in Utah, releasing measured statements and helping to bankroll lawsuits. But on Thursday, leaders of the powerful Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints came out from behind the scenes. We are deeply concerned by the history of other states that have allowed medical and recreational use of this drug  and have experienced serious consequences to the health of its citizens, Elder Jack N. Gerard, flanked by politicians, medical professionals and other church leaders, said at a news conference at the state Capitol. Read More Facebook

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California lawmakers move to help expunge pot-related convictions California lawmakers voted Wednesday to ease the process for clearing the records of those convicted in the past of marijuana offenses. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) With recreational marijuana legalized by the states voters, Californians with past convictions for cannabis-related offenses would get state help in expunging their records under a bill sent by lawmakers to the governor on Wednesday. Proposition 64, which state voters approved in 2016, legalized the sale and use of marijuana for recreational use and permitted those with past convictions for the activity to petition the courts to clear their records. But state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) told his colleagues Wednesday that the process is complicated, and many with pot convictions do not know about the opportunity. Read More Facebook

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By next year, you can buy medical marijuana in Hawaii, but youll still have to jump through some hoops By Jay Jones Out-of-state medical marijuana users next year will be able to buy cannabis products at dispensaries in Hawaii. The only hitches: Visitors will need to apply online and pay $45 (plus a $4.50 processing fee) for a temporary Hawaii medical marijuana card thats valid for 60 days. Weve been fielding a lot of calls daily about reciprocity, said George Bullock, director of the Cure Oahu marijuana dispensary in Waikiki. We really look forward to being able to serve them in the future. The Hawaii Department of Health plans to allow medical marijuana cardholders from other states to make purchases at dispensaries on Oahu, Maui and Kauai. But state officials are not using the word reciprocity because those out-of-state cards wont work. Read More Facebook

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Teen sold weed from her bedroom, with her parents as suppliers, Merced County officials say By Joseph Serna A teenage girl who sold marijuana out of her bedroom was using her gun-toting parents as her suppliers, the Merced County Sheriffs Office said. On Friday, deputies served a search warrant on the home of Jose Reyes Martinez, 44, and his wife in Delhi, Calif., where they found 80 pounds of packaged marijuana and a dozen large plants along with two firearms, officials said on Facebook. The packaged weed was found in the master bedroom closet alongside a loaded AK-47, deputies said. A makeshift greenhouse in the backyard held a dozen large plants, authorities said. Read More Facebook

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Newport Beach sues to halt what city calls a marijuana dispensary at Church of the Holy Grail By Hannah Fry Newport Beach officials are asking an Orange County Superior Court judge to block an operation that identifies itself as a church but the city says is a marijuana dispensary violating local law. Brick-and-mortar marijuana dispensaries are prohibited in Newport Beach under municipal code. Cultivation, processing, distribution and delivery of cannabis have been banned in the city since 2016. A civil lawsuit Newport filed June 25 seeks an injunction to forbid the organization known as Church of the Holy Grail from operating at 2072 Bristol St. It isnt clear how long it has been operating, though the lawsuit states the location has been running without a business license since at least Jan. 24. Read More Facebook

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Proposal to create state-chartered banks for California marijuana industry fails to advance Virgil Grant arranges containers of various strains of medical marijuana in a display case at a dispensary he runs in Los Angeles. (Frederic J. Brown / AFP/Getty Images) California lawmakers on Thursday shelved a proposal to allow the state to license private banks to handle the billions of dollars expected to be generated by the states legal marijuana industry amid questions about the plans feasibility. Voters approved Proposition 64 in 2016 to legalize growing, possessing and selling marijuana for recreational use, but newly licensed pot shops and farms say they cannot put their money in federally chartered banks because cannabis remains illegal under federal law. Sen. Bob Hertzberg (D-Los Angeles) proposed that the state could license special privately financed banks that would issue checks to the businesses to pay rent and state and local taxes and fees, and to compensate vendors for goods and services provided to their businesses. Read More Facebook

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Parent of Corona beer bets $3.8 billion on U.S. love of marijuana By Bloomberg Constellation Brands Inc., which for seven decades has made its money off beer, wine and whiskey, sees its future in a marijuana leaf. In the biggest (legal) marijuana deal, the Victor, N.Y., beverage company will spend about $3.8 billion to boost its stake in Canadian grower Canopy Growth Corp., betting legalization will gain traction around the world and especially in the United States. This is rocket fuel, Canopy Chief Executive Bruce Linton said on the companys earnings call Wednesday. Were going to be way more global. Read More Facebook

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Marijuana is not really legal in California if residents dont have a reasonable way to buy it By The Times Editorial Board California law allows adults to buy marijuana. It allows licensed businesses to deliver marijuana to customers, and it says specifically that cities and counties cannot prevent delivery services from traveling on public roads. Yet even though cities cant stop deliveries traveling through their jurisdiction, many cities currently ban deliveries to their jurisdiction. That means that unlike deliveries of virtually every other legal, adult-use product  including alcohol and cigarettes, which can be ordered over the internet in California  marijuana deliveries are barred. The practical effect is that residents in some places have little to no access to legal medical or recreational cannabis products because of local regulations  which seems contrary to the intent of Proposition 64. Roughly half of Californians live in cities or counties that prohibit marijuana stores and delivery services form opening in their jurisdictions. An analysis by the Sacramento Bee earlier this year found residents in 40% of the state had to drive 60 miles or more to find a licensed dispensary to buy legal marijuana  medical or recreational. Read More Facebook

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California cities oppose plan to allow pot delivery in areas where sales are banned California cities are objecting to changes in the states rules on marijuana that they say undermine local control. (Mathew Sumner / Associated Press) California cities on Monday objected to a state proposal that would allow marijuana delivery to homes in areas where storefront pot sales have been banned locally. The changes, which are being considered by the state Bureau of Cannabis Control, will undermine a citys ability to effectively regulate cannabis at the local level, Charles Harvey, a legislative representative for the League of California Cities, said in a letter to the bureau. The cities group, which represents the states 482 municipalities, supports other changes to clarify the rules of Proposition 64, which was approved by voters in 2016 and allows the growing and sale of marijuana for recreational use. Read More Facebook

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Cypress Hills B-Real set to open a Sylmar dispensary, as Cannary West takes flight Saturday By Adam Tschorn B-Real, from left, Kenji Fujishima and Rojo Desantis in front of the soon-to-open Dr. Greenthumbs dispensary in Sylmar. (Dr. Greenthumbs) Rapper and marijuana entrepreneur Louis Freese, better known as Cypress Hill frontman B-Real, plans to celebrate the grand opening of his flagship dispensary in Sylmar with a day-long bash next Wednesday. Called Dr. Greenthumbs  a name music fans will recognize as the title of a 1998 Cypress Hill song  the Foothill Boulevard dispensary will be heavy on strains from B-Reals Insane brand of cannabis as well his Phuncky Feel Tips product line (glass tips designed to fit the business end of a hand-rolled joint). It will also serve as the home base for the rappers online BReal.TV network. According to todays announcement, the Wednesday event will be open to the public (though youll need to be at least 21  or 18 with a medical marijuana card) and feature a line-up of BRealTVs DJs as well as a slew of surprise guests [making] appearances throughout the day. A second Dr. Greenthumbs is expected to open in Cathedral City later this year. Dr. Greenthumbs grand-opening party, Aug. 15 from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., 12751 Foothill Blvd., Sylmar (just west of the 210 freeway between Arroyo and Vaughn streets). Cannary West In other dispensary-opening news, a rebooted and relocated Cannary West (this version by the folks behind the stylish, upscale Venice Blvd. dispensary the Pottery), officially opens its doors Saturday. Although parts of the space in the Rancho Park neighborhood are still under construction, its only because plans include adding sustainable on-site cultivation (a process also underway at the Pottery), it does already have one of Los Angeles real estates most enviable features  a dedicated off-street parking lot for customers around back. To mark the grand opening, the first 200 customers who spend $30 or more after the dispensary opens for business at 10 a.m. will receive a little something special for their efforts. Cannary West, grand opening, Aug. 11 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., 2435 Military Avenue, Los Angeles (just south of Pico and two blocks east of Sepulveda). Facebook

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As budget remedies, Huntington Beach may explore marijuana-related revenue and boosting fines for illegal short-term rentals By Priscella Vega With general-fund revenue increases projected to taper off in coming years, the Huntington Beach Finance Commission this week recommended several potential budget-tightening and revenue-generating solutions. Among them are increasing fines for illegal short-term rentals, reducing city staff and exploring opportunities for marijuana-related revenue. Some recommendations will be unpopular with employees, but at the same time we hope they realize implementing some recommendations may make funding available for salary increases, Finance Commission Chairman Nouha Hreish told the City Council during a study session Monday. Read More Facebook

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High Times rolls out new online video network By Adam Tschorn High Times, which launched as a print magazine in 1974, has added a streaming video service to its offerings. (High Times TV) Los Angeles-based cannabis media brand High Times, which launched as a print magazine in 1974, has added a streaming video service to its offerings. Announced Thursday, the ad-supported web channel High Times TV is both a showcase for the brands own content (behind-the-scenes videos from its Cannabis Cup events, for example, and how-to videos for ganja guacamole) as well as a platform for an assortment of independent cannabis-content creators like the Stoner Mom (a Colorado mother with a family of six who focuses on living a responsible cannabis lifestyle), StrainCentral (a strain review site founded by Joshua Young) and That High Couple (Hollywood-based couple Alice and Clark who chronicle their THC-infused life via social media). While High Times newest venture is hardly a unique move- there isnt a legacy media brand out there that isnt trying to capitalize on streaming video  it could end up being a lifeline for the independents in the stoner space who have seen their traditional social media channels (particularly YouTube) threatened, restricted or suspended in a cannabis-content crackdown that began earlier this year. High Times TV is now available as an app on Android, Roku and Apple TV as well as online at tv.hightimes.com. Facebook

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Newport Beach lawsuit seeks to ban marijuana business that operated in residential neighborhoods By Hannah Fry Newport Beach officials are asking an Orange County Superior Court judge to block a marijuana business from operating in two homes in violation of city law. A civil lawsuit filed May 4 seeks an injunction to forbid the business  known as OC Healing House, Bud Man OC and Bud Man Newport Beach  from operating at a home on Drakes Bay Drive in Corona del Mar and a home on Promontory Drive in Newports Promontory Point community. The city attorneys office says the business was using the homes for marijuana delivery and distribution. The lawsuit calls the business a public nuisance. Read More Facebook

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Marijuana is a gift from God. A battle over pot pits the Mormon Church against an unlikely group: other Mormons By Kurtis Lee Brian Stoll faced a dilemma as his wedding day approached. For more than a year, he had been smoking marijuana to treat severe back pain, but to remain in good standing with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and get married in the temple, he had to stop using pot. Since marijuana was illegal under Utah law, church leaders told him, it was forbidden. Stoll turned to an opioid painkiller and has continued using it since his marriage three years ago, despite unpleasant side effects and its inability to match the soothing qualities of marijuana. This was devastating ... I had to choose between my health and my fiancee, Stoll said recently. It seemed asinine that if I lived in another state, I wouldnt have to make such a difficult decision. Read More Facebook

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Roommates were unaware of drug lab operation in Glendale home, police say By Andy Nguyen Authorities arrested a man on Friday suspected of operating an illegal butane honey-oil lab out of a Glendale home. John Kelly, 52, was taken into custody after the Glendale Police Department received a tip about the suspected manufacturing operation in the 1400 block of Randall Street. The information was derived from an ongoing narcotics investigation, according to Sgt. Dan Suttles, a spokesman for the department. Butane honey oil is a type of concentrated cannabis product made when marijuana is soaked in butane in order to extract the plants essential oils. The process can lead to explosions if the butane gas builds up in an enclosed area and ignites from a spark. Read More Facebook

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Rams guard Jamon Brown says marijuana is reason for suspension By Gary Klein Rams starting right guard Jamon Brown, suspended for the first two games of the season for violating the NFLs substance-abuse policy, said Thursday that the suspension stemmed from a 2017 incident in Kentucky that involved marijuana. Brown still worked with the first-team offense Thursday as the Rams held their first training camp practice at UC Irvine. Brown, a fourth-year pro from Louisville, said that before last season he was pulled over for speeding and that police found marijuana in the car. Read More Facebook

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Democrats still havent figured out that legal weed is a winning issue By Tom Angell Every Democratic U.S. senator rumored to be considering a 2020 presidential run supports marijuana legalization. So do 77% of Democratic voters. The partys 2016 national platform backs states rights on cannabis and calls for a reasoned pathway for future legalization. So why is the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee  the entity charged with winning back control of the U.S. House  attacking a Republican congressman over his support for marijuana reform? And why is it citing a right-wing magazine to make the case? Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Costa Mesa) has a cult-like fixation on marijuana, said a National Review article excerpt the Democratic committee highlighted in a tweet posted Monday. The party organ said the GOP congressmans cannabis advocacy is one reason why [Democratic nominee] @HarleyRouda needs your help flipping this seat...from #RedToBlue. Read More Facebook

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They worked at Apple, Amazon and Lyft. Now theyre working to get you stoned By Tracey Lien For much of her career, Natasha Pecor followed a path well-worn by tech workers. She built her reputation with her first employer in the industry, earning the title head of platform at Yelp. Then she jumped to one of the giants, Amazon, where she worked as a product manager. Most recently she parlayed that experience into a leadership role at a smaller start-up  a common move among techies willing to take a risk for a new challenge and perhaps a big payday. But this start-up wasnt exactly a tech company. Read More Facebook

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Fountain Valley man sentenced to life in prison in kidnapping and torture of marijuana dispensary owner By Hannah Fry A Fountain Valley man was sentenced Friday to spend the rest of his life behind bars for kidnapping a medical marijuana dispensary owner and his roommate in 2012 and torturing the dispensary owner as part of a plot to extort money. Orange County Superior Court Judge Gregg Prickett gave Kyle Shirakawa Handley, 39, the maximum sentence of life in state prison. A Superior Court jury in January swiftly found Handley guilty of of kidnapping, aggravated mayhem and torture, all felonies. Prosecutors contended that Handley, a marijuana grower who supplied the victims dispensary, and three other defendants kidnapped the man and his female roommate from their 25th Street home on the Balboa Peninsula in Newport Beach on Oct. 2, 2012. Read More Facebook

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More California kids are having pot-related health scares, poison control officials warn By Patrick McGreevy State and local officials say they are alarmed by a spike in calls they have received to report children and teenagers ingesting marijuana products since California legalized cannabis for recreational use by adults in 2016. The number of calls to poison control centers involving people 19 and younger who were exposed to marijuana has steadily risen from 347 three years ago to 588 last year. In the first six months of this year, there have been 386 calls to poison control centers involving marijuana exposure by underage people. If that trend continues, there could be more than double the reports in 2018 as there were 2015. Nearly half of the calls received last year  256  involved children 5 and younger, including 38 children under 12 months old, and 64 toddlers who were a year old, according to Stuart E. Heard, executive director of the California Poison Control System. Read More Facebook

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With marijuana legal, California flooded with dubious health claims about the drug By Gary Robbins Spend a few minutes surfing Twitter and youre likely to encounter a startling claim that comes without proof: Cannabis cures cancer. The online world is awash with such posts, startling scientists and physicians who are urging weeds proselytizers to tap the brakes. Read More Facebook

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Gov. Jerry Brown appoints members to new cannabis permit appeals panel Marijuana on display at the Harborside dispensary in Oakland. (Mathew Sumner / Associated Press) Six months after California began licensing growing and selling marijuana, Gov. Jerry Brown on July 3 appointed the first members of a new Cannabis Control Appeals Panel to consider objections from those denied permits or those facing penalties for violating regulations. The governor gets to name three of the five members of the panel and appointed county prosecutor Sabrina D. Ashjian of Fresno, college lecturer Diandra Bremond of Los Angeles, and a staff attorney for the governor, Adrian Carpenter of Plumas Lake. The other two appointments will be made by the Senate Rules Committee and the speaker of the Assembly. Read More Facebook

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Federal law? State law? Which takes precedence when you want to travel with cannabis? By Catharine Hamm You cant take it with you. Actually, you can. But its not a good idea when youre traveling, especially for the risk-averse. We speak, of course, of cannabis; its use was approved by 57% of California voters in November 2016. Proposition 64, known as the Adult Use of Marijuana Act, allows the recreational use of marijuana in the Golden State; medical marijuana had been legal for about a decade before that. Legal, it should be noted, in California. Not legal according to federal law, although President Trump has signaled his willingness to support legislation that, according to an L.A. Times article, would end the federal ban on marijuana. Read More Facebook

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Cambodia is sliding into dictatorship, and its playing out on Facebook.

The countrys government, led by Prime Minister Hun Sen, has purchased millions of fake likes on the platform, used it to silence critics and spread propaganda, opponents say.



For the record: This article incorrectly refers to additional evidence in the case. It should have said additional information.

On Thursday morning, former Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsys lawyers filed a petition in a Northern California court that could shed light on this behavior, raising questions about the social media giants possible role in bolstering an authoritarian government.

Human rights are being ignored and our electoral system is in shambles, said Sam Rainsy, 68, who lives in exile in France. By exposing facts now in the possession of Facebook, we will be able to place real evidence before courts in Cambodia and possibly elsewhere. When facing irrefutable evidence, even a dictator will have to backtrack.

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The Cambodian government has charged Sam Rainsy in several politically tinged cases, at least four of which concern content he has posted to Facebook. Sam Rainsys petition seeks information in Facebooks possession regarding Hun Sens misuse of social media to deceive Cambodias electorate and to commit human rights abuses, according to a statement by the San Francisco-based law firm BraunHagey and Borden, which is representing Sam Rainsy.

Facebook declined to comment. A spokeswoman directed questions to company material that shows Facebook has been cracking down on fake likes since 2015. The company uses pattern recognition to block the practice and has notified more than 200,000 pages in the last three years that theyve been protected from fake likes.

Since Hun Sen ascended to the Cambodian governments highest levels in the late 70s, he has established a reputation as a tough leader with a low tolerance for dissent. With a national election scheduled for July, his government has, in recent months, shuttered Western nonprofit agencies, prosecuted scores of activists and hobbled the countrys independent press. In November, Cambodias Supreme Court dissolved the countrys only opposition party, the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), which Sam Rainsy had led until last year.

Sam Rainsys successor, Kem Sokha, was arrested in September for alleged treason. Several other party leaders have fled abroad or gone into hiding.

Cambodians once regarded Facebook as an injection of transparency in the long-authoritarian state. The CNRP used the platform to communicate directly with voters in a 2013 national election, precipitating protests and winning it a significant number of seats.

Yet as the platform grows more influential in the country, authorities have increasingly co-opted it to spread propaganda and silence critics. According to a 2017 report, 4.5 million people in the country are connected to Facebook, and more than half use the platform every day; many use it as their sole source of news.

Since 2014, 15 people have been arrested in the country over Facebook posts, according to a recent investigation by BuzzFeed News.

Where Cambodians have lost here is in restrictions in online speech, said Sebastian Strangio, the author of Hun Sens Cambodia. Hun Sens party, he said, has been extending all the informal and formal media controls that its had offline  in newspapers, radio  and extending them to the online sphere. It cant go after Facebook, so its going after the users.

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Hun Sen has 9.4 million likes on his Facebook page, which mainly depicts him snapping selfies with supporters and spending time with his family. By one metric, hes the third most popular world leader on the platform after Indias Narendra Modi and President Trump, according to the public relations firm Burson-Marsteller.

In 2016, Sam Rainsy accused Hun Sen of purchasing fake likes from click farms in the Philippines and India, a practice that Facebook has said it does not condone. Hun Sen denied the allegation  If I could buy India, I must be really strong, he said at the time  and sued Sam Rainsy for defamation.

Thursdays petition also alleges that Hun Sen also published a death threat against Sam Rainsy on the platform, violating its user guidelines.

Although Hun Sens government has shuttered independent media, it has allowed far-right, government-aligned news outlets to thrive. The website Fresh News, often equated to Breitbart News, frequently vilifies opposition figures and dissidents while touting the party line. It has 2.4 million likes.

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Facebook has demonstrated its potential to help improve information-sharing and transparency in countries like Cambodia, Sam Rainsys attorney, J. Noah Hagey, said in a statement. The issues raised in the petition ask fundamental questions about Facebooks role in the democratic process, including how it will react when being misused by repressive regimes.

Sam Rainsys case hinges on a so-called Section 1782 discovery, named for a U.S. statute that stipulates that if an American company is involved in a legal proceeding in another country, a litigant can apply to a U.S. court for evidence that could be used in that proceeding.

Sam Rainsy faces several lawsuits in his home country. In January, he was charged with inciting and demoralizing the military after he suggested  in a video posted to Facebook  that Cambodian soldiers would not obey orders to shoot civilians. (Hun Sen called the comment a declaration of war.)

In 2016, Sam Rainsy protested the killing of Kem Ley, a prominent political analyst who was gunned down at a Caltex gas station that July. Although the suspect, Oueth Ang, is in jail, many Cambodians believe that the killing was a political assassination and that its architects have not been brought to justice. A Cambodian court found Sam Rainsy guilty of defamation and incitement for calling the killing an act of state-sponsored terrorism.

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BraunHagey and Borden used the Section 1782 statute to obtain surveillance tapes from U.S. energy giant Chevron, which owns the gas station where Kem Ley was shot. The Cambodian government is not known to have acted on the additional evidence.

jonathan.kaiman@latimes.com

For more news from Asia, follow @JRKaiman on Twitter

Times staff writer David Pierson contributed to this report from Los Angeles.

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UPDATES:

1:50 p.m.: This article was updated with Facebooks policy on fake likes.

This article was originally published at 8:25 p.m.
After five decades of civil war, the former guerrillas of Colombia never thought it would be easy to reinvent themselves into a political party.

The party known as the FARC, making its debut in mainstream politics, suspended its campaign activities Friday in the run-up to congressional elections after several campaign events were disrupted this week by protesters.

The partys presidential candidate, Rodrigo Londono, also known as Timochenko, was harassed at rallies this week in Quindio and Valle del Cauca provinces. At events Thursday in the Valle del Cauca capital, Cali, Londono was shouted down by onlookers screaming, Assassin!

Later that day, his caravan was met with a cascade of eggs, bottles and rocks.

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A 2016 peace agreement between the government and the FARC  which then stood for its wartime name, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia  opened the way for its participation in politics.

Terms of the peace accord guarantee the new FARC  which now stands for the Common Alternative Revolutionary Force  at least 10 congressional seats in the session convening this summer and again in 2022.

But last month the party introduced a slate of candidates to run in the March 11 congressional elections with hopes of a strong showing that, in the words of House candidate Carlos Alberto Marin, would legitimize those guaranteed legislative seats.

He and FARC leader Carlos Antonio Lozada said in interviews that the party set a goal of garnering 500,000 votes, or more than 3% of the 15 million expected to be cast. Attracting that many votes would mean the party would have won two or three Senate seats even without the peace accords guarantees.

But even before Fridays announcement, political analysts and researchers said the goal might be unrealistic. The former rebels have image problems after half a century of warfare that claimed 220,000 dead and displaced millions from their homes.

Turnout at FARC rallies has been sparse. Fewer than 3% of those questioned in opinion polls have positive perceptions of the former insurgents. A majority of Colombians think the groups leaders should face a special war crimes tribunal set up by the peace deal before being allowed to run for office.

Those thoughts are top of mind for many Colombians this month because Feb. 7 was the 15th anniversary of one of the FARCs most notorious attacks, the car bombing of the El Nogal social club in north Bogota, which killed 35 people.

The FARCs image problems stem from the fact they still have not adequately asked for forgiveness, handed over ill-gotten gains, nor gone through any transitional justice mechanism, said Alejandro Eder, former head of the Colombian agency that helps disarmed rebel and paramilitary fighters reintegrate into society. They have been acting arrogantly, and that makes people resent them.

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The former rebels have admitted war crimes but say that the armed forces and paramilitaries that disarmed in 2006 committed more atrocities  a claim supported by the National Center for Historical Memory, which was set up by the government in 2011 to study the conflict and memorialize the victims.

FARC congressional candidate Isabela Sanroque, left, talks with street vendor Rosalba Ayala during her walk through of the 20th of July barrio in south Bogota. (Chris Kraul / For The Times )

Isabela Sanroque, a 33-year old former rebel who is running for Congress to represent Bogota, the capital, said on the campaign trail last week that it was natural that some Colombians would have negative feelings toward the FARC after so many years of warfare and a long-running media campaign to sow hatred.

The war produced many events committed by us and by the armed forces that were unjustified and which painted us very poorly in public opinion, said Sanroque as she handed out fliers in the 20th of July barrio of southern Bogota. It doesnt discourage us. It just makes us more determined to plant seeds of reconciliation.

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Sanroque, whose husband and fellow FARC ex-fighter was killed in a 2007 clash with the army, said the partys platform is finding acceptance among youths and the poor, particularly its promises to give pensions to homemakers, introduce strict recycling laws and fight corruption.

But the FARCs electoral chances are also being affected by external factors. The increasingly autocratic government of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela, whose late predecessor, Hugo Chavez, gave shelter and support to FARC leaders, has raised fears that the former rebels could usher in an age of Castro-Chavismo  or socialist dictatorship, in the mold of Chavez and late Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

Ariel Avila, a political analyst with the Peace and Reconciliation Foundation in Bogota, said the partys ambitions may also be frustrated by left-leaning voters desire to cast ballots for other candidates with better chances of winning.

Also, the FARC, admittedly new to the campaign trail, has shown itself to be politically inept, he said: In view of the negative image the FARC had during the war, their choice of the same letters as an acronym for their new political party was a serious error of political marketing.

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At a news conference Friday, party officials blamed the recent campaign disruptions on a coordinated plan to frustrate their entry onto the political stage. In particular, they blamed regional leaders of a center-right party headed by former President Alvaro Uribe. Now a senator, Uribe was an implacable foe of the rebels during his presidency and opposed the 2016 peace deal.

We call on the national government to make effective guarantees of the political rights of the Common Alternative Revolutionary Force just as for the other parties and movements that participate in the electoral campaign now in progress, said a statement issued by the FARC.

That same day, Sanroque and other FARC candidates appeared at a sparsely attended rally at the National University of Colombia. As she handed out fliers to students at the college, a hotbed of rebel support during the conflict, she said a key strategy of the FARC is to harness youths nonconformity and rebelliousness in the defense of peace.

Cesar Garzon, a 25-year old sociology student, said he wasnt quite ready to throw his support behind the party but was willing to listen to their candidates ideas on fighting corruption and social inequality.

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The country needs a drastic change. We ended the war but not the conditions that caused it, Garzon said. If we can just get the FARC to respond to the question, Why did you take up arms? then maybe it will be possible to change the conditions so war isnt repeated.

Kraul is a special correspondent.

UPDATES:

3:55 p.m.: This article has been updated with political analysis and reporting from a campaign event.

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1:35 p.m.: This article was updated throughout with Times reporting.

This article was originally published at 10:30 a.m.
Mexican authorities have arrested the alleged leader of the Zetas drug cartel  long one of the countrys most powerful and notoriously brutal criminal groups.

Jose Maria Guizar Valencia, who is accused of overseeing an organization that traffics thousands of pounds of cocaine and methamphetamine to the United States each year, was nabbed Thursday while entering a hotel in a fashionable neighborhood in Mexico City, authorities said Friday.

Mexican National Security Commissioner Renato Sales said in a statement that Guizar, 38, was captured without force.

In a nation gripped by escalating violence driven by warring criminal groups, Guizar was one of Mexicos most-wanted men. The United States had offered a $5-million reward for his arrest and had formally requested his extradition. Sales said there are arrest warrants for Guizar in several U.S. states for crimes including arms smuggling, kidnapping and murder.

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His capture was celebrated by public officials from both sides of the border, with U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Roberta Jacobson tweeting that Guizars arrest and other law enforcement efforts make Mexico and the United States safer.

But others reacted with caution, noting that in the past, Mexicos kingpin strategy of targeting cartel leaders has not reduced violence, and in fact may have increased it.

In the decade since Mexico sent tens of thousands of soldiers into the streets to battle drug trafficking organizations so powerful they were often compared to multinational corporations, dozens of drug lords, including Joaquin El Chapo Guzman, have been taken into custody or killed.

While the kingpin strategy may have stopped Mexico from being completely overtaken by drug cartels, it unleashed a wave of bloodshed as criminals fought for control of lucrative drug trafficking routes and extortion and fuel theft schemes. Mexicos homicide rate is soaring. Last year it hit a 20-year high.

It must be said that as soon as a leader is arrested, another leader often appears, security expert Ricardo Ravelo said in a radio interview Friday.

In the year since Guzman was extradited to face charges of murder and drug trafficking in the U.S., his Sinaloa cartel has weakened significantly, and is now battling an ascendant group called the Jalisco New Generation cartel in several states.

In other parts of the country, such as the seaside resort of Acapulco, the cartel system has collapsed completely, with historic levels of violence being driven by dozens of warring street gangs.

Authorities say Guizar, known by his Zetas code name Z 43, was born in Tulare, Calif. He first appeared on the radar of Mexican law enforcement officials in 1998, when he allegedly began trafficking drugs in the state of Michoacan.

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The Zetas cartel he went on to lead evolved from a group of deserters from the Mexican Special Forces. The ex-soldiers were hired to serve as a security force for the Gulf cartel, but in 2010 broke with their former employer to start their own drug trafficking network.

Via street battles and gruesome tactics that included beheadings, videotaped assassinations and the hanging of mutilated bodies from bridges, the Zetas became the most powerful force in several states, including Tamaulipas, on the Texas border. Officials say the groups reach extends down to Guatemala.

Perhaps the groups most shocking exploit was the 2010 killing of 72 migrants in the Tamaulipas town of San Fernando. Investigators said the migrants were shot to death after they refused to work for the cartel.

Experts say the group has weakened in recent years, and has begun to splinter into different factions.

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They are very diminished compared to what they were at their height, said security expert Alejandro Hope. Still, he said, its an important arrest.

Guizars capture in the countrys capital shocked many who have long viewed Mexico City as a haven from the drug war violence engulfing other parts of nation. But there have been signs that violence may be encroaching, including a large banner hung from one of the citys main highways this week announcing the arrival of the Jalisco New Generation cartel. Law enforcement officials said they were investigating the banner to see if it is authentic.

Roma, the neighborhood where Guizar was arrested, is known as one of the nations trendiest, home to world-famous restaurants, expensive clothing stores and luxurious hotels.

Juan Carlos Silva, chief of the anti-drug division of the federal police, said in a radio interview that Guizar was about to walk into one such hotel Thursday. He was traveling without armed guards, likely in an effort to blend in, Silva said. Because of that, authorities were able to capture Guizar, he said.

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kate.linthicum@latimes.com

Twitter: @katelinthicum

Times researcher Scott Wilson and Cecilia Sanchez in The Times Mexico City bureau contributed to this report.
Deficit and desperation define life these days in the Gaza Strip. Residents make do with four hours of electricity a day. Most people dont have access to clean water because the supply system is contaminated with sewage. Breakfast for some schoolchildren is a cup of hot water flavored with a dash of salt.

Despair isnt even the right word to describe whats going on here because things are getting worse and worse, said Omar Ghraieb, 31, a journalist and digital media manager living in Gaza. We wake up to a world of struggles each day.

For the record: This article incorrectly states that the number of supply trucks entering Gaza from Israel has dropped to 300 per week. The correct number is 300 per day. It also quotes the executive director of the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights as saying that fishermen in Gaza face a 3-nautical-mile limit due to Israels naval blockade of the territory. The fishing zone was three nautical miles in the past, but was extended to six, with temporary extensions to nine miles during sardine season.

For more than a decade Palestinians living in Gaza have endured major escalations of violence and an air and sea blockade, imposed by Israel and Egypt, that has decimated the infrastructure, stifled economic growth and made living conditions so dismal that United Nations officials say a humanitarian disaster is unavoidable.

We really are seeing a collapse in place, said Matthias Schmale, director of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, or UNRWA, which provides humanitarian assistance to more than 1.3 million refugees in the self-governing Palestinian territory.

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The Palestinian Authority has denied the severity of the situation, according to local media reports, blaming such news on a misinformation campaign by Hamas, the Islamic militant group that governs Gaza.

Israels army chief of staff, Gen. Gadi Eisenkot, acknowledged the emergency, but Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman recently contradicted him, saying that although the economic situation was complicated and had to be tackled, there was no humanitarian crisis.

Both Israel and the United States charge that Hamas, which they list as a terrorist organization, is contributing to the deterioration of conditions in Gaza because the organization has prioritized spending on arms and formulating strategies to launch attacks against Israel, rather than funding social needs such as food or education.

Harrowing hardships

For most of those struggling to survive in Gaza, the hardships are real.

Speaking via the social media app WhatsApp, Ghraieb recalled how it was not so long ago that the power stayed on for eight hours each day, enough time to cook, surf the internet and heat the apartment that he shares with his father and sister.

Palestinian charge their cellphones using batteries, a free service offered in a Gaza City neighborhood suffering from power disruptions. (Mohammed Abed / AFP/Getty Images )

In June, as a punitive measure against Hamas, the Palestinian Authority stopped paying Israel to supply Gaza with electricity, causing the drastic restriction on power.

Many people have resorted to burning wood and stocking up on blankets to stay warm, Ghraieb said. Generators are available, but few people can afford the fuel to run them.

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Of course some have it better than others, but  its like we went back a decade, Ghraieb said. Its crazy seeing the world advance by the minute while seeing a place you call home decline by the second.

Health facilities are also feeling the strain of the power scarcity. Last week, a hospital serving 66,000 people in the northern Gaza Strip halted operations and a childrens medical center reduced its services to a bare minimum.

Adding to the frustration is the knowledge that the situation in Gaza was once much better, said Yousef Munayyer, executive director of the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights, a nationwide coalition in the United States of more than 300 organizations working to advocate for Palestinian rights. At one point everybody had electricity. Everybody had running water, [working] toilets  these kinds of things. Its not that it never got to that stage of development.

According to the World Bank, only 10% of Gazas population has access to safe drinking water. The sewage system has broken down and wastewater pollutes the aquifer that flows beneath Gaza.

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The 1.3 million refugees whom UNRWA serves account for about 70% of Gazas population of 2 million people. Of these refugees, 77% live in poverty and depend on the U.N. agency for food, Schmale said.

Gaza is a place that has been testing the limits of what the minimum level of sustainability is before a total humanitarian catastrophe, Munayyer said. We inch closer every day to finding where that threshold is.

An economy in ruins

About 46% the population in Gaza, which covers 141 square miles, is without work. The statistic stands at 64% among young people under the age of 25, and at 77% for women within that group. And unemployment is rising, according to U.N. officials.

A lot of these industries that you could rely on to produce and generate some independent dynamism for the economy have also suffered because of the siege policy, Munayyer said.

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Egypts border with Gaza is closed and Israel allows only trucks carrying food or other humanitarian necessities to pass through. The dramatic drop in purchasing power of Gazans is evident in the number of supply trucks entering the strip weekly from Israel. It has dropped from an average of 900 trucks a week to about 300, according to Israeli army data.

Entire industries have collapsed within the Gaza Strip. Farming areas along the perimeter of the strip have been ruined by the siege and three recent wars with Israel, in 2009, 2012 and 2014.

Palestinians are surrounded by destruction in the northern district of Beit Hanoun in the Gaza Strip on July 26, 2014. (Mohammed Abed / AFP/Getty Images )

Much of that agricultural land has been destroyed by frequent invasion of heavily armored vehicles or is off-limits to Palestinians because the Israelis enforce a buffer zone inside the Gaza Strip, Munayyer said.

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The fishing industry has been central to Gaza for hundreds of years because of the regions proximity to the coast, but fishermen are not permitted to go beyond three nautical miles because of a naval blockade, he said.

So now in recent years, for the first time in history, the primary source of fish in the Gaza Strip is no longer fresh cod fish, but farmed fish on land, because theres an overfishing problem within the 3-nautical-mile limit, Munayyer said. Many of the species the fishermen go after is beyond that mark now.

UNRWA remains one of Gazas biggest employers, providing jobs for about 13,000 people, Schmale said. They fulfill a variety of roles, including about 9,000 teachers and principals who work at the 275 schools run by the agency.

Funding cuts threaten to worsen the crisis

The assistance the U.N. agency provides is in jeopardy. In January, the Trump administration announced that it was withholding $65 million out of the $125 million of planned funding to the agency  a move that humanitarian officials said would exacerbate the crisis.

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U.S. officials said that the decision had nothing to do with punishing the Palestinians for refusing to enter new peace negotiations with Israel, as many observers argue, but rather was to encourage other donors to increase their support to Gaza and push the relief organization to undertake reforms.

But two weeks before the funding cuts were announced, Trump complained via Twitter that the Palestinians dont even want to negotiate a long overdue peace treaty with Israel. And as such, why should we make any of these massive future payments to them? he tweeted.

Critics said such sentiments bordered on holding the lives of thousands of desperate people ransom.

This is essentially telling Palestinians that either you stop protesting or we will starve you, said Noura Erakat, an assistant professor at the School of Integrative Studies at George Mason University.

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She said it was wrong to tie humanitarian assistance to peace negotiations.

Palestinian lives are being manipulated and played with in order to compel them to succumb to a political reality of Israeli dominance, which they refuse, Erakat said.

Schmale said the reforms Washington wanted his agency to undertake included improving management and efficiency; changing the school curriculum and eliminating books that might have a jihadist bent and incite students to violence; and requiring the agency to stop registering Palestinian refugees.

Palestinian schoolchildren take part in a Gaza City protest on Feb. 4, 2018, against the difficult economic situation and the U.S. decision to withhold funds earmarked for the United Nations relief agency for Palestinian refugees. (Mahmud Hams / AFP/Getty Images )

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Schools would strongly feel the pinch of less aid money, because the cuts would lead to a $240-million deficit of funds for education, he said.

I dread being forced into a situation at one point where we have to say, Sorry we dont have the money to continue your education, because while the food will affect people physically and plunge them into further poverty, reducing or stopping education kills hope for the future.

U.N. officials, humanitarian workers and analysts warned that slashing funding to the relief agency not only threatened livelihoods, health and education, but also could undermine the regions stability.

We are a factor of stability because of the sheer volume of what we pump in here, Schmale said. The stopping or reducing of food distribution could just be one of the matches that lights the fire here. When you have this kind of high unemployment, desperate people without much of a horizon  stopping the food distribution could spark riots because people have very little to lose.

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Ghraieb, the journalist, acknowledged that the dearth of funding could worsen the humanitarian situation, but were really past the blame game.

It gets to a point where you just want a chance to live life in dignity and in peace, feeling that you dont have to wake up every day facing so many struggles, he said.

Special correspondent Noga Tarnopolsky in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

ann.simmons@latimes.com

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For more on global development news, see our Global Development Watch page, and follow me @AMSimmons1 on Twitter
Feb 8, 2018, 3:54pm ET

Elon Musk: Lidar an expensive, unnecessary 'crutch'

The executive\'s latest comments suggest Tesla is sticking to its bet on advanced radar mapping, however the company hasn\'t yet demonstrated such capabilities.

Elon Musk has reaffirmed his confidence that Tesla can deploy an advanced Level 4/5 autonomous system without requiring lidar.

Lidar has become a point of debate in the industry. Tesla appears to be the only company pursuing full autonomy without relying on lidar. Lidar systems with long enough range and high enough resolution to look down a highway several hundred yards cost thousands of dollars per sensor, and some cars have six or more sensors.

Speaking to analysts during Tesla's recent Q4 call, Musk said "it's pretty obvious that the road system is geared toward passive optical," referring to cameras as passive optical and lidar systems (which emit light) as active optical.

"We have to solve passive optical image recognition, extremely well in order to be able to drive in any given environment and the changing environment," he added. "At the point at which you have solved it extremely well, what is the point in having active optical, meaning lidar ... which cannot read signs? ... In my view, it is a crutch that will drive companies to a local maximum that they will find very difficult to get out of."

Tesla is instead taking the "hard path" of developing a neural net that is capable of advanced image recognition, paired with an "increasingly sophisticated" radar.

"You would want to do active photon generation in the radar frequencies of approximately around 4 millimeters because that is occlusion penetrating," he added. "And you can essentially see through snow, rain, dust, fog, anything. So ... I find it quite puzzling that companies would choose to do an active proton system in the wrong wavelength."
Police are looking for a Bucks County man accused of viciously killing his family's dog.

Rony Garcia, 24, of Hilltown Township, is wanted for aggravated cruelty to animals.

Hilltown Township police are looking for Garcia and fear he may be trying to flee to Honduras.

Anyone with information about Garcia's whereabouts is asked to call Hilltown police at 215-453-6011 or leave an anonymous tip at 267-517-9119.

Police said there were called Saturday night to Garcia's home in the 1400 block of Route 113.

It was reported a man was threatening people after possibly killing the family's dog.

Police found that family members were not injured, but discovered several large pools of blood in the home. Officers learned the blood was from a pet dog, and began searching for the injured pet.

Police said they found the 15-month-old Mountain Cur discarded in a ditch near the house. The dog had "severe and visible head trauma," and was dead, police said. They also found a claw hammer in the home.

The dog's body was taken to the Bucks County SPCA for a necropsy. It was determined the dog suffered multiple skull fractures and died from blunt force trauma, police said.

A warrant was issued for Garcia.

Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Stock Market News

British Land picks up Woolwich Estate for 103m 09-02-2018 07:24



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Friday newspaper round-up: Premier League, Talktalk, Carillion challenge, Brexit 09-02-2018 07:23



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The beginning of the school year when you got to show off your new duds, new cars, new looks!

Sports! Playing, cheering, watching high school athletics.

The arts: Dramatic arts, musical groups and shows, graphic arts groups, debate, etc.

The prom! No dancing the night away or punch bowl antics.

The daily interactions. Just being with the group, hanging with friends and classmates.

Access to college recruiters and advisors  its harder to line up higher education.

Walking onstage to get a diploma while all the family is watching with everyone elses family.

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37-year-old Kim Kardashian has shared a photo on her Instagram which has sparked controversy - and a Kiwi sportswear brand is smack bang in the middle of it.

The mum-of-three shared a photo of herself in a pair of bike shorts from sportswear company 2XU, founded by a Kiwi and two Australians.

And the internet have been raging over whether or not it's appropriate as it shows Kim removing a bra while her daughter North captures the shot.
Flying utility drone spraying pesticide over a cornfield. Advanced technology has been applied in agriculture in the Netherlands.(Photo: cnbc.com)





At an exchange programme between Vietnamese and Dutch businesses held in Ho Chi Minh city on February 7th, Offerhaus noted that Vietnam has an impressive economic growth in recent years with large-scale and great potential market.

Besides expanding production to increase market share in Vietnam, Dutch corporations also pay attention to products that can be re-exported to the Netherlands and other countries, he said, stressing that the companies want to cooperate with Vietnamese partners in agriculture, food processing, health care and water treatment.

He suggested that both sides need to step up collaboration in enhancing capacity in agricultural production and control of product quality towards green and sustainable development and increasing trade value for farm produce.

The Netherlands has strengths in high-tech agriculture and food processing as it knows how to link researchers, firms and farmers to optimise production chain. Meanwhile, Vietnam has advantages in agricultural production; however, quality of farm produce has not been under good control, he explained.

Nguyen Thi Thanh Truc, Business Development Manager at the Asia Chemical Corporation, said that Vietnamese firms should take full advantage of the cooperation with the Dutch companies to improve products quality and meet demands of fastidious consumers.

At the event, companies from the northwest European country said that the EU is a potential market for Vietnams electronic spare parts and products, coffee, rice and seafood. However, Vietnamese firms must ensure quality standards and transparency in information.

The Netherlands is currently the largest trade partner of Vietnam in the EU with bilateral trade reaching USD2.9 billion in the first five months of 2017. It is also one of the biggest EU investors in Vietnam with total investment worth nearly USD8 billion./.
SPRINGFIELD -- CRRC is about to open its rail car factory in East Springfield, MGM Springfield is seven months from opening its resort casino in the South End and now homegrown MassMutual will add jobs at its headquarters on State Street.

"That is a lot of momentum, and it gets noticed," said Richard K. Sullivan Jr., president and CEO of the Economic Development Council of Western Massachusetts.

MassMutual plans to grow its workforce at its corporate headquarters on State Street by approximately 50 percent. The insurer will add 1,500 jobs there over the next four years, bringing the total number of employees in Springfield to approximately 4,500 by 2021.

MassMutual also plans to spend $50 million on its Springfield headquarters, which is only about 60 percent occupied, over the next five years.

Sullivan said his job now is to use that momentum to bring in more business and more jobs.

"I think it is the whole teamwork of having the state and the city and the region on the same page," he said. "It's what we can bring to the table in terms of workforce, the quality of life and the talent (businesses) need. It is a compelling package. It's a competitive climate out there."

"It's not just Springfield that benefits from this," Sullivan said. "It's the whole region. It affects housing, it affects sales tax. It affects property tax in the whole region."

Sullivan said the incentives are not the only thing that brought, and is keeping, MassMutual here. The company is closing offices around the country, but will maintain its data science center in Amherst, where it employs graduate students solving MassMutual business problems with the latest analytic tools and techniques as they complete advanced degrees in computer science at the University of Massachusetts.

MassMutual has also spent money supporting data science programs for women at Mount Holyoke and Smith colleges with a $2 million, four-year program that began in 2015.

MassMutual also enhanced UMass cyber security programs with $5 million.

In Boston, MassMutual plans to invest $240 million on a new campus it will build on land it already owns on Fan Pier. That Boston campus will have 500 employees at first and later expand to 1,000 employees.

In exchange, the state has promised MassMutual incentives in the form of tax credits valued at about $46 million on its corporate tax. It is the largest commitment the state has ever made to a Springfield-based company.

Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said MassMutual has always stepped up to help Springfield, whether it was in the recovery from the June 2011 tornado or the company's ongoing support of education in Springfield.

"I appreciate Roger (Crandall's) continued belief and investment," Sarno said of the MassMutual CEO. "I know Marty ( Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh) is elated out there in Boston."

Sarno said he and chief development officer Kevin Kennedy recently toured MassMutual's headquarters, where he saw office space that was recently renovated.
Jill Messick, the former manager of actress Rose McGowan, died by suicide in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

Her family called her "collateral damage" of the Harvey Weinstein scandal.

Messick, 50, was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and had been battling depression in the years before her death, her family told The Hollywood Reporter. In an emotional statement, the family criticized McGowan, Weinstein and the media for involving Messick in the controversy over allegations that Weinstein sexually assaulted McGowan in 1997.

Messick's name was added to the fray when Weinstein used emails from her and Ben Affleck in an attempt to refute McGowan's claims made during her book tour that Weinstein sexually assaulted her. The email reveal, Messick's family said, devastated her, Deadline reported.

"Jill was victimized by our new culture of unlimited information sharing and a willingness to accept statement as fact," read the statement from Messick's family "The speed of disseminating information has carried mistruths about Jill as a person, which she was unable and unwilling to challenge. She became collateral damage in an already horrific story."

Messick spent five years at the Weinstein-run Miramax from 1997 to 2003, rising to senior vice president in charge of production.

Her family also claimed McGowan made "inaccurate accusations and insinuations" against her, but Messick chose not to speak out so as not to take attention away from victims of sexual harassment and assault.

Tina Fey remembers Jill Messick: "This is very sad news and my heart goes out to her family. Jill was instrumental in helping Mean Girls get to the screen. She was a fiercely dedicated producer and a kind person" https://t.co/hKPCuLLggc pic.twitter.com/4TLjcKVNPt  Hollywood Reporter (@THR) February 8, 2018

Hopefully @rosemcgowan will see thru her paranoid rage and realize how her irrational blame has helped to end a life. Your message is lost, you know. I hope Jill Messick finds some peace in death. #RoseMcGowan  Circe (@LoveTrumps45) February 9, 2018
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
Update: The shelter-in-place has been lifted.

Three schools in Newton are on lockdown as Massachusetts State Police search for multiple suspects on the run.

State police are searching for three people connected to a hit-and-run on the Massachusetts Turnpike, reports NECN. A vehicle matching the description was spotted on the pike early Friday, though it fled police taking exit 16 in Newton.

Burr Elementary, Pierce Elementary and Franklin Elementary are under lockdown protocol while police search the area nearby the schools.
SPRINGFIELD - Two weeks after being wounded in a shootout at a West Springfield hotel, a Holyoke man has been arraigned on heroin trafficking and other charges.

With his right hand bandaged and protected by a box-like device, Israel Cabrera-Perez, 24, pleaded not guilty Thursday in Springfield District Court to trafficking in heroin (36 to 100 grams), possession of heroin and possession of ammunition without a FID card.

Cabrera-Perez is the second suspect charged after an armed confrontation outside room 68 at the Express Inn on Riverdale Street on Jan. 24, according to the arrest report.

Isaiah Hall, 26, of Springfield, pleaded not guilty Jan. 25 to assault with intent to murder and three firearms charges.

After the shooting, police found Hall lying in a snowbank with a gunshot wound to his bicep, court records show.

Hall and a second man went to the hotel room to collect a drug debt, police said. One of the occupants made a phone call to Cabrera-Perez asking for help.

Hall, holding a gun, was standing in the doorway of the room when Cabrera-Perez pulled up in a car with two passengers around 1 p.m. In the ensuing exchange of gunfire, Cabrera-Perez was wounded in the arm and was driven to Holyoke Medical Center, where he was treated and arrested later in the day.

A search of his vehicle turned up 2,154 packets of heroin, labeled Gucci, and $1,930 in cash, Assistant District Attorney Frederick Burns said.

He requested $5,000 cash bail on the new charges, and asked Judge William Rota to revoke Cabrera-Perez's bail in an open heroin distribution case from March 2017.

Defense lawyer Joe A. Smith III requested $3,000 bail, and opposed revoking Cabrera-Perez's release in the open case.

"What we know is that Mr. Cabrera-Perez is a victim of a shooting," Smith said.

No firearm was found in his car, which police searched on legally questionable grounds, Smith said. As for Hall's gunshot wound, the arrest report notes that a woman who arrived at the hotel with Cabrera-Perez was seen shooting at him, Smith said.

The judge set bail at $5,000 and revoked Cabrera-Perez's release in the open case, effectively jailing him for 90 days. He is due back in court for a pretrial hearing Feb. 13.
The Baker-Polito administration announced this week that Massachusetts now has more than 2 gigawatts of solar power installed in 78,646 projects across the state -- enough to power around 1.4 million homes.

"With over 2,000 megawatts of solar now installed, Massachusetts continues to lead the nation in solar deployment and clean energy innovation," said Gov. Charlie Baker in a statement.

The milestone is due in part to efforts by the administration to diversify the state's energy portfolio to lower prices, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and "strengthen our vibrant and growing clean energy industry," according to a press release.

Massachusetts is sixth in the nation for new installed solar capacity and second for solar jobs. Under Baker, elected in 2014, more than 56,000 solar projects have been installed, totaling 1,239 megawatts, the press release said. All 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts have at least one solar installation, and since 2010, the state's clean energy industry has grown by 81 percent, adding over 49,000 workers.

The Department of Energy Resources has a new solar incentive program called Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target, or SMART. The administration said it will support an additional 1,600 megawatts of solar, "nearly doubling the amount installed as of today at half the estimated pricing of existing programs."
BOSTON -- A 28-year-old Brazilian national was sentenced to nearly three years in federal prison for his part in a scheme that bilked billions of dollars from more than two million people through an internet telephone company called TelexFree.

Cleber Rene Rizerio Rocha was accused of trying to launder millions of dollars in cash realized from the scheme. Authorities said he was arrested in a Westborough apartment where nearly $20 million in cash was found hidden in a box spring.

He was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court in Boston to serve 33 months in federal prison. He pleaded guilty in October to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and one count of money laundering.

Prosecutors said in a statement that Rocha laundered cash from the scheme for Telexfree co-founder Carlos Wanzeler, who fled the country and is believed to be hiding in Brazil. When he ran, Wanzeler left millions in cash behind hidden in the bed.

Rocha came to the U.S. to effect the scheme and made contact with a man who was to help him. That man, it turned out, was a cooperating witness for the prosecution.

Rocha met with the cooperating witness and handed over a suitcase containing $2.2 million in cash, then returned to the Westborough apartment, followed by investigators. He was later arrested at the apartment and the $20 million in cash was found by federal authorities.

While Wanzeler remains at large, the second co-founder of the TelexFree pyramid scheme, James Merrill, is serving a six-year federal prison sentence after he was convicted of fraud.
HOLYOKE -- A drag show will be held at 8 p.m. on Saturday at Gateway City Arts on Race Street to benefit the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

"In collaboration with the Imperial Court of Western Massachusetts, join us for a Valentine's themed celebration of love while we raise money to support the life-saving work of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute," a press release said.

Tickets are $15 in advance and $18 at the door. Doors of the venue at 92-114 Race St. open at 7:30 p.m., the press release said.

All are welcome, though minors must be accompanied by a parent or guardian, the press release said.

Among raffle prizes will be a $25 gift certificate to 99 Restaurant, a $100 gift certificate to Summit View, two movie passes to Cinemark, a gift basket from Brad Matthews Jewelers and a weekend at Tree Farm Campground in Springfield, Vermont, the press release said.
SPRINGFIELD - Springfield police seized cocaine and marijuana, as well as firearms in a late afternoon arrest.

Police spokesman, Ryan Walsh said the Springfield Narcotics Unit raided a home at 59 Better Way just before 6 p.m. Thursday and seized in excess of 200 grams of cocaine and more than 300 grams of marijuana.

In addition to the drugs, police also seized two semi-automatic handguns and an assault-style rifle with large capacity magazines.

Arrested at the scene was 34-year-old Peter Mateo. He will be arraigned on charges of trafficking in cocaine greater than 200 grams, possession of a Class D substance with the intent to distribute, possession of a large capacity firearm in the commission of a felony, two counts of possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony, two counts of possession of a high capacity magazine or feeding device and two counts of improper storage of a firearm.
A Greenfield, Massachusetts, man died Thursday night in a snowmobile accident in Lemington, Vermont, police said.

Bruce Bohonowicz, 53, was killed when he was thrown from the 2018 Skidoo MXZ X snowmobile he was operating and hit a tree, according to a Vermont State Police press release.

Police were called to Vermont Association of Snow Travelers Trail 96 by the intersection with Todd Hill Road at about 7 p.m. Bohonowicz' snowmobile had traveled off the groomed trail in the area of a sharp curve, causing the right ski to travel up a steep embankment, police said.

Bohonowicz was pronounced dead at the sence.

Vermont State Police said early Friday morning the crash was still under investigation.
Editor's note: This is the second story in a three-part series on Project HOPE, an effort by Springfield police and Behavioral Health Network to aid homeless people in the city. Part one appeared yesterday and part three will appear Saturday.

Set in a former warehouse, the space is wide open, bright and relaxing. There are recliners, couches, a large television, a computer, and a small kitchen for snacks. It has all the comforts of home, except the target audience is people without a home.

The Living Room has been in operation on Liberty Street in Springfield since 2015, and is funded by an emergency grant from the state Department of Mental Health. It is the only facility like it in the state, although another is in the works for the Worcester area.

The facility is open all hours and has peer counselors on duty to assist people in need. The majority of people living on the streets have either mental health or addiction issues, says Matt Leone, a crisis services program coordinator for Behavioral Health Network, which runs The Living Room. Counselors there can help steer people toward long-term assistance, such as mental health or detox programs.

"Typically some will stay and utilize our services, some will accept help, and some will stay just because they need a break and then go back" to the streets, Leone says.

Anyone who leaves knows they are allowed to come back, he says.

The Living Room saw some 9,400 people in need of services in fiscal 2017. A little more than 400 accepted referrals to go onto other services.

Of the 9,400, around 1 in 9 were considered hospital diversion, meaning that without The Living Room, they would have ended up in the emergency room.

When people on the street are in crisis, they have just three options, says Kate Hildreth-Fortin, director of emergency service and mobile crisis intervention for BHN.

"They can call 911 for the police and an ambulance, they can go to the ER or they can come here," she says. "(The Living Room) is the only place you can come and just drop in."

But in order to get people in need to drop in, outreach workers from BHN and the Springfield Police Department have to go find them. That collaboration is called Project HOPE, which is funded by a Massachusetts Department Health though the Jail/Arrest Diversion Program grant.

Last summer when they started walking along the riverbank from the South End Bridge to the North End Bridge, Sgt. Brian Elliott and Officer Carla Daniele were surprised at the number of encampments they found. They started calling them RVEs, which sardonically stands for "River View Estates."

Construction projects around the city provide an ample supply of building materials that can be pinched and put to use at campsites, the officers say.

"Human ingenuity is something," Daniele says. "Some of the structures we've seen are amazing."

There was one behind a retail plaza that needed heavy equipment to take down, she said.

One campsite is by the railroad tracks, literally in the shadow of Tower Square, and bordered on three sides by Interstate 91, the Memorial Bridge and the Connecticut River. Elliott says this is Steven's camp, but he hasn't been seen lately. A good homeless camp is like an empty hermit crab shell, he says. If someone leaves it for awhile, someone else will move in and take it over.

"Hello! Springfield police. Anyone home?" they shout as they force their way through a camp "entrance" made of some pricker bushes and a wooden highway barrier with "Well come to Hell" scribbled on it.

The camp is empty, but there is plenty of evidence of recent activity. Empty bottles are scattered on the ground. There's at least one syringe.

Inside the tent are old scratch tickets. Elliott said it is unlikely the most recent resident bought them. More likely the person was collecting discarded tickets in the hopes that someone accidentally tossed away a winner.

"Can you imagine staying here when it's 10 degrees or lower?" Elliott asks.

He tells the story of finding a man living along the river the morning after temperatures dropped to minus 14. When Elliott asked him how he was still alive, the man replied, "Two bottles of vodka and four coats."

Many homeless people are apprehensive about going to shelters. For some it's a feeling of being boxed up, for others it's having to follow rules. Some harbor deep mistrust of other people.

"We can compel them to make good decisions, and we bring them someplace warm where we can have an informed conversation," Elliott says.

"No one has really said no," Daniele says.

"When it's zero degrees and the wind is blowing down here, even the hardest cases can see some sense in seeking some shelter," Elliott says.
Massachusetts prosecutors are sounding the alarm and asking state marijuana regulators to hold off on allowing marijuana in restaurants, theaters, yoga studios and restaurants.

"Immediately allowing marijuana in restaurants, coffee shops, theaters, spas and yoga studios is irresponsible, ill-informed and dangerous," Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey, writing as president of the Massachusetts District Attorneys Association, said in a letter to the Cannabis Control Commission.

Their comments echoed what Gov. Charlie Baker said earlier this week in pushing for the commission to focus on ensuring retail pot shops open this summer, instead of allowing marijuana cafes and similar operations within the same timeframe.

The five-member commission should take a "slow, cautious and restrictive approach to marijuana business development," the prosecutors' letter said.

Legalization proponents say a restrictive approach will lead to inequities in the new industry, and they argue that a less restrictive one allows people, who may not have as much money as bigger marijuana industry players, to get involved.

Commissioners are touring the state as they weigh draft regulations for oversight of the new industry. Voters created the commission and broadly legalized marijuana for people age 21 and over through a 2016 ballot question.

The prosecutors, who opposed the ballot question on legalization, are also looking for regulations that "expressly prohibit home delivery" and sale of marijuana, arguing that allowing it would make it difficult to enforce and allow people under the age of 21 to obtain the controversial substance.

Overall, they said, new businesses beyond the retail pot shops increase risks to public safety.

"We have security concerns for these businesses, their employees and their customers," Morrissey wrote. "Moreover, these businesses heighten our concerns relative to such issues as operating under the influence, increased marijuana access by persons under the age of 21, theft and diversion to the black market."

The prosecutors argued that regulators should keep the scope of their proposed rules narrow because there is no established way to determine whether someone is operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of marijuana.

They also pushed concerns over marijuana amounts and limits, as well as stronger rules around background checks for suitability of marijuana licenses.

Jim Borghesani, who worked on the ballot campaign to legalize marijuana, said he expects the commission to "consider all viewpoints and make wise decisions" based on voters' desire for a regulated cannabis system.

"As with any strong-demand product, what isn't offered by the regulated market will be offered by the illicit market," he said in an email. "That's a truism that may not be sufficiently recognized by the DA's Association."

The prosecutors' letter is available below.

&amp;lt;a href="https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/4375627/MDAA-Final-CCC-Letter-2-9-18.pdf"&amp;gt;MDAA Final CCC Letter 2 9 18 (PDF)&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; &amp;lt;br /&amp;gt; &amp;lt;a href="https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/4375627/MDAA-Final-CCC-Letter-2-9-18.txt"&amp;gt;MDAA Final CCC Letter 2 9 18 (Text)&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;

This post was updated with a statement from Jim Borghesani.
SPRINGFIELD -- A Longmeadow man was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court to serve six months in federal prison and pay more than $1 million for concealing an Irish bank account from the Internal Revenue Service.

Michael Fitzgerald, 50, pleaded guilty to a single count of violation of foreign banking reporting requirements in October.

In a press release, prosecutors said Fitzgerald maintained several bank accounts with the Bank of Ireland on the Isle of Man from 2005 to 2012. The total held in the accounts was more than $2.3 million. None of that money was reported to the Treasury Department as required by law.

Following his prison sentence, Fitzgerald will serve three months of community detention, followed by six months of home detention and two years of supervised release. The sentence was handed down by Judge Mark G. Mastroianni.

He was also ordered to pay $1,115,320 in penalties.
BOSTON - This flu season remains significantly on the increase in Massachusetts, according to the state Department of Public Health's Weekly Influenza Update.

Laboratory confirmed cases of flu in Massachusetts since October 2017 now stand at 8,152. This is a nearly 43 percent increase, or 2,444 more confirmed cases, from last week.

The Bay State trends mirror much of the country in terms of increases in influenza-related hospitalizations and outpatient visits.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported today that pediatric deaths from the flu, as of Feb. 3, now stands at 63, with one of them in the New England region.

In Massachusetts, hospital admissions for laboratory confirmed cases of flu increased by slightly more than four percent over last week.

The number of laboratory confirmed cases of flu in the state increased in a week to more than the year-to-date number of such cases at this point last season.

Year-to-date laboratory confirmed cases of flu in the state now stand at 8,152. Data tracking for influenza season begins in October.

Last year at this time, there were 2,440 year-to-date laboratory confirmed cases of flu.

The percentage of laboratory confirmed hospitalizations per 1,000 licensed beds was also higher at 43.37, compared with 39.25 for the week ending Feb. 2.

Flu-related visits to outpatient centers in the state continue on the increase - rising to 5.88 percent of all visits. Last week, this percentage was 4.24 percent.

The New England Region's baseline is 1.4 percent.

All regions within the state show currently high levels of this activity.

The percentage of outpatient visits in the West for influenza-like illnesses as of Feb. 9 is 5.11, compared to 4.01 percent for the week of Feb. 2.

The current percentage in the Central Region of the state is 5.57, compared to last week's 1.31 percent.

The highest percentage among the regions in Eastern Massachusetts is in the Northeast Region with 8.6 percent of outpatient visits for flu-related conditions, compared to last week's 5.68 percent.

The West Region of the state continues to have the largest number of total weekly laboratory-confirmed cases for Type A and B flu viruses - some 742 - as well as the total number of year-to-date confirmed cases - some 2,885.

The second highest for the week ending Feb. 9 was the Northeast Region with some 686 laboratory confirmed cases of flu for the week. The Northeast had the second highest total number of year-to-date confirmed cases - 1,991.

The number of actual flu cases is considered much larger since most people are never tested. The reporting of laboratory confirmed cases of flu to the state health department enables tracking of circulating viruses.

The state also does additional testing of some samples to further detect circulating subtypes of viruses. For the 2017-2018 season to date, 98 cases of A/H3N2 influenza, 12 cases of A/2009 H1N1, 31 cases of B/Yamagata, and 3 cases of B/Victoria have been confirmed in 289 cases tested.

This year's nationwide severe flu season has been blamed on strains of the Type A virus, particularly H3N2 for which the flu vaccine has not been a good match.

Vaccination is still recommended, especially for its protection against the Type B strains which are said to be increasing in circulation in some parts of the country.
GOSHEN - A head-on crash on Route 9 Wednesday morning, at the height of a fast-moving blast of wintry weather, prompted emergency personnel to close that section of the roadway for over an hour.

The force of the crash prompted airbags to deploy in both vehicles, according to a post on the Goshen Fire Department's Facebook page.

The occupants of one of the vehicles, a white Toyota, were treated by Highland Ambulance but refused transportation to a hospital. The occupants of the other vehicle were not injured.

The crash occurred shortly before 11 a.m. when a car in front of the white Toyota slowed while traveling west down Lithia Hill.

The driver of the white Toyota applied the brakes to slow down as well and lost control. The vehicle then went into the eastbound lane and collided with oncoming traffic.

Additional information on the crash was not immediately available.
The Massachusetts Lottery announced on Friday that a North Adams man has come forward to claim a $1 million prize on a Willie Wonka Golden Ticket instant game.

John Luscier appeared at the Lottery's Braintree offices to turn in the winning ticket on Thursday. He purchased the ticket at the Cumberland Farms store on Curran Highway in North Adams.

For selling the winning ticket, the store will receive a $10,000 bonus from the lottery.

Luscier opted for a one-time payout of $650,000 rather than annual installments over 20 years.

Minus taxes, the payment came to $455,000.

Luscier told lottery officials he plans to invest the money, minus the cost of going on a vacation.

According to the lottery, there are 2 remaining $4 million grand prizes and 6 remaining $1 million prizes yet to be claimed in the Willy Wonka Golden Ticket game.
NORTHAMPTON - Dozens of people gathered on the steps of Northampton City Hall Thursday night to show support for recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA).

DACA is an Obama era immigration program that allows immigrants who entered the country illegally as minors temporary protections from deportation. The Trump administration has stated it plans to end the program, with Attorney General Jeff Sessions announcing on Sept. 5 that the program would be shut down.

The administration gave DACA recipients with a permit set to expire before March 5, 2018 were an opportunity to apply for a two-year renewal if their application was received by October 5.

Thursday's rally was co-organized by the city's Pioneer Valley Workers Center, a local non-profit that focuses on labor rights and racial justice, and The Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action chapter of Western Massachusetts, which focuses on spreading Jewish values.

Despite icy temperatures, rally goers spent the evening singing songs, giving speeches, and chanting.

The Northampton rally was scheduled to coincide with a vote by the U.S. House and Senate to pass a two-year budget deal, which could involve a DREAM act that would extend protection to DACA recipients, or "Dreamers," activists said Thursday.

Activists encouraged rally goers to call their representatives to lobby on behalf of the inclusion of a DREAM Act into the bill. Specifically, organizers urged support for The Uniting and Securing the USA Act, introduced by U.S. Representatives Will Hurd (TX-23), Pete Aguilar (CA-31) and Jeff Denham (CA-10) as a bipartisan effort to provide protections to Dreamers.

However, CNN reports the budget moving towards a bipartisan vote Thursday night includes no resolution for DACA recipients, to the consternation of some leading Democrats.

PVWC has been behind a number of political rallies throughout the city and in different communities in Western Massachusetts--many of which have focused criticism on the Trump administration and its controversial immigration policies.

A DREAM Act would aid the "plight of approximately 2.5 million young dreamers who came here as children and know this country as their only home," according to the group's website.

In addition to being a rally to support the DACA program, the event was also considered by its organizers to be an act of "love and solidarity" by the Jewish community with immigrants.

Present Thursday was Rabbi Justin David of Congregation B'nai Israel. David, who has been both a vocal critic of the Trump administration and an outspoken supporter of the rights of undocumented immigrants and refugees, led rally goers in song Thursday.

David will also be recognized with a human rights award at the gala of T'ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights in New York City on May 8, 2018, after having participated in a large protest of the Trump administration's travel ban outside of Trump International Hotel in New York City in 2016. David was one of 19 rabbis arrested during the protest.
NORTHAMPTON - A homeless camp that city officials say was "abandoned" was torn down by the Northampton Department of Public Works on Thursday, according to 22-news WWLP.

The camp, which had been situated amidst the woods off of Texas Road, was broken up by DPW crews who cleared out the area of the tents, chairs, and other materials that had been there.

A sign was subsequently put up at the camp that states, "NO TRESPASSING per the order of the City of Northampton Department of Public Works."

Mayor David Narkewicz said in a statement that outreach workers had repeatedly been sent to the campsite to see if it was occupied but, finding no one, left contact information. After not hearing back from anyone at the camp, the city dubbed the site "abandoned."

The site has been the subject of a number of criminal incidents, including an assault in December in which a man was repeatedly stabbed in the face and neck.

Before that, the camp had been "known to officers" for a number of prior incidents, including an earlier episode in which a firearm had been used to threaten an individual, according to police.
UPDATE, Friday, Feb. 9, 2018, 8:55 p.m.: Northampton Street has reopened to regular traffic, police said.

EASTHAMPTON -- A section of Northampton Street is closed this afternoon in both directions as electric crews replace a damaged telephone pole, according to police.

The road, also known as Route 10, is closed in both directions between West Street and Florence Road and traffic is being diverted along detours.

Police are asking motorists to avoid the area.

Police report there are a number of side streets that have traffic backed up.

The pole was damaged earlier in the day and is in immediate need of replacement, according to police.

Police said it is not clear when it will reopen.
EASTHAMPTON -- Local officials, business leaders and residents gathered in the cold Friday morning to officially welcome INSA, the city's brand-new medical marijuana dispensary at 122 Pleasant St.

INSA chief executive Mark Zatyrka thanked his staff and invited Mayor Nicole LaChapelle and City Council President Joseph McCoy to help him cut the ribbon at his state-of-the-art growing facility and retail dispensary at the renovated Keystone Mill.

"The talent we have in this company is mind-blowing -- from intelligence, to heart, to compassion, to expertise," Zatyrka said.

INSA worked with top consultants, then hired more than 50 local employees -- including "one of the area's best culinary pastry chefs," a doctor of pharmacy, chemists with advanced degrees and people with sustainable agriculture backgrounds.

"We're not just another cannabis company," said Zatyrka. "We have local, home-grown staff who are growing, creating and dispensing meticulously crafted products that serve the unique needs of each of our patients."

Director of Operations Ian Kelley described the dispensary's products -- from edibles to infusions to bud from a variety of cultivars -- and said the operation will be "second to none."

McCoy thanked City Councilor Salem Derby for launching medical marijuana zoning discussions several years ago. The fact that the city had a clear ordinance in place was a factor in INSA's decision to set up shop, said McCoy.

"I would applaud the bravery of our city for bringing in a forward-thinking and modern business," he said. "It's going to help a lot of people, and will support the local creative economy."

City Councilor James "J.P." Kwiecinski said he, too, is glad to see the dispensary finally opening. "Local people will have better access to products to help with their health conditions, and better access to good jobs," he said.

LaChapelle said INSA and the cannabis industry are a "natural match for Easthampton." She said like any industry, it "needs to be approached with moderation, and consideration for everyone in the community."

INSA "has been a great partner" with the city and the local business community, said LaChapelle. She said discussions will continue on the local level as the state's Cannabis Control Commission finalizes its regulations on recreational marijuana, legalized by Massachusetts voters in 2016.

But for now, INSA represents "a win, a win, and a win," said LaChapelle.

Massachusetts voters legalized medical marijuana in 2012. INSA, now the second dispensary in the western part of the state, began life as Hampden Care Facility, and underwent a lengthy and complicated process before the state's Department of Public Health.

Gov. Charlie Baker in 2015 revamped the medical marijuana permitting process to make it more efficient. Earlier this week, Springfield lawyer Stephen Reilly, general counsel for INSA, noted that the dispensary and grow room had been five years in the making.

Marijuana grown under the lights in Easthampton will soon be available at a dispensary in Springfield, said Zatyrka. The name INSA is a portmanteau of "indica" and "sativa," the two major marijuana cultivars.
Tyngsborough Police arrested a female school bus driver on Monday after they found her sitting "highly intoxicated" inside an empty school bus.

As first reported by WHDH, Tyngsborough Police took 57-year-old Debra Cloutier into custody this week for operating her bus under the influence of alcohol. Officers were sent to search for Cloutier Monday afternoon after she was more than 30 minutes late to a school pick-up at Innovation Academy, a charter school in Tyngsborough.

In a broadcasted press conference, Tyngsborough Police Chief Richard Howe said officers found the school bus parked haphazardly in a small parking lot, where Cloutier was eating lunch inside the bus. Howe described the driver as cooperative, then slightly uncooperative, and overall confused.

Chief Howe said Cloutier's actions were "horrendous," adding, "she's going to have to answer to that."

"Anyone who's a parent can attest to the importance of safety," Howe said during the press conference Friday afternoon. "You expect them to go to school safely and be brought back safely."

Howe would not comment on whether Cloutier took a breathalyzer test, but did say she refused a blood test for a blood-alcohol-content reading. He repeatedly said that on the scene, "Officers felt she was highly intoxicated."

Police say they currently have no reason to believe Cloutier drove drunk with any children on board the bus, and that verifying that fact remains a top priority. Howe said Cloutier appeared to believe she was done for the day when police found her sitting, eating on the empty bus Monday.

Howe added that while she was mainly cooperative, she did slip out of her handcuffs at one point to answer a phone call, at which time police pulled over to properly place the cuffs back on. Another bus picked up the children at Innovation Academy that afternoon.

Cloutier was arraigned on Tuesday, according to Boston 25. She is due back in court on March 2.
SPRINGFIELD - City officials are planning a $1.5 million feasibility study for the consolidation of the Homer Street and William N. DeBerry elementary schools in Mason Square into a single, multi-wing building.



Local officials including Superintendent of Schools Daniel Warwick said both schools need to be replaced. The study will consider either building new separate schools, renovation-additions, or a new consolidated site. The study would also evaluate potential sites for the consolidation proposal.



Warwick said he believes the best plan is a combined site for the schools, each school having its own entrance and identity while sharing large spaces such as a gymnasium and cafeteria.



"It's a great project," Warwick said. "I'm hoping we can do it for Mason Square. Homer is a project I've been advocating for years. Consolidation like in the North End is the way to go."



The city is already proposing a similar consolidation of two elementary schools in the North End -- Brightwood and Lincoln -- in a field on Plainfield Street next to Chestnut Accelerated Middle School. The city has conducted community meetings on the proposal in advance of state funding approvals.





The DeBerry and Homer Street schools are approximately one mile apart.



Funds for the feasibility study were approved by the City Council this week. If supported by the Massachusetts School Building Authority, the study as well as construction would be eligible for up to 80 percent state reimbursement, officials said.



Homer was built in 1898, lacks a gymnasium and is "outdated and antiquated," Warwick said. DeBerry is also flawed and lacks 21st-century features, he said.



Peter Garvey, the city's director of capital asset construction, and Patrick Sullivan, the city's director of parks, buildings and recreation management, joined in saying that neither school meets the needs of students.



Garvey said the study is very expensive, but will evaluate various options for the schools including potential sites and environmental and land acquisition issues.
SPRINGFIELD -- A loaded handgun, found inside the glove compartment of car that state police stopped for speeding in the Sixteen Acres neighborhood Wednesday night, was later determined to have been stolen in Vermont.

Troopers stopped the 2006 White Infiniti sedan at Allen Street and Bradley Road at about 7 p.m., state police said.

After a brief investigation, the two occupants, who are brothers, were removed from the car.

Trooper John O'Rourke then conducted an investigation of areas in the car that were easily accessible to the occupants.

After seeing what appeared to be a handgun in the front glove compartment, the brothers were both read their Miranda Rights and placed under arrest.

The two men were placed in separate vehicles by troopers, while O'Rourke continued the vehicle investigation.

The handgun, a Glock 35 Gen4, was loaded with nine .40-caliber rounds.

State police also seized a shoebox filled with a large amount of a green leafy substance believed to be marijuana.

The suspects, Warren Gelin and Sylvain Gelin face a number of charges including illegal possession of a firearm and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.
Massachusetts marijuana regulators should lay out specific energy efficiency and environmental standards as a condition of a pot license, Gov. Charlie Baker's energy secretariat said Friday.

In a letter to the Cannabis Control Commission, Tori Kim, a top lawyer for Baker's energy and environmental affairs department, said the commission's proposed regulations don't go far enough.

"Experience from other states has shown that the energy usage of marijuana establishments, especially large-scale, indoor facilities engaged in cultivation, is extraordinarily high," she wrote.

That means the new industry could come with a big carbon footprint, and "corresponding negative effects" on the state's goals to fight global warming, her letter said.

"We note that other states that have legalized adult use of cannabis have missed the opportunity to set meaningful energy guidelines for the marijuana industry," Kim wrote. "This oversight has resulted in the negative consequences shown by the experience of cities like Denver, which has seen a troubling increase in energy use from marijuana cultivators."

High intensity light drives energy usage in cultivation facilities, running 12 to 24 hours a day and using a technology found in "old street lights," according to Kim.

"Setting energy standards that encourage the use of LED lighting will reduce the need for cooling and significantly reduce energy use by cultivators," she wrote.

The full letter is available below.

The commission is holding hearings across the state on a variety of regulations as the new agency barrels toward a July 1 target date for opening retail pot shops.

Valuable feedback here from @MassEEA, I appreciate it! All of you who tweet me about environmental concerns - I would love your thoughts on this letter.

Its linked in this recap via @gintautasd https://t.co/2i8XSnc8LP  Shaleen Title (@shaleentitle) February 9, 2018

Gov. Baker has asked the commission to pump the brakes on other aspects of the proposed regulations, like marijuana yoga studios, cafes and movie theaters, while focusing more on the retail angle and the July 1 target date.

But those comments have prompted criticism from some marijuana activists who say the commission's expansive regulations would allow more people who don't have the deep pockets to get a cultivation and retail operation up and running to get involved in the industry.

"A lot of the pushback that we're seeing is about maintaining the status quo; keeping things simple, keeping things the same. Unfortunately, simple means inequitable and we're not standing for that anymore," Shanel Lindsay, a cannabis industry consultant, told the State House News Service. "The Cannabis Control Commission did a very good job of coming up with straightforward and clear solutions that are easily managed and that we as a community support."

&amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/4375329/EEA-Comments-to-CCC-Regulations-2-9-18-Final.pdf"&amp;amp;amp;gt;EEA Comments to CCC Regulations (2 9 18) (Final) (PDF)&amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;amp;lt;br /&amp;amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/4375329/EEA-Comments-to-CCC-Regulations-2-9-18-Final.txt"&amp;amp;amp;gt;EEA Comments to CCC Regulations (2 9 18) (Final) (Text)&amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;gt;

This post was updated to include a tweet from Shaleen Title, a member of the Cannabis Control Commission.
An employee of the Worcester County Sheriff's Office is facing charges after getting into a struggle with a Massachusetts State Police Trooper during a traffic stop in Worcester.

As the employee, Thomas Millett, struggled with the trooper who was asking Millett to get out of his Toyota Tacoma, the State Police barracks in Holden "began receiving 911 calls that a Trooper was fighting with a motorist on RT-290," court documents read.

Millett, of Webster, has a criminal record that includes civil restraining orders and arraignments for several charges including assault and battery, operating under the influence and operating a vehicle with a suspended license dating back to 1992.

A spokeswoman for the Worcester County Sheriff's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Millett's employment.

The state salary database shows that Millett made $64,894.87 in 2017.

Around 7 a.m. Friday, Millett, 45, was pulled over for driving more than 70 miles per hour in a 50-mile-per-hour zone on Interstate 290 in Worcester.

The trooper clocked Millett's truck driving at 76 miles per hour for about a quarter of a mile, according to a police statement of facts filed in Worcester Central District Court.

Following the truck with lights and sirens activated, the trooper could see that Millett was unbuckled and leaning to the right, the statement of facts reads.

When Millett eventually pulled over near Exit 13, the trooper asked Millett to get out of the truck. Instead, Millett continued to reach toward the passenger's seat, the trooper wrote.

"I reached in and pulled him back and attempted to separate him from the vehicle," wrote the trooper, John M. Doherty.

Doherty warned Millett that he would be tased and arrested if he did not comply.

"The struggle continued and at one point he reached to his right and moved his arm to the right and leaned forward so that my vision was blocked," Doherty wrote. "With no free hands, I defensively struck the plastic Taser to the side of his upper head in order to gain view of his hands and gain compliance."

The Taser only emitted its light and laser, not an electrical current.

The trooper got Millett out of the truck and tried to arrest him, but Millett continued to resist, the trooper wrote. The two were at the edge of the travel lane.

That's when an off-duty Worcester police officer pulled over in her personal car to try and help.

Millett was arrested. He told police that he was trying to get his wallet while driving and "had no explanation of his actions."

Millett was charged with resisting arrest, disturbing the peace and several traffic violations. A not-guilty plea was entered on his behalf at his arraignment Friday and he was released on personal recognizance. He is scheduled to return to court on March 28.
South Bay Mental Health Center has agreed to pay a $4 million settlement after Attorney General Maura Healey sued the center for fraudulently billing MassHealth.

Healey said the center provided mental health care using unlicensed, unqualified and unsupervised staff.

South Bay Mental Health Center has 17 centers across the state, including in Springfield, Pittsfield and Worcester.

"Thousands of MassHealth patients were left with inadequate care at these mental health facilities, while we allege this company fraudulently billed the state," Healey said in a statement. "This settlement will bring critical funds back to our MassHealth program and ensure that members receive treatment from qualified individuals."

South Bay Mental Health Center also agreed to create an internal program to ensure it complies with all state requirements related to licensure, supervision and billing.

Healey alleged that the mental health center employed therapists who did not have degrees in social work, so were not eligible for licenses. Many of its employees did not have proper licenses and there were few licensed supervisors. It then billed MassHealth, even though it was not providing care that complied with MassHealth's requirements.

Of the settlement, $3.3 million will go to MassHealth and $700,000 will go to a whistleblower who filed a lawsuit that brought the center to Healey's attention.
Accounting students from Montana State Universitys Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship are offering free help preparing tax returns for MSU students and individuals who made less than $58,000 last year.

The 2018 help sessions will be held on the MSU campus in Jabs Hall 215 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on the following Mondays: Feb. 12, 26; March 5, 19, 26; and April 2, 9. No appointment is necessary, but sign-up sheets will be posted at 5 p.m. before each session.

Tax assistance for international students and employees begins Monday, Feb. 26.

Full Information: http://www.montana.edu/news/17411
Self-driving cars should be welcomed for their substantial safety and mobility gains for the traveling public, especially the elderly and disabled. But the federal governments failure to modernize auto regulations is already denying consumers safer and superior products, and this problem will only grow larger as automated driving systems near the deployment stage.

Marc Scribner

https://www.wired.com/story/outdated-auto-safety-regulations-threaten-the-self-driving-revolution/
Les membres du Cabinet ont pris note que la signature du the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement aura lieu la semaine prochaine a Port-Louis, de la signature dun contrat entre Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd et la the CEB (Green) Co Ltd pour une station photovoltaique a Tamarind Falls, Henrietta (Phase II), de l apromulgation des amendements au Road Traffic (Amendment of Schedule) Regulations 2021, Road Traffic (Construction and Use of Vehicles) (Amendment) Regulations 2021, entre autres.

1. Cabinet has taken note that the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA) between Mauritius and India would be signed during the visit of

HE Dr S. Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister of India. The CECPA covers key components such as Trade in Goods and Trade in Services.

Under the Trade in Goods component, Mauritius would benefit from preferential market access on a list of 615 products, including sugar, tuna, rum, fruit wine, tropical fruits, medical devices and garments. Mauritius would provide preferential access on a list of

310 products including tea, spices, bed linen, material of steel and furniture, amongst others. On Services, the CECPA would provide market access in sectors such as financial services, tourism, education, distribution, ICT and professional services. It also provides for professional bodies to conclude mutual recognition of qualification in sectors such as architecture, engineering, medical, dental, accounting and auditing.

2. Cabinet has agreed to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the Republic of Mauritius in the field of Consumer Protection and Legal Metrology. The Memorandum of Understanding provides for collaboration in the field of consumer protection and legal metrology, namely:

(a) the establishment of periodical exchange of information and documents relating to legal metrology, consumer protection, welfare and awareness of consumers;

(b) the development of training programmes for officials and non-officials dealing with the subjects of legal metrology and consumer protection/ welfare;

(c) the exchange of officials, experts and professionals in the areas of legal metrology and consumer protection/welfare to carry out specific programmes of mutual cooperation; and

(d) assistance in the alignment of national standards to international standards.

3. Cabinet has agreed to the signing of a Line of Credit Agreement of USD100M with the Government of India. The Line of Credit would be accompanied by a grant of USD5M. The loan proceeds and the grant would be used to procure defence related equipment, including a New Coastal Surveillance Radar System, a Passenger Variant Dornier, Advanced Light Helicopters and a Fast Interceptor Boat.

These equipment would allow the strengthening of operational capabilities of the Mauritius Police Force and the National Coast Guard in safeguarding the Exclusive Economic Zone of Mauritius and would be instrumental in combating illicit drug trafficking and illegal fishing in the territorial waters.

4. Cabinet has taken note that a Contract Agreement would be signed by the Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd and the CEB (Green) Co Ltd for the 8MWac Solar PV Farm Project at Tamarind Falls, Henrietta (Phase II). The project would be funded under a Line of Credit from the Government of India supported by the Export-Import (EXIM) Bank of India. The Solar PV Farm is expected to generate more than 12 GWh of electricity, powering some 8,000 households and avoiding around 11,000 tons of CO2 annually. The Contract Agreement would be exchanged during the visit of the External Affairs Minister of India.

5. Cabinet has taken note that the Ministry of Health and Wellness was implementing the construction of the Renal Transplant Unit at J. Nehru Hospital with a grant assistance of USD10 million from the Government of India. An exchange of letter between the Government of India and the Government of Mauritius on the support towards the construction of the Renal Transplant Unit would take place during the visit of the External Affairs Minister of India.

A Joint Project Monitoring Committee comprising representatives of the Indian Authorities and the Ministry of Health and Wellness would be set up to monitor the implementation and smooth operation of the Project.

6. Cabinet has agreed to the promulgation of:

(a) the Road Traffic (Amendment of Schedule) Regulations 2021. The First Schedule of the Road Traffic Act would be amended to make provision for the payment of a road tax which would be applicable whilst registering an electric auto/motorcycle in Mauritius and Rodrigues; and

(b) the Road Traffic (Construction and Use of Vehicles) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 to make provision for specific registration mark for electric auto/motorcycles.

Cabinet has also agreed to:

(i) provide a 50 percent waiver on the applicable registration charges for existing owners of electric auto/motorcycles so as to reduce the financial burden of owners who have purchased their electric auto/motorcycles before the cut-off date of 31 March 2021; and

(ii) amend the Fifth Schedule of the Road Traffic (Registration of Motor Vehicles and Trailers) Regulations 1963 with a view to introducing a fee amounting to Rs1,000 for the first registration of an electric autocycle in lieu of the one-off payment of Rs2,000.

7. Cabinet has agreed to the promulgation of the Radiation Safety and Nuclear Security (Control of Import and Export of Radiation Sources and Other Controlled Items) (Amendment) Regulations 2021, so as to align the HS Codes of the radiation sources and other controlled items with the latest HS Codes of the Customs Tariff Schedules (Integrated Tariff). The Regulations would be effective as from 15 March 2021.

8. Cabinet has agreed to the revamping of the Mauritius National Identity Card System (MNIC), as the existing hardware and software of the whole system have reached their

end-of-support and end-of-life. The current MNIC would be revamped by a state-of-the-art technology with enhanced security features which may be used to provide a wider spectrum of customised e-services.

9. Cabinet has taken note of the launching of the second edition of the National Innovation Challenge (NIC) to be organised by the Mauritius Research and Innovation Council.

The second edition of the NIC aims at unravelling and fostering local innovations from academia, private sector, start-ups, micro companies, SMEs, communities, backyard shed/home inventions and any other relevant stakeholders. One of the goals of the NIC is to inculcate and nurture an innovation culture among the Mauritian population while finding practical innovative solutions to common life problems. The competition would focus on indigenous/grassroots innovation driven by Mauritians for the betterment of life and livelihood of citizens.

10. Cabinet has taken note that the Ministry of Information Technology, Communication and Innovation would launch an Expression of Interest from organisations having experience in setting up and operating Data Centres for the provision of rack space and other facilities in a Tier IV Data Centre in Mauritius. The Government Online Data Centre which has been in operation since March 2005 is classified as a Tier III Data Centre. There is an urgent need for a new Data Centre with greater space and yet more resilience to cater for existing systems as well as future needs which are increasing exponentially.

11. Cabinet has taken note of the status of implementation of the first Mauritian Satellite project. The Mauritius Research and Innovation Council is implementing the Mauritius Imagery and Radio-Satellite (MIR-SAT1) project under the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) KiboCUBE Programme 2018.

The construction and testing of the satellite have been completed at AAC-Clyde Space in Glasgow and the nano-satellite has reached JAXA in Japan on 15 February 2021. A live official online handing-over event of the satellite to JAXA would be organised jointly with representatives of JAXA, AAC-Clyde Space, UNOOSA, the Mauritius Research and Innovation Council and the Ministry of Information Technology, Communication and Innovation and is tentatively scheduled for the third week of March 2021. The expected deployment in space from International Space Station is scheduled for June/July 2021.

12. Cabinet has taken note that the Mauritius launching of the 50 Million African Women Speak Project (50 MAWSP) was held on 11 February 2021 during a virtual meeting attended by representatives of COMESA, the African Development Bank and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Welfare. The Project was conceived in July 2016 as an online multinational networking platform for women entrepreneurs, with a view to providing women entrepreneurs in the African Region with access to different financial and non-financial services. It is being fully funded by the African Development Bank and implemented in 36 countries of the COMESA, East African Community and Economic Community of West African States. It aims at creating and deploying a social media platform to enable women entrepreneurs to:

(a) connect with one another in ways that will foster peer-to-peer learning, knowledge exchange/transfer, mentoring, the sharing of information and knowledge within communities;

(b) access market opportunities across borders and between countries; and

(c) develop market intelligence skills to stay abreast with business development trends within their contexts, regionally and globally to ensure sustainability of their businesses.

13. Cabinet has taken note that the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Welfare would mark the International Womens Day 2021 by a national event at the Swami Vivekananda International Convention Centre, Pailles, on Sunday 28 February 2021. The UN Women has retained, for this year, the theme Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 World to celebrate the tremendous efforts made by women and girls around the world in shaping an equal future and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Welfare has retained a national theme, namely Post COVID-19: Womens Voices and Choices. Other side events would include:

(a) the Best Woman Entrepreneur Award to be organised by the National Women Entrepreneur Council. It aims at supporting existing Women Entrepreneurs to further innovate their business and upgrade the quality of their products;

(b) launching of a project Motherhood in Childhood which aims at sensitising young girls on the sexual and reproductive health, and their roles and responsibilities; and

(c) sensitisation programmes and awareness campaigns to be organised in collaboration with Mauritius Family Planning and Welfare Association, Mouvement dAide a la Maternite, PILS and Brigade pour la Protection des Mineurs.

14. Cabinet has taken note of the alarming situation of the COVID-19 pandemic prevailing across the world and the spread of the new variants of the virus. With regard to Mauritius, there has been no local transmission in the community since 26 November 2020. As at

19 February 2021, 603 cases of COVID-19 had been registered. There were currently

30 active cases of COVID-19 in Mauritius. The public should continue to observe strict sanitary precautions.

15. Cabinet has taken note of the list of activities planned by the Public Officers Welfare Council for the calendar year 2021, namely:

(a) Karaoke Competition;

(b) Basic Training in Dramatic Arts;

(c) Trails;

(d) Molkky  One-day Festival;

(e) Dictation Competition;

(f) Walk-in football festival; and

(g) Domino tournament.

16. Cabinet has taken note of developments regarding the Urban Terminal Project at Rose Hill. Arrangements are being made for the acquisition of additional land for inclusion in the Request for Proposals.

17. Cabinet has taken note of the constitution of the National Youth Environment Council with Dr Zaheer Allam, OSK, as Chairperson.

18. Cabinet has agreed to the constitution of the Board of the Institute for Judicial and Legal Studies with Mr Joseph Gerard Angoh, as Chairperson.
Sudhir Sesungkur sest prononce sur le projet de loi Anti-Money Laundering and Combatting the Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2019 and the United Nations (Financial Prohibitions, Arms Embargo and Travel Ban)a lAssemblee Nationale.

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A coalition of animal protection groups, including from the USA, France and the UK, is asking CS Aviation, a French aviation company, and SkyBus Air Cargo, a Peruvian cargo company, to refuse involvement in the shipment of 300 monkeys from Mauritius to Florida.

The long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) are due to be exported from Mauritius on behalf of Primate Products, a US primate importer based in Florida, for use in experiments by a US laboratory.

Action for Primates, One Voice and Animal Rights Foundation of Florida, is urging the two companies to join the many airlines that have already refused such shipments  including many of the worlds flag carriers, such as American Airlines, British Airways, United Airlines, South African Airways, Delta Airlines, Eva Air, Air Canada and China Airlines  thereby dissociating themselves from the cruel and controversial trade in primates for research.

The transportation of primates by airlines and their use in experiments is an issue that engenders strong public concern, and thousands of people around the world have already responded in support of our action alert to stop this shipment.

The international trade in primates for research inflicts great cruelty and suffering on these highly intelligent and sensitive animals; including their capture from the wild, their forced captivity in unnatural conditions on farms, the forced early separation of a female from her infant, their transportation in the cargo holds of aeroplanes and their eventual fate in the research laboratory. During transportation, primates shipped as cargo will suffer stress and anxiety while forced to endure extremely long journeys to destinations around the world.

Studies carried out by scientists demonstrate that transportation causes profound negative, and lasting effects upon the welfare of primates (1, 2).

Mauritius is a major exporter of long-tailed macaques for the global research industry, with tens of thousands of monkeys held in breeding farms across the country. In 2017, Mauritius accounted for one fifth (21%) of the worlds export of live primates (3). Mauritius exports primarily to laboratories and animal supply companies in the USA and Europe, and, in 2019, exported over 7,500 monkeys to the USA, Canada, France, the UK, Spain, Germany and the Netherlands (4). The USA accounted for 4,011 of the imported monkeys.

Dr Nedim Buyukmihci, Emeritus Professor of Veterinary Medicine and representative of Action for Primates, stated: Trapping, breeding and shipping non-human primates for the research industry is not only immoral, it is also scientifically unnecessary. We are an intelligent and capable species. If we use our intelligence compassionately, we can find ways to answer the questions we want without having to harm and kill non-human primates.

Muriel Arnal, Founder & President of One Voice stated: Throughout their lives, these macaques will know only the stress and suffering of captivity, the metal bars of their cages, separation from their family, transportation in cargo holds over long distances and at their final destination  the laboratory  they will be subjected to cruel experiments from which they will unlikely survive.
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In the Sao Paulo State of Brazil, about 50 percent of liver transplants are performed on hepatitis B or C patients, revealed the state's health department.Hepatitis C patients alone account for about 40 percent of all liver transplants in Sao Paulo.Scientists affiliated with the Institute of Biosciences, Letters & Exact Sciences, IBILCE of the Sao Paulo State University, UNESP (municipality of Sao Jose do Rio Preto's campus), the Institute of Biomedical Sciences, ICBIM of the Federal University of Uberlandia, UFU and the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences of the University of Sao Paulo - USP (municipality of Ribeirao Preto's campus).Some funding institutions like FAPESP (Sao Paulo Research Foundation), CNPq (National Council for Scientific & Technological Development), Fapemig (Minas Gerais State Agency for Research and Development), and Newton Fund (Royal Society, UK) helped in conducting this study.Scientists were able to test three compounds, which were taken from the venom of Crotalus durissus terrificus rattlesnake. They were also able to investigate the antiviral potential of flavonoids extracted from Pterogyne nitens, a kind of plant endemic to Brazil.The results were published inandTwo proteins such as phospholipase A2 (PLA2-CB) and crotapotin (CP) were isolated from the rattlesnake venom. Scientists also tested these compounds, as they are found in nature as subunits of the crotoxin protein complex in the Laboratory of Toxicology at FCF-USP.The antiviral action of the two compounds was tested both separately and together in the protein complex in a series of in vitro experiments with cultured human cells.Scientists observed the effects of compounds had on human cells (to help prevent infection by the virus) and also on hepatitis C virus.The hepatitis C virus's genome consists of a single strand of RNA (ribonucleic acid). It is a simple chain of nucleotides encoding the proteins in the virus."This virus invades the human host cell to replicate, producing new viral particles. Inside the host cell, the virus produces a complementary strand of RNA, from which molecules of viral genome will emerge to constitute the new particles," said Ana Carolina Gomes Jardim, head of the Virology Laboratory in ICBIM-UFU."Our research showed that phospholipase could intercalate into double-stranded RNA, a virus replication intermediate, inhibiting the production of new viral particles. Intercalation reduced these by 86 percent compared with their production in the absence of phospholipase," said Jardim.When the same experiment was conducted using crotoxin, production of viral particles decreased to 58 percent.In the second stage of the research, scientists checked whether the compounds blocked the virus's entry into cultured human cells or not.In this case, the results were more than satisfactory: phospholipase blocked 97 percent of viral cell entry, and crotoxin reduced viral infection by 85 percent.Finally, they tested crotapotin, which is another compound that has been isolated from the same rattlesnake's venom.Crotapotin had no inhibitory effect on viral entry or replication. However, it did affect another stage of the virus's life cycle by reducing the release of new viral particles from cells by 78 percent. Treatment with crotoxin achieved 50 percent inhibition of viral release.The results reveal that phospholipase and crotapotin produced better results when used separately than collectively.The second article describes substances derived from Brazilian flora: sorbifolin and pedalitin, both flavonoids isolated from the leaves of Pterogyne nitens during the experiments, which was conducted by Professor Luis Octavio Regasini at UNESP's Green & Medicinal Chemistry Laboratory in Sao Jose do Rio Preto.Flavonoids are compounds that are usually found in fruit, flowers, vegetables, honey, and wine.The flavonoids isolated from rattlesnake venom were tested for antiviral action in human cells that are infected with hepatitis C virus and in uninfected cells."Sorbifolin blocked viral entry into human cells in 45% of cases, while pedalitin provided more promising results, blocking entry in 79% of cases. The experiment was performed with two genotypes of hepatitis C virus: genotype 2A, the standard type in all studies, and genotype 3, the second most prevalent in Brazil. In both cases, the antiviral action of the flavonoids was equivalent," Gomes Jardim said.However, at the other end of the viral life cycle, the flavonoids did not affect viral particle replication and also did not block their release from infected cells.Paula Rahal, who coordinates the Virology Group at the Genomic Studies Laboratory at IBILCE-UNESP said that the flavonoids from P. nitens are among 200 tested compounds isolated from Brazilian plants or synthesized using natural structures by Professor Regasini.Source: Medindia
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) shakes hands with Chairperson of the African Union(AU) Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat at the 7th China-AU strategic dialogue in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 8, 2018. (Xinhua/Yan Yan)

BEIJING, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Chairperson of the African Union(AU) Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat said Thursday that accusations that China was spying on the AU are just rumors.

Faki made the remarks while meeting press with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi after they co-hosted the 7th China-AU strategic dialogue in Beijing. It was Faki's first visit to China since he assumed office in March 2017.

Faki said the ties between China and AU were "unshakable," and such reports could not damage their relations.

Faki noted that it was impossible and unnecessary for China to spy on the AU.

The French newspaper Le Monde has said China had bugged the AU Conference Center it had built and gifted to the AU in 2012, and had been downloading data from servers in the building.

"Now we are willing to cooperate more with China to benefit African people, and such rumors will not distract us," Faki told reporters.

Calling the AU Conference Center a symbol of China-Africa friendship and cooperation, Wang said China would never allow any person or any force to smear such a relationship.

"The AU and African people are best qualified to speak on the cooperation between China and Africa," Wang said.

Having dubbed the accusations as "the mindset of sour grapes," Wang said all such rumors were futile and attempts to sow dissension between China and Africa were doomed to fail in front of fruitful China-Africa cooperation.

[ Editor: Zhang Zhou ]
People select Spring Festival goods in Yulin City of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, on Feb. 7, 2018, one day before Xiaonian. Xiaonian falls on the 23rd or 24th day of the last month of the Chinese traditional lunar calendar, marking the start of the countdown to Spring Festival. (Xinhua/Tao Ming)

BEIJING, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Chinese this week celebrated the kitchen god festival, which falls one week before the Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival.

This year Spring Festival falls on Feb. 16 according to the lunar calendar. The kitchen god day, also known as the Little New Year, is celebrated on Feb. 8 in several northern regions, and a day later on Feb. 9 in southern regions.

On Thursday, local TV channels broadcast festival gala performances, and online galas were also organized.

The kitchen god, also called the "stove god," derives from ancient Chinese legends. The god is said to report the affairs of each family to the emperor of gods in heaven. However, the god can be mischievous, so people offer him food and drink, hoping that he reports good things about their family and brings back blessings for the coming new year.

On Thursday, over 400 courier drivers and their families were invited to roast duck banquets by their employers in Beijing.

Across the country, people set off fireworks to welcome the festival, which is also a prelude to the Spring Festival. Folk artists presented dance and singing performances.

For ethnic minority groups, it is also an occasion to celebrate their traditions and culture.

In northwest China's Qinghai Province, ethnic Tu people organized a contest for the best steamed buns. More than 88 families participated.

In Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, people put on traditional robes, boiled mutton, and prepared soup to honor fire.

"Ethnic Mongolians think fire is a symbol of purity. It protects the family and the tribes," said Quugjilt, 49, from Otog Banner.

Thousands of people gathered at the mausoleum of Genghis Khan in Yijinhuoluo Banner for the festival.

According to traditional Chinese culture, the kitchen god returns from heaven on the eve of Spring Festival, so the sacrifices for the god are served until the day he returns.

In days leading up to the Lunar New Year, people clean their houses, decorate their homes with paper cuttings, couplets and written blessings, and prepare festival food.

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[ Editor: zyq ]
WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi urged international support for the easing of tensions on the Korean Peninsula during his meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson here on Thursday.

China has always been committed to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and maintaining its peace and stability, said Yang.

Issues on the Korean Peninsula should be solved through dialogue and negotiation, Yang added.

[ Editor: WPY ]
Aerial photo taken on Feb. 6, 2018 shows the Zhonghua Gate in Nanjing, capital city of east China's Jiangsu Province. Couplets with each approximately 15 meters high and 2 meters wide are hung on the 12 ancient city gates in Nanjing to welcome the coming Spring Festival which falls on Feb. 16. Hanging couplets on the door is a traditional way for Chinese to celebrate the Lunar New Year. (Xinhua/Li Bo)

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[ Editor: WPY ]
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry (R) and his Sudanese counterpart Ibrahim Ghandour attend a press conference after their meeting at Tahrir Palace in Cairo, Egypt on Feb. 8, 2018. (Xinhua/POOL/Khaled ELFIQI)

CAIRO, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said on Thursday that talks between Egyptian and Sudanese leaders during the African UnionSummit in Addis Ababa in January have revealed the roadmap for bilateral relations.

Shoukry's remarks came during a joint press conference after his meeting with visiting Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour.

The meeting came amid strained relations between the two African countries over a number of thorny issues.

The Egyptian minister said that he agreed with his Sudanese counterpart to tackle all bilateral and regional issues as well as to convene the high joint committee at the presidential level this year in Sudan.

Two separate rounds of talks were held between Egyptian and Sudanese foreign ministers and intelligence chiefs, Shoukry said, adding that a four-way meeting was then held.

The Egyptian minister noted that the four-way meeting was characterized by frankness and proved there is a mutual desire to boost bilateral ties and to implement directives issued by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and his Sudanese counterpart Omar al-Bashir in this regard.

"We seek to hold periodic summit meetings given their importance in pushing forward bilateral relations," he added.

Meanwhile, the Sudanese Foreign Minister said the directives issued by Sisi and Bashir affirm the two leaders' determination to resolve all the current issues between Cairo and Khartoum and to put bilateral ties back on the right track.

He added that today's talks tackled all the bilateral issues in detail.

An agreement has been reached to hold the four-way meeting periodically, Ghandour said, noting that such meetings touch on issues of contention between the two countries.

The Sudanese minister also revealed that a recommendation was submitted to Sisi and Bashir to hold periodic presidential meetings.

Egyptian-Sudanese relations have been tense over the past few years on various issues, including their difference over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) which Ethiopia is building on their shared Nile River.

While both Ethiopia and Sudan are eyeing massive benefits from the GERD construction, Egypt believes it undermines its 55.5 billion cubic meters as annual share of the Nile River water.

Egypt and Sudan also have a territorial dispute over the border region of Halayeb and Shalateen, which is currently under Egyptian control.

In early January, Khartoum recalled its ambassador to Egypt for consultation over "potential security threats" from Egypt and Eritrea following reported military moves in Eritrea's Sawa area near the border with Sudan's state of Kassala.

Sisi, in turn, denied that Egypt was conspiring against Sudan or Ethiopia, stressing that his country is keen to build positive relations with all other countries and that the peoples of Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia "need investments not wars."

In May 2017, Bashir also accused Egypt of providing military support to armed rebels in his country, which was strongly denied by Sisi.

[ Editor: WPY ]
YPSILANTI, MI - A service company said it is working to try and maintain a contract with General Motors Co. and that employees whose jobs are impacted could maintain their positions with a new entity.

Compass Group sent a letter dated Jan. 31 to Michigan's Workforce Development Agency, alerting the state to 396 positions that would be cut from the company effective April 1 because of an account closure by the automaker. The notice was made as part of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.

Compass Group is a multinational contractor that provides food service and support services.

In a statement provided to The Ann Arbor News following the publication of the WARN notice, a spokesperson for the company said Compass Group, doing business as Eurest Services, is "currently in contract negotiations for services provided at GM."

"In the event the contract for Compass Group does not continue, the employee positions would remain at GM and be inherited by the next managing entity," the statement said. "The 'Successor Clause' of the labor relations agreement ensures that all associates would remain whole in seniority, benefits and wage rate, should there be any changes in the contract managing entity. Therefore, employee positions are not at risk during, or as the result of, these contract negotiations."

GM has not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.

Compass Group would no longer be affiliated with the following locations if the contract is not renegotiated: Warren, Belleville, Romulus, Ypsilanti, Waterford, Pontiac, Lake Orion, Swartz Creek, Grand Blanc, Burton and Lansing.

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.
ANN ARBOR, MI - Educational research company ITHAKA is looking for new hires to fill out its newly-renovated office space in downtown Ann Arbor.

ITHAKA is known for its learning platform JSTOR, which began as a grant-funded project at the University of Michigan. The digitized library is used by more than 11,000 educational and research institutions in 170 countries, the company said.

With teams in Ann Arbor, New York City and Princeton, New Jersey, ITHAKA is developing new technology and its JSTOR platform. One of the latest tools is the Text Analyzer, which allows users to upload documents in a variety of languages and search for key topics for faster research capabilities.

Michell Valentine, talent director for ITHAKA, said there are at least nine positions posted on the company's website but some involve multiple openings. Those positions include senior data analyst, software and quality engineers and web applications developers.

She gestures to the whiteboard running along one side of her office at 301 E. Liberty, filled with names written in different colors.

"I'm trying to get these filled right now," she said.

ITHAKA experiences fairly low turnover, Valentine said, and new projects mean more employees are needed to help out with the extra workload.

There are about 150 people who work at the ITHAKA office in Ann Arbor; some have come as far as London to join the team while others have traveled from Chicago, Los Angeles and East Lansing.

It's also meant an expansion of the company's physical footprint.

The company has recently moved some teams to the fourth floor of the 301 E. Liberty building, which includes seven floors of office space as well as ground-floor retail tenants like the Which Wich sandwich shop and Kolossos Printing Inc.

The move required some renovations and creative planning when it came to workspaces, Valentine said.

Bright orange lockers are lined up in the middle of the office space, inscribed with employee names and decorations. Surrounding the lockers are desk areas grouped together, where employees on the same team can quickly communicate or collaborate on that day's work.

In one corner, a Jackson Pollock puzzle waits uncomplete with pieces nearby for employees in need of a mental break.

Throughout the office, television monitors display analytics from Amazon web services and employees can be found brainstorming around whiteboards or typing away at their computers.

The fourth floor also features conference rooms, guest offices and a library space where employees can go for some peace and quiet as they write software or dive into data analytics.

Dale Myers, vice president of technology engineering and infrastructure operations at ITHAKA, said the company is excited to bring people from the Ann Arbor community into the new work space and to share the ITHAKA culture with others.

"ITHAKA is a special place among the thriving technology companies in our area," Myers said in a statement. "When you walk through our doors, you find talented down-to-earth people working with the latest technologies, a focus on learning and professional growth, and a powerful social mission that matters."
YPSILANTI, MI - It started as a text exchange between Jesse Kranyak, co-owner of The Wurst Bar in Ypsilanti, and his friend, Brian Quinn.

Could they come up with a drink spoofing the "Tide Pod challenge," an internet dare calling for teens to ingest the brightly-colored - but poisonous - laundry soap packets? Poison control centers warn not to consume Tide Pods.

The pair began looking into cocktail ingredients and techniques that would achieve the orange, white and blue color of the detergent.

Kranyak said they considered whether or not their drink was appropriate and did some research before putting it on the menu at The Wurst Bar, 705 W. Cross St. in Ypsilanti.

"We decided the humor wasn't too dark," he said, comparing the cocktail to another controversial cocktail named the Irish Car Bomb.

They focused on the right flavor profiles and went from there.

"We didn't want it to taste bad," Kranyak said.

It took a few weeks for the necessary ingredients to be delivered and the final recipe decided: a layer of Bols orange curacao topped with heavy cream, and blue-dyed Absolut Mandarin-flavored vodka rounding out the top layer.

Phil Birch, a bartender at The Wurst Bar, compares the drink to an orange Creamsicle and can make the cocktail in less than a minute using a strainer and carefully pouring the ingredients on top of each other.

He recommends getting a photo of the layered cocktail first before mixing it together to turn it into what looks like a melted milkshake in a rocks glass.

"It can be harsh to not mix it," said Birch.

Since the Tide Pod Slammer went on The Wurst Bar's menu, they've sold more than 100.

"Usually, one person orders it and then the whole table orders it," Kranyak said. "They suck it right down."

The cocktails can be seen on social media, with people tagging photos and telling their followers about taking the Tide Pod challenge at The Wurst Bar.

Kranyak has even tried it himself.

"I took a couple sips when we first made it and that's where it ended," Kranyak said, laughing.

The Tide Pod Slammer has been on the menu for about three weeks now, and The Wurst Bar plans to keep it around as long as patrons are interested in trying the cocktail.

"As long as we're selling them, we'll keep them on," Kranyak said.
A southeast Michigan supplier of exhaust systems for the auto industry plans to permanently lay off 77 workers, it told the state this week in a WARN Notice.

Bosal Industries-Georgia Inc., according to the filing, "will implement a mass layoff of certain employees at our facility."

Layoffs at the Ypsilanti Township facility begin April 12, and will be completed by April 26.

They're prompted by the loss of work on the Jeep Wrangler, said Harry Pepels of Bosal. The contract winds down in April.

"Related to that, a number of people working on that line that will be laid off," he said Friday.

The contract was set to end 2.5 years ago, he said, but it had been extended through this spring.

The WARN filing, he said, was not mandated. However, he said, the company wanted to give employees significant notice about the job loss.

The jobs leaving the Washtenaw County facility include 69 union positions. Among them: Operator (45), Hilo driver (3), welder (18) and technician.

Other positions leaving the facility are shift manager, manufacturing engineer, quality auditor and HR generalist.

Bosal is based at 1476 Seaver Way in Ypsilanti Township, where it moved in 2006 after building the 172,663-square-foot light industrial building near I-94 and South Huron Street.

That building allowed it to combine R&D and manufacturing facilities then located in Ann Arbor and Warren, respectively. Its main customers were General Motors, Toyota and Chrysler.

Later, in 2011, it sought a tax break as it considered a $5.1 million expansion. At the time, it employed 209 people.

Once the layoffs take effect, Bosal will employ about 170 in Ypsilanti Township, in both R&D and production.

Other contracts at the facility include exhausts for the Chevrolet Cruze and Cadillac CT6 sedan.

Upcoming changes for the plant include new machinery moving in as the CT6 is retooled this fall, Pepels said.

Bosal is a Belgian company with more than 4,900 employees. It makes emission control systems for OEMs and aftermarket sales.

That global footprint gives Bosal an edge in the marketplace, Pepels said.

It also produces tow bars, a division that it plans to sell to an investor group. That move, it says on its website, is part of a turnaround strategy.

The company will reach financial stability once that takes place, officials said.

That also positions the Michigan-based facility for new business, Pepels said.

"We'll be reinforcing the commercial team in the Americals to attract new programs," he said.
SALINE, MI - An armed man who officials said was having a mental crisis peacefully surrendered to police Thursday evening at a Saline apartment complex.

Police received a call from a man sometime before 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 8, saying his friend, a 31-year-old man, was having a mental crisis and could be a threat to himself at the Six Trails Apartments near West Michigan Avenue, according to the Saline Police Department.

Believing the man was armed, the Washtenaw County special response team was called to the scene to assist, police said.

The man eventually surrendered to police without incident and he was taken to a hospital for mental evaluation, police said.

Residents of the complex, who were kept away from the area while police were at the scene, were allowed back to their homes at about 9:45 p.m., according to The Saline Post.

There were no injuries reported.
YPSILANTI, MI - Eastern Michigan University students, staff and faculty and the community will soon have access to a new healthcare center near campus in a collaboration between the university, St. Joseph Mercy Health System and its primary care network, Integrated Healthcare Associates.

EMU's Board of Regents approved plans for a new $8.4 million, 25,700-square foot facility on Friday, Feb. 9, that will offer urgent care, a flu clinic, pharmacy, women's health facilities and sexually transmitted infection testing and immunizations.

Under the collaborative agreement, IHA and St. Joseph Mercy Health System will provide $6.6 million toward the cost of the facility for the construction, while EMU invests $1.8 million toward the construction of a roadway to the facility.

IHA will staff the facility with medical personnel in the medical portion of the facility, which accounts for 11,200 square feet. In addition to its health services, IHA will offer a nurse triage and 24/7 call center, billing and online patient portal and scheduling.

Another 14,500 square feet within the facility is dedicated to EMU services like student health and well being services, Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) and a psychology clinic that replaces the current EMU Psychology Clinic located at 611 W. Cross St.

EMU Chief Financial Officer Michael Valdes said the university has met with representatives from St. Joseph and IHA for about 18 months. Discussions during that time centered around meeting the health care needs of students, faculty and staff, while also contributing to the growing need for primary care physicians in the area.

"What we have been challenged with is the expanding needs for students on campus and also wanting a way to support more broadly, staff and faculty and their health needs," Valdes said. "It's challenging from an operational perspective - the financial performance for university health services - because of the limited volume associated with it. We obviously have a very limited, seasonal clientele from the stnadpoint of operating a primary care facility."

Construction of the new facility will take place on what currently is a green space at the the corner of Oakwood Street and North Huron River Drive, across the street from the Eastern Plaza strip mall and behind the university's Department of Public Safety building.

Construction is expected to be completed in the summer of 2019.

Eastern Michigan's university health services currently are housed in the Snow Health Center. While the facility primarily supports student health needs on an acute basis, Valdes said, it does present certain limitations. The existing Snow Health Center will be evaluated for other potential uses.

The new facility will benefit from IHA and St. Joseph's resources, Valdes said, while also offering more convenient to access of care through online appointment scheduling, e-visits and a 24/7 call center.

"One of the things we're particularly excited about is the overall experience for students, faculty and staff is the convenience aspects around the tools that IHA will deploy to make the care experience more user friendly," Valdes said.

The new facility reflects an expansion of collaboration between St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor hospital and Eastern, which includes formal affiliation agreements for nearly 20 health-related programs, including the Physician Assistant Program at Eastern, which was launched in spring 2014.

The collaboration also includes a simulation center and anatomy lab, residency training at the student health center, exercise science, inter-professional patient care and education, and large-scale emergency preparedness exercises.

"This is special moment in terms of community and campus health care," EMU President James Smith said in a news release. "This partnership, with an established, world-class health care provider and a top-tier physicians' group, will provide a modern medical environment able to meet the primary and urgent care needs of students, faculty, staff, and the community."

St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor President David Brooks said the collaboration will address a need for both the EMU and Ypsilanti communities.

"We are so pleased to come together as three major area organizations to create collaborations that work to each of our strengths," Brooks said. "This health center will bring leading physicians and needed health services to both the campus and Ypsilanti residents. We look forward to continuing to work closely together to develop innovative programs and initiatives that address the needs of the local community."

EMU Board of Regents member Michelle Crumm said a centralized health center is something the university has wanted for some time.

"I think this is going to be such a huge advantage for our students, so we're very excited that the students will have access to something like this," Crumm said.
ANKARA, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Turkish Foreign Ministry rejected late Thursday a resolution adopted by the European Parliament (EP) on Turkey's human rights as "null and void."

The resolution "is far from understanding the current conditions Turkey faces," the ministry said in a written statement.

"Measures taken as part of the state of emergency are conducted within the laws and in conformity with our international obligations," the ministry added.

Turkey's "great devotion" in counter-terrorism "demonstrates that some elements within the EP are incapable of comprehending the vital importance of this fight for Europe," it noted.

On Thursday, the European Parliament adopted a resolution entitled "Current Situation of Human Rights in Turkey," targeting the issue of press freedom in the country and the state of emergency that was declared in the wake of the failed coup on July 15, 2016 and extended until now.

[ Editor: meng ]
Some thought the bones and other remains of three apparent children found in a Missoula, Montana shed last September could be the Skelton brothers, who vanished from Michigan in 2010.

They are not, the Missoula County Sheriff's Office said in a statement issued Friday, Feb. 9.

A team of investigators that included pathologists, anthropologists and police "ruled out" the possibility based on "advanced radiograph technology and dental record comparisons," the sheriff's office said.

Another missing 11-year-old boy from Washington was also ruled out as a possible match.

Based on the bone samples tested by University of North Dakota anthropologists, it was determined the bodies were buried at least 100 years ago.

"The report suggests that the bone fragments and teeth had been buried for some time prior to be uncovered and exposed to the elements," Missoula County sheriff's officials said. "The report narrows the age windows for the three sets of human remains as follows: Individual one, 2 to 5 years of age, individual two, 5 to 9 years of age, individual three, 6 to 8 years of age.

"The (report) suggests that Individual one and possibly some of the loose teeth are of Asian derived Amerindian ancestry."

The mystery of the missing Skelton brothers will continue.

Andrew, Alexander and Tanner Skelton have been missing for more than seven years after visiting their father for Thanksgiving. The boys were ages 9, 7 and 5, respectively, when they disappeared.

The father of the children, John Skelton, maintains he gave the children away, a decision he has since regretted.

John Skelton told WDIV-Detroit reporter Sandra Ali during a recent interview that the night before Thanksgiving he made the boys their favorite meal and a cake to celebrate Andrew's birthday. The next evening, Skelton says 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.

Lenawee Circuit Court Judge Margaret Noe, who sentenced Skelton to 10-15 years in prison in 2011, called his explanation for the disappearance "ridiculous."

However, because the boys have never been found, police have been unable to bring any further charges against Skelton.

The boys' mother, Tanya Zuvers, who was divorcing Skelton, had exclusive custody of the children at the time the vanished, but agreed to let them visit their father if he returned them the next day.
DETROIT, MI - A winter storm has canceled more that 100 flights in and out of Detroit Metropolitan Airport.

As of 7:30 a.m., Friday, Feb. 9, 117 departures out of Detroit have been canceled due to the hazardous weather affecting the Midwest, according to FlightStats.com.

The airport has been working for the last several hours to clear the runways of accumulated snowfall that is affecting flights.

DTW crews are continuing to clear snow from the airfield this morning. As the snow continues to fall, please check with your airline before heading to the airport today.  DTW Airport (@DTWeetin) February 9, 2018

Airport personnel urges passengers to check the status of their flight prior to arriving at the airport.

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for southern Michigan, calling for upwards of 10 inches of snow by Friday evening.

The storm has closed nearly every school in southern Michigan with countless public works and rescues services asking residents to stay off the roadway as much as possible.
FLINT, MI - The snow has started in the Mid-Michigan region and is expecting to pick up intensity through the afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.

While motorists along Genesee County highways seemed to be traveling just a few miles under the speed limit, there were just two crashes throughout the county according to Genesee County 911.

"The snow has started and we're expecting it to gradually increase over the next couple of hours," said Trent Frey, meteorologist with the National Weather Service. "We're expecting the highest rate between 8 a.m. and roughly about 2 p.m."

The storm is expected to drop between 4 and 7 inches of snow, he said.

"I'd say the morning (commute) will be equally if not more dicey," than the evening, Frey said. "We just want people to take it slow out there and be as careful as you can."

Those to the north may not get as much snow, he said.

"Genesee County is the northernmost extent of the advisory now," Frey said. "North of Flint we're not expecting more than 2 to 4 inches."

While the roads were snow-covered in Bay and Saginaw counties, there were few crashes.

"We encourage everyone to give themselves extra time," said Randy Pfau, Saginaw County 911 director. "The roads are snow-covered and slippery."

In Genesee County, road crews were out putting down salt from 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. and then the daytime crew started the snow removal, according to John Daly Genesee County Road Commission Manager-Director.

"It looks like right now this is going to start tapering off until 10 o'clock," he said. "At this point, everything is open. When I look at the radar, this looks like a whole bunch of snow squalls tailing across the region. You may get 3 inches in one part of Genesee County and an inch somewhere else."

"If we end up with 1 or 2 inches or even 3, we'll be good, not a big deal," said Dan Medina, the Saginaw County Road Commission maintenance director. "A little salt here, little salt there. We'll adjust if the storm moves northward."
GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Three finalists for the Grand Rapids city manager job said they won't be reapplying as the commission re-starts its search.

This week commissioners couldn't agree on one candidate after two rounds of interviews and a community forum at the Wealthy Theatre, and decided to start over.

Jane Bais-DiSessa, 61, deputy mayor of Pontiac; James Freed, 32, Port Huron city manager; and Carol Mitten, 57, deputy manager of Arlington County, Virginia, all said they wouldn't be reapplying for the job as a part of a new search.

However, some said they would be open to a negotiation if the commission offered them the job.

"It was intense, but I thought it was thorough," Bais-DiSessa said of the interview process. "Grand Rapids is an amazing community, but whatever the council decides, I truly respect their decision and I understand."

The three finalists said they were all recruited for the position by GovHR, the city's $25,000 consultant it hired for the nationwide search.

Before taking their unanimous vote to re-do the search, Mayor Rosalynn Bliss and several commissioners said they did not want their vote to reflect their opinion of the three candidates.

"There are things I really like about each candidate, and I've also listened really diligently to the community, and I sense a divide," Bliss said before the vote Tuesday, Feb. 6. "I think at a time like this, we have to have really strong candidates where we don't have a divide. Where we don't have segments of our community feeling like they weren't heard."

The commission is looking for candidates with experience running full-service cities and with experience working with diverse communities on difficult issues.

The consultants reached out to executives in 150 cities with populations above 100,000 across the country, as well as thousands in Michigan. The result: 61 applications, 14 of which were selected for an initial screening.

Five were picked to move forward. Two of those candidates were also finalists in a 2013 city manager search in Kalamazoo: Bais-DiSessa and Joyce Parker, CEO of The Municipal Group and a former emergency manager.

The commission will now have to decide how it wants to move forward in finding its next city manager, and if it will continue to use the same consultant.

The commission's current dilemma is shades of 2009, when city leaders at the time also decided to re-vamp their hunt for a replacement for City Manager Kurt Kimball. The commission was upset with the lack of a "superstar" candidate, and with the consultant hired to facilitate -- Waters Consulting Group of Houston, Texas.

Ultimately, the commission decided to go with an internal candidate, Greg Sundstrom. Sundstrom retired Feb. 2 after eight years in the role.

Meanwhile, Deputy City Manager Eric DeLong will serve as the interim manager.

DeLong was a finalist in 2009 as the commission searched for Kimball's replacement, when he also served as interim manager.

In a split 4-3 vote, the commission chose then-acting Deputy Manager Sundstrom over DeLong. Voting for Sundstrom were commissioners James White, James Jendrasiak, Dave LaGrand and Rosalynn Bliss; with then-Mayor George Heartwell and commissioners Walt Gutowski and Elias Lumpkins voting for DeLong.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- The community this week mourns Donald Maine, longtime chancellor of Davenport University who grew the institution from a small local business school into a major university with multiple locations.

The university honored Maine's 23-year tenure as president and chancellor in a statement issued Wednesday, Feb. 7, after Maine's death at the age of 75.

"Davenport University has lost a devoted supporter, champion and friend with the passing of Don Maine," university President Richard J. Pappas said in a statement.

When Maine took up the mantle as Davenport's president in 1977, the school operated in one location on East Fulton Street and had about 1,800 students pursuing careers in secretarial and accounting fields.

During his tenure, the two-year private college grew to provide undergraduate, graduate and online degrees. Bachelor's degree programs were introduced under Maine in the 1980s, followed by master's programs in the 1990s. The groundwork was laid for both creation of the W.A. Lettinga Campus south of Grand Rapids and the unification of the institution's three separate regional colleges into Davenport University.

"Don was an outstanding leader and generous contributor to the University for many years, affecting the lives of thousands of Davenport students," Pappas said. "Words cannot adequately express our depth of gratitude for his countless contributions. He will be greatly missed."

Davenport's Donald W. Maine College of Business was later named in honor of the former chancellor, as was its building dedicated in May 2017.

After his retirement in 2000, Maine did not stop working in the school's interest. He served as co-chair of a recent $27.6 million campaign to help fund the Donald W. Maine College of Business Building, for Davenport's College of Urban Education and student scholarships.

An active community leader for decades, Maine chaired and served on numerous boards both before and after his career at Davenport.

In addition to serving on boards for the Van Andel Institute, the Fred Meijer Heart Center and Metropolitan Hospital, Maine also co-chaired the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine fundraising campaign, which raised $10 million dollars toward construction of the medical school in Grand Rapids.

Michigan State University credited his leadership and advocacy for "jump-starting" the fundraising campaign for the Secchia Center, which opened in September 2010.

Maine received many accolades over the years, including an honorary doctorate of laws from Davenport University, the distinguished alumni award from Michigan State University, the George Slykhouse lifetime achievement award from the Grand Rapids Economic Club, the galaxy award from the National Kidney Foundation and was also inducted into the Michigan Great Lakes Business Hall of Fame. In 2006, Maine received Davenport's highest honor, the Peter C. Cook Excellence in Business Award.

His 2002 book, "Maine Street," was a collection of profiles of 27 West Michigan entrepreneurs and business leaders. Proceeds from sales of the book were donated by Maine to the Davenport University Foundation.

Maine earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from Michigan State University, completed doctoral studies at The University of Michigan and later graduated from the Institute of Educational Management at Harvard University.

He worked for Davenport initially as director of general programs from 1971-75, then moved to Grand Rapids Junior College for two years as dean of occupational programs before returning to serve as Davenport's president.

His contributions to the community over the years impacted organizations such as Opera Grand Rapids, Celebration on the Grand, the Public Museum of Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce and the Grand Rapids Economic Club, to name a few. He helped instigate some of Grand Rapids' most visible facilities through his work with Grand Action, the economic development group that championed the DeVos Place and Van Andel Arena projects.

Maine is survived by his wife, Kathleen, six children and seven grandchildren.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- After months of waiting, a federal agency has granted The Rapid $56.4 million to fund the transit authority's next bus rapid transit line, officials said Friday, Feb. 9.

Funding for the 13-mile-long Laker Line from downtown Grand Rapids to Grand Valley State University's Allendale campus was authorized in President Barack Obama's last budget for fiscal 2017.

Months after the application was submitted, no money had been allocated -- prompting U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Zeeland, to send a letter to the Federal Transit Administration in December 2017.

Huizenga announced Friday that the funding for the Laker Line had been approved.

"The Laker Line will help our community take the next step by providing students at Grand Valley's Allendale campus with a greater ability to gain hands on experience in the growing educational, medical, and business fields available in downtown Grand Rapids," Huizenga said in a statement. "I believe the Laker Line will help connect students and West Michigan residents with greater opportunity, strengthen our workforce, and move our economy forward."

The Rapid has been counting on the federal grant to pay for 80 percent of the $70 million project. The rest of the cost will be covered by the Michigan Department of Transportation, which has already allocated the $14 million it pledged.

Station construction will begin this spring and last throughout 2019, with a grand opening of the Laker Line in May 2020.

The Laker Line will offer bus service similar to what The Rapid offers on its existing Route 50. Buses will pick up passengers from stops every five to six minutes at peak times.

What the Laker Line will be able to offer is larger buses that can carry more riders, making the route more efficient. The articulated buses have seats for 60 passengers and can carry up to 80 to 90 people. The current Route 50 buses seat 40 passengers and can carry up to 50 to 60 people.
IONIA COUNTY, MI - Herbruck's Poultry Farm, one of the nation's largest egg producers, sustained a significant fire Friday, Feb. 9, at its shipping and receiving plant.

At least seven fire departments responded to the blaze at the facility on Portland Road south of Ionia.

The owners of the business, which supplies eggs to McDonald's restaurants east of the Mississippi River, were working to get the operation running as soon as possible.

Its 6 million-plus hens lay about 1.5 billion eggs a year.

Tom Stuart, owner of nearby Big Tom's Maple Syrup Supply, said he spoke with the owners of the family-run business and said that no workers or animals were injured in the fire.

The fire happened in the shipping, receiving and distribution warehouse, which includes a cooling facility.

The fire was reported at 11:48 a.m.

Greg Herbruck, company president, said workers were alerted by an alarm to fire in an egg-storage cooler. He credited firefighters for containing the fire to that area.

"There has been no impact to food safety at our farm or our production facilities, and all of our hens are safe," he said in a statement.

"We are truly thankful for the first responders in Ionia County who quickly responded to this fire and contained the damage to our facility."

He said the cause is under investigation.

Stuart said that the poultry farm, Michigan's largest egg producer, employs many, and is a big part of the community. He said the community has offered support and prayers for the owners and their workers.

"Please pray for our neighbors at Herbrucks on Portland Road," he wrote on his Facebook page.

The fire burned for some time until firefighters were able to open a side and spray water from an aerial truck. Excavators are at the scene to knock the building down, he said.
BARRY COUNTY, MI -- Police are asking for the public's help to identify a man suspected of robbing the Chemical Bank in Middleville.

The robbery happened about 3:40 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 8 when a man entered the bank, 303 Arlington St., and passed a note to a teller that demanded money, Barry County sheriff's deputies said.

The man left the bank with an undisclosed amount of cash.

He was last seen in the area of Arlington and Sherman streets.

Thormapple-Kellogg Schools were placed on lockdown as police searched for the suspect.

Anyone with information about the robbery is asked to call the Barry County Sheriff's Office at 269-948-4801 or Barry County Central Dispatch at 269-948-4800.
MARQUETTE COUNTY, MI - A 69-year-old motorist was found in Michigan's Upper Peninsula after she walked nine miles in freezing temperatures.

According to Michigan State Police from the Negaunee Post, the incident began around 3:35 p.m. on Feb. 8 when the woman's sister reported the woman had gotten lost traveling from Menominee to Republic.

Apparently, she had taken a wrong turn which led to her vehicle getting stuck in a snowbank in a remote area of Marquette County.

Troopers were dispatched to the area of the Fence River Road since they were able to estimate the woman's location by pinging her cellphone. Troopers located the vehicle and eventually found footprints leading away from the car.

Troopers located the woman approximately 9 miles from her vehicle. She had come upon a local mail delivery driver and was seated in the car trying to warm up.

According to police, the woman stayed with her car until it ran out of gas. She then began walking to stay warm even though temperatures were hovering around zero at the time.

The woman told police that she had been walking since 10 a.m. She refused any medical treatment and was transported to her sister's residence in Republic.
Meijer announced on Thursday, Feb. 8 that it was issuing a recall on select Greek and low-fat yogurt products due to the potential presence of small glass shards.

The Michigan-based grocer reports in Food and Drug Administration documents that there have been no illnesses, injuries or concerns related to the recall. Meijer recalled its products after a customer returned a yogurt cup that contained two small pieces of glass.

Affected products were sold in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Wisconsin.

After the company investigated the matter, it said there could be a "possible risk of contamination" which then sparked the recall. With all this considered, Meijer says that "the hazard risk to customers is considered low."

The affected products all have an expiration date of March 8 of this year, and are listed as follows:

Meijer Greek Yogurt 0 percent black cherry -- UPC 7-08820-12657-2

Meijer Yogurt Low-fat Blueberry -- UPC 7-08820-41513-3

Meijer Greek Yogurt 0 percent plain -- UPC 7-60236-11601-1

Meijer Greek Yogurt 0 percent vanilla -- UPC 7-60236-11603-5

Meijer Greek Yogurt 0 percent strawberry -- UPC 7-60236-12418-4

Meijer Greek Yogurt 0 percent blueberry -- UPC 7-60236-12431-3

Customers with the affected yogurt in hand are advised to either dispose of or return the products to the closest Meijer store. Any further questions can be directed to the company at 800-543-3704.
by Keren Setton

JERUSALEM, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli military announced Wednesday that the construction of four navy corvettes has begun in Germany.

In a statement it said the vessels, coined SA'AR 6, would enter service over the next three years.

At the ceremony, which was held in the German city of Kiel, Navy Commander in Chief Eliyahu Sharvit said the vessels were part of "the fundamental components of the naval protective shield established by the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces)."

The Israeli navy, which was always charged with safeguarding Israel's maritime surroundings, has been tasked in recent years with the protection of the country's newly discovered gas reserves in its territorial waters.

At the end of 2010, when the reserves were found, it was a strategic change for till-then energy-dependent Israel. But, it also was the beginning of a new job for the navy, protection of the oil rigs which could easily become a target for many of the country's hostile neighbors.

"Our ability to protect strategic assets has to be very robust," a senior IDF navy official told reporters earlier this week. "The SA'AR 6 has to take all the threats into consideration and protect from them from afar."

The official spoke under condition of anonymity.

Israel is also in the process of upgrading its submarine corps, purchasing six from German corporation, ThyssenKrup.

The submarine deal has been tainted by controversy and a criminal investigation against officials close to Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who are suspected of corruption and bribery in order to seal the multi-million-dollar transaction.

Netanyahu has denied all the allegations and reports against him.

Former Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon resigned from his position in 2016 and later said the submarine deal was one of the reasons behind the act.

The Israeli aspiration for naval supremacy does raise question marks about the necessity of the widespread upgrade.

Israel is currently enjoying relatively calm times. Its main threats are guerilla organizations whose naval capabilities may not warrant such maritime might.

But according to the senior naval official, the unit still needs to be prepared for traditional sea-to-sea battles with enemy navies.

"The navies around us continue to strengthen," he said. "We are in a technological race in an attempt to maintain maritime supremacy."

Egypthas reportedly also purchased four submarines from the same German corporation.

The Israeli media quoted a senior naval officer saying that although Egypt is not a threat to the country, he "would have preferred Egypt not having German submarines."

Once receiving the vessels, be it submarines and corvettes, Israel fits them with its own weapons and other systems.

"We are taking our capabilities to the extreme, pushing the limits of Israeli technology," boasted the senior naval officer.

It is clear Israel faces challenges in the Mediterranean Ocean and in the Red Sea.

As of an Israeli cabinet decision in 2013, the navy is charged with protecting Israel's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), particularly with safeguarding newly found natural gas reserves.

The gas rigs are an attractive target for militant organizations such as Lebanese Hezbollah. The Israeli navy believes Hezbollah has trained suicide divers and a jet ski unit.

The Gaza Strip, with its own waters, also poses a challenge. Hamas, a militant organization hostile to Israel, has already attempted to launch attacks via the seas.

"Hamas is focused on our strategic assets," said the senior naval officer. "Their naval commando is strengthening and they are trying to acquire under water weapons."

Hamas' naval commando unit attempted an attack on an Israeli kibbutz in a daring move that was one of the precipitators of a war between Gaza and Israel in 2014.

"We believe they have shore-to-sea weapons and other capabilities. This is our assumption so that we will not be caught by surprise," said the senior naval officer.

Israel's natural gas is responsible for the majority of the small country's power supply.

"A strike on a strategic asset of ours is akin to a declaration of war," warned the senior naval officer.

Israel's economy is largely dependent on imports through the sea. Therefore, the ability to defend its waters is critical.

This view, shared by many members in the Israeli government, merits the extensive shopping spree.

In an attempt to increase transparency and legislative supervision, Omer Barlev, a member of parliament from the opposition is proposing a law that will require a report to the parliament prior to signing a military acquisition deal above the value half a billion dollars.

The navy, which is relatively small compared to other units of the IDF, is a without a doubt regional maritime superpower, outnumbering neighboring navies in scale and capabilities.

"If I had to pick a side, I'd pick ours," said the senior Israeli navy officer.

[ Editor: meng ]
LANSING, MI -- Michigan State University has turned over a series of requested documents to Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette's office as special prosecutor Bill Fosyth investigates the institution.

MSU has come under fire after a series of victim impact statements from more than 150 women who say they were abused by Larry Nassar, a doctor the university kept on staff after what victims say were multiple warnings to university staff members about his behavior. Under the guise of medical treatment, he digitally penetrated girls and women for his own sexual pleasure.

The University has turned over 45,000 pages of things like staff calendar entries and university records related to internal investigations on Nassar and other employees, according to a letter from Patrick Fitzgerald of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, a law firm hired by MSU.

Andrea Bitely, a spokeswoman for Schuette, confirmed the agency had received documents, though she said she could not confirm a specific number or the completeness of the information.

"Our investigators and litigators will be reviewing those documents," Bitely said.

Engler tweeted it was a prompt response.

In a letter Forsyth had sent the university earlier this week, he requested a series of documents, including communications from certain individuals about Nassar, calendar entries from former College of Osteopathic Medicine Dean William Strampel, who put conditions on Nassar when he was reinstated after a 2014 investigation.

The university is moving to fire Strampel, who is on medical leave.

The university is continuing to collect additional requested documents for Forsyth's team and "will produce it to you as soon as possible, on a rolling basis," according to the letter.
KALAMAZOO, MI-- Eastbound I-94 has been shut down east of Kalamazoo.

The Michigan Department of Transportation said at 1:20 p.m. that I-94 is closed between Sprinkle Road (Exit 80) and Galesburg (Exit 85) due to a crash.

First responders were dispatched to a crash that reportedly involved injuries on eastbound I-94 west of the Galesburg exit.

The Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office sent out an alert that the highway was closed due to "numerous accidents."

No further information was immediately available.
KALAMAZOO, MI -- The city of Kalamazoo has closed city hall and other city buildings as of 1 p.m. Friday.

It's the latest in a long list of weather-related closures as Southwest Michigan as a winter storm produces significant snowfall.

"Please be safe, help shovel walkways near your property and be mindful of parking restrictions (they assist with snow removal)," the city tweeted.

The city joins Kalamazoo County government, most schools throughout Southwest Michigan and colleges including Western Michigan University in closing due to the weather.

The snowstorm is predicted to drop up to 10 inches of snow in Kalamazoo Friday.
PORTAGE, MI -- Several flights to and from the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport have been canceled Friday, Feb. 9 because of the weather.

Arrivals and departures to Chicago O'Hare and Detroit Metro Airport were among those to be canceled.

Some flights for Friday afternoon remain listed as "scheduled," according to the airport's website.

Up to 4 inches already has fallen in parts of southwest Michigan. According to the National Weather Service, another 6 to 10 inches are expected to fall in Kalamazoo, Benton Harbor and Coldwater.

The weather has caused several Kalamazoo County schools to close. The city of Portage has also declared a snow removal emergency.
Deangelo Pippen

MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI - Four men have been charged in the murder of a motorist in Norton Shores in late 2016 that authorities allege was part of a murder-for-hire plot.

Deangelo Pippen, 38, of Roosevelt Park and Detroit was shot as he sat in his car at a traffic light on Norton Avenue at Henry Street the night of Dec. 29, 2016. He managed to drive off, and his car ended up crashing into a garage in Muskegon Heights.

The four men, all from Detroit, were indicted in U.S. District Court following an investigation by numerous law enforcement agencies.

All of them have been charged with the federal crimes of murder for hire resulting in death, conspiracy to commit murder for hire, and use of a firearm during a violent crime causing death, according to a news release issued by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan.

The news release does not name Pippen as the victim, though Norton Shores Police Chief Jon Gale issued a statement Friday, Feb. 9, that did name him.

The federal indictment states the four killed "D.P." by "shooting him multiple times with firearms." It also states that they began "carrying a firearm" in November 2016 "in relation to" the death.

Those charged are:

Dwight Williams, 36 of Detroit. He's also known as "White" and "Woody."

Michael Davis, 33, of Detroit. His aliases are "Cain," "Novacaine," and "Killa."

Christopher Davis, 21, of Detroit. He's also known as "Dunna Traum."

David Allen, 44, of Detroit. He also is known as "Dirt."

The homicide was investigated by a joint operation involving the Norton Shores Police Department, the Muskegon Heights Police Department, the FBI, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Secret Service, the Detroit Police Department, the Muskegon Major Crime Initiative, the West Michigan Drug Enforcement Team, the Michigan Intelligence Operations Center and the Muskegon County Prosecutor's Office.

Police said at the time of his death that Pippen, who was alone in his car, was targeted. They believed he was shot by someone in another vehicle while both were in the eastbound lanes of Norton Avenue.

Police recovered several shell casings from a rifle from the roadway, Gale said at the time.

Pippen had a felony record and served time in federal prison, according to court records. He pleaded guilty to a 2003 indictment for being a felon in possession of a firearm in Muskegon County and was sentenced to 32 months, records show.

He was indicted in 2007 by the federal government for possession with intent to deliver crack cocaine, being a felon in possession of a firearm and carrying a firearm during a drug trafficking crime in Muskegon County, records show. The first charge was dropped and he pleaded guilty to the two firearm charges, records show.
SAGINAW, MI -- Police are investigating a shooting on the city's East Side that occurred on Thursday, Feb. 8.

It was after 11 p.m. when Saginaw police were dispatched to the area of Ledyard and 20th to investigate the shooting.

A person who lives in the neighborhood said she heard a lot of shots and shortly after witnessed police arriving at the scene.

Police from Saginaw as well as troopers from the Michigan State Police Department responded to the scene where police tape surrounded a few nearby homes.

Police did not release any information about the incident.

This is the city's second shooting in less than a week. After 5 p.m. on Feb. 5, police were dispatched to the area of Lynnwood and Gallagher for a shooting.

The city of Saginaw recorded the first shooting homicide of the year on Jan. 27.

Daveon Thompson, 20, was arraigned Feb. 2, on one count of open murder, for the shooting death of 26-year-old Antonio Parham on the city's West Side.

Prior to that in Saginaw County, specifically in Saginaw Township, 3-year-old Jordan "Baby J" Brown was allegedly beaten to death by his mother's live-in boyfriend and died after being taken off life support on Jan. 5.

A Merrill man also allegedly shot himself to death after realizing that he had mistakenly shot and killed his friend at a birthday party on Jan. 19.
NEW YORK -- The U.S. is experiencing its worst flu season since the 2009 swine flu epidemic according to the Associated Press.

It's also the worst winter flu season since the government changed how it measures the flu virus in 2003. According to a government report released Friday, 1 out of every 13 visits to doctor's offices last week was for fever, cough or flu symptoms.

The severity of this strain of the flu is causing more people to be hospitalized or die because of the symptoms. Doctors are saying it is the worst flu season they've seen in decades according to the AP.

Hospitalization rates are higher this season than they were in 2014-15 when the flu was extremely bad thanks to a poor flu shot response. This year's flu shot is supposedly targeting the flu strain causing so many problems, however reports in Australia and Canada say the shot is only 10 to 20 percent effective.

Last week, 43 states reported high traffic for patients who had the flu, while Oregon and Hawaii remain the only states who have not seen widespread reach of the flu.
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL. -- A 99-year-old man from Michigan who was behind the wheel of an RV that was traveling the wrong way down a Florida highway before it struck a car and killed two teenagers, recently passed a driving exam in Michigan, according to the Associated Press.

Walter Roney, of Dearborn completed his exam on Jan. 8 in Michigan, 29 days before he was involved in the accident on Tuesday, Feb. 6.

Driving records obtained by the AP show Roney was reported to the state in September and recommended for re-examination to determine whether he was still competent.

The head-on crash in Fort Pierce killed 18-year-old Santia Feketa and 17-year-old Britney Poindexter, who were heading to a skating rink.
ANN ARBOR, MI - Expect snowfall rates to ramp up in Southeast Michigan between now and the evening commute.

The National Weather Service in Pontiac/Detroit sent out an updated snowfall message late Friday morning saying the snow accumulation is expected to get more intense through the afternoon.

"Higher snowfall rates are now moving in and are expected to persist through the early afternoon, with rates greater than 1 inch per hour possible," the NWS said.

"Untreated roads are snow-covered and visibilities are reduced - continue to drive with extreme caution through the day."

The southern tier of Michigan is being hit hardest by Friday's storm - the first of three snow events that are forecast for the state going into the weekend.
KALAMAZOO, MI - West Michigan is the early winner in stacking up snow with today's storm.

Up to 4 inches already has fallen in parts of southwest Michigan.

We've got a lot of accumulation left in Friday's forecast for areas from roughly Muskegon south to the Indiana border. But we've also got a better idea of when this snow will start to taper off on this side of the state.

The National Weather Service put out a new map this morning, showing how much more snow West Michigan can expect to see between 6 a.m. and tonight.

In Kalamazoo, Benton Harbor and Coldwater, another 6 to 10 inches are expected to fall. That drops to 6 to 8 inches for spots like South Haven and Lansing, another 4 to 6 for Grand Rapids. Muskegon might get 3 more inches, while points north like Big Rapids could see just another inch or two.

The NWS believes Friday's snow system will taper off earlier for West Michigan.

"The latest thinking is that snow will end a little earlier than previously expected, with activity tapering off from northwest to southeast during the afternoon," meteorologists from the Grand Rapids office said.

"Radar estimates and ground reports indicate that we have already seen between 2 and 4 inches over the far southwest corner of Michigan."

But don't put away your shovels just yet. MLive Meteorologist Mark Torregrossa says Friday's snow is just the first of three rounds.

"There are two more waves of lighter snow for the weekend," he said.
AMMAN, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will travel to Jordan next week as part of a five-nation regional tour, the U.S. embassy in Amman said Thursday.

Tillerson will travel to Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon, Egyptand Kuwait on Feb. 11-16, the embassy said in a statement, a copy of which was obtained by Xinhua.

In Jordan, the top U.S. diplomat will meet with King Abdullah II and Jordanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ayman Al-Safadi, the statement said.

Tillerson will underscore the enduring strength of the U.S.-Jordan relationship, engage with the Jordanian leadership on the conclusion of a new Memorandum of Understanding on bilateral assistance, and discuss key regional issues such as the ongoing crisis in Syriaand Jordan's support for Middle East peace.

During his stop in Turkey, Tillerson will meet with senior Turkish officials to discuss a range of bilateral and regional issues, the statement said.

The two sides are expected to touch upon the rising tensions in the U.S.-Turkey ties due to the Turkish military operations in Syria to fight the U.S.-backed Kurdish militias.

In Beirut, Tillerson is to meet with Lebanese President Michel Aoun, Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri. The visit will emphasize the U.S. support for the Lebanese people and its armed forces.

In Cairo, Tillerson will meet with senior Egyptian officials to discuss the ways to further strengthen the U.S.-Egypt partnership, and coordinate on key regional issues.

He will also lead the U.S. delegation to the ministerial meeting of the global coalition to defeat Islamic State (IS) and the Iraqi reconstruction conference to be hosted by Kuwait.

This is the third time Tillerson will gather with his counterparts for a meeting of the anti-IS global coalition.

He will discuss with his counterparts how the 74-member coalition can ensure an enduring defeat for IS in Iraq and Syria, while sharpening its focus on denying IS's global ambitions.

The three-day Iraqi reconstruction conference will showcase the private sector's investment opportunities and the international support for Iraq after defeating IS.

[ Editor: meng ]
Chandan Taparia of Motilal Oswal Securities told CNBC-TV18, "I would like to go long on Bharat Forge on a small decline. The stock has seen a strong momentum on the last trading session, longs are added and the delivery volume and trading volume was quite interesting. So remarkable data indicates positive stance but because of the negative opening, the stock can open down. So, recommending to buy on decline near Rs 740, put stop loss of Rs 722 and I am expecting this stock to again head towards Rs 780-785 levels."

"Two sell ideas, one is a sell on HDFC Bank. The stock has been making lower highs from last five trading session. It has failed to surpass its 50-day exponential moving average and previous supports now turning as a hurdle. So multiple hurdles are visible at Rs 1,912-1,919 and even the resistance is shifting over. So, I am looking some weakness in the counter. One can sell with a stop loss of Rs 1,907 for the downside target towards Rs 1,825," he said.

"One more sell is on United Breweries . The stock has broken its support trend line, it has been making lower top lower bottom from couple of trading sessions. It has slipped below 50-day exponential moving average and forming a negative price pattern below its support trend line. More weakness could be seen, one can sell with a stop loss of Rs 1,080 and stock has potential to go down towards Rs 1,020 levels," he added.
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The governance practices at Fortis Healthcare, Indias second-largest healthcare provider has come under spotlight after the promoter directors Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singh may have taken out Rs 473 crore.

Fortis said the Rs 473 crore was part of secured short-term investments with companies in normal course of treasury operations.

However, these entities as of the quarter ended December 31, 2017, have become part of the promoter group due to a shareholding change in those entities. Subsequently, the same loans have been recognised as Related Party Transactions in compliance with necessary regulatory requirements.

Fortis said the same loans are adequately secured and added that the promoters have agreed to repay the loan by the end of June this year. The healthcare provider said the audit review process for the results of both Q2 and Q3 are in progress.

The Board is scheduled to meet on February 13 to approve results, the company said.

Sources told Moneycontrol that stock exchanges may soon issue notices to audit committee to find out if there is any digression with respect to related party transactions.

The Companies Act requires board approval for related party transactions, and when they exceed a prescribed size, approval from the shareholders is required. Those who authorise a related party transaction without the proper approvals can be punished under Indian law with up to a year in prison or a fine of as much as Rs 5 lakh.

Several experts Moneycontrol spoke to said Fortis is in an unusual situation.

To begin with the company said the money is in its books, it was showing it as cash and cash equivalents, and wasn't showing it as a loan, said Amit Tandon, Managing Director of IiAS, a Mumbai-based institution investor advisory services firm to Moneycontrol.

If they said it's loan then there is question in terms of was it disclosed as the related party transaction. What I heard is that it wasn't a related party when they gave the loan, Tandon said.

Therefore there is kind of suspicion on what has happened, Tandon added.

Tandon asked Fortis Board to clarify whether this has happened with their approval.

JN Gupta, Managing Director at Stakeholders Empowerment Services and former executive director of Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) concurs with Tandon. It's a governance issue, Gupta told Moneycontrol.

The statement of the promoters very clearly indicates that they treated this company as a personal company rather than a (publicly) listed company, Gupta said.

"The facts which are out in the public domain it seems to be not a violation of Section 185 (of Companies Act, 2013) which is a loan to an entity where the directors are interested or to the directors themselves," said Vishesh C Chandiok, CEO & National Managing Director of Grant Thornton to CNBC-TV18.

"The second part of the transaction is that in the subsequent quarter because of some transaction that happened those entities ended up becoming related parties and therefore that stage would require the approval of the board," Chandiok added.

Bloomberg News on Thursday reported that the company's external auditor Deloitte has refused to sign Q2 FY18 accounts of the company.

Deloitte said it's unable to comment on client-specific matters, as it is "bound by confidentiality obligations".

Chandiok said it's an unusual situation if the audited limited review results doesn't happen within 45 days of the end of the quarter and within 60 days of the end of the year as stipulated as per the law.

"From an auditors perspective  an auditor looks for sufficient, appropriate audit evidence to support the opinion they are showing. And until the time  the auditor can gather that appropriate, sufficient evidence  they cant issue that opinion."

Fortis board is left with five independent directors after resignation two members including Malvinder Singh, executive chairman and Shivinder Singh non-executive vice chairman

Three independent directors Harpal Singh, Brian W Tempest and PS Joshi have been associated with Ranbaxy - the company that was once owned by Singh brothers.

Two other directors Joji Sekhon Gill was a executive in Dupont and Pradeep Ratilal Raniga is a top financial consultant

Shradha Suri Marwah resigned from the board on November 14, 2017 citing personal reasons.
Fortis Healthcare shares gained 9.12 percent and were trading at 139.20 as investors expressed relief over the exit of companys founding promoters Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singh from the board.

Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singh on late Thursday have tendered their resignations and said that they have taken the decision to insulate the company from the promoters' ongoing legal fight that was hurting the performance.

In the light of the recent High Court judgment, upholding the plea of Daiichi Sankyo to enforce the arbitration award, we believe this is in the interest of propriety and good governance. It is intended to free the organization from any encumbrance whatsoever that may be linked to the promoters, Singh brothers said in a letter to the Fortis Board of Directors.

Last month, the Delhi High Court had allowed Japanese pharma firm Daiichi Sankyo to collect Rs 3,500 crore ($500 million) award money from the Singh brothers.

A Singaporean tribunal had adjudged in favour of Daiichi that the Singh brothers had concealed information about Ranbaxy regulatory problems with US FDA, while selling its shares.

More skeletons have stumbled on Friday, as Bloomberg reported that Singh brothers (as both Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singh popularly referred as) to have taken USD 78 million out of the firm. The company said that Singh brothers are said to be working to pay back the money.

The Bloomberg report also said auditing firm Deloitte has refused to certify companys Q2 results.

In another development CNBC-TV18 quoting unnamed sources Manipal Hospitals, backed By TPG is in advanced talks of a proposed merger with Fortis Healthcare.

Fortis spokesperson said to Moneycontrol that he isnt "aware of such development" and said the company isnt going to comment on market speculation.
Kraken | Founded in 2011, this US-based cryptocurrency exchange is now available in most countries. Deposits can be made via bank wire, SEPA, ACH and SWIFT. The brokerage charged by Kraken is one of the lowest in the industry. Taker fee (order taker) is 0.25 percent and can fall as low as 0.1 percent with sufficient trading volume. Meanwhile, maker fee (order maker) can be nil with sufficient trading volumes.

Close to half of all the Bitcoin transactions are associated with illegal activities and a quarter of all Bitcoin owners are involved in such activities, a research paper published by the students of the three different business schools have found.

The research paper titled Sex, drugs, and Bitcoin: How much illegal activity is financed through cryptocurrencies? published in January this year, estimates that 44 percent of all Bitcoin transactions, 25 percent of all users, 20 percent of the total dollar value of transactions and 51 percent of Bitcoin holdings are associated with illegal activities.

Around USD 72 billion of illegal activity per year involves Bitcoin, which is close to the scale of the US and European markets for illegal drugs, the paper says.

Based on the latest sample (April 2017), the writers of the research paper, Sean Foley and others estimate that 24 million market participants use Bitcoin for illegal activities only. However, it is safe to assume that the numbers could be way off the mark as interest in Bitcoin has grown manifold since then.

The research paper further says that there has been a gradual decline in the proportion of Bitcoin activity associated with illegal trade, However, the absolute amount of such activities have increased.

Foley and other attribute this to two major reasons. One, the legal use of Bitcoin has grown as the interest has surged rendering the proportion of illegal use on a downward path. And, two, the rise of other cryptocurrencies which are more secretive. These cryptocurrencies have received comparatively greater attention from people involved in illegal activities lately.

The paper also finds that the proportion of illegal activity in Bitcoin is inversely related to the Google search intensity for the keyword bitcoin.

The Indian finance minister Arun Jaitley in his 2018 budget speech had also highlighted the use of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin for illegal activities. He had added that the Bitcoin was not a legal tender in India and the country will fight against its use in illegal activities.
Petronet LNG posted numbers broadly in-line with street expectations. In an interview with CNBC-TV18s Anshu Sharma, Prabhat Singh, MD & CEO of the company explained what drove their earnings this quarter.

We are fortunate there is demand in the country and people are pushing for the volumes. Last quarter we had done better. This quarter it is around 10 percent lower but still, it is a good number for us. On an overall basis, this is a good quarter, he said.

In terms of profit after tax (PAT), last year we have done around 33 percent higher and 47 percent higher in profit before tax (PBT), he added.

Dahej project utilisation is at 113 percent, for Kochi it is 12 percent. On an average, it is around 88 percent capacity utilisation. We are happy to be part of Dahej project, said Singh.

Speaking of new businesses, he said that new business is expected in Sri Lanka with a Japanese partner. The project equity for the company will be at 47.75 percent.

According to him, the initial investment will be approximately USD 300 million for this project.
NPA_NPA_Non_performing_assests

Gross non-performing assets (NPAs) of banks declined marginally to 9.8 per cent at the end of September 30 over the previous quarter, government said on Friday.

"As per Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, combined Gross NPAs of Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) have declined marginally from 10 per cent as on June 30, 2017 to 9.8 per cent as on September 30, 2017," Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

Replying to another question, Shukla said that as per Financial Stability Report (FSR) released by RBI in December 2017, the gross NPAs (GNPAs) of SCBs increased to 10.2 per cent in September 2017 compared to 9.6 per cent in March 2017.

Further, as per FSR, macro stress test for credit risk indicates that under the baseline scenario, the GNPA ratio of the banking sector may increase to 10.8 per cent by March 2018, he said.

The problem of NPAs or bad loans of banks has been addressed holistically through transparent and realistic recognition of NPAs, provision for expected losses and unprecedented recapitalisation, and putting in place a clean recovery system, he said.

Asset Quality Review initiated by RBI in 2015, and subsequent transparent recognition by banks revealed high NPAs, which have impacted balance-sheets of several Public Sector Banks (PSBs).

For strengthening PSB balance-sheets, under Indradhanush plan, Government provided for Rs 70,000 crore till 2018-19, as a result of which despite high NPA and consequential provisioning, banks were successful in complying with capital adequacy norms, he said.

Further, he said, with the object of increasing credit off-take and promoting creation of jobs, in October 2017 Government announced, and has since initiated, recapitalisation of PSBs by Rs 2,11,000 crore within two financial years to make banks weakened by NPAs strong.

In addition, he said, to enable effective action in respect of defaulters, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 was enacted, which provides for timebound resolution of stressed assets.

Cases have been instituted under the Code in the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in respect of the 12 largest defaulters, amounting to about 25 per cent of the NPAs of the entire banking system, he said.

To safeguard against the misuse of the legal process, he said, wilful defaulters and persons associated with NPA accounts have been barred from participating in the process under way in NCLT.
The World Bank has for the first time strongly defended its ranking for India in the ease of doing business index. World Bank Chief Economist Paul Romer reportedly resigned from his post over a ranking controversy involving Chile. Chilean officials have been criticising the World Bank for ranking the country poorly on the EODB index, raising questions over the credibility of the rankings.

In an interview with CNBC-TV18's Rituparna Bhuyan, World Bank India Director Junaid Ahmed said that India's improvement in ranking is purely based on ground realities.

Methodology and data has to constantly improve. All the shifts that you are seeing is based on ground realities of policymaking an impact on the ground and these are feedback directly from the companies themselves, from the small and medium enterprises (SME), he said.
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Global rating agency Moody's Investors Service has affirmed the long-term local and foreign currency bank deposit ratings of Central Bank of India (CBI) and Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) at Ba3, and changed the outlook to positive from stable.

In the case of IOB, Moody's has also affirmed the bank's senior unsecured debt rating at Ba3 and changed the outlook to positive. It issues its senior unsecured debt out of its Hong Kong branch. Moody's has also affirmed the two banks' baseline credit assessments (BCA) at b3 and their counterparty risk assessments (CRA) at Ba2(cr)/NP(cr), the agency said.

Upward pressure on credit assessment

The positive outlook reflects the upward pressure that could develop on these banks' long-term ratings, if their credit fundamentals -- namely their capital positions -- continue to improve over the next 12-18 months due to capital infusions from the Indian government (Baa2 stable), India Ratings said.

The positive outlook also reflects Moody's view on the expected evolution of their balance sheets, including a stabilization in asset quality, a moderate improvement in profitability metrics, and stable funding and liquidity positions.

According to the recapitalisation plan announced in October 2017, the government has committed to infuse Rs 1.53 lakh crore into the public-sector banks by March 2019. It will inject Rs 80,000 crore into 20 of such banks by March 2018 in the form of recapitalization bonds. In addition, it will infuse another Rs 10,000 crore from budgetary sources by March 2018.

And, after factoring in the amount already allocated, the government will infuse another INR650 billion in new capital in fiscal 2019. Its budget for fiscal 2019 already reflects this amount, although the details on the timings and scale of allocations to individual banks have yet to be released.

On January 24, the government provided details on how much capital each public sector bank will receive in the current fiscal year ending March 2018 (fiscal 2018).

Based on the announced allocations, CBI will receive Rs 5,160 crore and IOB will receive Rs 4,690 crore in new capital.

Moody's estimates the capital infusion will increase the common equity tier 1 CET1 ratio for CBI by 280 bps and for IOB by 320 bps compared to the reported ratios of 7.0 percent and 7.1 percent, respectively, as of September 2017.

Furthermore, the government has made it explicit that all public sector banks will meet their minimum regulatory capital requirements after factoring in the provisioning requirements for non-performing assets (NPAs), as well as requirements resulting from the transition to IFRS 9 accounting standards in April 2018.
The Reserve Bank of India has recommended innovation labs, more partnerships and data protection laws, dedicated organization structure under each financial regulator tighter regulations and a self-regulatory body for FinTech companies.

Last year, RBI had set up an inter-regulatory Working Group to study the entire gamut of regulatory issues relating to FinTech and Digital Banking in India. Chaired by Sudarshan Sen, Executive Director of RBI, the group includes members of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) and Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), CRISIL rating agency and technology heads from State Bank of India, HDFC Bank and A.P. Hota, former CEO of NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India).

RBI has invited comments and suggestions on the recommendations by email or post before February 28, 2018.

FinTech is an umbrella term coined in the recent past to denote technological innovation having a bearing on financial services. FinTech is a broad term that requires definition and currently regulators are working on bringing out a common definition, the group said in the paper prepared in November last year.

In view of the growing significance of FinTech innovations and their interactions with the financial sector as well as the financial sector entities, the Financial Stability and Development Council - Sub Committee (FSDC-SC) in its meeting held on April 26, 2016 decided to set up a Working Group to look into and report on the granular aspects of FinTech and its implications so as to review and reorient appropriately the regulatory framework and respond to the dynamics of the rapidly evolving FinTech scenario.

During 2014 around USD 12 billion was invested in FinTech companies globally, and in 2015 the same is estimated around USD 20 billion.

The paper said, India has a large untapped market for financial service technology startups as 40 percent of the population are currently not connected to banks and 87 percent of payments are made in cash. With mobile usage expected to increase to 64 percent in 2018 from 53 percent currently, and internet penetration steadily climbing, the growth potential for FinTech in India cannot be overstated.

Some of the major FinTech products and services currently used in the market place are Peer to Peer (P2P) lending platforms, crowd funding, block chain technology, distributed ledgers technology, Big Data, smart contracts, Robo advisors, E-aggregators, etc. These FinTech products are currently used in international finance, which bring together the lenders and borrowers, seekers and providers of information, with or without a nodal intermediation agency.
A high-level delegation of American energy industry has expressed their interest in investing in India's fast expanding energy sector.

Yesterday, the delegation met US Energy Secretary Rick Perry and held talks, ahead of his visit to India later this month. The meeting was organised by the US India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF).

Perry's visit to India comes as the two countries are exploring the possibilities of accelerating the pace of energy trade.

For the first time, the US is exporting Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to India following a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump at the White House in June last year.

Since this meeting, India has received three shipments of US crude oil, worth an estimate of USD 100 million.

Given the market size and opportunities that India presents, the energy trade could touch up to USD 2 billion in the coming years. The export of US crude oil and LNG to India will create jobs, economic stability and provide energy security to both countries.

Energy is an important part of the growing US-India relationship and gas-related exports are very significant contributions to environmental improvement.

"These discussions are pivotal in determining the priorities for the upcoming US India Energy Bilateral. As a long-term investor in India, Air Products is keen to share its technology, know-how and investment capacity which can bring great value to the US and India alike," said Richard Boocock, president for Air Products' Industrial GasesMiddle East, India, Egypt, and Turkey.

"Investments made by Air Products, which include the recent announcement to expand our Kochi Industrial Gas Complex to support the continued expansion of BPCL's Kochi Refinery, demonstrate how it is applying US technology and know-how as a key enabler to the Make in India initiative, and how they intend to continue growing presence and strong relationships in the region," he said.

"Energy is an important part of the growing US-India relationship and gas-related exports are very significant contributions to environmental improvement," Daniel Yergin, vice chairman of IHS Markit.

USISPF in a statement said, it believes that environment and energy are two pillars for enhanced strategic cooperation between the US and India.

American energy companies have been investing in the Indian renewable energy sector since the launch of the National Solar Mission with great success.

As the country modernises the electricity grid, security against cyber-attacks and grid stability will become an increasingly important area of collaboration between the two nations.

"USISPF believes natural gas generation can be integrated with renewable energy to increase energy reliability and advance economic development in India and we've advocated for this discussion to be raised during the upcoming bilateral discussions in Delhi," said Nolty Theriot, USISPF vice president of Policy & Advocacy.
Vadilal Industries' share price has risen up 48% in the last four months. The share price on July 27 was Rs 627.30 and on March 23 was Rs 423.75.

Major players in the ice cream industry like Vadilal and Creambell are likely to increase prices of their products before the summer. The Rs. 8,000 crore organised industry attributes this price rise to hike in the cost of dry fruits, its overhead costs and increase in fuel prices.

Amul has denied increasing prices of its products, while Mother Dairy is still analyzing the situation.

In spite of the rising prices, the industry is hopeful of annual sales to soar between 15-20 percent, with growth scope from towns and cities with the population under five lakhs.

In a report in The Economic Times, Nitin Arora, CEO, Creambell, is quoted as saying: "In the past six months, diesel prices have increased by 23 percent, salary and wages by 10 percent and packaging material by 8-10 percent, thereby ensuring a price hike in ice creams."

He added that the majors of the industry are trying to keep the hike under 5 percent in 2018.

Many people have come to feel that prices for certain products have become sacred over the years, not something that can be changed. For example, an orange bar costs Rs. 5 and an ice cream cone is Rs. 20.

We can't raise the price from Rs 20 to Rs 22, so if it has to be rounded up it will be 25. Now that raise will be too much, so we try to absorb it most of the time and pass it over the years," Arora explained.

Rajesh Gandhi, managing director of the Gujarat-based Vadilal Group, told the newspaper that the company has hiked the prices by 2-5 percent mainly cones and candied, with no compromise on the quality in the product and its packaging at all.

"Dry fruit prices have seen a hike apart from the increase in fuel and other overhead costs. Also, last year we didn't pass on the higher price of dairy products such as milk powder and butter, as it happened after we made the revision in February, so this year the raise has happened," he added.
DAMASCUS, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian Foreign Ministry on Thursday strongly condemned the U.S.-led airstrikes on pro-government forces in the eastern province of Deir al-Zour, state news agency SANA reported.

In a statement, the ministry accused the U.S. warplanes of "committing a massacre" against pro-government forces that were confronting the terrorist organization Islamic State(IS).

Calling it a "new barbaric aggression," the ministry said the U.S. attack came in the framework of the Washington's "aggressive policies" against Syria.

The pro-government Syrian forces were confronting IS militants, "who are under the protection" of the U.S. coalition and the allied forces of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), it added.

The Syrian government urged the UN Security Council to condemn the massacre and to hold the U.S. coalition responsible for their "crimes and aggression that have left thousands of civilians either killed or wounded," the statement said.

Earlier in the day, the SDF said the U.S.-led coalition struck positions of pro-Syrian government forces in the eastern Syrian province of Deir al-Zour to defend its partners.

The coalition's move was in retaliation for the pro-Syrian government forces' targeting of the U.S.-backed forces in the area, the SDF noted.

Meanwhile, SANA reported that U.S. warplanes carried out 10 airstrikes on the positions of the pro-government forces after midnight Saturday.

According to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least 45 pro-government fighters were killed in the airstrikes.

Meanwhile, a statement from Deir al-Zour's Syrian tribes said the U.S. coalition airstrikes killed their young fighters who were battling IS and the SDF on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River.

The tribes of Deir al-Zour will continue to fight the terrorists until their areas taken by the IS and the SDF on the eastern bank of Euphrates are all liberated, the statement added.

[ Editor: meng ]
Thermax | Company reported profit at Rs 31.24 crore in Q2FY21 against Rs 25.8 crore, revenue fell to Rs 1,141.2 crore from Rs 1,605.85 crore YoY. (Image: thermaxglobal.com)

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Engineering services major Thermax caters to an array of important segments relating to energy and environment. And with its technological prowess, the company is well-positioned for the future.

However, it has hit a rough patch of late because of the prolonged downturn in the private capex cycle. Its joint venture with Babcock & Wilcox also proved to be ill-timed as BTG (boiler, turbine, generator) orders dried up.

Thermax is present in business like power, heating, cooling, water, chemicals, waste water, air pollution control, hazardous waste treatment, and energy from waste.

The companys overall December quarter performance was uninspiring, but the order inflows give reason for hope. Finally, the company explicitly alluded to green shoots being visible in the domestic market.

Quarter at a glance

The companys GST-adjusted revenues for the quarter grew 18%, driven by energy and chemicals segment as the environment division remained subdued.

Margins were hit by temporary losses in its overseas subsidiary Danstoker and losses in China. Couple of domestic divisions too recorded poor margins due to rising commodity prices on orders that faced execution delays. In a buyers market, the company found it difficult to pass on the higher costs.

Still, the company is hopeful of better margins in the final quarter of FY18. It is eyeing close to double-digit margin in FY19.

Order inflow  cannot be ignored

In the December quarter, the company reported 19% increase in order inflow at Rs 1413 crore, lifting order backlog by 27 percent to Rs 5556 crore (1.2X FY18P revenue).

The growth in the topline (as it is sitting on a healthy order book) should give the benefit of operating leverage. With orders improving, passing on higher input prices might be easier especially since a majority of its clients are repeat customers. The company does not expect the Indian currency to strengthen further, which is positive for margins.

Where are the green shoots?

The company is witnessing green shoots in all areas of infrastructure besides power.

Thermax now has a global presence and hence it is looking to participate in the global investment revival. The company expects some revival in investment activity globally as for years there has been lack of investment in the developed world.

So while in the previous upcycle (2003-08) it was more a domestic company that rode the cyclical upturn, in the coming upcycle it expects to reap benefits of its global presence.

The management feels that given the 1:1 co-relation between economic growth and energy consumption, the captive power market will thrive if the economy continues to grow.

Thermax is also optimistic about the steel industry where it sees the governments target for increasing capacity from 130 mn mt to 300 mn mt as a medium term opportunity.

It is also positive on the cement space as most companies are now opting for waste heat recovery power plants as it makes genuine business sense.

In India, the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases is the thermal power sector. The ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC) has decided to impose strict norms for emissions of particulate matter (PM), sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, mercury and reduced water usage by coal-fuelled thermal power plants. While the deadline has been extended from the earlier timeframe of 2017, this remains a fairly large opportunity as all thermal power plants will have to adhere to this norm by December 2022.

Orders are also expected from the second phase of Bharat Stage 6 related refinery quality improvement programs.

In the first nine months of the fiscal, Thermax has received orders majorly from international geographies as also from sectors in India, the dominant ones being oil, refinery and petrochemicals; cement, consumer space (food processing, alcohol, beverages etc.) and heavy chemicals.

Capacity in place  waiting for the momentum

The company has the requisite capacity to capitalise on any revival. Thermax has invested in three additional manufacturing facilities that will start contributing to incremental revenue.

The facility in Indonesia would be the manufacturing hub for the ASEAN region and should start contributing from the final quarter of the current fiscal. The market potential is around $400 mn and the company aims to garner 14-15% market share.

The specialty resins plant in Gujarat (at Dahej) will also be ready for commercial production this year. The company plans to ramp up capacity in this highly remunerative specialised resins, where the revenue potential can go up to Rs 800 crore.

Work has already started at Sri City (Andhra Pradesh) for setting up a manufacturing plant for vapour absorption chillers. This will be a state-of-the-art facility, highly automated and would require much less manpower. This should contribute in the second half of FY19.

In the past one year, the stock has risen by 36% and is now valued at 36X FY19P earnings. Only if the green shoots translate into robust ordering can a further re-rating take place. Hence buy on dips. For existing shareholders, waiting for the momentum may be worthwhile.
Apartments are shrouded by smog in Noida, India, December 14, 2016. REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton

Beleaguered Pune-based builder D S Kulkarni, who is facing charges of cheating depositors, today appealed people to help his company, DSK group, through crowd-funding.

Addressing a press conference, Kulkarni said there are a large number of well-wishers who want the group to come out of the present crisis.

"That is why we have decided to go back to people and seek help in the form of crowdfunding," he said.

Such crowdfunding is common in the USA, he said.

The group has sound assets, but is facing issues of working capital, he said.

"I am sure that the people who think that this business should not sink will extend help and the DSK group will once again rise from the present situation," he said.

"We have received around Rs 9 lakh from well-wishers so far," he said.

Last year, following complaints from investors, the Economic Offences Wing of Pune Police registered a complaint against Kulkarni and his wife.

According to the complaint filed by one of the depositors, investors put in lakhs of rupees in a deposit scheme of DSK Developers, but neither received the interest nor the principal amount for months.
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 Balrampur Chini Mills with a stoploss at Rs 114 and target of Rs 129

Buy MCX India with a stoploss at Rs 717 and target of Rs 768

Buy Finolex Industries with a stoploss at Rs 685 and target of Rs 752

Sell Adani Enterprises with a stoploss at Rs 212 and target of Rs 194

Jay Thakkar of Anand Rathi Securities

Buy SAIL with a stoploss at Rs 84.75 and target of Rs 90.20

Buy Kajaria Ceramics with a stoploss at Rs 591 and target of Rs 645

Buy United Spirits with a stoploss at Rs 3085 and target of Rs 3295

Buy Titan Company with a stoploss at Rs 787 and target of Rs 829

Kunal Saraogi of Equityrush

Buy Bharat Forge with a stoploss at Rs 750 and target of Rs 780

Sell Hexaware with a stoploss at Rs 345 and target of Rs 322

Buy Jindal Steel with a stoploss at Rs 260 and target of Rs 275
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Having a father who was one of the giants of the Indian pharmaceutical industry, Malvinder and Shivender Singh were expected to take Ranbaxy and Fortis Healthcare to greater heights.

Their father, Parvinder Singh, made Ranbaxy a global name and was the founder of Fortis Hospital but died of cancer, aged 56, a week after announcing a succession plan that was firmly in line with his vision of professionally-run companies.

A late night development on Thursday, which saw Malvinder and Shivinder step down from the companys Board of Directors, is another sign of the brothers being under pressure following the Delhi High Court order upholding the Rs 3,500-crore arbitral award in favour of Daiichi Sankyo.

For the uninitiated, Daiichi filed a case with an International Court of Arbitration in Singapore accusing the Singh brothers of concealing and misrepresenting critical information about the US probes into Ranbaxy.

The Singh brothers, flamboyant entrepreneurs who have scaled up, bought and sold businesses, have maintained that they were transparent about Ranbaxys regulatory problems at the time of the sale.

In order to pare down debt at their main holding company RHC Holding Pvt Ltd, the two brothers announced a reorganisation and Fortis Healthcare offered to buy assets of its Singapore-listed RHT Health Trust.

Last year, the brothers rejoined the board of financial firm Religare Enterprises in a nonexecutive capacity in July after a 6-year gap. Shivinder had retired from business last year to work for a spiritual organisation.

According to media reports, they had also reportedly approached lenders for urgent funds to meet repayment obligations of financial services firm Religare Enterprises.

With the Daichi ruling going against them and rising debt, the Singh brothers will have a tough time wriggling out of this mess.
India has asked its Embassy in Maldives to ascertain the details pertaining to the detention of an Indian national, working as a journalist there.

External affairs ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar's remarks came in response to reports of an Indian national taken into custody in the island nation.

"We have received information about an Indian national, Shri Money Sharma, working as a journalist, who has been detained by the Maldivian authorities. We have asked our Embassy to get in touch with the local authorities to ascertain more details of the case," Kumar said.

According to the Maldivian police, two foreign journalists, including an Indian national, have been detained for working in the country in violation of its immigration rules.

On media reports that Maldives has sought support from China to maintain security for Chinese investments, Kumar said, India noted what China has stated that the Maldivian government has the ability to protect the security of Chinese personnel and institutions in the island nation.

"We hope that all countries can play a constructive role in Maldives, instead of doing the opposite," he added.

Yesterday, government officials here had asked Maldives to address concerns of India and other countries over democracy there.

In an apparent snub, India had declined to receive Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen's special envoy, citing scheduling issues.

Yameen has already dispatched special envoys to China, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to brief them about the deepening political crisis in the country.

The island nation, which has seen several political crises since the ouster of its first democratically-elected president Mohamed Nasheed in 2012, plunged into chaos last Thursday when the apex court ordered the release of nine imprisoned opposition politicians, maintaining that their trials were "politically motivated and flawed".

India had earlier described as a matter of "concern" the arrests of the chief justice and political figures there.

However, earlier this week, the Supreme Court had revoked its order on the release of the opposition politicians.
Representative Image

The Delhi government will soon issue 'aam aadmi health card' to all residents of the city, with Director General of Health Services (DGHS) floating Expression of Interest (EOI) to execute the work.

According to the government, the health card, which is expected to be launched later this year, will have electronic health record of all residents like medical history, ongoing treatment and prescription details.

As per the EOI, the government will issue health cards to all residents including toddlers and senior citizens through which they will get free medical services in the state-run healthcare institutions such as hospitals, mohalla clinics and poly clinics.

The DGHS has said interested companies and agencies can submit their proposals on the proposed card by February 28.

"The health card will be provided to every citizen. For initial registration, a person aged 18 years and above will have to provide his or her voter identity card of Delhi and Aadhaar Card.

"Health card will be issued to those aged more than one year only after their Aadhaar Card number is provided," a senior government official said.

The official said that electronic health record of all persons will be collated through a centralised web-based application.

"The move will facilitate residents of Delhi - approximately 1.8 crore in number - in availing of health care facilities by issuing 'aam aadmi health card," the EOI stated.

The government said the proposed health insurance scheme, announced by health minister Satyendra Jain last year, will also be launched for the people of Delhi.
Donald Trump and Narendra Modi

US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have expressed concern about the political situation in Maldives over a phone call, as they also discussed the situation in Afghanistan and enhancing security in Indo-Pacific region, the White House said.

"Both leaders expressed concern about the political crisis in Maldives and the importance of respect for democratic institutions and rule of law," the White House said in a readout of the phone call between Trump and Modi, the first in this year.

Maldives plunged into a political chaos on last Thursday when the apex court ordered the release of nine imprisoned opposition politicians, maintaining that their trials were "politically motivated and flawed".

The Yameen government has refused to implement the ruling, prompting a wave of protests in Maldives capital, Male.

Maldives' Supreme Court Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and another judge, Ali Hameed, were arrested hours after Yameen declared a state of emergency.

The White House said the two leaders also pledged to continue working together to enhance security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.

"Affirming President Trump's South Asia strategy, they reiterated their commitment to supporting Afghanistan's security and stability," the White House said.

Modi and Trump also exchanged views on Myanmar and ways to address the plight of the Rohingya refugees.

As of now there are some 680,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh putting enormous pressure in the economy of Bangladesh.

Recently Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed on a roadmap of return of these refugees to their homes in Myanmar.

The US believes that this is not the right time for the return of Rohingya refugees.

According to the White House, during the call, Trump and Modi discussed further steps to ensure denuclearisation of North Korea.

"Finally, the leaders agreed to strengthen security and economic cooperation as they look forward to the '2+2' ministerial dialogue between their defence and diplomatic officials in April," the White House said.

The '2+2 dialogue' was announced after the White House meeting between Modi and Trump in June 2017.

The dialogue would involve External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman from India along with their American counterparts Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.
With schools and business establishments being shut and transport services affected due to a bandh, life in Andhra Pradesh came to a standstill on Thursday.

Here's why political parties are protesting in Andhra Pradesh:

> Low Budget allocation for FY19

After Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the Budget for FY19, the Left parties in Andhra Pradesh had called for a bandh (shutdown) on February 8 to protest against the "injustice" done to the state in what the parties called an "anti-people" budget.

The government gave Andhra Pradesh Rs 1800 crore in budget and [the movie] Baahubalis collection is more than that, TDP MP Jayadev Galla told ANI. We received less than what a movie collected. If they can treat their allies like this, then many people will not want to be their allies in future.

The Communist Party of India, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) and students and labour organisations, in the release, also alleged that the Centre had ignored the state while doling out huge sums of money to states which are heading for polls in the near future.

"For the last four days our MPs have been fighting it out with the Centre to secure our state's rights. Our protest is to let the Centre know the sentiments of the AP people," TDP MLA from Penamaluru constituency Bode Prasad said after getting his head shaved, reported by PTI.

> Demand for special package

The ministers has been demanding for a special package for the state, which was promised to them earlier. When the state of Andhra Pradesh was bifurcated, it was also thought about economic disadvantage that the state is going to face, a special package was promised to the people of the state in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday assured the agitating members from Andhra Pradesh that the Centre is looking at all issues concerning the state sympathetically and some decision on a special package and revenue deficit will be worked out in the next couple of days.

"We will try and do it extremely early. We are extremely sympathetic to the people of Andhra Pradesh and therefore would look into each one of these issues extremely sympathetically," Jaitley said.

As far as creation of capital is concerned, Jaitley said the Centre has made some payments for backward districts development and for ambitious Polavaram project through National Bank For Agriculture And Rural Development (Nabard) and Rs 4,500 crore has already been paid.

The current situation has soured relations between the TDP and the BJP, putting the alliance on shaky grounds. Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu said last month that he will withdraw from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) fold if the BJP does not want the partnership.
An Indian soldier stands under the gate to a war memorial near the India-China trade route at Nathu-La, 55 km (34 miles) north of Gangtok, capital of India's northeastern state of Sikkim, June 27, 2006, The Nathu-La mountain pass, known as the old silk route, will be opened on July 6 by India and China for trade. The trade route passes through the Himalayas at about 14,500 feet above sea level and it was closed in 1962, during the India-China war. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri (INDIA) - GM1DSXQMKIAA

People from a village in Arunachal Pradesh have become crorepatis after the Defence Ministry compensated them for acquiring 200 acres of their land. The 31 families living in Bomja village of Tawang district have now received cheques worth Rs 40.8 crore from the Ministry.

As per a report in The Hindu, Chief Minister Pema Khandu handed over cheques on Wednesday to heads of all the 31 families of the village making Bomja, inhibited by Buddhist Monpas, according to some, the richest village in the country. The development comes five years after the army acquired the lands of the villagers to establish key location plan units of its Tawang garrison.

While two families, who had to part way with large tracts of their lands received Rs 6.73 crore and Rs 2.45 crore respectively, the remaining 29 families got Rs 1.09 crore each. More such compensation for land acquired for defence purposes is being worked out with the Centre, Mr Khandu was quoted as saying in the report. In addition, he also thanked Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for clearing the backlog that made the compensation process much smoother.

The land acquisition is part of the drive by the army to beef up its presence in the Chinese border, particularly the Tawang region, which China claims to be its territory. The payment of dues by the army is also important as the process aids in improving the relationship between the people and the army.

The Army and local people need each other to survive at 10,000-17,000 feet on the eastern Himalayas. We hope adequate compensation would further strengthen the bond we enjoy in this part of the country, an officer of the Armys 190 Mountain Brigade was quoted as saying in the report.

Acquisition of land with delays in compensation have earlier been a big issue in many areas. Last year, the Ministry released Rs 54 crore to over 150 families in three villages as compensation for land acquisitions that were made over fifty years ago.
India Economy

India has caught the attention of major aerospace defence manufacturers with its low production cost and government's strong focus on building manufacturing sector under "Make In India" initiative, aviation industry officials said today.

India is also rated among the largest markets by internationally linked small- and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) which plans to expand supplies to Indian customers or form joint ventures in the country to make their components for exports.

"India has the attention of all the big aerospace defence manufacturers and ourselves as well," said Andrew Martin, director of business development and market at Martin-Baker Aircraft Company Ltd.

Martin-Baker Aircraft Co Ltd is a British manufacturer of ejection seats and safety-related equipment for aviation.

"India is our second largest market for (pilot) ejection seats after the US," added Martin whose family-owned company was rated as the 99th largest aerospace and defence supplier.

There are as much as 20 per cent cost savings on parts and components made in India for the global aviation industry, according to Nitin Sananse, regional sales and technical support for Southeast Asia and India at Spectrum Technologies.

Noting that the Indian government's strong emphasis on building manufacturing sector, some producers of high-tech and high-spec products said they were working on being in the Indian market for the long-term.

"With the 'Make in India' initiative, we have been very focused on looking for ways to collaborate further with the Indian industry," said Jim Jackalone, Director of Sales and Marketing at Cobham Aerospace Communications, a UK-based global technology and services innovator.

Underlining the working relationship with Indian aviation heavyweights such as Tata Industries and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd for over 70 years, he said, almost all aviation platforms uses some Cobham equipment.

According to officials of the aviation and aerospace industries participating in the ongoing Singapore Airshow 2018, there is a growing respect for the Indian market as new innovations and products with advanced technologies are being designed with provision for India's requirements.

"India is going through a big modernisation programme and we are proposing our new communications solutions," said David Knight, Global Sales Manager Air Defence at Frequentis UK Ltd, sharing his views of the Indian market.

Frequentis UK Ltd is a global supplier of communication and information solutions.

London-based QinetiQ, which offers support of testing and evaluation services, expressed their willingness to address the generally perceived lack of product certification, qualification and standardisation of products made in India.

"We would like to support with testing and evaluation services," said Sophie Lane, head of strategic engagement at QinetiQ, which qualifies product and services required by the UK Armed Forces.

Some of the established vendors to international manufacturers expressed their keenness to relocate plants to India where global supply chain is in the making for multi- billion dollar domestic and export-oriented industries.

The UK-based Vaayu is seeking "a right Indian partner" as it is in the process of setting up representative office in India by end of this year.

"India is a big market," said Brue Allison, Sales Director at Vaayu, the supplier and stockist of re-cycled but upgraded material and parts for maintenance, repair and operation of major aircraft companies including Lufthansa and Lockheed Martin.
IMC agroholding has finished harvesting corn sown in 2017. The company harvested almost 610,000 tonnes of corn from over 67,000 ha

According to the company's press release, gross yield of 9.1 tonnes per ha, which is equal to the record yield of corn achieved by the company in 2016.

"Despite that 2017 year was the extremely difficult for the agrarians in Ukraine, when as a result of the cold spring, arid summer and heavy rains in the autumn, the average yield of corn in Ukraine decreased by 18% compared to 2016, and the harvesting terms of the grain were significantly extended, in IMC we repeated our record on corn yield of 9.1 tonnes per hectare," the company said, citing IMC Chief Operating Officer Oleksandr Verzhykhovsky.

IMC focuses on cultivation of grains, oilseeds and potatoes. It is one of the largest milk producers in Ukraine. It owns a storage capacity of 554,000 tonnes of grains and oilseeds. Its land bank is 136,600 ha in Poltava, Chernihiv and Sumy regions.
India Economy

Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's historic Palestine visit, President Mahmoud Abbas said he will discuss with him India's role in the Middle East peace process and the creation of a multilateral forum of negotiations to strike a final deal with Isarel.

Modi, the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Palestine, is reaching Ramallah tomorrow amid heightened tensions in the region after US President Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

The unilateral US decision to declare Jerusalem as the capital of Israel was challenged at the UN General Assembly where 128 nations, including India, voted to turn down the move as "null and void".

"We are receiving Prime Minister Modi in a historic visit that will demonstrate the strong ties and relations between the Palestinian people and the brotherly Indian people," Abbas told PTI in an e-mail interview.

Though India has shied away from becoming a party in the Israel-Palestinian conflict, the Palestinian leader on several occasions has stressed on a possible role for New Delhi in the Middle East peace process.

"We will discuss the recent updates with Prime Minister Modi, and the recent developments in the peace process, the bilateral relations, and the regional situations. And the possible role India can play in enhancing peace in the region, as well as discussing different economical aspects beyond the existing ties we already possess," Abbas said.

Describing India as a "very respected country in the international arena", the 82-year-old Palestinian President said that India can have a possible role in creating a multilateral forum of negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis to reach a final agreement.

He said Modi's visit to the region reflects India's long-held position of supporting peace and stability in the region.

"We believe in the importance of a possible Indian role...to reach a final agreement based on international consensus and resolutions, in which India and other countries can be part of," Abbas said.

"The long Indian position of supporting the two-state solution is well known. India has supported the Palestinian cause throughout the years of conflict, and we rely on the Indian support in order to reach the independence of the Palestinian State," he added.

As Palestine works to establish an international multilateral mechanism of negotiations, the Palestinian leader stated that "India can play a role in this".

"The relations between India and Palestine are historical...This visit will culminate the historic ties between the two brotherly people, and will help in increasing and strengthening these ties that we possess," he stressed.

The Indian Prime Minister would be skipping Israel during his forthcoming tour of Middle East in a clear message that New Delhi is de-hyphenating its ties with the Jewish state and Palestine. Modi had visited Israel last year in July in a standalone visit that had led to many analysts questioning the future of the Indo-Palestine ties.

When asked about India's growing engagement with Israel, an unperturbed Abbas said that "any state has the right to establish relations with other countries".

"We believe in the importance of our relationship with the brotherly Indian State, the support of India to the Palestinian people, and the relationship we possess with the Indian people, will not be effected by Indias relations with any other State," he emphasised.

"India has recognised the State of Palestine in 1988, and we cannot forget the last Indian vote in favour of Palestines rights in Jerusalem in the United Nations General Assembly, and all the political stands that India has taken to support the Palestinian rights in the international arena," Abbas said referring to India's vote at the UN.

India has consistently voted in favour of resolutions supporting the Palestinian cause at international forums, an issue that has bothered strategic partner Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently said that he was "disappointed" at the Indian vote at the UN but also expressed hope that there will be a possible change of heart over a period of time.

Appreciating India's assistance in strengthening Palestinian economy through executing several projects in the Palestinian areas, Abbas said that "he cannot forget" New Delhi's support and wishes to further discuss with Modi areas of cooperation in the economic sphere.

A number of MoUs are likely to be signed between the two sides during Modi's three-hour visit to Palestine under which India will provide funding for a number of projects in the fields of health, education, culture and womens empowerment.

"The Indian Government and its people have provided significant assistance and aid to the Palestinian people by establishing training centres, schools, and the necessary humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people under occupation in the West Bank and Gaza," Abbas noted.

"And in 2016 we laid the foundation stone to establish the Palestine India Techno Park project in Ramallah, and we are also looking forward the establishment of the Institute of Diplomacy that is kindly funded by the Indian Government", he noted.

A lot of Palestinian diplomats have received training in India and hundreds of Palestinians have availed scholarships to study at Indian institutions as part of New Delhi's effort towards capacity building in Palestine.

"We are working on promoting the economical relations through introducing businessmen and investors from both sides on the available opportunities in the sectors of tourism, technological exchange in many areas, including industrial, agricultural, and information systems, and on the other hand, signing government agreements to support businessmen and protect their investments," he said.
RJD national president Lalu Prasad today launched a blistering attack on the Narendra Modi government at the Centre over the Rafale fighter aircraft deal.

In a couple of tweets, the former Bihar Chief Minister alleged that the deal "smacks of nepotism and kickbacks" and charged the BJP with "parking huge funds for elections with such secret deals".

"Rafale deal details can not be disclosed to the country? Why? Because it smacks of nepotism and kickbacks? Why was MRCA scrapped? Because new deal allows for secrecy, hence corruption? BJP parking huge funds for elections with such deals?", the RJD supremo said on his twitter handle.

Prasad has been behind the bars in Ranchi since December 23, when he was convicted by a special CBI court in connection with fraudulent withdrawal of money from the Deoghar treasury.

He was subsequently awarded three years and six months' imprisonment in the case followed by conviction and five years' imprisonment in another case relating to illegal withdrawal from Chaibasa treasury.

Accusing the BJP-led NDA of having "framed" him in the cases, the RJD supremo has persisted in his attacks on the Modi government, while speaking to journalists outside courts and also on the social media.

In another tweet, Prasad alleged "Indian Air Force's need for huge numbers was ignored because opportunity for corruption and huge kickbacks was being eyed....It is BJP's election preparedness deal.

Not IAF and the country's deal". Prasad, a long-time ally of the Congress, has been a strong votary of "opposition unity" against BJP.
Religious places located out of COVID-19 containment zones will be allowed to remain open as per the timings decided by authorities, and devotees will be allowed inside in a staggered manner, the guidelines stated. (Source: Moneycontrol)

The Madras High Court banned people from carrying mobile phones to Madurai's famous Meenakshi Amman temple on Friday, where a fire mishap gutted several shops last week.

Justices N Kirubakaran and R Tharani of the Madurai bench also suggested deployment of CISF personnel to maintain security at the ancient temple.

The court said the Tamil Nadu government should examine the possibility of forming a high-level committee of archaeological experts for maintaining the temple periodically and providing advice on safety and security aspects.

It ordered that mobile phones should not be carried by anyone barring security officials in the interest of the security of the temple. The order was issued while hearing a PIL seeking to direct the central and state governments to frame guidelines and safety and security code and implement these immediately.

Petitioner Muthukumar, an advocate, submitted that the recent fire accident in the temple had shocked the devotees, adding though only 115 shops had been permitted, in reality 300 shops had been functioning inside.

The judges also directed the management to inspect the stability of the temple structure as a whole and ensure that fire prevention equipment were kept ready round-the-clock.

The temple staff should also be trained to handle the fire safety and security equipment, the judges observed. Also, the judges said the entire electrical wiring system in the temple could be re-laid so that there was no short circuit issues.

The judges directed the state government to file a report on or before March 13 regarding the safety and security measures taken so far at the temple.

The petitioner submitted that the recent fire accident in the temple had shocked the people adding though only 115 shops had been permitted, in reality 300 shops had been functioning inside the temple.

He also said the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which inspected the temple in 2009 asked the shrine to be provided "very high level security" in view of the threats. However, the recommendations of the NIA had not been implemented, the petitioner contended.

The PIL also said the Meenakshi temple had in 1997 been declared a heritage temple by a government order but no action was taken subsequently.
Representative image

The Central Railways (CR) is planning to go green, by making more of its stations operate on 100 percent renewable energy. Matunga, Ambernath, Badlapur, Chembur and Mankhurd are up next, after Asangaon station in Thane became the first environment-friendly station on the central network by working only on solar and wind energy. This would decrease the use of and dependence on fossil fuels for energy.

Central Railways divisional railway manager, SK Jain told Hindustan Times, We are attempting to turn many stations green this year. All railway stations will soon be equipped with LED (light emitting diode) lightings.

The Asangaon station is being operated on 10 kilowatts (kW) solar panel and two 5kW solar panels. Transformation of the station operations from conventional to clean energy sources took close to two months. The energy produced from the solar panels and the windmill is expected to exceed the requirement of the station by 5 kW.

There is a windmill outside the station in the east side, clean energy produced from which is used by equipment in the booking office, lights, fans, automatic ticket vending machines (ATVM) and other appliances.

Using clean, renewable energy to operate the Asangaon station not only helped the environment but will also save the railways Rs 11 lakhs annually, on electricity and power bills.

Many railway offices are being equipped with solar panels including the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSTM), where last year solar panels were installed.

Central Railways is also looking to save Rs 148 lakhs annually by equipping all stations with LED lights with a target of 31 March. LED lights save money and also have better illumination than regular lights.

Ashok Pendse, a representative of Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission, was quoted in HT saying, It is a positive step that the railways has taken. The railways will save money the minute they use solar energy. The cost will go down and the environment will be cleaner. In comparison to coal, the renewable energy will be cheaper. It should be cost-competitive.
District authorities are not in favour of withdrawal of the cases, mostly against political leaders, related to the Muzaffarnagar riots of 2013 in which over 60 people were killed and over 40,000 rendered homeless, official sources said here today.

The district authorities, in response to two letters from the Uttar Pradesh Department of Justice, have advocated against the withdrawal of 10 such cases as the court has already taken cognisance against the accused after charge sheets were filed by the police and the special investigation team (SIT) probing the riots cases, the sources said.

Some of the cases were filed against UP minister Suresh Rana, former Union minister Sanjiv Balyan, MP Bhartendu Singh, MLA Umesh Malik and BJP leader Sadhvi Prachi.

In the two letters to the Muzaffarnagar district magistrate, the Uttar Pradesh Department of Justice had sought information on 13 points including whether the cases could be withdrawn in public interest.

The district authorities have opposed the proposal in the interest of justice, on the recommendation of the district prosecution department, the sources said.

The accused are facing charges under various sections of the Indian Penal Code for violating prohibitory orders, deterring public servants from discharging their duties and wrongful restraint.

The accused had allegedly participated in a 'mahapanchayat' and incited violence through their speeches in the last week of August 2013.

The communal clashes in Muzaffarnagar and adjoining areas in August and September 2013 had claimed more than 60 lives while over 40,000 people were displaced.
A plea seeking refund of incentives given to mild hybrid vehicles of Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) Ltd under the FAME India scheme prompted the National Green Tribunal today to seek responses from the Centre and the carmaker.

A bench headed by Justice Jawad Rahim issued notices to the Ministry of Heavy Industries, Ministry of Environment and Forests, International Centre For Automotive Technology and Maruti Suzuki India Limited while seeking their replies before February 21.

The tribunal was hearing a plea filed by lawyer Ashwini Kumar seeking directions to the carmaker to deposit Rs 95 crore subsidy along with interest received during sale of its vehicles 'Ciaz and Ertiga' with the Ministry of Heavy Industries.

The petition, filed through advocate Sumeer Sodhi, alleged that the vehicles manufactured by Maruti claiming to be mild hybrid vehicles were "in fact not anywhere close to being such hybrid vehicles and the subsidies received were totally wrong, mala fide and illegal".

It claimed that the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz SHVS and Ertiga SHVS models was not a hybrid or mild hybrid vehicle and the only change in the engine was an integration of the starter motor and the generator motor termed as Integrated Starter Generator motor.

Kumar said the government till February 15 last year had disbursed an amount of nearly Rs 150 crore to various companies under the FAME India scheme and out of the this Maruti Suzuki India Ltd alone received Rs 95.61 crore as subsidy.

The plea said that while the applicant was trying to receive information with regard to the certification of these vehicles which qualified as 'mild hybrid vehicles', the government excluded the 'mild hybrid' technology from all subsidies and benefits extended under the FAME-India scheme.

"The only plausible explanation for the sudden withdrawal of subsidy to the cars manufactured by the Respondent No.3 (Maruti) appears to be the RTI applications by the applicant trying to seek information of the certification of the vehicles produced by Maruti categorised as 'Mild Hybrid Vehicles.'

"As soon as the government realised that the information asked for by the applicant would disclose the ex-facie illegal grant of subsidy, the government chose to withdraw the subsidy," the plea contended.

"Pass an order regarding utilisation of the subsidy fund in an effective manner for prevention of pollution and implementation of environmental laws," the plea said.

A mild hybrid vehicle has an electric motor, which on its own cannot run a vehicle but assists normal engine by using recovered energy stored in a battery and helps save fuel.

MSI's Ertiga and Ciaz, equipped with Smart Hybrid Vehicle by Suzuki (SHVS) technology, had received incentives of Rs 13,000 for each car under the scheme.

FAME India is part of the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan. It is being administered by the Heavy Industries Ministry.
In a veiled attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling BJP, VHP international working president Pravin Togadia said here today that people voted the NDA to power for building Ram temple in Ayodhya, and not for making laws on triple talaq.

He also said the government should pass a legislation to pave the way for construction of the temple.

"People have voted you to power not for making laws on triple talaq, but for the construction of Ram mandir in Ayodhya," Togadia told reporters here today.

Togadia, who is on a two-day tour of Aurangabad and Parbhani, arrived in the city last evening.

"A law should be passed for the construction of Ram temple, so that it is built soon. Whether to make a law on triple talaq or not is up to the government, but they should make a law for Ram temple," he added.

"We have faith in the judiciary, but since the temple has not been built, a law should be passed in this regard so that it can be constructed without the mosque adjacent to it," he said.

He said the apex court once again adjourned the hearing on the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute.

A Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra yesterday said it would hear the appeals in the Babri Masjid- Ram Janmabhoomi dispute on March 14.

"Since long, the Hindu community has been waiting for the temple, hence it should be built," Togadia said.

In view of the VHP leader's visit, the city police have put in place tight security arrangements.

"Seven hundred policemen, including two DCPs, five ACPs and 17 police inspectors, have been deployed to provide security," he said.
PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today embarked on a visit to three West Asian countries, including Palestine, during which he would hold talks on deepening cooperation in strategic areas such as security and trade.

"Redefining our neighbourhood from a maritime perspective! Prime Minister Narendra Modi embarks on a 4-day visit to Jordan, Palestine, UAE and Oman from 9-12 February to deepen our multifaceted ties with the Gulf and West Asian region," external affairs ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

The prime minister's visit will begin from Palestine on February 10 after transiting through Jordan, where he will meet King Abdullah II.

Describing the Gulf and West Asian region was a "key priority" in India's external engagement, Modi ahead of his visit said his trip was aimed at strengthening ties with the region.

He said it would be his fifth visit to the Gulf and the West Asian region since 2015.

"This region is a key priority in our external engagement. We enjoy vibrant multi-dimensional ties with the countries here. I look forward to strengthening India's growing and important ties with West Asia and the Gulf region through the visit," Modi said in his departure statement.

Noting that this would be the first-ever prime ministerial visit to Palestine from India, Modi said he was looking forward to his discussions with President Mahmoud Abbas and reaffirming India's support for the Palestinian people and the development of Palestine.

Describing the Gulf country as a "valued strategic partner", Modi said that India has fast-tracked cooperation with the UAE in all major spheres, including economy, energy, high technology and security.

"I will be discussing our progress in these areas and more in my meetings with His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi," Modi said in his post.

He said he will also be addressing the 6th edition of the World Government Summit in Dubai, where India is the guest country.

During the visit, Modi said he will engage with leading UAE and Arab CEOs in Dubai on the vast economic opportunities in India and what more can be done to bolster business collaboration.

Noting that Oman was a close maritime neighbour with whom India enjoys excellent relations, Modi said in the last leg of his trip from February 11-12, he will visit the country for the first time as prime minister and will hold talks with the Sultan of Oman and other key leaders.

"I shall also interact with leading businesspersons of Oman on developing stronger economic and business links with India," the prime minister said.

India and Oman have thriving links rooted in centuries old people-to-people exchanges, Modi said.

The prime minister said that on the evening of February 11, he will meet the Sultan of Oman.

Modi said he will also meet Deputy Prime Minister for the Council of Ministers Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmoud Al Said and Deputy Prime Minister for International Relations and Cooperation Affairs Sayyid Asa'ad bin Tariq Al Said, during his visit.

"In both Oman and the UAE, I will have the opportunity to meet the large Indian diasporas that have made those countries their home," Modi said.

More than nine million Indians work and live in the Gulf region, of which about one third live in the UAE alone. In Oman, they constitute the largest expatriate community, he noted.
Tourists take pictures of a NASA sign at the Kennedy Space Center visitors complex in Cape Canaveral, Florida April 14, 2010. President Barack Obama will outline a revamped space policy on Thursday aimed at speeding development of a new heavy-lift rocket, increasing the number of human spaceflight missions, creating 2,500 new jobs and ultimately voyaging to Mars. REUTERS/Carlos Barria (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS SCI TECH) - RTR2CTIK

NASA's solar-powered Juno spacecraft has accomplished a close flyby over Jupiter's churning atmosphere, successfully completing its tenth science orbit of the gas giant planet, the US space agency said.

All of Juno's science instruments and the spacecraft's JunoCam were in operation during the flyby on February 7, collecting data that is now being returned to Earth, NASA said.

At the time of perijove - the point in Juno's orbit when it is closest to the planet's centre - the spacecraft will be about 3,500 kilometres above the planet's cloud tops.

This flyby was a gravity science orientation pass, the US space agency said.

Juno launched on August 5, 2011 and arrived in orbit around Jupiter on July 4, 2016.

During its mission of exploration, Juno soars low over the planet's cloud tops - as close as about 3,400 kilometres.

During these flybys, Juno is probing beneath the obscuring cloud cover of Jupiter and studying its auroras to learn more about the planet's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere.

In the orbits that highlight gravity experiments, Juno is in an Earth-pointed orientation that allows its transmitter to downlink data in real-time to one of the antennas of NASA's Deep Space Network in Goldstone, California.
The IT ministry has constituted four committees to deliberate on various aspects of Artificial Intelligence (AI), a senior Government official said on Friday.

These committees will examine citizen-centric use of this new-age technology, skilling, as well as regulatory and ethical issues related to Artificial Intelligence.

The IT ministry has been holding a series of high-level meetings on futuristic technologies -- also identified as one of the key thrust areas in the recent Budget -- and emphasis is on pushing research in areas like AI and Internet of Things.

"We have formed four committees on AI. These committees will deliberate on different areas like citizen-centric use of AI, data platform, skilling/re-skilling and Research and Development, as also the legal, regulatory, ethical and cyber security issues," the official said.

The committees include directors of IITs, officials of software body Nasscom, private sector representatives and eminent researchers.

It may be recalled that the Union Budget has stressed on encouraging new-age technologies.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, in his Budget speech, had said that the global economy is transforming into a digital economy on the back of development of cutting-edge technologies in digital space, including machine learning, artificial intelligence, Internet of things and 3D printing.

Niti Aayog will initiate a national programme to direct India's efforts in the area of artificial intelligence, including research and development of its applications.

Stating that the Budget announcements have paved the way for the second phase of Digital India, the official noted that the outlay for the flagship programme (Digital India) within IT Ministry has been doubled to over Rs 3,073 crore.

Citing the efforts initiated to promote electronic manufacturing in the country, the official said so far 145 applications with investments worth Rs 25,279 crore have been approved by the government under the Modified Special Incentive Scheme (MSIPS).

"About 82 units have made investments worth Rs 3,833 crore. Mobile phone manufacturing, in particular, has grown at a much faster pace, and today there are about 115 mobile phone and mobile component and accessories manufacturing units in India," the official said.

The total value for mobile phones manufactured is likely to touch Rs 1.32 lakh crore in 2017-18 compared to just about Rs 18,900 crore in 2014-15, the official added.

Digital India has also yielded results on ground with marked increase in adoption of applications like soil health card, e-hospitals and others, resulting in digital delivery of services across the country, he pointed out.
Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI) cut cigarette shipments in Ukraine by 12.1% in 2017, to 19.356 billion cigarettes.

According to an annual report of PMI published on Thursday that the total cigarette market in Ukraine in 2017 fell by 8.2%, to 67.1 billion, mainly due to the impact of price increases and an increase in the prevalence of illicit trade.

According to the company, in Q4 2017, the total cigarette market in Ukraine narrowed by 3.8%, to 16.4 billion mainly due to price hikes.

Shipment of cigarettes in October-December 2017 grew by 0.8%, to 4.83 billion.

The share of Philip Morris of the Ukrainian market in 2017 fell by 1.9 percentage points (p.p.), to 27.3%. The share of the Bond Street brand fell by 1.6 p.p., to 8.4%, Marlboro  by 0.1 p.p., to 3% and the share of other brand  by 3.6 p.p., to 9.6%.

The share of the Parliament brand grew by 0.3 p.p., to 3.2% and the share of the Philip Morris brand as 3.1%.

Philip Morris International is one of the world's largest manufacturers of tobacco products. It produces cigarettes at more than 50 factories and sells them in 180 countries.

In Ukraine, the company has been operating for more than 20 years. It produces goods at a factory in Kharkiv region.
(Representat

Qualcomm which is one of the companies at the forefront of the 5G movement announced on Thursday that Snapdragon X50 5G NR modem family will be used by a number of mobile manufacturers for their devices launching in 2019.

The manufacturers which feature in the list include Asus, Nokia, Oppo, HTC, Xiaomi, Vivo and Sony among others. In total there are 18 manufacturers on board. However, the list misses two of the biggest phone manufacturers in the world: Apple and Samsung.

Samsung and Apple both use Qualcomm modem in some of their devices. The absence indicates that Samsung could be hinting at its decision to do away with Qualcomm modems altogether and use its own Exynos chipset from this year onwards. Incidentally, the South Korean company is involved in a legal battle with Qualcomm.

5G NR, or 5G New Radio, is one of the 5G specifications currently undergoing standardisation at the 3GPP (the organisation which governs cellular standards).

5G technology is expected to come in its full flow by 2020. Indian telecommunication authorities had a meeting in December last year to draft a plan for early deployment of 5G services in India.

The authorities aim to form a competitive product portfolio for 5G technology with the motive to penetrate at least half of the Indian market and 10 percent of the global market over next seven years.

In September, the government had allotted a fund of Rs 500 crore for research and development in 5G.

5G network will be a lot faster than current internet networks. Ericsson in December last year had demonstrated a speed of 5.7 gigabyte per second . The prevalent 4G networks in the country are found to be offering an average speed of 6.13 megabytes per second.
The Congress in the Rajya Sabha raised questions about key budgetary proposals like for the proposed health insurance scheme and setting MSP at 50 per cent above the cost terming them as "jumlas" and also claimed the Centre was exaggerating data related to job creation.

The Upper House which decided to sit till late to debate the Union budget also saw repeated adjournments post 7 pm following heated arguments between treasury benches and opposition, and protests by TDP members.

However, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh managed to make his speech on the budget amidst protests by some TDP members over demands related to Andhra Pradesh.

Questioning one of the key highlights of the budget, which the government has projected as a pro-farmer measure, Ramesh stated that while it has been said that the MSP would be set at 50 per cent above the cost, it had not been made clear what would be the criterion for deciding the cost of production.

The cost varied according to the method chosen, he said

Referring to a newspaper interview by a NITI Aayog functionary, he said it appeared that the promise made by the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was the government's "jumla number one".

He also claimed that insufficient funds were allocated for the health insurance scheme. Ramesh claimed the scheme would anyway benefit private hospitals rather than the public.

It is being touted as 'ModiCare', he said. Taking a jibe, he said by this logic AIIMS may be called an institute of "Modical" sciences.

Ramesh said that an insurance scheme existed during the UPA tenure and only the money had been increased. It was a work in continuation, he claimed.

A former Union minister, Ramesh, said that a health assurance approach would have been better than an insurance scheme as past experience has demonstrated.

He said the budgetary allocation required for the scheme was somewhere between 12,000 crore to 1 lakh crore but a grossly insufficient Rs 2,000 crore had been allocated.

He termed the scheme as "NAMO, or no allocation, messaging only".

On jobs front, Ramesh said the government was focussing on the EPFO figures to estimate jobs created, which he claimed was a wrong approach.

He said the raise in provident fund accounts had happened as there was formalisation of the informal sector due to GST and demonetisation. Even as this was a beneficial result of these two measures, he said exaggerated claims related to job creation were being made based on EPFO data, he said.

"To say all these jobs are new, would be completely wrong," Ramesh said seeking to punch holes in the government's claims on employment. He said recent comments by the chief economic advisor had also indicated the same.

Referring to BJP member Subramanian Swamy, he said the senior leader had recently stated there was pressure on the central statistical organisation to present data in such a way that it appears there was no unfavourable impact of GST and demonetisation.

He also questioned the government's claims on ease of doing business and said the rise in India's rankings was only courtesy a change criterion used for measuring the performance of various countries. The government was, however, presenting it as some sort of miracle, he said.

He said that thought India had moved upwards, it was only due to the new insolvency law that was brought in. These measures, however, encourage a hire and fire policy towards employees, he said.

Ramesh accused the government of making exaggerated claims on issues like job creation. Following Ramesh's speech, BJP member Mahesh Poddar and SP leader Neeraj Shekhar also spoke. The discussion will continue tomorrow.

Earlier, after Rajeev Chandrashekhar (Independent) had spoken, the Chair called Ramesh to move the debate on the Budget further.

Ramesh said the Budget was "unusual and historic" because soon after its presentation, the Prime Minister came on deferred live telecast to decode the Budget.

Normally, he said that after Budget, the prime minister congratulate his finance minister for its presentation.

Before he could continue, members from the treasury benches objected to the comments. This lead to heated arguments between BJP and Congress. Some other opposition members too supported the Congress.

The Chair tried to pacify the two sides, but in vain. The House was adjourned for 10 minutes.

When the House reassembled, Ramesh continued his speech.

In the meanwhile, C M Ramesh of TDP and three of his party colleagues entered the Well carrying placards.

They were also shouting slogans.

The Chair asked them to return to seats but in vain. Deputy Chairman Bhubaneswar Kalita asked Ramesh to continue his speech even as TDP members were raising slogans.

Ramesh said he could not speak amid the din and got support from other opposition members also. Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Vijay Goel urged the protesting members to return to seats.

However, they did not yield. The Chair adjourned the House for another 10 minutes. When the House met again, there was ruckus and another adjournment followed.

When the House met again, the protesting TDP members again came to the Well. Opposition members asked the Chair to bring the House in order. But as the stalemate continued, the Chair adjourned the Rajya Sabha for 30 minutes for dinner. It was at the next assembling of the House that Ramesh managed to complete his speech.
China has commissioned the latest J-20 stealth fighter into its air force's combat service, taking a lead in the region to operate fighter jets designed to avoid detection, state media reported.

State-run Xinhua news agency quoted an Air Force spokesman as saying that the stealth fighter has been commissioned into the force.

The J-20 is China's fourth-generation medium and long- range fighter jet. It made its maiden flight in 2011 and was first shown to the public at the 11th Airshow China in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, in November 2016.

Its introduction could add a new dimension in the India- China air force balance as India is yet acquire a stealth fighter.

The US air force operates the F-22 Raptor which is the fifth generation stealth air superiority fighter.
No 6 | Cairo, Egypt | Population: 20,484,965. (Image: Reuters)

An Indian language chair will be established in the Egypt's Ain Shams University from the next academic year, India's Ambassador to Egypt Sanjay Bhattacharya has said.

Announcing this during the World Hindi Day celebrations, he said that a memorandum of understanding has been signed between the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and the University.

It will be the second Indian chair in the varsity. The existing one is in the field of biotechnology which was established in 2016.

Addressing the function, organised by the Embassy of India in cooperation with the University yesterday, Bhattacharya said that Hindi is the mother tongue of around 258 million people and is one of the official languages of India.

University Deputy President Dr Abdel Naser Singab said that celebrating the Hindi Day at the varsity reflects the strong relations and friendship between the people of India and Egypt and it allows more people to know about different cultures.

Head of the Maulana Azad Center For Indian Culture (MACIC), Dr Liquit Ali said that the Hindi language was influenced by Arabic language and that many Hindi words are of Arabic origin.

Dr Abdul Mageed, teacher of Hindi language at MACIC expressed his happiness that this language has flourished in Egypt.
An Alaska Airlines flight was forced to return back to the airport after an unclothed passenger locked himself inside the bathroom in the plane. The man was later escorted from the plane by the law enforcement authorities.

According to a report in Daily Mail, the incident took place on Wednesday on an Alaska Airlines flight. The flight was carrying 178 passengers to Seattle from Anchorage when the trouble started to begin. One of the passengers, who as per reports, was not in the right state of mind started making troubles.



Passengers on Seattle flight last night got sent back to ANC after naked man barricaded himself in bathroom. Witness sent us video. @ktva pic.twitter.com/8cb6zx7pkG

 Liz Raines (@lrainesktva) February 7, 2018

The incident grabbed wider attention after a video taken by a passenger was posted on Twitter. The short video apparently shows the havoc that the activity by the person caused inside the flight.

While the crew told Police that they had to return as the man started to ignore their instructions, some statements by passengers indicate that there was more to this.

He had taken off his clothes and he just wasn't in his right mind, a passenger named Kate Danyluk was quoted saying in the report adding that several men surrounded the bathroom before the man was taken off from the plane.

However, no further details are yet available including whether the man has been arrested, as the carrier tried to downplay the entire incident. Alaska Airlines flight 146 from Anchorage to Seattle returned to Anchorage due to a passenger not following flight attendant's instructions," spokesman Tim Thompson said in an email as per the report.

The incident is definitely not a good news to the carrier that is already under scanner after one of its pilots pleaded guilty for piloting a plane under the influence of alcohol.
The US Congress passed a crucial federal spending bill Friday after hours of delay, sending the measure for President Donald Trump's signature to end the nation's second government shutdown in three weeks.

The House voted 240 to 186 in support of a bipartisan package that extends funding until March 23, and which will reopen government hours after a conservative senator forced Congress to miss a midnight deadline, sparking the shutdown.

Trump supports the measure and is expected to sign it into law on Friday, ending a serious and embarrassing drama on Capitol Hill over federal spending.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, the top Republican in Congress, acknowledged the perversity of the "entirely needless" shutdown, which may enter the history books as just a blip but speaks volumes about the political gridlock that defines Washington.

"A fifth CR, while one party controls all levels of government, shows the Republicans' inability to govern," said House Democrat Nita Lowey, referring to continuing resolutions that keep the government funded at the same level as the previous year.

Hours earlier in the pre-dawn darkness, the funding bill passed the Senate, but not before Senator Rand Paul, a conservative in Trump's own Republican Party, blocked a vote on the deal because he argued it was too costly.

The bill, which includes a far-reaching agreement that increases spending limits for the next two years and raises the federal debt ceiling until March 2019, would break the cycle of government funding crises in time for what is set to be a bruising campaign for November's mid-term elections.

The rebellion that simmered among Republicans and Democrats over the budget agreement boiled over when a determined Paul brought the Senate's work to a halt.

The Kentucky Republican took the floor to blast the increase in federal spending limits, and in particular the fiscal irresponsibility of his own party.

"I can't in all good honesty and all good faith just look the other way because my party is now complicit in the deficits," Paul said.

"If you're against president (Barack) Obama's deficits, but you're for the Republican deficits, isn't that the very definition of hypocrisy?" he boomed, adding that he wants his fellow lawmakers "to feel uncomfortable" over the impasse.

Moving legislation swiftly through the upper chamber of Congress requires consent by all 100 members, but Paul objected.

Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer warned that the delay put lawmakers "in risky territory," and a number of fellow Republicans including Senator John Cornyn confronted Paul in the chamber about his strategy.

But Paul refused to yield and allow an early vote, forcing a shutdown while highlighting his policy priorities about excessive government spending.

The bill's fate in the House had been far from certain. Several fiscal conservatives in the lower chamber joined with Paul in balking at adding billions of dollars to the national debt two months after passing a $1.5 trillion tax cut package.

And liberal stalwarts including top House Democrat Nancy Pelosi were also in revolt because the deal does nothing to protect immigrants known as "Dreamers," who were brought to the US illegally as children, from deportation.

"Nobody wants a shutdown," Pelosi told the House moments before the vote.

She said she wanted an assurance from Ryan that he would take up the issue of immigration in the coming weeks.

"Give us a chance to allay the fear that is in the hearts of these Dreamers and their families, and remove the tears from the Statue of Liberty observing what is happening here," she said.

Ultimately, enough members from both parties joined forces to get the temporary spending bill across the finish line.

It incorporates the major budget deal reached between Senate leaders on both sides of the political aisle.

That agreement includes a $300 billion increase to both military and non-military spending limits for this year and 2019, and raises the debt until March 1 next year.

It also provides a massive $90 billion disaster relief package and funding to address the nationwide opioid abuse crisis.

Democrats have sought to link the federal funding debate to a permanent solution for hundreds of thousands of Dreamers, who were shielded from deportation under the Obama-era program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

But Trump ended the program last September, setting March 5 as a deadline for resolving the issue.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas attends a meeting with Germany's Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel in the West Bank city of Ramallah January 31, 2018. REUTERS/Atef Safadi/Pool - RC19ED384260

The US has disqualified itself from being an "honest broker" in the Middle East peace process, Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas has said as he criticised his American counterpart Donald Trump for his "illegal" decision to declare Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

Trump's Jerusalem move angered the Palestinians, sparked protests in the Middle East and raised concern that it could further destabilise the region.

The status of Jerusalem is the centre of Palestine's conflict with Isarel. The city is home to key religious sites sacred to Judaism, Islam and Christianity, especially in East Jerusalem.

The Palestinians wants to make East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state.

Abbas lashed out at the United States' decision to declare Jerusalem as Israel's capital and slashing the aid package to the Palestinians as "unconstructive" measures.

He said Palestine is looking to create an international multilateral mechanism in which the US can also be a party and India can also play a role.

"The US Administration disqualified itself from being an honest broker, and should not be the sole mediator in the peace process," the Palestine president told PTI in an e-mail interview.

In a dig at Trump's assertion regarding working out an ultimate deal during his tenure, the Palestinian President said that they "have not received any proposals", but only "sudden and illegal decision on Jerusalem".

"Concerning the so called ultimate deal, we have not received any proposals for a peace plan until the moment. We keep hearing of an ultimate deal that the US President is going to present to the sides, but no one has proposed anything, but instead, President Trump announced his sudden and illegal decision on Jerusalem," he said.
Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics  Opening ceremony  Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium - Pyeongchang, South Korea  February 9, 2018 - Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, South Korean President Moon Jae-in, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier attend the opening ceremony. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj - DEVEE290VYNQJ

United States Vice President Mike Pence made only a brief appearance at a reception marking the start of the Winter Olympics on Friday, avoiding a potentially awkward encounter with the ceremonial leader of North Korea attending the same event.

The reception hosted by South Korean President Moon Jae-in in the mountain resort of Pyeongchang was the culmination of months of work by Seoul, which seeks to use the Olympics to ease tension spurred by North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons.

Ahead of the reception, South Korean media said Pence was expected to be seated opposite Kim Yong Nam, North Korea's nominal head of state, at the 12-seat head table.

However, South Korea's presidental Blue House said Pence had a meeting scheduled with U.S. athletes and had only planned to stay briefly to greet other officials.

Pence shook hands with other leaders, including close ally Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, but not Kim Yong Nam, according to a Blue House pool report.

Earlier on Friday, Pence said Moon gave his backing to additional measures the United States is planning to try to curb North Korea's missile and nuclear programmes.

Pence spoke after paying tribute at a memorial for 46 South Korean sailors killed in the sinking of a warship in 2010 that Seoul blamed on a North Korean torpedo attack.

Kim Yong Nam landed in South Korea on Friday along with leader Kim Jong Un's younger sister, Kim Yo Jong, aboard her brother's private jet.

The white aircraft had the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's official name, inscribed in black in Korean on its side, followed by the North Korean flag.

Kim Yo Jong and her delegation were greeted by government officials, including Unification Minister Cho Myong-gyon, before boarding a bullet train to Pyeongchang. A special train had been prepared just for the visitors, a Blue House pool report said.

Smiling and seemingly unfazed by cameras flashing during the airport meeting, Kim Yo Jong wore a black coat, matching ankle boots and carried a black purse. Dozens of South Koreans at the airport tried to snap photographs of her on their mobile phones.

She is the first member of North Korea's ruling family to visit the South, while Kim Yong Nam is the most senior North Korean official to make a cross-border trip.

The pair will have lunch with Moon on Saturday, Moon's office said.

RIOTS AND GAMES

Pence had kept open the possibility for some contact with the North Koreans in South Korea, while reiterating Washington's insistence that denuclearisation by North Korea is a necessary condition for peace.

Pence, Kim Yo Jong and other world leaders will attend the opening ceremony in Pyeongchang, just 80 km (50 miles) from the heavily fortified border between North and South Korea, later on Friday.

Hundreds of anti-North Korea protesters scuffled with riot police hours not far from the main stadium before the opening ceremony was due to begin, with some of their banners reading "Moon regime is leading Korea to destruction".

Thousands of spectators, including a squad of more than 200 North Korean cheerleaders, filled the frigid stadium awaiting the start of the opening ceremony, when the two Koreas will march together under one peninsula flag for the first time in more than a decade.

"It is not as cold as I expected. It is a blessed day. I like the reconciliatory mood and I have high expectations," said Kim Sang-yoon, a 44-year-old businessman who drove nearly five hours to see the opening ceremony with his wife and two sons.

Nearly 500 North Koreans have arrived in South Korea for the Olympics, which run through to February 25.
Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives for a meeting with his Sri Lankan counterpart Maithripala Sirisena at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia March 23, 2017. REUTERS/Kirill Kudryavtsev/Pool - RTX32D9E

The Kremlin says President Vladimir Putin has spoken by phone with French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss his planned visit to Russia.

The Kremlin said Friday the two leaders exchanged views on bilateral ties, including preparations for Macron's trip to Russia, set for May, during which he is set to attend an economic forum in St Petersburg.

The statement noted they hailed a Russian-French forum called "Trianon Dialogue" intended to encourage civil society contacts.

It added that Putin and Macron also discussed the situation in Syria and underlined the need for developing closer cooperation between Russia and France in tackling the Syrian crisis.

They also talked about the conflict in Ukraine and the need to enforce the 2015 Minsk peace agreement that was sponsored by France and Germany.
If you are a woman and need to relax surrounded by sea and a cool breeze on your face, sans dudes, you can explore the possibility of visiting SuperShe island, off the coast of Finland.

Kristina Roth, a former consultant was fed up with women putting on make-up the moment they would spot a cute guy. When there was a cute guy, women would put on lipstick, she tells The New York Post.

The idea [at SuperShe island] is, hey, focus on yourself  dont try to get your hormones up, she adds.

She zeroed on to the island off the coast of Finland after she fell in love with a Finnish guy. Her partner insisted on buying the island which was on sale. His parents own an adjacent island.

I said, Im not interested, I just bought a beautiful piece of land in Turks and Caicos  Im really not interested, Roth said. However, once she saw the place, she fell in love with the oasis.

When queried that the females-only approach sounds exclusionary, she insisted that she was not a man hater. I love men! she exclaimed.

SuperShe island will be open in July this year, though, not every woman is welcome on the island. Existing members of the resort need to vouch for every new member. Id like to vet the person and see that theyre well-rounded and would fit in, she says, but I dont want to be elitist.
Public joint-stock company Ukrtransgaz seeks to finish reconstruction of the Bar compressor station (Vinnytsia region) of the Soyuz gas pipeline being implemented jointly with German companies, Ukrtransgaz Chief Engineer Yuriy Ziabchenko has said.

He said that after the approval of the blueprints by the government the company will carry out all the required works in 18 or 18 and a half months. Some 60% of the equipment required for reconstruction has been shipped.

The projected cost of construction is around EUR 80, including EUR 53.6 million of a loan provided by Deutsche Bank and EUR 26 million of Ukrtransgaz's own funds. Ferrostal Industrieanlagen is the general contractor of the project.

As part of the reconstruction of the Bar compressor station, the company plans to replace two gas-pumping units (GPU) with modern production facilities made by General Electric, install a new fuel gas preparation unit, automatic control systems and generate compressed air with a receiver, and reconstruct fire safety, ventilation and heating systems.

As a result, the GPU efficiency will increase from 25% to 36%. The annual fuel gas saving will be 76 million cubic meters. The project payback is nine years based on 25 years of operation.

In general, two of seven GPUs of the Bar compressor station will be replaced, two will be used as backup, another three will be decommissioned.

During the visit to the site, Naftohaz Ukrainy CEO Andriy Kobolev said that cooperation with international companies in the modernization of the Bar compressor station is a key component for successful work in the oil and gas sector and improving efficiency. Therefore, Ukraine intends to expand cooperation, attract European companies to manage the country's gas transport system, signing contracts for the transportation of gas not only with Gazprom.
February 09, 2018

WaPo's Ignatius: "ISIS Is There - When The U.S. Needs It"

David Ignatius, a CIA and Pentagon mouthpiece writing at Jeff Bezos's blog, stenographs the U.S. claims about yesterday's massacre against local pro-government forces in Deir Ezzor.

There is a funny contradiction in his tale.

In a first step Ignatius must justify the U.S. presence and action in the area. He does so by pointing to "remnants" of the Islamic State:

The rout ended at about 5:30 a.m. When we arrived about seven hours later, the Kurdish commander was still flush with victory. He took us on a tour later of the SDFs front-line positions against scattered Islamic State remnants east of Shaddadi.

See, there is ISIS and that's why the U.S. and the Kurds are there.

But in the next step Ignatius must deny the Russian justification for its presence in Syria and he must reject the legitimacy of action by Syrian government forces. He does so by denying any ISIS presence. The U.S., he writes, has eliminated them all:

The Russian Defense Ministry issued a lame statement Thursday, claiming that the attackers were chasing Islamic State fighters. Thats nonsense, as the Russians surely knew. There are no Islamic State fighters left in that area, thanks to the U.S.-led coalition.

Shaddadi is just a short ride from where the incident happened. It is the same operational area. So ISIS is there when the U.S. needs it for its argument, but has completely vanished when the other side makes claims about attacking it.

Contradictions like the above make it difficult to sell such propaganda to anyone but the most dull people. Ignatius is highly paid. His sponsors should look for better value for their money.

Posted by b on February 9, 2018 at 16:10 UTC | Permalink

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A mum has received a telling off from a school after she packed a lamington into her childs lunchbox.

The Melbourne mum was sent a note, alongside her uneaten lamington, from the kindergarten for failing to comply with the school's nutrition policy'.
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Solomiansky District Court of Kyiv has canceled the obligation for People's Front MP Maksym Poliakov to wear a GPS ankle monitor, the parliamentarian's lawyer, Petro Boiko, has told the Ukrayinska Pravda media outlet.

"Yes, the court decided to remove an electronic bracelet. Today, the court analyzed the risks and realized that the risks have significantly decreased. Examinations have to be conducted and documents on [MP Boryslav] Rozenblat [who is being tried in the same 'amber' case as Poliakov] need to obtained from the Federal Republic of Germany," the lawyer said.

According to him, the court concluded that since there are just "simple investigative actions," excessive obligations are not needed.

Boiko said that the obligations in force included bail, visits to the detective, the prosecutor or to the court, the refusal to communicate with witnesses, the transfer of passports to the pre-trial investigation bodies and not leaving Ukraine without permission.

As reported, Poliakov is suspected of committing acts under Part 4, Article 368 (obtaining undue benefit) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

On June 19, 2017, detectives of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), under the procedural leadership of prosecutors of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO), detained seven people involved in extortion and obtaining undue benefits for assistance to a foreign company in carrying out amber mining in Ukraine.

The investigation established that the detainees, acting in the interests of MPs Poliakov and Rozenblat, received a bribe from a representative of the foreign company for a total of more than $300,000 so that they could prepare bills in the field of amber mining and submit them to the Verkhovna Rada for taking decisions in favor of this foreign company.

On June 21, Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko requested the parliament should give its consent to prosecution, detention and arrest of these two parliamentarians. On July 11, the Verkhovna Rada agreed to prosecute Poliakov, but refused to ensure his detention and arrest.

On July 21, Kyiv's Solomiansky District Court remanded Poliakov into pretrial custody, setting bail at UAH 304,000, in addition to setting several requirements. The court also obliged the MP to wear an ankle monitor and forbade him from leaving Kyiv and Uman (Cherkasy region) without permission of investigators, prosecutors or the court, as well as to turn over his foreign passports.
Russia's hybrid military forces have attacked Ukrainian army positions in Donbas four times in the past 24 hours, with one Ukrainian soldier reported as wounded in action (WIA), the press center of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) headquarters has reported.

"A total of four enemy shelling attacks were recorded in the past day. A Ukrainian soldier was injured in one of the attacks in the Mariupol sector. He was promptly evacuated to a military hospital and provided necessary medical assistance," the ATO staff said on Facebook on Friday morning.

In the Donetsk sector, the occupiers used 120mm mortars against the Ukrainian positions near the village of Shyrokyne. In addition, the enemy fired 82mm mortars and grenade launchers near the villages of Pisky and Vodiane.

The ATO staff said the enemy employed mortars of various calibers, brazenly violating the Minsk agreements.
Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili will be arrested in the event of his extradition from Kyiv to Tbilisi, Georgian Parliament Speaker Irakli Kobakhidze, who is on a visit to the United States, has said.

"As for the extradition of Mikheil Saakashvili, he will be arrested in Georgia. He has weak political support in our country. From the political point of view, we are not interested in where Saakashvili stays - in Georgia or Ukraine. There was a trial against him in our country, and there is a court a decision that foresees the arrest of Saakashvili when he arrives in Georgia," Kobakhidze said in his speech at Johns Hopkins University.

On January 5, 2018, Tbilisi City Court in absentia sentenced Saakashvili to three years in prison for malicious abuse of power as Georgian president.

Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko said in an interview with Ukraine's Television News Service (TSN) published on February 8 that the Georgian Prosecutor's Office had not changed its demand for Saakashvili's extradition and that Ukraine fulfills its respective international obligations.

At the same time, Lutsenko noted that Saakashvili's possible extradition to Georgia would be "the most difficult decision" for him, because it would mean his "one hundred percent imprisonment."

He also said that there were options for Saakashvili's voluntary return to any of the countries he selects, for example, to the Netherlands where his family lives, or "voluntary or forced deportation to one of the countries chosen by him, or to the country from which he illegally crossed the Ukrainian border - that is, Poland."
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) at a meeting on Thursday, February 8, decided to recover EUR 2,000 from Russia in favor of Ukrainian citizen Hennadiy Afanasyev with two judgments for EUR 1,000 each under two applications on inhumane conditions of his transportation in the prison vehicles of the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service.

"The ECHR has fully confirmed the truthfulness of my words and testimony regarding my fate and conditions in the Kremlin's prison and in general the events that took place for 767 days of my imprisonment. This decision is a strong trump card and an argument in my hands for the future that I will use against all those who try to justify Russian aggression," Afanasyev wrote on his Facebook page on Thursday, February 8.

At the same time, he noted that "the miserable 2,000 euros for humiliation that I experienced testifies only to the fact that the court bowed to the wishes of the Russian government."

"The ECHR has itself violated the Convention. It had to invite Ukraine to speak out on the essence of my complaints, because I am a citizen of Ukraine. This did not happen," Afanasyev said.

On June 14, 2016, Crimean citizens convicted in Russia, Ukrainians Afanasyev and Yuriy Soloshenko, were returned to Ukraine as part of their exchange for Odesa journalists Elena Glischinskaya and Vitaly Didenko. Immediately upon arrival, they were taken to the Scientific and Practical Center for Preventive and Clinical Medicine of the State Affairs Department (Kyiv).
Interior Minister of Ukraine Arsen Avakov has discussed with the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Legislation of the Republic of Korea the issue of visa-free regime and mutual recognition of driving licenses.

"In coordination with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, I am getting ready for the final negotiations on the visa-free regime and mutual recognition of driving permits with South Korea. We are doing our work with the South Korean Interior Minister. Step by step we are strengthening the Ukrainian passport," Avakov wrote on his Facebook page on Monday.

As reported, the Korean Pyeongchang hosts Winter Olympic Games from February 9 until February 25.
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.
Three people have been arrested in connection to last week's slaying of a Lake Nona High School student, Orlando Police said Friday.

3 people arrested in Lake Nona High student's homicide case

K'Vonte Dowe was found shot to death early Saturday, Feb. 3



RELATED: Student killed in Lake Nona shooting, police say Orlando Police investigate death of Lake Nona High student





K'Vonte Dowe was shot and found dead in the 9200 block of Kensington Row Court, less than 5 miles from the high school.

Police have arrested 19-year-old Richard M. Washington, 18-year-old Elijah S. Lewis and a 17-year-old boy in Dowe's homicide case, they said. We are not identifying the minor at this time per our crime guidelines.

Dowe had just turned 18 in December.

Anyone with information in the case is asked to call Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS (8477).



K'Vonte Dowe had just turned 18 in December. (Orlando Police)
Kyiv Prosecutor's Office has approved a notice of suspicion to a 40-year-old resident of Kyiv, who facilitated the illegal legalization in Ukraine of five Russian citizens who were placed on the international wanted list.

"It was established that Russian citizens who were placed on the international wanted list for committing grave and especially serious crimes appealed to the said citizen in order to obtain forged documents that would serve as grounds for acquiring Ukrainian citizenship, in particular, documents on the alleged residence in Ukraine of their relatives," the press service of the prosecutor's office reported.

The culprit contributed to the illegal legalization in Ukraine of five Russian citizens who were placed on the international wanted list, in particular, the ex-head of the unit for organizing material and technical support of the Russian Interior Ministry, an assistant to the deputy interior minister and other individuals.

The prosecutor's office described a criminal scheme. After receiving Ukrainian citizenship, Russian citizens, with the assistance of a suspect, made fictitious marriages with Ukrainian women. At the same time, in order to speed up the process of registering a marriage in the territorial offices of registry offices they provided fake certificates about the alleged pregnancy of these women. Later, within a month, the marriage was annulled, and the wanted persons had the surnames of fictitious wives.

"These actions made it virtually impossible to identify these individuals and gave them the right to freely cross the state border," the report says.

The actions of the suspect are qualified under Article 358 (forgery of documents) and Article 332 (illegal transfer of persons through the state border) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

In addition, investigators established and proved the involvement in the criminal scheme of an employee of a structural unit of the State Migration Service of Ukraine, who contributed to the illegal legalization of the wanted persons. By a court verdict, the official was found guilty under Article 366 (official forgery) and Part 5, Article 27, Article 358 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

Materials about the possible involvement in the crime of other employees of the State Migration Service of Ukraine were included in a separate criminal proceeding.
Ukrainian MPs from the Radical Party faction are picketing the building of the Sejm of Poland in Warsaw in protest against the adoption of a new law on the Institute of National Remembrance, which foresees, in particular, punishment for denial of "crimes of Ukrainian nationalists."

"Right now our faction is picketing the Sejm of the Republic of Poland in Warsaw with the demand to abolish the anti-Ukrainian law and stop pursuing for the sake of Moscow the policy of hatred against Ukrainians and the harassment of our peoples," faction leader wrote on his Facebook page on Friday.

The picket is also broadcast live on Facebook. The rally is attended by more than a dozen people who stand on the sidewalk, holding flags of Ukraine, as well as posters with the inscriptions "Without independent Ukraine there will be no independent Poland" and "Polish laws = Russian tanks." A Polish police car is located near the venue of the rally. The event does not attract the attention of passers-by.

At the same time, on Friday, February 9, a plenary meeting is held in the Verkhovna Rada from 10.00 to 14.00.

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 Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary declares that agreements with the Ukrainian side regarding the language article of the law on education of Ukraine have not been reached, the Hungarian government will abandon the policy of blocking Ukraine's international aspirations only if the Transcarpathian Hungarians confirm agreements on every detail of this law.

"No kind of agreement has been reached with regard to the Ukrainian Education Act; Ukraine is still refusing to implement the recommendations of the Venice Commission," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade's Deputy State Secretary Tamas Menczer's commentary reads, posted by the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

He pointed out that according to Ukrainian press reports, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine concluded an agreement with the Hungarian partners on the education law. "The reports published by the Ukrainian media are a lie, the situation is exactly the opposite," the Deputy State Secretary Menzer said.

He stressed that the position of the Hungarian government remains unchanged: Ukraine cannot begin implementing the law on education until it reaches agreement with national minorities on this issue, including with the Hungarian national minority.

"We are glad that it seems the consultation will begin soon, Transcarpathian Hungarians can count on the full support of the Hungarian Government," he said.

According to him, the Hungarian government will abandon its policy of blocking Ukraine's international aspirations only if the Transcarpathian Hungarians say that an agreement has been reached on every detail of the law on education. "That is still a long way off," said Menzer.

As reported, the Ukrainian law on education came into force on September 28, 2017.

Among other things, the law stipulates that the state language is a language of learning at educational institutions, but one or several subjects in two or more languages, namely, the state language, English and other European Union official languages can be taught in compliance with the educational program.

People, who belong to ethnic minorities, are guaranteed the right for learning in the native language along with the Ukrainian language in separate groups of municipal pre-school and primary school institutions.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry sent the education law for examination by the Venice Commission.

On December 8, the Ukrainian Education and Science Ministry reported that the Venice Commission had not supported Hungary's accusation of narrowing the rights of national minorities in the article on the language of instruction in Ukraine's law on education.

On December 11, the ministry said that it was grateful to the Venice Commission for its work on providing conclusions on the language of instruction article of the education law, was ready to implement its recommendations and had already developed three models for the implementation of this article in the law on general secondary education.

On December 13, Ukrainian Education and Science Minister Lilia Hrynevych said that a draft law on secondary education with explanations on the use of languages in education, in accordance with the conclusions of the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission), was to be submitted for consideration by the Verkhovna Rada in the spring of 2018.

"Now, given these conclusions, we need to formulate models of education for national minorities in the law on general secondary education. That is, we will not make any changes to Article 7 [on the language of instruction] of the law on education," she told journalists.

The Ministry of Education and Science declared its readiness to implement the recommendations of the commission and developed three models for the implementation of the language article in the law "On General Secondary Education."

On February 7, Deputy Foreign Minister Vasyl Bodnar, on the results of his visit to Zakarpattia region, wrote on Twitter that key issues on the settlement of the language issue had been agreed with the representatives of Hungary.
The preparatory meeting of the Kyiv Shevchenkivsky District Court in the case of the murder of journalist Oles Buzyna will continue on February 22, the panel of judges haven't satisfied the defense's motion for dismissal of judges and haven't accepted the self-challenge of presiding judge Yevhen Sidorov.

The corresponding panel was announced by the panel of judges on the defense's motion to dismiss the composition of the court and on the trial of the jury, and also considered the withdrawal of the presiding judge, an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent reported.

In connection with the employment of judges in other proceedings, the preliminary hearing was postponed to 10:00 on February 22.

As reported, the prosecutor's office of Kyiv on November 28, 2017 sent this indictment for consideration on the merits to the Kyiv's Shevchenkivsky court.

Buzyna was killed in the yard of an apartment block where he lived in Kyiv on April 16, 2015.

Medvedko and Polishchuk were detained on June 18 on suspicion of killing Buzyna.

Polishchuk, a guard lieutenant of the Ukrainian armed forces, had taken part in the Anti-Terrorist operation (ATO) in Donbas as the commander of the 54th reconnaissance battalion. Medvedko took part in the ATO in Donbas as a member of the Interior Ministry's Kyiv-2 battalion.

Lawyer Serhiy Voichenko, representing suspects Andriy Medvedko and Denys Polishchuk, said on June 27 that the Kyiv prosecutor's office had reported completing the pretrial inquiry into Buzyna's murder.

The accused are charged pursuant to Clause 12 of Part 2 of Article 115 (premeditated murder) and Part 1 of Article 263 (unlawful possession of firearms) of Ukraine's Criminal Code. If convicted, the defendants could face from 10 to 15 years in jail or life imprisonment.
By ANI

MALE: Major TV station in Maldives, RaajjeTV has shut down its broadcast coming under immense pressure and threats of attacks.

RajjeTV informs our viewers that we have suspended regular broadcasts due to attacks on free and independent media continued threats to RajjeTV and its staff, following the Polices decision to slash security to the station and the warning issued by the MNDF to media sources over closure of any media stations without warning, according to stations screenshot tweeted by the Maldives Voice.

#Maldives RaajjeTV has shutdown its broadcast coming under immense pressure and threats of attacks . #JournalismNotaCrime pic.twitter.com/qMNL3DkOrz  Maldives Voice (@MaldivesVoice4) February 8, 2018

On February 5, the opposition-aligned RaajjeTV tweeted that its shutdown was "imminent," and that they will "continue to work" until the "last minute. We have no security

RaajjeTV shutdown in imminent. Will continue to work for the people of the Maldives till the last minute. We have no security.  RaajjeTV (@Raajje_tv) February 5, 2018

The Maldives Broadcasting Commission had earlier warned media stations they could face closure if they were deemed a threat to national security, incited unrest with false information or endangered the public interest, according to news reports.

On Monday, former President of Maldives Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Chief Justice Saeed, Supreme Court Justice Ali Hameed and Judicial administrator Hassan Saeed were arrested by the security forces after Yameen declared a state of emergency in the country.

The arrests indicated that the crackdown on the opposition intensified. The country's National Defence Force also stormed inside the Supreme Court (SC) premises in Male on Tuesday.
Oleh Mkrtchan, CEO of the Industrial Union of Donbas (ISD) Corporation, who was arrested in Moscow on charges of embezzling more than a billion rubles as a loan of Russia's Vnesheconombank (VEB), has announced his withdrawal of Ukrainian citizenship and acquisition of Russian citizenship.

According to a report published by the Kommersant newspaper on Friday, last weekend he arrived in Russia from abroad and stayed in a five-star hotel Ritz-Carlton on Tverskaya Street. On Monday morning, the businessman was visited by officers of the FSB's Economic Security Service, who presented the decision by an investigator of the chief investigative directorate of the Russian Investigative Committee to attract him as a defendant for the commission of a crime under Part 4, Article 159 of the Russian Criminal Code (large-scale fraud).

According to investigators, while being a co-owner and CEO of ISD, Mkrtchan attracted several loans from Vnesheconombank for the development of enterprises that are part of the corporation, but transferred part of the money - more than a billion rubles - to an offshore firm controlled by him, subsequently spending this money on his projects.

According to the newspaper, Mkrtchan did not admit his guilt, saying that he has nothing to do with embezzlement, as well as an offshore firm, through which, according to the investigation, the state corporation's money was stolen.

Moscow's Basmanny Court arrested Mkrtchan until April 5, 2018. He was charged with large-scale fraud.

According to the media, Mkrtchan's detention may be related to the case on the embezzlement of funds allocated by Russian banks for ISD projects and to other businesses owned by the businessman.
By AFP

WAKHAN CORRIDOR: "Taliban -- what's that?" asks Sultan Begium shyly from her freezing home in Afghanistan's mountainous Wakhan Corridor, a region so remote that its residents are untouched by the decades of conflict that have devastated their country.

The frail-looking grandmother whose harsh life has etched deep lines in her face, is a woman of the Wakhi, a tribe of roughly 12,000 nomadic people who populate the area.

Known to those who live there by its Persian name Bam-e-Dunya, or "roof of the world", it is a narrow strip of inhospitable and barely accessible land in Afghanistan bordered by the mountains of what is now Tajikistan and Pakistan, and extending all the way to China.

Few venture out, even fewer venture in -- but this isolation has kept the Wakhi sheltered from almost forty years of the near constant fighting that has ravaged their fellow Afghans.

"War, what war? There has never been a war," Begium says, poking at a dying fire of yak dung, though she remembers people speaking of Russian soldiers dispensing cigarettes on the border at the other end of the corridor.

Such decades-old anecdotes are all the tribe really know of the Soviet invasion and US-funded mujahideen fightback, a brutal nine-year conflict that may have left as many as one million civilians dead and hundreds of thousands more displaced.

The subsequent civil war, in which tens of thousands more people were killed and uprooted, and the rise of the extremist Taliban regime seem to them like folklore.

"Taliban are very bad people from some other country who rape sheep and slaughter humans," says Askar Shah, Begium's eldest son, who has heard stories about them from Pakistani traders.

There is little knowledge of the US invasion or the bloody resurgence of the Taliban, and more recently the emergence of the Islamic State group, that have killed or injured hundreds of thousands across the nation.

IN PICTURES | Afghanistan's isolated Wakhi nomads who don't know about war, Taliban, burqa

"Foreigners invaded our country?" Askar Shah asks incredulously after being told how America and its allies went to war with the Taliban regime in 2001.

"No, they can't do that. They are good people," he says.

- 'Everyone is addicted' -

Created in the 19th century as a Great Game buffer zone between tsarist Russia and British India, the corridor has since remained untouched by any kind of government.

It can be reached from surrounding countries, but only via treacherous journeys by horse, yak or on foot through the "Pamir Knot", where three of the highest mountain ranges in the world converge.

Known in Afghanistan itself as Pamiris, the Wakhi form the bulk of the corridor's population -- the nomadic Kyrgyz tribe, which numbers just 1,100 people, live separately at its northern end.

The Wakhi are moderate Ismaili Muslims, followers of the Aga Khan. The burka -- which is ubiquitous elsewhere in Afghanistan and is regarded by critics as a symbol of women's oppression -- is unknown.

Their life, largely free from crime and violence, revolves around yaks and cattle, which they barter for food and clothes from the few traders who visit the remote region.

Without electricity they have no internet or mobile phone service, often communicating with one another across the vast terrain by walkie-talkie.

Occasionally they have access to radios, listening to Russian broadcasts or Afghan news -- Iranian music is also popular -- however such opportunities are rare, and once the batteries run down they fall silent until the traders arrive again.

But with temperatures below freezing for more than 300 days a year, this is no rural idyll.

Even minor flu can kill, and childbirth means death nearly as often as it means life. The endless grief helps fuel use of the only drug freely available in Wakhan: opium.

Opium is "the only Afghan identity we have", says Nazar, a Wakhi who goes by one name, adding: "The whole population is addicted to it."

But change may be coming: The Afghan government says it's conducting aerial surveys to assess potential routes to connect Wakhan to the rest of Badakhshan province by road.

The Chinese are also in talks with Kabul to help build a military base at the northern end of the corridor, according to Afghan officials.

If it all comes to fruition, it could bring more trade, tourism, and much-needed medical facilities.

It could also spell the end of the Wakhi's protection from the brutality of war.
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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).
Chief of the General Staff and Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Viktor Muzhenko has said that increasing the mobility of Ukrainian troops is a key priority of military reform in Ukraine and the training of troops, according to a report posted on the official website of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry.

During a meeting with members of the Kyiv Association of Military Attaches on Thursday, February 8, he noted that it was about moving the relevant forces and means - brigades, regiments, battalions, based on the activity and evaluation of the nature of the enemy's actions. The corresponding actions were worked out during the strategic exercises that provided for the movement and implementation of maneuvers for long distances - Summer Thunderstorm 2016, South Wind 2016 and Unyielding Resistance 2017.

Muzhenko also noted that during such exercises, great attention is paid to the ability of troops to overcome water obstacles, which are many in Ukraine.

"We are not going to forge the Volga. We are going to walk on our territory and on our own land. Despite the fact that someone provides some 'fake' documents, we have no tasks outside Ukraine's borders," he said.
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).
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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).
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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).
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Govt of Ukraine plans to hold first consultations with potential partners in GTS management on Feb 21-22

The Ukrainian government expects on February 21-22 to hold first consultations with potential partners in managing the gas transportation system (GTS), Deputy Prime Minister Volodymyr Kistion has reported.

"We will conduct first interviews with those companies that sent their offers to Ukraine on February 21-22. We have about seven interested partners, two of whom are well-known gas consortia in Europe. Belgium, France, Holland, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Italy, Romania, Greece and Germany expressed their interest in the joint management of the national gas transportation system," he wrote on his Facebook page.

Kistion noted applications from the interested parties will be accepted till March 1, 2018.

As reported, the Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry of Ukraine on December 28, 2017 officially invited potential partners in managing the country's GTS to preliminary consultations. Invitations were sent to the U.S. embassy, as well as the EU Delegation to Ukraine with the request to distribute this information among 25 EU countries.
Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL), the countrys second largest manufacturer of passenger cars and the number one exporter since inception launched Swachh Can, a portable bin for all Hyundai Cars under its new CSR Pillar for India- Swachh Move supporting the nationwide campaign Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

Launching the new CSR Pillar  Swachh Move, Mr Y K Koo, MD& CEO, Hyundai Motor India Ltd., said, As a Caring manufacturer and in-line with the nationwide Clean India Movement, we have developed Swacch Can, a portable bin for all Hyundai Cars. We recently conducted a Survey of Car owners and found 98% respondents deeply care about cleanliness of outside infrastructure such as streets, roads and more than 95% respondents favored they would prefer a portable covered bin inside the car in which waste items could be conveniently disposed-off, this led us to another innovation of Swachh Can. Starting from March 1st, 2018, entire Hyundai Product line-up will come with factory-fitted Swachh Cans. I hope this Swachh Move initiative will give a big boost to the efforts of making Clean India and Clean Indian Roads.

Also read: Day 2 highlights at Auto Expo 2018!

Congratulating Hyundai on this initiative, Hyundai Corporate Brand Ambassador, Mr. Shah Rukh Khan said, I admire Hyundai for their socially relevant campaigns that are so pertinent to every individual. Swachh Can is a simple yet powerful idea and I would like to request every single car owner to go ahead and use it and play their role in the Clean India Movement.

To reach the masses with a strong message of Clean India for keeping Indian Roads Clean, Hyundai will promote Swachh Can across the country through distribution in all Hyundai Dealerships and Service Workshops.

Also Watch:
Muzaffarnagar: After the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections last year, Vipin Singh Balyan from Kutba village in western UPs Muzaffarnagar took a radical decision. Fifty-three Jat youths from his village were implicated in nine separate cases of violence, including murder, in 2013, when communal riots ripped through Muzaffarnagar. He would go to the Muslim victims and beg forgiveness on behalf of Jats.

On the morning of September 8, 2013, communal violence had spread to Kutba and a group of local youths had killed eight Muslims. Scared for their lives, Muslims fled the village and settled in nearby Bara Basti, a cluster of 12 Muslim-dominated villages.

I decided to go to the house of one Akhtar Hassan, who had great standing among Kutbas Muslims. I told him I was there to ask for forgiveness. The first time I went there, the Muslims gathered around and started abusing me for what Jats had done to their families. I neither reacted nor tried to defend myself. I left my Jat ego at the door and listened to everything they had to say, says Balyan.

The first meeting with Akhtar was a failure. Balyan went again, only to be turned down once more. When the third visit, too, yielded no possibility of a settlement, Balyan says he was beginning to lose hope. But then, something unexpected happened.

After the third meeting, I went home dejected. That very evening, Akhtar called me. He said that a Muslim girl from Kutba was being bothered by local Muslim lads from Bara Basti. He sought help from Jats to put pressure on the police to arrest those miscreants. As their former landlords, Jats thought it was their duty to help a daughter of Kutba, even if she was Muslim. We surrounded the police station and the cops were forced to arrest the accused.

That incident helped break the ice and gave Balyan and company the chance to move forward with their peace process. But it was important to first win back the Muslims trust. The culprits of Kutba were Jats, but the Jats of Kakra village had lost their sons at the hands of Muslim rioters from nearby Pur Balyan village. So the Jats of Kutba took a decision. They would first get cases against Muslims withdrawn.

Chaudhary Shakir Ali is the former pradhan of Pur Balyan village. On September 7, 2013, a group of Jats were passing through the mosque in Pur Balyan when they were killed by a Muslim mob.

Shakir Ali, a local landlord, was accused of instigating the violence. We have centuries-old relations with Jats. But since the riots, I had stopped getting wedding invitations from Hindu households. Sometime during Ramzan last year, during the sehri, Jats from Kutba came to my house and had breakfast with us. Vipin bhai told us that he wanted a settlement of all riot-related cases. That came as a godsend for us. We were willing to fold our hands in front of the Jats of Kakra and beg for forgiveness. And if that helped the Jat boys from Kutba, it would be even better.

So it was decided. Fifty-three Jat boys from Kutba and 27 Muslims from Pur Balyan were accused of rioting. The two communities would come together to forgive all of them for their crimes of passion. After months of negotiations with the victims  the Kutba Muslims who now lived in Bara Basti and the Jats of Kakra  it was decided that a Mahapanchayat would be held. Two Mahapanchayats were held. But the Muslims had one condition.

They told us that if there was even a hint of involvement of the BJP, which they blame for the riots, any chance of a settlement would be off the table, says Vipin, adding, We agreed to that demand and did not invite any BJP leaders to the Mahapanchayat.

It complicated matters slightly since Kutbas twin village Kutbi is the home of BJP MP and former Union minister Sanjeev Balyan. But the Jats did not waver from their promise. The BJP was cut out from the peace settlement.

Chaudhary Shakir Ali, former pradhan of Pur Balyan village

The first two Mahapanchayats, one held at Mulayam Singh Yadavs residence in Delhi and the other one in Muzaffarnagar city, were positive in their tone and tenor, but a settlement had not been reached. The victims wanted to forgive and move on, but the scars of the Muzaffarnagar riots were still fresh. It was the third Panchayat in Bara Basti on February 4, 2018, where they made serious headway.

Sohanvir Balyan, a Jat from Kakra, says, Our Jat sons had been killed and yet, we went to the Mahapanchayat in Bara Basti. Some Right-wing groups refer to Bara Basti as Mini-Pakistan owing to its Muslim majority. But we did something radical there.

At the Mahapanchayat, Sohanvir took the stage and asked all Jats to chant Allah-O-Akbar! (Allah is great). He then turned to Muslims and asked them to chant Har Har Mahadev! (Hail Lord Shiva). To Vipin Balyans surprise, everyone complied.

Jats and Muslims have been friends for centuries but I have never seen something like this. I have never seen hardy Jats shout Allah-O-Akbar or seen skull cap-donning Muslims shout Har Har Mahadev, he says.

All of us chimed in. Har Har Mahadev is not an Islamic chant, but we still chimed in, says Shakir Ali.

The chants set the ball rolling. Chainpal Singh, the son of a local Chaudhary, took the stage with Shakir Ali and the two begged for forgiveness on behalf of their communities. I folded my palms and said Galati te humari thi, humein maaf kar dijiye (It was our fault, please forgive us), says Chainpal.

But what clinched the peace deal were the pleas of village elders.

Vipin Singh Balyan (on mic) addressing a panchayat

Raghubir Singh, a 90-year-old Jat from Kutba, faced Akhtar Hassan and told him that Jats held no ill-will against Muslims. The violence was not planned or done out of some enmity. A video was being circulated on mobile phones that showed the head of a Jat being smashed by a rock. It later turned out that the video was from a Taliban camp in Afghanistan. We were fooled and we fell for it. So I begged Akhtar to forgive Jats.

Shakir Ali had a similar story to tell. Some BJP leaders had held a Mahapanchayat on September 7 and rumours spread that a Muslim journalist was brutally murdered after it. Some local boys got angry and things got out of hand.

After the chants and the passionate pleas for forgiveness, Akhtar Hassan, who lost many friends in Kutba, forgave the Jats of his village. I took the families of the victims, all of whom were my friends, into confidence and together, we forgave the Jats of our village. The cases are still going on in the courts but we dont want to exact any revenge, he tells News18.

Shakir Ali says, pointing to 40-year-old Assaduddin, Look at him! He is handicapped and the police said he had murdered someone! Several people, from both sides, were falsely implicated in the riots. Now, they can move on with their lives.

While these Mahapanchayats were helping Jats and Muslims move towards a resolution, it ruffled feathers within the BJP. Former Union minister and Muzaffarnagar MP Sanjeev Balyan met UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday in Lucknow, along with BJP MLA Sangeet Som and farmer leader Naresh Tikait. He demanded that several cases of arson should be quashed. The leaders claimed that out of 502 cases, around 400 cases were of arson and were mostly bogus just to get the compensation.

As per reports, CM Yogi has assured the leaders of all possible help in this regard after proper consultation. A few days ago, the Yogi government had announced its decision to withdraw 20,000 cases, which were politically motivated.

Jat elders in Kutba

According to local Jats, Sanjeev Balyans decision to take Naresh Tikait with him to Lucknow has political significance. As the Chaudhary of the Balyan Khap, which dictates social life in 84 Jat villages of Muzaffarnagar, Tikait is essentially Jat royalty. Moreover, he is the son of iconic farmer leader Mahinder Singh Tikait.

A Jat activist from Muzaffarnagar says, When we met Tikait sahib, we told him that he had been used by Sanjeev Balyan for political ends. When he (Sanjeev Balyan) goes to the CM with the leader of the Balyan Khap, it appears as though all Jats are with him. His position in the BJP gets strengthened.

Another activist says Jats were fooled in 2014 and again in 2017. Jab tak Jat Jat hai, tab tak Jat ki thaath hai. BJP ne kuch waqt ke liye Jat ko Hindu bana diya tha. (As long as Jats remain Jats, they will remain prosperous. BJP had turned Jats into Hindus for a while).

Unperturbed by the BJPs attempts to champion riot-accused Jats, Vipin Balyan says his Mahapanchayats will continue. We have already resolved the conflicts in Kutba, Kakra and Pur Balyan. Now we will hold similar Mahapanchayats for the Jats and Muslims of Lishar, Fugana, Lakh, Mohammadpur Raisingh and Kawal villages. Jats and Muslims are, once again, united. The days of Baba Tikait (Mahinder Singh Tikait) are back.

While Muslims who fled their village do not plan to return to live here, signs of communal healing are already visible. One boy was an ironsmith in our village. A few months ago, he came back to set up his shop, even though he continues to live 5 km away in Bara Basti. We welcomed him with open arms and he was followed by Muslim farm labourers, who are the backbone of Jat landlords. The wounds are healing, says Balyan.

Shakir Ali agrees. Recently, I held my sons Walima (wedding reception) in the village. I had more Hindu guests than Muslims, he says proudly.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday sought responses from the Uttar Pradesh government and the CBI on a plea of the special judge, who convicted Rajesh Talwar and Nupur Tawar in the Aarushi murder case in 2013, against his criticism in the Allahabad High Court verdict.

Special CBI judge Shyam Lal, now retired, alleged that the high court while acquitting the Talwars in the case on October 12, 2017, made "disparaging remarks" and "unwarranted comments" and sought their expunction.

A bench of justices Ranjan Gogoi and R Banumathi issued notice to the Uttar Pradesh government, the CBI and the Allahabad High Court and sought their response in four weeks.

Senior advocate SR Singh, appearing for the retired judge, said that the strictures passed against him are ultimately going to affect his reputation as an impartial and transparent judge and should be expuncted.

Singh said that the remarks in the judgment were neither warranted nor were in conformity with the settled law of apex court.

In his plea, Shyam Lal said that he is not aggrieved against the judgment of the acquittal of Talwars but he is aggrieved by the observations made by the a member judge of the division bench of the high court, in his separate concurring judgment dated October 12, 2017.

The high court judge in his separate but concurring judgement had said, "The trial judge has prejudged things in his own fashion, drawn conclusion by embarking on erroneous analogy conjecturing to the brim on apparent facts telling a different story propelled by vitriolic reasoning.

"Thus, basing the finding of conviction without caring to see that it being a case based on circumstantial evidence things cannot be presumed and stuffed in a manner like the present one by adhering to self-created postulates then to roam inside the circle with all fanciful whim."

The high court verdict further said that the trial judge took evidence and the circumstances of the case for granted and tried to solve it like a "mathematical puzzle when one solves a given question and then takes something for granted in order to solve that puzzle and question".

It also said the point is that "the trial judge cannot act like a maths teacher who is solving a mathematical question by analogy after taking certain figure for granted".

"...Like a film director, the trial Judge has tried to thrust coherence among facts inalienably scattered here and there but not giving any coherence to the idea as to what in fact happened", the verdict had said with various other comments.

Lal, while posted as special CBI judge at Ghaziabad, had on November 25, 2013, convicted the Talwar couple for murder of their daughter Aarushi and had sentenced them for life sentence.

"While allowing criminal appeals (of Talwars) no adverse comments has been made against the petitioner (Shyam Lal) in the main judgment but the second judge in his concurring judgment has made certain adverse remarks which seriously affect the reputation of the petitioner as independent and impartial judge," his plea said.

Lal claimed in his petition that during his 28 years of "unblemished service" before retiring on November 30, 2013, he dealt with high profile cases like that of Surendra Koli vs. State, properly known as 'Nithari case', graft case of former Uttar Pradesh chief secretary Neera Yadav, among others.
New Delhi: Delhi Polices Special cell has arrested a Group captain of Indian Air Force for passing on the classified information related to cyber space and classified information related to airforce operations . He is the same person who was detained and questioned by the IAF on January 31. He is now under five days of police custody.

According to DCP Special Cell, the group captain has been identified as Arun Marwaha. A case of spying has been registered against him and police have also invoked sections of Official Secrets Act.

Marwaha was working as joint director operations and was posted at Vayu Bhawan. It has been alleged in the complaint, accessed by News18, that he was passing on some secret documents pertaining to the operations of Air Force to unauthorised persons which may jeopardise the security of the nation.

During a close watch it was found that group captain was carrying smartphone to the headquarters, which is prohibited. On sustained questioning he confessed of being in touch with two women - Mahima Patel and Kiran.

He has befriended these women on social networking sites three months ago and was sending classified documents through various messenger apps.

He has passed the classified service information over the cyber space, including a document of forthcoming Air Force Exercise, and in the process has revealed the Air Force operational informational of classified nature, read the complaint to police.

According to police, he has been alleged of clicking photos from his phone of the classified documents and sending them to these women, which might risk the safety and security of the country and might assist the enemy.

Police have registered the case and have undertaken investigation. They have sent his mobile phone to the FSL . Police is also trying to track the women - whether they are real or someone else with fake identity was getting information From the captain.
New Delhi: Seven Pakistani terrorists, who were lodged in the Srinagar central jail, have been shifted to Jammu after the Centre cracked the whip on the J&K government two days after the daring escape of a Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist.

Sources told CNN-News18 that the home ministry in a high-level meeting on Friday made it clear to the state government that the escape of Naveed Jutt was unacceptable and steps must be taken to avoid any repeat of the situation.

A total of 16 Pakistani terrorists are lodged in the Srinagar jail, and sources said that all of them will be moved to different jails in Uddhampur, Leh and Jammu on the directions of the central government.

The idea is to isolate them. While they were together, they managed to meet over ground workers during visiting hours and influence some jail staff, an official who was part of the meeting said.

J&K DGP SP Vaid told CNN-News18 that the final decision on the transfer will be taken by the state government. "Steps have to be taken to ensure safety of all prisoners lodged in jail," he said.

The preliminary enquiry conducted after Jutt's escape had showed that mobile phones were being used by a number of prisoners in the jail, and Vaid confirmed that there is no doubt that a mobile was used to formulate the conspiracy.

"In exchange for money, lower level jail staff were getting sim cards for these prisoners. A random inspection earlier had showed that the jammers were deliberately unplugged," an officer involved with the enquiry said.

The 22-year-old Jutt was being taken to a hospital for a routine check-up with five other prisoners when gunmen attacked. Two policemen were killed in the shootout and Jutt had managed to escape.

The divisional commissioner has also ordered a high-level inquiry to fix responsibility for lapses and examine why high security prisoners were being sent to OPD of the hospital.

News18 had on Thursday reported that the doctor attached to Srinagar jail had on multiple occasions recommended that Naveed Jutt be taken to a hospital. Her role is also under the scanner.

Officials said that it has also been decided that to engage CRPF for all aspects of security at Srinagar Jail. When asked if this was a vote of no confidence in the state police, Vaid said, "CRPF was part of security here earlier too. Now their engagement will increase. Don't worry about the morale of JKP, we are fine.

The state government had also ordered a reshuffle in the top police brass on Thursday, and sources in North Block said the decision to transfer DG prisons was taken after an MHA advisory to fully review security measures and take action to prevent such action in future.
New Delhi: Upping the ante in poll bound Meghalaya, the BJP released a 38-page document on Thursday highlighting 15 Years of Loot, 15 Years of Destruction allegedly carried out by Congress led government in the state.

The list, released by BJP state in charge and Union Minister KJ Alphons, specifically named cabinet ministers Ampareen Lyngdoh, HDR Lyngdoh and Clement R Marak besides two others, and held them responsible for financial bungling.

Alphons described Chief Minister Mukul Sangma as a devil on the prowl at night, bent on destroying the state, and accused another Congress leader in the state of running a flesh trade.

Your own cabinet colleague is running a brothel. Is this what the government is all about, destroying the dignity of the people of Meghalaya, destroying young girls? he asked, slamming Sangma over the alleged prostitution racket involving a minor girl in a guest house owned by home minister H D R Lyngdohs wife.

While releasing the list Alphons said, Gods Paradise is in a complete mess. Successive Congress governments have wrecked the state and future of young people. There are no roads, hospitals or institutions of higher learning. People have to go out for studies, jobs and healthcare.

The document, accusing Civil Supplies Minister Clement R Marak of being involved in the 2016 sugar scam, stated that the Congress government in Meghalaya had resorted to favouritism in the tendering process for supply of sugar in the state leaving a loss of Rs 2.7 crore every month to the states exchequer.

Alphons said that the people of the state were rich in heritage but otherwise poor as they had been impoverished by the state government. The states ministers, including the chief minister, are growing in wealth. They have bungalows everywhere, he alleged, adding that the state could have been a hub of tourism and hospitality industries.

The party also accused the Congress of a lackadaisical approach, which it said has allowed the problem of militancy to worsen. It stated that there are as many as 10 militant groups operating in Meghalaya with at least nine operating in Garo Hills alone.

Alphons further said, The only motorable roads in Meghalaya are the national highways. Fortunately, the money for construction of these roads has not been handed over to the state government otherwise he (chief minister) would have walked away with it.

The Union minister claimed that more had been done in the three-and-a-half years of Prime Minister Narendra Modis rule than in the Congresss 70 years.
New Delhi: Students at a school in Madhya Pradeshs Tikamgarh had a hard time writing their final exams as the institution was turned into a venue for a cultural event attended by BJP MLA Anita Nayak.

On the day of the exam, a cultural programme and an MLA cup tournament was organized in the school premises where women dancers could be seen performing on a popular Haryanvi number.

While students sat on the ground to write their exam, Nayak, along with some guests enjoyed the dance performance and cultural programme organised in the memory of a deceased local leader.

When News18 contacted senior BJP minister Hitesh Bajpai on the issue, he said that he is not aware of the issue and assured to probe the matter.

If such an incident has occurred, we will definitely take stern action against the miscreants, said Bajpai.

Demanding a case be filed against the local leader, MP Congress spokesperson K K Mishra said, How can such a dance performance take place in school premises, especially when children are writing their exam? This shows BJPs views on education. No one has even come out to speak on the issue because people fear for their lives.

Meanwhile, the Madhya Pradesh government has ordered a probe into the incident.

Last year, a video of a primary school in Uttar Pradeshs Mirzapur district had gone viral where a similar dance performance was organised to celebrate the birthday of the Gram Pradhans son.
New Delhi: Senior advocate HS Phoolka, who has been instrumental in re-opening the investigation in 1984 anti-Sikh riot cases, has written a letter to the Prime Minister demanding Congress leader Jagdish Tytlers custodial interrogation. He also lashed out at the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for favouring the politician in the case.

The Nanavati Commission had named Tytler as one of the organisers in its report submitted a decade ago. He was also accused of killing three Sikhs outside Gurudwara Pulbangash in his Delhi north constituency during the riots.

While the CBI, to date, has not been able to establish any charges against the Congress leader, several Delhi courts from time-to-time have pressed the agency for further investigation into his role.

Phoolka, in his letter, has talked about an incident during a hearing in Karkardooma courts, where the re-trial in anti-Sikh riot cases have started.

During the court hearing in Karkardooma courts, the investigating officer called one of the prime witnesses against Tytler a blackmailer. The statement of witnesses, who gave evidence against Tytler, are not being recorded before the magistrate under section 164 of The Criminal Procedure Code, whereas the statement of witnesses, who gave statements in favour of Tytler, were duly recorded by CBI, wrote the senior Supreme Court lawyer.

He has also alleged that CBI was not recording statements of select witnesses and has thereby established a case of preferential treatment.

The court has also asked CBI why statements of 22 witnesses, who are nearly 85 years old, should not be recorded under section 164 CRPC. To this, the CBI had stated that it was their discretion. The CBIs stand, openly favouring the accused in a case relating to a mass massacre, is not acceptable. The CBI is also intentionally delaying the lie detector test of Abhishek Verma, in spite of Vermas consent and willingness to undergo the test, as it is likely to go against Jagdish Tytler, states Phoolka.

Recently, Congress leader Jagdish Tytler had lodged a complaint against Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee president Manjit Singh GK, accusing him of circulating a doctored video clip showing Tytler confessing to the mass massacre.

Tytler filed the complaint at Kapashera police station in southwest Delhi and also lodged a complaint to the cyber cell of Delhi Police. A complaint has been received and we are looking into it, an officer said.

Meanwhile, Phoolka has called for a change in the CBI investigation team and custodial interrogation of the Congress leader.

The CBI team, which is investigating the case against Jagdish Tytler, is totally favouring him and is trying to shield him. I honestly request you to instruct the director of CBI to immediately change the team of investigation, wrote Phoolka to PM Modi.
Kolkata: A teacher of a private English-medium school in the city was detained on Friday after a Class 2 student alleged that he had sexually abused her, police said.

The development triggered angry protests by parents, who gathered outside the school, demanding suspension and punishment for the accused.

A senior police official said the parents of the alleged victim alleged that their daughter was abused by the dance teacher.

The incident came to light yesterday(Friday) when the girl complained about the teacher to her parents, he said.

One of the agitating parents alleged that the school authorities tried to downplay the matter when they were informed about it.

"It was then we decided to stage a protest outside the school," he said.

Police officials, who reached the spot to control the agitators, were also heckled, the officer said.

"We have taken the teacher with us to the police station," he said, adding the parents assaulted the accused when he was being taken away.

The incident brought back memories of another case in December last year when a four-year-old girl student was allegedly sexually assaulted by two teachers inside an English-medium school. Both the teachers were arrested.
Lucknow: Days after Uttar Pradesh police boasted of figures to more than 1100 encounters in the last 10 months, a criminal who was shot during a shootout in Barabanki has claimed that he was arrested two days before the incident.

An encounter was reported from the district in which, according to the police, three criminals were nabbed. One of those history-sheeters caught after the gun battle, Anshu Pushpakar, has claimed he was in police custody two days before it.

Talking to News18, Pushpakar says he was arrested with another of the criminals involved in the shootout. I was arrested, along with another person, by the crime branch officers two days before the encounter. When I arrived at the police station, there were three others already in custody. A night before the encounter, we were given food at 10pm. At 1.30 am, we were taken to a bridge. There, another person and I were shot, said Pushpakar, who is undergoing treatment at a Primary Health Centre in Suratganj.

The police had an entirely different version. We were investigating the area because of the Kisan Rally. When we spotted them, the criminals opened fire. We fired back in retaliation and managed to nab three of them. One, unfortunately, managed to escape. A stolen car, live cartridges and country-made pistols were recovered from them. They belong to the interstate gang. Police inspector Arun Kumar and two constables, Ankit Tomar and Rahul Verma, were injured in the incident, said SP Barabanki Anil Kumar Singh.

UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, after coming to power gave the police full freedom to deal with rising crime rates in the state. While stating so, he asked criminals to either surrender or leave UP. Responding to this, the police promptly launched Operation Clean and took no time in beginning to deal with wanted men.

According to information released by Uttar Pradesh Police, there were 1142 police encounter in Uttar Pradesh between March 20, 2017, and January 31, 2018.

There have been voices raised against the encounters, especially when a police officer shot a gym owner in Noida to get a promotion. The death of Sumit Gurjar, who was also shot dead by the police in Noida, had raised eyebrows. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) even sent a notice to the UP Government over the encounter of Sumit Gurjar seeking answers.

If the burgeoning number of encounters are not kept a strict vigil, it could lead to a repeat of the 1991 Pilibhit fake encounter case. In 2016, a special CBI court found 47 police officers guilty of killing 12 people who were travelling back from a pilgrimage. The police, reacting to a speculative story about militants travelling the route, stopped their bus and took the group to different spots. All 12 were later found dead.

Meanwhile, opposition parties have been critical of the polices alleged free reign. Talking to News18, Samajwadi Party spokesperson, Rajendra Chaudhary said, The recent encounter in Noida was fake and we seek strict action against the culprits. CM Yogi had warned the criminals but instead, crime has risen in the state. This is just government propaganda to hide their failure to crime control. This is a smokescreen created by the BJP but on the contrary, the crime graph is rising. Law and order situation has gone out of the hand in the state.
Court to continue preliminary hearing of case on Buzyna's murder on Feb 22

A preparatory meeting of the Shevchenkivsky District Court of Kyiv in the case on the murder of journalist Oles Buzyna will continue on February 22.

According to an Interfax-Ukraine reporter, a respective decision was made by a panel of judges. The court rejected a petition filed by the defense team to recuse the panel of judges and did not accept the recusal of Presiding Judge Yevhen Sydorov.

Since the judges are busy with other proceedings, the preliminary hearing was postponed until 10.00 on February 22.

As reported, on November 28, 2017, the prosecutor's office in Kyiv sent this indictment for consideration on the merits to Kyiv's Shevchenkivsky District Court.

Buzyna was killed in the yard of an apartment block where he lived in Kyiv on April 16, 2015.

Two suspects in the murder  Andriy Medvedko and Denys Polischuk - were detained on June 18. Polishchuk, a guard lieutenant of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, had taken part in the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) in Donbas as the commander of the 54th reconnaissance battalion. Medvedko took part in the ATO in Donbas as a member of the Interior Ministry's Kyiv-2 battalion.

Lawyer Serhiy Voichenko, representing Medvedko and Polischuk, said on June 27, 2017 that the Kyiv Prosecutor's Office had reported completing the pretrial inquiry into Buzyna's murder.

The accused are charged pursuant to Clause 12, Part 2, Article 115 (premeditated murder) and Part 1, Article 263 (unlawful possession of firearms) of Ukraine's Criminal Code. If convicted, the defendants could face from 10 to 15 years in jail or life imprisonment.
Bihar Police Constable Admit Card 2017 has been released by the Central Selection Board of Constable (CSBC) for the 2nd round viz PET of the Bihar Police Constable Recruitment 2017.

The result of written test was released earlier this month and a total of 14,920 male candidates and 8,573 female candidates had qualified for the Physical Evaluation Test (PET), which is scheduled to be conducted from 19th February 2018 at Shahid Rajendra Prasad Singh Government High School (Patna High School), Gardanibagh, Patna, 800002. Candidates who are eligible to appear for the second round of recruitment can follow the instructions below and download their admit card at the earliest:

How to Download Bihar Police Constable Admit Card 2017?

Step 1  Visit the official website - http://csbc.bih.nic.in/

Step 2  Click on the notification that reads,

Important Notice: Download e-Admit Card for PET Exam of Bihar Police Constable. (Advt. 01/2017)

Step 3  Enter your Registration number, password, captcha code and click on Submit

Step 4  Download your Admit Card and take a printout for further reference

CSBC Bihar Police Constable written examination was held in October 2017 across the state of Bihar.

CSBC aims to recruit 9900 candidates for the post of Constable in Bihar Police. Approximately 11.29 Lakh candidates had appeared for the written examination and candidates who have qualified it, will now be tested for physical endurance.

The Physical Evaluation Test will comprise of Running (50 marks), Shot Put (25 marks) and High Jump (25 marks) and an individuals overall performance will be accounted while preparing the merit list.

CSBC is expected to release the final results of this recruitment drive by March-April 2018.
New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday said the government will take into account the actual input cost plus unpaid value of family labour while fixing the support price of crops at 50 percent higher than the cost of production.

He had announced in the Budget earlier this month that the government will fix the minimum support price (MSP) of Kharif 2019 crops at least 1.5 times than the cost of production.

The Opposition and farm experts demanded the government spell out that formula to be adopted to determine cost of production.

Replying to a debate on Union Budget 2018-19 in the Rajya Sabha, Jaitley said the government will take the A2+FL formula (covering actual paid out cost plus imputed value of family labour) to determine the cost of production of agri-crops and fix accordingly the MSP.

Currently, the government fixes MSP of 23 commodities although it procures only wheat and paddy to supply subsidised foodgrain through ration shops under the Food Law.

Admitting that farmers do not get MSP despite the government fixing it, Jaitley said: "Therefore, the proposal given in the Budget aims at providing MSP to farmers. MSP is fixed by taking into consideration the input cost, labour cost. A2+FL and (the farmer) gets 50 percent more."

The formula is "A2+FL, that is the understanding I have from the agriculture ministry", he said, while clarifying to Congress leader Jairam Ramesh who sought to know the formula to be used by the government while fixing MSP 1.5 times higher than the cost of production of agri-crops.

Presently, the government decides the MSP based on the recommendation of an expert body the Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices (CACP).

The CACP has three formulae to arrive at the cost of production: A2, A2+FL and C2.

A2 costs cover all paid-out expenses, both in cash and kind, incurred by farmers on seeds, fertilisers, chemicals, hired labour, fuel and irrigation, among others.

A2+FL covers actual paid-out costs plus an imputed value of unpaid family labour.

C2 costs are more comprehensive, accounting for the rentals and interest forgone on owned land and fixed capital assets respectively, on top of A2+FL.

After the Budget announcement on the MSP, Niti Aayog member Ramesh Chand had said: "Based on the principle announced by the FM, the overall increase in the support price could be between 8 per cent and 47 per cent depending on crops and their cost of production this year."

In October 2006, the National Commission for Farmers under eminent farm scientist M S Swaminathan in its report had recommended the MSP for crops to be fixed at least 50 per cent higher than the weighted average cost of production.

BJP in its 2014 general elections had promised to fix MSP at 50 per cent more than the cost of production.

Participating in a debate on Budget, SAD leader Naresh Gujral urged the government to fulfil its promise on MSP and not let down the farmers.

"I will not get into to the formula, I hope farmers will get a good deal," he added.
Chandigarh: A government school teacher in Ludhiana district has been charged with raping a minor Dalit student and conspiring with another male teacher to abort her foetus when she got pregnant, police said.

A FIR in this regard was registered at Hathur Police Station in Ludhiana today and both the accused teachers were arrested, SSP Ludhiana (Rural) Surjeet Singh said. Whether the abortion had taken place or not is under investigation, the police said.

The SSP said that a male teacher of another government school in Ludhiana, who was earlier posted in that school, had a few days ago lodged a complaint accusing the two teachers of allegedly raping the Class XII girl, and conspiring to abort her foetus after learning that she had got pregnant.

Besides the complaint, the complainant teacher had also forwarded an audio clip of nearly four minutes in which the two accused teachers were allegedly discussing ways of getting the 18-year-old student's abortion done.

In the clip, both accused teachers were allegedly found talking that they would make the girl fall from stairs and then rush her to a hospital, the SSP said.

"The two accused teachers also planned how they would avoid taking along a woman teacher when they take the girl to the hospital," he said.

Sub Inspector Rupinder Kaur along with Station House Officer (SHO), Hathur Police Station, recently visited the village in Ludhiana where the girl lived and recorded her statement in the presence of her parents, the SSP said. The victim was also produced before the Duty Magistrate in the presence of her mother and Sarpanch. The Duty Magistrate recorded the statement of the victim, the SSP said in an official release on Thursday.

The girl stated that she had taken the admission in Class-9 in the school. When she was studying in Class XI, last year, one of the accused school teacher raped her in the school library, the SSP said.

A case under various provisions of IPC including rape, conspiracy, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the SC/ST Act, and under the provisions of the IT Act has been registered against the two accused teachers, the SSP added.
Ramallah (West Bank): Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's historic Palestine visit, President Mahmoud Abbas said he will discuss with him India's role in the Middle East peace process and the creation of a multilateral forum of negotiations to strike a final deal with Israel.

Modi, the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Palestine, is reaching Ramallah on Saturday amid heightened tensions in the region after US President Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

The unilateral US decision to declare Jerusalem as the capital of Israel was challenged at the UN General Assembly where 128 nations, including India, voted to turn down the move as "null and void".

"We are receiving Prime Minister Modi in a historic visit that will demonstrate the strong ties and relations between the Palestinian people and the brotherly Indian people," Abbas told PTI in an e-mail interview.

Though India has shied away from becoming a party in the Israel-Palestinian conflict, the Palestinian leader on several occasions has stressed on a possible role for New Delhi in the Middle East peace process.

"We will discuss the recent updates with Prime Minister Modi, and the recent developments in the peace process, the bilateral relations, and the regional situations. And the possible role India can play in enhancing peace in the region, as well as discussing different economical aspects beyond the existing ties we already possess," Abbas said.

The Palestinian presidency, on Friday, also termed PM Modis visit as "historic and important". It said that both leaders would 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.

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.

Describing India as a "very respected country in the international arena", the 82-year-old Palestinian President said that India can have a possible role in creating a multilateral forum of negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis to reach a final agreement.

He said Modi's visit to the region reflects India's long-held position of supporting peace and stability in the region.

"We believe in the importance of a possible Indian role... to reach a final agreement based on international consensus and resolutions, in which India and other countries can be part of," Abbas said.

"The long Indian position of supporting the two-state solution is well known. India has supported the Palestinian cause throughout the years of conflict, and we rely on the Indian support in order to reach the independence of the Palestinian State," he added.

As Palestine works to establish an international multilateral mechanism of negotiations, the Palestinian leader stated that "India can play a role in this".

"The relations between India and Palestine are historical... This visit will culminate the historic ties between the two brotherly people, and will help in increasing and strengthening these ties that we possess," he stressed.

The Indian Prime Minister would be skipping Israel during his forthcoming tour of Middle East in a clear message that New Delhi is de-hyphenating its ties with the Jewish state and Palestine. Modi had visited Israel last year in July in a standalone visit that had led to many analysts questioning the future of the Indo-Palestine ties.

When asked about India's growing engagement with Israel, an unperturbed Abbas said that "any state has the right to establish relations with other countries".

"We believe in the importance of our relationship with the brotherly Indian State, the support of India to the Palestinian people, and the relationship we possess with the Indian people, will not be affected by Indias relations with any other State," he emphasised.

"India has recognised the State of Palestine in 1988, and we cannot forget the last Indian vote in favour of Palestines rights in Jerusalem in the United Nations General Assembly, and all the political stands that India has taken to support the Palestinian rights in the international arena," Abbas said referring to India's vote at the UN.

India has consistently voted in favour of resolutions supporting the Palestinian cause at international forums, an issue that has bothered strategic partner Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently said that he was "disappointed" at the Indian vote at the UN but also expressed hope that there will be a possible change of heart over a period of time.

Appreciating India's assistance in strengthening Palestinian economy through executing several projects in the Palestinian areas, Abbas said that "he cannot forget" New Delhi's support and wishes to further discuss with Modi areas of cooperation in the economic sphere.

A number of MoUs are likely to be signed between the two sides during Modi's three-hour visit to Palestine under which India will provide funding for a number of projects in the fields of health, education, culture and womens empowerment.

"The Indian Government and its people have provided significant assistance and aid to the Palestinian people by establishing training centres, schools, and the necessary humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people under occupation in the West Bank and Gaza," Abbas noted.

"And in 2016 we laid the foundation stone to establish the Palestine India Techno Park project in Ramallah, and we are also looking forward the establishment of the Institute of Diplomacy that is kindly funded by the Indian Government", he noted.

A lot of Palestinian diplomats have received training in India and hundreds of Palestinians have availed scholarships to study at Indian institutions as part of New Delhi's effort towards capacity building in Palestine.

"We are working on promoting the economic relations through introducing businessmen and investors from both sides on the available opportunities in the sectors of tourism, technological exchange in many areas, including industrial, agricultural, and information systems, and on the other hand, signing government agreements to support businessmen and protect their investments," he said.

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.
Bengaluru: A terrorist of the Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) has been sentenced to seven years rigorous imprisonment by a local court here in a terror financing and money laundering case, officials said on Friday.

Bilal Ahmed Quta alias Imran Jalal, who operated from Karnataka, has also been fined Rs 50,000 by the court, they said. A special PMLA court of Judge Shivshankar Amarannavar pronounced the verdict on Thursday.

The case dates back to January, 2007 when the man was arrested with an AK series assault rifle, 200 bullets, five hand grenades and a satellite phone by the Karnataka Police while he was getting down from a bus in Bengaluru.

He was charged with "waging war" against Government of India, possession of arms and explosives and other sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Quta was involved in these activities since 2001 and was a member of the LeT, they said.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) later booked Quta under the criminal provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in 2009, taking cognisance of the police charges and subsequent conviction by a local court.

The central probe agency had also "confiscated" Rs 34,830 funds of Quta under anti-money laundering laws as it identified the money to be meant for terror financing.

This is the fourth case of conviction under the PMLA in the country.

The PMLA was enacted in 2002 and implemented from 2005 to check serious crimes of tax evasion, generation of black money and money laundering.

The first conviction under the PMLA in the country had come in January last year when a Ranchi court convicted former Jharkhand minister Hari Narayan Rai and sentenced him to seven years rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh.

Subsequently, in March last year, a man identified as Alauddin was convicted in a money laundering case relating to illegal possession of narcotic drugs by a Kolkata court.

This was followed by the conviction of a Pakistani terrorist Mohammed Fahad Hai, belonging to the banned terror group Al-Badr, who was sentenced to 7 years rigorous imprisonment by a Bengaluru court under the anti-money laundering law.

The stringent PMLA law allows for a maximum of seven years of imprisonment and a fine.
Ahmedabad: Two months after the Sardar Sarovar dam was inaugurated, Gujarat is facing a severe water crisis with the recorded level of its reservoir at the lowest in several years.

The Sardar Sarovar dam on the Narmada River was inaugurated just ahead of the Gujarat Assembly elections in December 2017, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Every election rally that followed, including the ones that PM Modi addressed, were filled with speeches how the Narmada project had drastically changed the lives of people in Gujarat and how Gujarats lifeline had ushered in prosperity for everyone.

A little over a month after the Gujarat assembly results, the state is now staring at a severe water crisis.

The water level in the Sardar Sarovar Dam reservoir is lowest in several years despite heavy rainfall in Gujarat last monsoon. In figures, the amount of water in the reservoir is 50 percent of the average water in the dam in the past 15 years.

And the government has announced that not a single drop of Narmada water will be available for irrigation this coming summer.

Speaking at a function in Ahmedabad on February 2, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani asked farmers not to sow summer crops. The water level in the Narmada dam is low because of reduced inflow. The state government has to provide water for drinking purposes and that is the priority. Farmers should not sow crops this summer because Narmada water will not be available for irrigation, he said.

Prior to the CMs announcement, chief secretary J N Singh and Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited (SSNNL) CMD S S Rathore said that there would be a water cut for industries and cities this summer. The Sardar Sarovar Reservoir Regulation Committee (SSRRC) met on January 10 and decided to allot 4.7 million acre feet (MAF) of water to Gujarat instead of nine million MAF last year, Singh said.

Accordingly, there will be a cut of water supplied to industries and other sources, the chief secretary stated. SSNNL CMD, who accompanied the chief secretary for the media briefing, said, The Gujarat government is not bound to supply water for summer crops, but we have been doing so in the previous years because we had been receiving excess water.

According to sources, SSNNL, the state government organization that is responsible for managing water in the dam and the canal network, had got a whiff of this impending crisis by the end of the monsoon season last year itself. Deficient rainfall in catchment areas of the Narmada in Madhya Pradesh meant that the inflow in the dam had reduced considerably. But with elections around the corner, the government perhaps could not afford to make this public even as surveys showed that the BJP was slipping further in rural areas of the state.

According to the water sharing agreement between various beneficiary states, Gujarat received nine million acre feet (MAF) of water last year, but with the catchment areas of the river (in and around Burhanpur in Madhya Pradesh) receiving scanty rainfall last monsoon, the share that Gujarat has received this year is just about half at 4.7 MAF.

On December 1, 2017, the level of water at the Narmada dam stood at 124.02 metres, while it reduced to 112.22 metres in the span of two months on February 2 this year. As of Friday, the level of water at the Narmada dam site stood at 111.65 metres, while the minimum permissible level of water at the dam is 110.64 metres. This means that as of today, there is just one metre of water that can be used from the reservoir. Indeed, a scary proposition.

Sagar Rabari, President of the Gujarat Khedut Mandal, an umbrella body of farmers across the state, told News18  The present situation is purely man made. And what makes it worse is that water was wasted by this government before the elections just to garner votes. The release of Narmada water into the Aji Dam in Saurashtra, and then further downstream was nothing more than sheer wastage of water even as the Narmada reservoir had received very less rainfall.

Rabari will embark on a padyatra from Monday to galvanise about 5.5 lakh farmers across Saurashtra and North Gujarat. I will first do a padyatra along the Maliya branch canal and then do a padyatra along the North Gujarat sub canal network. It is only because of mismanagement of water resources that farmers will not get water for irrigation after March 15.

To make matters worse, there have been instances of breach in the secondary and tertiary canals of the Narmada canal network, resulting in wastage of millions of litres of water. Earlier this week, the sides of a sub canal in North Gujarats Banaskantha district gave way, resulting in wastage of several million litres of water, which spread into nearby fields. On Friday, a sub canal in Chhota Udepur in Central Gujarat also developed a breach, resulting in wastage of water for several hours before the canal was repaired by the SSNNL.

Meanwhile, the government has now posted police and SRP along the main Narmada canal and sub canals to prevent farmers from stealing water. While farmers are allowed to legally draw water until March 15 from the canal network by paying a nominal fee, there are several farmers who attempt to draw water without permission from the canal network. SSNNL officials, accompanied by cops, have been cutting such illegal connections for the past one week.

The Congress meanwhile, is looking to score brownie points over the water crisis. Speaking to News18, party spokesperson Dr Manish Doshi said - "The Sardar Sarovar project was inaugurated by the PM just ahead of the elections purely for political gains. The BJP used this to campaign for the election. And now that the elections are over, the state is staring at a water crisis. This has already reflected in the just concluded gram panchayat elections and the farmers will vote against the BJP in the forthcoming district panchayat, taluka panchayat and municipalities elections as well."
Mumbai: The Maharashtra government today appointed a judicial commission, under retired justice Jai Narayan Patel, to conduct a probe into the Bhima-Koregaon violence which erupted last month, a senior official said. Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Sudhir Shrivastav said besides Patel, a former chief justice of the Calcutta High Court, Maharashtra Chief Secretary Sumit Mullick will also be a part of the two-member panel.

"The committee has been asked to look into the sequence of events that eventually led to the violence. Also, there will probe about who were the persons/organisations responsible for the violence and if there was adequate police presence at the spot at the time of the incident," Shrivastav told PTI.

He also said the commission has been given four months to conduct a detailed probe and submit its report. Patel had presided over the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts trail in its initial stages before he became a High Court Judge. On January 1, the event to mark the 200th anniversary of the Bhima-Koregaon battle in Pune district, in which forces of the East India Company defeated Peshwa's army, was marred by incidents of violence, with one person getting killed.

Dalit leaders commemorate the British victory, as it is believed that soldiers from the Mahar community  then considered untouchable -- were part of the East India Company's forces. However, some right-wing groups in Pune had expressed opposition to the celebration of the 'British' victory.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said his party had kept asking how could the government could suo-moto declare an inquiry under a serving judge, referring to the earlier announcement made by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

"@Dev_Fadnavis govt has fallen flat on it's face as request of govt to hv a serving Judge for Inquiry of #bhimakoregaonviolence has been denied by HC CJ," he tweeted. "We kept asking that how can govt Suo Motu declare Inquiry under serving judge. Now enquiry to be conducted under retired judge," he said in another tweet.
Amman: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met Jordan's King Abdullah II here and said he had "wonderful" meeting that would further boost India-Jordan ties.

Modi arrived here on the first leg of his tour of three West Asian countries, including Palestine.

"Had a wonderful meeting with His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan. Our discussions today will give great strength to India-Jordan bilateral relations," Modi tweeted after meeting the King.

During the meeting, Modi told the King that he is looking forward to his visit to India in February end.

The King, meanwhile, described the meeting as the beginning of a new chapter in the bilateral ties.

"The Prime Minister expressed sincere thanks for logistical support extended for smooth facilitation for his Palestine visit," Raveesh Kumar, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson, tweeted.

Kumar also tweeted a picture of Modi hugging the King. "A warm hug between friends reflecting our relationship! PM @narendramodi had a very cordial meeting with His Majesty King of Jordan immediately upon arrival in Amman. In a gracious and personal gesture, the King invited Prime Minister Modi to his residence for the meeting," he said.

On his arrival here, Modi was received by Jordan Prime Minister Hani Al-Mulki.

This is Modi's first visit to Jordan and also the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister in 30 years. India and Jordan enjoy friendly ties since diplomatic relations were established in 1950, Kumar said.

Tomorrow, Modi will leave for Palestine where he is scheduled to hold discussions with President Mahmoud Abbas and reaffirm India's support for the Palestinian people and the development of Palestine.

Modi will be the first-ever prime minister to visit Palestine.

The Prime Minister will leave for the UAE later in the day for a two-day visit.

In the UAE, Modi would hold meetings with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

He said he will also be addressing the 6th edition of the World Government Summit in Dubai, where India is the guest country.

During the visit, Modi said he will engage with leading UAE and Arab CEOs in Dubai on the vast economic opportunities in India and what more can be done to bolster business collaboration.

On the last leg of his trip, Modi would travel to Oman from February 11-12.

Modi will visit Oman for the first time as prime minister and will hold talks with the Sultan of Oman and other key leaders.

He would also interact with leading businesspersons of Oman on developing stronger economic and business links with India.

More than nine million Indians work and live in the Gulf region, of which about one third live in the UAE alone. In Oman, they constitute the largest expatriate community.
New Delhi: The latest report by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (Ministry of Women and Child Development) has found that almost 14% principals do not favour children from economically weaker sections (EWS) studying in their school.

The reasons behind this discrimination seem to be ranging from health, hygiene concerns to non-payment of reimbursements. According to Section 12(1)(c) of the Right To Education Act, 25% of seats in private non-aided schools are to be reserved for children from economically and socially weaker sections of society.

The commission, that conducted the study titled A Study on Implementation of Section 12(1) (c) of RTE Act, 2009 in Delhi pertaining to Admission of Children from Disadvantaged Sections in Private Schools, found justifications given by the principals as lacking logic and evidence.

Private schools, especially in Delhi, have been fretting over EWS admissions. As we have listed in the report, the schools claim that children from different backgrounds do not interact with each other. Our study, though, has found that students do not even know which children are from the EWS category, let alone begin to discriminate among them, said Priyank Kanoongo, a member of the Education Division.

Members of the study conducted onsite visits to select schools, which provided them an opportunity to interact with nearly all students. The children were also observed during classroom and playground interactions. It is here that they found out that nearly 94% of the general category students have never discriminated against students from EWS or DG (Disadvantaged Group) category.

If the students do not discriminate among themselves, then why do principals come up with reasons against EWS admissions? As it is clear from the views expressed by the principals and teachers, the commission has found that the lack of training to create opportunities for these children to be effectively adjusted into the school environment gives rise to such biased views, said the report.

School principals claim non-payment of reimbursements for additional educational facilities by the government. Minimal amounts, somewhere between Rs 600 to Rs 1000, was received but is not sufficient to support the EWS students by buying stationary, books and uniform for them. In fact, there are a few schools that have not received reimbursements for the last two years, said a school principal.

The schools further claim that parents of EWS students produce fake income and caste certificates. Without a proper mechanism to validate and authenticate the documents produced by the EWS parents, principals have been calling for government intervention in this regard.

Few of the principals believe that EWS students are more prone to initiate a fight with other children, steal stationary items, use abusive language or misbehave. This, the schools feel, would be difficult to solve due to a bad example being set in their home environment, said the report.

Also, the students are supposedly slow learners of English and have difficulty following the language in class. The principals further voiced their concerns over health, hygiene of EWS students in their school.

After hearing their complaints, members of the commission addressed the principals and said, The expenditure incurred by the state in providing books will be reimbursed. Also, submissions by schools that the monetary support is insufficient to support the education of children under the EWS/DG category reinforces the fact that the cost of books in private schools is high. The main reason for increased expenditure is that private schools do not follow NCERT books and curriculum.

The commission members also pointed out that pre-primary classes are the entry-level in private schools, and at that age, a child is not expected to know any language other than his/her mother tongue. So, to generalise that all EWS/DG students are slow learners and attributing this to not knowing the English language is not supported by any logical evidence, said the report.
Leader of the Movement of New Forces and former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili is currently at the Fairmont Grand Hotel Kyiv, and the people who earlier appeared there and introduced themselves as State Border Service officials have left the hotel, Saakashvili's associate and unaffiliated parliamentarian Yuriy Derevyanko said.

"No investigative activities can be conducted on private territory without a court order," Derevyanko said. "They introduced themselves to hotel staff as State Border Service officials," Derevyanko told journalists near the hotel on Friday.

These people first asked the activists who had gathered nearby not to leave their cars and not to do anything, Derevyanko said. As the number of activists started growing, these people "gathered together and left," he said.

"Saakashvili is currently at the hotel," Derevyanko said.
RBI Office Attendant Exam Result has been declared by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on its official website - rbi.org.in.

Candidates who have qualified the test are now required to send their documents for verification at the respective regional offices of RBI.

As per the official website, This list is provisional, subject to the candidates clearing biometric verification, Language Proficiency Test (LPT), being found medically fit and submitting acceptable documentary evidence. RBI aims to fill 526 vacancies for the post of Office Attendant (Class IV) at its various regional offices across India. The bank had commenced the application process in November 2017 and had conducted the Online Test on 5th and 6th January 2018, last month.

Candidates who had appeared for the test, must follow the instructions below and check their result status now:

How to check RBI Office Attendant Exam Result?

Step 1  Visit the official website - https://rbi.org.in/

Step 2  Click on Opportunities with RBI from the websites footer

Step 3  Click on the notification that reads,

Recruitment of Office Attendant - Display of Roll Numbers of Provisonally Shortlisted Candidates

Step 4  Click on Roll numbers of Provisionally Shortlisted Candidates

Step 5  CTRL+F with your Roll Number and Search

Step 6  Download the pdf or take a printout of your result page

Direct Link - https://rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/content/PDFs/ROLLNO08022018.pdf

Documents Required:

As per the official website, qualified individuals are required to send the following documents by courier or speed post so as it reaches on or before 23rd February 2018:

i. All candidates - 6 copies of Attestation Form (original) along with 2 copies of Bio-data form

ii. OBC candidates - In addition to documents listed in (i), OBC Declaration in original and a copy of latest OBC Caste certificate in the prescribed format.

iii. SC/ST candidates - In addition to documents listed in (i),latest SC/ST Caste Certificate in the prescribed format.

iv. PWD candidates  In addition to documents listed in (i), disability certificate in the prescribed format issued by the Competent Authority.

v. Ex-Servicemen - In addition to documents listed in (i), appropriate NOC/release certificate as provided Annex II of the official advertisement. Ex-Servicemen can get the same at the below mentioned url:

https://rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/content/pdfs/ADVT17112017_AN2.pdfimprisonment
New Delhi: RSS-affiliate Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) has given a call for a nation-wide agitation on February 20 to protest against "anti-labour policies" and is rethinking to attend Indian Labour Conference (ILC) later this month.

The Kendriya Karya Samithi (national executive committee or KKS) meeting of BMS held at Ambaji in Gujarat on February 8 has called for "nation-wide agitation against the central government's anti-labour policies", BMS General Secretary Virjesh Upadhyay said in a statement on Friday.

He said that the KKS has directed all its unions to observe February 20 as 'Black Day' and hold union-level protest demonstrations, wear black badges and hold gate meetings.

The KKS condemned the central government for not keeping any of its promises made to the BMS delegation on November 17, 2017, after the historical Delhi rally.

The protest is against negligent attitude of the central government towards labour problems, the BMS said.

Indian workers belonging to different central trade unions have put forth burning issues of labour before the government but the Union Budget 2018 was totally silent about any of the issues raised by unions, it added.

After a gap of three years, the 46th Indian Labour Conference is scheduled to be held on February 26-27, 2018, at New Delhi which will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The KKS has directed all its districts, states & industrial federations to hold dharnas, huge demonstrations at district headquarters, state capitals and industrial estates on February 26-27, 2018.

In this connection, a huge demonstration before the ILC venue will also be organised at New Delhi on February 26 to mount pressure of the government to resolve labour issues.

The BMS has been pressing for increasing honorarium to aanganwadi workers and bringing them under social security coverage; reimbursement of Cess amount to concerned labour welfare boards affected due to GST; enhancing EPS pension from Rs1000/per month to Rs5000 and providing special funds to Sick PSUs which can be revived.

It has also sought a hike in income tax exemptions to salaried sections up to Rs 5 lakh; withdrawing anti-labour provisions bringing under the garb of Labour Law Reforms; hiking Unorganised Social Security fund up to Rs 2000 crore and implementation of Supreme Court verdict on Equal pay to Equal work.

The BMS demands the central government to review the budget immediately and take steps to redress the grievances.

If, the Union Government does not take any step before February 25, 2018, the BMS will rethink its participation in the forthcoming Indian Labour Conference, it added.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear on Monday the plea of father of an Army officer, booked as an accused by Jammu and Kashmir Police in the recent Shopian firing incident.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud considered advocate Aishwarya Bhati's submission that the plea of the father is heard on an urgent basis.

The lawyer said the FIR has illegally been lodged against Major Aditya Kumar in connection with the firing incident in Shopian.

"We will hear it on Monday," the bench said.

Lieutenant Colonel Karamveer Singh said his son, a major in 10 Garhwal Rifles, was "wrongly and arbitrarily" named in the FIR as the incident relates to an Army convoy that was on bonafide military duty in an area under the AFSPA and was isolated by an "unruly and deranged" mob pelting stones, causing damage to military vehicles.

Two civilians were killed when Army personnel fired at a stone-pelting mob in Ganovpora village in Shopian, prompting the chief minister to order an inquiry into the incident.

The FIR was registered against personnel of 10 Garhwal Rifles, including Major Kumar, under sections 302 (murder) and 307 (attempt to murder) of the Ranbir Penal Code.
New Delhi: Some British-era railway bridges were in a better condition than the ones built after independence, a parliamentary committee report said today, blaming the nexus between officials and contractors for the poor quality of bridges.

The Public Accounts Committee which presented its report -- Maintenance of Bridges in British-era railway bridges -- in Parliament, came down hard on the national transporter and said that the delay in sanctioning bridgework was putting the lives of passengers at risk.

"The committee noted that while certain railway bridges constructed during British rule are in good condition, railway bridges constructed or reconstructed after independence are of inferior quality and need frequent repair.

"Nexus between railway officials and few contractors severely affect the quality and life of its construction," the report stated. The committee headed by Congress's Mallikarjuna Kharge recommended that the tender for construction or rehabilitation of bridges be done through e-tendering so as to make the system transparent and to attract a large number of reputed and competent construction companies in the tendering process.

It also said that companies or contractors who fail to ensure quality and long life of bridges be debarred from participating in future tenders and penalised for it. The committee which based its report on a 2015 CAG report on railway bridges and representations by Railway Board members, expressed its shock that out of the 3,979 bridges works sanctioned by the Railway Board, work on 710 bridges remains to be completed as on March 2015.

According to a Railway Board letter in October 2017, the Central Railways has 61 bridges that need repair, East Central Railways has 63, South Central Railways has 41 and Western Railways has 42 bridges pending rebuilding.

The committee noted that while the paucity of funds was cited as a reason for the shortfall in achievement of targets for bridgeworks, the budget grant provided was not utilised to the tune of Rs 60.95 crore per annum.

"The committee has desired that a strategic management system be developed for fast-tracking sanction of rehabilitation or reconstruction of bridges within a time frame based on priority for safety", the report stated.
New Delhi: Jharkhand has made the most progress in improving its healthcare sector, while Kerala has topped the Health Index report prepared by Niti Aayog.

The report also states that Uttar Pradesh has fared the worst between the years 2014-15 and 2015-16 while Jharkhand has made some substantial progress in improving its healthcare.

Last year, Uttar Pradesh and the Yogi Adityanath government were ravaged by the Gorakhpur hospital tragedy where over 63 children, mostly suffering from encephalitis had died in two days due to an alleged lack of oxygen and poor facilities. The state has now appeared at the bottom of the list among larger states.

The latest report prepared by the Niti Aayog and Union Health Ministry has also noted that while Kerala has topped the chart, it has also made the least progress in bettering its facilities.

The Healthy States, Progressive India report released on Friday further scrutinises the performance of all states and Union Territories on a range of health indicators to find which states are making progress in which sectors and how the others can learn from them.

Releasing the report, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said that NITI Aayog believes that the Health Index will act as a tool to leverage cooperative and competitive federalism, accelerating the pace of achieving health outcomes.

The data has revealed that Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir and UP  by reducing neonatal mortality (NMR), under-five mortality (U5MR), expanding immunisation coverage and bettering health access and anti-retroviral treatments (ART) for people living with HIV (PLHIV)  have grabbed the top three incremental performance ranks. Because of its progress, Jharkhands overall rank went up from 18, among the 21 large states to 14.

Kerala, which has retained the overall top rank, showed some degree of decline in its annual performance. This has landed it at the bottom of the incremental rank index.

However, the report also noted that it is a challenge for states at high levels of the Index score to maintain their performance levels, due to diminishing marginal returns.

Kerala has already achieved the low levels of neonatal mortality, under-five mortality and replacement level fertility, thus leaving limited space for any further improvements.

On the other hand, states and UTs with lower rankings on the Index are at an advantage, as they will show more visible progress for the same amount of effort.

The report, however, did caution the best performing states against complacency. It said that the decline in progress is seen not only in Kerala, but also Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Gujarat among the large states; and Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura and Nagaland among the smaller states; Chandigarh and Daman and Diu among the Union Territories and it is a matter of concern.

Among the smaller states, Mizoram ranked first in overall performance, while Manipur ranked second and topped the Index for incremental performance.

The report has suggested that Manipurs success lay in getting anti-retroviral treatments (ART) to people living with HIV (PLHIV) and bettering first trimester antenatal care (ANC) registration. The states grading quality parameters of Community Health Centres (CHCs), average occupancy of key state-level officers and good reporting on the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) have also helped it fare well.

Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmirs performance made them two of the only five large states that managed to improve their overall ranking; the others being Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

SCRUTINISING THE STATES

The report comes close on the heels of a great Budget  as Dr. Vinod Paul, member NITI Aayog and head of its health department said.

Paul said that a report that examines the states and ranks them on their outcomes will encourage competitive and cooperative federalism and will help India strengthen its primary healthcare, as mentioned by the finance minister in his Budget speech.

This is a historic moment that will strengthen the states, added Director, World Bank India, Junaid Ahmad. The World Bank provided technical expertise to put together the report.

Good outcomes mean better incentives and better incentives will encourage better outcomes. To this end, Health Secretary Preeti Sudan added that the incentives to states would go up from 10 percent to 20 percent.

The flip side, however, will be the naming and shaming of non-performers, Kant said, while referring to an upcoming ranking of 730 district hospitals that is slated for release later this year.

Dr. Vinod Paul told News18, The purpose of a ranking or any measurement system is to provide an objective measurement. Its an exam of sorts, after which you analyse a states weaknesses. Is it the governance, are health secretaries being changed too soon to bring stability to the sector, are the human resources lacking? Based on this, we will correct the course.

Indias primary healthcare, which include primary health centres and district hospitals are notoriously understaffed. The countrys Rural Health Statistics have time and again highlighted a glaring gap in manpower.

We have to move in a direction that will fill these gaps, said Paul. With such minute data and an understanding of why some states do well and others dont, Paul hoped that these would help the states learn from each other.
Actor Anushka Sharma's father Col (Retd.) Ajay Kumar Sharma has gifted Tejaswini Divya Naik's book Smokes And Whiskey to son-in-law Virat Kohli, according to a report in Mumbai Mirror.

The actor's parents attended the inaugural event of Naik's book, which is a collection of 42 poems on relationships, the ups and downs that come along with it, on February 3 in Mumbai. Anushka's father was impressed by Naik's work, so much so that he decided to gift one of its copies to his son-in-law.

Anushka and Virat tied the knot on December 11 last year in a private ceremony in Tuscany, Italy after reportedly dating for over four years. Meanwhile, Anushka is currently prepping for her upcoming film Sui Dhaga, which will see her opposite Varun Dhawan.
Feb 09, 2018 10:21 (IST)



Radhika Apte, who plays a key role in the film, had earlier said that the menstruation taboo has not only existed among men but also among women who are conditioned for years not to talk about the natural process openly. "Mothers taught their daughters how not to talk about it openly, not to go to the kitchen or not to enter the temple. So it does not just exist among men but women as well. Though I think one film cannot bring all the changes to a practice that is happening for ages, if people start talking about menstruation comfortably, be aware of the importance of menstruation hygiene, it would be more than enough for us. And it is also about the journey of an individual who struggled through his life for a cause. It is an incredible story," she had said in an interview.
Prime Minister Narendra Modis tri-nation trip to West Asia covering Palestine, UAE and Oman is the continuation of an extended outreach under his government to expand demographic, political and economic ties with Indias largest trade region. During this visit, Modi is set to become the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Palestine after becoming the first PM to visit Israel in July last year.

As many speculated whether the historic stance that India has been propagating for years over the Palestine cause would survive a nationalistic and largely Hindu narrative of the BJP government, even prior to his visit to Tel Aviv, New Delhi hosted Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, continuing the decades old institutionalized policy posture and staying distant from any drastic change in its approach.

What works in Indias favour here is the tight-rope balancing act it pulls off in the region, successfully dealing with the various power centres, religious and sectarian crevasses and economic interests without breaking any relationships.

The fact that Ramallah is aware and acceptable of Indias growing relations with Israel, and Tel Aviv knows of Indias long-standing stance on Palestine and support for a two state solution, and both Israel and Palestine accept Indias relations with each other emboldens its non-aligned position in the region, perhaps the only diplomatic space in the world where the very idea and implementation of non-alignment still bears fruit in the current climate.

Beyond the usual historical caveats, it is not to undermine that the optics of Modi becoming the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Palestine are significant. With the baggage of the riots in Gujarat, a party image as that of being pro-Hindu nationalists, motor mouth party members and members of Parliament making statements such as Muslims should not stay in India in public and Gulf leaders not jumping ahead of the queue to congratulate him when he won the elections in 2014 to welcoming him in the region today with gusto has little to do with Modi itself, but the blessings of the economy he represents.

The turn observed by global economics over the past decade has not only put developing economies in Asia at the centre of the global growth story but also re-shaped how countries in West Asia approached India.

The movement of oil consumption from the West to the East has played a pivotal role, with the likes of India, China, Japan and South Korea becoming the worlds largest oil importers to feed their fast moving economies. Out of these, India and China led the charge, with India importing a majority of its requirements from the region.

With Asian economies becoming majority oil buyers, West Asian economies increasingly depended on these sales to power their domestic economics as other Western markets moved swiftly to renewables or, in the case of the US, became energy self-sufficient thanks to its shale boom. This shift gave India an upper hand in negotiating larger political and trade deals, with long-standing sore points of cooperation such as counter-terrorism and labour rights becoming more favourable to Indian demands and requirements, which had been undercut by the Gulf capitals for a long time.

Both Oman and the UAE also present further opportunities for India to increase its trade base. The former is possibly the most stable country in the region, with no direct linkages to any conflict, a stable economy, relatively peaceful society managed by the regions longest serving sultan, Qaboos Bin Said al Said, whos ruled the nation since 1970. Modi will become the fifth Indian Prime Minister to visit Oman since the first visit by Rajiv Gandhi in 1985. The UAE already has robust relations with India that have only strengthened over the past few years. During his visit, which will be his second in this term alone, Modi will lay the foundation stone for Abu Dhabis first Hindu temple, a symbolic moment in an otherwise conservative region.

The West Asian outreach does not end with the visit to the Gulf, upon his arrival back from the tri-nation trip, India will be ready to host the president of Iran, Hassan Rouhani, whose country is embroiled in a bitter feud for regional supremacy with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states.

To colour within the lines of diplomatic manoeuvring required for the region, while Iran remains bitter rivals with both Saudi Arabia and UAE, Oman, a Gulf-Cooperation Council (GCC) member, has remained neutral in both the Yemen civil war (fought between Saudi backed Yemen government and Iran backed Houthi rebels) and the Qatar  Gulf crisis, which saw Riyadh install a trade embargo against Doha. In midst of this dynamic, India has equal leverage with all the players, and that allows New Delhi to facilitate Indian interests without dealing with the regional intricacies of West Asian politics.

(Kabir Taneja is an Associate Fellow with the Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi. He tweets at @KabirTaneja. Views are personal)
News18  Blogs  India

Andhra 2019: A Troika in The Making

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Andhra, for that matter Telangana as well, figure not really high in the BJPs must-win states in 2019. The simple reason for this is the partys bare existence as a force in the two states.



But that doesnt worry Narendra Modis party much. The BJP need not necessarily win many seats in Andhra. It is good enough if a regional party winning many seats is willing to support the BJP/NDA at the Centre.



The question is: Which is that regional party?



Is it the ruling Telugu Desam Party? Or the waiting-in-the-wings YSR Congress Party? Or dark horse Jana Sena Party?



Check out the TDP first. Chandrababu Naidu, the chief minister, is the strong man in the state, though he himself may be having second thoughts right now. Anti-incumbency is riding high. Tales of corruption are numerous. The unimpressive debut of his son Nara Lokesh was a political whammy. Naidus frequent trips to Dubai and Singapore are beginning to raise eye brows. Over a dozen CBI cases of corruption against Naidu are currently under stay orders of courts (there was a time when the agency told a court it was unable to proceed with a case against Naidu for want of staff!).



Reports that he may have helped or wanted to help Nitish Kumar monetarily when the latter was ruling Bihar under the mahagathbandhan program may have soured his relations with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The lack of urgency for an opposition third front to take shape for 2019 is making him impatient. The Modi magic of 2014 gave him that extra fillip which pushed him well part YSRCP in the state elections. Is that magic as potent in 2019?



Needled by all this, Naidu is beginning to squirm. Would he leave the NDA in the next six months? Yes, if he has a viable alternative in time for the state elections in 2019, his detractors say. His party is loud in the assembly and Parliament about the inadequacies in the Union budget; they actually indicate something.



The BJP is aware Naidu will not be their man if and when the third front takes shape in the country. The BJP is also aware it cannot do much on its own in the state. It is even aware that its 2014 magic wand is not so potent this time round. In terms of vote percentage, the BJPs share is more or less the same as that of the Muslim and Left parties combined votes. The BJP realizes it does not have enough time to invest in a new and effective leadership. Instead, therefore, it is on the lookout for an ally it can control from Delhi and whose MPs it can call for support in Parliament. It personally feels Jagan fits the bill, but it thought the same about Naidu too in 2014!



The BJP knows that Naidus reservation sop to the Kapu community is clearly aimed at winning the latters support in 2019. Actor Pawan Kalyan, who is a Kapu, is making himself relevant by dint of his caste affinity alone. He had campaigned for the TDP-BJP combine in 2014, but this time he is not. The people of Seemandhra are not happy with the BJP for its neglect of Polavaram project and other pro-Andhra works under the states reorganization Act. So, Pawan, too has decided to wait and watch. Of late, he has begun to attract big crowds, especially in neighbouring Telangana. He has only now begun to criticize the Modi government for not helping out Andhra financially.



Pawan has an ace up his sleeve  his brother, megastar Chiranjeevi. Both brothers fell out over politics, but they are one as family. Imagine a Telugu blockbuster film with both brothers acting in it for the very first time. And what if such a film is released before the elections? This movie is very much on the cards. It is being produced by veteran Congress leader T. Subbarami Reddy  who lost his last election to the YSRCP in 2012  and directed by top director Trivikram Srinivas. In film-crazy Andhra, it will be the mother of all blockbusters. If it has the potential to convert fans into votes, it will simply add another dimension to the states politics.



So, what are Naidus options? One, of course is traversing the path again in the company of the BJP and Pawan Kalyan. Here, if the BJP prospects weaken, TDP will weaken as well. Two, ditch the BJP in order to firm up an alliance with the Left parties and the Muslims. The Muslims are as of now inclined to back YSRCPs Jagan Mohan Reddy, son of the late YSR Reddy  they will change their mind only if they feel that Jagan is not going to win or is going to pledge support of his MPs to the BJP after the 2019 elections. Three, the TDP goes to the polls alone. That will chip away a lot many of its votes. Thus, Naidu is on a wait-and-watch for the next few months as he cements his party base, rejuvenates its cadre and make peace with the Left parties (leaders of the Kamma caste  same as Naidu  are strong in these parties).



What about the YSR Congress Party? The Left parties are partially tied in knots over the CPMs decision to have no truck with Congress. But they have no problem with Jagan and his party. In fact, if YSRCP and Left and Muslims come together, they make a strong combination. But all that hinges on Jagans affinity for the BJP. After all, hasnt he been breathing easy these last months without warrants and court hearings and subpoenas from the CBI? So, what does Jagan want? Personal relief from the courts and a friendly government at Centre? Or the chair of chief minister with prospects of jail?



Jagan, too, is waiting. But unlike Naidu, he is currently undertaking a pad yatra  latest reports show huge crowds  mostly youth -- taking part. Of course, Jagan sometimes gets carried away by the huge presence of crowd. Ignoring the advice to test if the crowds will eventually convert into votes, he makes tall, even quirky promises, like pension to 45-year-olds! His critics say he has so far managed to retain his image as the untested politician seeking a chance.
New Delhi: 2, 1, 0... A countdown of sorts has got the BJP worried. These are the votes the party candidate managed in some polling booths in the just concluded bypolls in Rajasthan.

After a microanalysis of the bypoll results, the scale of its defeat to the Congress is what has really shocked the BJP.

The Ajmer Lok Sabha constituency comprises eight assembly segments  seven from Ajmer district and one under Jaipur. The BJP candidate trailed in all the eight segments.

Reports collated by the party show that in Naseerabad Assembly seat, in booth number 223, the BJP got just one vote, while the Congress polled 582. In the adjoining booth number 224, the BJP got two votes, while the Congress received 500.

What was really surprising for the party was the outcome in booth number 49 in Dudhu Assembly segment. Not a single voter cast his/her vote in favour of the ruling party here, while the Congress got 337 votes. This means that even the election agents of the BJP  if they were registered to vote in the same booth  did not vote for the party here!

We have lost both the city seats in Ajmer. Despite adversarial conditions, we had managed to win these seats before, except in 1985 and 1998. The attrition in urban votes is all the more worrying, says a senior party leader in Delhi.

The Alwar Assembly seat was won by the party in 2014 by 2.5 lakh votes. The party has lost it this time by close to 2 lakh. The Congress won the Mandalgarh Assembly bypoll by more than 12,000 votes despite a party rebel getting 22% of the votes polled.

In 2014, the BJP in Rajasthan, along with half a dozen provinces in north, west and central India, registered a high strike rate, winning more than 90% of the seats at stake.

To make up for the dent in these states in the next Lok Sabha polls, the BJP will have to make inroads into new territory.

And moreover, there is a trend in Rajasthan that the party which wins assembly polls  and they are slated for this year-end  ends up winning a majority seats in Lok Sabha elections a few months later.

Merely cosmetic changes will not help as some people are talking about replacing the state chief. We need to make drastic and substantive changes, says a senior leader in the party.

On the other hand, there is some support for Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje from a section of the central leadership. With a three-fourth majority under her belt, Raje is the only known face the party has invested upon heavily in the last two decades.

In politics, leadership has a brand value which cant be overlooked. With 10 months to go for the elections, we may have to face the polls under Rajes leadership, says another leader closely associated with organisational matters.
SBU says no Alfa troops near Kyiv hotel where Saakashvili said to be

The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) has dismissed reports that some employees of its Alfa special unit are waiting outside the Fairmont Grand Hotel Kyiv, where, according to one of the leaders of the Movement of New Forces, David Sakvarelidze, the party's leader and former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashevili is staying.

"There are no Alfa [troops] there now, and there weren't any. That is not true," SBU spokeswoman Olena Hitlianska told Interfax-Ukraine on Friday.

The Ukrainian migration service's press service said it has no information about the situation.

Sakvarelidze earlier wrote on Facebook that soldiers from the SBU's Alfa unit had appeared in front of the Fairmont Grand Hotel Kyiv (1 Naberezhno-Khreschatytska Street) on Poshtova Square "in order to seize Mikheil Saakashvili."
Sonamura/Kailashahar (Tripura): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday accused the Left Front government in Tripura of subjecting people to "slavery", and asked the voters to "throw it away".

Addressing two rallies in the poll-bound state, Modi coined a new acronym 'HIRA'--H for highways, I for Internet way, R for roadways and A for airways--, hardselling the BJP as a tool for ushering in prosperity and development in the state which the Left has ruled for 25 years without a break.

Launching a scathing attack on Chief Minister Manik Sarkar and his party, Modi said the people in Tripura feel intimidated by the communists.

"For something as basic as a ration card, people here have to approach the party office. Even when somebody gets murdered, police does not register a case unless they get the approval from the CPI(M)," he told an election rally at Sonamura in Sipahijala district, 50 km south-west of capital Agartala.

The communists here force common people to depend on them for everything, he said, adding "this is the new face of slavery".

He claimed Tripura has hardly witnessed any development under the Left rule.

The prime minister said people wear 'manik' (gemstone) for changing their fate, but this Manik (Sarkar) failed to bring prosperity to people.

"Throw away Manik (Sarkar government) and go for 'hira' for prosperity and development in the state in the upcoming election," he urged the gathering.

He also promised 7th Pay Commission benefits to government employees if the BJP was voted to power.

The BJP, which hardly had any presence in the northeastern state, has, in the recent past, positioned itself as the key rival of the CPI(M)-led Left Front in its bastion.

The tea grown in Tripura is very famous, he said, and added that three more 'T's have to be adopted in the state for prosperity and development.

"T for trade, T for tourism and T for training, especially for the youth, are the need of the hour," he said.

Referring to the Rose Valley chit fund scam, Modi said people were "looted" in the state and some of them even committed suicide, but the government did nothing to address their woes.

"If we come to power, we would give exemplary punishment to those responsible for the scam," he said.

Opposition parties have alleged that ministers in the Manik Sarkar government were involved in the scam.

The CBI had grilled Minister for Social Welfare and Education Bijita Nath and CPI(M) spokesperson Goutam Das in connection with the case.

As part of its 'Act East Policy', the government was committed to the development of the northeast, the prime minister said.

"If Rs 100 is used for any work in Tripura, Rs 80 comes from the Centre. The Marxist government does not spend money for the development of the state and does not furnish details of expenditure," he said.

Later, addressing a rally at Kailashahar in Unakoti district, Modi said his party would fulfil the dreams of the last king of the state Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur.

"Democratic atmosphere in Tripura has been vitiated with the communists at the helm of affairs. The last king of the princely state of Tripura, Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur had nurtured a dream of developing the state on all fronts. If BJP comes to power, his dream would come true," Modi said.

Tripura goes to poll to elect a 60-member Assembly on February 18 and results would be declared on March 3.
Kolkata: The BJP may have joined hands with the Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT) to take on the Left in the upcoming state polls in Tripura. But the move seems to have driven a wedge through representatives of the states tribal community.

Another tribal body, Tipraland State Party (TSP), has now emerged as the sole organization to press forward the demand for a separate state.

TSP alleged that the IPFT has betrayed the trust of Tripuras tribal population by surrendering before the BJP and giving up its separate statehood demand.

Speaking to News18, Tipraland State Party (TSP) President, Chitta Ranjan Debbarma said, To intensify our movement, for the first time we are contesting the Assembly elections in 10 out of the 60 seats on our own strength. We knew that IPFT will give up the separate statehood demand and will have a hidden understanding with the BJP.

The BJP-IPFT alliance is based on some common minimum programme for socio-economic, educational, linguistic and political development of indigenous communities. There is no mention of separate statehood in that programme, he added.

Our sole objective is Tipraland and we will not settle for anything less. We may not be able to make much difference in the upcoming polls but this is just the beginning to expose IPFTs double standard, Debbarma said.

There are nearly 12 lakh tribal voters in Tripura and TSP is hopes to make a mark in these elections by garnering a significant chunk of that support. The party has fielded candidates from Mandai (where several people were massacred on June 8, 1980 by tribal insurgents), Takarjala, Asharam Bari, Kalyanpur, Teliamura, Raima Valley, Amarpur, Chawmanu, Pecharthal and Kanchanpur seats.

Our election symbol is Violin and its Bows and our election slogan is Sudhu Tipraland (Only Tipraland). Out of the 10 seats where we are contesting, three are general seats and the rest are reserved, the TSP President revealed.

The royal kingdom of Twipra kingdom merged with independent India after the death of its last king, Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur Debbarma. The transition of Tripura from a nominal to a full-fledged democracy resulted in mass influx of refugees between 1949 and 1972. The phenomenon reduced the 19 indigenous tribes of the state to becoming minorities.

We want a separate state to save our identity, culture and language, Debbarma said.

As per alliance terms, BJP is contesting in 51 seats and the IPFT has fielded its candidates from nine constituencies reserved for tribal people.

CPI (M) MLA Pravat Chowdhury said, There is no BJP wave in Tripura and it is all hype. They are raising the slogan of Cholo Bodlai (Lets Change) but we are certainly going to form the next government. The BJP-IPFT honeymoon will soon be over.

Tripura will go to polls in a single phase on February 18 and results will be declared on March 3.
Bengaluru: After a cow yagna, BJPs latest poll strategy in Karnataka is to spend a night at a slum in the election-bound state. The partys chief ministerial candidate B S Yeddyurappa has ordered his colleagues across the state to spend one night at a slum on Saturday while he will himself pitch a tent at a slum in Gandhinagara Assembly seat in Bengaluru.

Top BJP leaders from Bengaluru, former Deputy Chief Minister R Ashoka and Bengaluru Central MP P C Mohan would also spend the night at the same slum along with Yeddyurappa.

Former Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition, Jagadish Shettar will go to Hubli in north Karnataka to do the same, while another top leader of the party, K S Eshwarappa will be sharing dinner with slum dwellers in his hometown Shimoga. Firebrand BJP MP Shobha Karandlaje will sleep at a slum in Chief Minister Siddaramaiahs home town, Mysore.

According to state BJP leaders, there are over 70 lakh slum dwellers in Karnataka and the party promises to build at least 8 lakh houses for them before 2020.

Speaking to News18, Yeddyurappa alleged that the Congress wants to keep the poor in slums for votes, while his party wants to relocate them to better places.

He said, Congress is least interested in eradicating poverty. They think that keeping the people poor, helps them. Even after 70 years of Independence, these people are still living in the slums. It shows Congress concern for poorest of the poor.

Yeddyurappa dismissed the charges that it is an election gimmick and will not actually help the slum dwellers. Last year, Yeddyurappa had shared a meal with the Dalits during his campaign.

Dinesh Gundurao, KPCC working president and four-time Congress MLA from Gandhinagara  where Yeddyurappa will be spending his slum night  dubbed the move as yet another gimmick.

Speaking to News18, Gundurao said, Yeddyurappa and others are spending just one night at the slums. It makes no difference to the slum dwellers. If they are really serious about the plight of the poor, they should spend at least ten days there. Just coming and going wont help.

From BJPs Cow Yagna to a night out at slums, the Karnataka Assembly elections are getting interesting.
New Delhi: Patidar agitation leader Hardik Patel met West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on in Kolkata on Friday and promised to campaign for her during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Patel said after the meeting, I will definitely come here to campaign during the Lok Sabha elections in 2019... But we all have to be united to fight those who are trying to divide the country."

The Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) leader later tweeted: Simplicity is personified by Mamata Banerjee. He even referred to Banerjee as Lady Gandhi.

According to some reports, Patel later claimed that the Trinamool Congress supremo has invited him to join her party and manage its affairs in Gujarat.

"At the moment, the Congress and the Trinamool Congress are the two big opposition parties in the country. But, if didi (as Banerjee is lovingly called) or the Congress and other parties sit together and decide something, that will be good.

"But if you ask my personal opinion, I will say she is an intelligent woman who has a history of being a revolutionary leader and she should come forward to be the leader (of opposition parties)," he said after the hour-and-half long meeting.

"But for those who are against her, it will be a matter of tension."

He described the chief minister as "lady Gandhi". "I saw lady Gandhi. She is a simple and selfless person. After Indira Gandhi, she has been the epitome of struggle for the cause of the people," he said.

Patel said he invited Banerjee to visit Gujarat for women empowerment. "She had done a great work during the earthquake in Bhuj 2001."

Asked about the purpose of the meeting, Patel said he was here to seek blessings of Banerjee. "I have not come for any political reasons," he said.

"She has openly told me that whenever I want to join politics the door of TMC is open for me and you can manage the party in Gujarat. But I told her I do not have political aspiration now. But if I decide to join politics, I would definitely seek her advice," Patel said.

Enquired about his role during the Lok Sabha elections in 2019, the Patidar quota agitation leader said he would definitely come to West Bengal to campaign for the TMC.

"There are so many Gujaratis and people from the Kurmi community in West Bengal. Didi has sent a recommendation to include the Kurmi community in schedule tribe but not in the OBC...

He said he did not see anything wrong as "spread by the oppositions about Kolkata".

"The picture is absolutely different from what I have heard. I have seen people are so happy here," he claimed. On her part, Banerjee described Patel as "like my younger brother".

"He is very good and sensitive. He is fighting for the people of Gujarat...I have asked him to join politics and work for the good of the common man," she said.

(With PTI inputs)
Patna: Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar on Friday hit out at Rahul Gandhi for seeking details of the Rafale fighter aircraft deal and alleged that the Congress President wants to pass them on to Pakistan and China.

Why does Rahul need information on the deal? For passing on the same to China and Pakistan, he told mediapersons.

The government has decided against making the break-up of the nearly Rs 58,000 crore Rafale deal public and said it could compromise national security.

Sushil Modi further remarked in a tweet "there are lots of similarities between Rahul Gandhi (Congress president) and Tejashwi Yadav. Both have been beneficiaries of dynasty politics and have miserably failed in playing the role of responsible opposition leaders".

"Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, both the Constitution and the country's borders are fully secure. You cannot take out nyay yatra while sitting in the lap of the party which had brought Emergency", the senior BJP leader said in an obvious dig at the RJD's alliance with the Congress.

"One had torn a copy of an ordinance brought by his own government, insulting his own Prime Minister. The other has made it a habit to speak rubbish about a Chief Minister who is of his father's age", he added.

Deputy Chief Minister Modi also lambasted RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav for revealing the identity of an eight-year-old girl who was found murdered in Gaya district earlier this week after suspected sexual assault.

On a day when Yadav began a state-wide "Samvidhan bachao nyay yatra"(justice march for saving the Constitution), Sushil tweeted "those who have thrown law and basic decency to the wind by making public the identity of a victim of sexual assault, are enacting the farce of saving the Constitution".

Yadav has, in a series of tweets over the past few days, criticised Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for failing to meet the family member of the girl despite being in Gaya town on February 7, the very day her body was found a day after she went missing.

In one of the tweets, Yadav had also posted a photograph of the girl beside disclosing her name.

The person suspected of having killed the girl after sexual assault, besides abducting two boys who were found with injury marks in the city on the same day, has been arrested.
New Delhi: Representatives from 15 opposition parties led by Congress president Rahul Gandhi submitted a memorandum to President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday, demanding the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the death of CBI judge BH Loya.

The memorandum, signed by 114 parliamentarians, asked for a Supreme Court-monitored probe, but asserted that officials of the CBI or the NIA should not be a part of the investigation team. "We know how the CBI and the NIA function," Congress leader Kapil Sibal said.

Gandhi, holding a press conference after meeting the President, said there was a sense of discomfort in the House over the direction of the case and they met Kovind to give him that sense.

"A judge died under suspicious circumstances. It will be an ode to him and his family that the investigation takes place properly. We just want investigation to be done by an independent body as we feel suspicious. We want a proper investigation and a proper outcome. We got a positive response from the President, he told mediapersons.

Sibal echoed the words of the Congress president and said that if a Special Investigation Team can be formed for the 2G case, then one can also be formed for a probe into Judge Loyas death. We dont believe in the CBI or the NIA, he said.

When asked about the need for demanding a separate probe as the SC is already hearing a Public Interest Litigation on the issue, Sibal said that such matters cannot be decided through PILs. There is no investigation in the Supreme Court, he said.

While the Congress has demanded a SC-monitored probe in the case earlier too, this is the first time that the opposition has come together to put pressure on the government. It is in the interest of the people of the country we need independent investigation, Lefts D Raja said.

Special CBI judge Loya, who was hearing the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case, had died of a heart attack in November 2014 in Nagpur when he had gone to attend the wedding of a colleague's daughter. Later, political parties, including the Congress, alleged that he died in mysterious circumstance and demanded an investigation into it.
Lucknow: It will be a popularity test of sorts for the BJP government when bypolls are held for Phulpur Lok Sabha seat, vacated by Keshav Prasad Maurya when he was picked as the deputy chief minister after elections last year.

The BJP would want to hold onto the seat to keep its count in the Lok Sabha and to boost cadre morale ahead of 2019 elections. But even as it looks to the future, the past of Phulpur hangs heavy.

The constituency, in Allahabad, boasts of association with two prime ministers, including Indias first-ever. Jawaharlal Nehru had contested and won from here in 1952 and then again in 1957. Following his death, bypolls were held on the seat for the first time and were won by Nehrus sister Vijayalakshmi Pandit.

Pandit retained the seat till 1969. After another bypoll, the seat went to Janeshwar Mishra of the Samyukt Socialist Party after the second bypoll on the seat.

The 1971 elections saw VP Singh  who led Indias first coalition government in 1989  win the seat on a Congress ticket. In the elections that followed, Phulpur changed hands from the Janata Party, back to the Congress, then to the Janata Dal and in 1996 to Samajwadi Party, whose candidate Jang Bahadur Patel defeated BSP founder Kanshi Ram.

The BSP had to wait till 2009 to finally bag the seat with the victory of Kapil Muni Karwariya. Its hold, however, was short-lived as the BJP rode to power in Phulpur for the first time in 2014 elections. The winner was Keshav Prasad Maurya, now the deputy CM of UP.

Candidate selection will be the key when Phulpur votes in its third bypoll on March 11. The constituency will share the spotlight with Gorakhpur, the Lok Sabha seat vacated by CM Yogi Adityanath. The counting of votes will be held on March 14.

Posters and hoardings of the BJP members have already been put up, portraying them as potential candidates.
Shillong: The Congress is crying hoarse over the denial of visa to a Christian preacher by the Indian Consulate in South Africa. Ahead of the state assembly elections, the Grand Old Party has used the issue to attack the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government.

Paul Msiza, president of the Baptist World Alliance and the religious head of the Baptist World Community, was scheduled to attend an event to commemorate 150 years of the Garo Baptist Church in Meghalaya.

Vincent Pala, Shillong MP and working president of the Congress party in the state, issued a statement on the visa denial, alleging that the incident "exposes the mindset of the present dispensation". He further goes on to state that "the people of Meghalaya do not need leaders of the saffron brigade to dictate terms of their headquarters in Nagpur in pursuit of their Hindutva agenda".

In his statement, Pala also alleged that this wasn't a one-off case, rather was a trend.

Meanwhile, Union minister KJ Alphons, who is BJP's poll in-charge in the state has said that Msiza's visa application has been reopened and that the issue shouldn't be communalised.

BJP has fielded 47 candidates for the 60-seat Assembly. The state goes to the polls on February 27 and the results will be declared on March 3.
Facebook launched a community leadership programme on Friday that will award $10 million in total to more than 100 people who have successfully built groups on the social network as part of its push to create "meaningful" interactions. The initiative, announced at a Facebook Communities Summit in London, will give five people with a track record in creating groups up to $1 million to fund a project, Facebook's Jennifer Dulski said.

Also read: Huawei P20 Could Be The World's First Triple-Camera Smartphone

Another 100 leaders from around the world will receive up to $50,000 each, she said in an interview. "We are looking for communities that provide meaning to the people that are in them, we are looking for initiatives that drive positive impact, and we are looking for communities that have both online and offline components," said Dulski, Facebook's head of groups and community.

Facebook's Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said last June that the company's new mission was "to bring the world closer together", and he set a goal of helping one billion people join "meaningful communities" built around hobbies, neighbours, churches, pets and the like. The focus on groups came after the social network, which has 1.4 billion daily active users, had been criticised for its role in the distribution of so-called fake news.

Facebook and other internet groups such as Google's YouTube and Twitter have also faced pressure from the European Union and European governments to do more to stem the proliferation of extremist content on their platforms. The company's top European executive Nicola Mendelsohn said in December that the number of people working on safety on the platform would double to 20,000 by the end of 2018, including more engineers in London.

The contest is open to Facebook community leaders worldwide, with the winners chosen by a panel of independent experts and Facebook employees, Dulski said.

Also watch: Sonam Wangchuk, Engineer And Education Reformist | Interview
Seoul prosecutors have searched an office of Samsung Electronics as part of an investigation into former South Korean president Lee Myung-bak, Yonhap News Agency said on Thursday. They were looking for possible evidence of Samsung's financial support for a company allegedly controlled by Lee, Yonhap said. If the report is confirmed, it would mark the electronics giant's involvement in yet another political scandal, after the heir to parent Samsung Group, Jay Y. Lee, was freed on Monday on a suspended jail sentence for bribery and embezzlement charges.

Also read: We Are listening to App Developers in Kerala: Google India

Prosecutors are investigating a private auto parts maker run by Lee Myung-bak's family over allegations that the company was operating a slush fund for the former president. Lee has denied any allegations, calling the investigation political revenge. Samsung said it was checking the Yonhap report. The Seoul Central Prosecutors' Office was not immediately available for comment.

Also read: Over a Billion Smartphones to Have Facial Recognition in 2020

Samsung heir Jay Y. Lee's release from detention on Monday sent shockwaves through the country's political and business establishments amid public anger over cozy ties between politicians and business. He had been jailed for his involvement in a corruption case that ousted another former president, Park Geun-hye, from office last year. In a separate case, Samsung Electronics' ailing chairman, Lee Kun-hee, who is Jay Y. Lee's father, was named by South Korean police on Thursday as a suspect in a tax evasion case.

Also watch:Sonam Wangchuk, Engineer And Education Reformist | Interview
A group of experts from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) within the framework of the visit to Kyiv will give recommendations on the Anti-Corruption Court to Ukrainian authorities, Finance Minister of Ukraine Oleksandr Danyliuk has said.

"Several experts will arrive together with the mission, who will work and provide recommendations on the law on the creation of the Anti-Corruption Court," he said at a press conference in Dnipro.

At the same time, Danyliuk noted now is the time when this IMF mission is necessary so that Ukraine could move further in cooperation with the fund.
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.

Also read: Over a Billion Smartphones to Have Facial Recognition in 2020

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.

Also watch:Sonam Wangchuk, Engineer And Education Reformist | Interview

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YouTube found no evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 Brexit referendum, a senior executive told a British parliamentary committee inquiry into fake news. Britain's Digital, Media, Culture and Sport Committee is taking evidence on Thursday at George Washington University as part of its inquiry. Juniper Downs, YouTube's global head of public policy, said the Google division found "no evidence of Russian interference in the Brexit referendum."

Also read: We Are listening to App Developers in Kerala: Google India

Relations between Russia and Britain are strained. British Prime Minister Theresa May last year accused Moscow of military aggression and said there was evidence of Russia's meddling in foreign elections. The Kremlin, which under Vladimir Putin has clawed back some of the global influence lost when the Soviet Union collapsed, has denied meddling in elections in the West. It says anti-Russian hysteria is sweeping through the United States and Europe.

Also read: Over a Billion Smartphones to Have Facial Recognition in 2020

Britain says it has not seen any evidence that Russia interfered in British elections, though May has said it has planted fake news stories and photo-shopped images in an attempt to sow discord and undermine the West. Facebook executive Simon Milner told the hearing that Britain's Electoral Commission had asked it to investigate whether Russian fake information was disseminated through Facebook in connection with the Brexit referendum.

Milner said Facebook did provide some information late last year to the Commission but that agency felt the company's work was inadequate, so Facebook is now "undertaking more work" which will be completed by the end of February.

Also watch:Sonam Wangchuk, Engineer And Education Reformist | Interview
Beijing: China on Friday said it is in touch with India to discuss a way to resolve the political turmoil gripping the Maldives and underlined that Beijing doesn't want the issue to become another "flashpoint".

While China officially continues to maintain that there should not be any external interference specially in the light of reports of India's special forces ready for deployment, Beijing is also in touch with New Delhi to resolve the crisis, Chinese official sources said.

China doesn't want Maldives to become another "flash point", the sources told PTI in Beijing on Friday.

The stand-off between India and China in the Doklam area and Beijing's opposition to declare Pakistan-based Masood Azhar as a global terrorist at the UN had been major irritants in bilateral ties in the past.

Answering a spate of questions on the Maldives, including today's telephonic conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump, in which the situation in the Maldives figured prominently, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said international community should respect sovereignty and independence of the Maldives.

"The current situation in the Maldives is its internal affairs. It should be properly resolved through dialogue and consultations by all relevant parties," he said.

Maldives President Abdulla Yameen sent his Economic Development Minister Mohamed Saeed to China but India said it did not find the dates "suitable" for the visit of Maldives' foreign minister as special envoy to New Delhi.

The UN Security Council too met to discuss the Maldives situation.

Ahead of the meeting, UN Assistant Secretary- General Miroslav Jenca reported to have informed the top UN body that while there were no reports of violent clashes, "the situation in the Maldives is tense and may deteriorate even further".

Geng, while replying to a question on reports that Indian Special Forces were ready for deployment in the Maldives to evacuate Indians, said "non-interference in other countries is an important principle of international relations".

"The international community should respect the will of the Maldives and play a constructive role in the stability and development of Maldives instead of doing the opposite," he said.

He said Saeed in his meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has introduced the current situation in the Maldives and said that the government is committed to uphold the rule of law and social order independently resolving the current issue and achieving national stability and development.

"The Maldives has the ability to protect the security of the Chinese personnel and the institutions," Saeed told Wang.

For his part, Wang said China is closely following the situation in the Maldives and believe that the government and people there have the ability to properly resolve the current issue and restore the normal order in the country in accordance with law, Geng said.

"China will not interfere in the internal affairs of the Maldives. This is also an important principle enshrined by UN charter. We support the Maldives government to properly resolve issues through dialogue and consultations with relevant parties and uphold independence, sovereignty and legitimate rights and interests of Maldives," Wang told Saeed according to Geng.

"China has offered self-less assistance to Maldives" for its social development, Wang said adding that the cooperation benefits all the peoples in Maldives.

However, it is not yet clear what is the takeaway from Saeed's China visit.

Asked how the Maldives can resolve the problem independently and unilaterally when top judges and leaders have been locked up by Yameen government, Geng retorted saying that "I think you should raise this question to Maldives government. How will they resolve their internal affairs (problems) you should ask them".

"I want to emphasise that China believes that the Maldives and people have the wisdom and capability to properly resolve the current issue faced them," he said.

To another question whether Saeed sought China's help to tide over the crisis, Geng said.

"I can tell you that diplomatic channels between the two countries is smooth. China and the Maldives maintain normal and friendly exchanges," he said.

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.
Washington: An Indian-American was killed and another critically injured when a man opened fire in two convenience stores in the US state of Georgia.

Parmjit Singh, a 44-year-old father of two high school students, was shot multiple times on Tuesday evening at the Hi Tech Quick Stop on Burnett Ferry Road, sheriff's officers said.

The Floyd County coroner pronounced him dead on the scene.

Just 10 minutes after shooting Singh, the gunman entered another convenience store, Elm Street Food and Beverage, and stole money before shooting 30-year-old clerk Parthey Patel, sheriffs officers said. Patel was in critical condition.

The suspect, Lamar Rashad Nicholson, 28, was arrested on multiple charges, including murder, aggravated robbery, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm while committing a crime and use of a firearm by a convicted felon. He is being held without bond in the Floyd County jail.

Major Jeff Jones with the Floyd County police said officers did recover security video from the initial location and it shows the suspect walked into the store and immediately fired three shots at the Singh who was standing behind the counter, a local newspaper said.

A second employee, a female, was standing off to the side and was not injured, the newspaper reported.

Jones said there was no attempt to rob the store, that Nicholson simply walked in and opened fire.

Singh's brother, who owns several local businesses, told Rome News Tribune that his older brother came to the area about eight years ago.

Police is investigating the motive behind the crime.

Nicholson is no stranger to law enforcement. He was arrested on January 9 after he violently snatched a 3-year-old girl by the arm and cursed in front of her and another child, authorities said.
Male: The embattled president of the Maldives has sent envoys to friendly nations such as China, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to brief them on a political crisis in the Indian Ocean nation that spurred the imposition of a state of emergency, his office said.

Abdulla Yameen left out key regional power India, which had joined Britain, the United States and the United Nations in calling for the lifting of the emergency and the freeing of two Supreme Court judges whose ruling against Yameen sparked new instability.

The Maldives, best known for luxury tourist resorts, has become another arena of contest for India and China after it signed up to Beijing's Belt and Road initiative to build trade and transport links across Asia and beyond.

India, which has had longstanding political and security ties to the islands about 400 km (250 miles) away, has sought to push back against China's expanding presence in the country of 400,000 people, most of them Muslims. Maldivian opposition leaders have urged New Delhi to intervene in the crisis.

Yameen sent his economic development minister, Mohamed Saeed, to China, foreign minister Mohamed Asim to Pakistan and farming and fisheries minister Mohamed Shainee to Saudi Arabia, according to a post on his website late on Wednesday.

"Members of the cabinet, on the direction of President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, will visit friendly nations of the Maldives and provide updates on the current situation," it said.

The government wanted to send a special envoy to India as well but the dates were not suitable for the Indian foreign ministry, said Ahmed Mohamed, the Maldives' ambassador to India.

The Maldives has been in crisis since last week, when the Supreme Court quashed convictions ranging from corruption to terrorism against nine opposition figures, including former president Mohamed Nasheed, its first democratically elected leader.

Tension came to a head when Yameen's government rejected the ruling, imposed the emergency for 15 days on Monday and then arrested the chief justice and another judge of the court.

MILITARY WARNING

A delegation of diplomats from Britain, the European Union and Germany was denied a meeting with Yameen and his cabinet colleagues, the German embassy in Sri Lanka said.

"Our requests were unfortunately refused. That is surely not the way forward," it said in a post on Twitter.

The military warned media outlets late on Thursday "to stop spreading information that negatively affect national security and safety and spread fear and discord among the people".

Independent media outlet Raajje TV suspended its broadcast, saying that "law enforcement refused to adequately address credible threats, and due to the utter lack of an environment conducive to unbiased and independent journalism".

Nasheed, in exile since he was allowed to go abroad for medical treatment in 2016, urged India to send an envoy "backed by the military" to the Maldives to free the detained judges and political prisoners.

India sent soldiers to foil a coup against the government in 1988 but has since refrained from getting directly involved in the country's unstable politics.

Experts say it is more likely to put diplomatic or economic pressure on the Yameen government than send its military.

China has warned against outside powers meddling in the affairs of the tiny archipelago and rejected Nasheed's criticism of its economic involvement on Thursday.

In Beijing, foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said China's aid to the Maldives had never carried political conditions.

"You also certainly can't talk about threatening the security of the Indian Ocean region," he said in response to an article by Nasheed in an Indian newspaper that criticised China for a "land grab" of the islands and for threatening regional security.
Washington: US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have expressed concern about the political situation in Maldives over a phone call, as they also discussed the situation in Afghanistan and enhancing security in Indo-Pacific region, the White House said.

Both leaders expressed concern about the political crisis in Maldives and the importance of respect for democratic institutions and rule of law, the White House said in a readout of the phone call between Trump and Modi, the

first in this year.

Maldives plunged into a political chaos on last Thursday when the apex court ordered the release of nine imprisoned opposition politicians, maintaining that their trials were politically motivated and flawed.

The Yameen government has refused to implement the ruling, prompting a wave of protests in Maldives capital, Male.

Maldives Supreme Court Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and another judge, Ali Hameed, were arrested hours after Yameen declared a state of emergency.

The White House said the two leaders also pledged to continue working together to enhance security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.

United States of America @POTUS @realDonaldTrump spoke last night local time to @PMOIndia @narendramodi. The two leaders expressed concern about the #MaldivesCrisis and the importance of respect for democratic institutions and rule of law in #Maldives. pic.twitter.com/QF32z4Z8fz Atul Keshap (@USAmbKeshap) February 9, 2018

Affirming President Trumps South Asia strategy, they reiterated their commitment to supporting Afghanistans security and stability, the White House said.

Mr. Modi and Mr. Trump also exchanged views on Myanmar and ways to address the plight of the Rohingya refugees.

As of now there are some 680,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh putting enormous pressure in the economy of Bangladesh.

Recently Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed on a roadmap of return of these refugees to their homes in Myanmar.

The US believes that this is not the right time for the return of Rohingya refugees.

According to the White House, during the call, Trump and Modi discussed further steps to ensure denuclearisation of North Korea.

Finally, the leaders agreed to strengthen security and economic cooperation as they look forward to the 2+2 ministerial dialogue between their defence and diplomatic officials in April, the White House said.

The 2+2 dialogue was announced after the White House meeting between Modi and Trump in June 2017.

The dialogue would involve External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman from India along with their American counterparts Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.
INN DIN, Myanmar: Bound together, the 10 Rohingya Muslim captives watched their Buddhist neighbors dig a shallow grave. Soon afterwards, on the morning of Sept. 2, all 10 lay dead. At least two were hacked to death by Buddhist villagers. The rest were shot by Myanmar troops, two of the gravediggers said.

"One grave for 10 people," said Soe Chay, 55, a retired soldier from Inn Din's Rakhine Buddhist community who said he helped dig the pit and saw the killings. The soldiers shot each man two or three times, he said. "When they were being buried, some were still making noises. Others were already dead."

The killings in the coastal village of Inn Din marked another bloody episode in the ethnic violence sweeping northern Rakhine state, on Myanmar's western fringe. Nearly 690,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled their villages and crossed the border into Bangladesh since August. None of Inn Din's 6,000 Rohingya remained in the village as of October.

The Rohingya accuse the army of arson, rapes and killings aimed at rubbing them out of existence in this mainly Buddhist nation of 53 million. The United Nations has said the army may have committed genocide; the United States has called the action ethnic cleansing. Myanmar says its "clearance operation" is a legitimate response to attacks by Rohingya insurgents.

Rohingya trace their presence in Rakhine back centuries. But most Burmese consider them to be unwanted immigrants from Bangladesh; the army refers to the Rohingya as "Bengalis." In recent years, sectarian tensions have risen and the government has confined more than 100,000 Rohingya in camps where they have limited access to food, medicine and education.

Reuters has pieced together what happened in Inn Din in the days leading up to the killing of the 10 Rohingya  eight men and two high school students in their late teens.

Until now, accounts of the violence against the Rohingya in Rakhine state have been provided only by its victims. The Reuters reconstruction draws for the first time on interviews with Buddhist villagers who confessed to torching Rohingya homes, burying bodies and killing Muslims.

This account also marks the first time soldiers and paramilitary police have been implicated by testimony from security personnel themselves. Members of the paramilitary police gave Reuters insider descriptions of the operation to drive out the Rohingya from Inn Din, confirming that the military played the lead role in the campaign.

PHOTOGRAPHS FROM A MASSACRE

The slain men's families, now sheltering in Bangladesh refugee camps, identified the victims through photographs shown to them by Reuters. The dead men were fishermen, shopkeepers, the two teenage students and an Islamic teacher.

Three photographs, provided to Reuters by a Buddhist village elder, capture key moments in the massacre at Inn Din, from the Rohingya men's detention by soldiers in the early evening of Sept. 1 to their execution shortly after 10 a.m. on Sept. 2. Two photos  one taken the first day, the other on the day of the killings  show the 10 captives lined up in a row, kneeling. The final photograph shows the men's bloodied bodies piled in the shallow grave.

The Reuters investigation of the Inn Din massacre was what prompted Myanmar police authorities to arrest two of the news agency's reporters. The reporters, Burmese citizens Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, were detained on Dec. 12 for allegedly obtaining confidential documents relating to Rakhine.

Then, on Jan. 10, the military issued a statement that confirmed portions of what Wa Lone, Kyaw Soe Oo and their colleagues were preparing to report, acknowledging that 10 Rohingya men were massacred in the village. It confirmed that Buddhist villagers attacked some of the men with swords and soldiers shot the others dead.

The statement coincided with an application to the court by prosecutors to charge Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo under Myanmar's Official Secrets Act, which dates back to the time of colonial British rule. The charges carry a maximum 14-year prison sentence.

But the military's version of events is contradicted in important respects by accounts given to Reuters by Rakhine Buddhist and Rohingya Muslim witnesses. The military said the 10 men belonged to a group of 200 "terrorists" that attacked security forces. Soldiers decided to kill the men, the army said, because intense fighting in the area made it impossible to transfer them to police custody. The army said it would take action against those involved.

Buddhist villagers interviewed for this article reported no attack by a large number of insurgents on security forces in Inn Din. And Rohingya witnesses told Reuters that soldiers plucked the 10 from among hundreds of men, women and children who had sought safety on a nearby beach.

Scores of interviews with Rakhine Buddhist villagers, soldiers, paramilitary police, Rohingya Muslims and local administrators further revealed:

- The military and paramilitary police organized Buddhist residents of Inn Din and at least two other villages to torch Rohingya homes, more than a dozen Buddhist villagers said. Eleven Buddhist villagers said Buddhists committed acts of violence, including killings. The government and army have repeatedly blamed Rohingya insurgents for burning villages and homes.

- An order to "clear" Inn Din's Rohingya hamlets was passed down the command chain from the military, said three paramilitary police officers speaking on condition of anonymity and a fourth police officer at an intelligence unit in the regional capital Sittwe. Security forces wore civilian clothes to avoid detection during raids, one of the paramilitary police officers said.

- Some members of the paramilitary police looted Rohingya property, including cows and motorcycles, in order to sell it, according to village administrator Maung Thein Chay and one of the paramilitary police officers.

- Operations in Inn Din were led by the army's 33rd Light Infantry Division, supported by the paramilitary 8th Security Police Battalion, according to four police officers, all of them members of the battalion.

POTENTIAL CRIMINAL CASES

Michael G. Karnavas, a U.S. lawyer based in The Hague who has worked on cases at international criminal tribunals, said evidence that the military had organized Buddhist civilians to commit violence against Rohingya "would be the closest thing to a smoking gun in establishing not just intent, but even specific genocidal intent, since the attacks seem designed to destroy the Rohingya or at least a significant part of them."

Evidence of the execution of men in government custody also could be used to build a case of crimes against humanity against military commanders, Karnavas said, if it could be shown that it was part of a "widespread or systematic" campaign targeting the Rohingya population.

Kevin Jon Heller, a University of London law professor who served as a legal associate for convicted war criminal and former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, said an order to clear villages by military command was "unequivocally the crime against humanity of forcible transfer."

In December, the United States imposed sanctions on the army officer who had been in charge of Western Command troops in Rakhine, Major General Maung Maung Soe. So far, however, Myanmar has not faced international sanctions over the violence.

Myanmars leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has disappointed many former supporters in the West by not speaking out against the armys actions. They had hoped the election of her National League for Democracy party in 2015 would bring democratic reform and an opening of the country. Instead, critics say, Suu Kyi is in thrall to the generals who freed her from house arrest in 2010.

Asked about the evidence Reuters has uncovered about the massacre, government spokesman Zaw Htay said, "We are not denying the allegations about violations of human rights. And we are not giving blanket denials." If there was "strong and reliable primary evidence" of abuses, the government would investigate, he said. "And then if we found the evidence is true and the violations are there, we will take the necessary action according to our existing law."

When told that paramilitary police officers had said they received orders to "clear" Inn Din's Rohingya hamlets, he replied, "We have to verify. We have to ask the Ministry of Home Affairs and Myanmar police forces." Asked about the allegations of looting by paramilitary police officers, he said the police would investigate.

He expressed surprise when told that Buddhist villagers had confessed to burning Rohingya homes, then added, "We recognize that many, many different allegations are there, but we need to verify who did it. It is very difficult in the current situation."

Zaw Htay defended the military operation in Rakhine. "The international community needs to understand who did the first terrorist attacks. If that kind of terrorist attack took place in European countries, in the United States, in London, New York, Washington, what would the media say?"

NEIGHBOR TURNS ON NEIGHBOR

Inn Din lies between the Mayu mountain range and the Bay of Bengal, about 50 km (30 miles) north of Rakhine's state capital Sittwe. The settlement is made up of a scattering of hamlets around a school, clinic and Buddhist monastery. Buddhist homes cluster in the northern part of the village. For many years there had been tensions between the Buddhists and their Muslim neighbors, who accounted for almost 90 percent of the roughly 7,000 people in the village. But the two communities had managed to co-exist, fishing the coastal waters and cultivating rice in the paddies.

In October 2016, Rohingya militants attacked three police posts in northern Rakhine  the beginning of a new insurgency. After the attacks, Rohingya in Inn Din said many Buddhists stopped hiring them as farmhands and home help. The Buddhists said the Rohingya stopped showing up for work.

On Aug. 25 last year, the rebels struck again, hitting 30 police posts and an army base. The closest attack was just 4 km to the north. In Inn Din, several hundred fearful Buddhists took refuge in the monastery in the center of the village, more than a dozen of their number said. Inn Din's Buddhist night watchman San Thein, 36, said Buddhist villagers feared being "swallowed up" by their Muslim neighbors. A Buddhist elder said all Rohingya, "including children," were part of the insurgency and therefore "terrorists."

On Aug. 27, about 80 troops from Myanmar's 33rd Light Infantry Division arrived in Inn Din, nine Buddhist villagers said. Two paramilitary police officers and Soe Chay, the retired soldier, said the troops belonged to the 11th infantry regiment of this division. The army officer in charge told villagers they must cook for the soldiers and act as lookouts at night, Soe Chay said. The officer promised his troops would protect Buddhist villagers from their Rohingya neighbors. Five Buddhist villagers said the officer told them they could volunteer to join security operations. Young volunteers would need their parents' permission to join the troops, however.

The army found willing participants among Inn Din's Buddhist "security group," nine members of the organization and two other villagers said. This informal militia was formed after violence broke out in 2012 between Rakhine's Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims, sparked by reports of the rape and murder of a Buddhist woman by three Muslim men. Myanmar media reported at the time that the three were sentenced to death by a district court.

Inn Din's security group built watch huts around the Buddhist part of the village, and its members took turns to stand guard. Its ranks included Buddhist firefighters, school teachers, students and unemployed young men. They were useful to the military because they knew the local geography, said Inn Din's Buddhist administrator, Maung Thein Chay.

Most of the group's 80 to 100 men armed themselves with machetes and sticks. They also had a handful of guns, according to one member. Some wore green fatigue-style clothing they called "militia suits."

ORGANIZING THE ARSON ATTACKS

In the days that followed the 33rd Light Infantry's arrival, soldiers, police and Buddhist villagers burned most of the homes of Inn Din's Rohingya Muslims, a dozen Buddhist residents said.

Two of the paramilitary police officers, both members of the 8th Security Police Battalion, said their battalion raided Rohingya hamlets with soldiers from the newly arrived 33rd Light Infantry. One of the police officers said he received verbal orders from his commander to "go and clear" areas where Rohingya lived, which he took to mean to burn them.

The second police officer described taking part in several raids on villages north of Inn Din. The raids involved at least 20 soldiers and between five and seven police, he said. A military captain or major led the soldiers, while a police captain oversaw the police team. The purpose of the raids was to deter the Rohingya from returning.

"If they have a place to live, if they have food to eat, they can carry out more attacks," he said. "That's why we burned their houses, mainly for security reasons."

Soldiers and paramilitary police wore civilian shirts and shorts to blend in with the villagers, according to the second police officer and Inn Din's Buddhist administrator, Maung Thein Chay. If the media identified the involvement of security personnel, the police officer explained, "we would have very big problems."

A police spokesman, Colonel Myo Thu Soe, said he knew of no instances of security forces torching villages or wearing civilian clothing. Nor was there any order to "go and clear" or "set fire" to villages. "This is very much impossible," he told Reuters. "If there are things like that, it should be reported officially, and it has to be investigated officially."

"As you've told me about these matters now, we will scrutinize and check back," he added. "What I want to say for now is that as for the security forces, there are orders and instructions and step-by-step management, and they have to follow them. So, I don't think these things happened."

The army did not respond to a request for comment.

A medical assistant at the Inn Din village clinic, Aung Myat Tun, 20, said he took part in several raids. "Muslim houses were easy to burn because of the thatched roofs. You just light the edge of the roof," he said. "The village elders put monks' robes on the end of sticks to make the torches and soaked them with kerosene. We couldn't bring phones. The police said they will shoot and kill us if they see any of us taking photos."

The night watchman San Thein, a leading member of the village security group, said troops first swept through the Muslim hamlets. Then, he said, the military sent in Buddhist villagers to burn the houses.

"We got the kerosene for free from the village market after the kalars ran away," he said, using a Burmese slur for people from South Asia.

A Rakhine Buddhist youth said he thought he heard the sound of a child inside one Rohingya home that was burned. A second villager said he participated in burning a Rohingya home that was occupied.

"I STARTED HACKING HIM WITH A SWORD"

Soe Chay, the retired soldier who was to dig the grave for the 10 Rohingya men, said he participated in one killing. He told Reuters that troops discovered three Rohingya men and a woman hiding beside a haystack in Inn Din on Aug. 28. One of the men had a smartphone that could be used to take incriminating pictures.

The soldiers told Soe Chay to "do whatever you want to them," he said. They pointed out the man with the phone and told him to stand up. "I started hacking him with a sword, and a soldier shot him when he fell down."

Similar violence was playing out across a large part of northern Rakhine, dozens of Buddhist and Rohingya residents said.

Data from the U.N. Operational Satellite Applications Programme shows scores of Rohingya villages in Rakhine state burned in an area stretching 110 km. New York-based Human Rights Watch says more than 350 villages were torched over the three months from Aug. 25, according to an analysis of satellite imagery.

In the village of Laungdon, some 65 km north of Inn Din, Thar Nge, 38, said he was asked by police and local officials to join a Buddhist security group. "The army invited us to burn the kalar village at Hpaw Ti Kaung," he said, adding that four villagers and nearly 20 soldiers and police were involved in the operation. "Police shot inside the village so all the villagers fled and then we set fire to it. Their village was burned because police believed the villagers supported Rohingya militants  that's why they cleaned it with fire."

A Buddhist student from Ta Man Tha village, 15 km north of Laungdon, said he too participated in the burning of Rohingya homes. An army officer sought 30 volunteers to burn "kalar" villages, said the student. Nearly 50 volunteered and gathered fuel from motorbikes and from a market.

"They separated us into several groups. We were not allowed to enter the village directly. We had to surround it and approach the village that way. The army would shoot gunfire ahead of us and then the army asked us to enter," he said.

After the Rohingya had fled Inn Din, Buddhist villagers took their property, including chickens and goats, Buddhist residents told Reuters. But the most valuable goods, mostly motorcycles and cattle, were collected by members of the 8th Security Police Battalion and sold, said the first police officer and Inn Din village administrator Maung Thein Chay. Maung Thein Chay said the commander of the 8th Battalion, Thant Zin Oo, struck a deal with Buddhist businessmen from other parts of Rakhine state and sold them cattle. The police officer said he had stolen four cows from Rohingya villagers, only for Thant Zin Oo to snatch them away.

Reached by phone, Thant Zin Oo did not comment. Colonel Myo Thu Soe, the police spokesman, said the police would investigate the allegations of looting.

THE VICTIMS ARE CHOSEN

By Sept. 1, several hundred Rohingya from Inn Din were sheltering at a makeshift camp on a nearby beach. They erected tarpaulin shelters to shield themselves from heavy rain.

Among this group were the 10 Rohingya men who would be killed the next morning. Reuters has identified all of the 10 by speaking to witnesses among Inn Din's Buddhist community and Rohingya relatives and witnesses tracked down in refugee camps in Bangladesh.

Five of the men, Dil Mohammed, 35, Nur Mohammed, 29, Shoket Ullah, 35, Habizu, 40, and Shaker Ahmed, 45, were fishermen or fish sellers. The wealthiest of the group, Abul Hashim, 25, ran a store selling nets and machine parts to fishermen and farmers. Abdul Majid, a 45-year-old father of eight, ran a small shop selling areca nut wrapped in betel leaves, commonly chewed like tobacco. Abulu, 17, and Rashid Ahmed, 18, were high school students. Abdul Malik, 30, was an Islamic teacher.

According to the statement released by the army on Jan. 10, security forces had gone to a coastal area where they "were attacked by about 200 Bengalis with sticks and swords." The statement said that "as the security forces opened fire into the sky, the Bengalis dispersed and ran away. Ten of them were arrested."

Three Buddhist and more than a dozen Rohingya witnesses contradict this version of events. Their accounts differ from one another in some details. The Buddhists spoke of a confrontation between a small group of Rohingya men and some soldiers near the beach. But there is unanimity on a crucial point: None said the military had come under a large-scale attack in Inn Din.

Government spokesman Zaw Htay referred Reuters to the army's statement of Jan. 10 and declined to elaborate further. The army did not respond to a request for comment.

The Rohingya witnesses, who were on or near the beach, said Islamic teacher Abdul Malik had gone back to his hamlet with his sons to collect food and bamboo for shelter. When he returned, a group of at least seven soldiers and armed Buddhist villagers were following him, these witnesses said. Abdul Malik walked towards the watching Rohingya Muslims unsteadily, with blood dripping from his head. Some witnesses said they had seen one of the armed men strike the back of Abdul Malik's head with a knife.

Then the military beckoned with their guns to the crowd of roughly 300 Rohingya to assemble in the paddies, these witnesses said. The soldiers and the Rohingya, hailing from different parts of Myanmar, spoke different languages. Educated villagers translated for their fellow Rohingya.

"I could not hear much, but they pointed toward my husband and some other men to get up and come forward," said Rehana Khatun, 22, the wife of Nur Mohammed, one of the 10 who were later slain. "We heard they wanted the men for a meeting. The military asked the rest of us to return to the beach."

FRESH CLOTHES AND A LAST MEAL

Soldiers held and questioned the 10 men in a building at Inn Din's school for a night, the military said. Rashid Ahmed and Abulu had studied there alongside Rakhine Buddhist students until the attacks by Rohingya rebels in October 2016. Schools were shut temporarily, disrupting the pair's final year.

"I just remember him sitting there and studying, and it was always amazing to me because I am not educated," said Rashid Ahmed's father, farmer Abdu Shakur, 50. "I would look at him reading. He would be the first one in the family to be educated."

A photograph, taken on the evening the men were detained, shows the two Rohingya students and the eight older men kneeling on a path beside the village clinic, most of them shirtless. They were stripped when first detained, a dozen Rohingya witnesses said. It isn't clear why. That evening, Buddhist villagers said, the men were "treated" to a last meal of beef. They were provided with fresh clothing.

On Sept. 2, the men were taken to scrubland north of the village, near a graveyard for Buddhist residents, six Buddhist villagers said. The spot is backed by a hill crested with trees. There, on their knees, the 10 were photographed again and questioned by security personnel about the disappearance of a local Buddhist farmer named Maung Ni, according to a Rakhine elder who said he witnessed the interrogation.

Reuters was not able to establish what happened to Maung Ni. According to Buddhist neighbors, the farmer went missing after leaving home early on Aug. 25 to tend his cattle. Several Rakhine Buddhist and Rohingya villagers told Reuters they believed he had been killed, but they knew of no evidence connecting any of the 10 men to his disappearance. The army said in its Jan. 10 statement that "Bengali terrorists" had killed Maung Ni, but did not identify the perpetrators.

Two of the men pictured behind the Rohingya prisoners in the photograph taken on the morning of Sept. 2 belong to the 8th Security Police Battalion. Reuters confirmed the identities of the two men from their Facebook pages and by visiting them in person.

One of the two officers, Aung Min, a police recruit from Yangon, stands directly behind the captives. He looks at the camera as he holds a weapon. The other officer, police Captain Moe Yan Naing, is the figure on the top right. He walks with his rifle over his shoulder.

The day after the two Reuters reporters were arrested in December, Myanmar's government also announced that Moe Yan Naing had been arrested and was being investigated under the 1923 Official Secrets Act.

Aung Min, who is not facing legal action, declined to speak to Reuters.

VENGEANCE FOR A MISSING FARMER

Three Buddhist youths said they watched from a hut as the 10 Rohingya captives were led up a hill by soldiers towards the site of their deaths.

One of the gravediggers, retired soldier Soe Chay, said Maung Ni's sons were invited by the army officer in charge of the squad to strike the first blows.

The first son beheaded the Islamic teacher, Abdul Malik, according to Soe Chay. The second son hacked another of the men in the neck.

"After the brothers sliced them both with swords, the squad fired with guns. Two to three shots to one person," said Soe Chay. A second gravedigger, who declined to be identified, confirmed that soldiers had shot some of the men.

In its Jan. 10 statement, the military said the two brothers and a third villager had "cut the Bengali terrorists" with swords and then, in the chaos, four members of the security forces had shot the captives. "Action will be taken against the villagers who participated in the case and the members of security forces who broke the Rules of Engagement under the law," the statement said. It didn't spell out those rules.

Tun Aye, one of the sons of Maung Ni, has been detained on murder charges, his lawyer said on Jan. 13. Contacted by Reuters on Feb. 8, the lawyer declined to comment further. Reuters was unable to reach the other brother.

In October, Inn Din locals pointed two Reuters reporters towards an area of brush behind the hill where they said the killings took place. The reporters discovered a newly cut trail leading to soft, recently disturbed earth littered with bones. Some of the bones were entangled with scraps of clothing and string that appeared to match the cord that is seen binding the captives' wrists in the photographs. The immediate area was marked by the smell of death.

Reuters showed photographs of the site to three forensic experts: Homer Venters, director of programs at Physicians for Human Rights; Derrick Pounder, a pathologist who has consulted for Amnesty International and the United Nations; and Luis Fondebrider, president of the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team, who investigated the graves of those killed under Argentina's military junta in the 1970s and 1980s. All observed human remains, including the thoracic part of a spinal column, ribs, scapula, femur and tibia. Pounder said he couldn't rule out the presence of animal bones as well.

The Rakhine Buddhist elder provided Reuters reporters with a photograph which shows the aftermath of the execution. In it, the 10 Rohingya men are wearing the same clothing as in the previous photo and are tied to each other with the same yellow cord, piled into a small hole in the earth, blood pooling around them. Abdul Malik, the Islamic teacher, appears to have been beheaded. Abulu, the student, has a gaping wound in his neck. Both injuries appear consistent with Soe Chay's account.

Forensic pathologist Fondebrider reviewed this picture. He said injuries visible on two of the bodies were consistent with "the action of a machete or something sharp that was applied on the throat."

Some family members did not know for sure that the men had been killed until Reuters returned to their shelters in Bangladesh in January.

"I can't explain what I feel inside. My husband is dead," said Rehana Khatun, wife of Nur Mohammed. "My husband is gone forever. I dont want anything else, but I want justice for his death."

In Inn Din, the Buddhist elder explained why he chose to share evidence of the killings with Reuters. "I want to be transparent on this case. I don't want it to happen like that in future."
Two British Islamic State fighters, members of a kidnapping cell dubbed "The Beatles" that was notorious for videotaping beheadings, have been captured in Syria, a US defense official confirmed Thursday.

The two members of the group still in the field, Alexanda Amon Kotey and El Shafee el-Sheikh, both from Britain, were captured in January in eastern Syria by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.

"The two are believed to have acted as guards and interpreters involved in ISIS' illegal captivity of Western hostages, and are thought to have links to the British terrorist often called 'Jihadi John'," the official said in a statement.

Among the other two members of the "Beatles" group, Mohammed Emwazi -- "Jihadi John" -- was killed in 2015 in a drone strike by the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group.

The fourth member of the gang, Aine Davis, is being held in Turkey.

Emwazi was the group's leader, gaining notoriety for using a knife to kill hostages in a string of beheadings that were videotaped and posted on the internet, generating outrage against the Islamic State group but also inspiring similar acts by the extremists.

His victims included US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, Japanese journalist Kenji Goto, and British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning.

The group overall handled more than 20 foreign hostages over 2014-2015, earning a reported million of dollars in ransom payments. Hostages who survived reported being beaten, shocked by Tasers, and undergoing waterboardings at the hands of the group.

It was the hostages who gave them their nickname "The Beatles," after the fabled rock group, for their British accents.

HUNDREDS OF FOREIGN-BORN FIGHTERS

The US official did not give any information on the condition of the two or what would happen to them.

"El-Shafee el-Sheikh and Kotey represent a small portion of the hundreds of foreign-born ISIS terrorists from several nations who have been taken off the battlefield by Syrian Democratic Forces in eastern Syria since October 2017," the official said, requesting anonymity.

The British foreign ministry declined to confirm the capture.

"We don't comment on individual cases or ongoing investigations," a spokesperson said.

The SDF last year turned over another English-speaking IS captive to the US forces. While his name remains secret, he has been identified as a native-born American with Saudi dual nationality.

The US Justice Department says they have considered transferring him to a third country -- presumably Saudi Arabia -- while US civil rights lawyers are battling to have his case transferred to US civilian courts.

President Donald Trump has said that Islamist fighters captured on the battlefield in Syria and Iraq, including Americans, could be sent to the US military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Last week he reversed an order by his predecessor Barack Obama to close the Guantanamo prison, which still holds 41 people. Most of them were captured in Afghanistan following September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. The prison has not received any new inmates since 2008.

"I am asking Congress to ensure that in the fight against ISIS and Al-Qaeda, we continue to have all necessary power to detain terrorists wherever we chase them down, wherever we find them, and in many cases for them, it will now be Guantanamo Bay," Trump said during his State of the Union Speech on January 30.
Ramallah: The US has disqualified itself from being an "honest broker" in the Middle East peace process, Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas has said as he criticised his American counterpart Donald Trump for his "illegal" decision to declare Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

Trump's Jerusalem move angered the Palestinians, sparked protests in the Middle East and raised concern that it could further destabilise the region. The status of Jerusalem is the centre of Palestine's conflict with Israel. The city is home to key religious sites sacred to Judaism, Islam and Christianity, especially in East Jerusalem.

The Palestinians want to make East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state. Abbas lashed out at the United States' decision to declare Jerusalem as Israel's capital and slashing the aid package to the Palestinians as "unconstructive" measures.

He said Palestine is looking to create an international multilateral mechanism in which the US can also be a party and India can also play a role. "The US Administration disqualified itself from being an honest broker, and should not be the sole mediator in the peace process," the Palestine president told PTI in an e-mail interview.

In a dig at Trump's assertion regarding working out an ultimate deal during his tenure, the Palestinian President said that they "have not received any proposals", but only "sudden and illegal decision on Jerusalem".

"Concerning the so-called ultimate deal, we have not received any proposals for a peace plan until the moment. We keep hearing of an ultimate deal that the US President is going to present to the sides, but no one has proposed anything, but instead, President Trump announced his sudden and illegal decision on Jerusalem," he said.
Interfax-Ukraine to host press conference 'Records and Anti-records of the Ukrainian Real Estate Market: Results of 2017'

On Tuesday, February 13, at 11.00, the Interfax-Ukraine News Agency's press center will host a press conference entitled "Records and Anti-records of the Ukrainian Real Estate Market: Results of 2017." The participants will include UTG Director Yevhenia Loktionova, head of UTG's strategic consulting department Rostyslav Simonov, Deputy Head of Strategic Consulting Department Kostiantyn Oliynyk (8/5a Reitarska Street). Press accreditation by phone: (067) 216 0033 or at: pr@utg.kiev.ua.
KYIV. Feb 9 (Interfax-Ukraine) - In Ukraine, not only women and children are affected by the conflict in the east of the country, but also people of advanced years who do not receive pensions from the state, Deputy Representative at UNHCR Ukraine Noel Calhoun has said.

"We often say that the victims of war are women and children, but older people suffer from the conflict in Ukraine too ... According to the Pension Fund, as of the end of November 2017, almost 650,000 people do not receive pensions in an uncontrolled territory. The number of those, who receive pensions now - only 40% of those who received pensions at the beginning of 2014, that is, the state stopped paying pensions and more people were left without food," said Calhoun at a press conference in the press center agency Interfax-Ukraine in Kyiv on Friday.

In turn, advocacy coordinator from 'Right to Protection' Daryna Tolkach informed about the successful experience of appealing the decision of the Pension Fund of Ukraine to terminate the payment of a pension to a temporarily displaced person, currently residing in Severodonetsk. The final decision was made on January 30, 2018 by the Supreme Court of Ukraine.

"We consider very important the decisions of the Supreme Court in a separate category of cases related to the provision of pensions for internally displaced persons ... At the same time, we express hope that in future the courts will adhere to the letter of the law and adhere to the Supreme Court's position on this particular category of cases," Tolkach said.
THE National Peace and Reconciliation Commission has suspended consultations that were expected to start today after human rights campaigners went to court for the process to be shelved pending the appointment of the commissions chairperson.



The commission which was appointed by former President Robert Mugabe has been operating without a chairperson following the death of Mr Cyril Ndebele in October 2016. The Constitution says the President must appoint the commissions chairperson after consulting the Judicial Service Commission and the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders.



The commission has been functioning with the following members: deputy chairperson commissioner Lillian Chigwedere and commissioners Patience Chiradza, Choice Ndoro, Charles Masunungure, Geoffrey Chada, Leslie Ncube and Godfrey Chekenyere. The NPRC had lined up stakeholder consultations in Gwanda and Bindura to set the ball rolling in fulfilling its mandate.





The commissions plans were thrown into disarray after the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum filed an urgent chamber application challenging the process. Commissioner Chigwedere yesterday said the human rights organisations court action had led to the suspension of the stakeholder consultations.





The National Peace and Reconciliation Commission received a notice of urgent chamber application on February 6 filed by the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum interdicting the Commission from undertaking any stakeholder engagements or any work that is mandated by the constitution to carry out until a substantive chairperson of the Commission has been appointed, said Comm Chigwedere.

She said this had resulted in the postponement of consultations to a date to be advised.





The NPRC assures the nation of its commitment and readiness to execute its constitutional mandate, said Comm Chigwedere.





Consultations were scheduled to start today at the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Polytechnic in Gwanda in Matabeleland South province and Bindura University Hall in Bindura in Mashonaland Central province this morning. The Commission said the main objectives of the consultations were to enhance stakeholder awareness of the NPRC, its mandate and functions.

The Constitution says the chairperson of the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission must be a person who has been qualified for at least seven years to practice as a legal practitioner in Zimbabwe. The NPRC only began its work last month following the signing into law of the relevant bill by President Mnangagwa.





The NPRC has a serious backlog of cases of work, as it has lost five years of its 10-year lifespan. It was supposed to be operational from 2013, when the Constitution was promulgated, but that did not happen due to lack of an enabling Act to operationalise it.





Presenting the 2018 Justice Ministry budget recently, Justice, Parliamentary and Legal affairs portfolio chairperson Advocate Fortune Chasi disclosed that the Commissioners were working from home as Government had not yet secured their offices.





According to the NPRC Act, the head office and any other offices of the Commission shall be situated at places to be determined by the Commission in consultation with the minister and minister of finance.





All the offices established by the Commission must be accessible to members of the public, including people who use public transport as well as people with disabilities. (3) Subject to its mandate and for the purpose of carrying out its functions the Commission shall  (a) operate throughout the country; and (b) during discharge of its mandate, request support from existing institutions including any independent Commission, local governments, civil society organisations, media, faith-based institutions and other institutions whose assistance the Commission may deem necessary for the execution of its mandate and that will not compromise its independence, reads part of the law. Herald
GOVERNMENT has approached businesswoman Rudo Boka to explain her alleged dealings with North Korea as Harare comes under immense pressure to comply with inquiries from the United Nations (UN) Security Council over the rogue Asian state.



Boka is one of the directors of a company registered as Mansudae Boka Design Company, whose other directors are North Koreans.



In an interview this week, Foreign Affairs and International Trade permanent secretary Joey Bimha told the Zimbabwe Independent that government had made progress in investigating the matter.



A report dated September 5 2017 reveals that a United Nations Panel of Experts wrote to government officials demanding to know the operations of North Koreas Mansudae Overseas Project (MOP) Group of Companies.





According to United Nations Security Council Resolution 2371 adopted on August 5 last year, the company allegedly funds the North Korean regime, which is accused of threatening international peace and security through its nuclear armaments.





Mansudae Boka Design Company says it is into the manufacture of jewellery, mainly gold and silver rings, and badges, brochures, buttons and rank medals for the military, while Mansudae Overseas Project Group of Companies is reportedly well-known for construction-related activities, including statues and monuments to generate revenue for the DPRK government or the Workers Party of Korea.





MOP, through its company Mansudae Art Studio, was involved in the construction of Zimbabwes National Heroes Acre, including the Statue of the Unknown Soldier. MOP also constructed the late Vice-President Joshua Nkomos statue.





Boka has denied any links with the North Korean company, arguing it was a case of mistaken identity and mere coincidence that her company had North Korean directors and shared the same name prefix as Mansudae Overseas Project Group of Companies.





Bimha this week said: Our information is that we do not have North Korean companies operating in the country. The only company we discovered working with North Koreans is Rudo Bokas Mansudae Boka Design Company. We learnt that the company has two North Korean directors and we approached her about it.





Rudo Boka said she was going to change the directorship of that company. She is in the process of doing that and we will be monitoring that.





We have also checked and monitored names of North Koreans in the country since last year. The government of Zimbabwe will comply with the UN resolution on this issue.

Mansudae Boka Design Company has three shareholders, Rudo Boka with 6 000 shares, and the two North Koreans, Hyo Song Pak and Kyong Chol Yun with 7 000 shares each. Rudo Boka is also registered as the company secretary.





UN Resolution 2375 proscribes existing joint ventures between North Koreans, whether at government level or not, with nationalities of other countries.

If investigations by the UN establish that Zimbabwe continues to assist or is doing business with North Korea, the southern African country or local companies dealing with the east Asian state run the risk of having their assets frozen.





By the end of last year, compulsory UN restrictions banned virtually all North Korean exports, including all coal, iron and iron ore, lead and lead ore, textiles, seafood, heavy machinery, electrical equipment, and agricultural products.





UN member states are also required to repatriate nearly all North Koreans currently working abroad within two years and are prohibited from renewing existing work permits and issuing new ones to North Korean nationals. Zimbabwe Independent
The wife of ailing MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai is being denied access to visit him in a Johannesburg hospital where the 65-year-old opposition leader is receiving medical treatment, his spokesperson has confirmed.



The Daily News can reveal that Tsvangirais family members are refusing to allow Tsvangirais wife, Elizabeth, to see him at the top-notch 190-bed Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre (WDGMC).



Close relatives of the MDC leader accuse Elizabeth of backing MDC vice president Nelson Chamisa to succeed Tsvangirai and fear she could put pressure on him to facilitate his ascendancy to the throne without following the partys constitution.



Tsvangirais wife enjoys cordial relations with the youthful acting MDC president.

Tsvangirai wed Elizabeth (nee Macheka) in September 2012.



The former prime ministers wedding was dogged by court cases which denied him permission to marry the imposing widow, Macheka, now 41, in either a civil or traditional customary ceremony.

A customary ceremony went ahead regardless in front of hundreds of his supporters in the capital and was blessed by a Catholic priest.



Tsvangirais first wife, Susan, died in a car crash in 2009 shortly after Zimbabwes inclusive government was sworn into power.



The Daily News understands a war of words which almost degenerated into a fist-fight erupted at the hospital last week, when Tsvangirais family members tried to bar Elizabeth from seeing him, with physicians drawn into the complicated family situation.

Tsvangirais son, Vincent, was reportedly restrained from assaulting his step-mum after clashing with Elizabeth.



He reportedly vowed that she will never be allowed near his father as long as he lives.

After considering what they thought was the best for the patient against what the family wants, physicians at WDGMC resolved that only Tsvangirais mum be granted access to him.



A staffer at the enquiry desk at WDGMC Paediatric and Adult Oncology unit within the hospital  well-known as one of the best cancer treatment facilities in the southern region  declined to confirm the reported rancour the Tsvangirai family brought to the facility, citing physician-patient privilege and patient confidentiality  which requires health care providers to keep a patients personal health information private unless consent to release the information is provided by the patient.



Besides Tsvangirais mum, his entire family is in South Africa, including his daughter Vimbai who is married into the Java family, Manase, Collins, Vincent and family spokesperson Hebson Makuvise, who is Zimbabwes former ambassador to Germany.



Tsvangirais eldest son, Edwin is said to be opposing family attempts to stop his step-mum from seeing his ailing dad.



Yesterday, Elizabeth told the Daily News: I will only talk when all this is over, when my husband is out of hospital. Right now, I am concentrating on my husbands sickness. Whatever is happening, I have no comment. When my husband is fully recovered, I will make a statement.



A senior MDC official who declined to be named alleged the Tsvangirais family was being manipulated by a top MDC financier (name withheld) with ulterior motives for choreographing succession in the MDC.



His wife was told to go away and could not see her husband. It is spousal abuse, he said.

He accused the family of abusing an ailing Tsvangirai for their own interests, along with a cabal of MDC leaders pushing their proxies to succeed the MDC leader.



It has gone beyond theatre of the absurd into something ghoulish going on macabre, the official said.



Reached for comment yesterday, the spokesperson for Tsvangirais family, Makuvise, demanded to know who had given the Daily News the information, before denying knowledge of the ruckus.

Akakutaurirai mubvunzei kuti why ari kurambidzwa (Your source must tell you why she is being barred), Makuvise told the Daily News before hanging up his mobile phone.

Efforts to reach him later were futile.



Senior MDC officials said it was important that Zimbabweans pray for Tsvangirai to recover, saying the family could disintegrate in his absence over his estate.



Following his visit to Tsvangirais mansion in Highlands in Harare last month, President Emmerson Mnangagwa assured the MDC leader that he will work towards releasing his pension and other benefits, while also enabling him to retain his imposing mansion acquired for him when he was prime minister in the inclusive government of 2009 and 2013.



Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa has since made the requisite legislative changes to enable Treasury to release the money.

MDC insiders said the pension and other featherbeddings dangled by government last month have added fuel to the discord in the 19-year-old political outfit with his deteriorating health worsening the succession fights in his party.



The Daily News can report that Tsvangirai has demanded that his wife be given access.

A recorded conversation between the former union leader and medical staff, captures a briefing the MDC leader got about his relatives rancourous behaviour at the hospital facility, and he was told that security have resolved to keep them out of the in-patients unit.



The staffer affirmed the primacy of the physicians responsibility toward the patient, and told the MDC leader, who was conversing in a weak voice that the best interest of the patient comes first.

Tsvangirai then told the hospital staffer that there were unsavoury motives and says: I want to see my wife, I want to see Elizabeth.



The Daily News can exclusively reveal that the hospital has now organised surreptitious hospital visits for Elizabeth to manage the family dynamics.



The hospital also granted Tsvangirais wish to meet with Chamisa last week for two hours after the MDC VP had again been barred by the ailing MDC leaders family.

Chamisa declined to comment.



Tsvangirais spokesperson Luke Tamborinyoka told the Daily News: The needless scuffles belittle the huge and towering brand of president Tsvangirai. He has intimated to me some of the challenges but when everything has been said and done, everyone must allow the president to recover by giving respect to him, his wife and family but above all we must accord the huge MT brand the dignity it deserves, especially as he battles this cancer.



The stressed wife has helplessly watched as her husband underwent a gruelling chemotherapy regime, lost significant amounts of weight, appearing gaunt and drawn.







As his caregiver, she watched him last year lose the majority of his hair, a common side effect from cancer treatment.





His current prognosis is grim, amid fears he might not pull through.

Tsvangirai, 65, who was diagnosed with cancer of the colon in 2016, is now receiving palliative care, an interdisciplinary care that provides quality of life for patients with terminal illness.

Despite undergoing over a dozen chemotherapy sessions at the facility, which was established in 2002 when the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits University) bought the Kenridge Hospital with a founding donation from the Donald Gordon Foundation, Tsvangirai has sadly proceeded to Stage IV cancer, with the disease travelling beyond his colon.





The Daily News understands cancer cells have now been detected in his kidneys and liver. But doctors were still battling to remove or shrink the tumour. Tsvangirai was said to have suffered organ failure.





This is Tsvangirais longest period of medical leave, following brief absences from mid-2016 when he publicly announced he was undergoing treatment for cancer of the colon.

Officials have refused to disclose finer details of the 65-year-olds condition, only saying he was critical but stable.





There has been an industry of lies that has grown up around Tsvangirais medical condition.

The ailing MDC president left Zimbabwes capital, Harare, in early January and handed over power to his deputy, Elias Mudzuri.





Mudzuri was on Wednesday replaced as acting president by Chamisa after he travelled to Cape Town, together with the other MDC deputy Thokozani Khupe to attend a meeting for the formation of a new opposition coalition called Zimbabwe Alliance.





This meeting was spearheaded by the vanquished and bitter Generation 40 (G40) Zanu PF faction and includes a new political party National Patriotic Front (NPF), Joice Mujurus National Peoples Party, and the MDC Anti-Alliance team.





The meeting was chaired by a member of the G40 faction and was condemned by Mnangagwa at a Mashonaland Central rally on Wednesday as a futile plot to oust him, being engineered by the Democracy Institute  a think-tank based in Washington DC, founded in 2006. Daily News
(Newser)  For 25 years, Norwegian border agent Frode Berg fostered relations with Russia from his post in the town of Kirkenes, just minutes from the border. That is, until the 62-year was arrested in December in Moscow on espionage charges, shocking those who knew him in Kirkenes, as Anton Troianovski explains in his deep dive for the Washington Post. Charges in Berg's arrestan expert says he's the first Norwegian arrested by Russia for espionage since the early 20th centuryrevolve around him allegedly mailing money and spy directives in envelopes to a woman in Moscow named Natalia. Troianovski floats multiple theories as to why Berg was detained: that he was set up by Russian spies to spark a fight between Norway and Russia, that he was an "unwitting courier" for Norwegian intelligence operatives, or even that he "truly [did] lead some kind of double life."

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Troianovski explains Berg's longtime role in nurturing relations with Russia, including a joint annual ski race he helped set up and a cross-border art exchange he joined. All of which has made Kirkenes' locals nervous: Some fear if he does turn out to be a spy, it would throw other people in jeopardy, as Berg participated "everywhere and in everything" involving the town's cross-border projects. Berg insisted Friday from a Moscow courtroom, where his jail stay was extended three more months while Russia investigates the case, that he's innocent. "I feel really misused," he said in reference to unnamed Norwegians who his lawyers say gave him the envelopes to mail. The Kirkenes mayor backs him up: "I can guarantee you he's not a spy." And so, doubts linger. "He seemed to be a nice guy," a Kirkenes port agent tells the Post. "But then again, who really knows anybody?" The full story is here. (Read more Longform stories.)
(Newser)  The California Highway Patrol is investigating after a 23-year-old Lyft passenger somehow ended up on a Los Angeles freeway, where he was killed by a hit-and-run driver, CBS Los Angeles reports. According to NBC Los Angeles, Justin Lavelle was taking a Lyft from West Hollywood to Long Beach early Jan. 31. During the ride, he called a friend and said his driver was acting "weird." What happened next is a matter of contention. While CBS reports Lavelle somehow fell out of the car onto the 110 Freeway, Lavelle's mother tells NBC her son was attacked by the Lyft driver and forced out onto the freeway. Amy Lavelle says she spoke to her son on the phone before his death. "He was screaming hideously and saying, 'Mom, mom, I have been pepper sprayed,'" she says.

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The driver, Tariq Rasseed, says he made Lavelle get out on the freeway because he was drunk and putting both their lives in danger, demanding Rasseed drive faster and grabbing the steering wheel. "He hold my steering and I couldnt move an inch," Rasseed says. "I would have died. I didnt have no choice left." Rasseed denies spraying Lavelle with anything. Witnesses called the California Highway Patrol around 12:45am to report a man running on the freeway shoulder and into the lanes, ABC News reports. The California Highway Patrol says the vehicle that hit and killed Lavelle drove off before authorities arrived. CBS reports Lavelle was hit by multiple vehicles. Both Lyft and Uber have suspended Rasseed as a driver. (Read more hit-and-run stories.)
(Newser)  The White House apologized for its handling of Rob Porter in the wake of domestic violence allegations against him from two ex-wivesthough it did little else to clear up the situation around the former staff secretary. "I think its fair to say we all could have done better over the last few hoursor the last few daysin dealing with this situation," the Washington Post quotes Raj Shah as saying during a press conference Thursday. The White House spokesperson said neither President Trump nor chief of staff John Kelly knew the "full nature" of the accusations against Porter until Wednesday, USA Today reports. According to the BBC, Shah says Trump "was surprised by it. He was disheartened by it. He was saddened by it." Meanwhile, one Republican source tells Vanity Fair the president "was f---ing pissed" that Kelly hadn't explained the allegations against Porter to him.

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Shah remained vague about who in the White House knew about the allegations and when they knew about them. He noted Porter was on a temporary security clearance while a background investigation "was ongoing," so someone in the administration at least was aware of the allegations. But Shah wouldn't say why Porter was allowed to keep his position in the White House in the face of that. "We trust the background check process," he said. Shah said the White House was at first prepared to defend Porter against the allegations "based upon our experiences with him," but Kelly, in particular, changed his mind after seeing a photo of one of Porter's ex-wives with a black eye. Porter left the White House on Thursday despite earlier saying he would stay on until a successor was named. (Read more domestic violence stories.)
(Newser)  A 72-year-old man with diabetes is suing a California hospital after he says an MRI burned a 2-inch-deep hole into his stomach, KTLA reports. Nick Kruth went to Glendale Adventist Medical Center in 2016 because he had low blood pressure and his legs felt weak, and doctors ordered a series of tests. However, Kruth says a tab from his electrocardiogram was left on his stomach and he experienced serious pain during the MRI. "So I think at that time, Maybe if I'm gonna die in there, let me die,'" Kruth says.

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Kruth says after the test a technician found the tab, which contained metal, and realized it had burned a deep hole in his stomach. "He did describe that when they peeled it off, it was still sizzling, like a cooking egg, Kruth's son says. Kruth says the burn hasn't healed right and still causes him pain. One of his lawyers says the MRI technician ignored Kruth's complaints during the test; another lawyer says the hospital should have checked Kruth more thoroughly prior to the MRI. Glendale Adventist Medical Center hasn't commented. (A man in India was killed when he was sucked into an MRI machine in a freak accident.)
(Newser)  The American-backed Syrian Democratic Forces captured two notorious British members of an Islamic State insurgent cell commonly dubbed "The Beatles" and known for beheading hostages, the AP reports. A US military official said Thursday that El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Amon Kotey were captured in early January in eastern Syria. The two men are among four members of the IS cell that captured, tortured, and beheaded more than two dozen hostages, including American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and American aid worker Peter Kassig. The State Department has imposed sanctions on both men. They are believed to be linked to the British terrorist known as Jihadi John, the masked IS militant who appeared in several videos depicting the graphic beheadings of Western hostages.

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According to the US, Elsheikh traveled to Syria in 2012 and first joined al-Qaida's branch there, and then later joined IS. The State Department, in imposing sanctions on Kotey last year, said he likely engaged in executions and torture, including electronic shock and waterboarding, and recruited several British nationals to IS. US officials did not provide any other details of the capture, but said the US government with its coalition partners on the disposition of detainees held by the SDF. They said those discussions are private and no additional information would be given. According to military officials, Kotey and Elsheikh represent just a small portion of the hundreds of foreign-born IS terrorists from a number of nations that SDF fighters have captured or killed since October 2017.

(Read more Islamic State stories.)
(Newser)  Hollywood producer Jill Messick, who has died by suicide, was "collateral damage" in the "already horrific story" of Harvey Weinstein, her family says. In a statement to the Hollywood Reporter, the family of Rose McGowan's former manager describe her as a strong believer in the movement against sexual misconduct who was "victimized by our new culture of unlimited information sharing and a willingness to accept statement as fact." They say McGowan, who accused Messick of failing to support her after she was allegedly raped by Weinstein in 1997, made "inaccurate accusations and insinuations against her," but Messick didn't speak out "for fear of undermining the many individuals who came forward in truth."

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The family says Messick stood up for McGowan and alerted her bosses after the actress told her about her experience with Weinstein. They say McGowan "never once used the word rape" in that conversation. Messick, 50, was married and had two children. Her family says she fought to put her life back together after a long struggle with bipolar disorder, but she was devastated when her name and photo appeared in stories about Weinstein's misconduct after he released an email from her without her consent. "Seeing her name in headlines again and again, as part of one persons attempt to gain more attention for her personal cause, along with Harveys desperate attempt to vindicate himself, was devastating for her," they say. "It broke Jill, who was just starting to get her life back on track." The full statement can be read here. (Read more Harvey Weinstein stories.)
(Newser)  Airlines that accept emotional support animals on flights usually have explicit instructions on which ones are OK and which aren't, but a miscommunication about Spirit Airlines' policy led to hubbub over a hamster. Belen Aldecosea, a 21-year-old college student who was heading home to Florida for surgery on her neck, says even though she was told over the phone that hamsters were permitted as emotional support animals, a Spirit employee told her otherwise when she showed up with Pebbles at Baltimore's airport for her flight in Novemberand then, says Aldecosea, suggested she flush it down the toilet. Aldecosea did, and now PETA says both she and the Spirit rep who allegedly told her to flush the rodent should be held accountable. "Flushing a living being down a toilet is not only cruel but also illegal," a PETA VP tells USA Today. "This must have been a horrific, terrifying death."

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Aldecosea had Pebbles because she had felt alone in Philadelphia, where she was living, and was distressed over the growth on her neck. Her attorney, Adam Goodman, says Aldecosea was just a frightened "kid" who gave in to the adults around her in a "highly stressful situation." Spirit concedes it initially gave her the wrong info over the phone about its policywhich doesn't permit "snakes, other reptiles, rodents, ferrets, and spiders"but denies an employee advised her to start flushing. A bit of good news for Aldecosea, per Goodman: She's got a new replacement rodent to soothe her. (This woman's emotional support peacock was rejected from a United flight, even after she offered to buy a ticket for it.)
(Newser)  May 1, 2017, was not a good workday for Austin Crawford. That's when the 22-year-old Oregon man ended up in the news after his co-worker, 26-year-old Scott Iverson, tried to force him Fargo-style into the woodchipper that they used on the job for a Salem tree-trimming company. Crawford's neck and jaw were hurt during the attack, which was stopped by another employee, the Statesman Journal reported at the time. Iverson was arrested and charged with attempted assault and attempted murder, and after pleading guilty to the assault charge, he was sentenced this week to 70 months in prison, per KATU. Crawford said immediately after the attack that it was unprovoked and that he and Iverson didn't have any beef with each other. (Read more woodchipper stories.)
(Newser)  "I f------ killed my sister ... I know I'm going to jail for life," California teen Obdulia Sanchez said in livestreamed video of the DUI crash that killed her little sister last year. "I don't f------ care at all." The 18-year-old was sentenced Thursday not to life, but to six years and four months for vehicular manslaughter, DUI, and child endangerment, the Merced Sun-Star reports. Prosecutor Thomas Min had sought a 12-year sentence for the Stockton teen, noting that she was not only under the influence of alcohol in the July 2017 crash that killed 14-year-old Jacqueline Sanchez and injured her 15-year-old friend, her blood tested positive for cocaine and marijuana, reports ABC30.

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Min said Sanchez displayed "callousness" in the Instagram video recorded before, during, and after the crash. In court, Sanchez said she was sorry and she wished she could take her sister's place. "When I look at my mom's face, I know she hates me," she said. "I would hate myself, too. I'm such a disappointment to my parents." Her parents and attorney, however, asked for her to be sentenced only to probation so they could be with her and get her the help she needs. "Lula did something wrong, and she knows and she accepts everything," father Nicandro Sanchez said. Her attorney said the teen had an extremely troubled life and was sexually abused at 11 before being abducted and trafficked. She ended up in a group home, which she left months before the crash. ("Everybody does it," Sanchez said of filming while driving.)
Minister Truong Minh Tuan unveiled the stamp during a ceremony held at the Hanoi Post Office on February 8.

The 31 x 46mm stamp was designed by painter Tran The Vinh to honour the bravery and indomitable spirit of the people and soldiers in southern Vietnam.

The stamp portrays the images of local residents and soldiers fighting together for peace, liberty and independence as symbolised by a stylised white dove and a striped scarf, a popular garment in Vietnams southern region.

The stamp is available at post offices throughout the country until the end of 2019.

The Tet Offensive in 1968 was a major turning point in the Vietnam War, which dealt a strong blow to the Americans and laid the foundation for subsequent victories with the pinnacle being the ultimate liberation of southern Vietnam in 1975.
(Newser)  The Winter Olympics made history before the opening ceremony Friday when Kim Yo Jong, sister of Kim Jong Un, became the first member of North Korea's ruling dynasty to visit the South. She arrived in a private jet at the Incheon International Airport with a delegation of officials including Kim Yong Nam, the 90-year-old who serves as North Korea's nominal head of state, reports Reuters. Kim Yo Jong, believed to be around 30 years old, is one of her brother's most trusted aides, notes the New York Times. She is to be seated near other dignitaries including Vice President Mike Pence at Friday's opening ceremony.

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But as one VIP arrived in South Korea, another departed Pyeongchang in a hurry: Denmark says Crown Prince Frederik, a member of the International Olympic Committee, has rushed back to his homeland because the condition of his father, 83-year-old Prince Henrik, has "seriously worsened," the AP reports. Later Friday, Pence skipped a dinner hosted by South Korean President Moon Jae-in, in which he was to have shared a table with Kim Yong Nam, the BBC reports. According to South Korea's Yonhap news agency, the vice president, who has said he won't allow Pyongyang's propaganda to "hijack" the Olympics, tried to avoid directly facing the North Korean and left the venue after five minutes. (Read more 2018 Olympics stories.)
(Newser)  One of the women featured in Time's December issue honoring the #MeToo movement is herself facing multiple accusations of sexual misconduct. California Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, who chairs the Legislative Women's Caucus, has risen to national prominence with her advocacy for victims of sexual assault and harassment, counting herself as one of the number. But two men who spoke to Politico are now making allegations of misconduct against her, including one who says the Democrat groped him after the annual Assembly softball game in Sacramento in 2014. Daniel Fierro, then 25 and working for Assemblyman Ian Calderon, says a drunk Garcia cornered him while he was cleaning a dugout, stroked his back, squeezed his butt, and tried to touch his crotch before he slipped away.

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Fierrowho says Garcia later "had to have other people hold her up"didn't report the incident for fear of repercussions, though the Assembly Rules Committee launched an investigation after Fierro mentioned it to Calderon in January. Two coworkers say he also relayed the incident to them. "I knew that I had had an experience that didn't jibe with what ... she was saying, and that kind of hypocrisy was really hard to stomach," Fierro tells the Washington Post. An unidentified lobbyist says Garcia also cornered him, said she'd "set a goal for myself to f--- you," and tried to grab his crotch at a political fundraiser in 2017, where he claims she'd been drinking heavily. In a statement, Garcia says she has "zero recollection of engaging in inappropriate behavior" and "will participate fully in any investigation that takes place." (Read more sexual misconduct stories.)
(Newser)  Celebrate the end of the work week and continued survival of our planet Friday with a glance up at the sky. There, you could get a glimpse of an asteroid whipping past Earth at a distance of 39,000 milesroughly five times closer to us than the moonaround 5:30pm EST. Only discovered on Sunday, the asteroid known as 2018 CB is believed to be 50 to 130 feet wide, making it bigger than the one that caused such a stir when it landed in Chelyabinsk, Russia, in 2013, notes the LA Times. This one won't hit Earth, but it's "a reminder that asteroids can pass very close to our planet and its important that we find these objects when they do get close," Paul Chodas of the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory tells the Guardian.

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The asteroidspotted by astronomers at the Catalina Sky Survey in Arizonawill actually be the third to zip near Earth this week. While eyes were glued to SpaceX's Tuesday rocket launch, an asteroid estimated to be 50 to 100 feet wide came within 114,000 miles of Earth, roughly half the distance to the moon, reports Astronomy. Dubbed 2018 CC, it was discovered at the same time as 2018 CB, meaning we had only two days' notice of its arrival. A third asteroid passed within 2.6 million miles of Earth on Sunday, per Space.com. If any of these visits freak you out, you might want to start preparing now for 2029. That's when a monster 1,000-foot-wide asteroid will pass Earth at one-tenth of the distance to the moon, per the Guardian. (A skull-shaped asteroid is still to come in 2018.)
(Newser)  In November, 16-year-old Mujey Dumbuya told Michigan police that her boyfriend's uncle, a groundskeeper employed by her school district, raped her in a school parking lot in Grand Rapids. According to court documents viewed by WWMT, Dumbuya described the incident as the latest in a string of rapes that started when she was 15. Quinn James, 42, was fired, arrested, charged with four counts of criminal sexual conduct with a minor, and released on bond on the condition that he avoid contact with Mujey, who was to testify against him at trial in April, reports BuzzFeed News. Mujey, however, disappeared on Jan. 24, the day after James learned of his trial date, per WWMT, and she was found dead in a wooded area 50 miles from home days later.

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James hasn't been charged, but WHTC and WWMT report that he is considered a person of interest in Mujey's death. On Feb. 1, he was arrested on suspicion of the 2014 rape of another teen, per WWMT. James now faces charges in that case including third-degree criminal sexual conduct and remains in custody, per WXMI and WOOD. He's previously been convicted of crimes including armed robbery and possession of a weapon while in prison. In her statements to police, Mujey said James preceded the November rape by saying, "There is something about you. I could stop, but I just can't." James reportedly admitted to investigators that he had sex with Mujey but said it was consensual. (Read more murder stories.)
(Newser)  Thanks to climate change, the world's oceans are rising. And they're rising twice as fast around Tuvalu, a tiny Pacific nation comprised of nine atolls and 101 reef islands totaling just 10 square miles of land mass. And yetdespite all common sense to the contraryresearchers found the island nation actually gained land between 1971 and 2014, according to a press release. A study published Friday in Nature Communications states around three-quarters of Tuvalu's islands gained land mass during that period. Overall, Tuvalu added over 180 acres of land, Stuff reports. "We tend to think of Pacific atolls as static landforms that will simply be inundated as sea levels rise, but there is growing evidence these islands are geologically dynamic and are constantly changing," study co-author Paul Kench says.

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For the islands that grew, erosion caused by rising sea levels was more than offset by the sediment deposited by waves and storms. Kench says that while climate change is still a threat to Tuvalu, the takeaway is that residents shouldn't declare their homes doomed and move away. "The data on island change shows there is time (decades) to confront these challenges," the study states. Only 11 of Tuvalu's islands have a permanent human population, and only two of those islands are home to more than 600 people. Kench says the nation should use the study's data to figure out the islands most likely to grow in the future and move communities there. "On the basis of this research we project a markedly different trajectory for Tuvalu's islands over the next century than is commonly envisaged," he says. (Tuvalu recently made a list of the world's most surprising major exports.)
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Rescuers enter the damaged Yun Men Tusi Ti building in Hualien, southeast China's Taiwan, Feb. 8, 2018. Four tourists from the mainland had been confirmed dead as of Thursday morning after a magnitude-6.5 earthquake hit Taiwan's Hualien County. Rescuers said five other mainland tourists are still trapped in the damaged Yun Men Tusi Ti building, including four adults and one child. (Xinhua/Yue Yuewei)

TAIPEI, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- A powerful earthquake has killed at least 10 in Taiwan's Hualien County, leaving 272 injured and seven still missing.

Of the victims, four came from the Chinese mainland and one from the Philippines. Three mainland tourists were found in the damaged Yun Men Tusi Ti building. Another mainland tourist was rescued from the same building Wednesday, but was declared dead that evening.

Rescuers said five other mainland tourists are still trapped in the building, four adults and one child.

So far, no signs of life have been detected from the room. Rescuers said they cannot currently enter the room safely.

Fu Kun-Chi, head of Hualien County, said large machinery will clear the site of the collapsed Marshal Hotel and two tilted buildings on Friday morning.

Yun Men Tusi Ti building will be cleared after no signs of life are confirmed by experts, as there are still people trapped inside the building.

Zhang Zhijun, head of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council,Wednesday 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 sympathized 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 Straits, said the mainland is willing to assist with the quake relief, including sending rescue teams to the island.

Fu said the any rescue team is welcomed by people in the quake-hit areas.

According to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC), the magnitude 6.5 earthquake jolted waters near Hualien at 11:50 p.m. Tuesday.

It was the most severe earthquake to hit Hualien in five decades, according to Fu.

The Red Cross Society of China has decided to provide 1 million yuan (158,270 U.S. dollars) for rescue operations, saying that it is ready to send rescue teams to Taiwan.

Other mainland authorities such as the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, Fujian Province, and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region also said they would each donate 1 million yuan to Hualien.

The Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League, a political party in the mainland, expressed sympathy Thursday to those affected.

The Association of Taiwan Investment Enterprises on the Mainland has donated 6 million new Taiwan dollars (20.44 million U.S. dollars) to Hualien.
China has never attached any political conditions to aiding the Maldives, and the aid has done no harm to the country's sovereignty and independence, let alone jeopardized the Indian Ocean area's security, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said Thursday.

Ministry of Foreign Affair Spokesman Geng Shuang speaks at a press conference in Beijing, February 8, 2018. [Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs]

Geng made the remarks at a daily press briefing in response to an article written by the Maldives' former president Mohamed Nasheed.

The Indian Express Wednesday published an article written by Nasheed. In his article, Nasheed criticized the Maldives' President Yameen, saying that in "his endless quest to enrich himself, he has sold off the nation's sovereignty."

Nasheed also said that foreign powers, China among them, were engaged in a "land grab" of Maldivian islands' key infrastructure and even essential utilities.

"This land grab not only undermines the independence of the Maldives, but the security of the entire Indian Ocean region," Nasheed said.

"Nasheed's words are nonsense," said Geng, pointing out that China's aid to the Maldives already existed in Nasheed's presidential term and had made substantial achievements.

"I wonder whether Mr. Nasheed put all the cooperation on the list as a 'grab,'" Geng said.

Geng said that China had continued to facilitate infrastructure construction and livelihood cooperation with the Maldives on the basis of mutual respect and equal treatment.

He said that friendly cooperation between China and Maldives was in line with the common interest of the two countries and their peoples.
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Patrick Dale Burton-Hill, center, listens to opening testimony in Judge Lyle's courtroom at the Rabinowitz Courthouse Thursday afternoon, February 8, 2018. Burton-Hill is charged with murder in the May 2015 shooting death of John Kavairlook Jr. outside the Rock-N-Rodeo Bar.
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London:

Brexit negotiations took a turn for the worse on Friday as European Union chief negotiator Michel Barnier warned that the transition period is not a given if disagreements with the UK persist.

His intervention in Brussels came soon after Britains Brexit minister David Davis accused the EU of using discourteous language in a leaked document on the ongoing negotiations.

During a proposed 21-month transition period, also termed as the implementation phase of Brexit, the UK would effectively stay in the EU and under its laws, but lose its seat on its decision-making table.

The key differences between both sides revolve around the UKs demand for power to object to new rules imposed on it during the transition period, restrictions on the rights of EU citizens who come to Britain during that phase, and the ability to opt in to certain European policies.

Barnier said the EU has problems in understanding the position of the British government.

He said, Im surprised by these disagreements and if they persist, a transition is not a given. I wasnt talking about a threat. We have to bear in mind what the UK has said. I have some problems understanding the position.

They themselves asked for this transition period. The EUs 27 heads of government said yes on the basis of very logical positions. Its understandable. But if this disagreement were to persist there will undoubtedly be a problem.

Refusing to be drawn into a response to Britains allegation of discourteous language, the man in charge of striking a deal on behalf of the 27 EU member-states claimed he had remained objective and calm but insisted it was time for the UK to make choices on key issues such as the Northern Ireland border.

Also Read: UK warns cut aid to countries that do not invest in own people

It is important to tell the truth, Barnier said.

His briefing came at the end of a week of technical talks between both sides negotiators in Brussels.

He also seemed to accuse the UK of cancelling a planned meeting due to a diary clash, but British officials denied cancellation and claimed the meeting had merely been moved to a later time.

The UKs Department for Exiting the European Union in London reacted with a sharply worded retort to Barniers claims of a lack of clarity on Britains position.

Given the intense work that has taken place this week it is surprising to hear that Michel Barnier is unclear on the UKs position in relation to the implementation period, Davis said in a statement.

Accusing the European Commission of a fundamental contradiction in its approach, he added, Today they acknowledged that a way to resolve disputes and infringements is needed. Yet at the same time they dismissed the UKs push for reasonable safeguards to ensure our interests are protected. It is not possible to have it both ways.

The minister claimed that the UK continued to approach the negotiations in a spirit of achieving a comprehensive post-Brexit partnership to ensure the UK and EU remain the closest of friends and allies.

Both sides are working towards a deadline to reach an agreement on the transition period before the European Council?meeting in March.

A failure to agree on the contours of the implementation phase could mean the UK would effectively crash out of the economic bloc without a deal on March 29, 2019 ? unless the negotiation period is extended by consent of all 27 EU countries, or Article 50 is revoked.

The Opposition Labour partys shadow Brexit minister Kier Starmer termed Barniers intervention as a wake up call for the British prime minister.

Also Read: British PM Theresa May urges EU to move quickly on Brexit talks

Theresa May must end the infighting within her Cabinet, drop her reckless red lines and accept Labours proposals for a transitional deal. That means seeking to remain in a customs union with the EU and within the single market during that period, he said.

Meanwhile, Premier May chaired meetings of her Brexit sub-committee this week amid much disagreement between different factions of her Cabinet.

Davis claimed the atmosphere at these meetings, aimed at sketching out what the UK wanted its future relationship with the EU to look like, had been very constructive and there had been lots of things resolved but admitted there was still progress to be made.

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New Delhi:

Bigg Boss 11 contestant Bandgi Kalra has rubbished the reports of being thrown out of the house in Mumbai. It was reported that the lady was living in with her boyfriend Puneesh Sharma in the Andheri flat. Puneesh reportedly had an ugly fight with the building's watchman after which the couple was asked to leave the house.

However, contrary to the reports, Bandgi has stated that the two are not living-in.

"It is completely untrue. We are not living-in yet. Yes, Puneesh is in Mumbai, but he stays in a hotel, Bandgi told Spotboye.

She further added, I just want to know who is spreading these rumours against me. This is the second time something like this has come up.

Also Read | What? Bigg Boss 11 couple Bandgi Kalra-Puneesh Sharma THROWN OUT of their Mumbai house?

On the other hand, Puneesh too thrashed the reports and told Bollywood Life, We dont stay together. I am staying in a hotel since days now. Earlier, Bandgi was living in Ghatkopar but now she has moved to Andheri as it is closer to work. We are not living-in as yet. Yes, she has moved to a new home but the reason is work. This is bull shit and a fake story. Nothing like this has happened. This is fake news.

Interestingly, this is the second time the reports of Bandgi Kalra being kicked out her house by the landlord has been doing the rounds.

Earlier, the reports surfaced while the diva was still inside the Bigg Boss house but these turned out to be mere rumors.

On the work front, it is reported that Bandgi will be soon making her Bollywood debut. However, not much details have been revealed about her debut project.
The Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat said Thursday that accusations that China was spying on the AU are just rumors.

Faki made the remarks while meeting press with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi after they co-hosted the 7th China-AU strategic dialogue in Beijing. It was Faki's first visit to China since he assumed office in March 2017.

The Chairperson of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat (L) meets press with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday, February 8, 2018. [Photo: fmprc.gov.cn]

Faki said the ties between China and AU were "unshakable," and such reports could not damage their relations.

Faki noted that it was impossible and unnecessary for China to spy on the AU.

The French newspaper Le Monde has said China had bugged the AU Conference Center it had built and gifted to the AU in 2012, and had been downloading data from servers in the building.

"Now we are willing to cooperate more with China to benefit African people, and such rumors will not distract us," Faki told reporters.

Calling the AU Conference Center a symbol of China-Africa friendship and cooperation, Wang said China would never allow any person or any force to smear such a relationship.

"The AU and African people are best qualified to speak on the cooperation between China and Africa," Wang said.

Having dubbed the accusations as "the mindset of sour grapes," Wang said all such rumors were futile and attempts to sow dissension between China and Africa were doomed to fail in front of fruitful China-Africa cooperation
New Delhi:

Bigg Boss 11 contestants Puneesh Sharma and Bandgi Kalra, who created a lot of buzz with their steamy chemistry on the show, is back in the headlines, but this time for a different reason.

Reportedly the couple has been kicked out of the Andheri flat lately where the two were living in together post their stint in BB11.

According to the media reports, Puneesh-Bandgi were thrown out of the house post Sharma's nasty argument with watchman of the building.

"Five days ago, Puneesh and Bandgi entered in the building in their car and the watchman stopped them to ask a few questions. A drunk Puneesh not only got into an argument with him but also threatened him with dire consequences," an eyewitness reportedly told Spotboye.

Also Read | Bigg Boss 11 contestant Bandgi Kalra opens up on being kicked out of her house with beau Puneesh Sharma

It was also reported that post this ugly spat the building secretary decided to not to let Puneesh-Bandgi stay in the building.

Apparently, the couple is currently in search of a new house now.

Notably, Puneesh and Bandgi became household names after they participated in Salman Khan's Bigg Boss 11 as commoners. While Bandgi was eliminated mid-way, Puneesh Sharma went on to be amongst the top four finalists of the reality show.
Mumbai :

Both Virat and Anushka do not miss any moment to shower their love on each other whether its Anushka going gaga over her hubbys century or Virat doing wifeys movie promotion.

It is not only the couple who are showcasing their love to each other but now it is Anushkas father Colonel Ajay Kumar Sharma who has expressed his love for his daughter and son-in-law.

Its been almost two months since Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli got married and the fans still cant get themselves over the celebrity couple.

If sources are to be believed, Anushkas father has gifted a poem book to Virat titled Smokes And Whiskey by Tajaswini Divya Naik. The book has 42 poems on relationship and it is said Virat Kohli is an admirer of poetry.

Recently, both Ajaty Kumar Sharma(Anushkas father) and Ashimi Sharma(Anushkas mother) attended the book launch if the book and got is signed by the poet herself for Virat.

Anushka and Virat tied knot on December 11 in Italy and the reception was held in Delhi and Mumbai.

Currently, Virat Kohli is busy on South African tour for Test, ODI and T20 series and Anushka is busy shooting for upcoming project Sui Dhaaga featuring Varun Dhawan as male lead. And, her home production film Pari is scheduled to hit the theatres on March 2.

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Los Angeles:

Actor James Marsden says working on the sets of the 27 Dresses was like a celebration for him. The 44-year-old actor said he shared a great tuning with the female lead, Katherine Heigl, which was instrumental in the film's popularity.

"27 Dresses" recently completed its 10 years and Heigl had said working on the film felt like a "college" experience to her.

"You never know what to expect going into a film. That you can see different personalities and different egos. (But) It was just everybody having a great time. I think the audience just picks up on that.

"Katie (Heigl) and I fed off each other's energies and had this chemistry," Marsden said in a group interview here.

The actor was in the capital as the global ambassador of International Scotch Day, along with Ervin Trykowski, brand ambassador, Diageo.

Marsden is popular for his roles in films such as "X- Men", "Enchanted" and is currently seen as Teddy Flood in TV series "Westworld".

The actor said the famous 'Bennie and The Jets' scene, where his and Heigl's characters get drunk in a bar and sing the hit Elton John number at the top of their voices was a special scene from the Anne Fletcher-directed romcom.

"The 'Bennie and the Jets' scene was the final one that we shot. So we were kind of celebrating the finishing the film as well. That kind of came through.

It was a lot of camaraderie on that one and that's not always the case," he said.

Celebrating the spirit of world's finest Scotch, Trykowski roped in Marsden to help him in blending cocktails together.

Barman-turned-whisky ambassador, Trykowski said it was a great feeling to have the Hollywood star on board.

"It's amazing to have him on this journey and that also in a different country. We spoke first without any cameras. He has tried the drinks in different ways. It's everything that we want to talk about. I like how traditional he is about his Scotch," he said.

"Sixty per cent of global whiskey sold includes American, Irish, Japanese and even Indian whiskey," he added.

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New Delhi:

AAP will organise a 'Vikas Yatra' from Sunday in every constituency here, highlighting the "good work" done by the Kejriwal government, to mark its three years in power, Labour Minister Gopal Rai said on Friday.

Party functionaries, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ministers and its lawmakers will take part in the 'yatra' to popularise government's work, a move that comes at a time when the party is facing possible bypolls following the disqualification of 20 AAP MLAs.

The AAP government completes three years in power on February 14.

"The party is launching a drive to share the accomplishments of the AAP government with the citizens of Delhi on February 11. The aim is to establish a dialogue with the citizens," Rai told reporters here.

He stated that in the second phase, the party functionaries, especially 'booth in-charges' will meet the people of their areas and share information about the work done by the Delhi government.

Rai said the AAP government has not only provided round- the-clock electricity but has also dramatically reduced electricity charges, wherein the rate for low consumption of below 400 units were slashed by half.

By providing free water for those whose consumption is less than 20,000 litres the government has not only made water free for the poor, but also reduced water consumption, he said.

"The work done on education and health is being lauded universally," he said.

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New Delhi:

Indian Air Forces Group Captain Arun Marwaha, who passed on classified information to Pakistans intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), has been arrested by Delhi Police.

The officer, posted at the Indian Air Force headquarters, was caught red-handed by Air Force Intelligence Wing with his cell phone in prohibited area.

According to the officials, Marwaha was honey-trapped by two Pakistani agents, he befriended with on Facebook few months ago.

After chatting for some days on Facebook, they exchanged phone numbers and started chatting on Whatsapp. They also exchanged intimate messages.

Delhi Police Special Cell arrested Marwah on Wednesday on charges of providing details of secret Indian Air Force documents to ISI.

The Delhi Police has filed an FIR against him under the relevant sections of Officials Secrets Act.

Also Read | Donald Tump dials PM Modi to discuss political crisis in Maldives over phone call

According to the FIR lodged by Station Security Officer Squadron Leader Rupinder Singh, Marwaha was working as Joint Director (operations). During the interrogation, he disclosed before officers of Air Force intelligence wing that he was in touch with two women, and had passed on classified information about three new formations  Defence Cyber Agency, Defence Space Agency and a Special Operations Division  to them.

He also shared a classified document about the forthcoming Air Force Exercise with them, which is likely to help enemies and will affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, The Indian Express quoted Singh as stating in the FIR.

Sleuths of Air Force Intelligence Wing was keeping a track on Marwahas activities after they received a secret input that some sensitive documents were leaked to the illegal persons.

The Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) is also in contact with the investigators, who are also probing if Marwaha was part of a larger espionage ring.

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New Delhi:

Ahead of prime Minister Narendra Modis historic visit, Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas described India as a "very respected country in the international arena" and said New Delhi can play an important role in resolving Israel-Palestine conflict.

We believe in the importance of a possible Indian role...to reach a final agreement based on international consensus and resolutions, in which India and other countries can be part of," news agency PTI quoted Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas as saying.

In a first for any sitting Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi will visit Palestine during his three-nation tour to Middle East starting Friday.

"We are receiving Prime Minister Modi in a historic visit that will demonstrate the strong ties and relations between the Palestinian people and the brotherly Indian people, the Palestine President said.

Also Read | Trump, PM Modi discuss political crisis in Maldives over phone call

"We will discuss the recent updates with Prime Minister Modi, and the recent developments in the peace process, the bilateral relations, and the regional situations. And the possible role India can play in enhancing peace in the region, as well as discussing different economical aspects beyond the existing ties we already possess," he said.

PM Modis visit to Ramallah comes only three weeks after Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus state visit to India.

Since Mahatma Gandhis time, India has been supporting Palestine and advocate for the rights of Palestinians in Jerusalem.

In 1937, Mahatma Gandhi in an article termed Jewish incursion into Palestinian territories as inhumane. India recognised the State of Palestine in 1988.

After Modis visit to Israel in July last year and Netanyahus recent India visit, critics have predicted that Indo-Palestine ties will see a downfall.

However, Abbas said that "any state has the right to establish relations with other countries".

"We believe in the importance of our relationship with the brotherly Indian State, the support of India to the Palestinian people, and the relationship we possess with the Indian people, will not be effected by India's relations with any other State," he added.

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New Delhi:

Opposition MPs on Friday petitioned President Ram Nath Kovind for a court-monitored SIT probe into the death of CBI judge B H Loya and said they have no faith in either the CBI or the NIA.

MPs from several political parties, including the Congress, the Trinamool Congress and the DMK, met the president and presented him a memorandum with the demand.

The memorandum has been signed by 114 MPs from 15 parties, including the TMC, SP, NCP, DMK, RJD and AAP as well as the Left parties. The BSP is not a signatory to the letter.

"To uphold the majesty of law, we request you to intervene in the matter. What is required is a thorough investigation through a team of independent officers selected and monitored by the Supreme Court," the memorandum stated.

The investigation should not be entrusted to either the Central Bureau of Investigation or the National Investigation Agency, given their track record, the MPs said.

"Such a procedure will ensure the credibility of the institution in the eyes of the public. We sincerely hope you will use your good offices to serve the cause of justice," they told the president.

Loya, who was hearing the sensitive Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case, died of a cardiac arrest in Nagpur on December 1, 2014, when he had gone to attend the wedding of a colleague's daughter.

Rahul Gandhi, who led the opposition charge, said a large number of MPs felt that there is something suspicious in the death of Loya and two more that took place thereafter.

"A large number of MPs feel suspicious and uneasy over the death of judge Loya and two others. They wanted an independent probe and did not want the investigation to be handed over to the CBI," Gandhi said after the meeting.

He said the president gave a positive response and has assured them that he would look into the matter.

"Two of judge Loya's alleged confidants have also subsequently died under suspicious circumstances. Srikant Khandalkara, a public-spirited lawyer in Nagpur, allegedly fell from a high-rise building in the District Court on November 29, 2015 and Prakash Thombre, a retired District Judge, allegedly died on May 16, 2016 falling from the upper berth in a train," according to the memorandum.

The leaders have also written in the memorandum that they believe that if "lives of judges and lawyers are jeopardised for doing their duty, then democracy is under grave threat.

Recently four senior most judges of the Supreme Court also expressed the sentiment that democracy was in peril".

Stating that they have no faith in either the CBI or the NIA, Gandhi said they wanted an independent SIT, like in the 2G case.

"Because we know what CBI officers do. In the case of Sohrabuddin (Sheikh fake encounter), CBI officers did not appeal (against the discharge of BJP president Amit Shah). We do not have any faith in them," Congress leader Kapil Sibal said.

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.

Sohrabuddin Sheikh and his wife Kausar Bi were allegedly abducted by the Gujarat police's Anti-Terrorism Squad from Hyderabad on their way to Sangli in Maharashtra in November 2005. Sheikh was allegedly killed in a fake encounter near Gandhinagar.

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Kolkata:

A seven-year-old class two student in a Kolkata school was allegedly sexually assaulted by her dance teacher for nearly a year.

The incident came to light after parents of the victim and others in large numbers protested outside the school campus on Friday morning after learning the alleged sexual assault of a class 2 student by a teacher.

The development was confirmed by joint commissioner of police, crime, Praveen Tripathy.

He further added that the accused dance teacher has been arrested. The class 2 students perpetrator has been identified as Soumen Rana, 27.

Kolkata Police on Friday had deployed security forces in large number to prevent any untoward incident outside the school campus. Scuffle between protesting parents and policemen was reported, which led to injury of an officer.

Protesters were largely parents of students studying in the school. They learnt about the incident when the victims parents informed them via social media, added the officer.

According to a police officer who denied revealing his identity said, The scuffle between police and protester began when the accused in custody was attacked by agitated parents.

A senior officer of the West Bengal Police told the media that a seven-year-old girl was being regularly assaulted by a dance teacher for nearly an year. The victim told us that she was threatened by the teacher of dire consequences like burying her alive if she informed about the alleged act to anyone, said a police officer.

Also read: HC allows minor rape survivor to terminate 22-week-old foetus



The victims uncle told the media that her sister and brother had informed the school principal about the development but she refused to accept it.

The police officer added that they learnt about the incident when the girl denied going to school by making various excuses. On Thursday, when her mother was forcing her to attend classes, she narrated her ordeal, added the officer.

West Bengal Police officer added that they have arrested the accused teacher and filed an FIR under relevant IPC sections and POSCO Act.

Education Minister Partha Chatterjee said, The government will look into the matter if there were lapses on the part of the school. We have laid safety guidelines for all schools.

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New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to commence his three-nation tour to the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Palestine on Friday. The visit shall also mark India's first ever Prime Ministerial visit to Palestine.

Ahead of his visit, the Prime Minister on Thursday said that the Gulf and West Asia region is a key priority for India's foreign policy.

"I will be undertaking bilateral visits to Palestine, United Arab Emirates and Oman from February 9 to 12," Modi said in a pre-departure statement.

"I am happy to visit the Gulf and West Asian region for the fifth time since 2015. This region is a key priority in our external engagement," he said, adding India enjoys "vibrant multi-dimensional ties" with its countries.

According to authorities and business leaders, this visit of the Prime Minister signifies the special importance that India attaches to its ties with the oil-rich nation and will help in furthering cooperation in diplomatic, economic and security issues.

On Friday, Modi will leave for Amman from where he will transit to Ramallah on Saturday in what will be the first ever Prime Ministerial visit from India to Palestine.

"I am grateful to His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan for facilitating the transit," he said. "I look forward to meeting him in Amman on February 9.

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New Delhi:

Security forces are on a high alert in Jammu and Kashmirs on the death anniversaries of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru on February 9 and Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) co-founder Maqbool Bhat on February 11.

The security has been increased amid the possibilities of an attack by Jaish-e-Mohammad, a banned terrorist organisation set up Masood Azhar in 2000 after he was released by the Atal Bihar Vajpayee government, to mark the death anniversaries of Guru and Bhat.

Jaish-e-Mohammad returned to the Kashmir valley in 2014 and announced its new Afzal Guru Squad with an attack on Army camp in Kupwara on November 25, 2015.

Earlier on Tuesday, Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik was arrested ahead of the death anniversaries of Guru and Bhat.

Malik was taken into custody from the JKLF head office in the Abi Guzar area of the city, a police official said.

Guru and Bhat were hanged to death inside New Delhis Tihar Jail on February 9, 2013 and February 11, 1984, respectively.

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North Korea displayed its most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile at a military parade on Thursday, one day ahead of the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics.

Experts said the event shows that Pyongyang has no intention of giving up its nuclear and missile programs, and that the peace process of the peninsula remains uncertain.

North Korea celebrated the 70th anniversary of the founding of its Korean People's Army with a massive military parade on Thursday in Pyongyang. According to state-run television, the country's leader Kim Jong-unattended the ceremony and delivered a keynote speech.

"We have destroyed the enemy's risk-taking provocations at every move," Kim said in the speech, Reuters reported.

During the parade, North Korea showed off its advanced missiles, including the Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile and Pukkuksong-2 submarine-launched ballistic missile.

"These missiles are the latest achievements of North Korea's missile program. Compared to last year's military parade, the weapons showcased this year are more advanced. Kim wants to deliver a clear message to the world that North Korea's identity as a nuclear power is certain and unshakable, so asking Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear and missile programs is unrealistic," said Song Zhongping, a military expert and TV commentator.

The opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics will be held on Friday, one day after the parade.

South Korean President Moon Jae-inwill lunch with Kim Yo-jong, sister of Kim Jong-un, when he meets North Korea's Olympic delegation on Saturday, CNN reported.

Analysts believe that the timing of the military parade also delivered a political message on the situation on the peninsula and inter-Korean ties.

"North Korea treats the Winter Olympics seriously, so much so that its leader sent his sister to join the delegation, and his sister, to some extent, is almost the only person who can convey his voice to the South. At the same time, the military parade shows that, although North Korea wants to use the Olympics to repair ties, it will not beg for peace," Lu Chao, a researcher on North Korea at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday.

North Korea has claimed that its high-level delegation has no intention of talking to the US during the Olympics. According to the Korea Central News Agency, Jo Yong-sam, department director general of North Korea's foreign ministry, said that "we have never begged for dialogue with the US nor in the future, too."

US Vice President Mike Pence will lead the American delegation attending the event, but he described North Korea as "the world's most tyrannical regime" after he arrived in South Korea.

"It makes the peace process look very uncertain. The detente between the North and South is meaningless if there is no agreement between Pyongyang and Washington. Now that both sides continue to remain tough and refuse to compromise, everyone should be cautious. The peace brought by the Olympics could be temporary," Lu said.

'Positive changes'

The situation on the Korean Peninsulais undergoing positive changes as South Korea and North Korea are using the Winter Olympics to restart dialogue and commence cooperation, Chinese President Xi Jinping's special envoy Han Zheng said Thursday, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Han, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said at a meeting with Moon that the relationship between South Korea and North Korea has improved and has been making progress.

China supports the conciliation and cooperation between South Korea and North Korea, and hopes that relevant parties would meet each other half way and make joint efforts to further ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula and push forward the political settlement process of the peninsula issue, Han said.

Han was invited by Moon and Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee, to attend the opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.
New Delhi:

The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear the plea of an Army officers father that the FIR against his son, booked as an accused by the Jammu and Kashmir Police in the recent Shopian firing incident, be quashed.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud considered advocate Aishwarya Bhatis submission that the fathers plea be heard on an urgent basis.

The lawyer said the FIR has illegally been lodged against Major Aditya Kumar in connection with the firing incident in Shopian.

We will hear it on Monday, the bench said.

Lieutenant Colonel Karamveer Singh said his son, a major in 10 Garhwal Rifles, was wrongly and arbitrarily named in the FIR as the incident relates to an Army convoy that was on bonafide military duty in an area under the AFSPA and was isolated by an unruly and deranged mob pelting stones, causing damage to military vehicles.

Three civilians were killed when Army personnel fired at a stone-pelting mob in Ganovpora village in Shopian, prompting the chief minister to order an inquiry into the incident.

The FIR was registered against personnel of 10 Garhwal Rifles, including Major Kumar, under sections 302 (murder) and 307 (attempt to murder) of the Ranbir Penal Code.

The petitioner has sought directions for guidelines to protect the rights of soldiers and adequate compensation so that no Army personnel is harassed by initiation of criminal proceedings for bonafide actions in exercise of their duties.

It has also sought registration of FIR against persons involved in the terrorist activities which had caused damage to property of the government.

Also Read | Air Force officer arrested for sharing classified documents with Pakistan's ISI

Karamveer Singh said in his plea that his sons intention was to save Army personnel and property and the fire was inflicted only to impair and provide a safe escape from a savage and violent mob engaged in terrorist activity.

The unruly mob was requested to disperse and not obstruct military in performance of their duties and not to damage government property but when the situation reached beyond control, a warning was issued to disperse, the plea said.

The unruly behaviour of the unlawful assembly escalated and they got hold of a Junior Commissioned Officer and were in the process of lynching him when warning shots were fired to disperse the violent mob and protect public property, it submitted.

Singh also referred to last years incident of a mob lynching DSP Mohd Ayub Pandith to apprise the top court about the situation in the state and the condition in which Army officials were working to control violent mobs in Kashmir.

The petitioner is constrained to file the present writ petition for quashing of FIR, directly before this court in view of the extremely hostile situation on the ground, whereby an FIR has been registered by local police against the son of the petitioner, who is a serving Army officer and was performing bonafide duties as directed by the Union of India.

The manner in which the lodging of the FIR has been portrayed and projected by the political leadership and administrative higher-ups reflects the extremely hostile atmosphere in the state, it said.

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New Delhi:

Union minister Giriraj Singh has been named in a case of grabbing land belonging to a dalit in his native Bihar, police said on Friday.

The FIR against Singh and 32 others was lodged on February 2 by the order of a Special SC&ST court where the complainant had filed an application under Section 156(3) of CrPC seeking directions to police for registering a case against the accused, SHO of Danapur police station in Patna district Sandeep Kumar Singh told PTI.

Singh, BJP MP from Nawada, is Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.

The complainant, Ram Narain Prasad, a resident of Asopur village, alleged that the accused grabbed a land parcel of two acres and six decimal that he owned. He claimed he was abused when he protested their action.

"As per the court order, an FIR has been lodged under relevant sections of the IPC and also the SC/ST Act. Further investigations are on", the SHO said.

The registration of the land grab case prompted Tejashwi Yadav, Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Assembly, to demand the resignation of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as the BJP was an ally of his party JD(U).

"Nitish Kumar ji, don't hesitate. Speak up, awaken your inner voice and morality and rush to the Governor's House with your letter of resignation. Your dearest friend Giriraj Singh has grabbed three acres of land belonging to Dalits", Yadav said in a tweet.

Yadav's tweet was an obvious dig at Kumar for having resigned as chief minister last July after Tejashwi Yadav's name cropped up in corruption cases including benami land deals. Tejashwi, RJD chief Lalu Prasad's son, was then the Deputy Chief Minister.

Kumar had also walked out of the 3-party Grand Alliance, which included the RJD and Congress, and formed government with the BJP.

In another tweet, Yadav also took potshots at Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, who has been coming up with disclosures of alleged benami land transactions involving Lalu Prasad's family.

"Where are you, master of disclosures and rumours Sushil Modi? Your favorite Union minister Giriraj Singh has grabbed land belonging to Dalits. Why is SuMo keeping quiet? Do you have a share in the land?" Yadav said.

Meanwhile, reacting to the development, BJP spokesman Rajiv Ranjan said Giriraj Singh is a law abiding citizen and will present his side of the story before the court when the time comes. Attempts by some people to politicize the issue is deplorable, he said.

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Washington:

US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have expressed concern about the political situation in Maldives over a phone call, as they also discussed the situation in Afghanisthan and enhancing security in Indo-Pacific region, the White House said.

Both leaders expressed concern about the political crisis in Maldives and the importance of respect for democratic institutions and rule of law, the White House said in a readout of the phone call between Trump and Modi, the first in this year.

Maldives plunged into a political chaos on last Thursday when the apex court ordered the release of nine imprisoned opposition politicians, maintaining that their trials were politically motivated and flawed.

The Yameen government has refused to implement the ruling, prompting a wave of protests in Maldives capital, Male.

Maldives Supreme Court Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and another judge, Ali Hameed, were arrested hours after Yameen declared a state of emergency.

The White House said the two leaders also pledged to continue working together to enhance security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.

Affirming President Trumps South Asia strategy, they reiterated their commitment to supporting Afghanistans security and stability, the White House said.

Modi and Trump also exchanged views on Myanmar and ways to address the plight of the Rohingya refugees.

As of now there are some 680,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh putting enormous pressure in the economy of Bangladesh.

Recently Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed on a roadmap of return of these refugees to their homes in Myanmar.

The US believes that this is not the right time for the return of Rohingya refugees.

According to the White House, during the call, Trump and Modi discussed further steps to ensure denuclearisation of North Korea.

Finally, the leaders agreed to strengthen security and economic cooperation as they look forward to the 2+2 ministerial dialogue between their defence and diplomatic officials in April, the White House said.

The 2+2 dialogue was announced after the White House meeting between Modi and Trump in June 2017.

The dialogue would involve External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman from India along with their American counterparts Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.

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China's international tsunami warning center has opened, serving countries along the South China Sea border, oceanic officials announced Thursday.

The center, built and managed by China, monitors major earthquake subduction zones - where the Earth's plates converge - in the South China, Sulu and Sulawesi seas and provides uninterrupted warning services, said Wang Hua, a State Oceanic Administration (SOA) official.

The South China Sea region is prone to tsunamis and littoral countries have, until now, relied on services provided by American and Japanese warning centers.

Wang said the center was the result of practical maritime cooperation between countries around the South China Sea.

Yuan Ye, director of the National Tsunami Warning Center, said China is now capable of warning the public of a tsunami eight to ten minutes after an earthquake.

In 1897, a tsunami caused by an earthquake in the northern Sulu Sea killed more than 100 people. An earthquake of 8.0-magnitude in the Sulawesi Sea in 1976 resulted in nearly 8,000 deaths in the Philippines.

More than 80 percent of tsunamis occur in the Pacific.

Numerical simulation shows that if an 8.5-magnitude earthquake hit the Manila Trench in the north, the tsunami it triggers would have a severe effect on the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and south China's coastal areas, said Yu Fujiang, director of the National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center.
Gun crimes plunged from 311 to 58 in five years, says police ministry

China is among the countries with the lowest gun crime rate, with only 58 cases in 2017, a public security official said Thursday.

Police in China have seized 1.01 million illegal guns and 56.61 million bullets in the past five years, Li Jingsheng, an official with the Ministry of Public Security, said at a press conference in Beijing on Thursday. The number of gun crimes dropped from 311 in 2012 to 58 in 2017, he said.

The figure places China among those countries with the lowest gun crime rates, Li said at the conference. "China is among the safest places in the world," he said.

More than 100,000 people are shot every year in the US, and more than 30,000 Americans are killed by guns each year. About two-thirds are suicides, the UK-based Guardian reported in October.

China's laws and regulations on guns are among the toughest in the world, Ruan Qilin, a professor at the China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing, told the Global Times on Thursday. Police always prioritize gun cases in their work, he noted.

Strict management of guns and explosives, together with high-profile campaigns, contribute to China's high economic growth and social stability, Li said.

China's Criminal Law states that it is illegal to manufacture, possess, transport or trade guns. The death penalty applies in the most serious cases.

China will campaign against guns and explosives crimes across the country to the end of 2019, according to the ministry website.

The new campaign will focus on online gun trading, Li said.

Nearly 80 percent of illegal gun trading and manufacturing cases are conducted via the internet.

Internet companies should review and supervise gun-related information on their websites, and public security officials should order those who refuse to fulfill their security responsibilities to rectify their behavior, Zhang Hongye, deputy director of the ministry's cyber security defense bureau, said at the Thursday conference.

In the Ninth Amendment to the Criminal Law enacted in November 2015, those who use the internet to spread gun trading information or shield others spreading such information, face a maximum three years in prison.

The crackdown will target the manufacture and sale of guns and explosives in China and the smuggling of related goods from other countries, said Minister of Public Security Zhao Kezhi.

The campaign, together with a gang crime campaign, will bring the country's war against gun crime to a climax, said Ruan, the professor. Gangs are the highest-risk groups for gun crimes, he noted.

In the latest move, about 250 guns and knives were seized in a provincial crackdown on gang crime in November, Zhejiang police said Monday.
Hyogo Prefectural Police have arrested the number-two boss of the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi for traffic violations last month, an apprehension that appears to be related to the ignoring of a court order, reports the Sankei Shimbun

On January 23 at around 3:10 p.m., Osamua Teraoka and two other persons of using a vehicle that had not undergone an inspection and without insurance as dictated under the Road Transport Vehicle Law.

All three suspects deny the allegations, police said.

According to police, the incident took place in the Shizuki area of Awaji City, near the headquarters of the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi.

In October, the Kobe District Court ordered the gang to suspend using the office for meetings and other activities. However, Teraoka and other gang members are believed to have entered and exited the premises.

The number-two boss also appears to have used the office as a residence, which was searched by police for evidence in the traffic case on Wednesday.

In 2016, the U.S. government blacklisted some key members of the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi, including Teraoka. The move froze any of his stateside assets and generally prohibits persons in the U.S. from doing business with him.
Famed wild deer in the city of Nara appear to be growing increasingly frustrated with tourists who make them wait to munch on crackers while trying to frame the perfect photo.

The Nara Prefectural Government said Thursday that the number of injuries caused by the deer in Nara Park hit a record 164 cases between April 1 last year and January 31, exceeding the 118 cases reported in the previous fiscal year. Of the 164 cases, around 80 percent involved foreign tourists a most of them Chinese a it said.

Most of the injuries were minor, with tourists having their hands bitten lightly while feeding the animals, according to the prefectural government.

The rise is partly due to the increasing number of foreign visitors, prefectural government official Yuichiro Kitabata said. But he also blamed touristsa increasing eagerness to stage good pictures with the deer.

According to Kitabata, many tourists lure the deer with shika senbei (deer crackers), which are sold in Nara Park. But once the deer approach the tourists hide the snack, making the animals wait as they try to snap the perfect shot. And that makes for some irritated deer.
Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday it will invest 7.5 billion in the developer of a taxi-hailing app to jointly create services that help cab drivers pick up customers more efficiently using artificial intelligence.

The automaker will acquire shares to be newly issued by JapanTaxi Co. through a third-party allocation later this month. The tech company is a subsidiary of major taxi operator Nihon Kotsu Co.

The companies said they will also collaborate in developing dashcams and tablets for taxis.
Commercial exploration of space will become an unstoppable trend as more strong private start-ups enter the commercial aerospace industry in China, said experts.

As the world held its breath in anticipation of SpaceX's launch of Falcon Heavy, a Chinese individually-funded satellite was launched last week, capable of operating in space for one year to take and transmit pictures and videos of the universe.

The FMN 1 is a panoramic-camera CubeSat, a type of miniaturized satellite made up of multiple cubic units, and will be used to help members of the public observe outer space, according to a statement from China Great Wall Industry Corp, which provided the launch service, China National Radio (CNR) reported on Sunday.

The satellite was carried on a Long March 2D carrier rocket at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China, along with the much larger ZH 1 - the nation's first seismo-electromagnetic satellite, which can help scientists better study earthquakes - as well as five other small satellites like the FMN 1, said the report.

It said that the satellite program was funded solely by real estate tycoon Feng Lun, chairman of Beijing-based Vantone Holdings, who spent 5 million yuan ($800,000) on the launch.

While this launch is only an exploration with the aim of promoting charity and education, future satellite launches will seek to make profits, Feng was quoted by CNR as saying.

Feng could not be reached for comment as of press time and Vantone told the Global Times on Tuesday that he no longer works at the company. He was quoted earlier by CNR as saying that he hoped the satellite would enable the public to get closer to space and also give him a new platform for mass communication. He also said the satellite would fly over China three times a day and will be able to transmit data back to the ground at those times.

Lack of resources

However, Jiao Weixin, a space science professor at Peking University, told the Global Times on Wednesday that private Chinese firms have less involvement in the aerospace industry since they need more resources and talent than a single private enterprise can gather.

If a private company wants to launch a satellite, it has to first get approval from the authorities, then find and pay for a launch service before being able actually to launch.

According to the CNR report, the approval for the FMN 1 only took half a year.

Some Chinese private companies are gradually exploring the space market amid the deepening of military-civilian integration, Wang Yanan, deputy editor of Aerospace Knowledge magazine, told the Global Times.

China encourages private companies to jointly explore space, as some of them are getting stronger, said Wang.

In 2014, the State Council, China's cabinet, formally announced it would allow private companies to research, manufacture and launch as well as operate commercial satellites, prompting a batch of Chinese entrepreneurs to pitch ideas in the industry.

In addition to the easing of entry restrictions, the government proposed in 2015 the strategy of integrating civilian and military cooperation in technology to promote the country's space programs, which has led to the rapid development of China's private space sector.

Costly business

Wang noted that cooperating with national agencies will help these private companies grow faster, and the two will be able to complement each other.

However, funding is a major challenge for the development of domestic space companies, as they have to make enormous investments in research and manufacturing, and it takes a long time to see a return, said Jiao.

It costs millions of yuan to launch a micro-nano satellite, and hundreds of millions for a large satellite, so Feng's case is very rare, he said.

While China's space start-ups are still in the nascent development stage, commercial exploration of space is an unstoppable trend, said Jiao, adding that the current number of launch bases and rockets doesn't meet the demand for launching commercial satellites. As a result, many private companies are building their own launch bases and rockets.

On January 22, Beijing-based start-up One Space Technology Co. successfully completed the test for its self-developed liquid attitude control engine of its OS-M rockets. And in coming June, it will launch its first OS-X rocket, which is designed for suborbital flights in order to provide high-altitude research and test services, following a successful series of tests on its solid-propellant engine in December 2017.

Another Beijing-based company, LandSpace Technology, is also expected to debut its LandSpace-1 rocket this year. In January 2017, LandSpace signed a contract with Denmark-based satellite manufacturer GOMspace, becoming the first Chinese company to develop its own commercial rockets that will provide services to the international market.
AKB48 is a massively successful aidol groupa made up of more than 100 girls and young women.

Their popularity stems from the concept of aidols you can meeta, and with some of their CDs fans can receive a ticket that admits them to a ahandshake eventa with different members. Needless to say, diehard fans buy multiple copies so they can get multiple tickets, so that they can shake an idolas hand multiple times, and thatas part of the reason why AKB48 has dominated the sales charts and become such a cultural phenomenon, in spite of the fact that some would say they arenat very good at singing or dancing. Despite their unrivaled success in Japan, they arenat quite so popular in other parts of Asia. Last year, after performing alongside Korean female idol groups, who are known for their intense choreography and strong vocals, they were heavily criticized by Korean and even Japanese netizens for their subpar performance. Unfortunately, in netizensa eyes, they donat seem to have improved, as just last week, foreign spectators were disappointed with the groupas performance at Japan Expo Thailand 2018. Serving as the main event of the Expo, which invited a lot of Japanese celebrities, six members of the group performed seven of their most popular songs, including "Aitakatta", "Heavy Rotation", and "Koi Suru Fortune Cookie". Afterwards, their Bangkok sister group, BNK48, joined them on stage and performed a song together with them, before a short Q&A session with fans. Despite this portrayal of their best, fans were not impressed. After the performance, Thai attendees were apparently heard to remark things like, "It didn't look any better than an elementary school talent show," and "Did they really have to sing?" Serving as the main event of the Expo, which invited a lot of Japanese celebrities, six members of the group performed seven of their most popular songs, including "Aitakatta", "Heavy Rotation", and "Koi Suru Fortune Cookie". Afterwards, their Bangkok sister group, BNK48, joined them on stage and performed a song together with them, before a short Q&A session with fans. Despite this portrayal of their best, fans were not impressed. After the performance, Thai attendees were apparently heard to remark things like, "It didn't look any better than an elementary school talent show," and "Did they really have to sing?" - rocketnews24.com
The Spring Festival travel rush, known as Chunyun, is when hundreds of millions of Chinese return to their hometowns or travel around the country to celebrate Chinas Lunar New Year. This year, travelers will make about 2.98 billion trips during the 2018 Spring Festival travel rush, between Feb. 1 and March 12.

(People's Daily Online/Liu Ning)

It puts enormous pressure on the transportation system. Transportation authorities are making huge efforts to ensure a smooth Spring Festival travel rush.

Train trips are likely to top 390 million, up 8.8 percent year on year. To enhance the railway transportation capability, an additional 1,152 train services will be scheduled before and another 1,330 after the festival, with 3,819 trains operating every day.

Transportation authorities are prepared for the Spring Festival travel rush.

Passengers, however, can enjoy a lot of fun on their way home. Like playing poker on a modern train traveling over 300 kilometers per hour. You can also pre-order food online, which is delivered straight to your seat.

(People's Daily Online/Liu Ning)

"I feel relaxed and happy on my way home, with my family, with my achievements, and best wishes," said Yu Baoping, a passenger on a high-speed train from Beijing to Zhengzhou, Henan province, "The train ride is full of joy and cheers. Many of the passengers are from my hometown. They feel like my relatives."

The number of road trips is projected to reach 2.48 billion, a 1.6-percent decrease from last year, while air travel will likely top 65 million trips, surging 10 percent from last year, while boat trips are predicted to reach 46 million during the period.

(People's Daily Online/Liu Ning)

The Spring Festival, or Chinese Lunar New Year, falls on Feb. 16 this year.
People select Spring Festival goods in Yulin City of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, on Feb. 7, 2018, one day before Xiaonian. Xiaonian falls on the 23rd or 24th day of the last month of the Chinese traditional lunar calendar, marking the start of the countdown to Spring Festival. (Xinhua/Tao Ming)

BEIJING, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Chinese this week celebrated the kitchen god festival, which falls one week before the Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival.

This year Spring Festival falls on Feb. 16 according to the lunar calendar. The kitchen god day, also known as the Little New Year, is celebrated on Feb. 8 in several northern regions, and a day later on Feb. 9 in southern regions.

On Thursday, local TV channels broadcast festival gala performances, and online galas were also organized.

The kitchen god, also called the "stove god," derives from ancient Chinese legends. The god is said to report the affairs of each family to the emperor of gods in heaven. However, the god can be mischievous, so people offer him food and drink, hoping that he reports good things about their family and brings back blessings for the coming new year.

On Thursday, over 400 courier drivers and their families were invited to roast duck banquets by their employers in Beijing.

Across the country, people set off fireworks to welcome the festival, which is also a prelude to the Spring Festival. Folk artists presented dance and singing performances.

For ethnic minority groups, it is also an occasion to celebrate their traditions and culture.

In northwest China's Qinghai Province, ethnic Tu people organized a contest for the best steamed buns. More than 88 families participated.

In Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, people put on traditional robes, boiled mutton, and prepared soup to honor fire.

"Ethnic Mongolians think fire is a symbol of purity. It protects the family and the tribes," said Quugjilt, 49, from Otog Banner.

Thousands of people gathered at the mausoleum of Genghis Khan in Yijinhuoluo Banner for the festival.

According to traditional Chinese culture, the kitchen god returns from heaven on the eve of Spring Festival, so the sacrifices for the god are served until the day he returns.

In days leading up to the Lunar New Year, people clean their houses, decorate their homes with paper cuttings, couplets and written blessings, and prepare festival food.
Armed persons on Thursday night attacked villages around Anyiin, a major town in Logo Local Government Area, LGA, that serves as a base f...

Residents in Anyiin reported heavy gunshots from attacks in nearby villages Thursday night.At least five persons were in critical condition from gunshot wounds in the attacks by suspected herdsmen, according to residents accounts to newsmen.Four residents informed newsmen in separate exchanges that residents in Anyiin are panicked and are on the run.Residents said Nigerian soldiers who were alerted about the attacks brought five villagers who were critically wounded to the hospital in Anyiin.Theyre at NKST Hospital now in Anyiin, Terkura Suswam, a politician and founder of Ashi Polytechnic in Anyiin, told newsmen.One of the villages is Tsukwa, which was amongst those attacked on January 1. The village recorded up to 10 casualties in that attack, according to residents who spoke withour source two weeks ago.Tsukwa is about a mile from Anyiin, which has a police special forces unit and one of the biggest camps for the internally displaced persons in Benue State.The commander of the special forces, Ibrahim Ignatius, revealed that he was not aware of the attack because he is in Makurdi, the state capital.The Divisional Police Officer of Anyiin Division, Celestine Utim, told newsmen he is trying to find out what is going on.Another Anyiin resident who confirmed the attack to journalists was Alijah Auna, the secretary of the IDP camp there.Yes, theyve been attacking villages around Anyiin this night, Mr. Auna said. Many people at the camp here have started running away.But I am still at the camp, he added.It was not immediately clear the number of villages that were attacked Thursday night.Witnesses said the attackers had fled before soldiers arrived at some of the villages.Scores of villagers were killed in the January 1 attacks in Logo LGA. Survivors have remained largely at various IDP camps in the local government because their villages are still not safe for their return, despite the polices assertions that the areas had been secured.
Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, on Thursday disclosed Nigerian Air Force (NAF) readiness to establish a Forwar...

Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, on Thursday disclosed Nigerian Air Force (NAF) readiness to establish a Forward Operational Base (FOB) in Taraba State.

He said this is part of plans to further tackle the incessant herdsmen-farmers clash in the country.





The CAS while delivering a lecture to participants of National Defence College (NDC) Course 26 in Abuja, also announced plans to establish a Quick Response Wing along the Benue-Nassarawa Axis.





Air Marshal Abubakar also spoke on the current and likely threats as well as contingencies from the perspective of air operations.





He then elucidated on his vision for the NAF while also highlighting current efforts at actualizing it.





Some of the initiatives included establishment of new commands and some units, improvement in human capacity development, improved aircraft serviceability and logistics support as well as enhanced personnel welfare.





He also spoke about the efforts being made in the area of research and development towards improved self-sufficiency, as a result of which the NAF is currently making great savings in foreign exchange.





He further discussed the current NAF Force structure, doctrine, current capabilities and equipment holding in response to threats alongside the NAFs strategic plan before looking at NAF future perspectives.





The CAS equally examined the challenges and constraints to the NAFs air power effectiveness before concluding the lecture by discussing the strategies to countering the challenges enumerated.





The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, on Thursday disclosed Nigerian Air Force (NAF) readiness to establish a Forward Operational Base (FOB) in Taraba State.





It said as part of plans to further tackle the incessant herdsmen-farmers clashes in the country.





The CAS, who disclosed the plans while delivering a lecture to participants of National Defence College (NDC) Course 26 in Abuja, also announced plans to establish a Quick Response Wing along the Benue-Nassarawa Axis.





The title of the lecture, which lasted one hour, was The Nigerian Air Force  Challenges and Future Perspectives. Participants of the Course are drawn from senior officers of the Armed Forces of Nigeria and those of sister African countries, senior officials of other security agencies in Nigeria as well as those of Federal Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies.





The lecture afforded the CAS to share thoughts with the participants on how the National Defence Policy prescribes that the NAF should be employed, out of which the mission statement of the NAF was coined. Air Marshal Abubakar also spoke on the current and likely threats as well as contingencies from the perspective of air operations. He then elucidated on his vision for the NAF while also highlighting current efforts at actualizing it.





Some of the initiatives included but are not limited to the establishment of new commands and some units, improvement in human capacity development, improved aircraft serviceability and logistics support as well as enhanced personnel welfare. He also spoke about the efforts being made in the area of research and development towards improved self-sufficiency, as a result of which the NAF is currently making great savings in foreign exchange.





Thereafter, he discussed the current NAF Force structure, doctrine, current capabilities and equipment holding in response to threats alongside the NAFs strategic plan before looking at NAF future perspectives.





The CAS equally examined the challenges and constraints to the NAFs air power effectiveness before concluding the lecture by discussing the strategies to countering the challenges enumerated. The lecture was followed by a stimulating interactive session.





In his closing remarks, the Commandant of NDC, Rear Admiral Adeniyi Osinowo, declared that You cannot win any war today without an effective and virile Air Force. He then added that there was no doubt that the current NAF leadership is taking a lot of laudable and unprecedented steps, especially in the area of technological development, in a bid to reposition the NAF for greatness. He particularly cited the recent feats by the NAF in locally designing and producing an operational Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, among many other breakthroughs in the area of research and development. He then seized the opportunity to congratulate the CAS on the recent passage of the bill establishing the Air Force Institute of Technology Kaduna, which he believed would further enhance technological growth in the NAF.




Mr Olujonwo Obasanjo, one of the sons of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, has advised his mother, Ms. Taiwo Martins, not to use him t...

Mr Olujonwo Obasanjo, one of the sons of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, has advised his mother, Ms. Taiwo Martins, not to use him to seek media attention.Jonwo, who got married last year, described as ridiculous, claim by his mother, that he was missing and that the Police should look for him.The mother had in an interview granted a national newspaper disclosed that her son, Olujonwo, was missing from his matrimonial home and had alerted the Police about it.But, in his statement dated February 7 and made available to journalists in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital on Thursday, the 34 year-old wondered why the mother would want the Police to go looking for him.He said he was old enough to manage his life, adding that he was neither missing nor lost.According to him, he had elected to keep away from his mother for now.At my age of over 34 years, it is ridiculous to extreme that my mother would ask the Police to look for me.I am well, alive and kicking and the Police need not look for me. For peace in my life, I have decided to keep away from my mother for now. She should not make me part of her seeking media attention.My siblings and others in my family who care about me without negative influence and abhorrent action know my whereabouts and we keep interacting and communicating.My father, who has supported me and my decisions in every aspect of my life, has been in constant communication with me and he is aware that I am hale and hearty.This is my personal and deliberate decision. I dont want crocodile tears nor undue publicity from anybody, he stated.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission says it has arrested two men for impersonating its operatives to obtain $10,000 by false ...

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission says it has arrested two men for impersonating its operatives to obtain $10,000 by false presence.Spokesman of the commission, Mr Wilson Uwujaren, disclosed this in a statement.Uwujaren identified the suspects as one Mike Nkwocha and Richardson Obasogie, a self-confessed Colonel in the United States Army.He said their victim (not identified) had petitioned the commission alleging that one Ladan Mustapha, who claimed to be an EFCC operative, called to inform him that there was a petition against him.Mustapha allegedly told the victim that the petition bordered on illegal acquisition of assets in different parts of the country for which he was currently under investigation.Together with his partner, Nkwocha, a meeting was arranged, in which $200,000 was demanded as gratification in order to kill the case, but $15,000 was later agreed upon as payment.An initial payment of $5,000 cash was made to Nkwocha, while he continued to put pressure on him for the balance of $10,000.However, suspecting foul play, after a retired personnel of the DSS (Department of State Services) told the petitioner that EFCC operatives dont demand money to carry out official duties, the EFCC was petitioned, Uwujaren said.According to him, Nkwocha was arrested, and during interrogation, confessed that Obasogie was the brain behind the fraud.He said a search warrant was executed on the suspects houses resulting in the recovery of incriminating items.He listed the items as letterheads of the United States Government, DSS, National Intelligence Agency, Independent National Electoral Commission and Bayelsa State Government, and one computer system.Uwujaren added that Nkwocha and Obasogie would be charged to court as soon as investigations were concluded.Meanwhile, operatives are intensifying search for Ladan Mustapha, who is currently at large, he said.(NAN)
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has filed an amended N5billion fraud charge against former Gombe State Governor Alha...

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has filed an amended N5billion fraud charge against former Gombe State Governor Alhaji Danjuma Goje at the Federal High Court in Gombe.He is charged along with Alhaji Aliyu U. El-Nafaty, S.M. Dokoro Gombe (aka S.M Dokoro) and Alhaji Sabo Mohammed Tumu.The defendants are yet to be arraigned.The charge, numbered FHC/GM/33C/2011, was filed by EFCC counsel Mr Wahab Shittu.EFCC said Goje, between September and November 2010, allegedly forged a document titled: Resolution authorising His Excellency the Executive Governor of Gombe State to acquire loan of N5,000,000,000.00 only, with Ref. No: GM/HA/RES/VOL. 1/17.The commission said the resolution was purportedly signed by Clerk of the Gombe State House of Assembly Shehu Mohammed Atik.It was claimed that the resolution arose from the House of Assemblys proceedings, Shittu said.The prosecuting counsel alleged all the information was false.He said the intent was for the forged document to be used or acted upon as genuine by Access Bank Plc.EFCC said the bank acted on the resolution in the belief that it was genuine in approving a N5billion facility to the state for infrastructural projects.EFCC said Goje, between November2, 2010 and February 24, 2011, transferred the N5billion allocated strictly for infrastructural projects to other purposes unconnected with infrastructural projects.The commission said the money was allegedly transferred to several individuals and corporate bank accounts as reflected in Gombe State Government Account No. 0003273131 and 0003273227 with Access Bank.Shittu said they were acts of illegality, aimed at concealing the illicit origin of the money with a view to evading the illegal consequences of Gojes action.The offence, the lawyer said, contravenes Section 14 (1)(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition Act) 2004 and is punishable under Section 14.EFCC said the former governor transferred the money without appropriation, the sum being facility obtained from Access Bank Plc for infrastructural projects, being an illegal act, concealing the illicit origin with a view to evading the illegal consequences of your action thereof.In the 20-count charge, Goje was accused of transferring N21,874,260.62 to his cousin Tumu for the supply of food items to Gombe State Government House.EFCC said he reasonably ought to know that the contract for the said food supplies awarded to the said Alhaji Sabo Mohammed Tumu was not the outcome of any competitive bidding process in accordance with the Due Process Guidelines contained in the due process circular reference No. GO/CS/S/MEM/VII/358, dated 25th February, 2008, adopted by your administration.Tumu was accused of laundering the sum in the name of supplying food items to Gombe State Government House when he knew or reasonably ought to know that the contract was not the outcome of any competitive bidding process.Dokoro was accused of transferring, without reasonable excuse, 50 units of Toyota Hiace Buses owned by Gombe State Government valued at N242, 500,000.00 to government functionaries rather than by public auction.EFCC said it was at a gross undervalue of N22million as a reward with intent to confer undue advantage on the said public officials from bidding at a public auction.Goje and El-Nafaty were accused of mismanaging N1.6billion Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) funds earmarked for award of contract to Real Integrated and Hospitality Ltd for the supply of 1.4 million dictionaries to primary and junior secondary schools.The amended charge, Shittu said, has been filed and served on the accused persons.According to him, plea is likely to be taken on the next adjourned date, which is April 10 and 11.
Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose has said the blood of victims of herdsmen attacks in Benue State will fight both the attackers and th...

Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose has said the blood of victims of herdsmen attacks in Benue State will fight both the attackers and their sponsors.He spoke yesterday when he visited the grave of the 73 people killed by suspected Fulani herdsmen on January 1.Fayose prayed for the repose of their souls.Governor Samuel Ortom called for the arrest and prosecution of Miyetta Allah Kautal Houre who he said are behind the attacks.
Googles nightmare that Chinese Internet giant Baidu may surpass it in self-driving has come true, China News reported on Feb. 8.

A self-driving car developed by Baidu

About three years ago, Google not only worried about Ubers self-driving technology, it also worried about Chinese tech giant Baidu, according to Googles internal e-mails exposed in the lawsuit filed by Waymo, the Google self-driving project, against Uber for patent infringement and stealing trade secrets.

Foreign media reported that in an email sent by Chris Urmson, former head of Googles driverless car program, to Googles founder, the head said that for the past six months they were no longer pursing victory, but trying to slow the rate of decline.

Moreover, Googles top executive Dmitri Dolgov mentioned in an email that Googles competitiveness was on the decline in the face of Chinese enterprises such as Baidu, reminding Google to take the challenge seriously.

However, it seems that Google did not pay much attention to challenges from Baidu or its other rivals judging from its performance in recent years.

By contrast, in 2017, Baidu launched its autonomous driving platform Apollo. Apollo is the first of its kind in the world and a great achievement in the self-driving industry.

The platform now has over 80 partners, including field leaders Bosch, Microsoft, and Blackberry, and the number still keeps rising.

Apparently, the remaining three years did not stop the rise of Baidus self-driving technology, and Apollo has now become big trouble for Google.

Baidu, as one of Chinas first technology companies to explore artificial intelligence and self-driving, was recognized by Fortune magazine as one of the top four AI giants in the world. Its Apollo platform can provide developers with self-driving capabilities such as perception, route planning, and vehicle control via API or SDK.

In addition, Baidus self-driving technologies have the support of the Chinese government.

Forbes also pointed out in its article that Western self-driving companies are less likely to make a difference in China, but Baidu, with its unique algorithm, good business partners, and enormous support from the government, has a chance to overcome Google in self-driving.
Benue state governor, Samuel Ortom, yesterday said that he will defect from APC to PDP or any other political party if his people so wish.

Benue state governor, Samuel Ortom, yesterday said that he will defect from APC to PDP or any other political party if his people so wish.

Ortom said this yesterday when he received Ekiti state governor, Ayo Fayose who paid him a condolence visit over the killing of 78 persons by suspected herdsmen in January.





Governor Fayose in his speech, called on Governor Ortom to leave APC and move over to PDP where he will be well catered for. He accused the Buhari-led government and the APC of neglecting one of their own states.





In his response, Governor Ortom said he will defect to anyother party if his people so wish him to.





''I am a member of the APC but I cannot keep quiet when my people are being annihilated, I will not accept that because I cannot be Governor over dead people. Im not a dead man either.





The responsibility of enforcing the law is that of the federal government. That is why I have joined the voices calling for the restructuring of the country. Because we cannot have an IGP who is the mouthpiece of Miyetti Allah. And we cannot have a minister who should be protecting the territorial integrity of this country coming out to say it is foreigners that are responsible for the killings. We cannot have a security architecture that is not ready to protect lives and property. That allow herdsmen carry guns and displaying it openly.





Today herdsmen have also taken over kidnapping in the country from North to South because they have guns and are being protected by the IGP and when you talk they start calling you names. I must send a message that Samuel Ortom is not a drowning man. I was a nobody but God lifted me to several important position in life, so I know where Im coming from, Im not a drowning man. I dropped out of school in 1979 but I hold a Doctorate Degree today. After passing through several leadership positions in this country today I am a Governor and Im doing my job. Now it is clear that our country must be restructured for the tenets of rule of law to be respected.





Any herdsmen that is not comfortable with the grazing law should go to Kano where the Governor has requested that they come. Today because of the activities of herdsmen in Benue state over 60,000 of our children can no longer go to school and are residing in seven IDPs camps across the state. They have truncated the education of our children. It very painful. To compound the problem the crisis in Cameroon has spilled to Kwande and we have opened two camps where 7,000 persons are being housed, so on the whole we have nine IDPs camps in Benue state.




The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has dragged 16 Nigerian officials to a United States District Court for the District of Columbia, f...

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has dragged 16 Nigerian officials to a United States District Court for the District of Columbia, for their complicity in the alleged extrajudicial killings of its members.





The officials dragged to court were: Tukur Yusuf Buratai; Lawal Musa Daura; Ibrahim Attahiru; M.I. Ibrahim; Kasim Umar Sidi; Issah Maigari Abdullahi; Solomon Arase; Ibrahim Kpotun Idris; Okezie Ikpeazu; Willie Obiano; Habila Hosea; Peter Nwagbara; James Oshim Nwafor; Hosea Karma; Bassey Abang; and Johnson Babatunde Kokomo.





The suit is grounded on two muscular United States statutes; the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA or ATS  the Alien Tort Statute); and the Torture Victims Protection Act (TVPA).





Both laws have extra-territorial reach, meaning that they allow US federal courts to assert long-arm jurisdiction that extends beyond the borders of America.





In a statement, IPOBs Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful said: Beyond the latest processes, and at the ensuing trial, Buratai, Ikpeazu, Obiano and others will be required to personally appear before the US court to testify under oath and probing cross-examination that will dwell on the details of the IPOB killings and the complicity of other unnamed Nigerian officials.





In a counter Motion filed on February 6, 2018, the US-based lawyers for the Biafran plaintiffs (IPOB) who brought suit against some Nigerian officials have strongly urged a United States federal court to proceed to trial on the merits, stressing the damning fact the the US State Department has rejected a request from the Buhari-led Nigerian government for the State Department to intervene and stop the suit based on the sovereign immunity defense.





At Page 4 of the 35-page Motion obtained by IPOB, our lawyers stated that Despite an overture by the Government of Nigeria, the United States Department of State has refrained from suggesting any Defendant is immune from Plaintiffs TVPA claims under federal common law or otherwise. Neither has the State Department suggested that any Defendant is a head of state in Nigeria.





The counter Motion was necessitated by a motion filed by defence lawyers to dismiss the suit based on grounds that included the act of state doctrine, lack of jurisdiction and sovereign immunity. Dr Bruce Fein and associates, lawyers to IPOB argued in-opposite that such defenses are not allowed under the Statutes upon which the suit was brought.





IPOBs counsel also argued that defence Motions are questionable because the defense lawyers are, before the court, fighting amongst themselves as to who should be recognized to represent the defendants. Abia state governor Okezie Ikpeazu and Willie Obiano of Anambra State hired two law firms each and both sets of lawyers were fighting as to who will represent them in court





We are not relenting in our pursuit of those responsible for the death of hundreds of innocent Biafrans, Powerful stated.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday said it was dishonest to continue to create the impression that he is enjoying himself at home wi...

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday said it was dishonest to continue to create the impression that he is enjoying himself at home without doing anything about the recent killings in Benue, Adamawa, Taraba, and Zamfara states.According to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, the President spoke while receiving a delegation of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria led by Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.Buhari said because he was aware of the enormity of the problems, he was doing his best to get law enforcement agencies to be on the alert.While condemning the killings, the President said security operatives would ensure prosecution of perpetrators and all those found with illegal arms in the affected areas.He said, The impression created that I was sitting in an air-conditioned office and home, enjoying myself while these things happened, is dishonest.At every step, I have tried to foresee these problems because I have the experience as a former military officer who commanded three out of the four divisions of the Nigerian Army in Lagos, Ibadan and Jos.I am quite aware of the problems we have and I am doing my best to get law enforcement agencies to be on alert.The President explained that the cattle colonies policy proposed by the Federal Government in response to the frequent clashes between herdsmen and farmers in the country is not meant to colonise any part of the country.He said governments intention was to create grazing locations for cattle rearers.He regretted that the step has now been misconstrued as another form of colonisation.Buhari regretted that the well-thought out policy of the Federal Government, which was conceived after wide consultations with stakeholders, had been largely misunderstood by a section of the public.He, however, assured the Catholic Bishops that the Federal Government will continue to explore all opportunities and support initiatives to ensure peace and stability in restive areas.The President also told his guests that he would not be tired of recounting remarkable progress recorded in the areas of security, economy and the fight against corruption.
A report by Agro Nigeria has alleged that there is a conspiracy against Nigerias palm oil sector.The report specifically fingered the Malaysian governments decision to suspend export taxes on crude palm oil for three months from January this year.The move, according to government sources in Kuala Lumpur, is aimed at reducing the CPO stocks level accounted for by surplus production that has now outstripped export demands.This is expected to have an adverse effect on the oil palm industry in Nigeria as imported oil will become cheaper than the locally-produced oil, thereby forcing local oil producers out of the market and a takeover of the market by importers and smugglers.The report stated, The concern of stakeholders in Nigeria is that beyond the current years surplus production from Malaysia, some of which would find their way into the country, what would be the fate of the surplus production expected from plantation farms across Malaysia at the start of next year?Much of the surplus looks set to be sent to Nigeria. The Plantation Owners Forum of Nigeria had accused businessmen of setting up refineries in countries close to Nigeria in order to use them as channels through which rejected oil from other parts of the world especially Malaysia is exported to Nigeria.It appears that there is a conspiracy by both the importers and smugglers of the commodity to kill local production while flooding the market with imported oil. Should government watch hopelessly and helplessly while this very important subsector of the agricultural sector is annihilated?The agency observed that in the past few years, there had been an increase in the production of the commodity in the country with moribund oil palm plantations being revamped, smallholder planting established far beyond the traditional oil palm belt to include the fringe states such as Kogi, Kaduna and Nasarawa.It noted however that there was a controversy over Nigerias production figures, adding, While Index Mundi puts Nigerias production at 970,000 tonnes annually (a figure that has stagnated for 11 years), available data from the Plantation Owners Forum of Nigeria put domestic and industrial demand for palm oil in the country at 2.8 million tonnes annually with production at 1.8 million tonnes.This leaves a production shortfall of about one million metric tonnes  a deficit, which ordinarily should be balanced off by imports.According to Agro Nigeria, the lack of agreement on production data has led to rising concern among industry players that more quantities of the commodity than the actual shortfall were either imported or smuggled into the country through land borders, a factor that has made the country a dumping ground for crude palm oil from Asian countries, especially Malaysia and Indonesia.It advised the Federal Government to embark on a series of interventions to save the industry from an impending collapse.Specific interventions geared towards protecting the industry from importers and smugglers must be initiated if Nigeria must sustain her position as part of worlds top producers. For instance, where the Central Banks Anchor Borrowers Programme does not cover oil palm because of its maturity period, government must seek alternative ways of incentivising plantation owners.There must be increased security for oil palm plantations which have recently come under increased attacks from herdsmen. Hunters have in their search for game set bushes on fire, which sometimes gets out of control and they raze hectares of oil palm plantations as recently reported in a North-Central state (Plateau).Poor infrastructure has also been the bane in the quest to achieve growth in the sector. Government must approve and execute infrastructural projects such as roads to reduce transportation costs, which add to the huge production costs of palm oil.
Military authority in Makurdi, Benue State, on Thursday said that it had arrested two suspected Fulani militia who were about to attack...

Military authority in Makurdi, Benue State, on Thursday said that it had arrested two suspected Fulani militia who were about to attack Gov. Samuel Ortoms fish farm and other villages in Guma Local Government Area of the state.In a statement issued on Thursday, the Assistant Director, Army Public Relations 707 Special Force Brigade, Nigeria Army, Major Olabisi Ayeni, said that the suspects were arrested on Tuesday while the troops were on a routine patrol along Gbamjiba- Iyiodeh road in Guma Local Government Area.The militia who were suspected to be converging, possibly for an attack on Governor Ortoms fish farm and other innocent citizens were about to be approached for questioning when they opened fire on the troops who later engaged them.The violent herdsmen who also fought back was at the same time trying to withdraw.The Special Forces Operators intensified their pursuit and succeeded in arresting two of them while others fled in disarray.The herdsmen had since been handed over to the police, the military spokesman said.
Nigerian troops have started building a major highway to open up Sambisa Forest, the fortress of the Boko Haram insurgents, following th...

Nigerian troops have started building a major highway to open up Sambisa Forest, the fortress of the Boko Haram insurgents, following the defeat of the terrorists.The Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj.-Gen. Rogers Nicholas, said in Maduguri yesterday that the road project was to make troops to establish total dominance of the expansive forest that has been home to the insurgents for years.The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the military authorities have been making repeated claims that the nine-year insurgency has been finally crushed.However, Boko Haram has repeatedly been packing bloody punches in communities in the northeast, the hotbed of the insurgency.Boko Haram, which has been fighting to enforce a strict Islamic code in Nigeria, has killed thousands, destroying the economy of the northeast and displacing millions of people.Nicholas, who spoke through the Deputy Director of Army Public Relations, Col. Onyeama Nwachukwu, said that the road would also link adjourning communities and deny the insurgents safe heaven.Inspecting the ongoing rehabilitation of Gwoza-Yamteke-Bita Road in Borno, Nicholas said that officers and men of the Military Engineer Corps had started rebuilding roads and bridges, destroyed by the insurgents.He said that the project was also aimed at encouraging the growth of social and economic activities as well as improving the wellbeing of rural dwellers.Successful completion of the road will facilitate troops domination of the insurgents tactical ground: Camp Zero and its environs. It will also encourage the return of life to the communities.The commander solicited the support of Nigerians, especially those residing in the northeast, to fast-track the defeat of the terrorists.NAN recalls that the military had in January commenced rehabilitation of some highways, including the Gwoza-Yamtake-Bita-Tokumbere-Sambisa and Gwoza-Yamtake-Bita roads.The rebuilding of the highways is part of plans by the Federal Government to make the dreaded Sambisa Forest habitable and conducive for military training.
Prof. Attahiru Jega, on Friday said Nigerias democracy was not delivering dividends to the people due to politicians autocracy.He attributed the situation to politicians autocracy, saying that democracy was not thriving in Nigeria because of the autocratic nature of politicians, who obviously were connected to military rule.Jega made this known while contributing in a panel discussion on Three Decades of Democratic Transition in Africa organised by the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) in Abuja.He said that democracy was in a state of flux in African continent and that there were very serious challenges of whether democracy was delivering dividends to the citizens.According to him, Africas democracy, instead of providing the dividends to the people, is creating instability and crisis.The former INEC chairman said the challenges most African countries are faced with is that democratisation in most of the countries are on account of legacies of military rule.Clearly, everybody knows that military rule is an aberration, and if it has done anything in our continent here in Africa is that it has created very dangerous legacies.In Nigeria, we have been talking about `militicians; many of the prominent politicians now are people who learnt politics under military rule, particularly under the Babangida politics of transition.Many of them now have a do-or-die mentality of engaging in election and it is a mindset that was imbibed under the military rule.He said that there was growing frustration that democracy was not delivering what was expected of it whether in terms of legitimacy of regimes, in terms of stability, peaceful coexistence and quality of governance.Most times, the electoral process is just a routine because candidates who do not represent the people are imposed on the people.So, the lack of integrity of the election coming from a military approach is responsible for undermining democracy in Africa.Jega, however, advised that caution should be taken in proffering solution to the challenges of democracy, saying yes, democracy may be challenging, but we can address this within the democratic framework.He added that military rule was not the solution to democratic challenges because it would only aid in exacerbating the issue because no country had successfully developed with a military mindset.He said that one of the key tenets of electoral democracy was regularity of elections, adding that though most African countries now conducted elections regularly, the quality of these elections were not sound.Jega called on Nigerians to rethink the practice of democracy to enable it to drive development and impact positively on the wellbeing of citizens.The Director of CDD, Ms Idayat Hassan, said that Africa was practising a hybrid system of democracy, adding that though Africans practised democracy, it had become authoritarian for selfish reasons.She said that the freedom of the press in the last two years across Africa, particularly in South Africa and Nigeria, had not been commendable because many people who spoke against some people were dealt with.Hassan said that successive administration in the country had continued to use democracy to their personal advantage.She said that the government assumed power through democratic principles but that they had remained autocratic in their conduct.Hassan said that real democracy should be inclusive and delivering development to the people and that it was beyond building institutions and economic growth.
Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State has told the Catholic Bishops that it was only those that looted the nations treasury and those that carried the countrys money with Jet to South Africa that were angry with the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.The governor also said that some religious leaders were angry because avenues to loot money and take to the Churches and Mosques have been blocked by the Buharis government.The Kogi State governor also told State House correspondents in an interview after the jumaat service at the State House mosque, Presidential Villa Abuja, that the recent alteration of election time table by the two chambers of the National Assembly, will help to determine the popularity of the lawmakers.He contended that some of the lawmakers at the national assembly rose on the back of the popularity of President Buhari to win election in 2015, adding that the adjustment of the time table will help to weed out the bad members among them.He also said that he believed in the ability of the national leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to reconcile all aggrieved party members based on the new assignment given to him by the President.On Tinubus committee, he said, Of course. Whatever Mr. President believes in, his judgement and his wisdom I believe in him. And I believe in his ability to bring all party members together.Commenting on the rearrangement of the election time table, Bello said, I so much appreciate this. I think if you observe critically what happened in the last election where Mr. President was elected along with other members of National Assembly.Then, we called it Buhari Tsunami, where the good, the bad and the ugly were all put together and elected. It is either going to be in their interest that the Buhari Tsunami will return them or everybody will be on his or her own.Let Buhari return and let Nigerians select the good ones out of the bad ones to return to the National Assembly. Which ever order it comes in this upcoming general elections, I can assure you that Mr. President will win landslide and the good ones will return to the National Assembly.When asked whether the lawmakers will be the losers of the proposed table time, he said that the unpopular ones among them will be the ultimate losers.He said, They have the choice to make and they have made their choice that the good will of Mr. President should not rob on the bad ones. Surely, the good ones on their own account will return to the National Assembly at the appropriate time.Commenting also on the submissions of the Catholic Bishops under the umbrella of Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, CBCN, in the meeting with the President on Thursday where the Bishops told the President that Nigerians were angry as a result of alleged bad governance and imbalance in the system, the governor said it was those who had looted the countrys funds that were angry because sources of their free money had been blocked by the government.He said, Yes. I followed it (the Bishops meting) keenly and one of the key statement there was that Nigerians are angry. Yes, it is very true that Nigerians are angry but the question is who are this category of Nigerians who are angry?The category of Nigerians that are angry are those who used private jets to cart away Nigerias money in dollars out of the country to South Africa. Im sure you are away that our money is still locked down there, such money if you bring it into the economy, a lot of youths that are unemployed will surely be employed.And of course those that have looted the country dry and normally go to the church and mosque to pay tithe are no longing doing so, of course we these are the category of people that are angry.If you look at it critically, the farmers, those with real jobs are happy because the economy is improving. In no time we have come out of recession, our foreign reserve is increasing, no more bombing in Sambisa, no more bombing in the country, no more bombing in Embab plaza even as close as Abuja, no more bombing in Suleja and all over the country. I think those that are benefiting from these crimes and criminality will be angry and they are Nigerians. So it is important to define the category of people who are angry.I want to urge Nigerians to continue to appreciate Mr. President, pray for him so that the good work he has started he will complete it, so that Nigeria will be not of the woods.On his plan to sell some important assets of the state and the criticisms that have trailed the plan, Bello said, Well, to them you call it important but to us it is not important. It is not important because they are tying down the capital and good money of state that would have been used for other developmental projects.You dont have an important project that is not adding values whatsoever to the lives of the people of Kogi State. And such projects can be converted and used to solve the problems that you are confronted with today. We are in deficit of road infrastructure, schools are in shambles, hospitals and the rest of them.So, why keeping an asset that is not yielding anything value all in the name of this is Kogi asset instead of use it for what will benefit the people more and add value to the system.You see, this is politics playing but we will not be deterred by some uninformed so called elites that are here in Abuja making noise. Let them come to Kogi State and compare two years of my stewardship with previous administration, then they will know that they are completely off the track. I think the people of Kogi State are with me and appreciate the much we are doing.
Two herdsmen were yesterday arrested in Benue State after they exchanged fire with troops 707 Special Forces Brigade troops on a routine...

Two herdsmen were yesterday arrested in Benue State after they exchanged fire with troops 707 Special Forces Brigade troops on a routine patrol along Gbajimba  Iyiodeh road in Guma Local Government Area.They were arrested close to a fish farm owned by Governor Samuel Ortom.The spokesman of 707 Special Forces Brigade Makurdi, Major Olabisi Ayeni, said the suspects were planning a dangerous mission but were sighted by the roops on patrol.According to Major Ayeni the militia who were suspected to be converging, possibly for an attack on Ortoms farm and other citizens, were about to be approached for questioning when they opened fire on the troops as they made to run away but were engaged and two of them arrested.Major Ayeni said the two herdsmen were handed over to the police.Also yesterday, the police arraigned an 18-year-old herder, Abu Shagari, in a Makurdi Magistrates Court, for alleged open grazing.The prosecutor, Sgt. Abdulkarim Abubakar, told the court that the accused person was arrested by a team of vigilance group, led by Gwaza Jacob.He said the accused person was subsequently handed over to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID) in Makurdi on January 21.Abubakar said the team was on patrol on Adaka Road in Makurdi metropolis, when they saw the accused person taking his cattle to openly graze on the field.He said the accused person hailed from Shabu village in Nasarawa State.The prosecutor averred that other herders in company of the accused person were at large.The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the accused person pleaded guilty to the charges.The prosecutor prayed the court to enter a summary judgment on the accused person, based on his guilty plea in line with Section 157 of the CPC.However, My Jijani Ahmed, counsel to the accused person, had urged the court to reverse the plea of guilty to not guilty in the interest of justice.He said his client must be given the opportunity to defend himself and for the prosecution to prove their case beyond reasonable doubt before a judgment could be entered.The Magistrate, Mr Emmanuel Azembe, held that the accused person must give full explanation of his plea and the consequences that followed it.He asked Shagari to show cause why the court should not convict him on the grounds of his plea.The magistrate, however, extended a life line to the accused person by asking if he could change his plea to not guilty.
Authorities arrested a U.S. Air Force staff sergeant at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst on charges he possessed and distributed child pornography, authorities said Thursday.

Donovan Balthazor, 30, of North Carolina Trail in Pemberton Township, shared a photo of a young girl online, according to the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office.

A judge ordered him released with several monitoring conditions following a court appearance later Thursday.

Donovan Balthazor, police photo

Balthazor is originally from the Tampa, Florida area but is currently stationed at the Joint Base, authorities said. He was taken into custody there Wednesday by the base's Office of Special Investigations.

In a 2014 photo caption, the U.S. Air Force described Balthazor as a senior airman who worked on a maintenance crew.

According to the prosecutor's office, the investigation into Balthazor began when the National Center for Exploited and Missing Children alerted them about his "online activities."

After investigating the photograph of the young girl, investigators searched his home Wednesday and recovered "numerous digital devices" that will be analyzed, the office said.

He is charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, possession of child pornography, distribution of child pornography, and possessing an image depicting the sexual exploitation of a child, authorities said.

A Burlington County Superior Court Judge ordered that Balthazor be released pending trial on the conditions he have no unsupervised contact with minors and only use the internet on government computers and for work purposes, the prosecutor's office said.

A spokeswoman at the base confirmed Balthazor's rank Thursday afternoon but said information about his work status was not available because staff had gone home for the day.

The office's High-Tech Crimes Unit investigated the case with assistance from the New Jersey State Police, Pemberton Township police, the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations and U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations. the release said.

Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @rebeccajeverett. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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[File Photo]

Chinas foreign ministry on Thursday rebuked Maldives former president Mohamed Nasheed for his accusation of China engaging in a land grab of Maldivian islands, noting that China has never attached any political conditions to aiding the latter.

China offers its assistance to the Maldives with no political strings attached. There is no way that such assistance will impair Maldives' sovereignty and independence, not to mention undermining the security of the Indian Ocean region, said Geng Shuang, a spokesperson for Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at a regular press conference on Thursday.

Gengs remarks are Chinas official response to Mohamed Nasheeds land grab claims. The former Maldivian president attacked his political rival, the countrys current president Abdulla Yameen in an op-ed published by The Indian Express, in which he noted that foreign powers, among them China, are engaged in a land grab of our country, key infrastructure and even essential utilities.

Nasheed also criticized China for helping his country, adding that I fear that, piece by piece, island by island, the Maldives is being sold off to China.

These allegations are absolutely nonsense. When Mr. Nasheed was the president, China also offered assistance and conducted practical cooperation with his country, which led to enormous outcomes. Would Mr. Nasheed call that grab as well? questioned Geng.

In sharp contrast to his biased claim to China, Nasheed did call for better Sino-Maldivian relations during his tenure as the president. According to Chinas Ministry of Commerce, Nasheed noted in 2010 that given the friendly relations between Maldives and China, frequent high-level visits and increasing Chinese tourists, all walks of life hoped further enhance trade and economic cooperation with China.

Chinas aid also solved economic issues raised during Nasheeds tenure. For instance, in 2011, when Maldives transitioned from a least developed country to a middle income one, its largest trade partner, the European Union, required Maldivian fish exporters to pay a 25 percent duty to enter its market, while according to The Diplomat, after Maldives became the second South Asian country after Pakistan to sign a free-trade agreement with China, it opened up the worlds largest consumer market to Maldivian fish and fish products at zero duty.

The friendly cooperation between China and the Maldives is for the benefit of all Maldivians. It serves the common interests of the two countries and the two peoples, Geng added.
Three people were found dead in a Voorhees Township hotel room Thursday afternoon from an apparent drug overdose, according to police.

Police went to check a room at the Wingate Inn on Laurel Oak Road around 12:45 p.m. after a concerned coworker called, saying the three people had not shown up for work, said Captain Carmen Del Palazzo, a spokesman for the Voorhees Township Police Department.

When police could not contact the three people, hotel staff assisted them in entering the room. There, they found the three deceased, police said.

"I've never seen a triple fatal like this," said Del Palazzo, who has been a police officer for 20 years and worked in the fire and emergency services previously. "It's an unfortunate thing that we in law enforcement are seeing on a daily basis across the country. There's no city, no town, no state that's safe."

He estimated that Voorhees Police had responded to about a half dozen overdoses last year, making the sudden jump in fatals even more notable in the township of about 30,000 people.

Del Palazzo said he could not disclose the ages or genders of the three people while in the process of notifying families. All three were from Toms River and were working in the area, he said.

Authorities are awaiting toxicology reports to determine what kind of substance was involved in the overdoses.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported 2,056 people died of overdoses in 2016 in New Jersey, averaging about 5.6 people per day. That's a 42 percent increase from the 1,454 deaths reported in 2015. Total numbers for 2017 are not yet available.

The deaths remain under investigation by police and the Camden County Prosecutor's Office.

Amanda Hoover can be reached at ahoover@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @amandahoovernj. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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Before there was a hashtag, there was Tarana Burke.

In 2007, the activist founded a nonprofit organization to support victims of sexual harassment and assault along with an awareness campaign centered around two words: Me too.

A decade later, she'll give a speech at Rutgers University after the powerful #MeToo movement inspired thousands of women to come forward with stories of sexual assault and harassment, exposing misconduct by powerful men in the media and other industries.

Burke will visit Rutgers on Monday as part of the university's Black History Month commemoration and ongoing initiatives to combat sexual violence, according to the university. She'll speak at 7:30 p.m. in the College Avenue Gym, and the event is open to the public.

Rutgers, which previously brought former Vice President Joe Biden to campus to speak about sexual violence, will pay Burke a $16,500 speaking fee, according to the university.

"We want students to know that they have a part in changing the culture, and their voice is important," said Felicia McGinity, the university's vice chancellor for student affairs. "So we want to empower them with information. We want to encourage them to be agents of social change."

Though Burke started her Me Too campaign a decade ago, the words went viral last fall after women began speaking out against producer Harvey Weinstein and other high-profile men. Unaware of Burke's efforts, actress Alyssa Milano encouraged women who had been sexually assaulted to reply to a tweet with "me too," and a hashtag was born.

Milano has since credited Burke as the #MeToo movement's founder, and Burke recently landed a book deal to tell her story.

Rutgers is excited to present a speaker whose message is especially timely for students, McGinty said.

"I am hoping that the takeaway is we can be part of a revolution that creates change so people don't have to say 'me too,'" she said.

Last fall, Rutgers hosted Biden as he spoke about the "It's On Us" campaign to end sexual violence, which he started with President Barack Obama in 2014. Rutgers was selected that year by the Obama administration to pilot a campus climate survey for a White House task force on sexual violence.

Adam Clark may be reached at adam_clark@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on twitter at @realAdamClark. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
A Gloucester County woman who faced 12 years in prison after admitting she was driving drunk with kids in her vehicle when she slammed into a patrol car was instead sentenced to 10 years probation on Friday.

Angela Feaster, 38, of Sewell, pleaded guilty in November to charges of assault by auto and endangering the welfare of a child. She entered her guilty plea as jury selection was about to begin in her trial.

Feaster was driving on Route 40 in Franklin Township on the evening of Oct. 16, 2015, when she collided with a patrol car driven by Franklin Township Officer Clifford Trovillo.

Trovillo suffered a concussion, two broken wrists, an ankle fractured in two places, a hip fracture, back injuries and a broken tailbone.

The officer was never able to return to work because of his injuries.

Three of Feaster's kids were in her vehicle at the time and one suffered a bowel injury in the wreck.

Trovillo and his wife, Shannon, appeared in court Friday to offer victim impact statements and urge Superior Court Judge Robert P. Becker Jr. to hand down the maximum penalty. Shannon also read statements from the couple's children.

"This defendant deserves the maximum penalty that the law allows," Shannon said. "No one will every full understand what destruction she has caused to my family."

She had to give up her job to become a full-time caregiver for her husband. She described an initial week-long hospital stay, followed by multiple surgeries and rehabilitation.

"I had to care for him 24 hours a day when he couldn't care for himself," she said.

Those challenges continue, the couple explained.

Trovillo still sleeps in a recliner in his living room because he cannot lay flat on a bed. He cannot move some of his toes and suffers from nearly constant nerve pain and frequent headaches, he said. He also faces additional surgeries.

"We don't know what the future will bring," his wife said. "All I know for sure is Cliff will still be in pain and he will still have the scars. ... She sentenced him to a lifetime of suffering and pain."

Clifford Trovillo said the family has paid $150,000 in medical bills and other costs and another $80,000 in attorney fees.

"Now we have to get prepared to sell our house and move because of the financial hardships," he told the judge.

Feaster, who wept throughout the Trovillos' statements, claimed she was driving to help a friend involved in a domestic violence incident when the crash occurred.

In arguing for probation, defense attorney David Simon acknowledged that there was no excuse for Feaster's behavior on the night of the crash, but argued that her actions were motivated by a desire to help someone and by her own experience with domestic violence.

Feaster was beaten and left for dead in a parking lot 10 months before the crash, Simon said. Becker presided over the case against her attacker in that domestic violence incident.

While Feaster has suffered with depression and alcohol abuse for many years, she was managing her issues prior to that assault, Simon asserted, but fell into a downward spiral after the beating.

Immediately after her release from jail following her arrest in the crash, Feaster sought help for her alcoholism, Simon said, and continues to received outpatient treatment.

Gloucester County Assistant Prosecutor Staci Scheetz argued that Feaster's decision to jump in a vehicle to help her friend was not an impulsive, selfless act.

"She did take the time to think she should eat Chinese food to try to get her alcohol level down," the assistant prosecutor said, adding that she even searched online to determine if she should drive in her current condition.

"This was not an instantaneous event," Scheetz said. "The defendant had the opportunity to call 911 on behalf of her friend and first responders like Sgt. Trovillo would have gone to that scene as well."

Feaster's blood alcohol content was more than twice the legal limit on the night of the crash, Scheetz stated.

As she addressed the court, Feaster spoke about her work since the crash to turn her life around, including regaining custody of her kids and getting sober.

"I have not had a drink since the night of the accident and I have no intention of going backwards," she said. "I cannot apologize enough to Mr. Trovillo and his family. I take 100 percent responsibility for what I've done."

In settling on a sentence of probation, Becker spoke about Feaster's efforts to seek treatment and accept responsibility for her actions. He also noted her lack of a prior criminal record.

While the third-degree offenses she was sentenced on normally require a 3-5 year prison term, the court can choose to bypass incarceration in favor of probation in extraordinary circumstances, Becker explained.

"The record must reflect that the defendant was caught up in a maelstrom of engulfing circumstances," he said. In Feaster 's case, those circumstances didn't just include the fact that she was a domestic violence victim who suffered from mental health issues, but that she didn't receive appropriate help when she was a crime victim, he said.

Becker described what he saw as a failure of the criminal justice system to provide Feaster with appropriate victim services after she was beaten in early 2015.

"She was not recognized as needing services after her last domestic violence assault," Becker said. "The court basically finds that this systemic failure to provide needed services subsequent to her attack contributed to her descent into the alcoholism and severe depression."

As a result, Trovillo, his family and Feaster's kids are not the only victims, Becker stated.

The judge concluded that a prison term would only endanger the progress he feels Feaster and her kids have made since the crash.

"I find that imprisonment of the defendant would serve no legitimate purpose," he said. "Imprisonment would be making her children victims once again."

The Trovillo family expressed frustration with Becker's decision.

"The sentence was an injustice," Shannon Trovillo said after leaving the courtroom. "The judge had seen her as a victim, not what she did to my husband or her children. He was more worried about her domestic violence issues. We got no justice."

The prosector's office has the option to appeal the sentence. That issue is currently under review, a spokesman said.

"The Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office's sympathies are with a 15-year law enforcement officer -- and his family -- who suffered career-ending injuries at the hands of a drunk driver while performing his duties," according to a statement from the office.

Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattGraySJT. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us: nj.com/tips.
JERSEY CITY  Officials have signaled the county's controversial partnership with the U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement could soon be coming to an end.

Dozens of immigration advocates attended the Board of Chosen Freeholders meeting Thursday and voiced their concerns about Hudson County's participation in the program commonly referred to as 287(g), prompting nearly half the freeholders to publicly oppose the continued partnership.

Hudson County Freeholder Bill O'Dea, a long-time critic of the partnership, said he feels the board has begun "moving things in the right direction" surrounding the future of participating in 287 (g).

"In recent, the past month or so, we've started to have what I see as very meaningful discussion with the County Executive (Tom DeGise) concerning us getting out of 287 (g)," O'Dea said to the crowd's applause.

The controversial program allows a state or local law enforcement entity to enter into a partnership with ICE, under a joint Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), and is deputized to carry out immigration enforcement within their jurisdictions.

There are currently 661 immigrant detainees housed at Hudson County jail. The facility in Kearny is one of approximately 60 jails/correctional systems or law enforcement agencies that participate in the program.

Hudson County renewed its partnership with ICE in July 2016 and is paid $110 per day per detainee. According to the contract, the county can withdraw from the deal at any time. Last February, DeGise said withdrawing from the program would be a "mistake," despite backlash from the community and immigration advocates. He said the partnership gives the county the "ability to remove dangerous individuals from our communities without having a chilling effect on local law enforcement effectiveness."

But since DeGise's remarks last year, one immigrant detainee has died while in custody in what advocates called a preventable death. Rolando Meza Espinoza died of "gastrointestinal bleeding" on June 10, but his family wasn't notified until two days later. Four other jail inmates have died since Meza-Espinoza which has raised new concerns about the quality of medical services provided at the jail.

Jim Kennelly, a spokesman for Hudson County, confirmed the administration is discussing potential changes in its participation in the program. "Ultimately we need unity on this issue one way or the other. So those discussions with Board members are likely to continue."

Freeholders Jerry Walker, Tilo Rivas, and Joel Torres also oppose the county's participation in 287(g). Walker and Torres are both just beginning their first terms.

"I'm totally against 287 (g)," Walker said. "I think it's an unfair process. Given the fact that Jersey City is the most diverse city in the country, I don't think it's a good fit for us in Hudson County."

Caitlin Mota may be reached at cmota@jjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @caitlin_mota. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.
UPDATE: Jersey City police arrested the alleged shooter on Thursday.

A pair of cousins were injured in a shooting Wednesday night in Jersey City's Journal Square, authorities said.

Jersey City police responded to the area of Sip and Summit avenues around 11:30 p.m. and found a 20-year-old man with a gunshot wound to his right hand, city spokeswoman Kimberly Wallace-Scalcione said.

The victim, who was uncooperative with police, was taken to Jersey City Medical Center for treatment for the injury, which did not appear to be life-threatening, Wallace-Scalcione said.

Shortly after the 20-year-old was brought to the hospital, his cousin arrived at JCMC with a graze wound to his left hand, which he suffered in the same incident. The 24-year-old had fled the scene in Journal Square before police got there, Wallace-Scalcione said.

However, when police interviewed the second victim, he gave them a false location for the incident. Police determined the man had also been shot in the buttock in November and was uncooperative with authorities investigating that incident, Wallace-Scalcione added.

Similarly, he fled the scene of the November shooting and later surfaced as a local hospital for treatment, the spokeswoman said.

On Thursday, Jersey City police arrested the alleged shooter in the Wednesday night incident -- Rodney Broadway, 26 -- and charged him with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and certain person not to possess a weapon.

He was also charged with bail jumping.
JERSEY CITY -- A Bayonne felon who treated his dogs so poorly that four of 11 had to be euthanized was sentenced to two years probation today and ordered to have no contact with animals.

"I just want to apologize," said William Shaw, 46, who was charged with 11 counts of animal cruelty on Aug. 19 after the pit bulls were found in his filthy apartment on Kennedy Boulevard near the 23rd Street. He later pleaded guilty to four counts of animal cruelty.

As part of the sentence, Hudson County Superior Court Judge Paul DePascale ordered Shaw to pay more than $2,000 in restitution for the cost of treatment the animals required. He must also undergo mental health counseling if determined necessary by the Department of Probation.

At the sentencing, Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Lynne Seborowski noted that Shaw has had numerous run-ins with the justice system. She said his convictions are mostly for drug offenses, but he also has a conviction for aggravated assault and a weapons offense.

Authorities said that Shaw failed to provide sufficient food, water, appropriate living conditions and appropriate veterinary medical treatment to the animals, according to the criminal complaint.

A 6-month-old dog was found to have multiple punctures wounds and cuts on her face, head and body. A 3-year-old dog was found to have "multiple tumors" throughout her body. Finally, a 3-year-old male pit bull was found to have a serious skin condition, the complaint said.

Police responded to Shaw's home on the morning of his arrest to investigate a complaint that dogs were being kept in crates and bred to fight. They found conditions in the apartment to be inhumane and unsanitary.

As part of his sentence, he must undergo drug and alcohol testing and must maintain employment.
Can New Jersey's second-largest city make traffic fatalities a thing of the past?

That's the goal laid out by an executive order Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop signed today adopting the Vision Zero initiative, adding Jersey City to a list of more than 30 U.S. municipalities that have employed traffic safety strategy.

The order establishes a 13-member task force charged with creating a comprehensive plan to eliminate car crashes that result in fatalities and severe injuries by 2026.

Jersey City becomes the first municipality in New Jersey to adopt the Vision Zero strategy, which began in Sweden in the 1990s and has since spread to cities like New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Philadelphia.

"During the past few months, Jersey City has been the scene of a number of tragic traffic fatalities that have each shaken our community and created a desperate need for a solution," Fulop said in a statement. "Signing on to 'Vision Zero' is our latest, and hopefully our final, initiative to eliminate traffic fatalities on our city's roadways."

There have been three fatal crashes in Jersey City so far this year, including a pair of wrecks on Jan. 23 and Jan. 27 that claimed two lives. Jersey City averages about 300 traffic crashes involving pedestrians each year, according to Fulop's order. On average, nine people are killed each year in Jersey City on local, state and county roads.

However, the executive order comes on the heels of a year that saw 14 people killed in Jersey City crashes, including 8-year-old Jerry Grant, who was fatally struck by an SUV on Oct. 28 on Christopher Columbus Drive and Grove Street.

The city's Vision Zero Task Force will comprise representatives from various reaches of municipal government, including city's divisions of engineering, planning, parking enforcement, as well as the Jersey City police and fire departments, and Jersey City public schools.

Community groups Bike JC and Safe Streets JC will also be represented on the task force, which will spend the next year drafting an official action plan for eliminating fatalities and serious injuries suffered in crashes by 2026.

"Fatalities and serious injuries are not a tolerable byproduct of transportation and increased density, and safe mobility for everyone is critical in all parts of our city to keep us healthy and prosperous," said Kara Hrabosky, president of Safe Streets JC. "We look forward to working with the Vision Zero Task Force to make lasting safety and access improvements citywide."

Tony Borelli, vice president of Bike JC, is also cheering the city's move to join Vision Zero.

"While tangible changes on our streets are ultimately the only measure of success, the international Vision Zero system provides both a powerful statement of goals and a practical framework for reaching them," Borelli said.

The task force will also solicit information and input from the public, report annually on its findings, and create a public website that will include crash data and solicit feedback from the public on safety issues.

According to the executive order, "children, the elderly, people of color, and people in low-income communities face a disproportionate risk of traffic injuries and fatalities." As a result, the task force will "develop assurances against racial profiling and targeting as it pertains to Vision Zero enforcement" and "ensure that communities of color, the Department of Public Safety, and community leadership are included in the decision-making and development of enforcement plans or policies."

New York City, which adopted Vision Zero in 2014 and has pledged a whopping $1.6 billion to traffic safety initiatives, has seen a decline in traffic fatalities four years in a row. Last year saw the fewest number of traffic fatalities (214) in New York since 1910, which represented a 28 percent dip since 2013. Pedestrian deaths are down 45 percent since the city adopted Vision Zero.

"Each and every life that has been lost as a result of a traffic accident is avoidable, and today, we are taking an important step towards building a powerful, data-driven Action Plan to make sure that no more lives will be senselessly lost on our roads," Fulop said.
JERSEY CITY -- A Jersey City man showed no remorse at all when sentenced to 19 years in prison today for the aggravated sexual assault of an 8-year-old girl he lured into his apartment by promising to let her use his own daughter's iPad.

"He doesn't appear to me to be remorseful at all," Hudson County Superior Court Judge Mark Nelson said of Julius Aheebwa, 39, who must serve the entire sentence with no possibility of parole.

Aheebwa pleaded guilty in April to the crime that occurred more than two years ago and even demonstrated what he had done to the girl when he gave a statement to investigators.

When the judge asked Aheebwa if he wanted to say anything before being sentenced, the response was "No."

Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Barbara Drasheff noted that in a mental health assessment questionnaire, "When asked what he feels most guilty about, Mr. Aheebwa wrote 'Not applicable.'"

The victim's father spoke at the hearing, hovering between sadness and anger, with his wife and the victim standing by his side. At one point he moved toward Aheebwa and sheriff's officers quickly stepped forward.

"You are going to live with this," the father said pointing at Aheebwa. "You put this sentence on yourself when you committed the crime."

Nelson sentenced Aheebwa in accordance with the plea deal. After serving his sentence, Aheebwa must register as a sex offender and will undergo supervision for life under Megan's Law.

Aheebwa lived in the basement of the building where the victim's family lived on the first floor. The families were close, they went to the same church and had emigrated from the same country. Aheebwa was babysitting the victim and her siblings on the day of the crime, Drasheff said.

The prosecutor said that after luring the girl downstairs, Aheebwa began flirting with the 8-year-old and asking her about boyfriends. He kissed her on the neck and then touched her crotch area through her clothing. Drasheff said he then put the girl on a bed and performed a sex act on her.

The sexual assault was raised to an "aggravated sexual assault" because the victim was under 13 years old.

Drasheff said Aheebwa told the girl not to tell anyone what he did or he would go to jail. The girl immediately told her brother, who called their mother. She rushed home from work and dialed 911.

The victim's father called his daughter an "innocent young kid" and said he moved his family from the apartment building after the sexual assault.

"I didn't want the kids living in the same house, waking up every morning, looking down where (Aheebwa) had been living and remembering what she went through," the father said, as he struggled with emotions and his wife wiped tears from her eyes and held her daughter close to her side.
As the din from the marijuana legalization debate reverberates around New Jersey, the state Assembly next month is set to get in on the discussion.

The New Jersey Assembly's committee on Oversight, Reform & Federal Relations is holding a meeting on March 5 to hear thoughts from the public on marijuana legalization.

The hearing will be held at 1 p.m. in Committee Room 11 at the State House in Trenton.

"It will be an open meeting involving and surrounding the issue of cannabis products," said Assemblyman Joe Danielsen, D-Middlesex, chairman of the Oversight Committee.

Danielsen announced the hearing in a committee meeting Thursday afternoon. The Assembly Democrats later posted the announcement on Youtube. See the video below.

Neither Danielsen nor his staff returned calls on Thursday seeking comment on the hearing, so it's unclear at this point if the meeting will be regarding a specific bill or will be more of a general discussion.

A bill to legalize recreational marijuana was introduced in the Assembly last month. It is identical to the bill that state Sen. Nicholas Scutari, D-Union, introduced in the Senate. The bill would legalize the possession and personal use of small amounts of marijuana, while also establishing a taxed and regulated commercial cannabis market.

A separate bill is expected to be introduced this month by Assemblyman Reed Gusciora, D-Mercer. Gusciora's bill is expected to differ from Scutari's in a few key areas, including allowing people to grow weed at home and setting a firm cap on the number of marijuana businesses.

In the video announcing the public hearing, Danielsen asks anyone who wants to speak up about marijuana legalization to come to the meeting at the Statehouse on March 5.

"We will be talking about cannabis products and all the issues that surround that," he said.

Are you interested in the N.J. cannabis industry? Subscribe here for exclusive insider information from NJ Cannabis Insider

Payton Guion may be reached at PGuion@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @PaytonGuion. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Four women employees of a Catholic church in Lawrence have filed a lawsuit accusing the parish's pastor of gender harassment and creating a hostile work environment by repeatedly demeaning them.

In the suit, the four accuse Rev. Gerard Lynch of The Church of St. Ann, of bias against them and saying vulgar, demeaning and inappropriate things, which caused them "fear, consternation and loss of faith."

They also accuse the Diocese of Trenton of inadequately responding to their complaints or failing to act after they reported Lynch's alleged behavior and comments.

Among the allegations, the suit says, are that Lynch was disrespectful about women in general, once saying about another woman: "I hope she doesn't smell; I hope she douched."

The Diocese of Trenton did not immediately responded to request for comment on the suit, filed Feb. 2.

"The prosecution of discrimination is always important," the women's lawyer, David H. Kaplan, said Friday. "These women are God fearing, and being treated in manner that they allege is particularly disturbing."

Lynch was installed as pastor in early 2015, a Trenton Diocese publication says.

The women make the following allegations in the suit:

- Maryann Tsougas, who was hired in 2005 as a secretary, said Lynch repeatedly harassed her, referring to her as "Miss Saigon" and made inappropriate comments about her hair and weight.

Tsougas' hair has thinned and uses a hair piece, which Lynch referred to as a "dead rat."

Lynch regularly spread a false rumor that she was having an affair with a monsignor, and once threatened her - after she made an error - to cut off her health benefits by making her a part-time employee, knowing she needs them because her husband has thyroid cancer.

- Jean Dimarco began working at St. Ann's in 2009 as youth choir director, and alleges in the suit Lynch left her a voicemail that insinuated she was promiscuous, saying, "Hey Jean, I hear you are unavailable. That's not the word on the street. So, you know this, and you know what you have to do. So give a ring back."

She then found out Lynch played the message for another male and they laughed about it.

Dimarco said Lynch verbally berated her in front of parishioners and other employees at a Christmas concert, and told her he was "embarrassed" by her hair color.

She said Lynch made derogatory statements about other female employees' hair color and weight, and yelled and cursed at them.

- Maureen Jones, who was hired as receptionist in 2016, alleges Lynch once referred to pussy willows and announced he was "saying the word," referring to "pussy," the suit says. Jones took it as sexual harassment.

She also alleges in 2017, during a discussion about a date for a church function, Lynch turned red and angry, and said he would "strangle" her if she was wrong about the schedule. She was so upset after the interaction she had to leave the building.

When she reported the inappropriate behavior to the Trenton diocese, Lynch admitted threatening her but the diocese did not take any disciplinary action against Lynch, the suits says.

After a meeting with the diocese she co-workers she was afraid to work with Lynch and was concerned he would retaliate against her.

Jones says in the suit she asked the diocese to move Lynch from the parish, but they they refused and offered to transfer her to another location which would increase her daily commute and travel expenses.

- Christine Meagher, who began working at the church as a receptionist in 2015, said Lynch regularly called her names and yelled at her, and told her if the church had volunteers, she's be out of a job.

Meagher and Jones no longer work at St. Ann's, and were terminated due to their complaints, the suit says.

Olivia Rizzo may be reached at orizzo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @LivRizz. Find NJ.com on Facebook
Twelve ancient city gates in Nanjing, eastern Chinas Jiangsu province, have been decorated with couplets to celebrate the upcoming Spring Festival. The couplets are 15 meters in length and two meters in width.

Hanging Spring Festival couplets on the door is a traditional way for Chinese to celebrate the New Year.
A truck driver accepted a plea deal Thursday in a September crash that killed one and injured four, authorities said.

Aleksander Isserovich, 39, of Brooklyn, New York, was under the influence when he rear-ended a Hyundai Sonata, killing the driver on the southbound side of Route 440 in Perth Amboy on Sept. 6, Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew Carey said in a release.

The tractor-trailer then jackknifed and hit two other cars, and the SUV was pushed into another car.

Jason Appio, 45, of Ocean Township, was later pronounced dead at Raritan Bay Medical Center in Perth Amboy. Isserovich and three others were taken to the hospital for minor injuries.

Isserovich is expected to be sentenced to seven years in prison in exchange for pleading guilty to one count of death by auto, three counts of assault by auto and driving while under the influence of controlled substances, according to the release.

His sentencing is set for May 18, 2018, before Superior Court Judge Michael Toto.

Craig McCarthy may be reached at 732-372-2078 or at CMcCarthy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @createcraig and on Facebook here. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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UPDATE: 'Never an easy decision' -- Coast Guard calls off search for missing fishermen

Two New Jersey commercial fishermen are presumed lost at sea after their boat went missing early Thursday about 40 miles off the coast of New Jersey, according to a family member.

The Coast Guard has been searching for the Queen Ann's Revenge and the two men - 30-year-old Paul Matos, of Bayville, and his crew member, Dennis Smalling - after a distress call was sent at 1:20 a.m. on Thursday reporting that the 46-foot vessel was taking on water.

"Unfortunately my brother and Dennis are presumed lost at sea," Matos' sister, Milene Oliveira, wrote on Facebook. "Again thank you everyone, your words of comfort mean everything to us."

Paul Matos, 30, in his U.S. Navy photo.

The Coast Guard said the search is ongoing. Rescuers tracked a signal from the vessel's emergency beacon, but there were no signs of the boat near where the signal was emanating.

"They went to where the signal is being emitted, but there is no visual of it," Coast Guard Petty Officer Seth Johnson said Friday.

The Coast Guard sent helicopters, planes and ships for the search.

The two men had set out on a multi-day fishing trip on the 46-foot boat late Monday night from what's locally known as "the clam dock" in Point Pleasant.

Oliveira, of Tinton Falls, told NJ Advance Media on Thursday that family and friends had been holding out hope for their safe return, but that the hope had begun to fade. After meeting with Coast Guard officials on Friday morning, she shared the sad update on Facebook.

Matos' uncle was among the commercial fishermen who ventured the 40 miles from the Manasquan Inlet on Thursday to assist the Coast Guard in the search. As he stood on his boat Friday in the marina, he expressed anguish at Matos' disappearance.

"As long as they don't show up, we always have hope," said the uncle, who only identified himself as Fernando before being overcome with emotion. "Hope is the last thing to die. If hope dies, we might as well stay home."

Matos' girlfriend, Amy Romano, said that before the men headed out, she had been worried about the weather during the week, which called for high winds and waves. Matos and Romano have a 5-month-old daughter.

Pictured left, Paul Matos, 30, his girlfriend, Amy Romano, and their daughter. (Family photo)

Matos had purchased the boat in October and was trying to forge a new business as a commercial fisherman. He had previously served in the U.S. Navy.

Fernando said Matos tried to dodge the bad weather, but it was likely too much for the boat.

"He knew the weather was coming, he tried to get out of it, but it was a little bit too late," Fernando said. "A lot too late."

In her Facebook post, Oliveira wrote, "Our family wants to thank everyone who reached out to us, who prayed for my brother Paul and his crew member Dennis. We also want to thank the Coast Guard for everything."

Spencer Kent may be reached at skent@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerMKent. Find the Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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An inmate at the Ocean County jail facing charges of sexually assaulting young children hatched a gruesome plot to have his attorney kidnapped, shot in the head and his body burned, authorities said.

Michael Nocera, 43, of Beachwood. (Ocean County jail)

Michael Nocera, 43, was charged Thursday with conspiracy to commit murder following an investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office that started in December.

Detectives learned that Nocera had conversations while in jail expressing his desire to have his attorney killed, according to a statement from Prosecutor Joseph Coronato. The statement did not identify the attorney.

Authorities said Nocera offered $30,000 to anyone who would kidnap his attorney, drive him to the woods and shoot him in the head.

"He provided additional instructions for the disposal of the body, requesting (the) victim be burned and his remains disposed of in a body of water," the statement said.

Nocera will remain in the Ocean County jail.

Nocera was arrested on August 23 and charged with several counts of aggravated sexual assualt, endangering the welfare of a child and child pornography. Two of the aggravated sexual assault charges were for victims less than 13 years old and a 4-year-old.

Alex Napoliello may be reached at anapoliello@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexnapoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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North Korea is developing nuclear weapons and aiming them at our country. We have troops throughout the Middle East and in hotspots like Somalia. We are losing a cyberwar against Russia, while staring down their troops in the Baltics.

An increased Marine presence in East Asia is imminent, to counter China's growing influence. And as the military prepares for war against Kim Jong-un, with nuclear-capable B-2s now positioned in Guam, the Doomsday Clock ticks toward midnight.

Still, Donald Trump figures this would be a swell time for the Pentagon to help him play Dress Up Dictator.

Inspired by the Bastille Day parade he witnessed in France last year -- the one that celebrates mobs overthrowing the government and guillotining the leader -- the president wants to have a big military parade, just like they do in banana republics.

The president says he wants to honor the military, which absolutely no one believes, because there are dozens of better ways to do that than having M2 Bradleys roll down Pennsylvania Avenue while the Blue Angels scream overhead.

If Trump wants to really honor our service people, he can take the $22 million it would cost taxpayers to stage his Putin Wannabe Cavalcade and use it for more practical purposes.

There are 150,000 veterans who sleep on our streets, and 22 commit suicide every day. That money can feed them, house them, and pay for therapy. It can be used for job training programs and a new suit. It can be used to shine a spotlight on the mental health nightmare that has governed their lives since coming home.

While he's at it, Trump can light a fire under Veterans Affairs, where the 35,000 health care vacancies - and 4 unfilled senior positions - are forcing this fiasco of an agency to "manage through incrementalism," as VA secretary David Shulkin puts it.

Army Times, the venerable publication that has served veterans since 1940, says 89 percent of its readers think the parade is dumb.

But it suggested an alternative: a parade that honors combat vets who have served since 9/11. It would put the focus "where it belongs - on the men and women who have rushed to the defense of our country," its editorial board wrote, including the Dreamers who served their adopted country in the longest wars in our history.

Trump won't buy in, because he usually prefers to divide the country, and he knows an ostentatious display of weaponry would invite protest.

But we like the Army Times' proposal. We don't think often enough of the veterans who brought the war home with them. At least the Romans gave them bread with their circuses.

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Paterson has agreed to pay $300,000 to settle a black police officer's racial discrimination lawsuit.

Lt. Washington Griffin claimed the city's Internal Affairs Division failed to investigate his complaints that he was subjected to racist graffiti in the police headquarters bathroom and heard a fellow officer use a racial epithet about a black sergeant.

Griffin was suspended with pay on insubordination charges after he had a public dispute with the captain in charge of the division.

His lawyer tells The Record that Griffin will retire as part of the settlement. Griffin, 51, joined the force in 1986 and has an annual salary of $140,996, according to public records.

Police Director Jerry Speziale declined to discuss the details of the settlement. But he said there is no room for racism in the police department.

NJ Advance Media staff writer Jeff Goldman contributed to this report.
State lawmakers on Thursday abruptly stalled a confirmation hearing for New Jersey's longtime corrections commissioner, one of the few members of Gov. Chris Christie's cabinet asked to stay on by Gov. Phil Murphy.

Commissioner Gary Lanigan remains on the job and is expected to keep his post, but his formal re-nomination was tabled to avoid a potentially uncomfortable public hearing amid questions over an ongoing sexual abuse investigation at the state women's prison and other issues, NJ Advance Media has learned.

Two other nominees -- Col. Jemal Beale, Murphy's pick to run the New Jersey National Guard and Tahesha Way, his nominee for secretary of state -- were advanced by the state Senate Judiciary Committee and await confirmation votes from the full Senate.

Lanigan, who has run the Department of Corrections since 2010, arrived at the Statehouse annex Thursday morning and sat through the two other hearings before he was told he would not get a hearing and left the room. He declined to comment.

Shortly after, Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Nicholas Scutari, D-Union, said the move was made at the request of Murphy's administration, adding that the committee would revisit the nomination after some of its members could meet privately with Lanigan to address "internal issues" at the corrections department.

Scutari said he did know which committee members had not met with Lanigan and did not know what the "internal issues" were. It is common for lawmakers to meet privately with nominees ahead of hearings, although it's unclear why some lawmakers were unable to meet with Lanigan before Thursday.

"If they don't have a chance to do that, the hearing can get longer and a lot more contentious," he said. "They would rather speak in private."

A source with knowledge of the decision said Murphy's office became aware of lawmakers' questions and needed more time to address them. The source was not authorized to speak about internal discussions publicly and requested anonymity.

State Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, D-Bergen, told NJ Advance Media she had not requested the nomination be held. But she said she was frustrated by the department's responses to her inquiries regarding conditions at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women and planned to press Lanigan on the issue.

The Hunterdon County prison is the subject of an ongoing criminal probe and an investigation by special counsel hired by the Attorney General's Office over alleged sexual abuse and exploitation of inmates by corrections officers and staff.

The Senate Law and Public Safety Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on conditions at the prison later this month after a series of NJ Advance Media reports showing the problems at the prison were wider than officials had publicly acknowledged and had prompted county prosecutors to ask the attorney general to intervene.

Seven employees at the prison have been criminally charged over sex abuse claims in the last two years, including one just last week. The department also faces several lawsuits from current and former inmates, including a class-action suit alleging administrators turned a blind eye to the abuse.

It's unclear whether Lanigan or another representative from Murphy's administration will appear at that hearing, which is expected to include testimony from former inmates, prisoner advocates and experts on sex abuse behind bars.

"I would like to see a very proactive answer to the problems there," Weinberg said of the women's prison. "That's what I plan to discuss with the nominee."

State Senate President Stephen Sweeney said Thursday he expected Lanigan to ultimately be confirmed.

"He's done a good job," said Sweeney, D-Gloucester. "I've never gotten any complaints since he's been there."

NJ Advance Media staff writers Brent Johnson and Susan K. Livio contributed to this report.

S.P. Sullivan may be reached at ssullivan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
State regulators on Friday ordered an internet investment site to stop advertising to customers in New Jersey, claiming the company was cashing in on the buzz surrounding cryptocurrencies and defrauding investors.

The state Bureau of Securities issued an emergency cease and desist order to Bitstrade, which takes payments in the form of the digital currency Bitcoin and claims to provide 10 percent returns by placing the funds in an "investment pool" used to trade on the stock market.

Bureau Chief Christopher Gerold said in a statement Friday the company was "a prime example of a company seeking to capitalize on the cryptocurrency craze."

Authorities say the company raised a number of red flags. For one, it wasn't registered to sell securities in New Jersey.

On its website, the company lists two addresses in California in Arizona, but the California address is non-existent, and the Arizona location is actually the headquarters of GoDaddy.com, a popular website hosting service.

A Bitstrade representative could not be reached for comment. The company has no listed phone number, the "contact us" section of its website appeared not to function and a message to its support e-mail address was not immediately returned.

On its website, Bitstrade describes itself as a private banking service "for the masses."

"From now on, you don't need thousands or millions to have a private trader working for you day by day," reads the "About" page. "You don't need to make a huge investment to have a personal account assistant assigned to you. With Bitstrade all of these are possible from only $10.00!"

Authorities say the company is violating New Jersey's Uniform Securities Law and withholding key information from potential investors, including the names of its corporate officers and the nature of its investments.

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have been around for nearly a decade, but their popularity as an investment vehicle have grown exponentially over the last year. Because the currencies are largely unregulated, authorities say they have become a valuable tool for internet scammers.

Last month, the state Attorney General's Office issued an advisory urging consumers to investigate potential investments involving cryptocurrency.

"Understanding what is being sold is the best armor an investor has against fraud," said Sharon Joyce, the acting director of the office's Division of Consumer Affairs.

S.P. Sullivan may be reached at ssullivan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
State Senate President Stephen Sweeney had a message Thursday for Gov. Phil Murphy: Pick up the phone and call if you have something you want to say.

The first public jab at the new Democratic governor by the state's second most-powerful Democrat came after Murphy urged lawmakers to send him legislation that would make an end run around the federal tax law passed by Republicans in Congress.

"He didn't have to call on us," Sweeney told reporters after the governor's speech at a conference of mayors in Trenton.

"We're already (working on) it," he said. "If he wants something from us, he should just call us rather than call us out publicly."

It wasn't a heavy-handed blow as much as it was a public acknowledgment of what people in Trenton have been saying quietly for weeks: Sweeney and Murphy don't have much of a relationship and rarely talk directly to one another.

The bromance that never was has consequences for Murphy as he charts a course in his new administration that needs to work with both chambers of the state Legislature to get anything done.

Former Gov. Chris Christie best summed up the importance of the governor-Senate president relationship when he recalled a conversation he had with former Gov. Tom Kean: "Who's your best friend?" Kean asked before Christie before he first took office. "My wife," Christie responded. "Wrong. Steve Sweeney is," Kean told him.

Both Murphy and Sweeney have insisted publicly the two get along fine.

Sweeney eyed a gubernatorial run before he was pushed out by Murphy, who garnered enough local support early in the pre-campaign season to make it all but impossible for Sweeney to mount a challenge.

And then there was Sweeney's fight with the New Jersey Education Association. The state's largest teachers union spent millions in an attempt to oust him in the last election. Murphy, who enjoyed the NJEA's support, never told the union publicly to back off.

But even though Sweeney jabbed Murphy about "calling on" lawmakers to act, both men agreed on the core issue: finding a workaround under the new federal tax plan that hits high-tax states like New Jersey the hardest.

A provision in the plan caps state and local tax deductions -- that's how much you pay in state income taxes plus property taxes -- at $10,000. The average annual property tax bill in 2016 was about $8,500.

Murphy and Sweeney want towns and school districts to establish charitable funds instead of collecting property taxes. Then taxpayers would pay to those funds and deduct the amount as charitable contributions on their federal returns.

NJ Advance Media staff writer Brent Johnson contributed to this report.

Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MatthewArco or Facebook.
Drivers who nod off behind the wheel are causing more crashes and are as dangerous as drunk drivers, according to a new AAA study.

The study released Tuesday said the number of crashes due to drowsy driving is underreported by federal agencies. AAA's study is based on video footage of drivers caught falling asleep behind the wheel and either barely missing a collision or crashing.

The AAA study was praised by Pam Fischer, a safety consultant and former New Jersey Division of Highway Safety executive director, who wrote a 2016 report about drowsy driving for the Governor's Highway Safety Association.

"Drowsy driving is grossly under reported and I applaud AAA for helping to shine the spotlight on the problem via this research," Fischer said.

About 10 percent of crashes a year are due to a drowsy driver, compared to the one to two percent that federal agencies blame on sleepy drivers, the study said.

"Drowsy driving is a bigger traffic safety issue than federal estimates show," said Dr. David Yang, executive director for the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

Videos released by AAA show drivers who fell asleep for a few seconds and crossed into oncoming traffic, drifted out of lane and ran off the road. Crash videos were not made public.

Vehicles were outfitted with cameras that recorded drivers, while other cameras recorded the road. The study recorded driver's head and eye movements in the three minutes leading up to a crash. The study involved 3,500 drivers observed over several months.

Researchers used a scientific measurement that correlated the percentage of time a person's eyes are closed to calculate their level of drowsiness. Using that, they determined that drowsiness was a factor in 9.5 percent of all crashes and 10.8 percent of property damage crashes. Federal agencies estimate that drowsiness is a factor in only one to two percent of crashes.

Federal safety agencies are addressing Drowsy Driving. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has worked with AAA and other organizations to collect data about drowsy driving, craft education programs and design infrastructure solutions, such as cutting rumble strips in highways to alert drivers when they running off the road.

A 2016 NHTSA plan outlines 10 areas of study to combat drowsy driving.

Only two states, New Jersey and Arkansas have laws that address sleep deprived motorists who injure or kill someone. New Jersey's "Maggie's Law" took effect in 2003 and allows a person who has caused a fatal crash and driven without sleeping for more 24 consecutive hours to be charged with vehicular homicide.

The AAA report comes days after the National Transportation Safety Board blamed an engineer's undiagnosed sleep apena for a Sept. 29, 2016 commuter train crash in Hoboken that killed one person. The NTSB has lobbied for mandatory sleep disorder testing for train operators and professional drivers since 2001.

The only cure for drowsy driving is sleep, said AAA officials, who recommended drivers either take a break from driving or pull into a rest area for a brief 20-minute nap.

"Short term tactics like drinking coffee, singing, rolling down the window will not work. Your body's need for sleep will eventually override your brain's attempts to stay awake," said William Van Tassel, manager of Driver Training for AAA.

Warning signs include not remembering the last few miles driven, drifting out of lane or off the road and having trouble keeping your eyes open, AAA officials said.

Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @commutinglarry. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
An immigrant from El Salvador -- who had been deported and somehow reentered the country -- was convicted of murder by a Union County jury.

Rosendo Salomon Gomez-Serpas, 25, stabbed to death Mario Ortiz, 30, of Elizabeth in the parking lot of the Imperial Latino Lounge after the two argued around 4 a.m. on April 9, 2016, according to Union County Assistant Prosecutor Peter Benza, who prosecuted the case.

The altercation began inside the club and spilled out into the parking area. Gomez-Serpas pulled out a knife and stabbed Ortiz five times -- including three defensive wounds to his hand and a fatal strike to his chest, authorities said.

Most of the fight, including the stabbing, was caught on nearby surveillance cameras and the footage was played during the three-week trial. Ortiz's blood was also found on a hat Gomez-Serpas was wearing when he was arrested, 10 hours after the incident, and inside his vehicle.

Gomez-Serpas faces 30 years to life in prison when he is sentenced March 23.

Authorities in Arizona charged Gomez-Serpas with alien inadmissibility in 2012 and deported him to Guatemala. It's unclear when or how Gomez-Serpas reentered the United States.

Allison Pries may be reached at apries@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AllisonPries. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
A Rahway man was arrested Friday for selling fentanyl-laced crack cocaine that killed three people and hospitalized others.

George Rayford

George Rayford, 38, of Whelan Place, is charged with three counts of first-degree strict liability for a drug-induced death, four counts of second-degree drug distribution within 500 feet of a public park and five third-degree drug distribution and possession offenses.

Rayford allegedly sold the deadly drugs out of his home on Friday, Dec. 22, 2017, according to the Union County Homicide Task Force Supervisor Michael Henn.

Nicole Taylor, 41, Kacina Vanderburg, 53 and Harold Johnston, 67, all of Rahway, overdosed on the drugs and died.

A six-week investigation found that an unknown number of others had also overdosed on the drugs that same night but survived.

Considering the high levels of purity found in illegal drugs being sold throughout Union County and New Jersey, as well as the potential for those drugs to be laced with varying amounts of deadly substances such as fentanyl, purchasing and using them can be tantamount to playing Russian roulette," Acting Prosecutor Michael A. Monahan said in a statement issued Friday.

Rayford faces 10 to 20 years in state prison on each of the three first-degree charges.

Anyone with information about this case is urged to contact Detective Crowell at 732-827-2115 or Union County Prosecutor's Office Detective Nicholas Falcicchio at 908-721-8186.

Allison Pries may be reached at apries@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AllisonPries. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
A meditation on the ecological and cultural implications of the I-10 corridor, "Highway Gothic, 2017," a new artwork by the Dutch/American collaborative team of Edgar Cleijne and Ellen Gallagher, is currently on view at the Contemporary Arts Center, 900 Camp Street, New Orleans, as part of "Prospect.4: The Lotus in Spite of the Swamp."

While the installation focuses on a few exemplary Louisiana images -- such as crawfish, I-10's overpasses, a Cajun fisherman -- it's the juxtaposition of these subjects that subtly dredges their waterlogged political content.

Joseph Bradshaw

Contributing writer

"Highway Gothic" is dominated by cyanotype banners printed on 70 mm film strips, featuring ghostly representations of the aforementioned crustaceans with phrases culled from the headlines of recent news articles. They allude to profit-driven interventions into Louisiana's landscape, such as, "Move over trees," "Is there a Devil in your ditch," and "Texas company eyes pipeline."

The use of film strips as printing surfaces calls attention to the 16 mm films featured nearby in the darkened room. In one, the camera follows a fisherman as he navigates an airboat through the waterways along I-10 outside Lafayette. A solitary figure -- and the only human represented in the film -- meanders through the swamps in what feels like a vaguely heroic, and maybe interminable, quest.

Another film is comprised of shots of the Claiborne Avenue underpass in Treme. With its columns painted with ornate trees and past scenes of black life in New Orleans, the bridge is a practical way of pointing out the natural and cultural destruction brought about by the I-10 corridor. In the 1960s, the oak-lined Claiborne Avenue neutral ground and nearby houses were razed in the face of community protests to make room for the interstate, which runs from Los Angeles to Jacksonville, spurring decades of blight and economic disinvestment.

The highway, as Cleijne and Gallagher depict it, both connects and devastates. But their portrayal makes no proclamations. Instead it asks us to contemplate, like their heroic Cajun fisherman, the implications of connectivity, and the future of culture along the corridor.

In November, Prospect New Orleans opened its fourth citywide art exhibition, which takes place every three years. On view through Feb. 25, "Prospect.4: The Lotus in Spite of the Swamp" brings together 73 acclaimed artists from New Orleans and around the world in 17 venues, including museums, galleries and public sites, across the city.

Viewing many of the artworks is free, though museum admission may apply. For maps and more information, visit the Prospect New Orleans website.

This article was produced as part of a collaboration between Pelican Bomb and NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune. More information about Pelican Bomb can be found at pelicanbomb.com.
For those who have seen many a Mardi Gras come and go, Rivane Neuenschwander's film, "Quarta-feira de cinzas/Epilogue," 2006, produced in collaboration with Cao Guimaraes, might evoke familiar post-celebratory feelings.

Next week, as we come down from an exhilarating Fat Tuesday, Neuenschwander's piece -- currently on view at the New Orleans Jazz Museum, 401 Barracks St., New Orleans, as part of "Prospect.4: The Lotus in Spite of the Swamp" --reminds us that Wednesday can be a struggle.

Laurence Ross

Contributing writer

Neuenschwander, a native of Brazil, shot the footage of the film the day after Carnival in her own country. "Quarta-feira de cinzas," Portuguese for Ash Wednesday, focuses on a miniature world of ants and confetti. The film opens with a close-up of a single ant laboring to drag a reflective gold circle.

New Orleanians can feel an easy kinship with the scene, as we are frequently left with remnants of celebration: shiny beads hanging from oak branches, go cups abandoned on the neutral ground, a wig forgotten in the street. By taking people out of the picture and zooming in on the confetti's afterlife, Neuenschwander reconsiders the relative quiet that comes after Carnival.

The ants are quite busy in this six-minute film, and one can't help but wonder what exactly they are trying to accomplish. Some ants appear to be fighting one another over the confetti, while others appear to collaborate and successfully transport their cargo. One ant stares into a shiny purple surface, like the mythical Narcissus, captivated by its own reflection to the point of paralysis. These vignettes serve as Mardi Gras fables, complete with their own morals.

Ash Wednesday is a Christian holiday meant to remind worshipers of their mortality, and thereby prepare them for Lenten repentance. By the film's end, the ants caravan the confetti--a very human remain--down into holes in the earth. Looking at this frenzy, we may question: By proxy, we may consider: what do we, as humans, choose to cherish? And, perhaps even more poignant, what do we choose to bury?

In November, Prospect New Orleans opened its fourth citywide art exhibition, which takes place every three years. On view through February 25, "Prospect.4: The Lotus in Spite of the Swamp" brings together 73 acclaimed artists from New Orleans and around the world in 17 venues, including museums, galleries and public sites, across the city.

Viewing many of the artworks is free, though museum admission may apply. For maps and more information, visit the Prospect New Orleans website.

This article was produced as part of a collaboration between Pelican Bomb and NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune. More information about Pelican Bomb can be found at pelicanbomb.com.
Nearly a decade after the murder of Kirsten Brydum, a 25-year-old social activist from San Francisco, a grand jury has indicted a man who says he is responsible for her death.

But for Brydum's family, the news that Joseph Brant, 48, confessed to three unsolved murders in New Orleans -- including Brydum's shooting death in the Upper 9th Ward on Sept. 27, 2008 -- only raises more questions.

Brant, 48, confessed to three unsolved murders last week during an interview at a Texas prison with Orleans District Attorney's Office investigator James O'Hern, according to a news release from the DA's office sent Thursday (Feb. 8). He was indicted on three first-degree murder charges that day.

Having already been convicted of an additional murder, the DA's office said by confessing to three more Brant was "cementing his role as a New Orleans serial killer."

"Today's indictment of Mr. Brant is an early step in a process that we hope will answer many of the understandable questions of the victims' families," Brant's attorney William Sothern said in an email sent Thursday afternoon.

One of the victims was Brydum, who was shot to death in the 3000 block of Laussat Place. Her bicycle and tote bag were also stolen.

Brydum's family issued a statement through their attorney Ben Rosenfeld on Thursday acknowledging that Brant, who is incarcerated in a Texas prison for a burglary conviction, has admitted responsibility for her murder.

"For the family this raises many new questions, and they are awaiting further details," according to the statement. "It is our understanding that Kirsten was abducted and raped on the night she was murdered."

However, Frank Lindsay, a family friend who has helped the family investigate Brydum's murder over the past decade, said the family has not been told that Brant confessed to sexually assaulting Brydum.

"What we don't want to lose sight of is that this was a rape and a murder. This person did not reveal that there was a sexual attack," Lindsay said. "The family is in shock. This person was not on our radar. It will be for the authorities to take appropriate action."

Asked whether the DA's office is investigating sexual assault in Brydum's case, the office responded that at this time they will not be "disclosing additional details on any of the newly-charged offenses beyond what was contained in today's press release on the indictment."

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Brydum's family said in their statement that in early January, Brant's attorney reached out to an advocate for the family. The attorney was aware of the family's ongoing investigative efforts in New Orleans. The family agreed not to request the death penalty in exchange for "full acceptance of responsibility by the perpetrator, and assurance that he would never be able to victimize another woman," according to the statement.

Brydum was only in town for 36 hours on what she called a Collective Autonomy tour of the country. She spent months traveling to cities like Detroit and St. Louis that had been "hammered economically" to highlight social and economic inequities, according to Lindsay. Her last stop was in New Orleans before she was set to head home.

"As fragile as it is, my heart goes out to the other victims of these horrendous acts. I miss Kirsten's loving voice every day and will forever yearn to touch her again," Brydum's mother Mamie Page said in the statement. "I know, had she lived, she would have touched so many more lives and this world would be better than it is currently."

Her father Steen Brydum added in the statement, "We miss Kirsten's radiance every day. We are relieved to know that the man who extinguished her incredible flame can never harm another woman."

Brydum's boyfriend at the time of her death, attorney John Viola, helped the family with the investigation, according to Lindsay. In the family's statement, Viola added that, "perpetrator accountability, if that is what we get out of this process, has only ever been a small measure of what Kirsten deserves and would have wanted. We will continue to work to address the root causes of gender-based violence and for larger transformative justice."

Brant has also confessed to killing an unidentified woman, known only as Jane Doe, on Oct. 17, 2007, according to the DA's office. She was found burned beyond recognition inside a charred stolen car abandoned near the train tracks under the Almonaster Avenue bridge.

He also confessed to the murder of Jody Johnson, found shot to death Jan. 11, 2008, according to the DA's office. Her body was burned after she was murdered on the 3600 block of Piety Street.

Brant confessed to sexually assaulting those women before killing them, the district attorney's office said.

Brant was previously convicted in the stabbing death of botanist Jessica Hawk in her Bywater home on August 11, 2008.

Brant indicated he wanted to provide the information about the unsolved cases in exchange for not receiving the death penalty and that he would serve the remainder of his prison term in a Louisiana penitentiary.
New Orleans restauranteur Dickie Brennan remembers redfish becoming a nationally sought-after dish this way: A German chef, who was also a fisherman, introduced Brennan's famed family of restaurant owners to redfish in the late-1970s.

"Back then, everyone in the restaurants wanted to just have trout or pompano," Brennan recalled. Creole-seasoned redfish cooked on a flat top quickly became a popular dish, Brennan said. His family thought that would also help reduce overfishing of other species. "We were proud that we were pioneering," he said.

But as redfish's popularity exploded - aided by Chef Paul Prudhomme's recipes - its population crashed and the state had to end redfish commercial harvest. For many chefs, the near collapse of redfish helped them realize their role as stewards in the health of fisheries.

It's in that role, they say, that 26 New Orleans chefs have signed a letter opposing legislation before Congress that the chefs say could undo progress made toward building a sustainable fishery. The signatories on the letter include James Beard award nominees and winners Ryan Prewitt, Stephen Stryjewski, Justin Devillier, Nina Compton, Michael Stoltzfus, Kristen Essig, Andy Ticer and Michael Hudman. The James Beard award is often referred to as the Oscars of the food world. The chefs are asking lawmakers to vote down the bills.

But recreational fishers say the legislation would create flexibility for hobbyists, who outnumber commercial fishers. Chefs have no more interest in sustainable fishing than they did when they helped collapse the redfish population, the fishers contend.

At issue is the reauthorization of a 1976 law that governs federal fisheries. The law, called the Magnuson-Stevens Act, was amended during reauthorizations in 1996 and 2006, and is credited with rebuilding 41 fish stocks since 2000. A fish stock is defined as a group of fish of the same species that live in the same geographic area and mix enough to breed with each other when mature, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service.

The proposed legislation, introduced by Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, would weaken the Magnuson-Stevens Act, according to an analysis by the Marine Fish Conservation Network, a coalition of commercial and recreational fishing associations. "Many of the provisions of H.R. 200 represent a significant step backward, which will hinder federal fisheries managers' ability to rebuild and maintain sustainable fish stocks," according to the analysis.

Young disagrees. "My bill gives regional councils the flexibility they need to make good, science-based fisheries management decisions," he wrote in a response to the chefs' letter. "Any reauthorization of MSA will keep the basic tenants in place, but there are improvements we can make to help local economies and ease the regulatory burdens faced by recreational and commercial fishing sectors."

The bill passed the Committee on Natural Resources in December. One of the most contentious aspects of Young's proposal is that it calls for a review by the National Academy of Sciences of the way the National Marine Fisheries Service counts and reports marine recreational catch and effort. Included in the review would be an examination of catch limits, which establish the maximum amount of fish that can be caught while maintaining a healthy and sustainable fish stock. Under the current system for red snapper management, commercial fishers are allotted 51 percent of the catch limit and recreational fishers get the remaining 49 percent.

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Recreational fishers argue 49 percent is not enough for 11 million American saltwater recreational fishers. "We don't feel like that's fair. It was an allocation that was set decades ago," said David Cresson, executive director of the Louisiana Coastal Conservation Association, a recreational fisheries advocacy group. "You've got a growing recreational sector and a shrinking commercial fleet."

The National Academy of Sciences reviewed the data collection methods for marine recreational fisheries less than a year ago. The review acknowledged the difficulty in collecting accurate data on how recreational fishers impact fish stocks, but did not go as far as recommending the catch limit be divvied up differently.

The proposed law would also extend state jurisdiction of recreational red snapper fishing further out into the Gulf of Mexico. Opponents say that should not be decided at the federal level, but rather through the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, one of eight regional councils in the nation that oversee fisheries.

The move to give individual states more power to regulate fisheries in the Gulf is especially contentious because of the high demand for red snapper and the progress that has been made toward rebuilding the once overfished population. Recreational and commercial catch limits were nearly cut in half from 2006 to 2008, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service. Since then, catch limits have gradually increased as the stock rebuilds.

Commercial fishers are concerned that a change in how recreational red snapper fishing is managed could impede the progress to rebuild the fish population, said James Bruce, a commercial fishermen who docks his boat in Dulac. "If the state takes over, the accountability of fish stocks may not be as good," he said. "We rebuilt the stock by being accountable."

The public debate between recreational and commercial fishers has been heated, with accusations from both sides of payments by lobbyists. Those claims have extended to chefs who have weighed in on the debate.

Cresson said all fishers - commercial and recreational - want the same thing: To be out on the water catching something to eat.

"We want all these folks to make a good living in what they're doing. We want restaurants to have fresh seafood," he said. "We just want this to be a fair process."
Gov. John Bel Edwards called his fifth special session of the Louisiana Legislature in about two years to deal with the state's fiscal woes Friday (Feb. 9), signaling he thinks there is enough support among lawmakers to raise or renew taxes again to deal with the state's billion-dollar budget shortfall.

The special session will run from Feb. 19 to March 7. Louisiana lawmakers will return less than a week later for the state's regular lawmaking session which starts March 12 and runs until June 4.

Senate President John Alario, R-Westwego, said there is no firm plan about how to close the gap yet between the governor and lawmakers, but the governor and legislative leadership have agreed to talk further.

"I don't there is an agreement in concrete," Alario said in an interview Friday. "I think there is an agreement to proceed."

Louisiana is facing a $994 million budget shortfall July 1 that the governor, a Democrat, and the Legislature, led by Republicans, concede requires some taxes to be raised or renewed to close. If no taxes are raised or renewed, the state would see massive cuts to the TOPS college scholarship program, state-funded hospitals, mental health programs and services for people with disabilities, according to the Edwards administration.

As governor, Edwards has control over the types of bills that get considered in a special session he is convening. In this case, Edwards has left room for all the tax legislation that either he or the House Republicans have mentioned over the last few months, whether he supports the concept or not. This includes changes to income tax brackets and several changes to sales taxes.

The governor is also allowing a number of measures meant to control spending and promote transparency that conservative House Republicans want in exchange for tax votes to be considered in the special session. These include a new government-transparency spending website, work requirements for Medicaid recipients, copays for Medicaid recipients, restrictions on who qualifies for Medicaid and a new cap on state spending in the future.

Taxes cannot be raised in the 2018 regular session, as the Louisiana Constitution limits fiscal matters to regular sessions in odd numbered years. This is why the special session needs to be held, though special sessions cost extra money and can run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars to convene for only a handful of days.

Edwards had been saying for six months that he would not call a special session unless he could reach a compromise with House Republicans on how to address the fiscal crisis. But he seems to have backed off that stance slightly.

Before calling the special session, Edwards did not get the firm budget-fixing plan that he was seeking, according to Alario. "It will be a lot easier when you get everyone in the same building and they see each other face-to-face," Alario said.

"After multiple meetings with House and Senate leadership, I feel confident that we are coming to an area of compromise that will allow us to make the changes we need to continue the momentum that we are seeing in our state," Edwards said in a written statement released Friday.

Edwards, Alario and House Speaker Taylor Barras, R-New Iberia, met together Friday before the governor released the call to discuss what budget solutions would be considered. "I don't think anything is 100 percent sure at this point," Alario said.

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A main sticking point is whether the governor and lawmakers will keep a higher sales tax rate in place beyond July 1. Edwards and the Legislature temporarily raised the state sales tax from 4 percent to 5 percent in 2016, but the rate is scheduled to go back down to 4 percent again July 1, contributing mightily to the latest fiscal crisis.

Barras said Thursday that House Republicans would prefer to keep part of that higher sales tax rate in place -- at 4.25 or 4.5 percent -- after July 1 instead of raising other taxes. The House Speaker said some Republicans want a portion of that higher sales tax to be permanent and another portion to be temporary. A few Republicans also want some of the sales tax rate that is above 4 percent to be dedicated to transportation or the TOPS scholarship.

Edwards has said he is opposed to having a sales tax rate above 4 percent put permanently in place, but he might be open to a temporary sales tax rate that's higher if it is coupled with other tax changes. Several Democrats in the Legislature -- some of which need to vote for any tax if it is going to pass -- remain opposed to a higher sales tax rate at all.

Alario said he wasn't sure a sales tax rate beyond 4 percent could get passed by the Senate at this point. "I think the members of the Senate are concerned about some of the measures that hurt their constituents," he said.

Democrats are generally opposed to higher sales tax rates because they are a larger burden on poor people, according to economists. Louisiana also has the highest average sales tax in the country, when local rates are factored into the equation.

Louisiana's latest budget problems are the result of Edwards and legislators not coming up with a permanent solution for the state fiscal crisis over the past two years. In 2016, Edwards and the Legislature passed more than a billion dollars worth of temporary taxes that expire July 1, creating the budget shortfall that they now face.

When the temporary taxes were first passed, Edwards and lawmakers said they would use the intervening two years to come up with a better, more permanent fix. But the governor and Legislature have been unable to come to an agreement.

Edwards and lawmakers were allowed to raise taxes during the 2017 regular session, but the conservative House Republicans refused to vote for any tax proposal then.

Neither Edwards nor the Legislature tax proposals completely close the budget gap, which means it's likely some budget reductions will have to be made. The governor and lawmakers have refused to say what cuts they might prefer, so it's unclear what might be on the chopping block.

Barras could not be reached for comment Friday.

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Julia O'Donoghue is a state politics reporter based in Baton Rouge. She can be reached at jodonoghue@nola.com or on Twitter at @jsodonoghue. Please consider following us on Facebook at NOLA.com.
Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry sued the federal government Friday, demanding that it repair land in a state conservation area in Vermilion Parish that has been eroded by the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Lafayette, accuses the Army Corps of Engineers of failing to maintain the waterway -- which was authorized to be only 125 feet wide and 9 feet deep -- within a 300-foot-wide easement granted to the federal government by the original owners of the property.

"In some areas, the width of the waterway now exceeds 670 feet, instead of the 300 feet provided by the servitude, and appears to be continually growing larger," said the lawsuit.

That's causing damage in the White Lake Wetlands Conservation Area, a 72,000-acre wetlands area located about 7 miles south of Gueydan and 13 miles north of the Gulf of Mexico, according to the state.

"The decline of Louisiana's coastline over the past 50 years has been a constant issue for Louisiana," Landry said in a news release announcing the suit. "Unfortunately, the creation of the Intracoastal Waterway by the corps has exasperated the problem."

"The failure of the corps to maintain and preserve the servitude has caused thousands of acres of land along our coast to be lost," Landry said. "The Corps is in direct violation of their servitude agreement. Our lawsuit demands that the Corps of Engineers be enjoined from any further violations of its servitude and restore the damage caused by those violations."

Landry said his decision to file the lawsuit was supported by U.S. Rep. Garret Graves, R-Baton Rouge, the former chairman of the state Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority who before being elected to Congress had unsuccessfully urged the corps to repair numerous erosion spots along the waterway.

Graves, in a statement, said he "strongly" supports the suit, calling it "the right thing to do" and "long overdue."

"The bottom line is that if this were happening in California, New York, Florida or Illinois, it would have been stopped and restored decades ago. We cannot stand idle and allow Louisiana to be treated any differently."

Graves said the corps is the same agency "that enforces rules and files suit against Americans when they damage or destroy wetlands. It is far time that they be held accountable to the same rules."

The suit apparently came as a surprise to Gov. John Bel Edwards, who in a statement said Landry did not consult with the governor or the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority on the suit.

"It's unfortunate that the agency charged with developing strategies for dealing with coastal wetlands was not consulted at all," the governor's statement said. It added Edwards office will review the suit.

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Spokesmen for both the corps and the U.S. Justice Department said they could not comment on pending litigation. The corps spokesman said attorneys for the agency would allow a response to a request for information about requests made by the state to repair the damage to the wildlife refuge because of the pending suit.

The refuge property was bought by the state in 2002 and is now owned by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. The suit says that with the sale came the right to enforce provisions of a servitude entered into by the original landowner in 1929.

The waterway was begun in the 1920s as a way for barges and other shipping to move from Texas through Louisiana and to other parts of the national waterway system. It became an especially important navigation channel during World War II because of German U-Boat threats to shipping in the Gulf of Mexico.

The lawsuit only applies to the state-owned land eroded by the waterway, while erosion is common all along the waterway. In some locations, federal and state grant money provided by the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act has paid for repairs.

Lawsuits filed by six parishes and joined by Landry and Gov. John Bel Edwards also seek repairs caused by canals built by oil, gas and pipeline firms in coastal wetlands. Those suits in Plaquemines, Jefferson, St. Bernard, St. John the Baptist, Vermilion and Cameron parishes are all pending in different parish state courts.

A separate suit by private landowners in St. Bernard Parish against pipeline companies, also for damage caused to wetlands by their construction, is pending in federal court in New Orleans.

During a news conference in Lafayette streamed live on his Facebook page, Landry also discounted the role of sea level rise caused by climate change as a reason for the state's land loss problems.

"Absolutely not," Landry responded to a reporter's question about sea level. "If you're trying to go anywhere with regards to global warming or climate change, I think the facts absolutely stand out that that is a hoax. when you look at the cycles that our earth has gone through from a climate change, I mean naturally over thousands and thousands of years, you'll see the same particular cycles.

"In fact if you go out and you look, actually, over the last couple of months you'll see reports that in some areas, the sea is not declining but rising,"

Landry's comments are at odds with the state's Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, which warned in its 2017 coastal Master Plan that the combination of natural subsidence and natural and human-caused sea level rise threatens to swamp much of the state's lower coastline by 2067, even if the projects included in the plan are completed.

The plan's estimates of sea level rise are based on both federal government and United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates of the effects of global warming.
Brent D. Washington Sr. may be Zulu King, but he hasn't forgotten the shy 13-year-old kid from the 9th Ward who spent Saturday nights cleaning out movie theaters for $2.50 an hour.

Washington isn't shy anymore. You don't get to be Zulu royalty by being shy. But the persistence and hard work he learned scraping popcorn off floors at his first paid gig still colors everything he does.

Whatever you do, "you always got to do it the right way, and that's through hard work," Washington explained on a recent evening, breaking from a busy schedule for a shot of caffeine and an interview at a local coffee shop. Washington and his wife and queen, Troye Madison Washington, had just come off a busy weekend of pre-parade parties.

Washington is tall with strong shoulders, the mark of a former Southern University drumline section leader. He has a serious expression when listening to questions and answers deliberately. This evening, he said he was tired, but also elated. Headed into Mardi Gras, his time is splintered between his day job and the meetings, parties and school visits required of the king.

The fanfare follows a hard-fought election for king against a fellow member. Washington isn't one for politics and he demurs when talking about campaign specifics. Suffice it to say, the race was strenuous for a guy who prefers to focus on his family and his 27 years of service with the Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club. He said he was "shocked" when the vote fell in his favor last May.

"I ran because I have put the time in and I have put in the service. I wouldn't be in the Hall of Fame of Zulu if I didn't," said Washington, who was nominated to the organization's Hall of Fame in 2014 after riding as Mr. Big Shot, the Zulu King's upstaging rival, in 2013. He currently serves as Zulu's chairman of finance, one of many hats he wears within the organization.

Washington credits his grandparents, Booker T. and Bessie Washington, for kindling the inner drive that has taken him from neighborhood kid, to Southern University drumline major, to husband, father, accountant and, now, the pinnacle of membership in the Zulu organization. He also credits his wife, who he met at church in 1984, realized "I need to know her," and found a companion in her big-hearted and mellow approach to life, he said. The couple, together for 35 years, have two sons, Brent Jr. and Bryce.

In his day job, Washington works as chief financial officer at Edgar P. Harney Spirit of Excellence Academy and owns an accounting consultancy firm. His work as an accountant recently became the subject of public scrutiny. The Lens reported last month Washington was formally charged in October 2017 with violating state ethics laws. Washington was paid $54,500 over three years for accounting work for Edgar P. Harney in addition to his annual contracted salary, the Lens reported. Washington declined to comment for this profile.

Washington was born in northern Connecticut, but he and his mother, Bessie Yvonne Washington Porter, moved to New Orleans when he was 4 years old to be closer to family. His grandparents, a nurse at the former Mercy Hospital and a construction worker, raised him and taught him the value of having a goal and working to meet it.

Washington's grandmother used to work late nights alongside him at the movie theater job to make sure he was safe. She never saw a dime for her work, he noted.

Washington, an only child, knew money was tight in his home, but he always had food to eat and loving arms to fall into. "I never felt that I was poor at all coming up. I always had what I needed, I just didn't have what I wanted," he said.

Early on, Washington understood education, specifically earning a college scholarship, was "his out" from a world where poverty was everywhere and seconds of gunfire could steal a life and shatter friendships. He picked up his first drum in the third grade and threw himself into learning more, eventually earning a scholarship to attend Southern University and a spot in the esteemed band.

Washington said the experience showed him places very different from his hometown, in ways good and bad. He marched with Southern in the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California and played at President Ronald Reagan's 1980 inauguration and at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

"If I had to do it again, I'd do it the same way," said Washington, who studied business and was drumline section leader all four years at Southern. "Every year you have maybe 200 to 300 students trying to make the band and you might have only 40 spots. Only the strong survive. I was one of the strong."

As Zulu King, Washington wants to give local kids a glimpse at the world beyond the streets of New Orleans.

Washington hates the crime that entangles more and more kids in the city. He said community work, including the Zulu on the Bayou festival, which has an anti-violence message, is key in reversing course. Young people need to see and talk to more people from their neighborhoods who chose a different path, he said.

Often kids can't see beyond the cold wall of violence built up around them, he added. Beyond the parties and pageantry, this Zulu King wants to be there to give them a boost, to peer over to other side.

"Knowledge is power," Washington said. "If you don't know, you just don't know."
Just twenty years ago, Michel Parmigiani, who founded the eponymous brand in 1996, designed his first in-house movement in an innovative tonneau shape. The hand-wound calibre PF110 was powered by two series-mounted barrels, and provided a power reserve of 8 days, which was tracked by a unique semi-circular display on the dial. Shortly after that, the Kalpa (originally named the Ionica) was born, its barrel-shaped case reflecting the 1998 PF110 calibre inside.

Aesthetic rebirth

Since then, the Kalpa collection has spearheaded the Fleurier manufactures production, with models including the Hebdomadaire, Kalpagraphe Chronometre, and the Piccola and Kalparisma for women. At this years SIHH, the Kalpa is back in force, with the new Kalparisma Nova Galaxy watches for women and, for men, the new Kalpa Chronor, Kalpagraphe Chronometre and Hebdomadaire, each equipped with a new tonneau movement designed entirely in-house. The iconic design of the collection has been revised and updated, while retaining the equilibrium of the original proportions defined by Michel Parmigiani. The updated barrel-shaped case is more dynamic, with more dramatic curves, a larger crown and the distinctive water drop integrated lugs, which have been resized and repositioned for a better fit. In the quest for greater legibility, the delta hands have been resized and coated with luminescent material, and the date display, which was previously part of the small seconds counter, has been given its own separate display at 12 oclock.

Kalpa Chronor, Kalpagraphe Chronometre, and Kalpa Hebdomadaire, back view  Parmigiani Fleurier

Kalpa Chronor

The new Kalpa Chronor in hand-polished 18 karat rose gold represents a first: at its heart is the worlds first self-winding automatic integrated chronograph movement in solid gold, entirely developed and manufactured in-house by Parmigiani Fleuriers watch division. The PF365 is not a modular chronograph movement  everything is incorporated into a single mainplate. It features a column wheel, vertical clutch and variable inertia balance wheel supported by a lateral bridge. The COSC-certified movement has a 65-hour power reserve, allowing for precise measurements down to one-tenth of a second thanks to its 36,000 vph frequency. It offers hours, minutes and small seconds functions, plus a chronograph with tachymeter and a date window, with the number 1 in red. The barleycorn guilloche design on the 22K rotor, visible through the case back, is complemented by the braid guillochage on the black gold dial surround, azured gold counters and in opaline centre. A black alligator Hermes strap (the saddlemaker became a partner of the Parmigiani Fleurier watch division in 2006), completes this 50-piece limited edition, which sells for 85,000 Swiss francs.

Kalpa Chronor  Parmigiani Fleurier

Kalpagraphe Chronometre

The new PF362 calibre driving the Kalpagraphe Chronometre in 18K rose gold has the same technical specifications as the PF365 inside the Kalpa Chronor, but only the guilloche rotor is made of gold. The blue dial has a similar architecture and, in terms of its decoration, the dial surround features radial guillochage, and the azured counters are the same colour as the dial, whose PVD-treated centre has an opaline finish. The price of this watch is 35,000 Swiss francs.

Kalpagraphe Chronometre  Parmigiani Fleurier

Kalpa Hebdomadaire

Presented in a polished 18K rose gold case, which is smaller (42.3 x 32.1 mm) than the 48.2 x 40.4 mm of the first two models, the Kalpa Hebdomadaire plays tribute to Parmigiani Fleuriers short history by incorporating the manually wound historic PF110 movement, which drives hours, minutes, small seconds, and a date and week ("hebdomadaire" in French) indicator above the power reserve. Like the other new Kalpa models, the refined movement finish can be seen through a generous sapphire caseback, and the black dial is enhanced by guillochage and opaline finishes. The Kalpa Hebdomadaire, which also comes with a Hermes alligator strap, is priced at 32,500 Swiss francs.

Kalpa Hebdomadaire  Parmigiani Fleurier

> Watches & Wonders
Even as Kyle Duncan awaits Senate confirmation for a seat on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, his opponents are not giving up. The latest: the widow of John Thompson, who spent 18 years in prison for a 1985 murder he did not commit.

Laverne Thompson writes in The New York Times that her husband, after being exonerated in 2003, sued the Orleans Parish prosecutors "who had hidden the evidence in his case for failing to train their lawyers on the importance of turning over favorable evidence. The jury, considering the blatant destruction of evidence in J.T.'s case, awarded him $1 million for every year he was on death row -- $14 million in total."

When Louisiana appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, Duncan represented the state. "He devised the argument that, although the district attorney had withheld evidence in many cases involving innocent men, there was no need to train lawyers in his office because they would have learned about their obligation in law school," Thompson wrote. In 2011, the Supreme Court overturned the judgment.

"The positions Mr. Duncan argued and won are not the positions of a man who can suddenly become a fair referee in the dozens of similar cases that would come before him as a judge," Thompson wrote. "Mr. Duncan's confirmation could serve as a declaration to prosecutors that winning at all costs remains, as it has been far too often in the past, the path to success."

To which Kent Scheidegger, general counsel of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, responded: "This article is a spiteful piece of misdirected anger by someone who is justifiably angry, but not at the chosen target. It is regrettable that the Times chose to print it."

John Thompson died Oct. 3 at age 55. Five days earlier, President Donald Trump announced he would nominate Duncan, who grew up in Baton Rouge and practices law in Washington, D.C., to the 5th Circuit. On Jan. 18, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 11-10 along party lines to recommend Duncan.

Throughout history, the Senate has almost always goes along with what the Judiciary Committee recommended. It hasn't rejected a committee-endorsed judicial nominee in 18 years, since voting 45-54 for Ronnie White for the Eastern District of Missouri bench on Oct. 5, 1999, said assistant Senate historian Daniel Holt.

And it's unlikely to break with convention on Duncan, said Carl Tobias, a University of Richmond law professor who studies the federal judiciary. "My sense is that the odds are very low," he said Friday. "The Senate has rejected judicial nominees ... but it is very rare."
A group of parents is asking the St. Tammany Parish public school district to create a French immersion program for kindergarten and first-grade students next school year.

Anne Ogden, representing the group, said she started the initiative in 2017 and has heard from numerous other parents who are interested.

The parish's school system is the strongest in the state and will become even stronger with a French immersion program, Ogden told the St. Tammany Parish School Board Thursday (Feb. 8) night.

Ogden, who lives in Covington and has a daughter about to enter kindergarten, told the board the state has numerous resources available to the school district for French education, in addition to "a great parent network that's already been started."

Ogden said her research has shown there are 32 French immersion programs in 13 parishes across the state. She said there are 2,000 students in French immersion programs in Orleans Parish alone, and that she and other supporters have heard from parents who moved from St. Tammany Parish to the south shore in search of such programs.

Ogden says not only do French immersion programs promote the state's French heritage, but that research shows students in foreign language immersion programs often enjoy higher levels of academic achievement.

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The Council for Development of French in Louisiana (CODOFIL) recommends immersion programs start in kindergarten and run through 8th grade. Students in immersion programs receive instruction from English- and foreign language-speaking teachers.

On Thursday, surrounded by several other parents waving miniature French flags, Ogden presented the School Board with a petition seeking the program.

The petition included the signatures of 121 parents or guardians of students who want the program. The petition includes 36 parents or guardians of incoming kindergarten students and 27 parents or guardians of students who will enter the first grade in the 2018-2019 school year.

Ogden said having the signatures of at least 25 parents/guardians of incoming kindergarten students or incoming first-graders is one of the stipulations in a state law that requires districts to create foreign language immersion programs when petitioned by parents.

St. Tammany schools Superintendent Trey Folse said the district is researching the matter. Assistant Superintendent Regina Sanford, who met with Ogden last summer, said she visited Lafayette Parish schools to view their French immersion program as part of the district's "due diligence."

School Board members did not comment on the request.
We all have fears. We fear failure, debilitating illness or death. We're afraid of violence. We fear the unknown, the other and, sometimes, the truth.

"Life is made of fear," says Mary, the protagonist in the novel "Other People," by Martin Amis. "Some people eat fear soup three times a day. Some people eat fear soup all the meals there are. I eat it sometimes. When they bring me fear soup to eat, I try not to eat it, I try to send it back. But sometimes I'm too afraid to and have to eat it anyway."

Fear is also an emotion people of faith should reject.

Jesus told his disciples, "Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." (John 14:27) He also said: "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself." (Matthew 6:34)

The Christian and Hebrew scriptures are replete with admonitions about rejecting fear.

"There is no fear in love." (1 John 4:18) "Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me." (Psalm 23:4)

"The Lord is my light and my salvation -- whom shall I fear?" (Psalm 27:1) "For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline." (2 Timothy 1:17)

"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you." (Isaiah 41:10) "The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid." (Psalm 118:6)

So why, in this part of the world at least, are Christians the most fearful, well-armed people many of us know? Why do so many Jesus followers reject one of his fundamental admonitions about being afraid?

Put another way: Why do so many Christians put more faith in their guns than their God?

We fear immigrants, despite our scriptures telling us to welcome them and the evidence they are less violent than native-born Americans. We fear the poor, despite the scriptures assuring us God favors them -- and the reality that poverty is a cancer that affects everyone and exposes our society's spiritual destitution.

We fear social change, despite Jesus urging us to fight for the powerless and to defend the humanity and dignity of every person. We allow this fear to rule us, despite knowing injustice is a corrosive, destructive force that fractures communities.

We fear those of different races and religions, although the Bible commands us to welcome the stranger. And that fear blinds us to the strength derived from our nation's diversity and its history of welcoming people from every country and faith.

We fear failure and progress, despite Jesus telling us not to: "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin." (Matthew 6:28) Our fears obscure the truth that progress and setbacks are as sure and constant as the rising sun.

Father Richard Rohr, a great prophet of our time, writes about the dangers of fear. "Jesus came to reveal and resolve the central and essential problem -- humanity's tendency toward fear and hate," Rohr observes. "The pattern is so deep and habitual within humans that we even make religion itself into a clever cover for our disguised need to remain fearful and hateful.

"The ultimate disguise whereby you can remain a mean-spirited person is to do it for God or country. You are relieved of all inner anxiety; you can maintain your positive self-image and even some kind of moral high ground, while hidden underneath are 'the bones of the dead and every kind of corruption,' as Jesus said (Matthew 23:27)."

As a follower of Jesus, I find it embarrassing that some of the least fearful people I know profess no faith at all. I find it doubly embarrassing that those whose fears drag them into a downward spiral of hatred and alienation often profess the deepest faith.

Too often, however, it is fear, not faith, that is our true religion.

Those of us who belong to the Christian faith might learn something from some of our less-religious friends. Their passion for justice should embarrass us. Their commitment to the poor should shame us. Their embrace of progress -- compared to our fretful, fearful outlook -- should mortify us. Their celebration of diversity --compared to our fearful bigotry -- should humiliate us.

Our collective fears are not just unChristian; they threaten our peace and security. When we are fearful, we make decisions that hurt ourselves and others. Bertrand Russell said it well: "Neither a man nor a crowd nor a nation can be trusted to act humanely or to think sanely under the influence of a great fear."

Robert Mann, an author and former U.S. Senate and gubernatorial staffer, holds the Manship Chair in Journalism at the Manship School of Mass Communication at Louisiana State University. Read more from him at his blog,

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Educators and other advocates for Louisiana children have pushed the Legislature for years to increase funding for preschool.

A coalition of more than 20 groups called Ready Louisiana -- which includes the Committee of 100 for Economic Development, League of Women Voters, Louisiana Budget Project, Stand for Children and other civic groups -- wants the state to invest $208 million in early childhood education by 2020.

The case is compelling: Ninety percent of a child's brain development occurs between birth and age 4, and quality Pre-K programs are an important piece of that development. But many children in Louisiana don't have access to good child care or preschool.

That ought to be reason enough for the Legislature, but lawmakers have yet to provide the money needed to fully implement a comprehensive preschool act passed in 2012.

A 2017 report by the Louisiana Policy Institute for Children, LSU, Loyola University and Entergy looked at the Pre-K issue from another angle. The study, titled "Losing Ground," found that the ability of parents with young children to work is directly affected by the availability of child care and preschool.

The report results are stark: 14 percent of parents turned down a promotion because of child care issues; 18.5 percent went from full-time to part-time work; 16 percent had to quit their job, and more than 40 percent had to miss work or leave early during a 90-day period.

The Council for a Better Louisiana pointed out the broader implications in a January post on its website: "As important as early education is in the cognitive development of children and their preparation for school, it is also becoming a workforce development issue of growing importance to businesses."

The childcare report estimated the Louisiana economy loses more than $1 billion a year because of lost wages and productivity connected to child care.

The Legislature passed a comprehensive preschool act in 2012, acknowledging the connection between early education and a child's later academic success. But lawmakers have yet to provide money for all the provisions.

State funding for pre-kindergarten classes was cut for the current budget year, and lawmakers added no money to a child care assistance program for low-income parents who are working or attending school. The "Losing Ground" report noted that the Legislature has decreased funding for early childhood education for eight years in a row.

"What we have documented in this report with LSU, Loyola and Entergy's help is how critical these programs are to our employers and employees. Six out of every 10 mothers with an infant will return to work in the first year of the child's life," Louisiana Policy Institute for Children director Melanie Bronfin said when the report was released. "Yet the lack of stable, accessible programs in our state greatly impacts their productivity as well as their employer's."

Now we're heading quickly toward the next legislative session. Legislators and Gov. John Bel Edwards are at an impasse over how to deal with a $1 billion deficit looming over the next budget. Those decisions will affect how much money is available for vital state services.

As legislators weigh how to replace revenue from temporary taxes set to expire at the end of June and how much money the state needs to spend, they should make Pre-K a priority.

They claimed in 2012 to understand the importance of giving children a strong start. Now they need to put the money up to make that happen.
The state will soon be pushing the locally elected officials of Powhatan out of the way to administer the finances of the northwest Louisiana village that in mid-July had only $105 in its general fund and is hiring a cop to drum up some money from
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The College of Engineering and the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) are part of the Texas A&M Engineering program. We are a member of the Texas A&M University System.

The College and TEES headquarters are located on or near the Texas A&M campus, in the twin cities of Bryan and College Station. The community is located within the triangle formed by Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, three of the largest cities in the United States.

The members of Texas A&M Engineering are all Affirmative Action/Equal Employment Opportunity Employers. It is the policy of these members in all aspects of operations that each person shall be considered solely on the basis of qualifications, without regard to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, disabilities or veteran status.

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The NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) is playing a crucial role supporting NATO, its Allied and Partner nations in their response to the COVID-19 pandemic. NSPA has provided strategic airlift capabilities and managed key relief acquisition and transport for urgent medical supplies and equipment. In addition, NSPA has provided rapidly accessible infrastructure to augment national medical capabilities and it has engaged in innovative projects in support of health workers.
Rotary clubs from District 2911 (Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania) yesterday started their first ever projects fair where they will showcase to potential funders projects they intend to work on this year.



The East Africa Rotary Projects Fairs 2018, according to district governor Steven Mwanje, is an event where clubs come together to display their works and also showcase what they plan to do in future.

The collected funds will be used for economic empowerment, education, sanitation, healthcare among others

The fair is meant to attract funders who will help raise this years target of Shs 122 billion. Barry Rassin, president-elect of Rotary International, is in the country to witness the fair.



Rotary works in line with core values of water and sanitation, economic empowerment, peace and conflict resolution, basic education and literacy maternal and child health care. They now seek to widen their scope to contemporary problems and give more support to sectors they are already working on.

I have travelled around Uganda and Tanzania and I have witnessed a lot of suffering. There is need to consolidate what we have been doing and also do more, Mwanje said during the fairs opening ceremony at Sheraton hotel.



Rotary Uganda has recently contributed to the establishment of a blood bank at Mengo hospital and a cancer ward at Nsambya.



Former district governor Kenneth Mugisha said that during this years fair, clubs from different areas in the district will showcase projects that they have designed after identifying the needs of their communities.



This year, we want to tackle problems depending on the needs of the community that the clubs represent, said Mugisha.



kamogajonathan50@gmail.com
A presidential directive issued last month for government agencies to buy internet bandwidth from Uganda Telecom Limited (UTL) may not only rescue the troubled state parastatal, but potentially be a grim forewarning of bad times ahead for the National Information Technology Authority-Uganda (NITA-U).

President Museveni issued the directive at the urging of state minister for Investment and Privatisation, Evelyn Anite.

The minister reportedly told the president that the viable option for government was to offer the struggling telecom business opportunities which could, in one stroke, also save the government billions of shillings.

Anite has been embroiled in boardroom fights with NITA-U over charges for internet data levied on government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).

We had asked them [NITA-U] to give us business and they refused, they opted to do business with Soliton Telmec, a foreign company, and ended up selling internet expensively to the MDAs, Anite told The Observer on February 3.

Anite said NITA-U charged the MDAs $344 (Shs 1.2m) per Mbps per month (megabits per second - data transfer speed) which she says is the highest price in Africa.

Her claims are backed by a report of an undercover Internal Security Organisation (ISO) agent deployed inside NITA-U.

The agents report said NITA-U bosses are causing government a monthly loss of more than Shs 30 billion paid to Kenyan IT giants to offer internet services to the MDAs through the national backbone infrastructure.

I called them [NITA-U] to a meeting with my technical people from UTL who offered to sell them the internet at $90 [Shs 324,000] so that they can sell it to MDAs at $100 [Shs 360,000], they bargained and UTL agreed to sell at $50 [Shs 180,000] but again, they turned around and said they cant buy from us, Anite said.

This followed an earlier meeting Anite convened with representation from the various MDAs, including NITA-U, to discuss the possibility of doing business with UTL.

I was acting on a directive from the president that UTL should not be liquidated. That is why I had to hire private lawyers to challenge a creditor who had filed a suit in court for the liquidation of the company. Matters were saved when the lawyers invoked a law that had never been applied, and put the company and all its creditors under administrative insolvency, the youthful minister said.

UTLs liabilities at the time stood at over Shs 698.1 billion, which accrued from accumulated loans, court costs, interconnection and statutory fees, among others.

The permanent secretary, ministry of Finance, Keith Muhakanizi, last October unsuccessfully directed all MDAs to buy internet data from UTL. His counterpart at the ministry of ICT and National Guidance, Vincent Bagiire, reversed the instruction.

Informed sources say that as the fight between UTL and NITA-U raged, Anite petitioned Museveni.

When the fights ensued, UTL took a decision that we shouldnt fight with NITA-U; we went to the president, Anite said.

In 2013, the auditor general found that implementation of the first two phases of the National Backbone Infrastructure (NBI) and e-government services projects were causing loss of money that could have been saved, amounting to $41.9 million (Shs 152 billion).

We note that the cost of fibre per kilometre was significantly higher than that for many local operators in Uganda based on the review of bills and quantities, the audit observed.

Now, a knowledgeable person fears that NITA-U could lose the NBI project to Uganda Communications Commission.

THE DIRECTIVE

In the January 9 directive, Museveni said: I have been informed that there had been a scheme to devalue the assets of UTL by corrupt officials that had been sucking that company and paying themselves huge salaries.

The company has a lot of assets including a shareholding of 9.13 per cent in the West Indian Ocean Sub-marine cable. They also have infrastructure to transmit and store electronic data. Therefore, I direct that there should be no more sales of the assets of the company. Instead, I fully accept Hon Anites proposal.

He directed that all UTL debt owed to government be converted into equity to be held by Uganda Development Corporation on behalf of government. NITA-U, however, has since questioned UTLs capacity.

UTL does not have the capacity to deliver this service to MDAs across the country. Today UTL does not even offer internet bandwidth at $100 to the citizens on the market, yet it is a private company that should be able to do so. UTL is where it is because it lacks the capacity to deliver high-quality services with the lowest prices across the country, a source at NITA-U said.

Additionally, NITA-U claims that all UTLs core equipment has reached end of life.

How secure is the obsolete infrastructure that UTL currently uses to deliver services? Because UTL has obsolete equipment, UTL cannot update the software of their equipment, therefore leaving vulnerabilities in the network..., a NITA-U official argued.

NITA-U claims UTL has to invest over $100m to upgrade from its current 2G network to the 3G/4G, an idea that Anite partly agrees with.

If you are talking about mobile data, yes, we havent upgraded but it is not what we are selling to the MDAs; they are getting internet through the cable to the computer. There are also plans to upgrade the mobile network and that can only be achieved when the company is supported, Anite said.

UTL administrator Bemanya Twebaze said UTLs network availability has improved from 75 percent over a period of eight months to the current 93 percent.

Another claim by a highly placed NITA-U source that UTLs ownership of the 9.13 shares in the West Indian Ocean Cable Company (WIOCC) is in doubt was also denied. According to the source, UTL never paid for shares recovered from LAP Green, the Libyan company which once held majority shares in UTL but pulled out.

Anite insists that UTLs stake in WIOCC is secure. In a turn-around, this Monday, February 5, NITA-U leaders told The Observer they were ready to work with UTL.

NITA-U has no qualms working with UTL, said Steven Kirega, the authoritys marketing and communications officer.

As per the presidential directive, we are working with, under the guidance of the prime minister, minister of ICT&NG and permanent secretary to agree on the modalities of procuring internet bandwidth from Uganda Telecom (UTL) /West Indian Ocean Cable Company (WIOCC).

I believe its a shared vision across the board that the cost of connectivity needs to reduce. We, therefore, welcome any initiatives that complement our already ongoing agenda

But Otaremwa Omutuhumurize, the UTL head of telephone, said Kirega was telling blatant lies since there are no ongoing talks with NITA-U.

sadabkk@observer.ug

amwesigwa@observer.ug
While construction work proceeds on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and negotiations between Egypt and Ethiopia continue regarding its possible effects on Egypt, the government has been racing against time to find alternative solutions to Egypts water needs alongside the ongoing negotiations between the two countries.

Egypt is one of many countries trying to save its water resources in order to avoid any future lack of supplies. One approach is to treat more waste water. According to the United Nations World Water Development Report for 2017, of 22 Arab states, 11, including Egypt, have adopted legislation permitting the use of treated waste water for various purposes, with the percentage of untreated waste water in low-income countries recording 46 per cent in 2015.

During a recent press conference in Cairo organised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the World Bank entitled Promoting Sustainable Investment in Egypts Food Security, Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Mohamed Abdel-Ati talked of a four-pillar approach the ministry is implementing to deal with the scarcity of water.

The first is the treatment of ground water, in which we focus on increasing the quality of the water. The states investment in water purification is more than $1 billion, explained by the need to reuse about 25 per cent of the water we use, he explained. It is treated so it can be used for agriculture and to produce wheat.

The second pillar is the improvement of the irrigation system, and for this we have teamed up with the Ministry of Agriculture to transform small agricultural areas into larger ones from 100 to 200 feddans in size, while implementing modern irrigation techniques on them, he said, adding that this involved farmers changing their irrigation methods for more modern techniques as has been implemented in some areas of Upper Egypt.

New irrigation techniques mean production can be increased 20 to 30 times, in order to ensure reserves when needed, he said.

The third pillar is developing water resources through the desalinisation of water from the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. This needs a lot of energy, however, and this is why we are diversifying sources of energy like nuclear, solar, wind and hydro-power. We are also building water-collection facilities in Sinai, each of which can store up to 500 cubic metres of rain water.

The fourth pillar is raising awareness of correct water use, something that has been discussed in parliament, Abdel-Ati said, adding that a centre under the supervision of UNESCO, the UNs scientific organisation, had been set up to help train people on using water properly as well as monitoring the movement of water for the early prediction of floods. We have also developed equipment that can measure the amount of water in the soil, such that we can know more precisely when to irrigate the land and thus to save water, he said.

Minister of Housing and Urban Development Mustafa Madbouli told the press during the inauguration of the Kema Waste-Water Treatment Plant in Aswan recently that the ministry planned to finish 46 triple-phase waste-water treatment plants in Upper Egypt from Beni Sweif to Aswan over two years. These will provide up to 12 million cubic metres of treated waste water per day that can be used for agriculture.

Manager of the FAOs Regional Initiative on Water Scarcity Pasquale Steduto offered further insight into treating waste water in Egypt. For the time being, we are assisting the government in evaluating opportunities for reusing waste water more than the desalinisation of sea water. Purifying waste water is an important sector we are dedicating resources to, particularly for agricultural use. So we are looking into the different quality of the water that needs to be treated for specific uses, Steduto said.

Some uses, for example agriculture and forestry, require less treatment, but others for field crops and the irrigation of vegetable crops require a higher standard of treatment. The FAO and the government are working with the public and private sector as well as environmental institutions and banks, he said.

Studying the environmental impact of the process, analysing strategic planning for water resources, as well as looking into the strategic locations of water resources and for needs such as agriculture, are all important. Steduto said that the FAO had been working on such issues for many years and had discovered that much of the groundwater in Egypt and the Arab region is saline to different degrees, while some of it is brackish.

We have criteria to determine the kind of crops that are planted and what degree of treatment is needed for the water. This includes the degree of salinity, he said. When the salinity of the water is too high, it can be used for fisheries. In some cases, treated waste water can be used in aquaculture and agriculture together, however.

According to Steduto, waste-water treatment has been used in an agro-forestry project in areas surrounding Cairo. It has been experimented with on small forest shrubs in the wet lands in the Delta area and areas surrounding Cairo. The FAO has been cooperating with both the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Health because treating waste water involves food safety and the safety of farmers in the field.

Some people might think again before using treated waste water at home. I think treated waste water would only be good for agriculture. I dont think people would like to drink it. In the UK, they use treated waste water in bathrooms and fresh water in kitchens to save fresh water, commented Adel Mohamed, an Egyptian living abroad.

Steduto said that treated water can be safer than fresh water in some cases. Depending on the degree of treatment, it can be as pure as fresh water, actually better than it is in some cases. The problem is cost. In Singapore, they treat waste water for people to drink. It is not a question of technology; it is a question of cost, he said.

There are also specific levels of treatment for specific uses. Some uses do not impact the human food chain, like agro-forestry. A lower degree of treatment can be allowed. So the level of safety can be addressed, but of course it is a question of cost. It also depends on the regulations in place. We generally say that the different quality of water for different types of uses gives an opportunity for the better organisation of the process.

DESALINISATION: In order to desalinise a cubic metre of water, the cost could be as low as half a US dollar, though it depends on the quality of treatment wanted. If pushed upwards, desalinisation could be more expensive, even up to $1 per cubic metre, Steduto said.

This is the best cost available today, depending on the degree of purity of the water. It is still convenient, but if you compare it to the conventional way of treating Nile water, which is already fresh water and only needs to be sanitised and filtered, it is much more expensive. Water is likely to become scarcer and scarcer, and as the costs go up we need to act to reduce the consumption of water. This will reduce prices as well, he said.

Regarding the use of desalinated sea water in Egypt, Steduto said that it would be worthwhile if the financial resources were ready. Desalination is a very strong sector in Saudi Arabia. The Saudis have been working on it for 30 years. The research and technology are mature. The problem we have seen is that there are environmental impacts, however, in addition to costs. One outcome of desalinisation is extra salt that has to be disposed of. Mostly, it is dumped back into the sea, which has made the bio-diversity of fish off the coasts of Saudi Arabia the lowest in the world. However, research is going on to make use of the extra salt in building materials, for example, he said. Another problem is that the treatment of sea water, like underground water, requires additional chemicals as well as extensive energy resources.

Work needs to be done to maximise the use of desalinated water, however. The use of desalinated water in residential areas is much less than in agriculture. The original idea was to use desalinated water for agriculture, though in Morocco now the idea is to use it both for agriculture and domestically. This is where the research is going, Steduto said, adding that the aim of current research was to see how and where water is becoming scarce and to find methods to correct this in order to encourage agriculture.

According to the FAO, the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region has the lowest per capita fresh water resources availability of any region in the world. Over the last 40 years, available fresh water has decreased by two-thirds. Irrigated agriculture consumes over 85 per cent of the regions available fresh water resources. For this reason, the efficiency of water use in agriculture is pivotal.

In the light of this, the FAO and the International Centre for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA), an international organisation, co-hosted a session highlighting the importance of utilising traditional knowledge in the modernisation of current agricultural technologies and practices to meet the challenges of water scarcity and food security in dry areas. This was during the Fourth Arab Water Forum (AWF) last November held under the Arab League and the ministry of water resources in Egypt.

The AWF is a regional platform for engaging policy-makers, water-resources experts and development practitioners on all aspects of water management for growth and sustainable development in the Arab region.

It was recommended at the session that experts should study and learn from practices that local communities have used for hundreds of years to manage their water resources. These include methods such as terracing in Yemen, aflaj (another traditional technique) in Oman, and the miskat system of harvesting rainwater in Tunisia and Morocco.

The FAOs Water Scarcity Regional Initiative supports countries in pursuing food and water security for sustainable social and economic development amid an unprecedentedly severe escalation of water scarcity. Numerous projects have been launched, such as agriculture-aquaculture pilot farms in Algeria, Egypt and Oman, the first solar-energy water-pumping station in Egypt, and water-accounting units within ministries of water resources using advanced technology.

In order to save water and increase sustainability, we need to continuously review our past and current knowledge and methods to enhance and learn best practices, Steduto said. Modernising irrigation systems has an important role to play in significantly increasing land and water productivity provided we set limits on water consumption in order to ensure sustainable water resources management. In this respect and in other similar ways, traditional knowledge from this region is teaching us.

We need to build on the knowledge and solutions we have to protect our precious water resources for future generations, Ali Abu Sabaa, director-general of ICARDA, said. The potential to learn from our past is tremendous, and the need for collective action is urgent to cope with climate change.

*This story was first published in Al-Ahram Weekly

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A series of terrorist incidents rocked North Sinai this week. One attack on Sunday targeted the Karm Al-Qawadis checkpoint in Sheikh Zuweid, killing six security personnel. A second attack took place a day afterwards in Arish, where terrorists staged a two-pronged assault killing three policemen and three civilians.

Mondays attack unfolded when militants drove into the centre of Arish in the morning and split into two groups. One group exchanged gunfire with the guards outside the Church of Saint George, unused for months following a surge in attacks on Christians in the peninsula. The second group shot and killed the guards at the local branch of the National Bank and then stormed in and emptied the safe.

Though no group immediately claimed responsibility for the assault, it bore all the hallmarks of the Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis group, which has changed its name to the Sinai Province.

Military spokesman Tamer Al-Rifaai said in a statement that law-enforcement forces operating in the framework of the Martyrs Right Operation had succeeded in intercepting an attempted terrorist attack against security points in Al-Qawadis, killing 24 terrorist operatives, wounding another, and destroying six four-wheel-drive vehicles. Six members of the security forces were killed. A combing operation of the area is still in progress.

Subsequently, photographs of the terrorists who were killed were published, along with video footage of the incident. The presidency issued a statement praising the efforts of law-enforcement forces in the Sinai in the fight against terrorism, and the authorities sealed the Rafah crossing in the wake of the incidents.

A later report stated that about 100 terrorists had taken part in the attack against the Al-Qawadis checkpoint and security forces, using dozens of four-wheel-drive vehicles. This checkpoint is strategically situated between the Rafah and Sheikh Zuweid sector and Arish.

Informed sources relate that the Al-Qawadis assault was intercepted within the space of eight minutes, during which about a quarter of the attacking force was taken out. However, the two incidents in Arish triggered an outburst of criticism against the security plans in the city, especially in view of the fact that the bank robbery had succeeded and several police and civilian lives were lost. The assailants also managed to break through three police checkpoints in the area.

The current security plans do not change and develop as they should in Sinai, said MP Hossam Al-Rifaai, parliamentary representative for North Sinai, in an interview with Al-Ahram Weekly. He noted that in spite of repeated incidents, the plans were still flawed and needed to be revised. There is nothing sacred about them that prevents revision, as long as the primary aim is to safeguard Egyptian national security, he commented.

Mondays incident on 23 July Street proves that the security plans are not working in the present form. An armed bank robbery took place in broad daylight at 8:45am after penetrating three checkpoints around the site in a 100-metre area. We have said time and again that these checkpoints are a target. And that is what happened in this case, Al-Rifaai said.

The policemen did not have the flexibility needed to block the attack. If the security plans had realised their objectives and prevented such incidents, we would not have reached the result weve been experiencing on the ground for four years.

Asked where the attackers and vehicles had come from, Al-Rifaai said that in the past such incidents were attributed to the Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza, but that now that the Palestinian reconciliation agreement was being put into effect and Hamas was coordinating with Egypt, it was more difficult to ascribe responsibility to Hamas.

Khaled Okasha, a terrorist affairs expert and member of the National Council for the Fight against Terrorism, responded to the question by saying I have no answer. A fog has descended over the situation. There may be wings of the movement in Gaza that are angry about the reconciliation.

Cairo has succeeded in concluding a reconciliation agreement with Hamas leading to a number of security arrangements. One is the construction of a buffer zone on the Palestinian side of the border, parallel to the broader buffer zone on the Egyptian side. The border tunnels are under full control from both sides, and Hamas has also taken action against attempts to infiltrate the borders on the part of terrorists from the Islamic State (IS) group and a Palestinian organisation in Rafah called Nour Eissa, he said.

Charges of shortcomings on the part of the security services are countered by charges of shortcomings in Sinai society. Critics point to the reluctance of the peninsulas Bedouin communities to deal with security and to a social environment that nurtures extremist elements. However, this view was rejected by both Al-Rifaai and Salah Salam, head of the North Sinai branch of the Doctors Syndicate and a member of the National Council for Human Rights.

Sinai is a part of Egypt, Al-Rifaai told the Weekly. We cannot separate what is happening in Sinai from what is happening in the rest of the country. Extremist thought proliferated in Egypt in the 1970s and 1980s and infiltrated Sinai in the 1980s. We have to ask whether Al-Azhar has performed its role and whether the Ministry of Waqf (religious endowments) and Ministry of Culture have performed theirs, he commented.

Have these agencies taken appropriate actions against the wave of extremist thought that has led to terrorists controlling mosques in entire areas like Rafah? We had pinned our hopes on development after the territory was recovered. But development plans in the past were riddled with corruption, and we are paying the price for this today in Sinai.

As for claims regarding an environment that nurtures extremism, we are working hand-in-hand with the Armed Forces in the area to fight terrorism. Many Sinai people know that they are also targets of the takfiris and many of them have paid the price.

The sight of a mother receiving 16 bullets in her back while holding her son is enough to realise who is paying the price. Terrorism had been confined to Rafah and Sheikh Zuweid. Now its in the centre of Arish. Why? Because it moved with the people who were evacuated from the border areas. This is enough to suggest that there is a deficiency in intelligence and that plans need to change, Salam said.

For his part, Okasha remained adamant that the Sinai environment was conducive to terrorism and that the governments reluctance to admit this was part of the problem.

We cant say that the terrorists somehow dropped out of the sky. Most of them are from an environment that rejects the presence of the government in any form. Even when they came to say that they wanted to defend themselves and take up arms in the fight against terrorism, we discovered that it was to promote their own interests, he said.

However, all the sources agree that changes need to be made in order to ensure a more effective campaign against terrorism in Sinai and that these should begin with a new strategy to narrow the confidence gap between the people of Sinai and the government and security apparatus.

*This story was previously published in Al-Ahram Weeekly

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Egypts President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi on Wednesday ordered the Egyptian army and police forces to restore stability and security in the Sinai Peninsula within three months using "utmost force."

The president's command came during his speech at a public celebration of the Prophet Muhammad's birth (Moulid El-Nabi) at Al-Azhar's conference center in Cairo.

The event was attended by tens of Azhar clerics and public officials and including Minister of Religious Endowments Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmed El-Tayyeb, Minister of Interior Magdy Abdel-Ghaffar, and the newly appointed Army Chief of Staff, Mohamed Farid Hegazi.

I hold Lieutenant General Hegazy, along with the ministry of interior, responsible for restoring stability and security in Sinai within three months," El-Sisi said, directly addressing the general, who stood at military attention.

El-Sisi stressed that the army and the police adhere to this directive.

Wednesday's orders are the Egyptian president's second public directive to security forces to use "utmost force" in counterterrorism operations since the deadly terror attack on Al-Rawda Mosque in North Sinai last Friday, which left 310 dead and tens injured.

Last Friday, hours after the massacre, El-Sisi gave a speech saying that the military and police will avenge the martyrs and respond using utmost force against terrorists to ensure stability and security.

The president also declared three days of national mourning for the victims of the attack.

The Egyptian armed forces and air force have launched several strikes against terror hideouts in North Sinai after Al-Rawda massacre.

The Egyptian army and police have been battling an Islamic militant insurgency in North Sinai in the past several years.

Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis, which is affiliated to the terror group Daesh, has been carrying out deadly attacks against security forces. However, the army and police have killed many members of the group.

The president noted in his speech today that this year's anniversary of the Prophet's birthday, which is normally a joyous occasion, comes following a devastating attack devoid of any human or moral principles.

What kind of Islam do these terrorists claim to belong to when they kill children and elderly people, depriving them of their right to live?" he said, describing the attack as "cowardly."

Egypt is facing a war that seeks to destroy the state and prevent its stability, and some forces assist terrorists with arms to undermine its role," the Egyptian president added.

El-Sisi highlighted high economic growth rates and development efforts in all sectors despite the financial cost of the state's war against terrorism over the past four years.

On Sunday Mohamed El-Ashmawy, the executive director of the Long Live Egypt Fund, announced that the North Sinai town of Bir Al-Abd, where the mosque attack took place, would receive a total of EGP 400 million towards local services and development projects.

I assure you that we are determined to make Bir El-Abd a city referred to as a model of prosperity and development," El-Sisi pledged.

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When analysing the outcome of counter-terrorism policies in 2017, many think tanks in the West and terrorism scholars in Egypt focus only on security while ignoring other aspects of anti-terrorism policies. The conclusion, therefore, is that terrorism is combated through militarisation and security measures.

Terrorism literature specifies three main domains of anti-terrorism policies. First, engaging with terrorist elements directly; second, dealing with terrorism victims; third, preventing the spread of terrorism through inoculating society through effective counter-terrorism programmes.

When applying these three domains to Egypts anti-terrorism policies, we find there is real non-military and non-security work being done, but that it needs improvement. It is important to take these three factors into consideration when analysing last years efforts to combat terrorism.

In the first domain, last year saw more raids and combat operations by security forces that led to pre-emptive attacks being planned by terrorist cells. Security agencies succeeded in dismantling terrorist cells focused on recruiting new members, such as Amr Saad cell, while continuing the state of emergency in North Sinai, engaging more air strikes targeting terrorists, and prosecuting more terrorist cases in court.

Also, the Supreme Council for Combating Terrorism was formed in July 2017, which in theory is a step in the right direction since this is a body that would at least coordinate efforts to combat terrorism, extremism and decide on a national strategy.

In the second domain, the government continued to pay monetary compensation to victims on a case-by-case basis.

For example, after the attack on Al-Rawda Mosque in Beir Abd, President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi ordered payment of LE200,000 to the families of each of those killed, and LE50,000 to each injured victim. The Ministry of Education also waived the fees at government schools for the children of those killed, and a decision was taken to prioritise hiring the offspring of martyrs in government offices.

There are some serious shortcomings in defining who is a victim because the 2015 anti-terrorism law does not have an exact definition or compensation clauses for victims. The draft law on victims of terrorism has not yet been ratified by parliament.

In the third domain, inoculating society against extremism, which mostly focuses on addressing the causes of terrorism, existing efforts continue to deal with religious extremism as the main feature of the radicalism responsible for terrorist attacks. But this ignores the political and social dimensions of terrorism in most cases.

Efforts in this domain remain dispersed among various state institutions without a coordinating body. Combating radical ideology on the Internet is a good example because it is necessary for these efforts to be comprehensive and develop suitable messages to reach Internet users who are being targeted by terrorists.

Although the state invested in non-security policies to combat terrorism, this does not mean they were effective. It is indicative, however, that progress was made in how it views counter-terrorism, which is worthy of praise and development, especially since these policies were adopted at a time when terrorists planned and carried out substantial attacks last year.

Regarding developing counter-terrorism policies this year, I recommend the following:

- Activating the Supreme Council for Combating Extremism and Terrorism, and adding experts and academics in the field to its board and general secretariat when it is formed.

- Quickly adopting and applying legislation for terrorism victims in partnership with civil society institutions.

- Encouraging think tanks to conduct research on terrorism and extremism since the contribution of research centres on this subject remains limited.

- Focusing on building the abilities of individual citizens, since they are the primary partner in counter-terrorism efforts, through raising awareness on what to do if they are at a location of a terrorist attack, how to administer first aid to those injured, and what to do before and after a terrorist attack.

* Eman Ragab is a senior researcher in Security Studies at Al-Ahram Centre For Political and Statrategic Studies

* This article was first published in December 2017 Al-Ahram Weekly

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Komfie Manalo, Opalesque Asia:

Toronto-Canada-based hedge fund Ninepoint Partners LP has announced the launch of Sprott International Small Cap Fund and Sprott Concentrated Canadian Equity Fund and that the firm will start accepting subscriptions for the two new funds in March this year.

Ninepoint Partners, which assumed portfolio management of diversified assets of Sprott Asset Management (SAM), including actively managed hedge and mutual funds, said it also plans to merge two funds under one management.

The Sprott International Small Cap Fund will seek to provide unitholders with long term capital appreciation by investing primarily in a portfolio of international small capitalization equity securities of issuers in countries and industries primarily located in Europe, Japan and Asia-Pacific ex-Japan.

While the Sprott Concentrated Canadian Equity Fund will seek to provide unitholders with long term capital appreciation by investing primarily in a concentrated portfolio of Canadian equity securities.

Ninpoint added that it plans to merge Sprott Small Cap Equity Fund into Sprott International Small Cap Fund and Sprott Canadian Equity Fund into Sprott Concentrated Canadian Equity Fund. Each of Sprott Small Cap Equity Fund and Sprott Canadian Equity Fund (Terminating Funds) will cease to be available for sale effective immediately and pre-authorized chequing plans established for purchases of securities of e......................

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Amazon plans to begin delivering Whole foods groceries -- including meat, produce and alcohol -- free and within two hours to Prime subscribers in four U.S. cities, bringing a new level of competition to the already-booming food-delivery business.

The service is now available to shoppers in Austin (where Whole Foods is based), as well as Cincinnati (home to competitor Kroger), Dallas and Virginia Beach. Prime members can also pay an extra $7.99 to have their orders delivered within an hour. (Jeff Bezos, the founder and chief executive of Amazon, also owns The Washington Post.)

The grocery delivery business -- through an expensive endeavor for retailers -- has become a hotly-contested space in recent years, as companies compete to relieve shoppers of the one of the few chores many do once a week, if not more: Buy food. Walmart, the country's largest grocer, has aggressively expanded its buy-online-pick-up-in-store option throughout the country and is eyeing same-day deliveries in New York. Others, like Costco and Target, are also rolling out grocery-delivery services in hopes of tapping into a growing pool of convenience-minded shoppers.

"Nearly every chain that plans on being in business in five years is moving to delivery," said David Livingston, a supermarket analyst for DJL Research. "Most people buy the same groceries week after week, so they're saying, 'Do I really need to go spend an hour at a Giant or Walmart for this?'"

It might be a pain point, but many companies have struggled to fill the need. Analysts said grocery delivery is a pricey business full of logistical and practical challenges. For one, grocery stores aren't warehouses, so it often takes reconfiguring to efficiently find and package fresh food for delivery. And then there's the issue of keeping cold items cold, and frozen foods frozen. And Amazon itself has tried, and failed, to get into the grocery business in the past. Its decade-old Amazon Fresh delivery business has been slow to catch on, leading the company to cancel the service in at least nine states, including Maryland and Virginia, last year.

"If somebody's ground beef is sitting in the back of a car for two hours, that's not going to work," said Lee Peterson, executive vice president of brand, strategy and design for the retail consultancy WD Partners. "There's a lot of potential here, yes, but there are also big challenges."

Another challenge for Amazon: It is targeting suburban areas in middle America instead of large coastal cities like Boston and New York, where grocery delivery is already a way of life for millions. If it can persuade shoppers who have cars and easy access to sprawling grocery stores to try delivery instead, it would tap into a new market that companies like Peapod have largely been unable to crack.

"The suburban market has always been a conundrum for grocery delivery companies," Peterson said.

Thursday's announcement comes six months after online giant Amazon paid $13.7 billion to acquire more than 400 Whole Foods grocery stores around the country, and it is the latest example of how Amazon plans to bring together the two companies by offering new incentives for members of its Prime membership program, which costs $99 a year. Amazon is also extending a $5 discount on roses to Prime subscribers, who will be able to buy two-dozen roses for $19.99 through Valentine's Day. An estimated 90 million Americans are Amazon Prime members.

"The ultimate dagger is Prime Now -- if you can delivery groceries free, that's an entirely new bar for the grocery industry," Peterson said.

"There's panic in the C-suite of every grocery chain in the country. How do you compete with a grocery company that doesn't care about making money?" he said, referring to Amazon's history of plowing profits back into the business.

He added that Amazon's foray into grocery delivery is also likely to put particular pressure on third-party services like Instacart, which currently offers Whole Foods grocery delivery within one hour for $11.99, and within two hours for $9.99.

"While Whole Foods remains a valued partner, they represent a small and declining portion of our revenue as Instacart customers have gained access to more and more of North America's favorite grocers including Sprouts Farmers Market, Publix [and] Costco," a spokesman for Instacart said in an email.

-- The Washington Post
Chris Bronson/The Idaho Press-Tribune via AP

Some eras are defined by bumper crops of new babies, like the 1980s and 90s, when baby boomer parents birthed the millennial generation. Today, a new twist: Were in an era of pets  dogs in particular. Sixty million U.S. households have a dog, and dog ownership grew 29% in the last decade, according to a recent survey from the American Pet Products Association.

Pet-crazy millennials, now ages 18 to 34, lead the pack, say pet products researchers, who keep a keen eye on dog demographics. And they spoil their pets. From calming shirts and fashionable attire to supplements and allergy-free organic foods, pet owners will go to just about any length for their beloved fur babies.

The next phase in extreme pet pampering? Entire communities and custom-designed home features dedicated to the physical and emotional well-being of canines.

Read on to see how architects, designers, homebuilders and remodelers are adding dog parks, dog concierges, built-in feeding stations, home elevators and more to make sure dogs  and their owners  feel right at home.

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LUX Films

Buying and remodeling with dogs in mind

Eighty-one percent of respondents in a National Association of Realtors survey said theyd take their pets needs into account in choosing their next living situation.

Fences, dog doors and laminate flooring are the most common pet-friendly improvements Americans make to homes, the NAR adds. In Sacramento, national homebuilding firm Taylor Morrison shows buyers how they can modify some floor plans to add a pet-washing station, like this one, in the laundry room.

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John Unrue, Unrue Photo

Options include a canine concierge

Taylor Morrisons Esplanade 55-plus community at Highland Ranch, in Clermont, Florida, includes homes with cabinets that can be modified to accept pet beds and feeding stations.

Esplanade communities  there are 13 in Florida  have canine concierges who coordinate services like visits from mobile groomers, Howl-o-ween costumed dog parades, wellness and behavior education, photos with Santa and monthly newsletters. Yappy hours give dogs and their owners a chance to socialize.

People seem to loosen up and meet each other more easily with dogs, says Taylor Morrison communications director Colleen Rubart.

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Fur babies get royal treatment

Agnes' patio boasts antimicrobial "grass."

About half of architect Phil Kean's clients consider their pets' needs when planning their new upscale homes, he says.

A handful request entire rooms built for their dogs care and feeding. More often, clients ask Kean to design grooming and washing stations, food storage cupboards and feeding spots into family areas, usually the mudroom, of their new homes. Keans 6-year-old basset hound, Agnes, has an outdoor potty area planted with antimicrobial artificial grass at Keans home near Orlando, Florida. Behind Agnes are a dog door and washing station.

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Photo courtesy Phil Kean Design Group

Whose lift is it anyway?

Taking the stairs can be hard on a basset hounds spine. To protect Agnes, Kean added an elevator to his home. The cost: $30,000. I dont think theres anything that hasnt been done for Agnes. Shes the most spoiled dog Ive ever met, he cheerfully admits. Kean trained Agnes to stand next to the elevator when she wants to go up or downstairs.

Managing dogs movement inside a home can be tricky. For one client, Kean built an air-lock-type entry consisting of a small dry chamber flanked by two dog doors to keep the homes temperature constant. Kean says clients have requested baby gates to limit dogs movement indoors. Dutch doors, he notes, are a good way to contain dogs indoors while letting them hop up and peek outside through the doors open upper half.

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Jared Kuzia Photography

No more tripping on dog bowls

A feeding station built into the end of a run of kitchen cabinets is the brainchild of Susan Cracraft, vice president of design at Interiology Design Co., a Boston-area interior design firm.

Her dog Elway, a 2 1/2-year-old mini goldendoodle, enjoys it, and it solves a perennial problem for humans used to tripping on dog bowls underfoot. Mark Haddad, Interiology president, estimates the feature adds about $2,000 to $4,000 to their kitchen remodels, depending on materials. Cleanup is made easy by lining the station floor with the same stone from the kitchen countertops.

Interiologys dog-owning clients like built-in storage space for supplies and equipment  and even for a dog. Solutions have included food-storage cabinets similar to trash-can pull-outs and an enclosed dog den built into the triangular area under the stairs. Is a built-in feeding station practical for your home? It depends on your cabinets, the height of the bowls and the size of the dog.

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Norton Commons

Planned community for canines

Norton Commons, in the northeastern corner of Louisville, is a planned community of about 1,300 condos, townhomes, single-family homes and rental apartments built around a village center with small businesses  including a wildly popular dog salon.

The community has sold 500 canine memberships for its three dog parks and one agility course. But Marilyn Patterson, Norton Commons spokeswoman, thinks the dog population is higher  more like 800. Why? She orders the dog-poop bags. We have 45 doggy cleanup stations scattered along our sidewalks and walking trails in the community. Thats a lot of doggy bags, she says.

Don't Edit

Mike Hammons

Sacramento's a dog town

In the Sacramento, California, area, homebuilder Taylor Morrison has 15 communities. Most of its home buyers are dog owners, leading the company to design dog runs, built-in dog beds and other dog-friendly options that can be added to its properties. Aren Bazzocco, Taylor Morrisons Sacramento division president, lives in the Calabria community in Newcastle, California. For the familys Shih Tzu, Chloe, they added an outdoor pet-washing station and a laundry room dog door that opens onto a fenced exercise area with synthetic turf and a concrete walkway.

Don't Edit

Ken Perrin, Artistic Renovations of Ohio

Snug as a bug

Ken Perrin, owner of Artistic Renovations in Seven Hills, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, often fields requests from clients who want to make life with dogs both easier and aesthetically pleasing.

This built-in dog-bed cubby and washing station packs a lot of utility into a laundry room. The walk-in bathing area eliminates the need to haul a dog into a tub or utility sink, and is potentially useful for gardeners or small children, who can hose off muddy boots before entering the house. In another recent remodel, Perrin installed softer flooring to help an owners beloved old Labrador retriever keep from slipping on hard floors.

-- NerdWallet

Marilyn Lewis is a writer at NerdWallet. Email: mlewis@nerdwallet.com.
There are lots of things you can't do on Twitter. You can't threaten violence, post pornography or wear a swastika in your profile pic.

But you can lie. Twitter made clear on Thursday that while it is happy to serve as a platform for fact-checkers, it does not want to get into the business of making its own judgments about what is true or false.

"We are not the arbiters of truth," said Nick Pickles, Twitter's head of public policy for the United Kingdom, during testimony before British lawmakers in Washington. "We are not going to remove content based on the fact this is untrue. The one strength that Twitter has is it's a hive of journalists, of citizens, of activists correcting the record, correcting information."

Pickles was among executives from technology giants Twitter, Facebook and Google who fielded tough questions about fake news at George Washington University, where Britain's House of Commons held its first-ever public committee hearing outside the United Kingdom.

President Donald Trump has helped stretch the definition of fake news beyond recognition, but in questioning Pickles, Conservative Party MP Simon Hart said he was speaking strictly about information that is "provably, demonstrably untrue." The event was a reminder that online hoaxes, sometimes designed to influence political opinions, are an international problem.

Pickles said tweets containing false information might be removed if they also violate rules against hate speech, but he said the company will not take down tweets based solely on "the truthness of a piece of information."

"I don't think technology companies should be deciding during an election what is true and what is not true, which is what you're asking us to do," Pickles added. "I think that's a very important principle."

Twitter's position is dramatically different from that of Facebook, which has embarked on a multipronged effort to crack down on fake news. Facebook recently unveiled a plan to crowdsource credibility ratings for news outlets and has assembled a team of fact-checkers in Italy, ahead of next month's parliamentary elections in that country. Before last year's presidential election in France, Facebook took out full-page newspaper ads featuring tips to help users identify fake news.

The downside for Facebook is that the harder it tries to stop fake news, the higher users' expectations will be. Twitter appears to be doing its best to lower expectations. Users can't get angry about false information if Twitter is open about its nonexistent fact-checking, right?

The contrasting approaches of Twitter and Facebook set up a fascinating experiment in this year's midterm elections in the United States, as one social media network works to eradicate fake news, while the other says that's not its job.

-- The Washington Post
A Portland man with a history of drunken driving was sentenced Friday to 14 years in prison for fatally plowing into a maintenance worker as he sped through a construction zone in Clackamas County.

Fedot Tsopko, 52, pleaded guilty this week to six criminal counts, including manslaughter, assault and driving under the influence of intoxicants, for the crash that left Pablo Dominguez-Amezcua, 48, dead and two other workers injured last May.

The defendant, clad in a black-and-white-striped prison uniform, sat in silence as friends and family of Dominguez-Amezcua wept in court and two of the victim's daughters lamented the loss of their father.

"He was my best friend, my hero, my idol," Fabiola Dominguez, his youngest daughter, said from the witness stand. "I forgive you. I know that if my father had lived he'd stand here and forgive you, too."

Speaking through a Russian interpreter, Tsopko apologized.

Clackamas County Circuit Judge Robert Herndon said he hoped the defendant's apology was sincere.

"I've been at this job nearly 21 years and it's not very often I see the family of a victim whose is needlessly taken express forgiveness for the man who took it," Herndon said. "That suggests he was a remarkable mentor for his children."

Prosecutors said Tsopko reached speeds of 70 mph as his car approached a construction zone on Southeast 122nd Avenue near Southeast Yoakum Lane in Happy Valley just after 12:30 p.m. on May 23.

Tsopko first struck a flagger, William Griffin, who tried to get him to stop, before slamming into Dominguez-Amezcua and Preston Stucky.

Authorities said Tsopko drove at least another 200 feet before crashing his car and rolling it on its side. Emergency crews had to later pull Tsopko out of his damaged vehicle.

Dominguez-Amezcua died at the scene, police said. The other two men were hospitalized and later released.

Court records show Tsopko had three convictions for DUII in Multnomah County dating back to the early 1990s.

In addition to his prison sentence, Tsopko will permanently lose the right to drive, Herndon said.

"You were like a time bomb waiting to go off due to alcoholism," he said.

-- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh

skavanaugh@oregonian.com

503-294-7632 II @shanedkavanaugh
A former church pastor in Vancouver has pleaded guilty to a federal drug charge for trying to smuggle more than 280 pounds of pot into the country from Mexico.

The Columbian reports 54-year-old John Bishop, who led the Living Hope Church for nearly 20 years, pleaded guilty to unlawful importation of a controlled substance Thursday in U.S. District Court in Southern California.

Bishop was arrested Dec. 11 after he was stopped by U.S. Customs and Border Protection while re-entering the country at San Ysidro, California.

A probable cause affidavit says an officer found packages hidden in a wheel well of Bishop's car while conducting a routine inspection. The affidavit says officers who took apart the car found 105 packages weighing 281.88 pounds that field-tested positive for marijuana.

Bishop was released from federal custody Jan. 9 after posting a $25,000 bond.

-- The Associated Press
Portland's most stripped-down fine-dining experience is moving -- and growing -- into a full restaurant and cocktail bar all its own.

Holdfast Dining, Will Preisch and Joel Stocks' meticulously planned two-man chef's table, will move from its current location at the entryway to Fausse Piste winery and take over the movies and games room at what is now Associated Bar in Southeast Portland. Deadshot, the cocktail pop-up from bartender Adam Robinson with intriguing bar snacks from Preisch and Stocks, will take over Associated's larger bar area.

"We've been looking for quite a while," says Robinson, whose Monday-only pop-up will transform into a seven-day-a-week cocktail bar. "I think we waited. And a good thing came along."

Associated, which took over from P.R.E.A.M., which took over from Tennessee Red's, will close. Holdfast Dining will continue in its current space through the end of the month. February dinners are already sold out.

When they reopen, Holdfast (No. 16 on our most recent list of Portland's best restaurants) will look much the same, with a wood-topped chef's counter, natural stone and paintings of sea vegetables, with design by Mark Annen. But Preisch and Stocks are shaking up their streamlined model -- right now, the chefs handle almost every element of the meal themselves, from cooking to service to washing dishes -- in ways that could make the experience more customer friendly.

Instead of starting all meals at the same time each night, Holdfast will offer staggered seatings from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. That means no more waiting for the one slow diner to finish their brined Norwegian mackerel before moving on to the next course. For now, they still plan to offer just one menu per night, Friday to Sunday, but each meal can now be customized, with a more hands-off approach for couples or more detailed dish descriptions for "people who want to geek out on the food," Stocks says.

A larger kitchen space also means customers will be able to see more actual cooking.

"Right now, if we have to deep fry or sear something, we have to run into the back," Preisch says.

Deadshot and Holdfast will be separated by a wall, each with its own kitchen (Deadshot's will actually be the larger of the two) and entrances. The trio have discussed offering Deadshot cocktail pairings alongside the usual wine. Robinson plans to keep Deadshot open full time, about 360 days a year.

The 40- to 50-seat space will feature a 16-seat bar; craft beer, wine and other things on tap; and a "cocktail lab," an area dedicated to more modern bartending tools, including Robinson's centrifuge. According to the globe-trotting Robinson, who took a two-year sojourn to open a high-end cocktail bar in Taiwan, cocktail labs can be found in a few world capitals, but are practically unheard of in Portland (perhaps the setup at Racion came closest).

"What immediately comes to mind are bars in London, or Singapore that have a Rotovap," says Robinson, referring to a device that removes solvents through evaporation. "Those things are expensive, so they put them on display. In the basement of Operation Dagger in Singapore, you'll find this guy in there on Friday at 8 o'clock Rotovapping stuff behind a cage. And literally six feet away from him people are getting drunk."

"It will take a lot of the behind-the-scenes work that Adam does and make it a little more transparent," Preisch says. "So guests can see the work he puts in, the botanicals, the herbs and spices, all the infusions.

"On a side note, do you want to buy a pizza oven?"

During renovations, the gorgeous Gianni Acunto-built pizza oven installed for P.R.E.A.M. and held over by Associated will be taken out -- or more likely destroyed. According to Preisch, it's not cost effective to remove a pizza oven.

Other plans for the future could include more staff for Holdfast and Deadshot, longer tasting menu options and pickles.

Wait, pickles?

"Yeah, I've heard pickles come up a lot," Preisch says. "There are just certain things we can't do here (at Fausse Piste) because we're in a winery. We're looking forward to getting back to do more things in house, fermentation projects, vinegars."

"We didn't want to turn a whole vintage into vinegar because we're doing some experiments over here," Stocks says.

Look for Deadshot to open by late spring or early summer at 2133 S.E. 11th Ave. with Holdfast Dining following next door a few weeks later.

-- Michael Russell
The Portland school board unanimously approved a three-year contract with the teachers union Thursday night, putting an end to years of negotiations.

The contract has been heralded by union and district leaders as the start of a new chapter for the troubled district.

"To the extent a negotiation can be thrilling it was," said board member Rita Moore. "At the end of it everybody was smiling. I'm pretty sure that didn't happen in the past and I think this is a groundbreaking contract in many ways."

Moore said she feels the contract is groundbreaking for Oregon because it tackles class size. She also said she felt it would be groundbreaking for the district, as she hopes it will mark a new era in Portland Public Schools.

"This is the very first time in the entire time I have been paying attention to (Portland Public Schools) that I am actually optimistic." Moore said. "We can do this."

The contract places limits on class sizes and requires the district pay teachers extra if assigns them more students. For example, a kindergarten class that goes over 24 students would require the district to pay that teacher more. A high school teacher should expect to shoulder no more than 160 students and would qualify for extra pay if assigned just one more.

Teachers will also get more planning time, mostly because they agreed to lengthen their work day by 15 minutes.

Superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero said when the district reveals the next school calendar, parents will notice that the district will cut back on late start days in an effort to have more "family friendly schedules." Currently, schools start two hours late one day a month to give teachers time to plan together or undergo training.

Teachers also won retroactive and future pay increases that work out to 3 percent for last school year, 2.75 percent for this school year and 2.25 percent for 2018-2019.

The proposed agreement went public Monday night, giving the public three days to peruse it.

That, board chair Julia Brim-Edwards noted at the meeting, was a change that gave the public earlier access to learn contract provisions. She said in the past, the language of the union and district's agreement wasn't available to the public before the contract became a done deal.

The Oregon Territory Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists requested the vote be delayed. The chapter called on the district to remove language from the agreement that restricts what principals can say about teachers on paid leave. In addition, the journalists' group asked the board reject contract language that says the union can bargain over the board's forthcoming public records policy.

Public comment, which is allowed at almost every board meeting, wasn't allowed at this one. As such, the chapter could not testify before the vote, but was told remarks could be emailed to board members.

Society of Professional Journalists board member Samantha Swindler, who is a columnist for The Oregonian/OregonLive, had prepared to say this at the meeting:

"SPJ fears that by ratifying this contract, the board in effect would

send a disturbing message to the public, and potentially set an unfortunate precedent statewide. The message is that individual agencies, and the elected officials that govern over them, can take actions to withhold information from the public in ways that are contrary to what the Legislature intended in passing Oregon Public Records Law."

Peruse the contract here.

 Bethany Barnes

Got a tip about Portland Public Schools? Email Bethany: bbarnes@oregonian.com
Oregon families should be happy to hear that the Oregon Legislature is so concerned about how many students are packed into K-12 classes that lawmakers are looking to do something about it. Unfortunately, the fix they're considering could deliver another blow to Oregon's beleaguered K-12 educational system.

Lawmakers on the House Business and Labor committee are considering House Bill 4113, which would designate class size an issue for mandatory bargaining between school districts and teachers' unions. That means the two sides would be required to negotiate how large class sizes may be, just like they negotiate wages, hours and vacation time. Districts, for example, might have to add staff or pay a premium if class sizes exceed negotiated limits.

But such contractual promises to teachers unions could hurt students rather than help them, as school budgets get tighter and tighter. That's because schools, which spend 80 percent to 90 percent of their funding on salaries and benefits, have two main options for reducing costs - cut staff or cut school days. Lawmakers, by passing a bill requiring school districts to contractually lock in staffing commitments, are in effect saying: Keep teachers, cut school days. And again, students will lose.

This isn't idle speculation. Even with more money than before, school districts are already making cuts due to rising costs that have vastly outpaced any increase in revenue. The outlook is even worse for 2019 as school districts' pension contributions are poised to soar for the next several years. It makes no sense to hamstring how school districts can balance their budgets when legislators know the fiscal crisis coming Oregon's way.

Editorial Agenda 2018

Press for a student-focused education system

Help defuse Oregon's ticking timebombs

Focus attention on the root causes of homelessness

________________________

The bill also ignores other realities for Oregon's school districts. Some schools are so overcrowded that they simply lack the physical space to split off excess students into a new class. A mandate to negotiate class size won't do anything to help students in those schools. Additionally, smaller class sizes may be of lower importance to some school districts than others. Yet, the state would be insisting that districts, which are run by locally-elected school boards, elevate class size over other priorities.

And then there's the fact that this bill is wholly unnecessary. School districts and teachers unions already have the ability to negotiate class sizes, if they choose. In fact, the board overseeing Portland Public Schools just approved a contract with its teachers union that includes commitments on class sizes and promises to pay premiums for exceeding such limits. That's great for PPS, Oregon's largest school district. But it's unrealistic to think that all of the 196 other school districts have the resources, flexibility and interest to do the same thing.

It's also worth noting that even as legislators are thinking up new ways to handcuff school districts, they have refused to address the critical pension problems that are sucking tax dollars away from the classroom. Passing reforms that ease the massive contributions that schools and other public employers are making to the severely underfunded Public Employees Retirement System would go a long way toward addressing class size as well as Oregon's shamefully short school year, its decrepit school buildings and sparse educational offerings.

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.

This same proposal went nowhere in the 2017 session for good reason. The legislators on the education committee didn't move it forward even though its chief sponsor was Rep. Margaret Doherty, D-Tigard, who chairs the education committee. This year, Doherty and fellow chief sponsor Rep. Brian Clem, D-Salem, are hoping for better luck from the Business and Labor committee.

Before legislators vote, they should think about a few things: Students can't go on strike for longer school years. They don't have a contract with their districts laying out the classes they deserve or the improvements they'll see. They depend on lawmakers and school board members to champion their interests and guard their educational opportunities. Legislators should recognize their responsibility to students and vote HB 4113 down.

- The Oregonian/OregonLive Editorial Board
President Donald Trump attended a parade celebrating Bastille Day, and now he wants to spend millions on a military parade. Does he understand the events and outcome of the event it celebrates?



France was in deep economic and political crisis, on the verge of bankruptcy due to multiple wars - including their support of the American Revolution. Peasants were unhappy with food shortages and high taxes and the nobility resented new taxes from which they had previously been exempt; paralysis of the government resulted.

As Alexis de Tocqueville wrote, though sponsored by the "most civilized classes of the nation," the revolt was "carried out by its least educated and most unruly elements. Good intentions and savage acts of violence resulted in a belief that people could change history, but at the cost of a generation of upheaval and millions of deaths.



Today in the United States, the 1 percent is seeing a tax reduction and isn't on board yet.



Kathleen McAuliffe, Southeast Portland
On Friday morning, the Egyptian Armed Forces announced the launch of a new major operation to confront terrorism in north and middle Sinai and other areas in the Nile Delta and the desert areas west of the Nile valley.

Ahram Online provided an account of key events and statements by the army, police and public institutions throughout the day.

------------------

20:00 Egypt's parliament fully supports the "honorable and just" ongoing operation by the Egyptian army to purge the country of terrorists, a statement by Egypt's parliament speaker Ali Abdel-Aal said on Friday evening.

Abdel-Aal said that he is closely following Operation Sinai 2018, which aims to thwart all terrorist plots threatening the security of Egypt, the statement added.

The parliament values all the sacrifices of brave Egyptian soldiers, and calls on Egyptians to stand with police and the Armed Forces in the countrys war against terrorism, until the land of Egypt is cleansed of it forever, the statement said.

19:30 Egyptian authorities have decided to close all schools in North Sinai until further notice starting Saturday. The Ministry of Higher Education is also suspending studies at universities and other institutions of higher education for one week.

17:15 Hours after the Egyptian army started Operation Sinai 2018 to fight terrorism this morning, the interior ministry said it killed three members of the banned Hasm terrorist group in a shootout in an under-construction residential building in Cairo.

The ministry said its comprehensive security plan to curb the groups actions in Qalioubiya, Daqahliya, Beheira, Menoufiya, Sharqiya, Assiut, and Fayoum led to the arrest of 14 members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood following raids on their hideouts on Friday, the ministry said.

In the framework of the interior ministrys efforts to abort the plans of terrorist the Muslim Brotherhood  which aims to compromise the countrys security and undermine its capabilities  the national security department has monitored the issuance of a mandate from the fugitive terrorist group leaders abroad to its elements who are members of Hasm, one of the armed wings of the Brotherhood, the interior ministry said.

The ministry said that the Hasm terrorists were instructed to execute a number of synchronised hostile operations on vital and important institutions as well as police and Armed Forces ahead of the presidential elections, to create a state of instability and present a negative image about the situation in the country.

16:00 Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Church, headed by Pope Tawadros II, declares its solidarity and support for the "comprehensive battle" of the Egyptian armed forces and the patriotic police that aims at purging "the forces of terrorism" all over the country, in accordance with President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi's directives, read a short statement on Friday afternoon.

"History will record the sacrifices of Egypt's brave army and police who sacrifice their lives for the sake of the country's stability; long live Egypt's unity," the church statement added.

14:15 Egypt's Al-Azhar announced on Friday afternoon its full support for Operation Sinai 2018, calling on all the Egyptian people "to support the brave men of the army and police in their fight against terrorist and criminal elements."

In a statement, the world's leading Sunni institution praised the sacrifices of the army and police in the confrontation against terrorists so "Egypt can be purged of these elements that have and terrorized and killed citizens," and in order "to foil the attempts to foster chaos and strife to harm the stability of the the homeland."

Al-Azhar also hailed the sacrifices of the residents of Sinai who "have endured suffering caused by "the criminality of such terrorist groups.

12:45 The General Command of the Armed Forces issued Communique Number 2 which provided details on the "comprehensive" Operation Sinai 2018.

The Communique was read by military spokesman Colonel Tamer El-Rafei on state TV.

"Great people of Egypt, in a continuation of law enforcement forces' efforts, elements of our air forces targeted some of the pits, hideouts, and ammunition and weapons warehouses used by terrorist elements as a base to target the law enforcement forces and civilian targets in North and Middle Sinai, he said.

Units from the naval forces are also tightening the security on the sea front, with the aim of cutting all supply lines to terrorist elements."

"The border guard forces and civilian police are also tightening security procedures at borders and on navigational courses."

"Joints elements from the armed forces and the police are also tightening the security procedures at vital ports and areas in different areas of the republic, he said.

12:15 Egypts President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said he is following with pride the heroics of the army and police in the "comprehensive" Operation Sinai 2018.

I follow with pride the heroics of my sons from the Armed Forces and the Police to purge the beloved land of Egypt from terrorists, the enemies of life. And always, long live Egypt, El-Sisi said in a post on his official Facebook page.

12:00 A senior interior ministry security source told state agency MENA that the countrys security alert level has been raised to its highest level nationwide, in light of the fierce war by the police in coordination with the armed forces to eradicate the roots of terrorism.

According to the source, security measures in the vicinity of major state institutions, houses of worship and tourist hotspots have been boosted.

He added that security patrols have been set up in squares and on major highways in each governorate, as well as on connecting roads between governorates, with a continuation of security campaigns to comb remote areas to eliminate threats to the security and stability of citizens.

11:15 Egypt's armed forces announced on Friday morning a major new military operation dubbed "comprehensive" Operation Sinai 2018 to purge country from terrorism.

Military spokesman Colonel Tamer El-Rafei read the army statement "Communique 1 from the General Command of the Armed Forces" on state TV, which announced the launch of the operation.

"Great people of Egypt, in accordance with the delegation issued by the president of the republic, the supreme commander of the Egyptian armed forces, to the general command of the Egyptian armed forces and the interior ministry to comprehensively confront terrorism as well other criminal activities in close cooperation with all state institutions, law enforcement troops started to implement the plan of comprehensive confrontation of terrorist and criminal elements and organizations in north and middle Sinai and other areas in the Nile Delta and the desert areas west of the Nile valley," he said.

"In addition, the operation will include the implementation of other military and training missions and exercises in all strategic directions with the aim of tightening of control of the borders of the Egyptian state and to ensure the achievement of the planned aims of the clearing of terrorist pits from the areas where they are found, and to protect Egyptian society from the evils of terrorism and extremism, while also confronting other crimes that affect internal security and stability."

The armed forces "call on all Egyptians in all parts of the republic to closely cooperate with the forces of law enforcement to confront terrorism and weed out its roots, and to promptly report any elements that threaten the security and stability of the homeland," the statement ended.

Short link:


A curious town, Portland.

Loretta Smith, a Multnomah County commissioner, has been accused of bullying and abusive behavior by, at the very least, two former staffers.

The investigator who plumbed those charges for the county attorney last spring heard evidence of excruciating behavior, much of the testimony from current or former employees who feared "retaliation from Commissioner Smith."

There's more. In Smith's seven years on the Commission, we've seen startling turnover in her office, including at least eight chiefs of staff.

While Smith routinely outspends her colleagues on travel and community sponsorships, she can point to few accomplishments other than her exemplary work in a summer jobs program for minority youth.

She has been dinged by the state for campaign finance violations, and ordered by the county to repay improper expenditures on at least 10 different occasions.

Yet despite all that, Smith is the odds-on favorite to succeed Dan Saltzman in the District 3 seat on the Portland City Council.

In the run-up to a May primary that features two other women of color, Jo Ann Hardesty and Andrea Valderrama, Smith raised almost $74,000 in January, more than twice as much as her four opponents combined.

Tony Hopson at SEI is on board with a campaign contribution. So are former Trail Blazer Kenny Carr, consultant Len Bergstein, and Josh Kardon, the former chief of staff for U.S. Senator Ron Wyden. Cash is also rolling in from Schnitzer Steel, the Local 48 Electricians, and the Portland Metropolitan Association of Realtors.

No one is more disappointed by this selective memory and the Smith bandwagon than MeeSeon Kwon and Saba Saleem.

In January 2017, Kwon, Smith's policy advisor, wrote a powerful email arguing that her boss created "a toxic work environment" and used county resources for political purposes.

When Smith told Willamette Week she wanted the Secretary of State to investigate the complaint, adding, "I'm fully confident that I acted appropriately and that the complaint has no merit," Saleem stepped forward.

Saleem, who was born in Pakistan and attended Madison High School, worked as Smith's executive assistant for eight months in 2014 and 2015.

"Day in and day out, I watched you use county resources for your own personal gain," Saleem wrote to Smith in another email that quickly became public. "I watched you treat people as if they are beneath you and always play the victim."

As Saleem added in a Thursday interview, "Our experiences are mirrored. The first thing I thought when I read MeeSeon's comments is that I should have stopped this two years ago.

"I didn't ever want to feel that way again."

The irony and hypocrisy in play here? Smith has long cast herself as the champion of the vulnerable and disadvantaged.

When I asked her Wednesday why she was running for City Council, even as she is term-limited out at the county, Smith insisted, "I want to make a difference for the most vulnerable in our community. I want to fight for those who haven't had an opportunity to prosper."

Young women of color, perhaps? Policy advisors who worry that if they complain about abusive behavior from an insecure boss, they may never score another job in local politics?

A long time ago, Smith may have been in politics for the right reasons. She worked as Wyden's field rep in the county for 20 years. A single mom, she proved a compelling story when she rallied to beat Karol Collymore, another African-American, for the commission seat in 2010.

But she's changed over the years, many agree, and not for the better. Paying the price for that are women like Saleem and Kwon.

Saleem said Smith frequently made "derogatory comments about people of color." She described being cornered by Smith one afternoon in a sixth-floor bathroom: "She was slamming open the stall doors, slamming the counter, screaming at me."

"Her biggest advantage in a small white town is making everything about race, but only when it's convenient for her," Saleem added.

When I asked Smith this week if she has ever acknowledged or apologized for the behavior described by Saleem or Kwon, she said, "There was no substantiation of any of the claims by my employees. There was no wrongdoing found on my part."

Imagine how that echoes for county and city employees in this #MeToo world.

Kwon is happy to set the record straight. "Unsubstantiated? Each investigation substantiated behavior that was abusive, inappropriate, (and) violations of county policy," she says. "Other instances were 'unsubstantiated' because they involved one-on-one interactions. Where do you often bully people? One on one."

Kwon and Saleem both made clear they are speaking out again only because Smith wants to rewrite history in her campaign for higher office.

"It's not a narrative I want to feed into, women of color going against one of our few leaders of color," Kwon says. "(But) If I didn't say anything, there might be another staffer in the future who would go through what I went through."

Especially when, as a city councilor, Smith would lord over entire bureaus, not just an unnerved 4-person staff. How many boosters on the bandwagon are curious to see how that disaster plays out?

-- Steve Duin

stephen.b.duin@gmail.com
EUGENE  A Junction City man charged with killing a friend while camping in western Oregon in July was sentenced to 16 months in prison.

Joshua Montez

The Register-Guard reports 43-year-old Joshua Montez was sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty to criminally negligent homicide, a lesser offense reached under an agreement with prosecutors.

Montez was initially indicted on a murder charge in the shooting death of 48-year-old Steven "Troy" Moody.

The two men with their families were camping at a Willamette National Forest campground. Montez told authorities he heard noises that sounded like gunshots and fired at someone walking across the campground near Blue River Lake.

Montez is expected to be released from prison before the end of this year, having served seven months in the Lane County Jail since his arrest last year.

 The Associated Press
A central Oregon police chief accused of hitting a sergeant in the chest has resigned.

The Bulletin reports Sunriver Police Chief Marc Mills' resignation was accepted Friday. He was paid over $17,000 while on administrative leave, according to the newspaper.

The newspaper reports Mills allegedly struck Sgt. Joseph Patnode hard enough that Patnode's head hit a wall. Both men were on duty at the time, according to the newspaper.

Mills is facing a misdemeanor harassment charge in the altercation, according to court records. His next court hearing is March 1, records show.

The Bulletin reports the Sunriver Service District will save six months of severance pay it would have owed Mills if he had been fired. He had been on paid administrative leave since shortly after the Dec. 1 altercation.

Mills was chief of police in the central Oregon resort community since 2012.

 Staff and wire reports
Sen. Jeff Kruse, R-Roseburg, fourth from left, pictured on Monday, Feb. 5, 2018 during the State of the State address at the Oregon Capitol in Salem. (Beth Nakamura/Staff)

BY GORDON R. FRIEDMAN

For days after a damning investigation concluded Sen. Jeff Kruse sexually harassed or groped many women at the Oregon Capitol, the Southern Oregon lawmaker said he would not resign and instead would fight the investigation's conclusions.

Then Thursday, he changed course and agreed to resign, effective March 15. That timeframe would allow him to continue serving through the end of this year's five-week session.

Had he not tendered his resignation, that would have teed up the Senate Conduct Committee to hold a hearing on the investigation on Feb. 22. It could have recommended  and asked the Senate to carry out  discipline against Kruse. Possible options include reprimand, censure or even expulsion.

Legislators have censured one of their own before, the last time being in 1971. But no member has ever been expelled. Any legislator in jeopardy of being ejected has always resigned before an expulsion vote could be carried out. That was the route Kruse took Thursday.

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The inside page of the original copy of the Oregon Constitution. (Randy L Rasmussen)

Here are the rules for kicking out an elected Oregon legislator:

The Oregon Constitution gives lawmakers the power to expel one of their own. Article IV Section 15 says: Either house may punish its members for disorderly behavior, and may with the concurrence of two thirds, expel a member.

Translation: Senators can kick out Kruse with 20 votes. Democrats have 17 of the chambers 30 votes. So if all of them eventually vote to expel Kruse  which is not certain  they would need three Republicans to join their cause.

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The Oregon Senate, pictured at the end of the 2016 session. (Anna Reed/Statesman-Journal via AP)

Technically, Senate members dont have to wait on the conduct committee and its slow timetables. Any senator can, in theory, make a motion to expel a member any time the Senate convenes.

But no senator is likely to do that, out of deference to the Legislatures personnel rules and to each other. Even if a senator were to try it, its not clear Senate President Peter Courtney would let him or her do so.

If a senator put forward a motion to expel Kruse, under the chambers parliamentary process, Courtney would have to decide if the motion is in order. Such a motion might not be in order because the Senate has adopted personnel rules  in accordance with a different part of the Oregon Constitution  outlining how members may be expelled for harassing conduct. Those rules require the conduct committee hearing process. And senators in both parties honor the Senates many procedural requirements.

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Sen. Kruse, pictured in the Oregon Senate chamber. (AP)

Many officials have called on Kruse to resign and forgo a public conduct committee process that would likely be painful for the women Kruse harassed and draw a news media circus to the Capitol.

Those who said Kruse should resign include Gov. Kate Brown, House Speaker Tina Kotek, House Majority Leader Jennifer Williamson and several Democratic and Republican state representatives. Secretary of State Dennis Richardson, Oregons top elected Republican, said Kruse should resign if the accusations are true.

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Sen. Rod Monroe, D-Portland, left, and Sen. Tim Knopp, R-Bend. (File photos)

One Democrat in the Senate has said Kruse should resign: Sen. Rod Monroe, D-Portland. And only one of Kruses Senate Republican colleagues has called on him to leave office: Sen. Tim Knopp, R-Bend, who respectfully asked Kruse to step down Wednesday.

All but two members of the Senate Republicans released a statement that same day that noted "the serious nature of (the) allegations." It said the investigation report "stands on its own" and that they will let the conduct committee process play out.

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Sen. Elizabeth Steiner Hayward, D-Portland, left, and Sen. Sara Gelser, D-Corvallis. (File photos)

How did we get here?

Back in October, The Oregonian/OregonLive was the first news outlet to discover that Courtney, the Senate president, removed Kruse from his committee assignments because he'd been accused of inappropriate touching. The discipline came days after Gelser posted a vague accusation of groping by a Senate Republican on Twitter.

Gelser later confirmed to The Oregonian/OregonLive that her tweet referenced Kruse. She said he sexually harassed her for years and did not stop despite officials' warnings after her complaints.

Kruse denied wrongdoing, saying that although he has touched women at the Capitol, his actions were not sexual or out-of-line. He has not responded to The Oregonian/OregonLives requests for comment since shortly after the story broke.

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The Oregon Senate chamber. (Brent Drinkut/Statesman-Journal via AP)

Gelser later filed a formal complaint, as did Sen. Elizabeth Steiner Hayward, D-Portland. Those filings sparked the investigation, which was conducted by employment law attorney Dian Rubanoff. Her 51-page report was released Tuesday. In it, Rubanoff wrote that she interviewed Gelser, Steiner Hayward and many other women who made accusations of sexual harassment or groping against Kruse.

Read the document: 51-page investigation of Sen. Jeff Kruse

Kruse did not deny most of the accusations  he instead said he could not recall the incidents  and Rubanoff corroborated many of them by speaking to witnesses or by viewing photos or video recordings.

Rubanoff wrote in 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.

-- Gordon R. Friedman

GFriedman@Oregonian.com

503-221-8209; @GordonRFriedman
Sen. Jeff Kruse filed resignation papers Thursday, capping a months-long sexual harassment scandal by agreeing to leave the Legislature after 22 years.

The Roseburg Republican's resignation is not effective until March 15, which would allow him to serve out the remainder of the legislative session now underway.

His action came days after an investigator concluded he had sexually harassed or groped multiple women in the Oregon Capitol over several years and did not stop despite warnings. The investigator found that he escalated his harassing conduct after being told not to touch women at work.

Until he announced his resignation, Kruse had been defiant, saying he would not leave office and instead would challenge the investigator's findings. Still, he had been under intense pressure to resign from Democratic officials and some Republicans.

Kruse, 66, maintained his innocence in a statement released Thursday afternoon.

"I continue to deny these allegations and I regret that I will not have the opportunity to defend myself before the Senate Conduct Committee," Kruse said. "However, today I tender my resignation so my colleagues may focus on serving Oregonians without distraction and my constituents may receive the fullest representation they are due."

Kruse had for months been serving in the Legislature without any committee assignments -- hampering his ability to shape legislation -- a punishment handed down by Senate President Peter Courtney because of the harassment allegations and Kruse's persistent smoking in his Capitol office.

Read the document: Sen. Jeff Kruse's resignation letter

Courtney, a Salem Democrat, released a statement Thursday calling Kruse's stepping down "the right decision."

Courtney said, "The report of the independent investigator released earlier this week made it clear that his inappropriate conduct went far beyond" what two of Kruse's accusers, Senate Democrats Sara Gelser and Elizabeth Steiner Hayward, had outlined in formal written complaints.

The Senate president said he had been working with Senate Republican leaders since the release of the investigation to "secure" Kruse's resignation.

"While Senator Kruse's resignation ends a difficult chapter for the Legislature, we cannot allow it to end this discussion," Courtney said. "We owe it to the courageous women who came forward to seize this moment."

Senate Republican Leader Jackie Winters, R-Salem, struck a different tone. She said of Kruse in a statement Thursday, "I want to thank him for his 22 years of service to Oregon. He has been a true advocate for his district and rural Oregon. As we move forward, we must work to provide a safe work environment for all."

Steiner Hayward, one of Kruse's accusers, said in a statement that the senator's resignation is "long overdue" and she hopes the investigation into his conduct will encourage other women to speak up about harassment.

"His resignation will allow the many victims identified through the investigation to begin their healing, the Senate to move forward with the people's business and his constituents to once again have representation in the Legislature," said Steiner Hayward, a Portland Democrat.

Gelser said she is unhappy that Kruse is delaying his exit. "I believe the resignation should have been immediate," Gelser said in a phone interview. House Speaker Tina Kotek tweeted that Kruse's delayed resignation is "exactly what's wrong with the power dynamic that exists at the Capitol."

Investigator and private employment law attorney Dian Rubanoff concluded that Kruse subjected at least 10 women to tight, lingering hugs and other inappropriate touching. Many told Rubanoff they were horrified by his conduct but felt they had to endure it out of deference to a powerful, tenured lawmaker. They also said they did not report the harassment because it was widely known and tolerated in the Capitol and they feared speaking up would damage their careers.

Rubanoffs 51-page report outlined how Kruse had called a law student who worked for him "sexy" and "little girl," would grab and tightly hug other Republican and non-partisan staffers to the point they felt trapped, had cupped the buttocks of a female lobbyist during a photo-op in the governor's office, kissed a staffer on the cheek and close to her mouth, and inappropriately touched three female senators and a state representative. Rubanoff based her report on interviews with victims and witnesses, videos and photographs and found the accusers credible. Kruse did not deny most of the accusations, and instead said he did not recall the incidents.

Gelser praised those women, most of whom who were not named in the report, for speaking to the investigator about the harassment they endured. "I don't think people appreciate how brave those women were," she said, adding that members of the Legislature ought to improve the Capitol's workplace harassment rules.

In October, The Oregonian/OregonLive was the first news outlet to report that Courtney, the Senate president, removed Kruse from his committee assignments because he'd been accused of inappropriate touching. The discipline came days after Gelser, Kruse's first accuser, posted a vague accusation of groping by a Senate Republican on Twitter. Kruse has not responded to requests for comment from The Oregonian/OregonLive since shortly after that story broke.

Gelser later confirmed to The Oregonian/OregonLive that her tweet referenced Kruse. She said he sexually harassed her for years and did not stop despite officials' warnings after her complaints. Gelser later filed a formal complaint against Kruse. So did Steiner Hayward. Their complains sparked the formal investigation.

By delaying his resignation until the end of the lawmaking session, Kruse will continue receiving his base pay and $142 per diem. He is also a vested member of the Public Employees Retirement System and will receive retirement benefits for his years spent in office.

Kruse, a farmer by trade, first joined the Legislature in 1996. His resignation Thursday is actually the second time he has quit the Legislature. The first came in 2004 when he resigned from the House because he no longer lived in the district he represented.

The last time an Oregon lawmaker resigned in disgrace was in 2005. That year, Dan Doyle, a Salem Republican, resigned after he was found to have misused tens of thousands of dollars in campaign funds for personal expenses. And Kelley Wirth, a Corvallis Democrat, resigned after police found meth in her car after a crash near the Capitol.

Kruse said in his resignation statement Thursday, "For civil rights to be meaningful, there must be civil rights for all people, including the right to fundamental fairness for persons accused of harassment."

The commissioners of the five counties Kruse's district overlaps must soon select his replacement from a group of nominees chosen by local Republican Party officials. The commissioners are required to appoint a Republican to replace Kruse.

In his resignation statement, Kruse said he is "very proud" of the bills he authored affecting health care and education policy, and said he is looking forward to returning to Roseburg, where he still owns a working farm.

"Serving the people of Curry and portions of Coos, Douglas, Josephine and Jackson counties for the past 22 years has been the greatest honor of my life," he said.

-- Gordon R. Friedman

503-221-8209; @GordonRFriedman
Consultants want Portland police to prohibit officers who use deadly force from viewing video evidence of a shooting scene before they're interviewed by internal affairs investigators.

The Police Bureau also needs to place a greater focus on whether an officer's tactics before a shooting followed bureau training and policy, California-based Office of Independent Review Group said in a new report released Thursday.

The recommendations are among 26 offered by the consultants after reviewing three Portland police shootings in 2014 and three in 2015. The report, the consultant's fifth review in the last eight years, will be presented Feb. 15 to the City Council.

Some problems the consultants identified echoed concerns that arose in past cases: sergeants who get involved in tactical action instead of retaining their supervisory roles, delays in providing emergency care to wounded suspects and lapses of days before officers undergo interviews.

Other concerns were new.

The consultants asked why the Police Review Board, which analyzes officer-involved shootings for policy violations, no longer considers critiques done by the police training division. The training analyses used to be shared with the board, but the bureau recently decided to have the training review done after the board makes it findings.

"We fail to understand the rationale for the decision,'' the consultants wrote. This would deprive the board of the training division's insights and expertise, their report said.

Chief Danielle Outlaw said she supports each of the recommendations and will work to have the bureau adopt them.

"Over the past several years, the Police Bureau has made significant changes to its directives, procedures and training,'' Outlaw wrote in a response to the consultant's report. "However, there is still room for enhancements.''

Yet while Outlaw said she agrees with prohibiting officers from viewing video before giving a statement to investigators, she noted that changing the practice may require collective bargaining with the police union, specifically if it involves footage from body-worn cameras.

Document: OIR Report with Police Bureau response

The bureau, however, hasn't equipped its patrol officers with body cameras, and there's no timeline to do so.

The report cited video evidence from nearby businesses that captured a shooting or police encounter. The bureau's current policy is to evaluate case-by-case whether officers get to see video ahead of an interview.

But the consultants criticized the policy and argued that it should never occur.

"It is critical that officers' recollection not be influenced, consciously or subconsciously, by a video or audio account of the incident,'' their report says.

The Police Bureau must develop clear policy that protects the integrity of investigations by "insulating officers from having their recall contaminated by video evidence prior to being interviewed,'' the consultants wrote.

Investigators need a "pure statement'' from an officer involved in a shooting. Afterward, investigators can play a video for officers to help them recall additional details or clarify their initial statements, the report recommended.

The consultants praised the city for eliminating the so-called "48-hour rule,'' which required officers who fired their guns to get at least a two-day notice before internal affairs investigators interview them.

The investigators should interview officers on the day of the shooting, the consultants wrote.

"We look forward to the time in which we review officer-involved shootings where this best investigative practice has been implemented,'' they wrote.

The consultants also criticized how Multnomah County prosecutors handled a grand jury review of an officer's shootout with a suspect in Southwest Portland in March 2014.

They found the prosecutor presented extremely "prejudicial'' information about the man who fired at Officer John Romero that was unnecessary and tainted the jury.

Romero, 36, was wounded in a shootout that day with fugitive Kelly Swoboda. Swoboda was wanted in connection with a late January 2014 kidnapping in Clackamas County and was confronted March 12 on Southwest Cheltenham after police responded to a report of a suspicious van near the Hillsdale library branch. There had been earlier reports of a suspicious van in the neighborhood approaching students walking to and from nearby schools.

Romero was shot once in the right hand and returned fire, killing Swoboda.

During the grand jury hearing, a prosecutor called as a witness a Clackamas County detective who was investigating Swoboda for the kidnapping of a woman. Prosecutors also asked leading questions, eliciting agreement from the Clackamas detective that Swoboda had transformed his van into a "moveable dungeon or torture chamber,'' which was "speculative and of the highest level of prejudice,'' the consultants said.

Prosecutors countered that they believed the information was relevant because it explained that Swoboda was likely fearful of detection by police when he encountered Romero because the van held evidence of the kidnapping allegation.

Consultants disagreed, citing their past experience as federal prosecutors and trial attorneys.

"The grand jury presentation should have focused on the overwhelming evidence that Officer Romero acted in self-defense when he used deadly force,'' the report said. "Unfortunately the grand jury proceeding was infected with evidence about Swoboda's history, character and presumed intent that was prejudicial, speculative, extraneous and of extremely slight probative value.''

Recently, lawyers for 17-year-old Quanice Hayes, who was shot and killed by police a year ago in Northeast Portland, complained that the grand jury hearing 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 consultants reviewed the police shootings of Swoboda in March 2014; Paul Ropp in April 2014; Denoris McClendon in September 2014; Ryan Sudlow in February 2015; Michael Harrison in May 2015; and Alan Bellew in June 2015.

In two of the six shootings, the person shot by police had a gun and fired at an officer. In another, the man shot had a metal BB gun and one had a starter pistol. One man shot had no gun and another was armed with a knife.

Some of the consultants' other findings and recommendations:

-- An officer's commander and the Police Review Board should make separate findings on whether an officer's tactics leading up to the use of force followed bureau training and policy.

-- Police should use ballistic shields to approach a wounded victim or suspect to get them medical care as soon as possible.

-- If an attorney accompanies an officer on a walk-through of a shooting scene, don't allow the attorney to point out evidence or speak for the officer about where the officer was standing at the time or the officer's line of fire. That could improperly color an investigator's evaluation of a scene.

-- In the review of the 2014 police wounding of a man who was pointing a gun on Interstate 84, the bureau never found out why the man, Denoris McClendon, was released from a 72-hour police hold at a hospital, where he had been brought the night before when it was deemed he was a danger to himself and others. That question should have been asked and answered.

-- An initial training review of the police attempt to "box in" a suspect at a busy gas station in Gresham in February 2015, which ended in a police shooting when the suspect rammed the police car behind him, found the maneuver and an officer's firing through a windshield inconsistent with training. But the training analysis was revised after one lieutenant retired. It changed dramatically, finding the tactics "generally acceptable.''

-- Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com

503-221-8212

@maxoregonian
An Aloha woman found dismembered in a BMW last month was killed five days before authorities found her body, court records indicate.

Jeremiah Johnston, 35, is accused of killing Sara Zghoul, 28, on Jan. 20, according to an indictment filed Thursday.

Washington County sheriff's officials said they learned of the death on Jan. 25 after receiving a tip about a body in a car and authorities then found Zghoul's remains in two suitcases in a BMW the same day in Aloha. The car was parked near the home of Johnston's mother, where he'd been living at the time, court records indicate.

Johnston remains held in the Washington County Jail without bail on suspicion of murder and first-degree abuse of a corpse. He pleaded not guilty Thursday to the indictment.

Johnston, dressed in an orange-and-white striped jail uniform indicating he's being held in a maximum-security unit, made no statements.

Defense attorney William Redden asked Circuit Judge Danielle Hunsaker to ban cameras from the courtroom for the proceeding, arguing they were prejudicial to Johnston.

Redden argued that the case has gotten substantial media attention and the public will remember seeing Johnston in his jail uniform. It could taint the jury pool if the case goes to trial and could require moving the case to a different county, he said

Hunsaker denied the request, saying legal proceedings are open to the public.

A woman who identified herself as a friend of the Zghoul family declined comment after the court hearing.

On the day Zghoul was found, Johnston was taken to a hospital after cutting his throat and trying to slash his wrists as police were apprehending him, law enforcement sources said. He was released from hospital care four days later and booked into the county jail.

Authorities haven't said what led to Zghoul's death, but they did confirm that Johnston and Zghoul knew each other but wouldn't say how. A probable cause affidavit in the case has been sealed for 180 days.

A Sheriff's Office spokesman said investigators have linked the BMW to Johnston, but haven't said who owns the car.

Johnston has convictions between 2014 and 2017 for cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine possession, delivery of cocaine, identity theft and felon in possession of a firearm, Oregon court records show.

Johnston is next scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 27.

-- Everton Bailey Jr.

ebailey@oregonian.com

503-221-8343; @EvertonBailey
Construction has begun on a two-level Zara flagship store in the Pioneer Place shopping center in downtown Portland.

Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive

By Grant Butler, The Oregonian/OregonLive

For Portland fans of the Spanish fashion giant Zara, the long wait is almost over. Construction has begun on the fast-fashion innovator's first Portland-area store in Pioneer Place. It's scheduled to open this spring.

The store will occupy most of the first and second floors of the Pioneer Place building at Southwest Third Avenue and Yamhill Street, adjacent to H&M.

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VAST LAND | The statement suit, switch up the look by layering a wool blazer with casual pieces https://t.co/78HgTx5NXn pic.twitter.com/kcdwnrlZ8t  Zara USA (@zarausa) February 8, 2018

The arrival of Zara is good news for Pioneer Place, which has been undergoing extensive renovations in the last few years. The space that Zara will occupy in recent years has been a mish-mash of seasonal Halloween and calendar shops, and many of the spaces remained vacant.

Zara, which is part of the Spain-based Inditex brand of companies, is one of the world's largest fashion retailers. It pioneered the "fast fashion" concept, which takes expensive looks from the runway and turns them into affordable, well-made versions that are accessible to everyday consumers. The clothes are sold in posh stores, but at prices that are similar to stores like Gap and Banana Republic.

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Man Spring Summer 2018 Campaign. Pictures by Willy Vanderperre. Thank you Luca Lemaire . https://t.co/TKxf9zHeFb pic.twitter.com/E9CWfDIhi9  Zara USA (@zarausa) January 26, 2018

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Zara operates more than 2,200 stores in 93 markets worldwide, though expansion has been slow in the United States. As of last year, there were only 85 stores in the U.S., many of them clustered on the East Coast (the New York City area has nine of them, for instance).

Zara has built a reputation for being plugged into its customers tastes, not only by tracking what does (and doesnt) fly off the racks, but by monitoring customers comments. Managers are trained to draw out comments about style preferences, and that information is sent to company headquarters every day. That of-the-moment feedback allows Zaras designers to quickly come up with new looks and send them to factories for quick manufacture.

In addition to an extensive line of women's wear, Zara produces clothing for men and children.

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New TRF Collection | An introduction to this seasons graphic trends

3. STRIPES https://t.co/sBRxXOeLCF pic.twitter.com/lm0479F4Xk  Zara USA (@zarausa) February 1, 2018

Zara's opening of a bricks-and-mortar store in Portland comes at a time when many retailers are scaling back operations as more customers shop for clothing and other purchases online. Last year, Macy's closed its flagship downtown Portland store across the street from Pioneer Place. Earlier this week, Nordstrom announced that it would close its longtime store in downtown Salem, leaving just three stores running in Oregon.

Well have more details about Zaras arrival in Portland as they become available.

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-- Grant Butler

gbutler@oregonian.com

503-221-8566; @grantbutler
Egypt's armed forces released a second communique on Friday afternoon on Operation Sinai 2018, soon after a first announcing a new major counter-terrorism operation to purge the country of terrorism.

The second communique by the General Command of the Armed Forces, which was also read by military spokesman Colonel Tamer El-Rafei in a televised statement, gave details of Operation Sinai 2018, which El-Rafei had announced in the first communique.

"Great people of Egypt, in a continuation of law enforcement forces' efforts, elements of our air forces targeted some of the pits, hideouts, and ammunition and weapons warehouses used by terrorist elements as a base to target the law enforcement forces and civilian targets in North and Central Sinai, he said.

Units from the naval forces are also tightening the security on the sea front, with the aim of cutting all supply lines to terrorist elements."

"The border guard forces and civilian police are also tightening security procedures at borders and on navigational courses."

"Joints elements from the armed forces and the police are also tightening the security procedures at vital ports and areas in different areas of the republic, he said."

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Egypt's Al-Azhar announced on Friday its full support for the Egyptian militarys new Operation Sinai 2018, calling on all the Egyptian people "to support the brave men of the army and police in their fight against terrorist and criminal elements."

In a statement, the world's leading Sunni institution praised the sacrifices of the army and police in the confrontation against terrorists so "Egypt can be purged of these elements that have and terrorized and killed citizens," and in order "to foil the attempts to foster chaos and strife to harm the stability of the the homeland."

On Friday morning, the Egyptian armed forces launched a new major operation to confront terrorism in north and central Sinai and other parts of the country.

Al-Azhar also hailed the sacrifices of the residents of Sinai who "have endured suffering caused by "the criminality of such terrorist groups.

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The Coptic Orthodox Church has said it supports a new counter-terrorism operation by the Egyptian military and police to "defeat terrorism in all parts of the country."

In a short statement, the Church, headed by Pope Tawadros II, declared its solidarity and support for the "comprehensive battle" of the Egyptian armed forces and the patriotic police that aims at purging "the forces of terrorism" all over the country, in accordance with President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi's directives.

On Friday morning, the Egyptian armed forces launched the Operation Sinai 2018 in north and central Sinai and other parts of the country.

"History will record the sacrifices of Egypt's brave army and police, who sacrifice their lives for the sake of the country's stability; long live Egypt's unity," read the statement.

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Egypts interior ministry said it killed three members of the banned Hasm terrorist group in a shootout in an under-construction residential building in Cairo, which came as part as an extensive campaign that lead to the arrest of 14 others in a number of governorates.

In an official statement, the interior ministry said it had killed the three men following a raid on the Cairo apartment, which they had been using as a hideout to prepare for an attack on a security checkpoint.

Police identified one of the three men as Brotherhood member Salah El-Din Omara.

The men were found in possession of three machine guns and an amount of ammunition.

According to the police, the three men were involved in a number of attacks against several senior police in 2017 and 2018, the latest being shooting targeting Daqahliya deputy security director on 9 January this year.

In the framework of the interior ministrys efforts to abort the plans of terrorist Muslim Brotherhood which aims to compromise the countrys security and undermine the country's capabilities, the national security department has monitored the issuance of a mandate from the fugitive terrorist group leaders abroad to to its elements who are members of Hasm, one of the armed wings of the Brotherhood, to execute a number of synchronised hostile operations on vital and important institutions as well as police and armed forces ahead of the presidential elections, to create a state of instability and present a negative image about the situation in the country, the interior ministry statement read.

The comprehensive security plan to curb the groups actions in Qalioubiya, Daqahliya, Beheira, Menoufiya, Sharqiya, Assiut, and Fayoum lead to the arrest of 14 members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood following raids on their hideouts on Friday, the ministry said.

They were found in possession of nine machine guns, a Heckler submachine gun, four pistols, a locally made shotgun, a number of different ammunitions, two explosive canisters, a muffler, and two motorcycles to carry out the terror operations.

Supreme State Security is currently handling investigations, the statement concluded.

On Friday morning the Egyptian armed forces announced the launch of a new operation, dubbed Operation Sinai 2018, in cooperation with the police, aiming at tackling terrorism in north and central Sinai and other parts of the country.

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I walked by this Puppet every time I entered the Met and always meant to draw and paint him for my sketchbook. When I finished the drawing he looked lonely, so I added the mask and female figure to the same page, and painted all 3 of them at home.

The puppet was used in ceremonial events, and is from the 19-20th C, either the Bamana farmers or Bozo fisherman from Mali. The other two pieces are also from Mali and were donated by Nelson D. Rockefeller to the Met.

Mali is in sub-Saharan Africa, and I had to search the map to find it.
Tove Lo would rather her music spur a negative reaction than no reaction at all. "As long as they feel something, that makes me happy," she says. "A strong reaction." And with lyrics like, "I'm fully charged, nipples are hard, ready to go," paired with a video of the Swedish pop star pleasuring a puppet, it's hard to have a passive response.

After writing songs for Ellie Goulding and Icona Pop, Tove Lo gained independent recognition with her honest, relatable banger, "Habits (Stay High)" from her 2014 debut, Queen Of The Clouds. Her following album, Lady Wood, boasted the raw sexuality that would carry onto the second Lady Wood installment, her most recent record, Blue Lips.

"The first half of Lady Wood was after going through a breakup  still being hurt, but enjoying that time and freedom," shes says. "The second half was when I was truly in love in the relationship I'm in now." With Blue Lips, Tove Lo confronts sex-positivity in a sex-negative environment, heartbreak, and desire.

These elements come together in her Lady Wood symbol, a simple, semi-ambiguous drawing of a vagina mixed with a cross necklace. Tove Lo has solidified this symbol, literally, by turning it into jewelry. The new collection, Tove Lo x Leontine, comprises four intricately designed gold pieces  an ear cuff, a ring, a nose ring, and a bracelet  that incorporate Lady Wood-inspired shapes.

We caught up with Tove Lo to talk about growing up as a sexual person, and learning to embrace it.

What was the idea behind your Lady Wood series?



It stands for being carefree and doing whatever you want without thinking of consequences. It's kind of powerful, and it's not the way I was raised. A lot of girls have had that feeling. "Be a good girl, don't drink, don't take up too much space"  all of those "make yourself smaller" rules... "adapt to everyone else." It gets to a point where you think whatever you are feeling is wrong.

In a way, it was just about daring to be forward, sexual, and maybe not always right but standing up for whatever is driving you. I love sexual expression and being on stage feeling that I am fully in charge of what I'm doing, how I'm feeling, and how I'm touching myself. In no way is that hurtful to me, except when people decide to judge it. It only has to do with me and it doesn't affect anyone in a bad way.

Latex Thong: Vintage, Ring: Tove Lo x Leontine, Sunglasses: Carrera

People are surprised to hear a woman speak bluntly about her sexuality. Why do you think it's important to be upfront about it?



If you're comfortable, in touch with your body, and wanting sex, there's nothing negative in that. There's no harm in it if you enjoy yourself. For me, I feel powerful and happy by being secure and knowing what I like. Knowing what gets me going and that energy and connection with someone is awesome. It doesn't matter if it's the love of my life or the love for the night [Laughs].

Growing up in Sweden, what was the culture around sex like?

It varies. We still have the usual, "If you're a girl that sleeps with too many guys, you're a slut. If you're a guy that sleeps with a lot of girls, it's cool" kind of thing. But if a girl got a slut reputation, they would quickly get over it, and it wouldn't matter in the end. We learned about sex really young, there wasn't much talk of abstinence. I remember never thinking that [sex] was something that was wrong or bad. Conversations with my girlfriends [in Sweden] would be very open about what you like or what you're into, very open about wanting sex. Talking to friends [in America], it's like you don't share too much, there's more shame in it.

Dress: Alexandre Vauthier, Arm Cuff: Saint Ann (Roseark), Earrings: Gienia Design (Roseark)

Did you have a celebrity crush that spurred your sexual awakening when you were younger? Your first "Lady Wood"?



I think Leonardo DiCaprio was the male one, for sure, in Titanic when I was like 10. Neve Campbell, for female. I think it was because of Wild Things.

Do you think your upbringing influences how you approach sexuality now with your music?

I've always been a very sexual person. I'm just in touch with my body. I noticed that when I wrote the first two songs on my first album, everyone was like, "You're such a rebel, you're a bad girl, it's all about sex and drugs," but I thought, "Hasn't this been done a million times before me?" I'm definitely not the first one, but I realized that maybe it wasn't as blunt by women in pop. There is a lot of women in rock and hip-hop that are explicit, but in pop if you're a girl you hint about it. You don't say it straight up.

Dress: Paco Rabanne (Archive), Ring: Tove Lo x Leontine, Sunglasses: Marques Almeida

How do you think people can embrace their sexuality?

You can cut off that shame feeling  questioning, "Did I move too fast or I shouldn't have slept with him on the first night?" All the anxiety and energy it takes up too much than to just think I had a good time and I had an orgasm. For me, it's just a good feeling being comfortable and happy with being tune with my body.

What can we expect from you moving forward?



Well, I'm back in the studio starting to slowly write on the next album. I have some fun features coming out. Just doing all of it at the moment, the jewelry and working with other artists. I've got some new Lady Wood lines, clothing pieces coming out and just keeping Lady Wood going.

Blazer: Sies Marjan, Earrings: Laura Lobdell (Roseark)

Right, you also have a new jewelry line out now. Have you ever thought about making erotic jewelry?



[Laughs] No but that's a great idea, I might have to do that. [The jewelry line] is a new endeavor. My best friend from high school used to make jewelry by hand and I would always wear her rings on stage. And when I made the Lady Wood symbol, I wanted to make it something that felt feminine, but also like breaking the rules all at once. We were talking about it and she was like, "Why don't we make a line together?" And I was like, "Fuck yeah!" She designed it based off my symbols.

Is the next album going to be Lady Wood 3?

It's totally going to be something different. Although, I feel that will always be apart of me now, so it will be there somehow. I'm going to take my time to figure out what I want it to be sonically. I'm in a very happy place and it's kind of weird because I'm so used to using the darker side of me to write, but I'm in a zen zone. I have to learn how to tap into that, so I'm waiting for that to hit me.

Photography: Nikko Lamere

Creative Direction: Nikko Lamere and Loftjet

Styling: Annie and Hannah

Hair: Preston Wada (Opus Beauty Using Kevin Murphy)

Makeup: Loftjet (Using Charlotte Tilbury)

Nails: Merrick Fisher

Videographers: Gus & Lo

Location: The Standard, Hollywood
A delegation from the Palestinian group Hamas led by the head of its political bureau Ismail Haniyeh arrived in Cairo on Friday to discuss with Egyptian officials security, reconciliation and humanitarian conditions in Gaza.

The delegation was received by the head of Egyptian General Intelligence Abbas Kamel.

Hamas spokesman Fawzy Barhoum said that the delegation includes members of the Hamas political bureau Khalil Al-Haya, Rouhy Moshtaha, and Fathi Hammad.

Barhoum said that the visit, which had been scheduled for some time, will tackle the tough humanitarian conditions [caused by the 10-year-old Israeli siege of the Strip].

"The visit aims at continuing the implementation of the Palestinian reconciliation deal in accordance with the 2011 and 2017 agreements, and utilise Egyptian mediation efforts towards that goal," Barhoum added.

The negotiations between the two main Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah to achieve Palestinian reconciliation, sponsored by the Egyptian General Intelligence, have led to an agreement to end the 10-year-old row between the two groups.

However, the implementation of the agreement has since met setbacks.

Sources in Cairo said that this visit could involve setting a special timetable concerning reconciliation issues.

Egyptian General Mohamed Ibrahim, one of the architects of the 2011 reconciliation agreement, told Ahram Online that current problems in the reconciliation efforts relate to difficulties in deciding the mechanisms of the work of the regrouped Palestinian ministries, and the absence of consensus on problems facing the employees of the Palestinian Authority.

"The [recent] mutual negative statements between Hamas and Fatah leaders have largely contributed to the tension between the two groups; no efforts at reconciliation could succeed in such an atmosphere," Ibrahim added.

"The continuation of Egyptian mediation is important, despite all previous successful mediation efforts, because it is the only guarantee of the success of the reconciliation process, and the Palestinian side should be aware that Egyptian efforts have their limits and expectations," Ibrahim said.

He added that it is important for Hamas and Fatah to "make all required compromises and show flexibility to achieve real reconciliation on the ground."

The Hamas delegations visit comes shortly after Cairo said that it foiled an attempt by 18 Daesh terrorists to infiltrate from Sinai to assassinate Haniyeh, reflecting a new level of security coordination between Cairo and Hamas, marked by joint security arrangements on the borders between Rafah and Gaza.

Hamas has also arrested a number of Daesh terrorists who had attempted to enter into Sinai.

While social media accounts affiliated with Daesh have broadcast statements and videos that showed activities by Palestinian extremists, some of them have joined the group in war-torn Syria.

Leaks of investigations into extremists by Egyptian investigation bodies have revealed that the head of the Daesh group in Sinai is the Palestinian extremist Rasem Abu Gazar.

Cairo had started efforts to arrange a prisoner swap between Israel and Hamas, but tensions between Gaza and Israel, which some observers say are nearing war levels, have cut this process short.

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Last August Samsung's Vice Chairman Lee Jae-young was sentenced to a five year prison sentence. At the time the prosecution was angry as they had requested a 12 year sentence. On Monday Lee Jae-young was magically freed by a higher court and the prosecution was both insulted and angered that the abbreviated sentence was then overturned, proving Samsung has now and has for decades had the power to bend the courts in their favor. The 2008 Samsung scandal involving Lee Kun-hee, Lee Jae-young's father, ended in the same fashion. A show was put on to arrest and jail him, only for the court to overturn charges and set him free.

Even though the father remains in the hospital after a 2014 heart attack, the prosecution immediately went after the father yesterday on tax evasion to the tune of over US$367 million. Today, the prosecution office is once again on the war path against Samsung.

A Korean report this morning states that "Prosecutors raided the offices of Samsung Electronics and a house in Seoul belonging to a former Samsung executive as part of their investigation into a scandal involving former President Lee Myung-bak.

Through Feb. 8-9, inspectors from the Seoul Central Prosecutors' Office conducted the raid at several locations including the Samsung headquarters and R&D center in southern Seoul, and the house of former vice chairman Lee Hak-soo, who was the right-hand man to ailing Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee." It is said that the prosecution has found suspicious money transactions between DAS, an auto parts supplier, and the tech giant."

For more of the details of this investigation, read the full Korea Herald report here.





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Of course, there was always the danger that an irresponsible, ignorant, or incompetent judge might misapply a Quranic rule or see an analogy where in fact none existed. So a new principle, consensus (ijma), came into play. This principle represented an effective insurance against the whims and odd ideas of isolated individuals. But when we talk about the consensus of the community, we are not talking about a democratic process in which peasants and shopkeepers carried an equal vote with the learned. Only certain opinions were allowed to carry weight regarding matters of technical law. In practice, the ulama came to represent the entire Muslim community, and consensus eventually came to mean the agreement of the scholars. Someone discovered a convenient hadith report that gave strong support to this principle of consensus and in fact raised it to the level of practical infallibility: My community will never agree on error, the Prophet was quoted as saying.

More needs to be said on this notion of the infallibility of the scholarly consensus, since it is one of the strengths of Islam. It is hard for many in the West to understand Islam because it does not appear to function in ways familiar to us. There is, for instance, no Islamic church or priesthood. There is no pope or president who stands clearly at the head of the entire Islamic community. There is, simply, a vast number of ulama, men who have received the same training and read the same books, who think in the same way, and whose consensus on most matters is remarkably uniform from Morocco to the former Soviet Central Asia and from Nigeria to Indonesia. We sometimes wonder how a certain Muslim thinker gains authority within the community and is able to make his opinions count more than the opinions of others. It is certainly not because he holds a certain office. There are no living prophets or apostles, and certainly no popes and cardinals, in Islam. There is not even an authoritative committee on doctrine or theology or practice that all Muslims are obliged to accept. The situation is actually much like that in rabbinic Judaism. Certain rabbis or scholars, men like Hillel and Akiva and Maimonides, have carried authority down through the years not because of their offices, but because of their insights and their brilliance and the force of their personalities. Recognition has simply grown up among generations of Jews that this particular rabbi X, rather than those others who lived at the same time, is an authority worth taking into account. Very much the same process occurs in Islam.

I say that this formlessness, this diffuseness of authority, this absence of a tightly organized church, has been a strength for Islam. Why? Because the consensus of the ulama is, in many ways, comparable to a mighty river. It is very difficult to turn and almost impossible to dam. No one man, and probably no group of men, can hijack Islam as a whole and easily turn it to private purposes or reformulate it according to private whims. On the other hand, this striking uniformity and diffuseness of the Islamic community makes it very hard for anyone to reform or change Islam. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a revelation to the president can change a policy overnight that has been in place since the beginnings of Mormonism. (The 1978 revelation regarding priesthood is a case in point. Men of African ancestry began to be ordained within the week.) The pope has a somewhat similar power within the Roman Catholic faith. But no such person or institution exists in Islam. And, since the source of the authority held by the ulama is their knowledge of the past, it is the past that tends to control Islam. To lightly cast it off is to give up the source of authority, the link to God that Muslims believe they have in the life and teachings of Muhammad.
The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has revealed that the savings made by his government, in 2017 alone, in the area of public procurement amounted to some GH800 million in 2017.



Contrasting this to what transpired under the government of former President John Dramani Mahama, President Akufo-Addo noted that, in 2016, a total of zero savings were made by the Public Procurement Authority.



President Akufo-Addo indicated that in 2016, a total of 622 Sole Source Requests were made, out of which 597 of that number, 98%, were approved, with 25 Rejections. Additionally, there were 592 Requests made for Restricted Tenders, and 587, representing 99.15% were approved, with only 5 Rejections, stating that a grand total of zero savings was made.



However, in 2017, his first year in office, the President indicated that 394 Sole Sourcing Requests were made, out of which 223 (56.6%) were approved, and 171 (43.4%) were rejected.



In addition to these, the President stated that there were 346 Requests for Restricted Tenders, out of which 167 (48%) were approved, and 179 (52%) rejected.



Now here is the interesting part. The savings, made over the year as a result, amounted to some GH800 million, the President said, on Thursday, 8th February, 2018, as he delivered his Message on the State of the Nation to Parliament.



Spectacular as the savings are, and with the figures being impressive, President Akufo-Addo told Parliament that we have taken the lessons to heart, and continue to improve upon the government procurement process. I said I would protect the public purse, and that is exactly what I am doing.



Thanks to these figures, President Akufo-Addo stated that for the first time in a long while, we have been able to provide better budgetary support to the constitutionally-mandated institutions that hold government accountable, i.e. Auditor-General, Parliament, Judiciary, Ministry of Justice, Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), and the Police. Again, nowhere near the levels we would all like, but, when you are starting from inside a deep hole, it takes a while to make an impression on the ground, and the good thing is that we are pointing in the right direction.

The President added further that thanks to the diligence of the hardworking Minister for Employment and Labour Relations, Hon. Ignatius Baffuor Awuah, MP for Sunyani West, Government has been able to transfer some GH3.1 billion of Tier 2 pension funds into the custodial accounts of the pension schemes of the labour unions, funds that have been outstanding for six years, and about which the labour unions had been loudly complaining.



As a result of engagements with organised labour, we ensured that the National Daily Minimum Wage was determined and approved before the laying of the 2018 budget by the Minister for Finance, and, happily, Mr. Speaker, there were no strike actions last year. We will continue the constructive dialogue with organised labour to find mutually satisfactory solutions to their concerns, in order to guarantee industrial peace, he added.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Ghanas public debt stock has now increased by GHS30 billion from GHS122.3 billion of January of last year to GHS140billion of the same period in 2018, the Minority in parliament has said.



That is why, in the Minoritys view, President Nana Akufo-Addo failed to mention the debt stock in parliament on Thursday, 8 February when he delivered his second State of the Nation Address.



At a press conference on Friday, 9 February, Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu said: In his address last year, President Akufo-Addo pegged the total public debt at GHS122.3billion, yet he failed yesterday [Thursday] to give a corresponding figure for this year.



We are certain that the president conveniently neglected to provide information on our total debt as of end-year 2017 because the figures will badly expose his pre-election propaganda about the subject.



According to the Minority, Official figures as put out by the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Ghana, peg our public debt at nearly GHS140billion as of November 2017.



Additional borrowing between that period and now coupled with the energy sector bond of GHS4.7billion, which the IMF and World Bank classify as public debt, means that this will balloon to about GHS150billion, representing an increase of about GHS30billion over the January 2017 figure or 73 per cent of GDP, Mr Iddrisu noted.



In his view, the most worrying observation about the NPPs borrowing is that they have virtually no major capital investment to show for it unlike the NDC government that has the best record of capital or infrastructure development in the fourth republic with the GHS87billion borrowed in eight years under our tenure.



It is this grim statistics that the president cunningly failed to disclose in order not to appear as having gone back on he and his vice-presidents word not to borrow during the 2016 election campaign.



We are all witnesses to the colossal borrowing they have been engaged in. They have found out the hard way that haughty claims of expertise in economic management in opposition do not readily translate into performance in government.



Even more misleading was the presidents claim about the rate of debt accumulation. He claimed that the rate of debt accumulation has slowed, which the Minority said it contests.





Source: classfmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Ghana's vision of becoming a world class financial hub in the sub region will soon become a reality as Hon. Ken Ofori-Atta leads a Government Delegation on a study tour of the financial sector of Hong Kong and Singapore from Friday, February 9 to Wednesday, February 14, 2018.



The delegation will also undertake a non-deal show with the view of building awareness of new business opportunities in Ghana and to attract Asian Fund holders to invest in Ghana bonds.



In the 2018 Budget Statement and Economic Policy, government gave a strong indication to take steps to position Ghana as the financial services hub in the sub region.



A taskforce was set up to among other things, ensure that Ghana become the preferred headquarters of all banks operating in the sub-region and the hub of financial technology and payment systems for the region.



Hon. Ken Ofori-Atta indicated in the budget statement that the hub would host international private equity and venture capital firms to support entrepreneurship and assess to long term capital by the private sector in the sub-region.



The road show will therefore afford the delegation the opportunity to study best practice to inform Ghana's policies and programmes for the financial sector.



The delegation includes the Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Deputy Ministers of Finance, Energy and Information, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC); the Director General, Securities and Exchange Commission, and officials from the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance.



Hon. Ken Ofori-Atta recognizing the importance of this tour to Asia noted that "Ghana Beyond Aid calls for a rethink of our trajectory, our systems, and our aspirations. We are looking at creating awareness of business opportunities in Ghana as well as whip up interest in our future bonds for a possible Samurai and Panda bond issuance. This requires us to begin on shore education of Ghana and sell a compelling narrative of our growing fiscal strength and budget sobriety".



While there, the delegation will meet with officials in both the public and private sectors, including portfolio/asset managers and hold roundtable discussion with officials of the Singaporean Finance Ministry, the Central Bank and the Singapore Stock Exchange.



They will highlight investment opportunities in the financial services sector, ICT, energy, transport, infrastructure, especially railway, real estate, agri-business and industry.



Ghana's economy outperformed other sub-Saharan African equity markets on the back of favourable macro-economic prospects and strong investor confidence.



In the current budget, government has many programmes and policy initiatives with incredible potential to transform the country's economy and achieve a "Ghana Beyond Aid" in the medium to long term.



It is expected that this mission will strengthen Ghana's investment and trade relations and also lay the foundation for the setting up of an Asia Business Council led by GIPC.



A private sector group from Ghana, organized by the GIPC will also be in Singapore at the same time to explore business opportunities in the Asian market.





Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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It is turning out that the two suspected Al-Qaeda terrorists from Yemen, who were deported to Ghana from the United States Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay on the orders of former President Barack Obama, have agreed to leave the country.



They reportedly reached an agreement with the government of Ghana to send them to a third unnamed country.



Charles Owiredu, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, who made the disclosure on Joy FM, said the two supposed Al-Qaeda terrorists  Mahmud Umar Muhammad Bin Atef and Khalid Muhammad Salih Al-Dhuby  had informed the Akufo-Addo administration to send them to a different country, and added that the negotiations regarding their preferred country had been ongoing.



So of course, we sought their consent before these negotiations were done, the deputy minister said.



Per the laws, the 1951 Convention and 1957 Protocol on Refugees, you would need their consent.



And so now, you have their consent and they say when you find a country we are ready to leave.. Not as easy as you put. They are aware that government is in negotiation with a third country for them to exit.



Minority Attacks



Last week, the agreement between the erstwhile Mahamas National Democratic Congress (NDC) government and the Obama administration to repatriate the terror suspects to Ghana resurfaced when the two-year deal expired.



The opposition NDC, which caused the mess whilst in government, had turned around to put pressure on the NPP administration to decide the fate of the two detainees.



In the ensuing heat, it emerged that the Mahama administration attempted to change the names of the suspected terrorists and ended up issuing them with Ghanaian passports, which DAILY GUIDE sources say will expire in August 2018.



They were also given wives, allowing them to integrate into the Ghanaian society.



Refugee Status



Majority leader in parliament and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Osei Kyei-Mensah Bonsu, said on radio last week that the Mahama administration surreptitiously granted the two  who according to US authorities, were Osama Bin Ladens foot soldiers  refugee status before the expiry of the two-year agreement.



He said one of them is married to a Moroccan but had vowed never to go to the Maghreb country for reasons best know to him.



$300,000



The majority leader further said that per the agreement, the over $300,000 released by the Obama administration to Ghana under the deal covered the terrorists up to the end of the two-year deal signed.



Mr. Kyei-Mensah Bonsu added that with the expiration of the agreement, the people of Ghana are the ones footing the bills for the two guys, who the US security intelligence said are dangerous.



He said then Foreign Minister Hannah Tetteh had created the impression in parliament that the so-called deal was subject to renewal after two years  which elapsed about two weeks ago  although the same Mahama administration had secretly undermined the two-year agreement and granted them refugee status.



Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said the NDC government, before altering the agreement, did not even have the courtesy to include it in the handing over notes to the NPP government during the transition in early 2017.



Supreme Court Ruling



Last year, the Supreme Court declared as unconstitutional the admission of the two suspected terrorists into the country by the Mahama administration.



A seven-member panel, presided over by Chief Justice Sophia A.B. Akuffo, by a 6 -1 majority decision, said the two were illegally staying in the country since the then government allowed them into the country without prior approval by parliament; and the consequential order of the court was that the NPP government should within three months submit the agreement for parliamentary consideration and approval or in default, repatriate the two ex-detainees.

Source: Daily Guide









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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An Accra High Court (General Jurisdiction) presided over by Justice Kweku Ackah Boafo, has ruled that Exton Cubic Group Limited  the company with links to Ibrahim Mahama, younger brother of former President John Mahama  does not have a mining right as required by law.



The court, however, ruled that the Minister of Land and Natural Resources, John Peter Amewu, also erred in revoking the mining lease granted Ibrahims company by his brothers government when it was exiting.



As a result, the court has refused two other reliefs sought by Exton Cubic Ltd, including application for an injunction restraining the minister from interfering with its (Exton Cubics) rights acquired by virtue of the leases.



According to the court, going through the processes leading to the signing of the mining lease, it was evident that the lease did not comply with the statute  the Minerals and Mining Act 2006 (Act 703).



In his ruling, Justice Kweku Ackah Boafo said that the Minerals Commission advised Exton Cubic Limited to pay for the lease on November 10, 2016 and the company did the payment on December 12, 2016, before the Commission on December 28, purportedly recommended to the sector minister to grant the company the Mining Lease.



The judge held that the process was not in accordance with the Minerals and Mining Act, saying the Minerals Commission erred in its decision to recommend that Exton Cubic should be given the lease.



Based on the law as stated above and a thorough review of the materials filed, I have no hesitation in concluding that the Minerals Commission had no authority to offer the Applicant the leases and request it to make payment before the recommendation, the court held.



The judge said it is the prerogative of the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources to offer the leases and not the Minerals Commission, but added that the statutory timelines were not complied with by Exton Cubic.



Justice Kweku Ackah Boafo held that pursuant to Article 268 of the 1992 Constitution and Clause 1(f) of the signed lease, Exton Cubic cannot be said to have a mineral right based on the wording of the lease and constitutional provision and case law.



He said the Supreme Court had held that a failure to comply with a constitutional provision for parliamentary ratification is fatal and creates no rights.



However, Justice Boafo held that the minister exceeded his powers when he clothed himself with jurisdiction to determine the legality or otherwise of the lease.



He said Minister Amewu arrogated unto himself the role of an adjudicator, as it seems he legitimately believed he was protecting the state resources.



Background



Ibrahim Mahamas Exton Cubic Limited in November last year filed an application for Judicial Review at the High Court, challenging the decision of the Lands and Natural Resources Ministry to revoke the mining lease granted the company.



The much-talked-about multi-billion cedi bauxite concession granted to Ibrahim Mahamas company at the tail end of his brother John Dramani Mahamas presidency, was revoked in September after Mr John Peter Amewu had contended that the lease granted Exton Cubic was invalid.



Ibrahims lawyers, Osafo Buaben, had argued that the revocation of the mining licence was a breach of the rights of Exton Cubic and that the minister did not have the power to cancel a mining lease by just a stroke of the pen.



He therefore asked the court to quash the revocation and as well place an interlocutory injunction on the minister to restrain him from interfering with the activities of the company.



The state, represented by Deputy Attorney General Godfred Yeboah Dame, had consistently maintained that the leases were illegally obtained and at one point, stated that Ibrahim Mahama obtained a fake mining licence from public officers who were under undue influence.



He stated that it is the sole prerogative of the Minister for Land and Natural Resources to grant mining leases, subject to parliamentary ratification  a process the Exton Cubic licence did not go through.

Source: Daily Guide









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Bishop David Oyedepo of the Living Faith World Outreach, aka Winners has spoken against criticism of Nigerian Pastors flying and owning jets.



Oyedepo while preaching in his church warned that speaking up against the church was a risk and attracted a curse.



He said I have been flying jet before you went to school, you were in Jss1.



We are not owing anybody, we have never taken loan from any bank, you better control your jealousy, sincerely.



Raising your mouth against church of Christ is a risk and a curse



Caution your mouth; the church is most value adding institution in Nigeria see how many universities churches are funding. Good management brought all this to place, he said.

Source: Dailypost.ng









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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Egyptian authorities have decided to close all schools in North Sinai until further notice starting Saturday.

The decision comes hours after the army announced the launch of a major counter-terrorism campaign dubbed Operation Sinai 2018 in north and central Sinai and other parts of the country.

The Ministry of Higher Education said in a statement that universities and other institutions of higher education will also be closed for one week.

The decision came following discussions between Egypt's Minister of Higher Education Khaled Abdel Ghafour and North Sinai governor Khaled Harhour over the current situation in the area in light of ongoing military and security antiterrorism operations, the ministry added.

Earlier Friday morning, the Egyptian Armed Forces launched Operation Sinai 2018 to implement the plan of comprehensive confrontation of terrorist and criminal elements and organisations in north and middle Sinai and other areas in the Nile Delta and the desert areas west of the Nile valley," according to a statement by the Armed Forces.

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Presiding Bishop and Founder of Perez Chapel International, Bishop Charles Agyinasare, has organized a clean-up exercise to remove posters, intended to publicize the four-day Festival of Miracles recently held at the Independence Square.



The Festival of Miracles was part of activities to mark Bishop Charles Agyinasares 35th anniversary in the ministry of God.



To advertise the event, which had a large number of people attending, posters were splashed all over the city of Accra which many Ghanaians, including the Accra Mayor, were unhappy about.



Days to the event, the clergy as well as organisers were heavily trolled on social media- receiving backlashes from a huge section of the public, who argued that the posters were defacing the metropolis.



A Twitter user, with the account name d_denzel tweeted "The rate at which Perez Chapel has defaced Accra City with Festival of Miracles posters is preposterous!! This is a clear case of indiscipline! Jesus didnt teach us this!#shameful"



"Festival of Miracles posters really dirtied the whole of Accra."Mr Meister wrote on his Twitter handle.



Accra Mayor, Mohammed Adjei Sowah, said it was unacceptable and that even God will not be pleased with the level of the nuisance caused by the posters.



Bishop Agyinasare, smoked the peace pipe by urging the thousands of Christians that thronged the miracle service, to join forces with Perez Chapel International, to clean the city- in his last sermon at the festival on February 2, 2018.



Church members, volunteers, and organisers thronged the city, a day after the crusade, to remove the numerous posters and banners.



In a video and series of photos, the team could be seen pulling down posters on city walls, roundabouts and other public places.



The Festival of Miracles brought healing to many believers.



Throughout the festival, sight was restored to the blind, wheelchair-bound and crutch-aided people walked unaided, a woman with breast cancer got healed and the deaf and dumb also received hearing and speech.



In the coming weeks, Bishop Agyinasare intends replicating the festival in Cape Coast, Central Region and Tamale, Northern Region.









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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The Minority National Democratic Congress [NDC] caucus in Parliament, showcased varying symbols of protest during President Nana Akufo-Addos State of the Nation address today [Thursday].



A number of them were seen in black apparel, whilst others had pieces of plaster on their mouths, symbolizing some sort of gagging.

The Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, was himself, wearing black traditional Dagomba wartime regalia.



During the national anthem, the Minority MPs made sure they empathized the parts of the verse that said: and help us to resist oppressors rule with all our will and might for evermore.



They subsequently chanted that section of the anthem suggesting that they were resisting some form of oppression from the New Patriotic Party government.



Speaking to Citi News after the Presidents Address, NDC MP for Kumbungu, Ras Mubarak, explained that the NDC legislators had to voice their opposition to what they perceived to be an erosion of Ghanas democracy.



The plaster on my lips was to express my disappointment about the rising cost of living in the country and silently to protest against fuel price increases, the increasing incidents of insecurity in the country and to let the people of Ghana know that we are unhappy about what is also happening in the country.



As you can see, our democracy is taking a dip. As you can see, things are not happening the way they should. The party promised the people of Ghana milk and honey from the skies. Unfortunately, we are not seeing any relief for the mothers. We are not seeing any relief for students, Ras Mubarak said.

This comes on the back of a staged walkout in Parliament on Tuesday when the cash for seat investigative report was being debated in Parliament.



The Minority side said it believed the report reflected only the views of the Majority side on the Committee.



The walkout was followed by a sit-down protest on Wednesday where the Minority MPs refrained from taking part in discussions on the Floor of Parliament despite being present.



Address of promises



Haruna Iddrisu has described the Presidents State of Nation Address as State of Promises after the Presidents address in parliament today [Thursday].



Minority Chief Whip, Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak, said the Presidents address was more of a campaign speech, and that all the President did was to talk about what he is going to do instead of what his outfit has done so far.



Virtually, he was just talking as if he was on a campaign trail, still making promisesinstead of him to be telling us exactly what he has been able to do in 2017, the President wasted all the time talking about what he was going to do, he said.





Source: citifmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, says government has an obligation to treat the Auditor-Generals Report seriously, and to work to retrieve illegally acquired monies from those who would impoverish the Ghanaian people.



Delivering his Message on the State of the Nation, on Thursday, 8th February, 2018, President Akufo-Addo noted that year in, year out, the nations Auditor-General produces a report on the countrys public finances, which is often full of grand cases of corruption in our public services.



The Auditor-Generals Report on MDA liabilities as at 31st December, 2016, makes truly alarming reading. I make reference to the fact that a staggering amount of GH5.4 billion has been identified as constituting fictitious claims. In the course of this address, Mr Speaker, the House has heard me struggle to identify a source of funding to build our roads, the President said.



He continued, Every day, we hear reports on our radios and televisions of dilapidated classrooms, and children who sit on floors at school. Just think of the difference that GH5.4 billion would make to the nations finances. That would certainly be enough to build and furnish hundreds of classrooms, and construct the Eastern Corridor roads. Every citizen is affected by acts of corruption, and we should all work to tackle them.



To this end, President Akufo-Addo noted that the role of OccupyGhana, in increasing awareness of the importance of the work of the Auditor-General, should be recognised.



All corruption allegations investigated

With the Preamble to the Constitution of the Republic enjoining all Ghanaians to uphold the principles of Freedom and Justice, Probity and Accountability, and in furtherance of this, the President noted that he has made it publicly known that anyone, who has information about acts of corruption by any of his appointees, should bring it forward, and should be prepared to back it up with evidence, for he will have it investigated.



So far, every single alleged act of corruption levelled against any of my appointees has been investigated by independent bodies, and, in some cases, by Parliament itself, and the findings made public, the President said.



He added all the allegations against the Minister-Designate for Energy at his parliamentary confirmation hearings; to that against the CEO of BOST; to those against the two deputy Chiefs of Staff; to the conflict of interest allegations against the Minister for Finance; and, most recently, to the claims of extortion against the Trade and Industry Minister, have been investigated, and no evidence has been adduced to suggest any act of corruption, conflict of interest or wrongdoing.



It appears, however, that some are determined to stick to their politically-motivated view that there has been corruption. This, surely, is not helpful. It is important to note that, in my first year of office, despite having a clear parliamentary majority, two separate bi-partisan probes in Parliament have been established to inquire into allegations of corruption, as against zero in recent years, notwithstanding the persistent calls by the then Minority over several allegations, he said.



President Akufo-Addo, in quoting from the Minister for Information, Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, stated that no matter how long a log stays under water, it will never become a crocodile.





Election of MMDCEs

On the proposed creation of new regions, President Akufo-Addo expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the constitutionally-mandated processes so far, and stressing that I believe this exercise will be a success, especially as it is being undertaken with scrupulous adherence to the teachings of the Constitution in this sensitive area.



Touching on another ambitious decentralisation exercise, which is the direct election of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives on a partisan basis, President Akufo-Addo noted that it is a firm manifesto commitment of the New Patriotic Party, to which he remains committed.



He noted that his discussions with the nations political leaders, including the former Presidents of the Republic, convince him that it is a step that must be taken.



The constitutional impediment to this, in Article 55 of the Constitution, an entrenched clause, must, therefore, be removed. To ensure the judicious use of the countrys resources, I propose that the constitutional processes for a Referendum should be initiated in such a manner that the holding of the Referendum will take place at the same time as next years District Assembly elections, he said.



He continued, If successful, the outcome of the Referendum will mean that the current set of MMDCEs will be the last batch of Chief Executives to be appointed under the current system. I have no doubt that the resourceful Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Hajia Alima Mahama, MP for Nalerigu Gambaga, will be able to shepherd this process to a positive conclusion.





Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
The president of a misstate construction firm has pleaded guilty to federal charges in a $100,000 embezzlement case.

Wendi Detter's plea was expected because she had a deal with prosecutors to admit to a charge of wire fraud when she appeared before U.S. Middle District John E. Jones III this week.

Detter is accused of stealing the money from YCP Inc., a York County firm she co-founded a dozen years ago.

Investigators said she stole from the company for her personal use from November 2012 to June 2015. She would write company checks to herself and cash them and then doctor the accounts to cover the thefts, prosecutors charged.

Detter's plea agreement did not include a guarantee on sentencing. The wire fraud charge carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Her agreement does require her to resign from YCP, pay restitution and sign her 49 percent share of the stock over to the company.
A 16-year-old Annville girl narrowly dodged death, thanks to police who found her unconscious at the bottom of an embankment early Thursday in Lebanon County.



The girl was supposed to be sleeping over at her grandparents' Alden Place home, but she and another 16-year-old girl left the home and went to a nearby wooded area. About an hour later at 3 a.m., the second girl returned to the home, but not the granddaughter, prompting the grandparents to call police.



Cornwall police Patrolman Gregory Bender and North Cornwall Township police Officer Curtis Groff began searching for the girl in the woods, by nearby ponds and a stream. At around 4:33 a.m. Groff saw the girl lying next to a stream unconscious at the bottom of an embankment east of Route 72 near the Mount Gretna Exit.



She was immediately taken to Penn State Milton S. Hershey and treated for hypothermia. The girl was released from the hospital at noon. Hospital staff said the girl would have died had she not been found as a result of temperatures in the teens and the likelihood of fatal effects of hypothermia.

Police did not dislcose why the girl walked away from her grandparents' home.
Clinton County

Renee Elizabeth Getz, license no. PN299376, of Mill Hall, Clinton County, voluntarily surrendered her license to practice as a practical nurse in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, because she is unable to practice as a practical nurse with reasonable skill and safety to patients by reason of illness, addiction to drugs or alcohol, or mental incompetence; and because she has violated a lawful disciplinary order of the Board. (1/19/18)

Dauphin County

Ibrahim T. Beidari, license nos. SP016119 and RN605308, of Harrisburg, Dauphin County, had his licenses to practice certified registered nurse practitioner and registered nurse temporarily suspended, pending a hearing, on the grounds that his continued practice within the Commonwealth may be an immediate and clear danger to the public health and safety. (01/26/18)

Delaware County

Noreen Burns Shanahan, license no. RN236630L, of Garnet Valley, Delaware County, was indefinitely suspended based on being unable to practice with reasonable skill and safety to patients by reason of mental or physical illness or condition or physiological or psychological dependence upon alcohol or hallucinogenic, narcotic or other drugs which tend to impair judgment or coordination. (10/31/17)

Suzanne Stahl, license no. DN003334, of Havertown, Delaware County, was suspended for no less than three years retroactive to September 18, 2017, based upon violating the terms of a previous agreement entered into with the Commonwealth. (11/29/17)

Leah Marie Pierce, license no. PN293048, of Media, Delaware County, was assessed $1124.29 in costs of investigation and was indefinitely suspended because she is addicted to alcohol or hallucinogenic, narcotic or other drugs which tend to impair judgment or coordination, or is mentally incompetent. (04/26/17)

Kristie L. Troilo, license no. RN527180L, of Drexel Hill, Delaware County, had her license suspended for no less than three (3) years, with such suspension to be stayed in favor of no less than three (3) years of probation, because she is unable to practice the profession with reasonable skill and safety to patients by reason of physiological or psychological dependence upon drugs. (1/19/17)

Elk County

Leah Sample, license no. RN638975, of Johnsonburg, Elk County, was indefinitely suspended to practice as a registered nurse in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for no less than five (5) years, such suspension to be immediately stayed in favor of no less than five (5) years of probation, unless that period of probation is extended or modified for cause by mutual agreement of the Respondent and the Professional Health Monitoring Program (PHMP), Disciplinary Monitoring Unit (DMU) case manager, subject to the Boards terms and conditions, because she is unable to practice professional nursing with reasonable skill and safety by reason of mental or physical illness or condition or dependence upon alcohol, hallucinogenic or narcotic drugs which tend to impair judgment or coordination; and she was convicted, or entered a plea of guilty, or entered a plea of nolo contendere, or has been found guilty by a judge or jury, of a felony or a crime of moral turpitude, or has received probation without verdict, disposition in lieu of trial or an Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition in the disposition of felony charges, in the courts of this Commonwealth, the United States, any other state, territory, possession or country, with each such conviction being a separate violation of the Act. (1/19/17)
UPDATED: Missing York teen returned home, in good health: police

York police are asking for help to find a York girl who hasn't been seen since she left for school Thursday morning.

Mairhga Lynn Fischer, 13, spent the night at her friend's house Wednesday night, but didn't return home or go to school Thursday, police said. Mairhga has ran away twice before and police said she and her mother, Jessica Durham, had an argument about her friends recently.

Family and friends have searched parks and social media but have not found Mairhga. She is 5 feet 8 8nches tall and weighs 130 pounds. It is unknown what she may be wearing.

Police ask anyone with information as to Mairhga's whereabouts to call 717-846-1234 or 911; or text tips to 847-411; or use the York police app.
Egypt's parliament fully supports the Egyptian military's "honorable and just" counter-insurgency effort, Operation Sinai 2018, to purge the country of terrorists, parliament speaker Ali Abdel-Aal said on Friday evening.

Abdel-Aal said that he is closely following the military operation, which "aims to thwart all terrorist plots threatening the security of Egypt," the statement added.

On Friday morning, the Egyptian Armed Forces launched Operation Sinai 2018 in north and central Sinai and other parts of the country, aiming to destroy jihadist militant groups that are active in the area.

The parliament values all the sacrifices of brave Egyptian soldiers, and calls on Egyptians to stand with police and the armed forces in the countrys war against terrorism, until the land of Egypt is cleansed of it forever, the statement read.

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Cody Wilson enters the courtroom during his trial in Penticton, earlier this week. He will have to wait at least another night to learn his fate.
At the beginning of Stanley's trial, the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations called on the federal government to make it mandatory for juries to include First Nations people. Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations Chief Bobby Cameron speaks to media the Court of Queen's Bench as the jury is in deliberation in the trial of Gerald Stanley, the farmer accused of killing Colten Boushie, a 22-year-old Indigenous man, in Battleford, Sask., Friday, February 9, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Liam Richards
Some believe measures declared by the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) are constitutional and moving in the right direction, while others argue they are procrastinating, going in circles, circumventing Central Council resolutions, and heeding the advise of European and Arab countries that urged for patience until the deal of the century is tabled.

Palestinian researcher Anas Abu Eresh asserts there is nothing new in the outcome of the Executive Committee meeting. To understand this, we must realise that the Central Council is the highest legislative authority in the PLO and the Executive Committee is the highest executive authority in the PLO, explained Abu Eresh. Therefore, when the Central Council refers decisions or recommendations to the Executive Committee, the latter should directly implement them and not recommend that the cabinet implement these decisions by forming a supreme committee to suspend recognition of Israel. It seems the roles between the Executive Committee and cabinet are bizarrely juxtaposed.

He continued: Who takes the decision and who implements it? The decision of the Executive Committee calls on the government to implement these decisions until the former ratifies them. Since the matter is in the hands of the Executive Committee, why are they referring it to the cabinet, especially since the Executive Committee is a higher authority than the government?

Abu Eresh analyst believes nothing will change on the ground, noting that security coordination, which was supposedly suspended, is crucial to all matters, large and small. The movement of officials or even average citizens requires security coordination; sick people who need medical treatment whether inside or outside Israel requires security coordination; in fact, any official who travels between West Bank towns could face problems or even arrest at any checkpoint if there is no security coordination.

Mohannad Abdel-Hamid, a political analyst, believes the formation of a higher follow-up committee is only a ruse to buy time, in line with European and Arab positions that advised the Palestinian Authority (PA) not to be hasty in taking rash heroic decisions. Instead, it should wait until the announcement of the deal of the century. Abdel-Hamid said that forming a supreme committee to look into suspending recognition of Israel and ending security coordination (the two key issues justifying the existence of the PA) would eliminate the role of the PA.

The foundation of the Oslo agreement is based on relying on Israeli occupation administratively, economically, security-wise and politically, and it is not easy to disengage from the occupation unless there is broad Arab and international support, he said. Even if that were the case, Israel would challenge the Arab and international stance. All this makes it a dubious mission.

According to Adnan Abu Amer, a Gaza-based expert on Israeli affairs, It is clear this is just more of the same, similar to previous meetings and decisions that were never implemented. Forming a committee in Palestinian political lexicon means if you want to kill an issue, then form a committee on it because it will take weeks or months during which political developments would overtake the issue.

Abu Amer added: It would have been better if the Executive Committee took immediate decisions such as withdrawing recognition of Israel, ending security coordination, or severing political and economic ties with Israel. These would have been tools to put pressure on Israel and the US administration. Instead, the decisions that were actually taken have no impact or weight on the ground, which gives Israel more time to impose new realities on the ground.

Abdel-Meguid Sweilam believes the meeting of the Executive Committee took place to implement the main resolutions of the Central Council. Primarily, to disengage with Israel on the economic and political sides, because relations between Israel and Palestine must be reduced to the minimum. Sweilam explained this could not be an outright boycott, because politically we can only do that to a certain degree, and economically it would be impossible because the Palestinian economy is under the control of Israel. Severing ties with Israel can only be to a certain degree.

As for mutual recognition of Israel, everyone knows this should have been part of final talks at the end of the transitional phase, but the Americans and Israelis violated this fundamental clause, stated Sweilam. The PA is no longer obligated to recognise Israel and the Central Council made this recommendation to the Executive Committee. Implementing the decision means that as soon as the US and Israel reverse their decision that violates international law and the agreement of mutual recognition, Palestine would be ready to re-recognise Israel on the condition that Israel recognises the national rights of the Palestinian people.

Sweilam believes it is logical not to continue recognising Israel at a time when Israel defies not only international law but also what it signed in the mutual recognition agreement. Resorting to the International Criminal Court [ICC] would violate our agreement with the US when we committed not to do that and wait for a political settlement, or the Americans to propose a fair political initiative based on international law, he said. However, they broke our deal which means we are no longer obligated either, and therefore will resort to all international bodies which is our right as stated in UN documents. He added that resorting to the ICC is a protected democratic political practice for any party that feels their rights or sovereignty are violated.

Sweilam added that the supreme committee formed by the Executive Committee and asking the cabinet to implement decisions is the responsibility of the government. He noted that forming higher committees is not deferral or buying time, but a common constitutional institutional position that does not waste time.

The Executive Committee asked the government to immediately begin preparing for steps to disengage with the occupation power on political, administrative, economic and security levels, and present this to the Executive Committee for ratification. This begins with defining security relations with Israel and withdrawing from the Paris Economic Agreement for the benefit of the national economy.

It decided to form a supreme committee to implement the decisions of the Central Council, including suspending recognition of Israel until the latter recognises the state of Palestine within the 1967 borders, and reverses the decision to annex East Jerusalem. Also, end settlement building, liberate the population and territories from Israeli control, extend Palestinian judicial powers to cover all those living in territories belonging to the state of Palestine under occupation.

It also decided to request the ICC investigate settlement crimes, racial discrimination and ongoing silent ethnic cleansing in Jerusalem and its suburbs, as well as in Palestinian areas, southern Hebron and elsewhere under occupation. This requires interrogating and prosecuting Israeli political, military and security officials and bringing them to international justice, based on Article 8 of the Rome Statute, which views settlements as a war crime, and the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits occupation powers from relocating their citizens to occupied territories.

*This story was first published in Al-Ahram Weekly

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Gerald Stanley leaves the Court of Queen's Bench out a back door with members of the RCMP after a jury delivered a verdict of not guilty of killing 22-year-old Indigenous man Colten Boushie, in Battleford, Sask., Friday, February 9, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Liam Richards
Maj. Mark Norris of the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre, right, and Canadian Coast Guard officer Marc Ouellette head from a news conference after announcing that they are scaling back their search for the captain of a fishing vessel that ran aground off Canso, N.S., in Halifax on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018. Officials received a mayday call earlier in the week from Fisherman's Provider II that the boat had hit a shoal and the crew was abandoning the ship. The fishing vessel, Miss Lexi, came to the stranded men's aid and the crew managed to get three of the fishermen off the vessel. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan
Qila, a beluga whale at the Vancouver Aquarium receives a freshly prepared herring from trainer Katie Becker during a feeding at the aquarium in Vancouver, B.C., Wednesday, Oct.19, 2011. A British Columbia court has ruled that Vancouver's park board didn't have the authority to ban whales, dolphins and porpoises at the city's aquarium. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
The Philippine president has ordered the cancellation of a deal to buy 16 helicopters from Canada and says purchases of U.S. arms should also be stopped because of too many imposed conditions, although he says he still supports U.S. President Donald Trump. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shakes hands with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Honeylet Avancena as he arrives at the 50th Anniversary celebration of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Manila, Philippines Sunday November 12, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau participates in the ASEAN family photo in Manila, Philippines Sunday November 12, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reviews an honour guard as they arrive at the International Peacekeeping and Security Centre in Yavoriv, Ukraine Tuesday July 12, 2016. Federal officials have not figured out how to make good on the Trudeau government's promise to provide up to 150 police officers to peacekeeping, despite a shortage of such personnel on many UN missions. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
FILE - In this Feb. 2, 2018, file photo, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly listens during a meeting between President Donald Trump and North Korean defectors in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. The White House says Trump remains confident in Kelly even though Kelly defended an aide who'd been accused of domestic abuse by his two ex-wives. Spokesman Raj Shah says Trump was not aware of the allegations against former staff secretary Rob Porter until Tuesday. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
In this Monday, Jan. 15, 2018, photo, newly arrived Rohingya refugee Mohammad Ilyas, 55, stands in a makeshift transit shelter at the Nayapara camp near Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. "They are taking away our paddies, rice, and everything else, to keep us hungry. We were not able to leave our homes or go anywhere safely out of fear of the Buddhists," said Mohammad Ilyas, 55, who fled to Bangladesh, with only a shirt and a lungi sarong. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
FILE- In this Dec. 13, 2016, file photo, Anthony Levandowski, head of Uber's self-driving program, speaks about their driverless car in San Francisco. Uber has settled a lawsuit alleging that it ripped off self-driving car technology from Google's autonomous vehicle division, both confirmed the settlement Friday, Feb. 9, 2018. In the lawsuit, Waymo contended that former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick teamed up with ex-Google engineer Levandowski to steal LIDAR laser sensor technology. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)
For a brief historical moment, Alexis Tsipras and his political party, Syriza, ignited hope that Greece could resurrect a long-dormant leftist tide in Europe.

A new Greece was being born out of the pain of economic austerity, imposed by the European Union and its overpowering economic institutions  a troika so ruthless it cared little while the Greek economy collapsed and millions of people experienced the bitterness of poverty, unemployment and despair.

The Coalition of the Radical Left (Syriza) came to power in January 2015 as a direct outcome of popular discontent with the EU. It was a time when ordinary people took a stance to fend for whatever semblance of sovereignty not wrestled away from them by politicians, bankers and powerful bureaucratic institutions.

The result, however, was quite disappointing. Tsipras, now prime minister, transformed his political discourse and gradually adopted one that that is more consistent with the very neoliberal policies that pushed his country to its knees in the first place.

Syriza sold out, not only politically and ideologically, but in an actual physical sense as well.

In exchange for bailout loans that Greece received from European banks within the period 2010 to 2015 (estimated at $262 billion), the country is being dismembered. Greeces regional airports are now operated by German companies and the countrys main telecommunication firm has been privatised, with sizable shares of it owned by Deutsche Telekom.

The only thing missing outside the office of Greeces privatisation agency is a sign that reads: A Nation for Sale, wrote Greek political economist, C J Polychroniou.

Unsurprisingly, economic subservience is often a prelude to political bondage as well. Not only did Syriza betray the aspirations of the Greek people who voted against austerity and bailouts, it also betrayed the countrys long legacy of maintaining amicable relationships with its neighbours.

Since his arrival at the helm of Greek politics, Tsipras has moved his country further into the Israeli camp, forging unwise regional alliances aimed at exploiting new gas finds in the Mediterranean and participating in multiple Israeli-led military drills.

While Israel sees an opportunity to advance its political agenda in Greeces economic woes, the Greek government is playing along without fully assessing the possible repercussions of engaging with a country that is regionally viewed as a pariah, while internationally condemned for its military occupation and terrible human rights record.

Israel moved to pull Athens into its own camp in 2010, shortly after the Turkish-Israeli spat over the Mavi Marmara attack ensued. Israeli commandos attacked the Turkish Gaza-bound boat, killing nine Turkish nationals and injuring many more.

Although Turkey and Israel have, since then, reached a diplomatic understanding, Tel Aviv has moved forward to create alternative allies among Balkan countries, exploiting historical conflicts between some of these countries and Turkey.

Bilateral agreements were signed, high diplomatic visits exchanged and military exercises conducted in the name of deterring international jihad and fighting terrorism.

Greece and Cyprus received greater Israeli attention since they, on the one hand, were seen as a political counterweight to Turkey and, on the other, because of the great economic potential they offered.

Just one month after the Mavi Marmara attack, then Greek Prime Minister George Papandrous visited Israel, followed by an official visit by Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to Greece  the first of its kind. That was the start of a love affair that is growing deeper.

The main motivation behind the closeness in relations is the Leviathan and Tamar gas fields, located in the territorial waters of several countries, including Lebanon. If Israel continues with its plans to extract gas from an energy source located off the coast of Lebanon, it will increase the chances of yet another regional war.

When Tsipras came to power on the shoulders of a populous political movement, Palestinians hoped that he would be different.

It was not exactly wishful thinking, either. Syriza was openly critical of Israel and had vowed to cut military ties with Israel upon coming to office, wrote Patrick Strickland, reporting from Athens. Instead the ties have, nonetheless, been deepened.

Indeed, soon after taking power, the radical left-led Greek government signed a major military agreement with Israel, the Status of Forces accord, followed by yet more military exercises.

All of this was reinforced by a propaganda campaign in Israel hailing the new alliance, coupled with a changing narrative in Greek media regarding Israel and Palestine.

One George Tzogopoulos has been particularly buoyant about Israeli-Greek friendship. Writing a series of articles in various media, including the rightwing Israeli newspaper, The Jerusalem Post, Tzogopoulos suggests that, unlike the older generation of Greeks who sided with Palestinians in the past, the young generation is likely to be pro-Israel.

This process (of converting Greeks to loving Israel) will take time, of course, because it is principally related to school education, he wrote in Algemeiner. But the change in coverage of Israel by Greek journalists is a good omen.

That change of coverage was also notable in the recent official visit by Israeli President Reuven Rivlin and his meeting with Tsipras and other Greek officials.

In the meetings, Rivlin complained of Palestinian obstinacy and refusal to return to the peace process, thus causing a serious crisis.

The radical left leader said little to challenge Rivlins falsehoods.

Greece was not always this way, of course. Who could forget Andreas Papandreou, the late Greek leader who gave the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) diplomatic status in 1981, and stood by Palestinians despite American and Israeli threats?

It is that generation that Tzogopoulos and his like would have gone forever, replaced by morally-flexible leaders like Tsipras.

However, signing off to join an Israel-led economic and military alliance in an area replete with conflict is a terribly irresponsible move, even for politically inexperienced and opportunistic politicians.

For Greece to be the strong arm of imperialism in the region  as described by the leader of the Socialist Workers Revolutionary Party in Greece  is completely stupid as it will, in the long run, bring catastrophic results for (the) Greek people.

But Tsipras seems incapable of looking that far ahead.

For a brief historical moment, Alexis Tsipras and his political party, Syriza, ignited hope that Greece could resurrect a long-dormant leftist tide in Europe.

A new Greece was being born out of the pain of economic austerity, imposed by the European Union and its overpowering economic institutions  a troika so ruthless it cared little while the Greek economy collapsed and millions of people experienced the bitterness of poverty, unemployment and despair.

The Coalition of the Radical Left (Syriza) came to power in January 2015 as a direct outcome of popular discontent with the EU. It was a time when ordinary people took a stance to fend for whatever semblance of sovereignty not wrestled away from them by politicians, bankers and powerful bureaucratic institutions.

The result, however, was quite disappointing. Tsipras, now prime minister, transformed his political discourse and gradually adopted one that that is more consistent with the very neoliberal policies that pushed his country to its knees in the first place.

Syriza sold out, not only politically and ideologically, but in an actual physical sense as well.

In exchange for bailout loans that Greece received from European banks within the period 2010 to 2015 (estimated at $262 billion), the country is being dismembered. Greeces regional airports are now operated by German companies and the countrys main telecommunication firm has been privatised, with sizable shares of it owned by Deutsche Telekom.

The only thing missing outside the office of Greeces privatisation agency is a sign that reads: A Nation for Sale, wrote Greek political economist, C J Polychroniou.

Unsurprisingly, economic subservience is often a prelude to political bondage as well. Not only did Syriza betray the aspirations of the Greek people who voted against austerity and bailouts, it also betrayed the countrys long legacy of maintaining amicable relationships with its neighbours.

Since his arrival at the helm of Greek politics, Tsipras has moved his country further into the Israeli camp, forging unwise regional alliances aimed at exploiting new gas finds in the Mediterranean and participating in multiple Israeli-led military drills.

While Israel sees an opportunity to advance its political agenda in Greeces economic woes, the Greek government is playing along without fully assessing the possible repercussions of engaging with a country that is regionally viewed as a pariah, while internationally condemned for its military occupation and terrible human rights record.

Israel moved to pull Athens into its own camp in 2010, shortly after the Turkish-Israeli spat over the Mavi Marmara attack ensued. Israeli commandos attacked the Turkish Gaza-bound boat, killing nine Turkish nationals and injuring many more.

Although Turkey and Israel have, since then, reached a diplomatic understanding, Tel Aviv has moved forward to create alternative allies among Balkan countries, exploiting historical conflicts between some of these countries and Turkey.

Bilateral agreements were signed, high diplomatic visits exchanged and military exercises conducted in the name of deterring international jihad and fighting terrorism.

Greece and Cyprus received greater Israeli attention since they, on the one hand, were seen as a political counterweight to Turkey and, on the other, because of the great economic potential they offered.

Just one month after the Mavi Marmara attack, then Greek Prime Minister George Papandrous visited Israel, followed by an official visit by Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to Greece  the first of its kind. That was the start of a love affair that is growing deeper.

The main motivation behind the closeness in relations is the Leviathan and Tamar gas fields, located in the territorial waters of several countries, including Lebanon. If Israel continues with its plans to extract gas from an energy source located off the coast of Lebanon, it will increase the chances of yet another regional war.

When Tsipras came to power on the shoulders of a populous political movement, Palestinians hoped that he would be different.

It was not exactly wishful thinking, either. Syriza was openly critical of Israel and had vowed to cut military ties with Israel upon coming to office, wrote Patrick Strickland, reporting from Athens. Instead the ties have, nonetheless, been deepened.

Indeed, soon after taking power, the radical left-led Greek government signed a major military agreement with Israel, the Status of Forces accord, followed by yet more military exercises.

All of this was reinforced by a propaganda campaign in Israel hailing the new alliance, coupled with a changing narrative in Greek media regarding Israel and Palestine.

One George Tzogopoulos has been particularly buoyant about Israeli-Greek friendship. Writing a series of articles in various media, including the rightwing Israeli newspaper, The Jerusalem Post, Tzogopoulos suggests that, unlike the older generation of Greeks who sided with Palestinians in the past, the young generation is likely to be pro-Israel.

This process (of converting Greeks to loving Israel) will take time, of course, because it is principally related to school education, he wrote in Algemeiner. But the change in coverage of Israel by Greek journalists is a good omen.

That change of coverage was also notable in the recent official visit by Israeli President Reuven Rivlin and his meeting with Tsipras and other Greek officials.

In the meetings, Rivlin complained of Palestinian obstinacy and refusal to return to the peace process, thus causing a serious crisis.

The radical left leader said little to challenge Rivlins falsehoods.

Greece was not always this way, of course. Who could forget Andreas Papandreou, the late Greek leader who gave the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) diplomatic status in 1981, and stood by Palestinians despite American and Israeli threats?

It is that generation that Tzogopoulos and his like would have gone forever, replaced by morally-flexible leaders like Tsipras.

However, signing off to join an Israel-led economic and military alliance in an area replete with conflict is a terribly irresponsible move, even for politically inexperienced and opportunistic politicians.

For Greece to be the strong arm of imperialism in the region  as described by the leader of the Socialist Workers Revolutionary Party in Greece  is completely stupid as it will, in the long run, bring catastrophic results for (the) Greek people.

But Tsipras seems incapable of looking that far ahead.

*This story was first published in Al-Ahram Weekly

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Survivors look for belongings during the demolition operation at a collapsed hotel building after a strong earthquake in Hualien County, eastern Taiwan, Friday, Feb. 9, 2018. A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck late Tuesday night caused several buildings to cave in and tilt dangerously. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)
FILE - This Oct. 26, 2017 file photo shows prototypes of border walls in San Diego. Federal Judge Gonzalo Curiel was berated by Donald Trump for his handling of lawsuits alleging fraud at now-defunct Trump University. Curiel will hear arguments Friday, Feb. 9, 2018, in a lawsuit that could block construction of a border wall with Mexico, or at least cause major delays. (AP Photo/Elliott Spagat, File)
Indians take advantage of miscues to claim first victory St. Vincent found itself down two scores midway through the third quarter, and despite the deficit, coach Tim Schumer was calm.The game was not over at that point, you have to play four 

Rushing attack leads Pirates to win over Owls The Perryville football team is quickly turning into a M.A.S.H. unit. With several players already nursing injuries from the previous week, they also threw in other players who were in quarantine. 
Guyana's local content must be considered by Exxon in process to award contracts By Kiana Wilburg



GEORGETOWN

Petroleumworld 02 09 2018 The coming of oil and gas has led to an influx of foreign entities into the nation's borders. Many of these companies will be competing for contracts to supply goods and services at a national level.



While the Government may be smiling from ear to ear with this investment boom that is set to take place, local stakeholders are cautioning that businesses here should not be left out in the cold.



In fact, Mr. Charles Ceres, Managing Director of Ground Structures Engineering Consultants (GSEC) made a call yesterday at the Marriott Hotel for the Government to integrate local content into the evaluation process for the award of contracts.



His presentation focused on the work his company has been doing thus far as it relates to local content preparedness in Guyana.



The engineer noted that one needs to recognize that potential overseas partners will require first world level skills. In this regard, he commented that it would therefore call for an investment in training and technical resources to ensure that the expertise provided is second to none.

Ceres said that this ensures that potential partners are secure that the said company can appropriately respond to its needs.



In our case, we have been probably the sole provider of local content to international companies in the mining industry prior to the discovery of oil in Guyana. In fact, in 2008 we supported Canacol's environmental compliance efforts for the drilling of several wells in the Takutu Basin. We have provided geotechnical engineering, environmental compliance and groundwater hydrology services to companies such as Guyana Goldfields, Troy Resources, Sandspring Resources, the former Omai Gold Mines etc. We have provided services outside of Guyana  in Suriname, Trinidad, Grenada, St Lucia and the US.



Ceres continued, Our ability to respond in a technically sound manner to the demands of our clients mandated that we implement training programmes which provide our staff with the skill set demanded by these firms. It also meant that we had to acquire first world equipment to service their needs. This saw the introduction of a fully digitized soils and materials testing laboratory.



Ceres added, Consequently, when we formed an alliance with Fugro, our staff was not in awe when exposed to exactly the same equipment in Fugro's laboratory.



Fugro is the world's leading, independent provider of geo-intelligence and asset integrity solutions for large constructions, infrastructure and natural resources.



Furthermore, Ceres said that the acquisition of resources must, of course, be supplemented by training and a commitment to quality. In this regard, his company has expended considerable resources in training persons to be responsive to clients' needs.



The veteran engineer also stated that Guyana has a very poor culture when it comes to engineering distinction. As such, Ceres was careful to note that his company's training programme focuses on ensuring persons are part of a company culture of excellence. He said that emphasis is placed on the need to never be satisfied with outputs and to continually push the boundaries to obtain better solutions for clients.



Ceres said that this has resulted in the development of skills in areas as diverse as earthquake wave propagation analyses, geo-statistics and groundwater and surface water quality modeling.



Furthermore, Ceres said that his company has continually sponsored students at the University of Guyana. In fact, GSEC currently has three students under full sponsorship  two in engineering and one in biology.

Ceres said that this is recognition of the importance of young people in the success of his company and acceptance that evolution dictates young people are smarter than old people.



This policy has therefore married the knowledge of the old with the smartness of the young to advance the company and results in early exposure of young people to our company culture while instilling a sense of the need to respond appropriately to clients' demands. Needless to say, this has resulted in our company having persons who are young and fully supportive of our objectives and who see our field of practice as being an integral part of their future.



That said, Ceres stressed that local content requires investment in equipment and resources. He said that it has been typical for local companies to await contract awards prior to acquiring resources and equipment.



That is a policy frowned upon by our firm. We have among our arsenal, equipment which has never been utilized, including water well logging equipment and a drill rig capable of drilling to 1500 metres. While others may see this as a waste of resource, these items provide our staff with exposure to first world equipment and it has worked to our benefit.



Ceres continued, In fact, the initial phase of our local content collaboration with Fugro entailed exposure of several of our staff members to Fugro's facilities which mirrors ours. The training stints were therefore relatively short since it focused more on procedural issues than technical ones.



CREDIBILITY



According to Ceres, the most important part of local content support is professional integrity. He emphasized that this means walking away from practices which impugn the professional integrity of the company.



I think that it is well known that we had, and continue to have, a policy of very little participation in public sector projects. Public sector projects, here in Guyana, are driven very little by the need for technically defensible outcomes. The absence of that requirement limits a company's ability to grow and develop to be able to compete against first world companies.



He continued, Local content must also be driven by recognition of the availability of skills locally. I recall having a conversation with an advisor to the present government who was unaware of the existence of drilling expertise in Guyana. I pointed out to that individual that we had in fact done directional drilling here in Guyana in the mineral exploration sector 

The engineer added, Local content also mean the building of expertise.



Since our involvement with Fugro, our staff has worked in the Gulf of Mexico, off the East Coast of the USA and in the Caribbean. It should be noted that these projects are not all oil and gas related Local content in our case will consequently bring first world expertise outside of the oil and gas arena to Guyana.



IMPEDIMENTS



Ceres is of the firm view that local content must be supported by local decisions. In this regard, he commented that local decisions must be made by local affiliates, and not by persons removed from the local environment.



This implies that decisions must be made in Georgetown not Houston, Texas. Georgetown is aware of the expenses incurred to develop local expertise. Georgetown is aware of local, proven successes by the entities being considered. Georgetown is aware of the fact that expertise must be developed to be responsive in the long term, and that this will entail some level of support. Georgetown must therefore fight to ensure that local content precedes other considerations, including in some instances, price.



Ceres strongly concluded that the Government of Guyana must provide oversight to ensure that local content is integrated into the evaluation process for the award of contracts.



Story by Kiana Wilburg from Kaieter News



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Guyana spending $$$millions on expert advice that it is not taking By Abena Rockcliffe-Campbell



GEORGETOWN

Petroleumworld 02 09 2018 Many of those who are worried about the extent to which Guyana will really benefit from its vast oil wealth are also concerned about the fact that the Government of Guyana seems to be ignoring advice that, if acted upon, can result in the required changes in the country's current trajectory.



This was highlighted yesterday as Guyana's first official international oil and gas summit continued.



Attorney at Law Nigel Hughes was a guest speaker on one of the panels. He spoke briefly on Guyana's reliance on international advice, since the country has no history of oil and gas, and thus has a deficit of local experts.



In the question and answer segment, businesswoman and environmentalist, Annette Arjoon-Martins noted the fact that the Government of Guyana is spending millions of dollars on experts, but seems not to be taking much of the good advice being offered.



Arjoon noted that Guyana is at the critical stage of building its embryonic oil and gas industry. She said that this is the stage where certain decisions are most important.



Arjoon further noted, I am noticing we have paid for a lot of expert advice, but we are not taking it.



Arjoon asked Hughes for a proposition for the way forward. Hughes responded in acknowledgment that Guyana's politicians seem to lean towards taking the advice that is not necessarily sound. Hughes said,

Getting politicians to take rational advice is no easy task.



He continued, The question is how we create an environment in which that advice is known nationally and thus accepted nationally. Hughes said that national knowledge of the advice offered reduces the options for the political class to ignore. That is part of the solution.



Hughes said that there must be national discussions, where the paid experts share their opinions.



The opinions must not only be offered to the ministers, but across the country, so the country can understand the consequences of not following the advice. Hughes said that there will then be less scope for political action not consistent with the recommendations offered by the experts.



Advisor to President David Granger on Petroleum, Dr. Jan Mangal seems to be one of the good advisors that the Government of Guyana has retained but has refused to listen to.



It was reported in the press since last year that Dr. Mangal recommended that the government release the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) it signed with ExxonMobil. But even after that, the government maintained secrecy until eventually releasing the contract last December.



Also, Dr. Mangal, a Guyanese who spent 18 years in the oil industry abroad, had written many letters promoting the need for transparency in the embryonic oil and gas industry.



On Monday, Dr. Mangal said that the PSA can be renegotiated. He added that zero taxes and two percent royalties in the current agreement is not the international norm. Delivering a presentation on the Government of Guyana's Vision for the Oil and Gas Sector at the University of Guyana, Dr. Mangal said that the current contract must be compared to what obtains internationally.



Dr. Mangal noted that contracts should always be reviewed as new information becomes available.



Contracts are always changed. A contract is an agreement between two people. Both parties need to be comfortable. If one party becomes really uncomfortable it will be changed, Dr. Mangal pointed out.



He said that Guyana is a sovereign country and the evidence around the world is that contracts can be renegotiated as the situation changes.



Dr. Mangal's comments seem to have rubbed the government the wrong way.



The Ministry of the Presidency subsequently issued a sharp statement distancing itself from his public statements.



It was stated, The Ministry of the Presidency puts on record that Dr. Jan Mangal, Presidential Advisor on Petroleum, is not authorized to speak on behalf of His Excellency, President David Granger or the Government of Guyana.



Yesterday, State Minister Joseph Harmon said that because of Dr. Mangal's expertise, as a citizen of the country he is free to give advice internationally and to the nation as a whole.



The Minister said Dr. Mangal's advice on petroleum is not the only one the President receives and what the President chooses to do with the advice, whether to reject or accept, is up to the President.



Dr. Mangal is an oil and gas professional, who has worldwide experience with oil majors and governments, a background in project management, decision analysis, facilitation, project economics, and a PhD in offshore geotechnical engineering.



On his LinkedIn profile, Dr. Mangal said he is currently focused on ensuring Guyana's oil resource benefits the people and future generations.



Story by Abena Rockcliffe-Campbell from Kaieter News



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Expert Christopher Ram stumps oil and gas panel with questions about Guyana' s tax giveaways to ExxonMobil By Kaieter News



GEORGETOWN

Petroleumworld 02 09 2018 Attorney at law and Chartered Accountant, Christopher Ram yesterday stumped a panel at the three-day Oil and Gas Summit being held at the Marriott Hotel.



When Ram was given the opportunity to ask a question during the afternoon session, it came with specific instructions from the moderator of the session, Joanna Homer, who is a Legal Officer attached to the Ministry of Natural Resources. She asked that he make his question, quick and straight.



Ram acknowledged the request to be quick and straight but asked that the facilitators recognize the serious issues being addressed; issues that should not be hurried.



Ram followed up on what one of the presenters had to say about taxation. He said that if consideration is to be given to the question of taxation, we must realize that we cannot get any tax because we have the perfidious section 51 of the Petroleum Exploration and Production Act. So my question is; is there any plan to repeal Section 51 which grants almost blanket tax exemption, this includes income tax, corporation tax, property tax and capital gains tax?



Ram also asked if there is an intention to remove what he refers to as the strangulation clause of the contact otherwise known as the Stability Clause.



He asked, What happens to the petroleum agreements that we have signed with very restricting stability clauses which state that no new law will apply to the existing agreements?



Ram continued, We focus a lot on the Petroleum Commission Bill, but we must not forget the regulatory framework which includes the Petroleum Exploration and Production Act and a host of current petroleum agreements that contain very restricting stability clauses.



Homer, who is also an advisor to the Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman told Ram that there was no one on the panel who could respond to him on the intention of legislative reform as far as Section 51 is concerned.



Ram expressed the opinion that Homer, being an advisor, can state whether the intention exists. However, she told him that she was only wearing her hat as a facilitator.



The contract signed between the Government of Guyana and ExxonMobil clears the company from any future law or tax that can come in the way of the huge profits that the company intends to reap. That kind of security for ExxonMobil is enshrined under Article 32 of the contract that speaks to Stability of Agreement.



Article 32 states that Except as may be expressly provided herein, the government shall not amend, modify, rescind, terminate, declare invalid or unenforceable, require renegotiation of, compel replacement or substitution or otherwise seek to avoid alter, or limit this agreement without he prior written consent of the contractor.



The drafters of the contract were very explicit in stating that under no circumstances should ExxonMobil have to submit to any new law or pay any new tax. No new taxes whatsoever was expressly included in the contract.

The contract reads, After the signing of this agreement and its conformance with Article 15, the Government shall not increase the economic burdens of the contractor under this agreement by applying to this agreement or the operations conducted hereunder any increase of, or any new petroleum related fiscal obligation, including but not limited to any new taxes whatsoever , any new royalty, duties, fees, charges, VAT or other imposts.



Also, the contract states that if at any time after the signing of this agreement there is a change in the laws of Guyana  whether through the amendment of existing laws or the enactment of new laws or a change having the force of law in the interpretation implementation of application  ExxonMobil must not be affected.



Guyana agreed that despite whatever may change, ExxonMobil must receive the same economic benefit under the agreement that it would have received prior to the change in law.



The contract compels Guyana to resolve promptly and by whatever means may be necessary any conflict or anomaly between this agreement and any such new or amended legislation including by way of exemption, legislation, decrees and/or other authoritative acts.



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On 20 January, Turkey began a battle in the northern Syrian town of Afrin which continues until today with the aim of defeating the Kurdish militias that occupy north-western Syria and threaten Turkey.

It is fighting the Kurdish Peoples Protection Units that control the area because they are affiliated to the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), the Syrian arm of the Kurdish Workers Party the PKK, both of which Ankara categorises as terrorist groups.

Afrin is on the southern border with Turkey and has a large Kurdish population. The PYD wants to connect this region with north-eastern Syria in order that it can control a connected geographical area and establish a Kurdish federation it calls Western Kurdistan, implying that it also intends to secede from Syria.

In its attacks to expel the Kurds from Afrin, Turkey has relied on Syrian armed opposition factions it has funded. These have welcomed Turkeys onslaught on the Kurdish militias since these have been responsible for brutal actions over the past three years, notably destroying villages, burning homes and killing residents in order to achieve demographic change in the region.

The PYD took advantage of the Syrian Revolution that began in March 2011 to form two contradictory alliances. The first is the alliance with the regime led by Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, which, though undeclared, has supplied it with weapons and security and intelligence cooperation against the Syrian opposition.

The second is the PYDs public alliance with the National Coordination Coalition, part of the Syrian political opposition, which has allowed it to infiltrate the opposition and for PYD President Salem Muslim to become deputy chairman of the coalition. This has enabled the PYD to take control of large swathes of northern Syria where the Kurds reside.

As well as these two contradictory alliances, the PYD has forged good relations with Iran and a strategic alliance with Russia. When the PYD realised that siding with the US would be more likely to serve its interests, its militias offered themselves to the US as the latters boots on the ground in northern Syria.

PYD militias have committed ethnic cleansing in northern Syria, burning hundreds of villages and expelling their ethnic Arab and Assyrian residents to make way for a Kurdish population. Syrian human rights groups have accused the PYD of committing war crimes in the area over the past three years.

In 2016, the PYD created a federal system in areas under Kurdish militia control in northern Syria, followed by the creation of a constituent assembly for the federation and a presidential and parliamentary system that includes the areas around the towns of Kobani, Afrin and Jazeera. The militias have established self-administration and security agencies (asayish) and military forces (the Syria Democratic Forces), and maintained good relations with the regime.

Some 90 per cent of the Kurdish militias in northern Syria are not Syrian, but consist of Turkish Kurds not related to the Syrian conflict and with aims unrelated to the Syrian Revolution. They are interested in creating a West Kurdistan province similar to the Kurdish region in Iraq, and in so doing they have extended the historical Kurdish-Turkish quarrel using Syria as a battleground.

Turkey views the PKK as a threat to its national security, and it has a long and bloody history of conflict with the group. The PKK has carried out multiple terrorist attacks inside Turkey that have killed hundreds of Turks.

Because the PKK has come close to taking control of northern Syria, Ankara has now decided to abandon its strategic alliance with the US. Washington has refused to step back from its indirect support for the PKK or to create buffer zones in northern Syria. Once the US decided to partner with the Kurds in northern Syria and provide them with weapons and training, Turkey felt it had no choice but to ally itself with Russia.

The US did not lift a finger when Turkey attacked the Kurds in Afrin, however, revealing that its alliances are fragile and leaving the Kurds alone to confront the Turkish war machine. Meanwhile, Moscow took advantage of the battle in Afrin to revive its relations with Syrias Kurds, which are crucial for Russia as the Kurds currently control nearly one-third of Syria and this could improve Russias position in the country.

It has been more than two weeks since the Turkish campaign in Afrin began, and it has used immense firepower and thousands of Syrian combatants. Fierce battles in recent days have revealed how difficult the campaign has been for the Turkish forces owing to the complexity of political, military and geographic factors, strong defences based on adamant political beliefs, and regional and international developments favouring the Kurds and putting pressure on Turkey.

Turkeys attack on Afrin is not supported by the whole of the Syrian opposition, even though some armed factions are participating. Turkey has taken advantage of the actions of the Kurdish militias in Arab areas, including extortion, forced recruitment, and expulsion from villages under the pretext of connections with the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group, to turn the Arabs against the Kurds, Ali Abdullah, a Syrian opposition member, said.

The [opposition] Free Syrian Army spearheaded the ground attacks and spilled Syrian blood to serve Turkish plots, he added.

Abdullah said that Turkeys ambitions in the area were not feasible, however, even if it defeats the Kurdish militias by military means. The Turkish campaign could succeed in defeating the Kurdish militias and taking control of Afrin, but this will not end the Turkish-Kurdish conflict inside and outside Turkey. It will simply fan the flames when the Kurds have the opportunity to strike back, he said.

It would have been better to make a deal to end the confrontation and pave the way for stability for the people and countries in the region.

However, the Kurdish militias reject any truce that does not allow them to expand across northern Syria. They insist they will not abandon the West Kurdistan project that threatens all of northern Syria with war for years to come.

The US believes Turkeys security concerns are legitimate, said Syrian opposition figure Saeed Moqbel. It rejects the creation of an independent Syrian Kurdistan. It abandoned the Kurds when Turkey decided to attack them in Afrin, and it has declared it has no ties with any Kurdish forces in the area.

However, at the same time the US has urged Turkey to exercise self-restraint, though this has not meant asking it to halt the campaign. The US will now allow Turkey to take control of Afrin because US policy is based on striking a balance between US interests and its Turkish and Kurdish allies.

The US will thus seek to reassure Turkey that it will stand up against Kurdish secession or expansion in Syria and any future attempts by the PYD to cooperate with the PKK. At the same time, it will seek to reassure the Syrian Kurds that it will work with Turkey to prevent any Turkish incursions or military operations in pockets under PYD control, boosting US power in this area and pro-US and anti-Iran and anti-Al-Assad and anti-IS forces.

However, there is likely to be no solution in which everyone wins, since with such contradictory aims at stake someone must be defeated.

*This story was first published in Al-Ahram Weekly

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Venezuela's regime sets presidential elections for April 22 after talks crumble

By Alexandra Ulmer and Andreina Aponte

CARACAS

Petroleumworld 02 09 2018

Venezuela on Wednesday set a presidential election for April 22 after mediation talks between the leftist government and an opposition coalition collapsed, setting the stage for the likely re-election of President Nicolas Maduro.

Venezuela's ruling socialists had previously said a vote would be held before the end of April, with Maduro running despite his widespread unpopularity and a crushing economic crisis in the oil-rich nation.

During talks in recent weeks in the Dominican Republic, the opposition lobbied for the vote to be held in June to give it time to choose a candidate, as its top two leaders are barred from running.

But talks between the bitter foes crumbled on Wednesday.

The opposition said the government would not budge on issues including freedom for jailed opposition activists or humanitarian aid for hungry and ill Venezuelans. The government, meanwhile, accused opposition leaders of taking orders from Washington to abort the talks.

Maduro, a 55-year old former bus driver and union leader who has been president since 2013, appeared on Wednesday evening in front of a cheering crowd, who sang his campaign jingle, Everyone with Maduro!

Victory is ours! said Maduro in the televised broadcast, during which he danced and embraced supporters.

Minutes later, the pro-government electoral board appeared on state television to announce the vote would be held on April 22.

There was no immediate comment from the opposition.

Maduro's foes, who staged massive protests last year in an attempt to force early elections, now face a quandary about how - and if - they should participate in the vote.

Opponents say the government is rigging the election in advance by barring Maduro's strongest rivals - opposition politicians Leopoldo Lopez and Henrique Capriles - and failing to reform a compliant election board.

Some activists believe it is foolish to participate in what they consider a sham election. Others feel they have to keep up pressure by voting, while for some emigration is the preferred option.






The former Macys at Moorestown Mall that shut in early 2017 will be replaced by home furnishings store HomeSense and outdoor gear clothier Sierra Trading Post, PREIT announced on Thursday, Read more

It's official: After nearly a year of negotiations and vetting, mall owner Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust named HomeSense  a sister of HomeGoods  and outdoor outfitter Sierra Trading Post as replacements for the former Macy's at Moorestown Mall.

Both brands are new-to-market for Moorestown and part of the TJX empire, along with T.J. Maxx and HomeGoods  falling under the red hot off-price retail category that resonated well this past holiday season among cost-conscious shoppers.

While no definitive opening dates were given, PREIT said both stores would debut at the mall sometime this year. HomeSense will take up 25,000 square feet and Sierra Trading 18,000 square feet of what used to be a 200,000-square-foot Macy's. At least two more tenants will use the space, spanning two levels, PREIT spokeswoman Heather Crowell said.

Off-price, or value retailers  which boast discounts of 30 percent or more on designer brands  have defied the odds and continued to add brick-and-mortar stores even as higher-priced competitors and department stores such as J.C. Penney and Sears, along with Macy's, keep closing locations and losing market share to digital shopping.

The new retail blood "further differentiates Moorestown Mall in the region and brings exclusive, in-demand brands to our local shoppers," Crowell said.

Cherry Hill Mall, considered PREIT's trophy property for its size, tenant mix, sales per square foot, and affluent demographics, sits just 3.4 miles from Moorestown Mall. It was cited as one of the factors for the decision to shut the Macy's at Moorestown Mall, because Cherry Hill also has one.

The Macy's at Moorestown Mall was one of four in the Philadelphia region ordered to close by March 31, 2017. The others were at Neshaminy Mall, Plymouth Meeting Mall, and Voorhees Town Center.

PREIT has yet to announce what will replace Macy's at Plymouth Meeting Mall, which it also owns.

Crowell said Thursday's news is part of PREIT's anchor repositioning strategy to fill vacated anchor spaces with tenants in hot sectors as department stores continue to struggle.

Sears announced another round of closures of 103 Kmart and Sears stores earlier this year, while Macy's is working to shut 68 stores by March 31 on top of the 100 it closed by early 2017.

In recent months, PREIT announced several replacements for former department stores in its portfolio. They include a Dick's Sporting Goods, Field & Stream and HomeGoods opening in a former Sears space at Viewmont Mall in Scranton, and a Dick's Sporting Goods opening this month along with a Fine Wine and Good Spirits that debuted in November 2017 to replace Sears at Capital City Mall in Camp Hill, Pa.

In space less than a fifth of the former Macy's at Moorestown Mall, HomeSense will sell off-price home furnishings and accessories from designer brands and will be accessible from both the exterior and interior of the mall. Sierra Trading Post will offer name-brand gear for the outdoor enthusiast, from apparel and footwear to adventure gear and even home decor.

Moorestown Mall is home to Lord & Taylor, the Regal Stadium 12 & RPX movie theater, H&M, and Rizzieri Salon & Spa, and several restaurants.
Dennis M. Niceler, 56, of Galloway Township, .appears before Judge Edward J. McBride Jr. for a first appearance at the Camden County Hall of Justice on Friday, Feb. 2, Niceler was arrested in connection with the burglaries of 14 Camden County businesses. Read more

Methodical, meticulous research made Dennis M. Niceler a respected South Jersey historian, a twice-published author  and, authorities say, a rather adept after-hours burglar of businesses across the region.

The gentlemanly fellow who gave me a memorable tour of the Egg Harbor City Historical Society last summer is said by police to be the suspect a surveillance video shows wearing a hoodie, a ski mask, and gloves during a 2016 break-in at Giumarello's Restaurant in Haddon Township.

The helpful volunteer who reorganized the library and built exhibits at the Egg Harbor City Historical Society was arrested after being spotted on the roof of the Laurel Hill Plaza in Gloucester Township just before 2 a.m. on Christmas Eve last year.

Police said Niceler at first hid and then jumped from atop the single-story structure to get away, fracturing his foot.

He was apprehended sporting attire similar to that seen in the Giumarello video, and tools, including wire cutters, screwdrivers, and a crowbar, were found at the scene. Police say he used such tools to gain entry, disable alarms, and deflect security cameras in several dozen other break-ins in which he has since been implicated.

"It seems so out of character. Almost a Jekyll-and-Hyde thing," said Douglas McVarish, a historian from Collingswood. He got to know Niceler about 10 years ago through local circles of folks proud to call themselves history geeks.

"Dennis is that type of person who knows everything one could possibly know, and is able to answer any question, about certain subjects," McVarish said. "He is very passionate about history. None of us knew that other side of him."

Another friend agreed, saying, "Dennis was an indefatigable historical researcher [who apparently] plied his research skills in his secret life."

The Camden County Prosecutor's office said no arraignment date has been set. Niceler has not entered a plea, much less, been found guilty of committing the 14 break-ins.

Police said the suspect also has been implicated in more than 50 strikingly similar burglaries since 2013 in communities across South Jersey and as far north as Hazlet, Monmouth County.

"I've never seen something like this, where you connect [a suspect] to this number of jobs," said Gloucester Township Police Lt. Jason Gittens a 21-year police veteran.

The arrest stunned those who knew Niceler in his day job.

"When I heard Dennis had been arrested, I couldn't believe it. I thought, 'Are you kidding me?' " said Mark Maxwell, president of the Egg Harbor City Historical Society.

Niceler had alluded to a troubled past.

"Dennis once told me, 'When I was young, I was an idiot,' " Maxwell recalled.

In fact, Niceler's criminal career stretched back nearly three decades  a history of seemingly habitual and even audacious offenses recorded in local newspaper accounts and court records.

In 1989, he made headlines after being charged in a spree of 100 commercial burglaries in South Jersey. Two years later  within weeks of parole eligibility  he slipped away while working with fellow minimum-security prisoners on a roadside litter crew near Vineland.

Niceler stayed on the lam for more than a month until someone at Bally's Atlantic City casino recognized him as a fugitive. By 1997 he was back on the street, and in August of that year he was charged with breaking into a Gloucester County restaurant through a drive-in window and making off with more than $4,700 in cash.

Niceler, who grew up in Northeast Philly and spent most of his adult life in Atlantic County, had held jobs as a delivery driver. But a friend said he lost the last such position several years ago.

"We believe these burglaries were his source of income for the past five years," said Haddon Township Police Capt. Scott Bishop.

Niceler lived with and took care of his ailing father, who died in February 2016. Friends on social media praised his devotion, and Maxwell remembers Niceler bringing his dad to the historical society in a wheelchair.

But for all his industriousness, knowledge, and congeniality, Niceler also could be abrasive, difficult, and opinionated, friends said. He made a few enemies, as the less-than-charitable social media posts after his arrest suggest.

And when not doing historical research, he was busy studying online maps, taking virtual tours of businesses and examining social media photos posted by employees as he allegedly searched for new establishments to victimize, police said, "He was interested in untraceable goods  meaning cash," said Bishop.

Niceler was so thorough with his online research that he allegedly planned some heists without having to leave home. Arriving at his destination, he would carefully park beyond the sweep of surveillance cameras, Bishop said, and outside of what experience taught him would be a likely police perimeter.

That way, he would be better able to disappear into the dark even if law enforcement were summoned to the scene.

"He'd gotten very good at it," the police captain said.

But skillful research and due diligence are not qualities confined to historians (or cat burglars). Law enforcement professionals possess them as well.

After the 2016 Giumarello's break-in and a second, similar burglary four months later, a trio of Haddon Township detectives Timothy Hak, Mark Pagano, and Sgt. Joseph Johnston  started to investigate possible connections with other unsolved South Jersey break-ins.

And upon hearing about Niceler's Christmas Eve arrest at Laurel Hill Plaza, they contacted Gloucester Township police and began a joint effort that resulted in the additional charges.

Local historians weren't the only people startled to hear that the guy with encyclopedic knowledge of Egg Harbor City was a suspect in a rash of break-ins, that the man with what one pal called "a steel-trap mind" had a rap sheet a mile long.

So the other day, thinking I might find a clue or two, I listened again to the interview I recorded with Niceler last summer, for a column about the history of the White Horse Pike.

He spoke with mesmerizing fluency about vanished places and deceased personages, and with palpable reverence for vintage ephemera and arcana of all sorts.

In other words, Dennis Niceler was a very talented storyteller.

But it seems the story he didn't want to tell was his own.
Lisa Laitman, director of the Rutgers Alcohol and Other Drug Assistance Program, started recovery housing at Rutgers three decades ago. She talks about the program inside the recovery housing at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. Two dozen students live in the on-campus residence hall, which is for students in recovery from drug and alcohol addictions. TIM TAI / Staff Photographer Read more

One day last month, students and staff at the Rutgers University residence hall busily planned their spring-break hiking trip to the Appalachian mountains of Tennessee.

Then they turned their attention to party planning for the Super Bowl. Pizza, wings, and nachos were on the menu. Alcohol was not.

"We have some of the best parties here," said Johnny, 24, a public relations major from St. Paul, Minn. "Sober."

Johnny and the other students in the residence hall are all in recovery from use of alcohol or other substances, which can be tricky on a college campus where fun too often is associated with imbibing.

"Part of what helps people stay in recovery is that they have fun," said Lisa Laitman, director of the alcohol and other drug assistance program at Rutgers' New Brunswick campus.

Laitman started and oversees the school's collegiate recovery program, one of the nation's oldest and most highly regarded programs of its kind, with a recovery counselor, organized group activities, and access to counseling, health, and other services.

As the opioid crisis has crept onto college campuses nationwide, more schools are starting or exploring the possibility of adding recovery housing for students.

"I get calls every week from schools trying to get something up and consult with us," Laitman said.

Alcohol by far remains the most commonly used substance, Laitman said, but more students are seeking help for opioid use than 10 years ago. Like Johnny, who got hooked on OxyContin, then heroin.

Rutgers was in the forefront when it started the recovery program and opened housing in 1988. Other schools including Pennsylvania State University, have since added programs, but many campuses do not offer dedicated housing or space and staffing.

That's beginning to change. New Jersey is requiring all public universities with at least 25 percent of students living on campus to have recovery housing by fall 2019. The state recently gave grants to several schools, including Rutgers, to start or expand programs.

In Pennsylvania, universities, including West Chester, St. Joseph's, Drexel and Temple, are exploring the possibility.

"There are more and more students in recovery, all kinds of recovery, and it's a population we want to make sure we're serving," said Joseph Kender, a spokesman for St. Joseph's.

At Temple, student government last spring asked the school to explore options for recovery housing. After several current or former students died in 2017 of opioid overdoses  including one in the library  officials said in December they are considering it.

Laitman proposed Rutgers program when she arrived on campus and heard from students in recovery that they felt lonely and isolated, watching peers go out and knowing it was a part of college life they couldn't share.

"People felt very cut off," she said.

The drinking culture on college campuses hasn't changed much. About 20 percent of college students could be diagnosed with a drinking problem, according to national statistics, and researchers estimate that each year 1,825 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die from alcohol-related injuries. Data on opioid use by college students is limited, but a 2016 survey of 870 students by the University of Michigan found that 3.8 percent reported misuse of narcotics other than heroin, 1.9 percent had misused OxyContin and 1.3 percent Vicodin; less than 1 percent had used heroin. Marijuana use, by comparison, was much more prevalent, at nearly 40 percent.

The Rutgers' residence hall offers not just a place to live but a built-in set of friends on a similar path. They play games, go on trips, study, speak about recovery at high schools  and have parties.

"Coming here, you almost instantly have 30 friends," said Krishan, 35, a social-work major from Clinton, who used heroin until 2015. "It definitely made things a lot easier."

Krishan first entered college 15 years ago but dropped out as his grades plummeted and he struggled with addiction. It took him a decade to commit to sobriety, he said.

The location of the residence is largely kept anonymous on the 17,000 student campus to protect its students privacy.

To live there, students must have abstained for at least 90 days and attend at least two 12-step meetings a week and one monthly house meeting. The residents hold each other accountable.

They pay the same room and board rates as other students on campus and have the option of living there year round.

Jennifer, a 22-year-old from Chatham, N.J., said she began using drugs and alcohol in high school, but things really spiraled when she went to college in Miami. Xanax and alcohol were her drugs of choice. The breaking point, she said, was when she overdosed on her 21st birthday.

She then entered a rehab in Nashville, where she heard about Rutgers' program.

"Being from New Jersey and wanting to complete college, I thought that was perfect," she said.

She's been sober 15 months.

"My parents don't exactly still trust me yet," she said. "But my living here is a sign to them that I'm really committed to this."

Students this semester moved to a new building with a capacity for 40; 24 currently live there. But the community involved in recovery is closer to 100 students, said Keith Murphy, senior substance abuse counselor.

More than 90 percent of students who live in the house stay substance free and graduate, Laitman said. Their average GPA is nearly 3.3.

Johnny saw his GPA rise from 1.6 to 3.4.

His addiction started with marijuana and alcohol, he said, then progressed to oxycontin after he hurt his shoulder, then to heroin because it was cheaper.

"That got really bad. I had overdoses, and I still wanted to use," he said.

He went in and out of rehabs in Florida, Minnesota and Pennsylvania.

Then, while living with his father in New York City, he heard about Rutgers' program. He has been in recovery for 13 months.

Not all schools see the need for on-campus recovery housing.

"We have many resources available to help students who want and need it, but very few have shown any interest in designated recovery housing," said Ron Ozio, a spokesman for the University of Pennsylvania.

Drexel students in recovery live in an off-campus residence, The Haven at Drexel, which is operated by an outside party and offers support services, said spokeswoman Niki Gianakaris. But Drexel also is exploring adding an on-campus option for students who need less support.

At West Chester, a state school, a task force on recovery has been meeting for three semesters and is assessing the need for programming and housing, said spokeswoman Nancy Santos Gainer.

It can take time to build a recovery community. The College of New Jersey began offering housing in 2016, but only two students have opted for it. The college in the interim has opened the housing to students who wish to live in a substance free environment, which expanded residency to 10.

Penn State, with a main campus of about 46,000, started small three years ago with a recovery suite for four students and has since expanded capacity to 16, said Jason Whitney, program coordinator.

The housing kept Ryan, 22, a senior from Oakton, Va., at Penn State. He had been sober for three years in high school but felt his recovery was at risk when he arrived on campus, so much so that he took a semester off.

He returned his sophomore year when the recovery housing opened. Everything got better, he said.

"I was living with other people who wanted to do the same thing as me," he said, "grow in the same way and all stay in recovery. The people who I live with now are the best friends I've ever had."
In this Feb. 2, 2017, file photo, used needles litter the ground at an open air drug market along Conrail train tracks in the Kensington section of Philadelphia. Drug overdose deaths in the U.S. have skyrocketed. Read more

Thanks to the 2.7 million death certificates that stream electronically into his office at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention each year, Bob Anderson can see how the most deadly drugs are ravaging America.

He knows that fatal overdoses involving cocaine doubled in 2016. He knows that in more and more of those cases fentanyl was part of the fatal cocktail. And he knows deaths from illicit synthetic drugs are spiking.

But Anderson can't tell if these trends are happening across Pennsylvania.

Because when he looks at death certificates from the state, nearly half of those for fatal overdoses have a gaping omission  the drugs involved. Only Louisiana has a worse record. Among the Pennsylvania counties with available data, Philadelphia ranks last. It specified which drugs led to overdose deaths on just 7 percent of 746 death certificates in 2016, according to the most recent CDC data.

"So many of the drugs aren't specified," Anderson, chief of the CDC's mortality statistics branch, said of PA's numbers. " We have no confidence they reflect reality."

The CDC's mortality data, collected from death certificates submitted by every state, play a critical role in the world of public health. In relation to the opioid crisis, public health workers, researchers, elected officials, journalists, and average citizens use the information in countless ways, such as to track trends over time, compare states, and find emerging threats.

For example, after Kentucky made a push to collect toxicology information on overdose death certificates, officials discovered that a particular prescription muscle relaxer was involved in nearly a third of all overdose deaths. Armed with that information, the state legislature deemed it a Schedule V drug, allowing the state to track prescriptions for it.

The commonwealth lacks critical data at a time when the opioid epidemic shows no sign of slowing. County coroners and medical examiners in Pennsylvania typically maintain such data for fatal overdoses, yet much of the information isn't shared with the state and federal government via death certificates.

Philadelphia's medical examiner, physician Sam Gulino, has defended his approach, which he said is designed to handle death investigations as quickly as possible, largely to give closure to families. The office handled about 1,200 drug overdose cases last year, nearly three times the 2013 toll.

His current system allows Gulino and his office to declare drug intoxication as the cause of death for about 75 percent of the suspected drug cases it receives within about 24 hours. They do so using circumstantial evidence from the scene and a rapid toxicology test that can identify some drugs but not all, and not with enough specificity for a death certificate.

His office still completes full toxicology testing on those cases but said it can take up to 90 days. Waiting for that information before declaring a cause of death would require his office to mark all of those cases  approximately 900 in 2017  "pending." He said doing so would cause a backlog while leaving grieving families in the dark or waiting for documentation needed for insurance claims.

"Some people express they have a really hard time moving forward with their grieving process if they have this question mark hanging over what the cause of death might be," Gulino said.

His office could also go back and amend the death certificate once toxicology information is available. But he said that would burden his already taxed staff. (Anderson, from the CDC, said it is common for many states to amend death certificates.)

Gulino said he would be happy to give the CDC the information directly, but Anderson said his office is only equipped to take mortality data through state death-certificate data.

On the other side of the state, Allegheny County Medical Examiner Karl E. Williams, a physician, has a very different approach. He called it "shameful" that Pennsylvania has nearly the worst record in the country of reporting the information on death certificates.

His county, which includes Pittsburgh, provided drug information on 98 percent of overdose death certificates in 2016, according to the CDC.

That is possible because he issues a "pending" cause of death for nearly every suspected drug case his office handles. When full toxicology is complete he issues a final death certificate, including the contributing drugs.

Williams said in most cases family members know the deceased had a history of drug use or could guess drugs were a factor given evidence found at the scene. He said his own process is driven by a belief that law enforcement, the public, and officials at all level of government can only address the epidemic with data in "as granular a fashion as possible."

"If we want to know how to attack the problem it's going to be driven by data," Williams said. " My overdoses in Allegheny County are very similar to Westmoreland County, right next to us. They are very different than Lackawanna County or Erie County. It happens at a local level. Overdose happens at a neighborhood level."

Pennsylvania's reporting failure comes at a time when overdose deaths are spiking. Gov. Wolf last month declared the opioid epidemic a statewide disaster. The state saw a 28 percent increase in overdose deaths between 2015 and 2016, resulting in the fourth-highest death rate in the country, according to the CDC. Nationally drug overdose deaths were up 21 percent in that period.

Wolf's declaration keyed in on better reporting from first responders about those who overdose and are revived, not more complete death certificates. April Hutcheson, spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Department of Health, said the department wants more robust data from coroners and medical examiners, and the disaster declaration could open up those discussions.

"The overdose rate is what tells you what the severity of the problem is," she said. "That severity is where we need to target our resources. The overdose deaths are compelling. But we need to get the people who are suffering from overdoses into treatment so they don't become a death."

Hutcheson said officials supplement death certificate information with reports done by outside groups, including an annual report by the Philadelphia division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. But she said officials only have access to the report, not its underlying data.

Patrick Trainor, a public information officer for the Philadelphia DEA, said the office compiles its report using data provided by coroners and medical examiners without the name of the deceased. Trainor said some offices provide the information willingly, while others have to be subpoenaed.

Pennsylvania, while not alone in underreporting toxicology information on death certificates, has been at the bottom of the pack for decades. Other states have improved over time, and in 2016 about 85 percent of the nation's death certificates for overdoses included contributing drug information.

The structure of Pennsylvania's health system  with a state medical examiner who receives death certificates from county coroners and medical examiners  makes finding a solution more complex. A mandate requiring county offices to provide toxicology information on death certificates would have to come through legislation, not from Gov. Wolf, Hutcheson said.

States with coroner systems often have an added challenge, given that coroners are elected and not required to be physicians. Many are funeral directors.

Still, other states with county coroners and medical examiners have made progress.

In South Carolina, for example, Gov. Nikki Haley in 2014 sent letters to county coroners asking them to add drug information for all overdose deaths from the previous year. State staff also attended a meeting of the state coroners association and explained the need for the information. From 2013 to 2014, reporting increased from 58 percent to 94 percent.

Pennsylvania has recently been identified as one of three states that a national public health association and the CDC want to help improve their cause-of-death reporting systems. Christi Mackie, a chief program officer for the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, said Pennsylvania's Department of Health agreed this month to participate.

"Our intent is to step in and say, Where do you see gaps? Do you need us to help you identify what those gaps are?" Mackie said. "And then we can see what kind of bandwidth we can add to support their capacity."

In Pennsylvania, though, some coroners and medical examiners are resistant to the idea.

Kenneth A. Bacha, a funeral director who has been coroner in Westmoreland County near Pittsburgh for 16 years, said he doesn't list drugs in part to protect the deceased's privacy, should they have been taking medication for depression, HIV, erectile dysfunction, or other conditions he considers sensitive. Death certificates are not public in Pennsylvania, but Bacha said they can be used by families to close out bank accounts, file for insurance, or transfer a car title.

"It's not public where anyone can go look at it, but other people are going to have access to it," he said.

Some Pennsylvania coroners and medical examiners said it's unlikely someone would overdose from a drug that treats HIV or erectile dysfunction, so they probably wouldn't include those medicines, focusing instead on the drugs responsible. But Bacha said he does not always feel comfortable deciding the exact drugs that contributed to a person's death.

"We had one the other day, the person had heroin in them, three different types of fentanyl, oxycodone, plus a bunch of benzodiazepine-type drugs, psych drugs.  As far as which ones you pick, one over another, I don't know how they could do that."

Delaware County Medical Examiner Frederic Hellman, a physician, said he makes those calls routinely.

"I look at which drugs I think were the likely players in the person's death," he said. "And that's understanding the nature of the drugs, the concentrations of the drugs, the interactions between the drugs."

Alexander Balacki, first deputy coroner in Montgomery County, said he has listed as many as seven or eight contributing drugs on a death certificate. He called the approach fair to both the family and the public.

"We try not to beat around the bush with the cause of death. If it's heroin and fentanyl, we're going to say it's heroin and fentanyl  or prescription drugs, and we'll list out the prescription drugs," he said. "And I believe that is best for the family and for statistical purposes, both locally and nationally."
A Yemeni political source in Riyadh has revealed that a new initiative for resolving the Yemeni crisis is in the process of being formulated. It involves resuscitating the Muscat track. The UN, through its deputy to the special envoy for Yemen, Maain Shuraim, is spearheading this effort which has yet to coalesce into a final form.

Two weeks ago, a delegation from the Ansar Allah Houthi movement travelled to the Omani capital in order to explore the possibility of reviving this track that had come to a dead end about a year ago with the end of the Obama administration in the US. Former secretary of state John Kerry had proposed a peace plan, using Oman as a venue, after an earlier negotiating effort broke down in Kuwait.

In the event this track matures and follows the Kerry 2 plan, which will be overseen by current US Secretary of State Tillerson, this course will probably lead to the treatment of the Yemeni crisis as a whole and not just the crisis of the Houthi rebellion, the Yemeni source told Al-Ahram Weekly.

However, a London-based observer of the Yemeni crisis told the Weekly, we should not be too hasty in building our hopes on that vision. That track is riddled with obstacles. Even if it makes some progress, regional understandings will need to be reached first, between the regional parties to that conflict (signifying Riyadh and Tehran). Then arrangements will have to be put into place domestically where the crisis has extended to the south, which had been relatively stable.

In addition, there are groups that take part in the negotiations on the presumption that they should be present at the table, but they have not yet settled their own affairs. An example is the General Peoples Congress which is split into three groups  one in Riyadh, one in Abu Dhabi and one in Cairo  and each seeing itself as the heir to the party following the assassination of its leader former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh. Therefore, there remains the initial challenges of forming the [negotiating] teams. So talk of this track is still pure fantasy up to now.

On the battlegrounds in Yemen, the Saudi-led Arab coalition forces continue their push northwards along the western coast towards Hodeida. In the middle of week, they entered the Heis directorate in the south of Hudaibiya province, according to a report on the progress of the military campaign in the north released by the Arab Coalition to Restore Legitimacy.

In addition, Brigadier General Saleh Quraish, commander of the 5th Regiment of the Frontier Corps at the Alab front, announced that a military plan had been drawn up to continue the battle to liberate areas in northern Saada and to tighten the siege against Houthi militias.

The coalition recently relocated the centre of operations from Nahem, northeast of Sanaa to the west, in order to gain control of the coastal areas that coalition officials claim are being used to smuggle arms to the rebel militias.

The purpose of developing the operations on the Saada front is to make progress in tightening the stranglehold on the [Houthi] militia and to weaken morale, given the symbolic value of Saada as a stronghold for that movement, a Yemeni government source told the Weekly, adding: But basically, it is a process to ensure security against missile fire. The Houthis missile depots are in Saada and most of the missile operations come from that front. That activity must be stopped.

On Monday, the Arab Coalition spokesman Colonel Turki Al-Maliki released an official communique stating that Saudi defence forces had intercepted a ballistic missile that day aimed at Khamis Mushait in the Saudi Arabian Asir province. He indicated that the missile had been fired from Saada.

In southern Yemen, on the Aden front, the situation has begun to cool down following a flareup in tensions between forces affiliated with the Southern Interim Council and forces affiliated with the internationally recognised government, while Saudi-supported forces have reinforced their presence in the areas around government buildings.

A Yemeni source from Aden told the Weekly by phone that calm prevails in Aden and its environs and that stability was restored following Saudi-brokered talks between the two sides. Arrangements are now being made to ensure the stability of the legitimate government in its temporary capital of Aden.

Nevertheless, Yemeni political analyst Abdel-Hakim Mahmoud observed: This calm is clearly temporary in view of the lack of any concrete manifestations of the government and comprehensive government control over Aden. There are political forces that have interests that conflict with the outlooks of other parties and forces, and the situation is still volatile because it has not yet been handled in a radical manner. Also, the squabbles between the military forces on both sides are clearly escalating in the press, rhetoric and grassroots mobilisation.

Many sources speak of two aspects to the resurgent tensions in Aden. One has to do with the governments attitude towards the south. As Abdel-Hakim noted, southerners feel that the government, as long as it is based in the south, should devote efforts to remedying the deteriorating living conditions in the south, instead of just using Aden as a fortress in order to give the impression that the government is present in Yemen, not abroad.

The second aspect is corruption. The corruption with which the government is charged is familiar to all, said Abdel-Hakim. However, there are some major exaggerations in this respect. It basically has to do with political dimensions at the level of local forces or at the coalition level.

In Taizz to the north of Aden, Yemeni national forces claim progress against Houthi fighters. Coalition sources in Yemen reported that 15 Houthi militiamen were killed, including Abu Othman, the Houthi operations commander in Taizz.

Abdel-Aziz Al-Madjidi, editor-in-chief of Al-Shahid newspaper, told the Weekly by phone from Taizz that the fighting is taking place on several fronts in order to end the blockade that the Houthi militia imposed there at the beginning of the war. Al-Majidi added that some people in Taizz are now worried by the prospect of a repetition of the security belt experiment there as this could give rise to a conflict scenario similar to that in Aden.

*This story was first published in Al-Ahram Weekly

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President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal reshaped more than the United States' economy; the ambitious program also nurtured visionary artists as part of the Roosevelt administration's goal of restoring and improving U.S. citizens' quality of life.

Following complications in the courts relating to his first wave of policies (and amidst seemingly intractable mass poverty and unemployment), FDR rolled out what has since become known as the "Second New Deal" in 1935, which included the establishment of the Works Progress Administration. The WPA's primary goal was to generate employment opportunities.

By the time the agency ended, it had supplied 8.5 million people with jobs. By working hand-in-hand with state and local governments, the WPA produced wages for laborers and upgraded the nation's infrastructure. Philadelphia benefited enormously from these initiatives: WPA funding helped build a train route across the Benjamin Franklin Bridge (then called the Delaware River Bridge); in 1936, the agency paid for large-scale beautification efforts at City Hall; a host of buildings around the city that exist to this day popped up thanks to WPA aid, from stations and shelters in Wissahickon Park to the Fairmount Post Office annex on 19th Street.

The WPA also funded original artistic works by supporting thousands of artists representing a variety of mediums, including theater, literature, music, and visual art. The agency did not allocate funding in a completely equitable fashion, though it did provide an unprecedented avenue for African American artists to establish their voices and achieve a hitherto unknown degree of prominence. Philly's Dox Thrash ranks among the most influential black artists to emerge from this movement.

Thrash was born on March 22, 1893, in Griffin, Ga. He left home at a young age, traveling through the Midwest and working in vaudeville acts. He eventually ended up in Chicago, overcoming endemic prejudice and landing a spot as a student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Conflict overseas interrupted his studies. Thrash fought in World War I as part of the 92nd Infantry Division. Incredibly, he made it through unscathed until the final day of the war, when he was injured in a gas attack.

He survived, and  upon returning to the United States  finished his studies and traveled the country, eventually relocating to Philadelphia permanently in 1925. Philly's African American art scene slowly took to Thrash's style, and he in turn drew influence from the city's arts community. By the end of the 1920s, Thrash had picked up printmaking through his friendship with West Philly print shop owner Samuel Reading, setting the course for his artistic career.

Over the next decade, Thrash developed an experimental printmaking style as the Great Depression wore on. In 1937, he joined the WPA-funded Fine Print Workshop, which accepted black artists. In addition to Thrash, the workshop helped cultivate the talents of African American printmakers Claude Clark and Raymond Steth. In conjunction with Steth, Thrash invented the carborundum print process at the workshop, a difficult methodology that permitted astonishing amounts of fine graphic detail.

The country's art community began to take notice. Alain Locke  the intellectual figurehead of the Harlem Renaissance  featured Thrash's work at groundbreaking exhibitions in Baltimore, Chicago, and New York City. The curators of the Philadelphia Museum of Art began collecting his works and Howard University granted him a solo exhibition.

In an era when crude caricatures of black people circulated in mass-media publications, Thrash's work featured ennobling and beautiful depictions of African Americans, dovetailing with the ethos of the Harlem Renaissance and countering the often racist portrayals of the black community in popular culture. His sympathetic portraits of black people drew from both his youth in the rural South and his working-class life in an urban metropolis, celebrating the resilience and closeness of Southern families on one hand and the feats and technical prowess of industrial workers on the other.

Thrash passed away on April 19, 1965. As a veteran, he is interred at the U.S. National Cemetery in Beverly, N.J.

Patrick Glennon is a communications officer at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. pglennon@hsp.org
This is a photograph of Ellen Hinds celebrating New Years Eve 2016 at Shannondell, about 2 1/2 months before her death. Read more

On a frigid night last March, Ellen Hinds, who was 85 and had dementia, left her apartment building in her retirement community north of Philadelphia wearing only light pajamas. There was snow on the ground, and her feet were bare. She carried a potted plant but no key. It was 2:15 a.m.

Five hours later, she was found near a different door lying facedown in the snow. She was turning blue. Her feet showed signs of frostbite. There were icicles on her hands and feet, according to a report from first responders.

She died a week later having never regained consciousness. Family members said she appeared to be in "great agony." Her death certificate lists "complications of hypothermia" as the cause of death.

Her son, Blake Rowe, a drug company scientist, has filed suit against Shannondell at Valley Forge in Audubon and its security company, Universal Protection Service LLC, claiming that they should have done more to protect his mother. She had been allowed to stay in an independent-living apartment after Shannondell knew she had a tendency to become confused and wander aimlessly, the suit says.

"I put my trust in them. They said they would do an assessment they never did," said Rowe, who got the "horrible" news that his mother was in the hospital as his plane landed in Florida for his honeymoon. As for the security company, he said, "If they were doing their rounds, someone would not be at a door for five hours freezing to death."

Wandering and dementia: What caregivers should know

Rowe's King of Prussia-based lawyer, Robert Snyder, said Shannondell should have put Hinds "in the right place to get the right care so she'd still be alive today."

The case is a nightmare scenario for many families. The Alzheimer's Association estimates that up to 60 percent of dementia sufferers will wander, a hard-to-define behavior that involves traveling by foot (or car) in ways that don't make sense to the rest of us. A man who hasn't worked for years may head for the office. A woman may pace the halls of her assisted-living facility with no goal she can name. The danger comes when brain damage causes wanderers to get lost and then makes it hard for them to seek help in a rational way. It's particularly scary in the winter, when frailty mixed with subfreezing temperatures can quickly turn deadly.

The Hinds case also illustrates a trend in senior housing  at all levels of care, including independent living, residents are older and have more health problems than in the past  with safety implications that may surprise families. Most seniors want to be as independent as they can for as long as they can. Families shopping for senior apartments may want to look beyond the quality of the food or beauty of the grounds and ask what will happen when a loved one declines: Were your buildings and security designed with dementia in mind? Whose job is it  the family's or the facility's  to start the conversation when a resident needs more help?

Nobodys bothered to notice

It is impossible to know how many caregivers have gotten calls like the one Rowe received. Many wandering incidents never involve police or health authorities. Spokesmen for the Pennsylvania and federal human services agencies said they could not find statistics on people who had left assisted-living facilities and nursing homes or on deaths related to wandering. Laurie Brewer, chief of staff of the New Jersey Long-Term Care Ombudsman, said there were 65 cases of wandering from nursing homes and 26 from assisted living or other residential health care in 2017. Reporting is not required for wandering from independent-living facilities or for private homes.

Robert Koester, an expert on search and rescue with special expertise in elders who wander, estimates that roughly 250,000 people with dementia will be reported missing to police this year. The number will rise as baby boomers age. About half of older people wander from their homes, he said, while the rest find their way out of institutions like nursing homes and assisted-living facilities. In an analysis of 800 searches involving people with dementia, 6 percent of those in urban areas died compared with 8 percent in wilderness.

"Nobody's bothered to notice how big this problem actually is," he said.

An Allentown nursing home lost its license in October in response to the death last summer of a 77-year-old resident with Alzheimer's who wandered from the facility. Her body was found in a ditch three weeks later. A 2016 lawsuit involved a man in his 90s who managed to leave the Arden Courts Memory Care Community in King of Prussia in February 2014 and suffered frostbite. An 87-year-old man was found dead on a cold night in 2014 after wandering outside of Arden Courts of Cherry Hill, an assisted-living facility.

But Rowe's lawsuit explores relatively new legal territory. While lawyers have sued nursing homes and assisted-living facilities, Snyder and other local elder law experts said they were unaware of cases involving residents of independent living who have wandered. Ellen Hinds got about 20 hours a week of extra help from a retired nurse but was not under constant supervision.

Shannondell is a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC), a common form of senior living meant to help people remain in the same development as they need more care. According to its website, Shannondell offers a continuum from independent living to nursing home. It has a memory unit for people with dementia.

Shannondell did not respond to repeated requests for an interview. Its lawyer, Peter Callahan, said he was not authorized to speak and referred a reporter to insurer CNA, which did not respond to questions. John Donovan, a lawyer for the security company, also did not respond to a request for comment. In court filings, both sets of lawyers denied wrongdoing. Shannondell's responses to the suit emphasized that Hinds lived independently and that her building was not a medical facility. It denied knowing that she had memory problems and said it was not responsible for her death.

How independent is independent living?

Snyder argues that the expectation of support is different for a resident of independent living in a CCRC than for regular apartment dwellers.

"You're not independent," he said. "You're buying a program for multiple steps for the rest of your life. You're buying a first step."

Hinds had moved from her longtime home in California in September 2016 to be near Rowe, who lives in Skippack. She paid a $145,000 entry fee and monthly rent of $1,845 to live in a gated community with 24-hour security, meals, and activities. While some CCRCs offer stable rents regardless of their level of care, Hinds would have had to pay more for personal, memory, or nursing-home care.

Martin Kardon, a Philadelphia lawyer who specializes in cases involving medical errors and nursing-home neglect, agrees with Snyder here. "Independent living," he said, "is a lot different than renting an apartment at the Academy House."

Michael Ringold, a Marlton lawyer who specializes in nursing-home abuse cases, said this case would be "difficult" because independent-living facilities are not expected to provide supervision. His own mother died after wandering from a memory unit in California in 2016. Even in locked facilities, residents can get out, he said, often because of short staffing.

While independent living is not regulated as a health provider, experts on aging said the line between it and assisted living  adding help with activities like dressing and taking medicine  is blurring.

"Independent living communities are more and more 'independent' in name only," said Jerold Rothkoff, an elder law attorney in Cherry Hill.

These days, people tend to be older when they first come to independent living, and many hire aides to help them stay there. Many resist moving to a higher level of care, either because they don't want to pay extra or, more often, don't want to admit they need extra help.

"Family members hate, hate, hate moving their family members out of independent living," said Julie Thomas, associate director of clinical services for the Alzheimer's Association Delaware Valley Chapter.

Danielle Snyderman, a Jefferson Health geriatrician who works frequently at The Hill at Whitemarsh, a CCRC, said wandering by someone in independent living there would immediately put that resident at the top of the list for a discussion about a higher level of care. Shannondell wouldn't comment on its practices.

Some independent-living facilities said they will admit people they know have dementia, although that typically happens when there is also a well spouse in the picture or an aide.

"These places were not designed to take care of people with dementia," Rothkoff said.

She hated the cold

Ellen Hinds lost her first husband in 1985, the second in 2012. Rowe's brother and only sibling died in 2015 of lung cancer. Rowe then began hearing from her neighbors that his mother was depressed and behaving oddly. She was wandering around at night. She looked for a nonexistent lost dog in the bushes. She thought she saw children in the yard.

Rowe intervened, and his mother wondered if the medicine she was taking for nerve pain was making her hallucinate, but realized she needed more help. She agreed to move to Pennsylvania. Her only concern, said Jenny Hinds, her ex-stepdaughter-in-law and frequent companion, was the climate. "She hated the cold," Hinds said.

Ellen Hinds toured Shannondell and one other facility and liked them both. Rowe pushed for Shannondell because it had more residents, and he wanted her to "get out and meet people." She loved how new and clean everything was. Rowe has pictures of her dancing on New Year's Eve. She walked unaided and had enough stamina for 12-hour excursions to casinos or the mall with Jenny Hinds. Before her death, the two were planning a trip to the Philadelphia Flower Show.

Rowe says he told Shannondell officials from the beginning that his mother had a history of wandering and memory problems, though her symptoms had improved after surgery for the nerve problem in California.

Not long after she moved in, Rowe began getting calls from Shannondell that his mother had been found wandering. At least twice, he was told she'd gone into the parking lot late at night, and he needed to come to her apartment. He took her to his house and brought her back when she seemed all right. He says he took her to a doctor with an office in the Shannondell community, who diagnosed her with Lewy body dementia and told him she would eventually need more care. He assumed, he said, that that information would be shared with Shannondell.

In their response to the lawsuit, Shannondell said that doctor did not work for them, but had an independent practice that leased space.

Rowe said his mother had $900,000 when she died, plenty to pay for a higher level of care. He would have moved her to Shannondell's memory unit, but no one from the retirement community brought it up. Neither did he.

"Their nurses were the ones calling me" about wandering, Rowe said of Shannondell. "I was figuring they should be doing something." Ellen Hinds' agreement with Shannondell gave either her or the community the right to ask for a higher level of care.

Jenny Hinds said the family felt Ellen Hinds was safe at Shannondell. "We were looking to them to guide us," she said. "They said they would help us through this journey."

Snyder says security footage viewed by Erik Snyder, his son and law partner, shows Ellen Hinds trying to get back in the building the night she went out without her key card. The doors have keypads that allow residents to call security with a four-digit code. Hinds, the lawsuit says, is seen repeatedly touching the pad as well as tugging and banging on doors. Robert Snyder said he can't tell whether she failed to punch the right code or the guard failed to respond.

He contends that facilities like Shannondell should make doors safer for residents who can't remember the code needed to summon help, perhaps with vestibules protected from the weather and red buttons that make it easier to call security. David Danton, senior principal with KDA Architects in Voorhees, which specializes in designs for senior housing, said vestibules are unusual for anything other than main entrances.

The lawsuit said the security film showed someone inside the building looking out shortly after 5 a.m. and failing to notice Hinds slumped over a trash receptacle 15 to 20 feet away. By 5:52, the video showed that Hinds had fallen in the snow. She was found around 7 a.m. and an ambulance arrived at 7:20.

Rowe said he filed the suit because "I don't want it to happen to someone else."

COMING NEXT SUNDAY IN HEALTH: How to protect a loved one who wanders.

Glossary of senior housing terms:

Independent living usually refers to an apartment or home within a community that offers services helpful to seniors. Those could include meals, exercise areas, activities, and easy access to medical professionals. It is for people who are independent, but residents can hire aides just like people in private homes.

Assisted living is for people who need more help with everyday activities, like taking their medications properly, dressing, or eating. Unlike other states, Pennsylvania has two kinds of facilities that cater to people in this category, personal care and assisted living. They have somewhat different regulations.

Skilled nursing facilities are what most of us think of as nursing homes. They're for people with more serious medical problems who need skilled nursing care.

Memory care or dementia units can be either in assisted-living facilities or nursing homes. They are designed and staffed for people with dementia and are often "secure" or locked.
Philadelphia Police tell a spectator that he cannot be in the street at 16th and the Parkway early Thursday morning on the day of the Eagles Parade. Read more

It may have been once in a half-century occasion, but the Eagles parade appeared to be a largely routine exercise for city cops.

The celebration that snaked five miles up Broad Street and the Ben Franklin Parkway was essentially a super-sized version of the massive public events Philadelphia police have become accustomed to securing. And while it's virtually impossible to host hundreds of thousands of people  at least?  without any problems, there were no immediate reports of the kind of property destruction and vandalism that erupted after the team's win Sunday night.

The glaring exception was a stabbing on the Parkway at 10:30 a.m. that left a 25-year-old man in critical condition. Police did not identify the victim, or the details of the altercation, but said he had been stabbed once in the chest. As of late Thursday afternoon, no one had been arrested.

Information about other potential parade-related arrests  including if there were any  was not released by the Police Department or Mayor's Office.

During the day, crowds lining the streets during the procession appeared to honor the miles of metal barricades as team buses passed. People seemed to celebrate joyously from South Philadelphia to the Art Museum. Officers communicating by police radio discussed issues such as clearing rooftops, helping people who had passed out, and looking for children who had been separated in the crowd from their parents.

They also kept eyes on revelers who climbed trash trucks, porta potties, and trees. And sometimes, they allowed themselves to join in the jubilant atmosphere.

Bike patrol and motorcycle officers surrounded the team buses as they traversed the city, and a half-dozen police cars with sirens flashing led the charge up Broad Street.

The challenge of hosting perhaps the biggest street festival in city history was certain to bleed into the night, as thousands of people took to the streets  either to keep the celebration going or find a way home.

At least one Eagle on Thursday afternoon voiced support for the Police Department's efforts.

"It was amazing chaos out there and they were fantastic keeping the buses rolling down broad street and keeping everyone safe!!!" Chris Long tweeted.
Joe Bednarsky (right) a security officer and volunteer at Bethel A.M.E. Church in Millville, N.J., gets a hug from Sammy Tse after Sammy finished eating at the churchs soup kitchen. Read more

A giant of a man sat quietly on a folding chair by the door of a soup kitchen, trying to go unnoticed, rubbing a small tattoo on his hand almost impulsively, as if it were a bad memory.

Joe Bednarsky Jr. has plenty of both.

People filed into the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Millville with a "Hey, Joe" before heading off to the spaghetti and meatballs, and Bednarsky smiled and said hello with a mastiff's timbre he also couldn't hide.

Mostly, his blue eyes followed the pastor serving food, but when Bednarsky stood to hug a man struggling with depression, his 6-foot-6-inch, 330-pound frame made him look like a marble pillar.

"I love you, brother," he told the man, who clung to him.

Bednarsky, 49, didn't hug black people when he was younger. He hurt them. He burned crosses on their lawns and called them the N-word, and it took him a long time, some of it in jail, to figure out what made him do it.

"I was incapable of loving others because I didn't love myself," Bednarsky said in the church last week. "So many people today are unhappy with themselves and don't love themselves. I had that anger in me. I told people that I'd shoot you, your kids, your wife, and think nothing of it. That's how bad it was."

The simple, crude tattoo on Bednarsky's hand is just three small letters in a circle: KKK.

Today, Bednarsky has an unlikely job for a man who once was a leader in New Jersey's Ku Klux Klan. He's the head of security at Bethel A.M.E, a predominantly black church where he's known by parishioners as "Chaplain Joe," and his closest friend is the church's leader, the Rev. Charles E. Wilkins Sr.

"I was sent here by God to protect Pastor Wilkins," Bednarsky said as he sat beside him. "I would take a bullet for him."

When Bednarsky started showing up at the church's soup kitchen for meals in 2009, everyone noticed.

"Oh yeah, you know, he was eating alone," Wilkins said. "The first thing is that he stuck out, and I'm thinking, 'Oh God, what is this big white boy up to?' I definitely noticed him, and everyone was telling me who he was, but I was thinking, 'He's here, so something's going on.' "

Wilkins, 63, said he was no saint growing up in Chicago, so he talked to Bednarsky and sized him up when most just wanted him gone.

"We started talking, and I think the first time I really took note and realized something was different was when he said, 'Brother, where there's God's grace, there is no race.' And I'm thinking, 'OK, that sounds good,' " Wilkins said. "He told me God changed his heart and if I don't believe that, I need to get another job. I had to take him for his word, until I saw differently."

Wilkins had a backup plan in case Bednarsky hadn't fully shaken the hate.

"I guarantee I would have hit him with a chair before he got to me," Wilkins said.

Both men laughed.

"We're brothers," they said in unison.

Bednarsky said he grew up in the Wade East apartments in Millville, about 45 miles south of Philadelphia, fighting with black teens on and off the bus. An interest in photography led him to take pictures of a Confederate flag on a neighbor's porch. That man was in the Klan, and Bednarsky, who wasn't close to his own father, was slowly pulled in.

"He had children that were my age and I spent a lot of time there and I tell people that's when the brainwashing starts," Bednarsky said. "They tried to sell the Klan as a patriotic thing, as people who were proud of their race that did things for the white community."

The hate came later, he said, after he became a full Klansman at 18. He worked as a general contractor and traveled to rallies all over the country, donning the white hoods, then later, more colorful ones that marked his higher rank. He said he stood in circles in dark fields with other Klansmen and their families, the forest behind them illuminated by a massive burning cross.

For years, Bednarsky's name showed up in the Inquirer and local newspapers in rural Cumberland County. Many of the stories were about a rival who had plotted to kill him. In 2006, Bednarsky told the Daily Journal of Vineland that the Klan would protest the New Jersey State Police after he and another member were arrested handing out pamphlets at a harvest festival.

"We'll show up in our robes," he said at the time. "We're going to have a protest."

Bednarsky had seen the light long before that, but it didn't come from above. It was a flash of pain when a brick thrown through a truck window fractured his skull. He spent months in the hospital, but the attack, in Millville, just made him more angry and left him with short-term memory loss.

One night there in 1996, he shot a black woman in the leg with a slingshot. She was holding a baby. He was later charged with assault and, he claims, was one of the first to be charged with a hate crime in New Jersey. He served just under a year in the Cumberland County prison.

"I was either going to end up dead somewhere or end up in prison for the rest of my life," he said.

God first called to Bednarsky to change his ways in 2005, he said, but it didn't stick and he went back to the Klan, becoming one of its highest-ranking members. It was hard, he said, to give up the power, to realize he had used hate to inflate his ego, when the truth was that he didn't like himself very much.

"You get on this power trip and this hatred inside you grows and grows," he said.

When Bednarsky resigned for good in 2007, he burned most of his KKK gear and sold his purple robe and hood through an auctioneer. "I donated the money to a church," he said.

He has been harassed by other white supremacy groups and has received threats, both to him and the church, after speaking publicly about his change of heart. He says he's not scared.

Bednarsky is a third-degree black belt in tae kwon do. He claims he fought, bare-knuckle, in a meatpacking warehouse in South Philly, bouts that ended "when the other guy didn't get up." Although he's permanently disabled from a bad back, the skull fractures and several surgeries, his frame would be the first thing a gunman storming Bethel would encounter.

"I can still hold my own, I think," he said.

Wilkins said Bednarsky is a living testament to everything he tries to teach his 185 congregants. It's been tough for them, he admits, but if they can forgive a former Klansman, they can forgive anyone.

"I have people in my church who don't trust him. I've got white people in the community who don't trust him. He's got it on both sides. I've got ministers in the community who preach the gospel of forgiveness but haven't been able to get past his past," Wilkins said. "Joe's heart is real. He comes to my home. He eats at my table."

Bednarsky said he has apologized to many people he hurt, though he never again saw the woman he shot with a slingshot. He knows that many in Millville may never trust him, that each day he has to prove himself.

"I know inside that God has forgiven me, but I'm always apologizing," he said. "People want to see a change, though. They want to see the change in action, and I live the same way at home, seven days a week, that I do in church. I'm not a Sunday saint and a Monday ain't."

Bednarsky, who is divorced, passed his biggest test by winning over Wilkins' late wife, Laura. She called him her "Teddy Bear," and they hugged at every service. On his visits with her last fall at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where she was dying of cancer, she'd raise her thumb when he whispered, "Hey, sister."

"She caught Joe off guard and she caught the church off guard. She wasn't afraid of anyone and she taught everyone in this church a lesson every time she interacted with him," Wilkins said. "He was there every day in the hospital for her, as much as my family. He'd sit in the waiting room, alone, and sometimes I'd catch him crying. That meant the world to me. He was there for me. He held me up when I walked out of the hospital."

Both men sat silently for a moment in the pew, looking at each other with tears in their eyes, in the only place where Joe Bednarsky has felt at home since leaving hate behind.
In Philadelphia in the 1980s  the decade in which the Phillies won the World Series, city police dropped a bomb on a West Philadelphia neighborhood, and the Frankford Slasher killed at least a half-dozen women  the City of Brotherly Love also made history in a quieter way: selling its first million-dollar condo.

Compared with its urban neighbor just 100 miles north  New York City was no stranger to million-dollar listings, even then  the nearly $1.3 million purchase at the Rittenhouse Hotel and Condominiums in 1989 was unprecedented for Philadelphia, a city then battling massive population decline and job loss, and where the median price of a home hovered around $40,000.

Now, of course, real estate in Philadelphia is an entirely different landscape. Once an oddity, million-dollar condo listings are no longer rare. In 2017, the city recorded 144 deed transfers of condos costing $1 million or more  the highest volume of million-dollar sales in the city's history. Even more, Philadelphia real estate continues to break big records: In December, the sale of developer Tom Scannapieco's 500 Walnut penthouse  once rumored to have been purchased by Beyonce and Jay-Z  finally closed for $17.03 million, the highest price in city history, going to a local buyer.

The combination of record-breaking prices and volume has produced what many observers have begun to call Philadelphia's first, robust ultra-luxury condo market. Since the housing recovery began in 2012, Center City has increasingly seen condo listings for $5 million, $10 million, $15 million or more  prices unheard of 10 years ago. In the last week of January alone, more than a dozen Philadelphia condos were on the market asking at least $4 million  the price point that many observers agree defines the local ultra-luxury segment. It's estimated that even more ultra-luxury units in that price range are available for sale, despite not being listed publicly online.

Listing an ultra-luxury condo is one thing, observers say. Selling it is another.

Since Philadelphia's ultra-luxury condo market burst on the scene with projects such as Scannapieco's 1706 Rittenhouse and Craig Spencer's Residences at the Ritz Carlton, the response from buyers, observers say, has generally been strong  with some exceptions. Many high-end condo buildings have experienced tremendous success, selling units at record-breaking speed and price-per-square-foot, property records show. Others, meanwhile, have struggled to find permanent owners, with some ultra-luxury units  and even penthouses  sitting on the market for many months or years.

The difficulty that developers and owners face in selling some of Philadelphia's poshest penthouses and units stems not from diminishing demand  if anything, data show, Philadelphia is becoming wealthier. Instead, ultra-wealthy buyers are ultra-choosy, observers say. And, with Philadelphia lacking the same long history of strong real estate price appreciation that other cities such as New York City and Miami have historically seen, many buyers are apprehensive about being a trailblazer in the ultra-luxury market.

"It's not that we don't have the buyers who could very well afford it, but I think they are sometimes a little gun-shy about being the big-fish buyer," said Valerie Patterson, director of marketing at Kurfiss Sotheby's International Realty. "You have seen it happen a couple of times, with 500 Walnut and 1706 Rittenhouse penthouses.  I think that could help give some confidence to some of those very upper-end buyers."

Indeed  with the exception of a few anomaly sales  the richest buyers in Philadelphia have largely stuck to sales in the lower million-dollar range within the last few years. According to an analysis by Drexel economist Kevin Gillen, using data from City Councilman and real estate broker Allan Domb, only eight of 144 condo sales in 2017 attained prices of $4 million or higher. (Gillen said a few transactions may be missing from the list, given a two-to-three week lag in data.) In contrast, 65 percent of the condos  95 in total  purchased last year were for prices of between $1 million and $2 million.

Even with sales hovering around the lower-end of the million-dollar market, Philadelphia has, over the years, still experienced multiple unparalleled sales. In 2010, Scannapieco sold his penthouse at 1706 Rittenhouse for a record-breaking $12.5 million  commanding more than $1,600 a square foot, an all-time high in Philadelphia for a condo at that time. Six years later, the top floor of the Residences at the Ritz Carlton sold for $12 million. The top floor of the Residences of Two Liberty Place sold for $10.9 million in 2016, too. And then, in December of 2017, Scannapieco broke the record again by selling his 500 Walnut Penthouse for $17.03 million.

To be convinced to buy in that price range, ultra-luxury buyers need more than previous high-price sales to lure them to the market, local observers say.

"The ultra-luxury buyer does not want to compromise on anything," Scannapieco said. "They want to live in what anyone in America would consider a perfect house on a perfect street in a perfect neighborhood.  That applies to the size of the rooms, the height of the ceilings, the street, the neighborhood, who else lives in the building."

"Just because you have a unit that is high up in a building doesn't mean you have the right product," he continued.

Determining what kind of features or finishes today's ultra-luxury buyers want can be a gamble, both the developers and real estate agents acknowledge. For developers, condos are considered one of the riskiest real estate investments largely because margins are small and budgets are tight, meaning that developers generally will not make a profit until 80 percent to 90 percent of units are sold, industry experts say.

In other words, choosing the wrong location, design, or price  and having units sit unsold  can be devastating.

Meanwhile, real estate agents say, it can be difficult for resales of previously owned condo units to compete with newer, sleeker units.

"You know darn well that [a buyer] has looked at every other ultra-luxury unit" before finally buying one, said Steven Mullin, president of Econsult Solutions, a Philadelphia economic consulting firm.

Still, developers and real estate agents trying to sell ultra-luxury units that have been listed in Philadelphia for months or years say they are not worried.

"Selling a piece of property  an exceptional piece of property  takes time," said Melanie Stecura, a Kurfiss Sotheby's listing agent on a $14.5 million property, Unit 4604 at the Residences of Two Liberty Place, which has been on the market as a resale for more than eight months. The property, on half of the 46th floor, includes 2,400 square feet of massive outdoor space. "I expected this to take longer than a typical luxury property."

And at the Residences at Ritz Carlton  where two entire floors of raw penthouse space remain unsold  Gary Greenip, vice president of sales operations, said there are no plans to slash the prices on three available raw-space units, listed at $14 million, $8.1 million, and $7.6 million.

Developer Carl Dranoff, who recently finished the penthouse condo at One Riverside, said his team expects the 4,409-square-foot unit  which includes an additional 1,700 square feet of outdoor living space  to move quickly. The two-story condo featuring floor-to-ceiling windows, an in-unit elevator, and two roof decks is priced at $7 million.

"An ultra luxury penthouse-type unit that's priced appropriately sells very quickly," Dranoff said. "And we have had no issues selling penthouses in any of our buildings because we price appropriately."
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.
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.
At a time when more travelers seek "authentic experiences," the cruise industry is doubling down on the exact opposite: completely manufactured fun.

At Royal Caribbean Cruises, for instance, the mega-ships are destinations unto themselves. The restaurants, casinos, musical productions, silent disco parties, skating rinks, karaoke, dance clubs, and escape-the-room experiences are such strong lures that some guests don't even bother to look up where the ship is docking.

So when the cruise line invited me to serve as temporary director of its largest ship, Harmony of the Seas  which is as big as five Titanics  I knew I was signing up for the most manic week of my life.

A cruise director's primary responsibility is to ensure the happiness of the passengers  on this ship, that means 6,322 passengers, with a crew of 2,200. Over the course of a week, I had my hands in every department, from stocking the world's biggest buffet and staving off gastrointestinal disasters to hosting celebrity guests. Everything is 10 times crazier when you're mayor of a city floating in the middle of the sea.

My time on board proved that crew members bend over backwards to satisfy passengers. Want to thank them? Tipping is great, but comment cards that explicitly name standout staff members make more of a difference. Your praise gets noted on their permanent records, earns them such onboard perks as free Wi-Fi, and helps secure promotions down the road.

Here is some of what I learned.

There is secret cruise code language. It's crucial for the staff to have code words so that passengers don't get freaked out if something goes wrong. A "30-30" means the crew is asking maintenance to clean up a mess; three times during my stint I called in a "PVI" (public vomiting incident). An "Alpha" is a medical emergency, "Bravo" is a fire, and "Kilo" is a request for all personnel to report to their emergency posts for, say, an evacuation. Be wary of "Echo," which is called if the ship is starting to drift, or "Oscar," which means someone's gone overboard. A crew member told me that in his 10 years of duty, he's had four or five Oscars.

Drunk guests can't outsmart the bartenders. If you thought those all-you-can-drink beverage packages correlated with debauchery at sea, think again. Only eight to 10 percent of passengers purchase the packages  Royal Caribbean's guests are largely family travelers  and those who do are carefully monitored. Every single alcoholic beverage is poured with a jigger. Intoxicated passengers are subject to having their SeaPass cards temporarily disabled, blocking them from service at any of the ship's bars. (What's the most popular alcoholic beverage ordered on board? The cinnamon fireball shot.

The ship's senior doctor, Ivan De La Rosa, said the biggest issue involving alcohol is when the ship is docked in Cozumel, Mexico. Mix an afternoon of unregulated drinking on land at Senor Frogs with tropical heat and a few glasses of Mexican tap water, and you've got yourself a guaranteed PVI.

Cruise staffers regularly engage in messaging, subliminal and otherwise. The first thing guests likely see in their cabins is a gleeful jingle looping on their television screen about hand-washing. It's catchy as a Katy Perry song and meant to steer you toward the Purel pumps positioned at high-traffic junctions around the ship, like think entrances to the main dining halls and theaters). Along with the emcees' banter at large group events  "Have you washed your hands 50 times today? I have!"  the jingle is part of the crew's unwavering effort to stave off a potential Norovirus outbreak.

But sanitation is just one aim of the messaging. When certain areas become congested, the staff can direct passengers to scatter to parts of the ship they might not normally travel past, which can result in increased onboard spending. If play in the casino is lagging, for instance, management might host a raffle or karaoke event there to drive foot traffic. Activities managers might film their daily newscast about onboard events with Starbucks iced coffees in hand, as a quiet reminder that passengers can get their venti latte fix on Deck Six.

There is a cruise ship burn book. Dru Pavlov, veteran cruise director and my mentor during this Royal Caribbean stint, keeps a hallowed book of passengers' inane (or worse) comments and questions. The book is passed down from one cruise director to the next and makes great vamping material for event emcees.

The book Pavlov bequeathed to me included: "Is the toilet water drinkable?" and "How long does it take the crew to get home every night?" My favorite contribution came three days into my tenure, when a passenger stopped me to complain that she could no longer find her cabin because the ship had been parked backwards.

All cruise guests basically eat the same things. Freezers on board are the size of New York studio apartments  and stocking them is an art form. Before each sailing, the inventory team receives ingredients for 20 different dining venues, plus servings for the crew. (The total cost, including such other consumables as paper towels, is $800,000.) Overestimate the order, and the voyage becomes less-profitable (and wasteful); underestimate, and you risk a riot over coconut shrimp.

On the average week-long cruise, Royal Caribbean estimates its guests will be 80 percent American, consuming 3,000 bottles of wine, 7,000 pounds of chicken breast, and 100,000 eggs.

If more than 80 percent of the guests are American, the crew orders extra ketchup. When the percentage of Chinese passengers increases, they bump up the supply of sliced fruit, seafood, and rice. Latin Americans consume more red meat and Coronas (which also requires additional limes). And family-prone Spring Break cruises require three times as many chicken nuggets.

The one thing that never changes no matter who is on board? Toilet paper. Around 9,600 rolls are used each week.

Every ship has an "outbreak prevention plan," with a hair trigger. Nothing is scarier to cruisers than a Norovirus outbreak  which ship doctor De La Rosa says is almost always caused by a passenger who has brought the illness aboard, rather than poor sanitary conditions on the ship.

The United States requires that every ship maintain a detailed Outbreak Prevention Plan. On Harmony, regular sanitary conditions are called "OPP1," and they get ratcheted up to "OPP2" when there's a "6 in 6," or six passengers reported ill in six hours. (You'll know OPP2 is in force when the crew ratchets up the "wash your hands" messaging.)

If the incidence rate escalates and the situation reaches OPP3, guests can no longer serve themselves on buffet lines; the entire crew, including ice dancers and synchronized swimmers, is recruited to help serve. And all linens from restaurants and guestrooms are sealed in red biohazard bags and laundered in a special facility on land.

If you want to avoid Norovirus like, well, the plague, stay away from short sailings, says figure skater and veteran crew member Chris Mabee. "Those trips tend to be the least-expensive, attracting both older passengers, who are prone to getting sick, and the young booze cruisers, who forget about hygiene."

The most common diagnoses at sea include upper respiratory infections and bruised bones  plus, thanks to frisky behavior, the odd Viagra mishap and urinary tract infections. Prescribing antibiotics can be hairy when passengers are committed to their all-you-can-drink packages.

Crew members are trained to deal with handsy passengers. Sleeping with a passenger will get a crew member sent home. The zero-tolerance policy seems to be an industry-wide standard.

At Royal Caribbean, there's staff training on how to defuse an escalating situation. More often than not, it's a vacationing guest trying to seduce a crew member. "Whenever I take photos with people, I always give a thumbs up," notes Pavlov. "My hands are visible, so no can claim any inappropriate behavior." (Some crew members monitor Grindr or Tinder to get a sense of who's on board, and cameras cover virtually every nook and cranny of the ship.)

As for the staff of 2,200, it's a genuine love boat. Dating is not just allowed but tacitly encouraged. Crew members live onboard through the entirety of their contract without days off, often 10 months a year. (Most services on Harmony of the Seas  cabins, bars, a mess hall, shop, gym  are set off a second-deck corridor dubbed "I-95.") They have their own calendar of daily events that range from karaoke sessions to poker games and foreign language classes. And since Wi-Fi is pricey, romance is very much analog.

Several crew members recounted instances when they put in a request to share a cabin with their new boyfriend after only a month of dating, or dropped the "I love you" bomb within the first week of meeting someone. Relationships often end once one person leaves the ship, so actual cruise couples tend to become "lifers." Almost everyone I met in upper management met their spouse onboard.

The ship has genies, and they can perform magic. Although bargain-basement discounts draw plenty of travelers, procuring Royal Caribbean's VIP status can offer a true luxury experience. The easiest way to get it is by booking into the Royal Suites Star Class; the company's creme de la creme offering includes 10 state-of-the-art apartments on Harmony of the Seas, with privileged access to pleb-free parts of the ship and butler-style service from a coterie of "Royal Genies."

Daniel, one of the genies, once dealt with a couple who asked for their suite to be filled with flowers. Unable to secure real bouquets, he had the pastry team bake dozens of petal-shaped cookies, which he scattered around the room. Andrei , another genie, had to deal with a family locked out of a peak-season December sailing; he surprised them with an early Christmas by decorating their suite and putting wrapped presents under a makeshift tree.

"The hardest thing to do is host a celebrity on board," Andrei said. To give them privacy amid thousands of cruisers, "we usher them into shows after the lights go dark, and we grab them to leave five minutes before the show is done."
Conflict in South Sudan enters a new phase as the US banned the export of weapons and defence services to the newly independent nation Friday. On the same day, the European Union imposed sanctions on three current and former officials implicated in human rights violations in Juba, South Sudans capital.

Heather Nauert, the US State Department spokeswoman, said her government will not stand idly by as innocent Sudanese civilians are murdered, adding that the US decision was in response to the brutality and violence practised against workers in the humanitarian field.

The decision was announced despite the fact that the US government doesnt sell weapons to South Sudan. However, the move bans any US company or citizen from sending weaponry or military services to warring factions in South Sudan.

The State Department will amend the 40-year-old international trade rules on weapons to include South Sudan, Nauert said. The rules apply to defence services and commodities as well as data that compromise US national security.

The EU announced sanctions imposed on three Juba officials including asset freezes and a travel ban to EU countries. The EU statement mentioned the deteriorating humanitarian and security situation in South Sudan as being behind the sanctions imposed on former Army Chief of Staff general Paul Malong, Deputy Chief of Defence General Malek Reuben Riak and Minister of Information Michael Makuei Leuth.

The EU decision brings the total number of persons under restrictive measures in South Sudan to nine, as six officials were already listed by the UN. The US said its sanctions against the same officials were for destabilising Africas youngest country.

Although Washington has been the staunchest supporter of the independence of South Sudan, the US ban is regarded as a warning from the administration of US President Donald Trump to the government of Silva Kiir.

The ban may indicate the US and EU have run out of patience of South Sudans warring factions. It is symbolic, nevertheless, since the country buys weapons from China, the Ukraine and some former USSR states.

During the opening of the 30th round of the African Union (AU) Summit in Addis Ababa, the head of the African Union Commission, Moussa Feki, said it was time to impose sanctions on those obstructing peace efforts in South Sudan. He warned against the unimaginable brutality and blind violence between the fighting groups.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at the AU Summit that his organisation supported the AU initiative in South Sudan. We will be side-by-side with the African Union in respecting African leadership in solving African problems, he said, referring to South Sudans warring factions non-commitment to ceasefire agreements.

Civil war in South Sudan began in December 2013, after its independence in June 2011, when Kiir accused his deputy, Riek Machar, of staging a coup to oust him. Creating one of the African continents worst upheavals, the civil war resulted in the death of tens of thousands of South Sudanese, the displacement of four million while risking the lives of 1.5 million living on the brink of famine, according to UN reports. In addition, 95 relief workers were killed.

Tens of ceasefire agreements did not hold in South Sudan, including one brokered by the AU in 2015 that was breached only hours later, and another in May 2016 after which infighting spread from Juba to other parts of South Sudan.

Violence and infighting in South Sudan goes back to tribal rifts that extend for tens of years between Kiirs majority Dinka tribe  comprising 40 per cent of citizens  and Machars Neur tribe  forming 16 per cent of citizens.

The Dinka Council of Elders dismissed the US ban on weaponry and defence services as ineffective. A member of the council and parliament, Aldo Ajou Deng Akuei, said the US decision will not stop the war. The government doesnt feed or control opposition militias. There are many unknown forces, he wrote on Facebook. The US has lost its international power and is no longer the leader of the world like before the fall of the USSR in 1991.

The situation is more compounded in the country with the involvement of multiple militias that belong to neither Dinka nor Neur.

Deputy Director of the Kush Centre for African Studies Alor Magock believes that tribal fighting in South Sudan is sponsored from within. Violence in the Lakes state between tribesmen from Dinka, Weroub and Bakam left 60 people dead in December. Raping, theft and the death of 170 people and the injury of 200 were the result of battles between sponsoring warlords over farms.

In a country where the government no longer controls many of its regions, tribal in-fights feed vengeance.

Magock believes the US ban will remain symbolic if Russia keeps rejecting UN Security Council resolutions. Some African powers, like Uganda, support the government of President Silva Kiir, which makes the AUs mission to impose sanctions on South Sudan more difficult, he added.

The two main warring factions are being pressured by regional and international powers to end the violence. This could lead to peace.

Neighbouring countries, whether supporting or opposing the government of South Sudan, are expected to keep pushing for peace in an effort to prevent further massacres and famine.

*This story was first published in Al-Ahram Weekly

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Steve Hauck, right, owner of SJ Hauck House Movers, guides a wall section from a house in Avalon, N.J., onto a flatbed truck for transport on Friday, Feb. 9, 2018. The Victorian-style house was slated to be torn down for redevelopment, but is instead being taken apart to be moved to Egg Harbor Township. TIM TAI / Staff Photographer Read more

AVALON, N.J.  On a quiet beach block in sleepy Avalon, construction workers gathered Friday to dismantle one of the borough's oldest Victorian homes piece by piece, to spare it from the wrecking ball.

At one point, a giant crane hoisted a claw-foot bathtub as a crew of 15 movers in white hardhats took apart the second-story walls of the house, which dates to 1895. The previous day, workers detached the cupola and roof and moved the pieces to a parking lot a mile away.

On Saturday, the first floor and the quaint wrap-around porch will be attached to a truck and moved down Route 9 to a storage facility in Egg Harbor Township at 10 mph, likely drawing the ire of drivers trailing behind it.

By nightfall, only an empty lot will remain at 254 Sixth St., where the charming old house will soon be replaced by a new multimillion-dollar Jersey Shore mansion.

A developer purchased the property in November with plans to tear the 123-year-old house down, prompting a campaign to save it.

"I just couldn't stand to see those stained-glass windows being shattered," said Adrienne Scharnikow, who spearheaded the drive to preserve the house, where her family spent summers when she was a child. The family sold the house after her grandparents died in 1996 and a new buyer moved in, only to lose the house to foreclosure last year.

About 30 other residences in Avalon were built on or before 1900, but history buffs say this one stands out. The borough's first tax collector, George W. Kates, built it three years after Avalon was founded, and messages written by past vacationers are scrawled on the third floor's walls dating back to 1949. New Jersey's Office of Historic Preservation granted the house a "Certificate of Eligibility" for the state's list of protected properties.

As Scharnikow and her family worked to save the house, they first asked borough officials for help, to little avail. Their improbable proposal for Avalon to buy and relocate the house was met with little enthusiasm on the borough's part. Officials said at the time that individual homeowners are typically responsible for preservation efforts.

So the family then turned to social media, looking for funding or a lot on which to rebuild the house. Hundreds of Facebook shares and likes eventually led Scharnikow to Steven Hauck, owner of SJ Hauck Movers, who offered to relocate the building for $83,000  a bargain compared with price estimates from other companies. The developer then agreed to sell Scharnikow the house for $1.

Scharnikow, who is still searching for a spot to rebuild the house, said the pieces can sit in storage for up to about four months.

"This seemed impossible before.  I now know more about moving houses then I ever thought I'd know," said Scharnikow, who is funding the project.

Hauck said his team had only two weeks to elevate the house on cribbing piles, roll it to the back of the property to make room for a crane, and remove the walls and roof.

But for him, the hard work was worth knowing a piece of history will be preserved.

"One hundred thousand pounds of history were going to be destroyed. We didn't want to see that," he said.

On Friday, Scharnikow gazed with excitement at what was left of her childhood home.

The house has survived a century of wind and rain, and even two lightning strikes. This week, Scharnikow said, it escaped its biggest threat: Avalon's boundless redevelopment.

The 1970s and early 2000s saw waves of quaint bungalows being torn down and replaced with expensive mini-mansions as house prices in the small Shore town increased. The average house price in Avalon is now $1.06 million and the population has decreased to 1,400 from more than 2,100 in 1980, according to census data.

On Friday, Warren Vetter, 67, stopped to watch and sipped coffee while the historic house was being taken apart. He vacationed at Avalon's beach as a child, and now lives in Swainton, a neighboring community.

"This used to be a place for blue-collar families to go. All this house building is Greek to me," he said, pointing to what he called a two-story "monster house" across the street.

Now, Scharnikow is eyeing Cape May lots for around $300,000 to $400,000. The city is known for having stricter regulations aimed at preserving its old Victorians.

"We could only save the house by moving it out of Avalon," Scharnikow said. "That says something."
HARRISBURG  It's official: The state legislature will not pass a new congressional map before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's Friday deadline.

But the Republican leaders who control both chambers weren't ready Thursday to cede the redrawing of districts to the state's highest court, which has a Democratic majority.

Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati (R., Jefferson) and House Speaker Mike Turzai (R., Allegheny) were considering submitting a draft map to the governor Friday, staffers said. Then they could call lawmakers back in the coming days to vote on that map, or a different one.

"We're blazing new ground here, and we're trying to meet as many markers as we possibly can," said Drew Crompton, chief of staff to Scarnati and the Senate's top lawyer. "I don't sit here and say this is the perfect solution, but we're trying to do the best we can."

Whether that plan works could boil down to the interpretation of a key word in the court's order  and whether justices believe the lawmakers are acting in good faith.

In an order issued Jan. 22, the state Supreme Court declared the current map of districts unconstitutional, and said that if the General Assembly wants to create a map for consideration "it shall submit such plan for consideration by the Governor on or before" Friday.

Under the order, Gov. Wolf was given until Feb. 15 to approve a map and send it to the court. If that deadline is not met, the Supreme Court said it will draw the district lines itself, considering proposals from the parties in the case.

Republican attorneys, noting that the court order wrote "submit" rather than "enact," believed that might open door for Scarnati and Turzai, the highest-ranking members in each chamber, to present a joint plan to the governor  without votes. But in its majority opinion, finally released Wednesday, the word enact was used multiple times, implying that floor votes would be needed.

"I think they have spoken pretty clearly that it needs to be voted on by the House, the Senate, and sent to the Democratic governor through the legislative process," said House Majority Leader Dave Reed (R., Indiana), himself a congressional candidate. (Reed has said he is not participating in the map-drawing to avoid a conflict of interest.)

Neal Lesher, a spokesman for Turzai, stressed Thursday that nothing had been decided. "We are not sure that anyone can really say what the court is thinking here, as they seem to be just making it up as they go," he said.

Some outside the Capitol think the tactic of submitting a map approved by leaders and having the legislature pass it next week could pass the court's muster.

"Courts do not love the prospect of drawing the lines themselves. So, if the Supreme Court here sees the parties working diligently, and ultimately within the Feb. 15 deadline, then I suspect the court will allow the process to continue to play out," said Joshua A. Douglas, a law professor at the University of Kentucky and an election law expert.

Should legislative leaders take such an approach and attempt to pass a map after the deadline, the governor "will evaluate his options," according to spokesman, J.J. Abbott.

An empty bill, into which legislators could eventually insert a map to consider, remains before the House. It's unclear whether the House will return, though representatives remain on call since a session was canceled Wednesday due to weather.

Senators were told Thursday that they should be open to the possibility of returning next week.

Exactly what a new map would look like remains to be seen. Crompton stressed that leaders were still talking, but said likely targets for change include the Seventh District in suburban Philadelphia represented by Republican Pat Meehan, and the 12th District, which includes parts of Allegheny and Westmoreland Counties in the west and is currently represented by Republican Keith Rothfus.

Crompton said a new map would likely take into account the court's preference for compact and contiguous districts and possibly where incumbents are placed. Still, he said, the court did not provide guidance on some key issues, such as how much political influence counts as too much.

Of the court, he said: "They didn't answer some of the questions that I thought they would."

Staff writer Jonathan Lai contributed to this report.
Reverend Greg Holston, Executive Director of POWER, and Reverend Jay Broadnax, President of the Black Clergy of Philadelphia and Vicinity, Inc. kneel alongside hundreds others on MLK Jr. Day. to honor former NFL player and social justice activist Colin Kaepernick. Read more

It's written in the Book of Ecclesiastes that "what has been, will be again. What has been done, will be done again. There is nothing new under the sun."

What may appear as a new wave of activism is simply the rekindling of an eternal flame of justice. We're witnessing the emergence of a stubborn sense of hope rooted in the spirits of our ancestors, breathing into us a courageous light in a world full of doubt and darkness.

We're in a season of activism. The profound impact of the 2008 recession is still affecting our economy. Drastic demographic and climate shifts have created an air of uncertainty. But in the midst of this uncertainty, there is an immense opportunity for transformation.

We are witnessing a call for the revitalization of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference's 1968 "Poor People's Campaign: A Moral Revival." This is a continuation of an inherited legacy of resistance against the perils of what Dr. King referred to as the triple evils of poverty, racism, and war, which still persist today.

Over the last several years, we have heard the deafening cries of black youth in response to the murder of Trayvon Martin, followed by Michael Brown, Rekia Boyd, Sandra Bland, Eric Garner, and countless others. Young people of color led the charge in Ferguson, Mo., and Baltimore, in cities and towns known and unknown, declaring the simple but profound sentiment that Black Lives Matter.

Adding to the chorus of hope and a desperate demand for justice, we soon heard the voices of women, DACA recipients, LGBTQ-identifying folk, immigrants, Muslims, and a sea of others proclaiming their right to unwavering respect and dignity. With the election of Donald Trump, despite waves of fear and anger, these voices have grown louder, stronger, and more urgent. We've seen hopelessness transform into action. People historically left behind are moving from the sidelines of democracy to transform broken systems that for decades have plagued our communities.

Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, and Native American faith traditions all hold caring for the vulnerable, welcoming strangers, and protecting the poor, as pillars of our faiths. The universal commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves guides our moral compass and urges us to resist against racist immoralities that hold us bondage. We are challenged to spearhead a movement rooted in radical love for one another and a commitment to our personal and collective liberation.

As we continue this fight for the soul of America, we, people of faith, must lift up a prophetic voice that sets a new moral agenda for this nation.

POWER is putting our faith into action by building a movement for the people, by the people. A movement rooted in advancing our visions for our communities, confronting the evils that plague the fiber of this nation, and connecting with one another through love and empathy. No longer will we stand idly by as our neighbors continue to be casualties to systems that value profit over people.

We are not just praying for a better day, we are working to make that better day a reality. It is time for people of faith in this city, region, and nation to engage in a spiritual awakening that manifests itself outside of the four walls of our places of praise. Our ministry is well beyond congregational worship. In the words of Cornel West, we must never forget that justice is what love looks like in public.

It is our time, this is our season, for change.

The Rev. Greg Holston is executive director of POWER, an interfaith organization representing over 50 congregations in Southeastern and central Pennsylvania. He is also the senior pastor at Janes United Methodist Church.
The January jobs report had cheery news for a lot of workers. Unemployment stayed low, at 4.1 percent, for the fourth month in a row. About 200,000 jobs were added to the economy and finally, it seems as if wages are growing, with a 2.9 percent uptick in January.

But not everyone is sharing in an improving economy. Labor-force participation was 62.7 percent for the fourth month in a row. That means over 37 percent of potential workers have given up and aren't even counted anymore. And, the number of part-time workers who can't find full-time work has been stuck at around five million for a year.

Although wages grew slightly, not everyone is benefiting. Women and African Americans still earn less than white men.

Even though workers have seen a nominal pay increase, wages have yet to increase at 4 percent a year, the rate they grew at before the 2008 recession. And, workers are still not getting adequately compensated for their productivity. Starting in 1973 wages no longer tracked productivity, and the gap has continued to grow: While productivity rose 73.7 percent, hourly pay has gone up only 12.5 percent.

Not everyone is losing ground; higher wage earners have seen much higher increases in wages than low-wage workers have.

Government can help more participate in a growing economy starting with closing the gender and race pay gaps by enacting tough pay antidiscrimination laws and by raising the pitiful $7.25-an-hour minimum wage.

President Trump could also support creative ways to help the dwindling middle class  or at least stop hurting it. He killed an overtime rule that would have let four million people who make up to $47,476 a year collect overtime. These are the mid-level workers who put in 60 or 70 hours a week. Now, only those making up to $23,660 can collect overtime pay. That's lower than the poverty line of $25,110 for a family of four.

In Philadelphia, Mayor Kenney just announced a new workforce strategy called "Fueling Philadelphia's Talent Engline." It's geared at educating workers to keep up with changing jobs. The city will work with employers to access what skills they need and help workers get the requisite training.

Gov. Wolf wants to beef up job training and raise the state's $7.25-an-hour minimum wage to $12 an hour. Pennsylvania has the lowest minimum wage in the region, with Delaware's wage set at $8.25 an hour and New Jersey's at $8.60.

While Rutgers University economist Jennifer Hunt, a former U.S. Labor Department chief economist, notes that the January jobs report is generally optimistic, she cautions that things are fine until they're not. The next recession, another war, rising energy costs, or unexpected events can push the economy off course.

That is why voters should call state and federal legislators and tell them it's just as important to encourage economic growth as it is to encourage workers with healthier wages. It's their shoulders that are holding up a healthy economy.
Women walk past trash along Pennsylvania Avenue after the Eagles Super Bowl parade on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018. TIM TAI / Staff Photographer Read more

While some fans rushed back to train stations after the Eagles parade, others stayed in the city and flocked to bars. Once they could get in, that is.

Many bars in Center City had long lines  especially those handing out free Bud Light.

Upscale spots were also packed. Rouge on Rittenhouse Square was full of fans and festive decor, with green and white balloons hanging from the ceiling.

An employee at a liquor store on Locust Street said crowds were not big all day. "Last night was crazier, she said. "I think everyone expected we would be closed." Business was slightly more than a normal Thursday, and only a few people stood in line after the parade.

Meanwhile, fans lingered at the big party on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. At the end of the parade, the crowd sang "We Are the Champions," then danced their way back toward Center City while green confetti rained down on them.

Many fans set off in search of their free Bud Light at one of 34 bars in the city.

Some of those bars were had cover charges to get in, causing fans to question the concept of "free" beer.

Others seemed happier, saying on social media that they had managed to get multiple Bud Light tokens.

Bud Light also promised fans that they could get rebates if they purchased beer from a store in the Philadelphia area.

Chickie's and Pete's in South Philly claimed that it was home to the "official Bud Light Philadelphia Eagles post parade party," and boasted that Eagles offensive tackle Lane Johnson would make an appearance Thursday evening. Johnson inspired Bud Light's promise to Philly fans, and Chickie's and Pete's said he would be there to sell his "underdog" shirts that raise money for the Fund for the School District of Philadelphia.

Staff writers Julia Terruso, Caitlin McCabe, and Samantha Melamed contributed to this report.
Patrick Semansky/Pool /Getty Images(PYEONGCHANG, South Korea) -- North Koreas government delegation of 22 high officials, led by the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, arrived with all the fanfare of a celebrity entourage in South Korea on Friday. The arrival, which was broadcast live on South Korean TV, came ahead of Friday night's opening ceremony for the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.



The high-level delegation from North Korea flew over the western sea toward rival South Korea in a private plane owned by Kim Jong Un. The white jet landed on the runway of Incheon International Airport and was shortly moved to a separate mooring, according to Korean news outlet KyungHyang Sinmun.



Kim Yo Jong, the younger sister of the supreme leader, walked out of the plane, officially becoming the first person from the Kim dynasty to step on South Korean lands since the end of the Korean War in 1953.



Broadcasters displayed the three-hour journey of Norths high-level delegation from their arrival in the airport to the Jinbu train station near Pyeongchang. After a conversation with high officials from the Unification Ministry, the delegation hopped on a train to go to Pyeongchang, where the "peaceful Olympics" began.



South Korean broadcaster YTN showed pictures of Kim Yo Jong smiling and talking to Souths unification minister. Kim Yo Jong, who is also known to be the propaganda director for the ruling Workers Party, was caught on camera smiling throughout her trip. Reportedly, delegates from the two Koreas exchanged pleasantries on the weather.



On Saturday, Kim Yo Jong is scheduled to have a luncheon with South Korean President Moon Jae-in. Details regarding the luncheon are not open to public yet.



Speculation emerged within Seoul that additional rendezvous between Moon and the Norths Kim Yo Jong could be possible during the Olympics, according to South Korea's Munhwa Broadcasting Corp.



Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
There was not much that could be extracted from a statement by the US State Department about a visit by an inter-agency delegation to Baghdad last week for talks with Iraqi leaders on bilateral relations following the crumbling of the Islamic State (IS) group.

The press note by the departments spokesperson said the talks, led by US Deputy Secretary of State John J Sullivan, had focused on reinforcing joint efforts to maintain an enduring defeat of IS.

Yet, nowhere in the statement did the spokesperson mention if the high-level delegation had discussed the future of the thousands of US troops sent into Iraq to fight IS or provide insights into US strategy in post-IS Iraq.

Now that the terrorist group has largely been curbed, questions are being raised about the future of the US involvement in Iraq, including Washingtons stance on the rush by Iran-backed Shia militias to fill the vacuum there.

Anxiety about the Trump administrations commitment to keeping US troops in Iraq remains at the top of the concerns of Iraq as well as of neighbouring countries.

Pentagon officials have indicated that they want to keep some US troops in Iraq despite steady advances against IS strongholds to counter what US commanders still see as serious threats in the country.

US and Arab media have quoted Sullivan as saying that keeping the momentum up in the fight against IS topped the agenda of his talks with the Iraqi officials, including Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi.

The IS remnants will remain a continuous problem, and we cannot ignore it or repeat the mistakes we committed in the past when we underestimated [the danger] and let American troops be withdrawn from Iraq, several media outlets quoted Sullivan as saying.

This is the clearest statement yet by the Trump administration that it is not cutting back on future military commitments in Iraq. It is expected to deepen the American involvement in Iraq, even though US officials had been saying that their priorities would remain training Iraqi forces and conducting counter-terrorism operations.

Trump campaigned for election to the White House by promising to extricate the United States from foreign conflicts, and if the administration now plans to extend the US mission in Iraq it will mean a prolonged troop presence.

The overall US strategy in Iraq, which straddles a critical geopolitical fault-line between competing regional players and world powers, remains vague and may obscure certain issues.

One favourite speculation by American analysts is that Trump wants to keep a strong political, diplomatic and military presence in Iraq in order to repel Irans increasing influence in the country.

Trump wants to stop Iran from making Iraqs Shia militias a subsidiary of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), allowing Tehran to use them to create regional instability, the analysis goes.

But this strategy has often proven wrong, and instead of reining in its ambitions in Iraq the Islamic Republic has used the chaos created by the US-led invasion in 2003 to increase its own influence in Iraq and in the region.

Iran has for years planted friendly ministers inside the Iraqi parliament and government agencies, and it has been training Iraqi Shia militias to fight IS in Iraq and for the Syrian government across the border.

To give just one example of Irans increasing influence in Iraq, the Shia militias that it has nurtured are now putting their sights on the Iraqi parliament after playing a crucial role in the war against IS.

Once in parliament, the militia leaders will hope to consolidate their power base in Iraqs political system and boost their role in domestic politics.

Among the top priorities of militia leaders who will join the new assembly in May will be to ask the US troops to leave Iraq and to work for tighter political and security relations with Iran.

The other US option to isolate Iran is to crush organisations currently fighting in Irans proxy wars in the Middle East in conjunction with US allies such Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Speculation is rife that Israel is preparing public opinion for a new war on Lebanon over the actions of the Iranian-backed Lebanese Shia group Hizbullah and allegations of its efforts to set up Iranian-supplied arms and missiles plants in the country.

Media reports from Israel suggest that Israeli decision-makers and the heads of the countrys security apparatus have raised the possibility of preparing the Israeli public for a new war in Lebanon.

The US-based Monitor Website reported on Friday that this new war was expected to encompass the entire northern front with Lebanon and include Hizbullah and Syrian forces along with their Iranian backers.

Rumours also abound about another possible Israeli war on the southern front with Gaza, which is ruled by the Iranian-supported Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas.

Judging by Trumps anti-Iranian rhetoric, Washington is expected to extend help to Israel in these conflicts. Yet, fighting Hizbullah and Iran in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza could entail great risk and have the potential to cause a resounding conflagration throughout the region.

Thus far, Iran has responded triumphantly to the rumours, with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday vowing to boost the Islamic Republics military power despite the pressure from the US and its allies.

IRGC Deputy Commander Hussein Salami said on Sunday that Iran considers the option of war realistic, and we are prepared for it.

Ali Akbar Velayati, a top adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on 1 February that Tehran had no intention of abandoning its influence in Syria, Iraq, Palestine and Lebanon.

Trumps strategy in Syria, which also focuses on rolling back Iranian influence in the war-torn nation, illustrates a further US failure in confronting the increasing Iranian influence.

Iran, aided by Russia, has already turned the tide in the Syrian Civil War decisively in favour of the regime led by Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, and there is no indication that the Trump administration has a strategy to match Tehrans and Moscows influence in Syria.

Washingtons deployment of hundreds of troops in Syria has been contested as illegal because they are there without the consent of the Damascus government. Once the Shia militias have a say in Iraqs politics after the May elections, this is expected to change.

The militias, which share Irans anger over the American presence in Syria, will certainly try to block US troop movements across Iraqs Western border, their only root to Syria.

This will end the US involvement in Syria and the American military engagement in Iraq and enhance Irans influence in the two countries such that it is able to develop a permanent Iranian geopolitical presence there.

The confusion in the US approach in Iraq has therefore raised serious questions about whether the Trump administration has a hidden agenda. Like its two predecessors following the US-led invasion of Iraq, the Trump administration has helped Iran tighten its grip on the beleaguered country and take centre-stage in the Middle East.

In the conventional analysis, Washingtons accommodationist policy towards Irans influence in Iraq is taken as either empty rhetoric or pure naivete.

Yet, Washingtons secret agenda could go beyond giving Iran a bloody nose or even promoting US interests and leadership in the Middle East.

One way of trying to figure out this agenda is to look at Trumps forthcoming Middle East peace proposals, the so-called deal of the century, which are in line with the long-standing Israeli-US roadmap of killing the Palestinian state solution.

Enough clues are already available that Iraq and Syria loom large in the deal, since the two countries can absorb those Palestinians who will lose their homes when Iraqs and Syrias maps have been redrawn.

*This story was first published in Al-Ahram Weekly

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Clinton, MO, police officer Gary Michael was shot and killed at a traffic stop Sunday night. A manhunt is under way for the suspect. (Photo: Missouri Highway Patrol)

Henry County (MO) Prosecutor Richard M. Shields announced Wednesday he will seek the death penalty for Ian McCarthy, who is charged with the murder of Clinton, Missouri, Officer Gary Michael.

Michael was shot and killed after stopping McCarthys truck for a registration violation. McCarthy allegedly got out and opened fire on Michael.

Shields filed the notice Wednesday morning. The defense has filed a motion for a change of judge and change of venue, but the Missouri Supreme Court has not made a decision on either motion, KSHB TV reports.
A Dallas patrol vehicle was hit by gunfire Thursday. (Photo: Dallas Sergeant Michael Mata/Twitter)

A search was launched Thursday morning for the person who opened fire on a Dallas police squad car.

According to police, a police officer was driving eastbound on Interstate 30 near Interstate 45 about 2 a.m. when the passenger window was shattered by gunfire. The officer was wounded by flying glass, but was not shot, police said. The passenger door was also shot, police said.

Dallas Sergeant Michael Mata tweeted photos showing bullet holes in the windshield and passenger window of the car. He wrote, "real lives are affected by this false narrative of a war on the police! Some coward shot at our officers!"

Real lives are affected by this false narrative of a War on the Police! Some coward shot at our officers ! pic.twitter.com/oz4yyuLf75  Michael Mata (@mmata7313) February 8, 2018

Officers said they did not find the gunman, though several shell casings were discovered at the scene, NBC DFW reports
In June 2017, the chair of Amnesty International in Turkey, Taner Kilic, was accused of using a messaging application called ByLock that the government says was also used by US-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen and his followers, blamed by the countrys authorities for the failed coup attempt of July 2016. Kilic and Amnestys country director Idil Eser were arrested in an unprecedented move  the first time in Amnestys history that a state has detained its chair and director at the same time. Eser was released in October.

During a hearing last week, the Istanbul 35th High Criminal Court ordered the conditional release of Kilic from prison in western Izmir province. A prosecutor appealed against the decision, and the 36th Court accepted it.

The next day, the first court accepted the second courts decision to continue Kilics detention and instead of celebrating his release 31 January, when his family waited for him to walk out of the prison that night, Kilic never appeared from Izmir jail. He was rearrested in the early hours of 1 February, in accordance with the second courts decision.

It is a travesty of justice and a cruel blow to his family and friends. It is also deeply worrying for the rule of law that when courts try to act in accordance to justice, but against the wishes of the state, they are forced to make another decision, London-based Deputy Director of the Human Rights Watch (HRW) Europe and Central Asia Division, Benjamin Ward, told Al-Ahram Weekly in interview.

Ward also referred to the cases of journalists Mehmet Altan and Sahin Alpay who were not released despite the Constitutional Courts ruling last month that the rights of the jailed journalists were violated as a result of their pre-trial detention. Alpay and Altan remained in prison when the penal courts where the journalists are standing trial refused to put the Constitutional Courts ruling into effect, saying it overstepped its jurisdiction and usurped the trial courts authority.

Last month, Turkish authorities admitted that thousands of people have been wrongly accused of downloading ByLock. They published lists containing the numbers of 11,480 mobile phone users, leading to mass releases. Taner Kilic is not yet among those listed for release.

Amnesty International campaigner for Turkey Milena Buyum, who created the campaign #FreeTaner, tweeted on her page that Kilic is innocent of the charges levelled against him, that prosecution hasnt provided any evidence for allegations in almost eight months, and the court overturning its own ruling within 24 hours is a mockery of justice and that she and her team wont stop campaigning for Kilic until he is free.

Reacting to the rearrest, Secretary-General of Amnesty Salil Shetty tweeted A disgrace and an outrageous travesty of justice. This is the latest example of the crisis in Turkeys justice system that is ruining lives and hollowing out the right to a fair trial. To have been granted release only to have the door to freedom so callously slammed in his face is devastating for Kilic, his family and all who stand for justice in Turkey, Shetty added.

Erdogan will do whatever is necessary to maintain control. All it takes is the Turkish propaganda machine to produce answers for Western consumption while he does what he does, was the reaction of Washington-based Turkish analyst Uzay Bulut to the rearrest of Kilic.

Taner Kilic, 48, is one of the founding members of the Turkey branch of Amnesty International and its president since 2014. He studied law at Izmirs Dokuz Eylul University. Kilics next court hearing has been set for 21 June, the same month he was arrested a year ago.

Since the failed 2016 coup, there has been a remarkable deterioration in human rights conditions inside Turkey. Ward adds that few institutions and parts of society have not been affected. Most judges, journalists, human rights defenders and opposition mayors are victims of the general crackdown.

There is no doubt that since the coup we have seen an intensification of the crackdown on human rights. What is most worrying to me is that not only that we see human rights abuses against individuals, but also that the government is little by little dismantling the checks and balances of the executive authority, using state of emergency powers and the need to pursue those linked to the coup, and that will only be cemented once the constitutional changes approved in the recent referendum come into force after the next election, Ward told the Weekly.

The sweeping crackdown on the press in Turkey following the failed coup is continuing. It is difficult to overstate how negative the climate is for media freedom in Turkey, Ward stated, adding that Turkey is the world leader in jailing journalists and media workers, with around 150 behind bars at present.

Most newspapers and television channels lack independence and promote the governments political line, Ward said, adding that it is hard to see this changing without significant reform to Turkeys terrorism laws and efforts to restore judicial independence, and much greater willingness on the part of the government to tolerate public criticism.

A couple of years ago, a group of Turkish journalists created a Twitter account called Ben Gazeteciyim, or I am a journalist, in which they described that it belongs to a group of volunteers who have launched an initiative to deepen solidarity with professional journalists in Turkey.

Today the group has more than 29,000 followers. On 3 February, it tweeted, As of today, 156 journalists are in prison, almost 200 media related organisations are closed, thousands of journalists are unemployed as their press cards are cancelled and thousand others who can do reporting from outside the country are banned from travel, they are placed under censorship and arrest threats.

Turkish media is still censoring news regarding the Olive Branch military operation on the Syrian town of Afrin. At least 150 individuals, including journalists and politicians, have been detained in police raids since the operation was launched last month.

We are aware of dozens of people detained in Turkey by police over tweets and other statements that do not advocate violence but are critical of the operation on Afrin. Ward commented.

During the operation, a Turkish airstrike hit the 3,000-year-old Ain Dara Temple located in the Kurdish area south of Afrin. The temple is considered one of the most important monuments in Syria built by the Syro-Hittites or Neo-Hittites, an ancient northwest Semitic tribe who emerged in the Late Bronze Age.

Washington-based journalist Uzay Bulut says Turkeys attacks on cultural sites goes back decades. Between 1914 and 1923, Turkish regimes targeted Christian indigenous peoples of Ottoman Turkey  Armenians, Greeks and Assyrians  and largely annihilated them in line with their policies of forced Turkification and Islamisation. They also destroyed much of the victims cultural and religious monuments, Bulut told the Weekly, adding that today, only around 0.2 per cent of Turkeys population is Christian or Jewish, so the Turkish regime is now targeting Kurds in line with its violent Turkish supremacism. And the damage to antiquities done by Turkish bombs is irrelevant as long as Erdogan is able to achieve his ultimate goal of ethnic cleansing against the Kurds who pose the greatest danger to the Turkish myth of Turkishness today.

The Turkish analyst believes the government of Turkey is ready and willing to do anything in order to stop Kurds from having a political status in the region.

Public debate on the return of Syrian refugees has been growing in Turkey. They are being forced back with bullets and abuse by Turkish border guards. HRW warned that Syria is too dangerous for civilians to be sent back, especially after Turkey opened up a new front in the conflict with a cross-border assault on Kurdish militia in Afrin.

Turkey deserves great credit for hosting millions of Syrian refugees. But that does not absolve it of the responsibility to allow those fleeing violence and abuse in Syria to seek refuge in Turkey. Its also important that the European Union does much more to help Turkey meet that responsibility, not only with resources but also by increasing resettlement of Syrians by EU member states, Ward told the Weekly.

*This story was first published in Al-Ahram Weekly

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U.S. Border Patrol Agent Rogelio Martinez was found dead at the bottom of a culvert in November. (Photo: U.S. Customs and Border Protection)

Nearly three months after a U.S. border patrol agent was killed and his partner severely injured along an interstate near Van Horn, Texas, the FBI has found no evidence that the pair was attacked.

To date, this investigation has not conclusively determined how Agent Rogelio Martinez and his partner ended up at the bottom of the culvert, and no suspects have been linked to this incident, the FBI said in a written statement Wednesday. To date 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.

The FBIs statement came a day after the El Paso County Medical Examiners Office issued its autopsy report, stating that Martinez, 36, died from blunt injuries to the head. The office said that the cause of those injuries remained a mystery.

The National Border Patrol Council, an agents union, insists that the agents were attacked by drug traffickers, smugglers or undocumented immigrants. It also has called for increased spending for border security.

Culberson County Sheriff Oscar Carrillo, who was one of the first to arrive at the culvert, had told The Dallas Morning News that the agents injuries were consistent with a fall. He had theorized, along with a U.S. source familiar with the investigation, that the men could have been sideswiped by a truck driving along the interstate.
A New Jersey sheriff's deputy has lost her job because she previously appeared in bondage films as a dominatrix.

Hudson County Sheriff Frank Schillari tells The Jersey Journal a hearing officer made the decision to fire Kristen Hyman on Wednesday, and he agrees with the decision.

The department suspended her six days before her academy graduation last year, saying she failed to disclose that she appeared in the films and sometimes saw clients privately for money. Court documents show Hyman told investigators she never appeared naked and didn't perform sex acts in the videos.

A judge rescinded the suspension, and Hyman was sworn in June 8. She then went on paid administrative leave pending the hearing, CBS News reports.
Officer David Sherrard of the Richardson (TX) Police Department was killed Wednesday night responding to a disturbance. (Photo: Richardson PD)

A 26-year-old with a history of run-ins with police has been charged with capital murder after a Richardson, Texas, officer was fatally shot Wednesday evening.

Brandon McCall is accused of killing Officer David Sherrard after the 13-year veteran officer responded to a disturbance at an apartment complex.

Sherrard was one of the officers who responded to the disturbance, which was reported about 7 p.m. When police arrived, they found Rene Gamez wounded and began to administer first aid, Chief Jimmy Spivey told the Dallas Morning News.

As officers tried to enter Gamez's apartment, they were fired upon and Sherrard was shot. Gamez also died of his wounds.
Velma Donahue was going through the worst week of her life. Her husband Cody, a Colorado State Patrol trooper, was killed in a crash along I-25. The day before his funeral, she took her daughter to the doctor and was told she didnt have health insurance.

According to current Colorado law, insurance benefits for families of a state employee who is killed on the job expire on the first day of the next month. For Velma, that was six days after her husband died.

Let me bury my husband before I have to go through forms and forms and forms of information, and explaining why I need insurance again, and telling them, 'Yes Im a new widow,' she told Denver7.

Thats why she is the spokesperson for a new bill introduced at the state Capitol that would extend the insurance benefits for families of state workers who are killed on the job. This includes Colorado State Patrol, the state Department of Corrections, CDOT, and more. The bill is Senate Bill 148.
A Locust Grove, Georgia, police officer was shot and killed Friday morning while backing up Henry County Sheriff's deputies who were serving a failure to appear arrest warrant.

The two deputies were also shot. One was hit below his ballistic vest and is reportedly in serious condition at an Atlanta hospital. The second deputy was saved from serious injury by his vest, Henry County Sheriff Keith McBrayer said in a press conference.

The suspect was killed, reportedly by fire from one of the wounded law enforcement officers. He has been identified but his name has not been released.

The names of the slain Locust Grove officer and the two injured deputies have also not been released.

McBrayer said the deputies were serving the warrant when they ran into trouble and called the Locust Grove officer in for backup. The sheriff said all of the shots were fired inside the residence.

The deputies serving the warrant had "no reason to expect the suspect would be violent," McBrayer said.

Multiple agencies, including the Henry County Sheriffs Office, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Locust Grove and Henry County police departments, are investigating. An agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is also on the scene, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
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Remember when some pundits were singing the praises of John Kelly? They praised his work at the Department of Homeland Security, of which ICE is a part.

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They said he would bring the needed discipline and order to the White House. Most importantly, he would reign Trump and his white nationalist alliance in.

Granted, Kelly supporters can point to the ousting of Steve Bannon. Overall, Kellys history as Secretary of DHS and his history as Chief of Staff point to a man who is misogynistic and racist. Whoever Kelly was when he was in the military; he is an answer to the prayers of abusive men.

Kelly gave men who abuse undocumented immigrant women with an important power. Should the woman dare to report the man to police, or show up to testify against him in court, a phone call to ICE will silence her.

In March of 2017, P.R. Lockhard of Mother Jones observed that memos issued by John Kelly in February of 2017 said, the Department no longer will exempt classes or categories of removable aliens from potential enforcement.

Lockhard went on to write, The Tahirih Justice Center, which serves immigrant women and girls fleeing gender-based violence said, Kellys directives appeared to rescind an ICE guidance issued in 2011 that protected immigrant victims of domestic violence and other crimes.

The predictable result was a dramatic decline of sacred Hispanic women reporting domestic abuse.

How many chances does Kelly get before we admit that whoever he was in the military, the man who is Trumps chief of staff exhibits all the ideological traits that Trump has? He used racism and lies to attack Congresswoman Frederica Wilson. When the lies were exposed, Kelly refused to apologize http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/ct-john-kelly-frederica-wilson-false-attacks-20171030-story.html to Wilson who is both a woman and a person of color. In other words, Kellys misogyny and his racism were on full display.

We saw his racism again with the dreamers are lazy https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/kelly-s-lazy-dreamer-comment-racist-obscures-truth-daca-numbers-n845746 comment.

As the Chief of Staff, there is no escaping the fact that Kelly believes in misogyny and he is nurturing it in the White House.

Kelly knew about Rob Porters history of violence toward women and defended him when the story first broke. In a statement, Kelly described Porter as 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.

This is the same Kelly who once reminisced about a time when women are sacred. You know, back in the days when women were subservient and suffered physical, emotional and sexual abuse in silence.

The extent to which Kelly nurtures misogyny in the White House is undeniable because he knew Porters history of beating up the women in his life. Despite the fact that Porters history of violence precluded him from getting the security clearance needed to do his job, Kelly kept him in that position. Combine that with his defense of Porter after his history was reported by the media and Kellys own misogyny is undeniable.

Then theres the humiliation that comes with being a woman working in that environment. Sarah Huckabee Sanders defense of Trump, of Kelly and now Porter is as reflective of the misogyny that Kelly nurtures. The fact that Huckabee Sanders argued deference to Kelly following his attack of Congresswoman Wilson is reflective of the misogynistic work environment Kelly is nurturing.

Then theres the sexist White House dress code.

Back in February 2017, Katherine Krueger of Splinter wrote: Appearances (and traditional gender roles) apparently matter very much to the spray-tanned, wispy-haired man that our country elected president, enough so that he reportedly expects women White House staffers to dress like women, goddammit!

That would have been a big deal pre-Trump. But in a period where we are overwhelmed with authoritarian rhetoric and policies, a story about a White House where traditional gender roles including a sexist dress code, matter is going to be much lower on the list of priorities.

But when combined with the fact that this is a White House that has consistently defended the violent men in prominent positions, like Corey Lewandowski, Steve Bannon and now Rob Porter, its pretty obvious that a culture of misogyny is deeply entrenched  and nurtured by the Chief of Staff.

Add to this the fact that Hope Hicks is dating Porter  and she helped write the initial response to the story of Porters history as a domestic abuser. Arguably, having a role in writing the denial is part of Hicks job. This coincides with a culture of traditional gender roles where women who are abused are silent and are called upon to defend abusive men. Hicks has been with Trump since the beginning of his campaign. Between then and now she dated two men on Trumps staff. Both men were reportedly violent toward women.

Every woman in the White House works in this environment every day.

No doubt, it is tempting to suggest they deserve it. After all, they are adults who chose freely to support a sexual predator when he ran for office. They stuck with him when the Access Hollywood video went public. They continued to defend him when the Stormy Daniels story broke. They defended the abusers he had on staff.

The fact remains, every woman has a right to live and work free of fear from violence by men in positions of power. The womens political beliefs or if she believes she doesnt deserve to be treated with respect do not change that fact. That remains true whether the abusers power is financial, political or if the extent of the power is to have the woman reported to the ICE that Kelly created.

Kelly is nurturing misogyny as he did when he was Secretary of DHS. He is unfit to be the Chief of Staff in any White House.
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Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein are warning that America is once again faced with a president in Trump who is in a determined standoff with an independent prosecutor.

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Woodward and Bernstein wrote in The Washington Post:

Were here again. A powerful and determined president is squaring off against an independent investigator operating inside the Justice Department. Robert Muellers mission is a comprehensive look at Russian meddling in the 2016 election  and any other crimes he uncovers in the process. President Trump insists its all a witch hunt and an unfair examination of his familys personal finances. He constantly complains about the investigation in private and reportedly asked his White House counsel to have Mueller fired. No wonder many people are making comparisons to the Saturday Night Massacre of 1973, when President Richard Nixon fired special prosecutor Archibald Cox, and Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus resigned.

We covered that eerily similar confrontation for The Washington Post 45 years ago. Nixon didnt know it at the time, but the Saturday Night Massacre would become a pivot point in his presidency  crucial to the charge that hed obstructed justice. For him, the consequences were terminal.

Lets not kid ourselves. If Trump pulls a Saturday Night Massacre, even if he slow rolls it, he will end his presidency. Sure, Republicans will try to obstruct and defend him, but if Trump pulls this before the midterm elections, it could cost Republicans the House and the Senate. Donald Trump doesnt know history, so he is doomed to repeat it.

The only barrier between Trump and impeachment is the Republican control of the House. Trump would effectively turn a Democratic blue wave into a landslide if he fired Rod Rosenstein and Robert Mueller.

America is reliving history at hyperspeed. What took years to unfold in Watergate is happening in months with Trump.
Once again Valentine's Day is upon us. With Valentine's falling on Wednesday night this year, I know many of you are celebrating in advance this weekend. Without a doubt, Valentine's Day is great for greeting card and candy sales, florists, restaurants, jewelers, and media folks, and many others. Even though a great number of folks, including yours truly, see it as a "forced" commercial holiday, you still have to celebrate it with that special someone.

All the usual gifts and that romantic dinner are great, but if you want to make Valentine's 2018 really heavenly, I know a way, and it won't drain your wallet. Arrange a date with the one you love, or the one you are trying to love, under the stars, maybe after dinner. I know it's winter, but with the right combination of sweaters, winter coats, and hats, along with a whole lot of snuggling, you'll be set. You certainly don't have to stay out all night, and after you're done, a fireplace or a late nightcap will round out a stellar evening.

Pack some reclining lawn chairs and warm beverages and head out to the countryside where you can really see the stars, or just go out to a dark part of your backyard or even a city park, but avoid those streetlights! Get a map of the February evening skies. Check out last week's Starwatch columnfor the February star map.

I am your Venus

Shortly after sunset, around 5:30 p.m., gaze toward the low southwest sky and see if you can spot the planet Venus. Normally Venus is a very bright star-like object, but it's much fainter when it's barely above the horizon. The window of opportunity isn't very long for seeing Venus, because it will slip below the horizon by around 6:20.

Consider this a celestial love challenge because this next-door neighbor planet of Earth is named after the Roman goddess of love. How about that for starting off a romantic night of stargazing? Venus is the second planet out from the sun, and this week it's nearly 160 million miles from Earth. Venus is nearly the same size as the Earth, right around 8,000 miles in diameter, but that's where the comparison ends. There's nothing lovely about the goddess of love. It's your basic celestial hell hole.

Venus is so bright because it's covered by a very thick cloud deck which is a very good reflector of the sun's light. Planets have no light of their own, so the only way we see them is due to sunlight reflecting off of them, and the cloud shroud of Venus does this very well!

Underneath these poisonous clouds made up of carbon dioxide, sulfur, and other wonderful stuff, the temperature at the surface of Venus can be as high as 900 degrees. It's even hotter than Mercury, the closest planet to the sun, because the thick clouds of Venus are producing a greenhouse effect that's literally gone mad. Solar radiation can reach the surface, but outgoing terrestrial radiation is very slow to leak out of the clouds, so global warming is an undisputed fact on our Venusian neighbor. It's hardly a paradise!

Findin' Orion

After you're done with Venus and Mercury, turn your celestial sights to the southeast toward the constellation Orion the Hunter, my favorite constellation. On the upper left corner of Orion, above the three bright stars in a row that make up the hunter's belt, is what I call "the star of love." I'm talking about Betelgeuse, the second brightest star of Orion.

Betelgeuse is an Arabic name that roughly translates to English as "Armpit of the Great One." That's right, Betelgeuse marks the armpit of Orion.

So what does Betelgeuse have to do with love? The answer is three fold. First of all, you can easily see it's a distinctly orange-red hue, which gives it that Valentine look. Second, Betelgeuse behaves like a beating heart, only a lot slower. Betelgeuse pulsates in size in a six-year cycle, as it goes from over 400 million miles in diameter to almost a billion miles in girth!

Third, Betelgeuse is a big-hearted star, because even at its smallest it could cram more than 150 million of our closest star, the sun, inside of it.

Some other great celestial valentine treasures are the constellations Cassiopeia the Queen and Cepheus the King. In February, the royal pair is hanging in the north-northwestern sky. I don't have space to share the entire Greek mythology story. The gist of it is that Queen Cassiopeia, the queen of ancient Ethiopia, ticked off Hera, the queen of the Greek gods, because Cassiopeia claimed she was much more beautiful than Hera was.

Hera tied her up in her throne and flung her up into the sky to be an eternal prisoner of the heavens. In fact, the bright constellation looks like an upside down W or a right side up M. That W or M is supposed to resemble Cassiopeia's throne.

King Cepheus was very upset and couldn't bear being on Earth without his wife. He begged Zeus, the king of the gods, to hurl him up into the sky right next to Cassiopeia. At first Zeus resisted, but Cepheus wore him down with all his whining and crying and not being able to take it anymore. Zeus catapulted the king to the heavens.

To this night, Cassiopeia and Cepheus are unwilling prisoners of the night sky, but very willing prisoners of love! By the way, Cepheus the constellation doesn't look anything like a king, but rather like a house with a steep roof pointing to the upper left. Cepheus isn't as bright as Cassiopeia, but is still pretty easy to search for with the one you love.

If it's cloudy this coming Wednesday night, postpone that celestial date with your sweetheart. Hopefully you'll spend many future nights under the stars together!

----

Mike Lynch is an amateur astronomer and professional broadcast meteorologist for WCCO Radio in Minneapolis/St. Paul and is author of the book, "Stars, a Month by Month Tour of the Constellations" published by Adventure Publications.

The Rochester Astronomy Club welcomes new members and puts on public star parties. Their website is rochesterskies.org.

If you have any astronomical questions or want me to write about something you're seeing in the night sky, drop me a line at mikewlynch@comcast.net. See more illustrations online: www.facebook.com/mike.lynch.12327.
Turkish warplanes hit Kurdish YPG militia targets in Syria's Afrin region, the army said on Friday, after a lull in air strikes following the shooting down of Russian warplane elsewhere in Syria last weekend.

The air strikes destroyed 19 targets including ammunition depots, shelters and gun positions, the armed forces said in a statement without specifying when the raids were conducted. The raids began at midnight, state-run Anadolu news agency said.

Turkey had halted air strikes as Russia worked on its air defence system in the wake of Syrian rebels shooting down a Russian warplane in Idlib province on Feb. 3, according to the Hurriyet newspaper's website.

Ankara launched an air and ground offensive in Afrin on Jan. 20 against the YPG, which it views as a terrorist group and an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) that has waged a three-decade insurgency on Turkish soil.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by telephone on Thursday and agreed to strengthen military and security service coordination in Syria, according to the Kremlin.

The YPG and its allies have set up three autonomous cantons in the north, including Afrin, since the Syrian conflict began in 2011.

Their territory has expanded since they joined forces with the United States to fight Islamic State militants - although Washington opposes their autonomy plans, as does Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government.

Ankara has been angered by U.S. support for the Kurdish-led forces has infuriated Turkey, which views growing Kurdish power as a security threat along its frontier.

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Minnesota Fifth District Rep. Keith Ellison is now the Vice Chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Hes not some inconsequential backbencher from flyover land. He embodies the alliance of radical Islam and the Democratic Party. He signifies.

Weve been covering him since he secured the DFL nomination to succeed 14-term incumbent Martin Sabo in the spring of 2006. For public purposes since then Ellison has denounced and disassociated himself from Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam. To do so, Ellison has repeatedly suppressed and lied about his long involvement with the Nation of Islam.

Over the years Ellison operated under names including Keith E. Hakim, Keith X Ellison, and Keith Ellison-Muhammad  the last as a self-identified member of the cult. For some reason, Ellisons hometown newspaper hasnt done much to expose Ellisons imposture. As sources ranging from, well, Power Line and the Weekly Standard to Mother Jones have delivered the goods on Ellisons association with the Nation of Islam, the Star Tribune has been content to remain mostly on the sidelines.

Now comes Jeryl Bier in todays Wall Street Journal. He recalls some of Ellisons public denunciations of Farrakhan. I have much more along this line in Louis Farrakhans first congressman (2006) and The Ellison elision (2014). I even got some onto the opinion page of the Star Tribune in the column Ellison remembers to forget (also 2014). I took a personal look back, most recently, in The trouble with Keith Ellison (2016).

In his Wall Street Journal column today Bier reports (behind the Journals paywall) that in September 2013, however, Ellison and Farrakhan had a reunion of sorts:

The occasion was a visit by Irans newly elected President Hassan Rouhani to the United Nations. Mr. Rouhani invited Muslim leaders from around the U.S. to dinner after addressing the U.N. General Assembly. Contemporaneous news reports placed Mr. Farrakhan at the dinner. Unreported by mainstream outlets was the presence of Mr. Ellison, along with Reps. Gregory Meeks of New York and Andre Carson of Indiana. (All three are Democrats; Messrs. Ellison and Carson are Muslim.) The Nation of Islam website documents the event, noting that Mr. Rouhani hosted the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, Muslim leaders from different Islamic communities and members of the U.S. Congress at a private meeting . . . at the One UN Hotel in Manhattan Sept. 24, 2013 across the street from the UN headquarters. The Final Call, a Nation of Islam publication, added that  Keith Ellison of Minnesota . . . participated in the dialogue after dinner and includes photos of Messrs. Farrakhan and Ellison at the tables. The Michigan-based Islamic House of Wisdom also reported on the meeting, with additional photos. According to Mr. Farrakhan, the 2013 meeting was not the last time he and Mr. Ellison were together. After Mr. Ellison renewed his denunciation of Mr. Farrakhan in 2016, Mr. Farrakhan stated in an interview that Reps. Ellison and Carson had visited him in his Washington hotel suite the preceding summer. When Mr. Ellison sought the DNC position, he received support from many Jewish leaders and prominent politicians. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer dismissed concerns rather glibly: Im not worried about the Israel stuff.

For some reason, no one wants to talk about it: The press secretaries for Messrs. Ellison, Carson and Schumer did not answer emails seeking comment. Mr. Meekss press secretary said his boss had no response.
Democrats are castigating President Trump for wanting a military parade in Washington, D.C. Eleanor Holmes Norton feigned outrage, saying:

Presidents Trumps desire to spend millions of taxpayer dollars on a military parade in the style of authoritarian leaders he admires would feed his ego and perhaps his base, rather than serve any legitimate purpose or keep with any long-held American traditions.

Nortons reference to taxpayer dollars is amusing. For years, Norton paid no District of Columbia income tax. When caught, she blamed her husband and divorced him.

Nortons reference to authoritarian leaders Trump supposedly admires is also amusing. The president picked up the idea of a parade in France. Macron is hardly authoritarian. Perhaps Norton confused Trump with Barack Obama, who admired Turkeys Erdogen and was on good terms with Cubas Castro and Venezuelas Chavez.

For his part, Sen Sheldon Whitehouse compared Trumps idea to a Soviet-style May Day parade. This is not an image that we much associate with the United States of America, he sniffed.

But it turns out that in 2014, Sen. Chuck Schumer called for a military parade, and New York Cit mayor Bill de Blasio thought it was a fine idea. Debra Heine of PJ Media recalls:

[O]nly a few years ago, none other than Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and New Yorks Marxist Mayor Bill de Blasio enthusiastically supported the idea of a ticker tape military parade to honor those who fought in the war on terror. After all, these men risked their lives to protect us, Schumer said (forgetting to mention women  whoops!). They experienced terrible trial and tragedy along the way. According to this CBS New York report, Schumer called for a grand event at the Canyon of Heroes that would include military brass, color guards, military bands, and fly-overs. The brave men and women who have selflessly served our nation with courage and skill in Iraq and Afghanistan deserve a recognition for their sacrifice. I stand with Sen. Schumer in his call for a parade to honor our veteran heroes, and New York City would be proud to host this important event, Mayor de Blasio proclaimed at the time. But that was way back in 2014, when it was still okay to be associated with flashy military parades.

Schumer and de Blasio were on to something. Our troops have been fighting deadly terrorist forces pretty much non-stop for almost 15 years. The results have been mixed, but in the main we have been successful. We defeated al Qaeda in Iraq and Afghanistan and ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

Why shouldnt our veteran heroes be honored with a parade?

It wouldnt be a victory parade exactly. But neither was it a victory parade when, in 1942, more than 30,000 men and women marched down Fifth Avenue in New York City for Army Day Parade. Nor had we achieved victory in 1953, when President Eisenhowers inaugural parade included 22,000 military service members and a cannon capable of firing a nuclear warhead, or in 1961 when President Kennedys featured dozens of missiles as well as soldiers and sailors aboard Navy boats towed along Pennsylvania Avenue.

Reasonable people can differ about whether we should hold a military parade. But its unreasonable to suggest that theres anything un-American about the idea. Chuck Schumer and Bill deBlasio werent being un-American or unduly nationalistic/militaristic when they called for a military parade, and neither is President Trump.
Polish President Andrzej Duda, who on Friday visited the Demilitarised Zone in South Korea, met with representatives of the United Nations Command Military Armistice Commission (UNCMAC).

The Polish head of state declared that on the UN Security Council forum "Poland wants to engage itself in the process aimed at de-escalating tension on the Korean Peninsula."

The demilitarised zone (DMZ) is a border barrier that divides the Korean Peninsula roughly in half. Created in 1953, it is over 200 kilometres long and 4 kilometres wide.

"We are still in South Korean territory, but in the demilitarised zone, very close to the demarcation line dividing the two Korean states, which have never signed a peace agreement after the Korean War. There is an armistice, there is a ceasefire, but a peace treaty has never been signed, and this is why UN forces, including Polish troops, are here," the Polish President said. See also: President Duda starts visit to South Korea

President Duda stressed that Poland "has been present in the Demilitarised Zone for over 60 years, to prevent the resumption of a military conflict between the two Korean states."

"A few minutes ago, I held a conversation with representatives of the United Nations Command Military Armistice Commission (UNCMAC). Poland is a member of the commission, which supervises the armistice as in fact there has been no peace process," he added.

President Duda said that a few weeks ago peace dialogue was resumed.

"The dialogue has been resumed," he stressed, adding that testifying to this was "a partially joint team of the two Korean states for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games."

"And we are trying to find out what should be done here so that North Korea is no longer a threat, and how to solve the problem. In the coming two years Poland will be a UN Security Council member holding a vice-chairmanship of the UN Security Council Sanctions Committee on North Korea, and this matter is among those on our agenda," the President declared.

President Duda added it was one of the subjects of his meeting with the South Korean President, Moon Jae-in. "And this is also our topic today in the demilitarised zone. (...) We are trying to find out how to prevent military conflicts," he went on to say.

Declaring that Poland was open to all South Korean suggestions regarding the armistice and the de-escalation of tension, President Duda stressed that the matter was very difficult. He admitted that there had been no open conflict for 60 years but that North Korea had continued its armaments process.

"The situation is dynamic and it is difficult to predict what can happen in this part of the world. It must be monitored," President Duda said, stressing that Poland supported the UN Security Council's "peace through law" motto as "there will be peace in the world if international law is observed." (PAP)
Secretary-General of Egypts Supreme Council of Antiquities Mustafa Waziri denied on Wednesday media reports that a15-metre-deep hole was discovered behind the walls of Tutankhamuns tomb during a third radar survey carried out on the western and northern walls of the kings burial chamber.

The survey started early in February and lasted for one week.

Director of the Department of Foreign Missions Mohamed Ismail told Ahram Online that the head of the survey team says that at least three weeks are needed to study the results of the survey.

Ismail also denied media reports of a new archaeological discovery in the area, describing these reports as a breach of the antiquities law, which stipulates that any announcement should first be approved by the ministrys permanent committee in order to ensure scientific credibility.

In 2015, British Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves published a theory suggesting that the northern and western walls of Tutankhamun's tomb house hidden doorways that could lead to the final resting place of Queen Nefertiti, the wife and co-regent of the monotheistic King Akhenaten and the golden kings step mother.

Reeves theory was based on his examination of 3D photos of the tomb. Former Minister of Antiquities Mamdouh El-Damati was enthusiastic about the theory and asked reeves to travel to Luxor to prove his hypothesis. Two radar surveys and an infrared examination have since been conducted, but have given inconclusive results.

A Japanese radar survey suggested the existence of void spaces, while a survey by an American team asserted that there is nothing behind the walls.

Meanwhile, the infrared researchers asked to re-examine the walls as the environment inside the tomb was not conducive to accurate results. The third radar survey was then conducted by an Italian team from Turin University to settle the matter.

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Third annual Influential Leaders Challenge celebrates 29 change-makers and their impact on global issues

TAMPA, Florida, Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, AACSB InternationalThe Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the world's largest business education network, celebrated the positive impact business school graduates are making in communities around the globe as part of the 2018 Influential Leaders Challenge. As an annual initiative, the challenge honors notable alumni from accredited schools whose inspiring work serves as a model for the next generation of business leaders. The class of 2018, announced at AACSB's 2018 Deans Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, recognizes 29 business pioneers, from 13 industry sectors, whose careers are addressing today's most pressing social, economic, environmental, and educational challenges.

"Each honoree from the 2018 class of Influential Leaders reflects the mindset, knowledge, and passion that impactful business leaders must embody to impart positive change in today's society," said Thomas R. Robinson, president and CEO of AACSB. "As business schools work to educate and mold the next generation of global business leaders, these 29 stories of achievement demonstrate the true excellence and leadership we wish to see in the world."

Honorees of the 2018 Influential Leaders challenge were recognized across three categories, including:

Alumni Business Leaders Working in Nonprofit or Community-Based Organizations

Leaders serving nonprofit and community-based organizations are making game-changing impactsfrom a local level to a global reachcreating a better society for us all. With initiatives that include navigating the Hurricane Harvey crisis, transforming the lives of more than 150 million children around the world annually, and combating the root causes of poverty, AACSB graduates demonstrate that some of the world's most impactful work occurs within small sector opportunities.

Alumni Business Leaders Advancing Diversity and Inclusion

Advocates for diversity and inclusion are driving transformation across the corporate sphere by upholding a culture of mutual respect and championing the exchange of open ideas. Such efforts are furthered by leaders who forge and refine inclusion practices to break down cultural stereotypes and patriarchal norms. They also look to inspire today's youth in underrepresented populations to pursue their dreams in non-traditional fields of study and professions.

Business Leaders Influencing Business Education

Businesses need students to be workforce ready, making the present a critical time for schools and businesses to work together to meet each other's needs. Outside of academe, some business leaders are driving partnerships between the two groups by cultivating a spirit of entrepreneurship and cross-collaborative mindsets. Others are developing free study servicesavailable via a simple digital exchangeto more than 350,000 students globally, advancing access to success for everyone. Inside academe, leaders are transforming institutional culture by encouraging open dialogue between alumni, faculty, staff, business, and students, while investing in entrepreneurs across advantaged and disadvantaged regions.

For more information on the Influential Leaders Challenge, and to view a full list of honorees, visit www.aacsb.edu/influential-leaders.

About AACSB International

As the world's largest business education alliance, AACSB connects educators, students, and business to achieve a common goal: to create the next generation of great leaders. Synonymous with the highest standards of excellence, AACSB provides quality assurance, business education intelligence, and professional development services to almost 1,600 member organizations and more than 795 accredited business schools worldwide. With its global headquarters in Tampa, Florida, USA; Europe, Middle East, and Africa headquarters in Amsterdam, the Netherlands; and Asia Pacific headquarters in Singapore, AACSB's mission is to foster engagement, accelerate innovation, and amplify impact in business education. For more information, visit aacsb.edu.

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SINGAPORE, Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Active support and initiatives by financial regulators such as the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Bank Negara Malaysia and Bank Indonesia has enabled the Asia-Pacific Fintech ecosystem to grow significantly in 2017.

New innovations are expected to radically transform the way consumers shop, pay perform banking transactions and purchase insurance. The wave of new Fintech technologies is also changing customer behaviour and interactions today.

Frost & Sullivan presented its annual Fintech Outlook at The Swissotel The Stamford in Singapore on 8 February. The event was attended by over 70 senior management and C-suite executives, marking the start of an exciting year ahead for the industry.

The Fintech industry in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to grow at a CAGR of 72.5% from 2015 to 2020, reaching US$72 billion. The positive outlook is fuelled by growth in digital payments such as increasing adoption of cashless payments by small and medium sized enterprises. There is also more widespread awareness of the viability of using P2P financing as well as new methods of crowdfunding using Blockchain, which will lead to growth in the personal and business financing segment.

Key analysts from Frost & Sullivan's ICT practice and its Fintech program presented the top predictions for the industry in 2018.

Emerging Trends in Fintech

Mr. Spike Choo, Consulting Director at Frost & Sullivan's ICT Asia-Pacific practice discussed the emerging trends in Fintech for 2018. In line with the Singapore government's push to develop a cashless society, more initiatives will be launched to encourage more consumers and enterprises to adopt digital payments technologies.

He also expects to see more innovative Fintech services being launched in the areas of financial investments and advisory services as well as insurance due to advances in Big Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain.

However, the sustainability of these Fintech services would depend on how well they are able to address the wide-ranging consumers' investment and insurance needs while ensuring the business model is sustainable without compromising on the customer experience.

Future of Cashless Payments in Singapore

According to Ms Quah Mei Lee, Industry Principal, ICT, Asia-Pacific, the mobile payments market in Singapore was estimated to be worth US$1.4 billion in 2017. The market is still small but is growing fast. There are many supportive regional and local regulations and initiatives that will help Singapore move towards a cashless Society.

Singapore already has an optimal number of complementary mobile payment solutions to drive acceptance on the island state. Despite this, more and more "me too" solutions are entering the market. With only limited partnerships underway and a local first mentality, the market risks not achieving its full potential. Mei Lee stresses that mobile payments of the future needs to be global first, inter-operable and secure. Global alignment will be key to mobile payments going mainstream.

Fintech in Singapore's SME Landscape

In the wake of the global Fintech boom, disruptive market innovations have forced a radical shift of business models in the Financial Services industry, notably within the P2P Lending segment. Frost & Sullivan believes that leading banks and financial institutions are driven to be lean and agile on multiple fronts, including but not limited to new digital services, elevated customer experiences and innovative technological solutions.

Mr. Shuvro Mainuddin, Consultant, Banking & Financial Services, Asia-Pacific at Frost & Sullivan noted that the SME clients have been traditionally neglected by existing banks which has opened up a huge market for alternative financing providers to potentially fill in.

No longer just a channel, 'digitalization' is the new paradigm for leading banks and financial institutions in Southeast Asia to cater to the increasingly important SME client base. Such widespread adoption of Fintech will continue to reshape the financial services industry, making it more customer-focused than ever.

Customer Experience in BFSI industry

With increasing number of digital touchpoints, managing customer experience would require revisiting customer journeys to provide a seamless experience. The CX strategy would need to ensure that there is greater personalisation of services coupled with proactive engagement.

According to Mr. Nishchal Khorana, Consulting Director, ICT, Asia-Pacific at Frost & Sullivan highlighted that a successful CX strategy would be based on an integrated approach to people, processes and technology in the digital era.

Analytics and Artificial Intelligence related technologies will also be fundamental to raising the bar for customer experience. On one hand, analytics will aid in developing a predictive approach to address customer needs, while on the other, Virtual assistants and Chatbots will drive greater operational efficiencies and standardization.

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, works in collaboration with clients to leverage visionary innovation that addresses the global challenges and related growth opportunities that will make or break today's market participants. For more than 50 years, we have been developing growth strategies for the global 1000, emerging businesses, the public sector and the investment community. Is your organization prepared for the next profound wave of industry convergence, disruptive technologies, increasing competitive intensity, Mega Trends, breakthrough best practices, changing customer dynamics and emerging economies? Contact us: Start the discussion

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The report "Battery Monitoring System Market by Component (Hardware, Software), Type (Wired, Wireless), Battery Type (Lithium-Ion Based, Lead-Acid), End-User (Telecommunications, Automotive, Energy, Industries), and Region - Global Forecast to 2022", published by MarketsandMarkets, the market is expected to grow from an estimated value of USD 2.37 Billion in 2017 to USD 5.47 Billion by 2022, at a CAGR of 18.23%, from 2017 to 2022. The global market is set to witness significant growth due to the increasing demand for electric vehicles and the need to prevent unplanned power outages.

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The hardware segment is expected to hold the largest share of the Battery Monitoring System Market, by type, during the forecast period.

The hardware segment is expected to hold a major share of the Battery Monitoring System Market during the forecast period. Hardware components include sensors, hubs, controllers, data loggers, data recorders, and communication networks. All these components are easy to install, can record real-time battery parameters, require less cabling, and have high-resolution data recording capabilities. For instance, sensors have advanced circuits that help in powerful measurement algorithms and fast data sampling, thereby, resulting in the efficient use of data accumulated from batteries. All these factors have resulted in the larger share of the hardware segment of the Battery Monitoring System Market.

The lithium-ion based segment accounts for the largest share of the Battery Monitoring System Market, by battery type, during the forecast period.

The lithium-ion based segment is expected to be the largest market, by battery type, from 2017 to 2022. The key applications of lithium-ion battery monitoring systems are electric and hybrid electric vehicles, power tools, and power supply backup. The increasing deployment of lithium-ion batteries in these applications has resulted in the largest share of the lithium-ion batteries segment compared to other battery types.

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The telecommunications segment is expected to be the largest end-user segment of the Battery Monitoring System Market during the forecast period.

The telecommunications segment is expected to be the largest Battery Monitoring System Market from 2017 to 2022. In the telecommunications segment, data centers are the prime users of battery monitoring systems as they heavily rely on UPS systems for reliable backup power. These systems aid in assuring the performance of backup battery power systems and reducing UPS battery maintenance and replacement costs. Moreover, continuous monitoring allows for an all-time knowledge of the state-of-health of batteries. Battery monitoring systems enable UPS backup batteries to consume lesser energy, be protected from failure, and last longer which, ultimately, leads to overall decreased expenditure for the company. All these factors are likely to drive the telecommunications segment of the Battery Monitoring System Market.

Asia Pacific: the fastest growing market for battery monitoring systems.

In this report, the Battery Monitoring System Market has been analyzed with respect to 5 regions, namely, North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East & Africa, and South America. The market in Asia Pacific is expected to grow at the fastest rate due to increasing investments in the data centers sector and growing renewable power generation in the region. The Chinese market is expected to dominate the Battery Monitoring System Market in Asia Pacific. The Battery Monitoring System Market is expected to grow at a high rate in countries such as China, South Korea and those in South-East Asia. An all-round effort by the governments of various countries in the region to reduce greenhouse gases and an emphasis on obtaining power from renewable sources is also likely to drive the Battery Monitoring System Market in the region.

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To enable an in-depth understanding of the competitive landscape, the report includes the profiles of some of the top players in the Battery Monitoring System Market. These include NDSL (UK), Texas Instruments (US), PowerShield (New Zealand), BatteryDAQ (US), Canara (US), and Eagle Eye (US). The leading players are trying to establish themselves in the markets in developing economies and are adopting various strategies to increase their market shares.

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Distributed Generation Market by Technology (Solar PV, Wind, Reciprocating Engines, Microturbines, Fuel Cells, Gas Turbines), Application (On-Grid, Off-Grid), End-User (Industrial, Commercial, Residential), and Region - Global Forecast to 2022

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Rising investments in Asia-Pacific and uptake of smart solutions augment growth opportunities

LONDON, Feb. 8, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Frost & Sullivan's latest analysis of the pneumatic valves and actuators market finds that Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) adoption is expected to increase significantly due to rising energy costs and end-user demand for lower product costs, improved operational efficiency, and increased machine uptime. Frost & Sullivan predicts that heightened investment in Asia-Pacific, coupled with uptake in smart solutions such as wireless connectivity, remote monitoring, and predictive analytics, will augment growth opportunities

Frost & Sullivan's recent analysis, Global Pneumatic Valves and Actuators Market, Forecast to 2022, provides a strategic overview of growth drivers, restraints, product segments, and end-user industries. Market share and competitive analytics of key players such as SMC Corporation, Festo AG, Parker-Hannifin Corporation, IMI Precision Engineering, and Aventics GmbH are also given.

For further information on this intelligence, please click here.

"The increased price pressure on manufacturers stemming from intense competition from low-cost pneumatic equipment manufacturers, while challenging, should be viewed as an opportunity to enhance technical capabilities, adopt lean manufacturing techniques, and increase product diversity, especially through the development and promotion of energy-efficient and smart IIoT-compatible products and services," said Varun Raman, Mechanical Power Transmission Industry Analyst at Frost & Sullivan. "While IIoT adoption rates will differ based on the region and scope of the end user, the benefit in terms of improved energy and operational efficiency will remain an attractive proposition for all end users."

Raman recommends that manufacturers focus new product development strategies on reducing air and energy consumption since compressor air costs account for the majority of operating costs, and lower energy costs reduce the total cost of ownership.

Further strategic imperatives for growth in the pneumatic valves and actuators market include:

Reducing the size and weight of the valves and making end users aware of correct sizing for various applications;

of the valves and making end users aware of correct sizing for various applications; Investing in 3D printing and additive manufacturing techniques to pave the way for customised mass-manufacturing;

to pave the way for customised mass-manufacturing; Recruiting and retaining skilled personnel along with acquiring new capabilities in system design and value-added services to exploit the anticipated rise in demand for smart products; and

along with acquiring new capabilities in system design and value-added services to exploit the anticipated rise in demand for smart products; and Geographically expanding and establishing new production facilities in China and the Asia-Pacific region to tap into lucrative markets.

"By increasing electronic integration in pneumatic valves and actuators, manufacturers can slow down the trend toward electrification," noted Raman. "The development of IIoT-compatible products with greater intelligence built into the valves and actuators can also reduce electric systems migration."

Global Pneumatic Valves and Actuators Market, Forecast to 2022 is part of Frost & Sullivan's global Mechanical Power Transmission Growth Partnership Service program.

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, works in collaboration with clients to leverage visionary innovation that addresses the global challenges and related growth opportunities that will make or break today's market participants. For more than 50 years, we have been developing growth strategies for the global 1000, emerging businesses, the public sector and the investment community. Contact us: Start the discussion

Global Pneumatic Valves and Actuators Market, Forecast to 2022

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SOURCE Frost & Sullivan
BENGALURU, February 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Patient suffered from Traumatic Cataract, Cornea Opacity and Subconjunctival hemorrhage and was completely blind

With complicated multiple procedures, the 37-year-old Yemen national got back his vision

Dr. Agarwal's Eye Hospital, Bengaluru today announced that they had successfully conducted a complicated multiple surgical treatment to a Yemen patient who lost his vision in a bomb blast and has now regained 85% of his vision. A Corneal surgeon, Cataract surgeon and a Retina surgeon were involved for recovering the lost vision of the patient within 3 days.

(Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/640411/Dr_Ravi_Dorairaj_Dr_Agarwal_Eye_Hospital.jpg )



The 37-year-old, Yemen patient, Sameer Abdo a bomb blast victim, completely lost his left eye and was blind in his right eye due to corneal opacity, traumatic cataract and haemorrhage inside his eye. The patient complained of severe pain in his eyes and could not even read or move around on his own.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Ravi Dorairaj, Medical Director, Dr. Agarwal Eye Hospital, Bengaluru, said, "We had performed complicated multiple surgeries to the patient who came to our hospital with damaged right eye which was found with multiple foreign particles in cornea. On further diagnosing, we found that he was suffering from sub-conjunctival hemorrhage resulting in bleeding inside the eye. We took this case as a challenge when others were hesitant to operate for vision and performed the procedures successfully. Since he was young, we thought of giving a cosmetic correction to his right eye and proceeded with customized prosthesis."

Dr. Rajesh BTJ, Medical Head, Dr. Agarwal Eye Hospital, Bengaluru, said, "First we started with the complicated procedure of removing multiple minute foreign particles peppered in cornea and then performed traumatic cataract surgery with Intraocular lenses implantation. Post operatively, the patient was kept under observation. The next day, we observed that the patient slowly started regaining vision. After 3 days of immense observation the patient regained 85% of his vision."

Speaking about his vision recovery the Yemen patient, Sameer Abdo, said, "I understood that because of more complication and resource limitation, I was forbidden elsewhere for diagnosis. I thank Dr. Agarwal's Eye Hospital and its team of doctors who took my case as a challenge and brought my vision back. Now I am able to read books and even ride motorbike on my own and I can move freely without anyone's help."

About Dr. Agarwal's Eye Hospital:

Dr. Agarwal's Eye Hospital, a comprehensive eye hospital offering a one-stop solution for eye ailments; was started in the year 1957. Now the hospital is in its 60th year of offering quality services in eye care. It has 15 branches in Chennai and a visible footprint in the states of Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Odisha, Andaman and Rajasthan. A tertiary eye care centre at Mauritius marks its first step towards establishing an international presence extended up to 16 branches covering the Indian Ocean region, African countries and East Asia.

Media Contact:

Vani Akshitha

[email protected]

+91-7708565941

Executive - Market Analysis

Dr. Agarwal's Eye Hospital



SOURCE Dr. Agarwal's Eye Hospital Limited
According to the new market research report " Fiber Optic Components Market by Component (Transceivers, AOCs, Cables, Amplifiers, Splitters, Connectors, Circulators), Data Rate (10G, 40G, 100G, above 100G), Application (Communications, Distributed Sensing) - Global Forecast to 2023 " , published by MarketsandMarkets , the market is expected to grow from USD 17.15 Billion in 2018 to USD 27.60 Billion by 2023, at a CAGR of 10%. The factors that are driving the growth of this market are the increasing deployment of data centers, growing internet penetration and data traffic, and rising demand for bandwidth and reliability.

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Browse 65 tables and 46 figures spread through 146 pages and in-depth TOC on "Fiber Optic Components Market - Global Forecast to 2023"

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/fiber-optic-component-market-63775446.html

Early buyers will receive 10% customization on reports

Fiber optic components market for AOCs expected to grow at the highest rate during the forecast period

The market for AOCs is expected to grow at the highest CAGR between 2018 and 2023. The cloud technology has developed rapidly with the beginning of the big-data age. To satisfy the demands of higher bandwidth and more applications in a variety of cloud computing environments, active optical cables (AOCs) have been developed.

Fiber optic components market for 100G expected to lead the fiber optic components market between 2018 and 2023

The fiber optic components market for 100G is expected to hold the largest share by 2023. The market for 100G data rate is growing as it offers high-speed, increased data rate, predefined user configuration, and complete automation capabilities.

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Communications application expected to lead the fiber optic components market between 2018 and 2023

Among various applications, the communications application expected to account for the largest size of the overall fiber optic components market between 2018 and 2023. The growth of this market can be attributed to the mass utilization of digital technologies and applications in telecommunications, data centers, and enterprises. Also, positive trends in broadband and big data management are also driving the growth of the communications application. With all this development in the communications application, the demand for fiber optic components would also rise.

APAC expected to lead the fiber optic components market between 2018 and 2023

APAC is expected to hold the largest size of the fiber optic components market during the forecast period. The rising industrialization and infrastructural development in this region have offered enormous opportunities for the use of fiber optic components across various applications in APAC.

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Finisar (US), Lumentum (US), Broadcom (US), Sumitomo Electric (Japan), and Accelink Technologies (China), Acacia Communications (US), EMCORE (US), Fujitsu Optical Components (Japan), Furukawa Electric (Japan), and II-VI (US) are the major players operating in the fiber optic components market.

Browse Related Reports

Optical Communication and Networking Market, By Component (Fiber, Transceiver, Amplifier, Switch, Splitter, Circulator), Technology (WDM, SONET, and Fiber Channel), Application (Telecom, Data Center, and Enterprise) and Geography - Global Forecast to 2023

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/Optical-networking-communications-market-227693036.html

Active Optical Cable Market By Protocol (InfiniBand, Ethernet, Serial-Attached SCSI (SAS), and Others) Form Factor (QSFP, CXP, and Others), End-user Application (Data Center, Consumer Electronics, and Others) and Geography - Global Trends & Forecast to 2022

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/active-optical-cable-market-138597811.html

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SOURCE MarketsandMarkets
Buildings across the globe account for nearly 40 percent of worldwide energy consumption and cumulatively emit high levels of carbon dioxide

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Frost & Sullivan's latest analysis, World Building Automation Systems (BAS) Markets, Forecast to 2022, sheds light on the rapid transformations taking place in the global BAS market. Factors propelling change include the growing use of Internet of Things (IoT), rising popularity of energy-efficient LED lights, increasing reliance on wireless technologies, and concern for overall building energy consumption. The convergence and integration of security and surveillance with BAS is also highlighted as the significance of building security continues to rise.

For further information on this analysis, please visit: http://frost.ly/265

"Cutting-edge technologies involving IoT, Big Data, and cloud platforms have made it convenient to gather and normalize data from buildings to help analyze the energy usage trends and facilitate fault detection and monitoring of the overall building energy performance," said Frost & Sullivan Research Manager Suba Arunkumar. "However, these technology advancements will only thrive if suppliers can develop security features strong enough to offset customer fears about hacking or system failure."

Key takeaways include:

The BAS market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.3 percent between 2016 and 2022;

IoT-enable devices will open new opportunities such as voice-over technology in the building automation industry;

will open new opportunities such as voice-over technology in the building automation industry; Buildings account for nearly 40 percent of global energy consumption, making energy efficiency in buildings a critical driver of BAS;

account for nearly 40 percent of global energy consumption, making energy efficiency in buildings a critical driver of BAS; Rapid expansion in data centres due to strong internet penetration in emerging nations and new cloud offerings ;

; Global rise boosted by construction of shopping malls in parts of Asia-Pacific and Europe , as well as public buildings in the Middle East ;

and , as well as public buildings in the ; Additional BAS development in core renovation of public buildings in North America , parts of Europe , and Africa , as well as in educational buildings in Europe and North America ;

, parts of , and as well as in educational buildings in and ; Increase of multi-purpose projects such as office buildings, retail buildings, hotels, restaurants, and residential buildings.

"Government policies and regulations will remain critical to keeping the momentum behind advancements in this market," concluded Arunkumar. "In spite of the exciting innovation around technology and new business models, the main driver of progress will be policy and regulation on building management and energy efficiency."

World Building Automation Systems (BAS) Markets, Forecast to 2022 is part of Frost & Sullivan's Homes & Buildings Growth Partnership Service program.

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, works in collaboration with clients to leverage visionary innovation that addresses the global challenges and related growth opportunities that will make or break today's market participants. For more than 50 years, we have been developing growth strategies for the global 1000, emerging businesses, the public sector and the investment community. Contact us: Start the discussion

World Building Automation Systems (BAS) Markets, Forecast to 2022

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Contact:

Jaylon Brinkley

Corporate Communications  North America

P: 210.247.2481

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SOURCE Frost & Sullivan
PORTLAND, Oregon and PUNE, India, February 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

According to a recent report published by Allied Market Research, titled, "Industrial Wireless Sensor Network Market by Sensor, Technology, and Industry Vertical: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2017-2023," the global industrial wireless sensor network market was valued at $573 million in 2016, and is projected to reach at $1,200 million by 2023, growing at a CAGR of 11.0% from 2017 to 2023.

(Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/636519/Allied_Market_Research_Logo.jpg )



Presently, North America dominates the industrial wireless sensor network market. However, China is expected to register the highest growth in Asia-Pacific by 2023. Moreover, the UK is anticipated led the overall market in the European region in 2023. Presently, the U.S. dominates the North American market.

Request Sample Report at: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/1064

Surge in popularity of industrial wireless sensor technology has driven the market growth. Furthermore, low cost and easy deployment of industrial wireless sensor network fuel the growth of the market. However, data security and privacy concerns are expected restrain the growth of the market.

In 2016, the Wi-Fi segment dominated the global industrial wireless sensor network market, in terms of revenue. However, based on sensor type, others sensor segment led the global market, followed by flow sensor in 2016.

KEY FINDINGS OF THE STUDY

Oil & gas generated the highest revenue in 2016.

In 2016, the Wi-Fi segment accounted for the highest revenue in the industrial wireless sensor network.

Asia-Pacific is anticipated to exhibit the highest revenue in 2023.

The key players profiled in the report include ABB Ltd., STMicroelectronics, Honeywell International Inc., Texas Instruments, Inc., Siemens AG, Endress+Hauser AG, Linear Technology Corporation, NXP Semiconductors, Schneider Electric, and Emersion Electric.

For Purchase Enquiry: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/1064

About Us:

Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain.

We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry.

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SOURCE Allied Market Research
SONIPAT, India, February 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) participated in the Times Higher Education (THE) Asia Universities Summit 2018 held in partnership with the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) from 5-7 February 2018 in Shenzhen, China. JGU was the only Indian university invited to speak at the summit. Professor (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar, Founding Vice Chancellor, JGU was among the 25 Vice Chancellors from across the world and only one from India who spoke at the summit.

The summit witnessed participation of over 400 delegates from Asia's best universities, top researchers, higher education leaders, policymakers and industry chiefs.

This year's summit was organised around the theme 'Connecting Cities, Changing the World: Research Universities Building Asia'. The summit focused on themes including universities and cities - building alliances, defining regions; global research and education - trends, opportunities and challenges; university alliances - research output defining regional strength; national innovation - universities as catalysts and connectors; the power of partnership: what global research universities bring to the innovation economy; fourth industrial revolution and higher education, and bridging divides - research universities in the global knowledge economy.

JGU Vice Chancellor, Professor Raj Kumar, a Rhodes Scholar and an alumnus of the University of Oxford and Harvard Law School addressed a panel on 'Breaking Boundaries - Research Universities in the 21st Century' that deliberated on the critical role of university research in the growth of the knowledge economy, and the importance of internationalisation strategies in eliminating regional and global barriers to collaboration.

In his discourse, Prof. Raj Kumar said, "Universities have a larger role to play in the development of societies. They need to assume a leadership role that transcends national boundaries and are able to appreciate diversity and pluralism in all its forms and manifestations. Universities need to recognise that they have a special role in society."

He added, "While societies become more myopic, it's important for academics to continue to share perspectives to influence public opinion." He also said that universities should be the vanguards in the pursuit of truth, and should promote truth via evidence - this is a key role for science and the social sciences to play in the 21st century.

The summit is also an important platform to understand the key challenges that Indian universities face as they prepare to work towards becoming world class universities.

Contact:

Devadeep Konwar

[email protected]

+91-7027-850-344

Assistant Director

Communication and Public Affairs

O.P. Jindal Global University

SOURCE O.P. Jindal Global University
BENGALURU, February 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Orange Self Storage, a first-of-a-kind self-storage company headquartered in India, is coming up with their storage facilities in the Southern City, Bengaluru. Today, the company announced the unveiling of their first facility in Bengaluru North suburb by end of March 2018 and further expansion to South and Central Bengaluru regions in coming months.

(Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/639960/Orange_Self_Storage.jpg )



Mr. Sesha Babu, General Manager, Orange Self Storage, said, "The upcoming storage facility offers 110 self-storage units and 685 safe lockers spread across three floors. This facility features indoor units, safe lockers, digital surveillance, electronic access, fire/pest controlled space, online payments and a full range of moving and packing supplies. It serves as a convenient, one-stop shop for all your storage needs."

"These facilities can be availed on both short and long-term basis. Prices may vary depending on the type, size, place, and the storage duration. Many of us might mistake it for a warehousing facility, but to be precise what differentiates them are the key features like individual secured self-storage cubes, safe lockers, digital surveillance, electronic access, fire/pest controlled space and backend customer support," added Babu.

The process of self-storage begins with a person who is interested in storing goods. At first, a person looks for a storage unit that suits his/her needs and then rents it. Basically, space is given according to the number of goods and their choice of preferred unit size. One can store almost everything that they got. The things that can be stored in a storage unit include strong household goods, business goods, excess inventory, archived records and many other non-perishable and storage friendly goods.

On achieving operational efficiencies in Bengaluru, the company plans nationwide expansion in coming years.

About Orange Self Storage

Orange Self Storage is a first-generation self-storage company, to provide world-class short- and long- term self-storage services for both personal household and business. Headquartered in Bangalore, India, it will certainly ensure the customer's needs are taken care of, with highest standards of professionalism, safety, and security.

For more information, visit the company website at https://www.orangeselfstorage.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OrangeSelfStorage/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Orangeselfstore

Media Contact:

Mr. Sesha Babu

[email protected]

+91-99450-29187

General Manager

Orange Self Storage Private Limited

SOURCE Orange Self Storage Pvt. Ltd.
BEIJING, Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Pactera Technology International Ltd. ("Pactera"), a 22-year-old global IT service leader from China and subsidiary of global Fortune 500 holding company HNA Technology, has been developing charity projects in Bangladesh and the Philippines, providing local youth, women and minorities with vocational skill training and job opportunities.

In January 2013, Pactera jointly established a school, Rotary Eskander Technical Institute, in partnership with Rotary Club of Agradbad and Rotary Club of LKF in Betagi, a remote village in Bangladesh. Pactera also opened up a factory, recruiting students graduating from the vocational program, and has since offered free training and job opportunities for over 400 locals.

In 2017 Pactera built a community-based outsourcing center in Legazpi, the Philippines, providing local unemployed college or high school graduates, dropouts, and stay-at-home moms with free training and job opportunities.

"We have been grateful for the opportunity to support development projects in Bangladesh and the Philippines," said Ronald Cheung, senior vice president at Pactera. "Pactera hopes to help local youth and women by empowering them and providing them with more job opportunities. In the future, we will continue to bring more projects that offer direct social benefits to more underserved areas around the world."

The charity projects have indeed made a difference. For instance, Rotary Eskander Technical Institute in Bangladesh successfully recruited over 100 students for its first batch, 30 percent of whom were female. Upon graduation, most of the students were capable of handling basic data processing work in English, German or Spanish. 40 graduates among the first batch of students landed full-time jobs at the factory after completing the program.

Pactera's outsourcing center in the Philippines has also brought opportunities to the people of Legazpi. Local job seekers face fierce competition given the few job openings. Pactera, however, offers free training in music transcription, which leads to job opportunities.

Pactera also offers freelancing opportunities for unemployed minorities in Legazpi enabling them to make a living and improve their quality of life.

About Pactera

Pactera is a leading digital consulting and technology services firm. With over 26,000 employees across the globe, Pactera is focused on growing Fortune 500 companies through world-class end-to-end services including Consulting, Digital Engagement, Technology, Operations, and Globalization.

For more information visit, https://en.pactera.com

SOURCE Pactera
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New Delhi, Feb 4 : Markets in the national capital reopened on Sunday after a two-day strike by thousands of commercial establishments protesting against the recent sealing drive by the Municipal Corporations of Delhi.

The shutdown had been called by the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT).

"After two days of Delhi Trade Bandh called by CAIT against sealing, the markets in Delhi opened today restoring the business activities to normal trade though markets observing Sunday as weekly holiday remained closed," the traders' association said in a release here.

"The proposals of DDA (Delhi Development Authority) for amendment in Master Plan 2021 are very confusing since every proposal contain certain riders and conditions which are difficult to follow and as such the basic object of bringing proposals to provide relief to traders from sealing will be highly defeated, according to prominent traders," it said.

CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said it appeared that the DDA proposals were drafted "in great haste without considering its compliance obligations and impact".

"It will be more appropriate if the central government suspends the sealing, by bringing a law in the Parliament, for at least six months, and during this period after having a detailed and thoughtful study, the proposals to amend the Master Plan should be drafted to give relief from sealing," he said in the statement.

CAIT on Saturday said it has sent a "traders' charter" to the government suggesting that it take necessary steps to mitigate traders' problems on account of the sealing drive.

"Though appreciating the proposals mooted by DDA for amending the Master Plan to bring relief to traders from sealing, the CAIT has sent a 12 point traders' charter to Hardeep Puri, Union Minister for Urban Development, urging him to take necessary steps to mitigate the problems of the traders on account of sealing," it said.

On Friday, the DDA approved changes to the city's Master Plan -- in a move to provide relief to traders hit by the sealing drive -- on a day lakhs of traders pulled down their shutters to protest against the sealing.

The sealing drive was being carried out against business establishments using residential areas for commercial purposes without paying conversion charges.

DDA's proposed amendments to the Master Plan include increasing Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of local shopping complexes from existing 180 per cent to 300 per cent and regularising agricultural warehouses on 12 metre wide roads.

Though the DDA has approved the proposed amendments, the traders continued with their shutdown on Saturday.

According to the CAIT, the charter sent to the government includes among other steps keeping status quo in special areas till the time its redevelopment plan is prepared and implemented.

"The plot size in LSCs should be increased from 175 metres to 250 metres," the traders' body urged the government.

"While regularising and enhancing the FAR, the condition of parking availability should be withdrawn, three colonies - Greater Kailash, Green Park and South Extension - developed by DLF should be enlisted on the list of rehabilitation colonies developed by DLF," the statement added.

CAIT also urged that commercial use of basements should be allowed uniformly in any street and the limit of paying conversion charges should be fixed for 10 years.
Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 4 : Bringing the rift in the CPI-M into the open, some party leaders from Kerala slammed General Secretary Sitaram Yechury at a meet here on Sunday, a day after he confirmed that a complaint has been received against State Secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan's son for alleged fraud.

Yechury on Saturday revealed that the party received a complaint against Balakrishnan's elder son Binoy Balakrishnan about an alleged Rs 13 crore fraud committed in Dubai.

In wake of this, many state leaders attacked Yechury in their speeches at the distconference, in which both Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Balakrishnan took part, with a few even accusing him of being disgruntled for not getting a Rajya Sabha renomination.

While the Congress was willing to support the candidature of Yechury from West Bengal to the Rajya Sabha, his Communist Party of India-Marxist was not in favour of it and in the bargain, it lost a seat in the Upper House.

With Sunday's attack, the inter-party rift has come out in the open.

Cracks started appearing in the party after Yechury took a stand favouring former Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan.

This difference of opinion deepened when the entire Kerala unit of the party early this month voted, at the Central Committee meeting in Kolkata, against Yechury's stand that the CPI-M should tie up with the Congress to fight the common enemy - the BJP.

A few days after Yechury's draft resolution was voted out, came a news report alleging that Balakrishnan junior had duped a firm. A three-page letter -- dated January 5, from the Dubai company sponser H.I.A.Al Marzooqi -- states that legal procedures have ben started against Binoy for the fraud.

Sunday's developments in the CPI-M come ahead of the state party conference to be held in Thrissur later this month where those who will attend the upcoming party Congress would be selected and it seems certain that the delegates from the state will not be supporters of Yechury or his stand.
New Delhi, Feb 7 : A day after the opposition's strong objection to the adjoining of the Rajya Sabha for long hours by its Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu, and with peace returning to the upper house, Congress MP K.V.P. Ramachnadra Rao on Wednesday yet again irked Naidu by entering the well.

A few minutes after the Rajya Sabha met for the day, Rao stood up and walked towards the well.

It was for the fourth working day in a row that Rao went to the well while displaying a placard to demand "justice" for Andhra Pradesh.

As soon as Naidu saw him coming, he warned him to go back to his seat. Rao however stood silently with his back to the Chair and facing the members.

This irritated Naidu, who warned he could not continue with the upper house proceedings in such circumstances, and asked Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad to ask Rao to return to his seat.

"Ram Chandra Rao, I will not continue the house with such placards. Ghulam Nabi Azadji, take care of your member. Ask him to go back to his seat. (Congress leader) Anand Sharma, please persuade him," Naidu said.

"No doubdt the issue he wants to raise is an important issue. But at the same time, this is not the way. And I am not going to accept this. Some of you felt why the house is being adjourned. I cannot run the house like this. I am very clear about this," the Chair added.

"There are only two ways. Either I name him, take action, or adjourn the house. You people decide," a visibly irritated Naidu told the members.

Azad intervened and said his party does not "approve of this kind of behaviour of the member".

On Tuesday, Naidu had adjourned the house till 2 p.m. minutes after it met for the day. The opposition strongly objected to this and alleged that "rules, regulations, procedures and traditions were being ignored" by the Chair.

However, on Wednesday morning, Naidu met oppsition members in his chamber and sorted out the issue.

All parties agreed that the Rajya Sabha should run and promised cooperation in its smooth functioning.

As Rao persisted with his demonstrtion, Naidu told him that all the parties had agreed to smooth functioning of the house and he was the lone disturber.

"If today one member does it, tomorrow another member will do it," Naidu said.

The Rajya Sabha Chair also chided newly elected Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh who advised Naidu to "ignore Rao's behaviour".

"Even if I ignore it, the country will not ignore it. Sanjay Singh, you are a new member. Please watch for some time. Why are you meddling in this matter?" Naidu said.

"Rama Chandra Rao, I am invoking Rule 255 and also directing you to conduct yourself by going back to the seat or withdraw from the house for the rest of the day," the Chairman told Rao.

At this, The Congress member walked out of the house, but kept displaying his placard. Naidu said no cameras should be focused on him or his placard.
New Delhi, Feb 7 : Telugu Desam Party member C.M. Ramesh was on Wednesday suspended from Rajya Sabha for disrupting proceedings over the issue of special status to Andhra Pradesh.

Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P. J. Kurien suspended Ramesh after he did not heed repeated calls to return to his seat.

Soon after Motion of Thanks on President's address was passed by the house, Ramesh, along with two other TDP members, rushed towards Chairman's podium raising slogans "we want justice".

The action came after two brief adjournments of the house as Ramesh didn't leave the house despite being named by Kurien.

"I have named you. If you have any respect for the parliamentary democracy, you should leave the house. Its a shame. If he is standing here, I can not continue with the proceedings," Kurien said.

This came as Trinamool Congress' Derek O'Brien raised the question on the member's presence in the house despite being named.

"Why they are in house? Where are the marshals?" he asked.

Kurien than adjourned the house for 10 minutes.

When the house reassembled, Ramesh along with two other TDP members were again on their feet demanding justice over special package to Andhra Pradesh.

"I don't want unruly scenes by enforcing...," Kurien said and then adjourned the house for the day.
Washington, Feb 8 : White House staff secretary Rob Porter, a top aide to President Donald Trump, has resigned following allegations of abuse from his two former wives.

Porter denied the allegations in a statement issued in the wake of his resignation on Wednesday, reports CNN.

"These outrageous allegations are simply false," he said in his statement.

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

Porter resigned over the objections of White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and others, a White House official said.

However, Kelly said: "Rob Porter is a man of true integrity and honour 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."

The allegations were first reported by the Daily Mail earlier this week, CNN reported.

Porter has been dating White House communications director Hope Hicks, one of the most influential figures in the West Wing, several people familiar with their relationship have said.

His last day at the White House has not yet been set, according to White House press secretary Sarah Sanders, who added that Porter will stay on to ensure a smooth transition to his successor.

Porter, a graduate of Harvard Law School and a Rhodes scholar, previously worked for Republican Senators Orrin Hatch, Rob Portman and Mike Lee.

Porter joined the White House at the beginning of Trump's administration.

As staff secretary, Porter's responsibility was mainly in the flow of paper that crossed Trump's desk, including the wave of executive orders and actions that Trump inked during the first months of his tenure. A lawyer, Porter also participated in the process of legal vetting the myriad documents that require the President's signature.
Washington, Feb 8 : The US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State (IS) conducted air and artillery strikes against pro-regime forces in Syria, killing over 100 fighters, the coalition said in a statement.

The coalition said Wednesday's strikes had been carried out after forces allied with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad "initiated an unprovoked attack" against a well-established Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) headquarters where coalition advisers were working with US-backed Syrian fighters, reports CNN.

Some 500 pro-regime troops carried out the attack using artillery, mortar fire and Russian-made tanks, a US military official said.

"Syrian pro-regime forces maneuvered T-54 and T-72 main battle tanks with supporting mortar fire in what appears to be a coordinated attack on the SDF approximately 8 kilometre east of the Euphrates River de-confliction line in Khusham, Syria," the military official said.

The official said that about "20 to 30 artillery and tank rounds landed within 500 metres" of the headquarters before the US-backed fighters and coalition forces "targeted the aggressors with a combination of air and artillery strikes".

"We estimate more than 100 Syrian pro-regime forces were killed while engaging (Syrian Democratic Forces) and Coalition forces.

"This action was taken in self-defence," the official said, adding that pro-regime forces that returned across the river had not been targeted.

No coalition or US personnel were killed or injured, CNN quoted the coalition as saying.

The official said the coalition suspected that pro-regime forces were attempting to seize territory, including lucrative oil fields, that the SDF had liberated from the IS in September.

The US maintains about 2,000 troops in Syria, who mostly work with the over 50,000-strong SDF, a mix of Kurdish and Arab fighters who have been the primary US-backed force fighting the IS in Syria.
Washington, Feb 8 : The US has designated three Pakistanis as key "terrorist facilitators" for providing logistical support, improvised explosive devices and technological assistance to Al Qaeda, Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Taliban, as well as for working closely with Shaykh Aminullah, a well-known backer of the three terror groups.

The US Department of Treasury in a press release on Wednesday named Rahman Zeb Faqir Muhammad, Hizb Ullah Astam Khan and Dilawar Khan Nadir Khan as "Specially Designated Global Terrorists" (SDGTs) as part of the US administration's broader efforts to disrupt terrorist fundraising.

All three were tied to Aminullah, who was put on international terror blacklists in 2009.

According to US officials, Aminullah had turned Ganj madrasa in Peshawar into a training and hiring base for the LeT, Taliban and Al Qaeda.

"All property and interests in property of these persons subject to the US jurisdiction are blocked, and US persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them," the Treasury Department said.

"We are targeting operatives who have provided logistical support, improvised explosive devices, and other technological assistance to Al Qaeda, LeT, the Taliban and other Afghanistan-based terrorist groups," said Sigal Mandelker, Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.

The Department called on the Pakistani government and others in the region "to work with us to deny sanctuary to these dangerous individuals and organizations".

Rahman Zeb, an LeT operative, had been responsible for collecting funds and running a network for the LeT in the Gulf.

In mid-2014, he helped Aminullah travel from Pakistan to the Gulf.

Hizb Ullah served as a financial official of a Peshawar-based madrasa that was co-founded by Aminullah. He also provided assistance to Aminullah for Gulf travel.

Dilawar Khan Nadir Khan acted as Aminullah's assistant and handled his accommodations in Pakistan. He facilitated funds transfers, including international transactions, on behalf of Aminullah.
New Delhi, Feb 8 : Members from the treasury benches on Thursday disrupted the Rajya Sabha and forced an adjournment by shouting slogans and coming into the aisle as Congress MP P. Chidambaram stood up to speak on the Budget in the post-lunch sitting.

The opposition accused the government of running away from a debate on the Budget.

As soon as the House met at 2 p.m., the Chair called out Chidambaram's name who was scheduled to speak on the Union Budget. As Chidambaram, a former Finance Minister stood up to speak, some members from the treasury benches stood up and started making noise.

A minute later, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar walked into the House. Kumar, after taking his seat, was seen gesturing at the ruling party MPs all of whom then stood up and trooped into the aisle.

Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad told Ananth Kumar that it did not behove the treasury benches members to disturb the House.

"Mr Parliamentary Affairs Minister, with a great difficulty the Chairman and the opposition parties succeeded after a great deal of discussion since yesterday in deciding that this House should function. And this time not a single opposition member got up," Azad said.

"For the first time, the ruling party does not want to discuss the government business. This is a total failure of the government," he added.

Kumar replied that Azad's accusations were not right as the members (who were making noise) had "every right" to raise their issues.

"The Leader of Opposition is unnecessarily accusing that we do not want to run the House. We want to have a fruitful debate on the Budget. But if there are issues pertaining to the members, they have every right to raise their issues," Kumar said.

However, it soon became clear that the ruling party MPs were creating the ruckus on purpose.

"The Leader of Opposition should also advise his colleagues in Lok Sabha that when the Prime Minister was giving reply to President's address (on Wednesday), they did not allow the Prime Minister to speak. They should have advised Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge. They did not try to stop their members from protesting," Kumar said.

"They want to disturb the Prime Minister in Lok Sabha and want support of the House when they speak in Rajya Sabha," he added.

Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien said that the BJP and the NDA members were disturbing the House as they "do not have facts to face the opposition".

"Come and debate with us," O'Brien said.

Kumar said that for disruption in the Lok Sabha during the Prime Minister's reply, the Congress should apologise to the Prime Minister and the nation.

Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma said that it was "most unfortunate" that the Parliamentary Affairs Minister was "inciting" the members of the treasury benches.

T.K. Rangarajan, who was presiding, adjourned the House for 10 minutes.
London, Feb 8 : Chemical compounds identified in the 1940s but discarded for having weak antibiotic properties could now be used for developing new antibiotics against drug-resistant infections, researchers say.

During 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, scientists are now re-examining these old compounds to test more precisely whether they could hold the key to a future drug.

"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," said Alex O'Neill, from the Antimicrobial Research Centre at the Leeds University in Britain.

"Amongst the 3,000 or so antibiotics discovered to date, only a handful have been brought into clinical use. Our findings underscore the importance of revisiting unexploited antibiotics as a potential source of new antibiotic drug candidates," he said.

O'Neill's team is working on a family of compounds -- known as the actinorhodins -- originally identified in 1940s as having weak antibiotic properties, but not taken forward for development into a drug.

However, at that 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, O'Neill said, in a paper published in the journal Scientific Reports.

Another experiment led by Michael Webb from the varisty's School of Chemistry 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 it was never taken into clinical use.

But Webb has now proven that it is driven by Vitamin B5, which is used to metabolise energy.

"We now believe a comprehensive re-evaluation of such compounds is worthwhile, potentially offering new ways to protect against infections," O'Neill noted.
United Nations, Feb 9 : A senior UN official has told Maldives Foreign Minister Mohamed Asim about Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's concerns over the declaration of a state of emergency there by President Abdulla Yameen, according to a UN spokesperson.

Miroslav Jenca, the Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, spoke to Asim and directly relayed to him the concerns Guterres had expressed in his statement on the Maldives, Farhan Haq, the Secretary-General's spokesperson, said here Thursday.

In the statement released on Tuesday, Guterres asked the Maldives 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."

On Wednesday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein made a harsh criticism of Yameen.

"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," he said.

"I am seriously concerned that the measures taken appear to go beyond those permissible during a state of emergency, restricting the basic tenets of democracy and undermining respect for fundamental rights in the country," he said.

Yameen clamped down the state of emergency on Monday after the Supreme Court overturned the terrorism conviction of former president Mohamed Nasheed, who lives in exile in Britain, as well as the convictions of eight other politicians on several charges. It also ordered the reinstatement of 12 suspended opposition members of parliament.

Two of the five Supreme Court judges were arrested by government forces and the other three overturned the court's unanimous ruling ordering the release of the nine politicians.

Guterres statement said he was seriously concerned about the entry of security forces into the Supreme Court.

The UN Mission of Kuwait, which is the president of the Security Council, had said that Jenca was expected to brief the Council during a closed briefing session on Thursday.

Kuwait's Permanent Representative Mansour Al-Otaibi, who briefed reporters on the day's Council proceedings would not confirm if the briefing had taken place.

(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in)
Los Angeles, Feb 9 : Grammy-award winning rapper Donald Glover has compared himself to the late Tupac Shakur, who died back in 1996 from fatal gunshot wounds.

"I know everybody likens themselves to Tupac a lot. I am the new Tupac in a strange way. I grew up similar. I didn't have a mom in the Black Panthers, but my parents were very pro-black," Glover told Esquire magazine.

"Also, my mom made me go to performing arts high school. She was like, 'That's where you need to be.'"

Glover feels that his acting career has helped people to develop a better understanding of who he really is, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

"Sometimes you have to play a role for people to understand you, even though you're far more complex than any of that. Sometimes it's really hard to simplify that so people can eat it," he said.
Damascus, Feb 9 : The Syrian Foreign Ministry on Thursday condemned the US-led airstrikes on pro-government forces in the eastern province of Deir al-Zour, state news agency SANA reported.

In a statement, the ministry accused the US warplanes of "committing a massacre" against pro-government forces that were confronting the Islamic State (IS).

Calling it a "new barbaric aggression", the ministry said the US attack came in the framework of the Washington's "aggressive policies" against Syria, Xinhua reported.

The pro-government Syrian forces were confronting IS, "who are under the protection" of the US coalition and the allied forces of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), it added.

The Syrian government urged the UN Security Council to condemn the massacre and to hold the US coalition responsible for their "crimes and aggression that have left thousands of civilians either killed or wounded," the statement said.

Earlier in the day, the SDF said the US-led coalition struck positions of pro-Syrian government forces in the eastern Syrian province of Deir al-Zour to defend its partners.

The coalition's move was in retaliation for the pro-Syrian government forces' targeting of the U.S.-backed forces in the area, the SDF noted.

Meanwhile, SANA reported that U.S. warplanes carried out 10 airstrikes on the positions of the pro-government forces after midnight on Saturday.

According to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least 45 pro-government fighters were killed in the airstrikes.

Meanwhile, a statement from Deir al-Zour's Syrian tribes said the US coalition airstrikes killed their young fighters who were battling IS and the SDF on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River.

The tribes of Deir al-Zour will continue to fight the terrorists until their areas taken by the IS and the SDF on the eastern bank of Euphrates are all liberated, the statement added.
Islamabad, Feb 9 : Chairman of European Union (EU) Military Committee General Michail Kostarakos has held talks with Pakistani civil and military leaders on defence cooperation with special focus on counter-terrorism efforts, officials said.

The EU military chief met Defence Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan in the garrison city of Rawalpindi and also called on the Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa at the military headquarters, official statements said on Thursday.

Dastgir said Pakistan strongly condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and reiterated Islamabad's zero tolerance against use of its soil to promote terrorism against any country, a defence ministry statement said.

"Pakistan has been providing multi-faceted support to international community in the war against terrorism," the statement quoted the defence minister as saying.

He said Pakistan is committed to stability and peace in the region with particular focus on its relation with Afghanistan, adding a peaceful Afghanistan is not only in the interest of Pakistan but also the whole region.

The minister said Pakistan attaches great importance to its relations with EU and its relations draw strength from a shared objective of global peace and security.

Kostarakos expressed the desire to enhance cooperation between Pakistan and EU, according to the statement. He highlighted the importance of better communication and interaction at various levels under a mutually agreed framework.

Kostarakos and Bajwa also discussed regional security issues and matters of mutual interest, the military said.

The visiting official appreciated the resolve of Pakistan Army and its continuing efforts towards fighting terrorism and bringing peace in the region, an army statement said.
New Delhi, Feb 9 : Raghu Dixit, frontman of the multilingual contemporary Indian folk group The Raghu Dixit Project, says he wants to spread happiness with his music.

"I only make happy music. I would like everyone who hears my music to forget their worries for a while, get involved in the show and the music, and get a breather from their regular life," Dixit told IANS.

The Bengaluru-based band will head to the UK for a tour later this month. But at the moment, he is looking forward to his gig at the Red Bull Music show at K.J. Somaiya College in Mumbai on Friday.

Dixit said: "It has been a long time since we played on the bus in Mumbai, so we are looking forward to this Red Bull Music show. The last time we did that, it was one of our best Mumbai shows and the view from up there was fantastic."

The band will be playing some of the new songs.

Dxit believes his music is "a true representation of contemporary interview, and that is what I try and represent on stage".

How has the whole vibe of music industry changed over years?

"The music industry has certainly grown, there is a lot more music coming out, and a lot more experimentation and styles that are being tried and I do believe in the near future, there will be a massive explosion in the music that is coming out of India."
Washington, Feb 9 : US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will kick off a nearly week-long tour on Sunday to Turkey and four other Middle East countries amid mounting tensions between Washington and Ankara over Turkey's military offensive in Syria, the US State Department said on Thursday.

In Turkey, Tillerson will meet with senior Turkish officials to discuss "a range of bilateral and regional issues," said the US State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert in a statement.

Tension has been escalating between the two NATO allies amid Turkey's ongoing military operation into the Syria's Afrin against the People's Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara considers as the Syrian affiliates of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), listed by Turkey, the European Union and the United States as a terrorist organization.

Ankara's operation followed US calls to establish a Kurdish-led "border security force (BSF)" in the future in Syria along the 900-km border with Turkey, a move that has angered Turkey.

The BSF would be mainly constituted by the YPG, which has been supported politically and militarily by the United States since 2014 in the battle against the Islamic State.

According to the statement, apart from Turkey, the top US diplomat will also travel to Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Kuwait on Feb. 11-16 and engage with leaders of the countries on topics including ongoing crisis in Syria.
New Delhi, Feb 9 : The Rajya Sabha was adjourned till 12 p.m. on Friday amid protests by members from Andhra Pradesh over their demand of special status for the state.

Soon after the House met, Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu conducted the important legislative business and allowed the members to raise their issues in Zero Hour.

However, members from Andhra Pradesh trooped near the Chairman's podium and started sloganeering.

"We want justice," the agitating members, including C.M.Ramesh, were heard saying.

Naidu urged the members to go back to their seats but they continued their protests.

"I can't run the House like this. I can't continue with both (Zero Hour and protest). This is not the way. Go back to your seats. You are lowering the dignity of the House.

"I have only two options. Either to name them or to adjourn the House," Naidu said.

Trinamool member Derek O'Brian urged the Chairman to continue with the Zero Hour, saying the members are waiting to raise their issues.

Naidu said he could not run the House amid ruckus and then adjourned the Upper House till noon.

Earlier, the TDP and YSR Congress members protested near Mahatma Gandhi statue in Parliament house complex raising slogans demanding 'justice' for Andhra Pradesh.

Friday is the last day of the first half of Budget Session. It will resume \\on March 5, and conclude on April 6.
Jammu, Feb 9 : Opposition National Conference (NC) legislators on Friday disrupted the state Assembly demanding a statement from Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on cross-border firing on the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border (IB).

Senior NC leaders, Mian Altaf and Ali Muhammad Sagar, spoke about their demands as soon as the proceedings started.

They protested against death of a woman killed in a Pakistan ceasefire violation in Mendhar area of Poonch district on Thursday.

The members sought the Speaker's intervention asking Mehbooba to make a statement on the continuing shelling and firing on the borders.
Washington, Feb 9 : Information about the possible location of the remains of US hostages killed by the Islamic State (IS) in Syria has been provided by two former terrorists captured in January, a media report said.

The two men, identified by US intelligence as Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, have given Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces details about potential burial locations of several American and other Western hostages killed by Mohammed Emwazi, the British IS operative known as Jihadi John, military officials told CNN on Thursday.

Kotey and Elsheikh were known associates of Jihadi John who was killed in a US airstrike in Syria in 2015.

It has long been believed the hostages he beheaded in a series of violent videos were killed outside Raqqa, the IS stronghold in Syria.

US personnel will have to recover the remains and then confirm any potential identities through DNA testing, the officials added.

Meanwhile, US authorities have started informing the families of Americans and others held and killed in Syria that there were new leads on the possible whereabouts of the remains of their loved ones.
New Delhi, Feb 9 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday left on a first-ever Indian prime ministerial visit to Palestine, a four-day trip will also take him to Jordan as well as the UAE and Oman in the Gulf.

The External Affairs Ministry said the visit was aimed at deepening "our multifaceted ties with the Gulf and West Asian region".

Officials said energy and security cooperation, trade and investment and counter-terror efforts will top Modi's agenda during the February 9-12 trip to the region.

Before embarking on the visit, the Prime Minister tweeted that the Gulf and West Asian region was a "key priority in our external engagement".

After arriving in Amman, he is expected to meet King Abdullah II of Jordan who will facilitate his transit to Palestine on Saturday.

"I am grateful to Abdullah for facilitating the transit and look forward to meeting him in Amman," Modi said before leaving.

Modi will be the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Palestine where he will meet President Mahmoud Abbas. "Looking forward to my discussions with President Abbas and reaffirming our support for the Palestinian people and the development of Palestine."

The Palestinian President, in a pre-arrival welcome statement, described Modi's visit as "historic and significant".

In both Oman and the United Arab Emirates, Modi was expected to meet the Indian diaspora which he described as "a bridge of friendship between India and the Gulf countries".

He is also scheduled to interact with UAE and Arab CEOs in Dubai on the economic opportunities in India.

An External Affairs Ministry spokesperson said the visit would redefine "our neighbourhood from a maritime perspective" when Modi arrives in Oman -- a close maritime neighbour of India.

Modi is expected to hold talks with the Sultan of Oman and other leaders.

There shall be interactions with business people of Oman on developing stronger economic links with India, Modi said.

In the UAE, he will hold talks with Vice President and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed.

"At the invitation of the leadership of the UAE, I will be addressing the 6th edition of the World Government Summit in Dubai where India is the guest country of honour," Modi said.

As many as 12 agreements are expected to be signed during Modi's visit to the UAE. The agreements will include areas like finance and skills development.
Beijing, Feb 9 : An envoy of the Maldives President has met the Chinese Foreign Minister to seek support amid a raging political crisis threatening stability in the Indian Ocean atoll nation, officials said on Friday.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry reported on its website that Minister Wang Yi met Maldivian Finance Minister Mohamed Saeed on Thursday and told him that China believes "the archipelago should return to normalcy in accordance with law".

Wang said the government of the Maldives and other implicated parties should resolve their differences through dialogue, adding that China respected the principle of not interfering in the internal affairs of the other countries, Efe news reported.

He said that international community should play a "constructive role" to promote stability and development in the island nation.

Saeed said the Maldivian government would protect Chinese employees and organisations in the country, which is also a popular tourist destination for Chinese tourists.

Maldives embattled President Abdulla Yameen -- who refused to implement orders of the Supreme Court and declared a state of Emergency on February 6 -- sent representatives to traditional allies Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and China to drum up support amid the political turmoil.

India and the US as well as the UN have urged Yameen to lift the state of Emergency and release the two Supreme Court judges who were arrested after they ordered the release of exiled former President Mohamed Nasheed and nine other high-profile political prisoners.
Bhubaneswar, Feb 9 : A mob of hundreds of men and women ransacked and set ablaze a police station in Odisha's Sambalpur district on Friday to protest the custodial death of a theft accused.

The irate mob damaged property at the Ainthapali police station, vandalised several vehicles and attacked the personnel by pelting stones at them, besides torching the police station.

The incident took place after a tribal youth, Abinash Munda of Bhalupali village, arrested in connection with a theft case, allegedly hanged himself to death inside the police station on Thursday night.

Munda's family alleged that torture by the police led to his suicide.

Director General of Police (DGP) R.P. Sharma has suspended three police officials and ordered the Human Rights Protection Cell (HRPC) to probe the matter.

Several policemen were injured in the attack, a police officer said.

The inspector-in-charge of the Ainthapali station, a sentry, and the diary-charge officer (DCO) have been suspended for their negligence.

Strong departmental action would be initiated against all responsible, Sharma said.
New Delhi, Feb 9 : After the "chai pe charcha" campaign during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday asked his party MPs to hold "lunch pe charcha" to spread the good points of the Union Budget 2018-19 among the people.

The Prime Minister's suggestion came at a BJP Parliamentary party meeting where party chief Amit Shah described Congress President Rahul Gandhi's behaviour as "undemocratic" and suggested ways to counter his criticism of the Rafale fighter deal.

Sources present at the meeting said the Prime Minister described the Union budget as positive for the middle class and farmers and asked them to discuss its benefits among the masses.

Intervening in Shah's speech, Modi described how he held discussions with party cadres in his parliamentary constituency Varanasi over lunch by bringing his own tiffin.

The sources said Modi asked the MPs to hold such 'lunch pe charcha' by bringing their own tiffin in every assembly segment of their constituency during the Budget Session break.

At the meeting, two booklets containing the Prime Minister's speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos and Shah's speech at various platforms were distributed among the MPs.

The booklet, with the title "Unbeatable Global Legend", contains articles published in around 25 global newspapers about Modi's speech at Davos. BJP sources said the booklet was prepared by party General Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya.

In his address, Shah attacked the Congress and its President for raising questions over the Rafale deal and creating pandemonium in the Lok Sabha during the Prime Minister's reply to the debate on the President's address.

"Rahulji's style of politics is undemocratic. Hence there was such disruption in the Lok Sabha during the speech of the Prime Minister," Ananth Kumar, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, quoted Shah as saying.

Elaborating Shah's speech, Kumar said the President spoke about main points of the Rafale deal and justified every component of the agreement. He asked the MPs to counter the opposition's onslaught over the Rafale deal.

"This is Rahul culture in Congress. The Finance Minister has spoken in detail over the issue. Everything can't be disclosed in view of national security and the country's interest," a source quoted Shah as saying.

According to sources, a party MP raised the issue of farmers linking it to the party's defeat in the Rajasthan by-polls.

"Don't look towards Rajasthan defeat. See towards the victory in 2019," Shah told him and urged the members to go to the people with positive aspects of the budget for farmers and the middle class.

In 2017, Modi brought his own tiffin to lunch with BJP booth workers in Varanasi, where he addressed a rally and shared his experiences.
Allahabad, Feb 9 : Uttar Pradesh Minister Nand Gopal Gupta Nandi on Friday alleged that he received a death threat on his mobile phone, after which police in Allahabad lodged an FIR.

Nandi, the Minister for Stamp and Registration, said he received the threat on Thursday from someone claiming to be speaking on behalf of former Samajwadi Party legislator Vijay Mishra.

He then asked his lawyer to file an FIR.

Details of the call and the phone number from which the call was made have been shared with the police, an aide told IANS.

Following the FIR, the police raided the house of a man who owns an automobile agency. The man, however, is on the run, an official added.

Senior Superintendent of Police Aakash Kulhari said the matter was serious. He said the police were looking for a Rajat Kesharwani.

Nandi, who was earlier with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and was a minister in the Mayawati government between 2007-12, joined the BJP prior to the 2017 Assembly polls after a brief stint in the Congress.

He survived a murderous assault in 2015 when bombs were lobbed at him, leaving him critically wounded. His wife is the Allahabad Mayor.
Ranchi, Feb 9 : Ten MPs of Jharkhand have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention on the Union Heavy Industries Ministry's move to privatise the Heavy Engineering Corporation (HEC), one of the oldest such in the government sector that was established in 1958.

"HEC is one of the biggest PSU of the Asia. Thousands of farmers had given land for HEC. There is conspiracy to privatise the HEC. The privatisation will create unemployment," says the letter to the 10 MPs to Prime Minister.

The MPs -- all belonging to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) -- opposing privatisation, have also demanded modernisation of the HEC.

The MPs are -- Ramtahal Chaudhary, B.D. Ram, Ravindra Rai, Karia Munda, Mahesh Poddar, Ravindra Pandey, Lakshman Giluwa, Sunil Singh, P.N. Singh and Vidyut Baran Mahto.

According to Ramtahal Chaudhary, the MP from Ranchi, he handed the letter to the Prime Minister's Office by him. He said on Friday they (MPs) would also meet Anant Geete, the Heavy Industries Minister.

The HEC was set up in with the erstwhile Soviet Union. It had faced a crisis in 1993 and 2003. It was also sent to Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR).

The company had registered profit for three successive years from 2005.

According to Jharkhand MPs, the proposal of privatisation of HEC is likely to be taken in the next cabinet meeting.

The trade union and political parties of Jharkhand have also opposed the privatisation move.
San Francisco, Feb 9 : Tech giant Google paid out almost $3 million to security researchers in 2017 as rewards for the vulnerabilities they found in its products and services.

Around $1.1 million each was paid for bug reports specific to Google and Android products while Chrome awards accounted for the rest of the Vulnerability Reward Program.

"We awarded researchers more than $1 million for vulnerabilities they found and reported in Google products, and a similar amount for Android as well. Combined with Chrome awards, we awarded nearly $3 million to researchers for their reports," Jan Keller, a member of Google's Vulnerability Reward Program (VRP) wrote in a blog post late on Thursday.

"We also awarded $125,000 to over 50 security researchers from all around the world through our Vulnerability Research Grants Program and $50,000 to the hard-working folks who improve the security of open-source software as part of our Patch Rewards Program," Keller added.

The largest single payment of $112,500 went to independent researcher Guang Gong for outlining an exploit chain on Pixel phones as part of the Android Security Rewards Program.

The Pixel was the only device that was not exploited during last year's annual "Mobile Pwn2Own" competition and Guang's report helped strengthen its protections further.

"Pwn2Own" is a hacking contest held annually at the CanSecWest security conference where contestants are challenged to exploit widely-used software and mobile devices with previously unknown vulnerabilities.
Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 9 : Contrary to the stand taken so far by CPI-M's Kerala unit, the party's West Bengal unit has demanded a statement from the party politburo on a financial dealings involving Kerala State Secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan's son.

The Communist Party of India-Marxist's Bengal unit also wants a politburo statement after party General Secretary Sitaram Yechury came under fire at the Thiruvananthapuram district committee meeting here last week.

At the two-day CPI-M state committee meeting early this week, the demand for politburo statement on the two issues was raised since "these had dented the party image at the national level".

The Kerala unit was not in favour of giving Yechury a third term in the upper house of Parliament. The Kerala unit also voted at the Central Committee meeting in Kolkata to oppose Yechury's support for CPI-M tie-up with the Congress to fight the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Things heated up within the party when Kodiyeri's elder son Binoy Balakrishnan's financial dealings in Dubai came under public scrutiny after an Arab businessman accused Binoy of owing him money.

The CPI-M's Kerala unit, during its State Secretariat meeting here last month, dismissed Binoy's issue as a "business deal between two businessmen".

Now, all eyes are set on CPI-M State Committee meeting here next week, called to discuss an upcoming party conference in later this month.
Washington, Feb 9 : Raj Shah, the Deputy Press Secretary of President Donald Trump, has addressed a media briefing at the White House, becoming the first Indian-American to do so.

Shah, 32, made his debut address on Thursday following the resignation of staff secretary Rob Porter over domestic abuse allegations. He was bombarded by questions on the White House advisor's sudden exit, the US media reported.

He was filling in the shoes of White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders who is away on a vacation. Ahead of his briefing, Sanders took to Twitter and described Shah as "one of the best and the brightest in the Trump administration".

Shah was asked questions about Trump's thoughts concerning legal immigration as it affects Indian immigrants, and those applying for Green Cards through the normal route, as well as on lifting the country quotas for legal immigration, News India Times daily reported.

"The President wants to see legal immigration reforms. He wants to see us move from a process currently existing in law, of extended family chain migration, towards merit-based legal immigration reform," Shah said.

"We want to ensure that people coming in the country are the best and the brightest regardless of nationality, creed, religion or anything else in-between," he added.

The press briefing came on the heels of stories revealing Shah's scathing remarks about Trump's candidacy in 2016 emails with his colleagues.

The New Yorker magazine earlier this week reported messages showing Shah calling the release of the infamous "Access Hollywood" tape, as "some justice", a dig at Trump.

The tape, uncovered during the 2016 campaign, included an audio of Trump in 2005 bragging about being able to grope women due to his celebrity status.
Beijing, Feb 9 : China does not want the Maldivian political crisis to become another thorny issue with India, said a Chinese official here.

"We don't want the problem of Maldives to become a problem between Indian and China," a government official said here.

The official told IANS that China was in touch with India over the issue.

The Maldives has plunged into a crisis with its President Abdullah Yameen declaring a state of Emergency and arresting the Chief Justice and former head of state.

India has traditionally held influence in the Indian Ocean atoll nation where China has been trying to make inroads because of the country's strategic location in the sea.

The archipelago in the Indian Ocean is of immense strategic importance to India and China, the world's two most populous countries dependent on energy imports.

Experts say the Maldivian crisis could well become a new power struggle between India and China.

Yameen has sent special envoys to China, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia even as New Delhi politely declined to host the Maldivian Foreign Minister.

It all started when the Maldives' Supreme Court termed as unjust the imprisonment of nine MPs and former President Mohamed Nasheed who is in exile.

The court ruling - if implemented -- would have restored the Nasheed party's majority and threatened Yameen's presidency.

Nasheed, perceived to be close to New Delhi, has urged India to intervene militarily, a move which China has warned will only complicate the situation.

"Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with the Maldives' President's special envoy, (Maldivian) Economic Development Minister Mohamed Saeed. He introduced the current situation in the Maldives and said that the government is committed to upholding the rule of the law and social order and independently achieving national stability and development," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said here.

Geng also reiterated that China will not interfere in the Maldives' internal affairs and oppose any outside intervention.

Wang told Saeed that China was closely watching the situation and was confident that Male had the wisdom to solve the crisis by itself.

Asked about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump expressing concern over the situation in the Maldives, Geng said: "The current situation in the Maldives is its internal affairs. It should be properly resolved through dialogue and consultation by all relevant parties.

"The international community should respect the sovereignty of the Maldives and respect the will of the Maldives. On this basis, the international community should play a constructive role instead of taking actions that may complicate the situation."
Mumbai, Feb 9 : Actor Anil Kapoor has urged citizens to segregate dry and wet garbage at home for better garbage management.

"Recycle your dry garbage and make a compost out of the wet one," Anil has said in a video posted to his Twitter page.

"Glad to be a part of this global initiative. Come, let's walk towards a better and a clean India. Join the Swachh Bharat Mission today. My Clean India. Swachh Bharat. Swachh Survekshan 2018," he wrote.

The Swachh Survekshan is a ranking survey. The objective of the survey is to encourage large scale citizen participation and create awareness amongst all sections of society about the importance of working together towards making towns and cities a better place to live in.

The survey also intends to foster a spirit of healthy competition among towns and cities to improve their service delivery to citizens, towards creating cleaner cities.
Los Angeles, Feb 9 : Actor Timothee Chalamet has been roped in to essay the role of King Henry V in David Michod's film "The King".

The production for the Plan B-backed drama will start in June. Joel Edgerton and Michod wrote the script for the Netflix film, in which Chalamet will play the young Henry V, reports deadline.com.

After his brother is killed in battle before his coronation, a young king is coronated in the late 1300s. The reluctant ruler wears the crown at a time when England was near a war with France, and the empire is teetering. He rises to the occasion, admirably.

At the moment, Chalamet is looking forward to the Oscars ceremony. He is nominated in Actor in a Leading Role category for "Call Me by Your Name".

The 90th Oscars, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, 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.
Kolkata, Feb 9 : A teacher of a private English medium school was arrested on Friday for allegedly sexually abusing a girl student here, police said.

"Soumen Rana, a dance teacher, at a south Kolkata primary school has been arrested under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for... abusing a Class 2 student," police said.

Denouncing the incident, West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee said appropriate action would be taken against the concerned school if it was found that the student safety guidelines were not being properly followed.

"I have repeatedly said that the school authorities must ensure safety of the students. Especially in girls schools, security of the students should not be handed over to the male employees," Chatterjee said.

"We have developed a new set of safety guidelines for schools. If those guidelines are not followed, the government and the concerned department will certainly take appropriate action," he added.

The incident came to light on Thursday evening. Since Friday morning a group of angry guardians gathered outside the school premises have been demanding punishment for the offender.

They also held the school authorities responsible for not having adequate security equipment like CCTV cameras in place and employing male teachers in an all-girls' school.

"They are saying the CCTV cameras have been removed because repair work is going on. How can they compromise with our children's safety even after taking so much money every year?" a guardian said.

"Why should there be male teachers in a girls' school? Specially subjects like dance or physical education, that involve physical activity, should always be taught by female teachers," another parent said.

A similar incident occurred in the city just over a month back when another south Kolkata school came under fire when a four-year-old girl was allegedly sexually assaulted by two physical training instructors.

The incident saw massive protests by the guardians for almost a week leading to the arrest of both men and removal of the school's principal.
New Delhi, Feb 9 : The Rs 135.86 crore fine that the Competition Commission of India (CCI) imposed upon Google for abusing "its dominant position in online general web search and web search advertising services in India" is too little, said the law firm that represented one of the complainants before the fair trade regulator.

"The penalty levied by the CCI, as a percentage of Google's turnover is welcome at five per cent. However, the actual amount, a mere Rs. 135.86 crores, is a surprise," said Naval Satarawala Chopra of Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co which represented Matrimony.com, a popular matrimonial website.

The CCI verdict on Thursday came in response to complaints filed by Matrimony.com and Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS), a consumer organisation in 2012.

"In fact, the CCI has expressed dismay at the way in which Google provided its turnover figure which raises questions on its veracity," Chopra said.

CCI said it imposed the fine after taking into account Google's revenue from its India operations only.

"The CCI's order is a shot in the arm for the Digital India initiative and will encourage the Indian internet ecosystem in particular online start-ups. This order is significant as the CCI recognises that Google is the gatekeeper to the internet and has a special responsibility to ensure a level playing field," Murugavel Janakiraman, Founder and CEO, Matrimony.com, told IANS.

"This order needs to be a wakeup call for all other players in the digital and mobile ecosystems who are using innovative methodologies to engage in abuse of dominant position in market places," said Pavan Duggal, a Supreme Court advocate and cyber law expert.

The CCI found Google abusing its dominance in three ways - first, placement of "Universal Results" before 2010 were pre-determined by Google and not based on relevance, which was unfair to the users.

It said that the prominent display and placement of commercial Flight Unit with link to Google's specialised Flight search service was unfair imposition and deprived users of additional choices.

Google Flights offers travellers the ability to quickly explore destinations and find the best flights at affordable prices. The Flights Unit offers information about flights on Google's general Search results pages.

Thirdly, the CCI said that the prohibitions imposed on publishers under the negotiated search intermediation agreements were found to be unfair for restricting their choice of partners.

The CCI also observed in its order that Google was leveraging its dominance in the market for online general web search to strengthen its position in the market for online syndicate search services.

"The competitors were denied access to the online search syndication services market due to such a conduct," CCI said in a statement.

"Google, being the gateway to the internet for a vast majority of internet users due to its dominance in the online web search market, is under an obligation to discharge its special responsibility," the fair trade regulator said.

"Google is an innovative company which offers pioneering products. However, our contention is to ensure that Google does not abuse its scale and other advantages to the detriment to the Indian Internet ecosystem and ultimately customers," Janakiraman said.

"We're still fighting the case against Google to prevent abuse of trademark," he added.

Reacting to the CCI order, a Google spokesperson on Thursday said that it was reviewing the "narrow concerns" identified by the Commission and would assess its next steps.

"We have always focused on innovating to support the evolving needs of our users. The Competition Commission of India has confirmed that, on the majority of issues it examined, our conduct complies with Indian competition laws," the spokesperson said.

This is, however, not the first time Google was fined for abuse of its dominance in the search engine market.

In June 2017, the European Union slapped the technology giant with a record fine of 2.42 billion euros for breaching antitrust rules by abusing the monopoly it enjoys over Internet search.

"Google has abused its market dominance as a search engine by giving an illegal advantage to another Google product, its comparison shopping service," the European Commission said in a statement issued at the time of announcing its order.
Islamabad, Feb 9 : A key Pakistan Taliban commander has been killed in a US drone strike close to the Afghan border in Pakistan's North Waziristan Agency, a media report said on Friday.

The deputy chief of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Khan Saeed Mehsud alias Khalid Sajna, was killed in the Thursday night drone strike along with three others, the Express Tribune reported.

Sajna was also heading the Mehsud faction of the Taliban in Pakistan's northwestern Waziristan Agency. The TTP confirmed his killing and the appointment of Maulvi Khatir as his successor.

The Express Tribune report said that the other three casualties were Sajna's nephew Ismail and two guards.

Sajna's vehicle was targeted in Margha area of Barmal district in Afghanistan's Paktika province bordering North Waziristan, reports said.

"The vehicle was completed destroyed," an intelligence official told the daily, adding that there were at least three reported drone strikes on the Pakistan-Afghan border in the last 24 hours.

Sajna was put on the US "Designated Terrorist" list in October 2014 and was considered a close aide of Baitullah Mehsud and senior TTP commander Wali Rehman.

He became TTP's deputy leader following the death of Wali Rehman in May 2013.

Sajna was wanted by the authorities in Pakistan in several cases including suicide attacks on security forces and a 2012 Bannu jailbreak in which 384 prisoners fled.

He is the third Pakistan Taliban commander killed in a US drone strike in Afghanistan during the last six months.
New Delhi, Feb 9 : Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien on Friday alleged that the Rajya Sabha was being disrupted by the members of the ruling party as the government did not want a discussion on the Union Budget.

"The government does not have answers to questions being asked by the Opposition. So, the Rajya Sabha is being deliberately disrupted," O'Brien said at a press conference, a day after Congress leader P. Chidambaram's speech in the Budget debate in the Upper House took place amid sloganeering by the treasury bench members.

On Wednesday, Congress leader M. Veerappa Moily's speech in the Lok Sabha also took place amid a ruckus created by the treasury bench members.

In both Houses, the ruling party members protested against the ruckus created by the Congress members during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's reply to a debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President's Speech in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

O'Brien also accused the government of "murdering" institutions like Parliament, and questioned the rationale to merge the General Budget and the Railway Budget.

"There used to be around 12 hours of discussion on the General Budget and 12 hours of discussion on the Railway Budget. That has been washed out due to the merger of the Budgets," he said.

Raising several questions on the railway allocations, O'Brien said states that had opposition parties in power were given lesser funds.

"BJP has been saying that previous Railway Ministers politicised the Railway Budget... at least at that time it was discussed in the House," he said alleging that states like Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and Gujarat where the BJP is in power got more allocations compared to states like West Bengal and Delhi.

He also said that while employment generation remained a major issue, around 1,75,000 jobs were there in railway safety, which were not being filled.
Kathmandu, Feb 9 : Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat will pay a four-day visit to Nepal from February 11 and participate in the Nepal Army Day celebrations in Kathmandu, official sources said on Friday.

General Rawat will witness the Army Day Parade on February 12 in Tundhikhel in the heart of Kathmandu. An Indian Army band has since arrived in the Nepal capital to participate in the parade.

"On the invitation of our Army chief General Rajendra Chhetri, the Indian Army chief will visit Kathmandu a day ahead of the Nepal Army Day. He will be among the chief guests, which includes Nepal President Bidhya Devi Bhandari," said Nepal Army Spokesperson Brigadier General Gokul Bhandari.

The Indian Chief of Army Staff is also the honorary chief of the Nepal Army, and hence he has been invited this year as a special guest, Bhandari said.

Apart from meeting with his counterpart, General Rawat will call on President Bhandari, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, Defence Minister Bhimsen Das Pradhan and other Nepal leaders.

The Indian Army is a major import source for military stores for the Nepal Army.

The two sides will discuss various aspects of military-to-military cooperation during General Rawat's visit, which comes at a time when Nepal is getting ready for the formation a new government led by K.P. Oli, Chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist.

The visit also comes at a time when two senior military officials from the United States and United Kingdom will be visiting Nepal.

General Sir Nicholas Patrick Carter, Chief of General Staff (CGS) of the British Army is currently visiting Nepal and has held talks with General Chhetri.

Similarly, Commanding Chief of the US Army in Asia Pacific General Robert B. Brown, will land in Kathmandu tonight (Friday) on a military mission.

After the Indian Army, the US Army is the biggest source of arms import for Nepal since long. The US Army also provides disaster-related assistance to the Nepal Army and helped during the earthquake in 2015.

(Anil Giri can be contacted at girianil@gmail.com)
Shimla, Feb 9 : The hills of Himachal Pradesh might experience more rain and snowfall in the next three days, a weather official said here on Friday.

Most of the prominent tourist towns like Shimla, Narkanda, Kufri, Kalpa, Dalhousie and Manali are likely to have light to moderate spells of snowfall.

"There are chances of heavy rainfall and snowfall at some places in the state from February 10 to 12," meteorological office Director Manmohan Singh told IANS.

He said the western disturbances - storm systems originating from Caspian Sea and moving across the Afghanistan-Pakistan region - are likely to be active on two days from Sunday.

The Met department's forecast has brought cheer to the state's hospitality industry.

Shimla saw season's first snowfall on January 23, while Manali, the popular tourist resort in Kullu valley, about 250 km from Shimla, experienced mild spell of snow on that day.

"If there is snowfall, there would be a certain spike in the footfall of the tourists across the hill destinations," Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) General Manager Vijay Sharma told IANS.

Shimla recorded the minimum temperature at 2.1 degrees, whereas the maximum was 12.6 degrees.

Kalpa in Kinnaur district recorded a low of minus three degrees, while it was minus one degree in Manali and 7.4 degrees in Dharamsala, where the Dalai Lama lives when in India.
Mumbai, Feb 9 : Multi-talented Luke Kenny, an actor, musician and a former video jockey, says amid the hype around mainstream artistes, it is important to recognise those who dare to go off the beaten track.

'Radio City Freedom Awards 5.0' will award independent music artistes, and it will take a tour across the country with 13 live gigs in 10 languages across 8 cities. The jury for the awards includes the likes of Luke, Ritnika Nayan, Vehrnon Ibrahim, Atul Churamani and Yotam Agam.

"The beauty of indie music is often overlooked with all the hype around the mainstream artists. Radio City Freedom Awards is a great initiative to recognize the vast pool of creative talent of this country.

"It is an honour and a privilege to be a part of this unique platform that gives a voice to artistes who dare to go off the beaten track. I look forward to a great season full of exciting and entertaining performances from the passionate musicians of this gifted country," Luke said in a statement.

The event promotes new sounds of the new generation with a perfect amalgamation of modern music with a traditional touch through their songs with the theme of 'Sounds of the Soil'. Musicians and bands range across genres such as hip-hop, folk fusion, pop, rock, metal and electronica, and the winner from every category will be crowned the country's top independent artist.

It began with the first gig in Chennai on Thursday. The grand finale and gala award night is scheduled to be held in Mumbai in March.
New Delhi, Feb 9 : The Uttarakhand Forest Department on Friday told the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that it spotted at least seven more Himalayan blue sheep with infection in eyes due to an "unknown virus" at the Gangotri National Park.

The virus reported from the Park in Uttarkashi district was infecting the sheep due to which their eyes were popping out, officials said.

The case first appeared in September 2017 after a year-old blue sheep was found infected and died.

After a petition was filed by Advocate Gaurav Bansal, the Central and Uttarakhand governments were told to investigate the matter.

On Friday, an affidavit filed by the Chief Wildlife Conservator of Uttarakhand, Digvijay Khati, at the Tribunal stated: "Seven blue sheep having infection in their eyes were spotted and it was observed that the animals were facing difficulty in moving."

But the infected animals could not be caught due to difficult terrain.

The sample of the dead animal sent to the research centre in Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh did not help reveal the reason for the virus, senior officer Shravan Kumar told IANS.

The Gangotri National Park is spread over 2,390 sq km and ranges at an altitude of 2,800 to 7,100 meters above sea level. The park will reopen for public in April.

Said Dhananjay Mohan, Assistant Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, Uttarakhand: "This is the first such incident for us... It is unclear what exactly it is. We have contacted experts abroad where such cases were reported."

Advocate Bansal, who filed the petition, fears that there are chances of the elusive snow leopard catching the virus as the mountain blue sheep is its main prey.
Islamabad, Feb 9 : Senior officials from Afghanistan and Pakistan held talks here on Friday on key issues around security, peace and stability in the region.

The meeting follows the visit of a Pakistani delegation to Kabul last week, the Express Tribune reported.

The Afghan delegation was led by Deputy Foreign Minister Hekmat Khalil Karzai while the Pakistani delegation was led by Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua.

The two-day meeting was a follow-up of discussions on Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS) -- a joint action plan for cooperation in the areas of counter-terrorism and reduction of violence, peace and reconciliation, Afghan refugees' repatriation and joint economic development.

Foreign Office spokesperson Mohammad Faisal tweeted that during the meeting, Pakistan put emphasis on strengthening border management on the Afghan side.

Islamabad, he added, also urged Kabul to act against anti-Pakistan terrorists.

According reports, Janjua said that instead of getting engaged in a blame game, Pakistan and Afghanistan should engage in concrete cooperation. She also condemned the last month's Kabul attacks and offered Pakistan's assistance for a joint investigation.

Earlier, the Afghan Interior Minister and the National Directorate of Security (NDS) chief visited Islamabad and met Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi along with other top civil and military officials for seeking Pakistan's cooperation in the wake of the deadly attacks in Afghanistan.

The Afghan officials at that time handed over to Pakistan a list of names of people suspected of being involved in Kabul attacks.
New Delhi, Feb 9 : The Telugu Desam Party (TDP), a NDA constituent, on Friday pledged to escalate its protests if the Modi government failed to give the promised financial assistance for the bifurcated Andhra Pradesh, party leader Jayadev Galla said.

"We will keep escalating the protests till we get what is rightfully ours. We are demanding what rightfully belongs to the people of Andhra Pradesh. The people of Andhra Pradesh are unhappy," Galla told IANS.

He refused to elaborate.

The MP was participating in a debate on the budget in the Lok Sabha, stating that allies like the TDP were feeling "humiliated".

He wondered if the BJP was thinking of breaking up the alliance with the TDP and join hands with the YSR Congress in Andhra Pradesh.

Galla skirted a question about the future of the TDP-BJP alliance but said the government was not keeping its promises like granting special category status to the state, setting up a new railway zone and funding construction of the new capital of Amravati.

The TDP protested in both Houses of Parliament throughout the budget session.

On Friday, party MP A.N. Sivaprasad came dressed like a 'tantrik', armed with a wooden pellet rattle, and performed a puja in the Parliament complex.

Sivaprasad has been playing a rattle during the protests in the Lower House as well. On Thursday, he was reprimanded by Speaker Sumitra Mahajan when he picked up some books from the table of the Lok Sabha's Secretary General.

Telangana was carved out of Andhra Pradesh in June 2014 and Andhra Pradesh was promised compensation, as revenue generating areas, including capital Hyderabad, had gone to the new state.
Agartala, Feb 9 : In the first incident of pre-poll violence in Tripura, some rival activists on Friday attacked supporters of a candidate of the ruling CPI-M in Takarjala, injuring five Left members and two policemen, police said.

Inspector General of Police K.V. Sreejesh told IANS that no one had been arrested and a hunt had been launched for the attackers.

Tripura Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Secretary Bijan Dhar, in a letter to Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Sriram Taranikanti, said that during an election campaign by Takarjala candidate Ramendra Debbarma, some Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) cadres attacked a car accompanying him and his supporters, injuring five CPI-M members.

The injured were shifted to a government hospital.

"Without any provocation, IPFT goons also ransacked the CPI-M office at Takarjala and demolished it though it was situated close to the Takarjala police station. The attack took place in front of the police who did not try to stop the miscreants," the letter said.

"The IPFT is an electoral partner of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). This incident has vindicated our previous apprehensions as the IPFT had made a series of unprovoked attacks on CPI-M supporters earlier too."

The Left party demanded immediate deployment of paramilitary forces in Takarjala, Golaghati and Ampinagar Assembly constituencies, all reserved for tribals, to ensure a free, fair and smooth election on February 18.

After forging an electoral alliance with the IPFT, the BJP has fielded 51 candidates and left nine seats for the junior partner.

The IPFT since 2009 has been agitating for a separate state by upgrading the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council.
New Delhi, Feb 9 : A vintage T-55 tank was gifted to Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Uttar Pradesh's Rampur by the Indian Army to "motivate" students, an official statement said on Friday.

The tank was presented to University Chancellor Mohd Azam Khan by Uttar Bharat Area commander, Lt Gen Harish Thukral.

A statement said the "motivational tank" has been placed on platform in front of the main varsity building.

Lt Gen Thukral appreciated the growth and development of the university within a short period of time and exhorted the youth to join the Armed Forces.

He added that the tank signifies valour, courage and sacrifice of the Indian soldiers and will continue to inspire and motivate students of the university and the youth of Rampur to serve the country.

Giving out a brief on the T-55, he mentioned that this tank saw action in the Battle of Basantar during 1971 India-Pakistan War and was instrumental in securing Punjab/Jammu Sector.

Thanking the Army for the gift, Azam Khan also said the university is still under development and over a period of time, the tank will become an important landmark of the campus.
Nashik (Maharashtra), Feb 9 : Officers and staff of the Nashik Municipal Corporation were jolted as IAS officer Tukaram Mundhe, known for his punctuality and discipline, took charge as Municipal Commissioner of here on Friday.

On his first day, he was in his chamber at 10 a.m., causing many officials to hasten to their workplaces to avoid coming under his radar.

Mundhe soon went on a tour of the NMC building, visiting all departments and at one point, when he noticed some leaking taps, ordered them to be closed and repaired immediately.

Then, he summoned a meeting of all departmental heads to take an overview of the problems and challenges facing the NMC.

More shock were in store for the officers, when the fire brigade chief - who turned up in normal wear - was asked to go home to change into uniform and instructed to be always wear it at work. The officer quietly complied.

Later Mundhe made it clear to all the officers and staff that the common man will be the centre point for governance and all attention must be given to make Nashik an ideal city from all fronts, including cleanliness, environment and civic amenities.

He asked them to follow proper discipline, punctuality, work ethics and warned that anybody flouting these would not be spared at all.

The 43-year old IAS officer - who has undergone 10 transfers in as many years of service - is known to go strictly by the rule-book, and even faces threats to his life.

While the common citizens cheer wherever he is posted, bureaucrats, politicians, contractors and others turn resent his administrative style as a tough taskmaster.

At one of his earlier postings as Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Managing Director, there was a furore after he sacked 158 contract drivers for poor attendance records, as part of his efforts to make the organization more efficient.

Subsequently, as the Navi Mumbai Municipal Commissioner, all parties united to struggle for his removal even as Mundhe's popularity soared among the people.

He launched an initiative 'Walk With the Commissioner' to connect with the citizens by taking morning walks or jogging, interacting with the people to learn of their problems and expectations.

When he was posted as Solapur collector, Mundhe cracked down on the Irrigation Department and the sand mining mafia - the latter attacked him on January 13, 2016 and he barely managed to escape safely.

Mundhe was lauded for declaring nearly 12,000 water sources, including wells, tubewells, ponds, etc in Solapur "for drinking purposes only" which created sufficient potable water for the citizens with existing resources and dealt a deathly blow to the water-tanker business.

Known for his integrity and commitment, he was felicitated on several occasions by the state government including for making seven municipalities in Solapur as 'open defecation free' in 2016 and in 2015 for his outstanding contributions in that district.

The son of a small farmer in Beed's Tadsona, Mundhe was always educated in government-run institutions, first in a Zilla Parishad School and later in Government College of Arts & Science in Aurangabad.

Later he completed his post-graduation in Political Science from Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad before appearing and clearing the UPSC exams to become an IAS officer.
San Francisco, Feb 9 : Google is planning to introduce a web interface for its SMS application "Android Messages" that would let users pair their smartphones with a computer for all of their texting needs.

"There's a new version of Android Messages rolling out for the phones. So far, we haven't seen any significant changes to the UI, but huge things are happening under the surface," tech website Android Police reported late on Thursday.

The codename for this messaging feature is called "Ditto" but it looks like it will be labelled "Messages for web" when it is officially rolled out.

"Users will be guided to visit a website on the computer they want to pair with the phone, then simply scan a QR code. They will be be able to send and receive messages in the web interface and it will link with the device to do the actual SMS/MMS/RCS communication through their network carrier," the report added.

The tech giant is also reportedly mulling to offer its own enhanced chat features to work with RCS messaging.

Rich Communication Services or RCS is a communication protocol between mobile-telephone carriers and between phone and carrier, aiming at replacing SMS messages with a text-message system that is more rich, provide phonebook polling and transmit in-call multimedia.

Android Messages will share the same basic setup procedure with Google Allo.

Launched in September 2016, Allo is an instant messaging mobile app developed by Google for the Android and iOS mobile Operating Systems (OS), with a web client available on Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Opera browsers.
New Delhi, Feb 9 : Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused Finance Minister Arun Jaitley of speaking a "lie" about UPA Defence Ministers not having disclosed cost of defence purchases, and demanded the government disclose the price of each Rafale fighter plane.

Gandhi, in a tweet in which he addressed Jaitley as "Jaitlie", posted three written answers given by former Defence Minister A.K. Antony in which he gave acquisition cost of 42 Sukhoi-30 MKI aircraft, the upgrade cost of Mirage 2000 and acquisition cost of Admiral Gorshkov (now INS Vikramaditya).

"Dear Mr Jaitlie, you said the UPA never released prices of Defence purchases? To nail your lie, here are 3 Parliamentary replies by the UPA with full transparency on pricing. Now do ask our Raksha Mantri to tell India how much each Rafale jet cost," he said.

Jaitley had on Thursday slammed the Congress for "manufacturing" corruption charges against the government in questioning the deal to purchase Rafale fighter jets from France.

In his reply to the debate on the Budget, he had also said he had with him responses from Defence Ministers of previous United Progressive Alliance governments who had not shared details of armament purchases due to security concerns.
Chandigarh, Feb 9 : The Punjab Education Department on Friday suspended a government school Principal and two teachers on charge of moral turpitude after the rape of a Dalit girl student by two of them in a school in Jagraon last year came to light.

"Those placed under suspension with immediate effect are (Principal) Bharat Bhushan, a Lecturer in English at the Government Senior Secondary School, Nathowal, Ludhiana district; Harjit Singh, Punjabi Master at the Government Senior Secondary School, Nathowal, (now posted at Government Senior Secondary School, Manuke (Ludhiana); and Sukhvir Singh, Maths Master at the same school, for moral turpitude," Director Public Instructions (Secondary Education) Paramjit Singh said here.

The headquarters of these teachers will be the office of the Moga District Education Officer (Secondary Education) during their suspension from service.

Police said on Thursday that Harjit Singh and Bharat Bhushan had been arrested in connection with the rape of the 16-year-old Dalit girl student in Jagraon sub-division.

Both were booked under the POCSO Act, apart from other provisions of the law.

The crime was allegedly committed a year ago but came to light after another teacher came across a WhatsApp audio message in which two men -- reportedly the accused Principal and teacher -- were heard discussing the Class 11 student's abortion.

After the matter was brought to the notice of police and other authorities, the girl's statement was recorded before a Duty Magistrate.

Both were booked for rape and criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, Information Technology Act and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Police sources said after the girl became pregnant after rape, she was forced to abort and threatened to keep quiet.

Ludhiana (Rural) Senior Superintendent of Police Surjit Singh told the media on Thursday that the teenager alleged that she was raped by the teacher in the school library.

The Punjab State Commission for Protection of Child Rights had also sought a report from the District Education Officer in this matter.

Education Minister Aruna Chaudhary on Friday instructed Secretary, School Education, Krishan Kumar, to take strict action in the case of moral turpitude at a government school.
Srinagar, Feb 9 : Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra on Friday visited forward areas on the Line of Control (LoC) and also reviewed security preparedness in the hinterland in Jammu and Kashmir, an official statement said here.

Mitra arrived here on Friday for a review of the overall security situation in the Valley, the Defence Ministry statement said.

"The Defence Secretary visited the forward areas along the LoC where he was briefed on the prevailing security situation and also interacted with the commanders and troops on ground."

Mitra was also briefed on the close coordination among all the government agencies in maintaining peace in the region, it said.

"He also visited Badami Bagh Cantonment where he was briefed by Lt Gen A.K. Bhatt, Chinar Corps Commander, about the Counter Infiltration and Counter Terrorism Grids functional in the Valley," it said, adding Mitra "appreciated the various measures instituted to strengthen the security posture and the good job being done by all the security forces".
Dhaka, Feb 9 : The Vice President of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has taken over as the party's chairman after his mother and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia was was sentenced to five years in prison, an official said.

The decision to elevate Tarique Rahman -- the exiled son of opposition leader Zia -- to the chairmanship was taken after she was jailed on Thursday on charges of misappropriation of funds from an orphanage trust.

"As per the party constitution, Rahman has become the acting chairman... He will discharge his duties as the constitution stipulates," BNP spokesperson Asaduzzaman Ripon told Efe news.

Rahman, who has lived in exile in the UK since 2008, was also given a 10-year jail term in the same ruling.

Zia's son had been sentenced to seven years in prison in 2016 on charges of laundering $2.5 million between 2003-07.

BNP spokesperson Ripon said Rahman's exile would not affect his leadership.

"Party leaders and activists are aware under what circumstances he is living in the UK, so it will not be a problem. He will run the party in consultation with standing committee members and other leaders," he said.

Earlier, the former Premier's family members met her in prison. Zia's sister Selima Islam, brother Shamim Iskander, his wife Kaniz Fatema and son Avik Iskander had a 40-minute conversation with her, the Daily Star reported.

Zia -- who headed the Bangladeshi government twice (between 1991-96 and 2001-06) -- has been named in 13 cases of corruption, violence and sedition. According to the BNP, hundreds of its activists and leaders face the same situation.

The BNP, which is currently absent from the country's Parliament, boycotted the 2014 general elections after the government led by Sheikh Hasina of the Awami League did away with the system of an interim government.

The BNP and the Awami League have alternately shared power in the country since 1991, except for a brief period of military rule between 2006-08.
Mumbai, Feb 9 : Maharashtra Congress leader and former minister Arif Naseem Khan on Friday demanded strict action against Bharatiya Janata Party leader and member of Parliament Vinay Katiyar for his 'anti-Muslim' statements.

Taking umbrage at Katiyar's recent statement that 'Muslims should go to Pakistan or Bangladesh', Khan said: "This country is not Katiyar's property. It also belongs to all citizens of India."

Two days ago, Katiyar triggered a controversy with his remarks which came under fire from various Muslim leaders of different political parties.

He also urged the centre to implement the Amitabh Kundu Commission's report recommending a separate law for the protection of minority Muslims in India.

Endorsing All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) President Asasuddin Owaisi's similar demand in Parliament, Khan pointed out that the former UPA government headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had appointed the Amitabh Kundu Commission on the issue in 2013, as per the recommendations of the Justice Rajinder Sachar Committee.

The Amitabh Kundu Commission report -- calling for a special separate law to protect the rights of minority Muslims on the lines of the Atrocities Act -- was submitted to the government in March 2014.

"But thereafter, nothing happened in the matter."

Owaisi has demanded a similar law including a three-year jail term for anybody terming Indian Muslims as 'Pakistani', on the lines of the Atrocities Act which protects Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes in the country.

Earlier, in 2010, the Maharashtra government had empowered the Maharashtra Minority Commission with quasi-judicial powers to handle such cases under the special minority law for the minorities and Muslims in the state, Khan said.
Seoul, Feb 9 : South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Friday greeted North Korea's ceremonial head of state Kim Yong-nam, the highest-ranking North Korean official to visit South Korea along with Pyongyang leader Kim Jong-un's sister at the opening of the Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang.

The brief meeting came in Yongpyeong, a town located just east of PyeongChang, the host city of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games, Yonhap news agency reported.

Moon hosted a dinner for the heads of state and other global leaders there for the opening of the Winter Olympics.

The South Korean President and Kim Yong-nam shook hands before having their photograph taken together as part of the protocol.

The 22-member North Korean delegation including Kim Jong-un's younger sister arrived in South Korea earlier in the day.

Both Kim Yong-nam and Kim Yo-jong were expected to attend a Saturday meeting with Moon, possibly at Moon's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, the agency reported.
New Delhi, Feb 9 : The Delhi government on Friday notified 'The Delhi Anand Marriages Rules 2018' under which marriages of Sikhs would be registered in the capital, instead of the Hindu Marriage Act, Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said.

"Delhi government notifies The Delhi Anand Marriages Rules, 2018. Long pending demand of the Sikh community fulfilled," Gahlot said in a tweet.

Till now, though Sikhs got married through the ceremony of 'Anand Karaj', their marriage was validated using the Hindu Marriage Act in the city.

Gahlot added that the government is committed to "work for protection of rights of all communities".

Meanwhile, both the ruling Aam Aadmi Party as well as the Bharatiya Janata Party sought to take credit for the move.

"This is a 110-year-old demand by the Sikh community. It was taken up by us (AAP) in the Assembly (Delhi) in 2015 and this happened due to Kejriwal's initiative," said AAP MLA Jarnail Singh.

Meanwhile BJP MLA Majinder Singh Sirsa credited Lt. Governor Anil Baijal for the development.

"We wholeheartedly thank Lt. Governor Anil Baijal ji for implementing Anand Marriage Act in Delhi. This action has fulfilled 110-years old pending demand of Sikhs," he said in a tweet.
Panaji, Feb 9 : In comments likely to raise the hackles of many, Goa Town and Country Planning Minister Vijai Sardesai on Friday said a majority of the domestic tourists visiting Goa are the "scum of the earth" and north Indian tourists want to create a Haryana in Goa.

Speaking at the Goa Biz Fest organised at a resort near Panaji, the Minister said it was difficult for a state that was "superior" to the rest of India vis-a-vis most social indices to control "irresponsible tourists" coming from other states.

"Your Chief Minister is pushing to increase tourists coming into Goa. Today, we receive tourists who are almost six times the state's population. Those tourists are not the top-end tourists. They are also the scum of the earth," Sardesai said.

"Are they responsible? Are they conscious? They are not. If You compare Goans to the rest of India, we are very high in per capita income, social and political consciousness, health parameters, and many other parameters. So, we are much superior than people who are coming in. Those people -- how will you control?" the Minister added.

Goa, a beach and nightlife tourism destination, attracts more than six million tourists every year as against its population of nearly 1.6 million.

Sardesai also made scathing comments about tourists from north India, "who were trying to convert Goa into a Haryana".

"We are dependent on north Indians and this is what they do. They are not bothered about Goa. They will like to recreate a Haryana in Goa," Sardesai said.
Bhubaneswar, Feb 9 : Eminent litterateur and Sahitya Akademi Award recipient Chandrasekhar Rath passed away at a private hospital here on Friday. He was 89.

The renowned Odia author and poet had been selected for the Padma Shri award last month for his outstanding contribution to literature.

He breathed his last in the hospital while undergoing treatment as he was suffering from prolonged illness, family sources said.

Rath was a well-known name both in the fiction and non-fiction world.

Born on October 17, 1929, in Malpada in Balangir district, he did his post-graduation in English from Canning College, University of Lucknow, and was conferred a D.Litt from the same University in 2008. Later, the Utkal University of Culture also honoured him with a D.Litt in 2012.

He authored many books, including Yantrarudha, Asurya Upanivesh and Nav Jatak, among scores of others.

He received a couple of Odisha Sahitya Academi Awards, the prestigious Sarala Award and the national Sahitya Akademi Award.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and people from all walks of life paid rich tributes to Rath after his body arrived at his residence in the city.

Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan also expressed condolences over his death.
Mumbai, Feb 9 : Stocks of Fortis Healthcare closed higher by over 17 per cent on Friday on the back of reports that international private equity major TPG backed Manipal Hospitals is "in advanced talks to merge Fortis Health with itself".

At one point during the intra-day trade, the company's shares zoomed over 24 per cent to touch a high of Rs 157.05 per share.

The company's scrip on the BSE zoomed by 17.61 per cent or Rs 22.20 to close at Rs 148.30 from its previous close at Rs 126.10.

On its part, Fortis Healthcare informed the BSE that it "is still evaluating the best possible way to raise the fund and no firm decision in this regard has been approved by the Board till date".

In an unrelated development, the promoters of Fortis Healthcare -- Malvinder Mohan Singh and Shivinder Mohan Singh -- had on Thursday resigned from the company's board, which was intimated through a late night BSE filing.
New Delhi, Feb 9 : The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will take out 'Vikas Yatras' in all 70 Assembly constituencies to celebrate the third anniversary of the Delhi government, senior party leader Gopal Rai said here on Friday.

"The party will launch a drive on February 11 to share with the people of Delhi the accomplishments of the Arvind Kejriwal government. The party will hold 'Vikas Yatras' in 70 assembly constituencies led by AAP MLAs, Ministers and senior leaders. The aim is to establish a dialogue with the citizens," Rai said.

The AAP leaders and public representatives will meet the citizens and convey to them the "good work done by the government in three years".

On February 14, the AAP government completes three years in office.

He said in the second phase, party functionaries will meet citizens of their respective areas and share the government's work so far.

"They will also take feedback from citizens and convey the same to the government," Rai said.
Hyderabad, Feb 9 : The three-day plenary of All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), the apex body of Indian Muslims, began here on Friday evening with the meeting of its executive.

The 50-member executive, being presided over by AIMPLB President Maulana Rabey Hasani Nadvi, is discussing triple talaq bill, community reforms campaign and other issues.

The meeting, which began amid tight security at an auditorium in the Owaisi Hospital complex, will also set the agenda for the deliberations in the general body, scheduled to meet on Saturday and Sunday.

AIMPLB General Secretary Moulana Syed Wali Rahmani presented his report on the action taken on the decisions of the previous plenary.

The executive is discussing the developments with regard to triple talaq bill, which is pending in Rajya Sabha.

AIMPLB spokesman Maulana Khalilur Rahman Sajjad Nomani had said on Thursday that the bill had many flaws and lacunae and hence it was unacceptable to them in its present form.

He said that the board is ready to welcome the bill if all the flaws are removed. He alleged that though the stated objective of the bill is to ban the practice of instant triple talaq, the real intention of the government is to do away with the system of talaq.

The executive will also review the progress made in the country-wide campaign for community reforms. It will discuss proposals to further strengthen the campaign to reach every village and every household.

The meeting will discuss how to effectively use social media to inform people of the board's activities.

The executive members include MIM president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi.

The general body meeting will be attended by the executive, founder and general members and invitees.

More than 500 leading religious scholars and prominent leaders representing all Islamic schools of thought will attend the meet.

The meeting will discuss triple talaq bill in detail and will review Babri Masjid case, currently being heard in the Supreme Court.

It will also take stock of the cases relating to Muslim Personal Law and pending in different courts besides working out the strategy on triple talaq bill.

The plenary will chalk out roadmap for the next one year and approve the budget.
Bengaluru, Feb 9 : A court here has convicted Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Bilal Ahmed Quta of money laundering and waging war against India and sentenced him to seven years in jail, said the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday.

Principal City Civil and Sessions Judge Shivashankar Amarannavar on Thursday convicted Quta, a Lashkar member during 2001-2007 and operating in Karnataka, said the ED in a statement here.

The court also imposed a penalty of Rs 50,000 on Quta, alias Imran Jalal, for terror financing and money laundering.

The Karnataka Police arrested Quta from the capital's suburbs in June 2007, and an AK series assault rifle, 200 bullets, five hand grenades and a satellite phone were seized from him, it said.

A chargesheet was subsequently filed against Quta for possessing arms and explosives.

The ED's local office investigated the case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in 2009 and ordered attachment of Rs 38,340 in cash found on Quta. It also booked Quta in 2009 for terror financing and confiscated the money.

The stringent PMLA law allows for a maximum of seven years imprisonment and a fine.
Congress leaders and some other opposition parties leaders calls on President Ram Nath Kovind and demanded a thorough investigation by an independent agency into "suspicious" ... Image Source: IANS

: New Delhi: Congress leaders and some other opposition parties leaders calls on President Ram Nath Kovind and demanded a thorough investigation by an independent agency into "suspicious" death of ... Image Source: IANS

New Delhi, Feb 9 : Leaders of the Congress and 14 other opposition parties on Friday sought President Ram Nath Kovind's intervention for a Supreme Court-monitored investigation by an independent agency into the "suspicious" death of Judge B.H. Loya.

The leaders also submitted a memorandum to the President, saying that a FIR had not been registered on some earlier statements of Loya's family members who had talked about him facing "pressure".

The memorandum was signed by 114 MPs belonging to the Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party, NCP, DMK, RJD, CPI-M, CPI, AAP, IUML, Kerala Congress-Mani, RSP, AIDUF, JD-S and JMM, besides the Congress.

They said that Loya's two alleged "confidants" have also subsequently died in mysterious circumstances.

The opposition leaders said that democracy was in "grave threat" and use of violence by fringe elements of a particular mindset "has spread fear among citizens".

"Efforts are also afoot to derail investigations and trials in sensitive criminal cases, thereby subverting the cause of justice," they said.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi told reporters later that several MPs feel that Loya had died in suspicious circumstances and so do the people of the country.

"We all owe it to the Judge and his family and to the system that the investigation should be done independently and effectively," Gandhi said.

Judge Loya, who was hearing the case of the alleged staged shootout death of Sohrabuddin Sheikh and two others, died in December 2014. Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah was an accused in the case but was later discharged.

The memorandum said the "recent revelations regarding Judge Brijgopal Harkishen Loya's death require investigation".

"Loya's father and sister have revealed that he was being pressurised by none other than the then Chief Justice of Bombay High Court to render a decision in favour of the accused. In return, the deceased Judge was offered Rs 100 crore and a flat or land in Mumbai," the memorandum said.

"Such statements disclose the commission of a cognisable offence for which lodging of a FIR is mandatory, a procedure consistent with the law as laid down by the Supreme Court. For the Bombay High Court not to have done so is a matter of grave concern," it added.

The memorandum said that before Judge Loya, Judge J.T. Utpat was the Special CBI Court presiding officer handling the case and he was suddenly transferred despite the apex court's direction that the assigned Judge will complete proceedings in the case.

It said that lawyer-activist Satish Uke had revealed that two of Judge Loya's "confidants" had subsequently died in mysterious circumstances.

"Shirkant Khandalkar, a public spirited lawyer in Nagpur, allegedly fell from a high-rise building in the district courts on November 29, 2015, and Prakash Thombre, a retired District Judge, allegedly died on May 16, 2016, after falling from an upper berth in a train."

"According to Uke, he had spoken to Judge Loya who also told him of the pressure being exerted on him to give a favourable verdict for the accused (in the Sohrabuddin case)," the leaders said, adding that "all this and relevant facts" are in the public domain.

The leaders said that if the lives of Judges and lawyers are jeopardised for doing their duty, then democracy is under grave threat.

"Recently, four most senior Puisne Judges of the Supreme Court also expressed the sentiment that (Indian) democracy is in peril," they said.

"What is required is a thorough investigation through an SIT of independent officers selected and monitored by the Supreme Court," the opposition MPs added.

The leaders said that the Central Bureau of Investigation or the National Investigation Agency should not be entrusted with the probe.

"Such a procedure will restore the credibility of institutions in the eyes of the public. We sincerely hope you will use your good offices to serve the cause of justice," they said.

The leaders accused the BJP-led government of "constant assault on democratic values and traditions" and "wanton misuse of investigating agencies to silence political opponents".

Asked for the reason for approaching the President while the case is pending in the apex court, Congress leader Kapil Sibal said there is no investigation by the court. "What is going on is a Public Interest Litigation. These matters cannot be decided through a PIL," he said.

Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said that ahead of Loya's death in Nagpur, his police security was withdrawn.

"How can the security of a person -- a CBI Judge -- presiding over such a sensitive case be withdrawn? It creates a lot of suspicion," he said.
New Delhi, Feb 9 : Following reports of two journalists, including an Indian national, being arrested in the Maldives amid a raging political crisis, India on Friday said that it has sought details of the case.

"We have received information about an Indian national, Money Sharma, working as a journalist, who has been detained by the Maldivian authorities," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said.

"We have asked our Embassy to get in touch with the local authorities to ascertain more details of the case," he added.

According to reports, Sharma from Amritsar and Atish Ravji Patel, an India-born British national from London, both employees of a foreign news agency, have been arrested under a Maldivian decree for "national security purposes".

The Maldives has plunged into a crisis with its President Abdulla Yameen declaring a state of emergency and arresting the Chief Justice and a former head of state.
Bengaluru, Feb 9 : Congress President Rahul Gandhi would be on a four-day visit in poll-bound Karnataka from Saturday to connect with people through public meetings and group inter-actions, a party leader said on Friday.

"As Gandhi is visiting the state for the first time after becoming party President in December, he wants to meet the people, interact with them and listen to their concerns ahead of the polls in the state," party leader and lawmaker V.S. Ugrappa told IANS here.

With assembly polls due in late April or early May, the party's state unit has scheduled a series of public interactions, road-side meetings and public rallies over the next four days in the state's northern districts of Ballari, Koppal, Yadgir and Kalaburgi.

"Gandhi will inform the people about the policies, programmes and achievements of the state government during the last five years and how the various social welfare schemes have benefitted them," said Ugrappa.

On arriving at Ballari from Delhi by special flight, Gandhi will address a public meeting at Hospet on Saturday afternoon and meet beneficiaries of Article 371-J under which people from the old Hyderabad-Karnataka region are given employment and seats for education on preference and priority.

He will also visit Huligamma temple in the neighbouring Koppal town and Gavi Siddheswara Lingayat Mutt to meet its head priest. He will address a public meeting at Kukanur near Yelburga in Koppal district in the evening.

"Rahu's visit to temples, mutts and dargahs is personal and in the tradition of Indira Gandhi who used to do the same, which people respect and admire as their places of worship are considered pious," said Ugrappa.

On the second day of his visit, Gandhi will travel on road for public receptions at Kushtagi, Kankagiri and Gangavati, followed by a public meeting at Karatagi in Koppal.

"The state unit of the Youth Congress will hold reception for Gandhi at Sindhanoor in the adjacent Raichur district. He will also interact with farmers on Sunday," said Ugrappa.

On the third day, Gandhi will visit Raichur, Yadgir and Kalaburgi districts for public receptions, participate in a tribal rally at Devadurga in Raichur district, interact with youth and students at Shahpur in Yadgir district, followed by public meetings at Jewargi and Kalaburgi towns.

On the fourth and final day, Gandhi will interact with professionals and business community at Kalaburgi and fly to Basavakalyan by a chopper to visit Anubhava Mantapa in Bidar district.
Kolkata, Feb 9 : The West Bengal CID on Friday arrested two state police officers including an inspector, for their alleged involvement in an extortion case in West Midnapore district's Daspur, a senior CID official said on Friday.

The officers were arrested after large amount of unaccounted cash were recovered from their residences during a search operation. The sleuths have already raided the houses of several police officers including former West Midnapore district police chief Bharati Ghosh and her husband in relation to the case.

"Inspector Subhankar De and Sub-Inspector Chitta Pal have been arrested in ongoing operations of Daspur case on Friday. In earlier searches, unaccounted cash of Rs 40 lakh and Rs 16 lakh were recovered from the residences of De and Pal respectively," Deputy Inspector General, CID, Nishad Parvez said in a release.

"Before during and after the arrests all concerned legal requirements were strictly fulfilled. The two accused would be forwarded to court on Saturday," he said.

According to CID sources, Pal was posted as officer in charge of West Midnapore district's Ghatal while the other served as the circle inspector of the same region when the incident of extortion took place.

The CID earlier seized more than Rs. 2.4 crore in cash, several important government documents and an array of sealed liquor bottles while raiding a number of flats in an apartment in Kolkata's Madurdaha, suspected to be owned by Bharati Ghosh.

Parvez further stated that CID teams have fanned outside the state to conduct search operations and take legal action against the other suspects and accused.

A voice message, purportedly from Ghosh, surfaced a few days back in social media claiming that her south Kolkata residence was also raided without proper search warrant while her husband was kept locked in a room. The message further stated that Ghosh, currently outside West Bengal, would take legal action against the raiders on her return.

The CID raids started following a case of extortion and criminal conspiracy was lodged in West Midnapore district's Daspur on February 1 after a gold trader named Chandan Majhi complained against some police officers in the district thought to be close to former SP Ghosh.

Ghosh, once a favourite of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, reportedly fell from grace and sought voluntary retirement after being transferred to a less significant post as commandant of the State Armed Police's Third Battalion.
Bangkok, Feb 10 : Italy will seek to boost its relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations trading bloc, its Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano said on Friday during a visit to the region.

"Italy wants to strengthen relations with ASEAN and will organise the 2nd High Level Dialogue ASEAN-Italy Economic Relations in Singapore in April," said Alfano in a tweet about his remarks during a meeting here with his Thai counterpart Don Pramudwina ahead of a meeting with Thai premier Prayuth Chan-O-Cha.

Earlier on Friday, Alfano addressed the Italian-Thai Business Forum in Bangkok together with Italy's Ambassador to Thailand, Francesco Saverio Nisio.

"Discussed with CEOs accounting for over 50 percent of Thai GDP the excellent investment opportunities in Thailand in a wide range of sectors including energy transition and promotion of clean fuel and gas," he tweeted.

Alfano was on the final leg of a three-day trip to southeast Asia that took in Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand.

"Extremely satisfied at the quality discussions held with the political and business leaders in Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand," read an earlier tweet.

Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand are all members of ASEAN, whose ten members' GDP is $2.3 trillion.
United Nations, Feb 10 : UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had a brief exchange with Kim Yong Nam, the President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea, a UN spokesman said on Friday.

The Secretary-General had a brief exchange with Kim on the sidelines of the opening of the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Farhan Haq, UN deputy spokesman, told reporters at UN Headquarters in New York, reports Xinhua.

The UN chief reiterated "his expectation and hope that all parties will use dialogue to achieve the peaceful denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," Haq said.

However, Haq did not give more details of the exchange.
Besides being a great beach and honeymoon destination, a Tahiti vacation is ideal for culture vultures. Staying at the Intercontinental Tahiti Resort and Spa, this is an ideal trip for the culture vulture wanting to experience the real Tahiti.

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Globetrotters can embark on tours through the lush interior of the island, shop for beautiful sarongs and exquisite black pearls, indulge in a vanilla-scented spa treatment, and lose themselves in food nirvana at Les Roulottes, Papeetes famous food truck hub. Of course, an indulgent swim at the beach is never far away either.

Passengers who book by February 28, 2018 can enjoy savings of US $800 or CA $1000 per couple on this Spectacular Tahiti Vacation. Eligible departures fly on February 15, March 1, and March 8 from Los Angeles or Vancouver. Competitive connections are available throughout the United States and Canada.

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Its a good time for young people to come into the industry. If youre ambitious, you can really make a good living.

On February 5, members of the Retail Lumber Dealers Association of Maines (RLDAM) Board of Directors met with a recipient of one of their four annual Brian C. Thayer Memorial Scholarships.

RLDAM President Joe Hondel, Deering Lumber, along with JoAnne Tarr, Lapointe Lumber, and Jim Murphy, Riverside Millwork, traveled to Central Maine Community College (CMCC) in Auburn to congratulate scholarship recipient Alexander Cormier of Biddeford. Cormier, who has had a passion for construction since he was little, is currently a first-year student in the Building Construction and Technology (BCT) Program at CMCC.

The RLDAM group also heard from Department Chair and Instructor Don Varney. Varney showcased the many areas where students learn about the products and installation techniques that give them a great head start in the industry. He added, Its a good time for young people to come into the industry. If youre ambitious, you can really make a good living.

The BCT program at CMCC prepares students for successful employment in construction-related fields. Through a combination of classroom study, mock-ups, and live projects, students obtain hands-on experience and become broadly familiar with methods, standards, and codes commonly associated with the construction industry. The program offers students the opportunity to earn a certificate or an associate in applied science degree.

The RLDAM board of directors renamed the RLDAM Scholarship the Brain C. Thayer Memorial Scholarship in 2006 in honor of the late Brian Thayer of Lavalley Lumber. At the time of his death in 2006, Thayer was vice president of RLDAM and served on the board of trustees of the Maine Community College System. RLDAM has awarded four $1,000 scholarships annually since 2004, a grand total of $56,000 since inception! These scholarships are available to students enrolled in building trades programs at four of Maines community colleges. Scholarship recipients are nominated by their instructors.

The RLDAM would like to congratulate all of their Brian C. Thayer Memorial Scholarship Recipients:

Eastern Maine Community College:

Janine Kimball

Veazie

Building Construction Technology

Central Maine Community College:

Alexander Cormier

Biddeford

Building Construction Technology

Kennebec Valley Community College:

Emile Woodruff

Buxton

Energy Systems Technology

Northern Maine Community College:

Benjamin McEndarfer

Woodland

Building Construction Technology
Avitus Group Ambassadors, Committee Members & Executive Team

The Avitus Group Ambassador Program is a community of professionals who spend a life-changing year together working, volunteering in our communities and growing both personally and professionally. This is a prestigious program available exclusively to Avitus Group employees with a limited number of ambassadors selected each year, says Avitus Group Public Relations Manager and Ambassador Committee Member Dianne Parker.

Avitus Group announced the programs inaugural group of 16 ambassadors January, 2018. The program is officially underway with ambassadors selecting ambassador projects that are designed to focus on three key areas: work, volunteer and grow.

The ambassador committee received multiple applications from highly-qualified candidates and were thrilled to have 16 outstanding Avitus Group representatives who are already going out into their local communities and giving their time, backed by the companys resources, to help make our communities be the best places to live, work and play, says Avitus Group Ambassador Committee Member and Anchorage Director of Operations Dee Hudson.

Anchorage, Alaska-based Ambassador Dedria Spoon Barker was one of the first ambassadors to kick off the 2018 ambassador projects with a jump into the icy waters of Resurrection Bay in Seward, Alaska to support the American Cancer Society via its Polar Bear Jump event.

I am very honored to have been selected as an Ambassador for Avitus Group and am excited to be a larger part of our local charitable organizations. As a first time jumper in the Polar Bear Jump, I was able to be help in raising over $107,000 for the American Cancer Association. Winston Churchill is quoted as saying 'We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.' I look forward to the continued personal and professional growth that volunteerism and Avitus Group have afforded me, says Anchorage Alaska-based Avitus Group Ambassador and Payroll Specialist Dedria Spoon Barker.

The ambassador program is designed to provide opportunities for employees to become more involved in employee programs, to show appreciation for the companys clients, to volunteer in local communities and help change the world one volunteer project at a time, and to pursue continuing education and certifications to grow both personally and professionally.

We designed this program so that our team members would have the opportunity to become something larger than themselves and larger than the company. The program provides the structure for our ambassadors to focus on career and community at the same time, while also affecting strategy and change at a growing company by becoming involved in employee programs. Our ambassadors are already making positive impacts nationwide and companywide, and we thank them for their dedication, says Avitus Group President Ken Balster.

This group of 16 ambassadors is already finding inspiration from those around them. They are already affecting our local communities and co-workers in a positive way, and we are extremely proud of our ambassadors as they represent all of us here at Avitus Group, says Avitus Group Ambassador Committee Member and Corporate HR Manager Emily Heller.

The Avitus Group Ambassador Program provides ongoing opportunities for each class of ambassadors. The highest performing ambassadors will be rolled into an alumni group each year. This group serves as a community of professionals who mentor new ambassadors each year, while remaining engaged in local communities and with the company.

About Avitus Group

Avitus Group is a worldwide company that simplifies, strengthens and grows businesses by providing 'back office' support (payroll, accounting, taxes, recruiting, information technology, human resources and much more). When a business uses Avitus Group, all of the necessary yet burdensome functions of the business become Avitus Group's responsibility, so the business can focus on what it does best. Avitus Group serves clients nationwide through regional office locations from coast to coast. The company also serves international clients through partner locations.
More than one million adults in California will experience problems resulting from their gambling at some point in their lifetime, says Robert Jacobson, the Executive Director of CCPG. We applaud these casinos for working to create a healthier, safer atmosphere for their guests.

The California Council on Problem Gambling (CCPG) has awarded annual responsible gambling silver certifications to two California casinos: the San Manuel Casino and the Pechanga Resort & Casino.

Certification is awarded to casinos that demonstrate a commitment to responsible gaming practices by participating in a comprehensive program, which is designed to lower the risk of players developing gambling problems and/or to provide help to those who do. The program includes a company-wide training a series of standards for their marketing practices and internal policies.

More than one million adults in California will experience problems resulting from their gambling at some point in their lifetime, says Robert Jacobson, the Executive Director of CCPG. We applaud these casinos for working to create a healthier, safer atmosphere for their guests.

CCPG also offers a heartfelt THANK YOU to its community of supporters, without whom it would not be able to provide many of the services it does! These supporters include the United Auburn Indian Community, the Barona Band of Mission Indians, the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, the California Lottery, and the California Gaming Association.

Gambling addiction is a treatable disease, which manifests as the inability to control ones gambling or the urge to gamble, despite harmful negative consequences or a desire to stop. If left untreated, it can have devastating consequences for the gambler (and the people around them), doing severe and sometimes irreparable harm to their finances, relationships, and mental and physical health.

The statewide helpline, 1-800-GAMBLER (or text SUPPORT to 53342), is available 24/7/365, at no cost, and provides confidential crisis intervention and referral services in English, Spanish and Chinese, with translation services available for more than 240 languages and TTY for the hearing impaired. You can also chat with a counselor at http://www.800gambler.chat.

The state of California provides no-cost treatment programs for individuals affected by a gambling problem  either their own, or that of someone they know - through the California Gambling, Education and Treatment Services program (CalGETS), including one on one therapy, group therapy and intensive outpatient or residential treatment services. These services are available at NO COST, and information for accessing them is provided by the 1-800-GAMBLER helpline.

ABOUT CCPG

CCPG is a non-profit organization, founded in 1986, dedicated to assisting problem gamblers and their loved ones by promoting awareness, education, research, prevention and treatment for problem gambling. CCPG is one of 33 state affiliates of the National Council on Problem Gambling.
The Toronto chapter of Entrepreneurs Organization (EO), the worlds leading peer-to-peer network of successful business leaders has named Jim Estill, CEO of Danby Appliances and Michael Hyatt, Executive Chairman of Bluecat as its Chapter Patrons this year. As EO celebrates 30 years of significance, chapters have been encouraged to invite entrepreneurial superheroes and leading public figures as patrons to share their knowledge and insights with the EO community.

Jim Estill, a technology entrepreneur, executive and philanthropist, started a computer distribution company from the trunk of his car in university. He then grew that business to bring in $350 million in sales and also became the CEO of the company that went on to buy it. He continues to invest in and mentor technology companies and is a multiple recipient of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award and has been awarded an Everyday Heroes Award by the Global Hope Coalition.

Michael Hyatt was a self-made millionaire by the age of 25. He built two highly successful tech firms valued in the hundreds of millions and today he ranks as one of Canadas pre-eminent investors in start-ups and was one of Canadas Top 40 under 40 by age 33. Michael also helps mentor youth and other entrepreneurs to succeed and contribute to their communities. His main focus has always been on people and companies that try to make an impact.

Jim Estill and Michael Hyatt are not just leading Canadian entrepreneurs but individuals that actively also seek ways to create positive impact and make a mark. We are honored to have them both as our chapter patrons and hope our members draw the inspiration to achieve their business goals and also find ways to give back to people and the community, said EO Toronto President, Mary Evelyn.

Entrepreneurs' Organization was launched in 1987 and in the 30 years since, it has grown to over 12000 members in 171 chapters and 53 countries. Chapters the world over have joined in the 30th anniversary celebrations this year to commemorate EO's commitment to transforming the lives of the entrepreneurs who transform the world. To learn more about the anniversary celebrations or the EO Patrons Program please visit EOs 30th Anniversary Celebrations page.

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About Entrepreneurs Organization

Entrepreneurs Organization (EO) is a global, peer-to-peer network of more than 12,000+ influential business owners with 171 chapters in 53 countries. Founded in 1987, EO is the catalyst that enables leading entrepreneurs to learn and grow, leading to greater success in business and beyond.

Contact:

Catherine Howes

Entrepreneurs' Organization Toronto

Email: admin@eotoronto.ca

Contact:

Priscilla DSouza

Entrepreneurs Organization

Email: pdsouza@eonetwork.org
pcg-logo It has been a big year for PCG Companies, and an even bigger year for automotive marketing, said Brian Pasch, Founder of PCG Companies.

PCG Companies, an industry leader in automotive marketing strategies, industry research, online education, and data reporting will exhibit at the National Automotive Dealers Association (NADA) Convention. PCG Companies, including their marketing intelligence tool, Vistadash, will be exhibiting at Booth #2192C starting Friday, March 22nd through Sunday, March 24th.

At NADA, PCG will be unveiling their new digital marketing and training packages, as well as the highly anticipated 2018 Automotive Digital Marketing Playbookavailable only to dealers who pre-schedule appointments with PCG at Booth #2192C.

PCG Founder, Brian Pasch, and CEO, Glenn Pasch will also be speaking at NADA. Brians session, entitled, Who Sold It? A Discussion on Marketing Attribution will take place at 2:30 PM on March 22nd, and again at 10:30 AM on March 24th. Glenns session, entitled, Manager-Employee Conflict: Secret Killer of Your Bottom Line will take place at 1PM on March 22nd, and again at 10:30 AM on March 23rd.

Brian will also co-host two sessions at Booth #2192C with fusionZone Automotive CEO, Brett Sutherlin, to discuss their latest Research Report, as well as answer dealer questions about their website platform. Those sessions will take place on March 22nd at 11AM and March 23rd at 2 PM.

It has been a big year for PCG Companies, and an even bigger year for automotive marketing, said Brian Pasch. We are excited to be back at NADA again this year with a robust portfolio of digital marketing services, and looking forward to speaking with dealers about how we can help them increase leads and sales online.

Finally, PCG will debut the winners of the 2018 Automotive Website Awards on Thursday, March 22nd at 7:30 PM. Both automotive dealers and vendors are encouraged to attend to learn which products took home top honors.

Automotive dealers attending NADA who are looking to work alongside an award-winning digital marketing agency to educate your team, and increase website traffic, leads, sales are encouraged to pre-schedule an appointment with PCG. Dealers with pre-scheduled appointments will receive a free copy of one of our new books, and be entered to win the grand prize of two tickets to the Digital Marketing Strategies Conference in Napa Valley in June.

To schedule your appointment with PCG Companies, please visit: http://www.pcgcompanies.com/nada-2018/

About PCG Companies

PCG Companies is composed of an award-winning digital marketing agency, consulting firm, and online training platform located in Monmouth County, NJ. PCGs roots began in digital marketing for the automotive industry, and have since expanded into non-automotive verticals from travel agencies to restaurants and everything in between. PCGs mission, Advocate-Educate-Elevate, embodies their core ideals; to advocate for transparency, educate the public on the ever-changing digital landscape, and elevate their clients to success. PCG has also expanded to automotive product research, as well as data reporting for automotive dealers with their marketing intelligence tool, Vistadash. For more information, please visit http://www.pcgcompanies.com.
New Florida home Coral Heights Fort Lauderdale Scott "When we were relocating to Florida and trying to find a rental, Tony was amazing in assisting us in the difficult process. He found us a great place and even got us a reduction on rent!"

Homeowners in high-income tax and property tax states like Massachusetts are fleeing the northeast and selling their homes to relocate to Florida. Florida offers no personal income tax and significantly lower property taxes. Tony L. Smith PA is advising tax refugees relocating to Florida on Fort Lauderdales competitive real estate market.

Tax reform analysis of a property owner in Massachusetts demonstrates how relocating to Florida can result in significant tax taxings.

Massachusetts



Property Taxes $9,632

State income tax: $4,485

Florida



Property Taxes $7,170

Florida has no personal income tax

2018 Tax Reform savings by relocating to Florida $6,947

Disclaimer: Readers should consult a professional CPA regarding their own personal income tax situation.

About Tony L. Smith, PA (Broker Associate):

Based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Tony is a buyers agent at HomeBuyer Advisors LLC. Tony has been advising home buyers in real estate transactions in the Greater Fort Lauderdale area as a real estate broker associate. While honing his craft, Tony has earned the designation Accredited Buyers Representative (ABR) through the National Association of Realtors (NAR), he is also a member of the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents (NAEBA) and member designee of the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing (CLHMS). Tony enjoys representing homebuyers in the Greater Fort Lauderdale area throughout the home buying process. Tony is also a Florida licensed LCAM and Florida Notary.
The magnificence of 65 Kailua Way can only be experienced  describing it in words does not do this property justice.

International real estate brand, Engel & Volkers proudly brings a Dillon Beach beauty to the forefront of the market. Standing as the largest property in the area and boasting incredible panoramic views, 65 Kailua Way is truly unparalleled.

The original homeowners, a husband and wife, are longtime residents of Marin County and Dillon Beach  basking in the splendor of living everyday along the majestic coast. Together the duo purchased 65 Kailua Way and designed it in entirety, from conception to completion. Not only design enthusiasts, the couple, who are both professional writers, have written all of their books, articles, and thinkers guides while living at 65 Kailua Way, reveling in its peaceful aura and tranquility  the home includes a library of more than 10,000 books.

The couple describes the style of their home as simple elegance integrated with functional beauty. The light fixtures, the use of gorgeous marble and granite, the upscale, gourmet kitchen that any chef would dream for and the perfect placement of expansive windows, and the radiant floor heating throughout the home, were all exquisitely executed. Most notable of all however, is the stunning backdrop of every room. The property is on one of the few streets running parallel to the Pacific Ocean in Dillon Beach and 65 Kailua Way sits at the end of a cul-de-sac, creating the feeling of being perched right at the edge of the ocean, with unobstructed waterfront views.

The magnificence of 65 Kailua Way can only be experienced  describing it in words does not do this property justice, says Advisor Ryan Styles of Engel & Volkers Sonoma County. This home is a true oasis that will forever stand out in my real estate career.

About Engel & Volkers

Since its establishment in 1977 as a specialty boutique providing exclusive, high-end real estate services in Hamburg, Germany, Engel & Volkers has become one of the worlds leading companies specializing in the sale and lease of premium residential and commercial property and yachts. Engel & Volkers currently operates a global network of real estate advisors in more than 750 residential brokerages and 86 commercial offices spanning 35 countries across 4 continents, offering both private and institutional clients a professionally tailored range of luxury services. It established its North America corporate headquarters in 2007 and opened its first brokerage in the same year. Committed to exceptional service, Engel & Volkers supports its advisors with an array of premium quality business services, marketing programs and tools, multiple platforms for mobile, social and web, as well as access to its global network of real estate professionals, property listings and market data.

# # #

For more information please contact:

Sheela Shouhed

Director of Communications

Sheela.Shouhed(at)evusa.com
Every Tampa Prep Student Volunteers with Local Organizations Across the Tampa Bay Area for Terrapin Day

Tampa Preparatory School is excited to announce our partnership with local organizations, for the schools annual days of giving. On Terrapin Day, February 15 and 16, students participate in grade level service projects. From serving meals to the homeless to helping children of migrant workers, students learn the value of volunteering their time and the impact it has on others in the Tampa Bay area.

Over the month of February, Tampa Preparatory School takes time to focus on its mission to create an environment for students to think, create, be themselves, aspire to excellence and go beyond the classroom by volunteering in the Tampa Bay area. Tampa Prep focuses on preparing students to live life with a higher purpose beyond the doors of 727 Cass St.

All Middle School students will be doing the Baby Wipe Collection Project and the Turtle Walk along Tampas Riverwalk for The Rosa Valdez Early Childhood Learning Center to help offset the cost of childcare including, but not limited to, childcare for those children's parents who make too much money to qualify for government assistance. In the Upper School, students are participating in a gift drive for the whole month of February. Each grade will bring in different donations to support the corresponding organization on Terrapin Day.

The sixth grade will have a car wash in support of St. John's Learning Center. In the seventh grade, students will volunteer at A Brighter Community Preschool and The Rosa Valdez Early Childhood Learning Center, which participates in a number of service learning activities and works with the preschoolers both in the classroom and on the playground.

The eight and ninth grade classes will spend the day at either Metropolitan Ministries or Feeding Tampa Bay. They will work in the kitchen, assist people in selecting food/clothing, and sort donations.

When asked about her experience at Feeding America Tampa Bay, Tampa Prep graduate Jordan Kelly said, Terrapin Day is important to me because I love knowing that I made a difference in someone else's life. Last year I sorted food at Feeding America Tampa Bay, and the best feeling was seeing how much food we had at the end of the day to give to those who needed it.

The tenth grade class will travel to Redlands Christian Migrant Association (RCMA) Wimauma Academy! RCMA provides quality childcare and early education for children of migrant farm workers and rural, low-income families throughout our state. The Terrapin students will spend time working with students on a variety of activities, including a field day, reading with children and participating in hands-on robotics demonstrations.

The eleventh grade students will volunteer at Sligh Middle School, Frost Elementary, and Grady Elementary. Students volunteering will work in classrooms to help assist students and teachers on a variety of projects.

Seniors will be spending the day at Meals on Wheels, Just Elementary, Brookdale Bayshore or St. Peter Claver School. Seniors taking part in Meals on Wheels will deliver meals around the Tampa Bay area. Students at Just Elementary will plan a field day for the local school and instituting their monthly birthday party program. Students working with Brookdale Bayshore will be helping senior residents with technology, games and music. Students volunteering with St. Peter Claver will be assisting younger students in coding on their iPads.

Ingrained in the mission of Tampa Preparatory School, students learn to live with a higher purpose than self. During Tampa Preps Terrapin Day, students will experience personal growth and obtain leadership skills while incorporating the mission of Tampa Prep into their daily lives.

CONTACT

Scott Sandoval

ssandoval(at)tampaprep(dot)org
APSP and the industry have been at the forefront of efficiency efforts since day 1, said APSPs Vice President of Technical and Standards, Carvin DiGiovanni.

The Association of Pool & Spa Professionals and several of its manufacturer members, through a negotiated rulemaking process with the US Department of Energy (DOE), helped develop the recent Department final rules with regard to the testing performance and labeling of dedicated purpose pool pumps. The August 7, 2017 rule includes new test methods and a new performance metric which must be reported, entitled Weighted Energy Factor (WEF).

This August test procedure rule followed the direct final rule that went into effect on May 18, 2017, adopting new energy efficiency standards for dedicated purpose pool pumps. Manufacturers are not required to implement the new testing and performance criteria until July 19, 2021. However, under Federal Law, effective February 5, 2018, any representations made with regard to energy usage or efficiency must be based on the new test procedure, and must include WEF. The same law allowed individual manufacturers to request a 180-day extension of this February deadline. In December, APSP provided a template for manufactures to use if they wanted to seek this extension.

As a result of the Final Rule, the APSP has made the necessary revisions to its Pool Pump Database. For existing listings on the database, APSP has redacted the information in the applicable columns/fields unless or until the manufacturer has submitted new data obtained in accordance with the test methods specified in the Final Rule. Similarly, all new entries into the APSP Pool Pump Database must be in compliance with the above DOE Final Rule. A submission form for post February 5, 2018 entries can be found at http://www.apsp.org/resources/energy-efficient-pool-pumps/compliance-instructions-for-manufacturers.

APSP and the industry have been at the forefront of efficiency efforts since day 1, said APSPs Vice President of Technical and Standards, Carvin DiGiovanni. First, we worked with the California Energy Commission to ensure achievable parameters for pumps as well as hot tubs, both of which are reflected in our ANSI-14 and ANSI-15 Standards, as well as in the International Swimming Pool and Spa Code. Mr. DiGiovanni and APSP Director of Government Relations, Jennifer Hatfield were critical in putting together the appropriate coalition of member companies to work with the Department.

One of the key benefits of this new federal rule is that it preempts any state laws or regulations, ensuring a single set of requirements throughout the country, said Jennifer Hatfield. APSP counsel Steven Getzoff explains Once the various provisions go into effect, they supercede all state laws and regulations with regard to pool pumps. States may continue enforce existing rules prior to the respective effective dates but cannot adopt new rules.

Ms. Hatfield further explains that the work that resulted in the DPPP rules is now occurring on the pump motor side. Member companies are currently working on a proposed rule that they will vet with energy efficiency advocates and ultimately petition the Department to adopt a rule that will cover the pump motor. APSP also continues to work with the CEC on rule updates. Recently, the CEC published a proposal that would require compliance with the APSP-14 standard and address inflatable spas.

In addition to rulemaking occurring at the federal and state level, the APSP Energy Coalition continues working with members of Congress as well as the EPA to preserve the Energy Star program and to seek other consumer incentives for energy efficient pool pumps. Simply put, says Hatfield, the APSP continues to take a leadership role when it comes to energy efficiency work being done at the state, federal and even international level. The next step will be working on developing education and outreach to our member companies to prepare for the changes that will occur in 2021.

For more information, email APSP Director of Government Relations Jennifer Hatfield at jhatfield(at)apsp(dot)org.
The most satisfying aspect of my years as a member of the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys is the work we have done to preserve the 7th Amendment right to a jury trial.

Personal injury attorney Terrence J. Salerno, founder of Salerno & Associates, is celebrating his thirtieth anniversary as a member of the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys (NATA). The most satisfying aspect of my years as a member of the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys is the work we have done to preserve the 7th Amendment right to a jury trial, said Salerno, who has also been on the board of directors of NATA for twenty-six years and has been practicing law for almost forty years.

During the course of his distinguished nearly four-decade career, Salerno has become one of Omahas premier attorneys in personal injury. He has also been recognized as a Super Lawyer and named to The National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Trial Lawyers. Furthermore, Salerno is a Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent-rated attorney, the highest rating of the organization based on legal ability.

An accomplished litigator and client-oriented advocate, Salerno has represented clients in Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas and Tennessee with serious, life-altering injuries and trauma. He practices law in the state courts of Iowa and Nebraska and has been admitted to the federal court in Nebraska and the Circuit Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit, as well as the Supreme Court of the United States.

About Terrence J. Salerno, Salerno & Associates

Terrence J. Salerno is one of Nebraskas preeminent auto accident and personal injury attorneys. He is a member of the Nebraska and Iowa Bar Associations and Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys. Salerno & Associates focuses on personal injury, auto accidents, medical malpractice and wrongful death. For more information, please call (402) 502-9002, or visit http://www.tsalerno-law.com.

About the NALA

The NALA offers small and medium-sized businesses effective ways to reach customers through new media. As a single-agency source, the NALA helps businesses flourish in their local community. The NALAs mission is to promote a business relevant and newsworthy events and achievements, both online and through traditional media. The information and content in this article are not in conjunction with the views of the NALA. For media inquiries, please call 805.650.6121, ext. 361.
SECU  Marylands largest credit union  announced today that its President and CEO, Rod Staatz, plans to retire at the end of 2018. Staatz has served as SECUs President and CEO since 2003.

Under Staatzs leadership, SECUs assets have grown from $1.36 billion to more than $3.3 billion today. With 22 branches and thousands of free ATMs, SECU continued expansion throughout Maryland during Staatzs tenure, growing to more than a quarter of a million members.

Staatz has also led SECU through numerous banking evolutions, implementing a comprehensive growth strategy for the organization while expanding innovative services such as mobile and online banking, remote video tellers, and making sure that SECU offered a sophisticated range of financial products and services.

Staatz will continue to serve as President and CEO of SECU through the transition to a new CEO at the end of this year. A committee of SECUs Board of Directors is working with Russell Reynolds Associates to identify potential candidates to succeed Staatz.

Under Rods leadership, SECU is very well-positioned to continue serving Marylanders into the future. We are looking for the next leader who can build upon Rods many successes and work as effectively in our highly collaborative environment, says Gayle Seward, SECU Board Chair.

It has been an honor to work for the members and board of SECU, says Staatz. I have enjoyed working with an outstanding, supportive board and an exceptionally strong management team. It has also been very rewarding to be able to work closely with our two partner credit unions, Bellco and Bethpage, in our systems and operations collaborative efforts.

During Staatzs tenure, SECU joined the existing partnership between Bellco and Bethpage Credit Unions to become the third owner of Open Technology Solutions (OTS), a Credit Union Service Organization (CUSO) focused on providing collaborative, technology-related services to its credit union partners. In 2012, the three credit unions formed a second CUSO, Shared Service Solutions (S3) to deliver a full range of support services.

Staatz put Marylands mark on the national credit union movement through his service, first as a Board member and then as Chairman of the Credit Union National Association (CUNA), the premier national trade association serving credit unions. There, he became a widely respected and highly credible voice for credit union regulatory and legislative advocacy efforts, all of which have helped to foster the growth of credit unions in Maryland and throughout the country.

In addition, Staatz has been a staunch supporter of financial literacy for young adults, spearheading SECUs financial literacy initiatives, which today includes sponsorship and involvement in three Millionaires Clubs, the annual Scholarship Programs for Maryland state employees and the University System of Maryland, ongoing Financial Reality Fairs, and a partnership with the Maryland Coalition of Financial Literacy.

SECU has also continued to provide strong financial and volunteer support for a wide range of charitable organizations, including United Way of Central Maryland, the Maryland Food Bank, Kids Helping Kids, The Love Blanket, and A Wider Circle. SECUs newest program, Goals for Kids, provides a $100 donation to the University of Marylands Childrens Hospital for every goal scored by the Baltimore Blast during the teams 2017-18 regular season home games.

For more information about SECU, visit http://www.secumd.org.

ABOUT SECU

Founded in Baltimore in 1951, SECU is Marylands largest credit union. SECU is ranked among the top 50 credit unions for total assets in the U.S, totaling $3.3 billion as of December 2017. Headquartered in Linthicum, Maryland, SECU has 22 branches and more than 100 ATMs throughout Maryland. SECU also provides access to thousands of free ATMs through the CO-OP network. For more information about SECU, visit http://www.secumd.org
Metal Innovations Inc. " I highly encourage other women business owners to consider WBE certification, Said Kim Wilmes, CEO.

Metal Innovations Inc., is proud to announce national re-certification as a Womens Business Enterprise by ASTRA, a regional certifying partner of the Womens Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).

WBENC and its affiliates are amazing advocates for women; I highly encourage other women business owners to consider certification, Said Kim Wilmes, CEO. Their diligence and passion in regards to leveling the playing field and elevating WBEs has opened doors and allowed all women owned business' to benefit.

WBENCs national standard of certification implemented by the ASTRA is a meticulous process including an in-depth review of the business and site inspection. The certification process is designed to confirm the business is at least 51% owned, operated and controlled by a woman or women.

By including women-owned businesses among their suppliers, corporations and government agencies demonstrate their commitment to fostering diversity and the continued development of their supplier diversity programs.

About Metal Innovations Inc.:

Headquartered at the Aurora State Airport in Aurora, Oregon. Metal Innovations Inc. is an FAA Certified Repair Station #KW7R756N, PMA Authorized critical parts Facility, Cessna Service Center, and Certified WBENC WOSB providing over 22 years of impeccable and innovative repair, maintenance, modification, and manufacturing services for the air carrier, air cargo, corporate, and rotor wing markets. To learn more about Metal Innovations Inc., please visit http://www.metalinnovations.com.

Contact:

Kim Wilmes

Metal Innovations Inc.

22215 Yellow Gate Lane NE.

Aurora, Or. 97002

PH: +1 (503) 678-2807

E-MAIL: kim.wilmes(at)metalinnovations(dot)com

About WBENC:

Founded in 1997, WBENC is the nations leader in womens business development and the leading third-party certifier of businesses owned and operated by women, with more than 13,000 certified Womens Business Enterprises, 14 national Regional Partner Organizations, and over 300 Corporate Members. More than 1,000 corporations representing Americas most prestigious brands as well as many states, cities, and other entities accept WBENC Certification. For more information, visit http://www.wbenc.org.
Phil Daniels, Linette Beaumont, Emma Rigby

Family pain has teeth biting at our insides as Detective Fred Thursday (Roger Allam) discovers on Endeavour Series 5. His estranged brother, Charlie, sister-in-law Paulette, and niece Carol appear during the film Cartouche, airing Sunday, February 11 on UKs ITV.

Detective Thursdays generosity to his family is tested in the midst of a poisoning in Oxford and the uncovering of a revenge plot.

The new faces are portrayed by Phil Daniels as Charlie and Linette Beaumont as Paulette. Emma Rigby rounds out the trio as Carol the daughter.

Each of the guest stars is recognizable to U.S. audiences who tune in to the series on PBS.

Daniels breakout role was playing Jimmy in Quadrophonia, the 1979 drama inspired by The Who. Hes currently on tour in the U.K. in Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde.

Beaumont, a veteran of British TV productions, won acclaim recently as a jilted wife taking murderous revenge on her ex-husband in The Prowler film. She is currently in pre-production for Melodys Tune, a U.S. film written and directed by Daniel Yost (Drugstore Cowboy with Matt Dillon). She first splashed across American TV screens as the first female spokesperson for the landmark Viagra commercials.

Rigby is known for playing the Red Queen in the American fantasy-drama Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. Shes well-known to U.K. audiences for playing the role of Hannah Ashworth in long-running soap opera Hollyoaks.

Solving murders and labouring beneath the threat of curses has its own demands, as Detective Thursday knows. But family conflicts are personally deeper and can leave scars for life.

Endeavour Series 5 explores an array of tensions with the longest-running films to date.
In a move years in the planning, Andrew S. Borans, longtime executive director of Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity (AEPi), the worlds only Jewish college fraternity, will begin working as the full-time chief executive officer of the Alpha Epsilon Pi Foundation (AEPi Foundation) in June. James Fleischer, currently the AEPi assistant executive director, will then become the fraternitys chief executive officer.

Andy Borans has meant more to the success of AEPi than any individual in the last 40 years. His contributions to our growth to nearly 200 chapters and interest groups in six countries and to our influence as a leading Jewish college organization can never be understated, said AEPis International President Scott Cohon. Now, Andy is going to leverage his connections and relationships to grow our Foundation to unprecedented heights.

Borans has a 38-year history with AEPi. In 1980, he began a 10-year stint working for AEPi, overseeing its growth from 57 chapters to 109 chapters. In 1990, Borans went into the private sector and founded a successful New Jersey-based sportswear and apparel company. After selling his business in 1998, Borans returned to AEPi, charged with stewarding the organization's development into the 21st century. Borans is actively involved in a number of national and international Jewish causes, including the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations (COP), B'nai B'rith International, Hillel and Chabad on Campus. He also currently serves as a member of the Board of Governors of B'nai B'rith International and AIPAC and was a founding member of the steering committee for the Israel on Campus Coalition.

During Borans tenure as the fraternitys executive director, AEPi grew to become one of the 10 largest international fraternities and opened chapters in the UK, Austria, Canada, Australia and Israel. Under his leadership, AEPi brothers have taken a more active role in Israel advocacy and Jewish-oriented philanthropy, having already fulfilled a goal to raise $700,000 for seven different Jewish organizations and now having nearly completed  years ahead of schedule  a goal to raise another $1 million for 10 additional Jewish philanthropic organizations.

Having Andy Borans join the AEPi Foundation full time as its CEO (Borans previously only devoted a portion of his professional time to running the Foundation) represents an incredibly exciting moment in the history of our organization. Andy personally knows thousands of our alumni because of his work for the fraternity and his relationships with other Jewish organizations around the world are extensive, said Michael A. Morris, AEPi Foundation chairman. But, more important than that will be the passion and energy that Andy will bring to our organization. His love for AEPi  and our mission to develop the future leaders of the worlds Jewish communities -- knows no bounds. I know that he will do everything in his power to help us fund the educational mission of AEPi brothers.

Im thrilled to be moving to the AEPi Foundation. This is a natural transition for me. Im still going to be able to create and implement programs that will help our undergraduates accomplish our mission of developing leadership for Jewish communities, but now Ill be working to ensure that our Foundation will be able to support that mission for decades to come. Im looking forward to working with the Foundation board of directors and, especially, our managing director, Jay Feldman, to continue the great work they have been doing. I will miss the day-to-day interaction with our undergraduates but Im heartened to know that AEPi will be in the more than capable hands of Jim Fleischer, said Borans.

Fleischer is a 1993 graduate of Kent State University. Upon graduation, he worked as an AEPi chapter consultant for a year before working as a fundraiser for UJA Federation of New York. He owned his own printing business on Long Island for nearly 18 years, during which time was a volunteer for AEPi and was elected to the fraternitys board of directors in 2006. In 2013, Fleischer rejoined the fraternitys executive staff as its assistant executive director and chief operating officer. He also serves on the governing council of the North American Interfraternity Conference.

A native of Canton, Ohio, Fleischer and his wife of 23 years now reside in Carmel, Ind. with their three children.

Jim Fleischer is the right man to lead AEPi at this time. Hes learned at the feet of Andy Borans and brings knowledge and love of AEPi, business acumen and experience and an absolute commitment to our mission of developing leadership for the Jewish community, said Cohon.

The long-planned executive transition  which will go into effect June 1, 2018  comes on the heels of very successful years for both AEPi and the Foundation. Andy Borans has grown our fraternity beyond our wildest dreams during his time as executive director. I can only hope to be as successful as he has been in managing our fraternity. I know that he is going to be just as successful at growing our foundations operations, said Fleischer.

# # #

Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi) is the worlds Jewish college fraternity, operating chapters on more than 190 college campuses in seven countries. Founded in 1913, AEPi has more than 90,000 living alumni. While non-discriminatory, the fraternitys mission  developing the future leaders of the Jewish communities  is demonstrated every day through acts of brotherhood, Tzedakah (charity), social awareness and support for Jewish communities and Israel.

The Alpha Epsilon Pi Foundation promotes the values of the Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity through leadership development, partnerships with educational and Jewish communal organizations, and provision of scholarships, financial support and programming for the betterment of AEPi brothers, their campuses or their community.
California Podiatric Medical Association "Your feet shouldn't hurt!"

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Fortunately, it is largely preventable, and there are many things that can be done to help reduce the risk, such as being more active.

The California Podiatric Medical Association (CPMA) is proud to join the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institutes Pledge to #MoveWithHeart campaign during American Heart Month.

Participation is easy - just three simple steps:



Record a short video of yourself saying, I pledge to move more for my heart health.

Share it on Twitter or Instagram using #MoveWithHeart or go to http://www.MoveWithHeartPledge.com

Challenge friends and family to #MoveWithHeart

Why pledge?

1. Research shows that physical activity can reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke, even for those at high genetic risk;

2. Only about 22 percent of American adults meet the federal physical activity guideline;

3. Adults should spend a minimum of 2  hours each week doing physical activities that get the heart pumping and lungs a little winded;

4. Being sedentary or inactive makes one nearly twice as likely to develop heart disease than being active.*

Physical activity doesn't need to be complicated. It can be as simple as putting one foot in front of the other  walking, says California Podiatric Medical Association President Devon N. Glazer, DPM.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), regular brisk walking can help to:

Maintain a healthy weight

Prevent or manage various conditions, including heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, and even some cancers

Strengthen bones and muscles

Improve mood and outlook

Improve balance and coordination

Walking is an excellent way for most people to increase their physical activity. Most people are able to walk, and many people with disabilities are able to walk or move with assistive devices, such as canes or walkers. Walking provides the benefits of moderate exercise with very low risk of injury, which makes it a good way to help people who are sedentary become more physically active, because it is easily adapted to fit ones abilities, needs and schedule. Simple, natural, and inexpensive, walking doesn't require any special instruction, skills, or an expensive gym membership - only healthy feet and a good pair of walking shoes. All things considered, Charles Dickens got it right: Walk and be happy; Walk and be healthy.

Painful foot conditions, however, lessen the desire to walk. According to a 2014 survey conducted by the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA), 39 percent of American adults said they would exercise more if their feet didn't hurt.

Healthy feet are vital for mobility. In their lifetime, the average person walks approximately 100,000 miles. But all too often, we do not place the same emphasis on looking after our feet as we do on other parts of our body. Just because they are furthest away from your eyes should not mean you neglect them! Keeping your feet healthy should be part of your daily routine, says Dr. Glazer, a podiatric physician and surgeon in private practice in Mission Viejo California.

Dr. Glazer offers the following tips to help keep active and feet pain-free:

1. Keep your feet clean and dry. When you trim the toenails, be sure to cut them straight across to avoid ingrown toenails. People with diabetes should not cut their own nails, but rather, should have a podiatric physician inspect their feet and cut the nails on a regular basis.

2. Inspect your feet daily for signs of skin breakdown. Keep feet moisturized to help prevent dry and cracked skin.

3 Dont hide ugly toenails with polish. A discolored, thick, cracked, or crumbling nail could signal a nail fungus. Applying nail polish to an infected nail could make the problem worse.

4. Exercise your feet. When it comes to stretching, most people overlook the feet, but stretching the tops, bottoms and the Achilles tendon, helps to promote overall foot health.

5. Make sure to wear properly fitting shoes. Wearing comfortable shoes with good support is vital for healthy feet, particularly if you are on your feet for long periods of time. Ill-fitting shoes can cause foot pain, calluses, corns, bunions and more. Shop for shoes at the end of the day to compensate for foot swelling that occurs later in the day and wear the same type of socks or hosiery youll be wearing with the shoes. Choose a broad, rounded shoe with plenty of room for your toes and a wide, stable heel. Avoid pointy shoes, which can cramp your toes and cause ingrown toenails and calluses.

6. Know when to see a doctor. Dont attempt to self-treat painful foot woes. Any pain, redness, swelling, or discoloration that persists should be checked by a podiatric physician. Allowing a podiatric physician to examine your feet will help prevent minor problems from becoming major ones.

To find a local licensed podiatric physician visit http://www.calpma.org.

Founded in 1912, the California Podiatric Medical Association (CPMA) is the leading and recognized professional organization for Californias doctors of podiatric medicine (DPMs). DPMs are podiatric physicians and surgeons, also known as podiatrists, qualified by their long and rigorous education, training, and experience to diagnose and treat conditions affecting the foot, ankle and structures of the leg.

CPMA, keeping Californians on their Feet  Healthy, Active, and Productive

*National Center for Health Statistics. National Health Interview Survey, 2015.
Jenzabar was the only company that did not have to degrade its competition to sell their product; they just allowed the quality of their product to market itself.

February 8, 2018 -- Jenzabar, Inc., higher educations trusted software and services advisor, has announced that Piedmont International University has chosen Jenzabar One to replace their current student information system. The institutions selection committee unanimously selected Jenzabar after recognizing the sustainable attributes of the system and overall vision of Jenzabar One.

We needed a student information system that keeps us on the cutting edge of innovation, said Devin Purgason, Director of Marketing and Website Operations at PIU. By partnering with Jenzabar, we will have the ability to automate many aspects of our student information system that currently require time-consuming manual data entry. Jenzabar One will give our staff more time to serve students, rather than entering data.

Established in 1945, Piedmont International University is a leader in innovative, bible-centered higher education. The private Christian institution has completed five mergers over the last ten years, most recently with John Wesley University, Tennessee Temple University, and Southeastern Bible College. Due to these alliances, PIU has been positioned on a platform of growth and was seeking a technology solution that could support that growth.

With scalability and efficiency as high priorities, the Jenzabar One solution is a natural fit for PIU. Jenzabar One is a suite of products that allows institutions to tailor the solution to their campuses needs. Throughout the selection process, Jenzabars trusted advisors are available as a resource to guide clients to the product set thats right for them. The solution has been proven to streamline inefficiencies across the student lifecycle and spectrum of academic and administrative processes.

Along with the benefit of technology that will allow us to grow, Jenzabar has a high view of integrity, which PIU as a Christian institution, also values, said Devin Purgason, Director of Marketing and Website Operations at PIU. Jenzabar was the only company that did not have to degrade its competition to sell their product; they just allowed the quality of their product to market itself. We appreciated that Jenzabar was a turn-key solution that would be used every step of the way by prospective students, all the way up to alumni.

About Jenzabar

Jenzabar is higher educations trusted advisor, offering technology solutions and services that are tailored to fit the evolving needs of institutions both today and in the future. We collaborate with our clients to ensure our software and services drive performance across campus and throughout the full student lifecycle. Exclusively serving higher education, more colleges and universities selected a Jenzabar student information system over any other SIS during the past six years.
Elmer Banci, in kindergarten, helped welcome the Carter's. Here he is shaking their hands.

It was a superlative experience for those fortunate to attend. The combination of being in the presence of an eminent former first couple alongside a California National School of Character produced an event many described as life-changing.

St. Genevieve principal, Dan Horn, has had a friendship with the Carter's for the last 3 decades. When students asked recently how the friendship began, he told them that when he was only 24 years old, he wrote to Mrs. Carter asking to meet her. He then challenged his students to learn more about the woman he considers to be a living saint. "The more we learned about her, the more our hearts grew, and we realized her story needed to be shared," said Sean See, St. Genevieve alumnus. It was See who eventually reviewed hundreds of hours of interviews and footage, all done by students, and made the final cut of Dear Rosalynn.

"It was learning about the depth of her humanitarian efforts that were truly inspirational. Her tireless work for Equal Rights, the creation of the nonprofit The Carter Center, whose mission is to promote human rights the alleviation of human suffering. Rosalynns passionate work in eliminating the stigma of mental health, the couples work with Habitat for Humanity that put the organization on the worlds stage and the creation of the Rosalynn Carters Institute for Caregivers, to name a few," said Heidi Johnson, Executive Director of the Catholic Association of Student Councils.

English teacher, Kara Ukolowicz, was proud that St. Genevieve was playing a big role in the current women's movement. "Rosalynn's story is a powerful narrative about how one woman can change the world for generations. Her legacy is clearly connected to the inspiring change we are seeing for woman across this country right now. As women continue to step out of the shadows to speak their truths, it seems critical that we tell Rosalynn's story: a story of both strength and compassion."
Pooki's Mahi Wholesale Coffee Club open to all customers. Coffee subscribers, wholesale customers and resellers know Pookis Mahi provides a consistent customer experience. Pookis Mahi protects customer data. Pookis Mahi offers the lowest pricing for 100% Kona coffee pods to customers via coffee subscriptions or the wholesale coffee club program.

Silicon Valley startup Pookis Mahi announced today it grew brand loyalty by increasing the number of Wholesale Coffee Club memberships giving 100% Kona coffee customers another option to save more than $15.00 on luxury single-origin specialty coffees.

Pookis Mahi Founder/CEO Les Magsalay-Zeller says, I grew Pookis Mahi direct to consumer (D2C) business without taking any form of investment, loan or incurring debt. The growth is attributed to high customer retention from VIP coffee subscriptions and Pookis Mahi Wholesale Coffee Club customers. Pookis Mahi owns product catalogue and drop ships for online retailers.

The Silicon Valley high tech exec explains, Coffee subscribers, wholesale customers and resellers know Pookis Mahi provides a consistent customer experience. Customers are able to shop safely because Pookis Mahi is very protective of its customers data. Pookis Mahi offers the lowest pricing for 100% Kona coffee pods to customers via coffee subscriptions or the wholesale coffee club program.

Pookis Mahi wholesalers and repeat customers know that Ill fix issues reported into Pookis Mahi Customer Success Centers. Feedback from customers drive our roadmap of new products, technology platform and services. My customer profile represents a majority of Pookis Mahi VIP coffee subscribers, wholesale coffee club members and performance driven resellers. Protecting Pookis Mahi brand from unqualified firms attempting to resell Pookis Mahi 100% Kona coffee pods. I implemented a zero tolerance policy. The relentless cyber-bullying of Pookis Mahi brand and myself from firms engaged in cyber-criminal activities resulted in irreparable harm. Pookis Mahi actively monitors supply chain, technology platform for anomalies, says the Silicon Valley based private label manufacturer.

Pookis Mahi Wholesale Coffee Club is open to any customer who wants to save but are unable to commit to a three-month or six-month coffee subscription plans. The wholesale program offers deep savings and flexibility for the Silicon Valley based private label coffee pod manufacturer. Wholesale Coffee Club accounts are released weekly or several times during the month.

Pookis Mahi manufactures single-origin 100% Kona coffee pods. The Silicon Valley based private label manufacturer does not produce flavored Kona coffee, Kona blends or specialty coffees made out of blends in single serve pods. The private label manufacturer designs and creates luxury 100% Kona coffee in individually wrapped mesh pods. One box contains 24 pods of Pookis Mahi prized 100% Kona coffee.

Pookis Mahi wholesale prices are significantly lower than the final market value price for 100% Kona coffee pods sold through online retailers. The private label manufacturer passes retailer fees to the retailers customer.

Wholesale customers pay $43.00 per box for 100% Kona coffee pods. This includes Kona French Roast, Kona Extra Fancy coffee, and Kona Decaf coffee. Peaberry Kona coffee is the most expensive 100% Kona coffee. Wholesale coffee club members pay $56.00 per box.

Standard shipping is included. Pookis Mahi consistently deliver orders within two to four days to the customer. Orders received by 9:00 am PT ship the next business day. Wholesale customers receive a complimentary box of 24-count Kona coffee pods on the twelfth (12th) order.

What Pookis Mahi Wholesale Coffee Club customers can expect:



Wholesale Coffee Club open to all customer.

Wholesale accounts are released weekly or several times during the month.

Deep discounts to expensive Peaberry Kona coffee or luxury single-origin coffees.

Access to new product introductions or product launches.

Customers are not allowed to resell Pookis Mahi 100% Kona coffee pods.

Pay $43.00 per box for 100% Kona coffee pods: Kona French Roast, Kona Extra Fancy coffee, and Kona Decaf coffee.

Pay $56.00 per box for Kona Peaberry coffee.

Receive one complimentary box on every twelfth (12th) order.

Standard shipping included. Pookis Mahi averages two to three days for orders to arrive.

Orders received by 9:00am PT ship the next business day.

Pookis Mahi direct to consumer (D2C) business growth is attributed to high customer retention from VIP coffee subscriptions or Wholesale Coffee Club programs. The private label coffee manufacturer self funded the growth. The Silicon Valley high tech Founder/CEO Les Magsalay-Zeller has not taken any form of investment, loan and has zero or very little debt. Pookis Mahi manufactures expensive 100% single origin coffee in mesh pods. The individually wrapped coffee pods are offered to customers at low prices with complimentary shipping. Pookis Mahi aims to give customers opportunities to taste expensive specialty coffees in coffee pod form. Pookis Mahi luxury 100% Kona coffee pods is carried at luxury hotels, corporate kitchens and enjoyed by celebrities and professional athletes.

For use in 1.0 and 2.0 single serve coffee makers. Pooki's Mahi, Matcha Matcha Man are registered trademarks of Pookis Mahi. The PMO Practice, Kona KaKao, and KaKao are trademarks of Pookis Mahi. New Product Launch Introductions, Go To Market Planning, and supply chain frameworks are protected under VA 1-924-170.

About Pookis Mahi:

Pookis Mahi is a Silicon Valley-based high tech company passionate about combining technology, operations excellence and digital marketing to consistently launch the best Kona coffee pods, new private label coffee pods and custom promotional products to market. Pookis Mahi is a private label manufacturer offering Hawaiian 100% Kona coffee and award-winning private label teas in sustainable single serves pods. Private label brands partner with Pookis Mahi for the efficient supply chain, go to market launch and new product introduction expertise. Since its online launch in 2013, Pookis Mahi products have been a favorite of customers, charities, celebrities and athletes and have been featured at red carpet events including Celebrity Gift Suites and athletes and seen on several television shows. Pookis Mahis mission is to revolutionize the supply chain ecosystem to make it efficient by using technology in bringing the highest quality Kona coffees into the market in a sustainable, compostable cup. Hawaiian coffees are harvested in Hawaii, pod manufactured in USA and distributed to several fulfillment centers in the US.

For more information on Pookis Mahi custom private label coffee pods pricing, tea pods visit http://www.pookismahi.com. Follow Pookis Mahi on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter to keep up with news insights to launching private label products. Visit Pookis Mahi online policies to learn about the zero tolerance.

Contact Information

Pookis Mahi

support(at)pookismahi(dot)com

###
Im excited to work with the 5nine executive team and board to further our work in developing ground-breaking solutions for Hyper-V and Azure. Vince Arneja, Chief Product Officer

5nine Software, a leading provider of Microsoft Cloud management and security solutions, today welcomed Vince Arneja to the executive team as Chief Product Officer. In this role, Vince will lead product strategy across all 5nines product lines, including the award-winning 5nine Manager and 5nine Cloud Security, and will define product roadmaps, pricing and positioning going forward.

Vince brings over 20 years of executive and senior level experience in product management and strategy to the company. With extensive experience in cloud, mobile, application, endpoint and network security, and his skills in spearheading the development of innovative virtual solutions, Vince is poised to have a major impact on 5nines continued growth and success.

As the cloud management and security marketplace evolves  and new threats emerge- 5nine has an important role to play in changing the way we manage and protect our mission critical infrastructure, said Vince. Im excited to work with the 5nine executive team and board to further our work in developing ground-breaking solutions for Hyper-V and Azure.

Vinces expertise and ability to be both tactical and strategic while concurrently living at the intersection of technology, product, and business will be invaluable as we bolster our unified cloud management and security offerings, said Scott Sanders, Chief Executive Officer of 5nine. His contributions will be critical in cementing our position as a key player in the virtualization management and security market for the Microsoft Cloud platform.

About 5nine Software

5nine provides the worlds leading management, security and migration solutions for Microsoft Azure and Hyper-V. Our powerful, integrated platform delivers scalable efficiency, automation and performance, empowering customers to accomplish every cloud initiative rapidly, securely and at exceptional value. Today, 5nine helps thousands of businesses, service providers and government institutions of all sizes to reach their full potential with the Microsoft Cloud platform.

5nine is headquartered in West Palm Beach, Florida, with offices worldwide. 5nine is a Microsoft Gold Datacenter Partner, Enterprise Cloud Alliance Partner, Azure Pack Partner and member of the Virus Information Alliance.
Dana will be an asset to our team and clients, and were looking forward to the contributions he will make to our company, says CEO of Worldwide Facilities Davis Moore.

Worldwide Facilities announces the opening of a new location in Boston, Massachusetts. Dana Kelly will be joining the office as Vice President.

Kelly joins Worldwide Facilities from Keating, a Boston wholesale broker, where he specialized in Workers Compensation offerings on a national basis.

Kelly holds a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from Fitchburg State University.

Were excited to welcome Dana, says CEO of Worldwide Facilities Davis Moore. He will be an asset to our team and clients, and were looking forward to the contributions he will make to our company.

About Worldwide Facilities, LLC

Worldwide Facilities is a national wholesale insurance broker and managing general agent that has been in business since 1970. Its brokers and underwriters are industry leaders providing expertise in a wide range of specialty lines, as well as extensive contacts with carriers domestically and overseas. For more information, please visit wwfi.com.
Improving Outcomes Biometry Course

With the March 2018 courses selling out far in advance, HS-UK, the leading manufacturer and distributor of gold-standard optometry and ophthalmic equipment, has scheduled further courses in Q2 2018, to meet the rising demand for biometry education.

The 'Improving Outcomes' biometry courses have been designed to help both beginners and experienced Ophthalmic Consultants get the most from their biometer. The Basic Course covers Improving Outcomes standard biometry methods, while the second day focuses on more advanced techniques, enabling delegates to attend whichever day is more appropriate for their individual learning requirements.

The courses include lectures on topics such as; Good biometry practice TORIC IOL surgery and IOL power calculation. The event also hosts practical, hands-on workshops which support a range of subjects, including; adding & editing IOLs & power calculation formulae, immersion ultrasound and TORIC IOL planning.

Speakers for the event are confirmed as; Mr David Sculfor, Consultant Optometrist at Stoke Mandeville Hospital and Mr Peter Wilson, Consultant Ophthalmologist at NHS Fife & Forth Valley. Both are widely-recognised as experts in their field.

Attendees will be able to claim CPD points for each day of the event (CPD points have been applied for, please note that previous Improving Outcomes courses were awarded 6 CPD points).

The price for each course is just 100 (ex VAT), which will include lunch and refreshments. Delegates who wish to attend both courses will receive a discounted price of 175 (+VAT).

For further information, or to book a place on either course, visit http://www.haagstreituk.com/improvingoutcomes

For news media enquiries, please contact:

Erika Poole

Marketing Co-ordinator

Email: epoole(at)haag-streit-uk.com

DDI: 01279 456260
Ornellaia Carisma 2015 by William Kentridge

To commemorate the 30th vintage of iconic Italian wine Ornellaia and the 10th edition of the Ornellaia Vendemmia dArtista project, the iconic Bolgheri estate invited world-renowned artist William Kentridge to create special-edition labels centered on the theme of carisma, or charisma. The art, created to represent the character of the vintage itself, will adorn a limited number of Ornellaia 2015 wine bottles. Continuing its partnership with Sothebys, Ornellaia will donate 9 rare lots to be auctioned off during a gala evening at the Victoria & Albert Museum, and all proceeds will be used to support the arts and art education at the V&A.

For this years edition of Ornellaia Vendemmia dArtista  a project launched in 2009 to showcase the unique relationship between fine wine and contemporary art  South African artist William Kentridge developed a site-specific art installation, designed a limited series of 111 large-format bottles, and created a limited-edition label that will appear on one of the six bottles in each case of Ornellaia. As explained by William Kentridge, the images on the labels depict the work of winemaking, specifically the unique combination of craft and processes involved in the vendemmia, or the wine harvest.

The secateurs come from a memory of the one occasion I took part in a Tuscan vendemmia when I spent six months in San Casciano outside of Florence Kentridge recounts. The aspects of wine-making that combine both manual craft and mechanical processes suggested the transformation of people into machines and machines into workers. The drawings are done on pages from various old Italian cash books found in flea markets and second-hand shops in the Tuscan area.

The theme Il Carisma, or charisma, was selected for the 2015 vintage, as it perfectly captures the stunning spirit and energy of this wine. Its rich, deep color suggests a wine of great texture and intensity, while the fruit-rich nose shows both ripeness and freshness, with hints of classic balsamic and spice. On the palate, it is rich, dense, and full-bodied, with an exceptionally tannic texture that is simultaneously dense and velvety along the palate. The lengthy finish concludes with an impression of firmness and delicate hints of spice.

The classic flavor profile and exceptional character of this particular vintage can be attributed to the fact that 2015 was a particularly well-balanced harvest season, with relatively normal, almost textbook-like weather patterns. Winemaker and Estate Director Axel Heinz explains, Like people of great carisma (charisma), wines of great vintages know how to impose themselves naturally, without force, their balance allowing them to shine without having to flaunt themselves.

On May 23, the spotlight will shift to the celebratory event, a benefit auction featuring 9 rare lots, which will include the special bottles created by William Kentridge for the Ornellaia 2015 Il Carisma. Stephen Mould, Sothebys Senior Director and Head of the European Wine Department, will preside over the gala dinner and auction, and all funds raised will be donated in their entirety to the host sponsoring the event, the Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) in London.

V&A Director Tristram Hunt states, The V&A is thrilled to host Ornellaia, Sothebys, and the renowned artist William Kentridge, as they present the 10th edition of Vendemmia dArtista. We are honored that Ornellaia have chosen the V&A for this spectacular event and we are hugely grateful for its generous support.

Stephen Mould continues, I admire how William Kentridge interprets Ornellaia 2015 Il Carisma through his allegorical language  the artworks he has created for the bottles and the estate transform the spirit of Ornellaia through visual art and make concrete his interpretation of Ornellaia 2015s character. This vintage, born during an optimal harvest season, is set to be one of Ornellaias greatest. Jamie Ritchie, Worldwide Head of Sothebys Wine, further elaborates, Sothebys Wine is proud to participate in our tenth collaboration with Ornellaias superb Vendemmia dArtista art program These unique large-format bottles will find homes in new cellars and will always remind their new owners of the joys of bringing wine, food, art and friendship together.

Ornellaia CEO Giovanni Geddes da Filicaja concludes, Today, as Vendemmia dArtista marks its 10th year, it continues to attract funds for the restoration of artworks belonging to our universal heritage. In just first nine editions we have succeeded in donating almost two million euros across the globe; just a small drop perhaps, but there is much more to come.

About Vendemmia dArtista

Vendemmia dArtista celebrates the unique character of each new vintage of Ornellaia. Every year since the release of Ornellaia 2006 in May 2009, a contemporary artist creates a site-specific work of art and a series of limited edition labels, drawing inspiration from the word chosen by the Winemaker to describe the character of the new vintage. The Vendemmia dArtista project includes a label created by the Artist for a single bottle in each wooden case of Ornellaia (containing six 750ml bottles). As in previous years, the project provides for a limited edition of 111 large-size bottles (100 Double Magnums (3L), 10 Imperials (6L) and 1 Salmanazar (9L) each individually numbered and personally signed by the artist.

About the Victoria and Albert Museum

The V&A is the worlds leading museum of art, design and performance. It was established to make works of art available to all and to inspire British designers and manufacturers. Today, the V&As collections  which span over 5,000 years of human creativity in virtually every medium  continue to intrigue, inspire and inform. The Museum holds many of the UKs national collections and houses some of the greatest resources for the study of architecture, furniture, fashion, textiles, photography, sculpture, painting, jewelry, glass, ceramics, book arts, Asian art and design, theatre and performance.

Media Contact

Claire Hennessy

Colangelo & Partners, Italian Portfolio Director

chennessy(at)colangelopr(dot)com
The significance of 5StarWines - The Book starring Wine Without Walls is in the panel of judges made up of highly qualified international experts, sommeliers, wine journalists with qualifications such as Master of Wine and Master of Sommelier.

Registrations with early-bird fees are open for 5StarWines starring Wine Without Walls 2018 (http://www.5starwines.it/?lang=en), the grand selection of international wines to be held from April 11th to 13th in Verona, Italy, in the lead-up to the worlds largest wine exhibition, Vinitaly (April 15th to 18th). This year the 5StarWines event also takes a leap forward as the wines selected by the international panel of judges will also be indicated as 5StarWines on Wine-Searchers online listings.

Wineries interested in gaining international visibility through the 5StarWines starring Wine Without Walls 2018 grand tasting can avail of a 15% discount on the registration fee until February 15th 2018. This is, therefore, a timely opportunity for producers to enroll at a discounted price in order to have their wines evaluated by 80 top judges from around the world.

The three-day blind tasting organized by Veronafiere and Vinitaly International will select wines for the second edition of the wine guide 5StarWines - the Book starring Wine Without Walls. The guide puts a spotlight on the continuous efforts made by wineries that invest in the improvement of their products. The judges careful evaluation will help producers to be recognized on the international markets. All the wines with 90 points out of 100 or above will be labelled 5StarWines on the online listings on Wine-Searcher, one of the most famous web search engines for wine (https://www.wine-searcher.com/critics-46-5starwines+-+vinitaly). The 5StarWines label will also feature on the Vinitaly App during and after Vinitaly for all buyers and trade. Last year this recognition helped many wineries increase their sales during Vinitaly. For example, Barolo DOCG Bussia 2013 of Agricola Gian Piero Marrone was selected as one of the Best Italian Wines. After receiving the results from 5StarWines, they sold 900 bottles to a completely new customer from Japan within half an hour from the opening of Vinitaly. 5StarWines label represented our continuous increase in the quality of wines, and it was a great satisfaction and success for all of the family, says Valentina Marrone proudly.

The significance of 5StarWines - The Book starring Wine Without Walls is in the panel of judges made up of highly qualified international experts, sommeliers, wine journalists with qualifications such as Master of Wine and Master of Sommelier. The tasting is chaired by Ian DAgata, Vinitaly International Academys scientific director and winner of Louis Roederer International Wine Writer Award 2015 as Wine Book of the Year with his Native Wine Grapes of Italy. DAgatas reputation, expertise, and direction has made 5StarWines an event that guarantees, for international buyers, the quality of wines already present in the market, but still barely known. I often see that little attention is paid to absolutely spectacular wines made from lesser known grapes and denominations, states Ian DAgata. Why should a wine made with lesser known grapes forcibly score lower on average than some famous names in competitions and wine guides? The high quality of those wines need to be recognised as well, and our diverse panel of judges have the knowledge to carefully evaluate them, concludes DAgata

In addition to the score, 10 trophies await the wineries. The Winery of the Year - Gran Vinitaly 2018 title will be given to a producer who will achieve the highest score with at least two different wines. The Best Italian Wine - Banco BPM 2018 recognition will go to the Italian wine with the highest overall score; the Jury Prize 2018 is the commendation attributed to one wine by the panel of judges. The best wines in each of the tastings category (White, Rose, Red, Sweet, Frizzante and Sparkling) will also be given a special mention. Last but not least, the Best Price / Enjoyment trophy will be given to the wines that offer the best value for money.

A special feature of the wine guide is Wine Without Walls, a section solely dedicated to the best wines that meet both the following criteria: 1) wines without added sulphites and 2) wines with added sulphites but with a total quantity of sulphites (naturally produced and added ones) not higher than 50mg/l. Chaired by biodynamic wine expert Monty Waldin who has written extensively on organic and biodynamic wine, Wine Without Walls gives recognition to the growing importance and relevance of these wines. The tastings assessment criteria are not numerical but rather descriptive and include liveliness, evolution, balance, drinkability, individuality, savouriness, clarity and sense of place.

5StarWines - the Book starring Wine Without Walls will be distributed widely during exhibitions, events, B2B meetings, grand tastings, and different showcases, allowing wineries to have access to key players in the global reference market. The guide will also be an efficient promotional tool that will bridge the gap between buyers and wine lovers all around the world.

Please find below some useful links to learn more about 5StarWines

Registrations for 5Starwines with early-bird discounted fee (15% less) until February 15th, 2018

http://www.5starwines.it/?lang=en

Wine Critics section of Wine-Searcher

https://www.wine-searcher.com/critics-46-5starwines+-+vinitaly

Youtube: Ian DAgata introduces the 5StarWines - The Book 2018

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KC4ZC1PmcBo

Youtube: Recap video of last year 2017

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9HtHhLgRc8

About:

Veronafiere is the leading organizer of trade shows in Italy including Vinitaly (http://www.vinitaly.com), the largest wine and spirits fair in the world. During its 51th edition Vinitaly counted more than 4,270 exhibitors on a 100,000+ square meter area and 128,000 visitors from 142 different countries with more than 30,000 top international buyers (up by 8%). The next edition of the fair will take place on 15 - 18 April 2018. The premier event to Vinitaly, OperaWine (http://www.operawine.it) Finest Italian Wines: 100 Great Producers, will unite international wine professionals on April 14th in the heart of Verona, offering them the unique opportunity to discover and taste the wines of the 100 Best Italian Producers, as selected by Wine Spectator. Since 1998 Vinitaly International travels to several countries such as Russia, China, USA and Hong Kong thanks to its strategic arm abroad, Vinitaly International. In February 2014 Vinitaly International launched an educational project, the Vinitaly International Academy (VIA) with the aim of divulging and broadcasting the excellence and diversity of Italian wine around the globe. The VIA Certification Course has been launched also in USA and China this year and today counts 122 Italian Wine Ambassadors and 9 Italian Wine Experts who have achieved the higher certification.
I will be providing homeowners in Castle Pines information on their most valuable asset -- their home.

Kentwood Real Estate Broker Associate Doug Hutchins is scheduled to speak at the Castle Pines Real Estate Market Update on Monday, February 12. The event takes place at the Castle Pines Community Library, 360 Village Square Lane, Castle Pines, CO, from 6-7 p.m.

Hutchins will be speaking about the impact of the new tax laws on home values, as well as the 2017 metro Denver real estate market highlights, 2018 forecast for Castle Pines home prices and sales activity, and the impact of new home construction in Castle Pines on existing home prices.

I will be providing homeowners in Castle Pines information on their most valuable asset -- their home, added Hutchins, who for eight consecutive years has been recognized by Denvers 5280 Magazine as a Five Star Agent.

In addition to real estate, Hutchins is an ardent supporter of Hopes Promise, a non-profit adoption and orphan care agency, and serves as its Chairman of the Board. In April, he will be visiting two Hopes Promise orphanages in Nepal to interact with the children in each home and provide encouragement and support.

About Doug Hutchins, Kentwood Real Estate

Doug Hutchins works with both buyers and sellers. He specializes in South Metro Denver real estate, including Castle Pines, Castle Pines Village, Castle Rock, Centennial, Greenwood Village, Highlands Ranch, Littleton, Lone Tree, and Parker, CO. For more information, call (303) 886-3437, or visit http://www.doughutchinshomes.com. Kentwood Real Estate is located at 5690 D.T.C. Blvd., Suite 600W, Greenwood Village, CO 80111.

About the NALA

The NALA offers small and medium-sized businesses effective ways to reach customers through new media. As a single-agency source, the NALA helps businesses flourish in their local community. The NALAs mission is to promote a business relevant and newsworthy events and achievements, both online and through traditional media. The information and content in this article are not in conjunction with the views of the NALA. For media inquiries, please call 805.650.6121, ext. 361.
Senate Minority Leader Jeff Woodburn shows off NHRLAs legislative priorities during the Associations 2018 Legislative Breakfast which brought together nearly 200 legislators. Today, were here advocating, not just for the lumber and building material industry but, for all small businesses which hope to be successful in N.H.

The New Hampshire Retail Lumber Association (NHRLA) announced its 2018 legislative priorities during an annual breakfast at the New Hampshire State House, Tuesday morning.

A record attendance of nearly 200 state legislators came to the event where NHRLA members discussed concerns regarding mandated scheduling requirements and compensation for earned, but unused time. Additionally, NHRLA members advocated for the passage of asbestos trust transparency legislation  common sense legislation that will drastically help provide more disclosure between asbestos trusts claims and tort actions.

For 90 years, the NHRLA has been advocating for independent lumber dealers, and associated businesses in New Hampshire, explained Dan Keith, General Manager of Selectwood in Portsmouth, N.H. and NHRLA Legislative Committee Chair. Today, were here advocating, not just for the lumber and building material industry but, for all small businesses which hope to be successful in N.H.

NHRLAs 68-member locations represent independent lumber and building material dealers, manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, and other associated businesses in the state of New Hampshire. The lumber and building materials industry employs nearly 17,500 New Hampshire residents.

For more information contact Ashley Ranslow, Manager of Government Affairs, at aranslow(at)nrla(dot)org or 518-880-6350.

Founded in 1928, NHRLA is one of fourteen state and local associations across the Northeast associated with the Northeastern Retail Lumber Association (NRLA). The NRLA was established in New York in 1894 by a small group of pioneering lumbermen who recognized the value of cooperation. Today, the NRLA is an 1,100-member association representing independent lumber and building material suppliers and associated businesses in Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington, D.C.

About NHRLAs Legislative Priorities

1. Cost of Doing Business

HOUSE & SENATE ACTION REQUESTED: That the House and Senate OPPOSE policies that will increase the cost of doing business in New Hampshire.

NHRLA members are local small businesses doing their best to provide their employees with benefits while also growing their businesses, providing more jobs, and improving the communities they serve. Legislation, such as required notice of work schedules and required rest periods (H.B. 1451 and S.B. 422) and mandated compensation for earned, but unused vacation and personal time (H.B. 1201 & H.B. 1393), greatly increases costs for small businesses. While large employers and big box stores have the resources available to absorb the costs of complying with additional regulations, our members do not and are often the ones to be audited or fined for noncompliance.

House Bill 1451 and Senate Bill 422 both require advanced notice of work schedules, which is extremely difficult to accurately predict in the construction industry. NHRLA understands the legislatures attempt to prevent abusive scheduling practices; however, this legislation will only penalize small businesses across the state. Customers rely on NHRLA members to provide the services they need and to deliver materials, such as windows, siding, lumber, drywall, and roofing, to commercial and residential job sites in a timely manner. These products are essential to any building projects, and ensures that construction continues as scheduled. Unfortunately, construction projects and the timelines of these projects are unpredictable due to a wide range of factors, including weather, change orders, installation delays, etc. Because of the unpredictability in construction, it is nearly impossible for building materials suppliers to accurately schedule employees, especially drivers and yard workers, one or two weeks in advance. NHRLA members need flexibility in determining work schedules based on when and where a home builder or contractor needs their building materials. This legislation would put onerous burdens on our members, as they would surely have to pay the penalties for changed shifts.

House Bill 1201 and House Bill 1393 mandate that employers compensate employees for earned, but unused vacation and personal time. As family-owned and operated businesses, NHRLA members pride themselves on providing their employees with benefits and flexibility, including paid time off, in order to recruit and retain quality employees. More importantly, the benefit is offered to create a positive work environment where employees can take time for vacation or to care for themselves or a relative. The proposed legislation requires employers, regardless of size, to compensate employees for earned but unused vacation time and/or personal time. This will force our members to spend additional time tracking accrual of vacation time, establishing a new system to compensate their employees for unused time, and will significantly complicate their existing paid time off policies. Not only will this legislation add another layer of regulatory compliance and cost to small businesses, but it will create a less efficient, productive, and safe work environment.

NHRLA encourages the legislature to oppose legislation that increases the cost of doing business and puts small businesses at a disadvantage when trying to comply with additional and unnecessary burdensome mandates.

2. Asbestos Trust Transparency

HOUSE & SENATE ACTION REQUESTED: That the House and Senate SUPPORT Senate Bill 335, which would create greater transparency between asbestos trust claims and asbestos tort actions.

Senate Bill 335, an act relative to disclosure of asbestos trust claims in civil actions is common sense legislation that will drastically help provide more disclosure between asbestos trusts claims and tort actions. Unfortunately, our members are often dragged into asbestos related lawsuits as a way for plaintiffs to recover additional damages, even though former asbestos manufacturers established trusts to address and pay claims. These asbestos lawsuits are extremely expensive and difficult to defend against, especially for small businesses.

Currently, plaintiffs can file a trust claim to recover damages for asbestos related exposure and bring a lawsuit in the civil justice system, but there is little disclosure of payments or evidence between the two systems. As a result, some attorneys have taken advantage of the system to recover additional damages. Attorneys may submit evidence in a trust claim that conflicts with the tort claim, which could benefit the defendants case. Passage of Senate Bill 335 would allow these conflicting claims from the same plaintiff to be discovered with greater transparency. Furthermore, in no way does the legislation prevent plaintiffs from recovering damages, whether in trust claims or tort claims.

NHRLA supports this legislation as it simply provides desperately needed transparency and helps protect defendants from double dipping attorneys. Requiring plaintiffs to disclose their trust claims creates a fair system and helps to protect the States small businesses.

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Cambridge College President Deborah C. Jackson with Greenberg Traurig Boston's Terence P. McCourt.

The Boston office of global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP welcomed Cambridge College President Deborah C. Jackson as the featured speaker for its A Conversation With breakfast series. Jackson presented, Reimagining Higher Education for a New Boston, which discussed closing Bostons talent gap while increasing access to opportunity for all Bostonians. President Jackson stressed the importance of implementing innovative approaches such as competency-based programs in todays curricula and partnering with corporations to educate and prepare students to meet workforce demands and create better pipelines to meaningful employment after graduation.

The discussion was moderated by Terence P. McCourt, managing shareholder of Greenberg Traurig's Boston office. McCourt is a member of the Cambridge College Board of Trustees.

A Conversation With is an invitation-only Greenberg Traurig Boston speaker series that hosts local government, business, and community leaders who are at the forefront of issues facing the region, including economic, cultural, scientific, social, and public policy matters. Examples of past speakers include:



Robert Coughlin, President & CEO, Massachusetts Biotechnology Council (MassBio);

Malli Gero, Co-Founder & President, 2020 Women on Boards;

Kathleen McQuiggan, Senior Vice President of Global Women's Strategies, Pax World Management LLC and Co-President, Ellevate Boston Chapter;

Dr. Gary Fleisher, Physician-in-Chief and Pediatrician-in-Chief, Boston Children's Hospital;

Frederick Breimyer, Ph.D., Boston area economist, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC);

Gwill York, Co-founder and Managing Director of Lighthouse Capital Partners, and Chair, Board of Trustees, Museum of Science; and

Harriet Cross, Britains Consul General to New England.

About Greenberg Traurigs Boston Office: Established in 1999, Greenberg Traurigs Boston office is home to over 70 attorneys practicing in the areas of corporate, emerging technology, governmental affairs, intellectual property, labor and employment, life sciences and medical technology, litigation, public finance, and real estate. An important contributor to the firm's international platform, the Boston office includes a team of nationally recognized attorneys with both public and private sector experience. The team offers clients the value of decades of legal experience and hands-on knowledge of the local business community, supported by the firm's vast network of global resources.

About Greenberg Traurig: Greenberg Traurig, LLP (GT) has more than 2,000 attorneys in 38 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. GT has been recognized for its philanthropic giving, was named the largest firm in the U.S. by Law360 in 2017, and is among the Top 20 on the 2017 Am Law Global 100. Web: http://www.gtlaw.com Twitter: @GT_Law.
The Intercept reported earlier that day that the FBI had spoken with both women about their allegations during background interviews about Porter. Those allegations reportedly contributed to the year-long delay in granting him the security clearance customary for staffers of his rank.

But Porter is far from the only Trump administration official to encounter problems or controversy over his security clearance. Democrats have been pressing the White House to provide details on its security clearance process, and lawmakers repeated that call on Thursday in the wake of Porter's resignation.

Dozens of staffers at the White House have been delayed permanent security clearances and are currently working on interim ones, officials told The Washington Post. But it's unclear who many of them are, and deputy press secretary Raj Shah declined to answer when a reporter asked him for specific details during Thursday's press briefing.

But there are several top officials whose security clearances have been revoked  or at least heavily questioned by critics and the media.

Here are the figures who have come under fire:

Former White House staff secretary Rob Porter

Porter, in his role as White House staff secretary, was in charge of the flow of information that reached President Donald Trump's desk, alongside John Kelly, the chief of staff.

But after lengthy delays in being granted permanent security clearance, Porter reportedly grew suspicious and asked his second wife, Jennifer Willoughby, whether she had told investigators about their marriage.

"He believed that that was holding up his clearance," Jennifer Willoughby, Porter's second wife, told The New York Times. "I did describe my marriage in detail."

Willoughby and Porter's first ex-wife, Colbie Holderness, both publicly accused him of physically and emotionally abusing them, which he has denied.

"He was operating on an interim security clearance. His clearance was never denied, and he resigned," Shah said during the press briefing on Thursday.

"To summarize, the allegations against Rob Porter are serious and deeply troubling," he continued. "He did deny them. The incidents took place long before he joined the White House. Therefore, they were investigated as part of the background check, as this process is meant for such allegations."

Senior adviser Jared Kushner

Kushner's interim security clearance is the one that most enrages Trump's critics. He, like Porter, has not been granted a permanent security clearance and is still working on a temporary one while his application is under review.

Kushner's SF-86 form, a required part of the application process, has been amended several times to more thoroughly list his contacts with foreign officials.

Last July, Kushner added more than 100 names to the list, drawing criticism from Democrats and Republicans alike for his previous omissions. Even the top government official in charge of clearing background checks said he'd "never seen that level of mistakes."

Perhaps the most glaring omission from his SF-86 was that of Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, whom Kushner met at an infamous meeting at Trump Tower in June 2016, along with Donald Trump Jr. and then-Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort.

Since then, Democrats have regularly asked why Kushner still possesses an interim security clearance, but there's little indication it will be revoked anytime soon.

Former national security adviser Michael Flynn

The security clearance granted to Trump's former national security adviser has long been a controversy embroiling the White House, though he only held the job for 24 days.

Flynn was first granted a security clearance under the Obama administration, in which he served as the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency.

His clearance was last renewed in early 2016, according to the Associated Press, but Democrats have accused Flynn of lying in his interview about foreign payments he received for Turkish lobbying.

The lawmakers have also accused Flynn of failing to report a 2015 trip he took to the Middle East, and failing to report contacts he had with Israeli and Egyptian officials.

The security clearance questionnaires require applicants to report all meetings that occurred abroad and all contacts with officials of foreign governments that took place in the last seven years.

Former deputy assistant Sebastian Gorka

Gorka, a former White House adviser, was reportedly informed while he was on vacation by chief of staff John Kelly that his security clearance had been revoked, though it's not clear why.
The Senate voted 71-28 to pass a massive two-year budget deal early Friday morning, less than two hours after the government stumbled into a temporary shutdown.

The deal would extend the current level of federal funding until March 23, allowing congressional appropriators time to craft the details of a longer-term plan. It would also bump limits on defense and nondefense spending by just under $300 billion combined over the next two years.

But the bill hit some unexpected snags, and a shutdown went into effect at 12:01 a.m. ET.

Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, held up a vote in the chamber, saying he would withhold his support for a procedural step to allow the chamber to move toward a vote on the bill.

Due to procedural rules, Paul held up the spending bill until midnight  also the deadline for the shutdown. He was granted another hour, but yielded it back instead.

After that point, the Senate quickly moved to vote on a motion to bypass a filibuster, which easily passed, and the final vote began. From there, the bill would go to the House for a vote in that chamber  then to President Donald Trump's desk for signature.

House leaders told members to expect a vote on the bill some time between 3 and 6 a.m. ET.

Rand Paul lurches Congress into a shutdown

Paul's argument stems from his insistence that he would not vote for any "budget-busting" spending bill. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the agreement would add more than $300 billion to the federal deficit over 10 years.

"We think when Democrats are in charge, the Republicans are the conservative party," Paul said in an interview on Fox News. "The problem is when Republicans are in charge, there's no conservative party, and that's kind of where we are now."

He added: "Someone has to stand up and say, 'You should spend what comes in, we should balance our ledger.' That used to be what it meant to be conservative, but a lot of so-called conservatives lose their mind once it becomes a partisan thing."

Paul said he wanted to vote on an amendment to maintain the current budget caps, the antithesis of the deal and a move that would likely fail, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has signaled he will not hold such a vote.

On the Senate floor, McConnell attempted to move forward with the vote via a parliamentary procedure but was rebuffed by Paul. This led to an hours long standoff by Paul, who delivered speeches on the need to trim the federal deficit and sermons on fiscal discipline.

During this stretch, other GOP senators came to the floor to try and break Paul's grip and criticize the move.

A shutdown would be triggered when the Office of Management and Budget sends a memo to federal agencies to initiate their shutdown plans. An OMB official told agencies to be on alert.

When the bill eventually goes to the House, passage is not guaranteed.

Much like Paul, many House Republicans are concerned about the bill's projected effect on the deficit. The hardline conservative House Freedom Caucus has said most of its roughly 30 members will vote against the legislation.

Recent reports suggest that as many as 70 Republicans in the chamber could vote against the bill.

Democrats, meanwhile, have qualms about the deal because it does not address the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals immigration program, which is set to end early next month.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said she would not vote for the bill absent a commitment from House Speaker Paul Ryan to hold an open vote on a DACA solution.

Pelosi also sent a letter to her colleagues saying that while the budget deal secured positive domestic spending goals, the lack of a DACA deal meant she would vote against it.

Rep. Steny Hoyer, the Democratic Whip and second-highest ranking member in the House, asked Ryan to consider a short-term funding bill called a continuing resolution to prevent a midnight shutdown.

"
The only visible thing on the car is the car number.

The VIP bus has a side of it destroyed with the screen broken at some part and cracked at another side.

The 20-year-old died in the car crash at Mankranso in the Ashanti Region, when she was returning from Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo Region. She had visited her mother who had returned from the UK.

The Jeep crashed into a VIP bus on Thursday evening, according to police.

Ebony was travelling with three other people, and two of them have also been confirmed dead.

The two include a young lady who had returned from the USA and her personal security who is a soldier.

The driver of the Jeep survived the crash, but is currently unconscious and receiving treatment, according to police.
Ebony my love I just cant believe this. We spoke not too long ago. Death doesnt care about who you are how rich or poor you are it doesnt care how beautiful tall or short you when it comes it comes like the wind and when youre gone youre gone with the wind. You can be here today and gone tomorrow.

Efia Odo then entreated the general public to learn from the sudden death of the 90s bad girl, Ebony Reign.

We must learn from all of this my friends and family l. This death of my friend has given me a rude awakening. Ebony I cannot say much but I love you and may your soul Rest in Peace my beautiful angel.

The popular Dancehall artiste died in a car crash at Mankranso in the Ashanti Region, when she was returning from Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo Region.

The 21-year-old Ghanaian artiste died in an accident which occurred at Mankranso in the Ashanti Region around 11PM. She was returning from Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo Region.

Ebony was travelling with three other people, and two of them have also been confirmed dead.

The two include a young lady who had returned from the USA and her personal security who is a soldier.

The driver of the Jeep survived the crash, but is currently unconscious and receiving treatment, according to police.
Beatrice Oppong after hearing the news has been traumatized after bidding her daughter farewell on her journey back to Accra.

Ebony was returning from the Brong Ahafo region after she visited her mother who had returned to Ghana from the UK.

I just returned from the UK so I gave her all the things I bought for her only to hear that she is dead, the heartbroken mother of Ebony told Accra-based Adom FM.

READ ALSO: A tribute to a young lady whose only crime was sinning differently

I told my daughter to spend the night with me but she was so much in a hurry to return to Accra so she did not even finish the jollof rice I cooked for her. Oh! I have lost my queen she added.

Popular dancehall artiste, Ebony Reigns died in a gruesome road accident that occurred late Thursday (February 8, 2018) evening on the Sunyani-Kumasi road.

Throwback Video Memories Of Ebony Reigns' Hay Days

The 20-year-old died in the car crash at Mankranso in the Ashanti Region, when she was returning from Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo Region. The Jeep crashed into a VIP bus on Thursday evening, according to police.

Ebony was travelling with three other people, and two of them have also been confirmed dead.

The two include a young lady who had returned from the USA and her personal security who is a soldier.

The driver of the Jeep survived the crash, but is currently unconscious and receiving treatment, according to police.

No fatalities have been recorded from the VIP bus, but its conductor sustained some injuries.
The eyewitness identified as Ken Yeboah told Kumasi-based Ultimate FM that there was a collision between a VIP bus and the Jeep which was occupied by Ebony and some friends.

He said that the accident occurred at Nyamebekyere near Mankranso in the Ahafo Ano South, a district in the Ashanti Region on Thursday (February 8, 2018) at about 11 PM.

Ken Yeboah added that a military officer and a young girl also died in the ghastly accident involving the black Jeep car of the musician.

No one in the bus was dead or injured but occupants of the Jeep vehicle were hurt. The passengers told us the accident involved another car and that a soldier and a small girl were trapped in the vehicle. We called fire service from Bechem and when they came they were incapacitated so they relied on their colleagues in Sunyani who managed to open the mangled vehicle before they could retrieve the bodies. I saw her she was the Ebony we know.

The District commander for Mankraso Superintendent John Adusei, in the Ashanti Region, confirmed the development to Accra-based Joy FM.

My officers went there and identified the bodies of 3 persons (2 females and a male), including Ebony. was on board a jeep with registration number AS 487-13.

The driver of the jeep is currently unconscious at the hospital. According to some of the passengers on board the VIP, the driver of Ebonys vehicle veered off the road and crashed into the VIP bus, he added.
In an interview with Joy News, Nana Poku-Kwarteng mentioned that he received a call at around 4 AM on Friday (February 9, 2018) dawn informing him of the death of his daughter.

He said that Ebony was expected to begin her first tour of Europe in some few days.

"She was leaving on the 10th February. I had her goddamn visa in my room. She was gonna tour Europe for the first time on the 10th [Saturday] - Belgium, Italy, Denmark, you name it."

He narrated that Ebony went to visit her mother who had returned from the United Kingdom.

She left home on Thursday saying she was going to see her mum. Her mum just returned from the UK. I asked if she was driving because I was scared. It was late around 10 PM.

However, Ebony told him she was going with a driver, her personal bodyguard who is a soldier and a friend who had returned from the US.

Nana Poku-Kwarteng said "I will ask Ghanaians to mourn with me. I will forever miss this girl."

Ebony died in an accident which occurred at Nyamebekyere near Mankranso in the Ahafo Ano South, a district in the Ashanti Region on Thursday (February 8, 2018) at about 11 PM.

A military officer and a young girl also died in the ghastly accident involving the black Jeep car of the musician and a VIP bus.

The District commander for Mankraso Superintendent John Adusei, in the Ashanti Region, confirmed the development to Accra-based Joy FM.

READ ALSO: Asamoah Gyan shares touching video as he mourns Ebony Reigns

My officers went there and identified the bodies of 3 persons (2 females and a male), including Ebony. Ebony was on board a jeep with registration number AS 487-13.

The driver of the jeep is currently unconscious at the hospital. According to some of the passengers on board the VIP, the driver of Ebonys vehicle veered off the road and crashed into the VIP bus, he added.
In a latest 10 minute video, Abubakar Shekau spoke in Hausa saying, I am tired of this calamity; it is better I die and go to rest in paradise. He however vowed that the leaders of the government forces will know no peace henceforth.

Read the full text of the video translated from Hausa:

I have no lengthy message to deliver except on the issue of worshiping God alone and serving Him without getting tired. Ours is not like that of the unbelievers whose worship is like the spider web. Just like one of the leaders of unbelievers, who is like an ape, was recently boasting that they have formed a joint force with Cameroonian forces to fight us.

That they would not only chase us from Sambisa forest but also in all parts of Nigeria. So we too have declared that we do not want to see any Nigerian in Cameroon, in Chad, in Nigeria and even Benin Republic. So I call on our brethren in Abuja, in Lagos, in Benin, in Kaduna, where ever you find any Nigerian make sure you shoot him dead if he is deliberately against us; but if he is ignorant of our ways, teach him on how to understand our ways. This is our first message.

It is not about approaching you, because that has already been done by our God.

Our second message is to attack anyone who pledge to Nigerian his country, to be faithful, loyal and honest, and serve Nigeria. Anyone who believes in protecting the interest of Nigeria is our target. The one whose creed is to develop western education where infidels are trained is our enemy. Whoever that stands on any creed other than that of our Prophet Muhammad brought to us; the one that his great disciples followed, should know that he is our avowed enemy and if he confronts us we will fight him.

In this job that we embarked upon, we are not going to boast too much about, but we pray that God should take our lives while on this struggle and not on any other thing else. May God help us on this belief.

So you Nigerians especially the youth vigilante, we are going to fight you and that thing that drives you to pick up arms against us; we dont care what they call you, be it Civilian-JTF or any kind of force. Just as you said you dont want us on the face of Nigeria, so shall we too declare you persona non grata in Sambisa. Let anyone who has brains to think to avoid moving around Sambisa forest. Those of you the leaders of the troops will no longer have peace just like the way you think you have made here uncomfortable for us.

And you General Rogers that is currently leading the troops and boasting that that you have take-over Sambisa and have rescued some women, why have you not rescued the police women that we abducted? You liar, why couldnt you rescue them? You are busy deceiving with images of vehicles that we seized from you and abandoned for over three years and claiming that you have killed us. If you have killed us, why are we still alive?

Oh you brethren of our holy creed, wherever you are, should rise up and fight for Allah. If you cannot do it there, then come over to our side and fight for the cause of Allah. You must know that whoever that fails to follow the teaching of the Holy Quran and Hadith cannot enter paradise. (In broken voice) Because the pattern of life in the world today is not Islamic. Wherever you are, even if you are in Saudi Arabia, and you have your gun, please stand up and fight, kill whoever you see that is not on our side.

Kidnap and bring them to us. Our course is to establish our caliphate and die doing that.

We may not be alive to see the caliphate but even if it comes to be after we have died, it is still a bonus on our side.

This is the message I have for you all. My name is Abubakar Shekau, the one that is an invincible enemy that you are fighting.
The ladies, numbering up to 18, were arrested within the New Juabeng Municipality on Thursday dawn by a Police patrol team.

READ ALSO: Chairman Wontumi spotted cruising around in a Ferrari

Explaining how arrests were made, Public Relations Officer of the Regional Police Command, ASP Ebenezer Tetteh told Starr News that the ladies were spotted in the Municipality at around 1:30 AM prostituting.

According to him, a Police team led by DSP Sewornu effected their arrest after they were found to be soliciting or importuning for sex at various vantage points within the Municipality.

He further revealed that all the suspects are between the ages of 20 and 36, adding that all 18 ladies will soon be processed before court.

Residents in the New Juabeng Municipality have, in recent times, bitterly complained about the increasing number of commercial sex workers in the locality.

According to them, it has become a worrying trend that young girls in the locality drop out of school to engage in sex trade.
Clad in red attires and scarfs, the demonstrators marched around the streets on Oforikrom holding placards with various messages.

Some of the placards had inscriptions such as "High increases in foam prices is killing our business", "Mr President, we need your help", "Ash and Latex foam, tell us if you want us out of our own Ghana", "We need more foam companies, among others.

According to them, the prices of foam has increased over 100 per cent in the last two months.

This, the protestors said, has led to a collapse of their businesses and they could no longer look on without responding.

The carpenters appealed to government to help reduce the prices of foams in order to get their businesses back on track.

The further appealed to the government to consider setting up foam manufacturing companies in the country as part of its flagship "One-District-One-Factory policy.
Madam Beatrice Oppong who looks traumatized and shocked after receiving the death of her daughter could not contain her tears.

She said "I just returned from the UK so I gave her all the things I bought for her only to hear she is dead."

Ebony Reigns died in a gruesome road accident that occurred late Thursday evening on the Sunyani-Kumasi road.

The 20 year old was reportedly returning from Sunyani to Accra after a visit to her mother who had returned to Ghana from Abroad, when she was involved in a ghastly car accident Friday dawn, family.
In an interview with CITI FM confirming the death, a relative of Mr. Dandori said: For the past five months, Mr. Clement Dandori was ill. It was one early morning he called me and said he is having a sharp stomach pain so we went to a clinic and tests showed that he had malaria parasite. We started treating malaria for almost one month but he was getting better so we went to Bolga and did all manner of tests and most of the test results were good, except two.
Addressing the media on what they termed as The True State of the Nation, Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu chided the President as being insensitive towards the plight of Ghanaians.

The MP for Tamale South said: The Presidents failure to speak on fuel prices and the NPAs rationalization of the astronomical increases paint a gloomy picture of more hardships for Ghanaians.

"It is extremely insensitive on the part of President Akufo-Addo to ignore the plight of the suffering masses", he said.

The Minority also bemoaned the state of lawlessness under the watch of Nana Akuffo Addo.

Haruna said, "It has been possible for NPP militants to attack senior security officials at the Flagstaff House, attack courts, a security coordinator in the Ashanti Region and countless others and get away with it."

"The inability of the President to take a decisive punitive action against these miscreants is a firm confirmation of the fear of many Ghanaians that an Akufo-Addo presidency will make the country unsafe", he added.
He said this will be in compliance with the law.

READ ALSO: EOCO apologises to Deputy EC boss after office invasion

Lolan Ekow Sagoe-Moses and a pressure group, Citizens Ghana, filled a suit to ask the court to compel the Electoral Commission to fulfill the part of the law that states that political parties should submit their accounts to them.

The law states that Political parties shall within six months from December 31 of each year, file with the Commission: a return in the form specified by the Commission indicating  the state of its accounts, the sources of its funds, membership dues paid and contributions in cash or kind.
"Regarding the fate of 111 Tajik citizens who returned from Syria and Iraq voluntarily, all of them are free under Tajik law," Rahimzoda said.

Most of the returnees in question had spent time in Syria, which became a magnet for jihadists from around the globe following its descent into civil war in 2011.

Rahimzoda also told reporters that 250 citizens of Tajikistan, a majority-Muslim country, had died fighting for radical groups in Iraq and Syria, mostly the Islamic State group.

Authorities have previously said that over 1,000 Tajik citizens, including women, had joined the radical militants.

Most had travelled to Syria and Iraq through Russia, where over a million Tajiks are believed to work as labour migrants.

The Islamic State group's most high-profile Tajik recruit Gulmurod Khalimov had served as the chief of the interior ministry's special forces unit prior to his sensational defection in 2015.

Russia's defence ministry said in September last year that Khalimov, who may have been IS's "minister of war", had been killed in an airstrike.

Rahimzoda said Thursday that Tajikistan was still verifying that report.

Mountainous Tajikistan, the poorest former Soviet republic, shares a 1,300-kilometre (800-mile) border with Afghanistan, long a hotbed of Islamist militancy and the world's largest producer of opium and heroin.
In the West Wing, various characters fall in and out of favor with such rapidity that it is never entirely clear who has the presidents ear.

For now, it is Kelly who is in trouble. The president has little tolerance for aides who attract negative media attention that spills onto him, and in recent days Kelly has drawn a string of unwelcome headlines. He roiled negotiations over immigration legislation by declaring that some immigrants were too lazy to apply for legal status. And he initially defended a deputy accused by two ex-wives of physically abusing them.

All of which has again fired up the will-he-last speculation that has erupted periodically in the six months Kelly has been in office. Trump has recently asked advisers what they think of Mick Mulvaney, who currently holds twin posts as director of the White House budget office and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, as a possible chief of staff, according to two people briefed on the discussions.

Of course, predicting Trumps actions and sorting out who is up and down in his orbit is always fraught. Priebus, for instance, denied Thursday night that Trump had discussed Kelly with him even though several other Trump advisers insisted that he did.

Either way, it has been a tough week for Kelly, to say the least.

Ya think? said the former defense secretary Leon E. Panetta, a onetime boss to Kelly, who retired as a four-star Marine general. I worry about John. Even he has admitted its probably the toughest job hes ever had. And I really do think sometimes, particularly with this president, youre fighting on so many fronts its tough not to have that job wear on you.

But Kellys long service to his country as a Marine did not necessarily prepare him for the job of White House chief of staff, added Panetta, who had that post himself under President Bill Clinton. It comes to that political judgment, he said. Youve got to have your antenna up. Youve got to be able to anticipate where the hot spots are.

This week was not the first time that Kelly did not seem to foresee hot spots. When he took the White House job last summer, he was seen by many as a mature figure who could impose order on a chaotic building. By most accounts, he has indeed created a more organized operation. But he has also generated repeated furors with words and deeds.

He engaged in a heated back-and-forth with an African-American Democratic congresswoman, distorting statements she had made at a ceremony they both attended. He opined that the Civil War resulted from the lack of an ability to compromise. He said that Trump had not been fully informed about border issues as a candidate and had since evolved, drawing a public retort from the president.

Kelly generated further heat this week when he dismissed many of the more than 1 million immigrants who were brought to the country illegally as children but who did not apply for the protection of an Obama-era program that Trump ordered ended next month. Some of them 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, he told reporters.

Kelly at first came to the defense of Rob Porter, the White House staff secretary, who resigned in the face of allegations of spousal abuse. Rob Porter is a man of true integrity and honor, and I cant say enough good things about him, Kelly said. He is a friend, a confidant and a trusted professional.

As outrage grew over a photograph showing an ex-wife of Porter with a black eye, Kelly issued a new statement. I was shocked by the new allegations released today against Rob Porter, he said. There is no place for domestic violence in our society. But he added: 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.

Porters case raised questions about what Kelly knew and when. The White House was informed as far back as August that Porters security clearance was being held up because of domestic allegations. Kelly has known about the allegations at least since last fall, according to officials who asked not to be named.

Raj Shah, a White House spokesman, said Thursday that Kelly was not fully aware of the details until this week. Shah also insisted that Trump remained behind Kelly. The president has confidence in his chief of staff, he said.

One official insisted that there was minimal knowledge in the White House about Porters troubles. The official said that Kelly felt misled by Porters account of what had happened. A friend of Kellys said he had learned the details of Porters situation only an hour before suggesting he resign.

But White House officials said privately that the president was frustrated with both Kelly and the White House communications director, Hope Hicks, who in recent weeks has been dating Porter. Hicks was one of those rallying the White House to Porters defense when the allegations first surfaced in The Daily Mail.

Two people close to the situation said Kelly had strongly urged Porter to remain in his job. But a third person denied that, saying that Kelly had suggested to Porter on Tuesday night that he should resign. All three agreed that Kelly never demanded the resignation.

Kelly seemed determined to smooth concerns among staff members who were bewildered by the initial reaction to the allegations against Porter.

In a memo to the staff on Thursday night, Kelly wrote, While we are all processing the shocking and troubling allegations made against a former White House staffer, I want you to know that we all take matters of domestic violence very seriously. Domestic violence is abhorrent and has no place in our society.

Friends and associates noted that with Kellys lack of experience in Washington politics, he may not have been attuned at first to how the domestic abuse allegations against Porter would be perceived.

Porter was also a favorite of Kellys and viewed as one of the most competent members of an often dysfunctional White House team. Some friends expressed concern that Kelly had changed with his association with Trump and grown too insulated in the White House bubble.

Kelly has previously played down accusations against someone he believed served a greater goal. He appeared as a character witness in a 2016 court-martial of a Marine colonel accused of sexually harassing two female subordinates. Kelly praised the colonel as a superb Marine officer.

Kelly has spent much of his six months trying to clear out the White House of staff members he viewed as problematic and colleagues have credited him with reducing internal feuding as a result. But even those efforts have caused him trouble.

He pushed out Omarosa Manigault Newman, the former reality-show star who had been given a White House post, for what one White House official called misuse of government cars. In an interview on Celebrity Big Brother on CBS that aired on Thursday, Manigault Newman exacted some payback by describing a chilling White House. I was haunted by tweets every single day, like what is he going to tweet, she said.

She added that she tried to intervene but was blocked. Now that she is gone, she said, Id like to say its not my problem, but I cant say that because, like, its bad. Will everything be OK, she was asked. No, its going to not be OK, she said. Its not.

Shah dismissed her comments. Omarosa was fired three times on The Apprentice, and this is the fourth time we let her go, he said.

But most attention on Thursday focused on Kelly and his handling of the charges against Porter.

I have lost all confidence in him as chief of staff, Evan Siegfried, a Republican strategist, said on MSNBC. Hes becoming a distraction. He says things that are absolutely outrageous and then he does things in the case of Rob Porter that are morally despicable.

Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y., wrote on Twitter that the Porter case was part of a culture of misogyny at the #WhiteHouse.

Republicans were not so quick to throw Kelly overboard, even as they questioned his judgment.

General Kelly has done an extraordinary job as chief of staff to President Trump, Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said on CNN. I think hes a good man. And sometimes good people make bad decisions. It doesnt mean theyre bad people. It means theyre human.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
The Vice-Chancellor of the University, Prof. Faraday Orumwense, had reportedly asked the affected students to tender an apology letter to the school management before they can be recalled but the students rejected the offer.

The embattled students Ogbidi Osamudiamen, Justus Aidenagbon and Innocent Ehizua were rusticated for two semesters while Benjamin Majekodunmi and Goodnews Ehiabi were suspended for four semesters.

ALSO READ: Something incredible is happening in UNIBEN

The students were also barred from holding any political office in the institution.

Osamudiamen the SUG president, and his colleagues had staged a demonstration in November 2017 over tuition hike, an action the management deemed was allegedly meant to disrupt its 47th Founders Day lecture and 43rd convocation ceremony.

Socio-cultural group begs UNIBEN to recall the students

Meanwhile, a socio-cultural organization in Benin, the Edo Forum of Patriots, has appealed to the management of the University of Benin to recall the students saying the management's action could destroy the future of the students.

You'll recall that the University of Benin authorities in January banned all fellowship activities on campus.
She is known as the bad girl of Ghanas music industry due to her provocative style of dressing coupled with her stage performances.

Earlier reports stated that the RuffTown Records musicians passed away in a car accident in Sunyani on Thursday night.

This was confirmed by the Ghana Police Service who spoke to Accra-based radio station, Joy FM.

How Ghana's Ebony died

COP Ken Yeboah, the Ashanti Regional Police Commander, confirmed the death of Ebony while speaking in an interview with the radio station.

According to him, the songstress had a fatal accident around 11 pm Thursday on her way from Sunyani.

Other media reports state that the artiste passed away while at the Becchem Government Hospital.

The police commander stated that three other people  two ladies and a soldier who were with the female musician have also lost their lives.

However, it is reported that that the driver of Ebonys car, though in a critical condition, is not dead.

Social media reacts to the shock of Ebony's death

Comments about her passing and condolences have started pouring in via social media, with many Ghanaians expressing their surprise at Ebony's reported death.

A singular thought running through the comments and condolences is the disbelief at the passing.

Many social media users commented about the cruelty of the timing when they considered the Ghanaian musicians to have been at her prime, having only recently released hit songs like, Kupe, Poison and her first album, BONIFIED.
Tonto Dikeh on our photo of the day shows exactly how she will continue to be seen as that amazing cheerful giver. Tonto Dikeh like we all know is among those celebrities who love to give to needy.

You've to see the zeal and sincere passion in this photo as Tonto Dikeh makes her way through to give food to the needy. Let's just say this is one exemplary lady, celebrity and mother.

The last time we saw Tonto give to the charity was when the beautiful actress in conjunction with her NGO, Tonto Dikeh Foundation, paid a visit to the Persons living with disability in the Karanmajiji Disable Colony in Abuja to celebrate the United Nations International World Disability Day.
According to reports, the sensational Ghanaian dancehall musician, Ebony Reigns has died. The RuffTown Records musicians passed away in a car accident in Sunyani on Thursday night.

This was confirmed by the Ghana Police Service who spoke to Accra-based radio station, Joy FM.

Here are five things you should know about her.

1. Ebony, real name Priscilla Opoku-Kwarteng, was born and raised in Dansoman, a suburb of Accra.

2. She started her basic education at Seven Great Princess Academy in Dansoman, Accra followed by a high school education at Methodist Girls High School at Mamfe in the Akuapim North District of the Eastern Region, Ghana,[6] though she did not graduate. She quit high school in pursuit of her music career.

3. Ebony was discovered by renowned musician and entrepreneur Bullet of Ruff n Smooth fame when she sent a recording of her voice and was signed to his Rufftown record label just a day after listening to the recording.

4. Ebony came out with her first single, "Dancefloor", in December 2015 with a video and audio release. The song became a hit on radio landing her nomination for the unsung category at the 2016 Ghana Music Awards.
Hammed Sulaiman, 35, a Muslim cleric reportedly conducted a Fidau prayer for a deceased whose body he had exhumed.

He was paraded with his 'Christian' partner, the presiding pastor of the Light of God C & S Church, Ojagbo, Oranyan, at the Oyo State Police Command.

Vanguard News reported that two other suspects, Olapade Saheed, 32, and Olatunji Abiodun, 26, were nabbed alongside the clergies. Body parts found with the culprits were removed four days after the corpse was buried report says.

The local news platform confirmed that Sulaiman paid a sum of N2,500 for the human parts given to him. He had planned to mix the organs with a concoction anticipated to improve his finances.

This is sadly only one in a list of alarming events involving the use of fetish methods targeted at getting money.

Nigerian youths are strangely part of a large group of individuals who have placed faith in the activity of exploring avenues aimed at bringing about ill-gotten wealth. This has encouraged them to make use of close relations in order to achieve this goal.

Recently, f by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). They were apprehended on Saturday, February 3, 2018 in Sagamu, Ogun State.

The suspects aged between 18 to 24, were nabbed based on offences bordering on obtaining by false pretence, lottery scam and love scam.

ALSO READ: Police round up Yahoo Boys engaged in spending blood money

Among the group involves a list of youths who apply fetish procedure to hypnotize their victims.
In a picture, the male partner who wore a dreaded hair was seen with his hands akimbo, suggesting a dissatisfaction over the interruption. His lover could not hide the displeasure she felt having the 'lights put out before dinner'.

Are mentally challenged people getting enough care in Nigeria?

It is however not a cause for humour the neglect that has welcomed numerous examples of individuals who have fell off the sanity trail.

Just like the Abia pair, many have been seen roaming the streets with no hope of repair. This explains the value attached to providing quality and affordable health care in Nigeria, a country battling security challenges with poor governance.

ALSO READ: Man believed to be mentally deranged butchers pupils to death

Mental health is an issue that is pulling up the rear at the corridor of national issues. The country is asleep while its citizens wake up to nurturing suicidal thoughts. The economic failures of their government has become extremely prominent.

In the year 2016, Dunamis Bibiana Beryl, a young lady on Facebook took to the social media platform asking to be consoled.
If youre not so lucky, then you must have come in by bus, speeding past the long trail of churches that line Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and manage to cause insane gridlocks anytime they are led to have a monthly event.

Either way, somehow you end up that takes you to Ojota. At the pedestrian bridge, close to Total Fuel Station, the driver suddenly shouts, last bus stop, gbogbo ero.

You dont know what it means but everyones alighting so you decide to let common sense lead the way.

Then you remember you didnt take your 400 naira change yet.

Driver, please, do you mind giving me my change? Your conductor left

No dey shout give me, abeg, he screams.

Like say you sabi speak English. I can speak English too. Ruffian. You think is only you that go to school, he shouts as he hands you two rumpled 200 naira notes.

ALSO READ: Why keeping Lagos clean will take a collective effort

Youre shocked, to say the least.

Bros, I nor follow you fight, Na question I ask, I no kill person

You turn around to the sight of two policemen dressed in a shade of black that the Nigerian Police would not approve of.

Youre a Yahoo boy abi, they say as they hover menacingly

Thats why you think you can come here and talk as you want

Look at him dressed as a ruffian, one says, pointing to your ripped jeans and face cap.

Oya, bring out your hi-phone, criminal, the other says as he grabs your trousers.

You want to retort in protest but the menacing, reckless swing of their automatic rifles teaches you better.

By the time youre done, your wallet has 5,000 naira less than it used to. They found nothing on your phone but as you later learn, that doesnt matter.

Moving to Lagos is usually motivated by the prospect of making it in Nigerias economic and commercial capital. Yet few people are ever ready for the myriad of typical habits and that define the centre of excellence.

If you ever plan to move to Lagos and start a life or something that looks like it for a couple of years, here are a few things you should be prepared for.

(1) You always have to deal to traffic:

The traffic gridlocks in Lagos are the stuff of legend. Despite having over 20 million people by UN estimates and waterways, most of the citys population still moves around by way of a simplistic road network.

A simple broken down vehicle can cause a long pile-up that shuts half the city down on a good day.

In some places, the width of the roads are to blame, especially when traders set up shop on the sidewalk and pedestrians claim a chunk of the road. .

Sometimes, it's impossible to place a finger on the root of the problem and the long piles of cars just sits there, waiting for something miraculous to happen.

It is why waking up in the wee hours of the morning is part of the equation; its all too common to see professionals hunting for a solitary bus at 5.30 in the morning.

If you want to survive here, you have to join the movement too.

(2) Cost of living is costly:

If youre coming from one of the not-so-densely populated areas of Nigeria, you better be ready for the shock of your life. Lagos is an expensive place to live, work and visit in.

Because the demand for products, services and everything else is so high, the people who have these things can afford to charge higher prices.

Also, it costs more to do business in Lagos; the government has a savage team of tax lawyers, accountant and other professionals so levies and duties are charged at every turn.

ALSO READ:

Theres also, in certain places, a misguided perception that pricey-ness equals quality, hence everything in those areas tends to be a lot more expensive than they would be elsewhere.

Basically, the best you can do is to know what you want, live on a strict budget and know when and how to haggle when the time cometh.

(3) There are too many people in Lagos

You think traffic gridlocks are for vehicles alone until something takes you to Lagos Island and youre trying to find space for your legs in a crowd of hundreds of people in the middle of Balogun Market.

The saying goes that everybody wants to live in Lagos and it's mostly true.

About 20 million people are squeezed into an area smaller than a local government area in certain states. The result is that everywhere feels too tight; in so-called highbrow areas, buildings are built barely a few feet from each other.

In the citys less desirable areas, entire families of five sleep in a room the size of a large bathroom. It is also why accommodation is so deathly expensive.

The city has a housing deficit and the few options available are not ideal and are ridiculously overpriced.

(4) Lagos never stops moving

There are many cities that do not sleep but Lagos goes a step further to be the city that never stands still. First-time visitors and even old residents always describe a strong sense of energy, a buzz that emanates from the city at any given time.

It is a great sense of urgency that has made the city one of the worlds most promising financial and commercial hubs.

No one knows if it comes from the city, its history of the people; in the latters defence, they are the most tenacious people you will ever meet.

Lagosians make the most of their limited circumstances to flourish with a mix of tenacity and the need to hustle.

It is why when youre walking on the citys streets, a languid pose will most likely imply weak more than relaxed.

(5) Everybody is trying to assert their power

Try not to appear weak in Lagos because from that point, it is only a matter of time before someone tries to take advantage of you.

In the city, everyone from vendors and street traders to the police is all too eager to show you how strong they are, physical and otherwise.

In most cases, it can lead to a scuffle or violence between two strong, emphatic personalities; but overall, it makes for an interesting dynamic.

ALSO READ: The Nigerian Police is the worst and we all know it

For a newbie, it can hard to deal with at first; as soon as the wrong people sense your naivete, they will most definitely attempt to cut a chunk for themselves, either by robbing you or just subjugating you for however long.
His defence, and that of many who spoke in his favour was that he was only highlighting the problem and calling the attention of those at the core of it to do better and take charge of their lives.

Now that we are seeing photos of methylated spirit and Coke, we are inclined to believe Olamide was right.

You may think youve seen it all but apparently, theres a new trend among those craving the euphoria of a momentary high.

Apparently, young men are mixing medical-grade methylated spirit with the popular soft drink, Coca-Cola to create a cocktail that gets them high.

Why would anyone drink methylated spirit?

This unholy mixture is yet to have a name but from all indications, it is catching on fast.

In recent months, the drug culture among Nigerian youth has drawn increased attention.

Young people across the country are turning to an assortment of drugs, herbal and pharmaceutical, in a bid to fight what has been described as a deathly wave of depression.

That and a wave of disillusionment at the lack of opportunities have been blamed for a culture of abuse that stretches from Lagos to slums in Kano where codeine can cost the same as a plate of food.

But this new drift towards mixing and creating new substances is even more troubling and defies simple explanation.

The term Science Student from Olamides song of the same title refers to young persons who mix intoxicating substances of various kinds to achieve an intense high that they can vary to suit their desires.

Coca-Cola is a beverage that nearly everyone is familiar with but we cant say the same for the other guy.

Methylated Spirit is basically alcohol made for general medical and pharmaceutical use that has been made unfit for drinking by the addition of about 10 percent methanol and typically also some pyridine and a violet dye.

A drug epidemic

These additives make it taste bad and more importantly, poisonous.

Mixing this spirit with coke might douse the bad taste but it doesnt change the fact that in a bid to get high, young people are slowly doing irreparable damage to their own bodies.

Drug abuse has now become a hydra-headed monster. As appealing as the idea of placing stringent rules on the sale of drugs may seem, it is too obvious that it does nothing to solve the problem.

A good place to start would be tackling the causes of the issue and giving young people a chance in a country that tells them one too many times that they do not matter.

Most of these cocktails are made by young men who do not know better.

It would go a long way if agencies and schools could teach the perils of drug abuse beyond a page or two in social studies and the weekly sermon that promises hell for all sinners.

As it stands, were headed for an epidemic of epic proportions. Right now, our conversations are mostly about the economy and government and the depth of our untapped potential.
When the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) led by Archbishop Ignatius Kaigamapaid the president a courtesy visit on February 8, 2018, Buhari used the opportunity to explain what his government has been up to as it concerns the herdsmen-farmers clashes.

1. Buhari says hes on top of the situation

The president says he's really doing his best to end the killings and violence.

"The recent killings in Benue, Adamawa, Taraba, and Zamfara states are all regrettable, and saddening. But even more importantly, I am very much aware of all the issues at stake, and doing my best to ensure that justice is done and the security of lives and property guaranteed."

2. Killer herdsmen will be duly prosecuted

"The security agencies have standing instructions to arrest and prosecute any and all persons found with illegal arms. In addition, quite a number of arrests have been made so far, in relation to the killings, and all these persons will be duly prosecuted", Buhari says.

3. Buhari says it's unfair to say he's just been chilling and doing nothing

In the president's words, "It is quite frankly dishonest and unfair to insinuate that I am sitting doing nothing, while these killings are going on. Nothing could be further from the truth.

"I have and will continue to act in line with my responsibility as President to ensure security of lives and property."

4. President says his experience as a military officer will help him tackle the crisis

"At every step, I have tried to foresee these security problems, counting on my experience as a former military officer who commanded three out of the four divisions of the Nigerian army, in Lagos, Ibadan and Jos. We will surely make progress, and end the bloodshed."

Nice.

5. Buhari says he'll tackle herdsmen the way he handled Boko Haram in the Northeast

"I would like Nigerians to look at what we have accomplished so far in the Northeast, when you compare what the condition was before we came in and what it is now. We are bringing that same determination and political will to all of Nigeria's other security challenges."

Your thoughts on this one?

6. There's no plan to colonize any part of Nigeria

Ok, if you've been raging because of the phrase "cattle colonies", Buhari says there's really no need to worry.

"Questions and false insinuations have also come up regarding the ranching solution proposed by the federal government.

"Let me state very clearly that the policy conceived after wide consultations with stakeholdersis not meant to colonize any part of the country."

Ok.

7. Everyone will work together to get this whole mess fixed
The president was reacting to the public reaction to his efforts to provide a solution to the herders/farmers crisis that has led to the death of at least 100 victims across several states in January 2018 alone.

The president said, "The impression created that I was sitting in an air-conditioned office and home, enjoying myself while these things happened, is dishonest.

"At every step, I have tried to foresee these problems because I have the experience as a former military officer who commanded three out of the four divisions of the Nigerian army, in Lagos, Ibadan and Jos.

"I am quite aware of the problems we have and I am doing my best to get law enforcement agencies to be on alert."

It's not a difficult task to think of a reason or two why the president might feel aggrieved with the public perception of his efforts in Benue.

Despite his protestations to the contrary, many Nigerians, and the president's political opponents, have insisted that he is incapable of dealing with the crisis in an impartial manner because the perpetrators belong to the same ethnic group as him.

The president has held several security meetings and even constituted a committee to deal with the issue, but the suspicion about the president's bias and/or incompetence refuse to go away.

While the president may rightfully feel hard done by due to the accusations and finger-pointing regardless of his best efforts to prove them wrong, he has to look closely at why they tend to stick.

History of silence

If nearly three years of President Buhari has taught Nigerians anything, it's that the nation's Commander in Chief does not surrender to emotional whims.

Since the president's inauguration in 2015, he has failed several times to offer emotional comfort during times of tragedies that the country has experienced.

One of the most significant examples of this happened in 2017 when hundreds of thousands of people were displaced by an unfortunate flood crisis in Benue.

Despite the humanitarian mess that the crisis created and the public calls for the president to show up in the state and interact with victims, he resisted.

He eventually sent Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to meet with victims after he completed a week of Eid-el-Kabir vacation in his Daura hometown.

Same old song

In attacks perpetrated by suspected herdsmen in Benue State in January 2018, at least 80 people were killed.

Again, there has been intense public pressure on the president to make an effort to visit the state and get a first-hand experience of the grief in Benue but he has largely ignored those calls.

In place of a visit, the presidency has provided regular updates about the government's coordination of relevant security agencies to bring an end to the crisis.

Despite how pivotal this is, Nigerians still regard the president's refusal, or delay, to visit Benue as a lack of will to empathise with victims of a terrible situation, and they have analysed it as a representation of the president's supposed ill intentions.

Not only has the president not helped himself with his continued refusal to land in Benue, he has done things that have made that decision appear even more starkly cruel.

Since the security crisis in Benue started, President Buhari has been to two ribbon-cutting ceremonies in two different states.

On January 4, only two days after about 50 people were killed in Benue, President Buhari was in Kaduna to commission a string of projects as he beamed with smiles for the camera.

More recently on Tuesday, February 6, the president jumped on his plane and headed for Nasarawa, which is less than an hour's drive to Benue, to commission a string of projects in the state.

Again, the president failed to seize on what seemed like such a good opportunity to show that he cares about the people now that he's president the same way he professed when he was not.

What's Buhari's real face?

The president can whine all he wants about how Nigerians fail to see his efforts to resolve what is a terrible crisis, but the truth is there's not been much to actually see with our own eyes.

This is not an attempt to discredit the president's efforts to coordinate security and ensure lasting peace. In fact, this is the most important part of resolving the crisis.

However, the president has to realise that he has failed to subscribe to the complete package, and there's an emotional factor that he's bent on ignoring anytime there's a crisis that calls for a presidential gesture.

In a misguided attempt to 'humanise' the president more than what Nigerians see with their own eyes, the president's media team aired a 55-minute documentary titled "The Human Side of President Buhari" in December 2017.

The documentary showed senior officials and political associates of the president speaking rather glowingly about his admirable qualities that they insisted the public was neglecting.

If that documentary was an attempt to portray the president as a kindhearted man with a heart of gold, Nigerians were not paying attention because the reality they are exposed to is that of a different man whose emotional investment in running the affairs of the nation appears non-existent.

It's not the fault of Nigerians for not believing the president possesses a quality that they cannot see with their own eyes.
He said Those who committed less offence like hate speech are made to face the wrath of the law while those unleashing mayhem on others are treated as sacred cows.

Fayose said this when he paid a visit to the Governor of Benue state, Samuel Ortom on Thursday, February 8, 2018.

The Governor also called on the Buhari-led administration stop ruling Nigeria with double standards.

According to Punch, Fayose described the killings in Benue state as ethnic cleansing.

He also said This nation belongs to our forefathers and they bequeathed it to us and we should not allow anyone to chase others away, this country belongs to all of us.

I went to the graveside today and I was moved to tears. How can people be slaughtered like cows? There is no terrorism more than what has happened in Benue.

I charge the Federal Government to stop ruling Nigeria with double standard. Killing innocent souls, sacking their communities is nothing but terrorism.

Buhari is shielding the herdsmen

Governor Ayo Fayose had earlier accusedPresident Buhari of protecting the interests of herdsmen.
Obounu insisted that emphasis should be on how the country could move from consuming to producing nation.

What is lacking in Nigeria today is the fact that we are not producing. No economic growth without production.

We cannot be in the service world all through; trade and investments will only spring after production and you ought to have an object before you can sell it.

We should have a productive base, otherwise, there is no way economy can grow, he said.

He described mechanical engineering as the centre of all engineering, stressing that the economy would not grow without the serious input of mechanical engineers.

Engineers are the brain behind production in any economy and that is why I am urging them to take the bull by the horn.

We must move from peripheral services to how we can provide solutions; our institutions must move from fabricating to real manufacturing, he said.

In a separate interview, Mr Ikemefuna Obi, Chief Operating Officer, Downstream in Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), also said engineering was fundamental to human development.

He said NNPC would continue to support Nigeria Institution of Mechanical Engineers by ensuring that engineering projects were awarded to indigenous firms.

Similarly, Sen. Ali Wakili, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Poverty Alleviation, said he would intensify effort to see how Polytechnic Amendment Act Bill could be passed as soon as possible to encourage engineers.

We have not been particularly pleased that people think the Nigerian engineers are not good enough.

Some comments about them are erroneous, talking down on Nigerian engineers, especially when it has to do with railway technology, it is disheartening, he observed.
He recommended the EFCC as a model for the African continent in the anti-corruption war.

Stock stated this on Friday, February 9, 2018, when he led a delegation of the Interpol to the EFCC Headquarters in Abuja.

The interpol boss assured the Acting EFCC Chairman Ibrahim Magu, who received him, that the organisation will continue to support the anti-graft agency in its quest to rid Nigeria of corruption.

Stock also applauded President Muhammadu Buhari for his resolve and efforts in fighting corruption in the country.

"I am delighted to be here and it's mainly an opportunity to thank the Government and the EFCC for its cooperation," Stock said in a statement signed by the Commission's spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren.

He emphasised the need to understand the global directions of organised crimes, noting that "the world is taking advantage of globalisation to commit crime and its a threat to all nations".

"Interpol is committed to supporting the EFCC, and indeed, other agencies to build global security architecture and ensure that adequate information is made available amongst other infrastructure to support the Commission.

"We understand your needs and we will see where we can come in and unite forces to fight against the Global phenomenon of crime," he added.

Commenting on the visit, Magu expressed gratitude to Stock and the Interpol team for making out time for the courtesy call.

Magu on information sharing culture

"The EFCC has always had a good rapport with the Interpol and has always enjoyed collaboration with the organisation, especially in the area of information sharing", the EFCC boss said.

ALSO READ: EFCC says leak has damaged probe of high-profile individuals

Magu also advocated for a borderless platform to further support efficiency in information sharing culture with the global organisation.
Benue has been under siege by Fulani herdsmen who have killed several people and destroyed properties and farmland.

Governor Wike, who was in Benue stateon February 7, 2018, to commensurate with the people of Benue, described Buharis government as a failure.

The Ekiti state Governor, Ayo Fayose was also in Benue state on Thursday, February 8, 2018.

Fayose, while speaking with the Governor of the state, Samuel Ortom, said that the Federal Government is treating Fulani herdsmen specially.

Over 70 people killed in Benue

In January 2018,the Benue state Government organised a mass burial for those killed during the Fulani herdsmen attacks.
Despite claims by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) of millions of liters of petrol being imported daily, the product is not at the reach of consumers.

This is evident in the sights of long queues in most states and Nigerias capital city, Abuja.

Sharp practices of adjustment of meters, hoarding and sale to black-marketers have also taken over.

100 Million liters of Petrol daily - NNPC

A statement made available to by the NNPC spokesman, Ndu Ughamadu, on Thursday, February 8, 2018, the corporation said that 100 million liters, would be brought-in per day in February to replenish strategic reserves.

To enhance supply, 45 million liters of petrol was discharged from ships into jetties across the country yesterday, Ughamadu announced.

Prior to the fresh 45 million liters discharged, we have 324 million liters of petrol on land and 432 million liters in marine storage making a total of 756 million liters, the NNPC spokesman said.

These are enough to last for 22 days at 35 million daily consumption rate, he added.

Some Nigerians who spoke to dismissed this claim.

Who is drinking our petrol?

The NNPC boss, Maikanti Baru had blamed the fuel scarcity on speculations by the media, one would expect that with the increased supply of products, queues would now be a thing of the past.

But this has not been the case.

The more the increase, the longer the queues.

A Nigerian already thinks someone may be drinking the fuel.

NNPC is bringing 100 liters of fuel every day into which country? And there is no fuel?Chukwuemeka Obiora, a businessman asked our correspondent at the NNPC Mega Filling Station along Kubwa expressway in Abuja.

He goes on further: Buhari and NNPC need to tell us who is drinking the petrol because I will not be here for over three hours if that is true.

My customers have been calling me but I cannot leave my car here. This Buharis government has failed us completely. Even fuel they cannot provide, he lamented.

Businessmen like Obiora are not alone. Civil servants are also leaving their duty posts before closing hours to queue for fuel.

A civil servant who craved anonymity told that she and some of her colleagues left the office four hours to close of work to queue for fuel.

The fuel scarcity is really terrible. If it is this bad in Abuja, I wonder what Nigerians in other states are facing, she said.

Today, I left the office by 12 noon, same with some of my colleagues. This is what happens almost every day in most offices. This is almost 4pm and I am still here."

Asked if she will return back to the office after buying the product, she replied: Go back to the office to do what? If the government did their job well, will I be spending four hours on queue? Im going home from here and Im sure most of my colleagues have left the office too,"

Another fuel price hike?

An NNPC source had told that there was no plans to officially increase fuel price due to the upcoming 2019 general elections.

The marketers want the federal government to increase the price of petrol but the government has refused because of 2019 elections. They are afraid that an increase in the price of fuel will affect their chances of winning in 2019. That is the problem.

"Also, remember that the landing cost of petroleum products is higher than the current pump price.

On the other hand, filling stations are hoarding products while theyre waiting for an announcement of an increase in price so they can make excess gain, the source said.

Fuel no longer N145 per liter

While consumers grapple with long queues, the bigger problem is the adjustments of the meters

Itua Ojeiwa tells that he pays over N3,000 extra to fill his tank.

You see, this fuel scarcity situation is the biggest failure of the Buhari government. We have never had it so bad in this country, Ojeiwa said.

The problem is not even spending hours on queue but the fraud going on with the meters. Before now, I spend about N8,000 to fill my tank but Im forced to spend almost N12,000.

"Let nobody deceive you, fuel is no longer N145 and they claim. That may not announce it but that is the reality. Filling stations are selling like black marketers too.

This government has not increased the minimum wage, nothing to improve the standard of living yet Nigerians are suffering on a daily basis, Ojeiwa a federal worker said.

When asked if he has complained to the authorities, Ojeiwa declared: "Which authorities are you talking about? Do you think that they do not know about these things? It is until the President complains that they will wake up and find solution to these problems," he noted.

Fuel Scarcity will end in 2019  Kachikwu

The minister of states for petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu says fuel scarcity will be over when refineries come on stream in 2019.

Aliko Dangote is expected to complete his refinery within that time frame.

Meantime, the minister assured Nigerians that the government is tackling some of the problems that has led to scarcity of the product.

A major problem which has led to tis scarcity, sources say, has been the increase in the landing cost of petrol.

The lasting solution fuel scarcity if for our refineries come on stream.
Turkey, which has occupied the northern third of Cyprus since 1974, has repeatedly voiced opposition to drilling off Cyprus.

And ties between Cairo and Ankara have been strained since Egypt's army ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

In an interview with a Greek newspaper interview this week, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu dismissed the 2003 agreement between Cairo and Nicosia as "null and void".

Egyptian foreign ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid reacted on Wednesday by warning Turkey against "any attempt to infringe on Egypt's sovereign rights".

And on Thursday Shoukry insisted on the "validity of the accord", in statement to reporters.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkish troops invaded and occupied the northern third of the island in response to a coup sponsored by the military junta then ruling Greece.

The European Union member has been actively searching for gas in the eastern Mediterranean.

But Turkey argues that the breakaway statelet of northern Cyprus it controls has rights to any reserves discovered.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim cautioned the Greek Cypriot government against "one-sided and dangerous" steps.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has also warned global companies to stay away from any energy deal with the Greek Cypriots or lose Ankara's friendship.

Earlier Thursday, Cyprus announced that exploratory drilling by Italy's ENI and France's Total have discovered "extensive" gas reserves off the Mediterranean island.

Energy Minister George Lakkotrypis said the data obtained "demonstrates the existence of an extensive column of pure gas".
The results of the national vote held late last year have not yet been confirmed, but an incomplete tally suggests the alliance also secured a majority in the directly elected lower house.

Last year's landmark elections capped Nepal's rocky 11-year transition from monarchy to federal democracy after a brutal civil war between Maoist guerrillas and the state.

The elections were the first under the country's new post-war constitution, which sets out a sweeping overhaul of the political system, devolving significant power from the centre to the seven provinces.

The final results were delayed by disagreements over how the new election rules in the constitution should be implemented.

But the alliance is on course to take a majority of seats in the lower house of parliament, elected through a mix of first-past-the-post and proportional representation.

"We hope the wait for a new prime minister will now be over," the English-language Republica newspaper said in an editorial.

The leader of the Communist CPN-UML, K.P. Sharma Oli, is tipped to be the next prime minister.

During his last term in office, relations between Nepal and its traditional ally India reached a nadir, as the Communist leader cosied up to China.

New Delhi appears determined to redress that balance and sent its foreign minister Sushma Swaraj to Kathmandu last week on a charm offensive.

India nearly doubled its aid to Nepal in its latest annual budget.

India has always had strong influence over its small northern neighbour, but in recent years Beijing has vastly outspent it, investing in large-scale infrastructure projects in Nepal.
But it comes as Syrian and Russian forces step up strikes against rebel-held enclaves, Turkey battles US-backed Kurdish forces for a foothold in the north, and US-led forces bombed pro-regime fighters attacking their local allies in the east.

The State Department said Tillerson would travel to the region between February 11 and 16.

In Kuwait, he will attend a meeting of the "Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS," the first gathering at this level since US-backed local forces drove the jihadist group out of its Syrian bastion Raqa, a statement said.

"The secretary and his counterparts will discuss how the 74-member global coalition can ensure an enduring defeat for ISIS in Iraq and Syria," spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.

Iraq has declared its territory liberated from the Islamic State group, but about 2,000 US troops remain in Syria supporting a mainly Kurdish militia that controls part of the east of the country.

These Kurdish forces are now under attack from both Washington's NATO ally Turkey and by Syria's Russian-backed regime.

This week US forces helped repel an attack by government forces in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor, reportedly killing around 100 pro-regime fighters in air and artillery strikes.

The chaos in Syria will no doubt be on Tillerson's agenda in Turkey and Egypt, but he will also visit Lebanon for talks with senior leaders ahead of general elections set for May 6.

Tillerson will meet with Lebanese President Michel Aoun, Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri.
Graduate-level classes this semester at Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, Duke, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Maryland, among other places, illustrate the fascination with the technology across several academic fields, and the assumption that it will outlast the current speculative price bubble.

There was some gentle ribbing from my colleagues when I began giving talks on bitcoin, said David Yermack, a business and law professor at New York University who offered one of the first for-credit courses on the topic back in 2014. But within a few months, I was being invited to Basel to talk with central bankers, and the joking from my colleagues stopped after that.

For a class this semester, Yermack originally booked a lecture hall that could fit 180 students, but he had to move the course to the largest lecture hall at NYU when enrollment kept going up. He now has 225 people signed up for the class.

A course about virtual currencies created by a Princeton computer science professor, Arvind Narayanan, has been the fifth-most-popular class on Coursera, an online learning site.

And last month at the University of California, Berkeley, students were lining the walls and sitting in the aisles for the first lecture of Blockchain, Cryptoeconomics and the Future of Technology, Business and Law.

This is a very precious opportunity for you to be able to sit in this class, Dawn Song, a computer science professor, told the students. There are a bazillion other students who are waiting for your spot.

Because developments in the field are moving so fast, the business school professor also teaching the class, Greg La Blanc, said the students would have to forgive the teachers if they got things wrong on occasion.

We arent waiting until we perfect it, he said. Dont compare it to the perfect blockchain course. Compare it to having no blockchain course at all.

The 75 spots in the Berkeley class were divided evenly among the law school, the business school and the engineering department, and faculty from the three departments are teaching the course together. Song said she had around 100 students vying for the 25 places set aside for her department.

The interest is a fueled by the rising price of virtual currencies over the last year. But they have created a host of issues that are worthy of study even apart from the price, professors in a variety of fields said.

For lawyers, virtual currency projects have challenged traditional legal categories and definitions of what constitutes a security or a commodity.

Regulators have been caught flat-footed as entrepreneurs have raised billions of dollars by selling virtual currencies without going through the traditional fundraising channels, taking advantage of the legal fuzziness surrounding them.

For economists and business school professors, bitcoin and other digital tokens have raised questions about the nature of money. The first lecture in the Berkeley class, for example, considered the development of bitcoin against the history of money.

Several business school classes are also focusing on the decentralized methods of record keeping and decision making introduced by bitcoin.

Bitcoin is given credit for creating the first blockchain, a ledger of transactions that is updated by a network of computers without relying on any central company or government.

Many big companies are now looking at how blockchains independent of bitcoin might be used to do things like track music royalties or cargo containers with input from the many parties involved.

The students in my class are from every possible discipline, said Campbell Harvey, a professor at Dukes business school, who is teaching a class with 231 students this semester. They understand that this is going to disrupt many different areas of business, and they want to be the disrupters, not the disruptees.

The computer scientists, meanwhile, are digging into the cryptography that virtual currencies use to secure their wallets and transaction data, as well as the design of the distributed computer networks that make blockchains possible.

Last week, Stanford University hosted a three-day conference on the architecture and security of blockchain software, part of a new cottage industry in academic conferences and journals that have sprung up.

Lets assume that tomorrow the price of bitcoin drops down to $2, said Nicolas Christin, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, who is teaching a course on Cryptocurrencies, Blockchains and Applications this semester. I still think its very cool from a technical standpoint.

Professors and students alike said that aside from the academic possibilities, familiarity with blockchain technology was becoming much more useful on the job market.

The job site Indeed.com has reported a spike in job listings that mention the blockchain, and there is now an entire site, Crypto Jobs List, dedicated to opportunities in the young industry.

Vinny Tuminelli, a business school student sitting at the back of the Berkeley class, said that during an internship at Anheuser-Busch last summer, the blockchain had come up in an innovation team he was on. When he met with his supervisor more recently, the topic came up again.

My original understanding was that it was just thrown out there as a buzzword, Tuminelli said. But now it seems like it has some legs behind it, and people are putting real resources toward it.

Students appear to have caught on to the opportunity faster than their professors. Berkeley students have created a campus club that offers multiple courses on blockchain technology, taught by the students themselves.

The director of MITs Digital Currency Initiative, Neha Narula, said that when it didnt schedule a course for this semester, she got constant requests from students. So she put one together and is now co-teaching it.

Students are just fascinated with this area, she said. They want to learn about it desperately.

The New York Times
But Paul, a Republican, will have made his point. Angered at the huge spending increases at the center of the deal, Paul delayed passage for hours with a demand to vote on an amendment that would keep in place strict caps on spending that the deal would raise.

The shutdown came on the heels of a three-day closure brought about by Senate Democrats last month.

As midnight approached, Paul rebuffed attempts by his fellow senators to move ahead with a vote.

I think its irresponsible, said Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the No. 2 Senate Republican, lamenting what he described as the act of a single senator who just is trying to make a point but doesnt really care too much about who he inconveniences.

Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, posted on Twitter: Rand Paul voted for a tax bill that blew a $1.5 trillion hole in the budget. Now he is shutting the government down for three hours because of the debt.

Around 1:45 a.m., the Senate passed the measure, 71-28.

Before Paul waged his assault on the budget deal, trouble was already brewing in the House, where opposition from the Republicans most ardent conservative members, coupled with Democratic dissenters dismayed that the deal did nothing for young unauthorized immigrants, created new tension.

The deal would raise spending caps on domestic and military spending in this fiscal year and the next one by about $300 billion in total. It would also lift the federal debt limit until March 2019 and include almost $90 billion in disaster relief in response to last years hurricanes and wildfires.

Critically, it would also keep the government funded for another six weeks. The previous funding measure, which was passed to end the past shutdown, expired at midnight Thursday.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Former governor of Sakhalin charged with graft sentenced to 13 years behind bars

 RIA Novosti, Sergey Krasnoukhov

11:59 09/02/2018

MOSCOW, February 9 (RAPSI)  The Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk City Court has sentenced former governor of Sakhalin Region, Alexander Khoroshavin, to 13 years in a high-security penal colony and fined him 500 million rubles (about $8.6 million) for corruption, the Investigative Committees press-service says on Friday.

Deputy governor of the region, Sergey Karepkin, has been sentenced to 8 years and fined 4 million rubles (nearly $70,000), while the governors counsellor Andrey Ikramov has been sentenced to 9.5 years and fined 171 million rubles (nearly $3 million). The court sentenced regional minister of agriculture Nikolay Borisov to 2.5 million rubles (about $43,000) fine.

All of the defendants were found guilty of bribe-taking and laundering of illegally obtained funds.

The court found that in 2009 Khoroshavin established an organized criminal group with Karepkin and Ikramov. In 2009-2015, the criminals received over 522 million rubles (nearly $9 million) from regional entrepreneurs.

President Vladimir Putin dismissed Khoroshavin from his post due to loss of trust in March 2015.

In April 2015, Khoroshavin was charged in another criminal case with taking a bribe of at least 15 million rubles ($230,000) for providing credits on advantageous terms to one of the local businessmen. He pleaded not guilty.

In January 2016, the third criminal case was opened against Khoroshavin. According to investigators, he took 27 million rubles ($414,000) in bribes from candidates for the positions in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk City Duma in 2014.

In May 2016, a court in Yuzno-Sakhalinsk granted a motion by prosecutors for confiscation of property belonging to Khoroshavin, his wife and son. In particular, expensive apartments, fancy cars, money, jewelry were taken to the state based upon the facts of corruption established by investigation. The family appealed the ruling.

Interestingly, in September 2015, Irina Khoroshavina filed for divorce and division of property.
State Duma passes bills extending timeline for capital amnesty

 Fotolia/ Irochka

12:59 09/02/2018

MOSCOW, February 9 (RAPSI)  The State Duma has passed in third and final reading a package of bills extending the timeline for capital amnesty in Russia until February 28 of 2019.

The bills are related to an initiative of Russian President Vladimir Putin suggesting this policy should be continued in 2018.

According to the documents, during the second phase of the amnesty, set from January 1, 2018, till February 28, 2019, the applicants would be able to declare their bank accounts and deposits with foreign banks by January 1, 2018. They would also be able to declare their accounts and deposits opened before that date, but closed before filing the application. The latter may be filed with any tax office or the Central Department of the Federal Tax Service.

The authors of the bill propose to extend the timeline for the liquidation of foreign companies until March 1, 2019.
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There is another common trend among these three players - they are all registering a volume decline in a market that is expanding at over 8 per cent

Three global car majors - Ford, Nissan, and Volkswagen - are skipping the ongoing Auto Expo 2018.

There is one common trend among these three companies - they all ship more cars to overseas markets than their local sales within India.

Interestingly, there are no other carmakers with operations in the Indian market that export more cars than their domestic sales.

American carmaker Ford, which has two manufacturing units in the country (Chennai in Tamil Nadu and Sanand in Gujarat), has overtaken Korean carmaker Hyundai this year to become the largest exporter of cars from India.

In the first nine months of the current financial year, Ford shipped 134,575 units, registering a growth of almost 12 per cent compared to the previous year.

In the same period, the manufacturer sold 62,554 units in the Indian market, registering a decline of nearly six per cent.

Ford ships more than double the volume it sells in the local market.

Like Ford, German auto major Volkswagen sells almost more than double the volume in export markets compared to India.

In the first nine months of the financial year, it shipped 71,677 units of cars, reporting a growth of over ten per cent.

However, its domestic sales in the specified period stood at 34,979 cars, with a decline of six per cent.

In the first nine months, Japanese carmaker Nissan shipped 46,502 units to export destinations while its domestic sale stood at 38,928 vehicles.

The sixth largest exporter of cars from India saw its domestic sales slip by more than nine per cent this year.

There is another common trend among these three players - they are all registering a volume decline in a market that is expanding at over eight per cent.

None of these three players have a market share of more than three per cent in the world's fifth-biggest car market where over three million units are sold in a year.

Industry experts said it is not a great business decision to invest millions of rupees in participating in the Auto Expo when a company's domestic market demand is not doing well.

General Motors is the fourth global car maker that is not a part of the ongoing expo.

But its case is different from the above three players. In May last year, the company decided to stop local sales of its cars while announcing its plans to focus exclusively on the export market.

The company has shipped 60,707 cars from India in the first nine months of the current financial year.

General Motors is now the fifth-biggest exporter of cars from the country.
The order was passed with dissent by two members, and four members feeling that there had been abuse of the search engines dominant position.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Thursday imposed a penalty of Rs 1.35 billion on Google after finding that the company abused its dominant position in online general web search and search advertising in India.

The ruling was based on a complaint filed in 2012 by Matrimony.com and Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS) against the search engine. The complainants had alleged that Googles unfair business practices were leading to search bias and search manipulation.

After a detailed probe, the CCI, through a majority order, said the penalty was being imposed on Google for infringing anti-trust conduct. It also noted that the allegations against Google in respect of search results essentially centred around the design of search engine result page (SERP).

It said product design was an important and integral dimension of competition and that undue intervention in designs of SERP could affect legitimate product improvements.

A Google India spokesperson said in a statement that the companys conduct complied with the competition law in the country. We have always focused on innovating to support the evolving needs of our users.

The Competition Commission of India has confirmed that, on the majority of issues it examined, our conduct complies with Indian competition laws. We are reviewing the narrow concerns identified by the commission and will assess our next steps, the Google spokesperson said.

In its order, the CCI observed that Google, being the gateway to the internet for a vast majority of internet users due to its dominance in the online web search market, was under an obligation to discharge its special responsibility. Through its search design, Google, had not only placed its commercial flight unit at a prominent position on SERP, it had also allocated disproportionate real estate thereof to such units to the disadvantage of verticals trying to gain market access, it added.

The order was passed with dissent by two members, and four members feeling that there had been abuse of dominant position.

According to Nisha Kaur Uberoi, national head of Competition Law Practice at legal firm Trilegal, the CCIs decision is largely in Googles favour and deviates significantly from adverse findings in the report submitted by the directorate general of the CCIs investigative arm.

The decision is consistent with the orders passed in other jurisdictions, such as the US, Canada, Taiwan, the UK High Court and Germany, Uberoi said.

Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters.
Did you know that your home insurance covers valuables in bank locker?

And this could be a good option as banks don't compensate for loss of goods in lockers in case of theft or natural calamity.

Tinesh Bhasin reports.

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com

A few days ago, thieves stole valuables worth Rs 2.8 crore from the lockers of a Bank of Baroda branch. Usually, individuals keep valuables in bank lockers as they consider it safer than keeping them at home.

However, banks do not take any responsibility if valuables are stolen from the lockers.

"As banks don't know the content of lockers, they cannot take insurance to cover the customers against burglary," says Puneet Sahni, head, product development, SBI General Insurance.

Banks and their customers are like landlord and tenant. Banking customers pay for the space.

Just like a landlord is not responsible for theft inside the house of a tenant, the bank has no responsibility for the contents of a locker.

When an individual takes a bank locker, the agreement states that the bank is not responsible for loss or damage to the contents of the locker due to rain, fire, earthquake, riots, theft and other things beyond the control of the bank.

One option for an individual is to opt for an insurance policy to cover the valuables kept inside the bank locker.

Recently, a few insurers have started covering valuables inside the locker as part of their home insurance policy. But each company has its own caveats and limits.

Bajaj Allianz's My Home Insurance All Risk Policy covers precious metal jewellery (including watches), diamonds, works of art and curios.

Royal Sundaram Gruh Suraksha Plan restricts the cover to jewellery, silverware and watches.

If you have important papers or cash or any other valuables, there's no insurance available.

For valuables below a certain limit, the insurer may ask you to give a self-declaration on the market value of the contents of the bank locker.

Insurers allow self-declaration as there could be jewellery that's passed from one generation to the other and customers may not have bills for it.

In Bajaj Allianz's My Home Insurance All Risk Policy, for example, the limit is Rs 10 lakh.

If the market value of your goods crosses the threshold, you need to compulsorily get a valuation certificate from a government-approved valuer.

Most of these plans not only cover valuables inside the bank locker, but also at home and also those that an individual wears.

So, if you are travelling abroad and someone steals valuables that you are wearing, you can lodge a claim with the insurers.

The premium cost for the jewellery and valuables depends on the proposed value for insurance.

If the sum insured for jewellery and other valuables is Rs 5 lakh, the premium payable would be Rs 4,000 for cover in India and Rs 5,000 for a worldwide cover. Taxes will be extra.

When insuring your valuables, it is always better to get a valuation certificate, irrespective of the value of your belongings.

It will help in the case of claims.

"In case of contents that come with a certificate, the insured can get full value if there's a total loss," says R Suresh Nair, head-product development, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance.

If you give a self-declaration, the insurance premium would vary, depending on how the price of the gold or diamond changes every year.

In case of a valuation certificate, the premiums remain constant.

Some insurers such as Royal Sundaram cover valuables only if the customer takes insurance for contents of the house.

Compare a plan on these features before taking the cover.
Because of lack of pilots, airlines have been forced to cancel their flights and rework their schedules, constraining cash flows and delaying vendor payments.

The boom in domestic air travel has led to congested terminals and flight delays because the infrastructure at airports has not kept pace with the rate of growth.

But Indias new regional airlines are facing another challenge - lack of pilots.

The stress signs are visible. Airlines have been forced to cancel their flights and rework their schedules, constraining cash flows and delaying vendor payments.

Hyderabad-based regional operator TruJet cancelled 7 per cent and 3 per cent of its scheduled flights in November and December, respectively.

This level of cancellation has been the highest among all carriers.

In August, Zoom Air cancelled all its flights after a bird hit damaged the engine of its aircraft in Durgapur.

A lack of navigation aids and limited hours of operations (referred to as watch hours) in smaller airfields and weather also contributed to delays and cancellations.

Flight disruptions have also resulted in delayed payments to vendors.

Last week Ireland-based lessor Elix Aviation Capital threatened to ground three ATR-72 turboprop planes it has leased to TruJet over payment. The dispute has been resolved.

We are working with the TruJet management to enable the business to move forward, said Tom Dalton, commercial director, Elix Aviation.

There is no cash crunch, but there is a shortage of pilots.

"With our four planes, we can operate 40 daily flights but because of the shortage of pilots, we are doing only 22 flights.

"We are recruiting 18 foreign pilots and we are also providing command training to our first officers, said Vishok Mansingh, chief executive officer (CEO), TruJet.

Mansingh, who has worked in Kingfisher Airlines and Blue Dart, took over as CEO last October.

His appointment came four months after Megha Engineering and Infrastructure acquired control of the airline.

Domestic air traffic grew 17 per cent and crossed 100 million last year.

Traffic is estimated to grow 15-20 per cent this year with the induction of planes and expansion of the central governments regional connectivity scheme.

Aviation consultancy CAPA expects big domestic airlines to add a record 124-130 planes while regional airlines will add another 20-22 planes in FY19.

Regional airlines will require both capital and a bigger crew.

Pilot training will be another critical factor and CAPA estimates domestic airlines will require an additional 10,000 pilots over 10 years.

The shortage of pilots is a global issue and the solution for airlines is to develop training facilities and simulators, said Bombardiers head of marketing (Asia Pacific), Ross McKeand.

Koustav Dhar, chief executive officer of Zoom Air, agrees the shortage of pilots slowed expansion plans.

We have three CRJ 200LR planes and have been able to utilise only two of them fully because of the shortage.

"We have 20 pilots now and are adding 16 additional captains by the end of March, Dhar said.

He added that the airline would induct four planes by June and would increase the number of daily flights from nine to 32.

G R Gopinath, who has relaunched Air Deccan, said the state of airports in the country was not in keeping with the Prime Ministers regional connectivity vision.

He said he had been unable to get a night parking bay in Mumbai and slots for flights to Kolhapur.

Around 25 per cent of slots at airports should be reserved for regional connectivity, he added.

The government must frame an equitable policy which benefits airlines and compensates the airports too, Gopinath said.

Photograph: Reuters
'Pakistan has no strategic depth and is vulnerable to Indian military power without even crossing the border,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).



IMAGE: Indian soldiers open fire across the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.

Some analysts describe the India-Pakistan conflict as a 'communal riot with tanks'.

Every time India suffers casualties, there is a cry for revenge. At times, the firing on the Jammu and Kashmir border begins to resemble a family blood feud.

Yet there is a strategic dimension to it from the Indian side. India wants to raise the costs of Pakistani support to insurgency in the Kashmir valley (NOT the whole of J&K, but the Kashmir valley).

Thus, after the Uri attack in September 2016, the ceasefire agreed in 2003 lies shattered. India carried out surgical strikes inside Pakistan held Kashmir on September 28-29, 2016, 11 days after the Uri attack.

If the aim of the surgical strikes and firing on the border was to dissuade Pakistan from supporting insurgents in the Kashmir valley, then it has certainly failed in that objective.

The reasons for this are not difficult to analyse. The reality is that there is a near parity in conventional arms along the border between India and Pakistan.

Thanks to generous American military aid over the years, in some respects like gunfire detecting radars and even night devices, Pakistan actually enjoys technological superiority over India.

The national aim of Pakistan (not just its army) is to engage India in asymmetrical warfare in Kashmir where while Pakistan supports the insurgents, Indian conventional power is neutralised by the threat of escalation to nuclear war.

The examples of Israel firing into the Gaza Strip in retaliation are often invoked to justify Indian actions. But that is a fallacy as Israel enjoys huge superiority over the Palestinians, something not available to us.

Does that mean India has no option but to suffer in silence?

Far from it. We have several options to raise the costs of the Pakistani misadventure in Kashmir.

For a start, instead of firing on the border being episodic and only in retaliation, India could well make it a permanent feature of the Jammu and Kashmir border. With a large industrial base and indigenous production, India can sustain this indefinitely.

The second option for India is to saturate the area with fire power.

We have the numbers on our side and for each Pakistani gun, we can deploy three.

In addition, we have the option to use our defunct anti aircraft guns like L-60 in direct firing role for accurate targeting of Pakistani bunkers.

Students of military history know how German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel successfully used the 88 mm anti-aircraft guns in a ground role against the Allied tanks.

India also has the option to increase the 'depth' of our shelling.

Instead of confining ourselves to areas along the border, we can target the depth areas of Pakistan.

Here we have a distinct advantage in that our strategic targets are deep inside our territory while those of Pakistan are close to the border and within 30 km range. These can be neutralised by long range guns and rocket batteries.

But even more tellingly, we can use laboratory-level weapons, still under development, (beam weapons or fuel air explosives) on the battlefield to test their efficacy.

We have dedicated military satellites to give us real time information on targets. These can be used to neutralise Pakistan's retaliatory capability.

In short, the options we have include increasing intensity, spread, depth of our retaliatory firing.

India's forte -- Jugaad -- must be given free rein. The Indian Army is quite capable of surprising the enemy with its innovations.

But before any of these measures can be undertaken, there is need to build a national consensus on the measures to be taken. The political parties have to be on the same page and we have to be ready to accept some amount of damage to our own side as well.

Our shelling along the border south of Jammu, hits Pakistan's Punjabi heartland. It also gives a timely reminder to Pakistan that it has inherited a lousy geography whereby its strategic targets are within 30 kms of its eastern border with India.

Pakistan has no strategic depth and is vulnerable to Indian conventional military power without even crossing the border.

As Pakistani soldiers (mainly from Punjab) see the destruction of their own homes, the rank and file may well put pressure on the army leadership to change course.

To be effective, this bitter medicine needs to administered for longer periods of time. In short, we have to begin to be pro-active rather than reactive on the border.

This is a war that will be won by the side that shows greater resolve.
China on Friday said it is in touch with India to discuss a way to resolve the political turmoil gripping the Maldives and underlined that Beijing doesn't want the issue to become another 'flashpoint'.

While China officially continues to maintain that there should not be any external interference especially in the light of reports of India's special forces ready for deployment, Beijing is also in touch with New Delhi to resolve the crisis, Chinese official sources said.

China doesn't want Maldives to become another 'flashpoint', the sources told PTI in Beijing on Friday.

The stand-off between India and China in the Doklam area and Beijing's opposition to declaring Pakistan-based Masood Azhar as a global terrorist at the UN had been major irritants in bilateral ties in the past.

Answering a spate of questions on the Maldives, including Friday's telephonic conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump, in which the

situation in the Maldives figured prominently, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said international community should respect sovereignty and independence of the Maldives.

"The current situation in the Maldives is its internal affairs. It should be properly resolved through dialogue and consultations by all relevant parties," he said.

Maldives President Abdulla Yameen sent his Economic Development Minister Mohamed Saeed to China but India said it did not find the dates 'suitable' for the visit of Maldives' foreign minister as special envoy to New Delhi.

The United Nations Security Council too met to discuss the Maldives situation.

Ahead of the meeting, UN Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenca reported to have informed the top UN body that while there were no reports of violent clashes, 'the situation in the Maldives is tense and may deteriorate even further'.

Geng, while replying to a question on reports that Indian Special Forces were ready for deployment in the Maldives to evacuate Indians, said 'non-interference in other countries is an important principle of international relations'.

"The international community should respect the will of the Maldives and play a constructive role in the stability and development of Maldives instead of doing the opposite," he said.

He said Saeed in his meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has introduced the current situation in the Maldives and said that the government is committed to uphold the rule of law and social order independently resolving the current issue and achieving national stability and development.

"The Maldives has the ability to protect the security of the Chinese personnel and the institutions," Saeed told Wang.

For his part, Wang said China is closely following the situation in the Maldives and believe that the government and people there have the ability to properly resolve the current issue and restore the normal order in the country in accordance with law, Geng said.

"China will not interfere in the internal affairs of the Maldives. This is also an important principle enshrined by UN charter. We support the Maldives government to properly resolve issues through dialogue and consultations with relevant parties and uphold independence, sovereignty and legitimate rights and interests of Maldives," Wang told Saeed according to Geng.

'China has offered self-less assistance to Maldives' for its social development, Wang said adding that the cooperation benefits all the peoples in Maldives.

However, it is not yet clear what is the takeaway from Saeed's China visit.

Asked how the Maldives can resolve the problem independently and unilaterally when top judges and leaders have been locked up by Yameen government, Geng retorted saying that 'I think you should raise this question to Maldives government. How will they resolve their internal affairs (problems) you should ask them'.

"I want to emphasise that China believes that the Maldives and people have the wisdom and capability to properly resolve the current issue faced them," he said.

To another question whether Saeed sought China's help to tide over the crisis, Geng said.

"I can tell you that diplomatic channels between the two countries is smooth. China and the Maldives maintain normal and friendly exchanges," he said.

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.

IMAGE: Maldives President Abdulla Yameen and China's President Xi Jinping attend a signing meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Photograph: Fred Dufour/pool/Reuters
Delhi Police Special Cell on Thursday arrested Group Captain Arun Marwah for allegedly leaking classified Indian Air Force information to Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

Deputy Commissioner of Police (special cell) Pramod Khushwah confirmed the arrest of the 51-year-old Group Captain.

A first information report was filed under Sections 3 and 5 of the Officials Secrets Act on the complaint by a senior IAF official.

According to reports, Marwaha was using his smartphone to click pictures of the classified documents containing combat exercises at the IAF headquarters and sending them across via WhatsApp.

He was detained by the IAF for investigation on January 31 after his activities were found suspicious.

According to multiple media reports, Marwah was honey-trapped by the ISI through Facebook accounts in mid-December.

ISI operatives were impersonating as models through these profiles.

Marwah was lured through seductive conversations for a week or so, after which he was persuaded to share information pertaining to IAF exercises.

Marwah has been sent to five-day police custody and is being interrogated by the authorities.

Marwaha's phone has been confiscated and sent for forensic examination.

Reports stated that he has admitted to having had access to many secret documents and plans due to his posting at the air headquarters.

Image used only for representation. Photograph: Amit Gupta/Reuters
Describing the Congress and the Trinamool Congress as the two biggest opposition parties currently in the country, Patidar quota activist Hardik Patel on Friday opined West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee should lead the opposition.

Patel, who met Banerjee at the state secretariat in Kolkata on Friday night, also said she invited him to joined the TMC and manage its affairs in Gujarat, from where he hails.

At the moment, the Congress and the Trinamool Congress are the two big opposition parties in the country. But, if Didi (as Banerjee is lovingly called) or the Congress and other parties sit together and decide something, that will be good.

But if you ask my personal opinion, I will say she is an intelligent woman who has a history of being a revolutionary leader and she should come forward to be the leader (of opposition parties), he said after the hour-and-half long meeting.

But for those who are against her, it will be a matter of tension.

He described the chief minister as lady Gandhi. I saw lady Gandhi. She is a simple and selfless person. After Indira Gandhi, she has been the epitome of struggle for the cause of the people, he said.

Patel said he invited Banerjee to visit Gujarat for women empowerment. She had done great work during the earthquake in Bhuj 2001.

Asked about the purpose of the meeting, Patel said he was here to seek blessings of Banerjee. I have not come for any political reasons, he said.

Patel also said Banerjee invited him to join the TMC and manage its affairs in Gujarat.

She has openly told me that whenever I want to join politics the door of TMC is open for me and you can manage the party in Gujarat. But I told her I do not have political aspiration now. But if I decide to join politics, I would definitely seek her advice, Patel said.

Enquired about his role during the Lok Sabha elections in 2019, the Patidar quota agitation leader said he would definitely come to West Bengal to campaign for the TMC.

There are so many Gujaratis and people from the Kurmi community in West Bengal. Didi has sent a recommendation to include the Kurmi community in schedule tribe but not in the OBC.

I will definitely come here to campaign during the Lok Sabha elections in 2019... But we all have to be united to fight those who are trying to divide the country, he said.

He said he did not see anything wrong as spread by the oppositions about Kolkata.

The picture is absolutely different from what I have heard. I have seen people are so happy here, he claimed.

On her part, Banerjee described Patel as like my younger brother.

He is very good and sensitive. He is fighting for the people of Gujarat... I have asked him to join politics and work for the good of the common man, she said.

The meeting between Banerjee and Patel got delayed by half an hour as the chief ministers flight from Bagdogra got delayed due to some technical reasons.

I do not know why my flight kept on roving in the sky for around 35 minutes, Banerjee told reporters after reaching the state secretariat.

Image: Patidar community leader Hardik Patel meets West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee at Nabanna (State Secretariat) in Kolkata. Photograph: PTI Photo
The defence ministry stressed that the purchase of 36 Rafales was 'strictly in accordance with the Defence Procurement Procedure in all aspects.'

However, the DPP-mandated process had not been gone through when Modi announced the agreement on April 10, 2015,' observes Ajai Shukla.

In a written statement on Wednesday, February 7, the ministry of defence rebutted what it calls 'unfounded allegations' and 'misleading statements' on the 2016 agreement between New Delhi and Paris to buy 36 fully built Rafale fighters.

The statement does not offer any figures about how much India is paying for the various components of the deal -- a key demand of the political Opposition.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had promised on November 17 to provide the figures, but on Monday, February 5, declined to do so, citing a 'confidentiality agreement' signed with France.

The ministry statement indicated on Wednesday that supplying details would reveal the Rafale's capabilities, compromising operational secrecy.

'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,' said the ministry.

It said this was in line with 'the confidentiality provisions of a bilateral India-France Agreement of 2008 signed by the previous (United Progressive Alliance) government.'

Indicating that this was normal government practice, the ministry stated: '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' (sic).

This contention is not backed by facts.

When the UPA government faced a question in Parliament on March 4, 2013, on the purchase and upgrade cost of the Mirage 2000 from Dassault, it tabled a detailed answer.

'The last contracted price for each Mirage 2000 aircraft in the year 2000 was Rs 1.33 billion. The contract for the upgrade was signed in 2011, wherein, the cost of upgrading one aircraft was Rs 1.65 billion,' the UPA government answered, adding further details.

Furthermore, top MoD officials have already revealed exact details of the contract, including a cost breakdown, in an off-the-record briefing on September 24, 2016 -- the day the Rafale IGI and commercial contracts were signed.

As I reported that day, the average cost of each Rafale is Euro 91.7 million (Rs 7.26 billion at current exchange rates).

In addition to the Euro 3.3 billion cost of 36 Rafale fighters, India contracted to pay Euro 4.5 billion more for: 'India-specific enhancements' (Euro 1.7 billion); spares (Euro 1.8 billion), logistics (Euro 350 million) and weaponry (Euro 700 million), according to the MoD officials.

AJAI SHUKLA on the RAFALE DEAL

The National Democratic Alliance government has never confirmed these figures, but can do so now without revealing operational details of the 'India-specific enhancements'.

Next, the defence ministry addressed the question of why the Eurofighter was not invited to bid for 36 fighters, to make it a competitive procurement, rather than presenting Dassault with an advantageous single vendor situation.

'It (the Congress party) seems to have been conveniently forgotten that the (UPA) government itself had rejected (the Eurofighter's) unsolicited offer made days after closure of the bid process, declared (Dassault) as the (lowest) bidder and had commenced negotiations with it in February 2012,' said the ministry.

While this is factually correct, the UPA government was prevented by the Defence Procurement Procedure from entertaining Eurofighter's unsolicited offer once Dassault had been declared the lowest bidder.

However, there was no DPP restriction on asking the Eurofighter to bid for supplying 36 fighters, since that was an entirely new procurement.

Finally, the defence ministry release stressed that the purchase of 36 Rafales was '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.'

This is factually correct.

However, the DPP-mandated process had not been gone through when Prime Minister Narendra D Modi announced the agreement on April 10, 2015, on a visit to Paris.

'I have asked President (Francois Hollande) to supply 36 ready-to-fly Rafale jets to India,' said Modi at a press conference, effectively sealing the deal.

Eager to dispel any hint of wrongdoing, the defence ministry came out punching on Wednesday, stating: 'The deal secured by the (NDA) government is better in terms of capability, price, equipment, delivery, maintenance, training, etc, than that notionally negotiated by the then (UPA) government in a process it could not conclude in 10 years.'

'Moreover, the present government completed these negotiations in just about one year.'

Photograph: Regis Duvignau/Reuters
A terrorist of the Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Tayiba has been sentenced to seven years rigorous imprisonment by a local court in Bengaluru in a terror financing and money laundering case, officials said on Friday.

Bilal Ahmed Quta alias Imran Jalal, who operated from Karnataka, has also been fined Rs 50,000 by the court, they said.

A special Prevention of Money Laundering Act court of Judge Shivshankar Amarannavar pronounced the verdict on Thursday.

The case dates back to January, 2007 when the man was arrested with an AK series assault rifle, 200 bullets, five hand grenades and a satellite phone by the Karnataka Police while he was getting down from a bus in Bengaluru.

He was charged with 'waging war' against Government of India, possession of arms and explosives and other sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Quta was involved in these activities since 2001 and was a member of the LeT, they said.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) later booked Quta under the criminal provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in 2009, taking cognisance of the police charges and subsequent conviction by a local court.

The central probe agency had also 'confiscated' Rs 34,830 funds of Quta under anti-money laundering laws as it identified the money to be meant for terror financing.

This is the fourth case of conviction under the PMLA in the country.

The PMLA was enacted in 2002 and implemented from 2005 to check serious crimes of tax evasion, generation of black money and money laundering.

The first conviction under the PMLA in the country had come in January last year when a Ranchi court convicted former Jharkhand minister Hari Narayan Rai and sentenced him to seven years rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh.

Subsequently, in March last year, a man identified as Alauddin was convicted in a money laundering case relating to illegal possession of narcotic drugs by a Kolkata court.

This was followed by the conviction of a Pakistani terrorist Mohammed Fahad Hai, belonging to the banned terror group Al-Badr, who was sentenced to seven years rigorous imprisonment by a Bengaluru court under the anti-money laundering law.

The stringent PMLA law allows for a maximum of seven years of imprisonment and a fine.
The terrorists who rammed into pedestrians on London Bridge before stabbing people in nearby Borough Market killing eight people in June last year were high on steroids, a United Kingdom court was told on Friday.

The three men, identified as Pakistan born Khurram Shazad Butt, Moroccan-origin Rachid Redouane and Moroccon-Italian Yousef Zaghba, all had high levels of a drug called DHEA in their system, according to a toxicologist report presented at a pre-inquest hearing at the Old Bailey court in London.

Counter-terrorism officers had shot and killed the men, who were wearing hoax explosive vests, during the Islamic State claimed terrorist attack on June 3, 2017.

DHEA is available without prescription as a natural supplement and is widely believed to help build muscle.

Analysis of samples taken from the attackers revealed the presence of DHEA, a steroid hormone, above the acceptable physiological range. These findings suggest use of steroid DHEA recently prior to death -- in a period ranging from several hours to days before death, Jonathan Hough, the counsel for the inquest, said in a written submission to the court.

The toxicologist will give evidence at the inquest hearings into the death of the victims and attackers, to be held separately and set to begin early next year.

Hough informed the court that the firearms officers who shot the terrorists will seek anonymity at the inquest hearings, and some evidence from MI5 intelligence service may have to be given in secret.

He said that 27-year-old Butt, believed to be the ring-leader of the terror group, had been the subject of an MI5 priority investigation for almost two years, from mid-2015, and while 30-year-old Redouane and 22-year-old Zaghba had not been under MI5 surveillance, they were associates of Khuram Butt.

Chief Coroner Mark Lucraft said anyone wishing to remain anonymous  including the families of the attackers  will be required to make requests ahead of the inquest.

Central London and another iconic bridge... was the scene of shocking events that devastated the lives of many. I hope the (inquest) will provide answers to the obvious and understandable questions that the families have... and give comfort in such difficult circumstances, he said.

A second pre-inquest review is scheduled to take place later this year before the two separate inquests start fully in 2019.

Police, security services, fire and ambulance services will attend the inquests, as well as the families of both the victims and attackers.

During the attack in June last year, the three attackers had ploughed into pedestrians in a white van on London Bridge and then went on a stabbing frenzy with 12-inch ceramic knives on people on a night out at bars in nearby Borough Market area. The attack lasted eight minutes, claimed eight victims and injured 48 others.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday embarked on a visit to three West Asian countries, including Palestine, during which he would hold talks on deepening cooperation in strategic areas such as security and trade.

Redefining our neighbourhood from a maritime perspective! Prime Minister Narendra Modi embarks on a 4-day visit to Jordan, Palestine, UAE (United Arab Emirates) and Oman from 9-12 February to deepen our multifaceted ties with the Gulf and West Asian region, external affairs ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

The prime ministers visit will begin from Palestine on February 10 after transiting through Jordan, where he will meet King Abdullah II.

Describing the Gulf and West Asian region was a key priority in India's external engagement, Modi ahead of his visit said his trip was aimed at strengthening ties with the region.

He said it would be his fifth visit to the Gulf and the West Asian region since 2015.

This region is a key priority in our external engagement. We enjoy vibrant multi-dimensional ties with the countries here. I look forward to strengthening India's growing and important ties with West Asia and the Gulf region through the visit, Modi said in his departure statement.

Noting that this would be the first-ever prime ministerial visit to Palestine from India, Modi said he was looking forward to his discussions with President Mahmoud Abbas and reaffirming India's support for the Palestinian people and the development of Palestine.

Describing the Gulf country as a valued strategic partner, Modi said that India has fast-tracked cooperation with the UAE in all major spheres, including economy, energy, high technology and security.

I will be discussing our progress in these areas and more in my meetings with His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Modi said in his post.

He said he will also be addressing the 6th edition of the World Government Summit in Dubai, where India is the guest country.

During the visit, Modi said he will engage with leading UAE and Arab CEOs in Dubai on the vast economic opportunities in India and what more can be done to bolster business collaboration.

Noting that Oman was a close maritime neighbour with whom India enjoys excellent relations, Modi said in the last leg of his trip from February 11-12, he will visit the country for the first time as prime minister and will hold talks with the Sultan of Oman and other key leaders.

I shall also interact with leading businesspersons of Oman on developing stronger economic and business links with India, the prime minister said.

India and Oman have thriving links rooted in centuries old people-to-people exchanges, Modi said.

The prime minister said that on the evening of February 11, he will meet the Sultan of Oman.

Modi said he will also meet Deputy Prime Minister for the Council of Ministers Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmoud Al Said and Deputy Prime Minister for International Relations and Cooperation Affairs Sayyid Asa'ad bin Tariq Al Said, during his visit.

In both Oman and the UAE, I will have the opportunity to meet the large Indian diasporas that have made those countries their home, Modi said.

More than nine million Indians work and live in the Gulf region, of which about one third live in the UAE alone.

In Oman, they constitute the largest expatriate community, he noted.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves as he embarks on a four-day visit to Jordan, Palestine, UAE and Oman from New Delhi on Friday. Photograph: Press Information Bureau of India
Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's historic Palestine visit, President Mahmoud Abbas said he will discuss with him India's role in the Middle East peace process and the creation of a multilateral forum of negotiations to strike a final deal with Isarel.

Modi, the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Palestine, is reaching Ramallah on Saturday amid heightened tensions in the region after United States President Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

The unilateral US decision to declare Jerusalem as the capital of Israel was challenged at the United Nations General Assembly where 128 nations, including India, voted to turn down the move as 'null and void'.

"We are receiving Prime Minister Modi in a historic visit that will demonstrate the strong ties and relations between the Palestinian people and the brotherly Indian people," Abbas told PTI in an e-mail interview.

Though India has shied away from becoming a party in the Israel-Palestinian conflict, the Palestinian leader on several occasions has stressed on a possible role for New Delhi in the Middle East peace process.

"We will discuss the recent updates with Prime Minister Modi, and the recent developments in the peace process, the bilateral relations, and the regional situations. And the possible role India can play in enhancing peace in the region, as well as discussing different economical aspects beyond the existing ties we already possess," Abbas said.

Describing India as a 'very respected country in the international arena', the 82-year-old Palestinian President said that India can have a possible role in creating a multilateral forum of negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis to reach a final agreement.

He said Modi's visit to the region reflects India's long-held position of supporting peace and stability in the region.

"We believe in the importance of a possible Indian role...to reach a final agreement based on international consensus and resolutions, in which India and other countries can be part of," Abbas said.

"The long Indian position of supporting the two-state solution is well known. India has supported the Palestinian cause throughout the years of conflict, and we rely on the Indian support in order to reach the independence of the Palestinian State," he added.

As Palestine works to establish an international multilateral mechanism of negotiations, the Palestinian leader stated that 'India can play a role in this'.

"The relations between India and Palestine are historical...This visit will culminate the historic ties between the two brotherly people, and will help in increasing and strengthening these ties that we possess," he stressed.

The Indian prime minister would be skipping Israel during his forthcoming tour of Middle East in a clear message that New Delhi is de-hyphenating its ties with the Jewish state and Palestine.

Modi had visited Israel last year in July in a standalone visit that had led to many analysts questioning the future of the Indo-Palestine ties.

When asked about India's growing engagement with Israel, an unperturbed Abbas said that 'any state has the right to establish relations with other countries'.

"We believe in the importance of our relationship with the brotherly Indian State, the support of India to the Palestinian people, and the relationship we possess with the Indian people, will not be effected by Indias relations with any other State," he emphasised.

"India has recognised the State of Palestine in 1988, and we cannot forget the last Indian vote in favour of Palestines rights in Jerusalem in the United Nations General Assembly, and all the political stands that India has taken to support the Palestinian rights in the international arena," Abbas said referring to India's vote at the UN.

India has consistently voted in favour of resolutions supporting the Palestinian cause at international forums, an issue that has bothered strategic partner Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently said that he was 'disappointed' at the Indian vote at the UN but also expressed hope that there will be a possible change of heart over a period of time.

Appreciating India's assistance in strengthening Palestinian economy through executing several projects in the Palestinian areas, Abbas said that 'he cannot forget' New Delhi's support and wishes to further discuss with Modi areas of cooperation in the economic sphere.

A number of MoUs are likely to be signed between the two sides during Modi's three-hour visit to Palestine under which India will provide funding for a number of projects in the fields of health, education, culture and womens empowerment.

"The Indian government and its people have provided significant assistance and aid to the Palestinian people by establishing training centres, schools, and the necessary humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people under occupation in the West Bank and Gaza," Abbas noted.

"And in 2016 we laid the foundation stone to establish the Palestine India Techno Park project in Ramallah, and we are also looking forward the establishment of the Institute of Diplomacy that is kindly funded by the Indian Government", he noted.

A lot of Palestinian diplomats have received training in India and hundreds of Palestinians have availed scholarships to study at Indian institutions as part of New Delhi's effort towards capacity building in Palestine.

"We are working on promoting the economical relations through introducing businessmen and investors from both sides on the available opportunities in the sectors of tourism, technological exchange in many areas, including industrial, agricultural, and information systems, and on the other hand, signing government agreements to support businessmen and protect their investments," he said.

IMAGE: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas shakes hands with Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of their meeting at Hyderabad House during the former's visit to New Delhi last year. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set for his second visit to the United Arab Emirates starting Friday as part of his West Asia trip which will also cover Palestine and Oman.

Ahead of his visit to the UAE, the prime minister had an offbeat interview with Gulfnews (external link) during which he divulged details about people who inspire him and about his travels.

Here are some key takeaways from the interview.

IMAGE: A people's person is what Modi would like to describe himself as. He says while travelling he likes to meet people and hear of their lives and their experiences. Photograph: @narendramodi/Twitter

On holidaying

I have not been on a holiday either as chief minister or now as prime minister.

-- When asked about whether the PM takes a day off, Modi responded that since becoming Gujarat chief minister in 2001, he hasnt taken any time off. He says in the interview that travelling across the nation enriched his life, opening it up to new experiences.

On sleep

My sleep cycle varies from four to six hours, depending on the workload. But I get a sound sleep every night.

-- This goes with his work ethos. The pradhan sevak says he works tirelessly for the nation and it shows from his sleep patterns. In the interview, he says that he falls asleep within minutes of hitting the bed and his sleep is sound without a worry in the world.

IMAGE: Modi has always been a strong proponent of yoga. He's always present at the International Yoga Day celebrations, taking lead and showing the nation how it's done. Photograph: Pawan Kumar/Reuters

First and last activity of the day

My day begins with yoga as I think it is extremely beneficial for the mind and body.

-- Despite the fact that he governs over the worlds largest democracy the PM says he makes the time to do yoga and thats what fuels him for the day. He says that despite his hectic scheduling, he also takes time out and reads comments and feedback shared by citizens on the Narendra Modi Mobile App.

As for what he does before going to bed, Modi says its all work as he goes through documents that are sent to him through the day and also preparing for the next days schedule and appointments.

Favourite food

I am not much of a foodie. I enjoy a simple vegetarian meal every day.

-- We all know Narendra Modi is a strict vegetarian so much so that even at state banquets and meetings with world leaders, the PM opts for an all-vegetarian meal.

IMAGE: Not a foodie, is what PM Modi reveals about his culinary needs and demands. In fact, Modi has travelled the world and maintained his fasts, remember his US trip to visit Barack Obama?

Photograph: Kiyoshi Ota/Pool/Reuters

His inspirations

Swami Vivekananda, Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar,Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Benjamin Franklin.

-- Speaking about his inspirations, PM Modi says that several people have inspired him and he lists out the above names as some of them.

Talking about Swami Vivekananda, he says that the man had unwavering belief in the values of universal harmony and brotherhood. He also praises Mahatma Gandhi for his belief in peace and non-violence. Patels effort to unify and integrate India is another inspiration to Modi.

Bhagat Singhs valour, Dr Ambedkars determination and tenacity and Franklins multi-dimensional personality are all other traits that he values in these great men.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met Jordans King Abdullah II and said he had wonderful meeting that would further boost India-Jordan ties.

IMAGE: PM Modi hugs Jordans King Abdullah II and said he was looking forward to the King's visit to India at the end of this month. Photograph: @MEAIndia/Twitter

Modi arrived on the first leg of his tour of three West Asian countries, including Palestine.

Had a wonderful meeting with His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan. Our discussions today will give great strength to India-Jordan bilateral relations, Modi tweeted after meeting the King.

During the meeting, Modi told the King that he is looking forward to his visit to India in February.

The King, meanwhile, described the meeting as the beginning of a new chapter in the bilateral ties.

The prime minister expressed sincere thanks for logistical support extended for smooth facilitation for his Palestine visit, ministry of external affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

Kumar also tweeted a picture of Modi hugging the King.

A warm hug between friends reflecting our relationship! PM @narendramodi had a very cordial meeting with His Majesty King of Jordan immediately upon arrival in Amman. In a gracious and personal gesture, the King invited Prime Minister Modi to his residence for the meeting, he said.

On his arrival in Amman, Modi was received by Jordan Prime Minister Hani Al-Mulki.

This is Modis first visit to Jordan and also the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister in 30 years. India and Jordan enjoy friendly ties since diplomatic relations were established in 1950.

IMAGE: This is Modis first visit to Jordan and also the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister in 30 years. Photograph: @MEAIndia/Twitter

On Saturday, Modi will leave for Palestine where he is scheduled to hold discussions with President Mahmoud Abbas and reaffirm Indias support for the Palestinian people and the development of Palestine.

Modi will be the first-ever prime minister to visit Palestine.

The PM will leave for the UAE later in the day for a two-day visit.

In the UAE, Modi would hold meetings with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

He said he will also be addressing the 6th edition of the World Government Summit in Dubai, where India is the guest country.

During the visit, Modi said he will engage with leading UAE and Arab CEOs in Dubai on the vast economic opportunities in India and what more can be done to bolster business collaboration.

On the last leg of his trip, Modi would travel to Oman from February 11-12.

Modi will visit Oman for the first time as prime minister and will hold talks with the Sultan of Oman and other key leaders.

He would also interact with leading businesspersons of Oman on developing stronger economic and business links with India.

More than nine million Indians work and live in the Gulf region, of which about one third live in the UAE alone. In Oman, they constitute the largest expatriate community.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday asked Bharatiya Janata Party MPs to take welfare schemes announced in the budget to the masses, saying that popularising them would lead to the party winning in the polls, according to leaders present at the meeting.

The MPs' success is linked to the party's performance, the prime minister told the BJP parliamentary meeting, the leaders said.

Party president Amit Shah also spoke at the meeting and blamed Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's 'undemocratic' politics for his party members heckling the prime minister during his speech in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

Modi dwelt at length on the Union budget, calling it especially positive for farmers and the poor while citing the announcement of a health insurance scheme for 10 crore families, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar told reporters.

Modi asked MPs to inform the masses about various pro-people features of the budget.

The prime minister also asked the gathering to hold meetings at booths to take various welfare schemes announced in the budget to people and run intensive campaigns to propagate them, Kumar said.

Some leaders present in the meeting later said the prime minister underlined the importance of popularising these schemes for winning polls and told them that their win was linked to the party's victory.

He asked them to hold mock parliaments in various places to discuss the budget and praised Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's reply in the Lok Sabha during a discussion on it.

Modi also heaped praise on Shah for his maiden speech in the Rajya Sabha.

Modi made a reference to his rally in Tripura, which goes to the polls on February 18, on Thursday and said a huge crowd had arrived despite attempts of the state's Left government to prevent people from attending it.

Shah hit out at Congress chief Rahul Gandhi in his address, Kumar said.

Never before in the parliamentary history was a prime minister's reply to the president's address disrupted by the Opposition, Shah said, referring to Congress protests in the well of the Lok Sabha during Modi's over 90-minute speech on Wednesday.

Gandhi's mindset is undemocratic and that is why the prime minister had to speak amid disruptions, he said.

When Manmohan Singh was prime minister for over 10 years, such a situation never occurred, he said.

Shah also touched on the Congress' attack on the government over the Rafale aircraft deal, saying Jaitley in his speech had touched on its various aspects.

"The broader details of the deal have been shared in Parliament. But every detail, including those about its weapons and their cost, cannot be made public," Kumar quoted Shah as saying.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and senior BJP leader LK Advani at the BJP parliamentary party meeting, during the Budget session 2018-19 of Parliament in New Delhi on Friday. Photograph: Atul Yadav/PTI Photo
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 Memorandum of Understanding between the Transitional Government of Ethiopia and the Government of Sudan and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for the Voluntary Repatriation of Ethiopian Refugees in Sudan

Publication Date 2 February 1993

Country Ethiopia | Sudan

Topics Voluntary repatriation

Other Languages / Attachments Letter of Understanding between the Government of Sudan, the Transitional Government of Ethiopia and UNHCR on the Voluntary Repatriation Program for Ethiopian Refugees in Sudan

Cite as National Legislative Bodies / National Authorities, Memorandum of Understanding between the Transitional Government of Ethiopia and the Government of Sudan and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for the Voluntary Repatriation of Ethiopian Refugees in Sudan, 2 February 1993, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a7dc0c64.html [accessed 13 September 2021]
Henderson, NV -- (ReleaseWire) -- 02/09/2018 --The pride of the place where the entire family gathers to share a meal and spend quality time together is the kitchen. Remodeling it to suit the convenience of each family happens to be the forte of Las Vegas Kitchen & Bathroom Remodeling that believes in giving the absolute best to their customers.



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It is, without doubt, one of the great albums of the 1960s and if you want the definitive version, you want the Love  Forever Changes 50th Anniversary Edition box set.

This is everything you could hope for of the 1967 masterpiece and more. It is a 4CD/DVD/LP collection housed in a beautifully illustrated 12 x 12 hardbound book that features a newly written essay and track-by-track notes by music historian Ted Olsen.

The set features a few firsts for the album, including the CD-debut of a remastered version made by its original co-producer and engineer Bruce Botnick, as well as the first-ever release of the mono version on CD.

Also here are alternate mixes of the album, as well as a selection of rare and unreleased singles and studio outtakes. Botnicks stereo remaster of the original album appears on vinyl for the first time too.

As for the DVD, that is a 24/96 stereo mix of the original album remastered by Botnick plus Your Mind And We Belong Together, a rare promotional video directed by Elektra producer Mark Abramson that was originally released in 1968.

The extensive track listing is below. If you want it, the box is available to pre-order ahead of the 6th April release date for what sounds like a reasonable 42.45.

Find out more at the Amazon website

Tracks:

Disc 1: Original Album / Disc 2: Mono Mix

1. Alone Again Or

2. A House Is Not a Motel

3. Andmoreagain

4. The Daily Planet

5. Old Man

6. The Red Telephone

7. Maybe t People Would Be the Times or Between Clark and Hilldale

8. Live and Let Live

9. The Good Humor Man He Sees Everything Like This

10. Bummer in the Summer

11. You Set the Scene

Disc 3: Alternate Mix

1. Alone Again Or

2. A House Is Not a Motel

3. Andmoreagain

4. The Daily Planet

5. Old Man

6. The Red Telephone

7. Maybe the People Would Be the Times or Between Clark and Hilldale

8. Live And Let Live

9. The Good Humor Man He Sees Everything Like This

10. Bummer in the Summer

11. You Set the Scene

12. Wonder People (I Do Wonder) (Outtake, Alternate Mix)

Disc 4: Singles and Outtakes

1. Wonder People (I Do Wonder)

2. Alone Again Or (Single Version)

3. A House Is Not a Motel (Single Version)

4. Hummingbirds (Demo)

5. A House Is Not a Motel (Backing Track)

6. Andmoreagain (Alternate Electric Backing Track)

7. The Red Telephone (Tracking Sessions Highlights)

8. Wooly Bully (Outtake)

9. Live and Let Live (Backing Track) *

10. Wonder People (I Do Wonder) (Outtake, Backing Track) *

11. Your Mind and We Belong Together (Tracking Sessions Highlights)

12. Your Mind and We Belong Together

13. Laughing Stock

14. Alone Again Or (Mono Single Remix)

DVD: 24/96 Stereo Mix

1. Alone Again Or

2. A House Is Not a Motel

3. Andmoreagain

4. The Daily Planet

5. Old Man

6. The Red Telephone

7. Maybe the People Would Be the Times or Between Clark and Hilldale

8. Live and Let Live

9. The Good Humor Man He Sees Everything Like This

10. Bummer in the Summer

11. You Set the Scene

12. Your Mind and We Belong Together (Video)

Vinyl LP: Original Album Side 1

1. Alone Again Or

2. A House Is Not a Motel

3. Andmoreagain

4. The Daily Planet

5. Old Man

6. The Red Telephone

Vinyl LP: Original Album Side 2

1. Maybe the People Would Be the Times or Between Clark and Hilldale

2. Live And Let Live

3. The Good Humor Man He Sees Everything Like This

4. Bummer in the Summer

5. You Set the Scene

* Previously Unreleased
A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
Graham Brookes

A MAN who claimed more than 200 child abuse images had been downloaded onto his computer by somebody else, has been found guilty of possessing indecent images.

Graham Brookes (51), of St Nicolas Road, Rawmarsh, was found guilty at Sheffield Crown Court of six counts of making indecent images of children, one of distributing indecent images of children and one of possessing extreme pornography involving an animal.

Brookes denied all the charges and claimed someone had hacked into his computer and accessed the indecent images.

But a jury took just over an hour to reject his account after a two-day trial.

Ms Nicola Quinney, prosecuting, said Brookes home was raided by police on October 9, 2015, and his computer tower and laptop seized.

Forensic examination revealed the devices contained 38 category A images (the most extreme level) including 11 films, 28 category B images, 158 category C images and extreme pornography involving an animal.

She said the accessible images had been created between 2012 and October 2015 - a week before police raided Brookes home.

Ms Quinney said: Also seized was his mobile phone, that didnt contain any indecent images of children, but officers found messages on his Facebook profile of a concerning nature.

One of the conversations from Brookes Facebook account was with a man who had asked him: Hows things, got any dirty pictures for me lol.

Brookes replied: Lol, you after a nice dirty birthday treat, mate?

Got some on PC and not phone, will send some tonight.

Brookes had numerous Skype accounts in which he exchanged indecent messages with other paedophiles, the court heard.

Ms Quinney said: Also in the account, a number of images appear to have been transferred between users.

Brookes made no comment during two police interviews and claimed in court his computer had been hacked into.

He was bailed and will be sentenced at the same court on March 1.


ALMOST one in three children in Rotherham is living in poverty, according to a new report.

End Child Poverty said 17,960 (30.4 per cent) of children in the local authority area were living below the breadline.

Tax credit data and national trends in worklessness were used to estimate the number of children in poverty because their parents have lost their jobs, with the findings broken down into parliamentary constituencies.

There were 8,699 (39.3 per cent) children classed as living in poverty in Rotherham, 6,175 (28.4 per cent) in Wentworth and Dearne and 4,811 (23.5 per cent) in the Rother Valley.

Labour MPs blamed Tory cuts and backed calls from End Child Poverty -a campaign group made up of childrens charities, child welfare organisations, social justice groups, faith groups and trade unions - for the Government to end the freeze on childrens benefits, which includes child benefit, child tax credit and the child element of Universal Credit.

Rotherham MP Sarah Champion (pictured) said she was appalled but not surprised at the figures.

She said: The child poverty crisis in the UK is growing and some of the most deprived areas have seen these figures increase by more than ten percentage points since 2015.

Research by The Childrens Society and Step Change found that ten per cent of families have taken out credit to buy food for their children.

The last Labour government committed to ending child poverty by 2020.

We were on target to achieve that but the Tories scrapped this commitment with devastating, and inevitable consequences.

Wentworth and Dearne MP John Healey said: Universal Credit is caust1ing real suffering in our area.

It needs to be transformed to make sure it reduces child poverty and helps people get work.

Sir Kevin Barron, Rother Valley MP, said he would work with local agencies to tackle the issue in Rother Valley, while pressuring the Government to move away from austerity, which is causing so much pain.

In neighbouring local authorities, Sheffield had 35,820 children in poverty, Doncaster had 20,412 and Barnsley had the lowest with 14,182.

Rotherham Borough Council leader, Cllr Chris Read, said Tory decisions were making families poorer.

He said families were under huge pressure and children were going without essentials, adding: That in turn places more pressure on public services.

The council supported food banks and issued crisis loans to vulnerable families, Cllr Read said.

A government spokeswoman said: The best route out of poverty is through employment, and since 2010 an extra three million more are now in work and 600,000 fewer children are living in workless households.


About blockchain coming into the most conservative industry

(INTERFAX) - The diamond industry is perhaps the most conservative of all. It was originated in the 16th century by the inhabitants of the Jewish Quarter of Antwerp, who passed their skill of precepting and processing diamonds from generation to generation. Fervidly treating their craft, inaccessible to outsiders, they used to complete one-time orders from monarchs and aristocracy. Up to now, very much in the industry is built on trust and special relations between several dozens of sightholders and diamond miners, who can easily be counted on the fingers of one hand.

They have already been observing the established ritual of transactions for several decades. A sightholder, after a little preliminary inspection, pays for a set of boxes  plain paper envelopes containing a mix of diamonds; some part of the assortment approximately corresponds to the buyer's request, while the rest is completed by the seller in accordance with his preferences.

The mystique of these relationships was ruthlessly violated with the advent of gem-quality synthetic diamonds to the market a few years ago. Synthetic diamonds are a complete analog of natural diamonds but synthesized in the lab and sold with an average discount of 30%. Manufacturers of synthetics in the West position it as a technological novelty using eco and conflict-free descriptors, which finds a response among the main group of jewelry consumers - American millennials. The industry faced two threats at once: legal and illegal substitution of natural diamonds with lab-made stones.

Illegal mixing of synthetic and natural diamonds became a nightmare for diamond miners, whose message was based on the limited and unique nature of their products. Besides, the irrevocable status of the diamond ring as a companion of real feelings, formed under the influence of the "A Diamond is Forever" advertising campaign launched by De Beers in the late 1940s, has been largely shaken. Modern boys and girls feel a slight chill at the word forever and prefer bitcoin mining farms to diamonds. The #affordablediamonds hashtag standing for synthetic stones got lately popular in the social networks. And this explains a lot in the changing priorities of major consumers, for whom it is more important to have impressions than the awareness of the hefty sum of money spent to prove ones serious intentions. Finally, you may use the saved money to buy something else in addition to the ring.

Nevertheless, diamond miners still have a set of tools to highlight the uniqueness of natural diamonds and to strengthen consumer confidence. Among them, there is a tracing system that will permit to solve the problem of undisclosed synthetics and to refute the stereotyped conflict status of natural stones, featured in the "Blood Diamond" movie with Leonardo DiCaprio, but currently devoid of valid reasons. In a world of fleeting connections and disposable luxury, diamonds must stand for enduring value that is grounded in confidence. Confidence that a diamond has been responsibly sourced, confidence in its value and confidence that it is the real thing, Bruce Cleaver, CEO of De Beers said recently.

Ideally, such a tracing system should provide information on the time and place of diamond mining, on diamond manufacturers and on all the steps that preceded the emergence of a stone in a jewelry store window. The State is also interested in improving the accounting of precious stones - which, due to their characteristics, are more difficult to deal with than gold bars - and restrict the turnover of counterfeit goods. In 2017, Russias Ministry of Finance made the first public mention of the details of the project to introduce a registration and marking system for precious stones in jewelry.

MARKING OF POLISHED DIAMONDS

"It is of fundamental importance for diamonds to ensure the history of their origin - in order to exclude the penetration of blood diamonds and, most importantly, synthetics. There were scandals when the goods sold at the boutiques of the world's leading jewelry brands were found to contain synthetics, Alexey Moiseev, Russias Deputy Finance Minister said some days ago.

The project has three stages, and only the first one refers directly to diamonds, during which it is planned to establish an electronic document flow between the producer, the diamond cutter and the control bodies. "As soon as a diamond is mined and its primary sorting takes place, all the information about it should be recorded in an electronic database," Alexey Moiseev said. As an example, we may take a refinery of precious metals, whose database contains information about each bullion produced. The information from the electronic database of the diamond producer will be passed to the diamond manufacturer and then to the jeweler to be recorded on the paper tag accompanying the product.

"Further on, any customer buying a diamond jewelry piece may use his or her smartphone to scan this tag for the diamond code and find out that this diamond was mined in Yakutia or in the Arkhangelsk Region, then cut in Smolensk and set into a jewelry piece in Moscow," Alexey Moiseev explained. These data will be accumulated in the integrated information system of the supervisory authorities monitoring the turnover of precious stones from mine to market.

The third stage is the most expensive and technically complex. It involves applying nano marks to diamonds. Such a mark will duplicate the QR-code from the tag and contain all the information about a stone. The marks will be put by Gokhran, while the controllers of the Assay Chamber will inspect these marks at jewelry stores. The purpose is to control the identity of information on a jewelry tag with the data of a nano mark on a stone. The mark should be less than 1 mm in size, so as not to affect the consumer qualities of precious stones.

The cost of applying nano marks to diamonds is to be borne by the State, so the production costs of diamond manufacturers and jewelers will not increase, the deputy finance minister explained. According to Alexey Moiseev, the involved costs are estimated at hundreds of millions of rubles, but they are understandable from the point of view of protecting the consumer from buying goods that do not correspond to their names and characteristics.

The technology has yet to be selected and options are being discussed with specialists from Belgium, although Russian equipment will have priority, Alexey Moiseev said. De Beers International Institute of Diamond Grading & Research has proprietary technology for applying unique marks to diamonds. In addition, there is globally used technology that is applicable only for investment diamonds (when precious stones are placed in a tamper-proof box).

Until recently, state marking in Russia was applied only to fur-coats and alcohol. This year, tobacco was added to this category where the marking is carried out on a digital basis and is protected by cryptographic technologies. A digital code is put on a pack of cigarettes, and the goods traceability - control of their movement and withdrawal from the turnover - is carried out on the basis of data obtained from the cash register equipment. Due to the tracing at each stage, the occurrence of "duplicate" goods is excluded, thus negating the possibility of counterfeit. The system of digital marking of tobacco (this year the authorities intend to distribute it to footwear, dairy products and other goods) is sold by OOO Operator-CRPT (a subsidiary of the Center for Advanced Technologies Development, which is a joint venture between Alexander Galitskys Elvis+ Group (25%), Rostecs Avtomatika Concern (25%) and Peter-Service, which is part of USM Group and a supplier of billing systems to MegaFon (MOEX: MFON) (50%). According to the Decree issued by the President of the Russian Federation this last December, the marking of all goods in the Russian Federation will be unified on the basis of the Operator-CRPT system until 2024.

The decision to start marking jewelry goods has not yet been made, although the Ministry of Finance plans that the system will be put into operation in 2019-2020. The ministry has been instructed to launch diamond marking in 2018, Alexey Moiseev told journalists. The initiative to integrate jewelry goods into the overall project of digital marking will positively affect all the stages of jewelry turnover, including online trading - with the marking system made operational the jewelry trade will become fully legal and the 15% of market players operating in the gray zone will leave the scene, believes Nikita Poklad, President of the Association of Online Jewelry Stores.

WITH A HOPE FOR BLOKCHEIN

While the initiative of the Ministry of Finance will form new business conditions for Russian diamond manufacturers and especially for jewelers, ALROSA will be affected only indirectly and insignificantly. The marking procedure will not be applied to rough diamonds, as they usually go straight to manufacturers and, besides, rough diamonds are not sold to individuals in the Russian Federation. The guarantee of origin for polished goods produced by DIAMONDS ALROSA is an important component but taken that polished goods account for about 2% of the company's revenue, it is clear this measure is certainly not enough in the struggle for clean supplies.

In the long run, synthetic diamonds embrace not only polished diamonds, but rough diamonds as well. And demand for these rough diamonds, as it is admitted by one former core-business employee of ALROSA, is quite significant even among sightholders. Limited supply prods them to neatly move towards synthetics. Having exhausted the limits offered by ALROSA and De Beers for a single customer, a sightholder will have to either limit his or her business or turn to synthetics producers, Interfax was told by this source.

So, is the situation hopeless? No, it is just needed to identify synthetics and not allow it to mix with natural stones, diamond miners say. This answer has a share of common sense, if we recall the insignificant share of gem-quality synthetics (according to Morgan Stanley, it is no more than 1% of the global diamond market in value terms) and the trend of lab-grown diamond manufacturers to offer their goods for use in high-tech areas. Still, why do lab-grown diamonds happen to penetrate the boxes of natural rough diamonds sold by miners and how to deal with this phenomenon, which certainly threatens their margins?

From the moment a diamond is extracted from the earth (or synthesized at a laboratory) and then transformed into a polished stone shining in the ring on a girl's finger, it is being held for quite a long time by a limited number of diamond market players in the so-called midstream. This segment includes both sightholders and diamond manufacturers; moreover, the majority of them is engaged in both diamond manufacturing and reselling diamond boxes to the secondary market. Theoretically, it is at this stage that a "window" opens for illegal admixing of synthetic stones to natural diamonds. Unfair midstream players may use lab-grown diamonds as a substitute for more expensive natural stones in order to reduce costs. The synthetics manufacturers operating in the legal field are not interested in passing off their goods for natural stones  in the first place, it is clear from the outset that they do not mine diamonds; and secondly, it would not be very consistent in the light of positioning your product as ultra-modern and eco-friendly.

To ensure transparency of transactions in this segment, De Beers and ALROSA plan to use the blockchain technology originally developed for digital currency. Last December, De Beers was the first to announce investments in a blockchain platform, which will provide "a single, immutable record that traces a diamonds individual journey through the value chain." Data on each diamond will be recorded in a highly secure electronic log and each event or transaction is to be registered in a database backed by advanced information security technology. What is important, the system will be able to keep confidential the transaction details, which the buyer and the seller do not want to disclose. De Beers is in negotiations about a possible joint venture with the Antwerp World Diamond Center coordinating the trade in the global industrys capital, which accounts for about 80% of the worlds rough diamond turnover.

According to De Beers, the blockchain platform is in the interests of both end consumers concerned with the authenticity and positive effect of luxury goods, and the midstream, which will have a chance to reduce selling costs without losing confidence. Also, it is necessary for retailers and the banks, which are crediting the industry.

By leveraging blockchain technology, we will provide an additional layer of assurance to consumers and industry participants, with every diamond registered on the platform having a record as everlasting as the diamond itself, said De Beers CEO Bruce Cleaver, summing up the gist of the matter.

So far, ALROSAs experience does not cover rough diamond origin tracing. In the end of 2016, the company became a partner in the tracing program for large stones run by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). This is a digital program installed on smartphones, in which the GIA certificate number is used as a password opening access to the history of a polished diamond, containing all the information about it: the place of extraction of a rough diamond from which it was made, its photographs, its planning-machine layouts produced at a diamond cutting factory. The negative aspect of this program is that it is developed for polished diamonds above 1 carat in size, thus producing a contradiction, as such diamonds are usually bought by wealthy people, while e-gadgets are mostly used by those who buy smaller stones. Besides, the customers of DIAMONDS ALROSA receive paper certificates containing codes permitting to trace the origin of each rough diamond turned into a polished diamond. To abandon such certificates, this method is planned to be extended to an electronic platform by launching a pilot project in the Russian market.

Recognizing the need to address the issue of origin in the rough diamond segment, which is strategically important for ALROSA, the company announced in late 2017 that it was mulling a possibility of introducing the blockchain technology "or other technological ideas" into its rough diamond production. The details are not yet known.

Inventiveness, a rich arsenal of knowledge and willingness to change shaped the face of the industry that once opened the potential of crystals, matured in the Earths depths for billions of years, to humanity and created a unique emotional atmosphere around the tradition to give them as gifts at the most important moments of life. During its long history, the industry survived many ups and downs. At one time, the termination of diamond supplies from India seemed no less dangerous than the present challenge of synthetics, while the invention of the skife (a polishing wheel impregnated with a mixture of olive oil and diamond powder) produced no less revolutionary changes. Now the diamond industry will again have to change in order to preserve consumers - at least that part of them that remains loyal to natural diamonds.




On the occasion of its 10th anniversary, the Diamond Development Initiative (DDI) presented a unique searchable database of artisanal miners in the Democratic Republic of Congo, specially formatted for easier access and usability.

From mid-2014 to December 2015, DDI designed and delivered a program of miner registration in three provinces in the DRC, with funding from PROMINES-World Bank. Teams composed of government, civil society and private sector representatives of both genders registered 108,169 artisanal miners of gold, diamond, tin, tantalum and tungsten using iPads. The program engaged 48 registration agents who travelled 12,000 km by motorcycle and 3,000 km by foot to reach the most remote sites, some of which were previously unknown to authorities.



Alex Shishlo, Editor of the Rough&Polished European Bureau in Brussels




The Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) said it has resumed diamond auctions with a stockpile of more than 1 million carats of rough diamonds produced in Marange expected to be placed under the hammer during the first quarter of the year.

Company chief executive Morris Mpofu told Rough & Polished on the sidelines of a mining conference in Cape Town that they had already lined up three auctions within the first four months of the year.

We could not sell in the last quarter as companies had closed for Christmas, butwe are back on the market we have three tenders that we are running this quarter to sell over 1 million carats, he said.

Mpofu said the diamonds were being auctioned in the country by the state-owned Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ).

He said the diamonds were stockpiled because the system for marketing Marange diamonds had been distorted by the previous miners who were accused of underpricing the stones, among other ills.

We were not having value for our diamonds and that underpricing was prejudicing the country and when we got in with a new model of mining, we thought we need to re-orient the marketing structure for diamonds so we stopped supplying and started stockpiling, said Mpofu.

[We] got engaged in effective value management as we wanted to ensure that by the time we [resume auctions], we would have addressed all the bottlenecks

Zimbabwe produced 1,8 million carats last year compared with 960 000, a year earlier.



Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau from Cape Town, South Africa, Rough&Polished




ALROSA President Sergey Ivanov said in an interview with Kommersant that in the next five years the diamond mining company does not intend to reduce production.

When asked whether ALROSA will follow De Beers' example of cutting sales to maintain prices, Ivanov said that this is not the company's task.

"Based on the current state of the world's diamond production capacity and growth in demand, we are confident that in the next five years or so we will not face the need to reduce production volumes," he said. "If we reduce production ... costs will immediately grow".

However, the company probably will not be able to increase production either due to technical factors, Ivanov noted, and in the coming years ALROSA's production will fluctuate in the range of 37-38 million carats a year.

In 2016, ALROSA reduced production while reacting to a drop in prices, but sufficient reserves were accumulated to be sold in 2017, he added.

"Our sales exceeded production - everything that has been accumulated has been realized, this year sales will also exceed production," Ivanov concluded.

Earlier, at a forum in Davos, Ivanov said that ALROSA expects sales of at least 40 million carats of diamonds this year - 36.6 million carats from production and 3.4 million carats from stocks.




Last autumn, ALROSA decided to organize the sale of its gas assets through an auction in order to avoid accusations of subjectivity or lack of transparent bidding, said ALROSA President Sergey Ivanov in an interview with Kommersant. The auction will be held in ten days.

"For three years, ALROSA has been negotiating with potential buyers of these assets. All participants of the Russian oil and gas market knew these assets were on sale" Ivanov said, "By autumn, we estimated the number of applicants for assets and realized that an auction would be needed to get the maximum price and to avoid the risk of accusations of subjectivity or insufficient transparency of pricing. It was clear that only the largest oil and gas companies of the Russian Federation would be interested to participate."

Meanwhile, ALROSA-Gas, which produces and transports gas in Yakutia, will not be sold, since, according to Ivanov, it ensures the energy security of the company and its projects.

Earlier, Rosneft said it would not participate in the auction and its subsidiaries - RN-Holding, RN-Gaz and Bashneft - withdrew their applications.

At the end of 2017, ALROSA announced an auction for the sale of its non-core gas assets. The diamond miner put up for sale in a single lot its 100-percent stakes in Maretiom Investments Limited and Velarion Investments Limited, which in turn own 100 percent of shares in AO Geotransgaz and OOO Urengoy Gas Company. The auction is scheduled for February 19, 2018 with a starting price of 30 billion rubles and bid increment of 100 million rubles.




ALROSA President Sergey Ivanov in an interview with Kommersant said that the diamond mining company will need a significant change in its internal corporate culture for further development.

"Changes require a significant restructuring within the company and an alteration in the internal corporate culture. The company needs fresh blood at all levels, the experience of system building in other industries," Ivanov said, adding that ALROSA has many unresolved problems, such as lack of transparency in procurement and analytics, duplication of functionality and others.

According to the President of ALROSA, a long-term strategy is required to solve problems and increase the sustainability of operations.

"New goals and tasks require new ideas, new competencies," Ivanov says, "Today, in my opinion, we managed to bring together a professional and efficient team that knows its business well and is focused most on the outcome. Time will show to which extent these personnel decisions were accurate".

Also, according to Ivanov, interaction with shareholders of the company is developing successfully, and they are satisfied with the latest personnel decisions in the company.




Broadcom Limited (AVGO) reiterated that $82 per share is the company's best and final offer for Qualcomm. Broadcom urged Qualcomm to meet with without further delay, and the company stands ready to meet this Saturday or Sunday.

"Following Qualcomm's announcement today that it is willing to meet with us, we offered to meet with Qualcomm on Friday, Saturday or Sunday. I was astonished to hear that Qualcomm is not willing to meet until Tuesday - only after Qualcomm's and Broadcom's respective meetings with Glass Lewis and ISS. The proposed merger agreement is highly favorable to Qualcomm and its stockholders and includes an $8 billion regulatory reverse termination fee and a 6% per annum regulatory ticking fee on the cash portion of the merger consideration (net of dividends). We want to reiterate that $82 per Qualcomm share is our best and final offer," said, Hock Tan, President and CEO.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
German consumer electronics retailer Ceconomy AG (MTAGF.PK, MTTRY.PK) reported Friday that its first-quarter earnings per share declined to 0.33 euro from 0.37 euro last year.

Earnings before interest and tax or EBIT decreased to 258 million euros from last year's 308 million euros. EBIT margin declined to 3.7 percent from 4.5 percent a year ago.

EBITDA decreased to 315 million euros from prior year's 366 million euros.

However, total sales for the quarter grew 0.6 percent to 6.94 billion euros from 6.89 billion euros a year ago.

Sales adjusted for currency effects and portfolio changes rose 1.3 percent from the year-ago period to around 6.9 billion euros.

The two brands - MediaMarkt and Saturn - increased their online sales by around 22 per cent year on year.

"On the other hand, December sales in the period around Christmas and December earnings were not as strong as expected. Now we need to make sure we make up the shortfall in earnings," said Pieter Haas, CEO of Ceconomy.

In the four months from October 2017 to January 2018, Ceconomy generated an increase of 1.6 per cent in sales adjusted for the previous year's VAT campaign. Currency-adjusted sales increased by 0.5 percent.

Looking ahead to fiscal 2018, the company affirmed that it expects, both in terms of EBITDA and EBIT, an increase at least in the mid-single-digit percentage range, not taking into account the earnings contributions from the investment in Fnac Darty S.A.

The Western & Southern Europe region in particular will contribute to this.

Ceconomy also said it expects a slight year-on-year increase in total sales for the financial year 2017/18.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
European stocks were trading lower on Friday as worries over rising bond yields and budget disputes in Washington kept investors nervous.

While Asian stocks succumbed to heavy selling pressure after carnage on Wall Street overnight, losses across Europe remained limited in view of a rebound in U.S. stock futures.

The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index was down half a percent at 372.02 in late opening deals after declining 1.6 percent the previous day. The index is now on track for a 4 percent weekly loss.

The German DAX was moving down 0.3 percent, France's CAC 40 index was declining 0.4 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was down about half a percent.

TalkTalk Telecom tumbled 2.5 percent in London, a day after the company warned on profits and slashed dividend.

Tullow Oil slid half a percent, Total SA eased 0.3 percent and BP Plc dropped 1 percent as oil prices fell for a sixth straight session on reports that Iran plans to boost production.

Transport and logistics company A.P. Mller - Mrsk A/S shed 1.7 percent after its fourth-quarter profit missed expectations.

French asset manager Amundi tumbled 6 percent after it set out a new growth target for the 2018-2020 period.

Belgium's Umicore jumped as much as 8 percent after the company reported better-than-expected full-year results.

Tesco gained over 1 percent after an U.S. activist investor said Booker Group should get a better offer from the grocery and general merchandise retailer. Booker shares also advanced 1 percent.

Shares of L'Oreal advanced 1.5 percent in Paris after strong demand in Asia helped the cosmetics giant boost its fourth-quarter sales.

On the data front, France's industrial production expanded more than expected in December, reversing a drop in November, the statistical office Insee said.

Industrial production grew 0.5 percent month-on-month in the month, in contrast to a 0.3 percent fall in November. Output was expected to grow 0.1 percent.

U.K. industrial output decreased 1.3 percent month-on-month in December, marking the first fall in nine months, while the country's visible trade deficit widened at the end of the year, separate reports showed.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Market Analysis
Crude oil futures continued to fall Friday morning amid a stronger U.S. dollar and robust U.S. production.

The Energy Information Administration lifted its forecasts for 2018 and 2019 U.S. crude-oil production earlier this week.

WTI light sweet crude oil was down 40 cents at $60.31 a barrel.

On the economic front, the Commerce Department's Wholesale Trade for December will be issued at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for 0.2 percent, down from 0.8 percent in November.

Baker-Hughes Rig Count for the week is expected at 1.00 pm ET. The North American Rig Count has risen for the past two weeks as drillers look to take advantage of plus-$60 oil. The number of new drills in the Permian Basis has risen sharply.

The U.S. is now the number one oil and natural gas producer, according to the BP Statistical Review of Energy.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Market Analysis
German and French finance ministers and central bank governors have sought joint action by the G20 group of advanced and developing countries to tackle the risks posed by cryptocurrencies, reports said Friday.

In a letter to the finance minister of Argentina, which holds the G20 presidency now, they have asked the matter to be placed as the top agenda for the upcoming meeting of the leaders from these countries in March.

The first meeting of the G20's Digital Economy Task Force is being held in Buenos Aires on February 8 and 9.

"We believe there may be new opportunities arising from the tokens and the technologies behind them," French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, his German counterpart Peter Altmaier, Bank of France governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau and his German peer Jens Weidmann said in the letter.

"However, tokens could pose substantial risks for investors and can be vulnerable to financial crime without appropriate measures," they said.

"In the longer run, potential risks in the field of financial stability may emerge as well," they added.

They have sought an international report on the impact of cryptocurrencies, an International Monetary Fund report on the financial stability risks they pose and trans-boundary efforts to regulate them.

Earlier this week, European Central Bank Executive Board member Yves Mersch urged regulators and legislators on all levels to urgently pay close attention to mitigating the potential risks that could stem from the rapid growth of cryptocurrencies.

Further, he said any virtual currency of banks must be "rigorously supervised" and they must not accept cryptocurrencies as collateral or accept them with sufficient haircuts.

"If you increasingly have bridges between the virtual world and the real world and then there is a collapse in this virtual world, it could drain liquidity from the real world," Mersch said in an interview to Bloomberg this week, the text of which was put up on the ECB website.

"This then becomes a concern for the central bank." The ECB is also more concerned about the social and psychological effect digital currencies seem to have on the real , he added.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Technology News
Report: 8 Yemeni civilians killed in 43+ Saudi airstrikes over Thursday [09/February/2018]



SANAA, Feb. 9 (Saba)  Eight Yemini civilians were killed when the US-backed Saudi-led aggression coalition waged more than 43 air strikes on several province of Yemen over Thursday, according to reports combined by Saba News Agency on Friday.



In Jawf Yemen province, seven family-member were killed in airstrike targeted their home in Salaba area of Khub-washaaf district.



Also in Khub-washaaf district, the warplane of aggression launched 12 raids on Utemah area and one on Ghail district.



In the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, A photographer of Sahat channel, Abdullah al-Montaser, was killed in airstrikes which targeted Hais district.



Alo in Hodeidah, the warplanes launched an air strike that targeted poultry truck in the road of Jarahi and Zabid districts.



In Saada province, two aggression air strikes were waged on Mandaba area of Baqem district, one hit a school in Aal-Ali area of Razeh district, and two air strikes were launched on Malahidh area of Dhahir district.



Meanwhile, artillery and missile force of the Saudi enemy shelled several areas of Razeh border district, damaging civilians' farms.



In Hajjah province, the aggression warplanes launched ten strikes on HAradh and Medi districts.



In Amran province, some 50 km away from the capital Sanaa, six air strikes hit Harf-Sufian district.



In Taiz province, the fighter jets launched three strikes east of Saber district.



In Saudi border province of Jizan, two air strike were waged on Jarah valley



In Asir border province, the US-backed Saudi-led aggression coalition launched an air strike on Majaza.



Writing by Sameera al-Mahdi, Editing by Zak

Saba
Think a MinuteThis is a true story about a young Jewish boy named Karl who grew up in Germany.

Karls father was very religious and made sure his family went to the Jewish synagogue and studied the Torah or Jewish bible every day. When Karl was a teenager his family moved to another German town where all the important people were Christians not Jews.

Suddenly, Karls father changed religionsnot because he learned the truth that Jesus Christ is the only true God, but because he wanted to be popular and liked by the important people in the community. Karls family was so surprised and confused. Young Karl especially became deeply disappointed and angry at his father for being such a hypocrite. A few years later, Karl went to England to study and there he decided not to believe in God anymore.

You see, that young teenage boy who was deeply disappointed and embittered by his hypocrite father was Karl Marxthe father of atheistic socialism. It was Karl Marx who wrote the Communist Manifesto. So now for almost a hundred years, over a billion people have suffered under the hopeless rule of atheistic socialism which was started by that hurt and bitter young man, Karl Marx. Thats the terrible damage and influence which resulted from Karls hypocrite father.

Our children are watching the way you and I live every day! Our character and attitudes speak much louder than our words. Our kids arent stupid. They see the act we put on to look religious and good in front of other people. Then they see how we really are at home. They see when were not honest. They see when were two-faced and gossip about others. They see us when we lose our temper and self-control. They see when we wont forgive someone who hurt and wronged us.

Our kids know whether or not were real Christians who live Jesus way every day. But if we are hypocrites, it not only means we ourselves are in danger, it also does great damage to our childrens relationship with God and the kind of people they become as adults. So wont you ask Jesus to forgive you? Then ask Him to take charge of your heart so He can start helping you change. Thats the only way your kids canlearn from you how to follow and become like Christ in their character and lifestyle.

Just Think a Minute
samoa

51,000 vaccine gap worries health chief

A 51,000 gap between people whove received the first dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine and those who got their second has compelled the Ministry of Health C.E.O. to again appeal to the public to get vaccinated.
NEW YORK (AP)  President-elect Donald Trump, a political newcomer who touts his corporate skills, turned businessman-in-chief Tuesday, first demanding the government cancel a multibillion-dollar order for new presidential planes and then hailing a Japanese company's commitment to invest billions in the U.S.

Six weeks before taking office, Trump is telegraphing that he'll take an interventionist role in the nation's economy  as well as play showman when he sees a chance. The celebrity businessman's declaration about Air Force One caused manufacturer Boeing's stock to drop temporarily and raised fresh questions about how his administration  not to mention his Twitter volleys  could affect the economy.

"The plane is totally out of control," Trump told reporters in the lobby of Trump Tower, deeming the deal "ridiculous."

"I think Boeing is doing a little bit of a number. We want Boeing to make a lot of money, but not that much money."

Awhile later, Trump returned to the lobby with Masayoshi Son, the CEO of SoftBank, a massive telecommunications company that counts Sprint among its holdings. Trump pointed proudly to Son's commitment to invest $50 billion in the United States, which Trump said could create 50,000 jobs.

Trump  who also tweeted the deal  shook Son's hand and posed for photos, reveling as he had last week when he toured a Carrier plant in Indiana where he said he had instigated an agreement that will preserve about 1,000 jobs the appliance maker had planned to move to Mexico.

As for Air Force One, the government has contracted with Boeing to build two new planes, which would go into service around 2024. That means Trump might never fly on the aircraft, which carry U.S. presidents around the globe.

The Air Force has pressed for a faster schedule, saying the aging current Boeing 747s are becoming too expensive to repair and keep in good flying shape. The contract for developing and building new planes was to be about $3 billion, but costs have been reported to be rising. The inflated $4 billion figure Trump cited appears to include operation and maintenance.

Trump began his onslaught against Boeing at 8:52 a.m., tweeting "Boeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents, but costs are out of control, more than $4 billion. Cancel order!"

That tweet came 22 minutes after The Chicago Tribune posted a story in which the Boeing CEO voiced concerns about Trump's views on trade.

The president-elect then descended to the lobby of the Manhattan skyscraper that bears his name to reiterate his case.

Trump had tweeted in 2013 that he owned Boeing stock, but a spokesman said Tuesday he sold all of his stock holdings in June. That sale was not publicized by the campaign at the time, and aides did not reveal how much cash it might have generated.

If Trump had held onto his stock portfolio, he would have been required to repeatedly file reports with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics. A 2012 update of the Ethics in Government Act obliges presidents and other senior government officials to report such transactions.

Boeing responded to Trump Tuesday in a statement: "We are currently under contract for $170 million to help determine the capabilities of these complex military aircraft that serve the unique requirements of the president of the United States. We look forward to working with the U.S. Air Force on subsequent phases of the program allowing us to deliver the best planes for the president at the best value for the American taxpayer."

Trump now uses his own plane, a Boeing 757, which he has outfitted with white leather and gold, a large flat-screen television and a bedroom. But as president it is expected that he would travel aboard the Air Force jet, which is equipped with special safety, defensive and communications equipment. Air Force One also has seating for reporters; Trump generally does not allow the press on his own plane.

Late Tuesday, Trump will be using his own 757 to travel to the second stop of his post-election "thank you" tour, in North Carolina, less than a week after an Ohio appearance that felt more like a raucous campaign stop than a traditional speech by a president-to-be.

Retired Gen. James Mattis, who Trump announced as his pick for secretary of defense, at last week's rally, is to appear with Trump at the evening event in Fayetteville.

Later this week there will be rallies in Iowa and Michigan. And on Saturday, Trump will attend the 117th annual Army-Navy football game. The game between the two military academies often draws the commander in chief; both Barack Obama and George W. Bush have attended in recent years.

Before leaving for North Carolina Tuesday, Trump held a number of meetings in New York, including with Rex Tillerson, the CEO of ExxonMobil; Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, who was meeting about a diplomatic post, and radio host Laura Ingraham who is being considered for press secretary.
Lupesoliai Laauliolemalietoa Joseph Parker might have lost his W.B.O. title but in the eyes of Prime Minister Tuilaepa Dr. Sailele Malielegaoi, he is still a winner.

In the wake of the fight in Cardiff on Sunday, Prime Minister Tuilaepa said Samoa should be very proud of what Parker had achieved.

He was especially proud of the exposure Samoa received during the fight watched by 80,000 people at the Principality Stadium and millions of people from around the world.

Samoas national anthem was beautifully sung by Marlena Ott Devoe, who also sung the New Zealand national anthem. During the ring introductions, Michael Buffer used Parkers two matai titles, a first for Parker away from New Zealand.

Watching the fight from Samoa, Tuilaepa said he felt pride and was nervous just like every other Samoan here and around the world.

In the end, Prime Minister Tuilaepa said the loss was not the result we wanted but he congratulated Lupesoliai for a valiant effort.

He lamented the interference by the referee when Parker, who conceded the reach advantage, finally got inside Joshua.

There are so many complaints about the fight on the internet today directly related to the referee, he said. So it makes it clear that Joseph Parker was fighting two opponents at the same time. He was fighting Joshua and at the same time he was fighting the referee.

Tuilaepa said Lennox Lewiss tribute to Parker was beautiful and he said it summed well the feelings of most people.

At the end of the fight, Lewis urged Parker to "keep on pushing" despite the setback.

"Definitely nothing to hang ur head for. Learn from this experience, learn new tactics and keep on pushing. Hands that fast have much further to take u than this. You've done NZ proud but ur not done. Bless [sic]," he said.

"Ref seemed too hurried to break them up at times... but it was a clear win for AJ and he showed maturity & patience [sic]."

Tuilaepa said Samoa should take pride in the fact Lupesoliai has become the first boxer to take Joshua through 12 rounds.

Everyone that was there at the fight even placed bets that Joshua was going to knocking out Joseph Parker.

But it took them by surprise that not only Parker survived the 12 rounds but Parker was still on fire and very much determined after the fight.

As a Samoan, Tuilaepa said it was a very proud moment for him.

The Prime Minister said not many countries in the world get to experience this feeling. First with David Tua, Alex Leapai and now Lupesoliai.

But in terms of successes, the Prime Minister believes Samoas time will come.

He reckons Lupesoliai can redeem himself.

Lupesoliai is still strong and young. Hes still got a lot of opportunities ahead of him to bounce back like every other World Champion.

As for calls from some fans for Lupesoliai to get a new coach, Tuilaepa does not want to buy into it.

But he said there are a few things the Samoan heavyweight needs to change. For starters, he needs to find a new game plan and some new ideas.

It is not certain when Lupesoliai will return to Samoa. He arrived in New Zealand on Tuesday where he has gone straight back to training.
Bottega Americano, a high-profile downtown eatery known for its groundbreaking food hall concept, has closed.

Owners say the East Village location at Park Boulevard and Island Avenue which didnt attract much foot traffic, was partly to blame for the closure.

The restaurant, which opened in 2014 and featured culinary stations, a pizza bar and a grab and go marketplace, cost $3 million to develop.

The owners filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy this week.

Bottega Americano, a first of its kind food hall concept for San Diego when it opened nearly four years ago in downtowns East Village, closed this week, and its owners have filed for bankruptcy.

An ambitious $3 million project housed in an 8,000-square-foot space, the contemporary Italian eatery was part sit-down restaurant, part grab-and-go, part gourmet marketplace with open culinary stations featuring housemade pastas, pizzas, and salumi.

But the restaurants vision as a go-to eatery for an up and coming neighborhood never materialized. Although located just north of the Central Library at the corner of Island Avenue and Park Boulevard on the first floor of the Thomas Jefferson School of Law building, foot traffic was light and access and parking could be difficult, especially during home Padres games, the owners say.

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The main reason why we had to close had to do with the location and lack of traffic, said Giuseppe Ciuffa, one of the partners. We invested a lot of time and money into the concept, which worked very well but unfortunately the location and neighborhood never took off, so it never became what it was supposed to be. Think about Little Italy, everyone walks around and East Village was supposed to be like that.

East Village has seen a lot of redevelopment over the last decade, and in just the last two months, two highrise housing developments opened, but what the neighborhood is lacking right now are job-generating businesses, said developer Pete Garcia, who with business partner David Malmuth conceived the 93-acre IDEA (innovation, design, education and the arts) district in East Village. IDEA1, a six-story, residential-office-retail project with 295 apartments, recently opened.

My wife and I went almost every Friday to the restaurant, and wed sit at the bar and have dinner and most of the time it was well attended but was really soft at lunch, Garcia said. East Village is really developing well but if they (the owners) expected that all of a sudden there would be an explosion of stuff, they probably got ahead of the market and over invested and didnt have enough oxygen to get to the other side.

In its Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing this week, the partnership that owns Bottega Americano listed assets of $100,000 to $500,000 and liabilities from $1 million to $10 million.

Although Bottega Americano had to stay on top of the homeless who would congregate in the area from time to time, Ciuffa did not blame the restaurant closure on that. He also noted that there have been a number of other restaurant closures in the area over the last year or two.

It is too early to know what will take over the now vacant space, Ciuffa said.

I guess we were just the wrong fit for the area, he said.

San Diego restaurant broker Mike Spilky agrees. The density of East Village simply isnt great enough to support a high number of restaurants and as new housing comes on line, those new projects also come with ground floor dining venues.

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That location is very neighborhoody, Spilky said. And if people from outside downtown are going out to eat, theyre going to go to places like Little Italy, North Park. That area where Bottega was just isnt a restaurant neighborhood.

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lori.weisberg@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-2251

Twitter: @loriweisberg
Last April 1, local musician Steve Brogden posted a status update on social media telling friends that his band Nukem, which formed in 2012, would be opening for heavy metal heavies the Scorpions and Megadeth in September.

Brogden tweaked an ad promoting the concert, adding with special guests Nukem underneath the two supergroups, and threw that on his Facebook page. He left it up, fueling intrigue and excitement about the bands big break.

People were buying it and they didnt realize it was April Fools (day), Brogden said. I felt pretty bad about that. I would go to shows and people kept coming up to me and congratulating me on such a giant opportunity.

Now it looks as if the guitar player for the El Cajon-based thrash metal band may have been prescient.

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Nukem is in the running with 13 other bands to be the opening act at a headbanging music festival in Tijuana, Fronterizo Fest 2018. To be held April 27-29 in Estadio Caliente  the stadium formerly known as Agua Caliente Racetrack  it will be headlined by the Scorpions, Megadeth and Suicidal Tendencies.

The festivals lineup also includes DS Legacy, a Dire Straits tribute band that features several former touring members of that English band, including guitarist Phil Palmer, keyboardist Alan Clark, King Crimson saxophonist Mel Collins, former Yes and Buggles member Trevor Horn on bass and vocals, and former Tom Petty/Average White Band drummer Steve Ferrone.

We actually have the chance to make good on our April Fools day joke, Brogden said.

Nukem features Brogden, drummer Norm Leggio and bass player Don Lauder, with an occasional appearance by second guitarist Laura Christine. She originally started playing live with the band and recorded solos on two of the songs on the bands first CD, The Unholy Trinity, released in 2016.

The album also features guest spots by metal-heads Craig Locicero of Forbidden, Reece Scruggs of Havok and Jim Durkin of Dark Angel.

Nukem plays at various San Diego venues, including Brick by Brick, The Casbah, Ramona Main Stage, Soda Bar, Tower Bar and SOMA. It has opened for metal bands from around the globe, including Saxon, Kreator, Voi-Vod, Death Angel and Marty Friedman, former lead guitarist for Megadeth.

Lauder said the artists that influenced Nukem include such old classic thrash bands as Metallica, Slayer, Exodus, Testament and Overkill, as well as new thrash acts like Havok and Evile.

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Leggio, who also drums with the local metal band Psychotic Waltz, is a Granite Hills High alum. His family owned an Italian deli in El Cajon for 25 years. He worked for the heavy metal-oriented Blue Meannie Records in El Cajon from 1989-1996, eventually buying the business.

The store, which closed in 2006, was instrumental in Nukems connection.

Steve was a 14-year-old kid buying metal and always asking if I was hiring, recalls Leggio, 50. So when he was 17, I hired him. He would sit behind the register with his Flying V guitar and play along to King Diamond songs. He developed as a musician and became the fine young man he is today, and we started a band.

Brogden had his own metal band while attending Santana High, but it disbanded after he graduated. He knew Lauder, a transplanted Texan, from the local music scene and asked him if he wanted to start a thrash metal band.

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Steve called me, and I said: Hell yeah! And we pieced it from there, recalled Lauder, who lives in Mira Mesa.

Nukem will put its mettle and metal on the line at 2 p.m. on Feb. 24 in Tijuana at the Audiorama El Trompo. The trio will perform in a battle of the bands with 12 Mexico-based groups and one whose members live and perform on both sides of the border.

As far as Brogden knows, Nukem is the only fully San Diego group on the bill. They will be the 11th act to perform that day. He said that 10 of the 14 bands from the February competition will get to play in April on a stage in the parking lot at Fronterizo Fest 2018.

The four best bands will get even more exposure, with two performing on the festivals main stage on April 28 and two on April 29.

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The Feb. 24 show in Tijuana marks the first time Nukem will perform in Mexico. It is really huge for us, Lauder said.

Metal shows in Mexico are really something special and fun so were really looking forward to bringing Nukem down to them. This will be the largest show weve been a part of. We are 1,000 percent excited for this show in TJ. Our goal, like every show, is to deliver our best show ever.

Nukem is already four songs into making its second CD. But that may have to be put on hiatus, in case the Scorpions or Megadeth invites the band to join them on tour.

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karen.pearlman@sduniontribune.com
Inon Barnatan will succeed Cho-Liang Jimmy Lin as the music director of the La Jolla Music Societys 32-year-old SummerFest.

Barnatans initial contract to head SummerFest is for 20 months, with an option to extend to 32 months. His salary was not disclosed.

He will take over in 2019.

A native of Israel, Barnatan, 38, began playing piano at the age of 3 and made his orchestral debut when he was 11.

Barnatans collaborators have ranged from famed choreographer Mark Morris and actor John Malkovich to the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Tokyo Metropolitan Orchestra.

Acclaimed pianist Inon Barnatan has been chosen by the La Jolla Music Society to succeed Cho-Liang Jimmy Lin as the music director of SummerFest, the nonprofit arts organizations annual August chamber-music festival.

The Israeli-born, New York-based Barnatan will be only the fourth SummerFest music director in the events 32-year history.

Barnatan, 38, will take over in 2019 from Lin, 58, who will conclude his 18th year heading SummerFest on Aug. 31. Barnatans first season in his new position will coincide with next springs opening of the societys new, $78 million Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center in La Jolla.

Inon has always been thought of extremely highly by Jimmy, as well as our audience, said Leah Rosenthal, the societys Director of Artistic Planning & Education.

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Not only is Inon an amazing soloist and chamber player, hes an amazing collaborator, on and off the stage, and a wonderful administrator. And thats key to being SummerFests music director  to work well with the staff and have a shared vision.

Barnatan made his SummerFest debut as a performer in 2012. He lived in his native Israel until he was 16, then moved to London to study at the Royal Academy of Music. He relocated to New York a decade later and has earned rave reviews around the world for his dazzling instrumental command and deeply felt performances of both traditional classical repertoire and contemporary pieces.

In 2014, Barnatan was named the New York Philharmonics first-ever Artist-in-Association, a post he held for three years. Following his appointment in 2014, the philharmonics music director, Alan Gilbert, hailed Barnatan as the complete artist: a wonderful pianist, a probing intellect, passionately committed, and a capable contemporary-music pianist as well.

Barnatans initial contract to head SummerFest is for 20 months, with an option to extend to 32 months. His salary was not disclosed.

In a Wednesday interview at the societys La Jolla offices, the slender musician sounded both elated and honored to succeed Lin at the helm of SummerFest.

I will have nothing to do with the 2018 season, which is a celebration of Jimmys 18 years here, and Im sure he will be daunting to follow, Barnatan said.

Hes been so incredible at his job, and is such a wonderful guy and musician, that its intimidating and also humbling to follow him. But Jimmy left such a great groundwork  and with the people that are working here and the audiences that love coming to SummerFest, I feel it will be much easier for me to step in.

That said, Barnatan readily acknowledges that taking the helm of the festival is not a role he had previously contemplated.

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Being music director here was not really on my radar, because Im so busy, he noted. But, as soon as the idea came up, I realized how many of my interests come together in this position and how much excitement I got out of thinking of the different possibilities, both musical and nonmusical.

Chamber music has always been in some ways central to me. Whether I was playing with orchestras, playing solo or with smaller ensembles, its always been the basis of my ideas about music  collaboration that involves listening, interaction and curiosity. And, for me, this basically brings all of these things together.

Barnatan flew back to New York Thursday morning. He will return to La Jolla in March, April and May to perform in the societys three-concert Swan Song series. It will feature the later works of Franz Schubert, a composer whose music Barnatan has an especially strong affinity for performing. He selected the music and the performers who will join him for the concerts.

This is an early prelude to my becoming SummerFest music director, he said. Ive always enjoyed curating and programming, and Schubert has been one of my passions for a long time. So I created this three-concert series focusing on one of the most miraculous years to ever happen in musical history  the last year of Schuberts life, between when Beethoven died (in 1827) and Schubert died (in 1828) at the age of 31.

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Schubert wrote some of the most miraculous masterpieces  so that in itself is one of the most rich musical experiences you can have as a player and listener, to play and hear to these pieces in succession and track them. Im thrilled to come here, over three months, and present these different concerts  with pieces that are all from 1828  with some of my favorite Schubert musicians. And, in addition to the concerts, well be having these Schubertiads, intimate Schubert chamber-music parties, where the audience will hang out with us.

Barnatans new role at SummerFest will help provide stability for the La Jolla Music Society, which last month saw the surprise resignation of Kristin Lancino, its president and artistic director, barely two years after she had come on board. Her successor has not yet been named.

I wasnt aware of what was going on here behind the scenes, said Barnatan, who spoke with excitement about next years opening of the Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center, SummerFests new home.

I really hope I can preserve the festivals sense of family, he said. And I would love to be able to create a sense of excitement, where both the performers and the audience are thinking about whats going to happen with excitement and anticipation. My hope is that every single moment in the festival is going to be memorable and special.

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george.varga@sduniontribune.com
The National Endowment for the Arts may have been threatened with elimination by the Trump Administration last year, but for now the agency is surviving (with a funding boost from Congress, no less), and continuing to award grants to nonprofit arts groups.

In the just-announced first round of NEA funding for 2018, 10 San Diego cultural organizations received a total of $180,000 in grants.

That was a respectable number  not as high as Los Angeles (with 27 grants) or San Francisco (37), but better than San Jose (which received only one).

Statewide, 132 groups received a total of $3,363,000 in this latest round.

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The details on local grants:

Diversionary Theatre: $10,000 to support the premiere of The Loneliest Girl in the World. The musical by Gordon Leahy and Julia Meinwald has its world premiere at the LGBTQ-centered University Heights theater in May.

Media Arts Center San Diego: $20,000 to support the 25th San Diego Latino Film Festival and related public programming.

Old Globe Theatre: $40,000 to support the New Voices program, which showcases the latest work by rising dramatists.

Pacific Arts Movement: $20,000 to support the 19th San Diego Asian Film Festival and related public programming.

Jean Isaacs San Diego Dance Theater: $10,000 to support Trolley Dances, a series of site-specific dance performances along the San Diego transit system, and related educational programming.

San Diego Museum Council Inc.: $10,000 to support Kids Free in October, a countywide initiative to encourage children to attend museums.

San Diego Repertory Theatre: $15,000 to support the world premiere of Beachtown, a new immersive work by resident playwright Herbert Siguenza that has its world premiere in May.

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San Diego Symphony: $20,000 to support a music festival exploring the connection of rhythm and beat in the human experience.

La Jolla Music Society: $10,000 to support the annual SummerFest chamber-music festival.

Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego: $25,000 to support an arts-education outreach program that serves middle and high school students in San Diego.

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jim.hebert@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @jimhebert
For Aisha Jacob, the assault came in public, during a samba circle as scores gathered for Brazils joyous dance. A man kept making advances, and three times Jacob told him she wasnt interested. Suddenly, he grabbed her by a leg and shoved his hand up her shorts.

The man was kicked out, but I was shaken, Jacob said. When I told my girlfriends what happened, they started sharing their stories too. Every single one of them had something to say. They had all been through it before.

The assault occurred last year just before Carnival, Brazils festive pre-Lenten celebration known for its big crowds, loud music, glittery costumes and hedonistic street parties. Jacob, a stylist from Rio de Janeiro, and other women decided it was time to speak out against sexual harassment and assaults during the street parties known as blocos.

According to feminist group Think Olga, 99.6% of women in Brazil have been catcalled. The Brazilian Forum on Public Security, a private group, also reports that every 11 minutes, a woman is raped in the South American country, but just 10% report their assaults.

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Last years Carnival saw the number of sexual assault complaints across Brazil jump 90% compared to the same four days in 2016, according to the Secretariat of Policies for Women. The secretariat said the increase in complaints  which are registered when victims call 180, a number dedicated to reporting crimes against women  was a result of government campaigns to stop this type of violence.

Local governments across Brazil have launched campaigns in recent years to stamp out crimes against women during Carnival. Some states coined their own slogans, including Rios costumes are not invitations, Paraibas forcing a kiss is a crime and Bahias respect the girls.

Jacob and a group of friends decided to add their voices to the movement and create their own campaign, Nao e Nao, or No Means No. The best way to get their message across, they decided, was by putting it directly on their bodies.

We had already been planning on having temporary tattoos made for our [Carnival] costumes, she said. There was a moment when we just looked at each other and said, We have to make tattoos for women that say no means no. We have to protect each other.

It wouldnt make sense to have stickers made with that message. It had to be something that we could carry with us on our bodies.

Within 48 hours, the friends created a WhatsApp group of 40 women to fund the production of 4,000 temporary tattoos. It was all done on the fly  nobody had planned on creating a campaign against sexual harassment and assault for Carnivals kickoff the following week  but they managed to get them printed in time to hand them out for free to women at Rios blocos.

This year, the campaign has a much wider reach.

After setting up a crowd-funding page to lessen the burden on the 40 women they had counted on financially in 2017, Jacob was surprised to see how quickly they reached their first target of 4,000 tattoos for $2,360. She was even more shocked when the campaign almost tripled that amount. She and her friends were able to print 25,000 tattoos with the $6,443 raised from 355 donors.

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With time to plan, Jacob and the four other women who work with her on production  Nanda Barbosa, Luiza Borges, Barbara Menchise and Julia Parucker  also created distribution partnerships with bloco organizers in Sao Paulo, Salvador, Belo Horizonte and Recife. This years Carnival started Friday and lasts till Feb. 13, the day before Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent.

Individual women who heard about the No Means No campaign have also volunteered to hand out the temporary tattoos in their cities, and plans for a new campaign for International Womens Day are already underway.

While the campaign encourages and welcomes the support of men, Jacob wants to make it clear that No Means No is something created by women, for women. Its not just a means of getting their message across to men, but also about creating a sense of security for women who want to attend blocos.

With the tattoos, its easy to see who is a part of No Means No, so it creates a type of support group for women, Jacob said. If they need to ask for help, they know who they can reach out to. They know theyre not alone.

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Langlois is a special correspondent.
The Senate voted early Friday to reopen the government and pass a $400 billion budget deal, handing the measure off to the House for a pre-dawn debate where success is not assured.

The vote was the first big step in a rush to pick up the pieces of a budget and spending plan that had seemed on track hours earlier. But the government stumbled into the shutdown, the second in three weeks, at midnight after a single senator mounted a protest over the budget-busting deal and refused to give in.

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul put the brakes on Senate leaders plan to drive the agreement quickly through the Senate, repeatedly blocking a Thursday vote and provoking colleagues frustration. The budget agreement is married to a six-week temporary funding bill needed to keep the government operating and to provide time to implement the budget pact. Paul brushed off the pressure.

I didnt come up here to be part of somebodys club. I didnt come up here to be liked, he said.

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Once Paul time was up, the measure, backed by the Senates top leaders, sailed through the chamber by a 71-28 vote. House leaders signaled that chamber would immediately take it up, though the situation was trickier there after liberal Democrats and tea party conservatives both swung into opposition.

The underlying bill includes huge spending increases sought by Republicans for the Pentagon along with a big boost demanded by Democrats for domestic agencies. Both sides pressed for $89 billion for disaster relief, extending a host of health care provisions, and extending a slew of smaller tax breaks.

It also would increase the governments debt cap, preventing a first-ever default on U.S. obligations that looms in just a few weeks. Such debt limit votes are usually enormous headaches for GOP leaders, but the increase means another vote wont occur before March 2019.

House leaders hustled to move before federal employees were due back at work, hoping to minimize the disruption. A shutdown essentially cuts the federal workforce in half, with those dubbed non-essential not allowed to work. Military and essential workers would remain on the job regardless.

The Trump administration signaled it expected the shutdown to be short, calling it a lapse.

As the clock hit midnight, Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney immediately issued an order to close non-essential government operations.

Mulvaney told federal agencies they should execute their contingency plans and instructed federal employees to report to work Friday to undertake orderly shutdown activities.

At the White House, there appeared to be little sense of concern. Aides closed shop early Thursday night, with no comment on the display on the Hill. The president did not tweet. Vice President Mike Pence, in South Korea for the Winter Olympics, said the administration was hopeful the shutdown would not last long.

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But frustrations were clear in both sides of the Capitol, where just hours earlier leaders had been optimistic that the budget deal was a sign they had left behind some of their chronic dysfunction. Senate Democrats sparked a three-day partial government shutdown last month by filibustering a spending bill, seeking relief for Dreamer immigrants whove lived in the country illegally since they were children.
Depending on your relationship, youve either been dropping floral hints or receiving them in the weeks leading up to Valentines Day. And you are not alone: according to a 2017 report in Mens Health magazine, 41 percent of women in a relationship dread Valentines Day more than any other holiday, in part due to unrealistic expectations from both partners.

My advice? Show your love with local and American-grown flowers. If you know who is behind the flowers you give your sweetheart, not to mention where those blooms were grown, youre able to tell a story, making a personal connection between the flowers and your sentiments of love. Choosing local flowers with a sustainable narrative shows youve put thought into the romantic gift  and lets face it, that might make things a lot easier for Cupid come Feb. 14.

Across the country, there are more than 700 members in the Slowflowers.com network who grow and design with local flowers. California is one of the most abundant sources of beautiful blooms, thanks to the states vibrant floral agriculture scene. San Diegos flowers and plants are among the best. Here are some of my favorite local and statewide sources for keeping it local at Valentines Day:

The Pink Ice bouquet of proteas from Resendiz Brothers. (Resendiz Brothers )

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Protea bouquets: Based in Fallbrook, Resendiz Brothers Protea Growers produces a dazzling selection of proteas and other plants in the exotic Protaceae family. In the past, only florists could purchase their gorgeous crops, but now the company has a consumer site called The Protea Store. Bouquets and gift-boxes begin at $40 plus shipping, including my favorite choice: Love at First Bloom. And what about a protea wreath for your beloved? I adore the Fuschia Fire Wreath for $150  an unexpected alternative to a vase of flowers. P.S., cut proteas last a lot longer than cut roses, just sayin!

A succulent bouquet from Urban Succulents. (Urban Succulents )

Succulent bouquets: Marialuisa Kaprielian is a San Diego floral designer who specializes in all things succulent  from bridal bouquets and floral crowns to planted succulent gifts. Her site, Urban Succulents, will change the way you see this ubiquitous Southern California plant. Check out the perfect Valentines Day offerings, from one-of-a-kind, heart-shaped wreaths to succulent-filled heart planters to a full bouquet of succulents, with prices ranging from $20.50 to $200. But dont wait until the last minute, because each piece is custom made to order.

California-grown pink ranunculuses from Fabulous Florals. (Fabulous Florals )

California-grown ranunculuses: Producing multiple layers of petals in a huge palette of spring colors, the ranunculus flower is another awesome alternative to imported roses at Valentines Day. Since its a little too early to visit The Flower Fields in Carlsbad (the ranunculus display there opens on March 1), order California-grown ranunculuses from Fabulous Florals, an online seller based in Carpinteria. Prices range from $25.50 to $70, depending on variety and quantity.

Ile de France tulips from Stargazer Barn. (Stargazer Barn )

The tulip is the new rose: Im convinced that tulips are eclipsing the predictable rose bouquet for Valentines Day, and one reliable source for California-grown tulips is reinforcing my hunch. Stargazer Barn offers just-picked tulips from its Humboldt County fields and greenhouses. Theres an option of pairing two dozen tulips with a vase, chocolates and a bottle of Stargazer wine (sounds perfect for a romantic evening)  $89 plus shipping. A new offering: The farms tulip-of-the-month club ($65 per month, available in three-, six- or 12-month options), which ensures that your lover will receive California tulips all year long.

A Valentines bouquet from Farmgirl Flowers. (Farmgirl Flowers )

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USA-Grown Bouquet from Farmgirl Flowers: This year, the hipster San Francisco-based e-commerce florist is promoting Americas flower farmers with an exclusive Grown in the USA bouquet. It includes 20 to 25 stems of gorgeous, domestically grown blooms paired with fun foliage and finished with Farmgirls original up-cycled, biodegradable coffee bag wrap  the bags are donated by local coffee roasters. Price: $75 plus shipping with the option of adding a coordinating vase.

Sending flowers outside San Diego? Check out slowflowers.com to search for farms and florists by city, state or ZIP.

Prinzing is the Seattle-based author of 10 books, including Slow Flowers and The 50-Mile Bouquet. Her website, slowflowers.com, is a directory of American flower farms and florists and shops that source domestic and local blooms.
San Diego hosts a rare gathering of the nations top military leaders.

The Chief of Naval Operations joined the commandants of the Marine Corps and Coast Guard in talking about the future of warfare.

Possible threats to Americas military superiority include rising Russia and China.

A generation of sailors and Marines who waged counterinsurgency wars overseas must adapt quickly to a changed world, where rising powers such as Russia and China threaten to usurp Americas once impervious military.

That was the urgent message delivered Thursday afternoon at San Diegos convention center during a rare public gathering of three service leaders: Chief of Naval Operations John M. Richardson, Marine Corps commandant Gen. Robert Neller and Coast Guard commandant Adm. Paul Zukunft.

In an hourlong discussion moderated by retired Navy Adm. James G. Stavridis before a packed audience, they described the vital need for a steady funding stream to retrain and rearm services straining from nearly 17 years of constant counter-terror operations.

Hoping to avert another government shutdown, lawmakers on Capitol Hill struggled Thursday to pass a stop-gap spending measure along with a long-term budget that sends $165 billion to the Pentagon over the next two years and increased the federal debt more than $1 trillion.

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Over the past decade, Congress paid the militarys bills with a series of continuing resolutions, with fewer funds for the services due to spending caps enacted in 2011s so-called sequestration legislation.

Im hopeful that itll pass and its a lot of money, Neller said. But were going to get that money like we did last year, with about half the fiscal year left to spend it. Thats not any way to run a business.

Although both he and Zukunft fretted about the national debt and its economic effects in coming years, Neller said that the influx of military spending was important to preserve the nations survival.

The adversary out there is making big bets, big investments, in their capacity. And their capabilities have grown, Neller said. Whether they want to take us on or not, we have to be able to go and display the capability to deter them.

Richardson said his top priority was revamping the Navys ballistic submarine fleet. The underwater Navy carries 70 percent of Americas nuclear warheads.

Without that strategic deterrent, were really in a different world, said Richardson, a career submariner and the former director of the Navys nuclear propulsion program. Everything becomes impossibly harder. Thats got to succeed.

Neller said the Navy needs more attack subs, too. The fleet is supposed to deploy 66 of them but today there are only 50 left, a number expected to fall to 43 before shipyards begin churning out two Virginia-class replacements annually in the next decade.

The silent hunters of the deep sail ahead of carrier and amphibious strike groups, sniffing out enemy subs and spying on a foes battle fleets.

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We need more attack submarines, OK? I need to get where Im going, Neller said.

When was the last time we had to fight to get to the fight? We just went. We didnt have to fight to get there, he continued, pointing to the guerrilla wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Were going to have to fight to get to the fight.

Once in the thick of battle, Neller will need newer aircraft, swapping out his aging fleet with fifth-generation jets, tilt-rotor vehicles and high-tech helicopters.

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He also wants more reliable and resilient command and control systems. Thats the technology that helps Marines know where their units are in relation to the enemy, clearing the fog of war. The challenge is keeping those networks up while the foe tries to jam, degrade or destroy them.

Were trying to create a modern Marine Corps, Neller said. The stuff we have we take good care of, but there are Marines over here wrenching on vehicles older than they are.

Watching an increasingly wealthy Beijing build increasingly sophisticated warships, aircraft and missiles, Richardson said the Pentagon needs to reform the procurement process so that the Navy can more quickly and cheaply deploy vessels.

To contain costs, those ships need smaller crews but can make up the difference with better automated systems, sensors and weapons packing a more powerful punch from longer distances, he added.

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Theyll be helped by underwater and aerial drones, plus new directed energy weapons like lasers, he said, but Congress also has mandated a 355-ship Navy.Today he can deploy 280. The problem is Americas industrial base. Shipbuilding capacity today is a third of what the Navy could get in 1955.

There are 14 shipyards that build ships that shuttered or got out of the defense business, Richardson said. So you can see these two conflicting trends  the need to grow the number of ships and yet we just dont have the industrial capacity to do it.

Although Zukunft is finally getting the first large icebreaker built for the Coast Guard in four decades, his aging fleet of patrol boats on inland waterways struggles to keep $4.6 trillion in American commerce flowing.

Modern replacements will cost more than $15 million each but the commandant needs them to cost less to maintain and fuel, saving money in the long run.

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Some are 73 years old now, he said. Its not a huge ask but its a huge return on investment.

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cprine@sduniontribune.com
California health officials said Friday that 36 Californians under the age of 65 died of the flu in the first week of February  more than in any other week this season.

The flu season nationwide is considered among the worst in a decade. Hospitals in California set up tents to triage flu patients, many pharmacies ran out of flu medicines and the death toll has been unusually high.

Gabriella Chabot, a student at La Reina High School in Thousand Oaks, was among those who died of complications of the flu.

She would have turned 15 in less than a week, her father Michael Chabot posted on Facebook on Friday.

Today I experienced the day that no parent should, Chabot wrote. We are heartbroken.

In total, 163 Californians under 65 have died of the flu since October, compared with 40 at the same time last year.

Los Angeles Times

Health officials say that though the flu is still spreading, it appears cases peaked in the state several weeks ago and that fewer people are falling sick now. The death count may continue to climb though, because people often die days, if not weeks, after first contracting the flu, experts say.

Still, doctors warn that theres now another virus circulating in California thats sending kids and older adults to the hospital struggling to breathe, and that a late wave of flu cases could be on the horizon.

Were hoping theres not a second peak, but there can be, said Dr. Andy Shen, an emergency room physician at Torrance Memorial Medical Center.

An uptick in Influenza B

Gabriella was a ninth-grader, remembered as bright, engaging and kind, according to a statement released by La Reina High School.

The La Reina community shares in deep sorrow with the Chabot family upon the passing of their daughter, Gabriella, the statement reads. [She] will be deeply missed by her friends, and our faculty and staff.

The school planned a vigil for Gabriella at 6 p.m. Friday in the schools gymnasium.

Part of the reason people have been falling so ill was because they were being infected with a virulent strain of Influenza A known as H3N2. H3N2 infected so many people during Australias most recent flu season that it led to record numbers of sick people as well as the nickname "Aussie flu."

But recently theres been an uptick in Influenza B cases. In the first week of February, 49% of people who tested positive for the flu had Influenza B, compared to 20% around the end of the year, according to data from a network of labs across California.

Shen with Torrance Memorial said that flu cases overall have dropped off since last month and among them have been more B cases. He said the disaster planning committee that they formed early in the flu season is now meeting every other week, instead of weekly.

Though people feel terrible with Influenza B, the mortality rate is not as high, he said.

Public health officials say its common to have a second wave of Influenza B after an initial peak of Influenza A. The flu season, which runs from October to May, typically reaches its height in February, but can do so anytime.

It is not too late to get the influenza vaccine, Dr. Jeffrey Gunzenhauser, interim health officer for Los Angeles County, said in a statement. The vaccine typically is more effective against B strains than A strains.

Lung infections in kids and elderly

Many hospitals are also reporting an increase in patients with respiratory syncytial virus, known as RSV. The virus is similar to a cold, but can cause an infection in small airways of the lungs called bronchioles.

Every year in the winter, theres a period where the pediatric floors fill up with bronchiolitis cases, Shen said.

Very young children who are having trouble breathing may need to be hospitalized, experts say. Most RSV infections go away on their own and cause only a runny nose, a fever and sneezing. Almost everyone has had RSV by the time they are 2 years old, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

At UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica, patients who show up in the ER are tested for Influenza A, B as well as RSV. In the last few weeks, many older adults who are sick have turned out to have RSV, said Dr. Wally Ghurabi, the hospitals ER director.

Im surprised, Ghurabi said. If we didnt have that testing, honestly and truly, we probably would not have caught it.

Dr. Robert Belshe, professor emeritus of infectious diseases at Saint Louis University, said that doctors have only recently begun to realize that RSV is a significant cause of hospitalizations and mortality among the elderly. Physicians often assume older patients just have the flu.

Historically, weve thought of RSV as strictly a disease of children, he said. As we get older and frail, we become susceptible to fairly trivial viral infections.  Thats true for both flu and RSV."

Each year, RSV causes 14,000 deaths among adults older than 65 and 57,000 hospitalizations among children under 5, according to the CDC.

Parents who are worried about RSV should encourage good hand-washing and keep their kids away from others they know are sick, said Dr. Daniel Star, an ER doctor at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange.

Star said theyve been seeing RSV cases since December and he expects them to continue through the end of the month. Last year, RSV cases peaked nationwide between mid-December and February.

Honestly there isnt too much they can actually do. Its a highly contagious virus, Star said. You still see it pretty much like wildfire this time of year.

soumya.karlamangla@latimes.com

Twitter: @skarlamangla
Butte County prosecutors are seeking up to $51 billion in fines and penalties against Californias water agency for damage caused to local river-based wildlife after the Oroville Dam spillway failure last year, officials said.

In a civil complaint filed Wednesday, Dist. Atty. Mike Ramsey accused the Department of Water Resources of failing to build the Oroville Dams spillway on sturdy bedrock, which led to its rapid deterioration last February amid the heaviest winter storms the region had seen in years.

Officials at the department declined to comment Thursday.

The spillway failure forced the state to dump hundreds of thousands of acre-feet of water into the Feather River below, and with it, concrete debris, silt, lime and other materials that killed fish and other wildlife, Ramsey said.

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The complaint seeks between $34 billion and $51 billion in fines for the agency.

The Department of Water Resources is being prosecuted under a fish and game code that fines an entity $10 per pound of material illegally dumped into a waterway. According to the water agency, about 1.7 million cubic yards of debris flowed off the spillway and adjacent earthen hillside during the emergency. A cubic yard of such material weighs between 2,000 and 3,000 pounds, Ramsey said.

Ramsey called it ironic that the state is being prosecuted under one of its oldest environmental laws, because the law was created after hydraulic mining in Northern California choked the areas rivers  including those around Butte County  with silt and mud.

The filing also seeks to enjoin the state from ever allowing this to happen again. The spillway is currently being reconstructed with better, stronger materials and on a sturdier foundation, engineers have said.

The parties can fashion an agreement to make sure that should they plan to reconstruct  which is well on its way  that its sufficient to give the local folks some degree of confidence, Ramsey said. As you might know, [that] is not high.

After last years emergency, the depth of the Feather River in Butte County decreased from 70 feet to 40 feet, and countless fish died when state wildlife officials tried to rescue them from the choking silt, Ramsey said.

A separate civil claim has been filed by farm owners farther south after large portions of the banks of the Feather River collapsed when the Department of Water Resources abruptly diminished the dams water releases to make repairs.

joseph.serna@latimes.com

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The Hunter name has been a strong political brand in East County for nearly four decades, and there was little reason to believe that wouldnt continue for years to come.

Until now.

The yearlong federal investigation into the personal use of campaign funds by Rep. Hunter and his family not only grinds on but reportedly deepens.

As it does, his political prospects become increasingly precarious.

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And thanks to an article by Politico published Thursday, the congressmans personal behavior also has come into question. Sources, including former staffers and fellow Republican lawmakers, raised concerns about his drinking and relationships with women, including a young member of his staff.

The story also adds new details about the investigation, saying more subpoenas have been issued  to the congressmans parents, among others. Politico also mentions the previously reported financial problems facing Hunter, who has sold his house and moved his family into his parents home.

Regarding the investigation, Hunter has consistently denied any wrongdoing other than saying mistakes were made and that he has repaid misspent funds. He adamantly insists he is running for re-election, but clearly some are pressuring him not to file by the March 9 candidate filing deadline.

Duncan D. Hunter was elected to the 50th District in 2008 in what essentially was a handoff from his father, Duncan L. Hunter, who had held the seat since his election in 1980. As with his father, the younger Hunter, it seemed, could keep the office as long as he wanted. Both military veterans with deep roots in East County, the Hunters have been extremely popular in the region. Winning re-election was rarely in question.

They have received the benefit of the doubt from voters when trouble arises.

The elder Hunter weathered his own political crisis when he got caught up in a congressional check-kiting scandal in 1992. Members were writing checks when they had insufficient funds but were covered by the House bank.

In his down-home manner that had endeared him to constituents over the years, then-Rep. Hunter would set up a card table outside markets and lay out his checks to show anyone who would happen by why things werent as they seemed.

Im going to be straightforward and make it clear that none of those checks bounced, that everybody got paid, he said before embarking on his explanation tour. Then Ill address the appearance of impropriety. If they have less respect for me, Im sorry for that. But Im not going to go into a self-preservation mode.

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That controversy now seems quaint compared with the trouble his son is in.

The growing scandal and political vulnerability of the current Rep. Hunter has escalated from a concern to a crisis for Republicans.

If Hunter files to run, and his troubles grow and he is forced to step down, that could leave a solidly Republican district to Democrats for the asking.

If in the coming weeks he reverses his decision on running for re-election, that allows a big-name Republican to get in and possibly save the 50th district for the GOP.

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Earlier, there were reports that Republican leaders had privately urged Hunter not to run for re-election, with the promise of helping him out with his mounting legal bills. But Hunter refused.

Now it seems theyre applying public pressure. Members of Congress dont confirm that kind of tawdry stuff about a member of their own party to Politico for no reason.

How much Hunters personal behavior matters is anybodys guess. Rumors of his cavorting have circulated in San Diego political circles for some time, so it may not come as much of a surprise to many.

But the investigation by the FBI and a federal grand jury certainly matters and will determine what happens to Hunter, legally and politically.

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Heres what the GOP is concerned about: If Hunter files and then implodes, two politically unknown Republicans  translational services executive Shamus Sayed and Deputy Sheriff Andrew Zelt  stand in the way of Democrats gaining a district they would never have a chance of winning under normal circumstances. Zelt has raised little money but Sayed could be competitive, having loaned his campaign $100,000.

(UPDATE: The above paragraph was updated after the initial post to include Sayed.)

Two Democrats  former Labor Department spokesman Ammar Campa-Najjar and former Navy SEAL Josh Butner  both outraised Hunter in the last reporting period.

Depending on when a vacancy occurs, a special election could be called to fill the remainder of Hunters term. But no candidate in that election could run in the regular election if they miss the filing deadline.

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The political irony here is, since the 2016 election the Republicans big concern was holding on to the 49th district in North County because once-strong incumbent Darrell Issa was on the ropes. Issas recent decision not to run for re-election in the district suddenly improved the GOPs prospects, allowing other well-known Republicans without his baggage to run.

A year ago, nobody would have dreamed the Democrats could have a shot at Hunters red-as-they-come district.

The further irony, of course, is Issas possible interest in running in East County if Hunter does not. That could result in the ultimate nightmare for local Democrats: They dont win the 49th that seemed in their grasp and Issa remains in Congress.

All of this is significant in the national picture as the GOP struggles to hold on to control of the House.

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Thats a lot of moving parts and well have to see how things play out by March 9, a deadline that is extended to March 15 if an incumbent does not file for re-election.

Beyond these political machinations is the role of Margaret Hunter, the congressmans wife. She oversaw his campaign and its books  as she did his fathers  and Politico says shes at the center of the investigation. In the past, the Hunter camp suggested this was a simple case of her mixing up credit cards.

Some suggest Hunter is now trying to throw his wife under the bus.

She knows the FEC rules ... as much as anybody who does that stuff, Hunter told Politico.

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Whatever the future holds, theres clearly big trouble in the house of Hunter.
The U.S. Attorneys Office in San Diego has named two prosecutors who will use criminal and civil law to help coordinate the fight against the opioid epidemic.

The appointments follow U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions directive for each U.S. attorney to assign an opioid coordinator role. In San Diego, Interim U.S. Attorney Adam Braverman assigned two.

This multifaceted approach to enforcing our drug laws will save lives by keeping drugs off our streets and help prevent Americans from becoming addicted to prescription drugs, Braverman said in a statement Thursday.

The prosecutors will be coordinating cases with law enforcement and other local, state and federal authorities in San Diego and Imperial counties. The office has already been working on the issue cooperatively as part of the Fentanyl Working Group since April.

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Assistant U.S. Attorney Linda Frakes  the third-highest ranking prosecutor in the office  will target criminal networks importing heroin and fentanyl into the U.S. through the border or the mail systems, as well as vendors who sell through the dark web. Cases will also target those who possess chemicals needed to manufacture fentanyl or those whose distribution of opioids has caused the death of another.

She was previously supervisor of the offices Criminal Enterprises section, overseeing cases against cross-border criminal groups.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Dylan Aste will coordinate civil prosecutions that target illegal prescribing and diversion of opioids. Aste, who specializes in trying cases of fraud against the United States, has already handled similar prosecutions.

Medical Center Pharmacy paid a $750,000 settlement in a case that involved allegations of illegally diverting oxycodone and hydrocodone and failing to maintain proper records and control its inventory. Sixth Avenue Pharmacy was accused of similar crimes and settled the case for $147,500.

The U.S.-Mexico border in California has become one of the main smuggling points for fentanyl. At ports of entry in the state, fentanyl seizures increased over the past year by 266 percent  from 260 kilograms in fiscal year 2016 to 952 kilograms the next year.

In San Diego, there were 239 deaths blamed on opioids in 2016, according to the California Opioid Overdose Surveillance Dashboard.

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kristina.davis@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @kristinadavis
Federal prosecutors have quietly dismissed the case against a man accused of smuggling 77 unauthorized immigrants in the back of a fake UPS truck in Boulevard last week.

In its request to drop the felony charge, the U.S. Attorneys Office cited certain factual issues, saying the interests of justice warrant dismissal of this case. No further details are given.

Its an ongoing investigation and were not going to comment, said U.S. Attorneys Office spokeswoman Kelly Thornton.

A magistrate judge approved the dismissal on Thursday afternoon and authorized the release of Shawn Lee Seiler, 25, from custody.

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The case is dismissed without prejudice, meaning prosecutors could bring the charges again later if they so choose.

Seilers attorney declined to comment.

A spokesman with U.S. Customs and Border Protection deferred comment to prosecutors, as did the California Highway Patrol, which was also involved in the arrest.

The discovery of so many unauthorized immigrants would have normally triggered a news release from authorities, but strangely the arrest was never publicized.

According to the complaint, a CHP officer pulled over what appeared to be a brown UPS truck on Jan. 29 about 5 p.m. The truck had been weaving on Old Highway 80 and had no tags, the document states.

A Border Patrol agent driving by came upon the stop and asked the officer if he needed help. Seiler, accused of being the trucks driver, was already in the CHP vehicle by then, the complaint states.

The agent observed the truck was riding extremely low and had fresh paint on the rear, the complaint says. He also smelled body odor mixed with the scent of a soap popular in Mexico.

Seiler, who is a U.S. citizen, said the truck was his and gave permission to search, the complaint states. The agent found 77 people  including five minors  inside, sweating heavily and standing shoulder-to-shoulder.

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The complaint says Seiler waived his Miranda rights and agreed to talk to investigators. He said he was to be paid $100 for each unauthorized immigrant he transported, and that he was expecting 50 people that night, the court record says.

A UPS spokesman told the Union-Tribune that Seiler has never worked for the company and that the truck was not a real UPS vehicle.

Seiler was granted $35,000 bond during a detention hearing in San Diego federal court last Friday  an amount that prosecutors and his defense attorney had already agreed upon and presented to the judge  but did not post it before the case was dismissed.

The government had also criminally charged two unauthorized immigrants with being prior deportees. Those charges were dismissed last week, indicating trouble with the case.

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The rest of the unauthorized immigrants were being held as material witnesses in the case.

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kristina.davis@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @kristinadavis
La Jolla High School officials on Thursday issued an apology for an editorial cartoon published in the schools newspaper.

In an email to parents and students, Principal Chuck Podhorsky said that the decision to publish a cartoon, which has sparked controversy on campus in recent weeks, was an error in judgment and a breach of all the values we hold dear.

The cartoon in question was published in January by Hi-Tide, La Jolla Highs newspaper. According to Podhorsky, it depicted various ethnic groups with exaggerated features based on ugly racial stereotypes.

La Jolla is a community that values the free speech of our students, the email said. However, with the right to free speech comes a responsibility. We have talked to those involved with the publication of this cartoon about this responsibility  and the need to take public ownership of their actions in this case.

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He did not identify whose error in judgment the cartoon represented, or who signed off on it before publication.

San Diego Unified School District Superintendent Cindy Marten and area superintendent Mitzi Merino also signed Podhorskys email.

The cartoon shows nine men, all wearing hooded sweatshirts with different sayings on the front. One man, who has a long beard and appears to be wearing a type of turban, has a sweatshirt that reads, Im the bomb.

Another has a large nose, long sidecurls and is wearing a yarmulke. His shirt says, Who Nose?

Ephrata Abate, a senior at La Jolla High, said she appreciated Podhorskys message, but the cartoon should have been addressed by school officials sooner.

I understand that free speech is necessary at school, but you cant confuse free speech with hate speech, Abate said. If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.

According to Abate, a representative from the schools Black Student Union and MEChA, an organization that promotes unity and empowerment on campus, many students were offended by the cartoon. Students hung a sign in front of the school over copies of the cartoon that read, Can this be addressed?

In the email, Podhorsky spoke directly to all of the students who were hurt or offended by the cartoon.

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We want you to know that San Diego Unified and La Jolla High strive to be welcoming communities, and your well-being matters to all of us, Podhorsky said, adding that the school is well-equipped to continue a conversation in a responsible way. That conversation is starting now at La Jolla High School, and this situation reminds us all that we have more work to do to deliver the future all our children deserve.

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San Diego State University will deepen its efforts in research, develop a satellite campus and sharply focus on matters of social justice, especially along the U.S.-Mexico border, the schools new president said Thursday during her first major address.

Adela de la Torre also told a crowd of 800 in Montezuma Hall on campus that, I support our faculty, staff and students in accessing the American dream, regardless of your immigration status.

Her pledge drew sustained applause, and comes as President Trump and Congress are debating Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, a policy that has provided some protection to people who illegally entered the U.S. as minors.

California State University trustees hired de la Torre last week to succeed Elliot Hirshman, who led SDSU to an important crossroads in its 121-year history.

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The university conducted a highly successful $816 million capital campaign. But it needs more money to develop a satellite campus in Mission Valley, and to find a way to increase enrollment, which now stands at about 35,000. SDSU also wants to become one of the nations top 50 public research schools, and to improve its standing in the U.S. News and World Report rankings.

De la Torre is an economist who has been serving as vice chancellor of student affairs and campus diversity at UC Davis. She has comparatively little experience in major fundraising campaigns, although SDSU boosters say theyre confident she can handle the challenge.

During Thursdays 14-minute speech, de la Torre praised SDSU for what it has achieved, and pointed to the future, especially in research and social responsibility.

We have these wonderful NSF/NIH grants  we can get more, de la Torre said. Were a Hispanic-serving institution  we can get more.

We have an opportunity to partner with (University of California campuses) with strategic doctoral programs so that the pathway of graduate education is not for a unique few but for many. San Diego State can be an innovative leader in these areas.

De la Torre also praised SDSU students for performing community service on both sides of the border.

Theyre providing health services, theyre providing community support, theyre feeding, theyre clothing individuals who need clothing, theyre creating opportunities for housing, she said.

This is critical in a bi-national region. We need to build bridges, not only in a sense of understanding but in terms of creating the kind of world that will allow for diversity of culture, diversity of perspectives, diversity of experience.

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1 / 10 Adela de la Torre, the new president of San Diego State University delivers a speech during a meet and greet reception in her honor attended by faculty, staff, students, alumni and other invited guests at the university. (Howard Lipin / The San Diego-Union-Tribune) 2 / 10 Joyce Gattas, left, dean of the College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts at San Diego State University, and Nikki Clay, right, a member of the the Campanile Foundation board, talk with Adela de la Torre, center, the new president of the university during a meet and greet reception held in her honor at the campus. (Howard Lipin / The San Diego-Union-Tribune) 3 / 10 Adela de la Torre, the new president of San Diego State University delivers a speech during a meet and greet reception in her honor attended by faculty, staff, students, alumni and other invited guests at the university. (Howard Lipin / The San Diego-Union-Tribune) 4 / 10 Luis Murillo, left, who works for the San Diego State University Research Foundation, talks with Adela de la Torre, right, the new president of the university during a meet and greet reception held in her honor on the campus. (Howard Lipin / The San Diego-Union-Tribune) 5 / 10 Adela de la Torre, the new president of San Diego State University delivers a speech during a meet and greet reception in her honor attended by faculty, staff, students, alumni and other invited guests at the university. (Howard Lipin / The San Diego-Union-Tribune) 6 / 10 A meet and greet reception for Adela de la Torre, the new president of San Diego State University was held in Montezuma Hall. (Howard Lipin / The San Diego-Union-Tribune) 7 / 10 Adela de la Torre, the new president of San Diego State University reviews her notes before delivering a speech during a meet and greet reception in her honor attended by faculty, staff, students, alumni and other invited guests. (Howard Lipin / The San Diego-Union-Tribune) 8 / 10 Adela de la Torre, left, the new president of San Diego State University talks with Theresa M. Garcia, right, assistant dean for student affairs in the College of Engineering at the university during a meet and greet reception. (Howard Lipin / The San Diego-Union-Tribune) 9 / 10 San Diego State University staff members talk with Adela de la Torre, right, the new president of San Diego State University during a meet and greet reception held in her honor on the campus. (Howard Lipin / The San Diego-Union-Tribune) 10 / 10 Adela de la Torre, the new president of San Diego State University delivers a speech during a meet and greet reception in her honor attended by faculty, staff, students, alumni and other invited guests at the university. (Howard Lipin / The San Diego-Union-Tribune)

De la Torre briefly mentioned SDSU West, a proposal to acquire the SDCCU Stadium property in Mission Valley and use it for a satellite that would feature a stadium, space for academics, research and housing, and commercial development. The proposal will be on the November ballot and is competing with an initiative by FS Investors of La Jolla.

We will build a world-class university campus, with a research center, and stadium venue that will spur new discoveries and economic development, de la Torre said.

Before her speech, de la Torre mingled with the crowd, gently taking peoples hands with two hands and leaning in to listen.

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She has a strong personality, and she does her homework. Im very excited, said Margaret Iwanaga Penrose, who served on a citizens advisory committee during the search for the new president.

De la Torre also impressed Joyce Gattas, dean of SDSUs College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts.

I have a mantra about the arts serving the public good, and we had a bit of a discussion and she immediately tuned in to our role, Gattas said. She is very warm, very gracious, and she listens. With all these other people trying to get her attention, she stays with you.
Theyre affordable, attractive, functional and could go a long way to getting homeless people off the street.

If only there were a place to legally put them.

Amikas, a local nonprofit that for the past few years has been pushing for small homes to temporarily house homeless people, is working with the nonprofit Treecycling Inc. to showcase several emergency sleeping cabins at an expo at St. Lukes Episcopal Church in North Park though Feb. 25.

I think people seeing it first-hand are realizing how acceptable it can be, Amikas member Rob Bird said about reaction to the display.

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A new state law allows cities the flexibility to set up the cabins on public land, although other restrictions would have to be lifted to put them on private property.

Amikas formed in 2009 with a focus on helping homeless women with children and homeless female veterans. Two years later, the nonprofit opened Amikas House in Mountain View to provide housing for homeless female veterans and their children.

In recent years, it has advocated using emergency sleeping cabins, which it previously referred to as tiny homes, as a temporary way of getting people off the street.

The group uses the term emergency sleeping cabins now to avoid confusion with the tiny homes movement of people scaling back their lives and moving into smaller but fully functional houses. In contrast, the cabins are meant to be temporary and generally do not have amenities such as bathrooms or kitchens.

So far, there is no official endorsement of the idea from any San Diego city official, but with about 1,000 people on the street in downtown San Diego alone, many ideas are on the table.

A work plan proposed by San Diego City Councilmember Chris Ward, chair of the citys Select Committee on Homelessness, includes exploring the use of cabins and under-utilized facilities, buildings and sites for use as emergency shelters.

Councilmember Georgette Gomez, also a member of the Select Committee on Homelessness, has proposed her own Housing Action Plan that includes the use of small houses as part of innovative solutions she said the city should pursue.

Emergency sleeping cabins, or tiny homes that include access to services and case management can provide immediate options for people without shelter at a relatively low cost, Gomez wrote in an e-mail.

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While they are not a permanent solution to the homelessness crisis we are experiencing in San Diego, we should explore the full range of alternatives, she wrote. I am very interested in working with the mayor and our community stakeholders to bring a pilot (program) to District 9.

The idea also has emerged as a campaign issue with at least one candidate. Omar Passons, running for the District 4 County Board of Supervisors seat, issued a proposed Hope4Homeless plan this week that calls for $100 million to build micro-units and fund other steps to help the homeless.

Bird said the city has a new opportunity in using cabins as temporary shelters in Assembly Bill 932, which was signed by Gov. Jerry Brown last October and went into effect Jan. 1.

The law allows San Diego and seven other California cities or counties to suspend state and local building standards for three years to create more emergency shelters for homeless people.

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Bird said the law could allow the city of San Diego to create communities of emergency sleeping cabins, but further action by the city would be needed to allow individuals to put the cabins on their property for use as shelters.

Attorney and Amikas President Shanna Welsh-Levin said city officials could lift some restrictions and allow private property owners to use the cabins as shelters on their own land. She doesnt think that would be a good idea, however, because it would raise questions about property owners liability and tenants rights, among other concerns.

I think the city could choose not to enforce its regulations in the interest of addressing the crisis, but I dont think they would do it, she said. Homeowners would be taking a risk.

Instead, Welsh-Levin said, more cities should join San Diego in being included in AB 932, and she encouraged officials in other municipalities to contact state legislators  Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher in particular because she has been supportive of it.

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The display at St. Lukes, located at 3725 30th St., includes two 96-square-foot cabins and one 64-square-foot cabin. Structures that size do not require building permits, but using them for dwellings would violate zoning laws, Bird said.

Allowing homeowners to build the cabins in their backyards for use as temporary homeless shelters would help take people off the street and give them a safer place to sleep, but Bird acknowledged that the structures themselves are not an end goal.

As with other shelters, including the three large tented structures the city operates to house about 700 homeless people, Bird said Amikas supports connecting the people who would use the cabins with services that would help them overcome issues that lead to their homelessness.

Amikas had a similar display of cabins at the same church last March. Bird said the new display features updated models that are insulated and taller to give a more roomy, home-like feel inside.

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The display also includes an active wood shop to demonstrate construction methods of the houses, which Bird said can be put up in just a few hours.

This concept is so easy to wrap your arms around, he said. People want to be part of the solution, and this enables them.

The smallest cabin at the site cost about $500 to build and can be transported on a $300 trailer. A poster at the display breaks down the $1,726 cost of an 8-foot by 12-foot cabin with a 4-foot by 8-foot porch.

People visiting the site and interested in buying one of the cabins can place a bid on them as part of a silent auction that concludes Sunday.

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gary.warth@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @GaryWarthUT

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While politicians are embroiled in a polarized national debate over immigration, an iconic road sign cautioning drivers near the San Diego border to watch for migrants running across the highway has quietly disappeared.

The immigrant crossing signs have become obsolete, said Cathryne Bruce-Johnson, a spokeswoman for Caltrans. The transportation department stopped replacing the signs years ago because it constructed fences along medians to deter people from running across highways.

The last sign, which stood on the side of Interstate 5 near the San Ysidro border crossing, vanished in September.

Its gone, Bruce-Johnson said. Caltrans crews did not remove it, so its assumed stolen.

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Signs are more often damaged or vandalized than stolen, according to Bruce-Johnson, but when they are taken, there isnt much Caltrans can do to get them back.

California Highway Patrol sergeant Dan Kyle said that officers who worked during the years before the fences were added recalled responding weekly to several fatal collisions between cars and unauthorized immigrants on the highway in San Ysidro.

Fewer people have tried to sneak between ports of entry into the U.S. for most of the last two decades, further decreasing need for immigrant crossing signs.

Both in San Diego and across the southwest border, the number of people caught crossing has dropped dramatically in the 21st century. The federal government estimates the number of people trying to cross based on the number of people caught, so fewer apprehensions means that fewer people are trying to slip in.

In San Diego, Border Patrol agents apprehended 26,086 people in fiscal 2017, an 83 percent drop from the 151,681 people caught in fiscal 2000.

Across the southwest border, the Border Patrol apprehended 1,643,679 people in fiscal 2000, according to data from the agency.

In fiscal 2017, agents apprehended 303,916 people, an 82 percent decrease.

The signs image has been the source of controversy, with some seeing it as an offensive caricature of Mexican immigrants.

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Justin Akers Chacon, a professor of Chicano studies at San Diego City College, said critics of the signs imagery felt that it dehumanized migrants by likening them to animals.

Critics are also bothered by the way the signs message fit into the immigration enforcement system.

The deaths of migrant crossers was treated as an acceptable consequence of the enforcement model, not a reflection of the failure of the model, Akers Chacon said.

An early version of the sign was entirely text: Caution watch for people crossing road.

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Motorists werent able to read and process that sign quickly enough, so Caltrans asked artist John Hood to design an image to convey the message.

It doesnt just mean they are running across the freeway, Hood told the Union-Tribune in 2005, describing his choice of imagery. It means they are running from something else as well. I think its a struggle for a lot of things, for opportunities, for freedom.

Caltrans installed 10 signs, focusing on areas like San Ysidro and the San Clemente checkpoint where migrants were known to cross the interstate on foot frequently.

The silhouette of a man with a mustache and woman in a dress running with their young daughter, her hair in pigtails trailing behind her, has been repurposed by different sides of the immigration debate over the years.

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Those on the immigration restrictionist side of the debate use the image to symbolize an unruly border, adding guns or nuclear bombs to political cartoons of the sign.

Those who advocate for migrants have redone the sign as a family of pilgrims or college graduates.

Theres only a handful of really iconic images that have been successfully mobilized for the purposes of immigration politics, said Everard Meade, director of the Trans Border Institute at University of San Diego. The thing with these symbols is that the response is 50-50.

Some people see that sign and think, My God, this is a sign that represents how our immigration policy has just failed, and weve put people in this vulnerable position such that we have to have a road sign so people dont run them over on the highway, Meade added.

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Others take it as a sign of an out-of-control border, Meade said, and that perception of the image contributed to support for movements like Californias proposition 187, which barred unauthorized immigrants from the public education system and from public health services except for emergency care required by federal law. A federal judge blocked the proposition from taking effect.

Even the signs disappearance caused split reactions among those involved in immigration political debate.

Joshua Wilson, vice president of the San Diego chapter of the National Border Patrol Council, has supported President Donald Trumps restrictionist policies.

Wilson said he sees not needing the signs anymore as a positive thing. It shows what investing in border security can do, he said.

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I grew up in Los Angeles, and I remember those signs as a kid coming down here, Wilson said. What it symbolizes to me is how out of control things were before we put in the infrastructure with Operation Gatekeeper.

Operation Gatekeeper, a ramped up enforcement strategy implemented along the San Diego border in the mid-90s, shifted migrant routes east over mountains and through deserts.

Pedrio Rios, director of the U.S.-Mexico Border Program for the American Friends Service Committee, advocates for migrant rights and opposes Trumps immigration policies.

Rios said he remembered clearly when the signs were installed and the deaths that were happening at the border.

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If there are no more Caltrans immigrant crossing signs left, I think it will reflect a reality about immigration that overzealous politicians fail to acknowledge when advocating for increasing border enforcement measures  that migration into the United States has been at a decline since at least the year 2000, and perhaps longer than that, Rios said.

He pointed out that Operation Gatekeeper didnt mean that fewer migrants were dying trying to cross the border. The number of border crossing deaths increased significantly, but they were away from cities and out of public view.

Ironically, as Operation Gatekeeper pushed migrants into less populated desert and mountainous areas, fewer migrants died crossing in the San Diego region, but this meant more migrants were in peril in the less visible treacherous crossing routes, Rios said.

The shift of migrant routes to more remote locations out of public view has contributed to the political divide, Meade said.

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So much of what actually happens is invisible, Meade said. The anecdotal story, whatever does become visible gets exaggerated.

For Meade, the signs disappearance isnt the end of an era. He noted that immigration from Mexico has had a net of zero since 2005, meaning as many people are going back to Mexico as are coming here.

I think it already passed, Meade said. Its late to be talking about the sign.

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Immigration Videos On Now New developments in family separation case 9:53 On Now A San Diego woman volunteered as a medic in Texas helping migrant families 2:35 On Now Immigration policy protests in Carlsbad nearly cancelled after permit issue 1:38 On Now When children are separated from their parents at the border, here is where they go next On Now Prospects of a deal for 'Dreamers' may hinge on separating Trump from hard-liners on his staff On Now What is DACA? On Now Border wall prototype contractors selected On Now Video: Ukrainian boxer wins asylum in U.S. On Now 30 apprehended after Border Patrol agents discover tunnel On Now Video: Kurdish diaspora prepare to vote on independence

Follow me on Facebook for live updates about immigration news

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kate.morrissey@sduniontribune.com, @bgirledukate on Twitter
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remained defiant Thursday in the face of reports  which he acknowledged  that police are expected to recommend his indictment for demanding and receiving gifts from businessmen, including cases of champagne and Cuban cigars, in exchange for personal favors.

Responding to numerous Israeli media reports, Netanyahu posted an angry video to his Facebook page agreeing that the recommendation he be indicted appears imminent.

Many of you are asking  what will be [in the future]? the prime minister said. I want to reassure you, there will be nothing because I know the truth.

Netanyahu laid out a case diminishing the importance of any police recommendations, and over the course of the day cast heavy aspersions on the team investigating him and, most harshly, against the nations police commissioner, Inspector General Roni Alsheikh.

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According to the law, the only person qualified to determine whether there is evidence against the prime minister is the attorney general, Netanyahu said in the video, and he discusses the matter with the state attorney. The state of Israel is a state of law, and the law in Israel says that the person to determine whether there is alleged evidence against the prime minister is the attorney general, and he consults with the state attorney.

Israeli protesters hold signs in Hebrew reading, The fish stinks from the head, on Jan. 13, 2018, during a weekly protest in Tel Aviv against government corruption. (Abir Sultan / EPA/Shutterstock )

On Facebook, Netanyahu, who is known by the nickname Bibi, insisted he wasnt concerned. No worries, he said sarcastically. There will be [police] recommendations, there will also be posters saying Bibi is guilty until proven otherwise, and there will be inappropriate pressure, too. But Im sure that at the end of the day the legal authorities will arrive at one conclusion, at the simple truth: There is nothing.

The police report is expected by Tuesday. Netanyahu is a criminal suspect in two corruption cases.

Sara Netanyahu, shown in a May 21, 2017, photo, is accused, along with her husband, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, of inappropriately accepting expensive gifts. (Abir Sultan / Associated Press )

According to Israeli media reports, the police team investigating Netanyahu, nominally headed by Alsheikh, has concluded that Netanyahu should be indicted for bribery, fraud and breach of trust in Case 1000, which involves the allegations that Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, inappropriately accepted expensive gifts.

One of the businessmen is believed to be Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan, an Israeli citizen for whom Netanyahu reportedly pressured then-Secretary of State John F. Kerry for a green card.The police have reportedly not made a firm recommendation regarding Case 2000, in which Netanyahu is also suspected of having negotiated a quid pro quo with the publisher of Israels most widely distributed tabloid newspaper. According to recordings held by the police, Netanyahu negotiated for favorable coverage in exchange for a law that would have weakened Israel Hayom, a free daily owned by Las Vegas billionaire Sheldon Adelson.

Netanyahu is a central figure, but not a suspect, in Case 3000, a police inquiry into Israels questionable multibillion-dollar procurement of German-made naval vessels and submarines. Numerous close associates, including senior aides and his personal lawyer and cousin, have been questioned or arrested.

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In a rare television appearance, Alsheikh, the police chief, said that his senior detectives had been pursued by private investigators collecting information against police officers involved in ongoing investigations into the prime minister.

Were not talking about a conspiratorial mind here, Alsheikh said, these are facts. He said the private investigators had been hired by powerful figures.

In response, the prime minister uploaded a Facebook post denouncing the police chief, who is a Netanyahu appointee. Netanyahu said he was shocked by the outlandish and false claim, adding that every decent person will ask himself how can people saying such outlandish things regarding the prime minister then question him objectively and be impartial when it is time to reach a decision about him?

A dark shadow has been cast over the police investigations and recommendations, Netanyahu added, calling for an immediate and objective inquiry into the matter.

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A close Netanyahu ally, governing coalition Chairman David Amsalem, called Alsheikh smug and full of himself and said the criminal investigations amounted to an attempted coup by the police. They see the prime minister as a personal enemy and are trying to topple him.

Gideon Rahat, a Hebrew University professor of political science and an expert on Israeli politics, said in an interview that Netanyahus attacks resemble President Trumps against the FBI and [former Italian Prime Minister] Silvio Berlusconis against the magistrates who investigated him.

Rahat said this sort of condemnation of the police hadnt been seen in Israel since the late 1990s, when Aryeh Deri, who is now the interior minister, was facing trial on corruption charges. He eventually served three years behind bars.

Of course Rabin resigned over much less, Rahat said. In 1977, then-Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin resigned when his wife was discovered to have an American bank account, which at the time was not permitted under Israeli law.

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Ehud Olmert became Israels first former prime minister to serve a term in jail when he was convicted in 2014 of fraud and bribery in a real estate case. He served 16 months of a 27-month sentence.

Netanyahu aides recently implied that he is likely to do what none of his predecessors has done: Remain in office even if indicted. Noting that Netanyahu is unlikely to resign after what happened to Olmert, Rahat said that by law, he can remain prime minister until he is convicted of a crime, and even then parliament has to vote him out.

Such a circumstance, he added, would cause an unprecedented legal crisis in Israel.

Tarnopolsky is a special correspondent.
The news outlet Politico on Thursday reported that Republicans are worried about Rep. Duncan Hunter  both his conduct in the Capitol and his prospects for re-election.

Hunter was accused in the article of drinking, even on the job, and having inappropriate relationships with women in Washington. His staff denied unprofessional conduct.

Amid a criminal investigation over personal spending of Hunters campaign funds, some in the GOP worry that time is running out to run another Republican in Hunters East County district.

Under federal investigation for over a year, Rep. Duncan Hunter is getting pushed hard from two directions.

The FBI is looking into his campaign spending after reports that he used money from donors for his own personal expenses, from family vacations to oral surgery and private school tuition.

Hunter denies all intentional wrongdoing and said he has paid back all funds that were spent by mistake. But on Thursday, Politico reported that other Republicans are encouraging Hunter, R-Alpine, to end his career in Congress by not seeking a sixth term.

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As he awaits results of the criminal investigation, Hunters GOP colleagues made his life tougher by portraying him as a congressman who carouses around Washington. Quoted anonymously, the Republicans suggested Hunter had a drinking problem and had inappropriate relationships with a staffer and a lobbyist on Capitol Hill.

Typical of the swipes was the unnamed Republican lawmaker who said, Hes enjoyed his time in Washington  probably a little too much.

They also described efforts by friendly lawmakers to get the 41-year old representative help, citing possible post-traumatic stress disorder from his military service.

Politico reported that the GOP is concerned that Hunters ongoing criminal investigation could leave the party with an election day disaster in which they lose one of the reddest seats in California to a Democrat.

Hunter declined to be interviewed by The San Diego Union-Tribune on Thursday, but his staff said hes not backing down.

Regarding his running for re-election, he is 100 percent in, all his colleagues and GOP leadership knows this, any suggestion to the contrary is completely false, Hunters spokesman, Michael Harrison, said by email.

Hunter was interviewed by Politico on Monday and said that reports of unprofessional behavior are incorrect. He declined to discuss his relationships with women on Capitol Hill at first. Then he called Politico back and said the allegations were tabloid trash.

Asked if he was denying involvement with the women, he replied, No, its tabloid trash.

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Hunters district is one of the most conservative in the state and the Hunter family is a political dynasty with unrivaled name recognition in inland San Diego County.

But two Democrats, Ammar Campa-Najjar and Josh Butner, outraised him in the last quarter of 2017. Campa-Najar raised $176,000, Butner raised $106,500 and Hunter raised $51,000. Meanwhile, Hunter spent more than three times the amount he raised that quarter paying his legal bills.

Given the situation, Hunter is being encouraged by Republicans to step aside in time to get a viable Republican on the ballot ahead of the March 9 filing deadline, Politico reported.

One Republican candidate, Shamus Sayed, raised $185,539 last quarter. State Sen. Joel Anderson, R-Alpine, has long been considered a potential contender, but recently filed paperwork to run for an open seat on the Board of Equalization. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, is also reportedly considered a potential candidate after he announced he wouldnt seek re-election in his current seat. Issa recently reaffirmed his endorsement of Hunter and has ruled out running if Hunter stays in the campaign.

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Hunter has been the subject of a series of stories in the Union-Tribune since the Federal Election Commission first questioned campaign spending on video games in April 2016. The newspaper has revealed campaign contributions were spent on overseas vacations, home improvements, groceries, school uniforms, school lunches and theme parks.

Hunter has reimbursed the campaign for more than $60,000, but not for all unusual or unexpected campaign expenses. The U-T reported, for instance, that the campaign funded 16 trips to Jack in the Box totaling $297  none of them reimbursed. The Politico story says federal investigators are interested in the fast food and are examining whether Hunters reimbursement to the campaign was limited by his inability to repay more, rather than because he covered all inappropriate expenses.

Hunter took out a loan on his Alpine house to repay the expenses, then sold it and moved his family into his fathers house.

Politico also reported that investigators have asked about a young woman, a former intern, that Hunter hired onto his staff, who had a spotty attendance record, was unfriendly with other staffers and people complained about inappropriate work attire. Politico, citing anonymous sources, also said she would frequently text the congressman and go to a restaurant with him.

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The Republicans who are putting pressure on Hunter might have a lower threshold for speaking out against questionable behavior, said Carl Luna, director of the Institute for Civil Civic Engagement at the University of San Diego.

In the age of #TimesUp that kind of arrogance -- even if it only appears that way -- isnt nearly as tolerated today as even a few years ago. So maybe thats why people are distancing themselves from the congressman, Luna said.

Or, it could just be that things dont look good for Hunter, Luna said.

There is always simple politics, he said. The accusations against him, again with the backlash to the President energizing Democrats, might be seen as a liability which new GOP talent wouldnt be tarred with.

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Hunters office said he doesnt feel any pressure to end his career in public office.

It is business as usual for our office and Congressman Hunter is not spending time responding to what amounts to nothing more than baseless speculation and D.C. gossip, his spokesman, Michael Harrison, said by email.

As he did as an artillery officer in the Marine Corps and into his time in the House, hes focused on service, and he has no plans to stop, Harrison said.

John Dadian, a political consultant who has worked for East County campaigns and who has known the Hunter family for decades, said that party brass often tries to pressure beleaguered colleagues to step down, but they dont understand that Hunter is committed to staying in office.

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Yeah, that type of pressure is not going to work, Dadian said. I think the only thing that may force him to make a decision is if theres an actual indictment by the Justice Department.

Dadian said hes seen Hunter several times over the last six months, and noticed that whenever he speaks with his constituents he hasnt given the slightest hint that hes considering leaving Congress.

Previously: Hunter

Twitter: @jptstewart

joshua.stewart@sduniontribune.com

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A $900 million housing bond for San Diego has moved one step closer to the November ballot.

It would be funded by raising taxes on city property owners by an average of $72 per year.

A November poll showed 71 percent approval of such a measure, which needs two-third support to pass.

A proposed $900 million bond measure to build low-income housing got one step closer to the November ballot this week when a San Diego City Council committee voted 4-1 to have city staff further evaluate it.

The proposal would raise taxes on city of San Diego property owners an average of $72 per year to pay for roughly 7,500 subsidized apartments for the chronically homeless, veterans, senior citizens, the disabled and low-income families.

Supporters say the measure, which needs support from two-thirds of voters to pass, would simultaneously help solve the citys homelessness problem and affordable housing crisis.

In addition to the local money it would raise, the measure would help San Diego secure a greater share of state money devoted to homelessness and affordable housing by providing local matching funds typically necessary for such assistance.

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Without such local funds, San Diego will be eligible for less state assistance than other California cities and counties that have approved similar tax hike measures addressing homelessness in recent years.

I think youve presented very compelling arguments  both compassionate ones and financial ones, Councilwoman Barbara Bry of La Jolla said during Wednesdays meeting of the councils Rules Committee. The state is likely to pass a bond measure and we wont get our fair share of the money unless we have local matching funds.

Councilman Chris Cate of Mira Mesa said he was concerned about the impact on middle-income and low-income property owners.

I appreciate that this is definitely for those who are most in need, and I can respect that, but there are also people who own homes that are struggling every day too, and this is an additional tax on them, Cate said.

Cate voted in favor of having the proposal analyzed further, but said he plans to scrutinize the final version thoroughly before the full council decides this summer whether to place it on the November ballot.

Councilman Mark Kersey of Black Mountain Ranch, who cast the lone no vote on Wednesday, said one of his key concerns was that affordable housing is a countywide problem, but only city property owners would face property tax increases under the proposal.

Our city voters are basically being asked to shoulder a fairly large burden, Kersey said.

Stephen Russell, head of the San Diego Housing Federation and the man spearheading the bond measure, said polling showed a bond measure covering the whole county would be unlikely to pass.

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But he said a November poll of 600 likely voters living within the city showed 71 support for the measure, even after people were told how much property taxes would increase.

The bond measure would increase property taxes $19 a year per $100,000 of a propertys assessed valuation, which is often much lower than a propertys market value because of the protections of tax-limiting Proposition 13.

While the average sale price of a home in San Diego has surpassed $500,000, supporters say their calculations indicate the average homeowner would pay $72 per year if the bond measure passes.

Kersey also questioned whether the measure might conflict with a separate November measure that would raise hotel taxes to expand the waterfront convention center, repair roads and address homelessness.

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Russell said the $30 to $50 million per year that measure would devote to homelessness could fund counseling and other support services at the 7,500 apartments that the bond measure would fund.

We see these as complementary and potentially synergistic measures that are up to the scale of the problem, he said.

Councilman Chris Ward of University Heights said he was pleased the measure would divide the money equally among three priorities.

Based on the 7,500 estimate of housing units it would fund, the measure would build 2,500 units for the chronically homeless, 2,500 units for low-income families and 2,500 units for veterans, seniors and the disabled.

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No members of the public spoke against the measure, while a large coalition of housing developers, social service groups and community organizations praised it.

Lori Holt Pfeiler, chief executive of Habitat for Humanitys San Diego chapter, said the bond money is crucial.

The market cant produce housing for low-income families  there has to be a subsidy, she said.

Homeless advocate Michael McConnell and several others said the bond measure would do more to end San Diego homelessness than any other proposals being considered.

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Heres the measure that will actually really do something about real solutions, he said.

Councilwoman Myrtle Cole of southeastern San Diego said she was upbeat about the proposal but needs more information before July about how quickly the units could be built and other concerns.

There are a few details that I would like clarified before really, fully committing to the proposal, she said.

City Attorney Mara Elliotts staff is scheduled to bring back to the Rules Committee this spring potential ballot language and other information.

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The council is expected to vote in late July and early August which proposed measures to place on the November ballot.

david.garrick@sduniontribune.com (619) 269-8906 Twitter:@UTDavidGarrick
It was quite a blow when San Diego police Officer Art Calvert found out this week that dispatcher Debra Ballard was not a match, after all, to donate a kidney to him.

What seemed like a sure thing fell apart just days before the transplant surgery scheduled for Wednesday.

The reason: Calverts blood antibodies had changed after he received a dozen or more transfusions in the past year, he said at a Friday news conference with Ballard at his side.

When they did the final blood match on Monday  they got a bad reaction. Basically, my blood and Debras blood didnt match any longer, said Calvert, who had been anticipating the transplant for nearly two years. There was a probability of rejection, so they just called off the surgery.

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The decision puts Calvert back where he started, in desperate need of a life-saving transplant.

Calvert has suffered from renal kidney disease for decades and has received transplants from his mother and sister already. When the second donated organ failed after seven years, Calvert pinned hopes on Ballard, a work colleague who came forward quickly to offer one of her own.

They both started working at the San Diego Police Department nearly 25 years ago. Calvert, now a detective and a past member of the mayors personal detail, is set to retire in October.

Anyone with blood type A or O who is interested in being tested as a potential donor can go to the UC San Diego Medical Centers website, www.ucsdlivingdonor.org. Once on the site, personal information is given, then under named recipient, one enters Art Calvert with date of birth 10-11-1963.

Applicants will go through a blood test and could go on to undergo a CT scan, counseling and other doctor visits.

Ballard advised potential donors not to wait. That process takes five or six months to get tested and see if youre a good match, she said. They need to make sure youre compatible physically and mentally.

If you cant help me, help somebody else, added Calvert, who undergoes frequent dialysis. Ill just keep fighting the fight.

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pauline.repard@sduniontribune

Twitter: @pdrepard
San Diego police raided two dispensaries this month, in the Midway district and in North Park where two cannabis rights advocates protested and used a bullhorn to warn those inside of their rights.

A woman with the bullhorn also jeered at the officers, calling them thieves for having guns drawn when they entered Patient First Choice dispensary in an alley off University and Arnold avenues.

Officers on the narcotics unit served warrants at the dispensary and the owners El Cajon home, off Greenfield Drive, about 7 a.m. Thursday, police Lt. Matt Novak said in a statement.

Police seized 28 pounds of marijuana, more than 600 edibles and concentrates, $1,600 in cash and two firearms as a result of the warrants, Novak said.

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The 55-year-old owner was jailed on charges of possessing marijuana for sale and operating a business without a license.

The narcotics unit also served a search warrant at Sacred Source Sanctuary on Midway Drive at 8 a.m. on Feb. 1. They seized seven pounds of marijuana, $1,200 in cash and a .45 caliber handgun. Five employees were cited on charges of marijuana for sale and operating a business without a permit.

Terry Best was shown on video by OnSceneTV using a bullhorn to address anyone inside the North Park dispensary, telling them to not talk to police.

Police will lie about what you say, Best said. They are allowed to lie and they do it in front of judges and juries all the time Police are not your friends. They are trying to create more trouble for you.

The officers appeared to generally ignore her, but moved a van in front of the dispensary door, blocking her view from over a fence, and strung yellow crime-scene tape across the alley entrance.

She and Joshua Timmerman told OnSceneTV they were there to support cannabis patients, and they did not know if the dispensary was operating legally, with a city permit.

If this is a permitting thing, then why are they sending people with guns? Timmerman asked. I think the city of San Diego could handle this in a much different way.

Novak responded to their criticisms in an email to The San Diego Union-Tribune, saying that illegal dispensaries operate without safeguards for the public, sometimes with firearms and unlicensed security staff on the premises.

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There are no controls over the quality and safety of the marijuana products being sold (pesticide levels, mold, contaminates, etc.). ... These illegal dispensaries often create nuisances for the surrounding businesses and neighborhoods because they are open at all hours, attracting crime and litter, smoking in public, noise, and other disturbances. In general, we have found several illegal dispensaries operating near schools, churches, and child care facilities where young children are located, that otherwise would not be allowed.

He said officers focus on citing or arresting owners and employees, not customers who might be detained a short time.

In the end, there is a legal process that can be utilized to open up and operate a legal and regulated marijuana business in the City of San Diego. These illegal dispensaries have not done that and we will continue to investigate, serve search warrants, arrest, and prosecute those that are involved, Novak wrote.

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pauline.repard@sduniontribune

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Twitter: @pdrepard
State officials are proposing to place a sexually violent predator in the southeast county community of Boulevard, and are accepting public comment on the plan.

The San Diego Sexual Assault Felony Task Force on Thursday announced Michael Martinez has a March 16 court hearing regarding the placement.

The proposal to put him in Boulevard was made by the Department of State Hospitals.

Martinez, 65, has been diagnosed with a pedophilia and personality disorder, according to the District Attorneys office.

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Officials said Martinez was convicted in four separate cases between 1979 and 2004. The crimes include child molestation, annoying/molesting a child, lewd or lascivious acts on a child under 14, and annoying a child under 18. The crimes happened in San Diego and Los Angeles counties, the District Attorneys office said.

The proposal calls for placing Martinez at 2135 McCain Valley Road in Boulevard, a community which authorities said has a population of about 315 people.

According to the District Attorneys website, there are four sexually violent predators in the county. Two live in Jacumba Hot Springs, one lives in Campo and one lives in Borrego Springs.

Public comments on the placement plan for Martinez will be accepted until Feb. 20, and will also be accepted at the hearing.

The hearing is set for 9 a.m. March 16 in Dept. 2204 of the San Diego Superior Court building, 1100 Union Street in downtown San Diego.

Comments can be made by emailing sdsafe@sdsheriff.org, or by phone at 858-495-3619.

Mail comments to:

SVP Release/SAFE Task Force

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9425 Chesapeake Drive

San Diego, CA 92123

To learn more about sexually violent predators and the law, go to the District Attorneys web page on the topic.

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teri.figueroa@sduniontribune.com

(760) 529-4945

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Twitter: @TeriFigueroaUT
Editors note: After Saturdays demonstrations by Chicano Park supporters and critics, The San Diego Union-Tribune asked both sides to write a commentary about their purpose. The Bordertown Patriots declined to do so if they could not be anonymous. An organizer of a previous Patriot Picnic, who also participated in Saturdays event, would only write a piece if he could include statements about a flag ban. Park critics claim the American flag is banned at the park. The city of San Diego and park stewards say there is no such ban and that the American flag is flown at a veterans memorial at the park. We decided to publish the piece with this explanation to foster a broader community conversation.

The goal of two recent Patriot Picnics in Chicano Park has been to attempt to freely assert our constitutional rights of freedom of assembly and freedom of speech. These events were not billed as political protests but a test of our civil rights.

There have been two Patriot Picnic events, so far, organized by different groups. I have a blog and YouTube channel called Patriot Fire and organized the first event last Sept. 3. The second event on Feb. 3 was organized by an anonymous group called the Bordertown Patriots with Patriot Fire supporting.

Chicano-ism is not just an ethnic description or civil rights movement, but also has a pronounced revolutionary, separatist vein running through it, which is promoted at the park. Certain classes of nonconforming citizens are barred from the park by park supporters in defense of this militant political theme, often displayed in the murals, which they claim is part of Chicano culture.

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Related: Why Chicano Parks legacy deserves respect

Related: What one resident learned at Chicano Park Patriot Picnic

Neither violence nor vandalism was ever planned by the groups participating in the two events, though we were expecting a possible attack. There have been numerous threats of violence and widespread slander as Nazis and white supremacists made against us by park supporters. No known Nazis or white supremacists were at either event on our side. Ironically, there were black racial supremacists supporting the park at both events, a group called Sicarii, cited by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Physical altercations have occurred because the park supporters claim that they own the park and can deny access to others.

The first Patriot Picnic was planned to be a private, educational, critical viewing of the murals in the park of about seven persons. Leftist political activists got wind of the event. A large crowd of hundreds was organized against us, expressly designed to intimidate us and deny us access to the park. We decided to go anyway to try to assert our civil rights and document it, if denied. We were chased out of the park within minutes under heavy police escort, even though we were not protesting and not doing anything provocative.

This is supposedly a public park, but the city does not control it. The Chicano Park Steering Committee, an unaccountable group, controls it to a great extent and enforces its will via the Brown Berets de Aztlan paramilitary group and certain far-left and anarchist allies.

Having learned that the American flag was banned in the park, the plan for the second event on Feb. 3 was to bring American flags to wave at the park and raise an American flag on the main flagpole in the center of the park, if allowed to do so, where only the Aztlan and La Raza flags normally fly. Aztlan is identified as the American Southwest, which the Chicanos claim to be their national homeland that they are destined to control. Chicano Park is hailed by park supporters as the first part of Aztlan to be occupied, from which greater Aztlan is supposed to grow.

The Chicano Park Steering Committee has also banned the U.S. flag at the veterans memorial on the east side of the park next to the freeway, except for three days per year, Veterans, Memorial and Independence Days. This is a humiliation for our Hispanic veterans in the Barrio. The Hispanic veterans have defied their flag ban in recent days, presumably due to our current criticism. On the main flagpole in the center of the park, the American flag is never permitted to fly.

We believe the city is legally responsible for doing everything possible to ensure equal access and equal rights for everyone at this park.

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The organizers of the Patriot Picnic events want to help make this possible. To do this, it is necessary to eliminate the current, radical political theme. The name of the park should be changed to make it more inclusive, but still have a broader, politically neutral Hispanic/Latino theme. The city should start exercising full control of the park. The most provocative political murals in the park should be removed. Some obvious examples are those that memorialize communist dictators Fidel Castro and Che Guevara. They should also remove the murals which show the American Southwest as a separate Chicano nation, Aztlan. Furthermore, the American flag should not be banned anywhere in the park but be allowed to fly freely in an appropriate manner.

Ogden. a longtime San Diego resident, worked for the Department of the Navy for 34 years.
These days, the only constant in journalism  besides its relentless pursuit of the truth  is change. To wit, The San Diego Union-Tribune will soon have its fifth owner in nine years after 80 years of continuous ownership by the Copley family. That new owner, Los Angeles billionaire Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, is no stranger to San Diego; he previously invested tens of millions of dollars in two San Diego biotech companies.

His note to employees this week talked about preserving the Union-Tribunes mission and independence and touted high-quality journalism.

So what changes will Soon-Shiong make at the Union-Tribune? That remains to be seen, but after so many ownership changes, The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board is optimistic about the future and about comparisons Soon-Shiong draws to Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and owner of The Washington Post. In an age of digital disruption, myriad media options and near-constant accusations of fake news, the Post is thriving.

Soon-Shiongs purchase of the Union-Tribune and the Los Angeles Times for $500 million (plus the assumption of $90 million in pension debt) is twice what Bezos paid for the Post in 2013. That tells us hes committed to journalism. That  plus his plans to cure cancer and create a new wave of personalized medicine  tells us hes a visionary.

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The sale of two large media companies in Californias two largest cities ends a three-year ownership by Tronc, which bought the Union-Tribune in 2015 from developer Doug Manchester, who bought it in 2011 from Platinum Equity, which bought it in 2009 from David Copley.

Our editorial board was conservative under the hands-on local ownership of the Copleys and Manchester, more centrist under the hands-off out-of-town ownership of Platinum Equity and Tronc, which didnt influence what we wrote at all. Recently, some critics have labeled us left-leaning, but the reality is weve endorsed candidates on the right and left and try, rather than lean any political way, to be thoughtful and thought-provoking, what one reader called, sensible-leaning.

After the 2015 ownership change, the editorial board wrote that we would be mindful of our past while we looked to our future: This editorial board will not forget where we came from, even as we chart a new course that we believe will better represent our diverse and ever-changing community.

We wrote we will not shy away from criticism, but will strive to take a constructive and pragmatic approach to issues. We will be a bridge-builder in public affairs, acknowledging and valuing different ideas and promoting civil discourse and civic engagement. That mission, that promise, remains.

There may never been a more difficult time for the media  or for consumers who turn to us for information. With this in mind, the Union-Tribune has launched a media literacy effort with the San Diego Public Library, the San Diego chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and the San Diego Press Club to help the public discern real news from fake and to demystify what we do every day. Each of these organizations has San Diego in its name. Our change in ownership wont change our sense of ownership or our senses of place, pride and purpose. The editorial boards hearts lie here, and our heads do, too, after long days discussing issues fairly and fully as best we can.

Its an especially troubling time for journalism in California. The Los Angeles Times has had three editors in six months. The Southern California News Group is laying off newsroom staff at multiple companies. The Bay Area News Group, owned as is SCNG by Digital First Media, is undergoing buyouts and layoffs a year after its East Bay Times won a Pulitzer Prize for breaking news reporting.

A long-running journalism joke is that the last one out turns off the lights. Our job  to shine that light on success and malfeasance alike  has never been more important. Know that we wont stop.

Related:

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Billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong reaches deal to buy San Diego Union-Tribune, L.A. Times

New Union-Tribune owner ambitious, controversial

Union-Tribune readers cross their fingers over prospect of fifth owner in less than a decade

Column | What does sale mean for the Union-Tribunes independence?

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Your Opinions | Readers react to sale of Union-Tribune, L.A. Times

Editorial | Why the purchase of the Union-Tribune by Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong is a plus

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Twitter: @sdutIdeas

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As The San Diego Union-Tribune reported last week, Southern California Edison has begun transferring the last of its nuclear waste from steel-lined pools at the shuttered San Onofre nuclear plant that it has long managed to a new storage facility on the site along the north San Diego County coast. By mid-2019, all 3.55 million pounds of the dangerous, highly radioactive waste is expected to be in whats known as dry cask storage in an area about 100 feet from the Pacific Ocean behind a 28-foot-tall seawall.

While the storage plan has been approved by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and has been billed by Edison officials as capable of withstanding floods, earthquakes and other natural disasters, many nearby residents are upset about it. With memories still fresh of the 2011 disaster in Fukushima, Japan  in which an earthquake and tsunami triggered a meltdown at a nuclear plant  this concern is amply merited. Storing that much nuclear waste by the ocean within a 50-mile radius of more than 8 million people instead of in a remote area seems unnecessarily risky. A better, short-term solution is needed.

To that end, San Diego trial attorneys Mike Aguirre and Maria Severson are trying to get a state judge to force Edison to make whats known in legalese as a commercially reasonable effort to move San Onofres nuclear waste off the shoreline  and have the Palo Verde nuclear plant 50 miles west of Phoenix accept it. Its a noble but quixotic goal; the lawyers bid seems doomed to fail. The commercially reasonable requirement was included in a settlement reached in a lawsuit over the waste last August, but Aguirre himself calls it a term of art. He and Severson just successfully negotiated a much-improved version of the 2014 settlement related to how the $4.7 billion cost of closing down San Onofre will be closed  one more favorable to ratepayers of Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric, the plants owners  and area residents will forever be in their debt. But even as Aguirre and Severson work to get Arizonans to accept millions of pounds of nuclear waste from another state, Aguirre said its a long shot. Its easy to imagine Edison devising a commercially reasonable reason not to haul waste to Palo Verde. Arizona Public Service Co., Palo Verdes operator, rejected the possibility as soon as it was raised.

If Aguirre, Severson or any local resident wants to do something constructive about the San Onofre storage plan, heres a suggestion: write to members of Congress and exhort them to revive the plan for a federal nuclear depository at Yucca Mountain in a remote part of Nevada that was blocked by President Barack Obama in keeping with a promise he made as a candidate to Nevada voters.

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Last June, the House Energy and Commerce Committee voted 49-4 for a bill directing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to approve the project, which the commission has reviewed and deemed safe. In November, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that the Trump administration had included $120 million for the Yucca Mountain project in its 2018 spending plan. But that report also noted it was unclear whether President Donald Trump was aware of or supportive of the funding, and that he might need voters in Nevada  a swing state he narrowly lost in 2016  in his 2020 re-election bid.

In any event, the bill directing the NRC to proceed on Yucca Mountain has stalled. Yet California and 34 other states have nuclear waste that needs disposing, and no better option has emerged in the 31 years since Congress first agreed on the Yucca Mountain project and began funding prep work. Those concerned about San Onofre should make this point loudly and often to our federal lawmakers.

Twitter: @sdutIdeas

Facebook: San Diego Union-Tribune Ideas & Opinion
Pruitt has shown he is unfit for his EPA job

Re EPA Chief: Global Warming may not be bad (Feb. 8): Scott Pruitts statement that global warming may not be a bad thing is beyond belief.

Americans who have experienced unprecedented flooding, wildfires and droughts would certainly disagree. If this much devastation can happen with 1 degree Celsius of warming, what should we expect in 2100 when were on track for as much as 5 degrees Celsius?

Recently, weve seen a White House staffer step down for allegedly abusing two ex-wives. What is the appropriate consequence for a cabinet member endangering the entire planet. Its time for Pruitt to go.

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Laura Schumacher

Bay Park

Scott Pruitts statement that humans may be better off in a warmer world might be true in Siberia, but it sure isnt true in California.

The global average temperature at the end of this century is expected to rise 7 to 8 degrees F above what it was in pre-industrial times if we do not cut our greenhouse gas emissions. The land surface warms even more, about 10 degrees, while the ocean stays a bit cooler.

The average July/August high temperature in our central valley (near Fresno) is already 99 degrees, with some days getting much hotter. Now add another 10 degrees. The water needs of the farmers will increase dramatically, while the amount of water we can get from snow melt in the Sierra Nevada will radically decrease. Many more farmworkers will suffer heat related health effects. This would be an economic and public health disaster.

Larry Peranich

Scripps Ranch

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Chimpanzees overall intelligence is correlated to their ability to exert self-control and delay gratification, according to a study published in the journal Current Biology.

The finding relates back to the famous marshmallow test, an experiment originally performed at Stanford University in the 1960s.

In the test, children are given the choice of taking a small, immediate reward (a single marshmallow placed in front of them) or waiting to earn a larger reward (two marshmallows).

Previous studies have found that children who perform well on the marshmallow test and other tests of delayed gratification tend to also perform well on tests of general intelligence.

Georgia State University scientists Michael J. Beran and William D. Hopkins have found the same link exists in common chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes).

In their study, chimpanzees performed the hybrid delay task, which tracks how often chimpanzees choose to wait for a larger, better reward rather than taking a smaller reward right away.

It also measures how well the chimpanzees managed to wait during the delay period, when there is a constant temptation to capitulate and accept the smaller reward.

The chimpanzees then completed the primate cognitive test battery, a test of general intelligence that measures a variety of individual social and cognitive factors, such as the capacity to follow pointing gestures.

Those chimpanzees who showed the highest levels of generalized intelligence were also the most efficient in the delayed gratification test.

Intelligence scores were related not only to how often chimpanzees chose to try to wait for the better reward, but also to how well the chimpanzees could wait when they chose to do so.

The fact that the link between self-control and intelligence exists in species other than humans may demonstrate an evolutionary basis for the role that willpower plays in general intelligence, Dr. Beran said.

Future research could clarify whether the relationship also exists in other primates and even non-primate species.

_____

Michael J. Beran & William D. Hopkins. Self-Control in Chimpanzees Relates to General Intelligence. Current Biology, published online February 8, 2018; doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2017.12.043
2018 CC and 2018 CB  two small asteroids recently discovered by NASA-funded astronomers  safely flew past our planet this week.

Asteroid 2018 CC is estimated to be between 50 and 100 feet (15 and 30 m) in size.

Its close approach to Earth came Tuesday (February 6) at 12:10 p.m. PST (3:10 p.m. EST) at a distance of about 114,000 miles (184,000 km).

Of potentially greater interest is 2018 CB, which safely flew past Earth today (February 9) at around 2:30 p.m. PST (5:30 p.m. EST).

Its closest approach to our planet was at a distance of about 39,000 miles (64,000 km), which is less than one-fifth the distance of Earth to the Moon.

2018 CB is estimated to be between 50 and 130 feet (15 and 40 m) in size.

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 Dr. Paul Chodas, manager of the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Asteroids of this size do not often approach this close to our planet  maybe only once or twice a year.

Both asteroids were discovered by astronomers at the Catalina Sky Survey on February 4, 2018.
By Yin Han

India's frequent missile tests are aimed at China as an enemy, specialists said after India reportedly test-fired a Prithvi-II surface-to-surface missile on Wednesday.

India successfully launched its indigenously developed nuclear-capable Prithvi-II missile on Wednesday from a test range in the eastern state of Odisha, the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency reported on Wednesday, citing an Indian defense official.

"India's frequent missile test launches are aimed at China. India regards China as its enemy which is unfair as China has never regarded India as a threat," Hu Zhiyong, a research fellow at the Institute of International Relations in the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday.

"China does not seek an arms race in Asia. India's economy is still underdeveloped and China hopes to maintain peace and stability in the region alongside India," Hu said.

The Prithvi-II has a strike range of 350 kilometers and is capable of carrying 500 to 1,000 kilograms of warheads, PTI reported.

The launch came after the trial of an Agni-5 missile on January 18 and another Agni-1 missile test conducted on Tuesday.

The Prithvi uses combined guidance which makes its accuracy higher than the Agni series and it is capable of carrying either nuclear weapons or normal warheads, according to Song Zhongping, a Beijing-based military expert and TV commentator. This makes it more practical in military conflict, he noted.

On Monday, China conducted a successful test of its ground-based mid-course defense system, the Ministry of National Defense announced Tuesday.

The missile interception test was defensive in nature and is not targeted at any country, the ministry said.

China's anti-aircraft missile systems are surely capable of intercepting India's missiles, no matter whether they are Agni or Prithvi series, Song said.
The four-year contract is valued at about $102m and includes an option for a one-year extension.

The order covers a range of services to renovate, repair and upgrade the floating production storage and offloading platforms, or FPSOs, at the Barracuda, Caratinga and Albacora Leste fields in the Campos Basin. It also entails management at the yard where replacement parts and other equipment will be fabricated.

"Brazil is an important global market and growth area for servicing oil and gas fields," said Aker Solutions ceo Luis Araujo. "We look forward to helping Petrobras optimize and extend the life of these assets."

The company will execute the work from its CSE Mecanica e Instrumentacao Ltda services base in Macae, Rio de Janeiro. Aker Solutions acquired a majority stake in CSE in December 2016. The contract will be booked in first-quarter orders.

The work starts in March 2018, with final deliveries scheduled for the first quarter of 2022.
Transhipment volumes were particularly hard hit, falling 16% to 6.2m teu, which Westports blamed on changes in the container shipping industry, arising from the formation of new global alliances and reconstituted service offerings and port of calls, as well as mergers and acquisitions which kicked in from April. Analysts had been predicting all along that the loss of CMA CGMs volumes when it moved to PSA in Singapore following its acquisition of APL would hit the operator hard.

Volumes from other segments helped to ameliorate the losses from mainline transhipment however. The Intra-Asia segment showed favourable momentum with strong growth as throughput grew 8%, increasing its contribution to Westports overall volume to 57%.

Gateway volumes also grew strongly, rising 10%, and reflecting Malaysias strong exports as Westports helped to facilitate the countrys domestic economic activities.

In terms of finances, Westports noted that it has total outstanding Islamic Medium Term Notes of MYR1.5bn ($381m). Proceeds from its debt exercise were used to part-finance the development of the its container terminal expansion during the year, with capital expenditure for CT8 and CT9 coming up to over MYR800m.

Group md Ruben Emir Gnanalingam said: The container shipping industry went through unprecedented realignment changes that affected almost all major liners in 2017. In addition to these, the industry witnessed a wave of mergers and acquisitions, of which some of our clients were involved in. These changes adversely affected our total transhipment volume last year, but Westports have transitioned successfully towards serving new services under the Ocean Alliance.

Ruben noted that construction work at CT8 and CT9 has been completed and with its new facilities, Westports has boosted its container handling capacity to 14m teu a year.

The added capacity will further strengthen Port Klang as the preeminent port for the nations gateway trade, while also being one of the main transhipment hubs in the region, he added.

For the future, Westports also announced during the year that it had received Approval-in-Principle from the Malaysian government to expand its container terminal facilities from CT10 to CT19 although terms and conditions are still subject to further deliberations.

Looking ahead, Westports said container throughput is expected to register modest growth rate of low single-digit percentage in 2018.
All aboard the Bund wagon

Yields on German Bunds have been negative since Q2 2019 but David Lewis of FIS says that a return to positive yields is on the cards due to a number of factors and influences, including a change in political management
Securities finance: Q1 2021

Over the first three months of the year global lending revenues increased by 15 per cent YoY as US equity special balances went to the moon and back. IHS Markits Sam Pierson walks through the Q1 data
Press Release

February 8, 2018 Dispatch from Crame No. 240:

Sen. Leila M. de Lima's Statement on PAO Chief Persida Acosta's accountability for creating Dengvaxia panic 2/8/2018 With the major questions on the Dengvaxia issue still unresolved and inconclusive, PAO Chief Persida Acosta is already determined to blame the vaccine for supposedly causing the deaths of at least 14 children autopsied by non-qualified PAO doctors. Her office's findings are contradicted by the doctors of the country's leading medical institution -- the PGH, a former health secretary, and a host of concerned medical practitioners -- most of them experts on the subject, with the latter two raising concerns about the effect of Acosta's alarmist drama antics on the government's other vaccination programs. More and more, we are convinced that everything Acosta now pursues with all the drama flare she has accustomed us to is in aid of her appointment to higher office. Acosta does not hide keeping a moist eye for a seat in the Supreme Court. She might as well have it, but in the meantime she has other uses for the Duterte administration and DOJ Secretary Aguirre. That neither the DOJ nor Malacanang is ordering Acosta to stop her alarmist drama antics only goes to show that they are behind this Dengvaxia panic scare to leverage against Sanofi and their target health officials in the Aquino Administration. It is just a curiosity that these so-called Dengvaxia-victim parents, rather than pool resources to organize and call for concrete medical emergency responses, would rather spend their hard-earned money to first print T-shirts and order streamers to sport and banner before the media. Who are paying for the printing of these paraphernalia? Who is financing this orchestrated hysteria? It could be none other than the current Queen of Hysterics herself, Persida Acosta, as encouraged by the DOJ and Malacanang. This is not to demean real and genuine concerned mothers. But all this, including the attempted elevator assault on former Secretary Garin by hysterically acting mothers, gives the impression that this is a well-funded and concerted effort to intentionally orchestrate panic and hysteria among the public. That Malacanang opts to push and finance this panic and hysteria campaign through Acosta speaks well of how this administration is willing to sacrifice public health and safety for vindictive political ends. While paying lip service to sobriety, it unleashes and allows Acosta to continue to sow panic and hysteria among the public. This underhanded manipulation of the people's emotions at the expense of public health vaccination programs is what is unforgiveable, more than the Dengvaxia controversy that is, in the first place, supposed to be the root of this public health issue. Already, parents are refusing all kinds of public-funded vaccinations, thus exposing our children to more danger than the Dengvaxia vaccination was ever proven to have caused, if at all. In all of these, it is the children who continue to be the victims. It is not enough that they are used for political ends, told to hold up streamers and wear T-shirts for the benefit of a media circus event at the PAO premises. Because of the panic and hysteria, they are now prevented by their own parents from getting inoculation even for non-dengue related diseases, such as measles, the flu, small pox, etc. There must be a crime in all these, of using children and mothers to buttress the highly questionable PAO autopsies and campaign to hold Sanofi and Aquino public health officials accountable, despite contrary findings by experts at the PGH that so far, there is still no evidence that will connect Dengvaxia vaccination to the cases of the dead children exhumed and autopsied by the PAO for display before the media. This is more than abhorrent and condemnable action by the PAO Chief. It is patently criminal conduct. Acosta must be stopped and held accountable for creating this panicky mess she is using for her own popularity and ticket to higher office. Malacanang should just grant her wish and appoint her to the Supreme Court to stop this deadly circus she has created.
Press Release

February 9, 2018 De Lima seeks probe into cops' planting of evidence during drug raids Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima has pushed for a Senate investigation into the practice of some unscrupulous police officers to plant evidence at the crime scenes during their buy-bust operations to easily prosecute suspected drug offenders. De Lima, a known human rights defender, filed Senate Resolution (SR) No. 600 urging the appropriate Senate committee to look into several reports alleging that some members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) have been staging the crime scenes. "It is incumbent upon the PNP to make sure procedures in collection and preservation of evidence are lawfully adhered to in all stages of police investigation, and duly sanction those who err to fulfill this mandate," she said. "It is a grave injustice to accuse anyone of a crime - worse, kill him - without giving him the chance to defend himself before the court," she added. The former justice secretary cited several reports where the arresting officers purportedly planted evidence at the crime scenes to justify their killings of suspected offenders. Last Sept. 8, she recalled that Public Attorney's Office (PAO) forensic lab chief Erwin Erfe reportedly claimed that the crime scene where 19-year-old Carl Arnaiz was killed was apparently staged. This was after PAO re-examined the crime scene on Sept. 7 in which they concluded that "there were no traces of blood... it was a secondary crime scene." De Lima also cited Reuters' report last April when two undisclosed senior PNP officials revealed that the PNP has received cash payments for executing drug suspects, planting evidence at crime scenes and carrying out most of the killings they have long blamed on vigilantes. "The Senate investigation is important to shed light on these disturbing trends," she said. The Senator from Bicol asked her Senate colleagues to look into the measures being taken by the PNP to preserve evidence and to ensure their proper handling and safekeeping at all stages of the investigation. "In order to start regaining people's trust and to maintain the integrity and stringency of police investigation, the PNP should never, in any circumstances, tamper with evidence and undermine eyewitness testimonies," she noted. Last December, De Lima filed SR No. 566 directing the appropriate Senate committee to look into Reuters' reports showing the arresting officer readily undermining eyewitness testimonies and video evidence during a violent raid that killed three suspected drug offenders in Tondo, Manila. In another bill she filed, Senate Bill 1364, De Lima also sought the preservation and protection of data recorded by security cameras that would serve not only as possible leads in identifying and apprehending criminals but also as evidence to build cases against them.
Press Release

February 9, 2018 Sen. JV: Free irrigation law to improve farmers' income THE income of poor Filipino farmers are expected to increase and their economic condition are seen to improve after President Duterte signed into law Republic Act 10969 or the "Free Irrigation Services Act." "This is surely one of the crucial reforms in the agricultural sector. As one of the proponents of this measure, I laud the signing of RA 10969 granting free irrigation to farmers owning not more than 8 hectares of land," he said in a statement. Ejercito, the author of Senate Bill no. 1199 or the "Free Irrigation Services Act of 2016" said the law is expected to lessen the "out of pocket" production expenses of farmers and boost their harvest because of sufficient water for their farms, which will translate to more income for them. "Our desire is to unburden our poor farmers from paying irrigation service fees. The law condones all unpaid irrigation fees and penalties of farmers who till the same size of land," he said. RA 10969 also condones all loans, past due accounts and the corresponding interests and penalties of irrigation associations. "Some of the poorest of the poor in our society are from the agricultural sector. I hope this law helps them out of poverty and as a result contribute to sustaining our economic growth," he added.
Press Release

February 9, 2018 To ensure compliance with foreign equity restriction laws

Villanueva wants mining companies to disclose beneficial ownership information Senator Joel Villanueva filed a resolution calling for an inquiry regarding the disclosure of beneficial ownership of mining companies operating in the country. Under Senate Resolution No. 612, Villanueva urged the Senate committee on public information and mass media to conduct an inquiry on the beneficial owners of extractive companies which include mining, oil, and gas. This is for transparency and compliance with foreign equity restriction to the Philippine Constitution and to ensure that Filipinos are really the ones benefitting from the extraction of these resources. It can be noted that a similar issue on foreign equity restriction emerged last month when the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revoked the corporate registration of Rappler for allegedly violating Constitutional restrictions on ownership and control of mass media entities. Villanueva, through filing the said resolution, deems it would also be wise to require disclosure of beneficial ownership of mining, oil, and gas companies which also have ownership restrictions under the law. Thus, the senator proposes to implement a beneficial ownership registry which is a publicly available register of extractive entities that apply for, or hold a participating interest in an exploration or production oil, gas or mining license or contract. The registry shall include the identities of their beneficial owner/s, the level of ownership and details about how ownership or control is exerted. "Through a beneficial ownership registry, our country's extractive industry is poised to build trust, ensure accountability, improve investment climate, enhance revenue collection, and prevent corruption and illicit financial flows," Villanueva explained. The Philippines, known for its abundant minerals, oil, and gas reserves, is estimated to possess about 21.5 billion metric tons of metal deposits which is considered as the highest in Southeast Asia. The country also has potential deposits of petroleum of about 8.9 billion barrel of oil equivalent (booe) or a total of about 1 million square kilometer. "Disclosure of beneficial ownership of extractive companies operating in the country will peel off corporate layers to allow the examination of ownership among firms, understand the influence of companies or individuals, prevent corruption, and eventually create a level playing field among investors in accordance to our laws," Villanueva said. On relocation of IPs Aside from knowing who ultimately benefits from the mining, oil, and gas operations in the country, Villanueva also emphasized that getting the free prior and informed consent of indigenous people are very important if investors are to mine in ancestral domains. "It is not just about investment but about the rights of our indigenous people to pursue the kind of development they want to pursue," Villanueva noted. The senator said it is illegal to just take away the lands that are rightfully theirs under the Indigenous People Rights Act (IPRA). The IPRA, which was passed in 1997, recognizes IP's rights to their ancestral land. Any plan to use their lands by outsiders, whether for mining or agricultural ventures, requires consultation and approval by the IPs. "Our law demands that we respect IPs' right to self-determination. These indigenous people were in their lands even before the colonizers came. A lot of them have been driven out of their land too," Villanueva shared. The senator further called on the government and stakeholders to stop the abuse and land grab of IPs. "We have been unjust to them for decades. Instead of taking away their lands, I believe the government must instead strive to protect IPs rights over their ancestral domain," Villanueva said.
Villar hails signing of free irrigation law

Sen. Cynthia Villar today hailed the enactment into law of the bill providing free irrigation services to small hold farmers.

On February 2, President Rodrigo Duterte signed into law Republic Act 10969 which exempts the payment of irrigation service for up to eight hectares of land.

"Now that free irrigation service has been institutionalized and made permanent, our farmers can now be assured that they are not going to pay for irrigation services, saving on their cost of production," Villar said.

The Nacionalista Party senator noted that as early as 2017, farmers have been getting free irrigation service with the inclusion in the 2017 General Appropriations Act (GAA) of P2 billion and P2.6 billion in the 2018 GAA.

Villar, chair of the Senate Committee on Food and Agriculture and principal author of the bill, said free irrigation is one of the reforms needed to improve the competitiveness of the agriculture sector.

"With the lifting of quantitative restriction on rice, imported rice will soon flood the market and it is very important that our local farmers' produce will be able to compete by lowering the production cost," Villar said.

Villar also added that free irrigation for small farmers is an appropriate response to the projection of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization that in 2050, "small family farms and not the big corporate farms, are the ones depended on to provide food for the growing world population."
This screen grab taken from North Korea's KCTV on Thursday shows members of North Korea's military taking part in a parade, with missiles being displayed, in Kim Il-sung Square in Pyongyang. Photo: AFP

North Korea displayed its most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile at a military parade on Thursday, one day ahead of the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics.

Experts said the event shows that Pyongyang has no intention of giving up its nuclear and missile programs, and that the peace process of the peninsula remains uncertain.

North Korea celebrated the 70th anniversary of the founding of its Korean People's Army with a massive military parade on Thursday in Pyongyang. According to state-run television, the country's leader Kim Jong-un attended the ceremony and delivered a keynote speech.

"We have destroyed the enemy's risk-taking provocations at every move," Kim said in the speech, Reuters reported.

During the parade, North Korea showed off its advanced missiles, including the Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile and Pukkuksong-2 submarine-launched ballistic missile.

"These missiles are the latest achievements of North Korea's missile program. Compared to last year's military parade, the weapons showcased this year are more advanced. Kim wants to deliver a clear message to the world that North Korea's identity as a nuclear power is certain and unshakable, so asking Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear and missile programs is unrealistic," said Song Zhongping, a military expert and TV commentator.

The opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics will be held on Friday, one day after the parade.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in will lunch with Kim Yo-jong, sister of Kim Jong-un, when he meets North Korea's Olympic delegation on Saturday, CNN reported.

Analysts believe that the timing of the military parade also delivered a political message on the situation on the peninsula and inter-Korean ties.

"North Korea treats the Winter Olympics seriously, so much so that its leader sent his sister to join the delegation, and his sister, to some extent, is almost the only person who can convey his voice to the South. At the same time, the military parade shows that, although North Korea wants to use the Olympics to repair ties, it will not beg for peace," Lu Chao, a researcher on North Korea at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday.

North Korea has claimed that its high-level delegation has no intention of talking to the US during the Olympics. According to the Korea Central News Agency, Jo Yong-sam, department director general of North Korea's foreign ministry, said that "we have never begged for dialogue with the US nor in the future, too."

US Vice President Mike Pence will lead the American delegation attending the event, but he described North Korea as "the world's most tyrannical regime" after he arrived in South Korea.

"It makes the peace process look very uncertain. The detente between the North and South is meaningless if there is no agreement between Pyongyang and Washington. Now that both sides continue to remain tough and refuse to compromise, everyone should be cautious. The peace brought by the Olympics could be temporary," Lu said.

'Positive changes'

The situation on the Korean Peninsula is undergoing positive changes as South Korea and North Korea are using the Winter Olympics to restart dialogue and commence cooperation, Chinese President Xi Jinping's special envoy Han Zheng said Thursday, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Han, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said at a meeting with Moon that the relationship between South Korea and North Korea has improved and has been making progress.

China supports the conciliation and cooperation between South Korea and North Korea, and hopes that relevant parties would meet each other half way and make joint efforts to further ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula and push forward the political settlement process of the peninsula issue, Han said.

Han was invited by Moon and Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee, to attend the opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.
Any buyer for Fletcher Building's construction division would likely want a discount for losses at its building and interiors (B+I) unit, according to analysts at Morningstar, but the company's existing Spanish partner says it isn't interested.

The Auckland-based company has scheduled briefings on Monday to update the market on "further material losses" at B+I that would cause it to breach debt covenants. A halt in its stock at the same time as the profit warning this week prevented the company being punished by the market, having fallen 23 percent this year. Morningstar says there's a high level of uncertainty about the stock's fair value, which it puts at $7.80, and it won't make any adjustments before Monday's big reveal.

Acciona, which is in a design and build joint venture with Fletcher Construction for the 18.5-kilometre Puhoi-to-Warkworth extension of Auckland's Northern Motorway, says it has no interest in acquiring Fletcher assets. "We're not looking at buying anything," said Acciona Australia head of communications Julian Elliott. He declined to comment on whether there were other commercial arrangements with Fletcher that may be in the wings.

We are not currently looking for acquisitions in the New Zealand market, instead preferring organic growth," the company said in an emailed statement. "We already have a strong working relationship with Fletcher, but any potential collaboration between our companies on future opportunities remains confidential for commercial reasons."

Puhoi-to-Warkworth is a public-private partnership (PPP) under which the Northern Express Group, which includes Fletcher, Acciona, the Accident Compensation Corp and a Morrison & Co fund, finance, design, construct, manage and maintain the motorway for 25 years. Fletcher says Spain's Acciona is "a leader in the development and management of infrastructure, renewable energy, water and services," according to its website entry on the motorway.

While Construction may or may not be for sale, Morningstar says it would be a positive outcome for the company to offload the business "given Fletcher's lack of expertise in managing large, complex construction projects." The firm's model assumes a valuation for Fletcher Construction of $550 million "but given the uncertainty around the ultimate size of the losses from B&I, any sale would probably come at a discount to our estimate."

Before 2017's losses, construction had contributed about 11 percent of annual ebit, although Morningstar's valuation equates to just 7.9 percent of the building company's market capitalisation of $6.97 billion.

Before this week's disclosures, Morningstar had been forecasting Fletcher's net debt/trailing ebitda ratio to reach 2.9 times. "These further losses clearly tip Fletcher to a level above 3 times ebitda, which we assume is the covenant level that, one of its covenant ratios," it says.

It describes Fletcher as still being "hostage to the construction cycle" despite its diversity and scale. At the group level "returns are below the cost of capital as the firm has made poor acquisitions in adjacent segments and new geographies and suffered execution issues in the Construction division. This has obscured the impact of a very strong housing construction cycle - an environment in which Fletcher should be generating good earnings growth."

Fletcher chair Ralph Norris apologised to shareholders in October for the company's mistakes as the company took a further $125 million provision against problematic construction contracts including the Convention Centre and the Justice Precinct in Christchurch and said its B&I unit would report a full-year loss of $160 million for 2018.

Its 2018 full-year earnings guidance, excluding B+I loss, is $680 million to $720 million, suggesting full-year earnings including B+I could be as low as $520 million. Morningstar analysts say they aren't confident Fletcher will be able to sustainably keep its return on invested capital above its cost of capital even with "steady ebit growth across most divisions."

Across its five divisions, Morningstar gave mixed reviews. Distribution, which includes "crown jewel" PlaceMakers, makes up a third of sales and a quarter of profit, and is expected to produce ebit margins reaching 5.5 percent over the medium term. International has Formica and Laminex and roof tiles - products with low pricing power but may generate long-term ebit growth of about 6 percent.

Construction offers "profitable growth driven by higher-margin, lower-risk infrastructure projects" Morningstar says. It assumes any further losses on the Convention Centre and Justice Precinct contracts are now fully provided for in the first-half 2018 results "but until these projects are complete we cannot be certain." With the addition of the Higgins infrastructure business, the analytics firm "expect Fletcher to win a high share of new projects contributing to long-term ebit."

Morningstar has a 'neutral'rating on the stock and a fair-value estimate of $7.80, just north of the $7.77 it traded at before being halted. Fletcher faces the challenge of either improving returns from under-performing businesses "or divest non-core operations and concentrate on where it has the strongest competitive advantage. Bigger is not always better".

(BusinessDesk)

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By Ma Yichong and Zhang Kang

KHARTOUM Feb. 9 (ChinaMil) -- Under the authority of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), the 14th Chinese peacekeeping engineer detachment to Sudan recently advanced into the largest conflict-prone area in the region for the first time and successfully completed an 85-km warzone road survey mission in Darfur.

The UNAMID is planning to establish a Temporary Operating Base (TOB) in Golo, where Darfurs security situation is the most serious, in order to accelerate the peace process. It is very urgent to upgrade the existing road connecting Nertiti and Golo for military deployment and logistic support.

The Chinese peacekeeping engineer detachment to Sudan dispatched a survey team on Jan. 27 after receiving the mission. The team set out from Nyala and reached the mission area after passing five government checkpoints.

Golo is located in the hinterland of the Marrah Mountains and has very rough road conditions. Due to large curves, steep slopes and rocks, it took more than six hours for the team to travel a short distance of 24 km. Such bad road conditions were a huge challenge to the survey team.

Bi Xianbo, captain of the survey team, said that they have collected a total of more than 3,000 sets of data in 5 days, measured precisely in eight subjects including length and width of various road sections. The team also has formed a complete investigative report, providing a precise basis for the road upgrading project.

The Chinese peacekeeping detachment will concentrate its efforts on opening up this strategic channel for the UNAMIDs peacekeeping troops, and continue to contribute China's strength and wisdom to the peace-building in Darfur.
North Korea held a military parade in Pyongyang on Thursday to mark the 70th anniversary of its army, just a day before the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang open in South Korea. During the parade, it displayed the Hwasong-14 and -15 intercontinental ballistic missiles that are thought capable of reaching the U.S. mainland. But the regime did not show off other new weapons like the Pukguksong-3 submarine-launched ballistic missile, and the parade itself was rather smaller than in previous years. Perhaps it was deliberately scaled down as a gesture of goodwill to South Korea and rapid rapprochement ahead of the Olympics.



North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his wife Ri Sol-ju attend a military parade in Pyongyang on Thursday, in this grab from [North] Korean Central Television.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in a speech at the parade said, "We will have to prevent aggressors from attempting to infringe or ridicule our dignity and sovereignty even by 0.001 millimeter." North Korean media aired 100 minutes of recorded footage of the parade in the evening, the first time it was not broadcast live since Kim came to power. The actual parade was also about 70 minutes shorter than a similar one on April 15 last year to mark regime founder Kim Il-sung's 105th birth birthday. But still some 13,000 troops and 50,000 spectators were mobilized for the event.

North Korea's Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile is being pulled through Pyeongyang on Thursday. /Yonhap

Kim Jong-gak, a former minister of the People's Armed Forces who has reportedly replaced the recently purged Hwang Pyong-so as the chief of the Army politburo, was seen standing on Kim Jong-un's right. Kim was dressed in a peculiar black bowler hat and overcoat and sported horn-rimmed glasses when he read his speech. His wife Ri Sol-ju and senior party and military officials were ensconced in the royal seats on both sides of the leadership platform. It was the first time the North Korean first lady has attended a military parade. State TV called Ri "Mrs." instead of "comrade." Kim's younger sister Yo-jong, who is coming to South Korea as a member of a North Korean delegation to the Olympics on Friday, was moving around behind while Kim was reading his speech.

Read this article in Korean
The second Friday of February and the release rush continues unabated. The biggest release of the week is the Sundar C directed Kalakalappu2, which is getting prime screens and shows. The multi-starrer comedy entertainer is sure to take a good opening, due to strong advance booking.





The other Tamil releases are Mysskin produced Savarakathi and Arjun directed Sollividava. Both these films will have to share smaller screens. The other unknown Tamil release is Nari Vettai.





The big Hindi film of the week is Akshay Kumars Padman, which is getting a wide release through Sony Pictures. The film based on a true story is expected to take a good opening. The English film of the week is Clint Eastwoods The 15 17 To Paris.




The families were handed compensation cheques by Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu on Wednesday five years after their land was acquired by Indian Army for setting up key location plan units.

: Bomja, a village in Arunachal Pradesh, has become one of the richest villages of Asia after the Ministry of Defence released crores towards it. The Ministry released Rs 40,80,38,400 towards land acquisition in Bomja village.

The Union Ministry of Defence has reportedly released payment worth 40.8 crore to 31 families, which had five years ago allowed the Army to acquire their 200.056 acres of land for the purpose of installing Key Location Plan Units of Tawang Garrison. Bomja, a village of the Buddhist Monpas, is located around 20 km west of district headquarters Tawang.

Almost all the households that got the payment as the compensation for land became millionaires; while one family received over Rs 2.45 crore, another received more than Rs 6.73 crore. The Bomja family that parted with the most land received 67.33 million (6.73 crore). The remaining 29 families were given 10.9 million (1.09 crore) each.

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu handed over the cheques on Monday. He also heaped praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the recent development work in the state and thanked Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for clearing the dues for Bomja.

More such compensation for land acquired for defence purposes is being worked out with the Centre, Khandu added.

On Wednesday, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu handed over cheques worth 408.04 million (40.8 crore) as land compensation to the heads of 31 families in Bomja, a village of Buddhist Monpas, located about 20 km west of district headquarters Tawang.

More such compensation for land acquired for defence purposes is being worked out with the Centre, Khandu said, thanking Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for clearing the backlog for Bomja.
President Moon Jae-in on Thursday met separately with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and Han Zheng, a member of the Chinese politburo, at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul. Both lead their country's delegation to the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

On Friday, Moon is to meet North Korea's titular head of state Kim Yong-nam, who leads a North Korean delegation that also includes leader Kim Jong-un's sister Yo-jong. Moon and Pence were keen to play down their differences over North Korea's attendance.

Moon said it was the U.S.' firm stance that contributed to North Korea's participation in the Olympics and inter-Korean talks. He called them an "Olympic Games of peace," which he hoped would become a "venue that leads to dialogue for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."
: As a reiteration of his Leftist political leanings, actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan has said that Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has been mentoring him in politics. Indeed, Vijayan was the first to give his feedback to Kamal when he announced his entry into politics.

Writing in his weekly column in the Tamil magazine Ananda Vikatan, Haasan has said that Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan clears all his political doubts.

Writing about the sound advice he received from the Kerala Chief Minister, Kamal states, The first feedback I got was to never back down from my first step. This was from Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Whatever political doubts I have, I get it cleared from him. In addition to that, I talk to other political leaders here. My talks are not about asking them to join my party. I want to get to know and learn from their political experience.

Kamal Haasan had met Pinrayi Vijayan in September 2017 as part of his journey of learning. Kamal also met other leaders like Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal as well as Mamata Banerjee at a conference.

On alliance with Rajinikanth, the actor said a political alliance is not like selecting actors for a movie and will have to think whether they should join hands.

"In each person's mind a separate story is played out. It is the policies of a party that would decide what is good for the people... One cannot play a game with names," Haasan said in the magazine.

Rajinikanth too recently announced his decision to float a political party and contest the assembly elections. He also said time will tell whether he and Haasan could tie up.

Haasan said first both of them have to form parties and announce their policies and then see whether their policies sync. And then both of them have to think whether they should join hands.
20-year-old makes fortune on memes

From:ChinaDaily | 2018-02-08 23:08

Jason Wong, a 20-year-old social media influencer, said his meme-themed e-commerce business could easily make more than $1 million this year.

The Irvine, California-based Wong sells self-designed merchandise, including coloring books, cooking books, soaps, candles, bath bombs and socks, through the website danktank.co. He has more than 1 millions followers.

When he immigrated to the US from Hong Kong at the age of 8 in 2005, he tried to assimilate into American culture by spending a lot of time on the internet learning how to make jokes and funny pictures. And then he went on American websites to learn how to do that.

"For me, one of the ways to learn the American culture was learning how to be funny and writing jokes," Wong said.

He spent a few years creating content and building a large social media following. He realized he could monetize his work. He then served as a memes consultant for corporate clients to do advertising and brand content.

"That's not what I really wanted to do. I want to do something more meaningful, so I started to develop the meme products that I could sell. That's really where we are at right now," said Wong.

He has a team of 10 people, including meme researchers and designers. Most of the products were made in China.

His first product is a "Holy Meme Bible"  a coloring activity book  came out last year. It combines coloring and filling in the dots (like children's coloring books) with the most viral memes of 2016.

The book is just for fun, but it also brings adults back to their childhood through something they are familiar with, he said.

On the first day when the book went on sale, it sold out in a few hours, so he invested in new inventory and marketing on more social media platforms. So far, he said the book alone has earned him more than a half-million dollars in sales.

Another popular book is The Lean Meme Cuisine Book, in which every dish was crafted by three professional chefs with inspirations from the popular memes  like Trump's executive chicken, and stir-fried glass noodles.

Other products include "candles that remind you of sad memories" and "Ramen Noodle Condoms".

Wong said his Chinese-American identity helped him stand out.

"I was kind of lost (when he first arrived in the US). At that age, you are trying to find out who you are. So you are constantly trying to understand who you want to be, what kind of people you want to be around and what culture you want to familiarize yourself with," he said.
When Narendra Modi came to power some four years ago, there were both apprehensions and hopes. Modi was in the limelight for over a decade as a divisive leader who tried to present himself as the foremost leader of the Hindu right while serving as the chief minister of Gujarat. Winning three elections in a row, one after the other, in a state as diverse as Gujarat was an unmatched accomplishment. While other citadels of the BJP tumbled, this was one that sent Modi back with increased margins after every election.





Nonetheless, given the high pitched electioneering and rebranding of Modi as a leader who meant business, there was increased hope from the new Prime Minister that while he would take the nation forward, he would take everyone along. His oft repeated slogan 'sabka sath, sabka vikas' that became the buzzword throughout the 2014 Lok Sabha election campaign strengthened this perception.





There is no denying that many people from among the Muslim community started looking forward to a rebranded Modi as a true reformer for whom religious affiliations and caste differences mattered little when it came to the overall good of the nation.





He talked of business and improved security within the country with major emphasis on ease of doing business. His outreach to Muslims was in full display when he sent his trusted lieutenant Zafar Sareshwala to different Muslim forums trying to outline his vision for a new India. Sareshwala even gatecrashed a meeting of India's top Muslim clerics under the auspice of All India Muslim Personal law Board.





Less than a year after Modi's ascent to power, Sareshwala told this writer in a top five star hotel in Delhi: "Modi is not anti-Muslim. He is pro-development and has said time and again that without Muslims riding the development plank, the nation cannot move forward. But Modi wants Muslims to avail many other schemes that are also available to general population. While under minority scholarship scheme, a student in high school gets Rs 500 scholarship. In Gujarat we have Rs 2600 scholarship for general category students at the same level. Modi wonders why Muslims don't apply under this scheme when it gets them five times more money. He asked me to bring to his notice any case in which a Muslim kid was refused scholarship meant for general category students and we found no complaint of the sort".





If that was not enough, he amazed everyone by sending a chadar to the mausoleum of Khawaja Muinuddin Chishti in Ajmer on his Urs. Modi's words were reassuring: "Khwaja had given a great message to his followers from all religions to live in harmony, keeping with the tradition of sufis and saints. That message is relevant even today".





I must admit that I was overcome with emotions when read the message sent by the nation's Prime Minister with a chadar for the twelfth century Muslim saint.





Nonetheless, as just about a year is left when the next Lok Sabha elections are due, there are telltale signs that Prime Minister hasn't been true to his promises insofar as communal harmony and 'sabka sath sabka vikas' are concerned.





Silence on violence by cow vigilante

Violence in the name of cow protection has gone up exponentially since the year 2014. It should be kept in mind that it was the same year when the BJP came to power at the center. Muslims and Dalits have been the main targets of violence centered on bovine issues. A report late last year said that Muslims comprised 86 percent of all the people killed in violence perpetrated by cow vigilantes over the last several years. The rest of the victims belonged to Dalit community. The report went on to add that as many of 97% of these attacks were reported after Prime Minister Narendra Modis government came to power in May 2014.





Hate crimes

The year 2017 can be described as the year of hate crimes. As many as eleven people lost their lives in the mindless violence perpetrated in the name of xenophobia and hate for a particular group of people. Mohammad Afrazul's bloody murder that was also saved on camera and posted on innumerable social media sites and WhatsApp was one of the worst points. On 6 December, 2017, in Rajasthan's Rajasamand, a migrant labourer from Malda district of West Bengal was killed and set ablaze by Shambulal Regar. This criminal circulated a video footage of the murder that went viral across the nation.





The Prime Minister, instead of forcing the BJP run state government in taking stern action against such criminals and cow vigilantes, has kept a studied silence. He is yet to speak a word on killing in the name of cow protection or hate crimes.





Use of Triple talaq as a political tool

There is no denying that Muslim clerics, specially All India Muslim Personal Law Board, have behaved very irresponsibly over the issue of triple talaq, The Prime Minister and his party have tried to exploit it as a political tool to further their agenda.





Triple talaq was presented as the most pressing issue that must be addressed first at all cost to 'emancipate' Muslim women. But in its zest to outdo everyone else on the issue, the BJP government made triple talaq a criminal offense with three year jail term without provision of bail. Observers claim that this was done to make its core vote bank happy by showing that now it has power to do with the Muslims as it wished.





The same government that behaved like an ostrich with its head in the sand, oblivious to the happenings all around on the issue of killings in the name of cow protection and spiraling, hate crimes, worked round the clock to bring out a bill on triple talaq. The most laughable aspect of it all was the fact that its didn't really talk to Muslim women organisations who have been fighting triple talaq cases, before drafting the bill.





Still not too late

Prime Minister Modi is a shrewd politician and the importance of Muslim votes will not be lost on him, more so when general elections are almost a year away from now. Over the last several years, his party has been trying to fragment Muslim electorate and incite intra community squabbling. Nonetheless, after around four years of such tactics, it seems to have succeeded little. On the contrary, given the increasing incidents of hate crimes across North India and high-pitched anti-Muslim rhetoric, Muslims have realized the true intentions of the government.





Prime Minister Modi is going to Palestine and his visit to the occupied land will create admiration for him among the Muslims of the nation. Palestine is an issue that has been close to the heart of Indian Muslims. They will certainly appreciate him more if it is accompanied with some true actions on the ground in the country.

More columns by Syed Ubaidur Rahman:

Why Muslims are not mourning withdrawal of Haj subsidy

Owaisi expands his appeal thanks to talaq bill

Will Indian Muslims take a break from too much focus on electoral politics?

Sify columnist releases book on Indian Muslim freedom fighters

Assembly elections: Politically marginalized Gujarati Muslims refuse to be provoked
Bullet train upgrade helps boost travel rush

From:ChinaDaily | 2018-02-09 07:46

China Railway Shanghai Group has upgraded its bullet train maintenance system to guarantee safer journeys during the ongoing Spring Festival travel rush, a time of family reunions that makes for the busiest annual transportation frenzy in the country.

"Our maintenance techniques are leading the world," said Qian Jianqiang, deputy chief of the Shanghai Depot of EMU (electric multiple units), the group's maintenance center. "It guarantees safe trips as the speed can reach 350 kilometers per hour."

The upgrade involves improving real-time monitoring through data management, staff rearrangement and enhanced maintenance.

According to the group, departing travelers from Shanghai during this year's Spring Festival are expected to reach 13 million, up 9.6 percent from last year.

Departing travelers are expected to reach 71 million from Anhui, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces along with Shanghai from Feb 1 to Mar 12, up 6.7 percent year-on-year, with nearly 2 million per day beginning their voyages from these origins.

To deal with the challenge, 67 pairs of bullet trains were added to the current 766 pairs, up 9.6 percent year-on-year for the Shanghai depot.

According to the group, the Spring Festival travel rush requires daily maintenance of 75 pairs of bullet trains for the Hongqiao EMU Depot, which operates under the Shanghai depot, and sometimes peaks at over 80.

Technicians are working on the betterment of real-time monitoring through data management. Developed by China Railway Shanghai Group, the China Railway EMU Health Management system allows remote data collection, problem-solving analysis and maintenance guidance to provide a more sufficient set of solutions.

According to Gong Yufeng, technician at the Shanghai depot, in case of any potential train problems, the station will be immediately notified so it has sufficient time to prepare for maintenance once the trains arrive.

Developed in 2016, the system has successfully predicted when main transformer cooling unit filters need changing, and prolonged the time gap from changing every four days to 10. The adjustment has largely cut down on costs while maintaining operational performance.

Wireless Transmission Device Information Systems for High-Speed EMU has also been adopted at the Shanghai Depot of EMU to address problems that are severe enough to potentially threaten passenger safety.

"Our goal is a safe trip home and back," said Qian.

Changes were also put in place for rearrangement of technicians and operating systems for maintenance. For instance, eight technicians were arranged for first-level checking and maintenance on each bullet train, which is double the ordinary number.

"During the holiday travel rush, Fuxing bullet trains will be examined and maintained once per day," added Qian.

Equipment updates include high voltage assemblies and suspensions meant to cope with extreme weather as the bullet trains go as far north where temperatures can hit-40 C.

In addition to a safer trip, big data has also revolutionized the trip experience. Customers now enjoy free high-speed Wi-Fi on Fuxing trains, can use biometric scanning instead of ID checks at multiple stations, and high-tech bathrooms at Hongqiao Station allow people to see availability before entering.
Feminists have been arguing against this for some time now but the push for it has come from LGBT rights activists and, more recently, disability rights activists who not only show no sensitivity to the realities of womens lives and their difficulties with gender-specific laws, difficulties that will only be compounded with the introduction of gender-neutral laws, but show no understanding of the implications on their own concerns.

In a welcome move, the Supreme Court dismissed a PIL asking for laws on sexual violence to be made gender-neutral, even as their arguments were weak (using the word imaginative in an uninformed way and ultimately passing the buck to the legislature).

The demand originated with what might be termed the mens rights activists (MRAs) who have actually petitioned for changes on laws and policies on women and many of whom are lawyers (Rishi Malhotra, whose PIL asking for gender-neutral laws on sexual violence was dismissed, is a Supreme Court lawyer). This surely should give the LGBT and disability rights activists pause but there appears to be no reflexivity on the conjunction.

The grouses of the MRAs are long-standing and deeply misogynist. The scenario with gender-neutral laws in place is not hard to imagine. If MRAs have been mocking laws protecting women for decades now claiming bias, misuse and false cases, it will lead to a daily rash of counter-cases by men against women accusing them of domestic violence, rape, stalking and everything else, trivialising these hard-won laws out of existence.

But even if this were not to happen, there are enough conceptual reasons that make gender-neutral laws a bad idea. While there is no doubt that there is sexual violence against aravanis, gay men and heterosexual men, and there is no doubt that women are capable of sexual violence, there is no logical need to therefore make sexual violence laws that exist for women gender-neutral.

We have transgender laws (under which aravanis, hijras, jogappas are placed) in more and more states and at the national level (NALSA judgement) and sexual violence must be factored into those laws. Indeed, the law completely ignores the fact that aravanis are mostly involved in dangerous sex work and the violence narratives, when mentioned, are only subsumed under discrimination. There is also no mention of intra-hijra violence at all. Are all of these violences  the violence hijras face during sex work, the violence they face at the hands of the police, the public, the brutal murders to which they are frequently subjected and the violence they often wreak on each other  all subsumable under a gender-neutral set of sexual violence laws?

Gay men face violence but we are not even general subjects under the law so how can we leap into becoming sexual subjects and that too only subjects of sexual violence, whether at the perpetrating or receiving end? The state does not recognise gay men at all so what sort of entry into recognition is criminal legislation, just like our earlier entry along HIV/AIDS intervention? Is it only as disease and victimisers/victims of crime that we might be recognised?

Heterosexual men are constantly abused by other men. Stories of low-ranking men in the army going beserk spraying colleagues or superiors with bullets abound. Often, the untold story is that of sexual violence that provokes it. Kashmiri men are often sexually abused by the Indian army but does that mean that male rape and female rape are the same? This is not just a matter of scale. Are they the same even in conception and cultural status? Indeed, cinematic representations of male rape most often end in the man killing his rapists and unable to even speak about the crime. Sodomy is the ultimate insult to a mans ego and men do not even talk about it.

Yes, women are capable of rape (especially under the expanded definitions of rape under the law) and do rape. Sometimes, they rape other women too. But, once again, is this the same as the rape of women by men? Once again, not just at the level of scale but also in terms of context, can one collapse women raping men or other women into the rape of women by men rampant in our culture?

Yes, there is widespread sexual violence against the disabled. There is a disability law being tabled, once again deeply flawed, which does not mention sexual violence at all. Sexual violence against the disabled, frequently in institutional contexts, whether the home or special homes, needs to be tabled separately within the law. Once again, the law does not even recognise the disabled as sexual subjects at all. The infamous Pune hysterectomies case (in which several intellectually disabled women were subjected to forced hysterectomies) shows that sexual violence against the disabled is of different kinds and requires separate laws.

Even within the women-specific laws, there is often the silencing of sexual violence as we see in the cases of sexual violence against Dalit and adivasi women that get erased in SC/ST Atrocity cases. We almost never hear of state armed forces and paramilitary forces sexual violence on tribal women, which activists like Soni Sori and Bela Bhatia constantly tell us about.

What we need is an open discourse on the various kinds of sexual violence and the codification of all of it in various domains of criminal law, specific to the laws relating to communities in which they occur or in a general sexual violence law as various, specific subsections.

Collapsing it all into a gender-neutral law not only erases the specificities of the violences, it is also deeply counterproductive in its potential unleashing of an MRA backlash that could destroy all the hard-won feminist legal battles for these laws.

While other kinds of violence, on subjects other than women, including by women as perpetrators, are important, they actually stand to be erased in the very moment of their articulation, in gender-neutral sexual violence laws.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The NYPD has increased its presence at New Dorp High School on Friday due to a rumor of a gun threat, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation.

The NYPD was alerted after a student told another pupil that he heard that someone was bringing a gun to school, according to a police source.

"In an abundance of caution," the NYPD has increased the coverage at the high school at 465 New Dorp Lane, the source said.

In a message sent to parents late Thursday night, Principal Deirdre DeAngelis said the posting were made on social media, "specifically Snapchat and Instagram."

"There have been posting claiming that there is a rumor that has been circulating, claiming that a student will have a gun at New Dorp tomorrow," the message said. "As you know, with social media, that kind of news travels fast. Please know that we have been tracking this for the last couple of hours and the Department of Education and the 122 Pct are involved in tracking the posts and investigating the validity of this information."

Further information will be posted as it becomes available.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- In the effort to combat Staten Island's deadly opioid crisis, Borough President James Oddo has assembled a panel of experts to take a fresh look at the borough's crisis and how it can be tackled.

The Opioid Data Working Group -- a panel of five professors and specialists, convened by Oddo -- will review public comments, data, and proven effective practices to fighting the opioid epidemic.

The group will produce a report of 10 to 15 high-priority measures in three months, the borough president's office announced Friday.

"We are accelerating our efforts to make headway in this fight," Oddo stated. "We are launching a concerted effort -- modeled after a successful initiative pioneered by Rhode Island -- to identify key measures of progress in our battle against the opioid crisis."

The idea to create a panel was inspired by an initiative of Rhode Island Gov. Gina M. Raimondo to improve measurements of prevention, treatment, rescue, and recovery. In 2017, Rhode Island saw an 8 percent decrease in overdoses.

"Put simply, we want to rally all of the important efforts on Staten Island around a set of clear, quantifiable priorities," said Oddo.

ODs AND NUMBER OF SAVES

The Opioid Data Working Group currently has measurements of the number of overdose deaths and naloxone saves.

Nora Santiago, a panel member who'll handle data analysis and analyzing geographic information, said the group hopes to gain information on how many people are in treatment or successfully complete treatment.

"It is important to have local data to measure the outcomes of our efforts," said Santiago. "This will grant us tremendous insights in how to effectively combat the opioid crisis and reduce the number of deaths."

As part of the initiative, the borough president's office is seeking public input for 30 days on surveillance, prevention, reversal, treatment, diversion and recovery, beginning on February 9. Comments can be submitted here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/OpioidResponseSI.

The Opioid Data Working Group will consult with city's Health Department, the NYPD, District Attorney Michel McMahon's office, the Staten Island Performing Provider System and the Staten Island Partnership for Community Wellness.

REPORT FOR PUBLIC REVIEW

The panel members will also receive support and technical assistance from the Bloomberg American Health Initiative.

The group will create a draft report, which will be available for the public to comment on for 30 days. Comments can be submitted anonymously.

The Opioid Data Working Group consists of: Chinazo Cunningham, a professor and Associate Chief of General Internal Medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine; Anthony Ferreri, former CEO of Staten Island University Hospital and senior advisor to the Borough President; Marc Gourevitch, professor and chair of NYU School of Medicine's Department of Population Health; Jonathan Morgenstern, Assistant VP for Addiction Services at Northwell Health and professor at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine; and Santiago, an Urban Policy Analyst and GIS Specialist at CUNY College of Staten Island.

A final report will be released in May.
Dana Williamson (NYPD)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The alleged "Tip-Jar Bandit" messed with the wrong man's money.

Dana Williamson was caught red-handed when she swiped a tip-jar from the counter at Kung Fu Tea on Greenwich Street in Manhattan Tuesday evening, according to police and an employee at the shop.

The 27-year-old Concord woman went into the Tribeca store, ordered a drink and paid with all coins, a store worker told the Advance.

Another employee then recognized Williamson from her alleged heist at Poketeria on East 36th Street because he also works at that eatery, the worker said.

"He just kept an eye on her when he was making the drink because he knew who she was," said the worker. "Then he looked over his shoulder and saw her tuck it under her scarf."

When the woman, labeled the "Tip-Jar Bandit" by the NYPD on Twitter, was heading out of the store, he blocked the entrance and called the cops, according to the worker.

Williamson was arrested at 7:45 p.m. inside the store, according to an NYPD spokesman.

There was $96 in the tip jar, police said.

Police allege she is also the woman who stole a tip jar from the poke restaurant on East 36th Street on Saturday.

Williamson is charged with two counts of petit larceny and one count of criminal possession of stolen property in connection with the two Manhattan incidents.

She was arraigned Wednesday in Manhattan Criminal Court and released on her own recognizance, according to online state court records.

Williamson, of Narrows Road North, was arrested Thursday morning at the 123rd Precinct and charged with petit larceny in an Annadale deli heist, said an NYPD spokeswoman.

On Jan. 13, Williamson allegedly took $20 from a tip jar at the M&M Deli and Bagels in Annadale, police said.

Several other businesses sent surveillance videos to the Advance of a nearly identical woman caught in the same act, including the Hawaii Poke Bowl in Graniteville, the Country Donuts in Greenridge and a Willowbrook diner.

There have been no charges in those incidents yet, police said.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Nearly four years after the death of Eric Garner, the New York City Police Department has launched its implicit bias training program, a move that Staten Island community activists welcomed, but some say was "better late than never."

It will take about two years for all 36,000 NYPD officers to complete the implicit bias training, which began this week, according to the NYPD.

The NYPD said the focus of the training is to bring awareness to "human bias and its impact on perceptions and behaviors of even those who, at a conscious level, reject prejudice." They said the program will also address "skills to reduce and manage human bias."

"I think that it's better late than never," Cynthia Davis, president of the Staten Island Chapter of the National Action Network, said. "At least [the NYPD is] making an effort to improve relationships to help people."

Garner, 43, was unarmed when he died in police custody on July 17, 2014, after cops attempted to arrest him for selling loose, untaxed cigarettes in Tompkinsville. A cell phone video captured a white police officer putting Garner in an apparent chokehold after the confrontation on Bay Street.

That same year, a grand jury decided not to indict Officer Daniel Pantaleo in connection with Garner's death.

Since the death, the NYPD has vowed to retrain its police on de-escalation approaches and bias training. The NYPD also launched a body-worn camera program, through which the city recently announced that all NYPD patrol officers would have the devices by the end of 2018.

Davis said the NYPD's efforts show that police are trying to work harder at finding solutions to quell "ill feelings between communities and police."

But, she said that, even since Garner's death, she occasionally still sees police officers on Staten Island create "hostile" environments when they interact with members of the community.

She hopes the implicit bias training program will change that, she said.

"I hope [the training] will prevent something from happening again to another citizen the way it did to Eric Garner," Davis said. "Hopefully, something like that will never happen again. Hopefully, the chokehold will never happen again. Hopefully, this program will bring out better understanding when making arrests."

Bobby Digi, the founder of Island Voice, thinks the training is a "great start" to making improvements in the way the NYPD interacts with people of color, but said he wants to wait until the program is finished to see if it really worked.

"There's many improvements that can be made and there are some improvements that have been made," Digi said. "I don't say that it's too late, I say it's actually great that it's happening now, because we can avert repeat occurrences."

Although Staten Island activists remain optimistic about the training, the Garner family says they are still not satisfied with the mayor and the police department's handling of the officer involved with the arrest.

Carr recently called on the mayor and the NYPD to take action on city's Civilian Complaint Review Board findings concerning the officer connected to the Staten Island resident's death.

In September, a source from CCRB told the Advance that Pantaleo used a banned chokehold in the Eric Garner incident.

The source also said the board ruled Pantaleo restricted Garner's breathing before he died in police custody three years ago in Tompkinsville.

Carr claimed that the CCRB told her they planned to immediately prosecute Pantaleo.

But, months later, they said the CCRB had yet to move forward with its prosecution or file any formal administrative charges against Pantaleo because the NYPD is refusing to provide a case number to serve the officer with the charges.

"We are here again demanding that the mayor's administration hold the officers accountable," Carr said last month. "... they are procrastinating. We must tell them that they must stop procrastinating, they're saying they have to wait on the DOJ, that's not true."
Research finds long COVID may spike early risk of dementia

Apart from neurological symptoms like the loss of taste and smell, those who have long COVID should also be on the lookout for mental fog, problems with attention and concentration.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- In a ramped up effort to prevent unsuspecting addicts and their desperate families from being conned, a public service announcement campaign is being launched to warn New Yorkers about patient brokering.

Patient brokers - often called "junkie hunters" or "body brokers" - con addicts with promises of treatment, free housing, money and other comforts if they go to a specific treatment or sober living facility that is out-of-state.

The brokers are then paid by the treatment providers in exchange for the referral.

Often times, the out-of-state facilities are more expensive, lower quality and run without any oversight by state or federal agencies when compared with New York treatment facilities.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the launch of the PSA that will run on radio stations in New York City, Albany, and Long Island, warning of the shady practice.

"Vulnerable New Yorkers struggling with addiction are being targeted and falsely promised life-saving treatment services and then are given inadequate and ineffective treatment at outrageous costs," Gov. Cuomo said.

The PSAs are the latest step in Cuomo's campaign to crack down on treatment fraud. Last year, posters were sent to treatment providers across the state with the same warning.

The campaign is a collaboration between the New York state Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) and the New York Association of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Providers.

OASAS recently launched a directive that requires referrals to be delivered by OASAS-certified and -credentialed professionals, who are prohibited from receiving referral fees.

"With more than 900 state-certified treatment programs in our state, New Yorkers suffering from the disease of addiction should seek treatment here first," OASAS Commissioner Arlene Gonzalez-Sanchez said.

"Governor Cuomo's ongoing efforts to combat the practice of patient brokering send a strong message that he takes the health of New Yorkers very seriously," she said.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Amanda Dimarinis dabbed at her eye on Thursday as court officers handcuffed her in a St. George courtroom.

Moments earlier, the 26-year-old Oakwood resident, a paraprofessional accused of peddling drugs on the grounds of a Stapleton intermediate school in 2016, was sentenced to four years in prison for two felony narcotics convictions.

Dimarinis, who her lawyer said is the single mother of a 4-year-old son, had been free on $100,000 bond prior to her sentencing.

Garbed in a pink hooded jacket and gray sweatpants, and with her dark hair pulled up into a bun, the defendant declined to make a statement before her sentence was imposed.

"She has a long history of substance abuse and is on medication," defense lawyer Joseph Mure Jr. told the court. "Since the arrest, she's done everything she can do to straighten out her life."

Mure said the defendant had entered a residential drug-treatment facility after her arrest in January of last year.

Assistant District Attorney Jane Grinberg said prosecutors had sought a sentence of six and a half years under Dimarinis' plea agreement, but the court had decided on four years over their objections.

"This defendant was entrusted to work with children, and while working she sold (drugs) to an undercover (officer)," said Grinberg.

Grinberg said one transaction was on school grounds and other deals occurred off-campus.

"Whatever she sold was sold at school and not in school, during her lunch hour," said Mure.

Dimarinis was among five suspects busted on drug charges in a probe dubbed "Operation Blue Angel."

The investigation, which traced the supply of heroin on Staten Island to Edison Township, N.J., stemmed from the overdose death in March 2016 of 25-year-old Sharissa Turk, a.k.a. "Blue Fairy."

Police seized 400 glassine bags of heroin and more than $11,000 in cash in the bust.

District Attorney Michael E. McMahon said 329 of the heroin bags were found in the possession of Turk's fiance Frank DeGaetano, who subsequently pleaded guilty to felony drug charges and was sentenced last month in state Supreme Court, St. George, to three years in prison.

Authorities said Dimarinis, who worked at Dreyfus Intermediate School (I.S. 49), sold heroin, fentanyl and amphetamine to an undercover officer. The fentanyl sale on school grounds took place Sept. 16, 2016, said an indictment.

A synthetic opioid, fentanyl is 50 to 100 times stronger than the heroin it is typically mixed with and is potentially lethal, said authorities.

Dimarinis started as a part-time employee with the city Department of Education (DOE) in September of 2015, and had been a full-time paraprofessional since March of 2016.

She was suspended after her arrest and has since surrendered her DOE license.

In November, Dimarinis pleaded guilty in state Supreme Court, St. George, to felony counts of third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance and third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance to satisfy all charges contained in two indictments against her.

Besides prison time, Dimarinis was sentenced to two years' post-release supervision.

She must also forfeit $11,380 in cash that cops recovered in the bust and cannot work in education in the future.
China's Didi Chuxing takes aim at Japan's taxi market



Tokyo, Feb 9 (AFP) Feb 09, 2018



Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing announced a deal with Japanese telecom firm SoftBank on Friday to develop a taxi app in Japan, where services like Uber have struggled to make inroads.

SoftBank and Didi Chuxing announced a "partnership to provide platform services for the taxi industry" with trial runs expected to be launched in major Japanese cities "within the year".

The two firms are also in discussion about creating a joint venture, a SoftBank spokesman told AFP, without offering more details.

Taxi-hailing apps have found it challenging to crack the Japanese market, where risk-averse passengers prefer to stick to their high-quality traditional taxi service.

Hailing a taxi rarely takes more than a few seconds in major Japanese cities and there has been a relatively sluggish uptake of services like Uber, where consumers order an unlicensed car via smartphone.

Another barrier has been that the vast majority of taxis are hailed or hired from a cab rank, with a relatively small percentage of taxis connected to a smartphone.

Didi Chuxing said it would use its "advanced AI technologies... to enhance efficiency for both taxi operators and drivers."

The deal represents another step for the Chinese firm in its attempts to rival Uber. It bought a Brazilian app in January and has previously made acquisitions in India and the United States.

SoftBank is also heavily present in the taxi market and recently took at 15-percent stake in Uber.

The deal comes a day after carmaker Toyota announced an investment of 7.5 billion yen ($69 million) in the JapanTaxi app, which says it is the biggest taxi-hailing app in Japan.
Chinese nanny sentenced to death in tragic arson case



Shanghai, Feb 9 (AFP) Feb 09, 2018



A Chinese nanny with heavy gambling debts was sentenced to death Friday for setting a fire that killed her employer's wife and children in a tragedy which grabbed national attention and raised questions over official handling of the case.

A court in the eastern city of Hangzhou found Mo Huanjing, a nanny for a family of five, guilty of arson in the fire that killed a mother and her three children on June 22 last year, and sentenced her to death.

The case went viral in China due to the tragic circumstances and reported delays in the firefighting response, with Friday's court announcement among the top-trending items on China's Twitter-like Weibo platform, with tens of millions of "reads".

The Weibo hashtag "Wife and kids in heaven June 22" by 37-year-old Lin Shengbin, who was away when the fire occurred, has generated nearly 1.3 billion "reads" since the tragedy first occurred.

Mo, 35, was allegedly a obsessive gambler who borrowed and also stole money from the family as her debts mounted.

The court said Mo admitted to starting a fire in the living room of the family's 18th-floor high-rise apartment in Hangzhou, planning to put it out quickly to play the hero and use the resulting goodwill to seek more money from her employers.

But the fire rapidly raged out of control and Mo escaped, leaving behind Lin's 34-year-old wife Zhu Xiaozhen and three children aged six, nine, and 11 years, who all died of asphyxiation.

Lin has gained 2.3 million Weibo followers since he opened an account to document his efforts to seek justice.

"The devil has finally received the punishment of the law, the death penalty," Lin said in a post on Friday.

"I have suffered day and night for the past 200 days, and today finally received the verdict."

Lin said he planned to pursue civil cases against other "powerful" parties who he blames for the deaths.

He did not offer specific details, but has previously blamed Greentown, the builder of the high-rise and a major listed property developer, saying poor safety features in the apartment complex contributed to a delayed fire-fighting response.

The fire department last year denied accusations that it was slow to respond, instead blaming low water pressure and a lack of required fire safety features in the building.

China regularly sees deadly fire disasters, often blamed on the lax enforcement or flouting of fire safety rules.
Page Content

On Tuesday February 6, 2018, the Ministry of Finance of the Government of Sint Maarten organized a Round Table Conference Sustainable Financial Government, with the Netherlands, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Committee for Financial Supervision of Curacao and Sint Maarten Cft.

The goal of this conference was to get all parties together and have an open dialogue on the way forward to a financial sustainable Sint Maarten and how progress can be achieved in bringing relief to the people of Sint Maarten in the short term.

The main topics discussed was the issue of liquidity support to the government of Sint Maarten, the application of 550 million euro made available by the Netherlands, the benefits of using the professional services offered by the World Bank and the IMF, in collaboration with the Cft.

Progress has been made in getting clarity with regards to the completion of the 2017 and 2018 budget process.

The Conference was attended by the Dutch Project Director General of Reconstruction for the Windward Islands, Hans Leijtens, Head of the Representation of the Netherlands in Philipsburg, Chris Johnson, representatives of the World Bank, IMF, Cft and the Government of Sint Maarten.

Representing Sint Maarten were the Minister of Finance, Michael Ferrier, with members of his Cabinet, the Secretary General of the Ministry of Finance, Arno Peels and support staff, the Secretary General of the Ministry of General Affairs, Hensley Plantijn and civil servants from the Department of Foreign Relations.

The conference was moderated by former Minister of Justice and Chairman of the Workgroup National Recovery Plan, Dennis Richardson.

Now that there is a shared understanding of the way forward, one of the next steps is for Prime Minister Leona Romeo Marlin and the Minister of Finance Michael Ferrier to visit the Netherlands to continue these discussions and to strengthen the relationships between the two Kingdom partners.

Both the Dutch and Sint Maarten delegations are very pleased with the level of progress made in charting the way forward.

Minister Ferrier and Project Director General Leijtens thanked all participants for their contribution to the open dialogue and clear communication. They look forward to further collaborations on the different levels to expedite the progress.

PHOTO CUTLINE: Round Table Conference session.
That was then.

FLASHBACK: Sen. Mark Warner on Don Trump jr. meeting with Russian lawyer: "I don't know anybody, Democrat or Republican, that would take that kind of meeting". pic.twitter.com/FnuzZdl72I  Wired Sources (@WiredSources) February 9, 2018

This is now;

EXCLUSIVE - Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee who has been leading a congressional investigation into President Trump's alleged ties to Russia, had extensive contact last year with a lobbyist for a Russian oligarch who was offering Warner access to former British spy and dossier author Christopher Steele, according to text messages obtained exclusively by Fox News. "We have so much to discuss u need to be careful but we can help our country," Warner texted the lobbyist, Adam Waldman, on March 22, 2017. "I'm in," Waldman, whose firm has ties to Hillary Clinton, texted back to Warner.

Who is Waldman? -- A lobbyist who served as a back channel between Christopher Steele and Virginia Democratic Sen. Mark Warner served as legal counsel to Russia's foreign minister and lobbied on behalf of a Russian oligarch with ties to Paul Manafort.

Warner disclosed his contacts, only AFTER the OIG investigation began questioning the Senate Intel Committee. EVERYONE on that committee is compromised, including @marcorubio .That's why Nunes, Goodlatte, Grassley keep arms-length from corruption. Lankford and Cotton should exit. https://t.co/UMdkI331VV  TheLastRefuge (@TheLastRefuge2) February 9, 2018



Texts can be viewed here.

(Related?)

Update: Two more senior government officials who were prominently discussed in text messages exchanged by FBI personnel formerly assigned to the Trump-Russia investigation are leaving their positions.
A Canberra man was jailed on Friday for his role in a violent home invasion in which one victim's lung was punctured.

Justice David Mossop jailed Sugimatatihuna Bernard Gabriel Mena, who is 20 this year, for two years and seven months, with the man to serve 10 months behind bars.

Before he appeared in the ACT Supreme Court to be sentenced, Mena had earlier pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and recklessly inflicting grievous bodily harm.

The home invasion happened at about 7.30pm on May 8 last year, when two men burst in on people watching television in their Kaleen flat.

Both intruders wore a black balaclava.
Education Minister Yvette Berry has thrown her support behind Amaroo School's response to an alleged assault filmed and spread on social media.

A video was posted on a community-run Facebook on Wednesday night purporting to show one girl assaulting another at the north Canberra school.

Education Minister Yvette Berry. Credit:karleen minney

The person who posted the video said she was the mother of the alleged assault victim and had decided to publicly release the footage because she had no confidence in the way the school was dealing with the incident and other instances of bullying against her daughter.

The video has since been removed. Police are investigating the incident.
She might run her business from a giant room at the Canberra Institute of Technology in Reid but Hollie Bell has her sights set on Hollywood.

Not in an aspiring actress kind of way - more a "we need you to send us Rebel Wilson's torso immediately" kind of way.

Entrepreneur Hollie Bell with her CNC machine and one of her torsos. Credit:karleen minney

Serial entrepreneur Hollie is now the proud owner of a Frogmill four-axis computer numerical control (CNC) milling machine, allowing her to mill objects made from plastic, resin, foam, polycarbonate and wood. The process of milling starts with a giant block of material, with a giant blade carving away layers until the desired object is created.

It's the opposite of 3D printing, which is an additive process adding layers of material to create a final shape.
The ACT's minister for multicultural affairs has acknowledged Canberra's National Multicultural Festival is experiencing some growing pains, after controversy over liquor licensing at next weekend's event.

The annual festival has evolved from a one-day event in 1996 to a three-day affair with more than 280,000 last year.

Members of United Nesian Movement and Varis Punjab De dance groups help multicultural affairs minister Rachel Stephen-Smith launch the National Multicultural Festival on Friday. Credit:Sitthixay Ditthavong

But the number of stallholders taking part was expected to be the lowest in the past three years, amid changes to alcohol permit policies and concerns some stallholders may not be able to sell cultural items and arts and crafts.

The number of liquor licences were slashed from 65 last year to 21 this year, a decision organisers said was prompted by concerns from ACT Policing about alcohol fuelled violence despite only three arrests last year. Eighteen businesses will have liquor permits for the festival.
The territory government was urged almost nine years ago to fund a dedicated coroner to help address "soul-destroying delays" families face waiting for inquests, a call ignored in the eight years since.

The Canberra Times has obtained 17 previously unreleased submissions to a review of the territory's Coroner's Act in 2009, part of the response to the lengthy coronial inquiry into the 2003 Canberra bushfires.

Top ACT barrister Ken Archer warned the government about 'soul-destroying delays' in the ACT coronial system nine years ago. Credit:Jamila Toderas

Almost all respondents urged a chief coroner be funded for the court, including four magistrates, the then heads of ACT Policing, Legal Aid ACT, the Director of Public Prosecutions and barrister Ken Archer, who has been involved in hundreds of "coronials".

Now president of the ACT Bar Association, Mr Archer said his personal view remained unchanged, though he was not speaking for the bar on the issue.
Trish Ollman always believed the public health system would look after her if she was sick.

But facing years languishing without treatment, the disability pensioner now has other ideas.

Trish Ollman has been told that she has to wait more than 1700 days to see a specialist. Credit:Sitthixay Ditthavong

She has already been trying to see a urologist for more than a year with her bladder no longer functioning properly.

Mrs Ollman can't urinate properly and without treatment or possible surgery she faces years of agony.
Australias only telecommunications company operated by a bank will come to an end, with Bendigo and Adelaide Bank citing a changing industry as the reason for the closure.

Since February 1, Bendigo Bank Telco has not taken any new orders from customers as it winds down its operations.

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank has decided to end its venture into a stand-alone telco.

A Bendigo and Adelaide Bank spokesman said it had reviewed the telco business and determined that having a stand-alone telco company is no longer the best way to participate in the telco market.

The structure of the telecommunications industry has changed significantly over recent years, in no small part driven by the advent of the National Broadband Network (NBN), he said.
Leading mining analysts say Rio Tinto is well placed to deliver more big returns to shareholders in 2018 and have welcomed the miner's focus on managing costs and boosting productivity.

Rio Tinto chief executive officer Jean-Sebastien Jacques discusses the miner's results in London on Wednesday. Credit:Chris Ratcliffe.

On Wednesday the global miner unveiled a bumper underlying profit of $US8.63 ($10.96 billion), its highest since 2014, and a record full-year dividend of $US2.90 per share, a 71 per cent jump on the previous year.

But analysts, who welcomed the miners results and highlighted the large fall in net debt to $US3.8 billion, said the fundamentals were in place to allow Rio Tinto to keep the money flowing into shareholders wallets.

With no obvious desire to reduce debt further, and capex expected to stay between $US5.5-6.0 billion until 2020, Rio is well placed to continue to deliver healthy returns to shareholders absent of any value adding acquisitions, wrote the UBS analyst Glyn Lawcock in a note titled Happy days for Rio and its shareholders.
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has lowered its exposure to both commercial property and apartment developments as other investors pile in to find better yields.

In the bank's first half results posted on Wednesday, a scroll through the slides reveal it has lowered its exposure to apartment real estate by 23 per cent to $4 billion.

It says there is a weighting to Sydney with developments diversified across the metropolitan area.

Investors are seeking out office towers for yields Credit:Louie Douvis

CBA's commercial property exposure has declined from about $72 billion to $67 billion in the six months to December, 2017. The balance is 86 per cent to investors and real estate investment trust with the remainder in developments.
The ASX is reviewing claims made by real estate giant McGrath disputing speculation its Rich Lister founder John McGrath has a $100 million margin-lending facility attached to his shares in the publicly listed company

Details of the loan emerged on Friday after the company told the stockmarket on Thursday night that the multimillionaire had never used his shares as collateral for a loan.

John McGrath has denied having any gambling debt. Credit:Daniel Munoz

Documents lodged with the corporate regulator indicate Mr McGrath has a maximum liability of $100 million through his private entity, Fondorru Pty Ltd, but they do not specify how much the loan was for, nor do they mention what assets were available at the time to secure the loan. Fondorru holds a 14.8 per cent stake in McGrath.

The documents show Mr McGrath took out a margin loan with St George in 2011. McGrath Real Estate listed on the ASX as an entity in December 2015.
Myer boss Richard Umbers says another shock fall in sales and earnings has fortified his confidence that the department store has the correct strategy by building up its digital offering.

The historic retailer on Friday revealed its January stocktake sale flopped, with sales for the month down 6.5 per cent compared to last year.

Combined with a soft Christmas, Myer said sales for the first half of the financial year had fallen 3.6 per cent, and that it expected net after-tax profit for the half to come in between $37 million and $41 million - down as much as 42 per cent from last year.

Under pressure: Myer chief executive Richard Umbers. Credit:Darrian Traynor

The news was fuel for the conflict already raging with Myer's largest shareholder, retail billionaire Solomon Lew's Premier Investments, which said Myer was now "in peril".
Rather than become a symbol of the Coalition's commitment to ignoring environmentalists and creating jobs, the Adani mine is a symbol of the government's determination to give public money to a foreign company that's is registered in the Cayman Islands. At a time the Tax Office is publishing data on the number of big mining companies that pay no tax, and at a time when the mining industry is demanding a $65 billion cut in company tax, the Coalition wants to give $1 billion to a foreign company registered in a tax haven.

One Nation campaigned against the Adani subsidies at the recent Queensland state election. Indeed, Pauline Hanson was photographed in front of her party's posters, which declared "no free rail for Adani". While Canavan has worked tirelessly to suggest it is only environmentalists who oppose the Adani mine, multiple polls show that most One Nation and Coalition voters have similar concerns.

The Adani mine is a symbol of the blinkered vision that the Coalition has about our economic future and the best way to create jobs in regional Australia. Far more Australians work in tourism than in coal mining. If the Coalition took the budget, or regional job creation, seriously, it would look at all the ways to create jobs in north Queensland, compare the costs of a range of projects and programs, and choose the policies that create the most jobs per taxpayer dollar spent. But despite years of telling Australians that a highly automated coal mine far from population centres is a great way to create jobs, the Coalition is yet to produce any comparative research to suggest that $1 billion for a coal rail line would create more jobs than $1 billion invested in tourism, manufacturing, education or anything else.

The Adani mine has also become a symbol of the Coalition's ideological confusion. Having spent decades saying we needed to cut subsidies to manufacturing and other exporters, the so-called "free-traders" have now embraced the idea that subsidies are a great way to create jobs. Only three years ago, they were proudly scrapping aid for the car industry in Victoria on the basis that industries should stand or fall on their own two feet.

So thanks to Canavan, Australia is finally having the debates about climate change, the role of government and corporate tax evasion that we avoided for decades. The Coalition succeeded in making Adani a symbol, but a symbol of our nation's determination to mine more coal as at a time the world is buying less of it, to give industry aid to powerful groups like miners but deny it to emerging industries like renewables, and to give taxpayers' money to foreign companies rather than collect a fair share of tax for Australians.
Holding's reluctance to adopt targets was in part because it was obvious even then that the host of agencies  federal, state and local  were incapable of providing efficient or effective services, including housing, to Aboriginal communities, whether in the outback, in slums, on the fringes of towns or in urban environments, where most Aboriginals lived. He knew that only a massive upfront investment could narrow the gap between supply and demand. The Commonwealth was willing to spend more, but never at a rate that would break the problem's back. Never, for example, at a rate that would provide, in a decade, as many beds as were provided in the rebuilding of Darwin as Australia's northern white oasis. Hawke did not have the same shyness about targets. In mid-1987, he promised Australians that, by 1990, no Australian child would be living in poverty. It was a nice thought. Halfway from there to 1990, I remarked that there were at least 30,000 Aboriginal children living in desperate poverty, with umpteen more in mere poverty. There was not then in train a plan or a project to change that fact in the next 19 months, nor, for that matter, in the next 19 years. Those next 19 years, indeed, saw many further re-organisations of Aboriginal affairs, particularly in Canberra, and any number of new plans to make a breakthrough with housing and service delivery. The bureaucrats, like the politicians (white and black) were generally well-meaning, and all were capable of producing flowcharts, reports and expressions of earnest intention that showed that even if the situation was not ideal now, it was about to be. The high point of this approach was perhaps in 2010, when the Labor minister responsible for a so-called strategic-housing initiative was able to announce that the spending of several hundred million dollars, and 3 years of meetings, had so far delivered seven new houses. A recent review of the program showed everything was on track to deliver 750 new houses and several thousand refurbishments by 2013. At present rates, Aborigines will remain the poorest, sickest, least employed and least educated group in the community 80 years from now.

I commented at the time that Jenny Macklin and her department often redefined what they were pretending to be doing, or used weasel words and vagueness. She used anecdotes to contradict evidence. "This time 10 months ago, for example, a number of newspapers ... were insisting that tens of millions had been squandered on planning to build houses, on talking about building houses, on consulting about building houses and liaising with each other about it. No actual houses, as such, had been built," I wrote. "This was hotly denied by the minister and the department, who used houses completed under other programs, redefinitions, hopes, expectations, plans, targets, timetables, anecdotes and blah, to insist that all was well ... "At that stage, one might have said that nothing had been finished, but much was on the way. A year later, we learn that 'much' is not much ... "From time to time, COAG, or the federal government, will talk about the money spent as though the supposed recipients received it personally, and personally wasted it. At last guess, the 'strategic Indigenous housing and infrastructure program' was budgeting about $800,000 per ramshackle and environmentally unsuitable dwelling worth, were it at Forbes in NSW, or Echuca in Victoria, about $100,000."

I quote myself neither to say I told you so, nor to confirm being a smart-arse, but to underline the fact that not much ever changes in the administration of Aboriginal affairs, regardless of the minister or the prime minister, the agency in charge of saving Aboriginals, or the officials in charge. Nor in the delivery by state and local government administrations, which themselves have substantial legal obligations to provide services to Aboriginal Australians, but continue, without sanctions, to fail to do so. Almost the only thing that has changed is the amount of time and money spent recording these failures, and their effects on the lives and the futures of Australia's most disadvantaged citizens. Naturally, every political or administrative commentary on events recognises that the failures of the past and the present owe a good deal to inadequate consultation, but they act as though this problem is now being addressed. The role of administrative incompetence, poor leadership, timidity, fraud and waste (from mostly white contractors) and a complete lack of accountability for results, or a lack of them, hardly ever gets a mention. On Monday, Malcolm Turnbull will deliver the 10th "closing the gap" statement, at which he will table yet further glossy reports showing very disappointing results in advancing 10-year-old goals of reducing measurable Aboriginal disadvantage in fields such as health, education, employment and welfare. In just a few areas, such as high-school literacy, statistics will suggest slight improvement, even if most Aboriginal kids are still well behind their white cohorts. In others, there will be the appearance of marking time, with failures to match early improvements, and such improvements as have occurred not changing the chasm because non-Aboriginal improvements have been occurring at a faster rate. In some other areas, such as school attendance, the figures will show actual decline. It is, in short, situation normal in Aboriginal affairs, with things going backwards, Aboriginals more out of the loop than ever, and, as ever, the innuendo being that the lack of progress is the fault of those whom the well-intentioned bureaucrats in Canberra have been struggling to "improve". As ever when this occurs, it's time to change the goalposts. The states and territories (including the ACT) whose performance has been abysmal are arguing in the Council of Australian Governments that the goals set in the original "closing the gap" program are "too prescriptive". What that means is "tied to outcomes that can, at least up to a point be measured, such as Aboriginal bums on school seats, mortality and life expectancy, and employment rates". Actually, all of these figures can be, and often are, manipulated, in much the same way that police statistics can be, but it would take ingenuity even beyond the wit of federal bureaucrats to find figures showing much to be improving. The Prime Minister and his department are talking about "refreshing" the goals of the closing the gap program, as if perhaps the targets had been reached and it were time to mop up. There are rounds of consultations or "engagements" with Aboriginal folk around the continent, and some encouragement to put in pie-in-the-sky aspirations that, however worthy, are harder to measure, or, if capable of being measured (for example, spending on Aboriginal health or housing), are unable to be convincingly associated with any particular outcomes.
Paul Fennessy should not have slipped through the cracks the way he did. His mother, Ann Finlay, has been a strong advocate for change and I have great respect for her continued advocacy. Her efforts and the lessons learned from Fennessy's experience have been taken seriously and changes have been made.

But there is still more to do. None of us want to see what happened to him be repeated.

Ann Finlay and her late son Paul (inset).

In 2017, I tabled the ACT government's response to the coronial inquiry into Fennessy's death, which made two recommendations: that all medical files, including mental-health records, be available to clinical staff at the hospital when required; and to implement a real-time prescription drug monitoring system. The government agreed to both recommendations and is implementing them.

The ACT has progressed in monitoring the prescription of controlled medicines in the ACT. Between August 2016 and May 2017, about 1400 patients were identified who were potentially accessing controlled medicines without authority, or obtaining larger quantities than needed.
She leans towards a glass half-full view of China. If there is an area in which the orthodox foreign policy community is watching closely to see where Wong will land, it is how she will position herself if and when the US decides to take a firmer stance in pushing back against Chinese assertiveness - and expects Australias help. Donald Trump with Xi Jinping in Beijing in November. Credit:Bloomberg This prospect is hardly a distant one. Washingtons two recent security statements both called out China - along with Russia - as a competitor that couldnt be relied upon to follow the international system of rules which have, since World War II, helped ensure free and open trade, resolved many disputes peacefully and ensured small countries as well as large are heard and respected. Wong made a point of marking this important shift in US policy in her Singapore speech, astutely linking it to a New York Times story that quoted Donald Trump as saying the postwar international order was not working at all. This is fundamental to Australia. As a middle power, Australia needs a rules-based system. It cant impose its will on the world through sheer power, even if it wanted to.

When dissected, Wongs views on the US and the rules-based order are revealing. On the one hand, she is resolute that the 70 years since World War II, in which the US has underwritten the global rules, have been about the best 70 years the worlds ever had. I think America has been the key guarantor in an international system which has enabled more peace and prosperity than probably any period in the worlds history, she says. The postwar period has been by historical terms a remarkably stable and peaceful period  We see there have been conflicts and we see a lot of tragedy and bloodshed, [but] in historical terms its actually been a remarkably stable period. Stephen Loosely, a senior fellow at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, praises Wongs very mature understanding of the alliance as the bedrock of Australias national security. Loosely is a former Labor senator and party elder statesman, but he is also a very solid supporter of the US alliance. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and Senator Penny Wong in Canberra. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen On the other hand, Wong has some forthright views about the US of 2018. She doesnt back away, for instance, from a commentary she wrote for Fairfax Media after Donald Trumps election in which she called Trump a change point and said his presidency meant Australians need to consider a broader range of scenarios than was previously within contemplation. It unnerved some pro-US thinkers at the time because it seemed to call for a rethink of the alliance.

This week she said those comments had been proven correct. My point about that was to say there will be times when there are differences of views, she says. Australia would have to work to ensure constructive engagement by the US in Asia. I think the US remains engaged in Asia, but we cant simply sit back and assume that that constructive engagement will continue to the extent that we in the region want, she says. We will continue, as their ally and partner, to work with them and others in the region to ensure that constructive engagement continues. That means sometimes we will differ on issues but we should work as hard as we can in the context of our relationship to maximise their constructive engagement in the region.

She is cautious on the general question of how far Australia should be prepared to go to back up the US if, having given up on Beijings behaving within the rules, Washington decides to push back more firmly. First, I think youre always better off seeking co-operation than seeking contest. Second, it does come back to [the fact that] weve got an interest in a constructive US-China relationship and we should continue to encourage that. Third, I think it comes back to identifying very clearly what our national interests are. And what do we think is right for Australia? She adds that we should be telling the Americans what kind of strategy we want to fit into, rather than just accepting Washington's. We also ought to put our view about what that means as an ally. We should be putting - and I hope the government is doing this - [our views on] ... the architecture of that engagement, the narrative around that engagement, the specifics of that engagement  Part of what we can do as a US ally is ensure that we give our view about what the most constructive way of engaging with the US looks like. Penny Wong sees the creation of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank as a positive step. Credit:Bloomberg

Wong says the international system will need to evolve as major powers such as China have a quite legitimate expectation to be rulemakers as well as takers. Beijing's creation of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) - which the US tried to discourage Australia from joining - is an example of Chinas making rules constructively to the benefit of the region. What cant be tolerated, she says, is for countries to unilaterally tear up the rule book when it suits them. In Singapore, she pointed to the South China Sea as an example - a reference to Beijings remaking the physical territory of those waterways in clear violation of international law. But what do we do about it? China hawks - indeed many strategic thinkers - advocate sailing warships close to the islands to challenge Beijing's claim over the surrounding waters. Wongs pro-US colleague Richard Marles has in the past expressed support for these operations. This strand of thinking says if we stand up to China - or any other revisionist power - as a group, well be making it clear such rule-breaking cannot be tolerated. So far, the US is the only country to have carried out these operations in the South China Sea. Everyone knows the US would have liked Australia to follow suit. US and Philippine troops carry out manoeuvres in the South China Sea near Scarborough Shoal. Credit:AP

Wong doesnt give a position on this sharp point. But observers doubt very much she would support such a move, which would be seen as highly provocative by Beijing. China will continue to develop economically, it will continue to become more assertive in our region and globally and I think we need to approach that fact with respect but not with fear," she says. Wong's views here are not radical, it must be said. The Coalition has not carried out freedom-of-navigation operations. After some internal deliberations, it joined the AIIB. In a somewhat cloaked fashion, the governments foreign policy white paper accepted the possibility that the US would play a less substantial role in maintaining the rules-based order in Asia and advocated reaching out to other like-minded Asian countries to hedge against a diminished or changed US role - a view Wong says she basically shares. On closer ties to South-east Asia, Wong says she has been out in front of the government. We probably have a stronger regional focus, although they are coming to that late, she says. I think part of Labor tradition is a tradition of regionalism and our instinct around ASEAN and regional institutions is stronger.

Indeed, she mounts a somewhat unfashionable defence of ASEAN, which because of its demand for consensus before action has been effectively neutered by China picking off a couple of members. US President Donald Trump does the "ASEAN-way handshake" in Manila last year. The regional grouping is often dismissed but Wong insists it has value. Credit:AP ASEAN is a strategic buffer for Australia, she argues, inviting critics to imagine the region without it. Having been born in Malaysia to a Malaysian Chinese father and Australian mother, Wong says she has a very instinctive sense of [South-east Asias] importance to us. One area where Wong is very strong is her advocacy of open economies. While a backlash in some advanced democracies against free trade has united left and right in an anti-globalist spasm, Wong has a clearly articulated rationale for openness.

Free trade grows the national pie as an aggregate. The benefits dont naturally spread themselves evenly, but when combined with domestic redistribution policies, it unquestionably makes people better off, Wong says. She accepts that political elites have failed to properly champion the benefits of free trade. But we have to stand against some of the nationalist and populist tendencies that were seeing. Thats not an answer, she says. Apart from my strong view its not an answer to the well-being of the Australian people, particularly to lower and middle-income Australians, its actually not an answer to security and peace in the world. If you look at our history, the world is a more stable and peaceful place if we are more connected. An isolationist approach to economic policy and a defensive approach to international relations is not how you find security.

In a little-noticed remark in a recent television interview, Wong noted that as foreign affairs spokeswoman, it was her job to see the strategic advantages in Australia's joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact. That presages a potential internal tussle with colleagues, but demonstrates she is thinking in terms of the nation's external relations rather than her party's internal ones. When Fairfax Media notes shes from the Left faction, she quips: I know, its odd isnt it? The view around Canberra is that Wong is still on the learning curve common to shadow foreign affairs ministers. The influence of her speechwriter Allan Behm - a former senior defence official - is obvious to everyone, though it is said Wong is highly interrogative of the advice she is given. When she does reluctantly offer a criticism of Julie Bishop, it is this: She has been a hard-working and competent foreign minister. I would make the observation that it has been, at times, difficult to see how she has articulated a framework and vision for Australias foreign policy. To me, fundamentally, foreign policy is about your place in the world and how you see Australia in the world. Having a sense of what your purpose is is as important as the day-to-day management."
High Court judge Justice Michelle Gordon is married to Kenneth Hayne. Crommelin agrees: "He is not going to be bogged down. Ken will just get on with the job." True to his reputation, Hayne got down to business almost from the moment the government announced his appointment as royal commissioner late last year. Three days before Christmas, Hayne cracked the whip over the banks, giving each till January 29 to submit a 50-page document outlining their sins of the previous decade. Hayne's letter sent many a Christmas leave plan awry as industry teams cancelled their vacations and scurried to meet his deadline. Up and down the east coast, banks and the other big players in the finance industry have already signed up the top barristers and solicitors in commercial law, leaving lean pickings for those who have come late to the task. "What he has done already was a classic Hayne request," says one banking industry adviser. "The request for a document of no more than 50 pages is saying, 'I don't want spin, I don't want garbage, I want you to tell me everything you have done wrong.' And that's got every bank thinking, 'hmm, we had better put this in or that in, because I don't want him to find out later that we have not mentioned this.' With only 50 pages, there is no space for excuses. These are very raw and uncomfortable documents." Uncomfortable is putting it mildly. The sins have been many: from the ruthless sales-driven cultures which permeated the banks' financial advice divisions, to rigging of bank bill swap rates, the alleged failure to prevent criminals laundering cash through so-called "intelligent deposit" ATMs and (in Commbank's case) the scandal over its insurance arm.

Hayne's formidable reputation, however, is being seen as a plus by many in the industry. "It is generally seen that he is not going to grandstand," the industry adviser tells Fairfax Media. "He is going to set the rules, he is going to play by them, he is going to expect straight answers." Another high-level banking insider says the first response to the announcement of Hayne's appointment was "relief". "Nobody thinks he is a pushover. But from an industry perspective, we want this royal commission to be seen as the royal commission  not have someone later go 'oh, no, that didn't work  we need another one'. As painful as this might be, we want someone who is seen as above reproach, who will push the industry hard. And who will make sensible, well-informed recommendations that are possible to implement, will improve things, and will not have disastrous commercial consequences for everyone." Consumer advocates have also, thus far, reacted positively to Hayne's appointment. Gerard Brody, the CEO of the Consumer Action Law Centre, says, "We are keen for him to inquire into issues that are affecting the more vulnerable groups: irresponsible lending on credit cards and car finance, the sales-over-service culture. We also had a letter before Christmas, asking us to provide submissions. I think it's positive that he sought specific input from organisations that represent consumers." But Hayne has also made it plain that the royal commission  or Royal Commission into Misconduct In the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry, to give it its full name  cannot be all things to all people. He has invited public submissions, but warned that the commission cannot resolve individual disputes. "It cannot fix or award compensation or make orders requiring a party to a dispute to take or not to take any action", a statement on its website warns.

"I think that was a bit of an attempt by him to say to bank victims, let's be realistic about what happens in this process," the industry adviser says. "There are a lot of ordinary people out there who don't necessarily know how a royal commission works. He would be worried that people might be turning up expecting that the commission is going to fix their individual case. What he can do is make recommendations, and refer particular conduct to the Director of Public Prosecutions where there seems to be evidence of illegality." Pleasant but firm Hayne notched up nearly 18 years on the High Court bench, and 23 years as a judge in all, when he stepped down from the highest court in the land in 2015. It is mandatory for High Court justices to retire at 70, and he joked at the time that the Constitution was shuffling him off to the "Home for Bewildered Judges". But far from retiring, the now 72 year-old launched back into private work, in adjudication and disputes resolution. When I rang his chambers seeking an interview this week, I was surprised to find Hayne himself answering the phone. He was pleasant but firm: he would not be breaking the habit of 23 years by starting to personally engage with the media at this juncture. Strikingly, Hayne was replaced on the High Court by his second wife, 53-year-old Michelle Gordon, whom he met when she was a young solicitor and the pair were working on a large commercial law case together in the early-1990s. The couple have a son, and Hayne has four other children from his first marriage. The breakup of that union caused something of a stir in Melbourne legal circles when it happened, but he and Gordon have come out the other side with a strong professional and personal partnership. A former judicial colleague says: "What he has found in Michelle is somebody who has an intellect capable of matching his own." Katie Miller confesses, "I've often amused myself thinking that their dinner and breakfast table conversation must be fascinating." She hastens to add, "I'm sure it's always utterly appropriate." Hayne included a touching tribute to his family when he made his final remarks to the High Court. "They have been and they remain the compass by which I steer," he said. "They have been and they remain the light which permits me to see where I am going and what I am doing." In recent years, Hayne and Gordon both volunteered their time to teach a masters course at Melbourne University law school, titled "Statutes in the 21st Century". Crommelin says it is extremely rare to have judges of their level of seniority teaching graduates. He believes Hayne sees this as a form of "giving back", educating a new generation of lawyers in the art of interpreting acts of parliament.

Hayne has a longstanding intellectual preoccupation with the role of the courts vis a vis the executive (prime minister and ministry) and the parliament. "He feels quite strongly about the importance of limits on the authority of all branches of government: the judiciary, the executive and the legislature  and that no branch of government can do what it likes with impunity," Crommelin says. Hayne, along with two other judges, held that the government had acted unlawfully when it detained 157 Tamil asylum seekers at sea in 2014. (The government won the case with the bench splitting four judges to three.) He has also contributed to landmark rulings in commercial law, such as a famous case (Campbells Cash and Carry v Fostif) which allowed third parties to fund class actions in Australia. In 2014, he ordered a new Senate election for Western Australia after the Electoral Commission lost a bundle of votes during the count. When Hayne was first appointed to the High Court by the Howard government, there was speculation that he was there to tip the balance more towards conservatism at a time when the court was seen as too activist. But those who know Hayne well insist he cannot be typecast. He is a "traditionalist" only in the sense of "not breaking out of established patterns of legal analysis", a former colleague told me. He himself has publicly cautioned against the perils of stereotyping. He illustrated this with another story he relayed at the Victorian Bar dinner. He described how Gordon was once quizzed at a judicial conference about whether she had enjoyed the "accompanying person's program". No, she said, she had been busy running the nippers' program at the local surf club. What else do you do with your time, the visiting judge inquired. "Oh, I work and have a family," she replied. It took several more questions  with others at the table listening attentively  before Gordon dropped the fact that she too was a judge. The lesson, Hayne told the bar dinner, was "never make assumptions that are based in stereotypes." The birth of this royal commission has been painful. Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison made it plain they succumbed with gritted teeth to mounting political pressure to set up the inquiry. It was "regrettable but necessary", Morrison said when they made the announcement in November. What forced the move was a threatened revolt from the National party on the issue at a time when the government's numbers were looking parlous. (Both John Alexander and Barnaby Joyce were forced back to the polls because of dual citizenship woes.)
Not so incredible for the people who deal with it every day, however. "It's been part of family law since the Family Law Act of 1975  and part of family life from long before that," says Les Stubbs, a director of Sydney law firm Harris Freidman. "Certainly I would say that it's increasing in my practice. I see new clients every week in this situation." "It's not an uncommon thing at all," agrees Elisabeth Shaw, the CEO of Relationships Australia NSW. Anne Hollonds, director of the Australian Institute of Family Studies, a federal government body, says "it's been a longstanding phenomenon. When I was doing working as a marriage and family counsellor back in the '80s it was happening, as it is now." There are, agree the experts, several major reasons couples stay in the same house once their relationship is over, either for months or, sometimes, years. The first is financial, especially when real estate is involved, as it is in so many divorce settlements. As house prices  particularly in cities  have increased in recent years and wages have remained stagnant, it's become harder and harder to finance two homes with the proceeds of one. I do worry for the kids... that it's harmful for them: seeing the rawness of the grief and the shame.

Second, the legal delays in taking divorce proceedings through the courts are growing longer: up to three years to reach a final hearing in NSW, and two in Victoria. Third, many couples remain under the same roof because they believe it's better for their children. And fourth, couples sometimes stay for emotional reasons: because one or both of them, despite knowing the relationship is over, can't let go. All these reasons may be understandable, but experts are united in their opinion that, in almost all cases, staying together physically after separating is a terrible idea. It's financially problematic; it can create more rather than less conflict over children; and it tends to be extraordinarily difficult emotionally "Of course, every situation is unique," cautions Hollonds. "But there are some commonalities of experience. And probably the biggest is simply how hard it is. For any separating couple, the grief is so horrendous, and the avenues for conflict are so endless. Living together with any measure of success under those circumstances is  well, it's a superhuman feat." Lesley Cape is not trying to be superhuman. Mostly, she's just trying to make it through the day, living with someone she used to love and now  not to put too fine a point on it  dislikes intensely. "It takes such an enormous amount of energy," she says, "just handling yourself in that situation day in day out. You have to step up, constantly, to being controlled and mindful when you really just want to rant and rave." She's doing it, she says bluntly, because she can't afford to go anywhere else. "Oh my god, it's completely financial," she says. "I lost my job the same week we broke up, and my family are all overseas. I always paid half the rent, so I've been living off my savings, which is becoming increasingly hard as time goes by."

Cape is not alone. In 2010, a British survey of 1100 people found that 28 per cent of separating couples remained in the same property for some period post-breakup because of financial pressures. These same financial pressures were also cited as a major cause of the original relationship failure. In 2011, a study of 256 American families from Boston, Chicago and San Antonio found that the financial consequences of separation were one of three contributing factors to what the study authors called "forced cohabitation" after separation. The others were the importance of the parenting bond, and a desire for social legitimacy. "People do tend to stay put until they've got the financial settlement sorted out," explains Les Stubbs. "And for many people, if they own a home, that's the biggest asset they have, which means both parties often want to remain there until they get their cut." Rising property prices - or, alternatively, a flattened housing market which makes the family home difficult to sell - often forces more couples to stay under the same roof longer. Credit:Louie Douvis Dramatic recent rises in property prices in many parts of Australia have made it increasingly difficult to purchase a second home, especially one big enough for children; but ironically, if the market flattens, a new set of problems arise. "I'm starting to have a lot of matters where people have their property on the market for 12 months and it just isn't selling," says Stubbs. "So people are caught in financial limbo." Cape does not own her own home, and in recent months she's had to drop her rental contribution to 30 per cent. She's successfully applied to both Centrelink and Legal Aid in the meantime but, she explains, she's at her financial limit. That's not the case for her ex. "The fact is, he can afford to leave," she says. "I don't know why he doesn't. Really, I have no idea.

"I do worry for the kids," she admits suddenly. "I worry that it's harmful for them: seeing the rawness of the grief and the shame and the uncertain terrible feelings of it all. I don't want my 11-year-old seeing my anger, my disgust, my hurt, my let down. I do feel that needs to be monitored; it needs to have a secure blanket around it." This, says Hollonds, is incredibly difficult. "Parents think, 'Oh, if we don't fight in front of them, the kids won't know what's going on. But the kids absolutely will. I'm afraid that's a universal truth." Another, she adds, is that it's "really, really hard to remember the needs of the children when you're overwhelmed yourself. Basically, no one's that smart; no one's that mature and self-controlled. [Separation] brings out the worst in people: everyone reverts to their eight-year-old selves." And the conflict doesn't have to be overt. "Not everyone is standing at the front door shouting at each other. If you're silent, that's still conflict." "Kids will see the separate rooms, the cold shoulders," agrees Sian Khuman, psychologist and clinical supervisor for all counselling programs at Relationships Australia NSW. "People think, 'Well, we can continue to parent together.' But if you follow that through [it's more like], 'We all sit down to dinner together, but no one talks to each other, only to the kids.' And then there are things like cooking or cleaning: how do you explain that to children? 'Dad's over there, cooking his own dinner.' Or, 'It's Dad's night off, so although he's home and he's sitting on the couch, he's not helping with homework, he's not reading stories.' It's very difficult." In Cape's case, there was no chance the children could remain in ignorance. "Everything is out on the table," she confirms. "I wasn't going to pretend or lie to them. I've just explained the fact that this is only temporary, and by this time next year either Dad will be in a different place, or we will."

In the meantime  as with every couple in this scenario  the practical realities of life have to be managed. Cape no longer cooks or cleans for her ex-husband. "In the beginning, his washing would be in the basket and I would chuck everything into the machine, and then I'd get to the line and think, 'You must be fing joking. I am not hanging up your underpants.' " These days she washes, cleans and cooks for herself and her girls, and her ex fends for himself. "He does his own shopping, he has his place in the freezer. He uses the second bathroom. I wouldn't go near it." Even with all these logistics in place, however, the conflicts continue, which comes as no surprise to anyone. "I wish I could say living together after separation was a potentially productive scenario," says Sian Khuman. "And for some couples, a small group, where there is goodwill and the parents can really hold the kids in focus at all times, it can be. It can be helpful for the children to adjust to the transition gradually, rather than having a parent just suddenly leaving the home without any explanation. But those families are less likely to come for family therapy. For the ones we see, there's often a recommendation that they consider changing their arrangements, because living together is adding pressure to things." Cape almost smiles at this understatement. "I think if I'd had space, that consistent hatred " She pauses. "Is 'hatred' too strong a word? But that's what I feel. And it comes from having to see him all the time!" Her voice rises. "Of him thinking it's okay to ask me to help him find his keys for the fourth time in a week! I'm just like, 'F off with your fing keys! I'm not interested! You shouldn't even be here!' " She takes a deep breath. "I think, if he wasn't there, it might have been a little easier to let it go." Magda Johnson* is speaking from her car phone on the side of the road in Melbourne. She has a warm, relaxed-sounding voice: she could be telling a joke or ordering a cocktail, not discussing custody arrangements and frozen assets after splitting with her husband 12 months ago. "I haven't worked for almost 10 years," she explains. "I've been raising the children; he's been earning the money. But now, the only way my girls can have the same lifestyle as when we were together is if he provides it. I don't want to disadvantage my own children  so I'm forced to stay "I'm so cranky that I'm so stuck," she says, beginning to cry. "But I've explained what I'm worried about most is not being able to survive financially. I need a house close to our house, so the girls can carry on at school  and he said he couldn't provide me with that. And now he's cut off all the money. I didn't even know he could freeze our account!"

Johnson has three daughters: the oldest a primary school student, the youngest not yet at kindy. Her husband used to work six days a week; they still live in a three-storey house in an expensive Melbourne suburb. "I was unhappy for a long time," she recalls. "When we eventually got to counselling, at the last session the counsellor asked me if I still loved him, and I said 'I don't think so.' And I think he thought, 'Well, what's the point of trying?' Actually, because I had three kids, because I was financially dependent, I didn't want to give up. But that was that." "It's Psych 101," says Les Stubbs. "When people separate, they go through that standard trauma sequence  those stages of grief. I'm no psychologist, but it's very clear that not everybody goes through those stages together, or for the same period. That's actually one of the biggest problems in family law. One person has thought about it, worried about it for months or years beforehand, so they've generally gone through some or all of those stages before even mentioning it. But the other person may have no real idea, so they're right at the beginning of the process. And that's a problem that flows through into separating under the same roof. Because one person's saying, 'That's it, I want you out.' And the other's not prepared for that." "That other person may still be hoping the relationship can be reconciled," clarifies Anne Hollonds. "So actually, not enacting a physical separation of your living circumstances can send a confusing message about there still being hope." It can also be messy from a physical perspective, because it's more likely that couples will still be having sex if they're sharing the same house (and even, sometimes, the same bed). "That's just the reality," says one Melbourne-based counsellor who asked not to be named. "Even if the relationship's over. These things happen." And even if there's no physical intimacy, seeing the evidence of your ex-partner's new romantic life can be a hugely difficult thing to face  even more so if you're hoping that the relationship can be salvaged. Sue Buckley is a Victorian psychologist, family dispute resolution practitioner and family court report writer. "I had a family years ago," she recalls, "in which they had a double-storey house, and the woman separated from the man, and had a new relationship. And her ex said, 'I'll stay. I'll live downstairs and you two can live upstairs.'

"He thought the new relationship wouldn't last. 'We've been together a long time, I'm still a good dad.' But she couldn't stand him any more. In her eyes he just got weaker and weaker as a man. It was excruciating. And then his feelings turned to anger: 'You're the one who's cheating, I shouldn't have to be the one who moves out.' Sometimes people hope things will change and their love will reignite. But love doesn't reignite, as a rule." Magda Johnson, for her part, certainly believes it's too late for a new beginning. "Way too late. If he had given me space in the beginning, maybe. But I've got three little kids, and him, and we're all stuck in the house together. I feel like I'm suffocating." Some months ago she moved out of the marital bed to sleep in her daughter's room, before moving into the study. She still does all the cooking and cleaning in the house. "So he gets to come home and have dinner cooked for him, his clothes washed, his bed made, the house cleaned, the children cared for. I'm not going to let my children live in crap." Her husband, meanwhile, still pays the mortgage and all the domestic bills, except for basic groceries, which she buys out of wages she earns working a casual job while the kids are at school. All in all, she admits, "we're still living like we're a couple, except that he's not getting any emotional support from me. No love, no intimacy." Of course, the reality is that nothing is really working as it does in a functional relationship. Childcare arrangements  previously almost exclusively Johnson's province  have become increasingly fraught, because her husband has reduced his hours at work and wants more time with the girls. "It seems to me he's trying to get control of them," she says. "I know that sounds horrible but I think it's true. He never cared before  now, all of a sudden, he cares."

Of course, this can be a good thing. "To be honest, children love it," says the Melbourne-based counsellor. "They love both parents being involved." But it's also fraught, because both parents are trying to ensure future access to their children. Although the Family Court starts from a position of considering equal shared care between parents, they may also be reluctant to disrupt a stable arrangement; so both parents can feel under pressure to stake their claim to their kids by staying put. "If one parent leaves," explains Ana Tolkas, senior family lawyer at Victoria Legal Aid, "automatically a status quo about living arrangements begins. And the longer it remains, the stronger the argument of the parent who can say, 'Well, they're with me, they've been with me for x amount of time, and they're fine.' " Unlike Lesley Cape's children, only Magda Johnson's oldest daughter knows about her parents' separation. But her youngest is unable to sleep on her own, and her middle one is having some separation and anxiety issues. "I can't stay," she concludes, her voice breaking. "But where do I go?" Her only viable alternative accommodation is with a relative more than an hour's drive away. "Do you know how often I've put off going to court? But what else can I do?" "Court sounds simple," says Stubbs, barely repressing a sigh. "You think, 'Well, we're going to separate, so I'll go to court next month and the judge will tell me to sell the house and divide the proceeds 50/50. How hard can that be?' But there are thousands of people with that same simple solution. So in Sydney, which is the busiest and most litigious Family Law registry in Australia, if you separate and you want a property settlement, unless you sort out the division yourself, you'll have to wait, literally, years." The only exceptions are for cases involving family violence. "There are intervention orders, and orders for sole occupation, which can be granted quickly," explains Tolkas. "But what if you have a situation with separated people stuck in the same house, where there's no evidence of family violence, and the court doesn't consider it 'proper' to exclude one person from the house? While it may very uncomfortable, I'm afraid those people may have to wait a very long time."

Both Johnson and Cape seem like reasonable people: loving mothers, strong individuals, good communicators. But it's clear that living under the same roof as their former partners has been a disaster. It's eroded their confidence, sapped their patience, reduced their capacity to plan constructively for the future. Indeed, Johnson can see absolutely nothing positive about the past year. "Nothing," she says. "Sorry, but I just can't see forward from here. It's horrible, horrible." Cape, for her part, actually smiles  albeit grimly  when I ask her. "Well it has been good in one way," she concedes. "The sheer intensity of it has sort of speeded up the recovery process, I think. It requires such discipline, such a commitment not to be complacent." She leans back, pulling her ponytail tight with both hands. "But then, who really invites that in? Who wakes up in the morning and says, 'Okay, world. Give me one great big emotional challenge to deal with'?" She smiles again. "Not me." "It would be good if we could think of some unequivocal positives!" says Relationships Australia's Elisabeth Shaw. "Some couples do really want to try it; and if there's not too much conflict there's no harm done. But almost invariably, It's most useful for people to get a bit of physical distance. And even if they can live together  ultimately, that's not going to be a permanent situation, is it? So sooner or later, people have to come to grips with a physical separation." Unless, that is, you are Sue Levings and Jeremy Sheldon. Levings is a Pilates instructor, Sheldon an architect turned small-business owner, and together they are a Melbourne-based, ex-spousal, once-cohabiting-after separation, now-living-together-again-after a-decade-apart, best-friend, co-parenting, non-couple couple. "We officially separated in 1999," recalls Levings, speaking on the phone from the family home in the inner-Melbourne suburb of Thornbury. "We'd been married for about 10 years, and then Sheldon realised he was gay. So of course there was a lot of anguish, and I remember thinking, 'Oh god, my whole life is going to fall apart with this man I love dearly.' " But we lived under the same roof for almost two years while we negotiated the separation and worked it all out."

At the time, their son, Julian, was five years old (he's now 25). And it appears that, to a quite extraordinary degree, they were able to keep him out of the conflict. Sue Levings and Jeremy Sheldon with son Julia. 'It was never definite that we would end up morphing into the friends we are now," says Sheldon. Credit:Justin McManus "There were moments," recalls Sheldon, coming in from another room to talk on the speaker phone. "But we always said we would never argue about our relationship in front of Julian and we would never, ever make derogatory comments about each other to him. And we really, honestly kept to that." "What we know, from a lot of research over the years, is that it's not the separation per se that damages children, it's the conflict," explains Anne Hollonds. "People think divorce is bad for kids. But if the parents are able to stay attuned to the needs of the children, if they're able to model good conflict resolution, then kids are able to deal with the transition. Yes there's grief, and kids are upset, but they can deal with it if the adults are managing it well." In Levings and Sheldon's case, being in the same space actually helped achieve this resolution. "I always knew he wasn't trying to hurt us," recalls Levings. "I distinctly remember one morning waking up, and we were just joking around making a cup of tea and I thought to myself, 'It's still Jeremy. He's the same person he's always been. He's still laughing at these same stupid jokes.' "

"The friendship was always there," agrees Sheldon. "I should say, though, that it was never definite that we would end up morphing into the friends we are now. We hoped we would, but I think it was the living together that allowed us to realise it was worth trying really hard to salvage the friendship. It allowed us to get sad and angry and not bottle it up. And on a personal level, it allowed me to seriously think about all the positive things I was, literally, walking away from. And that was actually a good thing." Both Levings and Sheldon acknowledge that they were lucky in some areas  if luck can ever be applied to the end of a marriage. Levings's mother lived in a granny flat attached to the family home, and she adored Sheldon. "She always said, 'He's still the good man he was, and he's still the one we love,' " recalls Levings, laughing. "So there wasn't much you could say to that!" There was no other person involved in the breakup, "so there was no betrayal  no loss of trust". They could afford to use the equity in the family home to buy Sheldon another house nearby. And before Sheldon moved out, when Julian was seven, they managed to truly co-parent in the family home  washing, cleaning, caring for their son  while slowly building their own, independent lives. "We both got counselling," recalls Levings, "and I started working full-time, and we started forming our own friendship groups." Once all the practicalities were in place, they sat Julian down and explained things to him. "That was actually extremely hard for him to understand," recalls Levings, "Because there wasn't any anger or horrible stuff going on." But the arrangements for Julian's care  mostly with Levings early on, later changing to week on, week off with each parent, at his request  were also worked out peacefully. "Look, I'm not going to say we were really, really close," says Levings. "It was very hard  especially the first five years. We were both so upset and sad. But now Julian will say to us, 'You two did the best you could possibly do, and I feel like I got through it all really well and happily because of you and Gran. I am okay.' And he really is. Which is a huge relief!" As if this isn't all incredible enough, three years ago the pair moved back in together. After more than a decade apart, Sheldon, who had sold his home and moved to Adelaide, was deeply unhappy. "And may I say, it was Sue who called me and said, 'Oh, for God's sake, why don't you just move back?' "

"Well, I was Mum's full-time carer," explains Levings. "I was getting really, really tired. And I was able to say to Jeremy, 'I need some support.' So him coming back to help was fantastic for me." "It was great," echoes Sheldon. "And for Julian it was wonderful." "For the first time in 15 years he suddenly had Mum and Dad under the same roof," agrees Levings. "For the first week he just kept saying, 'This is doing my head in!' " Levings's mum died, at home, last December, aged 94. With Julian and Levings's consent, she left her granny flat to Sheldon. And today, neither of them can imagine living anywhere else  or, perhaps, with anyone else. Neither is in a relationship. "We talked about it this morning, actually," says Levings. "We're both very independent, very self-contained. It might be different when you're younger, but the companionship that we have is, I think, what most people actually end up wanting. "We always joked that the perfect marriage would be to each have a separate wing," she concludes. "And now we have it! We've got each other, a blind kelpie and four chickens  who could ask for more?"
Angelina Jolie coves US Elle magazine for their March issue, and because she's Angelina Jolie, she didn't need a reason.

The part-time actress, director, UN Ambassador and single mum of six kids, spoke with former US Secretary of State, John Kerry about the usual topics: systemic violence, politics, rape as a weapon of war, and how to make lasting change as an American.

Angelina Jolie covers Elle Magazine for their March 2018 issue.

The interview took place in New York City in December last year in accordance with Jolie's wishes to promote International Women's Day on March 8.

Jolie, who turns 43 in June, spoke at length about her reticence to get into politics, but conceded that it was necessary, given that it's at the "root" of so many conflicts, telling Kerry
Love Child actor and cancer survivor Tessa James has welcomed her first child.

The 26-year-old made the announcement on Instagram, posting a photo of her husband, former NRL player Nate Myles, pushing a pram.

Tessa James arrives for the David Jones Spring Summer 2017 collection launch. Credit:AAP

She captioned the image with a quote from Winnie the Pooh: "As soon as i saw you i knew a grand adventure was about to happen."

James was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma at 23 years old. She entered remission in 2015, after 12 rounds of chemotherapy over a six-month period.
If you think what Joyce did to the gay and lesbian community was terrible, let me frighten you even further. In 2006, Joyce was prepared to condemn women to death.

Joyce, then just a Nationals senator in the Howard government, opposed the free provision of a drug which would save the lives of hundreds of women a year.

The drug was Gardasil, a vaccine which would prevent the spread of human papilloma virus (HPV). To be truly effective, girls must be vaccinated before they become sexually active.

Gardasil wasn't like the flu vaccine, where, in an off-year, the vaccine might not protect us all that well. This was a vaccine where trials showed it to be 100 per cent effective in protecting women against being infected with the four strains of HPV that cause nearly 70 per cent of cervical cancers.
The Turnbull government wants to encourage tradies to become teachers, and nurses to swap the clinic for the classroom, under a plan to "shake up" the country's schools.

A national review of teacher registration - to be announced Saturday - will look to streamline the process for becoming a teacher around Australia, with a view to making it easier for people in trades and other professions to switch careers.

At present, most states require teachers to attain at least a diploma of education, if not an undergraduate teaching degree - but it depends on what type of teacher someone seeks to become.

Teachers also need to re-register at least once every five years, and demonstrate ongoing suitability, classroom hours and professional development - but the requirements vary from state to state.

Education Minister Simon Birmingham said it should be easier for people with experience in specialist areas to teach those trades at schools and vocational colleges.
Authorities claim to have seized the equivalent of 500,000 hits of the "party drug" GBL, known on the streets as liquid ecstasy or "coma in a bottle", in the second largest seizure of the substance in the country's history.

Suspicious Australian Border Force investigators allegedly found 2000 litres of the drug gamma-butyrolactone in 10 large drums hidden within a shipping container full of 120 drums of "car pre-paint wash" when it arrived at Port Botany earlier this month.

A Warwick Farm man, 30, was arrested on Friday during a series of raids across Sydney and charged with importing a commercial quantity of a border controlled substance.

He was due to face Liverpool Local Court later on Friday.
A 24-year-old man from the US has been charged with importing drugs, after he was allegedly found with 12 kilograms of cocaine in the lining of his suitcase.

Russell Dickinson landed at Sydney Airport on a flight from Chile on Thursday night and was picked by Australian Border Force officers for a bag search.

A US national has been charged for allegedly importing 12 kilograms of cocaine in his luggage.

The ABF alleges that, after Mr Dickinson's suitcase was emptied, officers thought it was unusually heavy.

X-rays revealed an anomaly in the suitcase, and a further search revealed a false bottom in both sides of the luggage.
A 30-year-old man has been jailed for attacking a Sydney sex worker and destroying property at a brothel when he felt he'd been ripped off.

Michael Joel Kay had pleaded guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm and larceny and was found guilty by a judge of destroying property at The World Famous Love Machine in 2013.

The man pleaded guilty to destroying property at The World Famous Love Machine Kings Cross. Credit:Peter Morris PMZ

In the NSW District Court on Friday, Judge Peter Zahra sentenced Kay to a maximum of two years and five months in prison with a non-parole period of one year and three months.

AAP
Aurizon will withdraw its application to the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility for funding to build a rail line in the Galilee Basin.

The decision will be a blow for mining company Adani, which needs the connection to the port to support its plans for a new coal mine in Queensland's Galilee Basin.

Aurizon will withdraw its application to the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility for a loan to build a rail line in the Galilee Basin.

Chief executive Andrew Harding said Aurizon continued to support the development of the Galilee Basin.

"When developed, it has the potential to provide a major boost to the national economy and create thousands of jobs in regional Queensland," he said.
Almost a dozen border collie puppies were rescued during a police raid in Logan on Thursday, in which a pair of alleged fraudsters were arrested.

It will be alleged a man and woman used an invalid bank transfer receipt to trick several puppy breeders into handing over 11 border collie puppies without being paid for the dogs.

The border collie puppies used in the alleged fraud were found safe and well. (FILE PIC) Credit:Rob Gunstone

The accused then advertised the puppies online and received payment for one, but never gave the dog to the buyer, according to police.

Logan detectives raided a Holder Street residence in Loganholme where they arrested a man and woman, both 28-years-old locals.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has vowed to reject a hospital funding package at Friday's Council of Australian Governments meeting.

Ms Palaszczuk said she would not sign because Queensland was "not getting a fair deal".

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says she will not sign the proposed hospital funding arrangement at Friday's COAG meeting. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

"I'm not going to sign onto something when my state is owed over $170 million," she said.

"When I get the $170 million that I'm owed, then I will sign up to it, but not before then, and I think you'll find that there's not uniform agreement."
A truck driver has died after crossing onto the wrong side of the road and hitting three cars before crashing into a bollard in Brisbane's north.

Emergency services were called about 12.45pm after the truck drove down the wrong side of East-West Arterial Road in Hendra before hitting a bollard and coming to a stop.

Motorists were asked to avoid the area after a fatal crash in Hendra. Credit:7 News Brisbane

Police initially said there were differing reports regarding how many cars were hit, with the number ranging from three to seven. However, officers later confirmed three were hit.

The 56-year-old truck driver could not be revived and died at the scene.
Two of the men accused of killing Gold Coast father Greg Dufty have pleaded guilty to his manslaughter.

The 37-year-old pool builder was last seen in early July 2015, but his body has never been found.

Gold Coast father Greg Dufty.

Police allege a group of men bashed and killed the father-of-two over a drug debt, before burning his body at a property near Casino in northern NSW.
Police have confirmed they are in the midst of a murder investigation, after a man's body was found inside an industrial woodchipper near Gympie last year.

Detectives received a tip-off in the days after the horrific incident, suggesting the death was not accidental as first thought.

The victim: Bruce Saunders.

Detective Inspector Gary Pettiford said that evidence gathered in the days after the body was found and last weekend supported the tip-off and led to police officially declaring the death as suspicious on Friday.

Nambour man Bruce Saunders, 54, died in November after falling into the woodchipper while clearing a driveway at Goomboorian near Gympie, about 150 kilometres north of Brisbane.
The national body representing the judiciary has jumped to the defence of a Victorian magistrate who criticised the state government's delay in changing the bail laws.

In bailing an alleged killer driver last week, Magistrate Ross Maxted said though laws had been passed to make it more difficult for people charged with culpable driving to be granted bail, the legislation had not yet been enacted.

If Parliament had thought or considered the change needed to be made sooner or more urgently, it was up to Parliament to commence these laws from an earlier date, Mr Maxted said.

Attorney-General Martin Pakula hit back, saying it was unwise for magistates to start "dolling out advice" to government about when laws should commence.

"Magistrates can get very cranky when politicians start intervening, traipsing across their positions and that cuts both ways," Mr Pakula told radio station 3AW.
A man who stomped on and kicked a teenager to the head in Melbourne's Chinatown precinct, in six seconds of violence that caused fatal injuries, has been found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter.

Shengliang Wan outside the Supreme Court on Friday. Credit:Jason South

Shengliang Wan, 24, was on Friday found not guilty of murdering Longxiang Hu, having kicked and stomped on his head five times after flinging the 19-year-old to the ground in Latrobe Place about 10.30pm on April 15, 2016.

Mr Hu, who went by the name Jeremy and was a Year 12 student at Yarra Valley Grammar School after coming from China to study, died in hospital about a week later.

Wan, who also came from China to study at RMIT University, pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter. But prosecutors did not accept his plea to the lesser charge, and told a Supreme Court trial he intended to cause Mr Hu really serious injury.
It felt like my whole statement was disregarded, Semovic said this week. Dr Andrew Churchyard took his own life after he was committed to stand trial over sex abuse allegations. But what most worried him in 2007 was the fact that the medical board - one of several boards around the nation that now work with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) to protect patient safety - had allowed the neurologist to return to work clear of any stain. Future patients would not know the details of Churchyards misconduct, who did not need to undergo any further training nor close scrutiny. Semovic was kept up at night by a single, recurring thought. Had the boards decision to give Churchyard the benefit of the doubt enabled, or even empowered, the senior, highly respected doctor to abuse other patients?

It took more than 10 years, but Semovic finally learnt the answer to this question late last year. He was called by AHPRA and told someone had sought to access his complaint file via a freedom of information (FOI) request. He was also told something else: Churchyard had been accused of sexually assaulting up to 100 patients, many of whom were abused after Semovic made his complaint. The whistleblower Most of these victims came forward after Fairfax Media revealed the story of another sexual assault victim of Churchyard, Melbourne law student Tom Monagle. Monagle had also lodged a formal complaint about Churchyard with the medical board, this time in 2015. Tom Monagle, an alleged victim of sex abuse at the hands of neurologist Dr Andrew Churchyard. Credit:Jason South

His abuse at the hands of Churchyard mirrored that suffered by Semovic. Like Semovic, Monagle had also been left reeling by the failure of the medical regulator to suspend Churchyard. Instead, the neurologist was required to have a chaperone present during some consultations and while investigations, including by police, continued. He kept working at Melbourne hospitals and, despite the presence of a chaperone, Churchyard continued offending. He killed himself in 2016, as more victims emerged. The FOI request to access Semovics 2007 complaint was lodged by Tom Monagles mother, Sharon, who is herself a doctor. Monagle, a steely general practitioner, had spent months fighting AHPRA to learn if it or the medical board had mishandled any complaints about Churchyard prior to her sons sexual assault, or if the subsequent investigations into Churchyard had failed to take note of his past.

AHPRA blocked her at every turn, blaming the enormous distress that would be caused to the 2007 complainant should this matter be brought up". I found this incredible, recalls Monagle. It ignored the fact that this man must surely already be incredibly distressed at their failure to act in 2007. It also ignored the enormous distress that had been caused to my son and to our family (and hundreds of others) because Churchyard had been allowed to continue to practice after this earlier sentinel event. When AHPRA finally contacted Semovic and asked if he would mind if his file was publicly released, the former truckie had no hesitation. Within days, he and Sharon Monagle were comparing notes about an oversight system that the pair believe privileges the rights of an accused doctor over the safety of patients.

Its a live issue across Australia. 'Boundary violations' At present, AHPRA has 106 investigations under way into "boundary violation" allegations against medical practitioners and 35 similar probes involving nurses. In 2016-17, AHPRA received 6898 notifications about health practitioners across the 17 different health sectors it oversees. The federal agency insists the system is working well and constantly improving, noting reforms to the way chaperones are used and the amount of information made available to patients about a doctor's misconduct record. Investigators now have better training about how to handle allegations of sexual assault. AHPRA would not comment on the Semovic case because the matter was "managed by a previous board under different legislation".

But Monagle believes there is a bias towards protecting the reputation of doctors and the industry at the expense of informing and protecting future patients. Among her evidence is AHPRAs reluctance to release information about Semovics complaint, despite his own desire to publicly expose it. Other cases raise similar concerns. Fairfax Media has learnt that AHPRA recently re-registered a Victorian male psychiatric nurse after he served a 20-month ban for inappropriate sexual contact with three female patients. A tribunal found Harpreet Singh engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct with three female patients by kissing them, touching their breasts and seeking contact outside the hospital. Singh is free to return to the health system without any restrictions on his practice or any reference on AHPRAs public register about his disciplinary history.

This has angered one of his female victims, who was previously under his care in the mental health unit of Eastern Health's Maroondah Hospital in Melbourne's east. "As a result of what happened to me, I always check AHPRA's registration page before I see a medical professional, says the woman, who cannot be identified due to court orders. But how would anyone know what that man did to me and the other women from what is on the AHPRA register at the moment? Learning from the past A spokeswoman for AHPRA says the existing laws limit what can be disclosed about a practitioner's past. But she also says that the agency is changing the way it handles cases and discloses information about findings, including by publishing online links to tribunal or court rulings.

Leading Melbourne medical negligence lawyer Bree Knoester, who launched a successful legal action against Churchyards estate on behalf of dozens of his victims, says the Singh case indicates reforms have some way to go. "It suggests that they [AHPRA] haven't appreciated that when you have been found to have engaged in sexually predatory behaviour in the past that makes informing the public more important than someone's right to work unimpeded," says Ms Knoester. "I'm amazed that AHPRA has not learned and been more motivated by the Churchyard case." Sharon Monagle believes there has been a failure to openly and thoroughly investigate previous cases that appear to have been mishandled, and to ensure AHPRA and the medical boards it works with are meaningfully accountable when they stuff up. Izey Semovic agrees. I dont want what happened to me to happen to other people, he says.
A puppet master who at 19 had other teenagers rob jewellery stores on his behalf was also involved in a brazen hold-up that netted more than $200,000, a court has heard.

Mahmoud Taha recruited teenagers younger than him and promised them

money, hotel rooms and "girls" and supplied getaway cars and weapons in exchange for his pawns stealing watches and other valuables from jewellery stores.

Within two hours on July 7, 2016, four teenagers armed with sledgehammers raided a Melbourne jewellery store and another in Coburg on Taha's orders, and stole stock and caused damage worth a combined $200,000.

But Taha's plan of a large score went off the rails when at Coburg passers-by held the store's doors closed to prevent three teens from getting out, the County Court heard on Friday.
A letter to traders from Queen Victoria Market Pty Ltd states: "I agree that I shall not disclose, for whatever reason, to any other person, any details discussed in this meeting without the written permissions of Queen Victoria Market Pty Ltd. "The information discussed in this meeting is confidential and between QVM management and the licence holder." Traders are allowed to use a support person during their talks with management, but that person must also sign the confidentiality agreement. Queen Victoria Market management said the confidentiality agreement was a request, not a demand, and for the good of traders to minimise confusion during the lengthy meeting process. Queen Victoria Market Pty Ltd chief executive Stan Liacos said: "We recognise that traders will want to share information from their meetings with their community, however, we want to ensure that traders receive information related to their individual stalls directly from market management.

Queen Victoria Market, which attracts 9.5 million visitors a year, is the top destination for international tourists to Melbourne Credit:Eddie Jim "So out of the respect for all of our traders, we have asked traders who have attended meetings to keep their relocation information confidential. "It is the traders choice whether they consent to signing the confidentiality agreement. "Traders who refuse to sign a confidentiality agreement will in no way be unfavourably treated throughout the relocation process  [and] will be briefed once all other meetings have taken place. "Currently, all traders who have attended meetings have willingly signed the agreement in the understanding that it is to protect the commercial information that relates to their business and those of their fellow traders."

He did not answer when asked if the market had sought confidentiality agreements from traders before, but one trader said this was the first in their decades at the market. With 9.5 million visitors a year, Queen Victoria Market is the top destination for international visitors to Melbourne and the longest surviving marketplace of its size and diversity in Australia, according to consultants SGS Economics and Planning. Owned by the City of Melbourne, it posted a loss for the first time in the 2016-17 financial year, due to falls in customer receipts, rents and car park fees, combined with rising costs including consultancy fees. Queen Victoria Market Pty Ltd says a redevelopment is essential to enable the market to operate more efficiently, improve safety, decrease costs and create more opportunities for business. The redevelopment follows half a decade of planning, more than 7500 submissions and more than 60 comprehensive studies, then Melbourne lord mayor Robert Doyle said last year. Under the plans, the market's heritage-listed sheds that house the fruit and vegetables stalls and souvenir stalls will be partly demolished and then reconstructed once lifts, ventilation shafts, 220 customer parking spaces and refrigeration areas have been constructed.

In addition, on Therry Street, near the corner of Elizabeth Street, there be a tower 125 metres high - about 42 storeys - with apartments, retail, a hotel and 500 car parks undernearth. On the same site there will be 56 low-cost units, a 120-place childcare centre, a community centre, artists studios, a gallery, and a retail space. In a business case for the redevelopment, SGS said "only renewal will ensure the future viability of the market" and a "business-as-usual approach will result in a continued loss of profitability and a requirement for council to subsidise Queen Victoria Market Pty Ltds operations over time". But the project has had problems, including the Wurundjeri Land Council withdrawing its support for the project due to fears it would disturb a burial ground, and Heritage Victoria seeking more time to rule whether Sheds A to D be dismantled and rebuilt, and a below-ground car park and storage area built. A temporary pavilion housing traders disrupted by the development was supposed to start in October last year but will not start until this year. In an email to traders last week, Queen Victoria Market Precinct Renewal program director Joanna Wandel said: "With a number of key renewal projects awaiting planning process outcomes, a full view of the operation of the transitional market will not be available until around May 2018, with major trader relocations associated with renewal unlikely to occur until late 2018.
On Tuesday night, Melbourne City Council chief executive Ben Rimmer addressed a council committee meeting on the status of the investigation into sexual harassment allegations against former lord mayor Robert Doyle, who resigned on Monday.

Melbourne City Council chief executive Ben Rimmer.

Below is the text of Mr Rimmer's speech.

"As the committee is aware, the investigation has been underway since late December. The interim draft report of the investigation by Dr Ian Freckelton QC was provided to the [former] lord mayor on January 30."

"Dr Freckelton has been asked to advise on the facts of this situation. He has not been asked to advise on the legal conclusions to be drawn from those facts, or on the broader policy issues that have surfaced."
An estimated 1460 adult great white sharks inhabit the waters from western Victoria to the north-western part of WA, new research has revealed.

For the first time, the CSIRO has been able to put a number on the size of Australia's white shark population using world-first genetic analysis.

For the first time, the CSIRO has been able to put a number on the size of Australia's white shark population. Credit:Discovery Channel

It estimates there are about 750 adults in waters east off Victoria's southern coast, up to central Queensland and across to New Zealand.

Taking juvenile sharks into account, researchers believe the total east coast population sits at 5460 - but could be as high as 12,800.
Police Minister Michelle Roberts has slapped down the state opposition's accusations of crime spiking under the Labor government's watch.

The latest reported Australian Bureau of Statistics figures showed WA had the biggest increase in arrests of all the states last financial year, and an almost 16 per cent increase in crime over the past three years.

The latest ABS figures show WA had the biggest increase in arrests of all the states last financial year. Credit:iStock

The Minister swiftly pointed to the failure of the former government's Frontline 2020 policing model, which split police into "local" and "response" groups.

This prompted retaliation from opposition police spokesman Peter Katsambanis, who said figures posted on Friday on the WA Police website showed that overall crime was up five per cent for the September to December 2017 quarter on the last quarter.
'So, why should I move here?'

A friend visiting from New Zealand really put me on the spot the other week. She wanted to know what made Perth a place worth living - and to be brutally honest, I had a hard time coming up with a quick answer.

Summer - the best time of the year on Perth. Credit:Erin Jonasson

Melbourne is fashion. Sydney has food. Perth has, um... Elizabeth Quay?

It's difficult to sum up what makes Perth great quickly. The old joke goes that WA stands for 'Wait Awhile,' and that we set our watches back a decade when we return from overseas.
The government said the Domestic Partnership Act was "intended to strike a fair balance" between opposing parties on the conservative island.

The new law gives domestic partners in the British island territory similar rights as married couples - but without the legal title.

In an unusual move, Bermuda has abolished same-sex marriage less than a year after it was legalised, replacing same-sex unions with domestic partnerships.

"While the majority of Bermudians do not agree with same-sex marriage," according to a statement on the government's website, "it is the Government's belief that this Act addresses this position while also complying with the European Courts by ensuring that recognition and protection for same sex couples are put in place.

"The Act is intended to strike a fair balance between two currently irreconcilable groups in Bermuda, by restating that marriage must be between a male and a female while at the same time recognising and protecting the rights of same-sex couples."

The British government said it disapproved of the move but couldn't rightfully intervene, and critics called it a dark day for civil rights.

"This is not equality," Joe Gibbons, a gay Bermudian who is married to his partner, told The Guardian. "And the British government has obviously just said, 'This is not our fight.' "

A spokesman for British Prime Minister Theresa May said Britain was "seriously disappointed" by the new law, the Associated Press reported. But, the spokesman said, the bill "has been democratically passed by the Parliament of Bermuda, and our relationship with the overseas territories is based on partnership and respect for their right to democratic self-government".
Washington: The US government entered a partial shutdown as Congress missed a midnight deadline to pass spending legislation because of a Republican senator's objections, but the lapse may last only a few hours as the House and Senate planned to vote early on Friday morning (US time).

The Senate was waiting until 1 am to take a procedural vote because Republican Rand Paul denied the unanimous consent needed to act sooner. The Senate then could pass the bill at about 2 am, and the House of Representatives planned to follow sometime between 3 and 6 am, if not earlier.

Once known as the party of fiscal conservatism, Republicans, who added an estimated $US1.5 trillion ($A2.1 trillion) to the national debt in December, have triggered for another government shutdown, albeit a short one.

Paul has delayed the US Senate action on a budget deal meant to avert another government shutdown, objecting to $US300 billion in new deficit spending.

In Thursday evening remarks on the Senate floor, the senator said the bill would "loot the Treasury".
Manila: The International Criminal Court said on Thursday that it was opening a preliminary investigation into accusations that President Rodrigo Duterte and other Philippine officials had committed crimes against humanity in the course of the government's deadly crackdown on drugs.

Fatou Bensouda, a prosecutor for the international court, said in a statement that the inquiry would gauge whether there was enough evidence to build a case. She said she would be looking at events since July 1, 2016, "in the context of the 'war on drugs' campaign."

Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands. Credit:AP

"My office undertakes this work with full independence and impartiality," Bensouda said. "As we do, we hope to count on the full engagement of the relevant national authorities in the Philippines."

Harry Roque, a spokesman for the Philippine president, said that the government's crackdown was a "legitimate police operation" and that the president welcomed The Hague-based tribunal's decision.
Paris: At first, it is unclear why curators at the Louvre chose to squeeze the 31 paintings into two small rooms. Dutch landscapes sit next to German portraits. Depictions of feasts, Roman ruins, a small child with a goat seem to collide.

What ties these pieces together is not style, school or subject, but a singular history. All were looted or bought by German occupiers during World War II, then recovered and brought back to France when the conflict ended.

While France has returned tens of thousands of looted artworks and other objects to their rightful owners, many remain orphaned, including these paintings, which until recently hung in the museum's regular exhibition spaces, with only a small bit of explanatory text on their descriptive plaques.

"It seemed to us that if we didn't create a permanent space, we were operating as we used to in the past," said Sebastien Allard, director of the paintings department at the Louvre, which opened a dedicated space for looted works in December. Although museums are often suspected of wanting to keep the pieces, Allard said, "our goal is clearly to return everything that we can."
PHILIPSBURG:--- Last week during the visit of Rotary District Governor Robert Leger and his wife Rosa, the Rotary Club of St. Maarten-Mid Isle donated 75 pieces of school uniforms to SJIB (Stichting justitiele Inrichtingen Bovenwinden). These uniforms were given to children of Martin Luther King School, Prins Willem Alexander School, Marie Genevieve de Weever School, Oranje School, Sr. Borgia Primary, and St. Maarten Vocational Training School.

The SJIB-Probation Department occupies a unique and central position in the St. Maarten justice structure. It is the only department that is in contact with the offender throughout the different stages of the criminal justice process. The department is the one justice system partner that regularly collaborates with all stakeholders as an offender moves through the system. To carry out its multiple responsibilities, the department functions in partnership with the systems diverse stakeholders, including law enforcement; the courts; prosecutors; defense attorneys; community-based organizations; mental health, drug and alcohol rehabilitators and other service providers; advocacy groups, the community; victims; and the probationer.

The objective is to contribute to a safer society by guiding and supporting clients to not commit any further offenses. The department uses its extensive knowledge and experience to advise the judge and the Public Prosecutors office about the risks of recurrence of a clients criminal behavior, as well as to influence and change criminal and negative behavior with the aim of preventing recurrences of criminal behavior.

The Probation Department, like its counterparts, protects the community by providing sanctions, interventions, social guidance and services to adult offenders ordered onto probation or parole by the court, prosecutors office or Minister of Justice. The Probation & Rehabilitation Department produces reports and recommendations to the court, the Parole Board and the Minister of Justice and carries out orders from judicial authorities by monitoring probationers and parolees behavior in the community, identifying and coordinating treatment and other interventions, and execution of re-socialization projects.

The Rotary Club of St. Maarten-Mid Isle presently meets Tuesdays at 7 pm at Pineapple Pete in Simpson Bay. For more information please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit our facebook page Rotary.
~Relatives claim that Dr. Luc Mercelina declared their relative as a vegetable prematurely~

PHILIPSBURG:--- Relatives of Ramon Gumbs are at their wits ends now that the St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) management has decided that their disabled relative can no longer be housed at the countrys hospital.

Larissa Brooks, sister of Ramon Gumbs said that her brother was stabbed multiple times while incarcerated at the Pointe Blanche prison. Ever the incident she said her brother has been hospitalized both on St. Maarten and the Dominican Republic.

Ms. Brooks said that her brother was injured while in governments care and government has to take full responsibility for her disabled brother since the family does not have a place for him to live since her home was destroyed by hurricane Irma. My brother was stabbed multiple times on February 14th, 2017 while at the Pointe Blanche prison and it is my opinion that the government of St. Maarten is fully responsible for him, they have to provide a home and all other needs including medical care. When my brother was arrested he was a healthy man and today government wants to burden the family that is basically homeless with a disabled person.

Brooks said her brother returned to St. Maarten on April 3rd, 2017 and it was then doctor Luc Mercelina told the family that Gumbs would no longer be able to do anything for himself and that he would remain a vegetable. She said that with determination the family decided that they would take care of Gumbs even though he was hospitalized. She said the family fed Gumbs and they started to do some form of therapy with him even though they are not medically trained for that. Brooks further explained that doctors and staff at SMMC were surprised when they saw the progress Gumbs made and the family then requested that an MRI be done on Gumbs' head and it was then they discovered that Gumbs had fluid in the skull and was sent back to the Dominican Republic for it to be drained. Brooks said that her brother went to the Dominican Republic in August 2017 and returned late September 2017 with a pump in his head to drain the fluid.

The young woman said that the doctors in the Dominican Republic made clear that Gumbs has to receive therapy in order for him to regain his health. She said ever since Gumbs returned he has not received not one day of therapy and even though Dr. Merclina declared him as a vegetable her brother is now able to get on his wheelchair, he is able to feed himself and help himself in many ways. Ms. Brooks said if her brother was receiving the much-needed therapy he would have been walking by now because with their help he is what he is today. The young woman said that the former Minister of Justice Rafael Boasman promised to assist her brother financially should they find an apartment for him, however, the family said they did everything humanly possible even writing letters to the Minister of Health and Social Affairs Emil Lee and to date Lee has not responded to their desperate plea for a meeting. Brooks said that the current Interim Government is telling them they have no knowledge of her brothers case even though the former Minister of Justice made several verbal promises to them.

Ms. Brooks further explained that her brother is not receiving proper care at SMMC she said her brother was in a room and the nurses would not respond to him when he calls them, they said many times they would find Gumbs with vomit on his clothing and when they would ask the nurses their excuses is the bell in the room was not working, all of this they said they wrote to Minister Lee and up to this day they have not received a phone call or any other form of response from Lee.

Brooks further explained that the White and Yellow Cross claim they do not have a place for Gumbs and that they have a long list of people waiting for space. She said the family even asked for Gumbs to be transferred to Curacao where he could get the care he needs in order for him to walk again but to date, nothing was done by SMMC or SZV for Gumbs to leave St. Maarten.

The family said even Gumbs medical card will soon expire and SZV and SMMC are still debating who is responsible for Gumbs now that he has already served his prison sentence.

The other family members also expressed their disgust at some of the things they witnessed at the SMMC while visiting Gumbs one incident that is still vivid is when the late Jacques Monsanto was refused admittance at SMMC even though he was bleeding profusely while being wheeled out from SMMC by his wife.
GREAT BAY (DCOMM)  On Tuesday, February 6, 2018, the Ministry of Finance of the Government of Sint Maarten organized a Round Table Conference Sustainable Financial Government, with the Netherlands, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Committee for Financial Supervision of Curacao and Sint Maarten Cft.

The goal of this conference was to get all parties together and have an open dialogue on the way forward to a financial sustainable Sint Maarten and how progress can be achieved in bringing relief to the people of Sint Maarten in the short term.

The main topics discussed was the issue of liquidity support to the government of Sint Maarten, the application of 550 million euro made available by the Netherlands, the benefits of using the professional services offered by the World Bank and the IMF, in collaboration with the Cft.

Progress has been made in getting clarity with regards to the completion of the 2017 and 2018 budget process.

The Conference was attended by the Dutch Project Director General of Reconstruction for the Windward Islands, Hans Leijtens, Head of the Representation of the Netherlands in Philipsburg, Chris Johnson, representatives of the World Bank, IMF, Cft and the Government of Sint Maarten.

Representing Sint Maarten were the Minister of Finance, Michael Ferrier, with members of his Cabinet, the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Finance, Arno Peels and support staff, the Secretary-General of the Ministry of General Affairs, Hensley Plantijn and civil servants from the Department of Foreign Relations.

The conference was moderated by former Minister of Justice and Chairman of the Workgroup National Recovery Plan, Dennis Richardson.

Now that there is a shared understanding of the way forward, one of the next steps is for Prime Minister Leona Romeo Marlin and the Minister of Finance Michael Ferrier to visit the Netherlands to continue these discussions and to strengthen the relationships between the two Kingdom partners.

Both the Dutch and Sint Maarten delegations are very pleased with the level of progress made in charting the way forward.

Minister Ferrier and Project Director General Leijtens thanked all participants for their contribution to the open dialogue and clear communication. They look forward to further collaborations on the different levels to expedite the progress.
PHILIPSBURG:--- Former Prime Minister William Marlin on Thursday attempted to clear the air on what he says are outright lies being planted in the community by members of the United Democrats to gain political mileage in the run-up to snap parliamentary elections.

Marlin made clear that his intention is to simply correct the lies being peddled by the party to gain sympathy from the electorate.

Members of the party have been using issues such as the container at the border, the 2017 St. Maarten Day wreath-laying photo op, and the Oyster Pond issue to claim that he is at odds with French St. Martin.

UDs attempts to give the impression that Marlin has been and is at odds with the French side has no basis and is a lame attempt by that party to try to divide the people. And you cant divide people and think you have conquered the same people. When you try to win an election by diving people, you cant rule those same people because youve created a division, he said.

What they are trying to perpetrate with their lies is the height of nonsense, Marlin said noting that not only is his wife deeply rooted in French St. Martin, but he has a personal relationship with hundreds of French nationals dating back from since he was a school principal and 50% of his students were from the French side.

When politicians cannot say something negative about a persons performance and about their work, they resort to planting hollow statements.

He said despite the fact that the correct information had been presented in the past, one of the partys candidates continues to say that he placed a container at the border to create a rift between the two sides. This is absolutely not true, Marlin said adding that former Minister of Justice Rafael Boasman had already made it clear that Marlin had nothing to do with this as the decision to place the container at the border after hurricane Irma was made by the police management in an attempt to stem the transport of stolen cards from the Dutch to the French side.

Another lie that he says continues to be peddled is false statements that government did not show up at the border for wreath laying on St. Maarten Day 2017. Marlin said the cultural representatives from the two sides of the island had agreed to make the focus of last years St. Maarten Day, a celebration on the history and culture of the people, and show that there is no difference between the two sides, signifying that a person does not stop being a St. Maartener/St. Martiner when they cross the border. Neither authority had planned a wreath-laying ceremony at the border. However, Marlin understood that while the French side delegation had been travelling to participate in an event at the Government Building on the Dutch side, they received a call from the son of a senior member of the Democratic Party, to join them for a photo op at the frontier and the French officials stopped and took the photo and then continued on their way. The entire thing was cooked up, just like the break up of the government, Marlin said noting that this explains why only members of the Coalition of 8 were present, including the then DP Minister.

Why would the Government of St. Maarten invite the French government to a celebration at the Government Building but snob them at a wreath laying. Thats another hoax they to create a rift.

Marlin is also being accused of creating a problem over the Oyster Pond matter. He said while it is one island with one people, there is colonial division between the two sides. Also, while the Sea Border Demarcation Treaty between the two sides was negotiated, concluded and was eventually signed off on in 2017; the Land Border Demarcation Treaty is not yet concluded.

When authorities were preparing for land demarcation talks, French officials went to Captain Olivers and arrested the owner and manager, took them to Marigot and informed them that they had been breaking French laws as they had been repairing the marina against French regulation and that they should be paying taxes. I vehemently protested when this happened, Marlin said

While Captain Olivers had bought land on the French side, his restaurant and marina are in Dutch waters and he had received a permit and license from the Dutch side (former Antillean Government) and had been paying taxes on the Dutch side.

While we are one people and for us one island, legally we are the French St. Martin, which falls under Franceand Dutch St. Maarten which falls under the DutchKingdom and we have a separate regulations. When William Marlin took the oath for office, it was an oath to defend St. Maarten and its 16 square miles of this 37 square mile island and if the other side encroaches and claims something that isnt theirs, am I not supposed to defend my territory?

Marlin said the French authorities were wrong and he protested as agreements had been made that the status quo would be observed until the land border demarcation treaty has been finalised.

If we dont react, then one of these days they will claim properties near Belvedere and will claim that Belvedere belongs to the French side and will claim Diamond Estate. This is what triggered that discussion.

Marlin said despite his protest, immediately after the hurricane, he had contacted the Director-General in Brussel for the European Union who agreed to make funds available for joint cooperation projects between the French and Dutch sides and he agreed and had subsequently contacted President of the Collectivite Daniel Gibbs on the matter and made a call for the technical persons on both sides to look into possible joint projects such as possibly the cleaning of the lagoon.

The Causeway is also being used to create false impressions. Marlin said he had referred to the Causeway as the bridge to nowhere when it was being built because it did not solve the traffic bottlenecks. This is evident with the traffic that backs up all the way to the Airport in Simpson Bay and in the area of Cole Bay in the afternoons. This is when Marlin came up with the idea to build a tunnel and some Chinese investors had agreed to build, own and operate the tunnel, which would have significantly eased the traffic bottlenecks that existed. These are the facts, Marlin said urging the populace to not be misled by the misconceptions being planted in the community in the run-up to elections.
Qualcomm rejects Broadcom hostile bid, opens door to talks



San Francisco, Feb 8 (AFP) Feb 08, 2018



Qualcomm on Thursday rejected a record $121 billion hostile bid from computer chip rival Broadcom but offered to meet with the Singapore-based firm to discuss the recently increased offer.

The California-based group said in a letter to Broadcom that the latest offer unveiled earlier this week "materially undervalues Qualcomm" and does not take into account the possibility of a failure to win regulatory approval.

The letter from Qualcomm chairman Paul Jacobs to Broadcom chief executive Hock Tan however opened the door to talks to discuss "the significant issues that remain unaddressed" in the hostile proposal.

The Qualcomm board "has unanimously determined that your amended offer materially undervalues Qualcomm and falls well short of the firm regulatory commitment the board would demand given the significant downside risk of a failed transaction," Jacobs said in his letter.

"However, the board is committed to exploring all options for maximizing shareholder value, and so we would be prepared to meet with you to allow you to explain how you would attempt to bridge these gaps."

The move comes three days after Broadcom boosted its offer to $82 a share to create a global giant in the chipmaking sector, a deal worth some $146 billion including assumed debt.

Jacobs said the offer "raises more questions than it answers" and also fails to address the planned takeover by Qualcomm -- the dominant producer of chips for mobile devices -- of Dutch manufacturer NXP.

"What is the true highest price at which you would be prepared to acquire Qualcomm? Is it $82 per share or is it higher?" Jacobs said.

The letter said the bid "ascribes no value" to NXP or to Qualcomm's plans to roll out new devices for the fifth generation of wireless networks known as 5G.

"Your proposal is inferior relative to our prospects as an independent company and is significantly below both trading and transaction multiples in our sector," the Qualcomm chairman wrote.



- Broadcom's move to US -



Broadcom made its first offer on November 6 following a visit by its CEO to the White House, where he met President Donald Trump and announced plans to move the tech company back to the United States from Singapore.

If completed, the deal would be the largest-ever in the tech sector and create a powerful player in the booming sector fueled by growth in smartphones and an array of connected devices from cars to wearables.

Any merger deal would need to pass muster with regulators in the United States and other markets.

Broadcom, which has begun a process to reincorporate in the United States, called its sweetened bid on Monday its "best and final offer."

The rich offer puts pressure on Qualcomm, which is set to hold its annual shareholders meeting next month.

In a letter to Qualcomm board members this week, Tan called the offer "extremely compelling compared to any other alternative available to Qualcomm" and called on the board to open talks on the proposal.

But he said the deal would be off the table if it fails to win shareholder approval.

In December, Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf argued there was "no real path to value" with Broadcom.
Waymo, Uber end trade secrets theft trial with settlement



San Francisco, Feb 9 (AFP) Feb 09, 2018



Waymo and Uber announced an agreement Friday in the blockbuster federal lawsuit over allegedly stolen trade secrets from the former Google self-driving car project.

The agreement ends a trial between two Silicon Valley rivals competing in a race to develop autonomous cars after four days of testimony before a federal judge in San Francisco.

According to a source familiar with the confidential deal, Uber agreed to a financial settlement giving the Alphabet unit 0.34 percent of Uber shares -- which would be some $244 million based on Uber's valuation of $72 billion.

Uber also agreed not to use any of Waymo's technology for autonomous driving as part of the settlement.

Waymo said in a statement: "We have reached an agreement with Uber that we believe will protect Waymo's intellectual property now and into the future. We are committed to working with Uber to make sure that each company develops its own technology."

Uber chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi said in a separate statement that "while we do not believe that any trade secrets made their way from Waymo to Uber ... we are taking steps with Waymo to ensure our Lidar and software represents just our good work."

The trial so far included testimony from former Uber chief executive Travis Kalanick, who denied a conspiracy to steal trade secrets in a tense two-day court appearance.



- High-stakes trial -







Alphabet's Waymo division was seeking at least $1 billion over the theft of secrets from its self-driving car program in the trial before federal judge William Alsup.

If the case had gone to the jury and Waymo had prevailed, it would have dealt a severe blow to Uber's efforts to widely deploy self-driving vehicles as part of its ridesharing operations -- a field that also includes Waymo and other rivals.

Waymo had alleged Uber conspired with former Google engineer Anthony Levandowski, who had been accused of downloading thousands of proprietary documents before leaving the company and ending up at Uber.

Levandowski, who was on the list as a possible witness, left Google for his own startup called Otto, which was later acquired by Uber.

The case hinged on Waymo's ability to show not only that Levandowski had taken Google's private source code, but that Uber had used it improperly to catch up with rivals.

Khosrowshahi said in a statement he regretted the handling of the Levandowski matter, which occurred before he took over as CEO last year.

"My job as Uber's CEO is to set the course for the future of the company: innovating and growing responsibly, as well as acknowledging and correcting mistakes of the past," he said.

"In doing so, I want to express regret for the actions that have caused me to write this letter."

He added, "To our friends at Alphabet: we are partners, you are an important investor in Uber, and we share a deep belief in the power of technology to change people's lives for the better. Of course, we are also competitors."

The settlement comes with Uber seeking to turn the page following a series of scandals over alleged misconduct and a cut-throat workplace culture, as new chief executive Khosrowshahi strives to prepare for a stock market debut in 2019.

"While I cannot erase the past, I can commit, on behalf of every Uber employee, that we will learn from it, and it will inform our actions going forward," Khosrowshahi said.

"I've told Alphabet that the incredible people at Uber ATG are focused on ensuring that our development represents the very best of Uber's innovation and experience in self-driving technology."

Uber, which is the world's biggest ride-hailing service, is seeking to be a major player in autonomous cars and has ordered an estimated 24,000 cars from Volvo for its project set to launch in the coming years.

Waymo is deploying its own self-driving rideshare program at the same time and has ordered "thousands" of vehicles from Fiat Chrysler for its service.

The sector also includes most major automakers, technology platforms and ride services such as Lyft.
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Iraqi Kurds accused of carrying out 'mass executions'



Baghdad, Feb 9 (AFP) Feb 09, 2018



Human Rights Watch on Friday accused Iraqi Kurdish security forces of carrying out mass executions of detainees alleged to be members of the Islamic State jihadist group.

The watchdog said the Kurdish peshmerga fighters detained Iraqis and foreigners at a school in Sahel al-Maliha, 70 kilometres (45 miles) northwest of second city Mosul, from which IS was expelled in July.

"The evidence suggests that Asayish (Kurdish) security forces conducted mass executions of captured ISIS (IS) suspects night after night for a week, perhaps killing scores or even hundreds of male detainees," said Lama Fakih, HRW's deputy Middle East director.

"Iraqi and KRG (Kurdish Regional Government) authorities should urgently and transparently investigate the allegations of mass executions and hold those responsible to account," she said in a statement.

The executions allegedly occurred between August 28 and September 3.

Questioned about the report by HRW, Iraqi Kurd government official Dindar Zebari denied the accusations.

Zebari said that according to the head of the Asayish, the peshmerga were battling IS on a 71-kilometre front line as the jihadists attempted to flee to Syria.

During the clashes, many IS and peshmerga fighters died, and "the corpses of the killed ISIS members in this fighting were probably brought in one place to be buried", he was quoted as saying.

The front line is located about 40 kilometres from the site at which the bodies were found, said HRW, casting doubt on his account.

"This explanation does not match the state the bodies were found in, shot in the head" and buried "in a solitary desert area, far from where any fighting had occurred," said the watchdog.
N. Korea confirms dismissal of top military general



Seoul, Feb 9 (AFP) Feb 09, 2018



North Korea state media on Friday confirmed the sacking of the country's military chief Hwang Pyong So, after Southern reports said he had been fired for corruption.

The North's KCNA news agency, reporting on a military parade in Pyongyang the previous day, introduced armed forces minister Kim Jong Gak as vice marshal and director of the military's General Political Bureau -- a post previously held by Hwang.

The General Political Bureau is the North's most powerful military body, in charge of assigning officers to posts and keeping ideological control over its estimated 1.3 million troops.

Hwang had been dismissed following an inspection into the bureau and sent to a party school for re-education, the South's National Intelligence Service said earlier this week. News reports said Hwang was caught taking bribes.

North Korea's military generals, high-ranking officials and even members of the ruling Kim family are subject to periodic purges under the rule of leader Kim Jong Un.

The nuclear-armed North is on an Olympics-linked charm offensive, sending athletes, a troupe of performers, hundreds of female cheerleaders, the ceremonial head of state and even Kim's sister to South Korea.

But the military parade in Pyongyang on Thursday added to critics' doubts in the South over the sudden rapprochement, which follows a series of weapons tests.
Pro-Iranian militia used US Abrams tanks in Syria: Pentagon



Washington, Feb 9 (AFP) Feb 09, 2018



US Abrams tanks sold to Iraq have been used by a pro-Iranian paramilitary group in fighting against the Islamic State group in Syria, the Pentagon said Friday.

The tanks, however, were later returned to the Iraqi military, Pentagon spokesman Eric Pahon said.

M1 Abrams tanks have been sold to Iraq over the past decade, Pahon said, but Washington "has not provided defense articles to the Shia Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), which are part of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) by law."

The PMF, or Hashed al-Shaabi, is a paramilitary group with close ties to Tehran, and was actively engaged in combat against the IS in Syria.

"We have discovered incidents where some US origin equipment, including M1 Abrams tanks, came into the possession of certain PMF groups. This equipment was subsequently used by these groups" in the fight against the IS jihadists.

"All of these tanks were recently returned to Iraqi Security Forces custody," Pahon said.

The Islamic State group, composed of Sunni extremists, seized large parts of Iraq and neighboring Syria in 2014, declaring a cross-border "caliphate" and committing widespread atrocities.

Backed by a US-led coalition, Iraqi forces have gradually retaken all territory lost to the jihadists.

Iraq's parliament considers the PMF to be a state force operating within the framework of the constitution.

The various forces within the Hashed -- established in 2014 following a religious call for Shiites to take up arms against IS jihadists -- have between 60,000 and 140,000 fighters.

Washington remains wary of Tehran's influence over those units.

"We will continue to screen and vet all forces that receive US-origin defense equipment ... to ensure that this equipment remains in the possession of the designated end-user," Pahon said.

The spokesman also denied press reports that the Abrams manufacturer, General Dynamics, had canceled its maintenance contract with Iraq.

"The Abrams maintenance program for the Iraqi Security Forces remains active," Pahon said.

sl/ch/jm
Airbus to pay 81 mn euros to end German corruption probe



Frankfurt am Main, Feb 9 (AFP) Feb 09, 2018



European aircraft manufacturer Airbus on Friday said it had agreed to pay a fine of 81.25 million euros ($99 million) to end a German corruption probe into the 2003 sale of Eurofighter jets to Austria.

Prosecutors in Munich said in a statement that their investigation did not find evidence of bribery to secure the lucrative contract.

But they said Airbus management had failed in its supervisory duty by allowing employees to make multi-million-euro payments linked to the deal for "unclear purposes".

The firm said in its own statement it had accepted the fine, meaning that the probe first opened in 2012 "has been terminated".

But its legal woes are far from over.

Authorities in Austria are still investigating whether bribes were paid to land the two-billion-euro sale of 18 Eurofighter jets to Vienna.

And the Austrian government last year launched a lawsuit against the company, seeking up to 1.1 billion euros in damages over the Eurofighter purchases.

It accuses Airbus, previously called EADS, of deliberately hoodwinking Vienna over the order, overcharging it to make up for kickbacks and other shady expenses linked to winning the contract.

Current Airbus chief Tom Enders was head of the EADS defence division that negotiated the contract at the time.

The corruption probes in Germany and Austria, as well separate graft investigations in Britain and France, have long cast a pall over one of Europe's most successful and best known companies.

Airbus announced in December that embattled Enders would not seek reappointment when his current term ends in April 2019.



- 'Major efforts' to do better -



The Eurofighter Typhoon is a major prestige product for the European defence industry, with some 500 aircraft delivered so far to Germany, Britain, Italy and Spain, as well as to Austria and Saudi Arabia.

The four founding nations in the consortium -- Germany, Spain, Britain and Italy -- all use the planes in their own air forces. Other contracts have been signed with Oman and Kuwait.

Austria was the first country outside the consortium to sign up.

But allegations of graft soon began swirling around the deal.

A first probe was set up in Austria in 2007 and led to the suspension of the then air force chief following revelations that his wife's company had been paid 87,600 euros by a lobbyist.

In 2012, Austrian and German authorities then launched probes to investigate whether officials had been paid millions of euros through advisory firms to secure the contract.

A spokesman for the prosecutor's office in Vienna told Austria's APA news agency that it could not yet say when its investigation would be completed.

The prosecutors in Germany meanwhile said Airbus had fully cooperated with their probe and had improved its internal controls since 2012, "which is why there is reason to believe such events could not happen again".

Airbus also said it had made "major efforts" to bolster its compliance procedures.

Separately, Britain's Serious Fraud Office and French prosecutors are investigating Airbus for suspected corruption in its UK-based civil aviation arm.

The probes were opened last year after Airbus raised suspicions itself over irregular transactions.

Airbus has since warned that the British and French investigations into possibly irregular payments via middlemen could have a "material impact" on its profits and businesses.

bur-mfp/ach
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Out, Out, Out! Brexiteers Are Driving Britain into a Wall

Unrepentant pro-Brexit politicians like Boris Johnson are pushing the UK government to take a hardline approach to the country's divorce from the European Union. Their tactics reveal their deep-seated cynicism -- and the extent to which they are harming the country.
Lady In Black The German Woman at the Center of the Manafort Case

A German national appears prominently in the investigation into the possible Russian contacts made by Donald Trump's associates. Did she serve as the strawman for illegal lobbying in the United States?
H&H Land & Property welcomes the introduction of a new grants scheme from DEFRA which promises to provide support for farmers in need of new equipment. The scheme is open to all farmers, including livestock, dairy, arable and horticultural sectors, and will provide up to 40% of the purchase price of an item, for claims of between 3000 - 12000.

Known as The Countryside Productivity Small Grant Scheme, bidding for grants opened on 7th February and must be submitted by midday on the 14th March 2018.

The list of eligible equipment which is available under this small grant funding scheme is extensive and for livestock farmers includes, fixed and mobile (cattle, pig and sheep) handling systems, cattle crushes, squeeze bars, calving detectors, scales, sheep handlers and EID readers. Dairy farmers can look to secure funding for a range of technical equipment including specialist foot trimming crushes and calving detectors and heat detection equipment. Arable farmers can look for support for GPS precision farming equipment and Seed drills amongst those items listed.

Tim Sedgewick, Associate at H&H Land and Property in Durham says:

This scheme provides an opportunity for farmers to gain funding for a wide variety of equipment. It is likely to be an extremely popular scheme, hence the small claim window. We advise those thinking about purchasing equipment to investigate this grant scheme as soon as possible.

Tim adds. The small print in the application process means that everything has to be documented correctly. You must check your Rural Payments record before you apply to make sure the details are up to date. The details on Rural Payments must exactly match the details you give in your application form. If they dont, the application will be rejected.

We as a company have an enviable track record of securing grant funding on behalf of farming clients over many years. We have also worked with equipment suppliers in the past to the benefit of their customers.
The event, held every two years, is organised by NSA Scotland, and the venue is Kings Arms Farm at Ballantrae in South Ayrshire where host farmers, Robert and Caroline Dalrymple, along with long-time farm manager, Andrew McLean, run a flock of 1400 ewes with all lambs, except replacement ewe lambs, finished on the farm.

Plans for NSA Scotsheep 2018 are well advanced and the organising committee is hard at work putting together an exciting programme of events on the day, reports organiser, Euan Emslie, secretariat of NSA Scotland.

I would urge prospective exhibitors to get in touch with me right away to book space and ensure a good site. Closing date for applications is February 28.

Organisation is in the hands of a local committee under the chairmanship of George Allan, secretary of the Scotch Mule Association, and Mr Emslie will be happy to provide further information and application forms for trade stands and breed society exhibits. Euan can be contacted on 01430 441870 / 07718 908523.

The reputation of the sheep flock at Kings Arms Farm, which comprises 1000 Texel x Mule ewes and 400 Scotch Mule ewes, is sure to prove a big draw for the thousands of sheep farmers from throughout Scotland and the North of England expected to attend.
The Animal and Plant Health Agency, Defra, Scottish Government, Welsh Government and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland are working together to run a national foot and mouth disease simulation exercise called Exercise Blackthorn.

While the risk of foot and mouth disease arriving in the UK remains low, the aim of Exercise Blackthorn is to test all current contingency plans for a national outbreak of the disease. It will establish the current state of readiness whilst identifying issues and improvements in policies, plans, instructions, structures and recovery procedures employed in managing an outbreak.

The Exercise will simulate a medium to large scale outbreak that has spread from England to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The first simulation exercise is 8 February 2018 where suspicion of foot and mouth disease is simulated. A further table-top exercise will take place on 8 March 2018 followed by a real-time exercise on 25 and 26 April 2018. Exercise Blackthorn will end on 7 June 2018 in a final table-top exercise where the simulated outbreak will be investigated to the point of disease eradication and recovery aspects considered.
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.
Jan Tinetti

Labour MP

Its no secret - I love babies!



It was wonderful to hear of the safe arrival of Simon and Natalie Bridges baby girl just prior to Christmas, followed by the announcement that our PM Jacinda Ardern is expecting her first child in June.



Jacinda will make a great mum.



She is kind, caring and patient - all qualities she has shown me during my first few months as a new MP.



Babies are an important part of life and it is great to see the new babies of two of my fellow MPs being welcomed at parliament so that their mothers can bond with them during those crucial first months



In true Kiwi style, many have already picked up the knitting needles. Heather McCracken, a Kiwi woman living in the US, has started #KnitforJacinda and has asked people to donate their knitted items to Kidz First Hospital at Aucklands Middlemore Hospital.



Retailer Spotlight has also jumped on board. Arent Kiwis great?



Jacinda is delighted that people want to knit for her baby.



She sees it as a great opportunity to provide for babies in need and has asked knitters to send her a photo of their donated items.



From March 1 you can drop items into my Tauranga office at 1356 Cameron Road, and I will ensure that they get to needy local babies and their families and that Jacinda gets a photo of all donated items.



Thanks Tauranga!
Bay of Plenty

We are looking for a storeman with an OSH forklift license. You will need to be physically for as the job is about 70% forklift...



View or Apply on GoodWork.co.nz
Young people in the Bay of Plenty, particularly Maori and Pasefika, are at risk of missing out on vital career advice as Tertiary Education Commission considers closing its regional offices.

The Commission, which took over the functions of Careers New Zealand last year, has announced proposals to centralise its functions to Christchurch, Wellington, Auckland and Whangarei.

This means the Tauranga office, alongside offices in Hamilton, Napier, Palmerston North, Nelson, and Dunedin would close, with potential job losses. More services will be delivered online.

Members are particularly concerned that the TECs proposed organisational change will result in a substantial loss of careers and tertiary education knowledge, skills and expertise.

"We believe young people and the regions will miss out if these proposed changes go ahead," says PSA national secretary Erin Polaczuk.

"The Commission says it wants to be the definitive source of careers information in Aotearoa New Zealand, but these plans will see a loss of expertise in that area.

The PSA understands the proposed structure does not have specific Maori- or Pasefika-related roles.

"Getting rid of specific Maori- and Pasefika-related positions could also harm the opportunity for rangatahi to get good advice about their career and education options - which would be a disaster."

The PSA plans to make submissions as part of the change process, but it is urging the government to take leadership.

"The Labour government has pledged to strengthen our regional economies by basing more public services in our smaller cities, and working more collaboratively with communities and different stakeholders.

"These proposals could do the exact opposite.

"We are calling on the government to make good on its promises - and invest in our young people."
A call for the city council to get a better grip on tourism management is being made by Tourism Bay of Plenty CEO Kristin Dunne.

We will have 100,000 more visitors coming through the port next season, says Kristin. We are going from 83 ships to 113 - so the growth in tourism is happening in spite of us, and we need to get in front and manage it, or it is going to start managing us.

Other regions are really suffering. Its not a positon that I want us to get into.

Shes commenting at Wednesdays meeting of the City Transformation Committee on the draft Tauranga Urban Strategy, which is going for public consultation on how the ratepayers will deal with the issues arising from a fast changing city.

We are really excited about having a master plan we can be contributing towards, says Kristin. As you know we have built our own plan to meet the aspirations of the city. And I think what is critical for us from a tourism perspective is to have those insights that we are missing.

On any given day we can double the population in certain areas of the city and at any given time of the year and I dont think at the moment that we are adequately planning for that influx of growth, because we simply dont understand what it is.

We dont know how many people are here why are they here, what more they would like to see. That insight is critical for tourism Bay of Plenty being able to contribute to the plan in any really meaningful way.

We understand that amenity can be for both visitors and residents alike, but what are the visitors calling for as well as what the residents are calling for.

We are wanting Tauranga to be an internationally competitive city and that means we have a lot of international visitors coming here. Clearly the biggest barrier to that at the moment is hotels.

And Im pretty sure when we get the data through on the number of visitors here well be able to improve our business cases much more effectively on how many people are visiting museums, how much they are prepared to pay - all those questions we think we know the answer to, but we dont really, is fundamental I think to making this successful.

It would be great to do a bit more place making work and whats our story so these developments dont just happen from a developmental and infrastructure perspective, but they are happening to create a place and tell a story. We have got some building blocks for that already but I think we could pick up on and use, make sure that the cultural heart of this isnt lost as well.

The cruise ship tourists spending is $60m, says Kristin. Second to Auckland but much higher than any of the other ports.

What would be great to see along with that spend is how many people, where are they coming from, and who do we want to actively target going forward. To run a sector without understanding that information is not effective.

Tourism spending for Bay of Plenty is $1.8 billion for the year ended November 2017, according to MBIE figures. Tourists spent $154 million in the Bay of Plenty in November 2017, a month to month growth of 10 per cent.

The annual spending in Tauranga by tourists is $762m.

Committee chairman Larry Baldock says it highlights the need for the city council to progress the new visitor centre and I-port at Mount Maunganui.
New Zealand is about to become one of the first countries in the world to publicly fund an HIV prevention drug.

The medicine, brand name Truvada, currently costs $33 per day, but itll be available for under $5 for a three-month supply from March 1, meaning those at high risk of HIV have another way to protect themselves.

When taken on a daily basis by an HIV negative person, Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis will build up in the system and is extremely effective at reducing the chance of acquiring HIV through sexual contact.

Providing affordable access to PrEP for those who need it will make an enormous difference to those most at risk of HIV transmission in New Zealand. Its a giant leap forward for our ambitious goal of ending new HIV transmissions in New Zealand by 2025, says Executive Director of the New Zealand AIDS Foundation Dr Jason Myers.

Prior to this game changing development, PrEP was only available at a cost of around $1000 for 30 Truvada pills. As an economical alternative, many users have been forced to import generic versions of the drug from overseas pharmacies at a personal cost of around $50 per month.

In deciding to fund PrEP, PHARMAC has endorsed a key part of NZAFs strategic plan, seeing PrEP as a safe and effective way of preventing HIV transmission during sex, and one that could make a huge impact on the number of new HIV diagnoses in NZ, which was at its highest ever in 2016, says Jason.

Condoms have been the mainstay of our HIV prevention response for over 30 years and have played a major role in keeping HIV prevalence low by world standards.

For those who struggle with consistent condom use, which can be for a range of legitimate reason, NZAF is delighted that there will now be publicly funded access to this effective, alternative way of staying safe from HIV for those who need it.

PHARMAC sought feedback on the proposal to fund PrEP late last year and a consultation process followed.

We are also extremely heartened to see that PHARMAC took on board suggestions to expand funded PrEP access to include transgender men who are at high risk of HIV.

This is a very important step in addressing one of the health inequalities faced by trans men.
She arrived for the interview in a state of nerves. She had been unemployed for a year, as a result of the prejudice which makes it difficult for transsexuals to find work. At every attempt, she came up against the same wall. The glances, the whispers, the disapproving or condescending gestures. Finding a job began to feel like mission impossible, and she responded to any hint of empathy like a shipwreck survivor pulled onto a liferaft. That is why, when Sonia thought she detected a sense of understanding from Chica, who runs Hotel Ritual in Torremolinos, she was absolutely honest. I have no experience as a cleaner, but I'm willing to learn. I need a chance, she said. And they gave her one.

The hotel owners had already toldChica they were in favour of contracting transsexuals, a group which suffers double discrimination when they try to find work. I have been very lucky because my family have always supported me, but I know some people who feel very alone, says Sonia. Often bullied and criticised at school, the adult world can also be hellish for those who change gender. Just as you think everything is over, you start another battle, she explains.

After the interview Chica asked Sonia to take a training course which the company would pay for and then took her on in August, at the height of the tourist season. She did so well that we kept her on in the winter, she says.

The hotel has received more than 40 CVs since the agreement with ATA was announced

They are stigmatised; people can't see beyond stereotypes, says the hotel director

Sonia is employed as a cleaner in the first hotel in Spain to sign a contract guaranteeing training and jobs for transsexuals, but she knows that many others in her situation end up as prostitutes. The director of Ritual, David Taboas, has received more than 40 CVs since the agreement with the Association of Transsexuals of Andalucia (ATA) was announced recently. They are stigmatised. People can't see beyond stereotypes. Many transsexuals end up on the streets, but the situation is especially difficult when they are older, he says.

Of course I have suffered discrimination, says Sonia who before joining the Hotel Ritual had worked in a hamburger restaurant. I never wanted to do night work, in bars or discos, but I understand how difficult it is to find anything else.

She lives in Malaga city, but travels to Torremolinos every day because she hasn't been able to find a job nearer home. A report drawn up by Malaga University in 2010 showed that more than 70 per cent of transsexual people lack opportunities in finding a job, and the situation is worse for older people. The pioneering agreement between Ritual and the ATA also includes internal promotion. We want transsexuals to hold management posts, and we offer them training for that, says David Taboas.

The Hotel Ritual opened last year as a 'gay friendly' establishment. In peak season, more than 90 per cent of its clients are members of the LGTBI collective. The agreement with ATA has inadvertantly brought them even more business. We didn't expect such a response, we really didn't, says David. He points out that many businesses in Torremolinos are making major efforts for this to become an inclusive and dynamic destination again, so he is especially upset by recent comments by the former mayor and president of the local Partido Popular, Pedro Fernandez Montes, describing gay tourism, and the promotion of the town, as low class.

Our company has invested more than 22 million euros in remodelling this hotel. Now we have 70 employees, whereas before there were 30. The rooms have been revalued, with prices ranging from 50 euros to 300 a night. This is not low-class tourism at all. There used to be one grocery shop here and now there are two, and all the bars and restaurants have more clients, so we think it's a shame that the PP has not disassociated itself from those comments, says David.

The president of ATA, Mar Cambrolle, says transsexuals face apartheid when trying to find work. The association wants the Junta de Andalucia to stop looking the other way and bring the Integral Law of Transsexuality, which was approved in 2014, into force to provide tax incentives to encourage companies to employ transsexuals. Hopefully one day all this will not be necessary, says Sonia, and we will have the same opportunities as everyone else.
Health workers in La Linea de la Concepcion were in shock this week after a group of around 20 people wearing hoods and carrying sticks and knives stormed the accident and emergency department at the local hospital, removing a patient who was under arrest with a police guard.

Unions have said that the level of police protection is inadequate, not just in the hospital but also in the town overall, after a surge in activity by drug gangs recently. The area, alongside Gibraltar, has traditionally been favoured by the gangs bringing ashore drugs from north Africa.

The hooded assailants entered the hospital on Tuesday afternoon, assaulting two security guards and pushing their way through the casualty department until they found the patient. The youth was then bundled into a waiting car.

Police said that the freed man is a known offender and had been admitted to the hospital under arrest after falling off his motorbike while fleeing a police checkpoint. They say that another man who was with him when he fell but who had managed to run away told the rest of the gang, who quickly arranged for the hospital to be raided.

Two police who were guarding the prisoner were slightly wounded by the hooded gang but managed to detain one of them, while two Guardia Civil officers were also reported injured when a four-wheel-drive vehicle belonging to the gang hit them as the officers were searching the local area afterwards.

The mayor of La Linea, Juan Franco, said on Wednesday that a special action plan was needed to reinforce security in the area and also to reduce the high level of local poverty and unemployment, which, he said, was the root cause of the rising levels of drug crime.
Spain's economy minister is going to be preoccupied over the next few months - but not with the Spanish economy. Or at least not principally with the Spanish economy. After months of elliptical statements and hints, Luis de Guindos finally announced on Wednesday that he is a candidate for the Vice-Presidency of the European Central Bank (ECB), a position that becomes vacant when Portugal's Vitor Costancio steps down in May.

De Guindos really needn't have been so coy about the possibility of taking over from Constancio. It's widely known that Spain has been after top-level representation within the EU for years. More specifically, De Guindos himself has long been seeking a big job in Brussels, spurred on by never-forgotten rejections in 2012 and 2015.

In 2012, Spaniard Jose Paramo was replaced by Luxembourgian Yves Mersche on the ECB's board, although Spain had nominated another Spanish candidate. De Guindos was furious - even though he hadn't put himself forward to replace Paramo - and said that the ECB had severed a gentleman's agreement. The board's perceived snub rendered Spain the biggest eurozone country without representation at the ECB.

Three years later, in 2015, Jeroen Dijsselbloem's position as president of the Eurogroup - the collective name given to finance ministers of eurozone countries - came up for renewal. De Guindos was touted as a favourite to replace him, but his Dutch counterpart won another two-and-a-half-year term.

Dijsselbloem was replaced as Eurogroup president last month by Portugal's Mario Centeno, but Spain didn't even put forward a nominee for the position this year. In fact, the presidency wasn't contested at all, so caught up are EU countries with playing musical chairs at the ECB (president Mario Draghi is also due to be replaced late next year).

So: a position that, just two years ago, was one of the hottest jobs in the EU was this year completely forgotten about. Why? Because the EU's top politicians are busy trying to sort out problems in their own countries? No. Because they're scrabbling about for an even more substantial EU job. We all know that politicians these days are more concerned about their CVs than serving the people that elected them. The clamour for a place on the board of the ECB just proves it again.

In December 2016, De Guindos implied that it was time for him to start casting about for a new career-challenge as Spain was out of the political uncertainty spotlight. Not true. The minority conservative government to which he belongs is still mired in corruption scandals; so diluted is its power it is barely able to pass new legislation, nor budgets; and the Catalonia issue has exploded again, this time to an unprecedented extent. Yep - now definitely seems like the right time to move to the ECB, Luis.
BRUTUS, N.Y. -- A registered sex offender will serve more than half a decade in prison for trying to set his ex-girlfriend on fire in Cayuga County, officials said.

Milton K. Richardson Jr., 52, pleaded guilty Friday in Cayuga County to attempted second-degree arson. He admitted pouring oil on his then-girlfriend last summer and lighting her clothing on fire, said District Attorney Jon Budelmann.

Richardson attacked his girlfriend late in August 2017 in Brutus -- less than two months after he was released from prison, Budelmann said.

Richardson served 12 years in prison in Florida for raping a 14-year-old girl, Budelmann said. He got out of prison on July 3, 2017.

Richardson moved to Brutus with his girlfriend to live in a garage that did not have heat, electricity or running water, Budelmann said.

Richardson attacked his former girlfriend on Aug. 22, Budelmann said. Richardson poured heating oil on the woman's head and body, along with the couple's bed and floor, he said.

Richardson then set the woman's clothes on fire -- threatening to kill her and start an "inferno," Budelmann said. The woman suffered a minor burn, but was able to put out the fire, he said.

Richardson also hid the woman's phone, threatened her with an ax and crossbow, used an ax to damage her belongings and pushed her into a hot lantern, the DA said.

The woman called police on Aug. 29 when Richardson drove her to a friend's Auburn home, Budelmann said. State Police arrested Richardson the next day.

Under the plea, Richardson will serve seven years in prison and five years on parole. He must also pay restitution for damaging the woman's property, Budelmann said.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A Wednesday night traffic stop led to a drug bust of a Syracuse man found with drugs worth more than $4,000, according to the Syracuse Police Department.

Akeem Brown, 33, of 367 Oakwood Ave., was arrested with cocaine and crack cocaine worth $4,090, police said.

He faces six counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, two counts of criminal use of drug paraphernalia and various vehicle and traffic law infractions, police said.

During a traffic stop of a Chevrolet Malibu in the 900 block of South State Street, officers determined that Brown didn't have a driver's license, police said. When Brown was asked to get out of his car, an officer saw a plastic bag with cocaine and crack cocaine, police said.

Officers found 26.4 grams of crack cocaine and 14.5 grams of cocaine in the car, police said.

Brown was taken to the Onondaga County Justice Center, pending his arraignment.
What channel is the 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony on?

The festivities kick off in Pyeongchang, South Korea, at 8 p.m. local time Friday, which is early Friday morning in the U.S. As a result, the opening ceremony will be shown on television Friday night, and much of the Winter Games will also be on a tape delay.

Here's how to watch the Olympics opening ceremony:

See the event in real time through the live stream online at

Or watch the opening ceremony on TV (tape-delay) Friday at 8 p.m. ET on NBC. The West Coast "prime-time" broadcast will begin at 5 p.m.

What channel is NBC? In the Syracuse area, you can watch on the following:

Spectrum: Channel 1203 (HD), Channel 3 (Syracuse suburbs) or 4 (city of Syracuse) for non-digital customers

Verizon Fios: Channel 3 (SD) and 503 (HD)

DirecTV: Channel 3 (SD & HD)

Dish Network: Channel 3 (SD &HD)

New Visions: Channel 3 (SD) and 603 (HD)

Katie Couric and Syracuse University alumnus Mike Tirico will be hosting NBC's coverage of the 2018 Wnter Olympics opening ceremony. Tirico is replacing another SU grad, Bob Costas, as prime-time host of the PyeongChang games.

What is the opening ceremony?

Some sporting events have already begun in PyeongChang, but the Olympics officially begin with the opening ceremony, highlighted by a torch-lighting and a parade of nations. E! News reports the structure will be similar to the 2014 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony in Sochi, Russia, with appearances by heads of state, the national anthem, a parade of participants, a symbolic release of pigeons, the taking of the Olympic oath, the torch relay and lighting of the Olympic flame, and the artist program featuring South Korean performers.

Central New York native Erin Hamlin, competing in her fourth Olympic games, will have the honor of carrying the flag for Team USA at Friday's opening ceremonies. The Remsen product made history at the 2014 Sochi Olympics in Russia, becoming the first American to win an Olympic medal in luge singles with a bronze.

Team USA will be wearing red, white and blue uniforms designed by Ralph Lauren. The outfits include a parka, wool sweater, jeans, beanie hat, suede gloves and boots.

Primetime coverage of the XXIII Olympic Winter Games will continue on NBC through Feb. 16. NBC Nightly News host Lester Holt will interview athletes in South Korea, and "Today" stars Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, Al Roker, Natalie Morales, Willie Geist, Craig Melvin and Dylan Dreyer will all broadcast live from Pyeongchang.
>>> FULL RANKING: Meet the 50 highest paid state employees in Upstate NY in 2017

Don't Edit

Photo: Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com

By Ngoc Huynh | nhuynh@nyup.com

New York State employed more than 289,500 individuals in 2017, spending more than $14 billion in worker salaries. Governor Andrew Cuomo wasn't the highest compensated state employee. The names at the top of the list were those employed at colleges and hospitals of the State University of New York.

Cuomo's salary of $179,000 trailed way behind Carlos Pato, dean of SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, who earned the top state salary of $748,680.

Below, you can find the 12 highest salary for state employees in Syracuse, according to data from the New York State Comptroller's office. See the full ranking and where these workers fall on the list of 50 highest state salaries in Upstate on NYup.com.

Note: These salaries do not reflect additional pay from the SUNY Research Foundation, a private nonprofit corporation set up to support the educational purposes of SUNY. Foundation money also is used to increase the pay of some faculty and staff on SUNY campuses.

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#48 Ann S. Botash - $285,000.00

Agency: Upstate Medical University

Title: Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs & Faculty Development

Location: Syracuse

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Dick Blume | Syracuse.com

#46 Quentin D. Wheeler - $291,833.00

Agency: SUNY ESF

Title: President

Location: Syracuse

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#26 Hans P. Cassagnol - $334,340.00

Agency: Upstate University Hospital

Title: Assistant Vice President

Location: Syracuse

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#24 Sergio A. Garcia - $340,000.00

Agency: Upstate Medical University

Title: Vice President of Operations

Location: Syracuse

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#19 Anthony P. Weiss - $360,101.00

Agency: Upstate University Hospital

Title: Chief Medical Officer

Location: Syracuse

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#16 Eric J. Smith - $380,256.00

Agency: Upstate Medical University

Title: Vice President Finance and Management

Location: Syracuse

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#13 Stuart M. Wright - $399,900.00

Agency: Upstate University Hospital

Title: Chief Financial Officer

Location: Syracuse

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#12 Ramesh C. Sachdeva - $404,000.00

Agency: Upstate Medical University

Title: Vice President

Location: Syracuse

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David Lassman | Syracuse.com

#11 Danielle Laraque-Arena - $408,000.00

Agency: Upstate Medical University

Title: President

Location: Syracuse

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#4 Steven M. Scott - $525,000.00

Agency: Upstate University Hospital

Title: Interim Chief Executive Officer

Location: Syracuse

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#2 Julio Licinio - $585,000.00

Agency: Upstate Medical University

Title: Dean of the College of Medicine

Location: Syracuse

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#1 John B. McCabe - $660,500.00

Agency: Upstate University Hospital

Title: Senior Assistant President

Location: Syracuse

Note: More than a year after stepping down as CEO of SUNY Upstate University Hospital, Dr. John McCabe is still collecting an annual salary of $600,500 from the state hospital.

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Stefani Reynolds | NYup.com

READ MORE: Meet the 50 highest paid state employees in Upstate NY in 2017, ranked

Guess who makes the big salaries in Upstate NY?

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DAVENPORT, N.Y. -- Two children died early Friday when a rural Catskills house with apartments caught fire, troopers said.

Emergency responders rushed to 435-478 Dehning Road in Davenport, Delaware County at 1:46 a.m. after a fire was reported, according to a New York State Police news release.

Firefighters found a home with four apartments completely on fire with reports of two children trapped in one of the upstairs apartments, according to the Delaware County Department of Emergency Services' Facebook post.

Two children died in the fire, troopers said. The children were 1 and 3 years old, the emergency services department reported. They're names have not been released.

One adult suffered burns and was transported to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse, troopers said. The adult was not named.

Firefighters with the Davenport Fire Department, the Pindars Corners Fire Department, the Hobart Fire Department and the Kortright Fire Dept put out the fire. Troopers, the Delaware County Sheriff's Office and state fire investigators responded to the scene.

Investigators are working to determine what caused the fire.
WILMINGTON, N.Y. (AP) -- Authorities are asking anyone who saw skier Constantinos "Danny" Filippidis on Whiteface Mountain late Wednesday afternoon to call New York State Police.

Police, forest rangers and numerous other agencies have been searching for the 49-year-old Toronto firefighter since 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. He was wearing a green jacket and black helmet and was last seen by companions at 2:30. Police say he's an intermediate skier.

A massive search is underway at Whiteface for a skier missing since Wednesday. Posted by Adirondack Almanack on Friday, February 9, 2018

More than 140 people were assisting in the search on Friday.

State Police Information Officer Jennifer Fleishman says a strong snowstorm made visibility poor Wednesday afternoon.

A helicopter and search dogs assisted in the search effort Thursday.

Frank Ramagnano, spokesman for the Toronto Professional Firefighters Association, says Filippidis is part of a group of Toronto firefighters making their annual ski trip.

Filippidis is described as 5'10", 220 lbs. with brown eyes and black hair.

Anyone who may have information, or may have seen Filippidis, is asked to call the New York State Police at (518) 873-2750.
NEW YORK CITY -- Todd Howe, the star witness in the ongoing New York corruption trial, admitted on the stand today to serious misdeeds while cooperating with the government.

Howe, a former lobbyist who has pleaded guilty to eight felonies in connection with the case, admitted that he attempted to defraud a credit card company over hotel expenses he incurred during a meeting with prosecutors in this case.

Howe's indiscretion occurred after a stay at The Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan, where he was staying while helping prosecutors with their investigation into a former top governor's aide and three businessmen.

Today was Howe's fourth day of testimony in the corruption and bribery trial.

Howe began cooperating with investigators about two months after his arrest in April 2016.

He met with prosecutors multiple times, in September 2016 signing a "cooperation agreement" with prosecutors.

Howe has testified the agreement, to him, meant he was expected to tell the truth, be available to prosecutors and not commit any more crimes.

He said the agreement is one of the reasons he is testifying against his alleged co-conspirators, but took offense at a defense lawyer's suggestion his testimony was a "get-out-of-jail-free card."

In exchange for Howe holding up his end of the deal, the government has agreed to ask the judge for leniency in his sentencing. Today he acknowledged he may have lost whatever leniency the government may have intended to ask for.

A defense lawyer asked Howe about his expensive lifestyle, and apparent struggle to abandon it once he'd been charged with a crime.

Even when Howe visited New York City to meet with federal investigators, he racked up expenses: Opening a mini bar in a hotel in one instance, taking express trains instead of business class, and Ubers instead of subways, defense lawyer Dan Gitner noted.

During these trips, Gitner had Howe admit, he stayed at "fancy" hotels, including The Mark Hotel and The Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan. At least twice, he charged about $600 for one-night stays.

Read our continuing coverage of the trial

On at least one occasion after Howe had signed his cooperation agreement -- pledging to tell the truth and not commit any more crimes -- Howe called his credit company about a hotel charge and asked it to be removed, he admitted.

The lawyer suggested Howe told bank representatives he cancelled his stay at The Waldorf and needed a refund, though he had actually already stayed at the hotel. Howe agreed.

The lawyer asked whether he lied to the credit card company, "when in fact you had stayed at that fancy hotel" for a meeting with prosecutors.

Howe didn't dispute the lawyer's characterization that he "tried to defraud" the credit card company. The lawyer said he had a transcript of the call with the credit card company, and asked Howe to look at it.

"I don't recall specifics. I'm sure if you have that, that's what I did," Howe said.

The lawyer asked if Howe realized he was in violation of the cooperation agreement.

"I do, looking at this, yes," he said.

Gitner asked whether Howe thought the government would rip up the agreement.

"I sure hope not," he said.

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 -- After four days of listening to Todd Howe testify, the judge in the New York corruption case conceded the government's star witness is "not a good guy."

U.S. District Court Judge Valerie Caproni has been trying to keep the lawyers on a schedule in the bribery case against Joseph Percoco, a former top aide to Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Percoco is accused of accepting bribes from business executives, including two Syracuse developers, through a "shell company" set up by Howe.

The defense has spent hours listing the many ways Howe deceived, stole, cheated and lied. He has pleaded guilty to eight felonies in connection with the case.

When the second defense attorney reported this afternoon that he wanted another full day to question the witness, including more time to detail Howe's misdeeds, Caproni grew impatient.

"The jury is well aware that Mr. Howe is not a good guy," she said, noting his deep financial troubles that have led to more debts and wage garnishments than "anyone should have."

"Why people kept dealing with him is beyond me," Caproni said. "Why your clients got in bed with him is beyond me."

The jury was not in the courtroom during the conversation. Caproni is not presiding over the charges against Howe. A different judge will sentence him on the eight felonies.

A lawyer for one of the Syracuse defendants, Cor Development Co. CEO Steven Aeillo, piped up in response to Caproni's remarks.

Scott Iseman noted that why his client did business with Howe was a "very important question" that the defense was working hard to answer for the jury.

Iseman said the defense was trying to "demonstrate our clients were deceived as well."

The judge wasn't convinced the jury needed to hear anything more about Howe's past.

"You don't have to keep plowing. At some point you're wasting the jury's time," Caproni said. She returned to her point at the end of the day after dismissing the jury.

"Sometimes less is more," she said.

In the case of Howe, it appears there is no length he did not go to maintain a lavish lifestyle as a high-profile lobbyist.

The defense had him admit earlier in the day to wrongdoing while helping the government investigate this case.

The first lawyer to question Howe showed 27 examples of times when he broke legally binding contracts.

He admitted to lying to 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.

Howe often altered emails from business associates and friends before forwarding them on to other people.

Howe was a felon even before he was convicted in the alleged scheme for which he is testifying.

In 2010, he was convicted of fraud after he deposited an envelope stating it contained a $45,000 check. The envelope was empty. Howe admitted he was being "deceitful" and had falsified the document.

A lawyer today suggested Howe ran an ongoing scheme, in which he would lie about returning a rental car while continuing to drive it. Howe took issue with this, saying he had issues with rental companies, but whatever he did must not have been that bad because he still has a "platinum card" with Hertz.

The lawyer, Dan Gitner, also appeared to suggest Howe had been charged with a crime after failing to make a down payment on a car he purchased in his nephew's name. No evidence of a crime was introduced at trial.

Howe initially said he couldn't remember being charged with a crime. After reviewing documents produced by Gitner, Howe testified that it "looks as though" he was charged.

Read our continuing coverage of the trial

Howe struggled to recall many of his admitted or alleged misdeeds as lawyers delved into his past.

Asked whether he had wages after receiving judgments in one dispute, Howe said, "I had so many garnishments, I'm not not sure about this one."

At times, he responded to lawyers: "I don't have a clue."

"I told a lot of people a lot of lies and strung people along," he said of one alleged scheme. "No doubt this falls into that spider web of lies."

Public Affairs Reporter Julie McMahon covers courts, government and other issues affecting taxpayers. She can be reached anytime: Email | Twitter | 315-412-1992
Tama County Ag Outlook, Sept. 3

August rain grows the grain. Throughout the last half of August, northeast and central Iowa has been blessed with timely rains just as the ...
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Marine Express recovered - crew safe

All 22 crew members of the hijacked MR product tanker Marine Express were said to be safe after taken back control of their ship, the ships manager Anglo-Eastern reportedly said.

The vessel was allegedly attacked by pirates on 1st February while anchored off Benin, Gulf of Guinea. Details of the rescue operation were not disclosed. Marine Express was a Cotonou Anchorage, Benin, when communications with the vessel were lost. Full control of the vessel was resumed at approximately 04:00 Singapore time today (6th February). All crew members are reported to be safe and well, and the cargo of 13,5000 tonnes of gasoline remains on board, Anglo-Eastern reportedly said.We wish to express our gratitude to the captain and crew of the vessel and their families for their courage and fortitude in dealing with this difficult situation, as well as the authorities and agencies involved. An investigation into the hijacking is to be carried out. Marine Express was the second tanker to be attacked in the region since the beginning of this year. The Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Barrett and her crew members were taken at the beginning of January. However, they were released six days later.




TMC compressors to be fitted on five MRs

TMC Compressors of the Sea (TMC) has won a contract to supply marine compressed air systems to five product tankers to be built by Hyundai Mipo (HMD) for Norwegian tanker operator, DSD Shipping.

HMD will build the five MRs at its Vinashin yard in Vietnam. Two of the tankers will be delivered in 2019, while the remaining three will follow in 2020. TMC will provide air compressors, with associated air dryers and filters, to each of the five tankers. TMC also has an option to deliver identical equipment to a sixth product tanker that DSD Shipping has on option at HMD. The vessels need quite a a bit of air to run the on board service and control air systems, so they have sensibly opted for a marine compressor system with above average capacity. More importantly, it is an energy efficient system that the vessel crew can maintain themselves. This keeps operational costs down for the tanker operator, DSD Shipping, explained Hans Petter Tanum, TMCs director of sales and business development.




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Honda 2-Wheelers @ Auto Expo 2018 Big shoutout to Suhaas307 for shooting these pictures & his coverage of the Auto Expo. Thanks for sharing, man!

Honda 2-Wheelers showcased 11 new models at the 2018 Auto Expo. The new Honda X-Blade got its own separate stall:





The new X-Blade shares its underpinnings with the CB Hornet 160R. It measures 2,013 mm in length, 786 mm in width and 1,115 mm in height. The wheelbase is 1,347 mm. The X-Blade is expected to go on sale later this year:





It has a Transformer-inspired LED headlight with a U-shaped integrated LED DRL placed at the chin. A translucent windshield extends from the headlight. Turn signals are mounted high up in front of the handlebars. The X-Blade has a dual-tone front fender and telescopic front shocks. The rear features a monoshock setup. The fuel tank gets dual-tone treatment as well as an X-Blade decal:





Here's a quick look at the specifications. The X-Blade is powered by a 162.71 cc, single-cylinder, air-cooled engine that produces 13.93 BHP @ 8,500 rpm and a peak torque of 13.9 Nm @ 6,000 rpm. It comes with a 5-speed gearbox. Braking is handled by a 276 mm petal type front disc and a 130 mm drum brake at the rear:





Full-digital instrument panel on the X-Blade - The red line is at 9,000 rpm:





2018 Honda CBR250R comes in 5 shades - Mars Orange, Striking Green, Pearl Sports Yellow, Sports Red and Vibrant Orange (Repsol) in addition to new graphics. Moreover, the bike now gets an all-LED headlamp and 2-channel ABS:





The new CBR250R is powered by a 249.6 cc, single-cylinder, liquid-cooled engine that delivers 26.1 BHP @ 8,500 rpm and 22.9 Nm of peak torque @ 7,000 rpm. The engine is paired with a 6-speed gearbox. The suspension setup comprises of telescopic front forks and a Pro-Link monoshock at the rear. It gets a 296 mm and 220 mm disc brakes in the front and rear respectively:





Honda claims to have improved the handling of the 2018 Honda CBR650F. It comes with a new intake and exhaust. Apart from that, not much has changed compared to the 2017 model:





The CBR650F is powered by a 648.72 cc, liquid-cooled, in-line 4-cylinder engine which delivers 85.4 BHP @ 11,000 rpm and 60.5 Nm of torque @ 8,500 rpm. The engine is mated to a 6-speed transmission:





The 2018 Honda Africa Twin gets a new lithium-ion battery which is 2.3 kg lighter than before. It also has a new instrument cluster, stainless steel spokes, redesigned footrest hangers and new emergency stop signal function in the rear indicators:





It is powered by a 998 cc, liquid-cooled, parallel-twin cylinder engine that produces 94 BHP @ 7,500 rpm and 99 Nm of torque @ 6,000 rpm. It comes with a dual-clutch transmission, Throttle By Wire (TBW) and has 3 riding modes - Tour, Urban and Gravel:





The 2018 model comes with a new intake and exhaust and lighter balance shaft weight:





The 2018 Honda Goldwing was launched in December 2017. The latest generation of the Goldwing comes with a unique double-wishbone front suspension. The bike features a new 7-inch LCD display with multiple smartphone connectivity options and full-LED headlights:





The 2018 Goldwing is powered by a 1,833cc, horizontally-opposed flat 6-cylinder engine which produces 125 BHP @ 5,500 rpm and a peak torque of 170 Nm @ 4,500 rpm. The engine is mated to a 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox. For more on the 2018 Goldwing checkout this thread -





2018 Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP in HRC livery:





The CBR1000RR SP is the first motorcycle to be equipped with semi-active Ohlins Electronic Control (S-EC) suspension:





It has a lithium-ion battery, quick-shifter with slipper clutch and Brembo front brake calipers:





2018 Honda CBR1000RR in matte black:





The new Fireblade is claimed to be 16 kg lighter than its predecessor:





It has a new gyroscopic ABS, throttle by wire, 9-level Honda Selectable Torque Control, Slectable Engine Brake, Honda Electronic Steering Damper and Power Selector as well as a full-colour TFT instrument panel:





Marc Marquez's 2017 RC213V MotoGP World Championship winning machine:





CBR250R race-prepped for one-make series:

Honda 2-Wheelers showcased 11 new models at the 2018 Auto Expo. The newgot its own separate stall:The new X-Blade shares its underpinnings with the CB Hornet 160R. It measures 2,013 mm in length, 786 mm in width and 1,115 mm in height. The wheelbase is 1,347 mm. The X-Blade is expected to go on sale later this year:It has a Transformer-inspired LED headlight with a U-shaped integrated LED DRL placed at the chin. A translucent windshield extends from the headlight. Turn signals are mounted high up in front of the handlebars. The X-Blade has a dual-tone front fender and telescopic front shocks. The rear features a monoshock setup. The fuel tank gets dual-tone treatment as well as an X-Blade decal:Here's a quick look at the specifications. The X-Blade is powered by a 162.71 cc, single-cylinder, air-cooled engine that produces 13.93 BHP @ 8,500 rpm and a peak torque of 13.9 Nm @ 6,000 rpm. It comes with a 5-speed gearbox. Braking is handled by a 276 mm petal type front disc and a 130 mm drum brake at the rear:Full-digital instrument panel on the X-Blade - The red line is at 9,000 rpm:comes in 5 shades - Mars Orange, Striking Green, Pearl Sports Yellow, Sports Red and Vibrant Orange (Repsol) in addition to new graphics. Moreover, the bike now gets an all-LED headlamp and 2-channel ABS:The new CBR250R is powered by a 249.6 cc, single-cylinder, liquid-cooled engine that delivers 26.1 BHP @ 8,500 rpm and 22.9 Nm of peak torque @ 7,000 rpm. The engine is paired with a 6-speed gearbox. The suspension setup comprises of telescopic front forks and a Pro-Link monoshock at the rear. It gets a 296 mm and 220 mm disc brakes in the front and rear respectively:Honda claims to have improved the handling of the. It comes with a new intake and exhaust. Apart from that, not much has changed compared to the 2017 model:The CBR650F is powered by a 648.72 cc, liquid-cooled, in-line 4-cylinder engine which delivers 85.4 BHP @ 11,000 rpm and 60.5 Nm of torque @ 8,500 rpm. The engine is mated to a 6-speed transmission:Thegets a new lithium-ion battery which is 2.3 kg lighter than before. It also has a new instrument cluster, stainless steel spokes, redesigned footrest hangers and new emergency stop signal function in the rear indicators:It is powered by a 998 cc, liquid-cooled, parallel-twin cylinder engine that produces 94 BHP @ 7,500 rpm and 99 Nm of torque @ 6,000 rpm. It comes with a dual-clutch transmission, Throttle By Wire (TBW) and has 3 riding modes - Tour, Urban and Gravel:The 2018 model comes with a new intake and exhaust and lighter balance shaft weight:Thewas launched in December 2017. The latest generation of the Goldwing comes with a unique double-wishbone front suspension. The bike features a new 7-inch LCD display with multiple smartphone connectivity options and full-LED headlights:The 2018 Goldwing is powered by a 1,833cc, horizontally-opposed flat 6-cylinder engine which produces 125 BHP @ 5,500 rpm and a peak torque of 170 Nm @ 4,500 rpm. The engine is mated to a 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox. For more on the 2018 Goldwing checkout this thread - Link (2018 Honda Gold Wing launched at Rs. 26.85 lakh) 2018 Hondain HRC livery:The CBR1000RR SP is the first motorcycle to be equipped with semi-active Ohlins Electronic Control (S-EC) suspension:It has a lithium-ion battery, quick-shifter with slipper clutch and Brembo front brake calipers:in matte black:The new Fireblade is claimed to be 16 kg lighter than its predecessor:It has a new gyroscopic ABS, throttle by wire, 9-level Honda Selectable Torque Control, Slectable Engine Brake, Honda Electronic Steering Damper and Power Selector as well as a full-colour TFT instrument panel:Marc Marquez'sMotoGP World Championship winning machine:CBR250R race-prepped for one-make series: Last edited by Rehaan : 9th February 2018 at 13:59 . Reason: Removing a duplicate pic :)
Google Chrome will soon warn users that HTTP websites are unsafe by blatantly tagging them as "not secure," a move that should further push the adoption of HTTPS encryption.

HTTPS is the secure version of HTTP, or Hyper Text Transfer Protocol. Google, one of the biggest champions of HTTPS, will continue to stand for it through an upcoming version of its Chrome browser.

Google Chrome 68 Will Tag HTTP Websites As 'Not Secure'

In an official post on the Google Security Blog, Chrome Security Product Manager Emily Schechter noted that Google has started marking a bigger subset of HTTP websites as "not secure." Google has been trying to keep users away from unencrypted websites for years, starting by pulling down the ranking of such websites in Google search results and placing similar warnings for unencrypted password fields.

However, starting with Chrome 68, Google will make the biggest move yet, as the "not secure" mark will expand to include all HTTP websites. Currently, in Chrome 64, HTTP websites are also marked, but some only show an "i" icon that expands into the non-secure warning only when clicked.

Google is targeting to roll out Chrome 68 by July this year.

According to the announcement by Schechter, the decision was based on the increased adoption of HTTPS encryption. More than 68 percent of Chrome traffic on Windows and Android and more than 78 percent of Chrome traffic on Chrome OS and macOS are on HTTPS websites. In addition, 81 out of the top 100 websites are now using HTTPS by default.

Google, however, is pushing for an even wider presence of HTTPS. Users may start to shy away more from HTTP websites if they are tagged as "not secure," which should force their owners to reconsider the upgrade to HTTPS.

What Does HTTPS Encryption Do?

HTTPS encryption offers protection between the user's browser and the website being visited, making sure that nobody can go in the middle to tamper with the traffic. Without that encryption, anybody with access to the user's router or ISP will be able to intercept the information being sent to websites or inject malware into them.

HTTPS is not the only necessary solution for online security. However, among all available encryption options, it is relatively inexpensive to implement. The upgrade has also been made much easier by automated services that do the work for website owners. In fact, Google has its own tool for the purpose named Lighthouse, which was also featured in the Google Security Blog post by Schechter.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A new study by researchers at Tulane University has concluded that Louisiana will not be able to build land fast enough to keep up with how qu
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In response to debate over the allocation of tax revenue from Louisiana's two nuclear power plants, the Louisiana Tax Commission on Thursday announced changes that will give more money to the parishes where the plants are located  a decision some local officials consider long overdue.

For roughly 20 years, tax dollars from the two plants were shared among 60 parishes that have Entergy customers, though most of the revenue went to the two parishes that contain the facilities: West Feliciana and St. Charles. But starting this year, that division of tax revenue will no longer be the case.

West Feliciana will now receive an additional $6.6 million per year in tax revenue, which could increase the parish annual operating budget by more than 30 percent, according to parish officials. St. Charles will also receive an additional $6.1 million per year. The remaining 58 parishes will no longer benefit financially from the plants.

Entergy owns both of Louisiana's nuclear power plants, River Bend in West Feliciana and Waterford 3 in St. Charles. Both began operations in the 1980s.

West Feliciana Parish President Kevin Couhig has argued vehemently in recent months that parish residents were getting the short end of the stick, asserting that the Louisiana Tax Commission  the entity that oversees tax collection and determines assessed values for public utilities  was using an unfair and unconstitutional system to determine which parishes benefit from the nuclear power plants.

Couhig said state law requires that the plants are assessed only in the parishes where they're located. According to West Feliciana officials, their parish was shorted more than $100 million over the past 20 years.

Couhig claims that when the tax commission established the current system of tax assessment back in 1997, commissioners blatantly disregarded state law and essentially instituted "a grab by big cities to take tax money from small parishes because they had the power to do that. None of this makes sense other than a few folks got together and came up with an allocation that benefited their parishes at the detriment to us."

Current members of the tax commission  none of whom were serving when that initial decision was made  have asserted the issue is more complicated than local officials have suggested, but commission Chairman Lawrence Chehardy acknowledged Thursday that "there seems to have been no basis for how this was done 20 years ago."

An audit released in June 2017 found that "the procedure (the commission) uses to allocate the value of nuclear power plants is not consistent with its procedure for other public service companies and effectively decreases the (allocated) assessed value  by $50.5 million in St. Charles Parish and $67.5 million in West Feliciana Parish."

Auditor: West Feliciana could be missing out on millions due to tax commission appraisals ST. FRANCISVILLE  A report released last week by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor's Office

The usual procedure  and the one being adopted this year  gives each parish a certain percentage of the total assessed value for the company based on Entergy's assets in that parish. However, the percentages for West Feliciana and St. Charles previously did not factor in the entire cost of the power plants, which meant other parishes received some extra tax dollars at their expense.

"These plants should be treated the same as every other public service property for property tax purposes," Chehardy said of the decision to change the allocation formula.

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Entergy will also see its tax bill decrease by nearly $1 million annually under the new system because millage rates in West Feliciana and St. Charles are lower than some other parishes. Officials said that savings would likely be passed down to Entergy customers too.

Michael Burns, Entergy Louisiana spokesman, said in a written statement that "it is our current appreciation that the method of allocating value is within the purview of the Louisiana Tax Commission."

Nuclear power provides 28 percent of Entergy Louisianas electricity, Burns said.

The 58 other parishes that have been receiving some of the revenues will each see a roughly 21 percent decrease in their allocated assessed value for Entergy. According to a supplement to the audit report released in November, those parishes are set to lose anywhere from $273 per year in Beauregard Parish to $2.3 million per year in East Baton Rouge Parish, depending on Entergy assets and millage rates within each parish. Calcasieu, Jefferson and Ouachita parishes will all lose more than $1 million annually.

In advocating for the change, West Feliciana officials asserted that the losses to the other parishes are relatively insignificant because the revenue represents only a small percentage annual operating budgets for the affected parishes.

Following the announcement Thursday, West Feliciana and St. Charles officials were celebrating. The gains they will receive are not insignificant.

Couhig commended the tax commission for "correcting its past mistakes." He said the additional funds will alleviate some financial constraints within the parish, possibly funding infrastructure projects to improve roads and bridges. The money will also provide more resources for the Sheriff's Office, fire department and school system, which Couhig said is a top priority for parish officials.

He mentioned the risks associated with having a nuclear power plant nearby, but said that ultimately West Feliciana is grateful for the facility and the jobs and revenue it provides.

St. Charles Parish President Larry Cochran similarly said he is happy about the decision, which was a long time coming and marks the end of a "tremendously unfair" practice.

State Rep. Kenneth Havard also said he is happy the commission "did the right thing, which is what the (state) Constitution requires." Havard represents District 62, which encompasses most of East and West Feliciana parishes and the northwest corner of East Baton Rouge Parish. He has been campaigning for the past three years to change the allocation system.

"It's about being fair and doing the right thing," he said. "There's lots of responsibility that comes with having a nuclear power plant in your area, and quite frankly when you've been shorted $100 million over 20 years, it puts a strain on your resources."
The movement to create a more user-friendly budget transparency website in Louisiana keeps growing, and its backing likely got a hefty boost this week.

Hundreds of Louisiana's top business leaders were privy to a demonstration of Ohio Checkbook, which has become a rally point for Louisiana groups pushing the transparency website as one piece of a larger deal on the state budget, which faces yet another shortfall this year.

As Frank Kohstall directed the Ohio site between brightly-colored pie charts and bar graphs with expenditure break downs, several attendees of Thursday's Louisiana Association of Business and Industry conference pulled out their phones and began playing with the web version. Many right away signed a petition in support of the proposal.

They audibly "ohh"-ed as Kohstall drilled each expenditure down to a mock check like a business or individual might write, detailing where the money went and which state source provided it.

Louisiana has a budget transparency site already, but the slick graphics and easy navigation for which Ohio Checkbook has won national acclaim and a loyal following in Louisiana.

LABI President Stephen Waguespack said that government technology has an obligation to stay caught up with the times. Recounting the evolution of apps and social media sites in the past decade, he called the existing LaTrac "a good site, but it's 10 years old."

"In technology years, that 10 years is 80 years," he said.

+4 OhioCheckbook.com? Government transparency website moves to forefront of Louisiana budget discussion As Louisiana politicians try to find solutions for the state's seemingly never-ending financial struggles, a website that sheds light on anoth

Gov. John Bel Edwards' administration, which has been locked in negotiations with legislative leaders over the best way to address the looming "fiscal cliff," has maintained that Louisiana gets good marks for its budget transparency site, LaTrac, coming in 7th in an analysis that ranked Ohio 1st.

One of the hurdles, the governor's office has argued, is that a larger and costly technology upgrade is needed before the information can be centralized. And it won't lead to any immediate savings.

Randy Davis, an assistant commissioner in the Division of Administration, said it will take about three years and $26 million to complete that process.

"We certainly are willing to work with everybody in a bipartisan way to make that occur," he said.

He added that the administration is expecting to roll out some Ohio Checkbook-like enhancements in the coming weeks and more agencies are being added.

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But for now, legislators have added the Ohio Checkbook model to a list of legislative priorities that they want before they will agree to Edwards' proposals to cover revenue that the state will lose when temporary tax measures expire June 30.

House Speaker Taylor Barras, R-New Iberia, said he has spent a lot of time checking out the Ohio site.

"It's intriguing," he said. "The more I dig, the more I find that would be useful."

But even with all its praise here, the Ohio site apparently has met resistance in the Ohio Legislature. It has never been put into law. A 2017 attempt to pass legislation that would establish the transparency site as a function of the state treasurer's office was rejected after only making it out of its first committee.

Kohstall said that Mandell jumped in on the project himself without their authority after the state was blasted as being among the least transparent state budgets.

"No one was really taking the lead," Kohstall said.

State Rep. Barry Ivey, R-Central, has so far pre-filed the only measure outlining a plan for a "Louisiana Checkbook" site for the regular session. Lawmakers still have time to file similar bills before the March 12 regular session, and it could also come up if a special session is held this month.

Under Ivey's proposal, the site would run through the state treasurer's office. Each state agency would be required to pay a pro rata share of the cost of setting it up and providing information to the treasurer.

State Treasurer John Schroder, a Republican who previously served in the state House and had a position on the budget committee, said he hasn't talked to Ivey about the idea and he didn't personally champion putting the site under his office's control. His office has no authority over the state budget.

"I support anything that makes this process more transparent," he said.

He said he is focused on using his position as treasurer to highlight the state's debt.

"We have too much debt in Louisiana and people don't see it," Schroder said.
Now that a judge has ruled the Louisiana Legislature shouldnt have taken dollars from dedicated funds to help balance the budget, state regulators want the money back.

Our goal should be to recover those monies, if they are available, and return those monies to the ratepayer, said Louisiana Public Service Commission Chairman Eric Skrmetta, a Republican from Metairie.

Though they rarely agree on much of anything, Democratic PSC Commissioner Foster Campbell, the senior of the five elected members, echoed Skrmetta, saying: The people paid that money. They should get it back.

Moments before the 19th Judicial District Courthouse closed Wednesday, District Judge Don Johnson, of Baton Rouge, filed an order that found the Legislature in 2009 and 2010 improperly took money from three funds filled with fees and fines that the PSC could only legally use to pay for inspections and other regulatory activities. The money was diverted into the state budget to cover general government expenses.

Using 'fund sweeps' to help balance Louisiana's budget ruled unconstitutional A Baton Rouge judge ruled unconstitutional late Wednesday the practice called fund sweeps that legislators routinely used to balance state budgets.

His order can be appealed directly to the Louisiana Supreme Court.

The Louisiana Attorney Generals Office, which represented the Legislature, did not comment on the verdict or any plans to appeal.

Johnsons order said nothing about what to do with the money taken. Another lawsuit, this one specifically asking for the return of money, is on deck now that Johnson ruled that fund sweeps are unconstitutional.

During the administration of Gov. Bobby Jindal, legislators routinely approved sweeping surplus dollars from dedicated state agency funds to help balance the budget without raising revenues or cutting spending.

Nobody wanted to say anything about it back then because they didnt want to buck Jindal, said Campbell, of Bossier Parish. But the commissioners felt they had no choice but to file a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the fund sweeps.

The PSC, which uses the fees and fines to pay for their work, had to borrow money to operate because of the fund sweeps, Campbell said.

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It took seven years of dealing with technical legal issues before the court could rule on the constitutionality issue. The almost $9 million swept during those two years belongs to the people who paid the fees and they are the ones legally bound to seek restitution, he said.

So, Campbell and retired PSC Chairman Jimmy Field, R-Baton Rouge, acting as individuals rather than commissioners, filed a class action seeking return of the money. A handful of other ratepayers around the state have joined the lawsuit.

Lawyers and class members are meeting to decide the next step and within a week or two will file the appropriate motions, said Glen Petersen, the Baton Rouge lawyer handling the case.

Im going to ask the court to issue an order that the Legislature to pay back the money that they illegally took, Petersen said.

The regulatory agency is not directly involved in the legal action seeking the return of the money to the ratepayers who paid the fees, said Interim PSC Secretary Brandon Frey.

What I have is a piece of paper to take to the State Capitol saying they cant the next time they try to sweep PSC funds, Frey said.

The PSC regulates the utilities, most truckers, and telecommunications companies throughout most of the state, but not in New Orleans, Lafayette and a handful other municipalities. Only companies the PSC directly regulated had to pay the fees.

Fund sweeping gave those not subject to the fees benefits paid for by others, Frey said.

Converting fees essentially into taxes that support education, hospitals and other state services also denied the companies any way to challenge the amounts paid or to have any say so in the imposition of the taxes in the first place, Frey said.

The Legislature argued in court that it has the constitutional authority to decide how to spend state money. And legislators can change provisions of various laws after public hearings and votes. Lawmakers did just that when they redirected dedicated surplus monies in Act 226 of 2009 and Act 633 in 2010.

Gov. John Bel Edwards and his aides often point to fund sweeps as evidence of Jindal administration smoke and mirrors budget maneuvering. While the governor has said he wont sweep funds to balance the budget, the technique to do so is still available.
Six parades roll on Friday evening, one in Metairie, one in Mandeville, one in Slidell and a triple-header in New Orleans.

On the Uptown route, the Hermes parade, led by the captain in his royal carriage, features new starting and ending points and an earlier starting time. This club is credited with infusing new life into the Carnival celebration when it debuted in 1937 as the nation slowly emerged from the Depression.

Flambeaux and masked lieutenants on horseback surround the clubs 30 floats, which are constructed by Blaine Kern Artists in collaboration with designer Henri Schindler. The theme this year is "New Orleans Arts and Letters."

The 780 male maskers will wear lighted costumes. Throws include Hermes plush storybooks and tricentennial-themed, lighted medallions. Be sure to enjoy the Talladega College Marching Band and the 610 Stompers.

Following Hermes, the 545 men of Le Krewe dEtat present their 22nd annual, 24-float satirically themed parade. Their king is called the Dictator. Signature floats include the Dictators Royal Navy and the Dictators Guard.

The Candy Wagon and the Dictators Banana Wagon are also included, both pulled by mules. Check out the Dancing Dawlins, the New Orleans Nymphs, the Prime Time Brass Band from New York and the Budweiser Clydesdales.

The fabled Skeleton Walking Krewe will hand out wooden nickels and the 15th edition of the clubs Carnival bulletin, which depicts and describes each float. DEtat was the first krewe to introduce the blinking bead as a Mardi Gras throw.

The Krewe of Morpheus follows with more than 700 male and female members. The 18th annual parade rolls with a 24-float procession with the theme "Morpheus Goes Wild." Look for six tandem floats and 16 marching bands.

Top throws include sheep-shaped doubloons and red, white and blue tricentennial doubloons.

Centurions parades in Metairie for the 39th time. This years theme is "Treasures of the Sea." The 17-float parade features more than 50 units. Centurions had moved its parade from Harahan to Metairie and changed its parade night three times before becoming a fixture on the Friday before Fat Tuesday.

Marching bands will participate in the Rhythm on the Route band contest. Signature items to be tossed by the krewes 300 male and female members include doubloons in three colors and foam swords.

In Slidell, the 20-year-old all-female Krewe of Selene presents an 18-float procession titled "Selene Through Twenty Years." A special float will feature former kings and queens. Hand-made, decorated purses are Selenes top throw.

The Original Orpheus krewe in Mandeville made a comeback in 2016 after a three-year hiatus. The 200 members again plan a 13-float parade titled "Orpheus Goes to the Movies." Look for the clubs landmark throw, the pineloon  a pine cone with a doubloon glued to the underside.

This club paraded under the name Orpheus seven years before Harry Connick Jr. chose the same mythological namesake for his superkrewe in New Orleans.
New Orleans police on Thursday night arrested a 16-year-old boy on allegations that he fired bullets into the air near the corner of St. Charles Avenue and Calliope Street as a Carnival parade passed.

No injuries were reported following an incident that caused screaming people to scurry and stopped the Knights of Chaos parade for about 20 minutes.

The gunfire occurred as a group of about 70 young people walked toward the underpass at St. Charles and Calliope, a popular spot for high school students to gather and watch their marching bands pass. Numerous police officers on foot and horseback were interspersed among the group when what sounded like four gunshots erupted.

Countless people within earshot began screaming and scrambling. Officers were soon seen questioning a young man who had been handcuffed while other cops used flashlights to scan the ground.

It appeared they may have been looking for a gun and shell casings. Things returned to normal after about 20 minutes, with people returning to their spots to watch the rest of the parades.

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Police did not release the name of the teen they arrested because he was arrested as a minor.

Officials did not specify what crime the teen would be booked on. But in Louisiana it is illegal to recklessly discharge a gun within 1,000 feet of a parade.

Chaos was one of three parades scheduled to roll along the traditional Uptown route Thursday. It was preceded by Babylon and followed by Muses.

Initially, news of the gunfire caused alarm on social media and among spectators along the route.

The underpass is within two blocks from where a gun battle left two young men dead while parades rolled on the Thursday before Mardi Gras in 2015 and from where another shooting left two teens wounded on the Thursday before Mardi Gras in 2012.

The underpass is also a little less than a mile from where seven people, including a toddler, were hit by gunfire that erupted on St. Charles on Mardi Gras in 2009.
Slowing property markets in Sydney and Melbourne did not stop online real estate portal REA Group posting a strong increase in profit for the first half of the year on Friday.

REA Group chief executive Tracey Fellows described a 21 per cent increase in profit as exceptional and underpinned by its core business.

Despite slowing property markets REA Group posted a 21 per cent profit growth. Credit:Realestate.com.au

Much of the growth was thanks to the inclusion of its new financial services business income, and real estate agents paying more for more prominent listings of properties, called listing depth products.

REA Group acquired mortgage brokering company Smartline and realestate.com.au Home Loans mortgage broking in 2017, with these results marking the first time their figures have been included.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen The telling feature of the poll was not the one that got the most publicity. The big noise was about the partisan contest. The poll showed that the Turnbull government's share of the two-party preferred vote was up by 1 percentage point and Labor's was down one. In a poll with a margin of error of 2.4 per cent, it's pretty hard to convince yourself that this means anything, yet the obsessives among the political class applied the customary overinterpretation. Malcolm Turnbull's personal ratings were up too, so The Australian's interpretation was "PM surges" as "Coalition closes gap". But, intriguingly, while Turnbull's approval rating was up, so was Bill Shorten's. It's nothing to write home about because both remain unpopular. Yet the Prime Minister's net approval rating had improved from minus 25 to minus 14, and the Opposition Leader's from minus 24 to minus 18 compared with the last poll of last year. Is this because of their brilliant performances over the summer break? Or is it because of the summer break itself, where the political class and the media go into a torpor and the country goes on holiday? We can't be sure, but there's a strong chance that, when the political leaders shut up and disappear for a while, we think less harshly of them.

The independent pollster John Stirton has had a look at what he calls the "summertime effect" over recent decades. He emphasises that the size of the effect is tiny, yet whimsy moved him to describe voters' reactions to the pause in political hostilities this way: "In January we're relaxed and like you more than we did at the end of last year. In February we remember why we hate you." As the parliamentary hothouse heats up, the politicians lose themselves in the thrill of partisan conflict, mistaking the excited attention of the tiny perverted population of the Twitter terrarium for the wider world's interest and attention. The inhabitants of the terrarium adore furious partisanship where the people want co-operative problem-solving. Yet, before the year becomes far advanced, there are traces of the sort of humanity and decency that most Australians hope for in their leaders and representatives. Bill Shorten, recognising, as he put it, the "time for politicians to focus on the issues that matter to Australians, not the petty bickering of the Canberra bubble" made an important announcement: a Labor government would establish a national anti-corruption commission. This brings forward the inevitable day that the Coalition, too, will support this essential improvement to Australia's governance. And Turnbull this week addressed the report of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Some 16,000 people contacted the commission about cases of abuse in 4000 separate institutions. "Now that those stories have been told, now that they are on the record, we must do everything within our power to honour those stories and to act," said Turnbull as he outlined the process for responding to the commission's 409 recommendations.

This included the government's plan to strengthen the working with children checks, and the national redress scheme for survivors. "I am committed and my government is committed to doing everything possible to make sure that this national tragedy is never repeated," he said. Politicians of all sides were united in displaying genuine sadness as they spoke the truth about Michael Gordon, the recently retired Fairfax press gallery veteran who last week died unexpectedly during one of his favourite pastimes, an ocean swim: "He was gentle, he was wise," said the Prime Minister. "He was always calm in a business not known for calm." Said Shorten: "As a journalist, he never chose to put himself in the centre of things or make himself the star. He was an understated, earnest man who, in his understated, earnest way gave the reader the respect of intelligence." And there were moments of cross-partisan warmth in tributes to the fallen Labor politician Barry Cohen. It wasn't only the Labor side of the Parliament that praised the man who, as Bob Hawke's environment minister, had doubled the size of the Kakadu National Park, extended the Great Barrier Reef protected zone, and presided over the return of Uluru to its original owners. Cohen was an indefatigable storyteller and jokester. "Behind the laughter was a man who felt acutely and cared profoundly," said Turnbull. "He once revealed that John Steinbeck's haunting The Grapes of Wrath prompted his political career and his advocacy for others was the perfect illustration of one of the novel's central themes; that we're at our best when we work together, rather than toiling alone to overcome hardship. He abhorred discrimination, something he experienced as a young Jewish man in the 1940s. He possessed a fierce desire to combat it." And yet, the moment the opportunity for partisan conflict opens, the adrenaline surges and these truths and virtues are in danger of disappearing. Problem-solving and compassion, calm and intelligence, co-operation and the defeat of discrimination  what happened to those ideals? When Jim Molan, new Liberal senator and outstanding Australian warrior and patriot, was found to have posted anti-Muslim hate propaganda, he distanced himself from the British bigots who produced the material. But why, under attack from Labor, wouldn't he remove the offending material? And why did the Greens' Adam Bandt abandon his senses and accuse Molan of war crimes?

And then there's the pursuit of dual citizens. Labor's Susan Lamb this week repeated that she'd taken all possible steps to renounce her British citizenship but acknowledged that she'd been unable to produce a vital document, her parents' Queensland certificate of marriage. If either parent is alive, they have to consent to the release of the certificate. Tearfully, she explained why she couldn't get her parents' consent  her father was long dead and "one day when I was six-years-old my mum dropped me off at school and she never came back". She has no contact with her mother, she said, and appealed to the Parliament to stop pressing her. The government has so far refused to relent, even though the government had made a similar appeal to Labor's better angels to relent in the case of Energy and Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg. His family's experience in the Holocaust presented a similarly impossible case of document recovery and a similar basis for special consideration. Labor has dropped the Frydenberg case; the government should do likewise with Lamb. In the Edelman Trust Barometer, low though the repository of trust in Australia's government may be, there is one set of institutions Australians trust even less. The media. The Daily Telegraph provided a case study this week in why this is so. It screamed from its front page that Barnaby Joyce is having a child with his new partner, a former member of his staff, after separating from his wife last year. The story was illustrated by a paparazzi-style snap of the pregnant woman, taken without her consent. In general, the Australian media, unlike its American and British counterparts, chooses not to intrude into the private lives of its public officials unless there is clear evidence that there are serious consequences for the way the official discharges his or her duties. Unlike the big debates under way in the Parliament about tax, welfare, foreign espionage and a dozen other matters, this story has no consequences for anyone outside its immediate impact. The best possible argument for publicising this story is that Joyce supported traditional marriage in parliamentary debate, while his own marriage was failing. He is, therefore, a hypocrite. But you didn't need to embarrass, hurt and humiliate the people caught up in this marital breakdown in order to establish Joyce to be a hypocrite. That's well established already, on a range of issues. To name one, he claims to be passionate about eliminating the government deficit, yet he fights furiously to spend big on every boondoggle he can find  so long as it's spent outside the capital cities.
Death and taxes might be two great certainties in life, but I reckon we could safely add another one: the motherhood penalty.

We all know the reason for this: women the world over tend to spend much more time caring for children than men do and that, in turn, means women can't work as much as men.

The financial and career costs of motherhood, especially over a lifetime, are typically huge despite decades of sweeping social change.

Now there's striking new evidence underscoring how deeply entrenched and pervasive the motherhood penalty is. Even in Denmark, one of the world's most progressive societies, that penalty is increasing.
In the 1880s, the idea of electric street lights seemed absurd. If you had to light the streets, you did it with gas. Gas lamps were a fire hazard, smelled terrible and were barely an improvement on total darkness. Apart from that, they were fine.

With the perspective of time, we see a failure of imagination. We forget how the arguments stacked up to our forebears.

A Tesla car recharges. The Tesla Model S75 RP has lower emissions when charged on the national electricity grid than a Toyota Corolla. Credit:CHUCK BURTON

After all, the gas-lamp defenders were right: the first generation electric lights were undeniably more expensive. The technology was untested at scale. Above all, it was unfamiliar. How could you picture a street lit up with 50 times the brilliance of the only lamps you had ever known? How could you project ahead to the night-time economy  the world of cinemas and bars, of night-time shopping and safe city transport, made possible by cheap and abundant electric light?

The problems were obvious, the potential was only visible to those with the courage to look.
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.
The Turnbull government has explicitly promised to take its $65 billion company tax cut package to the next election, amid speculation it could dump or alter the policy.

Legislation to lower the tax rate from 30 per cent to 25 per cent for companies with a turnover of more than $50 million passed the House of Representatives on Thursday but is blocked in the Senate.

The reduction - a key plank of the Coalition's economic and political agenda - is opposed by Labor, the Greens, the Nick Xenophon Team and One Nation.

The Coalition has only secured the support of crossbenchers Cory Bernardi, David Leyonhjelm and Fraser Anning. Derryn Hinch, and incoming senator Steve Martin, are considering the proposal.

The government has also foreshadowed personal tax cuts for middle income earners as a priority in 2018, but only on the condition it does not risk the planned return to budget surplus by 2020-21.
Sue had considerable expertise in the field of dementia beyond her own lived experience. She spent over a decade in the senior levels of the department, writing and administering aged care policy, and many years before that working with elderly people in the community in the employ of Blue Care.

On Sunday I visited my mother Sue in her aged care facility. Sue is 70, and is in the final stage of early-onset Alzheimers disease, which initially forced her to take stress leave (and eventually, her resignation) from her position at Queensland Health in 2002, 15 years ago. She was formally diagnosed with her illness in late 2011, nine years after developing discernable symptoms, though they were not recognised for what they were at the time.

This is an open letter to the Premier of Queensland, Annastacia Palaszczuk, the health minister, Steven Miles, and MP for Maiwar Michael Berkman (mylocal member). The letter was written last Monday; I am posting a slightly edited version here. The original letter was also sent to the state opposition leader Deb Frecklington and shadow health minister Ros Bates.

Last Sunday I sat with her for an hour. She is now bedridden and unable to move independently; her muscles are so rigid she is being administered morphine, as moving is painful for her. She was not cognisant of my presence in the room. She grinds her teeth involuntarily, her face is contorted, she has no control of her bodily functions (in the time I was with her she soiled herself twice in 20 minutes), and though she retains some power of speech, she is unable to communicate effectively.

I can tell you with absolute certainty that this indignity and pain is not what my mother wanted. This incredibly bright, capable, compassionate, outgoing woman, who remains much loved and did so much to improve health outcomes for elderly Queenslanders in particular, has seen her worst nightmare - as she often described it to us before her illness - visited upon her.

I have long since lost count of the number of times my mother has expressed her wish to die, at a time when she was fully aware of the horrors that awaited her, and which she is now enduring, as we all are with her. I can also tell you that she has previously asked both myself and my brother to help her to achieve her wish.

Allow me to express that as frankly as my mother intended: she was asking us to kill her. While that is not a request she would have made while in full command of her faculties, I ask you to imagine the terrible distress she was in to have made it, and the anguish that it caused for us.

Of course, we have no legislation providing for assisted dying/voluntary euthanasia in Queensland, as has recently been passed in Victoria.
'He introduced me to the Australian way of life': Michael Gordon, Ali Mullaie and Michael Gordon's wife Robyn Carter at the Long Walk 2005. Ali stresses: "He did not see me as a victim. Our friendship had nothing to do with this. It was not based on sympathy. He was human, and he saw me as human. "I want to get the words right, as if Michael is listening, and can feel what I am saying. We were born in separate countries, and came from different cultures. I was Hazara, but it made no difference. Our friendship was not about the past. It was about now, and about the future. It was about total trust, and about two human beings. Two Australians. I deeply miss him." April 2017: Michael Gordon with Loghman Sawari at the police station in Port Moresby where Sawari was held after his escape to Fiji. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen The public knew Michael through his ground-breaking journalism about the plight of refugees and detained asylum seekers. But his involvement went far beyond the call of his profession. Michael was a loyal friend to some of the people he wrote about.

The two strands were distinct, but closely interwoven. This can be seen in Michael's relationship with Manus Island detainee Loghman Sawari. When Loghman heard the news of Michael's death, he too was shattered. "Michael will always be in my heart," he says. "He is one great man I met from Australia. I hope I will meet him again in heaven." Michael Gordon talking with Loghman Sawari in Port Moresby, April 2017. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen In a report published in September 2015, Michael wrote: "When Loghman Sawari became the first refugee to attempt suicide after being released from the detention centre on Papua New Guinea's Manus Island, the reaction was as swift as it was brutal. The teenager was transferred not in an ambulance, but in the back of the 10-seat vehicle of the island's police commissioner, and not to the hospital, but to the local lock-up, where he spent 24 hours in a small cell with about 20 locals." Michael continued to report Loghman's story over the ensuing years. He wrote of his daring escape to Fiji, his arrest and deportation, his jailing in Port Moresby, and the campaign for his release. He worked in close consultation with Loghman's friend and supporter, writer and advocate Janet Galbraith. Rohingyan refugee Imran Mohammad on Manus. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

"Michael's concern for Loghman's personal welfare always came first," she says. "He developed a personal relationship with him. Whenever he went to PNG he made sure he spent time with him. He was distressed by his vulnerability, and the immense suffering he endured at such a young age. When he was on the run, in Fiji, Michael called him many times and counselled him. His deep concern for his safety was his priority. Writing the story was the last resort." The two strands - Michael as journalist and friend - are evident in his mentoring of Rohingya detainee Imran Mohammad. When he was 16, Imran fled Myanmar in fear of his life. After a terrifying boat journey from Bangladesh to Malaysia and time as an indentured slave, Imran made it to Indonesia. His boat was intercepted en route to Australia and he is now in his fifth year of exile on Manus Island. Imran taught himself English and began writing about the plight of fellow detainees. Imran Mohammad and Michael Gordon on Manus Island, April 12, 2017. Credit:Mohammad Faisal "I studied Michael's work and approach to journalism," Imran says. "I read many articles which were written by him. I found his email address and sent my articles off to him. He took time to read and edit my writing, like a father checks his child's homework. He used to provide me with very useful suggestions about how to write powerful articles. "One of the important things I learned from him was how to organise an article with less words by keeping to the main message. It was very challenging for me, but I started to understand what he was trying to teach me. We communicated via email, but after a while we stayed in touch by WhatsApp. It became a personal friendship, and I met him when he came to Manus in 2017."

Reflecting on his impressions of Michael, Imran concludes: "He was a very calm, caring, sympathetic and passionate person. There was a feeling of safety in his company. He made the atmosphere very pleasant when I met him. He was more than just a friend to me. He was like a father." Behnam Satah during Michael Gordon's April 2017 visit to Manus. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen When Kurdish-Iranian detainee Behnam Satah heard the news of Michael's death, he wept. "Michael was a brother," he says. "He was always checking on me and asking how I am and if I need anything. I cried for a long time. He was like family to me." Behnam witnessed the murder of his friend and roommate, fellow Kurdish-Iranian Reza Barati, during a night of violence on February 17, 2014. He saw him bashed to death by six people. Only two PNG locals have been charged and convicted. Despite ongoing death threats and intimidation by one of the convicted, and the denial of witness protection, Behnam gave evidence at the trial. "Michael was supporting me during my worst time in life while I was under threats and stress," Behnam says. "Describing him in words is very hard because there are no words that match his personality. I wish I could talk to him one more time and hear his voice again. I wish I could attend his funeral. Please buy flowers for me and give it to his family."

"As a journalist, Michael was always interested in the details," says social advocate Di Cousens, who assisted him in liaising with Behnam and other men on Manus island. "He always looked for the evidence. He asked for documents, photos of the injuries and details about the bashings, the attempted suicides. He chased the facts - the fact that Behnam had a terrible fungal infection in his hands which went untreated. Ali Mullaie arrives in Australia in 2008, after three years of detention. He is greeted at the airport by Dorothy Babb, who wrote to him while he was in detention. Babb is holding a Michael Gordon story about Ali's plight published in Credit:Sandy Scheltema "The fact that one detainee was beaten by two guards - one inside the room and one outside - after he was cut down after an attempted suicide by hanging. He asked to be notified when incidents occurred even in the middle of the night." Bearing witness, and engaging for years on end with the personal lives of detained asylum seekers, can take its toll. Janet Galbraith, who often met with Michael to discuss the ongoing horror, observes: "Like those of us who have seen it close up for so long, Michael began to feel so ineffectual, so helpless. It troubled him deeply. The people on Manus are still dying. People are going mad. It has not stopped. This eventually got to Michael." Michael's distress can be sensed in many of his stories. Reflecting upon Loghman Sawari's ordeal, he wrote: "What compelled the 19-year-old to turn a towel into a makeshift noose, attach it to a rafter outside his room and step from a chair to oblivion is hardly a mystery. His bottom lip trembles uncontrollably as he tries to explain that anger, despair and an all-consuming sense of hopelessness propelled him."

"My Manus Nightmare" by Michael Gordon, Credit:Fairfax Media In a piece published in December 2015 headlined "My Manus Island Nightmare", Michael writes of being haunted by the image of Loghman Sawari breaking down while he is trying to explain, on camera, how much he misses the mother who believes he has made it safely to Australia and is doing well. Contemplating the immovability of Australian government policy, Michael despairs: "There is a view that the situation on Manus, like that on Nauru, is unsustainable, and that eventually the penny will drop that the end does not justify the means, that punishing one group of people endlessly in order to deter others is immoral, and that there is another way to achieve the same policy objective. It used to be my view. Now I'm not so sure." Ali Mullaie is greeted upon his arrival in Australia in 2008 by Anne Horrigan-Dixon of the Fitzroy Learning Network. Credit:Sandy Scheltema Michael has left a legacy of work that documents the brutal consequences of Australia's offshore detention centres. When I asked Imran Mohammad why Michael's death has been so deeply felt by the men exiled on Manus Island, he replied: "He shone a powerful light on our plight for many years. He wrote about our lives with honesty and great respect. We reached out to him whenever there was a problem on Manus. He was our great voice out there. It is like we lost our right shoulder."
At the end of a quiet, tree-lined road in the Blue Mountains, it offered classes to children with and without disabilities, advertising itself as an all-abilities circus. Employees posed for photos in bright make-up, sequins, wigs and feathers, with one saying she had found her calling.

From the outside, the circus school appeared to be a haven.

Editor's note: All charges against seven co-accused were dropped in February 2020 .

But behind closed doors, seven people linked to the school allegedly abused three young boys over a period of two years.

The boys were allegedly subjected to sexual abuse, kidnapping, intimidation and assault from 2014 to 2016, made to abuse each other and forced to appear in child abuse material filmed by adults on their mobile phones.

One of the boys was allegedly abused from the age of three, while for another the alleged abuse started when he was seven. All of the boys were under the age of eight.

The allegations were revealed on February 5 when detectives from the Child Abuse Squad - who had been investigating the allegations for months - arrested seven people and laid a total of 127 charges against them.

At a home in Katoomba, Therese Ann Cook, 58, her brother Paul Christopher Cook, 52, and 23-year-old Clarissa Meredith were taken into custody by detectives, while 29-year-old Yyani Cook-Williams was arrested at Canterbury in Sydney's south-west.
Police have charged the driver of a garbage truck which struck and killed a Sydney woman while she was walking her young grandson in a pram on Thursday.

Just before midday on Thursday, emergency services were called to Moorilla Street, near Pittwater Road, in Dee Why, where they found the 58-year-old woman under the truck with severe lower body injuries.

Despite efforts by paramedics, the woman was unable to be saved.

Her young grandson, found nearby in a pram, was uninjured.
Megan Davis, Noel Pearson and Pat Anderson in conversation at the First Nations National Convention in Uluru last May. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Davis would rather talk about politics (or rugby league) than her personal life, but she tells me she was born in Monto, Queensland, where her Aboriginal father was a fettler on the railways and her mother an English teacher. Davis grew up in "a lot of tiny Queensland country railway towns", she says, but went to school predominantly in Hervey Bay, until her mother left her father and took Davis and her four siblings to Eagleby, between the Gold Coast and Brisbane. Her mother raised the family as a single-parent pensioner in a housing-corporation home. "She ran the house like a military operation," says Davis, "getting us off to school, supervising our homework. Every cent we had was spent on secondhand books, so the whole house was just covered in books." Her mother liked to read Australian history and classic literature, but her great love was poetry. She passed this on to Davis, who cried when the St Lucian poet Derek Walcott died last year. The family was "dirt poor", says Davis, but her mother always maintained her subscriptions to The Australian and the US Time magazine, which fed and nurtured the children's interest in politics and foreign affairs. Davis saw her father during the school holidays. "Dad was an interesting character," she says. He liked watching sport, particularly rugby league, and had "lots of books on weather  so all of us kids are obsessed with the weather", she says.

He was also deeply interested in theology. "When religious people came to the door, he'd be there for friggin' hours and hours," she says. "He was someone who had a lot of friends, a very funny guy." At school in Eagleby, the Davis kids faced prejudice "all the time", she says, and her mother was "always acutely aware" of it. "People used to say really racist things to her about her brown children," says Davis. "In addition to how cute we all were  because we're all really good looking." She laughs, and somehow uses her voice to roll her eyes. Davis took an arts and law degree at the University of Queensland in 1993. Her two older brothers were already at the university and, while Davis was studying, they were joined by her younger brother. "I loved my BA," she says. "It was best thing I ever did." She is full of praise  even love  for many of her "amazing lecturers" at law school and beyond, but she remembers one teacher commenting after the Mabo decision that "five cents for native title was five cents too much".

Davis won a United Nations scholarship and moved to Geneva for the final year of her law degree, which she completed under UN supervision. She says she "got the best marks ever". There followed an Aboriginal cadetship at the Australian and Torres Strait Islander Commission, and a UN internship where she worked on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. She returned home, completed her higher degrees and was building an academic career when she was nominated by the Rudd government for election to the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, where she served from 2011 to 2016. In 2017, she was elected to EMRIP, and appointed to the ARL. Davis is fiercely critical of the Turnbull government's response to last year's Uluru Statement from the Heart, which she read at a sunset ceremony at Uluru. The statement, she says, was the product of months of consultation between the government-funded Referendum Council and Aboriginal communities. Its recommendation  rejected out of hand by the government  that there should be a referendum to test the idea that parliament should be constitutionally bound to consult a representative body of Aboriginal people before enacting legislation that specifically affects those people, was part of a painstaking, sophisticated and democratically devised road-map for the future of the country. "That's why it was so disrespectful, and so ruthless and brutal, to have been dismissed by the Prime Minister in that way. It should have been subject to national public debate. To just unilaterally say no, that's inexcusable." She says Indigenous reconciliation has taken an internationally peculiar form in Australia, where any structural reform is dismissed as "symbolic". "And the practical stuff  employment, education  is important," she says, "but it's very much about making Aboriginal people white Australians. It's about assimilation. They've tried that path for longer than 10 years, and they're still gibbering about economic development and wondering why we can't close the gap. They've completely eschewed what we know works in other jurisdictions, and that is empowering Aboriginal people to take control of their lives and making them accountable for the decisions that they make.
The council responsible for poisoning thousands of bees in the eastern Sydney suburb of Paddington is facing swarms of criticism for the drastic action.

The move to spray the bees with poison rather than relocate the hive attracted backlash online, after the ABC reported that up to 50,000 bees could have been exterminated.

Worker bees on the job. Credit:James Alcock

A spokeswoman for Woollahra Council said that expert advice provided to the council advised them that relocation wasn't an option.

"An expert assessment of the hive, located just above head-height on a low-hanging tree, determined that it could not be relocated because it had had been infected by a beetle."
The trouble with politicians feeding the furnace of fear to gain election momentum is they create a perception of crime that eats away at public confidence. Say it often enough and people will start to believe that if you venture out at night you will mugged. This is not to downplay the violent crimes committed by Sudanese Australians and others. A home invasion can be life-altering, with families feeling so threatened they have decided to sell their homes for a fresh start. But the last two quarterly crime figures have gone down and we are tracking towards a third dip. Smash-and-grab raids on jewellers have stopped and cigarette raids have dipped, as have home invasions. This is known as Hyena Politics - repeatedly attacking the weakest link until you bring it down. (Actually, I just made that up - pretty cool, hey?) Yet Dutton is right - we have a black crime problem that is a national scandal. It is just not an African one. Hyena Politics: Looking for the kill, not the truth. Credit:Mikel Hendriks

The rate of indigenous arrest and imprisonment has spiked alarmingly around the country. In Victoria it has jumped more than 120 per cent and Australia-wide an indigenous kid is 25 times more likely to end up in detention than the rest of the community's youth. The truth is you are more likely to be the victim of a crime committed by a black Australian than a black refugee. Perhaps Dutton and his handmaidens are more interested in the (comparatively) tiny number of Sudanese offenders, but you cant yell, send them back where they came from when youre talking about the original Australians, can you? Victorias Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton is certainly well aware of the problem. We have to work with the indigenous leaders - many of their kids are in a bad way. The same people are being arrested again and again. Ashton is back on deck following an extended break after admitting he had allowed himself to become exhausted due to the eight day a week nature of the job. Not only does the Chief Commissioner run a huge organisation that is always on crisis footing, the role requires a massive investment in the ceremonial side  visiting police stations, fronting graduation parades, speaking at community meetings and schmoozing corporate partners. 'In five years you should be able to do what you want to do': Graham Ashton. Credit:Justin McManus

Then there is the political tightrope, trying to talk on crime issues without appearing to be on one side or the other. I do my best not to enter the political debate - it is important the force is independent and stays out of politics, he says, knowing that a word out of place will generate headlines. Physically he has dropped weight, is trying to mind what he eats (he could commit grievous bodily harm on a dessert trolley) and is taking time out for long-distance walks, averaging around 50 kilometres a week. Graham "Asho" Ashton, a former ruckman described as "the poor man's Polly Farmer". A pretty handy Australian Rules ruckman, (described by a former Australian Federal Police colleague as a poor mans Polly Farmer), he knows physical activity is the best stress-buster available. Even so the phone is never off and the calls, texts and emails never stop. The real Graham "Polly" Farmer.

Which is one of the reasons he will almost certainly be a one-term chief. Appointed in July 2015, he is halfway through his contract and while he is still leaving the door slightly ajar, you feel his present plan is to move on. In five years you should be able to do what you want to do. You can stay too long, which is not good for the force. Better to leave and give someone else a crack. While the headlines are on gangs and the real fear is about terrorism, Ashtons five-year agenda is based on something far less dramatic  modernisation. First it is about people, getting enough police where they are needed full-time and to be able to move them to where they are needed in times of crisis. We needed to get away from boom-bust recruiting and establish a model for police numbers and stick to it, he says.

We need the equipment to do the job safely - vests, guns, the best vehicles and well equipped stations. Then there is the issue of computer systems, the biggest long-term scandal in policing history. Over decades, through a series of bad decisions, police have wasted hundreds of millions of dollars on computers and IT that failed and continues to fail. The truth is that most teenagers with a smart phone and an iPad are better equipped than coppers on the street. Police spend hours writing reports, duplicating work for systems that remain incompatible. They still tend to rely on calling headquarters for basic criminal record checks, as they did 50 years ago. With IT we are miles behind. Governments have invested heavily and we would stuff up delivery, Ashton admits. Finally cops are being equipped with 10,000 iPhones and iPads in a $50 million project nearly 17 years after it was first trialled. As they roll out, already there has been a massive increase in the number of checks, Ashton says.

Body cameras will be introduced in April in the first trial and an automated intelligence system that can draw on all information in police holdings is starting to get results. It is already solving crimes. You enter key information from the scene and it can throw up a suspect in minutes that would have taken hours and hours, says Ashton. Not only has Melbourne grown massively, but in policing terms its very nature has changed. Once many of us worked in the city, lived in the suburbs, went to the footy on Saturday and had a roast at home for Sunday lunch. Now Ashton says we are not so much one city but a giant metropolis. Melbourne would be the third-biggest city in the US (behind New York and Los Angeles) and now there are lots of CBDs, high density living hubs and 24-hour activities. There are different challenges to deliver quick service to someone on the 27th floor of an apartment building to someone in a home in Narre Warren, Ashton says. Big cities lead to impersonal policing. We have great community support but we cant take it for granted and have to keep engaged.
George Pell's legal defence team wants access to the medical records of the people who have made allegations of sexual offences against the cardinal.

But the complainants have objected to providing their own records or having medical specialists they have seen hand them over, Melbourne Magistrates Court has heard.

Cardinal Pell's case returned to court on Friday so prosecutors and defence lawyers could discuss with magistrate Belinda Wallington the release of legal documents ahead of the hearing that will determine whether the cardinal stands trial.
A young man has been found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter over the fatal bashing of a high school student in a Melbourne laneway.

Shengliang Wan, 24, kicked and stomped on Longxiang 'Jeremy' Hu, 19, during a fight in the city's Chinatown on April 15, 2016.

Longxiang 'Jeremy' Hu died after being bashed in Melbourne's Chinatown.

Mr Hu, a Yarra Valley Grammar School student, suffered a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain, and died in hospital.

Wan had been on trial in the Supreme Court, and the jury delivered its verdict on Friday, finding him not guilty of murder, but guilty of the lesser charge.
#murder suspect Prosecutors seek death penalty for murder suspect State prosecutors on Monday requested that the judiciary sentence a murder suspect to death for killing three women of the same family in March. The suspect, Kim Tae-hyun, 24, w...
A Melbourne man has been accused of engaging in sexual activity with a minor and creating child pornography in the United Kingdom.

Australian Federal Police allege the 24-year-old man from Thornbury travelled to the UK to meet a child and commit a range of offences.

The man was arrested following a raid of his home by Federal Police and Victoria Police, during which officers seized a number of items.

He was charged with engaging in sexual activity with a child under the age of 16, producing child pornography material outside of Australia and possessing child pornography.

The man is scheduled to appear before the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday.
The Age is Victoria's number one masthead, according to new figures.

The publication recorded the highest total-cross platform audience in the state in data released on Thursday by Roy Morgan Research.

Media House. 20 June 2017. The Age News. Photo: Eddie Jim. Credit:Eddie Jim

Figures from the latest readership report for Australian newspapers found The Age's audience numbers in print, web and apps had hit an average of 3.06 million readers a week, up by 4.7 per cent from the previous year. Victoria's second most popular masthead, the Herald Sun, is down 1.6 per cent to 3.02 million readers.

The Age was ranked the third most popular masthead in Australia.
CCTV footage captured of the brawl on Chapel Street. Credit:Victoria Police

Three men from Western Australia have charged following a "brutal and vicious" mass brawl in Chapel Street, which left a young man seriously injured.

A 30-year-old man was left lying unconscious on tram tracks in the middle of Chapel Street for 30 minutes in the early hours of Thursday morning following the altercation.

He was among three people taken to The Alfred hospital where he is expected to remain for some time after sustaining serious head injuries in the fight on the Prahran shopping strip about 1am.

He remains in a stable condition.
The prime minister has convinced Western Australia and New South Wales to sign up to a new hospital deal, but others say not enough money is on the table.

The Council of Australian Governments meeting wrapped up in Canberra on Friday with the federal government reaching agreement with the two states on hospital funding.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull sits next to WA Premier Mark McGowan at the COAG meeting.

However, other state leaders argued they were being short-changed by the offer.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the agreement with NSW and WA would see an additional $9 billion and more than $3.5 billion respectively flow into their state hospital systems over five years from 2020.
For much of December, the peak tourist and party season, most techno venues in Goa were closed by the police. Last month at Ashwen beach in Goa, the British-organised GOAT festival was cancelled just hours before it was due to start, with local authorities saying the required permission to stage the party on Indian Republic Day, January 26, had not been granted. When Fairfax Media visited the GOAT festival site, the organisers had fled the scene, leaving no explanation to the bitterly disappointed and short-changed punters  some of whom had travelled from Europe and paid a 9000-rupee ($180AUD) entry fee online for the three-day festival. Meanwhile, at the Hill Top festival in Vagator, the party continued. British headliners Shpongle took to the stage, electrifying the crowd with music accompanied by impressive fire juggling and dazzling projections onto the metal sculpted stage. The crowd at Hill Top. For Shabhun Argarwal, a 27-year-old data programmer who I chatted with at a chai stall beside the dance floor, it's been well worth the 800-kilometre train journey from Bangalore.

We first heard these DJs via YouTube and SoundCloud,'' he says, "but for sure having the chance to see these acts here in Goa is definitely worth the trip. In India we have to work hard to party hard. Indian DJ Arjun Vagale, who is often considered the pioneer of techno in India and regularly performs in Berlin, New York and Goa, says he is acutely aware of the wealth divide when he plays at parties in India: It's very evident, and as an Indian you live with it every single day ... just step out of your home and the poverty is the first thing that hits you in the face. Some of the revellers at Hill Top. But I do feel that the underground scene is trying to be a bit more accessible, like sometimes offering discounts to students ... and that really helps bring in fresh faces, looking for the counter-culture.

India is among the world's fastest-growing economies, and the UN predicts India's population will overtake China's by 2022. The median age in India is just 27 and more than half the population are under 25. But the wealth disparity in India is still stark and slum areas sit alongside underground party venues which are still mostly accessible only to relatively wealthy Indians. The 3000-rupee ($60) entrance fee for the Hill Top party is equivalent to almost 10 times the average Indian daily wage of 324 rupees ($6.50). Along with the country's gradual economic growth, India's youth are looking for more sophisticated cultural offerings. Despite the wealth disparities, there are more young Indians with higher disposable incomes than ever. The young middle class is far more exposed and wants a top-class experience in their home towns, says Dev Bhatia, co-founder of UnMute, an Indian artist management agency and music consultancy based in Delhi. The internet and mobile penetration has played a major role to quicken this process. There is a lot happening in the country currently. Top DJs coming down every weekend, multiple options for audiences, world class festivals and a high quality of local artists. If anything, we're getting way more organised with support from sponsors.

According to Hill Top party organiser Varun Taljera, 34, who says he has been obsessed with electronic music since he was 13 and organised his first party at 17, the difference between the rave scene today and that of the '90s is that young, affluent Indians have gravitated to it. The Goa trance scene started here in the '60s from people who came from all over the world. The Indian elite only joined more recently. Today it's a melting pot for all  you can dance next to a billionaire and a bum. Taljera says the party organisers now work with authorities to make sure all the requirements are met  including finishing the party at a reasonable time and keeping the events drug-free. Its not really an illegal rave party scene, as it was in the past. Those days are gone. These are now events that are all very legally regulated and operate per the guidelines given to us by the authorities, he says. However, as with much else in India, snail-paced bureaucracy, excessive government regulation and corruption are still stymieing the evolution of India's electronic music scene, Bhatia says.

According to Saagar Chodankar, who runs a guesthouse at Anjuna beach, about a third of his clientele are Indians looking for a party holiday destination and the rest are international travellers. Goa is known all over the world as a top destination for techno  this place defined the whole Goa trance movement, he says. I don't think they should stop the parties here  people should be free to go to them and have a good time. We locals also know that if they stop the parties then people will just stop coming here. There needs to be a reasonable balance, he says. In the face of stiff opposition from authorities, in Goa and in India more broadly a new homegrown rave scene is taking off  and it has become the sub-culture of choice for a new generation of middle-class Indians. Despite the limitations of equity, accessibility and over-regulation, Bhatia says it is a very fertile period for underground music in India. We have amazing festivals like Magnetic Fields, Vh1 Supersonic, NH7 [Weekender] and so on and many smaller city festivals and great gigs to look forward to. On the flipside, we face various random legislation issues, says Bhatia. So while it is a good time for the rave scene in India, it is also a really weird time.
London: Oxfam, one of the biggest charities in Britain, Australia and other parts of the world, has condemned the behaviour of some former staff after a newspaper report said aid workers had paid for sex orgies while on a mission in Haiti to help those affected by the devastating 2010 earthquake.

"The behaviour of some members of Oxfam staff uncovered in Haiti in 2011 was totally unacceptable, contrary to our values and the high standards we expect of our staff," Oxfam said when asked to comment on a report in The Times of London that aid workers had paid prostitutes for sex.

Haiti was devastated by an earthquake in 2010.

"As soon as we became aware of the allegations we immediately launched an internal investigation. Allegations that underage girls may have been involved were not proven," Oxfam said, adding that four members of staff were dismissed as a result of the investigation and three resigned before the end of the investigation.

The Times report said workers paid for full-on Caligula orgies with survivors of the devastating earthquake, including some who could have been underage.
Thirteen months into his presidency, Donald Trump has formally announced his pick for US ambassador to Australia - Admiral Harry Harris, a tough-talking military man who has irritated the Chinese government but has the respect of the foreign policy and defence establishment in Canberra.

Speculation had been swirling for the past six months that Admiral Harris, the commander of US forces in the Pacific, was lined up for the diplomatic posting.

His nomination by Mr Trump is likely to enjoy an easy confirmation in the US Senate and is a strong signal to China and the Asia-Pacific of America's intentions, experts said.

A statement from the White House describes him as a "highly decorated, combat proven naval officer with extensive knowledge, leadership and geo-political expertise in the Indo-Pacific region".
Beirut: Half a dozen newborns, blinking and arching their backs, were carried from a burning hospital hit by airstrikes. A bombed apartment house collapsed, burying families. Medics doused patients with water after a suspected chlorine attack, one of five in Syria since the start of the year.

That was just a fraction of the violence this week in northern Syria, according to residents and rescue workers, as the Syrian government and its Russian ally stepped up their air war on two of the country's last major rebel-held areas.

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"All types of weapons have been used on us for seven years, and the whole world is watching," said Moaz al-Shami, an anti-government activist in the north Syrian town of Saraqeb where a medical clinic was hit as its staff was treating people wounded in a market bombing while buying potatoes. "In Saraqeb, we die twice."

Since the rout of the Islamic State last year, and steady government advances against other insurgent groups, a misperception has grown abroad that the Syrian war is winding down. Instead, the carnage is reaching a new peak.
On Friday, David Jones chief executive David Thomas announced the company would be opening a store as part of the redevelopment of the mall.

"We've been assessing the opportunity in Auckland since opening the store in Wellington," Thomas said.



"We're very committed to investing in our stores, we're very committed to creating beautiful stores. We've done that in Wellington, and are certainly looking to do the same in Newmarket."

The company was working on setting up its New Zealand website, which could launch before the opening of the Newmarket store in 2019, Thomas said.
Long weekends are amazing and luckily the country have just experienced a couple. But what if you had one every week?

In March, trust company Perpetual Guardian will launch a six-week trial where its full time staff will work for four days a week but still be paid for five days.

And if it's successful, the company will implement the policy permanently from July 1.

Perpetual founder Andrew Barnes said the idea behind the four-day week was to increase productivity and start a conversation that challenged the traditional working week.
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Linkedin Ary Hermawan (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, February 9, 2018 08:28 1312 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c4ae4ad 1 Opinion #commentary,prison,criminal-charge,Criminal-Code,criminalization,#CriminalCode,freedom-of-expression Free

It is easy to go to jail in Indonesia. If you say anything wrong about someones religion, you could go to jail. If you offend anyone on Twitter, you could go to jail. Indonesia is no longer ruled by European overlords and the New Order regime was overthrown 20 years ago, so why do we still have to fear the state while doing harmless things?



In the past two decades, lawmakers have given the police too much power to control the people. A University Indonesia study has found that 156 laws containing 716 new crimes were passed between 1998 and 2014. That is around 40 new crimes per year.



The study, conducted by Indonesia Law Reform Institute cofounder Anugrah Rizki Akbari, concludes that Indonesia has an overcriminalization problem, with hundreds of harmless activities having been classified as crimes.



Certainly there is nothing wrong with regulation. But it is a no-brainer that overregulation is a problem, not a solution, as it defeats the purpose of having a regulation in the first place, which is to create order, not chaos.



So, it is puzzling that the lawmakers are confident that the latest draft of the Criminal Code (KUHP) bill will not do more harm than good to Indonesians. The bill introduces some new crimes by expanding the three most problematic provisions in the current penal code: defamation, blasphemy and morality.



The current defamation law is extremely harsh and ridiculously prone to abuse, with the police often used by powerful people to crush the weak using the law. Dozens of people have been sent to prison under the 2008 cyberlaw for simply expressing their opinions online.



Now lawmakers want to expand the defamation provision in the bill by reinstating the article on insulting the President, which was declared void by the Constitutional Court 12 years ago. The article, if approved, would carry a maximum punishment of five years imprisonment.



A president, given the nature of the job, is naturally among the most maligned people on social media, not only in Indonesia but in most parts of the world. As a national leader, it is natural for people to blame the president for the nations ailments. But who can decide whether ones rant on social media is insulting to the President or not?



Indonesias blasphemy law is even worse. It basically gives the majority the right to suppress the beliefs or opinions of the few. As if one article was not enough of a problem, the lawmakers have added five new articles on blasphemy to the bill, stipulating new crimes against religion, religious leaders and houses of worship.



Thus one can go to jail for five years if found guilty of insulting religion on the web, preventing people from holding religious gatherings or for tainting, destroying or burning houses of worship.



Though some of these articles potentially protect minorities, they could still be used by some groups to pressure others and may serve as a double-edged sword for minorities. Lawmakers may also add an article criminalizing people for insulting a leader of an ongoing religious ceremony.



The morality articles have been the most contentious during the bills deliberation. The lawmakers have agreed to criminalize pre-marital sex and homosexuality, though some parties are still looking for ways to water down these clauses.



Other controversial provisions include criminalizing a person for showing or demonstrating the use of contraceptives.



Lawmakers often argue that they aim to create order in society by regulating activities deemed as immoral or dangerous. The bill, for instance, criminalizes a person for claiming to possess black magic to harm others so that, the lawmakers argue, people will not take the law into their own hands and punish the alleged sorcerers through mob justice.



It may seem logical but isnt the state supposed to protect everyone, regardless of whether they have superpowers or not, from violent mobs?



Instead of creating order, the new KUHP bill will produce the opposite  for at least two reasons.



First, the police are still widely seen as corrupt and incompetent. While National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian has made strides in improving the integrity and performance of the force, activists say the police still lack the capacity to judge if one defamation or blasphemy report is serious enough or worthy of a follow up.



The police do not want to admit that one reason some defamation cases make national or even global headlines is that the charges are so absurd (and therefore unfair and excessive) that people question the polices judgment.



Second, the articles in the bill, while intended to prevent mob justice, would instead give hardline groups a legal weapon to exert their power. They will not make hard-line and extremist groups irrelevant; they will only empower them.



It is only natural for religious people to want a sin-free neighborhood and be utterly upset if anyone insults their beliefs, and it is understandable for anyone, the President included, to want to be free from slander on social media.



But not all problems can be resolved by the state apparatus  particularly with its limited resources and capacity. Morality and religious issues are personal and cannot easily be policed by the state. The authorities will inevitably cherry-pick cases, and when they do they will usually spare the powerful and single out the weak.
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Linkedin EDITORIAL (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, February 9, 2018 08:13 1312 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c4ad7de 4 Editorial #Editorial,press-freedom,national-press-day,#PressFreedom,freedom-of-expression,democracy,authoritarian,dictatorship Free

Almost two decades ago, reformasi was our big bang in post-authoritarian politics. Among the most essential changes were the establishment of freedom of association and press freedom  which breathed life into peoples freedom of speech and opinion.



That is why every ruling regime in the reform era, from BJ Habibie to Joko Jokowi Widodo, promotes press freedom as a crucial part of their political platform. Press freedom has simply become the demarcation line between a democracy and dictatorship.



Introduced under Habibie, the 1999 Press Law states the press will no longer be censored. The press control agency that issued licenses for publication was buried forever. The press flourished, with its role in monitoring and criticizing authority becoming more influential than ever.



A few media outlets conducted investigative reporting, eventually leading to corruptors being dragged behind bars. Television channels were free to hold talk shows, radio broadcasts made new in-house programs and a few online media outlets now conquer the flow of information. Despite its shortcomings, Indonesias press can be considered the strongest, and probably the best, in Southeast Asia.



Although the role of the press is to criticize authority, press freedom is inseparable from peoples criticism. The National Resilience Council two years ago went as far as advising the President to authorize the Press Council to silence and contain rogue elements of the press, a la New Order.



Press freedom, noted the council, had been plundered by big capitalists bent on seizing the television industry and exploiting public frequency for their business and political interests. The 2014 presidential election indeed remains a major embarrassing showcase on how television tycoons, also patrons of political parties, use their media to trash political rivals.



Yet giving such authority to the Press Council will only turn it into another press controlling regime similar to the dictatorship era. Even without such a regime, our national press remains constantly under the shadows of criminalization, as evident in a number of laws.



Among others, Article 27 of the Electronic Information and Transactions Law on defamation through the internet does not directly entangle the media, but could very well be used as a weapon by any future regime that is against press freedom. In the ongoing amendment of the Criminal Code, article 329, for instance, could threaten journalists with a maximum penalty of a five year sentence if proved to have influenced judges impartiality in court cases.



In regulating press freedom, the government must consider the basic values of democracy, the states guarantee and protection of freedom of speech. In addition, the state must guarantee diversity of information for the public. To protect press freedom from exploitation from powerful media organizations, including the television industry which benefits from public frequency for the interest of political groups, there must be tighter regulations with harsh penalties for violators.



This is because press freedom does not belong merely to people of the press, but to every sovereign individual.
It was written in the stars that one day Spanish star Antonio Banderas, who used to walk to school every morning past Pablo Picasso's childhood home, would have to play the great painter.

For years Malaga's second most famous son has been turning down offers to play its greatest, knowing that he "would be looked at with a magnifying glass."

But finally Banderas has said yes -- twice.

He's playing Picasso in a 10-part television series on the artist's tumultuous life steered by Hollywood heavyweight Ron Howard, and in a film on the 33 days he took to paint his anti-war masterpiece "Guernica" written by the Spanish great Carlos Saura.

"Movies are very good for events," Banderas said, "but for somebody's life, 10 hours of TV is a very interesting vehicle."

Even so, with someone like Picasso "no matter how well you do it, you are going to face criticism", the 57-year-old actor told AFP from the set of the new series, "Genius Picasso".

"It was same for Picasso," Banderas insisted. "He knew when he painted 'Les Demoiselles d'Avignon' people were going to try to kill him for it because it was not seen as proper at the time."

Picasso loomed large over Banderas' childhood in Malaga, the Andalusian port where they were born only four streets apart.

Read also: Antonio Banderas says he's recovered from a heart attack

- Paloma: 'You sound like my father' -

"He was a hero. I remember my mother holding my hand and taking me to school in the morning past his house on the Plaza de la Merced," said the actor, who without his hair is not physically unlike the artist.

Another thought also comforts Banderas. He once met Picasso's daughter Paloma when he first arrived in Los Angeles and spoke very little English.

"I started to speak Spanish with her" and after a while "she closed her eyes and I thought, 'Oh my God, I'm boring this woman.'

"So I asked her if she was tired, and she said, 'No, not at all. When I close my eyes I can see my father, because you speak with the same accent as my him. That's how my father spoke, he spoke like you.'"

"I cannot compare myself with the most important artist of the 20th century, it would be stupid and ridiculous," said Banderas, who plays the artist in his later years, spending five hours a day in makeup before he steps onto the set.

Rather than a typical biopic, the series for National Geographic -- shot partly in Budapest -- is a "kind of cubist painting of him actually," he said. "We're going back and forth in his life continuously. It starts with the bombing of Guernica," the Basque town which was levelled by Hitler and Mussolini's bombers during the Spanish Civil War in 1937.

Read also: Six Picasso exhibitions to see in Europe in 2018

- Reading between the lines -

"The narrative is not linear, which is very good I think," said Banderas, who made his name in Pedro Almodovar films like "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" before going to Hollywood.

He said his biggest struggle was not the makeup but trying to "understand Picasso", the choices he made politically and artistically and his relations with the women in his life.

"You have to constantly read between the lines trying to understand what was his truth," Banderas added.

As well as combing biographies of the painter, the actor talked with his grandson Olivier Widmaier, whose book "Picasso: An Intimate Portrait" is published in March.

Banderas' passion for the painter has also seen him keep faith for more than six years with Saura's long-delayed film "Guernica 33 Days", which sets his creation of Picasso's great painting against the backdrop of his stormy relationship with Dora Maar.

"It is completely different to what we're doing here, it is dedicated to 'Guernica', his great reflection on violence and the civil war. Carlos Saura wants to get away from realism and do something that is literally a painting. I am interested in that and I may still do it."
A Japanese school's plan to introduce Armani-branded uniforms for its students, at a cost of nearly $750 a pop, has sparked complaints and fierce debate, even reaching as far as parliament.

The local education board confirmed to AFP that the Taimei Elementary School in Tokyo's flashy Ginza district will adopt the designer uniforms from April, with a full set costing parents around 80,000 yen ($740).

While the school says the new uniforms are not mandatory, critics said parents would feel compelled to buy them to ensure their children were not left out.

Kyodo news agency said the local education board had received a string of complaints from parents, unconvinced by the school's explanation that the designer uniform would be good branding.

In a letter announcing the uniform, the administration reportedly said the outfits were a bid to tie the 150-year-old school to the upscale Ginza district where it is located.

But that did little to sway public opinion.

"This shouldn't have been about designer brands, or tradition. The officials should have thought about the children and made a decision after holding discussions," one parent, who did not wish to be identified, told national broadcaster NHK.

"This is outrageous, kids' sizes change," one disgruntled commentator wrote online.

Read also: Australian mother starts petition so daughter can wear pants to school

A public elementary school in Tokyo picks a $730 #Armani uniform, drawing fire from parents and spurring debate in parliament#Japan #education https://t.co/3eAroVSGS8  Kyodo News - English (@kyodo_english) February 9, 2018

The uniform features sharply tailored blazers as well as add-ons like bags that can push the total set's cost to around 90,000 yen, a price another commentator described as "just too expensive for uniforms for fast-growing children."

Opposition lawmaker Manabu Terada even raised the issue during a parliamentary session, questioning the logic of such an expensive uniform at a public school with students from a range of backgrounds.

Asked to comment on the issue, Finance Minister Taro Aso, known for his own tailored Savile Row-style suits, acknowledged that he thought the planned attire was "expensive for an elementary school".

"It might be problematic if only one student cannot afford it," he said.

Italian brand Armani retains a particular nostalgic prestige for some in Japan, who associate it with the boom years of the economy.

But with those days long past, the pricy uniforms appear all the more incongruous to some.

"These uniforms are far more expensive that the suits I'm wearing," one commentator grumbled.
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Linkedin Catherine HOURS and Amelie BOTTOLLIER-DEPOIS (Agence France-Presse) Paris  Fri, February 9, 2018 06:47 1312 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c4ab5aa 2 World nicolas-hulot,France,sex-allegations Free

France's environment minister Nicolas Hulot furiously fended off rumors of sexual harassment on Thursday two weeks after another member of President Emmanuel Macron's cabinet was accused of rape.

Hulot, a celebrity green activist who is one of Macron's most popular ministers, appeared close to tears in a television interview as he denied the "shameful" rumours.

"It hurts, when it's wrongful and unfounded. Yesterday my children were in tears," the 62-year-old said, describing the situation as "a nightmare".

Hulot, a TV star who has forged a three-decade career as an environmental campaigner, won swift support from the presidency.

"As he has not been charged, there is no reason why he should resign," Macron's office said.

Questioned on BFMTV about accusations from "the grand-daughter of a famous politician" dating back to 1997, Hulot acknowledged that the woman filed a complaint in 2008 but said the case was dismissed.

"I was questioned at my own request and investigators very quickly concluded that there was nothing suggesting the case should be followed up," Hulot said.

He was attempting to clear the air ahead of the publication of an investigation by a magazine that poses fresh problems for Hulot, who has faced a difficult start to life as a politician.

The Ebdo weekly, due to publish an interview with his unnamed accuser on Friday, has described her accusations of being abused at one of his homes as "devastating".

Hulot also denied suggestions that a former colleague had accused him of harassment.

"The answer is no," he told BFM. "The worst thing is that she has already been questioned by some of your colleagues and she gave the same answer."

He said he had not yet considered resigning, but added: "My family comes first, that's what will guide my decision."

- Second minister under fire -

The rumours dogging Hulot emerged after Paris prosecutors reopened an investigation in late January into rape allegations against Budget Minister Gerald Darmanin.

A former call girl claims he pressured her into sex in 2009 in exchange for helping her clear her name in a legal dispute.

Darmanin's lawyers have accused her of a "crude attempt to harm" the minister's reputation and said he was suing her for slander, and other ministers have rallied around their colleague.

France, like other countries around the world, has seen an outpouring of allegations of sexual assault and harassment in the wake of the scandal engulfing Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein.

Hulot was among several figures Macron brought in from outside politics to brighten his cabinet when the centrist newcomer came to power in May.

The environmentalist has regularly been reported to be on the brink of resigning, frustrated over issues including a decision to delay France's commitment to cutting its reliance on nuclear energy to 50 percent until after 2025.

After filing a declaration of his assets in December as required by ministers, press reports highlighted how the eco-warrior owned nine motor-engined vehicles, including an SUV.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, February 9, 2018 19:53 1312 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c4d04f4 1 City flood,anies-baswedan Free

During his visit to Cililitan Kecil in Kramat Jati, East Jakarta, to address flood victims in the area on Friday, Governor Anies Baswedan urged the victims to be tough in the face of adversity.

Let others know that Jakarta residents are tough and patient [] God willing, all of us can get through this ordeal well, Anies told the victims.

Severe inundation hit areas along the Ciliwung River in the capital, particularly those in South and East Jakarta, earlier this week, displacing thousands of residents.

The governor said previously that he would carry out river-naturalization projects to ease the inundation. However, Anies did not elaborate on the naturalization concept during his visit.

Meanwhile, the city administration has set aside around Rp 800 billion (US$58.7 million) from the citys 2018 budget to procure land in riverbank areas to pave the way for the river restoration project, which had reached 50 percent completion as of Friday.

The project, which has been ongoing since 2013, to mitigate flooding in Jakarta is being conducted by the city administration with the support of the Public Works and Public Housing Ministry. (vny)
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Indonesia  Fri, February 9 2018

An Argentine mother who had been searching for her kidnapped 7-year-old daughter for nearly nine months is expressing gratitude to the Indonesians and others who helped find her in North Toraja regency on Tuesday.



Thanks to my family, my lawyers, my friends, my superiors, my co-workers, the media and journalists and the millions of people who spread through social networks, who gave me every piece of information they had about my daughter, Elizabeth Avalos posted on Facebook on Thursday.



I have to highlight the tireless work of the Argentine chancellery and the embassies of Malaysia and Indonesia and the Indonesian police who acted at the speed of light and thanks to all of this today we are together, happy and united forever.



Alum Avalos was allegedly kidnapped by her father and his girlfriend in June 2017 from Buenos Aires. She was reunited with her ...
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, February 9, 2018 21:15 1312 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c4d3315 1 Business Bitcoins,commodity,payment-system Free

Consultant from Bitcoin.co.id, or Bitcoin Indonesia, Nidya Rahmanita has said the company has run a marketplace business for the cryptocurrency and never declared bitcoin as a payment instrument.

Since the beginning, we never treated bitcoin as a payment instrument because we hope that it would be recognized as a commodity, Nidya said in Jakarta on Thursday on the sidelines of a discussion on illegal transactions with bitcoin and the government control authority.

She said Bitcoin Indonesia was still waiting for the regulation on bitcoins that is expected to be issued by Bank Indonesia and the Financial Service Authority.

She denied that bitcoin transactions are totally uncontrollable or anonymous, saying that all members and users of Bitcoin.co.id could be tracked.

We know the numbers of their bank accounts as well as their IP addresses. But because [Bitcoin] is unregulated, we cannot know who are the senders or recipients, she said as reported by tempo.co.

Meanwhile, legal consultant for digital currency Robertus Ori Setianto said he disagreed that bitcoin should be treated as a payment instrument, but he did not reject it.

He, however, agreed that there should be regulations for bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. Just let it be a toy. But, it should be regulated. We, however, have to think twice before treating it as a payment instrument, he added.

Bank Indonesia had declared Bitcoin as an illegal payment and transaction instrument, but the Trade Ministry's Futures Exchange Supervisory Board (Bappebti) is considering it as an investment instrument. (bbn)
Facelift: A new look for Kota Tua is seen in West Jakarta on Thursday thanks to a revitalization project that is turning the Krukut River into a 600-meter public park. The project, which is said to be inspired by the public recreation space over the Cheonggyecheon creek in South Korea, is expected to be completed in March 2018.(JP/Seto Wardhana)(JP/Seto Wardhana)
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Linkedin Moses Ompusunggu (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, February 9, 2018 18:12 1312 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c4cd586 2 Politics Museum,TNI,researchers,foreigners Free

Foreign researchers can no longer freely enter museums run by the Indonesian Military (TNI) without permission from the TNI headquarters, in a new policy that one local historian says shows Indonesia to be allergic to foreigners.

In August last year, the TNI reportedly issued a policy temporarily banning foreign nationals from entering Indonesia's main military museum, the Satriamandala Museum, located on one of the busiest thoroughfares in Jakarta, Jl. Gatot Subroto in Kuningan, without permission from the militarys headquarters.

The Jakarta Post recently obtained an undated photograph showing two flyers announcing the temporary ban on foreigners visiting the museum.

"For the moment, visitors from abroad are not allowed to enter/visit Satriamandala Museum before receiving a permit from the TNI headquarter[s]," the announcement displayed in the photograph read.

The Post visited Satriamandala Museum on Thursday, and found that the announcement had been taken down.

A museum official said that since January the restriction had been relaxed by allowing foreigners to enter the museum for recreational purposes only. Foreigners who wanted to visit the museum for research purposes were still obliged to obtain a permit from the intelligence assistant to the TNI commander, the official said.

The regulation is said to have been implemented at two other museums managed by the TNI's History Center namely the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) Betrayal Museum in Lubang Buaya, East Jakarta, and the Indonesian Soldier Museum within the Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (TMII) complex, also in East Jakarta.

Two kids play with old heavy machine guns once used by the Indonesian Military (TNI) at the Satria Mandala military museum in Jakarta on Sunday. As apart of the celebration of TNI. (The Jakarta Post/JP)

Renowned historian Asvi Warman Adam told the Post that two of his foreign colleagues had been affected by the restriction.

One tried to enter Satriamandala, Asvi said, while the other researcher attempted to enter the PKI Museum in Lubang Buaya. "[This policy] creates a negative image of Indonesia as a state that is undemocratic, isolated and being allergic to foreigners," Asvi said, recalling there had been no such obligation previously.

The University of Indonesia historian called the regulation "discriminatory" given that it did not apply to Indonesian researchers. "Museums are not archives. In museums, the dioramas are for the public," Asvi said.

TNI spokesman Brig. Gen. Sabrar Fadhilah insisted the policy regarding foreign researchers was a "procedure" that had to be implemented for "foreigners who want to enter military institutions" and that it aimed to ensure impartiality in research.

"It's like somebody, a foreigner, who wanted to come to your house to research whether or not your house was formerly owned by the Dutch. That person must secure your permission," Sabrar said in a phone interview on Friday.

"I think there has to be a process to ensure research is not conducted haphazardly," Sabrar said.

Lesson learned  Then Maj.Gen.Soeharto (right) let an operation to remove the bodies of military generals, who were killed and dumped into a well at the G30S coup headquarters called Lubang Buaya in the 1965 incident. (Tempo/-)

Established in October 1972, Satriamandala Museum is Indonesia's foremost military museum and houses a trove of artifacts, weapons and vehicles. The name of the museum is derived from the Sanskrit words meaning "a sacred place of knights."

Prior to its establishment, the museum's main building was formerly the home of Indonesia's founding father Sukarno, who stepped down from power following the attempted coup in 1965, which has been blamed on the now-defunct PKI.

It has four rooms dedicated to artefacts that once belonged to four of the countrys most prominent military figures: Soeharto, who rose to power as president in 1967 and governed the country for more than three decades until his downfall in 1998; Abdul Harris Nasution, a military strategist and a close ally of Soeharto, best known for escaping an assassination attempt during the attempted 1965 coup; national hero Sudirman, Indonesia's first military commander; and Oerip Soemohardjo, Indonesia's first armed forces chief of staff.

Notable exhibits include a litter used to carry Sudirman during his seven months of guerilla fighting in Java against Dutch imperialists, and Indonesia's first presidential aircraft named the RI Seulawah 1.

The museum also contains dioramas showcasing the history of Indonesias military, including the country's volatile formative years, between 1945 and1949, which are now being scrutinized by a large-scale Dutch-funded research project involving local historians from Gadjah Mada University (UGM) in Yogyakarta. (ahw)
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, February 9 2018

A joint search and rescue team has stopped its search for survivors of landslides in Bogor, West Java.



The rescue effort was ended on Wednesday evening after three days of work.



Heavy rain in the regency last weekend had caused landslides in at least two districts of the Puncak resort area, namely Cisarua and Cijeruk.



Bogor Suryakencana military commander Col. Inf. Mohammad Hasan said he had deployed hundreds of personnel to find possible victims. We did not see any signs of buried casualties, Hasan said, as quoted by tempo.co.



Previously, a witness had told the police that he had seen a motorist being buried by a landslide. The witness might have been in a state of trauma when stating that, Mohammad added.



The next steps to clean up the regions following the landslides will be carried out by officials from the Public Works and ...
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, February 9, 2018 15:06 1312 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c4c4f60 4 Business Jakarta-Bandung,high-speed-railway,land-acquisition Free

The Finance Ministry has said land acquisition for the 140-kilometer Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train will be completed next month, after it had appraised the value of the land.

The infrastructure project, which broke ground in a January 2016 ceremony led by President Joko Jokowi Widodo, has met with long delays caused by difficulties in acquiring land.

According to the tempo.co report, Deputy Finance Minister Mardiasmo said in Jakarta on Thursday that the appraisal was necessary to settle the acquisition of three plots of land that had been blamed for stalling the project.

He was referring to land in the Halim area of East Jakarta, the land owned by the Public Works and Housing Ministry and a plot that was under a land swap scheme in Cimahi, West Java.

Mardiasmo said the Finance Ministrys State Assets Directorate General (DJKN) was tasked with settling the acquisition of the three plots The DJKN will appraise the value of each plot, he said.

Land acquisition has been the main issue in moving the project forward, with only 54 percent of the land cleared for the project.

In early January, the government said the Chinese consortium backing the project had stopped fund disbursements because of unsettled issues over land acquisition for the project, which was initially scheduled for completion in 2019.

President Jokowi had even called for the project's reevaluation, particularly on whether an HSR service was needed to connect the two cities that were separated by only 240 kilometers. (bbn)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, February 9, 2018 16:19 1312 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c4c9195 1 City river-restoration,eviction,relocation Free

The Jakarta administration is set to continue the river restoration program this year by relocating residents living along the banks of the Ciliwung, Sunter and Pesanggrahan rivers to low cost apartments in a bid to mitigate annual flooding in the capital.

The process of river restoration [or] naturalization, [does not mean] evicting the people, but relocating the residents to a proper place, Water Management Agency head Teguh Hendrawan said on Friday according to kompas.com.

Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan brought up the river naturalization plan when asked recently about the city's flood mitigation plan.

Teguh said the relocation would be conducted shortly after the city administration had finished gathering data on the land that needed to be acquired for the program.

He added that residents who owned land certificates would receive compensation, however, the ongoing survey had shown that most of the residents did not own the certificates.

The data collection process would take time to be done thoroughly to prevent legal disputes in the future, he said.

We need to take care when checking the administrative documents because we need to be accountable for the money spent for compensation, Teguh said. (cal)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, February 9, 2018 14:45 1312 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c4c4638 1 City Bidara-Cina-land-dispute,eviction Free

Jakarta Deputy Governor Sandiaga Uno has called on the flood-affected residents of Bidara Cina in East Jakarta to hand over their lands to the city administration to help move forward with a flood mitigation project.

The residents should not be selfish, because the project could bring a positive impact to the city, Sandiaga said at City Hall on Friday, adding that he would approach the residents and try to persuade them.

The project involves drilling a tunnel that would connect the Ciliwung River to the East Flood Canal, which would ease the severe flooding that occasionally occurred in Bidara Cina.

The severe inundation that hit the capital in the past week has caused thousands of Jakarta residents, particularly those in East and South Jakarta, to move temporarily to evacuation shelters. Over 500 Bidara Cina residents have moved to the camps.

In 2015, the Bidara Cina residents whose lands were affected by the flood mitigation project filed a lawsuit against Gubernatorial Decree No. 2779/2015 that expanded the project.

The residents won their legal battle the following year, when the Jakarta State Administrative Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, citing a lack of good administrative principles as one of the reasons for the ruling. (vny)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, February 9, 2018 12:44 1312 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c4b5d42 1 City abandoned-baby,student,Bekasi Free

A university student in Yogyakarta has been reported to police for allegedly abandoning her newborn baby in Bekasi, West Java.

The student reportedly handed her baby over to a midwife who works in Kayuringin Jaya, South Bekasi, on Sunday.

Bekasi Police deputy chief Sr. Comr. Wijanarko said on Thursday that police had been tipped off by residents, who had discovered that the baby was in the care of the midwife.

The baby was in the care of the midwife at the request of its mother, who is a friend of [the midwife's]. The baby was approximately three days old when put under the midwifes care, said Wijanarko, as quoted by kompas.com.

According to Wijanarko, the student promised to come back for her baby once she returned from Yogyakarta.

She only returned to Bekasi after local residents had reported her to the police. She told the police that she did not mean to abandon the baby.

She felt ashamed, because the baby was born out of wedlock. She had given birth in her rented house in Yogyakarta, said Wijanarko.

Police have arrested the mother, who is now being treated as a witness. (jlm)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, February 9, 2018 16:00 1312 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c4c650e 1 City Rawa-Kucing-landifll,Tangerang,waste-to-energy Free

President Joko Jokowi Widodo is set to officially kick off work on the development of a waste-to-energy power plant (PLTSa) in the Rawa Kucing landfill area of Tangerang, Banten, in April.

The government is currently looking for an investor for the project, wartakota.tribunnews.com reported on Friday. The Rawa Kucing landfill was chosen because of its proximity to Jakarta in the hope that it can help process waste from the capital.

A top official at the landfill, Masan, said the 34-hectare area could be operated for another 10 years. This facility has so much empty space, he said, adding that around 17 tons of waste were dumped at the facility each day.

Work on several infrastructure facilities, such as roads, is currently underway at the site.

The Public Works and Public Housing Ministry is building two roads to connect the facility with the surrounding areas.

Masan said the construction work was expected to conclude soon.

We have three entrance gates at this facility, but only one gate that is already equipped with a good road. (vny)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, February 9, 2018 16:59 1312 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c4cb5f2 1 City weapon,transaction,teenagers,Depok Free

The Depok Polices Jaguar Team, tasked with combating street crime, recently arrested two teenagers suspected of selling sharp weapons. The suspects, a 16 year-old male and a 17-year old female, were arrested at Universitas Indonesia bus stop on Jl. Margonda in Depok, West Java, as they were reportedly in the process of handing over a celurit (traditional machete) to a buyer.

Jaguar Team chief First Insp. Winam Agus said his team had gathered information from Instagram that suggested the transaction would take place at the bus stop in the early hours of Thursday morning.

When arriving at the bus stop at around 3 a.m., the team members, who were in disguise, reportedly only found the pair of teenagers sitting on the bus stops bench. The team then searched the teenagers and found a large celurit in a bag they had brought.

A nearly one-meter-long celurit was found in a bag they brought, Winam said, as quoted by tempo.co on Thursday, adding that the teenagers had admitted to being members of a Jakarta gang called Belajar Gila (learning to be crazy). Both the teenagers are South Jakarta residents.

They had also allegedly conducted transactions for sharp weapons before. The weapons were sold to other teenagers to be used in brawls.

The two teenagers were brought to Depok Police headquarters for further investigations. (vny)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, February 9, 2018 13:15 1312 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c4bfc7c 1 Business Wuling-Automobile-Company,Cortez-MPV,launching Free

PT SGMW Motor Indonesia, a subsidiary of the Chinese joint venture SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile Company Limited, has launched two Cortez models under the Wuling Motors brand on Thursday at the Hotel Indonesia Kempinski Jakarta.

The Wuling Cortez C and Wuling Cortez L are seven-seater multipurpose vehicles (MPVs) fitted with a 1,800 cc engine that comes in two transmission options, Automated Manual Transmission (i-AMT) and a six-speed manual transmission. Prices start at Rp 218 million (US$15,979) for the Cortez C to Rp 264 million for the Cortez L.

We want to offer Indonesian people a new choice. You can compare the features of our new product with other brands, Cindy Cai, Wuling Motors' vice president of vehicle sales, service and marketing, said on Thursday.

Cai said more than 600 potential buyers had preordered the Cortez models since the company's initial announcement on Jan. 8.

She added that the company expected to sell 30,000 units of the Wuling Cortez and Wuling Confero, which were manufactured at its Cikarang factory in West Java. The factory has an annual production capacity of 120,000 vehicles.

SGMW Motor Indonesia claims that 50 percent of the components for the Wuling Cortez and 56 percent of the components for the Wuling Confero comes from local suppliers.

The company announced in July 2017 its first MPV line, the Confero, which comes with a 1,500 cc engine and a price range of Rp 128.8 million to Rp 162.9 million. (ami/bbn)
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Linkedin Jo Biddle (Agence France-Presse) The Hague, Netherlands  Fri, February 9, 2018 08:05 1312 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c4ac922 2 SE Asia Rodrigo-Duterte,killing,drug-war,crime-against-humanity Free

The prosecutor at the International Criminal Court Thursday unveiled two new initial probes focusing on the deadly war on drugs in the Philippines and alleged abuses during Venezuela's political unrest.

The unprecedented decision to launch two inquiries at once comes after ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda was petitioned by opposition leaders from the two countries, accusing their hardline governments of crimes against humanity.

Bensouda said she had followed events in the countries closely, and after "a careful, independent and impartial review... I have decided to open a preliminary examination into each situation."

Both countries have signed up to the Rome Statute, underpinning the ICC, giving the tribunal authority to investigate crimes on their territories.

In the Philippines, Bensouda's office would "analyse crimes allegedly committed... since at least 1 July 2016, in the context of the 'war on drugs' campaign" launched by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.

She vowed to focus on allegations that "thousands of persons have been killed for reasons related to their alleged involvement in illegal drug use."

Opened in 2002, the ICC is the world's only permanent war crimes court and was set up to prosecute the planet's worst crimes where national courts are unable or unwilling to proceed.

The Philippines probe will be its first preliminary examination in a southeast Asian nation, and Jude Sabio, the Filipino lawyer behind the suit, told AFP he was "elated" and "vindicated" by the action.

- Murder, torture, detention -

In Venezuela, Bensouda said she would examine crimes allegedly committed during a wave of protests since April 2017 against the government of President Nicolas Maduro.

"It has been alleged that state security forces frequently used excessive force to disperse and put down demonstrations" as well as detaining thousands of opposition members, she said.

The prosecutor's team will also look into whether the protestors had resorted to "violent means" injuring or killing security personnel.

The ICC has often come under fire for focusing heavily on crimes in African nations, and the Venezuela case will be only its second preliminary examination in South America.

One is under way in Colombia into alleged abuses during the conflict with the FARC rebels, who reached a peace deal with the government in 2016.

In November, Venezuela's former attorney general Luisa Ortega, who has fled the country, alleged Venezuelan police and military officials had killed some 1,767 people in 2015.

There had also been more than "17,000 arbitrary detentions and hundreds of cases of torture," she alleged turning in 1,000 pieces of evidence to the ICC in The Hague.

Manila had already been informed of the probe and Duterte denied all charges, his spokesman said, denouncing the inquiry as "a waste of time and resources" and a bid to embarrass the president.

But Duterte had welcomed the development and was ready to "argue his case personally" before the tribunal as he was "sick and tired of being accused of committing crimes against humanity," spokesman Harry Roque said.

- Leaders in the dock? -

Duterte won a landslide victory in 2016 elections largely on a pledge to eradicate drugs in Philippine society.

He has since overseen a crackdown that has left nearly 4,000 drug suspects dead at the hands of the police. The authorities are also investigating more than 2,000 other cases of "drug-related" killings by unknown suspects.

Rights groups have put the total number of drug war deaths as at least twice the official figure, many of them committed by shadowy vigilantes.

"This is a big step because finally the system of death squad killings created by Duterte... can be investigated," Sabio said, adding he hoped it would lead to Duterte's arrest.

However, it will likely be years, if ever, before anyone appears in the ICC's dock.

The prosecutor must first determine if there is enough evidence of crimes falling into the ICC's jurisdiction. She must then ask ICC judges to authorise a full investigation, at the end of which charges may be brought.

Currently there are eight preliminary examinations underway, including in Afghanistan, Iraq, the Palestinian territories and Ukraine.

A further 11 full-blown investigations have been launched, all of which except Georgia and Libya, are probing war crimes and crimes against humanity in African nations.
India's top court demanded a detailed plan for the future of the Taj Mahal on Thursday, warning the state government's "ad hoc" approach jeopardised the centuries-old monument to love.

Smog has been slowly yellowing the Taj's brilliant marble and conservationists have long fought to close polluting industries near the 17th-century icon.

But years of interventions -- including using mudpacks to draw the stain from the stone -- have failed to arrest the slow decay of India's biggest attraction.

The Supreme Court has ordered the state government of Uttar Pradesh to produce a "vision document" outlining its plan for protecting the wonder of the world within a month, the Press Trust of India reported.

In particular the court expressed concern about a "sudden flurry of activities" in the Taj Trapezium Zone -- a buffer around the monument to protect it from pollution.

"Leather industries and hotels are coming up there. Why?" the court asked, describing the government conservation plan for the Taj as ad hoc and inadequate.

Read also: No end to eyesores at Taj Mahal as repair work drags on

The state government was also directed to notify the court of how many trees had been planted in the buffer zone before any further greenery was felled for construction works, PTI reported.

The Taj faces numerous threats, from air pollution to insects that leave green stains on the rear wall facing the heavily polluted Yamuna River.

Nearly 6.5 million people marvelled at the monument in 2016 but the government in January announced plans to cap visitor numbers to reduce wear and tear.

Anyone wanting to see the main crypt, which houses the couple's spectacular marble graves inlaid with semi-precious stones, will also have to pay for a pricier ticket.

Building restoration has dragged into a fourth year, leaving scaffolding clinging to the exterior, with work yet to even begin on its imposing dome.

The Taj Mahal was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan as a tomb for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died in childbirth in 1631.

The Taj has attracted world leaders and royalty, including former US President Bill Clinton. Diana, the late British princess, was famously photographed alone on a marble seat there in 1992.
It was evening when I visited the Fatimah Mesumeh shrine in Qom on Thursday.

In January, the weather was cold and windy in Iran, and we were waiting for the female members of our group to enter the shrine complex, considered to be one of the holiest by Shia Muslims. It took a longer time for them to pass the security checks, as they were required to put on chadors.

Compared to Tehran, where only a few women were seen wearing chador on the streets, Qom, as the countrys second holiest city after Mashhad, surely offers a more mystical view of Iran.

The shrine, which consists of a mosque and a tomb, was packed with pilgrims as well as tourists from different parts of the world.

The shrine was built to honor Fatimah Masumah (the infallible Fatimah), the sister of the eighth imam, Ali al-Ridha, and daughter of seventh imam Musa al-Kadhim.

Around the year 201 on the Islamic calendar, Fatimah was travelling to meet her brother in Khorasan, when her caravan was ambushed, killing dozens of her relatives. She survived, but was reportedly poisoned and died in Qom.

Imamzadeh, or relatives of imams, are considered saints by Shia Muslims. Fatimah was highly revered, and her tomb has become a magnet for pilgrims.

Revering saints and praying in their tombs is not exclusively a Shia tradition. Indonesian Muslims, particularly those affiliated with Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), share the tradition, though they consider themselves Sunni. An Indonesian tourist would not find the religious sights at the shrine entirely foreign.

An English-speaking guide told us that many people came to the shrine to seek solutions for problems or cures for their ailments. Those who have had their prayers answered donate money to help preserve the shrine, he said.

While some people consider its architectural design and ornaments mediocre when compared to other holy shrines in Iran, the Fatimah Mesumeh shrine still holds major religious significance among Shia Muslims.

It has become the backbone of Qoms tourism and has for centuries turned the city into a center of religious learning. It is said that the 1979 Islamic revolution began at the shrine, with Ayatullah Khomeini reportedly giving his lectures and calling for the creation of an Islamic republic there.

Not far from the shrine, in the midst of souvenir shops (where you can find various types of gemstones), is a public library that has some of the oldest and rarest Islamic manuscripts, including an early text of the Quran.

The library was named after Ayatullah Al-Uzma Marashi Najafi, who was buried at its entrance at his own request.

The library has a collection of around 25,000 important religious manuscripts in different languages, such as Persian, Arabic, Turkish and Urdu. Some of them were collected by Marashi himself, while others were donated by different organizations and individual donors.

Visitors are not allowed to browse or take pictures in the collection room, but it has a reading hall where they can read certain books. The library also has a laboratory to fumigate and repair damaged books.

Qom is home to the most prestigious Islamic schools in the country, including the school of Hauzah Ilmiah, which we had the chance to visit. More than 100 Indonesian students are studying in Qom.

While they are not required to study Shiism in the city, most Indonesian Sunni Muslims choose to study in Gorgan, a Sunni region of Iran.

However, Dr. Hosini, a local Hauzah Ilmiyah scholar, told me the religious schools in Iran encouraged their students, regardless of their denomination, to study all schools of thought in Islam and promote Islamic unity.

Hailing from a predominantly Sunni Muslim country, most Indonesians go to cities like Cairo or Riyadh to study their faith. But surely Indonesians could learn more about the Shia tradition in Qom  not to convert to Shia Islam, but to understand more about the Islamic sect in order to forge better relations between the two major branches of Islam.
When Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo (or The Javis, as we call them in Spain) decided to turn their musical Holy Camp! (in Spain, La Llamada, which actually means The Calling) into a movie, they didnt even imagine how big it was going to be.

These two very young directors are now enjoying their success with many nominations and awards (like the Goya Award for Best Original Song), and their film has become one of the most celebrated Spanish movies ever.

The story is quite daring for a country as pre-eminently catholic as Spain. Holy Camp! follows Maria (Macarena Garcia)

and Susana (

Anna Castillo

), two teenagers that have attended the catholic summer camp La Brujula since they were little. Grounded from going out on an excursion with the rest of the girls, both have to spend the weekend in the camp with Milagros (

Belen Cuesta

), a kind-hearted young nun that has seen them grow up over the years, and Mother Bernarda (

Gracia Olayo

), the new summer camp coordinator. Throughout the weekend, both girls go through major life changes. While Susana starts developing confusing feelings for Milagros, Maria receives visits from God, who sings Whitney Houston songs to her.

This musical comedy, starring Richard Collins-Moore in the unusual role of God, explores two topics that are kind of taboo not only in Spain, but also in many places around the world. Firstly, theres the issue of homosexuality, spontaneously portrayed in the film through a love story between a nun that regrets her devotion to God and a teenager who is starting to discover her own identity. Homosexuality is not often seen on-screen, but, when it is, male gay couples steal the limelight, pushing lesbianism into the background. The movie brings lesbianism to the spotlight through these two endearing and daring characters with such naturalness. As it should be.

Secondly, the film gets into the topic of religion, challeging the standard and standing up for a new way to live the faith. When Maria tries to communicate with God, Bernarda tells her that she has to read a passage from the Bible. But, when she does, it doesnt work, because a prayer is not what God wants from her, to Bernardas surprise. The Javis have dared to critisice the strict ways of the Church with humor, good vibes and, most importantly, with respect.

Holy Camp! is, above all, a comedy. The film will make you burst into laughter with its witty dialogue and its funny scenes. It will make you sing, dance, and smile all the way through, as well as suffer with the protagonists while they try to figure out what they really want in life. All the actresses give outstanding performances, and the chemistry between them simply turns it into magic. That, alongside the music and the beautiful scenery and cinematography, make Holy Camp! a perfect package that you will defnitely enjoy.

The film is an ode to diversity, to inclusivity, and to fighting for what you want even if it goes against social conventions. Leaving the convent, being a lesbian, or being a teenager who wants to become a nun are not easy things to fight for. But the Javis (who are gay as well) are clear about it. Their movie is, precisely, a call for freedom to do and be whatever you want, in sex, in religion and in life.
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Woohae Cho/Getty Images(PYEONGCHANG, South Korea) -- Vice President Mike Pence engaged in a game of parade one-upmanship on Friday as he spoke to reporters in South Korea ahead of the opening ceremonies for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.



Pence was asked about Thursday's military parade in North Korea overseen by Kim Jong Un. He directly criticized the parade, but was then asked if the U.S. had ceded "moral high ground" on the issue, given President Donald Trump's interest in holding such a parade himself.



"I think any opportunity we have to celebrate the men and women of the armed forces of the United States is a great day," Pence said, supporting Trump's request to plan a military parade. "I heartily support the president's call to celebrate our military."



But Pence continued, calling the North Korean parade "an ongoing provocation."



"Make no mistake about it. What we witnessed in Pyongyang, and we witnessed again yesterday, on the eve of the Olympics -- what [South Korean] President Moon [Jae-in] said last night, he hopes will be an Olympics of peace -- was once again an effort on the part of the regime in Pyongyang to display their ballistic missiles, to display a military that continues to make menacing threats across the region and across the wider world.



"I think, in the United States of America, just as in France -- where the president was impressed on Bastille Day -- we can celebrate our troops, not in any way ever be associated with the provocations of the North."



North Korea's parade on Thursday was held to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the countrys military, and featured hundreds of choreographed soldiers marching in formation, rows of missiles and lines of tanks.



Pence reiterated the United States' stance on a denuclearized North Korea in the same interview Friday in which he denounced the country's parade.



"The simple truth is that the time has come for North Korea to permanently abandon its nuclear and ballistic missile ambitions -- to recognize there is no future as a member of the family of nations for a nuclear-empowered North Korea," he said after touring the Cheonan naval memorial, a tribute to the South Korean ship sunk in 2010. Forty-six members of its crew were killed in an attack; a South Korean, U.K. and U.S. investigation showed it was carried out by the North. The North has always denied it was responsible.



The U.S. delegation led by Pence will not be meeting with North Korean officials during its time in Pyeongchang. Pence had said they would "see what happens" when asked about a potential meeting earlier in the week, but the North's foreign ministry shot down any chance of talks on Thursday.



North Korea's delegation -- led by Kim Jong Un's sister, Kim Yo Jong -- arrived to a sea of press in South Korea on Friday. She is the first member of the Kim family to visit the South since the end of the Korean War in 1953. Kim Yo Jong is scheduled to meet with President Moon on Saturday.



The comments by Pence also came on the same day he visited North Korean defectors, along with Fred Warmbier, the father of Otto Warmbier, an American student who died in the U.S. shortly after being released from North Korean custody in 2017. Warmbier is set to attend the opening ceremony on Friday as a guest of the vice president.



Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Which moment from a comic this week caught your interest?

Moment and Indie Moment of the Month for December have begun! Vote now or forever hold your peace!!!

Your WINNER for MOMENT OF THE WEEK 1/31/18:

Wonder Woman, after being shot by an Nth metal bullet, jumps headlong into battle against evil alternate Justice Leaguers. - Metal #5.

This thread will contain SPOILERS!!! And lots of them. If you haven't read this week's comics yet, go read them before continuing into this thread, or risk being spoiled!

PLEASE NOTE!!!!!! ]Remember to include the title and issue number of the comic you are nominating. Otherwise I will be forced to disqualify your nomination, and nobody wants that!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Rules:

1. Each nomination must be a moment in a comic released the week of the thread. This does not include weekly previews, trade paperbacks, or back issue digests. For new comics check out Midtown Comics release dates.

2. Everyone can make ONE nomination. You can either nominate a moment yourself or second/third/fourth/fifth an already existing nomination. However, second/third/fourth/fifth will not count per nominating and thus earn entry above in Top Nominations. You want in that list you must nominate something.

3. It must be an actual moment involving the actions or statements of a comic character in an issue. No "This writer returns to the series", "this artist draws this character", "the book is better", etc.

4. If you want to change your nomination, there are a few factors involved:

---> A) No one can have seconded your nom.

---> B) If it is clear for you to change your nom, you must edit your original post or the new post will be disqualified as being a double nomination.

---> C) You can change your second, third, etc. by editing your original post before the nomination period ends.

Moments on the poll do not have to be seconded. If there is room in the poll, moments that were nominated but not seconded will be added based on the order they were nominated.

6. Again, please be specific on the comic title, issue number and moment. Also be clear that you are actually nominating or seconding something ... statements such as "Yeah, that was a cool moment" aren't clear. You must nominate a single moment in the comic and can't nominate the whole issue. Once more, if you dont include the issue and number the moment will not be included.

7. The thread for nominations will go up on Wednesday (new comic day) at 11:00 PM (Central) or when Zechs arrives later that night and posts in the previous week thread announcing voting is closed. The nominations will go until 2:00 PM (Central Time) Sunday Afternoon, or whenever Zechs arrives and will post in the thread stating, Its over. and will start the poll. If a new comic day falls on a holiday week in American, then the thread will be made for that day (be it Tuesday or Thursday). Regardless, nominations will STILL conclude on Saturday deadline.

8. Please be civil when commenting on other people's nominations. But feel free to discuss them in this thread.

9. In case there is debate on WHEN exactly a title came out, http://www.midtowncomics.com or the official websites of said publishers (be it Marvel, DC, Darkhorse, etc.) will be the final word on the quarrel.

10. Any nominations not following the above rules will be disqualified. Unless of course if Zechs, who is feeling sad for the person who missed the rule and might give them time to provide the correction. Then he will pester bk into putting the nomination in the poll. Of course this wouldnt be a problem if Zechs wasnt granted the glorious powers of a moderator, which one day such power will be Zechs, oh yes they will his.

11. If at five nominations are not made, Zechs will choose some, but they will all count as one nomination, not multiple thus making sure balance is preserved.

12. AKA the Rulk rule. If several moments are tied past the deadline of 11:00 PM (Central Time) Wednesday (or holiday date when new comics arrive in the US) or when Zechs arrives that night, then voting will continue on in sudden death for eight more hours, until one is decided. THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE.

If one isnt still decided, then Zechs will provide the deciding vote, regardless if he has voted already. So if that isn't enough reason to get a ton of votes on that additional day than you're just dooming yourself to give Zechs another vote.

13. AKA the Hobgoblin rule. Roderick Kingsley Hobgoblin moments when winning for three days straight automatically win the poll. No last day or second voting changes it to troll the ruler of this thread.

Only ONE can rule as the Moment of the Week!

Top Ten Nominators of All Time...

1.) GLX- (445 Nominations)

2.) Zechs- (438 Nominations)

3.) e_galston- (202 Nominations)

4.) Johnny Smith (174 Nominations)

5.) IvCNuB4 - (172 Nominations)

6.) Kravis (145 Nominations)

7.) Stephen Day- (126 Nominations)

8.) blcdude (108 Nominations)

9.) rdrsfn82- (102 Nominations)

10.) fieldy RICHARDS- (93 Nominations)

Honorable Mentions

Porcelain38- (92 Nominations)

Starlord- (81 Nominations)

HNutz (73 Nominations)

God-Man (63 Nominations)

Nicola Marshall (59 Nominations)

BubbaKanoosh- (57 Nominations)

Greg- (52 Nominations)

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Knuckles McSmasher- (44 Nominations)

doombug - (43 Nominations)

48THRiLLS- (40 Nominations)

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GOFM - (10 Nominations)

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Hall of Shame

sdsichero (-1 Nomination)

John Lewis Hawk (-25 Nominations)
Six Goals Oughta Do It: Watertown's Jaxson Fiechtner heads list of last week's top performers

It really isnt that hard to come up with a list of the top area high school sports performers each week, but it was even easier week to pick the leader of the list.
By Sofia Mendez

mendezso@grinnell.edu

Grinnells After School Code Club is a weekly program in which students from the College teach programming to local middle and high school students. The program started in the fall of 2015 as an effort to expand upon school curricula, in addition to strengthening the cooperation between college and community. The teaching sessions take place at the Drake Community Library, and foster a tri-lateral relationship among the College, the school district and the library.

Monique Shore, systems administrator at Drake, described the genesis of the program as an opportunity for both the library and the College.

The school district here did not have any computer coding in their curriculum, so about three years ago there was an effort to try and get some coding opportunities going, Shore said. We started off with evening sessions, there were some adults and some kids involved, and that was pretty successful.

After those initial efforts, attendance has increased, with twelve to fifteen regular students.

We provide the space and snacks and some of the logistics to help spread the word, Shore said.

The classes themselves are provided primarily by Grinnell computer science students. The curriculum is mainly designed by the student leaders and has so far consisted of teaching Scratch, a visual programming language well-suited for beginners. Recently the topics have expanded to include working with the 3D printer and with mazes.

Were also trying to teach them some different languages. We will try a new program and then theyll end with HTML so they can maybe make their own website. I think were getting there. Its just hard to design a curriculum for a drop-in program, said Sarah Dahlby Albright, peer education coordinator for computer science and statistics.

Dahlby Albright, similarly to Shore, expressed the vital role of the students who volunteer in teaching and building the curriculum.

The more volunteers we have that become regular, the more diversity well have in things we can do with the students, Dahlby Albright said. We have a list of about 12 students that are interested in going over.

Changes in the curriculum have been matched by improvements in equipment and experience.

One of our big challenges in the first couple of years was that we had kids that didnt have computers, or had computers that were old and not working well, Shore said. One of the great things that happened is that we got a Grinnell College grant last year so we were able to purchase four laptops for use by the group. Because we got those laptops, weve been able to move the group to the Story Room which is a bigger space, and thats worked really well.

In addition to growing popularity at the library, the After School Code Club has inspired improvements in computer science education elsewhere as well.

The code club at the library was successful, which helped get the school district to add a computer science class at the high school, Shore said.

Despite recent successes, though, the program is not without its challenges. Shore noted a worrying gender imbalance in the program, with boys outnumbering girls by a significant margin. The organizers hope to get more girls engaged, partially by attracting female instructors.

Elizabeth Zak 18, who has led the program in the past and designed the curriculum for the fall, said, Representation is really important and I think that the more female instructors we have, the more girls are going to want to learn about computer science. I think its very important to focus on building a community and making it one where mistakes are not necessarily scorned.

Building such a welcoming environment will take time and effort by more computer science students, present and future. Meetings of the code club are scheduled to continue every Thursday afternoon for the remainder of the semester.
By Ahon Gooptu

gooptuah@grinnell.edu

Wrestling Jerusalem and I Shall Not Hate are being presented at Grinnell College this weekend as part of the Mosaic Theatre Company of D.C.s Voices from a Changing Middle East Festival: The War Comes Home tour.

The filmed version of Wrestling Jerusalem includes a multitude of characters presented by Aaron Davidman, a Jewish American performer. Meanwhile, I Shall Not Hate offers the singular story of Izzeldin Abuelaish, a Palestinian Muslim and Gaza-based obstetrician.

[Abuelaishs] values are values that Mosaic finds admirable.  The realities of war, terror and continuing occupation are what have compromised the fulfillment of that vision identity, said Ari Roth, founding artistic director of Mosaic Theater Company. The realities of tragedy fell to his three daughters, who were the victims of a missile attack on Abuelaishs home the day before the end of the Gaza War in 2009.

The shows, initially commissioned by the Habima Theater, national theater of Israel, originated in Tel Aviv. However, the content includes material that is both heavy and controversial. Thus, it survived a mere 20-day run before it was shut down in Israel.

The play is a very powerful message and it may have been too powerful for some conservative members of the government, who exerted pressure to quietly shut the play down. The Theater was only too happy to sell the original set of the play that were bringing to Grinnell, Roth said.

In 2016, Mosaic Theater Company performed the second production and the American premiere production. The 24 performances by the Company captivated audiences in Washington, D.C. and were critically praised.

Now were bringing it around two years later to continue the life of the play and hoping to keep this alive for more years to come  hopefully bring it to New York in the [near] future, Roth remarked.

I Shall Not Hate, the 75-minute one-person show directed by Shay Pitovsky, will be performed in Hebrew and Arabic.

Every line that the performer speaks will be translated in English over his head on a projected surtitle.

The performer, Gassan Abbas is one of the leading Palestinian actors in the world  a star of Israeli television, film and stage. He has lived in the conflicted drama of being a Palestinian Israeli all of his life, so in a profound way, hes living out his life story. Therefore, its important for him to speak in his native languages of Arabic and Hebrew. I think it really adds to the performance and the American students really agreed as well, Roth said.

Roth added that the audiences at the University of Oklahoma, the stop before Grinnell on the tour, found Abbas performance moving and engaging. The shows will travel to Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Virginia right after Grinnell, followed by the University of Chicago. At all the locations other than Grinnell, David Hares Via Dolorosa is also a part of the festival.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is often portrayed as being unique and exceptional, and in some ways it is, especially in terms of the trajectories of the Jewish people, as Rabbi Rob Cabelli said.

A majority of the worlds population perhaps has a vested interest [in Jerusalem] because it is the birth place of three religions of the world. And another peculiarity of it is its geopolitical relevance, in part because of oil.  But there is also a way in which it is like so many other conflicts in the world, which is the identity that people hold  people often have additional identities, a constellation of identities.  There is a tendency for a mutual polarization to take place, where people are compelled to make as stark as possible the choice between are you this or are you that and if you are this then that must be demonized, Cabelli said.

This is the first time that the College will have presented anything that directly addresses the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in several years. Cabelli is hopeful that people will attend and that it will provide a basis for conversation thats not predicated upon an either-or but upon the hearing of many voices and the need to not demonize but rather to try and understand the complexity.

We see it as a part of a mission, this tour.  After every performance, there will be post-production discussions and hopefully those will reflect a very diverse group of students and faculty. They will also include me [and] Gassan Abbas.  Part of the idea is to bring the Grinnell community together, to have a variety of impressions both about the film on Friday night and then the two performances of the very, very moving play on Saturday and Sunday, Roth said.

Wrestling Jerusalem will be shown at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 9, in JRC 101. I Shall Not Hate will be performed live at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 10 and at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 11 in Roberts Theatre.
By Lauren Miller

millerla@grinnell.edu

Birch trees adorning the interior halls, large glass windows allowing for plenty of natural light and a large central nurses station make the new Brownell Emergency Center at the Grinnell Regional Medical Center (GRMC) nothing like the intimidating emergency rooms of television.

This renovation has been two years in the making. The emergency center, last upgraded in 1983, is the last of a 20-year spate of renovations and is set to open by the end of this month  a week after its Community Open House on Wednesday, Feb. 21.

According to Jeanette Budding, Interim Director of Communications and Development, the renovation will ensure that safety and privacy are maximized. The center will include two large trauma bays with collapsible walls, replacing the old single bay separated by a simple curtain.

The entryway into the wing will be also be more protected from the public, leading to a space that is functional but patient-centered, according to Budding.

Budding described the new wing as the crown jewel of the renovation series at GRMC. This jewel, however, did not materialize without significant preparation. A group of architects and planners used other emergency centers as examples, creating a full scale 3-D model of the new facility and allowing a complete virtual walk-through of the building.

The many phases of the project involved cooperation with Brownells, the Grinnell firearms manufacturer owned by the Brownell family. The 3-D model, for example, was developed at a Brownells warehouse. More significantly, the renovation was made possible in large part because of a $250,000 contribution by Frank Brownell, a long-time supporter of the GRMC. Brownell, currently the Chairman of the Board at Brownells, has also served 12 years on the GRMCs Board of Directors and has chaired the Finance Committee.

We believe corporations across America have a responsibility to communities in which they work and operate, wrote Pete Brownell, Frank Brownells son and current CEO of Brownells, in an email to The S&B. In that spirit, Brownells, Inc. and the Brownell Family Foundation have a long history of supporting causes and organizations that improve the lives of those living in our local communities and beyond.

Following controversy last semester surrounding contributions by the Brownell family to Grinnell College, it is possible that similar questions could be raised regarding the attachment of the Brownell name to an emergency center. Doris Rindels, Interim CEO at GRMC, though, described how the contribution was really more about Frank and family than a large corporate donation, particularly because of Brownells personal stake in GRMC.

I live in Montezuma, and the Brownells live in Montezuma  and I always knew them not because of their business, but because the people [are] in church. Its a family donation is what it is, Rindels said.

According to Rindels, local support is critical for the center.

Health care is local, and involves local people, she said. Philanthropic support is a huge element here as far as how we make renovations and upgrades.

This reliance on the local community is underscored by the fact that Brownells donation did not even come close to covering the total $2.2 million cost of the renovation. Rather, the GRMC held the large donation in reserve for about 10 years while raising the additional funds.

Weve had three capital campaigns to raise [the rest of] the money, Budding said.

As a nonprofit medical center, the GRMC is able to provide high-quality care because of philanthropic support, and the Brownell Emergency and Trauma Center is far from the only wing bearing the name of a major donor. The center is also home to the Manhatt Family Urgent Care, the Marion A. Jones Patient Care Wing and the Kintzinger Womens Health Center. A building is named after a donor if a donation is at least $250,000.

The Brownell Emergency and Trauma Center is the culmination of a lot of time, and hospital administrators hope that the updated space is a boon to patients and employees alike. Hopefully it will not be a place you have to visit often, but it is good to know that if an emergency does occur, the GRMC will be ready for anyone and everyone in our community.
By Chloe Wray

wraychlo@grinnell.edu

Terese Grant of the League of Women Voters opened the first of three Legislative Coffees planned for this spring. She requested first and foremost that questions remain respectful.

I am so disheartened when I see whats happening at the national level, how things have deteriorated so greatly, she said. I dont think thats who we are, who we want to be. I think that we can do better, and I think that you folks here in Grinnell will do better. We can disagree on everything and still have a positive dialogue and share our ideas.

Along with the League of Women Voters, the Legislative Coffee was co-sponsored by the Grinnell Chamber of Commerce. Republicans Tim Kapucian, Iowa State Senator for District 38, and Dave Maxwell, who serves the 76th district in the Iowa House of Representatives, were invited to answer the questions of their constituents and speak on their work so far this term. The event, held on Feb. 3 at the First Presbyterian Church, will be repeated, with new questions and answers, on March 3 and April 7.

Maxwell and Kapucian opened the event with a recap of the past several weeks since the Iowa General Assembly went into session on Jan. 8. Both agreed that the year has taken a busy start, citing the recent $282 million water quality bill that passed both the House and Senate in January. With both politicians on transportation committees, Kapucian highlighted his work on a new Scope of Practice bill that would give local police domain on portions of interstates that affect their communities. He also commended the reduction in interstate accidents this winter, claiming it is a result of the now-mandatory blue and white lights on all snow plows.

After Maxwell and Kapucian summarized their work thus far in 2018, the floor was opened for constituents to ask questions and voice their concerns.

Among concerns raised were questions on the privatization of Medicaid, potential budget cuts to the Department of Human Services, the effect of privatization and vouchers on public schools, open-carry gun laws for schools and a reduction in the number of drivers license stations.

Janet Carl, former Iowa state representative and writing instructor at Grinnell College, posed two questions to Maxwell and Kapucian. She asked, Do you believe an adult seeking healthcare advice needs anybody to decide anything about that healthcare besides that adults doctor?

Maxwell replied in the negative, noting possible exceptions related to health insurance approval and cases where a person cannot be held accountable for themselves.

The questions quickly became more pointed, with a follow-up question by Carl.

When you go to the doctor is there anybody else in the room besides you and the doctor, besides medical personnel?  Why is the state legislature continually trying to insert itself into a woman and a doctors decision into whether a woman is going to have an abortion or not? When abortion is legal in this state.  Would you vote for the so called personhood bill when it comes to the floor of one of your chambers? she asked.

For me, I would have no problem in not voting for it.  I just dont feel that we have the right to control every aspect of a womans life, Maxwell responded. Its legal, I dont think that I should have to pay for it with tax [dollars], but at the same time, its not really my business what goes on there.

Kapucian, though, stated that he endorsed a ban last spring that prohibits abortion past 20 weeks in the pregnancy and that he will maintain a pro-life position.

One major concern of the citizens in attendance was water quality.

A member of Poweshiek Cares voiced her concern over CAFOs, or concentrated agricultural feeding operations, claiming that Poweshiek Cares has been talking to both of you [Senator Kapucian and Representative Maxwell] for the past four years on the impact of CAFOs on the quality of water, air, soil, life, and since then, at this point there are more than 10,000 CAFOs in our state.

Despite the recent water quality bill which will redirect $282 million in state revenue to cleaning up waterways, audience members cited a study that predicted an estimated $4 billion would be necessary to correct the nitrate and phosphorus damage from concentrated animal agriculture. The representatives voiced their support for further legislation that would call for both tax increases and tax restructuring to redirect more money towards water safety.

Maxwell introduced the topic of the death penalty, which has not existed in Iowa since 1965. A recent bill would have brought it back, but was defeated in the Iowa House.

The death penalty, Im sure you all heard that died yesterday, Maxwell said.

As the one-hour session came to a close, the legislators commented upon their meeting with constituents.

I know we dont agree on a lot of things, Kapucian said. But I like to hear what your opinions are and hopefully you respect ours.

Thank you guys for being respectful and pleasant, you know I do enjoy coming here.  I do appreciate talking to you all, and we do answer our emails, Maxwell added.

The next Legislative Coffee will be held at the First Presbyterian Church on March 3.
By Ben Mikek

mikekben@grinnell.edu

Editors Note: The previous version of this article stated that the country convention will take place in Grinnell, but it will actually take place in Malcolm, IA. Also, not all members of the Glasson group left after delegates were selected.

Bitter temperatures and even five inches of snow were no deterrent to attendance of the Democratic Caucus for Grinnells First Ward, held at the First Presbyterian Church on Monday night. The event was a reminder of the upcoming 2018 midterm elections, in which residents of Grinnell will help choose not only a governor, but also state legislators and federal representatives.

The political backdrop to the Feb. 5 caucus was stark for democrats, who face Republicans in both the White House and the Governors Mansion, as well as GOP majorities in both houses at both the state and federal levels. Despite this challenging environment, recent democratic victories in Alabama, Missouri and other states do bode well for Democratic candidates in general. Even in a state where Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton by a 10-point margin, Democrats maintain hope of victory at multiple levels. Republicans, meanwhile, hope to maintain or expand their majorities, and are confident in incumbent governor Kim Reynolds.

Before the parties begin to compete against each other, though, each party must select its candidate. In Iowa, this process begins with local caucuses  essentially meetings during which local party members express their preferences for candidates up and down the ballot. To take part in the process in Grinnells first ward, which includes the College, 88 constituents attended, debating candidates and positions, and finally choosing delegates for the county convention later this spring.

The caucus began with preliminaries delivered by Poweshiek County Democratic Party co-chair John Grennan, who called the meeting to order and read from a letter by Iowa Democratic Party Chair Troy Price.

The goals, according to Price, are clear for Iowa democrats. We have our work cut out for us this year: taking back the Iowa House and Senate, electing four democrats to Congress,  and  of course  putting a Democrat back in the Governors Office, he wrote.

Price also emphasized unity, writing, It is dedicated caucus-goers like you that represent what the Iowa Democratic Party is all about  people coming together from all different backgrounds to fight for our values.

Unity, though, was far from omnipresent at the event. Cohesion began to deteriorate as participants considered whether to divide into preference groups  groupings of like-minded constituents who agree on a candidate to support.

The central purpose of the caucus is to select delegates for the county Democratic Convention on March 17. Caucuses may proceed in one of two ways. If all those present are generally in agreement regarding the goals of the precinct, then they may elect delegates from among the entire group. If, however, the group is divided on those to support, delegates are awarded to each group proportionally.

With seven declared gubernatorial candidates, the Iowa Democratic Party has many choices for the top of the ticket. The three apparent frontrunners are State Senator Nate Boulton, businessman Fred Hubbell and union leader Cathy Glasson. Supporters of Glasson, a group made up primarily of Grinnell students, were in favor of dividing the caucus by gubernatorial preference. After five minutes of spirited debate and vociferous opposition from a few party members, the Glasson group prevailed and gathered around to discuss their own candidate while others filed to another room to consider their options. The Glasson group numbered 51, while all other participants  a handful of students, and all local residents  numbering 37, remained undecided on a candidate for governor. After a brief reconciliation period during which members of both groups attempted to persuade others to join them, a single person joined the Glasson group, making the totals 52 and 36.

After selecting 14 delegates, many members of the Glasson group began to depart, leaving committee assignments and other party business to the older party members. In the end, the student constituency prevailed on the selection of delegates for the county convention, which will take place in Malcolm, IA on the first Saturday of spring break, March 17. The general election will take place on Nov. 6, 2018.

A simultaneous republican caucus was held at Grinnell Community Senior High School. Organizers could not be reached to provide information on the result by press time.
By Seth Taylor

taylorse@grinnell.edu

Grinnell boasts a far-flung and widely accomplished network of alumni, from research scientists abroad to lobbyists on Capitol Hill. One such alumnus is Austin Frerick 12.

Only in his twenties, Austin Frerick is running a campaign for the Third Congressional District of Iowa, hoping to defeat the six democratic primary challengers and go on to unseat the Republican incumbent. According to Frerick, his time at Grinnell had a lot to do with where he is now.

Frerick, an Iowa native and a first generation college student, knew nothing of Grinnell before his first visit, seeing it only as something his family passed on the way to Adventure Land. However, during that first visit, Frerick found in Grinnell everything he had been looking for in colleges on the East, right here amidst the cornfields and just a few hours away from his parents. He enjoyed the small town and the small school mentality paired with Grinnells impressive academics, as well as the student bodys egalitarianism, something Frerick attributes to the schools rural setting.

At Grinnell, Frerick was a loyal democrat, absorbing the excitement of the 2008 presidential election and supporting Barack Obama. Frerick cites the two Mentored Advanced Projects (MAPs) he did as influential, especially one investigating the effects of slaughterhouses on small-town Iowa. This introduced him to the consolidation of economic power and the danger it poses to small communities so ubiquitous in Iowa, something that would eventually become a centerpiece of his current congressional campaign.

Frerick graduated from Grinnell, supported by his college experiences and a degree in political science, and went on to study public affairs at the University of Wisconsin. He then received a job at the Congressional Research Service in Washington D.C., an experience he described as similar to a psychological experiment where one would watch children play from behind a two-way mirror  except in this case the children were members of Congress. After he worked in the Congressional Research Service he received a job at the United States Treasury where he worked as an economist until 2016, when Donald Trump became president and Frerick decided it was time to return to Iowa.

Frerick said he didnt come back to run for Congress, but the issues he had first discovered in college and seen fully elaborated in Washington were too important to him  and too ignored by politicians today  for him to stay silent. After years in D.C., Frerick believes that the collapse of the [political] system can be directly linked to corporate monopolization and a lack of federal oversight, and Frericks campaign is built around his staunch antitrust positions. He argues that America is in the midst of the second Gilded Age, mirroring the first Gilded Age in the late 1800s when wealth and consequently power were centered in the hands of a powerful few. If elected, Frerick hopes to reinstate antitrust laws such as the Glass-Stegall act and would advocate for more oversight of corporations and the agencies that regulate them, agencies Frerick argues have been defanged by the Trump administrations appointment of industry leaders to powerful positions. Frerick believes that this economic message will resonate with rural communities and propel him to the democratic nomination and eventually Congress.

To current Grinnell students who do not yet have the opportunity to run for Congress, Frerick says, Do a MAP. While there was no way he could have predicted how his MAP on slaughterhouses, or anything he did at Grinnell, would shape the rest of his life, he believes it was beneficial for him to pursue his own avenue of interest.

Chase an intellectual pursuit of your own, he said.
By Saiham Sharif

sharifsa@grinnell.edu

Campus tends to grow livelier during election season. Many candidates come to campaign in Iowa and some find themselves on Grinnell Colleges campus, either invited by students or self-motivated to make an appearance. Although the campaign season offers community members the opportunity to engage in politics, sometimes the facts get lost in the process.

Ann Selzer, a pollster from the Des Moines Register, could provide a solution. This upcoming Tuesday, Feb. 13, Selzer will deliver a speech titled What Comes Next: Understanding the Election of 2016 and What it Means for the Future in JRC 101 at 11 a.m. Selzer was called the Best Pollster in Politics by FiveThirtyEight. Her name entered mainstream media when she predicted that Obama would win the Iowa caucus in 2008, while few others did.

Sponsored by the Rosenfield Program in Public Affairs, International Relations and Human Rights, the political science department and the statistics department, the event addresses multiple layers in politics. Peter Hanson, political science, was the primary organizer of Selzers talk. He was assisted by the statistics department, who helped apply for grant funding to bring Selzer to campus. During her visit, she will also speak to students in statistics classes and give a talk about women entrepreneurship in JRC 209 at 4 p.m. that same Tuesday.

Were very fortunate that Ann lives in Des Moines and shes one of the nations best pollsters, Hanson said. She cares a lot about the state of Iowa and higher education in Iowa. We recognize that we have this very valuable opportunity to bring her in campus, especially because shes so close by, and on her part, was willing to do that because she wants to reach out to college students in Iowa and introduce them to both the study of statistics and politics, Hanson said.

Hanson also commented on Selzers ability to find the connection between popular politics and data.

One of the interesting things about Ann Selzer is that she crosses into two worlds. So, shes a political pollster and is interested in the attitudes of the electorate. And to do that work she draws upon statistics and her work is an illustration of the way in which quantitative fluency and the understanding of Big Data can really empower people. Both departments are sponsoring her visit, I think, in recognition of the fact that this is the way two different fields come together.

As the title of the event implies, Selzer will discuss the mistakes pollsters made in 2016 and how they can learn to better make decisions.

Shes an expert of public opinion, Hanson said. She can talk about the attitudes of voters,  how pollsters missed his victory, when pollsters were predicting a Clinton win.

With changes in communication over the past few years, the task of pollsters has become more difficult.

People have become dependent on cellphones and are less likely to answer calls from numbers they dont recognize. This is made it very difficult to reach voters and learn what their attitudes are. Its a very challenging time to be a pollster, Hanson said.
By Emma Friedlander

friedlan@grinnell.edu

The foreplay to Sex Week kicked off on Tuesday, Feb. 6 with free STI testing on the second floor of the JRC. The event was hosted by Student Health and Counseling Services (SHACS) and the Student Government Association (SGA), with help from the Student Health Information Center (SHIC) and peer mentors. The event ran from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and offered students the opportunity to get tested for gonorrhea and chlamydia  and pick up a free scoop of ice cream.

Its been a really great collaboration between SHIC and SHACS and the peer mentors and SGA, said Deb Shill, director of SHACS operations. Its been a really big project that weve all worked on, so I think aside from all the testing, its been a really good way to get to know each other and have an ongoing collaboration.

The impetus to collaborate on a free testing project began over the summer, when SHIC peer educators contacted SHACS about the need for increased accessibility to STI testing. This was a response to the closing of Central Iowa Family Planning last year, leaving many students and community members without accessible, affordable and confidential sexual healthcare.

Were hoping for a really good turnout today so that the school can see the demand for STI testing, and then hopefully we can work towards better options in town, said Vivian Cheslack 19, a SHIC peer educator, before Tuesdays event. There were promises after Central Iowa Family Planning closed that there would be something to fill the hole that it left. There were promises from the administration for that, and there just hasnt been anything.

Currently, the College offers a couple of options for students seeking STI testing. As of last November, the Primary Health Care mobile clinic has occasionally visited Grinnell, stopping at the Light Center for Community Health at 306 4th Ave. The mobile clinic is supposed to offer reproductive healthcare services in Grinnell on the first and third Monday of every month, but there have been obstacles in recent weeks.

Its barely gotten going, really. Its had problems the last two times, said Claudia Beckwith 77, a nurse practitioner who works at the mobile unit. We havent been here since December.  Hopefully, in two weeks, it will become regular and will be here from 3 to 7 p.m.

Students can also visit general practitioners in town, although this may require them to pay out of pocket or use their parents insurance. Nonetheless, these options are still considered too limited by the organizers of the STI testing event.

We need so much more. It would be great to have a daily clinic, Beckwith said. The College has always had the model of triage and then sending people into town, which is fine as long as there are enough people in town to take care of the students in a confidential, respectful way. It would be great if the College had a clinic, but thats never been the Colleges model. If students really want that, theyll have to advocate for it.

The event was organized by the state of Iowa, which only covers gonorrhea and chlamydia testing, according to Shill. SHACS also offers HIV testing upon request for $20.

I wish HIV testing was free here, Cheslack said. I think SHACS didnt bring HIV in today because theyre trying to break down barriers to STI testing, and I think theres a lot more anxiety surrounding HIV tests than gonorrhea and chlamydia. A big part of the outreach for today was these two tests are curable with antibiotics, if you test positive you can also get free treatment.

Although the event only offered testing for gonorrhea and chlamydia, Beckwith still stressed that even this limited testing is important.

Most people dont have symptoms and at least 50 percent of people have been exposed to [gonorrhea or chlamydia]. Its definitely important to get tested, Beckwith said.

While SHACS, SHIC, SGA and the other organizers were thrilled with the high turnout for the event, they still hope that more resources for sexual health testing will be established at the College.

Id love to offer this twice a year, or every semester, Shill said.

SHIC also hopes that high turnout at the event will translate to a higher priority for sexual healthcare at the College.

Essentially, the answer that weve gotten from SHACS is they dont have the financial support from the school to [offer free testing]. Hopefully, in the future there is free STI testing on campus, or even in town, Cheslack said. There are so many things that the school could be doing. I dont think its a priority, so maybe making it more of a priority would be a good goal.
Eurostar announces new London to Amsterdam service. One wonders if this is going to challenge the airlines on the same route.

The cross channel high-speed rail firm Eurostar is launching its London to Amsterdam journey on April 30 which means travellers no longer have to change in Brussels.The entire journey will take just over four hours.

Thats at least a half an hour off from the current journey that takes between four hours 30 minutes and five hours, with one change at Brussels-Midi/Zuid station.

Passengers will be able to travel directly between London and Amsterdam by Eurostar in both directions  with return fares starting at 70. The service will also stop at Rotterdam, with direct travel from Rotterdam to London available from 18 May.

There will be two Amsterdam-London services per weekday, and one per day on weekends. The services are:

7.48am from Amsterdam Centraal, arriving in London at around 10.57am local time. Runs Monday-Saturday.

6.48pm from Amsterdam Centraal, arriving in London at 9.57pm local time. Runs Sunday-Friday.

The train operator is planning to increase the schedule to four Amsterdam-London services each day.

Tickets for direct travel from both Amsterdam and Rotterdam to London will be available to buy from Tuesday 11 February.

The launch of the new London to Amsterdam service not only creates a fast link with the Netherlands but passengers on the London to Brussels segment of the route will also benefit from shorter journey times by hefty 17 minutes reduced from two hours five minutes to one hour 48 minutes. Thats a record.

One wonders if this is going to challenge the airlines on the same route. Currently, a flight from London to Amsterdam takes an hour which does not take into account travel to the departure airport and travel from the destination airport into the city. Wi-fi on most Eurostar trains is freely available and there is no baggage weight allowance as long as you are able to carry it.

With fares starting at around 70 return at their cheapest, flying to Amsterdam is still cheaper than taking the Eurostar and you can find flight tickets starting at just 47 return online for flights in May 2020. Though for many who worry about their carbon footprint convenient train travel may well be preferable.

Eurostar launched a route from London to both Amsterdam and Rotterdam two years ago (2018), but the direct journey only ran one way. The return journey meant changing at Brussels.

Mike Cooper, chief executive of Eurostar, said:

Our services from the UK to the Netherlands have proved very popular with over half a million travellers since launch. Our fully direct service marks an exciting advance for high-speed rail and provides consumers with a comfortable, environmentally friendly alternative to the airlines on one of Europes busiest leisure and business routes.

The new direct route between the UK and the Netherlands, will run from Amsterdam Centraal to London St Pancras.
There were claims Baradar had been wounded in a shootout at the Presidential Palace

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More than 114million was wiped off the value of Talk Talk after it issued a profit warning and asked investors to prop up its balance sheet with a 200million share placing.

The budget broadband provider said it would also cut its dividend, with bosses saying it was the final set of measures to 'reset' the firm.

But the announcement spooked investors, with shares falling by as much as 14 per cent in early trading, and closing 9.8 per cent down at 108p.

TalkTalk said it would also cut its dividend, with bosses saying it was the final set of measures to 'reset' the firm

Talk Talk's move to raise 200million by issuing shares infuriated The Investment Association, which accused it of 'blatantly disregarding industry-accepted standards'.

It said it was an attack on shareholders' rights, with the issue representing 19.99 per cent of existing capital  just below the 20 per cent limit requiring shareholder approval.

A spokesman said: 'Talk Talk's actions are a blatant disregard of the industry-accepted standards... this placing sets a very damaging precedent.'

But defending the measures, Tristia Harrison, Talk Talk's chief executive, said it was needed to give them breathing room and 'a little more flexibility', with executive chairman Sir Charles Dunstone and other directors buying up 40million of the shares, adding: 'We are not going to worry about the short-term share price.'

The FTSE 250 company said the cash would go towards the roll-out of cutting-edge fibre broadband to 3m homes. Talk Talk is in talks with Infracapital, part of M&G Prudential, over setting up a joint company that would carry out the work, which is expected to cost 1.5billion.

Harrison added: 'What we are doing today is providing answers to the questions about this company.

'People asked whether can we can sustain this growth, and we have now seen the fourth consecutive quarter of growth.

'We have also been asked about when we will return to profitability. We are going to invest to do that  we are not just going to spend loads more on bringing in customers.

'We have been pivoting the business in the past ten to 11 months, and this is the end of our reset.'

Since founder Dunstone returned to the company last year following a catastrophic loss of customer data that saw thousands of people ditch its services, Talk Talk has focused on returning to its roots as a low-cost internet provider.

Harrison said it would now concentrate on getting existing customers to spend more and implementing cost savings, including cutting the size of its call centres in South Africa and the Philippines.

She refused to say if there would be UK job losses.

The firm said it added 37,000 customers in the three months to December 31, putting it on course to add at least 150,000 for the full year.

However, it warned that full-year earnings were now expected to be between 230million and 245million  down from its previous estimate of 270million to 300million.
Britain's biggest travel agent hailed a strong start to the year as holidaymakers took a shine again to sun-soaked holidays in the Mediterranean.

Thomas Cook said 34 per cent of its holidays and flights for the summer were booked, an increase of 3 per cent on the same time last year.

It is an improvement on early 2017, when terrorist attacks saw tourists flock to safe favourites such as Spain, where hoteliers hiked prices in response, denting Thomas Cooks takings.

Draw: Thomas Cook says British tourists are being tempted back to the sun-soaked beaches of Turkey (pictured) and Egypt

But yesterday the group said demand was picking up again in more profitable destinations such as Turkey and Egypt.

Demand in Spain was also returning to normal levels but high prices were still squeezing margins, the company said.

In the three months to December 31, its airline carried 3.5m passengers, up 8 per cent, with the company planning to increase capacity ahead of the busy summer period.

Peter Fankhauser, chief executive, said: Customers appetite for a summer holiday abroad shows no sign of slowing down.

Shares in the company yesterday fell by 3.9 per cent, or 4.9p, to 120.4p.
Posh pack: A Hermes lizard skin handbag priced at 18,000

A handbag shortage hit sales at French fashion house Hermes.

Famed for its $10,000-plus handbags such as the Birkin and its squared silk scarves, it said stocks of its coveted bags ran low in 2017.

However, it is benefiting, like luxury rivals Louis Vuitton-owner LVMH, from growing appetite from younger shoppers and a soaring demand in Asia.

Axel Dumas, chief executive, said: 'There is good momentum in our industry because of demographics and because of the economic growth of China and the worldwide economy.

'We are confident for the future, and it will continue, I hope, at this kind of pace.'

Hermes is expanding its leather goods production with new workshops in France.

The firm, which also makes perfumes, clothing and watches, is trying to boost online sales and is due to roll out a new website in Europe and China.

Demand in other parts of Asia is up, including in Hong Kong where it opened a new store in January, and Macau.

Sales reached 4.8billion for 2017, up 9 per cent.
Confident: Bellway expects half-year housing revenues to climb 14 per cent to 1.3bn

BUILDER BULLISH Housebuilder Bellway is lining up a double-digit rise in revenues and expects half-year housing revenues to climb 14 per cent to 1.3billion, as customer appetite stays strong.

STAKE TALKS Japanese investor Softbank is in talks to buy a 33 per cent stake in 24billion insurer Swiss Re.

PHONE LOANS Shoppers could soon be able to buy an iPhone using finance from Goldman Sachs. The bank is in talks with tech firm Apple over offering debt to customers.

POLE POSITION Trading titan Blackrock dominated the European investment market last year as savers pumped 55billion into its funds.

INVESTOR FIGHT Activist investors demanded change at 81 companies last month  up 13 per cent on a year earlier and the highest number since 2013, says Activist Insight Online.

SHAKE-UP CALL Insurance lobbyists Association of British Insurers have called for fewer restrictions on foreign ownership post-Brexit so the industry can seize new opportunities outside the EU.

BANK ACTION Bangladeshs central bank is suing Filipino lender Rizal over one of the biggest heists in history.

Hackers stole 58million in 2016 after hijacking an international payments system and the money disappeared without trace after being transferred to Rizal.

lINE REOPENS The Forties Pipeline system that carries 40 per cent of oil and gas from the North Sea to the UK mainland has reopened after its second shutdown in three months.

SWEET SALES Corn syrup seller Tate and Lyle says sales picked up in the three months to December 31 and profits are on track.

BREXIT WARNING German central banker Andreas Dombret has warned investment banks to expect the worst on Brexit, and apply for EU licences.

Ramping up the rhetoric, the Bundesbank board member said he did not believe a special deal was possible and some banks were facing disaster.

APP ROLE Google-backed taxi app Lyft has poached Jon McNeill, who was Teslas global sales president, as chief operating officer.

LEGAL FIGHT Taxi app company Uber has defeated a legal challenge in France that claimed a driver was an employee. It comes after Uber lost a similar tribunal in the UK.
Drugs titan Glaxosmithkline faces a fresh bribery probe over allegations it paid doctors to prescribe its medicines to patients.

The FTSE 100 giant has been quizzed by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) over the scandal in China, which saw it fined 297million in 2014.

The firm also paid 15million to US authorities in 2016 to settle allegations of bribing foreign officials.

The scandal centres on alleged payments Glaxo made to doctors in China to get them to use its medications instead of rival products.

GlaxoSmithKline has been quizzed by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) over the scandal in China, which saw it fined 297million in 2014

It has now emerged that UK investigators are probing the role of advisers Glaxo hired while under investigation in China.

The SFO has requested information from Glaxo, which is co-operating. It is thought its investigation spans several countries.

Glaxo says it has informed US authorities, including the Department of Justice (DOJ) about the development and is now dealing with its enquiries as well.

HISTORY OF SCANDAL Paid out 1.9billion in 2012 after it got US doctors to prescribe dangerous antidepressants to children

Fined 297million in 2014 for bribing Chinese hospitals to promote its products

Accidentally released 45 litres of liquid containing polio virus into a Belgian river in 2014

Hit with 540million penalty in 2010 for producing poor quality medicine at its Puerto Rico plant

Has faced corruption allegations in Poland, UAE, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Iraq and Romania

Fined 37.6million in UK for keeping the cost of anti-depressants artificially high

The firm said: GSK is co-operating and responding to these requests.

Allegations about Glaxos Chinese business first surfaced in 2013, when China probed payments.

Glaxo hired several companies to form a crisis management team to investigate.

But that took a bizarre turn in 2013 when bosses at the Glaxos London headquarters were sent an email with a video of Mark Reilly, the head of the China arm, engaged in a sex act with a young Chinese woman.

In the email, the sender claimed Reilly was involved in a bribery scheme that funnelled money to doctors through a travel company, which supplied him with women to secure the business.

Glaxo hired Peter Humphrey, a private investigator, to look into the whistleblower. But Humphreys house in China was raided by Chinese authorities and he and his wife were jailed for breaching privacy laws.

Glaxos offices in China were also raided and it was found guilty in a Chinese court in September 2014 of bribing non-government personnel, using more than 700 travel agents.

It was handed a fine of 297million  the biggest in Chinas history  and five staff, including Reilly, were given suspended jail sentences.

The DOJ never brought any formal enforcement action against Glaxo, which agreed to pay to settle civil charges in 2016 without admitting or denying them.

Last night a spokesman for the DOJ declined to comment.

Glaxo said: Given the SFO investigation is ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment at this stage.

The SFOs head, David Green, has previously said investigators hoped to resolve the case before his departure in April.

A spokesman last night said she could not provide an update.
MBABANE  Valentines Day is just five days away, and singles have a chance at enjoying it with a new flame.



Meeting someone special is no longer as simple as it used to be, especially with everyone trying to keep up with his or her busy schedules. Singletons in Swaziland are about to experience a whole new concept where they will have the opportunity to meet the love they have been looking for through Speed dating Swaziland.



Speed Dating is an organised social activity in which people seeking romantic relationships have a series of short conversations with potential partners in order to determine whether there is mutual interest or not.

Spear headed by well-known personality Thembeka Ndlangamandla, who said this new exciting notion aims to link like-minded singletons to give them the opportunity to make new friends and increase their chances of meeting a potential love interest in a fun, safe environment that allows for conversation with more than just one possible outcome.



She further said the first speed dating exercise was scheduled to take place this February in celebration of the month of love and it promises to be the start of something beautiful. The venue and date is yet to be confirmed.



The event will be kept intimate by sharing important details with only those who have registered.


MBABANE  Desperate times call for desperate measures.



The adage rings true for some Swazi students who have been forced to fork out money from their own pockets to pay for their tertiary education in neighbouring South Africa, despite the fact that they signed an agreement to be sponsored by government.



The students had no option but to pay the money from their own pockets in order to secure the required study permits. This is because they cannot obtain the permit if they did not have the proof of payment for tertiary fees. It was gathered during separate interviews that government gave leeway to students to pay the fees and that they would be reimbursed at a later stage.



According to one of the students, the delay by government gave birth to a serious challenge as the South African High Commission demanded proof of payment in order for them to secure the study permits.



Disappointed



The student, who is an employee in one of the government hospitals and registered for a post graduate programme in one of the South African universities, was among those who went home disappointed after not getting a study permit at the South African High Commission.



I applied for the study permit two weeks ago but today I have been told that I should come back tomorrow. This is disappointing because we were told that the permit takes seven days to be processed. This is stressing me as I have already spent a lot of money paying for my fees, he said.



He stated that his other colleagues, who were also going to study under the same programme, had already left for South Africa and used a car that was provided by their employer.



The fact that my colleagues are already gone means I will now have to fork out transport fee from my own pocket, since the employer cannot release another car just for me. It is bad because I have already spent all that I had to pay for tuition fees, he said.
MBABANE - The Swaziland Medical and Dental Council has deregistered an aspiring doctor who had been attending to patients for close to a year at the Mbabane Government Hospital.



The council claims that Sipho Cyprian Mohale who studied Medicine at Shenyang Medical College in China was not yet qualified to do medical internship.

According to the Registrar of the Swaziland Medical and Dental Council (SMDC), Dr Priyani Mahaliyana Dissanayake, Mohale was discontinued to protect members of the public from exposure to unqualified medical personnel.



He alleged that Mohale was erroneously registered as a medical intern yet he did not have the necessary qualifications to register. As soon as the anomaly was spotted, Mohale was deregistered or discontinued so as to protect the public from being attended to by an unqualified doctor, who is more than an undergraduate medical student, submitted Dr Dissanyake.



She stated that medical internship was a term used to describe a physician in training who had completed medical school and had a degree, but was not yet fully licensed to practise unsupervised. She highlighted that a medical intern had access to patients and could attend to patients under supervision.



The registrar averred that for Mohale to graduate, he had to do student internship programme under the direct supervision of the academic staff monitoring of his medical school in China.



She said Mohale had to be attached to a teaching hospital with supervisory academic staff monitoring his progress and assessing him. Mbabane Government Hospital is not a teaching hospital, submitted Dr Dissanayake.
Comment



When murder suspect Sipho Shongwe made a court appearance in court on Wednesday, Correctional officers did not just ensure he was safely guarded, but they went beyond their call of duty to try and frustrate the media from doing its work.



The Correctional officers attempted to block the press from taking photographs. We ask why and at whose instruction?

Should we now conclude that protection from the media is up for sale somewhere along the corridors of power at the Correctional Services, given that dozens of suspects, in both high profile and common cases, are brought to court each day and they receive no special treatment?



We do recall how some officers attempted to shield murder suspect Lucky Obama Matsenjwa from the press and Commissioner General Ntshangase rightly condemned this act.

So why are we being subjected to it once again? Who has decided to take charge of the Correctional Services?

Surely this is insubordination of the highest order.



We call upon you Mr Commissioner General to take the appropriate action against these officers who are a disgrace to the Correctional Services and are placing the country higher up the rankings of media unfriendly countries. That is an investor deterrent status  thanks to a few media bullies!



What business do Correctional officers have in deciding how the media should go about doing its work and why the selective treatment?

The Commissioner General Mzuthini Ntshangase should, once again, rebuke his charges, not just for their shameful act but also their flimsy attempt to justify the infringement of the rights of the media and the total violation of the countrys Constitution.
MBABANE  It is a change of heart for government. This is so because it has finally agreed to go to the negotiations table with doctors and nurses before implementing the circular which seeks to reduce their on-call allowances.



The last-minute change by government was disclosed by its lawyer Bheki Tsabedze in court yesterday.

Government is of the view that the matter should be postponed to April 9, 2018 to allow negotiations, submitted Tsabedze.



This means that for now nurses and doctors would continue being paid their on- call allowances using the old circular.

About 100 nurses yesterday crammed Court two of the Industrial Court and they left all smiles after hearing the news that government was now prepared to negotiate with them.

Pending the conclusion of the negotiations, their on-call allowances would being paid using the old scale.

The court also extended an interim order it previously granted where it stopped government from implementing the circular.

This, after the Swaziland Nurses Association approached the Industrial Court on urgent basis.



The respondents, the Ministry of Public Service, Ministry of Health, secretary to Cabinet and the attorney general, failed to oppose the application.



Through their attorney Bheki Tsabedze, they made a hue and cry that they had not been given sufficient time to respond to averments made by the nurses.



They described the application by the nurses as an ambush. It was further governments arguments that the urgency of the matter was self-created as the Circular was issued on January 25, 2018 but the nurses did nothing, instead decided to approach the court on the 11th hour.
MDZIMBA  Soldiers are trained to be fearless, but for once, they are scared of just chickens.



This scenario is said to be playing itself out at Mdzimba Army Barracks situated in the Hhohho Region.

According to sources close to the matter, who did not want to be identified because they are not mandated to speak to the media, the soldiers were tormented by about 200 indigenous or free range chickens.



Scenario



The sources said they could not give the number of soldiers based at the barracks for security reasons.

Describing the scenario at the camp, one of the insiders said the birds could be found everywhere.



You can find them inside our dormitories. Sometimes you will come across a hen laying eggs on the bed. And the sad thing is that you cannot shoo the chickens in fear of victimisation, the source said.



However, they did not state the nature of punishment if found to have reprimanded the chickens from invading their privacy.

They stated that they could not even slaughter the chickens in fear of the unknown, especially threats from the senior.

Explaining the threats, the sources said the mere mention of certain names linked to royalty was enough.



Littered



Adding, the sources mentioned that chicken poo and feathers were found littered around the camp and dormitories.

These birds are just a nuisance. They make a lot of noise, especially in the mornings and sometimes at night. We cannot enjoy our rest peacefully, another interjected.



Asked if the grievances had been reported to their superiors, in unison, the soldiers said they had, numerous times.

They stated that the response they got from their bosses was that the chickens belonged to a certain member of royalty who was also a soldier.



However, the bosses would sometimes sing a different tune and say that the chickens belong to a senior member of the royal family, one of the sources alleged.



They pointed out that this was one of the main reasons they were afraid to touch or even hit the chickens.



Confirmed



Umbutfo Swaziland Defence Force (USDF) Public Relations Officer Lieutenant Nkosinathi Dlamini confirmed the matter.

Dlamini acknowledged that the chickens were indeed a menace as they would be found everywhere.



We have been told about the noise pollution, feathers flying around and chicken poo littered everywhere, he emphasised.

However, Dlamini was quick to point out that they had not received a formal complaint from the members of the army.
MANZINI  While tasked with the responsibility of looking after school children, it has emerged that teachers are the leading patients who visit the Manzini Psychiatric Hospital.



The hospital, which is the only institution that provides mental health services in the country, attends to both psychotic and non-psychotic patients.



Teachers form the largest part of the civil service population as they are about 14 000 in total out of the 33 000 government employees.

Regional Health Promotion Officer Calvin Dlamini revealed this adding that as much as this observation was made, there were other professionals who approached the hospital for services such as counselling.



The reasons that teachers visit the psychiatric hospital in droves have been cited as mostly stress related.

The factors contributing to the stress include unfair promotions, internal locus of control, job performance, personal growth, job retention, job loyalty, competence and job control.



Dlamini said it could be possible that the inference is drawn from the fact that teachers, by nature, almost outnumber other professionals in terms of population.

We also attend to soldiers, magistrates and the police almost on a daily basis.



He added that this therapy comes in different levels where patients often meet officers in different professional levels.

Sometimes a patient requires counselling that can only be done by a nurse but we also have others who need to be referred to a doctor, occupational therapist or even a social welfare officer.



He said treatment may vary from two weeks to three months depending on the nature of the issues that are being tackled or the rate at which the patient is responding to therapy.
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[February 08, 2018] Accenture Expands Industry X.0 Innovation Network with Opening of IIoT Innovation Center in Modena, Italy

Accenture (News - Alert) (NYSE:ACN) is expanding its Industry X.0 Innovation Network in Europe with the opening of an industrial internet of things (IIoT) Innovation Center in Modena. The center will offer clients a way to explore, test and scale IIoT solutions and take advantage of the latest disruptive technologies to achieve new levels of efficiency and sources of growth through improvements in product development, engineering, manufacturing, customer experiences and cybersecurity. The new facility is part of an extensive US$1.4 billion investment program by Accenture to expand its Industry X.0 business. Industry X.0 is how Accenture describes the profound shift of industrial manufacturing to digital products and services that will increasingly require new manufacturing methods and processes to produce and deliver them as well as support them in the field. The IIoT Innovation Center in Modena is being established in collaboration with HPE COXA, a Modena-based company specializing in engineering activities for the automotive, motorsport and automation solutions sector; HPE COXA collaborates with key players from these industries, both locally and worldwide. The company specializes in mechanical metalworking technologies and recently established a new research center for additional metal technologies; more than two-thirds of the company's 250 employees are engineers. Accenture's expanded innovation network is bolstering the company's industry digitization capabilities and strengthening its presence in the world's leading manufacturing markets. The network includes an innovation center in Garching, Germany, with a new center to open in North America this year. Clients who use the Modena location will be given access to a range of capabilities, including innovation workshops for industrial design thinking; IIoT experience areas for tech showcases; and regional ecosystems that connect clients with key technology partners, research firms and industrial start-ups. "At the new Innovation Center in Modena, clients will be given direct access to fully working examples of the latest in manufacturing techniques for digitized products," said Aidan Quilligan, a managing director at Accenture and global lead of its Industry X.0 practice. "In the new Innovation Center, we showcase technologies that can help companies develop solutions to meet their business challenges and gain a competitive advantage. Working with our experts at the center, clients can experience a hands-on, systematic approach to innovating that can help them accelerate their efforts, reduce costs, and gain greater insight into growth opportunities in today's digital-first marketplace." Fabio Benasso president and CEO of Accenture Italy, said, "One Accenture focus in Italy is to invest in capabilities that reward clients' ability to innovate in what is the second-largest manufacturing country of the EU. The Modena location will be a key element in our continuing efforts to support companies as they accelerate their digital transformation agendas, enabling them to experiment with and develop solutions that can significantly influence the evolution of business models, products and customer experiences."



Clients visiting the center will be able to explore key IoT technologies and processes to digitize their business for greater efficiency and growth. Among these are: Applying manufacturing analytics and predictive maintenance, and analyzing data produced by IoT sensors via cloud and big data;

IIoT- and software-enabled management of connected businesses, plants, machinery and equipment;

"Connected Industrial Worker" solutions to enhance operational safety, effectiveness and efficiency;

"Industrial Consumerism" and how to digitize the industrial customer experience in a business-to-business environment;

Innovating new products, services, solutions and business models using customer-insight- driven approaches and design thinking;

Digital engineering and industrial product development, and how to better integrate product- and application-lifecycle-management [capabilities]; and

Transformational ideas for loading operations through real-time analytics A global evaluation of 11 digital technologies across eight leading industries by Accenture has revealed that the optimum combination of new technologies could generate an average potential increase in market capitalization of US$6.07 billion if businesses invest wisely, using an Industry X.0 approach.

From this global data, Accenture developed, "Industry X.0 - The digital reinvention of Italian industry," a national report that indicates that companies in Italy recognize the importance of adopting this new industrial model, which can enable them to develop products and innovative services through the use of new technologies. Proof of this is provided by the approximately US$4 billion that Italian companies invested in IoT technologies in 2017, ranking Italy second in Europe, after Germany, according to research firm IDC (News - Alert)1. The Accenture study shows that, although Italian executives consider the development of innovative products and services a strategic priority, less than a third of the companies surveyed expect that an investment in digital technologies will lead to an increase in the number of customers. At the same time, more than half of large companies and around half of small and medium-sized enterprises fear that a delay in innovation will put their survival at risk in the future. Italian managers are engaged in the process of rethinking their strategic priorities, a key part of which involves experimenting with transformational operating and business models capable of generating incremental value. "Thanks to our location in the heart of the Motor Valley and surrounded by automation solutions providers, we have been able to develop special relationships with the key players in the area, as well as with major global manufacturers in these industries," said Andrea Bozzoli, CEO of HPE COXA. "The company's agility and our fully integrated approach to product development, within a highly complex technological environment, make our company the perfect testbed for innovative solutions that, once validated, can be transferred to larger-scale applications. The Machining Innovation Lab, the Metal Additive Research Center and the Engine Testing Center are tangible evidence of this approach. Inclusion in Accenture's IOT Innovation Network represents an important step along this path". About Accenture Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries and all business functions - underpinned by the world's largest delivery network - Accenture works at the intersection of business and technology to help clients improve their performance and create sustainable value for their stakeholders. With more than 435,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture drives innovation to improve the way the world works and lives. Visit us at www.accenture.com. [1] IDC Worldwide Semiannual Internet of Things Spending Guide, Publication Date: November 2017 View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180208006103/en/

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[February 08, 2018] AppDirect Invests in Canada As Part of Its Global Growth Strategy

SAN FRANCISCO and MONTREAL, Feb. 8, 2018 /CNW/ -- AppDirect, the company powering the digital economy, today announced its commitment to creating at least 300 jobs in Canada within the next five years as part of its global growth strategy. This investment supports the Canadian economy and its workforce with plans for an emerging sales office in Toronto and expanding engineering talent in Montreal and Calgary. AppDirect is already tapping into the country's deep technology talent by supporting nearly 300 jobs in Canada with a focus on engineering and product support. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be visiting AppDirect's San Francisco headquarters today to discuss the importance of the interconnectedness of the Canada-U.S. technology and innovaion scene and its value toward supporting the digital economy.



"Prime Minister Trudeau's landmark visit showcases the importance of strengthening the connection between Canada and Silicon Valley," said Dan Saks, President and Co-CEO, AppDirect. "Attracting strong talent, both in the U.S. and Canada, is a key part of our growth strategy, and we're excited about the opportunities this investment will bring." AppDirect is one of the fastest-growing private tech companies, raising $245M from both Canadian and American investors, including J.P. Morgan, Foundry Group, iNovia Capital, StarVest Partners, Stingray Digital, and Mithril Capital Management. The company was recently ranked #32 on the Forbes 2017 Cloud 100 list for its success in changing the way companies buy and sell cloud software. AppDirect reaches 35 million businesses worldwide and boasts world-class partners and customers, including Google, Microsoft, Freshbooks, and Rogers Communications.

About AppDirect

AppDirect provides the only end-to-end cloud commerce platform for succeeding in the digital economy. The AppDirect ecosystem connects channels, developers, and customers through its platform to simplify the digital supply chain by enabling the onboarding and sale of products with third-party services, for any channel, on any device, with support. Powering millions of cloud subscriptions worldwide, AppDirect helps organizations, including Jaguar Land Rover, Comcast, ADP, and Deutsche Telekom connect their customers to the solutions they need to reach their full potential in the digital economy. Contact: Linda Walsh, linda.walsh@appdirect.com, or Kristina Richmann, appdirect@pancomm.com SOURCE AppDirect

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[February 09, 2018] Government of Canada supporting the modernization of Batchewana First Nation's Information Technology Infrastructure

BATCHEWANA FIRST NATION, ON, Feb. 9, 2018 /CNW/ - Our government is committed to a renewed relationship with First Nations, and supporting First Nations communities' economic development opportunities. Today, together with Batchewana First Nation Chief Dean Sayers, Terry Sheehan, MP for Sault Ste. Marie, announced  on behalf of the Honourable Jane Philpott, Minister of Indigenous Services  funding for Batchewana First Nation to modernize its information technology system. Batchewana First Nation is located near Sault Ste. Marie and has four settlements: Goulais Bay, Rankin, Obadjiwan and Whitefish Island. Indigenous Services Canada is providing $134,400 to support this IT modernization through its Community Opportunity Readiness Program. This program addresses the financial needs of First Nation communities in their pursuit of, and participation in, economic opportunities. The funding will be used to update the First Nation's existing system and will include integrated servers, an automated accounting system and debit/credit transaction capabilities for use at all of the community's businesses. Quotes



The Honourable Jane Philpott, M.D., P.C., M.P.

Minister of Indigenous Services

Batchewana First Nation will greatly benefit from the modernization of internal technology systems. Our leadership continuously work to seek out new ways to better serve our membership and improve the operations of our administration. The investment made in part by Indigenous Services demonstrates their firm support for our First Nation and we greatly appreciate it. Chief Dean Sayers

Batchewana First Nation

Quick Facts Batchewana First Nation is located near Sault Ste. Marie and has four settlements: Goulais Bay, Rankin, Obadjiwan and Whitefish Island.

and has four settlements: Goulais Bay, Rankin, Obadjiwan and Whitefish Island. Batchewana First Nation operates two canteens, the Goulais Complex, Obadjiwan Conference Centre and the Thunderbird Room, a multi-use facility. At this time, these facilities do not have automated transaction or accounting processes.

The Department provided $134,400 to support this project through its Community Opportunity Readiness Program. This program addresses the financial needs of First Nation communities in their pursuit of, and participation in, economic opportunities. Stay Connected Join the conversation about Indigenous peoples in Canada:

Twitter: GCIndigenous

Facebook: IndigenousPeoplesGC

Instagram: @gcindigenous You can subscribe to receive our news releases and speeches via RSS feeds. For more information or to subscribe, visit www.aandc.gc.ca/subscriptions. SOURCE Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada

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[February 09, 2018] SAP and Badgley Mischka Introduce the Badgley Mischka Runway Mobile App by SAP for New York Fashion Week: The Shows

NEW YORK, Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) and Badgley Mischka today announced that they will unveil the Badgley Mischka Runway mobile app by SAP, available exclusively on the iPhone and iPad, that will allow audience members at the designers' February 13 New York Fashion Week (NYFW) fashion show to interact, in real time, with the collection as it debuts down the runway. Backed by SAP technology, the Badgley Mischka Runway app will also provide a unique post-show experience for both on-site and virtual attendees. The Badgley Mischka Runway app will feature exclusive details of each look in the Badgley Mischka Fall 2018 collection and each model's name. Using the app's "like" and "love" functions, show attendees will have the opportunity to provide feedback for invaluable real-time data and analytics that Badgley Mischka will use for future design and production decisions. The app will be available for download in the App Store February 9. The app was built using SAP Cloud Platform SDK for iOS, which was developed by Apple and SAP. The app also uses the SAP Fiori user experience and SAP Leonardo Internet of Things capabilities. "Fashion is a fast-paced industry  not just during Fashion Week, but year-round," said Mark Badgley, Badgley Mischka. "Through our work with SAP at New York Fashion Week, we are excited to be receiving real-time insights about our collection from industry insiders and consumers, which will ultimately help us bring these looks to market." Following the Badgley Mischka show on February 13, SAP will host a Fashion Insider Panel, "Demystifying Digital: The Future of Fashion Is Now," featuring Jennifer Morgan, Executive Board Member, Global Customer Operations, SAP, and Mark Badgley and James Mischka, Badgley Mischka designers, as well as supermodel and entrepreneur Coco Rocha. They will discuss how to best leverage the intersection of fashion and technology to more effectively reach the millennial consumer. "How brands connect and engage directly with consumers creates the greatest opportunity for business in the 21st century," said Morgan. "SAP is at the center of helping companies meet this challenge, and we're thrilled to partnr with an iconic brand like Badgley Mischka to showcase how our innovations are shaping the future of retail and connecting businesses, consumers and designers alike."



With these initiatives, SAP continues to bring in-demand innovation to the fashion and retail space, building upon its existing work with 20 of the top 20 global apparel and footwear retailers. SAP helps fashion decision-makers gain real-time visibility into inventories, optimize demand-supply matching and drive consistent customer interaction across channels and geographies on one common platform. Visit the SAP News Center. Follow SAP on Twitter at @sapnews.

About Badgley Mischka Over the past thirty years, Badgley Mischka has flourished into a true lifestyle brand recognizable worldwide. To date, the Badgley Mischka brand includes multiple product categories such as Eveningwear, Day Dresses, Sportswear, Outerwear, Bridal, Swimwear, Footwear, Handbags, Eyewear, Timepieces and Jewelry. Mark Badgley and James Mischka's timeless designs appeal to a wide range of fashionable women including Madonna, Jennifer Lopez, Sharon Stone, Jennifer Garner, Julia Roberts, Kate Winslet, Helen Mirren, Taylor Swift, Sarah Jessica Parker and Carrie Underwood. Badgley Mischka is sold in the most prestigious stores in the world including Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Harrods and Harvey Nichols in addition to the Badgley Mischka flagship boutique in Los Angeles. About SAP As market leader in enterprise application software, SAP (NYSE: SAP) helps companies of all sizes and industries run better. From back office to boardroom, warehouse to storefront, desktop to mobile device  SAP empowers people and organizations to work together more efficiently and use business insight more effectively to stay ahead of the competition. SAP applications and services enable more than 378,000 business and public sector customers to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and grow sustainably. For more information, visit www.sap.com. Any statements contained in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "intend," "may," "plan," "project," "predict," "should" and "will" and similar expressions as they relate to SAP are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. SAP undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. The factors that could affect SAP's future financial results are discussed more fully in SAP's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including SAP's most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates.  2018 SAP SE. All rights reserved.

SAP and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP SE in Germany and other countries. Please see http://www.sap.com/corporate-en/legal/copyright/index.epx#trademark for additional trademark information and notices. For customers interested in learning more about SAP products:

Global Customer Center: +49 180 534-34-24

United States Only: 1 (800) 872-1SAP (1-800-872-1727) For more information, press only:

Bonnie Rothenstein, SAP, +1 (610) 661-8867, bonnie.rothenstein@sap.com, ET

Stacy Ries, SAP, +1 (484) 619-0411, stacy.ries@sap.com, ET

SAP News Center press room; press@sap.com

Miranda Kusama, FH for SAP, +1 (415) 318-4229, miranda.kusama@fleishman.com, PT

Rob Caldwell, Badgley Mischka, +1 (212) 921-1585, rcaldwell@badgleymischka.com, ET View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sap-and-badgley-mischka-introduce-the-badgley-mischka-runway-mobile-app-by-sap-for-new-york-fashion-week-the-shows-300596255.html SOURCE SAP SE

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[February 08, 2018] FREDsense Technologies Selected by the Built in Canada Innovation Program to Deliver Water Testing Solutions

FREDsense Technologies Corp. is excited to announce the launch of a project supported by the Build in Canada Innovation Program (BCIP) through the Federal Government of Canada. FREDsense Technologies is an award-winning Calgary based company building next generation solutions for monitoring water quality in the utility, mining and environmental space. By creating portable hand-held instruments for water analysis, FREDsense is making it easier than ever to understand what contaminants are found in environmental water, allowing operators to better safeguard our environment. Water quality testing can be costly, require transportation of samples to a lab, and take multiple days. FREDsense provides operators with a portable solution to economically assess the chemicals found in drinking water right at the source, where they can rapidly modify water treatment processes as needed. "Water is our most critical resource and having rapid methods to understand what is in our water, is critical to safeguarding our communities andenvironment," says David Lloyd, CEO of FREDsense. FREDsense sees a future where their robust product line measures many types of contaminants.



FREDsense will be working with PSPC's mine water management team in Sydney, N.S., which oversees the treatment of approximately six billion litres of acidic mine water each year from over twenty former coal mine workings. The FREDsense innovation will allow the PSPC team to test mine water for levels of iron, manganese and acidity in the field, and access the results within an hour. This will assist the team to make any necessary changes in treatment processes the same day, based on the most current information.

About the Build in Canada Innovation Program

This innovation procurement program helps Canadian innovators get their product to market faster, and helps them succeed in the marketplace, by buying and testing innovations in real-operational settings. Through the program, innovators can sell their per-commercial products or services for testing, but keep the intellectual property and retain all equity in their company. The program pays up to $500,000 for non-military innovations, and up to $1,000,000 for military innovations. About FREDsense Technologies

FREDsense Technologies is a Calgary based biosensor company looking to revolutionize how to detect what is in our water. FREDsense's platform technology can be customized to detect various types of chemicals. By creating fast, portable, and cost-effective kits for chemical analysis FREDsense helps water districts, municipalities, and mining corporations de-risk their processes and give them actionable information in minutes instead of days. The company has won numerous awards and been recognized by organizations such as the Environmental Protection Agency as an up and coming technology within the arsenic groundwater space.

www.fredsense.com View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180208006496/en/

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[February 08, 2018] New GE Plant Seeks to Narrow Manufacturing Skill

After creating eight factories across the U.S. over the past decade, GE Aviation is working to narrow the "skills gap" facing many young Americans seeking jobs in today's advanced manufacturing plants. More than ever, GE Aviation collaborates with universities, community colleges, and public schools on job training programs in communities where it operates plants. Nowhere is it more critical than at GE's jet engine assembly plant in Lafayette, Indiana, in the shadow of storied Purdue University (News - Alert) . This is because GE's Lafayette operation, which opened in 2015, is in the throes of the fastest production ramp-up for a commercial jet engine since jetliners were first introduced in the 1950s. Also, Lafayette needs shop-floor technicians holding a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) powerplant license to perform the diverse technical tasks on sophisticated equipment inside the new facility. It's not your father's factory. GE's Lafayette factory produces the "LEAP" engine for CFM International, the successfully 50/50 joint company of GE and Safran Aircraft Engines of France. More than 14,000 LEAP engines are on back order to power three popular twin-engine airplanes: the Airbus Industrie A320neo, Boeing (News - Alert) 737 MAX, and China's COMAC C919. The Airbus and Boeing airplanes are now in airline service. Two GE Aviation factories in the U.S. (Lafayette and Durham, North Carolina) assemble half of the LEAP engines, and Safran's plant in Villaroche, France, assembles the balance. In addition to final assembly, the two GE plants produce the "hot section" (compressor, combustor, high pressure turbine) core for every LEAP engine assembled in U.S. and France. The GE and Safran factories delivered 459 LEAP engines in 2017. The LEAP delivery goal for 2018 is up to 1,200 engines, and in the 1,800-engine range in 2019. Lafayette's LEAP deliveries will grow from 193 LEAP engines in 2017 to 600 engines in 2018. And delivery rates will continue to grow for several years afterwards. When plant manager Eric Matteson opened the Lafayette plant, he knew he faced a work-skills challenge. "I needed FAA-licensed asemblers," he says. "Many people want to work at our site, but they need the license to handle the scope of work which can range from operating $3 million grinders to unique inspection machines. But the community is rallying around our challenge."



In 2016, Ivy Tech Community College (News - Alert) , walking distance from the GE plant, established a two-year Associate of Applied Science degree in aviation maintenance technology with a powerplant concentration. The college then teamed with neighboring Purdue University in a co-enrollment program to ensure the two-year degree also provided for an FAA powerplant license. Purdue doesn't offer two-year degrees, but offers powerplant courses, the FAA license testing and provides access to its aviation equipment for the co-enrolled Ivy Tech students. Ivy Tech's hopes to have about 20 graduates from the program each year to provide a pipeline for GE's Lafayette operation and other manufacturing operations, says Dr. Todd Roswarski, Ivy Tech's vice chancellor for academic affairs. Ivy Tech currently has 17 students in the program with the first graduates expected within a year.

Why is this the program critical to GE's Lafayette plant? Today, the plant has 100 FAA-licensed technicians. By year's end, it needs another 65 technicians. And more are needed in 2019. "We are counting on Ivy Tech to be a long-term local pipeline," said Matteson. "These kind of manufacturing challenges are very common today." Matteson needs licensed technicians for more than engine assembly. They are engaged in full disassembly of LEAP engines as part of field inspection programs. In addition, Lafayette is also a designated LEAP maintenance shop. GE's FAA-licensed technicians are not only critical to Lafayette, but they can be deployed across GE Aviation's worldwide network of support sites when engine issues arise. After all, GE and CFM have 36,000 in airline service around the world. On occasion, Lafayette technicians are deployed to GE Aviation's massive outdoor test operation in Peebles, Ohio, to ensure timely LEAP delivery. Every LEAP engine assembled in the U.S. is tested in Peebles before final delivery. The FAA license also provides GE employees with a career path. "We've already promoted several of our licensed technicians to management salaried roles," Matteson said. While Ivy Tech ramps up its associate degree program in aviation technology, GE is also actively recruiting FAA-licensed technicians from the Aviation Institute of Maintenance (AIM) and the Vincennes Aviation Technology Center, both at the Indianapolis International Airport. The Ivy Tech and Purdue University two-year program is one of several initiatives in Lafayette focused on the growing "skills gap" in manufacturing. The Greater Lafayette Commerce has initiated a "Workforce 2030" team of business and academic leaders focused on school awareness programs and curriculum strategies to put a greater focus on the career opportunities in manufacturing. Roswarski says Ivy Tech is more aligned with local manufacturers to address their personnel challenges. "We are looking to design more programs that bring a technology focus to the manufacturing floor," he says. "These programs help manufacturers promote from within and show a meaningful career path for entry-level workers." Brad Rohrer, manager of human relations for Subaru of Indiana Automotive in Lafayette, applauds Ivy Tech's efforts. Rohrer, like Matteson and Roswarski, is engaged in the local "Workforce 2030" initiative. "The vocational training at the high school level has declined and it impacts our ability to grow manufacturing," he said. "We are going directly to the high schools with summer camps on manufacturing and job fairs. We need to get young men and women excited about manufacturing again." View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180208006498/en/

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[February 08, 2018] Youtap appoints Singapore based Ray Ferguson as Chairman of its Board of the Directors

SINGAPORE, Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Youtap Limited announces the appointment of Ray Ferguson as Chairman of the Board of Directors, effective from January 2nd 2018. Ray Ferguson is replacing Rod Olsen who has served as the company's Chairman since its formation. Chris Jones, Founder and Chief Executive of Youtap thanked Rod Olsen for his dedication and service to the company stating, "Rod has contributed enormously to Youtap, and the Company is well placed given his guidance and contribution to build on its momentum and execute on its business plan for 2018 and beyond. I warmly welcome Ray to the Youtap team." This appointment follows the opening of the Youtap Singapore Corporate Headquarters. Also based in Singapore, Mr Ferguson has a wealth of experience in the finance sector in Asia and the Middle East. He spent almost 20 years in senior roles at Standard Chartered Bank including CEO in Taiwan, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, the Americas and Singapore. He was also Group Chief Banking Officer at Arab Banking Corporation in Bahrain. Mr Ferguson is currently Chairman of Singapore Life and the Founding Partner of Caber Partners a Singapore based fund manager and advisory firm that focuses exclusively on the intersection of finance and technology. Caber Partners, invests and advises innovative companies seeking to disrupt the financial industry and make an impact at a global level. Mr Ferguson's appointment to the Youtap Board has been designed as part of the next phase of growth for Youtap.



Chris Jones said, "Ray has an exemplary record in the financial services sector, and his experience and relationships across multiple markets will serve us well as we enter the next phase of our growth." Mr Ferguson was excited about the opportunity to work with Youtap saying, "I am excited about this opportunity to join Youtap at this pivotal time in our journey. Youtap has a clear strategy with global capabilities, a highly competitive and flexible technology stack, and has a strong executive team led by Chris Jones. I am looking forward to contributing to future success."

Mr Olsen will continue to be available to the Youtap Board in an advisory capacity. About Youtap (www.youtap.com) Youtap is a leading mobile financial services company specialising in mobile money payments and financial services in EMEA & Asia. Youtap provides contactless mobile payments and financial services software enabling mobile money and stored value wallet customers to tap and pay at any point of sale using any device. Youtap's secure NFC and QR code solutions support payment acceptance for contactless NFC tags, wearables, and NFC phones. Youtap supports MNOs and MFS providers by incorporating loyalty programs and other responsive functionalities that benefit both consumers and merchants, and provides a range of mobile lending, insurance, and micro credit services. Youtap on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/youtap-limited

Youtap on Twitter: https://twitter.com/youtap2pay For additional media enquiries: Matt Hardy - Communications Manager, Auckland

matt.hardy@youtap.com

+64-21-024-70429 SOURCE Youtap

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[February 09, 2018] Jugnoo Launches its Business Tools in The Auto Expo 2018

DELHI, February 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Aiming to become a one-stop solution for all small business owners, Jugnoo, launches its business tools at The Auto Expo 2018. Being India's largest auto aggregator and a leading on-demand hyperlocal startup, it's business offerings include Delivery, Ads and Storefront. (Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/640388/Jugnoo_Logo.jpg )

Jugnoo Delivery is an on-demand logistics solution to simplify the deliveries in 23 cities with a real-time tracking feature. Jugnoo Delivery provides fast pick-up and drop service, prices as low as ?20/delivery, bulk item carrying capacity and well-trained professional fleet. Jugnoo Ads is a platform to place brand communication and advertisements on thousands of autos registered on Jugnoo. It provides monitoring and regular reporting of branded auto's movement and status. Jugnoo Ads provides high reach and mass visiility at an economical price, top of the mind recall and exclusive space with no clutter.



Jugnoo Storefront is a DIY (do-it-yourself) platform for physical stores and restaurants to go online. The platform expands the selling potential of a business by providing a hassle-free experience to sell its products and services online. It offers quick setup of apps, fully responsive website and dashboard (web/tablet/mobile) in couple of minutes, global payments and 24*7 support. "With our new services, we help business to grow and provide them the tools they need to support their great ideas. We've built a platform on which businesses of all nature can get started with online commerce in a few minutes. While people spend an enormous amount of money on branding, logistics and digital presence, we are providing opportunities at modest prices," adds Founder and CEO, Samar Singla.

About Jugnoo: Founded in 2014, Jugnoo is an on-demand hyper-local transport and logistics app that thrives on its expansive network of auto-rickshaws. Headquartered in Chandigarh, Jugnoo was launched to bring structure to a highly unorganized sector of auto-rickshaws - a predominant mode of public transportation in tier II and tier III cities of India. Over the past three years, Jugnoo has evolved in terms of its business operations, technological advancements, and diversifying service offerings via different business verticals. Jugnoo has ventured into different verticals of on-demand and hyper-local space in B2B & B2C domains. Currently, it has two major verticals - Rides and Deliveries. With its market presence in more than 23 cities in India and a user base of 4.3 million registered users, Jugnoo is a go-to platform for all the hyperlocal needs of its customers. Media Contact:

Sukrita K

sukrita@click-labs.com

+91-9739639449

Assistant Manager, Jugnoo





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[February 09, 2018] MassRobotics Receives MassWorks Grant for Expansion, Continued Innovation

BOSTON, Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- At the annual Boston Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Forum, Gov. Charlie Baker awarded a $2.5 million MassWorks grant to the City of Boston to help MassRobotics expand its operations. The MassWorks Infrastructure Program provides funding for municipalities and other eligible public entities to support and accelerate housing and job growth in the Commonwealth. MassRobotics is an independent, nonprofit organization with a mission to create and grow the next generation of robotics and smart connected device companies in Massachusetts. It provides entrepreneurs and innovators the facilities and resources they need to develop, prototype, test, challenge and nurture early ideas. MassRobotics opened 15,000 sq.ft. of shared workspace in Boston's Marine Industrial Park in February 2017. Since then, it has grown to house more than 30 companies and organizations, including startups, mature robotics companies and university teams, with more than 70 people working in the space. "Year one has been a tremendous success. MassRobotics is busting at the seams, with every office and lab bench taken. We provide a center of gravity to Boston's robotics community, and are truly becoming the epicenter of robotics innovation. To support that growth, we need to expand, and we are excited about the cooperation and support from the City of Boston in this process," said Tom Ryden, executive director, MassRobotics. Since 2016, MassRobotics has built a growing network of partners, including Amazon Robotics, iRobot, Panasonic, Autodesk, Harmonic Drive, CIC, Vecna Technologies and GE. These artners play a key role in validating the corporate infrastructure needed to engage with more innovative robotics startups. In addition to providing the initial funding that enabled MassRobotics secure its current space and start operation, they also actively engage with resident startups by providing funding, technical and products support, and market access.



"The value of MassRobotics to Massachusetts and the industry is clear. I am grateful for our 25 founding and annual partners, and look forward to working with them and others in realizing MassRobotics' phase II and expansion plan," said Fady Saad, MassRobotics co-founder and director of partnerships. "This grant opens the door to more robust partnerships and sponsorship, and the space for robotics in Boston to grow." With the City of Boston's support, MassRobotics will build-out up to 35,000 sq. ft. of additional space to include: private offices; open shared lab, prototyping and test space; a machine shop with 3D printers, laser cutters, and other tools to help make parts; electronics lab; and dedicated labs for advanced manufacturing robots and university-supported research. There will also be public event space and a dedicated STEM lab where students and others can learn about the latest technologies that will be impact and inspire them.

"Massachusetts is the global hub of robot technology development and innovation," said Daniel Theobald, chief innovation officer at Vecna Technologies and MassRobotics visionary. "Robotics technology touches every industry, and we see amazing opportunity to grow the cluster. With this grant, MassRobotics can more than double their space, and support up to 80 companies and more than 250 employees. And those companies will grow, eventually find their own space, and become even greater contributors to the local economy." For more information and additional details about MassRobotics events, facilities and the startups it houses, please visit www.massrobotics.org. About MassRobotics

MassRobotics is the result of the collective work of a group of engineers, rocket scientists and entrepreneurs with a shared vision to create a strong, vibrant robotics and IoT ecosystem in Massachusetts. MassRobotics' mission is to help create and scale the next generation of successful robotics and connected devices companies by providing entrepreneurs and innovative robotics/automation startups with the workspace and resources they need to develop, prototype, test and commercialize their products and solutions. See www.massrobotics.org for details. Media Contacts

Mark O'Toole or Stephanie Ross

EMA Boston

massrobotics@mower.com

781-893-0053 View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/massrobotics-receives-massworks-grant-for-expansion-continued-innovation-300596240.html SOURCE MassRobotics

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[February 09, 2018] Thesys CAT LLC Announces Executive Appointment of Vas Rajan as Chief Information Security Officer for Consolidated Audit Trail

NEW YORK, Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Thesys CAT LLC (Thesys CAT), the Thesys Technologies subsidiary operating as the Plan Processor for the Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT), announced today the appointment of Vas Rajan as Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for Thesys CAT. The appointment was made in collaboration with the Operating Committee of CAT NMS LLC (Operating Committee) and in accordance with the CAT NMS Plan. Effective March 1st, Mr. Rajan will report to Andre Frank, President of Thesys CAT and will be based at the Thesys CAT headquarters in New York. The Thesys CAT CISO role is also a fiduciary officer of CAT NMS LLC and will also report directly to the Operating Committee. In this capacity, Vas Rajan will be responsible for ensuring security compliance of the CAT System and evolving and executing cybersecurity programs as the CAT platform advances from build to live along with its continuous development and optimization. In this role, he will also be responsible for partnering with the CISOs from the Self Regulatory Organizations (SROs) to ensure the highest standards of security across the CAT System. Mike Beller, Chief Executive Officer, Thesys Technologies, said, "Security has been at the forefront of our design and strategy for the CAT system from the beginning, and one important key to success is ensuring there is a well-rounded leader to oversee all the security aspects of the CAT, both before it goes live, and once it is operational. We are pleased that, together with the SROs, we have found an exceptionally talented candidate like Vas, who is highly capable of securing the system and working with the multiple stakeholders within CAT to deliver best in class security practices," said Beller. Vas Rajan joins Thesys CAT with over 20 years of Information Technology experience within the financial services industry. Most recently he served asCISO and Business Continuity Officer of CLS Bank, the member owned FX market utility, where he was responsible for the security strategy of the company in accordance with all requirements of a financial market utility, designated as systemically important by the U.S. government. In this role, he interfaced with numerous regulators and government agencies, including the Federal Reserve. Prior to CLS, Mr. Rajan was Head of Security and Privacy Officer of ING Direct USA, a major retail bank and brokerage.



Andre Frank, President of Thesys CAT said, "The addition of Vas Rajan to Thesys CAT completes our leadership team and brings us a step closer in our overall mission. His vast experience in operating in complex environments with stringent rules where information security is an integral facet of the business strategy is what drew him to the overall CAT mission. We are delighted to have gained a seasoned markets and cyber-security expert, who has implemented information security programs across heavily dynamic and regulated environments," Frank added. Mr. Rajan earned his Bachelor Degree from Rutgers College, Rutgers University and holds an MBA from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business.

About CAT NMS, LLC

CAT NMS, LLC was formed by the national securities exchanges and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (collectively, the "Participants") to implement the requirements of SEC Rule 613. SEC Rule 613, which was adopted in July 2012, requires the Participants to jointly submit to the SEC a national market system plan ("NMS Plan") to create, implement and maintain the CAT. The SEC approved the CAT NMS Plan on November 15, 2016. Once implemented, the CAT will facilitate regulatory surveillance by creating an extensive audit trail that will capture customer and order event information for orders in NMS securities across all markets, from the time of order inception through routing, cancellation, modification or execution, in a single, consolidated source. When complete, the CAT will be the world's largest data repository for securities transactions. About Thesys CAT LLC

Thesys CAT LLC is a subsidiary of Thesys Technologies, the leading big data solutions and market structure technology provider, and Plan Processor for the Consolidated Audit Trail. About Thesys Technologies, LLC: Thesys Technologies, LLC is a capital markets technology leader with a focus on market structure technology, providing high performance trading technologies and big data solutions to financial market participants. Thesys' technology includes pre- and post-trade surveillance tools, low latency trading platforms, matching engines, and big data analytical tools such as those provided to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as the MIDAS system. Thesys Technologies, LLC is headquartered in New York with offices in Charleston, South Carolina. For more information on Thesys Technologies, LLC, please visit the website at www.thesystech.com. Contact: press@thesystech.com View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/thesys-cat-llc-announces-executive-appointment-of-vas-rajan-as-chief-information-security-officer-for-consolidated-audit-trail-300596199.html SOURCE Thesys CAT LLC

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[February 09, 2018] FASTSIGNS International, Inc. Signs First Area Representative Agreement to Grow Footprint in New York City

CARROLLTON, Texas, Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- FASTSIGNS International, Inc., franchisor of FASTSIGNS, the leading sign, graphics and visual communications franchise, announced today it has signed the first Area Representative Agreement in the company's North American history to expand its footprint in New York City. As part of the agreement, Greg Carafello, president of Executive Franchise Group, LLC, will develop new FASTSIGNS locations in all of the city's five boroughs, as well as oversee franchise development and provide operational support for the market throughout its ongoing growth. FASTSIGNS currently has two existing locations in Manhattan and Staten Island, with plans to develop more than 20 additional centers in the coming years. "We are extremely excited to have Greg spearhead FASTSIGNS' growth in the New York City area," said Mark Jameson, EVP of Franchise Support and Development, FASTSIGNS International, Inc. "New York is one of the few untapped domestic markets in the U.S. and we believe there is a strong opportunity for the brand to develop there. We are confident that with nearly four decades of experience in the franchise and sign and graphics industries in the local market, Greg is the right person to drive our expansion in an area with so much potential." A franchising industry veteran, Carafello has extensive experience as a master franchisee for several additional leading brands, and currently serves as the master franchisee for Cartridge World with over 80 stores in eight states and 18 Liberty Tax's in Manhattan. He began his career more than 37 years ago at Canon as a copier sales trainee, and rose through the ranks to become their youngest branch director at the age of 26. He and his wife went on found their own company, AbraCadabra Color Copy Centers, which he sold after nearly two decades in business to focus on his franchising endeavors. As an area developer for FASTSIGNS, he will spearhead the company's development efforts in New York City and provide support to new franchisees to ensure their businesses are successful. "After spending decades in this industry, I'm thrilled to be joining one of the most respected names in franchising and number one in the signage segment. FASTSIGNS' exceptional success over the past several years is a true testament to the company's culture and the value of having a strong leader like Catherine Monson at the helm," said Carafello. "I look forward to leveragng my extensive experience in franchising to drive FASTSIGNS' expansion throughout New York City by identifying the right candidates for the brand, positioning them for success and supporting them throughout the years!"



This announcement comes on the heels of a year of exceptional growth for the brand, opening 43 locations in the U.S. and Canada, as well as three in the U.K. throughout 2017. In 2018, FASTSIGNS plans to open an additional 45 centers across the U.S. and is targeting aggressive franchise development in markets such as Greater New York City, Boston, and the Northeast Corridor, and throughout the West Coast including in Southern California and Arizona. Across North America, FASTSIGNS has over 400 markets ready for development. Internationally, FASTSIGNS is continuing to seek qualified candidates to grow its international footprint in target markets throughout the world, including Brazil, Quebec, North Africa, Southeast Asia, India, Europe, and Latin America. FASTSIGNS International, Inc. was ranked the #1 franchise opportunity in its category and 70 overall on Entrepreneur magazine's 2018 Franchise 500, the world's first, best and most comprehensive franchise ranking. Acknowledged by entrepreneurs and franchisors as a top competitive tool of measurement, the Franchise 500 recognizes FASTSIGNS for its exceptional performance in areas including financial strength and stability, growth rate and brand power. Additionally, FASTSIGNS has been recognized for its franchisee satisfaction by being named a World Class Franchise by the Franchise Research Institute for five consecutive years and has been ranked by Franchise Business Review as one of the "Best of the Best" for franchisee satisfaction for the last 10 years. FASTSIGNS also was named a 2018 Best-in-Category Franchise by Franchise Business Review and was named to its "Innovative Franchises" list in 2017.

As part of the brand's development strategy, FASTSIGNS is also targeting co-brand and conversion opportunities whereby print shop owners can expand their services by adding FASTSIGNS to their existing business or convert their business into a thriving FASTSIGNS center. For any existing business looking to expand into this fast-paced market, FASTSIGNS gives the added support and training needed to make the process smooth. Whether an existing print-based business or a photography studio, FASTSIGNS' co-brand centers receive the same assistance as any new franchisee, with the added bonus of being able to exclude established revenue streams, outside of the FASTSIGNS core business offering, from future royalty payments. Both the co-brand franchise opportunity and conversion can be started with only $15,000 down on the initial franchise fee. For information about the FASTSIGNS franchise opportunity, contact Mark Jameson (mark.jameson@fastsigns.com or 214-346-5679). About FASTSIGNS

FASTSIGNS International, Inc. is the largest sign and visual communications franchisor in North America, and is the worldwide franchisor of more than 675 independently owned and operated FASTSIGNS centers in eight countries including the US, Canada, England, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Grand Cayman, Mexico and Australia (where centers operate as SIGNWAVE). FASTSIGNS locations provide comprehensive sign and visual graphic solutions to help companies of all sizes and across all industries attract more attention, communicate their message, sell more products, help visitors find their way and extend their branding across all of their customer touch points including decor, events, wearables and marketing materials. Learn more about sign and visual graphic solutions or find a location at fastsigns.com. Follow the brand on Twitter @FASTSIGNS, Facebook at facebook.com/FASTSIGNS or LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fastsigns. Contact:

Chelsea Bear

Fish Consulting

954-893-9150

cbear@fish-consulting.com View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fastsigns-international-inc-signs-first-area-representative-agreement-to-grow-footprint-in-new-york-city-300596435.html SOURCE FASTSIGNS International, Inc.

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Banks Partner to Award $32K to Mississippi Delta Area Financial Literacy Program

Trustmark National Bank, State Bank and Trust and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas) will award $32,000 in Partnership Grant Program ( PGP (News - Alert) ) funds to Mississippi Community Financial Access Coalition (MCFAC) to help the organization continue to provide financial literacy programs to Delta-area individuals and families.

Local dignitaries and bank representatives will attend a check presentation at 10:00 a.m., Thursday, February 15, 2018, at the E-City Center Building at Jackson State University at 1400 J.R. Lynch Street in Jackson, Mississippi. The media is encouraged to attend.

MCFAC will use the funds for organizational capacity building, hiring grant-writing consultants and market research studies.

The structure of the PGP allows FHLB Dallas member institutions like Trustmark National Bank and State Bank and Trust 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: Check Presentation WHEN: 10:00 a.m., Thursday, February 15, 2018 WHO: Stephen Gavin, Office of U.S. Representative Bennie Thompson, MS-District 2 Chip Reynolds, District Director, U.S. Representative Gregg Harper, MS-District 3 Steffani Jenkins, First Vice President, Director of Community Development, Trustmark National Bank Gloria Jean Gross, Vice President, Community Development Coordinator, Trustmark National Bank and MCFAC President Lauren Wilson, Community Development Officer, CRA Specialist, State Bank and Trust Rieko Wells, Vice President Community Development Manager, State Bank and Trust Clifton Williams, Community Development Officer, Guaranty Bank and Trust Company and MCFAC Vice President William Brown, Financial Education Coordinator, MCFAC Latah Holloway, Program Director, MCFAC Denise Schmitt, Assistant Vice President, Community Investment Operations Manager, FHLB Dallas WHERE: Jackson State University E-City Center Building 1400 J.R. Lynch Street Jackson, Mississippi 39217

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180209005496/en/
[February 09, 2018] IBHS Applauds Federal Investment in Resilience Included in Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018

The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) today commended the United States Congress for coupling disaster aid with tools to help the nation prevent future weather disasters. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 includes amendments to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (the Stafford Act) that will reward state investments in resilient building and mitigation strategies. "In the plainest terms, the U.S. Congress is saying 'Yes' to a more resilient America and encouraging state-level action that will reduce future loss of life and property damage during severe weather events," said Julie Rochman, IBHS CEO and President. "The legislation is an important step toward a future in which fewer American homes and businesses - in whole or in part - end up in landfills due to severe weather. While we have a long way to go, this legislation will help strengthen communities and invest in disaster mitigation with the goal of reducing post-disaster response and recovery needs." These Stafford Act amendments were strongly advocated by the BuildStrong Coalition (the Coalition), a diverse group of firefighters, emergency responders, insurers, engineers, architects, contractors and manufacturers, as well as consumer organizations, code specialists, and many others committed to building a more resilient America. The Coalition has been working for years to make America's infrastructure stronger, safer and more durable against extreme weather. IBHS provides technical guidance on resilient construction standards ad systems to the Coalition.



The mechanism included in today's legislation is a Federal Cost Share Reform Incentive. It encourages states and communities to invest in measures that increase readiness for and resilience from major disasters. In return for these investments, the government may increase federal disaster relief aid from 75 percent to as high as 85 percent on a sliding scale. Measures to be considered for the enhanced federal funding include: The adoption of a mitigation plan.

Investments in disaster relief, insurance, and emergency management programs.

Encouraging the adoption and enforcement of the latest building codes.

Facilitating participation in the Community Rating System.

Funding mitigation projects or giving tax incentives to projects that reduce risk. "We are particularly pleased with the encouragement to adopt and enforce the latest building codes, which once again clearly proved their effectiveness and worth in Florida where damage from Irma could have been much, much worse," Rochman said. "However, because Florida has one of the nation's strongest codes and enforcement mechanisms, damage to much of the state was limited to older, weaker structures not built to modern codes."

Recent federal studies have shown the high value of an investment in mitigation. "It is heartening that Congress recognized in encouraging these investments in resilience, that the nation can save $6 in future disaster costs for every $1 in federal grants invested in mitigation," Rochman said. "Now we need states and communities to take the mitigation ball, and run with it. Every state and every community can and should take steps to avoid overwhelming damage from future weather disasters." About the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) IBHS' mission is to conduct objective, scientific research to identify and promote effective actions that strengthen homes, businesses and communities against natural disasters and other causes of loss. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180209005625/en/

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[February 09, 2018] Mogo to Present at Eight Capital's Conference

VANCOUVER, Feb. 9, 2018 /CNW/ - Mogo Finance Technology Inc. (TSX: MOGO; OTCQX: MOGOF) ("Mogo" or the "Company"), one of Canada's leading financial technology companies and a provider of innovative financial products to consumers, today announced that it will be presenting at Eight Capital's Blockchain Technology Conference on February 13 in Toronto. Greg Feller, President of Mogo, will discuss the Company's technology platform and products and its strategy to become the financial brand for the next generation of Canadians. Mogo is scheduled to present at 1:45pm EST. Mogo management is also available to participate in one-on-one meetings with inestors who are registered to attend the conference.



About Mogo Mogo (TSX: MOGO; OTCQX: MOGOF)  a Vancouver-based financial technology company  is focused on building the best digital financial services experience for the next generation of Canadians. Mogo's platform currently delivers five innovative products designed to help consumers get in control of their financial health. Built mobile first, users can sign up for a free MogoAccount in only three minutes and get access to free credit score monitoring, identity fraud protection, the Mogo Platinum Prepaid Visa Card, mortgages and personal loans. The platform was engineered to deliver multiple financial products at scale and enable the launch of additional new innovative products, including the Company's recently announced MogoCrypto account which is expected to launch early in 2018. With more than 500,000 members and growing, Mogo continues to execute on its vision of becoming the financial brand for the next generation of Canadians. To learn more, please visit mogo.ca or download the mobile app (iOS or Android).

SOURCE Mogo Finance Technology Inc

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[February 09, 2018] Scott+Scott, Attorneys at Law, LLP Files Class Action Suit Against LJM Funds Management Ltd. (LJMIX)

Scott+Scott, Attorneys at Law, LLP ("Scott+Scott"), a national securities and consumer rights litigation firm, today announced that it has filed a class action lawsuit against LJM Funds Management Ltd. ("LJM Partners" or the "Company") and certain of its executives (collectively, "Defendants"). The action, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, asserts claims under Sections 11, 12, and 15 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1933 (the "Securities Act"), 15 U.S.C. 77k, 77l and 77o, on behalf of persons who purchased shares of the LJM Preservation and Growth Fund Class I ("LJMIX") (MUTF: LJMIX) between February 28, 2015 and February 7, 2018, inclusive (the "Class Period"). LJMIX is a mutual fund that purports to invest primarily in purchased and sold call and put options on Standard & Por's 500 Futures Index ("S&P").



The complaint alleges that Defendants violated provisions of the Securities Act by issuing false and misleading statements to investors, including in filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (" SEC (News - Alert) "). Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that LJMIX was not focused on capital preservation and left investors exposed to an unacceptably high risk of catastrophic losses. In addition, it is alleged that Defendants violated 17 C.F.R. 229.303 by failing to disclose the fact that LJMIX had not taken appropriate steps to preserve capital in down markets. The truth emerged on February 5, 2018, when the S&P fell approximately 4.6 percent. In the wake of this drop, LJMIX plunged from a close price of $9.82 on February 2, 2018 to a close price of $1.94 on February 7, 2018, a massive loss of approximately 80 percent.

If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than April 10, 2018. Any member of the proposed class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain a member of the proposed class. If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, please contact plaintiff's counsel, Joe Pettigrew of Scott+Scott at (844) 818-6982, or via email at jpettigrew@scott-scott.com. 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/20180209005755/en/

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Have you ever wondered how much money you could make mining cryptocurrency with a supercomputer? Multiple people in Russia who had access to one of the countrys most powerful computers allowed their curiosity to get the best of them, and they wound up in jail for it.

Russian news agency, Interfax, reported that multiple employees of the Russian Research Institute of Experimental Physics, which is part of the Federal Nuclear Center in Sarov, Russia, have been detained for mining cryptocurrency in the workplace.

Interfax spoke with Tatyanna Zalesskaya, a press representative for the Federal Nuclear Center, who confirmed that multiple employees were apprehended. "Indeed, there was an attempt to unauthorized use of office computing capacities for personal purposes, including for so-called mining," Zalesskaya, told Interfax.

Zalesskaya didnt share many details about the incident with the Russian news agency, but she also noted that the recent incident wasnt the first time that employees had been caught using company equipment to mine cryptocurrency. BBC News reported that the culprits were mining "Bitcoin." However, the term "Bitcoin" has become somewhat of a proprietary eponym (like saying "Kleenex" when you mean "tissues") that represents all cryptocurrencies.

Curiously, the hashrate of the Bitcoin mining network dropped from a peak of 24,293,141 TH/s on February 6, to less than 20,000,000 TH/s on February 7. However, the drop in hashing power could be due to the recent drop in Bitcoin's value.

Interfax noted that the computer in question is capable of 1 petaflop of computational power. However, it would be difficult to determine how well that power would translate to mining potential. Its also unclear how long the supercomputer was used for mining before the company caught on and shut it down.

We would need more information to make an informed estimate of how much these crooked scientists made off with, but its still fun to imagine how many coins they mined.
KC man in viral video of Jimmy John's robbery faces 20 years in prison A Kansas City man pleaded guilty in federal court today to the armed robbery of a Jimmy John's that was caught on surveillance and went viral, as well as a carjacking. Terry K. Rayford, 54, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Howard F.

Hard time for a robbery that dominated global headlines as millions across the world expressed admiration to the most gully clerk in Westport. Take a look:
Kansas City Double Shooting Tonight

Kansas City police investigate double-shooting after gun battle on 45th, Elmwood Two people were injured in a gun battle in the area of 45th and Elmwood in Kansas City. Officers say one victim showed up at the fire station at 32nd and Indiana. The shooting happened just before 4:40 p.m. The fire station was placed on lockdown after the victim arrived there.

Today's Lesson In Fear

Gunfire Leaves One Dead In Grandview

Grandview PD investigating man found dead in running vehicle KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Grandview police say officers are investigating a possible homicide after a man was found dead from an apparent gunshot wound inside a running vehicle. The 25-year-old man was in a parking lot near 119th and Newton Avenue. He was in the driver's seat of a black 2015 Chevrolet Equinox.

Help Catchy KCK Speedy Crooks

Thieves make a pit stop at Kansas Speedway - Kansas City Business Journal The Kansas Speedway is offering a $10,000 reward to anyone with information that leads to the arrest of thieves who robbed their maintenance building, stealing equipment and vehicles used to prepare the race track for events. The theft occurred Jan. 30 at 1:22 a.m.

Kansas City Murder #11 2018

Police on Sunday went to KC home on suicide report; now they consider it a homicide The death of a 25-year-old man found dead Sunday afternoon in a Kansas City apartment is now being investigated as a homicide, police said Thursday. Police were called to 9804 Hedges Avenue on the report of a "dead body/suicide."

KCK Porch Stabbing Aftermath

Woman charged with murder in stabbing of Kansas City, KS mother Authorities in Marshall, MO have arrested and charged a woman with murder after a mother of three was stabbed to death on her front porch in Kansas City, KS. On Saturday, the Marshall Police Department received information about a person of interest in a homicide investigation which was ongoing in KCK.

Some of the top Kansas City crime scene stories worth a look . . . Checkit:Developing . . .
Mike Shanin interviews filmmaker and KCPT special projects producer Michael Price about the launch of KCPT's #KCPublicWorks reporting series about the eviction crisis in Kansas City. Gwen Grant, Shawn Saving, Laura McConwell and Patrick Tuohey discuss Kansas City's $1.5 billion dollar debt and $811 million employee pension fund shortage, the Greitens tax plan and the conflicting reporting about the Nunes memo.

As we slouch toward "love day" here's a look at a heartfelt episode of Kansas City'sof political discourse along with differing views on all the major local headlines . . .You decide . . .
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Two people in separate vehicles were injured Thursday in a gun battle in Kansas City, officials say. KC Police Capt. Lionel Colon said the gun battle began around 4:45 p.m. Thursday near the 4500 block of Elmwood Avenue. One of the vehicles hit with gunfire in the shooting stopped nearby, Colon said.
Kansas City Pet Freebie Giveaways

KCMO Offers Free Pet Vaccinations and Microchips - Kansas City infoZine KCMO Offers Free Pet Vaccinations and Microchips Kansas City, Mo - infoZine - Spay and Neuter Kansas City's Families Better Together program and the City of Kansas City, Mo., is offering free rabies vaccinations and microchipping with the purchase of a $10 city pet license at two upcoming clinics.

More Jail Drama Underway

Secret investigation of Jackson County jail uncovered Jackson County has hired a Kansas City law firm to represent county employees in a secret and previously unreported investigation of conditions at the Jackson County Detention Center. The Star learned of the investigation through public records it requested from county officials this week concerning a legal services agreement between the county and the Wyrsch Hobbs Mirakian firm, which specializes in criminal and civil matters.

Economic Border War Back On???

Metro hospital chain tied to new Kansas Governor moving HQ from Missouri to Kansas KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - 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 but state officials say the details of the incentives aren't final.

Meth Town Veggie Market Coming Soon

$3.3 million Independence Farmers Market project moving forward INDEPENDENCE, Mo. - The city of Independence is taking the next steps towards opening a new farmers market. On Monday, the Independence City Council approved the $3.3 million project. "It's really looking towards the future of the city," said Meg Lewis, City of Independence spokeswoman.

Old & Busted Bridge Redux

Kansas City committee agrees to framework to pay for a new Buck O'Neil Bridge KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Thursday morning city leaders took the next step toward paying for a new Buck O'Neil Bridge. City engineers say the bridge, built in 1956, is reaching the end of its lifespan and needs to be replaced.

Local Biz Diversity Earns Tech Tribute

Kansas City Entrepreneurs Devote February Pitch Confabs To Black-Owned Startups Each Wednesday morning at 9 a.m., between 100 to 200 people gather at Kansas City's Kauffman Foundation to hear two entrepreneurs pitch their startups. Throughout February the lineup is focused on black-owned businesses in honor of Black History Month.

Celebrate Kansas City Story Time

Sympathetic Vibrations | Find Your Story at FAI Next week, Kansas City welcomes ambassadors of an entire genre of music to the Folk Alliance International Conference. Over the past five years, the conference has become one of the biggest arts-related draws to the area and something of a revenue boon for the city in general.

Quick glimpse at some of the more worthwhile local news links. Take a look:And this is thefor right now . . .
Kansas City History Teaching Moment

Kansas City Group Preserves Buffalo Soldier Legacy, And Updates On Farm Bill, Dicamba A statue at Fort Leavenworth pays tribute to the Buffalo Soldiers, the all African-American calvary formed after the Civil War. Today, John Bruce and

Newspaper Celebrates Prez Obama Glory Days

Former Obama spokesman Josh Earnest pans Kobach's campaign for governor Former White House press secretary Josh Earnest panned Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach's campaign for Kansas governor a few hours before headlining a fundraiser for Kansas Democrats. Earnest, a Kansas City native who served as President Barack Obama's spokesman from 2014 to 2017, now serves on the advisory board for Let America Vote, a national group dedicated to strengthening voting rights.

COLD CASE CASH INCREASED!!!

Reward increased to $10,000 in 9-year-old Kansas City boy's unsolved murder A $10,000 reward is now available for information leading to an arrest in the murder of a 9-year-old Kansas City boy. Dominic Young Jr. was hit by a stray gunshot while riding in a vehicle driven by his father and died as a result of his injuries. The shooting took place on Jan.

Celebrate The Local New School

New early-education program launches in Kansas City with a little help from Sesame Street KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Some would say it's the most important phase of a child's life: pre-school and kindergarten. Education's earliest levels are the focus of a new push the Kansas City Chamber of Commerce is rolling out, making a strong emphasis on the long-term goals of getting kids in school as soon as possible.

KCPD To The Rescue

Kansas City Police Find Missing Child Ten-year-old boy last seen early Thursday morning

P&G Shut Down Postscript

The KCK Procter & Gamble plant closure: What's next for the workers? Kansas City, KS - Nearly 600 workers will be impacted by the closing of the Procter & Gamble plant in KCK in 2020.The announcement surprised many, including Wyandotte Economic Development Council President Greg Kindle who says it's hard to lose a company after 113 years.

KC Love Weekend With McTavish

6 Adult Things To Do This Weekend In Kansas City Childhood and adolescence have their charms. But it's only adults, despite being closer to the final exit than the fresh start, who get to call their own shots. That's even truer on weekends, when most grown-ups have additional time to devote to non-essential stuff (a.k.a. fun).

Hottie Kate Upton isn't just an EPIC modeling powerhouse . . . She's also a #MeToo crusader. Here's the latest addition to her body of work . . .Closer to home, we're minding our manners whilst we take a look at some of the top morning news links right now . . .is the song of the day and this is thefor right now . . .
LOCAL SERVICE INDUSTRY REPS ARE WORKING WITH COUNCIL TO ABOLISH THE CONTROVERSIAL KANSAS CITY 'LIQUOR CARD' NOW THAT 'BAN THE BOX' MAKES IT OBSOLETE!!!

One of the most widely disputed regulations of the local bar & restaurant scene is soon to become part of Kansas City history.To wit . . .This decision will impact more than 40K Kansas City, MO workers who must pay a de facto employment tax just to serve drinks.Now that the "felony question" is illegal according to a local ordinance . . . Restaurant association advocates were quick to lobby against the long derided requirement.Currently, the cost of the KCMO "liquor card" is $42 and it serves no other function but to verify if a service industry worker has committed a felony. Initially, "ban the box"liquor control rules & regs but behind the scenes the distinction is being chipped away and might not only be indefensible but also put the whole ordinance up for legal review if challenged.Critics of the legislation argue that it's an outdated rule and a legacy of the aftermath of prohibition.And this isn't just a story on background . . .is one of many vocal critics against the liquor cards and he will be taking the lead in making the upcoming announcement about an end of an era .And so, social justice warriors and the local restaurant biz seem to have discovered just a bit of common ground as helping to find former felons decent Kansas City jobs takes precedence over liquor control.Developing . . .
CHECK OUT KANSAS CITY PROTESTERS IN 'ANARCHIST SOLIDARITY' ON THE MARCH NEAR JACKSON COUNTY JAIL!!!

Call for International Days of Solidarity with Russian Anarchist Political Prisoners Feb 5th-12th, 2018

As always,is committed to offering anview of Kansas City and this recent protest didn't make and might never appear on the mainstream news without our readers offering aTo wit . . .While we may have different political views, the flares were an elegant touch on a cold Kansas City night . . .Here's the full statement from the group . . .An antifascist Victor Filinkov was kidnapped by Security Service in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The officers of Federal Security Service have been torturing him in the forest out of the city. They told Victor to admit his participation in mythical anarchy-terrorist group. Unable to withstand the torture Filinkov was forced to incriminate himself and now he is remaining in temporarily-stay isolation. Filinkovs lawyer claims that he has never seen so serious damages and trails of the torture during his practice of struggle with a police outrage.Everything whats going on in our time is an attempt to clear out an anarchist movement before the Russian Elections of the President Vladimir Putin in 2018. In recent years we could see how the anarchist movement increased its activity after the repressions of 2012 year. These repressions can only intimidate people and crush the anarchist movement in Russia. In this case its necessary to show the international community are not afraid and we cant be destroyed by Russian Oligarchs . Now its important to support political prisoners and give a global publicity for this event. Kansas City participated in a solidarity campaign with a noise demo at the Jackson County Jail in solidarity with repressed anarchists this week of February.###########You decide . . .
Congressman Cleaver Urges Cryptocurrency Companies to Monitor Extremist Groups

Cleaver writes to Bitcoin and other organizations imploring them to ensure bitcoin services are not used to harm Americans

(Washington D.C.)  Today, Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) sent letters to the Bitcoin Foundation and the Chamber of Digital Commerce, calling for these entities to do more in efforts to prevent extremist groups from using cryptocurrency to fund campaigns of hate and violence.It is clear to me that cryptocurrency technology has the opportunity to play an influential role in finance as technology evolves. However, we must be diligent in ensuring this technology is not being used to support groups that wage campaigns of hate, abuse, anti-Semitism, discrimination, or violence, said Congressman Cleaver.Following the deadly rally in Charlottesville last year, digital payment companies have worked to prevent their platforms from being utilized by hateful or violent extremists. However, many of these bad actors have started to rely on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. It was recently reported that the head of a white nationalist movement stated that, Bitcoin is the currency of the alt-right.It is not my intention to stifle this growing technological industry, but rather work with them to root out these nefarious groups. I look forward to working with the Bitcoin Foundation and the Chamber of Digital Commerce in attempts to eliminate bigoted organizations from fundraising on their platforms, Cleaver continued.Congressman Cleaver has been an advocate for fighting discrimination in the tech industry and for greater accountability by social media platforms.In November of 2017, Congressman Cleaver and Congresswoman Watson Coleman wrote to the Internet Association (IA) demanding accountability from the organization. The letter can be read here. The members urged the organization to stop the spread of racial and gender bias through technology and adopt practices to hold IA members accountable when it comes to the rise of Artificial Intelligence technology and the use of potentially discriminatory algorithms. IA responded and created a new role and inclusion initiative within its organization to work on discrimination issues and diversity in the tech industry.In October of 2017, Congressman Cleaver and Congresswoman Watson Coleman sent a letter to Twitter CEO, Jack Dorsey, encouraging him to take immediate action to combat the spread of racially divisive communications and take seriously the threat of foreign entities use of the site to undermine American democracy. Twitter responded by stating it would enforce new policies to ban racist and violent posts from its platform.Cleaver was also among members of the Congressional Black Caucus who met with, Facebooks COO, Sheryl Sandberg, to discuss allegations that Russian-backed agencies exploited the companys system to influence the outcome of the 2016 election through the spread of racial and discriminatory messaging. Facebook responded with a series of policy changes and has since appointed its first African American to its Board of Directors.The Letter to the Chamber of Digital Commerce can be foundThe Letter to the The Bitcoin Foundation can be found#########
"These photos were taken in the 18th & Vine Historic District. This is vacant lot next door to the KC Call building. This is the debris Residents of The Centennial Senior Apts and The Rochester Apts have to drive by as they enter their parking lots daily. This has been like this for weeks and weeks. Perhaps this why the Public will not be allowed to speak at the 18th & Vine Planning Committee meeting tomorrow. Bet this wouldn't exist on The Plaza!"

"18th & Vine Development Policy Committee Meeting Friday, February 9, 2018 @ 8:30 AM at HOK, 300 West 22nd Street KCMO. A City Attorney e-mailed today and stated per the committee chair , the Public will NOT be allowed to speak at this meeting where the Future of 18th & Vine will be discussed... Millions of City, State, Federal and private dollars have been spent on the Historic District with more spending to occur but the PUBLIC can't speak."

With millions of taxpayer funds on the line . . . Locals, nearby residents and stakeholders areof improvement process.Here's a recent message from an East Side leader worth sharing . . .More . . .Developing . . .
Colt Technologies Expands On Demand Services

Colt Technology Services has announced that it will bolster its On Demand SDN service by expanding further into the Asia Pacific region, with the end goal being to deliver a truly global service.

Connectivity is an important part of Colts expansion strategy, which extends to ensuring customers are provided with a superior customer experience, through agile and on-demand high bandwidth solutions.

Colts On Demand SDN services are powered by the Colt IQ Network and enable businesses to take full control over their network, scaling high bandwidth requirements up and down in real-time, creating flexibility, agility and driving cost efficiencies.

Following the successful launch of Colts On Demand SDN services in Japan, the company plans to launch these services both in Singapore and Hong Kong in Q2 2018.

Colts global expansion strategy centres on ensuring that Colt is the driving force behind the critical connections needed to drive businesses forward. The Colt IQ Network currently reaches all the key business hubs across Europe, Asia and North America, connecting to more than 25,000 buildings and over 800 data centres worldwide. The planned activity in 2018 will further cement Colts dense fibre connectivity in key areas, so that wherever a company does business, or hopes to do business, Colt is present.

Carl Grivner, CEO at Colt commented: Being better connected in 2018 is something that Colt wants to ensure is part of its entire DNA - from the services and infrastructure we invest in, to the customer experience we offer. We understand connectivity matters and the expansion pipeline of our Colt IQ Network and On Demand SDN services is the perfect example of how Colt is fully embracing this vision.

As the digital transformation journey continues in the APAC region, Colt wants to make sure that we are comprehensively set up in the area to guarantee Colt is front of mind when businesses are thinking about future proofing or expanding their technical and business operations, Grivner added.

For more information on related topics, visit the following channels:
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By offering traditional Cretan dishes to the visitors in the presence of the Greek Tourism Minister, lena Kountoura



(TRAVPR.COM) GREECE - February 9th, 2018 - Creta Maris Beach Resort impressed the visitors of Brussels Holiday Fair during a two-day event dedicated to Cretan gastronomy, which took place on the 2nd & 3rd February, in Brussels, in the presence of the Greek Tourism Minister, lena Kountoura.

In the context of Brussels Holiday Fair, Creta Maris Beach Resort and the Region of Crete in collaboration with the Netherlands GNTO (Netherland  Brussels  Luxembourg), held a two-day event dedicated to Cretan gastronomy, on Friday 2nd and Saturday 3rd of February. During the first day, the visitors had the chance to watch and taste two favorite Cretan recipes with sea bass and lamb. On the second day, the resort offered Cretan Ntakos -rusks with tomatoes, feta cheese and dried oregano- and Kaltsounia -sweet Cheese Pastries- to the visitors of the GNTOs booth, reminding thereby the value of the genuine Greek hospitality and highlighting the local character of the resort itself.

The pure, traditional and local products that Creta Maris choose to use in all its restaurants are the ones that make the difference and the reason our guests love the Cretan cuisine. I am very glad that with our participation in this wonderful cooking action, we managed to promote once again our authentic cuisine and to fly the visitors of the fair to Crete!, stated the Executive Chef of Creta Maris Beach Resort, Dimitris Makrakis.

About Creta Maris Beach Resort:

Creta Maris Beach Resort belongs to Metaxas Group of Companies and has been operating since 1975. It has a capacity of 680 rooms, suites and bungalows, 6 restaurants, 7 bars, 7 swimming pools, gym, Hammam spa, Asterias Childrens Club, and a great space for outdoor and indoor activities.

Please find pictures on high resolution on the below link:

https://we.tl/i6dYVZ2OdB

Please find pictures of Creta Maris Beach Resort on high resolution on our site:

http://www.maris.gr/media/image-library.aspx

###
vinaymishra188@gmail.com

Vijay C Roy

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 9

The software upgrade process at Punjab National Bank (PNB) has cast shadow over banking transactions across the region, affecting a number of services. The worst sufferers were customers seeking loan from the bank, over draft facility or demand drafts. A lot of customers were unable to deposit or withdraw money through cheques or transfer money through NEFT. However, ATMs and cash-deposit machines were working normally.

The bank has around 10 crore customers and 7,000 branches across the country out of which 1,200 are in Punjab and Haryana. Sources in the bank said customers were facing difficulties in completing their transactions ever since a software update was undertaken on January 29. Senior officials in the bank said the problem persisted across the country and refused to comment when the services would be restored properly.

According to sources, the bank is updating its software from Finacle 7 version to 10 version which has been developed by Infosys.

A senior bank official said, The software worked to some extent today but the server was extremely slow and we were able to do only handful of transactions.

Jitender Kumar, a self-employed person, said, I had issued a cheque to a vendor on February 7. The cheque was returned and the person concerned was debited with cheque-bouncing charges. The bank should have upgraded the software in stipulated time without affecting the transactions.

Echoing similar sentiments, Kusum Sharma, a Chandigarh resident, said, I went to Sector 49 branch of PNB to deposit cheque of Axis Bank in my account. The officer told me to come next week.

The bankers said these are initial hiccups after the transition to a new system. Earlier, the bank had sent SMS alerts and put up notices in branches in advance and requested customers to complete their urgent banking transactions before January 25. The notice said the upgrade work will be in progress from January 29. It has been more than two weeks, but the system is not working smoothly, thereby affecting a large number of customers.

Customers a harried lot
pardeepdhull@gmail.com

New Delhi, February 9

Law firm Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co, which represented one of the complainants against Google, on Friday said the CCIs fine amount of Rs 136 crore on the Internet major is disappointing, even though the ruling is a significant development.

The low penalty could be as a result of financial jugglery by Google, the law firm, which represented Matrimony.com, one of the entities on whose complaint the CCI has passed the order against the Internet giant, said.

On Thursday, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) slapped a fine of Rs 136 crore on Google for unfair business practices in the Indian market for online search.

Through a majority order, the watchdog had said the penalty is being imposed on Google for infringing anti-trust conduct.

Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Cos Naval Satarawala Chopra said the ruling is a significant development and is aimed at creating a level playing field in India for companies that compete with Googles vertical services, especially in flight search.

The penalty amount is disappointing as it will not have a deterrent effect on Google whose turnover is USD 110 billion, he told PTI.

However, as the CCI points out with dismay it is based on caveated turnover information provided by Google and may not be a fair and full disclosure.

Therefore, there is potential of the penalty to increase at the appellate stage. The low penalty could be as a result of financial jugglery by Google, Chopra said in a statement.

Chopra, who led the legal team for Matrimony.com, noted that both in majority and minority decisions, the CCI has categorically found Google to enjoy a dominant position in search and search advertising.

The ramifications of this are well beyond the order as dominance bestows upon Google a special responsibility. This could pave the way for additional complaints, he said.

Reacting to the CCI order, Google on Thursday had said the company is reviewing the narrow concerns identified by the Commission and will assess our next steps.

According to Chopra, the regulator has the power to penalise individuals at Google responsible for the abusive conduct.

The Director-General identified certain top management executives. It is to be seen whether the CCI will prosecute such individuals, Chopra noted.

The DG is the investigation arm of the regulator.

The penalty amount of Rs 135.86 crore translates to 5 per cent of the companys average total revenue generated from India operations from its different business segments for the financial years 2013, 2014 and 2015, as per the CCI.

Further, the regulator had said it gave a thoughtful consideration on the submissions made by Google on issue of penalty and found it appropriate to impose a fine.

The CCI ruling came on complaints filed by Matrimony.com and Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS) -- back in 2012 -- against Google LLC, Google India Pvt Ltd and Google Ireland Ltd. PTI
S.N.M. Abdi

S.N.M. Abdi

Kolkata-based senior journalist

Stealing donations meant for orphans is morally repugnant and punishable in any society. Yet, Bangladesh's former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's conviction and imprisonment in what is known as the Zia Orphanage case for pocketing the Indian equivalent of Rs 1.6 crore sent from Saudi Arabia for children without parents is being seen in her country as political vendetta waged by the other Begum, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, whose Awami League Party is eyeing a third successive term in power by winning the 11th general election due at the fag end of this year.

A hat-trick is Hasina's top priority and her ambition is perfectly legitimate. The problem is that Bangladeshi politics is so polarised between Awami League and Bangladesh Nationalist Party headed by Zia and her London-based son Tarique Rahman  not to speak of the animosity-cum-rivalry between the warring Begums who are not on talking terms  that the legal verdict packing off the ex-PM to jail for a few days before she is inevitably granted bail, is open to all kinds of interpretations. Many believe that it's a political case and insist that as in most political cases, injustice has been done at the regime's behest. The tens of thousands fondly waving at Zia as she drove to the court from her home on Thursday was by no means orchestrated. The massive and spontaneous backing for the jailed leader is hardly a good omen for Hasina, or her principal ally, India.

The biggest implication of Zia's imprisonment is the likelihood of her being disqualified from contesting the 2018 elections. The legal position on that front is hazy, but clarity can be expected soon enough as the polls are not too far away. Even if she cant be a candidate, she can still be the BNP's supreme commander in the surcharged election battle. And in the event of a BNP victory, bending the law to appoint her as PM will be child's play, which Bangladeshis are adept at. Her imprisonment might turn out to be the biggest rallying point for a power-hungry BNP as the sympathy vote is a proven fact, especially in South Asian countries.

Significantly, Hasina made no attempts whatsoever to hide her glee at the punishment rightly meted out to Zia for corruption. Where is she now? the PM crowed at a public rally in Barishal soon after the verdict. The gloating highlighted the intense hostility between the two 70-plus women locked in perpetual conflict. In sharp contrast, her general secretary, Obaidullah Quader, tendered some sane advice to party men: There is nothing to rejoice. Let's handle the situation calmly, carefully and politically. India will see more of the suave and pragmatic Quader, the second most powerful Awami League leader, when he calls on BJP general secretary Ram Madhav in Delhi this month with a long wish list.

No sooner did Zia  who is the BNP's chairperson  enter the prison, the party announced that vice-chairman Rahman will take charge in his mother's absence as the officiating chairperson, assisted by secretary-general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and joint secretary-general and Ruhul Kabir Rizvi. There are some reports that both Alamgir and Rizvi dislike Rahman for his imperious ways. The cracks might tempt the Awami League to split the BNP while it's down. But attempts to foist the late former finance minister, Saifur Rahman, as leader flopped miserably while Zia was jailed in 2007-2008 by the military-backed interim administration.

Rahman's boys vandalised the Bangladeshi High Commission in London even before she was convicted. They claim that they went on the rampage as they had credible information of the judge being bought over by the Awami League government. Writing in Bengali on Facebbok after Zia was whisked away to prison, Rahman urged his foot soldiers to fight for Islam. Rajpath kapate neme asun, Islamer pokhe jihad korbo (hit the road to join the jihad for Islam), he announced on social media. The irony is that Hasina is herself hand-in-glove with the Hefazat-e-Islam, the nation's second-most powerful hardline outfit after the Jamaat-e-Islami - to win over conservative Muslims. She is also banking  much to India's annoyance  on the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation, the 57-strong group of Muslim countries New Delhi frowns upon for its pro-Pakistan bias, to resolve the Rohingya refugee crisis. Moreover, Dhaka is being aggressively marketed as a tourist destination for Muslim travelers.

After her release, Zia has plans to import her London-based daughter-in-law, Zubaida, to Dhaka to assist her politically as heir apparent, as Rahman, is still a wanted man in Hasina country. Zubaida, a qualified doctor, is the daughter of former navy chief MA Khan and is also related to Awami League Minister for Local Government, Khandker Mosharaf Hussain. The glamourous woman's entry in desi politics will mark a new chapter in the BNPs irrepressible quest for power.
harinder@tribunemail.com

Indias antitrust regulator, the Competition Commission of India (CCI), has found search engine giant Google abusing its dominant position in the country. After a thorough investigation and subsequent hearings, the CCI imposed a Rs 136-crore penalty on Google. It also advised the multinational giant: Google, being the gateway to the Internet for a vast majority of Internet users due to its dominance in the online web search market, is under an obligation to discharge its special responsibility. Indeed, corporate giants like Google, with easy access to personal and professional information of billions of individuals, cannot afford to be driven solely by profit. Google is a curator of all kinds of private data across the globe; hence it has to act responsibly and must be seen as above suspicion.

This is not the first case of penalty on Google for misusing its dominant position. Eight months ago, European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager had fined it a whopping Euro 2.42 billion for similar reasons. Apparently, it was unfairly favouring some of its own services over those of its rivals, particularly its shopping services at the top of web searches. Like CCI, Vestager also gave a sermon to the company that dominant companies had a special responsibility not to undermine competition. She said Google was fined because it didnt live up to that responsibility. However, in comparison to the European Commission, the penalty imposed by the Indian regulator is insignificant. But, not without a message to domestic and multinational corporate giants  play by the book.

Google has escaped with a paltry penalty of $21 million in India compared to the $2.7 billion fine by the European Commission because of policy loopholes. The CCI levied a fine equal to 5 per cent of Googles three-year average revenue generated in India. Despite astronomically high global revenues, the company apparently presented only direct sales figures to the CCI without disclosing revenue earned indirectly through India. This also dismayed the regulator. The government needs to frame an accounting policy so that indirect revenue generated through India by such global e-tailers could also be computed and taxed.
harinder@tribunemail.com

For years the average Bangladeshi has regretted the lack of political choice: the options usually boiled down to one of the two Begums, Khaleda Zia or Sheikh Hasina. The 2013 general election was different: Khaleda Zia stood down and Sheikh Hasina swept the field. Fewer than half of the seats were contested. This is not a good augury for democracy but, surprisingly, Bangladesh has withstood the absence of an opposition and has, in fact, done better than expected: the Islamic militants are on the run or have been executed and the economy has been in a sweet spot for the past three years with over 7 per cent growth. The sentencing of Khaleda and her heir-apparent son on Thursday rules her out for the second successive general election.

The stability of Bangladesh was fortuitously enhanced after the US backed the wrong horse, Khaleda, in the 2013 elections. It then vented its frustration and asked for fresh elections, forcing the new PM, Sheikh Hasina, to explore alternative options. All the new relationships she forged have stood her in good stead: with India, all security headaches are now over. Both countries have a clearly marked land boundary and have exchanged fugitive criminals, including Assams most wanted Anup Chetia. With China, Hasina has sought help for strengthening the infrastructure and the navy while Russia is building a nuclear plant, a symbol of immense national importance for Bangladesh.

The execution of a string of Jamaat-e-Islami leaders whose cadres acted as Khaledas strong armed boys in the countryside has further weakened the opposition. New Delhi will have no reasons to regret that because during Khaledas tenure as PM, Bangladesh had become an acquiescing party to forces destabilising parts of India. Hasina has admittedly brought back the country from the brink: militants were once powerful enough to effect 500 bomb explosions near 300 locations within half an hour. Yet, Bangladeshs long-term interests enjoin that all these positives do not become an excuse for a foray into authoritarianism in the absence of an opposition.
editorial@tribune.com

Sushil Manav

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 9

The Centre has announced to send 60 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) to the state for BJP president Amit Shahs motorcycle rally in Jind on February 15. Jat quota leader Yashpal Malik has announced to disrupt the event with his tractor-trailer rally.

State Home Secretary SS Prasad, who is camping in New Delhi, today said he would meet his Central counterpart Rajiv Gauba tomorrow and seek more companies. Earlier, the state had sought 150 companies of Central forces to deal with the situation arising out of Maliks announcement.

In another development, Leader of the Opposition Abhay Singh Chautala today announced that the INLD would greet Shah with black flags and black balloons.

Abhay, while addressing a meeting at Dabwali in Sirsa today, said Shah would be greeted with black flags if he came by road and with black balloons if he decided to come by a helicopter.

The Jat leader has announced his tractor-trailer rally much later. Our party had announced to oppose Shahs visit on the SYL issue the moment the BJP announced this, the INLD leader said.

He alleged that the Central Government was working against the interests of the state by not constructing the SYL canal despite the Supreme Courts orders.

Abhay said it was strange the state government had requisitioned 150 companies of Central forces for Shahs rally.

If the government feels that Shahs rally could cause such a big law and order situation, it should ask him to cancel the plan, he said.

Jat activists have already started registering tractor-trailers to disrupt Shahs rally.

I, along with other leaders, visited Jind today to discuss the route to be taken for our rally, said Malik.

Meanwhile, state BJP president Subhash Barala said talks were afoot with the Jat leaders and he hoped that they would not oppose Shahs rally.

Barala also asked the INLD to shun politics of confrontation and not try to put hurdles in the BJPs programme.

Barala said Shahs motorcycle rally would be organised as per the schedule.

Sunita Duggal, chairperson of Haryana Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation Limited, today led a motorcycle rally from Dabwali in Sirsa. It will reach Jind on February 15.

Panipat: Leave of officers cancelled

Wary, the Panipat administration has cancelled the leave of administrative and police officials. No employee will be allowed to go on leave till further orders, DC Chander Shekhar Khare said.

The police have started drills to deal with any untoward situation on February 15 (Amit Shahs rally) and February 18 (Balidan Diwas). DGP BS Sandhu has also called a meeting of range-level officials and SPs in Faridabad on Sunday. TNS

NGT seeks reply on bikes

The NGT has sought response from the Centre and Haryana on a plea seeking reduction in the number of bikes at BJP chief Amit Shahs rally, on pollution grounds.

A Bench, headed by Justice SP Wangdi, issued notices to the Environment Ministry, the Haryana Government, the state pollution control board and the Central Pollution Control Board and sought their replies by February 13. One lakh motorcycles were expected to be mobilised during the rally. PTI

Saini to boycott event

Kurukshetra: Kurukshetra MP Raj Kumar Saini has decided to boycott BJP president Amit Shahs Jind rally. There is nothing to cheer about Shahs visit to Haryana when Jat leaders have once again threatened to jeopardise the law and order situation in the state, he said. The state government had once again bowed to pressure tactics by leaders of a community to make the rally a success, he added. It is unfortunate that the state government has decided to withdraw 70 criminal cases registered during the Jat agitation in 2016. CM Manohar Lal Khattar should publicly explain what made him pardon 822 persons allegedly involved in rioting, wrongful restraint and obstructing a public official from discharging duty, the MP said. TNS

Admn gears up

Karnal: The district administration is taking no chance with regard to a protest call given by the Jat body on February 15 and 18. Deputy Commissioner Aditya Dahiya and Superintendent of Police Jashandeep Singh Randhawa conducted a joint meeting of officials at the Mini-Secretariat on Thursday evening and directed them to coordinate in order to ensure smooth law and order situation in the district. Dahiya said they had made all arrangements and nobody would be allowed to take the law into their hands. Security would be tightened on National Highway-44, railway tracks as well as canals to stop the protesters from blocking them. The City Magistrate had been asked to send letters to the heads of all departments to ensure the safety of their offices between February 14 and 19. Police force would also be deployed, he said. Forest officials and rangers would be deployed at sensitive locations. TNS
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Faridabad, February 9

A team of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials today raided the office of Mahesh Nagar, brother of Lalit Nagar, the Congress MLA from Tigaon constituency, reportedly in connection with Robert Vadra land deal case. This is second raid at his office in the past 10 months.

The ED team conducted raid at Mahesh Nagars office near Kheri Pul area of Greater Faridabad till 5 pm. The ED officials were assisted by a team of the district police officials, which cordoned off the area and did not allow any movement.

The ED had conducted first raided Mahesh Nagars house and office on April 12, 2017.

It had carried intensive searches at some other places, including Buapur village, his paternal village, and houses belonging to close his associates to collect evidences related to a land deal in Bikaner of Rajasthan several years ago. It has been alleged that Mahesh had played a vital role in conducting the deal and had some papers and information regarding it.

Admitting that a raid had been carried out today, a police official said that the ED officials had sent a formal request for assistance to the police department. Mahesh Nagar runs a real estate consultancy here.

Meanwhile, Tigaon MLA Lalit Nagar termed the ED raid as political vendetta. He claimed that the team had conducted raids twice in the past several months, but had failed to find any incriminating evidence against his brother. The MLA claimed innocence and accused the government of harassing and victimising them.
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 9

In view of Prime Minister Narendra Modis interaction with students of schools and colleges on February 16, the Haryana Government has directed all state and private universities and government and government aided colleges in the state to make necessary arrangements so that all students could view and hear the telecast.

An official spokesman said the Prime Minister would interact with students of schools and colleges on matters concerning how to reduce exam stress on February 16 from 11 am to 12 noon.

He said the programme would be broadcast live by Doordarshan through DD National, DD News and DD India.
editorial@tribune.com

Samaan Lateef

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, February 9

Three days after a Pakistani prisoner escaped from a Srinagar hospital, the J&K Police have banned the entry of all prisoners in public hospitals and have directed all jail authorities in the state to send the sick inmates for treatment to police hospitals only.

From now on, all inmates should be sent to police hospitals only, an official quoted a communication from SP Vaid, Director General of Police, to all jail authorities.

The official said the decision had come after militants on Tuesday killed two police personnel and freed Naveed Jatt, a wanted Lashkar-e-Toiba militant of Pakistan, who was taken from the Srinagar Central Jail to SMHS Hospital, Srinagar, for a check-up.

Doctors at Police Hospital, Srinagar, said they had been receiving jail inmates regularly, but for super specialty treatment, some inmates were sent to tertiary care hospitals of Srinagar. We have almost all specialties available here. However, we are free to seek help from super specialty experts of public hospitals from now on, said a doctor at the Police Hospital. He said they had received several prisoners from various jails of Kashmir after the Tuesday attack. Dr Samia Rashid, principal, Government Medical College (GMC), Srinagar, had also recommended the state government that for security reasons, detainees should be taken to police hospitals.

If consultation of specialists of the GMC and associated hospitals, including SMHS, is required, a team of expert doctors can be deputed accordingly to Police Hospital, Dr Rashid wrote to the state government on February 7. The police have suspended Hilal Rather, Superintendent of the Srinagar Central Jail, and arrested four persons for allegedly helping Jatt escape. The government has also transferred almost all health officials, including two doctors and three pharmacists, from the jail.
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 9

Taking a serious note of the escape of a jailed Pakistani terrorist, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) today shot off a directive to the state government to fully review security measures in place in jails and transportation of inmates.

Suggesting that the state government should consider deploying CRPF in prison security, the MHA has also asked it to ensure that such incidents do not take place in future.

A senior MHA official said, Taking a serious note of the incident, we have advised the J&K Government to fully review security measures and take action to prevent such incidents in future.

The official said a decision in this regard was taken after a high-level meeting chaired by Home Minister Rajnath Singh following the escape of Naveed Jatt, a Pakistani terrorist who was lodged in the Srinagar Central Jail. He fled a city hospital after some militants shot and killed two policemen accompanying him. He was taken to the hospital for check-up, said the official.

Listing the specific measures the Centre wanted the J&K Government to take, the official said the state should develop a mechanism to fix the responsibility for the lapses and examine why a high-security prisoner was sent to the OPD of a hospital.

The official said the state government had also been issued instructions to immediately review the security of hardened terrorists lodged in the Srinagar Central Jail. At present, 16 Pakistani prisoners are lodged in the Srinagar jail and four have been shifted to another prison. Discussions are on to shift the others.

Another official said the Jammu and Kashmir Government had assured the Centre of taking necessary steps and reviewing the entire jail security.

Fix responsibility, govt told
rchopra@tribunemail.com

Srinagar, February 9

Normal life in Kashmir was affected due to a strike called by separatists to press for the return of mortal remains of Parliament attack convict Mohammad Afzal Guru on his fifth death anniversary on Friday even as authorities imposed restrictions in parts of the city and Sopore town.

Shops and other business establishments remained closed in most parts of Kashmir due to the strike called by Joint Resistance Leadership.

Public transport remained off the roads but some private vehicles could be seen on some routes in the Civil Lines area of the city, officials said.

They said authorities imposed restrictions under Section 144 of the CrPC in seven police station areas of the city--Khanyar, Kralkhud, Maharajgunj, Maisuma, Nowhata, Rainawari and Safakadal--as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order.

Restrictions have also been imposed in Sopore town (Gurus native town) to thwart any attempts at distrubing law and order there, the officials said.

Separatist leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik, under the banner of JLR, had called for a shutdown to protest against Gurus hanging and to press for their demand for the return of his mortal remains.

Guru was hanged on this day in 2013 following his conviction in the 2001 Parliament Attack case. His body was buried inside Tihar Jail in the national capital. PTI
ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

PadMan, a biographical comedy-drama film, is written and directed by R Balki and it features Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor, and Radhika Apte in lead roles. It is based on a short story in Twinkle Khannas book The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad and is inspired by the life of Arunachalam Muruganantham, a Tamil Nadu-based social activist who revolutionised the concept of menstrual hygiene in rural India by creating a low-cost sanitary napkins machine.

Love the concept

I love the film. There are so many taboos and stereotypes attached with menstruation, which is a natural biological process, and this film highlights the issue that still haunts the womenfolk in India. I love the concept and the storyline too.

Asmita Singh, homemaker

On feminism

For long, the issue of menstruation has been a hushed up one. This film extends a general understanding of the concept and an empathetic view of menstrual issues even to men. Its more important that men talk about this issue too. Heres a perfect example of a feminist man. Its a great film!

Hemant Semta, student

Lets talk about it

My helper told me that in her village, menstruating women are often made to sleep in a cattle shed. After watching this film, I realised that its not only in her village that women are socially ostracised while they are down, but its everywhere. This film highlights the plight of women in rural India. Its an eye-opener and a wonderful film. Its a must-watch.

Kritika Sehgal, student

(As told to Amarjot Kaur)
editorial@tribune.com

Shivani Bhakoo

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, February 8

The long-pending demand of the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector in the country has finally been met by the Government of India (GOI). Earlier, the division of the MSME sector was on basis of machinery and plant. Micro units were trying hard to divide it as per turnover basis. Now, the GOI has accepted the demand of micro units. The local industry is elated over the new development.

The chairman of the Federation of Punjab Small Industries Association, Badish Jindal, said owners had given representation several times regarding the division of micro units on turnover basis so that such factories could benefit.

He said earlier, large chunk of benefits were grabbed by medium and large units while micro and small units got only peanuts. With recent announcement of division of units on turnover basis, micro and small units will get benefits, he added.

As per new guidelines, a unit will be considered micro if the annual turnover is upto Rs 5 crore. From Rs 5 crore to Rs 75 crore it will be small unit. The unit with revenue from Rs 75 crore to Rs 250 crore will be considered medium. From Rs 250 crore onwards, it will be large units.

Welcoming the MSME definition on the basis of annual turnover, the president of the Wire Drying Federation of Punjab, Naveen Bansal, said, Micro units will get a major relief. And now, the criteria is performance based. Large units will be out of race and benefits will percolate to the MSME, especially micro/small units, which are approximately 99 per cent in the country.

The RBI comes to help

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has provided much-needed relief to the micro, small and medium enterprises. According to a notification issued by the Chief General Manager, RBI, on February 7 it has been decided that the exposure of banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) to a borrower classified as micro, small and medium enterprises under the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (MSMED) Act 2006, shall continue to be classified as standard asset in the books of banks and NBFCs (subject to various conditions).

Period of NPAs extended

The RBI has also extended the period of non-performing assets (NPA) from 90 to 120 days. The decision has been taken by the RBI following representations by the MSMEs to convey that formalisation of business through registration under the GST had adversely impacted the cash flows of smaller entities during the transition phase with consequent difficulties in meeting their repayment obligations to banks and NBFCs.
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, February 9

The Health Department will be observing De-worming day on February 12 and targets to de-worm nearly 9.5 lakh kids on this day.

Dr HS Ghai, a civil surgeon, said, good health was also very important and keeping this in view the department will be de-worming the kids on February 12 by giving de-worming tablets, Albendazole.

He further said it was necessary to regularly de-worm kids as it can affect their health. Children are more at risk of getting infected by worms. If left untreated, the worms can spread the infection throughout the body. The worms are parasites which feed off the hosts body and eventually result in malnutrition, affecting the growth of the child.

Dr Jasbir Singh, District Immunisation Officer, said, kids in the age group of two to 19 years will be given the tablets and all private and government schools will be visited on this day.
rchopra@tribunemail.com

Raipur, February 9

Two hardcore Maoists, including a deputy commander, were killed in an exchange of fire with security forces in a Naxal-affected forest in Rajnandgaon district in Chhattisgarh on Friday, police said.

The skirmish took place at around 12.30 pm in the forest of Bodla village under Gatapar police station limits when a joint team of security forces was out on a counter-insurgency operation, Rajnandgaon Superintendent of Police Prashant Agrawal told PTI.

The composite squad of Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), District Reserve Guard (DRG), district force and Hawk force of Madhya Pradesh Police had launched the operation in Gatapar, located around 160 km from the state capital, he said.

The exchange of fire started after the patrolling team came under heavy firing from a group of ultras in Bodla forests. The intermittent firing lasted for a long time, he said.

After the guns fell silent, security forces searched the area and recovered bodies of two Naxals along with two weapons, Agrawal said.

The deceased were identified as Vinod, deputy commander of military platoon no. 55 of Maoists, who was a native of Gadchiroli in Maharashtra, and Sagar, who hailed from south Bastar and was a member of the platoon, he said.

Vinod and Sagar carried a cash reward of Rs 8 lakh and Rs 2 lakh on their heads, respectively, he added.

Further details are awaited as the operation is still under way, he said. PTI
harinder@tribunemail.com

Beijing/Washington, Feb 9

China today said it is in touch with India to discuss a way to resolve the political turmoil gripping the Maldives and underlined that Beijing doesnt want the issue to become another flashpoint in ties with New Delhi. This comes on a day the White House said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump in a telephonic conversation expressed concern over the political crisis.

Both (Trump and Modi) expressed concern about the political crisis in the Maldives and the importance of respect for democratic institutions and rule of law, the White House said in a readout of the phone call, the first between the two this year.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

While China officially continues to maintain that there should not be any external interference, especially in the light of reports of Indias Special Forces ready for deployment, Beijing is in touch with Delhi to resolve the crisis, Chinese official sources said. The standoff between India and China in Doklam and Beijings opposition to declaring Pakistan-based Masood Azhar as a global terrorist at the UN had been major irritants in bilateral ties in the past.

Maldives President Abdulla Yameen sent his Economic Development Minister Mohamed Saeed to China but India said it did not find the dates suitable for the visit of Maldives foreign minister as a special envoy to New Delhi.  Agencies

MEA: Hope nations can play constructive role

New Delhi: India on Friday hoped that countries, including China, could play a constructive role in Maldives. An MEA statement said, We note that China has said that Maldives Government has the ability to protect the security of Chinese personnel and institutions. We hope all countries can play a constructive role in Maldives, instead of doing the opposite. TNS
monicakchauhan@gmail.com

Kolkata, February 9

A teacher of a private English-medium school in the city was detained on Friday after a Class II student alleged that he had sexually abused her, police said.

The development triggered angry protests by parents, who gathered outside the school, demanding suspension and punishment for the accused.

A senior police official said the parents of the alleged victim alleged that their daughter was abused by the dance teacher.

The incident came to light yesterday when the girl complained about the teacher to her parents, he said.

One of the agitating parents alleged that the school authorities tried to downplay the matter when they were informed about it.

"It was then we decided to stage a protest outside the school," he said.

Police officials, who reached the spot to control the agitators, were also heckled, the officer said.

"We have taken the teacher with us to the police station," he said, adding the parents assaulted the accused when he was being taken away.

The incident brought back memories of another case in December last year when a four-year-old girl student was allegedly sexually assaulted by two teachers inside an English-medium school. Both the teachers were arrested. PTI
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Beijing, February 9

China on Friday said it is in touch with India to discuss a way to resolve the political turmoil gripping the Maldives and underlined that Beijing didnt want the issue to become another flashpoint.

While China officially continues to maintain that there should not be any external interference, especially in light of the reports of Indias special forces ready for deployment, Beijing is also in touch with New Delhi to resolve the crisis, Chinese official sources said.

China didnt want the Maldives to become another flashpoint, sources told PTI here.

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The stand-off between India and China in the Dokalam area and Beijings opposition to declaring Pakistan-based Masood Azhar as a global terrorist at the UN had been major irritants in bilateral ties in the past.

Answering a spate of questions on the Maldives, including Fridays telephonic conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump, in which the situation in the Maldives figured prominently, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said international community should respect sovereignty and independence of the Maldives.

The current situation in the Maldives is its internal affair. It should be properly resolved through dialogue and consultations by all relevant parties, he said.

Maldives President Abdulla Yameen sent his Economic Development Minister Mohamed Saeed to China but India said it did not find the dates suitable for the visit of Maldives foreign minister as special envoy to New Delhi.

The UN Security Council too met to discuss the Maldives situation. Ahead of the meeting, UN Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenca reported to have informed the top UN body that while there were no reports of violent clashes, the situation in the Maldives is tense and may deteriorate even further.

Geng, while replying to a question on reports that Indian Special Forces were ready for deployment in the Maldives to evacuate Indians, said non-interference in other countries is an important principle of international relations.

The international community should respect the will of the Maldives and play a constructive role in the stability and development of the Maldives instead of doing the opposite, he said.

He said Saeed in his meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had introduced the current situation in the Maldives and said that the government is committed to upholding the rule of law and social order independently resolving the current issue and achieving national stability and development.

The Maldives has the ability to protect the security of the Chinese personnel and the institutions, Saeed told Wang.

For his part, Wang said China is closely following the situation in the Maldives and believed that the government and people there had the ability to properly resolve the current issue and restore the normal order in the country in accordance with law, Geng said.

China will not interfere in the internal affairs of the Maldives. This is also an important principle enshrined by UN charter. We support the Maldives government to properly resolve issues through dialogue and consultations with relevant parties and uphold independence, sovereignty and legitimate rights and interests of the Maldives, Wang told Saeed, according to Geng.

China has offered self-less assistance to the Maldives for its social development, Wang said, adding that the cooperation benefited all the peoples in the Maldives.

However, it is not yet clear what is the takeaway from Saeeds China visit.

Asked how the Maldives could resolve the problem independently and unilaterally when top judges and leaders had been locked up by the Yameen government, Geng retorted saying, I think you should raise this question to the Maldives government. How will they resolve their internal affairs (problems), you should ask them.

I want to emphasise that China believes that the Maldives and its people have the wisdom and capability to properly resolve the current issue faced by them, he said.

To another question whether Saeed sought Chinas help to tide over the crisis, Geng said, I can tell you that diplomatic channels between the two countries are smooth. China and the Maldives maintain normal and friendly exchanges, he said

China views the Maldives as key to its Maritime Silk Road project in the Indian Ocean as it has already acquired the Hambantota port in Sri Lanka and Djibouti in the Horn of Africa. PTI
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Gorakhpur, February 9

Amid controversy over encounter killings in Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has said those who believed in the language of the gun should be answered in the same manner.

His remarks came amid criticism over the rising cases of encounters in the state. Everyone should be guaranteed security, but those who want to disturb peace of the society and believe in the gun, should be given the answer in the language of the gun itself. I would tell the administration, that there is no need to worry on this, Adityanath said here.

Earlier, speaking to the media in Lucknow on the uproar by the Opposition in the state Assembly over various issues during the customary address of Governor Ram Naik, he said: The Opposition leaders... rude, unparliamentary, indecorous and indecent behaviour... is despicable.

This type of behaviour shatters the parliamentary tradition.... Paper balls were thrown, balloons were flown. The use of foul language for the Governor by SP members is indeed unparliamentary and an despicable act, he said.  PTI

Gorakhpur, Phulpur LS bypoll on March 11

New Delhi: Crucial bypolls to the Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha seats, vacated by UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his deputy Keshav Prasad Maurya, will be held on March 11, the Election Commission said on Friday. The bypoll to the Araria Lok Sabha seat in Bihar, which fell vacant following the demise of RJD MP Mohammed Taslimuddin, will also be held on the same date, the poll panel said in a statement. PTI
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New Delhi, February 9

Indian Air Force Group Captain Arun Marwah facing espionage charges has been arrested and is undergoing questioning by the Special Cell of Delhi Police, sources said on Friday.

Marwah was handed over to the Special Cells northern range on Wednesday after being interrogated for nearly 10 days by the counter intelligence wing of the IAF, a senior police official said.

He had been booked under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) provisions and five days police custody had been granted by the court for questioning him, he said.

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Marwah, who was posted at the Air Force headquarters, was allegedly leaking classified documents to a woman through WhatsApp. He had befriended her through Facebook in December last year, the official said.

As per the complaint filed against Marwah by the Air Force, he was caught by the counter-intelligence wing after he was found carrying a high-end phone at the headquarters, which are banned there.

The counter-intelligence wing is also probing whether he was part of any larger espionage ring.

The IAF officially did not comment on the matter.

Punishment under the Official Secrets Act entails a jail term of up to seven years. PTI
harinder@tribunemail.com

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 9

Leaders of 13 Opposition parties led by Congress chief Rahul Gandhi today met President Ram Nath Kovind urging him to intervene in the matter pertaining to the suspicious death of Judge BH Loya, who was hearing the sensitive Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case in which BJP chief Amit Shah was an accused.

The leaders presented to the President a memorandum signed by 114 MPs belonging to 15 parties. The memorandum has asked for Presidents intervention to uphold the majesty of law.

What is required is a thorough investigation through a special investigating team of independent officers selected and monitored by the Supreme Court. Neither the CBI nor the NIA considering their recent track record should be entrusted with this probe. We hope you will use your good offices to serve the cause of justice, the memorandum to the President said.

The memorandum has alleged that judge BH Loya, presiding over a special CBI court in Mumbai, was under pressure from the CJI of the Bombay High Court to render a decision favourable to the accused.

Loyas father and sister have revealed he was being pressurised and in return was offered Rs 100 crore and land in Mumbai. Such statements disclose the commission of a cognisable offence for which FIR is mandatory. For the Bombay High Court to not do this is a matter of grave concern, the memorandum says.

It also refers to alleged suspicious death of two confidantes of judge Loya Shrikant Khandalkara and Prakash Thombreand attributes this information to one Satisk Uke of Nagpur.

Two of judge Loyas confidantes have also subsequently died in suspicious circumstances. This was revealed by Satish Uke. Khandalkara, a public-spirited lawyer of Nagpur allegedly fell from a high-rise building in the district courts on November 29, 2015. Prakash Thombre, a retired district judge, allegedly dies on May 16, 2016, after falling from the upper berth of a train. We believe that if lives of judges and lawyers are jeopardised for doing their duty, democracy will be under grave threat, the memorandum said.

Gandhi later said, A large number of MPs in Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha have felt that a judge of Special CBI Court has died in suspicious circumstances and we owe it to the judge and his family and the system that the investigation should be done independently and effectively...
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Vijay Mohan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 9

Putting on hold new rules that gave the government greater powers in appointing and fixing the service conditions of members of various tribunals, the Supreme Court today ordered that the selection and term of tribunal members will be as per the old rules.

In an interim order, a Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud accepted several suggestions by the petitioners, that included staying composition of the search-cum-selection committee for chairman and judicial and administrative members of tribunals, and staying the new term of office of three years  fixing it at five years instead.

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The apex court agreed with the suggestion to constitute an interim selection committee with the Chief Justice of India or his nominee as chairman and that the appointment to the post shall be made through nomination by the Chief Justice.

Attorney General (AG) KK Venugopal said he had no objection if the suggestions were made applicable to all tribunals as an interim measure. There are 19 tribunals in the country, such as the Central Administrative Tribunal, Armed Forces Tribunal, National Green Tribunal and Income Tax Appellate Tribunal.

The petitioners suggested that all selections and appointments by the interim committee should be with the conditions of service as applicable to judges of the High Court. And that such appointments for a term of five years with conditions of service as applicable to judges of the High Court should not be affected by the final outcome of the writ petition.

The AG, however, submitted that the two suggestions should be recast to read service conditions to be as per old Acts and rules and the term of service of members also be as per old rules.

The Bench accepted the submissions. Legal experts say the service conditions/terms of a few tribunals vary.

In June 2017, the Ministry of Finance had notified new rules affecting the selection process and functioning of all tribunals. A section of the legal fraternity had contended that these placed the quasi-judicial bodies under the control of the government and were administered by those very ministries against which the tribunals were to pass orders, thereby reducing their independence.

The tenures of appointment had also been reduced and the Centre had been granted the powers to hold inquiries and remove members and even the status and facilities had been lowered. Jurists had averred that all such measures were in contravention of the law laid down by the SC and HCs. The emoluments of members were also reduced from that of a High Court judge to Class-I officer.

A bunch of petitions that came up for hearing today have been tagged along with other petitions  a PIL by the Madras High Court Bar Association and by Chandigarh lawyer Navdeep Singh  that are being heard by a five-judge Constitution Bench.

GIST of the matter
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New Delhi, February 9

The Supreme Court will on Monday (February 12) hear a petition by the father of Major Aditya Kumar, named in an FIR registered by the Jammu and Kashmir Police in connection with the Shopian firing incident, seeking quashing of the case.

Lt Col Karamveer Singh has also sought guidelines to protect soldiers rights and adequate compensation for them. A three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra today agreed to take up the petition after the petitioners counsel Aishwarya Bhati demanded urgent hearing.

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Two civilians were killed when Armymen fired at a stone-pelting mob in a village in Shopian, prompting CM Mehbooba Mufti to order an inquiry. The FIR was registered against personnel of 10 Garhwal Rifles, including Major Kumar, on charges of murder and attempt to murder.

The Army had contradicted the police FIR, reiterating that the soldiers had opened fire in self-defence to prevent imminent lynching of an officer, snatching of weapons and burning of Army vehicles.  TNS
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New Delhi, February 9

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday asked BJP MPs to take welfare schemes announced in the budget to the masses, saying that popularising them would lead to the party winning in the polls, according to leaders present at the meeting.

The MPs' success is linked to the party's performance, the prime minister told the BJP parliamentary meeting, the leaders said.

Party president Amit Shah also spoke at the meeting and blamed Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's "undemocratic" politics for his party members heckling the prime minister during his speech in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

Modi dwelt at length on the Union budget, calling it especially positive for farmers and the poor while citing the announcement of a health insurance scheme for 10 crore families, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar told reporters.

Modi asked MPs to inform the masses about various pro- people features of the budget.

The prime minister also asked the gathering to hold meetings at booths to take various welfare schemes announced in the budget to people and run intensive campaigns to propagate them, Kumar said.

Some leaders present in the meeting later said the prime minister underlined the importance of popularising these schemes for winning polls and told them that their win was linked to the party's victory.

He asked them to hold mock parliaments in various places to discuss the budget and praised Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's reply in the Lok Sabha during a discussion on it.

Modi also heaped praise on Shah for his maiden speech in the Rajya Sabha.

Modi made a reference to his rally in Tripura, which goes to the polls on February 18, yesterday and said a huge crowd had arrived despite attempts of the state's Left government to prevent people from attending it.

Shah hit out at Congress chief Rahul Gandhi in his address, Kumar said.

Never before in the parliamentary history was a prime minister's reply to the president's address disrupted by the Opposition, Shah said, referring to Congress protests in the well of the Lok Sabha during Modi's over 90-minute speech on Wednesday.

Gandhi's mindset is "undemocratic" and that is why the prime minister had to speak amid disruptions, he said.

When Manmohan Singh was prime minister for over 10 years, such a situation never occurred, he said.

Shah also touched on the Congress' attack on the government over the Rafale aircraft deal, saying Jaitley in his speech had touched on its various aspects.
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Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 9

The TDP-BJP alliance appears to be under threat. The NDAs southern ally has rejected Finance Minister Arun Jaitleys assurance on its demands regarding Andhra Pradesh. Interestingly, on a day the TDP again marked its protests inside and outside Parliament and accused the BJP of not following the coalition dharma, another NDA ally, the Akali Dal, supported its demands on the floor of Parliament.

Speaking during the discussion on Union Budget in the Rajya Sabha, Akali Dal leader Naresh Gujral said the government must honour its commitments to the Telugu Desam Party (TDP).

Speaking to the media, TDP leaders said they were feeling insulted over the way the party had been treated by the BJP. However, any decision as regards alliance would be taken by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.

Lok Sabha MP Rammohan Naidu said they had been agitating for the past five days, but the government had not paid any attention. They should understand that we are agitating because our demands are genuine. What we are asking for is our right. It is not an overnight demand, but what we having been saying for past four years, he said

Naidu said PM Modi not making any assurance to the TDP had made them feel even more insulted. They (BJP) has not done anything to address our genuine grievances or extended any helping hand, the Srikakulam MP said.
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Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 9

The well-entrenched lobby of liquor smugglers is not taking lightly to new players, which is resulting in bloody turf wars of the kind witnessed in Dera Baba Nanak on Tuesday.

Interstate smuggling of liquor is a multi-crore venture with most of the big players being politicians or their henchmen, who operate with impunity in connivance with the police and excise authorities.

Needless to say, the common man is always at the receiving end. Genuine buyers are often mistaken for smugglers and assaulted or even worse killed, while the accused roam scot-free, thanks to their well-connected masters.

Contractors suffer huge losses as smugglers buy cheap liquor from other states and sell it in Punjab. They thus resort to deputing men to keep an eye on people ferrying liquor. And whenever, the monitoring team comes across smugglers, a confrontation takes place often leading to bloodshed.

Ludhiana

Issuing bills a problem

In May 2017, four persons impersonated as cops from the CIA staff raided a factory at Dashmesh Nagar. Complainant Gurjit Singh Shinh alleged that the accused thrashed an employee alleging that illegal liquor had been stored in the factory.

On one hand, the government was running an awareness campaign Jago Grahak Jago appealing to the people to ask for bills on every purchase. On the other, if anyone insists on a bill at a liquor vend, he is threatened by the staff. Whom do we turn to, rues Manjit Singh Mehram, a former PAU employee.

AETC Rajpal Singh says whenever a genuine raid is conducted excise officials are always present. The government fixes the minimum sale price of liquor, but there is no provision to issue bills for its purchase, he claims.

Bathinda

Interstate smuggling

Interstate smuggling is a big issue in this district so much so that SHOs are posted in the district as per the wishes of the liquor lobby.

In many cases, employees of a contractor raid a place without informing the police or the excise officials, leading to clashes.

Lakha Singh of Ballo village died during a face-off between villagers and a team of contractors on November 28. A police team reached the village only when residents detained the contractors men. Incidentally, nothing was recovered from the house raided by them. Later, both parties struck a compromise.

Six months ago, the henchmen of a liquor contractor opened fire at a car on the Bathinda-Muktsar road. They had chased the car occupants mistaking them as peddlers.

Similarly, under pressure from a contractor, the Nathana police arrested Lal Singh of Sema Kalan village, who was carrying just two bottles of liquor. More than 1,000 cases under the Excise Act were registered by the Bathinda police last year.

The influence of the lobby can be gauged from the fact that despite shortage of police personnel in the hinterland, 300 policemen have been attached with contractors since March last year.

Jalandhar/Kapurthala

Cops: Excise policy flawed

In October, 2016, Manish Luthra (28) of Jalandhar was chased and stabbed to death near his house for opposing the sale of alcohol in his locality. Illicit sale is rampant in the area. Recently, the Bihar police seized three truckloads of illicit liquor allegedly smuggled from Kapurthala and arrested an accused.

Police Commissioner Praveen Sinha says some major flaws in the excise policy need to be plugged to discourage liquor smuggling. He recently transferred two SHOs following their involvement in the illicit business.

Jalandhar is estimated to be a Rs 358-crore liquor market with Rs 220 crore generated from the city alone. Jaspinder Singh, Deputy Commissioner, Excise, says though the region has not witnessed any bloodshed, lack of coordination among enforcement agencies is a major concern for them.

Amritsar

Invading territory

Contractors selling liquor in the city in an illegal manner to exhaust their quota is the main cause of animosity between businessmen. The rural belt is also notorious for bootleggers who sell homemade brew to tipplers at a fraction of the cost of IMFL.

Although no major clashes were reported in the recent past, in January, employees of two contractors clashed over the sale of liquor, leaving one with bullet injuries.

Jagroop Singh, one of the contractors, told the police that New Amritsar area was serviced by his vend, but his rival had been selling liquor there illegally. Both had a verbal duel on this issue in the past. Later, their men clashed with each other.

Recent Events

June 13, 2017: The goons of a local liquor contractor thrashed Ghagga resident Baljeet Singh and damaged his car on the Samana-Bhiwanigarh road, thinking he was ferrying liquor. Five car-borne assailants armed with sharp-edged weapons rammed their vehicle into the victims car and attacked him with baseball bats and swords. Baljeet received minor injuries. On checking, no liquor was recovered. The assailants fled telling me that it was a case of wrong information, Baljeet told the police.

The goons of a local liquor contractor thrashed Ghagga resident Baljeet Singh and damaged his car on the Samana-Bhiwanigarh road, thinking he was ferrying liquor. Five car-borne assailants armed with sharp-edged weapons rammed their vehicle into the victims car and attacked him with baseball bats and swords. Baljeet received minor injuries. On checking, no liquor was recovered. The assailants fled telling me that it was a case of wrong information, Baljeet told the police. June 18, 2017: Henchmen of liquor contractors rammed their vehicle into a Swift car coming from Cheeka (Haryana), dragged out its two occupants and attacked them with rods, resulting in the death of one and serious injuries to the other. The police registered an FIR against unidentified persons and added murder charges against six accused after a lot of hue and cry by locals. In this case, victims Satnam Singh and Kaka Singh were ferrying 30 boxes of country-made liquor. The police booked the victims for smuggling, but registered a case against unknown persons for the attack. Satnam later succumbed to his injuries. Besides, such goons regularly raid marriage palaces and other venues to check whether the liquor has been bought from the area vend or not, say sources in the Excise Department. Most of the vehicles used are SUVs which sport excise contractor or excise stickers on the windscreens.

(Inputs from Gagan K Teja, Harshraj Singh, Gagandeep Sharma, Rachna Khaira and PK Jaiswar)
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Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 9

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has taken two decades to do justice to its own judge. Nearly 19 years after the Punjab Government denied house rent allowance to Justice AL Bahri on a par with his predecessor after being appointed as the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission president, a Division Bench has quashed the impugned communication.

Rapping the state for ill-treating a former judge, Justices AB Chaudhari and Anil Kshetarpal also deprecated the bureaucrats for not understanding the difference between a government servant and High Courts sitting or former judge.

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Judges or judicial function cannot be permitted to be stonewalled by browbeating or bullying methodology, the Bench asserted. This court is aghast at the manner in which officers have mistreated a former judge The petitioners compulsion to reside with his daughter having vacated house due to his retirement as a HC judge has been sadly commented upon, rather than being apologetic for not providing official residence.

Justice Bahri had moved the court in 1999 for allowance on a par with his predecessor and similarly situated retired judges. Appointed as the commission chief in January 1995, after retiring in October 1994, Justice Bahri wrote letters for allotment, stating he would not mind a house in category below his entitlement.

The Bench was told that Justice Bahris predecessor was given enhanced allowance from Rs 2,500 to Rs 6,000. But the petitioner received impugned letters denying Rs 6,000 allowance granted to his predecessor.

The Bench observed that Justice Bahri, out of compulsion, had to reside with his daughter in a house allotted by the Haryana Government as she was a law officer. But the governments stand was that the petitioner was not entitled to allowance at all as he was putting up with his daughter in a house allotted from the government quota.

Censuring the respondents for not providing official accommodation in violation of the High Court Judges (Conditions of Service) Act, the Bench asserted that the government consciously quantified the monthly allowance at Rs 6,000 in case of the petitioners predecessor. There is no reason why any other amount lesser than Rs 6,000 per month could be thought of, the Bench said.

Directing the state to grant Rs 6,000 plus as revised later on and not to make deduction from his monthly salary, the Bench also quashed the letter denying the lawful claim of Rs 6,000 monthly allowance.
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Gagandeep Sharma

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, February 9

A day after the police produced four persons in the Talwandi Sabo court as witnesses in the Maur blast, the SIT today booked Gurtej Singh Kala, who was incharge of a workshop at Dera Sacha Sauda, Sirsa, and Amrik Singh of Mansa.

The police are also looking into the role of a resident of Goohla Cheeka village in Haryana. Gurtej and Amrik are the first ones to be named as accused in the case. The case was earlier registered against unidentified accused.

Dinkar Gupta, DGP (Intelligence), said they were conducting raids in Punjab and Haryana for the arrest of Gurtej and Amrik. We have also started the procedure for issuing look out circular for them, he said.

It had come to light in the initial stages of the probe that the battery was purchased from Sirsa, while some of the mobile calls also hinted at Sirsa link. Police sources said they found the first clue from the shop from where the battery was purchased. Now, the arrest of Gurtej and Amrik will expose the mastermind behind the blast and the motive.

The sources said the police could also question Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, his adopted daughter Honeypreet and dera management chief Vipasana. The DGP said though it was too early to comment on it, they would do so, if needed.
pardeepdhull@gmail.com

Geneva, February 9

The UN said Friday that surging violence across Yemen had pushed some 85,000 people from their homes in the past 10 weeks, with hundreds continuing to flee each day.

The UN refugee agency said more than 70 percent of those displaced since December 1 had fled a military escalation in the Hodeida and Taez governorates on Yemens west coast.

UNHCR voiced particular concern for displaced people remaining in areas close to the hostilities in the two governorates, where conditions are continuing to rapidly deteriorate, exposing people to violence and disease, without basic services.

Most of those displaced in the governorates of Hodeida and Taez remain hosted by relatives or friends, trapped inside homes or in caves as ground clashes, aerial bombardment and sniper fire rage around them, UNHCR spokeswoman Cecile Pouilly told reporters in Geneva.

The UN agency also said it was observing a spike in new displacements from other frontline areas across Yemen, including in the border governorates of Jawf and Hajjah, and in the oil-rich eastern province of Shabwa.

The main needs of the displaced and other conflict- affected populations continue to be access to shelter, health, food and water and sanitation, Pouilly said.

She warned that Yemen, which is already the stage of the worlds largest humanitarian crisis, with more than 22 million people in need of aid, was seeing a spike in needs, fuelled by ongoing conflict, a collapsing economy and diminishing social services and livelihoods.

The UN last month made a record appeal for nearly $3 billion (2.45 billion euros) to combat imminent famine as well as cholera and diphtheria outbreaks in Yemen this year.

UNHCR has asked for $200 million (165 million euros) of that amount for its work in the country, but Pouilly lamented that so far only three percent of that amount has materialised.

More than 9,200 people have been killed since the Saudi-led alliance joined the Yemen war in 2015, according to the World Health Organisation, triggering what the United Nations has called the worlds worst humanitarian disaster.

Another nearly 2,200 Yemenis have died of cholera amid deteriorating hygiene and sanitation conditions, the World Health Organisation says.

Yemens civil war took a dramatic turn in December when Huthi rebels killed Ali Abdullah Saleh, the countrys toppled ex-president, punishing him for switching sides and seeking peace with the Saudi-led coalition.  AFP
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Seoul/Pyeongchang, Feb 9

US Vice President Mike Pence made only a brief appearance at a reception marking the start of the Winter Olympics on Friday, avoiding a potentially awkward encounter with the ceremonial leader of North Korea attending the same event.

The reception, hosted by South Korean President Moon Jae-in in the mountain resort of Pyeongchang, was the culmination of months of work by Seoul, which seeks to use the Olympics to ease tension spurred by North Koreas pursuit of nuclear weapons.

Ahead of the reception, South Korean media said Pence was expected to be seated opposite Kim Yong Nam at the 12-seat head table.

However, South Koreas presidental Blue House said Pence had a meeting scheduled with US athletes and had only planned to stay briefly to greet other officials.

Pence shook hands with other leaders, including close ally Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, but not Kim Yong Nam.

Earlier on Friday, Pence said Moon gave his backing to additional measures the United States is planning to try to curb North Koreas missile and nuclear programmes.

Pence spoke after paying tribute at a memorial for 46 South Korean sailors killed in the sinking of a warship in 2010 that Seoul blamed on a North Korean torpedo attack.  Reuters
According to the 2010 Malaysian Census, Bentong is home to a significant Chinese community where those who identify as being racially Chinese constitute 33.3% of the total population of 114,397 people. Accordingly, the Chinese form one of the largest ethnic groups in the district of Bentong, comprising about a third of the total population in the district.

If you take a short stroll along the streets of Bentong today, you will observe a significant Chinese presence in the towns commerce and business sectors. However, this was not always the case. In fact, the original wave of Chinese immigrants sailed from China to Malaya in the hope of finding a better life. A small number of them ended up filling in for labour shortages in the Bentong tin mines. With the build up of a large Chinese community over time, the Chinese commerce industry in Bentong began to flourish.

In this article, I am going to uncover the roots of the Chinese community in Bentong, particularly focusing on the influx of Chinese labourers and its impact on the town. In the interest of clarity, this article is divided into two distinct parts. Part one focuses on the history of Chinese immigration to Bentong while in part two, I will discuss the concomitant effects of such immigration on the town.

Part 1: The Influx of Chinese Labourers

The presence of Chinese labourers in Bentong can be traced back to 1889 when the British expanded their mining activities in Bentong. With the capital provided by local business magnates, namely Mr. Loke Yew and his partners, Bentong was poised to become a key mining town.

The labour-intensive nature of tin mining triggered the recruitment of many workers in Bentong. Therefore, Mr. Loke Yew and his partners established Tong Shoon Company based in Bentong, partly to better oversee the recruitment of thousands of Chinese labourers from China during the initial period. Tong Shoon was in fact the main vehicle used to consolidate and manage the business operations of the group in Bentong.

Credit-Ticket System

Most of the Chinese labourers who came to Malaya in the late 19th Century were travelling under the credit-ticket system. Under this system, the labourers worked for a set period of time as indentured labourers to their employers, who paid for their travel expenses from China to Malaya. Once the debt was repaid, the labourers had the freedom to choose to continue their work or to part ways with their employers. Most of the Chinese miners in Bentong, if not all, came under this system or one similar to it.

Through my research, I discovered that one other method of extending the period of indenture in Malaya, including Bentong, was to entice the workers into debt through gambling or opium supplied and controlled by the employers or financiers. It must be said, however, that there is no clear evidence that such methods were being applied to the tin miners in Bentong.

Origins and Ancestries

From the 19th to the early 20th century, Chinese labourers in Malaya were mainly from the southern Chinese province of Guangdong that includes Cantonese, Hainanese and Hakka people, amongst others; and Fujian (Hokkien people).

There were also a significant number of labourers who hailed from Guangxi province. Just like in other parts of Malaysia today, all these clans still reside in Bentong. Of all the clans, the Guangxi people formed the majority of the Chinese community.

Early Immigrant Occupation

Upon settling down in the town, Chinese immigrants were first mostly involved in the tin mines around Bentong. Over time, different Chinese clans diverged and specialised in various industries. For instance, through the accounts of the elderly in Bentong, I discovered that in the past, the Hokkien clan was well known for its near-monopoly in the rubber and plantation-related businesses while the Cantonese were deeply involved in the trading sector.

As a member of the Bentong Hainanese Association, I have had the privilege of observing how many Hainanese people in Bentong were involved in culinary-related businesses. In fact, my paternal grandfather owned a coffee shop for many years. As for my maternal grandparents, like many other Hakkas, they previously owned and managed a small-scale retail and medical hall in the town.

Part 2: Legacy of Chinese Immigration

Without a doubt, Chinese immigrants had to possess an indomitable will to prevail and thrive against all odds for survival. Amidst the hardship, many of them never forgot to contribute and give back to society. It is easy for us, the younger generation, to forget that Bentong today owes much to the Chinese immigrants for the towns development. In this section, I will elaborate on some of the key contributions and legacies left by the pioneering Chinese generation in Bentong.

Connecting Bentong

It is widely acknowledged that a sound transportation system, which connects a town to the surrounding cities and ports, is a key factor to spur and intensify further economic growth. In the late 19th century, Mr. Loke Yew had already envisioned this important fact. Therefore, he commissioned the building of a road from Bentong to Tras. This road would later link up with the Pahang trunk road which enabled the miners to transport tin from Bentong to the ports in Selangor.

In order to complete the road, Mr. Loke Yew and partners had to employ Chinese labourers to work in one of the harshest climates in the region. The area where the road was built was known for its tropical climate, high temperatures and high-density rainforests. This was exacerbated by the fact that most Chinese workers were from the semi-tropical, temperate climate of Southern China. Worse still, many workers had to rely on rudimentary methods of using picks and shovels to build the road. It is said that an unknown number of workers perished in landslides, explosions, and from diseases.

Today, the road remains in existence and is still in useable condition. In fact, it is now known as the Federal Road 55 which connects Gap near Raub to Kuala Kubu Bahru. It serves as a good alternative route from Bentong to Selangor as it offers scenic views and greenery to travellers along the way. Hence, it is recommended that visitors to Bentong should try out this route at least once.

Reconstruction of Kwong Fook Temple

Along Jalan Loke Yew is a red building which easily attracts peoples attention. It is the famous Bentong Kwong Fook Temple which is more than 110 years old. While there is no definitive account of the establishment of the temple, locals believe that the temple is at least as old as the town, which is 120 years old. Nevertheless, it is certain that the growing population of Chinese mining labourers contributed to the reconstruction of the temple to its current form.

It is said that the harsh, disease-ridden conditions in the mines which posed a great risk to the Bentong miners prompted the reconstruction of this temple by Mr Loke Yew and his partners. During that time, many labourers suffered from various diseases such as the Beriberi epidemic. In response, Mr. Loke Yew decided to install statues of Sin Si Ya and Sze Ya to ward off diseases amongst the labourer population. Today, visitors to the temple can still see, at the temples entrance, the inscription honouring the arrival of both deities in Bentong.

Bentong Chinese Town Hall

By 1914, the Chinese population in Bentong had grown into a vibrant community primarily comprised of five main clans namely, the Hakka, Hokkien, Hainanese, Guangdong and Guangxi. The sudden population surge had resulted in a number of infrastructural, social and service challenges. Under these circumstances, the Chinese initially congregated into their respective associations which were mainly based on their home region and dialect. Each association then elected their leaders, often on the basis of merit rather than bloodline and family influence.

With the passage of time, the leaders of these five clans decided to collaborate for enhanced competitiveness in economic pursuits and fostering greater inter-clan relationships in other socio-cultural activities. This eventually led to the improved welfare of the Chinese community in Bentong. Consequently, the leaders from the five major Chinese clans in Bentong, namely Tang Siew Mun JP (Guangdong), Hoh Wah Kee (Hainan), Tan Lian JP (Hokkien), Mun Fong (Hakka) and Chow Tuk Heng (Guangxi) jointly initiated the formation of the Bentong Chinese Town Hall. Its establishment united all five clans under a common vision in promoting the wellbeing and welfare of the Chinese community in Bentong.

In contemporary times, the Bentong Chinese Town Hall continues to function to enrich the local community and complement the governments efforts to enhance economic and cultural development of the Chinese community.

The Present Chinese in Bentong

The confluence of different Chinese ethnic groups in Bentong has contributed to the diversity of cultural norms, dialects and social support systems such as local Chinese associations. Tourists who visit Bentong today will be amazed to learn about the richness of culture and history that this relatively small town has to offer. Make a trip to Bentong soon and I can assure you that you will have no regrets.

Stay tuned for more as I will be discussing a few prominent pre-World War II Bentong figures in my next blog post.



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A trip to the Camp Nou is enough to strike fear into any visiting team but a glance at Barcelona's formidable home record suggests that apprehension is not unfounded.

The five-time European champions have not lost on their own turf in the UEFA Champions League since 2013, an unbeaten run that now stands at 35 matches. It is not the sort of statistic Napoli will want to dwell on ahead of their trip to Barcelona on Saturday 8 August.

The last side to beat Barcelona on their own patch in the competition? Bayern, the team whose record the Catalans broke when thrashing Lyon 5-1 in their round of 16 second leg last season.

Watch Barcelona make it 35 unbeaten at home by seeing off Dortmund 3-1

The German giants triumphed 3-0 at the Camp Nou in the second leg of their 7-0 semi-final blow-out on 1 May 2013. Since then the Blaugrana have won 31 and drawn four, scoring 104 goals (2.97 per game) and conceding just 17 (0.49) in the process.

Most successive home games without defeat



35* Barcelona (18/09/2013 )

29 Bayern Munchen (04/03/1998  02/04/2002)

24 Arsenal (14/09/2004  15/04/2009)

23 Juventus (02/10/2013  13/02/2018)

23 Manchester United (27/09/2005  03/11/2009)

Most successive home wins

See Lewandowski's four goals in Bayern's 6-0 group stage win at Crvena zvezda

16 Bayern Munchen (17/09/2014  15/02/2017)

15 Barcelona (17/09/2014  08/03/2017)

12 Manchester United (13/09/2006  29/04/2008)

11 Real Madrid (03/04/2013  09/12/2014)

10 Juventus (20/03/1996  10/12/1997)

Most successive away games without defeat

16 Manchester United (19/09/2007  16/02/2010)

14 Ajax (28/09/1994  19/03/1997)

12* Bayern Munchen (31/10/2017 )

11= Barcelona (01/10/2008  31/03/2010)

11= Real Madrid (28/09/2010  27/03/2012)

Most successive away wins

7 Ajax (22/11/1995  19/03/1997)

7 Bayern Munchen (19/02/2013  19/02/2014)

6 Barcelona (12/04/2011  14/02/2012)

6 Manchester United (15/04/2009  16/02/2010)

5 Ajax (27/11/2018  02/10/2019)

5 Chelsea (16/09/2003  06/04/2004)

5 Juventus (05/12/2017  23/10/2018)

5 Real Madrid (29/04/2014  18/02/2015)

Most successive games without defeat

25 Manchester United (19/09/2007  05/05/2009)

19 Ajax (14/09/1994  20/03/1996)

19 Bayern Munchen (14/03/2001  02/04/2002)

16 Barcelona (08/03/2011  03/04/2012)

16 Manchester United (04/03/1998  29/09/1999 & 23/10/2001  23/10/2002)

Most successive wins

Dortmund's final triumph in 1997 was one of their eight successive wins

10 Bayern Munchen (02/04/2013  27/11/2013)

10 Real Madrid (23/04/2014  18/02/2015)

9 Barcelona (18/09/2002  18/02/2003 & 21/10/2014  06/05/2015)

8 Borussia Dortmund (04/12/1996  01/10/1997)

* Current winning runs: Bayern (6), Juventus (5)

Most successive draws

7 AEK Athens (17/09/2002  17/09/2003)

6 Lyon (02/10/2018  19/02/2019)

6 Rangers (19/10/2005  07/03/2006)

Most successive clean sheets

10 Arsenal (18/10/2005  25/04/2006)

7 AC Milan (24/11/2004  26/04/2005)

6 Ajax (18/10/1995  20/03/1996)

6 Chelsea (24/10/2007  05/03/2008)

6 Juventus (07/12/2016  03/05/2017)

6 Panathinaikos (01/11/1995  03/04/1996)
With the remaining teams in this season's UEFA Champions League having made their changes to their squads ahead of the start of the round of 16 next week, UEFA.com's Fantasy scout considers which players might be worth bringing into your squad  and who it might be worth thinking twice about.

Alexis Sanchez (Manchester United, FW, 11.5m)

Why you should: One of the Premier League's most consistent performers in recent years, the Chilean managed a goal every other league game at Arsenal  and added three more in every UEFA Champions League season. Now he faces Sevilla.

Why you shouldn't: Pricey and hasn't been at his best so far this term  but these are minor quibbles.

Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City, DF, 5.5m)

Why you should: Joins a side who won all but one of their group matches and kept three clean sheets in topping Group F. City look well placed to post at least one more shut-out against Basel.

Why you shouldn't: Must compete with Nicolas Otamendi and John Stones, plus Vincent Kompany when fit, in central defence; there's every chance Laporte could be the one to miss out in the UEFA Champions League.

Check out the Team of the Year!

Olivier Giroud (Chelsea, FW, 8.0m)

Why you should: Alvaro Morata's continued absence may open the door for the January buy from Arsenal  either in the starting line-up or off the bench. And with 16 goals in 39 European outings  including 12 Champions League strikes  Giroud is not short of pedigree.

Why you shouldn't: With Chelsea notably off form in recent weeks, it's tough to see them bettering Barcelona  even allowing for Giroud's aerial threat.

Stephan Lichtsteiner (Juventus, DF, 5.0m)

Why you should: Has featured regularly in Serie A this season and is an occasional assist provider, which makes the right-back a decent-priced option for shoehorning a Juve defender into your squad.

Why you shouldn't: The Italian champions may have their work cut out to keep a clean sheet versus Tottenham; plus Lichtsteiner is extremely unlikely to supply a goal at the other end  having mustered just one in the last three Serie A campaign.

Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool, DF, 6.0m)

Why you should: Recruited for a world-record fee for a defender in January, the former Southampton centre-back could be key to securing the Reds' rearguard in what looks a winnable tie against Porto.

Why you shouldn't: Liverpool are hardly watertight at the back and haven't kept a clean sheet in Van Dijk's first four games  indeed, they've shipped seven goals in that time.

Can Virgil van Dijk make his presence felt at both ends? Getty Images

Manuel Neuer (Bayern, GK, 6.5m)

Why you should: Bayern are strong favourites to beat Besiktas, and have registered five shut-outs in nine outings since matchday six.

Why you shouldn't: The Munich giants have achieved only two clean sheets in this season's UEFA Champions League  and more pertinently, Neuer has not played since 16 September after breaking a bone in his foot.

Lucas Moura (Tottenham, MF, 8.5m)

Why you should: A proven source of goals and assists, he could well make the difference in what should be a tight tie against Juventus.

Why you shouldn't: May struggle for game time with Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli and Son Heung-Min established in the side; moreover, 8.5m is a lot to shell out on a squad player.

Valentin Stocker (Basel, MF, 5.0m)

Why you should: Back with the team he represented from 200714 after a tough three and a half years at Hertha Berlin, Stocker is a decent budget option, boasting 11 goals in 66 European appearances  a respectable strike rate from midfield.

Why you shouldn't: Has barely played all season and there's the small matter of finding a way through that Man. City defence.
Lazio  Aquile (Eagles) or Aquilotti (Eaglets)

This nickname reflects the badge of the club who trace their origins back to 1900 and army officer cum athlete Luigi Bigarelli. When it came to choosing the emblem itself, the eagle was an immediate choice: a proud animal symbolic of the Roman legions.

RB Leipzig  RBL

Founded in 2009, the club do have a nickname associated with their owners, a certain Austrian energy drink company, but being German they also go by the acronym of their name. See also: FCB, BVB, VfB, HSV, S04.

Lokomotiv Moskva  Zheleznodorozhniki (Railway Men)

The clue is in the name. Lokomotiv were founded as the workers' team of the Moscow Passazhirskaya railway terminal and the Ministry of Transport, and Russian Railways remain the major club sponsor all these years later. Some fans use a variant of the nickname with a clearer link to their origins: Parovozi (Steam Trains).

Ludogorets Razgrad  The Eagles

The Bulgarian side were once The Wolves but took the aerial route many years ago. Nobody is quite sure why, though one circuitous theory has it that Razgrad's Russian twin town is Orel, which translates as Eagle.

Lyon's mascot Getty Images

Lyon  Les Gones (The Kids)

There is no real story here, but the nickname conveys ideas of youth and, since it's written in the local dialect, is instantly recognisable as being from Lyon.

Marseille  Les Phoceens (The Phocaeans)

A nod to the origins of the Mediterranean city, which was established in 600BC as a Greek colony by settlers from Phocaea.

Napoli  Partenopei

From the city's old name, Parthenope. In Greek mythology Parthenope was one of the Sirens who cast herself into the sea and drowned when her singing failed to entice Ulysses. The city was named in her honour as legend had it that her body washed up on the local island of Megaride.

Nice  Les Aiglons (The Eaglets)

The eagle has occupied the French city's coat of arms since the 15th century, an imperial emblem relating to the power of the House of Savoy. OGC, formed in 1904, duly adopted it.

Ostersund are having a fine debut season AFP/Getty Images

Ostersund  none

Ostersund are just 21 years old, created by a merger of local teams (namely Ope, IFK Ostersund, Ostersund/Torvalla and Froso) keen to build a marquee club in the chilly 'Vinterstaden' (winter city). OFK is emerging as a moniker but isn't quite established yet.

Partizan  Crno-beli (Black and Whites)

The Belgrade side tried combinations of red, blue and white before fate drew them to black and white. After a 1957 friendly with Juventus in South America, the Juve president Umberto Agnelli donated two sets of jerseys and, 60 years on, Partizan still sport the colours.



Plzen  Viktoriani

This one derives from the club's full name, Viktoria Plzen. The nickname endured even when the Czech team dropped the part celebrating the Roman Goddess of Victory for over 40 years before reverting in 1992. The next season they were promoted.

Real Sociedad  Txuri-urdin

The club from San Sebastian in the Basque Country play in blue and white, and their nickname is simply those colours in the region's language, Euskera (Basque).

Salzburg's musical note Getty Images

Salzburg  Die Mozartstadter

Austria's dominant force do have a more common nickname inspired by their energy drink sponsors, but they also go by Die Mozartstadter, a name applied to everyone from Salzburg in honour of the city's most famous son: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Spartak Moskva  Narodnaya komanda (People's team)

Spartak were never attached to a government department like their big city rivals. Instead they drew support from all social groups regardless of status or profession. It is perhaps no surprise they became the most popular club in Russia and remain so.

Sporting CP  Leoes (Lions)

This one owes to the lion on the club crest, itself borrowed from the coat of arms of an influential Portuguese family. The team also goes by Green and Whites, with the founders apparently choosing green to symbolise hope for the club's future.

Villarreal's Beatles-inspired nickname Getty Images

Villarreal  El Submarino Amarillo (The Yellow Submarine)

A bunch of supporters started the club's association with the Beatles during a game at El Madrigal in 1968 by changing the words of the Famous Five's hit song to "Amarillo es el Villarreal/amarillo es/amarillo es" (Villarreal are yellow, they are yellow).

Zenit  Blue-White-and-Sky-Blues (Sine-Belo-Golubye)

Wikipedia suggests Zenitchiki (Anti-aircraft Gunners), but nobody uses that. Zenitovtsy (Those who belong to Zenit) is heard, but Sine-Belo-Golubye is more popular  just. For much of the time, Zenit does the job.
BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - Marwan Mousa, a Kurdish refugee, sits amidst a raft of canvases  ranging from sombre to colorful, small to large  scattered throughout the living room of his new home in Belfast, a lifetime away from northeastern Syria, which he fled several years ago.

I named this one the Boat of Death, he said picking up a murky grey and red acrylic painting. This boat has taken the lives of so many Syrians and it was lost at sea, just like Syria.

A Kurdish refugee from North East Syria, Mousa, 52, has been painting his voyage to safety. Resettled to Belfast, Northern Ireland, in August 2016, Mousa has found a haven for his family and his art.

Mousa was not a painter before fleeing Syria, he owned a cellphone repair shop. His art was born in exile, an expression of his pain in Iraq, the first stage of his journey to stability.

This boat has taken the lives of so many Syrians and it was lost at sea, just like Syria.

It all started with some charcoal and paper in Iraq, he told UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency during an interview at his home on the outskirts of the city. I couldnt express myself speaking, so this was my way of letting things out.

Mousa fled the bloodshed in Syria in 2013 and then found refuge with his wife and their four children in Iraqi Kurdistan, where he spent two years in a refugee camp. This tent represents the hardship of exile in refugee camps, especially in the winter, when the conditions are really bad, he said, pointing to a black and white drawing he sketched at the time.

His 10 year-old son, Mohammed, was suffering from Thalassemia, a chronic blood disease that requires ongoing and costly medical care. Mousa was unable to access treatment for his son in Iraq. The family was resettled to the UK from Iraq in 2016, a journey that proved life-saving for Mohammed.

Kurdish refugee from northeast Syria, Marwan Mousa has been painting his journey in the safety of Belfast, Northern Ireland (Dalal Mawad and Bela Szandelszky)

Mousa and his family are among the approximately 10,000 Syrians to come to the UK by early 2018 through the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme, the UKs main refugee resettlement programme. From late 2015 to late 2017, 632 Syrian refugees arrived in Northern Ireland under the scheme.

Once in Northern Ireland, Mousas painting grew richer and more intense. His son was being treated and the local government offered the family housing and other support to help integrate in their new home. Mousas paintings became more joyful, but his work was still unknown to the rest of the world.

A local branch of children's charity Barnardos, who were supporting the family, discovered Mousas artwork, and introduced him to Deirdre Mackel, the arts programme manager at the Upper Spring Field Development Trust, a Belfast group supporting marginalised communities.

The paintings were very emotive, Mackel said, there is a lot of sadness in there, there is a lot of tragedy, but they are also very symbolic.

Mackel believed in the value of Mousas work and decided to help him. People needed to see these, see the plight of what people actually went through in Syria to come here. She introduced him to art galleries around the city and helped him organise his first exhibition a year ago.

His work is so powerful, a lot of his work is a self-portrait of his journey and story.

There were 100 people at the opening that night, Mackel said, people who might have never attended an art gallery before. Mousa held one more exhibition in August 2017 and has now been invited to participate in another art show in Belfast next month

Mackel also introduced Mousa to local artists who helped him develop his technique. There was a language barrier but we transcended that with art, said Charlotte Bosanquet, a painter based in Belfast. His work is so powerful, a lot of his work is a self-portrait of his journey and story.

Art has helped Mousa and his family to settle into their new life in Belfast. Now, he also uses art to help others. Every week he volunteers with Action Ability, a group promoting the integration of people with disabilities in Belfast. Mousa attends their art classes, helping young disabled people with painting and making crafts. He wants to be accepted in the community, said Roisin McKanna, volunteer coordinator at Action Ability, and hes done it in a beautiful way through art.

Marwan said he owes Belfasts art community a huge debt. When I came here, people helped me, he added, I feel at peace when Im helping others. This is my way of paying back.

This story is part of a series exploring the ways people across the UK are showing refugees and asylum-seekers a #GreatBritishWelcome.
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, welcomes the steps taken by the Ugandan government to investigate allegations of wrongdoing in government refugee programmes.

Ugandas Prime Minister, Dr Ruhakana Rugunda, initiated the probe after reports received by UNHCR and the World Food Programme alleged corruption and grave misconduct by officials involved in refugee assistance.

The allegations include faking documents on delivery of food assistance as well as demanding refugees pay bribes to access various services that should be free of cost.

UNHCR takes all allegations of corruption, fraud and misconduct very seriously. Dishonest or fraudulent conduct by those involved in refugee response causes great harm to the people we care for and erodes public confidence and donor trust, said Valentin Tapsoba, Director of UNHCRs Regional Bureau for Africa. It is also a disservice to the model policies of Uganda, a country hosting more than a million refugees.

Uganda operates an open border policy and allows refugees to enjoy similar rights to those enjoyed by its own citizens, provides access to social services and allocates land for shelter and agriculture.

In Uganda, the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) leads the overall refugee response in partnership with UNHCR. The OPM and UNHCR coordinate their response with other UN agencies as well as local and international NGOs.

In order to enhance effective oversight, as well as restore public trust and donor confidence, UNHCR is supporting the government to take immediate steps to address the situation.

The government of Uganda has the responsibility to register all refugees arriving in the country. To assist in this process, UNHCR is urgently making available its globally tried and tested tools and systems to re-enrol and verify the refugee population. This will strengthen the integrity of the data underpinning the refugee operation.

Together with the government, UNHCR is also reviewing and strengthening procedures and monitoring across all refugee operations to curtail opportunities for corruption and exploitation of refugees living in Uganda and reinforce measures to ensure that vulnerable refugees, particularly women and girls, are well protected.

UNHCRs priority is to protect refugees and to ensure that the resources provided by governments and donors are responsibly managed, with full accountability, added UNHCRs Tapsoba.

We wish to underline that corrupt acts of individuals should not be attributed to the integrity of all - who are providing a valuable service to humanity.

UNHCR commends the Government and people of Uganda, who have offered remarkable hospitality and generosity in sharing their land and resources for decades. Over a million refugees entered Uganda in the last year and a half. Uganda currently hosts over 1.4 million refugees from South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Somali and other countries.

For more information on this topic, please contact:
Displaced Yemeni Rahaf, 8, carries her two-year-old brother, Ahmed, at the Dharawan settlement in Sana'a, Yemen, in May 2017.  UNHCR/Mohammed Hamoud

AL HUDAYAH, Yemen  Fresh fighting across Yemen continues to drive people from their homes, worsening what is already the worlds largest humanitarian crisis and stretching depleted resources, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency said today.

More than 22 million people are in need and over 85,000 displaced as a result of the ongoing conflict, as well as a collapsing economy and diminished social services.

Single mother Hayat Saif, who escaped Al Khawkah last month, described the recent upsurge in violence as the worst she had seen during the conflict.

At some point the intensity increased so much that we just had to leave, she said. We were sleeping under our furniture just to try and protect ourselves. Some of the families that stayed behind are now having to hide underground.

"Our hope is for this ugly war to end."

Yemens west coast continues to be the highest source of new displacement, with 71 per cent originating from Al Hudaydah and Taizz governorates. Most people remain hosted by relatives or friends, trapped inside homes or in caves as ground clashes, aerial bombardment and sniper fire rage around them.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is particularly concerned for those that remain in areas close to hostilities in Taizz and Hudaydah.

As a result of prolonged fighting in those two governorates, conditions continue to rapidly deteriorate, exposing people to violence and disease, without basic services, UNHCR spokesperson Cecile Pouilly told journalists in Geneva.

UNHCR is also observing a spike in new displacement from other frontline areas, including Yemens border governorates of Al Jawf and Hajjah.

Sawsan, 26, fled Saada with her family.  UNHCR/Yahya Arhab

In Hajjah, which is already host to 19 per cent of Yemens two million internally displaced population, ongoing flare ups have seen nearly 2,000 people flee their homes in recent weeks.

Since the beginning of the conflict, UNHCR has been providing emergency assistance and protection services to vulnerable Yemenis on the ground. More than a million displaced men, women and children affected by the conflict have been provided with core relief items such as mattresses, blankets, sleeping mats, kitchen sets and wash buckets. However, funding is stretched and slow to trickle in.

For 2018, UNHCR is appealing for nearly $200 million to respond to critical and prioritised humanitarian needs. However, the agency has started the year with just three per cent of funding available.

For Fatemah Murai and her three orphaned granddaughters, who were displaced from Nihm  a district of the capital Sanaa and a flashpoint of the conflict  UNHCRs help has become a lifeline.

We lost our land, home and furniture and became homeless overnight  this is the first time we received assistance since we were displaced, she said. Our hope is for this ugly war to end and the warring sides to leave us to live in peace.
Two Syrian cjildren collect water at the overcrowded reception centre in Vathy on the Aegean island of Samos.  UNHCR/Yorgos Kyvernitis

GENEVA  Reports of sexual harassment and violence at some overcrowded refugee reception centres in Greece are a cause for concern and one woman said she had not taken a shower for two months from fear of being attacked, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, said today.

It said more than 600 asylum seekers on the Greek Aegean islands reported sexual and gender-based violence in 2017, of whom more than a quarter experienced abuse after arriving in Greece, despite the governments attempts to tackle overcrowding and poor living conditions.

UNHCR spokesperson Cecile Pouilly told a press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva that the situation was particularly worrying at the reception centres of Moria on the island of Lesvos and Vathy on Samos, where thousands of refugees were living in unsuitable shelter with inadequate security.

Even bathing during daytime can be dangerous."

Some 5,500 people live in these centres, double their intended capacity.

In these two centres, bathrooms and latrines are no-go zones after dark for women or children, unless they are accompanied, Pouilly said. Even bathing during daytime can be dangerous. In Moria, one woman told our teams that she had not taken a shower in two months from fear.

Survivors were reluctant to report assaults out of fear, shame, helplessness, concerns about discrimination, stigma and lack of trust. The actual number of incidents was likely to be much higher than reported, she said.

Transfers to the mainland had speeded up and overcrowding had eased in recent weeks, but crowded conditions persisted, hindering prevention efforts.

For example, in Moria, 30 government medical staff, psychologists and social workers shared three rooms, conducting examinations and assessments without privacy.

Police patrols were insufficient, particularly at night, and areas near the reception centres where people lived in tents had no security presence, Pouilly added.
Vathy reception centre on the Greek island of Samos.  UNHCR/Yorgos Kyvernitis

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is very concerned by reports from asylum seekers of sexual harassment and violence in sub-standard reception centres on the Greek islands, despite welcomed Government measures to address overcrowding and dire living conditions.

In 2017, UNHCR received reports from 622 survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) on the Greek Aegean islands, out of which at least 28 per cent experienced SGBV after arriving in Greece. Women reported inappropriate behaviour, sexual harassment and attempted sexual attacks as the most common forms of SGBV.

The situation is particularly worrying in the Reception and Identification Centres (RIC) of Moria (Lesvos) and Vathy (Samos), where thousands of refugees continue to stay in unsuitable shelter with inadequate security. Some 5,500 people are in these centres, which is double their intended capacity. Reports of sexual harassment in Moria are particularly high.

In these two centres, bathrooms and latrines are no-go zones after dark for women or children, unless they are accompanied. Even bathing during day time can be dangerous. In Moria, one woman told our teams that she had not taken a shower in two months from fear.

Identifying and helping survivors is hampered by a reluctance to report assaults out of fear, shame, helplessness, concerns about discrimination, stigma and retaliation, and insufficient trust to open up, including to UNHCR and medical and mental health experts from national services. The actual number of incidents is therefore likely to be much higher than reported.

Thanks to recent accelerated transfers to the mainland by the authorities overcrowding has slightly reduced over the past weeks. Crowded conditions hinder outreach and prevention activities. For example, in Moria, 30 government medical staff, psychologists and social workers share three rooms, conducting examinations and assessments in the absence of privacy. This affects work conditions for those staff as well as their ability to identify and help SGBV survivors.

Insecurity is another problem. Although there are police patrols, these remain insufficient, particularly at night, and dont cover extended areas adjacent to the RICs, where people stay in tents without any security presence.

Conditions are also building frustration among people, leading to a difficult and tense security environment, further raising the risk of SGBV.

UNHCR welcomes measures taken by the Government to reduce the risk of SGBV. However, we believe further vital steps remain to be taken to protect those accommodated in reception centres, including children, women and men. These include:

appropriate allocation of shelter - gender separation should be ensured to avoid women being forced to share shelter with unknown males, ensuring gender separation, security and lighting in wash areas improved conditions and services, including medical and psychosocial support, and cultural mediation, increasing police presence and patrolling, including with additional policewomen, more lighting in public areas, increased efforts to ease overcrowding, notably through continued and increased transfers to the mainland, appointing additional staff dedicated to address SGBV, enhanced awareness-raising activities.

Risk and exposure to SGBV exacerbates the experiences that people have faced risking all, fleeing war-torn countries and human rights violations, and crossing sometimes dangerous territory to reach a safe haven.

UNHCR will continue to work with and remains ready to support the Government to strengthen its operational response and build capacity, to prevent SGBV and to identify and refer SGBV survivors to appropriate services and shelters.

For more information on this topic, please contact:
Displaced Yemeni Rahaf, 8, carries her two-year-old brother, Ahmed, at the Dharawan settlement in Sana'a, Yemen, in May 2017.  UNHCR/Mohammed Hamoud

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is alarmed at the upsurge in violence across Yemen which is resulting in increased displacement from various frontlines. According to UNHCR and partner data, more than 85,000 people have been displaced countrywide since 1 December 2017.

Yemens west coast continues to be the highest source of new displacement, with 71 per cent or some 61,000 people originating from Al Hudaydah and Taizz governorates.

Current military escalations on the west coast are leading to hundreds of people having to flee their homes on a daily basis, including from the districts of Al Khawkhah, Al Garrahi and Hays in southern Hudaydah; and from Mokha and Mawza in Taizz.

The majority of those fleeing violence from the west coast are fleeing east to Abyan, where more than 21,000 individuals have fled, whilst others are attempting to seek refuge elsewhere within Taizz and Hudaydah governorates. Some 13,600 people have been newly displaced within Taizz while more than 12,300 people have been newly displaced within Al Hudaydah, with others fleeing the west coast across the country to Lahj, Al Maharah, Aden, Ibb, Dhamar, Hadramaut and Shabwah.

UNHCR is particularly concerned for those that remain in areas close to hostilities in Taizz and Hudaydah. As a result of prolonged fighting in those two governorates, conditions continue to rapidly deteriorate, exposing people to violence and disease, without basic services.

Most of those displaced in the governorates of Al Hudaydah and Taizz remain hosted by relatives or friends, trapped inside homes or in caves as ground clashes, aerial bombardment and sniper fire rage around them.

In addition to new displacement from the western coast, UNHCR is also observing a spike in new displacement from other frontline areas, including Yemens border governorates of Al Jawf and Hajjah, and also in Shabwah in the east.

Increasing military operations in Al Jawf, in particular ongoing battles in the districts of Bart Al Anan and Khabb wa ash Shaaf have seen more than 8,000 people displaced within the governorate.

In Hajjah, which is already host to 19 per cent of Yemens 2 million IDP population (some 376,000 people) and the governorate from which 19 per cent of Yemens IDPs originate, ongoing flare ups have seen nearly 2,000 people fled homes in the governorate in recent weeks.

Further east in Shabwah, military operations have forced almost another 8,000 flee.

The main needs of the displaced and other conflict-affected populations continue to be access to shelter, health, food and water and sanitation. To respond to the waves of fresh displacement, UNHCR is providing emergency assistance that includes a mixture of shelter and essential household supplies to help those forced to flee, to cope in displacement.

Since the beginning of the conflict, UNHCR basic aid items such as mattresses, mats, wash buckets, blankets, kitchen sets, etc., have reached more than 1.1 million individuals in all of Yemens conflict affected governorates.

Yemen is the worlds largest humanitarian crisis with more than 22 million people in need and is seeing a spike in needs, fuelled by ongoing conflict, a collapsing economy and diminished social services and livelihoods.

UNHCR is worried that funding for the humanitarian response is yet to trickle in, with escalating hostilities leading to substantial new displacement at the beginning of the year.

For 2018, UNHCR is appealing for nearly USD 200 million to respond to critical and prioritised humanitarian needs but is starting the year with just three per cent of funding available. UNHCR reiterates its call to the international community to commit funds to the Yemen humanitarian response.

For more information on this topic, please contact:
Light rain likely to occur in AP

Hyderabad, Feb 9 (UNI) Light rain is likely to occur at one or two places in Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema during the next 24 hours, Meteorological Department said.

In a bulletin here on Friday, it said dry weather is likely to prevail in Telangana and remaining parts of Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema during the next five days.

Observations recorded during the last 24 hours indicated that the lowest minimum temperature of 11 and 18.5 degree Celsius was recorded at Adilabad and Hyderabad of Telangana respectively, while 17 deg cel was recorded at Arogyavarm of Rayalaseema, the bulletin said.
February 9 2018

Riverside Inverclyde Property Holdings have secured consent to progress a novel food and drink incubator in Greenock.Plans for Baker Street Food & Drink Enterprises have been prepared by Assist Design as part of a 3.5m regeneration project for recently cleared land at the corner of Baker Street and Drumfrochar Road.A road realignment will allow six manufacturing units of up to 95sq/m to be built, aimed at incubating small to medium sized food and drinks businesses through the offer of shared office space, storage, research facilities and a board room.Riverside Inverclyde will further incentivize tenants with the offer of potential match funding support for machinery and equipment.Work is expected to get underway in the summer for completion by early 2019.
The alcoholic beverage market in Vietnam is experiencing a fierce competition between local and international players, especially in the beer industry. The market has witnessed continuous growth in recent years in terms of production and consumption. Major drivers of growth are the economy, a young population, the rise in disposable income, and the drinking culture prevalent in Vietnam.

Market overview

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnam has consumed 3.92 billion liters of alcoholic beverages in 2016 and was ranked 16th amongst the largest alcoholic beverage consuming countries in the world. Beer contributed 3.78 billion or 96.63 percent of the total, making Vietnam one of the top 10 beer consuming countries, and the third largest in Asia after Japan and China. Last year, Vietnams beer consumption reached 4 billion liters. By 2020, consumption of alcoholic beverages and beer, in particular, are projected to reach 4.97 and 4.84 billion liters, respectively.

Around 90 percent of Vietnams market is controlled by the top four breweries including Sabeco, Habeco, Heineken, and Hue Brewery, while new players like Sapporo, AB InBev, and Masan Brewery share the remaining 10 percent. In 2016, 1.640 billion liters of alcoholic products consumed were produced by Sabeco, while Habeco sold 717.4 million liters. International brands including Heineken, Carlsberg, and others contributed 1.428 billion liters.

Sabeco, the biggest brewery with a market share of 40 percent, has been controlled by Thaibev  Thailands largest beverage enterprise from December last year. The deal worth US$4.84 billion for a 53.6 percent stake is considered as a historical record in Vietnams M&A market. After acquiring 100 percent shares of Hue Brewery, which is a Vietnamese-originated brewery, Carlsberg is planning to increase its shares in Habeco, Vietnams second-largest beer maker from 17.51 percent to 61.79 percent in 2018. The beer market continues to be a vibrant and profitable market for international players.

Industry opportunities

Growing working-age population with an increasing income

Vietnams population is projected to reach 100 million by 2020 with the working-age population accounting for 60 percent of the total, and a median age of 30. This group is a major target market as it is the largest consumer of beer in the country. In addition, 77.3 percent of the male population consume alcoholic products, which is twice the average and the highest figure in the world. Furthermore, Vietnams middle class will double in size by 2020, reaching 33 million  the fastest growth rate in South East Asia.

A research conducted by the Leuven University shows that if income per capita in poor countries increase, citizens of those countries will consume more beer. However, if the income per capita reaches to US$ 27,000 per year, there will be a decrease in beer consumption caused by an increasing awareness of harmful effects of drinking beer and a tendency to consume other expensive alcoholic products like wine. According to the General Statistics Office of Vietnam, the income per capita of Vietnamese people was only US$ 2,385 USD in 2017.

Drinking culture

According to a survey on beer drinking conducted by the Ho Chi Minh City University of Education, targeted at Vietnamese people, especially the young, most of the respondents agreed that drinking alcoholic products is to well observe social etiquette, exhibit a proper manner at work, and build and maintain social networking and business relationships. This mindset has existed in Vietnamese society for ages. In addition, Vietnamese people are able to consume alcoholic products for any celebrations.

The drinking culture also reflects on consumer behavior and understanding it is vital. A research conducted by Ipsos UU reveals crucial differences in alcoholic consumption behaviors of people living in the three main regions of Vietnam. Northern Vietnam based consumers tend to be trend followers, pay strong attention to packaging, especially for products that are gifted and have considerable knowledge of different brands.

Central Vietnam based consumers tend to be reserved, less willing to try new brands, and prefer local brands. The absence of a variety of brands can be a key reason for this trend. By contrast, people living in Southern Vietnam are classified as easy-going consumers who are willing to try new brands and are knowledgeable about different brands.

Foreign brand obsession

Vietnamese people have seen vast improvements in their standard of living and consumer spending power, along with a strong obsession with foreign products, believing them to be of higher quality. Therefore, Vietnamese consumers nowadays are willing to pay more money to try higher quality products, thus creating room for imported products.

In addition, as the retail industry is moving away from traditional to modern retail, it is not difficult for consumers to find imported alcoholic products in the supermarkets.

According to a 2020 projection, 492.9 million liters of high-end products will be consumed, while the figures for mid-range and low-cost products will be 3 and 1.34 billion liters, respectively.

Custom duties removal under Vietnams Free Trade Agreements

Vietnam has received benefits deriving from several free trade agreements (FTAs), including six collective FTAs and four bilateral FTAs.

EU-Vietnam free trade agreement (EVFTA) signed in 2019 is expected to come into force in early 2020, further increasing market access.

The main objective of FTAs is to make an integrated market among country members by substantially reducing or fully liberalizing custom tariffs for imported products. Taxes applied to products in Vietnam are as follow:

Inbound manufactured products/Local manufactured products:

Special Consumption Tax (SCT) = SCT rate x Selling price before VAT

Value Added Tax (VAT) = VAT rate x (Selling price before VAT + SCT)

Imported products:

Import Tax = Import tax rate x import price

SCT = SCT rate x (Import price + Import tax)

VAT = VAT rate x (Import price+ import tax + SCT)

The removal of import tax will not only reduce the special consumption tax but also the price of imported products and will provide a level playing field for imported and domestic products.

Removal of beer stamping policy

In the third quarter of 2017, the Ministry of Industry and Trade finally clarified that there will no beer stamping policy as it may lead to higher costs for businesses. This policy was proposed by the Vietnam Beer Alcohol Beverage Association (VBA) in 2011 as an effort to manage beer production and deal with illicit and counterfeit beer. If this policy comes into force, breweries will bear an extra cost of VND 1.7 trillion a year leading to a hike in beer prices.

Industry challenges

Special excise duty

According to the Law on Special Excise Duty No.70/2014/QH13, from 2018 onwards, special consumption tax rates imposed on alcoholic products with ABV < 20o,  20o, and beer, will be 35 percent, 65 percent, and 65 percent respectively.

Noticeably, the schedule of special consumption tax for these kinds of products has witnessed a five percent increase annually since 2016. If this trend continues, it can lead to a higher special consumption tax in 2019, further increasing prices.

Advertising limit

Under the Law on Advertising No.16/2012/QH13, mass advertising is not permitted for alcoholic beverages with an alcohol content above 15 percent, with the exception of beer. This regulation will prevent the development of beer alternative products like wines whose market shares are considerably smaller, at 3.37 percent.

In addition, pursuant to Decree No.181/2013/ND-CP following the Law of Advertising, Vietnamese enterprises are required to work with Vietnam-based licensed advertising services providers. This prohibition will prevent Vietnamese enterprises to employ other useful and low-cost tools to advertise products such as Facebook.

Cap on liquor distribution and wholesaling license

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has promulgated the Decision No.2219/QD-BCT on approval for planning for network of liquor distribution and/or wholesaling nationwide by 2015 with a vision towards 2035.

The Decision mentions the quantity of the Licenses for liquor distributors or wholesalers in pursuant to Decree No.94/2012/ND-CP issued by the Vietnamese government, as follows:

The quantity of the licenses for liquor distribution is determined based on the national population: no more than 01 License for liquor distribution for 400,000 people;

The quantity of the licenses for liquor wholesaling is determined based on the provincial population: no more than 01 License for liquor wholesaling for 100,000 people.

The Decision has scheduled the network of liquor distribution and wholesaling for two specific periods:

From 2015 to 2025: no more than 249 Licenses for liquor distribution are issued, no more than 996 Licenses for liquor wholesaling are issued;

From 2026 to 2035: no more than 264 Licenses for liquor distribution are issued, no more than 1056 Licenses for liquor wholesaling are issued.

Future forecast

Vietnam is among the worlds top ten highest beer consuming countries, but the beer consumption per capita solely stands at 50th in the world. With a growing population and increase in income, the prospect of growth of beer consumption in Vietnam is substantial. The beer-loving market is set to continue growing through 2035 when sales are projected to hit 5.5 billion liters or 52 liters per capita.

The M&A deal between Thaibev and Sabeco, which was previously controlled by the Vietnamese government at 90 percent, was the first time the government sold a majority stake to foreign investors. This demonstrates a strong commitment by the government towards state divestments to create a liberalized business environment.

Vietnams alcoholic beverage market will continue to be a priority for international players, promising to bring a fierce but fair competition in the field. Currently led by four players, the market will continue to attract numerous investments from foreign investors looking to tap into one of the largest and fastest-growing beer markets.
Foreign investors flocked to acquire shares of Vietnam-based firms in order to further enter the consumer finance sector

Recently, Koreas Shinhan Financial Group (SHG) was reported to successfully finalise the $151-million merger and acquisition (M&A) deal with Prudential Finance Vietnam (PVFC). Specifically, Shinhan Card, a subsidiary of SHG, acquired PVFC as a part of its business expansion strategy in the field of consumer finance in Vietnam.

Huynh Trung Minh, a Vietnamese financial analyst, pointed out that, The Vietnamese consumer finance market was evaluated as one of the most prospective finance markets in the region due to a sizeable population of 93 million citizens with a rising number of urbanites gaining larger incomes than in the last several years, luring hordes of foreign investors to inject capital into the sector."

Previously, in April 2017, Shinhan Vietnam, a subsidiary of SHG, also bought off the retail banking segment of ANZ, aiming at expanding its retail business in Vietnam.

Over the same period, Lotte Card, under the management of Koreas Lotte Group, announced a share acquisition at Tai Techcom Finance at the cost of VND1.7 trillion ($74.29 million), providing the firm a beneficial instrument to further penetrate the domestic consumer finance market.

In February, Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) expected to earn a minimum of VND500 billion ($21.85 million) from the M&A transaction with Post Finance Company (PTF).

Lately, BIDV Financial Leasing Company (BLC) signed the agreement of business expansion, turning itself from a 100 per cent BIDV-owned firm into BIDV-SuMi TRUST Leasing Company (BSL) thanks to Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank (SMTB) previously acquiring 49 per cent of the charter capital of the newly-established leasing firm.

The Vietnamese consumer lending market was forecasted to vigorously grow for at least the next twelve months, from the current recorded outstanding debts of VND600 trillion ($26.45 billion) to around VND1 quadrillion at the beginning of 2019.
The Maldives is seeking to reassure tourists they are safe but governments are warning their citizens to steer clear of the troubled honeymoon islands amid a spiralling political crisis AFP/LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI

The top UN body met behind closed doors to discuss the crisis sparked by President Abdulla Yameen's decision to arrest judges who had ordered the release of his political opponents.

UN Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenca told the top UN body that while there were no reports of violent clashes, "the situation in the Maldives is tense and may deteriorate even further", according to UN sources.

It was the first time that the council discussed the crisis since it began on Feb 1, but there was no statement released after the meeting.

The crisis was triggered by a surprise Supreme Court decision to release from jail former president and opposition leader Mohamed Nasheed and eight other political prisoners.

Nasheed was in self-imposed exile abroad after travelling out of the islands on prison leave.

Four days after the court order, Yameen declared the state of emergency and ordered his security forces to the court to arrest the chief justice.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged Yameen to lift the state of emergency while UN human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein has described Yameen's actions as "an all-out assault on democracy."

Jenca this week spoke by phone with the Maldives foreign minister and asked him to release the chief justice urgently.

Jenca said the government must resolve the political crisis through all-party talks and offered UN assistance to facilitate those negotiations.

On Thursday, Yameen refused to meet with diplomats from the European Union, Germany and Britain.

The Singapore Government earlier this week issued a travel advisory urging Singaporeans to avoid all non-essential travel to the Maldives.

Western governments, as well as neighbouring India and China, have also asked their citizens not to go on holiday in the picturesque but troubled nation of coral islands.
The Vinfast factory is currently under construction

This is the content of the vocational training co-operation between Vinfast and German Industry and Commerce in Vietnam signed on October 27, 2017.

The vocational training centre will officially come into operation in this August. The first course will teach mechatronics and industrial mechanics to 200 students. Vinfast will hold exams from May this year. Eligible students include high-school graduates from the 2017-2018 academic year. Students will be trained free and receive a monthly allowance.

Each course will last for two years, with 40 per cent of the time spent on theoretical studies, while the remaining 60 per cent will be turned to practical work. After graduating, students will be granted a certificate meeting the standards of the German Industry and Commerce in Vietnam.

With the target to become one of Southeast Asias vocational training centres, this centre will be equipped with modern facilities and skilled lecturers from Japan, South Korea, the Czech Republic, and Germany.

Previously, on January 18, Vinfast signed a contract with Pininfarina to buy two car designs for $5 million, while simultaneously releasing plans to buy the intellectual property rights from BMW to develop the designs. Vinfast expected to launch these car models at the Paris Motorshow 2018 organised in October and Vietnam Motorshow 2018 in December.

Besides, on October 12, 2017, Vingroup, the owner of Vinfast, and Bosch, a global supplier of technology and services, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on co-operation in car and e-scooter manufacturing.
Farmer Victor Lozada searches for items that can be salvaged from his shed, which was destroyed by Hurricane Maria on Friday, Sept. 22, 2017. A Puerto Rican government agency that collected supplies for those affected by Hurricane Maria defended its efforts, even as it confirmed about 100 boxes of goods were potentially tainted by a rodent infestation. (Carl Juste/Miami Herald/TNS)
George W. Bush says 'there's pretty clear evidence' that Russia meddled in US election
Woman says she flushed 'emotional support' hamster in desperation after bad advice from Spirit Airlines
Three Teams of Gibraltar Students in CyberCenturion Finals

Three teams from Gibraltar have qualified for the CyberCenturion National Final, which will be held at The Institution of Engineering and Technology in London on 8th March. This is the third time that Gibraltar teams have qualified for CyberCenturion finals.

Over 500 teams from the United Kingdom and Overseas Territories signed up to the competition. After three online rounds, only the top ten teams qualify for the National Final. This year, three of them are from Gibraltars schools.

These teams are comprised of fourteen students from Bayside and Westside Schools, aged between 14 and 17. One of the teams is an all-girl team, and was the best performing all-girl team throughout the entire competition.

In Gibraltar, the online rounds were hosted at the Gibraltar University and involved the students securing and fixing vulnerabilities in a number of different operating systems. Since September, the teams have been training on a weekly basis with the Security Team from the betting company GVC Group, developing their skills in securing both Linux and Windows based operating systems. The students have also been taking part in the UK Governments' Cyber Discovery and Cyber First programmes to enhance their experience further.

EY Accountants has kindly agreed to purchase personalised hoodies for all the team members, provide them with laptop satchels and arrange a visit to the EY Cyber Hub in London. The teams will also be visiting Bletchey Park during their time in England.

The Minister for Education, the Hon John Cortes, said: I am immensely proud of these students, who have worked extremely hard. CyberCenturion offers a unique learning opportunity and I am certain that these skills and experiences will serve all those who participate well in the future. The engagement from the private sector in supporting and training the teams is greatly appreciated and we will be reaching out more to encourage this. I wish all three Gibraltar teams the very best of luck, and most of all, hope they enjoy the experience to the full.
World Hijab Day Celebrated at the Youth Centre

On Thursday evening members of the youth clubs were treated to an educational presentation on the Hijab delivered by Nadia Esserti (Local ambassador for World Hijab Day).

'As World Hijab Day Ambassador for Gibraltar I am extremely humbled by the eagerness to learn from children and adults who attended our event. My aim was to bring awareness and to educate and I feel like this was achieved - Looking forward to next year! said Nadia.

The evening saw a coming together of different faiths participating and appreciating a deeper understanding of the right Muslim women have to choose to wear the Hijab. It culminated with everyone enjoying each others company around a long table of Moroccan food.

The Gibraltar Youth Service have said it continues to work on inclusiveness, aiming to celebrate and strengthen diversity as an important issue for young people. The GYS aims to bring together all cultures and ethnic groups to breakdown racism and misunderstanding of each other.

The Gibraltar Youth Service would like to thank Nadia Esserti for organising this wonderful experience and her friend, Zohra El Gharbaoui, for preparing the food.
Open Day at Waterport Terraces Day Centre

The Waterport Terraces Day Centre for the Elderly opened its doors to the public on Wednesday 7th February 2018.

The Care Agency staff were able to display the Centres philosophy of care throughout the day, demonstrating how it is put into practice.

It provided an opportunity for people within the community to experience a first-hand encounter of the Centres essence of care, as well as the chance to discuss matters relating to the elderly in our community. The Day Centre prides itself on offering friendly support and advice to all who attend, which are values that make it such a popular service.

The Centre, which has been operational since January 2014, includes a purpose built kitchen, a dining area and spacious areas, where attendees can enjoy a wide range of therapeutic activities. Activities include physical exercises, arts and crafts, baking and cake decorations, singing and outings into the community, amongst others. Meals are available at the Centre and include a breakfast on arrival and a three course mid-day meal.

The service is aimed at individuals who would benefit from social interaction and have a range of mild to moderate physical difficulties that may reduce their ability to easily access general services in our community. It is open to persons over 60, who are eligible to receive services in Gibraltar, and is not restricted to any specific catchment area. Any person interested in attending can self-refer and referrals are accepted from friends or relatives. These can be submitted to the Adult Social Services, at 16 Governors Parade or directly at the Day Centre. Following a referral, assessments are then carried out in order to prioritise admittances and ensure the specific needs of the person can be met.

Natalie Tavares, CEO for the Care Agency explained how attending day centres like these could benefit older persons: Persons who attend the centre often remark on how their quality of lives has improved by taking part in activities and meeting up with their peers. Whilst visitors enjoy their time at the Centre, families can enjoy peace of mind, knowing that their relatives are in a caring and safe environment.

The Minster for Health, Care and Justice, the Honourable Neil F. Costa MP attended the Open Day and commented: I was truly impressed to see, once again, this wonderful Day Centre in operation and catch up with many of our visitors. When you speak with them, you see first-hand, and appreciate, the real benefits that this service provides to our elderly and how much they cherish their time at the Centre. The relaxed and friendly atmosphere offers visitors, who may not have the chance otherwise, to socialise with their friends, enjoy meaningful activities and form new friendships. Further,visiting the Centre,in many cases, may allow a person to live in their own home for a longer period and delay the need for residential care.
HMS Queen Elizabeth Arrives in Gibraltar

HMS Queen Elizabeth makes Gibraltar her first port of call outside of the United Kingdom.

The Government of Gibraltar have said it is delighted to welcome HMS Queen Elizabeth to her British home in the Mediterranean.

HMS Queen Elizabeth is currently on a 6-week deployment to undertake Operational Training, and will berth throughout her stay alongside the Western Arm of the Port, next to the Cruise Terminal, which is deep enough to accommodate the ship.

The Chief Minister, the Hon Fabian Picardo QC, along with His Excellency the Governor, the Deputy Chief Minister and other local dignitaries, have been invited on board for lunch by the Captain. During the lunch, Mr Picardo will welcome the ship and her crew to Gibraltar.

The Chief Minister said, " I and every Gibraltarian will be proud that Gibraltar is able to host HMS Queen Elizabeth at Gibraltar Port on her first stop outside of the United Kingdom. Gibraltar continues to offer an important strategic advantage to the Ministry of Defence, and Her Majestys Government of Gibraltar is delighted to offer whatever logistical assistance we are able to. On behalf of the People of Gibraltar, I will present the Captain with a polished cross-section of a stalactite from inside the Rock of Gibraltar to serve as a permanent reminder that the Rock is the Royal Navys constant, unwavering and welcoming home in the Mediterranean."
Gibraltar to be Represented at Commonwealth Youth Parliament

Two young Gibraltarians, Tammy Randall and Mark Montegriffo have been nominated to represent Gibraltar at the 9th Commonwealth Youth Parliament which meets in Jersey later this month.

They were chosen from the group that attended the recent internship in Washington and the visits to the European Union institutions in Brussels.

This is the first time that Gibraltar will be represented at the Commonwealth Youth Parliament and this is in line with the policy of the Government to develop and enhance further our links with the organisation.

The Commonwealth Youth Parliament is an annual event which takes place in a different Commonwealth region each year. This meeting was originally scheduled to take place in the British Virgin Islands last year but was cancelled due to the hurricanes. There will be around sixty delegates from all over the Commonwealth who will experience different aspects of Parliamentary democracy in education sessions led by experienced parliamentary officials in the actual setting of Jerseys legislature known as the States of Jersey. The format will follow a standard parliamentary agenda of Question Time, debates, motions and votes on legislation.

Commenting on the initiative, the Deputy Chief Minister Dr Joseph Garcia said: The Government is delighted that two young Gibraltarians have agreed to represent their country at the Commonwealth Youth Parliament in Jersey. Their experiences in Washington or Brussels will provide a valuable background for this kind of event. It will also be a good opportunity to learn more about parliamentary practice and procedures in the context of the Commonwealth family of nations to which we are proud to belong. Indeed, I mentioned our participation to the Secretary General of the Commonwealth Baroness Scotland when we met earlier this week.

The Commonwealth Youth Parliament opens on 25 February and ends on 1 March.
Photo: Vertical Entertainment

Still/Born, debuting this week in theaters and on digital platforms, follows two young parents coping with the loss of one child while fearing their remaining son is being targeted by an evil spirit. Its a paranoia-based thriller as much as it is a supernatural scary movie  and its the newest addition to the pregnancy-horror canon.

By itself, pregnancy is a pretty scary thing, but when you add in variables like cannibalism, mutations, new species bent on world domination, and home invasion, suddenly youve got horror fodder for days. In advance of Still/Borns birth, here are ten of the most terrifying films centered on the miracle of life. (We know Rosemarys Baby is the best one of all time, so just put an asterisk next to it and make room for something else.) Your pregnant friends are strongly advised to skip these movie nights.

Eraserhead (1977)

David Lynchs feature debut is exactly the kind of pregnancy horror youd expect him to deliver  meaning theres a guy whos left alone to care for his baby, except his baby is a lizard creature. We would give you more to go on, but really, what good is trying to summarize David Lynch?

Demon Seed (1977)

Techno-horror from the analog days is great, because objects so powerful and intelligent as computers were still rare enough to scare the hell out of people. Thus we have Demon Seed, a movie about a brilliant scientist who builds a system that is so smart it can develop leukemia treatments, achieve enough self-awareness to know its trapped in a framework it wishes to escape, and is even capable of coveting human women. The supercomputer, called Proteus, becomes so obsessed with the scientists wife that it traps her in her own home and forcibly impregnates her with its human-hardware hybrid offspring. In a genre thats filled with supernatural occurrences and tricks of the mind, Demon Seed is a dose of dark sci-fi to keep things interesting.

The Brood (1979)

Just because the pregnancy in The Brood isnt conventional doesnt mean The Brood isnt a top-notch pregnancy-horror experience. Body-horror master David Cronenberg directs this movie about a troubled woman named Nola undergoing an experimental psychological treatment to address her trauma while her concerned husband Frank cares for their daughter. All the while, a series of brutal murders are taking place in town, and Frank comes to realize that Nola is connected to the killings in a most unexpected way. The twisted visuals are classic Cronenberg, and The Broods climax is one of the most arresting final scenes in all of cinema.

Baby Blood (1990)

The French really know how to deliver good body horror, and this ones got a circus performer, a creature in search of a uterus for shelter, and plenty of cannibalism. When a woman named Yanka (said circus performer) has her womb taken over by a serpentlike organism that commands her to kill and consume blood to nurture it, she reluctantly becomes a complicit host and goes on a kind of road-trip killing spree. Yanka doesnt want to do the monsters bidding, but she also knows this thing growing inside her is all she has  never mind that it tells her it will replace humans as the dominant species on Earth a few million years from now. A mothers love is a crazy thing.

Inside (2007)

Directors Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury most recently directed the reboot of Leatherface, but 2007s Inside is their opus of terror. The movie is a standard-bearer for the hard-core violence that defined the New French Extremity cinema wave from the mid-aughts (also see: High Tension, Irreversible). It centers on a grieving widow spending her final night alone before a scheduled labor inducement. First, though, she will have to survive the night, as a strange woman tries relentlessly to corner her and excise the baby from her body. Inside is maximally disturbing, blood soaked, and truly hard to watch. Expecting moms (and everybody else): proceed with high caution.

Grace (2009)

Widowed mothers are a good setup for a pregnancy-horror film. The twist in Grace is that new mom Madeline carries her child to term after being advised against it to protect her life, and ends up giving birth to  an undead infant. As is custom for the undead, the baby hungers for something other than milk, and since Madeline cant provide an endless supply of her own blood, she has to start finding it elsewhere.

Hungry Hearts (2014)

Hungry Hearts distinguishes itself from the rest of the list by becoming a horror movie almost by accident. The psychological thriller stars Adam Driver and Alba Rohrwacher as Jude and Mina, a young couple who hastily marry after she gets pregnant. Its a stark movie with very little involvement from anyone besides Mina and Jude and the doctors growing ever more concerned that the newborns life is in being endangered by his paranoid mother. Mina doesnt trust doctors, and is terrified that everything surrounding her son could poison and kill him, leaving him undernourished and underdeveloped as Jude fights to save him and pull her from madness. The couples entire life feels claustrophobic, and the movie invokes terror by way of discomfort that leaves you in near-constant fear for the babys safety. There are no violent gimmicks here  just the horror of becoming a new parent.

Devils Due (2014)

Devils Due goes full-tilt possession. Adorable newlyweds Samantha and Zach go on honeymoon to the Dominican Republic, and after a night of dancing and drinking, they end up at a local party theyre really going to regret later  if only they could remember what the hell happened. When Sam gets pregnant, the two are eager to start a family together, but everything takes a turn for the terrible when a group of mysterious strangers start stalking the house, and disturbing things start happening with the baby. Were talking telekinesis, pentagrams, Satanic rituals  the whole demon dog-and-pony show  and its all done home-video style thanks to Zachs obsession with recording everything. Hey, you cant have a pregnancy-horror list without at least one anti-Christ.

A gruesome genre needs some levity, and this body-horror entry from writer, director, and star Alice Lowe is a black-comedy horror movie about a woman at the whims of her fetus. Ruths partner and the father of her unborn baby was killed in a climbing accident (yes, another widow!), and to cope with the loneliness and anger and resentment, she starts taking marching orders from a voice in her head (or maybe the voice of her future baby) to kill all the people who were with him at the time of the tragedy. Ruth goes on the most unassuming rampage imaginable, but the real terror in Prevenge comes from the battle women have with themselves when their bodies are hijacked by a growing being inside them, as the world demands they think, feel, and act in prescribed ways. Its a pregnancy movie for the frustrated soon-to-be mom who needs to feel seen.

Still/Born (2018)

There are horror films that focus on demonic pregnancies, and those that focus on parental paranoia, but the fun of Still/Born is that it does both. Mary and Jack are new parents, and Marys stay-at-home mom life gets a lot crazier when she starts suspecting a powerful demon is trying to claim her baby. The tension is exacerbated by the fact that the newborn is the only surviving half of a set of twins, so Mary and Jack are grieving the loss of one baby as they try to care for the other. So is there really a malevolent old crone trying to eat her baby, or is Mary just so afraid of losing her remaining child that shes hallucinating the whole thing? And will she sacrifice another baby to save her own?
Altered Carbon Man with My Face Season 1 Episode 6 Editors Rating 3 stars * * * Previous Next  Photo: Katie Yu / Netflix

Another bloody episode of Altered Carbon ends with another cliff-hanger, but little in the way of narrative development. Sure, we learn that Isaac Bancroft (probably) didnt kill his father, but did anyone think the shows major mystery would be that easy to solve? Of course not. We also discover that Captain Tanaka is a little corrupt and that Kovacss feelings for Ortega may actually be true love. Finally, we meet a new puppeteer, a power player named Hemingway (Arnold Pinnock), who may be pulling all of the strings in Bay City.

First, Ortega is almost dead! Picking up where the last episode ended, Man With My Face opens with Kovacs and Ortega racing through the sky like some futuristic version of the opening of Reservoir Dogs. Hes performing CPR on her and driving at the same time. He rushes into the hospital with her, but shes cast aside because her DNA indicates she cant afford instant treatment. However, Kovacs spits on the DNA reader, revealing hes full of that Bancroft money. Now theyll treat her. Note this connection: It seems like Bancroft had something to do with the framing of Ryker, yet now its Bancroft who will indirectly save Ortegas life by paying for her surgery. Interesting stuff.

While Ortega is getting stitched up and the doctors are offering all kinds of fancy upgrades, Poe is still in VR, trying to save Lizzie Elliot. Its interesting that this show imagines one of the darker figures from American literature as a savior. At least Poe understands that Lizzie needs to fight through her trauma. He encourages her to punch him, but Vernon jumps in, perhaps setting back his daughters recovery.

Meanwhile, Kovacs is having an imaginary chat with his mentor and lover, Falconer. She mentions how expendable people are, but Kovacs has grown attached to Kristin Ortega. Hes not going to let another one die. In a show thats packed with overheated dialogue, this scene may be the hottest of all. Stride across the centuries and death follows is pretty bad, but eyes should really roll at Love isnt finite. While both performers are good in this scene, its these emotional moments in which the subpar writing really falters. Altered Carbon looks great, but style cant overcome truly cheesy dialogue. Anyway, Vernon interrupts Kovacss chat with his psyche just in time for Kovacs to go to Isaacs house to further the investigation into the murder for which he was resleeved in the first place.

Captain Tanaka gets his most development so far this season, starting with a scene with Prescott, the high-powered attorney of the Bancroft family. Theres a bit of a showdown between the two when Prescott wants the clone of Laurens Bancroft taken from Isaacs apartment. It becomes clear that the captain is a bit powerless, though. We also learn that the Ghost Walker, the crazed assassin who nearly killed Ortega, is on none of the footage of the attack. Hes called the Ghost Walker for a reason. Its also clear that Dimi is on the run in his new sleeve.

We see Dimi with Hemingway, who tells him not to touch Kovacs. He needs him alive for some reason, and this leaves Dimi as a bit of a loose end, which the angry assassin will figure out a few scenes later, when he flees from the Ghost Walker and needlecasts himself into a new clone: the body of the original Takeshi Kovacs we saw at Fight Drome. Neat.

Over at Isaacs apartment our heroes Kovacs the door open and rough him up a bit, but he has no idea what theyre talking about. Is someone setting up Isaac Bancroft? They go to dear old dads to tell the story about Isaac using Laurenss sleeve in Osaka and play the footage from Fight Drome. Prescott brings in the clone, and daddy is not too happy. However, it seems like Isaac was impersonating his father not to betray him, but to impress him. While Kovacs is having flashbacks to his own abusive past, he realizes that Isaac didnt do it. The kid just doesnt have the rage. I dont want you dead, dad, Isaac says. I want your respect. Too bad Laurens has some rage of his own, hacking at his own clone like an unhinged serial killer.

In the hospital, Ortega wakes up from her surgery with a wicked new arm. Shes not happy about it, or the death of her buddy Abboud. Kovacs is surprised when Tanaka tells him that the IT guy Mickey hasnt been fired. Why? And why does it feel like Tanaka wants to be forgiven? They figure out that their boss is a bit of a double agent, and Ortega uses her new arm to put a few dents in the wall with his body. Tanaka admits to just taking a few credits to keep people in the loop. He gets in touch with someone and they meet in VR. Ortega and Kovacs are going to track the contact, and Kovacs looks like Tanaka to do so, but the contact, Hemingway, figures out the ruse immediately.

Suddenly, Ortega pulls Kovacs out of the VR meeting. Its too quiet. Everyone around them is dead, decapitated. Our heroes are kidnapped, put in chains, and sent into the Fight Drome to battle each other. Its time for some Thunderdome shit.

The mayhem starts with minotaur-looking creatures going at Ortega and Kovacs. They defeat them, and then are faced by a knife-wielding Dimi/Takeshi. He poisons Kovacs with his blades and promises to cut Ortega apart piece by piece. Despite the poisoning, Kovacs stops him. They continue to fight and Dimi stabs Kovacs, but our hero pulls the knife out and hits the assassin in the back of the neck, wrenching free his cortical stack, which Ortega crushes with her new bad-ass appendage. Just as theyre about to be killed by the angry crowd, a shadowy figure jumps in, slicing and shooting and killing everything in sight. It could only be one person. Hey, big brother, Reileen says.

Other Notes

 Man With My Face is the best title yet for this show, given the climax of this episode.

 The climactic music is a cover of Rob Zombies More Human Than Human by Sune Rose Wagner, which appears to have been created for the show. Of course, that song title is a reference to the slogan of the Tyrell Corporation from Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick, which became Blade Runner, easily the greatest influence on Altered Carbon.

 Great to see the face of Dichen Lachman again, who has appeared in flashbacks but could now be a bigger part of the show.

 This was the second episode written by Steve Blackman, an executive producer on the show, and directed by Alex Graves, a vet of Game of Thrones and Homeland.

 This episodes title references a more obscure noir than some of the others, but one that thematically fits: 1951s The Man With My Face.

 All of the Fight Drome drama with the screaming crowds and exaggerated character work by Matt Frewer was clearly influenced by the world of George Miller. So, go watch Mad Max: Fury Road again! Trust me, its even better than you remember.
Photo: Universal Pictures

To Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey, the kink-happy romantic leads of the epochal Fifty Shades of Grey franchise, sex is everything. Its a life force, the flame that keeps a relationship going and whose eventual extinguishment represents the death of romance. They treat their elaborate bondage sessions as therapeutic mediation, channeling their frustrations and desires into rewards and punishments. The strict compartmentalizations of the dominant-submissive relationship enable Christian to keep his women at arms length, and eventually provide Ana with an avenue into his heart. In these movies, sex is everywhere and in everything, but the Fifty Shades series is not about sex. Its not even about the more abstract forces for which sex acts as a vessel  power, self-loathing, what have you.

Fifty Shades of Grey is, first and foremost, a subtle elegy to a print-media industry in its final death throes.

The newly released final installment, Fifty Shades Freed, finds our gal Anastasia reaffirming herself as more than Mrs. Grey. Because she isnt just a willing receptacle for her billionaire beaus exotic erotic aggressions; Anastasia Steele, we are repeatedly told, is a woman of letters. She begins the first film as an English lit major soon to graduate magna cum laude from an esteemed Vancouver college. Director Sam Taylor-Johnson introduces Ana on her way to cover for her roommate and best friend, whos too sick to interview Christian for the university paper. When her friend expresses a bit of consternation about everything going smoothly, Ana reassures her, Ive got a 4.0 GPA and a GPS. I think I can handle this.

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Ana cannot handle this. The meet-cute between Christian and Ana (henceforth referred to for conveniences sake by the celebrity portmanteau Chrana) also holds the distinction of being the single most painful interview ever conducted within the confines of a silver screen. I cannot deny that Ive been on the business end of quite a few Q&As I wish I could take back, but never in my life have I bungled a simple informational sit-down with the exquisite cocktail of unprofessionalism and rank incompetence that Ana brings to her assignment. Journalism is all about the five Ws: who, what, when, where, why. Ana is too distracted by the comfortingly square-faced hunk of marble sitting across from her to follow basic protocols of journalistic rigor.

All that, not to mention the gross ethical violations inherent to her getting involved with a subject. In her brief window as a substitute writer, Ana has opened her college newspaper to a potentially crippling malpractice suit and a massive scandal. The legal fees alone would be enough to shutter an operation thats undoubtedly scraping along as is, if theyre not found guilty in whats pretty much an open-and-shut case. In her wake, Ana leaves a trail of empty copywriter desks.

Yet Ana continues to fail upward, a living illustration of the nepotism that has contributed to a larger mass of ills for the publishing industry. The business of getting novels made and sold has grown into an insular club for the connected and wealthy, and Anas a clear beneficiary of her boyfriends status. At the start of Fifty Shades Darker, Ana has landed a new gig as the assistant to a high-powered editor at a publishing house in Seattle. He regularly berates her for being bad at her job, and though we learn that hes only doing that to break down her confidence before he makes an unwanted advance, the film never mounts a convincing case that shes very good at it, either. She signs the hilariously named Boyce Fox for his fantasy novel Purgatory in the Inferno series, an outrage by anyones measure.

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Almost as if in spite of her most determined efforts, Ana continues to rise at the elite Seattle International Publishing in Fifty Shades Freed. After taking time off from work for her wedding and a lavish honeymoon through France, Ana returns to SIP to find that, much to her surprise, shes been promoted! At the ripe old age of 22, shes been appointed head of fiction acquisitions, a contrast wryly noted by one of her co-workers in the films lone gasp of reason. Anas not totally naive, though, even though being naive is kind of her thing. She knows that people are going to trace a line between Christian Greys recent acquisition of SIP and his exceptionally young girlfriends rapid ascent in his company. When she voices these concerns to Christian, he comforts her by telling her that she didnt sleep her way to the middle, that she got here because of hard work and talent. This is a strong contender for the most outlandish line across the 300-plus minutes of these films.

Ana is hardly ever in the office, providing the leadership and directional vision that a good editor needs to foster a cohesive slate of releases. In her most purposeful contribution shown onscreen, she tells an underling to increase that font size by two points and a best seller is born. Shes always galavanting off somewhere or other, taking untold days off to jet-set to a secluded palatial cabin, then further shirking her duties just because her psycho stalker kidnapped her sister-in-law Rita Ora. (The last half of this thing really picks up.) Its no wonder that book sales are in a nosedive, when the key executive shot-callers keep storming out of the office to go get their buttocks pulverized.

In one of his first overtures to win her affection, Christian buys Ana a first-edition copy of Thomas Hardys Tess of the dUrbervilles. (Shades of the part in The Boy Next Door when the evil sexy teen buys J.Lo a first-edition copy of Homers epic poem The Odyssey, ostensibly from ancient Greece.) Anas immediately taken with this gift, and in that moment, we see her as she truly is. Shes always been more enamored of the idea of literature than its hard nuts and bolts. The work of an editor can be thankless, unglamorous, menial, and highly technical, often reliant more upon keen analytical and organizational skills than a sixth sense for great undiscovered artists. Just as they left her newspaper in a shambles, so too will Anas constant absenteeism and lack of editorial experience be SIPs undoing. There are too many naked scenes for anyone to notice, but by the end of the franchise, Ana Steele has single-handedly dismantled the entire literary scene of the Pacific Northwest.

E.L. Jamess word-of-mouth sensation could not have come to pass in an ink-and-paper marketplace. Because America is a nation descended from thoroughly vanilla Pilgrims, some stigmas are still attached to reading salacious prose in public, so the e-reader was a godsend to the nations friskier moms. With this in mind, it starts to add up that Ana would inadvertently destroy the culture of print from the inside out. Why should she, or James, need it? Her books are a product of the internets untamed wilds, where gatekeepers in implausibly telegenic exposed-brick offices dont decide who gets rich and who doesnt. The ultimate dream in this medley of fantasies is a world where theres no one to say no to Fifty Shades of Grey. Whether shes writing on sex or slackened editorial standards, James wants yes after yes.
Catt Sadler. Photo: Mike Coppola/Getty Images

When Maria Menounos asked Catt Sadler if shes planning to sue E! News over a pay disparity, Sadler simply replied, Not today. Sadler, who quit the network after learning of a pay gap between herself and her male co-host Jason Kennedy, discussed the possibility of legal action against the company in a conversation with Menounos on SiriusXM. By the way, there is something called .. .the [equal] pay act, she said. It is unlawful to discriminate, it is sexual discrimination, so you better believe that people are going to say on record what protects them in a certain, particular instance. When Menounos asked whether Sadler had any plans to sue in the future, Sadler didnt provide any further details.

Sadler also recently wrote an essay for Coveteur discussing her reasoning for leaving E!, describing a massive gap between what she and Kennedy were being paid. You see, I didnt start out on a crusade to be a voice for gender equality in the workplace, Sadler said. I didnt have grandiose plans to organize powerful people and roar about equal pay. For me, at that time, it started out as simply the right thing to do. She said she did not want to leave her role at the time, but that it was important to explain how I had been wronged and how I knew in my core that to stay would mean collaborating with an evil system. NBC has defended the disparity between Kennedy and Sadlers pay by saying there is a lot of misinformation out there, and that Catt Sadler and Jason Kennedy had different roles and therefore different salaries. Catt was focused on daytime. Jason Kennedy is on primetime evening news, plus red carpet. Our employees salaries are based on their roles and their expertise regardless of gender.
Weve got it. Weve got contact. Olivia Pope has entered the picture! It may have only been for a few seconds, but its all coming together. Were setting up the big crossover event for the TGIT Cinematic Universe. Even though were about to witness the alliance between two divas of the small screen, theres still a lot of Keating-specific drama we have to deal with. Jimmy Smitss life is falling apart, were about to see the class-action suit head to court, and we have to find out just what Asher would look like if he were on The Great British Baking Show.

The episode opens with Jimmy Smits sitting in his car right after Laurels custody hearing. Hes banging on the steering wheel and keeps almost calling Jacqueline. Somewhere in there, he decides that his best course of action is to get a cheeseburger with a side of opioids. What kind of casual food-truck hipster opioid business is happening on the streets? Once he gets back to his office, he throws the perfectly good fries away, smashes up the pills, and snorts them. He has flashbacks of his daughter and a flushing toilet and her extremely creepy eye.

Meanwhile, Frank has set up shop in a warehouse to keep tabs on Laurels mom and to make sure Bonnies brake lines arent cut. And the gang is holed up working on Annalises opening statement for the class-action suit. Annalise has no time for their phone calls because shes got to figure out whats going on with Jimmy Smits.

She shows up at his door again and she promises him that Bonnie is going to make the possible case against him go away. Jimmy Smits admits that he wasnt at his girlfriends house because he doesnt have a girlfriend. He was doing tragic heroin. He tells her that hes been sober for 23 years and he threw it all away last night. Annalise offers to take him to a meeting. They have a cute lil breakfast after the meeting and I really thought they were finally setting us up for the Jimmy SmitsAnnalise love story. But well get to that later.

At breakfast, Jimmy Smits tells the story of when he hit rock bottom. He was living in New York in his 20s, attempting to be a rock star or a writer, and ended up practically homeless. He was in a bodega when the woman in front of him turned around and smiled at him. BOOM! Jacqueline. She helped him turn his life around. This is just proof of my moms theory that any woman can make any mans life better. When they met, he was an almost homeless aspiring rock star and he ended up  a relapsed addict. But hes got a house now!

Bonnie goes to see a prosecutor to ask about Jimmy Smitss case and OH MY GOD! Its the guy who played Matt on Nip/Tuck! Where my OG Ryan Murphy heads at? I couldnt stop looking at those eyebrows. That man has some brows. Bonnie tries to flirt and offers to help with the case in exchange for a drink.

Meanwhile, the Keating Gang are arguing about what the opening statement for the class-action suit should be. Michaela wants to take a more measured, rational approach and Connor wants to go for a more emotional approach. Frank calls Oliver to ask him for help hacking into phone records. I like to think that Frank had tried to set up his own computer and was trying to hack into some phone records, but he only Googled how to hack a phone. Laurel doesnt want Frank to do anything because shes got a visitation with her son scheduled and nothing can mess that up. Frank thinks that Laurels mom is up to something. Maybe shes working with Laurels dad? She definitely knew something about Wes.

Annalise and Lil Nate head to the prison to check in with Big Nate one more time before the trial. She asks him to tell his story again and she realizes he thought he was only in solitary confinement for a month when he had been there for a year. Thats what caused him to snap on the other prisoner. Annalise reads the gangs opening statement and decides that it doesnt sound like her, so hes going to wing it. WING IT? Sis, that is BOLD. That is a BOLD decision in the case of your life. Unfortunately, we dont get a moving monologue because the Attorney Generals office wants to turn the case over the State Supreme Court. That means Annalise doesnt get to call any witnesses and just has to submit a brief. It sounds like its a big deal, but Annalise knows that the Attorney General just made it easier for the case to be thrown out.

Lil Nate heads to the prison to tell his father that the case wont go to trial. Big Nate thinks that its because they dont trust him. Lil Nate says that hes still got his dads back, but Big Nate is over it all.

The Keating Gang is arguing about the brief (again) and Connor accuses Michaela of only being interested in the class-action suit to get her name on something that goes to the State Supreme Court. She calls Connor a secretary and Im over their squabbling. The class-action suit is one of the few things on this show Ive cared about in a while and I will not have Michaela ruin this for me. In the middle of their fight, Laurel heads home to get ready to see her baby  and Frank is waiting for her. Hes got to tell her that hes the reason the baby came so early. NOT NOW, FRANK. He wants to protect her from her parents scheming and goes with her to the hospital.

Bonnie visits Annalise and tells her there isnt enough evidence to charge Jimmy Smits with anything, and that the bruises on his daughter prove he did CPR on her. But then Annalise sees the drugs that were in her system. K-Pex sounds suspiciously like K-Pax, but its actually Jimmy Smitss drug of choice. Annalise storms over there and demands the truth. Jimmy Smits tells her everything. He found Stella at home and she had taken almost every pill he had. He flushed the pills and sent the good-bye text from his daughters phone so his wife wouldnt be crushed. Annalise is very moved because Jimmy Smits is perfection and Annalise asks Bonnie to help her make the case go away.

Also, Laurel gets to meet her lil black baby and decides to name him Christopher because Wess real name was Kristoff.

Bonnie gives her report to Matt from Nip/Tuck and he realizes that even though there isnt enough evidence, Bonnies sudden friendliness must mean she wants something. And the only person shes willing to work the system for is Annalise. THE DEAL IS OFF, BONNIE! NO MORE FLIRTY DRINKS! Matt from Nip/Tuck realizes that Stella died of an overdose from the same opioids as her father, so maybe now its a charge for murder in the second degree? Death by delivery?

Annalise waits for the panel after submitting her very profound and passionate brief. Meanwhile, Bonnie is freaking out but realizes shes got one more ace up her sleeve: She charges into the DAs office and plays him the recording where they both admit to Antaress campaign contributions. Bonnie says, If you fuck with me or any of my weird friends, Im leaking this tape and everything else I have. Okay, she doesnt say that, but the spirit is there. He agrees to back off.

Annalise visits Nate and tells him that the court threw out her case. Its over. Then she goes to visit Jimmy Smits to tell him that the DA is dropping the case and Jimmy Smits goes in for a smooch! YES!

Annalise says hes high!

OH NO!

She calls him a liar and he just says that hes broken. The anniversary of Stellas death and all those traumatic memories caused him to run back to his best friend, K-Pex. Annalise tells him he needs to own his mistakes and that theyre not good for each other. Jimmy Smitss response?

NO DUH.

He flips out on Annalise and says that everything is her fault. She made him blur the lines of their relationship and shes only happy if no one tells her no, but thats what she needs. He calls her narcissistic and says she should have seen all this coming. If you saw any of this coming, youre a fucking psychic. Annalise says she didnt ruin him because you cant make someone be anything other than who they are. He has a terrible angry-laugh moment. Annalise calls Jacqueline and tells him that Jimmy Smits has relapsed.

As Annalise is packing up all the photos from the class-action suit and sees Jasmines face one last time, the rest of the Keating Gang is trying to figure out what snack theyre going to force-feed their sorrows with. Michaela is sick of all the wallowing and Connor figures out that hes just a few credits shy of catching up with the rest of the gang, so he reproposes to Oliver.

Frank visits Laurels mom and shows off the picture of her and Wes, finally asking, How did you know Kristoff? Is there anyone in Laurels life not actively trying to sabotage it?

Michaela storms into Annalises house and tells her that the class-action case should be seen in front of the United States Supreme Court. Partially because its the right thing to do, and partially because Michaela wants the glory. But they need connections. They need help. They need 

Olivia Friggin Pope.

Shes doing a lecture called How to Survive a Scandal. A little on the nose, dont you think?
Photo: LaToya Ruby Frazier/Courtesy the Artist and Gavin Browns enterprise; New York / Rome.

In the searingly honest, empathetic documentary images of self-described artist, curator, educator, and photographer LaToya Ruby Frazier, I see the rotten social malignancy that perpetuates entrenched racial discrimination that is deeply inscribed into law, lending, and health-care policies.

I also see obdurate white tribalism, the 55 percent of all white people and 75 percent of all Republicans who think that racial discrimination persists  but that its against white people.

I look at Fraziers beautiful activist art  depictions of people with the courage and strength to live life amid Trumpian statecraft and everything that made it possible and consistent with our often-airbrushed history  and I behold an aesthetic passionate enough to possibly jar the art world from its ten-year fixation on insular formalist photography-about-photography. The films, texts, and photographs of this 2015 MacArthur genius give us one of the strongest artists to emerge in this country this century  a 36-year-old oracle calling for a new engaged movement in photography that bears witness to our state-sanctioned economic racism and environmental horrors.

Photo: LaToya Ruby Frazier/Courtesy the Artist and Gavin Browns enterprise; New York / Rome.

What do Fraziers photographs actually document? Everything.

The entire postwar American Dream stacked against American blacks. It begins with the dream of owning a home and blacks who could not get loans from banks or government agencies because they already lived in poor neighborhoods, or who were redlined in similar ways so that they paid more for less where they already lived, while getting fewer services, bad schools, lesser health care. Trumps own father was found guilty of this. Even Nixons Housing Secretary said that federal housing policies had drawn a white noose around Black cities. Then Nixon fired him. It meant the government built 17,500 homes in the much-touted ideal town of Levittown, Pennsylvania, and not one of those homes was sold to a black person. Today less than one percent of Levittowns population is black. Racism in policy runs deep, with costs that last long even when the policy ends.

In her first-ever New York gallery solo show, at Gavin Browns Enterprise, Frazier presents three trenchant bodies of work. Fraziers aesthetic is to get very close to her subjects without ever being predatory or voyeuristic. She shares intimate moments, allows her collaborators to set up photos, record their voices and poetry, and to document their own family histories. Her images are a shadowy, stark black-and-white that conjures the tonal grounds and preternatural observational powers of Rembrandt and Goya.

Photo: LaToya Ruby Frazier/Courtesy the Artist and Gavin Browns enterprise; New York / Rome.

Many of her pictures are accompanied by text written in the subjects words. Elsewhere Frazier provides health statistics, legal proceedings, corporate records. Fraziers is a world on the edge, pushed to the brink of extinction. But this is not just ruin porn, or just another photographer visiting and recording nodes of poverty from a privileged position. Frazier has talked about imagining what might have happened had Dorothea Lange allowed Florence Thompson  the nameless migrant mother in her iconic 1936 image of poverty in America  to photograph herself, her family, tell her own story. Thats a radical leap. And its what Frazier has undertaken, drawing in her subjects as collaborators. Frazier starts to see the world through the eyes of others  channeling their dreams, melancholies, hells, joys, and accesses their inner visions.

Photo: LaToya Ruby Frazier/Courtesy the Artist and Gavin Browns enterprise; New York / Rome.

Flint Is Family was made between 2016 and 2017. It is a giant series that explores the effects of the water crisis in Flint, Michigan  a majority-black city. We are given micro and macro views of Flints environmental catastrophe, scenes of factories, decrepit streets. She zeroes in especially on three generations of Cobb family women. Grandmother Renee, mother Shea, and her daughter Zion. Here we see the firsthand effects of how state-supported ecological disaster leads to businesses and jobs leaving, the breakdown of social structures, and lack of health care that means anyone unable to escape must fend for themselves in a situation that is none of their making.

Frazier uses her camera as a weapon that lets us see the two-tiered Jim Crow laws of racial environmentalism where cities like Flint are made to become blacker and poorer. It is impossible to imagine a systemic 30-year environmental disaster unfolding this unchecked and unaided in Manhattan or Arlington, Virginia. She records how Flint residents still pay some of the highest water bills in the country while their local Nestle factory is allowed to pump 400 gallons per minute of pure Lake Michigan water for free. In an 11-minute video, Shea Cobb calls this what it is, murder by the state  whereby the environment leads to self-destruction, hollowed-out bodies, and Flint as a modern plantation where workers are under assault and seen as bottom-feeders.

Photo: LaToya Ruby Frazier/Courtesy the Artist and Gavin Browns enterprise; New York / Rome.

Next is The Notion of Family, begun when Frazier was 16 and started documenting herself, her family, and her surroundings. (A teacher seeing her first photo told the teenager that she had a destiny to work with the camera.) Notion is already a landmark of American photography  a new American Disasters of War. We see her hometown Braddock, Pennsylvania, nine miles from Pittsburgh on the banks of the great Monongahela River, home of Andrew Carnegies first steel mill, the famous Edgar Thomson Works, in operation since 1875. The pictures are raw, beautiful, intense, subtle, prophetic. She focuses on three generations of Frazier women: herself, her mother, Cynthia, and her late grandmother, Ruby. In Notion genres collapse. It is family portrait, autobiography, case study, manifesto, indictment, and howl. It is a picture of 30 years of official negligence and deindustrialization that have brought about the near annihilation of the black working class.

Its no coincidence that Braddock, like Flint, is a majority-black city. Companies have been cited for chemical emissions of benzene, mercury, chloroform, lead, and tetrachloroethylene  a colorless liquid now found in Braddocks water and which brings risks of cancer and immune-related diseases. Here is the human cost of systemic negligence, redlining, and other malevolent policy.

In another group of pictures we witness the death of Fraziers grandmother from pancreatic cancer. Next we see her mothers terrible back-length scar from spinal surgery. Frazier calls her a prisoner in her own home. Cynthia, a nurses aide, lives two blocks from Braddocks former hospital (now torn down). Yet after she collapsed from a series of maladies last year it took over three hours for help to arrive and then get her into intensive care. Here she was examined and told to go home because she had no chance of survival.

Thats when Frazier contacted Dr. Esa Davis, a doctor of color from Pittsburgh who knew of Fraziers work. Davis soon arrived and, working with Frazier, prescribed treatment saying that her mother must stay in the hospital. This was done against the wishes of the white doctor. Frazier, who had permission to do so, stood vigil over her mother to make sure she wasnt sent home to die or be neglected again. Thats health care in much of America. So is this: A white physician then falsely accused Frazier of laying hands on him and security and police arrived and ushered her out of the hospital. Fortunately, Dr. Esa stepped in again and saw to it that her mother wasnt sent home. Last week, I saw Cynthia looking great and doing well speaking on a panel at the gallery about her life and her daughters work.

Frazier pictures a not-so-secret but almost ignored war going on in America against the black working class. Frazier depicts her grandmothers step-father in his coffin. She says he worked hard labor in high-temperatures tearing down and rebuilding furnaces, cleaning up spilt metal and slag  his labor-consumed body discarded and thrown away. After this, see the topless self-portrait of the artist seated on a bed, Self-Portrait (Lupus Attack). Frazier eyes us directly in this picture of a person paying the price of her mind, body, and energy in this undeclared war.

Meanwhile, this war has been ramped up. Under Ben Carson, Trumps head of public housing, the agency has already delayed measures to strengthen civil-rights-era requirements for local governments to take active steps to undo racial segregation. Instead, it is rolling back regulations that Obama had put in place to undo systemic racism. Carson says of the old laws, The people who put all these programs in place meant well  and had no intention of entrapping people  and then calls it by a nativist name: social engineering. Julian Castro, previous HUD Secretary, sighs, saying that benign neglect is the best way to describe it right now. And housing, of course, is just the start.

Frazier somehow even captures these unraveling catastrophes in images of local citizens standing up for their rights, demanding clean water, access to health care, the right to live dignified lives. What gives these pictures resonance is that theyre from 2016. Preelection. We see groups peacefully holding signs outside factories, hospitals, and at a local Flint high school awaiting the arrival of then-President Obama  who drank Flint water in solidarity.

These pictures speak volumes to our current situation. As horrible, complex, and as frustrating as these situations are, we see that protests like these, back then, at least made America look at the problem, notice it. Or so we hoped. Back in 2016 it almost felt like with the Black Lives Matter movement that one day soon black lives might actually start to matter  that bodies like these, in Flint, Braddock, and 10,000 other American towns and cities, would not continue to be discarded and thrown away. But then whites in every demographic category voted Trump president and a Republican Party  a de facto white peoples party  only intensified its take-back-our-nation last stand.
Pod Save America.

Pod Save America  the wildly popular political podcast by former Obama aides Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, and Tommy Vietor  has struck a deal with HBO to produce a series of hour-long specials. The specials will follow the trio as they host live tapings on the campaign trail for the upcoming midterm elections in the fall. This jump to TV is natural fit, as the team has already developed a live-show circuit with tapings held in Austin, Cleveland, Chicago, Richmond, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and all around the state of California. The podcast doubles as the spearhead of Crooked Media, the trios digital company thats meant as the basis of a liberal response to conservative talk radio.

This development is the latest entry in what has become a full-blown trend. In recent months, podcasts have (perhaps somewhat surprisingly) emerged as Hollywoods hottest new source for material and intellectual property, as we noted last week, with an assortment of podcasts including but not limited to Dirty John, Welcome to Night Vale, Limetown, and various Gimlet properties slated to hit the silver and small screens in some form or another in the coming months. The reason for this is relatively simple: the wild and budding podcasting universe remains a creatively vibrant space where new ideas and creators can be tested in a marketplace with relatively little risk, thus functioning as an effective fishing pool for a film and television industry hungry for proven, bankable assets.

But this Pod Save America deal is particularly distinct for what it highlights about HBOs participation in this trend. To begin with, it will be HBOs second adaptation of a podcast that takes the form of a series of specials, the other being 2 Dope Queens, Jessica Williams and Phoebe Robinsons WNYC Studios podcast whose hour-long specials debuted on the premium cable channel last weekend to positive reviews. Both 2 Dope Queens and Pod Save America are podcasts ready-made, in their own ways, for a new kind of hour-long special, a television form traditionally reserved for straightforward stand-up programming. Given that HBO has been facing intense competition from Netflix for stand-up specials  quick reminder that Netflix reportedly shelled out $20 million for each of Dave Chappelles three specials  this budding model of mining podcasts for new kinds of specials could prove interesting for HBOs efforts to outflank its streaming rival in this content area. This project also marks HBOs third dealing with podcast-centric talent in recent years, if you add Bill Simmons, whose Any Given Wednesday talk show (now defunct, having been cancelled after just 17 episodes) felt more like a live on-set podcast taping than anything else, to the list.
RuPauls Drag Race. Photo: VH1

Just when you think RuPaul cant give more than she already has, were given the incredible gift that is The Bitchelor. Putting together the queens of RuPauls Drag Race All Stars and the absurd romance of The Bachelor is an idea so genius, its upsetting it took this long to happen. With the Bachelor-industrial complex reaching new heights complete with spinoffs, an Emmy-nominated drama, and national scandals, the only thing left was a drag parody. The gowns! The drama! The fake hair! The Bitchelor has it all. Part parody, part homage, and part fever dream, it is simply an amazing journey.

RuPauls Drag Race All Stars is here for the right reasons, but if were being honest, every single moment didnt hit the mark. Lets dive into the hits and misses of The Bitchelor to figure out what it got right and wrong about The Bachelor.

What Drag Race got right

The catchphrases

The Bachelor has its own indecipherable language, so its fitting that this weeks RuMail is Bachelor-esque catchphrase word vomit: Hey, can I steal you for a second? Im starting to feel a real connection, but for this relationship to go to the next level, I need you to open up. Of course, The Bachelor could learn a lesson or two from RuPaul about turning a catchphrase into a song, a T-shirt, and/or a WOW Presents web series. If Lucas Whaboom Yancey had been under Rus tutelage, we probably would all be shouting Whaboom, bitch! at each other over brunch.

The hot tub

Perhaps the most accurate moment is when Shangela and Chi Chi DeVayne splash around with the Bitchelor in a hot tub. Who could forget the iconic date where Ben Oatmeal Higgins and Caila went on a date in a hot-tub store with Kevin Hart and Ice Cube? You know, true romance. Are there more tub-based challenges in the Drag Race future? Better get that waterproof mascara, queens.

The drinking

What made Stacey Elza shove a pair of underwear in the Bachelors pocket? What made Jordan Branch twerk upside down? What made Alexis a shark-ass bitch? Whats always fueling all the drama behind The Bachelor? ALCOHOL! Alcohol is the ladytestant that never gets eliminated. Whether it was Ben DeLaCreme falling out of the limo with a wardrobe malfunction and a Cosmo in hand, or Kennedy Davenport pulling an entire bottle of vodka out of her hip pads, The Bitchelor just wouldnt have been a Bachelor parody without a Champagne toast and a sloppy drunk passed out in the corner.

What Drag Race got wrong

The honesty about sex

Explicit sex talk is verboten on The Bachelor and most of its spinoffs. The Bachelor exists in a universe where the height of intimacy is a kiss under some fireworks while an unknown band plays a country song and youre only allowed to have sex in a fantasy suite, which is sometimes an ice hotel in Finland. But The Bitchelor flipped those puritanical ideas a middle finger with a sequined press-on nail. Shangela and Chi Chi imagined themselves in a polyamorous throuple looking for a sperm donor, and then assessed the testicle size of the Bitchelor himself. RuPaul got the final eggplant after visibly lusting after the lead. Kennedy Davenport said her favorite thing about Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman is, and I quote, That dick. You wont see anything like that on ABC.

The age-appropriate partners

One thing The Bitchelor got wrong is the mere presence of a woman whos old enough to run for president. This season, Arie Luyendyk Jr. has drawn ire for eliminating all the women in their 30s while giving out roses to 22-year-olds. But its not just Arie: Women aged 35 and up are few and far between on The Bachelor. Now, its unclear exactly how old Ben DeLaCremes cougar alter ego is supposed to be, but she was definitely of drinking age when Supermodel (You Better Work) hit the dance charts. She made it to the top two this week, but sadly, Ben DeLa wouldnt have made it past ABCs casting call.

The diversity of it all

On The Bachelor, contestants of color are often painted as villains or eliminated before they can go to a romantic destination like Sioux Falls. The leads of the franchise have also been whiter than Sharon Needless foundation: In 34 seasons, there has only been one Bachelor or Bachelorette of color. So strangely, one of the things that The Bitchelor got wrong about The Bachelor was that it was too diverse. The Bitchelor himself was played by Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman of Unreal. Of the eight queens who eagerly waited for an eggplant, more than half of them were people of color. Come through, diversity!
Scandal Army of One Season 7 Episode 11 Editors Rating 2 stars * *  Previous Next Photo: Eric McCandless/ABC

B613 is absolute bullshit. At the risk of exhuming a dead horse, only to beat it and return it to the earth, its difficult to think of another television show that has been subsumed to this degree by an unworkable plot element. Consider that Shonda Rhimes once floated the idea of creating a Scandal spinoff that would dive even deeper into this inscrutable world of shadow-government operatives and nothing ever came of it. Rhimes has earned a insane amount of runway from ABC over the years and has a knack for reanimating shows that should by rights be dead by now. (See: Greys Anatomy and its forthcoming firefighter spinoff, Station 19.) Theres a good reason B613 never got its own platform, and it probably isnt because ABC wouldnt cut its busiest content creator a little more slack. The more likely explanation is that there wasnt enough meat on the bones to justify another show.

In a way, though, its kind of tragic that the B613 story never got spun off into its own entity, because it never got the chance to succeed or fail on its own merits. Instead, B613 has been allowed to fester within Scandal and suck all the internal logic out of a show that has always reflected a heightened reality but hasnt always been quite so  yknow, stupid. Army of One is very, very stupid because it has to drill down into the specifics of B613, and thats always a remarkable disaster. And what makes the whole thing so frustrating is that the ideas underlying the episode would actually be interesting and cool if they were unmoored from B613 and Rowan Pope.

Army picks up right where the previous episode left off, with Olivia Pope in the Oval Office begging President Mellie to reconsider her decision to fire Olivia as chief of staff. Olivia doesnt usually take no for an answer, so it takes a few minutes for her to realize that Mellie is firm about wanting her gone. After all Olivia has done, all she has risked to reclaim the power of the White House, she still finds herself a woman without a country. Mellie gives Liv a week to figure out how shes going to resign from her position and threatens to fire her live from the briefing room if she resists. Of course, if that kind of ultimatum worked on Olivia, it probably would have worked last week, when she issued another promise to step away from both her day job and her side hustle only to defiantly renege. Olivia has a closetful of white hats and black ones, and she wont hesitate to go all scorched earth when its called for.

Given that this season is thematically focused on the battle for Olivias soul, this should be the point at which the audience is as fed up with Livs dark-hearted ways as the other characters are. But Olivias rage at being fired is understandable considering Mellies decision to replace her as chief of staff with, of all people, Jake Ballard. So the guy who just last week threatened to slice the vice-presidents gullet open just got promoted to the most high-profile job in the White House. Uh  okay, sure, if you insist. But its a double promotion. Since Olivia was pulling double duty as Mellies right hand and the head of B613, Jake has now taken on both of those roles with Mellie set to decide how the secret organization will proceed without Liv. Id love to read one of those What do you do all day? professional profiles of Jake, who now has three jobs, including his role as NSA director. Considering his penchant for homicide, its no wonder Jake is killing the time-management game.

The wonder lies in the idea of what a transfer of power looks like in this situation, and Army doesnt seem to know. Olivia plays hardball, first by getting Hector, one of her fathers old-school operative buddies (played by Garrett Morris) to shut down B613s computer network with a virus, thereby rendering the agency inoperable. When she meets up with Hector to discuss the ominous phase two of Olivias latest plan, he asks why B613 hasnt yet seized upon her when shes going directly to war with them. Olivia says its because Jake is trying to operate B613 with a skeleton crew and without an operational computer network. All the money and manpower is still backing her, because shes still Command, despite getting fired from the White House. Why wouldnt Jake, a longtime B613 operative, have prepared for the chaos that was bound to ensue if Olivia was pushed out without blocking her access to the organizations resources? This doesnt seem like the kind of operation you execute on the fly, but Jake and Mellie are caught off guard when Olivia uses B613 to fight back.

Thats where, speaking of skeleton crews, the former OPA gang comes into the picture, sort of. In an all-too-rare case of the week, a mid-level State Department employee named Robert Bacall walks into the office looking for help. A sum of $12 million has popped up unexpectedly in Bacalls bank account, and in his inbox, theres an email from Russian spies activating him for a spy mission he claims to know nothing about. But the gang literally does nothing to help Bacall, and their role in the episode is exclusively to fret in the conference room while helping to move the plot along. Turns out, Bacall is merely collateral damage, framed as a spy by Olivia because he happens to be having an affair with Vanessa Ballard, Jakes wife. (Jake and Vanessa are in an open marriage, if that makes a difference to anyone.) The White House decides to help frame Bacall, with Vanessas help, so Jake wont have to resign as chief of staff. And what do the gladiators do? They tell him to get a good lawyer. Seriously, thats it. Losing Quinn was a much bigger setback than I realized.

Quinns not gone for long, though. Her living arrangement with Rowan goes sour pretty quickly, and Quinn has no intention of staying hidden at his house for as long as he thinks is necessary. So she negotiates her escape by promising to spare Olivia, then shows up at Olivias apartment with her baby and the gun she plans to use to shoot Olivia. (Once you have a baby, it becomes really difficult to kill your former boss on a lark.) But Olivia warns Quinn that killing her is impossible. As Command, shes too important to die, and there are snipers trained to shoot Quinn if she tries to take Olivia out. Where was this crack team of snipers when Fitz (who isnt even in this episode) was kidnapping Olivia and holding her in Vermont against her will? What about when Rowan pulled a gun on Olivia just a few episodes back? Who knows, but maybe its for the best, because when someone finally decides to take a shot, they accidentally wing Olivia and allow Quinn and her baby to escape unharmed. As if Olivias to-do list isnt long enough as it is, now she has to find a whole new team of snipers. Its always something.

Olivia gets to somewhat redeem herself at the end of the episode, when she decides to resign instead of burning Mellies presidency to the ground with yet another one of Livs infamous MacGuffin dossiers. (Marcus, in a two-second appearance, nods approvingly from the crowd.) Its meant to be a moment of uplift, one that shows that there are still limits to Olivias treachery. Shes even kind enough to release her stranglehold on B613, thereby making it easier for Jake to do one of his three jobs. And with her out of the way, Quinn can safely come out of hiding, though the execution of her reappearance lacks the emotional punch it should have had. But thats the obvious consequence of creating a narrative universe where theres no real sense of cause and effect. Maybe Scandal never needed a B613 spinoff because it slowly morphed into one.
If watching men with bad bangs and Metamucil-colored shirts stressfully dial phone numbers and get into bitter arguments about sources and files is your thing, Newspaper Movie is the movie for you. Late Nights latest fake trailer is The Post meets Spotlight meets All the Presidents Men plus the fifth season of The Wire: Seth Meyers stars as a grizzled, lonely newspaper reporter uncovering a big secret. The big government conspiracy is unknown, but this is surely a movie of the moment that will highlight the power of democracy, and visually show this through a few aerial shots of the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. Newspaper Movie is a nonstop thrill ride, if your idea of a thrill ride is seeing middle-aged white people typing for two hours, says the Los Angeles Times. Expect nonstop eye rolls from the White House when Newspaper Movie wins Best Picture.
Huntsville Hospital and Calhoun Community College are joining together to develop a new nursing program at Calhoun's Huntsville campus.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey joined college and hospital officials Friday morning to announce a $1 million grant from the Alabama Capital Improvement Trust Fund that will go toward constructing a new nursing simulation lab at the Huntsville campus. Huntsville Hospital plans to provide another $1.5 million in funding. Calhoun will be responsible for operating expenses and faculty costs.

The lab will allow Calhoun to establish a nursing program at the Huntsville campus that's similar to the one at its Decatur location. The two-year education program could graduate up to 48 new registered nurses a year, school officials said.

Officials said they plan to begin accepting new students into the program in August.
When I wrote, towards the end of last year, that I discerned the first green shoots of nascent recovery in the political fortunes of the Turnbull government, I was ridiculed on these pages by the sanctimonious, for whom wishful thinking is preferable to critical thinking. Even louder were the voices of the purse-lipped, parasol-wielding dowagers of the far right, whom Miranda Devine has accurately, if somewhat uncharitably, classified as the Del-Cons, or Delusional Conservatives.

Until the same-sex marriage debate, I was defined as an Abbott Restorationist rather than a Del-Con. Ties of personal loyalty and a pragmatic belief that Tony Abbott was the only substantial leader capable of forging an uneasy truce between angry conservatives in the Coalition base and its moderate wing motivated me in supporting his return to the leadership.

Likewise, I believed Abbott was closer than Malcolm Turnbull to the centre of gravity when it came to Coalition sentiment on energy policy. My assessment was vindicated when the issue re-emerged late last year and proved a flashpoint for Coalition unity.

It is not necessary to like Turnbull to concede that he possesses extravagant intellectual talent, though unleavened by political acumen. But I thought his solo performance on the ABC's Q&A late last year demonstrated why he will probably defeat Bill Shorten.
I've loved mathematics for as long as I can remember. So it's no surprise one of my favourite quotes comes from renowned mathematician, Francis Su: "We study mathematics for play, for beauty, for truth, for justice and for love."

Unfortunately, if you ask the average high school student to list the top five words that come to mind when you say "mathematics", chances are you won't hear any of these words.

In a US study that paid students to improve their test scores, the results were indisputable.

A quick look at the participation rates for advanced maths in Australian high schools reveals an alarming reality: students are turning their backs on mathematics in droves.

This is particularly concerning because we're living in an age where we need our young graduates to have strong mathematics skills. With the advent of artificial intelligence, the jobs of the future will require problem solving and analytical skills best learnt in the maths classroom.
Affordable electric vehicles that can drive up to 600 kilometres on a single charge will help bring a motoring revolution to Australia, predicts Chief Scientist Alan Finkel, in an intervention that defies naysayers of the technology.

In an interview with Fairfax Media, Dr Finkel said the onus was on the federal government to cut greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector, but predicted electric cars will be a significant element of policies considered.

Dr Finkel  who owns two electric cars  would not comment on government policy. But he pointed to his review of the national electricity market that called for the development of a whole-of-economy emissions reduction strategy by 2020.

Environment and Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg last month declared electric vehicles would revolutionise Australia, saying the scale of disruption would rival the introduction of the iPhone.

The comments prompted fierce debate about the extent to which the government should encourage the electric vehicle industry. A handful of Coalition backbenchers led by climate sceptic Craig Kelly stridently oppose financial incentives, such as subsidies, to lower the purchase cost of the technology.
The City of Cockburn will ask the State Government to replace plans for full restoration of South Fremantle Power Station with a more financially affordable solution that would halt its deterioration and open it up to the public in the short to medium term.

On Thursday evening Council voted unanimously to request Landcorp and Synergy investigate alternative reuse options as an interim measure for the building rather than wait until a more substantial redevelopment can take place.

South Fremantle power station has been abandoned for more than 30 years.

Landcorp's 2014 redevelopment master plan for the iconic building includes total reconstruction and restoration to the standard of a substantial residential development, plus relocation of the adjacent switching yard.

But the City says full realisation of coastal development in North Coogee between South Beach and Port Coogee will never be realised while the building remains a "blight on the landscape" because the master plan's financial viability may take several years to be feasible.
Perth's Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi is back at the helm and on the front foot, keen to talk about the opportunities the city is brimming with rather than the political scandals she's become mired in.

At the forefront of this positive push is Serious Business Move, a website launched by the City of Perth that spruiks Perth's infrastructure developments, social changes and business trends as opportunities for interstate and international investors.

The initiative was first talked up by Deputy Lord Mayor Jemma Green in December while Ms Scaffidi appealed her disqualification for undeclared travel and gift expenses.

But now that Ms Scaffidi has been cleared of 26 of 45 breaches and waits for a new penalty hearing at the the State Administrative Tribunal, she's back articulating the changes sweeping through the city she's led since 2007.
A Perth woman who targeted dozens of people in a debit and credit card crime spree has been described as "unrelenting" in her criminal behaviour by a magistrate.

Alison Rose Abdullah went on a fresh wave of thefts and frauds last year, within a month of getting a suspended sentence for a similar set of crimes.

Alison Abdullah, pictured here on her Facebook page. Credit:Facebook

"Did the suspended sentence mean anything to you?" Magistrate Steven Malley asked Abdullah in court.

Abdullah's modus operandi was stealing purses containing debit and credit cards and other items from unsuspecting shoppers at various locations across Perth in 2016 and 2017.




Total

Wines

Sampled # Natural cork

(%) # Corked

(%) Avg $ Corked

Wine # Screw

cap

(%) # DIAM

(%) # Noma

corc

(%) # Glass

Stopper

(%) 2017 1,588*





(75.25% red;

21.54% white;

3.21% rose) 1,226**





(77.20%) 44





(3.59%)





(84.09% red;

11.36% white; 4.55% rose)







$36.61





Max: $95

Min: $10

Median: $34





194





(12.22%) 136





(8.56%) 21





(1.32%) 11





(0.69%)

Note: The following line - "In 2017, none of the technical corks showed signs of cork taint (Note: This has not always been the case in previous years)." - was removed from ** above as I did not understand that technical corks include 1+1 corks in addition to agglomerative corks. I had a number of 1+1 corks that showed signs for cork taint in 2017.




The First Global Cross-Border E-Commerce Conference, jointly organized by the World Customs Organization (WCO) and China Customs, was launched in Beijing, China today, 9 February 2018, sending out a concerted message on strengthening cooperation towards an innovative, inclusive, strategic and collaborative approach to sustainable cross-border e-commerce.

This Conference brings together over 2,000 high-level policy and decision makers, as well as operational experts, from Customs administrations, other government agencies, e-commerce operators, international organizations, regional economic communities, academia and other stakeholders in the cross-border e-commerce supply chain.

The WCO Secretary General, Dr. Kunio Mikuriya, welcomed the delegates and thanked China and all stakeholders for their active support with the organization of this First Global Cross-Border E-Commerce Conference. He stressed that: This fast-evolving e-commerce environment and associated challenges require a comprehensive and well-considered policy and operational response from Customs and other border agencies, in partnership with other stakeholders. A coordinated and collaborative approach between and among all stakeholders at the international, regional and national level is vital to achieve a safe, secure and sustainable e-commerce environment, leading to an inclusive global trade system and increased economic growth.

In his inaugural speech, Mr. Wang Yang, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Vice-Premier of the People's Republic of China, noted that: We are here to support vital and progressive cross-border e-commerce. We must strive to do everything to support its continued growth. We need to mutually expand the openness of the market, collaboratively establish commonly-followed supervision standards, enhance the cooperation and coordination mechanism among all parties, and improve the capacity building of underdeveloped countries.

Outlining Chinas success story in the e-commerce arena, Mr. Yu Guangzhou, Minister of China Customs, underscored that: By improving regulation and services with innovative thinking and methods, we will offer a more transparent, stable and predictable trade environment for e-commerce and provide the public with safe, convenient and efficient access to global goods, in order to help people around the world realize their aspirations for a better life.

The opening ceremony featured keynote speeches by Alibaba Group Executive Chairman Mr. Jack Ma, UPU Director General Mr. Bishar A. Hussein, ICAO Secretary General Dr. Fang Liu, and WTO Deputy Director General Mr. Xiaozhun Yi. Several Ministers, Vice-Ministers, Directors General of Customs, head of various government agencies, heads of international business organizations and CEOs of various e-commerce operators also graced the event.

Through a range of plenary and breakout sessions, the two-day Conference will focus on embracing, seizing and leveraging opportunities presented by cross-border e-commerce, while exploring collaborative and innovative solutions enabling governments and the private sector to collectively address current and emerging challenges.

During his stay in Beijing, Secretary General Mikuriya visited Huawei Research & Development Institute in Beijing to meet Mr. Victor Zhang, President, Global Government Affairs, Huawei Technologies, a PSCG Member company. They discussed the use of data in the Customs context, Huawei's proposed solutions in the area of the Digital Customs and the benefits of AEO. Huawei has been granted AEO status in 19 countries and benefited from a significant reduction of clearance time at the borders. The Secretary General expressed appreciation for Huaweis support for the WCO and its activities.
Tampa, FL, Feb. 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC), the nations second largest wine and spirits wholesaler, announced February 6 a contribution of $65 million to the Step Up For Students Scholarship Program, which serves lower-income children in Florida.

The donation was announced during RNDCs state sales meeting, held on a soundstage at Universal Studios Orlando.

RNDCs donation will allow more than 9,940 K-12 students to attend the school of their choice through Florida Tax Credit scholarships for the 2017-18 school year.

Making a difference in the life of a student, their family and our community makes us very proud. For many students, having the opportunity to choose a school that best meets their learning needs can propel them on a path toward a better future, said RNDC Executive Vice President Ron Barcena. Were proud to support Florida schoolchildren through the Step Up For Students Scholarship Program.

This is the sixth consecutive year RNDC has contributed to the nonprofit organization that administers the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program for financially disadvantaged schoolchildren. The program is funded with tax-credited donations and allows parents and schoolchildren to choose between a K-12 scholarship that helps with private school tuition and fees, or one that assists with transportation costs to out-of-county public schools.

Step Up For Students allows lower-income families the opportunity to attend schools they might not otherwise be able to afford. But we couldnt do this without the support and generosity of our donors, said Step Up For Students President Doug Tuthill. Since 2012, RNDC has contributed $180 million, providing more than 30,665 scholarships. On behalf of Step Up and the families we serve, we thank you for your continued commitment and generosity.

Step Up scholarship graduate Orlando Rivera and his mother Deborah DeJesus attended the event to share their story with the RNDC associates. During his junior year of high school, Orlandos grades had dropped to nearly failing. With help from a Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, Orlando was able to change schools and attend Heritage Christian School in Kissimmee.

Going to Heritage turned my life around, said Orlando. Today, Im a freshman at Embry-Riddle, studying aeronautical science on the airline pilot specialty track. Id like to thank Step Up For Students and donors like RNDC for making this possible.

For the 2017-18 school year, Step Up For Students is serving more than 100,000 students throughout Florida with tuition scholarships valued at up to $6,343 per student for kindergarten through fifth grade, $6,631 for sixth through eighth grade, and $6,920 for ninth through 12th grade. More than 1,700 private schools participate in the scholarship program statewide.

About Republic National Distributing Company

RNDC is the second largest distributor of premium wine and spirits in the United States with operations in Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, District of Columbia, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. RNDC employs more than 9,500 individuals nationwide. For more information about the company, please visit www.rndc-usa.com.

About Step Up For Students

Step Up For Students is a nonprofit organization that helps manage the income-based Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program. Students who qualify for the national free or reduced-price lunch, or those who are homeless or in foster or out-of-home care, may qualify. The scholarship provides tuition assistance to the private school of their parents choice or financial assistance to offset the transportation cost to an out-of-district public school. Since 2001, Step Up has awarded more than 680,000 scholarships.

Step Up also helps administer state-funded Gardiner Scholarship for Florida students with certain special needs. With the Gardiner Scholarship, recipients may use the funds for a variety of approved services including private tutoring, occupational therapy, instructional materials and other services.

For more information, visit: www.StepUpForStudents.org.

# # #

Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/592fc57d-01bd-40f5-a793-0f01dfeef94b

Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/0b0567da-2eb2-4082-a1fe-f7978383bd1d
First UofL Dental Students Begin at Clinic at WKCTC
TORONTO, Feb. 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nutritional High International Inc. (the "Company" or "Nutritional High") (CSE:EAT) (OTCQB:SPLIF) (FRANKFURT:2NU) is pleased to comment on the Canadian Securities Administrators (the CSA) Staff Notice 51-352 (Revised)  Issuers with United States Marijuana-Related Activities.



The CSA has published updated guidance which sets out the disclosure expectations for specific risks facing issuers with marijuana-related activities in the U.S. The revised notice includes additional disclosure expectations that apply to all issuers with U.S. marijuana-related activities and reiterates the CSAs position that a disclosure-based approach remains appropriate in the current circumstances. The revised notice also reinforces the rights of individual stock exchanges to determine the eligibility of individual issuers to list based on those exchanges' listing requirements. The Canadian Securities Exchange has repeatedly expressed support for issuers with U.S. cannabis assets.

Jim Frazier, CEO of Nutritional High, commented  We view this development positively as it provides added clarity regarding our ability to continue to access public capital markets and provide liquidity and an attractive value proposition to our shareholders. Nutritional High is committed to operating with transparency and we maintain the view that the U.S. federal government does not intend to interfere with cannabis operators who adopt that approach.

About Nutritional High International Inc.

Nutritional High is focused on developing, manufacturing and distributing premium and consistently dosed products in the legal cannabis-infused products industry, including edibles and oil extracts for nutritional, medical and adult recreational use. The Company works exclusively through licensed facilities in jurisdictions where such activity is permitted and regulated by state law.

For updates on the Company's activities and highlights of the Company's press releases and other media coverage, please follow Nutritional High on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Google+ or visit www.nutritionalhigh.com.

For further information, please contact:

David Posner, Chairman of the Board

Nutritional High International Inc.

647-985-6727

Email: dposner@nutritionalhigh.com

NEITHER THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE NOR OTC MARKETS GROUP INC., NOR THEIR REGULATIONS SERVICES PROVIDERS HAVE REVIEWED OR ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

This news release may contain forward-looking statements and information based on current expectations. These statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those implied by such statements. Such statements include submission of the relevant documentation within the required timeframe and to the satisfaction of the relevant regulators, completing the acquisition of the applicable real estate and raising sufficient financing to complete the Company's business strategy. There is no certainty that any of these events will occur. Although such statements are based on management's reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurance that such assumptions will prove to be correct. We assume no responsibility to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances.

Company's securities have not been registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or applicable state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold to, or for the account or benefit of, persons in the United States or "U.S. Persons", as such term is defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act, absent registration or an applicable exemption from such registration requirements. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in the United States or any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

Additionally, there are known and unknown risk factors which could cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information contained herein. All forward-looking information herein is qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement, and the Company disclaims any obligation to revise or update any such forward-looking information or to publicly announce the result of any revisions to any of the forward-looking information contained herein to reflect future results, events or developments, except as required by law.
THIS SEASON'S DEATH TOLL DUE TO FLU CONTINUES TO GROW

140 FLU DEATHS SO FAR THIS SEASON IN NORTH CAROLINA

Flu deaths in North Carolina have reached 140, with 34 of those from the most recent week, according to state statistics released Thursday.

According to a report this week in the Charlotte Observer, the total number of deaths so far this season is more than than five times the 25 flu-related deaths for a similar period last year.

Many hospitals, including those of the newly named Atrium Health (Carolinas HealthCare System) and Novant Healths Presbyterian Medical Center have restricted visits to patients by children under 12.

A new website and mobile app that tracks reports from doctors has ranked the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia area as a top flu hot spot, with the metro region ranked behind only the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington area.

A total 218 N.C. residents died from the flu last season, which stretched from October 2016 to May 2017. Most deaths occurred in February, March and April.

Nationwide, last seasons flu activity peaked in mid-March, according to the Centers for Disease Control. That was one of the later peaks on record. The flu season most commonly peaks between December and February, according to the CDC.

Around this time last year, about 5 percent of Atrium Health patients were seen for influenza-like illness, according to the health system. This season, that number was about 9 percent through last week.

Last year, Atrium saw a spike in cases later in the flu season around late February and early March. This year, there are more cases earlier.

Since there are still several weeks left in flu season, anyone over 6 months of age who has not yet gotten a flu shot can do so. The only exclusions are for people who have documented severe reactions to prior vaccinations. It takes about two weeks after getting the shot for your body to build up immunity to the flu.

The nasal spray should not be used during the 2017-18 flu season, according to health experts.

People should continue to take precautions to prevent spreading germs, including washing their hands and covering coughs and sneezes.

If employees dont feel well, they should stay at home and not go to work.
Finnish English

Stock Exchange Release

Ahtium Plc

9 February 2018

Changes in the timing of Ahtium's financial reporting





Ahtium Plc ("Company") will publish its 2017 Financial Statements Release later than previously indicated. The Company's Financial Statements Release for the period ending 31 December 2017 will be published on 28 February 2018. The change does not impact the previously announced timetable for the publication of the Review by the Board of Directors and the Financial Statements for 2017 as well as the 2017 Corporate Governance Statement (during the week starting 12 March 2018).

Enquiries

Ahtium Plc Tel +358 20 7129 800

Pekka Pera, CEO

Pekka Erkinheimo, Deputy CEO

Attachments:

http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4a11a23d-7c18-41cc-a0b0-36438392ab0d
SEATTLE, Feb. 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CFN Media Group ("CannabisFN"), the leading creative agency and media network dedicated to legal cannabis, announces publication of an article discussing Luminor Medical Technologies Inc. (CSE:LMT), soon to be called RISE Life Science Corp., and its plans to capitalize on Californias burgeoning cannabis industry with a focus on medical grade standardized products, already formulated and ready for market. These products will be sold to the medical consumer, as well as the adult health and wellness recreational consumer. The company believes it has desired products which will start to be sold in Q2 of this year in the California marketplace.



Californias Burgeoning Market

The U.S. cannabis industry is projected to reach $50 billion in size by 2026, according to Cowen & Co., driven by the legalization of medical and adult-use cannabis throughout the country. While several states have legalized the drug, its difficult to overstate the impact that California has had on the overall market. Many analysts expect the state to become the single largest legal cannabis market in the world following its decision to legalize adult-use cannabis last year.

There are a handful of publicly-traded companies involved in Californias cannabis industry, but most of them are focused on cultivation and remain in the early stages of development. These companies also face hurdles when it comes to regulatory and compliance issues. Of course, the best opportunities may be those with near-term commercialization opportunities since theyre better equipped to capture market share before the market becomes crowded.

Anton Mattadeen, CEO of Luminor Technologies and co-founder of RISE Life Science, stated, "California represents the largest market expression of the cannabis industry in the world. And its a dynamic environment filled with efforts on all sides to build an access culture that works. Even the way the regulatory conditions have evolved has enabled creative ideas to thrive and take hold when they make sense. With our focus on creating products designed to connect to the mainstream consumer we view California as the perfect environment for us to introduce ourselves, generate real revenue in the short term, and enter the global marketplace."

Near-term Commercialization

On February 5, Luminor Medical completed the acquisition of RISE Research Inc., which develops cutting-edge hemp and cannabis consumer products for the medical and adult-use markets. These products are largely focused on adult sexual health and wellness markets. The newly created company is rebranding under the name RISE Life Science.

On January 30, RISE announced a strategic partnership with Constance Therapeutics, a San Francisco-based developer and manufacturer of premium medical cannabis products for physician and patient use in California. Under the deal, RISE Life Science will build and manage a retail sales and distribution channel that management anticipates will go into production as early as the second quarter of this year.

Through our relationship with Constance Therapeutics we are building a collection of brands designed for the new cannabis consumer; able to meet the needs of traditional cannabis customers, while also appealing to 100% of the adult consumer market. By creating products able to target the wider mainstream marketplace, we are positioning the company for early revenue opportunities and sustained long term growth, said Mr. Mattadeen.

The company plans on addressing both the medical and adult-use markets, but it only plans on selling THC-based products under license to third parties in the United States until federal laws are changed. As a result, the primary manufacturing and marketing focus will be on cannabidiol (CBD) products derived from the highest quality hemp thats certified as U.S. Farm Bill Compliant, enabling the company to stay completely aligned with U.S. federal laws.

Looking Ahead

Luminor Medical Technologies Inc. (CSE:LMT) represents a compelling investment opportunity in Californias burgeoning cannabis industry. With near-term commercialization plans and a focus on the broader medical market (not just medical marijuana patients), the company enables investors to reap the rewards of the market early on without the regulatory risk of pursuing adult-use cannabis markets directly.

Please follow the link to read the full article: http://www.cannabisfn.com/luminor-medical-rise-life-science-targets-burgeoning-california-cannabis-industry/

For more information, email or call the RISE Life Science investor relations contact, Mark Komonoski. (403) 255-8483 or (877) 255-8483; mark@komonoski.com

About CFN Media

CFN Media (CannabisFN) is the leading creative agency and media network dedicated to legal cannabis. We help marijuana businesses attract investors, customers (B2B, B2C), capital, and media visibility. Private and public marijuana companies and brands in the US and Canada rely on CFN Media to grow and succeed.

Learn how to become a CFN Media client company, brand or entrepreneur: http://www.cannabisfn.com/featuredcompany

Download the CFN Media iOS mobile app to access the world of cannabis from the palm of your hand: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cannabisfn/id988009247?ls=1&mt=8

Or visit our homepage and enter your mobile number under the Apple App Store logo to receive a download link text on your iPhone: http://www.cannabisfn.com

Disclaimer

CannabisFN.com is not an independent financial investment advisor or broker-dealer. You should always consult with your own independent legal, tax, and/or investment professionals before making any investment decisions. The information provided on http://www.cannabisfn.com (the Site) is either original financial news or paid advertisements drafted by our in-house team or provided by an affiliate. CannabisFN.com, a financial news media and marketing firm enters into media buys or service agreements with the companies that are the subject of the articles posted on the Site or other editorials for advertising such companies. We are not an independent news media provider. We make no warranty or representation about the information including its completeness, accuracy, truthfulness or reliability and we disclaim, expressly and implicitly, all warranties of any kind, including whether the Information is complete, accurate, truthful, or reliable. As such, your use of the information is at your own risk. Nor do we undertake any obligation to update the items posted. CannabisFN.com received compensation for producing and presenting high quality and sophisticated content on CannabisFN.com along with financial and corporate news.

The above article is sponsored content. Emerging Growth LLC, which owns CannabisFN.com and CFN Media, has been hired to create awareness. Please follow the link below to view our full disclosure outlining our compensation: http://www.cannabisfn.com/legal-disclaimer/

Contact

CFN Media

Frank Lane

206-369-7050

flane@cannabisfn.com
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: Man Group Plc (b) Owner or controller of interests and short positions disclosed, if different from 1(a):



N/A (c) Name of offeror/offeree in relation to whose relevant securities this form relates:



GKN plc (d) If an exempt fund manager connected with an offeror/offeree, state this and specify identity of offeror/offeree: N/A (e) Date position held/dealing undertaken:



08th 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?



YES / NO / N/A

If YES, specify which:

Melrose Industries plc

2. POSITIONS OF THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE

(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:



10p ordinary



Interests Short positions Number % Number % (1) Relevant securities owned and/or controlled: 2,210,633



0.1287 0 0 (2) Cash-settled derivatives:



7,903,357



0.4601 337,744



0.0197 (3) Stock-settled derivatives (including options) and agreements to purchase/sell: 0 0 0 0



TOTAL: 10,113,990 0.5888



337,744



0.0197

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

(GBP) 10p ordinary CFD Increasing a short position 3,464 4.0766 10p ordinary CFD Reducing a short position 1,300 4.1006

(c) Stock-settled derivative transactions (including options)

(i) Writing, selling, purchasing or varying

Class of relevant security Product description e.g. call option Writing, purchasing, selling, varying etc. Number of securities to which option relates Exercise price per unit Type

e.g. American, European etc. Expiry date Option money paid/ received per unit

(ii) Exercise

Class of relevant security Product description

e.g. call option Exercising/ exercised against Number of securities Exercise price per unit





(d) Other dealings (including subscribing for new securities)

Class of relevant security Nature of dealing

e.g. subscription, conversion Details Price per unit (if applicable)

4. OTHER INFORMATION

(a) Indemnity and other dealing arrangements

Details of any indemnity or option arrangement, or any agreement or understanding, formal or informal, relating to relevant securities which may be an inducement to deal or refrain from dealing entered into by the person making the disclosure and any party to the offer or any person acting in concert with a party to the offer:

Irrevocable commitments and letters of intent should not be included. If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings, state "none"



None





(b) Agreements, arrangements or understandings relating to options or derivatives

Details of any agreement, arrangement or understanding, formal or informal, between the person making the disclosure and any other person relating to:

(i) the voting rights of any relevant securities under any option; or

(ii) the voting rights or future acquisition or disposal of any relevant securities to which any derivative is referenced:

If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings, state "none"



None





(c) Attachments

Is a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions) attached? YES/ NO





Date of disclosure: 09th February 2018 Contact name: Matthew Irwin



Telephone number: 02071447255

Public disclosures under Rule 8 of the Code must be made to a Regulatory Information Service and must also be emailed to the Takeover Panel at monitoring@disclosure.org.uk. The Panel's Market Surveillance Unit is available for consultation in relation to the Code's disclosure requirements on +44 (0)20 7638 0129.

The Code can be viewed on the Panel's website at www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk.
Multiple wide intervals of high grade mineralization from hole KMDD0049



Drillhole intersections are above the current working levels

Drilling ongoing

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- K92 Mining Inc. (K92) (TSX-V:KNT) (OTCQB:KNTNF) has intersected multiple intervals of high grades of gold in drill hole KMDD0049, which is a drill hole on the most southerly line being drilled from diamond drill cuddy 2 (DDC2) orientated 25o upwards, above the current working level.

Included within the results is the highest grade and best intersection K92 has achieved from Kora vein K2, being 6.8 m (4.75 true width) @ 56.45 g/t AuEq along continuing high grades in Kora vein K1, being 5.6m (3.27 true width) @ 41.71 g/t AuEq. Additional to these wide intervals of high grade, an intersection into a cross cutting link structure designated Kora KL2 returned an assay of 2.8m (1.96 true width) @ 13.33 g/t AuEq. K92 believes that the presence and results related to this second link structure potentially indicates that the current high grade being encountered in Kora K1 continues further to the south.

K92 Chief Executive Officer John Lewins states, In the same week as K92 has declared the achievement of commercial production, it is extremely pleasing to report results from possibly the best hole we have drilled to date in Kora North. This and other results from the mining, development and drilling at Kora North over the last month have been outstanding and continue to build our knowledge of the deposit and its potential. We continue to see remarkable consistency, intercepting mineralization in almost every single hole drilled from the first two underground drill cuddies and look forward to continuing our drilling program aimed at defining the potential of the Kora Deposit.

Tables 1 and 2 below provide a summary of the results from the latest diamond grade control drill hole drilled into the Kora North Vein system. Table 1 provides a summary of the significant intercepts from the hole, while Table 2 provides details of collar location and hole orientation.

Table 1.0 Kainantu Gold Mine  Significant Intercepts from Kora Underground Diamond Drilling

Hole_id From (m) To (m) Interval (m) True width (m) Gold g/t Silver g/t Copper % Gold equivalent Comment KMDD0049 40.55 44 3.45 2.02 1.37 3.00 0 2.04 K1E including 40.55 40.8 0.25 0.15 4.13 6.00 0 4.71 including 41.45 42.35 0.90 0.53 2.43 4.00 1 3.40 including 43.6 44 0.40 0.23 2.06 4.00 1 3.38 KMDD0049 44.5 50.1 5.6 3.27 40.81 16 0.46 41.71 K1W including 44.5 45.78 1.28 0.75 25.01 4 0.24 25.43 including 45.78 46.5 0.72 0.42 1.41 16 0.97 3.09 including 46.5 47.3 0.8 0.47 22.58 8 0.16 22.93 including 47.3 48.45 1.15 0.67 152.70 46 0.40 153.90 including 48.45 50.1 1.65 0.96 1.13 7 0.58 2.11 KMDD0049 76.7 79.5 2.8 1.96 7.86 34 3.29 13.33 KL2 including 77.2 78.1 0.9 0.63 22.21 85 9.64 38.03 including 78.1 79.5 1.4 0.98 1.14 11 0.35 1.82 KMDD0049 91.9 98.7 6.8 4.75 53.34 106 1.16 56.45 K2 including 91.9 92.2 0.3 0.21 1.22 22 0.53 2.32 including 92.2 93.4 1.2 0.84 0.57 17 0.22 1.13 including 93.4 94.5 1.1 0.77 7.84 29 0.34 8.74 including 94.5 95.5 1 0.70 7.07 33 0.14 7.71 including 95.5 96.9 1.4 0.98 159.40 400 3.94 170.50 including 96.9 98 1.1 0.77 81.31 53 1.20 83.81 including 98 98.7 0.7 0.49 47.65 12 0.15 48.04

Notes

Gold Equivalent uses Copper price  US$2.90/lb; Silver price US$16.5/oz and Gold price of US$1300/oz

Table 2.0 Kainantu Gold Mine  Collar Locations for Kora Underground Diamond Drilling

Hole_id Collar location Collar orientation EOH depth (m) Lode Local north Local East mRL Dip Local azimuth KMDD0049 59361.95 29897.80 1206.41 -6.4 281.7 85.5 Kora

K92 Mine Geology Manager and Mine Exploration Manager, Mr. Andrew Kohler, PGeo, a qualified person under the meaning of Canadian National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and is responsible for the technical content of this news release. Data verification by Mr. Kohler includes significant time onsite reviewing drill core, face sampling, underground workings and discussing work programs and results with geology and mining personnel.



On behalf of the company,



John Lewins, Chief Executive Officer and Director

Suite 488  1090 West Georgia Street

Vancouver, British Columbia

Canada V6E 3V7

Telephone: (604) 687-7130

Facsimile: (604) 608-9110

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION: This news release includes certain forward-looking statements under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All statements that address future plans, activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur are forward-looking information, including statements regarding the realization of the preliminary economic analysis for the Project, expectations of future cash flows, the proposed plant expansion, potential expansion of resources and the generation of further drilling results which may or may not occur. Forward-looking statements and information contained herein are based on certain factors and assumptions regarding, among other things, the market price of the Companys securities, metal prices, exchange rates, taxation, the estimation, timing and amount of future exploration and development, capital and operating costs, the availability of financing, the receipt of regulatory approvals, environmental risks, title disputes, failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated, accidents, labour disputes, claims and limitations on insurance coverage and other risks of the mining industry, changes in national and local government regulation of mining operations, and regulations and other matters.. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
EAST SETAUKET, NY, Feb. 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lixte Biotechnology Holdings, Inc. (OTCQB: LIXT) noted that investigators at the Terry Fox Laboratory, British Columbia Cancer Agency, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, reported on February 7, 2018 (Lai et al., Sci. Transl. Med.10, eaan8735 (2018)) that in animal models Lixtes protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) inhibitors overcome resistance of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) cells to standard treatment.



Dr. John S. Kovach, CEO of Lixte, said "The vast majority of CML cells are killed by drugs called tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI), the prototype of which is imatinib (Gleevec), considered the first truly targeted form of chemotherapy. Imatinib and subsequent variants were a great advance in turning CML from a fatal to a controllable illness. Almost without exception, however, from the onset of the disease some CML cells are resistant to TKI treatment so that continuous therapy is required and in some patients the number of TKI resistant cells accelerates out of control. The persistence and progression of CML despite TKI treatment is believed to arise from a niche of intrinsically resistant leukemia stem cells. The Terry Fox investigators found inhibition of PP2A with LB-100 or LB-102 preferentially sensitizes these resistant CML cells to killing by TKI compared to normal bone marrow stem cells. If these results can be replicated in the clinic, LB-100 and analogs may further improve the effectiveness of CML therapy.

About Lixte Biotechnology Holdings, Inc.

Lixte is a biotech company that identifies enzyme targets associated with serious common diseases and then designs novel compounds to attack those targets. Lixte's product pipeline encompasses two major categories of compounds at various stages of pre-clinical and clinical development that the Company believes have broad therapeutic potential not only for cancer but also for other debilitating and life-threatening diseases.

Forward-Looking Statements

This announcement contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. For example, statements regarding the Company's financial position, business strategy and other plans and objectives for future operations, and assumptions and predictions about future product demand, supply, manufacturing, costs, marketing and pricing factors are all forward-looking statements. These statements are generally accompanied by words such as "intend," anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "potential(ly)," "continue," "forecast," "predict," "plan," "may," "will," "could," "would," "should," "expect" or the negative of such terms or other comparable terminology. The Company believes that the assumptions and expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, based on information available to it on the date hereof, but the Company cannot provide assurances that these assumptions and expectations will prove to have been correct or that the Company will take any action that the Company may presently be planning. However, these forward-looking statements are inherently subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Actual results or experience may differ materially from those expected or anticipated in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, regulatory policies, available cash, research results, competition from other similar businesses, and market and general economic factors. This discussion should be read in conjunction with the Company's filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission at http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml.

Additional information on the Company is available at www.lixte.com.
CARY, N.C., Feb. 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Chiesi USA, Inc. (key-A-zee) announced today the company was recognized as a Top Employer in the United States for the third year running. The award is certified by the Top Employers Institute, an Amsterdam-based organization that has been measuring and identifying top employment practices worldwide for more than 25 years.



We strongly believe the only way to do great work is to provide a sound workplace for the people who deliver on our promise to flourish, said Ken McBean, Chiesi USA President and Chief Executive Officer. Its an honor to be recognized for the exceptional professionalism, business and care we strive to achieve on a daily basis.

Top Employer certification is a comprehensive assessment of 600 HR practices. This includes an analysis of each companys talent strategy, executive management, workforce planning, on-boarding and development, as well as employee career and succession management, compensation and benefits, and overall corporate culture. Results of the assessment are independently audited and verified, and a company must re-apply for Top Employer status each year.

"Chiesi USA has demonstrated its leadership status in the HR environment. The company has optimized its employment practices and provides exceptional employee conditions by nurturing and developing talent throughout all levels of the organization," the Institute said in a statement.

Chiesi was recognized, along with other Top Employers in North America and Latin America, at an awards ceremony and dinner held in Miami, Florida on February 8, 2018.

About Chiesi USA

Chiesi USA, Inc., headquartered in Cary, N.C., is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on commercialization of products for the hospital, rare disease and target office-based specialties. Key elements of the company's strategy are to focus its commercial and development efforts in the hospital and adjacent specialty product sector within the U.S. pharmaceutical marketplace; continue to seek opportunities to acquire companies, marketed or registration-stage products and late-stage development products that fit within the Company's focus areas. Chiesi USA, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A. For more information, visit www.chiesiusa.com.

About the Top Employers Institute

To learn more about the Top Employers Institute and the Top Employers Certification, visit www.top-employers.com.

Contacts

Media: FleishmanHillard, Elizabeth Romero, +1-919-457-0749 or +1-919-461-7648, elizabeth.romero@fleishman.com

Business Development: Josh Franklin, +1-919-678-6520, josh.franklin@chiesi.com

PP-G-0175 V1.0
NEW YORK, Feb. 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Seatrade Cruise Global, the leading annual global business-to-business event for the cruise industry, has partnered with LAB Miami Ventures for the 2018 Future of Travel Summit startup competition. The winning company, selected by a panel of travel industry experts on Monday, February 12, will receive an invitation to take the stage of the Cruising Innovations Theater at Seatrade Cruise Global this March, sharing their story with a whos who of the cruise world.



South Florida is the center of the cruise universe and Seatrade Cruise Global is delighted to connect the industrys decision-makers from around the world with the brightest minds and most inspiring technology companies, describes Chiara Giorgi, Brand Director for Seatrade Cruise Global. At its core Seatrade Cruise Global is about facilitating lasting connections in the cruise industry and we look forward to building on this relationship with LAB Miami Ventures for years to come.

Organizing the first-ever event of its kind in Miami, LAB Ventures Future of Travel Summit will bring together start-ups developing disruptive technologies, angel investors, and established global travel brands. Technology is an integral part of today's travel experience and LAB Ventures has created a complete program that combines pitch sessions from the regions most interesting and disruptive start-ups, compelling panel discussions and keynote speeches addressing the ever-accelerating tech trends in travel. Those interested can visit the website for a full schedule of the days events and register today.

The 2018 edition of Seatrade Cruise Global marks the third year at the Greater Fort Lauderdale Broward County Convention Center taking place 5-8 March. The full conference program is available at www.seatradecruiseglobal.com and will once again provide a platform to discuss topics and issues in cruising led by top executives, industry experts and thought-leaders.

Setting the course of the cruise industrys premier annual event, the keynote State of the Global Cruise Industry panel, sponsored by Hong Kong Tourism Board, will feature four key executives from the worlds leading cruise lines including: Frank Del Rio, President & CEO, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd; Arnold Donald, President & CEO, Carnival Corporation; Richard Fain, Chairman & CEO, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd; Pierfrancesco Vago, Executive Chairman, MSC Cruises. A bonus panel with two new leaders, Virgin Voyages President and CEO Tom McAlpin and The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection Managing Director Douglas Prothero called Innovation, Disruption and Setting the Course for the Future will immediately follow the State of the Global Cruise Industry.

Highlights of the 2018 program include an Innovation Case Study series in the new Cruising Innovations Theater, regional spotlights and the second annual Seatrade Cruise Global Safety and Security Symposium. Over 25 panels are scheduled over four days delivering the most wide-ranging program to date.

Seatrade Cruise Global press registration is open to journalists intending to report on the conventions exhibition and conference sessions. Journalists are asked to fill out the registration form and convention organizers will issue a complimentary pass once their credentials have been verified and approved.

About Seatrade Cruise Global

Seatrade Cruise Global 2018 is taking place 5-8 March 2018 at the Greater Fort Lauderdale Broward County Convention Center. The exhibition is the leading annual global business-to-business event for the cruise industry. Bringing together buyers and suppliers for a four-day conference and three-day exhibition, the gathering draws more than 11,000 registered attendees, over 700 exhibiting companies from 113 countries and more than 300 international journalists to become the cruise industrys epicenter of ideas, products and services. A whos who of the industry participate in a comprehensive panel of discussions featuring experts, leaders and thought-makers including the State of the Global Cruise Industry Keynote with the chief executives of the worlds largest cruise companies. Call +1-212-600-3260 or visit http://www.seatradecruiseglobal.com for more information.
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Following a dispute with KPMG Bergen on commercial matters, Oeanteam ASA (OSE trading symbol: "OTS"; hereinafter "Oceanteam" or the "Company") has suspended the services of its auditor KPMG Bergen followed by a disputed withdrawal of KPMG Bergen as auditor of the Company. Shortly after the Company released the announcement that it received a notice (the "Notice") from the Norwegian Register of Business Enterprises that the Company was requested to appoint and register a new auditor within four weeks as from 20 January 2018.

So far, various attempts of the management to restore the relationship with KPMG Bergen have not been successful and to date the Company has been unable to engage a replacement auditor. Due to the unbalanced, incorrect and biased reporting in the press surrounding the Company, incited by a small number of individuals; namely a consultant and two former employees of the Company and based on several discussions with potential auditing firms, the board of directors and management do not consider it possible to appoint an auditor for the Company within the deadline imposed by the Norwegian Register of Business Enterprises, which may result in a compulsory liquidation of the Company.

Further, it is the opinion of the board of directors and management that in case of a liquidation of the Company this liquidation will entail significant unnecessary value destruction for its shareholders, creditors, bondholders, employees and other stakeholders, as it is highly unlikely that a forced liquidation of the Company conducted by the court, will yield proceeds that are sufficient to cover all of its outstanding debt.

To avoid this undue situation and ensure the preservation of the value of the Company, the board of directors has resolved to carry out a merger of the Company with its wholly owned Dutch subsidiary - Oceanteam II BV.

This merger would be conducted as a cross boarder merger with Oceanteam II BV as the surviving entity in the merger, and hence a re-domiciliation of the Company to the Netherlands. The Dutch auditor acting for Oceanteam II BV would then become the auditor for the entire group whilst effectuating consolidation of the group and considerable cost savings, and at the same time, safeguarding and ensuring the Company's future for potential growth and success.

If concluded by the board, the merger proposal will be put to vote for the shareholders at an extraordinary general meeting as soon as practicably possible.

The merger will be carried out in such a way that the shareholders of Oceanteam ASA receive shares in Oceanteam II BV (to be converted to an NV, similar to a Norwegian public limited liability company (ASA) on a one-for-one share basis, i.e. that the ownership structure of the merged company will be the same as is the case for Oceanteam ASA.

The merged company will have a corporate governance structure suitable for a Dutch NV with due consideration of the interest of minority shareholders and all other stakeholders. However, the Company anticipates that the merger will be associated with a de-listing from the Oslo Stock Exchange, as the merged company is not expected to be able to satisfy the listing requirements going forward. The board will, however, evaluate whether an alternative listing can be sought in the Netherlands.







About Oceanteam ASA



The Company is comprised of two operating segments, Oceanteam Shipping and Oceanteam Solutions. Oceanteam Shipping owns, charters and manages deep-water offshore support vessels and fast support vessels. Oceanteam Solutions' focus is to provide its clients with complete offshore solutions. Oceanteam ASA has been active in the industry as an offshore solutions provider for over twelve years.

For more information: www.oceanteam.no

For further information about Oceanteam ASA please contact:

CEO Haico Halbesma: +31 20 53 57 570, haico@oceanteam.no CFO Jos van Dijk: +31 20 53 57 570, jos@oceanteam.nl



This information is subject of the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.
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Washington, DC, Feb. 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The American College of Rheumatology praises Congressional leaders for passing todays sweeping spending agreement, which includes a technical provision reversing a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) policy that would have linked physicians quality payment adjustments to Medicare Part B drug costs starting in 2019. The ACR also applauded the inclusion of provisions that permanently repeal Medicare caps on outpatient therapies and other rehabilitation services, repeal the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), and eliminate the Medicare Part D donut hole.

The healthcare provisions included in todays spending agreement are a huge victory for the more than 54 million Americans living with rheumatic diseases, many of whom rely on biologic therapies and vital rehabilitation services to manage their disease, said ACR President David Daikh, MD, PhD. We thank Congressional leaders for coming together swiftly and in a bipartisan fashion to ensure that Americans living with diseases like rheumatoid arthritis can access the infusion therapies and rehabilitation services that help them avoid disability and maintain quality of life. This victory would not have been possible without the efforts of the many rheumatologists and rheumatology health professionals throughout the nation who voiced their concerns to lawmakers and brought attention to these incredibly important issues.

The Part B technical correction in the spending bill comes after the ACR and more than 100 other healthcare groups urged Congressional leaders to step in and reverse course on a CMS policy that would have created extreme financial volatility for specialists who administer Part B drugs and made it more difficult for patients  particularly those living in rural and underserved areas of the country  to access physician-administered infusion therapies.

According to an analysis from Avalere Health, certain specialists who administer Part B drugs  including rheumatologists, oncologists and ophthalmologists  would have seen payment cuts as high as 29 percent under the CMS policy to factor Part B drugs in MIPS payment calculations, compromising the ability of some providers to continue administering complex infusion therapies in the office setting.

The current Part B drug payment structure already makes it difficult for providers  particularly small practices and those operating in rural areas  to shoulder the financial burden of procuring and administering Part B drugs. Infusion therapies covered by the Part B program are often expensive, with few or no generic alternatives, and providers have been subjected to repeated Part B reimbursement cuts over the past decade.

The Part B technical fix is an important course correction that will hopefully lead to productive discussions about how to realistically address the issues of care access and high drug costs, said Daikh.

In January, an arbitrary cap was placed on Medicare outpatient therapies and other rehabilitation services 20 years after being approved in the Balanced Budget Act. Congress temporarily prevented the implementation of the caps 16 times before they began limiting access to services on January 1, 2018. A permanent repeal of these caps ends a long battle to allow Medicare patients access to the care they need based on individual circumstances.

Rheumatologists also celebrate the repeal of IPAB, the 15-member appointed board whose recommendations came with a statutorily-mandated fast track legislative procedure that would automatically transform IPAB proposals into law. Such recommendations had the power to impose provider cuts that could disproportionately impact small and rural practices. The ACR is relieved that such policies in the future will undergo the detailed review and deliberation of the regular legislative process.

Since 2006, eligible Medicare beneficiaries have had the option of purchasing a prescription drug benefit plan to cover medications. After meeting their deductible (which is a maximum of $400 for 2017), beneficiaries will only be responsible for 25% of the original cost of prescription drugs on their plans formulary. However, until changes were made in 2011, patients whose plans spent more than $3,700 found themselves in the coverage gap or donut hole, where they would be responsible for the full cost of their drugs until they reached an out-of-pocket threshold, which is $4,950 in 2017. After reaching the threshold, patients only paid 5% of their drug costs. The closing of this gap allows patients to access necessary medications and supports ACR's goal of access to care and our patients ability to adhere to carefully determined treatment plans.

We applaud Congress for acting to protect patient access to vital therapies and services, and we look forward to working with the Administration and Congressional leaders to ensure patients living with rheumatoid arthritis and other rheumatologic conditions continue to receive innovative, medically necessary and life-sustaining care, concluded Daikh.

# # #

About the American College of Rheumatology

The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) is the nations leading advocacy organization for the rheumatology care community, representing more than 6,400 U.S. rheumatologists and rheumatology health professionals. As an ethically driven, professional membership organization committed to improving healthcare for Americans living with rheumatic diseases, the ACR advocates for high-quality, high-value policies and reforms that will ensure safe, effective, affordable and accessible rheumatology care.

Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d8eb996f-db9c-4f86-9804-235c76c9ade8
Hope is well and good but effective policy reforms will save the day

Ramaphosas rise has sparked optimism, but work must be done to tackle inequality and grow the economy.

South African politics is never dull, but 2017 and the lead-up to the ANC conference in December was particularly complex. While 2018 looks set to be no different at some level (note, for example, the intrigue over the recall of President Jacob Zuma), it is important to recognise that there has been a qualitative shift in our political mood and economic outlook.

In a matter of a few weeks Cyril Ramaphosa has shifted the focus from despair to hope  perhaps not yet optimism, but hope at the very least. His actions on a number of fronts  Eskom, the Hawks, the messaging at the World Economic Forum  have created a level of hope and some confidence that we can handle challenges that seemed intractable just a few weeks ago.

While hope and confidence are welcome, it is also important not to see Ramaphosa as the messiah who can solve all our problems. The reality is that while a lot can be tackled in the short term, our challenges require a long-term structural shift in the way the economy operates.

We are still a country of glaring inequality, among the worst in the world. We still have too few people earning too much money and far too many people living in poverty. We also have too few people in stable, secure employment and too many people desperately seeking any work that will put food on the table. And far too many people who have completely given up all hope of finding employment.

We still have too few pupils at schools that offer the highest quality education and far too many crammed into overcrowded classrooms with too few teachers and not enough resources. We have too few people being treated (or over-treated) by a high-cost, private medical system while most people rely on an underfunded and underresourced public healthcare system.

These are all long-term tasks that cannot, of course, be tackled in a few months. But dealing with some short-term challenges will create the space and framework for managing the long-term inequality challenges.

From an economic perspective Ramaphosa should focus on these areas:

Public finance policy. Corruption, poor governance and policy neglect have meant we are going to have to find big pots of money for education, energy, water and healthcare, to name a few. We need to think about where that money is going to come from; what tools we have and what tools we need to build to generate this revenue. Getting a better handle on tax policy (the Davis tax committee has already done excellent work in this regard), tackling the challenges at the South African Revenue Service (SARS) and more effective management of government expenditure are absolute priorities.

We cannot afford to have so much of our public funds spent on policy that is made on a whim, as was the case when Zuma announced his plans for higher education. The policy of free higher education for low-income students is correct, but how is it possible that this could be announced without a clear idea of how it would be funded? We also cannot afford to have the key institution that raises government revenue, SARS, in constant crisis. A revenue collection authority that loses its credibility will impede our ability to deal with the inequality challenge. Our economy is stuck in a low-growth trap, with the benefits of growth accruing disproportionately to the wealthy. Policies such as a national minimum wage, introduced in a responsible manner, have the potential to change this pattern of growth. We need more action of this kind. Changing the pattern of ownership to curb dominance by very large companies is another way to handle this problem.

Energy. If we are looking for an upturn in investment and international confidence in SA, the business community needs to be ready to grow: this applies to already established businesses as well as the small business and entrepreneurial sector.

If we are reaching the point where we are ready to look at beneficiation and the development of downstream industries, we must make sure we have the capacity to enable this. Our energy demands will increase and we absolutely cannot afford to go back to the 2008 crisis of blackouts and inadequate capacity. Hopefully the nuclear debate is finally off the table and we can now look at a suite of energy sources focused on the renewables sector.

Part of tackling the inequality crisis in our country must be tackling the inequalities in social services, health, education and the like. For the first 25 years of our democracy policy has focused mainly on access. We need to shift the focus to handle the challenges of inequality and at the same time tackle the poor quality of social service delivery.

The progressive business community has been growing stronger over the years. This community has recognised the damage high wage inequality does. The levels of executive salaries in many parts of business are not only immoral but also unsustainable. Changing this practice is relatively easy.

Other social partners also need to demonstrate their willingness to think about the long-term sustainability of the economy so we can reach consensus and achieve a long-term perspective to tackle inequality.

The decisive manner in which the Eskom challenge has been dealt with has been refreshing. Many other state-owned enterprises (SOEs) have been lurching from one disaster to the next. We need clear policy on every SOE.

It is more of a long-term issue, but the so-called fourth industrial revolution is already having an effect on our economy, establishing our options and determining the way forward. A lot of the narrative on the fourth industrial revolution is being shaped by a view that we can do nothing to stem its impact. That is a very naive view of the world. We may not be able to stop the technological revolution but we have a lot of power over shaping how it affects us, and how we can fully realise the benefits and manage the costs. We need clear thinking and a clear strategy on this issue.

Over the next five-year period it is incumbent on all of us to ensure whatever policy decisions are made are aimed at pulling those at the very bottom up and, at the same time, ensuring those at the top do not get a disproportionate share of economic growth. We need to deliver high-quality, affordable services that open doors for the marginalised. Our strategic objective must always be to create an inclusive society.

The future of SA requires a comprehensive moral recalibration, which starts with outlining a society that strives to be more equitable.

Imraan Valodia is the Dean of the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management at Wits University. This article was originally published on https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/.
South Africa needs good water management, not new water laws

Experience around the world is that, more often than not, water laws arent the problem.

Because water is shared by everyone, there have to be some rules to govern the way it is used. But its a difficult resource and when things go wrong, the temptation is to blame the unpredictable water  or the rules.

In fact, the problem is usually neither the water nor the rules, but the people concerned.

When politicians in trouble say that the rules need to be changed, be wary. Experience around the world is that, more often than not, water laws arent the problem. Theyre simply not implemented. So proposals from South Africas minister of Water Affairs Nomvula Mokonyane to revise the two laws that underpin South Africas water security are worrying. South Africans need to ask whether the problems are with the laws or with her departments administration of them.

The two laws are the 1998 National Water Act and the 1997 Water Services Act. The Water Act sets out how South Africa should cope with the vagaries of the countrys climate and the demands of a growing population. It stipulates what different tiers of government and water users should do and what procedures should be used to address particular problems. The Water Services act regulates municipal water supply and sanitation services.

So what happens when there is no longer enough water to go around or to meet new needs? The current laws set out technical and administrative processes that need to be followed if theres no longer enough water to go around, or if there isnt enough to meet new needs. These allow water to be reallocated between existing users and those seeking water for the first time.

The law also gives priority to leaving enough water in rivers to sustain the environment and establishes procedures for doing that.

And the law instructs the minister to monitor and make public both the availability of water and the evolving uses of water. Where shortages loom, the law obliges her to establish a strategy to show how this will be dealt with.

Just because there is a law on the statute books doesnt mean that it will be implemented. As Cape Town has shown, a few years of good rainfall allowed people to believe that their water supply was adequate. And half of South Africas major metros would be at risk if there was a serious multi-year drought. Many water courses are polluted by poorly managed wastewater plants as well as unlicensed and unsupervised mining operations. In some places, poor farmers who want to irrigate their land cant get a licence because the water is all allocated.

History teaches us that this is a dangerous moment.

Civilisations have fallen

Great civilisations in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Rome, China and Central America were built on rigorously enforced water management rules.

In Mesopotamia, if a neighbours field was flooded because you did not maintain your canal, you replaced his crop or your household goods were sold. The Egyptians were less charitable; allowing dykes to deteriorate could be punished by death. Early Hindu law gave Indian kings the duty of monitoring public waters  and the right to execute by drowning anyone who broke a dam and caused water to be lost.

Chinese administrations ensured that water users maintained their infrastructure and only used water for authorised purposes. The Roman Water Commission used double entry bookkeeping, with one column for water sources and availability, another for water uses, including public purposes as well as private concessions. When those concessions ended, the water was returned to the commission for reallocation.

Many historians believe that failures of water administration were one cause of the collapse of a number of early civilisations. It should be a warning. But there shouldnt be impatience. It can take many years for new water laws to come into effect. Europe introduced its Water Framework Directive in 2000. We will only know in 2027 whether it has reached its initial objectives. Countries like Mexico introduced a succession of new laws over the past few decades, not allowing time to get one right before trying to introduce something new.

This is the larger problem facing South Africa. Rather than get on with the complicated and often thankless task of managing water resources and regulating water services, ministers have been finding excuses to avoid getting down to business.

Complicated business

Some parts of water law are difficult. It may seem simple to allocate water between competing users, but it requires a great deal of work to know how much water is available and how much water is currently being used, by whom. Only then can a decision be made as to whether new users can just take water from existing sources or whether existing uses need to be curtailed.

Similarly, water licences for mines and wastewater treatment plants must protect the quality of the rivers and streams which they may pollute. To set the conditions, officials must know how much water is flowing in the streams (the higher the flow, the more pollutants they can absorb without damage). They also need to know how much pollution is coming from other sources. Local communities must make choices about the balance between pristine water, economic activity and social needs.

Water management is about setting up organisations that can work with the resource and its users. The new institutions needed are provided for in existing legislation. Despite a great deal of talk, they have not yet been set up.

Even routine parts of the existing law have not been complied with. For example, the National Water Act requires the minister to deliver, a National Water Resource Strategy every five years. Its meant to set out how much water is available in the country and how much is being used. But this basic responsibility has not been complied with.

So rather than revise the water law, the priority must be to do the spade work of water management: collect and interpret the data, ensure that administrative systems work, and enforce the rules.

Until these basics are done, it is almost certainly premature to talk of revising the law  unless, that is, the intention is to distract from the failure to do the basic work in the first place.

This article was co-authored with Stefano Burchi and Advocate Robyn Stein, former visiting Professor at Wits University, Johannesburg. Burchi is Chairman of the International Association of Water Law and was previously chief of the UN FAOs Development Law Service. Stein is a member of the Water Law Committee of the International Bar Associations Natural Resources Section, the Environmental Law Association and is a Trustee of the Endangered Wildlife Trust and is currently a director of ENSAfrica.

Mike Muller, Visiting Adjunct Professor, University of the Witwatersrand. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
With the flu season nearing its peak in Kentucky, an emergency medicine physician is discussing common misconceptions about the flu.

Dr. Ryan Stanton says there are many common sayings related to the flu that are false, and he wants more people to be aware of the facts.

1. Temperature swings do not make us sick.

"Our internal temperatures, our core temperatures are going to be very well regulated between that 95 - 100 on any given basis. So our body maintains itself very well. The thing with the winter is that we're all so close together. And in shared spaces, [we] just trade things back and forth."

2. The flu shot will not give you the flu.

"The flu shot giving you the flu is impossible. It is absolutely impossible because it's a dead virus. All it's doing is tricking your body into thinking it had the flu, so thus producing the immunity response. Now what you feel, if you get some symptoms, is the immune response preparing to fight it off in the future."

3. Just because you are healthy doesn't mean you are less susceptible to getting the flu.

"I see those folks in the emergency room every day when they get the flu. And I've admitted many to the ICU, and I've seen many that have died from it. True. The highest risk is going to be the young children and the elderly, especially the elderly."

4. High fevers are a normal response when fighting the flu.

"A fever is part of the normal immune system. It's part of the normal immune response. And so when we say "treat a fever," really what we want you to do is to treat your child or yourself for comfort, not the number."
New York, Feb. 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CFA Society New York ("CFANY") and The Hong Kong Society of Financial Analysts Ltd. (HKFSA) announced a unique collaborative plan to bring CFANYs burgeoning Asset Owner Series to Hong Kong on July 11, 2017.

HKSFA and CFA Society New York are dedicated to raising both professional and ethical standards in the global investment management industry, CFANY CEO Daniel Dagen, CFA, said. Providing asset-owners the opportunity to improve efficacy as it relates to the way in which their assets are managed contributes to stability and integrity of markets worldwide.

Roughly six months lateron January 17, 2018the auspicious scheme was realized with the HKSFA Inaugural Asset Owner Series Event . At once, the former strictly local, financial investment event series, and rapidly blossoming New York-based phenomenon, became a global success.

The HKSFA Asset Owner Series aims to share best practices amongst asset management professionals, and to exchange ideas that will help guide the future development of the industry, HKSFA President Ashley Khoo, CFA, CPA, said. Enhancing Hong Kongs competitiveness as an asset management center will help to strengthen its leading position as an international finance hub.

Crucially, Hong Kongs very first Asset Owner Series (AOS) event garnered levels of support, interest, enthusiasm and speaker quality wholly in line with the reputation that has come to precede conferences bearing the AOS name.

It provided a rare opportunity for the top decision-makers, representing some of Asias largest asset owners, to share their investment views in a collegial setting. The peer-to-peer dialogue among speakers and local Society members offered rare insights into the thinking of leaders at Hong Kong Monetary Authoritys Investment Portfolio, Hong Kong Mandatory Provident Fund, MetLife, Ping An Insurance, APG, and Standard Life Aberdeen. Collectively, these organizations oversee in excess of USD 2.5 trillion in assets. The event was moderated by a representative of Mercer, the worlds largest investment consulting firm by assets under advisory.

Both CFA Society of New York and the Hong Kong Society of Financial Analysts have independently demonstrated the success of their member-driven programming efforts, CFANY Vice Chairman Christopher Cutler, CFA, said. We stand ready to share our experiences and practices with other Societies globally, so that they can become nexuses of dialogue among investors in their local communities.

The Asset Owner Series was created by CFANY in 2015 and spearheaded by Thomas Brigandi CFA Institutes Inaugural Global Outstanding Young Leader in collaboration with a team of over 400 industry leaders who source speakers from their respective networks. The groundbreaking series is a collection of exclusive events for investment industry executives looking to improve their asset-management strategies and advance their market knowledge, with the guidance of some of the most experienced minds CFANY has to offer.

These events provide critical opportunities for key decision-makers, whom oversee some of the worlds largest institutional pools of capital, to gather, identify and share global challenges as well as solutions, Dagen said. All while being hosted by a thought leadership community that is crucially both independent and objective.

AOS has featured chief investment officers, deputy chief investment officers and other C-level investment executives from sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, single family offices, multi-family offices, endowments, foundations, private banks, national pensions, corporate pensions, institutional investment consultants, public pensions and union pensions that collectively have over $38 trillion in assets under management or advisory.

Our local Societies simply offer a neutral venue for such speakers to gather, Cutler said. And we encourage our fellow Societies, globally, to offer similar programming within their communities.

##

Global Asset Owner Series Overview

Societies will work in tandem to engage and connect key decision-makers dispersed across the global asset-ownership sphere for peer-to-peer events.

Chief investment officers, deputy chief investment officers and other C-Level investment executives from sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, single-family offices, multi-family offices, endowments, foundations, private banks, national pensions, corporate pensions, institutional investment consultants and public pension schemes across Asia will gather amongst themselves and alongside local CFA society-members to speak at the newly established HKSFA Asset Owner Series.

The objective is to host C-Level asset owner investment executiveswho represent firms that collectively manage in excess of US$10 trillion in assets (roughly HK$78 trillion)and a cumulative audience that will be comprised of more than 1,000 investment professionals over the next two to three years.

CFA Society New York

Since 1937, CFANY has sought to raise the standards of the investment industry through global insight, a dynamic community of local investment management professionals, and thought leadership. CFANYs mission is to raise the bar in investment management wherever possible and help establish the course for where the investment industry is headed.

CFANY is a leading voice within a network of CFA Societies in 150 countries, representing over 145,000 CFA Institute members world-wide. CFANY works in conjunction with CFA Institute to develop the industrys future professionals and to raise the standards of professionalism in the investment management industry.

With close to 11,000 members, CFA Society New York is the largest CFA Institute member society in the world.

Visit www.cfany.org for more upcoming events and additional information.



The Hong Kong Society of Financial Analysts (HKSFA)
CARROLL COUNTY, Ind. (WLFI)  The Carroll County Sheriff's Office is investigating a report of horse neglect. Although the animals are safe with a volunteer caretaker now, the person who reported the incident wants to make it public.

Tiffany Gibbs is an animal lover.



"I'd rather take one that needs me because Lord knows I don't need the financial strain," said Gibbs.

Gibbs rescued all three of her horses, so she knows what it's like to take care of a previously abused animal.

However, she never thought she would have to report horse abuse.

"They had no hay, no grain, no water, they were tied to trees in the front yard and the rope was only about a foot from the tree they couldn't even move," said Gibbs.

Gibbs said she knows the owner and volunteered to help her take care of the horses but the owner wouldn't cooperate.

"She said, 'Well fine, report me, and when they come out here I'll shoot them right in front of them, I'll put them down right in front of them,' and I told the police that and they said that she's allowed to do that, they're livestock," explained Gibbs.

News 18 is choosing not to name the woman in question because the case has yet to be sent to prosecutors.

Carroll County Sheriff Tobe Leazenby said the animals are safe with a third party as deputies wrap up the investigation.

"Honestly, I want her to go to jail," said Gibbs. "She needs to learn that it's not OK."

Gibbs can't help but cry over this.

"I couldn't even imagine one of these guys looking like that," cried Gibbs.

She hopes that by telling her story, more people will come forward.

"If you see it, call it, report it," said Gibbs.

Sheriff Leazenby isn't sure when the case will be sent to the prosecutor.

He said the Indiana State Board of Animal Health and Indiana Horse Rescue are involved.
Lafayette, Ind. (WLFI)- A new support group is offering help to people who are battling cancer.

Franciscan Health in Lafayette is helping to make a difficult time a little easier.

"I was shocked."



In February of 2017, Ronald Eugene Greek was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer.

"It put me on an entirely new journey," Greek said.

The next month, Greek began an intensive bi-weekly treatment.

His oncologist said it would be a "miracle" to be cleared, and Greek should plan on being on chemotherapy indefinitely.

"I asked my oncologist if she had ever had somebody come all the way back from stage four cancer to undetectable," he said.

"And she said she's been in practice for 18 years and she's had one patient do that."

But he is determined to get better.

"I'm currently trying to be her second patient to do that," he said.

One month after Greek began chemo, he heard about a support group and decided to attend.

There, patients talk about medical treatments, side effects and even the what-if's.

"As a patient sometimes you have a really caring family, but you don't want to worry them," said Lora Hays. "So if you're coming together with other cancer patients, you can share some of those really deep thoughts or some of your deep worries that you don't share with your family because you don't want to scare them."

Lora Hays is the Executive Vice President of Cancer Support Community for Central Indiana.

Hays leads the group, which started in the fall of 2016 when a navigator at Franciscan Health in Lafayette reached out to her at Cancer Support Community.

"It's different if someone who has cancer tells you to have hope, than if someone who doesn't have cancer tells you to have hope," Hays said.

Greek says the group satisfies the two things that he believes are part of a good support group.

"Number one- it reminds everyone that we're not alone. And the second thing is that it reinforces that we should never lose hope," Greek said.

There is also a support group for caregivers.

The free meetings for both patients and caregivers are every first and third Wednesday of the month at Franciscan Health Lafayette East.

They get underway at 5:30 pm.
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, Ind. (WFLI)  Tipppecanoe County Sheriff Barry Richard is in the race for re-election.

Richard said he's more excited for this race than he was when he first ran for sheriff.

He faces two other Republicans this May.

West Lafayette Police Chief Jason Dombkowski and Tippecanoe County Lieutenant John 'Woody' Ricks have also filed to run for sheriff.

Richard welcomes other candidates with different ideas, but he believes he is the best for the job.

"I feel I am strongest because people know what kind of quality I represent and they know who I am," said Richard. "It's not like a campaign and that's why I've not had to sign and say I'm going to run a year and a half ago."

Sheriff Richard said he's treating this like a job interview and the community is the employer.

"They're the ones that are going to hire or not hire somebody," said Richard. "So, I feel that we should give the community, our voters, the opportunity to interview us and then make their decision on who they would like to hire as their next sheriff."

He said he would be willing to particpate in an organized debate with his opponents on WLFI. Both Domkowski and Ricks agreed to one as well.

We are still in the process of organizing the details of that debate, but will post the information when it's available.

The primary is set for May 8.
'Transformational' teacher Braxton wins Jefferson Award

Trailblazing professor to be honored on Charter Day Joanne Braxton has spent 37 years at William & Mary improving the university and the world around her. In appreciation, she has won the W&M Thomas Jefferson Teaching Award, the Oni Award from the International Black Womens Congress, been recognized as an American Association of Medical Colleges Thought Leader, the Commonwealth of Virginia Outstanding Virginia Educator Award, the W&M Society of the Alumni Teaching Award and many others. Photo by Stephen Salpukas Photo - of - Hide Caption

Joanne Braxton was riding in a car headed for the Library of Congress recently when she heard a gasp and a squeal. She glanced around to seek its source.

She found it in the mirror.

William & Mary President Taylor Reveley had just emailed to inform and congratulate her on winning the 2018 Thomas Jefferson Award, given each year to a member of the William & Mary family for significant service through his or her personal activities, influence and leadership. She will be presented with the award during the Charter Day ceremony on Friday.

After hearing the news, Braxton, the Francis L. and Edwin L. Cummings Professor of the Humanities and director of the W&M Middle Passage Project, first phoned English Department Chair Suzanne Raitt and Associate Professor of Theatre and Africana Studies Artisia Greento express her gratitude.

Raitt and Green co-authored a letter of recommendation in which they described Braxtons 37-year teaching career as transformational and extolled her service as extensive and the epitome of leadership.

Professor Braxton is a poet, a critic, a public intellectual, a playwright, a photographer, a curator, a minister and a healer, the letter says.

A career celebrated

Braxton has won too many awards to list, including the W&M Thomas Jefferson Teaching Award, the Oni Award from the International Black Womens Congress, the Commonwealth of Virginia Outstanding Virginia Educator Award, the W&M Society of the Alumni Teaching Award, the Sarah Lawrence College Alumnae Lifetime Achievement Award and the Harvard University W.E.B. DuBois Institute Fellowship. She has also been recognized as a 2017 American Association of Medical Colleges Thought Leader.

Braxton arrived at W&M in 1980, four years after former colleague Ann M. Reed, who wrote that, During her early years, Joanne, with others, initiated changes which led to two historically organized courses in African-American literature. These changes opened the door for a broader curriculum in African-American literature  currently reflected in at least five related courses in the department, as well as other African-Americanists on the faculty.

Her involvement with the Black, African and Africana studies programs included serving as director of the Middle Passage Project and the Africana House Living Learning communities. She was a member of the founding committee to create the Black Studies Program, coordinator of the Middle Passage Health Equity Lecture Series and convener of the program 1619-2019: From Jamestown to Flint, Medicine, Arts and Social Justice Symposium.

Jody Allen, visiting assistant professor of history, met Braxton in 1995 when she attended W&M as a graduate student. She called herself privileged to observe Braxton help bring the Black Studies Program to life.

She understood the impact that such a program would have on all students, especially African-American students, Allen wrote. She also knew that as a liberal arts institution, William & Mary was obligated to provide a diverse educational experience for all students.

Her favorite five

Braxton was asked to name her top five accomplishments at W&M and why she chose them. She prefaced her answer by saying, Its difficult to reflect on one's own contributions. In the moment, it is often essential to the intended outcome to operate as if one would never receive any recognition whatsoever."

Her list:

Teaching with integrity and holding space for difficult intellectual conversations, especially conversations about race and difference.

Mentoring students, former students and junior faculty members.

Pushing for curricular innovation, including advocating for the formation of Africana studies, bringing Peggy McIntosh to campus to facilitate the founding of Womens studies and contributing to the foundational conversations that led to the creation of the American Studies Program and the Commonwealth Center for the Study of American Culture.

Founding the Middle Passage Project and its related programs, including the May 2000 Monuments of the Black Atlantic: History, Memory and Politics conference that brought scholars and artists from 56 countries around the world to campus.

Providing spiritual companionship to faculty, students and staff as an ordained and authorized campus minister and a member of Campus Ministries United, especially during seasons of shared grief and loss. Founding the United Church of Christ W&M campus ministry and preaching regularly in the Wren Chapel from 2011-13.

Much more ahead to contribute

Braxton is retiring at the end of the semester and recently accepted an appointment at the United States Library of Congress as the David M. Larsen Fellow of Spirituality and Health.

However, Associate Professor Shanta D. Hinton wrote, Braxtons work for W&M and her community at large is far from done. She points to Braxtons recent work as principal investigator on the W&M-Eastern Virginia Medical School Narrative Medicine for Excellence Project.

She will serve this institution through her collaboration with EVMS  She isnt retiring to rest and become stagnant, but to embrace her role as an influential leader to her community [and] to be mindful of the well being of themselves as a whole.

Finally, Jackson Sasser, assistant visiting professor of government, reached deep into history and pop culture in making his case for Braxton and the Jefferson Award.

At the University of Virginia they speak of Jefferson as though he is in the next room, he wrote. I teach as though Professor Braxton is alongside me.

Not long ago I came across Bruce Springsteens comment on his audiences hopes: They want to feel at home, he said, and they want to be surprised ... William & Mary became, and remains, home to me because of Professor Braxtons incredibly warm welcome. And no classroom, including my own, has surprised me like hers, and no friend or colleagues thinking has challenged me more profoundly in the years since.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia , Feb. 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NRG Metals Inc. (NRG or the Company) (TSX-V:NGZ) (OTCQB:NRGMF) (Frankfurt:OGPN), further to a press release dated today, the Company provides a correction notice to the expiry date of the November 24, 2016 warrants. The correct expiry date is March 16, 2018.



In order for Warrant holders to exercise their Warrants, each Warrant holder is required to complete and submit the Notice of Exercise attached to their respective Warrant certificate on or before 5:00 pm on March 16, 2018. For detailed exercise requirements, please refer to your Warrant certificate.

The Company currently has approximately 107 million shares issued and outstanding, and trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol NGZ, on the OTCQB Market under the symbol, NRGMF, and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol, OGPN.

On behalf of the board of directors of NRG Metals Inc.:

Adrian F.C. Hobkirk

President and C.E.O.

Investors / Shareholders Call 855-415-8100

E: ahobkirk@nrgmetalsinc.com

W: www.nrgmetalsinc.com

The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed the content of this news release and therefore does not accept responsibility or liability for the adequacy or accuracy of the contents of this news release.

This news release contains certain forward- looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the United States Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Except for statements of historical fact relating to the Company, certain information contained herein constitutes forward- looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based upon 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 which could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward looking statements. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The transaction described in this news release is subject to a variety of conditions and risks which include but are not limited to: regulatory approval, shareholder approval, market conditions, legal due diligence for claim validity, financing, political risk, security risks at the property locations and other risks. As such, the reader is cautioned that there can be no guarantee that this transaction will complete as described in this news release. We seek safe harbour.




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100% of shares in OOO Karakash Agro were sold for EUR 0.50 million. In addition, during the next three years the acquirer will pay EUR 2.58 million for the transfer of receivables from OOO Karakash Agro and 15% annual interest on deferred payments, which can reach EUR 0.78 million.

OOO Karakash Agro became part of AUGA group, AB in 2014 when the Company (then called AB Agrowill group) increased its share capital and part of its newly issued shares (14 151 252 shares of total nominal value EUR 4.10 million) were paid with 100% of shares of OOO Karakash Agro controlling company. In the middle of 2014, after the introduction of international sanctions to Crimea the Company was not able to implement its initial business plan of growing organic vegetables and grain in Crimea and exporting them to the EU markets. At the end of 2014, considering the uncertainty of the situation in Crimea peninsula, the Company impaired investment value to OOO Karakash Agro controlling company to EUR 0 and OOO Karakash Agro assets accounted in group financial statements were impaired to EUR 0.29 million.

During the last years OOO Karakash Agro was growing various crops and selling them in local market. On the bases of long term lease agreements, OOO Karakash Agro cultivates approx. 10 thous. ha of arable land in Crimea peninsula. Based on unaudited financial statements of 30 September 2017, value of OOO Karakash Agro assets was EUR 2.79 million and liabilities to third parties (excluding related companies)  EUR 1.16 million. For the 9 months of 2017, unaudited net income of OOO Karakash Agro was EUR 0.72 million.

Without a possibility to integrate OOO Karakash Agro into AUGA group, AB business model of organic food production, it was decided to sell this asset.
IAEA assesses waste management in France and Spain

09 February 2018

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France has demonstrated a comprehensive commitment to safety with a responsible approach to the management of used nuclear fuel and radioactive waste, a mission from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has concluded. Preparations are under way for missions to Spain later this year.

At the request of the French government, the IAEA has conducted an integrated review service for radioactive waste and used fuel management, decommissioning and remediation programmes, referred to as Artemis. Artemis missions provide independent expert opinion and advice, drawn from an international team of specialists convened by the IAEA. Reviews are based on the IAEA safety standards and technical guidance, as well as international good practices.

The mission to France aimed to help the country meet European Union obligations that require an independent peer review of national programmes for the safe and responsible management of used fuel and radioactive waste. These assessments must be carried out at least every ten years. It is the second Artemis carried out to meet EU obligations, following a mission to Poland last October.

The 11-day mission concluded on 24 January and comprised 13 experts from Belgium, Canada, Cuba, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK, as well as three IAEA staff members. The mission was hosted by the Directorate General of Energy and Climate (DGEC) with the participation of officials from several organisations, including the French National Radioactive Waste Agency (Andra) and the Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN).

The Artemis team said France is "well positioned to continue meeting high standards of safety". The mission noted a number of good practices to be shared with the global waste management community. These included a clear government commitment to the national strategy and programme for waste management, including safe disposal. France, the team found, has developed a transparent national waste inventory and has made deliberate efforts towards maintaining a high level of professional, competent staff.

The mission also made suggestions for France to further enhance its waste management programme. It suggests France facilitates implementation of the requirement for decommissioning to take place in the shortest time possible and also to optimise management of very low level waste. The team suggests the country considers mechanisms to address disposal liabilities for small waste producers.

ASN said the team's suggestions will be taken into account in the preparation of the next National Radioactive Material and Waste Management Plan, which will be subject to in-depth consultation with the stakeholders and the public.

Artemis team leader Peter De Preter said: "On the basis of the review, the team concluded that France's waste management programme is comprehensive and coherent in fostering safety. Our review highlights France's commitment to safety." De Preter is a senior advisor at Ondra/Niras, the Belgian agency for the management of radioactive waste.

Aurelien Louis, head of DGEC's nuclear industry department, said the peer review represented "an important element in our efforts to ensure the safety of the French waste management programme, establish greater public confidence and respond to the EU waste directive". Louis added: "The outcome of the mission was very positive while also providing us with suggestions that will be a good basis for future enhancements."

Missions to Spain

On 25-26 January, Spain's Nuclear Safety Council (CSN) hosted a preparatory meeting for IAEA to carry out combined Artemis and Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) missions in October.

IRRS missions are designed to strengthen the effectiveness of the national radiation safety regulatory infrastructure, while recognising the responsibility of each member state to ensure nuclear and radiation safety. The missions compare regulatory technical and policy issues with IAEA safety standards and, where appropriate, good practices elsewhere. The regulatory review process also draws directly upon the wide-ranging international experience and expertise of the regulatory review team members.

At the meeting, representatives from the IAEA, the Ministry of Energy, Tourism and Digital Agenda, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation and decommissioning firm Enresa discussed what their respective roles will be during both missions.

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News

Related topics
A grandmother said that was shocked and angered when a stranger decided to discipline her grandson.

Logan Morris, his mother Michelle Lott, and his 2-year-old son were at a Kroger supermarket in Newnan, Georgia.

As they were waiting at the checkout counter, the boy began nagging and asking for candy. Morris explained to his son that it was late and he was unable to get him the candy at this time.

The 2-years-old child kept nagging but Morris remained calm and stood his ground.

A customer in the store became irritated and disciplined the child. 62-year-old Juan Guvarra Martinez grabbed the boy, spun him around, and spanked him three times.

Martinez then told Morris: this is what we do to kids in Mexico.

Morris replied: Buddy, weare not in Mexico.

Morris decided to leave the store instead of getting into a fight with Martinez. He called the police and Martinez, who was allegedly intoxicated, was arrested on multiple charges, including simple battery, child cruelty, disorderly conduct, and obstructing officers, according to jail records.
Denver, CO, Feb. 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On Friday, Congress passed the bipartisan spending bill which reauthorizes funding for the bipartisan-supported Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program. President Trump has signed the bill. This funding provides $400 million each year for five years for states to expand the Nurse-Family Partnership  program and other evidence-based home visiting programs.

On September 30, 2017, Congress missed the deadline to reauthorize the MIECHV program, and the uncertain future put Nurse-Family Partnership programs in jeopardy of losing the ability to serve families in poverty. Some Nurse-Family Partnership programs were at risk of soon having to stop enrolling pregnant women and ending their programs. Nurse-Family Partnership advocates from communities across the U.S. continued to share with Congress how critical it was for nurses to be able to continue serving these vulnerable families at a time when they need it most.

Congress has committed to what they know works to change outcomes for vulnerable children born into poverty, said Frank Daidone, acting president and CEO of Nurse-Family Partnership. Not only does MIECHV make a measurable, long-lasting difference in the lives of children and families, but government saves money, and communities are healthier and stronger for many generations.

We are thrilled for what this means for children and families, said Sarah McGee, acting executive director for policy and government affairs at Nurse-Family Partnership. The funding uncertainty is over for our nurses, families and agency partners. We thank our dedicated advocates across the country and our National Home Visiting Coalition partners for continuing to show Congress the impact of this program on their communities. This program is a lifesaver for families and is breaking cycles of poverty.

According to the RAND Corporation, every $1 invested in Nurse-Family Partnership can yield up to $5.70 in return for the highest-risk families served.

The bipartisan-supported MIECHV program provides states with federal funding to implement Nurse-Family Partnership and other evidence-based home visiting programs. The MIECHV program holds states accountable for achieving successful outcomes over time with families enrolled in the following benchmark areas: improved maternal and newborn health; reduced child injuries, child abuse, neglect or maltreatment and emergency department visits; improved school readiness and achievement; reduced crime and domestic violence; improved family economic self-sufficiency; and improved coordination and referrals for community resources. A 2015 report showed that Nurse-Family Partnership had met all of these federally-required benchmarks for the MIECHV program.

Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b3152538-02cf-486f-8c34-56102fc92725
Success of the rights issue

with preferential subscription right



Paris, France - February 9, 2018

The rights issue with preferential subscription right (PSR) of approximately 112.2 million (including share premium) was oversubscribed with a total demand of approximately 132.5 million, representing approximately 118% of the offer amount.

Results of the Rights Issue with PSR

CGG announces today the results of its rights issue with preferential subscription rights for an amount of 112,215,060.36 (including the share premium) (the "Rights Issue with PSR"), through the issuance of 71,932,731 shares of the Company (the "New Shares") each with one warrant attached (the "Warrants #2" and together with the New Shares, the "ABSA") at a subscription price of 1.56 per ABSA (i.e. 0.01 par value and 1.55 share premium).

At the end of the subscription period, on 2 February 2018, the total demand, which amounted to 132.5 million, was 20.3 million higher than the target amount, i.e. a subscription rate of 118.06%. The number of ABSA subscribed on a non-reducible basis (a titre irreductible) was 65,283,036 and represented 90.76 % of the ABSA to be issued. Additionally, 19,639,466 ABSA were subscribed on a reducible basis and which will therefore only be partially satisfied up to 6,649,695 ABSA. In accordance with article L. 225-133 of the French Commercial Code, the allotment scale (bareme de repartition) regarding subscription on a reducible basis is annexed to this press release.

Consequently, no ABSA will be subscribed by DNCA Invest and the entities managed by DNCA Finance (the "DNCA Entities") or by the holders of Senior Notes pursuant to their respective backstop commitments.

The Rights Issue with PSR is part of the Company's financial restructuring plan, which will also notably include the issue, subject to the satisfaction (or waiver) of the conditions to settlement described below, of (i) new shares resulting from the equitization of the Convertible Bonds (the "Creditor Shares 1"), (ii) new shares resulting from the equitization of the Senior Notes (the "Creditor Shares 2"), (iii) warrants allocated to the shareholders of CGG (the "Warrants #1"), (iv) warrants allocated in favor of the subscribers of the Second Lien Notes (the "Warrants #3"), (v) warrants allocated to the members of the ad hoc committee of holders of Senior Notes (the "Coordination Warrants"), (vi) warrants allocated to the members of the ad hoc committee of holders of Senior Notes (the "Backstop Warrants"). A press release disclosing the number of instruments to be issued for each of the above-mentioned categories will be issued shortly.

Settlement and Delivery

The settlement and delivery and admission to trading on Euronext Paris of the New Shares and Warrants #2 are scheduled for 21 February 2018, subject to the satisfaction of the conditions to the settlement and delivery set out below.

Conditions to the settlement and delivery

The transactions provided for under the safeguard plan and the Chapter 11 plan (including the Rights Issue with PSR) are regarded as a whole so that if any of them cannot be implemented, none of them will be implemented. The settlement and delivery of the Rights Issue with PSR must occur (i) before February 28, 2018 (or any later date as may be determined in accordance with the terms of the lock-up agreement entered into by the Company on 13 June 2017 (the "Lock-Up Agreement") and the restructuring support agreement which provides for the backstop commitment of the DNCA Entities (the "Restructuring Support Agreement")) and (ii) concurrently with the settlement and delivery of the Creditor Shares 1, Creditor Shares 2, Warrants #1, Second Lien Notes, Warrants #3, Backstop Warrants and Coordination Warrants.

In addition, the settlement and delivery of the ABSA and, more generally, the completion of the financial restructuring plan of which it forms part, remain subject to (i) the satisfaction (or waiver), prior to the settlement and delivery of the Rights Issue with PSR, of certain conditions precedent set forth in the private placement agreement dated 26 June 2017 (the "Private Placement Agreement") and in the conveyancing instruments for the issuance of the New First Lien Notes and Second Lien Notes, as well as (ii) the absence of termination of the Private Placement Agreement or the Lock-Up Agreement.

Information to the public

Mr. Jean Gatty, acting in his capacity as representative of the holders of Convertible Bonds, as well as JG Capital Management, acting as management company of the JG Partners fund, holder of Convertible Bonds, have withdrawn the third-party opposition they had filed against the judgment approving the safeguard plan rendered by the Commercial Court of Paris on December 1, 2017.

For the purpose of this press release:

"Senior Notes" means, together, (i) the high yield notes, bearing interest at a rate of 5.875% and maturing in 2020, issued by the Company on 23 April 2014, (ii) the high yield notes, bearing interest at a rate of 6.5% and maturing in 2021, issued by the Company on 31 May 2011, 20 January 2017 and 13 March 2017, and (iii) the high yield notes, bearing interest at a rate of 6.875% and maturing in 2022, issued by the Company on 1 May 2014;

"Convertible Bonds" means, together, (i) the convertible bonds (obligations a option de conversion et/ou d'echange en actions nouvelles ou existantes), bearing interest at a rate of 1.75% and maturing on 1 January 2020, issued by the Company on 26 June 2015, and (ii) the convertible bonds (obligations a option de conversion et/ou d'echange en actions nouvelles ou existantes), bearing interest at a rate of 1.25% and maturing on 1 January 2019, issued by the Company on 20 November 2012.

Schedule: allotment scale for subscriptions on a reducible basis

About CGG:

CGG (www.cgg.com) is a fully integrated Geoscience company providing leading geological, geophysical and reservoir capabilities to its broad base of customers primarily from the global oil and gas industry. Through its three complementary businesses of Equipment, Acquisition and Geology, Geophysics & Reservoir (GGR), CGG brings value across all aspects of natural resource exploration and exploitation. CGG employs around 5,300 people around the world, all with a Passion for Geoscience and working together to deliver the best solutions to its customers.

CGG is listed on the Euronext Paris SA (ISIN: 0013181864) and the New York Stock Exchange (in the form of American Depositary Shares. NYSE: CGG).

Contacts

Group Communications

Christophe Barnini

Tel: + 33 1 64 47 38 11

E-Mail: : invrelparis@cgg.com Investor Relations

Catherine Leveau

Tel: +33 1 64 47 34 89

E-mail: : invrelparis@cgg.com

Disclaimer

This announcement does not, and shall not, in any circumstances constitute a public offering of securities or an invitation to the public in connection with any offer.

The distribution of this document may be restricted by law in certain jurisdictions. Persons into whose possession this document comes are required to inform themselves about and to observe any such restrictions. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

This announcement is an advertisement and not a prospectus within the meaning of Directive 2003/71/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 November 2003, as amended (the "Prospectus Directive").

With respect to the member States of the European Economic Area which have implemented the Prospectus Directive, no action has been undertaken or will be undertaken to make an offer to the public of the securities referred to herein requiring a publication of a prospectus in any relevant member State. As a result, the securities may not and will not be offered in any relevant member State except in accordance with the exemptions set forth in Article 3(2) of the Prospectus Directive, if they have been implemented in that relevant member State, or under any other circumstances which do not require the publication by CGG of a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Directive and/or to applicable regulations of that relevant member State.

This document is not an offer of securities for sale nor the solicitation of an offer to purchase securities in the United States of America or any other jurisdiction where such offer may be restricted. Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States of America absent registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), or an exemption from registration. The securities of CGG described herein have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act, and CGG does not intend to make a public offer of its securities in the United States of America.

This document is only being distributed to, and is only directed at (i) persons who are outside the United Kingdom, (ii) persons in the United Kingdom that are "investment professionals" falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (as amended) of the United Kingdom (the "Order"), (iii) persons who fall within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) ("high net worth companies, unincorporated associations, etc.") of the Order, or (iv) any other persons to whom an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of Article 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000) in connection with the issue or sale of any securities may otherwise lawfully be communicated or caused to be communicated (all such persons together being referred to as "Relevant Persons"). This document is directed only at Relevant Persons and must not be acted on or relied on by persons who are not Relevant Persons. Any investment or investment activity to which this document relates is available only to Relevant Persons and will be engaged in only with Relevant Persons. Any person other than a relevant person should not act or rely on this document or any of its contents.

Schedule

Allotment scale for subscriptions on a reducible basis

The new ABSA which were not allocated further to the subscriptions on a non-reducible basis, reserved to shareholders or purchasers of preferential subscription rights, were allotted to subscribers on a reducible basis by applying a ratio equal to 0.929069229 calculated on the basis of the number of rights upon which the subscription on a non-reducible basis was made without taking into account the fractions. The allotment could not exceed the number of shares requested on a reducible basis.

The allotment was made as follows:

Allotment scale for subscriptions on a reducible basis Number of presented preferential subscription rights (PSR) Number of ABSAs allocated from 4 PSR 3 ABSAs from 8 PSR 7 ABSAs from 12 PSR 11 ABSAs from 16 PSR 14 ABSAs from 20 PSR 18 ABSAs from 24 PSR 22 ABSAs from 28 PSR 26 ABSAs from 32 PSR 29 ABSAs

and so on by application of the distribution ratio equal to 0.929069229 to the number of rights presented.
On January 30, Columbia University in New York City announced it would not recognize the Graduate Workers of Columbia-United Auto Workers (GWC-UAW) Local 2110 as the bargaining agent for student workers on campus.

Columbias announcement is a response by the recent ruling by the regional National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which accepted the result of a 2016 vote by graduate students to join the UAW. The university has challenged the results of the certification votewhich was 1,602 to 623 in favorand has steadfastly refused to recognize the right of student workers to organize.

Columbia Provost John Coatsworth acknowledged in an open letter that the administrations decision would create disappointment and dispute but made it clear the university would not back down. While the National Labor Relations Boards position on student assistants has shifted repeatedly with changes in political administrations, the Universitys view has remained constant.

In 2015, the NLRB twice rejected petitions by graduate students to form a union, but the following year it overturned the ruling. University administrators have indicated they will ask a federal appellate court to review the dispute. In the meantime, however, administrators no doubt hope the NLRB will reverse its decision once the Trump administration appoints a fifth member to the board.

Responding to the decision, the GWC-UAW bargaining committee said, While it is deeply disappointing to continue putting legal hurdles in the way of justice, their action merely underscores the need to continue building majority support until they finally respect our choice and start bargaining. On February 1, the union organized a protest of a few hundred Columbia students, as well as students from nearby universities and medical assistants from the Columbia University Medical Center, on the universitys main campus.

Graduate students are highly exploited. According to glassdoor.com a base salary for a teaching assistant is $22,686, while the university estimates that the cost of tuition and living expenses for a masters student in 2017-2018 is $79,890. In addition to trying to get by on these poverty wages, in one of the most expensive metropolitan areas in the world, grad students must pay $1,000 for health insurance premiums.

At the same time, the non-profit university is making hundreds of millions of dollars from stock market and real estate and its top administrators are raking in enormous salaries. An Upper West Side Patch article titled, Who Profits From Columbia University Inc. On Upper West Side? notes, Between July 2014 and June 2015, Columbia Universitys annual income from its Wall Street investments exceeded $856 million. In addition, during the same period, Columbia Universitys annual rental income from its real estate property exceeded $23 million and its annual income from research royalties exceeded $89 million.

Much of the universitys $4.9 billion in annual revenues between July 2014 and June 2015 went to provide huge total compensation payments to administrators and professors. These include: Nirmal Narvekar, president of Investment Management ($7,221,568); Peter Holland, executive vice president of Investment Management ($6,509,884); David Silvers, clinical professor ($4,633,927); and Jeffrey Moses, professor of medicine, ($2,672,693). Provost John Coatsworth only received $756,218, 34 times more than the base salary of a teaching assistant.

Teaching and research assistants have every reason to organize to fight for their rights against the university administration and the powerful financial and political forces that stand behind it. However, it is fatally naive to believe that the UAW is, as the GWC-UAW web site claims, one of the strongest unions in the country, which will bring decades of organizing and bargaining experience and expertise to our campaign.

On the contrary, the UAW is deeply hated by hundreds of thousands of autoworkers and other workers who have suffered decades of mass layoffs, wage and benefit concessions and worsening working conditions at the hands of the UAW. As recent federal indictments have revealed, the bargaining expertise of the UAW was manifested through the more than $1.5 million in bribes to UAW negotiators from Fiat Chrysler.

The UAW long ago abandoned any association with the class struggle and since the 1980s has been based on labor-management partnership. In the name of making the corporations more competitive and profitable the UAW suppressed strikes and helped transform autoworkers, once the highest paid industrial workers in the US, into a largely cheap labor and temporary workforce. The only interest the UAW apparatus has in organizing university workers is to bolster its dues income after its disastrous policies led to a collapse in membership from over 1.5 million in 1979 to 415,000 today.

The nationalist and pro-capitalist program of the UAW has long manifested itself through the political subordination of the working class to the corporate-controlled Democratic Party.

The GWC-UAW has openly sought the support of Democratic Party politicians. In 2016 they hailed the endorsements of New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, Senator Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton, all of whom are shills of Wall Street. Under the Obama administration 300,000 teaching and school jobs were destroyed while de Blasio has overseen a sharp expansion of for-profit charter schools in New York City.

Students who turned to the UAW at New York University have not overcome their poverty wages and pariah status. In 2005, after NYU refused to negotiate with the GSOC-UAW Local 2110, Democrat Jesse Jackson came in to negotiate only to see talks collapse. TAs and RAs were on strike for six months when the union shut down the walkout without a new contract. GSOC-UAW was not recognized until 2013 and NYU did not negotiate a contract until 2015. The deal included a paltry wage increase of 2.25 to 2.5 percent from 2015 to 2020 even though the cost of attending the university is estimated to increase 5 percent for the 2017-2018 school year and for every subsequent year.

Grad students need organization. But not organizations like the UAW, the American Federation of Teachers and other unions, which defend capitalism and politically subordinate workers to the Democrats, a party of austerity and war, no less ruthless than Trump and the Republicans.

The International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) urges students to build rank-and-file workplace committees, democratically controlled by university workers themselves, to counterpoise their will to the dictates of the administration. These workplace committees should fight for the broadest mobilization of the working class against the corporate control of universities.
On Saturday, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn absented himself from a national demonstration in defence of the National Health Service, prioritising instead an internal meeting of Labour local councillors in Nottingham.

His mission was to pledge that the national party leadership had no intention of conflicting with themeither regarding their collusion in imposing savage cuts on behalf of the Conservative government, or their budding relations with private corporations centred on selling off housing and other lucrative assets.

The background to Corbyns appearance was the bitter denunciations of the intervention by Labours National Executive Committee (NEC) in Londons Haringey Council. The NEC was attacked by the leaders of some 70 councils for actions that were supposedly an affront to the basic principles of democracy.

What the NEC had in fact agreed unanimously, with the full backing of its right-wing minority, was to suggest mediation by Shadow Communities and Local Government Secretary Andrew Gwynne in a crisis that has left the local Labour Party split and discredited while pitting the council against local residents.

The affront to democracy was the suggestion that the council temporarily suspend the Haringey Development Vehicle (HDV)a privatisation plan to hive off 2 billion in council assets into a partnership agreement with property developer Lendlease, including the demolition of large tranches of council housing, to make way for the building of 6,500 private homes.

The scheme is so unpopular that even local right-wing Labour MPs, David Lammy and Catherine West, oppose it. Many Labour councillors who supported the HDV have been deselected by their local party ahead of Mays council elections. Others are not standing, so that just six councillors who hatched the rotten plan intend to stand for re-election. Council leader Claire Kober is one of those announcing her resignation.

Even this obsequious attempt by the NEC to calm the situation was too much for the partys right-wing to tolerate. To throw the HDV into doubt also places a question mark over innumerable similar agreements signed between Labour councils and private corporations. On Friday, another enthusiastic privatiser in the name of regeneration, Harlow Council leader Jon Clempner, also resigned, complaining of Corbynite intimidation.

Corbyns response was to hot foot it to Nottingham to offer further reassurances of his understanding and support.

There is never an occasion where Corbyn doesnt react to a situation that demands a fight with efforts to secure an unprincipled compromise. He addressed the audience of assembled councillors imposing cuts that have cost the jobs of a million local authority workers and devastated vital social services as if they were passionate seekers after a new socialist dawn. He spoke of the new members of the Labour Party who would be following in your footsteps, members, councillors and MPs togetherin a struggle against the Tory governments dismantling of the civilised society we all love.

This was a reference to eight years of Tory cuts that had deprived councils of 50 percent of their income. Significantly, Corbyn centred his opposition to this on its impact on policing.

Our local communities have lost more than 21,000 police officers and nearly 7,000 Police Community Support Officers, he complained before citing the Chief Constable of Merseyside, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Cressida Dick and the Chief Constable of Avon & Somerset! The impact of cuts on the fire service and the NHS assumed the character of an afterthought.

Corbyn took pains to praise Labour councils for introducing a licensing scheme for landlords as proof of a more general recognition that Labour councils know we cant just let the market decide.

The edifice of the private good, public bad dogma has crumbled, he proclaimed, leading to some services being brought back in house and a growing aversion to Private Finance Initiative [PFI]-style models. Together with a handful of not-for-profit energy supply companies set up by local councils, covering a few hundred thousand customers, this heralded nothing less than the first shoots of the renaissance of local government for the many not the few, the rebirth of municipal socialism.

This is the stuff of fantasy.

The term municipal socialism is associated historically with liberal reforms of the late 19th and early 20th century, and adopted by the Fabians in the early Labour Party to justify their hostility to social revolution. Combined with the bread and butter struggle of the trade unions, securing public provision of water, gas, sewerage systems, electricity and the like was hailed as proof that improvements in the capitalist economy would lay the basis for a gradual evolution to full socialism.

Even when such measures were actually enacted, Lenin was scathing in his denunciation of such an outlookdubbed municipal capitalism by British Marxists of the time:

The bourgeois intelligentsia of the West, like the English Fabians, elevate municipal socialism to a special trend precisely because it dreams of social peace, of class conciliation, and seeks to divert public attention away from the fundamental questions of the economic system as a whole, and of the state structure as a whole, to minor questions of local self-government  not to the question of the class rule of the bourgeoisie, nor to the question of the chief instruments of that rule, but to the question of distributing the crumbs thrown by the rich bourgeoisie for the needs of the population.

if the bourgeoisie allows, tolerates, municipal socialism, it is because the latter does not touch the foundations of its rule, does not interfere with the important sources of its wealth, but extends only to the narrow sphere of local-expenditure, which the bourgeoisie itself allows the population to manage. [Vladimir Lenin, The Agrarian Programme of Social Democracy in the First Russian Revolution, 1905-07, Collected Works, Vol. 13 (London: Lawrence and Wishart), pp. 35960.]

Corbyn first came to national political prominence in the 1980s, when a series of struggles by local government workers against the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher were led by various left Labour authorities into legal battles over local taxation. These left councillors generally claimed to be capturing the local state apparatus to be used as a bastion against central governmentonly to then capitulate before the demands of the state structure as a whole, the chief instrument of bourgeois rule. Corbyns latter-day appeal for a rebirth of municipal socialism is an insincere and cynical invocation of these significant struggles, involving millions of workers, that he and his political bedfellows betrayed.

There is no such rebirth of reformism taking place within the Labour Party today and no struggle whatsoever against central government by Labour-controlled authorities. In fact, Corbyn and his ally John McDonnell have instructed councils not to defy Tory spending cuts.

The Labour leaders real message was for the councillors to accept a modicum of restraint on their appetite for cosying up to corporate investors of all stripes, and in particular, property companies.

That is why he almost begged permission to just briefly touch on the contentious issue of the HDV regeneration proposals in Haringey. Like a friendly uncle, Corbyn stated his understanding as to the way, Faced with Tory cuts and a huge housing need the council leadership felt that this public-private proposal was the best deal it could get for residents.

He wanted to take this opportunity to thank all Labour councillors and councils across the country for their service and strength when faced with the appalling choices forced upon them by Tory cuts.

However, this created problems in the case of HDV because it was highly controversial with local people worried about their futures. Haringey should, he stressed, be viewed as a unique situation which is why the NEC unanimously asked the council leadership to put their plans on hold and take part in a mediation process to bring everyone together.

Naturally, no other privatisation scheme or example of social cleansing by Labour councils was mentioned by Corbyn, because that would have confirmed that Haringey is far from unique and militated against bringing everyone together. Instead, Corbyn promised that if his critics reined themselves in, a future Labour government would offer more cashan additional 2 billion was cited if Labour was in office this yearalong with removing the arbitrary cap on borrowing that would allow councils once again to borrow to build.

The irony of offering all UK councils an additional 2 billionthe same sum as that involved in the Haringey HDVwas apparently lost on Corbyn. And his offer is little short of a joke.

UK councils face a deficit of close to 6 billion even after they have slashed spending on services by around a quarter, closed vital amenities and made vast numbers of workers redundant. Central government council funding has already been slashed by 11.3 billion and by 2020 it is estimated that it will have fallen by 77 percent since 2015.

To reverse this situation would demand a frontal assault on the banks and major corporations and the private wealth of the super-rich, in whose interest the Conservatives and Labour alike are waging war against the working class. Almost all of the money cut from local government is accounted for by just the tax cuts to top-rate taxpayers and large company shareholders.

Such an offensive is something Corbyn and his Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell would not dare contemplate. Their perspective, as McDonnell has explicitly stated, is to save capitalism not end it.

Corbyn would also have to wage political warfare, rather than seek conciliation, with the right-wing of the Labour Partywhose connections with big business are no less extensive than the Tory government. It was Labour who, in both central and local government did so much to extend privatisation into every sphere of public service provision. PFI, for example, was launched by the Conservatives in 1992 but its use increased exponentially under Labour from 1997 so that by 1999, more than 60 new projects were being signed off every year. The capital value of these projects is around 60 billion, but repayments to the private companies are estimated at around 300 billion.

To cite only one example, around a third of PFI contracts with the now bankrupt Carillion were signed by Labour, worth just under half a billion pounds. Labour-run Leeds City Council was about to award a 100 million contract to Carillion even as it went bust. Private sector delivery of government services is now estimated to be worth between 100 billion and 120 billion a year.

With careers and lucrative relations on the line, Corbyns audience at Nottingham was in no mood to accept his blandishments, as the assembled councillors made clear they fully intend to continue with privatisation measures and the ever-worsening attacks on jobs and wages of workers in the public and private sector alike.

As for whether Corbyn will oppose any of this, the best answer was given by the man the NEC has appointed to mediate over Haringey, Andrew Gwynne, who reassured the councillors, Labour groups are sovereign, and its not my place to intervene.

Extended to cover big business and the banks, this could well serve as Corbyns own mission statement.
On Tuesday, February 6, SpaceX corporation successfully launched the Falcon Heavy, combining the thrust of three Falcon 9 engines into one platform. The event was massively promoted by billionaire Elon Musk, who owns the company, and by the American media, and it evoked a definite response from the population.

More than 2.3 million people viewed the launch live on YouTube, while up to one hundred thousand gathered at Cape Canaveral to watch it in person. Cheers erupted both at launch and also eight minutes later when two of the three empty engines returned for an unprecedented dual landing beside the launchpad.

For at least a few minutes, people in the United States and around the world may have been excited by the prospect of a new advance in humanitys exploration of outer space. But hold the applause. The new rocket has two main purposes, neither of them connected with the development of science: to boost the obscene personal wealth of Musk, currently more than $21 billion, and to expand the military arsenal of American imperialism.

The grotesque symbol of the first purpose was the placement of a Tesla roadster, manufactured by Musks Tesla Motors, as the payload on the Falcon Heavy. The launch was viewed as too risky for an expensive scientific or military satellite package, so Musk had one of his own vehicles put into orbit around the Sun, to promote the interests of his current venture making high-end cars for the wealthy, costing upwards of $140,000 apiece for vehicles with all the options.

Aside from its offensive vulgarity, there is a stark contrast between what Musk views as the payoff for space explorationto boost his commercial interests on Planet Earthand previous efforts by serious scientists. One only has to recall the work of Carl Sagan and others to craft artifacts reflecting the cultural achievements and diversity of the human species, which were placed in spacecraft like the Voyager probes, in the event that, far in the future, they might encounter some form of alien life.

Fortunately, there is little chance of such an encounter in the orbital path of the Tesla roadster, complete with Starman mannequin, which extends only to the asteroid belt. More likely, a future and more enlightened civilization on Earth will pooper-scoop that piece of junk from the heavens with a grimace of distaste for the primitive money-worship of its ancestors.

The more serious and ominous side of the Falcon Heavy launch is the celebration by Pentagon officials. According to a report in the Financial Times, The Pentagon is eyeing the successful launch of Elon Musks Falcon Heavy rocket as a way to erode the monopoly that has held sway over US military space launches for the past dozen years.

The newspaper quoted Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, a former Boeing executive, espousing the benefits of Falcon Heavy for US military operations, particularly the recovery of two of the booster engines, which point to potential cost savings of up to 90 percent from reusability.

The fact that those capabilities are being delivered creates affordability and affordability spawns new space concepts, he told the Financial Times. The newspaper cited an unnamed official at US Air Force Space Command saying that the air force will use data from Tuesdays launch as part of its process to certify Falcon Heavy for military use, particularly in launching military satellites.

We as a department need to be really good at space, Shanahan added. If were really good at space, defensively were stronger. Thats crucial capability that we really want to lift up. The recently issued National Defense Strategy document listed space as a warfighting domain, but US military operations have been set back by reliance on companies with rockets less powerful than Falcon Heavy, and for their current heaviest-lift capability, reliant also on Russian-manufactured rocket engines. At the same time, Russia retains the monopoly on manned liftoff capability that it has enjoyed since the end of the US space shuttle program.

President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence both issued tweets hailing the launch, which was carried out from the NASA-controlled launch pad at Cape Canaveral, made available because of the national security benefits expected from the development of Falcon Heavy.

For its part, the New York Times salivated over the fact that SpaceX will be able to launch larger spy satellites, allowing US intelligence agencies to expand their foreign and domestic spying programs. More broadly, the launch demonstrates a development in missile technology that will no doubt be put to use as part of the Trump administrations trillion-dollar effort to modernize the US nuclear arsenal.

The Falcon Heavy has demonstrated the heaviest lift-capacity into space of any currently manufactured rocket, but it still has only 45 percent of the capabilities of the most powerful NASA rocket, the Saturn V, which sent space capsules into orbit around the Moon, and made possible the Apollo XI landing and other manned missions.

This is despite the fact that Falcon Heavy benefits from the advancements in electronics, computing, rocket design and a myriad of other technologies that have become cheaper and more efficient.

The computers and sensors necessary to control the Saturn V rocket occupied a ring 7 meters across and a meter high stacked atop the third stage of that rocket. The gyroscopes of the Apollo age, used to control the attitude (spatial orientation) of the Saturn V, were the size of a microwave oven and required six months of complex assembly and calibration. The algorithms and mathematical calculations to guide rockets into orbit and to land on the Moon were solved using slide rules and computers the size of rooms with less processing power than an average modern calculator.

Today, gyroscopes cost $2 and are found in every smartphone. Computers capable of sensing and correcting flight motions are found in childrens quadcopter toys costing less than $20. Engineers have access to computer drawing and simulation tools almost beyond the dreams of the Apollo era. Not only are 3-D printed rocket motors now entering space service, but students are now beginning to design and test these motors as school projects! These and countless other developments have led to the success of the Falcon Heavy launch, not the supposed genius of Elon Musk (whose expertise is largely in financial engineering, as a co-founder of what became PayPal).

The result is that SpaceX has effectively remade the wheel, drawing on more than a half-century of experience and effort by NASA to travel beyond Earth, to make a new version of the Saturn V with ultra-modern components that is only 45 percent as powerful.

That is not to say that Falcon Heavy breaks no new ground technologically. Significant resources, estimated at $500 million, have not been wasted, and the effort to build a reusable rocket booster was a distinct success, as two of the three sections returned as planned and were recovered, although the third crashed into the Atlantic.

Historically, the funding of large booster development was tied to national strategic interests. After the space race, NASA budgets were cut by a factor of three by 1973 and left to wither for decades. During these long lean times, NASA management, frequently drawn from the military, came to embody the warning given by physicist Robert Wilson of the legacy of research starvation: If we are not to do it with enthusiasm and rapidly, then it can still be done, but it will be done by second-rate people in a bureaucratic manner and it will be done expensively.



And yet these budget cuts remain, despite considerable and enduring enthusiasm for space science and exploration. One recent study showed 68 percent in favor and 17 percent opposed, remarkable figures for a program that promised no tangible reward to anyone, but was widely viewed as a venture that benefited humanity as a whole.

During the period of NASA budget cuts, the competition of contractors also largely disappeared amidst a wave of consolidations. By the end of this period, Lockheed Martin and Boeing, often in joint ventures, dominated the field. Instead of making one new human-rated rocket and capsule every two years in the 1960s, the space shuttle became the sole U.S. human space technology for 30 years, 1981-2011, costing nearly $1 billion per launch by the end of its life.

The supposed renaissance of spacecraft development is driven not by the real enthusiasm and curiosity of millions of people, but by the profit interests of a new generation of multi-billionaires with disposable cash, who see that the drastically reduced costs of development enabled by new technologies gives them an opportunity to enter a field competitively.

The American media celebrated the role of private capital in the new stage of the space program, and Musk is not alone in these efforts. The company Planetary Resources hopes to mine asteroids in the near future. Moon Express is attempting to create a market for periodic journeys to the Moon and back. Blue Origin, funded by Amazons Jeff Bezos, is attempting to make suborbital spaceflight a commodity for the very rich and super rich.

The effective privatization of space exploration is deeply retrograde. As we have explained elsewhere, the earlier space race suffered from its nationally shut-in character, with separate, duplicative efforts by the United States and the Soviet Union, later repeated by the European Union and more recently by China, India, and even Israel and Iran, as each nation-state sought to gain the military-strategic benefits of the use of space as the ultimate high ground in future wars.

Now we have the prospect of private corporations owning and controlling access to space, and transforming that access into a commodity, whether for the launching of satellites or for vanity projects like giving orbital rides to individual millionaires.

Tragically, space exploration is being shifted into reverse, contrary to the historical development of mankinds increasingly social and collective effort to master nature and explore the universe, an effort that can only be realized through the struggle for international socialism.
Karen Weaver, the Democratic mayor of Flint, Michigan, held a fraudulent community forum on the evening of February 1 at Mott Community College to provide residents with an update on the almost four-year-long crisis of lead poisoning in the citys water supplies.

The meeting was a stage-managed publicity stunt for Weaver and AECOM, the multinational engineering corporation that is overseeing the replacement of water pipes in the city. Residents hoping to have their questions answered about their water were informed there would be no opportunity for them to speak or raise questions. Armed police officers were stationed at the inner and outer entrances to the meeting hall as a signal to those present that protests would not be tolerated.

No doubt the majority of those in attendance recalled that a similar forum organized by Weaver in April of last year resulted in the arrest of six residents. Many had likely also seen the viral Facebook video of Kentucky resident and former retired coalminer Gary Michael Hunt being choked and arrested by a law enforcement officer during a similar community meeting on January 10. Hunt had protested against the failure of authorities to take any action to ensure the supply of clean water for the towns residents.

Approximately 100 people out of a total population of 100,000 in Flint attended the meeting. A significant portion, however, were private employees of AECOM, and political operatives of the city council, planted throughout the audience to applaud at the appropriate moments. Given the magnitude of the catastrophe that the Flint population has suffered due to the criminal decision by local and state officials to switch the citys water supply to the polluted Flint River in April 2014, the low turnout was itself an indication of the lack of confidence on the part of Flint residents in state and local authorities.

Weaver opened the meeting by contemptuously declaring that she hoped residents would take note that we are making progress. She continued, While we may not be where we want to be, weve come a long way in the last two years.

The reality is that three years after the poisoning of Flints water came into the public spotlight, only 6,200 of the citys estimated 30,000 lead water pipes have been replaced.

The decision to switch the citys water supply was the product of a conspiracy involving leading Democratic and Republican politicians in the state including the citys emergency financial manager, Darnell Earley, Republican Governor Rick Snyder, former Democratic State Treasurer Andy Dillon and Flints Democratic mayor. Authorities were aware as early as April, 2015 that the water was not being treated to prevent corrosion, meaning that lead leached from the lead pipes, contaminating the citys water.

Officials at the state and local level of both parties, as well as the Obama administrations Environmental Protection Agency, worked systematically to cover up the complaints and protests by workers and scientific researchers about instances of hair loss and rashes from drinking the water.

It was only due to the determined efforts of residents that this social crime was revealed. An untold number of people, including small children, have been irreparably damaged with lead poisoning, which can cause permanent brain damage. Obama himself famously came to Flint and instructed the local residents to drink the water, declaring that the kids will be just fine.

To add insult to injury, city residents are being forced to battle efforts by the Snyder administration to use reports of improvements of water quality in certain areas to justify ending the distribution of bottled water to households in the city. Weaver cynically told the forum, If I had it my wayand I dontwed keep the [water] pods open until we had all the lead service lines replaced.

Weaver spoke barely two months after surviving a recall vote triggered when almost 9,000 residents signed a petition calling for her removal. Weaver was elected in November 2015 on the basis of a pledge to rapidly resolve the water crisis, but she has led a stepped-up assault on the working class population of Flint, including threatening to shut off water of residents who have not yet paid bills for water that was poisoned.

The remainder of the forum was billed as an opportunity to introduce AECOM, one of the largest engineering corporations in the world, with a market capitalization of $5.58 billion. Last December, AECOM won the $5 million contract to oversee the tendering process to determine which private corporation will carry out the replacement of lead water pipes in the city. In one of the most insulting moments of the meeting, residents were asked to applaud the AECOM representatives who had been asked to stand up.

What followed was a series of smug remarks by project managers, executives and public relations spokesmen. After residents had been prevented from asking any questions about the current state of the water and the governments response, Joseph Moss Jr., the senior vice president of AECOM, concluded with the pledge that the company would return on May 31 to provide residents a status update.

Workers could be seen shaking their heads throughout the meeting. Several made comments to those sitting nearby, such as, he didnt say a thing, and trust us!

World Socialist Web Site reporters spoke to workers outside the meeting and distributed leaflets advertising an upcoming Socialist Equality Party public meeting, which will include participation of workers in Flint, Kentucky and Puerto Rico, where more than 450,000 residents are still without running water, five months after hurricane Irma, and then Maria. The meeting will provide a forum to discuss a socialist strategy to mobilize the working class to ensure the right to clean and safe water along with other basic social rights.

A worker who attended the forum drew the parallel between the situation confronting Flint workers and those faced by residents in Kentucky. Theyve got a problem with water there too, she told the WSWS. Now they have to beg for water. Its this horrible life where you have to beg for water. They [the government] know they need clean water.

The worker denounced the proceedings of the sham forum. They hold these little meetings, she said. Its like, no, stop trying to have these meetings to push the fact that the water is good when it is not. The pipes arent even fixed and theyre talking about how good the water is. How does that even begin to make sense?

Not even half the water pipes are fixed or replaced. Now theyve even cut down the amount they were originally going to fix. Thats what this really is all about, how they can cut corners and make it appear in a good light.
Yesterday, the French Council of Ministers viewed the Military Planning Law (LPM) for the 2019-2025 period, which imposes a vast increase in military spending. Total spending over this period is to be above 300 billion, and the yearly budget will increase by more than 35 percent to reach 44 billion. This is to fulfill Emmanuel Macrons pledge, during last years presidential election campaign in France, to increase military spending to 2 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Defense Minister Florence Parly indicated that despite the spending increase, France would seek to strictly adhere to European Union (EU) limits on budget deficits. Im aware that the 2 percent for defense go together with Brussels 3 percent [limit on state budget deficits], she told Le Monde. That is, the increase in military spending will correspond automatically to a massive reduction in social spending and in popular living standards.

This exposes the policies pursued across Europe, under the aegis of Macron and the Grand Coalition government that the German bourgeoisie is trying to assemble in Berlin. The banks and the armed forces are waging an offensive against the workers to make them pay for the militarization of Europe. They want to smash social rights won in struggle after the Russian revolution of October 1917 and the foundation of the Soviet Union, and the collapse of fascist regimes in Europe after World War II, in order to prepare the continent for new wars.

In France, they are planning the effective invalidation of the Labor Code by Macrons labor decrees, the imposition of salaries below the minimum wage, mass job cuts in auto, the privatization of the railways and the elimination of the railway workers guaranteed rights, and the end of lifetime employment in the public service. Deep cuts to pensions and health care are announced for the end of Macrons term. At the same time, Macron has handed over billions to the rich by eliminating the wealth tax (ISF), and is handing the general staff hundreds of billions of euros.

The rate of defense spending hikes is to go from 1.7 billion per year in 2018-2022, to 3 billion per year in 2023-2025. This suggests that the deep cuts to pensions and health care planned for the end of Macrons terms is largely destined to finance Frances military machine.

Across NATO, governments are pouring hundreds of billions of euros per year into the armed forces, after Washington recently declared that Russia and China, both nuclear powers, are priority targets outranking Al Qaeda. US Senate Democrats have just agreed to a $165 billion increase in US military spending, while Spain plans to more than double its yearly military budget to 18.47 billion.

The basis of the accord to try to form a Grand Coalition government between conservatives and social democrats in Germany is austerity destined to finance a massive, 35 billion increase in yearly German military spending, that would make Germany the EUs main military power.

The French LPM is part of this international arms race that the imperialist powers in North America and Europe are launching. According to initial press reports, it foresees a 14 percent increase in spending on salaries for the armed forces, including for 6,000 new recruits.

Spending on military equipment and weapons systems is to increase 34 percent, with an accelerated timetable for the production of Scorpion armored vehicles, four Barracuda-class submarines, and three Multi-Mission Frigates (FREMM). Finally, so-called strategic spending, aiming to maintain the long-term military power of the French state, is also projected to explode.

Increased spending on nuclear weapons alone is to amount to 17 billion over the time period covered by the law. There are also to be large increases in spending on cyber-warfare, the designing of new weapons (aircraft carriers, tanks, and fighter planes) and the planning of a European tanker aircraftkey to waging war independently of the United States. Currently, French and European armed forces still depend on US tanker aircraft for their imperialist interventions overseas.

Macron will likely demand even greater increases in military spending in the coming years, however, as he also repeated his call for a return to universal military service last month, in a speech at the Toulon naval base. The cost of the reintroduction of universal military service and its extension to women would reportedly be in the tens of billions of euros.

This militaristic policy, carried out in coordination with all the NATO imperialist powers, constitutes a warning for workers internationally. After a quarter century of imperialist wars following the Stalinist bureaucracys dissolution of the Soviet Union, which cost millions of lives across the Middle East and Africa, world capitalism is yet again on the verge of large-scale war. The conflict for which Macron and the NATO powers are preparing would be a devastating global conflict, aiming to maintain the hegemonic world position of the imperialist powers.

When it speaks more openly about its appetites, the imperialist press admits that this is what NATO is preparing. Thus, in January, the influential British weekly The Economist wrote, powerful, long-term shifts in geopolitics and the proliferation of new technologies are eroding the extraordinary military dominance that America and its allies have enjoyed. Conflict on a scale and intensity not seen since the second world war is once again plausible. The world is not prepared.

These lines constitute a warning that humanity is teetering on the brink of a new world war. They shed a cold light on what Berlin, Madrid, Paris and the Trump administration are preparing, that is, conflict on a scale and intensity not seen since the second world war. This is why, as well, Sweden has resumed yearly publication of a book destined to the entire Swedish population on what to do in case of nuclear war, and the Kremlin issued instructions in November that Russian industry should be prepared for total war mobilization.

For European workers, among whom opposition is rising to the policy of wage cuts or freezes and social austerity imposed across Europe since the 2008 Wall Street crash and economic crisis, it is also a warning on the emerging struggles of the working class. In 2018, large-scale strike action has already been taken by German and Turkish metal workers and British rail workers. In France, retirement home workers struck and rail strikes are being prepared, faced with Macrons privatization plans.

It will be impossible to defend the wages and social rights of the working class in Europe without a political struggle against militarism and war, in which the main allies of workers in France will be their class brothers and sisters in the other countries.
An editorial in a British medical journal has focused renewed attention on the shocking reality that life expectancy in the United States is declining. Failing health of the United States: The role of challenging life conditions and the policies behind them, published Wednesday in BMJ, formerly the British Medical Journal, builds on reports in December by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that revealed US life expectancy declined in 2016 for the second year in a row.

The editorials authors, Steven H. Woolf and Laudan Aron, both sat on a joint panel of the National Research Council and Institute of Medicine in 2013 that investigated US health disadvantage compared to other member countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). According to World Bank Data, the average life expectancy of an aggregate of 35 OECD countries stood at about 75.5 years in 1995. By 2015 the rate had risen to 80.3 years, while the US lagged behind at 78.7 years.

The editorial points to the myriad diseases and behaviors contributing to decreased lifespans in America, as well as to the social and economic factors driving them. The picture emerging is one of a society wracked by burgeoning social inequality, a catastrophic health crisis, and a government health policy aimed at deliberately lowering life expectancy while catering to corporate profit.

The opioid epidemic, alcohol abuse and suicides are leading causes of death in the US. The rate of fatal drug overdoses rose by 137 percent from 2000 to 2014. In 2015 alone, more than 64,000 people died from drug overdoses, exceeding the number of US fatal casualties in the Vietnam War. The suicide rate rose by a staggering 24 percent between 1999 and 2014.

These deaths of despair have disproportionately affected white Americans, including adults aged 25-59, those with limited education, and women. The sharpest increases have been in rural areas.

As to why the rise in mortality has been greatest among white, middle-aged adults and some rural communities, the editorial points to possible factors, which all relate to class issues. They include the collapse of industries and the local economies they supported, the erosion of social cohesion and greater social isolation, economic hardship, and distress among white workers over losing the security their parents once enjoyed.

The 2013 panel found that Americans had poorer health in many domains, including birth outcomes, injuries, homicides, adolescent pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. It found that Americans are more likely to engage in unhealthy behaviors, such as intake of high-calorie foods, drug abuse and firearm ownership.

The editorial also notes that such behaviors are linked to weaker social welfare supports and lack of universal health insurance. What does this mean in the lives of workers and their families? It means cuts to food stamps and cash welfare assistance, the shutdown of community clinics and scarcity of substance abuse programs, lack of health insurance and/or burdensome medical bills. All these factors contribute to poor health outcomes and premature deaths.

Falling life expectancyone of the most important measures of the social health of a societyhas elicited no response from any faction of the US political establishment, neither the Trump administration nor the Democratic Party. On Thursday evening, the US Senate was deliberating on a two-year budget agreement that would increase military spending by $305 billion.

At his weekly press conference, House Speaker Paul Ryan said that the main factor contributing to the governments increasing deficit is not the Pentagons gargantuan budget, which funds the US militarys aggression around the globe, but the so-called entitlementsSocial Security, Medicare and Medicaidprograms that workers depend on for their retirement and their families health.

As the Democratic Party continues its obsession with claims of Russian meddling in the 2016 US elections, the Trump administration has pursued its assault on social programs. After failing in numerous attempts to repeal and/or replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the White House repealed the ACAs individual mandate as part of the corporate tax overhaul, and has allowed states to begin imposing work requirements for Medicaid, the health insurance program for the poor and the disabled.

Discussion of health care and the well-being of American workers has become a non-issue for the Democrats, as they have emerged as the most adamant representatives of the military-intelligence agencies, supporting an impending war against Russiain opposition to Trump and the Republicans and their saber-rattling against North Korea.

In reality, the war against the health of American workers has been a bipartisan conspiracy conducted over decades as part of a conscious strategy to pare back the gains won through the social struggles of the working class begun over a century ago.

Under the Obama administration, the implementation of the ACA was a key volley in the ruling elites social counterrevolution in health care. Sold as an expansion of health care, it was in fact aimed at limiting and rationing workers access to vital medical treatments and medicines as unnecessary and lavish. At the same time, through the universal mandate, it required individuals and families to purchase coverage from private health insurers under threat of tax penalties.

Both the Democrats and Republicans bemoan the high cost of health care in America. But the reality is that the high cost of health careAmericans pay on average $10,000 per person, per yearis not the result of actual spending on health care for workers and their families for vital treatments. It is because the US leaves the vast majority of pricing for drugs, procedures and hospital stays in the hands of the private sector. While hospitals and drug companies charge outrageous prices, millions of people remain uninsured and untreated.

For the ruling class, the increasing number of deaths of working men, women and youth is a cost of doing business. Indeed, it is seen as a positive good, as early deaths mean fewer costs associated with caring for the elderlyand more resources to pump into the stock market.

The US health care crisis is a national emergency. The ruling classes of the world, moreover, look to the US as a model for their own ruthless assault on jobs and social programs. To address this crisis requires a frontal assault on the wealth of the corporate and financial elite.

The Socialist Equality Party calls for the expropriation of the wealth of the corporate and financial aristocracy, and the transformation of the giant drug and health care corporations into public utilities, run on the basis of social need. The vast resources currently monopolized by the top one percent must be made available to finance a universal health care system, in which everyone has access to high-quality care as a basic social right.

Such a social and economic reorganization requires the building of a mass movement of the working class, in opposition to both Democrats and Republicans, uniting workers of all races and nationalities in a fight against the capitalist profit system.
Around 400 Seattle school bus drivers are continuing a strike against transport giant First Student that began February 1. Negotiations resumed Thursday for the first time since the strike began under the auspices of a federal mediator.

First Students press release indicated that it was not planning to improve its position on health care and retirement. The company wrote that it would meet with the mediator and the union with the hope that the union will bring our health care and retirement package to its members for a vote.

For its part Teamsters Local 174 took no note of First Students arrogant pronouncement, issuing a statement declaring, [F]irst Student has finally reached out to the Teamsters and a meeting will be taking place tomorrow, February 8, 2018. We are hopeful that this meeting will bring us closer to a resolution to this strike.

First Student is part of First Transit, the North American division of Scotland-based FirstGroup, which had revenues of over $7 billion in 2016. It offers budget-strapped school districts cheap student transportation based on a low-wage, low-benefit workforce. Licking its lips, First Student boasts, We are the market leader in this $25 billion marketplace, of which only 38 percent is currently operated by the private sector.

Seattle Public Schools (SPS), the largest school district in Washington state with 56,000 students, pays First Student $27 million per year based on a three-year contract to transport 12,000 of its students to and from school daily.

Local 174 and the company had agreed to a contract last year with plans to reopen negotiations based on First Students promise to seek health benefits and retirement funding from the SPS board after it had finalized its two-year budget for 2017-2018. However, the Democratic Party-dominated school board refused this request, emphasizing that it has no legal obligation to do so.

Drivers, determined to gain health care and retirement benefits, voted overwhelmingly in September in support of a strike. Out of the 400 drivers only 26 members of the workforce, composed largely of part-time employees, were eligible for health coverage. Drivers interviewed by the local news media reported finding themselves making too much money to qualify for subsidies under Obamacare while not earning enough to pay for the employer-provided plan.

First Student has sought to break the strike by offering strikebreakers eight hours pay (instead of the standard part-time, split-shift), $50 per diem, originally $25, and meals. It claims to have 50 buses in service, covering one-third of all bus routes.

Since negotiations reopened in July of 2017 Local 174 officials have directed their efforts to wearing down the rank and file. After the September 24 vote to strike, the union delayed strike authorization until October 12. A one-day strike at the end of November was called only after the company had imposed its last, best and final offer. This token action had no impact, as First Student refused to budge from its regressive contract demands. In reality, the walkout was intended as a stunt to allow workers to blow off steam at the same time signaling that the union would not seriously challenge First Students demands.

Union officials reluctantly called an indefinite strike three weeks after the drivers rejected a second contract offer from First Student, on January 6, by a substantial margin of 85 percent. That contract offervirtually unchanged from the originalwas submitted for a vote with union officials refusing to make any recommendation for or against.

The union hoped that adopting a position of neutrality would act to deflect criticism from the membership for presenting them with a second inferior contract offer. Seeking to explain this sellout, union officials wrote, Local 174 does not usually put proposals to a vote of the membership unless they are recommended by the Union leadership and your elected Bargaining Committee. This time we made an exception due to the extremely high stakes involved in a decision to strike.

Despite the recognition of the Teamsters as the nationwide bargaining agent for First Students approximately 40,000 drivers in the US (with some exceptions) the union has consistently isolated every struggle by the drivers. The day that Seattle school bus drivers walked out, Teamsters Local 572 in Southern California ended a two-week strike by school bus drivers there for better pay and health benefits, a guaranteed hourly pay rate and safer working conditions. Their contract had expired last August.

Instead of coordinating the two strikes in order to deliver a heavier blow to First Student, or even reaching out to wider layers of school teachers and employees who face deteriorating pay and benefits and harsher working conditions, the union ordered Southern California bus drivers back to work on February 1 on the basis, according to union President Dennis Watson, that [t]he company has given a verbal and contractual commitment that they will move to remedy  anything of concern with regards to drivers working conditions. No mention was made in this terse one-sentence statement about the workers demands for improved wages and health care benefits.

A search of Local 572s web site failed to locate any mention of their recently ended bus drivers strike or the results of the two-week walkout. The last update on their News tab comes from October of 2017. However, their Political Action tab had an extensive list of candidate recommendations, dominated by Democratic Party operatives, from the presidency down to local school boardsthe same school boards that have repeatedly voted to privatize school transportation services.

Seeking to provide a cover for the isolation of the strike by the unions, the Seattle Education Association (SEA) organized a token walkout by teachers, supported by the pseudo-left International Socialist Organization and Socialist Alternativewhose leading member, Kshama Sawant, is a Seattle City Council memberostensibly in support of the drivers. Indicating their solidarity with the drivers and a desire for a militant struggle against their own work conditions, teachers voted by 93 percent for this action. However, the SEA absurdly scheduled the action for an early release day, with teachers not walking out until students had already gone home for the afternoon.

Meanwhile, Sawant has attempted to promote illusions in the Democratic controlled Seattle School Board, posting a letter to the superintendent stating her readiness to support the board if it fought establishment politicians in [the state capital of] Olympia. This, as though the board was not part and parcel of the same right-wing, anti-working-class Democratic political establishment that dominates Washington state.

School bus drivers can only advance their struggle through a break with the Teamsters and its alliance with the big-business Democratic Party. This requires the formation of a rank-and-file committee led by trusted workers, seeking to mobilize broader industrial action in support of the drivers. This fight must be animated by a socialist program in defense of the basic social rights of the working class such as access to free and universal health care and high-quality, public education for all. Workers interested in conducting such a fight are encouraged to contact the World Socialist Web Site and sign up for the WSWS Teacher Newsletter.
The Socialist Equality Party (SEP) and International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) in Sri Lanka recently held two public meetings in war-ravaged northern Jaffna and Kayts. The meetings were part of the Trotskyist movements intervention into tomorrows local council elections.

The SEP is fielding a list of 16 candidates in Kayts, 21 candidates in Kolonnawa, a Colombo working-class suburb, and 24 in Ambagamuwa in the central plantations district.

Before the meetings SEP and IYSSE members and supporters campaigned among workers and youth at Jaffna university and in Thirunelvely and Jaffna and various fishing villages, such as Gurunagar and Kayts. Thousands of copies of the SEPs election statement were distributed.

P. Thirugnana Sampanthar

Residents in these areas are still suffering from the devastation created by the 26-year civil war conducted by successive Sri Lankan governments against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which ended with the separatist movements defeat in May 2009.

Chairing the Jaffna meeting, SEP candidate P. Thirugnana Sampanthar explained that the party was standing in the elections to provide a socialist and international alternative to the capitalist parties.

This election is occurring at critical time in the international political situation, he said. On the one hand, the imperialist powers, led by US, are dragging humanity toward a catastrophic third world war. On the other hand, we are now seeing a resurgence of international working class struggles.

All the other parties and the media were covering up the danger of war and other key issues, Sampanthar said. The SEP was the only organisation discussing these issues with working people.

The so-called good governance of President Maithripala Sirisena is not a government of the people, Sampanthar said. He detailed its brutal social attacks on social and democratic rights and explained that the Tamil bourgeois nationalist parties, including the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and Tamil United Liberation Front, supported Sirisenas pro-US administration.

The Sirisena government and the so-called opposition parties, Sampanthar said, were whipping up nationalism to divide the Tamil-speaking workers from their Sinhala brethren along ethnic lines. He emphasised the necessity for internationalist unity of workers.

Rasaratnam Balagowry

SEP central committee member Rasaratnam Balagowry drew the audiences attention to the escalating censorship of the Internet.

Google, Twitter and Facebook are run by giant corporations, she said. They are censoring progressive and socialist web sites and social media, and the World Socialist Web Site in particular. This is a major threat to democratic rights. They want to decide what people think, talk about and share. These corporations and governments are nervous that socialist ideas will find an audience among workers and youth now coming into struggle.

Longstanding SEP member T. Chandrasekaran noted that 2018 marked 50 years since the founding of the Revolutionary Communist League, the forerunner of the SEP. The SEPs journey is based on the struggle for socialism. Our movement has consistently intervened in every development in our history in Sri Lanka, in the region and internationally on the basis of a Marxist perspective.

T. Chandrasekaram

The final speaker, SEP general secretary Wije Dias, explained the sharp international economic and political changes now underway, then outlined the situation in Sri Lanka.

In the past, the Sri Lankan capitalist ruling elite could maintain its repressive rule against the working people with the support of treacherous left parties, such as the Lanka Sama Samaja Party and the Stalinist Communist Party. Because these so-called left parties are now thoroughly discredited among the masses because of their betrayals, the United National Party (UNP) and Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP)the two main bourgeois partiesdesperately came together in 2015 to form a government.

From the outset, Dias noted, this government had been confronted with ongoing protests against its anti-democratic measures and austerity program by different sections of workers, rural poor and youth. It was fast approaching a situation where the ruling class was finding that parliamentary rule was inadequate for its purposes.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had equipped the state machinery with more vicious laws that further empower the police, military and judicial system, Dias said. President Sirisena had launched provocative measures to eradicate corruption, a campaign coated with Sinhala-Buddhist chauvinism.

In some instances the different factions of the government come into conflict with each other but all are moving toward a drastic re-fashioning of the repressive state to be used against the working people, the speaker said.

Dias explained that the political and economic turmoil in Sri Lanka was an expression of a global crisis of capitalism. US imperialisms attempts to re-establish its world hegemony through military might, he said, was leading to a breakdown of the international political and military structures established after World War II.

Institutions like NATO face irreparable cracks as countries, such as the US, Germany, and Turkey, each pull in different directions. This is clearly seen in the military conflict in Syria. The European Union has also begun to fracture, as shown with Brexit. Likewise, in the underdeveloped world the non-aligned movement cannot be convened, due to conflicts between its members. Even ASEAN is deeply divided over the relations with China, with India intervening as a strategic partner of the US in the region.

Wije Dias

Pointing to the eruption of struggles of workers and youth internationally, the speaker referred to the recent strikes by 180,000 bus workers in Tamil Nadu as well as bank employees and public sector workers last year in India and stoppages by 960,000 IG Metall members in Germany.

The basic issue confronting these militant workers and the youth is that they can find a solution to what they face only through the political perspective offered by the International Committee of the Fourth International and its organ the World Socialist Web Site. These are the central questions that the SEP presents for discussion in our election campaign, the speaker said.

Dias exposed the bogus election campaigns of the bourgeois political parties and their fake-left backers who claim that the burning social problems facing workers and the poor could be resolved by electing their candidates to the local councils.

Dias quoted a recent press release from the Jaffna Government Agent, the top administrative officer in the area. It referred to lack of industries and acute unemployment. Other statistics revealed there were 30,000 families whose fathers were killed in the anti-Tamil war, farmers were not paid a reasonable price for their produce, and 20,000 families needed homes.

None of these crucial problems could be addressed, Dias said, let alone resolved by the local councils, under the capitalist profit system.

On top of this, Jaffna is still under military occupation, Dias said. He noted that the military had a total of 243,000 soldiers and 150,000 of them were occupying Jaffna. That is one soldier for every seven civilians. The military still holds over 500 acres for their camps in the Jaffna district alone.

All these problems call for a socialist republic of Sri Lanka and Eelam to find rational solutions. Only the SEP fights for such a political change as part of its program of a federation of socialist republics of South Asia and internationally.

A section of the Jaffna meeting

After the meeting, a Jaffna University student said he and his friends were not going to vote for anyone in the election. No one has fulfilled their promises. The TNA claims to be the sole representative of Tamil people, but it is divided. All they are concerned about is their own interests, not the problems of Tamil people.

Revathi, came to the meeting from Kilinochchi, over 60 kilometres away. This is the first time Ive been to a political meeting, she said. What I found is that your party tells the truth and all the other the parties are working for their own interests.

Another participant said: The SEP explains what the capitalist system is and the need for socialist program. Today I understood how the capitalism exploits the working class. The social differences emerge because the resources of the earth are not distributed rationally. Socialism is the only way to establish equality in society.

The author also recommends:

Local government election in Sri Lanka: Support SEP campaign against austerity and war! Fight for a workers and peasants government!

[9 January 2018]
US warplanes and artillery batteries carried out an unprovoked massacre of up to 100 pro-government troops in the northeastern province of Deir Ezzor Wednesday, signaling the initiation of a new and far more dangerous stage in the more than three-year-old direct US military intervention in Syria.

The Syrian government denounced the attack as a war crime and direct support to terrorism, insisting that its forces came under US attack as they were carrying out an operation against Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) elements between the villages of Khasham and al-Tabiya on the eastern side of the Euphrates River.

While the Pentagon proudly claimed to have killed 100 pro-government fighters, Damascus allowed that the US strikes claimed the lives of dozens, injuring many others and causing massive damage in the area.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, meanwhile, said it had confirmed only 20 dead among the pro-government forces.

Whatever the precise number of casualtiesthe Pentagons figures are suspect given that the bombings and artillery barrages were not followed up by any ground attackthe incident marks a major escalation of US aggression against Syria, eclipsing the firing of 59 US cruise missiles last April in response to an unsubstantiated allegation of a chemical weapons attack in Idlib province.

The only previous US attack resulting in comparable bloodshed was the September 17, 2016 US airstrike against a Syrian army position near the Deir Ezzor airport, which killed 62 soldiers and wounded some 100 more. The Pentagon claimed that attack was the result of an unintentional, regrettable error.

This time around, the US military said that it was exercising its inherent right of self-defense in attacking the forces of a government whose territory American troops are occupying without either its consent or any mandate from the United Nations.

The official story from the Pentagon is that a column of 500 pro-government fighters, including tanks and artillery, had attempted to take control of territory east of the Euphrates River that had been seized by the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the US proxy ground force that is overwhelmingly dominated by the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia. It accused the government forces of launching an unprovoked attack on a well-established SDF position, where US Special Forces advisors who direct the Kurdish fighters were deployed.

Pentagon officials speaking on condition of anonymity told the media that they believed Russian military contractors operating with the Syrian government forces were among the dead.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported that it had no military personnel in the area. It also said it was aware only of 25 Syrian militia members having been wounded in the US strikes.

Russias Defense Ministry added in a statement that the American attack once again showed that the US is maintaining its illegal presence in Syria not to fight the Daesh group [ISIS], but to seize and hold Syrian economic assets.

The area where the fighting took place is a center of Syrias oil and gas fields. The village of al-Tabiya is the site of the Conoco gas plant, which was previously run by ConocoPhillips until the energy corporation turned it over to the Syrian government in 2005. After the area fell under ISIS control, the Islamist militia used gas and oil exports to secure much of its financing.

Washington is determined to deny the Syrian government control over these resources and to that end has sought to carve out a US zone of control covering roughly 30 percent of the country, while cutting off its borders with Turkey and Iraq.

Russias Foreign Ministry raised pointed questions about the US version of events, particularly the vast disparity between the claim of 100 Syrian government troops killed and, on the other side, a total of one SDF fighter wounded.

"First of all, how could a 500-strong unit attack a headquarters with tank and artillery support and, as a result, inflict an injury on one counter-attacker? asked Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova. How could those who were in that headquarters remain in those conditions for the half hour or more needed to call in and ensure air support?

How, within such a short period of time, could a decision have been made to open massive fire for effect on Syrian armed forces? she continued. To clarify all these questions, and to get a full picture of what happened, relevant information is now being gathered, both through our military experts and through the Foreign Ministry.

Despite the words of protest from Moscow, the Pentagon reported that it had used its deconfliction line with the Russian military to provide advance notice of its strike on the Syrian government forces and remained in contact during and after the attack. We had a very productive conversation, said Pentagon spokesperson Dana White. ...we told them, they knew what was happening. They agreed not to attack Coalition forces. So, from that respect, it was successful.

The attack on Deir Ezzor is part of a steady ratcheting up of the multisided conflict in Syria, provoked overwhelmingly by Washingtons announced decision to maintain a permanent US military occupation of the country and pursue a post-ISIS policy centered on the original US objectives of Syrian regime change and rolling back Iranian and Russian influence in the region. Until launching the anti-ISIS campaign in 2014, Washington had sought the ouster of the government of President Bashar al-Assad by means of supporting and arming the Al Qaeda-linked militias out of which ISIS itself emerged. This sparked the bloody seven-year-long war that has claimed the lives of some 350,000 Syrians, while displacing millions of others.

Since invading the country over three years ago, the US military has relied primarily on the Kurdish YPG as its proxy ground force, but it also continues to arm and train Islamist militia groups. During the US-backed siege of Raqqa and other formerly ISIS-occupied towns, the US military and its Kurdish proxies organized the evacuation of large numbers of ISIS fighters and their redeployment to Deir Ezzor in order to turn them against the Syrian government forces advancing on the provinces strategically vital oil and gas fields.

To the west, the Turkish invasion of the Kurdish-controlled enclave of Afrin, which came in response to US plans to organize a 30,000-strong border security force based largely on the Kurdish YPG and create what Ankara sees as a de facto Kurdish state on its border, threatens to escalate into a direct conflict between the US and Turkey, ostensible NATO allies.

On Wednesday, the top US commander in Syria and Iraq, Lt. Gen. Paul Funk, visited Manbij, the Syrian city on the western side of the Euphrates that has been occupied by the YPG and its US Special Forces handlers. The visit came just one day after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan demanded that the American forces withdraw from Manbij, vowing that the Turkish military would extend its offensive into the city.

Asked if he was worried about the Turkish threat, Gen. Funk responded, Its not in my job description to worry; my job is to fight.

Meanwhile, both the US and French governments have issued condemnations of Damascus over bombings in Idlib province and Eastern Ghouta, as well as unverified allegations of using chlorine gas against civilian populations. The State Department issued a statement saying that the bombings must stop now.

The hypocritical Western media, which went largely silent as the US killed tens of thousands of civilians and razed entire cities to the ground in last years sieges of Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria, has suddenly woken up to report the civilian casualties resulting from the bombardments by Syrian and Russian warplanes. Once again they are churning out propaganda to prepare for a military escalation that has the potential of triggering a direct military confrontation between the worlds two major nuclear powers, the US and Russia.
Monim Haroon knew the men were coming.

Paralyzed with fear, the 11-year-old boy living in Sudan knew there was only one option if he was to escape with his life -- to dress like a woman.

The Janjaweed, a Sudanese government-backed militia, did not hesitate in their pursuit of killing young men.

"At first, the militias only killed the boys. The women -- they didn't do anything to them," said Haroon. "But later, they started raping and killing the women."

The year was 2001. Darfur was about to be plunged into genocide, and Haroon's village -- on the mountain of Jebel Marrah -- was ensconced in the middle.

Haroon's family sent him away for his own safety to finish school in southeast Sudan and then to start a five-year program in electrical engineering at Blue Nile University.

But three years in, Haroon said his brother and friends were arrested, and he knew it was time to flee. Again.

'The other option is to be murdered'

"There is no freedom at all [in Sudan]," said Haroon, now 28 years old. "Only if you believe in the ideology of extremist Islam."

His flight took him to Egypt and, in late 2012, across the Sinai into Israel. But lawmakers there had just amended a law intended to imprison anyone who crosses into the country illegally.

Haroon spent 18 months at the Saharonim prison for migrants, before being transferred to Holot, an open-air prison. Most of his first three years in Israel were spent in one prison or another.

"No one wants to stay in a place where he is not wanted. The issue is that the alternatives are to stay here and listen to curses every day or to go to a place where it's certain you will be killed," Haroon said. "Therefore, we have to stay here, because the other option is to be murdered."

Like 1,000 other Darfuris in Israel, Haroon received temporary residency. But his application for asylum remains unanswered six years after he submitted it.

'Infiltrators'

Haroon is one of approximately 37,000 illegal immigrants in Israel, the majority from Eritrea or Sudan according to the Population and Immigration Authority, countries the US recognizes as human rights violators.

In Sudan, they fled war and poverty. In Eritrea, they escaped a brutal dictatorship that conscripts men and women into the military for life.

They made their way to Israel seeking a better life. But in 2013, Israel completed a fence running the length of the Sinai border, halting the flow of illegal migrants there almost immediately.

At its highest point, there were some 65,000 illegal immigrants in Israel. Over the past decade, the Population and Immigration Authority says it has received 54,600 requests for asylum. Only 33 have been accepted. Tens of thousands remain mired in the bureaucratic process, though Israeli leaders say they have added staff to clear the backlog.

That makes Israel's rate of granting asylum among the lowest in the Western world.

In comparison, through the first three quarters of 2017, nearly 90% of asylum seekers in the European Union were granted refugee status, according to a compilation of data from Eurostat, the EU's data compilation site. More than 60% of asylum seekers from Sudan were granted similar status.

But Israel doesn't call them "migrants" or "illegal immigrants." Instead, the Hebrew word used is "mistanenim" -- infiltrators.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has spearheaded the plan to remove the immigrants, arguing that in many cases they are coming to find work.

"Israel will continue to offer asylum for genuine refugees and will remove illegal migrants from its midst," Netanyahu said at a recent cabinet meeting.

A few weeks earlier, Netanyahu had used more threatening rhetoric: "The infiltrators have a clear choice -- cooperate with us and leave voluntarily, respectably, humanely and legally, or we will have to use other tools at our disposal, which are also according to law."

Deal with Rwanda?

Immigrants who refuse to leave face incarceration. Those who agree to leave receive $3,500 and a plane ticket to a third country.

Israel says its plan abides by international law and was approved by the country's high court, adding there is no intention of deporting women, children or families. Israel estimates that approximately two-thirds of immigrants in Israel are single men between 18 and 40.

Last Sunday, Israel began handing out deportation letters to some of them, saying they had been identified as "infiltrators from Eritrea and Sudan" who should leave for a "safe third country."

Israel has never explicitly identified the country. Media speculation focused on Rwanda and Uganda, two countries that share warming ties with Israel. At first, both denied there was any arrangement.

But as Netanyahu met Rwandan President Paul Kagame at the World Economic Forum in Davos last month, the issue of migrants came up.

A brief readout from the Prime Minister's Office said, "Regarding the migrant issue, Prime Minister Netanyahu agreed with President Kagame, who made clear that he would only accept a process that fully complies with international law."

A statement from the Rwandan government's official Twitter account, meanwhile, said, "Rwanda is ready to help in whatever limited way it could, by welcoming anyone arriving at its borders in need of a home, voluntarily and without any constraint."

The statement seemed to imply that Rwanda would not accept refugees who were forcibly deported.

The statement offers little consolation to those possibly facing deportation. Haroon said a friend of his left for Rwanda, but wasn't allowed to stay there and was murdered in South Sudan. Others he knew from Holot died at the hands of ISIS in Libya after they became refugees again.

Calls to action

The government's policy has come under criticism at home.

A group of Israeli writers, including Amos Oz, one of the country's premier authors, said the migrants "carry on their bodies and souls the terrible scars from their escape," calling on the government to provide them asylum. And an El Al pilot said on social media that he "will not fly refugees to their death. I will not be an accomplice to this."

Others call on Israelis to take action to protect potential deportees.

Rabbi Susan Silverman, sister of famed comedian Sarah Silverman, launched an initiative called Asylum Israel to hide asylum seekers against deportation. She says the idea was inspired by Anne Frank, who hid in the home of a Christian family in Amsterdam until her family was found and sent to Nazi concentration camps.

"We've gotten to this point where the government is telling asylum seekers they can either be imprisoned indefinitely or be deported," said Silverman, "which is going to mean for them being back on the refugee trail, human trafficking or death."

"This is not what the Jewish state does."

'We feel like strangers'

If there is an epicenter to this story, it is south Tel Aviv. Only a short drive from Israel's flourishing Startup Nation, the low-income neighborhood has a high population of Africans.

Local resident Sheffi Paz said it has ceased to be Israeli.

"We feel like completely strangers," Paz said during a night-time stroll. She has become a grassroots activist and one of the most vocal voices pushing for deportation of the migrants.

"I really need a Jewish country," says Paz. "My parents were Holocaust survivors. That's my conclusion from the Holocaust, not that I have to give a home for the world, but that I need to fight for my country."

Many argue the opposite, saying the Holocaust demonstrates a need to help those who are in jeopardy.

"If we want to be a country like any other nation in the Western world, Israel needs to give its share," said Reut Michaeli, executive director of the Hotline for Migrants and Refugees, an organization that helps immigrants apply for asylum and visas. "We are a country that was built by refugees."

Michaeli's parents came to the British Mandate of Palestine in 1941, before the creation of the State of Israel. They were illegal immigrants seeking safety.

Deporting those who seek help, she said, "is against our Jewish values as a refugee nation."

One asylum seeker interviewed by CNN, Johnny Goitom from Eritrea, wore a shirt bearing a quotation from the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy, verse 10:19.

"And you shall love the stranger, for strangers you were in the Land of Egypt."

It is a commandment that Goitom said the Israeli government has forgotten.

"They don't want refugees here. They tell you that you're not a refugee," Goitom said.

"This is the statement in the Bible that reminds us of the true story of the people of Israel," Goitom said. "They were slaves in Egypt, and they forgot this, so this I wear it on purpose."
English French

Success of the rights issue

with preferential subscription right

Paris, France - February 9, 2018

The rights issue with preferential subscription right (PSR) of approximately 112.2 million (including share premium) was oversubscribed with a total demand of approximately 132.5 million, representing approximately 118% of the offer amount.

Jean-Georges Malcor, CEO of the Company, said: "This rights issue is a key step, successfully completed, and we would like to thank the shareholders for their trust and commitment. It forms part of CGG group's financial restructuring, allowing it to benefit from a healthier financial situation. CGG is an integrated Geosciences group, with leading technological positions which are fully adapted to its clients' new needs, and we look to the future with confidence and determination."

Results of the Rights Issue with PSR

CGG announces today the results of its rights issue with preferential subscription rights for an amount of 112,215,060.36 (including the share premium) (the "Rights Issue with PSR"), through the issuance of 71,932,731 shares of the Company (the "New Shares") each with one warrant attached (the "Warrants #2" and together with the New Shares, the "ABSA") at a subscription price of 1.56 per ABSA (i.e. 0.01 par value and 1.55 share premium).

At the end of the subscription period, on 2 February 2018, the total demand, which amounted to 132.5 million, was 20.3 million higher than the target amount, i.e. a subscription rate of 118.06%. The number of ABSA subscribed on a non-reducible basis (a titre irreductible) was 65,283,036 and represented 90.76 % of the ABSA to be issued. Additionally, 19,639,466 ABSA were subscribed on a reducible basis and which will therefore only be partially satisfied up to 6,649,695 ABSA. In accordance with article L. 225-133 of the French Commercial Code, the allotment scale (bareme de repartition) regarding subscription on a reducible basis is annexed to this press release.

Consequently, no ABSA will be subscribed by DNCA Invest and the entities managed by DNCA Finance (the "DNCA Entities") or by the holders of Senior Notes pursuant to their respective backstop commitments.

The Rights Issue with PSR is part of the Company's financial restructuring plan, which will also notably include the issue, subject to the satisfaction (or waiver) of the conditions to settlement described below, of (i) new shares resulting from the equitization of the Convertible Bonds (the "Creditor Shares 1"), (ii) new shares resulting from the equitization of the Senior Notes (the "Creditor Shares 2"), (iii) warrants allocated to the shareholders of CGG (the "Warrants #1"), (iv) warrants allocated in favor of the subscribers of the Second Lien Notes (the "Warrants #3"), (v) warrants allocated to the members of the ad hoc committee of holders of Senior Notes (the "Coordination Warrants"), (vi) warrants allocated to the members of the ad hoc committee of holders of Senior Notes (the "Backstop Warrants"). A press release disclosing the number of instruments to be issued for each of the above-mentioned categories will be issued shortly.

Settlement and Delivery

The settlement and delivery and admission to trading on Euronext Paris of the New Shares and Warrants #2 are scheduled for 21 February 2018, subject to the satisfaction of the conditions to the settlement and delivery set out below.

Conditions to the settlement and delivery

The transactions provided for under the safeguard plan and the Chapter 11 plan (including the Rights Issue with PSR) are regarded as a whole so that if any of them cannot be implemented, none of them will be implemented. The settlement and delivery of the Rights Issue with PSR must occur (i) before February 28, 2018 (or any later date as may be determined in accordance with the terms of the lock-up agreement entered into by the Company on 13 June 2017 (the "Lock-Up Agreement") and the restructuring support agreement which provides for the backstop commitment of the DNCA Entities (the "Restructuring Support Agreement")) and (ii) concurrently with the settlement and delivery of the Creditor Shares 1, Creditor Shares 2, Warrants #1, Second Lien Notes, Warrants #3, Backstop Warrants and Coordination Warrants.

In addition, the settlement and delivery of the ABSA and, more generally, the completion of the financial restructuring plan of which it forms part, remain subject to (i) the satisfaction (or waiver), prior to the settlement and delivery of the Rights Issue with PSR, of certain conditions precedent set forth in the private placement agreement dated 26 June 2017 (the "Private Placement Agreement") and in the conveyancing instruments for the issuance of the New First Lien Notes and Second Lien Notes, as well as (ii) the absence of termination of the Private Placement Agreement or the Lock-Up Agreement.

Information to the public

The issue of the ABSA has been described in a prospectus (the "Prospectus"), which comprises:

the registration document of CGG, filed with the AMF on May 1, 2017 under number D.17-0486 (the "Registration Document");

the first update of the Company's Registration Document filed with the AMF on 13 October 2017 under number D.17-0486-A01 and the second update of the Company's Registration Document filed with the AMF on 16 January 2018 under number D.17-0486-A02 (the " Registration Document Updates ");

the securities note which was approved by the AMF on 16 January 2018 under visa number 18-018 (the " Securities Note "); and

the summary of the Prospectus (included in the Securities Note).

Copies of the Prospectus can be obtained free of charge from the registered office of CGG, Tour Maine Montparnasse 33, avenue du Maine - 75015 Paris, the Company's website (www.cgg.com) and the AMF website (www.amf-france.org).

CGG draws the public's attention to the risk factors described in chapter 3 of the Registration Document, chapter 3 of the Registration Document Updates and chapter 2 of the Securities Note.

Furthermore, the appeal lodged by four holders of Convertible Bonds, namely Delta Alternative Management, Schelcher Prince Gestion, La Financiere de l'Europe and HMG Finance, against the judgment dated December 1, 2017 which declared their claims against the draft safeguard plan inadmissible and approved on the safeguard plan, will be examined by the Paris Court of Appeal at the oral hearing on 29 March 2018.

Mr. Jean Gatty, acting in his capacity as representative of the holders of Convertible Bonds, as well as JG Capital Management, acting as management company of the JG Partners fund, holder of Convertible Bonds, have withdrawn the third-party opposition they had filed against the judgment approving the safeguard plan rendered by the Commercial Court of Paris on December 1, 2017.

For the purpose of this press release:

"Senior Notes" means, together, (i) the high yield notes, bearing interest at a rate of 5.875% and maturing in 2020, issued by the Company on 23 April 2014, (ii) the high yield notes, bearing interest at a rate of 6.5% and maturing in 2021, issued by the Company on 31 May 2011, 20 January 2017 and 13 March 2017, and (iii) the high yield notes, bearing interest at a rate of 6.875% and maturing in 2022, issued by the Company on 1 May 2014;

"Convertible Bonds" means, together, (i) the convertible bonds (obligations a option de conversion et/ou d'echange en actions nouvelles ou existantes), bearing interest at a rate of 1.75% and maturing on 1 January 2020, issued by the Company on 26 June 2015, and (ii) the convertible bonds (obligations a option de conversion et/ou d'echange en actions nouvelles ou existantes), bearing interest at a rate of 1.25% and maturing on 1 January 2019, issued by the Company on 20 November 2012.

Schedule: allotment scale for subscriptions on a reducible basis

About CGG:

CGG (www.cgg.com) is a fully integrated Geoscience company providing leading geological, geophysical and reservoir capabilities to its broad base of customers primarily from the global oil and gas industry. Through its three complementary businesses of Equipment, Acquisition and Geology, Geophysics & Reservoir (GGR), CGG brings value across all aspects of natural resource exploration and exploitation. CGG employs around 5,300 people around the world, all with a Passion for Geoscience and working together to deliver the best solutions to its customers.

CGG is listed on the Euronext Paris SA (ISIN: 0013181864) and the New York Stock Exchange (in the form of American Depositary Shares. NYSE: CGG).

Contacts

Group Communications

Christophe Barnini

Tel: + 33 1 64 47 38 11

E-Mail: : invrelparis@cgg.com Investor Relations

Catherine Leveau

Tel: +33 1 64 47 34 89

E-mail: : invrelparis@cgg.com

Disclaimer

This announcement does not, and shall not, in any circumstances constitute a public offering of securities or an invitation to the public in connection with any offer.

The distribution of this document may be restricted by law in certain jurisdictions. Persons into whose possession this document comes are required to inform themselves about and to observe any such restrictions. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

This announcement is an advertisement and not a prospectus within the meaning of Directive 2003/71/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 November 2003, as amended (the "Prospectus Directive").

With respect to the member States of the European Economic Area which have implemented the Prospectus Directive, no action has been undertaken or will be undertaken to make an offer to the public of the securities referred to herein requiring a publication of a prospectus in any relevant member State. As a result, the securities may not and will not be offered in any relevant member State except in accordance with the exemptions set forth in Article 3(2) of the Prospectus Directive, if they have been implemented in that relevant member State, or under any other circumstances which do not require the publication by CGG of a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Directive and/or to applicable regulations of that relevant member State.

This document is not an offer of securities for sale nor the solicitation of an offer to purchase securities in the United States of America or any other jurisdiction where such offer may be restricted. Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States of America absent registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), or an exemption from registration. The securities of CGG described herein have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act, and CGG does not intend to make a public offer of its securities in the United States of America.

This document is only being distributed to, and is only directed at (i) persons who are outside the United Kingdom, (ii) persons in the United Kingdom that are "investment professionals" falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (as amended) of the United Kingdom (the "Order"), (iii) persons who fall within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) ("high net worth companies, unincorporated associations, etc.") of the Order, or (iv) any other persons to whom an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of Article 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000) in connection with the issue or sale of any securities may otherwise lawfully be communicated or caused to be communicated (all such persons together being referred to as "Relevant Persons"). This document is directed only at Relevant Persons and must not be acted on or relied on by persons who are not Relevant Persons. Any investment or investment activity to which this document relates is available only to Relevant Persons and will be engaged in only with Relevant Persons. Any person other than a relevant person should not act or rely on this document or any of its contents.

Schedule

Allotment scale for subscriptions on a reducible basis

The new ABSA which were not allocated further to the subscriptions on a non-reducible basis, reserved to shareholders or purchasers of preferential subscription rights, were allotted to subscribers on a reducible basis by applying a ratio equal to 0.929069229 calculated on the basis of the number of rights upon which the subscription on a non-reducible basis was made without taking into account the fractions. The allotment could not exceed the number of shares requested on a reducible basis.

The allotment was made as follows:

Allotment scale for subscriptions on a reducible basis Number of presented preferential subscription rights (PSR) Number of ABSAs allocated from 4 PSR 3 ABSAs from 8 PSR 7 ABSAs from 12 PSR 11 ABSAs from 16 PSR 14 ABSAs from 20 PSR 18 ABSAs from 24 PSR 22 ABSAs from 28 PSR 26 ABSAs from 32 PSR 29 ABSAs

and so on by application of the distribution ratio equal to 0.929069229 to the number of rights presented.
President Donald Trump is expected to campaign for Rick Saccone, a Republican state lawmaker running for a US House seat in Pennsylvania, later this month, according to a White House official and several other people familiar with the President's plans.

The White House is eying February 21 for the President to travel to Pittsburgh to stump for Saccone in the special election in March for Pennsylvania's 18th Congressional District. The seat was held by Rep. Tim Murphy, who resigned in October after reports surfaced alleging that the anti-abortion rights Republican urged a woman he was having an affair with to have an abortion. Murphy did not return CNN's request for comment at the time. He had previously said he would not seek reelection at the end of his term.

Last month, the President tweeted that he was giving his "total support to RICK SACCONE," calling Saccone "a great guy."

Trump's tweet came in advance of a company tour in Pittsburgh, though his staff later said the visit to Pennsylvania was part of official White House business and not a campaign stop.

Vice President Mike Pence appeared alongside Saccone last week at a fundraising event that raised $250,000, according to a source close to Pence.

This will be the first GOP candidate that Trump has campaigned with since Republican Roy Moore's stunning loss to Democrat Doug Jones in the special Senate election in Alabama in December. Advisers inside and outside the White House have emphasized a less-risky approach for endorsements in 2018, saying that Trump and Pence will not weigh in on primaries.
VIGO COUNTY, Ind. (WTHI) - An attorney is trying to get something done about the Vigo County Jail issues.

His latest action fell short, for now.

On-going overcrowding problems are at the center of the lawsuit.

Michael Sutherlin is the attorney representing former Vigo County jail inmates in a lawsuit against the county.

He told us that he would file for a three-judge panel in the case.

That panel would have more weight, for example, they would be able to release inmates.

News 10 has learned that a circuit court judge has denied that request.

The judge said he needed Sutherlin to prove two things.

First, that a court has previously entered an order for less extreme solutions that weren't effective.

Second, they to prove Vigo County had enough time to comply with previous court orders.

The judge said Sutherlin could only prove the second of those two points.

The judge said Sutherlin could resubmit for a judging panel again in the future.

News 10 reached out to Sutherlin for a comment, so far, he has not replied.
Poland's chief rabbi says a lack of clarity surrounding the country's controversial Holocaust law has led to a "distortion of facts."

Rabbi Michael Schudrich says the law, which makes it illegal to accuse the Polish nation of complicity in crimes committed by Nazi Germany, including the Holocaust, has caused widespread confusion.

"We are hearing many more distortions of facts than we heard two weeks ago," Schudrich told CNN. "The way the law was written and presented failed to meet its goal and that's something we are going to have to work on."

Polish President Andrzej Duda signed the bill late Tuesday ahead of it being assessed by the country's Constitutional Tribunal.

The law would ban the use of terms such as "Polish death camps" in relation to Auschwitz and other such camps located in Nazi-occupied Poland. Violations would be punished by a fine or a jail sentence of up to three years.

The new law has led to widespread criticism from Israel, France and the United States.

"My sense is that no one anticipated this strength of a negative response," Schudrich said. "Part of it clearly is that for many Poles it's been too painful and too long to hear expressions like 'Polish Death Camp;' it's blaming them for something they didn't do."

"One of the most horrible places on the earth Auschwitz -- you can understand it that if you didn't do it and are being blamed for it. that's upsetting. So I understand that. However the way the law has been written, the way it had been explained to the public, was done clearly in an insufficient manner."

Poland was the center of Ashkenazi Jewry before the Holocaust, with around 3.5 million Jews living in the country before the outbreak of World War II in 1939. By the end of the war, just 10% of the community remained.

According to Yad Vashem of the Holocaust remembrance center in Jerusalem, between 30,000 and 35,000 Polish Jews were saved with the help of non-Jewish Polish citizens. Schudrich, who was appointed as the country's chief rabbi in 2004, has spent most of the past 30 years working with the Jewish community in Poland.

Read: Poland's Holocaust law should terrify you

He believes that the Jewish community and the government need to communicate more clearly. "What is very important now is that the two sides listen to each other," he added. "So what has been heartbreaking over the last 10 days is how people have been talking at each other."

"Clearly this law was supposed to me about education, to educate the world what the Poles did and didn't do during World War II, what they were complicit of and weren't complicit of. It's education and as we could see the goal of education has not been met. The opposite has happened. "

Read: Anti-Semitism is still alive in Germany 70 years after the Holocaust

'This is not meant to revise history'

While there is a consensus among historians that certain Polish individuals and groups did collaborate with the Nazi occupiers, recent Polish governments have sought to challenge that narrative.

Poland's Deputy Foreign Minister Bartosz Cichocki said the law would restrain those who claim Poland was responsible for the actions of Nazi Germany, not rewrite the country's history. "This is not meant to revise the history whatsoever, this is meant to guard the truth about the Holocaust," Cichocki told CNN.

"We have to realize that when he or she says that the Polish state or the Polish nation is responsible for the Holocaust, they diminish the responsibility of the real perpetrators.

"This is also a way of Holocaust denial and we want to fight it and we will stand together with Israel and the other countries to guard the truth of the Holocaust. Our law actually follows the example of legislation all over Europe and Israel that penalizes Holocaust denial."

The law, which includes exemptions for those carrying out academic research and art, has been sent to the country's Constitutional Tribunal to ensure it doesn't breach the Polish constitution.

"I can't see how people including witnesses of history telling their stories could be punished. This is simply a misunderstand and this is not in the law," Cichocki added.
LAMAR COUNTY, Ala. (WTVA) - If you smoke in Alabama in your car with children, it could soon lead to a fine.

Last week the Alabama House of Representatives has voted to make it illegal to smoke in a car carrying a child.

"I really agree with it I smoke myself but I've got five kids of myself," said Vernon resident Raymond Taylor. "It's not healthy to smoke at all."

It's caused health problems for the father.

"It's not only bad for their health," said Mr. Taylor. Eventually, it causes problems later on in life. Like me I'm a smoker I've got COPD.

COPD is a chronic problem in your lungs that causes severe wheezing.

According to a study my Circulation Journal, second-hand smoke could increase a child's risk of heart disease.

If the bill passes, the fine is $100.

"It ought to be $150, that's what I think. Because nobody needs to smoke around a child, period."

The bill is scheduled to be voted on next in the Alabama Senate.
FLINT, Mich. (WTVA) - The fourth West Point kidnapping suspect is headed back to Mississippi.

Dequan Upchurch had been sitting in the Genesee County jail in Flint, Michigan, since January 9.

Jail officials say Upchurch was released into the custody of Clay County on Wednesday.

Upchurch had been on the run since being named one of four suspects in a November kidnapping and armed robbery of a family in the Pine Bluff Community.

The U.S. Marshals captured Upchurch in the Flint area which is more than 800 miles from West Point.

Michigan court officials say Upchurch waived his right to an extradition hearing at his arraignment on a fugitive from justice charge on January 25.

A prison transport service is bringing Upchurch back to Mississippi.

Three other men have already been arrested and charged in the case.
Tupelo Partly Cloudy 84 Hi: 87 Lo: 71 Feels Like: 89 More Weather Columbus Partly Cloudy 79 Hi: 86 Lo: 71 Feels Like: 82 More Weather Oxford Partly Cloudy 82 Hi: 86 Lo: 68 Feels Like: 86 More Weather Starkville Partly Cloudy 79 Hi: 86 Lo: 70 Feels Like: 82 More Weather

Tropical storm Nicholas will be the focal point of our weather forecast over the next several days. We will see some rainfall and some of the rainfall may be on the heavy side at times. Even a few isolated tornadoes cannot be ruled out of the question at times.
TORONTO, Feb. 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Integrated Asset Management Corp. (the Corporation) (TSX:IAM) announced the results of voting at its annual meeting of shareholders held Thursday February 8th, 2018 (the Meeting). Each of the nominees listed in the management information circular dated January 5, 2018 was elected as a director of the Corporation at the Meeting. According to proxies received by management in advance of the Meeting, the voting results were:



Nominee # of Votes

For % of Votes

For # of Votes

Withheld % of Votes

Withheld Victor Koloshuk 11,091,987 87.62 % 1,567,243 12.38 % David H. Atkins 12,423,275 98.14 % 235,955 1.86 % Robert L. Brooks 11,231,883 88.72 % 1,427,347 11.28 % John A. Crocker 11,461,883 90.54 % 1,197,347 9.46 % Bruce D. Day 12,423,275 98.14 % 235,955 1.86 % Veronika Hirsch 12,421,275 98.12 % 237,955 1.88 % David G. Mather 11,461,883 90.54 % 1,197,347 9.46 % John F.K. Robertson 11,461,883 90.54 % 1,197,347 9.46 %

Details of the voting results on all matters considered at the Meeting are available in the Corporations report of voting results, which is available under the Corporations profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Integrated Asset Management Corp. is one of Canadas leading alternative asset management companies with approximately $2.4 billion in assets and committed capital under management in real estate, private debt and infrastructure debt as of February 8, 2018.

For further information, please contact

Tom Felkai, CFO

T: 416 933 8263

E: tfelkai@iamgroup.ca



www.iamgroup.ca
MIDWAY, Fla. (WTXL) - Thursday night, commissioners are gathering at the Midway special city council meeting to announce a new business coming to the city.

Midway officials are thrilled to bring a new truck service station to the city.

Tallahassee Truck and R.V. Services is in the perfect location for travelers, just miles from I-10 on Highway 90. Officials say it's gong to be great for the area, attracting people into midway, to other businesses, and boosting the local economy.

After years of planning, construction began a month and a half ago.

"We have some other companies that have interest to getting out on Highway 90 as well. So our economic development goals are being reached at this time," said Leslie Steele, the city manager of Midway. "We want them slow and steady, we want our growth to be responsible and we want to do things that will help the citizens of Midway."

Officials anticipate the new business will bring new job opportunities to the city of Midway.

Also in Thursday night's meeting, they are discussing and revising Florida Statue 119. We'll have more details about adjustments made to statue 119 during the city council meeting coming up on your news at 11.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - Thursday kicked-off a three day conference comparing the 'Me Too Movement' and female representation in French literature.

The conference will examine how women's voices are used and perceived not only in today's climate, but in history as well. This is all for the 9th 2018 International Women in French Conference hosted by the Winthrop King Institute at Florida State.

A French professor says the 'Me Too Movement' inspired her to go back and examine the female voice throughout history.

The conference is being hosted at the Globe on FSU's campus. It will run from Thursday to Saturday at 8 p.m.

You can find out more about the event here.
MONTREAL, Feb. 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Beaufield Resources Inc. ("Beaufield" or the Corporation) (TSX VENTURE:BFD) announces the filing of an independent National Instrument 43-101 (NI 43-101) technical report (the Technical Report) on the Lac Rouleau Block of the Urban Project.



The Technical Report, dated February 8, 2018, was prepared by Alain Beauregard, P. Geo. and Daniel Gaudreault, Eng. from Geologica Groupe-Conseil Inc.

Beaufield's Urban Project is located in the Abitibi area, approximately 190 km northeast of the town of Val dOr. The Project is comprised of four separate claim blocks covering 22,327 hectares strategically located within the emerging Urban-Barry gold camp. Several prospective projects are present in the area, including Osisko Mining's Windfall project which is adjacent to Beaufield's holdings. The area is currently one of the most active gold exploration camps in Quebec.

The Lac Rouleau Block has been the focus of much of Beaufields recent exploration effort as it has the highest concentrations of gold occurrences from drill holes and historical surface showings of the Corporations holdings. Historic exploration has concentrated on the central and southern portions of the property while the northern portion of the property remains largely unexplored.

Three main mineralized zones (Zone 14, 17 and 18) have been traced by drilling over a 1.4km strike length hosted within the Rouleau Shear Zone (the RSZ). The RSZ is considered a 20m to 40m wide corridor that strikes ENE/WSW with a near vertical dip. Zone 18 is considered the most significant, characterized by gold mineralization hosted in a silicified and carbonate altered breccia.

The authors of the Technical Report firmly believe in the exploration potential of the property and recommend an initial phase including geoscientific compilation, 3D compilation of the mineralized zones showing significant continuity, surface exploration work, ground geophysical surveys, geochemical sampling and detailed mapping followed by a second phase beginning with a 3,000 m drilling program.

Geologicas comprehensive review of the exploration work completed on our Lac Rouleau project represents an important first step in our current target assessment and future exploration plans. We remain enthusiastic about the geologic potential offered by our strategic position within this emerging gold camp, stated Ron Stewart, President and CEO of Beaufield.

Readers are cautioned that this Technical Report was prepared to fulfill continuous disclosure requirements and the Technical Report does not disclose a resource estimate. A copy of the Technical Report has been filed on SEDAR.

Qualified Persons

This news release has been prepared by Ronald Stewart, P. Geo., President and CEO of Beaufield and Mathieu Stephens, P. Geo., Vice President of Exploration and Corporate Development for Beaufield, the Qualified Persons, as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Technical disclosure in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Alain Beauregard, P. Geo. and Daniel Gaudreault, Eng. from Geologica Groupe-Conseil Inc., independent Qualified Persons as defined by NI 43-101.

About Geologica

Based in Val dOr, Quebec, Geologica Groupe-Conseil Inc. has been offering geological services to the mining and mineral exploration industries for close to 30 years. It has an extensive and deep understanding of the Abitibi geology and was chosen by Beaufield because of its expertise. Geologica was instrumental and played a key role in a string of recent discoveries in the Abitibi region.

About Beaufield:

Beaufield is a mineral exploration company with its exploration activity focused in Quebec and Ontario. Please refer to Beaufield's website to view the Corporation's properties in Urban, Eleonore-Opinaca, Tortigny, Hemlo and Launay. The Corporation is actively exploring, is well financed with approximately $5 million in working capital, has no debt and has excess work credits on its properties.

Ronald Stewart, President and CEO : Tel: 647.409.0293

Mathieu Stephens, VP Exploration and Corporate Development: Tel: 514.842.3443

E-mail: info@beaufield.com

Web: www.beaufield.com

Investor Relations: Jason Monaco, Partner at FCCC: Tel: 416.566.8894

E-mail: jmonaco@firstcanadiancapital.com

Web : www.firstcanadiancapital.com

The information set forth in this press release includes certain forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on assumptions exposed to major risks and uncertainties. Although Beaufield deems the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements to be reasonable, the Corporation cannot provide any guarantee as to the materialization of the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements. The Corporation expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) has reviewed or accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this Release.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - New charges have been filed against two suspects in the 2014 murder of FSU law professor Dan Markel.

The state attorney's office added two more charges against Sigfredo Garcia and Katherine Magbanua: solicitation and conspiracy to commit murder.

Thursday morning, both appeared before a judge via a camera at the Leon County Detention Facility. Their attorneys weren't present so both defendants opted to delay their first appearances.

Prosecutors say the additional charges are for the conduct both before and after the crime as well as soliciting other parties to participate, including Luis Rivera, who was sentenced in October 2016 for his role in the murder.

"I think the testimony of Mr. Rivera fleshed a lot of that out for us, and it is something that we've been considering since we procured his testimony," said Georgia Cappleman, the assistant state attorney. "This is something that we've been discussing in my office. There's no significance to the timing of when the new charges have been filed."

We reached out to the attorneys for Garcia and Magbanua. They're both based in Miami.

Garcia's attorney tells us it's premature to make any statement about the new charges.

The state attorney's office requested $100,000 bonds for each charge. Prosecutors say at this point, the current trial dates for both defendants haven't been affected by the new charges.

Garcia and Magbanua were indicted in the murder of Markel, who was shot and killed in the driveway of his Tallahassee home in July 2014.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - Supporters and opponents of oil drilling closer to Florida's shoreline refused to accept U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's declaration that the state would not be part of a White House plan to expand exploration.

The Federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management held the only Florida open house on a proposed five-year program to open more waters to oil and gas exploration.

But participants in competing press conferences doors away at a Tallahassee hotel agreed on one thing: Zinke's stance on a Florida exemption is not final.

Lobbyist Barney Bishop supports offshore drilling.

Opponents of drilling worry about the potential dangers of a future spill similar to the deadly 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster.

Governors in other coastal states have made their own inquiries about getting exemptions from the White House plan.

Thursday's hearing is one of 22 being held through March 8 across the country and is the only one in Florida.
VALDOSTA, Ga. (WTXL) - Valdosta sixth-grade students can enter essays in the "If I Were Mayor" contest.

First, second and third place winners will be selected by judges and recognized by Valdosta Mayor John Gayle at the April 19 City Council meeting. All essays entered in the contest will be displayed at Valdosta City Hall from April 23 - 27, 2018, during Georgia Cities Week.

The contest is sponsored by the City of Valdosta and the Valdosta Youth Council.

The contest gives the students a chance to creatively use grade-specific language arts skills and civics knowledge to express, in 350 words or less, how they would make a difference if they held the position of mayor.

Eligible essays must begin with the sentence "If I were mayor, I would" and may not be longer than 350 words. The submitted essays may be either typed or neatly handwritten and must clearly display the names of the student, teacher and school clearly at the top of each submitted page.

The entries must be mailed or hand-delivered by Friday, March 23, 2018, to Public Information Office, Attention: Essay Contest, 300 N. Lee Street, #102, Valdosta, GA 31601.

For more information, visit http://www.valdostacity.com/if-i-were-mayor-essay-contest or call Sementha Mathews at 229-259-3548.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - It's a terrifying mix: inexperienced drivers on busy highways during high-traffic times.

Nowhere is that more obvious than right outside Chiles High School.

We asked you on Facebook which schools had the worst traffic, and you answered. Although we received many responses, this exchange in comments stuck out.

Valerie Foster first says, "Chiles with no doubt." Maureen Shay Martinez replied in agreement saying, "So scary crossing the Thomasville into the parking lot. Watching student drivers cross in front of the huge trucks. So many accidents.

WTXL went went to experience the traffic firsthand.

For students at Chiles High School, they start their school day at 7:25 each morning.

"We try to leave the house, no later than 7:10," says Sandy Wilson, the parent of Chiles High School Student. "Usually get there about 7:20. By the time I loop around, drop her off, and come back out, it's probably 7:30."

Between people heading to school and to work, this stretch of Thomasville Road sees thousands of cars and heavy delays every morning.

"The later you get to that start time, the more congested it gets," explains Wilson. "We take into consideration it's right off Thomasville Road, and student drivers, and parents trying to get to work and whatnot. We just go with the flow."

The constant traffic and the lack of stoplights near Chiles High School have some parents and members of the community concerned for student safety. A few parents and frequent commuters have thought that adding a stoplight near the school may help with some of the student congestion, but others know that would only slow down those traveling north and south on Thomasville Road.

Still though, a few parents say their children either leave early or simply ride the bus to avoid any potential accidents when turning into the school. However, Wilson's experience with the traffic has been pretty good.

"Chiles does a really good job that students can only go in one way, parents go in another," says Wilson. "Then you have that alternate route that opens up after 7 am."

Crossing the busy road can be stressful for less experienced drivers, and Florida Highway Patrol has a tip for the young commuters.

"Leave your home early if you're going to leave early," says Captain Jeffrey Bissainthe, the Chief Public Affair Officer with the Florida Highway Patrol. " Try not to rush. If you're late, you're late, but we want you to get there alive."

And that should be everyone's top priority... arriving alive.
WORLAND  The Washakie County Commission facilitated a meeting on Tuesday with members currently covered under Joint Resolution 315, which splits one-cent sales tax funds, along with parties previously interested in becoming sales tax recipients, in light of the state's waning budget.

WORLAND  The Washakie County Commission facilitated a meeting on Tuesday with members currently covered under Joint Resolution 315, which splits one-cent sales tax funds, along with parties previously interested in becoming sales tax recipients, in light of the state's waning budget.

Previously, members of the Washakie County hospital board asked to be added to the recipients of the tax, exp...
All this talk of economic diversity in Wyoming - it's critical.

All this talk of economic diversity in Wyoming - it's critical. And key to every conversation is education: How do we prepare and retain a workforce to keep our state strong for years to come? There is a bold answer that will lead more Wyoming students to higher education and prosperous career options: computer science.

Computer science is not learning how to use a word processor or create a sp...
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sabina Gold & Silver Corp (TSX:SBB.T), (Sabina or the Company) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Leo Zhao to the Companys Board of Directors. Mr. Zhao joins the Board as Zhaojin International Mining Co.s nominee in relation to their investment in the Company.



We are pleased to welcome Mr. Zhao to the Board of Directors, said Bruce McLeod, President & CEO. Mr. Zhao brings significant experience to the Board as we advance Back River towards production. We are very pleased with our new shareholder, Zhaojin and with Mr. Zhao and look forward to his contributions both technical and as a Director as we begin an exciting year for the Company.

Mr. Zhao has more than 17 years of experience in global mining investment and EPC project management in China, Canada, Australia, Kazakhstan, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Middle East. He is currently the Managing Director of Zhaojin International Mining Co., Ltd, wholly owned by Zhaojin Mining Industry Co., the fourth largest gold mining company listed on Hong Kong Stock Exchange. He is also the executive director for Zhaojin-Gravitas Mining Funds which was established in Canada. Prior to joining Zhaojin, he served as a Project Manager for the China National Nonferrous Industry Foreign Engineering & Construction Company (NFC) working in various countries and was nominated as alternate director in Terramin Australia Ltd from 2010 to 2014. Mr. Zhao received his Bachelor Degree in International Project Management from Tianjin University in 2000 and MBA diploma in Tsinghua University, China, in 2007. He holds a PMP certificate issued by PMI.

Sabina Gold & Silver Corp.

Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. is well-financed with approximately C$94million in cash and equivalents, post financing and an emerging precious metals company with district scale, advanced, high grade gold assets in one of the worlds newest, politically stable mining jurisdictions: Nunavut, Canada.

Sabina released a Feasibility Study on its 100% owned Back River Gold Project which presents a project that has been designed on a fit-for purpose basis, with the potential to produce ~200,000 ounces a year for ~11 years with a rapid payback of 2.9 years (see Technical Report for the Initial Project Feasibility Study on the Back River Gold Property, Nunavut, Canada dated October 28, 2015) (the Study). At a US$1,150 gold price and a 0.80 (US$:C$) exchange rate, the Study delivers a potential after tax internal rate of return of approximately 24.2% with an initial CAPEX of $415 million.

The Project received its final Project Certificate on December 19, 2017. The Project is now in the final regulatory and licensing phase.

In addition to Back River, Sabina also owns a significant silver royalty on Glencores Hackett River Project. The silver royalty on Hackett Rivers silver production is comprised of 22.5% of the first 190 million ounces produced and 12.5% of all silver produced thereafter.

For further information please contact:

Nicole Hoeller, Vice-President, Communications: 1 888 648-4218

nhoeller@sabinagoldsilver.com

All news releases and further information can be found on the Companys website at www.sabinagoldsilver.com or on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. All technical reports have been filed on www.sedar.com

This news release has been authorized by the undersigned on behalf of Sabina Gold & Silver Corp.

Bruce McLeod, President & CEO

1800-555 Burrard Street, Two Bentall Centre

Vancouver, BC V7X 1M7

Tel 604 998-4175

Fax 604 998-1051

http://www.sabinagoldsilver.com
DHAKA, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Violent incidents are flaring up in parts of Bangladesh's capital Dhaka and elsewhere in the country on Thursday, as opposition leader, ex-prime minister Khaleda Zia was found guilty of a corruption charge and sentenced to five years in prison.

Vandalism, explosion of bombs and detention of dozens of opposition personnel have also been reported in Dhaka and elsewhere in the country since Thursday morning. Several vehicles were smashed or set on fire in the capital.

Amid tight security on Thursday afternoon, Judge Md Akhtaruzzaman of the Special Court-5 in Dhaka delivered the 632-page verdict against the 72-year-old politician, who is head of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).

The verdict convicted her of transferring 21 million taka (252,203 U.S. dollars) to her personal wallet from the charity "Zia Orphanage Trust."

Shortly after the verdict, Zia was taken to a jail in Dhaka.

In the politically significant case ahead of the next parliamentary elections slated for early 2019, the court also awarded 10 years of sentence to five others including Zia's son Tarique Rahman in the case with a fine of 21 million taka each (250,000 U.S. dollars).

The judge sentenced Zia to five-year imprisonment and said the term was reduced due to "her health and social status."

The verdict aroused anger among many of the BNP party men, some of whom in the court started crying.

Numerous incidents of violence and intimidation and clashes between supporters of BNP and law enforcers were reported across the country.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said the main motive of the verdict is to keep Zia away from the upcoming election.

Law Minister Anisul Huq told journalists that Zia could appeal to the Supreme Court against the verdict.

He said the apex court will decide whether she can contest the next national election slated for early next year.

Ahead of her graft case verdict, Zia on Wednesday once again pleaded not guilty in the charge.

She said political vendettas are to blame for the cases against her and her son.

Zia in her 35 years of political career went to the jail several times but never due to conviction.

Zia was made vice-chairperson of BNP in 1981 after the assassination of her husband and former president Ziaur Rahman. She became the chairperson of the party in 1984, a post she is holding still today.

Thousands of her supporters took to the streets of the capital ahead of the verdict on Thursday.

Police in Dhaka fired rubber bullets and tear gas to break up large crowds who joined a convoy of Zia heading to a court in the old part of the capital city on Thursday morning.

The motorcade of Zia moved almost at snail's pace on the way to the court as her supporters gathered on a key road.

Paramilitary Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) soldiers were deployed in Dhaka and elsewhere in the country to thwart any untoward incident centering the verdict.

Bangladeshi police have imposed an indefinite ban on meetings, processions and rallies in the capital from Sunday evening, a step the opposition described as an attempt to mute dissenting voices.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League (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.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-08 21:09:07|Editor: Yurou

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Photo released by Press Information Department (PID) on Feb. 8, 2018 shows that Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain (R, front) welcomes Jordan's King Abdullah II (L, front) in Islamabad, capital of Pakistan. Jordan's King Abdullah II arrived in Pakistan on Thursday on a two-day state visit for talks on bilateral relations, officials said. (Xinhua)

ISLAMABAD, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Jordan's King Abdullah II arrived in Pakistan on Thursday on a two-day state visit for talks on bilateral relations, officials said.

He was received at a military airbase near Islamabad by President Mamnoon Hussain. A 21-gun salute was given in honor of the distinguished guest.

The Jordanian King is accompanied by foreign minister and a number of civil and military officials.

The visiting King will hold talks with the president, as well as Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.

Pakistan's foreign ministry said bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest will be discussed during the talks.

"The visit will provide the two countries an opportunity to explore ways and means to further strengthen cooperation in diverse areas, particularly to expand bilateral trade and enhance investments in Pakistan," a foreign ministry statement said.
ALGIERS, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- General Manager of Algerian state run energy firm Sonatrach, Abdelmoumen Ould Kaddour on Thursday revealed that the company is to invest 56 billion dollars in the upcoming five years.

Ould Kaddour further told reporters that this huge investment is part of the new strategy of Sonatrach until 2022.

This statement was given by Ould Kaddour on the sidelines of the visit he paid to the desert where he inaugurated the new GR5 gas pipeline which carries gas from Reggane gas fields to the GR5 compressor station over a distance of more than 700 kilometers, and with an annual capacity of 8.8 billion cubic meters.

"We are very proud of this project because it is built 100 percent by Algerian companies," he further added.

The statement of Ould Kaddour follows three presidential decrees relating to the approval of contracts for the exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons.

Algeria's economy depends on oil industry, as investments in the energy sector hit 90 billion dollars in the period 2015-2019, amid expectations to increase output to 225 million tons this year, compared to 195 million tons in 2013.

Algeria is aiming at augmenting its hydrocarbons investments in a bid to curb the financial crisis hitting the oil rich nation, due to the decline of crude prices in world markets, and the erosion of exchange reserves, which fell from about 200 billion dollars in 2014 to 97 billion dollars currently.

The government said it is due to accelerate the process of reviewing the hydrocarbons law in force since 2006 to attract more foreign investors and companies to explore new fields.

The Algerian economy relies heavily on oil and gas exports, which account for about 30 percent of the country's GDP, and about 95 percent of the country's total exports. Oil and gas exports also account for 40 percent of the country's revenues.
by Jethro Soutar

FUNCHAL, PORTUGAL, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Javier Perreira is a Portuguese citizen, but he had never been to Portugal and spoke not a single word of Portuguese when he moved to Madeira, a mid-Atlantic archipelago and autonomous region of Portugal.

"It was a matter of starting from zero," Perreira told Xinhua, "leaving your homeland behind and entering a new culture."

Perreira is one of a growing band of Venezuelans of Portuguese origin who has immigrated to Madeira in recent years when Venezuela plunged into turmoil. Many have Portuguese passports, making an official tally hard to keep, but it is estimated that around 4,500 people have made the journey.

"Most people have family here and move in with them," Perreira says. "But I had nobody. My mum left Madeira when she was 12 and I'm 45, so there was no one left."

There are believed to be around half-a-million people of Portuguese descent in Venezuela and 80 percent of them have ancestral ties to Madeira.

The link began in the early 20th century when Madeirans answered a call to fill jobs at an oil refinery on Curacao, a Dutch-administered Caribbean island off the Venezuelan coast. When Venezuela began an open-door immigration policy in the 1940s, aimed at attracting skilled European workers to modernize its agriculture and industry sectors, Madeiran oil workers summoned friends and family.

Now the tables have turned. Perreira moved to Funchal, Madeira's capital, in August 2015. He came with his wife and two daughters, aged 14 and 21. "The girls love it here," says Perreira, "they missed their friends at first, but they soon embraced the freedom they have here, the security and independence."

Security is one of the main reasons Venezuelans are relocating. "Here I can walk home from work at night without having to worry about safety," Perreira says.

Perreira runs Full Arepa, a fast-food outlet in the Marina Shopping Center. Arepas are cornmeal patties stuffed with fillings, a popular snack food in Venezuela. Full Arepa also sells Frescolita, a Venezuelan soda, and Polar, a Venezuelan beer.

Full Arepa opened in early December 2017 after Perreira received a grant from the European Social Fund (ESF). A European Union scheme, one of the ESF's core aims is to "promote social enterprise and the jobs it brings". Perreira's business also received funding from Portugal 2020 and Madeira 14-20, localized schemes with similar goals.

Perreira learned about such opportunities through Venecom, the Association for the Venezuelan Immigrant Community of Madeira. Venecom is a voluntary organization that provides information and support to Luso-Venezuelans.

"We offer professional help, but with the benefit of our personal experience," says Ana Cristina Monteiro, Venecom's president.

Venecom primarily assists new arrivals, but also provides online advice to Venezuelans thinking about making the move. "People used to plan ahead, but lately they've been coming more spontaneously, meaning they're unprepared and don't have the right documents," says Monteiro.

Many have passports themselves, but do not have the correct paperwork to prove that spouses qualify for residency or children for nationality. Another problem is transferring academic and professional qualifications.

"Finding work can be hard," says Monteiro. "Younger people tend to manage, but those in their 40s and 50s struggle. If they have savings, they might open a restaurant or a cafe, but others just focus on acclimatizing."

A key part of acclimatizing is learning the language, for most Luso-Venezuelans know a smattering of Portuguese at best. "We approached the regional government with a list of two hundred people needing language tuition and the Education Department set up free classes," says Monteiro.

Thanks largely to Venecom's lobbying, the regional government has also founded a Venezuelan Immigrant Support Office (GAEV). The GAEV has a telephone helpline and a welcome desk is to be established at the airport.

Maritza Fuentes hopes her son will soon be walking up to that desk. "He applied for a (Venezuelan) passport two years ago, but he's still waiting. Until he gets one, he can't leave Caracas."

Fuentes qualified for residency through her husband, whose father was born in Madeira, although he left aged three. Fuentes has now been in Madeira for five years and she misses her boy. "Communication gets harder every day because of phone and internet restrictions over there," she says. "I can't even send him money because the likes of Western Union have pulled out of Venezuela."

But Fuentes has been able to bring her mother over. Maria Isabel, 76, arrived in November 2016. "I have asthma and there's no medicine in Venezuela," she says, "my brother died through lack of medicine and I didn't want to suffer the same fate."

With scarcity still a problem in Venezuela, the flow of migrants to Madeira looks likely to continue. Indeed Portugal's central government recently pledged 1 million euros to help Madeira manage its Venezuelan influx.

For the most part, Madeirans remain welcoming too.

Joao Perreira (no relation to Javier) is 21, Portuguese and Madeira born and bred. "A few Venezuelans have joined our college and one has become a friend. He tries hard to fit in, but I tell him to just be himself," says Joao. "Madeirans are migrant people too. I might like to move to London one day and I'd hope to be made welcome, so we have to do the same for others."
An unarmed AGM-86B Air-Launched Cruise Missile is released from a B-52H Stratofortress over the Utah Test and Training Range during a Nuclear Weapons System Evaluation Program sortie, 80 miles west of Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S., Sept. 22, 2014. (Xinhua/REUTERS)

WASHINGTON, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The recently released U.S. Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) calling for an expansion of America's nuclear arsenal will endanger the world, a U.S. expert said Wednesday.

"This is an unhelpful strategy that's going to make the world's nuclear danger greater, not smaller," Daryl Kimball, executive director of the advocacy group Arms Control Association, told Xinhua.

The U.S. nuclear policy expert pointed out that the NPR, which is Washington's nuclear strategy, is seeking to elevate the status of nuclear weapons in the U.S. war chest, calling for new types of nuclear warheads and new capabilities.

Anti-nuclear war protesters sit in a hearing of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee about presidential authority to use nuclear weapons on Capitol Hill in Washington, Nov. 14, 2017. (Xinhua/REUTERS)

But the plan is based on inaccurate assumptions about the current strategic environment and will face hurdles in its implementation.

The 2018 NPR is starkly different from the last one published in 2010 under former U.S. President Barack Obama.

The 2010 paper saw the United States wanting to reduce the role and the importance of nuclear weapons. The fundamental role of nuclear weapons was to deter nuclear use against the United States and its allies. But the 2018 NPR goes in the other direction, Kimball said.

"It says that nuclear weapons may have a role not just (in) nuclear deterrence, but (in) the deterrence of non-nuclear strategic threats, including potential cyber attacks that affect the U.S. infrastructure or a conventional attack with strategic implications," he said.

"I think what the United States is doing unfortunately is making nuclear weapons usable... They are increasing the chance that nuclear weapons might be used in a conflict."

Kimball noted that the NPR assumes that other nuclear-armed countries are "getting ahead" with their nuclear capabilities, and the United States is not.

An aide carries a case containing launch codes for nuclear weapons, following U.S. President Donald Trump on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, U.S., before his departure to Camp David, June 17, 2017. (Xinhua/REUTERS)

"The reality is that the United States and Russia have been replacing their Cold War nuclear weapon systems for some time ... The strategic situation is not radically different from what it was five, even 10, years ago," he said.

While the NPR states that the current U.S. nuclear strategy is not deterring enough and may spur Russia to use nuclear weapons first in a regional conflict to prevent U.S. intervention, Kimball dismissed the assumption.

"I think it's highly unlikely that Russia would use nuclear weapons in a conflict outside of Russia," he said, adding that there is sufficient deterrence to prevent Russia from doing so.

"I think the Pentagon's assertion that Russia has a strategy to use nuclear weapons first in a regional conflict is debatable at best and I think there's also evidence that they may be wrong about that. Either way it does not justify the pursuit of a new low-yield U.S. nuclear capability," he said.

Should the Pentagon follow through on the NPR, Kimball predicted it will face legislative and financial hurdles.

"There will be political opposition to this. There are a number of Democrats who raised serious questions about developing new nuclear weapons capabilities," he said.

"In addition, the price tag for the U.S. nuclear weapons program is already enormous ... If you add these new capabilities on top of that, that's even more money that is going to have to come from somewhere."

The best way to navigate forward is through dialogue, the expert said.

"What's important here is for the United States and Russia, and the United States and China to enter into regular strategic stability discussions to better understand the nuclear strategies of one another," he said.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Front) attends the ruling Justice and Development Party's parliamentary group meeting in Ankara, Turkey, Feb. 6, 2018.(Xinhua/Mustafa Kaya)

ISTANBUL, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Amid criticism that Turkey's ruling party is seeking to exploit the ongoing military operation against Kurdish militia in Syria for domestic political gains, most analysts feel success in the theatre could serve to increase the possibility of snap elections.

If targets are achieved without many casualties in the Afrin operation, the government would want to take advantage of it in snap polls, Cahit Armagan Dilek, head of the Ankara-based 21st Century Turkey Institute, told Xinhua.

Infuriated with continued U.S. military support for and reliance on the Kurdish militia, known as the People's Protection Units (YPG), Turkish troops, backed by the rebel Free Syrian Army, launched an air and ground offensive on Jan. 20 to drive out the Kurdish militants from the Afrin canton in northwestern Syria.

Turkey is scheduled to hold parliamentary and presidential elections simultaneously in November 2019, and the country will switch to an executive presidency in case of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan clinching victory in the presidential polls.

Noting the Afrin operation is being presented by the media like a war rather than a cross-border anti-terrorism operation, Dilek said, "it appears the government wants to exploit the issue in the elections by creating an impression of victory in a war."

Local media recently published pictures of Turkish flags mounted on hills captured from the YPG, which is seen by Ankara as the Syrian offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party.

There has been talk, though unconfirmed by the government, of early elections since last year. A victory over the Kurdish militia would make it almost a certainty, it is widely argued.

Claims about the AKP's intention to politically exploit the operation makes sense, Haldun Solmazturk, a former general, told Xinhua.

Since the summer of 2016, Turkey has been working with Russia and Iran on Syria, though it refuses until now to cooperate with the Syrian government.

Almost all opposition parties backed the offensive against Afrin, while public support for it reached as high as 85 percent, according to some polls.

Mine Kirikkanat, a columnist for the Cumhuriyet daily, said on TV on Sunday that the success or relative failure in the ongoing operation may be a deciding factor in whether the government would call for early elections.

However, the current picture in the operation is not one that would boost the government's chances in snap polls, said Solmazturk.

Noting the operation is advancing slower than expected, he said, "as the operation gets slower, the difficulties as well as casualties increase."

Casualties of Turkish troops and its partners have increased over the past week, according to press reports. As of Wednesday, the Turkish military had lost nearly 20 servicemen in combat, while the Free Syrian Army had more than 20 deaths.

Problems like high casualties in the field would decrease the possibility of early elections, said Dilek.
MAPUTO, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis on Thursday allocated 515 million U.S. dollars to support Mozambique's combat against the three infectious diseases, the leading cause of deaths in the southern African country.

"HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria remain responsible for high morbidity and mortality in the country," Mozambique's health minister, Nazira Abdula, told the official launching of the triennial program.

According to the minister, with this grant, the number of new HIV/AIDS infections is expected to be reduced from the current 3.6 to 2.4 per thousand people by 2020. The rate of HIV infection in newborn babies will also decline.

In the fight against tuberculosis, it is expected to reduce the incidence of cases from 551 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2015 to 423 and contribute to reducing the mortality rate from 120 to 63 in 100,000 inhabitants, he said.

In 2017, about 15 million mosquito nets were distributed throughout the Mozambique, and the antiretroviral treatment was made available to a total of 1,320 health units.

Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the global fund is a partnership organization founded in 2002 to provide support to countries fighting AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria as epidemics.

In Mozambique, 13.2 percent of people aged 15-49 are living with HIV/AIDS.
OSLO, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- A freight of 506 tonnes left daily from the main airport in Norway's capital, making the cargo airport here the biggest in the Nordic region, public broadcaster NRK reported Thursday.

Cargo growth increased by 35 percent from 2016 to 2017 at Oslo airport, and seafood took the big portion of it, the report said.

"Seafood that is exported to the world markets makes the largest volume of air freight at Oslo airport," said Martin Langaas, director of traffic Development and Cargo of Avinor, a state-owned company that operates most of the civil airports in Norway.

Norwegian airports make 50 percent of the all flights in Scandinavia today, and there are well established routes from Oslo to other places around the world, including Seoul, Tel Aviv, the United Arab Emirates and Istanbul.

In addition, both China and the United States have joined the countries that are interested in import of delicacies from Norwegian fjords, NRK wrote.

Last year, a total of 230,000 tonnes of seafood were exported from Norway, but much of it is still transported by railway to the major freight terminals in Europe.

"Asia is indisputably the largest market for us, but we see that, among others, the United States is now more and more coming into focus," Ola Helge Hjetland, communications manager of seafood company Marine Harvest, told NRK.

Last year, there was an increase of 52 percent in freight on intercontinental freight routes, and the volume also increased on the way back to Norway.

According to Avinor, shipping to Norway increased by 110 percent on passenger flights.

Due to the huge freight growth, a new and privately-funded Oslo Airport Seafood Center will open in 2020.

"More direct capacity from Oslo airport is important for us in the industry, and it helps to improve access to our key markets," Hjetland said.
BISHKEK, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Kyrgyz President Sooronbai Jeenbekov on Thursday told a meeting of the country's Security Council that he would continue to fight decisively against corruption.

The meeting of the Security Council considered the measures to combat corruption in judicial, law enforcement and supervisory bodies, the president's press service reported.

The Kyrgyz President said that the prosecutor's office, national security agencies, courts and law enforcement agencies were those bodies that were obliged to conduct a merciless fight against corruption in the service of their duty.

Jeenbekov stressed that Kyrgyz citizens demanded the resolute fight against corruption not only to be continued, but to be strengthened many times.

"The most important force in this struggle is the political will of the head of state. I promised the people that fighting corruption is a priority in my work as a president," Jeenbekov said. "I have such a political will, and I am ready for this fight."

In conclusion, the Kyrgyz President demanded to take urgent measures to clean law enforcement, supervisory and judicial bodies from corrupt employees.
Fredericton, Feb. 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The New Brunswick government will raise the minimum wage by $0.25/hour to $11.25/hour effective April 1, 2018. This increase fulfills the Gallant governments election promise to keep future increases above $11/hour in-line with economic indicators such as the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

Restaurant operators are working hard to adjust to increasing costs on several fronts in a sluggish economy, says Luc Erjavec, Atlantic Canada Vice President for Restaurants Canada. Restaurants Canada applauds the governments commitment to keep minimum wage increases in-line with the CPI.

Restaurants provide more first-time jobs than any other industry in Canada, and are a stepping stone to the broader labour force. In New Brunswick alone restaurants employ 8,500 youth which represents one in five jobs for youth in the province, says Erjavec. This increase strikes the proper balance and will help our industry protect and grow job opportunities.

Nearly 75 per cent of minimum wage earners in the restaurant industry are youth under the age of 25, and well over two-thirds work part-time. In most cases, these individuals live at home, are students or are secondary-income earners. Approximately 40 per cent of New Brunswick minimum wage earners in foodservice also earn tips.

Restaurants Canada is one of Canadas largest business associations, with more than 30,000 members representing restaurants, bars, caterers, institutions and other foodservice providers. In New Brunswick the foodservice industry is the 4th largest private sector employer providing 22,400 jobs, 8,500 of them which are youth.

Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f0a2e8d2-02ea-452b-9ff7-2ff921396068
KIEV, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- A unit of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine positioned in the conflict-hit Lugansk region was shelled from Russian territory on Thursday, the Ukrainian Defence Ministry said in a statement.

The Ukrainian border guard officers came under small arms fire at about 12:30 a.m. local time (GMT 1030) from the village of Ushakovka in south Russia's Rostov region, the ministry said.

No one was injured in the shelling and the Ukrainian border guards did not open fire in response, it said.

Russia has not commented on the reports yet.
TRIPOLI, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- The UN envoy to Libya on Thursday called for establishing a constitutional framework ahead of the upcoming elections in the war-torn North African country.

Ghassan Salame, the special representative of the UN secretary-general and head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), issued the call during a meeting with a delegation from the city of Zawiyah, 45 km west of the capital Tripoli, at the UNSMIL's headquarters in Tripoli.

"Voter registration must be completed and a referendum law must be established prior to holding a referendum on the constitution," Salame said.

It's logical to have a constitutional framework before holding on elections, he explained.

Meanwhile, the delegation from Zawiyah presented a number of key points for achieving a consensus and ending the political division in the country.

The delegation suggested to have a constitutional framework prior to the elections, combat corruption, limit foreign interference in Libyan affairs, and return all internally displaced people.

It is part of a series of meetings the UN envoy held with politicians and representatives of Libyan cities for the first time since the UNSMIL began its work in Libya.

On Wednesday, the Libyan Supreme Court postponed its final ruling on the suspension of the draft constitution until Feb. 14.

In August 2017, the appeals court ruled that the draft constitution should be suspended on grounds that the Assembly held the voting session on a holiday.

Last November, Salame announced that the UNSMIL was seeking to ensure that the elections will be held before the end of September 2018.

On Dec. 6, the Libya Higher Commission of Elections opened registration for voters for two months, and recently extended the registration until mid-February.
BUJUMBURA, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Voter registration started Thursday across Burundi for the country's constitutional referendum in May and its general elections in 2020.

The 10-day combined registration of voters will end on Feb. 17.

After registering, citizens are given receipts that will allow them to get voter cards.

According to the National Independent Electoral Commission, 3,828 registration centers will open for voter registration throughout the country.

In the capital city Bujumbura, however, few citizens reported to registration centers on Thursday.

In Nyakabiga zone near Bujumbura city center, most voter registration centers opened around 11 a.m., rather than the scheduled 7:30 a.m., due to what were described as "logistical problems."

"I have registered in order to be able to participate in the referendum on the constitution and in general elections due 2020," said Celestin Nsabimbona. "I am very glad because this is a civic action.

Burundian First Vice-President Gaston Sindimwo also registered in Nyakabiga, his native neighborhood.

"I came here to register for the referendum on the constitution and also for general elections due in 2020," said Sindimwo. "I have bought a ticket that will allow me to participate in a game or to watch a game. The ticket is very important."

He called on citizens and specifically leaders of political parties to be ready to participate in the race soon to start.

In December 2017, the electoral body said the referendum on the country's constitution will be held in May.

The draft constitution extends the presidential term from five years provided for in the 2005 constitution to seven years and allows the president to serve two consecutive terms.

It also provides for the creation of a post of a prime minister and only one vice-president, whereas the 2005 constitution provided for two vice-presidents.
RABAT, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Morocco and China expressed on Thursday their strong willingness to further cement their economic and trade ties.

The pledge was made at the 6th session of the Morocco-China Joint Committee for Economic Cooperation, chaired by Moulay Hafid Elalamy, the Moroccan minister of industry, investment, trade and digital economy, with visiting Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Qian Keming.

The committee, which met on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic ties between the two countries, discussed means to implement the strategic partnership established between Rabat and Beijing in May 2016.

Speaking at a press briefing, Qian Keming said the meeting focused on the opportunities offered for boosting the bilateral cooperation, especially in the areas of infrastructure construction and creation of industrial zones.

He reaffirmed China's support to the industrial plans launched by Morocco, while hailing the growth in Chinese investment in the North African kingdom.

"This meeting represents a precious opportunity to identify the priorities of our cooperation and speed up the growth of the economic and trade relationships," he said.

For his part, Elalamy commended the positive momentum in the Sino-Moroccan ties, noting that Chinese businesses are taking part in building some major projects in Morocco in key areas such as infrastructure, energy and industry.

Noting that the volume of the bilateral trade is still below the capacities of the two countries, Elalamy called for benefiting from the new momentum in the bilateral ties after the establishment of a strategic partnership to boost the trade relations.

The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding last November to formalize Rabat's participation in China's "One Belt, One Road Initiative" will further consolidate the bilateral cooperation by opening new prospects for the economic partnership between the two countries, the minister added.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-09 06:46:51|Editor: Yurou

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ANKARA, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Turkish Foreign Ministry rejected late Thursday a resolution adopted by the European Parliament (EP) on Turkey's human rights as "null and void."

The resolution "is far from understanding the current conditions Turkey faces," the ministry said in a written statement.

"Measures taken as part of the state of emergency are conducted within the laws and in conformity with our international obligations," the ministry added.

Turkey's "great devotion" in counter-terrorism "demonstrates that some elements within the EP are incapable of comprehending the vital importance of this fight for Europe," it noted.

On Thursday, the European Parliament adopted a resolution entitled "Current Situation of Human Rights in Turkey," targeting the issue of press freedom in the country and the state of emergency that was declared in the wake of the failed coup on July 15, 2016 and extended until now.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-09 07:11:54|Editor: ZD

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WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi urged international support for inter-Korean rapport and continued easing of tensions on the Korean Peninsula during his meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson here on Thursday.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said here Thursday that the United States remains committed to the one-China policy.

Tillerson made the remarks when meeting here with visiting Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi to discuss bilateral ties and issues of mutual concern.
ISLAMABAD, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Chairman of European Union (EU) Military Committee General Michail Kostarakos has held talks with Pakistani civil and military leaders on defense cooperation with special focus on counter-terrorism efforts, officials said.

The EU military chief met Defense Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan in the garrison city of Rawalpindi and also called on the Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa at the military headquarters, official statements said on Thursday.

Dastgir said Pakistan strongly condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and reiterated Islamabad's zero tolerance against use of its soil to promote terrorism against any country, a defense ministry statement said.

"Pakistan has been providing multi-faceted support to international community in the war against terrorism," the statement quoted the defense minister as saying.

He said Pakistan is committed to stability and peace in the region with particular focus on its relation with Afghanistan, adding a peaceful Afghanistan is not only in the interest of Pakistan but also the whole region.

The minister said Pakistan attaches great importance to its relations with EU and its relations draw strength from a shared objective of global peace and security.

Kostarakos expressed the desire to enhance cooperation between Pakistan and EU, according to the statement. He highlighted the importance of better communication and interaction at various levels under a mutually agreed framework.

Kostarakos and Bajwa also discussed regional security issues and matters of mutual interest, the military said.

The visiting official appreciated the resolve of Pakistan Army and its continuing efforts towards fighting terrorism and bringing peace in the region, an army statement said.
CANBERRA, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Two monster crocodiles that developed a taste for beef have been caught in a dam on a cattle station in Australia's Northern Territory (NT).

The two saltwater crocodiles, named Croco and Gobbo and measured at 4.4 meters and 4.3 meters respectively, were dragged from a dam on Annaburroo Station, 100 km southeast of Darwin.

Station managers Adrian and Barbara Phillips were having problems with crocodiles on, or near, their property, which backs onto a river. The reptiles developed a taste for their beef so the managers called in catcher Roger Matthews.

"With the first lot of rain this dam filled up and within five hours there were these two big crocodiles," Matthews told Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) radio on Friday.

"One cow had been killed and they found the body of the cow and realized 'there's something in (the dam) because it's fresh'.

"It's pretty amazing how quickly these crocodiles move into a water course.

"We just use these big treble hooks and throw them across and if there's a crocodile in there it doesn't penetrate the skin but it annoys.

"It comes out thrashing it's head side-to-side and we put a noose over its top jaw and drag it in."

Crocodile catchers across the NT have warned that the population is soaring.

Wildlife authorities caught 370 crocodiles in the wild in 2017, up from 280 the previous year.

"It shows they're on the move and there are a lot more. We find them in places they never were before," Matthews said.

"The bigger guys mate, they can move anywhere and it's a real wake up call for all our people in the Northern Territory: stay away from water courses because what might've had nothing in it for years, with all the rain we've had, there could be a potential crocodile anywhere."

It has been estimated that there are 200,000 wild crocodiles in the NT alone, nearing the human population of 250,000.
ISLAMABAD, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani academics and former officials have reiterated that military solution to situation in Afghanistan will not work and all stakeholders must encourage having talks with the Taliban.

Former Director General of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence Lieutenant General Muhammad Zaheer UL Islam, in a seminar on Thursday held by the Center for Global and Strategic Studies, stressed the need for a political settlement in Afghanistan, saying that the engagement with the Taliban in talks would put an end to ongoing war in Afghanistan.

The academics and former officials said that peace in Afghanistan is in Pakistan's interests, and no one wishes peace in Afghanistan like Pakistan does.

Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, Pakistan's former ambassador to the United States said "this is why Pakistan had joined the United States and the world as frontline state in war against terrorism and suffered a lot."

U.S. President Donald Trump released his policy for South Asia last year, saying that the United States "can no longer be silent about Pakistan's safe havens for terrorist organizations," trigerring anger from the Pakistani side.

On the ongoing woes between Islamabad and Washington, Qazi said if the two could work together, they can easily sort out all the disputes.

Zamir Akram, Pakistan's former ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations, said that Pakistan should further cement its bonding with other regional powers such as Iran and Russia so as to balance U.S. and Indian influence in the region.
NEW YORK, Feb. 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

SmartMetric, Inc. (OTCQB:SMME)  SmartMetric says the alarming increase in fraud notifications over the past year has an impact on consumers trust in institutions issuing credit cards.



According to a research report just released by Javelin Strategy and Research titled The 2018 Identity Fraud Study nearly 1/3 of United States consumers were notified of a breach in the past year, 2017. An increase over the previous year which was 12% of consumers. This represents a significant increase in fraud impacting consumers.

The impact of almost constant news in the media is having on consumer sentiment is shown by the research showing a marked increase in consumers concerned about fraud. Of the general population in 2016, 51% were concerned about fraud. This figure rose in 2017 to 69% of the general population. SmartMetric commissioned a consumer research survey which found amongst Visa credit card holders 80% are concerned about credit card fraud. This is shows that consumers who actually own and use a credit card are more concerned about fraud than the general public.

According to an ACI Worldwide Impact Report  Global Consumers: Losing Confidence in the Battle Against Fraud. After experiencing fraud, 63 percent of consumers use their card less, at least in some situations, than they had previously.

SmartMetric is the pioneer of in-card biometrics having spent over a decade in developing an extremely miniature fully functional fingerprint scanner that is less than a 1/3 the thickness of a standard credit card. Its biometric credit card meets ISO and industry standards for credit card thickness and size allowing it to work in existing retail card readers and ATMs.

SmartMetric biometric cards are available to Banks in the United States through SmartMetrics industry distributor, PROTEC. PROTEC Secure Card (PSC) based in New Jersey, have years of experience in the Credit Card industry both in the USA and Latin America. PSC is an established Visa, MasterCard and Discover certified credit card manufacturer that specializes in advanced high-quality credit card production for card issuing Banks in the United States along with Central and Latin America. The company is a leader using the most updated equipment and technologies in their secure production facility.

To find out more about the SmartMetric biometric card solution please visit the company site at www.smartmetric.com

To view the SmartMetric Biometric Card please follow this link - Video of the SmartMetric Biometric Card

ACI Worldwide Impact Report  Global Consumers published in 2014 - https://www.securitymagazine.com/articles/85684-credit-card-fraud-impacts-consumer-confidence-worldwide

Safe Harbor Statement: Forward-Looking Statements in this press release, which are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Also such forward-looking statements are within the meaning of that term in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Our actual results, performance or achievements may differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of words such as "may," "could," "expect," "intend," "plan," "seek," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential," "continue," "likely," "will," "would" and variations of these terms and similar expressions, or the negative of these terms or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by us and our management, are inherently uncertain. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, among others, if we are unable to access the capital necessary to fund current operations or implement our plans for growth; changes in the competitive environment in our industry and the markets where we operate; our ability to access the capital markets; and other risks discussed in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K, which filings are available from the SEC. We caution you not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which are made as of the date of this press release. We undertake no obligation to update publicly any of these forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, new information or future events, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting forward-looking statements, except to the extent required by applicable laws. If we update one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that we will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements. Investors and security holders are urged to carefully review and consider each of SmartMetric Inc. public filings with the SEC, including but not limited to, if applicable, Annual Reports on Form 10-K, proxy statements, Current Reports on Form 8-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.

Contact Information



SmartMetric, Inc.

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www.smartmetric.com

For USA Sales Please Contact:

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Tel. +1-732-542-0700 x 223 / 221/ 206/ 207 (English)

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traceyb@protecsecurecard.com
CANBERRA, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- There are more than 2,000 adult white sharks living in Australian waters, a study has found.

The research, released by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) on Friday, revealed that the survival rate for adult white sharks was as high as 90 percent.

There are two white shark populations in Australia: the eastern population ranging from the southernmost point of the mainland in Victoria to the Great Barrier Reef and across to New Zealand and the south-western population following the coast west from the southernmost point all the way to northern Western Australia (WA).

Research by the CSIRO indicated that there were approximately 750 adults in the eastern population and around 1,460 in the south-western.

The adult survival rate for both populations was above 90 percent, meaning that more than 90 out of every 100 sharks that are alive now would survive the year.

Researchers were able to gather the data using a breakthrough method that allowed them to locate the tell-tale marks of the parents in the DNA of juvenile sharks.

The breakthrough meant that the researchers were able to estimate the figures without even seeing an adult shark.

More than 70 juveniles from the eastern population of 214 studied were found to share a parent, a figure which they were able to use to establish the total number of adults.

"The chances of any two juveniles in a population sharing a parent depends on how many adults are around to share the job of reproduction," Richard Hilary, lead author of the study, said in a media release on Friday.

"In a small population, more juveniles share a parent than in a large population, and vice versa.

"And as more juveniles are sampled over time, the parental marks we detect also reveal patterns of adult survival, which we determined to be greater than 90 percent in the east.

"We found many cases of parents (both male and female) that apparently had survived 20 or more years between the births of their children."

Now that the first population figures have been established, researchers will be able to repeat the exercise and build a population trend that will tell them if the population is growing or diminishing.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will kick off a nearly week-long tour on Sunday to Turkey and four other Middle East countries amid mounting tensions between Washington and Ankara over Turkey's military offensive in Syria, the U.S. State Department said Thursday.

In Turkey, Tillerson will meet with senior Turkish officials to discuss "a range of bilateral and regional issues," said the U.S. State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert in a statement.

Tension has been escalating between the two NATO allies amid Turkey's ongoing military operation into the Syria's Afrin against the People's Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara considers as the Syrian affiliates of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), listed by Turkey, the European Union and the United States as a terrorist organization.

Ankara's operation followed U.S. calls to establish a Kurdish-led "border security force (BSF)" in the future in Syria along the 900-km border with Turkey, a move that has angered Turkey.

The BSF would be mainly constituted by the YPG, which has been supported politically and militarily by the United States since 2014 in the battle against the Islamic State.

According to the statement, apart from Turkey, the top U.S. diplomat will also travel to Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Kuwait on Feb. 11-16 and engage with leaders of the countries on topics including ongoing crisis in Syria.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-09 09:52:28|Editor: ZD

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RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian Minister of Defense Raul Jungmann on Thursday opposed the possible sale of Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer to U.S. Boeing, saying his country will lose out in the area of technology and know-how.

If Boeing takes over Embraer's management, "the development of new military and technological capabilities would be subject to U.S. legislation, which might entail the loss of developing technology and knowledge in Brazil," Jungmann wrote in an article published in the regional daily "O Estado de Sao Paulo."

Such factors as intellectual property, the transfer of technology and regulations imposed by U.S. Congress make it difficult for both sides to benefit from a sale, and "not just in the case of Embraer," said the minister.

"No country in the world sells a strategic and leading technological company such as Embraer," Jungmann said.

The laws of the market should not apply to entities that are crucial to national defense and geopolitical strategy, he added.

"That is why we need to be pragmatic. It is important for the two sides ... to seek constructive ways to structure a favorable long-term relationship for all involved," he said.

Boeing announced a few weeks ago that it was interested in acquiring Embraer, which makes military, commercial and agricultural aircraft, as well as executive jets.

The Brazilian government, which holds a controlling stake in the world's third-largest aircraft manufacturer after Airbus and Boeing, initially rejected the offer.

Boeing then made a counteroffer to acquire between 80 and 90 percent of the conglomerate, allowing Embraer to maintain control of its defense division, a proposal the government is considering, according to Brazilian media.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-09 09:52:28|Editor: ZD

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WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said here Thursday that the United States remains committed to the one-China policy.

Tillerson made the remarks when meeting with visiting Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi to discuss bilateral ties and issues of mutual concern.

For his part, Yang made clear China's stance on issues like Taiwan, requesting the U.S. side to take China's position seriously.

Yang noted that the sound development of bilateral relations is in line with the fundamental interests of the two peoples and the common aspirations of the international society.

He said he hopes the U.S. side could meet China halfway, and promote mutual respect and win-win cooperation, in a bid to secure a stable and healthy development of bilateral ties in the long run.

Yang is in Washington for a visit at the invitation of Tillerson, who said before their meeting that he and Yang had "many good discussions."
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-09 09:57:28|Editor: Yurou

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TRIPOLI, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Libya's United Nations (UN)-backed Prime Minister Fayez Serraj Thursday urged the European Union (EU) mission to return quickly to provide assistance.

"The Prime Minister called for a quick return of the EU mission to work with all its capabilities from inside Libya. He also stressed the importance of the partnership between Libya and the EU, and the establishment of joint programs to help Libya overcome its current crisis, which includes security, illegal immigration and economic recovery," said the media office of the Prime Minister in a statement.

According to the statement, Serraj made his remarks during a meeting with EU Ambassador to Libya Bettina Muscheidt in the capital city of Tripoli.

The two officials discussed the latest political developments in Libya as well as mutual cooperation programs in fighting illegal immigration, training of Libyan Coast Guards and economic recovery programs.

Serraj said the upcoming elections in Libya must be conducted on a legal and constitutional basis and asked the EU to provide technical support for the elections.

Ghassan Salame, the special representative of the UN secretary-general and head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), said earlier on Wednesday that a constitutional framework is important for the upcoming elections.

Last November, Salame said the UNSMIL was seeking to ensure that the elections will be held before the end of September 2018.

On Dec. 6, the Libya Higher Commission of Elections opened a two-month registration for voters and recently extended the registration until mid-February.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-09 10:07:32|Editor: Liangyu

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WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi called for global support for inter-Korean rapport and the continued easing of tensions on the Korean Peninsula during his meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson here on Thursday.

China has always been committed to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and maintaining its peace and stability, said Yang, adding that issues on the Korean Peninsula should be solved through dialogue and negotiation.

The situation on the peninsula is undergoing positive changes recently as South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) are using the PyeongChang Winter Olympics to restart dialogue.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in is scheduled to have lunch Saturday with a high-ranking DPRK delegation, led by Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly.

Among the delegation is Kim Yo Jong, the younger sister of top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un. South Korea's presidential Blue House saw a visit by Kim Yo Jong as meaningful to ease tensions.

Despite tension easing on the Korean Peninsula, Washington has been sticking to a strategy of "maximum pressure" on the DPRK to force it to abandon its nuclear weapons programs, but so far has failed to achieve its goals.

The United States has imposed multiple rounds of sanctions on Pyongyang and launched a string of international events to engage other nations in the campaign.

Earlier this week, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence even announced during his visit in Tokyo that Washington will slap fresh sanctions on the DPRK, which will be "the toughest and most aggressive."

Analysts say that Washington's moves could undermine joint efforts to seek a resolution on the nuclear issue.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-09 11:07:43|Editor: Liangyu

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HANGZHOU, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- A woman in east China's Zhejiang Province was sentenced to death on Friday for starting a fire that killed a family of four in 2017, local authorities said.

Investigations found that Mo Huanjing, a former nanny of the family of Lin Shengbin, guilty of arson after she set fire to Lin's apartment in Hangzhou City on June 21, 2017, killing Lin's wife Zhu Xiaozhen and their three young children, according to the Hangzhou Intermediate People's Court.

Mo started the fire using a lighter in the early morning after she searched the keyword of "arson" online, according to the court.

The fire also caused economic losses of more than 2.57 million yuan (405,900 U.S. dollars).

Mo was also convicted of theft.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-09 11:12:47|Editor: Liangyu

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CARACAS, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Chinese ambassador to Venezuela Li Baorong on Thursday hailed increasing cooperation with the South American country during a speech marking celebrations of the upcoming Chinese lunar new year.

"The year 2017 was a year of constant and stable development of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Venezuela," Li told diplomats, officials and other guests gathered at a hotel in the capital Caracas.

The two countries have "deepened mutual political trust and stepped up exchanges in various areas," he said.

The ambassador said the relationship has generated results in sectors such as energy, finance, mining, infrastructure construction, as well as science and technology, setting "a model of cooperation between developing countries."

Speaking during the celebrations hosted by the Chinese embassy, Venezuelan Planning Minister Ricardo Menendez stressed the importance his country attaches to maintaining strong ties with China, adding that he was confident Venezuela will overcome its political and economic crises.

"We are going to succeed in taking a step towards the future that we want ... we will always remember that China was with us, with our people," said Menendez.

Attending the celebrations were representatives from overseas Chinese communities as well as Chinese institutions and companies. The Chinese lunar new year, or Spring Festival, falls on Feb. 16.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-09 11:32:52|Editor: Yurou

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by Raimundo Urrechaga

HAVANA, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Patricia Penones and Javier Diaz are a young Cuban couple who have a passion for China, its culture and history.

As they visited the 27th edition of Havana's International Book Fair, they came across Chinese President Xi Jinping's book, "The Governance of China," and bought it in order to learn about his ideas for the nation's present and future.

Right at the entrance of the sales stand, where very few copies of texts translated into Spanish are left, Cubans can find Xi's books.

Among them are two volumes of "Xi Jinping: the Governance of China" and others related to the leader.

In these texts, Xi expresses his interpretation of socialism with Chinese characteristics through articles, speeches and different public appearances over the years.

This contribution is deeply appreciated by Cubans seeking to learn about China's socio-economic development, its reform and opening up process and sustained growth as a nation through Xi's vision and perspectives.

"In addition to learning about government issues, its structure and policies, the book is a way to know about the genuine China, the true story of its people," Diaz told Xinhua.

Diaz, who works for Cuba's state enterprise of translators and interpreters, said reading the book will give him a better understanding of present-day China and its vision for the future.

"There are many Cubans interested in this literature because Xi talks about his experiences. His speeches and ideas can help readers better understand what the Chinese government has done in terms of its policies and governance," he said.

"We also have our socialism with Cuban characteristics and learning from China would be great because they have had a valuable experience in developing their system," Penones, a young translator and tour guide, told Xinhua.

The young couple bought the first volume of Xi's "The Governance of China" in Spanish and the second volume in Mandarin to help them raise their knowledge of the Chinese language.

Penones studied Mandarin at Anhui University in China between 2009 and 2011, while Diaz did so at Beijing International Studies University from 2006 to 2008.

Diaz told Xinhua that Xi's books and ideas can contribute a lot to Cuba, which is currently transforming its political and economic system.

"We are talking about a person who made the effort from when he was young to get where he is today. I think that is the spirit that we need as Cubans because, with that essence, we will move forward," he said.

The first volume of "Xi Jinping: The Governance of China," was published in 2014. So far, the book has been translated into 24 languages around the world.

The articles in the book are arranged in 18 topics, of which there are 79 speeches, talks, interviews, notes and letters by the Chinese president between 2012 and 2014.

To complement these articles, 45 photos of the president at work and in his daily life bring readers closer to the Chinese leader.

The second volume consists of 99 of Xi's speeches, conversations, instructions and letters, as well as 29 photos of the Chinese president between 2014 and 2017.

Published in November of last year in Mandarin and English, the new volume is currently being translated into other languages, including French, Russian and Spanish.

So far, its sales have exceeded 13 million copies around the world and the book was among the 50 favorite books of the Chinese public in 2017, announced Lu Cairong, vice president of China Foreign Languages Publishing Administration, at the Havana Book Fair.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-09 12:58:12|Editor: Xiang Bo

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BEIJING, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- China's cabinet has appointed a veteran journalist to head the state broadcaster -- China Central Television (CCTV).

Shen Haixiong, 51, also takes over the role as deputy head of the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, according to a statement issued by the State Council on Friday.

Shen was a journalist with Xinhua News Agency for 26 years, starting as a reporter in Zhejiang Province and rising through the ranks to become the agency's vice president. In 2015, he left to take up the post of publicity chief of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Guangdong provincial committee.

He replaces Nie Chenxi, who had been CCTV president since April 2015.

In 2016, CCTV re-branded its international channels under China Global Television Network, or CGTN.
SMITHFIELD, Va., Feb. 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

Smithfield kicked off its 10-day Road to Daytona celebration today, commemorating Aric Almirolas new role as the driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR). As Almirola fuels up his car for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at the Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, Smithfield will reward fans on and off the track with fun surprises and driver appearances along the way.

Almirola will host a pep rally with students at Pierce Middle School in Tampa on Tuesday, Feb. 13, where he will get them excited for race weekend at Daytona. He will storytell about his journey, race against the principal, and show off the Harley J. Earl trophy that will be presented to the winner of this years Daytona 500.

This is my seventh full season in the NASCAR Cup Series, but Ive never been more ready to go to Daytona and get in my Smithfield Ford, Almirola said. Im so fired up about this opportunity with Stewart-Haas Racing and Smithfield where we can perform at a high level every week. To be able to get out into the community and say thanks to fans and celebrate with them through Smithfields Road to Daytona program makes it even more special.

In addition to rewarding fans, Almirola will also join Smithfield to give back to the local community on his Road to Daytona. On Friday, Feb. 16, Almirola, along with SHR co-owner and three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart, will join Smithfield and Winn-Dixie to donate over 40,000 pounds of protein to Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida in Daytona Beach as the second stop of Smithfield Foods 2018 Helping Hungry Homes donation tour. As an additional way to say thank you to the local Daytona community, fans will get the chance to race against Almirola and Stewart in realistic racing simulators following the donation event to see if they have what it takes to defeat the pros. The first 10 fans to beat the drivers times will walk away with bragging rights and premium prizes.

Back at the track in Daytona, fans can visit the Smithfield booth in the midway for free samples, a chance to spin the prize wheel, and more race weekend fun. Live and on the airways, Sirius XM hosted by Marty Smith will broadcast live from the Smithfield booth on Thursday afternoon. On Sunday, Almirola and Stewart will have a question-and-answer session before the big Daytona 500 race. Lucky fans in the campground can also be on the lookout for additional giveaways and samples of Smithfield race-day bites hand-delivered from some surprise guests.

Smithfields racing program has been a source of pride for us over the years, and we cant wait to continue our support of Aric this season, said Tim Zimmer, senior vice president and chief marketing officer for Smithfield Foods packaged meats division. Through our Road to Daytona program, we look forward to connecting with all the race fans who share in our enthusiasm.

For those who cant make it to Daytona, Smithfield will share behind-the-scenes racing action and more chances to win on social media. Fans can follow Smithfield on Facebook (@CookingwithSmithfield) and Twitter and Instagram (@SmithfieldBrand), and check out the #SmithfieldRacing hashtag to get in on the fun.

For more information and race-day recipe inspiration, visit www.Smithfield.com.

Smithfield is a brand of Smithfield Foods.

About Smithfield

A leading provider of high-quality pork products, Smithfield was founded in 1936 in Smithfield, Virginia, establishing the town as the Ham Capital of the World. From hand-trimmed bacon and slow-smoked holiday hams to marinated tenderloins, Smithfield brings artistry, authenticity and a commitment to heritage, flavor, and handcrafted excellence to everything it produces. With a vast product portfolio including smoked meats, hams, bacon, sausage, ribs, and a wide variety of fresh pork cuts, the company services retail, foodservice, and deli channels across the United States and 30 countries abroad. All of Smithfields products meet the highest quality and safety standards in the industry. To learn more about how Flavor Hails from Smithfield, please visit www.Smithfield.com , www.Twitter.com/SmithfieldBrand , and www.Facebook.com/CookingWithSmithfield . Smithfield is a brand of Smithfield Foods.

About Smithfield Foods

Smithfield Foods is a $15 billion global food company and the world's largest pork processor and hog producer. In the United States, the company is also the leader in numerous packaged meats categories with popular brands including Smithfield, Eckrich, Nathan's Famous, Farmland, Armour, Farmer John, Kretschmar, John Morrell, Cook's, Gwaltney, Carando, Margherita, Curly's, Healthy Ones, Morliny, Krakus and Berlinki. Smithfield Foods is committed to providing good food in a responsible way and maintains robust animal care, community involvement, employee safety, environmental and food safety and quality programs. For more information, visit www.smithfieldfoods.com.

About Stewart-Haas Racing

Stewart-Haas Racing is the title-winning NASCAR team co-owned by three-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart and Gene Haas, founder of Haas Automation  the largest CNC machine tool builder in North America. The organization fields four entries in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series  the No. 4 Ford Fusion for Kevin Harvick, the No. 10 Ford Fusion for Aric Almirola, the No. 14 Ford Fusion for Clint Bowyer and the No. 41 Ford Fusion for Kurt Busch. The team also competes in the NASCAR XFINITY Series by fielding a full-time entry  the No. 00 Ford Mustang for Cole Custer  and one part-time entry  the No. 98 Ford Mustang. Based in Kannapolis, North Carolina, Stewart-Haas Racing operates out of a 200,000-square-foot facility with nearly 370 employees. For more information, please visit us online at www.StewartHaasRacing.com, on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/StewartHaasRacing, on Twitter @StewartHaasRcng and on Instagram @StewartHaasRacing.





Media Contact:

Hunter PR for Smithfield

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SEOUL, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- A plane carrying a high-ranking delegation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) arrived at a South Korean airport on Friday, local TV footage showed.

The white-color jet with a national flag of the DPRK attached arrived at the Incheon International Airport in South Korea's western port city of Incheon at about 1:46 p.m. local time (0446 GMT).

The DPRK delegation, led by Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, will attend the opening ceremony of the 23rd Winter Olympics set to kick off on Friday night in South Korea's eastern county of PyeongChang.

The ranking delegation will leave South Korea on Sunday.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-09 13:13:17|Editor: Xiang Bo

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WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- China and the United States should keep close contact and make good use of their four high-level dialogue channels to further boost ties, Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi said here Thursday.

During his meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Yang said that the two sides have decided to hold the second round of the Diplomatic and Security Dialogue in China during the first half of the year.

Beijing and Washington will also hold a second round of Law Enforcement and Cyber Security Dialogue, the Social and Cultural Issues Dialogue, and the Comprehensive Economic Dialogue within the year, Yang added.

The four high-level dialogues were established during the Mar-a-Lago meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart, Donald Trump, at Palm Beach in the southeastern U.S. state of Florida in April 2017.

Progress has been made in the China-U.S. relations last year under the guidance of Xi and Trump, said Yang, adding that the two leaders have exchanged views through phone calls and letters this year, setting the tone for the development of bilateral relations.

The two sides should fully implement the consensus achieved during Xi-Trump meeting in Beijing last November, expand cooperation in trade, economy, military, law enforcement and drug control, and enhance people-to-people, cultural and regional exchanges, said Yang.

Yang also urged the two sides to strengthen communications in important international and regional issues in a constructive manner.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-09 13:18:18|Editor: Xiang Bo

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WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi said here Thursday that China and the United States could address their bilateral trade issues through more open markets and "making a bigger cake of cooperation."

While meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Yang said he hoped the U.S. side could meet China halfway to ensure the stable and healthy development of bilateral ties in the long run. He said that positive China-U.S. ties are in the best interests of both peoples and the world.

He said China-U.S. economic and trade relations are reciprocal in nature, bringing huge benefits to the two peoples.

He urged the two nations to cooperate in such areas as energy, infrastructure construction and the Belt and Road Initiative, as well as enhance coordination on international economic concerns.

For his part, Tillerson said the U.S. side is willing to work with China to solve bilateral economic and trade issues in a more effective manner.

The China-U.S. trade ties have been bumpy since the Trump administration assumed office. The administration has threatened to limit Chinese investment, exports and visa applications.

Last April the Trump administration launched a so-called 232 investigation into imported steel products, a rarely-used trade tool to limit imports on the grounds of protecting national security.

On Aug. 18, 2017, it initiated an investigation into Chinese intellectual property and technology transfers under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. Trump also approved in January steep tariffs on imported washers and solar cells and modules.

Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Michael O'Hanlon predicted more "ongoing, specific, targeted" trade measures against China for years to come.

Douglas Paal, vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, also told Xinhua that he expects further U.S. tariffs, fines and exclusions on a range of products from China and elsewhere, although "whether these measures will be more substantial or symbolic remains to be determined."

For its part, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce launched in February an anti-dumping and counter-veiling investigation against sorghum imported from the United States. It also responded to the U.S. actions by saying that China would take "all appropriate measures" to defend its legal interests.

"America does not hold the trump card in its economic relations with China," said Stephen S. Roach, a Yale University expert, adding that getting tough on China while ignoring those consequences could be "a blunder of epic proportions."

Josef Braml, a research associate at the think-tank German Council on Foreign Relations, also noted that other nations might move closer to China, seeking more economic and monetary arrangements with the Asian country to offset Trump's protectionist trade measures.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-09 14:08:28|Editor: Liangyu

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BEIJING, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- A Maldivian president's envoy has said that the Maldivian side can protect Chinese people and institutions in Maldives.

Maldivian economic development minister Mohamed Saeed made the remarks Thursday when meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Saeed briefed Wang on the current situation in Maldives, saying that the Maldivian government was committed to upholding the rule of law and order to guarantee stability.

Wang said the Chinese side believes that the Maldivian government and people can handle the current issues and restore order.

China will not interfere in Maldives' internal affairs, Wang said, noting that China supports the Maldivian government's attempts to settle differences with other parties through dialogue and consultation.

Wang called on the international community to play constructive role in the stability and development of Maldives and show respect for the country.

China has provided help to Maldives and China-Maldives cooperation benefits the Maldivian people, Wang said, expressing his hope that bilateral ties will have a healthy and steady future.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis said Thursday that the United States is not "getting engaged in the Syrian civil war," after deadly U.S.-led coalition airstrikes killed about 100 pro-Syrian government forces.

"It was self-defense. Obviously, we are not getting engaged in the Syrian civil war," Mattis told reporters at a briefing in Pentagon.

The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said earlier on Thursday that the U.S.-led coalition struck pro-Syrian government forces in the eastern Syrian province of Deir al-Zour on Wednesday to defend its partners.

The coalition's move was in retaliation for the pro-Syrian government forces' targeting of the U.S.-backed forces in the area, said the SDF.

Calling the attack a "perplexing situation," the Pentagon chief said that he could not give "any explanation for why" they would shell the SDF headquarters with artillery.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry on Thursday strongly condemned the U.S.-led airstrikes, accusing the U.S. warplanes of "committing a massacre" against pro-government forces.

The pro-government Syrian fighters were confronting IS militants, "who are under the protection" of the U.S. coalition and the allied forces of the SDF, it added.

The Syrian government urged the UN Security Council to condemn the massacre and to hold the U.S. coalition responsible for their "crimes and aggression that have left thousands of civilians either killed or wounded," said the ministry.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Department of Defense on Thursday announced a new policy to tackle combat misconduct, bullying and any kind of harassment, such as offensive jokes, stereotyping, violence and discrimination, in the U.S. military.

The policy, which would take effect immediately, is an update to past policies on sexual harassment for service members, providing new procedures for various types of harassment prevention and response, said the Pentagon.

The move came amid a growing number of reports about sexual harassment cases in the U.S. military. An online nude-photo-sharing scandal last year, for example, rocked the Marine Corps.

U.S. military members who engage in harassment online or in the workplace face a permanent blot on their service record, the Pentagon said.

"The policy strengthens and reaffirms the department's position that it does not tolerate any kind of harassment by any service member, either in person or online," the Pentagon said in a statement.

The types of harassment included in the guideline are "offensive jokes, epithets, ridicule or mockery, insults or put-downs, displays of offensive objects or imagery, stereotyping, intimidating acts, veiled threats of violence, threatening or provoking remarks, racial or other slurs, derogatory remarks about a person's accent, or displays of racially offensive symbols," the Pentagon said.

"Activities or actions undertaken for a proper military or governmental purpose, such as combat survival training, are not considered harassment," it added.

"This policy provides a formal, binding foundation to work from. But it's just the beginning," chief Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said.

"No one should be intimidated," she added.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-09 14:33:37|Editor: pengying

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Large machines clear the site of the collapsed Marshal Hotel in Hualien County, southeast China's Taiwan, Feb. 9, 2018. Large machinery started to clear the site of the collapsed Marshal Hotel and two tilted buildings on Friday morning. Rescuers Friday were continuing their search for seven people trapped in a collapsed building about 60 hours after a powerful earthquake struck Hualien. (Xinhua/Yue Yuewei)

TAIPEI, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Rescuers Friday were continuing their search for seven people trapped in a collapsed building about 60 hours after a powerful earthquake struck Taiwan's Hualien County.

The seven include five mainland tourists and a Canadian couple who were staying on the second floor of the 12-story Yun Men Tsui Ti building when the 6.5-magnitude quake hit Hualien late Tuesday night.

Fu Kun-Chi, head of Hualien County, said at a press briefing Friday morning that the rescue work faces great difficulties with very limited space for rescuers to enter.

"We will do our best to find the missing people within the 72-hour golden rescue period," said Fu.

He also expressed gratitude for the concerns and deep sympathy conveyed by Zhang Zhijun, director of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, and the donations offered by mainland enterprises.

As of Friday morning, 10 people were confirmed dead in the earthquake:four from Chinese mainland, five from Taiwan and one from the Philippines. A total of 276 people were injured.

Fu said the county will help the relatives of the deceased to visit Hualien and offer them pensions.

Disaster-relief personnel have begun to dismantle other damaged buildings to make sure they would not cause further danger to surrounding houses and residents.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-09 14:33:38|Editor: Liangyu

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BUENOS AIRES, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Chinese artists on Thursday staged a flashmob performance at the center of the Argentine capital as a warm up celebration for the upcoming Chinese lunar new year.

The performance used melodies mixing traditional Chinese music with the Argentine tango and attracted a large audience by the historical monument the Obelisk of Buenos Aires. The 30 performers are renowned artists from China's eastern province of Zhejiang.

This weekend, Buenos Aires is expected to kick off its annual celebrations leading up to the Chinese lunar new year, or Spring Festival that falls on Feb. 16 this year. Celebrations to be held at the Plaza of Argentine National Park will feature music, dance, acrobatics and Chinese martial arts, with Chinese food stands set up all around.

The Spring Festival celebrations used to be held in the local Chinatown, but the annual event's size has grown so large that it has to be relocated, said Adrian Varela, a city hall official, adding that the celebrations draw about 60,000 people every year.

Varela said the local Spring Festival celebrations display the city's "contribution to cultural integration and coexistence of various ethnic communities."

The Chinese delegation arrived in Argentina from neighboring Uruguay. The Chinese embassy's cultural attache Yang Chuanying said the delegation was sent by China's Ministry of Culture.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-09 15:18:47|Editor: Yamei

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HANGZHOU, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- A woman in east China's Zhejiang Province was sentenced to death for starting a fire that killed four members of the same family in 2017, local court said Friday.

Mo Huanjing, former nanny of the family of Lin Shengbin, was found to have set fire to Lin's apartment in Hangzhou City on June 21, 2017, killing Lin's wife Zhu Xiaozhen and their three children, according to the Hangzhou Intermediate People's Court.

Mo started the fire using a lighter in the early morning after she had searched for "arson" online, according to the court.

The fire also caused economic losses of more than 2.6 million yuan (406,000 U.S. dollars).

According to the verdict, Mo is a gambling addict and has long been in debt. She came to work for Lin in September 2016. From March 2017 to June 2017, she stole jewelry and watches from the family worth more than 180,000 yuan. Mo also borrowed 114,000 yuan from Zhu with the excuse of purchasing house. The money was also used for gambling.

On June 21 2017, Mo decided to further gain the trust of Zhu by lighting a fire and then putting it out. However the fire spread fast and Zhu and her three children died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Mo escaped from the apartment and called the police.

She was taken away by police downstairs the apartment building for investigation.

Mo was also convicted of theft, sentenced to five years in prison and fined 10,000 yuan.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-09 15:48:53|Editor: Mengjie

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NEW DELHI, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- During a Chinese New Year gala held at the Chinese embassy in New Delhi, Chinese ambassador Luo Zhaohui on Thursday expressed his hope that relations between China and India would reach new heights.

The Chinese Lunar New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, is like a blank book, an opportunity to write a new chapter in China-Indian relations, said Luo.

"We still think about each other in stereotypes which at times feed negative narratives. It will help if we engage more," said Ashok Kantha, India's former envoy to China.

The reception was attended by India's current Foreign Secretary Vijay Keshav Gokhale, along with a host of Indian members of parliament, diplomats and scholars.

Bilateral trade between the world's two most populous nations reached 88 billion U.S. dollars last year, a 20-percent increase year on year.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Capilano University cleaners say $15 an hour is needed right now, not in 2021, as they prepare to take strike votes this week.



For months, we have been asking for a Living Wage in our negotiations with Best Service Pros. Even $15 an hour is not considered a Living Wage in Vancouver. With $15 right now, we would be in a better position to get closer to a Living Wage, said Analou Espina, one of the members of the SEIU Local 2 Bargaining Committee.

On Thursday, Premier John Horgan announced a phased wage increase schedule that would bring the minimum wage up to $12.65 an hour this June and would reach $15.20 in 2021.

The cleaners at Capilano University have been in first contract negotiations with their Employer, Best Service Pros, since September and have currently reached a deadlock in mediations.

The cleaners union drive with SEIU Local 2 and commencement of bargaining has given rise to a larger campus-wide campaign calling for a Living Wage and Benefits for all direct and contracted workers on campus.

SEIU Local 2 is also engaged with organizing Best Service Pros workers across the province.

SEIUs Justice for Janitors is a movement of workers that has successfully organized to improve wages, benefits, and job security for over 7,000 janitors across Canada. SEIUs goal is to organize all janitors in BC, so together, workers can raise industry standards and reverse the race to the bottom.

For more information, please visit www.justiceforjanitors.ca

The Service Employees International Union is the largest and fastest growing union in North America, with 100,000 workers in Canada and two million workers across Canada, the United States and Puerto Rico.

Contact Information

Christine Bro  778-996-4008, cbro@seiulocal2.ca




Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-09 15:48:53|Editor: Zhou Xin

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An Indian paramilitary trooper checks a vehicle during restrictions in Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir, Feb. 9, 2018. Authorities Friday imposed restrictions in several areas of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir and other towns to prevent protest demonstrations and clashes on the fifth death anniversary of Indian parliament-attack convict Mohammed Afzal Guru, officials said. (Xinhua/Javed Dar)

SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Authorities Friday imposed restrictions in several areas of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir and other towns to prevent protest demonstrations and clashes on the fifth death anniversary of Indian parliament-attack convict Mohammed Afzal Guru, officials said.

"Restrictions have been imposed in some places to maintain law and order," a senior police official said.

Huge contingents of Indian police and paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were deployed in Srinagar city and other major towns like Sopore and Anantnag to enforce strict restrictions.

A complete shutdown is being observed in the Muslim majority areas in response to strike call from separatist groups.

Guru, a Kashmiri, was executed in 2013 for his role in 2001 Indian parliament building attack.

Shops, business establishments, private offices remained closed in Srinagar and elsewhere in the wake of restrictions and strike.

Public transport is also off the roads.

The restrictions and strike have also affected work in government offices and banks.
NEW DELHI, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi left for a four-day tour to the Middle East on Friday, which will bring an Indian premier to Palestine for the first time.

The visit to Jordan, Palestine, Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is being described to be having strategic importance in terms of energy and security cooperation and counter-terrorism efforts.

Modi is expected to arrive in Amman Friday afternoon and meet Jordan King Abdullah II. His next stop-over would be in Ramallah. Modi's visit to Palestine would be his first, though the he has met Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas on three previous occasions.

Modi's Palestine visit comes just six months after his ground-breaking visit to Israel, and just weeks after he hosted his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu in Delhi. In Palestine he will lay a wreath at the Yasser Arafat memorial, said officials in India's External Affairs Ministry.

Meanwhile, the highpoint of Modi's current Middle East tour would be his "temple diplomacy." In UAE he will lay the foundation stone for a new temple for the Hindu community living there. And in Oman Modi is scheduled to pay a visit to a 200-year-old temple dedicated to Lord Shiva.

In UAE he will be addressing the 6th World Government Summit in Dubai, where India is the guest country of honor.
PHNOM PENH, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's Supreme Court upheld the decision of a lower court on Friday to sentence ex-opposition lawmaker Um Sam An to two and a half years in prison for incitement by posting a fake border map with Vietnam on Facebook.

"The court rejects the appeal complaint filed by Um Sam An and upholds the verdict of the Appeal Court," Supreme Court presiding judge Soeng Panhavuth pronounced a verdict after a one-hour hearing.

Um Sam An, 41, former lawmaker for the now-dissolved opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, was arrested in April 2016 for posting on his Facebook a fake border map to accuse the Cambodian government of ceding territory to Vietnam.

In October 2016, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court found him guilty of incitement to cause social instability and racial discrimination and sentenced him to two and a half years in jail.

And in Dec. 2016, the Appeal Court upheld the verdict of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court against the former lawmaker.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-09 16:54:14|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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SEOUL, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in met Friday with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visiting the country to attend the opening ceremony of the 23rd Winter Olympics, the presidential Blue House said.

Moon said South Korea made efforts to make the PyeongChang Winter Olympics an opportunity to resolve the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue and build a permanent peace on the peninsula.

He also said South Korea and Japan should squarely face the history while pushing for a future-oriented cooperation.

Moon, who took office in May last year, said in late December that the 2015 agreement between the two countries over the "comfort women" victims cannot resolve Japan's sex slavery of the Korean women.

On Dec. 28, 2015, Seoul and Tokyo reached a "final and irreversible" agreement on "comfort women," a euphemism for women who were kidnapped, forced and duped into sexual servitude for Japanese military brothels before and during World War II.

South Korea's task force team investigated the agreement, finding a secret deal between the Abe-led government and the South Korean government under then President Park Geun-hye.

During the meeting with Moon, Abe said in his introductory remarks that he wanted to confirm a close cooperation between Japan, South Korea and the United States to deal with the Korean Peninsula issues.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-09 17:04:19|Editor: Yamei

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BEIJING, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- The South China Sea, whose stability highly concerns countries in the region, has been largely at peace. This hard-won balance should not be broken by any country in any name.

This week, Tina Kaidanow, the U.S. State Department official overseeing arms sales, said U.S. warships would maintain their "freedom of navigation" in the South China Sea. She also urged Southeast Asian countries to consider purchasing U.S. arms.

Matters concerning the South China Sea should be settled by negotiations among countries in the region, those outside of it should not meddle in the name of so-called freedom of navigation.

China has repeatedly voiced its stance of respecting and safeguarding freedom of navigation and flight in the South China Sea for all countries in accordance with international law, but it opposes any country attempting to impair China's sovereignty and security interests.

Sailing military vessels within 12 nautical miles of a Chinese island without gaining permission first, which the USS Hopper, a guided missile destroyer, did in January, can hardly be defined as "freedom of navigation."

Countries that break internationally recognized rules should be denounced, and they are in no position to criticize China of being a "disruptive power" in the region.

China's activities in the South China Sea region are in accordance with international laws. The West should abandon its Cold War mentality and stop spreading fear of China's rise. China has clearly stated that it adheres to a path of peaceful development.

Criticizing China is an easy way for other countries to divert attention and pressure from their domestic politics, but China will not be a scapegoat. Provocative words and actions only raise tensions on bilateral relations and regional matters.

Certain countries in the West should focus on their own problems and leave the South China Sea at peace. Countries in the region are fully capable of settling disputes and achieving shared governance over the waters by themselves.

As an ancient Chinese saying goes, "The duck is the first to know when spring rivers become warm." Countries in the region understand the situation. They do not need outside interference.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-09 17:19:27|Editor: pengying

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by Hummam Sheikh Ali

AFRIN, Syria, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- For Syrian Kurds living in Afrin near the Syrian-Turkish border, fleeing home from war is hard, but the harder part is to find a safe haven for survival.

Nature has given them a hand, as many of them now seek shelter in the mountain caves while a war rages on in the region.

Since Jan. 20, Turkish troops, together with allied Syrian rebels, have been conducting a cross-border military operation in a bid to drive the Kurdish militiamen out of Afrin.

The heavy Turkish shelling and airstrikes forced many Kurdish villagers living on the outskirts of the city of Afrin to flee, but a lot of them could only seek shelter in the mountains as they are poor and have no other places to turn to.

The mountains in the region are rich in caves, many of which belong to local residents who built their homes at the entrance, turning them into part of their homes.

But, living in the caves could be a bittersweet experience for these war refugees.

In a cave behind one home built on the entrance of a small cave, about 40 people from different families were huddling together, thanks to the generosity of the home owner.

"I have received people from different villages and we share our food and drinks with them as much as possible according to our ability," the cave owner, who only identified himself as Jamil, told Xinhua.

He said those caves could be a hard place to live in, but they provide good protection from airstrikes and a safe place for the refugees to sleep in.

"When the people, especially the small children, hear the sound of shelling reverberating from nearby villages, they would run inside the cave, which we had previously used as the stable for animals such sheep," he explained.

"You can see the remains of hay inside. We got the sheep out and let the people in," the 80-year-old man said, using a crutch to support his weak body.

Inside the cave, which is the size of a living room, people were either sitting on the ground or leaning against the rocky walls. Some of the children were heavily coughing due to the humidity and illness, while the adults were sniffling with muted weeps.

Mariam, in her early 30s, sitting on the ground while carrying a baby on her lap, complained about how suffocating it was living inside the cave.

"Our village wasn't safe due to the shelling so we sought refuge in the cave, where we are hiding from the strikes. As you can see, it's suffocating here in the cave," she said.

She and others inside the cave yearn for an end of the war so that they could return to normal life as quickly as possible.

"We hope this war would end so that we could go back to our homes for our children to live their lives and go to school and for us to carry on with our lives again," Mariam said.

Hisham, a man in his 70s, lamented that though he was too weak to endure the cold nights in the cave, he remained grateful.

"We have fled from the town of Gendares to this cave and we thank the owner for hosting us, but as you can see we are jam-packed here. We only have three or four blankets and all the kids got sick without medication or food," he said, hoping for peace to prevail again.

Muhammad, another old man, was speaking with his eyes fraught with sadness shared by his fellow cave residents.

"All of us have fled our homes to this place and we sleep here in this cave, but it's not enough for us. We have around 40 people living here with four blankets only," he said.

However, Muhammad admitted that the cave saved their lives despite the hardships inside.

"Without this cave, the cold could have killed us. Our situation is extremely tragic," he said.

In the day time, they would stay out in the sunlight to keep warm, but once they hear the sound of shelling or warplanes, they have to rush immediately inside the cave which is lit only by one light bulb.

Citing the need to protect its national security, Turkey launched the cross-border "Operation Olive Branch" in Afrin in January to oust the fighters of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), regarded by Ankara as the Syrian affiliate of the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which has been fighting for autonomy in the southeast of Turkey.

A recent UN report said at least 15,000 people have been displaced since the start of the Turkish military operation against Kurdish fighters in Afrin.

Syria's state news agency SANA reported recently that 142 civilians had been killed and 345 others wounded by the Turkish military offensive on Afrin. But Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu denied the reports on Wednesday, insisting that there had been no civilian casualties in the Turkish operation so far.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-09 17:19:28|Editor: Yamei

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CAIRO, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Egypt announced on Friday the launch of a major operation across the country to eradicate terrorism, the army said in a statement.

Egyptian troops and the police have been put on "maximum alert" ahead of a comprehensive military operation against terrorism "at all strategic fronts," said Tamer el Refai, an army spokesperson, in the statement.

The major operation will target all areas plagued by extremism to uproot terrorism, it said.

The law enforcement forces started in the morning implementing the comprehensive plan against the terrorist and criminal elements and organizations in north and central Sinai along with other desert areas in western Delta, Refai said.

He added that the operation is launched as part of the efforts to reach the three-month deadline set by President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi to eliminate terrorism after the mosque attack that killed more than 300 people in the northern Sinai city of Arish in November, 2017.

Meanwhile, strict security measures have been adopted near the vital institutions, national projects, religious houses, electricity and water plants, and major important tourist areas, an official security source was quoted by the state news agency MENA as saying.

Egyptian security forces have been fighting the Islamic militants, mainly in North Sinai, since the removal of former President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood by the military in 2013.

The militants have killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers in terror attacks in the past years, which have now spread to target civilians in the capital and other cities.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-09 17:24:32|Editor: Yamei

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BEIJING, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- China's cabinet on Friday removed a senior energy planning official under graft investigation from office.

Wang Xiaolin was relieved from the post of deputy director of the National Energy Administration, according to a statement issued by the State Council.

Wang is being investigated for serious discipline violations, the Communist Party of China Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said in January.

Wang, 55, was appointed to the position in 2015 after working at Shenhua Group, China's largest coal producer, for about 20 years, according to his CV posted on the commission's website.

He started serving as deputy general manager of Shenhua Group in 2006.

The probe into Wang's case follows that of several senior officials who were investigated in January, as the Party said its anti-corruption campaign had no end.
MANILA, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines is aiming to attract 2 million Chinese tourists to visit this archipelagic Southeast Asian country this year, an official of the Department of Tourism (DOT) said on Friday.

Niel Ballesteros, chief of DOT Market Development Group, told Xinhua that the Philippine government is expecting an estimated 2 million Chinese tourists to visit the Philippines this year, almost twice the number of Chinese tourists who visited the country in 2017.

Ballesteros said the Philippines is on target to reach the 2 million target given the booming economic and diplomatic relations between Manila and Beijing.

"To meet the target, the Philippine government will increase the connectivity between two countries. Now, we are luring more direct flights between China and the Philippines," Ballesteros said.

Most of the Chinese tourists who visited the Philippines last year spent their holidays in the world-renowned beach island resorts of Boracay and Bohol, DOT records showed.

This year, Ballesteros said DOT is endorsing other destinations in the Philippines, like tourists spots in Dumaguete on Negros island in the central Philippines.

A total of 968,447 Chinese tourists visited the Philippines from January to December 2017, or an increase of 43.33 percent from 2016, making China the second largest source of tourists last year.

The Philippine government announced in January that it is increasing the number of flights between the Philippines and China to lure more Chinese tourists.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-09 17:39:37|Editor: Yamei

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BEIJING, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- China's auto sales returned to double-digit growth in January due to a low base, data from an industry association showed Friday.

About 2.8 million vehicles were sold in January, up 11.6 percent year on year, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).

The growth was faster than the increase of 0.1 percent in December and 3 percent in 2017.

The CAAM attributed the surge to a relatively low base in the same period last year, noting that sales were down 8.2 percent from the previous month.

China's auto sales increased 13.7 percent in 2016, but the market was under pressure last year from government policy adjustments such as sales tax hikes.

New energy vehicle (NEV) sales were strong in January, soaring 430 percent year-on-year to reach about 38,000 vehicles, according to CAAM.

The robust growth came as China intensified efforts to encourage the use of NEVs to ease pressure on the environment, by offering tax exemptions and discounts for car purchases, and ordering government organizations to buy more new energy vehicles.

China remained the world's largest auto market in 2017, with some 28.88 million vehicles sold, according to CAAM.
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MONTREAL, Feb. 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PyroGenesis Canada Inc. (http://pyrogenesis.com) (TSX-V:PYR), (the "Corporation" or "PyroGenesis") a Corporation that designs, develops and manufactures plasma waste-to-energy systems and plasma torch systems, is pleased to announce today that it has completed a private placement. The Corporation issued and sold an aggregate amount of 3,271,429 units of the Corporation (the "Units") at a price of $0.70 per Unit, for gross proceeds of $2,290.000.30 to the Corporation (the "Private Placement").

Each Unit consists of one common share of the Corporation (a "Common Share") and one Common Share purchase warrant (each whole Common Share purchase warrant, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Common Share at a price of $1.25 until August 9th, 2019. Each Unit will be subject to a statutory hold period of four months and one day from the date of closing.

In connection with the Private Placement, the Corporation will pay finder fees in the amount of $123,200 and issue 88,000 finders compensation warrants to the agents.

The proceeds from the Private Placement will be used by the Corporation for general corporate purposes. The Private Placement is subject to the final approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV) as well as other customary closing conditions.

We are happy to announce that we have decided to avail ourselves of this funding opportunity which provides us with necessary capital to move forward with a number of initiatives, and which will have an immediate impact on 2018 revenues, said P. Peter Pascali, President and CEO of PyroGenesis. As noted, the proceeds from the Private Placement will be used by the Corporation for general corporate purposes which will also include constructing a badly needed second DROSRITE demonstration system, which is expected to cost under $200,000 and be completed within 3 months. In our press release of February 1st,2018, we noted that the current demonstration unit is fully booked to September 2018 in India/Asia, and our lack of a second demonstration system is impeding our ability to close additional contracts sooner as there is demand for paid demonstrations in North America. Building and putting in service a second demonstration unit increases the probability that PyroGenesis will be profitable in 2018 from DROSRITE system sales alone, and not just from a cash flow basis.

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 of 1933, as amended, or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States, unless an exemption from such registration is available.

About PyroGenesis Canada Inc.

PyroGenesis Canada Inc. is the world leader in the design, development, manufacture and commercialization of advanced plasma processes. We provide engineering and manufacturing expertise, cutting-edge contract research, as well as turnkey process equipment packages to the defense, metallurgical, mining, advanced materials (including 3D printing), oil & gas, and environmental industries. With a team of experienced engineers, scientists and technicians working out of our Montreal office and our 3,800 m2 manufacturing facility, PyroGenesis maintains its competitive advantage by remaining at the forefront of technology development and commercialization. Our core competencies allow PyroGenesis to lead the way in providing innovative plasma torches, plasma waste processes, high-temperature metallurgical processes, and engineering services to the global marketplace. Our operations are ISO 9001:2008 certified, and have been since 1997. PyroGenesis is a publicly-traded Canadian Corporation on the TSX Venture Exchange (Ticker Symbol: PYR) and on the OTCQB Marketplace. For more information, please visit www.pyrogenesis.com

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements containing the words "may", "plan", "will", "estimate", "continue", "anticipate", "intend", "expect", "in the process" and other similar expressions which constitute "forward- looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements reflect the Corporation's current expectation and assumptions, and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, our expectations regarding the acceptance of our products by the market, our strategy to develop new products and enhance the capabilities of existing products, our strategy with respect to research and development, the impact of competitive products and pricing, new product development, and uncertainties related to the regulatory approval process. Such statements reflect the current views of the Corporation with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and other risks detailed from time-to-time in the Corporation's ongoing filings with the securities regulatory authorities, which filings can be found at www.sedar.com, or at www.otcmarkets.com. Actual results, events, and performance may differ materially. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The Corporation undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward- looking statements either as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange, its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) nor the OTCQB accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

SOURCE PyroGenesis Canada Inc.

For further information please contact: Rodayna Kafal, VP, Investor Relations and Strategic Business Development, Phone: (514) 937-0002, E-mail: ir@pyrogenesis.com or rkafal@pyrogenesis.com

RELATED LINKS: http://www.pyrogenesis.com/
Syrian Kurds seek shelter in a cave in the Kurdish-controlled enclave of Afrin, northern Syria, on Feb.8, 2018, after fleeing their homes amid a Turkish military operation against Kurdish fighters. (Xinhua/Ammar Safarjalani)

AFRIN, Syria, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- For Syrian Kurds living in Afrin near the Syrian-Turkish border, fleeing home from war is hard, but the harder part is to find a safe haven for survival.

Nature has given them a hand, as many of them now seek shelter in the mountain caves while a war rages on in the region.

Since Jan. 20, Turkish troops, together with allied Syrian rebels, have been conducting a cross-border military operation in a bid to drive the Kurdish militiamen out of Afrin.

The heavy Turkish shelling and airstrikes forced many Kurdish villagers living on the outskirts of the city of Afrin to flee, but a lot of them could only seek shelter in the mountains as they are poor and have no other places to turn to.

The mountains in the region are rich in caves, many of which belong to local residents who built their homes at the entrance, turning them into part of their homes.

But, living in the caves could be a bittersweet experience for these war refugees.

In a cave behind one home built on the entrance of a small cave, about 40 people from different families were huddling together, thanks to the generosity of the home owner.

"I have received people from different villages and we share our food and drinks with them as much as possible according to our ability," the cave owner, who only identified himself as Jamil, told Xinhua.

He said those caves could be a hard place to live in, but they provide good protection from airstrikes and a safe place for the refugees to sleep in.

"When the people, especially the small children, hear the sound of shelling reverberating from nearby villages, they would run inside the cave, which we had previously used as the stable for animals such sheep," he explained.

"You can see the remains of hay inside. We got the sheep out and let the people in," the 80-year-old man said, using a crutch to support his weak body.

Inside the cave, which is the size of a living room, people were either sitting on the ground or leaning against the rocky walls. Some of the children were heavily coughing due to the humidity and illness, while the adults were sniffling with muted weeps.

Mariam, in her early 30s, sitting on the ground while carrying a baby on her lap, complained about how suffocating it was living inside the cave.

"Our village wasn't safe due to the shelling so we sought refuge in the cave, where we are hiding from the strikes. As you can see, it's suffocating here in the cave," she said.

She and others inside the cave yearn for an end of the war so that they could return to normal life as quickly as possible.

"We hope this war would end so that we could go back to our homes for our children to live their lives and go to school and for us to carry on with our lives again," Mariam said.

Hisham, a man in his 70s, lamented that though he was too weak to endure the cold nights in the cave, he remained grateful.

"We have fled from the town of Gendares to this cave and we thank the owner for hosting us, but as you can see we are jam-packed here. We only have three or four blankets and all the kids got sick without medication or food," he said, hoping for peace to prevail again.

Muhammad, another old man, was speaking with his eyes fraught with sadness shared by his fellow cave residents.

"All of us have fled our homes to this place and we sleep here in this cave, but it's not enough for us. We have around 40 people living here with four blankets only," he said.

However, Muhammad admitted that the cave saved their lives despite the hardships inside.

"Without this cave, the cold could have killed us. Our situation is extremely tragic," he said.

In the day time, they would stay out in the sunlight to keep warm, but once they hear the sound of shelling or warplanes, they have to rush immediately inside the cave which is lit only by one light bulb.

Citing the need to protect its national security, Turkey launched the cross-border "Operation Olive Branch" in Afrin in January to oust the fighters of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), regarded by Ankara as the Syrian affiliate of the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which has been fighting for autonomy in the southeast of Turkey.

A recent UN report said at least 15,000 people have been displaced since the start of the Turkish military operation against Kurdish fighters in Afrin.

Syria's state news agency SANA reported recently that 142 civilians had been killed and 345 others wounded by the Turkish military offensive on Afrin. But Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu denied the reports on Wednesday, insisting that there had been no civilian casualties in the Turkish operation so far.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-09 18:09:43|Editor: Yamei

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Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang (Photo source: fmprc.gov.cn)

BEIJING, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- China on Friday accused Japan of violating the one-China principle under the pretext of disaster relief efforts after a powerful earthquake struck Taiwan's Hualien County.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang made the remarks in response to a question saying that some senior Japanese official sent condolences to Taiwan politicians addressing them by the so-called official titles.

"The Japanese side openly attempted to create 'one China, one Taiwan' under the pretext of disaster relief and condolences," Geng said, adding such move went against the one-China principle as well as Japan's commitment on the Taiwan issue.

He said China was strongly dissatisfied and had lodged representations to Japan.

"We urge the Japanese side to abide by the principles set in the four China-Japan political documents, immediately correct its wrong practice, and not make new obstacles for bilateral ties," the spokesperson said.

Geng said the Chinese mainland was concerned after the magnitude 6.5 earthquake that hit Taiwan late Tuesday. Zhang Zhijun, head of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, expressed sincere regards to Taiwan compatriots, and pledged to send rescue teams and offer aid.

As of Friday morning, 10 people were confirmed dead in the earthquake, four from Chinese mainland, five from Taiwan and one from the Philippines. A total of 276 people were injured.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-09 18:29:49|Editor: Mengjie

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Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen (front right) and Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Xiong Bo (front left) attend the ground breaking ceremony in Kampong Cham province, Cambodia, on Feb. 9, 2018. Cambodia on Friday broke ground for the construction of the eighth Cambodia-China Friendship Bridge across the Mekong River, connecting Kampong Cham province and Tboung Khmum province in the country's southeastern part. (Xinhua/Mao Pengfei)

KAMPONG CHAM, Cambodia, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia on Friday broke ground for the construction of the eighth Cambodia-China Friendship Bridge across the Mekong River, connecting Kampong Cham province and Tboung Khmum province in the country's southeastern part.

The ceremony was presided over by Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen and Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Xiong Bo, and was attended by government officials and some 6,500 local residents and students.

The 1.13-km bridge, along with an 8.3-km connecting road, will be constructed by the Shanghai Construction Group under the China's concessional loan, and the construction is expected to be completed in early 2021.

Hun Sen said the new bridge was born from the excellent relations between Cambodia and China and expressed his sincere thanks to the government and people of China for always supporting Cambodia in socio-economic development.

"This is the 8th large bridge being built in Cambodia under the concessional loan of the Chinese government," he said.

"I believe that not only residents in the two provinces, but also others throughout the country will benefit from this bridge," he said.

Ambassador Xiong said China is pleased to support Cambodia in the development of transport infrastructure, which is a key element to boost local economy and to reduce poverty.

According to the Cambodian Ministry of Public Works and Transport, besides the bridges, nearly 2,000 km of roads have already been constructed under China's aid, as the construction of another 700 km of roads is underway.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-09 18:29:49|Editor: Mengjie

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Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (R) meets with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 9, 2018. (Xinhua/Li Tao)

BEIJING, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Friday suggested closer alignment of China's Belt and Road Initiative with Indonesia's development strategy.

During his meeting with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi in Beijing, Li called on both sides to promote cooperation in key areas such as infrastructure to achieve more results.

As major developing countries, China and Indonesia share broad common interests in safeguarding regional peace and promoting common development, said Li.

China attaches great importance to developing relations with Indonesia and is ready to enhance high-level exchanges between the two sides, he said.

China is willing to take the opportunity of the 15th anniversary of the establishment of China-ASEAN strategic partnership to promote China-ASEAN relations to a new level, said Li.

Retno voiced satisfaction over the outcomes of the development of Indonesia-China relations.

She said Indonesia hopes to strengthen high-level exchanges with China, expand economic and trade cooperation, and deepen people-to-people exchanges.

Indonesia will work with China to advance the construction of the high-speed rail link connecting its capital Jakarta with Bandung, said Retno.

She also welcomed China to participate in the construction of Indonesia's three economic corridors in North Sulawesi, North Sumatra and North Kalimantan, the provinces closest to the Maritime Silk Road.
CAIRO, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Egypt is on maximum security alert nationwide on Friday as its troops and police launched a major anti-terror operation to eradicate terrorism.

The operation covers areas in Sinai, the Delta and the Western Desert, and the border cities, said Tamer el Refai, a spokesperson of the armed forces.

Armored vehicles and tanks were seen deployed in North Sinai cities of Arish, Rafah and Sheikh Zuweid.

The communication networks were almost cut in Northern Sinai areas, according to eye witnesses.

Smoke of blast was seen in the sky of western Rafah city, while sounds of air raids were heard in north and central Sinai, they said.

"The law enforcement forces began this morning implementing the comprehensive confrontation against the terrorist, criminal elements and organizations in northern and central Sinai," Refai said in a televised statement.

He added that the operation is launched as part of the efforts to reach the three-month deadline set by President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi to eliminate terrorism after the mosque attack that killed more than 300 people in the northern Sinai city of Arish in November, 2017.

"The airstrikes came in parallel with a comprehensive plan for securing the marine ports and the navigation crossings," the army spokesperson added.

Meanwhile, strict security measures have been enforced in the vicinity of vital institutions, national projects, religious houses, electricity and water plants, and major tourist sites, an official security source was quoted by official news agency MENA as saying.

"Comprehensive operation meant coordination among all branches and departments of both the armed forces and the police in different provinces across the country," said General Nagy Shahoud, a security expert with the Nasser Military Academy.

The armed forces have identified the places of the terrorist in most of the areas and will raid them simultaneously, said Shahoud, adding that the operation will focus this time on eliminating the weapons warehouses in Sinai and along the borders with Libya.

Egyptian security forces have been fighting the Islamic militants, mainly in North Sinai, since the removal of former President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood by the military in 2013.

The militants have killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers in terror attacks in the past years, which have now spread to target civilians in the capital and other cities.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-09 19:14:59|Editor: Yamei

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Photo taken on Feb. 8, 2017 shows the launching ceremony of a cement project funded by China in Vientiane, Laos. (Xinhua/Liu Ailun)

VIENTIANE, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese-invested new dry-processing cement project has been put into operation in Vientiane province, Laos.



Vientiane Hongshi Saythirath Cement Co., Ltd held an ignition ceremony for the plant of 5,000 t/d on Thursday.

Vidong Xaiason, governor of Vientiane province, extended congratulations for the completion and operation of the plant on behalf of the provincial government, and expressed compliments for the achievements of the company.

Guo Qizheng, vice general manager of Hongshi Cement Co., Ltd., said the company will provide high-quality cement for large infrastructure projects in Laos while actively making efforts to improve the well-being of local people.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-09 19:14:59|Editor: Yamei

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Large machines clear the site of the collapsed Marshal Hotel in Hualien County, southeast China's Taiwan, Feb. 9, 2018. Large machinery started to clear the site of the collapsed Marshal Hotel and two tilted buildings on Friday morning. Rescuers Friday were continuing their search for seven people trapped in a collapsed building about 60 hours after a powerful earthquake struck Hualien. (Xinhua/Yue Yuewei)

TAIPEI, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Two more bodies were found in the ruins of a building in Taiwan's Hualien County Friday afternoon, taking the death toll in the earthquake to 12.

The bodies were identified as a Canadian couple, according to Taiwan's emergency operation center.

After the earthquake late Tuesday night, a family of five from the Chinese mainland were still trapped in the rubble as of 4 p.m. Friday.

Rescuers are continuing their search, but face great difficulties with very limited space to enter the site, according to Fu Kun-Chi, head of Hualien County.

"We will do our best to find the missing people within the 72-hour golden rescue period," said Fu.

The 12 victims include four from Chinese mainland, five from Taiwan, one from the Philippines and two from Canada. A total of 278 people were injured.

All the mainland tour groups in Taiwan are currently safe, according to the Taipei office of the Association for Tourism Exchange across the Taiwan Straits Friday.

The office has been in touch with the families of the four mainland victims and five missing mainland tourists and are helping them to visit Taiwan.

The Ministry of Public Security has offered expedited travel certificates for family members of the casualties, said the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council.

In the meantime, the National Tourism Administration plans to send a team to help deal with the aftermath.

According to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC), the magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck waters near Hualien at 11:50 p.m. Tuesday.

It was the most severe earthquake to hit Hualien in five decades.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-09 19:20:00|Editor: Mengjie

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BEIJING, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese prosecutors have filed indictments against Sun Huaishan, a former senior political advisor, and Li Wenke, a former senior legislator in northeast China's Liaoning, for graft-related charges in two separate cases.

According to the Supreme People's Procuratorate Friday, Sun was accused of taking bribes and Li was accused of both taking and offering bribes.

Sun's case has been filed by the Hulun Buir city procuratorate in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and the indictment against Li will be conducted by the procuratorate of Tonghua, Jilin Province.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-09 19:40:10|Editor: Mengjie

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WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi met here with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Thursday to discuss bilateral ties and issues of mutual concern during a two-day visit.

The two sides also agreed to hold the second round of the Diplomatic and Security Dialogue in China during the first half of the year, which is a part of the four high-level dialogue mechanisms serving to boost better China-U.S. ties.

BIGGER CAKE FOR COOPERATION

China and the United States could properly address their bilateral trade issues through more open markets and "making a bigger cake of cooperation," said Yang, who is on a two-day visit to Washington.

Noting that keeping the positive momentum of the China-U.S. relations is in line with the fundamental interests of the two peoples and the common aspirations of international society, Yang said he hoped the U.S. side could meet China halfway to ensure the stable and healthy development of bilateral ties in the long run.

He said the China-U.S. economic and trade relations are reciprocal in nature, bringing huge benefits to the two peoples.

He also urged the two nations to cooperate on such areas as energy, infrastructure construction and the Belt and Road Initiative, as well as enhance coordination on international economic concerns.

For his part, Tillerson said the U.S. side is willing to work with China to fortify and expand reciprocal cooperation, and seek to solve bilateral economic and trade issues in a more effective manner.

China-U.S. trade ties have been bumpy since U.S. President Donald Trump assumed office. The Trump administration has threatened to limit Chinese investment, exports and visa application.

Stephen Roach, a Yale University senior fellow, said "America does not hold the trump card in its economic relations with China," noting that "Getting tough on China while ignoring those consequences could be a blunder of epic proportions."

FOUR DIALOGUE MECHANISMS

China and the United States should maintain close contact and make good use of the existing four high-level dialogue channels to further boost ties, Yang said.

In addition to holding the second round of the Diplomatic and Security Dialogue in China, Beijing and Washington will hold a second round of dialogues on the economic, social and people-to-people exchanges, and law enforcement and cyber security within the year, Yang said.

The four high-level dialogue mechanisms were established during the Mar-a-Lago meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Trump at Palm Beach in the southeastern U.S. state of Florida last April.

The four channels have provided opportunities for Chinese and U.S. officials to talk about significant issues ranging from peace and stability in the South China Sea and military-to-military exchanges, to innovation cooperation and cyber crime.

Cheng Li, director of the John L. Thornton China Center at the Brookings Institution, said that compared with previous communication mechanisms, the four dialogues are more outcome-oriented, emphasizing key areas of mutual concern.

COMMITMENT TO ONE-CHINA POLICY

During the meeting, Tillerson said that the United States remains committed to the one-China policy.

For his part, Yang made China's stance clear on issues like Taiwan, requesting the U.S. side take China's concerns seriously.

Some politicians of the U.S. executive and legislative branches have become increasingly interested in playing the Taiwan card in dealing with U.S.-China relations.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed two Taiwan-related bills in January.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang has said that the United States should handle the Taiwan issue carefully, noting "the passage of the two bills seriously violates the principles of the one-China policy and three Sino-U.S. joint communiques."

GLOBAL SUPPORT FOR INTER-KOREAN RAPPORT

Yang urged global support for inter-Korean rapport and the continued easing of tensions on the Korean Peninsula during the meeting.

China has always been committed to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and maintaining its peace and stability, said Yang, adding that issues on the Korean Peninsula should be solved through dialogue and negotiation.

The situation on the peninsula has been undergoing positive changes recently as South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) are using the PyeongChang Winter Olympics to resume dialogue.

Despite tensions easing on the Korean Peninsula, Washington has been sticking to a strategy of "maximum pressure" on the DPRK to force it to abandon its nuclear weapons programs, but so far has failed to achieve its goals.

Richard Haass, president of the U.S. think tank Council on Foreign Relations, said it was "a mistake" for the United States to refuse to resume talks with the DPRK, adding that there is too much talk now about preconditions for denuclearization.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-09 19:40:11|Editor: Mengjie

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BRAZZAVILLE, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- President of the Republic of the Congo Denis Sassou Nguesso called the media fanfare about China spying on the African Union (AU) "ridiculous" in a Thursday interview with Xinhua.

Sassou Nguesso's comments joined the barrage of criticism by African leaders against the report by the French newspaper Le Monde, which alleged that China had bugged the building it had built and gifted to the AU in 2012.

The new AU building has been deemed a symbol of Sino-African cooperation, and Sassou Nguesso said: "This gesture from China (gifting of the building) has been hailed by all and we continue to salute it."

The president stressed that "the media that shared this ridiculous news should first of all know that when we debate at the African Union, we have no problem to hide."

"If there are diplomatic negotiations or secret negotiations, it does not happen during debates at the AU," he said.

The French newspaper carried "revelations" that microphones were found in the walls and pointed to a spectacular data leak in the building, citing anonymous sources within the pan-African organization.

"According to some information we received, equipments came from different countries, not even from China, you can see how these news are fake and ridiculous," said Sassou Nguesso.

Speaking of the Africa-China cooperation, Sassou Nguesso said the 2015 summit in Johannesburg has given a global perspective of cooperation between China and Africa. "We see that the strategic cooperation between China and Africa has taken a significant step forward."

The Le Monde report has become a subject of criticism from several AU officials including the AU Chairman Paul Kagame and the chair of the AU Commission Moussa Faki.

Faki said Thursday that it was impossible and unnecessary for China to spy on the AU.

Faki said the ties between China and AU were "unshakable," and such reports could not damage their relations.

Earlier this week, Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza said the report, which was compiled ahead of the 30th AU summit, was fabricated by some Western media to drive a wedge between African countries and China.
LONDON and TORONTO, Feb. 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SolGold plc (LSE:SOLG) (TSX:SOLG) announces today that, as a result of a review by staff of the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), the Company is issuing the following news release to clarify its technical disclosure made with respect to its flagship Alpala Project at Cascabel in Ecuador.



Specifically, the Company wishes to clarify that certain Company presentations made in August, September and November 2017, including two investor presentation documents made available on the Companys website, contain preliminary economic information not supported by a technical report prepared in accordance with NI 43-101. Though the Company included qualifying language in the presentations, adjacent to such economic disclosure, to the effect that such information was conceptual in nature and should not be relied upon by investors, OSC staff informed the Company that such disclosure is not permitted if not supported by a preliminary economic assessment prepared in accordance with NI 43-101. As a result, the identified presentations and related files have been removed from the Companys website. The Company retracts the preliminary economic information contained therein and cautions investors that it should not be relied on. Content similar to the economic information contained in the Companys presentations is also contained in certain reports and presentations prepared by third party analysts, which the Company had previously linked to on its website.

Subsequent to the filing of the NI 43-101 mineral resource statement in respect of the Companys January 3, 2018 maiden mineral resource estimate press release, the Company anticipates preparing and filing a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) on the Cascabel Project, prepared in accordance with NI 43-101. The PEA will be reviewed and approved by a qualified person under NI 43-101 who is independent of the Company.

The Company announced its maiden mineral resource estimate for the Cascabel Project on January 3, 2018, in respect of which it expects to file a mineral resource statement prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 on or before February 20, 2018. In the January 3 release, the Company disclosed the quantity and grade of the estimated mineral resources and the proportion of such estimate represented by the indicated and inferred categories in such a way as to combine the two categories. Although the Company made it quite clear to investors the percentage of the material comprising the combined resource that is in the inferred category, such disclosure is contrary to paragraph 2.2(c) of NI 43-101. The following restates the applicable mineral resource estimate disclosure from the Companys January 3, 2018 press release:

The Alpala maiden mineral resource estimate totals a current:

430 Mt @ 0.8% CuEq (at 0.3% CuEq cut off) in the Indicated category, and 650 Mt @ 0.6% CuEq (at 0.3% CuEq cut off) in the Inferred category; contained metal content of 2.3 Mt Cu in the Indicated category and 2.9 Mt Cu in the Inferred category; and contained metal content of 6.0 Mt Au in the Indicated category and 6.3 Mt Au in the Inferred category.



The Company also wishes to clarify that Jason Ward, MAusIMM (CP), the Companys Country Manager for Ecuador and Exploration Manager for the Cascabel Project, has reviewed and approved the contents of each of the press releases of the Company in which any technical information appears from July 13, 2017 to present, including this press release. Mr. Ward is a qualified person for the purposes of NI 43-101.

CONTACTS

Mr Nicholas Mather

SolGold Plc (Executive Director)

nmather@solgold.com.au

Tel: +61 (0) 7 3303 0665

+61 (0) 417 880 448 Mr Karl Schlobohm

SolGold Plc (Company Secretary)

kschlobohm@solgold.com.au

Tel: +61 (0) 7 3303 0661 Mr Ewan Leggat / Richard Morrison

SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP (NOMAD and Broker)

Ewan.leggat@spangel.co.uk / richard.morrison@spangel.co.uk Tel: +44 (0) 20 3470 0470



Follow us on twitter @SolGold_plc

ABOUT SOLGOLD

SolGold is a Brisbane, Australia based, dual LSE and TSXlisted (SOLG on both exchanges) copper gold exploration and future development company with assets in Ecuador, Solomon Islands and Australia. SolGold's primary objective is to discover and define worldclass coppergold deposits. The Board and Management Team have substantial vested interests in the success of the Company as shareholders as well as strong track records in the areas of exploration, mine appraisal and development, investment, finance and law. SolGold's experience is augmented by state of the art geophysical and modelling techniques and the guidance of porphyry copper and gold expert Dr Steve Garwin.

CAUTIONARY NOTICE

News releases, presentations and public commentary made by SolGold and its Officers may contain certain statements and expressions of belief, expectation or opinion which are forward looking statements, and which relate, inter alia, to interpretations of exploration results to date and the Company's proposed strategy, plans and objectives or to the expectations or intentions of the Company's Directors. Such forward-looking and interpretative statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors beyond the control of the Company that could cause the actual performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from such interpretations and forward-looking statements. Accordingly, the reader should not rely on any interpretations or forward-looking statements; and save as required by the exchange rules of the TSX and LSE or by applicable laws, the Company does not accept any obligation to disseminate any updates or revisions to such interpretations or forward-looking statements. The Company may reinterpret results to date as the status of its assets and projects changes with time expenditure, metals prices and other affecting circumstances.

This release may contain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements regarding the Company's plans for developing its properties. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to: transaction risks; general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; future prices of mineral prices; accidents, labour disputes and shortages and other risks of the mining industry. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.




BUDAPEST, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Hungarian trade surplus fell in 2017 to 8.2 billion euros, after reaching a record 9.9 billion euros in 2016, according to estimate of the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH) released here on Friday.

Exports, mainly in the automotive sector, rose 8.4 percent to 100.7 billion euros, while imports rose 11.1 percent to 92.5 billion euros, according to KSH.

According to these preliminary figures, the Hungarian trade surplus has returned to a level closer to that recorded in 2015, when it reached 8.6 billion euros.

In December, the surplus amounted to 502 million euros, against 490 million a year earlier, with exports rising by 2.5 percent to almost 7.5 billion euros and an identical increase in imports to nearly 7 billion euros.

"The numbers are in line with our expectations," Orsolya Nyeste, senior analyst of Erste Bank Hungary, said in a statement following the publication of the report by KSH. "We expect the same tendencies in foreign trade to continue in 2018," she added.

"The imports will continue to rise above the level of exports, which will narrow the surplus, but only by a small margin," she added.

The details of the 2017 trade surplus figures will be published on March 2, 2018.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-09 19:55:19|Editor: Mengjie

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BEIJING, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- China on Friday started regulating tourist trips to Antarctica to protect the fragile polar ecology and help develop Antarctic tourism.

According to a guideline issued by the State Oceanic Administration (SOA), the hunting of wild animals, construction, entry into special conservation areas, collection of soil and rock samples, and bringing in hazardous materials are banned.

Tourists are supposed to take all solid waste away with them when they leave Antarctica or have it burned at designated facilities and take away the remains.

Those who litter should clear up any damage and bear the cost of environmental restoration.

The rule was effective upon its release Friday, the SOA said.

Violators will be blacklisted and restricted from entering Antarctica for one to three years, the guideline noted.

Visitors should have permission from the SOA before going to research stations and need to inform the stations 24 to 72 hours ahead of arrival. The station can cancel or adjust tourist visits according to its schedule, the guideline said.

Individuals and groups are required to gain approval from the SOA before collecting samples from Antarctica for scientific research.

TOURIST BOOM

China has witnessed a tourism boom to Antarctica. In 2017, the number of Chinese tourists to the continent grew to 5,300, from barely 100 in 2005. China is now ranked the second tourist source for Antarctica, after the United States.

"The trip changed my outlook on life," wrote one middle-age visitor on his blog. "The gigantic floating glaciers were beyond imagination. Penguins, seals, whales and other marine animals gave birth, hunted and wandered around us at ease. That's the meaning of life."

The snow-white world is fresh to Chinese tourists, though expensive and harsh in environment, and has been attracting a growing number of middle-age Chinese who have the time and money to visit.

Customers above 45 years old take up nearly 60 percent of all tourists to Antarctica, according to Chinese online tour operator Ctrip.com.

SOLVING PROBLEMS

Chinese tourists are usually sent to a third country before joining Antarctica trips organized by foreign travel agencies, since China owns none of the more than 100 tourist ships qualified for the Antarctica.

The Great Wall research station, built by China in the 1980s, is the most popular destination for Chinese tourists. It receives more than 2,000 Chinese tourists each summer and has carried out multiple rescues for injured Chinese tourists, said Qin Weijia, an SOA official.

The station, with only 30 staff, comes under great environmental and safety pressure to accommodate the growing tourists, he said.

Antarctic tourism remains controversial. While some environmentalists suggest a complete ban, advocates believe public environmental protection awareness can be raised if tours are well organized.

Last May, at the 40th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting, the Chinese government reiterated its commitment to peaceful development and research of Antarctica.

Observers say the new guideline is necessary and proves that Beijing is serious about protecting the environment of Antarctica and promoting sustainable growth in tourism.
SOFIA, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Bulgaria's trade deficit with countries outside the European Union (EU) increased threefold in 2017 year-on-year, preliminary data of the country's National Statistical Institute (NSI) showed on Friday.

According to the NSI, Bulgaria's foreign trade balance with non-EU countries in 2017 was negative and added up to 3.6 billion BGN (some 2.3 billion U.S. dollars) while in 2016 the deficit stood at 1.2 billion BGN.

In 2017, Bulgarian exports to non-EU countries amounted to 17.7 billion BGN, a 10.7 percent increase in comparison with the previous year, the NSI said.

Main trade partners of Bulgaria were Turkey, Russia, China, Serbia, Macedonia and Egypt, which accounted for 51.6 percent of the exports to non-EU countries.

The largest export growths compared to 2016 were recorded in the sections 'Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material' (42.1 percent) and 'Miscellaneous manufactured articles' (23.2 percent), while the most notable falls were reported in 'Food and live animals' (16.7 percent) and 'Beverages and tobacco' (11.9 percent), the NSI said.

Meanwhile, Bulgarian imports from non-EU countries in 2017 increased by 24.1 percent year-on-year to 21.3 billion BGN with the largest imports coming from Russia, Turkey, China and Serbia, the NSI said.

The largest import growths were recorded in the sections 'Crude materials, inedible (except fuel)' (42.3 percent) and 'Animals and vegetable oils, fats and waxes' (40.1 percent), the NSI said.

According to the NSI, China was Bulgaria's third largest export and import partner outside the EU in 2017, with export and import figures reaching 1.246 billion BGN and 2.169 billion BGN, or 36.3 percent and 6.6 percent more than in 2016. (1 U.S. dollar = 1.59 BGN)
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-09 20:15:23|Editor: Mengjie

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GUANGZHOU, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- South China's Guangdong Province has topped the country in the number of valid invention patents over the past eight years, according to local authorities.

By the end of 2017, the number of valid invention patents in the province reached 208,500, said He Jufeng, deputy director of the Guangdong Intellectual Property Office.

He said companies in the province were leading contributors to the rising number of invention patents.

Last year, Guangdong had accepted 455,400 patent applications from 56,000 companies, accounting for more than 72.5 percent of the total number of patent applications in the province.

In 2017, Guangdong had four firms in the list of top 10 companies in invention patent grants on the Chinese mainland.
PYONGYANG, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and Russia plan to mark the 70th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic relations by further promoting bilateral ties and expanding cooperation in various fields, official media said Friday.

The official Korean Central News Agency said a working-level delegation of the DPRK Foreign Ministry headed by Im Chon Il, director general of its European Department 1, visited Moscow at the invitation of the Russian Foreign Ministry this week.

The head of the delegation held negotiations with Andrei B. Kulik, director of the Asia 1 Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, on Feb. 6, said the report.

At the negotiations, they held in-depth discussions on matters concerning bilateral relations, including a planned joint event to mark the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the DPRK and Russia and exchanged views on the situation on the Korean Peninsula, the report said.

"Both sides decided to positively propel the development of the overall bilateral relations by activating visits and contacts between the two countries and expanding the cooperation in various fields this year marking the above-said anniversary," it said.

The DPRK and Russia have maintained close relations since the late 1940s when Pyongyang and Moscow established diplomatic ties during the time of the former Soviet Union.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-09 20:25:27|Editor: Mengjie

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BEIJING, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese prosecutors have filed indictments against Sun Huaishan, a former senior political advisor, and Li Wenke, a former senior legislator in northeast China's Liaoning, for graft-related charges in two separate cases.

According to the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) Friday, Sun was accused of taking bribes, and Li was accused of both taking and offering bribes.

Sun's case has been filed by the Hulun Buir city procuratorate in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and the indictment against Li will be conducted by the procuratorate of Tonghua, Jilin Province.

Sun was formerly a member of the Standing Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee and head of the Committee for Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Compatriots and Overseas Chinese of the CPPCC National Committee.

Li was formerly deputy director of the Standing Committee of Liaoning Provincial People's Congress.

Both men were accused of taking advantage of their power to seek benefits for others and accepting vast sums of money or gifts, acts that constitute taking bribes, according to the SPP.

Moreover, Li was accused of offering money or gifts to state officials to seek illegal benefits.

The SPP statement said prosecutors in the two cases had informed the defendants of their litigation rights, interrogated them and listened to their lawyers' opinions. The rights of the defendants have been properly protected.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-09 20:40:33|Editor: pengying

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by Keren Setton

JERUSALEM, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Israel is perhaps facing less security threat than anytime in the past in its 70-year history. Still, the Jewish state's defense industry is thriving with hi-tech weapons and capabilities attractive to global markets.

Indeed, the peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan leave Israel battling with enemies who do not share its military might. A nuclear threat from Iran has been halted by an international treaty since 2015, and Syria is distracted by a seven-year bloody civil war.

And still, Israel's defense industry is thriving, booming with hi-tech weapons and capabilities. Many innovations from Israeli defense firms are hits.

That is because Israel is continuously on a state of alert, dealing with a decades long low-intensity conflict with the Palestinians, who do not have a traditional army, that has also created the need for solutions to new threats.

Israel is "a country that was born in a war and since then has more or less never stopped being in a war," said Isaac Ben Israel, chairman of the Israel Space Agency and a retired military general.

This is a fertile ground for immediate testing of weapons, said Gilad Alper, head of research at Excellence Nessuah Trust Company.

Alper said that there is zero latency between the lab and the war zone in Israel, where the feedback from the soldiers on the ground is almost instantaneous.

This advantage is huge and unique, Alper noted.

"This is an ongoing improvement process that simply doesn't exist for other countries. They just don't have the know-how or the experience," Alper said.

Israel's small population, approximately 8 million, coupled with mandatory military service for most citizens, means that everyone either has some extent of combat experience or knows someone who does.

Israel is ranked 11th of the 20 biggest arms exporters in the world between 2011-2015, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), a rank that is disproportionate to Israel's size, one of the smallest in the world.

It is a billion-dollar industry for the country that has managed to capitalize on its conflict-ridden history.

This history has also resulted in a closely knitted network in which there is continuous flow of information and manpower between the military and civilian defense firms.

"Made in Israel" is a good stamp to have when shopping in the defense sector.

"The brand matters, but it is a result of those companies having close ties with the military and therefore always being able to develop something that works and is relevant to the modern battle ground," Alper said.

Israel's small size is also a factor.

"In its bordering countries alone there is 20 times the population of Israel," Ben Israel said. "This forced it to close the quantitative gap ... by making weapons that fit Israel exactly and give it an advantage to close that gap."

Israel's quest for self-reliance came after a bitter lesson in politics was learned -- France imposed a weapons embargo on the Middle East during the 1967 War. It was a severe blow to the Jewish state.

Fast-forward to decades later, Israel is today not only self-reliant on many critical weapons systems, but also a major exporter.

Big Israeli firms in the industry do not specialize in one sub-sector but often span to various sub-categories in an attempt to reach a wider market. This has both a downside and an upside.

"The companies do a lot of things -- more than what a U.S. company of the same size would do," Alper said. "The specialization in various sectors has a negative impact with the operation margin suffering ... but on the other hand, it means you know how to do a lot of things and you always have a better chance of a hitting a blockbuster."

Elbit, one of the largest names in the Israeli defense business, offers products in 17 different sub-sectors.

In addition, Israeli companies have also specialized in upgrading existing platforms that other armies and countries possess, which makes another source of income.

"This is something that became very attractive to armies around Israel that also have budget limitations but want to improve their military," said Alper.

The booming industry most certainly has a role in perpetuating Israel's conflict with the Palestinians.

For every innovation Palestinian militant groups come up with -- comes a hi-tech Israeli response. The Iron Dome system was designed to intercept short-range missiles from Gaza, and reports of a new technology aimed at detecting Hamas tunnels from the same area are cornering the militant organization.

Israeli government's expenditure on defense research and development is also substantial.

"The weight of the defense industry is decreasing. It is being replaced by industries that are based on technologies that perhaps were originally developed for security but have been converted to civilian needs," Ben Israel said. "I hope this continues, because if it does -- it means that the security threat is decreasing."

However, the interdependency between the military and civilian sectors in Israel will all but guarantee the livelihood of the defense industries.

And peace is not really on the agenda in the Middle East.

"The level of threat globally is not declining," said Alper. "The proficiency of Israeli hi-tech is exactly in synch with the way the modern battleground is developing."
Photo taken on Feb. 26, 2017 shows a zebra at the South Luangwa National Park in eastern Zambia's Mambwe district. South Luangwa National Park is one of Zambia's best known national parks and a major tourist attraction. (Xinhua/Peng Lijun)

LUSAKA, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) will soon pilot a project on the use of drones for wildlife monitoring in Zambia.

The project is aimed at enabling wildlife authorities in the southern African nation to better detect and respond to poaching and other threats in its protected areas.

Eneya Phiri, head of communications and marketing at WWF Zambia, said the project came up following the decision by the government to produce guidelines on the use of drones.

"The publication of these guidelines provided an opportunity for the Zambian conservation sector to take advantage of recent advances in drone technology as cost effective and more efficient tools for surveillance, poaching threat detection and wildlife research applications," he said in a statement.

The technology, he said, will go a long way in complementing the efforts of wildlife authorities in protecting the country's iconic wildlife species.

The pilot project will target the Department of National Parks and Wildlife and six of its partners in five flagship national parks across the country, he added.

The project will also involve the training of wildlife officers on the use of drones for a wide range of conservation operations such as anti-poaching, wildlife aerial surveys, habitat monitoring and human-wildlife conflict mitigation, he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-09 21:05:42|Editor: pengying

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GAZA, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- A delegation of the Islamic Hamas movement headed to Cairo on Friday for a meeting with Egyptian officials to discuss the worsening situation in the Gaza Strip.

The delegation, led by its leader Ismail Haniyeh and includes five other high-ranking officials, aims to work with Egypt to ease the worsening humanitarian situation in the Israeli-blockaded enclave, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said in a statement.

The two sides will discuss the economic crisis that has "put Gaza on the edge of the abyss," Barhoum said.

They will also discuss obstacles to a unity deal with the Palestinian government in the West Bank, as the visit is within the framework of the Hamas-Fatah reconciliation agreements signed in 2011 and 2017, he added.

Egypt is the primary sponsor of an ongoing reconciliation process between Hamas, which controls Gaza Strip, and Fatah, a Palestinian faction that rules the West Bank.

Last October, Hamas signed a new reconciliation agreement with Fatah in Cairo, but the recommendations from the agreement have yet to be implemented.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-09 21:10:44|Editor: Mengjie

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ZHENGZHOU, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Cong Xinshan, 76, moved to a two-bedroom apartment in town at the end of last year. His old house in the country has been demolished and crops are to be planted on the site in the spring.

"With a gas stove and flush toilet, we are very happy to have started our 'urban life'," said Cong, from Dancheng, a poor county in central China's Henan Province.

Cong and his wife are among nearly 20 households of left-behind elderly folks who were moved to new apartment buildings and are about to grow crops on the sites of their former houses.

With most people of working age off in the cities, the village, like many others across the country, is almost deserted. The few who remain are often housed in shabby old buildings.

"The whole place was overgrown. Weeds were everywhere and we could barely hear a cock crow," Cong recalled.

Turning deserted rural housing into farmland in Dancheng County is part of the "land reclamation coupon" system in Henan Province to make better use of land and secure the amount of arable land.

County governments which reclaim arable land from the sites of former houses are given coupons representing the amount of "construction" land converted to farmland. These coupons may then be sold to cities in the province, which can use the same amount of farmland within their jurisdiction for building.

Yang Yumin, head of Dancheng County land resources bureau, said the county organized the relocation with the agreement of the villagers and the reclaimed farmland remained contracted to the villagers themselves.

By demolishing "ghost villages' and building apartment buildings, the county reclaimed 567 hectares of farmland in the past year.

Coupons for around 140 ha were sold for up to 4.5 million yuan (about 710,000 U.S. dollars) per ha to the provincial capital Zhengzhou, which will be allowed to develop 140 ha for commercial use.

Part of the revenue is used to cover the cost of new apartments for villagers like Cong.

The county has 340 such villages, covering over 3,000 ha, according to Yang.

The "No. 1 central document" released Sunday encouraged county governments to optimize village layouts to make better use of construction land in rural areas.

China has set a red line of 120 million ha to ensure food security.

Chen Zhisheng, deputy chief of Henan provincial bureau of land resources, said the coupon system, launched in late 2016, had seen trades of 4,000 ha by the end of 2017, with most coupons sold from poor counties to cities.

Total revenue reached 13 billion yuan, which is very helpful for poverty-stricken counties, according to Chen.

"The system not only reactivates deserted land in rural area, but also offers space for urban development," he said.
THIS NEWS RELEASE IS INTENDED FOR DISTRIBUTION IN CANADA ONLY AND IS NOT AUTHORIZED FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES.

CARLSBAD, Calif., Feb. 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aurora Spine Corporation (TSXV:ASG) ("Aurora Spine" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has completed its previously announced private placement of common shares ("Common Shares"), pursuant to which the Company issued 9,265,000 common shares at a price of CDN$0.10 per share for aggregate gross proceeds of CDN$926,500 (the "Offering").



Certain directors or officers of the Company participated in the Offering. The participation of any such director or officer in the Offering constitutes a related party transaction under Canadian Multilateral Instrument 61-101 ("MI 61-101"), but is otherwise exempt from the formal valuation and minority approval requirements of MI 61-101.

In connection with the Offering, the Company paid aggregate cash commissions equal to CDN$29,490.

The net proceeds from the Offering will be used for general working capital purposes.

All securities issued by Aurora Spine in connection with this Offering are subject to a statutory four month hold period. The Offering is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary approvals, including the final approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

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.

About Aurora Spine

Aurora Spine is an early stage company focused on bringing new solutions to the spinal implant market through a series of screwless, innovative, minimally invasive, regenerative spinal implant technologies. Aurora Spine continues to position itself at the forefront of spinal surgery procedures, focusing on minimally invasive spine surgery technologies. Aurora Spine is changing spine surgery by focusing on disruptive technologies following the Companys commitment to  Simplifying the Complex.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking information that involves substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties, most of which are beyond the control of Aurora Spine, including, without limitation, those listed under "Risk Factors" and "Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information" in Aurora Spine's final prospectus (collectively, "forward-looking information"). Forward-looking information in this news release includes information concerning the Offering and the proposed use of proceeds of the Offering. Aurora Spine cautions investors of Aurora Spine's securities about important factors that could cause Aurora Spine's actual results to differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statements included in this news release. Any statements that express, or involve discussions as to, expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not historical facts and may be forward-looking and may involve estimates, assumptions and uncertainties which could cause actual results or outcomes to differ unilaterally from those expressed in such forward-looking statements. No assurance can be given that the expectations set out herein will prove to be correct and, accordingly, prospective investors should not place undue reliance on these forward looking statements. These statements speak only as of the date of this press release and Aurora Spine does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances.

For more information, please contact:

Aurora Spine Corporation

Trent Northcutt

President and Chief Executive Officer

(760) 424-2004

Sarina Mason

Chief Financial Officer

(760) 424-2004

www.aurora-spine.com

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
CAIRO, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian police foiled on Friday a terrorist attack, killing three terrorists and arresting 14 others, as part of a nationwide anti-terror operation, the Interior Ministry announced.

"Explosive devices and automatic guns were seized with the arrested, for carrying out other attacks before the beginning of the presidential elections," the ministry said in a statement.

The terrorists were members of the outlawed Hasm group, and affiliated to the banned Muslim Brotherhood group, the ministry added.

Earlier Friday, Egypt launched a major anti-terror operation to uproot terrorists in areas in Sinai, the Delta and the Western Desert, and the border cities.

The operation is launched as part of the efforts to reach the three-month deadline set by President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi to eliminate terrorism after the mosque attack that killed more than 300 people in the northern Sinai city of Arish in November, 2017, the Egyptian army said in an earlier statement.

Eyewitnesses saw armored vehicles and tanks being deployed in North Sinai cities of Arish, Rafah and Sheikh Zuweid.

Smoke of blast was seen in the sky of western Rafah city, while sound of air raids were heard in northern and central Sinai, they said.

Meanwhile, strict security measures have been enforced in the vicinity of vital institutions, national projects, religious houses, electricity and water plants, and major tourist sites, an official security source was quoted by the official news agency MENA as saying.

Egypt's army has been struggling to uproot the strongholds of the militants, now belong to the Islamic State branch in Sinai, since the ouster of the Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in 2013.
MANILA, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Friday that the ban on deployment of Filipino workers to Kuwait will stay and even threatened to take "drastic measures" if the abuses continue.

Duterte made the announcement during a press conference in Davao City, lamenting the death of seven overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the Gulf state. "The ban continues today, and I don't know up to what time."

"We do not intend to offend any government, but if a ban is what is needed, then let it be so. The ban continues today," the president said.

Duterte appealed to the Arab nations to treat Filipino workers with dignity and respect.

"A review of the incidence of violence committed against Filipino workers overseas, especially in Kuwait, is so repugnant, and it compels us to ask what we in the government has been doing all these years to give justice to them," Duterte said.

"The Filipino is no slave to anyone, anywhere and everywhere," he lamented, adding that "every unlawful physical injury inflicted on an OFW is an injury I personally bear as the head of this republic."

"Every unlawful physical injury inflicted on an OFW is an affront against us as a sovereign nation," Duterte said.

The president said he fumed after reading news reports about the death of a Filipino woman whose body was found inside a freezer at an abandoned apartment in Kuwait. "I cannot stomach it."

Duterte asked Kuwait "What are you doing to my countrymen? And if I were to do it to your citizens here, would you be happy? Is there something wrong with your culture? Is there something wrong with the values?"

Nevertheless, Duterte, who met the Kuwaiti Ambassador Musaed Saleh Althwaikh on Thursday, said he was planning to visit Kuwait "to plead my case".

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello last month ordered the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) "to stop the processing and issuance of overseas employment certificates (OECs) to all Kuwait-bound workers pending the investigation of the cause of deaths of the Filipino workers."

"We would like to seek justice for our OFWs, and while the investigation is undergoing, we are suspending the processing and issuance of OECs. We are doing this for utmost protection and welfare of our kababayan," Bello said.

The victims, all women, were working as "household services workers", and were deployed in 2016.

There are approximately 250,000 Filipinos working in Kuwait, 75 percent of them are domestic helpers, according to government records. Some 300 Filipinos continue to apply for work in Kuwait every day, the government said.

The Philippines is one of the primary sources of domestic workers abroad, including Singapore, China's Hong Kong and the Middle East like Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Many of the workers reportedly suffer sexual abuse from their male employers. The abuse of many Filipino women workers are often Duterte's topic in his speeches.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-09 21:50:52|Editor: pengying

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TRIPOLI, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- An explosion hit the Sa'ad Bin-Abada mosque in the Libyan city of Benghazi Friday afternoon, killing one worshipper and injuring 55 others, military and medical sources told Xinhua.

"Explosive bags exploded inside the Sa'ad Bin-Abada mosque in Majuri as worshippers were performing Friday prayers," Col. Milud Zwai, spokesman for the eastern-based army's special forces, told Xinhua.

"According to preliminary investigations, the bombing was carried out remotely," Zwai added.

Fadia Al-Barghathi, the information officer of Al-Jalaa Hospital in Benghazi, confirmed that the hospital received one dead body and 55 people with varying degrees of wounds.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-09 21:50:52|Editor: Mengjie

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ULAN BATOR, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Bank of Mongolia, the country's central bank, on Friday issued a silver coin to celebrate the traditional Chinese Year of the Dog.

The commemorative coin depicts a Mongolian bankhar, a mastiff formerly kept by nomadic herders.

The coin with a 38.61-mm diameter is priced at 150,000 tugriks (63 U.S. dollars).

The Year of the Dog begins on Feb. 16, according to the Chinese lunar calendar.

Since 1972, the Bank of Mongolia has been issuing gold, silver and bronze coins depicting the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac, as well as endangered animals, Olympic athletes and other famous people.
BOGOTA, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Students of a university in Medellin, northwest Colombia, staged a protest against "sexism" Thursday after the school advised female students not to wear miniskirts.

The Pontifical Bolivarian University, known as UPB, had last month posted "advise" for female students, asking them to avoid wearing miniskirts to class so they would not distract classmates and teachers.

Students started an online campaign with the hashtag "#UPBEnFalda", -- "UPB in miniskirts".

A student, Helena Munera, tweeted that they were protesting not for the right to wear miniskirts but to put an end to messages that encouraged disrespect of women.

After the outcry across the campus, the UPB deleted the advise, saying it had been meant only as a general suggestion.

It said it "respects the right to express personalities, and has never imposed a dress code on students."
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-09 21:50:52|Editor: pengying

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ISTANBUL, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Turkish Interior Ministry announced on Friday that it has stopped issuing new permits to Syrian refugees who apply for residing in Istanbul, the most populous city in Turkey.

"The Directorate General of Migration Management is no more accepting new requests for Istanbul, considering the population density of the city," the Hurriyet daily quoted the ministry as saying in a statement.

Istanbul, the most popular destination for Syrians fleeing a civil war, is hosting more than 542,000 of them.

The figure could have doubled if unregistered refugees were included, said a representative of an non-government organization.

"The authorities apparently decided to combat and curb the influx of Syrian refugees to Istanbul, because there is a massive demand for the city," Veysel Ayhan, the head of the International Middle East Peace Research Center, told Xinhua.

For Ayhan and his aid group, the main problem is the undocumented immigrants who are either already in the city or arriving in the city every day.

"It is not clear how the authorities will cope with these unregistered people," he noted.

During the past one and a half years, security forces have established checkpoints at bus terminals, airports and other transport hubs in Istanbul to stop undocumented Syrians from entering the city.

Despite the fact that undocumented refugees cannot benefit from education and health services, they still prefer Istanbul to other places, Ayhan said.

It seems that the decision by the Interior Ministry also aims to ease the growing discomfort among the public toward the increasing number of Syrians in the country, said Metin Corabatir, the head of the Asylum and Migration Research Center.

"The Syrian refugees have now become more visible not only in Istanbul but across the country, causing more strain between the two communities," he said on the CNNTurk channel.

Turkey is home to about 3.5 million displaced Syrians, but it is "not in a position" to continue hosting them indefinitely, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said a day earlier.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-09 22:05:54|Editor: pengying

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TRIPOLI, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- An explosion hit the Sa'ad Bin-Abada mosque in the Libyan city of Benghazi Friday afternoon, killing one worshipper and injuring 55 others, military and medical sources told Xinhua.

"Explosive bags exploded inside the Sa'ad Bin-Abada mosque in Majuri as worshippers were performing Friday prayers," Col. Milud Zwai, spokesman for the eastern-based army's special forces, told Xinhua.

"According to preliminary investigations, the bombing was carried out remotely," Zwai added.

Fadia Al-Barghathi, the information officer of Al-Jalaa Hospital in Benghazi, confirmed that the hospital received one dead body and 55 people with varying degrees of wounds.

Benghazi, which has been controlled by the army after terrorist groups were eliminated from the city in late 2017, is witnessing an escalation of bombings particularly on mosques.

Twin car bomb attacks hit a mosque in Benghazi's Salmani district two weeks ago when worshippers were leaving the mosque after the night prayer, killing 34 people and injuring more than 100 others, mostly civilians.

Libya has been plagued by insecurity and chaos since the uprising that toppled former leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-09 22:10:57|Editor: Mengjie

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BRUSSELS, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- A painting exhibition was held at the China Cultural Center in Brussels, featuring Chinese spring festival-themed art to celebrate the Year of the Dog.

The exhibition presents traditional Chinese paintings, representing many symbolic elements linked to the spring festival, such as good fortune, prosperity, longevity and happiness.

"Since inauguration, the China Cultural Center in Brussels bears on its shoulders the mission to promote Chinese culture. It brings quality Chinese culture to European and Belgium audiences," said Tan Shu, director of China Cultural Center in Brussels, on Thursday.

The exhibition, which lasts until March 2, also presents sculptures designed using special techniques such as fruit pit carving and crystal carving.

The "Bright torch" app uses augmented reality (AR) technology via mobile phone or tablet, making Chinese traditional intangible heritage such as Su embroidery, Yuhang paper umbrella and Yongchun incense come to life.

"Chinese spring festival is the most important festival in the Chinese culture, with lots of century-old traditions. The exhibition provides an opportunity to step into the shoes of the Chinese people getting ready for the spring festival," said Xiao Yeying, director of Shanghai Mass Art Center and director of Shanghai Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center -- one of the organizers.

Folk culture experiences projects like Chinese knot sachet, Luodian lanterns, Shanghai paper-cutting and Duo Yun Xuan woodblock watermarks allow visitors to fully immerse themselves in the homely Chinese New Year's spirit.

In the opening ceremony of the exhibition, performances were held including three a cappella songs by vocal band from Baoshan District, Shanghai.

Yang Jinmei, who moved to Belgium in 1998, often comes to the China Culture Center with her daughter to participate in such events.

"Chinese culture has been closer to us since the center was established. These cultural events make us feel at home. I hope there will be more events for us Chinese settled abroad," she said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-09 22:46:02|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ANKARA, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Turkish authorities on Friday issued detention warrants for 17 people including an opposition leader for their criticism of Turkey's ongoing military operation in Syria.

Serpil Kemalbay, co-chair of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), was charged with attempting to incite street protests and clashes in the disguise of opposing the Turkish military operation in Syria, the state-run Anadolu Agency quoted Ankara Public Prosecutor's Office as saying.

Several of the 17 people were arrested earlier in the morning, but Kemalbay was still at large, the report added.

The HDP, the second largest opposition party in Turkish parliament, is scheduled to hold its annual congress in Ankara on Sunday, with its another co-chair Selahattin Demirtas in jail over alleged links to Kurdish militants.

The Hurriyet Daily News reported that some 500 HDP members have been detained in the last 10 days largely because of their opposition to the military operation in Syria.

On Jan. 20, the Turkish army launched "Operation Olive Branch" in a bid to remove the Kurdish-led People's Protection Units (YPG) militia from Syria's northwestern region of Afrin.

Turkey regards the YPG as a Syrian affiliate of the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) which has been fighting for autonomy in Turkey's southeast.
BERLIN, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Germany's Social Democrats (SPD) chairman Martin Schulz announced on Friday that he would not pursue ministerial post in the next German government, including the foreign minister.

"At the same time, I sincerely hope that this will end the personnel debates within the SPD... my own personal ambitions must be placed behind the interests of the party," Schulz said.

The former president of the European Parliament said he believed the internal dispute of SPD may risk the coalition deal with the Conservatives Union led by Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The SPD, Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Christian Social Union reached the coalition deal on Wednesday, which will possibly end the new government vacuum since the Sept. 24 federal election, the longest period ever since 1949.

However, the agreement is subject to the approval of the total SPD party members, over 460,000 in number, in the coming weeks. Many young and leftist members are against the renewed so-called Grand Coalition between the SPD and the Union.

The SPD suffered its worst post-war electoral result, garnering just 20.5 percent of the vote, at the federal elections.
This News Release is not for distribution to the United States newswire services or for dissemination in the United States. Any failure to comply with this restriction may constitute a violation of U.S. Securities Laws.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- VR Resources Ltd. (TSX.V:VRR) (FSE:5VR) (OTCBB:VRRCF), the (Company), or (VR), is pleased to announce that it intends to complete a non-brokered private placement (Financing) of up to 8,000,000 units (Units) at a price of $0.25 per Unit for aggregate proceeds of up to $2.0 million. Each Unit will consist of one common share (Common Share) of the Company and one-half of a common share purchase warrant (Warrant). Each whole Warrant will entitle the holder to acquire one additional Common Share at an exercise price of $0.40 per Common Share for a period of 24 months from the closing date (Closing Date) of the Financing.

Certain insiders of the Company intend to participate in the Financing. The issuance of Units to insiders of the Company pursuant to the Financing will be considered related party transactions within the meaning of TSX Venture Exchange Policy 5.9 and Multilateral Instrument 61-101  Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transaction (MI 61-101). The Company intends to rely on exemptions from the formal valuation and minority approval requirements of sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101 in respect of such insider participation, based on a determination that fair market value of the participation in the Financing by insiders will not exceed 25% of the market capitalization of the Company, as determined in accordance with MI 61-101.

The Company may pay a commission of 5% on select proceeds raised under the Financing, either as cash or as the percentage of Units sold in Common Shares.

VR will use the gross proceeds for mineral exploration on its properties in Nevada, focused primarily the Bonita and Junction properties, and for general administrative and corporate purposes.

Closing Date of the Financing is expected to occur on or before March 15, 2018 and is subject to all regulatory approvals including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. The securities issued in connection with this Financing will be subject to a four-month hold period from the date of closing in accordance with applicable securities legislation.

The securities have not been registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (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 U.S. persons (as such terms are defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act) without registration under the U.S. Securities Act and all applicable state securities laws or compliance with an exemption from such registration. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

About VR Resources

VR Resources Ltd. (VR) is a new listing in the junior exploration space (TSX.V:VRR)(Frankfurt:5VR). The diverse experience and proven track record of its Board in early-stage exploration and discovery is the foundation of VR. The Company is focused on exploring large copper-gold mineral systems in the western United States. VR is the continuance of 4 years of active exploration in Nevada by a Vancouver-based private exploration company. VR is well financed for its exploration strategy, focused on three core assets at Bonita, Junction and Danbo. VR owns its exploration assets outright, and will evaluate new opportunities on an ongoing basis, whether by staking or acquisition.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS:

Michael H. Gunning

_____________________________

Dr. Michael H. Gunning, PhD, PGeo

President & CEO

For general information please use the following:

Website: www.vrr.ca Renmark Financial Communications Inc. Email: info@vrr.ca Barry Mire, Account Manager for VR: Phone: 604-262-1104 E-mail: bmire@renmarkfinancial.com Tel.: (416) 644-2020 or (514) 939-3989 Website: www.renmarkfinancial.com



Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements. 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. Forward looking statements in this release, for example include but are not limited to: the Company will complete the 2.0 million financing; the Company will carry out exploration of its properties in Nevada; or that VR will acquire new opportunities in the future.

Although the Company believes that the use of such statements is reasonable, there can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Trading in the securities of the Company should be considered highly speculative.

All of the Companys public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sedar.com and readers are urged to review these materials.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in Policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release
LUSAKA, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Zambian President Edgar Lungu has appointed a task force to ensure speedy completion of infrastructure projects, a senior official said Friday.

Minister of Housing and Infrastructure Development Ronald Chitotela, who is chairperson of the Task Force, said the Zambian leader has demanded that all the projects that were above 60 percent be completed within the first six months of this year.

"After this, the president wants the Task Force to shift its attention to other projects which are below 60 percent," he said in a statement released by his ministry.

Zambia's current government put infrastructure development top of the agenda when it assumed power in 2011.

Last month, the Zambian leader expressed concern at the slow implementation of such projects when inspecting some projects in the northern part of the country.
NEW DELHI, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday embarked on a historic visit to Palestine, the first-ever by an Indian head of government.

Experts say Modi's visit, which comes days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Natanyahu visited India and more than six months after he visited Israel, clearly shows that New Delhi is firm on its foreign policy with Palestine and the two state solution, despite cosying up to the Jewish state.

"The Israel-Palestinian conflict rages on since a century ago over land claims and has taken millions of lives. However, India has always maintained its support for a two-state solution, i.e. two independent states of Israel and Palestine -- keeping in mind its ideology of non-violence and to promote peace in the region," said Basanta Giri, a foreign policy expert.

"India really has independent views on Palestine based on its historic relations with the Arab world. It has often repeated that its foreign policy will not be determined or influenced by any third party. India stands irrespective of its larger diplomatic relations with Israel and at the same time, its deepening ties with Israel will not affect its historical bond with the Palestinians," he added.

In fact, since Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in 2014, India has carefully calibrated its outreach program with the Arab world, independent of any opinion by any other country.

And last month, India had also joined 127 other countries to vote in the United Nations General Assembly in favour of a resolution opposing the recent decision by U.S. President Donald Trump to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

"Over the past 25 years, bilateral trade between India and Israel has increased from 200 million U.S. dollars to more than 4 billion U.S. dollars (excluding defence) in 2016-17. But overall, West Asia has also become an important region for India's commercial, security, energy, and diplomatic interests," said Prof Ajay Singh, formerly of Delhi University.

"India's 2016-2017 trade with Arab countries, at 121 billion U.S. dollars, accounts for 18.25 percent of India's total trade, while its trade with Israel, at 5 billion U.S. dollars, accounts for less than 1 percent of total trade. India has robust commercial, security, and defence ties with Israel, while Arab states are important sources of remittances, employment, and energy," he added.

It is herein that India's outreach program with the Arab world comes in. Since 2014, India has extended an olive branch to many Arab countries including Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Syria.

"At the same time, given India's emergence on the global stage as a powerful international actor, Indian foreign policy has shifted from normative posturing in favour of pragmatism and self-interest-based action," said Ravi Kant Deval, another foreign affairs expert.

"The changing international landscape following the end of the Cold War, and India's shift from the periphery to the centre of the international system, have been instrumental in this. India's careful and delicate balancing act is nowhere more evident than in the theatre of the volatile West Asia," he said.

Experts say that sustained engagement with the Arab World has been a success story of Indian foreign policy under the Modi government and it has raised partnership to the next level.

"Besides the symbolic significance of the Palestine visit, the prime minister will also extend support towards material and infrastructural build in the country as even in the past it has continuously participated in the Palestinian nation-building and capacity building. So far, India has undertaken projects worth 30 million U.S. dollars in Palestine," said Giri.

A clutch of bilateral pacts are also expected to be signed during Modi's visit. He will also visit the India-Palestine ICT park, which is under construction and expected to create employment for young Palestinians. The Prime Minister will also inaugurate the Palestine Institute Diplomacy, a centre to train diplomats of Palestine which has been built with India's assistance of 4.5 million U.S. dollars.

"All these are an important symbol of India-Palestine cooperation especially in the area of capacity building. It shows India places its commitments in Palestine. The visit on Saturday will certainly end India's baggage over keeping Israel and Palestine together for the past many decades and de-hyphenating it for the future," said Prof Singh.
MANILA, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the military to cut the deal of buying 16 brand new Bell 412 helicopters from Canada for too much impositions.

"I am directing the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) not to buy anymore (military equipment) from Canada or from the United States because there is always a condition attached," Duterte said in a news conference in Davao City.

"I want to tell the armed forces to cut the deal, and somehow we will look for another supplier," Duterte said.

Duterte said that he cannot guarantee that the helicopters will not be used in combat operations in the future. "Invariably (these helicopters) will be used against the rebels and terrorists."

Duterte ordered to scrap the 233-million-dollar deal after Canada ordered a review of the deal and expressed concern the helicopters might be used to fight the rebels. But Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana clarified on Thursday that the helicopters made by Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. company, will be used for humanitarian operations.

The Bell Helicopter said the 16 Bell 412EPI helicopters, fully configured and equipped with advanced features, are being acquired as part of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) modernization plans, and were purchased by the Philippine defense department through a government-to-government contract with the Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC).

The helicopters are scheduled to be delivered to the Philippines starting the first quarter of next year.

In 2014, the Philippines also bought eight Bell 412 helicopters from Bell Helicopter.
Turkish soldiers are seen with their armored vehicles near Turkish-Syrian border in Hatay, Turkey, on Jan. 23, 2018. (Xinhua)

WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will kick off a nearly week-long tour on Sunday to Turkey and four other Middle East countries amid mounting tensions between Washington and Ankara over Turkey's military offensive in Syria, the U.S. State Department said Thursday.

In Turkey, Tillerson will meet with senior Turkish officials to discuss "a range of bilateral and regional issues," said the U.S. State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert in a statement.

Tension has been escalating between the two NATO allies amid Turkey's ongoing military operation into the Syria's Afrin against the People's Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara considers as the Syrian affiliates of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), listed by Turkey, the European Union and the United States as a terrorist organization.

Turkish soldiers prepare their armored vehicles near the Syrian-Turkish border at Reyhanli district in Hatay, Turkey, on Jan. 21, 2018. (Xinhua)

Ankara's operation followed U.S. calls to establish a Kurdish-led "border security force (BSF)" in the future in Syria along the 900-km border with Turkey, a move that has angered Turkey.

The BSF would be mainly constituted by the YPG, which has been supported politically and militarily by the United States since 2014 in the battle against the Islamic State.

Boys stand on top of a Turkish army vehicle as a military convoy passes by their village on the Turkish-Syrian border line in Reyhanli, Hatay province, Turkey, on Oct. 11, 2017. (Xinhua)

According to the statement, apart from Turkey, the top U.S. diplomat will also travel to Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Kuwait on Feb. 11-16 and engage with leaders of the countries on topics including ongoing crisis in Syria.
KHARTOUM, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- At a United Nations camp of Chinese peacekeepers in western Sudan's Darfur area, red lanterns and colorful flags signal the coming of the Spring Festival amid the volatile security situation.x Sheng Ming, a pilot from China's first helicopter unit to fly over Sudan, was on his 200-km route Thursday to transport supplies to local people in an area where there was no guarantee of his security.

At the same time, another helicopter took off, carrying tons of supplies to the Marrah mountainous area, an almost no-fly zone where armed militants have their hideouts. A UN helicopter had been shot down there by gunmen.

Wind and dust plague the Darfur region with a scorching climate all year round. Tribal disputes, armed robbery and attacks on civilians are frequent.

The first Chinese helicopter team of 140 peacekeepers arrived in the war-torn North African country last year with four multipurpose Mi-171 helicopters as part of China's participation in the United Nations African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID).

They undertake a number of tasks including air patrols, transporting peacekeeping forces and supplies, and evacuating personnel.

There are no real holidays or festivals for the blue helmets, whose homes are thousands of miles away.

The Chinese peacekeepers have hung lanterns and Chinese knots, the traditional paraphernalia of Spring Festival celebrations, at the gate of their barracks. Peacekeepers of other nationalities are invited over to learn Chinese calligraphy and paste duilian, the traditional hand-written Chinese couplets, at the door. They celebrate birthdays and make dumplings together.

During the Spring Festival, we will stay on alert as the mission areas are a battlefield for us, said Miao Weimin, a first-class pilot in the unit.

China has been actively involved in UN peacekeeping operations for over 25 years.

There are now over 2,600 Chinese peacekeepers in restive regions around the world, according to a UN report published in July 2016.

In 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping committed 8,000 troops to the UN peacekeeping standby force, a fifth of the 40,000 total troops committed by 50 nations.

"We hope our peaceful flight tracks will cover the whole mission area and contribute to the peace and stability of the Darfur area," Chai Hua, a political instructor of the unit, said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-10 00:01:27|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BEIRUT, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon officially signed Friday its first offshore oil and gas exploration and production contracts for two energy blocks with a consortium of France's Total, Italy's Eni and Russia's Novatek.

At a ceremony held in central Beirut to mark the signing of the agreements, Energy Minister Cesar Abi Khalil vowed there would be full exploration in offshore energy Block 9, which lies in waters disputed by Israel.

"We have confirmed and reaffirmed that Block 9 is located within the Lebanese maritime waters and is fully subject to the sovereignty of the Lebanese state," Abi Khalil said. "And its exploration activities will be fully implemented."

Israel and Lebanon have exchanged threats and condemnation over the tender for Block 9, amid rising tensions over territorial and marine boundaries.

Abi Khalil also announced that the Ministry will soon launch the draft oil registry decree, which will enhance transparency, and prove Lebanon's commitment to join the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. The initiative is a global standard that promotes open and accountable management of oil and gas.

President Michel Aoun attended the ceremony and presented the contracts to representatives of the three companies.
by Zhu Ruiqing, Tang Lu

MALE, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- As the speedboat steamed towards the small island of Male, the high-rise mansions forming the skyline of the city came into sight.

Male, the capital of the Maldives, which is currently facing a state of emergency, looked quiet and placid.

Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen declared a 15-day state of emergency on Monday night, after a surprise Supreme Court ruling last week ordering the release of nine opposition leaders including self-exiled former president Mohamed Nasheed.

The Supreme Court ruling was however rescinded on Tuesday.

The Maldivian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday once again gave its assurance that the state of emergency was mostly applicable to the capital island Male, with no curfew imposed and no influence to the general movement of the public or businesses.

Upon arrival at a local hotel on the second night after the emergency was officially announced, the concierge said, although during the day, life in Male was normal and calm, some public groups here were taking part in gatherings at several places on the island in the evenings.

"So, going out at night was not advised."

Indeed, just outside the hotel, some police were on patrol. And amidst the motorbikes bustling on the street, there were also police cars passing by from time to time.

Several blocks away, police were stationed in front of some government departments, with the road in front blocked.

At around 11 p.m., a flow of motorbikes on the street headed to a square on the shore where around a hundred local folks had already gathered, some whispering, some laughing. While just miles away, dozens of armor clad police were standing by.

The next morning, the ascending sun from the Indian Ocean seemed to have cast off all the unrest at night and students were seen walking to school, while grown-ups in suits rushed to their workplaces.

Local citizen Abdulla Saeed said "The daily routine of ordinary people here has not been influenced much by the state of emergency. Actually, as for the gatherings at night, they have been going on for months and didn't just start after the emergency was declared."

Regarding the construction projects ongoing in the Maldives, Site Manager from China Machinery Engineering Cooperation (CMEC)'s office in the Maldives, Liu Jingwen said, all CMEC-contracted projects in the Maldives were going well and the connection and communication between the CMEC and the Maldivian government had thus far not been affected by the state of emergency.

However, the emergency still caused some impact on the island country, known for its beautiful beaches, resorts and sea view.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Male International Airport was not as busy as usual. On other days the airport would have been swarmed by tourists from all parts of the world.

"When I arrived here days ago, the state of emergency had not been issued. And while staying at the resort, I still did not feel nervous about the situation. However, with the scenario being that the situation here may get worse, I decided to go back earlier," a Chinese tourist, about to embark on the return flight, told Xinhua.

Some decided to return to their home countries earlier, while some others who had booked their trips to the Maldives, canceled the plan after hearing about the state of emergency.

Chen, an experienced guide who has been working in the Maldives for five years, said many Chinese tourists had called off their trips.
ZAGREB, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Hours after launching a crowd-funding campaign on Friday, the publisher of the first Croatian picture book on children with same-sex parents successfully collected enough funds to print 1,000 new books.

In one day they raised more than 6,000 U.S. dollars.

"We are delighted by good results. We surpassed two target goals and now we will not only print 1,000 more new books but also 1,000 copies of a coloring book. Our next goal is to double the numbers so everyone who is interested can get a free copy of the picture book," said Daniel Martinovic, the publisher and a member of Zagreb-based Rainbow Families Association.

My Rainbow Family is the first picture book themed in same-sex parents in Croatia and the region. It is a book about a boy and a girl who like all the things their peers of preschool age like, but they are slightly different because the girl has two dads and the boy two moms.

On Feb. 4, during a carnival fest in a small Croatian city of Kastela, an image of a rainbow-colored picture book, showing two hearts and words "mum+mum" and "dad+dad" was set on fire.

Although the burning was done within the carnival context, three Croatian gay rights groups filed a complaint against the organizers of the carnival two days later, accusing them of hate crime.

Martinovic believed that this was an act of a few people with extreme views. "We got many calls from people who were there. They apologized and said that they didn't realize what was set on fire," he said.

A total of 86 percent of Croatian population are Roman Catholics. Since 2014, same-sex couples have equal rights to married couples in everything except adoption. More than 200 same-sex unions have been registered in Croatia.
Wildebeests cross the Mara River at the Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya, Aug. 28, 2017. (Xinhua/Lyu Shuai)

NAIROBI, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Kenya plans to double its income from tourism in the medium term when it starts implementing the new marketing plan, potentially returning tourism as a top foreign exchange earner, an official said late Thursday.

Najib Balala, Cabinet Secretary for Tourism and Wildlife, said the new plan, to be implemented starting March, will involve mobilizing more money for marketing of tourism products across the world as well as maintaining the growth of domestic tourism.

"Our new marketing plan will be like no other. It will embrace disruptions like information technology, the Uber and innovation to meet the needs of the millennials," Balala told Xinhua in an interview.

"Digital marketing is a priority for us. Our research shows that 72 percent of the visitors last year first went to check for their preferred destination on the internet," said Balala.

Zebras run at the Crescent Island in Lake Naivasha, Kenya, on March 19, 2017. Lake Naivasha is the second largest freshwater Lake in Kenya and a noted scenic spot for tourists. (Xinhua/Pan Siwei)

"Our selling points are the beaches and the wildlife. We want to enhance these products," said Balala.

He said Maasai Mara remains a premium magnet for Kenya safari tourism, saying the government is working with local officials to ensure no further development of structures takes place in the park, which is likely to affect the ecosystem of the wildlife.

"Recently, together with the County Government of Narok, we demolished some structures which had been built in the Mara. We shall continue to ensure that Mara remains the gem of our tourism," said Balala.

He also said investments in tourism projects like hotels is part of the masterplan. He said the government is encouraged by the growth of globally graded hotels, some of which have set up out of Nairobi.

Also highlighted is the tourism infrastructure, including the Standard Gauge Railway.

Passengers wait for boarding at Nairobi Terminus of the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railways (SGR) in Kenya, on June 9, 2017. Nearly 12,000 passengers had traveled on the newly launched Standard Gauge Railways (SGR) linking Kenya's port city Mombasa with its capital Nairobi in the week ending Wednesday, operator said on Thursday. The railway, a 480 km line which kicked off passenger service on June 1, is currently operating with scheduled passenger trains from Nairobi and Mombasa running on a daily basis. (Xinhua/Li Baishun)

Balala said the railway has been a catalyst for grown of domestic tourism as the locals are now able to access Mombasa beaches at a cheaper cost and in an efficient, comfortable manner.

Another important infrastructure project in planning is the Likoni Cable Cars project, which will enable people to cross the Likoni channels that connect South Coast with North Coast in the tourist city of Mombasa, according to Kenya Ferry Services (KFS).

Bakari Gowa, the Managing Director of KFS, said the construction will start soon and should be completed by 2020.
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- After receiving numbers of complaints on running water turned yellow, the Bruneian government tried to reassure the public that its water is safe to drink.

Brunei's Public Works Department (JKR) at the Ministry of Development on Thursday night announced that in view of the rainy season and floods in some parts of the country, the department has started monitoring the water quality since October 2017.

The department has assured the public that based on the routine monitoring of water samples from several locations in the Brunei-Muara and Tutong districts, the water supply still complies with the World Health Organization (WHO) standard guidelines for drinking water, although there are some complaints about "coloured water".

"However, preventive measures will be continuously upgraded and undertaken to ensure the consistency in water quality within the WHO standard guidelines," JKR said.

Some Bruneians complained on social media that they found yellow or other colour suspensions in the running water after the recent heavy rainfall, which made them hesitated to drink. At the same time, several salesmen of local supermarkets told Xinhua that bottled water has been enjoying good sale recently, with some big-bottle types even out of stock.

According to JKR, the water pipeline cleaning has been carried out continuously in most areas of the two districts.

Despite the preventive measures and assurance of water quality, the department still advised the public to boil their water for drinking.
TORONTO, Feb. 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Partners Real Estate Investment Trust ("Partners or the REIT) (TSX:PAR.UN) announces the resignation of Paul Harrs from the position of the REITs Chief Operating Officer. In addition, the REIT underwent a reorganization of all divisions and corporate operations with the aim of maintaining tenant service levels while reducing administrative and property costs. The REIT estimates the proforma normalized total cost savings to be approximately $800,000 annualized after all changes are implemented in fiscal 2018.



Mr. Harrs joined the REIT in January 2016 and led the internalization of its operations. During his tenure, he built a team that transitioned the REIT from being externally managed to an internally managed model. He was also responsible for the asset management of the Quebec properties. The Q3 2017 results demonstrate a year over year increase in same property NOI and a portfolio occupancy level of approximately 95%.

Over the course of 2017, Partners focus was on improving its balance sheet while continuing the work to enhance the appeal of its existing properties, placing the best possible tenants within those properties, delivering those tenants the best possible service while improving the overall property management standards and property costs, stated Jane Domenico, the REITs CEO. We will continue to build upon the groundwork laid by Paul and pursue these property objectives in 2018. We wish Mr. Harrs all the best on his future endeavours. We also extend our thanks to the other team members for their service to the REIT who are impacted by todays announcement.

About Partners REIT

Partners REIT is a real estate investment trust, which currently owns (directly or indirectly) 34 retail properties, located in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec, aggregating approximately 2.3 million square feet of leasable space. Partners REIT focuses on expanding and managing a portfolio of retail and mixed-use community and neighbourhood shopping centres located in both primary and secondary markets across Canada.

Disclaimer

Certain statements included in this press release constitute forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, those identified by the expressions "expect", "will" and similar expressions to the extent they relate to Partners REIT. The forward- looking statements are not historical facts but reflect Partners REIT's current expectations regarding future results or events. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations. Although Partners REIT believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and, accordingly, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein.

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Partners REIT Investor Relations

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Jane Domenico

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1 (844) 474-9620; Ext 401
File Photo: Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi (L) meets with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson during his stopover in Washington, the United States, Sept. 12, 2017. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi met here with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Thursday to discuss bilateral ties and issues of mutual concern during a two-day visit.

The two sides also agreed to hold the second round of the Diplomatic and Security Dialogue in China during the first half of the year, which is a part of the four high-level dialogue mechanisms serving to boost better China-U.S. ties.

BIGGER CAKE FOR COOPERATION

China and the United States could properly address their bilateral trade issues through more open markets and "making a bigger cake of cooperation," said Yang, who is on a two-day visit to Washington.

Noting that keeping the positive momentum of the China-U.S. relations is in line with the fundamental interests of the two peoples and the common aspirations of international society, Yang said he hoped the U.S. side could meet China halfway to ensure the stable and healthy development of bilateral ties in the long run.

He said the China-U.S. economic and trade relations are reciprocal in nature, bringing huge benefits to the two peoples.

He also urged the two nations to cooperate on such areas as energy, infrastructure construction and the Belt and Road Initiative, as well as enhance coordination on international economic concerns.

Photo taken on July 14, 2017 shows locally sourced beef from Cameron, Texas, at a local market in Houston, the United States. The United States has reached agreements with China on final details of a protocol to allow it to export beef to China, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said. (Xinhua/Yi-Chin Lee)

For his part, Tillerson said the U.S. side is willing to work with China to fortify and expand reciprocal cooperation, and seek to solve bilateral economic and trade issues in a more effective manner.

China-U.S. trade ties have been bumpy since U.S. President Donald Trump assumed office. The Trump administration has threatened to limit Chinese investment, exports and visa application.

Stephen Roach, a Yale University senior fellow, said "America does not hold the trump card in its economic relations with China," noting that "Getting tough on China while ignoring those consequences could be a blunder of epic proportions."

FOUR DIALOGUE MECHANISMS

China and the United States should maintain close contact and make good use of the existing four high-level dialogue channels to further boost ties, Yang said.

In addition to holding the second round of the Diplomatic and Security Dialogue in China, Beijing and Washington will hold a second round of dialogues on the economic, social and people-to-people exchanges, and law enforcement and cyber security within the year, Yang said.

Students from Beijing and Medgar Evers College Preparatory School of New York take a group photo after a cultural exchange event in New York, the United States, Feb. 2, 2018. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

The four high-level dialogue mechanisms were established during the Mar-a-Lago meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Trump at Palm Beach in the southeastern U.S. state of Florida last April.

The four channels have provided opportunities for Chinese and U.S. officials to talk about significant issues ranging from peace and stability in the South China Sea and military-to-military exchanges, to innovation cooperation and cyber crime.

Cheng Li, director of the John L. Thornton China Center at the Brookings Institution, said that compared with previous communication mechanisms, the four dialogues are more outcome-oriented, emphasizing key areas of mutual concern.

COMMITMENT TO ONE-CHINA POLICY

During the meeting, Tillerson said that the United States remains committed to the one-China policy.

For his part, Yang made China's stance clear on issues like Taiwan, requesting the U.S. side take China's concerns seriously.

Some politicians of the U.S. executive and legislative branches have become increasingly interested in playing the Taiwan card in dealing with U.S.-China relations.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed two Taiwan-related bills in January.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang has said that the United States should handle the Taiwan issue carefully, noting "the passage of the two bills seriously violates the principles of the one-China policy and three Sino-U.S. joint communiques."

GLOBAL SUPPORT FOR INTER-KOREAN RAPPORT

Yang urged global support for inter-Korean rapport and the continued easing of tensions on the Korean Peninsula during the meeting.

China has always been committed to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and maintaining its peace and stability, said Yang, adding that issues on the Korean Peninsula should be solved through dialogue and negotiation.

Members of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) delegation wave to the crowd during the Team Welcome Ceremony in the Gangneung Olympic Village ahead of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games, South Korea, on Feb. 8, 2018. (Xinhua/Han Yan)

The situation on the peninsula has been undergoing positive changes recently as South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) are using the PyeongChang Winter Olympics to resume dialogue.

Despite tensions easing on the Korean Peninsula, Washington has been sticking to a strategy of "maximum pressure" on the DPRK to force it to abandon its nuclear weapons programs, but so far has failed to achieve its goals.

Richard Haass, president of the U.S. think tank Council on Foreign Relations, said it was "a mistake" for the United States to refuse to resume talks with the DPRK, adding that there is too much talk now about preconditions for denuclearization.
KIEV, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian Justice Minister Pavlo Petrenko said on Friday that there are no legal obstacles for extradition of former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili after a court in Kiev has rejected his political asylum request.

"Currently, there are no legal obstacles for continuing the extradition process, the extradition checks at the request of the Georgian side," Petrenko was quoted by the government-run Ukrinform news agency as saying.

He said that Kiev will adhere to Ukrainian legislation and international norms in matters related to the possible extradition of Saakashvili to Georgia.

On Monday, Kiev Administrative Court of Appeals has confirmed the decision of a lower court to reject a political asylum application from Saakashvili.

Saakashvili's lawyer Ruslan Chornolutsky said that he would challenge the ruling in the Ukrainian court and the European legal institutions.

The ruling came a month after a Tbilisi court found Saakashvili guilty of abusing power in 2009 during his second term as the president of Georgia and sentenced him in absentia to three years in prison.

Saakashvili, 50, served two terms as Georgia's president from 2004 to 2013. He acquired Ukrainian citizenship in May 2015 and was appointed governor of Odessa region.

Last year, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko revoked Saakashvili's citizenship, following allegations that he had submitted false information while applying for his Ukrainian passport.

Following the decision, Saakashvili has applied for political asylum in Ukraine, but the State Migration Service and later the Kiev District Administrative Court have rejected the request.

On Sept. 5, 2017, the Georgian Chief Prosecutor's Office asked Kiev to take measures for Saakashvili's extradition.
BANGKOK, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Thai government is gearing up for roadshows in European countries and China to drum up investments in Thailand's economic zones, Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Chatusripitak said on Friday.

Somkid, the deputy prime minister in charge of the country's economy, said that he's confident that Thailand will attract a new generation of foreign investors, as there are investment projects worth more than 200 billion baht (about 6.5 billion U.S. dollars) to the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) waiting for approval.

His comments came after the parliament approved a bill on the development of the EEC on Thursday.

The EEC Law is expected to be officially implemented after winning the endorsement of King Maha Vajiralongkorn.

The EEC consists of the three eastern provinces Rayong, Chonburi, and Chachoengsao with a combined area of 13,285 square kilometers. The Eastern Economic Corridor expects investments of 300 billion baht (about 9.7 billion U.S. dollars) in the first year, mostly through foreign direct investments.

The new act is expected to speed up development of infrastructure projects in the corridor and ease regulations for investment in the area, including allowing foreign ownership of land for specific investments, which is otherwise banned in Thailand.

The new law provides tax breaks for investors in the EEC project, a centerpiece of the current government's policy to boost growth and target investment into hi-tech industries.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-10 00:36:35|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BEIRUT, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Clashes erupted in Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon on Friday, following a failed attempt to assassinate a senior Palestinian military official, a security source told Xinhua.

An exchange of machine gun fire and rocket-propelled grenades broke out in the camp, following the failed assassination against Brig. Gen. Bassam al-Saad, the head of the joint Palestinian security force, the source said on conditional of anonymity.

The clashes are still going on with no casualties reported, but many refugees fled their houses into safe areas, the source added.
by Abdul Haleem

KABUL, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Anti-government militants in Afghanistan have intensified activities over the past few months and recently conducted a series of deadly attacks in the capital city of Kabul.

The attacks have left more than 120 people dead, mostly civilians, and injured more than 250 others while causing widespread panic among Afghans.

The Taliban group, the major anti-government fighting force in the country, claimed responsibility for the deadly attack on the luxury Intercontinental Hotel on Jan. 21, which killed 22 people including four Americans.

The armed insurgents also claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in which a bomber drove an ambulance packed with explosives down a crowded street in downtown Kabul on Jan. 28. The explosion left about 100 people dead.

More than 250 others sustained injuries in both the bloody attacks, claimed by the Taliban outfit.

"Attacks on heavily guarded areas such as the Intercontinental Hotel and extended violence is a blatant response of the armed opposition groups and their foreign supporters to the new U.S. strategy on Afghanistan and South Asia, unveiled by President Donald Trump in August," political and military analyst Gen. (Rtd) Atequllah Omarkhil told Xinhua recently.

The U.S. president, in his strategy on Afghanistan announced in August last year, besides terming Taliban as a terrorist group and vowing to target the militants and their supporters, vowed to increase the American troops' number in the war-torn country.

Since unveiling the new strategy on Afghanistan and South Asia, the U.S. military has expanded airstrikes against anti-government insurgents in the war-battered country.

The U.S. military has also reportedly targeted the alleged Haqqani network hideouts in Pakistan's tribal areas close to Afghan borders over the past couple of months.

The U.S. military in Afghanistan has drastically increased airstrikes and expanded air campaigns from Taliban's traditional hotbed in the south to the relatively peaceful northern region.

General John Nicholson, the commander of the U.S.-led coalition forces in Afghanistan, has warned that the Taliban militants "cannot win the war" on the battle ground and that the time is ripe for them to give up fighting and join the government-backed peace process.

However, Taliban militants have always described the U.S.-led coalition forces in Afghanistan as an "occupying force" and called for their withdrawal.

The U.S.-backed Afghan forces, according to media reports, carried out some 2,000 air raids in 2017, while the U.S. and NATO-led Resolute Support mission conducted more than 3,000 sorties against militants last year.

As part of the increased air campaign, the Afghan Air Force conducted 51 flights over the past 24-hours, killing 66 armed insurgents including Taliban and Islamic State fighters, the Afghan Defense Ministry said in a statement on Friday.

Claiming responsibility for last month's deadly terrorist attacks in Kabul, a Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Majahid, reportedly said "You can't expect flowers from anyone if you speak from the barrel of gun."

Describing the ongoing Afghan imbroglio as a "proxy war", Omarkhil maintained that the "increase in deadly Taliban attacks demonstrate the failure of President Trump's new policy on Afghanistan."

"The aim of Taliban fighters launching bloody attacks in Kabul and other cities on one hand is to demonstrate their ability to target even heavily-guarded places such as the Intercontinental Hotel if they want to, and on the other hand is to defame the government in the eyes of Afghans," the former army general said.

"The Taliban and like-minded groups will continue to conduct deadly terrorist attacks and claim the lives of more innocent Afghans unless and until the Afghan government reaches a regional consensus on a logical conclusion to the country's lingering crisis," Omarkhil asserted.

Another political expert Mushtaq Raheen suggested that insurgents organizing deadly attacks in big cities like Kabul is a change of tactic and could be a reaction to the U.S. and Afghan forces' mounting military pressure on the militant groups.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-10 00:51:39|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ISTANBUL, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Kilis, a small Turkish town bordering Syria, has once again become the frequent target of rocket firings as Turkish troops are fighting Kurdish militia in northern Syria.

The town has come under rocket attacks at least 34 times over the past three weeks, ever since the Turkish military launched the "Operation Olive Branch" on Jan. 20 to drive out the Kurdish militants, known as the People's Protect Units (YPG), from Afrin district in northwestern Syria.

So far, two people have been killed and more than 50 others injured, according to Hasan Kara, the mayor of the town.

"Terrorists are attacking civilians in their most intimate locations: their bedrooms, living rooms, dining rooms and their most holy places like mosques," Kara told Xinhua over the phone.

One rocket hit a mosque at central Kilis during the evening prayer time on the fourth day of the operation, killing an elderly tailor and a young Syrian national.

Twenty-five minutes later, a second rocket landed on an apartment nearby, wounding four children and causing extensive damage to the structure.

A week later, the Doganhan restaurant with reporters covering the military operation, came under rocket attacks, leading to five injuries, including the owner and the chef of the restaurant.

To show solidarity, employees of the restaurants in the vicinity hung up a giant banner in the street, reading "We are not scared of anything and will never be intimidated."

Ankara regards the YPG as a terror group affiliated with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which has been fighting for autonomy in the southeast of Turkey.

Despite growing concerns, residents in Kilis choose not to leave but to face up to the new reality, said the mayor.

Shops and restaurants are still open for business, and women continue to gather together in houses of fellow housewives for social calls, while the streets are now adorned with national flags.

"We do not hide behind closed doors," Kara said. "On the contrary, we continue to live our lives in plain sight. In the streets, we come together more often than ever."

Mehmet Ali, a car mechanic in Kilis, described the rocket attacks as a new normal for locals.

Owning a small repair shop in the industrial zone of the town, Ali saw rockets falling around him several times, one of them landing just near his house, smashing the windows of the apartment.

Still, Ali has never thought about leaving the town.

"I have six children. All I have is here, my work, my home. Leaving everything behind is something impossible for us," he explained.

When the deafening roar of rockets was heard, Ali always told his children not to worry about it.

"These are fired by our guys," Ali told them.

Ali was referring to the Turkish soldiers, as it is the only way for him to relieve his children of their fear of the war.

It should be noted that it is not the first time Kilis has become the target of regular rocket assaults.

In 2016, the border town was pelted with nearly 100 rockets in the seven months before the Turkish army launched "Operation Euphrates Shield" targeting Kurdish militia and the Islamic State (IS) in northern Syria, leaving many residents killed.

"I have a 13-year-old daughter and I'm very much concerned about her," said Sukriye Tunceli, the director of the Women Vocational Training Center in Kilis.

Tunceli said she never allows her daughter out during the shool break.

"She has either stayed at home or come along to the office with me," Tunceli said.

In the face of the rocket firings, Kilis has extended the spring break for another week until Feb. 12.

"I don't know how I will let her go out when classes start next week," said Tunceli.

"But apart from that, Kilis is a border town and we are the children of the border and we have our faith," she added.

Like many others, residents in Kilis are offering full support to Turkey's military operation in Syria's Afrin.

According to Tunceli, students with her center have made 1,200 stuffed grape leaves and cookies, enough to serve 500 troops.

"We are the witnesseses of a war that takes place just before us," said Mayor Kara. "While our soldiers are there to protect us, we are here trying to do our best to support them."
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-10 00:56:40|Editor: Zhou Xin

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Visiting Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic (L) and her Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban attend a press conference in Budapest, Hungary, on Feb. 9, 2018. The ties between Hungary and Serbia are so strong that the friendship between the two countries will soon become a strategic partnership, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Friday. (Xinhua/Szilard Voros)

BUDAPEST, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- The ties between Hungary and Serbia are so strong that the friendship between the two countries will soon become a strategic partnership, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Friday.

"Today, two proud and independent countries are working together, signing several agreements from different fields, and this friendship is soon to become a strategic partnership," Orban told a press conference also attended by visiting Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic.

Hungary and Serbia, Orban said, needed to defend their borders together, in order to warrant for the security of their citizens, as well as their own cultural heritage.

Orban also thanked the Serbian Prime Minister for helping to contain the migration flow at Hungary's southern border and reiterated that Hungary, if needed, would provide assistance to Serbia in the defense of its southern borders.

Orban, speaking on behalf of the Visegrad countries (Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia), as Hungary is assuming the turning presidency, also repeated that the Visegrad group was for the steadfast integration of Serbia into the European Union.

The EU is preparing to pledge a 2025 deadline for the next wave of enlargement, but Balkan disputes are likely to hold things back.

According to the EU specialist journal EUobserver, "The Western Balkans partners now have a historic window of opportunity. For the first time, their accession perspective has a best-case timeframe." This is what the European Commission is to say in a strategy paper to be adopted in mid-February.

"With strong political will, the delivery of real reforms, and lasting solutions to disputes with neighbors, Montenegro and Serbia should be ready for membership by 2025," according to a European Commission draft seen by EUobserver.

"Serbia looks to Hungary as a friend and would love if the Hungarian presence in Serbia would not be restricted to Vojvodina," Brnabic told the journalists. Vojvodina is the northern part of Serbia, home to a substantial Hungarian minority.

Orban ensured Brnabic that he heard the message, and Hungarian bank OTP was planning to further invest in all of Serbia.

Brnabic said her country was grateful for the support Hungary provided for Serbia's European integration.
ADDIA ABABA, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- The second phase of the Revitalization Forum on South Sudan continued on Friday as South Sudan factions started talks on the Pre-Transitional Period and National Constitutional Amendment Committee (NCAC).

Participants, on the fifth day of the peace talks, started discussions on points stated on Article 13 of the Agreement of the Resolution of the Conflict on South Sudan (ARCSS), which was signed on August 2015, regarding the NCAC.

According to a statement issued by the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the peace process is "progressing well," and parties involved have started signing the declaration of principles.

South Sudanese parties have on Thursday "made a step forward on issues ranging from the Transitional National Legislative Assembly and the Council of States, the Judiciary to the Transitional Institutions and Mechanisms stipulated under Chapter I of Article 11, 12 and 14 of the Agreement," the statement said.

They have also reached consensus on Mandates of the Transitional Government of National Unity (TGoNU) on the third day of the second phase of the Revitalization Forum.

The forum, led by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), began on Monday with threats of punitive measures against warring sides in the background.

South Sudan descended into violence 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 2015 Agreement of the Resolution of the Conflict on South Sudan, aimed at ending the conflict, was weakened after the outbreak of renewed fighting in July 2016 forced rebel leader Machar to flee South Sudan.
by Maria Spiliopoulou

ATHENS, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Mayor of Athens Yorgos Kaminis welcomed his Skopje counterpart Petre Silegov on Friday to make efforts to promote cooperation between the two cities amidst the lasting name dispute between their respective countries.

The meeting at City Hall in the Greek capital was held during ongoing UN-mediated talks between the central governments of Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) that aim to resolve the name row.

The discord between the two neighbors started when FYROM declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991 and chose the name Macedonia, which is also the name of a northern Greek province.

Greece is worried that the use of the same name by the neighboring state could lead to territorial claims.

All sides in recent months have expressed optimism that the issued could be resolved even as early as within the first half of 2018.

"We are in favor of a fair and sustainable solution to the name dispute," Kaminis said during joint statements to media following talks with Silegov.

The Greek mayor urged both governments to show willingness and pragmatism and strike an agreement which will be mutually beneficial for the two neighboring people, Athens municipal radio 9.84 reported.

Although the agenda of discussions on Friday did not include the name dispute, cooperation on social policy matters, climate change, digital strategy and urban development were the talking points, and both officials conveyed a message of friendship and collaboration for a better future.

Silegov also underlined the need to build bridges of cooperation to exchange know-how and experiences to offer solutions.

The two sides will sign a memorandum of understanding launching cooperation in the fields of social policy, urban development and digital strategy when Kaminis pays a visit to Skopje later this year, it was announced.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-10 01:51:53|Editor: Zhou Xin

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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi co-host the 3rd Meeting of the Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation Between China and Indonesia, in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 9, 2018. (Xinhua/Ding Haitao)

BEIJING, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- China is ready to promote cooperation with Indonesia under the Belt and Road Initiative, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Friday in Beijing.

Wang made the remarks at the third meeting of the Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation between China and Indonesia, which was co-hosted by Wang and Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi.

This year marks the fifth anniversary of the establishment of the China-Indonesia comprehensive strategic partnership. Wang said China is willing to work with Indonesia to promote cooperation on the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway project and other projects under the Belt and Road Initiative.

Hailing the "Indo-Pacific Strategy", which was proposed by Indonesia recently, Wang said China agrees to its open, transparent and inclusive principles, as well as its general direction of dialogue and cooperation.

This year also marks the 15th anniversary of the China-ASEAN strategic partnership. "China is willing to upgrade its ties with ASEAN and explore new models of cooperation under the East ASEAN Growth Area framework," Wang said.

Currently different parties are highly concerned about whether the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) can be reached, he said, adding China will work with Indonesia and other related parties to complete the negotiations on the RCEP at an early date, and promote regional integration and trade liberalization.

Indonesia-China relations have been developing rapidly, which brings tangible benefits to both peoples, Retno said, adding that Indonesia stands ready to further cooperate with China on the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway project and other important projects.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AbraPlata Resource Corp. (TSX-V:ABRA) (OTC:ABBRF) (Frankfurt:1AH) ("AbraPlata" or the "Company") announces that, further to the Company's news release dated January 29, 2018 regarding the streamlining of the Company's management structure, the Company has now fulfilled its obligations to two former employees in the aggregate amount of CDN $97,500 by issuing 414,893 common shares at a deemed price of $0.235. These common shares are subject to a four month hold period from date of issuance under Canadian securities laws and the rules and policies of the TSX Venture Exchange.



ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

ABRAPLATA RESOURCE CORP.

"Willem Fuchter"

Willem Fuchter

President & Chief Executive Officer

For further information concerning this news release, please contact:

Willem Fuchter Rob Bruggeman President & Chief Executive Officer Investor Relations AbraPlata Resource Corp. AbraPlata Resource Corp Tel: +54.11.5258.0920 Tel: +1.416.884.3556 E-mail: willem@abraplata.com Email: rob@abraplata.com

This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All statements that address future plans, activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur are forward-looking information. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.



Neither 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.

For further information about AbraPlata and its projects, please visit the Companys website at www.abraplata.com.




Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-10 02:06:55|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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GENEVA, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said Friday it is very concerned by reports from asylum seekers of sexual harassment and violence in sub-standard reception centers on the Greek islands.

UNHCR spokesperson Cecile Pouilly said at UN media briefing: "This is despite welcomed government measures to address overcrowding and dire living conditions."

In 2017, UNHCR received reports from 622 survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) on the Greek Aegean islands, out of which at least 28 percent experienced SGBV after arriving in Greece.

Women reported inappropriate behavior, sexual harassment and attempted sexual attacks as the most common forms of SGBV.

"The situation is particularly worrying in the Reception and Identification Centers (RIC) of Moria, on Lesvos and Vathy on Samos, where thousands of refugees continue to stay in unsuitable shelter with inadequate security," said Pouilly.

Some 5,500 people are in these centers, which is double their intended capacity. Reports of sexual harassment in Moria are particularly high, said the UN spokesperson.

In these centers, bathrooms and latrines are no-go zones after dark for women or children, unless they are accompanied. Even bathing during day time can be dangerous. In Moria, one woman told our teams that she had not taken a shower in two months from fear, she said.

Moreover, identifying and helping survivors is hampered by a reluctance to report assaults out of fear, shame, helplessness, concerns about discrimination, stigma and retaliation, and insufficient trust to open up, said Pouilly.

That reluctance to reports extends UNHCR and medical and mental health experts from national services. The actual number of incidents is therefore likely to be much higher than reported, said the spokesperson.

"Thanks to recent accelerated transfers to the mainland by the authorities, overcrowding has slightly reduced over the past weeks," she noted.

Pouilly added that the UNHCR will continue to work with and support the Greek government to strengthen its operational response and build capacity as well as to prevent SGBV.
Photo taken on Oct. 16, 2016 shows South Sudan's government soldiers at a battle field in Alelo near South Sudan's northern town of Malakal.(Xinhua/Gale Julius)

JUBA, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- At least 15 people have been killed and eight others wounded following renewed communal fighting in South Sudan's Jonglei State on Thursday over a renaming of contested village, a government official confirmed on Friday.

The renewed clashes erupted midweek in Kolang Payam of former Bor County, following last year's disagreement that left 20 people dead, Jonglei State Information of Minister Jacob Akech Deng told Xinhua.

"The inter-clan clashes happened on Wednesday and drag up to Thursday, leaving 15 dead and wounding eight others on both sides," Akech said.

The clashes erupted again over ownership of grazing land and the naming of a village.

Deng said one group attacked the other clan in retaliation after the killing in December last year over the naming of a village.

He said the local authorities have intervened by deploying heavy security force along a previous created buffer zone to monitor the violators and help restore calm in the area.

Deng added that the regional government has issued stern warnings to the local chiefs to apprehend perpetrators of the latest round of fighting.

"I and the deputy governor went to the ground this morning to talk to the chiefs and villagers, and warned them against staging revenge killings and to ask them to allow the authorities to handle the matter without loss of lives," he said.

The Jonglei region has suffered decades of communal and tribal violence, mainly caused by rivalry over livestock and grazing land.

At least 22 people were killed and 18 others wounded in December last year when members of the Nyara clan and other clans of Abii community fought over ownership of land in the same area.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-10 02:16:58|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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by Victoria Yan

YAROUN, Lebanon, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Over 6,000 kilometers away from his home and family, 25-year-old Li Junying waked up at 6 a.m. in southern Lebanon and prepared to search for idle mines scattered along the United Nations Blue Line.

Unable to speak a word of Arabic, Li has no personal connection to the small Levantine country or its contentious neighbor Israel. Nonetheless, he is one of more than 400 members of the Chinese military deployed as UN peacekeepers responsible for overseeing calm in the sensitive area by the Mediterranean sea.

Officially known as the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, UNIFIL was established by the UN Security Council on March 19, 1978 to oversee the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon. The international peacekeeping presence is deployed near the UN demarcated "Blue Line" separating the two countries.

Following three more Israeli invasions in 1982, 2000 and finally 2006, UNIFIL updated its mandate significantly increasing the number of peacekeepers and their responsibilities in the conflict zone.

The Chinese battalion of UN peacekeepers (CHINBATT) were part of the expansions, officially establishing itself in Lebanon on March 31, 2006. While battalions used to rotate about every eight months, troops are now stationed a year in the foreign country before returning to their home.

As a representative of China in CHINBATT, Sergeant Li and about 60 other men (some only 22-year-old) are tasked specifically to disarm over half a million mines left by Israel.

The majority of these fatal devices are densely packed along the southern border. Following the Israeli withdrawal in 2006, mines and cluster munitions have resulted in over 200 deaths and hundreds of more injuries.

"I was scared at first," Li admitted while recounting his first day in the field.

"Even though we were trained in China and (Lebanon), it's normal to be a little afraid. Everyone is at first, but there is a lot of supervision."

Despite his young age, Li is currently serving his second mission in southern Lebanon. He first arrived in 2013 when he was also tasked to clear the land of explosives.

Sitting next to him, 29-year-old Sergeant Jin Wei, who is on his third rotation in Lebanon, nodded his head.

"My parents were worried when I told them what I was doing," Jin told Xinhua.

"But we work very carefully and don't make mistakes."

Lieutenant Colonel Luo Qiang, the head supervisor of CHINBATT's demining team laughed in agreement.

"The Chinese are special," he said proudly noting CHINBATT's clear record of any accidents and injuries since the beginning of their work in 2006.

"We work professionally and we never make mistakes."

Mohammad Rida, a member of the Lebanese Armed Forces tasked to work alongside CHINBATT agreed.

"The Chinese are extremely professional, they work hard and they do a good job."

The task is not easy, and requires meticulous attention to detail. According to maps provided by Israel, the peacekeepers are given rough locations on the whereabouts of mines. Yet weather elements, animals, and people are all capable of unintentionally moving their positions.

"This is why we don't work when it rains," Luo said. "It makes it dangerous when the soil gets wet and the mines can potentially slide around."

Waking up nearly at dawn, they drive to the site about an hour away from the CHINBATT base less than a kilometer away from Israel. Upon arrival, they begin working in sections using a range of tools including larger mine detectors, hand shovels and small brushes to clear away dirt, stones and shrubbery in the area.

After mines are discovered in each section, CHINBATT then informs higher supervisors in UNIFIL who communicate with both the Lebanese Armed Forces and Israeli Army to inform them of planned explosions.

Once approval is received, TNT explosives are wired to each area with found mines and carefully exploded to deactivate the device.

"The work we do is difficult. It requires such precise attention and it is dangerous, but we are honored to be granted such a task and represent China in doing so," Luo told Xinhua.

UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force Commander Major General Michael Beary commended the contingent their progress and dedication in a visit to the site.

"The Blue Line is such a sensitive issue to both countries, and it's a strategic issue. And your work is helping to ensure that it doesn't become tense and that we can use the Blue Line as a reference. So everything you do is important. It's very valuable work. I really am proud of what you do here," he said during the visit according to a UNIFIL press release.

While demining is arguably the most important task assigned to the Chinese, it is far from the only activities they are responsible for completing on their mission. Other peacekeepers in the battalion are assigned humanitarian work and construction projects. Such efforts have included providing medical assistance and building roads for local residents.

Such responsibilities so far from home also come with their sacrifices. For the hundreds of peacekeepers, the year spent abroad far from home brings loneliness. Luckily, in the age of the internet, communication is only prevented by the time difference.

While on break, the CHINBATT members could be seen talking to family members over chat app WeChat, waving to children and wives across the ocean.

"When I go home, the first thing I do is see my children and wife," Luo Qiang said smiling. "And of course, I eat my favorite Chinese foods."
LUANDA, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- A legislation on the rights of companies to explore and produce natural gas in Angola is in its final stage, Secretary of State for Oil Paulino Jeronimo said here on Friday.

The absence of such a law or regulatory regime specific to gas in Africa's second largest oil producer has long hindered major oil companies' natural gas production in the country and gas marketing activities.

The legislation should be submitted to the Angolan Executive's Cabinet Council this month, Jeronimo said.

It will also safeguard the right of the exploring companies, the official said on the sidelines of a meeting with business people linked to the oil and mining sector,

Among the various international oil companies operating in Angola are Esso, Chevron, BP, Eni and Total.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-10 03:02:08|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BEIRUT, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- One person was killed in the clashes in Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon on Friday, following a failed attempt to assassinate a senior Palestinian military official, a security source told Xinhua.

An exchange of machine gun fire and rocket-propelled grenades broke out in the camp, following the failed assassination against Brig. Gen. Bassam al-Saad, the head of the joint Palestinian security force, the source said on conditional of anonymity.

Many refugees fled their houses into safe areas, the source added.

The security situation further deteriorated later in the evening and the exchange of fire led to the accidental death of Abd al-Rahim Bassam al-Moqdah, who was standing on his balcony as the clashes broke out.

The violence soon spread to armed clashes between radical elements in the neighborhood of Safsaf and the Fatah movement. Houses, shops and cars were damaged by the two parties. Some generators caught fire as a result of the heavy clashes.

Relative calm has currently been restored in the camp.

Hamas political representative in Lebanon, Ahmad Abdel Hadi, called for stability in a statement Friday.

"(Hamas) is against any actions that harm the joint Palestinian security forces, as they are the result of a consensus between all Palestinian factions," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-10 03:12:11|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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KUWAIT CITY, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Overseas Chinese in Kuwait on Friday celebrated the Spring Festival, or the Chinese Lunar New Year, in the capital Kuwait City.

At the annual event which attracted a large audience from local Chinese communities, actors performed Chinese songs and dances.

Cheng Yongru, Economic and Commercial Counselor of the Chinese Embassy to Kuwait, said the China-Kuwait relations witnessed all-around and in-depth development in 2017, as the two sides vowed to further promote cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, which benefits both peoples.

"I hope that in 2018 Chinese citizens living in Kuwait would make concerted efforts to contribute to the development of relations between China and Kuwait," he said.

Stressing the cooperation potentials under the Belt and Road Initiative, Zhang Yongda, a Chinese entrepreneur in Kuwait, expressed hope that overseas Chinese in Kuwait, especially Chinese businessmen, could make greater contribution to the friendship between China and Kuwait.

Dong Taikang, the representative from a local Chinese community, said cooperation between China and Kuwait bring tangible benefits to the vast number of overseas Chinese in Kuwait.

"I hope in 2018 cooperation between China and Kuwait under the Belt and Road Initiative could inject fresh momentum into the relations between China and Kuwait," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-10 03:12:12|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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WASHINGTON, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- An international team from Australia, America and China have discovered a new material that can filter salt and metal ions from water, opening the door to effective seawater desalination and metal recovery.

In a study published on Friday in the journal Science Advances, researchers found that the metal-organic frameworks, a material that have the largest internal surface area, can mimic the filtering function of organic cell membranes.

These membranes have potential to remove salts from seawater and separate metal ions in an efficient and cost-effective manner.

Unlike the popular reverse osmosis membranes in world's desalination capacity, which have room for improvement by two to three times in energy consumption, the material operates on principles inspired by highly effective biological cell membranes, thus more effective.

Monash University's Professor Wang Huanting, a co-author of the paper, said, "We can use our findings to address the challenges of water desalination. Instead of relying on the current costly and energy intensive processes, this research opens up the potential for removing salt ions from water in a far more energy efficient and environmentally sustainable way."

Researchers also said it can help recover valuable metals from water like lithium. The lithium-ion batteries, most popular power source for mobile electronic devices, is consuming lithium at rapid rates, leading to demand to recover lithium from salt water and water process streams.

"We'll continue researching how the lithium ion selectivity of these membranes can be further applied. Lithium ions are abundant in seawater, so this has implications for the mining industry who current use inefficient chemical treatments to extract lithium from rocks and brines," Wang said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-10 03:12:13|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had a brief exchange with Kim Yong Nam, the president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), a UN spokesman said on Friday.

The secretary-general had a brief exchange with Kim on the sidelines of the opening of the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, the Republic of Korea, Farhan Haq, UN deputy spokesman, told reporters at UN Headquarters in New York.

The UN chief reiterated "his expectation and hope that all parties will use dialogue to achieve the peaceful denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," Haq said.

However, Haq did not give more details of the exchange.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-10 03:27:16|Editor: Zhou Xin

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Photo taken on Feb. 9, 2018 shows a view of the Sa'ad Bin-Abada mosque after an explosion in Benghazi, Libya. An explosion hit the mosque in Benghazi Friday afternoon, killing one worshipper and injuring 55 others, military and medical sources told Xinhua. (Xinhua)

TRIPOLI, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Two people were killed and 143 others, including children, were injured on Friday when an explosion hit a mosque during Friday prayers in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, military and medical sources said.

"An explosion hit inside the Sa'ad Bin-Abada mosque in Majuri district of Benghazi during Friday prayers," said Col. Milud Zwai, spokesman for the eastern-based army's special forces.

"The explosion was carried out by explosives bags placed inside the mosque," Zwai added, noting that "the bombing was carried out remotely, according to preliminary investigations."

"The hospital received one body and 87 injured people with varying degrees of severity," said Fadia Al-Barghathi, the information officer of Al-Jalaa Hospital in Benghazi.

Al-Barghathi had earlier said that one person was killed and 55 injured.

Abdalkarim Al-Gbaili, director of Benghazi Medical Center, told Xinhua that the center received 56 injured people, including 12 children. He confirmed that the center did not receive any dead bodies.

The Central Security Chamber of Benghazi, which is formed of army and police forces, confirmed that the bombing killed a second person.

The Head of the Chamber General Wanis Bokhmada, instructed all mosques in Benghazi to "install surveillance cameras within two weeks."

The city of Benghazi, controlled by the army after defeating terrorist groups later in 2017, is witnessing an escalation of bombings, particularly on mosques.

Twin car bomb attacks hit a mosque in Benghazi's Salmani district two week ago as the worshipers exited the mosque after the night prayer, killing 34 people and injuring more than 100 others, mostly civilians.

Libya has been suffering insecurity and chaos since the uprising that toppled former leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011. The country is plagued with unrest and political division.
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Mandalay Bay hotel of Las Vegas will eliminate its 32nd floor by the end of this week, from where gunman Stephen Paddock rained bullets on ground in October last year, killing 58 and wounding more than 500 others.

According to the report of Las Vegas Review Journal newspaper Friday, Mandalay Bay will renumber floors 31 through 34 as floors 56 through 59, while room 32135 where Paddock stayed would never be opened to guests.

The 43-story hotel has confused floor numbering system even before. The top four floors were listed as 60 to 63, meanwhile, since floors 35 to 39 are used by Four Seasons Las Vegas as a hotel within a hotel, main elevators showed stops at floors 1 through 34 and 60 through 63.

Michael McCall, a hospitality professor at Michigan State University, was quoted by the report as saying that what the hotel wants to do is move on from the tragedy and service customers without ignoring but without calling attention to it.

Michelle Paul, a psychology professor of University of Nevada, Las Vegas, also said renumbering the floors makes sense, as it helps set the stage for guests and employees to relate in a new way to the location of the tragedy.

After the shooting, the worst in modern U.S. history, the hotel closed the 32nd floor for a long time and reopened it at the beginning of the year.

The shooting also prompted questions about whether MGM Resort, owner of the Mandalay Bay, would change the hotel's name. McCall said the company probably needs more time to monitor the effect on business.
SKOPJE, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Macedonian and Albanian governments will cooperate on the construction of the Corridor 8 railway section networking, head of state-run Macedonian Railways-Infrastructure Irfan Asani and his visiting Albanian counterpart Ani Durmishi said Friday at a press conference.

Talks on construction of Corridor 8 are made in the framework of the memorandum of cooperation signed by Macedonian Railways-Infrastructure and Albanian Railways.

This memorandum stipulates coordination and joint promotion before international funds for the Kicevo Lin railroad section, which completion is expected by 2023, according to a statement of Macedonian Railways.

According to the two officials, this project is considered with high priority by both governments while they agreed to concretize such project soon.

"The railway section is scheduled pass through Kicevo, Struga (western Macedonia) to Lin (southeast of Abania) until it reaches the port city of Durres (west of Albania)," said a press release of Macedonian Railways.

According to Asani, the final project of the railroad leading to the Albanian border has already been drafted while Durmishi said that railway networking with Macedonia was a priority for the Albanian government.

"The feasibility study for this section has been completed and the government is giving priority to the construction that will yield economic benefits for both countries," said Durmishi.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-10 03:37:19|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- More than 2 million people were displaced in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 2017, double the total number of internally displaced people in 2016, a UN spokesman said Friday.

The figure means that, on average, 50 Congolese families were forced to flee their homes every hour in 2017, said Farhan Haq, quoting the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

The number of internally displaced people in the country has risen to 4.49 million people, over 60 percent of whom are children. This is the largest population of internally displaced people in Africa, said Haq.

In 2018, humanitarians require 1.68 billion U.S. dollars for the DRC but to date, only 3 percent of the funding has been received, he said.

Weak governance and the many active armed groups have led to extreme poverty as well as massive human rights violations in the country, which also faces a political crisis as a result of delays in elections.
KIEV, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine plans to enhance the mobility of its military personnel as part of a comprehensive reform of the Armed Forces, the country's Defense Ministry said Friday, citing a senior military official.

"Achievement of high mobility of units is our priority task," Viktor Muzhenko, chief of the general staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, was quoted as saying by the Defense Ministry's press service.

To achieve the target, the army intends to carry out military exercises on the redeployment of the troops within Ukraine, Muzhenko said.

In the past, Ukrainian servicemen have undergone the drills on the redeployment using railway, road and air transport, he added.

Kiev has launched a major modernization of the army in 2014, when the conflict between government troops and pro-independence insurgents started in eastern Ukraine.

The comprehensive reform of the Armed Forces, which is set to be completed in 2020, is aimed at the establishment of "effective and mobile defense forces able to provide an adequate and flexible response to military threats."
CAIRO, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Egyptian armed forces announced on Friday launching a massive nationwide counterterrorism operation named "Comprehensive Operation Sinai 2018."

The operation is not restricted to the restive northern and central parts of Sinai Peninsula near Israel and the Palestinian Gaza Strip, but also involves the Nile Delta and the Western Desert close to the country's borders with Libya.

"Elements of our air forces targeted some hideouts as well as weapon and ammunition storehouses used by the terrorists to target the law enforcement forces and civil targets in North and Central Sinai," said military spokesman Tamer al-Refaay in a statement on Friday.

Eyewitnesses said they saw armored vehicles and tanks deployed in North Sinai cities of Arish, Rafah and Sheikh Zuweid while blast smoke rose in the sky and communication networks were almost cut.

"The naval forces also tighten maritime security procedures to cut down lines of supplies to the terrorist elements," he added.

The border guards and the police have maintained maximum security alert and deployment at border areas nationwide, according to the military statement.

Meanwhile, the Egyptian police frustrated on Friday a terror attack, killing three terrorists and arresting 14 others as part of the country's major anti-terror campaign, according to a statement from the interior ministry.

The terrorists were members of the outlawed Hasm group affiliated with the banned Muslim Brotherhood group of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi, who was ousted by the military in July 2013 in response to mass protests.

The simultaneous raids included the capital Cairo and the provinces of Qalioubiya, Daqahliya, Beheira, Minufiya, Sharqiya, Assiut and Fayoum, where explosive devices and machine guns were also seized.

Hasm militant group claimed responsibility for a number of terrorist attacks that killed several policemen since it emerged late 2016 and the group is seen by the police as the armed wing of the currently outlawed Brotherhood group.

"Hasm is one of armed wing of the Brotherhood group assigned with carrying out operations against the country's vital premises and facilities as well as the armed forces and the police ahead of the presidential elections," said the police statement.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said on his Facebook page on Friday "I am proudly following up the heroic actions of my sons in the armed forces and the police to cleanse the lands of Egypt from terrorists, the enemies of life."

North Sinai has been the center of Egypt's terrorist attacks that killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers following Morsi's military removal. They later extended to several other provinces including Cairo and started to target the Coptic minority via church bombings and shootings.

Terrorists even attacked a mosque in North Sinai's Arish city last November, killing at least 310 Muslim worshippers and injuring more than 120 others, marking the deadliest terror attack and the first against a mosque in Egypt's modern history.

Most of the terror attacks were carried out by the so-called Wilayat Sinai (Sinai state or province), a Sinai-based group affiliated with the Islamic State (IS), a regional terrorist group. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the mosque attack though.

Following the mosque attack, Sisi ordered the army to restore security and stability in the restive northern part of the Sinai Peninsula within three months.

Egyptian security forces have so far killed hundreds of terrorists and arrested thousands of suspects during the country's anti-terror war declared by Sisi, the army chief then, following Morsi's ouster in 2013.

The Egyptian parliament expressed on Friday its full support of the anti-terrorist "Comprehensive Operation Sinai 2018," calling on the Egyptian people to back the forces in the "honorable and just operation."

Similarly, Al-Azhar, the Cairo-based highest Islamic learning institution for Egypt and the Sunni Muslim world, voiced complete support of the massive counterterrorism operation launched on Friday.

It hailed the forces for their sacrifices "to maintain security and safety across Egypt and to foil the plots of chaos and and disorder that attempt to sweep the nation's stability."

The comprehensive anti-terror operation comes weeks before Egypt starts its 2018 presidential elections, where incumbent President Sisi is expected to make an easy win for a second term due to the lack of strong challengers in the race.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday he would soon release a letter about a Democrat-drafted classified memo defending the FBI and Justice Department's behavior during the Russia probe.

"We're going to be releasing a letter soon." Trump told reporters in the White House, with no more details about the letter.

That letter must accompany the returned memo to the House Intelligence Committee to explain the president's decision. It is not yet known if the memo will be partially redacted.

Earlier this week, the House panel unanimously voted to approve the release of the Democratic document that rebuts an earlier Republican-drafted memo alleging FBI and Justice Department of surveillance abuses in their Russia probe.

According to the Republican-drafted memo, which Trump approved releasing last week, a number of top U.S. law enforcement leaders abused their power by inappropriately obtaining a surveillance warrant on Carter Page, a foreign policy adviser to the Trump presidential campaign until September 2016.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-10 04:02:26|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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DAMASCUS, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian army said Friday that its forces have ended the presence of the Islamic State (IS) militants in the countrysides of the central province of Hama and northern Aleppo province, according to state news agency SANA.

In a statement, the Syria army said its forces have captured a large number of towns and villages in the countrysides of Hama, Aleppo and the northwestern province of Idlib.

With this progress, the Syrian army ended the presence of IS in the provinces of Aleppo and Hama, said the statement, adding that the progress also ended the presence of the majority of the fighters of the al-Qaida-linked Levant Liberation Committee, otherwise known as the Nusra Front, in the southern countryside of Aleppo.

The progress of the Syrian army also helps in securing several routes between Hama and Aleppo as well as roads connecting those provinces with eastern Syria and the Syrian-Iraqi borders.

The statement concluded by stressing resolve to fight the terrorists in Syria and foil the schemes of the "terrorist backers."

The IS militants have lost all major strongholds in Syria last year when the Syrian army captured IS-held areas in Deir al-Zour city in eastern Syria and the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces stripped the terror-designated group of its de facto capital of Raqqa in northern Syria.

Now, the Syrian army will keep fighting until eradicating the remaining al-Qaida-linked groups in the southern countryside of Aleppo.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-10 04:42:34|Editor: Zhou Xin

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German Chancellor and leader of German Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Angela Merkel reacts during a joint press conference at the headquaters of CDU in Berlin, capital of Germany, on Feb. 7, 2018. Three German parties reached an agreement on a "grand coalition" after tough negotiations, local media reported Wednesday morning.(Xinhua/Shan Yuqi)

BERLIN, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- German Chancellor and Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader Angela Merkel heard harsh criticism from her party on Friday for the compromises underpinning a final coalition agreement with the Christian Social Union (CSU) and German Social Democrats (SPD).

Paul Ziemiak, leader of the CDU youth organization, publicly demanded a sign of renewal in response to the outcome of talks.

"We simply demand the inclusion of younger individuals, young politicians, in the federal government and party leadership," Ziemiak told the radio station "Deutschlandfunk".

He added that he expected clarity from Merkel on personnel changes in the party and governing cabinet by the date of the CDU party conference on Feb. 26.

Former CDU parliamentary faction leader Friedrich Merz told the newspaper "BILD" Friday that his party would "give itself up" if it "accepted such a humiliation."

Speaking to "BILD" as well, the CDU foreign policy speaker Norbert Roettgen complained that the party had been "structurally weakened" and would consequently "lose influence".

Similarly, CDU parliamentarian Christian von Stetten described the distribution of ministries as a "political mistake." His party colleague Michael von Abercron went even further in asserting that Merkel's authority had been "shattered in the party, as well as in the government".

Ziemiak urged his party to start thinking seriously about an eventual successor to Merkel. Due to the loss of the finance ministry to the SPD, in particular, tensions were "brewing everywhere" in the CDU and would only become worse without internal renewal.

Despite only wining 20.5 percent of the vote in national elections in September, the SPD has negotiated the right to nominate six ministerial posts in a re-launch of the "grand coalition", including prestigious departments such as Finance, Foreign Affairs and Labor/Social Policy.

The CDU, which won the largest share of votes with 26.8 percent, is only set to receive five ministries, aside from the chancellorship itself. Notably, Merkel's party also ceded the influential interior ministry to its conservative sister party CSU (6.2 percent voter share, three ministers in total).

However, Ziemiak emphasized that not all ministerial posts in the next government were already officially-designated. "We need more young faces in the government, if we want to speak about the future of Germany," he argued.

The CDU leadership will vote on the coalition agreement at the specially-convened conference, although their approval is widely seen as a mere formality.
BERLIN, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Germany's Social Democrats (SPD) chairman Martin Schulz announced on Friday that he would not pursue ministerial post in new "grand coalition" government, including the foreign minister.

Schulz hereby reacted to growing calls within the SPD for him not to join Chancellor Angela Merkel's (CDU) fourth governing cabinet.

The former president of the European Parliament had originally vowed to return to the opposition benches following electoral defeat. The SPD recorded its worst result (20.5 percent) since World War II in September's elections, prompting wild speculation over the political future of its lead candidate Schulz.

Explaining the decision not to become Foreign Minister after all, Schulz expressed hope that his resignation would "end personnel debates within the SPD".

German newspaper BILD had reported earlier that the SPD leadership presented Schulz with an ultimatum on Friday afternoon to stand down from Germany's next federal government.

Despite winning significant policy concession from Chancellor Merkel's CDU/CSU bloc on Europe, pensions and domestic labor law, as well as securing the prestigious Finance, Foreign and Labor ministries for itself, the SPD has continued to experience bitter infighting since the conclusion of "grand coalition" negotiations.

Kevin Kuehnert, the leader of the SPD Youth Organization (Juso), criticized that Schulz had unilaterally decided to pass the party leadership to SPD parliamentary faction leader Andrea Nahles while switching into the role of foreign minister.

Kuehnert lamented that the internal divisions sparked by this move meant that a much-needed political debate over the content of the "grand coalition" agreement among SPD members was being overshadowed by "large egos".

Outgoing Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel (SPD), in particular, had attacked Schulz for breaking a promise by usurping his ministerial post.

Unlike in the CDU and CSU, more than 460,000 SPD members must still approve the final coalition agreement, and hence whether or not to join another Merkel government, in an upcoming referendum.

Addressing the party base after revealing his resignation on Friday, Schulz reiterated his opinion that the legislative pact agreed by the CDU, CSU and SPD had the potential to improve the lives of Germans in many ways.

"I have always emphasized that we would only join a coalition if our social democratic demands for improvements in education, social care, retirement, labor and taxation are reflected in this contract. I am proud to be able to say that this is the case," Schulz's statement read.

As a consequence, it was "of the highest importance" to Schulz that SPD members voted in favor of the party supporting another "grand coalition" at the specially-convened conference.

Beyond the SPD, German politicians reacted with a mix of pity and gloating at the news of Schulz' premature departure from federal politics.

"This step won't help the SPD much either," Left party (Linke) leader Sahra Wagenknecht told press. It would have been better if Schulz had "made the decision independently, and not under pressure", Wagenknecht added.

By contrast, Green party (Gruene) parliamentary vice-president Katrin Goering-Eckardt said that one could "feel sorry for all of those involved".

According to Goering-Eckardt, the attempt to resolve personnel debates in the SPD reflected a "special form of self-flagellation" in which codes of proper conduct among party colleagues had been abandoned.

Marco Buschmann, administrative head of the Free Democratic Party's (FDP) parliamentary faction, gloated that "that the new grand-coalition is dismantling itself before it has even been inaugurated."

In the meanwhile, first voices were heard among senior SPD figures advocating for Gabriel to now hold on to his post as Foreign Minister for one more government term. Remarking that he had done a good job in the role so far, SPD politician Johannes Kahrs tweeted that "Gabriel should remain Foreign Minister".
KIGALI, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- The government of Rwanda and the Office of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) on Friday launched a program to jointly verify refugees and asylum-seekers residing in Rwanda.

The joint program, launched in Rwandan capital Kigali, is aimed at updating information and verifying refugees' physical presence in the country through biometric data.

It will facilitate the refugees' access to government services, boost their employability and help them move more freely in the country and abroad, Minister for Disaster Management and Refugees of Rwanda Jeanne d'Arc Debonheur said.

The updated information and documentation will allow for better protection and assistance to refugees and asylum-seekers in Rwanda, and contribute to better planning by the government, UNHCR and relevant stakeholders dealing with refugees, according to the ministry of refugees.

The verification program started with urban refugees in Kigali and Huye District in southern Rwanda, and will later move to the six refugee camps in the country.

Registration of refugees and asylum-seekers in Rwanda is conducted jointly by the Rwandan government and UNHCR.

Friday's launch followed a May 2017 deal signed by Rwanda and UNHCR to facilitate sharing of data on identity of refugees in Rwanda.

Statistics from UNHCR showed that Rwanda hosted over 160,000 refugees and asylum-seekers by Jan. 31, 2017.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-10 04:57:41|Editor: Zhou Xin

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The Year of the Dog stamp sheet is pictured at the United Nations Postal Administration (UNPA), at the UN headquarters in New York, Feb. 7, 2018. The stamp sheet, consisting of 10 stamps of a denomination of 1.15 U.S. dollars, with the paper-cut images of dogs and UN logo, as the Chinese lunar year for 2018 is the Year of the Dog. This new sheet is the ninth of the UNPA's Lunar New Year stamp series. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

by Xinhua writer Xie E

UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Unique, auspicious, and absolutely international, a young Chinese couple got a wedding gift for themselves at the United Nations (UN) post office Wednesday - a personalized stamp sheet featuring their snapshot and the Year of the Dog.

Holding their one of a kind stamp sheet in one hand, the fiance, Zhang Ruiyu from China's Shaanxi Province, said he never thought that they could have their own photo on the stamps.

Pointing to the sheet that has the UN Chief Antonio Guterres's image, he said, "As the lunar new year is coming up, I feel double blessed to have such a world-class gift for ourselves."

Ever since the release of the Year of the Dog stamp sheet this February, tourists from around the world, especially from China, came to get a sheet of their own. This can not only be a wedding gift, but a perfect souvenir for everyone.

The stamp sheet, consists of 10 stamps of a denomination of 1.15 U.S. dollars, with the paper-cut images of dogs on the left and UN logo on the right, as the Chinese lunar year for 2018 is the Year of the Dog.

The dogs, in gold and red, the two traditional colors for the Chinese Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival, are designed to add festival color to the most important holiday for Chinese around the world.

The tabs of the stamps and the background design were illustrated by Tiger Pan, a renowned packaging designer, said UNPA.

According to Pan, the inspiration for the animal stamp design arose from "figure-ground reversal," which perfectly interprets the meanings of "cooperation" and "sharing."

The sheet is designed by Sergio Baradat of the UNPA's design team.

Thanawat Amnajanan, Director of the United Nations Postal Administration (UNPA), said he was surprised by the amount of people purchasing the stamps. "I know Chinese love such stamps, but I did not expect they love them so much."

This new sheet is the ninth of the UNPA's Lunar New Year stamp series. Thanawat told Xinhua he came up with the idea of issuing Chinese Lunar New Year themed stamps nine years ago, when it was the Year of the Tiger.

Each Chinese lunar year is represented by one animal zodiac. Traditionally these zodiac animals were used to date the repeating cycle of 12 years. In order, the 12 animals are: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig.

Each animal embodies a typical personality. For example, Rooster is the representative of confidence and intelligence; Ox symbolizes diligence, dependability, strength and determination; Dog is well-known for its loyalty and friendliness with human beings.

Chinese people tend to connect their zodiac to their personality. If you find a person brave and competitive, you can have a bold guess that he was born in the Year of the Tiger.

The Chinese lunar year theme and the UN stamps proved to be a perfect match. Knowing that their photos can be transferred to a pane of stamps makes tourists queue up to get their very own souvenirs.

Qu Wei, Executive Director of Global Youth Center at Tsinghua University, who led a team of students to visit the UN, bought three stamp sheets for his family. He said this special stamp would surely help spread Chinese culture to the world.

The United Nations is the only organization in the world which is neither a country nor a territory that can issue postage stamps. It is also the only postal authority to issue stamps in three different currencies, namely U.S. dollars, Swiss francs and Euro. UN stamps are issued simultaneously at UN offices in New York, Geneva and Vienna. The first UN stamps were issued in U.S. dollar denominations on United Nations Day in 1951.
RABAT, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Morocco and China discussed here on Friday means to bolster bilateral cooperation in the area of infrastructure.

The Moroccan Minister of Equipment, Transportation, Logistics and Water Abdelkader Amara and visiting Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Qian Keming reviewed the current bilateral ventures in infrastructure development, exploring prospects of future bilateral partnership in this field.

Amara commended the level of cooperation between Morocco and China, stressing that the establishment of strategic partnership between Rabat and Beijing in 2016 consolidated bilateral cooperation.

This partnership has opened a new era in the Sino-Moroccan cooperation, offering growing opportunities of cooperation between Moroccan and Chinese companies.

Qian praised the good relations between the two countries, adding that bilateral cooperation resulted in the implementation of important investment projects in several areas, including infrastructure.

He said that the meeting represented a precious opportunity to identify new avenues of cooperation in this field, adding that the talks discussed the project of the development of the port of the northern Moroccan city of Kenitra and Morocco's future high-speed railway between the southern cities of Marrakech and Agadir.

He also called for stronger joint ventures between Chinese and Moroccan firms to boost investments for infrastructure projects.

Qian is heading a Chinese delegation in a working visit to Morocco.

He chaired along with Moulay Hafid Elalamy, the Moroccan minister of industry, investment, trade and digital economy, the sixth session of the Morocco-China Joint Committee for Economic Cooperation.
DAR ES SALAAM, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- The government of Tanzania said on Friday it was satisfied with progress made on the construction of a China-funded library in the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM).

Minister for Education, Science, Technology and Vocational Training Joyce Ndalichako said construction of the state-of-the-art library at the campus has completed 90 percent and the remaining 10 percent will be completed by June this year.

"The facility has met the required academic standards and we hope it will help students to broaden the scope of learning and research," the minister said during an inspection tour of the construction site.

The 40-million-U.S.-dollar library complex comprises two major structures, one a library and the other housing Confucius Institute, which has been teaching Chinese language and culture at the university.

"The construction of the library is also part of strengthening the bilateral cooperation between the two countries that has existed for many years now," Ndalichako said.

The minister said the library will also provide access for Tanzanian students to learn Chinese language, as China is one of the fastest growing economies in the world.

William Anangisye, vice-chancellor of the University of Dar es Salaam, said the library will play a major role in research undertakings and dissemination of knowledge through teaching programs and academic services.

"The library is a critical and strategic area in achieving this function. The completion of this library will facilitate the realization of the university's dream of becoming a world-class university," he said.

Wang Ke, Chinese ambassador to Tanzania, said the library will help elevate students' performance.

"As part of strengthening the cooperation, the Chinese government is happy to see Tanzania is developing in all spheres, and my government is eager to continue supporting Tanzania's social development," Wang said.

Tanzanian President John Magufuli laid the foundation stone for the construction of the library in June 2016.
KIEV, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- "There are many students from China here and I enjoy communication with them, we always stick together," said Lera Teslya, a participant of Lunar New Year concert in Kiev.

Born in a small town of Lysychansk in Ukraine's eastern Lugansk region, Teslya never imagined that one day she will get a lot of friends from China, a remote country with different culture and customs.

However, this became a reality after the student decided to participate in the concert for Chinese and Ukrainian students in Borys Grynchenko Kiev University.

During the three weeks of rehearsals, Teslya made a real friendship with a Chinese dancing teacher Zhang Li, who provided workshops on Chinese dancing to a group of Ukrainian students.

"She is very kind, gentle and beautiful. She teaches us how to properly behave on the stage. Despite the fact that we are Ukrainians, and she is a Chinese, we understand each other very well," Teslya told Xinhua.

For her part, Zhang said she learned a lot about the Ukrainian culture during the preparations for the concert and got along with Ukrainian youth.

"Ukrainian students are very sincere and diligent. I really like them. They are very smart and they learn fast," Zhang told Xinhua.

Teslya and Zhang were among about 50 participants of the Lunar New Year concert, which presented a mix of traditional Chinese and Ukrainian songs and dances. Many performances incorporated elements of both Chinese and Ukrainian culture.

Besides, the participants of the concert showcased their dexterity in playing musical instruments such as the lute, the piano, and the violin.

Wang Dajun, the first secretary of educational affairs at the Chinese Embassy in Ukraine, said the concert is an opportunity for Chinese students to better understand the Ukrainian culture and Ukrainian people.

"Cultural exchanges are very important for students. Our students, who study in Ukraine, must adapt to Ukrainian situation, Ukrainian life and Ukrainian culture. Culture reflects the mentality of the people," Wang told Xinhua.

Meanwhile, a guest of the concert Alexandra Stryzhak said that the event was also very useful for the Ukrainian audience, providing them a chance to learn about Chinese traditions of celebrating New Year.

"We do not have so many sources from which we can get information about China. Most Ukrainians have superficial knowledge about this country. So, this concert is an excellent opportunity to understand, to see, to feel and to fall in love with China," Stryzhak told Xinhua.

Victor Ognevyuk, the rector of Borys Grynchenko Kiev University, voiced his hope that Ukrainian and Chinese students will continue the tradition of joint cultural activities ahead of the Lunar New Year.

He said that China's Belt and Road Initiative, which was joined by Ukraine, provides all opportunities for the youth of the two countries to deepen their friendship.

"The Belt and Road Initiative unites our nations and shows the path for moving forward by cooperating and helping each other," Ognevyuk said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-10 05:47:57|Editor: huaxia

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CHICAGO, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) grains closed lower on Friday, with corn and wheat futures both dropping more than 1 percent, as traders took profits and focused on prospects for better weather in the drought-hit U.S. Plains wheat belt.

Soybeans sagged on much-needed rains in Argentina's crop belt and worries about U.S. soybean export demand.

The most active corn contract for March delivery fell 3.75 cents, or 1.03 percent to close at 3.62 dollars per bushel. March wheat delivery dropped 7.25 cents, or 1.59 percent to close at 4.49 dollars per bushel. March soybeans went down 4.75 cents, or 0.48 percent to close at 9.83 dollars per bushel.

CME traders report that funds have sold 1,500 contracts of wheat, 3,400 contracts of corn, while being flat in soybeans. Soy product fund action includes sales of 1,200 contracts of soyoil and 900 contracts of soymeal.

As for international market, Egypt's General Authority For Supply Commodities is tendering for world wheat for delivery between March 12-22 and based on pricing, and analysts expected that Russian or Eastern European wheat will dominate the purchase. Enditem
TUNIS, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- "Tunisia is open to Chinese investment," said Mabrouk Korchid, Tunisian Minister of State Domains and Land Affairs, in an exclusive interview with Xinhua recently.

"The visit of Chinese businessmen delegation in Tunisia this week was a good opportunity to exchange views on Chinese development and investment potentials on Tunisian territory," said Mabrouk.

"Chinese people have built mega-projects benefiting all over the world, more precisely on our African continent," he insisted.

Mabrouk said "after about a year, the project of Tunisia Diplomatic Academy will finally see the day with a pure Chinese funding of about 200 million yuan (about 31.8 million dollars)."

"We are very aware of the importance of such a project since, on the one hand, it will further strengthen the partnership between Tunisia and China. On the other hand, it will contribute to the training of future African diplomats, which will consolidate the position of Tunisia and its regional influence," said Mabrouk.

According to Mabrouk, the southeast and southwest areas in Tunisia are the priority areas for regional development and foreign investment.

"For example, the province of Medenine in southeast Tunisia enjoys a wide coastline, an airport and a seaport with strong potentials for foreign investments," said Mabrouk .

"Other provinces in central, northwest or east coast Tunisia also present as fertile areas for a partnership investment, especially in agriculture, industry including phosphates, mining and energy products," he continued.

"We still have shortcomings in the field of the Tunisian land registry, which continue to be an issue for foreign investors," confessed the Tunisian minister, adding that "cadastre was added to the provisions of bilateral agreement between Tunisia and China, to solve the land problems in Tunisia."
HAVANA, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Each year, the Havana International Book Fair underscores one of Cuban society's basic beliefs, that education is not a privilege but a right.

It does that by providing books in braille or audio format for the visually impaired and free of charge.

"I come to look for CDs of books on all topics, because I prefer digital books," Bonifacio Sanchez, one of the beneficiaries of the program, told Xinhua.

"My wife asked me to find her three printed books in braille that she wants on various topics, including Chinese history and traditional Cuban cuisine," said Sanchez.

A piano tuner at Cuba's National School of Art, Sanchez said he doesn't miss a fair because both he and his wife love to read.

They aren't alone. A long line of people with canes waiting to get into Havana's historic San Carlos de la Cabana Fort, where the event is held, providing one of the most arresting images of the fair.

The initiative started in 2012 when the Cuban Association of the Blind and Visually Impaired (ANCI), in coordination with the Cuban Book Institute, saw the need to include a stand offering books in braille or audio format.

ANCI's publishing house, Ediciones Braille, provides books on diverse topics, from classic novels to contemporary literature. This year's stand features 100 copies of 19 new books, according to the organizers.

"We currently have a central library that has 4,000 books, about 2,000 in braille and the rest in audio format," Victor Adel Velazquez, another beneficiary of the program, told Xinhua.

"Today I came to look for a book by Che (Ernesto Guevara) and one of the legends of Sherlock Holmes because I really like spy stories," said Velazquez, a physical education teacher.

Also standing in line was Guillermo Rodriguez, an ANCI representative in Havana who believes the initiative has made the book fair truly inclusive and more relevant.

"Since our association was founded 43 years ago, this has been one of its main achievements towards improving the quality of life of people with visual disabilities, because everyone knows what reading represents to people; true knowledge is only acquired through reading," he said.

Maria Isabel Ruiz, an ANCI librarian, agreed.

"We are proud to be included in such an important event in our country and it is wonderful that each member can enjoy, free of charge, two printed copies of any book of their choice and as many digital copies as they want of other texts and publications," said Ruiz.

As the books in braille began to fly off the shelves, the cobblestone walkways of the old fortress filled with visually-impaired readers delving into their new publications, like most avid readers, too eager to discover what was in their pages to wait until they got home.
ROME, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Four men were wounded early on Friday when a motorcyclist opened fire on a coffee shop in an outlying neighborhood of the Tuscan city of Pisa after an argument, Italian media reported.

Police are searching for the attacker, a 21-year-old Italian with a rap sheet for robbery who lives with his mother not far from the site of the shooting, according to RAI public broadcaster.

The shooter named as Patrizio Iacono has a criminal record for robbery and "other property crimes", according to Sky TG24 private broadcaster.

"The man could still be armed and is being sought by police and Carabinieri (military police), who are searching the city inch by inch," Sky TG24 reported.

The shooter targeted the crowded coffee shop after clients there reprimanded him for doing noisy "wheelies" on his motorcycle on the street outside the premises, according to local paper Il Tirreno.

Eyewitnesses told Il Tirreno that Iacono initially left on his motorcycle, then returned with a gun and started shooting.

The paper said none of the wounded men, all of them in their early 30s to early 40s, suffered life-threatening injuries.

They include three Italians who were shot in the legs and one Tunisian who was shot in the arm, Il Tirreno reported.

One coffee shop client was "saved" by a button on his jeans, which acted as a shield from the bullet, according to the paper.

Italy is still shaken from a drive-by shooting last Saturday in the southern city of Macerata, where an Italian rightwing extremist opened fire on African people on the streets in broad daylight to "avenge" the death of an Italian woman, in which a Nigerian immigrant is being held as a suspect.
Posted Friday, February 9, 2018 3:30 am

There is an active phishing scheme targeting Washington school districts. The scheme targets human resources/payroll staff seeking sensitive W2 and payroll information.

The senders present themselves as the school districts superintendent, with a message like one the following:

 I need W-2 copy list of all employees wage and tax statement for 2017. Kindly prepare and attach the lists in PDF file type and email them to me for review as soon as possible.

 Kindly send me the individual 2017 W-2 (PDF) and earnings summary of all W-2 of our company staff for a quick review.

 Can you send me the updated list of employees with full details (name, Social Security number, date of birth, home address, salary).

If any district staff receive an email from the superintendent requesting a list of employees and other personal information, they should check it out before responding. If someone responds and it is determined the request was not legitimate, the district needs to notify anyone who is at harm from the data release, not more than 45 days after the error was discovered. If the data breach affects more than 500 Washington residents, the state Attorney Generals Office must be notified.
SNOWSHOERS HEAD back toward their cars Thursday after a guided hike at Interstate Falls in Kimball, Wis. The hike was sponsored by the Northwoods Land Trust and Iron County Outdoor Recreation Enthusiasts.

By RICHARD JENKINS

[email protected]

KIMBALL, Wis. - Even if the temperatures seemed bitterly cold Thursday morning, the sun came out in the afternoon and it warmed up a little for the snowshoe hike to Interstate Falls in Kimball - which may have helped with the good turnout.

Local naturalist John Bates led the hike, which the The Northwest Land Trust and Iron County Outdoor Recreation Enthusiasts sponsored.

Around 30 people attended the event, filling the small parking lot at the trailhead near the scenic waterfalls.

"We had a pile of folks, it was cool," Bates said after the eve...
Coronavirus: 1.849 de cazuri noi si 46 de decese

Grupul de Comunicare Strategica a anuntat luni ca in ultimele 24 de ore au fost inregistrate in Romania 1.849 de cazuri noi de Covid si 46 de decese la pacienti confirmati cu noul coronavirus. Potrivit GCS, pana luni, in Romania au fost confirmate 1.122.653 de cazuri de persoane infectate cu noul coronavirus. [citeste mai departe]
KIEV, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, who is on a visit to Washington, said Wednesday that the United States has a clear view on Ukraine joining NATO.

"They hold a very clear stance that Ukraine is moving towards NATO and that Ukraine eventually needs (NATO) membership," Ukrainian state-run Ukrinform news agency quoted him as saying.

Yatsenyuk pointed out that Ukraine's accession to NATO is impossible without the full consensus of the alliance.

The leader of Ukraine's People's Front party arrived in Washington Tuesday on a two-day visit. He will hold talks with U.S. Congressmen as well as representatives of the U.S. Security Council and the Pentagon.

Ukraine joined the North Atlantic Cooperation Council in 1991 shortly after gaining independence from the former Soviet Union.

In 2003, it announced it would seek NATO membership but revoked the policy in 2010, declaring a non-aligned status instead.

But last year Kiev resumed the effort, pledging to implement reforms in its security, defense, justice and anti-corruption sectors.

Ukraine has set itself the target of meeting NATO membership standards by 2020.
Coun Perez reiterates warning to barangay leaders involved in drugs

07 Aug 2017 Hits:37 Comments(0)

Liga ng mga Barangay President, Councilor Jerry Perez yesterday reiterated his warning to all barangay officials from using or selling drugs. Perez said he is closely monitoring the activities of all the barangay officials and vowed sanctions against erring leaders. Aqui gane na mio barangay ya quita ya iyo na puesto cunel dos barangay leaders quien mas temprano ya sale positivo na...
NEW DELHI: While the Telegu Desam Party (TDP) is up in arms against its ally Bharatiya Janata Party over the allocation of funds for Andhra Pradesh in the Union Budget, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi has come in support of the former.

Calling the demands of Andhra 'just', Rahul said: "The Congress Party supports the just demands of the people of Andhra Pradesh for special category status and speedy completion of the Polavaram project. It's time for all parties to unite on this issue and support this call for justice."

The Congress Party supports the just demands of the people of Andhra Pradesh for special category status and speedy completion of the Polavaram project. It's time for all parties to unite on this issue and support this call for justice.#INCStandsWithAndhra  Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) February 9, 2018

Andhra Pradesh has been demanding the Centre to allocate special funds for various projects in the state, and also honour promises and commitments made in the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014.

The Lok Sabha was adjourned within minutes of assembling on Friday amid protests by members from Andhra Pradesh. Members from the TDP and Yuvajana Shramika Rythu (YSR) Congress trooped near Speaker Sumitra Mahajan's podium and started raising slogans demanding 'justice' for the state from which Telangana was carved in 2014.

The ties between the TDP and ruling BJP have been strained over the Union Budget not offering any special benefits to Andhra Pradesh. The TDP had last week held its Parliamentary Board meeting in Amaravati where it discussed whether they should snap ties with its ally at the Centre. The decision, however, was put on hold with the TDP claiming that it will continue to press for its demands.

"During the meeting Budget and fund allocations to Andhra Pradesh were discussed. We will continue pressuring the Centre for it. We will also raise the matter in Parliament, if needed," Andhra Minister YS Chowdary had said after the meeting.

The TDP is BJP's biggest ally in the South. The two parties had fought the 2014 elections in an alliance where the TDP had emerged as the second largest party in the NDA in terms of seats won.
New Delhi: It's not always that you get an opportunity to watch two legends perform in the same frame. Well, megastar Amitabh Bachchan and veteran actor Rishi Kapoor have joined forces for '102 Not out', a film which is directed by Umesh Shukla.

WHAT WORKS:

The teaser of the movie was unveiled recently and we must say that it kept us hooked completely. The one-minute few seconds long teaser presents the adorable duo exchanging some great vibes together.

Big B and Rishi Kapoor will be seen enacting a father-son relationship in the film. We like the way, the teaser shows how Bachchan senior, who plays the dad takes care of his son. Their screen presence is totally unmissable.

WATCH the teaser, in case you missed:

DASHING DUO

Both Amitabh and Rishi Kapoor have worked in several hit films together in the past and '102 Not Out' brings them back on the silver screens almost after 27 long years.

They featured in films like Kabhie Kabhie (1976), Amar Akbar Anthony(1977), Naseeb(1981), Coolie(1983), and Ajooba(1991) to name a few.

'102 Not Out' is based on a running Gujarati play written by Saumya Joshi by the same name.

We really want to jump the calendar and watch this delight which is hitting the screens on May 4, 2018.
Mumbai: Actor Kangana Ranaut Thursday dismissed rumours that there was a romantic sequence involving Rani Laxmibai in her film Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi, saying those spreading such stories are actually defaming the queen.

Brahmin group 'Sarv Brahmin Mahasabha' from Rajasthan has raised objection over the film, alleging it features a romantic scene between Rani Laxmibai and a British East India company agent.

Kangana, who is in the city to shoot for the film, said the crew is hurt by such allegations.

"It is very lowly (neech baat) to even think like that about Rani Laxmibai. We cannot even think like that, the kind of things they are saying. What they are saying is actually defaming. There is nothing like that. It is idle talk and I don't know why it is being said," the actor told reporters here.

Kangana said the film has been written by K V Vijayendra Prasad, who also penned Baahubali.

"We are hurt and upset. The writer of the film, Vijayendra Prasad has named his daughter Manikarnika. We are hurt that such things are being said about Rani Laxmibai," she added.

The objections against the film come close on the heels a similar controversy involving Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmaavat, which a faced protests by Rajput groups.

Now, Sarv Brahmin Mahasabha has raised concerns over Manikarnika. The Mahasabha's president met with Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh, yesterday demanding that the filmmaker be directed to give an affidavit that there is no such scene in the film.

Meanwhile, Prasad has assured fans that there is no such scene in the film that would do a disservice to the memory of the brave queen.

"The film's title is 'Manikarnika', because it is her name. Her parents named her that because she was born in Kasi and the Manikarnika Ghat there is very famous. Even I named my daughter Manikarnika, so you now know how much I respect Rani Laxmibai," he said in a statement.

The producers of the film, Kamal Jain and Zee Studios have also clarified that their film shows Rani Laxmibai in the most respectful manner.

The film is reportedly slated to release on August 3.
New Delhi: 'Baahubali' star Rana Daggubati, who is known for his roles in action thrillers, will show off his comic side in the upcoming comedy film 'Welcome To New York'.

The film tells the story of two unlikely youngsters living in India in search of a better life for themselves. An unexpected trip to New York City sets them off on a comedic adventure that changes their lives forever.

The 33-year-old`s scene in the trailer featuring Karan Johar has been appreciated. Speaking about the actor, director Chakri Toleti said, "You think of Rana Daggubati and the first thing that comes to the mind is action. But when you see him doing comedy with such ease, you know that you have a fine performer in front of the camera.

He is somebody who knows how to get into different roles so effortlessly."

'Welcome to New York' stars Diljit Dosanjh, Sonakshi Sinha, Karan Johar, Riteish Deshmukh, Lara Dutta and Boman Irani.

It hits the big screens on February 23.
Mumbai: PadMan has arrived and how! Akshay Kumar has made a splash on the silverscreen as an unusual superhero. He plays PadMan in R Balkis film based on social activist Arunachalam Muruganantham, who invented low-cost sanitary pad making machines.

Everyone in the film industry is going gaga over Akshays Padman and how can Ranveer Singh remain quiet. The bundle of energy that he is, Ranveer decided to pay tribute to the new superhero by doing a special dance with none other than the man in question  Akshay Kumar.

Ranveer took to Twitter to post a cute video that shows him dancing to the Superhero track.

Check it out here:

All the best to my Superhero @akshaykumar for @padmanthefilm ! In theatres today!(sic).

All the best to my Superhero @akshaykumar for @padmanthefilm ! In theatres today! pic.twitter.com/9xHJUEJKcw  Ranveer Singh (@RanveerOfficial) 9 February 2018

The young actor, who is currently relishing all the attention that he has been getting for his performance in Sanjay Leela Bhansalis Padmaavat has strongly recommended PadMan.

Also starring Radhika Apte and Sonam Kapoor, PadMan will narrate the struggles and the subsequent success tale of Muruganantham through Akshays character in the film.

Akshays wife Twinkle Khanna, who is an interior-decorator/author, has turned a film producer with this venture. She had written about Muruganantham in a short story titled The Sanitary Man from A Scared Land in her second novel The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad.

During an interview with BBC, Twinkle while talking about menstruation and the taboo attached to it worldwide said that it took her a lot of time to convince Arunachalam to give her his consent for making the film. It was only after repeated requests, the man, who keeps low key, agreed to give his nod.

The film was initially slated to release on January 25 but was postponed after the makers of the much delayed Padmaavat requested the producers of PadMan to push its release.
New Delhi: Fortis Healthcare promoters Malvinder Mohan Singh and Shivinder Mohan Singh have resigned as directors from the company's board following the Delhi High Court order upholding the Rs 3,500 crore arbitral award in favour of Daiichi Sankyo.

The Singh brothers have jointly tendered their resignation to the Board of Fortis Healthcare, which will discuss it in the meeting on February 13, the company said in a filing to the BSE.

"Malvinder Mohan Singh, Executive Chairman and Shivinder Mohan Singh, Non-Executive Vice Chairman have tendered their resignation from the directorships of the company," Fortis Healthcare said.

The resignation is intended to free the organisation from any encumbrances that may be linked to the promoters, the letter said.

"In light of the recent High Court judgement upholding the plea of Daiichi Sankyo to enforce the arbitration award, we believe this is in the interest of propriety and good governance," it said.

The Delhi High Court had on January 31 upheld an international arbitral award of Rs 3,500 crore passed in favour of Japanese pharma major Daiichi Sankyo, which has alleged that the former promoters of India's Ranbaxy Laboratories had concealed information about proceedings against them by American food and drug department.

A tribunal in Singapore had passed the verdict in favour of Daiichi holding that the former Ranbaxy promoters and brothers, Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singh, had concealed information that the Indian company was facing probe by the US Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Justice, while selling its shares.

With the resignation of the promoters, the board will be "better enabled and empowered to guide the future direction of the organisation without anyway being hampered by the Daiichi Sankyo judgement and our association at the Board," the letter said.

"The members of the board are also requested to look into all inter-group transactions and distance the promoter group from Fortis Healthcare Ltd in a manner that enables continuity of the operations of the organisation and deliver on its mission of enriching and saving lives," the Singh brothers wrote in the letter.

The high court order paved the way for enforcement of the 2016 arbitral award passed by the Singapore tribunal against the Singh brothers who had sold their shares in Ranbaxy to Daiichi in 2008 for Rs 9,576.1 crore. Sun Pharmaceuticals Ltd later acquired the company from Daiichi.

Daiichi had approached the high court in 2016 to seek the enforcement of a Rs 2,562 crore Singapore arbitral award passed in April 2016, along with an additional claim of interest and lawyers' fees incurred in connection with the proceedings.

The tribunal's award had come after the Japanese company invoked arbitration clause against Singhs alleging that they concealed important information while selling Ranbaxy in 2008.

Daiichi had entered into a settlement agreement with the US Department of Justice, agreeing to pay USD 500 million penalty to resolve potential, civil and criminal liability.

The company had then sold its stake in Ranbaxy to Sun Pharmaceuticals for Rs 22,679 crore in 2015.
New Delhi: Seven more Himalayan blue sheep at the Gangotri National Park have been spotted with infected eyes due to an 'unknown virus', the Uttarakhand Forest Department told the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Friday.

The virus reported from the Park in Uttarkashi district was infecting the sheep due to which their eyes were popping out, officials said.

The first case of the virus appeared after a one-year-old blue sheep was found infected and died.

The Central and Uttarakhand governments were told to investigate the matter after a petition was filed by Advocate Gaurav Bansal.

On Friday, an affidavit filed by the Chief Wildlife Conservator of Uttarakhand, Digvijay Khati, at the Tribunal stated: "Seven blue sheep with the infection in their eyes were spotted and it was observed that the animals were facing difficulty in moving."

But the infected animals could not be caught due to difficult terrain.

The sample of the dead animal sent to the research center in Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh did not help reveal the reason for the virus, senior officer Shravan Kumar told IANS.

The Gangotri National Park is spread over 2,390 sq km and ranges at an altitude of 2,800 to 7,100 meters above sea level. The park will reopen for public in April.

Said Dhananjay Mohan, Assistant Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, Uttarakhand: "This is the first such incident for us... It is unclear what exactly it is. We have contacted experts abroad where such cases were reported."

Advocate Bansal, who filed the petition, fears that there are chances of the elusive snow leopard catching the virus as the mountain blue sheep is its main prey.

(With IANS inputs)
Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) held its parliamentary board meeting in Delhi on Friday. The meeting comes days after the party lost the crucial Rajasthan bypolls to Congress.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party chief Amit Shah, and other top leaders are attending the meeting at the party headquarters in Delhi's 11 Ashoka Road.

Delhi: Amit Shah and other leaders arrive for BJP Parliamentary Party meeting #BudgetSession pic.twitter.com/U5r8RbjOJZ  ANI (@ANI) February 9, 2018

On Thursday, BJP's core team met to discuss the party's poll strategy in the upcoming Karnataka elections.

In this meeting, party leaders are expected to rake up the upcoming polls in Northeast states.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday addressed two rallies in the poll-bound Tripura. Launching a scathing attack on Chief Minister Manik Sarkar and his party, Modi said the people in Tripura feel intimidated by the communists.

With agency inputs
BENGALURU: Speaking on the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi dispute, All India Muslim Personal Law Board member Maulana Sayyed Salman Husaini Nadvi has claimed that there is a provision in Islam to shift the mosque. Maulana Nadvi made the statement during a meeting with Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravishankar.

Sri Sri had on Thursday met a six-member Muslim delegation in Bengaluru to find a solution to the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi dispute. The meeting lasted for three hours.

The six representatives who attended the meeting included executive member of All India Muslim Personal Law Board Maulana Sayyed Salman Husaini Nadvi, UP Sunni Central Waqf Board chairperson Zufar Farooqui, former IAS officer Anis Ansari, advocate Imran Ahmed, Maulana Wasif Hasan Waizi of Teeli Wali Masjid and director of Objective Research and Development Athar Husain.

The meeting was attended by representatives of Shias, Sunnis and various other people from the Muslim community. The next meeting will be held in Ayodhya in March.

The meeting comes at a time when the Supreme Court is hearing a batch of petitions against the Allahabad High Court verdict in the Ayodhya dispute. Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and two other judges  Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justice S Abdul Nazeer heard a total of 13 petitions over the disputed site in Ayodhya at around 2 pm.

A special bench of the top court headed by CJI Dipak Misra asked both the parties before the Allahabad High Court to file in two weeks the English translation of documents exhibited by them.

The apex court also directed its registry to provide copies of video cassettes, which were part of HC records, to parties on actual cost. The bench said that it would hear the appeals on March 14, 2018, and clarified that it never intended to hear the case on a "day-to-day basis".

The bench also added that it will deal with the instant matter as a "pure land dispute". 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 HC, 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.

The last hearing in the case was conducted on December 5, 2017 wherein senior lawyers, including Kapil Sibal, had pleaded that the hearing should be postponed. Appearing for UP Sunni Central Waqf Board, Sibal had said that the hearing should be deferred to July 2019, suggesting that it be held after the outcome of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The lawyers had also demanded that the case be referred to a five-judge Constitution Bench.

The court, however, rejected the plea by Sibal and scheduled the hearing for February 8.
KOLKATA: A class 2 student was allegedly molested by a dance teacher for over a year at a school in Kolkata. The teacher Soumen, had allegedly warned the student against speaking about the incident at home. He has been arrested and a case has been registered against him.

The case came to light when the child stopped coming to school since Wednesday. The teacher had apparently threatened her that he will 'bury her' in the ground if she tells anyone about him.

The parents of the student along with others have been protesting against the incident outside school since Friday morning. There is heavy police deployment around the school.

Parents have been alleging that there are no security arrangements in school. They also claimed that there were no CCTV cameras installed in the campus. The parents have alleged that the school authorities have been trying to save the accused.

The crowd gathered outside the school reportedly started beating the teacher when he was being taken out of the campus.

The incident comes to light months after a four-year-old girl was allegedly sexually assaulted in a school in Kolkata in November 2017. After the case, there had been several demands to increase security in schools.

Under pressure, the school where the incident took place had to assure that it will have no male teacher in both junior and senior sections and will install CCTV in school buses.
NEW DELHI: The Special Cell of Delhi Police arrested an Indian Air Force official for allegedly spying for Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) on Friday.

Group Captain Arun Marwah was arrested on charges of leaking top-secret information and documents to Pakistan. These documents contained classified details of Indian Air Force operations.

As FIR has been filed under relevant sections of Officials Secrets Act. The officer faces up to seven years in jail.

The 51-year-old IAF officer reportedly shared the classified information with a Pakistani agent, who was pretending to be a woman, on WhatsApp.

The ISI agent befriended Marwah on Facebook a couple of months ago and the two started chatting regularly on WhatsApp, at times exchanging intimate messages.

Eventually, the officer started sharing information on cyber warfare and special operations.

The officer was arrested after he walked in with a cellphone, which is barred inside the Air Force headquarters.



Sources in the intelligence agencies earlier told Zee Media that ISI is getting increasingly worried about the growing casualties of its officers and jawans. It is finding it extremely difficult to execute its anti-India agenda in the wake of a deadly response from the Indian security forces.

With agency inputs
NEW DELHI: US President Donald Trump spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the phone on a wide range of issues, informed the White House on Thursday. The talk comes amid the United States' massive crackdown on Pakistan for its failure to act on terrorism.

The two leaders spoke on enhancing security in Indo-Pacific region, Afghan war, ongoing political crisis in the Maldives, the situation of Myanmar's Rohingya refugees and North Korea`s nuclear program.

"Affirming President Trump's South Asia strategy, they reiterated their commitment to supporting Afghanistan's security and stability," the White House said in a readout of the phone call between Trump and PM Modi, the first in 2018.

Last month, Trump administration blocked $2-billion military aid to Pakistan. It further plans to freeze more economic aid to the country.

However, the US admitted that despite freezing aid, Pakistan continues to harbour terrorism on home soil.

"Both leaders expressed concern about the political crisis in the Maldives and the importance of respect for democratic institutions and rule of law," the White House.

A political chaos brewed in the Indian Ocean nation last Thursday, after the country's top court ordered the release of nine imprisoned Opposition politicians, including former democratically elected president Mohammed Nasheed. On Monday, President Abdulla Yameen declared a state of emergency for 15-days, further deepening the political crisis. Maldives' Supreme Court Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and another judge, Ali Hameed, were arrested hours after Yameen declared a state of emergency.

The two leaders also discussed the plight of Myanmar's Rohingya refugees. As of now there are some 680,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh putting enormous pressure on the country's economy. Recently Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed on a roadmap of return of these refugees to their homes in Myanmar. However, the US believes that this is not the right time for the return of Rohingya refugees.

The phone call also included a discussion on Kim Jong-un-led North Korea and the nuclear threat posed by the East Asian nation.

"Finally, the leaders agreed to strengthen security and economic cooperation as they look forward to the '2+2' ministerial dialogue between their defence and diplomatic officials in April," the White House said.

The '2+2 dialogue' was announced after the White House meeting between PM Modi and Trump in June 2017.

The dialogue would involve External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman from India along with their American counterparts Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.

With agency inputs
Beijing: China on Friday said that it is in touch with India to discuss a way to resolve the political turmoil gripping the Maldives while also underlining that Beijing doesn't want the issue to become another "flashpoint" in ties with New Delhi.

Chinese official sources were quoted as saying that China officially maintains that there should not be any external interference, especially in the light of reports of India's special forces were ready for deployment in the country.

''Beijing is ready to work with India to resolve the political crisis in Maldives,'' the sources said.

Maldives should not become another "flashpoint" in China's ties with India, they added.

The development comes in the wake of a bitter stand-off between India and China in the Dokalam area and Beijing's reluctance in declaring Pakistan-based Masood Azhar as a global terrorist at the UN.

Both Doklam and Masood Azhar had been major irritants in bilateral ties between China and India in the recent past.

In a related development, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said that the international community should respect sovereignty and independence of the Maldives, while referring to the current political crisis there.

"The current situation in the Maldives is its internal affairs. It should be properly resolved through dialogue and consultations by all relevant parties," he said.

Maldives President Abdulla Yameen had sent his Economic Development Minister Mohamed Saeed to China but India said it did not find the dates "suitable" for the visit of Maldives' foreign minister as special envoy to New Delhi.

The UN Security Council too met to discuss the Maldives situation. Ahead of the meeting, UN Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenca reportedly informed the top UN body that while there were no reports of violent clashes, "the situation in the Maldives is tense and may deteriorate even further".

China, while reiterating that it will not interfere in the internal affairs of Maldives, opposed any outside intervention.

Shuang said this in reference to a spate of questions on the Maldives, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi's telephonic conversation with US President Donald Trump in which the situation in the Maldives figured prominently.

The Maldives has plunged into a crisis with its President Abdullah Yameen declaring a state of Emergency and arresting the Chief Justice and former head of state.

India has traditionally held influence in the Indian Ocean atoll nation where China has been trying to make inroads because of the country's strategic location in the sea.

The archipelago in the Indian Ocean is of immense strategic importance to India and China, the world's two most populous countries dependent on energy imports.

Experts say the Maldivian crisis could well become a new power struggle between India and China.

It all started when the Maldives' Supreme Court termed as unjust the imprisonment of nine MPs and former President Mohamed Nasheed who is in exile.

The court ruling - if implemented -- would have restored the Nasheed party's majority and threatened Yameen's presidency.

Nasheed, perceived to be close to New Delhi, has urged India to intervene militarily, a move which China has warned will only complicate the situation.

"The international community should respect the will of the Maldives and play a constructive role in the stability and development of Maldives instead of doing the opposite," he said.

(With Agency inputs)
NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has recovered confidential Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) report prepared in connection with the Aircel-Maxis case from Karti Chidambaram's house. The central agency had submitted the report to the Supreme Court.

The CBI is now conducting an internal inquiry into the matter.

The 2013 draft report was seized by the ED during a raid at Chidambaram residence in Jor Bagh on January 13, 2018. The agency, on that day, had searched a number of premises in Delhi and Chennai, linked to Chidambaram's son Karti Chidambaram.

The former finance minister has refused to comment on the case.

The senior Congress leader, on January 13, had termed the ED raids against his son "a comedy of errors" and claimed that the officers were left "embarrassed" and "apologetic" as they could not find anything at his Jorbagh house.

"Since they (ED sleuths) had to justify the search, they took some background papers related to a statement made by the government in Parliament in 2012-13. In Chennai also they found nothing, seized nothing," the senior Chidambaram had said.

The ED case pertains to a Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approval granted in 2006 by the then finance minister P Chidambaram.

The agency had said it is investigating the circumstances of the said FIPB approval granted by the then finance minister (P Chidambaram)" under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

It charged that Karti had "also closed certain bank accounts and attempted to close other bank accounts in order to frustrate the process of attachment" under the PMLA.

The agency had said that the FIPB approval in the Aircel-Maxis FDI case was granted in March, 2006, by the then finance minister, even though he was competent to accord approval on project proposals only up to Rs 600 crore and beyond that it required the approval of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA).

"In the instant case, the approval for FDI of 800 million USD (over Rs 3,500 crore) was sought. Hence, CCEA was competent to grant approval.

"However, approval was not obtained from CCEA," it had alleged.

Karti is also being probed by the ED in another money laundering case pertaining to the INX media deal.

With PTI Inputs
NEW DELHI: A Special Cell of the Delhi Police on Friday arrested Indian Air Force officer Arun Marwah for allegedly spying for Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). A Group Captain, the IAF officer was arrested on charges of leaking classified details and documents of Indian operations to Pakistan.

It took around six months for ISI to honey-trap the officer into sharing the top-secret details.

The 51-year-old IAF officer, due to retire next month, used to train MARCOS, Garud and Para-Commandos. His son is an IAF fighter pilot.

Marwah was reportedly very active on social media, particularly on Facebook, where would upload videos and pictures of himself regularly.

Six months back he received two friend requests on Facebook, sources told Zee Media. Marwah readily accepted the requests.

What the IAF officer didn't know at the time, is that Pakistan's ISI agents had prepared two fake profiles of Kiran Randhawa and Mahima Patel. The users had images of glamorous fashion models.

Initially, the chats were limited to comments and likes.

Soon, the chats grew explicit in nature, with the agents using videos to lure Marwah. The ISI, who used proxy servers and VoIP to mask their digital footprint, started saving the chats.

Three months ago, they agents digitally honeytrapped and threatened to make the chats public.

Instead of informing authorities, Marwah succumbed to their demands. In mid-January, the IAF officer shared top-secret documents related to Defence Cyber Agency, Defence Space Agency and Special Operations with the agency on WhatsApp.

An IAF officer was arrested on the basis on a complaint by Indian Air Force authorities. The allegation is that IAF officer Arun Marwah leaked sensitive documents. It looks like a matter of honey-trap. An investigation is currently going on, said DCP Pramod Kushwaha.

Marwah has now confessed to leaking documents in front of special cell officers and IAF officers, sources told Zee.
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Friday start his three-nation tour to the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Palestine. Ahead of his visit, the Prime Minister on Thursday said that the Gulf and West Asia region is a key priority for India's foreign policy.

"I will be undertaking bilateral visits to Palestine, United Arab Emirates and Oman from February 9 to 12," Modi said in a pre-departure statement.

"I am happy to visit the Gulf and West Asian region for the fifth time since 2015. This region is a key priority in our external engagement," he said, adding India enjoys "vibrant multi-dimensional ties" with its countries.

According to authorities and business leaders, this visit of the Prime Minister signifies the special importance that India attaches to its ties with the oil-rich nation and will help in furthering cooperation in diplomatic, economic and security issues.

On Friday, Modi will leave for Amman from where he will transit to Ramallah on Saturday in what will be the first ever Prime Ministerial visit from India to Palestine.

"I am grateful to His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan for facilitating the transit," he said. "I look forward to meeting him in Amman on February 9."

During his historic visit to Palestine, Modi will hold a meeting with the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. He said he was looking forward to discussions with the Palestinian President and "reaffirming our support for the Palestinian people and the development of Palestine".

This will be the fourth meeting between Modi and Abbas after their meetings on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in 2015 and at the Paris climate summit later that year and the Palestinian President's visit to India last year.

The visit will reaffirm India's foreign policy position that its relationship with one country is independent of its ties with a third country and will de-hyphenate Israel and Palestine after Modi's standalone visit to Israel in July last year.

From Palestine, Modi will reach Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), on February 10 evening in what will be his second visit to the nation since his visit in August 2015.

"In UAE, I will hold talks with His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi," the Prime Minister said.

Modi will hold talks with the Crown Prince soon after his arrival following which several agreements will be signed. The next day, he will meet members of the Indian community and lay the foundation stone of a temple via video link.

From Abu Dhabi, Modi will proceed to Dubai where he will deliver the keynote address at the Sixth World Government Summit.

"At the invitation of the leadership of the UAE, I will be addressing the 6th edition of the World Government Summit in Dubai, where India is the guest country of honour.

"There will be interactions with leading UAE and Arab CEOs in Dubai on the vast economic opportunities in India and what more can be done together to increase business collaboration."

From Dubai, Modi will reach Muscat on February 11 in what will be the first prime ministerial from India to Oman in 10 years since the visit of then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2008.

"Oman is a close maritime neighbour with whom we enjoy excellent relations," the Prime Minister said, adding that India and Oman have thriving links rooted in centuries old people-to-people exchanges.

Modi will hold talks with Sultan Qaboos Bin Said Al Said and also meet Deputy Prime Minister for the Council of Ministers Sayyid Fahd and Deputy Prime Minister for International Relations and Cooperation Affairs Sayyid Asad.

"We will review bilateral cooperation and steps to further enhance our traditionally strong links," he said.

"On February 12, I will interact with leading businesspersons of Oman on developing stronger economic and business links with India," he added.

Modi said that both in the UAE and Oman, he will meet the large Indian diasporas that have made those countries their home.

"The Indian diaspora is a bridge of friendship between India and the Gulf countries," he said.

While the UAE is home to over three million expatriate Indians, the number is over 800,000 in Oman.

(With IANS inputs)
Bengaluru: The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) on Friday rejected a compromise formula presented by Maulana Salman Nadwi, one of its prominent members, on the peaceful resolution of the Ayodhya dispute.

Distancing itself from Nadvi, the AIMPLB said that it is his personal opinion and does not reflect the stand of the board.

Its his personal opinion and the Muslim board rejects it. There cant be any compromise on the mosque, added another member Kamaal Farooqui.

The reaction from the law board came after Nadwi, a prominent member of the AIMPLB today backed the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya.

Hinting at a peaceful solution to the Ram temple dispute, Maulana Salman Nadwi said, ''Islam allows you to shift a masjid (mosque) to another site, Ram Mandir should be constructed in Ayodhya to set an example of communal harmony.

Nadvi, who is the executive member of the AIMPLB, made these remarks following his meeting with the Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.

Nadvi also called for the construction of a university at the disputed site.

The temple already exists at the disputed site. Land should be offered at some other place where a mosque and a university could be constructed, Nadvi told a TV news channel.

Referring to the Ram temple dispute, Nadvi said that their priority is to join hearts of people and strengthen the secular fabric of the country.

On his meeting with the AoL founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Nadvi said, ''We held a meeting so that all issues around the matter especially that of Ram Temple and Babri Masjid are discussed and we look for a solution which sends message across the nation. Our priority is to join hearts of people."

When Court's verdict comes, it'll be constitutional move but Court doesn't join people's hearts. Decision is always in favor of one & against the other. We want that when both parties come out of Court they must be happy: Salman Nadwi, AIMPLB on meeting with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar pic.twitter.com/ZD1rJNCW6Q  ANI (@ANI) February 9, 2018

While suggesting that an out-of-the-court settlement is possible in the Ram temple-Babari Masjid dispute, Nadvi said the courts do not join people's heart as the verdict is always in favour of one and against the other.

"When court's verdict comes, it will be constitutional move but the court does not join people's hearts. A decision is always in favour of one and against the other. We want that when both parties come out of Court they must be happy," the AIMPLB executive member said.

However, Nadvi's open support to the construction of a Ram Temple did not go well with the AIMPLB.

The AIMPLB has renewed its effort to find an amicable solution to the Ayodhya dispute as the Supreme Court started hearing the case on Thursday.

Last year in November, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar grabbed headlines when he visited Lucknow and Ayodhya to mediate between Muslim and Hindu stakeholders in the long-pending dispute.

The six-member AIMPLB delegation -Maulana Salman Husaini Nadvi, UP Sunni Central Waqf Board chairperson Zufar Farooqui, former IAS officer Anis Ansari, advocate Imran Ahmed, Maulana Wasif Hasan Waizi of Teeli Wali Masjid and director of Objective Research and Development Athar Husain - had a three-hour meeting with the Art of Living founder on Thursday in Bengaluru.

On Thursday, the three-judge Supreme Court bench fixed March 14 as the next date of hearing in Ayodhya case as some of the documents and translations were yet to be filed before the apex court.

The Supreme Court was likely to start 'final hearings' on a batch of 13 petitions over the 2.7-acre disputed Ayodhya site that is claimed by both Hindus and Muslims.

The petitions before the judges relate to the 2010 verdict of the Allahabad High Court in the title suit that had been pending for nearly six decades.

The dispute before the court was whether the 2.7 acres of disputed land on which the Babri Masjid stood before it was demolished on December 6, 1992, belongs to the Sunni Central Waqf Board or to the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha.

Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute is a century old point of a tussle between the Hindus and Muslims.

The mosque was demolished by Hindu Karsevaks on December 6, 1992, in Ayodhya. The country witnessed massive riots in which over 2000 people were killed.

The Hindus claim that it is the birthplace of Lord Rama where a mosque was built in 1528-29 CE (935 AH) by Mir Baqi. Since the mosque was built on orders of the Mughal emperor Babur, it was named Babri Masjid.

Two FIRs were filed after the disputed structure was demolished - Crime no 197 deals with actual "demolition of the mosque by kar sevaks."

Crime no 198 named senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and others for 'communal' speeches before the demolition.

In May last year, a Special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Lucknow charged senior BJP leaders Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Union Minister Uma Bharti with criminal conspiracy in Babri Masjid demolition case.

They are facing trial in the conspiracy case almost 25 years after the Mughal-era mosque was demolished by kar sevaks. All the accused were granted bail by the Court but it rejected the discharge petition and said charges would be framed against them.

(With ANI inputs)
NEW DELHI: A group of opposition leaders led by Congress president Rahul Gandhi met President Ram Nath Kovind and asked for an SIT probe into the death of special CBI court judge BH Loya. The delegation of opposition leaders presented a memorandum calling for the probe that was signed by 114 MPs from 15 opposition parties.

"Many MPs from both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha felt discomfort over it, and also feel that the matter should be probed, and an SIT should be formed," Rahul Gandhi told reporters after the meeting. He added that the President had responded positively to the request.

"A judge died under suspicious circumstances. It will be an ode to him and his family that the investigation takes place properly We just want to have a proper investigation done by an independent structure that gives us the outcome," news agency ANI reported Rahul as having said.

Judge Loya's death in December 2014 had sparked controversy considering he was hearing the Sohrabuddin Sheikh and Tulsiram Prajapati cases. Following reports that he had died of a heart attack, opposition parties had raised questions saying the circumstances of his death seemed suspicious.

The Maharashtra government had only weeks ago submitted a report to the Supreme Court that ruled out foul play. This report had noted there was no evidence of anything untoward in the medical tests that had been carried out.

The family of judge Loya too had come out with a statement that they did not suspect any foul play, and requested that they be left alone.

However, opposition parties have continued to harbour doubts over the judge's death. The Supreme Court had the case transferred to itself from the Bombay High Court, and is hearing multiple petitions calling for a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to be formed to look into the matter.
Ramallah: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has said that India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi can play a major role in ending the conflict in the Middle East and establishing peace in the region.

The Palestinian President also said that he will discuss with PM Modi India's role in the Middle East peace process and the creation of a multilateral forum of negotiations to strike a final deal with Israel.

"We are receiving Prime Minister Modi in a historic visit that will demonstrate the strong ties and relations between the Palestinian people and the brotherly Indian people," Abbas said this in an interview to PTI.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday arrived in Jordan on the first leg of his tour of three West Asian countries, including Palestine, during which he would hold talks on deepening cooperation in strategic areas such as security and trade.

Landed in Amman. I thank His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan for facilitating the transit: PM @narendramodi pic.twitter.com/padkgjKAR9  PMO India (@PMOIndia) February 9, 2018

Upon his arrival in Jordan capital Amman, the Prime Minister was accorded a warm welcome by the Jordanian King.

PM Modi was also greeted with chants of ''Bharat Mata Ki Jai'' by the Indian community members as he arrived at Amman's Four Seasons Hotel.

The Palestinian Presidency, in a pre-arrival welcome statement, described the upcoming visit as "historic and significant".

Modi, the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Palestine, is expected to Ramallah on Saturday amid heightened tensions in the region after US President Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

The unilateral US decision to declare Jerusalem as the capital of Israel was challenged at the UN General Assembly where 128 nations, including India, voted to turn down the move as "null and void".

Though India has shied away from becoming a party in the Israel-Palestinian conflict, the Palestinian leader on several occasions has stressed on a possible role for New Delhi in the Middle East peace process.

"We will discuss the recent updates with Prime Minister Modi and the recent developments in the peace process, the bilateral relations, and the regional situation. And the possible role India can play in enhancing peace in the region, as well as discussing different economical aspects beyond the existing ties we already possess," Abbas said.

The 82-year-old Palestinian President described India as a "very respected country in the international arena" and hoped that New Delhi can have a possible role in creating a multilateral forum of negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis to reach a final agreement.

He said Modi's visit to the region reflects India's long-held position of supporting peace and stability in the region.

"We believe in the importance of a possible Indian role...To reach a final agreement based on international consensus and resolutions, in which India and other countries can be part of," Abbas said.

"The long Indian position of supporting the two-state solution is well known. India has supported the Palestinian cause throughout the years of conflict, and we rely on the Indian support in order to reach the independence of the Palestinian State," he added.

As Palestine works to establish an international multilateral mechanism of negotiations, the Palestinian leader stated that "India can play a role in this".

"The relations between India and Palestine are historical...This visit will culminate the historic ties between the two brotherly people, and will help in increasing and strengthening these ties that we possess," he stressed.

Prime Minister Modi would be skipping Israel during his forthcoming tour of Middle East in a clear message that New Delhi is de-hyphenating its ties with Israel and Palestine.

PM Modi had visited Israel last year in July in a standalone visit that had led to many analysts questioning the future of the Indo-Palestine ties.

When asked about India's growing engagement with Israel, an unperturbed Abbas said that "any state has the right to establish relations with other countries".

"We believe in the importance of our relationship with the brotherly Indian State, the support of India to the Palestinian people, and the relationship we possess with the Indian people, will not be affected by India's relations with any other State," he emphasised.

"India has recognised the State of Palestine in 1988, and we cannot forget the last Indian vote in favour of Palestine's rights in Jerusalem in the United Nations General Assembly, and all the political stands that India has taken to support the Palestinian rights in the international arena," Abbas said referring to India's vote at the UN.

India has consistently voted in favour of resolutions supporting the Palestinian cause at international forums, an issue that has bothered strategic partner Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently said that he was "disappointed" at the Indian vote at the UN but also expressed hope that there will be a possible change of heart over a period of time.

Appreciating India's assistance in strengthening Palestinian economy through executing several projects in the Palestinian areas, Abbas said that "he cannot forget" New Delhi's support and wishes to further discuss with Modi areas of cooperation in the economic sphere.

A number of MoUs are likely to be signed between the two sides during Modi's three-hour visit to Palestine under which India will provide funding for a number of projects in the fields of health, education, culture and women's empowerment.

"The Indian Government and its people have provided significant assistance and aid to the Palestinian people by establishing training centres, schools, and the necessary humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people under occupation in the West Bank and Gaza," Abbas noted.

This will be PM Modi's fourth meeting with Abbas.

They had earlier met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in 2015, at the Paris climate summit later that year and during the Palestine President's visit to India last year.

(With PTI inputs)
New Delhi: Amid a war of words with the Narendra Modi-led BJP government over India's Rafale fighter jet deal with France, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on Friday clarified on various defence deals agreements reached under the previous UPA governments.

The Congress today released the then Defence Minister AK Antony's reply on the purchase of Mirage-2000 Warplanes in Lok Sabha in 2013. While asking the incumbent Narendra Modi government to share details of the highly 'secretive' Rafale deal, Rahul also sought to know from the ruling side the "purchase price" and other minutest details of each defence deals signed by it.

Rahul also addressed Finance Minister Arun Jaitley as Mr Jaitlie in his tweet and asked Defence Minister to tell the nation how much each Rafale jet cost.

Dear Mr Jaitlie, You said the UPA never released prices of Defence purchases? To nail your lie, here are 3 Parliamentary replies by the UPA with full transparency on pricing. Now do ask our Raksha Mantri to tell India how much each RAFALE jet cost.#DealMeinKuchKalaHai pic.twitter.com/txb2Cc1BHh  Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) February 9, 2018

Here is the full text of the clarification issued by the Congress party on the various defence deals signed during the UPA tenure:-

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF DEFENCE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO 2822 ANSWERED ON:15.03.2010

AIRCRAFT CARRIER ADMIRAL GORSHKOV MANISH TEWARI

(a) The initial price that was arrived at between India and Russia for the purchase and sale respectively of the aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov;

(b)The number of times since the arrival at the initially negotiated price there has been an escalation in the price of the aircraft carrier;

(c)The final price of the Admiral Gorshkov that the Government would have to pay;

(d)Whether even after the cost escalations that have taken place there is still a price escalation clause in the contract re-negotiated between the two countries;

(e)the original delivery schedule of Admiral Gorshkov along with the amended delivery schedule of the aircraft carrier;

(f)The time by which it would be inducted into the Indian Navy;

(g)Whether any responsibility has been fixed on those responsible for this cost escalation and delay; and

(h)If so, the details thereof? Will the Minister of DEFENCE be pleased to state:-

ANSWER

MINISTER OF DEFENCE (SHRI A K ANTONY)

(a) to (h): A statement is attached.

STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (h) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2822 FOR ANSWER ON 15.3.2010

Contracts and supplementary agreements comprising repair and re-equipping, logistic support, training, etc were concluded with the Russian side for the acquisition of the aircraft carrier, ex-Admiral Gorshkov, in January 2004 at a cost of US Dollars 974 million.

The Russian side submitted a revised Master Schedule indicating a delay in the project and an increase in price for repair and re-equipping of the aircraft carrier, due to increase in the scope of work not originally envisaged.

The Government approved the proposal for conducting negotiations with the Russian side for finalizing a revised Repair and Re-equipping Contract and other related contracts/agreements affected due to delay in the project and Additional Works projected.

The negotiations have since been concluded by the Contract Negotiation Committee(CNC). The revised cost of USD 2330 million has been approved by the Government. Prices for the works to be carried out under the revised contracts/agreements are fixed.

The aircraft carrier was originally scheduled to be delivered in August 2008. The ship's delivery is re-scheduled to December 2012. Re-scheduling of the ship's delivery and revision in its cost were necessitated due to the emergence of Additional Works projected, the detailed agreed scope of trials, etc.

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF DEFENCE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO 941 ANSWERED ON:04.03.2013

UPGRADATION OF AIRCRAFT KALIKESH NARAYAN SINGH DEO

(a)whether the cost of upgrades is included in the Life Cycle cost method of evaluation;

(b)whether there is a mechanism in place to ensure that the vendor does not arbitrarily quote a huge amount at the time of upgrade and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefore; and

(c)the details of percentage of initial acquisition cost at which the contract for the Mirage Upgrade Programme was signed?

Will the Minister of DEFENCEbe pleased to state:-ANSWER

MINISTER OF DEFENCE (SHRI A.K ANTONY)

(a) & (b): The need to upgrade is driven by the changes in the operational requirements, changes in technology and will apply equally to all vendors. The Total Acquisition Cost model being followed by Ministry of Defence does not include upgrade costs as these are not predictable, quantifiable and verifiable at the time of making the procurement decision. In any case, major upgrade decisions are taken in a competitive environment and suitably negotiated, as and when the requirement arises.

(c) The last contracted price for each Mirage-2000 aircraft in the year 2000 was '133 crore. The contract for the upgrade was signed in 2011, wherein, the cost of upgrading one aircraft was '167 crore. Applying an escalation of 3.5% per annum as per the Pricing Policy Review Committee (PPRC), to the contracted cost of the year 2000, it works out to be '195 crore at 2011 levels. Thus, the upgrade has been undertaken at 85% of the escalated cost of the aircraft. However, this upgrade programme also includes fitment of advanced multi-mode-multi-target radar, reconfigured glass cockpit and advance avionics, state-of-the-an Electronic Warfare system and capability to launch advanced missiles.

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF DEFENCE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO: 2318 ANSWERED ON D9.08.2010 PROCUREMENT OF SUKHOI AIRCRAFT

ASADUDDIN OWAISI

(a)whether the Cabinet Committee on Security has cleared the proposal for purchase of 42 Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter aircraft from Russia;

(b)if so, the details thereof, the total cost involved therein and the delivery schedule of the aircraft; (c)whether due tendering process was held for procurement of these aircraft; (d)if so, the details thereof; (e)whether the aircraft is proposed to be produced indigenously under the agreement; and

(f)if so, the details thereof?

Will the Minister of DEFENCEbe pleased to state:-ANSWER

MINISTER OF DEFENCE (SHRI A.K. ANTONY)

(a) & (b): The Defence Acquisition Council has accepted a proposal for the procurement of 42 Sukhoi-30 MKI aircraft from M/s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, India.The proposal is being further progressed for submitting to the Cabinet Committee on Security. The estimated cost of the project is Rs.20107.40 crores and the aircraft is planned to be delivered during 2014-2018.

(c) to (f): The proposal is being progressed as a repeat order from M/s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, India under the Defence Procurement Procedure-2008.
New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah on Friday lashed out at Congress president Rahul Gandhi, calling his style of politics undemocratic.

Amit Shah ji said Rahul ji's style of politics is undemocratic. Hence (he makes) such kind of disruptions during the speech of PM Modi, said BJP minister Ananth Kumar, who attended the BJP Parliamentary Party meet earlier today.

The BJP held its parliamentary board meeting at the party headquarters in Delhi's 11 Ashoka Road earlier today. The meeting comes two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's explosive speech in the Parliament.

The breakfast meeting was attended by PM Modi, Shah, and other top party leaders including Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and Lal Krishna Advani.

In his address to party members, PM Modi asked everyone to focus on farmers and the middle class ahead of the crucial state polls in 2018 and national elections in 2019.

Rafale deal ke main points bata chuke hain aur batayenge. Lekin har ek component ko lekar charcha karna kitna uchit hoga desh hith mein? ye baat Rashtriya Adhyaksh ji ne baithak mein kaha (We've mentioned few points on the Rafale deal and will share more facts. But will discussion on each component be good for the nation? The National president said this during the meeting), said Kumar, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister.

Minutes after PM Modi's fiery speech in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, Rahul Gandhi posed a set of question to the BJP-led Centre on Wednesday. PM Modi spoke for an hour, but spoke nothing on Rafale deal, said Gandhi.

Responding to Gandhi's jibe, the government 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.
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court will on February 12 hear the plea filed by Army Major Aditya Kumar's father Lieutenant Colonel Karamveer Singh seeking to quash of the FIR against his son. Major Aditya Kumar is one of the armymen who has been named in the FIR in connection with the firing in Shopian in Jammu and Kashmir.

Lieutenant Colonel Singh has said that his son, a Major in the 10 Garhwal Rifles, has been "wrongly and arbitrarily" named in the FIR. He added that the incident relates to an Army convoy on bonafide military duty in an area under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), which was isolated by an "unruly and deranged" mob which was pelting stones causing damage to military vehicles.

In the plea, it has been said that the intention of Major Aditya was to save Army personnel and property and the fire was inflicted "only to impair and provide a safe escape from a savage and violent mob engaged in terrorist activity".

The plea also stated that the unruly mob was asked to disperse and not obstruct military but when the situation reached beyond control, they forces issued a warning to the mob to disperse.

The plea also says that when the unruly behaviour of the "unlawful assembly" got hold of a Junior Commissioned Officer and were in the process of lynching him to death, warning shots were fired to disperse them.

Three civilians were killed in firing by Army patrol party in Ganowpora village in Shopian on January 27, when a stone-pelting mob attacked an army convoy in the village. A 10-year-old boy died in a hospital on Thursday after he was injured in an explosion on January 25 when a debris clearing operation was in progress in the Shaigam village.
Bengaluru: BS Yeddyurappa, the BJP strongman in Karnataka, on Friday took a dig at Congress chief Rahul Gandhi as the latter began his party's assembly election campaign in the poll-bound southern state.

BS Yeddyurappa, who is BJP's Karnataka unit president, also took to Twitter to welcome the Congress president by calling him an "election Hindu".

The former Karnataka chief minister said that the arrival of Rahul Gandhi in Karnataka will only bring good fortunes for the saffron party.

He further said that Rahul Gandhi's campaign in Karnataka will only fulfil BJP's dream of a "Congress Mukt Karnataka".

"I heartily welcome #ElectionHindu @OfficeOfRG to Ballari. The #Congress President will fulfil our dream of a #CongressMuktKarnataka," Yeddyurappa said in a tweet.

Stating that Congress has faced huge setbacks and BJP has won wherever Rahul Gandhi has campaigned in the past, BSY said, "His arrival is like arrival of good fortune for BJP."

In a similar fashion, ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's public rally here on February 4, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, in a welcome tweet, had asked him to find time to resolve the inter-state Mahadayi river water row with neighbouring Goa.

During his four-day visit, the first after being made All India Congress Committee chief, Rahul Gandhi will be visiting temples, mutts and a Dargah, along with addressing public meetings and conducting a road show by bus.

He is also expected to have corner meetings, interact with farmer union representatives and attend a tribal rally, among other things.

Assembly elections in Karnataka are scheduled early this year.

(With PTI inputs)
Mumbai: The Mumbai Police on Friday arrested noted Venture Capitalist and managing partner of Seedfund Mahesh Murthy in connection with a molestation case.

A Delhi-based woman had accused Murthy of sexually harassing and stalking her on social media.

Murthy, who is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Digital Agency Pinstorm, was arrested in Khar in connection with the complaint filed by the woman.

According to the police, the victim had approached the National Commission of Women in 2017 following which a case was registered against Murthy on December 30, 2017, and he was finally arrested this evening.

"We have arrested him under sections 354 (D) (stalking) and 509 (word, act or gesture to outrage modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code and under relevant sections of the Information Technology Act," Ramchandra Jadhav, Senior Inspector, Khar Police Station, was quoted as saying by media reports.

The NCW had written to Maharashtra's Director General of Police regarding the alleged use of objectionable, derogatory and sexual remarks and obscene signs by the investor on social media platforms against the complainant and several other women.

Though Murthy had tendered an apology for some of his objectionable posts, the NCW had requested the DGP to personally intervene in the matter and take strict action against him as per law.

The NCW said that such acts not only amount to outraging the modesty of women but also attract action for cybercrime.

(With Agency inputs)
SAMBALPUR: Locals in Sambalpur in Odisha vandalised the Ainthapali Police Station and set it on fire after the death of an accused in jail. The accused who died in jail was behind bars in connection with charges of theft.

The prisoner had been detained by police on Thursday night.

Confirming the incident, Sambalpur SP said that nearly 200 people had gathered outside the station. "There was a custodial death last night. 150-200 people gheraoed the station and burnt it down," Sambalpur SP Sanjeev Arora said.

He also said that following the incident police forces were deployed to maintain law and order. He added that the situation has been brought under control.
New Delhi: Actor Amitabh Bachchan arrived at the Mumbai's Lilavati Hospital on Friday for a routine checkup.

The actor had been complaining about shoulder and spine pain for some time and therefore went for a routine checkup to the hospital. As per reports, he had arrived at the hospital at around 6:30 pm today and a team of doctors is evaluating his health.

However, there has been no update about the condition of his health by the hospital authorities so far.

Early today, the teaser of his film '102 Not Out' with co-star Rishi Kapoor was released. In the film, he will be seen with Rishi Kapoor after a span of 27 years. The movie is based on a Gujarati play by the same name and is touted as the most unusual father and son love story.

The actor had shared the first teaser of the film on his Twitter account.

Big B had returned early in the morning after an all-night-shoot for 'Thugs of Hindustan' and shared it with his fans by posting a tweet, "T 2609 - Just back from an all night shoot for TOH .. now to bed and slumber .. love."

T 2609 - Just back from an all night shoot for TOH .. now to bed and slumber .. love pic.twitter.com/9eOtVN7syZ  Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) February 8, 2018

Bachchan, who has a history of stomach ailments, was operated in February 2012 at the Seven Hills hospital. He had complained of acute abdominal pain then and there were even chances of him undergoing a second operation, which fortunately did not take place.

In March last year, he was rushed to a hospital again after he complained about ill health. He informed about his well being after coming out of the hospital through his Twitter handle.

In 2015, he made the startling revelation that when he contracted the Hepatitis B virus while undergoing treatment after meeting with an accident on the sets of Coolie in 1982. He had since lost 75 percent of his liver due to cirrhosis.
New Delhi: Actor Samantha Ruth Prabhu, who recently set the internet ablaze by flaunting her toned body in a bikini, was trolled and body shamed by many on the social media.

In a picture shared on her Instagram account, Samantha is seen relaxing on a hammock in a black and pink two-piece swimsuit. Visible in the photo is a sea in the background, coconut trees and resort cottages and her 'wedding ring'.

In the photo, Samantha appeared to be enjoying the sea tides and is apparently looking at them while she got clicked. The picture, however, did not seem to go down well with many who slammed her for 'indecent clothing'.

Among the trolls, there were few who even questioned her choice to pose in a swimsuit despite being married.

Some of the comment that read, "We dont have any right to enter in her personal life But in public forums as a Akkineni's daughter in law these type of pics uploading in public forums that is so so so embarrassing to us."

"Not even Bollywood actresses behave like this after marriage," read another post from a troll.

However, looked like the actress was not in a mood to take things lying down as she shot back at them with a perfect reply. "Well... now I had to fo and put up a quote .. because my previous post didnt really scream  I WRITE MY RULES YOU SHOULD WRITE MINE YOURS !!

The actor married Telugu star Naga Chaitanya, son of Telugu superstar Nagarjuna Akkineni, in October 2017. On the work front, she has two releases lined up in March  'Mahanati', a film based on yesteryear actress Savithri and 'Rangasthalam', a period love story set in a rural backdrop.
Hyderabad: The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) on Friday said that the land dedicated for masjid (mosque) cannot be sold, gifted or in any way alienated, reiterating its earlier stand on the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi dispute.

The board said this following a meeting of its working committee here.

In a statement issued later, the AIMPLB said, ''the board once again emphasises the basic level of Shariah that the land dedicated for Masjid cannot be sold, gifted or in any way alienated."

If once dedicated, it vests in Allah. All the attempts to negotiate the settlements in past have been infructuous & there is no proposal offering settlement without sacrificing, the basic tenet has never been put off the board: Asaduddin Owaisi pic.twitter.com/jpLzpdJIwZ  ANI (@ANI) February 9, 2018

The statement was released by Maulana Umrain Mehfooz Rehmani, secretary of All India Muslim Personal Law Board.

He was accompanied by AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi, who read out the statement in English.

However, the two didn't take any questions related to the Ayodhya dispute.

Rehmani, however, said the board will abide by the Supreme Court's decision in the matter.

"The All India Muslim Personal Law Board reiterates its resolution dated December 1990 and January 1993 and once again emphasises the basic level of Shariah that the land dedicated for Masjid cannot be sold, gifted or in any way alienated. If once dedicated, it vests in Allah. All the attempts to negotiate the settlements in past have been infructuous and there is no proposal offering settlement without sacrificing the basic tenet has ever been put before the Board," the statement said.

The All India Muslim Personal Board (AIMPB) reiterates its resolution of December 1990 & January 93 & once again emphasises the basic level of Shariah that land dedicated for Masjid cannot be sold, gifted, or in any way, alienated: Asaduddin Owaisi pic.twitter.com/JlN8vigFU8  ANI (@ANI) February 9, 2018

The three-day 26th plenary session of the board began here this evening.

The Supreme Court, which has started final hearings on the Ayodhya dispute, said yesterday that the case was purely a "land dispute" and will be dealt with in the normal course.

A 2010 verdict of the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court, in a 2:1 majority ruling, had ordered the disputed land be partitioned equally among three parties -- the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla.

(With PTI inputs)
LONDON: Scotland police had a bizarre encounter with... wait for it... a stuffed toy.

Yep, you heard it right.

Cops in Scotland ended up in a 45-minute standoff with a large stuffed tiger.

The incident took place after a farmer based out of Peterhead town in Scotland's Aberdeenshire council, called in the authorities thinking a big cat had invaded his cowshed.

During a housewarming party at his place, farmer Bruce Grubb went out to check on his cows when he felt he saw a "tiger" on a ramp.

Following the farmer's panic call to the authorities, a large number of units, including an armed response team, were deployed on spot.

Eventually, they realized it was a toy.

Until you know exactly what you are dealing with, every option has to be considered, Peterhead Inspector George Cordiner told news agency Associated Press.
PARIS: France wants air strikes in Syria to end and calls for the opening of humanitarian corridors as soon as possible, the French defence minister said on Friday.

"We are very preoccupied and are monitoring the situation on the ground very carefully. The air strikes need to end," Florence Parly said on France Inter radio, giving no further details.

"Civilians are the targets, in Idlib and in the east of Damascus. This fighting is absolutely unacceptable," she added.

The Syrian civil war, now entering its eighth year, has killed hundreds of thousands of people and driven more than 11 million from their homes, while drawing in regional countries and global powers supporting client factions on the ground.

The U.S.-led coalition and its local allies in Syria struck pro-government forces with deadly air and artillery fire to repel "an unprovoked attack" near the Euphrates, the coalition said on Thursday.

The incident underscores the potential for further conflict in Syria`s oil-rich east, where the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias holds swathes of land after its offensive against Islamic State.
NEW DELHI: India was the first stop of special envoy of the Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, clarified the Indian Ocean nation.

The clarification comes from Maldives' High Commissioner to India, a day after the Maldivian President sent his special envoys to three 'friendly nations' - China, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, amid a political crisis brewing in the nation.

On Thursday, there were reports that President Gayoom sent excluded India from sending his special envoys, apparently in an attempt to discuss the ongoing emergency in his country.

In a statement, Ahmed Mohamed said, "The first stop of special envoy of the President was India. Foreign Minister of Maldives Dr Mohamed Asim, the designated Special envoy of the President, was scheduled to be in India on February 8, but the visit was cancelled on the request of the Government of India."

"The Government of the Maldives was informed that the said dates were not suitable for India`s leadership," it added.

Reacting to the recent development, sources in the Indian government said that due protocol was not followed as India was not informed of the purpose of sending the envoy.

Moreover, Asim's counterpart External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is on a visit to Saudi Arabia and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a three-nation tour from tomorrow.

"Also we have not seen any real action on the concerns stated by the international community and India. Democratic institutions and the Judiciary continue to be undermined and concerns ignored, these issues need to be properly addressed," sources said.

On Wednesday, the Minister of Economic Development, Mohamed Saeed, departed for China and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Mohamed Asim, went to Pakistan, while on Thursday, the Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture, Dr Mohamed Shainee departed for Saudi Arabia.

"Members of the cabinet, on the direction of President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, will visit friendly nations of the Maldives and provide updates on the current situation," an official statement said.

On Monday, former President of Maldives Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Chief Justice Saeed, Supreme Court Justice Ali Hameed and Judicial administrator Hassan Saeed were arrested by the security forces after Gayoom declared a state of emergency in the country. The arrests indicated that the crackdown on the opposition intensified.

The country's National Defence Force also stormed inside the Supreme Court (SC) premises in Male on Tuesday.

The Maldivian capital remained tense as opposition leaders across were being rounded up and placed under detention as Yameen, who has been refusing to obey SC's orders directing him to release nine prominent leaders from prison, has given sweeping powers to security forces.

Last week, the Maldivian Supreme Court acquitted former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed, former Maldivian Vice President Ahmed Adeeb and ordered the reinstatement of the 12 other parliamentary members.

Massive protests had erupted after President Gayoom refused to follow the Supreme Court's ruling to release the key political prisoners and reinstate the 12 MPs.

On February 1, the Supreme Court had ruled that all politicians opposed to President Gayoom, including Nasheed, should be released. It had further said that their trials were "politically influenced".

The high-profile prisoners also include self-exiled former President Mohamed Nasheed and former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb.

The government has so far refused to implement the order, saying it had concerns about releasing those who were convicted for "terrorism, graft, embezzlement and treason".

Nasheed, the country's first democratically elected leader, took office in 2008. He was ousted in a coup in February 2012.

The country has seen political unrest since he was sentenced to 13 years in jail in 2015 on terrorism charges. He was given political asylum in the UK in 2016.

(With ANI inputs)
NEW DELHI: After a public embrace of Israel as a strategic partner, Prime Minister Narendra is heading to the Palestinian territories and the Gulf on Friday to bolster long-standing political and economic ties.

India was one of the earliest champions of the Palestinian cause but in recent years turned to Israel for high-tech military equipment and anti-terrorism cooperation.

Under Modi, whose nationalist party sees Israel as a natural ally against Islamist extremism, ties have flourished. Modi made the first trip to Israel by an Indian prime minister last year followed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu`s visit to India last month.

But Indian officials said India continued to support the Palestinian cause and that Modi`s visit is aimed at helping build up the Palestinians` capacity in the health, information technology and education areas.

"We have de-hyphenated our relations with Palestine and Israel and now we see them both as mutually independent and exclusive and as part of this policy the prime minister is undertaking this visit," B. Bala Bhaskar, a joint secretary in the Indian foreign ministry, said.

The two sides are building a India-Palestinian technology park in Ramallah, the Palestinians seat of government, which will develop IT expertise and generate employment.

Modi is due to arrive in Jordan later on Friday and travel to Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on Saturday.

During his visit to Israel last year, he did not travel to the Palestinian headquarters as is usually the case with visiting leaders.

"Looking forward to my discussions with President Mahmoud Abbas and reaffirming our support for the Palestinian people and the development of Palestine," Modi said in a Twitter post.

India was among more than 120 countries to vote in favour of a resolution in December calling for the United States to drop its recent recognition of Jerusalem as Israels capital.

But the scale of India`s security and commercial ties with Israel dwarfs the engagement with the Palestinians. Israel is among India`s top three arms suppliers, doing business worth millions of dollars each year.

Modi and Netanyahu are now pushing for cooperation in agriculture, energy and cybersecurity in addition to defence.

Modi will also travel to the United Arab Emirates, from where India gets half of its oil, and to Oman, with which India`s navy has built close security ties.

The Gulf is home to nine million Indians who remit $35 billion home each year, sustaining millions of families.

The UAE committed an investment of $75 billion in India when Modi visited in 2015 and the two sides will be looking to advance that goal, the foreign ministry said.


musings, rants, rambles, and typographical errors from a toronto librarian. Now with vinyl.
All attacks were focused on the emplacements located in Donetsk region

Ukraine's Defence Ministry reported four attacks on the government forces' positions in Donbas. Dmytro Hutsulyak, the ministry's spokesman said this at a briefing at Ukraine Crisis Media Centre in Kyiv on Friday.

According to him, the Russian mercenaries shelled Ukrainian positions in Donetsk region, using mortars of various calibers. The emplacements near Vodyane, Pisky and Shyrokyne took fire.

No attacks occurred in Luhansk region over the last 24 hours.

Hutsulyak also confirmed that Ukraine's border guards sustained a small arms attack from the territory of Russia. According to the press center for counter-terrorism operation HQ, 'at about 12.30 p.m. Wednesday, someone opened fire from Ushakovka in Russia. It was a provocative attack, which involved the small arms fire; the targets were the Ukrainian servicemen who protect the country's state border. No victims reported. The servicemen never returned fire'.

The counter-terrorism operation HQ added this was a rude violation of the state border safety - not to mention the attack on the Ukrainian servicemen.
Open source

The illegal armed formation of Russian mercenaries used Minsk-banned 120 mm mortars to shell positions of Ukraine's government forces. Four shellings have occurred since Thursday morning; one serviceman suffered a combat wound in action.

The enemy attacked Shyrokyne, Pisky and Vodyane (all in Mariupol sector, Donetsk region); in Pisky and Vodyane, they opened fire from 82 mm mortars.
Open source

Militants forbade public officials to enter the territory of Ukraine, Ukrainian Army HQ reported on Facebook.



'A travel ban for so-called public officials and increase of forbidden zones around strategic objects, where artillery systems and other heavy arms of the opponent are concealed, became another cynical action against the rights and freedoms of Ukrainians who live on the territory of the occupied regions of Donetsk and Luhansk,' the message said.



Alexander Hug, Principal Deputy Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine said that OSCE plans to cover the topic of the ban concerning the movement of certain population categories to the occupied Donbas in his interview for Deutsche Welle.



We have acknowledged this announcement as it was in the media. Moreover, we have spoken with citizens, who expressed concern. There is an uncertainty in terms of the implementation of such bans. We will monitor that and publish certain facts. The freedom of movement has already become complicated for the citizens, Hug said. He added that militants who control the part of the Donbas region forbade some population categories to leave this territory.



In addition, illegal armed groups have used multiple missile launchers against the Ukrainian anti-terrorist forces - the weapons prohibited by the Minsk agreement while hiding behind military unit training on the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, near Debaltseve, Alchevsk, Novoazovsk, Boykovskye (Telmanove), the Army HQ reported.



It was noted that earlier in February, militants of the illegal armed units became more aggressive towards the local residents.
Since the beginning of the day, illegal armed groups have violated the "silence regime" six times

Militants continued to use mortars of various calibers to shell the positions the Ukrainian Armed Forces during the Friday in Donbas conflict area. As a result of the attacks, one Ukrainian soldier was wounded. This was reported by Ukraines Army press center in Facebook.

"In total, from the beginning of the day, illegal armed groups violated the silence regime six times, and one Ukrainian soldier was injured due to the enemy shelling," the report says.

In Luhansk area, militants from grenade launchers and large-caliber machine guns fired on the Ukrainian positions around Novhorod. Militants also shelled our positions from grenade launchers near Luhanske, and from small arms - they violated the truce near Zaitseve.

"In the Donetsk direction, the enemy used 120- and 82-mm mortars near Pisky, and from small arms fired at our strong points near the Slavne," the report said.

As it was reported earlier the Austrian government considers the option to send the peacekeepers to Donbas if the UN deploys its peacekeeping mission there. Sebastian Kurz, the Austrian Chancellor, said this during the joint press conference with Ukrainian leader Petro Poroshenko.

The Ukrainian leader visited Austria for negotiations with the country's leaders. Petro Poroshenko and chairman of the Austrian Parliament Wolfgang Sobotka discussed a wide range of political issues, including the situation in Donbas and the importance of anti-Russian sanctions.
The Austrian Chancellor met with Ukrainian leader Petro Poroshenko during his visit to Vienna

Open source

The Austrian government considers the option to send the peacekeepers to Donbas if the UN deploys its peacekeeping mission there. Sebastian Kurz, the Austrian Chancellor, said this during the joint press conference with Ukrainian leader Petro Poroshenko.

'The government will support this idea. I understand a lot needs to be done for that to happen. If the Ukrainian side asks Austria to join or render any assistance, we'll be ready to discuss it with the Defense Ministry,' the Chancellor said.

The Ukrainian leader visited Austria for negotiations with the country's leaders. Petro Poroshenko and chairman of the Austrian Parliament Wolfgang Sobotka discussed a wide range of political issues, including the situation in Donbas and the importance of anti-Russian sanctions.

The president also thanked Austrian leaders for humanitarian assistance, which is supposed to help cope with the consequences of the Russian aggression in Donbas, Poroshenkos press service said.

Besides, the head of the Ukrainian state urged the Austrian parliament to recognize the Holodomor of 1932-1933 as the genocide of the Ukrainian nation.
The campaign will continue in many airports of the world today

The campaign 'Waiting in vain' in the support of the illegally detained Ukrainians in Russia began in Prague Airport, the Czech Republic on February 7 as the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine reported on Facebook.

This campaign will continue on February 7-8 in many airports of the world. Otakar van Gemund, the Czech activist is the initiator of the flash mob for the three years in a row.

The campaign is dedicated to the birthday of Roman Sushchenko, the Ukrainian journalist.

The journalist of Ukrinform was detained in Moscow on September 30, 2016. He was accused of espionage. Since that time, Sushchenko has been kept in jail. Ukraine has repeatedly appealed to the Russian Federation with a demand to immediately release the journalist.

The Moscow City Court extended the arrest of Sushchenko for two months on January 24.
Foreign Ministry representatives met in Uzhgorod for bilateral consultations; the Ukrainian side claims they reached agreement on this matter

Hungarian Foreign Ministry denied reaching any agreement regarding the education law passed by the Ukrainian Parliament last autumn. Hungary's Tamas Mentzer and Ukraine's Vasyl Bodnar met in Uzhgorod, western Ukraine for bilateral consultations. While the Ukrainian side described the situation as 'having reached the consensus on major positions of settling the situation,' the Hungarian representative refuted this.

'No agreement made; Ukraine still avoids fulfilling recommendations of the Venice Commission,' Mentzer said. He added that the stance of the Hungarian government remains the same: Ukraine cannot implement the law on education before it settles the issues with national minorities, including those with Hungarians living in Zakarpattya region, the westernmost region of Ukraine, which borders.

Earlier, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said that his office demands legal guarantees from Ukraine that the application of a new law on education in Ukraine will begin after reaching an agreement with the Hungarian national minority in Transcarpathia. This was stated in the message on the Hungarian MFA website.

"Ukraine should not enact the education law, which it was not previously agreed with representatives of the Hungarian national minority. Promises are not sufficient, we need legal guarantees, " Szijjarto wrote.

The Hungarian diplomat once again claims that by adopting the law, Ukraine violated international norms on the protection of national minorities.

Szijjarto threat that Hungary will reserve the right to block all international initiatives of Ukraine within the EU and NATO, if the legal guarantees are not granted.

As we reported the Venice Commission did not support Hungarys accusations of infringement of ethnic minorities rights by the recently adopted education law in Ukraine.

The new law on education was signed by Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko on September 25. In particular, it introduces a 12-year-long school program and limits the number of subjects taught in the languages of national minorities. This particular decision evoked outrage in Moldova, Romania, Russia, and Hungary. Budapest even threatened to slow down the process of Ukraines integration with the EU.
The rated capacity amounts to 25-30 Megawatts; the project is to be implemented within two years

Upgrade Energy, the Belgian company plans to construct a powerful solar plant in Zhytomyr region, northern Ukraine. This was mentioned in the message on the website of Zhytomyr state regional administration.

'So nice of this company to visit the market of Ukraine's solar energy and specifically that of Zhytomyr region', governor Ihor Gundych said.

The plant will be built on the premises of Melenivsky rural council, Korosten' District, Zhytomyr region. It is to create 45 new jobs.

The rated capacity of the station amounts to 25-30 Megawatts.

Vermiere Raf, the CEO of Upgrade Energy said it was his first experience investing into Ukraine.

The plant is to be ready within the next two years.
The Foreign Minister of Belarus Vladimir Makei said that the country is ready to send its peacekeepers to Donbas to settle the situation in the region. This was reported by Izvestia agency.

Additional way to help the conflict sides could be introduction of the peacekeepers to Donbas, of course Belarusian as well. Our president talked about this in 2014 and we are not refusing our words, Makei said.

Makei stressed that there is no place for sanctions in the international relations.

Because Belarus in todays circumstances continues to develop relations with both Russia and the West, we often hear questions like Whose side are you on  with them or with us? This way, we are being pushed to the false and unacceptable for us choice. After all, there is nothing strange that we want to be partners of both, our eastern and western partners, the minister said.

As it was reported earlier the military-technical cooperation between Ukraine and Belarus has decreased due to the status of Minsk as a platform for peaceful resolution of the Donbas conflict, as head of State military-industrial committee of Belarus Oleg Dvigalev said.

At the same time, he said that cooperation with Russia as to the state defence order has increased compared to 2016, as he told Soiuznoe gosudarstvo. He also called the cooperation with Russia close and effective and noted that Belarusian enterprises participate in Russian military equipment exhibitions.
Decree of the President of Ukraine comes into force from the day of its publication

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko put into effect the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine of January 26, 2018 "On additional measures to counter information aggression of the Russian Federation." The relevant decree of 9 February 2018 was made public on Friday on the presidents website.

The decision of the Security Council, put into effect by this decree, is attached, but for official use.

The decree of the President of Ukraine comes into force from the day of its publication. Control over the implementation of the relevant decision is entrusted to Councils Secretary Oleksandr Turchynov.

As it was reported earlier the European Union plans to strengthen the fight against Russian propaganda and allocate one million euros for these purposes. The source claims that the funds for combating Russian propaganda will be budgeted for 2018-2020. It is about allocating 1 million euros annually.

The information on the financing of the media company from Russia appeared after the head of the European Council Donald Tusk at the Eastern Partnership summit stated that one of the main problems of Europe are cyberattacks, fake news and hybrid war.
The compensation is in order due to the cruel conditions of the transfer in the prison transport

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) obliged Russia to pay out 2, 000 euros to Hennady Afanasyev, the former political prisoner of Kremlin as Afanasyev reported on Facebook.

'The ECHR completely confirmed the truth of my words and testimony on my destiny and incarceration conditions in Kremlin detention facility and on the events that took place during 767 days of my detention', Afanasyev wrote.

At the same time, he called the compensation in the sum of 2, 000 euros despisable and he thinks that the ECHR bought Russian government.

'The ECHR violated the convention itself. It should offer Ukraine to speak out on the subject matter of my complaints because I am the citizens of Ukraine but it did not happen', Afanasyev added.

It is noted that the defense of Afanasyev filed two complaints on the cruel conditions of the transfer in the prison transport of the Federal Penal Service of Russia experienced by Afanasyev.

Ernest Mezak, the human right defender who filed the appeal of Afanasyev to the ECHR specified on Facebook that on appeal concerned the transfer of the prisoner by railway to the prison camp in Syktyvkar and another concerned the transfer from Syktyvkar to Ukhra for the examination by an eye specialist and back in 2015.

The issue is about the extremely low square of placement, the absence of the possibility to lie down or stand up in the cell, sleep deprivation by the regime events, the absence of the WC, penetration of the cold air from the streets to the cell and other violations.

According to him, the appeals were submitted in April-May 2016. Later the Russian government did not dispute the mentioned fact and claimed about the overstated sum of the psychological damage. Mezak sent a letter to the ECHR where he asked to collect 7, 000 and 5, 000 euros of the compensation.

Hennadiy Afanasyev and Yuriy Soloshenko returned in Ukraine after the Russian detention on June 14, 2016. they were exchanged on Olena Glishchinskaya and Vitaliy Didenko, Ukrainian reporters who had been both charged with separatism and sent to prison.

Ukrainian activist Hennadiy Afanasyev was detained in Crimea in May 2014. Russian law enforcers arrested him on charges of terrorism.
Developments in the combat zone in Eastern Ukraine, Winter Olympics 2018, new complications in Ukrainian-Polish relations and other diplomatic events, measles and diphtheria - the whole week on one page

Developments in the combat zone in Eastern Ukraine

Winter Olympics 2018

New complications in Ukrainian-Polish relations

Other diplomatic events

Measles and diphtheria

#CloseEast112

Developments in the combat zone in Eastern Ukraine

This week, the combat situation in Donbas is best described by OSCE reports and an attack on Ukrainian border guards from the territory of the Russian Federation.

Over the week, the OSCE have reported hundreds of explosions and presence of military vehicles in the combat area. An OSCE drone spotted seven Strela-10 anti-aircraft missile launchers near Makiivka. Observers also reported that Russian mercenaries deployed four Grad multiple missile launchers not far from Novoamrvosiivske (both in Donetsk region).

In the view of the OSCEs role in peacemaking process in Donbas, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry sent the OSCE a request for the extension of the monitoring mission's mandate in Donbas for another year. Ihor Prokopchuk, Ukraine's representative at international organizations in Vienna tweeted this on Twitter on Thursday. 'OSCE SMM's mandate covers the entire territory of Ukraine, including the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, where the political repressions and persecutions demand proper monitoring and reaction from the OSCE', the official said.

On Wednesday, twenty former hostages were released from the captivity of militants. 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.

On February 5, the Ukrainian side of the Joint Center for Control and Coordination (JCCC) stated that the authorities of the occupied Donbas could leave its residents without water, "because of the emergency condition of facilities of the pumping station of the South Donetsk water pipeline". This was reported by the press center Ukraines Army headquarters on Facebook.

The Foreign Minister of Belarus Vladimir Makei said that the country is ready to send its peacekeepers to Donbas to settle the situation in the region. Additional way to help the conflict sides could be an introduction of the peacekeepers to Donbas, of course, Belarusian as well. Our president talked about this in 2014 and we are not refusing our words. Because Belarus in todays circumstances continues to develop relations with both Russia and the West, we often hear questions like Whose side are you on  with them or with us? This way, we are being pushed to the false and unacceptable choice for us. After all, there is nothing strange that we want to be partners of both, our eastern and western partners, the minister said.

Austria followed Belarus in this regard. The Austrian government also said it considers the option to send the peacekeepers to Donbas if the UN deploys its peacekeeping mission there. Sebastian Kurz, the Austrian Chancellor, reported that during the joint press conference with Ukrainian leader Petro Poroshenko. 'The government will support this idea. I understand a lot needs to be done for that to happen. If the Ukrainian side asks Austria to join or render any assistance, we'll be ready to discuss it with the Defense Ministry,' the Chancellor said.

Winter Olympics 2018

The 2018 Olympic Games officially began in South Koreas Pyeongchang today with an opening ceremony. The tournament is expected to be the coldest in around 20 years with temperatures projected to plunge to -15. This made the organizers install heating stations across the Olympic stadium and provide fans with packages that include a seat-warmer, a blanket, a windbreaker and a knitted hat.

The opening ceremony featured over 2,500 athletes from 92 nations of the world in a traditional walkout around the Olympic stadium. The Ukrainian delegation of 33 athletes was led by the Olympic biathlon champion Olena Pidhrushna. Other memorable moments of the opening ceremony included the athletes from Russia walking out in the absence of the countrys national flag.

Also, fan favorite Pita Taufatofua from Tonga upstaged his sensational entrance at the Rio Olympics in 2016 with another shirtless walk at Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium on Friday night. Fans worldwide also loved the single delegation consisting of both South Korean and North Korean athletes walking out under one flag of the unified Korean peninsula.

New complications in Ukrainian-Polish relations

A recently promulgated in Poland law has caused indignation in many countries, and Ukraine wasnt an exception.

On Feb. 7, President of Poland Andrzej Duda signed the previously accepted by the Polish Sejm and Senate amendments to the law on the Institute of National Remembrance.

The new version of the law envisages criminal penalty for publicly accusing Poland of crimes committed during Holocaust, of helping Nazi Germany, of military crimes or crimes against humanity. The bill forbids to use the phrase 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.

Amendments to the bill also provide for criminal liability for the denial of the Volyn tragedy and propaganda of "Bandera ideology". The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry expressed concern over the adoption of this document. The international community criticized it as "denying the Holocaust and depicting Ukrainians in an unattractive light." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he was categorically against the adoption of this law.

This amendment was proposed by Kukiz15 over a year ago but was frozen for a while. The MPs were supposed to hear it on Nov. 2017, but it was taken off the agenda at the last moment. Then, the country didnt want to increase the tension in Ukrainian-Polish relations.

Speaker of Ukrainian Parliament Andriy Parubiy called this decision a stab in the back.

Ukrainian Parliament had called on Poland not to sign the law.

German Minister for Foreign Affairs Sigmar Gabriel, Israeli Parliament, and the OSCE also phrased their dissatisfaction with the law that denies the Holocaust and depicts Ukrainians in an unattractive light.

Other diplomatic events

On February 8, Petro Poroshenko the President of Ukraine visited Austria and was invited to the Vienna Opera Ball as the honored guest of Alexander Van der Bellen, the Federal President of Austria. Ukrainian president announced that the president of Austria accepted the invitation and will pay a working visit to Ukraine in March.

Poroshenko reported during a joint press conference with Van der Bellen that the volume of trade between Ukraine and Austria in 2017 increased by 17%.

Also, the President of Ukraine held the meeting with Wolfgang Sobotka, the Chairman of the Austrian Parliament and urged the Austrian parliament to recognize the Holodomor of 1932-1933 as the genocide of the Ukrainian nation.

The next day, Sebastian Kurz, the Austrian Chancellor claimed after meeting with Poroshenko that Austria considers the option to send the peacekeepers to Donbas if the UN deploys its peacekeeping mission there.

However, the conflict with Hungary on the Ukraine education law continues. Hungarian Foreign Ministry denied reaching any agreement regarding the education law passed by the Ukrainian Parliament last autumn. Hungary's Tamas Mentzer and Ukraine's Vasyl Bodnar met in Uzhgorod, western Ukraine for bilateral consultations. While the Ukrainian side described the situation as 'having reached the consensus on major positions of settling the situation,' the Hungarian representative refuted this.

Moreover, Hungary blocked the meeting of the Ukraine-NATO commission that should take place on February 14-15.

Measles and diphtheria

The week began with the report that 13 citizens of Kyiv fell ill with measles; ten of them are children. Totally, 3,554 people were infected with measles in Ukraine since the beginning of 2018. 198 of them were infected with measles in Lviv, as Mayor of the city Andriy Sadovyi said.



Moreover, a 25-year-old woman died in Ivano-Frankivsk district isolation hospital on the night of February 3.

On February 9, Ulyana Suprun, the acting Healthcare Minister of Ukraine reported that about half of Ukrainians are inoculated against diphtheria. Suprun added that the Ukrainian government currently negotiates with the U.S. to get the anti-measles vaccine; currently, Ukraine needs about 900,000 doses for scheduled inoculation.

112.international is presenting a new film in the series Close East about people adjusting to the life after war in Donbas - A Fresh Start: IDP from Horlivka creates wonderland for kids from Slovyansk.

Feel free to share.
Today, the Pechersk district court is to choose the preventive measure for him

Open source

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has detained former MP Oleksandr Shepelev on the suspicion of attempted murder and a number of other crimes, including embezzlement, as press secretary of Ukraines Prosecutor General Larysa Sarhan told 112.ua.

Shepelev was detained near Kyiv on February 8. Today, the Pechersk district court is to choose the preventive measure for him.

In 2012, former MP from Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc (dissolved in 2012) Shepelev was accused of embezzling funds of Rodovid Bank in the sum of over $8 million, as well as participating in the embezzlement of $11,6 million allocated for re-financing the National Bank in March-May 2009. Moreover, he is suspected of an attempted murder of former shareholder of Rodovid Bank Serhiy Didchenko.

He was detained in Hungary in July 2013, and then extradited to Ukraine. On June 6, 2014, he ran away from the hospital where he was detained and treated after extradition. Interpol started looking for him in September 2014. In less than a year, he was detained not far from Moscow and detained by a Moscow court.

In April 2015, the Prosecutor Generals Office of Ukraine addressed their Russian counterparts inquiring to extradite the former official. However, in August 2016, the Russian Prosecution officially refused to extradite Shepelev and released him.
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!)
The Hearts On Your Sleeve Jeff Highlander Memorial...

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!)
An informational viewong on a work-in-progress documentary about N.M.'s role in the Battle of Glorieta during the American Civil War.

Santa Fe Community College will host public informational work-in-progress film screenings of a documentary that tells the story of the New Mexico's role in the Battle of Glorieta during the American Civil War. Screenings will be followed by a discussion with the filmmakers and historian Stephen C. Martinez, Ph.D. who will lead the discussions. Screenings of the film are from noon to 1:30 p.m., Fridays Feb. 9 and Feb. 16 in Room 563, located in the film program editing suites at SFCC, 6401 Richards Ave.

Participants in the Professional Readiness and Technical Experience for Careers (PROTEC) program at Santa Fe Community College interned on the film from January 2017 through October 2017. PROTEC is an accelerated skills-based education program offered in partnership with Santa Fe County, Northern Area Local Workforce Development Board and Santa Fe Community College. Students spend thirty hours in the classroom and over 100 hours on-the-job with local businesses. The next PROTEC program begins February 26, 2018 at Santa Fe Community College.

Information about the educational behind the scenes experiences can be found online at http://protecsantafe.blogspot.com/.

The screenings are free and open to the public. For information, email filminfo@sfcc.edu or call 505-428-1738.
Finland and Russia can do a lot if they cooperate in the Arctic Council, says leader of the Finland-Russia Parliamentary Group Eero Heinaluoma.



"Currently, Finland chairs the Arctic Council," said Eero Heinaluoma at a meeting with First Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council Nikolai Fyodorov. "Together we can do a lot in this area, joining efforts to promote our ideas and making proposals that may be integrated in various projects."



The Arctic Council is an international forum that was established in 1996 at Finland's initiative to protect the unique nature of the arctic area.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 9, ARMENPRESS. There is no way to peace but through dialogue and trust, Lars Adaktusson, member of the European Parliament representing Sweden, said in an interview to Armenpress, talking about the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. He recently visited the Republic of Artsakh.

I was invited as an individual member of the European Parliament by the European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy, and my mission aimed to deepen my understanding of the current state of play in the region, in order to shed light on this often forgotten conflict in Sweden and the European Union. This was my first visit to Nagorno Karabakh, and I can state that Nagorno Karabakh is isolated, but despite this its people is determined to do the best of the current situation by implementing reforms that will undoubtedly bring it closer to the peoples of the free world. I also was impressed by the positive spirit of the people I met, the MEP said.

He said the OSCE Minsk Group offers the best available setting for such an endeavor. I support all steps taken to increase observation capacities at the contact line, as I believe that peace must be preceded by a cessation of hostilities, Lars Adaktusson said.

The Swedish MEP is confident that one of the reasons why such a settlement is so hard to achieve is of course the existing conflict of aims.

The right to self-determination for the people of Nagorno Karabakh, the right of return for refugees, international law and a viable path to democracy and human rights for the people of Nagorno Karabakh are all aspects to be taken into account in a peace settlement, he said.

As for the Artsakh-EU cooperation, the MEP said he personally promotes a more active role of the EU, not least through the Eastern Partnership.

I have asked High Representative Mogherini why it is that the EU Special Representative for South Caucasus so far has not visited Nagorno Karabakh, he stated.

Syuzi Muradyan
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 9, ARMENPRESS. The US government has shut down after Congress failed to pass a key budgetary measure on time, BBC reports.

Lawmakers had hoped to approve a new spending bill before federal funding expired at midnight.

But Republican Senator Rand Paul ended hopes for a quick vote when he demanded a debate in the chamber on his amendment to maintain spending caps.

In January, a similar failure to pass a bill led to a three-day government shutdown.

The federal Office of Personnel Management said government operations would "vary by agency."

It is not yet clear how Congress will proceed and how public services may be affected on Friday.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 9, ARMENPRESS. The Turkish air force have delivered airstrikes on February 9 at Afrin, Syria, where the Kurdish Peoples Self Defense Forces are on defensive positions.

AL Mayadeen TV reported that the Achrafieh district was heavily bombarded after midnight, which caused panic among the residents.

The local hospital said dozens have been wounded. Other districts of the city have been attacked as well.

The Syrian Free Army failed to capture the town of Raju, with assistance of Turkish military.

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 9, ARMENPRESS. The U.S. Department of State is deeply concerned by the February 8th conviction without credible evidence of U.S. citizen Serkan Golge for being a member of a terror organization, Departments spokesperson Heather Nauert said at a press briefing, Armenpress reports.

We will continue to follow his case closely along with those of other U.S. citizens whose ongoing prosecution under the state of emergency raises serious concerns about respect for judicial independence, protections enshrined in the Turkish constitution, including an individuals right to a fair trial. The safety of U.S. citizens traveling to or residing in Turkey remains a concern. He was arrested, by the way, back in July of 2017. Hes a NASA scientist, if that helps you to remember his case, Heather Nauert said.

The spokesperson stated that the US calls on the Turkish Government to end the protracted state of emergency, to release those detained arbitrarily under emergency authorities, and to safeguard the rule of law consistent with Turkeys own domestic and international obligations and commitments.
STEPANAKERT, FEBRUARY 9, ARMENPRESS. Defense Army soldier Hayk S. Hakobyan, born in 1999, died in the Stepanakert central military hospital on February 8, at 14:15, due to illness, the defense ministry of Artsakh told Armenpress.

Investigation is underway to clarify the details of the incident.

The Artsakh defense ministry shares the grief of the loss and extends it condolences to the family, relatives and co-servicemen of the soldier.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 9, ARMENPRESS. The extraordinary session continues at the Parliament of Armenia.

The session was convened by the government of Armenia.

93 lawmakers are in attendance, as several bills will be put up for voting, including the bill which temporarily bans the import of right-side steering vehicles to the country.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 9, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan on February 9 visited the Armenian State Pedagogical University after Khachatur Abovyan to participate in the jubilee event dedicated to the 95th anniversary of the establishment of the University, the Presidential Office told Armenpress.

The President handed over high state awards to a group of the Universitys employees, as well as bestowed a title of Honored Teacher for the contribution in education and science, as well as for the honest and productive work.

The President congratulated the ASPU teaching staff, students, graduates, as well as the University leadership on the 95th anniversary of the ASPU establishment and wished new achievements, as well as productive work. In his congratulatory remarks the President once again highlighted the important role of the pedagogical educational institution in every countrys life.

I once again want to sincerely congratulate the people we were awarded with high state awards of our Fatherland. Of course, the prizes were awarded to their legal owners, but be confident that this is an appreciation to the whole staff. I am deeply convinced that you will do everything so that we all will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the ASPU establishment with greater achievements. Believe me, your work is really very important, and this work gradually becomes more important in the contemporary world.

I once again congratulate you on the 95th anniversary of the Universitys establishment. And as each jubilee is a new beginning for further achievements, I wish all of you a productive work, the President stated.

President Sargsyan also visited the Universitys museum where the history of the ASPUs establishment is presented by archival documents, as well as the current activity of the university is introduced.

Accompanied by the Mayor of Yerevan, Minister of Education and Science, the ASPU Rector, FIDE President and representatives of the Armenian Chess Federation, President Serzh Sargsyan toured the newly-opened Chess scientific-research institute of the university, got acquainted with the conditions created for the activity of the institute and its programs. The institute operates within the ASPU as a separate subdivision. Leading specialists in science field, who are going to conduct research on psychological, sociological, educational and other issues of chess, are included in the institute.

As a President of the Armenian Chess Federation, I am happy and want to thank for your specific attention to chess and for constantly proposing new initiatives. Its not a coincidence that today FIDE President, our friend Kirsan Ilyumzhinov is with us, its absolutely not accidential that other countries are interested in our experience, and this at least means that we have taken the right path. I want to believe that this will be continuous, President Sargsyan said.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 9, ARMENPRESS. Chaired by Prime Minister of Armenia Karen Karapetyan, a presentation-discussion on Armenian Government-USAID cooperation was held on February 9, attended by U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Richard Mills, USAID / Armenia Mission Director Deborah Grieser, USAID Staff and heads of RA State agencies.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the Government of Armenia, highlighting the importance of the ongoing cooperation with USAID, underway since 1992, the Prime Minister pointed out that todays presentation is a good opportunity to discuss and exchange ideas about where we are and which way to go.

The U.S. Ambassador noted that 70% of his governments assistance to Armenia is implemented through USAID programs and mechanisms. According to Richard Mills, USAID is currently engaged in over 30 programs in Armenia, aimed at supporting reforms in priority areas: economy, governance, the judiciary, the fight against corruption, and so on.

USAID / Armenia Mission Director Deborah Grieser presented the list of implemented programs and their key findings, noting that USAIDs main goals are to promote economic growth in Armenia (favorable environment for trade and investment, higher competitiveness in target sectors) and enhance democracy and governance (greater civic participation and oversight of reforms, more transparent approaches to policy development and implementation).

Economic growth-oriented programs are mainly implemented in the spheres of energy, rural development, information technologies and water resources, while the joint efforts undertaken in the field of democracy and governance seek to implement various projects in territorial administration, child protection, civil society, human rights, anti-corruption campaign and humanitarian projects.

Thanking the Prime Minister for effective cooperation, Deborah Grieser underscored that USAID is prepared to discuss with the Armenian government the vectors of further partnership in tune with the countrys development priorities.

The heads of those government agencies implementing joint programs with USAID appreciated the years-long successful cooperation, introduced their achievements and presented their understanding of future cooperation.



Summing up the discussion, the Premier thanked the U.S. partners for impressive cooperation that has led to tangible results. Karen Karapetyan stressed that Armenia has initiated fundamental reforms and, in this respect, the furtherance of cooperation with USAID is of paramount importance.

We have open partnership ties with both the U.S. Embassy in Armenia and USAID. We are eager to deepen our cooperation. There are several priorities: anti-corruption policy, bankruptcy, judicial system, irrigation system reform, health insurance, technical and institutional support to inspection bodies, digital agenda, agriculture, territorial administration, balancing the powers of regional and central authorities, tax and customs administration, targeted welfare policies, administrative registry and many other issues that call for prompt solutions. Problems will be faced at any time, but now it is time to implement exciting, fundamental reforms, the Prime Minister said.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 9, ARMENPRESS. More than 10 programs in the employment sphere will be implemented in Armenia by the ministry of labor and social affairs during 2018. They are focused on different social groups. In particular, the employer will hold a vocational training for young mothers who are uncompetitive in the labor market and have no profession. Assistance will be provided for 100 beneficiaries.

During 2018, if employers hire employees within the frames of the program for non-competitive, disabled persons, the salaries of beneficiaries for 200 people will be partially compensated. The program of job fair will continue in 2018. There are also plans to organize 10 job fairs in different provinces of Armenia.

There will be an assistance program for mothers with children up to three years.

The farmers also can use the programs which are being implemented in Armenia aimed at mitigating unemployment. The targets were clarified with the agriculture ministry.

Deputy minister of labor and social affairs Sona Harutyunyan told Armenpress that a concrete policy is carried out in the recent years aimed at implementing the programs more addressed and targeted.

In the recent years we are installing monitoring and evaluation system in the ministry. Its a clearly developed methodology, set of tools and a procedure approved by the governments decision, she said, adding that the system concerns the whole social field, but the priority is given to the employment field. Its already three years the employment programs are evaluated by this new methodology.

Presenting the analysis of the labor market as of January 1, 2018, Sona Harutyunyan said in this period 86.000 people look for jobs which decreased by 10.2% compared to the same period of 2017. The number of unemployed people comprises 81.7 % or 70.2 thousand people of the job seekers. This figure decreased by 12.7% compared to the same period of 2017. In January-December 2017 9.3 thousand job seekers were hired. The most demanded in the labor market are doctors, teachers (in provinces), programmers, marketing specialists, managers and etc.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 9, ARMENPRESS. Armen Sarkissian, candidate for the President of Armenia nominated by the Republican Party, commented on media reports according to which in the documents of one of the British companies he is presented as a citizen of the UK, therefore he cannot be nominated for the post of the President, reports Armenpress.

After the meeting with the Yelk faction representatives in the Parliament, Armen Sarkissian assured reporters that he refused from the UK citizenship in 2011. There, where you are looking for a problem, is no problem. Yes, I have been a citizen of the Great Britain. In 2000 I have applied for receiving a UK citizenship, and I received it in 2002. After that I refused from the citizenship in 2011, Armen Sarkissian said.

He added that he is a member of the boards of dozens of companies and organizations. In some places it was registered that I am a British, and in other places it was registered that I am an Armenian. After refusing from the UK citizenship in 2011 I didnt make an announcement on this, but I am known in all these places as Armen Sarkissian rather than as a British or an Armenian, he said.

Commenting on media reports according to which he is presented as a UK citizen in the 2014 documents of the Eurasia House International, Armen Sarkissian said this company has been founded by him in early 2000s, and its subsidiary has been the Eurasia Centre of the Cambridge University. It assisted more than 100 Armenian young people in receiving education in the UK, Harvard and other universities. In 2010 this company terminated its activity for different reasons, and the main company was frozen, he said.

Asked why it is still written in these documents that he is a UK citizen, Armen Sarkissian said if they look at other companies, they will find documents where he is presented as the UK citizen. Do you imagine, if someone refuses from the citizenship, so what, he should be withdrawn from all places?, he noted.

He clarified that he received the UK citizenship since it was necessary for his activity at that time in order to visit different countries.

I refused from the citizenship as I didnt need it anymore, he said.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 9, ARMENPRESS. Armenian PM Karen Karapetyan held a meeting with Kazakh Ambassador Timur Uruzayev to discuss the development of trade relations between the two countries.

During the meeting the PM attached importance to the diversification of bilateral economic cooperation and stressed that the current trade turnover volumes are not in line with the existing potential.

The Ambassador said that his country is interested in further developing cooperation with Armenia is various sectors and is ready to discuss different programs and projects which will boost the enhancement of commercial ties.

The sides discussed cooperation in the fields of industry, agriculture, road construction, tourism, involving Kazakh capital in the Meghri FEZ, possibilities of launching transit flights through Yerevan and others issues.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 9, ARMENPRESS. Armen Sarkissian, candidate for the President of Armenia nominated by the Republican Party, is satisfied with the meeting held with the MPs of Yelk faction, reports Armenpress.

After the meeting he told reporters in the Parliament that a constructive and open meeting was held with the Yelk faction lawmakers. We had a very open, professional discussion, addressed questions to each other. I personally feel satisfied with this meeting. And I want to state that this will not be the only meeting. We have already agreed on new meetings in the future, Sarkissian said.

He added that before the meeting with the Yelk faction MPs he was aware that they will vote against his candidacy if he agrees to be nominated for the Presidential post. Of course, I respect their decision, and it doesnt mean that I will not work with them if elected as President. They are an oppositional political force, represent the opinion of some public circle, thus I look ahead in terms of cooperating with them, Armen Sarkissian said.

The election of the President of Armenia will be held on March 2 in the Parliament.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 9, ARMENPRESS. Russian president Vladimir Putin had a phone conversation with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron to discuss the situation in Syria, the Kremlin reported.

Prospects of a political settlement of the Crisis in Syria were discussed comprehensively, the Kremlin said.

"The parties expressed interest in advancing the inclusive intra-Syrian talks in Geneva based on the outcome of the Syrian National Dialogue Congress held in Sochi on January 30 and the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2254," the Kremlin press service said, adding that the two presidents had emphasized "the importance of enhancing coordination between Russia and France concerning the key aspects of the Syria issue, Tass reports.


YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 9, ARMENPRESS. The U.S. House of Representatives joined the Senate early on Friday morning in approving a bill to end an overnight federal shutdown, Reuters reports.

The stopgap funding and budget measure, approved by a 240-186 House vote, will go next to President Donald Trump. The White House said in a statement that he will sign it into law, which would extend government funding through March 23.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 9, ARMENPRESS. Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan on February 9 received OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs Igor Popov (Russia), Stephane Visconti (France) and Andrew Schofer (USA), as well as Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk who arrived in Yerevan on the sidelines of the regional visit, the Presidential Office told Armenpress.

The Co-Chairs introduced the President on the results of their meetings held in Baku.

President Serzh Sargsyan drew the attention of the Co-Chairs on Bakus recent statements, stating that these are another proofs how far Azerbaijan is from the readiness to move forward the negotiation process over the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement based on the proposals of the Minsk Group Co-Chairs, as well as these statements also show how Baku reacts to the constant calls of the Co-Chairs to prepare societies for peace.

The meeting participants attached importance to the adherence of the sides to the commitments in the negotiation process aimed at the peaceful settlement of the conflict, as well as the necessity to implement the agreements reached at the Vienna, St. Petersburg and Geneva summits.

The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs informed the Armenian President about their future activity plans.

President Sargsyan reaffirmed Armenias readiness to continue the efforts with the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs aimed at settling the conflict through negotiated peaceful means.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 9, ARMENPRESS. Armenias foreign minister Edward Nalbandian held a meeting on February 9 with Bridget Brink, Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs of the US Department of State.

FM Nalbandian mentioned that Armenia highly appreciates the partnership relations with the United States. He added that high level contacts are a good chance to discuss agenda issues of the Armenian-American friendly partnership, prospects of more deepening and developing of partnership.

Bridget Brink thanked for the reception and said that the US attaches importance to the partnership relations with Armenia and is interested in further expanding of Armenian-American cooperation in various sectors.

I am proud of our economic partnership achievements with Armenia. Trade turnover between our two countries increased by more than 35% in the first 11 months of last year, and we continue to witness new and large American investments in Armenia, she said.

During the meeting the sides exchanged ideas over political dialogue, expansion of the legal-contractual field, joint steps for enhancing trade ties.

Both sides stressed the importance of the Trade and Investments Armenian-American Council and the Armenian-American intergovernmental commission.

FM Nalbandian presented the latest developments in the NK conflict settlement process  highlighting the joint efforts of the US together with the other OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs  Russia and France.

The FM added that for many years the destructive conduct of Azerbaijan is disrupting the process and doesnt allow progress in the OSCE Minsk Group format negotiations.

The US officials reaffirmed the commitment of the United States, as a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, to continue active involvement in the exclusively peaceful settlement of the conflict.

Mrs. Brink also appreciated Armenias active involvement in peacekeeping missions.

Nalbandian and Brink exchanged ideas over international and regional issues.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 9, ARMENPRESS. In recent years the geography of tourists visiting Armenia expands.

Mekhak Apresyan  first vice president of the State Tourism Committee, told a press conference in Armenpress that a dynamic growth of tourist visit is noticed from several directions.

The increase in number of tourists visiting Armenia is noticed from the African, Latin American and far Eastern countries. There is a dynamic growth from the Philippines, Korea and Indonesia. Japan is an important stable market. As you know, Armenia defined visa-free regime for the Japanese citizens. A serious work is also being carried out towards China, and we also have a very good dynamics of visits from China. The number of Chinese visitors to Armenia increased by 75% in 2017 compared to 2016, he said, adding that there is a serious tourism potential in the Arab countries, in this direction as well an active growth of tourist visits is also noticed.

Mekhak Apresyan said the consistent work done in the recent years at different directions, the diversification of tourism result, marketing measures contributed to the increase in number of tourists.

Armenias incoming tourism increased by 18.7% in 2017. Last year 1 million 494 thousand 799 people visited Armenia.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 9, ARMENPRESS. The Clerical Assembly of the Armenian Patriarchate in Istanbul has made a decision, according to which Aram Ateshian will continue his tenure as a Patriarchal Vicar, ARMENPRESS reports Istanbul-based Armenian Zhamanak daily informs.

Following receiving the letter from the ministry of interior of Turkey over the procedure of Patriarchal elections a meeting of clergymen took place on February 9 at the invitation of the Chairman of the Religious Council Bishop Sahak Mashalian and presided over by Ateshian. According to the daily, Patriarchal locum tenens Archbishop Garegin Bekchyan did not attend the meeting. Earlier he had informed Mashalian about his decision.

A decision was made during the meeting that its necessary to meet the requirements of the letter sent by the ministry of interior. Particularly, it was decided to return to the situation that preceded the Religious Council meeting on October 26, 2016, when Mesrob Mutafyan was still regarded as the Patriarch. In addition, Aram Ateshian will continue his tenure as the patriarchal Vicar.

The clergymen emphasized during the meeting that the election of the Patriarch should take place at a proper time.
YEREVAN, 9 FEBUARY, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs Armenpress that today, 9 February, USD exchange rate is up by 1.25 drams to 483.11 drams. EUR exchange rate is up by 3.22 drams to 592.49 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate stood at 8.32 drams. GBP exchange rate is up by 4.82 drams to 672.39 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price is down by 89.67 drams to 20432.02 drams. Silver price is down by 4.68 drams to 253.88 drams. Platinum price is down by 53.77 drams to 15144.04 drams.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 9, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Karen Karapetyan received on February 9 Deputy Assistant Secretary in the State Departments Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Bridget Brink.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the Government of Armenia, the Premier welcomed the visit of Mrs. Brink to Armenia and highlighted mutual high-level official visits in terms of discussing the agenda of Armenian-U.S. partnering relations and to outline development prospects. Karen Karapetyan assessed productive todays presentation-discussion with USAID representatives over the programs under implementation in Armenia. Premier Karapetyan said that the Armenian Government will continue the reforms in all the sectors with a clear cut understanding of the countrys vision of economic development and progress.

The Deputy Assistant Secretary in the State Departments Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs welcomed the reforms initiated by the Government of Armenia, noting that during todays meeting with the business representatives she heard many positive feedback over the amendments in tax and customs administration. Bridget Brink underlined that the USA actively works with Armenian colleagues aimed at expanding the cooperation agenda and further deepening economic relations.

Referring to the prospects of developing bilateral economic relations the interlocutors highlighted the active works of the joint platforms  the Armenian-U.S. Council established in the sidelines of the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) and the Armenian-American Intergovernmental Commission. The Premier suggested examining the opportunities to implement business projects in a number of spheres (IT, agriculture and so on), expressing satisfaction with the current cooperation in energy, information and high technologies, and tourism.

The sides mutually highlighted the 2nd session of the Armenian-U.S. Council to be held in Washington this March. Bridget Brink emphasized that we expect clear ideas from the meeting on how to move forward our economic cooperation.

The interlocutors reaffirmed their readiness to develop and deepen productive cooperation.
NEW YORK CITYDirector Jake Jaxson has now followed up his critically acclaimed Answered Prayers with a new CockyBoys feature that's been over a year in the making, All Saints. All Saints is a mythical potboiler shot on location in New Orleans, New York, and Berlin. The mini-series features an all-star cast including Calvin Banks, Adam Ramzi, Carter Dane, Sean Ford, Ricky Roman, Levi Karter, Francois Sagat, Boomer Banks, Josh Moore and many more. All Saints consists of 12 episodes which are broken up into three chapters, with each chapter containing four episodes. All Saints will be rolled out throughout the remainder of year only at CockyBoys.com.

Set against the mystical landscape of New Orleans, All Saints continues and builds upon the unique mythology that fans have appreciated in Answered Prayers. Adrian, a grad student (Calvin Banks), has just become a research assistant to a forward-thinking professor (Adam Ramzi) at the Institute of Religious Studies in New Orleans. Since he was young, Adrian has been fascinated by the more magical and fantasy-driven aspects of the Bible and is now in the perfect place to explore and hopefully prove some of his non-traditional theories. But the arrival of a lawyer (Carter Dane), representing a major funder of the institute, sets off a chain of events that will open up a world of mystery, power, and understanding that will change Adrian's life forever. And ever. And ever

Episode One of Chapter One is now playing on CockyBoys.com, and features Banks with Ramzi in a beautifully shot and acted scene featuring palpable chemistry, and leading up to one of the best duo scenes in recent memory.

CockyBoys' director and owner Jake Jaxson said of All Saints, "This is a project that has been created, devised and executed by one of the most beautiful and talented group of men and women I have had the joy and pleasure to work with. I will forever be grateful for their talents and efforts. This is some of our best work yet."

CockyBoys and Jake Jaxson deliver, once again, with this new hauntingly epic mini-series, All Saints, now playing only at CockyBoys.com.
Images of the author and her book from HallieLieberman.com

CYBERSPACEWhile the variety of sex toys available to todays pleasure-seeking consumerfrom internet-connected vibrators to the Fleshlight and other masturbation devices for mencan seem overwhelming at times, our prehistoric forebears took a much more straightforward approach to getting off via artificial aid.

Thirty-thousand years ago, writes sexual historian Hallie Lieberman in her new book, Buzz: A Stimulating History of the Sex Toy, our ancestors had been hunched over carving eight-inch-long penises out of siltstone.

But those uncomfortable-sounding stimulators were just the beginning of a millennias worth of sex-toy evolution recounted by Lieberman, who wrote her doctoral dissertation on the topic at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2014.

Though she published Buzz in November of last year, the book is likely to receive a boost this week, when it finally received a review this weeka favorable onefrom The New York Times.

The article also reviews Vibrator Nation, written by another academic versed in sex toy history: Lynn Comella, associate professor of gender and sexuality studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. For more on that fine work, click here and here.

Like Vibrator Nation, Liebermans book is no dry, academic study. She opens the narrative with an anecdote recounting her own first experience with a sex toy, discovering an eight-inch, cylindrical vibrator in the dresser drawer of a hotel room at age 10, and excitedly announcing to her parents that someone had left behind a pencil sharpener.

Thats not a pencil sharpener! my mom said frantically, running toward me and taking it away. Lieberman writes. Wash your hands.

When the 10-year-old Lieberman asked her mother what, if not a pencil sharpener, the device actually was, her mom told her, You dont need to know!

But somehow, she found out, and when at the age of 19 she purchased a vibrator of her own, it was love at first buzz.

Liebermans own love affair with sex toysshe later took a job selling sex toys in Texas, where the devices were until recently considered legally obscene soon gives way to her epic saga of the sex-toy journey through the centuries dispelling such myths as the supposed use of vibrators by 19th-century psychiatrists on their female patients to cure hysteria and introducing a sometimes bizarre cast of characters who have contributed to the advancement of autoerotic technology.

For example, Lieberman introduces her readers to Ted Marche, a successful and popular ventriloquist of the 1950s and 1960s who even performed his act, with his trusty dummy Georgie, on the 1960 campaign trail in support of then-presidential candidate John F. Kennedy.

But by 1965, Lieberman recounts, Marche had developed another passion in lifedildos. Or at least, making money off of dildos by designing and manufacturing a new line of high quality artificial phalluses at a time when sex toys were still outlawed except for medical uses.

The author also profiles Gosnell Duncan, a quadriplegic from the island of Grenada who in the 1970s invented the silicone dildoa quantum leap forward from the unsantiary and odd-smelling polyvinyl chloride dildos that came before itas well as Dell Williams, a former advertising executive who created the first feminist-centered mail order sex toy service after a clerk at Macys embarrassed her as she was buying a Hitachi Magic Wand by demanding to know how she planned to use it.

Lieberman also questions why, today, when sex toys have become more socially acceptable and prevalent than ever before, the feminist idea that vibrators can be used as a tool of female liberation has all but disappeared, swallowed up by Western consumer culture.
Contact: White House

White House



Press Office

(As interpreted.) The Honorable Mike Pence, Vice President of the United States of America, the Honorable Karen Pence, Second Lady of the United States of America, distinguished guests, ladies, and gentlemen: It is a great pleasure for me to host this banquet today to warmly welcome Vice President Pence and Mrs. Pence upon their second visit to Japan.Prior to this banquet, I had a very productive discussion with the Vice President on various issues, including the issue of North Korea. There is only a limited amount of time before Vice President and Mrs. Pence leave Japan, but I want you to enjoy washoku, or Japanese cuisine, tonight. We will start serving the combination of Japanese and Western food, or (inaudible), so please feel relaxed over dinner.As you all know, Vice President Pence has been making every effort to strengthen Japan-U.S. relations for many years, as shown by his two visits to Japan as the Governor of the state of Indiana.One of the priorities for then-Governor Pence was inviting Japanese investment to Indiana. Thanks to his dedication, many Japanese corporations, including prominent automakers, such as Toyota, Subaru, and Honda, have advanced into Indiana. And in a way, we the Japanese people, and the people of Indiana are very similar; we both share diligence, discipline, and sincerity. And I think that is one of the reasons why Japanese corporations and companies could maintain their businesses for such a long time in Indiana.As such, there is an impressive legacy of Mr. Pence in promoting Japanese investment as the Governor of Indiana. Mr. Pence is someone who understands how much the Japanese corporations contributed to creating the jobs on the ground in Indiana and how Japan contributed to the economy of the state of Indiana. And now, we are so thrilled and encouraged to have him as the co-chair of the Japan-U.S. Economic Dialogue.Of course, when it comes to the Japan-U.S. Economic Dialogue, Mr. Pence, will be a very, very tough negotiator for Japan. But given his expertise in Japan, as well as Japanese businesses, we are so happy to have you as the co-chair of the dialogue.The name of Indiana immediately calls to mind the Indy 500, or Indianapolis 500. This is the world's most competitive auto race, and so many Japanese fans have been mesmerized by the race of super-fast Formula One cars for 200 laps in the total of 500 miles. Even many Japanese racing drivers participated in this world's fastest race before. And on this occasion, I invited two former racers who participated in this race.I also need to mention the Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, which will start the day after tomorrow. Both the Vice President and I will attend the Opening Ceremony. And then, we all hope that the Japanese and American athletes will compete in the events with each other for the medals. For instance, in figure skating or snowboarding.Of course, we all cheer on a different team, but whoever or whichever wins, I am ready to applaud his or her accomplishment.Tonight, I invited distinguished leaders and guests on this special occasion. First and foremost, we have those guests who have deep ties with the state of Indiana, where the Vice President and the Second Lady are from. In addition, we are so lucky to have the participation of those who have been working very hard to support today's excellent alliance between Japan and the United States. Such guests include political and business leaders, academia, artists, and athletes.So here's a message that I would like to convey to our guests: Thanks to all your hard work, we now enjoy this excellent alliance between the two states. And I'd like to take this opportunity to ask for your further support so that we can further develop this relationship.With that, I would like to propose a toast wishing for a great success out of the Vice President and Mrs. Pence's visit to Japan, as well as for greater confidence of the friendship between Japan and the United States.(A toast is offered.) (Applause.)Thank you, Prime Minister Abe, for those very kind words, and thank you to you and Mrs. Abe for the extraordinary hospitality on this all-too brief visit to Japan.This is the second time that Mrs. Pence and I have had the privilege to represent the United States since the election of the Trump administration. But if you keep saying all those nice things about Indiana, I am going to come back again and again. (Laughter.)I want to thank all of the honored guests who are here today, particularly those who wear the uniform of Japan's Self-Defense Forces and the uniform of the United States of America. We honor your service to both our countries.As I said when we first met today, I bring greetings from your great friend, who's a great friend of the people of Japan, the 45th President of the United States of America, President Donald Trump, and commend you, Mr. Prime Minister, for the relationship that you have forged with our President and the way that that has strengthened the relationship and the alliance between our two countries.I hope our presence here is a testament to the strength of the alliance between our nations - an alliance that is the cornerstone of peace, prosperity, and freedom in the Indo-Pacific.In our discussions today, we talked about the many great opportunities that we have to advance prosperity and peace in the region, and we discussed the challenges that we face regarding North Korea. But as we discussed privately, in our formal meeting, the opportunities and the challenges we will face together, as allies and friends, now and always.And so tonight I offer a toast to the U.S.-Japan alliance. May our alliance continue to be a bulwark of peace and a beacon of progress and hope. And may it bring our nations closer together, and bring more peace and prosperity to the world.(A toast is offered.)
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.
The governor's recent Atlantic Coast Pipeline deal makes a mockery of separation of powers - the justification behind many of his legal fights with the legislature

merging the state elections and ethics boards, previously controlled by the governor's political party, and creating a single new body with equal Republican and Democratic members;

requiring the governor's Cabinet-level appointees to gain Senate confirmation;

slashing the number of political jobs the governor controlled from 1,500 to 425;

reducing the size of the state Court of Appeals from 15 members to 12 (as - coincidentally? - three Republican Appeals Court judges were nearing retirement);

giving outgoing Gov. Pat McCrory, a Republican, the ability to appoint members to state commissions whose terms would have expired after Cooper took office, and;

shifting oversight of several powerful state boards and commissions from the executive branch to the legislature.

The legislative, executive, and supreme judicial powers of the State government shall be forever separate and distinct from each other.

Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper spent much of his first 13 months in office defending the venerated principle of separation of powers. At the end of January, however, by signing a $57.8 million deal connected with the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, Cooper basically proved he's been acting like a hypocrite all along.Cooper has sued the Republican-dominated General Assembly over laws it passed in December 2016 limiting Cooper's power before he took office. The various went after legislative moves:Cooper even asked courts to throw out portions of the state budget he didn't like.The governor won a few and lost a few, or chose not to appeal when he was on the losing side in a lower court. In each instance, his legal team based its arguments on Article I, Section 6 of the N.C. Constitution:In other words, as we should have learned in civics class (or whatever schools call them these days), the legislature enacts laws; the governor and other executive branch officials implement them; and the courts resolve any disputes.Separation of powers is an important principle. (John Locke was one of the first political theorists to articulate it concisely.) It keeps one group of government officials from gaining too much power. Too bad the governor doesn't really believe in it.Cooper suggested this a few times last year. He foolishly tried to expand Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act unilaterally, without legislative approval, before President Obama left office. Federal officials in the Trump administration slapped that down.He also tried to force the General Assembly into a two-week June special session on redistricting . Lawmakers ignored him, and rightly so. The governor has no constitutional role in legislative or congressional redistricting, and he can't say how long an extra session will last and what laws it must pass. Besides, lawmakers were in a regular session when he made that call and had no reason to adjourn.The fights have been over which powers reside in each branch. The General Assembly has relied on the plain language of Article III, Section 5 of the Constitution. It says the governor must reside in the Executive Mansion; tell the General Assembly his priorities; propose a balanced budget; andHe also serves as commander in chief of "military forces of the state." He can offer clemency to criminals, call special legislative sessions, appoint members of executive branch departments and commissions, and veto bills.That's about it. He doesn't have the ability to spend money unless the General Assembly says so.The governor seems to have a different idea, as the Atlantic Coast Pipeline deal demonstrates. Under the Mitigation Project Memorandum of Understanding signed by one of the governor's lawyers and an official of the pipeline operating company, the ACP will provide $57.8 million to an escrow fund managed by the governor.Half of the money's due when the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission gives the pipeline its final OK. The rest is due when the pipeline starts operating.The money - all controlled by the governor - will pay to "mitigate" possible environmental damage from the pipeline, fund economic development in the counties where the pipeline will run, and pay for renewable energy projects in those counties.The General Assembly will have no role in spending this money, as Cooper's spokesman Ford Porter made clear to WRAL News.Lawmakers surely will have something to say about that. It's especially the case after the legislature's nonpartisan permanent staff asked the (executive branch) Office of State Management and Budget to explain how the fund was negotiated, who will get the money, and whether it was legal to make the deal in the first place.As former state Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr told Carolina Journal, if the money belongs to the state, it should go the treasury and be dealt with during normal budget proceedings - which are controlled by the General Assembly.The budget office's response? The fund is a "voluntary contribution" to the escrow account, and a separate board of directors will decide how to spend the money.The deal stinks, and scrutiny of it only will intensify. Perhaps the governor will get enough heat that he walks away from the arrangement entirely. It's not a tough call. All he needs to do is dust off his copy of the state constitution, and take it seriously, even when it's politically inconvenient.
Attorneys argue over whether Rules Review Commission has oversight of state education board and the powers of state superintendent

The fate of the state's public education system is now in the hands of the North Carolina Supreme Court after justices heard two cases regarding the constitutional authority of the State Board of Education.The morning of Feb. 7, the Supreme Court justices heard North Carolina State Board of Education v. The State of North Carolina and North Carolina State Board of Education v. Mark Johnson The first case involved a dispute between the state board and the Rules Review Commission.RRC has been around since 1986. Most state agencies have to submit regulations to the commission for approval, but in 2014 the state board filed a lawsuit, arguing it was not constitutionally bound to submit policies. The board also said the review process violated separation of powers.Representing the state board, former state Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr argued the lawsuit is not a challenge to either the commission's or the General Assembly's overall authority, but is an attempt to find a narrow interpretation of the law.Orr asked.Orr said the state board cannot implement rules until the RRC has reviewed them for approval. Fellow SBE attorney Andrew Erteschik described the process of submitting rules to the commission as gelatinous.Erteschik said.Representing the state, Special Deputy Attorney General Olga Vysotskaya de Brito argued the SBE's attorneys were wrong in suggesting the state board's rules were subject to legislative oversight. Instead, she argued the state board's rulemaking power is subject to legislative review.Attorney Christopher Browning, representing the Rules Review Commission, argued the commission exists to ensure consistency throughout the administrative code. If the state board disagrees with a decision from the RRC, then they have legal recourse by appealing to Superior Court.Browning said the State Board of Education should undergo the same legislative scrutiny as other agencies, boards, and commissions, so that a board "can't go rogue."The justices repeatedly questioned whether any records existed of the RRC impeding the SBE's authority.Justice Paul Newby asked.Browning said the answer is clearly no.Browning said.Erteschik argued the commission has objected to and modified rules. He disputed the RRC's argument that its modifications were not substantive.During the second hearing, lawyers representing the state board and State Superintendent Mark Johnson grappled over the constitutional role of superintendent plays in setting public education policy.Chief Justice Mark Martin recused himself from the case because his wife works for the state education agency.The conflict began when the General Assembly passed House Bill 17 during a 2016 special legislative session. H.B. 17 transferred power from the state board to Johnson, including the authority to manage the state's $10 billion education budget. Johnson also would have gained more oversight in senior staffing decisions and managing hundreds of contracts.The state board argued H.B. 17 violated the N.C. Constitution and took the issue to court.Orr, once again representing the board, argued H.B. 17 was a sweeping and unprecedented decision allowing the General Assembly to transfer constitutionally granted power from the board to Johnson.Orr said the state constitution outlines the responsibilities of the state superintendent as a secretary and a chief administrative officer, whose job is to take the decisions of the state board and work with it to govern the education system.Justice Barbara Jackson asked what kind of platform a candidate for state superintendent could devise if the duties and positions are determined by the state board. Unlike the state superintendent, who is elected in a statewide contest, most members of the state board are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the legislature.Jackson asked.Orr answered.Jackson questioned whether the state superintendent could even enact that vision considering Orr's description of the state superintendent's role.Jackson said.Orr said the constitution gives the board the authority.Attorney Hardy Lewis, who represented Johnson, questioned the limits of the board's power.Lewis asked.Justice Sam Ervin IV asked whether the state board has core constitutional powers the General Assembly couldn't take away. Lewis said the General Assembly could limit and revise powers.Vysotskaya, arguing again for the state, made a similar argument. The state's attorney said the General Assembly doesn't have the power to abolish the state board's authority but it could revise it.Erteschik took issue with this line of argument, posing a theoretical situation in which the General Assembly gave the Court of Appeals power over the Supreme Court.Erteschik asked.While both arguments took a couple of hours, the Supreme Court could take several months to issue a ruling in either case.
On Wednesday, CNN reported that the text regarding Obama allegedly referred to Obama's interest in Russian interference in the election, rather than the Hillary investigation. This obviously makes the texts far less controversial, and may in fact neuter their impact - although it's still relatively clear that Obama's DOJ worked with the FBI to help save Hillary from the email investigation, as detailed by Andrew McCarthy of National Review.Late Tuesday evening, Fox News released a new and shocking report on texts between FBI agents and lovers Peter Strzok and Lisa Page , both of whom were fired from the Mueller investigation for bias against President Trump. According to Fox News, Page texted Strzok on September 2, 2016, with the news that FBI director James Comey wanted them to prepare an update on ongoing investigations becauseThe Senate suggests that this text was not about the Trump-Russia collusion investigation, but rather about the Hillary Clinton probe, which had not yet been closed.The texts also show Strzok writing to Page on September 28, 2016:The FBI didn't inform Congress until a month later that they were re-opening their email investigation into Clinton.In the texts, Strzok also called Virginians "ignorant hillbillys" [sic] for failing to elect the wife of FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe to the state Senate.On November 13, 2016, Page wrote to Strzok,The most shocking material here is obviously the news that President Obama wanted to be updated on the Clinton investigation - particularly when Obama stated on national television in April 2016 that he didThat, obviously, was untrue.Now, it's clear that the president can order an update on any investigation he wants. As Trump supporters and anyone who can read a Constitution maintain, the president has authority over the FBI. But as Andy McCarthy of National Review has detailed, it's also pretty clear that the Obama administration worked with the FBI to quash the Hillary email investigation and reach a predetermined end. How far that activity extended into the Trump-Russia collusion investigation remains unclear at this point. But the idea that Republicans are politicizing the DOJ and FBI rather than that politicization beginning under Obama is purely crazy.
This is another Blog Posting from the past. It is from 2014. I usually support my offering you old postings to read by saying it is still Relevant and it is still Funny. This time I can only say it is still Relevant because it is Not Funny.

------------------------

Here Comes the Scary Part

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was introduced on June 18, 2013

but proceeded no further

I underlined the "but proceeded no further".

For centuries explorers have searched in vain for the mythical Bottomless Pit and it has been right in front of their weary noses all this time.The Bottomless Pit is an integral part of how our 9% Approval Rated Congress goes about governing us folks here back home.No finer illustration of the use and function of the Congressional Bottomless Pit exists than how Congress has addressed (actually not addressed) the dangers posed by anAmerica's Electrical Grid is vulnerable to an EMP Attack. Did I just hear some of you say,(I thought you would never ask.)An EMP Attack is a nuclear explosion in the high atmosphere that would destroy electrical wiring and hardware across the Good Ole USofA, excluding Alaska and Hawaii.Why is Alaska and Hawaii exempt? This is not fair. Congress ought to pass a law that they suffer as we suffer after we are attacked.If anoccurred right now... We would have no lights. We would have no refirieration. Most of us would be walking everywhere since many cars and gas pumps would be disabled. Our cell phones and iPads may turn on but could not be recharged. Our computers and laptops would not work. Cellular Networks and the Internet will likely have been destroyed. We would have limited water since electricity runs the pumps that deliver most of our water. We would have only the food and bottled water we have stored in our houses (on average about three days). Our ability to operate hospitals would be severely limited. The great majority of us would die from lack of food and water, or from diseases associated with lack of sanitation, medicine, and temperature control. We would suffer a general social breakdown. In no time at all there would be a complete absence of civil authority. There would be no good way to prevent our nuclear power plants from melting down, since they require electric power to cool their reactors.Did that do it? Are you scared? I will now give you hope, but I warn you, I will the snatch that hope away from you before this posting is done.This EMP phenomenon has been well understood since the 1960s so our Government has been busy addressing the issue...Or has it?There are workable proposals to harden the electrical grid against damage. The https://www.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/2417 ) by Arizona Congressman Trent Franks. The cost would be less than half a billion dollars (that's 500 million dollars) this is a drop in the bucket in an economy of over $16 trillion (that's 16 thousand billion dollars). Yet the bill remains in committee.I know you have been trained by me to be observant so I know you now see the...Or do u?The operative word used to see the problem is. The real problem is our Congress equates sending something to committee with fixing the problem. I went to D.C. last week and interviewed many members of Congress about this dire situation and here is a sampling of what I got from them... Why are you so concerned about this impending disaster? Don't you understand it is in committee? Why are you asking me when it will come out of committee? Don't you know that things do not come out of committee? They just go into committee! Don't you dare say anything bad about our committees! Don't you know that committees are the life blood of what we are about? If it were not for committees, we would have to take positions and actually go on record by doing something about some things. We would be exposed to the wrath of the voters by allowing them to see us for what we really are.Did you also take note that I said above that we have been aware of this impending disaster since the 1960s but Congress has not acted until June 18, 2013? Even then it did not really "act" because it only sent the fix into committee.If you have a short memory and can't remember what it means to, scroll back into this posting and read what I pecked out above about theWhat's that you just said? Did you really just say you don't have time to scroll back up because you have got to go get dressed so you can go to the polling place to vote back into office your Incumbent Congressman and Senators because they are all Good Guys?Sometimes I wonder why I bother.Would I kid u?SmartfellaLagniappe: I tried to get an update to this issue and I found a Wikipedia entry that was last edited on 22 January 2018. In it I found these ominous words,
A study led by Washington state nonprofit group, Washington Health Alliance, recently concluded that in just one year more than 600,000 patients received medical treatment they didnt need. Examples of treatment overuse included annual cervical cancer testing, lab work before elective procedures, or annual electrocardiograms and other heart tests for people who dont need them.

To identify the issue of medical overuse or overtreatment, the group collected information from its All-Payer Claims Database for approximately 2.4 million commercially insured lives in the state of Washington using a tool called the Health Waste Calculator. The calculator is a part of the Milliman MedInsight suite of analytic tools and software designed to help identify and quantify overused health care services. The software was designed after health care spending estimates indicated that overuse could account for as much as one-third of total health care spending in the United States and contributes to the expensive rise in the cost of healthcare for all Americans. From the initial review, the group was then able to examine the cases of 1.3 million patients in Washington state who received one of 47 tests or services that medical experts flag as overused or unnecessary.

Study highlights include:

More than 600,000 patients underwent a treatment they didnt need, treatments that collectively cost an estimated $282 million.

More than a third of the money spent on the 47 tests or services went to unnecessary care.

Three of four annual cervical cancer screenings were performed on women who had adequate prior screenings  at a cost of $19 million.

About 85 percent of the lab tests to prep healthy patients for low-risk surgery were unnecessary  squandering about $86 million.

Needless annual heart tests on low-risk patients consumed $40 million.

Wasteful tests and procedures are a problem widespread. Across the United States, an estimated $765 billion a year of overuse has been identified by the National Academy of Medicine. That equals about a fourth of all the money spent each year on health care.



11 Key Drivers of Overtreatment

With the help of the Health Waste Calculator, Washington Health Alliance was able to identify 11 key measures (out of 47) that accounted for 93 percent of healthcare services. A total of 578,503 individuals in this study received at least one of these low-value services. As reported, the 11 measures include the following, in descending order based on volume:

Too frequent cervical cancer screening in women Preoperative baseline laboratory studies prior to low-risk surgery Unnecessary imaging for eye disease Annual EKGs or cardiac screening in low risk, asymptomatic individuals Prescribing antibiotics for acute upper respiratory and ear infections PSA screening Population-based screening for OH-Vitamin D deficiency Imaging for uncomplicated low back pain in the first six weeks Preoperative EKG, chest x-ray and pulmonary function testing prior to low risk surgery Cardiac stress testing Imaging for uncomplicated headache

These common examples of overuse may be important when used to help the right patient but do not even slightly show the physical, emotional and extreme financial harm that can be done to individuals who do not need them.



Identifying Overuse Within a Care System

Overuse, also called overtreatment, is typically presented with low-value health care medical tests and procedures that have been shown to provide little benefit in particular clinical scenarios and in many cases have the potential to cause harm. Unfortunately, this issue resonates all too well to the heavily populated boomer generation, a group of people on limited incomes who are dependent on health care decisions and diagnoses to support affordable coverage. These individuals, or their caregivers, can help eliminate overuse from occurring by questioning their provider if the prescribed or suggested health care is:

Supported by evidence;

Truly necessary;

Not duplicative of other tests or procedures already received; and

As free from harm as possible

Although there are many assumptions and claims from both providers and patients that lead to unnecessary care, the United States medical system is still dominated by a payment system that pays providers for doing tests and procedures. Patients and their caregivers may also carry some responsibility for unnecessary treatments and overuse by demanding a medical professional help them by providing relief or perform a test to find a solution to a problem that may not  in actuality  really be there.



What Does This Mean for Illinois Residents

Its no secret. Americans are having extreme difficulties affording valuable health care. Luckily, here in Illinois health insurance costs for the silver plan with the lowest monthly premium offered through the national or state-level insurance exchanges administered through the Affordable Care Act, ranks number 15 in the nation for best pricing. But dont get too comfortable with that standing. Premiums will continue to rise as the opportunity to overuse becomes more prevalent.

Wasted medical care spending isnt a random occurrence that happens in just a few locations. It has actually become normalized across the country so much that users are refraining from even thinking about it as an issue. But each day, hospital staff are pushing low-value health care treatments and billing for unnecessary tests while throwing away supplies and medications because they werent used within a specific yet falsified timeframe. Nursing homes and home care providers are just as big a contributor as they often discard still-potent medications or new equipment, to be paid for with the money in your loved ones pocket.

When the cost for health care services continue to trend in a rising direction for everyone across the country, premiums for all plans will continue to increase. Patients and their communities need to demand dialogue among key stakeholders about how low-value, high-priced, wasteful health care tactics are impacting medical-related costs nationwide, but also right here in Illinois.



Respected Nursing Home Negligence Attorneys

Levin & Perconti has become one of the most widely-known and respected nursing home abuse and neglect law firms in Illinois, achieving multiple million dollar verdicts and settlements. If a loved one has been taken advantage of financially or you feel they are receiving unnecessary medical care that is causing them stress, physical or financial harm at a nursing home, we want to hear about it. There is a time limit to file a case in Illinois, so please contact us now for a free consultation with one of our skilled nursing home attorneys.
It's good to be number one.

According to a report from Reuters journalists John Shiffman and Reade Levinson, The United States could well be the biggest exporter of severed heads, arms, legs, and torsos in the world.

The report states that the lion's share of these exports can be traced to a Portland-based company called MedCure Inc. In a recent shipment, the company sent roughly six thousand pounds of human remains to overseas buyers, at a value of $67,204. MedCure came by the body parts by dissecting the remains of individuals who left their bodies to medical science:

Among the parts: a pelvis and legs to a university in Malaysia; feet to medical device companies in Brazil and Turkey; and heads to hospitals in Slovenia and the United Arab Emirates. Demand for body parts from America  torsos, knees and heads  is high in countries where religious traditions or laws prohibit the dissection of the dead. Unlike many developed nations, the United States largely does not regulate the sale of donated body parts, allowing entrepreneurs such as MedCure to expand exports rapidly during the last decade. No other nation has an industry that can provide as convenient and reliable a supply of body parts.

It's worth noting that in many cases, the forms signed by those donating their bodies to medical science state that their bits and pieces may be cut up and shipped to other locales. What makes this gross, however, is that money is being made off of the practice, often to the surprise of the deceased's relatives  afterall, the body was given freely, in the hopes that it could advance the betterment of humankind.

I suppose that if what MedCure's doing is all above board, they shouldn't be the subject of a federal investigation. But guess what? They totally are. The FBI's so far up MediCure's ass right now that they can see their teeth. Reuters explains that while "the search warrant remains sealed, people familiar with the matter say it relates in part to overseas shipping."

Nice.

By P.J.L Laurens  Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6455012
Facebook and Google's parent company Alphabet are among the tech giants pushing a congressional bid to reverse the Trump administration's plan to repeal Obama-era Net Neutrality rules that protect the open internet.

David Shepardson for Reuters:

The FCC voted along party lines in December to repeal net neutrality regulations. Those rules, introduced in 2015, were lauded by tech companies and consumer groups but denounced by internet service providers as hindering investment.

The Internet Association, which represents Google's parent, Facebook, Amazon.com, Microsoft, Netflix and many others, said in a letter on Thursday to Senate leaders that it backed the Senate effort to reverse the vote, but also called for a long-term fix.

"The internet industry urges Congress to legislate a permanent solution," the group said in the letter made public on Thursday. "The time has come for a bipartisan effort to establish permanent net neutrality rules."

A public backlash against the FCC's plan, especially among younger people, has raised concerns among some politicians about how the issue might play out in the 2018 congressional elections.

More than 20 U.S. state attorneys general are also mounting a legal challenge of the FCC's vote to reverse the rules introduced in 2015 that prevent internet providers, such as AT&T and Comcast from obstructing information they transmit to customers or offering paid fast lanes, also known as paid prioritization.
Stefan Lawrence is a much-loved designer whose work graces such Maximum Fun podcasts as Judge John Hodgman and Bullseye, noticed that the "fast-fashion" brand Topman (a division of the notorious slavers Topshop) had ripped off one of his designs and used it without license or credit in a bunch of its products.



He sent the company a stiff letter, and they promised to stop.

They didn't.

Instead, they dumped all their inventory into bottom-feeding secondary markets all over the world, so that Lawrence could no longer simply send one letter to get sales halted, but would instead have to chase his artwork around the globe if he wanted justice.



Here's the thing: I completely understand how this kind of situation arises, especially with the fast turnaround Christmas market. I'm sure they assigned some junior designer the task of coming up with a bajillion sweater ideas. The mockup became the artwork, and somebody forgot to do the due diligence of making sure it was copyright cleared. I get it. But a stand-up company would acknowledge their mistake and make it right. All I ask, as a working design professional, is that I'm compensated for my design. I'm happy to work out a licensing arrangement, given that they're willing to continue to profit off my work. I do challenge Topman to make this right, and show that they really care about copyright infringement, as they indicated to me in their initial letter. Also: an apology would be nice.

Topman, Santa Jaws and Copyright Infringement [Stefan Lawrence/Medium]
News / National

by Staff reporter

land reform is irreversible as it is one of the legacies that former President Robert Mugabe left for Zimbabweans, Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (Arda) board chairperson Mr Basil Nyabadza has said.Refuting private media reports that he had described the agrarian reform as a "great mistake, which drove away white commercial farmers and crippled the agriculture sector", Mr Nyabadza said the programme was ideal as it benefited hundreds of thousands of landless Zimbabweans."I cannot lead Arda while I have misgivings with the land reform programme," he said. "If anything, my responsibility is to ensure that land is fully utilised and there is evidence of that throughout the country. Land reform is irreversible and it's a done deal."The legacy left by the former President is land and education, which he invested for the entire nation. I did not meet the (NewsDay) journalist in question last week as he implied. I regard myself as a foot soldier within the agriculture sector, so to me this is an intention to injure my name, to cast doubt on my principals or pursuance of a hidden agenda by the writer."Mr Nyabadza said white commercial farmers were welcome as long as they conformed to the country's dictates."We welcome those who want to extract value from the land with Zimbabweans and conforming to the rules and regulations of our country," he said."We, Zimbabweans retain capacity as ably demonstrated by the Command Agriculture programme where we attained 2,5 million tonnes of maize last season. This confirms that we have the resources, skills and intent to be food secure as a nation."Naturally, we are now open for business, meaning those who want to invest are welcome, but must conform to the minimum positions of our statutes. We are working well in the agriculture sector and despite the weather we are still assured of a good harvest."Government has directed that all remaining white commercial farmers be issued with 99-year leases, a marked policy shift from the previous arrangement where they could only get five-year leases.The directive is in line with President Mnangagwa's policy position as enunciated in his inauguration address on November 24 last year when he called for the restoration of confidence in the agricultural sector.There are approximately 200 white commercial farmers still farming countrywide.President Mnangagwa has since pronounced that white former commercial farmers willing to come back were free to do so, but had to apply for land like anyone else.While the new administration has reiterated the need to compensate white former commercial farmers, it has also moved in to enforce a ban on new illegal farm occupations.
News / National

by Staff reporter

THE decision by government to invest in Telecel Zimbabwe where it now has a 60% controlling stake was done in order to resolve shareholder conflicts in the company as well as to empower Zimbabweans, an official has said.Giving oral evidence before the Media, Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) portfolio committee on Thursday, ICT minister Supa Mandiwanzira said government's decision to purchase Telecel Zimbabwe was mainly influenced by shareholder conflicts which led to the selling of shares without government benefiting.Mandiwanzira said the decision was not a decision made entirely by the Ministry of ICT but by the entire government as it was approved by cabinet.Mandiwanzira said the manner in which Telecel Zimbabwe shares were exchanging hands without the government's knowledge was a disadvantage to Zimbabwe."There were lot of issues around Telecel Zimbabwe, issues of conflict among shareholders but more importantly from a government point of view, issues around the movement of shareholding in this company without any particular benefit to the government of Zimbabwe. There was no benefit in terms of capital gains or having part of those proceeds trickle down to some enterprises locally," said Mandiwanzira.He said international shareholding of Telecel Zimbabwe exchanged hands without any benefit accruing to treasury or accruing to businesses that exist in Zimbabwe."The company you will know from history was granted a licence on the basis of empowerment. Granted simply because of to simply empower Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans association, Zimbabwe Farmers Union, Small Scale Miners Association of Zimbabwe, Indigenous Business Women Organisation, Affirmative Action Group and individuals who were also involved in the transaction," Mandiwanzira said."Originally the shareholding was that 60% would be owned by an entity called Empowerment Corporation which was an entity housing all Zimbabwean shareholders to the business and 40% was to be taken up by an investor internationally who would bring in the technology as well as the technical knowhow of setting up a mobile network. What ultimately happened is that a company owned by the late Rwandese Miko Rwayitare Telecel International ended up snapping 40% of that shareholding and a further 20% to make it 60%."Mandiwanzira said his ministry does not know how Rwayitare ended up with an extra 20%. He said the matter was a subject of debate and accusations and counter accusations between the original shareholders of Telecel in Zimbabwe (the indigenous shareholders) and Rwayitare's Telecel International.Telecel International, Mandiwanzira explained, ended up selling its entire 60% offshore without the involvement of Zimbabwean authorities to a company in Egypt called Orascom which is owned by billionaire Egyptian business people who ultimately also sold their stake in Telecel Zimbabwe offshore as well."The exchange of hands in the shareholding was done with no involvement of the Zimbabwean government, tax authorities and financial systems. The 60% shares were eventually then sold offshore by Orascom to Vimplecom a global company which is largely owned by Russians and by the Norwegian government through their Sovereign Wealth fund which has investments in a company called Telenor."Mandiwanzira said when government was tipped that Vimplecom was in the market trying to dispose the shareholding offshore to another foreign company, it decided to buy the shares."I had just been appointed minister of ICT and I raised a flag and said we have to come to a situation where if an asset is owned locally and is exchanging hands that process must involve Zimbabweans to the extent of either being offered some of the shares to purchase or the transaction must be recognised by the central bank here and also by the tax authorities. When selling a Zimbabwean asset there must be capital gains accrued in the disposal of that asset," he further explained.The Zimbabwean government through Zarnet eventually purchased the 60% stake from Vimplecom for US$40 million. The deal was concluded in July 2017.Mandiwanzira said Vimplecom explained to government that it was selling its shares due to unresolved conflicts with local shareholders in Telecel Zimbabwe. He said, according to Vimplecom, the local shareholders in Telecel Zimbabwe wanted Vimplecom to continue pouring in funds even though the company was not performing.Asked why government bought a loss making company which is failing to pay licence fees, Mandiwanzira said government wanted to preserve jobs and empower its people. He said it was a common practice with other governments internationally.He said Telecel Zimbabwe would remain a private company and will not be turned into a parastatal. Mandiwanzira said his Ministry had been approached by international companies from different countries which include Dubai and South Africa and are interested in buying off Telecel.
News / National

by Staff reporter

OPPOSITION leader President Tendai Biti has predicted a violent 2018 election and further warned the November 2017 "coup" against then President Robert Mugabe was certain to recur as the military has tested power.According to NewZimbabwe.com, the People's Democratic Party (PDP) leader was speaking during a panel discussion at SAPES Trust in Harare Thursday evening when he vowed that the opposition would put up a strong fight to resist military intrusion into the country's polls.In his remarks, Biti said the high stakes elections set for mid this year were certain to turn violent as the military-backed Zanu PF government fights to retain state authority."The issue of violence is going to be a factor in this election. They did not plan this coup in order to lose power in July or August 2018," Biti said while referring to the military seizure of power which dislodged Mugabe."They (military) have been marrying designer wives; they have been sending themselves to school. There are now more per capita PhDs at the army than anywhere else."And they were not getting those PhDs in order to get a job at Econet or Delta Corporations. They were getting those degrees in order to lay their hands on the State. So, this is going to be a fight of our lives."Biti added, "I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that this is going to be a violent election".The former finance minister described the current administration as a junta, insisting it would be folly if the opposition did not raise a hue and cry about the "coup" which propelled Mnangagwa to power.The PDP leader said an opposition defeat in 2018 will see the military consolidate its stranglehold on power.Biti warned the country risked future coup episodes if locals failed to confront the military over its overbearing influence on civilian affairs.
News / National

by Staff reporter

SHARP differences have emerged between Britain and its counterparts in the European Union over the funding and support to be given to President Emmerson Mnangagwa's administration ahead of the make-or-break general elections this year.Britain has been aggressive in its support of the new administration and has been impressed by statements made by Mnangagwa so far on economic and political reforms.However, the EU wants government to match rhetoric with action, particularly on the implementation of critical political and economic reforms before committing significant funding to the cash-strapped government.Opposition parties and civil society groups share the same stance as the EU and argue that pouring money into Zimbabwe without wide-ranging reforms would not bring about meaningful change.This week, diplomatic sources told the Zimbabwe Independent that British embassy officials' approach has been to give Zimbabwe support because there is a new administration and therefore renewed hope.Ambassador Philippe Van Damme, the head of the EU Delegation to Zimbabwe, last month said the bloc would consider scaling up financial assistance to Zimbabwe if Mnangagwa's government delivers on its pledge to stage a credible poll, as well as implement reforms that would set the country's fragile economy on a firm growth trajectory.A diplomat from the block said the position had the support of most EU members, except the British mission which had a much softer stance.Sources say Britain is willing to assist Zimbabwe to get a bailout in order for it to pay its debt to international financial institutions (IFIs) to enable it to unlock fresh funding. In that regard, sources say embassy officials are supporting the idea that Standard Chartered Bank assist Zimbabwe with funds to repay IFIs to enable it to unlock fresh funding.Zimbabwe has committed to paying the US$1,2 billion arrears to the World Bank by April this year, as the first step towards unlocking fresh funding from multilateral institutions.Those close to the developments say Britain wants the IFIs to give Zimbabwe money without stringent conditions.Zimbabwe is desperate to restore its good standing with the West and sees mending relations with former colonial ruler Britain as a critical step.In September 2016, the Independent reported that Britain had a grand plan to support Mnangagwa (then vice-president) to succeed former president Robert Mugabe. Mnangagwa eventually succeeded Mugabe after military intervention in November last year.According to diplomats, the British supported Mnangagwa even during the Mugabe era as they have always thought he has the stature, is strong, decisive and has military backing as well as being pro-reform and capital.It is also said they were convinced they could do business with him even if it means the country adopts an authoritarian developmental state model similar to China and Rwanda.The close ties, particularly between Ambassador Catriona Laing and the new administration, is worrying other EU diplomats who believe the British diplomat has taken a much softer stance compared to her government."The British are in theory bound by the EU line. But they seem so desperate for international recognition that they throw everything else out of the window," a diplomat based in Zimbabwe said."Look, diplomats should never support a particular politician. UK doesn't get that  All EU missions, including UK in theory, want reforms and legitimacy  simple. Luckily, London has a much firmer stance than the embassy here."Last week, British Prime minister Theresa May sent the British minister for Africa, Harriett Baldwin, to meet Mnangagwa.Briefing journalists after a high-level meeting with the President, Baldwin said she had a cordial engagement with Mnangagwa and was optimistic about the normalisation of relations between Harare and London."I brought a message (from Prime Minister May) that the UK Government welcomes the messages we heard from the new President in terms of his programme for economic and political reforms and we are very pleased to hear that the plans are to hold free and fair elections in Zimbabwe later this year," she said.Britain-Zimbabwe relations continue to improve. To show its support for Mnangagwa, May sent her Africa minister Rory Stewart to witness his inauguration in November.Relations between Britain and Zimbabwe soured at the turn of the millennium over the land issue in the wake of refusal by the Labour administration of Tony Blair to honour obligations entered into with the Tory government of Margaret Thatcher in 1979.A British embassy spokesperson this week told the Independent that the UK supports the EU foreign affairs council policy stance on Zimbabwe which stipulates that the country will only receive significant funding from European countries after delivering a credible election and implementing reforms which entrench democracy and stimulate economic growth.The British embassy spokesperson said: "The UK fully supports the conclusions on Zimbabwe of the EU Foreign Affairs Council adopted last month. The UK contributed to the drafting of these conclusions which represent the views of all 28 Member States.Upcoming elections in Zimbabwe are a major milestone for Zimbabweans. The UK has welcomed President Emmerson Mnangagwa's commitment that these will be credible, peaceful, free and fair and monitored by international observers. Our minister for Africa Harriett Baldwin discussed the Zimbabwe government's vision for comprehensive political as well as economic reforms with the President and Foreign Affairs minister during her visit on 1 and 2 February. Along with the rest of the international community, we will be monitoring the implementation of those reforms closely."The embassy also said the UK government is not a party to commercial discussions between any UK bank and the government of Zimbabwe.
News / National

by Staff reporter

THE expulsion of high-ranking Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) officers this week has escalated tension in the security forces amid revelations that some operatives who were tortured during the military's Operation Restore Legacy which toppled former president Robert Mugabe were demanding compensation for injury and trauma.The November operation catapulted President Emmerson Mnangagwa to high office, ending Mugabe's 37-year grip on power.The army was vicious on people netted during Operation Restore Legacy, particularly the police and CIO agents, further straining relations which had deteriorated due to differences over the protracted Zanu-PF succession wrangle.Senior CIO officers who were retired this week include director of security Albert Miles Ngulube, Andrew Muzonzini (director external affairs), Kizito Gweshe (deputy director counter intelligence) and Tadzingaira Tachivei (assistant director counter intelligence).Several Provincial Intelligence Officers were also put out to pasture.Sources said CIO bosses this week issued a circular informing all state agents that those who have served for 20 years or more, except directors, should also retire.The total number of intelligence officers to be retired could reach as high as 450.The purges, which follow hot on the heels of similar action at the Zimbabwe Republic Police where former commissioner-general Augustine Chihuri was fired in December, has heightened tension and anxiety in the security sector.Security officials told the Zimbabwe Independent that officers who were targeted are bitter over their unceremonious removal after serving the government for many years."Some of them had loyally served for more than 30 years yet they were removed unceremoniously. The bitterness, and this extends to those that are remaining in the organisation, is also because officers are not being fired for professional reasons and in many cases action was taken on the basis of rumours and outright lies," a senior security officer said. "Take the example of Ngulube, one of the reasons being given for his dismissal is that he helped Jonathan Moyo and Saviour Kasukuwere escape. They are also saying he was a G40 member."But, it is well-known that Ngulube was one of the first persons to be captured by the military during the operation. He was tortured and was held in leg irons. How then could he have assisted Moyo and Kasukuwere to escape when he was in captivity and had no access to a phone? The guy almost died in captivity and the military is aware of that. Of course, he was loyal to Mugabe, as his director of security, but he was never a G40 member. He was sacrificed for doing his job, which was basically to protect Mugabe. That's the job he swore to do."Security officials also revealed that some CIO agents had demanded compensation for the injuries they sustained as well as emotional trauma they suffered after being captured and tortured by army personnel.The demands were made at a recent meeting with new CIO director-general Isaac Moyo. The meeting was attended by personnel from the army.The CIO agents maintain that they were victimised for no reason. Up to 60 agents who worked close to Mugabe and his family were captured and tortured by the army during the operation.Some of the agents were captured at the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation's Pockets Hill studios in Highlands where they had rushed to gather information, soon after receiving news that soldiers had besieged the area."The operatives armed themselves and rushed to Pockets Hill. Their mission was to gather information on what was happening there because at that time, it was not clear whether the whole military was effecting a coup or whether a few rogue soldiers had taken up arms," another senior official said. "Some operatives were also armed to offer protection to Mugabe and to gather information at some strategic places. Some of the operatives were however captured and tortured."A government official said the purges were part of the Mnangagwa administration's efforts to consolidate power.The official said the feeling in government is that the CIO and police wanted to counter the military action."What is happening now is part of Mnangagwa's consolidation of power. He is basically getting rid of people he doesn't trust in the security organisations and, in this case, there was a fallout with some top security officials because of Zanu-PF succession fights," a senior official said. "Bridges were then burnt when the intelligence and police tried to counter the military operation in a bid to save Mugabe. There could have been bloodshed, but the counter force pulled out after realising the amount of firepower on the ground. As you are aware, military tanks and other heavy artillery had been rolled into town."Some police officers were also detained, while the police's armoury and Support Unit camps at Chikurubi in Harare, Fairbridge in Bulawayo and Buchwa in Mberengwa were besieged by the army. The Support Unit camps were supposed to provide snipers to assist Mugabe."Former Home Affairs minister Ignatius Chombo, Ngulube, and former Zanu-PF youth league secretary Kudzanayi Chipanga were detained, while former Local Government minister, who was also Zanu-PF national political commissar, Saviour Kasukuwere, and former Higher Education minister Jonathan Moyo escaped.Soldiers stormed Chombo's Mount Pleasant home before spraying the house with bullets.The crackdown on police was partly because the Support Unit attempted to arrest Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga, then commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, when he arrived from China on November 12 last year.This was a week after Mnangagwa had fled the country to avoid arrest.A petition sent to the Southern African Development Community and the Africa Union by a political outfit, New Patriotic Front (NPF), reveals efforts to save Mugabe's presidency would have resulted in a bloodbath on November 15 last year.In the dossier, NPF says the military warned Mugabe against using the CIO and the police to counter them while he was confined to his Blue Roof home during his last days in power. The 79-page dossier contains minutes of all meetings between Mugabe's negotiation team and army commanders and reveals tensions between the army, as well as the police and CIO.
News / National

by Staff reporter

The Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) commander Phillip Valerio Sibanda has confirmed that the former Zimbabwe Republic Police chief, Augustine Chihuri was fired for attempting to Arrest Ex-ZDF boss, Constantino Chiwenga at the Robert Mugabe International Airport.According to the Zimbabwe Independent newspaper, Sibanda, another source said, narrated how Operation Restore Legacy gained momentum after the army foiled a police operation to arrest former ZDF chief Constantino Chiwenga (now Vice-President). Operation Restore Legacy led to the demise of G40 which had gained pole position in factional fights to succeed the ageing former leader."General Sibanda told the soldiers that he personally asked former Zimbabwe Republic Police commissioner-general Augustine Chihuri why police were carrying out anti-hijack rehearsals at Robert Mugabe International Airport without involving the army. He also questioned why the police wanted to arrest Chiwenga at the airport when they were fully aware of where he resides. This, General Sibanda said, created mistrust between the police and the military," the source said."Chihuri, according to the General, did not give a satisfactory answer, resulting in General Sibanda asking Transport minister Jorum Gumbo why this was happening. The attempt to arrest Chiwenga and public statements by Grace and former Zanu-PF youth league secretary Kudzanai Chipanga are what triggered the army to react."Army spokesperson Alphios Makotore had not responded to questions sent to him by the Independent by the time of going to print.
News / National

by Staff reporter

MDC members have begun putting pressure on the G40 faction to leak details on who it is who allegedly poisoned their leader Morgan Tsvangirai.Party members claim that Tsvangirai currently battling cancer was in fact poisoned during the time when he used to drink tea with Robert Mugabe.The G40 faction now called the New Patriotic Front has threatened to embarrass the new Mnangagwa led government, after it also offloaded records with names of people they alleged are the ones who abducted activist Itai Dzamara in 2015.The demands were made last night for the 50 plus Zanu-PF officials who fled the gun during the November coup last year to speak out."Chitaurai now tell us who poisoned Tsvangirai," Jon Shoko fired into Prof Moyo last night.On the 20th Nov last year, it was revealed that a total 50 MPs and Zanu-PF officials fled the country with former Higher Education Minister, Prof Jonathan Moyo. The tweet mentions Patrick Zhuwao, Saviour Kasukuwere, Makhosini Hlongwane and Paddy Zhanda and the others.The tweet read, "In these difficult and trying times that have been thrust upon our country, I wish to advise concerned family and friends that I'm relatively fine outside the country as are ministers Kasukuwere, Zhuwao, Hlongwane, Zhanda plus at least 50 others who include MPs and Zanu-PF officials!"Zimbabweans are now baying around Prof Jonathan Moyo's Twitter account hoping for the moment when or if he will release the details which might solve the mystery surrounding Tsvangirai's ailment.
News / National

by Staff reporter

The wife of ailing MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai is being denied access to visit him in a Johannesburg hospital where the 65-year-old opposition leader is receiving medical treatment, his spokesperson has confirmed.The Daily News revealed that Tsvangirai's family members are refusing to allow Tsvangirai's wife, Elizabeth, to see him at the top-notch 190-bed Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre (WDGMC).Close relatives of the MDC leader accuse Elizabeth of backing MDC vice president Nelson Chamisa to succeed Tsvangirai and fear she could put pressure on him to facilitate his ascendancy to the throne without following the party's constitution.Tsvangirai's wife enjoys cordial relations with the youthful acting MDC president.Tsvangirai wed Elizabeth (nee Macheka) in September 2012.The former prime minister's wedding was dogged by court cases which denied him permission to marry the imposing widow, Macheka, now 41, in either a civil or traditional "customary" ceremony.A customary ceremony went ahead regardless in front of hundreds of his supporters in the capital and was blessed by a Catholic priest.Tsvangirai's first wife, Susan, died in a car crash in 2009 shortly after Zimbabwe's inclusive government was sworn into power.The Daily News understands a war of words which almost degenerated into a fist-fight erupted at the hospital last week, when Tsvangirai's family members tried to bar Elizabeth from seeing him, with physicians drawn into the complicated family situation.Tsvangirai's son, Vincent, was reportedly restrained from assaulting his step-mum after clashing with Elizabeth.He reportedly vowed that she will never be allowed near his father as long as he lives.After considering what they thought was the best for the patient against what the family wants, physicians at WDGMC resolved that only Tsvangirai's mum be granted access to him.A staffer at the enquiry desk at WDGMC Paediatric and Adult Oncology unit within the hospital - well-known as one of the best cancer treatment facilities in the southern region - declined to confirm the reported rancour the Tsvangirai family brought to the facility, citing physician-patient privilege and patient confidentiality - which requires health care providers to keep a patient's personal health information private unless consent to release the information is provided by the patient.Besides Tsvangirai's mum, his entire family is in South Africa, including his daughter Vimbai who is married into the Java family, Manase, Collins, Vincent and family spokesperson Hebson Makuvise, who is Zimbabwe's former ambassador to Germany.Tsvangirai's eldest son, Edwin is said to be opposing family attempts to stop his step-mum from seeing his ailing dad.Yesterday, Elizabeth told the Daily News: "I will only talk when all this is over, when my husband is out of hospital. Right now, I am concentrating on my husband's sickness. Whatever is happening, I have no comment. When my husband is fully recovered, I will make a statement."A senior MDC official who declined to be named alleged the Tsvangirai's family was being manipulated by a top MDC financier (name withheld) with ulterior motives for choreographing succession in the MDC."His wife was told to go away and could not see her husband. It is spousal abuse," he said.He accused the family of abusing an ailing Tsvangirai for their own interests, along with a cabal of MDC leaders pushing their proxies to succeed the MDC leader."It has gone beyond theatre of the absurd into something ghoulish going on macabre," the official said.Reached for comment yesterday, the spokesperson for Tsvangirai's family, Makuvise, demanded to know who had given the Daily News the information, before denying knowledge of the ruckus."Akakutaurirai mubvunzei kuti why ari kurambidzwa (Your source must tell you why she is being barred)," Makuvise told the Daily News before hanging up his mobile phone.Efforts to reach him later were futile.Senior MDC officials said it was important that Zimbabweans pray for Tsvangirai to recover, saying the family could disintegrate in his absence over his estate.Following his visit to Tsvangirai's mansion in Highlands in Harare last month, President Emmerson Mnangagwa assured the MDC leader that he will work towards releasing his pension and other benefits, while also enabling him to retain his imposing mansion acquired for him when he was prime minister in the inclusive government of 2009 and 2013.Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa has since made the requisite legislative changes to enable Treasury to release the money.MDC insiders said the pension and other featherbeddings dangled by government last month have added fuel to the discord in the 19-year-old political outfit with his deteriorating health worsening the succession fights in his party.The Daily News can report that Tsvangirai has demanded that his wife be given access.A recorded conversation between the former union leader and medical staff, captures a briefing the MDC leader got about his relatives' rancourous behaviour at the hospital facility, and he was told that security have resolved to keep them out of the in-patients unit.The staffer affirmed the primacy of the physician's responsibility toward the patient, and told the MDC leader, who was conversing in a weak voice that the best interest of the patient comes first.Tsvangirai then told the hospital staffer that there were unsavoury motives and says: "I want to see my wife, I want to see Elizabeth."The Daily News can exclusively reveal that the hospital has now organised surreptitious hospital visits for Elizabeth to manage the family dynamics.The hospital also granted Tsvangirai's wish to meet with Chamisa last week for two hours after the MDC VP had again been barred by the ailing MDC leader's family.Chamisa declined to comment.Tsvangirai's spokesperson Luke Tamborinyoka told the Daily News: "The needless scuffles belittle the huge and towering brand of president Tsvangirai. He has intimated to me some of the challenges but when everything has been said and done, everyone must allow the president to recover by giving respect to him, his wife and family but above all we must accord the huge MT brand the dignity it deserves, especially as he battles this cancer."The stressed wife has helplessly watched as her husband underwent a gruelling chemotherapy regime, lost significant amounts of weight, appearing gaunt and drawn.As his caregiver, she watched him last year lose the majority of his hair, a common side effect from cancer treatment.His current prognosis is grim, amid fears he might not pull through.Tsvangirai, 65, who was diagnosed with cancer of the colon in 2016, is now receiving palliative care, an interdisciplinary care that provides quality of life for patients with terminal illness.Despite undergoing over a dozen chemotherapy sessions at the facility, which was established in 2002 when the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits University) bought the Kenridge Hospital with a founding donation from the Donald Gordon Foundation, Tsvangirai has sadly proceeded to Stage IV cancer, with the disease travelling beyond his colon.The Daily News understands cancer cells have now been detected in his kidneys and liver. But doctors were still battling to remove or shrink the tumour. Tsvangirai was said to have suffered "organ failure."This is Tsvangirai's longest period of medical leave, following brief absences from mid-2016 when he publicly announced he was undergoing treatment for cancer of the colon.Officials have refused to disclose finer details of the 65-year-old's condition, only saying he was "critical but stable".There has been an "industry of lies" that has grown up around Tsvangirai's medical condition.The ailing MDC president left Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, in early January and handed over power to his deputy, Elias Mudzuri.Mudzuri was on Wednesday replaced as acting president by Chamisa after he travelled to Cape Town, together with the other MDC deputy Thokozani Khupe to attend a meeting for the formation of a new opposition coalition called Zimbabwe Alliance.This meeting was spearheaded by the vanquished and bitter Generation 40 (G40) Zanu-PF faction and includes a new political party National Patriotic Front (NPF), Joice Mujuru's National People's Party, and the MDC Anti-Alliance team.The meeting was chaired by a member of the G40 faction and was condemned by Mnangagwa at a Mashonaland Central rally on Wednesday as a futile plot to oust him, being engineered by the Democracy Institute - a think-tank based in Washington DC, founded in 2006.
News / Press Release

by Luke Tamborinyoka

Acting President Advocate Nelson Chamisa today addressed the Zvimba East district strucure and presented a summary of the party's policy programme to improve people's lives after the election.He said as the next leader of the country, President Morgan Tsvangirai had shown during the inclusive government his capacity to deliver positive change in people's lives. He said the party had prudent policies in all sectors of the economy and the country was only geared for growth after the next elections.Chamisa lauded the Mashonaland West provincial executive for implementing the consensus approach in candidate selection in line with the directive given by president Tsvangirai.Next week, the MDC acting President will meet minorities and engage other critical sectors ahead of the next election, including civic groups and women's organizations among others.Luke TamborinyokaPresidential Spokesperson and Director of Communications
Opinion / Columnist

"Pasi nezvimbwa sungata! Pasi nemhandu! Pamberi neZanu PF!" (To death to traitors! To death with enemies of the state! Forward with Zanu PF!) Canted President Emmerson Mnangagwa with the passion and relish of one who had missed saying these things for far too long! (Since President Mnangagwa's inaugural speech in November last year, the party had banished the "To death" bit of the party's slogan, at least in public, to promote its new image of democratic tolerance and promise to hold free, fair and credible elections.) So, what has happened to free Mnangagwa from this self-imposed censorship!"Jonathan Moyo, Kasukuwere and other G40 members are meeting with Joice Mujuru in Cape Town, SA to plan how they can topple Zanu PF from power," President Mnangagwa told his audience.True enough there is a conference in Cape Town attended by Mai Mujuru, MDC-T leaders and all the other usual suspects in the opposition camp. Thanks to Zimeye.com who have streamed photographs of the conference attendees, the objectives of the meeting and other details. Jonathan Moyo, Kasukuwere or any of the known G40 members are certainly not in any of the photographs.Indeed, even if G40 members should team up with Mai Mujuru and all the other 75 opposition parties that have sprouted grass after the first rains with a view to challenge President Mnangagwa and his coup cabal for the right to form the next government; that is NOT a crime. President Mnangagwa's promise to hold free and fair elections this year is premised on three fundaments:a) Zimbabwe is a multi-party democracy; just because Zanu PF has successfully imposed a de facto one-party dictatorship does not make those who dare to oppose the regime criminals.b) President Mnangagwa and his fellow 15 November 2017 coup plotters were aware of how much the people of Zimbabwe and the world at large were sick and tired of Robert Mugabe and were very pleased to see the tyrant finally remove from office  even if the removal was itself a treasonous act, a coup.c) The November coup was illegal and no amount of finessing can ever change that political reality and therefore per se President Mnangagwa's regime is illegitimate. President Mnangagwa is painfully aware of this political reality and hence his and his regime's charm offensive to rebrand with all this talk of new dispensation of a party upholding the rule of law, restoring property rights and promising to hold free, fair and credible elections.Before the November coup, Zanu PF was a party of corrupt, vote rigging and coup staging thugs; it was therefore naive to expect the party after the coup to be radically different since those who staged the coup and thus took over control of the party are the same individuals who had masterminded and executed all the mischief and thuggery before the 15 November coup. However much they, themselves realized the need to embrace democratic change for the sake of economic recovery and for their own political legitimacy; when their hold on power was threatened they reverted to thuggery at the drop of a hat!It is no secret that President Mnangagwa and his coup cabal now view G40 members as the greatest threat to their hold on power. People like Professor Jonathan Moyo know a lot of past, present and, no doubt, future dirty secrets on Mnangagwa, VP Chiwenga and other coup leaders. Knowledge is power. President Mnangagwa and his regime have accused Professor Moyo and his G40 friends of corruption and misuse of power but there is no one in Zanu PF, including Mnangagwa himself, who is not guilty of the same crimes and worse in some cases. The real reason why the coup cabal are hunting G40 members down is political  they want the threat posed by G40 members eliminated completely and hence labelling them enemies of the state! Having declared G40 members enemies of the State, Zanu PF is now extending the net to catch every other opposition party they do not want by claiming they are working in cahoots with G40. All those political parties who attended the conference in Cape Town, will now have an impossible task to prove they are not working with G40 directly or indirectly."Pasi nezvimbwa sungata! Pasi nemhandu!" Came the fatwa on G40, the opposition and, worst of, free, fair and verifiable elections!
Opinion / Columnist

"The creator of the beginning, is also the creator of the end. He created the Hydrogen atom, and excited it to multiply into all known and unknown elements. He controls them all time after time. He applies entropy on every atom of his choice, and at his own choice of time."

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Ryton Dzimiri 2018

Ninety days ago, President Emerson Mnangagwa was a fugitive Dissident in Mozambique. His strength and command of the gun had proven to be nothing but vanity of vanities. Like Richard Gwesela of 1983, Mnangagwa had a moment of eye opening, to see the depth of Robert Mugabe's evil treatment of fellow human beings at the strength of a gun.Power is a notorious drug. Its notoriety is everywhere all around the World in families, States and Kingdoms. In families, children are born humble and have their napkins changed by humble and fragile mothers. These children grow up and get into the education cycle like Mugabe, Mnangagwa, Gadhaffi, Kim Jong Un, Saddam, Zuma, Hitler, Tony Blair, Vladimir Putin, Teressa May, Donald Trump, Barrack Obama, Pick Bother etc. These children start from humble beginnings, but stumble upon power somewhere in their lifetimes.On the day that Mnangagwa was in the Mozambiquean Wilderness, running away from Chimbwido Grace Mugabe, Robert Mugabe knew that he was ultimately in control of any atom within the boarders of Zimbabwe. Mugabe's apparatus were exceptionally super-strong. This is the apparatus which even Tony Blair could not pernitrate in 2002. But, something called Entropy in physics, proves that not even Hitler, not George Bush, not Saddam, not Gadhaffi, not Jabulani Sibanda, not Chenjerai Hunzwi, not Robert Mugabe, probably only Mnangagwa, Perence Shiri, Chiwenga, Donald Trump, Kim Jon Un and Teressa May, can beat Entropy.The malignant drug called Power, makes a humble human being talk, and see people, as objects of little value. Once the effect of the drug is removed, the formerly powerful human being gains back his human status like Dissident Mnangagwa of November 2017. When the Power plug suffers from Entropy, a frightening, firebrand Virago like Grace Mugabe, becomes human again.Amazingly enough, no protagonist has ever sustained Power for ever. What this means is that Power is a temporary assert. But, this definition does not strike a tone to anyone who currently holds the effect of this Powerful drug.When an ignorant man's finger is on the trigger, the man becomes the Prosecutor, the Judge, the custodian of life or death, the Solar system, the galactic wing, the galaxy, the Universe, the Multiverse and ultimately the god. When such a powerful man speaks, the gluons, neutrons, protons, electrons, photons, neutrino and all matter within his jurisdictive domain, must obey. It is mostly a waste of time to tell such a powerful mam to humble himself and apologise to the Nation for the legacy of his wicked works in politics.Once someone is kicked out of power, like Joyce Mujuru, only then do they say, "I did not know that the people were suffering when I was in Government since 1980". Like Didymus Mutasa, Enos Nkala, Rugare Gumbo or Robert Mugabe, these people begin to hunt for some people, to say "sorry for what I did".This World today, is holding it's breathy, waiting for two protagonists who have their fingers on ultimate and super-buttons. The men, Donald Trump and Kim Jon Un, are both armed, not with AK 47 like Mnangagwa and Chiwenga, but with nuclear weapons.When God pronounced "Let there be light", trillions of years ago, he had created a tiny Hydrogen atom. His command meant the excitement of this atom to create Helium which was excited to create Lithium then Beryllium and on and on and on until we were blessed with this beautiful blue planet so rich with matter.The bullying of one man by another will see this blue planet suffer the reaction of the reverse of creation. Men discovered the reaction of exciting uranium isotope 263 upon being pumped up with extra and external neutrons. Instead of using this discovery to alleviate poverty on this blue planet, Trump and Kim Jon Un, like Chiwenga, Mnangagwa and Mugabe, will use the knowledge to try and subdue other human-beings who have an equal brain capacity.Nuclear weapons are ultimate! Once ignited, Russia, India, China and Europe will also ignite theirs. Chiwenga AK 47s will melt and fuse together merely as fuel to burn this world back into a single, solid lifeless mass. Earth will become barren like Mars or even worse.The whole problem begins with predominantly humble men, who shoot intto power and begin to see other human-beings as useless ineffective objects. At the end of everything, we will all be equal after killing each other.What makes the nuclear war unavoidable this time around is a simple thing which happened twenty years ago when Tony Blair sweetspoke Gadaffi to drop his nuclear ambitions. Blair wisely explained to Gadaffi that acquiring more ultimate weapons is not in the interest of anyone on Earth. As an understanding African, Gadaffi complied. A few years ago, a militarily weaker Gadaffi was lynched by Western sponsored militants.Now, Kim Jon Un, of North Korea, does not want even to have a single word with anyone who has a potential to convince him to stop developing his nuclear programme. The dishonesty of Western sweetdeceit which led to Gadaffis's demise, is now a barrier to peace in North Korea, which is more volatile than Gadaffi's Libya.While we worry about the belligerence of the AK47 at the hands of powerdrunk Mnangagwa in Zimbabwe, the big Welding Machine is cooking between North Korea and USA. This Welding Machine will turn this planet into a single useless and barren Welded mass. No one can stop it.As belligerence is stubborn in Zimbabwe, it is exponentially malignant between the Trumps and Kims of this planet.
Opinion / Columnist

Who is the 'authentic' Acting president

The Khupe narrative

The Tendai Biti/Welshman Ncube factor

Conclusion

The Movement for Democratic change Tsvangirayi (MDC-T) as we know it is in murky waters. The political movement that gave Robert Mugabe a run for his money over the last twenty years is now a former shadow of itself. The political movement has been consumed by its failure to deal with the issue of succession. Unlike Zanu PF, it has failed to regenerate itself in the face of a changing political culture. Its leader, Morgan Tsvangirai is reported to be in a critical health condition. We are told that he has not been allowed visitors except for very close family friends. We are told his condition is so bad that he now fails to recognise those that visit him (We pray for his recovery). Amidst this, Morgan Tsvangirai is said to have penned two contradictory letters within a space of 24 hours, this is a sign that both the leader and the party have lost the internal succession battle.The question is whether in all fairness we should be talking about Morgan Tsvangirayi or criticise his decision or lack thereof in light of his deteriorating health. This may come across as insensitive. To authenticate which of the two letters come from him, it may be prudent to be sensitive enough to ask the Doctors rather that Tsvangirayi whether he is still capable of making informed decisions. If we are to go by the letter written and signed by the MDC spokesperson, Luke Tamborinyoka anointing Nelson Chamisa as the acting president, then a coup has just taken place in the MDC -T. A Fraudulent coup for that matter. The second letter released by second or third vice president Elias Mudzuri confirms the alternative narrative, that he is the 'authentic' acting president. Whatever the true position, the two letters have split the MDC-T party.Morgan Tsvangirayi's longtime vice president, Thokozani Khupe is the authentic vice president in terms of the MDC Constitution many have argued. Of all the three vice presidents, she remains the only one who was democratically elected through an internal party process. Elias Mudzuri and Nelson Chamisa are hand-picked deputies. Here is the tragedy, Nelson Chamisa was beaten in an internal party election for the position of Secretary General by Douglas Mwonzora, in essence, he is not popular within the MDC-T structures as he appears to be out there. His political career had pretty much finished after he lost to Mwonzora. It was Tsvangirayi's benevolence that saved him. On the other hand, Thokozani Khupe has made it clear that she will not accept Nelson Chamisa as acting president without a democratic process. And if going by what took place at the Chitungwiza rally last, Elias Mudzuri refused to speak before Nelson Chamisa in protest of who was senior. So, without Khupe, Mudzuri, Mwonzora and most importantly a healthy and functional Tsvangirayi, the only support Chamisa has are the alliance partners external to MDC-T.It is common knowledge that Tendai Biti and Welshman Ncube's political careers nose-dived the moment they wentof on their own many moons ago. Welshman and his green MDC failed to win a single seat in parliament, let alone a council seat. The fortunes of Tendai Biti's PDP weren't that good either. I am sure it eventually dawned on them that there was nothing without Tsvangirayi. Tendai Biti has now abandoned the PDP outfit altogether and now speaks like a defacto MDC-T senior member. For these two, the MDC Alliance is a vehicle for their political resuscitation. The only person who can give them a new lease of political life in the absence of Morgan Tsvangirayi is Nelson Chamisa. They are in this respect willing to help Chamisa violate the MDC-T constitution, outwit their structures, in order to survive, the end justifies the means. Harare East seat The fight over this seat spilt into the public domain last week when MDC-T Legal secretary Obert Gutu and Alliance member Tendai Biti put out flyers and posters purporting to be both representing the MDC alliance in that constituency. This was the first clear sign of an MDC-T split when the resolution of the matter appeared to favour a coalition partner at the expense of a substantive member. This although reportedly resolved will not end well. One would assume that the full party members get first to pick at the seats they want before asking the invited to pick. This matter, I believe despite being told has been resolved, appears to be far from over.The Cape town meeting Opposition political parties were invited to Cape town by the Transformation Initiative (ITI), International IDEA, Trust Africa and the Zimbabwe Coordination Group (ZCG), IRI, OSISA and HSF, with a view to building a grand coalition of opposition parties. Thokozani Khupe, Douglas Mwonzora and Elias Mudzuri travelled for the meeting. Nelson Chamisa and the other Alliance partners declined to attend and, in a statement, Welshman Ncube rubbished the initiative as a Zanu PF initiative. What is intriguing about this is, is that it is the Alliance partners speaking against the authentic MDC-T members. One is tempted to ask, what locus standi does Welshman Ncube have in attacking, lets Khupe when he is not a member of the MDC-T. The Capetown meeting is a clear sign that a split has developed in the MDC-T alliance, with Nelson Chamisa and Elias Mudzuri calling themselves acting presidents.Can the MDC-T survive a democratic process, more importantly, can Nelson Chamisa survive an internal democratic process or he will seek to ride on the 'benevolence' of Morgan Tsvangirai. Lets us not forget that he was thrashed by Douglas Mwonzora the last time he presented himself to a democratic process. Either way, the MDC-T will pay the price for failing to deal with the succession issue decisively. The battle lines are drawn, Khupe and Mudzuri will not accept an anointed leader. The coalition partners have an invested interest in Nelson Chamisa being at the helm. In essence, all candidates should subject themselves to an internal democratic process or do irreparable damage by seeking to outwit one another with their structures, these are the shifting sands in the MDC- T.
Opinion / Columnist

For views and comments, email: VAZET2000@yahoo.co.uk

GOING abroad is no longer the novelty it used to be. During the colonial times, Africans mostly travelled abroad to study. Their stay was supported by the Western governments that presented themselves as sympathetic to the oppressed and suffering Africans. But since the end of colonial rule and the advent of globalisation, the world has opened up and many are visiting the West for various reasons.Africans no longer go abroad just to study; many have relocated to foreign lands in search of the so-called greener pastures. The adventurous want to be exposed to different cultures.However, there are those who came here on very wrong assumptions. Grand images and pictures were painted of the West which are far from the reality on the ground. The amount of racism in the West, against African migrants, is contrary to the sermons of democracy and equality that have been touted as the cornerstones of these Western nations.Most Zimbabweans, who have migrated to the West, have made it appear that life here is a bed of roses and do not tell of the thorns beneath the roses.Many Zimbabweans who came here in the 1990s engaged in illicit deals ranging from bank fraud to prostitution, they made quick money and flashed it back home.And on seeing their friends sending lorries and buses to Zimbabwe, most people decided to join the bandwagon. This is the reason we have people who have been here for decades yet have nothing to show for their stay in the UK. There are people who, if they were to return home today, would only bring back a suitcase of clothes and nothing more. The sins committed by those who went to the UK first were that they did not tell the truth. They lied through their teeth. Many took loans from banks and fled back home.And some people, on seeing these 'monied' fellows, hopped on the next plane to the UK. They hoped to make millions in six months and also return home rich. They have been here since and the millions have not been made. Their dreams were premised on lies.Takura Mabhena said he was pressured by his neighbour who had come here and went back home after six months to build a big house. Mabhena was given the impression and made to believe that money grew on trees here.He sold his house to purchase a ticket that would enable him to buy a more beautiful house just after six months. He left his wife at her mother's with the hope of calling her soon after settling. But the reality of the UK sank in hard and fast, it was disaster after disaster; he was to be deported twice and ended up seeking asylum. He never got to buy the house or bring his wife. His family disintegrated.According to Mabhena, those who 'first' came here lied; they never told us the truth. I am writing about this issue because they are many bitter people here, up-to-today. With more than a decade in the UK, very few have recovered and made it. Many are yet to restore the properties they sold back home.Life abroad has many exaggerations, said Mbuya Shava who is now 'stuck' in the UK. "I sold all I had, my two houses, I was so sure life would be easy and rewarding in the UK but I do not think I will ever regain what I had before coming here," she said.Presently, the eyes of many here are cast towards home. The new dispensation has made many homesick. But to what will they return to? I have encountered many who wish they never sold their properties. Some, with the skills they have acquired here, feel they could contribute to the development agenda but having disposed of their homes and never replaced them with the huge ones they dreamt of, they are not eager to come back and be lodgers. Others appear to have been broken by the UK and have resigned to their fate of a desperate life here. Many here have over the years faked it, hoping the day they would hit it big would come, but it has not. It seems compatriots they left in Zimbabwe would be the ones making it sooner rather than later.But I have counselled some that it would be wiser to swallow their pride and return home to grab the opportunities all the world is clamouring for. The many times I come home, I have noted that our people are not mean and can help us find our footing again, in our country. In fact, we can share experiences and unite to form really powerful enterprises back home.
Opinion / Columnist

There has been needless furore over my statement communicating President Tsvangirai's position that Vice President Hon. Nelson Chamisa is now the acting President.For the record, I have been communicating the President's messages for almost a decade. He has entrusted me with the position of being his official spokesperson and he has shared with me many confidential matters; some for the press and some not for the press. That has been the nature of our relationship.It must be noted that in September 2017, President Tsvangirai left an MDC Alliance workshop in Kadoma and went for treatment in South Africa. He left VP Khupe as acting President and we communicated the same.On 5 January 2018, the president appointed Vice President Hon. Engineer Elias Mudzuri as acting President and again I communicated the same to everyone.On the 7th of February 2018, he appointed Hon Chamisa as acting President. There is a pattern about these appointments because as of now all three of his deputies have acted in his absence.I want to place it on record that I am the official spokesperson of the President and what I place on the market are his views as instructed personally by him. That position has not changed.I also want to place it on record that there is a purported statement from the Office of the President that seeks to nullify what the President himself directed that I communicate.For the record, that letter is on a fraudulent letterhead with a scanned signature of the President, which signature is readily available online. The Office of the President has not released such a letterhead to anyone and the President, who is currently in SA, has not asked for it for him to place his purported letter. In short, the so-called letter is fraudulent and bogus.Acting President Chamisa has already assumed his responsibilities, albeit in an acting capacity as directed by the President. He has addressed the parliamentary caucus and will be meeting provincial chairpersons this afternoon.I wish to state that the stampede in the cockpit is needless and unnecessary. The President remains unwell but is stable. Our behavior and deportment in these trying moments for our President must enhance the towering brand of Morgan Tsvangirai and not seek to undermine it.Unfortunately, this needless stampede by political vultures is disrespectful of his wife and family as well as the towering edifice of brand Tsvangirai that has inspired Zimbabweans over the years.I Thank YouLuke TamborinyokaPresidential Spokesperson and Director of Communications
Micro Credentials

Northeastern University Launches Micro Credential Program in Computer Science

Northeastern University has created a new Micro Credential program for working professionals in California's Bay Area looking to hone their skills in computer science. The program was created in partnership with mobile security company Lookout and is an extension of Northeastern's Silicon Valley campus.

Courses will be offered on weekday afternoons and evenings in Lookout's office in downtown San Francisco, a location designed to cater to the growing tech industry in the city. Topics will include data mining, parallel data processing, network security, cloud computing and mobile application development.

Students who complete three courses can earn a Micro Credential in computer science. The credential will also count as credit toward earning a master's degree 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, in a statement. "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."

For more information, visit the Northeastern site.
Tech & Society

McGill U Researcher: Smartphone Addiction Is Normal Need to Connect on Overdrive

We stare at our phones all the time not because the devices themselves are addictive, but because we're driven to socialize, according to a recent literature review by researchers at McGill University.

Though the researchers agree "that the hyper-connectedness and unpredictable rewards of mobile technology can modulate negative affect," according to an abstract of their work, the real driver of the addiction is a need to monitor and be monitored by other people.

"There is a lot of panic surrounding this topic," said Samuel Veissiere, who led the research, according to a McGill news release on the research. "We're trying to offer some good news and show that it is our desire for human interaction that is addictive and there are fairly simple solutions to deal with this."

As a social species, humans have evolved to require input from other humans to understand what behaviors are and are not culturally appropriate and to look to one another to find meaning, goals and identity, according to Veissiere, an anthropologist and cognitive scientist and assistant professor in McGill's Division of Division of Social and Transculutural Psychiatry. Smartphones and the hyper-connectivity they offer can tap into this normal aspect of human behavior at a pace and scale that can turn a healthy impulse into an unhealthy addiction.

Veissiere and his coauthor compare it to our evolutionarily derived desire for sweet foods in their paper.

"In post-industrial environments where foods are abundant and readily available, our cravings for fat and sugar sculpted by distant evolutionary pressures can easily go into insatiable overdrive and lead to obesity, diabetes, and heart disease the pro-social needs and rewards [of smartphone use as a means to connect] can similarly be hijacked to produce a manic theater of hyper-social monitoring," they write.

To regain control of your smartphone use, the researchers suggest reframing it as a normal need to connect with other people, turning off push notifications, setting appropriate times to check your device and creating "intentional protocols" with family members, work contacts and social circles to establish communications expectations.

"Rather than start regulating the tech companies or the use of these devices, we need to start having a conversation about the appropriate way to use smartphones," Veissiere said in a recent interview. "Parents and teachers need to be made aware of how important this is."
There Will Be Waste

The Final Age - S/T - Cardinal Fuzz
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New York, February 9, 2018The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the Ethiopian governments attempts today to compel Ethiopian journalist and blogger Eskinder Nega to sign a false confession before releasing him under a presidential pardon. Eskinder, who has spent almost seven years in jail for his work, was one of 746 prisoners due to be pardoned by President Mulatu Teshome on February 8, according to media reports.

Through this deplorable behavior the Ethiopian government is undermining any goodwill it might have generated by releasing an innocent man from prison, said CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Angela Quintal. Ethiopian authorities should immediately release Eskinder Nega without condition.

At 11 a.m. local time, a prison official asked Eskinder to sign a form which falsely stated that he was a member of Ginbot 7, an organization that the government deems a terrorist group, Eskinders wife, Serkalem Fasil, told CPJ. Eskinder refused and asked to see a more senior official. That request was not granted and the journalist was returned to his cell, his wife said.

Eskinder is serving an 18-year sentence on vague terrorism charges, according to CPJ research. The U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention condemned his 2012 trial and conviction and said it was connected to his peaceful exercise of the right to freedom of expression. The group found his arrest without warrant and prosecution was flawed, and the trial fell short of international standards of fairness.
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Nairobi, February 09, 2018Somali authorities should immediately release Sabir Abdulkadir Warsame, a broadcast journalist with the privately owned Somali Cable TV, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Sabir was arrested by regional security forces in the semi-autonomous state of Jubbaland on February 8 and has been held without charge in the state capital of Kismayo, according to a report by the Voice of America and Hassan Adde, general director of Somali Cable TV who spoke to CPJ.

Hassan told CPJ that, at the time of his arrest, Sabir was interviewing members of the public about the first anniversary of the election of Somalias President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed (Farmajo).

Arresting and detaining Sabir Abdulkadir for simply doing his job as a journalist is outrageous, said CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Angela Quintal in New York. He should be immediately released without charge and free to continue reporting in the public interest.

Speaking to CPJ through a translator, Jubbaland information minister Abdinur Ali Adan said that he had been informed of Sabirs arrest. He said that the journalist was in safe hands and would be produced in court tomorrow morning, though he said he did not have more information about the court proceedings.

While shooting the interviews, the journalist unintentionally filmed a vehicle carrying charcoal, triggering his arrest, according to Sabirs colleague who spoke to CPJ on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. Charcoal export from Somalia is illegal, according to a 2012 UN Security Council resolution aimed at cutting funding for al-Shabaab.

Hassan told CPJ that he did not know that the journalist had captured any footage of a vehicle ferrying charcoal.
The first (inaugural) edition of Khelo India School Games (KISG) was held from from 31st January to 8th February, 2018 at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi. It was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

It was held under the Khelo India Programme and aimed at providing an excellent launchpad to the countrys young and promising athletes to showcase their talent at the national level.

Key Facts

2018 KISG was held across 16 disciplines in Under-17 age category. 5,000 school children from 29 states and seven union territories participated in mega sporting event. Total of 199 gold medals, 199 silver medals and 275 bronze medals were awarded at first KISG.

Medal Tally

Haryana had emerged as overall champions, finishing with 102 medals, which included 38 gold, 26 silver and 38 bronze medals. Maharashtra finished second with 111 medals, which included 36 gold, 32 silver and 43 bronze medals. Delhi finished third with 94 medals, which included 25 gold, 29 silver and 40 bronze.


Tamil Nadu: Sri Lankan Navy arrests 7 Indian fishermen, attacks fishing trawlers

February 09,2018 | Source: United News of India

Sri Lankan Navy arrested seven Indian fishermen and confiscated a mechanized fishing boat on the alleged charges of straying into the territorial waters of the Island nation and indulged in illegal fishing activities on Thursday. Official sources said fishermen had ventured into the sea in as many as 400 trawlers from Rameswaram fishing jetty yesterday morning.



When a group of fishermen were fishing near the Delft Island bordering International Maritime Boundary Line, the Sri Lankan naval personnel detained a boat with seven fishermen on board. The arrested fishermen were handed over to the Lankan fisheries officials for onward legal action. Meanwhile, other fishermen who returned to the shore after the attack alleged that the Sri Lankan naval personnel attacked a number of fishing boats and destroyed the fishing nets.

 United News of India.
Puducherry: GSPCL non-committal on compensation for fishermen

February 09,2018 | Source: The Hindu

The government has not received any satisfying response yet from the Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation Ltd. to compensate fishermen in Yanam as part of a corporate social responsibility initiative, said Minister for Health Malladi Krishna Rao. Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy and Mr. Rao, along with senior officials, held discussions with representatives of GSPCL on Thursday on the corporate social responsibility programme.



Loss of livelihood



Mr Rao told The Hindu that the company did not commit on a compensation package for the fishermen in Yanam. The government wanted the company to compensate the loss of livelihood to fishermen for 14 months. The fishermen could not venture into sea when the company carried out offshore rigging work, he said. The company representatives, during a meeting with Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, had agreed to compensate for certain months. However, they are non-committal now. We will take up the issue with the Ministry, he added. As per the plan, the firm was to give the Union Territory ?12 crore for investment in Yanam. It had remitted ?10 crore, said an official.

 2018, The Hindu
Ukraine cyberpolice to promote cryptocurency legalization

The move will allow law enforcers to monitor a wider range of crime-related transactions.

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PM Groysman says no gas price rise this heating season, insists on their fair adjustment

According to the prime minister, the review of gas prices is one of the IMF requirements.

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The United States condemns the reported arrests of at least twenty-nine protesters in Iran for exercising their human rights and fundamental freedoms by standing up against the compulsory hijab imposed upon women.

U.S. Department of State Spokesperson Heather Nauert wrote in statement that the United States remains steadfast in our support for the rights to freedom of religion, freedom of expression, and peaceful assembly.

President Donald Trump has said that the Iranian people are the source of one of the greatest fears of the Iranian government.

That fear has been shown once again by the regimes reaction to women who protested the compulsory wearing of the hijab.

Images and videos of unveiled Iranian women standing up and waving their hijab are spreading across social media.

Some men and veiled women have also protested the compulsory hijab. They are motivated and inspired by the action of a young Iranian woman who stood on a box in Enghelab (or Revolution) Street in Tehran prior to the massive anti-government protests that started at the end of December. Omid Memarian, a US-based Iranian journalist who was once imprisoned in Iran, wrote on social media that the fight against forced hijab "is not about whether the hijab is good or bad. It's about choice and equality.

As the U.S. Department of States 2016 Human Rights Report noted, Iranian womens rights are restricted in virtually all areas of society. Not only must they adhere to the compulsory hijab but their testimony is given half the weight of a mans in a court of law; they may not transmit citizenship to their children or to a noncitizen spouse; they are barred from running for high political office; social and legal restraints limit their educational and professional opportunities; and they are punished disproportionately for certain crimes.

The women of Iran deserve better. They deserve to be accorded their full, fundamental human rights, as the current protests over the compulsory hijab underscore.

In State Department Spokesperson Nauerts words, People should be free to choose the clothes they wear and practice their faith as they desire. Depriving individuals of this choice undermines their autonomy and dignity.
The United States has expanded its offer of rewards for information on key leaders of terrorist organizations to include a leader of one of the groups conducting attacks on government facilities and other targets in Northern Nigeria, roiling the nation in sectarian violence.

Abubakar Shekau is the leader of the group commonly known as Boko Haram, a Nigeria-based extremist organization seeking to overthrow the current government there and replace it with a regime based on a strict interpretation of Islamic law. Links with terrorist groups such as al-Qaida and al-Shabaab have strengthened Boko Harams capacity to conduct its attacks.

Previously the groups Number Two, Shekau claimed overall command in July 2010, expressing solidarity with al-Qaida and threatening the United States. A vehicle bomb attack on the United Nations headquarters in Abuja in August 2011 marked the groups first lethal operation against Western interests, killing at least 23 people and injuring 80 others. In April 2012, the group bombed a Nigerian newspaper office in Abuja and later threatened other local and international news outlets, including the Voice of America. Under his leadership, the group has kidnapped hundreds of children to serve as hostages, bearers and even fighters.

Shekau is tall, slim and has a dark complexion. He was born in Yobe, Nigeria, sometime between 1965 and 1975, and is of the Kanuri ethnicity. He speaks Arabic, Hausa, Fulani and Kanuri. He is known to have used the aliases Abu Bakr Skikwa and Imam Abu Bakr Shiku.

The Rewards for Justice Program is offering a reward of up to seven million dollars for information leading to Shekaus location.

The U.S. promises that all credible reports will be investigated and the identity of all informants will be kept confidential. If appropriate, the U.S. is prepared to protect informants by relocating them and their families.

If you have information on this man, contact the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate, or submit a tip to www.rewardsforjustice.net, or e-mail information to info@rewardsforjustice.net. You may also call the Rewards for Justice tip line at 1-800-877-3927.
For the first time in the presidency of Donald Trump, the U.S. signaled its willingness in December to do a prisoner swap with Iran, Wall Street Journal reported on February 8.

But Tehran has reportedly not responded to three attempts by Washington to engage in negotiations that could lead to freedom for at least four American citizens charged with spying and political accusations.

Iran has arrested Americans and Westerners before on vague accusations, tried them behind closed doors and put them in prison.

During the Obama administration the Islamic Republic was holding five U.S. citizens. As the 2015 nuclear agreement reached implementation, a deal was apparently struck and they were released in early 2016.

At the same time, the U.S. transferred hundreds of millions of dollars in cash to Tehran, in what became a controversial move during an election year in America.

Unnamed U.S. officials told WSJ that in mid-December, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Tom Shannon tried to open a channel with Iran during an international meeting in Vienna.

WSJ also quotes an unnamed Iranian official who blamed the U.S. for lack of talks, saying that the Trump administration cannot expect progress when it uses threats against Iran.

While the relatively moderate President Hassan Rouhani and his team may want to make a deal, such decision in Iran are made by the hardliners, headed by the Supreme Leader ayatollah Ali Khamenei and by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).

There are also Iranians and American-Iranians in U.S. prisons, charged with crimes related to evasion of sanctions.
(AFP) - Four United Nations human rights experts launched a fresh appeal Friday for Iran to annul the death sentence given to university professor Ahmadreza Djalali, accused of passing information to Israel.

The renewed call came days after Iran's Supreme Court reportedly rejected a request to review the sentence.

"We urgently call on Iran to lift the death sentence imposed on Dr. Djalali, as the state has apparently not complied with its international obligations to give him a fair trial and the right to appeal," the experts said in a joint statement.

Djalali, a specialist in emergency medicine resident in Sweden, was detained in April 2016 after a brief visit to Iran. He was found guilty in October of passing information about two Iranian nuclear scientists to Israel's Mossad intelligence agency that led to their assassinations.

His death sentence has been widely condemned by rights groups including Amnesty International.

The four experts include Jose Antonio Guevara Bermudez, who heads the UN working group on arbitrary detention and Nils Melzer, the UN special rapporteur on torture.

Agnes Callamard, an expert on summary executions and Asma Jahangir, the special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, also co-signed the statement.

They renewed a call first issued in December for Djalali's immediately release.

A total of five Iranian scientists -- four of them involved in the country's nuclear program -- were killed in bomb and gun attacks in Tehran between 2010 and 2012 at the height of tensions over the country's nuclear ambitions. Iran has accused Mossad and the CIA of ordering the killings.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 9

Trend:

Russia, together with the US and France, is doing everything to create conditions for the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Russian Ambassador to Armenia Ivan Volynkin told Armenian media on Feb. 9.

He also stressed that the OSCE Minsk Group (MG) is responsible for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, at the same time noting that the OSCE MG co-chairs are only intermediaries.

Neither Russia, nor France or the US can have a specific solution to the conflict, he said. This problem can be settled only by Armenia and Azerbaijan themselves.

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. 9

By Ali Mustafayev, Leman Zeynalova:

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict does not have a military resolution, EU high representative Federica Mogherini said in a joint press conference with Azerbaijan's foreign minister Elmar Mammadyarov in Brussels.

Nagorno-Karabakh conflict remains a very serious challenge. Resumption of high level dialogue in Vienna, St. Petersburg and Geneva is an important development. We would like to see the parties following up on the agreement to intensify negotiations and reduce tensions on the line of conflict.

The conflict does not have a military solution, and it needs political settlement in accordance with international law, Mogherini said.

European Union continuous to fully support the mediation efforts and proposals of the Minsk Group of the Organization of Security and Co-operation in Europe, said Mogherini.

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. 9

By Ali Mustafayev  Trend:

With the pain of fruitless diplomatic efforts, the pain of one million Azerbaijani refugees and internally displaced people, and a population suffering from internal anger of injustice and Armenian aggression, Azerbaijan chose to continue on the path it is so familiar with: tolerance, coexistence and embracing all compatriots, says an article published on News Blaze.

Just as Azerbaijanis were settling their mindset on living in a sovereign republic, in September 1991, the Nagorno-Karabakh War began. Armenia violated Azerbaijans recognized borders and sovereignty and assumed aggressive military rule over the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven adjacent districts outside it. These regions, internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, are pending a hopeful solution according to four United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolutions, calling for the withdrawal of Armenia troops from Azerbaijan territory, and through hopeful negotiations facilitated by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), said the article by Nurit Greenger.

Having been to Azerbaijan, the author sees the unifying multiculturalism factor of Azerbaijan.

Multiculturalism in Azerbaijan is the support for cross-cultural dialogue, challenging self-segregation tendencies within cultures, involving moving beyond mere passive acceptance of a multicultural fact of multiple cultures, effectively existing in a society, the article said.

Greenger stressed that in 1919 universal suffrage was introduced in the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, thus making Azerbaijan the first Muslim-majority country ever to enfranchise women, giving women the right to vote.

The 19th Amendment to the US Constitution was ratified on Aug. 18, 1920, granting American women the right to vote, a right known as woman suffrage.
Details added (first version posted on 15:13)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 9

Trend:

The time-frame for election campaigning is shorter in a number of European countries than in Azerbaijan, head of the election headquarters of the Association for Civil Society Development, Maharram Zulfugarli, said at a press conference in Baku Feb. 9.

The Associations election headquarters has a long-term observation mission to support the democratic and transparent conduct of the presidential election, to be held on April 11.

Zulfugarli noted that the for this purpose, the Association launched a large-scale activity related to appeals to the Central Election Commission (CEC), a campaign to collect signatures and registration procedures, electoral lists, offenses related to the electoral process, election-related complaints, the legislative framework for elections, the political situation in the country on the eve of election, the activities of the CEC, the OIC, monitoring of the media in connection with the election, campaigning, monitoring the voting day.

He said that the election headquarters began its activity on Feb. 5, 2018.

Media monitoring covers pro-government, pro-opposition and independent eight newspapers, two news agencies, said Zulfugarli.

Seminars and training for observers will be held in districts from February 16 to April 10. Interim report on long-term monitoring will be presented to the public on April 6, 2018, he added.

Zulfugarli also touched upon the issue of boycotting the presidential election by some opposition organizations, adding that in fact, it is not a boycott, but non-participation in the election.

The sixth congress of the New Azerbaijan Party was held on Feb 8. The decision on nominating the partys Chairman and President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev for presidential election to be held on April 11, 2018, was adopted unanimously at the congress.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 9

Trend:

Secretary for Relations with States within the Holy See's Secretariat of State, Paul Richard Gallagher will today arrive in Azerbaijan for an official visit.

Gallagher is expected to meet with Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and other officials.
Details added (first version posted on 12:43)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 9

Trend:

The basis for the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is the fact of military aggression and occupation, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said in an interview published in the French parliaments "Le Journal du Parlement".

The minister stressed that aggressive separatism with terrorist actions, which began from the end of the 1980s, turned into open military aggression of Armenia against Azerbaijan after the collapse of the USSR.

"By using military force, Armenia occupied Azerbaijans Nagorno-Karabakh region and adjacent districts, committed ethnic cleansing, he said. The aggressive separatism which was not timely suppressed, as well as double standards, led to tragedy we have today.

Profound measures must be taken against the tendencies of separatism in Europe and they must be stopped, he said. A decisive and unequivocal position against all forms and manifestations of separatism must be demonstrated.

The continuation of Armenia's occupation of Azerbaijani territories and the presence of Armenian armed forces in the occupied Azerbaijani territories are the biggest threats to peace and security of Europe and the region, Mammadyarov stressed. Four resolutions of the UN Security Council, adopted in 1993, represent a strong and unequivocal position of the international community on this issue.

"The mandate of the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, which includes France, is based on these resolutions, he said. To achieve progress in the political solution to the conflict, the withdrawal of Armenian troops from the occupied Azerbaijani territories must be ensured and the factor of military risk must be eliminated."

Mammadyarov stressed that as a result of the policy of ethnic cleansing committed against Azerbaijani civilians in the occupied territories, Azerbaijan experienced the greatest humanitarian tragedy in Europe after the World War II.

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. 9

Trend:

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has signed an order approving the State Program for Development of Rice Growing in 2018-2025.

According to the order, Azerbaijans Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Economy have been instructed to take the necessary measures every year during formation of state budget and state investment programs in order to take account of the funds for financing the events envisaged in the approved state program.

The Ministry of Agriculture has been instructed to coordinate the implementation of the events envisaged in the state program and to inform the Azerbaijani president about the state programs implementation once in a year.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 9

By Nigar Guliyeva - Trend:

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has signed a decree on measures to implement the employment promotion program for 2018.

In accordance with the document, Uzbekistan plans to create more than 346,790 permanent jobs.

In particular, more than 168,220 jobs will appear through creation of new capacities of facilities and expansion of the existing ones in Uzbekistan. Implementation of investment projects on the basis of privatized facilities will open 19,990 jobs.

About 101,310 jobs will be created through the development of small and private businesses, as well as support for craftsmanship.

The unemployment rate in Uzbekistan was 5.8 percent in 2017.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 9

By Ali Mustafayev  Trend:

Trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan may reach $300 million in coming years, Azerbaijani economist Vugar Bayramov said in an interview to Kazakh media outlets.

There are good opportunities for increasing the trade turnover. Despite the growth in indicators for the past year, opportunities arent used to a greater extent. I think that in the upcoming years we can increase the volume of the trade turnover to $300 million. Im confident that 2018 will be positive in trade and economic relations, too, said Bayramov.

A special dynamics is observed in transportation, according to the expert.

The volume of handled cargo increased by nearly 300 percent compared to 2016. Astana and Baku paid a lot of attention to transport projects in 2017 and the results were obvious, he said.

According to the data of the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan, last year the export and import operations between the countries amounted to $142 million comparing to $124 million in 2016. The share of Kazakhstans exports to Azerbaijan reached nearly $108 million.

Cooperation between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan has great prospects. In December of 2017, the republics adopted a road map. According to the agreement, it is planned to increase the trade turnover twice by 2020.

The countries also intend to strengthen cooperation in energy. The issues of transportation of the Kazakh oil and gas to Europe through Azerbaijan will be considered.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb.9

By Nigar Guliyeva - Trend:

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Tajikistan signed a financing agreement to reduce poverty and stimulate inclusive economic growth in poor rural communities, the IFAD said in a message.

The agreement for the Community-Based Agricultural Support Project was signed by Gilbert F. Houngbo, President of IFAD, and Qahhorzoda Faiziddin Sattor, Minister of Finance, Tajikistan.

The total cost of the project is $39.3 million, including a $15.3 million loan and a $15.3 million grant, each from IFAD. The government contribution is estimated at $4.9 million while approximately $1.6 million will be provided by the beneficiaries. In addition, a contribution of about $1.9 million is expected from private service providers operating in the field of agricultural mechanization.

The Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) co-financing of $0.25 million through the Technical Cooperation Programme will contribute towards technical assistance and training of machinery service providers. The project will be implemented over six years.

The project will be implemented in Devashtich, Dusti, Jaihun, Norak, Rasht, Shahriston and Tajikobod districts, where poverty levels are high and there is potential for agriculture development. The project aims to reach over 48,000 households.

The project will address these problems while supporting and in alignment with, key priorities of the Government for ensuring food security and nutrition. The project will incorporate a strategy to ensure women's inclusion in community development and equitable access to opportunities.

In Tajikistan, agricultural productivity falls far below its potential, especially for key smallholder staples such as wheat, potatoes and apples. A primary cause is the lack of access to modern technologies, notably farm equipment and machinery.

Since 2008, IFAD has financed four rural development projects in Tajikistan, investing $80 million out of a total $94 million in project costs. These projects and programmes have benefitted over 288,000 rural households.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 9



By Ali Mustafayev  Trend:



The completion of construction of the first stage of the Alyat seaport terminals will give an impetus to the increase in transportation between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, head of center for regional development of Azerbaijan Chingiz Ismayilov said.



He made the remarks in an interview with Kazakh media outlets.



It is planned to increase cargo transportation volume from 2 million tons to 5 million and then to 12 million tons. The plans are the same for the Kazakhstans Kuryk port," he said.



"The next year 3 million tons are planned to be transported. The volume of transportation will contribute to the development of trade between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan due to an improvement of logistics and port facilities of the Caspian region, said the expert.



According to the data of the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan, last year the export and import operations between the countries amounted to $142 million comparing to $124 million in 2016. The share of Kazakhstans exports to Azerbaijan reached nearly $108 million.



Cooperation between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan has great prospects. In December of 2017, the republics adopted a road map. According to the agreement, it is planned to increase the trade turnover twice by 2020.



The countries also intend to strengthen cooperation in energy. The issues of transportation of the Kazakh oil and gas to Europe through Azerbaijan will be considered.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 9

By Anvar Mammadov  Trend:

The EBRD and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) agreed in London to deepen their cooperation and establish a strategic partnership to promote sustainable maritime transport, EBRD said in a message Feb. 9.

The cooperation was formalised in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by Phil Bennett, EBRD First Vice President, and Kitack Lim, IMO Secretary-General.

Under the agreement, the EBRD and the IMO will exchange know-how and experience and will work together with national governments, in countries where both institutions are active, to help them implement frameworks for a fair, effective and sustainable maritime industry.

Initially, the cooperation will focus on Azerbaijan, Egypt, Georgia, Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey and cover topics such as attracting more investment in the sector, tackling climate change, enhancing energy efficiency and promoting the highest standards of health and safety.

Phil Bennett, EBRD First Vice President, said: 'Applying its green principles, the EBRD is investing in ports, shipyards and shipping companies to encourage development of the 'motorways of the sea', an international vision to transform shipping into an environmentally friendly alternative to land transport. With the IMO's expertise we want to help the economies where we invest, and the companies we finance, to make maritime transport greener and more sustainable.'

Kitack Lim, Secretary General at the IMO commented: 'This strategic partnership, combining the IMO's global mandate and outreach and the EBRD's experience and expertise in investment and finance, is expected to contribute a great deal to sustainable maritime transport and the implementation of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.'

International shipping transports more than 80 percent of global trade to people and communities all over the world. Shipping is the most efficient and cost-effective method of international transport for most goods; it provides a dependable, low-cost means of transporting goods globally, facilitating commerce and helping to create prosperity among nations.

A UN agency with 173 member states and three associate members, the IMO is the global standard-setting authority for the facilitation of maritime traffic, and the security, safety and environmental performance of international shipping.

The EBRD is a multilateral bank, owned by 66 countries as well as the European Union and the European Investment Bank. It promotes the development of the private sector and entrepreneurial initiative in 38 economies, across three continents. The Bank's investments are aimed at making the economies in its regions competitive, inclusive, well governed, green, resilient and integrated. To date, it has invested 1.2 billion in the maritime sector, including ports, shipyards and shipping firms across 19 countries.

Azerbaijan has been a member of EBRD since 1992. Since then, the bank has invested about $2.8 billion in Azerbaijans economy.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 9



By Ali Mustafayev  Trend:

Southern Gas Corridor serves interests both of the European Union and Azerbaijan, being a part of Azerbaijans diversifying economy, said the EU High Representative Federica Mogherini at a joint news conference with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, following the meeting of the EU-Azerbaijan Cooperation Council on Feb. 9.

She added that the Southern Gas Corridor is just one example of Azerbaijan-EU strategic relationship in the field of energy that serves the interests of both sides.

The inauguration of Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railroad last year was also a significant step in expansion of transport connections between European Union, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Central Asia, said Mogherini.

She stressed, that the aviation agreement that Azerbaijan and the EU are negotiating on, should also contribute to the connection of Azerbaijan and Europe.

The ability of people from Azerbaijan and the countries of the European Union to travel, meet each other, visit each others country are of high strategic value in terms of geopolitics, said Mogherini.

According to Azerbaijans State Customs Committee, trade turnover with the EU member countries amounted to $9.4 billion in 2017, 52.35 percent more than in 2016.

Azerbaijan exported goods worth $7.45 billion to the EU member countries in 2017.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Feb. 9

By Huseyn Hasanov  Trend:

Turkmen Foreign Ministry has hosted a meeting with Christian Berger, head of EU Delegation to Turkmenistan, the Foreign Ministry said in a message.

The sides exchanged views on the prospects of cooperation between Turkmenistan and the EU. The parties discussed issues of regional cooperation and intensification of inter-parliamentary relations.

Noting the commitment to further development of Turkmenistans cooperation with the countries of the EU, the sides stressed importance of holding regular political consultations, business meetings and talks that contribute to reliable platform for further intensification of multifaceted relations between Turkmenistan and the EU, the message said.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 9

Trend:

The Southern Gas Corridor will help cover Europe's growing gas needs taking into account that own gas production in the European Union is declining, Russias TASS news agency quoted European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Miguel Arias Canete as saying Feb. 9.

Canete was addressing the recent plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

He also stressed that the EU dependence on gas imports will increase from current approximately 70 percent up to 83 percent by 2040.

"Gas remains a significant source of energy for the EU, he said. Europe is increasingly dependent on gas imports. Presently, EU imports 70 percent of gas.

Canete said that own gas production in Europe is declining.

"Our dependence on gas imports is expected to continue to increase and reach over 83 percent by 2040," he added.

The Southern Gas Corridor is one of the priority projects for the EU and provides for the transportation of 10 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas from the Caspian region through Georgia and Turkey to Europe.

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 Shah Deniz Stage 2, 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 (TANAP) and Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 9

By Leman Zeynalova - Trend:

Azerbaijan welcomes the decision of the European Investment Bank (EIB) to allocate a loan worth 1.5 billion euros for the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), said Azerbaijans Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov.

He made the remarks at a joint news conference with EU High Representative Federica Mogherini, following the meeting of the EU-Azerbaijan Cooperation Council in Brussels on Feb. 9.

On Feb. 15 we are going to have the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council meeting [in Baku], he said.

It is expected that the inauguration of the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) will take place this year, he added.

On Feb. 6, the EIB approved a 1.5 billion euro loan for the TAP.

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 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. 9

By Huseyn Valiyev  Trend:

Azerbaijani and Belarus specialists may make joint developments in the field of robotics, the Azerbaijani Regional Innovative Technologies Academy told Trend.

There is a possibility of combining the advantages of mobile robots of Belarus scientists and unmanned aerial vehicles produced at the High Technologies Park and the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan.

Earlier, it was reported that Azerbaijan will consider the possibility of using mobile robots. The mobile robots developed by scientists at the Belarus State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics and the Joint Institute of Mechanical Engineering of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus may be used in agriculture to eliminate the consequences of emergency situations.

"Both Belarus and Azerbaijan have outlined the further cooperation plans and published a joint article," the Azerbaijani Regional Innovative Technologies Academy said. "The sides have not started to develop a joint project, however, all preconditions for that are available."
Kyrgyz airlines will be able to be removed from the black list of the European Union (EU) by the first quarter of 2019, Minister of Transport and Roads of Kyrgyzstan Jamshitbek Kalilov said at a meeting of the ministrys board, Kabar reports.

"We made a step-by-step plan on removal of Kyrgyz airlines from the black list, which was approved by the government. Under this plan, work is constantly being carried out, a very good dynamics is visible. If this goes on, then in the first quarter of 2019, we will remove the airlines from the black list, Kalilov said.

13 airlines of Kyrgyzstan earlier were included into the black list of the EU again. Domestic air carriers are on the list since 2006 and cannot fly to EU countries.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 9

Trend:

Tajik border guards left the bridge on the border with Kyrgyzstan, the press service of the Kyrgyz State Border Service said, Sputnik Tajikistan reported.

Following the results of negotiations between the border representatives of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, the Tajik side opened the bridge for the passage in the Leylek district of the Batken region (south of Kyrgyzstan) and Tajik border guards left the area, said the press service.

Previously, it was reported that Tajikistan closed the border with Kyrgyzstan. Tajikistan unilaterally stopped the work of a number of checkpoints, including international ones, on the border with Kyrgyzstan due to the construction of a bridge on the disputed territory.

Tajik border guards also closed a bridge in the Leylek district of the Batken region for passage and set up border patrols there, increasing the number of servicemen.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 9

By Farhad Daneshvar  Trend:

Iranian Ambassador to Baku Javad Jahangirzadeh has underlined the role of President Ilham Aliyev and his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani in deepening bilateral ties between the two countries.

I believe that the presidents of Iran and Azerbaijan are the founders of the modern ties between the two countries, he told Trend on the sidelines of a ceremony marking the 39th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution of Iran.

The bilateral ties in all spheres, including economic, diplomatic and cultural fields are growing day by day, he added.

This improvement in ties comes from an accurate understanding of the regional and international developments. The huge growth in trade turnover between the two countries is an indication of excellent diplomatic grounds.

He further touched upon economic ties between the two countries and said the joint car plant in Azerbaijans Neftchala is expected to be inaugurated in near future as the experts from Iran Khodro and Azerbaijani partner are installing the factorys equipment.

The envoy added that the sides are studying the opportunities for launching a joint venture for producing buses, as well.

Jahangirzadeh described the North-South transportation corridor as the most important project between the two countries, saying that 10 million tons of cargo will be transferred through the corridor per year.

He added that the sides are also negotiating the possibilities of forming a joint factory for producing agricultural equipment.
The Georgian and Estonian defence ministers have signed a cooperation plan which envisages Estonia. support for Georgia to reform its special operation forces, Agenda reports.

The agreement came after the Estonian Defence Minister Juri Luiks visit to Georgia.

Luik praised Georgian reforms in the military field and vowed political and practical support for Georgia.

The Estonia official stated that his country and Georgia had a similar defence model in terms of professional and reserve military service.

Izoria thanked Estonia for his countrys support for Georgias territorial integrity and NATO integration.
Iraq seeks around $100 billion in foreign investment in transport, energy and agriculture as part of a plan to rebuild parts of the country and revive the economy after a three-year war on Islamic State, Reuters reports.

The governments National Investment Commission published a list of 157 projects it will seek investment for at an International Conference for Reconstruction of Iraq to be hosted by Kuwait Feb. 12 to 14.

Some of these projects are about rebuilding destroyed facilities like Mosuls airport, while others are new investments to strengthen and diversify the economy away from oil, said an economic advisor to Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.

All together, they cost about $100 billion, the advisor, Mudhar Saleh, told Reuters. Sixteen projects carry a price tag of $500 million or more, according to the list.

Rebuilding homes, hospitals, schools, roads, businesses and telecommunications is key to providing jobs to the young, to end the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people and put an end to several decades of political and sectarian violence.

Iraq declared victory over Islamic State in December, having taken back all the territory captured by the militants in 2014 and 2015. A U.S.-led coalition supported the Iraqi forces, especially in the battle to dislodge them from Mosul, their de facto capital in northern Iraq, in July.

The United States government will not contribute funds at the conference but will instead encourage investment from the private sector and Gulf Arab allies, U.S. and Western officials said.

A U.S. official in Baghdad said 100 U.S. companies were participating in the conference.

Three rail projects top the list: a 500-kilometer (311 mile) line from Baghdad to Basra in the south estimated to cost $13.7 billion, a line from Baghdad to Mosul in the north estimated at $8.65 billion and an $8 billion metro for the capital.

Iraq reopened to foreign investment in 2003 after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, but the vast majority of the billions invested went to increasing its oil and gas production.

It has become the second-largest crude exporter of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, after Saudi Arabia, with a daily output of 4.4 million barrels.

At the conference, Iraq will seek investment in the downstream oil industry including in storage tanks, refineries and petrochemical plants to process its crude into plastics and fertilizers.

Saleh said investments in the oil industry and agriculture will probably be easier to attract than other sectors given the countrys vast crude reserves, available land and water wealth.

Total land offered for investments to grow strategic crops is nearly 1,500 square kilometers (580 square miles). Iraq, one of the worlds largest wheat importers, aims to achieve self-sufficiency and possibly become a net exporter of the grain.

We feel there will be support for Iraq, from the Americans, the Europeans, the Arab countries, the United Nations, and humanitarian organizations, said Saleh.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 9

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

Since the beginning of Operation Olive Branch, 1,062 terrorists were killed in Syrias Afrin district, the Turkish General Staff said in a message Feb. 9.

In particular, 34 members of Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), Peoples Protection Units (YPG) and Islamic State (IS) terrorist organizations were killed in Afrin Feb. 9.

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.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 9

By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:

A protest related to Khojaly genocide is to be held in Sakarya Province of Turkey, press office of the province administration announced Trend.

The protest will be held in Erenler municipality of the province after the opening of a monument dedicated to the Khojaly genocide, according to the announcement

Khojaly tragedy will never be forgotten, because forgotten tragedies recur, the press office added.

On Feb. 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.
US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a phone talk Thursday on topics ranging from Afghanistan and the refugee crisis in Myanmar to the North Korean nuclear program, the White House said, Sputnik reported.

"Affirming President Trumps South Asia strategy, they reiterated their commitment to supporting Afghanistans security and stability," the statement read.

"They also exchanged views on Burma and ways to address the plight of the Rohingya refugees. President Trump and Prime Minister Modi then discussed further steps to ensure denuclearization of North Korea," it continued.

The two leaders vowed to continue working together to enhance security in the Indo-Pacific region and strengthen economic cooperation between their countries as they prepare for a meeting in April of their defense and foreign policy officials.
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KYODO NEWS - Feb 9, 2018 - 16:25 | Urgent, All, Japan

Japan on Friday deported eight of the 10 crew members of a North Korean fishing boat after they were involved in a theft on a small northern Japanese island last year.

Immigration authorities in Sapporo said a plane carrying the eight has left New Chitose Airport. Nine of the 10 were arrested or referred to prosecutors on suspicion of stealing a power generator from a hut on the uninhabited Hokkaido island, but all but the captain were not indicted.

The crewmen were believed to have been fishing for squid in the Sea of Japan before their wooden boat was found drifting in waters near the island off the town of Matsumae in late November.

The men told the Japan Coast Guard that they temporarily took shelter on the islet due to bad weather.

Three crewmen were arrested in December, but only the 45-year-old captain was indicted on a charge of theft, with investigators believing he played a leading role. He will be tried at the Hakodate District Court.

The remaining crew member has been hospitalized for treatment of tuberculosis and he is also expected to be deported after recovering.

According to a fishery cooperative in Matsumae which owns the hut, electronic appliances and other items went missing from the facility and total damage was estimated at 8 million yen ($73,200).

There has been a series of cases in which boats apparently from North Korea have washed ashore in northern Japan, including some with bodies.
By Ko Shu-ling, KYODO NEWS - Feb 9, 2018 - 20:59 | World, All

Rescuers searching for survivors of this week's 6.4 magnitude quake that struck eastern Taiwan found two more bodies Friday afternoon, raising the death toll to 12 and narrowing the missing to a family of five from China.

The Canadian couple of Hong Kong origin were found in a partially collapsed inn that occupied the second and third floors of the 12-story Yun Men Tsui Ti building, which was left leaning at a steep angle after Tuesday's quake.

Local reports said their bodies were found locked in a final embrace amid the rubble.

The rescuers later continued searching for the family, who were also staying at the Beauty Inn. The bodies of four Chinese, two Taiwanese and a Filipino, all tourists, were earlier found there.

Three Taiwanese died elsewhere in the city, including an employee of the Marshal Hotel who was killed when the bottom level of the 11-story building caved in.

Hualien County Commissioner Fu Kun-chi said the final decision on how to proceed with the search beyond the critical 72-hour "golden window" would jointly be made by a team of experts and rescuers.

The powerful quake left two other buildings collapsed in Hualien.

Nine Japanese are among the 272 injured but their injuries are not life threatening, according to the Taiwan Foreign Ministry.

While power has been fully restored, about 8,100 families are still left without fresh water.

More than 260 aftershocks, many of them strong, have been recorded since Tuesday's main quake.

Situated at the convergence of two major tectonic plates on the western Pacific Rim, Taiwan is prone to seismic activity.

On the same day in 2016, a magnitude 6.6 quake hit the southern city of Tainan in the predawn hours, killing 117 people, including 115 from the collapse of a 16-story apartment building in the downtown area.

A magnitude 7.7 temblor hit the central county of Nantou in September 1999, killing more than 2,400 people.

In addition to sending a team of experts, Japan has raised more than 60 million yen from individual donors on Yahoo! Japan.

Other countries are also assisting the relief efforts in different forms. Singapore sent two military planes to provide relief materials such as tents and medical supplies.

China's Red Cross has pledged NT$4.6 million (about $157,000) in emergency funds, while the central government's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits and its coastal province of Fujian, which lies just across the Taiwan Strait, have each pledged equivalent amounts.
KYODO NEWS - Feb 9, 2018 - 09:13 | Arts, World, All

A North Korean art troupe on Thursday night performed a song partly tweaked to assert a claim over a pair of islets at the center of a territorial spat between Japan and South Korea.

The 140 member-strong Samjiyon Orchestra sang a song with alternate lyrics asserting that the islets called Dokdo in Korean are also North Korea's fatherland. Japan claims the South Korean-held islets as Takeshima.

The incident occurred after North and South Korea discussed until the last minute whether some songs should be avoided because of their possible political implications.

It is believed to be North Korea's ploy to capitalize on the territorial dispute between the South and Japan to urge solidarity between the two Koreas.

The art troupe led by Hyon Song Wol, head of the all-female Moranbong Band, is also scheduled to stage a performance in Seoul on Sunday.
Jill Messick, a studio executive and producer and one-time manager of Rose McGowan, died Wednesday in Los Angeles.

According to a statement released by her family, Messick committed suicide, following a long battle with depression and the concurrent accusations of complicity in Harvey Weinsteins alleged rape of McGowan.

Messick was McGowans manager at the time of the actresss encounter with Weinstein in 1997. In January, Weinsteins attorney published emails from Messick and actor Ben Affleck in an attempt to refute McGowans claims of sexul assault.

Read: Barack Obama and Sheryl Sandberg Say Power Is an Antidote to Harassment. Its Not So Simple

In a statement, Messicks family said that her perceived complicity was devastating. Seeing her name in headlines again and again, as part of one persons attempt to gain more attention for her personal cause, along with Harveys desperate attempt to vindicate himself, was devastating for her, they said.

Yet Messick chose to remain silent in the face of Roses slanderous statements against her for fear of undermining the many individuals who came forward in truth, the statement continued. Now that Jill can no longer speak for herself, its time to set the record straight.

Read: You Get Sexual Advances 24/7: What Its Really Like to Be a Female Engineer In Silicon Valley

By Messicks familys account, it is ironic that McGowan leveled accusations against Messick, as she was the first person who stood up on Roses behalf, and alerted her bosses to the horrific experience which Rose suffered.

They contend that Messick ultimately became collateral damage in the public fight between Weinstein and McGowan.
Investors seeking to preserve capital in a volatile environment might consider large-cap stocks such as Rolls-Royce Holdings plc (LSE:RR.) a safer option. Market participants who are conscious of risk tend to search for large firms, attracted by the prospect of varied revenue sources and strong returns on capital. However, the key to their continued success lies in its financial health. I will provide an overview of Rolls-Royce Holdingss financial liquidity and leverage to give you an idea of Rolls-Royce Holdingss position to take advantage of potential acquisitions or comfortably endure future downturns. Note that this commentary is very high-level and solely focused on financial health, so I suggest you dig deeper yourself into RR. here. View our latest analysis for Rolls-Royce Holdings

How much cash does RR. generate through its operations?

RR. has sustained its debt level by about UK3.39B over the last 12 months  this includes both the current and long-term debt. At this current level of debt, the current cash and short-term investment levels stands at UK2.77B , ready to deploy into the business. Moreover, RR. has produced cash from operations of UK1.41B in the last twelve months, leading to an operating cash to total debt ratio of 41.61%, meaning that RR.s debt is appropriately covered by operating cash. This ratio can also be a sign of operational efficiency for loss making companies since metrics such as return on asset (ROA) requires positive earnings. In RR.s case, it is able to generate 0.42x cash from its debt capital.

Does RR.s liquid assets cover its short-term commitments?

Looking at RR.s most recent UK9.53B liabilities, it appears that the company has been able to meet these commitments with a current assets level of UK12.86B, leading to a 1.35x current account ratio. For Aerospace & Defense companies, this ratio is within a sensible range as theres enough of a cash buffer without holding too capital in low return investments.

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LSE:RR. Historical Debt Feb 9th 18

Can RR. service its debt comfortably?

Since equity is smaller than total debt levels, Rolls-Royce Holdings is considered to have high leverage. This isnt surprising for large-caps, as equity can often be more expensive to issue than debt, plus interest payments are tax deductible. Accordingly, large companies often have an advantage over small-caps through lower cost of capital due to cheaper financing. But since RR. is currently unprofitable, theres a question of sustainability of its current operations. Maintaining a high level of debt, while revenues are still below costs, can be dangerous as liquidity tends to dry up in unexpected downturns.

Next Steps:

Although RR.s debt level is towards the higher end of the spectrum, its cash flow coverage seems adequate to meet obligations which means its debt is being efficiently utilised. This may mean this is an optimal capital structure for the business, given that it is also meeting its short-term commitment. I admit this is a fairly basic analysis for RR.s financial health. Other important fundamentals need to be considered alongside. I suggest you continue to research Rolls-Royce Holdings to get a more holistic view of the large-cap by looking at:

1. Future Outlook : What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for RR.s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for RR.s outlook.

2. Valuation : What is RR. worth today? Is the stock undervalued, even when its growth outlook is factored into its intrinsic value? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether RR. is currently mispriced by the market.

3. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore our free list of these great stocks here.



To help readers see pass the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price sensitive company announcements.



The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned.
Jeff Immelt, former CEO of General Electric, brings star power and a wealth of experience to his new role as chairman of health-care firm Athenahealth, analysts say.

However, some see Immelt's move as a chance for redemption, after his departure from GE in the latter half of 2017 capped a rocky 16-year run at the helm.

Jeffrey Immelt , former CEO of global conglomerate General Electric GE , brings star power and a wealth of experience to his new role as chairman of the maturing health-care firm Athenahealth ATHN , analysts say.

However, Wall Street also sees Immelt's move as a chance for redemption, after his departure from GE in the latter half of 2017 capped a rocky 16-year run at the helm that saw the stock lose about 38 percent of its value.

George Hill, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets, believes Immelt could be a "door opener and sales closer" for Massachusetts-based Athenahealth. Immelt can also serve "as a mentor and teacher to Athenahealth's young management team," Hill told clients in a note. "In return, Immelt gets a chance to rehabilitate his image with the investment community."

Athenahealth announced Immelt as its new chairman late Wednesday, and shares of the health-care cloud-based software company were down about 3 percent Thursday. In the past 12 months, Athenahealth shares were up about 15 percent, pretty much matching the performance of the S&P 500.

Immelt is no stranger to activist investors, having dealt with billionaire Trian Partners boss Nelson Peltz, who was a major GE shareholder. He arrives at Athenahealth as Elliott Management pushes for operational and strategic changes to maximize shareholder value.

Immelt succeeds as chairman Athenahealth's colorful co-founder, Jonathan Bush, who remains CEO, a role he's held since the company was founded in 1997.

Don Hooker, an equity research analyst at KeyBanc Capital Markets, described the 48-year-old Bush as a strong entrepreneur and visionary. "Bush will still very much be running things at Athena," Hooker told CNBC. "Investors still want to see that."

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But as a visionary, Bush was less inclined to financial discipline, said Hooker, who predicted Immelt will use his decades of experience on Wall Street to develop Athenahealth's businesses and to create new relationships.

"Feedback that I've gotten from inside Athena is that Immelt brings star power," Hooker said. "He's not necessarily a complete expert in health care. But there are a lot of positives." The company cited Immelt's "digital expertise" among the reasons for the appointment.

Immelt, who served in various other leadership roles at GE, came under fire by critics for poor leadership decisions as CEO that left GE cash-strapped. On his way out the door, Immelt found himself defending the company's practice of having an empty business jet follow his corporate plane on several trips around the world.

Management expert Jeff Sonnenfeld told CNBC it would be unfair to blame Immelt completely for the troubles at GE, which current CEO John Flannery is trying to fix.

"This is a chance for a new beginning for Jeff," Sonnenfeld, associate dean at Yale School of Management, told CNBC. Sonnenfeld, who's followed Immelt's career and the trajectory of GE, added Immelt's exit from GE was not ideal.

"These new beginnings can be very valuable to individuals and the companies they help," Sonnenfeld said. He also said Immelt's experience and Bush's entrepreneurial spirit complement each other well.

When Immelt took over at General Electric in 2001 from venerable GE boss Jack Welch , the stock was already turning over, as the dotcom bubble of the 1990s burst and took the broader stock market lower as well. Immelt navigated GE through the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the 2008 financial crisis.

A spokesperson for Immelt did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment. A spokeswoman for Athenahealth gave this statement from Bush:

"We are thrilled to welcome Jeff to our Board as chairman. His deep expertise and broad relationships in the healthcare industry, combined with his passion for industry transformation, will advance our strategy to build the nation's only platform where providers, patients, payers, and innovators can partner to transform care, together. Jeff will help us not only execute against this strategy in a consistent way, but also push ourselves and the industry to the next level."  Jonathan Bush

Watch: Former GE CEO Jeff Immelt named chairman of Athenahealth



More From CNBC


Stocks recently deemed undervalued include Bel Fuse and NACCO Industries, as they trade at a market price below their true valuations. Theres a few ways you can value a company. The most popular methods include discounting the companys cash flows it is expected to create in the future, or comparing its price to its peers or the value of its assets. Analysing the most recent financial data, Ive created a list of companies that compare favourably in all criteria, making them potentially good investments.

Bel Fuse Inc. (NASDAQ:BELF.B)

Bel Fuse Inc. designs, manufactures, markets, and sells products that are used in the networking, telecommunication, high-speed data transmission, commercial aerospace, military, broadcasting, transportation, and consumer electronic industries worldwide. Established in 1949, and now run by Daniel Bernstein, the company size now stands at 7,694 people and with the companys market capitalisation at USD $232.39M, we can put it in the small-cap category.

BELF.Bs shares are currently floating at around -43% beneath its true level of $32.72, at the market price of $18.65, according to my discounted cash flow model. This mismatch indicates a chance to invest in BELF.B at a discounted price. Furthermore, BELF.Bs PE ratio stands at 18.3x while its electronic peer level trades at 21.8x, suggesting that relative to other stocks in the industry, you can buy BELF.B for a cheaper price. BELF.B is also a financially robust company, with near-term assets able to cover upcoming and long-term liabilities.

More detail on Bel Fuse here.

NasdaqGS:BELF.B PE PEG Gauge Feb 9th 18

NACCO Industries, Inc., through its subsidiaries, primarily operates in the mining industry. Established in 1913, and currently run by John Butler, the company provides employment to 3,600 people and has a market cap of USD $252.62M, putting it in the small-cap stocks category.

NCs stock is currently trading at -77% under its actual worth of $161.43, at a price of $37.85, based on its expected future cash flows. The mismatch signals a potential chance to invest in NC at a discounted price. Also, NCs PE ratio is trading at around 6.3x compared to its oil and gas peer level of 14.1x, indicating that relative to other stocks in the industry, NCs stock can be bought at a cheaper price. NC is also a financially robust company, with near-term assets able to cover upcoming and long-term liabilities. The stocks debt-to equity ratio of 28% has been dropping for the past few years signifying NCs capability to pay down its debt. More detail on NACCO Industries here.

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NYSE:NC PE PEG Gauge Feb 9th 18

Rising Sun Bancorp (OTCPK:RSAM)

Rising Sun Bancorp operates as a holding company for NBRS Financial Bank that provides various banking services to individual and business customers. Rising Sun Bancorp was formed in 1873 and has a market cap of USD $38.61K, putting it in the small-cap group.

RSAMs shares are now floating at around -100% beneath its actual level of $7.99, at the market price of $0.03, based on its expected future cash flows. This discrepancy signals a potential opportunity to buy RSAM shares at a low price. In addition to this, RSAMs PE ratio is around 0x while its banks peer level trades at 17x, indicating that relative to its comparable company group, RSAM can be bought at a cheaper price right now. RSAM is also strong financially, as near-term assets sufficiently cover liabilities in the near future as well as in the long run.

Interested in Rising Sun Bancorp? Find out more here.

OTCPK:RSAM PE PEG Gauge Feb 9th 18

For more financially sound, undervalued companies to add to your portfolio, you can use our free platform to explore our interactive list of undervalued stocks.

To help readers see pass the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price sensitive company announcements.



The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned.
In this weeks video, I discuss General Motors (GM), and Lockheed Martin (LMT). Both of these companies recently reported earnings, and gave long term data to support their future growth.

General Motors GM reported earnings where they easily beat both the Zacks consensus earnings and revenue estimates. 2017 was a great year for the company as they set several quarterly and annual records. For FY 17, the company posted records in EPS diluted-adjusted of $6.62, EBIT-adjusted margins +8.8%, North America EBIT-adjusted margins +10.7%, and GM Financial EBT-adjusted of $1.2 billion. As for the quarterly records, EBIT-adjusted of $3.1 billion up +18.7%, ESP diluted-adjusted of $1.65 a +21.3% increase, North America EBIT-adjusted of $2.9 billion, and GM Financial EBT-adjusted of $0.3 billion with revenues up $3.3 billion.

The big driver behind the record breaking year was international sales. For the year, the company sold 8.9 vehicles globally, which was a +0.8% improvement from the previous year. Further, GM saw all three key markets increase their market share. But, the biggest area of sales growth was in China, as the company sold 4 million vehicles which was a record. Moreover, the Cadillac brand saw a sales increase of +51%. In South America, the Chevy brand saw sales increase by +13.8%. Lastly, global deliveries of electric vehicles hit a record of 69,500 with the Chevrolet Bolt EV seeing deliveries of 26,000, another record high.

Looking into 2018, the company is introducing new full-sized trucks; the GMC Sierra, and Chevrolet Silverado. The addition of these two new vehicles gives GM the widest-ranging truck portfolio in the industry. The automaker is also introducing four new crossover vehicles; Chevrolet Travers, Buick Enclave, GMC Terrain, and the new Cadillac XT4 crossover. This innovation and introduction of new models in the pickup and crossover segments is very important, as consumer preferences have shifted from the typical passenger car, to these areas. Further, GM can produce these pickups and crossovers at a reduced cost, and sell them for higher prices.

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Beyond 2018, the company is still on track to introduce at least 20 (potentially 23) new all-electric vehicles by 2023. This is key in both the Chinese and India markets as the countries are trying to curb vehicle emissions.

In the earnings report, management announced that it expects the 2018 performance to be in line with its record breaking 2017 results. Further, management stated that 2019 results will be propelled by its new line of pickup trucks. So, after filing for bankruptcy in 2009, the company has bounced back, and looks to be well positioned for years to come. Oh by the way, the company also pays a solid 3.59% annual dividend as well.

Lockheed Martin LMT also posted earnings results where they crushed both the Zacks consensus earnings and revenue estimates. The company had an excellent quarter where they saw year over year gains in several important categories; Net sales +9.4%, Adjusted earnings +25.1%, and Cash from operations +105.8%. Further, LMTs four main segments, Aeronautics, Missiles and Fire Control, Rotary and Mission Systems, and Space, all saw improvements in net sales, and operating profit.

One of the big areas for the company is the building and maintenance of the new F-35 fighter jets for the U.S. military. In 2016, LMT delivered 53 new jets, and another 66 in 2017. This pace is expected to ramp up all the way through 2022 with an estimated 168 new jets delivered for a total of 745 by the end of the current contract. This will provide a steady stream of income for the company for the next four years. Further, in just the last 8 days, Lockheed Martin was awarded just under $800 million in new contracts that extend through 2021.

Another positive for LMT is the new budget proposal, which has been reported to have a tentative agreement in Congress that calls for a significant increase in defense spending. LMT would be a direct beneficiary of this increased spending.

Due to the positive outlook, management increased FY 2018 EPS guidance on the upside, and guided in line for FY 18 revenues. Lastly, the company also pays a nice 2.32% annual dividend, so while the company continues to grow, the investor will get the added bonus of an above average dividend too.



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Zacks Investment Research
- By Mayank Marwah





The U.S.'s second-largest automaker, Ford (NYSE:F), is off to a lackluster start this year with its January sales in China dropping 18% year over year to 75,990 vehicles. This was much lower than the wider China market, which was up 11.6% for the month.

While the Michigan-based company has had a rough ride, its rivals are witnessing astounding growth in the Asian economy. For 2017, Ford's China sales plunged 6% while the industry as a whole grew 3%.





JMC and Lincoln show strength

The company said its Changan Ford Automobile (CAF) joint venture sold approximately 47,000 units in January, which represents a decline of 29% from the same period in 2017. Its Jiangling Motors Corp. (JMC) joint venture sold roughly 23,000 vehicles during the same period, up 13% from last year.

Ford said Lincoln sales in China jumped 7% for the month. The Lincoln Continental stole the show with sales climbing 136% from the prior-year period. The company said the new Lincoln Navigator, which launched in January, is also performing well. While sales of the MKC dipped 15% to 1,385 units, MKX sales surged 8% year over year to 1,165 units.

In the JMC segment, Tourneo, Transit and the JMC pickup proved to be the sales drivers. While Transit and Tourneo sales totaled 3,241 units (up 14% year over year) and 389 units (up 95%), pickup sales climbed 26% to 6,580 units. In contrast, sales for the Everest and Yusheng S330 decreased 4% and 78% respectively.

The cumulative sales of Escort, Focus, Taurus, EcoSport, Kuga and Edge came in at 46,888 units, down 29% from January 2016.

Last word

The company is hoping to change its fortunes in China this year by focusing on electric commercial cars and vans. Peter Fleet, the president of Ford Asia Pacific and the chairman and CEO of Ford China, said he is pleased with the fact the company is performing well in the Lincoln and JMC sectors. He remains optimistic the company will see growth in these two segments.

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"As we reposition our Ford business in China, SUVs, luxury and commercial vehicles are key priorities of our strategy this year," he said. "We are pleased that our focus on these areas continues to generate positive results for both JMC and Lincoln."

Ford has some long-term plans for expansion in China. In December, the company announced it hopes to roll out 50 all-new vehicles by the end of 2025, which would include eight SUVs and 15 electric vehicles.

The competition is well and truly on with domestic automakers launching new models to grab a sizable portion of the market share, which puts foreign automakers at a disadvantage. It will be interesting to see how Ford counters these challenges.

Disclosure: I do not hold any positions in the stock mentioned in this article.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.






Qualcomm chairman Paul Jacobs said the mobile chipmaking giant has rejected a record $121 billion takeover bid from Broadcom but is willing to meet the Singapore-based rival to discuss the offer Qualcomm chairman Paul Jacobs said the mobile chipmaking giant has rejected a record $121 billion takeover bid from Broadcom but is willing to meet the Singapore-based rival to discuss the offer (AFP Photo/David Becker)

Qualcomm on Thursday rejected a record $121 billion hostile bid from computer chip rival Broadcom but offered to meet with the Singapore-based firm to discuss the recently increased offer.

The California-based group said in a letter to Broadcom that the latest offer unveiled earlier this week "materially undervalues Qualcomm" and does not take into account the possibility of a failure to win regulatory approval.

The letter from Qualcomm chairman Paul Jacobs to Broadcom chief executive Hock Tan however opened the door to talks to discuss "the significant issues that remain unaddressed" in the hostile proposal.

The Qualcomm board "has unanimously determined that your amended offer materially undervalues Qualcomm and falls well short of the firm regulatory commitment the board would demand given the significant downside risk of a failed transaction," Jacobs said in his letter.

"However, the board is committed to exploring all options for maximizing shareholder value, and so we would be prepared to meet with you to allow you to explain how you would attempt to bridge these gaps."

The move comes three days after Broadcom boosted its offer to $82 a share to create a global giant in the chipmaking sector, a deal worth some $146 billion including assumed debt.

Jacobs said the offer "raises more questions than it answers" and also fails to address the planned takeover by Qualcomm -- the dominant producer of chips for mobile devices -- of Dutch manufacturer NXP.

"What is the true highest price at which you would be prepared to acquire Qualcomm? Is it $82 per share or is it higher?" Jacobs said.

The letter said the bid "ascribes no value" to NXP or to Qualcomm's plans to roll out new devices for the fifth generation of wireless networks known as 5G.

"Your proposal is inferior relative to our prospects as an independent company and is significantly below both trading and transaction multiples in our sector," the Qualcomm chairman wrote.

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- Broadcom's move to US -

Broadcom made its first offer on November 6 following a visit by its CEO to the White House, where he met President Donald Trump and announced plans to move the tech company back to the United States from Singapore.

If completed, the deal would be the largest-ever in the tech sector and create a powerful player in the booming sector fueled by growth in smartphones and an array of connected devices from cars to wearables.

Any merger deal would need to pass muster with regulators in the United States and other markets.

Broadcom, which has begun a process to reincorporate in the United States, called its sweetened bid on Monday its "best and final offer."

The rich offer puts pressure on Qualcomm, which is set to hold its annual shareholders meeting next month.

In a letter to Qualcomm board members this week, Tan called the offer "extremely compelling compared to any other alternative available to Qualcomm" and called on the board to open talks on the proposal.

But he said the deal would be off the table if it fails to win shareholder approval.

In December, Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf argued there was "no real path to value" with Broadcom.
Feb 8 (Reuters) - Chipmaker Qualcomm Inc said on Thursday its board had unanimously rejected Broadcom Ltd's revised $121 billion buyout offer.

The board has determined that Broadcom's proposal "materially undervalues" Qualcomm and falls short of the firm regulatory commitment it would demand given the significant downside risk of a failed transaction, the company said.

Qualcomm also said it has offered to meet with Broadcom to see if it can address the serious deficiencies in value and certainty in its proposal.

Broadcom on Monday increased its offer to buy Qualcomm to $82 per share from $70 per share. (Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)
By Greg Roumeliotis and Diane Bartz (Reuters) - U.S. semiconductor company Qualcomm Inc on Thursday rejected Broadcom Ltd's revised $121 billion buyout offer, but proposed meeting its peer to see whether they can address what it called the bid's "serious deficiencies in value and certainty." Qualcomm's response attempts to strike a balance between continued resistance of Broadcom's takeover attempt and heeding the calls of some Qualcomm shareholders, who urged the company in recent days to engage with its rival in case it can clinch an attractive deal. Qualcomm had rejected Broadcom's first unsolicited $103 billion acquisition offer in November, without engaging further. In response, Broadcom nominated a slate of directors to replace Qualcomm's board. Qualcomm shareholders are scheduled to vote on these nominations at a March 6 meeting. Qualcomm said Broadcom's latest $82 per share offer, comprising $60 per share in cash and $22 per share in stock, "materially undervalues" Qualcomm and falls short of the firm regulatory commitment it would demand given the significant antitrust risks involved. Broadcom did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Qualcomm shares were up 1.1 percent at $63.12 in after-hours trading on Thursday. Broadcom shares were up 1 percent at $232.00. Even though Broadcom has promised to pay a large breakup fee in the event regulators thwart the deal, as well as a "ticking" fee if the deal takes more than 12 months to close, Qualcomm believes Broadcom needs to offer a "hell-or-high-water" legal commitment to complete the deal irrespective of divestitures that antitrust watchdogs around the world may require. "If you are not willing to agree to do whatever is necessary to ensure a transaction closes, we will need you to be extremely clear and specific about exactly what actions you would refuse to take, so that we can properly evaluate the risk to Qualcomm's shareholders," Qualcomm Chairman Paul Jacobs wrote to Broadcom CEO Hock Tan in a letter published by Qualcomm. Broadcom has not specified the size of the breakup fee it is willing to offer Qualcomm, other than to describe it as an appropriate amount for a transaction of this size. Qualcomm argued on Thursday that this would not compensate Qualcomm if several large customers were to walk away or infringe their licensing agreements. Qualcomm also said in its statement that Broadcom's plan to address antitrust concerns by selling two Qualcomm businesses, its Wi-Fi networking processors and RF Front End chips for mobile phones, was inadequate to allay concerns that the deal would not win regulatory approval. Qualcomm added that the regulatory approval process could take longer than 18 months and disrupt Qualcomm during a period of explosive innovation in the industry that includes the development of 5G mobile phones, autonomous driving and the expanding use of computerized gadgets from refrigerators to thermostats. NXP DEAL The takeover battle is at the heart of a race to consolidate the wireless technology equipment sector, as smartphone makers such as Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd <005930.KS> use their market dominance to negotiate down chip prices. Singapore-based Broadcom is mainly a manufacturer whose connectivity chips are used in products ranging from mobile phones to servers. Qualcomm primarily licenses its technology for the delivery of broadband and data, a business that would significantly benefit from the rollout of 5G wireless technology. Broadcom said on Monday its improved offer was premised on either Qualcomm acquiring NXP Semiconductors NV at the current disclosed terms of $110 per share in cash, or the $38 billion transaction being terminated. NXP shareholders, led by activist hedge fund Elliott Management Corp, are resisting the deal, pushing for Qualcomm to raise its offer. NXP shares closed at $115.94 on Thursday, indicating investors were expecting a sweeter deal. Qualcomm's proposed acquisition of NXP was approved by European Union antitrust regulators last month. Qualcomm expects China's blessing as early as this month, at which point it has to decide whether it would raise its offer. (Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis in New York and Diane Bartz in Washington, D.C.Editing by G Crosse and Matthew Lewis)
Skechers USA Inc. SKX delivered positive earnings surprise in the final quarter of 2017, marking the second successive beat. This Manhattan Beach, CA-based company recorded quarterly earnings of 21 cents a share that beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 13 cents, and increased significantly from 4 cents reported in the year-ago period buoyed by improved top-line performance.



The company reported net sales of $970.6 million that surged 27% from the year-ago quarter and also came ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $879.1 million for the fifth straight quarter.



We also note that both the top and bottom lines comfortably surpassed managements guidance of $860-$885 million and 9-14 cents a share, respectively. Following the companys sturdy performance, shares of this designer, marketer and distributor of footwear rose 3.2% during after-market trading hours yesterday. We note that the stock has increased 37.5% in a year compared with the industrys growth of 12.9%.

Sales for the quarter mainly gained from healthy performances at the international wholesale business, company-owned global retail business and domestic wholesale business. Skechers witnessed robust holiday season on account of higher demand for innovative lighted childrens footwear and comfortable adult styles. The quarterly results were favorably impacted by $20-$25 million of shipments originally planned for the first quarter.





Skechers domestic e-commerce business contributed to sales growth in the quarter, registering an increase of 28.2%. The company currently operates e-commerce sites in Chile, Germany, UK, Spain and Canada.



Gross profit for the reported quarter grew 27.5% to $454.1 million, while gross margin expanded 20 basis points (bps) to 46.8%. Operating income came in at $55.7 million that nearly doubled from the prior-year quarter, while operating margin increased 200 bps to 5.7%.



Management now projects first-quarter 2018 net sales in the band of $1,175-$1,200 million compared with $1,072.8 million reported in the prior-year quarter. Additionally, the company anticipates earnings per share in the range of 70-75 cents compared with 60 cents delivered in the year-ago period. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter is pegged at 81 cents.

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Skechers U.S.A., Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Skechers U.S.A., Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Skechers U.S.A., Inc. Quote





Segmental Sales Synopsis



The domestic wholesale revenues rose 11.6% year over year. The company shipped 13.9% more pairs compared with the prior-year period. However, average price per pair declined 2%.



Skechers international wholesale business revenues, which constituted 41.5% of total sales, advanced 40.2% on the back of a 53.6% rise in wholly-owned subsidiary and joint venture (JV) businesses and 3.1% growth in distributor business. The companys JV business registered growth of 58.9% for the quarter.



On a combined basis, global company-owned retail business sales grew 25.8% driven by higher store count and comps growth of 12%. Domestic retail sales rose 15.2%, while International retail sales surged 53.5%. Comps increased 10.5% at domestic retail stores and 16.5% at international retail stores.



Store Update



Skechers operated 645 company-owned retail outlets globally, comprising 196 international locations at the end of the quarter. During the quarter, the company opened 22 stores. Looking ahead, the company anticipates opening additional 75-85 company-owned SKECHERS stores and remodel or relocate 15-25 existing stores.



During the quarter, 146 third-party owned stores were opened, including 74 in China, 22 in India, seven in Indonesia, five each in Australia, Singapore, Thailand and Turkey, three in Spain, two each in France, Malaysia and Portugal and one each in Brazil, Denmark, Estonia, Hong Kong, Lebanon, New Zealand, Paraguay, Philippines, St. Lucia, Switzerland, Ukraine and UAE.



So far in the first quarter, the company has opened 12 third-party owned stores with plans to open another 500-525 third-party owned SKECHERS branded stores to in 2018.



Other Financial Aspects



Skechers ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $736.4 million (up $17.9 million from the year-ago quarter), long-term borrowings (net of current installments) of $71.1 million, and shareholders equity of $1,829.1 million, excluding non-controlling interest of $119.1 million.



In February this year, the Board of Directors authorized a share buyback program of $150 million to be utilized by Feb 8, 2021.



Capital expenditures incurred during the quarter were $33.2 million on store openings, remodels along with corporate office and showroom upgrades. Management now envisions capital expenditures of about $45-$50 million for 2018, reflecting planned opening of stores, corporate upgrades and store remodeling projects.



Although Skechers currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), it is subject to revision given the fourth-quarter performance.



Looking for High Performance Stocks



Zumiez Inc. ZUMZ delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 22.2% in the trailing four quarters. It has a long-term earnings growth rate of 18% and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

G-III Apparel Group, Ltd. GIII delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 6.1% in the trailing four quarters. It has a long-term earnings growth rate of 15% and a Zacks Rank #1.

Ross Stores, Inc. ROST delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 5.5% in the trailing four quarters. It has a long-term earnings growth rate of 10% and a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

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Last year, it generated $8 billion in global revenues. By 2020, it's predicted to blast through the roof to $47 billion. Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce ""the world's first trillionaires,"" but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early.



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To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
hamster

Flickr / Peter Houghton

A woman claims that a Spirit Airlines employee encouraged her to flush her pet hamster down an airport toilet.

The airline said that it mistakenly told the woman the hamster would be allowed on the flight, but it denied that any employees recommended flushing or harming the animal.

Spirit rebooked the woman on a flight nine hours after her original flight to give her "time to find other accommodations for the animal."

The woman is reportedly considering filing a lawsuit against the airline.



The debate over what counts as an emotional-support animal, and which animals should be allowed on commercial flights, has become a near-crisis for airlines.

Now, Spirit Airlines is in trouble after a woman alleged that an airline employee encouraged her to flush her pet hamster, Pebbles, down an airport toilet, the Miami Herald first reported. The woman, Belen Aldecosea, claims the hamster was a certified emotional-support animal.

The incident stemmed from a miscommunication between Aldecosea and Spirit. Aldecosea said she called the airline twice to make sure her hamster would be allowed on her November 21 flight home from Baltimore to South Florida. Each time, an airline representative told her the hamster could fly with her, a Spirit spokesperson confirmed to Business Insider.

But Spirit doesn't let rodents on its flights, which a Spirit employee told Aldecosea before she went through security at Baltimore-Washington International Airport.

Aldecosea says she was left in a difficult position. She didn't have any friends or family close enough to pick up the hamster, wasn't able to rent a car, and needed to return home to attend to a medical issue. Eventually, a Spirit employee allegedly suggested that Aldecosea release the hamster outside or flush it down an airport toilet.

Aldecosea chose the latter.

"She was scared. I was scared. It was horrifying trying to put her in the toilet," Aldecosea told the Herald. "I was emotional. I was crying. I sat there for a good 10 minutes crying in the stall."

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"After researching this incident, we can say confidently that at no point did any of our agents suggest this Guest (or any other for that matter) should flush or otherwise injure an animal," Spirit said in a statement to Business Insider. "When the Guest appeared with the hamster at the airport, our agents offered and the Guest accepted an opportunity to take a later flight, so she had time to find other accommodations for the animal. Our records indicate she was scheduled to take the 10:39 am flight on Nov. 21, but ended up taking the 7:42 pm flight that day."

The controversy follows a recent incident where a woman unsuccessfully tried to bring a peacock on a United Airlines flight after claiming it was an emotional-support animal. United and Delta Air Lines have introduced new policies that require passengers to provide additional assurances that emotional-support animals are medically certified and able to behave on an airplane.

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SEE ALSO: A woman tried to bring an emotional-support peacock on a United flight, and it reveals a growing crisis for airlines
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump hosted an event aimed at combating MS-13, a gang founded in Los Angeles and consisting largely of Central American men. During the event, Trump expressed concerns with US immigration policies he described as stupid while claiming that MS-13 members, as well as the other rapists and murderers, use loopholes in American law to enter the country and cause harm. But what the president was referring to as a loophole is actually a program created for the protection of immigrant children attempting to escape violence.

The Trafficking Victims Protection Act is the only American law that defines what exactly a human trafficking victim is. Under the act, a trafficking victim is a person induced to perform labor or a commercial sex act through force, fraud, or coercion. Beyond establishing means for prosecuting human traffickers, amendments to the TVPA protect unaccompanied immigrant children who are fleeing to the U.S. for safety reasons. Despite the presidents multiple attempts to link the law to the entrance of MS-13 gang members, neither he or his administration have managed to present any data to support the claim that the act weakens border protections. There is, however, a glut of data suggesting that the children who flee Central America to enter the US are fleeing genuine danger.

Most El Salvadorans who come to the United State are fleeing extreme violence. In El Salvador, the murder rate peaked at an outrageous 104 per 100,000 residents in 2015. Many of the El Salvadorians subject to that violence are young children and of those murdered, more than one-fourth are girls under 19. Without the TVPA, the girls fleeing El Salvador and Mexico would be immediately deported upon capture. Instead, these kids are given a chance to make their case in front of an immigration judge. Even with the law in place, being granted entry can still be a long shot, as most of the people do so without legal counsel.

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Of the Central Americans apprehended at the border in 2014, 52,000 were children, and after being interviewed by the UN, it was determined that more than two-thirds of them had suffered in ways that warranted refugee protection.

President Trump, instead of focusing on that suffering majority, has focused on violence in America and, in particular, on the murders of Kayla Cuevas and Nisa Mickens. Both women were brutally killed by MS-13 gang members in 2016. The Justice Department has never suggested that their killers entered the U.S. as unaccompanied Central American immigrants or taken advantage of the TVPA.

Trumps approach, it is important to note, is not unique. When the US realized MS-13 was a potential threat in 1990, the Clinton administration ramped up efforts to deport foreign-born residents convicted of crimes. This resulted in thousands of gang members flooding into Central America. The fact that there is now an uptick in children fleeing from gang violence in this region makes perfect sense. Its no secret that children subjected to violence or who come from broken homes are more likely to join gangs as well either.

Should the current administration continue to cast doubt on the effectiveness of the TVPA or even attempt to circumvent it by legislative means, it will effectively put thousands of immigrant children in danger.

Related Articles:

The post The Trafficking Victims Protection Act is Why Trumps Fight Against MS-13 Could Hurt Children appeared first on Fatherly.
FILE PHOTO: Credit reporting company Equifax Inc. corporate offices are pictured in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., September 8, 2017. REUTERS/Tami Chappell/File Photo

By Michelle Price

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A group of 31 U.S. senators said on Thursday they had written to the leadership of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) demanding information on the consumer watchdog's stalled probe into credit reporting agency Equifax Inc's <EFX.N> massive data breach.

The letter adds to mounting pressure on Mick Mulvaney, the interim head of the CFPB, to resume a full-scale probe into the company after Reuters reported that the bureau had pulled back from an investigation into how hackers were able to steal data Equifax had gathered on around 143 million Americans.

The Reuters report prompted a barrage of criticism from Democratic lawmakers and consumer advocacy groups, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who urged the CFPB to launch a full-scale probe.

The letter, which was dated Feb. 7, was led by Hawaii's Democratic Senator Brian Schatz and signed by 29 Democrats, including all those on the Senate Banking Committee, and two independents.

The senators ask Mulvaney and the CFPB's Deputy Director Leandra English to provide detailed information on the status of any probe into Equifax, including whether the agency has issued subpoenas, interviewed Equifax personnel or conducted onsite inspections.

A spokesman for the CFPB confirmed the agency had received the letter but declined to comment further.

Earlier this week, John Czwartacki, senior adviser to Mulvaney said in a statement that Mulvaney takes data security issues very seriously.

"Under his direction, the CFPB is working with our partners across government on Equifaxs data breach and response. We are committed to enforcing the law," he said.

(Reporting by Michelle Price, editing by G Crosse and Cynthia Osterman)
House vote at 5.30am narrowly passes bill to reopen government after funding ran out at midnight, prompting hours-long shutdown

Senator Rand Paul, centre, takes a brief break from the floor of the US Senate to pose for a photo. Photograph: Win McNamee/Getty Images

The United States second shutdown in three weeks ended on Friday, after the president signed a nearly $400bn funding bill that narrowly passed Congress only a few hours before.

Funding for the federal government had lapsed at midnight eastern time after Kentucky Republican Rand Paul stalled a Senate vote on a far-reaching budget agreement to fund the government through 22 March while also eliminating caps on government spending and suspending the debt ceiling for the year.

The shutdown lasted only a few hours, giving the Senate and the House time to pass the 600-page, funding bill.

The Senate voted early Friday morning, before sending the bill to the House where its future was less certain. The Senate approved the legislation by a bipartisan majority of 71-28. The House eventually voted to approve the bill at 5.30am by a margin of 240 to 186.

House Democrats, who had earlier threatened to derail the bill because it did not protect young immigrants, eventually gave Republicans the votes they did not have. There were 73 Democrats who voted for the legislation and 67 Republicans who voted against.

Donald Trump signed the two-year spending bill into law around 8.40am on Friday, tweeting: Our military will now be stronger than ever before. We love and need our military and gave them everything  and more. First time this has happened in a long time.

He also remarked on how Republicans struggled to wrangle their party for votes, requiring them to compromise with Democrats. Without more Republicans in Congress, we were forced to increase spending on things we do not like or want in order to finally, after many years of depletion, take care of our Military, he wrote. Sadly, we needed some Dem votes for passage.

The deal agreed to by Republicans and Democrats raises 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 lift the federal debt limit until March 2019, allowing the government to take on new debt for the next year.

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The measure includes victories for the president, Republicans and Democrats. But perhaps above all, it offers Congress a measure of stability through September 2019, the end of the fiscal year, after months of lurching between financial crises and shutdowns.

Paul, whose one-man blockade forced the brief shutdown, objected to the fact that deal would result in a significant increase in the federal budget deficit without any corresponding cuts to spending.



He complained in an interview with Fox News: Im not advocating for shutting down the government. Instead, Paul said: Im also not advocating for keeping the damn thing open and borrowing a million dollars a minute. This is reckless spending that is out of control.

Senate rules only allowed the Kentucky Republican to block a vote until after 1am on Friday morning.

The senator from Kentucky by objecting to the unanimous consent requests will effectively shut down the federal government, for no real reason, John Cornyn, the number two Republican in the Senate, said in remarks on the floor.

Cornyn later expressed his deep discontent with his colleague to reporters. The Texas Republican called Pauls actions grossly irresponsible and said he would not make concessions to the Kentucky Republican. Why reward bad behavior? asked Cornyn.

This disdain was shared by other Republicans. Roy Blunt of Missouri said of Pauls actions, this doesnt really seem to have a point while John Thune of South Dakota described it as kind of a colossal waste of everybodys time.

The deal was long expected to have bipartisan support to pass in the Senate. However, it faced greater obstacles in the House of Representatives where a coalition of conservatives and liberals had united in opposition.

Conservatives, including the hard-right Freedom Caucus, were deeply opposed to the deficit spending in the bill. Liberals, including the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, were outraged that the proposal did not include any protection for Dreamers, undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children who face potential deportation on 5 March.

House Democrats left a closed-door meeting on Thursday deeply divided over a path forward. Many members do not trust Paul Ryans assurance to bring an immigration bill to the floor and feared that they would lose any leverage to force a vote to protect young undocumented immigrants from deportation if they gave Republicans enough votes to pass the budget measure.

The House minority leader, Nancy Pelosi, planned to oppose the bill, and despite suggesting that she would not pressure her colleagues to follow suit, appeared to be doing just that.

House Democrats said Pelosi appealed to members to vote against the budget bill if Ryan did not provide a stronger commitment on immigration, though leaders did not formally whip the vote.

Pelosi has faced immense pressure from immigration activists and progressive lawmakers in her caucus to take a hardline for Dreamers, the young undocumented immigrants who could lose protections from deportation under a program that Donald Trump has rescinded.

Activists have staged large-scale protests and sit-ins demanding Democrats take a stand on immigration.

Democrats triggered a brief shutdown in January, and relented only after securing a promise from the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, to allow a vote. Democrats in the House are seeking a similar commitment from Ryan.

Ryan said on Thursday he would bring an immigration bill to the floor that the president would sign. However, many Democrats, consider Trumps views on immigration to be too draconian and are scarred by the House not voting on a 2013 immigration bill that was approved in the Senate by a bipartisan majority.
Attorneys for Waymo, Alphabets autonomous vehicle spinout, are nearing the end of their plaintiffs presentation against Uber in a trial that is likely to have broad ramifications for the common Valley practice of acqui-hiring talent.

The case hinges on whether the jury believes Ubers assertion that the technology used in its autonomous car project was developed and acquired independently, in spite of the fact that the company almost assuredly received data on the same technology from Alphabet's servers as part of Ubers acquisition of Anthony Levandowski's company Otto.

Todays courtroom testimony hinged on two critical points. The first was the scope of the due diligence that Uber conducted during its negotiations with Otto. The second was whether the documents that Levandowski brought with him from Google were sufficiently vital in the development of Ubers autonomous car project to merit damages.

Arguments ranged from the banal to the bizarre with a good portion of the proceedings taken up by a fairly lengthy explanation of Google's security measures (quite extensive as one would assume). Ubers defense attorneys responded by noting that one of Waymos top engineers carried an early prototype of its proprietary LIDAR technology to Burning Man (okay, maybe not as extensive as one would hope).

We will have more arguments tomorrow from Waymo, and then the complete case from defendant Uber. Whatever the end result, the case has serious implications for the acquisition of startups, and corporate development heads are paying close attention to how to improve processes  particularly around due diligence  to ensure they arent caught in an intellectual property thicket like Uber is facing right now.

To recap a bit: Uber allegedly acquired trade secrets from Waymo when it lured one of the founding figures of the autonomous vehicle movement -- Anthony Levandowski -- away from Google with promise of riches and independence to pursue his own path within Uber's massive corporate machinery. Uber did wind up acquiring Levandowski -- and the company he set up, Otto -- along with several of Waymo's top engineering talent.

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It's clear to most outside observers that Kalanick and Levandowski were doing some shady, shady stuff (indemnifying Otto executives against intellectual property lawsuits; downloading information from Google's internal servers onto personal computers; wiping Google hardware; sending each other weird clips of the Gordon Gecko "greed is good" speech), but what's less clear is how much of the technology that Levandowski accessed actually made it into Uber's autonomous vehicle program.

While the the technical points will determine this trials outcome, the broader problem is that Silicon Valley has a very, very, long history of rewarding just this sort of bad behavior. The Bay Area's tech industry was created with what may be the most famous example of intellectual property "theft" in history: the infamous traitorous eight" who left Shockley Semiconductor Laboratories to form Fairchild Semiconductor and kicked off the modern computing era.

Fast forward a few decades, and you arrive at todays case, with Waymo suing Uber for the theft of trade secrets related to its self-driving car program.

That Uber -- a poster child for startup malfeasance and miscreantism -- could manage to cast a pall over Silicon Valley's entrepreneurial spirit is yet another example of how the company's hyper-aggressive corporate practices have done real damage to the Bay Area's startup factory. But its culture of acquisitions is not unique, and the Valley needs to own up to its history.
By Alexandria Sage, Dan Levine and Heather Somerville

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] will pay $245 million worth of its own shares to Alphabet Inc's Waymo self-driving vehicle unit to settle a legal dispute over trade secrets, allowing Uber's new chief executive to move past one of the company's most bruising public controversies.

The settlement was announced on Friday just before the fifth day of testimony was about to begin at a jury trial in San Francisco federal court.

Waymo sued Uber last year, saying that one of its former engineers who became chief of Uber's self-driving car project took with him thousands of confidential documents.

The lawsuit cost Uber precious time in its self-driving car ambitions, a key to its long-term profitability. Uber fired its self-driving chief after Waymo sued, and it is well behind on its plans to deploy fleets of autonomous cars in one of the most lucrative races in Silicon Valley.

The settlement now allows Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi to put another scandal behind the company and move ahead with development of self-driving technology after the tumultuous leadership of the firm by former CEO Travis Kalanick, who testified at the trial on Tuesday and Wednesday.

As part of the deal, Waymo gets a 0.34 percent stake in Uber, worth about $245 million based on Uber's current $72 billion valuation, a Waymo representative said. The settlement also includes an agreement to ensure Waymo confidential information is not being incorporated into Uber technology, which Waymo has said was its main goal in bringing the lawsuit.

In settlement talks last year, Waymo had sought at least $1 billion from Uber, and wanted an independent monitor to ensure Uber does not use Waymo technology in the future, Reuters reported. Waymo also asked for an apology.

Waymo had agreed earlier this week to a settlement proposal valued at $500 million, but Uber's board rejected those terms on Tuesday, two sources familiar with the negotiations said. By late Thursday, Waymo had agreed to the $245 million deal, one of the sources said.

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Khosrowshahi expressed "regret" for the company's actions in a statement on Friday.

"While we do not believe that any trade secrets made their way from Waymo to Uber, nor do we believe that Uber has used any of Waymo's proprietary information in its self-driving technology, we are taking steps with Waymo to ensure our Lidar and software represents just our good work," Khosrowshahi said in a statement.

Neither company offered details on what those steps will entail. Shares of Alphabet rose about 1.4 percent on Friday.

Elizabeth Rowe, a professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, analyzed about 150 trade secret verdicts through 2014 and said $245 million would rank as second highest. Given that landscape, along with the fact that Alphabet CEO Larry Page could have had to testify next week, the settlement makes sense for Waymo, she said.

"Their risks would have gone up on many levels," Rowe said.

Waymo's lawsuit said that Anthony Levandowski, the self-driving car chief Uber eventually fired, downloaded more than 14,000 confidential files containing designs for autonomous vehicles in December 2015 before he went on to work at Uber in 2016.

The U.S. Department of Justice is conducting a separate, criminal investigation into the trade secrets. Levandowski has never publicly addressed the allegations of taking the documents and law enforcement has not charged anyone with their theft. Levandowski was not a defendant in the case.

SERIES OF PROBLEMS AT UBER

The Waymo lawsuit was the most pressing legal battle for Uber but only one item in a long list of controversies that have dogged the company for the last year.

Public accusations of sexual harassment and a toxic workplace prompted an internal investigation at Uber that resulted in more than 20 people being fired, while the company faces multiple federal criminal probes. The company has also experienced turmoil at the top with the ousting of Kalanick in June and a bitter board dispute.

Uber planned to have self-driving cars in 20 cities by the end of 2018, 50 cities by 2019 and 150 cities by 2020, according to documents shown in court. It is far from achieving those ambitions.

Uber now has small pilots in Tempe, Arizona and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Its has acquired a California permit but still does not have self-driving cars transporting passengers there.

The settlement increases Alphabet's stake in Uber from an initial investment of $258 million in 2013, which was at the time Uber's largest fundraising round.

Uber has gone on to raise more than $14 billion in new funding and last month closed a deal with SoftBank Group Corp, in which the Japanese conglomerate, along with other investors, took about a 17.5 percent stake in the company. SoftBank bought the majority of its stake at about a 30 percent discount off of Uber's valuation.

The deal was an opportunity for early investors and employees to cash in their shares and gave lossmaking Uber a much-needed financial boost.

Autonomous cars offer a multi-billion-dollar opportunity to remake urban transportation systems, and companies including Apple Inc, General Motors Co and scores of startups are competing to develop the technology.

To prevail at trial, Waymo had to prove not only that Uber acquired Waymo's trade secrets, but that it also used them in its own technology. In four days of testimony, however, Waymo had presented little public evidence that Uber actually used Waymo's trade secrets.

During Kalanick's second day of trial testimony, Waymo sought to portray him as so eager to improve Uber's lagging autonomous car business that he did a deal with Levandowski without properly assessing the risks.

Kalanick appeared subdued in front of jurors, but he returned to his famously pugnacious style in a statement on Friday, saying Uber's sole objective was to hire the most talented scientists and engineers.

"Had the trial proceeded to its conclusion, it is clear Uber would have prevailed," Kalanick said.

(Reporting by Alexandria Sage, Dan Levine and Heather Somerville; Editing by Bill Rigby and Grant McCool)
Welcome to David Pogues Rated:App! series. Each week, Ill buy whatever the No. 1 bestselling app is (on the iOS or Android store) and review it. Maybe Ill wind up saving you from a few wasted bucks. If youre viewing this video on your phone, the video plays vertically to fit your screen exactly, so you can see what itd look like if you were running the app yourself.

Last weeks No. 1 bestselling app on the Apple app store was Facetune. If youre an Instagram nut, thats no big news; youre already well aware of apps like this. In fact, Facetune has been around since 2013.

So why did it spike to No. 1 the week of Jan. 28? Even Lightricks, the company in Israel that makes it, doesnt know. We havent made any change recently, a rep wrote me. Perhaps we received some press and that boosted our sales.

Anyway, Facetune is a selfie-retouching app  incredibly easy to use, with incredibly professional-looking results. With a few swipes of your finger, you can make your teeth whiter, your skin smoother, your eyes bigger, and your nose smaller. You can tap a zit into nonexistence, or make your waist a little thinner. Its like Photoshop without the complexity (Facetunes built-in, animated help screens show you exactly how to use each tool). Its a must-have for anyone who lives and breathes Instagram.

Facetune has smoothed the skin and whitened the teeth of millions on Instagram.

At any time, you can tap the button in the lower-right for a before/after comparison with your original shot. And you can tap the button in upper right to post the photo to Instagram, send it to another app, send it by email, or save it to your camera roll.

The cost for all this magic is $4 for iOS, and $6 for Android.

The app is not only well done and practically idiotproof; it also appeals to our universal vanity. No wonder its become a mega-hit.

The danger zone

You do have to be careful when you use Facetune, though. Instagram is full of people whove dragged their finger too much, resulting in teeth that are creepily nuclear white, or skin that looks like some kind of plastic mask. Its freaky and unnatural. It makes you look like youre inflatable.

Story continues

Welcome to the age of FaceTune, where everybodys skin looks like vinyl.

But that doesnt stop many of the citizens of Instagram (and Tinder, and Match) from Facetuning themselves. After all, thats how the stars of Instagram look! Why shouldnt we all look airbrushed into plastic?

The stars all have freaky-smeared skinwhy shouldnt you?

Heck, once you learn to recognize that freakishly smeared skin tone, you realize that even Instagrams stars probably use Facetune, too. Khloe Kardashian even admits it. (Its life changing, she told Chelsea Handler. Its the only way to live.)

Theres another danger, of course: That people will start to feel ugly and ashamed if they dont look like theyve been airbrushed. That Facetuned photos create an unrealistic expectation of beauty. That somebody will meet you in real life and be appalled. (There is, in fact, a #NoFacetune hashtag making the rounds, a sort of What I Actually Look Like seal of authenticity.)

Actually, theres a third danger: That youre not going to read Lightricks legalese. It includes this alarming line: You grantto Lightricks a worldwide, non-exlusive, royalty-free license.. to use, reproduce,make available to the public [and] broadcast that Content [your photos]. Ummmm, what?

Im sure that this is just standard lawyer boilerplate stuff (Facebook and other companies have gotten burned by this kind of language coming to light), and that Lightricks would, in fact, not try to steal your photos for marketing purposes. But you know now you know.

Facetune 2

Actually, theres a final danger  that youll get confused over the version of FaceTune youre getting.

The old one, called just Facetune, is the one that spiked last week; it costs $4 or $6.

The new one, called Facetune 2, includes many of those same features for free:

Whiten your teeth, smooth your skin, remove skin shine, bring out eye detail

Make any body part bigger or smaller

Make your smile bigger, your jaw bigger or smaller, your face wider or narrower

Apply filters, superimpose colorful lens flares, paint new skin tones onto your face

Crop, vignette, adjust contrast and brightness, sharpen

Defocus the background

In fact, Facetune 2 lets you apply many of those features before you take the photo  in the live preview  or even in a video that you record in the app. Thats some hard-core face recognition. (You can see it at work in my video, above.)

Facetune 2 also offers a bunch of premium features, which you can unlock by paying through the (slimmed-down) nose. You can pay either a one-time $70, or you can pay $6 a month (or $36 a year). Man, you gotta be a hard-core Instagrammer to pay that much for selfie touchups.

What do those VIP features get you? Some pretty amazing stuff.

Paint in a totally new backdrop behind you

Relight the shot, changing how the light falls on your face (incredible)

Change the height, width, angle, or spacing of your eyes, and make similar adjustments to your nose

Go full-on Photoshop with vibrance, saturation, color-temperature controls; bring detail out of shadows or highlights

Auto-darken eyebrows, auto-reduce eye bags

Patch blemishes and moles (thats free in the old FaceTune version)

In Facetune 2 (the paid version), you can move the light around your face.

So heres my advice: Save yourself even the four bucks youd spend on the old version. Get the free Facetune 2, even though thats not the No. 1 app, and just plan to ignore all those VIP banners across the advanced, paid-only tools.

Unless, of course, your vanity gets the better of you.

David Pogue, tech columnist for Yahoo Finance, welcomes non-toxic comments in the Comments below. On the Web, hes davidpogue.com. On Twitter, hes @pogue. On email, hes poguester@yahoo.com. You can sign up to get his stuff by email, here.
The White House says U.S. President Donald Trump spoke by phone with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, discussing several regional topics, including the war in Afghanistan and the plight of Muslim Rohingya refugees in Burma.

The two leaders reiterated their commitment to Afghanistan's security, a White House statement said on February 8.

Washington recently announced it was cutting aid to Pakistan, India's neighbor and bitter regional rival, over allegations that Islamabad has provided a safe haven for insurgents operating in Afghanistan, a claim Pakistan denies.

At the same time, the U.S. administration has begun efforts to heighten military and economic relations with India, partially to balance Chinas more-assertive foreign policy in Asia.

India has increased aid to Afghanistan in recent years and has vowed to provide Kabul with more arms.

Trump and Modi also addressed the situation of more than 680,000 Muslim Rohingya who have fled Buddhist-majority Burma to neighboring Bangladesh since last year.

The military forces of Burma have been accused of mistreating hundreds of thousands of Rohingya civilians and burning down villages after Rohingya militant attacks last summer.

Burma, also known as Myanmar, denies it has targeted civilians and said its actions are directed against Rohingya extremists.

Based on reporting by Reuters, The Hindu, and India Today
Governments dream of drone-based development

The Federal Aviation Administration is in the process of narrowing down a list of applications from state and local governments that want to be a part of the nationwide Unmanned Aerial Systems Integration Pilot Program.

The three-year pilot program was launched last fall to solicit proposals for advanced UAS operations that will expand commercial UAS operations and help the FAA determine how to safely integrate drones into the U.S. airspace.

The pilot program will evaluate a variety of operational concepts, including night operations, flights over people, flights beyond the pilots line of sight, package delivery, detect-and-avoid technologies, counter-UAS security operations, reliability and security of data links between pilot and aircraft, as well as local management of UAS operations subject to FAA oversight, agency spokesman Les Dorr said in an email.

There are 149 lead applicants, which will result in as many as 10 winners to be announced in May, according to an FAA spokesperson.

Along with the lead applicants -- state, local or tribal governments  other public or private sector partners have applied as interested parties. There have been more than 2,800 interested-party applications, according to UAS Magazine.

The winning applicants will have access to expanded commercial drone operations in situations including beyond visual line-of-sight or over people. The Department of Transportation, meanwhile, will gain insight into drone operations and capabilities that will help guide future regulation.

Applicants have spoken about a wide range of UAS use cases -- from farm work to assisting in crime fighting.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation, for example, announced Feb. 5 it had submitted a proposal to use drones to deliver medical supplies across the state. Delivery is currently by courier, but a drone would allow blood and other supplies to reach doctors more quickly, saving lives, NCDOT Director of Aviation Bobby Walston said in a statement.

NCDOT would set up a network of distribution centers, and drones would deliver the supplies. The agency is working with two UAS companies, Matternet and Zipline, that currently operate overseas.

Weve been researching and investing in drone technology for years at NCDOT, Walston said. This proposal represents the next big step for us.

Drone deliveries are possible with the technology currently available on the market, NCDOT spokesman James Pearce told The News and Observer.

We dont exactly know when youll see these drones flying around here, but the technology that were trying to do already exists, Pearce told the paper. Theyre doing it in Europe. Theyre doing it in Africa.

Medical-supply delivery by drone has been tested stateside. Early efforts in the area include NASAs Langley Research Centers work in 2015 with the drone company Flirtey to deliver supplies to free clinics in Wise County, Va.

Louisville, Ky., has also applied for the pilot program. It wants to use drones to respond to gunshots identified by ShotSpotter, according to Insider Louisville, which reported the system would be automated and run through the Police Departments Real Time Crime Center.

ShotSpotter can triangulate a shot to within 80 feet. But Louisville doesnt have a dense network of security cameras, so officials may not have a camera near a shooting location. A drone-based camera would allow the police to get eyes on an area where a shot has been detected without the cost of building out a camera network, Grace Simrall, the citys chief of civic innovation, told Insider Louisville.

New York state's proposal focuses on its diverse airspace and experience managing cross-border drone traffic with Massachusetts.

The Griffiss International Airport in Rome, N.Y., was one of the original UAS test sites, and it opened up the first leg of a drone corridor last year where companies can test different technologies related to drones including sensors and data integration platforms.

A proposal from Yuma, Ariz., focuses on agricultural and boarder patrol applications for drones. An official with the Yuma Center of Excellence for Desert Agriculture told Arizona's NBC 11 that drones outfitted with black lights, flying at night, could help find pathogens in crops.

Bluefield, W.Va., is hoping its mountainous geography will separate it from the other applicants and is targeting package delivery and air traffic notification applications, according to the Bluefield Daily Telegraph.

The pilot program winners will be announced May 7.
Actually now there are many excellent MBA in Europe, in France, Switzerland, UK and Spain especially so I don't think there should be any problem betwen the different MBA.



However I would like to point out the fact that the MBA is more like a US degree even if it is normally international. the MBA degree is not as important in Europe as it is in the US.

In Europe our system is different, usually you have to study 4 or 5 years to get a Master's Degree, but then you can go on for one additional year (more like a specilisation in a specific field) and do what we call a Mastere or DESS and finally the MBA would come on top of all this which means for some people around 7 years of study if you go into a program directly after university !!! (which is not very common).



I think that doing a MBA in USA is the best possible way, however it doesn't mean the content will be better. Strategy for the future.



One important thing to be taken into account is the cost : MBA in USa is more expensive and it will certainly last 2 years whereas in Europe the cost is more affordable and the MBA will generally be done in 1 year.



Finally, in my mind, I think that it should be easier to be accepted in a US MBA after graduation, in Europe they tend to prefer older and experienced persons.
In Kabul in December, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani told Vice President Pence that more senior Taliban members had been killed in 2017 than in the previous 15 years combined. Real progress, Pence said. The dry language of wire reports does not reveal whether this reply was delivered in the sarcastic tone one might expect, given the utter chaos now reigning in Afghanistan. There are times when one wishes pool reporters used emoticons in their dispatches.





Steve Colls 

 is an account of a slow-motion military and policy disaster. It is sometimes as affectless as a wire report, but the unadorned facts in its narrative more than suffice to stoke bafflement and despair. After 17 years of war in Afghanistan, more than 100,000 Afghans are dead, and the Taliban and the Islamic State are competing to inflict wanton violence on civilians in the capital. The only thing U.S. policymakers know for sure is that the situation will degrade fast if we leave. It will probably degrade slowly and expensively if we stay. Previous attempts at discreet draw-downs have not, Coll notes, been dignified or had positive results. In 2014, at a ceremony marking the end of a phase of U.S. combat in Afghanistan, the ceremony program noted that attendees should lie down flat on the ground in the event of a rocket attack.





Colls book is chronological, and mostly a catalogue of mistakes made and lessons learned far too late, if at all. He quotes a soldier who summarized his job to Eliot Cohen, then counselor of the State Department: You walk through a valley until you get into a firefight and then you keep shooting until it stops. (Thats a little troubling, Cohen replies.) Various strategies are attempted  the current one, conceived at the end of the Obama era, involves vigorous use of drones and commando teams  but at no point after 2003 does the United States recover the initiative. Almost every endeavor threatens to be undone in a moment. By 2012, a quarter of the soldiers killed in the U.S.-led alliance were killed by the very Afghan soldiers they were training.





The mistakes are legion. First, in the heady days after Sept. 11, 2001, U.S. spies were fighting a war with blood in the mouth  an attitude that the CIAs battlefield commander describes as a burning need for retribution. This attitude inspired numerous shortsighted policies in the war on terrorism, including the opening of Guantanamo Bays prison camp and the policy of making no distinction between al-Qaeda militants and those who harbored them.

Most of the Taliban fighters were ornery yokels, with only the vaguest understanding of what America was. They did not require annihilation  of course, we slowly discovered that we couldnt kill them all anyway  and they could, at some point, have been incorporated into the Afghan state rather than hunted in endless war. Moreover, the Taliban had provided order, and the United States had no plan to install and nurture a similarly orderly government. Afghans quickly grew irritated at an occupier skilled at fighting but uninterested or incompetent at governing.




Hetq earlier wrote about the trademark dispute between Tierras de Armenia (the company founded by Argentine tycoon Eduardo Eurnekian which produces the Karas line of wines) against Zorik Gharibyan, who produces the Zorah line of wines, and published the open letter by Gharibyan, addressed to Eurnekian.

While waiting for the decision by Appeals Court to be published this month, Hetq met with Juliana Del Aguila Eurnekian, the niece of Eduardo Eurnekian, who is the general director of Karas Wine.

Why did Karas Wine wait four years before going to court?

She says the reason for applying to the Court only in 2016, four years after registering the trademarks, was because they found out late about the confusion between Karas and Karasi Zorah.

She recalls a case when she ordered some Karas and was offered Karasi Zorah instead. "Consumers should know exactly what products they are buying. I believe Karasi Zorah is fantastic wine, but I also do not want it to be confused with Karas," Juliana says.

Im not against using the word karas, so long as it doesnt create confusion

When we noted that Karasi Zorah is produced in much less volumes and the market is mostly abroad, and thus it cannot compete with Karas, Juliana said that it's not the competition that matters in this case. She says they tried to solve everything with Gharibyan before applying to the court, but couldnt agree on a solution.

Juliana says they are not against Gharibyan using the word "karas" when describing the way his wine is produced in amphora (karas) vessels, but the trademark shouldnt confuse consumers.

Tierras de Armenias vineyards

Manufacturers of Karas say that no matter how big the "Z" letter is on the Karasi Zorah brand, foreigners who do not understand Armenian first read KARASi written below, which leads to a confusion.

Here, Juliana Eurnekian responds to some of Hetq's questions.

Will you sue all the wine companies that use the word "karas" from now on?

Of course not, this word can be used to describe how the wine was prepared, but not as a trademark to be confused with our brand. Thats it.

Since December last year, several Armenian winemakers have spoken about karas being a part of Armenian cultural heritage, and that nobody has the right to monopolize it.

All these rumors that we want to monopolize use of the word karas is false information: they only want to get more attention.

Is Mr. Eurnekian going to respond to Zorik Gharibyan's open letter, which was published in Hetq?

He is not going to respond, since it was a very aggressive letter. Mr. Eurnekian has made huge investments in Armenia - the airport (Zvartnots), the bank (Converse), big charities. He cannot spend time on such things.

Juliana says her uncles goal was to create jobs and a product here, that would be of high quality and represent Armenia abroad. He didnt want to create problems. Conversations about the monopolization attempt, according to the businessman's niece, have nothing to do with the reality.

Its business, not personal

As for suing Voskevaz Wine Factory on the same grounds, Juliana says they cooperate with a company dealing with trademarks.

Tierras de Armenias wine cellar

"When the company sees that a new trademark appears in the market, which can be confused with our product, we appeal to the court. Same in the Voskevaz case. I dont know the current status of the case, but we have applied for the trademark to be removed. I would like to note that we do not want them to have issues or not to produce at all. It's just a matter of maintaining the trademark, says Juliana.

Two similar applications - two opposite answers

However, there is a company that can sue Tierras de Armenia CJSC instead.

Shahumyan-Vin LLC applied to the Intellectual Property Agency (IPA) to register its KARASI WINE trademark before Tierras de Armenia or Saki and Sans. This company is said to belong to the former MP Karo Karapetyan (aka Juvetsi Karo).

When Saki and Sans tried to register their KARASI trademark in March 2011, they were rejected for the following reason: "The word "KARASI" cannot be registered because wine consumers will believe that the wine was stored in karas. Its also confusingly similar to KARASI WINE, registered earlier.

This justification and refusal were not applied later, in September 2011, when the IPA received Tierras de Armenias application, which was eventually approved in 2012.

What prompted the Armenias IPA to give two contradictory answers to two similar applications, and which one is legally correct? Only the trademark division of the IPA can answer this.

When we asked whether they were aware that before the two companies started disputing the trademark, the "KARASI WINE" trademark had been registered by Shahumyan-Vin LLC, Tierras de Armenia employees were quite surprised.

Regarding this, Juliana Eurnekian said: "This is more of a legal issue. Fortunately, we have good lawyers dealing with these cases, and they will discuss this. Im more worried about the reputation of my family. I want to preserve the great investment that has been done, and to maintain our trademark.

Photos: Vahe Sarukhanyan and from the Internet
He will visit Palestine, United Arab Emirates and Oman.

Modi said this region is a key priority to India's external engagement.

" I am happy to visit the Gulf and West Asian region for the fifth time since 2015. This region is a key priority in our external engagement. We enjoy vibrant multi-dimensional ties with the countries here," Modi said.

Modi will visit the nation from Feb 9 to 12.

" The visit will begin from Palestine, on 10 February after transiting through Jordan. I am grateful to His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan for facilitating the transit. I look forward to meeting him in Amman on 9th February," Modi said.

This will be the first ever Prime Ministerial visit to Palestine from India.

Modi said he is looking forward to the tour.

" I am looking forward to my discussions with President Mahmoud Abbas and reaffirming our support for the Palestinian people and the development of Palestine," he said.

On his upcoming visit to the UAE, he said: " I will visit UAE on 10-11 February, where I am returning after my visit in August 2015. UAE is a valued strategic partner with whom we have fast-tracked cooperation in all major spheres including economy, energy, high technology and security. I will be discussing our progress in these areas and more in my meetings with His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi."

Speaking on Oman, he said: " Oman is a close maritime neighbour with whom we enjoy excellent relations. I will hold talks with His Majesty the Sultan of Oman and other key leaders. I shall also interact with leading businesspersons of Oman on developing stronger economic and business links with India."

Full text of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech prior to his departure to Palestine, United Arab Emirates and Oman is given below:

I will be undertaking bilateral visits to Palestine, United Arab Emirates and Oman from 9-12 February.

I am happy to visit the Gulf and West Asian region for the fifth time since 2015. This region is a key priority in our external engagement. We enjoy vibrant multi-dimensional ties with the countries here.

The visit will begin from Palestine, on 10 February after transiting through Jordan. I am grateful to His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan for facilitating the transit. I look forward to meeting him in Amman on 9th February.

This will be the first ever Prime Ministerial visit to Palestine from India. I am looking forward to my discussions with President Mahmoud Abbas and reaffirming our support for the Palestinian people and the development of Palestine.

I will visit UAE on 10-11 February, where I am returning after my visit in August 2015. UAE is a valued strategic partner with whom we have fast-tracked cooperation in all major spheres including economy, energy, high technology and security. I will be discussing our progress in these areas and more in my meetings with His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

At the invitation of the leadership of the UAE, I will be addressing the 6th edition of the World Government Summit in Dubai, where India is the Guest Country of Honour.

On the same day, I will also engage leading UAE and Arab CEOs in Dubai on the vast economic opportunities in India and what more can be done together to bolster business collaboration.

Oman is a close maritime neighbour with whom we enjoy excellent relations. I will hold talks with His Majesty the Sultan of Oman and other key leaders. I shall also interact with leading businesspersons of Oman on developing stronger economic and business links with India.

Oman is a close maritime neighbor with whom we enjoy excellent relations. I am delighted to undertake my first visit there as Prime Minister on 11-12 February. India and Oman have thriving links rooted in centuries old people-to-people exchanges.

On the evening of 11th February, I will be meeting His Majesty the Sultan of Oman. I will also meet Deputy Prime Minister for the Council of Ministers HH Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmoud Al Said and Deputy Prime Minister for International Relations and Cooperation Affairs HH Sayyid Asa'ad bin Tariq Al Said. We will review bilateral cooperation and steps to further enhance our traditionally strong links.

On 12th February, I will interact with leading businesspersons of Oman on developing stronger economic and business links with India.

In both Oman and the UAE, I will have the opportunity to meet the large Indian diasporas that have made those countries their home. More than 9 million Indians work and live in the Gulf region, of which about one third live in the UAE alone. In Oman, they constitute the largest expatriate community.

The Indian diaspora is a bridge of friendship between India and the Gulf states. They are also active participants in the prosperity and progress of their host countries.

I look forward to strengthening Indias growing and important ties with West Asia and the Gulf region through the visit.
The principal charge against Vafadari was apparently collusion in plots against national security, although his letter alleges that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps had sought more serious charges by putting pressure on Neyssari to make false statements against her husband. Specifically, the authorities reportedly attempted to portray Vafadari as a member of Mossad or the CIA, as part of an effort to secure a death sentence in his case.

Vafadari further alleges that his lengthy prison sentence was largely the result of the IRGCs exertion of pressure on the judiciary. The IRGC and the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence have been widely credited with an escalating crackdown on dual nationals and other perceived threats to Irans ideological purity. Accordingly, CHRI notes that at least 30 dual nationals have been arrested since the conclusion of nuclear negotiations between Iran and six world powers in the summer of 2015. Many of the highest profile cases involve charges for which no evidence has been made publicly known, and in some cases the defendants were not informed of specific charges against them.

Given the IRGCs influence over the judiciary and their determination to completely ruin our lives, I dont think we will be justly treated unless there is greater and more effective international pressure. The simple reason is that they want to make an example of us or add us to their list of hostages, Vafadaris letter declared.

The question of international pressure over Vafadari and other dual nationals was presented in new light on Thursday amidst reports that the White House may have secretly reached out to Iran for discussion of a possible prisoner swap. Such a move would be an apparent departure from President Donald Trumps markedly hardline posture toward the Islamic Republic, especially given his severe criticism of his predecessor over the prisoner swap and so-called ransom payment that secured the release of four Americans in January 2016.

In any event, reports from sources including the New York Post indicated that Iran had rebuffed the recent outreach amidst an escalating war of words between the two countries. In addition, those reports followed closely behind the announcement that Baquer Namazi, another Iranian-American hostage, had been returned to Evin Prison after a brief leave, against the recommendations of medical professionals.

The 81-year-old father of fellow prisoner and Iranian-American businessman Siamak Namazi was transferred to hospital to receive specialized treatment last month after he experienced a drastic decline in blood pressure and an erratic heartbeat. A previous such transfer had resulted in the installation of a pacemaker. However, both these and two other instances of specialized medical treatment were granted only after the elderly detainees health conditions steadily worsened over periods of weeks.

In the most recent instance, his post-treatment medical leave was initially limited to only four days before being extended through Sunday. On Tuesday he was summoned to immediately return to prison and resume his 10-year sentence for the vague charge of cooperation with hostile countries. The Associated Press reported that Irans own medical examiner had recommended that Namazi be granted a minimum of three months leave. His family and attorney maintain that his failing health means a return to prison at this stage would constitute a de facto death sentence.

The US State Department responded favorably to the initial reports of Namazis medical leave but also cautioned that such temporary measures were inadequate. The departments statement went on to urge the immediate and permanent release of Namazi and all other wrongfully detained Americans. But it remains unclear whether such demands are in fact being backed up by the sort of international pressure that Vafadari sees as being necessary to fair treatment in such cases.

However, various international human rights organizations are making recognizable efforts to keep up some sort of pressure on the Islamic Republic not only over the plight of dual nationals but also over a range of recurring human rights abuses, some of which have been given added publicity through their relationship to the aforementioned cases. The denial of medical treatment to Baquer Namazi is typical of a pressure tactic that is used against numerous political prisoners, and the attempt to elicit forced confessions from Neyssari are also repeated on a regular basis with political detainees and their families.

Arbitrary pressures and the denial of medical treatment are both features of a situation that was highlighted on Wednesday by the renowned human rights advocacy group Amnesty International. That report calls attention to the violent transfer of female political prisoners Atena Daemi and Golrokh Ebrahimi that took place on January 24. Following physical and verbal assaults, the two women were moved to appalling conditions in Shahr-e Rey Prison, in violation of Iranian laws that call for the separation of prisoners according to category of crime.

Both women promptly initiated hunger strikes in protest of their illegal transfer. They were joined on January 27 by Ebrahimis husband and fellow political prisoner Arash Sadeghi.

reviously, in October 2016, Sadeghi protested his wifes arrest and detention by initiating a hunger strike that lasted for more than two months and inspired large-scale street protests but only resulted in officials agreeing to grant Ebrahimi conditional release while reviewing her case. The Amnesty report indicates that Sadeghi is still suffering from the effects of that hunger strike but has been consistently denied medical treatment in the face of worsening ailments of the kidneys, heart, respiratory, and digestive systems.

Ebrahimi and Daemi now face a risk of worsening health conditions as well, regardless of whether they persist in their own hunger strikes. Amnesty describes Shahr-e Rey Prison as a disused chicken farm that holds several hundred women convicted of violent offences in overcrowded and unhygienic conditions, without access to safe drinkable water, decent food, medicine and fresh air.

Far from being imprisoned for violent crimes, Daemi and Ebrahimi are both serving sentences stemming from peaceful activism and private communication. Ebrahimis three-year sentence relates to security forces discovery, during a raid on her home, of an unpublished, fictional story describing one womans outrage at witnessing another woman being stoned to death. Daemi is serving a seven-year sentence stemming primarily from social media posts she made in protest of Irans abuse of the death penalty.

In addition to consistently having the highest per-capita rate of executions in the world, the Islamic Republic also persists in various practices related to the death penalty that have been explicitly banned in international law. Prominent among these is the practice of sentencing juvenile offenders to death, and this is also the subject of vigorous international activism including a recent urgent call to action by Amnesty International.

The relevant statement, issued on Thursday, notes that 21-year-old Abdolfazi Naderi is at imminent risk of execution for a crime he allegedly committed at the age of 16. Iran is a signatory to two international human rights conventions that outlaw the death penalty for persons who were under the age of 18 at the time of their offenses. This aside, Naderi maintains his personal innocence, stating that he went to the police to report a friends suicide but was subsequently convicted of murder based on a false confession that was extracted under torture and later withdrawn.

As well as calling for a letter writing campaign related to Naderis particular case, the Amnesty document highlights Tehrans persistent disregard for international condemnations of the practice of juvenile executions. Specifically, it notes that at least 88 such executions have been carried out since 2005, with four having taken place in 2017 and three having already been carried out this year.

Human Rights Watch also called attention to these statistics in a report that detailed the cases of the three youthful offenders who were hanged in January. The report points out that one of these, Amirhossein Pourjafar, had shown clear signs of mental illness but had been put to death anyway, thus demonstrating the judiciarys lack of interest in applying new legal standards that allow for Iranian judges to hand down lesser sentences when there is evidence that the defendant lacked mental maturity or failed to comprehend the crime or its consequences at the time of its commission.

Another report, by Iran Human Rights, focused exclusively on the case of Mahboubeh Mofidi, who was executed on January 30 for allegedly killing her husband when she was 17. The details of her case cast doubt upon the extent of her culpability for a crime that involved participation from her brother-in-law, who received a sentence of 20 years in prison. But it also called renewed attention to the persistent problem of underage marriage in Iran, considering that the murder took place four years after Mofidi was married to an older man, at the age of only 13.

This in turn shines a spotlight on the state of womens rights in the Islamic Republic, and that general topic is one in which the clerical regime has faced considerable recent pressure not just from international human rights defenders but also from domestic activists. For instance, following the first such protest on December 27, Iranian authorities arrested at least 30 women for publicly removing their hijabs in silent demonstrations that are extensions of the White Wednesday and My Stealthy Freedom protests against forced veiling.

According to CHRI, one of those arrestees, Narges Hosseini, recently refused to appear in court, where she was to be given an opportunity to repent for her supposed crimes of committing a sinful act, violating public prudency, and encouraging immorality or prostitution. If convicted, she could face up to 10 years in prison, as well as being ordered to receive 74 lashes. And in light of the pressure being exerted on the judiciary by the IRGC and other hardline institutions, her conviction seems likely unless a resurgence of recent popular protests, an increase in effective international pressure, or both of these factors overcome the impulse toward defending the clerical regimes ideological purity.
The speakers agreed that the situation in Iran was looking up because the people are making their voices heard, although they expressed their concern that the Iranian regime was still torturing, arresting and executing peaceful protesters.

Several of the speakers spoke about times of oppression in their own countries and remained positive that the people of Iran would have the same happy ending as they did. Romeo Nicoara of the Romanian Parliament said that his country was going through a similar situation around thirty years ago. Like the people of Iran, the Romanians protested against their regime and were brutally oppressed. However, he stressed, now the people of Romanian benefit from democracy  something that the people of Iran will soon get.

Numerous speakers also spoke about the role of women in the Iranian Resistance and praised Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the leader of the Resistance, for leading in such an exemplary way.

aleria Cardinali, a Member of the Italian Parliament, said that the women of Iran see through example that women can have a rightful and equal place in society. Cardinali also called on Europe to recognise the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) as a viable alternative to the brutal Iranian regime.

Speaking about European policy toward Iran, the lawmakers agreed that more action needs to be taken. Roger Lyons, former General Secretary of the largest union in Britain and former President of the Trade Union Congress, said that the UK government, and the European Union, need to stop dealing with Iran until it stops executing its people. He emphasised that expressions of solidarity are not enough  they must be turned into meaningful actions.

Mrs. Rajavi highlighted that thousands of people have been arrested and dozens of people killed or tortured to death by the regime, yet despite this the people are still taking to the streets to protest. These brave people will risk everything to ensure that their country sees great change. She said that this shows the force of the people and said that Iranian society has reached a turning point. The regime knows this and it is in a desperate situation.

Thirty-nine years of bloodshed and crimes, discrimination against and suppression of women, repression and censorship is enough. Europe must end its silence and inaction and distance itself from the clerical regime. This regime has no future and appeasing it will only increase the price of freedom for the people of Iran. Appeasement will fuel more wars and crises in the region but of course, it cannot prevent the overthrow of the clerical regime by the people of Iran.

Finally, Mrs. Rajavi urged the United Nations to set up an international commission to investigate the arrests and disappearances of Iranian protestors.
The money was sent on an unmarked charter plane via Switzerland. It was then converted into other currencies including euros and Swiss francs, and then Iranian aircraft took the cash in three goes. The first lot of cash, around $400 million, was stacked on wooden pallets.

Sources say that Iran has used a large portion of it to fund its proxy groups, in particular the notorious Lebanese Hezbollah. A large part of the funds has also gone to various elements of Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), to its Quds Force and to foreign intelligence groups.

Some of the American money was spent on the Houthi rebels in Yemen. Iran has been involved in the conflict in Yemen where it supports the Houthis that are trying to control of the country.

It is expected that this intelligence will have a huge bearing on future actions taken by President Trump. Trump has already voiced his criticism of his predecessor, slamming him for giving Iran so many concessions and for negotiating a really weak deal. He also criticised Obama for his inaction with regards to Irans belligerence.

Last month he criticised the transfer of American money to Tehran: The enormous financial windfall Iran received because of the deal  access to more than $100 billion, including $1.8 billion in cash  has not been used to better the lives of the Iranian people. Instead, it has served as a slush fund for weapons, terror, and oppression, and to further line the pockets of corrupt regime leaders.

Trump explained that he is working to cut the flow of money to Iran so that it cannot financially support proxies and militias in the region. So far, almost a hundred entities and individuals that have supported the Iranian ballistic missile program and other illicit activities have been sanctioned.

The first payment of $400 million created controversy because it coincided with four American hostages being released by Iran. There were inevitable claims that Obama is paying a ransom for their release. Obama tried to justify the cash movement by saying that the US would lose a court case regarding arms purchases made by the US if it did not hand over the cash.

Obamas administration tried to appease Iran with the cash, but the Trump administration is taking a new route to curbing Irans threat by taking a harsher course of action.

James N. Mattis, the US Defence Secretary has said that the Trump administration is taking a hard stance on Iran and that the Iranian regime, despite the nuclear deal and despite the recent popular uprising, is still continuing to sow violence and remains the most significant challenge to Middle East stability.
The results of the Feed a Need drive were announced just as the California State University Office of the Chancellor released a study conducted by

Dr. Rashida Crutchfield

of Long Beach State University and Dr. Jennifer Maguire of Humboldt State University. Their research, which focused on homelessness, low and very low food security among students on the 23 California State University campuses, found that 41.6 percent of CSU students and 37.7 percent of Long Beach State University students reported food insecurity, respectively.
The small Ethiopian town of Dukem has some of the most fertile land in the country.

It also is home to Ethiopias first industrial park.

Dukem is part of a government-led push to turn the mostly agricultural country into Africas manufacturing center.

The industrial park, the Chinese-owned Eastern Industrial Zone or EIZ is in the process of expanding. Plans call for an additional 167 hectares to be developed. This will force about 300 farmers from their land, a move that has reopened old wounds with the local population.

No more land to farm or live

The Ethiopian government plans to have 15 industrial parks nationwide by June 2018. Chinese companies are building 5 more.

However, many farmers are still unhappy over losing their land when the first industrial zone was created.

We were the first, said Shewangizaw, a farmer who lost his fields to an Ethiopian-owned factory back in 2006.

He and around 40 other farmers were forced to move when some of the first factories arrived in the area 10 years ago. The farmers say they failed to get paid for what the land was worth.

I dont have any land now, said 72-year-old Bashada, who lost nearly five hectares of farmland. He now pays an older neighbor $367 a year for use of his farmland.

The group is campaigning to have its case heard by the federal government.

Its not fair, said Shewangizaw. Our families were just destroyed. At the time compensation paid to us was so, so cheap. And we dont have any land to farm or live on now.

Opening old wounds

Muhammed Tilahun is with the Dukem Land Development and Management Office. He told the Reuters news agency the local government was now considering the concerns of farmers.

That includes 190 farmers and their children who lost their land in 2007. He said they are now being given extra land to support them.

Yet many others across central Ethiopia are still angry. The area has experienced fast development and industrialization over the past 10 years.

In 2014, the government planned to expand the capital, Addis Ababa, into the surrounding area of Oromia. Under the proposed expansion, the city would, in effect, swallow up towns like Dukem.

The proposal incited large protests, which spread across the country. The unrest resulted in hundreds of deaths and eventually led the government to declare a nine-month state of emergency.

Peace has now returned to Dukem, but farmers who will lose their land to the EIZ expansion are angry once more.

Our land came from our ancestors, said Telahun Chaka, a 57-year-old farmer in Goticha village.

Chaka said he expects to lose his remaining farmland this year. I was hoping to give it to my children, too. Now I have nothing for them to inherit, he said.

Chaka and his neighbors tried to resist the plan, he said, leading police to briefly detain four of them.

Solomon Basha, a representative for the Dukem town administration, said this was not true.

No farmers are protesting the expansion now, he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. No farmers were arrested or killed in this process.

The EIZ has promised to build a hospital, a school and a market center for farmers. It has also promised over $4,000,000 in compensation for the latest step in the expansion, Basha said.

Each farmer will receive 500 square meters of replacement land along with their payment, he added.

But farmers like Chaka dont trust these promises.

This is propaganda, Chaka said. They promise us a lot of things - new land, a school for our children, electricity, running water - but after they take it nothing happens. So we lose our land and end up in poverty.

Demand for better pay

However, compensation rates have changed in Ethiopia since the first time EIZ started taking control of and developing land.

Muhammed Tilahun, the local official, said compensation during the first part of development was very low and did not include new agricultural land.

He said they had set up a committee to identify people who had suffered under the earlier rules. He added that the price of compensation had more than doubled.

In Ethiopia, all land is under the control of the government, and there is no established price for farmland.

Officially, households should be paid 10 times the market value of what can be produced on their land in a single year. But this can be difficult to measure, and easily abused by government officials.

The amount of money they pay for compensation is actually quite high, said Stefan Dercon, chief economist of the UK Department for International Development.

The government also plans to increase compensation to farmers again later this year.

Low pay

The industrial zone currently employs more than 10,500 Ethiopians. They are mostly from the Dukem area, notes the Ethiopian Investment Commission.

But locals criticize low wages and poor treatment by employers.

Lemma Teshome, the son of a farmer whose land is being developed this year, worked for three years at a factory.

Nothing was good, he said. The pay was low and our hours were long. We were so disappointed.

I'm Jonathan Evans. And Im Phil Dierking.

Tom Gardner wrote this story for Reuters. Phil Dierking adapted his story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

inherit - v. to receive (money, property, etc.) from someone when that person dies

cheap - adj. not costing a lot of money

industrial park - n. an area outside of a town or city that is designed especially for factories or offices

zone - n. an area that is different from other areas in a particular way
On February 8, ArmenianForeign Minister Edward Nalbandian received the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs Igor Popov (Russia), Stephane Visconti (France), Andrew Schofer (USA) and Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk, who have arrived in Yerevan on a regional visit.

The Co-Chairs briefed Minister Nalbandian on their meetings in Baku.

The Foreign Minister of Armenia and the Co-Chairs discussed issues related to the agreement in principle on the expansion of the capacities of the office of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, reached in January at the Krakow meeting of Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Edward Nalbandian drew the attention of the Co-Chairs to the fact that, unlike the Co-Chairs and Armenia, Baku has not made any statement so far with regards to that agreement and when it is going to implement it. Baku has a strange memory: being entangled in the web of their own fabricated falsifications, it forgets the agreements reached one month before and prior to that, with regards to which the Co-Chairs have made numerous statements, while at the same time it recalls with twisted interpretations the twenty-five years old documents, to which the Co-Chairs, for obvious reasons, have not even referred to - noted the Foreign Minister of Armenia.

Informing the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs about the killing of the Armenian soldier as a result of blatant violation of the ceasefire by the Azerbaijani side on the Line of Contact, Edward Nalbandian underlined that even the presence of the Co-Chairs in the region does not restrain Baku from provocative actions: thus Azerbaijan demonstrates its disrespect towards the Co-Chair countries.

Referring to Baku's comments that Azerbaijan is allegedly interested in the rapid settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Foreign Minister of Armenia noted that words should be supported by the deeds, the agreements reached at Vienna, St. Petersburg and Geneva summits should be implemented and the Co-Chairs' proposals on the conflict settlement should be accepted as the basis for negotiations and the process should move forward on this foundation.
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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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Gagik Tsarukyan, a businessman, MP, and founder of the Prosperous Armenia Party, has donated ten Niva jeeps to the Armenian Ministry of Nature Protection.

The donation is part of a deal signed today between the Gagik Tsarukyan Benevolent Foundation and the Ministry of Nature Protection.

The signing took place at Tsarukyans Multi Grand Hotel in Yerevan.

According to a ministry press release, the foundation will cooperate in activities designed to preserve and restore the environment, to create new nature reserves, to foster ecotourism, and to strengthen environmental monitoring.
Ormat Technologies, Inc. operates as a holding company. The firm engages in the provision of geothermal and recovered energy power business. It operates through the following segments: Electricity, Product and Energy Storage. The Electricity segment focuses in the sale of electricity from the company's power plants pursuant to PPAs. The Product segment involves in the manufacture, including design and development, of turbines and power units for the supply of electrical energy and in the associated construction of power plants utilizing the power units manufactured by the company to supply energy from geothermal fields and other alternative energy sources. The Energy Storage segment consists of battery energy storage systems as a service and management of curtailable customer loads under contracts with U.S. retail energy providers and directly with large commercial and industrial customers. The company was founded in 1965 and is headquartered in Reno, NV.

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A joint U.S. and Afghan air raid this week targeting the Islamic State group in Afghanistan killed 25 militants, including a Chinese and three Uzbek militants, a provincial police chief said yesterday.

The airstrikes, which took place in northern Jowzjan province, were part of a joint operation with the U.S.-led coalition, said the police chief, Faqir Mohammad Jowzjani.

Jowzjani said IS has become prominent in Darzab district, where the airstrikes took place, and also in Kush Tepa district of Jowzjan province.

IS emerged in Afghanistan in 2014, mostly from the ranks of disgruntled Taliban, and in the initial years restricted its activities to the countrys east, mostly Nangarhar province.

However, seeking to expand their footprint, the IS affiliate in Afghanistan, which goes under the name of Khorasan province, stepped up attacks and claimed responsibility for several horrific suicide bombings that targeted Shiite Muslim places of worship in the capital, Kabul, and in western Herat province. The radical Sunni militant group reviles Shiites as heretics.

Analysts who track IS say there are now as many as 5,000 IS fighters in northern Afghanistan, most of them Uzbek nationals, formerly members of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan militant group.

Jowzjani, the provincial police chief, said several Uzbek members of IS have settled in the north of Afghanistan with their families. The region is ethnically dominated by Afghan Tajiks and Uzbeks, with enclaves of ethnic Pashtuns and also and ethnic Hazaras. The Pashtuns live mostly in the countrys east and south and the Hazaras dominate swaths of central Afghanistan.

Arkady Dubnov, a Moscow-based expert on Central Asian militants, has told The Associated Press that the son of Tahir Yuldashev, the powerful Uzbek leader of the outlawed Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan who was killed in a U.S. missile strike in Pakistan in 2009, was leading efforts to help expand IS influence in Afghanistan, particularly in the north of the country.

Extremists from the Turkic Muslim Uighur ethnic group native to northwestern Chinas province of Xinjiang have also been operating in Afghanistan and in the border areas between Pakistan and Afghanistan. AP
An Air Macau Beijing- bound flight returned to the gate after it took off from Macau yesterday morning.

According to information given to the Times by the Civil Aviation Authority of Macau (AACM), the case involved Air Macaus flight NX006, which was scheduled to depart for Beijing at 7.10 a.m. yesterday.

The same representative added that the aircraft returned to Macau International Airport at 7.40 a.m., after the captain of the flight reported having smelt smoke in the cabin and declared an emergency.

According to AACM, the operator subsequently performed a check on the aircraft [which] confirmed that [the smoke] was due to detergent that was applied to clean the aircraft engines the night before.

The aviation authority also mentioned that the aircraft has [resumed] its normal operation from noon today [yesterday].

Questioned by the Times, the AAMC also noted that, in accordance with the Mandatory Occurrence Reporting System in force, the operator [Air Macau] would formally file the case report to AACM within 72 hours of the incident.

There were reportedly 168 people on board of Air Macaus aircraft.

The airport also reportedly activated emergency services, where a team of fire fighters and equipment was dispatched to the landing point, although this was a precautionary method as the equipment was not used.
China dismissed accusations from the former leader of the Maldives that it is attempting to effectively buy up the Indian Ocean island state, while the Maldives government said yesterday it is sending envoys to three countries to explain its ongoing political crisis.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Chinese economic assistance came without political conditions and called recent remarks by exiled former President Mohamed Nasheed totally groundless.

Chinas aid to the Maldives has no political strings attached and does not harm the Maldives sovereignty and independence at all, still less jeopardize security in the Indian Ocean, Geng said at a regularly scheduled news conference.

Nasheed is wrapped up in the political turmoil that has swept the archipelago nation since the Supreme Court ordered his release in absentia as well as the release of other several jailed opposition leaders. Current President Yameen Abdul Gayoom rejected the order and declared a state of emergency this week in which two of the justices were arrested.

Yameen has cracked down on civil liberties since coming to power in 2013, imprisoning or forcing into exile nearly every political leader who opposes him.

Nasheed told reporters late last month in the neighboring country of Sri Lanka that Yameen has opened the doors to Chinese investment without regard for procedure or transparency.

China, Nasheed said, is busy buying up the Maldives, adding that this years presidential election could be the last chance to extricate the Maldives from increasing Chinese influence.

During a visit by Yameen to Beijing in December, the two countries signed a trade agreement that eliminates most tariffs on Maldivian exports, primarily fish, and opens the Maldives to Chinese goods and services, including in finance, health care and tourism.

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.

China is already the Maldives primary source of tourists and is investing hundreds of millions of dollars in an airport expansion, housing development and other projects.

China considers the Maldives a key cog in its One Belt One Road project along ancient trade routes through the Indian Ocean and Central Asia. The initiative is Chinese President Xi Jinpings signature project and envisages building ports, railways and roads to expand trade in a vast arc of countries across Asia, Africa and Europe.

Chinas massive lending to poor nations for such projects has raised concerns about their ability to repay, as well as fueling fears in rival India that Beijing is methodically working to shrink New Delhis influence in the Indian Ocean.

Already, Beijing has taken over ports it developed in Sri Lanka and Pakistan on long-term leases.

Highlighting Chinas importance to Yameen, it was among the three friendly nations to which the Maldives said it was sending envoys to explain the current political situation. The others are Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

Yameens government has close ties with all three nations.

Nasheed, meanwhile, sought aid from neighboring India earlier this week, asking it to intervene in the crisis that erupted on Feb. 1 with the Supreme Court ruling.

India has said its monitoring the situation in the Maldives and has expressed concern about the state of emergency but little more.

Yesterday, Maldives ambassador to India Ahmed Mohamed tweeted that his government was also eager to send an envoy to New Delhi, but the dates proposed for the visit were not suitable for Indian officials.

We await the convenience of the government of India, he added.

On Monday, Yameen declared a 15-day state of emergency, giving his government sweeping powers, including to make arrests, search and seize property, and restrict freedom of assembly.

Hours after the state of emergency was declared, security forces in riot gear and blue camouflage uniforms stormed the Supreme Court building to arrest Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and Justice Ali Hameed.

Saeeds lawyer said his client was forcefully dragged on the floor from his chambers by security personnel. Lawyer Hisaan Hussain said he was gravely concerned by the governments reaction to the court ruling, saying it is a blatant violation and completely erodes the doctrine of separation of powers.

He called for his clients immediate release.

The acting national police chief, Abdulla Nawaz, said earlier this week that police had proof of bribes and found piles of cash under the bed of an arrested judicial official who is accused of influencing the court justices.

Since the detentions, the three Supreme Court justices who were not arrested have annulled the courts order to free the imprisoned opposition politicians.

The United Nations, India and other foreign governments have expressed concern over the state of emergency and have urged Yameen to respect the earlier court order.Mohamed Sharuhaan & Christopher Bodeen, AP
Chinese and African officials yesterday denounced a report alleging Chinese construction workers bugged the African Union headquarters, suggesting it was a ploy to destabilize relations.

African Union chairman Moussa Faki told reporters in Beijing he didnt believe China would spy on the blocs headquarters in Addis Ababa. The allegations are all lies, Faki said after meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

No maneuvers could distract and divert us from our mission of strengthening relations with China, said Faki, who, flanked by Wang, announced the African Union would open a new office in Beijing later this year.

The office is to receive Chinese government support, but it wasnt clear who would fund its operations. Wang noted that the bugging allegation surfaced in Western media and said attempts to divide China and Africa will not succeed.

French newspaper Le Monde reported last month that China bugged the USD200 million facility it funded and built in Ethiopias capital in 2012. The report cited unnamed African Union officials.

China has poured investments into Africa in the past decade, including a commitment to offer $60 billion in loans and export credits made by President Xi Jinping in late 2015. AP
The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court announced yesterday that she is opening preliminary probes into alleged crimes by police and security forces in the Philippines and Venezuela.

Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said that the probe on Venezuela will look at allegations that since April 2017 government forces frequently used excessive force to disperse and put down demonstrations, and abused some opposition members in detention.

The Philippines probe will focus on allegations since July 2016 that thousands of people have been killed in the governments war on drugs.

While some of such killings have reportedly occurred in the context of clashes between or within gangs, it is alleged that many of the reported incidents involved extra-judicial killings in the course of police anti-drug operations, Bensouda said.

A Filipino lawyer last year presented documents to the court which he said contained evidence of the alleged involvement of President Rodrigo Duterte in the killings of suspected drug dealers and other crime suspects.

It is a case for crimes against humanity against President Rodrigo Duterte and senior officials in his government, lawyer Jude Sabio told The Associated Press outside the court after presenting to prosecutors a 77-page file outlining the allegations.

Bensouda said in 2016 she was deeply concerned about the reports of the killings, and that statements by high officials in the Philippines seem to condone such killings.AP
The new round of applications for public housing ended on Wednesday and over the period the Housing Bureau (IH) received approximately 9,600 applications. About 5,200 applications for social housing are pending due to the lack of requested documents. The main missing documents include those related to income and net worth, documents proving the applicants monthly income, and supporting documents (on net assets) issued by banks. The applicants should deliver all the necessary documents before March 2. If they fail to submit the missing documents by March 2, their applications will be excluded from the selection.

Govt suggested subsidizing water heater changes

A member of the consultative council of the service community of the central district, Chan Kuai Son, has suggested that the government should subsidize expenses incurred by residents in changing their flueless gas water heaters to force type gas water heaters. Chans suggestion was reported by Macao Daily News. Recently, a Vietnamese woman died of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning while she was taking a shower, and a mainland non-local worker was also CO poisoned while taking shower. Importing flueless gas water heaters is banned. All current existing flueless gas water heaters were installed before the ban was enforced.

Illegal smoking decreased 20.4pct in January

A 20.4 percent decrease in the number of illegal smokers was recorded, in January, according to a statement released by the Health Bureau (SSM). From the total number, 471 (92.9 percent) were male and 36 (7.1 percent) were female. Some 323 (63.7 percent) were tourists, 166 (32.7 percent) were Macau residents and 18 (3.6 percent) were non-resident workers. In 11 cases, police assistance was needed, and officers were called. This is nine cases less, in comparison to the same period last year. During the same time frame, the Health Bureau and the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau conducted 71 tobacco-related inspections in casinos resulting in 146 offenses, of which 137 (93.8 percent) were male and nine (6.2 percent) were female. Around 131 (89.7 percent) were tourists and 15 (10.3 percent) were Macau residents.
Two scientists in spacesuits, stark white against the auburn terrain of desolate plains and dunes, test a geo-radar built to map Mars by dragging the flat box across the rocky sand.

When the geo-radar stops working, the two walk back to their all-terrain vehicles and radio colleagues at their nearby base camp for guidance. They cant turn to their mission command, far off in the Alps, because communications from there are delayed 10 minutes.

But this isnt the Red Planet  its the Arabian Peninsula.

The desolate desert in southern Oman, near the borders of Yemen and Saudi Arabia, resembles Mars so much that more than 200 scientists from 25 nations chose it as their location for the next four weeks, to field-test technology for a manned mission to Mars.

Public and private ventures are racing toward Mars  both former President Barack Obama and SpaceX founder Elon Musk declared humans would walk on the Red Planet in a few decades.

New challengers like China are joining the United States and Russia in space with an ambitious, if vague, Mars program. Aerospace corporations like BlueOrigin have published schematics of future bases, ships and suits.

The successful launch of SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket this week puts us in a completely different realm of what we can put into deep space, what we can send to Mars, said analog astronaut Kartik Kumar.

The next step to Mars, he says, is to tackle non-engineering problems like medical emergency responses and isolation.

These are things I think cant be underestimated. Kumar said.

While cosmonauts and astronauts are learning valuable spacefaring skills on the International Space Station  and the U.S. is using virtual reality to train scientists  the majority of work to prepare for interplanetary expeditions is being done on Earth.

And where best to field-test equipment and people for the journey to Mars but on some of the planets most forbidding spots?

Seen from space, the Dhofar Desert is a flat, brown expanse. Few animals or plants survive in the desert expanses of the Arabian Peninsula, where temperatures can top 125 degrees Fahrenheit, or 51 degrees Celsius.

On the eastern edge of a seemingly endless dune is the Oman Mars Base: a giant 2.4-ton inflated habitat surrounded by shipping containers turned into labs and crew quarters.

There are no airlocks.

The deserts surface resembles Mars so much, its hard to tell the difference, Kumar said, his spacesuit caked in dust. But it goes deeper than that: the types of geomorphology, all the structures, the salt domes, the riverbeds, the wadis, it parallels a lot of what we see on Mars.

The Omani government offered to host the Austrian Space Forums next Mars simulation during a meeting of the United Nations Committee On the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.

Gernot Groemer, commander of the Oman Mars simulation and a veteran of 11 science missions on Earth, said the forum quickly accepted. Samuel McNeil, Dhofar Desert, AP
The Public Prosecution Office (MP) has already initiated investigation procedures on the case of the stalled construction project at Alto de Coloane. This announcement was made by Prosecutor General Ip Son Sang while he attended the Liaison Offices Chinese New Year cocktail party at the Macau Tower yesterday.

[We] will certainly carry out a relevant investigation if there are any signs of crimes [because] the Commission Against Corruptions (CCAC) report mentioned that there has been a fraud regarding administrative violations of discipline, said Ip, He continued by saying that, regarding these violations, I believe the current administration authority has its own investigation policy and its own established procedures.

According to Ip, the prosecution authority opened the case as soon as it received the report from the CCAC.

As Ip pointed out, the case dates back to 1903, making it a century-old issue that involves a considerable amount of work.

If the land indeed belongs to the state, naturally the next step will consist of recovering the land back to the states ownership, said Ip, adding however, [we] have to wait for the investigation results.

When asked whether MP will investigate the current principal officials from relevant departments, Ip replied, we will investigate every person related to this case.

Whether [these people] are currently under employment or not is not an aspect we will consider [regarding the investigation] because all citizens are equal before the law, Ip noted.

Currently, Ip does not dare to give an answer to the media regarding the cases time frame.

Both the Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Raimundo Araris do Rosario, and the Chief Executive, Chui Sai On, attended yesterdays party at the Macau Tower.

Rosario, on the sideline of the cocktail event, did not comment on the case.

Chief Executive Chui told the media that the case would be handled according to the law.

I think the MP will investigate it exhaustively. If there is [proof] of violation of discipline or if there are illegal acts, then, of course, [the related parties] will be held accountable, Chui said.

According to Chui, he referred the CCAC report to the MP immediately after an analysis of relevant laws was completed.

Chui noted that due to the complex issues, this case will be delivered to the prosecution authority.

On Tuesday, the CCAC released their investigation report on the construction project at Alto de Coloane, listing many irregularities and claiming that the Macau government should recover the land plots that collectively cover more than 50,000 square meters.

Earlier, CCAC Commissioner Andre Cheong said that he believes that there is existing misconduct in the administration of the related government departments. JZ
Billionaire Steve Wynns resignation as head of his gaming empire may alleviate some concerns over the future of Wynn Macau Ltd.s license in the worlds biggest gambling hub.

Wynn Macaus permit is up for renewal in 2022, and Macau regulators are preparing to outline the process for casino-license bidding later this year. Allegations that Wynn pressured employees for sex  which have drawn scrutiny from regulators in the U.S. and Macau  complicated Wynn Macaus status in the former Portuguese enclave that generates the bulk of Las Vegas-based Wynn Resorts Ltd.s profits.

While Wynns resignation isnt a guarantee that the casino operator will succeed in keeping its license, some industry watchers see it as a positive step. It takes off the pressure as far as Macau is concerned, said Pedro Cortes, a senior partner with the Macau law firm Rato, Ling, Lei & Cortes.

In the wake the sexual-misconduct allegations, the casino mogul on Tuesday stepped down as chairman of Wynn Macau and parent Wynn Resorts. Wynn, 76, has denied any wrongdoing. Matthew Maddox, the 42-year-old president of Wynn Resorts, was named chairman at both companies.

Here are the issues facing Wynn Macau as it navigates the scandal in the only Chinese territory that allows casinos:

SUITABLE QUALIFICATIONS

Macaus gaming law stipulates that the reputation of the operator and its controlling shareholder is considered in the bidding process for licenses.

Macaus Secretary for Economy and Finance Lionel Leong and Gaming Inspection & Coordination Bureau director Paulo Martins Chan met last week with Linda Chen, Wynn Macaus chief operating officer, to discuss the allegations swirling around the casino magnate, the bureau said in a statement Wednesday.

In the meeting, the officials made it clear that major shareholders, directors and key employees must meet suitable qualifications. The regulator said in the statement it would strictly enforce the relevant stipulation and will continue its review.

Macaus regulator has emphasized it needs to make sure if the key persons of casino operators are suitable, said David Bonnet, partner at Delta State Holdings Ltd. Before Wynns resignation, his presence on the board presented a major risk for shareholders as the casino operators license faced expiration.

Wynns resignation may not be enough to satisfy regulators in Macau, since the gaming laws suitability clause applies to major shareholders as well as executives and directors, according to Wang Changbin, director of the Gaming Teaching & Research Center at Macao Polytechnic Institute.

If Steve Wynn is considered not suitable, according to the law he should give up his shares, Wang said. Wynn remains in control of about 21 percent of parent Wynn Resorts, which owns 72 percent of the Macau company.

Wynn may be required to divest his shares in Wynn Resorts due to the jurisdictional review process, said Bonnet. Regulators in Nevada and Massachusetts are also probing the allegations against Wynn.

WYNN BRANDING

While Wynn is stepping down from the company he founded, his name remains on the casino properties. The company could face more challenges on branding, because of Wynns strong affiliation with it.

They will have to relook at rebranding to something that sounds very similar to what it currently is, said Ben Lee, a Macau-based managing partner at Asian gaming consultancy IGamiX. Win or Winners, or maybe even Wing Lei, he said, referring to the Chinese pronunciation for Wynn.

There are no plans to change the name of the casino company despite Wynns departure, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Bloomberg Intelligences Margaret Huang argues that the perception of the Wynn name for most people in Asia is tied to the upscale property and product, and less so to Steve Wynn as a figure. Daniela Wei, Bruce Einhorn, Bloomberg

Wynn Macau announces salary increase

WYNN MACAU yesterday announced a salary increase for all eligible employees, excluding senior management, of Wynn Macau and Wynn Palace. Some 98 percent of the companys current 13,100 workforce will be eligible for an increase between 2.5 percent and 7.2 percent, according to a statement issued by the casino operator. The salary increase will be effective March 1, 2018. According to Wynn Macau, eligible employees with a monthly salary of MOP16,000 or less will receive an increase of MOP600. Meanwhile, eligible employees with a monthly salary above MOP16,000 will receive an average of a 2.5 percent salary increase. A one-month annual bonus was also recently given to employees in advance of the Chinese New Year holiday.

Wynn Macau shares rally

WYNN MACAU shares climbed 8 percent in Hong Kong yesterday, resuming trading after being suspended the previous day. The stock had tumbled as much as 17 percent after the sexual harassment allegations were reported last month. Wynn Resorts stock jumped 8.6 percent in U.S. trading Wednesday.
Bahraini authorities held Iran responsible for a plot to bomb a pipeline connecting the country to Saudi Arabia, after the arrest of a four-member terrorist cell with ties to Iran.

The Bahraini Interior Ministry said two of the group members had been trained at the Iranian Revolutionary Guard camps.

Tehran rejected Manamas accusations as false claims. It is better for Bahraini officials to establish serious dialogue with their people to put an end to the crisis in the country instead of raising worn-out claims  and suppressing the legitimate demands of their people, said Irans Foreign Ministry in a statement.

Protests have continued to rock the Sunni-ruled, Shiite-majority Bahraini kingdom, as authorities escalate their clampdown on political dissent, frequently accusing opposition figures of links to Shiite Iran.

Since 2011, hundreds of Bahrainis have been stripped of their citizenship, and protesters and opposition leaders jailed or driven into exile.

Bahrain accuses Tehran of supporting the opposition in a bid to overthrow the regime. Tehran denies any involvement.
A new study has found that lower level of sodium in the bloodknown as hyponatremiais linked with declines in cognitive function with advancing age. The results, which are described in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN), raising the possibility that addressing sodium levels may help preserve cognition as individuals age.

Hyponatremia occurs when the sodium level in the blood falls below 135 mmol/L. Mild hyponatremia was once thought to be asymptomatic, but recent studies suggest that it may be associated with higher risks of attention deficits, gait disturbances, falls, cardiovascular events, and even premature death. Severe hyponatremia has been linked with cognitive impairment and neurological disturbances, but the association between different levels of serum sodium and cognition in older adults had been uncertain.

To investigate, Kristen Nowak, PhD, MPH (University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus) and her colleagues examined information on 5435 asymptomatic community-dwelling men aged >65 years who were followed for a median of 4.6 years. A total of 100 men had serum levels indicative of hyponatremia.

The researchers found that slightly lower sodium levels in the blood were related to both cognitive impairment and declines in cognitive function over time. Compared with men with sodium levels of 141-142 mmol/L, men with levels of 126-140 mmol/L were 30% more likely to have cognitive impairment at baseline and 37% more likely to experience cognitive decline over time. The investigators also found an association of high serum sodium (143-153 mmol/L) with cognitive decline over time.

"Slightly lower sodium levels in the blood are likely to be unnoticed in clinical practice," said Dr. Nowak. "Because both slightly lower serum sodium levels and mild changes in cognitive function are common occurrences with advancing age, future research on this topic is importantincluding determining whether correcting lower sodium levels affects cognitive function."

Explore further Low sodium levels pre-transplant does not affect liver transplant recipient survival
Measurements taken on projected augmented reality 3D holographic models were shown to be essentially as accurate as "gold standard" measurements and nearly approaching that of PACS measurements, according to a study to be presented at the ARRS 2018 Annual Meeting, set for April 22-27 in Washington, DC.

The study, to be presented by Jesus Uribe of the University of California at San Francisco's Helen Diller Medical Center, assessed the accuracy and precision of 3D augmented reality holographic models derived from CT Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) data. Five hologram models were produced markers used to measure distances between points on the models.

Tests performed to examine the accuracy of the measurements found no statistically significant difference between gold standard measurements and measurements on projected augmented reality hologram models. Furthermore, measurements on hologram models demonstrated a high degree of accuracy in comparison to gold standard measurements, nearly approaching that of PACS measurements.

The results demonstrate that current augmented reality technology is capable of producing reliable 3D holograms from CT DICOM data and could be utilized for educational, training, or research purposes.

Explore further Building 3-D models of molecules with RealityConvert
It takes women aged over 65 the longest to arrive at the emergency department after the onset of myocardial infarction symptoms. As a consequence, valuable time is lost to reopen the occluded blood vessels and limit the damage to the myocardium. This was revealed by a study of the German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK) in cooperation with the Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen and the Technical University of Munich. The researchers recommend targeted educational strategies for this risk group.

"The difference between elderly women and all other groups investigated by us, namely younger women aged under 65 as well as men aged over and under 65 is striking," says the DZHK scientist Professor Karl-Heinz Ladwig, group leader at the Institute of Epidemiology of the Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen and Professor of Psychosomatic Medicine at the Technical University of Munich. In the case of elderly women, an average of more than four and a half hours pass before they arrive at an emergency department; younger women, however, take just under two and a half hours. Even younger and older men are quicker: for men aged over 65, it takes over three and a half hours in comparison to just over three hours for younger men until they are examined in hospital. In contrast to previous assumptions, it is thus neither age nor sex alone, but the combination of both age and female sex that contribute to long delay times between the onset of myocardial infarction symptoms and treatment in an emergency department. And yet in the case of a myocardial infarction every minute counts to examine the heart with a catheter and reopen the occluded blood vessel. This is because the quicker the blood flow can be restored, the fewer myocardial cells die.

The data come from the MEDEA study (Munich Examination of Delay in Patients Experiencing Acute Myocardial Infarction), in which 619 patients with myocardial infarction for whom an ST-segment elevation was present in the electrocardiogram were interviewed during a period of more than four years. This project was funded by the German Heart Foundation. Certified interviewers met with the patients within 24 hours after they left the intensive care unit. Moreover, the study participants filled in a questionnaire and their physical risk factors were ascertained from their medical records and the information provided by medical staff. The clinical characteristics of men and women differed only slightly, with male study participants being smokers slightly more often than female participants. When considering the sociodemographic factors, it became apparent that female study participants lived alone more often and were older and more frequently unemployed.

The general assumption that chest pain as a typical symptom of myocardial infarction is absent only in women could not be verified by Ladwig and his colleagues. This is because the absence of chest pain had only a minor effect on the delay times of elderly female patients and could not explain the observed excessive differences in time. Instead, the data of the MEDEA study show that the absent chest pain is an age-related effect and is not typically female, since the researchers found that this symptom was absent almost as often in elderly men as in elderly women. According to Ladwig, the occurrence of chest pain can be summarised in the simple formula: "The older the patient, the less chest pain."

"We could not determine any differences between the sexes for nausea or vomiting either," says Ladwig. "This was completely different to what we expected, since these atypical conditions were previously always ascribed more to women." Absent or unusual conditions can thus not be the reason why elderly women go to the emergency department so late.

Misplaced modesty

Ladwig and his colleagues find the reasons for the long delay times in the psychological area, including in a modesty which in this case is totally misplaced: "It'll get better, so there's really no need for me to phone the doctor on call. What'll the neighbours think if the ambulance arrives and it was nothing after all?" Such thoughts are probably frequent especially for elderly women and lead to the dangerous delays. The scientists are already planning a follow-up study in which they want to research these factors in elderly women in greater detail.

They also recommend a focus on this risk group in myocardial infarction education. "One of our key aims is to target elderly women in future through nationwide campaigns or physicians," says Ladwig. General practitioners should speak to their elderly female patients who have risk factors for myocardial infarction. They should explain to them how important it is to call the 112 early enough and how they can properly react in an emergency. This also includes easy tips like attaching the note with the emergency number directly onto the telephone and namely writing it large enough so it can be read without glasses.

Explore further Gender gap in death from heart attack reduces particularly in younger women

More information: Karl-Heinz Ladwig et al. Comparison of Delay Times Between Symptom Onset of an Acute ST-elevation Myocardial Infarction and Hospital Arrival in Men and Women <65 Years Versus 65 Years of Age., The American Journal of Cardiology (2017). Journal information: American Journal of Cardiology Karl-Heinz Ladwig et al. Comparison of Delay Times Between Symptom Onset of an Acute ST-elevation Myocardial Infarction and Hospital Arrival in Men and Women <65 Years Versus 65 Years of Age.,(2017). DOI: 10.1016/j.amjcard.2017.09.005

Provided by Deutsches Zentrum fur Herz-Kreislauf-Forschung (DZHK)
Suspicious mind. Credit: Shutterstock

It is estimated that by 2020, 2.95 billion people will be using social networks. But while sites like Facebook revolve around the wholesome concepts of friends, likes and shares, they have also become a way for people to cheat on their partners.

The problem is so rife, it seems, that suspicious partners are breaking into their other half's social accounts to find out if they are cheating. One survey of 2,400 UK adults who had cheated or been cheated on found that infidelity in 23% of relationships was exposed when Facebook was checked for evidence.

Though online social media is a relatively new phenomenon, cheating and the jealousy that people feel over it is practically ancient. We all know that snooping through messages is a serious invasion of privacy  whether the other person is being deceitful or not  but this high statistic shows how strong an influence jealousy can have on human behaviour.

Suspicion and jealousy

But is jealousy such a bad thing? Psychology professor David Buss compellingly argued that jealousy is a crucial emotion which evolved to help protect against relationship termination. According to Buss, jealousy motivates behaviour to either ensure sexual exclusivity, or to protect offspring against the loss of vital requirements, such as food, and against inclement weather and predators. These would have been critical prerequisites for the survival of our children during our evolutionary past.

According to this theory, losing sexual exclusivity would have been costlier for men, as his partner's engagement in sexual infidelity could result in his rearing another man's child. So men have evolved to be more sexually jealous.

By contrast, the theory states that securing vital resources would be more important for ancestral women in order to ensure the survival of her offspring. So a male partner's emotional involvement with another woman would inevitably mean the diversion of resources away from her to her rival. This means that women have evolved to be more emotionally jealous.

This is precisely what Buss and colleagues confirmed in 1992 when they asked participants in a study to imagine two scenarios. The first was that the participant's partners were involved in a sexual liaison with someone else. The second scenario revealed that their partner was involved in an emotional liaison with another person.

Buss found that significantly higher numbers of men would opt for the sexual scenario as being more distressing (60% compared to 40% of women) while significantly higher numbers of women (83% compared to 17% men) said that the emotional scenario caused more distress. Similar differences in gender responses were also found when Buss measured physiological arousal to hypothetical scenarios which revealed either sexual or emotional infidelity.

Green eyes

Subsequent research using different methods and participants from different cultures, have confirmed these gender differences when it comes to relationship jealousy. And through my own research, I have been applying what we know about this ancient emotion to the technological age.

As technology has given us unprecedented access into each others' lives, some say relationships have changed fundamentally  but does the same apply to how we feel jealousy?

To explore this, I have used fictional but realistic Facebook or Snapchat messages either sent by one's own partner or received from a rival, in several studies. The messages reveal either strictly sexual or strictly emotional infidelity, and participants were asked to imagine how distressed they would be upon their discovery.

The first study, published in 2015, used an eye-tracker to record where and for how long visual attention was focused on the messages. We found that male participants were clearly biased towards viewing Facebook messages which revealed their partner was being sexually unfaithful. Female participants focused attention more on the messages which revealed emotional infidelity.

In subsequent research, we presented participants with realistic, infidelity revealing, Snapchat messages (Snapchat has been shown to generate more jealousy than Facebook). We then invited them to imagine how distressed they would be if they discovered either an outgoing message or a received message which revealed unequivocally sexual, or unequivocally emotional, contact.

As well as finding the traditional gender differences, we also found that women were more distressed by messages received from "the other woman" than they were by messages sent by their partner, and when compared to men discovering incoming messages. These findings support previous work that collectively suggests women may be disproportionately and unjustifiably blamed for infidelity.

In other, unpublished research we found that the "identity" of the rival influences distress levels. For example, men appear less distressed by messages revealing infidelity between their partner and their own brother than they would if it was a stranger or a friend.

So what does all this mean? French critic John Baptiste Alphonse Karr once said "the more things change, the more they stay the same". This would most definitely apply, it would appear, to jealousy. Changes associated with the technological age have done nothing to tame the ancient green-eyed monster within us all.

Explore further Are we still jealous? Infidelity in the age of social media

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
French anti-smoking campaigners launched a legal case Friday against international tobacco giants claiming their cigarette filters have helped them falsely report the level of tar and nicotine in their products.

The National Anti-Smoking Committee (CNCT) says tiny holes in the sides of the filters stop authorities being able to tell if the legal limits for the toxic substances have been breached.

The group has filed a case against the French subsidiaries of Philip Morris, British American Tobacco, Japan Tobacco International and Imperial Brands for endangering lives.

Contacted by AFP, Philip Morris declined to comment, while the other three companies had yet to respond.

Such filter holes have been a part of cigarette design since the 1950s, initially marketed as making the smoke lighter and healthier by adding fresh air into each puff.

But the CNCT argues the holes lower the level of tar and nicotine inhaled much more when a cigarette is being tested by a machine.

When the cigarette is smoked by a human, their fingers and lips block the holes, stopping fresh air from getting in to dilute the smoke.

"The true amount of tar and nicotine inhaled by smokers is between two and 10 times higher for tar and five times higher for nicotine," the CNCT alleged, citing academic studies from 1998 and 2006.

"Smokers who think they are smoking a packet a day are in fact smoking the equivalent of two or ten."

The campaign group said anti-smoking campaigners in the Netherlands and Switzerland had launched similar cases.

The CNCT said tobacco giants had long acknowledged the design problem themselves, citing a legal case dating back to 1982 when Philip Morris and two other companies sued British American Tobacco.

The company had launched a new brand, Barclay, touted as 99 percent tar-freebut its rivals argued in the suit that the holes did not work when blocked by the smoker's hand.

The French case was lodged with Paris prosecutors on January 18, the CNCT's lawyer Pierre Kopp told AFP.

Some 97 percent of cigarettes have ventilation holes in their filters, according to the CNCT.

Research published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute in the United States last year said such filters could be linked to the rise in a specific kind of lung cancer.

The researchers believe rates of adenocarcinoma, the most common form of lung cancer, have been rising while others have been declining, because the holes allow smokers to take deeper drags.

Explore further Filters: a cigarette engineering hoax that harms both smokers and the environment

 2018 AFP
Undergraduate Shira Rubin gamely demonstrates the "Gesundheit Machine," which collects samples of virus from the breath that sick students exhale. Rubin helps Dr. Somayeh Youssefi (left) set up the machine before patients use it. (Selena Simmons-Duffin/WAMU)

It's turning out to be a particularly harsh flu season. The epidemic hasn't hit the University of Maryland College Park yet; students just recently returned from winter break. But in the close quarters of dorm rooms and cafeterias and study groups, the flu will come. And when it does, Dr. Don Milton, a professor of environmental health, will be ready and waiting to learn from it.

On a blustery January day, Milton was with undergraduate research assistants Louie Gold and Amara Fox trying to get students to sign up for his new study on how the fluand other virusesspread. They had vouchers for the school convenience store, free hot chocolate and handmade signs.

Milton was hoping dozens of students would enroll. And if they should get sick, they would be sent to the clinic at the School of Public Health, just across the street from the dorms.

That very day, a sick student did come by, but she didn't make the cut.

"She had some of the right symptoms: cough, little bit of runny nose, but didn't have much of a fever," said Dr. Barbara Albert, who screened her for the study. In other words, they're looking for the people whom everyone else wants to stay away from.

If a student is sick enough, they get sent around the corner, to a room with a crazy-looking, Rube Goldberg-like contraption known as the "Gesundheit Machine."

For half an hour, the student sits in the machine. As they breathe, the machine collects whatever virus they've got from the droplets in the breath they exhale.

The researchers will then use the students' contacts to try to figure out how infections spread from person to person.

"Roommates, study buddies, girlfriends and boyfriends," Milton said. "We're going to swab them every day for a week to see if they get infected."

If they do get infected, researchers will try to pin down if they got the bug from the original subject, or someone else.

"We're going to deep-sequence the genetic code of the agent to see if it was really exactly the same thing," Milton explained. He's aware confirming that your roommate gave you a horrible flu could ruin some perfectly nice roommate relationships, but it's for science.

The fact is, he said, we don't know that much about the mechanics of how bugs spread. He's trying to understand it from every possible angle.

"We're measuring the environment in the rooms, contact, biomarkers from blood, what they're shedding into the air," he said.

All the data is not just for our information, but so we can design spaces to keep infections from spreading too easily, and protect ourselves more effectively.

That's how he and his research staff can be around sick people all the time without getting infected themselves. They all got flu shots, of course, but Milton went further.

"Downstairs where the patients come in, we have upper-room UV to sanitize the air in those rooms," he said. During his last flu study, it worked. "Not a single person on my research team got the flu that year. Even though we saw 156 people, some of whom were shedding up to 10 million copies per half-hour of the virus, none of my people got sick."

He hopes environmental measures like these could be used to fight bugs that are even worse than the flu.

"What about pandemics and what about new infections that come along? How can we defend against those?" Milton asked. "It is possible, even if it's airborne, to protect against it. We just need to understand how it works better."

The information they get from this study could, for example, lead to better ventilation systems that would make it harder for the flu and even more dangerous viruses to spread.

2018 Kaiser Health News

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

A new study, published in BMC Psychiatry, conducted by researchers from the universities of Liverpool, Manchester and Southampton, suggests that pets provide benefits to those with mental health conditions.

There is increasing recognition of the therapeutic function pets can play in relation to mental health. However, there has been no systematic review of the evidence related to the comprehensive role of companion animals and how pets might contribute to the work associated with managing a long-term mental health condition.

The study, led by Dr Helen Brooks from the University of Liverpool's Institute of Psychology, Health and Society, aimed to explore the extent, nature and quality of the evidence implicating the role and utility of pet ownership for people living with a mental health condition.

Positive, negative and neutral impacts

The study team systematically reviewed 17 international research papers, to identify the positive, negative and neutral impacts of pet ownership.

The research highlighted the 'intensiveness' of connectivity people with companion animals reported, and the multi-faceted ways in which pets contributed to the work associated with managing a mental health condition, particularly in times of crisis.

The negative aspects of pet ownership were also highlighted, including the practical and emotional burden of pet ownership and the psychological impact that losing a pet has.

Support

Dr Brooks, said: "Our review suggests that pets provide benefits to those with mental health conditions. Further research is required to test the nature and extent of this relationship, incorporating outcomes that cover the range of roles and types of support pets confer in relation to mental health and the means by which these can be incorporated into the mainstay of support for people experiencing a mental health problem."

Explore further Pets offer valuable support for owners with mental health problems

More information: The power of support from companion animals for people living with mental health problems: a systematic review and narrative synthesis of the evidence, The power of support from companion animals for people living with mental health problems: a systematic review and narrative synthesis of the evidence, DOI: 10.1186/s12888-018-1613-28-018-1613-2 link.springer.com/article/10.1186 %2Fs12888-018-1613-2
Credit: University of Manchester

Scientists have successfully produced human kidney tissue within a living organism which is able to produce urine, a first for medical science.

The study led by Professors Sue Kimber and Adrian Woolf from The University of Manchester, signifies a significant milestone in the development of treatment for kidney disease.

The Medical Research Council and Kidney Research UK funded project is published in the journal Stem Cell Reports.

Kidney glomeruliconstituent microscopic parts of the organ- were generated from human embryonic stem cells grown in plastic laboratory culture dishes containing a nutrient broth known as culture medium, containing molecules to promote kidney development.

They were combined with a gel like substance, which acted as natural connective tissueand then injected as a tiny clump under the skin of mice.

After three months, an examination of the tissue revealed that nephrons: the microscopic structural and functional units of the kidneyhad formed.

The new structures contained most of the constituent parts present in human nephronsincluding proximal tubules, distal tubules, Bowman's capsule and Loop of Henle.

Tiny human blood vessels  known as capillaries- had developed inside the mice which nourished the new kidney structures.

However, the mini-kidneys lack a large artery, and without that the organ's function will only be a fraction of normal.

So, the researchers are working with surgeons to put in an artery that will bring more blood the new kidney.

To test the functionality of the new structures, the team used Dextrana fluorescent protein which stains the urine-like substance produced when nephrons filter the blood, called glomerular filtrate.

The Dextran was tracked and detected in the new structures' tubules, demonstrating that filtrate was indeed being produced and excreted as urine.

"We have proved beyond any doubt these structures function as kidney cells by filtering blood and producing urinethough we can't yet say what percentage of function exists," said Professor Kimber.

"What is particularly exciting is that the structures are made of human cells which developed an excellent capillary blood supply, becoming linked to the vasculature of the mouse.

"Though this structure was formed from several hundred glomeruli, and humans have about a million in their kidneysthis is clearly a major advance.

"It constitutes a proof of principle- but much work is yet to be done."

Professor Woolf, who is also Consultant in Paediatric Nephrology at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, said: "Worldwide, two million people are being treated with dialysis or transplantation for kidney failure, and sadly another two million die each year, unable to access these treatments.

"So we are tremendously excited by this discoverywe feel it is a big research milestone which may one day help patients.

"However, there is much more to learn: Building on our generation of kidney filtration units we must now turn to developing an exit route for the urine and a way to deliver this technology to diseased kidneys.

Explore further Stem cell-derived kidneys connect to blood vessels when transplanted into mice

More information: Ioannis Bantounas et al. Generation of Functioning Nephrons by Implanting Human Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Kidney Progenitors, Stem Cell Reports (2018). Journal information: Stem Cell Reports Ioannis Bantounas et al. Generation of Functioning Nephrons by Implanting Human Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Kidney Progenitors,(2018). DOI: 10.1016/j.stemcr.2018.01.008
Most patients are totally unaware that the anesthesiologist who put them under for surgery might not be the same one who brings them out even though that 'handoff' between the two doctors has been linked to a series of negative patient outcomes, including an increased likelihood of death.

"Here's the crux. We have always assumed that if we did a proper handover, if we gave all the information necessary for the clinical care of the patient to the incoming anesthesiologist, that the effect on the patient would be 'care-neutral'  there may not be a benefit, but there probably won't be a detriment to the patient," Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry Dr. Philip Jones explained.

"Unfortunately, what we found in a very large study, is evidence of harm. There is evidence of increased deaths related to this, evidence of increasing complications  and these are serious complications, not minor complications. The hospital stay is longer and other markers such as admission into intensive care units is increased when anesthesia handover care occurs. We feel this is a public health issue and people need to be aware."

An anesthesiologist might hand off a patient's care to a colleague for a variety of reasons, including illness or fatigue, to comply with working hour policies or to balance work hours and personal commitments. Handoffs occur in roughly 3 per cent of major surgeries and the practice appears to be on the rise each year.

Co-authored by Jones, a new study examined the postoperative outcomes of 313,066 adult patients undergoing major surgeries in Ontario, comparing outcomes in surgeries which did not experience a handover of anesthesia care with those where the primary anesthesiologist transferred care to a colleague and did not return to the operating room. All surgeries in the cohort were expected to last at least two hours and required a hospital stay of at least one night between April 2009 and March 2015.

An adverse outcome occurred in 29 per cent of the 'no-handover group' and in 36 per cent of the complete handover group. On average, for every 15 patients exposed to a complete anesthesia handover, one additional patient would be expected to experience an adverse outcome. Hospital length of stay was increased by 1.2 days for patients whose care was handed off.

"Our assumption of care neutrality is incorrect and our study is congruent with four previous studies that have shown exactly the same thing  an increase in complications, increase in mortality," Jones said.

"As clinicians, we need to be careful and no longer assume these are not hurtful and we should limit the occasions on which we think it is reasonable to hand over care. That's from our side. But bodies such as the Canadian Anesthesiologists Society can issue guidelines as to when handovers are acceptable, given the consistent signal of harm."

Patients should also feel empowered to ask their anesthesiologist before going into surgery if a handoff will occur. Anesthesiologists should be willing to have this discussion with patients and arrange for alternatives if the patient does not feel comfortable with handoff, Jones stressed.

"In medical school, we learn about the ethics of medicine and one of the most important principles is patient autonomy. A patient cannot make an autonomous decision unless they have all of the relevant information," explained Jones, a professor in the departments of Anesthesia & Perioperative Medicine and Epidemiology & Biostatistics.

The risk with anesthesia handoff strikes a fine balance between the art and science of medicine, he continued.

The science  what the medical conditions of the patient are, what the doses of medication have been, how the surgery is going, how much blood loss has occurred  is a set of tangible facts one doctor can transmit to another. The art  the delicate and sometimes challenging task of intubating or re-intubating patients, with manual manipulation required  is sometimes difficult to explain.

"It's one of the most important things we do as anesthesiologists. If that tube gets dislodged, then the patient could suffer from a lack of oxygen and die," Jones said. "If I hand over that patient's care and that breathing tube comes out prematurely, or the patient doesn't do well when it's removed  and I haven't passed on to the next anesthesiologist how I managed to wiggle my finger to the right, and that's how the tube went in best  if they don't know that, then they may not be able to re-secure the airway, if the airway is lost, and that can lead to complications."

The study, "Association Between Handover of Anesthesia Care and Adverse Postoperative Outcomes Among Patients Undergoing Major Surgery," was published in a recent issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association

Explore further Complete handover of anesthesia care may up complications

More information: Philip M. Jones et al. Association Between Handover of Anesthesia Care and Adverse Postoperative Outcomes Among Patients Undergoing Major Surgery, JAMA (2018). Journal information: Journal of the American Medical Association Philip M. Jones et al. Association Between Handover of Anesthesia Care and Adverse Postoperative Outcomes Among Patients Undergoing Major Surgery,(2018). DOI: 10.1001/jama.2017.20040
Cruz believes her study is the first to suggest a link between genetic dislike of bitter flavours and risk of rheumatoid arthritis. Credit: University of Manitoba

Do you find vegetables like brussels sprouts, kale, cabbage and broccoli disgustingly bitter? How about grapefruit juice or black coffee?

If such flavours strike you as horribly intense, you may be a "hyper-taster," also known as a "super-taster."

It's in your genes, says Vivianne Cruz, a U of M master's student in oral biology whose research poster won an award at the College of Dentistry's recent 2018 Research Day.

People with the genotype PAV/PAV, Cruz explains, are highly sensitive to certain bitter-tasting compounds in food. Those with the genotype PAV/AVI  roughly half the population, including Cruz herself  are "medium tasters" of bitterness.

And those with the genotype AVI/AVI are "hypo-tasters" or "non-tasters" who can't detect the bitter compounds at all.

A quick way to identify your genotype is by placing a paper test strip coated with a bitter chemical onto your tongue. (Testing kits can be ordered online.) Cruz says the results are dramatic. "Super-tasters make a scary face," she says. "One friend of mine almost threw up. Non-tasters say things like, 'What am I supposed to be tasting?'"

These genetic differences have been known to scientists for decades. But less than 10 years ago, researchers discovered that bitter taste receptors aren't only found on the tongue. They're in other parts of the body, such as the digestive and respiratory systems. Understanding the receptors' functions outside the oral cavity has become an exciting field of research, Cruz says.

Scientists are starting to find associations between taste receptors and disease. It's been shown, for example, that non-tasters are at greater risk for chronic sinus infections and tooth decay.

Cruz believes her study, funded by the Canadian Arthritis Network and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, is the first in the world to search for a link between "taste genetics" and rheumatoid arthritis.

"Studies are finding that bitter taste receptors are related to the immune system, and rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease," she notes.

Cruz, who graduated as a dentist three years ago in her home country of Brazil, came to the U of M last year to conduct research with the interdisciplinary Manitoba Chemosensory Biology Research Group, led by oral biology professor Dr. Prashen Chelikani.

With Chelikani as her advisor, Cruz collaborated with a Rady Faculty of Health Sciences team including Dr. Carol Hitchon, rheumatologist and associate professor of internal medicine, and Dr. Robert Schroth, clinician scientist and associate professor of preventive dental science.

The team analyzed DNA from the saliva of 28 patients with rheumatoid arthritis, comparing their genotypes with those in a control group of 347 healthy individuals. The findings were more significant than expected.

"We found a higher frequency of super-tasters in the rheumatoid arthritis population than in the normal population, and a lower frequency of medium tasters and non-tasters," Cruz says.

"Research has shown that super-tasters present a stronger immune response against bacteria than the other two genotypes. That response results in increased secretion of antimicrobial compounds  an inflammatory process. We think this may contribute to the development of rheumatoid arthritis, a disease of chronic inflammation."

Cruz says the field of studying taste receptors holds great promise, particularly since there are 25 bitter taste receptors in humans, and her study focused on just one.

"For my Ph.D. research," she says, "we want to use a larger sample size and further explore the apparent association between taste genetics, inflammation, immunity and the risk of rheumatoid arthritis."

Explore further Bitter taste receptors regulate the upper respiratory defense system, research shows
When it comes to workplace stress, even doctors aren't immune to its effects. For doctors training to become neurosurgeons, burnout is common, and certain workplace stressorslike unrewarding mentor relationships, difficult coworkers and not getting enough exposure to the operating roomcan lead to it, according to a new study from the Keck School of Medicine of USC.

Building the skills needed to treat complex neurological conditions like stroke, brain tumors or spinal cord injuries requires a highly demanding, seven-year training program. The pressure of that training can sometimes lead to emotional exhaustion, an inability to connect with others or feeling unaccomplished, which are components of burnout. Understanding what factors influence burnout can be a powerful catalyst for change.

"As a patient, you don't want your doctor to be depressed or demoralized when they're working on you, because they're not their best self," says the study's lead author Frank Attenello, MD, MS, assistant professor of clinical neurological surgery at the Keck School. "And as a society, we don't want to discourage people from becoming neurosurgeons, because we have a rapidly aging population in need of neurosurgeons' skills."

While research on burnout is gaining steam in many fields, not much attention has been paid to it in neurosurgery until now, Attenello explains.

To better understand it, Attenello and his colleagues surveyed 346 neurosurgery residents across the United States. Using an 86-item questionnaire, the team explored everything from whether residents felt satisfied with different aspects of their training to whether they were considering quitting training or leaving medicine entirely. Burnout was assessed using the Maslach Burnout Inventory, a validated tool that has been used to measure burnout both in health care and other professions.

The study, published today in the Journal of Neurosurgery, found that 81 percent of residents were satisfied with their career, but 41 percent had given serious thought to quitting neurosurgery at some point. The overall burnout rate was 67 percentmore than double the estimated rate of burnout among American workers overall. Predictors of burnout included inadequate exposure to the operating room, hostile faculty, unsatisfactory relationships with mentors and social stressors outside of work.

"Some of the most impressive and energetic medical students enter neurosurgery," Attenello says. "When they encounter burnout, it limits their considerable potential, both with their patient care and possibly in their academic and research achievements for the field as a whole."

To help reduce the risk of burnout, Attenello and others at the Keck School have already implemented a new model for mentorship. This year, new residents in the Department of Neurological Surgery will choose their mentors, and the school will assign a backup mentor for additional support.

"Our study provided some valuable insights to the prevalence of burnout and some of the pain points in training neurosurgeons," says study co-author Steven L. Giannotta, MD, chair and professor of neurological surgery at the Keck School. "Recognizing that burnout exists and finding ways to address it are important steps educational institutions can take to mitigate it."
Mr. Trumps parade would further militarize Americas image. And it would be expensive, costing millions of dollars and most likely tearing up Washingtons streets. Does that make sense when the Pentagon is complaining that its $700 billion annual budget is inadequate, Congress is cutting vital programs, the State Department is being eviscerated and a Republican tax cut for the wealthy has added billions of dollars to the deficit?

The United States used to regularly hold national military parades, generally to mark military victories. They took place after the Civil War, World War I and World War II. Most recently, the first President George Bush presided as 8,800 troops, with weapons, marched through Washington after the 1991 Persian Gulf war ended. But after American combat troops were withdrawn from Iraq in 2011, the Pentagon declined a ticker-tape parade in New York for gulf war veterans, saying it would not be proper while Americans were still fighting in Afghanistan.

So what would be the purpose of organizing such a parade today, with Americans still fighting in Afghanistan and again in Iraq? The White House says Mr. Trump wants to support Americas great service members who risk their lives every day. Yet, especially since 9/11, most Americans have been acutely aware of, and overtly appreciative of, the service of military troops and emergency medical workers, who are regularly recognized at public events and in public speeches.

Mr. Trump, who dodged the Vietnam War with five deferments, has developed an unusual reliance on the military. His defense secretary and chief of staff are retired generals, and his national security adviser, another general, is still on active duty. The president is doing everything he can to make the Pentagon his prime instrument of national security policy by promising one of the greatest military buildups in history, expanding the nations nuclear arsenal and issuing threats to use military force.

Mr. Trump is trying to exploit the armed forces as a political prop, even as he daily undermines the countrys other real and enduring strengths, including an independent judiciary and a free press. During the Cold War, such military spectacles were a hallmark of the Soviets. Today, North Korea regularly stages its own robotic displays of military power in an effort to intimidate adversaries.
Is Indias e-commerce leader Flipkart Online Services Pvt worth $20 billion?

Walmart Inc. is weighing just that in negotiations to become Flipkarts largest shareholder, according to people familiar with the matter, as the startup fends off Amazon.com Inc. in whats essentially a three-player market. Chinas Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. has backed new entrant Paytm E-commerce Pvt.

The worlds biggest retailer is discussing a proposal that would give it as much as a fifth of Flipkart for a valuation as high as $20 billion, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing a private matter. Walmart kicked off the latest round of talks by offering to value the company at about $15 billion, though Flipkart is holding out for more, the people said. Discussions are at an advanced stage, though the terms could change and the deal may not be finalized, they said.

A 20 percent stake would take Walmart ahead of Flipkarts largest existing investors, SoftBank and Tiger Global Management. It would also open a new front for the bricks-and-mortar retail giant to take on Amazon, with the two increasingly encroaching on each others turf. Walmart teamed up with Tokyo-based e-commerce player Rakuten Inc. last month, a year after it purchased online retailer Jet.com Inc., while Amazon acquired Whole Foods Market Inc. and its chain of stores last summer.

India is the next big potential prize after the U.S. and China, where foreign retailers have made little progress against Alibaba.

Walmart doesnt have much of a choice in India, said Arvind Singhal, chairman of the New Delhi-based retail consultancy Technopak Advisors Pvt. They either have to go it alone or partner with someone else as Indian e-commerce has the potential to become really big.

Flipkart was valued at about $12 billion last year, according to researcher CB Insights. Walmart and Flipkart did not respond to requests for comment. The Times of India earlier reported on the possible valuation jump.

The e-commerce battle in India has intensified in the past year as global competitors zeroed in on the countrys potential  and market leader Flipkart. The online market in Asias third-largest economy may reach $28 billion by 2020, Kotak Institutional Equities estimates.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has vowed to spend $5 billion to gain ground in the country while Chinas Alibaba has backed Paytm.

Walmart will make Flipkart a stronger rival to Amazon, said Singhal. Strategically, combining forces makes sense for both.

An alliance with Walmart would give Flipkart additional capital and retail muscle to fight back against the rising competition. Japans SoftBank Group Corp. invested $2.5 billion in Flipkart, including the purchase of shares from some early investors.

Walmart has few choices to expand in the market beyond Flipkart, with Amazon on one side and Alibaba on the other. Snapdeal.com, a once thriving e-commerce provider, has lost ground and support from early backer SoftBank. The Japanese company, which held almost a third of Snapdeal shares, had pushed a merger with Flipkart to create a stronger competitor to Amazon. That deal fell apart after Snapdeals founders raised objections.
A question often asked of me recently is what exactly needs to be done by the new Eskom board and chairman to steady the ship and steer the utility in the right direction.

Over the last eight months, the local and international financial community has held back on extending bridging finance, rolling over existing loans and providing new finance to Eskom, until those implicated in maladministration and corruption were removed, and a new credible chairman, board, CEO and business plan was put in place.

Now that Eskom has a new chairman, board and acting CEO, and a start has been made in dealing with key executives and managers implicated in maladministration and corruption, it seems that local banks, financial institutions, pension fund managers and lenders are giving Eskom a bit of grace and space to get its house in order. However, some lenders like Futuregrowth are still holding back.

But when the dust settles and hard reality sinks in, what is it that will be expected of Eskom and government (as shareholder) to regain the confidence of the financial community sufficiently to start extending new finance?

I would suggest it is now time for ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa to convene a new war-room of energy experts, professionals and technocrats, along the lines of Ramaphosas previous load-shedding war-room, or the former Ministerial Advisory Council on Energy (MACE), to consider some of the issues identified below:

Political change

1. Appoint a new credible minister of public enterprises to replace Lynne Brown.

2. Appoint a new credible minister of energy to replace David Mahlobo.

Energy and electricity policy and planning certainty

3. Provide greater energy and electricity policy certainty.

4. Finalise and publish an integrated energy plan (IEP) for South Africa.

5. Finalise and publish a new, updated integrated resource plan for electricity (IRP).

6. Provide greater clarity regarding the future of coal in the energy mix.

7. Provide greater clarity regarding the future of gas in the energy mix.

8. Provide greater clarity regarding the future of renewables in the energy mix.

9. Formally call an end to any plans to embark on a nuclear new-build programme.

10. Restart a new renewable energy independent power producer procurement (REIPPP) programme.

Eskom leadership and accountability

11. Put in place a credible permanent Eskom CEO.

12. Put in place a credible permanent Eskom CFO.

13. Put in place a new, credible Eskom executive team.

14. Increase accountability by the minister, chairman, board and executive management at Eskom.

15. Further suspensions / disciplinary processes / firing of Eskom executives and senior managers implicated in maladministration and corruption.

Eskom strategy and business plan

16. Create a credible vision and strategy for South Africas electricity utilities of the future.

17. Address the so-called utility death spiral facing Eskom.

18. Put in place a credible new business plan for Eskom.

Electricity supply industry and Eskom restructuring

19. Restructure Eskom to be fit-for-purpose in the modern era.

20. Unbundle Eskom generation into a number of competing generation companies.

21. Establish Eskom Transmission an independent system and market operator (ISMO).

22. Ensure non-discriminatory access to the grid on level playing fields for Eskom generators and independent power producers (IPPs).

23. Establish a South African electricity market to add to and complement the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP).

24. Address the fragmentation of municipal electricity re-distributors through rationalisation, to form a reduced number of viable regional electricity distributors (REDs).

25. Separate the wires and energy business of electricity distributors, and establish electricity retailers and retail competition.

Eskom financial sustainability

26. Provide greater transparency on Eskoms financial position, liquidity, debt, etc.

27. Obtain an unqualified audit for Eskoms 2017/18 financial results.

28. Improve Eskoms standalone credit rating towards investment grade.

29. Improve South Africas economy, financial position, debt levels and sovereign credit rating.

30. Increase government guarantees on Eskom debt.

Eskom environmental sustainability

31. Plan for Eskoms role in meeting South Africas international CO2 emission commitments.

32. Plan for decommissioning and/or ensuring environmental compliance of all non-compliant coal-fired power stations in the Eskom fleet.

33. Reduce Eskoms water dependency through a move to low water use generation technologies.

Eskom capital expenditure

34. Slow down Eskom capital expenditure on its new-build programme.

35. Halt the construction of Units 3, 4 and 5 at Kusile power station.

Electricity pricing and regulation

36. Replace the current electricity regulation framework to make it fit-for-purpose.

37. Review any Eskom decision to appeal the NERSA electricity price determination for 2018/19, and obtain final clarity on Eskoms electricity tariffs for the year ahead.

38. Obtain certainty on the outcomes of Eskoms 2014/15, 2015/16 and 2016/17 regulatory clearing account (RCA) applications totalling R66-billion.

39. Finalise a new multi-year electricity price determination (MYPD) for the next three to five years.

40. Provide clarity on Eskoms electricity price trajectory for the next five to ten years.

Eskom capital structure

41. Strengthen Eskoms balance sheet, and address the recapitalisation of Eskom.

42. Increase Eskoms equity by the shareholder (government) by a further cash injection (bailout).

43. Consider debt-to-equity swops to reduce Eskom debt and increase equity.

44. Sell assets to reduce Eskom debt and increase working capital.

45. Take on strategic equity partner(s) to increase Eskoms equity, strengthen its management and technical skills, and broaden its vision.

46. Increase public participation in the business of Eskom through stock exchange listing(s) to increase equity, transparency and management accountability.

Eskom efficiency, losses and cost management

47. Address the problem of non-payment by municipal electricity re-distributors.

48. Address the problem of non-technical losses (electricity theft and non-payment by electricity end-customers).

49. Reduce Eskom staff numbers and costs to those of its peers in global electricity utility business.

50. Reduce Eskom primary energy costs though effective procurement practices.
Talks are under way to discuss the delivery of additional Russian-made equipment for Egypts Mistral-class amphibious assault ships, Russian presidential aide for military and technical cooperation Vladimir Kozhin told the Kommersant business daily.

Talks are under way to discuss the delivery of additional Russian-made equipment for Egypts Mistral-class amphibious assault ships, Russian presidential aide for military and technical cooperation Vladimir Kozhin told the Kommersant business daily.

ENS Anwar El Sadat (L1020). Egyptian Navy picture.



"Active work under the Mistral deal is in progress. The parties are discussing the delivery of additional equipment for them, including weapons and control systems," Kozhin said.



"We have an advantage among others who want to get these orders and we hope that the Egyptian partners will assess this. The talks are still going on but everything will be clear in 2018," he added.

According to Kozhin, work is currently in progress to draw up a contract for the delivery of Russian-made Kamov Ka-52K (NATO reporting name: Hokum-B) helicopters for the Egyptian Mistral ships. Russia won the relevant tender in May 2017.



The Mistral-class amphibious assault ships are designed to transport troops. They can be also used as command ships. The ships of the type built by France can carry up to 16 heavy or 32 light helicopters and up to 900 servicemen with armored vehicles and landing boats.

 Copyright 2018 TASS. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Armenia PM receives French Co-Chair of OSCE Minsk Group, paths for Karabakh conflict settlement discussed

Armenia Deputy PM introduces newly appointed governor of Gegharkunik Province

Traffic jams on Armenia's Goris-Kapan interstate road, Azerbaijanis rudely telling Armenians to drive away

About 50 soldiers and police officers killed after attacks in Myanmar

2 dead after explosion near COVID-19 testing site in central Myanmar

Armenia pregnant woman with COVID-19 dies

Azerbaijan planning another festival in occupied Armenian Shushi

Karabakh emergency situations service: Remains of 2 more Armenian servicemen found in Hadrut

Russia to resume flights to Spain, Iraq, Kenya and Slovakia

Russia Senator: Russian peacekeepers will remain in Karabakh so long as their presence is necessary

Armenia FM receives French Co-Chair of OSCE Minsk Group

"Armenia" alliance: Armenian authorities have turned detention into punitive mechanism against opposition

Armenia appoints new Ambassador to Belarus

Armenia has new Ambassador to the State of Qatar

Iran MFA responds to situation regarding Iranian truck drivers in Armenia's Syunik

Armenian MFA: No negotiations being held for normalization of Armenia-Turkey relations at the moment

Digest: Azerbaijan tries to control goods transportation via Armenia, more on COVID-19

Armenia Deputy PM receives Co-Chairs of Armenian-Ukrainian Intergovernmental Commission

Armenia appoints new Ambassador to Greece

Judge delays granting Armenia ex-President Kocharyan permission to travel to Moscow

Armenia Ambassador to Ukraine Vladimir Karapetyan is in parliament

Armenia Armed Forces' General Staff chief has new deputy

FM: Azerbaijan armys illegal presence in Armenia undermines de-escalation efforts in region

Armenia Parliament Speaker: Results of all elections between 1996 and 2018 were falsified

Armenia parliament considering election of member of anti-corruption commission

Armenia girl, 6, falls from 7th floor of building, in grave condition

Tehran to resume nuclear deal talks in Vienna soon

First international commercial flight carried out in Kabul after pullout of US troops

Armenia PM, EU special representative discuss Karabakh peace process

Price of natural gas per 1,000 cubic meters in Europe reaches record-setting $730

Dollar goes down in Armenia

Artsakh President introduces new defense minister to top army command staff

Taliban intend to remove subjects that contradict Sharia from university programs

Armenia Central Electoral Commission chief: Elections have been held in line with requirements of Electoral Code

Deputy mayor of Armenia's Goris resigns, to run in local self-government elections

Armen Sarkissian sends message to US President on 20th anniversary of terrorist attacks

EBRD, ADB to provide loan to fund 2nd phase of Electric Networks of Armenia company investment program

Azerbaijan army's General Staff chief, Turkish MOD discuss deepening of military cooperation

Head of Tegh village of Armenia's Syunik: Azerbaijanis tie villager's UAZ to a truck and steal it

Armenia Security Council Secretary leaving for Tajikistan

Analyst: There might be documents signed by Armenia and not revealed

Armenia ex-defense minister: There are no legal grounds for demarcation/delimitation of borders with Azerbaijan

Armenia Parliament Speaker on opposition MP's statement on transfer of lands

Turkey, Azerbaijan army chiefs hold talks in Ankara

Azerbaijan hosting joint military exercises with Turkey, Pakistan

Le Figaro deputy director draws parallels between Taliban, Azerbaijan actions

EU special representative for South Caucasus arrives in Armenia

Armenia, Azerbaijan leaders can have more effective discussion today too on possible compromises, says Carey Cavanaugh

Azerbaijan ex-FM suggests annoying Russia peacekeepers in Karabakh

President receives Germany envoy on occasion of completing his diplomatic mission in Armenia

Armenia legislature refuses to set up committee on Artsakh

Armenia defense minister to partake in monitoring of Russia-Belarus joint military exercises

296 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Speaker not ruling out summoning security forces to Armenia parliament over Azerbaijan police actions

Azerbaijan army General Staff chief on official visit to Turkey

World oil prices on the rise

Republic of Armenia 30th anniversary collector coin issued

Earthquake hits Iran

Opposition Armenia Faction MP: National Security Service uses fully Azerbaijani terminology in its statement

CSTO joint meeting participants to adopt about 20 documents

Georgian thief-in-law dies in Russia prison

Armenia parliament kicks off regular sittings

Experts urge NASA not to break impact probe on meteorite

More than dozen gorillas at US zoo test positive for coronavirus

Armenia Chamber of Advocates elects chairman

France FM leaves for Qatar to discuss further evacuation of French citizens from Afghanistan

Shia people of Afghanistan demand to be included in new government

Azerbaijani border guards demanding money equivalent to AMD 50,000 from Iranian truck drivers at Vorotan checkpoint?

Car explodes in Yerevan, 1 injured

Greece, US sign defense cooperation agreement

Karabakh President pays working visit to Martakert region

Azerbaijani police are inspecting truck drivers with Iranian license plate numbers near Armenia's Vorotan

Opposition Bright Armenia Party to not run in local self-government elections in Shirak and Syunik Provinces

"Shant Alliance" nationalist political party to run in local self-government elections in Armenia

Elections for chairman of Armenia's Chamber of Advocates end with 46.9% voter turnout

Paris mayor to run for French presidency

Karabakh hosts "The Past, Present and Future of Armenian Statehood" international conference

France refuses to recognize Taliban's government in Afghanistan

1 new case of coronavirus reported in Karabakh

Pope Francis arrives in Hungary for lightning visit

FBI releases first declassified document related to investigation of 9/11 terrorist attacks

Armenia opposition MP Armen Charchyan diagnosed with pneumonia, is in critical condition

Elections for chairman of Armenia Chamber of Advocates kicks off

Armenia parliament's opposition factions nominate candidate for member of Public Services Regulatory Commission

Japan FM to attend UN General Assembly's 76th Session

3 missiles dropped near Erbil International Airport

Pyotr Movsesyan, father of hero of 44-day Karabakh war, dies

453 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia ruling party presents candidates for Council of Elders ahead of elections in Gyumri

Swedish couple not allowed to name son Vladimir Putin

Group of female students in Kabul hold rally in support of Taliban

Azerbaijan, Turkey, Pakistan special forces to hold military exercises in Baku

Armenia FM, Kazakhstan ambassador discuss Karabakh peace process

Armenia PM, extra-parliamentary forces leaders hold 2nd meeting of consultative assembly

Those who link Armenia ex-President Kocharyan with crimes have long been known as liars, says his office coordinator

Armenia Special Investigation Service issues statement regarding media report

Artsakh defense minister, Defense Army commander dismissed

Russia-based analyst: Situation volatile in South Caucasus

US envoy to Armenia says they do not consider Karabakh conflict to be resolved

Fire breaks out at large South Africa power plant
A criminal court in Saudi Arabia sentenced a columnist to five years in prison for insulting the royal court, the official body that represents the king and crown prince, according to state-linked media on Thursday, ABC News reported quoting AP.

The Committee to Protect Journalists has previously urged Saudi authorities to release the writer, Saleh al-Shehi, a prominent columnist with nearly 1.2 million followers on Twitter. CPJ says he appears to have been detained after his Dec. 8 appearance on the privately owned Rotana Channel after saying that any Saudi citizen who has a contact within the royal court automatically has an advantage in buying strategically located land unavailable to the public.

As is typical in such cases, local media did not identify the convicted writer by name, saying only that he is a Saudi national. Okaz online reported the court also imposed a five-year travel ban against the writer after his release.
YEREVAN.  Another unconstitutional act took place in Armenia by the adoption of the Law on Formation and Activity of the Security Council, according to Zhamanak (Time) newspaper.

Although the post of first deputy prime minister is not stipulated by the Constitution, this law stipulates that the first deputy prime minister is also a member of the Security Council.

Many [people] believe that this unconstitutional step is taken for incumbent Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan, and [that] that position is intended for him.

But if Karapetyan is appointed deputy prime minister, that will be a second violation of the Constitution, since he did not live in Armenia in the last four years, as the Constitution requires for all members of the government, wrote Zhamanak.
Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Mukhtarli claims that high-ranking Georgian officials are linked to his abduction, Georgia Online reported.

According to the journalist, the crime was led by Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili.

As Afgan Mukhtarli said, he was approached by three men, while another one was sitting in the car. They grabbed him, put in the car and pulled a sack over his head. Later, the journalist was bandaged with a rag.

Mukhtarli claims that he crossed the border in the neutral zone between the two countries near Lagodekhi cheakpoint.

The Georgian authorities did not find the legal grounds for his detention, so they decided to abduct and hand him over to Azerbaijan, Mukhtarli stated.

As reported earlier, Afgan Mukhtarli was abducted in Tbilisi in May 2017. Mukhtarli appeared the next day in Azerbaijan and was accused of illegal border crossing, smuggling and resisting police. On January 12, 2018, a journalist Afgan Mukhtarli was sentenced to 6 years of imprisonment.
YEREVAN.  The Prime Minister of Armenia, Karen Karapetyan, on Friday chaired a presentation-discussion devoted to cooperation between the Armenian government and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The event brought together US Ambassador Richard Mills, USAID Armenia Mission Director Deborah Grieser, USAID chiefs of staff, and the heads of several Armenian state agencies.

Karapetyan underscored Armenias collaboration with the USAID ever since 1992, and noted that todays presentation is a good occasion for exchanging views on where we are, and how we want to move forward.

Ambassador Mills, for his part, said 70 percent of the US government assistance to Armenia is carried out by way of the USAID projects and mechanisms. In his words, the USAID is currently implementing more than 30 projects in Armenia.

USAID Armenia Mission Director Deborah Grieser, in turn, presented the list of the ongoing USAID projects in Armenia and their main results. She noted that the key objectives of the USAID mission in Armenia is to support economic growth, development of democracy, and improvement of governance in the country. Grieser stressed that the USAID stands ready to discuss with the Armenian government the domains for future partnership.

PM Karapetyan, for his part, highlighted that Armenia is at a phase of important reforms, and that the deepening of partnership with the USAID is of great importance to the country.

Now, its time to implement interesting, fundamental reforms, he added, in particular.
The official opening of the Winter Olympics was held in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Mikayel Mikayelyan was Armenias flagbearer at the ceremony. Armenia is represented by three atheletes: cross-country skiers Mikayel Mikayelyan, Katya Galstyan and alpine skier Ashot Karapetyan.

Sports Arbitration Court decided to dismiss 47 appeals from Russian athletes to participate in the Pyeongchang Olympics.

The head of the International Olympic Committee commission, Nicole Hoevertsz, welcomed the decision. Representatives of the World Anti-Doping Agency also approved CAS verdict.

President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan received the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs who have arrived in Yerevan on a regional visit.

The co-chairs briefed the President on the results of their talks in the Azerbaijan capital city of Baku.

On Thursday the Co-Chairs also met Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian who briefed the mediators about the killing of the Armenian soldier as a result of ceasefire violation by the Azerbaijani side.

Bodies of four people were found inside cars in two separate incidents in Yerevan and Gyumri.

Bodies of a woman and a man were found inside a car in a garage in Yerevan. It was revealed that the man was being searched by the police as missing, since Thursday. They died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Another couple was found dead inside a car in a garage in Gyumri.

American law enforcers have charged three Armenians with fraud on US visa matters.

One of the accused is an American citizen, whereas the other twoArmenian. They unlawfully were bringing Armenian citizens over to the United States.

The Armenians and Greeks of the United States have launched a campaign against reckless sale of America's most advanced fighters to Turkey.

The statement of the organization warns against the sale of F-35 fighters to a country that may very well turn them against American forces or U.S. regional allies, including Greece, Cyprus, Israel, and Armenia.

The Karabakh conflict remains a very serious challenge, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said.

The top EU diplomat said the status quo is unsustainable and urged the parties to follow up on their agreement to intensify negotiations and reduce tensions on the line of contact. The conflict does not have a military solution and needs political settlement, she added.
Residents in Anyiin reported heavy gunshots from attacks in nearby villages Thursday night.

At least five persons were in critical condition from gunshot wounds in the attacks by suspected herdsmen, according to residents accounts to newsmen.

Four residents informed newsmen in separate exchanges that residents in Anyiin are panicked and are on the run.

Residents said Nigerian soldiers who were alerted about the attacks brought five villagers who were critically wounded to the hospital in Anyiin.

Theyre at NKST Hospital now in Anyiin, Terkura Suswam, a politician and founder of Ashi Polytechnic in Anyiin, told newsmen.

One of the villages is Tsukwa, which was amongst those attacked on January 1. The village recorded up to 10 casualties in that attack, according to residents who spoke withour source two weeks ago.

Tsukwa is about a mile from Anyiin, which has a police special forces unit and one of the biggest camps for the internally displaced persons in Benue State.

The commander of the special forces, Ibrahim Ignatius, revealed that he was not aware of the attack because he is in Makurdi, the state capital.

The Divisional Police Officer of Anyiin Division, Celestine Utim, told newsmen he is trying to find out what is going on.

Another Anyiin resident who confirmed the attack to journalists was Alijah Auna, the secretary of the IDP camp there.

Yes, theyve been attacking villages around Anyiin this night, Mr. Auna said. Many people at the camp here have started running away.

But I am still at the camp, he added.

It was not immediately clear the number of villages that were attacked Thursday night.

Witnesses said the attackers had fled before soldiers arrived at some of the villages.

Scores of villagers were killed in the January 1 attacks in Logo LGA. Survivors have remained largely at various IDP camps in the local government because their villages are still not safe for their return, despite the polices assertions that the areas had been secured.
Home | News | General | Buhari: Positive change is still possible

By Solomon Edebiri

Collectively, as a people we have failed Nigeria; destroyed it! Castrated it! Right now, the nation is being built on falsehood because as a people, we have filtered away its pride and strength as the most populous black nation in the world. We have lost the foundation upon which the nation was created by the founding fathers that fought for our independence. We have lost a country. This is the irony of a country called Nigeria.

Buhari

In the last few weeks, the polity has been awashed with comments surrounding the letter by former military Head of State and two terms President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Chief (Gen. Dr.) Olusegun Obasanjo, an elder statesman to President Muhammadu Buhari.

Obasanjo who was president from 1999 to 2007 came at a time Nigeria seriously craved for democracy, unity, change, development and economic stability after years of military misrule. At that time, the nation and the world looked unto him to build a new Nigeria with a culture of commitment to the growth of the country; if he did succeed, posterity will judge him soon enough.

After all, there were huge expectations that he will lay a good foundation for the industrialisation of the country; sound educational system, renewal of ethics and values among public servants and a firm sense of political direction for the nation.

He had stable eight years rule, but like every other African leader, he lost it at the last minute. Instead of accolades from Nigerians, but due to his third term ambition which was in breach of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, he left power in scorn.

Bitter pill of rejection

Like most other African leaders, Obasanjo left a lot of room to be brutally criticised and a loud call never to return. It has happened to him, it also happened to Dr. Goodluck Jonathan; now, it is the turn of President Muhammadu Buhari to take the bitter pill of rejection from Nigerians.

For Buhari, it is happening only too soon as the high premium people placed on his ability to rescue the nation from the high level of corruption failed to meet the expectation and thus regret the placement of such a high level premium on him.

I know it is always quick as Nigerians for people to commence the clamour for a new political party believing that the solution to our problems lies in changing the political party in government instead of a change in the leadership or a change in the people around the leader; people who may have led him astray!

In 2013 when we (a select group of leaders from four political parties  ACN, ANPP, CPC and APGA) sat in a room in Chief Tom Ikimis residence in Abuja for over six months to come up with the merger that gave birth to the All Progressives Congress (APC), it was a move to urgently salvage the train of the nation which was almost derailing. I remember people like Mr. Femi Falana came in as guest speaker on several occasions in one of the days. I can still remember the sound of his voice when he said, and I quote: This is the party the people have been waiting for. We must not fail to do all we must do to ensure it is established, registered and running. He emphasised over and again: This is the party that will save Nigeria. I am sure like every other Nigerian, Mr. Falana is disappointed in the outcome of the Government formed from a party with such high expectations.

The truth be told, a lot of people see the Obasanjos letter to the president as an expression of total failure by Buhari in the last three years. May I remind us that in the last 10 years, Obasanjo has been instrumental in the selection of who becomes the next president of Nigeria!

He led late Umar YarAdua to Aso Rock and gave him Jonathan Goodluck as vice president and later endorsed Jonathan to be the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

But just before the Cock crows, He did say Jonathan lacked the quality to move Nigeria forward and said he has no business returning to Aso Rock!

The problem and where it is from

In 2015, it is a known fact that our revered elder statesman once again endorsed and supported the candidacy of his military colleague, General Muhammadu Buhari to replace Jonathan. Today, he wants Buhari out! For whatever reason it may be, but I doubt if this time, the call is in the interest of Nigerians.

So I ask: what is the problem and where is it from? Because here again is the respected Obasanjo calling for a coalition to form the next government; a structure very similar to that of merger of almost four parties that formed the APC. Is the structure the problem or the individuals that runs the system or more critically, the man who endorses and criticises? Is there something Obasanjo is not seeing about Nigeria that allows him to recommend people and a system to Nigeria that will end up failing; only for him to condemn and call for replacement?

Of all the reactions to the Obasanjos letter, my strongest regret is those coming from the Presidents cabinet. Rather than look at the merit in the letter, they are singing the praises of the President and calling for the head of the former president.

If I were President Buhari, I will do Obasanjo a thank you letter not for supporting me to become the president in 2015, but for bringing out the six points that represents the critical grey areas of his administration.

As the president that loves Nigeria, I will take the point one after the other, analyse and address them adequately to the benefit of Nigerians.

In his letter, Obasanjo identified the followings as the grey areas.

Poverty

Insecurity/herdsmens menace

Poor understanding of politics

and internal dynamics

Poor economic management

Nepotism and

Condemning misdeeds

In reviewing the above issues, as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I will look at each issue one after the other by asking questions surrounding them. I want to ask, is there really poverty in the land? Are people jumping into the lagoon because they love to or out of frustration? Our youths are dying in other countries because they lack opportunities to survive in Nigeria how can this be stemmed? Our children are leaving school because their parents can no longer afford their school fees, what does this portend for the future? Are people dying of minor sicknesses that could be cured with little medication due to the fact that they cant afford it or lack of basic medical facilities? The list goes on and on. He may want to end with the question: what can I do now?

Secondly, Mr. President may want to ask: Is there insecurity in the country? The Boko Haram, IPOB and now the herdsmen menace are cases in point. If he agrees with himself that he has tackled the Boko Haram and IPOB will he agree that he has addressed the issue of herdsmen incessant attacks against farmers? Will he also agree that those lives taken are lives that could have been saved if he had taken action immediately? Again, Mr. President will want to ask: what can I do to stop this menace now?

Thirdly, is it true that Mr. President has no understanding of politics and its dynamics? Then, he wants to ask: Where are my allies that understand politics? Where is the party structure; where are the founding fathers of APC, what is the political structure of the country? What is the succession plan or are we bound to make the same mistake Obasanjo made thrice by supposedly choosing the wrong successors and coming out later to condemn them?

Shouldnt Mr. President be asking himself how he can remedy this? How he should address the much anger in the party and the land? Or is it safe for Mr. President to continue to assume that all is well because the few people around him say so? Do these few persons actually love Mr. President and Nigeria? Will the President rather find a quick solution to this cankerworm that is gradually ruining the unity and strength of the party and Nigeria at large?

Fourthly, will Mr. President doubt the fact that the economy is poorly managed? Will he agree that all economic enablers are almost non-existent: power, roads, security, skills; just name it. With our abundant minerals and natural resources coupled with the human resources that abound in Nigeria, the naira is constantly on the decline against major currencies, why? I watched a video some time ago of Kenya Presidents broadcast, where he boasted of having successfully given Kenyans constant electricity supply without interruption.

Ghana too has improved in power generation but Nigeria still wallow in electricity bureaucracy between generation, transmission and distribution while consumers suffer without electricity and Senegal is set to launch an ultra modern airport and boast of having a national carrier shortly. As a nation, what can we boast of?

Shouldnt Mr. President look at all these economic problems and find lasting solutions for them? Mr. President should be asking, what can I do?

High on nepotism

Fifthly, Obasanjo scored the President high on nepotism. In as much as I agree that all the past presidents may have been guilty of the same vices one way or the other, Does Mr. President think it is impossible or difficult to shift position a little bit to be more Nigerian than a Fulani man? If I were Mr. President, I will not throw this advice away.

The sixth and the last I will want the president to look at is condoning misdeeds, people believe you did not handle the issue of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) properly neither did you deal with the Mainas issue which exposed some people in your cabinet as being corrupt. You have to tell the world you are fighting corruption by first ensuring that people around you are corruption free.

At the funeral of late Alex Ekweme, the officiating priest did say you lacked the moral etiquette to fight corruption having condoned corrupt people in your administration rightly or wrongly. Mr. President, would you not rather review your stand on this issue?

So many questions begging for answers! Yet, only the president can answer them.

If I were Mr. President, I will say: I waited too long and left the fort too long in the hands of few who have almost castrated this God blessed nation.

ARE THERE OPTIONS?

Will the President agree with Obasanjo that he has failed or he wants to exploit obvious available options for the good of the nation? I believe the President still have a chance to review the performance of his cabinet, change those he believes are not performing. Can the president implore his information management team to tell Nigerians the actual state of the nation rather than call pink red, can the President review the petroleum policy to ensure petroleum products can be available at all times, encourage private refineries, modular refineries and create a totally deregulated sector.

Can Mr. President not focus on youth development, growing them in the area of science, technology and skills? Can the President not think of taking a bold step to resolve the lingering steel making challenges in Nigeria knowing without which our quest for industrialisation and economic growth cannot be realised? I can go on and on Mr. President but certainly not for one day.

THE CHANGE YOU PROMISED

Can Mr. President agree with Obasanjo that the change he promised has come negative? Does the President think it is too late to turn this around to a positive change?

Mr. President it is not too late. You still have 15 months to go and 12 months to the next election.

My take on you and the next election is that you allow the people to deal with that while you focus on the changes you promised Nigerians.

For me, if you could make the change you promised have positive effect in the lives of the people of this Country, give everyone a secured sense of existence and strong hope for tomorrow, I will support your coming back knowing that you will not be under pressure of some people judging from how you became candidate and president, you would have understood clearly that being civilian President in a democratic system is different from being Military president. You will want to leave a legacy for Nigeria and Nigerians so that your name will be remembered for good when you are no longer President, you may see this as your last opportunity to build a safe, united, stable and progressive Nigeria.

Mr. President, I still believe the Change you promised can still come with a positive face but you must change your approach to issues taking into cognisance the advice offered by former President Obasanjo and a host of others in Nigeria. I believe you still have the opportunity to be the Buhari people know you to be; fearless, strong love for Nigeria, genuine commitment to a corrupt free nation. Should you fail to do this Mr. President, Chief Obasanjo would have succeeded in changing you like he has always done.

To my fellow Nigerians, I think the time has come to build institutions rather than at every election to register a new party to bring in a new person as President. We have over 65 political Parties in Nigeria today, if we think APC is not good enough, then let us elect someone from another Political Party and convince Nigerians that they have what it takes to bring the desired change to the Country.

Solomon Iyobosa Edebiri, Ph.D, JP, MON, President/Founder, Solomon Iyobosa Edebiri Center for Change.

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Home | News | General | Tribute to a woman of substance

By Donu Kogbara

MRS. Vera Oshowole died peacefully in her sleep at home in London on January 25, at the grand old age of 92. Her distinguished husband, the late Lt. Colonel (Dr.) Olatunde Oshowole, was a friend of my late father, Ignatius Kogbara. Here is a touching tribute to Vera, sent to me by her daughter, Judi Oshowole, who now lives in Spain but was once based in Lagos where she wrote Window On My Mind  a column that appeared weekly in Sunday Punch newspaper.

Vera was born on September 7, 1925 in Newton Le Willows, outside Liverpool in the north of England, to George, a chemist, and Hilda Willey. She was the youngest of five sisters, all now deceased. As a child, she was encouraged to read and developed a life-long passion for acquiring knowledge. She was head girl at Newton Le Willows Grammar School and got a B.Sc in Sociology at the London School of Economics in 1947 where she studied under Professor Harold Laski, a one time Chairman of the British Labour Party.

Vera joined the British Civil Service and developed a love of politically liberal newspapers, cryptic crosswords and Scrabble. In 1950, she married Dr. Tunde Oshowole, who studied medicine at the University of Heidelberg in Germany. When he was offered a job as the personal physician to President Tubman of Liberia, Vera insisted that if they were going to go to Africa, they should go to his own country; and the family travelled to Nigeria in March 1959 on the Elder Dempster ship, MV Apapa.

The 10-day journey was significant because most of their fellow passengers  including the then Emir of Kano and Brigadier Samuel Ademulegun  were excitedly returning home to prepare for independence from colonial rule.

Vera spent most of her adult life in Nigeria, made a great impact on all who met her and formed very close relationships with her husbands relatives. She first lived in Ibadan where she became a librarian at the university while her husband worked at the University College Hospital and Western Region Memorial Hospital.

When the British left after Independence in 1960, her husband became one of the first doctors to join the new Nigerian Army and was posted first to Kaduna, then to Yaba Military Hospitals. Vera often reminisced about travelling to these postings by train with her three children  me and my brothers, Richard and David. While there were still some British officers in the Nigerian Army at that stage, there were few British wives, so Vera quickly made friends with the wives of the Nigerian officers and enjoyed learning from them.

Her husband became Commanding Officer of the Military Hospital in Kaduna in 1965 and Vera embraced a new role of being accessible to soldiers under his commandand took a particular interest in improving the welfare of junior soldiers and their families. In Kaduna, Vera worked as a librarian at the British Council Library, ran a small nursery school and later taught at the United Christian School in Apapa, Lagos.

She also worked as practice secretary in Drs. Hummel White and Partners, one of the first medical practices in Lagos, which her husband joined after his honourable retirement from the Nigerian Army in 1972. She managed this practice after the death of her husband in 1997.

Her selfless love and care for others and bravery was demonstrated in Kaduna on the morning of January 15, 1966. Despite the pain and horror of knowing that one group of officers had just shot another group of officers, some of whom were personal friends, she took a military Land rover, collected the children whose parents had been shot, brought them to her house and relocated them to a place of safety in a convent.

She recounted later that it had been quite an experience going to houses where officers had been slain and asking the guards to allow her to take away the children, many of whom had been left in the houses with the bodies of their dead parents. She was a long-term resident of Apapa (1966 till 2000), where she lived in Park Lane, Marine Road and Hinderer Road. She and my father were active members of the Apapa Boat Club, as well as members of the Apapa and Ikoyi Clubs.

When her two sons attended the Apapa Corona School in Park Lane, Vera opened her house to and provided squash and sandwiches for children whose parents couldnt leave work to collect them at school closing time. She was active in many organisations such as Nigerwives, an association set up to integrate and assist foreign spouses of Nigerian men. She was the first Vice-President of Nigerwives and took a leading role in the successful campaign for foreign wives to be granted permanent residence permits and legal rights.

My mother made tape recordings of school textbooks for blind students, supporting one throughout his studies and enabling him to attend university. During the civil war, she took in an Igbo student from United Christian School and helped him complete his studies. Vera and her husband had a strong attachment to the beaches of Lagos. In the 1960s, they would drive from Ibadan to go to Bar Beach on Sundays and when they were living in Lagos, they booked one of the Army Officers chalets at Tarkwa Bay nearly every weekend, to escape the bustle of the city.

My parents met many people from every walk of life and were part of Nigeria during defining moments of its history. My mothers warmth, simple demeanor and deep belief in equality for all, won her the trust and hearts of many. The messages her family has received since her death  from those who were fortunate enough to know her  attest to the help and understanding that she provided and the difference she made to so many lives.

Vera was an ideal person with whom to share and discuss personal difficulties and problems. She was always a non-judgmental listener and always found the time to provide advice that helped people solve their problems.

Her home was always welcoming to all. A well spent and deeply rich life. She is survived by her three children, Judi, Richard and David, three grandchildren, Tola, Tsakissa and Xongisa and two great grandchildren, Sade and Anya. May she rest in peace.

Responses to: donzol2002@yahoo.co.uk or to 0802 747 6458 OR 0811 675 9752 (texts only). PLEASE KINDLY NOTE THAT UNLESS YOU REQUEST ANONYMITY, YOUR COMMENTS MAY BE PUBLISHED, WITH YOUR NAMES AND CONTACT DETAILS ATTACHED.

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Home | News | General | 13 states agree to allocate 5,000 hectares of land for cattle ranching

We need leadership with political will to douse tension Saraki

Govs shun security summit

Mohammed, Okurounmu, Opara, Osuntokun express mixed views

By Henry Umoru, Dapo Akinrefon & Gbenga Oke

ABUJA THE Presidency, yesterday, threw its weight behind state and community policing to address the prevailing wave of insecurity across the country.

Declaring open a two-day Summit on National Security organised by the Senate in Abuja, President Muhammadu Buhari, who was represented by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, said every Nigerian deserves the protection of his life and property, admitting that there were instances where security agencies failed to properly and urgently respond to security issues.

*Senate President Bukola Saraki and President Muhammadu Buhari

The vice president, who noted that the police as currently structured, was too defective to address the growing insecurity in the country, stressed the need for the number of police personnel to be increased drastically, just as he cautioned stakeholders in the country not to allow the current insecurity challenges assume religious dimension.

Also speaking at the summit, which was shunned by the 36 state governors, Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, said what was required at the moment to nip in the bud cases of killings, kidnappings, mayhem and general lawlessness was a leadership with the will to douse the flickering flames on insecurity and reduce the tension in the land.

Why we need state, commujity police  Osinbajo

Said Osinbajo, who disclosed that 15 states have agreed to allocate 5000 hectraes of land for cattle ranching and livestock production: It will be recalled that the Senate had, on November 30, 2017, inaugurated the Ad-Hoc Committee on Review of Security Infrastructure in the Country.

This came about, because we were increasingly concerned at the spate of crises and insecurity in many parts of the country, and knew that we needed to do something about it. The committee had a broad mandate; to look into the problem and prepare a report outlining a different approach for dealing with the issue.

The first is that the nature of our security challenges are complex and nuanced. Securing Nigerias over 923,768 square kilometres and its 180 million people, requires far more men and materials than we have at the moment. It also requires a continual re-engineering of our security architecture and strategies.

This has to be a dynamic process. For a country our size to meet the one policeman to 400 persons UN prescribed ratio, would require nearly tripling our current police force, far more funding of the police, military and security agencies is required.

Secondly, we cannot realistically police a country the size of Nigeria centrally from Abuja. State Police and other community policing methods are clearly the way to go.

We need leadership with political will to douse tension Saraki

Saraki, who noted that Nigeria needed a leadership with the political will to combat insecirity, said the executive cannot solve the problems alone, adding that all hands must be on deck to address the problems because the killings in the land are intolerable cycle of hell that must be broken and cannot be the new normal.

Saraki said: What our country needs at this time is leadership that will work to douse the flames and reduce tension in the land. It is essential that we lower the barriers in our actions and rhetoric, and refrain from playing politics with a crisis situation in which Nigerian lives are being lost, tragically and needlessly, on a regular basis.

Support for state Police, a mirage  Mohammed

Reacting to the presidencys backing for state and community policing, Second Republic lawmaker, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, said the presidencys support for state police is a mirage.

For all I care, All Progressives Congress, APC, has now turned everything into politics. They are only trying to cajole Nigerians with the support for state police when they have actually refused to show leadership, he said.

Its a welcome devt, but  Okurounmu

Senator Femi Okurounmu described the move as a welcome development but insisted that restructuring should be looked into holistically.

It should be referred to National Assembly Opara

Former Deputy Speaker of House of Representatives, Austin Opara, said if the APC was serious about restructuring, they should refer the issue to the National Assembly.

Its a step in the right direction  Osuntokun

A leading member of the Coalition for Nigeria Movement, CNM, Mr Akin Osuntokun, said it is a step in the right direction, if the government is serious.

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Home | News | General | Firm Director files N1bn libel suit against bank, CRC credit bureau

By Precious Nicholas

A Director of an indigenous firm, Glitz Occasions Nigerian Limited, Ademiniyi-Juyitan Adetola, has instituted N1billion libel suit before a Lagos State High Court sitting in Igbosere, against CRC Credit Bureau Limited and a first generation bank, for allegedly authoring and publishing a libellous and false consumer classic report on her.

court

CRC Credit Bureau Limited, which conducts credit check on customers of all banks in Nigerian and pass on its report credit history to Nigerian banks to which customers apply for credit and loans to enable such banks determine the credit worthiness and suitability of the these customers, according to the claimant, invented and published the false report in collaboration with the first generation bank.

She said CRC Credit Bureau published the false report, that her account was indebted to the tune of N9, 859 as at September 29, 2017 to the first generation bank, as against the actual credit balance of N1, 657.777, as same was defamatory and maliciously published to Diamond Bank Plc, its staff and the general public with the predominant intent and purpose to damage the claimants reputation and to unlawfully interfere with the harm the personality of the claimant.

She further averred that as Diamond Bank Plc raised the issue of the false credit report and her non-credit worthiness in relation to the credit facility sought by Giltz Occasions Nigeria Limited on the premise of the defendants false publication, the claimant instructed her solicitors Charles Mekwunye @ Co., who wrote to the 1st defendant on November 16, 2017 demanding that the 1st defendant should retract its false publication and publish a written apology in the media, which they are yet to do, lamenting that she has continued to suffer irreparable damage to her personality and reputation, grave inconvenience, loss of economic opportunities and considerable distress and embarrassment.

She is asking to compel the defendants to pay N1billion to the claimant as general damages for the injury suffered by the claimant as a result of the defendants publication.

She is also praying the court for an order compelling the defendants to pay N20 million to the claimant as punitive or exemplary damages for the recklessness, carelessness and gross negligence exhibited by the defendants in publishing false Credit Information Report to Diamond Bank Plc, its staff and the general public.

*A perpetual injunction, restraining the defendants, their agents, privies, affiliates, assignors and licensors from further publishing any false, malicious, libellous and defamatory Credit Information Report about the claimant.

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Home | News | General | Stop ruling Nigeria with double standard, Fayose tells FG

Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State has advised the Federal Government to stop ruling the country with double standards.

Benue state Governor, Samuel Ortom receives Ekiti state Governor, Ayodele Fayose to the state

Governor Fayose stated this, on Thursday, when he visited the Governor Samuel Ortom, in Benue, to commiserate with him and the people of the State over the New Year attacks.

The Ekiti State governor said a situation where a particular group who are unleashing mayhem on others are treated as sacred cows while others who perpetrate lesser offences are made to face the wrath of the law is a double standard and should not be allowed to continue.

While describing the situation in Benue as nothing other than ethnic cleansing by the herdsmen, the Ekiti State governor who also announced a donation of N10 million to the state, urged Governor Ortom to be steadfast and stand firmly by the Anti-Open Grazing law.

In the words of Governor Fayose, When has Benue people become less than cows being killed for reasons of grazing? This country belongs to our forefathers who handed it to us. So any attempt to dislodge you will bring great consequences on those who want to dislodge you.

I went to the grave side today and I was moved to tears. How can people be slaughtered like cows. There is no terrorism more than what has happened in Benue and stressed the need for all hands to be on deck in order to defeat terrorism in the state.

I charge the federal government to stop ruling Nigeria with double standard. Killing innocent souls, sacking their communities is nothing but terrorism. The Nigerian constitution has given you the powers to make law. You have made the anti-open grazing law, stand by it. The law must not be compromised or aborted.

Governor Fayose also charged hjis Benue State counterpart to reconsider his affiliation to the ruling party saying, if the vehicle you are using can no lower carry you, change that vehicle.

Responding, Governor Ortom, while thanking his Ekiti State counterpart and his entourage for the visit, regretted that the authorities did not heed his earlier alerts from Benue which could have saved those who were killed in the attacks.

In the words of Governor Ortom, Yes, we are mourning, we are grieved by the actions of these killers but if those who are responsible for providing security had heeded our alarm, those people may not have been killed.

Nigeria and Benue can never be the same. Benue too. There is going to be a turn around that has never been witnessed in this country before. I have thus decided to join my brother, Fayose to be outspoken on things that are not done rightly in this country. Anything that is not right here, I will challenge. How can you be beating me and dont want me to cry.

Let there be justice, and transparency. We should stop giving the dog a bad name in order to hang it. That will not be accepted. I am elected to govern my people and this law is a product of the people. In Nigeria today, herdsmen and their cows have immunity and those charged with the responsibility of protecting lives and property of the people have taken charge to the extent that they have become mouthpiece for MAKH. This is not acceptable.

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Home | News | General | NGO, govt wage war against female genital mutilation in Osun

By Gbenga Olarinoye

OsogboAs the International Day for Zero-Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation was marked on Tuesday, the Osun State Ministry of Health and a non-governmental organisation have resolved to take severe measures in stemming the rising spate of cutting girls genitalia in most communities in the state.

Speaking at a programme in Osogbo tagged: Ending Female Gential Mutilation/Cutting, the state government and the Sexual Reproductive Health-oriented organisation, Value Female Network, VFN, advised people of the state to always report anyone caught carrying out FGM on girls to security agencies.

Female Genital Mutilation

For VFN, governments at all levels should take the bull by the horn in tackling the practice of cutting girls by collaborating with NGOs, who are into advocacies against the deadly practice.

A founding member of VFN and Director of Gender Innovation in the organisation, Mr. Samuel Abimbade, said the debilitating effects this practice was causing on survivors and victims were much, disclosing that eight out of 10 girls in some parts of Osun are being mutilated.

Emphasising the need for governments at all levels to partner with NGOs like VFN to ensure an end to cutting of girls, Abimbade, an adolescent and sexual reproductive health expert, asked the state government to work more on proper monitoring of traditional birth attendants and traditional circumcisers to ensure that they do not carry out the practice secretly.

To achieve this, the IPAS Nigeria Youth ambassador advised the state government to collaborate with VFN and other concerned organisations to reach out to communities in the state, sensitise them and ensure that promoters of the harmful practice desist from it.

Calling on residents of Osun and other states of the federation to end FGM, Abimbade argued that FGM does not prevent promiscuity as some quarters erroneously make people to believe.

Abimbade said researches had shown that most commercial sex workers were mutilated thus ruling out the speculation that the practice makes girls not to be wayward.

He described as alarming the prevalence in Osun saying some circumsisers now advertise cutting of girls on social media and also seek patronage from interested people. It has now gotten to the stage where circumsisers advertise the practice and ask people to mutilate three of their girls and get a discount on one, he added.

Abimbade advised government to provide alternative source of livelihood for the traditional circumcissers arguing that majority of them see the practice as source of revenue despite the myths that surround the act.

Also speaking, Mr. Dare Adeoye, an Adolescent and Reproductive Health expert decried the traditional practice and warned circumcisers of girls to desist from the act.

Adeoye said it is sad Nigeria ranks 2nd among countries of the world that have highest rate of maternal death stressing that males are mostly behind the practice.

For an official of the Ministry of Health, Mrs. Adelowokan, the people of the state have not been helping the government in stemming the practice as some of them hesitate to report those who indulge in mutilation.

According to the Gender Health expert, Ede North has the highest prevalence of 88 per cent, Ifelodun has 81 oper cent, Olaoluwa and Orolu have 76 per cent, Oriade has 71 per cent while Ife Central has 67 per cent prevalence.

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Home | News | General | Act now, Nigeria under siege, Catholic bishops tell Buhari

Silence of FG on herdsmens attacks shocking

Disregard of federal character, reason for secession agitation

ABUJACATHOLIC Bishops of Nigeria, yesterday, in Abuja told President Muhammadu Buhari that the country appeared to be under siege which required proactive measure, as hunger, hopelessness and deprivation are now the order of the day.

.R; President Muhammadu Buhari in a handshake with Former Archbishop of Ibadan, Felix Alaba Job. Others are Catholic Archbishop of Jos, Dr. Ignatus Kaigama, Archbishop of Lagos, Alfred Adewale Martins, Archbishop of Ibadan, Gabriel Leke Abegunrin and Bishop of Umuahia, Lucius Ugorji after a meeting with a delegation of Catholic Bishops held at the Council Chambers State House in Abuja.

The Bishops, under the umbrella of Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, CBCN, also told the President that he came to power under the goodwill of Nigerians but the goodwill had been eroded as a result of the failure of government to tackle the myriads of problems facing the nation.

The Catholic Bishops stated this when they paid a courtesy visit on President Buhari at the Council Chamber, Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The CBCN in an address delivered by its President, the Archbishop of Jos, Most Rev. Dr. Ignatius Ayau Kaigama, also told the President that the heightening clamour for restructuring of the country, agitation for secession, among other things, were as a result of disregard for the principle of federal character by the government.

They further advised that elected political office holders should concentrate more on how to solve the problems before the country and not to saddle themselves with re-election programmes, even as they told the President to use his affinity with the herdsmen to tackle the menace of rampaging herdsmen that have massacred many innocent Nigerians.

The Bishops in the address, which was co-signed by Most Rev. Dr. William Avenya, Bishop of Gboko Diocese of Benue State and Secretary of CBCN, said the silence of the Federal Government on the attacks by herdsmen was shocking.

The CBCN address

The address read: We, the representatives of the Catholic Bishops of Nigeria, bring you our cordial greetings and blessings. We desired this meeting, in order to continue the dialogue we initiated with you, even before your election as President.

We, therefore, thank you for granting us this audience, which affords us the opportunity to share with you, once again, our thoughts and concerns on some issues affecting our dear country, Nigeria.

First, we thank God for bringing you back to us after a period of ill-health. We hope and pray that you continue to make progress on the way to full recovery, in order to be able to face the enormous challenges emanating from your exalted office.

Your Excellency, needless to say that, as President, you are the Father of our dear country, Nigeria. It is, therefore, pertinent that as loyal citizens as well as informed members of the society, we come to you from time to time to express not only our willing cooperation with the government in working for the progress of our country, but also to share with you the feelings of the multitude of Nigerians at this moment.

We work with the people at the grassroots and, therefore, have first-hand information about what they are going through. There is no doubt that when you came into office, you had an enormous amount of the goodwill of Nigerians, since many saw you are a person of integrity who would be able to bring sanity into a system that was nearly crippled by endemic corruption.

Nearly three years later, however, one has the feeling that this good will is being fast depleted by some glaring failures of government which we have the moral responsibility to bring to your notice, else we would be failing in our duty as spiritual fathers and leaders.

Your Excellency, there is too much suffering in the country: Poverty, hunger, insecurity, violence, fear the list is endless. Our beloved country appears to be under siege. Many negative forces seem to be keeping a stranglehold on the population, especially the weaker and defenceless ones.

The Nation is nervous

There is a feeling of hopelessness across the country. Our youths are restive and many of them have taken to hard drugs, cultism and other forms of violent crime, while many have become victims of human trafficking. The Nation is nervous.

Just as we seem to be gradually emerging from the dark tunnel of an economic recession that caused untold hardship to families and individuals, violent attacks by unscrupulous persons, among whom are terrorists masquerading as herdsmen, have led to a near civil war situation in many parts of the country.

We are saddened that, repeatedly, innocent citizens in different communities across the nation are brutally attacked and their sources of livelihood mindlessly destroyed. Lives are wasted and property, worth billions of Naira, including places of worship, schools, hospitals and business enterprises, are torched and turned to ashes.

We are still more saddened by the recent massacre of unarmed citizens by these terrorists in some communities n Benue, Adamawa, Kaduna and Taraba states which has caused national shock, grief and outcry.

The silence of the federal government in the wake of these horrifying attacks is, to say the least, shocking. There is a feeling of helplessness among the people and the danger that some people may begin to take laws into their hands.

We, therefore, earnestly urge the government to take very seriously its primary responsibility of protecting the lives and property of its citizens and ensure that such mindless killings do not recur. Herdsmen may be under pressure to save their livestock and economy but this is never to be done at the expense of other peoples lives and means of livelihood.

We would like to add our voice to those of other well-meaning Nigerians who insist that a better alternative to open grazing should be sought rather than introducing cattle colonies in the country. While thinking of how best to help cattle owners establish ranches, government should equally have plans to help the other farmers whose produce is essential for our survival as a nation

In a similar vein, daredevil kidnappers, who at present are having a field day, with a feeling of invincibility, must be made to understand that there is a government in this country. Government should invest more in equipping our Police Force with modern high-tech devices that will help them track down and arrest these criminals and make them face the wrath of the law.

The Federal Character Principle

The Federal Character Principle is enshrined in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria: It says: The government of the Federation or any of its and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity and also to command national loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few states or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups in that government or in any of its agencies (Section 14, Sub-section 3-4).

Disregard for this Principle in some federal government appointments as well as perceptible imbalance in the distribution of federal amenities has created the loss of a sense of belonging in many parts of the country, hence the constant cries of marginalization, agitation for secession and calls for restructuring.

These and many more such problems are, in our opinion, grave matters that should be worrying all political leaders in our country today, rather than any bid for re-election.

The Catholic Bishops said the Catholic Church had always complemented the efforts of government in such areas as providing quality education and primary health care services to Nigerian people.

They said further: We continue to make our contributions to nation-building through our prayers, admonitions and assistance to needy Nigerians whenever we can. As the voice of the voiceless, we shall continue to highlight the plight of our people and play our prophetic role of sensitizing the government, thus promoting good governance, national unity and cohesion.

We strongly feel that everybody in government at this moment has to take more decisive steps to restore the confidence of the Nigerian people in our governments. Our collective efforts must be seen in the desire to return to the fine principles of democracy, such as true federalism negotiation and consensus building, as means of achieving a more equitable distribution of the resources of our country and good governance.

Why we visited Buhari  Kaigama

Speaking to State House correspondents after the closed-door visit to the President, the leader of the delegation and President of CBCN, Archbishop Kaigama, said: We came here primarily to interact with Mr. President and to share with him some concerns about our nation and our people.

We had the privilege of meeting Mr. President when he wasnt yet a President, when he was campaigning and we had a very useful interaction, we asked questions, he gave answers and since he became President, we have also met and interacted very frankly, had dialogue on issues that affect Nigerians and affect all of us.

Today is not different. We have thanked him for the work he is doing but to also raise concerns about issues that affect the lives of our people. We are grassroots people, we are pastors, we operate with the people at the grassroots, we know where and when they are in trouble.

We just wanted to identify some of these areas so that he will be aware and he can use the opportunity he has as the leader of this nation to correct and sanitize things for the good of all of us. Apart from being our President, he has the interest of the security of Nigerians and he also has some affinity with those herdsmen who graze and rear their cattle and so on and I believe he is also a farmer.

So, he can combine the two interests, herding and farming and come up with a solution that will be fair and all the different groups will feel they belong and they are being adequately assisted to do what is right to avoid killing and destruction of lives and property.

Our President can do it. He needs the support of his team, those who work with him to give him sound and genuine advice so that they can forge ahead.On Mr Presidents response

On the response of the President to their demands, he said: Our President as I have said has met us a number of times now and each time we met, we raised difficult issues and questions and I would have to say that to his credit, we thought as a past military leader, he would react with military ferocity, but no, he has been quiet calm, tranquil in the manner he responded to all the issues.

The issues we raised were difficult ones, they were touching at the nerves of his government and by the grace of God, he was able to respond and explain what he felt people did not understand and what he had done behind the scene we did not know about. At least, he got to say that clearly. That also enlightened us and we are better informed. But the fact remains, there is still trouble in the land.

However, a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Chief Femi Adesina, stated that the President explained that the policy proposed by Federal Government in response to the frequent clashes between herdsmen and farmers in the country was not meant to colonize any part of the country.

The presidential spokesman stated that the President said the intention of government was to create grazing locations for cattle rearers, which had been misconstrued as another form of colonization.

According to him, President Buhari regretted that the well-thought out policy of the Federal Government, which was conceived after wide consultations with stakeholders, had been largely misunderstood by a section of the public.

He, however, assured the Catholic Bishops that the Federal Government would continue to explore all opportunities and support initiatives to ensure peace and stability in restive areas.

Condemning recent spate of killings in Benue, Adamawa, Taraba, and Zamfara states, the President said security operatives would ensure prosecution of perpetrators and all those found with illegal arms in the affected areas.

He said: The impression created that I was sitting in an air-conditioned office and home, enjoying myself while these things happened, is dishonest. At every step, I have tried to foresee these problems because I have the experience as a former military officer who commanded three out of the four divisions of the Nigerian Army in Lagos, Ibadan and Jos.

I am quite aware of the problems we have and I am doing my best to get law enforcement agencies to be on the alert.

Remarkable progress

The President told the Catholic Bishops that he would not be tired of recounting remarkable progress recorded in the areas of security, economy and the fight against corruption.

He said: We have done very well on security in the North East, when you compare what the condition was before we came in and what it is now.

On the economy, particularly agriculture, I am very pleased that God answered the prayers of Nigerians who prayed for bountiful harvest. People have taken advantage of Federal Governments policies and programmes to return to the farm and they have not regretted.

On the fight against corruption, the President reiterated that government would be guided by the law in the investigation and prosecution of all graft-related cases.

People are being prosecuted systematically with evidence. If a permanent secretary has five houses in Abuja, two in Kaduna and one in Borno and Sokoto and he cant account for the properties and there are bank transactions linking him to the properties, the prosecuting agencies will not have difficulties to make progress on the case.

On the question of Federal character, the President declared that no ethnic group or political zone had been deliberately marginalised in the appointments made so far.

He, however, added that he would take a second look at areas on which issues had been raised, when a compendium of all government appointments was submitted to him.

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Home | News | General | Jonathans godson tackles Ebute over comments

By Samuel Oyadongha

YENAGOA FORMER President Goodluck Jonathans godson, Mr George Turnah, has carpeted former Senate President, Ameh Ebute, for his uncharitable comments against Dr. Jonathan.

Senator Ebute, in his reaction to former President Olusegun Obasanjos letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, on the state of the nation, had lampooned the administration of Goodluck Jonathan.

In a letter by Turnah in reply to Senator Ebute, the ex-aide to former NDDC boss expressed concern that instead of the former Senate President to address Chief Obasanjo, he allegedly made unguarded statements against the administration of Dr. Jonathan, which he had commended back in 2013.

He recalled the former Senate Presidents reply to former President Obasanjos letter to the then President Jonathan with the title RE: BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.

In that letter which you carefully drafted, you, Senator Ebute, stated that the Jonathan administration is a pride to Nigeria and has positively impacted on the lives of Nigerians.

Turnah cautioned Senator Ebute to tread carefully and act like an elder statesman.

He said it would have been honourable if the former Senate President had spoken out against the pogrom in Benue State, the poverty and failing systems in the country.

Turnah wondered why the former Senate President could not muster the courage to speak on the crisis confronting the country under the All Progressives Congress, APC-led Federal Government instead of dissipating energy on the past administration.

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Home | News | General | This is what Nigerians are going through - Catholic Bishops pass critical information to Buhari at Aso Rock meeting

- Bishop Ignatius Kaigama, who led the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria to Aso Rock, has informed President Buhari about the situation in the country

- The bishop stated that there is poverty and hardship in the land, and that the presidents goodwill is depleting among Nigerians

- He further expressed sadness over the killings in Benue, Adamawa, Kaduna and Taraba states; and told the president that the nation is nervous

President Muhammadu Buhari has been informed by the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), that due to what they described as failure on the part of government, his goodwill is depleting, The Cable reports.

The comments were made by the CBCN president, Ignatius Kaigama, on Thursday, February 8, as he led his delegation to meet with the president at Aso Rock Villa.

READ ALSO: Herdsmen/farmers crisis: Edo govt bans night grazing, carrying of firearms

NAIJ.com gathers that Kaigama stated that the bishops had a moral responsibility to tell Buhari the truth, as they were spiritual leaders.

He said that they had first-hand information about what people were going through, because they work with people at the grass-root level.

He stated: There is no doubt that when you came into office, you had an enormous amount of the goodwill of Nigerians, since many saw you as a person of integrity who would be able to bring sanity into a system that was nearly crippled by endemic corruption.

Nearly three years later, however one has the feeling that this goodwill is being depleted by some glaring failures of government which we have the moral responsibility to bring to your notice, else we would be failing in our duty as spiritual fathers and leaders.

We work with the people at the grassroots and therefore, have first-hand information about what they are going through.

According to Kaigama, there is so much poverty in the land.

He continued: Many negative forces seem to be keeping a stranglehold on the population, especially the weaker and defenseless ones.

Your Excellency, there is too much suffering in the country: poverty, hunger, insecurity, violence, fear the list is endless.

There is a feeling of hopelessness across the country. Our youths are restive and many of them have taken to hard drugs, cultism and other forms of violent crime, while many have become victims of human trafficking. The nation is nervous.

We are still more saddened by the recent massacre of unarmed citizens by terrorists in some communities in Benue, Adamawa, Kaduna and Taraba states which has caused national shock, grief and outcry.

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Meanwhile, NAIJ.com previously reported that President Muhammadu Buhari said the policy proposed by the federal government in response to the frequent clashes between herdsmen and farmers in the country was not meant to colonise any part of the country.

While receiving the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria in Abuja, President Buhari said the intention of government was to create grazing locations for cattle rearers, which had now been misconstrued as another form of colonisation.

The president said he regretted that the well-thought out policy of the federal government, which was conceived after wide consultations with stakeholders, had been largely misunderstood by a section of the public.

What would you do differently if you were Nigeria's president? - on NAIJ.com TV:

[embedded content]

Source: Naija.ng

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Home | News | General | Farmers-herdsmen clashes: S/South governor bans night grazing, carrying weapons; warns herdsmen to desist from such or risk arrest

- Herdsmen in Edo state have been banned by the state governor, from grazing their herds at night or carrying weapons

- Governor Obaskei stated that the herdsmen did not need AK-47's to graze their cattle and anyone found carrying weapons would be arrested

- A committee has been set up to enforce the ban, and the chairman of the Hausa community in the state expressed readiness to work with the state govt

The Edo state Government has banned night grazing in the state to avert further herdsmen/farmers clashes, NAN reports.

The ban also prohibits the carrying of guns by herdsmen while taking care of their herds.

READ ALSO: Nigerian Air Force announces operational units in 3 states over herdsmen-farmers clashes

NAIJ.com gathers that Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo, who announced this on Thursday, February 8 in Benin, said that the government had set up a seven-man committee in each of the 18 Local Government areas of the state to enforce the order.

Obaseki was speaking at a stakeholders meeting with the Serikin Hausa/Fulani from the 18 LGAs of the state.

Obaseki charged the committee to visit all cases of herdsmen/farmers clashes in all the local government areas for amicable resolution.

The seven-man committee composed included the chairmen of the LGAs, the divisional police officers (DPOs), representatives of State Security Service (SSS) and four representatives from each of the communities in the state.

He said the state government would release the report of clashes between herdsmen and farmers in the state to the committees for review and action.

The committees will ensure the registration of all the Serikin Fulani in every community across all the local government areas and the Serikin Fulani will liaise with everyone rearing cattle in the state.

There will be another committee that will be headed by me that will include the state commissioner of police, the director of the State Security Service, the commander of 4 Brigade.

Every month, we will meet with representatives of the local government committees to review and examine the progress being made in resolving the herdsmen and farmers clashes in the state.

A special team made up of the Police, Army, Civil Defence Corps and other security agencies in the state will carry out random patrols and search operations.

Any herdsman found possessing firearms will be arrested and charged with illegal possession of firearms as cattle rearers do not need an AK-47 to herd cattle, he said.

The chairman of the Hausa Community in the state, Alhaji Badamasi Saleh, requested that mechanism should be put in place to protect the sources of security information as most members of the communities find it difficult to volunteer information to the security agencies.

Saleh pledged readiness of the Hausa and Fulani communities to cooperate with the state government and work with the security agencies to fish out any member of their communities who engages in criminal activities.

He urged the state government to provide the necessary logistics that would aid the task of the monitoring committees in the various local government areas.

The state commissioner of police, Mr Johnson Kokumo, thanked members of the Hausa/Fulani community for finding time to attend the meeting and assured that with their support the clash between herdsmen and farmers will be checked.

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Meanwhile, NAIJ.com previously reported that gunmen suspected to be Fulani herdsmen struck along the busy Benin-Auchi-Okene Highway in Edo state.

The herdsmen killed the immediate past chairman of Etsako-east local government area in the state, Mr Suleiman Afegbua. They also kidnapped 15 travelers along the busy Benin-Auchi-Okene.

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Home | News | General | Fight killer herdsmen same way you fought IPOB, Anirah tells Buhari

By Festus Ahon

ASABAA chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Delta State, Chief Felix Anirah, has challenged President Muhammadu Buhari to fight herdsmen that are killing innocent Nigerians across the country the same way he fought Biafra and Niger Delta agitators to prove his sincerity.

Buhari

Speaking to newsmen in Asaba, shortly after the just concluded PDP governors and National Working Committee meeting, Anirha charged President Buhari to take decisive steps to arrest the rampaging herdsmen who are posing security threat to the country.

He frowned at the alleged double standard of the president in tackling issues of national security, saying: When the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Niger Delta militants crises arose, they were visited with maximum force.

We expect President Buhari to visit herdsmen militia with the same state force by declaring Operation Cow Cry, like he did by declaring Operation Python Dance and Operation Crocodile Smile in the South-South and South- East.

As president of a multi-ethnic contry like Nigeria, he must be seen to be fair and just in action and in words, but sadly, it appears that by his inaction on the issue of herdsmen, the President is ruling the country with two sets of law, one for the Fulanis and another for the rest of us.

He urged Buhari to, as a mark of statesmanship, consider the advice of the two former presidents, Olusegun Obasanjo and Ibrahim Babangida, not run in 2019, but go home and rest.

Anirah added that Old age might have contributed to why the president cannot act swiftly on issues threatening our national security and oneness of the country. It will be a disservice to the nation for Buhari to continue in office beyond May 29, 2019.

I think that Buhari should retire from active politics in 2019 to spend more time with his grand children.

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A former Governor of Kano State and Senator representing Kano Central Senatorial District, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has flagged off his bid to win the 2019 presidency.

He was in Anambra State On Thursday, where he met with the leadership of his group, the Kwankwaso Movement, and the Hausa community in the state.

In his address at the gathering, the presidential hopeful asked for the support of the people to enable him achieve his presidential ambition. He noted that the first hurdle would be to emerge victorious in the primary election.

He listed incessant killings and economic meltdown as what informed his decision to contest.

His words: I am in this contest because I want to restore the lost glory of the country. I have come to see the people of the state and thank them for their support to me.

The South-East region is important in this journey because we cannot do without them.

Election is not a do-or- die and my successor, Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, who is opposing my ambition should have a rethink and join me to better the welfare of Nigerians.

The only hurdle before us is the primary election. I assure you, if I am able to win the primaries, winning the main election will not be difficult because I know I will win.

Kwankwaso commended the Hausa community in the state for coming out en-masse to show support for one of their own.

He described the recent killings in the country as unfortunate and called on the Federal Government to show more concern towards the governed.

On his part, the state chairman of the Kwankwasiyya movement, John Ndiche, commended Kwankwaso for coming to see them despite his tight schedules.

He gave assurances that the state would support his ambition, praying God to grant him victory. Kwankwaso had, on arrival, paid a courtesy call on the traditional ruler of Ogidi, Igwe Alex Onyido, who gave him a royal blessing.
The Peoples Democratic Party has crticised the Presidency for allegedly abandoning its responsibility of governance but now concerned itself with the running of a political party.

It said that the Presidency was more concerned on how to return an obviously unpopular presidential candidate in 2019.

It said that the appointment of a former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, as the leader of the All Progressives Congress Reconciliation Committee by the Presidency was wrong.

It added that Tinubu, who is also the national leader of the ruling party, could not deliver an unpopular presidential candidate in 2019.

The party said the Presidency had become so panicky that it had effectively hijacked the functions of the leadership of its alleged dysfunctional and ideologically-vacuous All Progressives Congress, by appointing people into partisan offices, outside the much-desired responsibility of governance.

The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, in a statement in Abuja on Thursday, said, It is ludicrous that after almost three years of failure to deliver on its campaign promises, the Buhari Presidency is now moving around, cap in hand, looking for those to use once again to beguile Nigerians ahead of the 2019 elections.

Ologbondiyan said that the Buhari Presidency had failed to be remorseful for its alleged misrule, noting that the disagreements in his (Buharis) party were fallouts of members resentment towards his desperation for power.

He said, There is widespread disenchantment and indignation across the nation resulting from hunger and the inability of the Buhari Presidency to provide the people with basic necessities of life, which they had always enjoyed in the past.

Nigerians are therefore waiting to see how Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who has also openly expressed his concerns and disapprovals on the mismanagement of the economy and whose large constituents are direct victims of the ineptitude, impunity, nepotism, dictatorial tendencies, corruption and insecurity that have characterised the Buhari Presidency, will now turn around to preach that all is well and attempt to sell a practically bad product to the nation.

It is instructive to further state that the desperate move by the Presidency to politically prey on individuals is mere foolhardiness and a totally decadent approach to pit key leaders against the people on an issue that has already been thrown overboard.

This is more so as the political institutions and front runners that threw up the Buhari Presidency in 2015 have now, not only regretted their actions, but have also strongly advised that President Buhari should not contemplate contesting a second term in office.

Nigerians today suffer from pains inflicted on them by this administration and no amount of manipulation of individuals and public institutions can make them change their resolve to vote out the APC in 2019, particularly as the party is stuck with an unpopular candidate.

Ologbondiyan added that the PDP found the APCs attempt to reconcile its dwindling ranks as laughable, cosmetic and politically inconsequential.

It will interest the APC to know that Nigerians are already rallying with the repositioned and rebranded PDP as we are poised to present a credible, competent and reliable candidate through a free, fair and transparent presidential primary, he added.

Responding, the APC asked the PDP to steer clear of its internal affairs.

The National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said, Why are they worried about the internal affairs of our party? If the spokesman for the PDP has nothing to say he should shut up, whats their business with our reconciliation?

Why are they concerned that we may not be able to achieve reconciliation? They should leave us alone. They should mind their business; we are ready to take them on issues of governance and policy that should be the focus of opposition not our internal affairs.
Home | News | General | Civil Defence have been given the mandate to provide security to cattle colonies - CG Gana

- The Commandant General of the NSCDC Abdullahi Gana said have been given the mandate to provide security to cattle colonies

- Gana noted that Corps are waiting for the federal government to establish either the colonies, ranches or reserves

- He, however, declared that many personnel have been deployed in at least 40 farms across the country

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) on Thursday, February 8, it had been mandated to provide special security for the federal governments proposed cattle colonies, expressing its resolve to discharge its mandate creditably.

Vangurad reports that commandant general of the Corps Abdullahi Muhammadu Gana, stated this at the decoration of 57 of the newly promoted 3,983 staff of the NSCDC in Abuja.

NSCDC said: ''We have been given the mandate to provide security to cattle colonies, ranches or whatever you may wish to call them.

READ ALSO: The nation is nervous - Catholic bishops tell Buhari

Already, we have a 5,000-strong Agro Rangers Squad, who are saddled with providing security for agro-allied investments and cattle colonies.

''I am happy to say that we have resumed in some of the states and we have deployed personnel in at least 40 farms.

''We are waiting for the federal government to establish either the colonies, ranches or reserves. We are ready to provide the security.''

Addressing the newly-decorated officers, the C-G urged them to see their new ranks as a challenge, urging them not to fail in their duties to the nation.

A member of the Civil Defence Fire Immigration and Prisons Services Board (CDFIPB) Major General Emmanuel Bassey, who represented the Interior Minister, Abdulrahman Dambazau, counselled those who were not among the newly-promoted not to see themselves as inferior.

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Bassey said aside from merit and discipline, the issue of available vacancies and quota system was also considered in promoting the personnel.

He stated: ''Promotion is a privilege because you might meet all the criteria for it and yet you may not be promoted for reasons bordering on available vacancies and national spread or quota system.''

Among the senior officers decorated were the Corps spokespersons Soji Alabi Emmanuel Okeh and Shola Odumosu who were individually elevated to the next rank of Deputy Commandant of Corps (DCC)

Meanwhile, NAIJ.com had reported that government continued to make moves to put an end to the clashes between herdsmen and farmers in the country, 16 states have declared readiness to be part of the cattle colonies initiative to find lasting solution to the problem.

Olukayode Oyedele who is the special assistant to the minister of agriculture, Audu Ogbeh, although he did not reveal their names.

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Home | News | General | 2019 Presidency: APC senator makes moves to unseat Buhari; kicks off campaign in Anambra

- Ahead of the 2019 presidential election, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso has kicked off his campaign with a visit to Anambra

- The senator met with a large group of his supporters in the state and urged them to support his bid which he says was informed by the economic meltdown and killings in the country

- Kwankwaso expressed confidence that he would win the presidential race as long as he is able to emerge victorious at the APC primary election

Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso (APC-Kano Central) has kicked off his 2019 presidential campaign with a visit to Anambra on Thursday, February 8, New Telegraph reports.

During his visit to the southeast state, Kwankwaso, who is also a former governor of Kano state, met with the Hausa community in the state and the leadership of his group in the state, the Kwakwaso Movement, which is led by Eddy Ndiche.

READ ALSO: IBB spokesman to meet with DSS DG, Friday

NAIJ.com gathers that on arrival in the state, Kwankwaso also paid a courtesy call to the traditional ruler of Ogidi, Igwe Alex Onyido, who reportedly gave him a royal blessing.

The senator then moved to Ndiches house, where he noted that his first hurdle would be to emerge victorious at the primaries of the All Progressive Congress, as he addressed his group. To this end, he asked for support to achieve his goal.

The APC chieftain stated that his decision to contest for the presidency was informed by the economic meltdown and incessant killings in the country.

He said: I am in this contest because I want to restore the lost glory of the country. I have come to see the people of the state and thank them for their support to me.

The southeast region is important in this journey because we cannot do without them. I need your support.

Election is not a do-or-die and my successor, Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, who is opposing my ambition should have a rethink and join me to better the welfare of Nigerians.

The only hurdle before us is the primary election. I assure you, if I am able to win the primaries, winning the main election will not be difficult because I know I will win."

He called on the federal government to show more concern towards the governed, as he lamented over the recent killings in the country.

The senator also commended the Hausa community for coming out in large numbers to welcome him.

Speaking at the occasion, Ndiche lauded the senator for making time for the visit despite his busy schedule and assured him that Anambra state would support his ambition.

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Meanwhile, NAIJ.com previously reported that a Non-Govermental Organisation, Kwankwasiyya Pillars of the Nation (KPN), threw its support behind Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.

The group said the former governor's achievement was enough to instill confidence in people that he can rule the country come 2019.

This statement was released by Comrade Jaafar Ishaq Gadun-Albasa, who said that Nigeria needs a person of Kwankwaso's calibre and achievement in 2019.

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Home | News | General | Jubilation as Chinese government offers scholarship to 47 ABU students

- Chinese government said it is impressed with the interest shown by ABU in partnering with Chinese universities

- The government, thus, decided to award scholarship to 47 students of the university

- The vice chancellor of ABU said the said the recipients were students with first class grade, saying that the award was a credit to their efforts

Chinese Ambassador in Nigeria, Dr Zhou Pingjian, on Thursday, February 8, said that his country has decided to award a scholarship to 47 students of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, who graduated with first class.

Pingjian said the scholarship was tagged October 1 Scholarship for China-Nigeria Friendship as both countries got their independence on October 1, Daily Trust reports.

He said: China is the largest economy in Asia and Nigeria is the largest in Africa. On October 1, 1960, Nigeria got her independence, while the Peoples Republic of China got hers on October 1, 1949. The volume of trade between the two countries had remarkably increased, where import from Nigeria to China increased to 79.1%, while the volume of import from China to Nigeria also increased tremendously.

READ ALSO: Farmers-herdsmen clashes: South south governor bans night grazing, carrying weapons

NAIJ.com gathered that Pingjian said that China is impressed with the interest shown by ABU in partnering with Chinese universities.

Everybody knows ABU is the most prestigious in Nigeria and of course on this continent. We are happy ABU has shown degree of interest in partnering with Chinese universities, he added.

In his speech, the vice chancellor of ABU, Professor Ibrahim Garba, said the recipients were students with Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 4.68 and above, saying that the award was a credit to their efforts and a morale booster for the next few years before they graduate.

NAIJ.com previously reported that The Joseph Ayo Babalola University, Ikeji Arakeji, Osun state has announced that it had offered partial scholarships to all students of the institution.

The Punch reports that those in religious studies are the most favoured in the new scholarship which is in the form of reduction of tuition fees.

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Professor Sola Fajana who is the vice chancellor of the institution revealed this new development.

He said the move was made to make education in the school more attractive, especially religious studies.

How we fed, clothed over 17,000 widows with about N60 million - on NAIJ.com TV

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Home | News | General | For attacking Governor Masari's nephew, Kastina youths charge at APC chairman

- The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Shittu Shittu escaped lynching in Katsina

- Shittu had said he hopes Bature Masari who recently decamped to APC did not come to deceive party members when youths charged at him

- The incident happened at the Katsina state Government House on Thursday, February 8

The chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Katsina state, Shittu Shittu, escaped lynching by youths and supporters of Bature Masari who defected to the party from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Vanguard reports that Masari had gone to the Katsina Government House on a solidarity visit to the governor when the incident happened.

He was said to have completed his remarks and solidarity to the governor when Shittu said: I cannot say that I know you (Bature) very well."

READ ALSO: This is what Nigerians are going through - Catholic bishops pass critical information to Buhari at Aso Rock meeting (video)

But I know you were in PDP and you campaigned against us when we were in the struggle.

I hope you have not come here to deceive us and then go away," Shittu said.

In their protest, Masari's supporters who had accompanied him attempted to attack the chairman in the presence of the governor and other senior officials.

READ ALSO: Breaking: Nigerian army mourns as Tukur Buratai loses father

NAIJ.com gathered that it took the intervention of security opertaives in the Government House to rescue Shittu out of the Council Chambers.

Masari, a nephew to Governor Masari, was a two-term Chairman of Kafur local government council.

He later became an Interim Administrator for the council before he was appointed the director general of SMEDAN during the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.

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NAIJ.com earlier reported that over 3,400 members of the APC were said to have defected to PDP in Rivers state.

PDP's spokesperson in the state, Samuel Nwanosike, made the revealtion.

Nwanosike claimed that PDP will win all the 23 local government areas in the state come 2019.

He said Governor Wike's administration has brought hope, peace and development to the people of Rivers state.

PDP's Magnificent 7 for 2019 on NAIJ.com TV

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Home | News | General | El-Rufai has not been fair to the people of Kaduna - APC senator

- The senator representing Kaduna north constituency in the Senate, Suleiman Hunkuyi, has vowed to ensure that Kaduna state governor, Nasir El-Rufai is voted out of power in 2019

- Hunkuyi alleged that the governor had not been fair to the majority of the people in Kaduna state

- The senator stated that he might contest the Kaduna governorship seat in 2019

The All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmaker representing Kaduna north constituency in the Senate, Suleiman Hunkuyi, declared on Thursday, February 8, that Governor Nasir El-Rufai had not been fair to Kaduna state, and vowed to do everything possible to vote him out in 2019, NAN reports.

READ ALSO: Herdsmen/farmers crisis: Edo govt bans night grazing, carrying of firearms

NAIJ.com gathered that the senator stated this in Kaduna, at a ceremony to formally unveil a forum tagged "APC Aspirants Forum".

He said: The battle line has been drawn; we must vote out El-Rufai in 2019 general elections

Hunkuyi, who said that he might contest the Kaduna governorship seat in 2019, stated that the forum was to check and neutralise the power of incumbency.

He accused El-Rufai of not being fair to the majority of the people, saying that the forum would work toward ensuring that non-performing officials were voted out.

Th senator described the forum as a thumb-down revolution to oust El-Rufai, and urged the APC to ensure internal democracy.

The senator said: We will put structures at all levels to ensure that APC followers get credible candidates that will be rallying points for all; anything less is not negotiable.

He added that the forum, which he would lead, would work with APC leaders to ensure that the party executives and political office aspirants emerged through democratic processes.

Senator Hunkuyi urged stakeholders to join hands with the forum to rescue our dear party and Kaduna state from total collapse, and promised to chart a new course in the effort toward a better Kaduna state.

Also speaking, Alhaji Tijjani Ramalan, chairman, Kaduna Restoration Group, said that the group would reject El-Rufais candidacy if he chooses to contest in 2019.

Ramalan alleged that El-Rufais policies and actions were anti-people, and accused him of having no regards to the wishes of those who supported his emergence as governor in 2015.

He urged APC members to support the forum to protect democracy and provide its dividends to the people.

He said: We are told that an APC reconciliation team will come to Kaduna. If they want our support, El-Rufai should not run in 2019."

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Meanwhile, NAIJ.com previously reported that the Kaduna Restoration Group accused Nasir el-Rufai, the Kaduna state governor, of orchestrating his second term endorsement by a section of the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

This was contained in a statement jointly signed by Ahmed Tijjani Ramalan and Yusuf Dankofa, chairman and secretary of the group respectively.

The statement read: ''After spending about three years in office, Governor el-Rufai had dissipated more energy in fighting and abusing perceived enemies, apart from embarking on white elephant and multitude of incomplete and abandoned projects."

KADINVEST economic summit 2017 - on NAIJ.com TV

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Home | News | General | Benue community cries out militia killing, raises serious allegation against state government

- Benue resident accused the state government of supporting a militia

- They claimed their lives are under constant attack

- The residents said they had written to the presidency without reply

Members of Shitile community in Katsina Ala local government area of Benue state have raised serious allegation against the state government claiming it was supporting a militia that was abducting and killing the people.

Premium Times reports that this allegation was contained in a letter written to the presidency and other local and international human rights organisations on the matter.

READ ALSO: Herdsmen/farmers crisis: Edo govt bans night grazing, carrying of firearms

They claimed the militia named Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) had the support of the state government.

The residents claimed they were being hounded and haunted by a reign of terror characterised by frequent and rampant extra judicial killings, physical and psychological battering of women and children and wanton destruction of residential and commercial properties, all at the hands of one Aondona Ishenge.

They said one Mr. Ishenge, otherwise known as Tor-Abaji, and his accomplices among whom is one, Ternenge Orijondo, also known as Or-Ijondo, operate under the canopy proclaimed by him as the Civilian Joint Task Force, CJTF, and purportedly emplaced by the Government of Benue State.

They said the CJTF as a Benue State Government funded quasi-security apparatus is supervised and armed with sophisticated automatic firearms through the office of the Security Adviser, Edwin Jando (rtd) and commanded by one Aliyu Tashaku, who enjoys the ignoble fame of having been an operative of the Boko Haram terrorist group.

They said: In January 2017, there were many killed at Tse-Igbe, while on the 18th, 25th and 26th days of June, 2017, Tor-Abaji, dressed in military uniforms and armed with sophisticated automatic rifles, together with his horde of heavily armed gang moved through Abaji settlement on a spree of destruction, burning down houses and brutalising women and children, after which he arrested some targeted persons whom he took away to an undisclosed located and subjected them to severe torture, resulting in scores of deaths

A number of persons were lucky to have escaped alive from the torture rounds, among them Orafalorlumun Gbiseh and Terfa Achia, both of whom narrated how Tor-Abaji, while torturing his victims had boasted of having the support of government which he bragged placed him above the law, even as he said to have vowed to bring all political opponents of the ruling government to their knees by force of arms.

They said they had reached out to security agencies but nothing has been done yet.

The residents claimed if the CJTF is not tamed in time, it has the capacity to rapidly grow into another terrorism monster in the kind of Boko Haram, Al-Qaeda or Taliban.

Meanwhile, troops of 72 Special Forces Battalion and 177 Guards Battalion on Wednesday, January 31, while on joint clearance operation along Benue and Nassarawa states border, were alerted on the presence of unidentified armed militia.

It was confirmed that the criminals were setting houses on fire in Igacha village, about 4 kilometres away from Kadarko town.

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Benue state governor, Samuel Ortom, yesterday said that he will defect from APC to PDP or any other political party if his people so wish.

Ortom said this yesterday when he received Ekiti state governor, Ayo Fayose who paid him a condolence visit over the killing of 78 persons by suspected herdsmen in January.

Governor Fayose in his speech, called on Governor Ortom to leave APC and move over to PDP where he will be well catered for. He accused the Buhari-led government and the APC of neglecting one of their own states.

In his response, Governor Ortom said he will defect to anyother party if his people so wish him to.

''I am a member of the APC but I cannot keep quiet when my people are being annihilated, I will not accept that because I cannot be Governor over dead people. Im not a dead man either.

The responsibility of enforcing the law is that of the federal government. That is why I have joined the voices calling for the restructuring of the country. Because we cannot have an IGP who is the mouthpiece of Miyetti Allah. And we cannot have a minister who should be protecting the territorial integrity of this country coming out to say it is foreigners that are responsible for the killings. We cannot have a security architecture that is not ready to protect lives and property. That allow herdsmen carry guns and displaying it openly.

Today herdsmen have also taken over kidnapping in the country from North to South because they have guns and are being protected by the IGP and when you talk they start calling you names. I must send a message that Samuel Ortom is not a drowning man. I was a nobody but God lifted me to several important position in life, so I know where Im coming from, Im not a drowning man. I dropped out of school in 1979 but I hold a Doctorate Degree today. After passing through several leadership positions in this country today I am a Governor and Im doing my job. Now it is clear that our country must be restructured for the tenets of rule of law to be respected.

Any herdsmen that is not comfortable with the grazing law should go to Kano where the Governor has requested that they come. Today because of the activities of herdsmen in Benue state over 60,000 of our children can no longer go to school and are residing in seven IDPs camps across the state. They have truncated the education of our children. It very painful. To compound the problem the crisis in Cameroon has spilled to Kwande and we have opened two camps where 7,000 persons are being housed, so on the whole we have nine IDPs camps in Benue state.

After the killings of the 73 people the killings are still continuing almost on a daily basis and more people are coming into the IDPs camps. Though I read that Mr. President has approved the deployment of the military, I thank the President though I have not been communicated officially but I hope it will help in restoring peace and normally. Regrettably his directive to the IGP to relocate to Benue was not obeyed and he also failed to do his job. We are calling for his resignation. Such people cannot work for Mr. President he needs better people to assist him including the Minister of Defence. These are bear footed people who have nothing to offer. I commend the National Assembly for rejecting the biased report of the IGP which portrayed him as the mouthpiece of Miyetti. I am a member of the APC and about the issue of joining another vehicle, Benue people are here and they are hearing you. I cannot decide for Benue people, the people will decide, it is what they want that I will want. Anything Benue people say I should do, I will do. he said
Elders in the All Progressives Congress in Plateau State on Friday said President Muhammadu Buhari never promised Nigerians a rosy passage.

The elders, under the aegis of APC Elders Advisory Council of Plateau State, said when Buhari took over governance, he admitted that Nigerians would face challenges in the short term and then rejoice in the long run.

Speaking in Jos, the state capital, Chairman of APC elders, Capt. Joseph Din, also endorsed Buhari for a second term.

Din said the President has done very well in tackling insecurity, corruption and poverty; while he has also improved the economy by battling recession, brought youth empowerment and created jobs.

According to Din, We hereby unanimously endorse President Muhammadu Buhari as President of Nigeria come 2019 and Rt. Hon. Simon Bako Lalong as governor of Plateau State come 2019.

We all know that this country was heading into economic recession already when Buhari took over in 2015.

It was largely due to the falling prices of crude oil in the international market and the long-term mismanagement of the economy by previous governments.

Nevertheless, this government has been able to steer us away from recession within the shortest possible time.

When President Buhari was taking over, he did not promise Nigerians that it was going to be rosy all through. He admitted that Nigerians were going to face challenges in the short term and then rejoice for a long time.

Due to his economic policies, we have started seeing the difference. For instance, Nigeria produced 15 million metric tonnes of rice in 2017 alone. We are the highest exporter of yams the world over and we are the largest producer of cassava the world over. This has reduced the countrys food importation bill.

We in the Plateau State APC Elders Advisory Council call on President Muhammadu Buhari Governor Simon Bako Lalong to run for a second term in 2019 in order to complete the good work they have started.
Femi Falana, activist lawyer, has called on Federal the Government to stop the reinstatement of the Executive Secretary of National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Prof. Usman Yusuf.

Falana said this in reaction to the reinstatement of suspended Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Usman Yusuf by President Buhari.

The Senior lawyer warned the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to stop insulting the intelligence of Nigerians, adding that the reinstatement of Prof Yusuf cannot be justified in law.

In a statement yesterday in Lagos, Falana said: In line with the provisions of the Public Service Rules, the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and former Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Messers Babachir Lawal and Ayo Oke, were suspended pending the conclusion of investigations into allegations of corrupt practices and money laundering levelled against them.

But the established principle has just been set aside by President Muhammadu Buhari in this case.

In a bid to play on the intelligence of Nigerians, the Federal Government has said the allegation of the criminal diversion of the over N900 million involving the Executive Secretary has not been swept under the carpet and that his purported reinstatement will not stop the investigation being conducted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The Federal Government should be advised to stop insulting the intelligence of Nigerians. Since Section 42 of the Constitution bans the Federal Government from according preferential treatment to any citizen, the reinstatement of Prof Yusuf cannot be justified in law. It should be withdrawn by President Buhari without delay.
Home | News | General | Useful guide on how to transfer money from your Zenith Bank account

This post is for customers of Zenith Bank who wants to know more about transferring funds from their bank account to another account. Learn how to transfer money from Zenith Bank account to other banks.

Thanks to the age of technology and internet solution, banking has become easier and less stressful. People can now send money from their bank accounts to other accounts from the corners of their homes or anywhere they are and the recipient will receive the money instantly. Zenith Bank has made life more convenient for their customers by providing different solutions for transferring money from their accounts to other banks. Transferring money from Zenith Bank to another bank is almost the same as transferring to another Zenith Bank's account, but with a little difference.

There are three different options you can explore when you want to transfer money from your bank account. They include:

Zenith Bank Internet Banking

Zenith Bank mobile app

USSD code for Zenith Bank

Zenith Bank Internet Banking

READ ALSO: Top 10 online payment platforms in Nigeria

To use the Zenith Bank Internet Banking, you must have signed up for the internet banking access and you must have a hard token hardware. The hard token is a small device which you will use to generate different unique codes every time you want to make a transfer.

Visit ibank.zenithbank.com and log into your account using your account number, password or pin, and token.

Once you are logged in, go to the transfer option segment and select transfer to other bank accounts.

Enter carefully all the necessary details as required on the transfer page interface. Make sure to select the name of the bank.

Press the button on your hardware token to generate a code which you will enter in the box provided for the token on the page.

Once youve crosscheck everything to be ok, you can click on the proceed option, and the money will be transferred at once.

Transferring money to accounts in other banks attract a transfer charge fee. Note that transfers to other banks outside Nigeria use a different platform and attract different charges from transferring to other banks in Nigeria.

Zenith Bank Mobile App

You can download the Zenith Bank mobile app on your phone. The steps required are similar to using internet banking. Once you have the app downloaded on your phone and its authorized, you can use it to transfer funds to other bank accounts. The Zenith Bank Mobile app is available on AppStore, Google Play, and BlackBerry World.

USSD code for Zenith Bank

You can easily transfer money from your Zenith Bank account from your mobile phone without the need for the Internet. To do so, just follow the simple steps below:

Dial *966*Amount*Account Number# from your mobile number registered with your account at Zenith Bank. For example, *966*1000*1234567890#.

Then follow the on-screen instructions that follow.

We hope this information has been helpful. You can visit the banks website at www.zenithbank.com for more information or the customer help desk at a local branch.

READ ALSO: Zenith Bank Internet banking registration guide

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Home | News | General | Opinion: Missing points in Kadria's core show on herdsmen/farmer crises

Editor's note: The federal government's handling of herdsmen/farmers crisis has continue to generate reactions from Nigerians. While many Nigerians believe that the government is not doing enough to end the crisis, other think that the crisis is over-hyped by the media.

In this article, a lecturer at the department of African Languages and Cultures, University of Warsaw, Poland, Ahmad Shehu, writes about a TV analysis of the crisis.

The show anchored by Kadria Ahmed on channels the core programme on Wednesday, February 7, 2018 was arguably the most balanced and most unbiased TV coverage of the herders/farmers crises in Nigeria.

It seems that if fair reportage and hearing is given to both sides, more Nigerians will be educated on this issue and the falsehood will come to an early end.

READ ALSO: 2019: Kwakwaso kicks off presidential campaign in Anambra

This is evident in Governor Ortom's embarrassing appearance on the programme. The cable news had published the most important takeaways from show here: https://www.thecable.ng/ten-takeaways-kadaria-ahmeds-show-herdsmen-farmers-crisis.

Though this programme is considerably the best we have had in the management of this conflict, there are still basic facts on the side of the herdsmen that need to be known. Here are some of the points:

1. The number of (None herdsmen) Fulani people confirmed and published to have been killed in Mambilla alone was 800. This fact needs to be mentioned because the other side of the debate had kept on punching on the numbers of farmers killed. That is called fair statistics.

2. The Nigerian army General, Ahonutu, who was posted to curtail the massacre categorically stated that this was a genocide, which he said was worse than BH's, the scale of which he has never seen in his life.

3. No one mentioned the 55 Numan children and women murdered by farmers militias just in November last year. Among these defenceless kids was my 3-day old cousin. This shouldn't have been omitted.

4. The most recent barbarism in Gboko where 7 Fulani people were burnt to ashes, an incident the Nigerian media refused to cover, but was widely discussed should have been pointed out against Governor Ortom's militia project.

5. The Mambilla, Numan, Katibu and other Fulani towns massacred by militias are not herdsmen or nomads. Just like other ethnicity, they have lived there from time immemorial. So the conflict is not just a mere herders/farmers thing.

6. The fact that some local governments dominated by a different ethnic group in the same Benue state are living in peace with the herders is an indication that there is more to this problem than meets the eye. This should have been pointed out, too.

7. The documentary itself was not fair and balanced enough. While the Tiv victims in Benue were visualized and their comments viewed loudly, the Fulani victims of the same crises were not given the chance, and the true victims of the Mambilla genocide who are now in refugee camps in some parts of Cameroon were nowhere to be found. That is not fair.

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8. Finally, no one called out the true nature of the evil image the Nigerian media is painting on the whole Fulani ethnic group. Its nicknames are ethnic stereotyping, profiling or dehumanization. But its real name is genocide.

Meanwhile, NAIJ.com had earlier reported that three persons have been confirmed killed while many others are still missing following Thursday night, February 8, attack on Tsokwa village in Anyii, Logo Local Government area of Benue state by some armed men.

Nigerian herdsmen vs Nigerian farmers - on NAIJ.com TV

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Home | News | General | What former President Obasanjo hopes to achieve with his Coalition for Nigeria Movement - PRP

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo and other old politicians in the country decided to establish the Coalition for Nigeria Movement (CNM) simply for the sole purpose of ensuring they secure relevance, the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) has claimed.

The PRP chairman pleaded with Nigerians to reject the coalition alleging that the old politicians want to use it to secure power through the backdoor.

The Nation reports that Professor Mahmud Aliyu, the interim chairman of the party in Kwara state, spoke with journalists in Ilorin, that both the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lacked ideologies.

READ ALSO: PDP senator reportedly demands arrest of former President Jonathan

It is only PRP that can salvage Nigeria from its current economic, social and political challenges, Aliyu said adding that the emergence of new generation of leaders is the solution to the countrys challenges.

He added that the clamour for restructuring in many quarters is misplaced since what Nigeria needs now is good governance.

PRP remains the Nigerias option to take the country to the Promised Land. Let us free this country from the crutches of internal colonialism and local imperialism.

The challenge before all true Nigerian patriots, therefore, is to rededicate ourselves to the goal of promoting the indivisible unity, the unfettered progress and the democratic rebirth of the Nigerian federation.

This requires personal and collective sacrifices, as well as the development of the organizational structures that are essential for the delivery of these ideals. PRP is pledged to provide the platform and the leadership in developing exactly these structures and in delivering these ideals.

Nothing is changing and nothing will change with the crop of people at the helms of affairs of this country presently.

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Genuine change will be brought by Almighty God come 2019. All we are seeing now is merely cosmetic change, he said.

NAIJ.com earlier reported that a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti state, Bayo Orire, has described the Coalition for Nigeria Movement (CNM) recently formed by ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo as peopled by old politicians often seen as corrupt.

According to Orire, the coalition has members who had contributed to Nigerias downfall.

Consider rest - Obasanjo to Buhari - on NAIJ.com TV

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Home | News | General | Assessing Haruna's change mantra in NASENI by Best Agbese (Opinion)

Editor's note: Best Agbese, an expert in oil and gas engineering, has assessed agencies and directors under the present administration.

Using National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), Agebse said national agencies and institutions like the Nigeria Airforce (NAF) have found NASENI a convenient destination for personnel and technicians training in networking tools and techniques in line with the executive order on local content for goods and services.

Nigerians have held President Muhammadu Buhari on public accountability strictly on his professed sobriquet of Change mantra, in the administration of Nigeria.

Before May 2015, there was a unanimous consensus among Nigerians that the country had slipped into very dangerous abyss of ennui, where virtually all public institutions and agencies collapsed pathetically, amid mounting problems.

Therefore, President Buhari ascended the Presidency of Nigeria on the banner of a reformer and redeemer, with a vow to change the narrative positively.

And frantically, all civilized nations assume the status through the development and promotion of science and technology. However, its application in Nigeria was not only abandoned, but regrettably disappeared from the binoculars and psyche of national planners or policy makers.

President Buharis retention of the Ministry of Science and Technology, after trimming down the number of ministries sent his signals to pull back Nigeria from this regressive obscurity of Science and technology in national life.

Hitherto, some federal agencies like the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) were cold- dead agencies, which existed only in nomenclature and a huge staff base.

READ ALSO: Breaking: PDP deputy chairman in Niger decamps to APC

NASENI, with a gargantuan mandate ought to have been the bedrock of the development of science and technology, failed to register its presence in tackling the multifaceted challenges of a technology-driven economy of Nigeria.

But the mindset and focus of Mr. President has rejigged the tale. And in NASENI specifically, an agency mandated to provide engineering infrastructure to effectively service the nations technological needs in consumables has attuned into the change mantra code.

The last two years have ingrained silent ineradicable footprints in bravura development of home-grown technology, spanning many sectors. The awe-inspiring breakthroughs are already transforming the lives of Nigerians in some communities. Surprisingly too, the agency has its eyes eagerly fixed on erecting a platform of launching Nigeria into the prestigious clan of technologically endowed countries of the world soonest.

Nigerias glorious songs in technological advancement have been ennobled by NASENIs executive vice chairman and chief executive, (EVC/CE), Prof Mohammed Sani Haruna and his team. They are quietly exploring the several windows abound in the agency to redesign the face of Nigeria in the application of its indigenous knowledge of science and technology to provide solutions to national problems.

And in the last couple of years, even with little resources at his disposal, Professor Harunas innovations in research and development, commitment and unyielding exploration of fresh grounds have posted confounding results. It has surged NASENI, a once decrepit agency into national and international limelight, with breathtaking technological inventions and creativity, which are proudly Nigerian.

An archetypal, professional engineer and administrator per excellence, Prof. Haruna, has dramatized his ingenuity in leadership of the agency, in consonance with President Buharis leadership of Nigeria. Buhari , who is the executive chairman and doubles as chairman, Governing Board of NASENI .

READ ALSO: Kogi indigene drags Governor Yahaya Bello to court over plans to provide land as cattle colonies

The EVC/DG has placed the agency and its dozen institutes, perpetually on a fast rewarding lane of productivity as exposed in this interview that NASENI has continued to design and fabricate products that have bettered the lives of Nigerians and also transferred these technologies to SMEs.

Like President Buhari, Professor Haruna unmistakably blends words with action and the vaults of NASENI under the few years of his leadership display admirable and fascinating treasures in indigenous technology. An ardent apostle of the Executive Order on Local content, the EVC has struck partnerships and synergies with local partners in enhancing the work of the agency.

He has leveraged on the commonplace technological void, which afflict Nigerians, but attract huge foreign exchange expenditure to deliver his message of emancipation to Nigerians. The agencys shadows now roam splendidly in power, industrial, education, agriculture, transport sectors as well as in mechanical re-engineering of the electronic voting system.

It is to NASENIs credit that some Nigerian communities now regale in micro-power generation liberty with the development of locally researched and produced Small hydro-power (SHP) Propeller Turbines of three different models. The brainchild of the Engineering Materials Development Institute (EMDI), the Turbines are already effectively supplying 10 KW electricity to communities, like the Awara Dam facility in Ikare, Ondo state.

To demonstrate his leadership prowess, NASENI under Haruna has crazily romanced technology in many novel ways. The Ikeji-ille Ijesa community in Osun state is powered by the agencys Cross Flow Turbine, which generates up to 70 KW of electricity. And likewise, the Mada Community at Gudi hamlet, in Nasarawa state has continued to celebrate a 5 KW Kinetic Turbine installed for power supply.

And further deconstructing the underbelly of hydro-power generation in Nigeria, NASENI has also developed a 10 KW Propeller Turbine, whose capacity to generate power is merely pressure from a pipe -borne water source.

But with eyes set on long targets, Professor Haruna has reactivated and upgraded the 5 MW Solar panel manufacturing plant at Karshi, Abuja and converted into a limited liability company renamed as NASENI Solar Energy Limited (NSEL).

READ ALSO: 2019 Presidency: APC senator makes moves to unseat Buhari; kicks off campaign in Anambra

At the moment, NSEL produces solar panels and modules for Nigerians. It has also developed a high voltage testing laboratory, a vital component or unit for all power generation companies.

And by 2019, through a partnership with a firm in China, its capacity is planned to build up to 25MW and, an increased local content targeted to jump from 40- 95 percent, to land a mass production of cheaper solar panels and power transformers for domestic uses and exportation to other African nations.

The agricultural sector, which is another prime sector President Buhari has targeted for attaining food security and self-sufficiency, in the bid to diversify Nigerias mono-economy, NASENI has registered imprints. Professor Haruna has actualized the development of efficient Deep Well hand pumps and centrifugal pumps for irrigation purposes in the pursuit of all-year farming agenda of Nigeria.

Through the technique of reverse engineering, the agric sector is also infested with other goodies, as farmers can now boast of mobile cassava graters, rice threshers and harvesters, yam pounding machines, fish dryer, table top seed oil mills for easy extraction of oil from various genetic seeds.

READ ALSO: Ahead of 2019 election, APC begins registration of new members in Ebonyi

However, NASENI has pleasantly shocked Nigerians by pioneering the development of first made- in Nigeria passenger and cargo tricycles with improved features. These are low cost vehicles, and designed for the convenience of rural dwellers, intended to solve the haunting problems of haulage of agric produce from rural areas to urban market centers.

It like, the EVC has a knack for scoring first. So, the Haruna led agency has also produced the first made- in Nigeria motorcycle, with 65 percent of its components locally sourced. And plans are in top gear to commence mass production anytime from now.

Nigerias industrial sector is experiencing a blaze of glorious moments and products.

NASENI has launched multiple mud brick making machines and Injection nozzles. it is producing machine components/spare parts and molds, which has sent a message to the outside world that the indigenous importation racket would soon be broken.

Added, there is NASENI engineered Laterite Grinders as well as Laterite Mixers, whose proficiency is comparable to foreign ones and a lot similar interventions in the offing.

And in order to vacate the perennial problem of electoral malfeasances prevalent in Nigeria and Africa generally, through credible polls, a unique solar-powered electronic voting machine (e-voting machine) has been developed.

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It has cloud-based collation of election results devices anywhere. Some, other outstanding features of the e-voting machine ensures and guarantees all segments of elections on the same day and time, much as conveying electronically, flawless or indisputable results.

These days, national agencies and institutions like the Nigeria Airforce (NAF) have found NASENI convenient a destination for personnel and technicians training in networking tools and techniques in line with the executive order on local content for goods and services.

This was impossible in the past, as foreign training would have usurped such roles for lack of a suitable, viable and functional internal agency like NASENI to render such services.

It is therefore, pertinent to buttress that Professor Harunas leadership of NASENI is configured after President Buharis mindset and actions in tandem with the change mantra.

To understand that despite the poor funding of the agency, he has been able to promenade the agency on the path of unprecedented development is commendable.

Nigeria is craving for the sort of quality and focused leadership offered by Professor Haruna as the helmsman of NASENI.

Its quite amazing that the results as manifest in work done is far beyond the limits of federal resources at its disposal. It again, trumpets Buharis message of inward search for solutions to Nigerias problems by the different heads in the lower rungs of leadership.

No wonder, this devout and result-oriented leader, has earned the confidence of the Honorable Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, another scientific guru. He has entrusted Professor Haruna with chairmanship of various committees in the ministry to illuminate the path of development in science and technology for Nigeria.

The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of NAIJ.com.

Your own opinion articles are welcome at info@corp.naij.com drop an email telling us what you want to write about and why. More details in Naij.coms step-by-step guide for guest contributors.

Were ready to trade your news for our money: submit news and photo reports from your area using our Citizen Journalism App.

Contact us if you have any feedback, suggestions, complaints or compliments. We are also available on Twitter.

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Home | News | General | Opinion: The problem with Obasanjo and his coalition

Editor's note: The establishment of the Coalition for Nigerian Movement (CNM) by the former President Olusegun Obasanjo, has continued to generate reactions from Nigerians both locally and internationally.

In this article, a public analyst, Emmanuel Ugwu, writes about the problem with the establishment of the coalition.

Of all the rulers who have contributed to the underdevelopment of Nigeria and the impoverishment of her people, President Olusegun Obasanjo is the most hypocritical and hypercritical.

Obasanjo suffers from the excessive need to be seen and heard. His attitude is the very definition of existential superiority: I am Obasanjo and you are not!

READ ALSO: UPDATED: 3 killed, several injured in fresh attack on Benue community

It is a testament to the patience of the Nigerian people that Obasanjo struts around freely, parading himself as a moral authority.

It is a testament to our high abuse threshold that we reflexively absorb, analyze and extrapolate his nagging intrusions. It is a testament to our shortage of self-respect that we swoon over him each time he seizes on the depression of the nation to launch a new peacock campaign.

Obasanjo debuted his Coalition for Nigerian Movement in Abeokuta last week. He had earlier plugged the coalition in the special press statement in which he advised President Buhari not to stand for reelection.

He billed the initiative as an emergency vehicle to rescue Nigeria from the disaster of bad leadership.

Fortunately, the narcissist gave away his real intent at the launch. He unveiled the supposedly national salvation mission as a vanity circus. In a speech larded with exh*ibitionist metaphors, he said his coalition was the new dance in town. The new song in town. The ceremony in town. The big masquerade.

Obasanjos characterization of his coalition as a masquerade was apt. But it is more fitting of the person of the man than the germ of his idea.

Obasanjo is an insatiable, attention-starved masquerade. An audaciously pretentious conman. An ugly, perennial problem that dances around the square, craving to be celebrated as a handsome and fresh solution

His coalition is nothing but the transparent collusion of the old guard.

He appointed Olagunsoye Oyinlola, the least avant-garde politician one can possibly imagine, to head his proposed fresh blood revolution.

He picked his 67-year-old sidekick -a retired military officer, former governor and traditionalist thinker -to midwife his dream youthquake!

The meddlesome ubiquity of Obasanjo underscores the psychology of entitlement that binds his megalomaniac caste together. They are tenaciously possessive and defensive of their presumed prerogative to micromanage Nigeria. They feel fated to rule Nigeria. They are persuaded that it is their lot to have the final say on the nations affairs.

They consider public office their natural habitat. They are at ease in the detached realm of power and privilege. From their perch, they see only a bright and beautiful Nigeria. They speak only of moving the nation forward.

Outside the corridors of power, they struggle like a fish out of water. They become irascible firebrands. Their eyes open to the pervasive human suffering in the environment. They discover candour and start ventilating anti-establishment truths.

The Nigerian politician resents his life below the rung of power. He regards it as a subhuman demotion. He hates having to adapt to ordinariness. He strives to reincarnate into the exclusive quantum state, to recycle himself into livable relevance. And his strategy is inveigling himself into the peoples solidarity.

Obasanjo intrusively confronts us as the sublime example of the necessity of habitual ambition to the survival of the failed Nigerian ruler.

He has had his day. But he wont accept that he is now a superannuated tin god. He is sustained and invigorated by the aspiration to regain his self-appointed role as Nigerias puppeteer.

He received the instrument of surrender from the Biafran army after Benjamin Black Scorpion Adekunle had effectively won the war. The assassination of General Murtala Mohammed saw him become the head of state for 3 years and 7 months.

Two decades after Obasanjo left office, the kingmakers clique of the Nigerian military visited his farm and press-ganged the almost broke returnee from prison to run for president.

In the run-up to 1999 elections, Nigerians were eager to turn the page on military dictatorship. They embraced Obasanjo in the hope that he would guide Nigeria on her return to democracy and bequeath to the nation a compass for orienting herself on the journey. He had seemed fairly presidential: sober, studious and statesmanly.

READ ALSO: Update: Nigerian army mourns as Tukur Buratai buries father

He had been inveighing against successive juntas. He established the Africa Leadership Forum, a scholars tryst devoted to the interrogation of the leadership challenge of Africa. He appeared to be the prudent choice to lead Nigeria into a post-coup dawn.

Obasanjo institutionalized the key elements of antidemocratic criminality that have become an integral part of the Nigerian experience. He passed on the warped precepts that are now the grundnorm. He inflicted on Nigeria the script of parody that our present actors are interpreting.

Obasanjo de-ideologized the political party system in Nigeria. He abolished debate and banned freedom of thought in his political party. He sponsored civil wars in opposition parties and openly rewarded his hired moles.

Obasanjo coarsened the language of presidential communication. He hired spokesmen and commissioned them to transmit unprintable slurs to Nigerians on his behalf. He modeled the ceding of a corner of the presidency to rabid attack dogs.

In January 2016, Obasanjo wrote 'a holy epistle' to the National Assembly, calling the members greedy and corrupt. He conveniently neglected to implicate himself for his well-reported part in conditioning appetite for inducement in the Nigerian parliament.

Obasanjo indulged corruption when it benefited him and his cronies. He fought corruption when it enriched a disloyal crook. He built his presidential library, Bells University and an expansionist farm business through extortion, kickbacks and stealing.

Obasanjo was the author of do or die elections. He framed the polls as real-life war and victory as capture. He presided over a bloody season of unresolved politically motivated killings and brazen vote heists.

This same Obasanjo hollowed out the party primaries with the practice of imposition of candidates.

He installed his favorites everywhere. His ultimate manipulative veto gave us the doubly unsuitable pair of a diseased president Yar'Adua and a depraved vice president Jonathan and the chain of events which culminated in the rehabilitation of Muhammadu Buhari as a rescue presidential candidate.

Obasanjo is the quintessential Nigerian politician. They are the major characters of the tragedy but they are loath to reckon with their past. They never confront their demons and admit their failures. They externalize blame and sell themselves as the solution.

After despoiling Nigeria from their respective corners, these folks do not retire. They do not vacate the public space. They are not content to enjoy the private paradises they built at the cost of the peoples misery.

As soon as they lose incumbency, they segue to the career of social activism. In an instant, they become solicitous advocates of good governance. They condemn in strongest terms the very conventions they authored while their sun shined.

Then, they mix up their sententious moral crusade with creative accounting. They contrive a sanitized and revisionist myth of themselves. They overwrite the facts of their wasted years in public office, present their tenure as the gold standard, and curse todays men of power for falling short of the glory.

Obasanjo, for one, would not keep a low profile and give Nigerians the opportunity of forgiving his locust legacy. Even at 80, he refuses to go quietly into the night. He hankers after the spotlight and grabs the psychological moment to playact as Nigerias messiah.

Nigeria, however, does not need Obasanjo to save her. He can do nothing, by way of penance or restitution, to make up for his damages. And Nigerians do not need Obasanjo to serve them reminders that he exists. He has become a public nuisance. The little good Obasanjo can do for the masses is to leave them alone.

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Each time Obasanjo interposes between Nigerians and their rulership, he diverts public attention to his wretched credentials. He distracts the people from ideating their way out of the leadership crisis he has helped perpetuate.

Obasanjo should take a vow of seclusion and quietness. Its double wickedness to foster a climate of suffering and detract your poor victims from imagining a better existence.

Meanwhile, NAIJ.com had previously reported that Chief Olusegun Obasanjos call for the establishment of a coalition for Nigeria has reportedly started gaining prominence as members of the National Assembly are ready to defect when the time comes.

2019 reelection bid: Should President Buhari heed Obasanjo's advice? - on NAIJ.com TV

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Home | News | General | APC senator hails Catholic bishops for telling President Buhari the truth

- Senator Shehu Sani says some visitors sing praises when they visit President Buhari

- the president finally speaks on herdsmen-farmers crisis

Senator Shehu Sani has hailed some Catholic Bishops for telling President Muhammadu Buhari the true state of affairs in the country.

The lawmaker who represents Kaduna central at the National Assembly in a Tweet on Friday, February 9, said while some visitors to the presidential villa sing praises when they visit Muhammadu Buhari, the clerics spoke the truth and the president humbly listened.

READ ALSO: 2019: Kwakwaso kicks off presidential campaign in Anambra

NAIJ.com had reported that President Muhammadu Buhari has said the policy proposed by federal government in response to the frequent clashes between herdsmen and farmers in the country is not meant to colonise any part of the country.

Premium Times reports that while receiving Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) led by Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama, on Thursday, February 8, in Abuja, President Buhari said the intention of government is to create grazing locations for cattle rearers, which has now been misconstrued as another form of colonisation.

READ ALSO: 2019: Kwakwaso kicks off presidential campaign in Anambra

Condemning recent spate of killings in Benue, Adamawa, Taraba, and Zamfara states, the president said security operatives would ensure prosecution of perpetrators and all those found with illegal arms in the affected areas.

Buhari told the Catholic Bishops that he would not be tired of recounting remarkable progress recorded in the areas of security, economy and the fight against corruption.

On the fight against corruption, the president said the government would be guided by the law in the investigation and prosecution of all graft-related cases.

Meanwhile, three persons have been confirmed killed while many others are still missing following Thursday night, February 8, attack on Tsokwa village in Anyii, Logo Local Government area of Benue state by some armed men.

Channels reports that the chairman of Logo local government, Nyajo Richard, said on Friday morning, February 9, that the attackers suspected to be herdsmen stormed the village around 8:00 pm in large number shooting at different directions and burning down houses in the village, in the process.

NAIJ.com gathered that one of the villagers died at the scene of the attack while two victims who were rescued died in the process of reviving them.

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Victims of herdsmen killing buried in Benue state - on NAIJ.com TV

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Home | News | General | UPDATED: 3 killed in fresh attack on Benue community

- Three persons have been reportedly killed in fresh Benue attack

- The attack occurred on Thursday, February 8

- Several people were said to have been injured while other fled the communities after the attack

Three persons have been confirmed killed while many others are still missing following Thursday night, February 8, attack on Tsokwa village in Anyii, Logo Local Government area of Benue state by some armed men.

Channels reports that the chairman of Logo local government, Nyajo Richard, said on Friday morning, February 9, that the attackers suspected to be herdsmen stormed the village around 8:00 pm in large number shooting at different directions and burning down houses in the village, in the process.

NAIJ.com gathered that one of the villagers died at the scene of the attack while two victims who were rescued died in the process of reviving them.

Three other survivors are currently receiving treatment at the local NKST hospital in Anyii, Logo Local Government Area of the state.

The local government chairman explained further that the divisional police officer has mobilised policemen to the community for recovery operations and to search for those who are still missing since the attack.

As at the time of filing this report, the commissioner of police is yet to respond to the fresh attack, as calls put through to his mobile phone could not go through.

Many villagers were killed on January 1, 2018, where some armed men attacked Logo Local Government Area. The survivors have been displaced from their homes as they remain largely at various IDP camps in the local government because their villages are still not safe for their return.

READ ALSO: 2019: INEC asks EFCC to monitor politicians spending

Four residents informed Premium Times in separate exchanges that residents in Anyiin are panicked and are on the run.

Residents said Nigerian soldiers who were alerted about the attacks brought five villagers who were critically wounded to the hospital in Anyiin.

Theyre at NKST Hospital now in Anyiin, "Terkura Suswam, a politician and founder of Ashi Polytechnic in Anyiin, told Premium Times by telephone.

One of the villages is Tsukwa, which was among those attacked on January 1. The village recorded up to 10 casualties in that attack, according to residents who spoke with Premium Times two weeks ago.

Tsukwa is about a mile from Anyiin, which has a police special forces unit and one of the biggest camps for the internally displaced persons in Benue state.

The commander of the special forces, Ibrahim Ignatius, told Premium Times he was not aware of the attack because he is in Makurdi, the state capital.

The divisional police officer of Anyiin division, Celestine Utim, said he was trying to find out what is going on.

Another Anyiin resident who confirmed the attack to was Alijah Auna, the secretary of the IDP camp there.

Yes, theyve been attacking villages around Anyiin this night, Auna said. Many people at the camp here have started running away.

But I am still at the camp, he added.

It was not immediately clear the number of villages that were attacked Thursday night.

Witnesses said the attackers had fled before soldiers arrived at some of the villages.

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Scores of villagers were killed in the January 1 attacks in Logo LGA. Survivors have remained largely at various IDP camps in the local government because their villages are still not safe for their return, despite the polices assertions that the areas had been secured.

Meanwhile, NAIJ.com had earlier reported that the Edo state government banned night grazing in the state to avert further herdsmen/farmers clashes. The ban also prohibits the carrying of guns by herdsmen while taking care of their herds.

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The Senate majority leader, Ahmed Lawan on Friday said that the upper legislative chamber will deliberate on the possibilities of the country having state police.

He spoke with State House journalists after observing jumaa at service at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

According to him, the senate is currently looking towards reviewing the countrys security architecture and will be open to any suggestion that will it achieve the objective.

He commended Vice President Yemi Osinbajo for suggesting state and community policing, adding that the Senate would bring it on board.

He said Well, Im not a legislature as such because I am only one member of the legislature. But as a committee member of the adhoc committee on security and the review of security infrastructure in Nigeria, I believe that the suggestion by the Vice President that we should go the way of state Police and even consider community policing, is very good suggestion and we are going to take it on board in the National Assembly

The senator also hailed President Muhammadu Buharis appointment of the former Governor of Lagos state Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to reconcile warring factions within the ruling All Progressives Congress.

Read Also: Senate rejects report linking Fulani herdsmen, Benue militia to killings

While pointing out that the committee is coming late, he said that it is expected to add value to APC which he said is plagued by some internal issues.

In fact that that committee should have been constituted long time ago because APC is plagued by some internal issues and I believe that these are issues that are surmountable.

The Tinubu committee will definitely add value into reconciling the warring sides so to speak. Time is against us, we have to really kickstart these process of reconciliation immediately and I believe that as a family we should be able to come out very much united that we were before. he said

The Senator also urged Nigerians to be positive and support governments efforts at surmounting insecurity challenges in the country.

He also commended the recent collaboration between the legislature and the executive particularly, the just concluded national security summit, towards tackling security challenges in the country.
Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State has told the Catholic Bishops that it was only those that looted the nations treasury and those that carried the countrys money with Jet to South Africa that were angry with the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

The governor also said that some religious leaders were angry because avenues to loot money and take to the Churches and Mosques have been blocked by the Buharis government.

The Kogi State governor also told State House correspondents in an interview after the jumaat service at the State House mosque, Presidential Villa Abuja, that the recent alteration of election time table by the two chambers of the National Assembly, will help to determine the popularity of the lawmakers.

He contended that some of the lawmakers at the national assembly rose on the back of the popularity of President Buhari to win election in 2015, adding that the adjustment of the time table will help to weed out the bad members among them.

He also said that he believed in the ability of the national leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to reconcile all aggrieved party members based on the new assignment given to him by the President.

On Tinubus committee, he said, Of course. Whatever Mr. President believes in, his judgement and his wisdom I believe in him. And I believe in his ability to bring all party members together.

Commenting on the rearrangement of the election time table, Bello said, I so much appreciate this. I think if you observe critically what happened in the last election where Mr. President was elected along with other members of National Assembly.

Then, we called it Buhari Tsunami, where the good, the bad and the ugly were all put together and elected. It is either going to be in their interest that the Buhari Tsunami will return them or everybody will be on his or her own.

Let Buhari return and let Nigerians select the good ones out of the bad ones to return to the National Assembly. Which ever order it comes in this upcoming general elections, I can assure you that Mr. President will win landslide and the good ones will return to the National Assembly.

When asked whether the lawmakers will be the losers of the proposed table time, he said that the unpopular ones among them will be the ultimate losers.

He said, They have the choice to make and they have made their choice that the good will of Mr. President should not rob on the bad ones. Surely, the good ones on their own account will return to the National Assembly at the appropriate time.

Commenting also on the submissions of the Catholic Bishops under the umbrella of Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, CBCN, in the meeting with the President on Thursday where the Bishops told the President that Nigerians were angry as a result of alleged bad governance and imbalance in the system, the governor said it was those who had looted the countrys funds that were angry because sources of their free money had been blocked by the government.

He said, Yes. I followed it (the Bishops meting) keenly and one of the key statement there was that Nigerians are angry. Yes, it is very true that Nigerians are angry but the question is who are this category of Nigerians who are angry?

The category of Nigerians that are angry are those who used private jets to cart away Nigerias money in dollars out of the country to South Africa. Im sure you are away that our money is still locked down there, such money if you bring it into the economy, a lot of youths that are unemployed will surely be employed.

And of course those that have looted the country dry and normally go to the church and mosque to pay tithe are no longing doing so, of course we these are the category of people that are angry.

If you look at it critically, the farmers, those with real jobs are happy because the economy is improving. In no time we have come out of recession, our foreign reserve is increasing, no more bombing in Sambisa, no more bombing in the country, no more bombing in Embab plaza even as close as Abuja, no more bombing in Suleja and all over the country. I think those that are benefiting from these crimes and criminality will be angry and they are Nigerians. So it is important to define the category of people who are angry.

I want to urge Nigerians to continue to appreciate Mr. President, pray for him so that the good work he has started he will complete it, so that Nigeria will be not of the woods.

On his plan to sell some important assets of the state and the criticisms that have trailed the plan, Bello said, Well, to them you call it important but to us it is not important. It is not important because they are tying down the capital and good money of state that would have been used for other developmental projects.

You dont have an important project that is not adding values whatsoever to the lives of the people of Kogi State. And such projects can be converted and used to solve the problems that you are confronted with today. We are in deficit of road infrastructure, schools are in shambles, hospitals and the rest of them.

So, why keeping an asset that is not yielding anything value all in the name of this is Kogi asset instead of use it for what will benefit the people more and add value to the system.

You see, this is politics playing but we will not be deterred by some uninformed so called elites that are here in Abuja making noise. Let them come to Kogi State and compare two years of my stewardship with previous administration, then they will know that they are completely off the track. I think the people of Kogi State are with me and appreciate the much we are doing.
The last batch of 200 Nigerian peacekeepers deployed in Liberia under the UN Mission in Liberia have withdrawn after five years following the conclusion of their mission in the country.

The last military protection force in UNSMIL left Liberia on Thursday as part of the termination of the missions mandate, scheduled on March 30, the mission said.

UNMIL was established in September 2003 to monitor a ceasefire agreement in Liberia following the resignation of President Charles Taylor and the conclusion of the Second Liberian Civil War and the Nigerian contingent has been deployed there since then.

An official farewell ceremony was held on Monday in honour of the departing Police and Military personnel who have served with the Mission.

Read more: Nigeria tried for us but we need help to return home  Oru-Ijebu ex-refugees from Sierra Leone, Liberia

This symbolised the end of UNMILs military and police operations in Liberia, more than 14 years after UNSMIL was deployed in compliance with Security Council resolution 1509 (2003).

The Mission began in 2003 with 16,475 uniformed personnel and the farewell ceremony was in honour of the last departing 689 uniformed personnel (404 military and 285 police).

The Force Commander Maj.-Gen. Salihu Uba, head of UNSMILs Military component of men and women from various countries including: Nigeria, Pakistan and Ukraine.
Home | News | General | Opinion: Of drowning men and national security by Reuben Abati

Editor's note: In this article, a former spokesperson to ex-president Goodluck Jonathan, Reuben Abati, talks about the recent statement credited to the Police Public Relations officer, Jimoh Moshood calling the Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom a drowning man.

Jimoh Moshood, the current Police Public Relations officer in Abuja is probably the most unprofessional occupier of that office since 1999. His lack of professionalism and ready capacity to perpetually say the wrong thing at the right time is the reason why he should be relieved forthwith of that important position.

He obviously loves the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris more than Ibrahim Idris loves himself. When subordinates are sworn to that kind of oath of sycophancy, they do more harm than good.

So it is with Jimoh Moshood who went on Channels Television this week to declare that the Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom is a drowning man. Governor Ortoms offence is that after the initial killing of 73 Benue citizens by criminal herdsmen, followed by more killings by rampaging herdsmen in other states  Taraba, Adamawa, Ondo etc., the Governor had accused the Federal Government of lack of interest in the welfare and security of the people of Benue State. Ortom apparently called on Abuja for help. He got no quality response.

READ ALSO: Obaseki visits family of driver killed during a fight with a police officer

It is now a matter of public record and one of the reasons for the growing objection to the present administration that rather than address the criminality and the impunity of herdsmen, killing farmers and destroying communities, the Federal Government took the curious position of insisting that herdsmen, even when they kill should be accommodated.

The Inspector General of Police, who had previously raised questions about his own style in the Senator Isa Misau case, simply dismissed what had been declared an act of genocide against Christians and farmers as a communal crisis.

He was later ordered by President Buhari who had himself been accused of negligence in the herdsmen/farmers conflict to relocate to Benue state and put an end to the killings.

Idris made a cameo appearance but the Governor was not impressed. The attacks continued, right in the presence of the police. In one sorry instance, a police officer announced that they could not arrest the killer-herdsmen, but that the matter would be addressed later.

I know Samuel Ortom. He was a Minister in the Goodluck Jonathan administration (2010- 2015). He served as Minister of State for Industry, Trade, and Investment and for a brief period, as Supervising Minister for Aviation.

He was one of the very quiet ones at Council meetings. Even when he acted occasionally as substantive Minister, or made presentations on behalf of Minister Segun Aganga, he did so quietly and so modestly without struggling to seize the stage.

The whispering campaign about him was that he actually started his career as a motor park tout, who later became a professional driver in the same park, and who eventually sent himself to school and developed himself to the level of a Masters degree from Benue State University. You cant truly know a persons worth until you give them opportunities.

As the Peoples Democratic Party imploded in 2015, Ortom joined the All Progressives Congress. He ran the race for Governor of his home state Benue, as an APC candidate and won, thus becoming Governor.

In this new role, Ortom has shown a depth of character, a high level of confidence and such capacity previously unseen. This much was tested when Fulani herdsmen overran over 23 villages and constituencies in his state.

Ortom stood up, spoke out, and drew international attention to the killings. He declared, wisely, that he was elected to serve as Governor over the living, not the dead. He accused the police, the military, the Presidency and the Federal Government of condoning genocide against his people.

He took on the police in particular, and accused its leadership of negligence. He went to the Presidential Villa where he paid obeisance to the President and again pleaded for help. His situation exposes a serious flaw in the Nigerian Constitution.

Whereas Governors are described as the Chief Security Officers of their states, and they preside over state security meetings, they are in reality paper tigers, because they have no control over security in their states. Governors are also members of the Police Council but that body is more or less moribund.

The various security units and their bosses report directly through their own bosses and headquarters to the President. In the event of any security crisis in any part of the country, law enforcement agents have to wait for orders from above. Those orders are not always forthcoming in a timely fashion, and this alone has been responsible for the loss of too many innocent souls.

Since the current crisis began, Ortom has found the courage to condemn this anomaly. He has repeatedly reaffirmed the legal and divine parameters of good governance by insisting that the duty of a government is to ensure the security and welfare of the people.

His boldness has been so unmistakable, many have wondered if he still plans to remain a member of the ruling APC. In the heat of the moment he even reached out to all prominent persons in Benue state, irrespective of their creed, faith or political affiliation to come home and come together to rescue their state.

The only significant response he seems to have received, is not a Presidential visit, but a churlish rebuke from the Police PRO who declared on international TV that Samuel Ortom is a drowning man. CSP Jimoh Moshood, the Police PRO, is a spokesperson for a public institution, a law enforcement agent and of course, he is not a political appointee.

It is not part of his brief in that capacity and as a serving civil servant, to make political statements. There are persons in Nigeria who believe that one of the biggest lies in the Nigerian public space is the declaration that the police is your friend. Moshood just confirmed that, and by so doing, he put his boss on the spot!

Under the watch of Ibrahim Idris as Police Inspector-General, the impression that the Nigeria Police is not a friend of the people has been confirmed on many occasions, resulting in what seems like widespread perplexity about the police.

Ordinarily when any citizen has a problem bordering on personal safety or a breakdown of law and order such as we have in Benue, the first port of call should be the police. Moshood calling a sitting Governor, a drowning man is like a family calling on the police to rescue them from an armed robbery attack only for the police spokesperson to tell them that the police has no business with drowning people!

In other societies, the police help people and save them from drowning. In Nigeria, by the police spokespersons logic, whoever wants to drown can jolly well drown. This is one of the many reasons life and property have become unsafe in Nigeria.

It is also the reason there has been a persistent call for state police, to grant state Governors a certain level of control during emergencies and to strengthen the countrys security architecture. Samuel Ortoms reaction in this respect is a sobering reflection of the state of the nation. On Wednesday, February 7, he replied in like mode when he said on radio that the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris is actually the drowning man.

His words: It is the IGP that has failed to do the right thing that should be called a drowning man, it is the IGP that should resign, I am not a drowning man; I am doing what I was elected to do. Over 90 per cent of Benue people are with me. Im acting their script, so nobody should try to intimidate me.

The IGP should resign because he has failed woefully. He doesnt have the capacity. There are many good police officers who can take over that job and perform creditably by turning around the security architecture of this country and make things work and protect lives and property. That man has no business being IGP.

Ortom added that Ibrahim Idris is the mouthpiece of Miyetti Allah Kautal H*re  quite a straight-to-the-chin, unkind cut, but even the President has been called worse names in the unfolding saga. The pervasive opinion is that the Nigeria police now conducts itself as a branch of the Buhari campaign team. A partisan police force can only become a tool of aggression and division.

Ortoms solution is that the people of Benue state should defend themselves and not make themselves easy prey to be killed in their homes. He asked them to do so by lawful means but how exactly can a resort to self-help be lawful especially as the Governor has told the people not to wait for the Inspector General of Police to do it?

Ortoms remedy is a prescription for chaos. When Chief Security Officers in the states begin to urge their people to resort to self-help, what stronger proof do we need of the failure of the state?

Ortoms help-yourself-clarion-call is not the solution. It further compounds the problem. It is to prevent this I believe, that the House of Representatives resolved on February 7, that the Inspector General of Police should apologise to the Governor of Benue state, and that the tough-talking Police PRO should be relieved of his position.

Ortom doesnt need the IGPs apology. He needs the IGP to act professionally and avoid politics. With the way he has conducted himself so far, not too many Governors will be comfortable with Ibrahim Idris as the IGP to oversee the 2019 elections in their states. Consider a situation whereby a Governor or the opposition runs to the Police Headquarters to complain about rigging or electoral irregularities. Would the best response from the police be: we dont deal with drowning men!

By the way, is Jimoh Moshood from a riverine community, given the imagery he has added to the confusing grammar of politics since 2015? I share the view that he should be removed as the chief spokesperson for the police, and assigned to the level of responsibility he is best suited for.

He will do much better in my view in the VIP protection unit, preferably as bodyguard to the wife of a local government chairman where he would be happy to carry Madams bag, escort her to the market and act like a rented able-bodied man and sycophant! As for the IGP, he should begin to think of how he would love to be remembered  so far, his tenure has been characterized by avoidable somersault and controversies.

This is unfortunate considering the fact that Ibrahim Idris assumed office as Inspector General of Police with strong credentials. Degrees in two disciplines: agriculture and law, and years of service as a police operations man, rising to become commissioner in two states, and AIG Operations.

He is also a Member of the National Institute (mni) and a PSC (Passed Staff College). Soon after he assumed office as Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris declared an impressive agenda.

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He told us: The Nigeria Police Force will henceforth be guided by the international core values of policing with integrity, ensuring that the rule of law prevails in our actions and activities, and to respect diversity, courage, compassion, and professionalism.

The Nigeria Police also would operate within the principles of Democratic Policing, which is an institution that is responsive, representative and accountable to its citizens at all times.

In case he has forgotten these declarations, this piece should serve as a timely reminder.

The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of NAIJ.com.

Your own opinion articles are welcome at info@corp.naij.com drop an email telling us what you want to write about and why. More details in Naij.coms step-by-step guide for guest contributors.

Were ready to trade your news for our money: submit news and photo reports from your area using our Citizen Journalism App.

Contact us if you have any feedback, suggestions, complaints or compliments. We are also available on Twitter.

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Home | News | General | Plateau APC elders endorse candidate for 2019 Presidential, gubernatorial election

- The APC elders council in Plateau said President Buhari deserves a second chance

- It also endorsed Governor Lalong of Plateau state

- The council criticised Chief Olusegun Obasanjo for his letter to the president

The All Progressive Congress (APC) Elders Advisory Council in Plateau state has endorsed President Muhammadu Buhari and Governor Simon Lalong for 2019 elections.

New Telegraph reports the elders spoke after their meeting where they concluded that President Buhari had done enough to be returned as president in 2019.

READ ALSO: PDP deputy chairman dumps party for APC in Niger

Capt. Joseph Din (Rtd) who is the chairman of the council said Buhari was the first president to make anti-corruption part of his agenda.

Mr President has fight corruption with all Political will hence the improvement in the economy of the country which only the opposition may not see and appreciate, but the attack on corruption has today attracted commendation all over the world to the effect that the African Union has appointed him the first chairman of fight against corruption in Africa," the elders said.

They said the Buhari administration has done well in also engaging the youths.

Based on the foregoing, we the elders advisory Council wish to call on President Muhammadu Buhari to re-contest as President come 2019 in spite of the comments made by some eminent citizens calling on him not to re-contest and we assure him of our unflinching support," they added.

They also lashed out at Chief Olusegun Obasanjo for asking the president not to contest saying this was left for Nigerians to decide.

Obasanjo does not have the right to stop President Buhari from contesting for a second term, the elections is for the 180 million Nigerians to decide, but not one man in this country can come out and decide for the President, after all the Constitution allowed him to contest for second term and he is not seeking for the third term like Obasanjo wanted to do," Din stated.

The council also applauded Governor Lalong saying he has done well for the state and the country.

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We in the Elders Advisory Council are calling on Mr President Muhammadu Buhari and our Governor Barrister Simon Lalong to contest for a second term in 2019 in order to complete the good work they have started," the elders council added.

Meanwhile, former president Obasanjo and other old politicians in the country decided to establish the Coalition for Nigeria Movement (CNM) simply for the sole purpose of ensuring they secure relevance, the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) has claimed.

The PRP chairman pleaded with Nigerians to reject the coalition alleging that the old politicians want to use it to secure power through the backdoor.

The Nation reports that Professor Mahmud Aliyu, the interim chairman of the party in Kwara state, spoke with journalists in Ilorin, that both the ruling All Progressives Congress and opposition Peoples Democratic Party lacked ideologies.

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Home | News | General | Governor Obaseki donates N10m to family of driver allegedly killed over N100, promises to foot burial bills (photo)

- Governor Godwin Obaseki visited the family of late driver David Okoniba

- Obaseki also set up a N10 million trust fund for the two children of the deceased

- Okoniba was pushed in front of a moving truck by a police officer

Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo state, on Friday, visited the family of David Okoniba, the late driver who was crushed to death by a truck after allegedly being pushed by a policeman for failing to give a bribe of N200.

The governor, who visited the family with members of his cabinet, said he has set up a N10 million education fund for the two children of the late Okoniba, Vanguard reports.

READ ALSO: President Buhari approves sack of Justice Adeniyi Ademola, Tokode

Condoling the family, Obaseki said: I am here today to get the details of what happened. Listening to you, I am heartbroken. I can feel your pain and appreciate your pain and anger. I want to assure the family that the case will not be swept under the carpet.

It will be followed to a logical conclusion as a reputable retired Judge of Edo state High Court, Justice Olubo has been selected to head the panel of enquiry which will investigate what truly happened on the said date of the incident that led to the death and consequent fracas between the youths and the police.

The governor announced a N10 million education fund for the two kids of late David Okoniba. Photo source: Vanguard

I learnt that the deceased has two children. I have released N10 million fund to be used for their education, to reduce the pain of the absence of their father and ensure their education does not suffer much because of this incident.

The governor was accompanied by members of his cabinet to visit the bereaved family.

The governor also promised the family that government will support in the burial of late David Okoniba and advised the family to take the wife of the deceased to the hospital for medical attention at government expense, as she was still traumatised from the incident.

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NAIJ.com previously reported that President Muhammadu Buhari, on Friday, February 2, met with Governor Godwin Obaseki in a closed doors meeting at the presidential villa to discuss the issue of human trafficking and illegal migration common in Edo state.

After the meeting, Governor Obaseki, who spoke with the State House correspondent said he came to visit the president to discuss two critical issues bothering the state with him and ask for the help of the federal government.

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Home | News | General | Nigerias democracy not delivering dividends - Jega

- Professor Attahiru Jega has claimed that Nigerias democracy is not delivering dividends to the people

- Jega, who a former chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said politicians are to blame for this

- He said Africas democracy, instead of providing the dividends to the people, is creating instability and crisis

Former chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, on Friday, February 9, said Nigerias democracy was not delivering dividends to the people due to politicians autocracy.

He attributed the situation to politicians autocracy, saying that democracy was not thriving in Nigeria because of the autocratic nature of politicians, who obviously were connected to military rule.

Jega made this known while contributing in a panel discussion on Three Decades of Democratic Transition in Africa organised by the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) in Abuja.

He said that democracy was in a state of flux in African continent and that there were very serious challenges of whether democracy was delivering dividends to the citizens.

According to him, Africas democracy, instead of providing the dividends to the people, is creating instability and crisis.

READ ALSO: Plateau APC elders endorse President Buhari for 2019

The former INEC chairman said: The challenges most African countries are faced with is that democratisation in most of the countries are on account of legacies of military rule.

Clearly, everybody knows that military rule is an aberration, and if it has done anything in our continent here in Africa is that it has created very dangerous legacies.

In Nigeria, we have been talking about `militicians; many of the prominent politicians now are people who learnt politics under military rule, particularly under the Babangida politics of transition.

Many of them now have a do-or-die mentality of engaging in election and it is a mindset that was imbibed under the military rule.

He said that there was growing frustration that democracy was not delivering what was expected of it whether in terms of legitimacy of regimes, in terms of stability, peaceful coexistence and quality of governance.

Most times, the electoral process is just a routine because candidates who do not represent the people are imposed on the people.

So, the lack of integrity of the election coming from a military approach is responsible for undermining democracy in Africa.

Jega, however, advised that caution should be taken in proffering solution to the challenges of democracy, saying yes, democracy may be challenging, but we can address this within the democratic framework.

He added that military rule was not the solution to democratic challenges because it would only aid in exacerbating the issue because no country had successfully developed with a military mindset.

He said that one of the key tenets of electoral democracy was regularity of elections, adding that though most African countries now conducted elections regularly, the quality of these elections were not sound.

Jega called on Nigerians to rethink the practice of democracy to enable it to drive development and impact positively on the wellbeing of citizens.

The director of CDD, Ms Idayat Hassan, said that Africa was practising a hybrid system of democracy, adding that though Africans practised democracy, it had become authoritarian for selfish reasons.

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She said that the freedom of the press in the last two years across Africa, particularly in South Africa and Nigeria, had not been commendable because many people who spoke against some people were dealt with.

Hassan said that successive administration in the country had continued to use democracy to their personal advantage.

She said that the government assumed power through democratic principles but that they had remained autocratic in their conduct.

Hassan said that real democracy should be inclusive and delivering development to the people and that it was beyond building institutions and economic growth.

Meanwhile, NAIJ.com had previously reported that a former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Attahiru Jega, was appointed by the federal government as part of those to review the university system of Nigeria.

Also appointed alongside Jega was a past executive secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC) Prof Peter Okebukola.

The appointments were disclosed by the executive secretary of NUC, Prof Abubakar Rasheed, in an interview with journalists in Abuja on Monday, January 8, shortly after he appeared before the Senate committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND to defend the 2018 budget proposed by the commission.

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Home | News | General | Kogi commences cattle ranches on 15,000 hectares of land

- Kogi state governor, Yahaya Bello says the state has commenced cattle ranches on 15, 000 hectares of land

- Bello said the the ranches have began in two local government areas of the state

- The governor added that many other local government areas will soon be part of it

Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi state, on Friday, February 9, in Abuja said that the state has commenced cattle ranches on 15,000 hectares of land in two local government areas, Vanguard reports.

NAIJ.com gathered that the Kogi state governor disclosed this during his official visit to the minister of agriculture and rural development, Audu Ogbeh, where he delivered a letter to that effect.

READ ALSO: Plateau APC elders endorse President Buhari for 2019

Bello said the two local government areas are Ajaokuta 10, 000 hectares, while Adavi gave 5, 000 hectares of land.

According to him the government has done effective sensitization of the people in the state, therefore they have keyed into the programme, and many other local government areas will soon be part of it give their lands for cattle ranches.

The governor also stated that the ranches were a pilot project, adding that the Fulani herdsmen will be brought into the two ranches over a period of time since there was no Anti-Grazing law enacted by Kogi state.

NAIJ.com previously reported that the sum of N250 million has been budgeted by the Plateau state government, for the establishment and management of ranches in yet-to-be identified areas of the state, Daily Trust reports.

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Since assuming office, the state governor, Simon Lalong, has stated that ranching is the best option to tackle the incessant clashes between herdsmen and farmers.

The governor also sees the move as a means to increase Plateaus economic prospects and empower the states youths.

Nigerian herdsmen vs Nigerian farmers - on NAIJ.com TV:

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Home | News | General | This Nigerian got double honour from US for protecting at least 4000 children and women since 2015 (photos)

- Felix King Eiremiokhae got double honours, one from the Senate of the state of Georgia in the US and the other from the Trinity University in the country

- The honour provides Felix King Eiremiokhae an opportunity to travel or stay in any country with ease and to be treated as a citizen of the US while there

- He was honoured for single-handedly taking care of 1,000 women and widows as well as 3,000 children through his foundation

Georgia, a state in the United States of America, and the countrys Trinity University have separately celebrated a Nigerian, Felix King Eiremiokhae, with the Honorary Georgia Citizen award and the Bestow Honorary Citizen, Humanitarian award respectively.

The double honour came for Felix after the state of Georgia recognised that through his Felix King Foundation, he had helped to protect and advance the lives of over 1000 women and at least 3000 children since 2015 when it started.

NAIJ.com learnt that the honour was bestowed on him on the floor of the Senate in the Capitol building, according to the certificate signed by the secretary of state for Georgia, Brain P Kemp.

Felix King with some of the senators. Credit: FKF

READ ALSO: PDP senator reportedly demands arrest of former President Jonathan

The certificate showed that the honorary citizenship affords him the opportunity to travel to other states, and to nations beyond the borders of the United States of America, or wherever he may want to reside with the ease and privileges of a citizen.

This also followed Senate resolution 608 moved by Gloria Butler and her colleague and adopted on January 23, 2018.

Part of the resolution read: Whereas, it is abundantly fitting and proper that the outstanding accomplishments of this remarkable individual be appropriately recognized.

Now be it further resolved by the senate that the members of the body commend Felix King Eiremiokhae for his many valuable contributions on behalf of those in need and extend best wishes for continued support.

Felix King with officials of the Trinity University. Credit: FKF

Gloria Butler, the senator representing district 55 of the state, described Felix as one who started his foundation without soliciting for external funds, but relied on his own savings and those of his wife.

According to her, the foundations key objectives of giving hope and succour to the poor and vulnerable widows and their children are in line with the principles the people of Georgia live by.

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In the process, the foundation has helped more than 1000 women and 3000 children. Much like the state of Georgia, Felix is interested in the protection of women and children, she said.

Dr Jacqueline Mohair, founder and chancellor of the Trinity University, said the institution gave the award in appreciation and recognition to an outstanding leader for his visionary guidance and exceptional leadership with heartfelt thanks for your world class humanitarian services and leadership.

Felix King, while appreciating the double gestures, called the US a land of opportunities just as Nigeria is one of hope and hidden treasures.

NAIJ.com earlier reported five indigenes of Akwa Ibom state came out to show off the drone they constructed.

The students were identified as Jones Joseph Bassey, Ekpo Esua Ekpo, Ekemini Abner, Gabriel Umoh and Faith Okon.

Why I quit Industrial Chemistry for cooking | Faces of Nigeria - in NAIJ.com TV

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Home | News | General | Prophet Chukwudi says 2019 is Atiku's time, urges President Donald Trump to come to Africa for prayers

- Prophet Emmanuel Chukwudi, the general overseer of Kings of Kings Deliverance Church says God has revealed to him that Atiku will be Nigeria's president in 2019

- The prophet also called on United States president, Donald Trump to visit Africa for prayers

- Chukwudi also revealed that Ebonyi state governor might lose his reelection bid because he has committed so many errors

Prophet Emmanuel Chukwudi, a popular prophet who claimed to have foresaw the presidency of Goodluck Jonathan, Muhammadu Buhari and Donald Trump of the United States have released his prophecies for 2018.

The cleric who released his 2018 prophecies as part of programmes to mark his 10th year in the ministry claimed that Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi state, Senator Dino Melaye of Kogi state and President Donald Trump of the United States will have serious challenges if they do not seek the face of God.

Going further, he reiterated his earlier prophecies that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar will emerge president next year.

READ ALSO: President Buhari approves sack of Justice Adeniyi Ademola, Tokode

The prophet made this known in his Gbonum-Ulepa Ntezi, Ishielu local government area of Ebonyi state ministry.

Going further, he said that God revealed that the president of Ghana will be faced with serious health challenges that may eventually lead to his not completing his term as president.

He said: "2018 has been given to the blessed of the Lord to excel. It's a year of prayers, a year of grace. Nigerians who have been trusting God will be blessed this year for their patience, for our God is loving and kind. But God is saying again that he has given the leadership of this country to another. Nigerians should know that come rain come shine Atiku is the next president of Nigeria.

"This prophecy was first released to me in November 2015 and God is still repeating it frequently. I read in the media where so many so-called prophets are trying to prophesy against Atiku. The Lord is telling me that those people are speaking from the pit of hell.

"The Lord God who choses leaders have chosen Atiku to govern this country and return it to some sanity.

"If you look at the history of Saul and David, God chose Saul to govern the people of Israel but when Saul deviated from the purpose for which God chose him, God had to choose David. I want to assure you that Atiku is the David of our time."

Speaking on Governor Dave Umahi, he said: "In the spirit realm, I see Ebonyi state governor is not in power again. In the spirit realm, he is out of office.

"If urgent steps are not taken now to address the issue, Umahi will not return in 2019. There is a lot of conspiracy from his party and the opposition to push him out. And he is out already. One problem he has now is that even if he decides to join another party, he will still lose. Nothing for him. He has already lost grip of power. Unless urgent steps are taken now".

According to the prophet, there are a lot of errors committed by the governor, but these issues cannot be revealed in public, he said.

"If he wants to know what he must do, he can come to me. Two years ago before he became governors, I made a prophecy proclaiming him governor of Ebonyi state.

"I gave the prophecy to the senator representing Ebonyi Central, Sen Obinna Ogba.

"I also told Profersoor John Eke, current commissioner for Education in the state.

"I told them to tell Umahi that, come rain, come shine the Lord have chosen him to be the next governor of Ebonyi state. Despite the powers standing against him, the Lord proved himself and Umahi won.

"Dave Umahi is the spirit realm is in double trouble. Crises are all over him."

The prophet who also spoke on Donald Trump said: "I was the first prophet in the world to prophesy that Trump will win and become president. Now the Lord is saying that Trump so far, is working according to what is expected of him.

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"But I forsee attacks battling him. I have said last year that if Donald Trump does not come and recieve prayers and deliverance in Africa, there is trouble. Many other prophets have been telling him not to worry, but I don't see him completing his term, unless he comes down from his high horse, humbles himself and receives the annointing from Africa.

"God has continually revealed that to me. I am seeing a very serious health crisis against Trump, but this thing is spiritual.

"Now, hear me, Senator Dino Melaye. Your case has been brought before the Lord who gave you that position to serve the people. Your days in the Senate are numbered at the moment.

"The Lord says that you are a youth raised to become an army to liberate your people. But there are dark forces who will not rest until they ensure your downfall. Come and serve my people, says the Lord, but don't let power go into your head, Senator Melaye.

"Hear me and hear me clearly, says the Lord God of Hosts. Your case is like the case of David who had an army of enemies raised against him. But as a matter of urgency, you must seek the face of God for solutions to your predicament. You will go down and be disgraced out of office. Your case shall be like the case of pharoah, should you ignore the Lord.

The prophet also spoke about Ghana's president, whom he said needs prayers.

"The president of Ghana, Mr Nana Akufo-Addo will not be well. His sickness will be so challenging. Ghanaians should pray for his health. Let there be no story against his continuing to be president," Prophet Emmanuel Chukwudi said.

NAIJ.com had reported that the Asaba based prophet had predicted the release of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu from Kuje Prison.

Prophet Chukwudi also predicted the death of President Muhammadu Buhari. The Prophet said in his 2017 prophesies that the president will die in 2019 after a tough struggle with the military who are poised to take over power.

Nigerians want PDP back in 2019 - Goodluck Jonathan declares at PDP Caucus Meeting - on NAIJ.com TV:

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Home | World | Africa | Mandiwanzira speaks on Telecel deal

THE decision by government to invest in Telecel Zimbabwe where it now has a 60% controlling stake was done in order to resolve shareholder conflicts in the company as well as to empower Zimbabweans, an official has said.

Giving oral evidence before the Media, Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) portfolio committee on Thursday, ICT minister Supa Mandiwanzira said government's decision to purchase Telecel Zimbabwe was mainly influenced by shareholder conflicts which led to the selling of shares without government benefiting.

Mandiwanzira said the decision was not a decision made entirely by the Ministry of ICT but by the entire government as it was approved by cabinet.

Mandiwanzira said the manner in which Telecel Zimbabwe shares were exchanging hands without the government's knowledge was a disadvantage to Zimbabwe.

"There were lot of issues around Telecel Zimbabwe, issues of conflict among shareholders but more importantly from a government point of view, issues around the movement of shareholding in this company without any particular benefit to the government of Zimbabwe. There was no benefit in terms of capital gains or having part of those proceeds trickle down to some enterprises locally," said Mandiwanzira.

He said international shareholding of Telecel Zimbabwe exchanged hands without any benefit accruing to treasury or accruing to businesses that exist in Zimbabwe.

"The company you will know from history was granted a licence on the basis of empowerment. Granted simply because of to simply empower Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans association, Zimbabwe Farmers Union, Small Scale Miners Association of Zimbabwe, Indigenous Business Women Organisation, Affirmative Action Group and individuals who were also involved in the transaction," Mandiwanzira said.

"Originally the shareholding was that 60% would be owned by an entity called Empowerment Corporation which was an entity housing all Zimbabwean shareholders to the business and 40% was to be taken up by an investor internationally who would bring in the technology as well as the technical knowhow of setting up a mobile network. What ultimately happened is that a company owned by the late Rwandese Miko Rwayitare Telecel International ended up snapping 40% of that shareholding and a further 20% to make it 60%."

Mandiwanzira said his ministry does not know how Rwayitare ended up with an extra 20%. He said the matter was a subject of debate and accusations and counter accusations between the original shareholders of Telecel in Zimbabwe (the indigenous shareholders) and Rwayitare's Telecel International.

Telecel International, Mandiwanzira explained, ended up selling its entire 60% offshore without the involvement of Zimbabwean authorities to a company in Egypt called Orascom which is owned by billionaire Egyptian business people who ultimately also sold their stake in Telecel Zimbabwe offshore as well.

"The exchange of hands in the shareholding was done with no involvement of the Zimbabwean government, tax authorities and financial systems. The 60% shares were eventually then sold offshore by Orascom to Vimplecom a global company which is largely owned by Russians and by the Norwegian government through their Sovereign Wealth fund which has investments in a company called Telenor."

Mandiwanzira said when government was tipped that Vimplecom was in the market trying to dispose the shareholding offshore to another foreign company, it decided to buy the shares.

"I had just been appointed minister of ICT and I raised a flag and said we have to come to a situation where if an asset is owned locally and is exchanging hands that process must involve Zimbabweans to the extent of either being offered some of the shares to purchase or the transaction must be recognised by the central bank here and also by the tax authorities. When selling a Zimbabwean asset there must be capital gains accrued in the disposal of that asset," he further explained.

The Zimbabwean government through Zarnet eventually purchased the 60% stake from Vimplecom for US$40 million. The deal was concluded in July 2017.

Mandiwanzira said Vimplecom explained to government that it was selling its shares due to unresolved conflicts with local shareholders in Telecel Zimbabwe. He said, according to Vimplecom, the local shareholders in Telecel Zimbabwe wanted Vimplecom to continue pouring in funds even though the company was not performing.

Asked why government bought a loss making company which is failing to pay licence fees, Mandiwanzira said government wanted to preserve jobs and empower its people. He said it was a common practice with other governments internationally.

He said Telecel Zimbabwe would remain a private company and will not be turned into a parastatal. Mandiwanzira said his Ministry had been approached by international companies from different countries which include Dubai and South Africa and are interested in buying off Telecel.

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GOVERNMENT'S recent policy shift to grant the few remaining white farmers in Zimbabwe with 99-year land leases does not address the inherent structural flaws of the legal instrument, which still remains unbankable and untransferable, discouraging investors from venturing into agriculture.

Last week, breaking with the entrenched policy position of the previous government, President Emmerson Mnangagwa's new administration announced it would extend 99-year leases to the remaining 200-odd white farmers who are still tilling the land in the country.

Since 2000 when the government sanctioned violent land grabs targeting white farmers, it only issued 99-year leases to beneficiaries of the land reform programme.

Before the latest policy somersault, remaining white farmers in Zimbabwe were granted only five-year land leases which were reviewed periodically. Although the new development offers white farmers some respite after two decades of working under a cloud of uncertainty, the 99-year lease they hold is still as bad as the same unbankable and untransferable instrument granted to their black counterparts.

Politically, the issuance of long-term leases to white farmers with the leases will add impetus to Mnangagwa's diplomatic charm offensive meant to re-engage Zimbabwe with the international community, after almost two decades of ruinous isolation.

But on the economic front, the 99-year lease granted to white farmers will not convince finance houses to extend fresh investment capital to a sector which has immense potential to revive Zimbabwe's fragile economy. In its current state, the legal instrument does not give landholders exclusive title and tenure to the land they occupy.

All land remains state land, and government, at its discretion, can expropriate farms allocated to beneficiaries anytime.

The net impact of the 99-year lease is that banks have been reluctant to extend working capital to farmers. Inversely, the lease holders are also hesitant to significantly develop their farms, since the government, without notice, can expropriate the land.

Fadzayi Mahere, a lawyer and politician, advanced the same compelling argument last week, exposing the legal frailties of the 99-year land lease.

She says as long as the leases remain in force, land allocated by government in 2000 will remain a dead asset - without capacity to attract investment.

Government's sincerity in attracting investment to agriculture and give land beneficiaries unquestionable security of tenure can only stand if Mnangagwa's administration repeals the legal instrument.

"From a purely property law perspective, a lease does not confer a real right, enforceable against the whole world in the way that title deeds do. A lease is a mere contract affording only personal rights. A lease does not confer ownership and is a legal relationship that is capable of being terminated on good cause shown under law," Mahere said.

"There is a misconception that these leases will be able to stand as real security for bank loans and other mortgages. The unfortunate reality is that long leases won't improve a lessee's ability to borrow money from a bank."

As at September 2017, the Bankers' Association of Zimbabwe (BAZ) had extended US$620 million to the agricultural sector, constituting about 17% of cumulative bank lendings to the private sector.

The writing is on the wall. Farmers attribute the low bank lendings to the unbankable and untransferable nature of the 99-year lease.

Last year, in an interview with the Zimbabwe Independent, Zimbabwe Farmers' Union (ZFU) executive director Paul Zakariya noted that government's reluctance to repeal the 99-year lease and extend full title deeds to land beneficiaries was spooking investors.

"We are now talking about an active land market. If we do not have an active land market this land will not have value and nobody is going to lend to someone who has an asset which has no value. The problem is not with the bank, the problem is with the instrument itself.

"The 99-year lease in its current form will not give comfort to financial institutions so they will not accept it as security," Zakariya said.

Economic analyst Muchesa Chatsama said beneficiaries of the land reform programme were mere tenants on the land and could not use that privilege to acquire loans from finance houses.

"The bankability of the land can only be possible if occupiers are given full ownership which I do not see happening due to the contentiousness of the land issue in this country. Bankers will have to use other means of accessing creditworthiness other than these useless sugar-coated 99-year leases," Chatsama said.

"I do not see it happening (viability of 99-year lease) because it has been given to white farmers. If it does work for white farmers it will certainly be due to other considerations other than the bankability of 99-year leases."

He said the land would work as "collateral" if it is tied down to title deeds.

Rhodes University visiting political science lecturer Mike Mavura argued that apart from revising the 99-year land instrument, it was imperative for government to also address other "inconsistencies" that accompanied the agrarian reforms, if agriculture is to return to a firm growth path.

"The politics around land since the land reform process in Zimbabwe began and the inconsistencies around it as well as the lack of legal recourse over land invasions or seizures means that land is firmly in the high-risk profile category of many financial institutions," Mavura said.

"Although the new government might be well-intentioned with a sober approach around revisiting land and the indigenisation policies, there is still a long way to go in policy symmetry between government, business and the society."

He said no financial institution would extend loans against an asset they cannot "repossess or recover".

In essence, the goodwill gesture to grant white farmers 99-year leases will only help thaw relations between Zimbabwe's new government and the West. And for once, the remaining white farmers, many of them Zimbabwean by every measure, will also feel a sense of justice and perhaps closure to the emotive land question. But beyond that, re-aligning the country's fragile agricultural sector on the firm growth trajectory would require discarding the 99-year land lease which, for now, remains unbankable and untransferable, rendering land a dead asset.
Home | World | Africa | Mnangagwa mocks mooted G40 party

President Emmerson Mnangagwa yesterday mocked a proposed opposition party linked to the vanquished G40 faction saying it will stand no chance against the ruling party if it contests this year's general elections.

Buoyed by thousands of Zanu-PF supporters who thronged famous religious leader, Aaron Mhukuta Gomo's shrine in Shamva, Mashonaland Central Province where he officially commissioned a newly-constructed school, Mnangagwa said any plans to dislodge Zanu-PF were doomed to fail.

The event was turned from a formal official event into a massive campaign rally for the party, with Mnangagwa, who was evidently thrilled by the generous turnout, taking the opportunity to also deride former first lady Grace Mugabe and her supporters in the Generation 40 (G40) faction.

He described them as ticks which were sucking life out of Zanu-PF before a military intervention vanquished them last November

There have been widespread reports that Mugabe, working with former Zanu-PF heavyweights, Jonathan Moyo, Saviour Kasukuwere and Patrick Zhuwao, would form an opposition political party named the National Patriotic Front (NPF) to confront Zanu-PF at the coming general elections, which are barely five months away, according to Mnangagwa's recent public pronouncements.

"I am pleased by this bumper crowd which has turned out here. Now if there is someone who can dream of forming another party to oppose Zanu-PF in the coming elections, that's being possessed by an evil spirit and if there is anyone with that spirit, it needs to be exorcised and they need to brew beer so that traditional ceremonies are held to get rid of such spirits because Zanu-PF will keep ruling," said a buoyant Mnangagwa.

He also told the highly animated crowd that there was no way back for G40 members, likening them to ticks that had been clinging on and sucking blood.

"As Zanu-PF, we don't carry ticks so last November, we shook those ticks off. Like a cow, Zanu-PF went into the diptank and the ticks fell off and the party is moving on and it keeps ruling.

"Some of them fled into exile and they are living outside the country but they keep trying to cause problems from there. But we must not worry about those ones because they have no effect, our duty is to work for the party and the country," he said, apparently referring to the trio of Moyo, Kasukuwere and Zhuwao who last week sent a lengthy document to the African Union challenging the legitimacy of Mnangagwa's presidency.

Also appearing to address the issue of his legitimacy, Mnangagwa claimed that the army had to intervene to rescue the Constitution which he said had been abrogated by Grace and her suppossed G40 allies.

Asking former commander of the Zimbabwe defence forces Constantino Chiwenga who was present to stand up, which he did to rapturous applause, Mnangagwa said: "If you see someone who is not in government dictating how it should be run, pronouncing judgments about criminal cases at a rally when they are not judges and interfering in Parliament business, then you must know things have gone wrong and the army cannot stand aside and watch," he said.

Mnangagwa also took aim at Kasukuwere, the former Zanu-PF national political commissar, for adopting a confrontational approach in his commissariat work.

"The work of the commissar is to lure people to the party and to nurture them in the party. This is what the current commissar (Engelbert Rugeje) will be doing, not what the previous commissar did; to chase people from the party and always scold people and scaring them away from the party," said Mnangagwa.

He also claimed that the Command Agriculture programme did not go well because he had been sidelined from it and then it had been subsequently sabotaged by G40.

Mnangagwa apparently has great admiration for the 97-year-old clergyman popularly as Madzibaba Wimbo, who is currently confined to bed because of old age.

He first paid a courtesy call to the man credited with a 1950s prophesy which identified Robert Mugabe as a future leader of Zimbabwe when at the time many nationalists where fighting against white minority rule.

Wimbo has been shrouded in controversy of late and he is believed to be living in captivity of overzealous church leaders.

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Home | World | Africa | Mnangagwa must enforce stringent austerity measures

During the inclusive government between long-time rivals - deposed president Robert Mugabe and opposition MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai - a statement which goes; "We eat what we kill" became very common.

The phrase, commonly used by then Finance minister Tendai Biti, simply meant living within the budget.

At the time, the "living within your means" approach helped curb Mugabe administration's runaway expenditure. And things improved during the time as government expenses were contained, while resources were channelled towards other important things.

But it seems government has since returned to its old ways - living beyond its means.

According to Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor John Mangudya's latest monetary policy released on Wednesday, government broke the bank, exceeding its $800 million overdraft facility by $400 million, leaving it indebted to the tune of $1,2 billion as at December 31, 2017.

Obviously, a greater part of that debt was incurred during Mugabe's time, as Mnangagwa only took office on November 24, 2017. But that's unsustainable.

It calls for urgent austerity measures and serious belt-tightening by the new dispensation. At this point in time, government is broke. It cannot sustain its excessive expenditure, most of it unnecessary.

Although Mnangagwa started off on a good note in terms of cutting costs by cutting the number of ministries and announcing moves to get rid of State enterprises that have been perennial loss-makers surviving through bail-outs from Treasury and reducing foreign missions, among other measures, more needs to be done.

Apart from trimming the entourages on government trips - who gobble huge sums in allowances, as was the case during Mugabe's time, Mnangagwa and team must focus on implementing those cost-cutting measures.

Talking and doing are two totally different things.

And if Mnangagwa is to prove that he is a better leader than Mugabe, he must walk the talk.

By now, there should have been tangible and meaningful developments to the cost-cutting measures he committed to.

Those top-heavy and unproductive parastatals - where bosses are drawing hefty salaries not sustained by productivity but by bail-outs from Treasury - must be shut down, restructured or merged.

The civil service must be audited to ascertain the numbers and weed out ghost workers.

Government has for long run a bloated wage bill, but has failed to account for the workers.

These are just a few of the many needless expenses incurred by government, hence the huge overdraft.

Mr President, please enforce stringent austerity measures.

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FLAVORTOWN KING.

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Taking us all to Flavortown, bless!!

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[Flame shirts are] that weird heavy-metal-meets-grunge-mall-rat guy with the awful pointy beard, gelled spiky hair, and is totally drinking a Monster Energy drink.





just call him out directly!

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She really let him have it lol

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mte, this cowardly subtweet smh

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I remember the guys in middle school/early high school that would wear these style shirts with chain wallets. I do not miss those days.



Also: Are those bananas on that one shirt?



Edited at 2018-02-08 11:43 pm (UTC)

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you got it! sizzling bananas for that tropical feel.

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For when you wanna Guy Fieri, but you're on vacation.

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lmao jesus. Let me go add a +1 in the tag suggestion post to whoever suggested the guy fieri tag

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LOL I love how the front page is filling up with some new tags/making a case for said tags

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i low key want brandon flowers to be a separate tag from the killers.



but i'll accept it. for now...



Edited at 2018-02-08 11:48 pm (UTC)

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hey if Harry Styles could do it... someday bb!

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gotta earn that guy fieri tag!

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https://instagram.com/p/Be58mdWjxX8



Caption:I asked the audience if they liked my Guy Fieri cosplay, and they laughed too hard. Omg, this reminds me of Nicole Byer's insta post from a couple of days ago!Caption:I asked the audience if they liked my Guy Fieri cosplay, and they laughed too hard.

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Okay so when I take the effort to c/p the caption it actually shows up? I hate this goddamn website.

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oh, wow, is that prada?

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i voted for op in the ontd awards specifically for the guy fieri posts. bless you op. never stop.

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Truly ahead of his time tbh

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His influence is transcendent

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killer. out of bounds.

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taylor swift who

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"[Flame shirts are] that weird heavy-metal-meets-grunge-mall-rat guy with the awful pointy beard, gelled spiky hair, and is totally drinking a Monster Energy drink."



wow. grow some donkey balls and @GuyFieri, kirby. fucking fashion nerd.

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i know right? we all know who you're talking about. flavortown pass revoked for life.

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that gif and his extra long, extra bleached soul patch are driving my mind straight into the gutters of flavortown. i really need to know what this man's full body grooming habits are 

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AN ICON

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THIS IS NOT FLAVORTOWN

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this is beautiful

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Demi is coming for that ass !!

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Moving on to Demi??

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If he wants to come to Texas I'll mingle with him anytime.

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he'll have a new "girlfriend" in time to promote MI6, i'm sure

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I'm so single and over it.

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Me TOO 

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Me three

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i'm literally swiping on okcupid right now. i really want to find a guy and get married :/ i'm 31 and i feel like such a loser.

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lol what? you're a loser if you're not married by 31? why

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Eh, I'm 32, unmarried and might never get close at this rate. Marriage and family sometimes doesn't seem all it's cracked up to be (even though all of the happy moments are all over Facebook/Instagram all the time, staring at us).

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im 32 and I am so happy ive been unmarried this long. but I get it, I'd like to start getting to that stage around this time as well.

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Girl, are you me, minus the Ok cupid swiping? Honestly I'm just aiming to be the cat lady cuz I'm tired..

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SAME. Although I have a date on Saturday 

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Same! I haven't even had sex for several years and now I don't think I'll ever have sex again because the thought of being basically a virgin again makes my anxiety go through the roof. Also, I haven't had a guy come on to me for years. woe is me

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I've been in a relationship for over a year after being single my entire life and now I'm thinking about breaking up...

he's just a seemingly good guy, ugh I need advice

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Me too. Im so tired of the ads about valentines day. Screw this ! 

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lmao demi's plan is working



also yes i am happily single. the guy i see in btwn boyfriends gave me a key to his place and i'm like...i know i should've said something, but i just...took it limply with my hand :(



Edited at 2018-02-09 01:44 am (UTC)

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See what kind of food he has.

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he only buys food when he knows i'll be over. he has me send him a list, and i never want anything except like...chocolate cake and for him to make curry.

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Demis coming and get it, na na na.





OP! Are you 19?!!?!?!?!?!?!

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lmao wendy is do fucking weird

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Ur such a bb!!

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LOL you're so cute

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Aw they were cute together.

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IA

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He really seemed into her, too. Like for real for a change. It seems like very few film actors can make a relationship work long term. Two/three years is a long time for them.

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I thought Legend Stewie was older than me this whole time

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yeah, thats the most interesting part of this post. that bish only 19?!

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that bitch wishes.

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I'm not my age tonighttttttt

Tonight i'm not the same age, same age





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I think it's in reference to Henry dating a 19-year-old lol

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how did people miss this? everyone needs to brush up on their ontd lol

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Is Kaley still single? I know their relationship was turbulent but you can't deny the insane chemistry and obvious passion between them!



Edited at 2018-02-09 01:48 am (UTC)

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Is this a serious question or no? Since her great romance with Henry shes been married and divorced and engaged again.

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Lmao, no not a serious question. Just fondly recalling their 10 minute obvious PR grocery trip/ relationship.



Edited at 2018-02-09 02:08 am (UTC)

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you have Jamie Dornan already! go make a Fifty Shades Freed premiere post cause my ass needs to stop for the day.



this is what happens when i have the day off and i'm babysitting.

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Pretty much me

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lmao I relate to this

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Sporty/athletic girls, now's your chance~



Also lmao @ that gif

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Demi, your time has come!

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I have a boyfriend. Have fun on valentines because at least yall have each other 

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Damn, shade us...

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I just want the Obamas to be invited and I dont care about any of this lol

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the security for foreign dignitaries is already high stress having to clear this for an American President would be a nightmare. That said, it would be cool to see them there.

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didnt think of all that, makes sense

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I heard they aren't going to attend because they're only inviting close friends and family.

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I've read somewhere that the last time Fergie and the Queen were documented attending a public event together was Diana's funeral 20 years ago... It also seems like the idea of her not attending William's and Kate's wedding came directly from Prince Phillip who can't stand her.

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The rumor is that after Philip croaks, Andrew and Fergie are gonna get remarried.

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Prince Philip can write a nasty letter like he does on The Windsors, haha.





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trying to sell stories to the media was a horrid thing. She should stay gone for life.

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highly doubt she would be invited

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Shes such an atrocious person.

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did i read recently that she is back with andrew? or that they are living together?

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i think they've lived together for a long time, but like, in different wings of a giant palace or something

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Supposedly they are on and off together. Theyll couple up until one or the other finds a new boyfriend/girlfriend and then theyll be apart until they breakup and then theyll get back together again.

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Fergie likes to bait the media every other year with "We might get back together", rme

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Based on these comments, I guess I know nothing about what she's like.

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I was thinking the same thing...

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lol same... i think i get her confused with camilla.

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So I'm guessing we won't find out for sure until invitations go out?



And ugh, Meghan's piece of shit half-brother ended up exposing himself trying to exhort her for money to get the media off his back when he's the one selling stories to them in the first place.

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dude wtf is up with her family?! I would want to be on her good side to be sure to get access to the royals!!!!!!! lol

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Right? Everyone but the mom seems bat shit.

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What's up with her? Why does everyone including the Royals hate her?

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The last thing I remember her doing is being caught selling access to the royals to some fake sheikh or something. Which is shady of her and understandable if the family doesn't want anything to do with her.



Edited at 2018-02-09 03:33 am (UTC)

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Her most recent escapade involved letting the Beckhams have their daughter's birthday at Buckingham Palace. She had Prince Andrew and one of her daughters there as well. Victoria Beckham put on Insta or Snapchat and the shit hit the fan. This was right after the Grenfell Tower fire. Hundreds homeless, maybe hundreds dead and she's got Posh and Becks daughter in the backyard of Buckingham Palace. Supposedly got six figures from the Beckhams for it as well. The shit fit was truly regal in proportions.

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She was caught having her toes sucked by someone that wasn't Andrew. They were separated but not divorced. Cheating is tradition but when the world knows, then they're scorned. Andrew helped her settle some debt and yet she continued to overspend, then she sold access to Andrew for half a million. No way in hell she'll be within walking distance of pp. Sarah hasn't even met Kate yet.



Edited at 2018-02-09 04:53 pm (UTC)

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Wait, I imagined she would be shunned publicly (I know very little about the royal family) but even as a private individual she's not allowed to meet Kate? Not saying Kate has a reason to but that's so bizarre to me



Edited at 2018-02-09 07:21 pm (UTC)

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ngl, Fergie is my fave royal. She's so messy and ginger.

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I have a soft spot for her daughters. The shit they must take. :(

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Rose Leslie should play her in season 4 of The Crown lol. IDK what Fergie's accent is like but Rose sounds more posh than the royals haha.

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Omg yes this needs to happen

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Kelly Reilly Season 5

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I'll actually watch if that happens. She was great in Utopia.

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I'm really glad the Tweet showed up. The first time I did that on a post, I saw it in preview. This time I didn't.

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i know nothing about these messy binches so lemme wait for the crown season 4 and 5 to educate me

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I cackled at Arizona being all THIS ISN'T ABOUT YOU APRIL

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Arizona is my fav<3

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I feel like they did an episode like this already - the bomb episode aka one of the best.



anyways I like watching medical shows bc it makes me feel like I'm kinda studying.

anyone else in the medical field find that new show, the resident, absolutely ridiculous? the dynamics are bizarre. 2nd year residents acting like attending? a 2nd year resident who is somehow an internist, pediatrician, and a transplant surgeon all at once...I can't even.

at least grey's gets it mostly right - aside from the fact that no one is having sex in on call rooms, and the lack of asians..? half of us get pushed into medicine by our parents and not one asian character since Cristina? come on.



sorry for the long comment, I have been watching a lot of greys this week to put off actually studying.

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lol it's a great comment :)

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ty ty i try

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My aunt's a doctor and has had sex in an on call room with her husband.



I like the Resident just for Matt's prettiness.

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The bomb episode was an event in ontd_discussions. I miss early GA discussion posts. lol



I like The Resident, but I get what you mean. At least they have an Asian doctor, tho. lol I was watching Chicago Med last night wondering why the emergency pediatric resident kept working on this 22 week old premie during multiple codes. I'm not a doc, but I know that there should've been a neonatal physician in the room. When the neonatal doc finally did give a recommendation, she contradicted her and gave the parents false hope. Pissed me off. Think I'm going to drop the show, tbh.

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omg are you me? I tried watching the resident but like jesus, regular tv melodrama aside the dynamics are SO UNREALISTIC I actually couldn't keep watching. It was a joke.



On grey's I heard they hire specialists and consultants for a lot of the medical stuff, and it usually makes plausible sense at least 80% of the time lol. But the lack of asians in basically all medical shows is so off putting - like, I'm in medical school right now and the large majority, myself included, are Asian.

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the shit on the resident has got me rolling. also why is matt czuchry a 2nd year resident and his intern is 10yr younger than him? this would've made more sense if he was an attending or something....idk. and vancamp breaking open a cancer treatment centre scandal? kind of reminds me of the bs w/davita and dialysis centres.



although i do like that (for the most part) on grey's people stick to their specialties. except for callie who was an expert on all bones and could fix a spine and a foot with equal precision

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I love Greg Germann. One of those bit actors I am always happy to see.

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A Grey's Anatomy Event.

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no htgawm post tonight?



edit: nevermind, found it



Edited at 2018-02-09 03:48 am (UTC)

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How many abusive ex boyfriends/husbands has Jo had? Wasn't there the guy she nearly killed, the guy Alex nearly killed and then Mr. Shue? Is it all the same person? I just watch clips now of what interests me so I've ignored Jo's storyline for two years now lol.

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The guy Alex almost killed didn't do anything to her; he misunderstood what was going on.

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Wasn't the guy she nearly killed an accident on her part though? Like he wasn't abusive but they were in a fight and considering what happened to her in the past with her husband, she was I guess triggered and reacted?



But no it isn't the same person, lol

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Oh ok. Yeah, I don't really care for her so when I stumbled into the YT clip with mr Shue I was like "omg hasn't this happened already???" hahaha.

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Seems odd to call the show a Grey's spinoff when we've seen the firefighters maybe once or twice.



Guess they can since Ben suddenly decided he wanted to become a fireman.

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That little girl could really sing. Loved listening to her.



Honestly, Jackson's spray-on skin did sound more interesting, but the vagina will hopefully give us more Debbie.



I felt like they were going to set up Richard to have another affair with the dance teacher, tbh.



I hate DeLuca's ex-gf SO much. I think I may hate her more than April, and that's saying something.

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I hate her too and it makes me sad because I LOVED her on So You Think You Can Dance :(

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Sarah drew's acting woo! she was so good when she answered Jackson's dumbass question about the contest

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Ben needs to fucking make up his mind about his life choices. First he was an anesthesiologist, then he wanted to do surgery, and now firefighting?



At this rate, next season he's gonna open a food truck outside the hospital and it's gonna catch fire and we'll have a doctors and firefighter crossover episode.

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ben irl ben irl

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i REALLY need sytycd girl to get off my television. she's not a good actress and her chemistry w/deluca is nonexistent.





so mer didn't get patent approval and just went ahead anyway? smdh

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Um, we prefer developing world you douche!



Isnt he a known racist though? I feel like he is.

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Doesn't he repeatedly use the N-word in his songs?

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Any non-black person who uses the n-word can choke

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okay thank you I always keep asking why he's getting a pass on this. But I really think it comes from people not understanding that Africa is a continent and not a country. Whenever I bring it up people say "he's from Africa!" as if that means 1. you're black 2. you should be able to use the n word? lol like what

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He called a black woman on twitter a "crusty rusty dusty ass hoe" with "nappy ass poetic justice braids"



And then when he was getting dragged on twitter for it he defended his words by saying his mother is an "African queen" (he's Moroccan iirc)



So to answer your question yes



Edited at 2018-02-09 06:10 pm (UTC)

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why are ppl so fucking rude lol

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this guy is a walking parody

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everything's a little backwards in Montana

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lol

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LMAO.



This underrated comment deserves more love.

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Screaming

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Considering Trinidad has literally no border control I'd say yeah

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Literally MTE. When would that ever be a good idea??

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#zoolife #gayselfie #gaymuscle Kind of related, I have a friend who is by all means a rather thin guy who hashtags every picture with #gaymuscle . Like he will post shirtless selfies and post that which is like, whatever you're confident, cool, but a shoulder-up picture of him standing next to a camel at the zoo is #camel

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Us gays are notoriously embarrassing. It's just a #fact

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Sure a friend... 

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i have an annoying friend with a black labrador and she uses #blacklabsmatter on all her (3000+) pictures of her dog

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I only learned recently where the 1st/2nd/3rd world classification came from. It's extra funny now if I ever see someone refer to Russia as a 3rd-world country. Or Sweden as a 1st-world country.



Edited at 2018-02-09 05:40 pm (UTC)

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I only recently learned that too. For the longest thing I thought it was an actual legitimate measure of where in 'development' a country was on a scale of developing to developed, not a relic from the Cold War. X_X



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I learned about it in middle school when we first learned more about WWII. As an adult I was really surprised to know that most foreigners I spoke with had no idea about the origins of those expressions.

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Yeah same, I remember learning about it in grade school actually, and was really surprised. I think that's why they have now started rferring to developed and developed, or even global north and global south

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And they dont teach us the first world countries rely heavily on its pillgaging, looting, and exploitation of the third world for its appearance of prosperity and stability

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yeah isn't it just sides in world war 2 as 1st and 2nd and then anyone not involved is 3rd world.

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The cold war, actually, but yeah.

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How uncouth

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Did Diddy really just... pic.twitter.com/ZvNDCAuKt8  simma (@foreversimma) January 30, 2018



i wish we could photoshop his annoying ass out of life like diddy did in his ig pics smdh

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he's done this a couple times hasn't he 

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https://instagram.com/p/BTqC7rFhBbq





https://instagram.com/p/BTvEGMOjn_K He did it to the Jenner sisters.

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Omg

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lmao

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lmfao

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the amount of effort that properly went into cropping him out perfectly has me crying

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im deceased they used whole ass photoshop

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I am weak!

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And Diddy blaming it on the photo editor.



This is amazing.

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omg lmao damn

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Oh my god.



I thought it was fabulous that was cropped, till I realised the guy (Nas?) was missing the hand on his shoulder. lmao

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Gringos love to fetishized this shit so I am not surprised by his use of that hashtag.



Edited at 2018-02-09 06:32 pm (UTC)

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idiot

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idg how "developing country/nation" sounds any better than "third world"- sounds just as offensive to me.

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I live in a 3rd world country and I don't mind if people call it that, it's what it is, giving it a fancier name won't change our situation

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of course that if he was being intentionally racist/dumb, then fuck him

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while i understand why you would think that and the negative connotations developing nations can have to soms, i disagree with you. as personally to me it is clear that developing countries states that it is about the economical position those countries have and that there is room for growth and whenever i see it used is to talk about that. while third world is a demeaning term used to express how much superior so called first world is in comparison to us, and how less than them we are as individuals, culture, cuisine and overall as nations for not being as 'evolved'.

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I think it's just that the separation into 1st/2nd/3rd world was coined during the cold war and had a very specific meaning that doesn't apply anymore, so to still use these expressions would be confusing and kinda meaningless. (And that's not even touching the racism and stereotyping that are usually a part of it.)

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#developingcountry i mean he didn't lie lmao #trini

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Oregon Governor Announces Skills Training Initiative

"Giving our students hands-on learning opportunities and, once they graduate, supporting them as lifelong learners is the beginning of Future Ready Oregon. It is a new way of thinking about our economy," Gov. Kate Brown said in her 2018 State of the State address.

Oregon's governor, Kate Brown, announced Feb. 5 in her 2018 State of the State address that she is launching Future Ready Oregon, a skills and job training initiative for students and adults. As she described it, Future Ready Oregon aims to close the skills gap between the skills Oregon's workers have and the skills the state's growing businesses need.

"Giving our students hands-on learning opportunities and, once they graduate, supporting them as lifelong learners is the beginning of Future Ready Oregon. It is a new way of thinking about our economy," Brown said. "By working together, we can ensure that economic prosperity reaches every Oregonian across the entire state and do it in a way that ensures prosperity is inclusive."

The initiative would involve these investments in education using hands-on learning, she said:
Steel Firm Fined $1.9 Million in Maintenance Worker's Death

HSE's investigation found Tata Steel had failed to enforce its own safety procedures, despite having two previous incidents before Standerline's death, and that the steelmaker also failed to put in place essential control measures that would have prevented the overhead crane from even being in operation.

England's Health and Safety Executive reported that a Tata Steel, a major steel producer, was fined 1.4 million -- equivalent to $1.9 million in U.S. dollars -- with costs of 140,000 in connection with the death of a 26-year-old maintenance electrician named Thomas Standerline. When the case was heard in court, evidence showed Standerline on April 23, 2010, was inspecting a crane as part of his duties when an overhead crane traveled over the cage he was in, trapping and then crushing him.

HSE's investigation found Tata Steel had failed to enforce its own safety procedures, despite having two previous incidents before Standerline's death, and that the steelmaker also failed to put in place essential control measures that would have prevented the overhead crane from even being in operation.

Tata Steel UK Limited of Millbank, London, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 and Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

HSE Principal Inspector Kirsty Storer said, "This tragic loss of life could have been avoided had the company adhered to and enforced its own safety procedures. Despite two previous incidents sharing features with the one which ultimately cost Mr. Standerline his life, the company failed both to take these as a warning sign and to act on safety recommendations."
Ready for the next flight: NASA's flying laboratory, the DC 8 is fitted with 14 measuring instruments. One of them 'made in Mainz'. Credit: Carsten Costard

Can aircraft pollutant emissions be reduced by using biofuels? And what influence does an alternative fuel have on the formation of contrails? In mid-January, a joint German Aerospace Center (DLR) and US space agency NASA research project, with the participation of the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry and the Institute for Atmospheric Physics (IPA) of the Johannes Gutenberg University (JGU) in Mainz, addressed these questions. For three weeks, the scientists took off from the US Air Base in Ramstein, in Germany's Palatinate region, to fly a total of eight test flights at different altitudes and with variable thrust.

Two aircraft were used to perform the investigations. While DLR's Airbus A320 ATRA was refueled with a different kerosene blend for each test flight over Germany, NASA's "flying laboratory," a DC-8, followed a few kilometers behind and dove into its exhaust plume. A total of 14 measuring instruments aboard the DC-8 continuously collected data during flights.

These included ERICA (ERc Instrument for the Chemical composition of Aerosols) from the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry and the JGU Mainz. "ERICA is a globally unique aerosol particle mass spectrometer, developed and built in Mainz," explains MPIC Director Stephan Borrmann, a professor at the Institute for Atmospheric Physics at JGU.

"We are the only people on board who can study the chemical composition of individual particles, both in the exhaust gases themselves and in the interior of the ice crystals that form the contrails," says postdoc Oliver Appel, who, together with Andreas Hunig, Sergej Molleker and Antonis Dragoneas from the Particle Chemistry Department, operates the device aboard the aircraft. Two of them always accompanied the monitoring flights.

Look inside the DC 8 with its numerous scientific measuring instruments. Credit: Carsten Costard

Inside ERICA, the smallest dust and soot particlesreferred to as aerosolsare evaporated either by laser bombardment or by rapid heating. The gaseous material released in this process is converted into electrically charged ions, the masses of which can be measured with the help of a mass spectrometer. This directly provides the scientists with information on the chemical composition of individual particles within the particulate matter in the atmosphere.

ERICA was deployed for the first time last summer on a Russian high-altitude research aircraft up to 20 kilometers above Nepal. The opportunity to participate in the DC-8 campaign came at very short notice. "Modifying our instrument for use in the DC-8 in just about six weeks and getting an aerospace permit to finally install it in NASA's aircraft posed a major challenge. But we absolutely wanted to take part in this measurement campaign, because such an invitation from NASA surely represents great appreciation of our metrology," says postdoc Antonis Dragoneas, who had been instrumental in the conversion works.

Monitoring the measurements made by the ERICA aerosol particle mass spectrometer: Andreas Huenig (left) and Antonis Dragoneas. Credit: Carsten Costard

Objective: making the air cleaner

The standard kerosene was mixed with oil of Camelina for the test flights. For some time, NASA and DLR have been researching whether using such a biofuel is more eco-friendly. Initial results from previous studies have already shown that between 50 and 70 percent less soot particles form with a 50 percent biofuel mixture with 50 percent normal kerosene.

"We are interested in the chemical composition of the exhaust particles, among other things, because we want to know how many soot particles the exhaust gas contains, how many metal-containing particles, if they are coated with condensable materials, and how the particles change in contrail formation," says postdoc Sergej Molleker from the Particle Chemistry Department of the MPI for Chemistry. At altitudes of eight kilometers, soot particles and water vapor form ice crystals at -50 degrees Celsius, which can be seen in the sky as contrails. Among other things, the ice crystals prevent heat from escaping the atmosphere into space, meaning that every contrail creates its own small greenhouse effect.

"If we find a way to reduce the soot particles in the aircraft exhaust, the climate-warming effect could be reduced by new fuel blends," says Stephan Borrmann. "We also have the opportunity to make rare and valuable measurements of the natural ice clouds (cirrus) at this altitude, the properties and effects of which are also a key research topic."

The Mainz-based researchers expect initial results from the measurement flights from Ramstein in two months at the earliest.
Spatial information detected by olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) on an antenna is carried to the mushroom body (MB) in the brain via macroglomerulus (MG). Credit: Nishino H. et al., Current Biology, February 8, 2018

Male cockroaches can sense the spatial distribution of female pheromones to locate a mate, according to researchers from Hokkaido University and the University of Konstanz. Cockroaches are nocturnal and heavily rely on olfaction for finding food and mating partners in the dark. However, plumes emitted from an odor source are not smooth or continuous, and have no clear concentration gradient. They are rather composed of filaments (clusters of odor molecules) of various sizes (> mm) and concentrations interspersed with regions of clean air.

Researchers from Hokkaido University and their colleagues found that male cockroaches can sense the fine structures of odor plumes, thanks to finely tuned odor sensors on their antennae and neural circuits that convey spatial information to the brain. Using microelectrodes, the researchers recorded the electrical activity of pheromone-sensitive interneurons in male American cockroaches that relay signals of female-producing sex pheromones in the antennal lobe to higher-order centers.

The team identified twelve key interneurons for sensing pheromones, each of them tuned to receive signals only from a certain portion of the cockroach's antenna. One neuron is large in size, and responds to stimuli along the entire length of the flagellum. Three have a medium-sized receptive field, and receive signals from a third of the flagellum. The remaining eight neurons are more finely tuned, responding to stimuli only on a limited part of the antenna. Importantly, there is large overlap in the receptive fields of neighboring neurons, which ensures complete coverage over the entire flagellum.

Eight projection neurons (S1-S8) with spatially tuned receptive fields in the right brain hemisphere. Their receptive fields on the right antenna are distinct but overlapping. Credit: Nishino H. et al., Current Biology, February 8, 2018

The researchers also investigated how pheromone signals are transmitted through the olfactory circuit in the brain. As in mammalian olfactory systems, sensory neurons responsive to the same kinds of odors converge in a spherical structure called the glomerulus. The macroglomerulus (MG) in the cockroach, which receives convergent axonal input from pheromone-responsive neurons, is subdivided into layers according to their spatial origins in the antenna. The 12 key neurons exploit this layered map with precisiontheir dendrites (input sites) occupy distinct but partly overlapping layers within the macroglomerulus according to their receptive fields in the antenna. The signals processed by these neurons are carried to distinct regions in the mushroom body (involved in spatial memory formation), suggesting that the spatial information about pheromones are maintained from the surface of the antenna up to the mushroom body.

The team suspects that the read-out of combinatory activity of small neurons in the mushroom body allows the cockroach to evaluate the sizes and shapes of odor filaments. Since the size and density of filaments differ depending on the distance from the source, such information might provide clues as to where the source is located. Moreover, cockroaches might be able to create stereotypical images of the odor plume in the mushroom body via temporal sampling of the odor signals, as antennae of cockroaches move voluntarily.

"Spatially tuned receptive fields tiled on the antenna are reminiscent of those in the visual system. Thus, mapping the spatial distribution of odors will be an important strategy to successfully navigate using odors because cockroaches that walk in obstacle-rich environments have fewer occasions to be in contact with odor filaments," said Assistant Professor Hiroshi Nishino of the research team.

More information: Hiroshi Nishino et al, Spatial Receptive Fields for Odor Localization, Current Biology (2018). Journal information: Current Biology Hiroshi Nishino et al, Spatial Receptive Fields for Odor Localization,(2018). DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2017.12.055
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

With two billion people worldwide lacking access to clean and safe drinking water, joint research by Monash University, CSIRO and the University of Texas at Austin published today in Sciences Advances may offer a breakthrough new solution.

It all comes down to metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), an amazing next generation material that have the largest internal surface area of any known substance. The sponge like crystals can be used to capture, store and release chemical compounds. In this case, the salt and ions in sea water.

Dr Huacheng Zhang, Professor Huanting Wang and Associate Professor Zhe Liu and their team in the Faculty of Engineering at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, in collaboration with Dr Anita Hill of CSIRO and Professor Benny Freeman of the McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin, have recently discovered that MOF membranes can mimic the filtering function, or 'ion selectivity', of organic cell membranes.

With further development, these membranes have significant potential to perform the dual functions of removing salts from seawater and separating metal ions in a highly efficient and cost effective manner, offering a revolutionary new technological approach for the water and mining industries.

Currently, reverse osmosis membranes are responsible for more than half of the world's desalination capacity, and the last stage of most water treatment processes, yet these membranes have room for improvement by a factor of 2 to 3 in energy consumption. They do not operate on the principles of dehydration of ions, or selective ion transport in biological channels, the subject of the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry awarded to Roderick MacKinnon and Peter Agre, and therefore have significant limitations.

In the mining industry, membrane processes are being developed to reduce water pollution, as well as for recovering valuable metals. For example, lithium-ion batteries are now the most popular power source for mobile electronic devices, however at current rates of consumption, there is rising demand likely to require lithium production from non-traditional sources, such as recovery from salt water and waste process streams. If economically and technologically feasible, direct extraction and purification of lithium from such a complex liquid system would have profound economic impacts.

These innovations are now possible thanks to this new research. Monash University's Professor Huanting Wang said, "We can use our findings to address the challenges of water desalination. Instead of relying on the current costly and energy intensive processes, this research opens up the potential for removing salt ions from water in a far more energy efficient and environmentally sustainable way."

"Also, this is just the start of the potential for this phenomenon. We'll continue researching how the lithium ion selectivity of these membranes can be further applied. Lithium ions are abundant in seawater, so this has implications for the mining industry who current use inefficient chemical treatments to extract lithium from rocks and brines. Global demand for lithium required for electronics and batteries is very high. These membranes offer the potential for a very effective way to extract lithium ions from seawater, a plentiful and easily accessible resource."

Building on the growing scientific understanding of MOFs, CSIRO's Dr Anita Hill said the research offers another potential real-world use for the next-generation material. "The prospect of using MOFs for sustainable water filtration is incredibly exciting from a public good perspective, while delivering a better way of extracting lithium ions to meet global demand could create new industries for Australia," Dr Hill said.

The University of Texas in Austin Professor Benny Freeman says, "Produced water from shale gas fields in Texas is rich in lithium. Advanced separation materials concepts, such as this, could potentially turn this waste stream into a resource recovery opportunity. I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to work with these distinguished colleagues from Monash and CSIRO via the Australian-American Fulbright Commission for the U.S. Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Science, Technology and Innovation sponsored by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO)."

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More information: "Ultrafast selective transport of alkali metal ions in metal organic frameworks with subnanometer pores" "Ultrafast selective transport of alkali metal ions in metal organic frameworks with subnanometer pores" advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/2/eaaq0066
Artist concept of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Credit: NASA/JPL

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has begun extra stargazing to help the space agency accomplish advances in Mars exploration over the next decade.

The spacecraft already has worked more than double its planned mission life since launch in 2005. NASA plans to keep using it past the mid-2020s. Increased reliance on a star tracker, and less on aging gyroscopes, is one way the mission is adapting to extend its longevity. Another step is wringing more useful life from batteries. The mission's extended service provides data relay from assets on Mars' surface and observations with its science instruments, despite some degradation in capabilities.

"We know we're a critical element for the Mars Program to support other missions for the long haul, so we're finding ways to extend the spacecraft's life," said MRO Project Manager Dan Johnston of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California. "In flight operations, our emphasis is on minimizing risk to the spacecraft while carrying out an ambitious scientific and programmatic plan." JPL partners with Lockheed Martin Space, Denver, in operating the spacecraft.

In early February, MRO completed its final full-swapover test using only stellar navigation to sense and maintain the spacecraft's orientation, without gyroscopes or accelerometers. The project is evaluating the recent test and planning to shift indefinitely to this "all-stellar" mode in March.

From MRO's 2005 launch until the "all-stellar" capability was uploaded as a software patch last year, the spacecraft always used an inertial measurement unitcontaining gyros and accelerometersfor attitude control. At Mars, the orbiter's attitude changes almost continuously, with relation to the Sun and other stars, as it rotates once per orbit to keep its science instruments pointed downward at Mars.

The spacecraft carries a spare inertial measurement unit. The mission switched from the primary unit to the spare after about 58,000 hours of use, when the primary began showing signs of limited life several years ago. The spare shows normal life progression after 52,000 hours, but now needs to be conserved for when it will be most needed, while the star tracker handles attitude determination for routine operations.

The star tracker, which also has a backup on board, uses a camera to image the sky and pattern-recognition software to discern which bright stars are in the field of view. This allows the system to identify the spacecraft's orientation at that moment. Repeating the observations up to several times per second very accurately provides the rate and direction of attitude change.

These two frames were taken of the same place on Mars by the same camera before (left) and after some images from the camera began showing unexpected blur. The images are from the HiRISE camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. They show a patch of ground about 500 feet wide in Gusev Crater. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UA

"In all-stellar mode, we can do normal science and normal relay," Johnston said. "The inertial measurement unit powers back on only when it's needed, such as during safe mode, orbital trim maneuvers, or communications coverage during critical events around a Mars landing." Safe mode is a precautionary status the spacecraft enters when it senses unexpected conditions. Precise attitude control is then essential for maintaining communications with Earth and keeping the solar array facing the Sun for power.

To prolong battery life, the project is conditioning the two batteries to hold more charge, reducing demand on the batteries, and is planning to reduce the time the orbiter spends in Mars' shadow, when sunlight can't reach the solar arrays. The spacecraft uses its batteries only when it is in shadow, currently for about 40 minutes of every two-hour orbit.

The batteries are recharged by the orbiter's two large solar arrays. The mission now charges the batteries higher than before, to increase their capacity and lifespan. It has reduced the draw on them, in part by adjusting heater temperatures before the spacecraft enters shadow. The adjustment preheats vital parts while solar power is available so the heaters' drain on the batteries, while in shadow, can be reduced.

The near-circle of MRO's orbit stays at nearly the same angle to the Sun, as Mars orbits the Sun and rotates beneath the spacecraft. By design, as the orbiter passes over the sunlit side of the planet during each orbit, the ground beneath it is about halfway between noon and sunset. By shifting the orbit to later in the afternoon, mission managers could reduce the amount of time the spacecraft spends in Mars' shadow each orbit. NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft, older than MRO, successfully did this a few years ago. This option to extend battery life would not be used until after MRO has supported new Mars mission landings in 2018 and 2021 by receiving transmissions during the landers' critical arrival events.

"We are counting on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter remaining in service for many more years," said Michael Meyer, lead scientist of NASA's Mars Exploration Program at the agency's Washington headquarters. "It's not just the communications relay that MRO provides, as important as that is. It's also the science-instrument observations. Those help us understand potential landing sites before they are visited, and interpret how the findings on the surface relate to the planet as a whole."

MRO continues to investigate Mars with all six of the orbiter's science instruments, a decade after what was initially planned as a two-year science mission to be followed by a two-year relay mission. More than 1,200 scientific publications have been based on MRO observations. Teams operating the two instruments named most often in research papersthe High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera and the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) mineral-mapperare dealing with challenges but are ready to continue providing valuable observations.

For example, some HiRISE images taken in 2017 and early 2018 show slight blurring not seen earlier in the mission. The cause is under investigation. The percentage of full-resolution images with blurring peaked at 70 percent last October, at about the time when Mars was at the point in its orbit farthest from the Sun. The percentage has since declined to less than 20 percent. Even before the first blurred images were seen, observations with HiRISE commonly used a technique that covers more ground area at half the resolution. This still provides higher resolution than any other camera orbiting Marsabout 2 feet (60 centimeters) per pixeland little blurring has appeared in the resulting images.

Using two spectrometers, CRISM can detect a wide range of minerals on Mars. The longer-wavelength spectrometer requires cooling to detect signatures of many minerals, including some associated with water, such as carbonates. To do this during the two-year prime science mission, CRISM used three cryocoolers, one at a time, to keep detectors at minus 235 Fahrenheit (minus 148 Celsius) or colder. A decade later, two of the cryocoolers no longer work. The last has become unreliable, but is still under evaluation after 34,000 hours of operation. Without a cryocooler, CRISM can still observe some near-infrared light at wavelengths valuable for detecting iron oxide and sulfate minerals that indicate past wet environments on Mars.

The Context Camera (CTX) continues as it has throughout the mission, adding to near-global coverage and searching for changes on the surface. The Shallow Radar (SHARAD) continues to probe the subsurface of Mars, looking for layering and ice. Two instruments for studying the atmospherethe Mars Color Imager (MARCI) and Mars Climate Sounder (MCS)continue to build on nearly six Mars years (about 12 Earth years) of recording weather and climate.

Explore further Mars Odyssey orbiter recovering from precautionary pause in activity
NASA's observations and experimental, real-time snow forecasts will be made at 16 different points near Olympic event venues every six hours and then relayed to Olympic officials. The NASA-Unified Weather Research Forecast Model (NU-WRF) is one of five real-time research forecast models being used in ICE-POP. Credit: Joy Ng, NASA Goddard / NASA Marshall

NASA engineer Manuel Vega can see one of the Olympic ski jump towers from the rooftop of the South Korean weather office where he is stationed. Vega is not watching skiers take flight, preparing for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics and Paralympic games. Instead, he's inspecting the SUV-sized radar beside him. The instrument is one of 11 NASA instruments specially transported to the Olympics to measure the quantity and type of snow falling on the slopes, tracks and halfpipes.

NASA will make these observations as one of 20 agencies from eleven countries in the Republic of Korea as participants in a project called the International Collaborative Experiments for PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, or ICE-POP. Led by the Korea Meteorological Administration, the international team will make snow measurements from the start of the Olympics on Feb. 9 through the end of the Paralympics on March 18.

Vega and the international team is studying how well researchers can measure snow from the ground and space and provide better data for snowstorm predictions. The NASA team, along with U.S. colleagues at Colorado State University, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), will use a collection of ground instruments, satellite data, and weather models to deliver detailed reports of current snow conditions and will test experimental forecasts models. NASA's observations and snow forecasts will be made at 16 different points near Olympic event venues and then relayed to Olympic officials to help them account for approaching weather.

"The Olympics provide a means to test some of our observation methods and help develop prediction models in a real-world applied environment and enable our observations to be used by the forecasters and Olympic planning folks as well," Vega said.

At times, the weather in this part of northeast South Korea is not much different from Greenbelt, Maryland, where Vega works at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. But South Korea has much colder extremes. The area is higher in elevation, windier because of the mountains, and also has very diverse terrain. In a matter of hours, Vega could travel from a coastal beach area to snowy mountains - and so could a snowstorm.

"We are interested in South Korea because we can improve our understanding of the physics of snow in mountainous areas to help improve the accuracy of our observations and models," said Walt Petersen, research physical scientist at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama. Petersen is in charge of coordinating the NASA ground instruments and science in the PyeongChang area with the ICE-POP international science community.

This Winter Olympics, NASA will be studying how well researchers can measure snow from the ground and space and provide better data for snowstorm predictions. NASA will make these observations as one of 20 agencies from 11 countries in the Republic of Korea as participants in a project led by the Korea Meteorological Administration called the International Collaborative Experiments for PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, or ICE-POP. Credit: NASA Goddard/ Joy Ng

Petersen says a big snow producer for the PyeongChang area is a system he calls a "backdoor cold front." Big domes of cold air travel over the Sea of Japan picking up moisture and energy and then hit South Korea on the northeast side. The terrain on the east side of the Korean peninsula changes dramatically from the coastal area to the mountains. With such a steep change in terrain, air flow can change rapidly and spur big snow events near PyeongChang - and that's what the team is hoping for in order to test how well they can observe and predict snowstorms.

Tracking Snow in Tricky Terrain

South Korea's diverse terrain makes this project an exciting, albeit challenging, endeavor for scientists to study snow events. Ground instruments provide accurate snow observations in easily accessible surfaces, but not on uneven and in hard to reach mountainous terrain. A satellite in space has the ideal vantage point, but space measurements are difficult because snow varies in size, shape and water content. Those variables mean the snowflakes won't fall at the same speed, making it hard to estimate the rates of snowfall. Snowflakes also have angles and planar "surfaces" that make it difficult for satellite radars to read.

The solution is to gather data from space and the ground and compare the measurements. NASA will track snowstorms from space using the Global Precipitation Measurement mission, or GPM. The GPM Core Observatory, a satellite designed to estimate rainfall rates and detect falling snow from space, is a joint mission between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and coordinates with twelve other U.S. and international satellites to provide global maps of precipitation every 30 minutes.

The team will complement the space data with 11 NASA instruments observing weather from the ground in PyeongChang. These instruments are contributing to a larger international pool of measurements taken by instruments from the other ICE-POP participants: a total of 70 instruments deployed at the Olympics. A few of the NASA instruments are snow imagers that use high speed cameras and advanced software to image every single snowflake falling in its viewing area, useful for counting the snowflakes and determining how much water is falling at that moment.

Another ground instrument is NASA's Dual-frequency, Dual-polarized, Doppler Radar (D3R) system that was lifted by a crane to the roof of DaeGwallyeong Regional Weather Office to measure the quantity and types of falling snow, such as sleet or light and fluffy snow. The radar operates at very similar wavelengths to those used onboard the GPM Core Observatory to provide similar snow observations but from a different vantage point.

NASA deployed the Dual-frequency, Dual-polarized, Doppler Radar (D3R) system that measures the quantity and types of falling snow. The NASA instrument uses a team of Colorado State University engineers to support radar development, maintenance, and operations and will operate the radar during the Olympic and Paralympic games. The animation here shows the D3R rotating to change its viewpoint (motion is not in real time). Credit: NASA/Colorado State University

Improving Weather Forecast Models

The data will help inform Olympic officials about the current weather conditions, and will also be incorporated into the second leg of NASA's research: improving weather forecast models. NASA Marshall's Short-term Prediction Research and Transition Center (SPoRT) is teaming up with NASA Goddard to use an advanced NASA weather prediction model to provide weather forecasts in six-hour intervals over specific points on the Olympic grounds.

NASA SPoRT, which regularly works with the U.S. National Weather Service at NOAA, specifically designed the ICE-POP model with two important improvements. First, the model can better paint a picture of what the cloud is made of, and can provide specific details on whether the cloud is producing rain or snow.

In addition, the ICE-POP includes satellite data of the sea surface temperature surrounding the Korean peninsula from the NASA satellites Terra and Aqua and the NASA/NOAA/Department of Defense Suomi-National Polar Orbiting Partnership satellite, respectively. Sea surface temperature data show scientists how much energy is available and how much moisture could be evaporated into the atmosphere and precipitated out as snow.

"This model includes a complex representation of clouds in atmospheric models to better characterize rain, ice, and snow content in clouds. It also includes one of the highest resolution sea surface temperature products available in real time," said Brad Zavodsky, the project manager for SPoRT at Marshall. "We're excited to see how well this high-resolution model will perform."

NASA SPoRT uses this information to provide Olympic officials experimental, real-time forecasts every six hours using the NASA Unified Weather Research Forecast model (NU-WRF) based at Goddard. The SPoRT team will be providing four forecasts per day to the Korean Meteorological Administration, who will look at this model in conjunction with all the real-time forecast models in the ICE-POP campaign before relaying information to Olympic officials. The NU-WRF is one of five real-time forecast models running in the ICE-POP campaign.

The animation is a NU-WRF model output that shows a snow event on Jan. 14, 2018 in South Korea. The left animation labeled "precipitation type" shows where rain, snow, ice, and freezing rain are predicted to occur at each forecast time. The right labeled "surface visibility" is a measure of the distance that people can see ahead of them. Credit: NASA SPoRT / NASA Marshall / NASA Goddard

When you run these models together from the different agencies, you can see how one model behaves versus another one. You learn a great deal about your abilities to predict in a forecast model and how to improve it," Zavodsky said.

To improve the models, scientists will simultaneously run the NU-WRF model at Goddard's Mesoscale Processes Laboratory and examine how adjusting certain parameters in the model change the output, especially to match up with observations made from ground and space instruments.

"If we get an improved model, it opens the possibility of using the model to help improve satellite-based methods for estimating snowfall, and more generally, improves our understanding of clouds, climate, and the water and energy cycles," Petersen said.

In order to build a better model, Petersen's dream scenario at Pyeongchang is for the GPM mission and ground instruments to simultaneously obtain a good view of a few snowstorms. Then they will have enough information to compare different forecast models and observations, with the goal of improving both approaches to understanding and estimating mountain snowfall.

In short, Petersen hopes for what a lot of Olympic athletes want in PyeongChang: precipitation and perfection.

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Simone Muhl is leading excavations at the settlement mound Gird-i Shamlu, which is located in the Sharizor Plain in Iraqi Kurdistan. Credit: Simone Muhl

When archaeologist Simone Muhl returned to the site of her excavations in last summer, she could hardly believe her eyes. The whole area was under water. When she had last seen it, the low mound at the center of the site was surrounded by fields of grain. Now fishing boats were anchored around it. "It was a fascinating sight, for I had never seen the mound like that before," she says. Gird-i Shamlu lies in the plain of Shahrizor in Iraqi Kurdistan, in the foothills of the Zagros Mountains close to the border with Iran. In the center of the plain is an artificial lake created by the damming of rivers in the valley. By August, when the digging season starts, much of the water that is released from the reservoir beginning in early summer, has usually been absorbed, and the irrigated surface can again be used for agriculture by the local inhabitants.

One of the questions that Simone Muhl hopes to answer is whether or not agriculture was already being practiced in this area 5000 years ago. References to the region in cuneiform texts break off abruptly at around this time. Prior to that, the region formed part of the network of trade routes that connected the Iranian highlands with Mesopotamia to the southwest. The first urban civilizations had emerged in Mesopotamia in the 4th millennium BCE, and the survival of the cities was dependent on the maintenance of functional trading relationships. "Mesopotamia itself largely lacked raw materials, especially metals. But via the Shahrizor plain it had access to regions in which metals were available. The plain itself was known for stock-raising, and herds of cattle, sheep and goats were brought by drovers to the temples in the south," Muhl says, adding that these contacts are attested in contemporary cuneiform texts. The region is first mentioned in these texts on clay tablets dating from the 3rd millennium BCE, at a time when the Shahrizor plain was part of the kingdom of Simurrum.

However, in the middle of the 2nd millennium BCE, the area disappears from the historical record, and is first mentioned again only in the 12th century BCE. What can explain this "dark age" which lasted for several centuries? To answer this question, Simone Muhl is utilizing a variety of methods. Archaeological excavations are one tool, and here they were preceded by a program of satellite-based remote sensing to elucidate the history of settlement in the valley. "We study the landscape with all available tools because it can tell us much about the interactions between human communities and their environment. For instance, agriculture leaves an imprint on the landscape that is quite distinct from that left behind by stock-raising cultures. And this allows us to draw conclusions about the structure of the economy in ancient times," Simone Muhl explains. "I really enjoy working with colleagues in other disciplines and I benefit greatly from such collaborations, because it broadens one's own knowledge so much." Her readiness to collaborate has also enabled her to acquire a wide range of methodological skills that can be usefully integrated into her work. Her markedly interdisciplinary approach is one of reasons why she has been honored by the Princess Therese of Bavaria Foundation. The Foundation was set up with the aim of promoting the advancement of women in the sciences by drawing attention to their contributions to research, and explicitly recognizing their roles as exemplars for junior female researchers. Muhl is one of seven awardees for the year 2017, who will be formally presented with their prizes on 9 February 2018.

Credit: Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich

Simone Muhl, who decided she wanted to be an archaeologist when she was still a child, began her studies in the plain of Shahrizor when she was a Master's student. Having obtained her primary degree at Heidelberg University, she conducted research at the University of Chicago, before returning to Heidelberg, where she obtained her doctoral degree in 2011. She moved to the Institute for Near Eastern Archaeology at LMU in 2012, and since then her research has been supported by a number of competitive fellowships and grants. Since 2016, she has headed an independent Junior Research Group  funded by the DFG's Emmy Noether Program for exceptionally qualified early-career researchers.

Simone Muhl hopes that her selection as one of this year's winners of the Therese von Bayern-Preis will show other young female graduates who are thinking of pursuing postgraduate research and wondering about starting a family that it is possible to combine the two. She has a daughter who is now a year old, and accompanies her parents (Muhl's partner is also an archaeologist) on field trips, including their fieldwork in the Shahrizor plain. "I have benefited a great deal from the example of other women in the field. It helps to know that there are also ways of reconciling child-rearing and family life with a successful career in archaeology."

The remote-sensing campaign revealed that the site at Gird-i Shamlu was once densely settled, and detected previously unknown archaeological features. Surface finds of pottery recovered during field surveys have indicated that the oldest material dates from the 3rd millennium BCE. Muhl is now exploring the mound itself. The geomagnetic detection of manmade structures within the mound was a significant find. In the Ancient Near East, villages were constructed of baked clay bricks, and people built their dwellings on top of the ruins left behind by earlier generations. Gird-i Shamlu is 12 m high and occupies an area of several hectares, which indicates that it conceals the remains of structures that were erected over a period of thousands of years. Indeed, the material recovered from the lowest levels date to the 4th and 3rd millennia BCE, while the pottery near the top of the mound originates from the 1st millennium BCE.

Overall view of the Gird-i Shamlu. Credit: Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich

Typological studies of the pottery excavated at the site also reveal clear evidence for a change in the material culture of the settlement: "At one point in the sequence, there is a distinct change in how the pottery was actually made. The standard technology at the time involved the use of a potter's wheel. But all of a sudden we find ceramic wares that were made by hand and decorated with simple incisions. The patterns look as if they mean something, and are reminiscent of highly stylized representations of mountains and their fauna."

This sudden appearance of a distinctive type of ceramic falls within the period for which no written records are known. Moreover, the handmade pottery does not displace the wheel-thrown type. Both occur in the same stratigraphic levels. Strikingly, most of the handmade vessels take the form of pot-like containers, while the wheel-made ware is much more varied, and includes dishes, jugs and bowls. "That may mean that there was a change in culinary traditions," Muhl says, while emphasizing that the ceramic evidence alone is insufficient to permit any reliable conclusions on this point. In order to be sure that such changes reflect the presence of a social transformation, diverse types of evidence need to be integrated with one another. "Fitting different pieces of the puzzle together, this change in pottery style may indeed signal a dramatic break in the history of the settlement at Shamlu, perhaps involving the abandonment of the site and the incursion of migrants from elsewhere," says Muhl. Very often it is a combination of factors  political, economic and climatic  that lead to large-scale migrations, she adds. At all events, the original idea that the inhabitants of the Shahrizor plain at that time followed a nomadic lifestyle can now be rejected. They were farmers, who lived in sturdy houses built of mud-bricks and floored with reed mats.

On this site, succeeding generations have built their houses on top of the ruins of their predecessors dwellings, so that the mound covers structures that were erected over a period of thousands of years. The finds from the earliest levels date from the 4th and 3rd millennia BCE. Credit: Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich

Digging in dangerous terrain

The results of Muhl's extensive surveys of the Shahrizor plain show that it was dotted with a large number of settlements, which could provide points of comparison with the finds made in Shamlu. This is not true of the outlying areas. "My guess is that one would have to explore the mountain valleys across the border in Iran." However, this zone of the Zagros Mountains has long been an archaeological terra incognita, Simone Muhl says. "The political turmoil in the region has made it impossible for archaeologists to work there for many years." And even today, she needs to stay up to date with the latest information on the security situation in Kurdistan before deciding whether field work is possible at all  "also for the sake of my students' safety," she says.

Two years ago, when the militants of Islamic State attacked and took control of the city of Mosul, she had been informed early on of the ensuing destruction of the city's cultural heritage by her personal and professional contacts. This prompted her to set up an association dedicated to the protection of Iraq's cultural legacy. "I believe I have a personal responsibility to the people who live here, who support my research and who work with me." This feeling of solidarity with her hosts may in part be attributable to the hospitality she has always experienced in the region  "from which Germany could learn a lot," she adds. She knows that this goodwill is a prerequisite for the success of her efforts to collect further evidence that sheds light on the human history of the Shahrizor valley during and prior to its mysterious dark age.

The excavations so far show that at least one change in the material culture of the settlement took place, as indicated by an abrupt switch in the mode of production of pottery. This change probably reflects a social transformation, perhaps precipitated by the arrival of people from elsewhere. Indeed the aim of Simone Muhls project is to shed light on interactions between migrants and settled pop. Credit: Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich

This handmade vessel dates from around 3000 BCE. Vessels of this type are decorated in red, black and white, and the designs often feature the fauna of the nearby mountains, as well as plant-like motifs and geometrical patterns. It was found in a recently discovered multi-roomed house. A knife was also recovered, which is among the earliest metal artefacts so far found in the region. Credit: Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich

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Senegalese gold miners process their ore to extract gold. Credit: Jacqueline Gerson, Duke University

A Duke University-led study has found dangerously high levels of mercury and its more toxic chemical cousin, methylmercury, in soils, sediments and rivers near artisanal gold mines in the West African nation of Senegal.

"Nearly every sample we collected from in and around four mining villages contained mercury concentrations higher than regulatory standards set by the World Health Organization and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency," said Jacqueline Gerson, a PhD student in ecology at Duke.

"In nearly all cases, the level of contamination was more than 10 times higher than these standards, with some cases up to 100 times higher," she said. "This makes them some of the highest levels ever reported at artisanal and small-scale gold mining sites worldwide."

Mercury poisoning can cause a wide range of health impacts, including tremors, muscle weakness, vision and hearing impairments, and loss of coordination and balance. In severe cases, it can lead to birth defects or death.

Artisanal gold miners in Senegal and many other developing nations use mercury to separate gold ore from soil and sediments, often with inadequate safeguards to protect themselves or the surrounding environment. This process results in large amounts of mercury being burned off into the atmosphere or spilled into nearby soils and waters.

Scientists previously believed that mercury from these mines is converted into its more toxic form, methylmercury, mostly in aquatic ecosystems. "But our study conclusively shows it is being formed in soil systems, too. It's initially released from mining operations as elemental mercury but once in the soil, it can be converted into methylmercury by microbial activity," Gerson said.

This newfound knowledge raises concerns that villagers could be exposed to mercury not only by eating contaminated fish from the water, but also by eating crops grown on contaminated soil or livestock grazing on this land. Children might be at risk if they accidentally ingest this soil during play.

Humans and other large predators face the highest risks, since methylmercury bioaccumulates in body tissue as it moves up the food chain. "Birds and amphibians have been shown to have lower survivorship and reduced viability of offspring when exposed to high levels of methylmercury," Gerson noted.

A Senegalese miner burns a mercury-gold amalgam in his hut to obtain gold ore. Credit: Jacqueline Gerson, Duke University

She and her colleagues published their peer-reviewed study Feb. 2 in the journal Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene.

To conduct the research, they collected soil, sediment and water samples from in and around four artisanal gold-mining communities in southeastern Senegal, as well as from a control village where no mining took place. Sampling was conducted in May, 2016.

Gerson has shared the team's study with the Senegalese government and nongovernmental organizations in Senegal. Policymakers can use the findings to inform a nationwide action plan now being developed to reduce mercury emissions and human exposures under the terms of the UN-sponsored Minamata Convention on Mercury, which went into effect in August 2017.

Working with a Senegalese colleague, she also has shared her team's findings with community members within the gold-mining villages, and led training workshops for miners on the dangers of mercury use.

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More information: Jacqueline R. Gerson et al, Senegalese artisanal gold mining leads to elevated total mercury and methylmercury concentrations in soils, sediments, and rivers, Elem Sci Anth (2018). Jacqueline R. Gerson et al, Senegalese artisanal gold mining leads to elevated total mercury and methylmercury concentrations in soils, sediments, and rivers,(2018). DOI: 10.1525/elementa.274
Flooding in Port Arthur, Texas, on August 31. Credit: Public Domain

Recent years have seen rising interest in improving post-disaster research, with calls for more and better studies coming from the academic community and agencies such as the National Institutes of Health. Although understanding the wide-ranging effects of disasters is vital for an effective public health response, a lack of baseline data has made it difficult to attribute post-disaster changes in environmental conditions to the impacts of disasters.

In a new study published in the journal PLOS One, Jennifer Horney, PhD, associate professor and head of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics in the Texas A&M School of Public Health, along with researchers from Texas A&M and the Pacific Northwest National Lab, examined concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) before and after Hurricane Harvey in the Houston environmental justice neighborhood of Manchester. Manchester, which is located near refineries and other industrial sites along the Houston Ship Channel, is a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood where residents face disproportionate health risks due to pollution and other environmental hazards.

As disasters become more frequent and populations living in vulnerable areas increase, interest in the health effects of exposure to the combination of natural and technological disasters has grown. Flooding and disaster-related equipment failures can lead to far greater exposure to environmental health risks. In this study, Horney and colleagues focused on PAHs, which are a product of combustion from human activities such as petroleum consumption in transportation or natural processes such as wildfires.

Since 2016, researchers from Texas A&M and the Texas Environment Justice Advocacy Services (TEJAS), along with neighborhood residents, worked to collect data on resident's domestic exposure to PAHs by collecting and testing household dust. One week after Hurricane Harvey made landfall, researchers revisited 25 homes to collect and test soil samples.

"This project was only possible due to the ongoing partnership between Texas A&M, residents of Manchester, and community group TEJAS, who contacted us after Hurricane Harvey to return to Manchester to collect samples," Horney said.

Hurricane Harvey, which made landfall in late August 2017, brought more than 64 inches of rain to the Houston area, flooding 200,000 homes, 13 Superfund sites and more than 800 wastewater treatment facilities.

In the laboratory, researchers extracted organic compounds from the pre-Harvey dust and post-Harvey soil samples and analyzed them using gas chromatography. Horney and her colleagues found evidence that flooding had redistributed PAHs in Manchester. Sites with higher PAH concentrations before the storm had lower concentrations afterward, and the opposite was true for sites with lower pre-hurricane PAH concentrations. However, the source of PAHs was consistent in samples from before and after Hurricane Harvey.

"Although this study was small, the unique ability to compare pre- and post-hurricane samples helps further our understanding of molecular changes following disasters," said Horney. "Gaining insight into how disasters like Hurricane Harvey can redistribute contaminants will help public health and emergency management personnel understand which areas are at greater risk during disasters, allowing for first responders and residents to take protective actions."

Further research and additional collection of baseline data in environmental justice neighborhoods will help our understanding of disaster-related public health issues and could potentially improve disaster preparation and recovery planning

Explore further Federal report shows punch of last year's Hurricane Harvey

More information: Jennifer A. Horney et al. Comparing residential contamination in a Houston environmental justice neighborhood before and after Hurricane Harvey, PLOS ONE (2018). Journal information: PLoS ONE Jennifer A. Horney et al. Comparing residential contamination in a Houston environmental justice neighborhood before and after Hurricane Harvey,(2018). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0192660
In this Friday, Feb. 2, 2018, photo released by the Crime Suppression Division of the Thailand Police, Sergey Medvedev, 31, center, is arrested outside an apartment in his role in an international identity theft ring that sold stolen credit card information on the dark web, leading to losses of over $530 million. (Crime Suppression Division of the Thailand via AP)

Police in Thailand announced Friday they have arrested a Russian national accused by U.S. authorities of running an online cybercrime marketplace where everything from stolen credit card information to hardware for compromising ATM machines could be purchased.

Police said that Sergey Medvedev was arrested at his Bangkok apartment on Feb. 2 at the request of U.S. authorities.

The U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday announced indictments against 36 people accused of being active in the Infraud Organizationfounded in 2010 and operated under the slogan "In Fraud We Trust"which was an anonymous online forum that the department described as a "one-stop shop for cybercriminals." It said it had nearly 11,000 members who traded more than 4.3 million credit cards, debit cards and bank accounts worldwide, leading to losses of more than $530 million for legitimate users and businesses.

The U.S. indictment described Medvedev, 31, as the group's co-founder along with Svyatoslav Bondarenko, and said he had operated a payment system for the forum's members. It said Medvedev became the website's owner and administrator when Bondarenko went missing in 2015.

Thai Police Maj. Nuthapong Rattanamongkolsak, the arresting officer, said U.S. officials had tracked the group for several years but only recently started to make arrests.

In this Friday, Feb. 2, 2018, photo released by the Crime Suppression Division of the Thailand Police, Sergey Medvedev, 31, center, is arrested outside his Bangkok apartment in his role in an international identity theft ring that sold stolen credit card information on the dark web, leading to losses of over $530 million. (Crime Suppression Division of the Thailand via AP)

"Before the operation could be ready, they had to recheck their targets in various countries," Nutthapong said, adding that the case against the Infraud Organization began in 2014 when a U.S. Homeland Security officer sent an undercover agent to sign up as a member of the Dark Web forum.

On Thursday, thirteen of the wanted persons were taken into custody across the globe, including in California, New York and Alabama. Suspects arrested in France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Australia, Kosovo and Serbia are awaiting extradition.

Medvedev will be extradited to face prosecution in the U.S., Nutthapong said.

A Thai police statement said they seized 29 electronic items from Medvedev's Bangkok apartment, while the Infraud Organization's main servers were seized Tuesday in Paris.

In this Friday, Feb. 2, 2018, photo released by the Crime Suppression Division of the Thailand Police, Sergey Medvedev, 31, center, is arrested outside his Bangkok apartment in his role in an international identity theft ring that sold stolen credit card information on the dark web, leading to losses of over $530 million. (Crime Suppression Division of the Thailand via AP)

The police statement said officers were able to arrest Medvedev by performing stake-outs, behavioral analyses, and by investigating his online activity.

Nutthapong said Thai police are tracking several other similar online syndicates.

Last year Thai authorities arrested the alleged operator of Alphabay, a massive Dark Web marketplace where illicit items such as narcotics and guns could be sold or purchased by anyone, unlike Infraud, which vetted its members. The alleged Alphabay administrator, 26-year-old Canadian Alexandre Cazes, was found dead in his Thai prison cell shortly after his arrest, a suicide by hanging according to Thai police.

Explore further 36 indicted in global cybercrime ring that stole $530M

 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Waymo CEO John Krafcik arrives at the start of a trial pitting the former Google car unit against Uber over allegedly stolen trade secrets, a case settled by the two companies on Friday

Waymo and Uber announced an agreement Friday in the blockbuster federal lawsuit over allegedly stolen trade secrets from the former Google self-driving car project.

The surprise agreement ends a trial between the two Silicon Valley rivals competing in a race to develop autonomous cars, after four days of testimony before a federal judge in San Francisco.

A source familiar with the confidential deal said Uber agreed to a financial settlement giving the Alphabet unit 0.34 percent of Uber shareswhich would be some $244 million based on Uber's valuation of $72 billion.

Uber also agreed not to use any of Waymo's technology for autonomous driving as part of the settlement, which was approved by Judge William Alsup as he dismissed the case.

Waymo said in a statement: "We have reached an agreement with Uber that we believe will protect Waymo's intellectual property now and into the future. We are committed to working with Uber to make sure that each company develops its own technology."

Uber chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi said in a separate statement that "while we do not believe that any trade secrets made their way from Waymo to Uber ... we are taking steps with Waymo to ensure our Lidar and software represents just our good work."

While the technical details of Waymo's case were not revealed, it was widely believed to focus on Lidar, a laser-based system which is critical to enabling autonomous cars to get a three-dimensional picture of its surroundings.

The trial so far included testimony from former Uber chief executive Travis Kalanick, who denied a conspiracy to steal trade secrets in a tense two-day court appearance.

High-stakes trial

Alphabet's Waymo division was seeking at least $1 billion over the theft of secrets from its self-driving car program in the trial before federal judge William Alsup.

If the case had gone to the jury and Waymo had prevailed, it would have dealt a severe blow to Uber's efforts to widely deploy self-driving vehicles as part of its ridesharing operationsa field that also includes Waymo and other rivals.

Waymo had alleged Uber conspired with former Google engineer Anthony Levandowski, who had been accused of downloading thousands of proprietary documents before leaving the company and ending up at Uber.

Levandowski, who was on the list as a possible witness, left Google for his own startup called Otto, which was later acquired by Uber.

Former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick was among the wtinesses testifying in the trade secrets trial before Friday's settlement

The case hinged on Waymo's ability to show not only that Levandowski had taken Google's private source code, but that Uber had used it improperly to catch up with rivals.

The jury saw evidence which was embarrassing for Uber, however, including notes from Kalanick about "cheat codes" and a text message in which he told Levandowski to "burn the village." Kalanick said, "I don't know, I don't remember."

The jury was also shown a clipsent from Levandowski to Kalanick from the 1987 film "Wall Street" in which the Michael Douglas lead character proclaims "greed is good."

'Growing responsibly'

Khosrowshahi said in his statement he regretted the handling of the Levandowski matter, which occurred before he took over as CEO last year.

"My job as Uber's CEO is to set the course for the future of the company: innovating and growing responsibly, as well as acknowledging and correcting mistakes of the past," he said.

"In doing so, I want to express regret for the actions that have caused me to write this letter."

He added, "To our friends at Alphabet: we are partners, you are an important investor in Uber, and we share a deep belief in the power of technology to change people's lives for the better. Of course, we are also competitors."

The settlement comes with Uber seeking to turn the page following a series of scandals over alleged misconduct and a cut-throat workplace culture, as new chief executive Khosrowshahi strives to prepare for a stock market debut in 2019.

"While I cannot erase the past, I can commit, on behalf of every Uber employee, that we will learn from it, and it will inform our actions going forward," Khosrowshahi said.

"I've told Alphabet that the incredible people at Uber ATG are focused on ensuring that our development represents the very best of Uber's innovation and experience in self-driving technology."

Uber, which is the world's biggest ride-hailing service, is seeking to be a major player in autonomous cars and has ordered an estimated 24,000 cars from Volvo for its project set to launch in the coming years.

Waymo is deploying its own self-driving rideshare program at the same time and has ordered "thousands" of vehicles from Fiat Chrysler for its service.

The sector also includes most major automakers, technology platforms and ride services such as Lyft.

Explore further Kalanick denies plot to steal secrets in tense courtroom exchange

 2018 AFP
February 9, 2018 in Utility (E)

[prMac.com] Casselberry, Florida - ChronoSync 4.8.4 brings significant improvements to APFS backups as well as improved reliability to scheduled backups and syncs. As a result of Econ Technologies' devotion to analyzing and testing APFS under High Sierra, syncs, backups and bootable backup performance and reliability is taking a big step forward.



Package File analysis performance is significantly faster in ChronoSync 4.8.4 which directly reduces the time needed to scan for changed files. Furthermore, APFS bootable backups now start up the first time more reliably, Preboot and Recovery volumes are updated more reliably and even Archiving package files is faster.



In addition, unique issues have been revealed whereby certain Mac/OS combinations don't provide the same signaling and wake-to-sync behavior that has been tried and tested for generations of ChronoSync under macOS. As a result, new techniques are now in place to ensure scheduled backups run as expected on these newer platforms.



Numerous other issues addressed in ChronoSync 4.8.4 are related to the Validator performance, general App UI performance and working around inconsistent SMB File Sharing behavior on High Sierra.



Owners of ChronoSync should download and update immediately since the update is free! If you don't already own ChronoSync, download today and start the 15-day free trial.



ChronoSync, the multipurpose app for local and cloud backup, bootable backup, and folder synchronizing, is designed to work on macOS version 10.10 and newer. Full working trial licenses are available or purchase ChronoSync for $49.99 (USD). ChronoSync's companion app, ChronoAgent, allows any Mac to accept direct, secure connections from any ChronoSync Mac or any InterConneX iOS device to access or transfer data! Full working trial licenses are available or purchase ChronoAgent for $14.99. ChronoMonitor is an iPhone app that monitors Macs running ChronoSync or ChronoAgent. ChronoMonitor is available in the Apple App Store for $3.99 (USD).

Econ has produced software that runs on Apple products for over 20 years. Econ Technologies, Inc. was established in Central Florida in 1991. It is named after the Econlockhatchee River, which flows past the site of our original office where all of this began. On October 31, 2001 we introduced our first app, Portraits & Prints, that was developed specifically for macOS. We followed that up with ChronoSync which was first released February 15, 2002. Since that time ChronoSync has gone through numerous updates and we have never charged for a single update. On July 29, 2013 we launched InterConneX for the iPad followed by InterConneX for the iPhone in September. All Material and Software (C) Copyright 2018 Econ Technologies. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh and macOS are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other trademarks and registered trademarks may be the property of their respective owners.

###
February 9, 2018 in Utility (E)

[prMac.com] Coeur d'Alene, Idaho - DEVONtechnologies today updates all editions of its smart research tool DEVONagent. The update brings a plugin for searching Google Scholar for case law and supports DuckDuckGo Bangs in its integrated web browser. It also adds more formats for sending results to DEVONthink. Extended plugin and AppleScript API enhance the options for automation. The updates for all three editions of DEVONagent are free and recommended for all users.



DEVONagent is DEVONtechnologies' web research solution for the Mac. It finds information searching multiple sources in one go and applying powerful filters to the retrieved data. The presented results can be further processed and saved to the internal archive or handed over to other applications, e.g. DEVONthink. DEVONagent also offers a range of automating options to run searches unattended. It adds found data to the user's archive or send reports by email.



Sophisticated research tools, AI-based techniques that handle even the largest result sets, and a high degree of integration and automation make DEVONagent the #1 web research tool on the Mac for scientists, lawyers, engineers, and educators.



* Get pre-filtered, organized results from many sources

* View and analyze the results the way you want

* Create reports in many formats

* Save searches so you can continue later

* Run searches unattended to stay up-to-date on important subjects



New in DEVONagent 3.10:

Version 3.10 adds a new plugin for searching Google Scholar for case law. Google Scholar indexes scholarly books, articles, abstracts, and court opinions. The update also brings new versions of plugins for searching Google Patent Search, the British Library, BBC News, Reuters, RocketNews, FindLaw, and the publications of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).



"Finding references and court opinions dominates the work of attorneys and law students. DEVONagent Pro is the ideal tool for in-depth research in databases like Lexis, FindLaw, EUR-Lex, and now also Google Scholar. It not only searches all these sources but also post-filters them. Sophisticated search operators drill down to the ground. And what's left DEVONagent presents to the lawyer in an environment that lets them directly work with them", comments Eric Bohnisch-Volkmann, President of DEVONtechnologies.



For quick queries, DEVONagent Pro now supports DuckDuckgo Bangs in the internal browser. These keywords, beginning with an exclamation mark, make it easy to search a specific website. Found search results can be archived to DEVONthink now also as Markdown or HTML-based formatted note. A decluttering option removes unnecessary text and images.



Other improvements in DEVONagent Pro 3.10 include enhanced plugin and AppleScript APIs for writing new search plugins as well as for automating post-processing search results. The updated plugin editor makes it easier to create a custom plugin from code published on the DEVONtechnologies user forum. Finally, webcam and video scanner plugins recognize live streams now, too. The updates for all three editions of DEVONagent are free for existings users and highly recommended.



System requirements:

* OS X Yosemite or later



Pricing and Availability:

All editions can be downloaded from DEVONtechnologies online and be test-driven for free before they need to be licensed. The applications are also available in the App Store; DEVONagent Pro and Express can be purchased in bundles with DEVONthink in DEVONtechnologies' online shop.



* DEVONagent Pro: US $49.95 (App Store: $49.99)

* DEVONagent Express: US $4.95 (App Store: $4.99)

* DEVONagent Lite: free



More information:

Customers find more information about our apps on the DEVONtechnologies website. Eric Bohnisch-Volkmann also posts news, opinions, previews, and public betas in his blog Devonian Times.

DEVONtechnologies LLC creates end-user and server applications for the Mac and iOS platforms that enhance productivity, organization, and user experience with unique artificial intelligence technology. All applications are focused on both ease of use and satisfying the needs of even the most savvy users. The underlying DEVONtechnology is a flexible and versatile foundation that can be used for a large range of purposes from databases, data mining, and information retrieval to human-computer interfaces. DEVONtechnologies LLC was founded 2002 and incorporated 2004, and is today headquartered in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, USA. All Material and Software (C) Copyright 2018 DEVONtechnologies LLC. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh and Mac OS X are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other trademarks and registered trademarks may be the property of their respective owners.

###
In a Feb. 9 Brow Beat, Studio 360 misstated the release date of Black Panther. It comes out Feb. 16, not Feb. 20.

In a Feb. 9 the Goods, Ruth Graham misstated that the word STAND is located on the special-edition P938 Sig Sauer guns ejection port. It is located on the slide.

In a Feb. 8 Future Tense, April Glaser misstated the office Dick Cheney was running for in his 1978 congressional campaign and John Perry Barlows age at his time of death. He was 70.

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In a Feb. 8 Slatest, Ben Mathis-Lilley misspelled Dwyane Wades first name.

In a Feb. 7 Politics, Jamelle Bouie misstated that the U.S. Supreme Court had affirmed a decision of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. The U.S. Supreme Court had rejected an appeal of that decision.

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In a Feb. 7 Slatest, Ben Mathis-Lilley misstated in the headline that both of White House aide Rob Porters ex-wives accused him of punching and choking them. Only his first wife alleges those specific actions. Mathis-Lilley also misidentified the site that broke the story as a British tabloid. The DailyMail.com is U.S.-based.

In a Feb. 7 Slatest, Molly Olmstead misstated that Wynn Resorts owns the casinos Mirage, Treasure Island, and the Bellagio. Wynn founded these casinos, but his company no longer owns them.

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In a Feb. 7 War Stories, Fred Kaplan cited out-of-date numbers of American nuclear weapons. In the U.S. arsenal, there are currently 400 land-based ICBMS, not 440; 280 submarine-launched ballistic missiles, not 288; and 60 nuclear-capable bombers, not 113. These submarines and bombers are capable of holding 2,768 nuclear bombs, not 2,070.

In a Feb. 6 Interrogation, Isaac Chotiner misstated Steve Colls academic affiliation. He is the dean of the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University, not at NYU.

In a Feb. 5 Ad Report Card, Justin Peters misspelled Missy Elliotts last name.

In a Feb. 5 Sports, Henry Grabar misstated the number of celebration-related arrests in Philadelphia after Sundays Super Bowl. Early Monday, the mayors office had reported three arrests, but as of publication time, the police commissioner had reported four.

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In a Feb. 5 Sports, Justin Peters misidentified Craig Morton as having played for the Cowboys in Super Bowl XII. He played for the Broncos. It also misidentified the 42nd-best Super Bowl as the 10th worst. It is the 11th worst.

In a Feb. 1 Science, Frank Bures said that white matter tract changes are a sign of mass hysteria, when in fact the connection has not yet been researched, though white matter abnormalities are associated with functional disorders like those seen in the Cuban case.

Slate strives to correct all errors of fact. If youve seen an error in our pages, let us know at corrections@slate.com. General comments should be posted in our Comments sections at the bottom of each article.
Ruth Carter has been a costume designer in Hollywood for 30 years, and was nominated for an Academy Award for her work on both Steven Spielbergs Amistad and Spike Lees Malcom X. As with those two films, much of Carters most memorable work has been authentically recreating the look of clothing from another era, as she did with Ava DuVernays Selma, Lee Daniels The Butler and the 2016 television miniseries, Roots.

But it is not recreating the past, but rather envisioning the future, that Carter does in Ryan Cooglers Black Panther. With little to go on beyond the Marvel comic books on which the movie is based, she designed the costumes that have gone a long way in creating the Afro-futurist vision of the film, which opens Feb. 16.*

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Carter recently joined Kurt Andersen on Studio 360, which is now a Slate podcast. (A link to the audio of their interview follows this excerpt.)

Kurt Andersen: So Ruth, after doing these totally realistic evocations, what was it like to do this big superhero picture?

Ruth Carter: I feel like I have been doing superhero movies all along. Its the same thought process. You know, Thurgood Marshall was a superhero. So there really is no difference in terms of the thought pattern. But I get what youre asking me. You know this is a guy who could have, you know, exceptional powers who wears a skin suit, a cat suit, and he is the king of a fictitious country. So how do you how do you prepare for that? And you know I feel like its the same, its the same. You do a lot of research. The team at Marvel were already well into what they call visual development so they had images that they showed me my first day of, you know, the new Panther suit and of the, you know, Dora Milaje.

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The Dora Milaje being elite female warriors.

The fierce fighting force! Yeah they protect the king, the Black Panther whos the King.

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So talk about designing costumes for a very specific real time and place, like what you did to recreate 19th Century England and America for Steven Spielberg in Amistad.

Well he flew me all over the world to look for these pieces because you have to basically go everywhere for this stuff. But I came back with courtroom etchings from a flea market in London somewhere. I came back multiple times with different aspects, like he wanted to know what the Africans look like in court. And I had read that the missionaries gave them all these really clean white shirts to wear to the courtroom and someone wrote that they look like doves sitting in court. And so I wanted to present the doves in Amistad.

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Its really interesting that example from Amistad and the doves its like a fiction writer writing historical fiction, like finding this bit of reality and then summoning that into the fiction that any movie is. Thats really interesting.

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Yes, yes, yes.

For other period pictures, of which youve done manyMalcolm X, Selma, The Butler, othershow do you go about doing the research?

A lot of times its a little bit daunting to know that youre going to be responsible for recreating something that already existsso theres going to be the criticism if you dont get it right. I try to look at the environment in the world first. So I might look at documentaries about this particular point in time. I did this with Amistad, I did it with Roots. Then I have my own personal library and I comb it for anything that could relate to what Im doingand its hundreds of books. It runs the gamutfrom every historical picture Ive done, I have a part of it in my library. And then I go outside. I can access the Library of Congress. I can go to photographers for reference. On Marshall I found Teenie Harris, who was a Pittsburgh-based photographer, and his collection was a lot of candid photos of people enjoying themselves in the 1930s and 40s.

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Knowing what I know about what was happening in and around them in their society and the culture at the time I start looking at them and saying, wow you know how did they break through those barriers and how did they create a look for themselves that spoke to where they were at that time? And so I relate those pictures to the story of the film. So if the NAACP or if its Malcolm X giving a speech and not only look at Malcolm X but look at all the people around him.

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Before you start drawing your own designs, how long does that research period last typically?

It depends on how much time you have. On Malcolm X Spike Lee contacted me months before I was on the actual film and I wrote the Department of Corrections in Boston because he was incarcerated in Boston in his early years. And so I wanted to look at his file. I wanted to read his letters. That was months ahead. They granted me permission. And they sat me down in a cubicle and I read his letters and I looked at his booking photos and all the all of the details that they write down about the person. And I was able to Xerox a lot of pieces and then you know come back to New York once we got started with this background for that part of his life. So I had maybe 14 weeks of prep on Malcolm X. Im always researching. On Amistad, I brought a library to the wardrobe truck and I had books because we were dealing with a period that was so long ago there were werent even photographs to look at. I had to look at a lot of art books and art history and understand like the artists direction and the composition, because were painting a picture too. And I really wanted some of these images that I see in the research to come to life. On Selma I had pictures of the march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

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And I really wanted to make sure that those first 20 people who were in the front of the line really looked like the first 20 people in the actual march. So if someone had a cap on and I was racing in there to make sure that cap was pitched right, or there were enough trench coats or whatever it was. And so that research process and that implementation happens constantly throughout the shooting.

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So the Black Panther: not a real person, not a real place, not a real time, all entirely fictional. So theres not references in the way there are about Selma or the Harlem Renaissance or any of the rest.

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I needed to make him a part of the real world and I needed to connect to Africa in a way that people could see that he was a part of that continent.

Of the real Africa on some level.

Of the real Africa, and that they paid homage to the ancient African traditions that are disappearing and that they knew from which they came. So I looked at the Surma stick fighters and how the men draped the cloth around their bodies, and I was inspired by that. I looked at the Tuareg people and how they used the beautiful purples and gold and silver. And I looked at the Maasai warriors and infused that red color onto the Dora Milaje. And I needed something like that. I needed Ryans direction.

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Thats Ryan Coogler.

Yeah Ryan Coogler, our director. You know I needed him to say the women in the Dora Milaje dont need to be, you know, scantily clad. These soldiers need to have protection. They need to have arm rings and neck rings that are not only paying homage to ancient tribes but its also really practical as far as protection as a fighter. I want the women to have this split toe boot and be in flat boots, not have on heels like we see a lot of superheroes. You know we dont have to do that. We can do something different we can be we can be unique, and we can actually be more realistic and it will still be appealing.

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You mention the Dora Milaje, the soldiers one of whom is played by Lupita Nyongo. So talk about her costume from top to bottom and the various inspirations for each bit of it.

Lupitas Dora costume was the conception of Ryan Meinerdings team at Marvel. So what I have interpreted from their initial concept was the Dora Milaje wear a battle harness. So the heart I connected by the leather strapping that you see going around her shoulders and being down her frontthats connected to a tabard in the front and also connects to a skirt in the back. Because there is this long vertical tabard down the center front, I felt like it needs to have some type of purpose. So I use the the intricate beading that you see in ancient African tribal ceremonies which you know for the Maasai is this is this gorgeous red beading

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The drape in the back I made up in leather because of the Himba tribe. The head of the tribe wears these leather drapes that have these rings and studs on them made out of metal so that when they move you hear this jinglingits a very light sound, but you can hear it. And when all the girls are dressed and theyre coming to set you actually hear them approaching.

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Its magnificent and it should go in a museum. It should go to the Metropolitan Museum.

Thank you.

Brava! Black Panther isnt even out yet and there are already I see cosplayers trying to do these costumes at gatherings like Comic Con. How does that feel to you?

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Its the best form of honoring what I have done because they havent seen the film yet and theyre already affected by the imagery and that feels to me like it has filled a big void in the cosplayer world where you didnt have someone that maybe looked like you. And I think it was a void in the cosplayer worldthere werent enough African-American superheroes in that genre. So I am super honored.



Listen to this episode of Studio 360 below, where host Kurt Andersen introduces the interview with Ruth Carter as the first segment in the show, and subscribe to the show on Apple podcasts.

Studio 360 is a Peabody Awardwinning show from Public Radio International.
The most thrilling moment in Clint Eastwoods The 15:17 to Paris isnt when its three heroesSpencer Stone, Alek Skarlatos, and Anthony Sadlerfoil a potential terrorist attack aboard a train hurtling through the European countryside. Its afterward, when French President Francois Hollande is awarding the three, along with their fellow American Mark Moogalian, the Legion of Honour for their bravery. The footage is blurry, as if its been sourced from a DVR or made to look that way to camouflage the insertion of actors into real-life footage, Forrest Gumpstyle. But Stone and the rest arent actors: Theyre playing themselves, and the movies constructed narrative has finally caught up with the reality that inspired it.

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Stone, Skarlatos, and Sadler arent actors, and The 15:17 doesnt treat them as such. Although it builds up to a re-enactment of the day in August of 2015 when Stone and his friends subdued a man carrying an assault rifle and nearly 300 rounds of ammunition, the vast majority of the film takes place before the attack, going all the way back to the trios first meeting in grade school. Beginning with close-ups of the gunman, Ayoub El-Khazzani, wheeling what well learn is a suitcase full of munitions through a train station, the story is technically told in flashback. As if the fact that its stars are alive to play themselves werent reassurance enough, Eastwood gives us iPhone-style shots of the three of them happily driving in a convertible, with Sadler, who is black, saying in voice-over, Youre probably wondering why Im hanging out with these two crackers. (I wasnt, but sure.)

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The geese in Sully were more well-rounded characters.

Those early scenes are the most awkward and ill-conceived, with child actorsWilliam Jennings, Bryce Gheisar, and Paul-Mikel Williamsplaying the young trio and Jenna Fischer and Judy Greer as Stones and Skarlatos mothers. (Greer gets one of the movies clunkiest lines, when she scolds an elementary-school teacher who has said her son should be medicated for ADD: My God is bigger than your statistics.) Whatever its obvious limitations, the gambit of casting nonactors in the lead roles at least brings the movie a certain authenticity, but its torpedoed by the tin-eared backstory laid out by Dorothy Blyskals script. Eastwood and Blyskal cant seem to decide whether they want Stone et al. to be ordinary people thrust into an extraordinary situation or whether they were destined for greatness, so they waffle between foreshadowing and simply biding their time.

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Stone, the movies central character, is a fascinating protagonist in that his story until the incident on the train is largely one of failure. He applies for the Air Forces Pararescue detail because he wants to save lives but is rejected because of trouble with his eyes. Then he flunks out of SERE training and winds up in a part of the military that a fellow washout dryly calls day care for adults. Hes no ones idea of a hero-to-be, and yet he speaks of feeling catapulted towards a greater purpose, a phrase the movie likes enough to repeat multiple times. The 15:17 wants to emphasize the suddenness of the train attack, rather than going the conventional route and drawing out the moments before it to heighten the suspense, but that means the movies raison detre is over in a matter of minutes, and even a handful of flash-forwards to the event cant alleviate the sense that much of what comes before is merely padding.

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Thats especially true of the backpacking tour Stone and Sadler take through Europe before boarding their fateful train. They traipse through Rome and Venice and detour to Amsterdam, with Sadler snapping selfies all the wayvirtually the only memorable trait the movie can find to give himmaking friends with a young Californian woman along the way who leaves the picture as abruptly as she entered into it. While theyre doing this, Skarlatos is reacquainting himself with an old flame in Germany, and watching the movie intercut these two trips is like having someone show you their vacation slides and then start showing slides of someone elses vacation.

The nonchalant vacation portion of The 15:17 to Paris is so bizarrely affectless it verges on avant-garde, but theres no sign that Eastwood means for it to fall as flat as it does. And the sense of wheelspinning only underlines the movies failure to make its antagonist more than a cartoon scowl with a Kalashnikov. The geese in Sully were more well-rounded characters. The 15:17 is Eastwoods third movie in a row to be based on acts of real-life heroismor, in the case of American Sniper, a subsequently debunked myth of the samebut rather than building on its predecessors, it leans indolently back on them and lets Eastwoods far better treatments of the subject do the hard work for it. In the ample downtime The 15:17 to Paris gives ones mind to wander, I found myself thinking about Eastwoods twin 2006 releases, Flags of Our Fathers and Letters From Iwo Jima, which told the story of the same military engagement from opposite sides of the battle. That impulse to interrogate what heroism means seems to have gone out of Eastwood altogether, replaced by morally vacant recapitulations of the myth of a single man rising to the challenge while lesser beings try to hold him back. Eastwood hasnt made a Western in decades, but hes fallen back in love with cowboys again.
Better Life Lab is a partnership of Slate and New America.

There are moments when you can almost feel the ground shift beneath you. When thenSen. Al Gore took to the Senate floor to describe his 6-year-old son Alberts terrifying 1989 accident, it was a pivotal moment not just for the Gore family but also for the country.

Albert Gore had been hit by a car outside Memorial Stadium in Baltimore following an opening day Orioles game. The accident was near catastrophic: The child had a broken collarbone, broken ribs, a broken thighbone, a ruptured spleen, a concussion, and a bruised lung, kidney, and pancreas. Sen. Gore and his wife, Tipper, spent almost a month at their sons hospital bedside before he was sent home in a full-body cast.

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The family, of course, was severely shaken. But what Sen. Gore did afterward is what changed the dialogue about family and medical leave forever. He took to the Senate floor to discuss what it meant to him to be able to be by his sons side during those desperate days. That experience changed me forever, Gore would later say. When youve seen your 6-year-old son fighting for his life, you realize that some things matter more than winning, and you lose patience with the lazy assumption of so many in politics that we can always just muddle through. When youve seen your reflection in the empty stare of a boy waiting for a second breath of life, you realize that we werent put here on Earth to look out for our needs alone; were part of something much larger than ourselves.

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It was what we today might call a Jimmy Kimmel moment, because Gore talked about the flexibility senators enjoy and what life was like for othersparents who risked losing their pay or their jobs if they took time off to care for children who, like Albert, were sick or injured. That speech transformed the debatein Congress and in the countryabout family and medical leave. It made it personal and relatable. It was a giant step forward at a time when our country didnt have a single national law designed to help people meet the dual demands of work and family.

That changed, of course, on Feb. 5, 199325 years ago this week, when President Bill Clinton made the Family and Medical Leave Act the very first bill he signed into law. At the time, our organization was called the Womens Legal Defense Fund, and we were the group that had drafted the legislation (on a typewriter!) and worked tirelessly alongside our allies to turn family and medical leave from a revolutionary concept to a national law. For us, that moment was the culmination of years of work. For the country, it was a giant step forward in challenging stereotypes that held back women in the workplace and in advancing gender equality.

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We urgently need to update our national leave policy to reflect the financial realities facing millions of women and working people.

The road to passage had been long and difficult. The FMLA had been introduced in Congress every year since 1984, buteven as public support grew and more states adopted leave laws of their own, proving their efficacy and benefitspowerful opponents managed to block it time and again. Congress passed the bill twice, but both times, President George H.W. Bush vetoed it. It was heartbreaking, because each veto meant more talented women unable to enter or stay in the workforce, more families struggling to make ends meet or falling into poverty, and more years during which our economy would be deprived of the contributions of millions of women.

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But in the wake of those vetoes, the broad-based coalition that supported the FMLA grew stronger and even more determined, and when President Clinton and Vice President Gore were elected, the political stars aligned and the FMLA became law. In the end, it was bipartisan, with dozens of Republicans joining Democrats in voting for it.

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In the years that followed, every argument opponents used to block its passage was disproven. Businesses adapted to it with relative ease, worker abuse of the program was a nonfactor, and neither the economy nor the sky fell. In fact, in the years after the FMLA took effect, our country had its strongest peacetime economy in history.

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The law has been transformative. In the years since it took effect, workers have taken the unpaid leave it provides more than 200 million times. Equally important is that the FMLA changed our culture forever, making it clear that female and male workers are also family members with caregiving responsibilities, that flexibility and leave benefit employers too, and that stereotypes that have been used to deny opportunities to women for generations are baseless.

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But the FMLA was always designed as a first step; we are pained by the fact that millions of workers cannot afford to take the unpaid leave it provides. We urgently need to update our national leave policy to reflect the financial realities facing millions of women and working people as well as the families that rely on them.

Twenty-five years later, we see real reason for hope. We believe the country is on the cusp of another watershed moment with a national paid family and medical leave program on the horizon. Why? Because, from California to New York, states are demonstrating that paid leave programs work. From Starbucks to Adobe to Deloitte, private businesses are adopting paid leave programs too. Public support is strong and bipartisan, and more lawmakers across the political spectrum are acknowledging the need for paid leave.

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This #MeToo and Times Up moment is heightening attention to fairness in the workplaceand increasing the urgency to make change now. We intend to seize the moment and not let tired, disproven arguments from opponents hold us back. Nor will we let those who oppose progress sell us sham proposals or inadequate half-measures that would do more harm than good. And we will not be satisfied with scattered progress in some states and from some employers, no matter how hard-fought and meaningful each advance is.

Without a national paid family and medical leave program, too many families will continue to be left behind. Thats why so many of us who fought for the FMLA also support the Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act, sponsored in Congress by New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, because its the only plan that would cover all working people for the full range of serious caregiving and medical reasons. It will bring a stronger economy, healthier families, stronger businesses, and the greater workplace equality our country needs. Its time.
This article is published through a partnership with New York Medias Strategist. The partnership is designed to surface the most useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change. Every editorial product is independently selected by New York Media. If you buy something through our links, Slate and New York Media may earn an affiliate commission.

I first tried this hair dryer while staying at a friends house in London years ago. My friend was dating a top hairstylist at the time (he leads hair teams for runway shows in London, New York, and Paris, et cetera) whod recommended it to her as a semi-professional blow dryer that even non-hairstylists would love. It is bar none the finest hair discovery Iveor shes, I guessever made.

For a start, its megapowerful. Its 2,000-watt motor (thats more than the 1,875 watts of the Harry Josh and the 1,600 watts on the widely beloved Dyson) delivers a blow-strength that cut my drying time in half. Its not whisper-quiet, but not nearly as loud as youd expect for something this strong. The heat travels so fast that it gives my hair a smooth glossiness I thought only genetics or a salon treatment could give meIm convinced that Meghan Markle uses one.

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And even though it delivers a more powerful punch than the dryers at most salons, its terrific for home use because its shorter, and much easier to maneuver. I find professional hair dryers so long that I tend to hit myself in the head with them when trying to reach certain spots. Its called a super compact, which may conjure a visual of those pathetic, pointless hair dryers youll find in hotel bathrooms, but I wouldnt say its that small. At just over a pound, though, I travel everywhere with mine. The nine-foot-long cable means that Im not leashed to the outlet, either.

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The thing isnt cheap, though its more affordable than the Harry Josh or Dyson, but what you spend in upfront payments, you more than reap every time you use it. Much like I discovered it through a friend, now my other friends who borrow it while were traveling gush about how great it is and immediately buy one for themselves. Theyre all blown away.

BUY: Parlux 3500 Super Compact Professional Hair Dryer

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Other Hair Dryers Worth Considering

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Rio Viera-Newton told us about her moms gorgeous curly hair, which elicits comments almost anywhere she goes. Her preferred blow-dryer is the Elchim: I like to use my Elchim hair dryer on hot, low pressure, with the Elchim bi-diffuser attachment. It dries the hair while allowing it to maintain the curls and hold onto the still-absorbing LOreal oil and Oribe gloss.

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This is just what I needed to go on a quick trip out the country; me and my girlfriend shared one suitcase. I got everything in my cube and didnt take up all of the suitcase. This is a must-have for every family. Glad I stumbled upon it looking for luggage. Material was a little thin but it served its purpose for the low, low price.

BUY: Harry Josh Pro Tools Harry Josh Ultra Light Pro Dryer (3 Piece)

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Looking for another quick dryer? The Cuts senior beauty editor Ashley Weatherford

recommends the Bio Ionic: The brand claims that the water molecules are actually absorbed by the hair, thereby providing a level of hydration. That sounds silly to me, but then again, my hair feels especially soft and healthy each time I make use of the dryer. And its straight, too.

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Five hours and 25 minutes after funding for the government lapsed, and with three minutes left to vote, only three House Democrats had voted to support a two-year budget agreement that had emerged hours earlier from the Senate, while 33 had voted against it. It was a crawl to the finish as Democrats waited out the clock, carefully observing how many votes their Republican counterparts would post. At that point, 158 Republicans had voted for it, and it didnt seem that that many more would come.

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Then, with two minutes left, the thumbs-down signal came from the Democratic whip team: Time to release the no votes. A hundred or so Democrats lined up to post their opposition. With time expired and a little more than 300 total votes counted, the gavel came down, and Democrats called for more time. The slow display didnt go over well with Republican members. Make your decision and fucking vote, one Republican member griped to another as they exited the chamber after the early morning vote, which had been delayed by Sen. Rand Pauls filibuster in the Senate.

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The budget bill, in the end, passed 240 to 186. Sixty-seven Republicans voted against it, about what was expected. But 73 Democrats voted for it, notably higher than estimates of 50 or 60 that had been floating Thursday evening.

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Though the entire Democratic leadership voted against the bill, its hard to believe that this isnt the result they wanted given the weakness of their position.

The mixed signals leaders were sending earlier in the daydid they want to block this? Were they whipping against it?formed a unifying, unmistakable signal: They were not comfortable blocking a bill thats a steal for Democratic spending priorities in a Congress where Democrats control nothing. They were not comfortable risking a Pelosi shutdown that Republicans would use against them, and other promising Democratic candidates, every hour for the remainder of this election year. And they did not believe that a shutdown would have served Dreamers interests well in the end if they took the blame for a second shutdown.

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Were Democratic leaders privately relieved that the bill had passed?

Yes, Virginia Rep. Gerry Connolly, one of the 73 Democrats who voted for the bill, told me.

I dont see the nexus between Dreamers and shutting down the government, he said. In fact, quite the opposite: I believe that harm would have flowed.  What we saw in the last [shutdown] was that public support actually fell. When you make that connection, Dreamers suffer.

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Pelosi didnt have to say a word. She has control over her caucus. If she genuinely wanted the bill to fail, there was more she could have done to make that happen. Instead, she didnt use all of the tools available to her in whipping opposition, and 73 Democrats took the hint.

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Democrats were unable to squeeze a viable path for resolving the Dreamer crisis out of House Speaker Paul Ryan. But now is when Ryan will begin to feel the real pressure. Ryan is on the record, time and again, expressing his conviction that Dreamers must be helped. If the Senate can produce a narrow, bipartisan bill next week that protects Dreamers and allocates some money to border security, all of the attention will turn to Ryan as the March 5 expiration of DACA nears.

I asked Kentucky Rep. John Yarmouth, another Democrat who voted for the budget, why he thought the pressure on House Republicans to accept a Senate compromise would work this time when the same strategy didnt work for the 2013 comprehensive immigration reform bill.

Going into an election year, he said, I dont think Paul Ryan wants to see, every night on the news, Dreamers being torn away from their families.
White House Staff Secretary Rob Porter resigned on Wednesday following revelations that his two ex-wives had made detailed allegations of domestic violence to both the police and the FBI. In the wake of this swift departure, scrutiny has fallen on who at the White House knew what about the accusations and when, with chief of staff John Kelly coming under particular fire for standing by Porter despite his reported knowledge of at least some of the allegations of abuse.

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What has perhaps been lost in the inquiry of possible White House foreknowledge is an element of the episode that should be just as troubling: the question of how Porter was able do his job for a full year without permanent security clearance.

Porter was not even the only person in the administration who had apparently been operating for more than a year on temporary security clearance. President Donald Trumps son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is also reportedly yet to receive his final clearance. Like other White House ethical standardssuch as the receipt of foreign emolumentsthis administration has evaded historic norms meant to protect the executive branch from possible corruption and prevent the prospect of White House officials being compromised by potential blackmail.

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In this case, it has been able to do this for one simple reason: The ultimate arbiter of who in the executive branch is able to handle this countrys most sensitive secrets is one man. That man is Donald Trump. There is nothing preventing Trump from giving top security clearance access to whoever he wants, professional agency adjudication of the normal security-clearance process be damned. Furthermore, there is nobodyaside, perhaps, from Congresswho has oversight over how Trump can issue security clearances. And because this particular Republican Congress has been fully pliant to Trumps will on all issues surrounding ethical norms, that basically means Trump has untrammeled say over all such clearances. In the cases of Kushner and Porter, it appears that he has all but broken long-standing norms around clearances in a way that seems to have rendered the entire point of the clearance process at the highest levels of government moot. Another example? Former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who ultimately pled guilty to lying to the FBI, was allowed to remain in his job even after the Trump administration had been informed that he might be compromised because of such lies. He resigned only after the lies came to public light.

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It is unclear what Porters security clearance status was, but it has been widely reported that he did not receive permanent security clearance that would have come from federal vetting. During Wednesdays press briefing, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders refused to say what that status was. It is highly improbable, however, that Porter was not working on the same kind of temporary security-clearance status as Kushner has been for the past year. I think its impossible to do this job well without security clearance, Lisa Brown, a former staff secretary in the Obama administration and the current general counsel and a vice president at Georgetown University, told me. Maybe 20 percent of what goes through the office [would be] classified, if the office [were] structured the way it was in the Obama and Bush administrations.

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The ultimate arbiter of who in the executive branch is able to handle this countrys most sensitive secrets is one man. That man is Donald Trump.

[Virtually] every piece of paper that goes to the president goes through the office, she added. That includes a lot of classified material. Brown noted that theres a chance that Porter may have been doing his job without reviewing classified materials, delegating that responsibility to more junior officials with full clearance. [But] its hard to see him running the office effectively in that case, she said. The staff secretary role itself, as executed under previous administrations, requires the person in that position try to ensure that a range of advisers who might have a view on any particular issue have a chance to weigh in. When so many issues at that level involve confidential information, its very difficult to fathom the staff secretary not having access to the nations top secrets.

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For his part, Kelly reportedly worked to ensure that this job was in fact operating in a more traditional way than it had perhaps been prior to his transition to chief of staff. When John Kelly replaced Reince Priebus as White House chief of staff, Porters role expanded, CNN reported on Wednesday. Kelly imposed a strict system of information flow to the President, elevating the importance of Porters task in managing the documents, news clipping, and briefing books that entered the Oval Office.

Can independent agencies within the executive branch, such as the FBI, overrule the White House on questions of security clearance? Theres no real oversight, national security attorney Bradley Moss told me. Moss works on helping government officials navigate the security-clearance process. He said that ultimately if Congress is compliant, theres nothing stopping Trump from allowing whoever he wants to work in the White House without final security-clearance approval. The way the process normally works is that an official is given interim security-clearance approval until an investigating agency, likely the FBI, can vet the official for permanent clearance. Interim clearance, though, offers the same exact access to classified information as permanent clearance. Access is access, Moss said. The interim access [though] is only supposed to be there long enough for an agency to finish the vetting. That vetting process, Moss said, can be as quick as a couple of weeks depending on the circumstances of the individual application.

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We know that Kushner has been able to access classified information despite never being granted final clearance, potentially due to questions surrounding misleading information he put on his initial clearance-request forms. Both Porter and Kushner have apparently had this interim clearance for a year, though Moss said, the interim clearance really isnt supposed to last longer than somewhere between 90 and 180 days. The agency is supposed to have rendered a decision at that point one way or the other as to whether or not to grant a clearance.

The enormous loophole in this process is that even if the adjudicating agency decides that someone should not receive security clearance for whatever reasonincluding that they might be susceptible to blackmail or have committed domestic assaultthe president can override that agencys decision and grant clearance anyway. Additionally, theres no internal mechanism for making the public aware of possible White House decisions to override security-clearance decisions by the federal bureaucracy. The only way the public might learn about a security-clearance decision being ignored or overridden is through a leak to the press, a waiver signed by the official in question releasing his or her own security clearance status, or perhaps congressional oversight.

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Nor does the agency necessarily have to have formally rejected a clearance request for the process to be completely broken, as it appears to now be. The investigating agency can just decide not to grant permanent security clearance to officials, allowing them to remain indefinitely using interim clearance in a sort of limbo state. Again, this would render the entire clearance process effectively moot. An agency might choose to do this if it didnt want to come into conflict with the head of the executive branch, say by pointing out to a president who has been credibly accused of violence against women that an official who is credibly accused of violence against women should perhaps not have access to this nations top secrets. This [could be] another consequence of having a president who is compromised on issues of sexual autonomy and women, argued Andrew McCanse Wright, an associate professor at Savannah Law School who was an associate counsel in President Obamas White House Counsels Office and has gone through the clearance process five times. If the president has no clothes then everyone has no clothes.

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Even if the agency never rendered a verdict on clearance, the official could remain in the position by default indefinitely so long as the White House wanted that. Given the virtually unlimited discretion they have in terms of granting the interim [clearance] and ultimately adjudicating the final clearance, theres nothing to have prevented the investigating agency [from letting] this sit on the back burner for months on end hoping that Rob Porter would ultimately leave the administration before they had to make a decision one way or another, Moss noted.

[Porter] may well have an interim clearance, Brown said. But it feels to me that if thats the case and you can see anything with an interim clearance, boy we have a loophole in our clearance process.
Donald Trump used to have a simple message about the Russia investigation: It isnt really about Russia; thats just a Democratic excuse for losing the 2016 election. Trump said he had never cared about Russia. So when investigators found people around him doing suspicious things with RussiansPaul Manafort, Mike Flynn, George PapadopoulosTrump said those interactions had nothing to do with him.

The brushoff strategy was smart. It distanced Trump from Russia, its agenda, and its friends in Trumps camp. But Trump couldnt stand it. When the investigation struck his people, he wanted to strike back. In this mission, he had willing warriors: a team of lawyers and Rep. Devin Nunes, the Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.

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The counterattack began in March, when Nunes, secretly aided by the White House, launched an assault on national security officials who had unmasked Flynn. The scandal, Nunes argued, wasnt Flynns secret dealings with Russia or the payments he had received. It was U.S. surveillance of him. Trump joined the outcry, urging Flynn to seek legal immunity against the Russia witch hunt. Later, after Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI, Trump blasted the bureau for persecuting Flynn.

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In July, the FBI came for Manafort. Agents armed with a search warrant raided his home to collect evidence. Trump criticized the raid, and Trumps lawyer, John Dowd, went ballistic. Dowd accused the FBI and special counsel Robert Mueller of deceiving a judge to get the warrant. The presidents lawyer argued that the evidence should be barred from court.

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In October, Papadopoulos guilty plea was revealed. Trumps lawyers could have let the coffee boy fend for himself. Instead, they defended his contacts with Russia. Papadopoulos might have lied to the FBI, said Trump attorney Jay Sekulow, but the underlying conductbackstage conversations during the campaign with an intermediary who told Papadopoulos that Russia had dirt on Hillary Clintonwasnt illegal or inappropriate. A conversation that someone would have regarding a foreign government, whether it was Great Britain, Russia, or anybody else is not an inappropriate activity, Sekulow argued.

Carter Page has followed a similar arc. Like Papadopoulos, he served in Trumps campaign as a nominal foreign policy adviser. Page is an overt Putin sympathizer. Hes a minor-league operatorhe once called himself an informal advisor to the staff of the Kremlinbut hes mostly a doofus. Russian agents tried to recruit him in 2013one explicitly called him an idiotand during the 2016 election, he gave a speech in Moscow in which he accused the United States of hypocrisy for preaching to Russia about democracy, corruption, and inequality. To this day, Page refuses to accept that Russia meddled in the 2016 election.

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When Page initially surfaced in the Russia investigation, the Trump camp blew him off as a marginal player who had no formal role in the campaign. But in late May, when Fox & Friends depicted Page as a victim of partisan Democrats, Trump leapt to his defense. So now it is reported that the Democrats, who have excoriated Carter Page about Russia, dont want him to testify, Trump tweeted. He blows away their case against him & now wants to clear his name by showing the false or misleading testimony by James Comey, John Brennan Witch Hunt!

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Nunes, egged on by Trump, kept working to prove that the Russia investigation was corrupt. Last Friday, with Trumps approval, he released the result: a memo that casts Page as a martyr. The transformation is remarkable. In December 2016, Don McGahn, who was then Trumps transition lawyer, sent Page a letter telling him to stop calling himself a Trump adviser. You never met Mr. Trump, nor did you ever advise Mr. Trump about anything, said the letter. You are thus not an advisor to Mr. Trump in any sense of the word. The Nunes memo pretends this rebuke never happened. It decries the FBIs persecution of Page, a volunteer advisor to the Trump presidential campaign.

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In October 2016, the memo reports, the DOJ and FBI sought and received a FISA probable cause order  authorizing electronic surveillance on Carter Page. The surveillance was specifically on Page, a peripheral character with a prior history of Russian contacts. But Nunes, in TV appearances promoting the memo, spun this as surveillance of the Trump campaign. The FBI opened a counterintelligence investigation into the Trump campaign in the summer of 2016, Nunes told Bret Baier on Feb. 2, referring to the initial investigative steps against Russia, which were prompted by Papadopoulos. And then they got a warrant on someone in the Trump campaign, Nunes complained, referring to Page. Its wrong, and it should never be done. Three days later, on Fox & Friends, Nunes fumed: 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.

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According to this revised narrative, Page was so close to Trump that surveillance on Page was tantamount to surveillance on Trump. And the 2016 investigation, heretofore understood as a counterintelligence probe aimed at Russia, is now reframed as an insidious plot to incriminate Page and Trump. I dont believe that somebody like Mr. Page should be a target of the FBI, Nunes told Baier. Other Trump supporters echoed that argument, calling Page an innocent American ensnared by a terrifying investigation. Trump bills himself as the real victim, tweeting that FISA may have been used  to so badly surveil and abuse the Trump Campaign by the previous administration.

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Everything about the surveillance of Page fits the original story that he was peripheral to Trump. Page was watched by the FBI long before he joined the campaign. The electronic surveillance of him began and was reauthorized after he had left the campaign. So it would have been easy for Trump and his defenders to say that the surveillance was legitimately about Russia, not about Trump. Instead, they have attacked it. All this stuff was based on Carter Page, Donald Trump Jr. complained Monday on Fox News. And yet [the surveillance] was reauthorized numerous times after Carter Page was not even a part of the campaign anymore. In another Fox interview, Trump Jr. agreed that the Nunes memo showed the entire Russia investigation is rotten to the core.

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Exonerating Page is just the beginning. Next, Trumps allies want to free Flynn, Manafort, and other Russia-connected characters. Muellers investigation is and has been a witch hunt from the very beginning, Sean Hannity declared hours after the Nunes memo was released. Its built on a house of cards, and tonight it is crashing down. The special counsel must be disbanded immediately, said Hannity, and all charges against Paul Manafort and Gen. Michael Flynn need to be dropped.

If Trump and his surrogates cared only about him, they wouldnt say such things. They wouldnt attack counterintelligence work. They wouldnt embrace Page, denounce the exposure of Russian contacts, and try to overturn guilty pleas by people supposedly distant from the president. What the Nunes memo shows is that the assault on Mueller and the FBI extends well beyond protecting Trump. Its an assault on investigating Russia.
Its been more than six months since John Kelly joined the White House as President Trumps second chief of staff. In that time, he has imposed a semblance of order on an otherwise chaotic operation. But hes also demonstrated that, far from acting as the adult in the room, hes as implicated in the worst impulses of the Trump administration as the president himself.

The most recent and most shocking example is Kellys willingness to protect Rob Porter, a senior aide to the president who resigned his position after his two ex-wives came forward with allegations of verbal and physical abuse that included kicking, throwing, and choking them. Porters first wife, Colbie Holderness, released graphic pictures of herself with a black eye, which she alleges he gave her.

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White House counsel Don McGahn learned about these allegations last spring. John Kelly learned about them in the fall. Both men chose to keep Porter in a senior position in the administration despite the fact that the allegations kept him from obtaining a necessary security clearance. Indeed, Kelly gave Porter even more influence and responsibilitytreating serious accusations of domestic abuse as essentially irrelevant. On Tuesday, after the allegations became public, Kelly released a statement calling Porter a man of true integrity and honor. It wasnt until the photos of Holderness with a black eye were made public that Kelly began to backtrack. A subsequent statement said Kelly was shocked by the new allegations, though the White House refused to clarify what was new about them.

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The Porter incident puts Kellys recent rhetoric in a different light. When I was a kid growing up a lot of things were sacred in our country, he said during a news conference last October. Women were sacred and looked upon with great honor. Thats obviously not the case anymore as weve seen from recent cases.

Even at the time, this was jarring. Kelly was speaking in defense of Donald Trump and against Florida Rep. Frederica Wilson, who had criticized the president for disrespecting a military widow. Kelly was lamenting a coarsening American culture, and its particular effect on women, in defense of a man who was accused of sexual misconduct by more than a dozen women and was recorded bragging about sexual assault. It was an incredible display of cluelessness, made worse by Kellys highly misleading response to Wilson that misquoted and mischaracterized her words.

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Knowing what we now know about how the chief of staff protected Rob Porter, Kellys rhetoric looks downright disingenuous. Women might be sacred to Kelly, but only when they dont interfere with his political objectives. In that, Kelly feels less like a departure from Trump than a fellow traveler who shares the presidents worst instincts.

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The two also seem to share a penchant for nativism and resentment of people of color. In the midst of a national debate over Confederate memorials, Kelly defended Robert E. Leea general and key leader in the slaveholders rebellion that nearly split the United States in twoas honorable and stated his belief that the Civil War was caused by a lack of compromise. Those comments hinted at Kellys views on race, which he made slightly more explicit just before the Porter incident, when Kelly caught blasted a substantial number of Dreamersyoung undocumented immigrants brought to the country as childrenas too lazy to get off their asses and register with the government.

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Analysts treated Kellys move to the White House as a major shift. John Kelly wont suffer idiots and fools, read one report. Its the end of the chaos, read another. Theres no question that in his affect and disposition, John Kelly is a vastly different person than Donald Trump. But theres been no reason to ever think that Kelly holds substantively different views than the president. What weve seen instead is how simpatico they are, with Kelly acting as the ego to Trumps id.

President Trump is reportedly upset with Kelly and the negative publicity around his tenure. Perhaps, like Reince Priebus before him, John Kelly will be sacrificed on the altar of political expediency. If he is replaced, its important not to see that change as a pivot. Each president is reflected in his staff. John Kelly seems to share Trumps nativism, resentment, and indifference to womens well-being. Theres a strong chance his successor will too.
Vice President Mike Pence was seated just a few feet away from Kim Yo-jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, at Fridays Olympics opening ceremony but did not appear to interact with her. Earlier in the evening, Pence had skipped a VIP dinner where he would have been expected to share a table with North Koreas ceremonial head of state, Kim Yong-nam (no relation to the ruling family).

Dubbed Kim Jong-uns Ivanka by the fascinated South Korean press because of her perceived influence within his government, Kim Yo-jong is the youngest child of former leader Kim Jong-il. Shes about 30, though as with most members of the Kim family, her exact birthday is a bit of a mystery. Last year, she became the youngest member of the Politburo, the top decision-making body of North Koreas ruling party, and is officially the deputy director of the partys Propaganda and Agitation Department, responsible for managing her brothers image.

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Her visit for the Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, makes her the first member of the Kim family to visit the country since the Korean War. During the opening ceremony, at which the North and South Korean teams marched under a unified flag, she and Kim Yong-nam shook hands with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, another historic milestone.

Moon has sought to use these Olympics as an opportunity to open dialogue with the North.

The Trump administration has viewed this more warily, worried that North Korea is using the event for propaganda, and is opposing any concessions to the regime unless Kim gives up his nuclear program.

Kim Jong-un didnt help matters by holding a military parade in Pyongyang on the eve of the Olympics, including the countrys new Hwasong-15 missile. Pence denounced the parade as a provocation, though he also had to fend off questions from reporters about whether the U.S. had ceded the moral high ground given Trumps stated desire to hold an impromptu military parade through Washington.

Pence has not ruled out the possibility of meeting with North Korean officials while in Pyeongchang. Theres also been some half-joking speculation about Americas own Ivanka, due to attend the closing ceremony, encountering her North Korean counterpart.

But the North Koreans dont seem enthusiastic about the idea of meeting, with one official telling the state news agency, We have never begged for talks with the United States and it will be the same ahead. After today, it doesnt look very likely.
It is nearly midnight, at which time federal appropriations are scheduled to lapse, and the dang budget bill hasnt even gotten out of the Senate. A single senator, Kentuckys Rand Paul, is throwing a fit. Once procedural rules terminate his fit, sometime after midnight, the Senate should swiftly pass the budget deal. Then it will go to the House, where a sloppy vote may or may not result in majority support.

So, will the government be open when you go to work on Friday? Probably.

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Paul, who does not really believe in government spending, is mad about the two-year budget deal blowing past spending caps to the tune of $300 billion dollars. He is making a number of strong points about how members of his own party, who rail on about the deficit when a Democrat is president but who are about to produce permanent trillion-dollar annual deficits, are full of it. But the revenge he is exacting, by denying unanimous consent requests to move to a cloture vote, is just keeping everyone up a few more hours.

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If I werent a reporter charged with covering this, I would find it very funny. His colleagues hate him, so much. One after another, senators come into the chamber trying to get unanimous content to move to the vote, and he just sits there on the floor objecting. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, at one point, called for unanimous consent after Paul had ducked into the cloakroom just off the floor. An aide ran in and grabbed Paul so he could come out and object. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell left the building around 8 p.m.

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The Senate will get to its vote eventually and easily pass the deal.

Then things will get interesting. In the House, there was confusion throughout the day about what Democratic leaders strategy will be. Do they want to block the deal unless they get a commitment from Ryan to hold a neutral floor debate on protecting Dreamers? Or do they just want to show the base that they tried to save the Dreamers, while privately hoping that the bill passes without many of their votes?

Democrats held a caucus meeting at 4:30 p.m. that lasted roughly two hours. Most members came out saying they would vote no, but insisted that Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi wasnt pressuring them to do so.

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Kentucky Rep. John Yarmouth, the Budget Committee ranking member, said he would vote yes. He made the point that a lot of members are thinking, but dont want to say out loud: If House Republicans put up 160 or 170 votes on a bipartisan budget deala deal that Democrats, on the deals merits, really like, by the wayand House Democrats cant put up the rest, Democrats will be blamed for the shutdown. If Republicans need 75 Democratic votes, he said, they may not get it. What if they need 40? I asked. Then, he said, they could probably swing it.

During my dinner break, I saw Illinois Rep. Luis Gutierrez, the most vocal advocate for Dreamers in the United States Congress, at a pizza restaurant. He was taking pictures with a couple of Dreamers. He expected the deal would pass with 50 or 60 Democratic votes. With their leverage on must-pass legislation eliminated, he worried, the cost for securing protections for Dreamers in the coming weeks would soar. He is fine giving Trump money for his stupid wall. But he wont vote to break families apart.
Drawing from the deep: Recently, academics using software invented to detect plagiarism discovered a new source for the language in some of Shakespeares plays. The news should serve to remind us that the writers genius didnt come out of nowhere, Isaac Butler writes.

R.I.P.: John Perry Barlow, whose ideas, April Glaser writes, pointed the way to an internet that prizes individual freedom for some while allowing other injustices to thrive.

Mea culpa: Jordan Weissmann knows that Amazon delivering Whole Foods groceries to his door is terrible for our economic ecosystem. Jordan Weissmann will rejoice and use the service often, even so.

One if by land: The Cleveland Cavaliers just carried out some bonkers disruption of their roster, all to please LeBron James. Much to my dismay, Jack Hamilton thinks itll all be for naught.

For fun: Good gloves or bad?

Good gloves,

Rebecca
This piece was originally published on Just Security, an online forum for analysis of U.S. national security law and policy.

Im continuing my look at the central mysteries of the Trump-Russia investigation, diving into a question that has former federal prosecutors and legal experts scratching their heads: the plea deal of retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn.

As Lawfares Susan Hennessey and Ben Wittes have written, Flynns plea deal remains an unsolved mystery. The central question is: Why, after so much public reporting about Flynns potential criminal exposure, was his plea so limitedonly one count for a set of false statements to the FBI? Many have interpreted the deal to mean that special counsel Robert Mueller gave Flynn a good deal, because Flynn had so much important information to share with the special counsel.

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Reports over the last year have suggested Flynn could be implicated in other wrongdoing.

I think Flynn is giving up the goods, big time, Asha Rangappa, a former special agent in the New York office of the FBI and Just Security editor, said at the time.

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In an interview with Politicos Susan Glasser just last month, Sen. Mark Warner said, The fact that he pled to one count would say to me that hes probably got a story to tell, and my sense is that Mueller is getting closer and closer to the truth and that closer and closer to the truth is getting closer and closer to the president.

But others like National Reviews Andy McCarthy have come out with a different interpretation: Flynn pleaded to one count of lying because this is all Mueller has on him. Whats more, McCarthy, who formerly served as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, concludes that Flynns very limited plea shows the collusion probe is over.



But this doesnt feel quite right either, because reports over the past year have suggested Flynn could be implicated in other wrongdoing. Flynn failed to register as a foreign agent for Turkey until after he left the Trump administration despite receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars to lobby on behalf of the Turkish government throughout the presidential campaign and even into the transition period. Flynn also reportedly met with Turkish representatives in New York in December 2016 and allegedly discussed options for delivering Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish cleric who lives in exile in Pennsylvania, to the Turkish government, which accuses Gulen of masterminding a failed coup against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. One of the proposals included a plan to kidnap Gulen for millions of dollars. Later, as Trumps first national security adviser, Flynn was working behind the scenes to help get a U.S.-Russia plan to build nuclear plants in the Middle East off the ground, a project with which he had previous business ties. Flynn failed to disclose the work he did on the project, including trips abroad, on his security clearance renewal form. He also failed to disclose payments hed received from Russia-linked companies on his first financial disclosure form.

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What happened to all of that? Its possible that other charges on Flynn did not pan out, or Mueller decided as a matter of discretion that the wrongdoing did not warrant criminal consequences.

Preet Bharara, the former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, remains very skeptical that Mueller cut Flynn a sweetheart deal in exchange for information. Its typical that when you reach a plea deal with someone, you make them plead guilty to every bad act theyve ever done, he explained on his podcast in early December. Because of this, its very possible that, in the end, Flynn pleaded guilty only to lying to the FBI because thats all Mueller has on him. But Bharara leaves room for a third possibility, which he outlined in December:

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It may be the case that Michael Flynn understands that for now he was expected to plead guilty to the most easily provable, serious charge, which is 18 U.S.C.  1001 violation, lying to the FBI. And as the team begins to uncover evidence and build a case against other people, whether thats Jared Kushner or the president of the United States himself, or other folks, they may be reluctant to have Michael Flynn, at this point in time, plead guilty in a way that suggests the guilt of other people because its premature, because theyre not yet ready to pull the trigger, because its not yet clear that they will ever be in a position to charge those other people. Now, ordinarily, in cases that I oversaw, particularly in public corruption, and you were concerned about this public taint that would come to pass against these other people prematurely, what you do is you have the person plead guilty under seal. Now, Im not sure why that didnt happen in the Michael Flynn case, maybe just to continue the hypothetical, that they thought it would get because there are leaks.  Although, I dont recall too many cases where you had phases of guilty plea on the part of a cooperating witness, because of the unique nature of the circumstances here, and the tremendous amount of collateral damage that could occur with respect to other people, thats a possibility.

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Consistent with Bharara, Just Securitys Ryan Goodman and Alex Whiting write in National Review that with the power to potentially drive the highest officials in the country from office, Mueller may even have intentionally avoided getting Flynn on the public record now, to make sure that the FBI has built the strongest and clearest possible case if he ever does unveil an indictment that involves a conspiracy to work with the Russians in election interference.

So which is it? Will we eventually see Flynn plead guilty to other charges or is this it? And what has he shared with Mueller and what new doors of investigation did this information open?

More from Just Security:

The Mysteries of the Trump-Russia Investigation: Known Unknowns

Surveillance Law Backers Willie Horton Tactics
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Last July, retired Marine Gen. John Kelly rode to the rescue of Donald Trump, entering his White House as a valiant chief of staff amid the chaos and carnage of Anthony Scaramuccis short tenure and the departures of Sean Spicer and Reince Priebus. At that time, and for a short while thereafter, many hoped that Kelly would bring order, discipline, and maturity to a White House visibly lacking all three.

Six months in, and especially after this week, Kellys armor is no longer so bright and shining. In July I wrote that he had four missions: to focus Trump more, to bring order to a dysfunctional White House, to keep the White House operating amid the special counsels investigation, and to reinvent himself as a savvy political operator who can complement and support Trump. Kelly has failed at each of these, but particularly the last one. In a broad array of political fights, Kelly has worsened matters more than he has improved them. And he has shown devastatingly poor judgment, too, as in the case of White House staff secretary Rob Porter, whom Kelly kept on the job after learning of his domestic violence history and later defended with unqualified praise.

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Leading up to this weeks scandal were three other political episodes that illustrate the extent of Kellys unsuitability for the role of chief of staff. The first occurred after the violent protests in Charlottesville which resulted in the deaths of one anti-Nazi protester and two Virginia state troopers. At that moment, Kelly had the opportunity to steer Trump toward responsible rhetoric, perhaps echoing the militarys attitudes toward diversity and inclusion. Kelly did not do so. Indeed, he later tacked in the opposite direction, calling Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee an honorable man and blaming the Civil War on the lack of an ability to compromise.

That, ironically, would form the backdrop for another political episode, in which Kelly appears to have labored mightily behind the scenes to delay, block, or derail a compromise between Trump and Democratic leaders such as Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Nancy Pelosi. This followed Kellys tour de force as secretary of homeland security, in which he toughened immigration enforcement by ordering arrests at courthouses and churches, and told Congress to pass immigration reform or shut up and support the men and women on the front lines. In meeting after meeting, Kelly played the role of heavy to Trumps lightweight compromiser. It now appears that Kellys legislative outreach helped stiffen Republican opposition to any immigration bargaining and probably contributed to last months brief government shutdown. In the following weeks, Kelly has escalated his divisive rhetoric on immigration, saying some immigrants in legal jeopardy may have been too afraid or too lazy to apply for government permission to stay.

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A third episode occurred last October when Kelly should have been at his finest: counseling the president on how to comfort the bereaved families of four U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers killed in Niger. Kellys son died in combat in Afghanistan, and he has comforted scores (if not hundreds) of military families who have faced similar circumstances. And yet, at a moment when he could have brought all his military experience to bear, he and Trump fumbled, inflaming the grief of one soldiers wife. Kelly then made matters worse by giving an awkward press conference that oscillated between excoriating the press and lamenting the nations civil-military divide. He then went on the offensive, falsely attacking a congresswoman who had brought attention to the matter and then refusing to apologize to her.

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Which brings us to the fourth and most recent episode: Kellys shielding of Rob Porter, an eminently qualified Harvard graduate and Rhodes scholar who also abused two of his ex-wives (brutally beating one) before joining Trumps White House. Kelly knew these facts about Porters past, thanks to the governments thorough background investigation which ultimately led to Porter being denied a security clearance. By the book, Kelly probably should have thanked Porter for his service at that point because its near-impossible to be White House staff secretary without the highest clearances to process all the sensitive information passing through the Oval Office. Kelly didnt do that. Instead, he wrapped Porter in a protective embrace, making him a key ally and praising him for his work bringing order to the White House. And when news of Porters past broke this week, Kelly went on the record to defend him as a man of true integrity and honor and I cant say enough good things about him.

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And there are other failures outside of those four episodes. Kelly, as a former DHS secretary and commander of U.S. Southern Command, could have helped the Trump White House respond better to Hurricane Marias devastation of Puerto Rico; he did not. Kelly could have even attempted to wrestle Trumps smartphone away and discipline his usage of Twitter; he has not.

Americans admire generals and admirals like Kelly because they perceive them to be loyal to the countrys interests above their own interests, to be forthright and trustworthy. Beyond that, senior military leaders hold a certain mystique: They serve when not all do, theyve thrived under adverse circumstances like combat, and theyve been selected by the military as the best of the best. Trump has gravitated toward generals like Kelly for these reasons, and because their stratospheric levels of public admiration are the exact opposite of his sagging political fortunes.

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However, just because generals can lead well on the battlefield does not mean they can (or always will) succeed in the political swamps of Washington, let alone the toxic environment of the Trump White House. For every senior officer like Colin Powell or Brent Scowcroft that succeeded as a White House aide, there is a Michael Flynn or Alexander Haig who crashed and burned. The role of White House chief of staff may be the toughest in government; even the best ones frequently burn out after a couple of years. Kelly had the right stuff to succeed within the tight-knit, battle-focused world of the Marine Corps, but his first six months as Trumps chief of staff have been disastrous, and it may be time for Kelly to ride off into the sunset.
Here is the baffling absurdity of Americas position in the world right now: We are getting more deeply embroiled in two wars and flirting with starting another. Our top military officers say (and have long said) that none of these wars have a military solution but rather must be settled politically. Yet the Trump administration is pouring in more troops, and expanding their missions, while doing little or nothing to conceive, much less pursue, a political course of action.

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The two current wars are in Afghanistan and Syria; the third may erupt in North Korea. Secretary of Defense James Mattis is one of the officersin his case, a retired Marine four-star generalwho has poured cold water on the notion that we can kill our way to victory. He has said repeatedly that he the reason he needs more military assets and a wider military presence is to give our diplomats the leverage to make peace. But as more troops head into battle, our diplomats are dormant: crucial appointments remain unfilled; veteran foreign service officers are fleeing in droves; and the one time that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson opened a back-door negotiation with the North Koreans, President Trump slammed it shut. So we just dig ourselves deeper in conflicts that those in charge dont know how to fight or winthat may be unwinnable.

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Afghanistan is a classic, and tragic, case in point. The contradictions were clear long before Trump entered the White House. From nearly the beginning, the top brassGens. David Petraeus and Stanley McChrystal, who were commanders, and Adm. Mike Mullen, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staffsaid time after time that, ultimately, a political deal would have to be struck with the Taliban. But they also insisted that negotiations shouldnt begin until U.S. forces and the Afghan army win more battles and wrest back more land, in order to acquire a stronger bargaining position.

The war is now in its 17th year, and this upper hand is as elusive as ever. Meanwhile, the ceaseless fighting is plunging the country more deeply into chaos, the government in Kabul remains mired in corruption (a problem that would preclude victory, Adm. Mullen once said, no matter how many troops we sent), and the Talibanas well as the more radical ISISare gaining ground.

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It is time to figure out just what we want as a minimally acceptable outcome of this war (something that no administration has systematically done) and to start talks aimed at achieving it (something that this administration has neither the personnel nor the inclination to do).

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Syria, meanwhile, is a textbook case in mission creep. President Obama reluctantly sent troops there to defeat ISIS after realizing he couldnt confine the fight to the groups foothold in Iraq. Now that ISIS has been ousted from almost all the territory it once held, the countrys other conflictsa multidimensional civil war involving the Syrian regime, Iran, Russia, Turkey, and several Kurdish militiashas reignited in full force. (These wars never lost fuel entirely.) And the Trump administration, which recently decided to keep troops in the country for the long haul to prevent ISIS from resurging, is now stuck in the middle of violent power struggles that it doesnt understand and in which we have no discernible interest, except to stabilize the regionbut the grinding, overlapping wars are exacerbating its instabilities.

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From the beginning, it was clear that our two goals in the fightto crush ISIS and, somehow, to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from powerwere contradictory: ousting Assad could create a power vacuum, which ISIS or forces like it could fill; but crushing ISIS, the most powerful anti-Assad militia, would make it easier for Assad to crush the other, weaker militias seeking to overthrow his regime. As predicted, as ISIS has waned, Assad has stepped up its campaign against those militias, often with the help of Russia and Iran, which have long had a presence in Syria and a stake in preserving his regime.

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Meanwhile, the United States actively supports some of those militiasthe Syrian Democratic Forces, which Assad and his allies have recently been attacking, and is partly made up of Kurdish groups, which are seen as existential threats by Turkey. And so our entanglement in several wider conflicts seems almost inevitable.

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On Wednesday, U.S. troops pounded pro-Assad forces with air and artillery strikes, killing 100 of them, in response to an attack on anti-Assad rebels who had captured a gas refinery from ISIS, in the eastern part of the country, and stayed there along with their U.S. advisers, who also came under the Syrian attack.

The next day, Secretary Mattis told reporters that the United States was not getting engaged in the Syrian civil war. Rather, our strike on pro-regime forces was an act of self-defense. True, but it was our military presence in Syria and our alliance with anti-Assad forcesin other words (there is no getting around this fact), our acts of getting engaged in the Syrian civil warthat put us in a spot where we had to fire in self-defense, and almost certainly not for the last time.

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The Russian defense ministry issued a counterstatement claiming that the real aim of Americas continuing military presence in Syria is not the fight against ISIS but rather the seizure and retention of economic assets that only belong to the Syrian Arab Republic. In other words, this fight is going to get fiercer, and the prospects for achieving the second goal of our original interventionto negotiate a political settlement, with all the other interested players, to ease Assad out of powerhave dimmed to the point of near-darkness.

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It may not be possible to reopen the diplomatic forum that Obamas secretary of state, John Kerry, had initiated; even then, before the wars intensified and U.S.Russian relations soured, it produced scant results. Still, negotiations of some sort are the only path toward stopping the appalling carnage.

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Finally, there is the nightmare of North Korea. Kim Jong-uns fiery rhetoric and escalating nuclear weapons programcombined with Trumps equally furious threats to launch an attack if the program continueshave raised the specter of war to levels unseen for decades.

Mattis and his Pentagon aides were reluctant even to draw up attack plans, until Trump insisted on it. They realizedas had officers under the last few presidentsthat there are no good military solutions to the problem. Kim has dispersed and buried most of his nuclear missiles and materials, making them very hard to hit. If Kim brought the missiles out, to prepare them for either a test-launch or an attack, then they could be hitbut maybe not all of them, all at once. And besides, Kim also has hundreds of artillery rockets, many of them loaded with chemical weapons, poised on the border of South Korea, just 35 miles from its capital, Seoul, with a population of 10 million people.

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The option that the Pentagon finally offeredpopularly known as the bloody nose attackenvisions the following scenario: Kim brings out one of his missiles; we bomb the missile, the command-control facilities around the site, maybe a few other targets as well; and this stuns him into submission. Maybe it would, maybe not. Even those who are closely involved with the plan think theres a high chance that Kim would retaliate in some wayand after that, its doubtful that cooler heads will prevail, not least because cooler heads dont occupy the top posts of either government. The option is, at best, a very dicey gamble. Its a better option than the others, which offer all-but-certain catastrophe, but that doesnt make it a good option.

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Everyone who has studied the problem knows that, if there is a solution, China must be a big part of it. Even China, North Koreas main (almost sole) ally and trading partner, is clearly getting annoyed with Kims high jinks, even voting for U.N. sanctions that it once routinely vetoed. But China wont take decisive measures, fearing that the collapse of Kims regimethe ultimate solution to the problemwould drive millions of North Koreans across the border, spawning a humanitarian crisis in Chinas sparsely populated eastern territories. It would also likely spur either a bitter civil war or the unification of the two Koreas, under Seouls control, thus placing an American-armed ally butting up against Chinas borderand freeing the U.S.

military to deploy more forces in the South China Sea and Taiwan Straits, which China regards as areas of vital interest.

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Meanwhile, the United States should continue to keep up the pressure on North Koreatightening sanctions, penalizing those who violate the sanctions, mobilizing more ships and planes to the area, if just to reassure our Pacific allies of our commitment to their defense. At the same time, we should resume talks with North Korea and the other powers in the region (this is what Tillerson tried to do, until Trump publicly undercut his efforts); they might not lead anywhere, but then again they might. Finally, we should start talks with China, to see if we can work out some kind of deal in which we mollify their security concerns and they crack down harder on Kims regime.

Maybe such deals are the stuff of fantasy. Maybe diplomatic solutions to all these conflicts are a pipedream. Diplomacy is hard, doubly so when it involves solving problems that have long seemed intractable. This is why a nation, especially one that unfurls its muscles around the world, needs a serious diplomatic corps and a coherent strategic vision. Currently we lack both. And that being the case, it makes no sense to wade deeper into military quagmires.
In yet another incident involving the attempted transport of an emotional support animal on a commercial flight, a 21-year-old college student flushed Pebbles, her dwarf hamster, down an airport toilet after Spirit Airlines refused to allow her to bring the animal aboard.

The student, named Belen Aldecosea, told the Miami Herald that she had called Spirit twice prior to her Nov. 21 flight to inquire about bringing her emotional support hamster onto the plane, and that both representatives said it would be permissible. Yet, upon arriving at the Baltimore airport to board her flight home to South Florida, Spirit employees would not let her bring the rodent onto the plane. Aldecosea alleges that one of the employees recommended that she either set it free outside or flush it down the toilet.

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The college student points to several extenuating circumstances that led her to make the decision. She had to fly home in short order to address a health issue, and she was hours away from campus where her friends were. She told the Herald she tried to rent a car but none were available. After fretting for hours on her predicament, Aldecosea decided that the most humane course of action would be the euthanize Pebbles via airport toilet. She described the scene to the Herald:

She was scared. I was scared. It was horrifying trying to put her in the toilet, Aldecosea said. I was emotional. I was crying. I sat there for a good 10 minutes crying in the stall.

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Spirit acknowledged to the Miami Herald and the Washington Post that one of its employees improperly informed Aldecosea over the phone that she could bring the hamster onboard, but denies that the airport employee advised her to flush Pebbles. A Spirit spokesperson told the Post, It is incredibly disheartening to hear this guest reportedly decided to end her own pets life.

The airline offered Aldecosea a free flight voucher after she complained about the incident over email, but she declined. She said she is considering filing a lawsuit against Spirit for allegedly giving her conflicting information.

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The conflict between airlines and emotional support animal owners has been brewing over the last few years, as the practice of traveling with pets becomes more popular. Delta reports that it flew 250,000 service and support animals last year, up 150 percent since 2015. The Air Carrier Access Act requires planes to accommodate animals that aid passengers with disabilities or provide emotional support. However, airlines are allowed to impose certain regulations, such as requiring documentation on the animal and the passengers condition. Several airlines also prohibit certain pets from boarding planes, such as rodents, hedgehogs, and animals with tusks.

Last month, United Airlines made headlines when it did not allow a woman to bring her emotional support peacock onto a flight due to weight and size guidelines.
Online speech has connected us in unimaginable ways, with new ways to stay in touch with one another, social graphs that can amplify exactly what our friends (or advertisers) want us to see, and faster-than-ever information about breaking stories. But its also brought us foreign election meddling, online harassment, news that moves too fast to verify in real time, and other threats to personal and national security.

On Jan. 30, Future Tense brought together politicians, technologists, and researchers to discuss the challenges presented by online speech, a driving influence of modern life. The problems arent simpleand neither are the solutions.

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One big question of the event was whether the government should step in to regulate private platforms, especially given concern over the influence sites like Twitter and Facebook had on the 2016 election. This is particularly true in the case of paid political ads, which arent currently regulated like their print, television, and radio counterparts.

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Thats something Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., is currently trying to fix. She is a co-sponsor of the Honest Ads Act, an amendment to the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform act that, if it passes, will require large-scale digital platforms to maintain public records of all election-related content purchased by a group or person who spends more than $500.00 on a platform.

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I strongly believe that with only 280 days to go [to the midterms] we just cant sit back and admire this problem, that we have to take action, said Klobuchar. Russia and other countries are emboldened when we do nothing in the face of clear evidence.

Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., said that he too supports disclosure when it comes to political speech. But he emphasized that he wouldnt want the government to regulate tech companies at large on matters of free speech. Instead, he said, he prefers a light touch, using existing laws.

Its not illegal to let people know your opinion. What was illegal was if you stole emails or stole information from a campaign and then you put that out.  So why would it be any different if they can do that on Twitter or Facebook. I mean is it just a scale right that were concerned about?

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While most speakers agreed that, in principle, Google, Facebook, and Twitter arent too big to regulate, there was disagreement on how much we should expect, and trust, the companies to address these problems themselves. Recent news that Facebook and Google intend to hire more human workers to vet content was regarded by most speakers as a good thing, for instance. But as Klobuchar noted, when companies self-regulate, their practices arent consistent with one another, leading to varying results.

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There are questions of democratic accountability because  [these] speech engines  have changed our norms around what we expect to be able to say, said Kate Klonick, a Yale Information Society Project fellow (and a Future Tense fellow).

Klonick pointed out that even in the European Union, where there is an attempt to regulate transnational internet companies and design standards that impact everyone, efforts such as right to be forgotten laws still cause contention. The porous borders online mean that one countrys regulations can set a precedent other nations might not want to follow. (For more on that, read our Futurography package about global internet governance.)

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The internet has fundamentally changed modern ideas of free speech. Whitney Phillips, a professor at Mercer University who has written extensively about online trolling, said that the idea that we need to protect  the worst kinds of speech online came from early hacker ethics. But the problem, she explained, is that that kind of mentality often works to silence groups of people who arent the loudest, most harassing. Without consistent norms and a strong definition of online harassment, the problem has gotten more intense as online communities have grown and diversified.

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People have a hard time following rules when they dont know what those rules are. And if youre assuming that most or many people who use the platform are operating in good faith, they would want to follow the rules, said Phillips.

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One problem is that these platforms are often designed by companies that arent nearly as diverse as their user bases. Caroline Sinders, who researches harassment as a product analyst at the Wikimedia Foundation, suggested one solution for this: product design process that incorporates the viewpoints of people who face abuse on platforms like Facebook. We have to determine or rather have a more community buy-in of what are those tools look like and who gets to make them right, Sinders said.

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That approach could help address online speech problems beyond harassment. Dan Gillmor, director and co-founder of the recently launched News Co/Lab at Arizona State University, also highlighted the need to involve and educate users to spot unreliable information. (Gillmor strongly encourages people to avoid using the term fake news.) Rather than putting the burden on tech companies to label their content, he called for greater civic education.

We have to upgrade ourselves. This is not just about upgrading journalism or making companies do better with processing information, but we have to do this for ourselves. And we have to help people find and understand and act on and create useful information and news and to share it with integrity, said Gillmor

Watch the full event on New Americas website.
Insurance is a difficult thing for a lot of businesses to navigate, especially freelancers and solopreneurs. But Pogo wants to make the concept simpler. The company is taking a unique approach to helping the smallest businesses understand their insurance options. Read more about the business below in this weeks Small Business Spotlight.

What the Business Does

Provides insurance for self-employed individuals.

Co-founder Hannah Sullivan told Small Business Trends, We provide business insurance to self-employed people like freelancers and entrepreneurs. We also offer advice, tips, and tricks regarding how to successfully work for yourself.

Business Niche

Making business insurance easy to understand.

Sullivan says, Pogo has three founders. Myself, Jade, and Steve. Steves my dad and Jades my wife. Jade and I met in grad school for branding and innovation and used to work at an ad agency together. My dad owns several insurance agencies and has been in the industry for over 30 years. Because Jade and I dont come from an insurance background, but rather a design and communications background, we have worked very hard to break down insurance speak into easy to understand bits for everyday humans.

How the Business Got Started

Because of insurance confusion.

Sullivan says, Jade and I were working at Wieden+Kennedy in New York as a creative team. We always knew we wanted to do our own thing, and when my dad offered us a chance to work on his new back-end insurance program, we moved back to Richmond. After several months of what the hell is going on we figured out that we could probably make business insurance way easier. From there, Pogo was born. And since a lot of our peers are in creative industries, doing work on the side, and are also not insurance experts, we thought the idea could actually help people.

Biggest Win

Finding a way to help entrepreneurs.

Sullivan explains, Insurance is very confusing. And when you run your own show, you have a million things to figure out- meaning many hours digging around on the internet. Thats why we want to help self-employed businesses get the right insurance without feeling like their head is going to explode. (Especially because business insurance would be of no help, in that case). So, I guess our biggest win is being able present business insurance in a way that preserves your safety and your sanity.

Biggest Risk

Breaking into an unknown industry.

Sullivan explains, For Jade and I, choosing to work in insurance was the biggest risk. Her background is in film and technology, mine is in marketing and design. At the time we were 100% not insurance people. I remember the first few weeks when I got started I would just constantly black out like, what the heck is happening right now?! How did I get here?! Jade worked in commercials and I was straight out of school. We had a brief stint at an ad agency, but other than that, we didnt have much business experience. Id say the true risk taker here was Steve, but he must have known that our obsession with making good work could apply to anything.

Lesson Learned

Embrace the challenge.

Sullivan says, I wish I hadnt been so hard on myself. Its like Jade and I would just pass a huge ball of stress back and forth, every day, for months. We were filled with such doubt because we werent insurance people. Looking back, we should have just owned it! We had fresh eyes, and thats the reason our company has an edge. Its relatable to real people because it was made by real people. Not simply by insurance experts.

How Theyd Spend an Extra $100,000

Travel.

Sullivan explains, This summer Jade and I traveled throughout Mexico while renting out coworking spaces. It was so inspiring and we were able to meet tons of freelancers and entrepreneurs. It was great to get a chance to talk to them about their lifestyle and how important (or unimportant) they perceived insurance.

* * * * *

Find out more about the Small Biz Spotlight program
[If you are interested, here is 36. And 35.]

1. The most important part of your life is ahead of you.

2. We are not responsible to change anyone. We are just asked to love and affirm them.

3. Wives are so often unsympathetic to physical pain in their husbands.

4. The writer Walt Whitman, was a Quaker.

5. Try turning a statement into a question. It will give you a different perspective.

6. You should travel because its there. And it should not be missed.

7. We should all be taking longer lunches.

8. The point of your life is character transformation, just like in a story.

9. On his deathbed, the first thing King David told his son was: Prove yourself a man.

10. Want you family to be tidier? Go first, and say nothing.

11. The writing life is only romantic on paper.

12. If you hate your job, you are probably not in the right place.

13. People typically judge by appearances. You can use that to your advantage  if you think about it.

14. If you can attach meaning to suffering  suffering becomes sacrifice.

15. Most of the time, emotion increases with age.

16. Saddam means The Crasher.

17. If you must disappoint a few people, dont let it be your immediate family.

18. Honduras was the first Banana Republic.

19. I want this schedule.

20. Do not look for external validation. Its too subjective.
CHICAGO - Pro-Publica and the Chicago Sun Times' investigation into the conservative think tank Illinois Policy Institute's (IPI) finances and connections is stirring the attention of the governor, the General Assembly and the attorney general.

Im very troubled, very troubled by what Ive learned, and I certainly would not give them any more money, the governor, whose family foundation gave IPI over $600,000, told the Sun-Times.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan's spokesman said their office is "reviewing the information, and well determine if we need to take next steps.
Anadarko Petroleum Corporation engages in the exploration, development, production, and marketing of oil and gas properties. It operates through three segments: Exploration and Production, WES Midstream, and Other Midstream. The company explores for and produces oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids (NGLs). It is also involved in gathering, processing, treating, and transporting oil, natural-gas, and NGLs production, as well as the gathering and disposal of produced water. The company's oil and natural gas properties are located in the United States onshore and deepwater Gulf of Mexico; and Algeria, Ghana, Mozambique, Colombia, Peru, and other countries. As of December 31, 2018, it had approximately 1.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent of proved reserves. The company was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas.

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Anabel & Jorge Valente share with us the best travel destinations for 2018... Get ready to catch the travel bug!

Anabela discovered her passion for travelling soon after finishing her language studies. She has travelled all the continents including Antarctica, and knows that there is so much more to be seen and experienced with all the senses.

Anabela and her companion Jorge are passionate travelers

and they are keen on sharing her travel experience. The Valente will take our readers through a series of very inspirational destinations...

Are you already thinking of where to go this year? Are you running out of ideas or do not know what destination to prioritise? Below are some ideas of countries we think are the best travel destinations in 2018. Check them out !

1. Cape Verde

The islands of Boa Vista and Sal in Cape Verde are known for their golden sandy beaches and a turquoise blue sea. Fishermen arrive from their daily chores on colourful boats packed with fish that they sell directly from the beach. The scene couldnt be more authentic

 Diaries of

2. Antarctica

When in Ushuaia (known as The End of the World, in Argentina) one absolutely needs to try to go on an expedition ship to Antarctica. Everything about Antarctica is special: the light, the wilderness, the silence

 Diaries of

3. Georgia

Georgia has been our most recent discovery. What a positive surprise! This is the landscape to be enjoyed when riding the Military Road, no doubt, one of the most beautiful mountain roads in the world. It runs between Tbilisi and Vladikavkaz (in Russia) through the Greater Caucasus. It is a historical route that has been used both by traders and invaders.

 Diaries of

4. Portugal

Portugal has it all: sea, mountains, culture, food and wine. It is when leaving the cities and the least known sites that one ends up discovering other treasures, like the hill of windmills in A-Dos-Eis, where once 500 windmills stood. Some of them are still around and operational even if not used to grind cereal.

 Diaries of

5. Iceland

Iceland is one of the most beautiful countries we have ever been to! Its waterfalls are becoming world famous, which is easy to understand, considering either the size or the beauty of each one. None of our words could prize enough the landscapes of this country.

 Diaries of

6. Morocco

We drove through the Dades canyon in Morocco for many kilometres until the landscape opened up and the canyons were left behind. This is usually where visitors turn back, to drive through the canyon again. We decided to keep driving for a while and at one point there was this view of a lonely village with its kasbah and a storm approaching in the background.

 Diaries of

7. Peru

In Peru, we embarked on an epic journey through the scenic Sacred Valley of the Incas. After the rainy season, the sacred valley looks even more blessed, with a dress of green vegetation all over it. At the back, and hidden by the clouds, is Mount Veronica. This felt like a trip to past times, on the way to Ollantaytambo, another of the towns in the valley with plenty of Inca ruins along the way.
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ABC has flagged a rejuvenated broadcaster in which viewers with new digital enhancements, including the ability for viewers to watch content on their phone, pause it and pick it up from the same frame on their TV later.

ABC 2.0 was described by Chairman Justin Milne as evolving the ABC into an organisation fit for the digital challenges of the next 20 years.

It is akin to us deciding to go into the television business in 1956, he said.

It will include digitizing the entire ABC library. But he noted, it would also require significant investment and possibly generate some controversy.

Here is an excerpt from his speech at yesterdays Annual Public Meeting:

Well build new digital platforms that allow us to understand our audiences better and serve content to them exactly when and where they like, on the device they happen to be using at the time, where-ever they are in the world. ABC users will be able to start watching say Four Corners on their phone, pause it when their train arrives at its station, and then continue to watch from the same frame on TV when they get home.

Well modernise our production processes for News to ensure that the great trust we enjoy from Australians is carried into the digital world of the internet and social media. The material that news-crews gather will be almost instantly available to editors all over Australia and because we will digitize and catalogue all of our archives, virtually the whole ABC library of images and sounds will be at editors fingertips to enhance every story across different platforms.

Well Improve our content partnerships so that we can produce more and better Australian content. We plan to constantly increase our investment in Australian production to help ensure both a healthy Australian screen industry and to provide more and new stories for Australian audiences.

Well take a multi platform approach to content so that work done for one medium can be adjusted and exploited on another.

Well improve our commercial operations so that our content can be seen by more people all over the world and extra funds generated can be ploughed back into more Australian content.

And well improve our relationships with the different communities that make up our great nation.

But ABC 2.0 is not a substitute for broadcast. It is additive. We have absolutely no plans to reduce our presence on TV or Radio. We see both Radio and Television extending for many, many years into the future and we will continue to invest in them, love them and improve them.

ABC 2.0 is however the major strategic initiative for the ABC. It is akin to us deciding to go into the television business in 1956. Just as then, it will require significant investment and possibly generate some controversy. Back then the media barons complained bitterly about the Government funding a TV network  which they saw as competing with them. But we did go into TV, the commercial sector has made billions upon billions of dollars and the Australian public has been the winner because they have had media choice and a trusted, independent, ad-free voice that belongs to them.

In tomorrows media environment we can expect ongoing intensity from a number of huge international players. Australia has always been at risk of being culturally swamped by overseas media and I believe that risk has never been greater, so ensuring that the trusted and much loved voice of the ABC can continue to be heard has never been more important. Michelle, the Board and the entire management team of the ABC are deeply committed to investing in ABC 2.0 and doing the work which will ensure that in 20 years the ABC is just as precious to Australians, just as fundamental to our democracy, as it is today.
Filming is now underway on the scripted re-enactments of the second series of True Story with Hamish & Andy for Nine.

The duo last year recorded the all-important interviews, heard for the very first time, before scripting & casting stages.

Hamish and Andy said: Its always daunting to spend ten strenuous episodes doing high intensity listening, but thankfully this seasons tales are crackers and we cant wait to bring them to life for people.

Michael Healy, Director of Television for Nine, said: Its been our privilege to have had Hamish and Andy as part of the Nine family for seven years now. The boys continue to push the boundaries in providing highly entertaining and engaging content for our viewers. This ground-breaking program was a breakout hit in 2017 and we know that this years series will raise the bar once more.

10 new episodes will air later this year.

True Story with Hamish & Andy brings to life the best Australian tales youve never heard, told by the very people who experienced them and then humorously and cinematically realised through dramatic recreations.

In each half-hour episode Hamish and Andy meet an everyday Australian storyteller who recounts an amazing, surprising, funny and above all true story, which is simultaneously recreated by a cast of Australias most renowned performers.

The first series was a smash hit, acclaimed by critics and viewers alike. Each episode was watched by more than two million people (including encore screenings and streaming on 9Now), making True Story one of the most successful new program launches in recent years.

And in a massive nod to the programs broad family appeal, Warner Bros. International Television Production has acquired the rights to launch the format to global audiences. The format has already been sold to Germany, with another international market to be announced soon.

True Story with Hamish & Andy is produced by Radio Karate and made with the assistance of Film Victoria.
Animated ABC ME series The Deep has been renewed for a third season.

13 new half-hour episodes have been commissioned, bringing the total number of episodes to 52 half-hours.

ABC ME brings children content that they love and we are excited to be expanding that experience with a new season of The Deep  a high quality and engaging underwater adventure series like no other, said Michael Carrington, Head of ABC Childrens Television.

Since its debut, The Deep has brought waves of excitement to kids and families worldwide, said Josh Scherba, EVP, Content and Distribution, DHX Media. With a third season now greenlit, and a host of licensing deals signed, the brand has become a bona fide global hit. Audiences love The Deep because it blends the closeness of family life with thrilling undersea adventures, teaching life lessons while sparking curiosity and a thirst for discovery. Working alongside Technicolor and A Stark Production, weve created something very special with The Deep.

Avrill Stark, CEO, A Stark Production, and Executive Producer of The Deep, said: We are extremely pleased to be announcing a third season of The Deep with our wonderful collaborators, DHX Media and Technicolor. With broadcast and streaming support from ABC, Netflix and Family CHRGD, plus some exciting licensing deals in place, we are looking forward to the continued local and international success of The Deep.

The series will air worldwide on Netflix, and on Family CHRGD in Canada.

The Deep won the 50th Annual AWGIE Awards in Australia for Childrens Television (5-14 years old), the 2017 Kidscreen Award for Best New Series (Kids Category) and the Golden Sparrow Award at the 2017 German Childrens Media Festival.
The US Senate approved a two-year budget deal early on Friday, with a bill focusing on boosting military and domestic spending by almost $300bn over the next two years.

The second shutdown of the year started at midnight and US Office of Personnel Management has already advised millions of workers to check whether they ought to report to work on Friday or not.

Nevertheless the shutdown has been brief, it all depended on how quickly the House of Representatives took a vote on the approved bill. Although many House and Senate Republican leaders assured that the bill would be approved quickly, though despite a midnight deadline the negotiations went on until 2am and so caused the shutdown.

The package from the Senate has been approved just after 2230 GMT which means the shutdown will hold no consequences. If the vote would have been delayed further there would have been a full-blown shutdown, the second in 2018. The budget package will keep federal agencies open until 23 March, in which time groups in the House and Senate plan to craft a massive $1.3trn 'omnibus' spending bill to will fund federal agencies until the end of September.

The government already experienced a three-day shutdown in January when Democrats blocked the budget bill to try and force concessions on immigration and the Dreamers situation.

BUDGET PACKAGE: DEFENCE, INFRASTRUCTURE, DISASTER RELIEF, DRUG ABUSE

The budget bill will not replace the DACA programme which protected the immigrant children known as Dreamers. Although the president has been adamant on eliminating the initiative and creating a new more restricting immigrant plan.

The bill focuses on raising military and domestic spending caps by almost $300bn over the next two years. Taking into account the recent tax overhaul led by President Trump, this extra military financing would come by increasing the debt ceiling. The bill also includes full funding for the Pentagon, and a temporary funding plan for the rest of the federal government.

Roughly $160bn of the budget will be allocated go to the Pentagon, about $128bn to non-defence program, with more than $80bn in post-hurricane relief for Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico.

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul blocked the vote in the Senate until after midnight because he doesnt advocate for shutting the government down, but neither for keeping it open, and borrowing a million dollars a minute, he said on the floor. The Senator warned that the plan would create huge amounts of new deficit spending.

He also accused his fellow Republicans of hypocrisy for defending the increase in spending and Republican deficits that could lead to $1trn in debt and not Obamas deficits in the past.

Democrat Nancy Pelosi had urged colleagues to oppose the bill over the Republicans' failure to resolve Dreamers programme, but her efforts fell short as 73 backed the deal.

Fellow opposition leader Chuck Schumer tried to focus on the positives. What makes Democrats proudest of this bill is that after a decade of cuts to programs that help the middle class, we have a dramatic reversal," he said. "Funding for education, infrastructure, fighting drug abuse, and medical research will all, for the first time in years, get very significant increases, and we have placed Washington on a path to deliver more help to the middle class in the future.
British Land announced on Friday that it has acquired the Woolwich Estate, covering 4.9 acres in south east London, for a headline price 103m representing a net initial yield of 4.1%.

The FTSE 100 company said the acquisition was in line with its strategy of focussing on well-connected, mixed use assets which met the evolving needs of occupiers and their customers.

It added that it built on its portfolio of places benefitting from the new Elizabeth Line railway, including Broadgate, Paddington Central and Ealing Broadway, and provided significant potential to drive growth and returns through British Lands placemaking, asset management and development expertise.

The board said it made an exciting addition to its existing portfolio of local retail centres, which provide convenience-led shopping for local communities.

British Land explained that the Woolwich estate covered 360,000 square feet of space in central Woolwich.

Predominantly retail, it also included more than 50,000 square feet of residential and 3,000 square feet of office space.

The area was said to be already benefiting from significant regeneration, led by the Elizabeth Line, which launches from Woolwich in December 2018 to reduce journey times to Canary Wharf and Bond Street to eight and 22 minutes respectively.

To coincide with that, 6,000 new homes had been built or were in the pipeline.

The estate was currently 95% occupied, with an average lease length of under four years, and average rent of 17 per square foot, providing British Land with an attractive opportunity to strengthen the offer and mix in line with the improving catchment.

This acquisition provides a unique opportunity to create a thriving retail-anchored centre, benefitting from a mix of uses in an exciting, increasingly well connected and rapidly regenerating part of London, said British Land head of retail, leisure and residential Charles Maudsley.

We have a long term vision for the estate which will deliver space that works for retailers and their customers; which generates clear benefits for local communities and drives value for British Land.

Maudsley said that, across its London campuses and its multi-let retail properties, it had developed a clear and distinct advantage in managing mixed use environments with development potential, and in enhancing and enlivening space through placemaking.

This acquisition plays very well to those skills.

British Land said the Woolwich Estate comprised 56 retail units and had footfall of six million.

It benefitted from an improving local demographic with more than 40% of residents falling within the top three most affluent groups, as per CACI consumer classification.

Coinciding with the arrival of the Elizabeth Line, Greenwich Council was investing 31m to deliver a new creative district, which the company said would transform five historic buildings into theatre and concert space, with offices and restaurants.
Cenovus Energy Inc., together with its subsidiaries, develops, produces, and markets crude oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas in Canada, the United States and the Asia Pacific region. The company operates through Oil Sands, Conventional, and Refining and Marketing segments. The Oil Sands segment develops and produces bitumen in northeast Alberta. Its bitumen assets include Foster Creek, Christina Lake, and Narrows Lake, as well as other projects in the early stages of development. The Conventional segment holds assets primarily located in Elmworth-Wapiti, Kaybob-Edson, and Clearwater operating areas of British Columbia and Alberta, as well as various interests in natural gas processing facilities. The Refining and Marketing segment transports and sells crude oil, natural gas, and NGLs. This segment owns a 50% ownership in Wood River and Borger refineries located in the United States; and owns and operates a crude-by-rail terminal in Alberta. Cenovus Energy Inc. was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Exxon Mobil: AKG Marketing Company Limited, Aera Energy LLC, Al-Jubail Petrochemical Company, Ampolex (Cepu) Pte Ltd, Ancon Insurance Company Inc., Barnett Gathering LLC, Barzan Gas Company Limited, Caspian Pipeline Consortium, Celtic Exploration Ltd., Coral FLNG S.A., Cross Timbers Energy LLC, Ellora Energy Inc., Esmeroon Oil Transporta Imperial Oil Limited, Esso (Thailand) Public Company Limited, Esso Australia Resources Pty Ltd, Esso Deutschland GmbH, Esso Erdgas Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, Esso Exploration Angola (Block 15) Limited, Esso Exploration Angola (Block 17) Limited, Esso Exploration and Production Angola (Overseas) Limited, Esso Exploration and Production Chad Inc., Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited, Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (Deepwater) Limited, Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (Offshore East) Limited, Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited, Esso Exploration and Production UK Limited, Esso Global Investments Ltd., Esso Italiana S.r.l., Esso Nederland B.V., Esso Norge AS, Esso Petroleum Company Limited, Esso Raffinage, Esso Societe Anonyme Francaise, Exxo Holdings Inc., Exxon Azerbaijan Limited, Exxon Chemical Arabia Inc., Exxon International Finance Company, Exxon Luxembourg Holdings LLC, Exxon Mobile Bay Limited Partnership, Exxon Neftegas Limited, Exxon Overseas Corporation, Exxon Overseas Investment Corporation, ExxonMobil (China) Investment Co. Ltd., ExxonMobil (Taicang) Petroleum Co. Ltd., ExxonMobil Abu Dhabi Offshore Petroleum Company Limited, ExxonMobil Alaska Production Inc., ExxonMobil Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., ExxonMobil Australia Pty Ltd, ExxonMobil B Resources Company, ExxonMobil Capital Finance Company, ExxonMobil Capital Netherlands B.V., ExxonMobil Central Europe Holding GmbH, ExxonMobil Cepu Limited, ExxonMobil Chemical France, ExxonMobil Chemical Gulf Coast Investments LLC, ExxonMobil Chemical Holland B.V., ExxonMobil Chemical Services (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ExxonMobil China Petroleum & Petrochemical Company Limited, ExxonMobil Development Africa B.V., ExxonMobil Development Company, ExxonMobil Egypt (S.A.E.), ExxonMobil Exploracao Brasil Ltda., ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Malaysia Inc., ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Norway AS, ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Romania Limited, ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Tanzania Limited, ExxonMobil Finance Company Limited, ExxonMobil Financial Investment Company Limited, ExxonMobil France Holding SAS, ExxonMobil Gas Marketing Europe Limited, ExxonMobil General Finance Company, ExxonMobil Global Services Company, ExxonMobil Golden Pass Surety LLC, ExxonMobil Holding Company Holland LLC, ExxonMobil Holding Norway AS, ExxonMobil Hong Kong Limited, ExxonMobil International Services SARL, ExxonMobil Iraq Limited, ExxonMobil Italiana Gas S.r.l., ExxonMobil Kazakhstan Inc., ExxonMobil Kazakhstan Ventures Inc., ExxonMobil LNG Services B.V., ExxonMobil Lubricants Trading Company, ExxonMobil Oil Corporation, ExxonMobil PNG Limited, ExxonMobil Petroleum & Chemical BVBA, ExxonMobil Petroleum & Chemical Holdings Inc., ExxonMobil Pipeline Company, ExxonMobil Production Deutschland GmbH, ExxonMobil Production Norway Inc., ExxonMobil Qatargas (II) Limited, ExxonMobil Qatargas Inc., ExxonMobil Ras Laffan (III) Limited, ExxonMobil Rasgas Inc., ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company, ExxonMobil Russia Kara Sea Holdings B.V., ExxonMobil Sales and Supply LLC, ExxonMobil Technology Finance Company, ExxonMobil Ventures Finance Company, ExxonMobil Ventures Funding Ltd., Fujian Refining & Petrochemical Co. Ltd., Golden Pass LNG Terminal Investments LLC, Golden Pass LNG Terminal LLC, Gulf Coast Growth Ventures LLC, Imperial Oil Limited, Imperial Oil Resources Limited, Imperial Oil Resources N.W.T. Limited, Imperial Oil/Petroliere Imperiale, Infineum Italia s.r.I., Infineum Singapore Pte. Ltd., InterOil Corporation, Jurong Aromatics Corporation Pte Ltd, MPM Lubricants, Marine Well Containment Company LLC, Mobil Australia Resources Company Pty Limited, Mobil California Exploration & Producing Asset Company, Mobil Caspian Pipeline Company, Mobil Chemical Products International Inc., Mobil Corporation, Mobil Equatorial Guinea Inc., Mobil Erdgas Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH, Mobil Exploration & Producing Australia Pty Ltd, Mobil International Petroleum Corporation, Mobil Oil Australia Pty Ltd, Mobil Oil Exploration & Producing Southeast Inc., Mobil Oil New Zealand Limited, Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, Mobil Producing Texas & New Mexico Inc., Mobil SerLimited, Mobil Venezolana De Petroleos Inc., Mobil Yanbu Petrochemical Company Inc., Mobil Yanbu Refining Company Inc., Mountain Gathering LLC, Mozambique Rovuma Venture S.p.A., Palmetto Transoceanic LLC, Papua New Guinea Liquefied Natural Gas Global Company LDC, Permian Express Partners LLC, Phillips Exploration LLC, Qatar Liquefied Gas Company Limited, Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Company Limited, Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Company Limited (II), SPI Limited, Saudi Aramco Mobil Refinery Company Ltd., Saudi Yanbu Petrochemical Co., SeaRiver Maritime Inc., South Hook LNG Terminal Company Limited, Tengizchevroil LLP, Terminale GNL Adriatico S.r.l, Trend Gathering & Treating LLC, Wolverine Pipe Line Company, XH LLC, XTO Delaware Basin LLC, XTO Energy Canada, XTO Energy Inc., and XTO Holdings LLC.
Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, the nations largest health insurer, is expanding its policy of not paying for emergency room (ER) care that it decides was not an emergency.

If you are enrolled in an individual Anthem plan in New Hampshire, Indiana or Ohio, you will soon be joining members in Georgia, Missouri and Kentucky who already have had to think twice before going to the ER.

Save the ER for emergencies. Or youll be responsible for the cost, Anthem stated in letters to subscribers affected by the policy change. Anthems ER program aims to reduce the trend in recent years of inappropriate use of ERs for nonemergencies, an Anthem spokesperson said in an email.

Historically, overuse of the emergency department has been considered a key contributor to rising health care costs. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a record 141.1 million visits to ERs in 2014, the latest year data is available. Insurers have attempted to control costs by imposing separate deductibles for emergency room care that doesnt result in an admittance to the hospital and by charging lower copays to patients who go to an urgent care center or retail health clinic.

Anthems decision whether to pay an emergency room bill is based on a doctors diagnosis  not the reason the patient went to the hospital. So if you go to the ER with chest pains and it turns out you had indigestion, or if you fell but your ankle was sprained and not broken, under Anthems policy youll probably have to pay the entire bill.

The financial consequences for a wrong self-diagnosis can be significant. Being denied reimbursement for an emergency room visit can cost patients thousands of dollars. A 2013 study funded by the National Institutes of Health found that ER charges varied widely  from $740 for an upper-respiratory infection to $3,437 for a kidney stone.
UT fans will be patient with Josh Heupel, depending on what he does next
Christa Valdez has been in the film industry for more than a decade.

Along the way, shes become an advocate for the industry and keeping it local.

A year ago, she put her money where her mouth is an started the nonprofit New Mexico Spotlight Foundation.

Ive worked in and around the film industry for 10 years now, Valdez says. First as a blogger/reporter, then working with productions, talent and organizations on their PR and promotions. Were here to break down the barrier between economic insecurity and the ability to pursue ones career goals.

Valdez says she started the foundation because she wants to see New Mexico film and its filmmakers survive.

Families, young people, midlifers (ready for their second or third act in life), theres a place for everyone on New Mexico film, she says.

For nearly a year, the New Mexico Spotlight Foundation has hosted various panels and opportunities for those interested in the film industry.

Recently, the foundation awarded its first $1,000 grant.

Albuquerque-based Balian Pictures LLC was selected for the grant, which will cover film festival entry fees for their New Mexico-made short film Rex.

Valdez says the grant will allow the production team to enter the film into as many as 30 national and international festivals throughout the year.

The designation also makes the awardees eligible for further funding to help with travel expenses that may arise from acceptance into select film festivals.

Its a hard truth that independent films rarely get the audiences and exposure they aim for  or that they deserve, says Andy Kastelic, Rex director. Our films support from such a dedicated team of film advocates at the New Mexico Spotlight Foundation is a rarity, and as it expands, theres no doubt that more and more of our homegrown films will be shared across the world. We are honored at the foundations acknowledgment of Rex and admire its commitment to joining the filmmaker with opportunity.

Valdez says three more grant packages will be awarded by the foundation in 2018.

The three remaining endowments will be open for submission quarterly, and the foundation will begin accepting entries for the second-quarter award this April, Valdez says.

Were also currently working with an emerging filmmaker on a Western trailer, she says. Weve partnered with an established filmmaker (Alejandro Montoya Marin) on his international commercials for a global brand.

SEND ME YOUR TIPS: If you know of a movie filming in the state, or are curious about one, email film@ABQjournal.com. Follow me on Twitter @agomezART.
SANTA FE  A proposal that calls for consolidating most of New Mexicos nonpartisan elections into one day in November  rather than spread throughout the year  began moving through the state House on Thursday.

The city of Albuquerque, however, objected to the bill, arguing that it would force the city to move its own elections to March in even-numbered years because the law would conflict with parts of the City Charter.

Supporters carried the day nonetheless, and the bill won approval on a 6-1 vote in the House local government committee. It must clear one more committee before it can reach the full House for a vote.

Approval by the Senate and Gov. Susana Martinez would also be required.

The sponsors of House Bill 98  Republican Reps. Paul Bandy and James Smith and Democratic Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto  said the proposal would boost turnout for small local elections that few voters show up for. It makes sense to have one election in November, when people are already accustomed to heading to the polls, they said.

Right now, weve got governments in New Mexico  not just school districts  raising our taxes in elections where fewer than 5 percent of people vote and sometimes 1 percent or fewer people vote, Ivey-Soto said.

Municipalities would be allowed to opt out of the consolidated election, which would be on a Tuesday in November of odd years. Most cities in New Mexico now hold elections in March of even years.

Albuquerque, however, is a home-rule city governed by its own charter, and elections are in October of odd years.

The city cannot easily consolidate its election with the new proposed November date  because the City Charter requires voters to show photo identification before casting ballots in person. That provision is at odds with the less-stringent ID requirement used throughout most of the state.

Albuquerques option, then, would be to move its municipal election to March  the typical date most cities use now. But there are other problems, too, such as public financing deadlines for campaigns and a loss of local control over polling places, city officials said.
A complaint filed against Wayne Johnson accusing him of violating the countys code of conduct during his unsuccessful run for mayor of Albuquerque will continue with an evidentiary hearing after a Code of Conduct Review Board vote Thursday.

The board voted 4-0 to move the case along after a preliminary hearing.

Johnson has been accused of accepting a $2,500 donation from a restricted donor, which was filed by Dennis Maez, a retired Secret Service agent who lives in Albuquerque.

The complaint said that Kevin Yearout contributed $2,500 to Johnsons campaign in July 2017. Yearout is the CEO and owner of Yearout Companies. Yearout Energy Service Co., a New Mexico firm also known as YESCO,

is wholly owned and operated by Yearout Companies.

Johnson in December 2017 voted to enter a so-called guaranteed energy performance contract with YESCO. The nearly $14 million contract is to improve energy efficiency at the Metropolitan Detention Center.

Johnson, a Republican, campaigned for mayor and ultimately lost. During the campaign, several complaints were filed against Johnson and Tim Keller, the eventual winner. Johnson has since been appointed state auditor to complete a term that is up for election this year.

Johnson is running to keep the position. He has announced his resignation from the commission effective at the end of the month.

In an interview Thursday after the hearing, Johnson said he disagreed with the boards decision.

I think its retaliation for the complaints made against candidate (Tim) Keller  by an activist, Johnson said in an interview. The complaint is about funds received from an individual in a mayoral election that is not covered by the countys code of conduct policy.

During the hearing, Alan Wilson, Johnsons attorney, argued that the case should be dismissed for several reasons, including that the countys code of conduct policies dont cover municipal elections. Also that, under the countys code of conduct, a person affiliated with a company isnt barred from donating to political campaigns just because their business has a contract with the county.

Nicholas Hart, Maezs attorney, said that such an interpretation of the countys code of conduct would essentially lift all campaign restrictions.

Wed like to make it clear once and for all that accepting contributions from individuals that are associated with companies that do business with the county, in any type of election, is prohibited, he said.

My biggest concern is that commissioner Johnson is running for state auditor, and my concern is that if were going to have these type of issues at this point, what can we expect when hes auditor, Maez said in an interview.
Copyright  2018 Albuquerque Journal

State legislators, the states entire congressional delegation and local protesters on Thursday stepped up criticism of the publication of a syndicated political cartoon, which many called racist, on the editorial page of Wednesdays Albuquerque Journal.

Roughly 50 people protested Thursday evening outside the Journal offices, and the cartoon prompted a 30-minute critique from the state Senate floor and a swirl of social media criticism.

Hundreds of angry readers also called, many demanding an apology.

Journal Editor Karen Moses issued an apology Thursday morning and later said in an interview that there will be more scrutiny of editorial cartoons in the future.

Looking back, we erred, and it should not have appeared in the Albuquerque Journal, Moses said of the syndicated cartoon.

The cartoon showed a frightened white couple being accosted at gunpoint by a terrorist and a member of MS-13, an international criminal gang targeted by President Donald Trump whose members are primarily from Central America.

The husband tells the wife: Now, Honey  I believe they prefer to be called Dreamers  or future Democrats 

Journal Editorial Page Editor DVal Westphal said she chose to run the cartoon because she interpreted it as criticizing fear of immigrants and the broad-stroke racism of calling all Dreamers criminals.

But nearly all of the hundreds of readers who called and commented on the cartoon saw it as anti-immigrant and racist.

It labeled our Dreamers as criminals, said protester Margarita Maestas, a retired educator who walked into the Journal to cancel her 17-year subscription before joining the group along Jefferson NE in front of the Journal building.

Others canceled subscriptions during the day, but even nonsubscribers came out to the protest.

It is kind of hurtful that our own newspaper is reflecting Trumps agenda, said protester Marian Mendez-Cera of Albuquerque. It is xenophobic, anti-immigrant and does not reflect our values in New Mexico.

At the Roundhouse on Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, described the editorial cartoon as highly offensive and beyond the pale, while other senators called for subscriptions to be canceled.

Lt. Gov. John Sanchez, a Republican, also weighed in during Thursdays floor session, describing the cartoon as wrong.

Im offended as a Republican, and Im offended as a conservative, that they would try to depict Democrats as thugs and terrorists, Sanchez said.

Cartoonist Sean Delonas, of rural Pennsylvania, told the Journal on Thursday that the protesters and angry commenters were more accurate in their interpretation of his cartoon than Westphal.

He said he believes that unchecked illegal immigration has a negative impact on public safety and wages.

Im not saying they cant come in; they have to come in legally, and they have to be vetted, Delonas said. I think you can call them Dreamers, but I kind of agree with Trump that Americans have Dreams, too.

Dreamers is used to describe undocumented people who were brought to the United States as children. They were given special legal and work permit status and protection from immediate deportation by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program in 2012 by then-President Barack Obama. President Donald Trump announced in September 2017 his plans to end the current DACA system in March.

To receive DACA status, applicants must pass a background check for no felony convictions and no more than three misdemeanors, and must have completed high school-level education or be enrolled in school, among other requirements.

Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich, and Reps. Ben Ray Lujan, Michelle Lujan Grisham  all Democrats  and Rep. Steve Pearce  the only Republican in the states congressional delegation  and state Attorney General Hector Balderas on Thursday issued a statement in conjunction with 10 community groups calling the publication of the cartoon counterproductive to current negotiation on immigration reform.

Instead of putting aside the vitriol, this cartoon feeds it. It plays to the most false and negative stereotype of Dreamers, which can only serve to enrage extremists.  Its never the right time to refer to a group of nearly 800,000 people as criminals, especially when they are active members of our communities, including military service members, teachers, doctors, business owners and more. And now is absolutely the wrong time to print such a divisive cartoon.

Moses said the view in the cartoon is not the view of the Journal, despite running on its pages.

I also want to reiterate that we do not agree with many of the opinions expressed on the editorial pages, which are intended to encourage debate, she said in her statement Thursday.

Many readers, she said, saw an extremely objectionable cartoon and thought that was the position of the Journal. It is not.

In hindsight, instead of generating debate, this cartoon only inflamed emotions. This was not the intent, and for that, the Journal apologizes. I repeat that the Albuquerque Journal does not condone racism or bigotry in any form, she said.

Journal staff writers Dan Boyd, Michael Coleman and Dan McKay contributed to this story.
SANTA FE  The influential chairman of the Senate Finance Committee says the panel is unlikely to make big changes to a $6.3 billion spending plan, despite political pressure from Gov. Susana Martinez and others to further increase funding for prosecution efforts in Bernalillo County.

Sen. John Arthur Smith, D-Deming, said a proposed funding hike for the Bernalillo County District Attorneys office in the House-approved budget  an additional $2.3 million to hire more prosecutors and provide pay raises  is already larger than that of nearly any other agency.

Any larger increases would be unfair, he said, citing recent legislative data showing that Espanola, Taos, Belen and Gallup all have higher crime rates than Albuquerque.

It opens up the door to say, Why not me?' Smith told the Journal.

He also questioned why Martinez, a former prosecutor, is now supporting a hefty spending increase for the 2nd Judicial District. The two-term GOP governor recommended flat or modest budget increases for the agency in each of the four previous fiscal years, according to legislative data.

All of a sudden, now she wants substantially more, Smith said.

In response, a Martinez spokeswoman criticized the veteran senator, a conservative Democrat whos regarded as a top legislative budget guru.

The Senate Finance Committee chair should know the difference between a surplus budget and a deficit, Martinez spokesman Emilee Cantrell said Thursday, referring to a recent revenue uptick after several years of lower-than-expected tax collections.

Nevertheless, he was wrong to try and raise taxes on New Mexicans last year and hes wrong about being soft on crime this year, Cantrell added.

Funding for the states largest district attorneys office has emerged as a significant budget flashpoint in a year in which theres otherwise been broad bipartisan agreement on most budgetary matters.

In the last week, the Governors Office has described the House-passed spending plan as a soft on crime budget thats full of pork-barrel projects. A senior administration official has also suggested it could face vetoes in its current form.

Before this years session began, Second Judicial District Attorney Raul Torrez, whose office covers Bernalillo County, asked for a nearly 30 percent budget hike for the fiscal year that starts in July  a request then endorsed by Martinez.

Torrez, a Democrat who was elected in 2016, specifically requested a $5.4 million base budget increase to hire more prosecutors as Albuquerque grapples with soaring crime rates.

The budget bill approved by the House would provide less than half of that amount  a $2.3 million bump would represent roughly a 13 percent increase over the offices current $18.2 million budget. The bill would also authorize several one-time expenditures, including $600,000 for prosecuting the three people charged with killing 10-year old Victoria Martens in 2016.

But that proposed increase has not proven large enough to satisfy many critics, including a group made up of family members of murder victims.

Albuquerques crime rate has gone up since 2010, and the citys 75 reported homicides last year were the highest in recent history. Also, among the nations 30 or so largest cities, Albuquerque was tops percentage-wise in crime in 2016, according to federal data.

At the state level, the 2nd Judicial District accounted for about 48 percent of New Mexicos violent crime and 70 percent of auto thefts in 2016, according to Torrez. He has also said his funding request would allow his office to hire 20 more attorneys who, combined, could handle roughly 1,600 felony cases.

However, some skeptics have questioned where Torrez would find those additional attorneys, and whether such a quick ramp-up would be effective if similar investments are not made in funding for courts, law enforcement and public defenders.

The Senate Finance Committee is expected to unveil its changes to the House-approved spending bill by as soon as Saturday. If approved by the panel, the spending plan would then move on to the full Senate.

The 30-day legislative session ends Feb. 15.
Farmington area con man Bobby Willis, a once colorful character who wore guns on his hips, bragged of being a CIA assassin and claimed to talk weekly to then-President Barack Obama, is headed to federal prison for defrauding a medical doctor and his wife of $1 million.

Willis, who is now in a wheelchair, was sentenced earlier this week by a federal judge in Albuquerque to two years in prison followed by three years of supervised release  despite Williss claims that his many health conditions couldnt be treated in prison.

While Willis argued for house arrest, federal prosecutors argued that his staggering history of misconduct could only be punished adequately by time in prison  something he avoided in pleading guilty to separate fraud charges in state court.

Assistant U.S. Attorney C. Paige Messec said in court documents that Willis own medical records contradict many of his vague health claims, arguing that they were self diagnosed and suggested that they be taken with a grain of salt.

Willis was charged with two counts of wire fraud and his sentence was capped at two years in a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorneys Office.

He had offered Joe and Theresa Lee an opportunity to purchase a 5-percent interest in a real estate investment company for $1 million  with the understanding that he and others had also invested millions of dollars in a company that was going to invest in commercial and residential real estate.

There was an LLC, but it was used to transfer the money into Williss personal accounts. There were no other investors and no investments were made.

Willis spent the Lees money on personal living expenses, Denver Broncos season tickets and payments to a recording studio instead of investing the funds.

The Lees had wanted to convert their IRAs to Roth IRAs and Willis had been recommended to them as a financial adviser.

Willis was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Robert G. James of the Western District of Texas, who was filling in for local judges. A hearing on restitution to the Lees hasnt been scheduled.

According to court records, Willis settled a civil lawsuit filed by the couple by turning over a piece of property that was assessed at more than $220,000 and has paid $10,000 on a $45,000 promissory note.

Messec argued that the court should award the Lees the remaining amount  more than $700,000  in restitution with interest.

Willis maintains that the civil settlement should be the total amount awarded to the Lees.

In court documents, Messec recounted Williss long history of scams, including defrauding a man by convincing him that his beloved dead dog could be cloned for $200,000.

The man paid the money to Willis, who subsequently claimed that the cloning attempt failed because the deceased dogs DNA sample was frazzled.
An investigation is underway after a fatal accident Thursday morning at the construction site for Presbyterian Healthcare Services new Santa Fe hospital.

General contractor Jaynes Corporations President and COO Shad James confirmed the fatality but did not want to comment further on the details of the incident due to the investigation headed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

He did not disclose the identity of the deceased out of respect for the family.

I really want to respect the investigation and respect the process that were working through, said James.

He could not say how long the investigation will take, but added that the job site is closed until Monday.

Santa Fe Fire Department was dispatched to the site around 8 a.m. where an injured worker was laying on the ground surrounded by coworkers, said Battalion Chief David Sandoval.

Though Santa Fe Police was not dispatched to the scene, spokesperson Greg Gurule said a dispatcher told him the deceased was hit by a spool of wire. Sandoval said his department was told a similar story, but he could not confirm what happened before emergency personnel arrived because they did not have to remove (the worker) from any hazard.

The worker died at Christus St. Vincent Hospital in Santa Fe after being transported from the site via ambulance, according to hospital spokesperson Arturo Delgado.

There was a Herculean effort made to save him, but (emergency personnel) were unable to, Delgado said. Both he and Sandoval did not know the specifics of the mans injuries.

The new, 344,000 square foot hospital near I-25 and Cerrillos Road broke ground in October 2016. According to James, the project has about 300 on-site workers who are all subcontractors.

In a statement, Presbyterian Santa Fe Medical Center administrator Helen Brooks said, We were deeply saddened to hear about the accident today. Our deepest condolences and prayers go out to the family, friends and co-workers of this individual.
If youre blue and you dont know where to go to,

why dont you go where fashion sits?

Puttin on the Ritz!

 Irving Berlin

Do you feel a little sense of melancholia after the holidays  empty house, family packed up with their bespoke presents and gone; parties over; glitter gone or on the edge of banishment; coming down off the high of all the jolly and cheer; feeling fat!

I reflect on my shortcomings and ideas for changing them, so I tape my resolutions on the mirror and vow this year I will become a better human.

One good way to beat the blues is to go down to the Lensic and hear something good! As I sit writing this in front of the fire, Rachmaninoffs 3rd is on. Now whenever I hear it, I am transported back to the fabulous evening at the Lensic a few months ago when the spectacular Olga Kern pounded out this epic masterpiece on the Lensics Steinway with such Russian (and American) passion and fervor that her ancestor Mr. Rachmaninoff himself would have been on his feet with the screaming crowd at the jumping ovation she received, and well deserved. Lordy!

How lucky we are to have OLGA KERN here! An international superstar, prize winner, child prodigy, master pianist! Descendant of both Sergei R. above and Tchaikovsky. Here at Santa Fes Lensic theater! Wow!

Im embarrassed to admit to you what a total dork I was backstage at the Lensic when I got to meet Judy Collins after her lovely, nostalgic concert, where she played so many memorable songs. When I was introduced to her afterward, like a blithering idiot teenage groupie, I gushed something stupid to her about how shed been my college idol and I had all her albums (albums!), and I knew all the words to all her songs. And then I said, I loved that you played Since Youve Asked,my favorite. I used to practice it for hours on my guitar in my dorm room!

Ugh! What a nerd! And then she laughed and replied, Thats a piano song! You cant play it on the guitar! Well thank goodness. Now I know why my versions never sounded so good. How amazing to be able to listen to JUDY COLLINS right here in Santa Fe. In our beautiful, comfortable, intimate Lensic downtown. We are so lucky!

Also fun were the (I understand once again sold out) Hot Sardines. Fresh from Manhattan, little miss snappy French crooner and foot tappin tilty hat piano man, tinkling the ivories along with their SMOOTH jazzy band performing swingy songs from vaguely back when, somewhere, but with a twist, and a real tune, and quite a beat.

You have to twitch in your seat, and smile. This was their second time at the Lensic. Wouldnt miss them! What good luck that Performance Santa Fe brought the HOT SARDINES to the Lensic in Santa Fe.

Prev 1 of 7 Next

A fun event during the holidays was the Lensic Patrons Party. About 150 Lensic supporters mingled for cocktails and hors doeuvres among the silver trees up onstage.

General Manager Joel Alberts spoke briefly about the 100 organizations that use the Lensic space. Ive only mentioned a few of my favorite recent events. Others rave about seeing Pilobolis there, The Blind Boys from Alabama, Latin acts, jazz acts, dance performances, the Symphony. In addition, during the course of the year, 14,000 schoolchildren visit the Lensic for perhaps their first (and one hopes introductory, not sole) exposure to the performing arts.

What an asset for our Santa Fe community family to have such a gorgeous, special theater as The Lensic, and we are blessed for the many varied, juried, first rate, thrilling performances it offers.

So  go!

Lensic.org
In a state like New Mexico that regularly ranks as one of the worst in the country in child well-being, it defies logic we would be turning back federal dollars aimed at preschool programs for underprivileged children.

Yet thats exactly whats happening according to reporting by the nonprofit investigative news organization Searchlight New Mexico. Its just as baffling wed consider raiding the Land Grant Permanent Fund to pump more money into state pre-kindergarten and other early childhood service programs at the same time were returning Head Start funding to Washington. State lawmakers are considering such a proposal; it passed the House on Tuesday.

Searchlight has launched a series of stories, dubbed Raising New Mexico, aimed at highlighting the plight of many New Mexico children and looking at what can be done. The series began running in the Journal and in other newspapers in January. Among the findings:

 The federal Head Start program  which serves children from low-income families  frequently competes for 4-year-olds with state early childhood programs.

 As New Mexico taxpayers shoulder more of the cost of preschool programs, federal money for Head Start is being sent back to Washington. Around the state, hundreds of thousands of dollars have been lost over the past decade, with millions at risk, say Head Start directors.

 The rate of child poverty has risen in New Mexico over the past decade, yet Head Start now serves about 600 fewer children than it did 10 years ago, according to the National Institute for Early Education Research.

 And while state pre-K enrollments have grown dramatically during the same period, nearly half of 4-year-olds and more than three-quarters of 3-year-olds arent attending any state or federal preschool program, according to the institute.

Experts in child development have long known that the period between birth and age 5 is pivotal for children and can often determine a childs chances of success later in life. Given that reality, its incumbent on us, as a state, to use every Head Start dollar available to help children. Sending those funds back to Washington borders on malpractice.

Veteran educators are baffled over why our state cant figure out how to combine state and federal funds to provide a wider pre-K network for our states children.

What I cant understand is why we as a state cant seem to collaborate together to be able to serve the children, Joseph Griego, who runs Head Start at the West Las Vegas School District, told Searchlight. It shouldnt be a competition.

Its worth noting that while New Mexico policy generally doesnt allow federal Head Start funding to be commingled with state early childhood funding, other states and localities have been able to commingle their state and federal funds to create HIGH-QUALITY preschool programs. We stress high-quality because thats what we need  data-driven programs proven to get results.

The state Public Education Department acknowledges there is more work to do in terms of sharing best practices, braiding funding and family engagement. But PED says there are barriers that need to be overcome, noting PED pre-K programs dont include 3-year-olds, and most Head Start programs and classrooms serve both 3- and 4-year-olds. Also, Head Start is family income-based, while N.M. pre-K serves children who live in communities with Title 1 schools.

PED says it has initiated discussions and is exploring ways to collaborate between the two programs. We hope those discussions are fruitful because New Mexico cannot afford to plunder future state funding while returning federal dollars, particularly when those are geared toward helping our children succeed in the classroom.

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.
When trying to re-tell history through film, one of the most important things for filmmakers can be trying to pretend youre back in a previous era.

Thats according to Juan Carlos Cucalon, who said he was able to do that in Pecos last spring while shooting a re-enactment of 1862s Battle of Glorieta Pass.

He and the other crew interns from Santa Fe Community College were able to get up close into the action, including the firing of cannons five feet from their lenses. It wasnt only that access and the impeccable detail of the actors Civil War get-ups  he noted everything from haircuts to intricacies of their uniforms  but also the mostly unchanged rural backdrop of San Miguel County that made the battle scene feel more real. It was like time stood still, he said.

Over the past year, Cucalon and a group of about 15 other SFCC students have worked alongside a local filmmaker to tell the story of what happened in New Mexico leading up to the Civil War and the impact the territorys volunteer soldiers had during the fighting here.

The film is anchored around the Glorieta Pass battle that prevented the Confederacys westward expansion. Its been called the Gettysburg of the West.

Screenings of the film-in-progress, followed by discussions about the history in the film, will be hosted today and next week at the community college as the film wraps up its final weeks of editing.

A monument to commemorate the New Mexican volunteer soldiers who fought at Glorieta is scheduled to be dedicated in March at Pecos National Historical Park.

In connection with that event, Santa Fe County representatives approached Monique Anair, the director of SFCCs Professional Readiness and Technical Experience for Careers program, to make a film about this not-so-well-known moment in history.

Starting last January, students in the PROTEC program worked with award-winning filmmaker Doug Crawford and SFCC Social Sciences chair Steve Martinez to do historical research, conduct interviews, and film and edit the project.

We discovered things we knew nothing about in regards to the role New Mexico played in shaping the dialogue and politics of the U.S., said Crawford.

Though it began as a story about the battle, the project quickly expanded to cover events in the decades leading up to the Civil War.

The story starts out in 1821 with the development of the Santa Fe Trail and moves onto the Mexican-American War during the 1840s that turned New Mexico into a U.S. territory. The film goes into the Compromise of 1850  under which California entered the Union as a slavery-free state, Texas gave up its claim to New Mexico and the South got a fugitive slave law that required the North to return runaway slaves.

New Mexico and Utah were allowed to make their own choices on slavery. New Mexico chose to be a free territory rather than a slave state, said Martinez, the films lead historian. That infuriated the Southern states.

The period had a profound impact on the national debate about slavery, according to Crawford. New Mexicos moral decision against slavery led to further disagreement between the Northern and Southern states before the Civil War broke out in 1861.

The territorys choice to reject slavery also influenced the New Mexican volunteer soldiers decisions to help the Union army. And at the time of the Battle of Glorieta Pass, the Confederacy was making moves in a plan to take over the West Coast.

According to SFCCs Martinez, the volunteers, led by Manuel Chavez and largely of Hispanic descent, had knowledge of secret paths in the nearby Apache Canyon that allowed the Union to cut off the Confederacys supply line. This effectively ended the rebels chances of expanding to California.

They were the knowledge, the deciding factor, he said of the New Mexican volunteers.

Crawford described the film, expected to be 25 minutes long, as a PBS-style documentary that provides the narrative through interviews, archival photos and dramatizations like the re-enactment.

In addition to Martinez, Crawford and the students spoke with representatives from University of New Mexicos History Department, Fort Union National Monument and the Bataan Military Museum in Santa Fe.

Crawford mentioned the possibility of fine-tuning documentary into something that could be shown either on PBS or at Pecos National Historical Park.

The main takeaway from the film is awareness. Martinez noted that Hispanic involvement in the Civil War has been largely neglected in the telling of history and in academia. And New Mexicans, and more generally the population of the U.S., mostly has no idea what New Mexico did to affect the path of the entire country during the Civil War.

History, as we learned it in schools, sometimes just bypasses important episodes like this one that were crucial, said Cucalon. It makes you feel like were helping awareness, the education of New Mexico and its history, and its role in American history.

If you go

WHAT: Feedback screenings of the Battle of Glorieta documentary in progress

WHEN: Today and Feb. 16, 12-1:30 p.m.

WHERE: Santa Fe Community College Room 563, 6401 Richards Ave.

COST: Free
Though hes leading a company of young, pre-professionals, Troy Powell said the audience will never imagine that when they see his group of dancers perform.

According to Powell, the power of Alvin Aileys second company has grown immensely since he was part of the group in the late 80s and early 90s before beginning his professional career. Now the artistic director, he describes Ailey II as moving from a workshop company to having a prestige and identity unmatched by any second company in the world.

The bar, standard and the level keeps getting higher and higher. I think thats because of the dancers, the intellect and what they have to bring to Mr. Aileys legacy, what they have to offer from their own experiences, he said.

Ailey is one of the most famous modern dance choreographers of the 20th century and started the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York in 1958. Ailey II came along 1974.

It features one dozen hand-picked dancers from The Ailey School who stay with the company for two years. In that time, the young dancers tour the world and learn from a range of choreographers before they set off into their professional careers.

They just fasten their seat belt and go for it, said Powell.

The group, whose shows feature contemporary works, as well as classic Ailey, will be stopping in Santa Fe in partnership with Aspen Santa Fe Ballet as a part of its spring touring season.

The performance will include Circular, a contemporary ballet by Korean choreographer Jae Man Joo that Powell said comments on human emotions as the dancers interact with one another.

It will be followed by Breaking Point by Jamaican dancer and choreographer Renee McDonald. Its a new piece for Ailey II that Powell described as a modern, intense work.

(McDonald) wanted the dancers to think of something in the world that they wanted so bad and theyre continually reaching for it but they dont quite get it, they dont quite reach that point of existence, said Powell. At the very end, they just give up, they surrender, and they never get to that point.

The show is anchored by Revelations, created by Ailey in 1960. It depicts his upbringing in Rogers, Texas. After decades of audiences seeing this performance, Powell said its the storyline and the unique movement that keeps people excited about it.

What brings people closer to it is what the dancers bring to it each and every night, he said. And because they do it so much, each and every night, I encourage the dancers to tell a different story. So not only are they not bored with it, but the audience wont be bored with it either.

The pieces final section, Rocka My Soul in the Bosom of Abraham, is a celebration that always gets the crowd on its feet.

Its all about humanity, Powell said. People can relate to that, and theyre touched and moved by that, as well.

If you go

WHAT: Ailey II

WHEN: Tuesday, Feb. 13, 7:30 p.m.

WHERE: Lensic Performing Arts Center, 211 W. San Francisco

TICKETS: $54-$94. Purchase at ticketssantafe.org, by calling (505) 988-1234 or at the Lensic Box Office
I am a member of the fleeting generation that was paddled in school for speaking Spanish. The devil we know is the bigoted Anglo Texan or the elitist Anglo from California that lectures us on what is important, and pretends to understand and care about the plight of the Hispanic.

But the Rio Gallinas Basin irrigation system that predates the 18th century is on the verge of extinction as a result of the kind of native politics that handicaps so many northern New Mexico communities. The City of Las Vegas has chosen to ignore the 23 acequias with an 1835 priority in favor of addressing the needs of the much less senior Storrie Project Water Users Association.

Like many rural New Mexico communities, the valley enjoys a unique time-honored symbiotic relationship with the river that stems from its hydrogeology, subsistence farming and generations of native culture. The only way to impede this design is to allow disingenuous politicians to manage it. When PNM transferred the management of the Gallinas watershed to the City of Las Vegas, it was no longer protected by the private sector and state supervision. It became a vulnerable asset subject to the prevailing political greed associated with government.

The city has long exploited the duplicitous narrative of drought and the need for storage in order to mask the vulgar transfer of wealth that has absolutely nothing to do with water. It is difficult to determine how many water, lease and storage agreements (typically with a 2.83 evaporation clause) have been paid with thousands and now millions of our tax dollars.

The expense and feasibility of pumping the water miles back up to the Montezuma treatment facility, coupled with the turbidity associated with treating the water, is prohibitive. The city refuses to repair another storage dam at a fraction of the cost that is adjacent to the treatment facility, but that would make their agreements with Storrie Project mutually exclusive. The useful evaporative depletion life of water is 17 months. Repeatedly paying for the same water and storage we have never used or needed during the worst periods of 100-year drought history is an insane alternative. A rational person would never expect to realize any benefit or water from those expenditures.

The disheartening reality is that the prior and current administration is obsessed with the illogical notion of taking water of beneficial use to the greater community and riparian environment out of the Rio Gallinas irrigation basin to a state park lake where it can be indiscriminately diverted for the profit of a few seemingly unrelated speculative individuals.

This is a premeditated condemnation initiative designed to disrupt the growing season and siphon water from the acequias that cripples orchards and stifles the local hay grower in a manner that has eliminated the traditional family cow/calf operation, and subsequently closed the three slaughterhouses and the weekly stock auction.

Recent city councils have spent millions in tax dollars in a court remand lawsuit against the acequias that would ignore seniority and allow the city to divert water to the highest bidder. The last disbursement was done during a typically covert special meeting on a Sunday. At the very least, it appears to be a form of money laundering and a gross misappropriation of public funds.

Acequia members are protesting the remand and $4 million storage agreement. The membership pays opposing legal fees with their personal income, while the city and Storrie Project use tax dollars. The revolving door of employees between the State Engineers Office and the City of Las Vegas makes it impossible for the acequias to be treated impartially.

The acequia membership questions the procrastination of the State Engineer, Auditor and Attorney General to investigate this chronic behavior. I am astonished at how much collusion, corruption and misappropriation northern New Mexico communities are willing to tolerate.

Ray Gallegos is a horseman, rancher and retired educator.
The death of 13-year-old Jeremiah Valencia in Nambe is a community tragedy.

Somehow, no one was there for a kid who seemingly fell off the map. He had not been enrolled at a school for nearly two semesters. The adults in his life  his mother and her boyfriend  were regulars in the criminal court system.

According to sheriffs office reports, based on accounts from household members, Jeremiah was abused and tortured by the boyfriend, Thomas Ferguson, 42, to the point the boy had to use a cane or a wheelchair to get around.

On Nov. 26, Ferguson  while the mother Tracy Pena, 35, was in jail  beat Jeremiah to death, the reports say. That gruesome scene apparently was witnessed by Penas other child, a daughter less than a year younger than Jeremiah, and Fergusons own son, age 19. The family group later stuck the body in a plastic container and buried Jeremiah in a rural area not far from the Nambe house where the homicide took place.

The tragedy uncovered some holes in New Mexicos child protection systems.

Jeremiah was pulled out of West Las Vegas schools last year and the adults in his life told officials at that school district that he would be enrolled in Santa Fe. SFPS says it started the process, but never completed it. There apparently was no process in place that, in these circumstances, raised a red flag or the question, Where is Jeremiah?

Pena, the mother, had given up her children twice in past. The Children, Youth and Families Department says it was involved in 2011 when the kids were placed with grandparents. But her run-ins with the law continued  shes been booked in jail 22 times since 2009 for non-violent offenses like shoplifting, probation violations and missing court hearings, as well as a couple of drug-related offenses. Judges twice ordered her to drug rehab programs, but the court record suggests she probably didnt comply.

When Jeremiah was killed, Pena was in jail. Her latest case started with alleged shoplifting and got worse when, police say, she popped a baggy of cocaine in her mouth when being questioned. That became a tampering with evidence charge.

Again, no red flags were raised. Despite Penas past interactions with CYFD and court documents saying she once gave up her children to relatives because, she wrote, she was causing distruction in her childrens lives, alarms didnt sound when she was sentenced to probation, ordered to a rehab program, was back in jail on a failure to appear charge and was charged with violating probation, the last two events coinciding with when Jeremiah was killed.

Then theres Ferguson. Hes now been accused of four beatings in New Mexico  all of them girlfriends or family or household members  and has also faced charges in Texas. His modus operandi seems to be to associate with women with their own personal problems before beating someone up and threatening them if they say anything, according to court records and other documents.

In 2014, he faced very serious charges, including rape, kidnapping and aggravated battery, after he was accused of holding a longtime girlfriend for several days and sexually assaulting her. But prosecutors say their case was weakened when the woman changed her story. In 2015, Ferguson got a plea deal on lesser charges that got him off with a suspended sentence and the about 16 months he spent in jail awaiting resolution of the case.

While he was serving probation after that, Ferguson was accused of beating up another woman, in Rio Rancho. There was a criminal complaint filed in the case, and state Probation and Parole was involved. But the state court systems online records dont show any criminal charge was ever filed. And when the matter came before District Court Judge T. Glenn Ellington, Ferguson was allowed to stay free on probation instead of going back to jail or being forced to serve the more than seven years in prison he could have been made to serve if his original sentence was unsuspended.

The circumstances suggest that, once again, the female victim of Fergusons alleged abuse wasnt going to be a good witness  she told a probation officer hed threatened to beat her kids if they got involved and that she feared retaliation.

But the case raises questions about just how much slack should be cut for a man who has faced repeated accusations of similar violent, abusive behavior, good witness or no.

The sad and messy chronicle of Fergusons and Penas records needs some attention. Pena is a prime candidate for some serious counseling and treatment. If Ferguson is as violent and prone to anger as the record appears to indicate, harsher sentences for the crimes hes accused of probably wouldnt have made him stop and think about beating up the people closest to him. But, somehow, the schools, the courts, CYFD and the people who know people like Jeremiah and his dysfunctional guardians need to do more.

In the computer age, cross-checking various public records should raise a red flag when a young boy like Jeremiah might be in danger.
Copyright  2018 Albuquerque Journal

After four years with the Spanish Colonial Arts Society, executive director David Setford will be leaving at the end of February.

Setford will take on the position of executive director for Washingtons Tacoma Art Museum. He joined the society, which operates the Museum of Spanish Colonial Arts, and organizes the popular Spanish Market each summer in Santa Fe and the Winter Market in Albuquerque, after years as a director and curator for art museums and organizations like the Naples Museum of Art, the Hyde Collection in New York and Wiener Museum of Decorative Arts near Miami.

Setford called the opportunity to go to Tacoma a chance to be a part of an expanding museum within a larger community.

There are lots of engaged collectors and shareholders and stakeholders who have big dreams for this institution, he told the Journal. Its just an amazing opportunity to build something on the national scale that will make a mark, and Im very excited by that. He starts in Washington on March 5.

Reflecting on his time in Santa Fe, Setford mentioned hes particularly proud of offering exhibits that were able to excite and engage a broader community base, like 2017s Mirror Mirror: Photographs of Frida Kahlo, which he said attracted triple the estimated visitors and money. Most notably, he said the museum has made great strides in fundraising and donor relations. For example, he said the society had put out an appeal for $12,000 at the eaand of 2014 and at the time was wondering if it would make that goal. Its most recent appeal, however, was to raise $320,000.

Weve sort of got out of that way of thinking of, This is a wonderful small institution that will only ever be small  . We can grow into being a more important institution on a regional and national scale,' said Setford.

Josef Diaz, who became the society and museums chief curator and associate director last September, will become acting director after Setfords departure. Before joining the organization, he was the New Mexico History Museums curator of Southwest and Mexican Colonial Art and History Collections.

Setford said he has confidence in Diaz and the boards ability to carry on the work, and that he hasnt heard anything about a search for a permanent director yet.

Joel Goldfrank, the societys board of directors chair, could not be reached for comment. In an announcement about Setfords departure last week, he said the board has confidence Diaz will continue the trajectory of what Setford began.
Santa Fes City Council races this year are full of political newcomers, but both candidates for District 1 are familiar names on the ballot; one is the only council incumbent running for re-election this year and the other is seeking a City Council seat for the fourth time.

Signe Lindell, a retired professor, business owner and Realtor, says she feels compelled to finish ongoing initiatives from her first term and that she enjoys the constant problem-solving opportunities that come with the position.

Santa Fe is where Lindell first became involved in local government. Shortly after she moved here around 2000, former Mayor Larry Delgado appointed Lindell to the former Rules and Ethics Committee. Prior to her election to the council, she also served on the Planning Commission from 2006-14.

Lindell grew up in western New York on a dairy farm before leaving for college, eventually earning her doctorate in education from West Virginia University at 25. She then became a professor at Kent State University, specializing in teaching how to establish employee assistance programs for health and safety in the workplace.

During her teaching days, Lindell had a summer home in Montezuma Canyon near Las Vegas, N.M. She officially moved to New Mexico in 1984, leaving academia to open a sign shop in Albuquerque.

I was never really driven by fear, she said. I had an education, I knew I could make a living, and I felt I had a lot of opportunity.

After relocating to Santa Fe, she started selling real estate with her partner of now more than 20 years, Maria Sanchez. They later ended up working at the local housing nonprofit Homewise from 2005-08.

Now retired, Lindell says shes able to treat the councilor position as a full-time job. And with four years experience, she says she is past the difficult learning curve that comes with the work.

Emphasizing her business background, which drives her to prioritize the citys financial decisions, Lindell said one of the key pieces of legislation she has brought forward in the past four years was the creation of policy that the city cannot expand or create programs without first identifying a funding source.

Ive had a lifetime of experience of signing the front of the check instead of the back of the check, she said. Its probably made me more fiscally inquisitive.

Last year, Lindell was the sponsor of a high-profile measure adopted by the council that bans wild and exotic animal acts, such as those including elephants, tigers or bears at circuses, within city limits.

But Lindell said her most important successes were in the behind-the-scenes work of problem-solving, and establishing relationships with fellow councilors and city employees.

She added that all three incumbents councilors who will definitely be sitting on the council after the March elections  Renee Villarreal, Mike Harris and Chris Rivera  have endorsed her. That tells me that they like working with me, Lindell said.

(Three of the eight councilors are giving up their seats  Joseph Maestas and Ron Trujillo, who are running for mayor, and Carmichael Dominguez. Councilor Peter Ives is also running for mayor, but hes in the middle of a four-year term and will retain his council seat if hes not elected mayor. The seats held by Villarreal, Harris and Rivera are not on the ballot this year.)

Lindell and Sanchez volunteer monthly at the Food Depot, rebagging dog and cat food, and remain active with other community organizations by attending events for Planned Parenthood, Gerards House, Youthworks and more.

Lindell stressed the importance of maintaining relationships within city government and trying to do the same thing with the public by staying involved in local organizations and keeping up with constituents.

Its all about relationships, she said.

Passion for tradition

Lindells opponent, Marie Campos, has been vocal about her passion for sustaining tradition and culture since she first entered the political arena in 2012. She ran twice in south Santa Fes District 3 before, she says, her residence was rezoned into District 1. She last ran in 2016 in District 1 against Councilor Villareal and two others, coming in fourth and receiving 9 percent of the vote.

After that, Campos said, she had divorced herself from politics. She mentions suspicions about past election practices in Santa Fe and what she called skewed voting results in 2016, though she didnt take concerns to the City Clerks Office.

Campos said a group of supporters who were encouraged by the results of last years vote to reject a Santa Fe soda tax in a May special election urged her to run again this year.

The artist and nonprofit and development organizer has family ties to Santa Fe, but was born in California and mostly grew up in Kansas City, Mo. Her grandfather ended up there as a lineman on the Santa Fe Railroad.

She moved here 20 years ago with her father and two children, now 30 and 25.

Campos said her local nonprofit and development work stems from her time as a research associate for Pre-Award Services at the University of Missouri. After moving to the City Different, she most notably founded the Native Hispanic Institute in 2002, an organization that was created to preserve and unite the mix of cultures that exists in northern New Mexico among people, with the goal of showing commonalities between Native Americans and local Hispanics.

My focus has been on cultural preservation and keeping our traditions, Campos said. Ive worked with a lot of the traditional communities throughout New Mexico, tribal and non-tribal.

Today, she works for the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute Board of Regents managing the colleges Family Education and Extension Program, which she said focuses on tribal outreach within Native communities. It does this through educational programs, workshops and other activities. She is also president of the La Cieneguita neighborhood association.

In 2002, she earned a bachelors degree in fine arts with an emphasis on painting and graphics from Excelsior College based in Albany, N.Y. Two years later, she earned a masters from St. Johns College in Santa Fe.

She says her nonprofit experiences would benefit her if elected because they provide her with knowledge in areas including community-building, finance and law. A little bit of pretty much everything in order to pull together grants, and create and design programs that can work and function in the community, she said.

In addition to pottery exchanges with local tribes and a project to provide Navajo women with resources to make and sell traditional quilts, the Native Hispanic Institute is known for its Chimayo Chile Project. Campos began that program in 2005, aiming to revitalize the areas chile industry by preserving the Chimayo chile seed and establishing farming jobs.

In 2006, Campos and the project received criticism, in part because more than a third of its $460,000 federal grant went toward her pay and benefits for part-time work over a three-year period.

Campos referred to the criticism as a smear campaign against her that began because the Bueno Foods company wanted to continue using the Chimayo name on chile products. She defended her pay, saying it was determined by the institutes board and saying pay of about $40,000 annually plus benefits was not gouging anyone.

The purpose of that project was in order to give inputs into an industry so that people could start their own businesses, not to be a handout, she added.

SIGNE I. LINDELL

AGE: 62

EDUCATION: Doctorate of Education (EdD)

OCCUPATION: Retired  full-time Santa Fe city councilor

I am running for re-election because I care deeply about Santa Fes future. Elections have consequences, and every vote matters!

In considering my four years on council, Im proud of our record of accomplishments. Topping the list was erasing a $15 million hole to ensure Santa Fes fiscal stability. By conducting investigative audits and restructuring debt, we saved millions in interest and set Santa Fe on a solid path forward.

The city has become more responsive to struggling populations, homeless veterans and the care of children via the Homework Diner. Implementation of an innovative program has reduced 911 calls through preventive measures.

Looking in the rearview mirror, these are just a few examples of our successes. Looking forward, there are projects to challenge us. Our vision for sustainability has committed us to renewable energy and carbon neutrality by 2040.

The crucial short-term hurdle is repurposing the 64-acre SFUAD campus. Creating an innovative project in the center of Santa Fe is one of those great challenges that presents great opportunities.

Long term, we have a critical housing shortage and problems in our schools. These two issues are integral to and inter-related with Santa Fes successful economic development, and we must work in thoughtful collaboration. Meow Wolf and Descartes Labs are economic homeruns, but our city deserves much more.

My number one job is listening, and its been an honor to serve Santa Fe. I love being a councilor and all current city councilors who will serve in 2018 have endorsed me.

1. Have you or your business  if you are a business owner  ever been the subject of any state or federal tax liens? No.

2. Have you ever been involved in a personal or business bankruptcy proceeding? No.

3. Have you ever been arrested for, charged with or convicted of drunken driving, any misdemeanor or any felony? No.

MARIE CAMPOS

AGE: 58

EDUCATION: Fine Arts Foundations, Kansas City Art Institute & University of Hawaii at Manoa; Bachelor of Science in Fine Arts Painting & Graphics, Excelsior College; Master, Liberal Arts, St. Johns. College.

OCCUPATION: Program director, Tribal Outreach, Family Education & Extension Program, Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute.

I am running for city councilor because I believe that the will of the people should be every elected officials highest priority to fulfill as their elected representation. I was drafted by a large and resolved group of District 1 voters who have not been satisfied with their current representation and are ready to move forward with representation that is more aligned with their priorities.

The biggest issues I see facing city government are:

1. Getting our fiscal house in order, and establishing sound and accountable financial and cash management practices to ensure both the responsible stewardship of public funds, as well as getting the most efficiency and effectiveness from every dollar spent.

2. Making it easier for more local entrepreneurs to do business within the city to advance and sustain small business viability.

3. Improving and sustaining our infrastructure to keep Santa Fe beautiful, to spotlight our cultural industries, and ready to do business with those companies that are a match for creating low-carbon-footprint jobs in our community.

4. The need to enhance public safety and security through bringing our public safety forces up to full adequate staffing, and community policing that focuses on prevention and community engagement.

5. Creating more affordable housing in the city in ways that improve the quality of life for our citizens while holding down the constantly rising cost of living  and correspondingly decrease utility rates, provide an efficient bus service and enact other proven ways of lowering the cost of living.

1. Have you or your business  if you are a business owner  ever been the subject of any state or federal tax liens? No.

2. Have you ever been involved in a personal or business bankruptcy proceeding? No.

3. Have you ever been arrested for, charged with or convicted of drunken driving, any misdemeanor or any felony? No.
Kate Nobles life story tracks like the Heros Journey, a template for narrative storytelling used in film and literature.

The hero, or in her case heroine, embarks on an adventurous journey, encounters challenges along the way toward achieving a great victory and returns home a changed woman.

Noble knows it well. She left Santa Fe as a 17-year-old for New York City, where she graduated from Columbia University with a degree in film. She stayed in the city  the so-called Capital of the World  after getting a job with the BBCs business and news desk in 1997.

That was when business and economic news was just beginning to be cool, she said during a recent interview at her campaign headquarters. Maria Bartiromo had just started doing her thing on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. So it was actually a really interesting place to be.

She spent nearly 10 years with the BBC in New York, as an assistant producer, then a producer, then a reporter and leading to a TV anchor position for the World Business Report.

Toward the end of her tenure, she journeyed across the sea, and lived and worked in London for about eight months, producing half-hour documentaries.

She describes her experiences variously as enormously technically complicated, yet rewarding in that she was granted a great deal of autonomy and ability with the team to do a huge amount of coverage and drive our own editorial stuff.

Professionally, she had succeeded and was living her dream, recalling how as a girl she identified so much with Holly Hunters character in Broadcast News.

Truly, there was a moment in that film when I felt like, Oh, my gosh. Thats me!  she said.

But there was something missing. She longed for home.

And I had this Jerry Maguire moment where I said, Maybe I can take all this knowledge I have from covering business and economics, and apply it in my hometown,  she said.

In 1969, her parents, Tom and Elise Rosenhaupt Noble, rolled into Santa Fe in a VW bus. They went on to start a real estate business thats still in operation and have two children. Kates younger brother lives not far away and works as a paramedic in town.

Noble, 42, opened one of the recent mayoral candidate forums by relating memories of her childhood, playing along the Arroyo de los Chamisos.

She said later that the big arroyo that cuts across town had a big influence on her childhood. My parents driveway actually crosses it, so it was a highway for me, she said.

Shes a proud product of Santa Fe Public Schools, attending EJ Martinez, Capshaw and Santa Fe High, where she graduated with honors.

Her interest in film was cultivated in high school. She was active in theater and got a job at the Grand Illusion, a former movie theater thats in the same shopping plaza as her campaign headquarters. Its the same complex, she notes, where she spent a lot of time laying the groundwork for Re-Mike, a project that aimed to revision a future for St. Michaels Drive, while working for the city.

She returned to her hometown without a job, but soon earned contracts with the city of Santa Fe, writing business plans for the Tino Griego Pool and a workforce training teen center. That led to a job as economic development specialist with the city. She also worked as a special projects administrator and in a communications role, she said, writing four State of the City speeches for then-Mayor David Coss, who now serves as her campaign manager. She finished her nearly 10-year stint with the city directing the Housing and Community Development division, taking a job with the tech startup yellCast two years ago.

Every good story involves a romance. Noble met her husband, Bryce Tappan, a year before she moved back to Santa Fe. But I really tried not to move back for him, because I wanted to make sure I was making a life choice for me, she said. But the good news is, it has worked out.

Noble jokes that her husbands story is that of a kid who liked to set things on fire and managed to parlay it into a Ph.D. Hes a chemist at Los Alamos Laboratory who a few weeks ago spent his birthday with his wife  and a few thousand other women  at the Womens March in Santa Fe, carrying a sign that read Elect Women Now.

Noble counts her blessings that she has a husband who has a job that pays well and provides good benefits, and parents nearby that can help with their 7-year-old son.

Im fortunate to have their support because when youre raising a child  even just one  to do what Im doing, its really helpful to have other family members to help with childcare.

Noble said her son helped her decide she should run for public office. It was November 9, 2016, the morning after Donald J. Trump was elected president of the United States, and Noble was depressed.

Honestly, Im not sure I would have gotten out of bed if it hadnt been for my son saying, Are we sick, mom?  she said.  No, we have to go on,  she says she responded, and by noon somehow things had gotten very, very clear to me that I was going to run for office.

The first opportunity came up a year ago when she ran unopposed for a vacant seat on the school board.

Noble is the only woman among the five mayoral candidates, something she admits may help her as Santa Fe adopts a new ranked-choice voting method for the first time. Some pundits speculate that even if shes not a voters first choice on the ballot, she might garner second- or third-choice votes because shes a woman.

I think it does help me, she said, although she notes that in Santa Fes 400-year history there has been just one woman mayor, Debbie Jaramillo, and she left office 20 years ago. It will be really hard to know in the end if being a woman is an advantage or a disadvantage, because there are a lot of disadvantages to it.

Dont vote for her because shes a woman, she says, vote for her because shes the most qualified candidate. And because she feels that although shes come home again, her journeys not over.

KATE NOBLE

AGE: 42

EDUCATION: Santa Fe High School; Columbia University  Film Studies; BBC World News; Santa Fe City Hall

OCCUPATION: Community development director at YellCast!

1. Why are you running for mayor? What distinguishes you from your opponent? We need a mayor who knows how our city works, has been in the trenches, and has experience managing in our unique system of local government. At the city, I navigated managing under the union contract, and was effective forging community partnerships and private sector support. Plus, I have global business experience and an unparalleled passion for my hometown.

2. What is the biggest issue facing city government and how would you address it?

Low morale and a disengaged workforce are currently crippling the city. We would run a Worker Wisdom Initiative in the first 100 days to gather ideas from workers on how to improve service to the community and reset the culture in the organization. A streamlined leadership team will execute key priorities and be responsible for empowering front line workers.

3. How would you encourage more affordable housing in Santa Fe? Do you support development of more rental apartments in town?

We need to commit to a set of policy and funding solutions at the city to ensure we have more rental units available. We need to bond and incentivize the development of quality housing and support infrastructure, and ensure stable funding. We should create densities that allow for quality development in market rate AND affordable infill projects.

4. What uses would you support for the city-owned campus of the Santa Fe University of Art and Design, which the school is vacating?

We need short- and long-term solutions for the campus. Both should include many varied uses to bring as much activity and value to the area as possible. This includes expanding higher education, ensuring housing options, recruiting TV productions and community activities for the facilities. We also need a master planning process that engages other landowners in the area.

5. Do you support the citys living wage ordinance  which currently sets the minimum wage at $11.09 per hour  and its mandatory annual cost of living increases?

Yes. The Living Wage has been an important tool to balance the high cost of living in Santa Fe for workers who make the least amount of money. The evidence is that few, if any, businesses have been adversely affected by the wage, as the prevailing wage is higher and the cost of living increases do not account for housing costs.

6. Did you vote in the May soda tax election? If so, did you vote for or against it? Please explain your vote or your opinion of the failed tax proposal.

I voted for funding pre-kindergarten programs. Though I struggled with the paternalistic approach and elements of the proposal, I finally concluded that this was a vice tax and that we need ways to fund early education as a cost-effective investment. As mayor, I will work hard to heal the community divisions laid bare in the soda tax election.

7. Should the city continue to grant a permit and provide police support for the annual Entrada event held on the Plaza that is opposed by Native Americans and others?

We need to bring people together to talk about the Entrada, and to work on solutions to heal and move forward as a community. We should increasingly respect and honor Native American heritage and rights. The city should review its permitting practices for events, and develop guidelines for an appropriate public safety approach and response to community demonstrations and protests.

1. Have you or your business  if you are a business owner  ever been the subject of any state or federal tax liens? No.

2. Have you ever been involved in a personal or business bankruptcy proceeding? No.

3. Have you ever been arrested for, charged with or convicted of drunken driving, any misdemeanor or any felony? Yes. I was arrested the summer I was 18. The charges were dropped.

SANTA FE MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS

NOW: Absentee voting is already underway.

Request an absentee ballot by stopping by the City Clerks Office, 200 Lincoln Ave., or by calling 955-6521, 955-6519 or 955-6326.

FEB.14: Early voting begins

Vote early at City Clerks Office, Room 215, 200 Lincoln Ave., Santa Fe, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, or at Genoveva Chavez Community Center, 3221 Rodeo Road, Santa Fe, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, except March 2, when polls close at 5 p.m.

MARCH 2: Early and absentee voting ends at 5 p.m.

MARCH 6: Election Day

Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. See the citys website, www.santafenm.gov, for polling locations and addresses for voter convenience centers around town.
New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science workers are putting the finishing touches on the long-awaited Leonardo da Vinci exhibit that opens Saturday to the public.

It is the museums largest exhibit in five years.

Da Vinci  The Genius, is a 15,000-square-foot exhibit comprised of two parts that will take up the entire second floor of the museum, as well as the start-up gallery area on the first floor.

The exhibit contains more than 200 pieces, and about 75 are large-scale or interactive models of da Vincis inventions and designs. It also contains drawings that were studies for some of his masterpieces.

This is an opportunity that weve never had before, museum director Margie Marino said. The exhibit is not linear in any way. Theres no sequence to the exhibit, so visitors can start at any point they wish.

The exhibit is the biggest the museum has hosted since the Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition in March 2013.

Marino and her staff are planning for a busy run with the exhibition  especially in the first few weeks.

When we had Titanic, there was a rush at the beginning and at the end, she said. Da Vinci will be around for six months, and we want to plan it out so everyone who comes will enjoy it.

The museum is still hoping to get its online ticketing system working by Saturday, but visitors will be able to buy tickets at the museum for Saturdays opening day. There may be lines, however, and if the museum is full, you will be given a ticket for a later time.

Marino said that, when purchasing online, a limited number of tickets will be available for each time block, and visitors will be able to choose a time.

This is to limit the number of people coming in per hour, she said. Its also to make sure that people can avoid and are aware of school groups. We want each persons experience to be great.

Marino said the number of tickets will be adjusted based on the capacity set by the fire marshal.

When purchasing a ticket, each visitor will be given a wrist band, which is good for the day. It will also get visitors into the planetarium.

Marino said that an audio tour will also be available for an upcharge for those who want more detail.

Although da Vinci is known for such works as the Mona Lisa, The Vitruvian Man and The Last Supper, he also spent much of his time inventing and drawing early concepts for the car, bicycle, helicopter, glider and parachute, all of which will be on display.

A walk through part of the exhibit late Thursday revealed prototypes of several of those inventions, including a massive flying machine that looks like a giant corkscrew and a futuristic-looking tank you would expect to see in a sci-fi movie.

The exhibit was created by Grande Exhibitions of Australia, in collaboration with the Museo Leonardo da Vinci in Rome, as well as French scientific engineer Pascal Cotte and a number of experts in Italy and France.

With above-average attendance expected, Marino said that more volunteers are ready to help museum visitors.

The museum has hundreds of volunteers, and were working and making sure there is plenty of staff available, she said. Its going to be busy the first couple of days. There are going to be crowds. We will have people located at both locations for the exhibit.

Marino is looking forward to the exhibit, because, as an artist, she has studied da Vinci.

One of the first things I received as a gift for an art award was a da Vinci book, she said. Its a real joy, and Im as excited as others. I ask for peoples patience during the first couple of weeks.

If you go

WHAT: Da Vinci  The Genius

WHEN: Exhibit opens at 9 a.m. Saturday; Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Exhibit runs through July 29.

WHERE: New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, 1801 Mountain NW

HOW MUCH: $22 adults, $20 seniors, $12 children at the door
A Malaga man accused of beating his mother to death was ordered held without bond during a motion hearing Wednesday morning.

Jesus Navarro, 44, is charged with an open court of murder, intimidation of a witness and tampering with evidence in the death of 67-year-old Hortencia Jimenez.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Patrick Melvin said a motion for no bond was granted by Judge Jane Shuler-Gray Wednesday at the Fifth Judicial District Court in Carlsbad.

Melvin declined to comment further on the case pending ongoing court proceedings.

Navarro is accused of attacking Jimenez following an argument on Jan. 31 at the family home on Black River Village Road in Malaga.

Law enforcement were called to the home, where Jimenez was found bleeding profusely from a head wound and unable to walk, read a criminal complaint.

Jimenez was airlifted to the University Medical Center in El Paso, Texas, and was pronounced deceased on Feb. 2.

Before her death, Jimenez allegedly implicated her son, Navarro, as the attacker.

In his interview with investigators after his mothers death, records show Navarro confessed to past assaults on family members, including his mother.

Navarro is scheduled to appear for preliminary examination 2 p.m., Feb. 15, at Eddy County Magistrate Court.

DeJanay Booth can be reached at 575-628-5546, dbooth@currentargus.com and @DeJanayBooth on Twitter.



2018 the Carlsbad Current-Argus (Carlsbad, N.M.)

Visit the Carlsbad Current-Argus (Carlsbad, N.M.) at www.currentargus.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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BRUSSELS  The European Unions Brexit negotiator said Friday that major differences remain over whether Britain should be obliged to respect all EU rules and obligations during the transition period aimed at easing the country out of the bloc next year.

Speaking to reporters at the end of a week of technical talks, Michel Barnier also said that Britain has still not outlined its vision of future EU-U.K. relations at virtually the half-way mark of the Brexit negotiations.

Britain officially departs the EU on March 29 next year  the first member ever to leave  but the extraordinarily complex negotiations must be concluded this fall to allow time for parliaments to ratify any deal. This week the sides discussed the nature of a transition period lasting until the end of 2020 which would help provide certainty for markets and businesses nervous about the future.

Our interlocutors shared with us a number of points of disagreement that I consider to be substantial, Barnier said. The transition is not yet sealed.

One major obstacle, Barnier said, is the rights of citizens affected by Brexit. Britain does not want any agreement on those rights to apply to anyone arriving in the U.K. during the transition period.

This is a major issue for us. It is also a major issue for the European Parliament, Barnier said. The United Kingdom must accept all the rules and the conditions right until the end of the transition, and must also accept the inescapable consequences of its decision to leave the European Union.

Barnier said that Prime Minister Theresa Mays government has still has not outlined what future ties between Brussels and London should look like after Brexit despite constant requests for more clarity.

He said he warned his British counterpart, David Davis, this week that the moment has come to take decisions.

Britain was expected to sketch in some of the details Friday, but Barnier says the British side canceled the meeting due to a scheduling conflict. He did not provide details.

EU leaders have been pressing for information from Britain. Without a clear understanding of what kind of post-Brexit relationship the U.K. wants, they say they might be forced to reach arrangements similar to those the EU has with other non-members and not the special agreement London wants.

As the Brexit negotiations advance, separate talks are being held on one of the toughest issues: how to keep people, goods and finance flowing across the border of Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland, which is a member of the EU.

Britain has said it would come up with imaginative ways to ensure that there is no hard border between them. Any restrictions could inflame old tensions in the north.

But Barnier warned that a hard border seems inevitable if Britain leaves Europes single market and customs union arrangements.

It is important to tell the truth. A U.K. decision to leave the single market and to leave the customs union would make border checks unavoidable, he said.

The U.K. has committed to proposing specific solutions to the unique circumstances on the island of Ireland and we are waiting for such solutions, Barnier added.
SAN FRANCISCO  Uber is paying $245 million to Googles self-driving car spinoff to end a legal brawl that aired out allegations of a sinister scheme that tore apart the once-friendly companies.

The surprise settlement announced Friday came as lawyers for Uber and Waymo, a company hatched from Google, prepared to wrap up the first week of a trial that had attracted international attention.

Waymo filed its lawsuit nearly a year ago , adding to Ubers woes with allegations of a bold high-tech heist orchestrated by its former CEO, Travis Kalanick, and a former Google engineer. That engineer, Anthony Levandowski, subsequently went to work for Uber, and was later fired when he declined to answer questions about the theft charges, citing his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

Uber and its ride-hailing service had already been tarnished by the companys acknowledgement of rampant sexual harassment within its ranks, a yearlong cover-up of a major computer break-in, and the use of duplicitous software to thwart government regulators.

As with most settlements, the truce required some compromise by both sides. Uber had initially offered to settle the case for $490 million just before the start of the trial Monday, but that agreement didnt provide Waymo with enough assurances that its technology wouldnt be improperly used, according to two people familiar with the thinking of both parties in the lawsuit. The people asked not to be identified because the settlement talks were confidential.

Not long after Thursdays trial proceedings ended, the top lawyers from both companies, Ubers Tony West and Waymos Kevin Vosen, met to hammer out an agreement. The resulting compromise cut Ubers payment in half, but provided Waymo with the guarantees that it wanted to prevent its technology from being used in Ubers autonomous cars.

The payment, to be made in Ubers stock, is a fraction of the nearly $2 billion in damages that a Waymo expert had estimated Ubers alleged theft had caused. But U.S. District Judge William Alsup had refused to allow Waymo to use that figure in the trial.

This has the look of two companies trying to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, said Dan Handman, a Los Angeles lawyer specializing in trade secrets for the firm Hirschfeld Kraemer. You try to structure a settlement so both sides can spin it as a win-win situation.

A settlement in the middle of a trial is highly unusual, but both companies had motives for doing so in this case.

Kalanick, a polarizing figure who resigned as Ubers CEO last June, had already spent part of two days on the stand reviewing old texts between him and Levandowski indicating that they were willing to go to any lengths to catch up with a self-driving car project that Google started in 2009. The texts included snippets such as second place is first looser (sic), burn the village, and a link to a video clip from the 1987 film Wall Street featuring a character hailing the virtues of unbridled greed.

Levandowski was also set to take the stand Monday, when he was expected once again to repeatedly take the Fifth, a move that Ubers lawyers feared would prejudice the 10-person jury against the company. The optics of someone not wanting to incriminate himself in front of a jury in a civil case are terrible, Handman said.

Ubers settlement wont necessarily help Levandowski, though. The U.S. Justice Department opened a criminal probe at the prodding of Alsup, although it hasnt publicly identified the targets of that investigation.

Waymo alleged that Levandowski heisted its technology and took it to Uber via a startup he founded and which Uber purchased a few months later for $680 million. Uber denied using any Google technology to build a fleet of self-driving cars.

Including the settlement, the cost of that Otto deal is now nearly $1 billion, without factoring in Ubers legal bills in the case. Its a deal that one of Ubers own attorneys acknowledged the company now regrets.

Knowing everything we know, Uber regrets ever bringing Anthony Levandowski on board, Uber lawyer William Carmody told the jury in his opening statement. And the reason they do so is because for all his time at Uber, all Uber has to show for Anthony Levandowski is this lawsuit.

But the settlement at least removes a dark cloud that Uber didnt want looming when it offers its stock to the public  something its current CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, plans to pursue next year. The settlement also covers more than 100 other trade secrets that Waymo alleges Levandowski stole. Waymo could have filed additional claims against Uber in the months and years ahead, but thats no longer a possibility unless Waymo finds additional evidence of Uber using its technology.

If you are an Uber investor, you should be pleased with the outcome, given what could have happened if they had lost, said Rohit Kulkarni, managing director of SharesPost, a research group focused on privately held companies.

For Waymo, the settlement protects the technology that has vaulted it into the early lead in the self-driving car market and provides a measure of personal vindication for Google co-founder Larry Page, who is now CEO of Alphabet Inc., the parent of both Waymo and Google.

According to Kalanicks testimony, Page had become very upset in 2015 when he learned Uber had hired robotics engineers from Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh for its own self-driving car division. He sort of was a little angsty and said, Why are you doing my thing?' Kalanick recalled.

The settlement also means Page wont have to appear on the stand himself.

Alphabet had another reason to settle. It was an early investor in Uber and, although it sold some of its stock late last year, it still holds a significant stake in Uber. The settlement gives Alphabet an additional 0.34 percent of Ubers outstanding stock, based on an investment round that placed the companys market value at $72 billion. The final value of the settlement could swing up or down, depending on how much Uber is worth when it goes public.

We are committed to working with Uber to make sure that each company develops its own technology, Waymo said in its statement.

____

Krisher reported from Detroit.
SANTA FE  A proposal to expand early childhood programs  by pulling more from New Mexicos largest permanent fund  moved a step closer on Friday to reaching voters.

But it still must clear at least two more hurdles, including skeptics on the Senate Finance Committee, before landing on the ballot this year.

The proposed constitutional amendment, nonetheless, maintained its momentum on Friday, winning a recommendation of approval from the Senate Education Committee after about two hours of testimony and debate.

House Joint Resolution 1 passed 5-3 along party lines, with Democrats in favor.

Dozens of supporters told senators that early childhood services  such as pre-kindergarten and home visiting programs for new parents  are an effective way to help kids arrive at school ready to learn.

Marc Space, superintendent of Grants/Cibola County Schools, said his teachers can easily tell which children have attended preschool and which havent. Some students arrive at kindergarten without knowing colors, putting them behind many of their peers from the start, he said.

These children dont know how to play socially, Space said. They dont know how to hold a pair of scissors.  This is all about opportunity.

Opponents said the proposal to increase distributions from the Land Grant Permanent Fund would slow the growth of a revenue source that already provides hundreds of millions of dollars for public schools, universities and other beneficiaries. Eventually, they said, the state would have less money for those purposes than if the fund were left alone.

State Land Commissioner Aubrey Dunn, a Libertarian, said the $17 billion permanent fund is supposed to help New Mexico even after the supply of oil and gas  a major source of state revenue  is exhausted.

Someday, he said, were going to quit adding to the fund.

The proposal would amend the state Constitution and increase annual distributions from the Land Grant Permanent Fund by 1 percentage point, from 5 percent to 6 percent.

It would generate about $150 million a year that would go to school districts and tribes to provide services to children before they reach kindergarten. Another $26 million would go to other beneficiaries of the permanent fund.

Democratic Sen. William Soules, a retired teacher and principal from Las Cruces and chairman of the Senate Education Committee, said early childhood programs help ensure that youngsters are ready to benefit from the K-12 school system.

Nonpartisan analysts working for the Legislative Finance Committee say pre-kindergarten programs have resulted in academic gains sticking with children through at the least the fifth grade.

If that money is invested in our children, Soules said, its an investment that can never be taken away.

The House approved the proposal on a 36-33 vote earlier this week. Its co-sponsored Democratic Reps. Antonio Moe Maestas and Javier Martinez of Albuquerque and Stephanie Garcia Richard of White Rock.
SANTA FE  Two education-related measures  including the latest attempt to pass one of Gov. Susana Martinezs top initiatives  were stymied Friday in a House committee.

Legislation dealing with the reading proficiency of young public school students  and whether they should be retained if their reading skills are lacking  has been pushed by the states two-term Republican governor since she took office in 2011.

However, the proposal has drawn unflinching opposition from teachers unions, and members of the House Education Committee voted 7-6 on Friday to table the latest measure, House Bill 210, with majority Democrats voting in favor of the motion.

The bills sponsor acknowledged its all but dead for the 30-day legislative session, which ends next week, but said she intends to keep trying on the issue.

The fight (against the bill) is to maintain the status quo  its not centered around student success, Rep. Monica Youngblood, R-Albuquerque, told the Journal.

Similar legislation backed by Martinez stalled in each of the past seven years. This years measure was different from previous versions in that it would give parents the final say about whether children deemed not proficient in reading should be held back in school.

However, critics said the legislation still had significant flaws, arguing that it would base student advancement decisions solely on reading instead of broader academic proficiency indicators.

I think this takes us a step backward instead of a step forward, said Rep. Linda Trujillo, D-Santa Fe.

Several teachers union leaders also testified in opposition to the bill, which in the past has been described as intended to address social promotion in schools.

Ellen Bernstein, president of the Albuquerque Teachers Federation, said retaining thousands of additional students annually could pose an additional cost to the state and questioned whether such an approach would be effective.

When you hold someone back and they dont socially and emotionally need to be retained, you do them more damage than good academically, Bernstein said.

The bill considered Friday applies specifically to students in kindergarten through third grade, starting in the 2018-19 school year. It also calls for summer school, tutoring or other types of intervention for such students who are deemed to be lagging behind in reading ability.

Meanwhile, the committee also voted to table a measure, House Bill 180, aimed at ensuring more public education dollars are actually spent on classroom needs.

The bill came under fire from the New Mexico School Superintendents Association and teachers unions, which said it could undermine local authority.

We continue to believe that getting more dollars to teachers and students in the classroom, where the actual learning take place, is an urgently needed reform, said Fred Nathan, executive director of Think New Mexico, a Santa Fe-based think tank that pushed for the legislation.
Here are the cold hard facts about Blue Bell Ice Cream: The Texas-based company will reopen its distribution facility in Albuquerque and fans can once again find their favorite frozen treat at area supermarkets and drug stores the week of March 12.

It has always been our goal to return to the Albuquerque area, said Wayne Hugo, vice president of sales and marketing for the company. In 2015, Blue Bell pulled its ice cream out of the frozen dessert aisles after a listeria outbreak.

Blue Bell has been available in parts of southeastern New Mexico since 2016. And now, with the addition of Albuquerque and its surrounding area, we are able to offer our products to even more stores across the state, said Hugo. We cant thank our customers enough for their patience.

The company has begun ramping up its workforce for its distribution facility in Albuquerque. We will continue hiring over the next few months, Hugo said.

The company curtailed production and distribution in 2015 after its products were linked to 10 listeria cases in four states, including three deaths in Kansas. Production plants in Texas, Oklahoma and Alabama underwent an extensive cleaning and decontamination process.

Known as the little creamery in Brenham (Texas), Statista, an online statistics, market research and business intelligence portal, said Blue Bell, despite its setbacks, is doing big-time business. Statista said it was the fifth-ranked ice cream brand in the U.S. in 2017, with $425 million in sales. Total ice cream category sales amounted to about $5.4, billion according to Statista,
NEW YORK  The family real estate company once run by presidential adviser Jared Kushner is shifting a federal court case to a new venue so it wont have to reveal the identities of foreign partners behind some of its real estate projects.

With a deadline approaching within hours, the Kushner Cos. filed papers in federal court Friday to move the case involving Maryland apartment complexes it owns with foreign investors back to state court. A federal district court judge ruled last month that the Kushners had to identify its partners by Friday, rejecting arguments from the family company that such disclosures would violate privacy rights.

The Kushner Cos. had also argued that media coverage of the case was politically motivated and marked by unfair sensationalism given that the company was once run by Jared Kushner, now a senior adviser to his father-in-law, President Donald Trump.

But the judge sided with a motion from The Associated Press and other media organizations that argued the public right to know held sway.

The case has attracted media attention because it promised a rare glimpse into how New York-based Kushner Cos. raises money for its real estate projects, revealing ties to lenders and investors who could possibly raise conflict-of-interest issues.

The fight over disclosure in federal court stems from a lawsuit that started out in Maryland state court last year on an entirely different matter. That lawsuit was brought by tenants alleging a Kushner Cos. affiliate called Westminster Management charges excessive and illegal rent for apartments. It sought class-action status for tenants in 17 apartment complexes. Westminster has said it has broken no laws and denies the charges.

Court papers did not specifically give a reason for the decision by Kushner Cos. to move the case to a state court. Kushner Cos. spokeswoman Christine Taylor said only that our counsel on this matter has determined that the case should be remanded to state court.

The Kushner Cos. is privately held and so little is known about the identity of partners investing alongside it, and thus if they have any regulatory or other matters before the federal government. That the partners backing the Maryland apartments are from overseas raises questions about conflicts in foreign-policies issues, too.

Kushner has been given a big role shaping U.S. policy with China and in the Mideast, where he is trying to forge a peace deal between the Palestinians and the Israelis.

Personal financial disclosure forms filed with the federal government show that Kushner Cos. and Kushner personally have borrowed from Deutsche Bank and Israel Discount Bank. Many other ties are hidden behind the names of limited liability companies.

The issue of who exactly are the partners of Kushner Cos. in Maryland came up because the federal court needed to establish that it had jurisdiction and that some of defendants came from outside the state. With the case going back to state court, that disclosure is no longer required.

Nathan Siegel, a lawyer with Davis Wright Tremaine who represented the media in the motion, said fighting for disclosure was important despite that the issue is now moot.

Im still pleased that the court recognized the principle that judicial proceedings are supposed to be open, he said.

In Kushners federal disclosure report, Kushner showed he still owned a stake in Westminster Management, the subsidiary in the Maryland case. The report showed he received $1.6 million in income from it.

The AP joined ProPublica, The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun and Baltimore TV station WMAR-TV in filing its motion arguing for disclosure.

Kushner stepped down as Kushner Cos. CEO last year when he joined the Oval Office. He sold stakes in properties to comply with federal conflicts of interest rules, but held onto many of other assets.
LUBBOCK, Texas  A high school teacher in a small West Texas town has been sentenced to almost 16 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to enticing a 16-year-old male student.

A federal judge in Lubbock, Texas, sentenced Shonna Lynn Calaway on Friday to 15 years and eight months in prison.

The 48-year-old high school teacher at Motley County School in Matador, Texas, admitted that she used sexually explicit photos on a Snapchat application to entice the 16-year-old sophomore into a sexual episode in December 2016.

Motley County School had an early elementary-to-high school enrollment of 159 in October. 2016. Matador, a town of about 520 residents, is about 70 miles (113 kilometers) northeast of Lubbock, Texas.
mGage India, the worlds largest mobile engagement and messaging provider, has taken on a new brand identity. mGage India Pvt. Ltd. is nowKARIX MOBILE PVT. LTD.; the company made the announcement recently.

Speaking on the new brand identity, Jay Sheth, CEO, Karix says, mGage India, now KARIX MOBILE, serves an estimated one-third of all enterprise messaging in India. We are also well-placed to spearhead the expected significant evolution of basic messaging to intelligent messaging in the next 2-3 years. With technology enhancement, we are planning to expand our boundaries to serve customers across the globe. Therefore, this is the right time for us to adopt a more global brand name for which KARIX will give us the right traction.

Commenting on the announcement, Deepak Goyal, COO, Karix, states, Our new brand name, KARIX, stands for a wide bouquet of evolutionary services that cater to growing demands of enterprises. We recently added an Omni-channel marketing automation service in our portfolio. We will soon introduce our new self-serve cloud communication platform that will cater to a global community of developers. We have initiated operations to assist businesses make the transition from SMS to Rich Communication Service (RCS).

To announce and showcase some of these solutions, we will be participating in Mobile World Congress, in Barcelona from February 26th to March 1st, 2018.

With the new brand name, there is an added vigour, a new excitement in the company. We are committed to make continued investments in innovative solutions and offers these services to our customers, he added.

While the company adopts a new identity, the corporate structure and teams will remain unchanged.

Karix Mobile helps businesses connect seamlessly with their customers using communication channels such as SMS, email, voice and data. The company processes over 100 billion messages annually for its enterprise customers and the Govt. of India.
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Defenders of the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal responded with trepidation to news this week that the Democrats staunchest Iran hawk would be reclaiming a top congressional role.

In a hallway interview, however, Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., told Al-Monitor that he does not plan to use his perch as the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to try to rip up the agreement. Instead, Menendez expressed skepticism about President Donald Trumps threats to withdraw from the agreement, even as he himself champions further sanctions against Tehran for its non-nuclear activities.

I think the president would be better served getting our European allies to join us in our multilateral sanctions effort, Menendez said. He called on the White House to build international support for revisiting the deals so-called sunset clauses, under which nuclear and other restrictions on Iran lessen over time.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., allowed Menendez to resume his post on Feb. 6, after the Department of Justice dropped corruption charges against him. Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., had been filling in since April 2015 while Menendez remained under a cloud of suspicion and stood trial.

Menendez, who vocally opposed the nuclear deal, joined Schumer and Cardin in voting against it in 2015. With Trump threatening to pull out if Congress fails to pass legislation to address what he sees as flaws in the deal, advocates are worried that Menendez might champion measures that prove unacceptable to Tehran, triggering the agreements collapse.

We are very concerned that Sen. Menendez is going to help Donald Trump tear up the Iran deal, Jamal Abdi, vice president for policy at the pro-deal National Iranian American Council, told Al-Monitor. The onus is really on him to demonstrate his willingness to stand up to Trump on Iran, because right now there is not a lot of confidence given his past efforts.

For now, Menendezs insistence on a multilateral approach with Europe seems to square with Cardins own efforts. That has left the deals proponents feeling cautiously optimistic.

Cardin  was also among the small handful of Democrats who did not vote to support the deal, but he did fight back against Republican-led efforts to unravel it, said Abdi. Menendez is someone who voted against the Iraq War [in 2003], so hopefully he understands the gravity of what Trump appears to be aiming for with Iran and will work to protect the nuclear deal and prevent a war.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, R-Tenn., is working with the White House on legislation that would reinstate sanctions on Iran if it comes within one year of obtaining a nuclear weapon. Cardin has adamantly insisted, however, that any such efforts not violate the nuclear accord and that they be conducted in concert with the United States European allies, who are wary of running afoul of the deal.

Although Menendez had not previously weighed in on Trumps threats to withdraw from the agreement, he has criticized the presidents October decision not to certify that the deal meets congressional requirements.

Refusing to certify Irans compliance with a deeply flawed deal  does little to address its shortcomings, Menendez said on the Senate floor last month. The presidents move  was a hollow attempt to fulfill a campaign promise while continuing to let Iran enjoy the benefits of [the deal] and continue its non-nuclear malign activities throughout the region. Furthermore, this decision was carried out without a clear path forward and without specific proposals that could have garnered international support.

Trumps October decision gave Republicans the opportunity to reinstate expansive sanctions with a simple majority of just 50 votes instead of the usual 60, but the White House and Congress opted instead to try to amend existing law in an effort to address the deals sunset provisions, a move that requires getting at least nine Democrats on board since Republicans only have a 51-49 majority.

While Menendez may not be willing to help Trump unravel the nuclear deal, he has, however, joined other hawkish Democrats in complaining that the president has not used the full extent of his authority to implement non-nuclear sanctions against Iran. Congress last year passed the first new set of sanctions on Iran since the deal was signed in 2015.

The sanctions  include provisions on human rights violations and so the administration can use those provisions as it relates to any entity that is either engaged in assisting, or actually conducting, human rights violations on Iranians, Menendez told Al-Monitor in January. So if you really want to be tough on Iran outside of its nuclear proliferation, you have plenty of things you can do. And you have the arms to do it already, you just have to go ahead and pull the trigger.

Republicans are also lobbying the administration to place additional sanctions on Iran. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who in December urged Trump to consider reinstating nuclear sanctions on Iran, this month led 13 other Republican senators in a letter asking the president for more sanctions in regard to Iran's ballistic missile program.

In the House, Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce, R-Calif., penned a letter to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin last month asking the administration to use its influence to ensure that the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force resume international anti-money-laundering efforts against Iran.
Egyptians will head to the polls March 26-28 to cast their votes in a presidential election that critics in and outside of Egypt have branded a "sham." Political analysts say the election is a mere formality, since President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is guaranteed a second term in office after eliminating would-be rival candidates from the race.

In recent weeks, all serious candidates have either been arrested, prosecuted or intimidated out of the race, leaving Sisi to face a sole challenger, who ironically is a staunch Sisi supporter. Moussa Mustafa Moussa, the rival contender in question, is a little-known politician who heads the centrist Al Ghad Party. Moussas 11th-hour participation in the race is widely perceived as a face-saving effort to legitimize the election and spare Sisi the embarrassment of a one-candidate referendum.

Sami Anan, the former armed forces chief of staff and presidential hopeful, was the last major challenger to Sisi before being arrested on charges of forgery, inciting against the army and running in the election without seeking prior permission from the military. Anans right-hand man in the campaign, former top auditor Hisham Geneina, was physically assaulted by knife-wielding thugs outside his home in what his lawyer and family members claimed was a failed kidnapping and assassination attempt. Geneina later revealed that he had been on his way to appeal the disqualification of Anan from the election when he was attacked.

Alarmed by the brutal crackdown on the would-be opposition candidates, Egyptian opposition leaders held a press conference to call for a boycott of the election, which they described as a farce" and an "absurdity. The opposition leaders  members of the Civil Democratic Movement, a coalition of seven leftist and liberal parties and 150 pro-democracy activists  defiantly urged voters to stay home rather than participate in a "charade." Leftist politician Hamdeen Sabahi, who ran against Sisi in the 2014 elections, insisted the election be called off.

"There are no candidates, no guarantees of a free and fair vote, and no freedom," he said.

Former member of parliament Mohamed Anwar Sadat, who had announced his intention to contest the election but later rescinded his decision, cited an unsuitable political environment that is hostile to genuine competition. He proposed a national dialogue to defuse the crisis.

Rights lawyer Khaled Ali, another would-be presidential hopeful, also quit the race a day after Anan was arrested by the military, telling supporters at the press conference that "the opportunity for hope in this presidential election has gone." He complained that members of his campaign had been arrested or faced harassment.

Clearly angered by the opposition's calls for a boycott of the vote, Sisi sternly warned he would take strong action against "anyone who believes he can mess with [Egypts] security, threatening he would not tolerate a repeat of the events that happened seven years ago (in reference to the uprising that forced Hosni Mubarak to step down). Speaking at the opening of an offshore gas field, Sisi vowed to demand a popular mandate from Egyptians to oppose what he deemed the evil people."

While it was unclear who Sisi was referring to as being evil, analysts believe he may have been talking about dissenters, often portrayed by the pro-government media as being enemies of the state and seeking to disturb public order and spread chaos.

Mohamed Abul Ghar, the founder and chairman of the liberal Social Democratic Party, denied that the opposition was seeking to destabilize the country. "We neither want to destroy government buildings nor disrupt economic growth. We support Sisi in his efforts to root out the terrorists, but the way the authorities have handled the presidential election so far has left us deeply concerned," Abul Ghar told Al-Monitor.

"We all knew Sisi would seek a second term. We also know that the result of this election is a foregone conclusion. But in a free and fair election, Sisi would have definitely won. The recent crackdown on opposition candidates was uncalled for and only discredits the regime," he said.

Concerned that Egyptians would heed the opposition's calls to stay away from the ballot box  a low voter turnout would prove an embarrassment for Sisi and undermine the credibility of the election  the authorities are using all means possible to coax the public to participate in the March elections. Placards on all the major roundabouts and on street corners bearing Sisi's picture tell Egyptians that they must vote "to ensure that the country remains stable and secure." Public service messages broadcast on the radio warn of "foreign conspiracies to destroy the state" and exhort Egyptians to vote "to counter the foreign plots." In other public service messages, Egyptians are told to participate in the election "so as to avert civil war and bloodshed on the streets." The radio spots are clearly an attempt to terrorize the public into submission.

Presidential hopeful Moussa has meanwhile threatened to prosecute anyone who boycotts the vote if he wins the election. In an interview broadcast on the pro-government channel DMC, he said, "If I were to win, I would bring to trial the boycotters on the charge of high treason."

"Such calls incite foreign countries against Egypt and can only harm Egyptians," he said.

Any doubts Egyptians may have had about the threats being sincere were quickly dispelled when lawyer Mohamed Hamid Salam filed a legal complaint against 13 opposition figures who were among those who called for the boycott. He accused them of attempting to overthrow the regime, "incitement against the state" and "trying to destabilize the country."

Khaled Dawoud, the head of the liberal Al-Dostour (Constitution) Party and one of the boycotters, dismissed the allegations against him and the other members of the Civil Democratic Movement as "baseless lies." In comments published on his Facebook page, Dawoud said that his prosecution is "part of a growing number of court cases against opposition figures filed by lawyers seeking fame and visibility. The pro-government media publicizes the cases with the aim of defaming those accused." Dawoud also said that he failed to understand why the attorney general had not shelved the complaint and had referred the case to the prosecutors. "I still have hope, however, that the case will be shelved as I have not as yet been summoned for interrogation," he wrote.

Egyptian lawmakers have also joined the chorus of condemnation of the opposition's boycott campaign. The move is unsurprising considering that 508 out of the 596 members of parliament had endorsed Sisi's re-election for a second term. In a statement released by the Mostakbal Watan (Future of a Nation) Party, the second-largest party in parliament, the members of parliament said the boycott serves foreign agendas, adding, The Egyptian people face dangerous challenges. We must stand behind the state in order to foil plans aimed at impeding our progress."

In similar remarks on his talk show on the pro-government Sada El Balad channel, member of parliament Mostafa Bakry also warned that "the coming days will be crucial for Egypt."

"We must stand together to confront the foreign plots and defend our nation. There is no going back to the past," he said sternly, wagging his finger at the camera.

Only a handful of opposition lawmakers disagree. In a statement reported by Ahram Online, member of parliament Haitham El-Hariri, who hails from the opposition 25-30 bloc, said that boycotting is not treason and is a legal and constitutional right on par with the right to vote.

Religion, too, is being used to woo voters. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a conference on "Confronting Terrorism and Extremism," Minister of Religious Endowments Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa said that participating in elections is "a religious duty" and "a patriotic act."

But Abul Ghar argued that such statements are counterproductive and will do little to reverse the current state of apathy on the street. "If the regime had allowed for pluralistic elections, disaffected citizens may have been encouraged to vote. Now, just as in the pre-revolution days, people feel their vote wont make a difference, and so, the majority will opt to stay home.
Graffiti started covering the walls of Tahrir Square in Cairo and other urban areas in Egypt's governorates during the January 25 Revolution and the period that followed. The murals documented the unfolding events of the revolution and voiced the peoples demands of freedom and democracy.

Today, seven years later, the drawings and slogans are gone. The famous murals that once covered the walls of downtown Cairo, namely the graffiti on Mohammed Mahmoud Street, have been cleaned up. The protests these murals depicted have been wiped out gradually, almost as an attempt to erase the revolution from the peoples memory.

According to Article 361 of the Egyptian Penal Code, deliberate damage or destruction of fixed or movable property is punishable with imprisonment and a fine depending on the nature and graveness of the damage. Egyptian security forces have many arrested graffiti and street artists since the January 25 Revolution. According to data released by the Association of Freedom of Thought and Expression, an Egyptian organization established in 2006 by a group of lawyers and researchers to defend freedom of expression, at least 22 street artists have been arrested over the past seven years.

However, June 30, 2013, was a turning point for the graffiti art of many Egyptian artists.

Arresting graffiti artists is not something new. The police have been apprehending them since 2011 on charges of damaging and vandalizing public property. But after the new regime came to office on July 3, 2013, artists have suffered from further restrictions, censorship and punishment, which caused many to stop drawing altogether, especially political murals [in public spaces], Hossam Fazola, a researcher on freedom of creativity with the Association of Freedom of Thought and Expression, told Al-Monitor.

The risks may not always be limited to a fine or jail time. Two street artists were killed under mysterious circumstances in 2013-14. In July 2013, artist Issam Issa was killed during the clashes at Rabia al-Adawiya, or what Egyptians call the events of the Minassa Podium, right where President Anwar Sadat was gunned down in 1981. Almost a year later, artist Hisham Risk disappeared for a week before his body was found in a morgue, where the autopsy revealed he was drowned. But many of his relatives believe he was deliberately killed for his political position, as he was a vocal critic of the regime.

Graffiti artists no longer face only vandalism and destruction charges but also criminal and political charges, which could ruin their future, in light of the current anti-demonstration law [passed by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, allowing for the arrests of peaceful protesters]," Fazola added.

Security forces arrested four people while they were drawing murals, charging them with protesting without permission and rioting, an article in the Egyptian ONA news agency stated in December 2013.

Graffiti artist Ahmed Fathy told Al-Monitor, After the revolution, I could still go out with my paints and tools and stay for three or four hours in the streets drawing murals depicting any subject, without any fear of being arrested. Things changed in mid-2013. The police started arresting whoever walks in the street with a brush or a spray can. But we are no longer facing [simple] charges such as vandalism but far more serious than this. I was arrested several times, but I'm lucky enough to have good connections and financial means; otherwise, I would still be in jail.

Street artist Mohammed Khaled told Al-Monitor that artists now are facing more difficulties than before. He said that they were being defamed and libeled in state-owned media outlets, and that all means of funding and support for their projects at home or abroad were being cut, even when their work had nothing to do with politics or their political stand.

In February 2015, the Egyptian prosecution issued an order to confiscate the book The Walls of Freedom, which documents graffiti arts and protest murals during the revolution, under the pretext of inciting against the state, the army and the police.

Fazola believes that the regime has realized that graffiti art serves as the voice of the people and is one of the main tools of the revolution. He added that the regime fears another revolution; therefore, it is trying to fight graffiti art with all means possible.

Many artists continue to draw in secret in the side streets away from the eyes of the police. According to Fathy, when a new opportunity presents itself, street artists will flood the streets once again.
February 11  22 Bahman in Iran  marks the 10 days between the return of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to the country after 15 years in exile and the victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Every year for the occasion, government-organized gatherings across the country rally conservatively inclined Iranians and a handful of unique characters who attend for the spectacle or to be the spectacle themselves. The rallies are an important opportunity for Iran's leadership to demonstrate the popularity of the Islamic Republic to both domestic and foreign critics. With Iran recently having been rocked by its largest protests in nearly a decade, officials of all stripes are calling for an impressive turnout.

During a Cabinet meeting Feb. 7, President Hassan Rouhani said, At this rally, in creating a new epic, the will, solidarity, unity and commitment to national sovereignty must be shown, and to those who wish ill on Islamic Iran across the world, we must say that the path of Imam Khomeini still continues. He added, [I am] happy that after the 39th anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution, and on the threshold of the 40th anniversary of the Islamic Republic of Iran, that the people of Islamic Iran are continuing on the path of the goals of the revolution with more strength and enthusiasm. He asserted that a large turnout would for months disappoint the enemies of Iran.

In an indirect reference to the recent protests, Rouhani said that this years rallies will be especially significant, stating, In the last few months, enemies with incorrect calculations designed plots against Iran. Therefore, he said, With more determination than previous years, we must show our decisive support for our culture and religion and our goals for the revolution.

Rouhani did not specify what incorrect calculations hostile governments had made. He, however, mentioned Iran having stopped terrorists who had entered the country, likely meaning the arrest of Islamic State fighters who had entered western Iran in January. He also said that the UN Security Council and major powers had rejected a plan by the United States against Iran, a reference to the desire of the Donald Trump administration to scrap or at least renegotiate the nuclear deal.

The rallies on 22 Bahman are often peppered with anti-Israel statements. During his Cabinet speech, Rouhani said that there have been innumerous plots against the Islamic world in the last year, referring to Trumps decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israels capital. He remarked that a large turnout would represent a firm and strong response to the plots.

Mohammad Ali Jafari, leader of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, also called for a large turnout, proclaiming that those who attend the 22 Bahman rallies show the countrys enemies their commitment to the Islamic Republic. Senior clerics in Qom and the head of the judiciary, Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani, also encouraged Iranians to attend the events.

It is not clear to what degree these public calls will motivate Iranians to celebrate a nearly four-decade anniversary, especially so soon after the protests, whose slogans were harsh. While the protests quickly died down, their causes  economic concerns and corruption  persist.
The planned deportation of thousands of asylum-seekers from Africa is nearing, and public debate in Israel is heating up over the question of how the Jewish state, a state of refugees, can send them to an uncertain fate. Since the deportation law passed in the Knesset in December 2017, Minister of the Interior Aryeh Deri, who was one of the shapers of the decision to deport the African immigrants along with Minister of Public Security Gilad Erdan, has claimed that a third country has been found to host and care for the asylum-seekers.

According to data by the Population and Immigration Authority, at the time the law passed, 35,000 Eritrean and Sudanese citizens were living in Israel, along with 5,000 children of asylum-seekers who were born in the country.

At the beginning of the year, the authority published data that in 2017, 3,300 African asylum-seekers left Israel of their own free will, after they were promised safe absorption in Rwanda and given a grant of $3,500. This is how the nation would deal with those bound for deportation now.

After the law passed, it became clear that things arent as simple as Israel has tried to depict them. Rwanda has denied that it signed an agreement promising to absorb the deportees. In reference to the rumors that have been recently spread in the media, the Government of Rwanda wishes to inform that it has never signed any secret deal with Israel regarding the relocation of African migrants, it communicated Jan. 22, after a demonstration in front of the Rwandan Embassy in Tel Aviv. In addition, testimony from asylum-seekers sent to Rwanda came to light that further contradicted the reassuring messages of the Israeli government and immigration authority.

This was also the signal for Deri to attack his critics and neutralize the arguments against him and against the deportation of asylum-seekers. In an interview with Army Radio Feb. 1, Deri defended himself, saying, Im full of compassion toward them, but I am responsible for the poor of my city. Little Israel cant include everyone. At the interviewers claim that 30,000 asylum-seekers and migrant workers do not endanger the security of the State of Israel, Deri pulled out his secret weapon that he prepared in advance in order to silence his opponents. He explained that for the good of Israel, he prefers that Palestinians would take the place of asylum-seekers from Africa.

They [the Palestinians] dont come to live here in Tel Aviv. Palestinians are the poor of your city  when they have it better, well have it better, he said. Deri made reference to the Talmudic expression (Bava Metzia 71a), The poor of your city shall come first.

While Deri did echo the opinion of the security establishment that the economic distress of Palestinians, especially in the Gaza Strip, should be eased, this was apparently an attempt to silence the harsh criticism against him. Deri might believe that his critics, who portray him as a man without a conscience who has forgotten the lessons of the Holocaust, are leftists mobilized by human rights organizations and who naturally also support more work permits for Palestinians. Deri thinks perhaps that presenting the Palestinians as benefitting at the expense of the African population would present a dilemma for the opponents of deportation. He said a government decision has been advanced to grant a work permit to one Palestinian for every two Africans who leave Israel. The decision has not explained how this ratio was determined.

The connection between the fate of African asylum-seekers and the economic situation of the Palestinians is nothing more than spin. Recently, Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Gen. Yoav Mordechai explained the authoritys policy of granting work permits to Israel in order to help the Palestinian economy. In a lecture he gave at the Israel Business Conference convened by the financial paper Globes on Jan. 11, he revealed that about 100,000 workers were given work permits. Mordechai named the business sectors that rely on the labor of Palestinians, saying, There are sectors in Israel that very much depend on Palestinian workers. We see this in the field of agriculture in fruit-picking in several sectors, where 90% or 100% of workers are Palestinians. The construction sector and the price of housing depends very much on Palestinians. Sixty percent of assembly line workers are Palestinians who come to work every morning; 40% of aggregates used by the construction sector come from quarries in the Judea and Samaria regions.

Work permits allow a Palestinian to remain in Israel only until the evening; laborers must return to their homes in the territories at the end of a work day. African migrants work in different sectors, and many of them are employed during nighttime hours, in restaurants, hotels and leisure venues. Palestinians could not replace them.

Avia Mizrahi-Magen, the CEO of the largest hotel chain in Israel, Fattal, said in an interview to The Marker that deportation would be the final nail in the coffin of the hotel business in Israel. The sector couldnt function. The result of this process would be closing floors, and even entire hotels.

The restaurant business also faces a serious shortage of workers. Oren Shenbal, one of the directors of the restaurant group R2M, regretfully explained to Ynet why the chain that operates some of the most popular culinary establishments in Tel Aviv is being forced to scale down its activity: Its hard to find workers, and even harder to find workers who want to work at night.  We all face a shortage of workers. His words demonstrate that African laborers do not displace Israeli workers, and that Palestinians could not replace them. The initiative to deport asylum-seekers was not meant to benefit the Palestinians. This is a manipulation by the drafters and legislators of this law, who have forgotten what it means to be refugees. Sadly, they are motivated mainly by xenophobia.
In many ways, Police Commissioner Roni Alsheikh's Feb. 7 interview with journalist Ilana Dayan was a watershed in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus investigation saga. In the volatile public and political atmosphere, just days before the police release their recommendations regarding their investigations, the interview played right into Netanyahus hands.

It is not clear what lay behind Alsheikhs decision to open up before Dayans camera about the Netanyahu investigations and make insinuations like, People will be surprised. These comments by Israels top cop were pointless as the final consultations over the Netanyahu files are almost over. Yet those comments were the least of the problems with the interview.

Looking straight into the camera, Alsheikh accused the prime minister of Israel of hiring private investigators to collect incriminating evidence against the people responsible for investigating him. The police commissioner did not name Netanyahu explicitly, speaking instead of powerful" elements. Nevertheless, it was obvious who he meant. Alsheikh also stressed that he was talking about facts, not rumors. Many top journalists have been invited to meet with Alsheikh over the past year and heard a similar story from him. Now the police commissioner took it up a notch by saying it directly to the cameras, just before he hands his recommendations over to the attorney generals office.

The police commissioners expressions throughout the interview conveyed that he wanted to say more but couldnt. Together with his comments, they provided a mesmerizing if surreal dimension to the story. After all, it's not every day that the commissioner sits down before cameras to insinuate that the prime minister is trying to interfere with his own investigation.

It looked like his publicists and public relations people recommended that Alsheikh use the interview to relay his confidence in how the investigations were handled, despite the heavy burden he bears. It was also apparent that his remarks were intended to position him as the hero of the Netanyahu investigations. And yet, its not at all clear why the police commissioner decided to butt heads with the prime minister just before the police submits its recommendations, which will apparently be to indict Netanyahu for bribery and the violation of public trust.

Under normal circumstances, Alsheikh would have waited until the recommendations were released to call a press conference to answer questions. Even if he had no control over when the interview was aired, he should have known the timing was terrible. It was inevitable that it would damage his image and that of the police.

As far as Netanyahu is concerned, Alsheikh played right into his hands. That same night, the prime minister posted an especially vehement diatribe against the police commissioner on Facebook, calling his insinuations delusional and false and adding, A huge shadow was cast over the police investigations this evening and over their resulting recommendations.

War broke out the following day between the police and the attorney generals office, with senior Likud officials accusing the police of trying to overthrow the government. Meanwhile, Alsheikh would not admit to any mistake or do anything to turn down the heat. Instead, he persisted with his claims.

His staff told the media that he had informed Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit in real time about attempts to gather information about investigators in the Netanyahu case, but Mandelblit did nothing about it. Mandelblits staff responded that at no point did the police commissioner offer solid evidence. All he had were rumors.

The Alsheikh interview came right on time, as far as Netanyahu was concerned. The ammunition it gave him was priceless.

The Alsheikh interview came right on time, as far as Netanyahu was concerned. The ammunition it gave him was priceless. Thanks to Alsheikh, Netanyahu was able to redirect the public debate from the impending recommendations to indict him, to the commissioners claim that Netanyahu sent private investigators to collect incriminating information against the people investigating him. Instead of the political significance of the recommendations, the media and public are now focused on the police commissioner and on the call from the prime minister, senior Likud officials and even the Zionist Camp to investigate these serious charges against the prime minister.

This demand makes a lot of sense, even if it is nothing more than spin by Netanyahu. After all, the moment the police commissioner made his claims public, they could not be ignored and must be investigated. The possibility that the prime minister acted that way is nothing less than shocking.

At the very least, what Alsheikh should have done was minimize the damage instead of standing by his claims and letting the question become whether Alsheikh had been telling the truth. It now looks like his claims will have to be investigated. No one, including Alsheikh himself, wants to live in a country where the police commissioner spreads baseless rumors. And if it turns out that they arent just rumors, Netanyahu should be investigated about them first thing tomorrow morning. The investigation itself shouldn't be complicated, and could be handed over to the Shin Bet or some external commission of inquiry.

In every position he held in the Shin Bet, Alsheikh was a highly regarded professional, considered by everyone to be smart and sophisticated. Some people even said he was a genius in handling interrogations, and that he said nothing by chance. Everything he did was carefully planned. Where did all of his caution go? Could it be that Alsheikh is trying to sabotage the Netanyahu investigations? Alsheikh seems committed to reaching the truth in the various Netanyahu investigations to prove that no one in Israel is above the law. But he has stumbled into pit after pit on his way to achieving that lofty goal, while providing great material for the prime minister to distract the public with.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is particularly fond of cyberspace issues and even has a social-cyber vision. At a 2014 meeting with the heads of IBM on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, for example, he said the Israeli cyberindustry could be a catalyst for harnessing the potential of ultra-Orthodox society and integrating it into the high-tech industry and cyberindustry. Yet only a few days before Netanyahu and his wife set off last month for the 2018 summit in Davos, his government took another step toward perpetuating the ignorance and insularity of ultra-Orthodox society. This was when Education Minister Naftali Bennett signed a regulation enabling the state to fund unregulated ultra-Orthodox schools that teach Yiddish as a foreign language rather than English. Some 51,000 children attend those schools.

Yiddish, which was the lingua franca of millions of Jews in Eastern Europe for centuries, is a wonderful language well worth preserving. However, it is not particularly useful in the high-tech sector or in any other industry for that matter. Indeed, the hidden potential of Jewish ultra-Orthodox society cannot be overstated, but nor can the severity of the blow inflicted by policies such as Yiddish instruction on this potential and its damage to Israels strategic interests.

Indeed, one cannot underestimate the intellectual potential within the ultra-Orthodox community. But the high levels of natural growth of this community do not mean high realization of this wonderful potential. On the contrary, according to Education Ministry and Adva Center figures, the number of ultra-Orthodox children in the Israeli school system has almost tripled over the past two decades compared with a growth of 11% in the number of children in authorized state-funded schools and 16% in the number of children in religious state-funded schools. At the same time, the average school years of an ultra-Orthodox male have dropped. In fact, the rate of ultra-Orthodox men with only eight years of schooling has increased over the years to over 50% of the men. This means that more than half of the ultra-Orthodox male population received barely eight years of education, or even less when compared with the number of ultra-Orthodox men with 12 years of schooling or higher education. It should thus come as no surprise that the achievements of Israeli schoolchildren in math and science are among the lowest in the developed world. Whereas Netanyahu boasts of Israeli research achievements, the number of senior staff per capita at research universities has plummeted more than 50% over the past four decades. Obviously, hundreds of thousands of graduates of the ultra-Orthodox education system who did not study English or math and who never attended a laboratory classroom do not end up in universities or research institutes.

The Shoresh Institute for social-economic research at Tel Aviv University warned two years ago that if the rates of employment and productivity among Israels ultra-Orthodox and Arab communities dont catch up with those of other Israelis, the governments deficit (as a percentage of the GDP) is expected to quadruple, whereas the debt-product ratio would soar to the point of national bankruptcy. Even now, more than half the countrys adult population does not pay income tax. Some 89% of the states income tax revenues are paid by 20% of the adult population. After all, someone has to pay for Yiddish lessons in ultra-Orthodox schools. Otherwise, how will the students realize their potential in cyberspace?

In 2015, a group comprised of dozens of Israeli men who had walked away from their ultra-Orthodox lifestyle sued the state for damages, arguing that it had funded schools that prevented them from acquiring a basic education, thereby hobbling their employability. They argued that every Israeli child is entitled by law to basic education, no matter what sort of lifestyle and beliefs are espoused by their parents. The aim of this lawsuit is not only financial, the petitioners wrote, adding, "It seeks to lead a change in the opportunities provided to those leaving the ultra-Orthodox communities to close their education gap, and to lead the state to accept responsibility for the graduates of the ultra-Orthodox school system." The state rejected the claim, arguing that the petitioners and their parents had their pick of different types of schools appropriate to their system of beliefs and lifestyle. The state attorneys office said in its response that the petitioners should direct their lawsuit to their parents and schools they attended. The court rejected the petition, citing statute of limitation.

In August 2016, the Israeli Knesset decided to block the path of all ultra-Orthodox students  not just of those in unregulated schools  to the 21st century. Lawmakers voted 41 to 28 for proposed legislation sponsored by the government and by Knesset member Moshe Gafni of the ultra-Orthodox United Yahadut HaTorah Party reversing a 2013 decision that mandated the teaching of core subjects such as math and English at schools receiving government funding. Prof. Manuel Trachtenberg, who has established a lobby for equality in ultra-Orthodox education, accused the government of shirking its responsibility for a community that is crying out for employment in order to extricate itself from cycles of poverty and ignorance. The main complaint of the ultra-Orthodox is that they dont know English, the fundamentals of math and computers, said Trachtenberg, who was appointed by Netanyahu following the 2011 social protest to head a panel on social-economic reform.

The Education Ministry has explained the Yiddish teaching regulation as reflecting its recognition of the distinct lifestyle practiced by students at the unregulated, ultra-Orthodox schools. However, according to the Shoresh study, the rate of American ultra-Orthodox Jews holding academic degrees is double compared with that of Israels. The explanation for this gap does not lie with the ultra-Orthodox leadership but rather with the ultra-Orthodox politicians and their government partners who lend a hand to this injustice and stupidity. They have turned the Orwellian formula of ignorance is strength into a political doctrine.

Maimonides, the great 12th-century Jewish philosopher, directed his treatise about the vital importance of work and self-sufficiency at such people. Whoever thinks he will study Torah and not work and will be supported from charity profanes God's name, shames the Torah, darkens the light of knowledge, causes harm to himself and takes his life from this world. For it is forbidden to derive benefit from the Torah in this world, he wrote (Mishne Torah, Talmud Torah 3:10).

Fortunately for the Jewish people and Maimonides, this prolific sage, doctor and scientist lived and studied in the 12th century. In the ultra-Orthodox school system of 21st-century Israel, he would not have stood a chance of getting a job in the high-tech industry or the cyberindustry. Even being fluent in Yiddish would not have helped.
The Lebanese General Security Directorate recently reviewed director Steven Spielberg's film "The Post" because of his ties with Israel, and its censorship committee decided to ban the movie because Spielberg is on a blacklist for "Schindlers List." A few days later, the decision was reversed and the movie was allowed in cinemas.

Movie censorship in Lebanon is haphazard, with decisions based loosely on a 1947 law and often made under pressure from religious and political groups. Censorship is based on four subjective considerations, which include respect for public morals, state authorities' reputations, sectarian and religious sensitivities and Lebanon's interests.

Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk, who is responsible for ratifying the committees decision, decided not to do so. In a Jan. 17 statement, the ministry said Machnouk saw no objection to tthe showing of the film, which has no connection with Lebanon or to the conflict with the Israeli enemy.

About the same time, the Interior Ministry decided to ban the movie Jungle two weeks after its release. "Jungle" is the story of three friends who get lost in the Bolivian Amazon in 1981, based on the real experience and book of Israeli Yossi Ghinsberg. Although the movie scarcely refers to Israel, it was taken out of theaters because of complaints and pressure from the Lebanese branch of the Campaign to Boycott the Supporters of Israel, which argued that the movie is based on a Zionists story and pointed out that producer Dana Lustig is also Israeli.

Machnouk was unavailable for comment when Al-Monitor contacted the Interior Ministry.

A long list of movies have been banned or censored in Lebanon during the past two years. "Spotlight," an Oscar-winning film about pedophilia in the Catholic church, was not shown because distributors were afraid of religion-related repercussions. "I Say Dust," a film from Lebanese-American Darine Hotait, was banned for a same-sex kissing scene, horror movie "Annabelle 2" for religious reasons and "Wonder Woman" and "Justice League" because actress Gal Gadot, a former Israeli soldier, starred in both.

March Lebanon, a nongovernmental organization concerned with freedom of expression and culture, has created a Virtual Museum of Censorship, an online database tracking banned and censored material since Lebanon declared independence from France in 1943. March Vice President Gino Raidy told Al-Monitor he was very excited about the ban lift on 'The Post.'"

For once, the interior minister showed it was not just a decision to sign without looking at it, Raidy said, adding, especially since for the past two years, we had an unprecedented level of censorship. ... Moreover, Steven Spielberg was authorized [in Lebanon] before  except for 'Schindlers List.' His name was just blackened from the posters sometimes. I think the public outrage online really helped here.

The activist says cultural censorship works against Lebanon's own movie industry. For each movie banned, there will be thousands of illegal DVD copies and streaming to replace the cinema, Raidy said. Also, distributors could be afraid to schedule Lebanese productions based on [the Lebanese Civil War], for example, or on religion. The creativity of filmmakers is affected and that [does] real damage to our country, not to Hollywood. We should allow filmmakers to make movies about what people want to hear about, and not make every scene hard to shoot for them. If they dont have an audience here, then it's a lost opportunity because it's [inside the country] that they'll find the most receptive audience.

That opinion is shared by Zeina Sfeir, press officer and a board member of Metropolis Art Cinema Association. She told Al-Monitor that creators are the first and most important part of the process. "Lebanese creators risk censorship before their project even starts by the General Security, but also by religious and political groups.

For five years, a group of lawyers, cinema associations and producers have been working to change the 1947 law.

We want censorship to be independent of the Ministry of Culture, so the film festivals dont undergo censorship and so [the process] becomes reduced to age ratings for movies about to be in cinemas, Sfeir added. We are waiting for the next elections in May to have independent representatives in the parliament, people who would defend this idea.

Ayman Mhanna, the Samir Kassir Foundation's executive director of freedom of expression, would like to see a new approach to determining films' suitability for audiences.

What we need are psychologists and experts to judge if a movie is inappropriate for some age groups, not security people to restrict artistic freedom, he told Al-Monitor. For the people, it is also about their own freedom to have access and choose what to see or read or hear.

Mhanna doesnt see a link between 'The Post' and the cultural boycott of Israel, but understands some people might be offended for their own reasons. In that case, Then these people dont go watch it and thats it; others can. Boycotting is a personal affair.

In the case of Gadot, Mhanna noted that other movies in which the Israeli actress appeared have been available in Lebanon, as well as magazines mentioning her. It shows that technically, it is hard to [enforce] total censorship in a country, and also that these decisions are erratic in the absence of a clear and more open law, he said. Eventually, it's about the value of liberty in this country. And which values do we want to have?

The next parliament will have to address the tricky question of cultural freedom in Lebanon, as censorship is becoming a more frequent topic of discussion among the public and as people expect more clarity and openness.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip  Gunmen from Fatah destroyed a memorial for the founder of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), George Habash, in the village of Doha, in the Bethlehem area of the southern West Bank. The Jan. 27 attack came only hours after the memorials inauguration in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of Habashs passing in January 2008. Clashes broke out between Fatah and PFLP supporters, resulting in several injuries.

The Committee for the Coordination of National Forces and Factions condemned the attack. In a statement issued the following day, the committee pledged to directly oversee the repairs and prevent the clashes from escalating.

This factional committee, comprised of Hamas, the Islamic Jihad, the PFLP and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), was formed at a meeting in the Gaza Strip on April 3, 2010, to coordinate efforts and positions to confront the Israeli occupation and resolve internal differences between factions.

The attack on the memorial brings into question the nature of the relations between the two oldest and largest PLO affiliates. Fatah was founded in 1957 as a secular party and joined the PLO in 1965, and the PFLP was founded in 1967 as a left-wing party and became affiliated with the PLO in 1968. Both parties played major roles in the history of the Palestinian struggle against Israel.

Political differences between the two parties emerged after late PLO leader Yasser Arafat signed the Oslo Accord with Israel in late 1993, as the PFLP favored armed resistance and refused to recognize Israel's existence or negotiate, demanding an end to Oslo.

Meanwhile, Fatah has pursued negotiations with Israel. Its current leader, Mahmoud Abbas, pledged when he took office as president of the Palestinian Authority in 2005 to reject armed resistance against Israel, and has followed a policy of joint security coordination.

PFLP official Zahir al-Shashtari told Al-Monitor, Following decades of political differences, the relations between the two parties have improved remarkably, particularly after US President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel on Dec. 6, 2017, after which Abbas declared the end of the US sponsorship of the peace process.

Shashtari pointed out that disagreements before the reconciliation had led to many altercations among the political leadership, the last of which broke out in July 2017 during the PLO Executive Committee meeting. PFLP representative Omar Shehadeh was verbally abused by Abbas and then physically assaulted by his bodyguards after Shehadeh had objected to Abbas ignoring him several times during the meeting.

He explained that Trump's decision brought Fatah and the PFLP closer as Fatah realized that negotiations under US sponsorship were in vain. This rapprochement means controversial incidents such as the Doha memorial destruction are nothing but short-term differences with no real implications, he said.

Mohammad Lahham, a member of Fatahs Revolutionary Council, told Al-Wattan News Agency on Jan. 26, The Doha incident is a shame. Habash is a respected national figure, noting that the police had detained those responsible.

Fatah leader Amin Maqboul told Al-Monitor, The Doha incident was a passing dispute that was over the day it happened. It cannot deteriorate the relationship between Fatah and the PFLP.

Maqboul added, It is true that political differences between us have lasted for many years, but Trump's decision on Jerusalem has greatly helped bring our views closer, as there is a consensus that US sponsorship of the peace process will not return in light of the clear US bias in favor of Israel.

Shashtari believes the PFLP is trying to use this improvement in relations to achieve reform within the PLO and include both Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, so that it can implement all the PLO's decisions made against Israel.

The PLOs Central Council recommended in its Jan. 15 meeting that the Executive Committee, headed by Abbas, end security coordination and economic relations with Israel in addition to suspending recognition of the State of Israel.

Accordingly, in a statement issued after its Feb. 3 meeting, the Executive Committee asked the government of national consensus to immediately initiate disengagement plans with Israel at the political, administrative, economic and security levels. However, the committee did not comply with the recommendation.

In addition, the PFLP seeks to propose to Fatah to adopt a new strategy to end the occupation. This strategy would be based on the boycott of negotiations [with Israel], instead calling on the international community and the United Nations on behalf of the PLO to hold an international conference to implement international resolutions issued in favor of the Palestinians, such as Security Council Resolution 2334, which calls on Israel to stop its settlement activity, Shashtari noted.

Talal Okal, political analyst and former editor-in-chief of the PFLP-affiliated Al-Hadaf magazine, said the relationship between the PFLP and Fatah changes according to political shifts in the Palestinian arena. Although the PFLP objected to the PLOs recognition of the State of Israel and the Oslo Accord, the PFLP did not leave the organization but preferred to remain part of it as an opposition force in order to influence reform from within, Okal told Al-Monitor.

He pointed out that there is growing disagreement within the PFLP leadership on how to deal with Abbas unilateral decision-making within the PLO. Part of the leadership refuses to continue to play the same opposition role and calls for more clear and radical decisions to end Fatahs control over the PLO.

Abdul Sattar Qassem, political science professor at An-Najah University in Nablus, questions the PFLPs ability to influence the PLOs decision, achieve reform or even to end Abbas' unilateral decision-making.

The PFLP is indeed the second oldest Palestinian party, but ever since the leftist movement in the Middle East declined after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the progression of the Islamic movement, the PFLP no longer has the same stature within the PLO, Qassem told Al-Monitor.

However, Shashtari noted, The PFLP's position as the second largest party in the PLO allows it to influence decisions and bring about change, and this new improvement in the relationship with Fatah will significantly help. He said that if Fatah returns to negotiations or accepts US sponsorship of any future settlement process, disputes will escalate again.
US Defense Secretary James Mattis today cast strong doubts on Russian influence over Bashar al-Assads forces in Syria following a bloody clash with US-backed forces.

The retired Marine generals comments came one day after US special forces helped repel some 300 pro-Assad troops who reportedly targeted a Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) facility in Deir ez-Zor with tanks and artillery. The response left about 100 attackers dead, according to the Pentagon.

Mattis said the United States had relayed their concerns about Syrian troop movements to Russian forces via a de-confliction hotline based at a US base in Qatar. Russias inability to stop the attack showed a lack of influence over Assads troops, he added, rather than a failure of the de-confliction channel.

There were elements in this very complex battlespace that the Russians do not have control of, Mattis said in response to a question from Al-Monitor about whether Russia had any influence over the forces that attacked the SDF facility. You cant ask Russia to de-conflict something they dont control.

Wednesday nights incident occurred in northeastern Syria, where the 50,000-strong SDF, a mix of Arab and Kurdish fighters, is taking on fewer than 2,000 remaining Islamic State (IS) militants. Simultaneously, the Donald Trump administration has pressed Russia to stop Assad from using chemical weapons against Syrians in rebel-held outposts in the Damascus suburbs of Eastern Ghouta and the northwestern province of Idlib, where Assad-backed units are battling a mix of Islamists and rebel groups.

Three incidents of the Syrian regime using chlorine gas in Eastern Ghouta have been reported over the past 30 days, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said last week. And Mattis told reporters today that the Pentagon was investigating the use of deadly sarin gas by the Assad regime, which prompted US cruise missile strikes in April 2017.

Mattis said he could not verify a CNN report that Russia-backed contractors participated in Wednesdays attack on US-backed forces. We dont think there were any Russians, Mattis said.

He went on to describe Wednesday nights clash as a one-off event where US-backed troops under attack took a defensive stand consistent with international law. We are not getting involved in the Syrian civil war, he insisted.

Those reassurances have done little to quell the growing unease on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers are increasingly worried that the Donald Trump administration is dragging the country into another Middle East war without proper congressional authorization.

Yesterdays confrontation between US and pro-Assad forces in territory retaken from [IS] last year raises serious questions about our continued presence in Syria, Senate Foreign Relations member Tim Kaine, D-Va., said in a statement today. I am gravely concerned that the Trump administration is purposefully stumbling into a broader conflict, without a vote of Congress or clear objectives.

Indeed, some experts believe the reported buildup of Russian military contractors near the Euphrates River, where the majority of anti-IS operations are still going on, shows that Russia is serious about putting pressure on the 2,000 US troops who remain in the country to advise, assist and train Syrian rebel forces.

The expanding presence of Russian private military contractors has been very effective in shoring up the Assad loyalist forces, said Nick Heras, a fellow at the Center for a New American Security, a Washington think tank. Theres a real legit question that the US should ask itself: [whether] the Russians are going to use the [contractors] as a little green man presence to put pressure on the US in eastern Syria.
Following a conspicuous silence that lasted almost three weeks, the European Union has finally opened its eyes to the tragic developments taking place in Syria's Afrin province. EU High Representative Federica Mogherini said Tuesday that they are deeply worried about the developments unfolding in northern Syria.

Ironically, Afrin has been relatively the most tranquil part of Syria until Turkeys military intervention began in early January. In the beginning, it was thought that the operation would be a cakewalk for the Turkish army, the second-largest army in NATO. But Kurdish groups decided to defy the Turkish incursion, and the first three weeks of the operation proved it would not be as easy as was anticipated.

The EU has become the first international actor to react to the ever-rising casualties.

Beyond the humanitarian tragedy, the Afrin operation could have political consequences.  Im afraid it wont make Turkey more secure, Mogherini said Feb. 6 when addressing the EU Assembly.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian also weighed in and labeled Turkeys military intervention a violation of international law. Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom canceled her long-awaited visit to Turkey due to the situation in Afrin, and the Swedish parliament observed a minute of silence for those who lost their lives in the region. In addition, the European Parliament issued a statement urging Turkey to stop the operation.

Apart from European leaders, Kurds across the globe are also on the rise. Wherever they are, they are in motion. In a show of solidarity, thousands of Kurds across northern Syria flocked to Afrin after the operation began, and hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets in Afrin on Feb. 5 to protest Turkey.

Traumatized by the loss of Kirkuk, thousands of Iraqi Kurds also poured into the streets of Sulaimaniyah and Erbil in solidarity with the Syrian Kurds. In a rare show of unity, the political parties in the Kurdish parliament voiced support for their Syrian Kurdish counterparts against Turkeys military intervention.

European Kurds have been organizing marches in various European cities as well. On Feb. 12, some 79 Kurdish organizations will march from Lausanne to Geneva in Switzerland to protest the operation. Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to join the demonstration. For the Kurdish diaspora, Afrin now has become the equivalent of the Kurdish genocides in Halabja and Kobani.

Kurdish outrage is on the rise in Turkey as well. A Kurdish lawmaker who was once a deputy chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party said Afrin could become Turkeys Vietnam.

The Turkish government may take the area under its power; however, this would resemble US control in South Vietnam, Dengir Mir Mehmet Firat was quoted as saying by Ahval news.

Meanwhile, the Turkish establishment is labeling any kind of opposition as treason, and dozens of people have been detained just because they had expressed their concerns about the operation.

The entire mainstream Turkish media  under strict control of the government  is hailing the operation and reciting praises for the glorious Turkish army.

A recent survey indicates the extent of the ongoing nationalist and anti-Kurdish frenzy among the Turks and increasing polarization among public opinion. Some 87% of Turks believe that European states are trying to divide Turkey, according to a poll conducted by German Marshall Fund in November 2017. Some 54.3% of the respondents also think that the United States poses the biggest threat to the countrys territorial unity because of its alliance with Syrian Kurdish groups.

On the other hand, polls suggest that the picture is entirely opposite for Turkeys ethnic Kurdish population. According a survey conducted by SAMER, a Diyarbakir-based, nongovernmental political and social research center, some 57% of the ethnic Kurds believe that the target of the Afrin operation is the Kurdish identity, and some 62% of the respondents think the operation is aimed at destroying the gains of Syrian Kurds in northern Syria.

Turkeys military intervention into Afrin might disrupt the social ties between Turkeys Kurds and Turks permanently. At a time when social harmony between different ethnic identities is key to national unity and cohesion for any Middle Eastern country, possible social outcomes of the Afrin operation might be disastrous for Turkey.

The duration of the operation is not yet clear, but the Afrin battle could pave the way for a feud between the Turks and Kurds that would last for generations to come. This possibility must be avoided.
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey  What is the United States doing in Syria? This is the question Turks have been asking since American soldiers showed up in Syria's civil war. This still-unanswered question has caused unprecedented deterioration in the US-Turkey connection. Tension in the already-strained relations reached a peak when the United States announced Jan. 14 that it was setting up a 30,000-strong border army in northern Syria  just as Turkey was about to launch its offensive on Syria's Afrin province.

The United States subsequently tried to soften its announcement, but that didn't calm the reactions. Naturally, the strongest reaction came from Turkey, which called the proposed force a new army of terror.

What is this "new army"?

According to wide-ranging research by Al-Monitor, this army exists  and it doesnt. It exists because the United States  by arming the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), its ally against the Islamic State (IS)  had already created an armed force on the ground. But it doesnt exist because, as notable locals insist, this is not a new army.

Kurds say they realized they needed a military system in the post-IS period and decided to set up a force. Officials of the SDF, a Kurd-Arab alliance, told Al-Monitor this force became perceived as an army. Training has begun at 14 training camps set up in Kurdish-dominated areas. There is a new officer-training school and a military college. An SDF official who didnt want to be identified said the project is financed by the Kurdish cantonal administration and its goal is to reach 30,000 members.

It's not a 'new army,' as some say," the same source told Al-Monitor. "To set up an army would mean splitting off from Syria. Creating a state is not part of our thinking. We already have a military force and we want to develop that [and] make it professional. Whether the United States supports this project or not, it is an essential need. We have to do it."

What do analysts say about the 'new army' label? According to Syrian political analyst Mahir Afrini, the label is a propaganda scheme. Afrini told Al-Monitor, Before that announcement, the SDF was already receiving American assistance, and that continues. Training continues at full pace. This very much sounds like propaganda to me.

Afrini said the United States intentionally avoids a transparent strategy in the region. Some allege that the US military and its State Department are speaking from different pages, but if you ask me, this is intentional. In Syria and [the area], everybody is each other's enemy. Every state has some interests. But the United States as a superpower pursues its own strategy to manage the affair."

For example, he said, the United States hopes to avoid new conflicts there and wants Turkey to find some common ground with the PYD  the US-supported Kurdish nationalist Democratic Union Party, which is affiliated with the SDF and which Turkey considers a terrorist group.

"We don't know what the United States' final goal is," Afrini said. "Does it want to create a smaller Syria? What does it want from Kurds, from Shias?"

He said the United States has invested too much in the region to leave anytime soon. "I dont know how long [its stay] will be, but it will be long. These are not projects that can be wrapped up in a couple of years."

Al-Monitor also spoke with Serbest Nebi, a well-known name in political science in Syria who at the moment is an assistant professor at Koya University in Iraqi Kurdistan. Nebi, who has lectured in universities in Turkey and Yemen, agreed that such an army was already formed. The United States is looking for an alternative to Turkey as an ally.

He said, If Kurds gain stature in the region, Turks want it to be under their control. But Erdogan and his then-prime minister, [Ahmet] Davutoglu, both pursued this, and after seven years of war and violence in Syria, Turks realized their aspirations were out of reach. Turkey became the country that gained the minimum in the region and Erdogan became the least-reputable leader in the world. The United States wanted to spoil Turkeys plans. Turkey under AKP [Erdogan's Justice and Development Party] rule couldnt become a European Union country. Its relations with Europe havent improved. Now you are hearing calls for Turkey's expulsion from NATO.

Turkey's relations with the EU aren't likely to improve, Nebi said. "This is why the Americans are searching for an alternative [ally], which could be northern Syria [Western Kurdistan, also known as Rojava]. Such a region would provide a robust and powerful base for the United States, Israel and Europe to stand against Russia. That army [the Kurdish force in Syria] is already established. Trained units have already taken their places in the field. The issue is done with. The US narrative and attitudes clash daily with Turkey. No matter how angry Turkey may be, the United States will not leave. It will not sacrifice its interests in northern Syria for Turkeys sake," especially not before a regime is established in Syria.

"Nobody should have illusions. The United States has been investing here for years," Nebi added. If I were an American decision-maker, I wouldnt leave."

However, Turkey doesn't need to fear the American-backed Kurdish forces. "We [Kurds] have never threatened Turkey or attacked it. Erdogan suffers from Kurdophobia. It is out of the question for us to tamper with Turkeys borders. If we wanted to, we could have spilled the struggle into Turkey, but we are not doing it. We have other cards that could be problems for Turkey, but we are not using them. We can be two good neighbors, Nebi said.

The Afrin offensive is leading in the opposite direction. Kurds in both Syria and Turkey are unhappy. Even the Kurds who had voted for Erdogans AKP are reacting negatively to the Afrin operation and the loss of lives.

Although Turkey tends to raise its voice, America prefers a low-key approach. This doesnt please either the Kurds or the Turks; only the United States is satisfied with the prevailing uncertainty. Meanwhile, without transparency, Turks will continue to ask, "What is the United States doing in Syria?"
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It is true what they say that to travel and experience different cultures is the best education one can get. Although a vicarious and anecdotal experience at times can be a good measure of how things really are, it is in the actual experience when one can realize how things are. It is not there before a waste of one's resources when spent on traveling to different places, getting out of one's territory and comfort zone to feel how the other half lives. It is the experiences which will help you understand a bit more about humanity and sometimes teach tolerance among other people with their way of life, their culture, and in some sense, their own perspective of things.

The recent advances in technologies related to infrastructure and travel have made it more affordable, convenient and economic for people to travel these days, added to the economic incentives of freeing up the skies and giving more airlines access to utilize air routes. The economics of scale have replied in literally cheap seats available at a moment's notice. The internet has helped improved the competitiveness for such seats by making such information available and through online purchases through credit cards, people have taken advantage of such instances. Airlines have banded together and formed alliances which result in heavier usage of their aircraft, which can fly optimal loads of passengers thanks to advances in structure and material composition for aircraft. In short, aircraft are lighter and yet sturdier than those done 45 years ago.

One area in Northern Europe that has benefited from such is Sweden. Before 2000, travel to Sweden was restricted through ferry and boat rides. With the opening of the Oresund Bridge, one can travel non stop between mainland Europe and Sweden. This 16 kilometer or ten mile bridge links Denmark's capital, Copenhagen with Malmo, Sweden's third largest city. One can either cross through by car or just pay an average of 56 dollars or 34 euros. If you are traveling by rail from the United Kingdom to Sweden, you can use the Eurostar service through the Channel Tunnel. Take a train from London or Kent to Brussels, which connects you to the train links to Copenhagen, and from Copenhagen take the Oresund Bridge link to Malmo.

Sweden has been attracting a lot of college and post college travelers for many reasons: the newest one is the musical influence of Sweden into pop culture. From ABBA to the Cardigans to Roxette, this pop sound is now somewhat a point of attraction for people to visit Sweden. But for whatever reason you chose, visiting Sweden is a lot easier these days and it should be a country worthy of consideration for your next vacation.

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Source by Steven Magill
The Turkish movie "Butterflies" has won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic at the Sundance Film Festival. For 36-year-old director, screenwriter and co-producer Tolga Karacelik and his team, the win was a pleasant surprise.

While accepting the award, Karacelik said the movie had been shot in just 18 days. He had applied for financial support from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism but was denied. Though his previous movie, "Ivy" (2015), had received funding from the ministry and went on to win multiple awards at domestic and international film festivals, Karacelik and his friends relied on crowdfunding to finish this one.

After the festival, when asked why the ministry denied him funding, Karacelik said that was not a question he could answer. Al-Monitor spoke with a former employee of the Culture and Tourism Ministry who said on condition of anonymity, All public statements of those seeking funds are monitored. If it is seen as critical to the moral values of the society or the principles of the state, then your application is disqualified.

Karaceliks "Ivy" had strong yet subtle political messages, and movie critics were surprised the ministry had granted it funding. During the Antalya Film Festival's award ceremony, Karacelik announced he was dedicating the award to jailed journalists Can Dundar and Erdem Gul, and the speech by the award-winning star of the movie, Nadir Saribacak, was censored by pro-AKP media outlets.

"Butterflies," about which one Sundance reviewer said, Its an exceedingly rare accomplishment in cinema to so audaciously dare authenticity while maintaining an equilibrium of sincerity, did not receive a dime from Turkish government.

The AKPs track record on art has been rather mixed. For the last six years Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been advocating the privatization of theater and there have been many debates about what kind of plays state-sponsored theaters should stage. Erdogans argument goes that if the state funds the theater, then the government should be able to monitor and participate in the decision-making process as well. Since 2013, any government funding for cinema or private theater has required that the product should comply with morality criteria, and any material deemed unsuitable for audiences younger than 18 is ineligible for funding. It is also an unwritten but well-established rule that any theater group known to have extended support for the Gezi protests will not receive any financial support from the state.

Erdogans initial attitude toward the arts could have been considered liberal: Let them do as they please if they can survive on their own means. Yet it has changed recently, producing bans and eventually closures of theaters and prosecution of artists.

The first sign of change came in 2015, when the documentary "Bakur" was denied screening at the Istanbul Film Festival. In 2017, the directors of the movie were charged with terrorist propaganda. It was the first known ban on a documentary in Turkey, said co-director Ertugrul Mavioglu. Still, the ministry told the press it had not been officially banned.

Dozens of Kurdish theaters have been shut down under the emergency law. Even childrens theater festivals in Kurdish cities have been banned.

In this increasingly hostile environment, independent artists struggle to survive. One of them is Baris Atay, an outspoken actor who has been detained and sued over his social media posts, speeches and opinion pieces. Despite constant social media attacks, Atay has been staging a one-man play called Sadece Dictator (Only A Dictator) since November 2015. The show does not directly address or name Erdogan but makes historical references to famous dictators and focuses on systems of one-man rule. It criticizes those who are complacent with incremental increases in authoritarianism.

On Jan. 11, a performance in Artvin province was blocked, with the content deemed inappropriate. The Artvin ban was only the first sign of what was to come, and one city after another started issuing bans. In the Kadikoy district of Istanbul, all theaters were banned from staging the play on the grounds that it posed a threat to public safety. The day Atay and his colleagues all around the country had called for the play to be read live on social media live, Jan. 29, Atays Twitter account was suspended, to be reinstated a few hours later.

Ankara Municipality banned the play, which was scheduled for last year, and prohibited all associations with Atay himself. As odd as it sounds, the ministry has banned the actor from holding a gathering for fear that he might start performing the play. Instead, Atay's colleagues all over Turkey read the play in front of cameras and shared it on social media. Facing increasing pressure and blocked from the stage, Atay reminded the government of what he had said in 2015: If there was a dictator, you could not be watching this play. In front of Istanbul's Emek Theater, Atay said, Do you accept this ban means our president is a dictator?

Atay is one of the most resilient and defiant political actors in Turkey, with over 1.1 million followers on social media. Atay said that during the play's second season, Turkish embassies attempted to block the performances in European cities. But it has been performed 160 times, reaching more than 40,000 viewers. So why the bans now, in the most left-wing cities and municipalities? Further restrictions on the exchange of opposition views, which unnerve the government, can be expected on a wider scale.

A sociology professor from Istanbul who asked not to be identified told Al-Monitor, Theater in places such as Yalova or Artvin or Kadikoy pose a real potential danger for the government. Theater, unlike other arts, is a simultaneously shared moment. Strangers gather in one place and laugh or feel angry together. This could create a connection among people who otherwise feel alone in their discontent against the government, but due to fear and isolation they have to act as if they believe in the system.  With the bans, the state is telling us, You are no longer permitted to have these shared experiences.

So what kind of art is acceptable? Erdogans attempts to leave a local and national artistic legacy have failed. One of his most prized attempts was a movie called Reis ("Captain") detailing Erdogans life and political achievements. The movie was expected to achieve international success yet failed utterly, not even holding a proper gala. The director did not attend the premiere and the producer was later arrested for alleged connections with the Fethullah Gulen movement. The rating of the movie on IMDB is 1.8 out of 10. In the meantime, Erdogan advises young Turks to watch a popular sitcom about one of the last Ottoman sultans' life and affairs to learn about their history. This advice could be a harbinger of further pressures on freedom of expression based on morality and public order, and a future in which art forms available to public are limited to melodramatic romances and light-headed comedies.
Yemens forgotten war, which has killed at least 8,600 Yemenis between March 2015 and September 2017, has, unsurprisingly, also taken its toll on the countrys cultural scene. The galleries in the capital Sanaa have either closed or reduced operations. Consequently, Yemeni artists have turned to two new platforms: the streets and the internet.

Yemeni graffiti artists, both men and women, have been turning the citys walls into rich canvases, coloring the old gray buildings with splashes of color through various street art projects since 2012, often with pedestrians curiously looking on or joining in. One famous snapshot from 2016 shows a soldier picking up a brush to make his own graffiti: four birds, possibly doves, to extend his own message of peace in the warn-torn city.

Unlike the West, where a more rarified view often links art with existentialist suffering, in Yemen, both the subject and backdrop are brutal survival. For Murad Subay , a young Yemeni who has become the countrys best-known graffiti artist, the goal was to cover bullet holes and the signs of war with color.

Yemeni artist and researcher Rhman Qaid is a friend and colleague of Subay. He told Al-Monitor that Subay often said he was inspired by past revolutions, and how artists played a role in the fight for freedom and justice. With at least five major street art projects painted across the walls of Sanaa, Subay often lets friends, fellow artists or even passers-by join in to add their own touches. Projects with political undertones have been vandalized, but their vulnerability has not stopped Yemenis from painting the city walls, not only in Sanaa but also the port city of Aden and the highland city of Taiz.

Subays aim is to wake people up, to offer an alternative to the violence, Qaid told Al-Monitor as he explained how graffiti developed in Yemen.

According to Qaid, it was the Arab Spring of 2011 that first made a profound impact on the Yemeni art scene. The uprisings in countries like Tunisia and Egypt inspired artists. In March 2012, Subay launched his first major project, called Color the Walls of Your Street, in Sanaa. Other graffiti artists and anyone else who could get their hands on some paint joined in, depicting any topic that struck their fancy  famine, peace or corruption  putting their quests not only on the walls but on the countrys agenda.

Subays second campaign came in September of the same year. For The Walls Remember Their Faces, Subay painted the portraits of more than a hundred Yemenis who had been abducted by the security forces and disappeared. Many families of abducted political activists and journalists handed over photos of their loved ones. The thought-provoking project took seven months to complete.

Ibi Ibrahim, a video artist who is working to preserve local art, told Al-Monitor that prior to 2011, artistic expression in Yemen was centered around more traditional themes and took conventional forms. Before the Arab Spring, many commercial art spaces could be found in the German House, the French Cultural Center and the Cultural House of Sanaa. Photography and paintings were the main media exhibited in those galleries.

To create an alternative for the cultural centers, which have either entirely or partially closed, Ibrahim founded a new online platform that seeks to safeguard Yemens cultural heritage. The online magazine Al-Madaniya has featured artists such as Amna al-Nasiri and poets like Abdul Aziz al-Maqaleh. The magazine, the only one of its kind in Yemen, was established only six months ago. Al-Madaniya covers both the arts and culture in general terms, such as gender issues or the wide social gaps in the long-divided country. Of tragic interest to a country hit hard by epidemic diseases, Al-Madaniya recently also published a relationship-themed article called Love in the Times of War, Famine and Cholera."

The site aims to influence the way Yemenis look at their own society, Ibrahim told Al-Monitor, adding that the magazine is already having an impact. We manage to attract readers from all over the country, both the north and the south, to our site. We create hope. Yemenis want the war to end and be able to live normal lives.

Artists do have a few physical spaces still available in the country. In Sanaa, artists share a cultural house called the Basement, established by architect Saba al-Suleihi in 2009. It's intended to be a free platform for art and venue for artistic events, lectures and workshops.

The war has also prompted many artists to flee. Ibrahim left for Berlin two years ago and has tried to stay in touch with Sanaa from afar. So has Qaid, who fled to Saudi Arabia two months ago because the Houthis, a Shiite rebel force supported by Iran, would not allow us to write or paint.
It seems like Samsung has started rolling out Android 8.0 Oreo to the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus, at least in Europe, and not to all users with unlocked Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus unit. This report comes from AllAboutSamsung, a Germany-based site, and the source claims that the update is hitting consumers who have been a part of the companys beta program at the moment, while others will start receiving this update later this week.

The source claims that the update weighs 487MB for those who are currently rocking the latest Oreo beta build, while the update will be considerably larger for those of you who are still on Android Nougat. It is worth noting that Samsung concluded the Android Oreo beta program for the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus at the end of last month, and that the final build was announced for February. It is still unknown when will this update start hitting consumers in other markets, but chances are that it will happen soon, at least for unlocked units. This update will bring a number of stock Android Oreo features to the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus handsets, including a system-wide autofill option, an option to run two separate instances of the same app, and so on. On top of that, some Samsung features / apps will be added as well, like the Dual Messenger which first shipped with the Galaxy Note 8.

The Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus were announced back in March last year, while they were made available in April. Those two handsets originally shipped with Android 7.0 Nougat, with Samsungs Experience UI on top of it. Android 8.0 Oreo comes with Samsungs Experience UI 9.0 to the companys flagships, in case you were wondering, so you will see some design changes along the way as well, though nothing major. The Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus are still the companys flagships, along with the Galaxy Note 8, as the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus still did not arrive, those two handsets will be announced during the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona on February 25. This update will probably reach users in other regions in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.
A startup company Atmos is looking to change the way people interact with their smart homes by taking the best of Googles Home and Amazons Alexa platforms and adding even more intuitive functionality on top. Not only has the company now introduced a new touchscreen and voice-enabled display for controlling other IoT products. It also has at least a couple of smart products of its own which can be controlled via the interface, which can be viewed on its website via the button below. The general idea behind the company is that users should be able to interact with their smart home environment in a way that is much more intuitive than just voice commands from a central hub. Moreover, they shouldnt be confined to just one central hub and those should integrate into the home automation environment seamlessly or require a user to swap in and out of multiple smartphone applications.

The main feature is, of course, the companys touchscreen display  which appears to be either wall-mountable or usable from its placement on a stand. The device is compatible with a huge array of smart home products from lighting and door locks to video devices and speakers. That includes IoT technologies from Philips Hue, Belkin WeMo, Nest, Sonos, Spotify, and DirecTV, to list a few of the more popular brands. Better still, the company is actively pursuing coordination with even more companies to include them. In the meantime, Atmos device is not just a screen that connects to a central hub. It is the hub itself. Users can interact with it via voice or touch controls, with everything laid out in a single simplified U.I. rather than being forced to use multiple apps or control things individually. That means that even if a user has multiple different brands of smart lights or connected speakers, those can work together without having to control them one brand at a time. Full security systems will be enabled at a later date, as well. Meanwhile, using multiple Atmos devices, users can even set up a separate control hub for each room. With consideration for how the new device consolidates smart home controls so seamlessly, the convenience of having clearly separated controls for various sections of the home will almost certainly be more than worth the additional cost

Perhaps the best news is that Atmos plans to launch pre-orders for the device later this month for just $249. Thats a fairly reasonable price thats right around the same cost for other smart home hubs that seem far less capable. Anybody interested in checking out all of the functionality, some of the devices other uses, or some of Atmos other products can hit the button below. The page also allows visitors to sign up for more information about pricing, launches, and future products, so its probably well worth a look.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9uwvq8XeJ8&feature=youtu.be
Samsung Electronics started mass-producing 256GB embedded Universal Flash Storage chips for contemporary vehicles, the company announced Thursday. The solution is described as the industrys first eUFS chip designed for automotive applications based on the latest UFS 3.0 standard completed in late January. The chips are already being shipped to automakers looking to implement Advanced Driver Assistance Systems in the near future, Samsung said, without naming any clients. The cutting-edge dashboards and infotainment solutions are predicted to soon be found in luxury vehicles and given Samsungs history in the automotive industry, the firm is expected to be supplying at least one major German vehicle manufacturer with its new chips, with Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz being the most likely candidates.

In accordance with the UFS 3.0 specification, Samsungs latest chips have been designed to withstand a wide temperature range, from -40C ( -40F) to 105C (221F), both in power-saving and fully operational modes. While the older eMMC 5.1 standard already supported operations at such low temperatures in practice, its traditional implementations are limited to 85C (185F), whereas its warranties generally dont cover system damage sustained at temperatures below -25C (-13F). On the other hand, the UFS 3.0-based platform doesnt differentiate between its operational temperature range and that covered by its warranty, being designed to offer more flexibility and consistency across a wide variety of use cases, Samsung boasts. Compared to the previous UFS 2.1 standard, UFS 3.0 offers data speeds of up to 11.6Gbps per lane or 23.2Gbps in total, which amounts to a 100-percent performance increase.

The new eUFS chips with 256GB of storage are eventually meant to succeed Samsungs 128GB modules whose large-scale production started last September, though the South Korean original equipment manufacturer is expected to continue offering both for the foreseeable future. While the latest memory solutions will debut in high-end vehicles, Samsung believes theyll soon trickle down to other product categories, though the firm has yet to attach a specific timeframe to these predictions. The companys semiconductor division has been responsible for the majority of its massive growth recorded in recent years and while the global demand for memory chips is eventually expected to decline, the Seoul-based chaebol remains adamant to take advantage of the current state of the market before the competition catches up to it in terms of production capacity and customer interest transitions to another technology.
Samsung is returning to making aggressive bets as its de facto chief and heir was released from jail earlier this week, BusinessKorea reported Friday, citing sources close to the company. Jay Y. Lee had his five-year prison sentence for bribing government officials slashed in half and suspended for four years by the Seoul High Court on Monday, with Samsungs scion now being expected to formally return to his role of Vice Chairman in the immediate future. Moving forward, the Seoul-based chaebol is considering building an e-commerce hub in Andhra Pradesh, India, in addition to mulling over a number of other ventures that it hopes can help it continue its massive growth after the global demand for memory chips winds down, insiders claim.

Kal Raman, Samsungs e-commerce chief for North America, already met with a number of Indian government officials in order to discuss new investments in the South Asian country earlier this month, local media reports. The scope of the possible financial commitment remains unclear, though at least a portion of it would likely be directly aimed at combating Xiaomis growth in India where the Chinese firm is threatening Samsungs position of the countrys largest phone vendor and is already surpassed it in terms of shipments, according to some industry trackers. The South Korean tech giant has a manufacturing plant in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, with the company previously announcing plans to invest approximately $777 million in the facility by 2020 in order to expand its operations.

A number of industry watchers are predicting Samsung will refocus some of its investments on data and software solutions targeting the enterprise segment going forward, arguing the said sector is set to grow to unprecedented heights once 5G is commercialized and still isnt as competitive as the global consumer electronics market where the company is being threatened from all sides of the globe. Samsung Strategic Innovation Center President Sohn Young-kwon hinted as much last October when he called Samsung Electronics a data company, fueling speculation that more aggressive spending is on the horizon. The firms last major bet was that placed on Harman International Industries purchased last March for $8 billion in cash as part of Samsungs largest foreign acquisition to date. While Mr. Lee was already detained by the time the takeover of Harman was completed, he was the one who spearheaded the talks that were completed in November of 2016 and no major M&As were announced following his arrest. The de facto head of the company is expected to succeed his father, Chairman Lee Kun-hee, who suffered a heart attack in mid-2014 that reportedly left him in a comatose state from which he has yet to recover.
Uber agreed to a $245 million equity payment in order to settle Waymos lawsuit alleging self-driving trade secret theft, Bloomberg reported Friday, citing official communication from Alphabets subsidiary which Uber has yet to confirm. The two companies informed U.S. District Judge William Alsup of the settlement Friday morning PST, with the San Francisco-based court hence dismissing the case on its fifth day. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi already apologized for any oversights Uber made as part of its 2016 acquisition of Otto, a startup founded by Anthony Levandowski who was alleged to have copied over 14,000 sensitive documents before leaving Googles self-driving unit, later using them to advance Ubers own autonomous driving program after his startup was acquired for an equity payment amounting to nearly $600 million.

Waymo claims the equity settlement will give it a 0.34-percent stake in Uber, with that percentage being understood to include a $258 million investment in Uber Google made in 2013. As such, Uber is effectively returning the majority of Googles investment in the form of extra stock. The plaintiff was originally seeking up to $1.86 billion in damages, with the actual settlement representing well below 14-percent of that sum. Given the size of Googles previous investment and its currently claimed ownership of Uber, the agreed equity payment is apparently based on Ubers discounted valuation given to SoftBank last month as part of the Japanese companys $9.3 billion investment into the startup which valued it at $48.5 billion, approximately 30-percent down the $68.5 billion estimate from 2015.

Under the terms of the settlement, Uber will collaborate with Alphabets autonomous driving division to ensure that it doesnt use any of the companys own technology regardless of how it could have found its way into its Advanced Technologies Group. The settlement doesnt require any admission of guilt on Ubers part, with Mr. Khosrowshahi still publicly insisting Uber doesnt believe its using any stolen technology and dismissing any possibility of Mr. Levandowski colluding with the startups former leadership to steal such solutions from Waymo. The dispute largely centered on the design of Ubers LiDAR, a laser sensor thats believed to be a crucial component of contemporary self-driving vehicles and which the plaintiff claimed was stolen from its facilities by its former engineer who was also fired from Uber last year after refusing to cooperate with its internal probe into the lawsuits allegations. The U.S. Department of Justice is understood to still be leading its own criminal investigation into the matter after being requested to do so by Judge Alsup last May.
Huami Corporation, best known for being the sole manufacturer of Xiaomis Mi Band wearables, held its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, raising approximately $110 million by selling ten million shares priced at $11 a piece. Every American depositary share issued by the company represents four Class A ordinary shares which come with voting rights. The firm that opted for the ticker symbol HMI also agreed to provide its underwriters with the option of purchasing up to 1.5 million of additional shares in the next 30 days in order to account for potential over-allotments. The terms of the option represent the legally allowed maximum under the federal securities law and Huamis underwriters arent expected to exercise their over-allotment privileges unless the firms stock ends up being in short demand and begins trading significantly above its IPO price later this month. The company added $2.5 million to its market cap following its first day of trading, with its stock closing Thursday at $11.25.

Huamis products have enjoyed widespread popularity in many parts of the world, with Xiaomi being entirely reliant on the Chinese original equipment manufacturer to delivers its fitness bands which were awarded multiple design honors in recent times. Founded in 2013, Huami timed its IPO in a reasonable manner, having opted to go public with a healthy bottom line that was $14 million in the black in the first three quarters of 2017. Its profit margin is also promising given its focus on entry-level devices as its eight-digit income figure was generated on just $195 million of revenue over the same period. While its turnover is expected to remain largely the same for the entire 2017, its profit rose nearly five times in the last 12 months, with that improvement being indicative a maturing company ripe for an IPO that would allow it to make additional investments. Xiaomi owns approximately a fifth of Huami, whereas its founder and Chief Executive Officer Lei Jun personally has a similar stake in the firm through his venture fund Shunwei Capital.

Xiaomi has been actively preparing its own public listing for nearly half a year now, according to recent reports, with insiders claiming the firm will be targeting an IPO with a valuation of up to $100 billion. While the phone maker was also considering listing its stock in New York, its more likely to opt for Hong Kong as its IPO host, as claimed by numerous sources in recent months.
The Croatian Armed Forces are planning to upgrade their M-84 main battle tanks (MBT), according to the country`s procurement plan for 2018.



Croatian M-84 Main Battle Tanks during a military parade in 2015 (Credit Wikipedia)

"The most important 2018 projects for the Croatian Air Force include the multi-purpose combat aircraft and a hangar and workshop for the maintenance of the Firefighter Squadron; for the Croatian Navy - the procurement of ship engines and a prototype inshore patrol vessel, and for the Croatian Army - the upgrade of M-84 tanks, the machinegun and VHS D2/K2 assault rifle and the engineer working machines and equipment," Croatia`s MoD says in a statement.

According to the Military Balance 2017 analytical report issued by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), the Croatian Armed Forces operated 75 M-84 MBTs as of early 2017.

The M-84 tank is a modification of the Soviet export-oriented T-72M1M MBT. Croatia is reported to have upgraded all the M-84 platforms to the M-84A4 Sniper level. The M-84A4 Sniper has retained the organic 2A46-derivative 125 mm main gun. The Croatian tank has received the SCS-84 combined day/night sighting system, the DBR-84 ballistic computer and updated elevation/traverse drives. The M-84A4 Sniper MBT is reported to be powered by a German-originated engine with a power output of 1,100 hp. The tank is fitted with a communication suite from the Racal Electronics company.

The MoD did not specify the areas of the upcoming M-84 upgrade. It should be mentioned that Croatia`s Duro Dakovic company has developed a modernized variant of the M-84 designated M-84D. The M-84A4 Sniper and the M-84D share the same 125 mm main gun. However, the M-84D is additionally protected by the RRAK explosive reactive armor (ERA) applique suite and the IRD-4B laser warning system. The modernized tank is fitted with the Omega digital ballistic computer from Slovenia`s Fotona and a Samson-family RCWS from Israel`s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems (a subsidiary of the Rafael company). The M-84D has a cruising range of 700 km, a maximum speed of 65 km/h and a rate of fire of nearly nine rounds per minute. The latest development in the M-84D project is the replacement of the organic Samson-type station by Kongsberg`s Protector RCWS armed with a 12.7 mm heavy machinegun (HMG).

Duro Dakovic also offers another modernization of the M-84 designated M-95 Degman. The Degman is also armed with a 125 mm 2A46-derivative tank gun. The M-95`s armament suite also includes a 7.62 mm coaxial machinegun and a roof-mounted 12.7 mm HMG. Like the M-84D, it is fitted with the RRAK ERA suite and the LIRD laser warning system. The M-95 has received a digital control panel and the CODRIS-E gunner`s combined day-night sighting system with a 2+-generation image intensifier tube. The gunner`s workplace is not reported to be fitted with a thermal imager; however, the driver`s one is equipped with a thermal periscope.

Therefore, the Croatian military is believed to upgrade its M-84D MBTs to the M-84D/M-95 level. Considering the reequipping of the armies of East European NATO member states with STANAG-compatible equipment, Duro Dakovic may arm the upgraded M-84s with a 120 mm smoothbore gun, for instance, the one developed by Swiss RUAG company.

Croatia is phasing out several Soviet-originated items of hardware at a quickened place. According to the procurement plan for 2018, the Croatian military will buy locally designed D2 5.56 mm assault rifles and K2 5.56 mm carbines to replace legacy firearms, including Kalashnikov derivatives. The plan also says that the Croatian government will sign contracts worth HRK286 million (USD45 million) with 26 indigenous companies this year.

In 2017, the Croatian military finished a large number of acquisition programs, including the overhaul of the Mi-171Sh (NATO reporting name: Hip) utility helicopters and the acquisition of RCWS and anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM) for Patria armored fighting vehicles. Croatia`s MoD says that the procurement plan for 2017 was accomplished almost to the full extent.

The M-84 tank and its variants are currently in use in Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kuwait. A Kuwaiti M-84 pictured at GDA 2017 (Credit Army Recognition)

 Copyright 2018 TASS. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
"This is an exciting development and demonstrates our full commitment to further growth in the Greater China region. The JOO offers one-stop service to both firms' clients that combines international expertise with full PRC law capability, said Ashursts managing partner Paul Jenkins.

Guantao was founded in 1994 and has seen strong growth through mergers. It entered into a strategic alliance with Ashurst in 2008.

The firm has more than 50 partners and 600 qualified lawyers in 15 offices across China as well as offices in Sydney, New York and Toronto. It has been recognised by the Ministry of Justice of China as a Ministerial-level Elite Law Firm.

Asia law experts unite for common framework

Legal experts from across Asia met last week to discuss how a common Asian framework to share and transfer data across borders could be achieved.
WJP studied each country using constraints on government powers, absence of corruption, open government, fundamental rights, order and security, regulatory enforcement, civil justice, and criminal justice.

Australia was in the top 10 for constraints on government powers (10th), open government (9th), and regulatory enforcement (7th). It was in the top 20 for absence of corruption (12th), fundamental rights (13th), order and security (18th), civil justice (13th), and criminal justice (13th).

For absence of corruption, the report gave Australia a low score on corruption in the legislature. It also scored relatively low in corruption in the executive branch.

Discrimination, due process of law, and labour rights weighed down the country on the fundamental rights measure. For order and security, Australia got a low score on absence of violent redress.

For civil justice, the country was burdened by its score on accessibility and affordability, discrimination, unreasonable delay, and effective enforcement. Under criminal justice, Australia scored low in effective investigations, effective correctional system, discrimination, and due process of law.
John-Paul Thorbjornsen, CanYa chief executive, said that the law firm has a very strong understanding of both the disruptive nature of this technology and how it should be treated adequately in the current regulatory environment.

CanYa is looking forward to working with government regulators this year to establish a clear direction on the nascent regulations, he said.

When you can pay your lawyers and accountants in your own token, you know youre in the right hands, Thorbjornsen said.

Piper Alderman recently launched a cryptocurrency payment system for clients to pay in Bitcoins.

According to the firm, it completed a white-paper analysis for the ICO, along with sale documentation and other regulatory document requirements. It also advised in CanYas acquisition of Bountysource Inc.
Most cars just evolve from one generation to the other, but the Insight reflects how rapidly green cars are changing. For example, you might remember the original Insight from way back in 1999. It was the first hybrid sold in America (technically) and had a smaller track at the back, wheels that were half-covered by the fenders and only two doors. By comparison, the 2018 prototype looks like a more elegant version of the Civic.Honda already has a dedicated eco car, the Clarity, which is available in several configurations. We think the Insight is supposed to be like a mainstream hybrid model.By replacing the Civic Hybrid with this, the company is free to make that car as sporty as it can be. The second generation Insight lasted just four years, and many people say it was because it didn't ride well and had a bad interior.If you look at the profile, it looks like the Civic, and that's because the Insight is based on the 10th-gen's bones. On top of that, you will have all the cool Honda toys, like LEDs, Honda Sensing, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and apparently infotainment that's way better than the 2018 Civic's but is coming to that model in about a year.As you can see, this isn't a hatchback, and we think it looks way classier from any angle than the Prius 4. While the shape is aerodynamic, it's still got a massive brow, so it screams "I go to the gym" rather than "I eat salad."Right now, Honda isn't saying much about the specs, but it seems it hasn't given up on using a smaller engine than the Prius. Under the hood is a 1.5-liter. And no, VTEC Turbo won't kick in!We're told the production car will look just like this when it debuts in late 2018. So that would make it a 2019 model, right?
Initially believed to gain the 2.3-liter EcoBoost from the Mustang or the 2.7-liter EcoBoost V6 from the F-150, what did the Ranger Raptor receive? A friggin diesel, thats what! Love it or hate it, the 2.0-liter EcoBlue four-cylinder engine with two turbochargers has a lot going for it.Based on the EcoBlue found under the hood of the Euro-spec Ford Transit, the powerplant in the Ranger Raptor benefits from upgraded pistons, optimized temperature range for the smaller and larger turbines. The diesel-fueled powertrain has also been extensively tested in the most adverse scenarios, with one test consisting of heating both turbochargers to the point of glowing red for 200 hours without interruption (!!!).Despite all the effort that went into the heart of the Ranger Raptor, some people still arent too sure that the 210-horsepower engine is the perfect match for the most off-road capable Ranger ever. But chief engineer of small gas and diesel engines Roland Ernst argues that its the right choice to combine power and efficiency.Speaking to Car Advice on the sidelines of the Ranger Raptors launch in Bangkok, Thailand, the Ford Motor Companys engineer made it clear that this engine is very robust and has a lot of potential. In addition to the resources, Ernst further makes a case for very sharp throttle response.Ford still refuses to confirm or deny the availability of the Ranger Raptor in the United States of America, though the question remains: if the Blue Oval will ever sell this truck in the U.S., would the 2.0-liter bi-turbo diesel be the most appropriate choice?Main rival Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 is available with a Duramax-developed engine, though the standard means of propulsion is the 3.6-liter High Feature V6 with 308 horsepower on tap. These circumstances alone should make Ford think twice about the U.S.-spec Ranger Raptor.
NASA, through JPL, operates the so-called HORIZONS Web-Interface , a tool meant to keep track of naturally occurring astronomical objects and artificial satellites in the sky at a given time. This type of tracking is called ephemeris.On February 8 , meteorologist Eric Holthaus noticed on the NASA website that a new object has been added to the list of ephemeris: the Tesla Roadster. The object is listed on NASA's official document as follows:Tesla Roadster (spacecraft). Dummy payload from the first launch of SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch vehicle. Consists of a standard Tesla Roadster automobile and a spacesuit-wearing mannequin nicknamed Starman."The document also reveals what the Roadster took with it on the journey to eternity a Hot Wheels toy model Roadster on the car's dash with a mini-Starman inside. Also, a data storage device placed inside the vehicle contains a copy of Isaac Asimov's Foundation novels.NASA says that, after orbiting the Earth for six hours and completing the final third stage burn-to-depletion, the car headed out into space, probably to miss both its intended target, Mars, and head for the Asteroid Belt.The car will probably end up circling the sun in a heliocentric orbit, meaning it may come close to the Red Planet at one point. That is if radiation doesn't turn it slowly to shreds.The short document available on NASA's HORIZONS Web-Interface about the Tesla Roadster is attached below.
The first Pilatus PC-24 business jet has been delivered to New Hampshire-based PlaneSense. The fractional company has ordered 10 of what Pilatus has termed its super versatile jet for its ability to use unimproved runways. It already has 34 PC-12 turboprops so its relationship with Pilatus is substantial. The company bought four Nextant XTI jets to get all the operating certificates for jet operations and will eventually replace those aircraft when it has enough PC-24s to meet jet demand, according to Robb Report.

PlaneSense CEO George Antoniadis told the magazine that the PC-12s will continue to be the foundation of the companys business but it was missing a market segment with the turboprop. Some people just straight out prefer to be in a jet, or some people need to cover longer distances more quickly, he told Robb Report. The PC-24 was built in Switzerland and was prepared for delivery by Pilatuss Broomfield, Colorado, facility. The PC-24 seats up to eight passengers, has a top speed of 500 mph and a range of 1,900 miles and needs only 2,700 feet of runway.
By Trend

Over the past 24 hours, Armenias armed forces have 122 times violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said on February 9.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
By Sara Israfilbayova

Relations between the Netherlands are developing on a growing basis, in various spheres of the economy, and in politics and tourism.

Charge dAffaires of Azerbaijan in the Kingdom of the Netherlands Jalal Mirzoyev said that the level of trade turnover between the Netherlands and Azerbaijan increased 12 times in 2017 compared to 2016.

Currently, more than 125 companies with the capital from the Netherlands operate in Azerbaijan in the field of trade, services, insurance, industry, construction, transport and other spheres.

The Netherlands has invested almost $800 million in the non-oil sector of the Azerbaijani economy in total, according to Mirzoyev.

Currently there are regular flights on cargo transportation Maastrixt-Baku Cargo. In the near future there is provision for the establishment of passenger transportation, which, in turn, will be the impetus for the development of cooperation in the field of tourism, Mirzoyev stressed.

The Ambassador also pointed out that the relations between Azerbaijan and the Netherlands are developing in various directions and high-level visits, meetings, signed documents play an important role in strengthening the ties between the two countries.

Over 1,400 European companies operate in Azerbaijan. According to the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan, by the end of 2017 the trade with the countries of the European Union amounted to $9.394 billion, or 41.6 percent of the total turnover.

The share of exports of Azerbaijani products to the EU countries amounted to $7.452 billion, or 53.9 percent of all exports, while imports of European goods to the country amounted to $1.942 billion, or 22.1 percent of all imports.

It is noteworthy that the share of the Netherlands in the trade with the EU is growing every year.

Kingdom of the Netherlands recognized the independence of Azerbaijan in December 31, 1991. Diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in April 1, 1992.

In recent years bilateral economic missions, business forums, as well as other activities organized with support of the Embassy opened a new phase in practical cooperation between Azerbaijan and the Netherlands.

Earlier, it was reported that Azerbaijan and the Netherlands may open joint trading houses to demonstrate benefits of cooperation in agriculture and many other spheres.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
The Parliament of Azerbaijan will hold discussions on the draft law on approving a Memorandum of Understanding regarding the exercises of the special forces of Azerbaijani and Turkish armies, Trend reports.
By Aygul Salmanova

Austria intends to send a freight train that will run to Kazakhstan via the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway.

This was stated by Javid Gurbanov, head of the Azerbaijan Railways CJSC during the press conference held in Baku on February 9.

He said that cargo carriers are greatly interested in BTK and to date, more than 500 containers have been transported via the railway.

"The trade turnover between Turkey and China exceeds 500,000 containers, he said. China, Central Asia are interested in BTK. Austrias freight train is expected to run to Kazakhstan in the first week of April. Among European carriers, Austria will first use BTK."

Gurbanov also noted that Russias metallurgical companies are interested in cargo transportation via the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway.

The head of Railways went on saying that some 23 railway stations will be built and reconstructed as part of construction of the Baku Ring Railway.

Presently, the Baku-Sumgayit trains operate with stops at two stations - Bilajari and Khirdalan, he said.

We want to expand the [Baku-Sumgayit] railway for the trains leaving Baku to run not only in this direction, but also in the opposite direction via Bakikhanov, Zabrat-1, Zabrat-2, Pirshagi, Fatmai, Novkhani stations and further to Sumgait.

The railway is planned to be extended to the Baghlar station in the Mashtaga settlement, Gurbanov added. Another railway branch will be extended to the Dubandi station near the Zira settlement. Earlier, there was a railway to the Pirallahi settlement, however the bridge was dismantled. Another railway will be laid to the Bina settlement. In the future, the issue regarding the railway to the Heydar Aliyev International Airport will be solved."

He added that there is a big program for the Baku Ring Railway.

Gurbanov also said that the railway from Baku to Gabala may be ready until late 2019.

He said that initially, a high-speed railway from Baku to Ganja will be commissioned.

Then a railway from Laki station through Agdash region to Gabala airport will be built. Perhaps, it will be built by the end of 2019, said Gurbanov.

Azerbaijan Railways CJSC has started work on designing a railway that will connect Baku and the Shahdag Mountain Ski Resort, he added.

Repair work has already begun on the railway in the direction of Khachmaz region, he added.

The whole section of the Baku-Yalama railway will be modernized, and electric trains will be used here. A branch will be built from Khudat station in the western direction through the Gusar district to the Shahdag ski resort. Work on designing has already begun, said Gurbanov.

The chairman added that it is planned to connect the ski resorts Tufandag and Shahdag through the railway and to construct tunnels in the future.

The Azerbaijani railways will be brought to the European level in the next five to seven years, he added.

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By Rashid Shirinov

Trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan may reach $300 million in coming years, Azerbaijani economist Vugar Bayramov told Kazakh media outlets.

Our estimates show that there are good opportunities for increasing the trade turnover. Despite the growth in indicators for the past year, the existing opportunities are not fully used, he said.

The expert expressed confidence that 2018 will also be positive in trade and economic relations between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. Bayramov noted that a special dynamics is observed in transportation.

The volume of handled cargo increased by nearly 300 percent compared to 2016. Astana and Baku paid much attention to transport projects in 2017 and the results were not long in coming, he said.

Head of the Center for Regional Development in Azerbaijan Chingiz Ismayilov, in turn, pointed out that completion of the first stage of the work on terminals commissioning in the Azerbaijani Alat Sea Port will give impetus to the growth of transportation.

It is planned to increase the transportation volume from two to five million, and then to 12. The same is happening in the Kazakh Kuryk seaport, Ismayilov said. Last year, 1,2 million tons of cargo were handled there, and next year it is planned to handle three million tons.

He added that the volume of transportation in connection with the improvement of logistics and port facilities of the Caspian region will give a big boost to the development of trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.

In December 2017, the two countries adopted a road map, according to which it is planned to increase the trade turnover twice by 2020. Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan also intend to strengthen energy cooperation. The issues of transportation of the Kazakh oil and gas to Europe through Azerbaijan will be considered.

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.

The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan amounted to $142 million last year, while in 2016 this figure was estimated at $124 million.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
By Aygul Salmanova

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) agreed today in London to deepen their cooperation and establish a strategic partnership to promote sustainable maritime transport, according to the Bank's website.

The cooperation was formalised in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by Phil Bennett, EBRD First Vice President, and Kitack Lim, IMO Secretary-General.

Under the agreement, the EBRD and the IMO will exchange know-how and experience and will work together with national governments, in countries where both institutions are active, to help them implement frameworks for a fair, effective and sustainable maritime industry.

Initially, the cooperation will focus on Azerbaijan, Egypt, Georgia, Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey and cover topics such as attracting more investment in the sector, tackling climate change, enhancing energy efficiency and promoting the highest standards of health and safety.

A UN agency with 173 member states and three associate members, the IMO is the global standard-setting authority for the facilitation of maritime traffic, and the security, safety and environmental performance of international shipping.

The EBRD is a multilateral bank, owned by 66 countries as well as the European Union and the European Investment Bank. It promotes the development of the private sector and entrepreneurial initiative in 38 economies, across three continents. The Banks investments are aimed at making the economies in its regions competitive, inclusive, well governed, green, resilient and integrated. To date, it has invested 1.2 billion in the maritime sector, including ports, shipyards and shipping firms across 19 countries.

Applying its green principles, the EBRD is investing in ports, shipyards and shipping companies to encourage development of the motorways of the sea, an international vision to transform shipping into an environmentally friendly alternative to land transport. With the IMOs expertise we want to help the economies where we invest, and the companies we finance, to make maritime transport greener and more sustainable, said Bennett.

Lim, in his turn, noted that this strategic partnership, combining the IMO's global mandate and outreach and the EBRD's experience and expertise in investment and finance, is expected to contribute a great deal to sustainable maritime transport and the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

International shipping transports more than 80 percent of global trade to people and communities all over the world. Shipping is the most efficient and cost-effective method of international transport for most goods; it provides a dependable, low-cost means of transporting goods globally, facilitating commerce and helping to create prosperity among nations.

The EBRD is an international financial institution founded in 1991. As a multilateral developmental investment bank, the EBRD uses investment as a tool to build market economies.

Azerbaijan has been cooperating with the EBRD since 1997. Since the start of its operations in the country, the bank has invested over 2.3 billion in 163 projects in the financial, corporate, infrastructure and energy sectors, with 58 percent of those investments in the private sector.

The EBRD's efforts in Azerbaijan aim to help diversify the economy away from a dependence on energy and natural resources. The Bank has invested in many smaller, private sector non-energy projects. They each have a positive impact in helping to build the private sector and enhance skills.

The Bank allocated over 294 million since the beginning of cooperation to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Azerbaijan. It also provided 233 million in indirect finance, supporting an SME lending portfolio of banks reaching over 94,000 micro, small and medium-sized enterprises annually.

More than 850 SMEs in Azerbaijan have received consulting assistance since 2003, including assistance to improve accounting, to enter new markets, and work under the Women in Business program, whose goal is to provide financial and consulting assistance to companies run by female entrepreneurs.

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By Laman Ismayilova

The meeting of Azerbaijans National Commission for UNESCO with the participation of people responsible for UNESCO in the certain organizations was held in the countrys Foreign Ministry.

The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the issues facing the National Commission and the plan for further activity, as well as to exchange views on close coordination between the relevant organizations.

While delivering welcome speech during the meeting, Ambassador-at-Large of the Foreign Ministry, Secretary General of the National Commission of Azerbaijan for UNESCO Elnur Sultanov spoke about the close ties between Azerbaijan and UNESCO.

He stressed the exceptional merits of First Vice-President of Azerbaijan, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Mehriban Aliyeva in the development of these relations.

Sultanov stressed that the Heydar Aliyev Foundation under the leadership of Mehriban Aliyeva implemented important projects to popularize Azerbaijani culture in the international arena and promote UNESCO's ideas.

Noting that in 2017 Azerbaijan celebrated the 25th anniversary of its membership in UNESCO, Sultanov stressed the wide potential for cooperation between Azerbaijan and UNESCO and informed about the issues on the agenda.

Then, the views on the current situation and prospects for cooperation in the cultural, scientific, educational, information spheres, multiculturalism, gender equality between Azerbaijan and UNESCO were exchanged.

A number of new proposals were put forward and the importance of strengthening coordination between the organizations was underlined.

Azerbaijan became member of UNESCO on June 3, 1992, after restoration of its independence. In 2003, Azerbaijan and UNESCO signed the framework agreement on cooperation in the areas of culture, science, education and communication, which allowed Azerbaijan to become one of the donors of UNESCO.

The Icherisheher (Old City), Maiden Tower and Shirvanshahs palace were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2000, while since 2007 the Gobustan National Historical-Artistic reserve also listed among these heritages.

In 2017, UNESCO recognized Azerbaijans dolma as the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Art of crafting and playing with kamancha, presented jointly by Azerbaijan and Iran, was also inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Last year, the organization marked the 600th anniversary of the death of the great Azerbaijani poet and thinker Imadaddin Nasimi. In the same year UNESCO also celebrated the 200th anniversary of the first settlement of Germans in Azerbaijan.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

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By Laman Ismayilova

Works of German photographer Sven Marquardt will be shown in Baku. A photo exhibition will open in German-Azerbaijani Cultural Society "Kapellhaus" on February 24.

German photographer will also meet with the guests of the exhibition.

With the support of Goethe-Zentrum Baku, the audiovisual installation "Altar", a joint work of Sven Marquardt and the famous DJ and producer Marcel Dettmann will be presented in Baku for the first time.Dettmann's music accompanies the emotions and surprise effect of Marquardt`s works.

The exhibition will last until March 6, from 14:00 to 20:00.

Over the past decade, Sven Marward has gained worldwide popularity as a photographer, with the brightest representatives of Berlin's nightlife.

Marquardts true passion is black and white analogue photography. The photographer worked for fashion magazines. He also documented the East Berlin underground scene.

Marcel Dettmann is recognised as one of the most influential proponents of contemporary techno. Widely associated with iconic trademarks including Berlin, Berghain and Hard Wax, he stays true to his roots by consistently innovating his interpretation of electronic music, integrating art with the scene.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

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By Rashid Shirinov

Russia, together with the U.S. and France, is doing everything to create conditions for resolution of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Russias Ambassador to Armenia Ivan Volynkin told Armenian media on February 9.

Stressing that settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is in the area of the OSCE Minsk Groups responsibility, he said that the co-chairs carry out only intermediary actions.

Neither Russia, nor France, nor the U.S. can have a specific recipe for the resolution of this problem. Only Azerbaijan and Armenia can agree on its settlement, Volynkin said.

Russia, along with the U.S. and France, is a co-chair country of the OSCE Minsk Group established to broker peace to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The conflict 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 regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations.

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 Trend

The 6th congress of the New Azerbaijan Party became a political forum expressing the dreams and wishes of the Azerbaijani people as a whole, MP Musa Guliyev told Trend on February 8.

Guliyev added that representatives of the congress from various regions of Azerbaijan said in their speeches that the policy pursued by the head of state is unequivocally supported in all regions.

"It was said at the congress that the people want further continuation of this policy. All representatives of the congress and people who spoke there supported the candidacy of the head of state Ilham Aliyev for the early presidential election to be held on April 11," he said.

According to him, the head of state, through his speech at the congress, showed the Party members the prospects for the development of Azerbaijan for the coming years.

"The head of state stressed at the congress the importance of social stability and showed that our country is a democratic, legal, civilized state and that it is developing along this path. At the same time, President Ilham Aliyev, stating that the socio-economic development will continue to grow rapidly after this, showed that human rights and freedoms that were defended in our country will be defended and developed in the future," MP said.

Guliyev noted that the head of state said that Azerbaijan's foreign policy will be based on international law and justice, and the international prestige of our country will grow in the near future. The head of state also noted that Azerbaijan is able to liberate its lands from occupation, and in the near future our lands will be liberated from occupation. Refugees and internally displaced persons will return to their homes.

"President Ilham Aliyev stressed that irrespective of changes in oil prices in the world, our country will continue to see its economic development in the development of the non-oil sector and, for the sake of the coming generation, revenues from oil in the form of foreign exchange reserves will accumulate in our fund. In his speech, President Ilham Aliyev called Irevan, Zangezur, Goyche and other lands the historical territories of Azerbaijan and also characterized our return to these lands as one of the main tasks of our people and youth," he said.

The VI Congress of the New Azerbaijan Party (NAP) was held at the Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku on Feb.8. The VI has made a decision to nominate candidacy of the Chairman of the Party, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev in the presidential election scheduled for April 11, 2018. The decision was adopted unanimously.

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By Trend

Ilham Aliyevs nomination as the presidential candidate in the upcoming elections meets the desire of the people, MP Sadagat Valiyeva told Trend.

"The 6th congress of the New Azerbaijan Party was great. At this historic event, it was decided to nominate the leader of the party, Ilham Aliyev, as the presidential candidate in the upcoming elections, which will be held on April 11, 2018. This nomination was the desire of the people. Ilham Aliyev is a candidate of not only the New Azerbaijan Party, which has more than 700 members, but also a candidate supported by an absolute majority of the people. At the same time, the nomination of President Ilham Aliyev was a social order," she said

"Thanks to Ilham Aliyev's work over the past 15 years, our economy has increased by 3.2 times, the non-oil economy - 2.8 times, indicators in industries increased by 2.6-fold, agriculture-1.7-fold, non-oil exports - by 4.1 times. Our foreign exchange reserves grew 23 times and amounted to $44 billion. $231 billion was invested in the country's economy, 1.9 million jobs were opened, the unemployment rate fell to five percent, and the poverty rate to 5.4 percent. At the same time, over the past 15 years, 30 power plants have been built, the gasification level hit 93 percent, the uninterrupted supply of drinking water - 67 percent, the four reservoirs-Takhtakorpu, Shamkirchay, Goytepe and Tovuzchay were built, hundreds of thousands of hectares of un-irrigated land were given life, 12,300 kilometers of roads have been laid. In short, today, under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, stable and dynamic development of Azerbaijan is underway. That's why Azerbaijani voters want to see Ilham Aliyev again as the president. Therefore, it should be specially mentioned, that by nominating Ilham Aliyev for the presidential elections to be held on April 11, 2018, the NAP fulfilled the dreams and desires of our people," she said.

The VI Congress of the New Azerbaijan Party (NAP) was held at the Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku on Feb.8. The VI has made a decision to nominate candidacy of the Chairman of the Party, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev in the presidential election scheduled for April 11, 2018. The decision was adopted unanimously.

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By Trend

New mechanisms of multilateral cooperation like Russia-Azerbaijan-Turkey, Russia-Azerbaijan-Iran, Iran-Azerbaijan-Turkey will be formed if it is necessary, Russian Foreign Ministrys Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on February 8.

These formats emerge when there is necessity, she said. There are a lot of other formats. This is just a tool that is necessary to solve a particular issue. Everything depends on the necessity to address a particular issue of international relations.

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By Aygul Salmanova

Azerbaijani and Belarus specialists may make joint developments in the field of robotics, according to the Azerbaijani Regional Innovative Technologies Academy.

There is a possibility of combining the advantages of mobile robots of Belarus scientists and unmanned aerial vehicles produced at the High Technologies Park and the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan.

Earlier, it was reported that Azerbaijan will consider the possibility of using mobile robots. The mobile robots developed by scientists at the Belarus State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics and the Joint Institute of Mechanical Engineering of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus may be used in agriculture to eliminate the consequences of emergency situations.

Both Belarus and Azerbaijan have outlined the further cooperation plans and published a joint article the Azerbaijani Regional Innovative Technologies Academy told Trend. The sides have not started to develop a joint project, however, all preconditions for that are available.

Diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Belarus established in 1993 but two countries started to get close during the past decade.

Cooperation of Belarus and Azerbaijan in the economic sphere has been developing dynamically over the past decade. The main priorities of this cooperation are production cooperation, joint projects in the fields of science and technology, as well as investment cooperation.

Currently, 58 companies with Azerbaijani capital operate in Belarus while 70 Belarusian companies operate in Azerbaijan.

Belarus exports to Azerbaijan mechanical production, woodworking, tires, foodstuff, medicine, household appliances, dishes and other goods. Azerbaijans exports to Belarus mainly consist of products made of aluminum, products of petrochemical, engineering and agriculture.

Azerbaijans first ever Trade House was opened in the Belarusian capital Minsk, on May 26.

Moreover, Azerbaijan and Belarus plan to supply tractors to Turkey.

The Minsk Tractor Works (MTW) OJSC signed a new contract with Ganja Automobile Plant in Azerbaijan on September 22 for supply of tractors to Azerbaijan along with an additional protocol on jointly entering the Turkish market.

The trade turnover between the states amounted to $113.15 million in January-November 2017, over $100 million of which accounted for the import of Belarusian products, according to the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan.

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A new print edition of the AZERNEWS online newspaper was released on February 9.

The new edition includes articles about Baku can become new destination for world EXPO exhibitions, Azerbaijan, Czech Republic to ink new energy deal, Kazakhstan ratifies agreement on transport, Azerbaijan, Mexico to expand ties in culture, tourism etc.

AZERNEWS is an associate member of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA).
By Trend

In January 2018, Azerbaijan exported oil worth $36.174 million to Ukraine, the Ukrainian media reported referring to data from the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine.

Some 93.9 percent of oil supplies to Ukraine accounted for Azerbaijan, according to the report.

Azerbaijan is followed by Iran (4.8 percent), which exported oil worth $1.844 million to Ukraine, Russia (0.7 percent) - $0.277 million and other countries (0.6 percent) - $0.221 million.

In total, in January 2018, Ukraine imported crude oil and gas condensate worth $38.515 million, which is 57.3 percent more than in the same period last year.

Ukrtatnafta, an international oil refining company, signed an agreement with Azerbaijans state oil company SOCAR in late 2016 on the annual delivery of 1.3 million tons of Azerbaijani oil to the Kremenchug Refinery.

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By Sara Israfilbayova

World oil prices decline for the sixth consecutive session, Brent is at a minimum for seven weeks.

Brent crude futures dropped 0.19 percent to $65.32 a barrel, U.S. West Intermediate Texas (WTI) futures fell 0.26 percent to $61.53 a barrel, according to Interfax.ru.

Citigroup predicts that oil production in the U.S. can exceed 11 million barrels per day by the end of the summer, that is, before the government forecast, which expects to reach this level in November.

"Oil production in the U.S. will continue to reach new records during 2018," the banks experts note.

Energy Information Administration (EIA) of the U.S. Energy Department estimates that U.S. oil production this year will average 10.59 million barrels per day, in 2019 - 11.18 million barrels per day. Both indicators were improved by 3.1 percent compared to the previous forecast.

Oil reserves in the U.S. for the week ended on February 2 rose by 1.9 million barrels - to 420.25 million barrels. Reserves of gasoline increased by 3.41 million barrels, distillates - by 3.93 million barrels, the U.S. Energy Department reported.

Oil production in the U.S. rose by 3 percent to 10.251 million barrels per day, a new record for weekly data.

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

Kyrgyz President Sooronbai Jeenbekov on Thursday told a meeting of the country's Security Council that he would continue to fight decisively against corruption.

The meeting of the Security Council considered the measures to combat corruption in judicial, law enforcement and supervisory bodies, Kabar with reference to the president's press service reported.

The Kyrgyz President said that the prosecutor's office, national security agencies, courts and law enforcement agencies were those bodies that were obliged to conduct a merciless fight against corruption in the service of their duty.

Jeenbekov stressed that Kyrgyz citizens demanded the resolute fight against corruption not only to be continued, but to be strengthened many times.

"The most important force in this struggle is the political will of the head of state. I promised the people that fighting corruption is a priority in my work as a president," Jeenbekov said. "I have such a political will, and I am ready for this fight."

In conclusion, the Kyrgyz President demanded to take urgent measures to clean law enforcement, supervisory and judicial bodies from corrupt employees.

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By Trend

President of France Emmanuel Macron plans to have a telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Friday, the Elysee Palace said on Thursday, adding that the two heads of state will focus on the preparations of Macrons visit to Russia due on May 24-25, when he will take part in the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, TASS reported.

According to the official residence of the French president, Emmanuel Macron plans to discuss with Vladimir Putin a program of his visit, in particular the start of activity of the Russian-French Trianon Dialog forum. In addition, the two presidents will also discuss developments in Ukraine and Syria.

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By Trend

Iranian president Hassan Rouhani said in a Thursday phone call with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan that using national currencies in economic transactions could accelerate Tehran-Ankara relations, Press TV reported.

Rouhani also stressed that Iran-Turkey ties should reach a strategic level in all fields.

"Many threats in the region endanger the interests of both countries of Iran and Turkey and other Muslim states," he said. "Given the very close viewpoints of the two countries in regional and international issues, cooperation and mutual political consultations should be continued."

The Iranian president further underlined the need for boosting trilateral ties among Iran, Turkey and Russia and welcomed an upcoming meeting in Istanbul between the three countries' presidents on the Syria crisis.

They held a similar meeting in the Black Sea resort of Sochi last November.

Iran, Turkey and Russia are the guarantors of a countrywide ceasefire in Syria. The three have been mediating a peace process since January 2016 among Syrias warring sides in Astana, Kazakhstan.

During Thursday's telephone conversation, Erdogan urged reinforcing relations between Turkey and Iran in all areas of mutual interests.

He stressed that new regional threats show that close cooperation between the two countries is of great importance, expressing stratification with the development of bilateral security and counter-terrorism cooperation.

The Turkish president also invited Rouhani to the Istanbul meeting on the Syria conflict.

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By Trend

Since the beginning of Operation Olive Branch, 1,062 terrorists were killed in Syrias Afrin district, the Turkish General Staff said in a message on February 9.

In particular, 34 members of Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), Peoples Protection Units (YPG) and Islamic State (IS) terrorist organizations were killed in Afrin on February 9.

On January 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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By Kamila Aliyeva

The World Bank will take part in the development of the General Scheme for the development of gas supply and gasification in Uzbekistan by financing separate components, the press service of Uzbekneftegaz JSC reported.

The meeting, which was attended by representatives of the World Bank and the management of Uzbekneftegaz, took place in early February this year.

The main purpose of the visit of the WB mission was to discuss issues of budgetary support to the oil and gas industry and financing projects of Uzbekneftegaz.

Ulugbek Ashurov, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board for Economics and Finance of Uzbekneftegaz, said that it is planned to carry out a number of reforms and increase the company's presence on the international market.

The development of the General Scheme for the development of gas supply and gasification of Uzbekistan is also underway. All this will contribute to the financial strengthening of the industry.

The World Bank was offered limited participation in the development of the General Scheme, by financing such separate components as the assessment of economic efficiency and investment volumes, assistance in the development of tariff policy, according to the companys message.

In January, First Deputy Economy Minister of Uzbekistan Mubin Mirzaev told reporters that since April 1, 2018, the price for natural gas for domestic consumers is planned to be increased by 10 percent.

The government also expects in the medium term to bring domestic gas prices in line with the introduction of market mechanisms for the realization of energy resources.

Over the past three years, domestic gas prices in Uzbekistan have grown by more than 1.5 times. The last time when the cost of blue fuel for all categories of users of Uzbekistan has been increased by 7 percent was July 15, 2017. In particular, the cost of 1,000 cubic meters of natural gas sold to wholesale consumers rose to 263,400 soums ($32.5).

Currently, JSC Uztransgaz (a subsidiary of Uzbekneftegaz which controls the transportation of gas in Uzbekistan), operated about 120,000 kilometers of gas distribution networks of low and medium pressure, through which gas is supplied to 3.3 million residential houses and 83,000 wholesale consumers, and also is exported to China, Russia and other countries of Central Asia.

In recent years, domestic gas consumption in the republic has grown 1.3 times and is about 50 billion cubic meters per year.

Natural gas production in Uzbekistan increased by 0.5 percent in 2017 up to 56.417 billion cubic meters compared to 2016.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

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By Kamila Aliyeva

Gross harvest of grain for 2017 in net weight amounted to 20.6 million tons with a yield of 14.4 centners per hectare, Kazinform reported.

Such data are given in the distributed press kit in the framework of the extended meeting of the government with the participation of the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev dedicated to the results of 2017 which was held on February 9.

Last year the crop area was 21.9 million hectares, which is more by 416,000 thousand hectares compared to 2016.

At the end of the year, agricultural producers purchased 368,400 tons of subsidized fertilizers.

The total amount for subsidizing seed production was 8.5 billion tenge (2.3 times more), which were fully realized. The volume of sown elite seeds amounted to 126,000 tons that is 5.2 percent of the total volume of sown seeds.

Kazakhstans national company Food Contract Corporation JSC exported 120,000 tons of grain and oilseeds in the previous year.

As a result of its activities for 2017, the company exported 56,000 tons of barley to Iran, over 40,000 tons of wheat and about 600 tons of vegetable oil to China, 15,000 tons of wheat to Azerbaijan, approximately 5,000 tons of wheat to Uzbekistan, as well as around 3,000 tons of flax seeds to Belgium.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

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By Sara Israfilbayova

The tourism development strategy in Azerbaijan provides for effective use of the potential of all regions of the country in this area.

The statement came from head of the Azerbaijan Tourism Association (AzTA) Nahid Bagirov from the organizations meeting.

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism has prepared a new draft law on tourism, aimed at improving the legal framework for the development of the tourism industry, and is currently in the process of coordinating with the relevant structures, and a strategy for tourism development in Azerbaijan for 2016-2025 has been developed. An important role in the development of this area is played by the Azerbaijan Tourism Association, Azerbaijan Convention Bureau, the Association of Health and Thermal Tourism, the Association of Rural Tourism and other organizations, the AzTA head said, according to Report.az.

The country has every opportunity to develop various types of tourism in the regions and the capital, including business tourism, medical, sports, etc.

In the near future we will see new types of tourism, Bagirov added.

He went on to say that new routes and themes of excursions are being developed in Azerbaijan.

AzTA, taking into account the demand for excursion guides in the country, has established Baku excursion bureau. A strategic road map on tourism was approved in Azerbaijan, according to which by 2020 Azerbaijan should become the worlds leading tourist country, Bagirov noted.

At present, a simplified procedure for issuing a visa has been introduced to attract more tourists to Azerbaijan, according to AzTA head.

The tourism policy of the country is a complex issue, and this confirms the creation of perfect infrastructure on all tourist routes of Azerbaijan in a short time and commissioning of modern tourist accommodation facilities, he stressed.

Further, addressing the event he pointed out that sea cruises will be organized in Azerbaijan in the near future.

There are opportunities to use the potential of the Caspian Sea, which will revitalize tourism with riparian countries and establish close economic relations," he explained.

Tourism in Azerbaijan is developing rapidly, and to support the flow of foreign visitors, comprehensive activities are carried out.

Azerbaijan is engaged in the efforts to diversify the non-oil economy, and tourism industry is one of the promising sectors to contribute to the achievement of this ambitious goal.

Thanks to all these, the country has improved its tourism performance in the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017 released by experts of the World Economic Forum (WEF).

The country is placed 71st among the most improved economies in 2017, rising 13 spots in the global ranking.

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The Livingston man accused of fatally stabbing his teenage girlfriend just after the still-unsolved slayings of her mother and younger sister in their Baytown home is headed for a jury trial in August, according to officials.

Jesse Dobbs is accused in the November 2016 killing of 16-year-old Kirsten Fritch, who was found slain behind a Texas City bar with more than 50 stab wounds. Dobbs, 22, is also the primary suspect in the deaths of Fritch's mother and sister, 37-year-old Cynthia Morris and 13-year-old Breanna Pavilicek.

At a Thursday court date, a Galveston County judge set the case for trial starting Aug. 13. There's been no plea deal arranged in the case so far, and prosecutor Bill Reed said he has no plans to offer one.

"Some cases we just don't make an offer on," he said.

Meanwhile, investigators are still probing the two Harris County deaths.

"We just haven't been able to get to the point where we've been able to file charges," Baytown police spokesman Lt. Steve Dorris said Thursday.

LAWYER: 'Another side to the story' in Baytown murders

In the months since the slayings, Dobbs' attorney, Jyll Rekoff, has argued that her client is incompetent to stand trial, saying he suffers from "delusional beliefs."

In September, Dobbs penned a handwritten letter to the judge in his case, claiming the slain girl was still alive and that he was innocent.

"I understand y'all want to put me to death," he wrote."Y'all just want to frame me."

He was later deemed competent to go to trial.

Police first uncovered the tragedy on the morning of Nov. 8, when officers responded to the Baytown family's home and found Morris and her younger daughter shot to death in the master bedroom.

Hours later, authorities put out an Amber Alert for Fritch - who'd gone missing along with her boyfriend and the family car.

Around 10:30 a.m., a Texas City man spotted the couple in his apartment complex when Dobbs asked him for a cigarette.

Then around 8:30 p.m., Dobbs called an ex-girlfriend and asked her to take him to Louisiana so he could see his kids one last time.

Instead, the woman called police, who picked up Dobbs - wet and shoeless - and held him on resisting arrest charges.

Searchers didn't locate Fritch's body till two days later. The medical examiner determined that she had been stabbed more than 50 times.

After the gruesome find, police said Dobbs confessed and he was charged with murder in Fritch's death.

"I think there's another side to the story," Rekoff told the Chronicle weeks after the slayings, adding that her client was high on methamphetamine when officers picked him up.

Rekoff did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.
A young boy whose body washed up on Galveston's shore in October exhibited signs of neglect and abuse and died before being placed in the water, not as a result of drowning, authorities said Tuesday.

Having exhausted hundreds of leads and tips, the Galveston Police Department released a photograph of the boy, nicknamed "Little Jacob," at an afternoon press conference. The move represented a last-ditch effort to identify the child, whose body has still not been claimed, and advance an investigation that continues to be treated as a homicide.

The photograph of the deceased child's face was taken at the scene just west of Stewart Beach  a mostly deserted, undeveloped stretch of Galveston's coastline  where the boy, age 3 or 4, was found dead on Oct. 20. The graphic image, which can be viewed on the Galveston Police Department's Facebook page, has been minimally altered to account for slight decomposition from water exposure.

WARNING (Graphic Photo): Police release photo of 'Little Jacob,' unidentified boy found dead on Galveston shoreline (Photo Source: Galveston Police Department Facebook)

"It's extremely frustrating," acknowledged Galveston police Detective Jeff Banks, who has been working on the case nonstop since the child's discovery. "You're a detective, you want to solve the case  well, where do you go when no one's coming to tell me what's happening? I've got a little boy and nobody's telling me where he is. I just hope eventually we can identify him, move forward, and find out what happened to him."

The case has proved a troubling one not only for police but residents of this island city, where about a half-dozen people drown every year. Weeks after the boy's body was found, a little shrine emerged atop the seawall near Seventh Street, including rain-soaked stuffed animals, a deflated balloon, a jar of sand and a pumpkin with "Baby Doe" painted in green letters.

An analysis conducted by the U.S. Coast Guard and National Weather Service of currents and tidal patterns based on Galveston's topography indicated that the boy died around Oct. 17-18, and that his body was placed in the water around Galveston County, possibly toward East Beach or near the Houston Ship Channel in Galveston Bay. An autopsy indicated the boy, who was found unclothed, had been in the water for 12 to 48 hours before he was found.

The Galveston County medical examiner has not yet determined a cause of death, but said the boy had signs of abuse and neglect, though none of the injuries appeared to be fatal.

Authorities found signs of possible malnourishment, as the boy weighed between 26 and 30 pounds, roughly half the weight of a normal boy his age. The medical examiner ruled out drowning, as there was no water found in his lungs or respiratory system, nor were there any fatal illnesses detected.

Police officials declined to elaborate on other specific signs of abuse.

"We want to make sure we don't give too much away to hinder the investigation in the future," Banks explained.

The police department's decision to release a photograph after more than three months was made in consultation with the FBI, the Coast Guard and Texas Child Protective Services. These agencies collaborated to conduct searches in local, state and national databases for reports of missing children matching the boy's description, but produced no promising results.

These agencies had pursued and exhausted hundreds of leads, and DNA samples did not give any information that would identify the boy, who was 3 feet tall and possibly Latino. Children as young as Little Jacob typically do not have DNA or fingerprints on file.

Banks, the Galveston detective, said the decision to release the photo was a painful but necessary step in trying to solve this case, after a composite sketch of the boy released in late October did not yield any concrete leads.

The investigator said his fear is that somebody who saw the sketch might have recognized the boy, but not definitively enough to report it.

"We really have no other options," Banks said. "The most important thing is we get him identified. I hate to release that photo. It's terrible. But I think at the end of the day the objective of identifying him outweighs it."

The FBI is offering a $10,000 award for successful identification and location of the family members caring for the boy at the time of his disappearance. If the public has any information regarding the identity or circumstances surrounding the death, they are encouraged to call 1-800-CALL-FBI.

"We continue to believe that someone out there knows this child," said Capt. Joshua Schirard, a spokesman for the Galveston Police Department. "Someone has seen him. That child deserves to be identified and properly laid to rest but for this to happen, input from the public is absolutely crucial."

Nick Powell covers Galveston for the Houston Chronicle. Follow him on Twitter and send him tips at nick.powell@chron.com
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.
Some families of murder victims and missing persons wait for years for answers on what happened to their loved ones. Often times they rely on the tips of others to find justice.

If you have any information regarding these homicides or the ones pictured in the slideshow above, call Crime Stoppers at 409-833-TIPS (8477)

Bridgett Gearen, 28, of Orange

Died: 2007

Bridgett Gearen, 28, was vacationing with friends and her 2-year-old daughter on July 15, 2007, when she left a rented beach house to take a midnight trail ride on the beach. Minutes after she left the house, her friends could not find her.

They searched for her every where they could think, but to no avail. Later that morning a group of campers found Gearen. The 28-year-old was dead, her body - clothed only in a red halter top - was left in the sand near the Gulf's edge.

A person of interest was questioned several years ago, but no formal charges have been made.

> > Read more about Bridgett Gearen here.

Dannarriah Finley, 4, of Orange

Died: 2002

Dannarriah Finley's body spent days exposed to the elements on Pleasure Island before being found, Her tiny body was too badly decomposed to allow collection of much useful evidence.

A case based on strong circumstantial evidence was filed with the Orange County District Attorney's Office in 2013, but no trial has been scheduled as of yet. In 2013, Orange County investigators told The Enterprise that the case was not considered "cold," and was frequently evaluated for answers.

> > Read more about Dannarriah Finley here.

In many cases, rewards for information are available to tipsters who can help solve these potential crimes.

RELATED: Unsolved Southeast Texas murder inspires Oscar-nominated film
The Joint Commission will issue citations to ambulatory care organizations whose employees violate hand hygiene guidelines before providing direct patient care. Here are seven things to know:

1. The Joint Commission has required healthcare organizations to maintain hand hygiene programs for a decade.

2. ASC surveyors will begin issuing "Requirement for Improvement" citations this year if they see employees skipping steps in their procedures.

3. Ambulatory care organization employees must also comply with hand hygiene guidelines from the CDC and WHO.

4. On average, healthcare providers wash their hands less than half as often as they should, the CDC estimates.

5. Healthcare providers may need to wash their hands more than 100 times per shift, depending on the volume of patients, as maintaining hand hygiene before and after contact with each patient reduces the risk of spreading infection.

6. Accredited organizations can access the Hand Hygiene Targeted Solutions tool, which tracks hand hygiene compliance. It is available as an app on Apple and Google Play.

7. Organizations may also track compliance on paper.
Hal Scherz, MD, of Atlanta-based Scottish Rite Children's Hospital, penned a column for Juneau Empire arguing that Alaska legislators must eliminate the state's certificate of need law.

Here's what you should know:

1 Alaskan legislators are debating whether to scrap the state's CON laws.

2. The Senate believes eliminating the laws would increase the state's ability to provide care.

3. The laws were one time mandated by the federal government. Alaska is one of 35 states with the law still active.

4. Dr. Scherz is arguing in favor of eliminating the laws. He said once eliminated, patients will experience the greatest gains, with healthcare costs drastically decreasing. He wrote, "Legislators need to begin to put their constituents ahead of entrenched special interests and outdated and discredited rationing systems."
Parsons, Tenn.-based Decatur County General Hospital began notifying 24,000 patients Jan. 26 that its EMR server had been hit with a cryptocurrency mining software, according to a notice on the hospital's website.

Here are seven things to know.

1. On Nov. 27, 2017, the hospital received a security incident report from its EMR vendor alerting DCGH that unauthorized software had been installed on the EMR server.

2. The software was installed to generate  or mine  cryptocurrencies. Mining the digital coins takes a lot of computing power, so recently, hackers have infected victims' computers with software that initiates the mining process. Though it is not clear what specific strain of cryptocurrency mining malware was used on DCGH's EMR server, these types of malware are often designed to reside on websites and run in the background of internet browsers.

3. However, DCGH notes the software was installed on the system around Sept. 22, 2017, and the EMR vendor replaced the server and operating system about four days later. It is not clear why the hospital wasn't alerted to the incident until two months later.

4. While the hospital's investigation is ongoing, officials do not believe the unauthorized individual intended to steal or exfiltrate patient data. Officials believe the goal of the attack was to inject the malicious software.

5. The affected server contained patient names, addresses, dates of birth and Social Security numbers, clinical information such as diagnosis and treatment information, and other data such as insurance billing information.

6. Out of an abundance of caution, DCGH is offering affected individuals one year of free online credit monitoring services.

7. "Again, our investigation into this incident continues but we do not believe the motivation of any unauthorized access to the EMR server was to access or acquire your information," hospital officials wrote in a notice to patients. "We encourage you, however, to exercise caution regarding communications if you receive an unsolicited call or email about this incident. Please know that we will not call or email anyone requesting any personal information as a result of this situation."

Becker's Hospital Review reached out to Decatur County General Hospital. This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

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Buffalo-based VA Western New York Healthcare Center's roof caught on fire Thursday evening, resulting in $10,000 worth of damages, reports The Buffalo News.

The hospital received a call around 7:30 p.m. Thursday from someone saying they noticed flames on the roof. Following the call, the Buffalo Fire Department was dispatched to the facility.

Since the fire was contained to the roof, there were no damages to the inside of the building. No patients were harmed and the facility was not evacuated during the incident.

"Full operations continued throughout, so that was a positive thing," a spokeswoman for the VA hospital Evangeline Conley told The Buffalo News.
The following hospital and health system credit rating and outlook changes and affirmations took place in the last week, beginning with the most recent.

1. Fitch affirms 'BBB+' rating on Silver Cross Health System

Fitch Ratings affirmed its "BBB+" rating on New Lenox, Ill.-based Silver Cross Health System's outstanding bonds, affecting approximately $361 million of debt.

2. Fitch upgrades Marshall Medical Center's bonds to 'BBB-'

Fitch Ratings upgraded Placerville, Calif.-based Marshall Medical Center's series 2004B bonds to "BBB-" from "BB+."

3. Fitch upgrades Mount Nittany Medical Center to 'AA-'

Fitch Ratings upgraded its rating on State College, Pa.-based Mount Nittany Medical Center's outstanding revenue bonds to "AA-" from "A," affecting approximately $196.9 million of debt.

4. Moody's affirms 'Aa3' rating on Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Moody's Investors Service affirmed its "Aa3" rating on Los Angeles-based Cedars Sinai Medical Center's revenue bonds, affecting $1.2 billion of debt.

5. Moody's affirms 'A1' rating on Valley Children's Healthcare

Moody's Investors Service affirmed its "A1" rating on Madera, Calif.-based Valley Children's Healthcare's bonds, affecting approximately $118 million of debt.

6. Fitch affirms 'AA-' rating on Virginia Hospital Center

Fitch Ratings affirmed its "AA-" issuer default rating on Arlington-based Virginia Hospital Center.

7. S&P revises Children's Hospital of Alabama's outlook to positive

S&P Global Ratings affirmed its "A+" long-term rating on Birmingham-based Children's Hospital of Alabama's series 2015 revenue refunding bonds.

8. S&P downgrades Holy Redeemer Health System to 'BBB'

S&P Global Ratings downgraded Meadowbrook, Pa.-based Holy Redeemer Health System's long term rating to "BBB" from "BBB+."

9. S&P downgrades Ryder Memorial Hospital to 'CCC+'

S&P Global Ratings downgraded Humacao, Puerto Rico-based Ryder Memorial Hospital to "CCC+" from "B+."

10. Fitch upgrades Bayhealth Medical Center to 'AA'

Fitch Ratings upgraded Dover, Del.-based Bayhealth Medical Center's series 2017A to "AA" from "AA-," affecting $112.1 million of debt.
Numerous healthcare organizations recently received donations to fund research, advance treatments, improve patient care and start renovations.

Here are six recent donations, pledges or bequests given to healthcare organizations by various entities reported by Becker's Hospital Review in the past two weeks, beginning with the most recent.

1. UC San Francisco to construct $1.5B hospital with support from record $500M donation

UC San Francisco unveiled plans Thursday to construct a $1.5 billion replacement hospital, which will be supported by a record-breaking $500 million commitment.

2. Memorial Hermann receives record-breaking $25M gift from Houston billionaires

Houston-based Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center, the primary teaching hospital for Houston-based UT Health, received the largest gift in its history Tuesday: $25 million from Houston billionaires Fayez and Susan Sarofim.

3. IU medical school to establish supportive oncology program with $14M gift: 3 things to know

Indianapolis-based Indiana University School of Medicine received a $14 million gift from the Walther Cancer Foundation to establish a supportive oncology program.

4. UAE gifts Johns Hopkins Medicine $50M to establish global stroke institute: 6 things to know

Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins Medicine received a $50 million gift from the United Arab Emirates to establish a global stroke institute in an effort to enhance care for patients worldwide.

5. This donor wrote a check for nearly $1M to resolve health disparities

The Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation, deviating from its norm, recently donated $982,000 to the philanthropic arm of Camden, N.J.-based Cooper Health System, to enhance heart disease care in vulnerable populations.

6. U of Texas Health renames cancer center after donors of $25M gift

The University of Texas Health San Antonio received a $25 million gift from the Mays Family Foundation to advance cancer care at the facility.
In the last month, Becker's Hospital Review reported the following hospital and health system CIO and chief technology officer moves as well as other executive moves affecting health IT companies and federal agencies.

Editor's note: The executive moves are listed in the order they were reported on.

1. The Center for Connected Health Policy elevated its interim Executive Director Mei Wa Kwong to the post permanently.

2. Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Broward Health promoted Nicholas Hartfield to vice president and chief compliance and privacy officer.

3. Outcome Health, a Chicago-based health technology startup, named Vince Panozzo executive vice president of sales.

4. Health Catalyst, a data, analytics and decision-support company, added three notable healthcare leaders  Eric Topol, MD, Brent James, MD, and Timothy Zoph  to its team as strategic advisers.

5. Morgantown, W.Va.-based Mon Health added Mark Gilliam to its executive team as CIO.

6. Amazon is fielding applications for a HIPAA Compliance Lead, according to a job listing on its website.

7. Nashville, Tenn.-based Vanderbilt University Medical Center's Chief Compliance Officer James Mathis left to join Seattle-based UW Medicine, where he will also serve as chief compliance officer.

8. Bolivar, Mo.-based Citizens Memorial Hospital appointed Louis B. Harris, MD, its chief medical information officer.

9. The technology company Uber recruited healthcare privacy lawyer Ann Waldo to serve as a lobbyist to champion HIPAA as it relates to ridesharing.

10. As part of Amazon's latest move into healthcare, the company hired Martin Levine, MD, a physician from Boston-based Iora Health.

11. Paul Browne joined the Detroit-based Henry Ford Health System as its new senior vice president and CIO.

12. Health Catalyst, a provider of healthcare analytics, decision support and outcomes improvement solutions, added Timothy Ferris, MD, to its board of directors.

13. Facebook quietly hired ex-White House Cybersecurity Policy Director Nathaniel Gleicher as its first-ever director of cybersecurity policy in January.

14. Toledo, Ohio-based ProMedica named Jack Randolph chief information technology officer, effective March 1.

15. Vibrent Health, a healthcare technology company focused on precision medicine, named James Wade, MD, chief medical informatics officer.

16. Allscripts appointed Dennis Olis, the company's interim CFO since May 2017, to permanently remain in the position.

17. After just over a year with Apple's health team, prominent healthcare researcher Stephen Friend, MD, PhD, has left the company.

18. Orlando (Fla.) Health appointed Novlet Mattis CIO.

19. The athenahealth board of directors has unanimously appointed Jeff Immelt chairman of the company, effective Feb. 7.

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Lisa Keane, president of the Wayne State University Physician Group, a 2,000-plus member organization in Troy, Mich., is stepping down from her role, the Wayne State University School of Medicine announced Feb. 9.

Here are five things to know about the transition.

1. Jack Sobel, MD, dean of the Detroit-based Wayne State University School of Medicine and chair of the Wayne State University Physician Group, said in a letter to medical school students and faculty Feb. 8 Ms. Keane will transition to "a consulting role in health affairs at WSU and WSUPG."

2. The letter, obtained by Becker's Hospital Review, notes Charles Shanley, MD, will take over as president and CEO of WSUPG, effective March 1. He will also assume the position of vice dean for clinical affairs for the medical school, effective Feb. 1.

3. Dr. Shanley has held a variety of clinical and academic management roles throughout his career at WSU, including residency program director for general surgery and vascular surgery, and chair of the surgical department.

4. He previously served as senior vice president of surgical services and co-medical director of Beaumont Hospital-Royal Oak (Mich.) from 2006 to 2009. He was appointed senior vice president for professional physician services and associate chief medical officer for Southfield, Mich.-based Beaumont Health in 2009. In 2010, he co-founded Medical Engineering Partners, a bioengineering and medical device prototyping firm.

5. Dr. Shanley obtained his medical degree from the WSU School of Medicine in 1987.
Washington, D.C.-based United Medical Center approved a contract with a new consulting firm, according to a Washington Business Journal report.

Here are six things to know.

1. UMC's board on Monday approved a $5 million contract with accounting and financial consulting firm Mazars USA.The board voted to hire Mazars USA in January, two months after the district's City Council terminated the hospital's management contract with UMC's former manager, Veritas.

2. Under the eight-month contract, Mazars is slated to manage the hospital until its fiscal year ends Sept. 30, according to the report. UMC said in a statement the agreement consists of "a chief executive officer and other full-time industry experts to support UMC physicians, nurses and staff with knowledge and industry best practices."

3. The D.C. City Council must still approve the agreement. A passive approval would occur without the introduction of a disapproval resolution by Feb. 17, according to the report.

4. A contract extension is possible in the future. Washington Business Journal said Mazars would be paid $6.8 million for the first option year, "when it's expected to implement and monitor board-approved projects," and $7.1 million for a second option year.

5. The new contract approval comes as UMC faces financial hardship. The district's CFO told hospital board members last month UMC is "functionally a Chapter 11 hospital right now."

6. UMC Board Chair LaRuby May said of the agreement: "I'm optimistic about the experience that Mazars brings to benefit Wards 7 and 8 residents. There is a lot of work to do at UMC, and I expect them to fulfill our expectations."

To read the full report by the Washington Business Journal, click here.

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The House voted 240-186 early Friday morning to support a bipartisan budget deal following a five-hour government shutdown, according to The Washington Post.

The House passed the budget deal at 5:30 a.m. EST, about four hours after the Senate cleared the legislation. The bill, which President Donald Trump is expected to sign Friday, includes several healthcare measures.

The budget deal extends the Children's Health Insurance Program for an additional four years, funds community health centers for two years, delays cuts to Disproportionate Share Hospitals mandated by the ACA, repeals the ACA's Independent Payment Advisory Board, allocates $6 billion to address the nation's opioid crisis and other mental health issues, and provides $2 billion in additional funding for the National Institutes of Health.

On Friday morning, the American Hospital Association applauded the bipartisan budget deal.

"Today's continuing resolution includes many important provisions that benefit the patients and communities America's hospitals and health systems are privileged to serve each day," AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack said in a statement. "We look forward to continuing to work with Congress to advance health in America for patients and communities."

Although the bill includes budget numbers for the next two fiscal years, lawmakers face a March 23 deadline to approve detailed appropriations for government agencies, according to The Washington Post.

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Physician recruitment and retention: How 2 rural hospitals are overcoming the challenge

ACHE: 10 most concerning issues for hospital CEOs
Recruiting and retaining physicians poses a significant challenge for rural hospitals.

In fact, a 2016 Merritt Hawkins white paper cited 6,080 Health Care Professional Shortage Areas for primary care nationwide, 67 percent of which are in rural locations.

There are several reasons hospitals in rural areas have trouble recruiting physicians. Many rural hospitals are in towns that may not be attractive to physicians, and they are often in isolated geographic areas with a more limited local candidate pool.

Becker's recently caught up with two rural hospital CEOs to discuss this particular challenge and how they are working to overcome it.

UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical Center

Frank May, CEO of UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical Center, believes location plays a large role in whether rural facilities are able to recruit and retain physicians. His 39-bed hospital sits in the mountain resort community of Steamboat Springs, Colo. He says this makes it a desirable location for many physicians, while other rural facilities in the state may not offer the same surroundings.

Mr. May says physicians who enjoy the outdoors and the isolation in northwest Colorado are drawn to YVMC. However, he says case volume presents a bigger challenge for his facility.

"Having a variety of physicians in the market is important to the delivery of primary and specialty care, having those services locally and being able to take care of your patient population," he says. "I also know the case volume of services we provide can drive how physicians are compensated  some might receive a salary, where others are better suited on some type of a production structure. That can also have influence on whether we can recruit and retain someone."

Part-time subspecialists such as pulmonologists and rheumatologists are particularly difficult for YVMC to recruit, as patient volumes in those areas don't necessitate a full-time position. However, since the hospital joined Aurora, Colo.-based UCHealth, it expects improved access to those kinds of subspecialists.

When recruiting new physicians, Mr. May says it's important to find candidates who are committed to the community they serve.

"You can recruit someone under a two or three-year contract, and if they're not happy and they leave, it really creates a cycle. Sometimes you have to do that because you need particular services, but I think finding the right person who's committed to a community [long term] and understands the lifestyle, challenges and benefits is really important," he says.

Mr. May also encouraged rural facilities to pay attention to telemedicine as a way for them to improve resources for patients. YVMC has looked at various opportunities in this area, including telemedicine services for the intensive care unit, and anticipates implementing telemedicine initiatives in the future as part of its new relationship with UCHealth.

Island Hospital

Like Mr. May, Vince Oliver, CEO of Anacortes, Wash.-based Island Hospital, believes location is a large part of physician recruitment and retention. But he says physicians' greater interest in shift work  something the 43-bed public hospital district and other rural facilities can't typically offer  also plays a role. Instead of shift work, many organizations offer an on-call schedule.

"That means if they get a call at 8 or 9 at night, they are going to have to come in and admit that patient and it gets to be really difficult," says Mr. Oliver. "We have three Ob-Gyns deliver 450 babies a year and require family physicians to be able to do a complete medicine package from cradle to grave."

This kind of schedule and training is not always attractive to candidates.

Another challenge for IH is recruiting general surgeons, who are needed in rural areas due to their wide range of training and abilities. It recently took the hospital about a year to fill a general surgery position. Meanwhile, Mr. Oliver says, not having a needed general surgeon was costly and put a strain on surgical volume.

Compounding the challenge is the need to compete with larger hospitals in urban areas and academic medical centers, which can offer incentives such as large signing bonuses and write-offs of school loans.

It is also difficult for IH to recruit internal medicine physicians who want to practice in an outpatient setting. These physicians see patients in their clinic and also work hospital shifts, but many physicians don't desire both.

To overcome these challenges, IH seeks to put together a full hospitalist program that provides a physician in-house at all times, says Mr. Oliver. Building this type of program is expensive, and, since IH is not a critical access facility, it does not receive additional reimbursement from CMS that could be used for the initiative.

"But we may have to bite the bullet and find a way to fund a full 24-hour service and perhaps eliminate other services to help pay for it," he says.

Mr. Oliver says the hospital's latest and most successful recruiting efforts have come through the osteopathic medicine schools that are new to the Anacortes area. This is because the schools focus on recruiting students who want to stay in the state. The last five physicians hired by IH have been DOs from those schools and the residency program.

The hospital has also had recruitment success working through a search firm. It keeps open positions and continually receives candidates.

"We don't look to say this doctor will retire so let's open up that slot. Instead, we already have candidates and we'll keep talking to them and try to keep them interested," says Mr. Oliver. "And, when these things pop up, I think we have good crop of candidates to look at. Sometimes timing doesn't work, but it's been far more successful than just opening up a search."

IH also does a physician needs assessment every three years to identify where more clinicians may be needed. That helps the hospital develop a three-year recruitment plan and budget accordingly.

Additionally, Mr. Oliver says community members, such as elected commissioners, city officials and education leaders, will help sell the area to a candidate when he/she visits.

"All of those people give time in recruitment efforts, and I think candidates feel and get a great sense of this community so when they leave and are considering this opportunity, it's not just the job and the package and the compensation, but they're considering coming into this community and they've met a wide variety of people," he says. "We think it's successful, and some of our candidates who have come here have really appreciated it."
Brentwood, Tenn.-based RCCH HealthCare Partners and Seattle-based UW Medicine will form a public-private partnership to own and operate community hospitals in Washington, Alaska and Idaho, the health systems announced Feb. 8.

Here are five things to know about the partnership.

1. The organizations will form a limited liability company to own and operate an undisclosed number of community hospitals "or other healthcare entities."

2. Under the deal, RCCH HealthCare will operate and manage the facilities, while UW Medicine will provide clinical and quality expertise.

3. The community hospitals will retain their own brands, but will also be known as "A UW Medicine Community Health Partner."

4. The first community hospital included in the partnership is Capital Medical Center, a 110-bed full service facility in Olympia, Wash.

5. UW Medicine and RCCH HealthCare have maintained an existing relationship for several years.
Healthcare workers at San Francisco-based Dignity Health plan to participate in nearly 30 protests across California beginning this month, according to the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West.

The SEIU-UHW, which represents about 15,000 Dignity Health employees, said in an online statement workers are protesting "to demand the corporation [Dignity Health] operate in the interests of patients, healthcare workers and communities" amid its proposed merger with Englewood, Colo.-based Catholic Health Initiatives.

The announcement comes as a labor deal for Dignity Health workers is slated to expire in April.

In a statement to Becker's Hospital Review, Dignity Health said it has "shown respect for our employees" during negotiations for a new labor deal, and "continues to bargain in good faith."

"We pledge to maintain open lines of communication, and do everything we can to reach an agreement that is fair to our employees, our patients and our organization," the statement reads.

Protests are scheduled between Feb. 20 and March 7. Union officials expect thousands of employees to participate.

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Florida's surgeon general on Feb. 1 restricted the medical license of a Jacksonville-based infectious disease specialist accused of masturbating during a patient exam.

Here are four things to know.

1. A male patient accused Om Kapoor, MD, of masturbating into a napkin while examining his buttocks and genitals on Dec. 14, 2017, at Jacksonville-based Baptist Medical Center. The patient allegedly confronted Dr. Kapoor during the examination and took the discarded napkin to the police, who charged the physician with exposure of sexual organs and battery on Dec. 20, 2017.

2. Under the license restriction, Dr. Kapoor can only see male patients if another licensed physician is in the room.

"Dr. Kapoor's conduct of masturbating and ejaculating on a patient was so brazen and with such a wanton disregard for the laws and rules regulating the practice of medicine, that any male patient that presents to Dr. Kapoor for any purpose, is in danger of harm within the confines of the examination room," said a state report on the emergency restriction signed by Florida Surgeon General Celeste Phillip, MD.

3. In a statement to Becker's Hospital Review in December, Baptist Health said, "We take seriously any allegations, especially charges of this nature, filed against physicians on the medical staffs of Baptist Health hospitals. We are cooperating with the police investigation regarding the allegations. Dr. Kapoor is on a leave of absence pending investigation."

4. On Friday, Baptist Health confirmed to Becker's that Dr. Kapoor remains on leave of absence.

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San Francisco health officials are moving forward with a plan to launch two safe injection sites for intravenous drug users in July without the blessing of state officials, according to a report the San Francisco Chronicle.

Here are five things to know.

1. The injection sites could open shortly after July 1 when the city's new fiscal year begins. Barbara Garcia, director of San Francisco's Department of Public Health, told the Chronicle she's working with six to eight nonprofits that already operate needle exchanges. The department will select two of these organizations to operate the safe injection sites in the new fiscal year.

2. As federal and state law prohibit illicit intravenous drug use, the safe injection sites will be privately funded to help the city avoid liability for the sites. Ms. Garcia would not disclose the source of the private funds to the

3. While officials in cities like Baltimore, Seattle and Philadelphia are considering safe injection sites as a possible harm reduction technique to save lives and reduce the spread of disease, the San Francisco sites could be the first established in the United States, according to the Chronicle. Similar sites have already been established in Canada, Australia and Europe.

4. An estimated 22,000 intravenous drug users live in San Francisco. Public health officials project 85 percent of these individuals would utilize the sites, which would result in an estimated $3.5 million in annual savings for the city due to reduced medical costs.

5. On Thursday, The Los Angeles Times published an opinion piece composed by the paper's editorial board in support of the San Francisco safe injection sites.

"In addition to the lives we hope will be saved, the payoff from San Francisco's efforts will be the data," wrote the LA Times editorial board. "If the results mirror the very well-examined experiences of the first safe injection center in North America  the Insite clinic in Vancouver  they should quell fears once and for all that these injection centers will just be modern day opium dens. The sooner the effort begins, the better."

More articles on opioids:

Senate budget deal would allocate $6B for opioid response: 3 things to know

Alabama AG takes aim at Purdue Pharma with opioid lawsuit

West Virginia loses $8.8B to opioid crisis every year, analysis finds
A Cleveland Clinic hospital is warning staff about a woman under police investigation who may attempt to steal a baby from the hospital's maternity ward, according to cleveland.com.

Cleveland Clinic officials said fliers were posted around Cleveland Clinic Fairview Hospital's maternity ward Feb. 8 notifying staff to be wary of Dawn Brown.

Cleveland police are investigating Ms. Brown after she held several fundraisers while claiming she was pregnant and had cancer. Authorities are also investigating Ms. Brown's husband, who is a Cleveland police officer, the report states.

A spokesperson for Cleveland Clinic confirmed to cleveland.com fliers had been posted in the hospital's maternity award.

"Based on information we received from the Cleveland Police Department, we have taken extra measures to ensure patients are safe and secure at Fairview Hospital," Cleveland Clinic said in a statement. "We take this matter seriously and want to reassure our patients that their safety is our top priority."

A copy of the flier, obtained by Fox 8 Cleveland, states Ms. Brown is "currently running an ongoing scam involving a fake pregnancy," and that police believe she "is known to have scouted the Fairview Hospital Birthing Center" and is familiar with the hospital's procedures.

In their ongoing investigation into Ms. Brown, police reportedly discovered a GoFundMe page for Ms. Brown and her husband, allegedly created by the couple's friend. While the page has since been removed, a cached version of the website shows $725 was donated to the couple's cause during a one-week timeframe, according to cleveland.com. The GoFundMe page allegedly listed the couple's "mounting bills, medical bills and funeral expenses" as reasons to donate to their cause.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health determined Wednesday there are no legal issues regarding UMass Memorial HealthAlliance-Clinton (Mass.) Hospital's decision to close its gastrointestinal unit, according to The Telegram.

While hospital officials will host a public meeting Feb. 21 to hear the community's concerns, there will be no hearing regarding the unit closure.

"The Hospital may proceed with its plans to cease performing endoscopy procedures at its Clinton Campus," Stephen Davis, a licensure unit manager for the state DPH wrote, according to the report.

Staff members at the hospital were notified in January that the GI unit would close, impacting eight employees. UMass Memorial HealthAlliance-Clinton CEO Deborah Weymouth cited physician staffing changes as the main reason for closing the unit.

The eight affected employees will be offered positions elsewhere in the health system.

The Massachusetts Nursing Association does not agree with the DPH's decision.

"The Department of Public Health, Deborah Weymouth and Health Alliance have demonstrated a total lack of respect for the patients. No one outside the Health-Alliance system approves of this," Mary Ellen Thompson, chairman of the nurses union at the Clinton Hospital, told The Telegram.
Shriners Hospitals for Children-Twin Cities in Minneapolis is reportedly considering ending inpatient services at the facility, Fox 9 News reports.

A spokesperson for the hospital, which treats roughly 6,500 patients annually, told Fox 9 News Shriners is "evaluating alternative options for inpatient care, [but] the details or dates of any service change are not yet determined."

The spokesperson told the publication one of the "alternative options" under consideration is ending inpatient services altogether. It is unclear how the service changes would affect the hospital's estimated 150 employees.

Shriners Hospitals for Children-Twin Cities told Becker's Hospital Review in a statement Feb. 9, "Shriners Hospitals for Children-Twin Cities is evaluating alternative options for inpatient care. This effort is in recognition of the nationwide trend to more outpatient-oriented services while the need for overnight [inpatient] care declines. The details or dates of any service change are not yet determined."
As community hospitals struggle with financial viability and consider cost cuts, Chicago-based Saint Anthony Hospital, a 151-bed hospital that provides care for some of the city's most underserved communities, is keeping high quality patient care at its core.

The Illinois Health and Hospital Association recently recognized the hospital, which serves patients in Chicago's south and west side areas, for its quality improvement project. The project saved the hospital approximately half a million dollars in costs and contributed to a 90-percent decrease in hospital-acquired infection rates.

"During fiscal year 2017, we were able to make a 10-percent revenue improvement during the most challenging reimbursement year-to-date," said Guy A. Medaglia, president and CEO of Saint Anthony Hospital. "We instilled a necessary culture of change and looked for efficiencies across the entire organization."

Saint Anthony also earned its Perinatal Care Certification from The Joint Commission, making it the first Illinois hospital to be recognized for its commitment to patient-centered care for mothers and their newborns. The hospital continues to have the lowest C-section rate in Chicago.

To improve access to specialized patient services, Saint Anthony partnered with Chicago-based Northwestern Memorial Hospital, UI Health and the University of Chicago Medicine for service lines ranging from pediatric specialties to on-site neurology care.

"With more financial challenges on the horizon for community hospitals like Saint Anthony, it is important to remain focused on high levels of care and successful patient outcomes," said Eden Takhsh, MD, vice president and chief quality officer at Saint Anthony.
Intarcia Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company based in Boston, laid off 60 employees and terminated two late-stage trials of its lead diabetes treatment, reports the Boston Business Journal.

Here are eight things to know.

1. Eleven of the layoffs affected employees at the Boston headquarters, while the other layoffs occurred at Interacia's manufacturing plant in Hayward, Calif. Intarcia CEO Kurt Graves told the Boston Business Journal the layoffs were part of a restructuring plan and were not a result of the trial setbacks.

2. Mr. Graves does not expect the company's headcount, which was around 300 total employees prior to the layoffs, to significantly change in the upcoming months.

3. The company's lead diabetes treatment, ITCA 650, is a small device that is surgically inserted into the abdomen and gradually pumps tiny amounts of the drug exenatide into the blood stream.

4. The trial setbacks for the ITCA 650 began in late September when the FDA declined to approve the drug-device. Despite the setback, the company will still fight for approval.

5. However, the company hit another snag. Intarcia recently announced it terminated two Phase 3 studies of ITCA 650. One study, a marketing study, compared the device to other approved treatments of Type 2 diabetes. The other study tested ITCA 650 in patients with high levels of hemoglobin. While neither study is necessary for FDA approval, Mr. Graves said Intarcia needed to halt the studies to investigate an "out-of-specification" result.

6. According to Mr. Graves, one of Intarcia's third-party labs found issues regarding the long-term sterility and stability of the device. The FDA placed a hold on the studies while they investigated the issue. Because the drugmaker was unable to identify the root cause of the issue and was unable to address the FDA's concerns over the device, the trials were terminated.

7. According to Mr. Graves, patients would have continued to drop out of the studies after the issues were brought up, which would have rendered the data useless.

8. Pending discussions with the FDA, the company plans to relaunch similar trials and is still seeking approval for the device.

Editor's note: This article was updated Feb. 12 at 8:42 a.m. to clarify the ITCA 650 device pumps out the drug exenatide, not insulin.
A shortage of flu test kits is hitting health systems across central Indiana, reports Fox 59.

Here are three things to know.

1. Greenfield, Ind.-based Hancock Regional Health is all out of the test kits at its physician offices, hospitals and urgent care centers. Indianapolis-based Community Health Network has also reported shortages.

"We've reached out to our suppliers and other suppliers and they can't really give us a time when they'll have them. It's a manufacturer backorder," Chris Burns, director of advanced clinical process with Hancock Physician Network, told Fox 59.

2. The report cites an influx of flu cases, combined with regulatory changes from the FDA, as the source of the shortage.

3. Mr. Burns said the shortage has not hindered flu treatment at the hospital.

"We treat flu based on systems [sic] so regardless of having a positive flu test or not. We can just treat the patient based on their symptoms," he told Fox 59. "Even in the past, there have been times where someone will test negative on a flu screen, but we look at the patient and we look at the symptoms."

More articles on supply chain:

Celgene Executive Chairman Bob Hugin abruptly steps down: 5 things to know

As flu rages throughout Florida, Tamiflu supplies run low

Pfizer's opioid-filled syringes hit another manufacturing snag: 6 things to know
Medical students at the University of Nevada Reno School of Medicine will soon have a new department of surgery to build on their patient care and surgical training, according to Northern Nevada Business Weekly.

Here are five insights:

1. The new department of surgery will be for third year medical students who are specializing in orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, plastic surgery, otorhinolaryngology and urology.

2. James Harris, MD, senior member of Western Surgical Group, and Lori Rawson, MD, chief of surgery at VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System, will co-chair the new department.

3. Mitzi Miller, MD, of the VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System, and Joe Uccelli, of Renown Health, are set to lead the academic program expansion.

4. Karin Klove, MD, will serve as the department of surgery's selective director.

5. UNR Med plans to expand its four-year curriculum for medical students with the new department of surgery. Training will include patient care, pre-operative and post-operative care, operating room assisting and management of patients in acute care.
Here are seven key trends and findings on bundled payments in spine surgery as well as thoughts from four surgeons who believe bundling will become more prevalent in the future.

Learn more about bundled payments in spine, orthopedics and ASCs at the Becker's 16th Annual Future of Spine + The Spine, Orthopedic & Pain Management-Driven ASC Conference in Chicago, June 14-16 - register here! For information about sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities, contact Maura Jodoin at mjodoin@beckershealthcare.com and Kristelle Khazzaka at kkhazzaka@beckershealthcare.com.

1. At the Association for Collaborative Spine Research during ISASS17 meeting, Philadelphia-based Rothman Institute President Alexander Vaccaro, MD, gave a presentation about his organization's efforts to implement bundled payments. SpineUniverse published coverage of the presentation. Key takeaways from Dr. Vaccaro's presentation include:

 Identify costs for all individuals who have contact with the patient or case from preoperative through the postoperative period to determine costs

 Physicians can determine controllable expenses and identify unnecessary costs, including imaging overuse

 Conduct a risk assessment for each patient to determine whether the inpatient or outpatient setting is the most appropriate for care

 Understand how the complexity of each case can influence associated costs

 Negotiate reimbursement for episodes of care with the patient characteristics in mind

 Discharge patients based on their condition instead of maximizing insurance coverage benefits, especially for postoperative rehabilitation

"A patient-facing compensation model would reimburse the same amount for the same service and not backload support payments for general  often unneeded  facility resources into procedure reimbursement," said Dr. Vaccaro during the presentation. "Be aware the differentials are becoming glaringly obvious to payers and the landscape is changing. Expect a narrowing of these margins as payers get better control of their data."

2. Developing the right global payment is one of the biggest challenges for bundled payment initiatives. A 2014 study published in Spine found the average patient DRGs for cervical and lumbar spine surgery ranged from $11,180 to $107,642 for the 30-day episode of care, based on data from 196,918 patients. The post-discharge care accounted for 4 percent to 8 percent of the overall cost in 90-day bundles, and the total bundled costs were relatively flat when researchers increased the bundle length:

 30-day bundles: $33,522

 90-day bundles: $35,165

Hospital payments received the biggest portion of the payment, at 76 percent of the bundle.

3. UnitedHealthcare began a bundled payment pilot program for spine surgery and joint replacements in 2015 and expanded efforts to 40 hospitals in 28 markets the following year; by the end of 2017, the program was in 40 markets. Early results from the pilot program show employers recorded $10,000 or more in average savings per operation when compared with the average cost for surgery in their areas, and employees saved around $1,000 out-of-pocket at participating facilities.

4. A 2017 study by Sullivan et al., published in the Current Review of Musculoskeletal Medicine, found spine bundled payments worked better than the total joint bundles because they have the potential to be more cost-effective. After analyzing Medicare data for spinal fusion over a 10-year period, study authors found spinal fusion increased at a higher rate than total joint replacements and hospital charges were up 3.3-fold, hitting $33.9 billion in 2008.

An analysis of one- and two-level ACDFs over seven years showed complications accounted for 0.7 percent of the 90-day reimbursement fund, and just 3.1 percent of reimbursements went to physical therapy, skilled nursing facilities and home health services. The 90-day bundled reimbursement hit $15,417 on average.

"Bundled payments may also affect the location of and disposition following the procedure," concluded study authors. "A shift in case volume will continue towards ambulatory surgical centers. Early data suggests that, with the correct indications and patient population, decreases in cost, morbidity and reoperation are observed."

5. Hospitals with spine bundled payments cite increased volume from large employers, including Walmart and Lowes, as well as third-party administrators was the biggest motivation for creating bundles, according to "A Survey of Innovative Reimbursement Models in Spine Care," published in a 2016 edition of Spine. The additional advantages include:

 Pre-screening mechanisms to increase the percentage of patients requiring surgery

 Profit sharing abilities between physicians and hospitals when they achieve efficiency

 Implant vendor negotiations to drive down costs

6. Bundled payments have shown the ability to reduce the costs associated with a single episode of spine care, but not the overall procedure volume, according to Sullivan et al. Surgeons can influence the cost of procedures by their choice of procedure, implant and surgical setting. Patient selection also comes to the forefront in bundled payments.

"If bundled payments become the primary means of reimbursement, healthcare systems will be forced to calculate financial risk based on patients' demographics and comorbidities," concluded Sullivan et al. "Some spine programs already have explicit guidelines which exclude smokers, patients with body mass index over 40 and patients with prior lumbar fusion. These financial risk calculations have inherent ethical implications."

7. An International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery survey published in the International Journal of Spine Surgery examined how bundled payments affected spine surgery resource utilization. The 43 survey respondents answered questions about how bundled payments might change their decision making in eight clinical scenarios. The study authors found:

 Cases performed without implants were unchanged for half of the scenarios and increased by an average of 8 percent for the other half

 Autologous iliac crest bone graft use increased in all scenarios 18 percent on average

 Neuromonitoring use would decrease by an average of 21 percent in all scenarios

"Financial disincentives to resource utilization may result in some changes to surgeons' practices, but these appear limited to items with less clear benefits to patients. Choices of implants, which account for the majority of intraoperative costs, did not change meaningfully. A bundling strategy targeting perioperative costs solely related to surgical practice may not yield substantial savings while rationing potentially beneficial treatments to patient care," the study authors concluded.

What spine surgeons are saying

Frank Phillips, MD. Director of the Section of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery and Director of the Division of Spine Surgery at Rush University Medical Center (Chicago): Bundled payments will continue to evolve with the inevitable march away from a fee-for-service model. Bundles are readily managed for spinal procedures with reproducible and predictable outcomes, such as ACDF. More complex treatments, such as surgery for advanced spinal deformity, will remain a challenge in a value-based purchasing system. With increased emphasis on value and transparency, practices' and practitioners' outcomes will become increasingly available to the public, who will become much more sophisticated healthcare shoppers.

Dwight Tyndall, MD. Spine Surgeon in Private Practice (Munster, Ind.): Important trends are the growth of outpatient spine surgery, bundled payments and application of robot technology. The key business challenges spine surgeons will face this year are decreasing reimbursements and access to patients as narrow networks continue to grow. The best opportunity is to show value within bundled care and to capitalize on outpatient spine surgery as a way to contain cost while showing superior patient outcomes and satisfaction.



Paul Slosar, MD. President of SpineCare Medical Group (Daly City, Calif.): Although it's been on the radar for several years, this may be the year that bundled payment models finally hit their stride. While CMS has adopted a more voluntary posture toward participation, that hasnt discouraged interest in their Bundled Payments for Care Improvement program, now entering its third year. Commercial payers are following and, in 2018, some will begin with small, selective networks of spine specialists to grow their own risk-sharing programs.

Adam Bruggeman, MD. Texas Spine Care Center (San Antonio): I think it is clear that public and private insurers are increasingly interested in quality over quantity, but they pay based on quantity. With the transition to [the Merit-based Incentive Payment System] and the significant cost pressures, the treatment (operative and nonoperative) of spinal issues will be required to show value for the services provided. The easiest way surgeons will be able to show value is through partnering with CMS and private insurers through bundling in a way that financially incentivizes the physician significantly and also provides the insurance company with cost savings.
Four spine surgeons discuss the advantages and disadvantages to using robotic image guidance during procedures.

Ask Spine Surgeons is a weekly series of questions posed to spine surgeons around the country about clinical, business and policy issues affecting spine care. We invite all spine surgeon and specialist responses.





Next week's question: In terms of personal finance, what do you wish you had known earlier in your career?





Please send responses to Anuja Vaidya at avaidya@beckershealthcare.com by Wednesday, Feb. 14, at 5 p.m. CST.

Question: What are some pros and cons of robotic image guidance?

Mark M. Mikhael, MD, Spine Surgeon at NorthShore Orthopaedic Institute and Illinois Bone & Joint Institute (Chicago & Glenview, Ill.): A big advantage to robotic image guidance is the reduction of radiation exposure to both medical staff and patients during the surgical procedure. This potentially harmful exposure is typical during minimally invasive surgery due to use of intraoperative CT or X-ray based imaging modalities. However, robotics and computer-assisted navigation enables surgeons to use preoperative CT scans to plan surgeries, avoiding intraoperative exposure. In addition, the calibration of instruments leads to more accurate placement of pedicle screws during the procedure.

There is a learning curve to using this technology, so that is a con to hospitals that want to get a program started and train surgeons quickly. Also, the technology does not represent real-time imaging since it is based on preoperative CT imaging. This can be especially problematic in more challenging surgeries, such as deformity cases after osteotomies or surgeries involving larger patients with complex anatomy and grossly unstable spines, for example, upper cervical or fracture cases. Without recalibration in the procedures, robotic image guidance might not assist to correct these conditions.

Michael J. Musacchio, Jr., MD. Spine surgeon at NorthShore University HealthSystem's Neurological Institute (Chicago): Robotic image guidance is becoming a proven pathway to optimal spine care. Some pros to the technology include the surgical planning software that marries with the equipment, making robotics user-friendly; and the imaging leads to greater precision in planning, executing and measuring pre- and postoperatively, especially with spinal deformities. For example, there is the potential for greater accuracy in screw placements with robotics.

The cons are that robotics is expensive and it takes time to integrate a robotics program. As a relatively new surgical tool, there is a learning curve for many surgeons to adapt to the new way of performing surgery. It also takes up space. The robotic equipment can be difficult to fit into a smaller, crowded operating room.

Once robotics is embraced fully by surgeons, hospitals and health systems, the benefits will far outweigh the challenges. Robotics is the wave of the future, and patients will be the ones who gain the most from this technology.

Brian R. Gantwerker, MD. Founder of the Craniospinal Center of Los Angeles: Like with most technologies there is the risk of over-reliance. This is what happened with minimally invasive surgery when it was first being done about 10 to 15 years ago. One of the reasons I chose to do a fellowship was to learn how to do open spine surgery  we used to joke and call it "maximally invasive."

Learning from the masters the most orthodox form of the art became really important to me. I realized that if I had to "bail out" of a minimally invasive surgery, I most likely would struggle with an open type procedure. It's akin to what is happening with vascular neurosurgery. There are many program directors very worried about whether we will see only a few dozen people who can actually clip an aneurysm, because there is so much focus on end-vascular techniques.

Similarly, if we all become robotic spine surgeons, there is a very real risk that the ability to put in pedicle screws, or other forms of instrumentation if those systems should fail, could be compromised. Another issue is the false sense of security a robot engenders. It's a system designed by imperfect minds and is also subject to fallibility. My concern is that surgeons will have too much confidence in the accuracy of such devices and toss out common sense and safety protocols the designers have put in place in favor of expediency.

The pro camp will cite the greater the 90 percent accuracy of screws in robotics. This is one of the most compelling arguments for using the system. Patient safety is and will always be paramount. Economic forces will also drive its adoption. I predict eventually Medicare and other payers will argue that poorly placed pedicle screws are a "never event," much the same way surgical site infection has been erroneously labeled, and will no longer pay for revisions or "take backs."

Payam Farjoodi, MD. Orthopedic Spine Surgeon at Spine Health Center at MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center (Fountain Valley, Calif.): Robotic image guidance allows a higher degree of certainty with hardware placement which is vital for complex, long-level constructs and revision surgery. The cons are increased surgical time while going through the learning curve and increased radiation exposure for the patient, particularly robotic systems requiring a preoperative CT scan.
Capita yesterday confirmed its deal with Prudential Assurance was being withdrawn, which will affect dozens of employees in the city

Around 50 jobs are at risk at the Belfast office of outsourcing giant Capita after the company lost a contract with a financial services firm.

Capita yesterday confirmed its deal with Prudential Assurance was being withdrawn, which will affect dozens of employees in the city.

Trade union Unite said workers were told on Wednesday that Diligenta had taken over the contract with Prudential Assurance's life and pensions business.

Staff in Belfast were informed they would no longer be needed after the work was shifted to Reading, a union spokesperson said.

Capita said it would do all it could to help staff.

A spokesperson added: "We are working with the new provider and Unite to look at the options available in advance of the contract transferring from Capita and how we can support our employees throughout this process."

Unite said the development was awful news.

Spokesman Kevin McAdam added: "This comes as a hammer blow to loyal staff who stayed on even after Prudential outsourced them in 2006 to Capita.

"This decision effectively leaves up to 50 people in Belfast facing redundancy in the next few months.

"The company which has taken on the contract has offered redeployment to Reading, but this is neither realistic nor affordable."

Prudential Assurance has been operating in Northern Ireland since the early 1980s with some of the current staff having accrued more than 30 years of service.

It has been a bad week for local employment, with hundreds of job losses already announced.

Engineering firm Williams Industrial Services, which employed 145 people in Mallusk, was placed in administration on Tuesday.

Most of the workforce was made redundant straight away.

French oil services firm Schlumberger is also closing its Newtownabbey operation with the loss of 205 jobs. It is believed workers could be out as early as the first week of April, but the plant may not close until June.

Energy firm NIE Networks also said it was cutting 90 posts amid efficiency plans across the business.

Combined with the loss of 270 positions announced on January 27 over the planned closure of Kilroot power station by energy company AES, Northern Ireland will see in the region of 700 jobs axed in the next few months.
As the last strains of The Cranberries' Dreams rang out at last night, an air of depression descended upon Derry.

For the city's beloved Derry Girls series 'wan' was over.

Over the last six weeks families gathered around the TV at 10pm in a manner more reminiscent of the age of the wireless radio to laugh and wonder what the world thought of our accents and quirks now that writer Lisa McGee had shone a light on us.

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A unique dialect, with words so parochial they were not uttered nor understood beyond the city's walls, were now being freely repeated the land over. Celebs told each other to stop having "cack attacks".

And even fictional Ethiopian boy Kamal, who Claire dedicated her 24-hour fast to, was almost made a national hero after he was nominated for the very real 2017 Donegal Person of the Year award.

Derry Girls gave people from beyond our shores a unique and hilarious insight into life here.

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Where once they viewed Derry in grainy black and white footage after yet another atrocity, the effervescent and foul-mouthed Michelle exploded onto their screens in technicolour with a big fat "What's up motherf******?"

It would be hard to pinpoint the finest moments of the first series.

It might have been the time Erin's Ma tied the friends to the radiators above Fionnuala's Chip Shop with their own shoelaces to fake an armed robbery so she wouldn't impose a chip ban on the family.

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It could have been the time Da "went up Pump Street with a cream horn", an episode that resulted in hundreds taking selfies in the city's Pump Street with their own bakery-bought creamed delicacy.

It could also have been the time the girls looked to Mary for divine help in the history exam and became the "muthaf****** Children of Fatima" after witnessing a weeping apparition.

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Or the finest moment could have been every single time Michelle opened her mouth.

From calling everyone "d***s" to her explanation of the Famine - "We've got the gist, we ran out of spuds and everyone was raging" - she stole every scene.

No one knows how they filled that half hour on a Thursday night before Derry Girls.

No ones knows how they will in the future, or how they will actually cope, for it was sweet and funny and raw and real.

As the closing credits loomed, the show reflected the stark reality of teenage life here.

For as the streets outside the windows burned, the girls' thoughts were of only each other, of friendship, of fun and of "not being a d***".

Those Derry Girls rampaged over everything the outside world thought this place ever was.

And I, for "wan", "cannae" wait for series two.
United States officials have pledged to hold terrorists accountable following the capture of two Britons suspected of having been part of the Islamic State extremist group dubbed The Beatles.

Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh are currently being held in Syria after their capture by Kurdish militia fighters in January and a US Department of Defence (DoD) spokesman said they are still considering options for the pair.

ITV News later obtained what they described as the first image of Kotey  wearing a grey top and with a dark beard  in detention after he allegedly tried to smuggle himself into Turkey to escape capture.

Expand Close Alexanda Kotey is believed to be one of the Islamic State terrorists dubbed The Beatles (PA Wire / ITV News) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Alexanda Kotey is believed to be one of the Islamic State terrorists dubbed The Beatles (PA Wire / ITV News)

Along with Mohammed Emwazi  the killer nicknamed Jihadi John  and Aine Davis, they are thought to have been part of a group named after the 60s band because of their English accents.

The four Londoners were linked to a string of hostage murders in Iraq and Syria during the bloody Islamist uprising.

US officials said Kotey and Elsheikh are suspected to have participated in the detention, exploitation and execution of Western detainees.

Asked if they would be prosecuted and, if so, where they might face trial Major Adrian Rankine-Galloway from the DoD told the Press Association: We are still considering options regarding el-Sheikh and Kotey, but rest assured our intention is to hold anyone accountable who commits acts like those they are alleged to have committed.

Rest assured our intention is to hold anyone accountable who commits acts like those they are alleged to have committedUS Department of Defence

He said US Government agencies are working closely with coalition partners on the disposition of detainees in SDF detention.

He confirmed they are being held by US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in a detention location in Syria, but said he could not give any further information.

There have been various reports as to where exactly they were captured.

Mark Campbell, co-chairman of the Kurdish Solidarity Campaign, said he understood from sources in the YPG (Kurdistan Peoples Protection Units) the arrests had taken place in the Deir ez-Zur region in the north-east of Syria, towards the Iraq border.

An SDF statement on Friday said Kotey was captured around 90 miles from there in a rural part of Raqqa.

A spokesman said it is believed Kotey had been trying to cross into Turkey.

Relatives of those slaughtered by the jihadist group said they hoped the pair would be brought to justice.

Bethany Haines, whose father David was killed in 2014 after being held captive for 18 months, told ITVs Good Morning Britain she would like the pair to be locked up with the key thrown away and is hopeful their capture will bring closure to bereaved families.

Expand Close British aid worker David Haines was executed in 2014 (Danny Lawson/PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp British aid worker David Haines was executed in 2014 (Danny Lawson/PA)

The New York Times, which first broke the story of the capture, said Kotey, 34, and Elsheikh, 29, were identified by fingerprints and other biometric means.

It has been reported they have had their British citizenship revoked  but this has not been confirmed by authorities in the UK.

In January 2017, US authorities named Kotey, from Paddington, as a member of the cell and said they had imposed sanctions on him.

In a statement at the time, the State Department said Kotey was one of four members of an execution cell for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil).

It said the notorious cell, dubbed The Beatles' had held captive and beheaded approximately two dozen hostages.

It went on: As a guard for the cell, Kotey likely engaged in the groups executions and exceptionally cruel torture methods, including electronic shock and waterboarding.

Kotey has also acted as an Isil recruiter and is responsible for recruiting several UK nationals to join the terrorist organisation.

The Kotey family have said they had seen news about Alexe today, but said they would not be commenting further and asked that they are not contacted by the media.

Former child refugee Elsheikh, a mechanic from White City in west London, was said to have earned a reputation for waterboarding, mock executions, and crucifixions while serving as an Isis jailer, the US State Department said.

Expand Close British hostage Alan Henning, a cab driver-turned-aid worker from Lancashire, was killed by Jihadi John in 2014 (Family handout/PA) Press Association Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp British hostage Alan Henning, a cab driver-turned-aid worker from Lancashire, was killed by Jihadi John in 2014 (Family handout/PA)

Emwazi, who was killed in a US air strike in 2015, appeared in a number of videos in which captives including British aid workers Mr Haines and Alan Henning were beheaded.

The fourth member, Davis, was convicted of being a member of a terrorist organisation and jailed for seven-and-a-half years by a court in Silivri, Turkey, in May 2017.

The Foreign Office said it did not comment on individual cases or ongoing investigations.
Ian Paisley says EU officials should build a hard border themselves if they are insistent Northern Ireland remaining in the customs union is the only way to maintain the "frictionless" operations.

The Guardian reports the UK negotiating team has been warned the EU draft withdrawal agreement will say that Northern Ireland will remain in the customs union and single market after Brexit in order to avoid a hard border.

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It suggests Northern Ireland will remain under EU law after the transition period where it is relevant to the north-south economy, and the requirements of the Good Friday Agreement.

If it goes ahead it is likely to provoke disagreement between the EU and UK negotiating teams, as well as create issues between the DUP and the Conservative Party. The two have a confidence and supply deal which allows Theresa May to run a minority government.

However, British officials negotiating in Brussels have been told by their counterparts there could be a sunset clause which could void the clause in the event of a generous free trade agreement or a technological solution that could be as effective as the current arrangements.

The draft agreement is expected to be published in around two weeks.

The Guardian reports the UK is expected by Brussels to sign off on the text which will see Northern Ireland remain under EU law at the end of the 21-month transition period, wherever it is relevant to the north-south economy, and the requirements of the Good Friday Agreement.

The UK governments position on seeking to leave the customs union and the single market and yet wanting frictionless trade, it's claimed, presents a danger to trade and peace in Northern Ireland.

Responding to a tweet by a BBC journalist about the Guardian's story, DUP MP Ian Paisley said: "So Barnier calls for hard border. Let [sic] him erect it!"
Northern Ireland's parties have clashed over a leaked Government report that predicts Brexit will have a devastating economic impact on the province.

Brexit impact studies released to MPs earlier this week suggest that Northern Ireland would take an 8% hit to economic growth under the Government's preferred outcome of a free trade deal with the EU.

But leaving with no deal would result in a 12% dip, while staying in the single market amounts to a 2.5% decline, the report indicated.

London would take the least damage, according to the forecasts, which were prepared by the Department for Exiting the EU.

Ministers were forced to release the report after it was leaked to the media and amid pressure from Labour and pro-EU Tories.

DUP MP Sammy Wilson criticised the leak - a move he claimed was designed to "produce gory headlines". He has insisted the report wasn't definitive.

He added: "Newspaper horoscopes would probably give more reliable predictions.

"I have had the opportunity to study the report in detail and whilst I cannot divulge its details, nevertheless I can confirm that no firm forecasts are made about rates of economic growth, nor indeed could they be.

"No economic model could predict economic growth over the next 15 years and the paper itself makes it clear that there are factor which make any analysis 'highly uncertain'.

"There are those who have read this report but still use the figures in it as if they were factual forecasts, and in doing so they are deceitful."

He added: "It is simply a document which makes consistent assumptions about the future, applies them to three different scenarios and then analyses possible outcomes - but makes it clear that it is not forecasting actual outcomes for the economy, nor would it be sensible to do so."

However, SDLP MLA Claire Hanna said the figures served as a timely warning ahead of EU withdrawal.

"Brexit continues to represent a serious threat to business and the broader economy in Northern Ireland," she said.

"These figures demonstrate that there can be no good Brexit, only a least worst Brexit.

"The Conservative Party's hard-faced refusal to even countenance membership of the single market and customs union will only make a bad situation acutely worse."
Checks at the Irish border will be unavoidable under Theresa Mays Brexit plans for the UK to leave the single market and customs union, Michel Barnier has warned.

Brussels chief Brexit negotiator also told reporters that agreement on a transitional deal after the UK leaves the bloc in March 2019 was not a given.

After the latest round of Brexit talks between officials in Brussels, he said three substantial disagreements remain with the UK over plans for a transition period.

He added: If these disagreements persist the transition is not a given.

On the issue of the Irish border he told reporters: Any solution must be precise, clear and unambiguous.

He added: It is important to tell the truth. A UK decision to leave the single market and to leave the customs union would make border checks unavoidable.

DUP MEP Diana Dodds, responding to Mr Barnier's comments, said: "Mr Barniers warning of customs controls is out of step with the three approaches set out in Decembers phase one Joint Report between the UK and Brussels. That agreement makes it clear that the integrity of the UK must be preserved as our nation leaves the single market and customs union.

"Everyone has committed to avoiding a hard border and the UK has said it will not impose physical infrastructure at the border. It seems it is only the EU that is brandishing the threat of customs controls. The impact would not be isolated to companies and consumers in Northern Ireland. The Irish beef sector, which sells 52% of all its exports to the UK, would be only one of many devastated. Perhaps this is the reason Mr Barnier doesnt repeat his message of chaos to Dutch flower growers or German car manufacturers, who also rely on the UK as their biggest export market.

"It remains the DUPs position that best vehicle for finding border solutions is via the future UK-EU relationship, through a comprehensive free trade agreement and a fresh customs partnership with Brussels."
Dippy the Diplodocus is going on tour

A huge dinosaur has begun its epic journey to Belfast after it was unveiled in a museum on the Jurassic Coast.

Dippy the Diplodocus- one of 10 replicas cast from the original Diplodocus carnegii- will arrive in Belfast in September.

It will be on view to the public at the Ulster Museum from September 17 until January 6, 2019.

The 26-metre skeleton began its thee year tour of the UK on Friday at the Dorset County Museum in Dorchester, on the Jurassic Coast, famed for its fossils.

In its displayed pose, the skeleton- nicknamed Dippy- is 26m long, 4.3m wide and 4.17m high.

The species is named after Andrew Carnegie, a 19th-century industrialist and philanthropist who donated the cast to the Natural History Museum.

It took three weeks to dismantle the 292 bones, which are made of resin and plaster of Paris.

The exhibit will be shown at museums and cathedrals in Belfast, Birmingham, Glasgow, Newcastle, Cardiff, Rochdale and Norwich.

It is expected that five million people will see the skeleton on its tour.
Game Of Thrones star Michelle Fairley is mourning her father, who was one of Northern Ireland's best known publicans.

Her 85-year-old dad Brian was the former owner of Fairley's bar in Coleraine's Society Street, as well as a number of off licences.

The 54-year-old actress has built up a huge worldwide fan base after playing the part of Catelyn Stark, wife and later widow of the leader of the North, Ned Stark.

Some reviewers acclaimed her performances as the best of the series.

She's currently giving what one critic described as a "turbo-charged performance" in the male role of Cassius in a modern dress version of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar at the Bridge Theatre in London.

The second oldest of six children, she was a youthful acting contemporary of fellow Game Of Thrones star Conleth Hill, who is from Ballycastle.

Her mother Teresa was a nurse before raising her three sons and three daughters.

Michelle is famously protective of her privacy.

But in a rare interview with the Daily Telegraph in 2015 she said that she learnt from her parents a "very strong work ethic, a respect for others, and to be truthful, to be honest, and to know that you are no better than anybody else".

Alluding to the Troubles, the actress said her family had run a business "when the time wasn't easy".

"But their pub and their premises were always mixed - Catholic and Protestant," she said, adding that she had been born Catholic but no longer practised.

Nine years ago she portrayed George Best's mother Ann in the BBC drama Best: His Mother's Son.

Michelle, who has been based in London since 1986, has had a stellar career on stage as well as on screen in American TV series including 24 and Suits.

She got rave reviews for her stand-out performance in Brian Friel's Dancing At Lughnasa at the Old Vic, and in Oleanna by David Mamet at the Royal Court Theatre.

She was cast in Game Of Thrones after the writers saw her play Iago's wife Emilia in Othello at the Donmar Warehouse in 2008, a role for which she received an Olivier award nomination.

The actress is on record as saying she prefers working in the theatre.

She also said she hated Hollywood.

She played Muggle dentist Mrs Granger in Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, the seventh and final film in the popular series.

Mr Fairley will be buried today following Requiem Mass at St Malachy's Church in Coleraine.
In the hard, brutal world of Irish republicanism, careers are often short-lived. Of the six senior IRA figures who met Secretary of State Willie Whitelaw for secret talks in London in 1972, four are dead.

While Martin McGuinness is a household name to this generation of young nationalists, the others are not.

In the years after the Cheyne Walk negotiations, Daithi O Conaill, Sean MacStiofain and Seamus Twomey lost their leadership positions and are today largely forgotten.

Gerry Adams and Ivor Bell are the only two republicans involved in that clandestine meeting who are still alive.

And what different experiences the intervening years have brought for them.

Bell clashed with Adams and was expelled from the IRA.

The 81-year-old, who is in ill-health, is currently facing charges in relation to the murder of Jean McConville, which he denies.

During his four-year legal battle, Bell's lawyers have argued that he is suffering from vascular dementia and is unfit to stand trial.

Life has been far kinder to Gerry Adams.

He is the great survivor.

Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Gerry Adams pictured in front of election posters for Westminster elections. Pacemaker Press Intl. 27/5/83. 497/83/BW Saddle up - a young gunslinger Gerry Adams PACEMAKER BFST 11-06-2001:Sinn Fein's Gerry Adams can put his feet up and relax after a gruelling few weeks on the campaign trail after a sucessful Westminster Election and local council election. He is pictured at the local election count at Belfast City Hall. PACEMAKER BFST 26-03-98; Gerry Adams pictured with his wife Collette at Belfast's City Hall. PACEMAKER BELFAST 23/03/2017 The Funeral of former Sinn Fein leader and deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness in the Bogside in Derry this afternoon. Mr McGuinness died earlier this week after a short illness. Pictured is Gerry Adams. Photo Mark Marlow/Pacemaker Press PACEMAKER BELFAST 08/04/98 Sinn Fein leaders Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness talk to press and media men outside Castle Buildings this morning. PICTURE BY WILLIAM CHERRY/PACEMAKER PRESS PACEMAKER BELFAST 23/03/2017 Gerry Adams during The Funeral of former Sinn Fein leader and deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness in the Bogside in Derry this afternoon. Mr McGuinness dies earlier this week after a short illness. At his funeral today Photo Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press Pacemaker Belfast-Archive Gerry Adams and Martin Mcguinness Internment Rally in Falls Road 12-8-89 PACEMAKER BELFAST On the first day of the ulster Peace Talks martin took this picture of Gerry Adams and martin McGuinness locked out of the stormont talks. PHOTO MARTIN WRIGHT Gerry Adams, Sinn Fein president on the platform. Pacemaker Press Intl. 1&2/11/86 PACEMAKER BELFAST GERRY ADAMS CARRIES THE COFFIN OF IRA SHANKILL BOMBER THOMAS BEGLEY AT HIS FUNERAL 27/10/1993 PACEMAKER BELFAST 22/1/99 US congressman Peter King pictured with Gerry Adams outside Sinn Fein HQ on the Falls Road. PACEMAKER BELFAST 9/12/99 Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams pictured with the Ford Mondeo and Bugging device which he claims were planted by British Intellegance officers as he and Martin McGuniiess were having meeting with the IRA during the Mitchell review. PACEMAKER BFST 01-07-98;Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams signs in Martin McGuinness and Alex Maskey into the first day of the New Northern Ireland Assembly , Wednesday July 1, 1998, inside Castle Buildings, Stormont, Belfast, Northern Ireland ,on the first day of the new Northern Ireland Assembly. AP PACEMAKER BFST 16-06-2000: Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams at the funeral of close friend and leading republican Terrance 'Cleeky" Clarke who died of cancer. Adams is pictured comforting Clarke's daughter Marie behind the cortege. PACEMAKER BELFAST 15/2/2000: President Mary McAleese and her husband, Martin share a joke with Gerry Adams, the M.P. for West Belfast, when she visited the Glor na Ghale Irish language centre on the Fall's Road, Belfast today. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON PACEMAKER BELFAST 08/09/2015: Theresa Villiers has told MPs that despite a request from the DUP, the government does not think the time is right to suspend Northern Ireland's devolved institutions. Ms Villiers will be joined by Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan at Stormont House for talks with the Northern Ireland political party. President of Sinn Fein Gerry Adams arriving for the talks. Picture By: Arthur Allison. 4/5/2014 PACEMAKER PRESS INTL. Gerry Adams speaking to the media on being released this evening from Antrim police station after being questioned in relation to the murder of Jean McConville. Picture Charles McQuillan/Pacemaker PACEMAKER BELFAST archive 2/12/1993 1148/93 Sinn Fein leaders Gerry Adams & Martin McGuinness at press conference at Conway Mill where they spoke of secret negotiations with the British Government on a peace process. PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/09/2015 Chairperson of Sinn Feins Six County Cuige, Bobby Storey, speaks to the media today, Sunday 13th September, at 11am in the Roddy McCorley Social Club, Glen Road, Andersonstown, Belfast, County Antrim BT11 8BU, Belfast. He was be joined by Gerry Adams TD, Martin McGuinness MLA. Mary Lou McDonald TD, and Jennifer McCann MLA.Pictured is Gerry Adams. Photo Mark Marlow/Pacemaker Press PACEMAKER BELFAST 04/05/2014 Sinn Fein Leader Gerry Adams speaks at a press conference at the Balmoral Hotel in West Belfast this evening. Adams was released this evening after 4 days of questioning by the PSNI in relation to the murder of Jean McConville in 1972. Photo Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press Pacemaker Press 23/1/2017 Martin McGuinness and Gerry Adams as Michelle O'Neill is announced as Sinn Fein's e new leader in the north. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker PACEMAKER BELFAST 15/09/2014 Gerry Adams signing Ian Paisley Book of condolences Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams TD signing the book of condolences for the late Dr Ian Paisley in Belfast City Hall. Photo Aidan O'Reilly/Pacemaker Press Pacemaker Bfst Ltd archive Gerry Adams File pic of him at an IRA Funeral in Derry . PACEMAKER BELFAST AUGUST 1988 PF GERRY ADAMS WITH ARTIST IN WEST BELFAST JUDGING WALL MURALS, ADAMS PICTURED WITH STICKER SAYING I LOVE WEST BELFAST. ALSO SURROUNDED WITH KIDS. 674/88/BW 10/2/2010 PACEMAKER PRESS INTL BELFAST. SINN FEIN PRESIDENT GERRY ADAMS PICTURED AT THE SINN FEIN OFFICES, STORMONT. PICTURE CHARLES MCQUILLAN/PACEMAKER. 29/1/2010. PACEMAKER BELFAST. GERRY ADAMS TALKS TO THE MEDIAOUTSIDE HILLSBOROUGH CASTLE AS TALKS CONTINUED BETWEEN THE DUP AND SINN FEIN WITH STILL NO AGREEMENT IN SIGHT. PICTURE CHARLES MCQUILLAN/PACEMAKER. PACEMAKER BELFAST 11/5/09 Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams takes a plunge at the partys photocall in the Water Works in North Belfast. As the partys European Election candidate Barbrie de Bruin (centre) posed for the cameras with party colleagues, Mr Adams was saved by his deputy Martin McGuinness, doing his David Hasselhoff impersonation. Photo Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press 12 SEPTEMBER 1992: GERRY ADAMS FAMILY 10/2/2010 PACEMAKER PRESS INTL BELFAST. SINN FEIN PRESIDENT GERRY ADAMS PICTURED AT THE SINN FEIN OFFICES, STORMONT. PICTURE CHARLES MCQUILLAN/PACEMAKER. Funeral of IRA man Henry Hogan at Dunloy, Co. Antrim. Pictures of Cortege etc. Police argued with the mourners and minor scuffles broke out. Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams and Owen Carron took control and organised the mourners. Sinn Fein man Martin McGuiness telling police inspector to get his men out of the cemetary. Also picture of Sinn Fein man Pearce McMahon (behind Gerry Adams, the man with glasses on Gerry's left) with microphones talking to the mourners. Pacemaker Press Intl. 24/2/84 153/84/BW 10/2/2010 PACEMAKER PRESS INTL BELFAST. SINN FEIN PRESIDENT GERRY ADAMS PICTURED AT THE SINN FEIN OFFICES, STORMONT. PICTURE CHARLES MCQUILLAN/PACEMAKER. PACEMAKER BELFAST ARCHIVE 15th May 1981 Funeral of IRA hunger striker Frances Hughes in his home town of Bellaghy..\ Gerry Adams carrys the coffin flanked by masked IRA men PACEMAKER BELFAST 3/11/2011 Liam Adams pictured in the back of a PSNI prison van as he arrives at Belfast Laganside court this morning. Mr Adams, brother of Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams is arrested on 18 warrants, including charges of rape, gross indecency and indecent assault. Photo:Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press PACEMAKER BELFAST 04/05/2014 Sinn Fein Leader Gerry Adams speaks at a press conference at the Balmoral Hotel in West Belfast this evening. Adams was released this evening after 4 days of questioning by the PSNI in relation to the murder of Jean McConville in 1972. Photo Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press Commemoration of Bloody Sunday march in Derry. Gerry Adams and Martin Maguiness are pictured. Pacemaker Press Intl. 30/1/83. 18 FEBRUARY 1992: FUNERALS OF KEVIN BARRY ODONNELL AND SEAN FARRELL TWO OF THE FOUR IRA MEN KILLED BY THE ARMY IN COALISLAND AFTER AN ATTACK ON THE LOCAL POLICE STATION. PACEMAKER BELFAST ARCHIVE 1984 Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams pictured canvassing with Martin McGuinness, Alex Maskey and Danny Morrison shortly after he was shot and injured in a UDA gun attack in Belfast city centre.. 14/12/2006 Pacemaker press 20/2/08 Gerry Adams carries coffin of Former IRA hunger striker. Pic Colm Lenaghan / Pacemaker PACEMAKER BELFAST 26/3/2007 Democratic Unionist Party leader The Reverend Ian Paisley (left) and Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams speak to the media during a press conference at the Stormont Assembly building in Belfast after power-sharing restored. PA PACEMAKER BELFAST 11 AUGUST 1991. Gerry Adams at 20th anniversary of internment. PACEMAKER BELFAST 9/12/2005 Sinn Fein leaders Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness pictured at Stormont with Denis Donaldson who was shot dead in County Donegal, months after being exposed as an agent who worked for the police and MI5 for 20 years. PACEMAKER PRESS INTL. BELFAST. Gerry Adams in Belfast Offices of Sinn Fein. 14/12/82. 1230/82/bw PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 12/7/2005: Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams gets pushed by riot police as protesters trying to stop Orange parade on the Crumlin road. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON PACEMAKER BELFAST. Gerry Adams at Connally House addressing the media about the IRA ceasefire. 31/8/94. 684/94/c PACEMAKER BELFAST A Sinn Fein delegation arrive at Stormont for talks with the then Secretary of State Mo Mowlam (date 6/8/97) Among the delegation are Martin Ferris (left) the now North Kerry TD, Martin McGuinness (2nd left) and Gerry Adams (right) the Sinn Fein leader. PHOTO STEPHEN DAVISON/PACEMAKER PACEMAKER PRESS BELFAST. Gerry Adams at Sinn Fein Press Conference. 452/89/bwc PACEMAKER PRESS INTL. BELFAST. Gerry Adams shooting in Belfast City Centre. Scene at Wellington Place where the three gunmen were captured one of which was injured. 14/3/84. 213/84/bw PACEMAKER PRESS INTL. BELFAST. Gerry Adams shooting in Belfast City Centre. Scene at Wellington Place where the three gunmen were captured one of which was injured. 14/3/84. 213/84/bw PACEMAKER PRESS INTL. BELFAST. Gerry Adams shooting in Belfast City Centre. Scene at Wellington Place where the three gunmen were captured one of which was injured. 14/3/84. 213/84/bw PACEMAKER PRESS INTL. BELFAST. Gerry Adams pictured in a confrontation with the police and the army on the Falls Rd after an arrest by the police. 13/2/84. 111/84/bw PACEMAKER PRESS INTL. BELFAST. Security forces guard the ward in which Gerry Adams was in at the RVH after being shot three times. 15/3/84. 214/84/bw PACEMAKER PRESS INTL. BELFAST. Security forces guard the ward in which Gerry Adams was in at the RVH after being shot three times. 15/3/84. 214/84/bw PACEMAKER PRESS INTL. BELFAST. Gerry Adams Sinn Fein. 25/5/84. 452/84/bw PACEMAKER BELFAST ARCHIVE Alfredo "Freddie" Scappaticci (extreme left of picture/side faced) pictured at the 1988 funeral of IRA man Brendan Davison. Gerry Adams is pictured carrying the coffin. Scappaticci was later named as 'Stakeknife' the Army's top informer/mole inside the IRA. PICTURE COPYRIGHT: PACEMAKER PRESS PACEMAKER PRESS INTL. BELFAST. Danny Morrison pictured with Gerry Adams arm in sling in West Belfast canvassing for the EEC Elections. 13/6/84. 497/84/bw PACEMAKER PRESS INTL. BELFAST. Gerry Adams shooting in Belfast City Centre. Scene at Wellington Place where the three gunmen were captured one of which was injured. 14/3/84. 213/84/bw PACEMAKER PRESS INTL. BELFAST. Gerry Adams shooting in Belfast City Centre. Scene at Wellington Place where the three gunmen were captured one of which was injured. 14/3/84. 213/84/bw Gerry Adams inside the Maze with Brendan Hughes. Pacemaker Press Intl. 1/7/83. 589/83/BW Gerry Adams canvassing in the Ballymurphy area of Belfast. Pacemaker Press Intl. 29/5/83. 482/83/BW Gerry Adams after winning West Belfast seat at Westminster. Pictured at Belfast City Hall. Pacemaker Press Intl. 10/6/83. 532/83/BW Gerry Adams winning West Belfast seat,at count, Belfast City Hall. Pacemaker Press Intl. 10/6/83. 531/83/BW Gerry Adams (Sinn Fein vice President) after winning West Belfast seat at Westminster. Pictured on Falls Road after result. Pictured waving from window in Sinn Fein Belfast office. Pacemaker Press Intl. 10/6/83. 532/83/BW Gerry Adams at Press conference in Lake Glen Hotel. Pacemaker Press Intl. 26/4/79. 99/79/BW Gerry Adams cleared of all IRA membership charges in 1978. Pacemaker Press Intl. 6/9/78. 347/78/BW H-Block demonstration on Falls Road. From Dunville Arms to Busy Bee. The crowd is being addressed by Sinn Fein spokesman Gerry Adams. Pacemaker Press Intl. 30th Nov. 1980. 1032/80/BW PACEMAKER PRESS INTL. BELFAST. Sinn Fein Conference at Lake Glenn following end of Hunger Strike. It was announced that it was hoped that all blanket and dirty protests would also end as the Government brought in new regulations. (L-R) Danny Morrison, Gerry Adams, Kieran Nugent, Joe Maguire. 19/12/80. 1088/80/bw PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/12/200 Sinn Fein leaders Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness take part on the Mexican Wave in the Odyssey arena this afternoon before Bill Clinton's speach. PHOTO STEVE WILSON/PACEMAKER PACEMAKER BELFAST Sinn Fein leader gerry Adams (left) as a 15 yearold bar man in the York Bar in Belfast PACEMAKER BELFAST Bobby Sands (right) pictured in Long Kesh with Gerry Adams (front) and Brendan Hughes (left). PACEMAKER PRESS INTL. BELFAST. Sinn Fein Election Posters for Gerry Adams who ran for West Belfast seat for N.I Assembly. He Won. 2/11/82. 1102/82/bw PACEMAKER BELFAST 13/12/2000 US President Bill Clinton is introduect to Sinn Fein MLA members by Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams during his visit to Stormont this morning. PACEMAKER BELFAST SINN FEIN PRESIDENT GERRY ADAMS AS A MEMBER OF THE NATIONAL H/BLOCKS COMMITTEE PACEMAKER BELFAST SINN FEIN PRESIDENT GERRY ADAMS (RIGHT OF PICTURE) AT BOBBY SANDS FUNERAL MAY 1981 Gerry Adams (Sinn Fein vice President) after winning West Belfast seat at Westminster. Pictured on Falls Road after result. Pictured on shoulders of supporters. Pacemaker Press Intl. 10/6/83. 532/83/BW Sinn Fein Press Conference announcing Manifest. Included in picture are Gerry Adams, Danny Morrison and Owen Carron. Pacemaker Press Intl. May 1983. 537/83/BW PACEMAKER PRESS INTL. BELFAST. Gerry Addams Sinn Fein pictured at the City Hall after his election win in West Belfast. 25/10/82. 1073/82/bw PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 14/9/98: DUP leader Rev Ian Paisley was face to face with Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams during the first meeting of the new Assembly at Stormont today. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON Gerry Adams, Sinn Fein. Pacemaker Press Intl. 1st Oct. 1981 1010/82/BW PACEMAKER PRESS INTL. BELFAST. Sinn Fein Election Posters for Gerry Adams who ran for West Belfast seat for N.I Assembly. He Won. 2/11/82. 1102/82/bw PACEMAKER BELFAST, 22/10/2001: Gerry Adams chats with veteran IRA man Joe Cahill after telling the Sinn Fein party faithful in Conway Mill, Belfast today that he has recommended to the IRA that they start to decommission their arms to save the peace process. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON PACEMAKER BELFAST Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams pictured outside the party's HQ on the Falls Road in January 1984 PACEMAKER BELFAST 08/04/98: Ulster Unionist Party leader, David Trimble and Sinn Fein President, Gerry Adams pass within touching distance outside Castle Buildings, Stormont during a break in the negotiations before the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. PA PACEMAKER BELFAST, 22/10/2001: Gerry Adams tells the Sinn Fein party faithful in Conway Mill, Belfast today that he has recommended to the IRA that they start to decommission their arms to save the peace process. PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON PACEMAKER BELFAST 12/01/98 Gerry Adams, John Hume and Albert Reynolds historic meeting at Government Building in Dublin 06/09/94 / Facebook

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Whatsapp Gerry Adams pictured in front of election posters for Westminster elections. Pacemaker Press Intl. 27/5/83. 497/83/BW

Although arrested and questioned by detectives about the McConville murder, he has never been charged.

Tomorrow, he will bow out as Sinn Fein president against a backdrop of adulation from several thousand party activists in Dublin's RDS.

"I am not caught up in the notions of leadership. I do it through a sense of duty," he has said.

But you don't hang around as head honcho of the Provisional movement for 35 years if you don't enjoy the power.

Adams' iron grip never manifested itself by dominating proceedings through table thumping and hectoring.

Rather, he secured absolute control by isolating opponents and moving the right people into place. That took him decades.

His political ambitions go right the way back to the 1981 hunger strike at least, when he saw what was possible in electoral politics with Bobby Sands' victory in Fermanagh and South Tyrone.

Unionists see Adams as a destructive force in Northern Ireland politics, but they are wrong. While on the IRA Army Council, he sanctioned some of the worst atrocities of the conflict, yet without him the current peace would not be in place.

It wasn't that John Hume somehow convinced him of the merits of constitutionalism or half-dragged him along.

Former senior IRA colleagues reveal that Adams had long been set on that destination.

"It was obvious where he wanted to go and what he was up to. It was written all over him. Now McGuinness, he was the surprise," one says.

Together the Adams and McGuinness partnership delivered what many people thought was impossible. They brought the IRA to do what it said it never would - ending its campaign without a British withdrawal.

And they kept the movement largely united and intact.

That is Gerry Adams' greatest achievement.

The only threat to his power within republicanism came in 1997 when IRA hardliners led by quartermaster general Mickey McKevitt, who had already lost the internal battle against the Adams' faction, left the Provisionals to form the Real IRA.

With a high-profile series of bombings, the organisation looked set to attract Provisional recruits and disrupt Adams' plans.

But the security services were soon well on top of it. McKevitt was charged with directing terrorism on the evidence of FBI informant Dave Rupert. He was jailed for 15 years.

Today, physical force republicanism is barely existent, with none of the several groups continuing capable of waging a sustained campaign or securing any significant level of support in their own community.

By contrast, Gerry Adams leaves the stage with Sinn Fein as the biggest nationalist party in Northern Ireland on 29% of the vote in June's Westminster election and with 23 Dail seats.

But while Adams has built a powerful electoral machine, he is no nearer achieving what he professes is the foundation stone of his politics than he was at the start of his career.

A united Ireland by 2016 has now become a border poll by 2022. All he can do is to keep postponing the day of the promised land to his followers.

Sinn Fein may well go into office as a junior coalition partner with Fine Gael but it is as unlikely to deliver substantial social change and progress towards Irish unity in Leinster House as it was in a decade of government with the DUP in Stormont.

Adams' genius has been in selling defeat as victory. The politics of illusion has served him well.

He inspires immense loyalty among his lieutenants - many of whom would lay down their life for him in a heartbeat - and among Sinn Fein grassroots. The bonds of affection for Mary Lou McDonald will never even begin to go that deep.

Yet Adams is universally disliked by those outside the nationalist community. It's nothing to do with his politics. Not a single unionist politician would have a bad word to say about Martin McGuinness personally from their dealings with him, even though they initially loathed him.

In Stormont, he won over everybody he met, from canteen to security staff, with his easy charm and down-to-earth approach. The same is not the case for Adams who is seen as arrogant and insincere.

Ironically, that is a view shared by ex-IRA comrades like Brendan Hughes, who parted company with the Sinn Fein president along the way. Like Ivor Bell's, the former Belfast Brigade commander's life worked out very differently to Gerry Adams'.

He spent his last days in a tiny, threadbare flat in Divis. He was haunted by the faces of the dead whom he believed had lost their lives for nothing. The Good Friday Agreement stood for "Got F*** All" he said.

'The Dark', as he was known, survived on disability allowance. The month before he died, he was left without heating until another ex-prisoner lent him an electric fire.

He carried the physical and mental scars from life at the coal-face of the IRA's campaign and 13 years in jail and 53 days on hunger-strike.

Prison had left him with arthritis. He was prone to chest infections and he had started to go blind.

A photo on his living-room wall showed two tanned, smiling young men in Long Kesh with their arms wrapped around each other - Adams and Hughes.

In 2006, two years before he died, Hughes told me: "Gerry wasn't trusted by (IRA) grassroots and I was. He used me to 'up' his own status. I had 100% faith in him. I defended him so many times when I shouldn't have.

"I never saw his agenda. He was far too shrewd, which is why he is where he is today. He was charismatic like Mick Collins but at least Mick Collins didn't just give orders, he fired shots himself. Gerry never did, not even at training camps in the South."

Hughes said he eventually saw "the man behind the mask" when it was too late.

"I thought the struggle was about improving life for the community, not about certain people climbing up the ladder," he said.

"It was never about glory for me. There is no glory in war, there is no glory in killing people. But for Gerry it was about using people to get glory and power. I never met anybody more false."

Gerry Adams has been on a remarkable political journey. Many people died on his watch, yet many lives have undoubtedly been saved by his success in bringing the IRA to call a ceasefire.

He has come a long way from the gangly 23-year-old militant released from prison for those London truce talks. Even he couldn't have believed back then just what was possible for him.
The UK Government has not provided any information on how Irish and Ulster-Scots will be protected to the Council of Europe because of the absence of a functioning Northern Ireland Executive, a Stormont department has said.

The UKs submission to the Council of Europe- a human rights organisation with 47 member states- only included details on Scots, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, Manx and Cornish, the BBC reports.

The UK government is meant to provide information every four years on how it plans to promote and protect minority languages.

The details include how minority languages are taught in schools, how widely they are spoken, how they are reflected in the media and how governments are promoting their use in public services.

The Council of Europe said the UK authorities had told the council that due to the current absence of the devolved government in Northern Ireland they we unable to provide details regarding Irish and Ulster-Scots for the report.

The devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and the Isle of Man have provided detailed information.

The Council of Europe previously criticised the Northern Ireland Executive for not providing information in 2014. At the time the Executive put this down to a lack of political consensus on Irish and Ulster-Scots.
The scene after the Omagh bombing

A legal challenge to the government's refusal to hold a public inquiry into the Omagh bomb atrocity will be heard in June, a High Court judge has ordered.

Amid continued concerns over progress in a wider catalogue of so-called legacy litigation, Mr Justice McCloskey set aside three days to hear the case being mounted by the father of one of those killed in the August 1998 Real IRA attack.

He described a plan where proceedings would "limp" towards preliminary battles over disclosure as wholly unacceptable.

Referring to a judicial initiative aimed at speeding up legacy challenges, he said: "The court cannot permit this to be undermined and dismantled by the kind of timetabling proposal put forward in the present case."

Michael Gallagher, whose son Aiden was among 29 people murdered in the Omagh bombing, is taking legal action over former Northern Ireland Secretary of State Theresa Villiers' refusal to order a public inquiry.

The case centres on claims that a range of intelligence from British security agents, MI5 and RUC officers could have been drawn together to prevent the outrage.

Mr Gallagher launched his legal action after Ms Villiers rejected calls for a public investigation in September 2013.

She decided instead that a probe by Police Ombudsman Michael Maguire was the best way to address any outstanding issues surrounding the atrocity.

In October 2014 Dr Maguire published a report where he found RUC Special Branch withheld some intelligence information from detectives hunting the bombers.

No one has ever been convicted of carrying out the attack.

Proceedings have been caught up in arguments over holding partially closed hearings amid fears the disclosure of sensitive material could damage national security.

Mr Justice McCloskey is overseeing more than 40 judicial reviews into incidents from Northern Ireland's troubled past.

He pointed out that proceedings issued by Mr Gallagher are now of four years vintage.

"One of the most telling considerations is that the court has not been addressed, orally or in writing, by any party or any other agency concerning the timetabling of the hearing of the substantive judicial review application," he said.

"This neglect is startling, given the circumstances highlighted above."

Listing the substantive hearing for three days in June, he added about the time allocation: "Hopefully an over-estimate."
PACEMAKER BELFAST 24/01/2018 The funeral has taken place of Shannon McQuillan who died suddenly as the result of an accident. Beloved daughter of Paul and Collette and loving sister of Paul, Charlene and Kelly. The Requiem Mass was in St. JosephOs Church, Dunloy, Northern Ireland. Picture By: Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press

PACEMAKER BELFAST 24/01/2018 The funeral has taken place of Shannon McQuillan who died suddenly as the result of an accident. Beloved daughter of Paul and Collette and loving sister of Paul, Charlene and Kelly. The Requiem Mass was in St. JosephOs Church, Dunloy, Northern Ireland. Picture By: Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press

PACEMAKER BELFAST 24/01/2018 The funeral has taken place of Shannon McQuillan who died suddenly as the result of an accident. Beloved daughter of Paul and Collette and loving sister of Paul, Charlene and Kelly. The Requiem Mass was in St. JosephOs Church, Dunloy, Northern Ireland. Picture By: Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press

PACEMAKER BELFAST 24/01/2018 The funeral has taken place of Shannon McQuillan who died suddenly as the result of an accident. Beloved daughter of Paul and Collette and loving sister of Paul, Charlene and Kelly. The Requiem Mass was in St. JosephOs Church, Dunloy, Northern Ireland. Picture By: Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press

PACEMAKER BELFAST 24/01/2018 The funeral has taken place of Shannon McQuillan who died suddenly as the result of an accident. Beloved daughter of Paul and Collette and loving sister of Paul, Charlene and Kelly. The Requiem Mass was in St. JosephOs Church, Dunloy, Northern Ireland. Picture By: Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press

PACEMAKER BELFAST 24/01/2018 The funeral has taken place of Shannon McQuillan who died suddenly as the result of an accident. Beloved daughter of Paul and Collette and loving sister of Paul, Charlene and Kelly. The Requiem Mass was in St. JosephOs Church, Dunloy, Northern Ireland. Picture By: Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press

PACEMAKER BELFAST 24/01/2018 The funeral has taken place of Shannon McQuillan who died suddenly as the result of an accident. Beloved daughter of Paul and Collette and loving sister of Paul, Charlene and Kelly. The Requiem Mass was in St. JosephOs Church, Dunloy, Northern Ireland. Picture By: Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press

PACEMAKER BELFAST 24/01/2018 The funeral has taken place of Shannon McQuillan who died suddenly as the result of an accident. Beloved daughter of Paul and Collette and loving sister of Paul, Charlene and Kelly. The Requiem Mass was in St. JosephOs Church, Dunloy, Northern Ireland. Picture By: Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press

PACEMAKER BELFAST 24/01/2018 The funeral has taken place of Shannon McQuillan who died suddenly as the result of an accident. Beloved daughter of Paul and Collette and loving sister of Paul, Charlene and Kelly. The Requiem Mass was in St. JosephOs Church, Dunloy, Northern Ireland. Picture By: Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press

PACEMAKER BELFAST 24/01/2018 The funeral has taken place of Shannon McQuillan who died suddenly as the result of an accident. Beloved daughter of Paul and Collette and loving sister of Paul, Charlene and Kelly. The Requiem Mass was in St. JosephOs Church, Dunloy, Northern Ireland. Picture By: Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press

PACEMAKER BELFAST 24/01/2018 The funeral has taken place of Shannon McQuillan who died suddenly as the result of an accident. Beloved daughter of Paul and Collette and loving sister of Paul, Charlene and Kelly. The Requiem Mass was in St. JosephOs Church, Dunloy, Northern Ireland. Picture By: Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press

PACEMAKER BELFAST 24/01/2018 The funeral has taken place of Shannon McQuillan who died suddenly as the result of an accident. Beloved daughter of Paul and Collette and loving sister of Paul, Charlene and Kelly. The Requiem Mass was in St. JosephOs Church, Dunloy, Northern Ireland. Picture By: Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press

PACEMAKER BELFAST 24/01/2018 The funeral has taken place of Shannon McQuillan who died suddenly as the result of an accident. Beloved daughter of Paul and Collette and loving sister of Paul, Charlene and Kelly. The Requiem Mass was in St. JosephOs Church, Dunloy, Northern Ireland. Picture By: Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press

PACEMAKER BELFAST 24/01/2018 The funeral has taken place of Shannon McQuillan who died suddenly as the result of an accident. Beloved daughter of Paul and Collette and loving sister of Paul, Charlene and Kelly. The Requiem Mass was in St. JosephOs Church, Dunloy, Northern Ireland. Picture By: Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press

Close family and friends carry Shannons coffin into St Josephs Church in Dunloy

A 21-year-old man is continuing to fight for his life after he was injured in a crash which killed his girlfriend.

Shannon McQuillan (19) from Dunloy died when she was struck by a van near Toomebridge in the early hours of Saturday January 20.

Her boyfriend Owen McFerran from Ballymoney, who was also struck, remains in a critical condition in the Royal Victoria Hospital Belfast.

The Belfast Trust confirmed he was continuing to receive treatment in the intensive care unit.

Shannon's funeral heard a tribute prepared by Mr McFerran's sister.

It said: "Sleep tight my angel, be by my side and hold me tight.

"You are the one who can help me through this fight. My love, my best friend, my soulmate, I love you always."

Shannon was knocked down on the Moneynick Road near Toomebridge in Co Antrim.

She had earlier been taken by ambulance from Magherafelt, bound for Antrim Area Hospital, after becoming unresponsive following a slip on ice.

But, after an incident on the way, police were called and Shannon and Owen, who was in the ambulance with her, got out.

The pair were then struck by a van.

The Police Ombudsman is investigating the incident, while the Ambulance Service is undertaking an internal review.

Ms McQuillan, was in her second year at Ulster University studying law and criminology.

Students from the universitys law society were among those to pay tribute on social media.
The campaign started by sex worker Laura Lee will go on despite her passing, her legal team vowed last night.

Ms Lee (39) had been due to start a legal challenge at Belfast High Court to a new Northern Ireland law which makes it illegal to pay for sex.

Her passing was announced on Facebook by a family member who spoke of their devastation.

The post was responded to with scores of messages from friends expressing their shock and sadness.

Several of Ms Lee's friends last night changed their social media profile pictures of images of her in her memory.

The cause of her death on Wednesday morning was not known last night.

Ms Lee's solicitor Ciaran Moynagh told the Belfast Telegraph last night that he will continue her work.

"We are deeply saddened by the death of our client Laura Lee," he said.

"Laura courageously fronted a campaign and judicial review which sought to defend and protect thousands of sex workers who do not have a voice.

"In the face of much opposition she maintained great dignity.

"Laura Lee will be remembered as one of this country's most fearless human rights advocates and we are committed to continuing her work."

PUP councillor Julie-Anne Corr Johnston last night said she was shocked by the news of Ms Lee's sudden death.

"As an acquaintance and an admirer I'm both shocked and saddened by the news," she said.

"A formidable woman, Laura Lee will be remembered for her determination to stand for what was right, what was just, even if it meant standing alone.

"My thoughts are with her daughter, family and friends now and in the difficult days to come."

Ms Lee was born in Dublin and was a law graduate. She was well known across the UK for speaking out for those that work in the sex industry, and highlighting the dangers those workers can face.

However, she was best known in Northern Ireland after taking judicial review proceedings in a bid to quash legislation making it illegal for men to pay for sex.

Ms Lee took the step following a law that was brought into Northern Ireland after being championed by DUP peer and MLA Lord Morrow.

Northern Ireland is currently the only UK region to make the purchase of sex a criminal offence.

She crowdfunded more than 7,000 from clients, other sex workers and friends to secure a judicial review, aiming to get the legislation repealed.

Although the law shifts the burden from prostitutes to their clients, sex workers believe it could leave them more vulnerable to violence.

They fear it will drive the trade underground and expose them to increased danger by making it increasingly difficult to screen customers who may use fake names and disposable phones.

Ms Lee's legal team have argued that the amendments to the Human Trafficking and Exploitation Act breach her human rights entitlements to privacy and freedom from discrimination. They also allege a failure to comply with equality law.

The first hearing at Belfast High Court is due to take place later this year.
Dangerous fake diazepam tablets linked to deaths in Scotland may be on sale on our streets, it has emerged.

It comes after police in Scotland reported large quantities of fake diazepam tablets were being produced illicitly there.

Green Party councillor John Barry said users were risking their lives.

"Police in Scotland believe the pills have been associated with at least one sudden death," the Ards and North Down councillor said.

"Most of the tablets are being sold in Scotland. However, Ards and North Down Policing and Community Safety Partnership has reported there is recent evidence to suggest these may now be available in Northern Ireland.

"People tempted to buy these tablets could be under the impression that they are the genuine article, but there is no knowing what you could be taking. You could be playing Russian roulette with your life and long-term health."

PSNI Detective Inspector Pete Mullan said users simply cannot be sure what they are taking.

"Medicines obtained through unregulated internet sites may not have been prescribed by a healthcare practitioner, may not have been subject to the normal controls on manufacture and may not be of a suitable quality or be of the nature described.

"Police would urge the public not to be tempted by reduced prices or fooled by attractive websites offering medicines without prescription. Taking short cuts and using these medicines could expose you to a dangerous counterfeit or substandard medicine."

It comes as Billy Burns, who started the One Pill Will Kill campaign after the death of his son Jamie in Belfast, attended the launch of an anti-drugs initiative in Ballymoney.

Unite coordinator Albert Hewitt said members of the union had produced leaflets and posters highlighting the threat posed by drugs and were taking the message around north Antrim.

He said: "We want to get the message out to young people that all it takes is one pill to kill. You can't be sure that it won't be the first one you ever take - as it was in the case of Jamie Burns."
The Western Health Trust has launched an investigation into the mix-up at the South West Acute Hospital in Enniskillen - and offered its "sincere apologies" to the family

A grieving family is consulting lawyers after a hospital mortuary gave the wrong body out to an undertaker.

The Western Health Trust has launched an investigation into the mix-up at the South West Acute Hospital in Enniskillen - and offered its "sincere apologies" to the family.

It is understood the wrong body was passed to an undertaker in recent months and taken to a different location before the mistake was discovered.

According to the Impartial Reporter newspaper, the trust has taken action against a member of staff, and the family of the deceased, who do not wish to be named, have spoken to lawyers.

A Western Health Trust spokesperson confirmed it is investigating the incident.

"We are unable to comment further until the investigation has been completed in the interest of ensuring that all of the circumstances have been thoroughly examined. The Trust has contacted the family concerned to express its sincere apologies," they said.
Steven Wylie pops the question to Donna Thompson at the Dark Hedges

Steven Wylie pops the question to Donna Thompson at the Dark Hedges

The beauty of the Dark Hedges formed the perfect romantic backdrop for a Co Down man to get down on bended knee and ask his girlfriend for her hand in marriage.

As snow fell on the Co Antrim beauty spot made famous by TV fantasy drama Game Of Thrones, Steven Wylie decided to pop the question to long-term partner Donna Thompson.

And, by sheer chance, local photographer Sharon Cuatriz was there to capture the special moment.

The couple - who met nine years ago at a barbecue in Donna's home in Kilkeel - moved to England two years ago, and were home on a family visit when Steven decided the time was right.

They had been staying at Galgorm Resort & Spa, and he had thought about proposing there.

He explained: "I took cold feet because it didn't feel right, but we were going out to the Dark Hedges and I thought that would be a better place.

"Then it started snowing, so I didn't actually know if we would make it or not - but we went on ahead anyway.

"I hadn't bought an engagement ring because I wanted it to be something that Donna had a say in too.

"We called into Ballymena on the way to the Dark Hedges and Donna actually bought a Pandora ring, so I used that.

"There wasn't anyone there when we arrived except for this one person who we now know was Sharon, and, amazingly, he just happened to be a photographer.

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Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye.com General views of Snow in Belfast on December 8th 2017 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Vehicles on the M1 outside Belfast. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Photos taken near Queen's - December 2017 / Credit: Steven Egan Ballyclare - December 2017 / Credit: TT A snowy morning walk in Knockbracken- - December 2017 . Pic: Lindsay Abraham A snowy morning walk in Knockbracken. Pic: Lindsay Abraham Rush hour traffic on the Ballygowan Road in east Belfast after snow fell across Northern Ireland overnight. - 17th January 2018 General view of a Transit van which skidded off the road on the Hannahstown hill. Mandatory Credit  Stephen Hamilton Stephen Hamilton/ Snow in Belfast. Pic: Elisabete Tavares Horses as Snow falls near Divis on the outskirts of West Belfast in Co Antrim on Tuesday , as heavy snow falls across the country. Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker A snowy morning walk in Knockbracken. Pic: Lindsay Abraham Heavy snow has caused widespread travel disruption in Northern Ireland, with bus and rail services affected and some roads closed. Peter Wachs from Belfast out with dog Muppet at Divis Mountain. Mandatory Credit  Stephen Hamilton Stephen Hamilton/ Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 16th January 2018 Vehicles on the M1 outside Belfast as the Met Office upgrades its warning for snow and ice from yellow to amber across Northern Ireland. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye 16/1/2018 Peter Wachs pictured at Divis mountain in Belfast during a heavy fall of snow with dogs Muppet and Lulu Mandatory Credit  Stephen Hamilton Stephen Hamilton/ 16/1/2018 Horses pictured at Divis mountain in Belfast during a fall of snow. Mandatory Credit  Stephen Hamilton Stephen Hamilton/ 16/1/2018 A rear wheel drive BMW cant make its way through the icy roads in Lisburn. Mandatory Credit  Stephen Hamilton Stephen Hamilton/ Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 16th January 2018 Vehicles on the M1 outside Belfast as the Met Office upgrades its warning for snow and ice from yellow to amber across Northern Ireland. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye Walkers trudge through the Snow on the Outskirts of Armoy in Northern Ireland. Photo Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press Pacemaker Press 08/12/2017 Battling threw the snow on Divis Mountain in Co Antrim , as heavy snow falls across Northern Ireland on Friday morning, leaving difficult driving conditions for motorists and some schools closed. Pic Colm Lenaghan/ Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 08/12/2017 Snow time in Crumlin , as heavy snow falls across Northern Ireland on Friday morning, leaving difficult driving conditions for motorists and some schools closed. Pic Colm Lenaghan/ Pacemaker Snowfall in Northern Ireland by Maureen McHenry. Submitted January 2017 Snow covers a fence in Greenloaning, near Stirling, as blizzard conditions are set to bring "a real taste of winter to the whole of the UK". Andrew Milligan/PA Wire PA Snow in Ballymena, Co Antrim, as blizzard conditions are set to sweep in, bringing "a real taste of winter to the whole of the UK". Niall Carson/PA Wire PA Presseye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 9th December 2017 Children enjoy the recent snow fall at Stormont in east Belfast. Mandatory Credit Matt Mackey / Presseye.com PressEye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 8th December 2017 General views of snow at Stormont Estate. Picture: PressEye / Philip Magowan Philip Magowan PressEye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 8th December 2017 General views of snow at Stormont Estate. Picture: PressEye / Philip Magowan Philip Magowan Presseye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 9th December 2017 Children enjoy the recent snow fall at Stormont in east Belfast. Jack (5) sledges down the hill at parliament buildings. Mandatory Credit Matt Mackey / Presseye.com Presseye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 9th December 2017 Children enjoy the recent snow fall at Stormont in east Belfast. Jack (5) along with his sister Mia (10) and friend Rachel (11) pictured at parliament buildings. Mandatory Credit Matt Mackey / Presseye.com Presseye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 9th December 2017 Children enjoy the recent snow fall at Stormont in east Belfast. Mia (10) pictured at parliament buildings. Mandatory Credit Matt Mackey / Presseye.com Presseye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 9th December 2017 Children enjoy the recent snow fall at Stormont in east Belfast. Mia (10) pictured at parliament buildings. Mandatory Credit Matt Mackey / Presseye.com Presseye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 9th December 2017 Children enjoy the recent snow fall at Stormont in east Belfast. Jack (5) sledges down the hill at parliament buildings. Mandatory Credit Matt Mackey / Presseye.com Presseye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 9th December 2017 Children enjoy the recent snow fall at Stormont in east Belfast. Jack (5) sledges down the hill at parliament buildings. Mandatory Credit Matt Mackey / Presseye.com PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 9/12/2017: Ella and Bobby McMullan from Aghalee have fun in the snow at the Enchanted Winter Garden which opened on Saturday in Antrim's Castle Gardens. The annual Christmas event is now in it's fifth season. Enchanted Winter Garden is running to 20 December in Antrim Castle Gardens, Antrim. For event information and tickets visit www.enchantedwintergarden.com PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 9/12/2017: Sarah and Ethan Gillespie from Limavady have fun in the snow at the Enchanted Winter Garden which opened on Saturday in Antrim's Castle Gardens. The annual Christmas event is now in it's fifth season. Enchanted Winter Garden is running to 20 December in Antrim Castle Gardens, Antrim. For event information and tickets visit www.enchantedwintergarden.com PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON PACEMAKER, BELFAST, 9/12/2017: Teal-Bella Alexander from Bangor has fun in the snow at the Enchanted Winter Garden which opened on Saturday in Antrim's Castle Gardens. The annual Christmas event is now in it's fifth season. Enchanted Winter Garden is running to 20 December in Antrim Castle Gardens, Antrim. For event information and tickets visit www.enchantedwintergarden.com PICTURE BY STEPHEN DAVISON 10/12/17 PACEMAKER PRESS People make the best of the snow in the grounds of Stormont. PICTURE MATT BOHILL PACEMAKER PRESS 10/12/17 PACEMAKER PRESS People make the best of the snow in the grounds of Stormont. PICTURE MATT BOHILL PACEMAKER PRESS 10/12/17 PACEMAKER PRESS People make the best of the snow in the grounds of Stormont. PICTURE MATT BOHILL PACEMAKER PRESS 10/12/17 PACEMAKER PRESS People make the best of the snow in the grounds of Stormont. PICTURE MATT BOHILL PACEMAKER PRESS 10/12/17 PACEMAKER PRESS People make the best of the snow in the grounds of Stormont. Brian Buckley with his two children Finn and Jenna take their sled out. PICTURE MATT BOHILL PACEMAKER PRESS Press Eye Belfast - Northern Ireland 10th December 2017 A man walks his dog in Fourwinds outside Belfast as snow continues to lie across Northern Ireland. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye.com Press Eye Belfast - Northern Ireland 10th December 2017 Children enjoy the snow at Stormont in east Belfast as it continues to lie across Northern Ireland. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye.com Press Eye Belfast - Northern Ireland 10th December 2017 Snow continues to lie across Northern Ireland as this robin red breast is pictured in the Fourwinds area outside Belfast. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye.com Press Eye Belfast - Northern Ireland 10th December 2017 Four-year-old Noah Adams enjoys the snow at Stormont in east Belfast as it continues to lie across Northern Ireland. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye.com Press Eye Belfast - Northern Ireland 10th December 2017 Faith Adams(4) and Gracie Worth(7) enjoy the snow at Stormont in east Belfast as it continues to lie across Northern Ireland. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye.com Press Eye Belfast - Northern Ireland 10th December 2017 A view of Stormont from the Castlereigh Hills outside Belfast as snow continues to lie across Northern Ireland. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye.com Press Eye Belfast - Northern Ireland 10th December 2017 A view of Stormont from the Castlereigh Hills outside Belfast as snow continues to lie across Northern Ireland. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye.com Press Eye Belfast - Northern Ireland 10th December 2017 Four-year-old Noah Adams enjoys the snow at Stormont in east Belfast as it continues to lie across Northern Ireland. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye.com Pacemaker Press 08/12/2017 A dog enjoying the snow in Crumlin , as heavy snow falls across Northern Ireland on Friday morning, leaving difficult driving conditions for motorists and some schools closed. Pic Colm Lenaghan/ Pacemaker Pacemaker Press Belfast 08-12-2017: Heavy snow showers overnight have led to disruption across parts of Northern Ireland. Dozens of schools have been closed due to the wintery conditions. The snowfall means an unexpected day off for some young people. Police are advising road users to use extreme caution on the roads. Anne Curley pictured enjoying the snow. Picture By: Arthur Allison/Pacemaker. Queens University, picture by Steven Egan Picture by Steven Egan Pacemaker Press 08/12/2017 Children Ruben and Zara McGlinchey , Nathan McCann and Shea McLaughlin enjoying the snow in Crumlin , as heavy snow falls across Northern Ireland on Friday morning, leaving difficult driving conditions for motorists and some schools closed. Pic Colm Lenaghan/ Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 08/12/2017 A dog enjoying the snow in Crumlin , as heavy snow falls across Northern Ireland on Friday morning, leaving difficult driving conditions for motorists and some schools closed. Pic Colm Lenaghan/ Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 08/12/2017 A Snow Man on Divis Mountain in Co Antrim , as heavy snow falls across Northern Ireland on Friday morning, leaving difficult driving conditions for motorists and some schools closed. Pic Colm Lenaghan/ Pacemaker General views of Snow in Belfast on December 8th 2017 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Pacemaker Press Belfast 08-12-2017: Heavy snow showers overnight have led to disruption across parts of Northern Ireland. Dozens of schools have been closed due to the wintery conditions. The snowfall means an unexpected day off for some young people. Police are advising road users to use extreme caution on the roads. Paul and Ollie Forbes pictured enjoying the snow. Picture By: Arthur Allison/Pacemaker. Pacemaker Press 08/12/2017 A Snow Man on Divis Mountain in Co Antrim , as heavy snow falls across Northern Ireland on Friday morning, leaving difficult driving conditions for motorists and some schools closed. Pic Colm Lenaghan/ Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 08/12/2017 Battling threw the snow on Divis Mountain in Co Antrim , as heavy snow falls across Northern Ireland on Friday morning, leaving difficult driving conditions for motorists and some schools closed. Pic Colm Lenaghan/ Pacemaker General views of Snow in Belfast on December 8th 2017 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Pacemaker Press 08/12/2017 Children Ruben and Zara McGlinchey , Nathan McCann and Shea McLaughlin enjoying the snow in Crumlin , as heavy snow falls across Northern Ireland on Friday morning, leaving difficult driving conditions for motorists and some schools closed. Pic Colm Lenaghan/ Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 08/12/2017 Battling threw the snow on Divis Mountain in Co Antrim , as heavy snow falls across Northern Ireland on Friday morning, leaving difficult driving conditions for motorists and some schools closed. Pic Colm Lenaghan/ Pacemaker Pacemaker Press Belfast 08-12-2017: Heavy snow showers overnight have led to disruption across parts of Northern Ireland. Dozens of schools have been closed due to the wintery conditions. The snowfall means an unexpected day off for some young people. Police are advising road users to use extreme caution on the roads. Snow in North Belfast. Picture By: Arthur Allison/Pacemaker. Pacemaker Press Belfast 08-12-2017: Heavy snow showers overnight have led to disruption across parts of Northern Ireland. Dozens of schools have been closed due to the wintery conditions. The snowfall means an unexpected day off for some young people. Police are advising road users to use extreme caution on the roads. Patrick Morgan pictured enjoying the snow. Picture By: Arthur Allison/Pacemaker. Pacemaker Press 08/12/2017 Children Ruben and Zara McGlinchey enjoying the snow in Crumlin , as heavy snow falls across Northern Ireland on Friday morning, leaving difficult driving conditions for motorists and some schools closed. Pic Colm Lenaghan/ Pacemaker Pacemaker Press Belfast 08-12-2017: Heavy snow showers overnight have led to disruption across parts of Northern Ireland. Dozens of schools have been closed due to the wintery conditions. The snowfall means an unexpected day off for some young people. Police are advising road users to use extreme caution on the roads. Patrick Morgan pictured enjoying the snow. Picture By: Arthur Allison/Pacemaker. Pacemaker Press 08/12/2017 A dog enjoying the snow in Crumlin , as heavy snow falls across Northern Ireland on Friday morning, leaving difficult driving conditions for motorists and some schools closed. Pic Colm Lenaghan/ Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 08/12/2017 Children Ruben and Zara McGlinchey , Nathan McCann and Shea McLaughlin enjoying the snow in Crumlin , as heavy snow falls across Northern Ireland on Friday morning, leaving difficult driving conditions for motorists and some schools closed. Pic Colm Lenaghan/ Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 08/12/2017 Walking the dogs in Crumlin , as heavy snow falls across Northern Ireland on Friday morning, leaving difficult driving conditions for motorists and some schools closed. Pic Colm Lenaghan/ Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 08/12/2017 Eoin Donnelly plays football in Crumlin , as heavy snow falls across Northern Ireland on Friday morning, leaving difficult driving conditions for motorists and some schools closed. Pic Colm Lenaghan/ Pacemaker People make their way to work as snow falls over Belfast. Picture Colm O'Reilly People make their way to work as snow falls over Belfast. Picture Colm O'Reilly Snow falls over Belfast. Picture Colm O'Reilly Snow falls over Belfast. Picture Colm O'Reilly Snow has fallen over Belfast. Tourists have their pictures taken in the snow at Clarendon dock Belfast. Picture Colm O'Reilly People make their way to work as snow falls over Belfast. Picture Colm O'Reilly People make their way to work as snow falls over Belfast. Picture Colm O'Reilly Pacemaker Press 08/12/2017 Snow falls in Crumlin , as heavy snow falls across Northern Ireland on Friday morning, leaving difficult driving conditions for motorists and some schools closed. Pic Colm Lenaghan/ Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 08/12/2017 Snow time in Crumlin , as heavy snow falls across Northern Ireland on Friday morning, leaving difficult driving conditions for motorists and some schools closed. Pic Colm Lenaghan/ Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 08/12/2017 Salting the foot patch as Snow falls in Crumlin , as heavy snow falls across Northern Ireland on Friday morning, leaving difficult driving conditions for motorists and some schools closed. Pic Colm Lenaghan/ Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 08/12/2017 Young Boys play in the snow in Crumlin , as heavy snow falls across Northern Ireland on Friday morning, leaving difficult driving conditions for motorists and some schools closed. Pic Colm Lenaghan/ Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 08/12/2017 Snow falls in Crumlin , as heavy snow falls across Northern Ireland on Friday morning, leaving difficult driving conditions for motorists and some schools closed. Pic Colm Lenaghan/ Pacemaker Pacemaker Press 08/12/2017 Snow falls in Crumlin , as heavy snow falls across Northern Ireland on Friday morning, leaving difficult driving conditions for motorists and some schools closed. Pic Colm Lenaghan/ Pacemaker Snow begins to fall on the Stormont Estate in east Belfast. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Snow begins to fall on the Stormont Estate in east Belfast. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Snow begins to fall on the Stormont Estate in east Belfast. Picture by Jonathan Porter/Press Eye Loving the snow are my pups Murphy, Lexi and Dexter. Submitted by Kathy Mackin-Jackson, from Armagh. Jan 2017. Loving the snow are my pups Murphy, Lexi and Dexter. Submitted by Kathy Mackin-Jackson, from Armagh. Jan 2017. Picture submitted by Fiona Burns - Jan 2017 Snowfall in Ballycastle, January 2017 - submitted by Tony Bowen Our spectacular Thursday afternoon drive around Giants Causeway. Submitted by Sharon Saverin & TJ Abraham. January 2017 Jonathan Sims took this photo at Katesbridge. Submitted Jan 2017 Our spectacular Thursday afternoon drive around Giants Causeway. Submitted by Sharon Saverin & TJ Abraham. January 2017 This is a view from my window in Rathfriland, the Mournes at the far back left of the picture. Submitted by Lucy Barry - January 2017 Walkers threw the Snow on the Outskirts of Armoy in Northern Ireland, as snow fall hits across the country with more expected. Photo Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press A farmer battles through the snow on the outskirts of Armoy in Northern Ireland. Photo Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press Drivers battle through the snow on the outskirts of Armoy in Northern Ireland. Photo Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press Snow on the outskirts of Armoy in Northern Ireland. Photo Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press Snow on the outskirts of Armoy in Northern Ireland. Photo Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Press Sheep in the snow in Ballymena, Co Antrim, as blizzard conditions are set to sweep in, bringing "a real taste of winter to the whole of the UK". Niall Carson/PA Wire PA Snow covers a road sign in Greenloaning, near Stirling, as blizzard conditions are set to bring "a real taste of winter to the whole of the UK". Andrew Milligan/PA Wire PA A dog walker in the snow in Ballymena, Co Antrim, as blizzard conditions are set to sweep in, bringing "a real taste of winter to the whole of the UK". Niall Carson/PA Wire PA Cars drive through snow on the A26 in Ballymena, Co Antrim, as blizzard conditions are set to sweep in, bringing "a real taste of winter to the whole of the UK". Niall Carson/PA Wire PA Snow lies on Tan Hill in North Yorkshire, as others parts of the country are bracing themselves for wintry showers. Steve Parsons/PA Wire PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp Press Eye Belfast - Northern Ireland 10th December 2017 A view of Belfast from the Castlereigh Hills as snow continues to lie across Northern Ireland. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye.com

"We asked him to take a couple of shots of us with my phone then we walked down through the hedges before we headed back because it was so cold and neither of us had a coat.

"I went back to ask Sharon if he would take another picture of us, but I had the ring box in my hand this time and he twigged what was going to happen and he had the biggest smile on his face.

"I went back over to Donna and then went down on one knee - and she said 'yes'."

Despite being together since 2009, Donna said she had not been expecting the proposal.

She said: "Because we have been together so long I was caught completely by surprise.

"It was a spontaneous thing for Steven too because the ring he proposed with was just a Pandora ring we bought in Ballymena that I picked for my middle finger.

"When he went down on one knee, I didn't realise at the start that he was going to propose, but of course I said yes.

"Beyond that I don't actually remember too much because I was so surprised.

"When we came back home we got a real engagement ring and I love it so much, but the ring Steven asked me to marry him with will always hold a special place in my heart too. "When we came back from the Dark Hedges and told our families they were so excited. I think they thought it was never going to happen.

"It is too early to think about setting a date for a wedding but we do know we will come back to Northern Ireland for it."

Sharon, the man who happened to be in the right place at the right time to immortalise the occasion, was only too happy to oblige.

He said: "I am a landscape photographer and I have taken lots of photographs at the Dark Hedges but I had no clue that I would be asked to take this very important one.

"I have been taking pictures here for the past 16 years and that was the first time I had seen the Dark Hedges covered in snow.

"I was composing my own picture when this guy came up to me and asked me to take their photograph.

"I took the photograph using their phone and handed the phone back to them, but it was all so unexpected I got back into my car and forgot to ask who they were.

"I took one photograph using my long lens and asked through social media if anyone knew who the couple were, and that's how I found them.

"Steven allowed me to use the photo on my social media and so many people saw it and reacted to it. I am only too pleased to have played a part in their wonderful moment and I wish them all the very best for the future."
Round table talks continued on Friday, although the two main parties were absent.

Hopes are growing that a deal to restore power-sharing at Stormont could be announced as early as next week.

Discussions continued at Stormont, although the two main parties, the DUP and Sinn Fein, were absent from a scheduled all-party session on Friday.

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The episode has fuelled mounting speculation that the two largest parties have made progress in their efforts to strike a deal, and are continuing to hammer out the details of a proposed agreement that would see the power-sharing Executive return more than a year after it collapsed.

British and Irish ministers held talks with the three smaller parties, the Ulster Unionist Party, the SDLP and the Alliance Party.

Round table meeting at Parliament Buildings was NOT an all party affair. SDLP, UUP, Alliance and UK and Irish govs all attended. They were told DUP and SF still talking elsewhere in building.  David Young (@DavidYoungPA) February 9, 2018

Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley has previously said an agreement was by no means certain, but she expressed hope a resolution between Sinn Fein and Democratic Unionists could be secured in the near future.

On Friday SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said: "The truth is, this isnt an all-party process. It is an exclusive two party process.

"Ive told both governments when the two party process is concluded and they are ready to engage in five party negotiations the SDLP will be ready to negotiate."

Earlier it was reported Prime Minister Theresa May could visit Northern Ireland next week as a deal edges closer.
Teenagers demanding marriage equality in Northern Ireland are to deliver a petition to Stormont on Valentine's Day

Teenagers demanding marriage equality in Northern Ireland are to deliver a petition to Stormont on Valentine's Day.

They want same-sex marriage to be guaranteed as part of any deal to save the devolved institutions.

Failing that, they want the UK Government to deliver equality legislation at Westminster.

Cameron Brown (18) from Belfast said: "When I'm a bit older, I want to be able to marry the love of my life. Why would the Government want to stop me doing that?

"Marriage equality isn't simply an aspiration. It is a right and it's our demand of our politicians."

Same-sex marriage is among a number of stumbling blocks to agreement between political parties at Stormont.

Issues around Irish language rights and dealing with the legacy of Northern Ireland's toxic past must also be resolved.

Those behind the online petition are members of the Cara-Friend youth group in Belfast.

It is the latest phase in the Love Equality campaign which is supported by Amnesty International, the Rainbow Project and a number of trade unions.

Amelia Clarke (18) from Belfast said: "One day I want to be able to get married with my family and friends around me. Is that too much to ask? We are asking people to sign our petition for equality. It's time that Northern Ireland respected all its citizens."

Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK or Ireland which bans marriage for same-sex couples.

In 2015 a majority of MLAs in the Assembly voted to support equal marriage, but the measure was blocked by the use of a controversial voting mechanism designed to protect the rights of minorities.

Shay Love (18) from Belfast said: "I refuse to be a second-class citizen in my own country.

"We don't want much - we just want to be treated equally."

Last week representatives from Love Equality met with senior figures from the DUP for the first time but expressed disappointment that the party could not give a commitment it would not block any future same-sex marriage legislation.
Mike Davidson claims to be able to banish unwanted same-sex attraction

The leader of a Northern Ireland-based Christian organisation that counsels gay people to "move away from homosexual influences" says they "don't have to choose to be victims" of their feelings.

Mike Davidson (63) is the head of the Core Issues Trust in Ballynahinch, Co Down, which claims it is "challenging gender confusion".

Yesterday the London premiere of the group's film featuring 15 people "emerging out of homosexual lifestyles" was cancelled by the Vue cinema in Piccadilly. The private booking for 126 people was pulled after the event drew criticism.

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Mr Davidson's group protested outside the cinema last night and is considering legal action over the cancellation.

Yesterday he said Voices Of The Silenced would be screened at an alternative, unnamed London location last night.

"I'm disappointed that Vue cancelled the film screening," he said. "Men and women need to be free to identify in the direction that they want to go, and if they choose to move away from homosexuality they need to be respected. We would like to show the film in Belfast, but I don't know if the community here is ready for it."

Mr Davidson, a father-of-two who underwent counselling for homosexuality and has been married for 38 years, provides 'sexual attraction fluidity exploration' therapy from his Co Down base.

At the age of 23, despite having a "mixture of feelings" for both men and women, he married Lynore.

"I became a Christian at 18, but my religious conversion didn't change my feelings towards men," he said.

"My wife was aware of my feelings - there was some acting out during the marriage at one point.

"I was a married man in conflict, so I made a decision to get professional help in my late 40s.

"They took my goals as something they would be willing to support, they didn't tell me to leave my wife.

"That support is not available to gay men today. I don't still feel sexually attracted to men.

"It can be triggered by a memory, but I'm not looking to be attracted to another male.

"I no longer have the emotional need to connect to men - that has been replaced by very good non-sexual friendships.

"My wife has been very understanding and supportive."

After receiving counselling, Mr Davidson undertook psychotherapeutic training, but was expelled from the course because of his views on the changeability of homosexuality.

"I wasn't allowed to complete my training, and I had a view that we need to have an alternative route to that offered by the standard organisations," he added.

Originally from South Africa, Mr Davidson moved to Northern Ireland in 2005, and now aims to rid gay men of "unwanted same-sex attraction" by offering a "psychotherapeutic method to support their goals".

"At the busiest time I see 14-20 people a week, a lot by Skype or on the phone," he explained.

"Some go on to have viable relationships with the opposite sex.

"To say that they are doing it because of social or religious pressure is very dismissive.

"A lot of people want help."

Mr Davidson does not think homosexuality is "an illness".

"You're not dealing with a disease, you're dealing with an unwanted same-sex attraction," he said.

"I'm not saying homosexuality is a choice - I didn't choose my feelings, I chose what I did with those feelings.

"Irrespective of what they are, you don't have to be victims.

"I realised I could make choices around my values."

Mr Davidson says he doesn't think that people are born homosexual or straight, but may have "heritable characteristics" and "postnatal" experiences which could lead to identifying as gay.

He claims the LGBT lobby is stifling alternative viewpoints.

"Our traditional Christian values are under attack now more than ever," he said.

"It's going to lead to huge confusion amongst children and the disintegration of the nuclear family, and ultimately a meltdown of society as a whole."

A spokeswoman for Vue said: "Management received notification that a private screening request by Core Issues Trust and Christian Concern would be promoting and campaigning for a medical 'cure' to homosexuality.

"After careful consideration of the facts a decision was made to cancel the event."

Gavin Boyd at the Rainbow Project, which works with the LGBT community, welcomed the cancellation of the screening.

He said: "The Rainbow Project remains opposed to unethical and fraudulent practices such as those that aim to change a person's sexual orientation. All conversion/reparative therapies seeking sexual orientation change are rooted in homophobia and therefore can have no ethical framework.

"Conversion/reparative therapy is condemned by mental health, psychiatric and psychological bodies across Europe, North America and Australia because, put simply, they do not work. Our community still disproportionally experiences poor mental health compared to the general population.

"This poor mental health is caused by experiences of homophobia and transphobia - and promoting homophobia, like this film does, is no way to improve anyone's mental health.

"We welcome that the screening has been cancelled and we encourage all LGBT people who are struggling with their sexual orientation or gender identity to seek help from reputable professionals providing non-directive support and services."
Freemasons in Northern Ireland are not being discriminated against in the way fraternal members are in England, a leading figure has said.

Douglas Grey, the grand master of the Grand Lodge of Freemasons of Ireland, spoke out after the Grand Lodge of England took out an advert calling for an end to the stigmatisation of its members.

Mr Grey said he was not aware of any hate crime being carried out against Freemasons here.

And he said "under no circumstances" would the group in Ireland need to take out an advert in the national Press calling for an end to discrimination as their English counterparts had done.

Yesterday, the United Grand Lodge of England placed the adverts in three newspapers under the headline 'Enough is enough', claiming that Freemasons had been "undeservedly stigmatised."

The organisation's chief executive David Staples claimed its 200,000-plus members were victims of "ongoing gross misrepresentation" which amounted to "discrimination".

He added: "Our members shouldn't have to feel undeservedly stigmatised. No other organisation would stand for this and nor shall we."

Mr Staples said he had written to the Equality and Human Rights Commission over the issue.

The public will be able to ask questions at a series of open evenings across England over the next six months. However, Mr Grey said he didn't feel Freemasons had been victims of misrepresentation in Ireland.

"I don't see any evidence of that, and I have been grand master for three years and was deputy grand master for eight years prior to that," he said.

"We have about 18,000 people who are members of the Freemasons in Northern Ireland and I'm not aware of anyone suffering hate crimes due to their membership of the organisation.

"There are about 580 lodges in the whole of Ireland, and 65%-70% are in Northern Ireland.

"Our doors are always open, we don't place any restriction on people coming into our building in Dublin on heritage days - we have between 3,000 and 4,000 coming through the doors."

Mr Grey said that there had been "no demand" to open up the society, which has been men-only since 1725.

"There are female Freemason lodges if they want to do that," he added.

"We haven't had any enquiries."
Former Anglo Irish Bank boss David Drumm has denied arranging dishonest or fraudulent multibillion-euro transfers to boost the lenders books in the months before it went bust, a court has been told.

The ex-banker is charged with conspiracy to defraud and false accounting relating to 7.2 billion euro being moved between Anglo and the Irish Life and Permanent (IL&P) and Irish Life Assurance (ILA) companies between March and September 2008.

Drumm has pleaded not guilty.

In the first day of evidence in a trial which is expected to run for several months, his lawyers told the court that he does not deny the money was moved.

Defence barrister Tessa White said: David Drumm accepts all of the factual matters relating to the mechanics of how the September transactions happened and the only issue that he disputes is whether they were fraudulent or dishonest or that there was any dishonesty in their reporting.

In a series of admissions on Drumms behalf, Ms White detailed a series of transfers between Anglo and IL&P and ILA as the global financial crisis hit hard in 2008.

In March Anglo placed one billion euro with IL&P and ILA deposited 750 million euro in return.

In June that year IL&P moved bonds worth more than three billion euro to Anglo.

In return Anglo deposited three billion euro.

In September Anglo moved 7.2 billion euro to IL&P.

In return IL&P moved the same amount back to Anglo on behalf of ILA.

All the monies were repaid within weeks of each transaction.

The aims were to increase Anglos non-bank deposits and to reduce IL&Ps reliance on European Central Bank funding.

More transactions had been planned for December but they were never completed.

Ms White told the court: David Drumm as chief executive officer authorised the March, June, September and December transactions and assumes responsibility for their execution by Anglo.

Judge Karen OConnor told the jury of 10 men and five women that the admissions would considerably reduce the length of the trial.

Earlier, Paul OHiggins, Senior Counsel for the state, told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court that Drumm had arranged the 7.2 billion euro September transfer.

He said: This was a completely artificial process leading to a dressing up, a more than dressing up, a falsification of Anglo Irish Banks balance sheet so that its non-bank deposits were 7.2 billion euro bigger than they really were.

The jury was told that it will hear tape-recorded phone calls from Anglos treasury department, including calls about the multibillion-euro transfers.

Mr OHiggins said the money was moved at lightning speed and the prime objective was to dishonestly create the false impression at Anglos year end in 2008 that its non-bank deposits were in the 50 billions.

That ultimately happened, the barrister said.

Drumm, who is living in Skerries, Co Dublin, is on bail.

The 51-year-old wore a dark suit and an open-necked blue shirt as he sat in court listening to the prosecutions opening statement.

Drumm was Anglo chief executive from January 2005 until December 2008. He left Ireland for Boston in 2009 after the lender collapsed.

Mr OHiggins told the court: Mr Drumm was the chief executive officer of Anglo Irish Bank.

He was, the prosecution says, the man who called the shots. As CEO he was effectively in charge of the operation.

You are not to draw conclusions from his hat as CEO. You are to draw conclusions with the evidence here about his involvement.

Anglo was nationalised by the then government, a move which cost Irish citizens 29 billion euro.

Drumm was brought back to Ireland in March 2016 under an extradition warrant.
The Prince of Wales swapped his chauffeur-driven limousine for an armoured Warrior vehicle when he visited a battled-hardened infantry regiment.

Sitting in the gunners position and wearing combat fatigues, safety goggles and a helmet, he looked every inch the infantry officer and described the experience as brilliant.

Expand Close The Prince of Wales (back right) takes a ride on a Warrior infantry armoured vehicle during a visit to the Mercian Regiment to mark 10 years as its colonel-in-chief. (Peter Nicholls/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp The Prince of Wales (back right) takes a ride on a Warrior infantry armoured vehicle during a visit to the Mercian Regiment to mark 10 years as its colonel-in-chief. (Peter Nicholls/PA)

Charles had joined troops from the Mercian Regiment and as their colonel-in-chief for more than ten years was afforded the honour of a spin in the Warrior.

Earlier, during a reception for troops from the 1st Battalion, Mercian Regiment and their families, he highlighted the important role loved ones play in supporting officers and soldiers deployed on operations.

The visit finishes with a demonstration of the @MercianRegimentas equipment & capabilities - including a test-ride in a Warrior Tracked Armoured Vehicle! pic.twitter.com/ztVzUaUM7P  The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall (@ClarenceHouse) February 9, 2018

He said: I know youre kept very busy, so on this occasion its been a great pleasure to meet with the wives and other halves, and the partners and the small children and the older children.

And apart from anything else, these regiments are real family  operations, and thats what makes them so special, I think.

And of course each battalion marches with all your families, as it were, behind you.

In the Warrant Officers' and Sergeants' Mess, The Prince joins officers, soldiers and their families. pic.twitter.com/QRrWvv5hw1  The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall (@ClarenceHouse) February 9, 2018

Speaking during the event at Bulford Camp in Wiltshire, he added: So I just wanted to use this opportunity to pay a particular tribute to all the families who I know provide so much support and encouragement and understanding to their other halves, who are so often carrying out all sorts of challenging operations, here or in different parts of the world.

Charles also met one of the Mercians newest recruits  a ram called Private Derby XXXII.

Despite having a reputation for being feisty, the regimental mascot was happy to be stroked by the prince when he first arrived at the camp.

Expand Close The Prince of Wales meets the Mercian Regiment's mascot, a ram called Private Derby XXXII, at Bulford Camp in Wiltshire. (Peter Nicholls/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp The Prince of Wales meets the Mercian Regiment's mascot, a ram called Private Derby XXXII, at Bulford Camp in Wiltshire. (Peter Nicholls/PA)

On Salisbury Plain the prince was taken on a five minute spin in a Warrior after clambering on board and taking a seat next to Warrant Officer 2nd Class Lee Howdle, a Warrior Sergeant.

The vehicle sped off into the distance over a hill and returned across open ground where a demonstration of Challenger 2 tanks and Warriors attacking an imaginary foe had been staged.

At the end of his journey Charles made a point of walking to the front of the Warrior to thank the soldier driving and told him: It goes at quite a rate  brilliant.

The Warrior Sergeant said: I think he really enjoyed himself and was really surprised at how quick it can move.

During his visit to the camp Charles presented operational medals to soldiers who have recently returned from Iraq and South Sudan as well as Long Service and Good Conduct awards.
The chief coroner for England and Wales will hold a pre-inquest hearing later into the deaths from the London Bridge and Borough Market terror attack.

Eight people were killed when three men ploughed into pedestrians in a white van on the bridge, before stabbing revellers in the nearby market with 12-inch ceramic knives on June 3 last year.

The victims were: Canadian Christine Archibald, 30, and Frenchmen Xavier Thomas, 45, and Alexandre Pigeard, 26, as well as Sara Zelenak, 21, Kirsty Boden, 28, Sebastien Belanger, 36, James McMullan, 32, and Ignacio Echeverria, 39.

Expand Close Top row left to right, Canadian Christine Archibald, James McMullan, Alexandre Pigeard, French chef Sebastien Belanger, bottom row left to right, Australian nurse Kirsty Boden, Australian Sara Zelenak, Xavier Thomas and Spanish banker Ignacio Echeverria (Metropolitan Police/PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Top row left to right, Canadian Christine Archibald, James McMullan, Alexandre Pigeard, French chef Sebastien Belanger, bottom row left to right, Australian nurse Kirsty Boden, Australian Sara Zelenak, Xavier Thomas and Spanish banker Ignacio Echeverria (Metropolitan Police/PA)

The attackers, Khuram Butt, 27, Rachid Redouane, 30, and Youssef Zaghba, 22, were shot and killed by police at the scene.

Expand Close From left, Khuram Shazad Butt, Rachid Redouane and Youssef Zaghba (Metropolitan Police/PA) Press Association Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp From left, Khuram Shazad Butt, Rachid Redouane and Youssef Zaghba (Metropolitan Police/PA)

Coroner Mark Lucraft QC is expected to give initial directions to pave the way for a rigorous and thorough investigation during the hearing at the Old Bailey.

He is responsible for the inquests into the deaths of the eight victims as well as those of the terrorists.

The coroner is being assisted by Jonathan Hough QC and Aaron Moss as counsel to the London Bridge and Borough Market Inquests.
A serial conman who pretended his family died in the Grenfell Tower fire to obtain thousands of pounds in relief funds is likely to be released from prison before the one year anniversary of the tragedy.

Fraudster Anh Nhu Nguyen, 53, was jailed for 21 months at Southwark Crown Court for his two-week web of deceit which saw him receive about 11,270 from charities and Kensington and Chelsea Council (RBKC).

Nguyen spun a cruel tale to family liaison officers and journalists, describing in detail how he and his family wrapped themselves in sheets and towels before he lost sight of them in the smoke-clogged stairwell.

His deception spread to the highest level, with Nguyen seen shaking the hand of the Prince of Wales when he visited a relief centre to show his support.

But the day after the June 14 fire, which killed 71 people, the fraudster was seen on CCTV at a housing charity nine miles away appearing happy and lighthearted, prosecutors said.

On Friday at Southwark Crown Court Judge Philip Bartle QC told Nguyen, who showed no reaction as he stood in the dock, that he would serve half his sentence in jail.

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Taking into consideration the seven months he has spent behind bars, this could see Vietnam-born Nguyen released in mid May.

The judge dismissed claims from a psychological report read by Nguyens barrister Keima Payton, that part of his motivation was to feel part of a group, to be looked after, wanted and welcome.

He said: The offences to which you have pleaded guilty are ones which you committed knowing full well what the consequences were. I do not accept that the acts were in some way an attempt to be part of a community and that you were in some way reaching out in order to be embraced by that community.

I am sure from everything I have seen that despite your low IQ you knew full well what you were doing, you knew that you were taking advantage of these genuine victims at this terrible time of this terrible tragedy.

Nguyen has an astonishingly low IQ that places him in the bottom 2.5% of people in Britain, Ms Payton said.

A psychological report also found he was suffering from long-term, untreated post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and low empathy, she added.

She said Nguyen had been attacked a number of times while behind bars, adding that she was in no doubt that a recent severe beating had left his body riddled with bruises and cuts.

Judge Bartle said the effect the deceit had on the local community and Nguyens previous criminal record were both aggravating factors in deciding his sentence.

He emphasised this was in no way a victimless crime, citing those directly affected by the Grenfell Tower fire, local volunteers, the public, the local council and the police as victims.

One former tower resident, whose statement was read out in court, said: The actions of these fraudsters have totally ripped the heart and faith out of the Grenfell Tower community and I personally have lost the little trust I had in the system.

A local volunteer, Loubna Aghzafi, said the fear of encountering fraudsters led to her and others becoming cautious, adding: This is not how we wish to work because we just want to help real survivors.

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The court also heard how one man, was forced to give a statement explaining his father, who died in the fire, lived in one of the flats Nguyen had claimed to inhabit, which had caused him extreme distress.

The court was told Nguyens previous appalling criminal record spanned from his teenage years in 1983 to the present day.

He has 28 previous convictions for 56 offences spanning more than 30 years, including theft, dishonest offences, arson and grievous bodily harm.

Some 26 of these are for matters of fraud and dishonesty.

Nguyen was born in Vietnam, has been in the UK since the 1980s, is not a British citizen and has 17 aliases.

Judge Bartle said his past offending showed a consistent pattern of lying.

At a hearing in November, he admitted two counts of fraud by false representation and one count of making an untrue statement for the purpose of obtaining a passport.

He obtained two laptops, a mobile phone, food, clothes and toiletries as well as cash.
Anh Nhu Nguyen admitted pretending his family died in the Grenfell Tower fire to obtain around 12,500 meant for the victims (Metropolitan Police/PA)

A serial conman who pretended his family died in the Grenfell Tower fire to obtain about 12,500 meant for the victims is due to be sentenced on Friday.

Anh Nhu Nguyen claimed his wife and son were killed in the June 14 disaster and was photographed beside the Prince of Wales when he met survivors.

As part of his deceit, Nguyen spun a cruel tale to family liaison officers, describing in detail how he lost sight of his family in the smoke-clogged stairwell, police said.

But while a major recovery operation was under way on June 15, the fraudster was actually nine miles away at a housing charity, according to prosecutors.

Expand Close Anh Nhu Nguyen (left, dark shirt) met the Prince of Wales in the aftermath of the blaze (Philip Toscano/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Anh Nhu Nguyen (left, dark shirt) met the Prince of Wales in the aftermath of the blaze (Philip Toscano/PA)

He posed as a victim of the blaze for almost two weeks and was given about 12,500 by charities and Kensington and Chelsea Council.

Some 71 people were killed in the blaze which swept through the west London block after cladding on the exterior caught fire.

The 53-year-old, of Beckenham, south-east London, pleaded guilty at Southwark Crown Court in November to two counts of fraud by false representation and one count of making an untrue statement for the purpose of obtaining a passport.

Sentencing was originally adjourned until December by Judge Philip Bartle to allow a pre-sentence report and a psychiatric report to be compiled.

However, at a hearing shortly before Christmas, Southwark Crown Court heard there had been a failure by probation services to make contact with the defendant and provide a report.

Judge Bartle also said a psychologist had prepared a substantial 21-page report but had said it was essential to have access to Nguyens medical notes before making any final conclusions.

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Nguyen was born in Vietnam, has been in the UK since the 1980s, is a British citizen and has 17 aliases.

He has 28 previous convictions for 56 offences spanning more than 30 years, including theft, dishonesty offences, arson and grievous bodily harm.
The ex-wife of a London security firm boss has been given an eight-month jail term by a High Court judge after being accused of forgery during a legal wrangle following a marriage breakdown.

Mr Justice Zacaroli ruled that Soraya Henderson was in contempt of court after former husband Terry Neil made a series of allegations.

He imposed a prison sentence at a High Court hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice in London on Thursday.

Mr Neil and Henderson set up Manage Security Services, which supplied door staff to West End nightclubs, the judge was told.

Henderson formulated a plan to take control of the firm after their eight-year marriage ended in 2015.

Her ex-husband made allegations of forgery during a resulting legal wrangle and took civil court action after alleging contempt.

Henderson, who said Mr Neil boasted of being an enforcer for an organised crime family, denied wrongdoing

Mr Justice Zacaroli found a number of allegations proved  including an allegation that she had served a witness statement exhibiting forged documents.

Henderson was led away by High Court security staff after Mr Justice Zacaroli concluded that she had to be jailed.

Mr Justice Zacaroli said Henderson told how she had become very frightened of Mr Neil following their split.

She says that he became very intimidating towards her, said the judge in a ruling on the case.

Ms Henderson paints a picture of Mr Neil as a violent and intimidating person.

The judge added: She contends that he boasted to her, early in their relationship, of being an enforcer for an organised crime family in London.
Nearly a third said funding cuts to the health service were their number one concern (John Stillwell/PA)

More people are worried about the future of the NHS than the threat of terrorism, research has suggested.

Nearly a third (32%) of UK residents who were polled stated funding cuts to the health service were their number one concern, a higher proportion than were most worried about terrorism (28%), despite a series of attacks over the past year.

The figure was also higher than those who expressed concern over the countrys economic future following Brexit (27%).

Nearly nine out of 10 (87%) people said they are concerned that if funding levels remain the same, the NHS will be at risk of complete collapse within the next five years.

Its demoralising and, in some cases, distressing that we are unable to provide proper patient care due to restrictions that are beyond our controlDr Ben Itsuokor, Independent Health Professionals Association

The research was carried out by the Independent Health Professionals Association (IHPA), which warned of a growing disparity between staffing pressures and Government underfunding.

Ben Itsuokor, consultant geriatrician and president of the IHPA, said: The NHS was founded on a belief that good healthcare should be available to all, but were facing sustained external economic forces that threaten this core principle.

Its demoralising and, in some cases, distressing that we are unable to provide proper patient care due to restrictions that are beyond our control.

During this winter alone we have seen that a lack of investment is leading to chronic staff shortages, increased waiting times and the cancellation of  sometimes very urgent  appointments and operations.

Just as we have an unshakeable duty of care to our patients, so too does the Government need to realise its moral and social obligation to preserve the future of the NHS before its too late.

The poll saw 1,500 consumers and 537 members of the IHPA questioned.
Britains Ambassador to the EU Sir Tim Barrow hand delivers the Article 50 letter to EU Council President Donald Tusk, in Brussels, Belgium (Alexander Britton/PA)

The Government spent almost 1,000 hand-delivering the Article 50 letter declaring the UKs intention to leave the EU to Brussels, it has been revealed.

Two civil servants travelled to the Belgian capital with the letter by Channel Tunnel train on return business-class tickets costing 491.50 each, said the Foreign Office.

Couldn't film the #Article50 handover - so here it is in gif form... #brexitday pic.twitter.com/voGKWwCXVq  Alexander Britton (@adbritton) March 29, 2017

The terms of Article 50 of the EU treaties state only that a country wishing to leave the EU is required to notify the European Council of its intention, and it is understood that this could have been done by email.

However, it was decided that the historic letter would be handed over to European Council president Donald Tusk by UK permanent representative Sir Tim Barrow in person on March 29 2017.

In response to a Freedom of Information request, the UK Representation to the EU said that the cost of two Eurostar Business Premier tickets, including a 1.50 booking fee and 2.50 change fee, came to 985.50.

The Prime Minister has triggered Article 50 and started the process of leaving the EU. Read the letter: https://t.co/4CfCle4BP1 pic.twitter.com/Gf4DIudIMH  UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) March 29, 2017

There were no other quantifiable costs associated with their travel, said the response. Meals were provided on the Eurostar and the two civil servants stayed overnight at the Residence.

The letter was then delivered to the President of the European Council by Sir Tim Barrow as part of his duties as UK Permanent Representative to the European Union at no additional cost.

Business Premier is the most expensive passenger ticket offered on regular Eurostar services, with standard tickets typically retailing for around 89-159 each way.

The companys website states that the ticket includes hot meals designed by Raymond Blanc, served with champagne, along with spacious seats, use of an exclusive lounge, a taxi-booking service and the option of changes and cancellation free of charge.

Holders of Business Premier tickets can turn up at the gate up to 10 minutes before departure, rather than 45 minutes with standard tickets.
A serial conman who pretended his family died in the Grenfell Tower fire to obtain more than 10,000 meant for the victims has been jailed.

Anh Nhu Nguyen claimed his wife and son were killed in the June 14 disaster and was photographed beside the Prince of Wales when he met survivors.

As part of his deceit, Nguyen spun a cruel tale to family liaison officers, describing in detail how he lost sight of his family in the smoke-clogged stairwell.

But while a major recovery operation was under way on June 15, the fraudster was actually nine miles away at a housing charity, according to prosecutors.

The 53-year-old, of Beckenham, south-east London, showed no reaction as he was jailed for 21 months by Judge Philip Bartle QC at Southwark Court on Friday.

The judge said: I am sure from everything I have seen that despite your low IQ you knew full well what you were doing. You knew that you were taking advantage of these genuine victims at this terrible time of this terrible tragedy.

The court heard that Nguyen received around 11,270 from charities and Kensington and Chelsea Council.

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Some 71 people were killed in the blaze which swept through the west London block after cladding on the exterior caught fire.

Nguyen pleaded guilty at Southwark Crown Court in November to two counts of fraud by false representation and one count of making an untrue statement for the purpose of obtaining a passport.

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Nguyen was born in Vietnam, has been in the UK since the 1980s, is a British citizen and has 17 aliases.

He has 28 previous convictions for 56 offences spanning more than 30 years, including theft, dishonesty offences, arson and grievous bodily harm.
Officers investigating the death of an 87-year-old man who died after robbers smashed their way into his home have named two men they want to trace.

Arthur Gumbley was beaten to the floor and had jewellery stolen in a violent late-night attack at his Sutton Coldfield home, near Birmingham, on November 21.

He later died in hospital, on December 12.

Staffordshire Police have issued images of two men  Jimmy Michael Connors, 28, and Tom Joseph Ward, 17  in a bid to discover their whereabouts.

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A 10,000 reward has been offered by the charity Crimestoppers for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for frail Mr Gumbleys death.

Issuing details, detectives said Mr Connors was 5ft 5ins in height, of average build and had an Irish accent.

Ward, who occasionally lives in Stoke-on-Trent, is described as 5ft 8ins tall, is of average build, and also has an Irish accent.

Detective Inspector Dan Ison, the senior investigating officer, said: Both men have links throughout the country and are known to frequent the London, Birmingham, Stoke-on-Trent and Yorkshire areas.

It is imperative they are caught as soon as possible and help from the public is needed to track them down.

The force said both men are considered violent and urged the public not to approach them but instead call police.

Alternatively, people can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
The Prince of Wales meets Private Derby XXII, a Swaledale Ram and the Regimental Mascot during his visit to the 1st Battalion the Mercian Regiment (Peter Nicholls/PA)

The Prince of Wales has met one of the newest recruits to the Mercian Regiment  a ram called Private Derby XXXII.

Despite having a reputation of being feisty, the regimental mascot was happy to be stroked by Charles when he visited a military base to mark his 10 years as colonel-in-chief of the fighting force.

The heir to the throne was introduced to the 20-month-old Swaledale, which only took up its role a few weeks ago, by Ram Major, Corporal Philip Thornton and Ram Orderly, Private Lee Bradbury at Bulford Camp near Salisbury.

The Mercian Regiment has been at the forefront of military operations since its foundation in 2007, deploying twice to Iraq and seven times to Afghanistan.

Its capabilities include a light role infantry battalion, an armoured infantry battalion equipped with the Warrior fighting vehicle, and an Army Reserve battalion.

Wearing combat fatigues, black boots and a beret the prince asked Cpl Thornton if the ram was trained and when he was told Private Derby was, asked does he behave himself reasonably well? and was told hes a little bit feisty.
Dr Matthew Falder admitted 137 offences against 46 victims, whom he blackmailed into performing depraved sexual and physical acts (NCA/PA)

A prolific paedophile who blackmailed online victims into depraved acts was a VIP member of internet child sex abuse forums, a court has heard.

Dr Matthew Falder was a member of several virtual communities of abusers, and in one such forum on the so-called dark web had a membership rank level of Rapist', prosecutors said.

Falder forced one victim to film herself licking toilet seats, a used tampon and eating dog food, and set up secret cameras in bathrooms to record women and girls naked.

Another was blackmailed into eating his faeces and drinking urine, while the 29-year-old also encouraged the rape of a boy, aged two, by his own father.

The Cambridge graduate has admitted 137 offences related to 46 victims whom he blackmailed, manipulated and deceived.

Falder then shared his material with hundreds of thousands of other paedophiles on secret internet forums, prosecutor Ruona Iguyovwe told Birmingham Crown Court on Friday.

She added that despite Falder being caught, the victims were left feeling the material now existed in perpetuity online, adding that the virtual abuse continued.

A British undercover National Crime Agency (NCA) officer helped build the case against predatory serial offender Falder, posing as a member of one of these online groups in order to snare the depraved abuser.

Falder lived a double life, by day a respectable geophysics lecturer at Birmingham University, but online  hiding behind different personas  enjoying special membership in the paedophile underworld.

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He posted material of vile torture and sexual abuse under online handles such as Evilmind, covering his tracks by using secure browser Tor and anonymous email addresses.

In one such post, Falder, under the name 666devil, posted paedophile material of an instructional video on how to sexually abuse young children without being detected.

Ms Iguyovwe added: The images of many historical abuse victims were distributed on a very large scale on those websites, the memberships of which run into the many hundreds of thousands.

The sites were associated with paedophiles and those interested in hurtcore  material which depicts rape and abuse.

Falder, who treated victims both as sex objects and as objects of derision, posted on one forum 100 things we want to see at least once.

In remarks in that post, he suggested a young girl being used as a dartboard, production of a video depicting a childs bones being slowly and deliberately broken, and the abuse of a paralysed child.

Ms Iguyovwe, prosecuting, said he had enticed his own victims to produce increasingly severe self-generated indecent images of themselves, the focus of these images being to humiliate and degrade the victims.

Further grim details of Falders offending, including sharing and distribution of vile and depraved abuse material, were described on the third day of his sentencing hearing.

Falder was only snared after an NCA-led investigation, with help from GCHQ, the United States Homeland Security Investigations, and law enforcement in Israel, Slovenia, Australia and New Zealand.

Charting the exceptional gravity of the case, prosecutors invited the judge to consider a discretionary life sentence for highly manipulative Falder, of Edgbaston, Birmingham.

The hearing continues.
Turkey has resumed air strikes in Syrias Kurdish enclave of Afrin after a brief lull, killing and wounding several people.

The attacks on border areas and the main town in the region have been among the worst since the Turkish army and Ankara-backed opposition fighters began a ground and air campaign on the Afrin enclave three weeks ago, Kurdish officials said.

The offensive has displaced thousands of people, many of whom have gone to the town of Afrin, which is already crowded with tens of thousands of displaced people who fled violence in other parts of Syria over the years.

The new bloodshed came as Russian president Vladimir Putin and French president Emmanuel Macron discussed co-operating more closely to resolve the Syrian conflict.

The civil war has killed about 400,000 people, displaced half the population and sent more than five million refugees mostly to neighbouring countries.

Turkeys state-run Anadolu Agency said F-16 jets resumed bombing on Thursday night, striking the north-western enclaves Mount Bafilun, the villages of Sheik Huruz and Kefer Jenne, and the regions of Sheran, Jinderes and Raju, among other targets.

Turkeys military said its jets hit 19 targets, including shelters, ammunition depots and gun positions belonging to terror organisations. No planes were brought down.

Afrin-based Kurdish official Rezan Hiddo said by telephone that Turkish warplanes hit 23 points, adding that Turkeys artillery in three areas near Afrin has also been pounding the town.

Mr Hiddo said: For the past 21 days, the Turkish army has been violating all laws related to war.

Separately, the Turkish chief of military staff, General Hulusi Akar, and other commanders surveyed the operation from an airborne warning and control plane, the military said.

Unconfirmed Turkish media reports said Turkey had halted flights after Russia closed the airspace over Afrin after militants shot down a Russian Su-25 fighter jet in Idlib province on February 3. Russia effectively controls the skies over the northern region.

Anadolu and the private Dogan news agency later reported that Turkish troops and Turkey-backed opposition fighters had cleared five villages of Kurdish fighters in the Afrin region.

Turkey launched an offensive into the enclave on January 20 against Syrian Kurdish fighters which Ankara considers to be a security threat because of their links to outlawed rebels in Turkey.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the air strikes targeted the town of Afrin and its outskirts, killing two people and wounding others.

Since Turkey began its attacks, 120 people have been killed, including 26 children and 17 women, according to a statement from the civil administration council in Afrin. The statement added that 60,000 people have fled their homes, leading to a humanitarian crisis. It called on international aid organisations to help, with food said to be running short.
Malachy Finnegan was escorted to his grave by people who revered and respected him. We don't all get a bishop to officiate in the ceremony.

He met his end in the knowledge and confidence that he was thought well of, that he had not been found out, that the young people he had molested and abused - physically, sexually and emotionally - had not ratted on him.

We don't know the state of his conscience then, whether he was ashamed of himself, whether he trusted in God's forgiveness, or if, harbouring his horrid secrets and believing in the teaching of his Church, he stared Hell in the face.

One of the questions over paedophile priests is whether they were believers at all, or just opportunistic hypocrites.

If you were cynical enough and wanted work that would give you access to children, the priesthood and the religious orders were your natural refuge.

Others might think you were sacrificing your sexual nature, committing yourself to chastity, a life without a woman.

There was a time in which it was assumed that all any man wanted for the comforts of the bed was a female adult partner; that any man who eschewed that was heroically setting aside the promptings of his nature to serve God and his community, to teach little children and lead them to grace.

This was a naive country that knew precious little, that could barely imagine the type of man who would don the habit and bow the head, all the more easily to have the pickings of the young entrusted to him.

Now we know better. Don't we?

Some of the clergy and religious people who ran the Catholic schools were gay.

One could understand that, at a time when homosexuality was regarded as shameful and actually criminal, gay men needed somewhere to hide. And where better than in Church roles, where no one would ask why they hadn't married?

But a lot of the priests were not ordinary healthy gay people. They wanted to have sex with children.

An awful lot of them.

That is what we have learnt since the first major scandal around Brendan Smyth, of the Norbertine order, who was thought to be a fine and decent holy man with a particular interest in the welfare of little girls.

Since then, we have had the Murphy and Ryan reports, which disclosed the enormous scale of the predation on children by priests in Ireland and the cover-ups by bishops.

It was routine for a priest who was complained about to be shunted off to another parish, for the "avoidance of scandal".

We learnt that even Cardinal Sean Brady, as a young priest, had participated in this system. He had interviewed two boys abused by Brendan Smyth, pledged them to secrecy and then reported his findings to his bishop and considered the matter closed.

So, it is no real surprise to find out that yet another respected priest and teacher was imposing himself for his own pleasure on children he was supposed to be teaching.

What is surprising about Malachy Finnegan is that it took so long for the disclosures to be made.

He was based at St Colman's in Newry between 1967 and 1976. He was president (principal) of the school until 1987.

In that time, he abused at least 12 children. That is the number of cases the Church is aware of.

The first complaints about his behaviour were made in 1994, seven years after he had stood down as president and eight years before he died.

In 2002, Bishop John McAreavey officiated at his funeral. He stood at the altar before his congregation and said: "Angels of the Lord, receive his soul and present him to God the most high."

They say that about everybody, but knowing the charge against Finnegan, the good bishop must have considered this soul's meeting with God would not be a happy one.

Bishop McAreavey says now, after having spoken to one of Finnegan's victims, that he should not have officiated at the funeral. The decision to do so was "the wrong one".

He said: "In November 2002, a victim told me how hurt he was by this. I realised that I had made an error of judgment."

So, let's look at the timeline. The abuse happened between 1967 and 1987. Finnegan had been president of the school from 1976 to 1987.

The Church was made aware of the abuse by the first complaint in 1994.

Eight years later, Finnegan dies and is honoured by the Church.

The bishop realises he has made a mistake in honouring him when one of the victims speaks to him.

Was this the first time he had spoken to that victim, or any of the victims, in the eight years since the complaint was first made?

Did he have to actually speak to a victim before he could get his ecclesiastical head round the fact that child abuse is wrong? A bishop is supposed to have rather finer moral intuition than that.

After another 15 years, the Church accepts that Finnegan was a predatory paedophile. One case has been settled out of the nine the Church knows about.

One can only hope that the manner in which it has been settled has brought some comfort to those who suffered.

And now Finnegan's picture has been removed from the school of which he was president, so that no reminder of his predations looks down from the walls on future pupils and their parents.

St Colman's is rightly ashamed of its past president, but it seems a trite response to treat him now simply as if he never existed.

What this case shows is that the Church is still sluggish in its dealings with complaints of predatory abuse by ordained men.

It is nearly a decade since the shock of the Ryan and Murphy reports into the conduct of paedophiles in religious orders and the priesthood.

It was followed by the deepest journalistic scrutiny and yet also by an almost placid and smug response by the institutional Church.

Then it came out that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, under the man who became Pope Benedict, had bound bishops to secrecy, had disdained the notion that the law of the land had more claim on them than their own internal canon law.

And we saw that paedophile priests were everywhere.

What is worrying about the Malachy Finnegan case is that those who dealt with it were not fired into a sense of urgency by the scandals, but took their time, as they had always done.

Because there is always one thing you can rely on about victims. In time, if you give them nothing, they go away. They die off.

We probably have people in high political office here who take that handy truth to heart, too.
Police commandos carry the body bag of a comrade who was killed during a botched counter-terrorist operation in Mamasapano, southern Philippines, Jan. 25, 2015.

The Philippines Supreme Court has temporarily halted proceedings by an anti-graft court that had indicted former President Benigno Aquino over a botched counter-terrorist raid, which led to the deaths of 44 police commandos in January 2015.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno granted a petition by the countrys solicitor general and relatives of the fallen officers to freeze the proceedings, according to a resolution dated Feb. 7 but released to the press only on Friday.

They had questioned the downgrading of charges filed against Aquino and two of his senior police officers, from multiple homicide to the lighter case of usurpation of authority in the raid that he had ordered in Mamasapano, a town in southern Maguindanao province.

Effective immediately, and continuing until further orders from this court ... the Ombudsman, and/or persons acting upon your orders ... are hereby enjoined from implementing the assailed (orders), Sereno said in her ruling.

The arraignment was supposedly scheduled for Thursday next week.

Aquino was indicted last year for the lesser crime of usurpation of official functions, rather than the higher charge of reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide that the relatives of the slain officers had wanted.

The charges stemmed from the raid that went awry on Jan. 26, 2015, when Aquino green-lighted an operation in the southern town of Mamasapano to capture Malaysian terror suspect Zulkifli bin Hir (also known as Marwan).

The police Special Action Force officers succeeded in the mission, killing Marwan, but later became caught up in a huge firefight with guerrillas of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the countrys largest Muslim rebel force that had signed a peace deal with Manila.

MILF officials later testified at a congressional inquiry that they were not told about the raid beforehand, in violation of previously agreed upon protocols.

Forty-four SAF officers who took part in the operation were killed at Mamasapano, in what has been described as the biggest single-day combat loss for the government in recent memory.

The operation was ordered by Aquino and his two top police generals, without the knowledge of others in the security establishment.

Aquino earlier told the court that there was nothing irregular about his order, laying the blame instead on the police generals.
Plus, Bill's Message of the Day, what say you, Biden voters?

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The agreement advances the partnership between Sri Lanka and the WMP in tackling the threat of mosquito borne-viruses such as dengue in Sri Lanka.

Monash University's World Mosquito Program (WMP) is set to be rolled out in Sri Lanka following the signing of a Collaboration Agreement (CA) by Sri Lanka's Secretary, Ministry of Health (MoH), Janaka Sugathadasa at a ceremony in Colombo with Australian High Commissioner Bryce Hutchesson.

The agreement advances the partnership between Sri Lanka and the WMP in tackling the threat of mosquito borne-viruses such as dengue in Sri Lanka.

With support from the Australian Government's innovationXchange, WMP will use its ground-breaking research to trial the introduction of naturally occurring Wolbachia bacteria to Sri Lankan mosquito populations.

Wolbachia prevents dengue from being transmitted between people and also has the ability to block other mosquito-borne diseases such as Zika and chikungunya.

The program will be established across three sites in the Colombo area over the next 12 months, with the first mosquito releases to take place next year.

It is hoped that the program will expand its Wolbachia method to further sites in Sri Lanka in the future working in collaboration with local partners and subject to approval from the Sri Lankan Ministry of Health.
The Assam government and Tata Trusts are partnering in strengthening cancer control through the government's health facilities

In Guwahati, Tata Sons chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran declared that the Tata Group will join hands with Assam government to roll out an elaborate cancer care programme across 15 districts of the state from next year.

Chandrasekaran said that its proposed healthcare initiative will be spread across 15 districts of the state.

The proposed infrastructure footprint comprises 17 centres across the state and it will be able to provide much-needed services starting early next year.

The programme will work in hub-and-spoke model with all the medical colleges acting as the hubs, while the district hospitals will function as diagnosis and day-care centres.

The official also said that a three-tiered model has been conceived with leading oncologists, which would offer different levels of cancer care ranging from complicated procedures to simple diagnostic tests.

The model is centered on the use of technology and task shifting to facilitate operations in remote areas, and patient-centric design principles to provide a good in-hospital experience to the patient and care-giver.

The model will ensure that no patient will have to travel more than a few hours for accessing the full suite of cancer treatment services.

This 3-tier model will be supported by an extensive awareness, screening and early detection programme at the population level.
By Padraig Hoare

A change of societal attitudes and culture rather than gender quotas will lead to more female chief executives and business leaders, a conference organised by University College Cork (UCC) students has heard.

KPMG partner and co-founder of the iWish movement that encourages girls to study science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM), Caroline ODriscoll was speaking at the 36th annual Commerce Conference at Cork County Hall.

Ms ODriscoll, who is chair of voluntary IT organisation IT@Cork, said not enough women were being promoted to the top jobs in business.

She said countries like Norway had imposed boardroom gender quotas of 40% female representation but that only 2% of women had gone on to become chief executives.

It was change in culture needed rather than the imposition of gender quotas, she said.

Ms ODriscoll said despite progress in the intake of women in graduate business roles in recent years, change had not taken place at the top.

The numbers dont lie. Less than 17% of boardroom positions in the world are women. Its not great and we have a long way to go, she said.

Other speakers at the event, of which the Irish Examiner is media partner, including managing partner at law firm Ronan Daly Jermyn, Richard Martin; Irish Fiscal Advisory Council economist Ide Kearney; and managing director of Laya Healthcare, Donal Clancy.

Mr Martin told students of the importance of taking opportunities when they came along, saying he overcame his dislike of public speaking when the chance to become managing partner of his firm came up.

Founder of human resources firm HR Suite, Caroline McEnery told attendees that although artificial intelligence would render some current roles obsolete in the future, the importance of emotional intelligence and people skills would always be vital.
By Gordon Deegan

An Bord Pleanala has fired a warning shot across the bows of developers availing of new fast-track planning laws aimed at easing the housing crisis.

The warning comes via the appeals board  under its new Strategic Housing Development regime  which refused planning permission to a Galway developer for 113 new homes at Bearna outside Galway City because the density of the development was not high enough.

The boards refusal to grant planning permission is the third decision it has made on strategic housing developments, and the second refusal out of the three decisions to date.

In its decision, made under the new laws introduced last summer, the appeals board refused permission to Burkeway Homes Ltd as the proposed development would not be developed at a sufficiently high density to provide for an acceptable efficiency in serviceable land usage, given the proximity of the site to the built-up area of Bearna and Galway City.

An Bord Pleanala said that the low density of the proposed development at Trusky East, Bearna, would be contrary to ministerial guidelines which indicate that net densities of less than 30 homes per hectare should be generally discouraged in the interests of land efficiency. The density of the development was 18 units per hectare.

The appeals board stated that in addition, the proposed development does not have an adequate mix of dwelling types, being predominantly semi-detached and detached housing.

The company had billed the development as one of the best housing developments the West of Ireland has ever seen and ideal for family living.

A number of locals objected to the development, including some who were concerned at the excessive scale and density of the development.

A spokesman for Burkeway Homes said yesterday that it is reviewing the An Bord Pleanala decision and intends to lodge revised plans for the site as soon as possible.

The spokesman said that the revised plans will incorporate the learnings from the An Bord Pleanala decision.

In the new fast-track regime, instead of applications having to go through council level and then on to An Bord Pleanala  a process that can on occasion take more than a year  developers can now bypass local authorities if their plans are for more than 100 homes and 200 student-bed spaces.

Currently, An Bord Pleanala is dealing with 13 planning applications that involve the construction of 4,280 houses, apartments, and student accommodation.
Nestle has defended itself against an activist groups criticism of its infant milk products, saying it respects international marketing standards and does not suggest its products are better than breastmilk.

It was responding to a report by the Changing Markets Foundation accusing the worlds largest packaged food company of putting profit before science.

Nestle, whose baby food brands include Gerber, said it complies with the World Health Organisation code on marketing breastmilk substitutes and applies its own policy when it is stricter than national legislation.

Nestle ensures that the composition of its formulas is strictly informed by the best available science, it said.

Nestle does not use any statements on its infant formula products or in its other communications that idealise its products or imply they are superior to or equivalent to breastmilk, it added.

The Changing Markets Foundation report had found Nestle had many inconsistencies across its range of formula products and cast doubt on the credibility of some of its health claims.

The Changing Markets Foundation is a Dutch group that says it promotes campaigns to address sustainability challenges by trying to shift business away from companies with unsustainable products.

In what is seen as a major success story for the agricultural sector here, Ireland now supplies 20% of the worlds infant formula and is the second biggest exporter to China where a contamination scandal 10 years ago left Chinese parents fearful of buying locally-produced formula. Exports of Irish infant-food formula amounted to at least 1.2bn in 2016.
New measures to allow asylum seekers to work in Ireland are impractical, say protesters, writes Joe Leogue

The simultaneous protests in Dublin, Cork, Galway, and Limerick were held on the eve of todays expected announcement by the Supreme Court, which is predicted to rule that banning asylum seekers from working is unconstitutional.

However, while the Dail recently passed a motion declaring it will opt-in to an EU directive, which includes the provision of access to work, critics say the measures make it all but impossible for asylum seekers to gain employment.

Immigrant Council of Ireland chief executive, Brian Killoran, said that under the proposals, asylum seekers must apply for an employment permit through the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation, before they can access employment, and must pay up to 1,000 to do so.

Remi Kolawole, Glanmire; Roos Demol, one of the organisers, and Paul Archippe who lives in Cork city. Pic: Denis Minihane.

Furthermore, asylum seekers can only apply for jobs with a minimum salary of 30,000, and 60 areas of employment, including the retail and the hospitality sectors, are restricted.

The Governments temporary arrangements are so restrictive, they make this right to work virtually impossible, in practice, said Mr Killoran.

And this is before you consider the practical barriers facing asylum seekers, including gaps in CVs, potential difficulties having overseas qualifications recognised, access to IT to prepare applications and for interviews, plus the remote location of many direct provision centres.

The Government is expecting to have all the boxes ticked to formally opt into the EU (recast) Reception Conditions Directive, by June, but the directive is not prescriptive on how EU member states should deliver access to the labour market.

As the Irish Government has not yet mapped out the criteria for access to employment, when it comes into effect, we urge, in the strongest terms, for practical solutions, which actually allow asylum seekers to seek fulfilling and effective employment.

Belgian Roos Demol, who attended the Cork protest in Daunt Square, yesterday, said the restrictions make it impossible for asylum seekers to access the labour market.

A job with a minimum wage of 30,000 a year would be hard for many Irish people to get, let alone an asylum seeker.

Some of the 60 areas restricted to asylum seekers include construction, childcare, and healthcare.

The Government are ticking a box here, saying we are allowing asylum seekers work, but the restrictions make it impossible.

What we want is full access to the labour market, so that asylum seekers can earn money, contribute to society, and help grow the economy. Who could be against that? she said.

The changes came about after a case taken against the ban by a Rohingya man, who spent eight years in direct provision, before gaining refugee status.

In May last, the Supreme Court found the ban unconstitutional in principle and, in November, told lawyers representing the State that it would, today, make a formal declaration on the matter.

The declaration was delayed to allow the State make provisions to change the ban.

This story first appeared on IrishExaminer.com
Gerry Adams has revealed how he regrets that it took until 1994 for the first IRA ceasefire.

Mr Adams said he first began dialogue with Catholic priest Father Alec Reid, who was considered pivotal to the Northern Ireland peace process, as far back as 1977.

But it was not until 1988 that Fr Reid brokered Mr Adams' dialogue with the then SDLP leader John Hume, which led to the IRA ceasefire six years later.

The Sinn Fein TD, who will step down on Saturday after 34 years as party president, said he regretted the deaths and injuries caused during those years.

"I regret that it took so long and that those who would condemn, denounce, use moral denunciations as a subterfuge for just not talking, therefore it took almost from 1976/77 to 1994 before there was the first cessation.

"That's an awful long time and a lot of people were killed or injured and traumatised in between."

He said that when he and Mr Hume eventually met in 1988 they "did what is just the imperative, the primacy of any process (which) is to talk, to listen."

"And out of that came the Hume/Adams principles," he added.

Mr Adams criticised past UK prime ministers who refused to talk to Sinn Fein during the Troubles. He called them "the stupid ones."

"Probably the toughest (prime ministers to deal with) were the stupid ones who wouldn't talk.

"If you consider that I was an elected official along with others and other elected officials wouldn't talk to us and the British prime ministers handed over the future ... to generals, to military bosses, to people who brought in collusion, internment, shoot to kill and all the rest of it and just militarised the situation with all the awful consequences of that."

Mr Adams said that John Major had the chance to help bring peace to Northern Ireland but failed to do so, while Tony Blair seized the opportunity "with both hands".

He also said that while he admired Mr Blair for helping to bring about the Good Friday Agreement he believed the former prime minister had done "dreadful" things in Iraq and that he and the late Martin McGuinness had warned him against going to war.

"John Major was given an opportunity for peace on a plate and he let the plate drop. Tony Blair had the good sense when he was given the same opportunity that he seized it with both hands.

"But he himself has said reflectively that he couldn't have done what he did if it hadn't been in the early sort of glow of the first early phases of government," he said.

"(Blair) helped along with the rest of us to author the Good Friday Agreement. Now he did dreadful things in Iraq and that was folly.

"Myself and Martin McGuinness warned him against the consequences of going into anyone else's country with military force. We actually said to him 'look at what's happened here'. Unfortunately we were right," added Mr Adams.

- Press Association
By Ann O'Loughlin

Fianna Fail activist Brian Mohan is not legally entitled to challenge the constitutionality of a law linking State funding of political parties to their meeting gender quota targets when selecting general election candidates, the Court of Appeal has ruled.

Giving the judgment, Court of Appeal President, Mr Justice Sean Ryan, sitting with Ms Justice Mary Finlay Geoghegan and Mr Justice Michael Peart, upheld a High Court finding that Mr Mohan lacked legal standing, saying it was based on an "unimpeachable" reading of the relevant law.

Mr Mohan's constitutional challenge is a "derivative claim" that only exists by and through the party of which he is a member, the judge said. That party gets State funding and is directly affected by the relevant law but it had not alone not challenged the law, it supported it. "That is the party's decision."

Membership of a political party is not sufficient to give standing to a person to challenge this law, he ruled.

The case arose from the Electoral (Political Funding) Act 2012 which halves State funding to parties who fail to ensure at least 30% of their general election candidates are women and 30% are men. That percentage is intended to rise to 40% after seven years. Women comprise about 22% of the current Dail.

Mr Mohan took the proceedings after Fianna Fail headquarters issued a direction in September 2015 to a Dublin Central general election selection convention the sole candidate selected must be female.

The direction was issued in a context where, by summer 2015, there were 10 women among 47 FF candidates chosen in 31 constituencies. Mary Fitzpatrick was selected for Dublin Central.

Mr Mohan claimed it would be impossible for Fianna Fail to function if its State funding of some 1.16m was halved and the 2012 law directly affected him at the convention and still does.

In February 2016, the High Court ruled Mr Mohan did not have legal standing to bring a constitutional challenge to the law. He appealed and the appeal court today dismissed his appeal.

Mr Justice Ryan said Mr Mohan's submissions and oral argument "owe more to logic than to law".

There is no doubt the sanction in the 2012 law is "significant" and is clearly intended to have an effect on candidate selection, he said. However, the claim being advanced by Mr Mohan was in essence one based on the rights of Fianna Fail rather than any individual rights of Mr Mohan's.

Mr Mohan had not established the legislation was responsible for the Fianna Fail direction to the September 2015 Convention. The 2012 Act did not prevent Mr Mohan standing or going for selection, it was for parties to decide how to address that law.

Fianna Fail had decided it would implement the Act as it had and any complaint is with the party and not with the legislation, he said. Mr Mohan had not challenged the direction and the High Court had held, on the evidence before it, Mr Mohan's failure to be selected could not be ascribed to the law.

Apart from the absence of proof for Mr Mohan's claim, his party could not survive if it were deprived of 50% of State funding if it did not meet gender quotas, it is obvious that claim was an example of one advanced on behalf of a third party, the judge said.

The fact Fianna Fail had not challenged the 2012 law and supported it also undermined any claim sought to be advanced by Mr Mohan on behalf of its members. While members could change their minds and seek to repeal the law, that had little to do with whether Mr Mohan could speak on behalf of Fianna Fail to challenge a law the party supports.

Mr Mohan, the judge said, is in a sense correct to say the law affects him and other party members when it comes to candidate selection. That was no more than saying he is subject to the law of the land, as with every Act of the Oireachtas, and every member of a political party is in the same position.

While there is debate about the value of quotas and the political wisdom of imposing them and that was a legitimate political issue, it did not grant standing, he added.
People are being encouraged to get behind Daffodil Day and help support cancer research.

The Irish Cancer Society is launching its annual campaign today for the fundraiser on March 23rd.

The money raised helps to support the 165,000 people living with the disease - and many more yet to be diagnosed.

Stephanie Powell from Newbridge in Co.Kildare is a breast cancer survivor and explains what's so important about Daffodil Day.

She said: "Daffodil Day give the public the chance to give in a few bob and raise money for the research.

"It's an awful journey - it's absolutely devastating when you hear those words.

"Daffodil Day is one of those days that is just brilliant. Get out there and help people like myself to survive a little bit longer."

RTE broadcaster Miriam OCallaghan has urged people to dig deep to help the record number of Irish people with cancer.

She said: Tragically a person dies from cancer every hour in Ireland, but for so many people theres also great hope.

"More people are surviving cancer now than ever before thanks to lifesaving research.

"Daffodil Day, proudly supported by Boots Ireland, is a day where we can all help fight back against cancer.

"Like so many Irish people, I have lost loved ones to cancer. I lost my precious sister

"Anne who was just 33 when she died.

"On March 23rd you can help fund lifesaving research and crucial services to ensure cancer patients and their families are properly supported.

"Get involved now at www.cancer.ie

Speaking at the launch, Chief Executive of the Irish Cancer Society Averil Power appealed to the public to support cancer patients.

She said: As the number of Irish people with cancer increases, record numbers are turning to the Irish Cancer Society for information, care and support.

"Only two per cent of our funding comes from the State.

"We are therefore hugely dependent on the generosity of the public to fund vital services such as our Night Nurses,

"Volunteer Drivers and Freephone Cancer Nurseline. By supporting Daffodil Day, people can ensure cancer patients are supported when they need it most while also funding lifesaving research.

Last year, the number of people using our Volunteer Driver Service to travel to chemotherapy appointments increased by 15%.

"Our Night Nursing service provided over 7,000 nights of care to terminally-ill patients in their own homes.

"Our nurses also supported 40,000 people through our Freephone Nurseline and at our drop-in Daffodil Centres.

"None of this would be possible without strong support for Daffodil Day from individuals and communities across Ireland.

- Digital Desk
By Sarah-Jane Murphy

David Drumm's defence counsel has told his trial that there were facts he wished to admit to which would reduce both the length of the trial and the complexity of the evidence.

A jury at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court was today told that Mr Drumm, the former chief executive of Anglo Irish Bank, allegedly authorised deals which lead to the falsification of the banks balance sheet.

Mr Drumm (51), with an address in Skerries, Co Dublin, has pleaded not guilty to conspiring with former bank officials Denis Casey, William McAteer, John Bowe and others to defraud depositors and investors at Anglo by dishonestly creating the impression that deposits in 2008 were 7.2 billion larger than they were.

He has also pleaded not guilty to false accounting on December 3, 2008, by furnishing information to the market that Anglo's 2008 deposits were 7.2 billion larger than they were.

Tessa White BL, defending, told Judge Karen O'Conor that Mr Drumm accepted all factual matters as set out by the prosecution, relating to the transactions that took place in September 2008.

However, she said, Mr Drumm disputes whether they were fraudulent or dishonest, or that there was any dishonesty in their reporting.

Ms White provided the jury with a detailed typed handout, setting out the parameters of a series of transactions, which will be discussed in evidence over the course of the trial.

She said Mr Drumm admits that on March 16, 2008, he disclosed to others in Anglo that the Govenor of the Central Bank raised an issue described as How the Irish banks could help each other.

This initiative, Ms White told the jury, essentially encouraged Irish banks to provide mutual support to each other in response to the global financial and liquidity crisis.

David Drumm directed that Anglo give consideration to this initiative, she said.

The first series of transactions outlined to the court in the course of Mr Drumm's admissions were referred to as the March Transactions.

Ms White said that on or about March 31, 2008, the date of Anglo's half-year end, Anglo placed 1 billion with Irish Life & Permanent.

Irish Life Assurance plc then deposited 750 million with Anglo.

Shortly after March 31, Irish Life & Permanent repaid the 1 billion and Anglo repaid the 750M to Irish Life Assurance. The court heard that the purpose was to increase Anglos non-bank deposits by 750m over its half-year end reporting period.

The court was then told of the June Transactions which took place on or about June 30, 2008, which was Irish Life & Permanent's half-year end.

At this time Irish Life & Permanent transferred bonds in excess of 3 billion to Anglo, Ms White told the jury.

Anglo then placed 3 billion with Irish Life & Permanent. Shortly after June 30, Irish Life & Permanent repaid the 3 billion to Anglo, which then returned the bonds to them.

Ms White said the purpose of these transactions was to reduce Irish Life & Permanent's reliance on ECB funding over its half-year end reporting period.

The court then heard of the set of transactions which form the subject matter of this trial, known as the September Transactions.

In the period coming up to September 20, 2008, Ms White said, Anglo placed approximately 7.2 billion with Irish Life & Permanent via a series of short term transactions.

In return, Irish Life & Permanent, on behalf of Irish Life Assurance, deposited approximately 7.2 billion in a similar manner with Anglo.

The purpose of these transactions was to increase Anglo's non-bank deposits by 7.2 billion over its year end reporting date of September 20, 2008, Ms White said.

Prosecution counsel had told the jury earlier that there was nothing illegal in itself about moving money around between banks.

The final transactions referenced by Ms White are known as the December Transactions.

Between September 30, 2008 and December 19, 2008, Irish Life & Permanent and Anglo agreed to enter into a transaction similar to the June Transactions.

The intention, Ms White said, was that this transaction would be reversed shortly after December 31, 2008.

While the process had commenced, the transactions were never completed, and the parts which were completed were reversed prior to December 31, 2008, she said.

Ms White concluded her submission by saying that Mr Drumm, as CEO of Anglo, authorised the March, June, September and December transactions, and assumes responsibility for their execution by Anglo.

Today at the opening of the trial, prosecutors described Mr Drumm (51) as the man who called the shots at Anglo Irish Bank.

They said the deals he authorised also made it appear deposits from customers were 7.2bn greater than they were in reality.

The court heard that Mr Drumm was involved in a conspiracy with others to dress up and falsify the bank's balance sheet during very rocky times for the banking world in 2008.

The trial continues before Judge Karen O'Connor and a jury of ten men and five women on Monday.
Update 5.25pm: A disorderly Brexit would have a potentially catastrophic impact on Ireland, the Government has been warned.

The comments were made by Fianna Fail's Stephen Donnelly following a speech by the EUs chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, who stated that if the UK decides to leave the customs union and single market, border checks would be unavoidable.

"Even though a transition deal was never a given, Mr. Barniers comments, only 13 months out from the Brexit deadline are deeply worrying. The consequence of a disorderly Brexit for Ireland is potentially catastrophic," said Deputy Donnelly.

"The absence of a deal would cause chaos for Irish businesses  and could prove devastating. Widespread job losses in agriculture, fisheries, textiles, tourism and SMEs trading along the border will become a very real prospect.

"Any business exporting to the UK will be impacted, and even those transporting goods further afield will be hit as 80% of non-UK goods exports have to travel across the UK to Europe.

"Barniers assertion that border controls are inevitable in the event of the UK exiting the customs union could spell disaster for Irish businesses, especially if our Government doesnt start prioritising contingency planning.

"I am well aware of the good work being undertaken by officials in certain State agencies, but I dont believe that a whole of Government response is being fully adopted. In fact, up until a few days ago, the Cabinet Brexit sub-committee hadnt met since last September.

"Added to this, a sector by sector Brexit plan, which was promised almost a year ago, has still not been published.

"The Government must start making use of every political and diplomatic asset available to them to ensure any possibility of a hard border with the North is eliminated and that the political space is created to find a way through the current impasse and ensure a transition period."

Earlier: Checks at Irish border 'unavoidable' after Brexit, warns Barnier

Checks at the Irish border will be "unavoidable" under Theresa May's Brexit plans for the UK to leave the single market and customs union, Michel Barnier has warned.

Brussels' chief Brexit negotiator also told reporters that agreement on a transitional deal after the UK leaves the bloc in March 2019 was "not a given".

After the latest round of Brexit talks between officials in Brussels, he said three "substantial" disagreements remain with the UK over plans for a transition period.

He added: "If these disagreements persist the transition is not a given."

On the issue of the Irish border he told reporters: "Any solution must be precise, clear and unambiguous."

He added: "It is important to tell the truth. A UK decision to leave the single market and to leave the customs union would make border checks unavoidable."

Earlier: Theresa May urged to update Irish Government on post-Brexit border plans

British Prime Minister Theresa May has been urged to tell Ireland what her government's proposals are to solve the Irish border issue after Brexit.

European affairs minister Helen McEntee said the number of proposals being taken off the table seemed to make finding a solution "more and more difficult".

Her comments come after the British government ruled out remaining in any form of customs union, instead pursuing a customs partnership or arrangement in an attempt to maintain frictionless trade.

Ms McEntee told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "It seems more and more difficult the more proposals or options you take off the table. However, we are yet to see any proposals in its absence.

"So we need the UK government, we need Theresa May and her team, to start looking at and to start I suppose letting us know what the proposals are coming from their side and what their options are.

"They have always been very clear and before the agreements in Christmas or on December 15 they made it very clear that they felt they would not need this backstop position or this backslide, that they would be able to work with the EU to create this close relationship."

She added: "So what we need to see now is how is that going to happen.

"On our part we feel that a lot of the ways of doing that have been taken off the cards - there are a lot of red line issues - so we need to see what is possible and how that's actually going to work, and to date we haven't seen that."

Earlier: Varadkar: Clarity needed on post-Brexit relationship

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said time is running out for British prime minister Theresa May and her cabinet to decide what kind of Brexit they want, writes Daniel McConnell

Leo Varadkar and Sebastian Kurz. Pic: Dragan Tatic

Speaking in Vienna following a bilatteral meeting with Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz, Mr Varadkar said certainty is needed as soon as possible, adding that the March 2019 deadline is fast approaching.

Certainly I am not losing patience, but time is running out, March 2019 isnt all that far away now, he said.

It would be difficult to agree a transition agreement without knowing what kind of relationship would come out of it.

We await an outcome from the UK cabinet as to exactly what relationship they want with the EU after Brexit. As much clarity as soon as possible would be welcome.

"It is 20 months now since the referendum, 20 years since some people started campaigning for one. So at this stage having clarity as to what the UK would like its new relationship to be like would be very welcome.

Mr Kurz who is just 31 and who spent some time in Bray, Co Wicklow, to learn English, said he supported the Irish case for no return to a hard border, describing the situation with the North as delicate.

We need a solution which is a satisfactory one for Ireland with a delicate situation when it comes to Northern Ireland, said Mr Kurz. A hard border between Ireland and Great Britain will not work.

Mr Varadkar, who was guest of honour at a gala opera in Vienna, also said he would be using the occassion to press the case for Central Bank governor Philip Lane to be nominated to the board of the European Central Bank.

Yeah of course, said Mr Varadkar. We didnt get to speak about it in our tete-a-tete meeting but we will be speaking later on in the evening.

"We do have somebody on the General Council but not on the board. Were putting forward for the first time a candidate of distinction, Philip Lane.

Taoiseach @campaignforleo greeted by Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz in Vienna ahead of bilatteral meeting #iestaff pic.twitter.com/mYOpUTk9Mk  Daniel McConnell (@McConnellDaniel) February 8, 2018

Mr Kurz said he would look positively at the Irish proposal.

Mr Varadkar also said that while he wished Mary Lou McDonald well as the new Sinn Fein president, their parties remain incompatible in terms of government formation.

He also said he wished her elevation to president would lead to a break in the celebration of the violence events of the past.

I think it would be welcome if the new president of Sinn Fein was to bring about a clean break with the past, particularly the ongoing celebration of violence by Sinn Fein at commemorations and so on, he said.

This story first appeared on IrishExaminer.com
A man in his 30s is due to appear in court tomorrow charged with the murder of man in Dublin in 2010.

The man has been extradited to Ireland from London on foot of a European arrest warrant this evening.

He is to be charged with the murder of Warren O'Connor on Hole in the Wall Road in Dublin on January 16, 2010.

The man will be brought to the District Court at the Criminal Courts of Justice.

On January 16, 2010, Warren OConnor from Coolock, Dublin was fatally stabbed on the Hole in the Wall Road, Coolock.

A prolonged and intense investigation conducted by detectives from Malahide and Coolock garda stations over eight years, involving co-operation with police forces from other jurisdictions resulted in an investigation file being forwarded to the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Directions to charge the man with murder were received late in 2017 and a European arrest warrant was obtained.

Police in London arrested the man on January 9, 2018 and he has been held in custody since then awaiting extradition.

He will appear at the Criminal Courts of Justice tomorrow.

- Digital Desk
A transatlantic flight has diverted to Shannon Airport this afternoon after the crew reported smoke on board, writes Patrick Flynn.

British Airways flight BA-213 was en route from London to Boston at the time. There were 239 passengers and crew on board.

The Boeing 777-200 jet was about an hour into its journey when the crew alerted air traffic controllers to the problem. The flight crew reported that smoke had been detected on board and requested permission to divert to Shannon.

The flight landed safely at 1.37pm and was met by airport fire and rescue crews.

The jet stopped on the runway so that fire crews could carry out a visual inspection of the aircraft exterior for any evidence of fire or smoke.

Once it had been confirmed there was no obvious sign of fire the jet continued to the terminal building engineers were waiting to investigate the issue. The airline said the flight diverted due to a minor technical fault.

A spokeswoman said: The aircraft landed normally after our highly-trained pilots diverted the flight as a precaution. We have apologised to our customers for the delay to their journey.

The airline has arranged for a replacement aircraft to fly to Shannon to take customers onto Boston.
By Ann O'Loughlin

A property owner has been jailed for ten days for contempt of court after he refused to comply with orders not to interfere with or trespass at premises in receivership.

Ms Justice Caroline Costello found Liam Mulvaney was in contempt of court orders preventing him from trespassing at or interfering with the receivership of 17 properties he owns containing some 39 units located in the Dublin area. Mr Mulvaney has addresses in Palmerstown and Inchicore, Dublin.

The prison term was handed down after Mr Mulvaney, who disputes the validity of the receiver's appointment, refused to comply with an injunction granted against him by Mr Justice Michael Twomey last December.

The injunction was sought by receiver Tom O'Brien who claimed Mr Mulvaney had been interfering with and obstructed Mr O'Brien from carrying out his duties as receiver over the properties.

Today at the High Court Kelly Smith Bl for the receiver said there had been several instances of further interference by Mr Mulvaney since December.

Counsel said Mr Mulvaney had instructed tenants not to deal with the receiver or his agents. He had also moved into one the of the properties subject to the receivership at Avondale Lodge, Old Lucn Road, Palmerstown, Dublin.

The receiver had also been unable to gain access to some the units.

There also had been interference with efforts to sell some of the properties including that 'For sale' signs placed at one of the properties had been removed.

Following the order Mr Mulvaney had also registered a lis pendens in relation to the properties.

In December the court had also ordered him to hand over the rents to the receiver. However he had only handed over rents from four of the properties, counsel said.

Counsel said Mr Mulvaney had last week given an undertaking to another judge to comply with the orders, but had failed to do so.

In the circumstances the receiver had no option other than seek Mr Mulvaney's attachment and committal to prison for contempt.

Representing himself Mr Mulvaney said that property at Avondale Lodge was his family home, which he shared with his family and children "for several years."

The Inchicore premises was a business address, where he occasionally stayed at.

He said he had run a construction business that employed 50 people and he had never been involved in any criminal activity. He said that he spent the last number of days in "hiding" and had his phone turned off.

Mr Mulvaney said he had health problems and wanted to appeal the injunction made against him in December, and also asked Ms Justice Costello for a stay on Mr Justice Twomey's order.

In reply Ms Smith said all the properties in receivership were investment properties and the claim concerning the property at Avondale Lodge had never been made when the matter was previously before the courts.

Ms Justice Costello said from presiding over the bankruptcy list she understood the pain and distress many Irish people like Mr Mulvaney have endured.

However she could not go behind an order made by the High Court, and she had a duty to uphold such orders. She said if Mr Mulvaney was prepared to give an undertaking to comply with the orders the judge said she was prepared to allow him time to leave Avondale Lodge.

Any application for a stay would have to be made to either the Court of Appeal or Judge Twomey.

Mr Mulvaney refused to give such an undertaking. The Judge then made an order, which was to be forwarded to the Gardai directing that Mr Mulvaney be arrested and kept in prison ten days.

She told Mr Mulvaney the situation was "of his own making" but "he held the key" and he could purge his contempt at any time.

Previously the heard Mr O'Brien was appointed as receiver over the properties by Ulster Bank Ireland Designated Activity Company.

Ulster Bank claims it is owed 7.5m by Mr Mulvaney arising out of his failure to satisfy its demands to repay loans advanced to him between 2004 and 2010.
Revenue officers at Dublin Port today seized 33.7kgs of herbal cannabis with an estimated street value of 675,000.

The illegal drugs were discovered in an intelligence-led operation with the assistance of Revenue detector dog Meg.
Update 8.45pm: Sinn Fein and the Democratic Unionists are hammering out details of a potential deal that could end Stormont's 13 month powersharing crisis.

The North's two main parties were locked in negotiations through today, scrubbing a scheduled round table meeting with the region's smaller parties, amid mounting speculation an agreement may be in sight.

This evening, Sinn Fein acknowledged progress had been made toward a breakthrough but insisted issues remained. The republican party said the talks process should conclude next week.

Party president Gerry Adams, who will step down from his leadership role tomorrow, said: "It isn't sorted out as we speak. We have made some progress but there are still considerable obstacles but as I said to our unionist friends, this is the last chance agreement.

"They need to embrace the need for rights for everybody and agree a space where we can all moderate our differences."

Stormont's five main parties had been due to meet for round table discussions with Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley and Tanaiste Simon Coveney at Parliament Buildings in Belfast this afternoon.

The DUP and Sinn Fein did not attend, with Mrs Bradley telling the other participants the meeting would not proceed as planned because the main parties were involved in intense exchanges elsewhere in the building.

The episode has fuelled expectation of a possible breakthrough.

- PA

Earlier: Sinn Fein and DUP continue powersharing talks without smaller parties

Sinn Fein and the Democratic Unionists remained locked in negotiations to salvage powersharing on Friday evening after a scheduled all-party meeting was scrapped at short notice.

Stormont's three smaller parties - the Ulster Unionists, SDLP and Alliance - attended the afternoon talks session in Parliament Buildings and were told by the UK and Irish governments it would not proceed as planned because the DUP and Sinn Fein leaderships were involved in intense exchanges elsewhere in the building.

The episode has fuelled already mounting speculation that the two largest parties have made progress in their efforts to strike a deal that would end the impasse that has left the North without a properly functioning devolved executive for more than a year.

The last DUP/Sinn Fein-led coalition imploded last January amid 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 main sticking point preventing the restoration of an executive is the Irish language. Sinn Fein want a stand-alone piece of legislation to protect speakers - an Irish Language Act - but the DUP has long insisted it would only countenance new laws if they also incorporate other cultures, such as Ulster Scots.

Tanaiste Simon Coveney and Secretary of State Karen Bradley spoke with the three smaller parties at the truncated meeting on Friday afternoon.

According to sources, Mrs Bradley said she understood they were frustrated with the turn of events, to which UUP leader Robin Swann apparently replied he was not there for a "counselling session".

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood is understood to have told Mrs Bradley she had his number and to give him a call when she intended on having "inclusive" talks.

A UUP source said: "Sinn Fein and the DUP are clearly running these talks and the two governments are just bystanders".

Mary Lou McDonald

Substantive negotiations between the two main parties are unlikely to continue through the weekend as Sinn Fein is holding a special party conference in Dublin on Saturday to formally select Mary Lou McDonald as Gerry Adams' successor as president.

The DUP is also traditionally averse to doing business on Sunday.

Later, Mr Eastwood said it was clear the negotiations were an "exclusive two-party process".

"The SDLP are not here to window dress but we want to be constructive," he said.

"I've told both governments when the two-party process is concluded and they are ready to engage in five-party negotiations, the SDLP will be ready to negotiate.

"With a hard Brexit coming down the tracks that will cause economic, social and political chaos to our island, I also stressed to the Irish and British governments the need for the formation of a government urgently. Everyone across these islands is talking about the threat of a hard border, yet here we have a political vacuum."

- PA
By Natasha Reid

The suspect in a Cavan murder investigation is currently being spoon fed due to a traumatic brain injury sustained while trying to escape gardai after hijacking a car months later.

The detail of why he has not been charged came to light at the Central Criminal Court today during the trial of a mushroom picker, accused of impeding his prosecution for the killing by simulating the suicide of her housemate almost four years ago.

The 34-year-old Latvian woman is charged with impeding the apprehension or prosecution of the man, knowing or believing him to have murdered Antra Ozolina (aged 49) or committed some other arrestable offence.

It is alleged that Egita 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.

The mother of one, of no fixed abode, accepts that Ms Ozolinas death was not caused by suicide and does not dispute that another named person caused it.

However, she has pleaded not guilty to carrying out the impeding offence at their home at The Old Post, Main Street, Kilnaleck, Co Cavan on or about June 27 or June 28 2014. She told gardai that she was in fear for her life at the time and acting on the orders of her housemates killer.

Detective Garda James McDevitt testified yesterday that the male suspect had also been arrested after the killing, but denied the allegations put to him in interview.

He agreed with Giollaiosa O Lideadha SC, defending, that his general appearance and posture had been "brazen".

He agreed that this man had said that, had he killed someone, he would hardly be telling the interviewers.

The man, who is now 31, had openly admitted to choking a woman, who had given a statement as part of the murder investigation. He said that she had accused him of being a "fag", suggesting he was homosexual. He argued that going for her throat was what any man would do, and said that he did it to "scare the sh*t out of her".

The detective agreed that the man had convictions for racist, neo-nazi offences in his native Latvia. He also had convictions for robberies there, one using the threat of a gun, and two using the threat of a knife.

He had been in custody until six months before he moved to Ireland, but had breached his release conditions by moving here, and a European arrest warrant had been issued for him.

The detective also explained why this man was not before the courts, charged in connection with the Cavan killing. He referred to an incident in Longford on October 29, 2014.

He said that the alleged killer and another man had staked out a local business woman and held her at knife point. They bundled her into the back of a car, with the alleged killer saying: "Get in, b*tch".

The other male drove, while the alleged killer sat in the backseat with his leg pressed up against the womans neck.

The gardai pursued the car, while the men threatened the woman and demanded money.

The hijacked car crashed and the alleged killer got out to run away. However, he was struck by a civilian vehicle with very considerable force, causing him obvious brain and physical damage.

He was sent to intensive care immediately and there was a question mark over whether he would survive.

He suffered a traumatic brain injury and was in Beaumont for a number of months, before being transferred to a nursing home, explained the detective, adding that his brain function was now limited and that he had lost the use of three of his limbs.

Until recently, he was being peg fed. Now hes being spoon fed, and is hoisted to and from his bed on a daily basis, he continued.

We are monitoring the progress but, at the minute, hes not in a position to be charged, he added.

Thats relating to cognitive deficit, noted Mr O Lideadha, asking about his limbs.

He will never regain the use of his limbs, replied the detective.

Under re-examination by Patrick Gageby SC, prosecuting, the witness confirmed that both men had been living with Ms Jaunmaize in Longford at the time.

He also confirmed that the alleged killer had carried out the racially-motivated offences when he was 15 and 16 years of age. They involved obvious malicious damage that exhibited prejudice against black people, Jews and the promotion of Hitler and similar ideas.

He also confirmed that his views about gay people and black people were "all fairly obvious" when he was in Kilnaleck.

The jury later heard from an engineer, who examined the deceased womans shower rail and towel rail to see if she could have used either to take her own life.

Neil Murphy ruled out the shower rail, after it was found incapable of taking her weight. He found that the towel rail, although much lower, was strong enough.

However, the persons body would have been found still attached to the rail, he explained.

The jury was aware that this was not the case, having heard that she was found with one end of a blue rope around her neck and the other end unattached to anything. The accused eventually told the gardai that the main suspect had choked her with an arm lock and ordered her to put the rope around her neck afterwards.

The jury also heard from the State Pathologist yesterday. Mr Gageby had already told the jury that Dr Michael Curtis had found the cause of death to be neck compression, and he asked him about the various scenarios that could have led to this.

He noted that his examination of the body revealed that the rope had been wound around her neck three times. He said the marks indicated that it had been pulled tightly around her neck at or around the time of death.

The deceased may have died as a result of neck compression by an arm lock and the ligature put around the neck afterwards, he said. Or the deceased may have been rendered unconscious by the arm lock and appeared dead.

He said he couldn't favour one conclusions over the other.

Dr Curtis also noted injury to her head, face and upper arms, along with the fact that she was grossly intoxicated by alcohol.

The trial continues on Monday before Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy and a jury of seven men and five women.
By Declan Brennan

Two Dublin men who dragged a woman from her car before stealing the car have received partially suspended prison sentences of seven years.

Martin Cully (35) and Eugene Traynor (40) stood in the middle of the road and forced the woman to stop her car.

Cully then opened the passenger front door, leaned in and unbuckled the woman's seatbelt. Traynor took the car keys and both men then began roaring at the woman to get out.

The men grabbed her by the arms to drag her out but the woman tried to anchor herself inside the car. She was unable to hold on and fell out of the car and hit the ground, badly bruising her arm.

A passing car stopped and a young man got out and armed himself with an iron bar. He approached the scene but by this stage the men were in the car and Cully drove off at speed.

The woman later told gardai that she felt so helpless and scared. She said when she tried to shout for help, her voice failed her.

If Id resisted, God only knows what the outcome would have been. I am a positive person but as much as I try to forget about it and put it behind I still recall that horrible experience vividly, she said, in a victim impact statement.

She said she suffered from nightmares and flashbacks of the horrible, terrifying experience.

Cully of Dromcarra Green, Jobstown, Tallaght, and Traynor of Whitestown Grove, Blanchardstown, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to unlawful seizure of a vehicle at Old Connacht Avenue, Bray, Co Wicklow, on June 15, 2017.

Cully, who was previously disqualified from driving for 30 years for driving with no insurance, also pleaded guilty to two charges of dangerous driving on this occasion.

Judge Patrick Quinn banned Cully from driving for life. He suspended the final two years on Cully's sentence and the final two and a half years on Traynor's sentence.

Both sentences were backdated to last June when the pair went into custody. Judge Quinn also ordered that the men must stay drug free and engage with drug treatment programmes as a condition of the suspensions.

He described the high speed chase that followed the car-jacking as frightening. The court head Cully drove erratically and at speed across residential estates and Judge Quinn said the car was out of control.

Cully drove on the wrong side of the road, forcing oncoming drivers to swerve out of the way and breaking speed limits. The car chase only ended when Cully crashed the car into a pole.

Cully's 67 previous convictions include seven for burglary. Traynor's 20 previous convictions include robbery and theft offences.

Hugh Harnett SC, defending Cully, said his client's crimes were a result of his drug addiction and he was attempting to get treatment. He said Cully was out of control on drugs on the day of the attack.

He said his client wanted to apologise to the victim and to tell her that it was nothing personal. He said none of Cully's previous convictions involved violence.

Giollaiosa O Lideadha SC, defending Traynor, said his client had a supportive and loving family. He said Traynor was a drug addict who knew he must commit to treatment to break the habit.
The daughter of a British aid worker executed after being held captive by the extremist group dubbed "The Beatles" has spoken of her relief that two of its members have been captured.

Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, believed to have been part of Islamic State's brutal executions gang, were detained by US-allied Kurdish militia fighters in January, the New York Times (NYT) said.

Along with Mohammed Emwazi - the killer nicknamed Jihadi John - and Aine Davis, they are thought to have been part of a group named after the '60s band because of their English accents.

The four Londoners were linked to a string of hostage murders in Iraq and Syria during the bloody Islamist uprising.

Bethany Haines, whose father David was killed in 2014 after being held captive for 18 months, said she hoped the pair's detention could bring some closure for relatives of those murdered.

She told ITV's Good Morning Britain: "I got a call late last night to say that they had been captured and the first thought was relief, finally to know that the people that were involved in my dad's murder have been caught and will sort of serve some justice."

Asked what she would like to see happen now, she replied: "In my opinion, they shouldn't be breathing but that's not really a realistic kind of expectation. I think that they should be locked up with the key thrown away and never to be released."

She added: "It was always kind of the unanswered question as to where they were and could they do this sort of thing again? And yes, this sort of thing might happen again but the specific people that carried it out before have now all been caught and I think it will bring a lot of closure to all the families."

She said they should be "made an example of" to show "there is zero-tolerance for terrorism and these sort of crimes".

French journalist Nicolas Henin, who was held hostage by Islamic State for 10 months and believes "The Beatles" were among his captors, said he wants the men returned to Britain to face justice.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I would like to see them brought back to Britain, just like I would like to see all other European jihadis brought back to their home countries, to be judged fairly in their home country.

"Because the worst thing we can do with a terrorist is to deprive him from his right because then you make the terrorist a victim."

British Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson told the Times: "These are people who have done absolutely vile and despicable crimes and brought absolutely so much misery.

"It is good that they have been hunted down and caught."

Unnamed US officials told the NYT that Kotey, 34, and Elsheikh, 29, were captured by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces which were battling the last remaining pockets of IS fighters near the Euphrates river on the Iraq/Syria border.

It added that the men were identified by fingerprints and other biometric means.

Former child refugee Elsheikh was a mechanic from White City in west London, and Kotey was from Paddington in the city.

In January 2017, US authorities named Kotey as a member of the cell and said they had imposed sanctions on him.

In a statement at the time, the State Department said Kotey was "one of four members of an execution cell for ... the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil)".

It went on: "The notorious cell, dubbed 'The Beatles' and once headed by now-deceased Mohamed Emwazi (also known as Jihadi John), is responsible for holding captive and beheading approximately two dozen hostages, including several Westerners, among them American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and American aid worker Peter Kassig.

"As a guard for the cell, Kotey likely engaged in the group's executions and exceptionally cruel torture methods, including electronic shock and waterboarding.

"Kotey has also acted as an Isil recruiter and is responsible for recruiting several UK nationals to join the terrorist organisation."

Elsheikh, it said, "was said to have earned a reputation for waterboarding, mock executions, and crucifixions while serving as an Isis jailer".

Emwazi, who was killed in a US air strike in 2015, appeared in a number of videos in which captives including British aid workers Mr Haines and Alan Henning were beheaded.

The fourth member, Davis, was convicted of being a member of a terrorist organisation and jailed for seven-and-a-half years by a court in Silivri, Turkey, in May 2017.

The British Foreign Office said it did not comment on individual cases or ongoing investigations.
SRINAGAR: Authorities imposed restrictions in Srinagar and other parts of the Kashmir Valley on Friday to prevent Hurriyat-called protests on the death anniversary of Afzal Guru.

Guru was hanged inside the Tihar Jail in Delhi on February 9, 2013 after his conviction in 2001 Parliament attack case.

The protest was called to observe his death anniversary and to reiterate the familys demand for his mortal remains. Guru was buried inside the jail premises.

According to the police, the restrictions were imposed in old city areas of Srinagar, the uptown area of Maisuma and in some north and south Kashmir areas.

Senior separatist leaders, Syed Ali Geelani and Mirwaiz Umer Farooq continue to remain under house arrest while Muhammad Yasin Malik has been lodged in the Central Jail.

Police and paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in full riot gear have been deployed in the restriction imposed areas.

Train services between north Kashmirs Baramulla town and Bannihal town in the Jammu region have been suspended as a precautionary measure.
The British Government spent almost 1,000 hand-delivering the Article 50 letter declaring the UK's intention to leave the EU to Brussels, it has been revealed.

Two British civil servants travelled to the Belgian capital with the letter by Channel Tunnel train on return business-class tickets costing 491.50 (558) each, said the UK's Foreign Office.

The terms of Article 50 of the EU treaties state only that a country wishing to leave the EU is required to "notify the European Council of its intention", and it is understood that this could have been done by email.

However, it was decided that the historic letter would be handed over to European Council president Donald Tusk by UK permanent representative Sir Tim Barrow in person on March 29, 2017.

In response to a Freedom of Information request, the UK Representation to the EU said that the cost of two Eurostar Business Premier tickets, including a 1.50 (1.70) booking fee and 2.50 (2.83) change fee, came to 985.50 (1,118).

"There were no other quantifiable costs associated with their travel," said the response. "Meals were provided on the Eurostar and the two civil servants stayed overnight at the Residence.

"The letter was then delivered to the President of the European Council by Sir Tim Barrow as part of his duties as UK Permanent Representative to the European Union at no additional cost."

Business Premier is the most expensive passenger ticket offered on regular Eurostar services, with standard tickets typically retailing for around 89-159 (101-180) each way.

The company's website states that the ticket includes "hot meals designed by Raymond Blanc, served with champagne", along with spacious seats, use of an "exclusive" lounge, a taxi-booking service and the option of changes and cancellation free of charge.

Holders of Business Premier tickets can turn up at the gate up to 10 minutes before departure, rather than 45 minutes with standard tickets.
The desolate desert in southern Oman resembles Mars so much that more than 200 scientists from 25 nations have chosen it as their location for the next four weeks to field-test technology for a manned mission to Mars.

Public and private ventures are racing towards Mars - both former US president Barack Obama and SpaceX founder Elon Musk declared humans would walk on the Red Planet in a few decades.

New challengers like China are joining the United States and Russia in space with an ambitious, if vague, Mars programme, while aerospace corporations such as BlueOrigin have published schematics of future bases, ships and suits.

The successful launch of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket this week "puts us in a completely different realm of what we can put into deep space, what we can send to Mars", said analogue astronaut Kartik Kumar.

The next step to Mars, he said, is to tackle non-engineering problems such as medical emergency responses and isolation.

"These are things I think can't be underestimated," Mr Kumar said.

While cosmonauts and astronauts are learning valuable spacefaring skills on the International Space Station - and the US is using virtual reality to train scientists - the majority of work to prepare for interplanetary expeditions is being done on Earth.

And where better to field-test equipment and people for the journey to Mars but on some of the planet's most forbidding spots.

Seen from space, the Dhofar desert is a flat, brown expanse.

Few animals or plants survive in the desert expanses of the Arabian Peninsula, where temperatures can top 125F (51C).

On the eastern edge of a seemingly endless dune is the Oman Mars Base: a giant 2.4-ton inflated habitat surrounded by shipping containers turned into labs and crew quarters.

There are no airlocks.

The desert's surface resembles Mars so much it Is hard to tell the difference, Mr Kumar said, his spacesuit caked in dust.

"But it goes deeper than that: the types of geomorphology, all the structures, the salt domes, the riverbeds, the wadis, it parallels a lot of what we see on Mars."

The Omani government offered to host the Austrian Space Forum's next Mars simulation during a meeting of the United Nation's Committee On the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.

Gernot Groemer, commander of the Oman Mars simulation and a veteran of 11 science missions on Earth, said the forum quickly accepted.

Scientists from across the world sent ideas for experiments and the mission, named AMADEE-18, quickly grew to 16 scientific experiments, such as testing a "tumbleweed" whip-fast robot rover and a new space suit called Aouda.

The cutting-edge spacesuit, weighing about 50 kilograms, is called a "personal spaceship" because one can breathe, eat and do hard science inside it.

The suit's visor displays maps, communications and sensor data. A blue piece of foam in front of the chin can be used to wipe your nose and mouth.

"No matter who is going to this grandest voyage of our society yet to come, I think a few things we learn here will be actually implemented in those missions," Mr Groemer said.

The Soviet Union's 1957 launch of Sputnik ignited a space race between Moscow and Washington to land a crew on the Moon.

But before the US got there first, astronauts such as Neil Armstrong trained suspended on pulleys to simulate one-sixth of Earth's gravity.

Hostile environments from Arizona to Siberia were used to fine-tune capsules, landers, rovers and suits - simulating otherworldly dangers to be found beyond Earth.

Space agencies call them "analogues" because they resemble extraterrestrial extremes of cold and remoteness.

"You can test systems on those locations and see where the breaking points are, and you can see where things start to fail and which design option you need to take in order to assure that it does not fail on Mars," said Joao Lousada, one of the Oman simulation's deputy field commanders who is a flight controller for the International Space Station.

Faux space stations have been built underwater off the coast of Florida, on frigid dark deserts of Antarctica, and in volcanic craters in Hawaii, according to Packing For Mars, a favourite book among many Mars scientists, written by Mary Roach.

"Terrestrial analogues are a tool in the toolkit of space exploration, but they are not a panacea," said Scott Hubbard, known as Mars Czar back when he led the US space agency's Mars programme.

Some simulations have helped develop cameras, rovers, suits and closed-loop life-support systems, he said.

Nasa used the Mojave Desert to test rovers destined for the Red Planet but they also discovered much about how humans can adapt.

"Humans' adaptability in an unstructured environment is still far, far better than any robot we can send to space," Mr Hubbard said, adding that people, not just robots, are the key to exploring Mars.

The European Space Agency's list of "planetary analogues" includes projects in Chile, Peru, South Africa, Namibia, Morocco, Italy, Spain, Canada, Antarctica, Russia, China, Australia, India, Germany, Norway, Iceland, and nine US states.

Next Thursday, Israeli scientists are to run a shorter simulation in a nature preserve called D Mars.

However, there remain so many unknowns that simulations "are not in any way a replacement for being there", Mr Hubbard said.

The Oman team's optimism is unflinching.

"The first person to walk on Mars has in fact already been born, and might be going to elementary school now in Oman, or back in Europe, in the US or China," Mr Lousada said.

- PA
Not only are these bars with secret entrances some of Brisbane's best to visit, the fun starts with trying to find them - through antique wardrobes, wine fridges and London phone boxes and even out back of a butcher's shop.

Archer's Bunker - Spring Hill

Archer's Bunker is a clandestine air raid shelter-style drinking den hidden in the basement of Spring Hill's International Hotel. Credit:Must Do Brisbane.

Archer's Bunker is an aviation inspired bar hidden beneath Spring Hill's International Hotel, with entry through the secret fridge in Archer's Brewery or the red telephone booth inside the hotel.

Legends Bar - Brisbane CBD
When thinking about small business, our thoughts often go to the local florist or our favourite plumber  some sort of visible enterprise, perhaps run by a mum and dad with kids helping out during school holidays. Rarely do we think about a different type of business; one that's less visible and regarded by many as immoral. Sex work is one such enterprise; a business arguably as legitimate as any other.

A study published last month by Canadian researchers has illuminated this darkened world. The researchers interviewed more than 200 sex workers spanning a diverse spectrum of age, gender, sexuality, and even the nature of services offered (such as whether the work was solicited on the street or via indoor venues). The scholars discovered quite a few of their interview subjects perceived their work in genuinely entrepreneurial terms.

A study published last month by Canadian researchers has illuminated the world of sex work. Credit:James Davies

Take, for example, this comment from Marie who saw her work as facilitating the autonomy many other salaried employees are denied: "I guess I think about myself being independent and I like the idea that I'm kind of an entrepreneur in many ways and sex work is just one of the ways. I know how to make money. I feel good about having control over my body and what I'm allowed to do with it."

Similar sentiments regarding self-determination were expressed by Giselle: "Since I'm in this job, I get to control when, where, how  all of these things. So, I feel more empowered."
A would-be carjacker in Melbourne's east has, police say, resorted to an unusual face covering to disguise himself - a Chux Superwipe.

The man was wearing his makeshift mask when he approached a woman who was sitting in her white Mercedes Benz while parked at Mullum Mullum Reserve in Donvale about 1pm on Sunday.

A facefit of the would-be carjacker who covered his face with a Chux Superwipe. Credit:Victoria Police

He was carrying a crowbar and demanded the woman get out of the car but when she kept refusing he eventually ran away towards the intersection of Springvale and Reynolds roads.

As well as the Superwipe the man was wearing a dark beanie, black long-sleeved top and light-coloured pants.
Robert Doyle pictured at the Melbourne Health function in 2016. "[But] each time he placed his hand on my thigh, he left it there for longer, and it appeared to be creeping up my leg, very close to my groin. All the while that my fiance is besides me; we had only been engaged for a handful of months, and his daughter who had just turned 13, who Robert was aware [of], was seated at this table." Eventually, the woman's partner suggested they swap seats, she said. When Mr Doyle announced on Sunday he intended to resign, he issued a statement via his lawyer continuing "to strenuously deny the allegations made against him". The woman said this had in part prompted her to speak out on Friday.

"There are comments this week, from Robert Doyle, from members of the public, that are alleging that the women, including myself that have come forward, are liars," she said. "I am not lying. I have no reason - I have nothing to gain. Ive just had enough." Health Minister Jill Hennessy ordered an immediate investigation into Mr Doyle's behaviour at the awards event after The Age revealed the woman had made a complaint about it to a separate inquiry established by Melbourne City Council. That inquiry is led by barrister Ian Freckelton. On Friday morning the woman said another element behind her decision to speak now was that she feared the Freckelton report into Mr Doyle's behaviour would not be released. "If the report was made public, which I think it should [be], I would feel a bit more confident about the process. The signs thus far point to that the report won't be released and I think that would be a great shame," she said.

Loading Melbourne City Council chief executive Ben Rimmer has not pledged to release the report but, in a speech on Tuesday at a council meeting, said: "My aim is to publicly release the outcomes of this investigation as soon as possible." On Friday, the woman said she had been particularly offended by comments by former premier Jeff Kennett defending Mr Doyle and saying women who felt sexually harassed should speak out when the harassment was occurring. She said women often felt powerless to do so. She also said she wanted to support former councillor Tessa Sullivan, whose complaint against Mr Doyle sparked the crisis at Town Hall.

She said, having had direct experience of alleged harassment by Mr Doyle, she felt "the very least I can do is come forward". "Here is a woman who has been a victim of misconduct in a workplace and for her to make a complaint she had to resign." She also said the lord mayor had also commented on her appearance repeatedly. "[He] said I was beautiful on a number of occasions," she said. A solo violinist was performing on the night of the 2016 event, who was wearing a sequined, short sheer dress. "During her performance he leaned over and whispered that I would look fantastic in what she was wearing," the woman said.
SRINAGAR: Life remained paralysed, today, due to the complete shutdown on the fifth hanging anniversary of Muhammad Afzal Guru, while in several area of valley clashes were reported and several youth have been injured in police pellet firing.

Call for the shutdown was given by the Joint Resistance Leadership comprising (JRL) Syed Ali Gilani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik. All shops, business establishments and educational institutions remained closed while traffic was off the road.

India had executed Muhammad Afzal Guru in Tihar jail on this day in 2013 and another prominent Kashmiri leader, Muhammad Maqbool Butt in the same jail on 11th February in 1984. The bodies of the two martyrs remain buried in the premises of the jail.

The JRL had also called for peaceful protests after Friday prayers to press the demand for the return of the mortal remains of Muhammad Maqbool Butt and Muhammad Afzal Guru from Delhis Tihar jail to occupied Kashmir for decent burial. However, the puppet authorities had imposed restrictions in Srinagar and some areas of north Kashmir including Sopore deploying Indian troops and police personnel in strength across the Kashmir Valley. Almost all Hurriyat leaders were kept under house arrest or in detention.

The historic Jamia Msjid in Srinagar was sealed and Juma prayers were not allowed at the historic mosque while train service was suspended. The actions were aimed at preventing the people from staging anti-India demonstrations.

Meanwhile, despite severe restrictions, hundreds of people including Hurriyat leaders visited the ancestral house of Muhammad Afzal Guru at Doabgah in Sopore and participated in a condolence reference.

In Shopian, a youth was injured during clashes between protesters and government forces in Memander village of the district. witnesses said that clashes erupted on Friday evening between youth and forces. While the protesters hurled rocks, the forces responded by firing tear smoke shells and pellets, resulting in pellet injury to one person and minor injuries to nearly six persons.

The pellet hit injured was rushed to SDH Shopian where from he was referred to SMHS Srinagar for advanced treatment, an official said.

In Sopore, clashes erupted in Sopore town on Friday after youth defied restrictions and staged protests on the fifth hanging anniversary of Afzal Guru.

Reports said that youth took to streets after Friday prayers and staged protests outside Jamia Masjid Sopore, despite curfew-like restrictions imposed by the authorities.

Forces deployed in strength in the area fired tear gas to disperse the protesters who were pelting them with stones at main chowk and main bazaar areas of town, triggering clashes.

Guru, a resident of Jageer Ghat village of Sopore, was secretly hanged and buried inside New Delhis Tihar jail on this day in 2013.

Earlier, scores of pro-freedom leaders reached at the residence of Guru and staged protests to demand his mortal remains.

In Budagm, Clashes brokeout between Govt forces and Protesters in Manchowa Nowgam Railway track after Friday prayers, A youth was injured during forces action, he recieved severe pellet injuries on his face and for treatment he reffered to Sub District hospital Chadoora and from there he was reffered to SMSHS hospital srinagar for further treatment.

The youth was later identified as a 16 year old boy Aamir majid

resident of Kanihama Budgam, The injured youth recieved severe injuries on his Right eye.

(Agencies)
"But is this the right time?" The question follows every push for an Australian republic. From colonial times to today, there have always been excuses for putting it off. The transition to a republic is not simply a legal change but a philosophic one, too. It requires hard work, wide debate and deep thought.

Who are we as Australians? What are our national values? Are we really committed to democracy, egalitarianism and community? Do we have faith that we can not only survive but thrive with a truly independent constitution? These are nation-shaping questions and it's always the right time to discuss them.

A poster urges voters to back a republic before the unsuccessful 1999 referendum. Credit:DAVE THOMSON

The first book arguing for an Australian republic was published in 1852. John Dunmore Lang's Freedom and Independence for the Golden Lands of Australia shocked and delighted contemporary audiences with its radical proposal. The Australian colonies should unite and form "one great nation  one mighty power in the Pacific".

Although Lang called for a republic, his book was not anti-British. He wrote affectionately of the mother country and the queen. He also captured the democratic zeitgeist of the mid-19th century. Enriched by gold and unburdened by Europe's entrenched class system, in Australia, he argued, the people were the only legitimate source of power.
We tend to forget that there was nothing inevitable about the national apology to Indigenous Australians 10 years ago - just as we easily succumb to the cynicism that nothing has changed since then either. A dispassionate reflection on the facts suggest we might take a different view of both.

By 2008, Australia had been through a decade of official national denial that there was any need to apologise for either the stolen generations, or Indigenous Australia more generally. Lest we forget, John Howard's formally stated position in the Menzies Memorial Lecture in the year he became prime minister was that Australia's history should not be written by those given to apologising for the achievements of previous generations, or those who belonged to the "black armband view of our past".

Kevin Rudd applauds members of the stolen generation in the public gallery at Parliament House after delivering his apology in 2008. Credit:Mark Baker

And in case we were left in any doubt about what this meant for a national apology, or the wider project of reconciliation, Howard's formal remarks to the 1997 Reconciliation Convention left little doubt: "Australians of this generation should not be required to face guilt or blame for past actions and policies over which we have no control." Even on the eve of the 2007 election, Howard said an "apology would reinforce a culture of victimhood and take us backwards."

The uncomfortable truth is that this tradition within the Liberal Party still beats loud. Howard's use and abuse of the politics of race to divide the country and force a political choice, in the minds of an uncertain electorate, between the Liberals, who would protect "us" from "them", and Labor who would not, continues as a mainstay of Australian conservative politics. Howard was a master. Tony Abbott, his political love-child, who said the apology was no more than a "sop to the Left," was his apprentice. Peter Dutton, who boycotted the apology in parliament altogether in 2008, is a Neanderthal version of the same. Whether it's Indigenous politics, the Tampa, refugees, Muslim Australia, our relations with Asia, the strategy is the same. It's called "The Racial Wedge". And as for Malcolm Turnbull ... ah well, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is still weak.
A young girl living on Nauru who believes dying will free her from her "bad life" has developed a mental health condition so rarely seen in children that a federal judge has ordered she be flown to Australia for specialist treatment.

The girl, who said she "thinks about dying like the Sri Lankan man" who recently committed suicide on Manus Island, has tried to suicide once and has threatened to suicide on other occasions.

The Nauru detention centre when it was being rebuilt in 2013 after riots and fires damaged much of the structure. Credit:Canstruct

Medical experts who have observed the young girl say that she reports hearing the voice of a foreign man in her head urging her to take her own life.

Clinical notes prepared by Sharyn Bunn, a child psychologist working for International Health and Medical Services (IHMS) said: "[The applicant] stated that the voice tells her 'dying is better than living, you'll be free'."
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Newly minted Senator Jim Molan, who has been at the centre of a week-long row over Britain First Facebook posts, has retreated from this threat to hit fellow MP Adam Bandt with a lawsuit, but only after he forced two apologies from the Greens representative.

The member for Melbourne said Senator Molan, a retired major general who was chief of operations in Iraq in the mid 2000s, would "probably be up for prosecution" if there was ever a review into his conduct on the battlefield. That prompted a furious response from Senator Molan, who threated to sue Mr Bandt for defamation unless he apologised.

On Thursday Mr Bandt said: "I hereby apologise for those statements". But Senator Molan said that was not good enough and warned he was still considering legal action. On Friday Mr Bandt issued a second apology and said he would make a donation to a veterans support organisation.

"I wish to publicly say that I was wrong to make such accusations and inferences against Senator Molan," Mr Bandt said in a statement.
Latest News The brokers are all over it: How brokers are revolutionising capital markets An influx of brokers is helping lenders to reshape the capital markets and secure more funding than ever before

40% of Australians are struggling to pay back their mortgages Shocking numbers of Aussies in mortgage stress, spiking to as high as 75% in locked down LGAs

Adelaide Bank is introducing an alert system that will monitor property borrowers that are struggling with their repayments.The bank and its subsidiaries and affiliates will compare monthly mortgage repayments with borrowers income ratios.As part of our ongoing commitment to responsible lending, we are introducing the visibility of metrics relating to loan to income and monthly mortgage repayment to income ratios into our serviceability calculator for new loan applications  at the application stage only, said Darren Kasehagen, Adelaide Bank's head of business development and strategy.Kasehagen told Australian Broker that additional commentary from the broker will be required when these internal guides are exceeded.He stressed that this only applies to new loans.There is currently no change to our monitoring of existing loans, he said.The Australian Financial Review reported yesterday (8 February) that loans that exceed the banks guidelines will prompt a "diary note commentary" to alert the bank of possible mortgage stress.The report said that this will automatically happen where the loan-to-income ratio exceeds five times or monthly mortgage repayments exceed 35% of a borrowers income.The bank is telling third parties the data is only required for internal purposes, said the AFR.It attributed the banks move to an effort by lenders to prevent problem loans amid concern over rising household debt.Related stories:
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The government agreed to temporarily halt the deportation of nationally known immigrants rights advocate and Brooklynite Ravi Ragbir after he filed a lawsuit in federal district court on Feb. 9 alleging that the Trump administration is deliberately targeting immigrant activists who speak out on behalf of their cause.

Like so many people who are living in this country under the threat of deportation, I know how important it is to raise our voices against the injustices in the system, Ragbir said in a statement. This lawsuit is not just about me, it is about all of the members of our community who are speaking out in our struggle for immigrant rights.

The suit came a day before Ragbir was due to report for deportation to his native Trinidad under the order of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and ultimately seeks to both allow him to stay in the U.S. without fear of deportation and to restrain the government from targeting immigration activists.

Ragbir filed the suit along with the immigrants rights organization he co-founded  the New Sanctuary Coalition of New York  and four similar groups, including the New York Immigration Coalition. The lawsuit alleges that the federal government has unfairly arrested and deported numerous immigrants rights activists over the past two years  including the co-founder of the New Sanctuary Coalition, Jean Montrevil, who was deported to Haiti last month.

Ragbirs wife Amy Gottlieb told this newspaper that she and her husband, who live Downtown, are thankful for the extra time they have together, and plan to continue their fight.

We are thrilled at this temporary reprieve and will continue fighting to keep Ravi here permanently, said Gottlieb, the associate regional director of the American Friends Service Committee, an organization that advocates for justice and human rights. ICE cannot continue its unconstitutional targeting of activists who are willing to speak out against their unjust system.

Earlier in the week, other local pols raised their voices to fight for Ragbir. Councilmen Jumaane Williams (DFlatbush) and Ydanis Rodriguez (DManhattan)  who were arrested during a protest following Ragbirs Jan. 11 detention  accused the police department of conspiring with immigration agents during a Feb. 7 Council hearing on public safety, an allegation that both Mayor DeBlasio and the police department deny.

And on the same day, the mayor sent a letter to the director of the immigration agencys New York field office, urging it to halt Ragbirs deportation and consider his contributions both to the immigrant community and the city at large before deporting him, as well as the effect that the move could have on the already fraught relationship between immigrants and law enforcement.

[Ragbir] and others like him have played a crucial role in making New York a beacon of diversity and inclusion for so many, DeBlasio wrote in the letter. When ICE takes aggressive action against leaders in immigrant communities, it casts a chilling effect on immigrants willingness to engage with the government and law enforcement generally, undercutting that trust.

Gottlieb said they were grateful to the mayor for weighing in and lending his voice to their cause.

Were certainly grateful for all the support we get and glad that the mayor is willing to support us, she said.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained Ragbir during a routine annual check-in on Jan. 11. He was finally released from an upstate New York jail nearly three weeks later, on Jan. 29, after Judge Katherine Forrest wrote in a powerful statement that Ragbir must be granted the freedom to say goodbye before being booted from the country where he has lived for more than 20 years.

Ragbir hails from Trinidad and Tobego, and has been a U.S. permanent resident since 1994, but has fought a deportation order since 2000, after he served a 30-month prison term for wire fraud, which led the Feds to revoke his residency. He has routinely checked in with the immigration agency for more than a decade and complied with all conditions of his release, the suit says.

Ragbir will not be required to check in with the immigration agency at all on Feb. 10, but a previously planned 9 am rally for immigrants rights is still set to take place in Foley Square on the distant isle of Manhattan.

Reach reporter Julianne McShane at (718) 2602523 or by e-mail at jmcsh ane@c ngloc al.com . Follow her on Twitter @juliannemcshane.
Agro products lead increase in exports

Export earnings from goods identified by the Nepal Trade Integration Strategy (NTIS) posted double-digit growth during the first half of the fiscal year on higher demand for cardamom, tea, ginger and yarn, the Trade and Export Promotion Centre (TEPC) said.
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Friday

Feb. 9

Power nap

Catch a sneak preview of the upcoming web series Super Narcoleptic Girl, about a third-rate, often-sleepy superheroine with the power to make people dance. Comedians and series creators Sarah Albritton, who also has narcolepsy, and Catherine Povinelli will discuss the show and perform stand-up between episodes.

7:30 pm at the Twenty [177 Grand St. between Bedford and Driggs avenues in Williamsburg, (347) 9874250, www.thetw entyb ar.com ]. Free.

Saturday

Feb. 10

Young Americans

Let all the children boogie! They may be driving their mamas and papas insane, but the kids will have a chance to dance while you listen to good music, at The Music of David Bowie for Kids, performed by the Rock and Roll Playhouse band for a crowd mostly aged 10 and younger.

12:30 pm at Industry City (220 36th St. at Second Avenue in Sunset Park, www.thero ckand rollp layho use.com ). Free.

Sunday

Feb. 11

Good boy!

Celebrate the Year of the Dog with the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company. The Lunar New Year party will feature a pair of red lion dancers (pictured), golden dragons, and tributes to mans best friend, along with traditional Chinese music and a marketplace.

Their lion eyes: Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company will kick off its Lunar New Year celebration at the Kumble Theater on Feb. 11 with a double lion dance. Carol Rosegg

3 pm at Kumble Theater at Long Island University [DeKalb and Flatbush avenues in Downtown, (718) 4881624, www.kumbl ethea ter.org ]. $25.

Monday

Feb. 12

Bar-crossed lovers

You can drink away your sorrows at the climax of this Romeo and Juliet, which takes place in a bar. The Shakes-beer-ience crew will give a loose, drunk all, and left no friendly drop version of the tragic romance, with bar owner Andy Heidel playing the apothecary, and other audience members drafted for minor parts.

8 pm at the Way Station [683 Washington Ave. between St. Marks Avenue and Prospect Place in Prospect Heights, (718) 6274949, www.thewa ystat ionbk.com ]. Free.

Tuesday

Feb. 13

Fade to black

BAM is showing black superhero movies that go back to the 1970s, but black-led horror films go back even further. In her lecture Black Horror: The Revolutionary Act of Subverting the White Gaze, Dianca London Potts will showcase flicks from the early 1900s to today, including 1940s Son of Ingagi, Blacula, and last years Get Out.

7 pm at Film Noir Cinema [122 Meserole Ave. at Leonard Street in Greenpoint, (718) 3895773, www.miska tonic -nyc.com ]. $15 ($12 in advance).
Turnover generated in Ireland by over 300 Irish companies which are members of Guaranteed Irish, the not-for-profit business membership organisation championing homegrown and international businesses operating in Ireland, has now reached 11bn, according to new figures released this week.

Globally, these companies generate a turnover of 25.84bn. In Ireland, these companies directly employ 49,873 people, with 46% currently exporting, primarily to the UK, US and mainland Europe.

The figures were released by Guaranteed Irish at an event the Irish Stock Exchange on Wednesday. Only member companies, which are required to meet a range of criteria before attaining membership, are given permission to display the Guaranteed Irish symbol as a badge of provenance and trust. Many Guaranteed Irish companies are listed on the Irish Stock Exchange including CRH (Irish Cement, Roadstone and Clogrennane Lime), Kingspan, Kerry Foods and Mincon.



Guaranteed Irish has also announced that March 2018 has been designated the inaugural Guaranteed Irish Month to celebrate all members of Guaranteed Irish and showcase Irelands exceptional international reputation as a great place to work and do business. A range of activities are planned for the month-long initiative including a Meet Guaranteed Irish event in Dublin which will offer members the opportunity to exhibit their businesses and network with other members. Guests, including political representatives, will be invited to learn first-hand the contribution Guaranteed Irish members make to the Irish economy. Companies interested in joining the organisation will also be encouraged to attend.



As part of Guaranteed Irish Month, the organisation also unveiled a new Guaranteed Irish Global Register which calls on business leaders at home and the Irish diaspora abroad, to register with Guaranteed Irish to assist member companies who are considering exporting to new markets.



A new Guaranteed Irish website will be launched during Guaranteed Irish Month, along with a Guaranteed Irish Partner Programme for members, and in the coming months, a seminar will be held on how to leverage Guaranteed Irish in the context of Brexit.



Speaking on Wednesday, CEO of the Irish Stock Exchange, Deirdre Somers said, "The Irish Stock Exchange is delighted to support the launch of Guaranteed Irish Month. The Guaranteed Irish symbol is a real badge of honour worn by home-grown enterprises, as well as international businesses which have chosen Ireland as their base, and contributes to showcasing Ireland as a great place to conduct business."

Source: www.businessworld.ie
The European Union believes Britain will not be ready to make a full break from the bloc by the end of 2020 as Brexit transition plans foresee and several senior EU figures said they are bracing for a much longer goodbye.

The British government may be thinking on similar lines.

Several diplomats and Brussels officials familiar with the discussions said a host of unresolved issues, including the Irish border, and British in-fighting over what kind of future trade relationship to ask for left many convinced the transition will end up being longer.

Two senior EU officials said British negotiators appeared to be sounding out other governments' attitudes to an extension to the 21-month transition currently on offer, although others said they believed British Prime Minister Theresa May still aims to have a free trade deal negotiated to start in January 2021.

May has publicly denied looking for extra time. The EU says it is willing to be "flexible", though France and other EU governments have been clear they oppose Britain staying in the half-way house for years, fearing the arrangement would become permanent and a basis for a messy, long-term compromise.

As formal talks on the transition got under way in Brussels this week, EU diplomats said any extension would be agreed only after Britain formally leaves in March 2019, so that London would remain under pressure to conclude a trade deal or face its economy going off a "cliff edge" from 2021.

The bloc also says all the outstanding issues - including Ireland - must be solved for any transition to start after Brexit, due in March, 2019.

"If we don't have a ratified withdrawal agreement by the Brexit date, there will be no transition period. Britain will just crash out. Au revoir," said a senior EU diplomat.

That is why the current delays put in danger the whole Brexit schedule, which the sides agreed to provide the much-needed clarity to the businesses and people affected.

"Nobody believes in transition until the end of 2020," said another diplomat. "But we don't want to propose an extension straight away - that is a leverage we have over London."

Sources in Brussels acknowledge May cannot ask to prolong a transition which, by binding London to EU rules and budgets without having a say on them, is deeply unpopular with Brexit supporters:

"To ask for an extension now would be to upset the Brexiteers who want out swiftly and at any cost," another person said.

Michel Barnier, the EU chief negotiator who will brief the media on Friday on the outcome of this week's talks, has said he believes Britain can negotiate a free trade deal in under three years. EU and British officials note that while an EU deal with, say, South Korea took seven years, Britain has regulations in line with the EU now, substantially cutting the need for change.

Concluding a transition deal by March was supposed to be an easy part of Brexit negotiations after months spent last year cajoling London into committing to pay tens of billions of euros in outstanding commitments to Brussels and hammering out a deal to give lifetime rights to three million EU citizens in Britain.

However, after talking with May and Brexit Secretary David Davis in London on Monday, Barnier told EU envoys that a number of issues were proving difficult.

People briefed by Barnier said these included London's rejection of giving lifetime rights to EU citizens who arrive after Brexit and until the end of 2020, its demand to avoid new EU laws it dislikes, more say on fishing quotas and opposition to a penalty mechanism to restrict single market access.

If the transition deal is not in place by a March 22-23 EU summit, that could delay the expected April start of talks on the future trade deal. And among the thorniest issues in efforts to agree an outline trade vision this year will be settling how trade can remain "frictionless" on the Irish land border.

The sides agreed a fudge in December that promised to keep regulations the same in NorthernIreland as in EU-member Ireland, as well as between Northern Ireland and the British mainland while giving Britain a right to diverge from the EU.

"We don't see a way to square this circle, there is no solution. We are pushing Britain to propose legal text on that but they don't want to engage, which shows how big a problem politically it is for London," said another EU diplomat.

British negotiators are due to update Barnier on their vision for London's future ties with the EU in Brussels on Friday, but there is little hope they would offer the clarity the bloc is demanding. (Reuters)

Source: www.businessworld.ie
A post-Brexit transition is "not a given", the European Union's Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier warned Britain on Friday, saying London had raised "substantial" issues with the adaptation period as proposed by the bloc.

Barnier, speaking to journalists in Brussels after the latest round of negotiations with British envoys, said he was surprised by London's position and that some of the EU's lines on the transition period were non-negotiable.

"If these differences persist, a transition is not a given," Barnier said. "If these disagreements were to persist, there will undoubtedly be a problem. I hope we will be able to resolve these disagreements in the next round."

Sterling weakened against the euro as Barnier listed London's issues with the post-Brexit transition offered by the EU until the end of 2020.

He said Britain rejected giving lifetime rights to EU citizens who arrive after Brexit but before 2021, demanded mechanisms to be able to avoid any new EU laws it disliked, and lashing out against a mechanism the EU wants to be able to unilaterally suspend Britain's access to the single market in case of disputes.

"The UK insisted that we should reach an agreement in March on this transitional period. At the same time, however, our partners set out a certain number of disagreements, which I regard as substantial," Barnier said.

He said the EU was still waiting for London to explain what sort of future relationship it wants with the EU and how to avoid an Irish border if, as Prime Minister Theresa May had said, it were to leave the bloc's customs union in the future.

"The sooner the UK makes its choices, the better," Barnier also said. "A UK decision to leave the single market and leave the customs union would make border checks unavoidable."

"We focus on solutions to avoid hard border... any solution must be precise, clear and unambiguous," Barnier said. "We are waiting for such a solution."

Barnier also made clear Britain had to sort out all the outstanding issues related to its exit from the bloc - including ties with Euratom and privacy laws, among others - in order to be given a transition period after it leaves the EU, which is now due to happen next March.

"No transition will be possible if there is no withdrawal agreement," he said after many EU diplomats and officials have warned in recent days over delays putting under threat the whole Brexit schedule that EU and Britain agreed on to give some certainty to the businesses and people affected.

In the status quo transition the EU offered to Britain - envisaging that London remains bound by all EU laws and pays into the bloc's budget but has no say on any decisions of the union - Britain's Brexit negotiator particularly disliked what was described by some as a single market "punishment" clause.

Davis said the EU's approach was "discourteous", to which Barnier responded on Friday by saying: "I don't really understand why this reaction, this uproar, we do not wish to punish whatsoever." (Reuters)

Source: www.businessworld.ie
Cash recovered from Tara Air crash site deposited to DAO pledge account

Police have deposited the cash recovered from a crash site, where a Tara Air Twin Otter had crashed two years ago, into a pledge account. The amount has been deposited into Myagdi District Administration Offices pledge account in order to close the crash investigation case.
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.
Bank of Baroda has released an official employment notification calling out for aspirants to apply for the post of Public Relations Officer. The selected candidate will be involved in responsibilities such as event management and content development.

The bank is hiring only experienced people for this post. There is a scope of earning up to 28 lakhs per annum in this job. Interested candidates can check out the eligibility, how to apply, salary and the complete details of the bank job here.

YES Bank Recruitment 2018 For Various Posts

Bank Of Baroda Recruitment 2018 Vacancy Details

CRITERIA DETAILS Name Of The Post Public Relations Officer Salary Scale 28 lakhs per annum Educational Requirement A degree in Mass Communication or Journalism Experience 10 years Location Mumbai Contact Number 022 66985541 Deadline To Apply 1 March 2018

Also Read: IDBI Bank Recruitment 2018 For Executive Posts

How To Apply For Bank Of Baroda Recruitment 2018

In order to apply for Bank Of Baroda Recruitment 2018, follow the steps given here:

Step 1 Log on to Bank of Baroda's official website. Step 2 Scroll down to the bottom of the page to find Careers link. Step 3 Click on Current Opportunities option. Step 4 The list of vacant jobs will be displayed on the screen. Step 5 Click on the attachment against Recruitment of Public Relations Officer. Step 6 The recruitment notification will be displayed on the screen. Step 7 Read the details of the advertisement carefully. Scroll down to find the e-mail address that the application has to be sent to.

RBI Recruitment 2018 For Medical Consultant Posts: Check Eligibility, Salary And How To Apply
Step 1

Candidates should visit the official website of Meghalaya Public Service Commission.

Step 2

Candidates should click on Online Application as shown in the tab.

Step 3

Once you click on "Online Application" tab you are directed to Login page. Fill the office, email id and password column to proceed futher.

Step 4

After filling the credentials, candidates should "Login" to apply for the post.
Dhading bus accident: Missing child found dead after 3 months

A child, who had gone missing following a bus accident in Dhading on October 28 last year, was found dead on Thursday.
CAT is divided into four parts namely:

Quantitative Ability

Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension

Data Interpretation

Logical Reasoning

This means, that you have two major sections to focus on - Aptitude and English.

How To Stay As A Motivated Student? 4 Tips For You

How To Prepare For CAT 2018

English

Grammar

Grammar is the basics of any language. This part of the subject takes longer to learn than anything else. So start with this. It's not going to be that tough really. Treat grammar like a person, fight with it, make fun of it and love it! How? Use English while talking to your confidants.

5 Tips for Effective Time Management for Study Goals

Vocabulary

Improving your vocabulary is considered as an exercise for the fitness of your mind. Good vocabulary helps you ace any exam that you attend. As for CAT, you will have questions to find out the meaning of words. In this case, reading intensively will help you understand meanings with ease.

Whenever you come across a new word, make a note of it. Maintain a separate notebook to note down the new words and their meanings. You will be amazed at how much you have learned over time. It is important to note them down because there is a high probability that you will try recollecting a word that does not strike your mind immediately. Having a book where you can refer your recent vocabulary is the best way to retain memory of new words.

Also Read:
1. Shri Ram College Of Commerce, New Delhi

Accredited A+ grade by NAAC, it is one of the oldest and most prestigious institutions of higher learning in commerce and economics in the country. With a 100% placement record and the highest package going all the way up to a whooping 16lpa, the college is the best in the country. The fee for a bachelor's course (three-year course) is Rs 90,000.

Visit Us At: Shri Ram College Of Commerce, New Delhi

2. Lady Shri Ram College For women, New Delhi

This is the best all women's institution for commerce in the country. The fee here is a modest Rs 54,000. However, this does not mean that the college compromises on its quality of teaching or the placements offered. The institution has a record of achieving over 90% placement for five years in a row.

Visit Us At: Lady Shri Ram College for Women

3. Loyola College, Chennai

The best institution for pursuing a degree in commerce in the south, Loyola College makes sure that all its students are well prepared to face the heat of the interview process. That is how they ensure that their institution remains top-notch in terms of placements.

Amazon, Genmedic and Stratagem Solutions are companies that frequent the institution for hiring purposes. The fee for a three-year bachelor's degree in commerce is a mere Rs 13,842.

Visit Us At: Loyola College, Chennai

4. Christ College, Bangalore

Another centre of excellence in the south, Christ College had ensured that over 700 of its students were placed in top-notch companies the last academic year. As this is a private institution, the fee structure here is slightly towards the higher end. The total course fee is over 2 lakhs.

Visit Us At: Christ College, Bangalore

5. Hansraj College, Delhi

This college has a modest fee structure of Rs 54,000. The feature of this college that sets it apart from all others is the fact that it offers world-class facilities in terms of its co-curricular activities. The institution prepares its students with a holistic approach wherein the students learn to apply their classroom learning in the real world. That is why the placement scene in Hansraj College is so praiseworthy.

Visit Us At: Hansraj College, Delhi

6. Hindu College, Delhi

One of the few majority-run institutions in the country, Hindu College believes in education for all and that is why it has a very modest fee structure. With a placement percentage as high as 95%, the college has ensured that it has kept up with the times and established its foothold as a centre of excellence in the teaching of subjects related to commerce.

Visit Us At: Hindu College, Delhi

7.Anil Surendra Modi College Of Commerce, Mumbai

A college dedicated exclusively to the study of commerce, this institution has over 2200 under graduates and over 30 post graduates. It is a constituent of SVKM's NMIMS. It also offers courses in finance and business administration.

The placement cell of the college is more than 25 years old and most of the students graduating out of this institution land themselves with jobs in the top firms of the industry. The total fee for a three-year degree here is about 6.75 lakhs.

Visit Us At: Anil Surendra Modi College Of Commerce, Mumbai

8. St. Josephs College, Bangalore

Conferred as a College of Excellence by the University Grants Commission, this 135-year-old institution is one of the oldest colleges of the city. With an average fee structure of Rs 70,000 for a bachelor's course in commerce, this institution has ensured that it stays true to its core values as its keeps its pace with the changing times.

A number of top-rated companies visit its campus year after year to recruit their students.

Visit Us At: St. Joseph's College, Bangalore

9. Madras Christian College, Chennai

A minority-centric institution, this college encourages equal opportunities of placement for all. There is a dedicated team which is responsible for preparing students for the same. The average compensation of its students was 3lpa in the last financial year. As compared to the infrastructure and the quality of teaching and other services that are offered to its students, it is fair to say that the fee structure is pretty reasonable.

Visit Us At: Madras Christian College, Chennai

10. Symbiosis College of Arts & Commerce

One of the thirty institutions under the Symbiosis Group, the commerce courses here are very good as they focus more on the practical learning. The fee for a three-year course is somewhere close to Rs 50,000. The placement scene in this college is also commendable with Wipro, Deloitte and EY being few amongst the many companies that visited the campus in the last academic year.

Needless to say, most of the students who graduated from this college were placed into some of the top MNCs of the country.

Visit Us At: Symbiosis College of Arts & Commerce
LafargeHolcim to provide solutions for two port projects

09 February 2018

LafargeHolcim will provide industrial solutions for two port projects in Ecuador and Morocco, according to SeeNews. Due to complete in 2020, LafargeHolcim Maroc will supply cement for the Nador West Med, an integrated port project. This includes precasting caissons, breakwaters and quay construction using cement suited to a marine environment.



In Ecuador, the companys local subsidiary has been contracted by CHEC to assist during the first phase of construction of the multi-purpose, deep-water port in Posorja. Holcim Ecuador will contribute a bespoke cement solution for the piles and precast quays.



"Today our clients can rely on our port specialists and our technical laboratories to identify the right cement for each application. This gives us the ability to deliver tailored solutions and create durable and sustainable port infrastructure, serving our partners worldwide," said Nicolas Swetchine, group head of Infrastructure Markets and International Key Account Management, LafargeHolcim.

Published under
Cosmetic surgery has become much more acceptable than it ever was in previous years. Today, women and men travel far and wide to have plastic surgery done  but sometimes, they get more than they bargained for. Without doing proper research, traveling to an area like South America for surgery can leave you seriously ill  or in some cases, dead. Here are true stories of women whose South American plastic surgery procedures went horribly wrong, plus one doctor explained why getting surgery in the United States is probably your best option.

Why do people go abroad for surgery?

Medical tourism, or lipotourism as some call it, is not a new idea. Thousands of people travel to South American countries each year to undergo plastic surgery. Most of the time, its because the costs are far cheaper than having the same procedure done in the United States or Canada. However, costs are cheaper because some doctors use much cheaper materials.

In Colombia, for example, there are many licensed practices with cosmetic surgeons who follow all procedural rules. Unfortunately, there is also a big market for unlicensed practices with non-cosmetic surgeons offering procedures  that is usually how women (and men) end up becoming seriously ill, or even dying, due to a cosmetic procedure in South America.

Next: This country has seen multiple women come down with the same infection.

Skin infections in the Dominican Republic

Linda McFaline was one of 10 women who have recently had a brush with death after undergoing cosmetic surgery in the Dominican Republic. She could not believe this happened to her, but every woman thinks it wont happen to them. All of the women developed a severe skin infection known as Mycobacterium abscessus/chelonae, which are bacteria that attack the skin or soft tissue. Nobody has died from the skin infection, but it can be life threatening if left untreated. Eight out of the 10 women all had their procedures done at the same location during March and April 2017. McFaline spent two months in the hospital.

Next: Unfortunately, the circumstances for this woman were even worse.

A New York woman recently died after cosmetic surgery in the Dominican Republic

25-year-old Janelle Edwards didnt feel right when she returned to the Bronx after having cosmetic surgery in the Dominican Republic in 2017. She had a breast enhancement, tummy tuck, and butt implants in Santo Domingo. Unfortunately, Edwards parents found her unconscious a few days later, and she didnt survive. Sometimes people say cheaper is better, but its not always, Paula Gordon, Edwards neighbor, told the New York Daily News.

Next: This woman risked her life for what she thought would be a dream surgery.

Weight loss surgery in Mexico left one woman fighting for her life

In early 2018, Brandi Jefferson went to Tijuana Mexico with the hopes of having a successful weight loss surgery to get her life back on track. Instead, she almost lost her life. A few days after she returned home, doctors found a softball-sized abscess in her back. Her gastric sleeve was leaking. Luckily, Jefferson was able to get the proper help and survive. However, her doctor in the U.S. said that she was the fourth patient he had seen with complications from surgery in Mexico.

Next: This woman may have had cooking oil injected into her body.

A woman fell ill after injections in Colombia  And passed away

Medellin, Colombia has become a popular spot for cosmetic surgery. 21-year-old Ximena Lopez, a Colombian woman, was interested in a procedure. She wanted butt injections, and a friend of hers had them done and loved the result. Lopez paid $850 for her procedure. Shortly after she woke up, she fell into cardiac arrest and passed away. Colombia has become known for having a black road of cosmetic surgery places  surgery locations that are not registered with the health department and lack real cosmetic surgeons. The doctors often use the cheapest substances possible, such as cooking oil, to inject into the breast and buttocks.

Next: This woman also had a grim outcome when she underwent surgery.

 And she isnt the only one to have a deadly reaction to surgery in Colombia

Diana Alvarez traveled from Georgia to her native city of Medellin to undergo plastic surgery. Her husband stayed home with their son. When she woke up from the surgery, she went into cardiac arrest. Sadly, the 36-year-old mother had already passed away by the time her husband got on a plane and made it to Colombia. Her husband decided to publicize the story to raise awareness about the dangers of cosmetic surgery in South America.

Next: Should you ever leave the country for cosmetic surgery?

Is surgery in another country ever a good option?

Getting surgery in a foreign country is not a terrible option. In fact, places like Brazil and Colombia have more cosmetic surgeries than almost any other country. However, its important to do proper research when deciding on a surgeon and location. If its too good to be true, it probably isnt, Dr. Malcom Roth, president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, told ABC News. If something goes wrong, a lot of things can go worse when youre not in your own country with your own doctor.

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Staffers stage rally at CMHIP for better wages, working conditions

Pueblo state union members demonstrated across from CMHIP Friday in search of better wages and safer working conditions.
Anil Giri is a reporter covering diplomacy, international relations and national politics for The Kathmandu Post. Giri has been working as a journalist for a decade-and-a-half, contributing to numerous national and international media outlets.
EC makes public federal parliament PR results

The Election Commission (EC) on Friday made public the election results of federal parliament under the Proportional Representation (PR) category, 64 days after the polls were held.
UN Ambassador Nikki Haley recently was on CNN to talk about the Trump administrations decision to move the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

RedState.com reports that Haley was interviewed by CNNs Jake Tapper who started off the interview by quoting from a statement from the Arab League criticizing the decision:

Donald Trumps decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is a dangerous development that places the United States at a position of bias in favor of the occupation and the violation of international law and resolutions, read the statement.

Haley then responded:

This basically says that the United States acknowledges that the capital of Israel is Jerusalem, and saying also that the embassy is going to be moved to the capital, just like it is in almost every other country.

In Israel, in Jerusalem, you have got the Parliament, you have got the president, you have got the prime minister, you have got the Supreme Court. So, why shouldnt we have the embassy there?

Haley went on to say that for 22 years, you have had presidents and the American people ask for the embassy to be moved. And no president, not  not Clinton, not Bush, not Obama, actually made  had the courage to make that move and listen to the will of the American people.



Tapper pushed back on Haley's statements, saying that the decision to move the embassy could cause instability in the Middle East. Haley, however, reiterated that the Trump administration is committed to working toward peace in the Middle East and that she believes moving the embassy to Jerusalem will move the peace process forward in the long-term.

Publication date: February 9, 2018
62 percent of Self-Identified Christians Do Not Believe the Holy Spirit Is Real: Survey
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A few weeks ago, we filmed an interview with Del Tackett and 3 college students for the upcoming Anniversary showing of Is Genesis History? on February 22.

It was a fascinating experience. We were at the new Ark Encounter in Kentucky  a pretty astounding place if you haven't visited it yet  filming them as they toured the enormous structure.

They were wide-eyed and amazed at the size and design. "Big. That's for sure," said one. "Just amazing," said another.

As they talked, I noticed they approached Del's questions from a unique perspective. Millennials can be refreshingly honest; because of this, they sometimes quickly get to the heart of a matter.

Here are three insightful observations they made:

1. To say natural evil, corruption, and death existed before the Fall of Man questions God's goodness.

Del asked a sophomore majoring in physics why he was a young earth creationist. He explained: "Our sin in Genesis 3, that changed everything. All this corruption and evil  that's where it came from. God said I created the earth 'very good.' If that's in the original blueprint or design, for me, that doubts at the goodness of God."

He's right. If God said His original creation was "very good," yet intentionally created it with corruption, evil, and death, doesn't that call into question His goodness? If animals suffered and died in the original creation, what does "good" really mean?

The young man brought this up because he had faced it at his Christian college. His professors had adopted the conventional timeline of Earth history and were teaching that billions of years of corruption, natural evil, and death existed on the Earth long before Adam. It troubled him because he realized how their arguments reflected on God's character.

Many people don't realize that death before Adam is a necessary conclusion for those who hold to an old Earth. Instead of the fossil record being a picture of a global flood, it's a picture of millions of years of corruption and natural evil. Any Christian who accepts the conventional timeline of Earth history must also accept the endless death that happened during that history.

That's a significant problem, but it's not the only problem.

2. God's Justice and Love are Essential to the First Chapters of Genesis

One of the other students was a mechanical engineer. She said she was surprised to find out that many professors in her Christian college did not accept six-day creation or a global Flood.

As she considered their views, she said "the issue of death was a big part for me. Having death before the Fall, that doesn't line up with God's character, and His justice and love." How could deaththe great enemy of manhave been a part of God's original creation?

According to Paul's letter to the Romans, death came into the world as a result of God's justice. God judged Adam with spiritual and physical death the day he ate of the tree. At the same time, God placed all of creation in "bondage to corruption." Natural evil entered the world because of Adam's sin.

It was God's love, however, that sent His Son to redeem the dying children of Adam. As Paul told the Corinthians, "for as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive."

God's justice and love are therefore perfectly balanced between the first chapters of Genesis and the last chapters of the gospels. Even the creation itself will one day be set free from its bondage to corruption in the new heavens and earth.

Yet for Christians who think natural evil preceded Adam's sin, God's justice is no longer the reason for the physical condition of the world. If the Earth is billions of years old, it has always been subject to corruption.

This is a completely different history of the world than the one found in the Bible. Not only does it alter what we know about God's justice and love, but it introduces a tension between how the world started and how it will end.

3. The New Creation will be a Reflection of the Original Creation

We sometimes forget that the historical sequence of 'creation-fall-redemption' culminates in a final step: the new creation. A communications major spoke about the implications of this pattern, observing:

"When you have the new creation... it's supposed to mirror creation in the beginning when there was no sin. If we have death when God created the Earth, that doesn't line up for me. I really do think God had that specific plan in mind, and He created it in six days. Just think how great it's going to be when we see the new creation."

It is easy for us to get caught up in the corruption of the current world and forget there will be "a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth" will pass away. Although it is impossible to fully comprehend this, the world we are headed toward is more like the world we lost than the world we now know.

As these students understood, the conventional history of the world contradicts the very nature of God and His actions in time. The issue is not simply a matter of what happened in the past, but a matter of God's character.

We can sometimes ignore that in the midst of talking about science. It was therefore instructive for all of us to hear such insightful observations.

If you would like to hear more from these three students, make sure to attend the Anniversary showing of "Is Genesis History?" on Feb. 22.

Thomas Purify, Jr. is a filmmaker, author and an educator who has produced, written and directed numerous projects through his production company, Compass Cinema. Purifoy graduated from Vanderbilt University with a degree in English and Creative writing. He has written books on the parables, economics and the Bible.
Afghan asylum seeker gets life for murdering Christian convert

An asylum seeker in Germany has been handed a life sentence for stabbing to death a fellow Afghan who had converted to Christianity.

The victim, a 38-year-old mother of four who was with two of her children when she was attacked outside a supermarket in the southern town of Prien am Chiemsee last April, was stabbed 16 times.

The court at Traunstein was told the accused, who was not named, was angry because she had turned her back on Islam. She had asked her 30-year-old attacker if he wanted to convert as well, according to the DPA news agency.

The court was told the attacker had been exposed to violence from a young age and his lawyers asked for leniency. He apologised to the victim's family.

He will serve at least 15 years before he can be considered for parole, but the gravity of the crime means he is unlikely to be freed early, DPA said.

Germany hosts the largest Afghan community in Europe at around 156,000 in 2015, 35,805 of them in Hamburg. Many have fled the country because of the continuing violence and insecurity there and struggle to make new lives elsewhere. In spite of its generous policy toward refugees, German deported the largest number of failed Afghan asylum seekers in 2016, at 3,440.
Duggar family news: Joe Duggar and Kendra Caldwell reveal the gender of their first child

"Counting On" star Joe Duggar and his wife Kendra Caldwell happily announced last December that they are expecting their first child. Now, after finding out the gender of their baby, they decided to share it with the rest of the world.

The Christian couple made the announcement on their website and Instagram accounts. On their family website, the couple wrote: "Wow! We are so happy to learn that our firstborn is a boy! Our minds are already racing toward all the future memories to be made with this little guy! Most of all, we are already asking God to bless him and help us grow him into a loving and faithful follower of Christ!"

On Instagram, they shared a cute photo of themselves standing in front of a field of a cloud of blue dust. "It's a boy!" they captioned it. Fans showered the expectant parents with congratulations. "What a blessing, congrats!" a netizen wrote.

"So excited for y'all! Praise God for this new little blessing!" another wrote. "I love how y'all are with one another through the rough times and the joyful times like this moment. Love y'all!"

Joe's parents, Jim Bob and Michelle, also greeted them on social media. "We are so excited for Joe and Kendra! We know they will be great parents and this little one will be such a blessing! We are thankful for all of our precious grandchildren!!" the heads of the "19 Kids and Counting" family wrote.

Joe and Kendra started their courtship last March. On May, during the wedding of Joe's sister Joy-Anna to Austin Forsyth, he finally asked Kendra to marry him. They tied the knot on September 8 at the First Baptist Church in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, and the wedding ceremony was even officiated by Kendra's father, who is a pastor.
Female pastor suspended by Christian university after officiating gay wedding

North Park University, a well-known Christian institution in Chicago, Illinois, has suspended a female pastor after she officiated a same-sex marriage back in 2017.

Pastor Judy Peterson was placed on a paid sabbatical, according to Inside Higher Ed. It was reported that the university, which has an LGBT student group on campus, did not actually want to suspend her. However, since her ordination credentials were revoked by the university's denomination, the Evangelical Covenant Church, the university had no choice but to remove her.

The university said in a statement that it "sincerely regrets and is sorry for the hurt and confusion" caused by the suspension, which, "the school places squarely on the ECC."

It was in fall 2016 when a North Park alumnus asked Peterson to officiate his gay wedding. Knowing fully that the ECC does not support same-sex marriage, Peterson sought the help of a high-ranking official who was in charge of disciplining Covenant pastors. The executive minister warned Peterson that her credentials might be put at risk if she went forward with officiating the same-sex marriage ceremony. However, she went ahead with it despite the warning, and conducted the ceremony in April 2017.

"This was not a flippant decision done with disregard for religious rules, but rather a discerned decision to stand with my brothers in the same way Jesus has stood with me; in everything and at all times, no matter what," Peterson wrote then.

Answers in Genesis founder Ken Ham wrote on his blog that the Christian institution was right to suspend Peterson because she ignored the clear teaching of God's Word. What Peterson did "adhered to the values and thinking of moral relativism," said Ham.

"She isn't just disregarding 'religious rules' - she's disregarding the very Word of God, the one who created the institution of marriage!" said Ham. "The Bible is clear on this issue - marriage is for one man and one woman (Genesis 1:27, 2:24) and homosexual behavior is sinful (1 Corinthians 6:911)."

Peterson has argued that she made a "discerned decision" to stand with her Christian LGBT brothers and sisters, but Ham does not agree. "She's made a foolish choice to ignore God's Word and encourage others in a life of sin and rebellion against God's infallible Word," he said.
Grave mishandling of rape case

Two weeks after a rape victim was denied filing complaint against the culprits, Nepal Police on Thursday admitted that its unit in Durbarmarg had gravely mishandled the gang rape case. Four men had raped a woman in Landmark Hotel on January 25.
From poverty to plenty: What the church can do about food waste

Jesus made quite clear his views on waste when he asked his disciples to 'gather up the pieces, let nothing be wasted', after generously feeding the 5,000 (John 6:12).

So why is a third of all the food produced in the world never eaten, especially when most of this waste is preventable?

The Church of England General Synod will discuss this problem today, following on from Tearfund's Renew Our Food campaign, which has been asking Christians to pledge to cut down on the amount they waste from their homes and use their power as customers to call on supermarkets to halve their food waste by 2030.

Every day millions of Christians pray that God will 'give us today our daily bread' and yet at the same time we waste so much bread from UK homes that we could fill St Paul's Cathedral to the brim each month. How can that be right in a world where so many have so little?

Members of the synod will discuss this later and focus on people here in the UK who go hungry while tonnes of food is wasted. It's a serious issue that is finally getting the attention it deserves.

But an often neglected aspect of the debate is the direct impact on people living in poverty overseas.

UK food waste fuels climate change, with our food waste responsible for 20 million tonnes worth of greenhouse gas emissions each year. Tearfund sees first hand the impact of climate change on people in poverty, who are experiencing more floods, drought and less reliable rain leaving them struggling to feed themselves. The UN reported in September 2017 that global hunger is on the rise for the first time in a decade, with climate change one of the root causes for the rise.

By not tackling climate change, we are at risk of excluding the poorest from the harvest. As the synod motion paper argues, 'Our worship rings hollow if in our daily lives we despoil the world around us... and neglect our sisters and brothers who bear the image of the Creator.'

The very good news is that the church could be at the forefront of efforts to solve this problem. That's why Tearfund's Renew Our Food campaign is calling for action on both fronts  at home and in church, and in the places where we shop. If we eliminated food waste from UK households it would be the environmental equivalent of taking one in every four cars off our roads. And if our retailers took action too, the impact could be multiplied.

Almost 10,000 Christians have already pledged to do more and momentum is building, with three major supermarkets (Tesco, M&S and Aldi) so far committing to halve their food waste. If the Church of England encourages its 16,000 parishes to act too, the impact is more than we can even quantify.

Click here to take action and here to see how your church can get involved. Clare Lyons is a senior campaigner for Tearfund.
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 Hooper: the radical Puritan preacher burned for his faith

On this day in 1555, passionate Puritan and English Reformer John Hooper was burned at the stake for heresy. He faced his death with courage, refusing to recant his views.

Born around 1495 in Somerset, England, Hooper (or 'Johan Hoper') was educated at Oxford University and later attended a Cistercian monastery in Gloucester. It was later in his life, after some time in Europe, that he returned to England, now married, in the mid-16th century to lead the charge of Protestantism (inspired by Reformer Ulrich Zwingli) in England. Here he soon became the Bishop of Gloucester. In this role he was a fervent and popular preacher, committed to educating his congregation in the faith and serving the poor.

However, the political winds were against Hooper: when staunchly Catholic Queen Mary I came to the throne in 1553, the radical, Puritan Protestantism of Hooper made him an obvious target. He was one of the first arrested in the famous attempt of 'Bloody Mary' to reverse the spread of the English Reformation.

Here he faced not just imprisonment, but execution for heresy  he had been a severe, outspoken voice not only against Catholicism but many Reformers as well. As Dan Graves writes at Christianity.com, Hooper nonetheless faced his demise with a serene, devout spirit, demanding that he be left alone to pray on the morning of his death.

When armed men came to have him burned, Hooper looked at their weapons and said: 'Master Sheriffs, I am no traitor, and you have no need to make such a work to take me to the place where I must suffer. If you had told me, I would have gone to the stake, and have troubled none of you.'

Such was his popularity that his captors were keen to stop him preaching to the crowds at his execution. He knelt to pray at the stake where he would be martyred, and when offered a royal pardon on condition of recanting his Protestant views, he vigorously refused, saying: 'If you love my soul, away with it!'

Excruciatingly for Hooper, a cold, wet morning meant the fire took a long time to properly burn and consume him, extending his suffering. He pleaded for his ordeal to end and cried out among other words: 'O Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me and receive my soul.' Hooper's writings and dramatic demise went on to inspire many long after his death.
Pakistan has banned Valentine's Day  and it's not the only country where February 14 is problematic

The celebration of Valentine's Day has been banned for the second year in a row in Pakistan after a court ruled the holiday to be un-Islamic.

The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) issued an advisory on Wednesday warning against any media coverage or endorsements of Valentine's Day.

'No event shall be held at the official level or at any public place,' Pemra said. The holiday was banned last year by the Islamabad High Court after a citizen complained the holiday was a western cultural import and 'against the teachings of Islam'.

While some Muslims simply regard the festivity as 'forbidden' by their faith, some Pakistani individuals in Islamabad told Reuters they didn't share the antipathy. 'I will celebrate...this is my choice,' said 21-year-old university student Abid Ansari.

Despite the court ruling, Valentine's celebrations have become increasingly popular in some areas, even with the official backlash. Flower seller Salman Mahmod said: 'I don't know what danger these Islamists would face if I earn a little more from selling flowers and someone can have a chance to celebrate something.'

Pakistan is not the only nation to resist the annual celebration of love.

In Saudi Arabia, a severe ban is strictly enforced by religious police. Though the country is liberalising under its crown prince Mohammad bin Salman, women and men sit separately in restaurants and public affection is frowned upon. In 2014, five Saudis were sentenced to a total of 39 years in prison, and 4,500 lashes between them, for dancing with women not related to them on Valentine's Day.

Majority-Muslim nation Malaysia has banned celebration of the day, which is regarded as immoral and has been outlawed by a fatwa ruling since 2005. Not all Muslims share the opposition to it, and in 2014 80 Muslims were arrested for marking the occasion.

Iran's policy hasn't exactly been heart-warming either. According to a 2013 report by The Economist, state officials described the day as a 'decadent Western custom...[a] sacrilegious cultural inroad from the domineering capitalist system with the aim of weakening Iran's ... fundamental family values'.

But the day has nevertheless found commercial popularity there, with Valentine's vendors simply remaining vigilant and on the lookout for official inspectors.

In Indonesia, the secular government has no official ban on the event, but many in the country, which contains the largest Muslim population in the world, are suspicious of it, and conservatives and clerics have been known to protest the day's celebration. Likewise in Russia, concerns about 'spiritual security' and a primarily commercial event which doesn't benefit the 'formation of spiritual and moral values in youth' has seen conservative officials calling, unsuccessfully, for a ban on Valentine's Day.

Additional reporting by Reuters
Pope Francis is 'ready to go to Iraq', Chaldean patriarch says

Pope Francis has said he is 'ready to go to Iraq', according to the patriarch of the Chaldean Church.

The Chaldean bishops of Iraq and Syria, regions which have seen a mass exodus of Christians in recent years following war and Islamist terror, met with Pope Francis in Rome this week, according to Rome Reports.

'He told us, "I'm ready to go to Iraq." We told him we wanted him to be with us in the middle of this crisis,' said Patriarch Louis Raphael I Sako.

'He responded by saying he was ready to go to Iraq.'

Sako said recent developments in the country had made a papal visit more problematic. 'I don't think the current situation helps, above all, the problem with the Kurdish. It would have been easier before. I even submitted a programme for a one-day papal visit.'

Though the Middle East region remains unstable and its infrastructure severely damaged, as many as 7,000 of the 20,000 Christians who were forced to flee Mosul and the Nineveh plains have been able to return home since their homes were liberated from ISIS control.

'Security in Iraq has improved. Iraqis want to reconcile. They want stability. I think the lesson has been learned, especially in Islam,' Sako said.

Sako described positive joint Muslim-Christian efforts at refugee rehabilitation in the war-torn region. On the state of faith and religious freedom in Iraq he said: 'ISIS was created in Iraq as well as Al-Qaeda 14 years ago, which is why people are asking themselves many questions, in universities, in other environments.

'There are a million atheists in Iraq. People are asking themselves 'why' and looking for an answer. Many times they come to us to ask, but legally we can't respond. I'm sure religious freedom will come, though. We need time, but you cannot impose a religion on a person who was born free.'

The patriarch also used his trip to visit the headquarters of Aid to the Church in Need, the papal charity that has been involved in rebuilding efforts in Iraq, helping displaced Christians return to their homes.
A procession of people will once again spread a message of love and freedom as they walk the streets of San Francisco unclothed in the annual Nude Valentine's Parade.

The event secured a permit in January and is slated to occur Feb. 17, following a route that starts at Jane Warner Plaza in the Castro and ends on the steps of City Hall.

Gypsy Taub, a 48-year-old nude activist, founded the parade after the city introduced restrictions around public nudity in 2013. Up to 100 people have attended past events and many paint their bodies and hold signs with statements advocating for peace, love and nudity.

Taub will be out of the country on Valentine's Day this year, and there was some concern the parade might not occur.

"There were two sets of applications and one had to be destroyed because the lead organizer in the past won't be here for the event," says Giovanni Vassallo, who is helping organize this year's parade. "The police department didn't want an application from someone who wasn't going to be there."

Vassallo, who also works as an administrative officer at UCSF, offered to help because he wants to keep alive an event that he sees as celebrating "interconnectedness and interdependence."

"Valentine's Day is all about love and, if you ask me, the best love is altruistic, genuine love that's not selfish and that includes loving ourselves and all others and that includes loving our bodies," Vassallo says. "The body isn't something you can ignore. It's the celebration of our inherent core goodness."

Michael Capuano of Long Island, N.Y., will be flying across the country with his wife to walk in the buff, as he feels public places and events where nudity is allowed are disappearing and he wants to support the few that still exist.

Capuano says several years ago nudity was banned at the beaches in his community. He thinks this was a mistake.

"If you go to the regular beaches, there are fights and alcohol and extreme rowdiness," he says. "You find on nude beaches it's calm and peaceful."

People will begin gathering for the parade between 10:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. on Feb. 17 and the walk is slated to start at 11 a.m. sharp.
Airlines bumped passengers off flights at the lowest rate on record last year after United Airlines was pilloried when a passenger was dragged off a full plane.

The Transportation Department said Thursday that airlines bumped about one passenger in every 29,000 in 2017, roughly half the rate of the year before.

The figures don't count passengers who accept travel vouchers or other offers to voluntarily give up their seat on an oversold flight. Using those offers, airlines have been steadily reducing bumping rates for several years, but the trend gained momentum after the April incident in which airport security officers dragged a 69-year-old man off a United Express plane in Chicago.

Meanwhile, there were 117 long delays in December during which passengers were trapped in planes on the ground, unable to reach an airport terminal. A few planes were stuck up to seven hours. Most occurred in Atlanta and involved Delta flights - Atlanta is Delta's biggest hub.

The government said 96 domestic flights were stuck on the ground at least three hours, including 77 during a power outage that shut down the Atlanta airport on Dec. 17. There were 14 others that occurred at the same airport during a snowstorm on Dec. 8.

Another 21 long delays involved international flights, with 19 during the Atlanta power failure.

Airlines can be fined if a domestic flight is stuck on the ground for over three hours or an international flight for more than four hours. The Transportation Department said it was investigating all the long delays.

United vaulted to the top of the government's latest ratings for on-time flights, which cover December.

Delta and Alaska Airlines were next, respectively.

JetBlue Airways had the worst record, with one in four December flights arriving late. The government counts a flight as on-time if it arrives no more than 14 minutes behind schedule.

The rate of forcing passengers off oversold flights was the lowest since the Transportation Department started keeping records in 1995, beating the previous record set in 2016.

Airlines now are faster to bribe passengers on oversold flights to give up their seats, usually by offering travel vouchers. Last year, 341,703 passengers volunteered their seats while airlines forced off or bumped 23,223.

After the United Express fiasco, United, Delta, American and others changed policies to reduce the need to bump passengers. Some gave airport agents authority to offer bigger bonuses for giving up a seat.

Southwest Airlines accounted for about one-third of bumped passengers - 8,279 in all - but Spirit Airlines had the highest bumping rate, at one in every 12,000 passengers.

Delta used voluntary offers the most - 128,331 Delta passengers voluntarily gave up their seats last year.
Halliburton isn't content to limit its battle for market share with Schlumberger to the oil field these days. It's opened a new front in an unlikely place: the patent office.

The Houston-based provider of drilling services is waging an aggressive campaign to persuade the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to cancel some of Schlumberger's fracking-related patents, telling the agency they're not inventions but old ideas repackaged. At the same time, Halliburton is pursuing more patents.

"They're the two big dogs in the space," said J. David Anderson, an analyst at Barclays. "Halliburton and Schlumberger have been battling for that top spot in North American services for a decade, so the fact they're going after each other with patents is not surprising."

Halliburton has long been the top North American contractor, while Schlumberger has dominated international markets, but they've been increasingly encroaching on each other's turf as crude recovers from its worst crash in a generation.

Hydraulic fracturing blasts water, sand and chemicals underground to release trapped oil and gas. Oil field services providers such as Halliburton and Schlumberger are being asked by their customers for better technology to help them do more with less so they can be more prudent with spending and return cash to shareholders.

"Everybody's fighting for that small little edge," said James Wicklund, an analyst at Credit Suisse in Dallas.

Patents can help provide an edge, and Halliburton has racked up some early wins. Since December, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board has agreed to review the validity of six Schlumberger patents after making a preliminary finding that Halliburton had shown a "reasonable likelihood" of winning its arguments.

Schlumberger has given up on one of the patents; and the board is considering Halliburton challenges on four others. Final decisions on the patents under review are expected by year-end.

Among the Schlumberger patents Halliburton has challenged are those covering the use of fiber optic tools to monitor interior well conditions, sensors to collect temperature readings across a broader area, and ways to more precisely control where the fracking fluid goes.

Halliburton, in several petitions, said the patents are simply "a classic situation where known elements are combined according to known methods to yield predictable results."

Schlumberger, in filings with the patent board, rejected Halliburton's characterizations. In individual responses, one patented invention provided "many advantages and efficiencies," while another was "a significant advance" over earlier techniques, company lawyers wrote.

Schlumberger did not respond to requests for comment.

Emily Mir, a spokeswoman for Halliburton, declined to comment on the patent disputes. But, she said, the company focuses its own research "on products and services that will improve efficiency and enhance production while reducing costs for its customers."

Halliburton is on a record pace to obtain its own patents, putting it in the neighborhood of tech heavyweights like Oracle Corp. and Micron Technology. The company received 738 patents last year, making it No. 44 in the list of recipients, according to a study by IFI Claims Patent Services, a unit of Fairview Research.

It was the only oil and gas company in the list of IFI's top 50 recipients. Baker Hughes was No. 74 on the list with 496 patents, and Schlumberger was No. 86 with 434 patents.
Modern Acupuncture has expanded to the Houston area.

The Scottsdale, Ariz.-based franchiser, has opened clinics in Clear Lake, River Oaks and Sugar Land. Eventually, the company plans to open at least 45 locations across Texas, including 20 in the Bayou City.

The Houston-area clinics that are open so far include:

Clear Lake: 19431 Gatebrook Dr., Suite 1

River Oaks: 2021 W. Gray St., at the River Oaks Shopping Center

Sugar Land: 15890 Southwest Freeway, Suite 200

A fourth clinic is planned for the Riverstone master-planned community in Sugar Land.

RELATED: Modern Acupuncture to open first Houston-area location in Sugar Land

Modern Acupuncture was founded by CEO Matt Hale in 2016 in part to make the traditional Chinese healing practice more mainstream with a spa-like experience. Alternative medicine is a $30 billion a year market in the U.S., and the World Health Organization cites acupuncture as one of the fastest growing healthcare segments in the world.

Modern Acupuncture's clinics feature a "Zen Den" with contemporary earth tone decor, soundproof insulation, calming music and zero-gravity recliners where licensed acupuncturists use thin needle therapy to increase blood flow to parts of the body. Sessions are typically 30 minutes or less, and guests leave with a complimentary organic tea blend.

Memberships start from $69 per month for two acupuncture sessions. Walk-in sessions start from $59.
Photo:

Fifty years ago this week, ZZ Top played at a Knights of Columbus Hall on old U.S. 90, a February 1970 gig booked by Beaumont radio personality Al Caldwell of KLVI, who would later also broadcast the bands first recordings.

This would be the bands first show together with their now-iconic lineup of Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard installed. Gibbons started the band in late 1969 and the pieces soon came together.

RELATED: ZZ Top released its first album in 1971

Yes, That Little Ol Band from Texas, the baddest blues-rock trio ever to ooze from Houston, cooler than a polar bears toenails, began its life together at a meeting hall of U.S. 90 of all places.

Bassist Hill has mentioned to Chron.com that he was missing a key piece of equipment for that show.

I had to borrow a bass for that gig. I didnt actually own one. It was the Knights of Columbus Hall and though I didnt meet any knights or royalty, there were a lot of cool people who came out to hear us play, Hill writes.

And so it began

Period photos from spring of 70 show that the only guy in the band sporting a beard was Hill and his facial farm was modest compared to what would sprout years later and turn them into worldwide stars.

In those early days they also played a handful of proms and sanctioned high school parties, probably warping hundreds of young Texans for decades to come.

A picture of the band at the Little Cypress-Mauriceville High School prom in Orange made the rounds years back over on Reddit. Its probably the closest picture one will find of the band when it was just a few months old.

RELATED: ZZ Tops Dusty Hill and Frank Beard once masqueraded as British rock act the Zombies

Gibbons told the Texas Monthlys Andy Langer in 2012 everything he remembered about the photo, confirming that it was from May 1970. He says it was yearbook club error that had them billed as Zee Zee Top in the photo.

Theres not a day that goes by where somebody doesnt say, Hey I saw this funny picture of you guys. When was that? Gibbons told Langer.

Now 50 years later, the band is still at it  wrenching out its own brand of blues-rock and still influencing untold numbers of followers.

Craig Hlavaty is a reporter for Chron.com and HoustonChronicle.com.
Khadgi arrested on human trafficking charge

Fight director and actor Rajendra Khadgi was arrested from Thamel in Kathmandu on Thursday on human trafficking charge.
Residents of the Rice Village area have watched for months as the newest location for the famed New York burger chain, Shake Shack, takes shape. The waiting is almost over.

After a missed 2017 opening deadline, the company has officially announced the new opening date for the restaurant.

READER'S CHOICE: This is the best burger place in Houston according to you

A Shake Shack representative told Paper City Magazine the location would be open in the next few weeks, and an employee at the Galleria location told the publication it'd be open either Feb. 28 or March 1.

Chron.com reached out to the company for confirmation of the statement and while she was unable to confirm the actual dates, Shake Shack representative, Katherine Ross was able to confirm the date will be in the next few weeks.

The Rice Village location will be the second full restaurant and the third location, including the Galleria restaurant and the one inside Minute Maid Park.

Take a look through the gallery above to see other restaurants opening in Houston.

Daniela Sternitzky-Di Napoli is a digital producer at Chron.com. You can read more of her stories here and follow her on twitter at @Dani_DiNapoli.
Authorities are searching for suspects after a man was fatally shot Thursday night during a carjacking in northwest Harris County.

The incident occurred around 8:30 p.m. in a neighborhood adjacent to the Houston community of Acres Homes, near the 5600 block of Hardwood Forest Drive, Harris County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Tebben Lewis said.
Karen Warren/Staff

Houston Community College Trustee Dave Wilson argued that his fellow board members' decision to censure him was a violation of his constitutional rights in an amendment to a fall lawsuit.

"On reasonable belief, trustees are not within the scope of their authority to censure another trustee for acts, or omissions protected by the First Amendment," read the lawsuit, which was filed in October and also accuses fellow board members improperly allowing a remote vote at a meeting.
Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle

Houston took a tumble in STR's ranking of weekly hotel markets, which compared stats with a busy week last year when Super Bowl LI which drew thousands to the city.

During the week of of Jan. 28 through Feb. 3, STR reported, Houston showed the steepest decline in hotel rooms among 25 cities tracked on a key measure: revenue per available room fell 45 percent to $73.24.
Michael Ciaglo/Staff

Crude dropped below $60 a barrel for the first time this year as the worst collapse in equities in years compounded concern that unprecedented supply growth from U.S. oil fields will overwhelm demand.

Futures tumbled as much as 2.4 percent on Friday in New York, on track for its steepest weekly decline in almost a year. A global index of more than 1,600 stocks limped toward its most painful weekly result since 2011 as investors fled riskier asset classes. American crude output is soaring so fast that the U.S. is on the verge of elbowing Saudi Arabia and Russia aside as the dominant supplier.
The stage version of "Chicago," the Broadway musical playing Feb. 9-24 at Art Park Players in Deer Park, holds a secret that wasn't in the movie that won Best Picture at the 2002 Oscars.

"It comes as a surprise at the end," said director David Eck, referring to when Billy Flynn says, "Everything is not as it appears."

Flynn is the lawyer who makes chorus girl Roxie Hart a "celebrity criminal" after she kills her lover in 1920s Chicago.

La Porte's Alexia Valente, who hails from the Windy City, plays Hart in the production by Art Park Players, which has waited almost two decades to present the stage musical.

"It's a big deal for us because we've been trying to acquire the rights for 19 years," Eck said. "They are very restrictive as to who can perform the musical, and it's exciting for us to bring a show as edgy as this one to Deer Park."

The production also stars Chelsee Jernigan of Deer Park, who "grew up" as a student of the city's Junior Art Park Players Dramatic and Musical Theatre School, which began in 1981 as a program of the Deer Park Parks and Recreation Department.

The school's artistic director, Susan McBee Mele of Seabrook, is assisted by a group of specialists in acting, singing, dancing and technical theater.

Mele portrays prison matron "Mama" Morton in the show, with former student Tommy Hysler, a doctor in Friendswood, as the attorney who performs some "razzle dazzle" to convince juries to acquit his clients.

More Information Want to Go? What: Art Park Players' production of "Chicago" When: 8 p.m. Feb. 9-10, 16-17 and 23-24, with 2 p.m. Sunday matinees on Feb. 11 and 18. Where: Theatre/Courts Building located at 1302 Center St. in Deer Park. Cost: Dinner and show tickets are $30. Show-only tickets are $15. Tickets, information: 281-794-2448, www.deerparktx.gov. See More Collapse

Other cast members include N. Thomas as Mary Sunshine, Jd Mathis (Amos), Lacey Myers (Mona), Suzanne Ruege (Go-to-Hell Kitty), Taylor Marie Wismeg (Annie), Kierra McKay (June), Gabriela Rosales (Hunyak), Kayla Skinner (Liz), Andrew Green (Jury), Keith Hermann (Aaron/Reporter), Keith Dupree Jr. (Martin Harrison/Sergeant Fogarty), Pierr Castillo (Fred Casely) and Jason Broughton (Judge), with Krista Rosenbaum Dupree and Michelle Eifert in the ensemble.

Choreography is by Heather Steele of Friendswood, musical direction by Alex Musgrove and technical direction by Joe Piper.

The stage manager is Margo Staley.

"Chicago" is the longest-running American musical in Broadway history and the longest-running revival, said Eck.

"What we have tried to do is capture the style of the original production in 1975 and the broad-based stylized movement that Bob Fosse made famous," he said.

The show's classic score, with music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb, features "All That Jazz," "Cell Block Tango," "When You're Good to Mama" and "Mr. Cellophane."

Performances are at 8 p.m. Feb. 9-10, 16-17 and 23-24, with 2 p.m. Sunday matinees on Feb. 11 and 18.

Pre-show meals begin an hour earlier than each performance.

Dinner and show tickets are $30. Show-only tickets are $15.

Tickets are available by calling (281) 794-2448.

Performances are at the Theatre/Courts Building located at 1302 Center St. in Deer Park.

For further information, visit www.deerparktx.gov.

Don Maines is a freelance writer who can be reached at donmaines@att.net
June Christensen, the president and CEO of Houston's Society for the Performing Arts, will retire in December 2018 after nearly two decades with the organization.

This departure is not about misconduct.

Christensen is curating the society's 2018-19 season, to be announced this spring, and she continues to lead the company through a difficult phase. Many of its current-season events had to be shuffled to other venues and rescheduled after Hurricane Harvey flooded the Wortham Theater Center, which is still being restored.

MEET ADAM TRENT

Among the city's major Theater District organizations, the 52-year old society plays a unique role as a presenter of national and international performing artists, usually at Jones Hall or the Wortham Theater Center.

Those programs have long helped to support major institutions such as Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and individual artists such as Itzhak Perlman.

The diversity of that programming is evident in the array of programs the society will present in the next month: Friday night's "Nufonia Must Fall" is a multi-disciplinary theatrical adaptation of a graphic novel and soundtrack by Montreal-based scratch DJ and music producer Kid Koala. Magician Adam Trent performs Saturday. Next month brings the one-night "Globalfest," "Carmen" by Spain's national ballet company, a three-day run of Ailey and a concert by jazz trumpeter Bria Skonberg. ("Globalfest" is at Warehouse Live; all the other programs will be staged at Jones Hall.)

Because the society almost always requires that its touring artists spend time in the community, its programming also exposes Houstonians of all ages, ethnicities, religions and socioeconomic backgrounds to the performing arts.

Board member Bobby Tudor, whose family has underwritten the society's dance programming for several years, said Christensen had boosted SPA "to new heights in growth, stature and diversity of programming during her tenure.

Board chair Theresa Einhorn said the society would conduct a national search for Christensen's replacement.

"This job, or more accurately, this calling, has been the dream of a lifetime," Christensen said. "I will miss the excitement, but I am looking ahead to the next phase of my life. I look forward to working with the board, and our great SPA team, to help transition over the year."

Tickets for upcoming events are available at spahouston.org.
Fiction

1. The Woman in the Window: By A.J. Finn. A recluse who drinks heavily and takes prescription drugs may have witnessed a crime across from her Harlem town house.

2. Fall From Grace: By Danielle Steel. A widow left out of her husband's will tries to make a new life as a fashion designer.

3. Origin: By Dan Brown. A symbology professor goes on a perilous quest with a beautiful museum director.

4. Little Fires Everywhere: By Celeste Ng. An artist upends a quiet town outside Cleveland.

5. The Rooster Bar: By John Grisham. Three students at a sleazy for-profit law school hope to expose the student-loan banker who runs it.

6. Before We Were Yours: By Lisa Wingate. A South Carolina lawyer learns about the questionable practices of a Tennessee orphanage.

7. The Immortalists: By Chloe Benjamin. Four adolescents learn the dates of their deaths from a psychic, and their lives go on different courses.

8. The Wife Between Us: By Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen. The connections linking a hedge-fund manager, his ex-wife and his fiancee are explored from several points of view.

9. City of Endless Night: By Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. A New York detective and an FBI special agent track down a killer who decapitates numerous victims.

10. Need to Know: By Karen Cleveland. A CIA analyst's job and family are threatened when she discovers Russian agents in the United States.

Nonfiction

1. Fire and Fury: By Michael Wolff. A journalist offers an inside account of the first year of the Trump White House.

2. All-American Murder: By James Patterson and Alex Abramovich with Mike Harvkey. The story of Aaron Hernandez, the New England Patriots tight end convicted of first-degree murder.

3. Astrophysics for People in a Hurry: By Neil deGrasse Tyson. A straightforward, easy-to-understand introduction to the universe.

4. Leonardo Da Vinci: By Walter Isaacson. A biography of the Italian Renaissance polymath that connects his many disciplines.

5. It's Even Worse Than You Think: By David Cay Johnston. The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist describes how he thinks the scope of the Trump presidency differs from all the others.

6. The Last Black Unicorn: By Tiffany Haddish. The comedian recounts growing up in South-Central Los Angeles, exacting revenge on an ex-boyfriend and finding success after a period of homelessness.

7. Grant: By Ron Chernow. A biography of the Union general of the Civil War and two-term president of the United States.

8. Hillbilly Elegy: By J.D. Vance. A Yale Law School graduate examines white working-class struggles.

9. How Democracies Die: By Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt. The decline of democracies in Europe and Latin America and ways to avoid authoritarianism.

10. When: By Daniel H. Pink. Research from several fields reveals the ideal time to make small decisions and big life changes.

New York Times
Asked how it felt to narrate the audiobook of "The Right Stuff," Dennis Quaid slipped right into character.

"Who's the best narrator you ever saw? You're looking at him," the actor said with a laugh during a recent telephone interview, invoking a signature line as the grinning astronaut Gordon Cooper in the 1983 film.

Released last week by Audible.com, the new edition of Tom Wolfe's 1979 prize winner about the early years of the space program is Quaid's first time as an audio reader. He called the experience "daunting," explaining that the book's 400-plus pages were more than he had remembered and a pleasure on many levels. He loved the spark of Wolfe's prose style, the chance to relive the making of the film and the chance to play, at least in one medium, all of the characters.

With film credits including "Great Balls of Fire!" The Big Easy" and "Traffic," Quaid says "The Right Stuff" is his favorite. The Oscar-nominated film was directed by Philip Kaufman and also starred Ed Harris as John Glenn, Sam Shepard as Chuck Yeager and Fred Ward as Gus Grissom. Wolfe had great memories of meeting Cooper, with whom he formed a long friendship, and Yeager, who one night sat with cast members in a Holiday Inn and told the "whole story, his story, the stuff that wasn't in the book."

Quaid is known for getting caught up in a role, learning piano while playing Jerry Lee Lewis in "Great Balls of Fire!" And "The Right Stuff" helped renew a longtime fascination with flying and space travel, dating to Quaid's childhood in Bellaire, where he recently returned with his band for a Hurricane Harvey-relief benefit concert. During "The Right Stuff," he learned to navigate a plane and eventually got a pilot's license.

His current acting projects include "I Can Only Imagine," which comes out in March, and playing fellow Texan George W. Bush in the FX series "Katrina: American Crime Story." He has no other audiobooks in the works but has some ideas should anyone suggest he record another.

"Mark Twain - 'Huckleberry Finn,' " he says. "Some authors lend themselves to audiobooks better than others. It's the rhythm of the speech, and I think Twain would be great to read."
A Sugar Land resident is one of the individuals named in a study that identified 64 Americans who tried to join extremist groups in Syria and Iraq since 2011.

Warren Clark, 33, sent a resume and cover letter asking to become an English teacher for ISIS, according to the George Washington University study, which obtained thousands of pages of documents from U.S. District Court cases.

"I am looking to get a position teaching English to students in the Islamic State," began Clark's cover letter, which used the alias Abu Muhammad al-Ameriki.

"I was born and raised in the United States and have always loved teaching others and learning from others as well," the letter continued. "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."

WITNESS DRAWING: 'Cartoonish' police sketch helps police identify suspect

It is unclear when the job application was sent.

Clark, a 2008 University of Houston graduate and former Sugar Land resident, was highlighted by the study as one of the few travelers who did not seek a combat role within the Islamic State.

More Information Why a Sugar Land resident sent his resume to ISIS. See More Collapse

Seamus Hughes, deputy director of the program that produced the study, told NBC Clark's resume and cover letter were found in a home in Iraq that had been controlled by ISIS fighters until July 2017. Hughes believes Clark is still alive and successfully joined ISIS.

Above: See U.S. citizens accused of crimes tied to the Islamic State.

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.
Left alliance commands two-thirds majority in NA

The left alliance which narrowly missed out on the two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives (HoR) has crossed that 66 percent with a comfortable margin in the National Assembly elections that concluded on Wednesday.
Which Houston-area suburbs have the most violent crime by population?

New data released by the FBI shows how prevalent violent crime is in most of Houston's suburban cities.

The 2016 data lists the population for each city, plus the number of murders, manslaughters, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults for last year. This data released last week contains the most up-to-date stats for each community.

DANGEROUS CAMPUSES: Texas colleges with the most violent crime, according to the FBI

Those five crimes account for the FBI's annual violent crime statistic, which is broken down in this report by incidences per 1,000 in population.

The Houston area's suburbs, none of which surpassed the City of Houston in violent crime rates, are ranked from most violent crimes per 1,000 to least.

See where your city falls on the list, and get a look at how many violent crimes occurred in your community last year.
Flapping turkeys, sleeping pigs in stys, and clapping parents set the scene at the Klein ISD 49th Annual Future Farmers of America Show.

Projects at the show, which runs Feb. 7-10, include sheep, goats, steers, turkeys, chickens, rabbits, and pigs. Amongst livestock, the show includes a floral design competition and horticulture projects.

The auction proceeds totaled $210,650, the third highest total in Klein ISD FFA show history. Overall show proceeds totaled $377,789.



Barnyard Buddies, a nonprofit organization which purchases projects at the show and provides scholarships annually to FFA members from each district high school, was the top buyer coming in at $19,750.



Two auction records were broken at this year's show for grand and reserve champion horticulture projects.

Klein Oak High School junior Kyillah Peterson was the record-breaker with her grand champion green onions and Klein High School sophomore Lauren Cooper broke the reserve champion record for her dish garden at the show.



Kali-Jo Bentz, a senior at Klein Oak High School had the grand champion steer, which was purchased from Terpstra & Associates for $12,000.



Jewel Powe of Klein Cain High School was the winner of the grand champion swine. Boatman Construction LLC purchased the animal for $4,700.

Gregory Rodriguez, a junior at Klein High School, wanted to ease his way into learning how to raise animals. As a first year FFA student, Rodriquez chose to raise rabbits.

"Next year, I'm going to be working with a lot more animals. I enjoy FFA because of the nice people, and they are always there for me whenever I need it," Rodriguez said. "They won't hesitate to tell me what I need to do and help me out. I want to become a veterinarian in the future, and by working with animals helps me to connect with the animals."

This year's Klein ISD show included approximately 450 students with approximately 700 projects. Some students started raising, growing, or building their projects as far back as May of last year. For the past few years, the show has exceeded $400,000.

Students want to raise and show prize-winning animals, but many FFA participants are appreciative of the life lessons learned and friendships formed through the program.

Ebony Amos, a Klein Forest High School senior, has been an FFA student for three years, and her resume includes raising pigs, turkeys, and goats. She has aspirations to join the air force and later become a veterinarian.

"FFA helps by teaching me how to raise animals. Being involved in FFA helps you learn responsibility and you build friendships," Amos said. "Also, you travel, meet different people, and explore different things. You have to be dedicated to go to the barn everyday and have a passion for it and treat the animal as if it is your kid, and it will pay off.

Amos does recall becoming attached to her pig and goat. It's not uncommon for students to become attached to the animals they have raised. There are a couple of options after an animal is purchased at a show.

When buyers purchase animals, they can have the animals sent to a processor or donate the animals to nonprofit organizations. Students can't have animals donated back to them, but buyers can donate animals back to the FFA chapter. Then, the chapter can sell the animals at market price to a livestock market, and the money goes the chapter's FFA account.

Future Farmers of America is an intra-curricular student organization for those interested in agriculture and leadership. Agricultural education prepares students for successful careers and a lifetime of informed choices in the global agriculture, food, fiber, and natural resources systems.

Preston Clyde, a senior at Klein High School, is a second year FFA student who has plans to join the army and then attend college. He appreciates the friendships and responsibilities that come with being in the program. "Getting up early in the morning to take care of the animals before and after school and on the weekends is a lot of responsibility, and you learn from it," Clyde said. "It's a career opportunity. It's also great to meet friends in FFA, and getting to know others is a good way to get good at the program. Everybody knows something you don't."

The FFA organization, which was founded in 1928, includes 579,678 members in 7,570 chapters throughout all 50 states, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, and Guam.

Want to know more?

https://klein.ffanow.org
Houston ISD has proposed radically changing the way it operates its choice and magnet programs, but the conversation about school choice in Houston ISD has left many confused as they try to understand the district's current system.

Houston ISD's school choice system, as it exists now, is hard to define. It's been cobbled together over three decades, and few board policies govern how it works.

While some magnet proponents say the current system has produced some of the best schools in the country, advocates in minority communities argue it has exacerbated educational inequities throughout the district.

So, how does school choice work in Houston ISD now? Here are some answers:

What is school choice, and what are magnet programs?

School choice is a system by which students can chose to leave their home campus to go to another Houston ISD school. There are nearly a dozen ways students in Houston ISD can exercise choice, but the most common methods - by far - are through the districts' dozens of magnet and school-choice programs and schools.

Magnet programs and schools fall under the umbrella of HISD's school choice system, as do specific school-choice programs.

What's the difference between magnet schools/ programs and school-choice programs?

"A magnet is a theme program, while choice are those other types of programs that we have throughout the district," said Mark Smith, Houston ISD's chief student support officer. "Virtually every high school in HISD has choice programs in which they draw kids into them, and many are career-and-technical training programs, IB programs and JROTC."

But the definition of what constitutes a "theme" can be murky, at least as the system exists now.

For example, magnet programs include those centered around visual and performing arts, language immersion, single-gender college preparatory schools and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). But early-college, career-and-technical, IB and dual-language programs and schools are all choice - but not magnet - options.

Some comprehensive high schools house both magnet programs and programs of choice. Bellaire High School has a World Languages magnet, an IB school-choice program and a career-and-technology choice program. Lamar High has a business career magnet, an IB school-choice program and a career-and-technology choice program

Others, like Wheatley and Wisdom high schools, operate a program of choice. Still more - including Madison, Houston and North Forest high schools  have no school choice or magnet programs.

Open-enrollment magnet schools and schools of choice, which have no zone, also draw in students. Some include Carnegie Vanguard High School, Eastwood Academy, East Early College High School and DeBakey High School for Health Professions.

The district is expected to better codify which schools house magnet programs and which schools house choice programs as it works to finalize its school-choice plan.

How do students apply to magnet and school-choice programs, and how are they accepted?

To attend a school with a magnet program or a magnet-only school, theres an application. Parents can apply online or can pick-up a paper application at any magnet school or the districts central office. Families can rank five schools they would prefer.

Aside from the vanguard programs, which require a child be tested and classified as gifted and talented, no documentation is required for elementary students to apply and be accepted to magnet program lotteries. At the middle and high school level, most magnet programs and schools require that students earn a certain score on a matrix that measures academic performance based on their GPA and STAAR scores. Performing and visual arts programs and schools, such as the High School for Visual and Performing Arts, often skip the matrix in favor of an audition process.

The districts schools and programs of choice also often have academic requirements. Futures academies, which train students in vocations, require a minimum GPA of 2.5 for several semesters and proficient STAAR scores.

If a student is deemed qualified through the matrix, an audition or gifted/talented testing, they are entered into a lottery for the programs to which they applied. All students entered into the lottery have the same statistical chances of being selected for the school.

How do magnet programs begin? How are they ended?

Schools that want to start a magnet program must submit a proposal to the district's Office of School Choice and hold community meetings, according to policy.

The Houston ISD Board of Education's current policy on sun-setting magnet programs states: "changes in (a magnet program's) status shall require a transparent review process with a clear time line for implementation prior to the student application process." It does not include specifics about how those decisions are approved or initiated.

How are magnet programs and school choice programs funded?

The vast majority of magnet programs and schools in Houston ISD get extra funding for their programs, while school choice programs often do not.

Several years ago, there is no codified system for how much money each type of program got. Instead, Smith said, it was often based on how much money the district had on hand when a certain magnet was created.

Those numbers were standardized by program type several years ago when Terry Grier was Superintendent, but there remain differences in how much extra funding each type of program gets.

DeBakey High School for Health Professions, for example, gets about $1,125 extra in magnet funding per student. Carnegie Vanguard High gets about $410 extra per student. Superintendent Richard Carranza proposed standardizing and drastically cutting magnet funding in May 2017 but backed off those plans after fierce backlash from magnet proponents.

What's the controversy with the current system?

It depends who you ask.

Magnet proponents and many magnet parents do not want to see the system change. It has produced the eighth and 18th best schools in the country, proponents say, and has worked to keep white and more affluent students from fleeing to private schools or suburban school districts. They worry that changing funding and admissions requirements will lead to worse academic performances at the district's most prestigious schools.

Advocates for minority and low-income communities say the current system is inequitable and ships their neighborhood's best students to a handful of high schools and programs in white and more affluent areas, leaving little for students whose families do not have the means or ability to take advantage of the district's school choice system. They say demographics at the most sought-after magnet schools in HISD don't match those of the district overall, and instead enroll an unreasonably high number of affluent, white and Asian students.
PRAIRIE VIEW  Charges have been dropped against a Prairie View police officer who used a Taser on a city council member while arresting him in 2015.

Michael Kelley, who is no longer a police officer, had been charged with misdemeanor official oppression after arresting then-Councilman Jonathan Miller for interfering with police duties.

A state district judge dismissed the case last week for insufficient evidence.

The incident isn't over, however. Miller, 28, who is black, has filed a federal suit against both officers who were on the scene that night, the city of Prairie View and the Prairie View Police Department, complaining that his civil rights were violated. The suit also accuses Kelley, who is white, of assault and battery, and official oppression.

"I will continue to speak and my voice will continue to be heard," Miller said Thursday at a press conference in front of Prairie View City Hall to protest the dismissal of the charges.

Miller says he was at home the night of Oct. 8, 2015 when he saw flashing lights and went outside to see police questioning four of his friends. He knew the officers from his work on city council, Miller said, so he approached them to explain that his friends weren't doing anything illegal.

Prairie View police said Miller interfered with the scene, then refused to follow an officer's directions to leave. After Kelley and Miller exchanged words, the officer ordered Miller to turn around and used a Taser on Miller's back.

Prairie View police have said the Taser use was proper protocol because Miller wasn't following an officer's commands. Miller, on the other hand, has described the incident as "an overzealous cop clearly violating my civil rights."

Miller's arrest came just three months after a state trooper arrested Sandra Bland during a questionable traffic stop in Prairie View. Bland was found dead of an apparent suicide in the Waller County Jail a few days later, putting Prairie View in the national news.

Kelley's attorney said Thursday he was pleased about the dismissal of charges against Kelley, who is no longer working in law enforcement.

"He's been exonerated," Roger Bridgwater said of his client. "He has dealt with a lot of adversity that was not deserved."

Before the incident with Miller, Kelley had filed a civil suit of his own against the City of Prairie View for racial discrimination. That case, filed in August 2015, is set to go to trial in June.

Miller, meanwhile, recently moved to Houston and is teaching high school students at KIPPAcademy. He said he still wants someone to be held responsible for what happened the night he was arrested.

"Who do you hold accountable?" he said. "That's my question, and until that gets answered I will not be silent."
A Monday evening chase by the Fort Worth Police Department is getting a lot of love online after an unexpected guest was spotted during the pursuit.

The Fort Worth Police Department shared a photo of the Ghostbusters Ectomobile driving in the far right lane while a police cruiser chases after a suspect. Recalling the famous tagline "Who you gonna call....?" in their Facebook post, the police department got more than 1,000 reactions and 268 shares as of Thursday morning.
The number of dogs coming into the City of Pearland Animal Services and Adoption Center shelter has increased, but adoptions are down.

That's a problem for the overall welfare of the animals, according to facility manager Shari Coleman.

The city, said Coleman, has an obligation to take stray dogs.

"We've been successful in getting them off the street, but we have not had an increase in adoption or fosters alleviating the space problem," she said. "Our adoptions are a little down right now and our intake numbers are going up."

However, city officials say they are not having an overcrowding issues with cats and that they only have a few right now.

The problem is with dogs, and the city is appealing to the public to help ease some of the overflow by adopting a pet, fostering some long-timers at the shelter or sharing information on social media.

In a city of approximately 120,00 residents, the facility is housing 37 dogs in 34 kennels in a 6,000 square foot space, with five full time officers on staff.

"We just get full," Coleman said.

Coleman can't pinpoint a specific reason why adoption numbers increase at any given time, or why they are seeing more strays coming in, but she wonders if it's related to Hurricane Harvey, or the recent annexation of several areas in Pearland.

Also, the proximity of Shadow Creek Ranch in Pearland to the Houston Humane Society, 14700 Almeda Road, which Coleman said has recently changed its intake policy - may be contributing to the city's shelter population.

"There are some breeds they (Humane Society) will not accept," she said.

The city offers a $10 microchip and free city licensing special every month and adoption opportunities outside the shelter.

"Our goal is to get these animals back home, and we just cannot stress enough that not only a collar and tag, but a microchip is a necessity," Coleman said. "Everybody has $10 to microchip their dog or cat."

The city's foster-to-adopt program always is available. There are mobile adoptions at Petco on the first, third and fifth Saturdays and Sundays and Paws in the Park events throughout the year. It also helps when residents adopt in their own community without going through outside agencies.

"You have animals in your community that need your help," Coleman said. "You know you want an animal, you're just not sure which one, so come and take one for seven days, we're good with that. "

Rescue groups help, but many are more discriminating as to what type of animals they want to foster; for instance, smaller dogs have a better chance at making that list.

"Unfortunately there are not a lot of big dog rescues and a lot of our dogs are bigger," Coleman said,

The city facility keeps track of social media, Coleman said, to find owners who may have overlooked the shelter.

"Not everybody is going to think of animal control, not everybody is going to realize how hard we work to get these guys back to their owners," she said. "People will come see our dogs and say 'Oh my God, that's a beautiful dog, it belongs to somebody' - but they all belong to somebody. We've just got to get these people to come get them."

The staff, she said, will 'scramble' to make room for every stray it takes in, but the community has to play a role in balancing the numbers.

"It is the best job in the city - it has so many rewards, but there is a huge downside to it," she said.

The City of Pearland Animal Services and Adoption Center is open Tuesday through Friday, 8 a.m-6 p.m.; Saturday and Monday from 8 a.m. -5 p.m. and Sunday from 1-4 p.m.

For information, visit www.petharbor.com or call the City of Pearland Animal Services and Adoption Center at 281-652-1970.

People also can apply online at the City of Pearland website at www.pearlandtx.gov or email pearlandpets@pearlandtx.gov
A Beaumont federal prison inmate nabbed late last month in a pasture with a duffle bag filled with chicken sausage, salty snacks and bottles of brandy has been indicted on criminal charges.

Joshua Randall Hansen, 27, of Dallas was indicted Wednesday on charges of escape from a federal facility and possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance.

Hansen, who's serving time for a drug-related conviction, was arrested last month outside a low-security unit at the Federal Correctional Complex in Beaumont.

Investigators believe Hansen was trying to get back into the prison camp to distribute the marijuana and alcohol.

Hansen was caught in a joint surveillance effort, sheriff's department spokeswoman Crystal Holmes said in a Jan. 25 statement.

Non-violent offenders and inmates on work release have walked off from the federal facility "pretty much since Day 1" to get contraband items to bring back in the prison, Jefferson County Sheriff's Deputy Marcus McLellan said last month.

The sheriff's office is working with other agencies, including the U.S. Marshals office, to put a stop to it, McLellan said.

A vehicle was spotted sometime after 5:45 p.m. Jan. 24 driving on private property adjacent to the prison, Holmes said. Someone inside the vehicle dropped a large, black duffle bag and drove off.

Hansen was seen around 7:30 p.m. running across the property and retrieving the bag, which contained home-cooked foods, fruit, packaged snacks, bottles of alcohol and multiple bags of Bugler tobacco, according to Holmes.

Hansen attempted to run back into the prison, but was caught by deputies and arrested, she said.

If convicted, Hansen faces an additional five years in prison.
The call came soon after Carlos Gudiel Andres kissed his wife and five children goodbye, walking out into the early-morning darkness to load his tools onto his truck.

"Immigration has me," he told his wife, asking her to send their oldest son Erick to retrieve his wallet. "Don't come yourself or they will get you too."

The advocacy group FIEL Houston said Friday that it was the latest example of what it said appears to be an increasingly common federal practice to target predominantly Hispanic apartment complexes early in the morning on the pretext of looking for specific suspects, then questioning bystanders without any evidence that they are illegally here.

"They pretend like they are looking for someone and then they just start asking people at random," said Cesar Espinosa, the group's executive director. "What we are looking at is that very fine line between enforcement and racial profiling."

In a statement, Leticia Zamarripa, a spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said the agency often encounters immigrants here illegally while performing "targeted enforcement operations." They are evaluated on a "case-by-case basis, and, when appropriate, they are arrested."

She said that while immigration agents focus on those who pose a threat to public safety, anyone here illegally is subject to deportation if they are discovered.

In this latest case, Andres was packing his tools into his truck at about 6:30 a.m. in the Bel-Lindo apartments in southwest Houston on Jan. 19.

Zamarripa said the parking lot was "identified as part of a targeted enforcement operation," but didn't provide details as to why.

Andres, who is 30, told his wife that federal agents flashed a light in his face and asked if the tools were his, "as if he was stealing them," she said. They asked if he knew the occupants of a nearby apartment, saying they had received complaints that immigrants here illegally were living there.

When Andres said he did not, the agents demanded his identification and discovered he had no permission to work here and a deportation order from more than a decade ago. They arrested him, and asked where his wife lived, but he declined to say.

The deportation order appears to stem from a mix-up, Espinosa said.

Andres, who is from Guatemala, was detained after crossing the Rio Grande in December 2005.

He was deported 20 days later on Dec. 30, according to Zamarripa, the agency spokeswoman. She said he re-entered the country illegally two months later, which is a felony, although he wasn't apprehended at that time.

But Espinosa said an immigration judge proceeding over Andres' initial deportation case issued him a removal order in absentia. He had missed the court date only because he had already been deported, Espinosa said, not through any fault of his own.

He said Andres' lawyer, Jorge Cantu, was seeking to re-open that case arguing that the judgement occurred in error. Cantu did not immediately return a phone call. Andres remains in the Joe Corley Detention Facility in Conroe.

He has no other criminal record, and has never even received a traffic ticket, his wife said.

"The thing we want to highlight is that when immigration agents had the interaction with (Andres,) there was no way for them to know what his status was," Espinosa said. "Are they questioning everybody? Or are they just questioning workers with tools early in the morning?"

He said the organization had received at least six calls about similar incidents and reminded immigrants that they do not have to answer questions about their citizenship status.

According to the American Civil Liberties Union, people who are stopped in public by police officers or immigration agents do not have to answer questions about their immigration status. They have the right to remain silent and ask for a lawyer, and should say so if they desire that.

They should not lie about their citizenship status.

They also do not have to let immigration agents into their home unless they have a warrant issued by a judge.

"If they do not, they do not have to let them in and may politely decline," said Andre Segura, legal director for the ACLU of Texas. "If the agents enter without a warrant and without consent, which often happens, the individuals inside still have the right to remain silent."

Federal agents arrested 143,470 immigrants in the fiscal year ending in September 2017, a 30 percent increase from the previous year, according to an analysis of federal data by the Pew Research Center, a think tank in Washington D.C.

The Houston area had the most arrests in the country after Dallas, with 13, 565 detentions. An agency spokeswoman said figures for 2018 were not yet available.

RELATED: Immigrant arrests up sharply, but deportations drop to 10-year low

Andres' wife, Marcela Rivera, said the family is struggling. Andres, a carpenter, worked while she stayed home with their infant daughter.

Now she is relying on her family for financial support to care for her five American-born children.

Her 6-year-old son wakes up in the middle of the night and cries for his dad. Erick, who is in the 8th grade, said he is distracted at school and doesn't sleep well.

"I just feel nervous," he said.
Left bloc resumes unification talks

The two top leaders of the CPN-UML and CPN-Maoist Centre have resumed one-on-one discussions to sort out pending issues including power sharing after the conclusion of the National Assembly polls on Wednesday.
Six Houston men were arrested Tuesday at a border checkpoint outside Laredo with tens of thousands of dollars that police said was stolen earlier during an ATM robbery in the border city.

Three of the suspects also had previous charges for an ATM robbery in Houston on Oct. 24, Harris County court records show.

Laredo police spokesman Jose Baeza said Thursday that the six men were charged with aggravated robbery and engaging in organized criminal activity.

LPD identified the suspects as Paul Roosevelt Banks, 23, John Fehlton Boutte, 28, David Benford Dorsey, 37, Kevin Dewayne Harris, 31, Jesse Banks Motton, 32, and Charles Jermaine Randle, 32.

Motton, Boutte and Harris were charged with the Houston robbery, court records show.

U.S. Border Patrol said the men were in possession of $88,200 when they were detained at a checkpoint on U.S. 59, the main route to Houston from the Texas border.

"This case best exemplifies the excellent work of the LPD patrol division and criminal investigation division detective's coordination and speed, along with the great assistance of our federal partners at Laredo Border Patrol in netting these criminal actors with record speed," LPD Chief Claudio Trevino Jr. said in a press release.

Laredo robbery

The Laredo case began around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, when an employee servicing a Chase ATM was reportedly assaulted.

Video surveillance revealed that at least five men had left the area in a black Toyota Camry, Laredo Police said. The vehicle arrived about one hour later at a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint on U.S. 59, about 46 miles east of Laredo.

Border Patrol said agents referred the vehicle to a secondary inspection after recognizing it from an alert put out by Laredo police. The driver and four passengers were detained.

A second vehicle, a White Chevrolet Malibu occupied by one man, was also detained. He was later determined to be involved with the five other suspects, according to LPD.

Border Patrol officials also praised the collaboration between law enforcement.

"The results of this case exemplify the outstanding cooperation between law enforcement partners in South Texas. I am very proud of the dedicated work by the men and women of the U.S. Border Patrol and the Laredo Police Department who keep our community safe," said Acting Chief Patrol Agent Jason D. Owens of the Laredo Sector Border Patrol.

Robert Downen covers crime for the Houston Chronicle. Follow him on Twitter or email him at robert.downen@chron.com.
If you're thinking grabbing your favorite slice of cheese and pepperoni pizza but feel too guilty to indulge because of your New Year's resolution to be healthier, you have the perfect reason to have a "cheat day:" Today is National Pizza Day and Houston has too many good pies to pass up.

Whether it's trying the latest invention at Pi Pizza or treating your taste buds at Dolce Vita, the Bayou City is brimming with diversity that even the most ardent pizza haters will find the perfect slice.

Scroll through the gallery above to see where readers love to get their pizza from in Houston.

DEATH AND PIZZA: Funeral home giving away pizza to those who preplan their funeral

Pizza is often attributed to being created in Naples. History.com points out, pizza - originally flatbread with various toppings - was eaten among the working poor. Immigrants brought the dish to America and the rest is history.

Or is it? While Naples often is credited with creating the cheesy delight, there's a theory that pizza comes from a Chinese dish that Italians adapted. The theory goes Marco Polo ate a baked scallion pancake when he visited China. When he returned to Italy, Polo desired a scallion pancake so he had a chef in Naples recreate the dish. But rather than putting the ingredients inside the dough, he suggested putting them on top.

TIDE PIZZA CHALLENGE?: Pizza place introduces 'delicious-looking' Calzone Tide Pods

Hungry Howie's acknowledges that Marco Polo's manuscripts may have been misinterpreted and China may have nothing to do with the creation of pizza.

Regardless, the circular (sometimes square) goodness is here to stay and today is the perfect day to eat a slice.

Scroll through the gallery above to see where readers love to get their pizza from in Houston.

Will Axford is a digital reporter for Chron.com. Read more of his stories here and follow him on Twitter.
An attorney now suing the city on behalf of a Houston strip club called Fantasy Plaza has questioned the propriety of tactics used by undercover vice officers in arguing unfair treatment of the club by city officials.

The club, off of North Freeway, was ordered to close temporarily on Monday by Judge Fredericka Phillips, who ruled in favor of a petition filed by assistant county attorney Rosemarie Donnelly in December. The petition cited more than 30 arrests made at the club since 2014, according to court documents.

In 2017 alone, more than four dancers were arrested for prostitution, with one offering to have sex with an undercover officer in exchange for $500, according to court documents. There have also been numerous shootings at or near the club, including one on March 14 in a parking lot behind it that resulted in one death, court documents state.

RELATED: Judge orders Houston strip club shut down for alleged prostitution, employment of minors

Days before Judge Phillips' order shuttering the club, Fantasy Plaza's attorney, Albert Van Huff, filed a federal lawsuit Feb. 1 alleging that the club has been treated unfairly because it is not part of a 2013 settlement that allows 16 other clubs to operate outside a strict city code regulating sexually oriented businesses in exchange for payments into the city's human-trafficking abatement fund.

The vice tactics questioned by Van Huff involve an incident in June 2017, when three Houston vice officers went to the club after receiving information about a missing juvenile working there as a dancer. The officers had been given three photos of the girl provided by her mother, according to a police report on the incident. The photographs showed a mole under her collarbone.

One of the officers saw a girl "consistent with the photographs" but wrote in the incident report that he remained "unsure" if she was the runaway. He then paid her $40 for a lap dance, during which she pressed her bare breasts against his face and straddled the officer, simulating sexual intercourse, according to the report.

As she leaned back, the officer wrote, he was "able to observe a small mole on her upper middle chest area below her collar bone which was consistent with the photographs officers had been provided." The girl was then detained by police and taken to the Juvenile Division.

In the days following the apprehension of the runaway girl, an HPD officer returned to the strip club, questioned the manager, and later arrested him and two other strip club employees for sexually-oriented business ordinance violations and harmful employment of a minor. According to the HPD report, managers told police the girl had used a fake ID to get hired at the club.

Of the three men arrested at Fantasy Plaza in June, two have had their cases dismissed, according to court documents.

Van Huff expressed outrage in an interview that the officer paid for a lap dance before the runaway 16-year-old was taken into custody. The dance was unnecessary in making the identification, he said.

Donnelly, the assistant county attorney, said any suggestion that the officer's conduct was unwarranted is incorrect, given the nature of the operation.

"I think HPD officers we work with in the past have the highest integrity and ethics. The implication that they did something wrong is something I strongly disagree with," said Donnelly. Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said he unequivocally backed the conduct of his officers in identifying the runaway and taking her into custody.

"They didn't do anything inappropriate," Acevedo said. "I'm just happy we were able to get her and get her the hell out of there."

Alan Bernstein, director of communications for Mayor Sylvester Turner, declined to comment on the June undercover operation.

Michael Shively, a senior associate at Abt Associates, aBoston-based public policy research firm that deals in part with issues of criminal justice, said he has never heard of a police officer receiving a lap dance from a minor in order to identify a missing runaway. Shively added that it "seems unnecessary simply to make an ID on that person."

"I would guess the face in the photos would make her recognizable in person, so I am not sure why the mole is so critical to observe in order to make an ID," Shively said in an email.

"One would hope the officer could have arranged the private dance, then made a sufficient ID from her face and height, weight, skin tone, etc obtained from the mother and photos. Once alone and if she seemed a likely match, the officer could have simply asked to see her for her identification, and if refused taken her into custody and sorted it out at the station," Shively said.

Lawrence Karson, an assistant professor of criminal justice at the University of Houston-Downtown and former supervisor of federal law enforcement officers, shared similar sentiments. Karson called the officer's behavior in June "morally repugnant."

"Further, the sexual sampling  having contact with sex workers under investigation for prostitution  is not a morally acceptable technique when dealing with minors which the police are ultimately responsible for protecting. She is a victim re-victimized by the very police sent to protect her. Any officer who seeks to justify these actions needs to take a hard look at their own moral compass. In simple terms, what if it was their own daughter?" Karson added over email.

The federal lawsuit filed by Van Huff claims that the city unfairly favors the club's competition who have agreed to the city's settlement terms and pay into the trafficking abatement fund by allowing entertainers to "perform topless dancing without having to adhere to the 'no touch' and 'three foot' rules required by city law."
A McDonald's manager just smashed the dreams of tens of... A recalled menu item will not return to McDonald's and the public is not happy.
A state fire marshals review of the blaze that killed San Antonio firefighter Scott Deem found firefighters and commanders made several mistakes while fighting the major fire at Ingram Square Shopping Center.

San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood said firefighters approached the blaze like a residential fire, rather than a commercial one, and failed to use a hose or rope when they entered the building to look for people possibly trapped inside.

That left firefighters without a water source, and could have left them stranded without a clear path to exit.

Later, as conditions grew worse to the point that no possible victims could have survived, the search-and-rescue operation continued, Hood said.

A firefighter who entered the building with several others that night pulled down ceiling tiles, bringing the fire down on him and Deem. Thats a tactic typically used to find the origin of the fire and not appropriate during a search-and-rescue mission, Hood said.

The official review was conducted by the Texas State Fire Marshals Office with assistance from the Houston Fire Department, and the full report is expected to be available Friday. Hood provided an outline to reporters on Thursday in an effort to be transparent with the public, he said.

Hood admitted that mistakes were made by the department, but he stressed that the real blame falls on the person who set the fire in May. He said only a few of the missteps cited in the report led to Deems death and the injury of two other firefighters.

He also stressed that commanders made the decision to go on the offensive based on limited information, not knowing the fire was intentionally set or that no one was in the building.

Still, the department vowed to improve training and update policy to prevent future line of duty deaths. Some changes have already been implemented.

Theres a void there thats never going to be replaced, Hood said. We have to make sure we do justice to his loss.

Deem, 31, had been with the San Antonio Fire Department for six years. He was married with two children. After his death, his wife gave birth to a third child named Aubrey Scott Deem.

Months after the fire, authorities arrested Emond Javor Johnson, 39, and charged him with one count of murder and four arson-related counts. They say Johnson used a disposable cigarette lighter to ignite a mixture of gasoline and oil spilled at the gym he owned, the Spartan Box, in order to get out of a newly signed lease.

Johnson remains in jail on a $1.63 million bail awaiting trial.

This story has been corrected to show that Chief Charles Hood said a few of the mistakes cited in the report led to Deems death and the injury of two other firefighters.

Emilie Eaton is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. Read more of her stories here. | eeaton@express-news.net | @emilieeaton
WASHINGTON  It was a middle-of-the-night budget vote that divided both parties, even as a bipartisan group of Houston lawmakers kept a united front  bound by a federal aid package speeding recovery dollars for Hurricane Harvey.

Republicans and Democrats representing the storm-torn Gulf Coast were forced to overlook their ideological differences in voting to end the second government shutdown of the Trump presidency  thus assuring an $89.3 billion disaster aid package for Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and other areas hit by a series of floods, fires and hurricanes last year.

The 240-186 House vote shortly before sunrise Friday augured the end of what became a seven-hour government shutdown, prompted by one-man filibuster mounted by Kentucky U.S. Sen. Rand Paul  the son of libertarian Texas icon Ron Paul.

Four Texas Republicans joined the 67 House GOP members in balking at a deal that increases government spending by some $320 billion, a sum conservatives said would contribute to a trillion dollar deficit and bloat the national debt.

Of the four  Joe Barton, Jeb Hensarling, John Ratcliffe, and Louis Gohmert  only Gohmert, a leading member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, represents a district affected by Harvey.

Three Texas Democrats also joined a total of 119 Democrats in all who also voted against the budget agreement: Joaquin Castro, Lloyd Doggett and Marc Veasy.

They, like many other Democrats, aligned with Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who had spoken on the House floor for eight hours in protest of a deal that does not address the legal status of "Dreamers," immigrants brought into the country illegally as children.

Houston Democrat Sheila Jackson Lee, who joined the majority, cited the importance of the storm recovery funds, which were increased from an earlier $81 billion House-approved package.

"The action this morning addresses one of the major priorities facing the nationthat of disaster relief," she said. "Now, we must move forward with the extremely important and urgent business of providing relief to our nation's Dreamers who are living under the constant threat of deportation."

Senate Republican leaders promised a debate on the fate of the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) next week.

Houston Republican John Culberson, facing a potentially competitive reelection this year, also backed the agreement providing disaster funds. "Countless families in District 7 have contacted my office for help after Hurricane Harvey, and I'm relieved to tell them that additional help is finally on the way," Culberson said.

Many Republicans went along with the new spending deal because of the promise of additional military spending, balanced by lesser increases in domestic priorities sought by Democrats.

But for some conservatives the disaster aid package  which is not all earmarked for Texas  was not sufficient to overcome his concerns about deficit spending.

"The vote today for a spending bill that in essence runs up our deficit $1 trillion was an exceedingly difficult one because of some of the things that were cynically put into the bill," Gohmert said. "As a Texan, I support helping those devastated by natural disasters, but asking that we borrow a trillion dollars, so Texas can get $25 billion or so is not a good deal."

An earlier vote in the Senate split 71-28, also crossing over party lines. Both Texas U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz voted for the budget deal, though Cruz, citing deficit concerns, said he did so "reluctantly."

Cornyn, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, was a key figure in whipping GOP support for the agreement, which was delayed past a midnight government funding deadline because of delay tactics Paul employed to highlight his budget concerns.

Paul rebuffed several entreaties from Cornyn and Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell late Thursday night to allow a vote before the midnight deadline, pushing the final votes into the early morning hours, even though its outcome was not seriously in question.

Cornyn too, had used pressure tactics of his own to help secure addition funding for the victims of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, as well as the California wildfires. After President Donald Trump signed off on the budget deal Friday, a Cornyn aide said the senator released a hold he had maintained since October on the nomination of Russ Vought for deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget.

The hold, a Senate prerogative, had been used as leverage with the Trump administration, which originally proposed only a $44 billion disaster aid plan.

Officials in Houston and Austin expressed relief at passage of the much larger congressional aid package.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called it a "crucial step forward" in the recovery efforts from Harvey. "While Texans will continue to struggle in Harvey's wake long after today's vote, our resilient spirit remains strong, and we will continue working at the federal, state and local levels to ensure we emerge from this disaster stronger than ever," he said.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner praised the inclusion of new dollars for projects to combat future flooding. "The funding emphasis on protection against the next deluge, or storm surge from the gulf, has been a key part of my plea to the federal government," he said. "Merely funding a recovery would be 'funding for failure' because without flood mitigation projects we'd have to restart the expensive recovery after the next storm."

The new funding, bringing to $140 billion the amount Congress has allocated for nationwide disaster relief since Harvey, includes money for flood mitigation projects, housing and an array of infrastructure repairs.

It includes $23.5 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency Disaster Relief Fund, the primary funding source to cover the costs of local governments in the immediate disaster response after the storms.

More crucial for Texas, the package provides nearly $17.4 billion for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, money that is largely targeted for projects, including new reservoirs and bayou expansions, to reduce the risk of future damages from flooding and storms.

For Houston, Cornyn said, "that's very significant."

Texas officials also highlighted the importance of $28 billion for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Fund, which provides flexibility for communities to rebuild damages homes, buildings, and infrastructure.

The bill also provides $1.65 billion to the Small Business Administration's disaster loan program, and $600 million to the Department of Commerce for Economic Development Administration grants for immediate relief efforts and long-term recovery projects.

Nearly $2.5 billion will go to reopen elementary and secondary schools affected by the hurricanes and wildfires, including private schools outside of storm-hit areas that took in students displaced from floods and wildfires.

Another $1.8 billion is dedicated to rebuilding roads, transit systems and aviation assets.

Cornyn said that while much of the money is not earmarked to specific locations, new formulas written into the system of allocating funds should benefit Texas, which was hit first and is now farther along in the recovery process.

"This was designed with Texas in mind," he said.

Although Florida, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands also negotiated for more targeted funds  including at least $11 billion of the Community Development Block Grants  Texas also is expected to benefit in ways that have little to do with natural disasters.

Under a provision backed by West Texas cotton growers, seed cotton will become eligible for a new subsidy program that helps insulates farmers from market losses.

While a host of critics have questioned the inclusion of long-sought commodity subsidies in an emergency disaster relief bill, Texas U.S. Rep. Michael Conaway, chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, cast it as a necessity for U.S. growers in a global economy.

"From natural disasters to predatory trade practices, America's farm and ranch families face unique and daunting challenges every day," he said. "We have more work to do on their behalf in the farm bill, but today was an important step forward."

But Texas Democrats rejoiced in one Trump spending priority that was not in the budget agreement: border wall funding. That will likely become a central battle in the upcoming battle next week over the Dreamers.
WASHINGTON  In an early Friday morning budget vote that divided both parties, a bipartisan group of lawmakers from Houston stuck together  bound by a dire need for federal assistance in the recovery from Hurricane Harvey.

Republicans and Democrats representing the storm-torn Gulf Coast overlooked their respective reservations about the budget deal to keep the government open, opting instead to take an $89.3 billion disaster recovery package.

The 240-186 House vote shortly after 5:30 a.m. (eastern time) augured the end of what had been a brief government shutdown, the second in a month.

Four Texas Republicans joined the 67 House GOP members who balked at the two-year, $320 billion spending agreement, which conservatives said would bloat the nation's debt.

Of the four  Joe Barton, Jeb Hensarling, John Ratcliffe, and Louis Gohmert  only Gohmert, a leading member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, represents a district affected by Harvey.

Three Texas Democrats joined 119 Democrats in total who also voted no: Joaquin Castro, Lloyd Doggett and Marc Veasy.

Many Democrats aligned with Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who had spoken on the House floor for eight hours in protest of a deal that failed to address the legal status of "Dreamers," immigrants brought into the country illegally as children.

AFTER THE STORM: School transportation woes linger 5 months after Harvey

Houston Democrat Sheila Jackson Lee, who joined the majority, cited the importance of the storm recovery funds, which were increased from an earlier $81 billion House-approved package.

"The action this morning addresses one of the major priorities facing the nationthat of disaster relief," she said. "Now, we must move forward with the extremely important and urgent business of providing relief to our nation's Dreamers who are living under the constant threat of deportation."

Gohmert said the disaster aid package  which is not all earmarked for Texas  was not sufficient to overcome his concerns about deficit spending.

"The vote today for a spending bill that in essence runs up our deficit $1 Trillion was an exceedingly difficult one because of some of the things that were cynically put into the bill," he said. "As a Texan, I support helping those devastated by natural disasters, but asking that we borrow a trillion dollars, so Texas can get $25 billion or so is not a good deal."

IMMIGRATION: Designer of solar border wall threatens to sue Trump for taking his idea

An earlier vote in the Senate split 71-28, also along bipartisan lines. Both Texas U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz voted for the budget deal, though Cruz, citing deficit concerns, said he did so "reluctantly."

Cornyn, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, was a key figure in whipping GOP support for the agreement, which was delayed past a midnight government funding deadline because of the objections of Kentucky U.S. Sen. Rand Paul and other fiscal hawks.

Paul rebuffed several entreaties from Cornyn late Thursday night to drop procedural tactics and allow a vote before the midnight deadline, pushing the final votes into the early morning hours.
It's no masterpiece, but it got the job done.

A crudely-drawn sketch of a suspected thief in Lancaster, Pennslyvania helped investigators identify the alleged perpetrator.

Hung Pouoc Nguyen, 44, impersonated an employee at an unattended business last week and managed to get away with some cash, police said.

A witness at the scene was able to provide a sketch, which all things considered, wasn't too far off.

NEAR DISASTER: Texas student, 13, takes the wheel after bus driver has medical emergency

"While the sketch provided by the witness may have appeared amateurish and cartoonish, it, along with the distinctive physical descriptors, jogged the memory of at least one investigator to provide a potential suspect name," police said.

Nguyen was charged with two counts of theft by unlawful taking and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.

As of Thursday, police are still searching for the suspect.

Above: See some of the funniest, sketchy police sketches ever.

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.
So many people flocked to the Faith Lutheran Church one evening last month, you'd think they were previewing a new Star Wars movie.

The parking lots overflowed and traffic backed up into the adjacent neighborhood. Inside the gymnasium, every chair was occupied, standing-room only spectators lined the walls and people who couldn't find seats just plopped down on the floor and sat shoulder-to-shoulder in the aisles. Organizers of the event in Bellaire estimated it attracted more than 500 people including dozens who couldn't get into the doors. All of them came out on a weeknight to hear the Democratic candidates for Texas' 7th Congressional District.

If every neighborhood political debate attracted a crowd like this, our country would be a better place. Then again, if every congressional race attracted a field of candidates as inspiring and diverse as this campaign, Congress just might work again.

ENDORSEMENTS: See the other candidates supported by the Houston Chronicle editorial board

CAMPAIGN FUNDS: Democrats raise more than $2.8M in primary to face Culberson

STRAUS: Texans, make your voices heard in primaries

LOSING THE FAITH: Houston's Jewish community confronts the reality of political inaction post-Harvey

John Culberson should take notice. Energized Democrats believe they can beat the longtime Republican congressman who has spent 17 years representing this district, which circles from northwest Harris County to southwest Houston and encompasses wealthy enclaves like Bunker Hill Village and West University Place. This is the seat once occupied by George H.W. Bush, but its demographics have changed dramatically. Hillary Clinton carried this district in the last presidential election, turning it into a target for Democrats hoping to regain control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Each one of the seven candidates running in this Democratic primary brings something impressive to the race. Jason Westin, 40, is a cancer researcher steeped in the details of health care policy. Lizzie Pannill Fletcher, 42, is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate who edited the William and Mary Law Review before becoming the first woman partner in a prominent local law firm. Alex Triantaphyllis, 33, is an eloquent young executive at a major non-profit who's attracted widespread support among the party faithful. Laura Moser, 40, is a lively progressive activist who launched a national anti-Trump action movement. Ivan Sanchez, 30, is a young and energetic former congressional staffer who hopes his candidacy will inspire Hispanic voters. Joshua Butler, 32, is an administrator at the UT Health Science Center who talks about party unity with striking grace and eloquence. James Cargas, 51, an assistant city attorney specializing in energy issues, has invested years of sweat equity by running for this position in three previous election years.

Narrowing this field of candidates is difficult, but some of these outstanding contenders also have problematic weaknesses.

RELATED: Houston congressional race in 'toss-up' Culberson district gets a Super Bowl ad

Triantaphyllis and Cargas both live outside the district. Cargas points out that his home was in the district before GOP lawmakers gerrymandered his street out of it. Triantaphyllis tries to dance around the subject and argue that it doesn't matter. But the issue has already come up during the primary, and during a hotly contested congressional race it's a vexing problem that could turn a close election.

Butler and Sanchez both have compelling personal stories and engaging personalities, but they're comparatively short on substance. Other candidates in this primary display stronger policy chops.

Moser has attracted a spirited base of supporters with her enthusiastic advocacy of progressive ideals, but even Democrats who like her question whether she's too liberal to win this historically Republican district. Meanwhile, Fletcher has drawn fire from organized labor because her law firm represented a janitorial company that won a judgment against a union.

RELATED: Record number of candidates running for Congress in Houston area

If Democrats are going to win this race, they'll need a strong candidate whose views will appeal to voters disillusioned with their tea party Republican congressman. It's a tough call, but we believe the best two candidates for the inevitable runoff in this seven-way race are Jason Westin and Lizzie Pannill Fletcher.

Westin's professional credentials alone are impressive enough; he says his peers elected him to lead the largest clinical trial team in the nation seeking new treatments for aggressive cancers. But don't think for a second this doctor is a one-trick-pony running on a health care platform. He's impressed crowds at community forums with his conspicuously thoughtful command of a wide variety of issues. Westin launched his candidacy with the help of a nationwide group that's trying to get more scientists to run for office. When he says he's bothered by "disrespect of facts and science," he speaks with a quiet passion that seems to be winning over a growing number of supporters.

GRIEDER: Could Texas turn blue in 2018? Stranger things have happened

Fletcher's background is also impressive. After starting her law career at Vinson & Elkins, she joined AZA, a 50 person firm specializing in high-stakes business litigation and she became its first woman partner. She has served on the board of Planned Parenthood and she was on the front lines defending abortion providers from protesters during the 1992 Republican Convention in Houston. Like Westin, she has a firm grasp of the issues in the race. Just as important, she understands the importance of appealing to independent voters in this swing district.

Both Westin and Fletcher are extremely accomplished professionals with a deep understanding of complex public policy matters. Both of them exude an intelligent and level-headed pragmatism that will appeal to the moderate voters of this district, whose support Democrats will need if they're serious about defeating Culberson.

Most important of all, both Westin and Fletcher would make fine members of Congress. Early voting runs from Tuesday, Feb. 20 through Friday, March 2. Election Day is March 6.
NEA to sign first PPA with storage-type hydro

State-owned power utility Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has been preparing to sign its first power purchase agreement (PPA) with a storage-type hydropower project.
Coding skills especially sought after by Canadian IT employers

New study reveals most in-demand occupations in Canada in 2018

New study reveals most in-demand occupations in Canada in 2018 Coding skills especially sought after by Canadian IT employers

New study reveals most in-demand occupations in Canada in 2018 Coding skills especially sought after by Canadian IT employers

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A new study detailing the most in-demand occupations in Canada in 2018 shows business analysts, IT project managers and software engineers among the top 10.

The annual study by the human resources company Randstad Canada showed business analysts in fifth place, IT project managers in seventh place and software engineers ranking ninth overall.

The study looked at job openings, job placements and other data from various Canadian markets that were collected and compiled by Randstad Canada and business research consultants CEB/Gartner.

Tech continues to be one of Canadas best job sectors, rapidly adding new jobs for developers and analysts of all kinds, the study says.

The findings were published on the eve of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau first visit to San Francisco, where he pitched Canada as a destination for U.S. tech companies.

Trudeau and the Canadian government are working to capitalize on the uncertainty among tech companies and skilled foreign tech workers in the United States caused by President Donald Trumps hard-line policies on immigration and trade.

Find out if you are eligible for Canadian Immigration by filling out our FREE online assessment form.

Coding skills intensely in demand

Drilling down into its IT-sector findings, the study says developers with knowledge of both front and back-end coding are intensely in demand, especially full stack developers. Java remained the top developer skill, with SQL in second. Python and .net are also considered in-demand.

The study listed the top 8 tech-sector jobs as:

Project manager Software engineer Web developer Program analyst Java developer

Randstad says Canadas IT sector employs 488,000 professionals and added 11,500 new jobs in 2017. Nearly 50 per cent of those jobs (5,000) were created in Toronto and 2,000 were created in Montreal.

Targeted IT immigration programs

The demand for workers with tech expertise has led Canada and a number of its provinces to implement targeted immigration programs designed to facilitate their entry into the country.

The federal governments Global Talent Stream was created last year to expedite the processing of work permits for highly skilled workers in a number of tech occupations.

At the provincial level, British Columbia holds weekly draws for tech workers with a job offer through its Tech Pilot program and Ontario has conducted tech-specific searches of the federal Express Entry pool through its Human Capital Priorities Stream.

Tech jobs also figure prominently among the in-demand occupations in provinces such as Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

General labourers top overall list

In terms of Randstads overall list of in-demand jobs in Canada, general labourers led the top 10, with sales representatives and accountants rounding out the top three.

The top 10 jobs were as follows:

General labourer Sales representative Accountant Engineering project manager Business analyst Customer service rep IT project manager Account manager Software engineer Forklift operator

Find out if you are eligible for Canadian immigration by filling out our FREE online assessment form.

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The problem

Failure of boards and mangers to address information security is expensive and the preventable, poorly handled Equifax breach may end up costing the company as much as $1.5 billion in direct costs by the time it all plays out (SeekingAlpha, 9/29/17). This lack of management attention was clearly demonstrated when Equifax acting CEO, Paulino do Rego Barros, Jr. told a congressional hearing he wasnt sure whether the company was encrypting consumer data.

This problem is systemic and pervasive across the business landscape. In a January 10th article, the Wall Street Journal reported that Board committees dedicated to information technology risks and strategy are still rare. Just four Fortune 100 companies operate one. Moreover, only 37% of corporate directors feel confident the company they serve is properly secured against a cyberattack, In the broader arena of SMBs and local governments, board and management oversight of information security is even rarer and 37% seems grossly optimistic.

An even more disturbing revelation from that WSJ article was that some boards have devised a response plan, including creating of a bitcoin account from which to pay ransoms. I suppose there is a justifiable and quantifiable business case for this position from the boards perspective, but it really sticks in my ex-military craw that any organization would negotiate with and reward criminals. Prevention and resilience are better policies.

Whats the role of the board and management?

There is no mystery about what boards and executives should be doing to ensure their organizations are paying attention to information security. Section 5 of ISO/IEC 27001 describes 18 requirements for top management with respect to developing an organizational information security management system (ISMS). These requirements include policy development, resource allocation, continual improvement, documentation, reporting, and a great deal more.

NACD (National Association of Corporate Directors) offers a 16-hour cyber-risk certificate course for directors. Upon completion of the course and an exam, participants receive a certificate from Carnegie Mellon University. NACD also publishes a free, informative, 44-page Cyber-Risk Oversight Handbook that describes five principles for effective cyber-risk oversight, along with a wealth of other information that includes an appendix with 48 questions boards should be asking management about Cybersecurity.

For local governments, ICMA publishes Local Government Cyber Security: Getting Started as well as other information. This guide has some useful information, but it doesnt begin to approach the depth and quality of the NACD handbook. I would recommend that school board members, county commissioners. and city council members download and read the NACD handbook as well as the Growing Impact of Cybercrime in Local Government. The public sector doesnt take cybersecurity seriously and local governments are in possession of huge deposits of PII and PHI.

My problem with the discussions of the cyber from both of these organizations is that they fail to address the broader discipline of information security. This isnt simply a matter of semantics and cyber-risk has to be understood in the broader context of an overarching information security (InfoSec) program to be truly effective.

To put it simply, if senior leadership isnt an integral part of your information security program, you dont really have a program. Boards and executives should routinely devote CPU cycles to the issue, just as they would to any other critical business issue.

Making the case

The argument for comprehensive information security programs for even very small enterprises is simple, powerful, and backed by a constantly growing body of evidence. Failure to secure information costs money  and lots of it. The Anthem breach, in which the company was found to be neither negligent nor liable, cost them roughly $414 million and the Target breach cost $230 million (SeekingAlpha).

While the fiscal argument may make the best case for a security program, it sometimes takes a while to get traction because executives in smaller organizations may not immediately see how these gigantic breaches relate to their business. Consequently, one of my preferred techniques for making the case is to get the corporation counsel or municipal attorney involved from the start.

Bring lawyers and money

Lawyers begin making the connections faster than the rest of the team, especially if regulatory compliance issues are involved. They quickly connect the dots between stupid mistakes, negligence, breach, forensic and regulatory investigations, fines, public embarrassment and the inevitable litigation. In most organizations, the lawyers tend to be highly regarded and they can see the whole movie playing in their head. They instinctively know that they wont be playing the part of the hero unless they get the show going so they do a pretty good job of rallying the troops.

In one organization for which I developed a comprehensive policy, the process took several months of collaborative work with a large committee of stakeholders that included board members, management, HR, attorneys and staff. The discussions sometimes became contentious, but the team approach was worth the effort because everyone was invested in the final product. It took the organization two years to fully implement the policy and when the first periodic risk assessment came due, one of the Directors said you mean to tell me that this is going to cost money?

Yeah, it costs money; but it costs a hell of a lot less money than a breach.

You might appreciate my video on Equifax breach:
As they move from corporate R&D labs to public streets and highways, self-driving vehicles are getting a lot of attention. Industry observers love to talk about the potential of these futuristic cars and trucks to transform the way we move people, products and materials from one place to another. But theres one thing some commentators may be missing when they talk about autonomous vehicles (AVs) being the next big thing. AVs have actually been with us for decades, operating efficiently in many industries.

Just ask the folks at Caterpillar, the company that introduced the industrial world to autonomous vehicles in 1996.[1} That legacy continues today in the Caterpillar autonomous mining program, which is working to take the driver out of the companys Cat 793F mining trucks.

With a 240-ton payload capacity, Cat 793F mining trucks are built for the demands of hauling copper, coal, gold, iron ore and overburden on rugged mining sites in remote areas  with or without an operator in the cab. The trucks are guided by the Cat MineStar System, which functions as the brains of the autonomous system. Cat MineStar software manages how each truck goes to each loader, where it takes the material to, and how it avoids other trucks on the site.

And this is where high performance computing (HPC) enters the picture. Caterpillars autonomous mining program generates an enormous amount of data and the corresponding need for HPC systems to mine through all that data. For this piece of the autonomous mining puzzle, Caterpillar leverages an Intel-based HPC system from Dell EMC to accelerate time to insights about product issues and optimization opportunities.

Once you take the people out of the system, you still have to keep track of any issues that might arise on the trucks, says Thomas McCauley, an engineering manager with the Caterpillar autonomous mining program. Each truck has its own log, and we download that back to our main database. Then we use HPC to mine through that data to make sure everything is going well and as designed. And if it isnt, HPC gives us the opportunity to dig into that data to find out what could be optimized, so we can address it faster.[2]

A world with millions of AVs

Now take this big-data story and multiply it times millions of new autonomous vehicles that are coming our way soon. By 2035, more than 12 million fully autonomous vehicles are expected to be sold per year, and autos with AV features are expected to make up 25 percent of the global market, according to a study conducted by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in collaboration with the World Economic Forum.[3] Each of these AVs will produce a flood of data that will need to be processed and analyzed.

A single self-driving car, for example, will generate an average of 4 terabytes of data per day, according to Intel, which is investing heavily in the enabling technologies for AVs.[4] To process this data deluge in real time, autonomous vehicles require HPC systems on board to enable the vehicle to make spilt-second decisions, as well as in connected cloud data centers that run analytics on the constant stream of bits and bytes.

Autonomous vehicles are the equivalent of supercomputers rolling down the highway, generating and transmitting a mind-boggling volume of data, notes Data Center Frontier founder Rich Miller in a blog post on the data generated by AVs.[5]

Data is truly the new currency of the automotive world, writes Intel chief executive officer Brian Krzanich in an online editorial. Its not enough just to capture the data. We have to turn the data into an actionable set of insights to get the full value out of it. To do that requires an end-to-end computing solution from the car through the network and to the cloud  and strong connectivity.

To make a big-data problem even bigger, consider this: Its not just cars that we are talking about. Autonomous vehicles are on the job today in a wide range of commercial settings, from manufacturing plants and industrial sites to warehouses and distribution centers, and soon we will have fleets of self-driving trucks on our highways. Each of these vehicles generates a huge amount of data  and the corresponding need for HPC systems.

Democratizing HPC

Theres an important backstory here. As AVs become ubiquitous, they are going to require the data processing power of ubiquitous HPC systems. And this is yet another reason why HPC systems are heading into the mainstream. HPC systems now need to be everywhere  from the data centers that support AVs to the mining sites and manufacturing floors of the industrial world, and from the trading desks of financial service companies to the design shops of digital content creators. Were talking about the democratization of HPC.

To enable this new era in which HPC is everywhere, technology companies are working to deliver mainstream HPC solutions that are easy to order, easy to deploy and easy to manage. These offerings, which include preconfigured and bundled solutions, help all sizes of organizations move beyond the historical barriers to HPC deployments  including the complexity of designing, configuring and ordering systems and the lack of off-the-shelf systems designed and tuned for HPC applications.

Take, for example, the Dell EMC Ready Bundle for HPC. It helps organizations meet their HPC needs with domain-specific designs that are built on tested and validated industry-standard building blocks, and all backed by a single point of contact for services and support. Thats a far cry from the complex HPC systems of the past, which required armies of engineers for system design and configuration, along with specialists for ongoing management and support.

Ultimately, while there are many unknowns about the transition to a world filled with autonomous vehicles, there is one thing we can be sure of: We are entering an era in which artificial intelligence (AI) will drive our vehicles, and HPC will drive the AI.

For a closer look at Caterpillars autonomous mining program, read the case study Cat trucks get the job done with the help of an HPC cluster from Dell EMC.





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Making a difference with HPC

High performance computing touches virtually every aspect of our lives. HPC is making weather forecasts more accurate, cancer therapies more precise, fraud protection more foolproof and products more efficient. In this series of articles, we explore these and other use cases that capitalize on HPC and its convergence with data analytics to illustrate why HPC matters to all of us.

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[1]Caterpillar Facts Sheet Q4 2016.

[2]Dell EMC case study, Autonomous Mining: Cat trucks get the job done with the help of an HPC cluster from Dell EMC, August 2017.

[3]Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Autonomous Vehicle Adoption Study, January 2015.

[4]Intel CEO Brian Krzanich, Data is the New Oil in the Future of Automated Driving, November 15, 2016.

[5]Rich Miller, Data Center Frontier, Autonomous Cars Could Drive a Deluge of Data Center Demand, May 24, 2017.
French fur trappers reported in the sixteenth century that the St. Lawrence River freezes hard in the winter. Youd think that word might have filtered through to Washington by now. But the U.S. Navy sent one of its newest warships, the USS Little Rock, to Montreal in Decemberwhere it now sits trapped in thick ice, probably until mid-March, marking an inauspicious beginning of a new year for a sea service coming off a horrendous 2017. Indeed, news of the Little Rocks humiliation arrived with word that the Navy has referred the commanding officers of two destroyers involved in fatal high-seas collisions last summer for prosecution on charges including criminal negligence.

That nimble ships like the USS Fitzgerald and USS John S. McCain could be run down at sea by lumbering cargo vessels three times their sizethe McCain in broad daylightis outrageous. Seventeen sailors died in these collisions, which occurred within weeks of one another and followed other, nonfatal accidents involving warships homeported at Yokosuka, Japan. The Navy subsequently termed the Fitzgerald and McCain incidents as avoidablea substantial understatement, given the circumstancesand began a disciplinary process that turned the Seventh Fleets command structure on its head. Dozens of officers and senior enlisted personnel have been relieved of their duties. Most recently, the admiral in charge of the sea services entire surface operation was fired.

Whether all this will change anything remains to be seen. The accidents revealed a maritime service so dysfunctional that it seems unable to get out of its own way, let alone to execute its duties in an increasingly threatening world. One negative official report, however scathing, plus a few high-stakes courtroom dramas wont fix that.

Defense Secretary James Mattis seems to have embarked on a clean sweep-down of the Navy, a fighting force capable of great things but institutionally underfunded, operationally overextended andduring the Obama administrationfixated on policies that stressed gender integration and other progressive goals at the expense of basic seamanship. Obama administration Navy Secretary Ray Mabuss efforts to bend 240 years of naval tradition to contemporary social-justice goals were enormously disruptive to an institution heavily dependent on cultural continuity. His insistence that women be integrated into Marine Corps infantry units augurs tragic consequences (unless the Trump administration reverses the policy). Mabuss obsessions distracted from the business at hand: tending to Americas maritime security needs by dealing directly with the debilitating effects of more than a decade of low-intensity but costly warfare, budget sequestrations, and a resultant decline in preparedness and operational efficiency.

Retired admiral James O. Ellis, writing last month for the Hoover Institution, summed up the consequences succinctly, if bloodlessly: The Navy has often found itself in a downward trend of extended deployments and training and maintenance reductions which have contributed to mishaps, material casualties, readiness failings, and, in turn, further shortfalls. Among the shortfalls, of course, must be counted the Fitzgerald and McCain collisions. Both incidents, the Navy admits, were driven by heavy operational demands that resulted in inadequate crew training and incompetent seamanship. With only 275 ships in commissionfar short of the 355 it deems necessarythe Navy has been hard-pressed to meet the challenges posed by an expanding Chinese fleet and an increasingly provocative Russian maritime service.

Over the past 25 years the number of ships in our Navy decreased by nearly half, writes retired admiral Gary Roughead, a former chief of naval operations. Although the fleet is significantly smaller, the expectation remains for the Navy to be present in areas of strategic importance, to project power when prompt, assured access to land bases is problematic, and to persistently defend our interests and those of our allies and partners. Today, that means twice the percentage of the fleet is deployed than was at the height of the Cold War.

That would be a formidable challenge under any circumstances, but the Navys continuing inability to control ship-construction costs contributes substantially to its problems. Some of this may be the price of maintaining maritime supremacy in the twenty-first centuryan imperative, as China seeks to turn the South China Sea into its own lakebut the Navy needs self-discipline if it is going to build an adequate fleet.

Meantime, the human costs of an undersized fleet continue to grow. Fewer ships mean longer deployments, leading to high-profile accidents caused by inadequate training and poor leadership. Unreasonably long cruises also depress crew morale and exacerbate personnel-retention problems. The Navy has waived physical fitness standards for tens of thousands of sailors. Operationally, the consequences have ranged from the bizarre (a captain ordering a sailor to be confined on bread and water) to the sadly predictable (a black sailor fabricating a hate crime, whereupon an aircraft carriers entire crew was lectured on racism), to the tragicfatal drug overdoses at a West Coast naval base and an onboard suicide at Naval Submarine Base New London. How many marriages have been torn asunder from extended deployments can only be guessed at.

Retired captain Kevin Eyer, who commanded the cruisers Shiloh and Chancellorsville, has doubts about the basic competence of the average sailor. Navigation and seamanship, these are the fundamental capabilities which every surface warfare officer should have, he writes, but I suspect if called to war, well be required to do a lot more than safely navigate the Singapore strait, where the McCain collision occurred. If our surface forces are unable to successfully execute these fundamental blocking and tackling tasks, how can it possibly be expected that they are also able to do the much more complex warfighting tasks?

The need for accountabilityand simple justicedemand that specific responsibility for last summers collisions be assigned. Lives were lost. But getting an answer to Eyers question is even more fundamental.

Happily, the Navy now is under sound civilian leadership. Defense Secretary Mattis, a former Marine Corps general, may have difficulty marshalling the resources needed to put the sea service back on course. But there is no doubt that he grasps the urgent need for deep reform. A nation with global interests, America has always needed a strong navy. It still does.

U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Joshua Fulton/U.S. Navy via Getty Images
Oxfam has been accused of covering up the use of prostitutes by senior aid workers in Haiti, who were there in 2011 following an earthquake in 2010, on the front page of the Times today.

The newspaper has been leaked a confidential report from 2011 about Oxfams investigation into allegations, which said there had been a culture of impunity among staff in Haiti.

In 2011 Oxfam issued a press statement saying that an investigation had been opened, and then another announcing the departure of senior staff.

The Times says that sources told it of sex parties, with one describing it to the newspaper as like a full-on Caligula orgy.

Today Oxfam said that the behaviour was unacceptable and had led to more stringent safeguarding policies.

Last year the Times reported on other allegations of sexual exploitation at the charity. This prompted the Charity Commission to engage with the charity and tell it to improve its safeguarding arrangements.

The regulator said that it expects details of the 2011 report to be included in a review of its historic safeguarding allegations.

Big parties with prostitutes

According to The Times, after a whisleblower made allegations of bullying, harassment, intimidation of Haitian and international staff and serious sexual misconduct the charity launched an internal investigation.

After the 2010 earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Oxfam had 230 staff and a 70m budget to deliver aid to victims.

A source told The Times that: They were throwing big parties with prostitutes. These girls were wearing Oxfam T-shirts, running around half-naked, it was a like a full-on Caligula orgy. It was unbelievable. It was crazy. At one party there were at least five girls and two of them had Oxfam white t-shirts on. These men used to talk about holding young meat barbecues.

The Times was also critical of Oxfams handling of the investigaton, which was limited by a determination to keep it out of the public eye.

According to The Times, Roland van Hauwermeiren, Oxfams country director in Haiti, admitted that prostitutes had visited his villa.

He was allowed to resign in return for co-operating with the investigation, The Times said. Two others resigned and four were dismissed as part of the investigation.

Oxfam statement

Oxfam said that the behaviour of its staff in 2011 was unacceptable and that its investigation at the time had led to the creation of a safeguarding team.

In a statement the charity said: The behaviour of some members of Oxfam staff uncovered in Haiti in 2011 was totally unacceptable, contrary to our values and the high standards we expect of our staff. As soon as we became aware of the allegations we immediately launched an internal investigation.

Our primary aim was always to root out and take action against those involved and we publicly announced, including to media, both the investigation and the action we took as a result.

Four members of staff were dismissed as a result of the investigation and three, including the country director, resigned before the end of the investigation. Allegations that underage girls may have been involved were not proven.

After the investigation, we carried out a thorough review of the case which resulted in the creation of our dedicated safeguarding team and a confidential 'whistleblowing' hotline as part of a package of measures to ensure that we do all we can to protect our staff, prevent sexual abuse and misconduct happening in the first place and improve how we handle any allegations.

The charity also said that legal advice it received at the time was that if it had reported the allegations to police it was extremely unlikely that reporting these incidents to the police would lead to any action being taken.

Charity Commission statement

The Charity Commission said it expects Oxfam to provide reassurance that it had learnt lessons from the incident.

A Charity Commission spokeswoman said: Charities are rightly held to the highest standards. The public expects charities to be safe and trusted environments that safeguard those who come into contact with them. Allegations such as those involving Oxfam staff risk undermining public trust.

In August 2011, Oxfam made a report to the Commission about an ongoing internal investigation into allegations of misconduct by staff members involved in their Haiti programme. The report explained that the misconduct related to inappropriate sexual behaviour, bullying, harassment and the intimidation of staff. The report did not detail the precise allegations, nor did it make any indication of potential sexual crimes involving minors. However, the charitys internal investigation was still ongoing.

At the time, and based on the information provided, we were satisfied that the trustees were handling matters appropriately and did not have regulatory concerns. The Commission did not see a final copy of the report.

We are currently engaged with the charity regarding its approach to safeguarding following more recent allegations. As part of that, we have already asked the charity to review historic safeguarding allegations and its response to them at the time. We expect the charity to include in their review incidents that occurred in 2011. We will expect the charity to provide us with assurance that it has learnt lessons from past incidents and is taking all necessary steps to safeguard all who come into contact with it.




The Charity Commission has issued an official warning to an Islamic charity in Berkshire after finding misconduct and mismanagement in the administration of the charity.

The Commission opened an inquiry into the Islamic Trust (Maidenhead) in April 2017 after trustees failed to file documents on time, and inspected books and records. It found the charity had not made appropriate records.

The charity had already previously been part of a class inquiry into charities which failed to file documents on time.

In an inquiry report published today, the Commission concluded that the trustees did not properly discharge their duties under charity law, and in December 2017 the Commission used its official powers under the Charities Act 2016 to issue the charity with an official warning.

The warning sets out that the trustees must take all reasonable steps to ensure that future statutory returns are submitted on time.

Michelle Russell, director of investigations, monitoring and enforcement at the Commission, said: "Keeping detailed financial records and filing accounts on time is crucial to being able to evidence your charitys effectiveness to donors, beneficiaries and the regulator.

Its also necessary to show that charitable funds are being spent on legitimate causes. In this case there were clear failings in the charitys financial management and overall governance.
Work and pensions secretary Esther McVey has asked the National Audit Office (NAO) and the Charity Commission to investigate Motability after concerns were raised about its connected company.

Scrutiny over the charity began on Tuesday when the Daily Mail used figures from Motability Operations Groups accounts for 2017 on its front cover, including that it was holding 2.4bn in reserves and paying its chief executive Mike Betts 1.7m a year.

According to its website the charity, Motability, "sets the strategic policies and direction of the Motability Scheme" which provides vehicles that have been adapted for disabled people. The charity contracts Motability Operations to run the scheme.

In its initial response, the charity said the newspaper totally misunderstood what this 2.4bn of reserves represents and that Motability Operations independently decides Betts' pay based on the market for such a role.

It also disputed the Mail's assertion that the Betts' wage is publicly funded, saying Motability Operations is categorically not funded by the public purse.

Recent Charity Commission review

The Charity Commission issued a statement on Tuesday saying it recently undertook a detailed review of the charitys financial accounts and of its relationship with Motability Operations.

But the Commission said That review did not identify regulatory concerns about the charitys governance or its relationship with the commercial company.

It is not for the Commission to comment on the pay of the chief executive of a large non-charitable commercial company.

However, we have made clear to the trustees of the charity Motability that the pay of the chief executive of its commercial partner Motability Operations may be considered excessive and may raise reputational issues for the charity. These reputational issues are for the trustees to manage.

McVey: 'Commission should look again'

In the House of Commons yesterday, McVey called for the Commission's review of Motability to be reopened and asked the NAO to investigate it as well.

Speaking in response to an urgent question from Labour MP John Mann, who repeated many of the Mails assertions, McVey recognised that the charity Motability and the company Motability Operations are separate entities but said the voluntary organisation is wholly responsible for the strategic direction of the Motability scheme.

She said: In the light of the current focus on corporate governance issues and the use of public money, I have today asked the NAO to consider undertaking an investigation into this matter. I am keen for the NAO to look at how Motability is using taxpayers money.

McVey said the Charity Commission should again look into what has happened.

I would say that that review needs to start again, she said.

She also agreed with a comment from Labour MP Liz McInnes, calling for her to pay particular attention to the conduct of the trustees.

Civil Society News has asked the Commission to respond to McVey's comments but it is yet to do so.

The Work and Pensions and Treasury select committees also announced they wished to jointly scrutinise Motability bosses in Parliament on 5 March.

A spokesperson for the Work and Pensions committee told Civil Society News the bosses it wished to scrutinise included the charitys director Declan OMahony and its chair and founder Baron Sterling of Plaistow.

It also wished to question Betts and Motability Operations chair Neil Johnson.

Charity: There are inaccuracies

Yesterday evening, the Motability charity said a significant number of incorrect statements were made during the Parliamentary debate and said it would be writing to McVey and other MPs to refute every single inaccuracy.

It made three points in a statement on its website:

The 2.4bn reserves are not held by the charity. They are held by Motability Operations, an independent company which is contracted to deliver the Motability Scheme on the ground.

Motability has absolutely no role in the eligibility criteria or award of mobility allowance to disabled people. That is  and always has been  the Department for Work and Pensions role.

Motability categorically does not receive a direct grant from government for the scheme. The Motability Scheme does not rely on government, or the taxpayer, for direct funding.

Company response

Motability Operations also published a response on its website, saying it is owned by a group of UK banks and does not receive government funding.

It said its reserves of 2.4bn are not held in cash but are entirely invested in its fleet of around 630,000 cars, which provides a capital base that protects the business against risk.

Management is paid for performance, according to targets set by the board and agreed with shareholders, it added.
Nepal making Rs 1 bn annually through carbon trading

The adoption of biogas plants has come a long way in significantly reducing the dependence on forest for firewood and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).
Mental healthcare in post-Ebola Sierra Leone. Vaccine preparedness in Mozambique. A major earthquake in Nepal. Waterless toilets in Ecuador. Climate change adaptation in Morocco. Nuclear security in Kazakhstan. Water and infrastructure in Lesotho. Education disparity in Mongolia. Re-examining a conflicts origins in the Central African Republic.

These stories are years and continents apart, but they were all told by journalists who sought funding from the International Reporting Project (IRP) to make them happen.

But after two decades of supporting reporting around the world, last week IRP, where Ive worked the past four years, announced it would close its doors this month. John Schidlovsky, IRPs founder and director, summed up the reason in a note to alumni: After 20 years, the year-to-year battle to raise sufficient operating funds finally caught up with us.

Reporting fellowships have become such an integral part of the way we cover international news that its easy to forget what an innovative idea it was 20 years ago. Schidlovsky was a foreign correspondent, based principally in India and China, for The Baltimore Sun in the 1980s. But as newspapers began shuttering their foreign bureaus in the 90s, he foresaw the impending threat to international news: Africa, Asia, and Latin America, regions that were already relegated to the back pages on an average day, would recede even further from the global conversation.

He founded IRP in 1998 with the intention of filling a gap, sending journalists to tell stories from places mainstream media could no longer afford to cover in a meaningful, sustained way.

RELATED: Freelancing abroad in a world obsessed with Trump

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In the two decades since, IRPs core mission has changed little, but the foreign correspondent landscape has evolved significantly. Other reporting fellowship programs have followed, like the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting and the International Womens Media Foundation (IWMF), creating additional opportunities for journalists, and more have emerged in recent years. Today, its a fair assumption that a handful of the international stories appearing daily in major outlets around the globe are made possible by fellowships.

Weve been watching a slow, organic shift in the way international news gets made.

International journalists have benefited in recent years from the volume and variety of opportunities. But as the number of fellowship programs has increased, the number of funders has not. In this new competitive setting, something had to give.

Weve been watching a slow, organic shift in the way international news gets made. Though we find no one to blame for IRPs predicament, our perspective, straddling both the non-profit and international journalism worlds, may prove instructive to others looking ahead with trepidation.

Substance vs. flash

A paradox all non-profits face is that they are expected to spend money responsibly (the dreaded overhead remains a dirty word) but also manage public promotion of their work in order to attract potential funders. Its hard to do both.

At IRP, our mission was to pay journalists to cover under-reported stories around the world. All our program money went toward reporting fellowships, with direct results: One fellowship equaled at least one story, and often several, that would be placed in mainstream outlets around the world and seen or heard by thousands or millions of news consumers. The line from funders to IRP to journalists was a straight one, and one were proud of.

We didnt want to spend money to make money, we wanted to spend money to report.

It also hastened our demise. In order to remain competitive, we would have needed to spend a lot more money on ourselves, rather than our programs. We needed a massive website redesign, which would have set us back tens of thousands of dollars. We needed to hire several more people and brainstorm new ways to contribute to international journalism. We needed to buy expensive plane tickets and hotel stays to attend the conferences our peers and potential funders were attending. We needed to host events featuring our alumni, flying speakers in from distant destinations and printing glossy promotional material, to create more opportunities for people to hear about our accomplishments.

In short, we didnt want to spend money to make money, we wanted to spend money to report.

A growing dependence on direct philanthropy

Twenty years ago the idea of reporting fellowships was the next big thing. Today, were already several years into a new phase of philanthropic intervention: direct support of news outlets.

Direct support used to raise eyebrows over ethical concerns. In fact, one of the reasons the fellowship model works so well is that the non-profit organizations accepting the funding can act as a buffer between the funder and the journalist or publisher. But as noted by Dr. Martin Scott, a professor of media and international development at the University of East Anglia in the UK, since 2009, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation alone has made grants of at least $1 million to The Guardian, NPR, Al Jazeera, PBSs Newshour, PRI, and others to support international public service journalism. Plenty of other foundations now contribute directly to some of our most-read news sources.

The result may be rendering intermediaries like IRP obsolete: You dont need individual stories pre-paid by fellowships if your budget is already being covered by a grant.

Gates was IRPs primary funder for more than a decade, enabling hundreds of stories, many of which would eventually end up in the above-mentioned outlets, but with that extra layer of distance enshrined in the fellowship. The Foundation ended its support for us in 2016, and it appears that its direct funding of news outlets is going strong. Just last week, both Bright Magazine and Africa Check publicized their 2018 Gates funding.

However, concerns about news outlets taking money directly from funders remain. A new report from the Charles H. Revson Foundation makes the case for philanthropic support of journalism, though its focus is on local news in the US. The report quotes an editor at a major non-profit news organization who argued that the danger of foundation support was its fickle nature, often changing gears unexpectedly in accordance with a foundations own internal restructuring: Non-profit models come into being, philanthropy supports them, theyre the flavor of the month, then the philanthropists move on and the journalism isnt sustainable without that support.

A 2017 paper by the NYU media professor Rodney Benson similarly asks whether foundations could solve the journalism crisis. In an interview with Nieman Lab, Benson articulated the most common concern about philanthropic intervention:

A lot of people who work in foundations are very conscientious, but they have tremendous power and theres very little oversight of that. Theres very little reporting on the philanthropic world. Yet this sector is growing; its power and scope are growing. We treat it as if its this unalloyed kind of good, but its more complex than that.

To distinguish between optics and tangible conflicts, well have to keep watching.

Outsized influence

A handful of familiar namesMacArthur, Ford, Omidyar, Knight, Carnegie, Gateshave become synonymous with non-profit journalism, presenting another concern: The voices of a few are dominating the entire journalism landscape. (Disclosure: You can see CJRs major funders here.)

Observers worry this pervasive presence will tailor media coverage to funders agendas, even unintentionally. There is already a coziness between funders and grantees, given the natural alignment between what foundations advocate for and the issues non-profit journalism deems important.

These fuzzy ethics have already led to thoughtful assessments. Scott, the East Anglia professor, has been working with colleagues to investigate what he calls humanitarian journalismwhich is typical of the journalism IRP has supported. His research probed the subtle influences donor funding may have on the independence, role perceptions, and ideology of the journalism it supports. In a case study of IRIN, for example, he found that donor power operated entirely indirectly and always in concert with the dominant professional values within IRIN, while cautioning that contextual variables in the journalistdonor relationship warrant scrutiny of all such relationships. The Revson report, too, argued that foundation support for journalismhas been focusedon deepening coverage of particular issues in lieu of others, a version of influence.

Part of my job, organizing IRPs group reporting trips, was to meet with local NGOs to see what projects might be of interest to foreign reporters. Because of the Gates Foundations expansive contributions to health and development causes around the world, I learned early on that it would be impossible to avoid projects that were being funded by Gates (and avoidance would be its own form of bias). Everyone was funded by Gates.

While we were careful to mitigate any influence, all too often we enabled a bunch of Gates-funded journalism fellows to report on a bunch of Gates-funded projects around the world, taking quotes from employees whose paychecks were dependent on Gates.

The underlying point is that were not just on the cusp of upending the way international news is made and paid forwere already there. And maybe it doesnt have to be bad. The more were aware of it and open about it, the more we can work to proceed with integrity.

The (temporary?) empathy gap

Last week in CJR, Yardena Schwartz addressed a growing concern among freelancers that, in the Trump era, deeply reported international news is a harder sell than ever. This squares with my experience; I lost count of the number of IRP fellows who dejectedly relayed that an editor had told them they had no space for a piece that didnt include a Trump angle.

It would be tempting to take comfort in the renewed energy, starting in November 2016, for a robust and independent press in the United States. Unfortunately, that enthusiasm did not extend to international news. Instead, funders re-aligned their focus on other worthy causes, including news literacy, media credibility and strengthened local news. But in the rush to triage what we suddenly realized was broken at home, international stories became an afterthought.

Im optimistic its not a permanent state. Weve never been particularly good at balancing domestic political news with important stories from the rest of the world, but I also dont think were doomed to be glued to the White House indefinitely. The collective passion of those who care about people and places around the globe will eventually remind funders and consumers that we are capable of learning about more than one thing at a time. Lets just hope this doesnt in the meantime lead to more non-profits losing their international news funding.

In defense of foreign correspondence

Theres one more shift thats happened in international journalism in recent years, and its primarily a good one: Were pushing back against parachute journalism and deepening support for local coverage of local issues.

This is great. It translates into more respect for fixers and for the talents of our peers in the foreign press. And its an acknowledgement that outsiders can miss key context and cultural understanding. But I hope we dont choose this moment to turn away from the world and from each other. With post-Brexit, anti-globalist rhetoric swirling around us, we need to continue pushing to spend time in each others worlds.

I would never paint IRP as a practitioner of parachute journalism, but its true that our fellows spend as little as 10 days in the country of their fellowship, with others remaining for several months at a time. Its never enough. But one of the most satisfying side effects of a reporting fellowship is that a journalist, almost unfailingly, after spending this short amount of time on the ground, will remain captivated by that country for the rest of their career. To take one small example, a year after the Nepal earthquake, which some IRP fellows had experienced firsthand as we carried out a group reporting trip, several of the journalists from that trip returned of their own volition to see the rebuilding efforts and check in with sources theyd met.

And though the majority of our fellows have been American, weve had the opportunity to support an incredible diversity of cultural exchange: Weve sent Kenyan journalists to Morocco, French journalists to Madagascar, Argentinian journalists to Senegal, Indian journalists to Uganda, and so on.

Until the day when such destinations are more accessible, we have journalists who are eager to visit these places and tell three-dimensional stories about them, so that, with time and education, the misleading and simplistic narratives that are so prevalent fall away, replaced with something messier, but more truthful.

We must figure out a way to pay for it.

RELATED: Newspapers deepen embrace of philanthropy

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Glendora Meikle is the deputy director of the International Reporting Project (IRP).
Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo remain in prison in Myanmar nearly two months after their arrest, but the story they were working on has been published, and it is an incredible piece of journalism. The investigation, co-written with Simon Lewis and Antoni Slodkowski, pieces together what happened in the in the village of Inn Din in the days leading up to the massacre of 10 Rohingya Muslim men by Buddhist villagers, Burmese soldiers, and paramilitary police.

Myanmars Rakhine state has been wracked by violence over the past six months, with more than half a million Rohingya citizens fleeing the country in what the US State Department calls ethnic cleansing. Myanmars government, led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi has claimed that any killings were in response to terrorist actions by the Rohingya, and that Muslim citizens have burned their own villages. The Reuters report marks the first time that Buddhist villagers have confessed to burning homes and killing Muslims. It also marks the first time soldiers and paramilitary police have been implicated by testimony from security personnel themselves.

The published investigation includes a harrowing photograph of the 10 victims, lined up on their knee with hands behind their heads, and included a brief description of each mans life. The dead men were fishermen, shopkeepers, the two teenage students, and an Islamic teacher, the authors write. At least two were hacked to death by Buddhist villagers. The rest were shot by Myanmar troops.

RELATED: Freelancing abroad in a world obsessed with Trump

On December 12 of last year Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, who are Burmese citizens, were arrested under Myanmars Official Secrets Act and charged with possessing secret documents. Despite international outrage, they remain detained and have been denied bail. Their arrest only adds weight to their remarkable investigation.

We believe this is a story of vast global importance and that we had a responsibility to publish it. It is a credit to our journalists that, with sources among both perpetrators and witnesses, they pieced together this groundbreaking report of a gruesome mass execution, Stephen J. Adler, President and Editor in Chief of Reuters told CJR in a statement. (Adler is also a CJR board member.)

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Part of what makes this piece so powerful is the admission of guilt by those involved. The investigation closes with the words of a Buddhist elder in Inn Din, who tells Reuters he chose to share evidence of the killings because, I want to be transparent on this case. I dont want it to happen like that in future.

Below, more on the investigation and the crisis in Myanmar.

Already having an impact: Following the publication of the report, the US State Department called for an independent, credible investigation into the killings. Asked about the investigation, a Burmese government spokesman said, We are not denying the allegations about violations of human rights. And we are not giving blanket denials.

Following the publication of the report, the US State Department called for an independent, credible investigation into the killings. Asked about the investigation, a Burmese government spokesman said, We are not denying the allegations about violations of human rights. And we are not giving blanket denials. Two book lovers dedicated to their craft: A week after Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were arrested, CJR co-published dual profiles of the journalists.

A week after Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were arrested, CJR co-published dual profiles of the journalists. Erasing history: The New York Timess Hannah Beech looks at how Myanmars government denied the very existence of its minority population by embracing a newly in vogue phrase. There is no such thing as Rohingya, U Kyaw San Hla, an officer in Rakhines state security ministry said in December. It is fake news.

The New York Timess Hannah Beech looks at how Myanmars government denied the very existence of its minority population by embracing a newly in vogue phrase. There is no such thing as Rohingya, U Kyaw San Hla, an officer in Rakhines state security ministry said in December. It is fake news. Get caught up: Last month, the BBC published an overview of the refugee crisis and violence in Myanmar.

Last month, the BBC published an overview of the refugee crisis and violence in Myanmar. Reporting on the victims: The New York Timess Jeffrey Gettleman collected accounts of atrocities from Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. He called one of the conversations the worst interview of my life.

Other notable stories

ICYMI: FBI text bombshells demonstrate parallel media worlds

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

Pete Vernon is a former CJR staff writer. Follow him on Twitter @ByPeteVernon.
A Vermont man accused by family members of killing his millionaire grandfather and possibly his mother said several of his relatives are being driven by malice and greed and are spreading lies about him.

Nathan Carman has been called a suspect in the 2013 shooting death of 87-year-old real estate developer John Chakalos in Windsor, Connecticut. No one has been arrested. He also has been questioned about the day his boat sank with his mother, Linda Carman, aboard near Rhode Island in 2016. She is presumed dead. He was rescued a week later, after being found floating on a life raft in the Atlantic Ocean.

Carman, who lives in Vernon, Vermont, has denied any involvement in either case.

In July, his mothers three sisters filed a lawsuit in New Hampshire accusing him of killing Chakalos and possibly his mother. They have asked a judge to block him from collecting money from his grandfathers estate. Chakalos left more than $29 million to his four daughters, and $7 million of that money could go to Nathan Carman.

I did not kill my grandfather or my mother, nor did I engage in the violent behavior in my childhood that has been reported, Carman said in statement released Wednesday.

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, he said.

Carman spoke for one of the first times since the lawsuit linking him to the disappearance of his grandfather and mother was filed. Beyond the comments in his one-page statement sent to The Associated Press, Carman refused to answer any questions.

Dan Small, an attorney representing the sisters, accused Carman of being fixated on money and said the Chakalos family only wanted justice.

Small said in a statement the family has made it clear that if they win the case, the proceeds that Linda would receive would be donated to charity in her name.

Carman said he was also firing his two attorneys in the New Hampshire case, Hubert Santos and Richard Thorner. He accused them of lacking basic competence and the time needed to devote the case. He also said he was worried they could not ensure the best outcome.

Carman said he would represent himself until he finds new attorneys.

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.

Santos law offices confirmed he is no longer involved in Carmans case in New Hampshire, nor the criminal investigation in Connecticut into the death of Carmans grandfather. Thorner did not respond to requests for comment.

Carman is fighting several legal battles. Along with the New Hampshire case, Carman and the insurer for his boat, the Chicken Pox, are fighting over his insurance claim in a Rhode Island court.

In December, National Liability & Fire Insurance asked a federal judge to force Carman to discuss what happened to a missing Sig Sauer .308-caliber semi-automatic rifle that he owned and matches the caliber used to kill his grandfather. Carman must also turn over 2016 phone records from Sept. 1 through Sept. 25, the day he was rescued.

The insurance company is seeking to avoid payment on an $85,000 policy for the boat Carman was on when he and his mother went missing at sea.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Zurich Insurance Group AG overcame a record year for natural-disaster claims in the industry to deliver its first dividend increase since 2011. The shares rose the most since August 2016.

Switzerlands biggest insurer raised its dividend for 2017 by 6 percent to 18 Swiss francs ($19.10) a share, after signaling higher investor payouts in November. This will now become the new floor for payouts, Chief Executive Officer Mario Greco said in a Bloomberg TV interview Thursday. Zurich Insurance also announced a share buyback of roughly $1 billion.

When Greco took over as CEO almost two years ago, he pledged to simplify the insurer, slash costs and improve shareholder returns. Now his overhaul is bearing fruit with almost half the planned cost savings for 2019 achieved.

We are progressing steadily on every target we announced, Greco said in the interview. Of course our ambition is to exceed the targets, not just to deliver on them.

Despite the measures to increase profitability, full-year net income dropped 6 percent to $3 billion. That beat the average analyst estimate of $2.58 billion.

Zurich has been looking outside Europe for growth, acquiring the life-insurance business of Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. in December. The company then signaled possible higher dividend payments to investors because the deal will be earnings-accretive from the start. Other purchases included the life unit of Macquarie Group and Australian travel insurer Cover-More.

Analysts had expected a dividend of 17.90 francs, according to the Bloomberg Dividend Forecast. Commenting on the new floor for shareholder payouts, Greco said hes confident we will be able over time to move it further.

Business operating profit at the property and casualty unit, Zurichs main business, dropped by $892 million to $1.5 billion, heavily affected by catastrophe losses  in particular hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria.

These are some of the other highlights from Zurich Insurances annual earnings:

Full-year business operating profit $3.8 billion vs $4.5 billion.

$700 million savings achieved to date.

Combined ratio was 100.9 percent.

$700 million losses from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria.

Copyright 2021 Bloomberg.
A South Carolina lawmaker wants to fine rail companies that dont implement a safety system investigators say could have prevented a deadly weekend crash, complaining that delays and extensions have dragged on for a decade.

A bill proposed Wednesday by state Sen. Marlon Kimpson would levy fines of at least $2,500 per month against rail companies that dont have positive train control systems installed by the end of this year, in compliance with a current federal deadline.

Unless they have some incentive to complete the project, they have every incentive to delay, Kimpson said.

A decade ago, Congress passed a law requiring railroads to adopt the technology on all tracks that carry passenger trains. A requirement for liquid-hauling freight trains was prompted by a 2005 train wreck in Graniteville, South Carolina, in which nine people were killed and more than 250 were treated for exposure to gases from a toxic chlorine spill.

Intended to prevent trains from colliding or derailing, the positive train control system 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.

National Transportation Safety Board investigators have said the system could have helped prevent an Amtrak passenger train from slamming into a CSX Corp. freight train parked on a siding early Sunday. The Amtrak conductor and engineer were killed in the crash near Cayce, South Carolina, and more than 100 passengers were injured.

Railroads were initially given seven years to start using the technology across the countrys 20,000 locomotives and 60,000 miles (100,000 kilometers) 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.

Both industry experts and rail companies have attributed implementation delays to costs and the sheer size of the nations rail system.

Kimpson, who worked on cases associated with the Graniteville crash, said that its past time to act, before another catastrophe.

I just want to move swiftly and act expeditiously, he said.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Olis foreign policy dilemma

With India reaching out to Oli, it is now up to the CPN-UML Chairman to reciprocate appropriately
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in San Francisco this week promoting the Canadian tech scene, and he's getting face time with some of the biggest players in the industry.

Trudeau landed meetings with Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, Amazon's Jeff Bezos and eBay's Devin Wenig, as well as Robert Bradway, the head of biotech company Amgen.

On Thursday, Trudeau toured the headquarters of cloud software company AppDirect and met with some employees. He then took questions from reporters and was asked about Toronto's bid for Amazon's second headquarters, dubbed HQ2.

"Any investment in Canada would be a great thing and obviously it would be a significant boon for anyone who got it," Trudeau said. "I certainly hope we get the HQ2 hub."

Last month, Amazon narrowed the list of potential HQ2 locations to 20, and Toronto was the only city outside of the U.S. to make the next round.
CNS Harbin DDG-112 frigate fires a missile during live-fire drill on Yellow Sea on July 2, 2015 in Qingdao, Shandong Province of China.

China is developing sea-based anti-missile systems and plans to deploy them in the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean, according to military experts.

The assessment came as Beijing announced it had carried out a successful test of its ground-based mid-course defence system on Monday.

Testing of the anti-ballistic missile system that could shield China from a ballistic missile attack is part of efforts to catch up with the top nuclear nations with anti-missile technology, the United States and Russia. China previously carried out tests of the system in 2010 and 2013.

Beijing is also working on a sea-based system for the Asia-Pacific region to breach the cold war era line of containment, according to observers. The "first island chain" is a series of archipelagos lying between China and the world's largest ocean that Beijing says has been used by the United States as a natural barrier to contain it since the cold war.

"China's sea-based anti-missile system aims to defend both its territory and overseas interests, because sea-based defence systems will be set up wherever its warships can go," said Song Zhongping, a military commentator on Phoenix Television. "The first area it will target is the Asia-Pacific region and the Indian Ocean to protect its overseas interests."

More from the South China Morning Post :

US lawmakers to clash with Donald Trump as they push closer South Korea ties and he 'wants North Korea strike'

China can lead world again in green bond issuance if credit restrictions loosen, global standards body says

China formulates new policies for autonomous cars in bid to catch up to US

China has been trying to build up a blue-water navy that can operate globally and safeguard its maritime interests. Observers have said Beijing plans to have four aircraft carrier battle groups in service by 2030. And with three-quarters of its oil imports passing through the Indian Ocean or Strait of Malacca, Beijing is looking to boost maritime defence.

"With the US and other countries taking on the Indo-Pacific strategy to counter China, Beijing will definitely deploy anti-missile systems in these areas in response," said Song, a former member of the People's Liberation Army's Second Artillery Corps.

Macau-based military expert Antony Wong Dong said China had developed a new generation sea-based HQ-26 anti-missile system with an ultra long-range 3,500km cruise missile. The system is expected to be installed on the country's biggest destroyer, the Type 055, which has a maximum displacement of 13,500 tonnes.

Beijing-based naval expert Li Jie said sea-based mid-course interceptors were designed to destroy enemy warheads in space, which is not covered by international law.

The latest mid-course anti-missile test was conducted amid simmering tensions over North Korea's nuclear ambitions and rising concerns about India's growing missile capabilities. Military analyst Zhou Chenming said Beijing was sending a message that they were still relatively small nuclear nations.

India successfully tested an Agni-V intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on January 18 that, with a range of 5,000km, could land a nuclear warhead almost anywhere on the Chinese mainland.

And in November, North Korea claimed to have successfully launched a Hwasong-15 ICBM with an estimated range of 13,000km  meaning it could land a nuclear warhead on the US mainland.

"China's mid-course anti-missile system is powerful enough to shoot down missiles from North Korea and India, though it's not clear whether it could intercept an ICBM from the US if they start firing at each other," Zhou said.

He added that China needed anti-missile shields to defend itself.

"The US ... owns 6,800 nuclear warheads, while China has just a few hundred  that's why Beijing needs to develop anti-missile systems for defence," Zhou said.
China's central bank said on Friday that it has released temporary liquidity worth almost 2 trillion yuan ($316.28 billion) to satisfy cash demand before the long Lunar New Year holidays.

The People's Bank of China had announced in December that it would allow some commercial banks to temporarily keep less required reserves to help them cope with the heavy demand for cash ahead of the festivities, which begin later next week.

Interbank liquidity levels will remain reasonably stable, the PBOC said on its official microblog.
The e-mail arrived in clients' inboxes shortly after the market opened on Tuesday: "LJM strategies have suffered significant losses."



LJM Partners, a Chicago-based hedge fund with about half a billion dollars in assets, pinpointed the damage on spiking volatility, a trade that has claimed more than one scalp in the last few trading days. Their mutual fund, known as the LJM Preservation and Growth Fund, collapsed by 82 percent over the last week and was closed to new capital on Wednesday.



Investors in the industry are calling LJM among the most prominent funds to fall victim to the popular "short vol trade." The trade had become profitable for many hedge funds, including LJM, whose "Preservation and Growth" fund posted positive returns every year except one since it launched in 2006, according to fund documents.



But the risk amplified this week after the CBOE Volatility Index, or VIX, more than doubled on Tuesday to the highest levels in six and a half years. The move caused an exchange-traded note called the VelocityShares Daily Inverse VIX, which was betting on continued calmness in the markets, to collapse in after-hours trading on Monday. Subsequently, Credit Suisse, which issued and managed the ETN announced that it would ultimately be liquidated. ProShares Short VIX Short-Term Futures also suffered massive declines after volatility spiked.



"Short volatility strategies, selling options and collecting premium, have been critically described as picking up dimes in front of a steamroller," wrote Don Steinbrugge, the founder and CEO of Agecroft Partners, a hedge-fund consulting firm, in a blog post. "They generate very good risk adjusted returns until volatility spikes and then have the potential to lose most of their assets if not properly hedged."



Tuesday's client note, signed by LJM's Founder and Chairman Tony Caine, said that the portfolio management team has been hedging "with as many futures as possible to attempt to insulate portfolios from further losses." He caveated that their "ability to do so depends on market conditions and liquidity."



"Our goal is to preserve as much capital as possible," he said.



LJM did not respond to multiple requests for comment.



The firm sent a note last Friday, describing the specific aspects of their portfolio that created losses in the month of January  before the market turmoil of this past week. Even still, rumblings in volatility during just the first month of the year caused losses in each of their three strategies.



"A rapidly rising market coupled with volatility at this magnitude is a rare market occurrence and is particularly challenging to the LJM strategy," the firm wrote to clients, according to a letter reviewed by CNBC. "Since the LJM strategies provide exposure to volatility, the strongest headwind came from the sharp rise in volatility and accounted for most of our losses in January."
Parties select PP leader

CPN-UML politburo member and former minister Yam Lal Kandel has been unanimously elected the Parliamentary Party (PP) leader of Province 6.
Airlines did not sign any major deals to purchase new planes this week during the largest airshow in Asia  but aircraft manufacturers struck an optimistic tone.

The Singapore Airshow, which bills itself as "Asia's largest aerospace and defense event," continues through Sunday, but the event so far hasn't lived up to the usual role of hosting major deal announcements.

That is, the likes of Boeing and Airbus use airshows around the world to pen crucial agreements with airlines. But, as of Feb. 8, Singapore's show had only seen one commercial aircraft deal signed: Italian turboprop maker ATR said it agreed to sell four planes to Bangkok Airways.

Still, plane makers attending the annual event said they were confident that rising demand for air travel in Asia Pacific would keep their order books full for new planes in coming years.

With growing disposable income and more affordable plane fares, air travel is expected to nearly double globally in the next 20 years. The International Air Transport Association, a trade body representing airlines, predicted that in 2036, about 7.8 billion passengers would travel by air, compared to last year's expected 4 billion travelers. Most of that demand, according to IATA, would come from the Asia Pacific region.

To keep pace with that demand, airlines are likely to add new planes to their existing fleets and spend more on maintenance, repair and operations  a decision that would benefit plane makers like Boeing and Airbus.

"If you look at all the future orders, around 40 percent of the new aircraft orders are coming from airlines in Asia," Andrew Herdman, director general of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines, told CNBC. "Airbus and Boeing have understood this clearly."
President Donald Trump still has confidence in his chief of staff, John Kelly, despite Kelly's initial full-throated defense of now former top aide Rob Porter, who is accused of domestic abuse, a White House spokesman said Thursday.

"Yes, the president has confidence in his chief of staff, [legal] counsel and communications director," said spokesman Raj Shah.

In addition to Kelly's defense of Porter, Politico reported that an ex-girlfriend of Porter's had told White House counsel Don McGahn recently about the claims of abuse by his two ex-wives.

And White House communications director Hope Hicks, who is reportedly dating Porter, was said to have been involved in crafting the administration's response to the first articles detailing his alleged mistreatment of the women.

Shah refused to say how much Kelly  or other administration officials  knew about allegations that Porter had physically and verbally abused both ex-wives before Porter resigned as Trump's staff secretary Wednesday, even as he denied the claims.

"I'm not going to get into specifics" about when people knew certain things, Shah said.

Kelly faced heavy criticism Wednesday and Thursday for unreservedly backing Porter before he quit and for reportedly urging him to stay on "and fight" in the face of the allegations.

Shah said Kelly, who was Porter's immediate superior, only became "fully aware" of the scope of those "serious and disturbing" claims Wednesday, when the Daily Mail published photos of one of his ex-wives with a black eye that she said Porter gave her.

Kelly, who last fall had bemoaned a culture that no longer held women to be "sacred" like when he was a child, on Thursday said that he was "shocked by the new allegations."

But Kelly also said he stood by "my previous comments of the Rob Porter that I have come to know ... and believe every individual deserves the right to defend their reputation."

Trump told Shah on Thursday that "he was very saddened by" the situation "and the images he saw," the spokesman said.

'He was surprised," Shah said. "Like many of us, he did not see that in Rob Porter."

"We do take violence against women very seriously," Shah said.

He also said that Porter was no longer working at the White House despite Trump's press secretary on Wednesday indicating the 40-year-old Harvard grad and Rhodes scholar would not be immediately leaving.

During a press briefing, Shah revealed that Porter had been operating under a temporary security clearance that was granted as a full security background check was being conducted and that was still in effect at the time of his resignation.

"Rob Porter was never denied a security clearance; he never received any special treatment," Shah said.

The question of Porter's security status was raised after the Daily Mail noted that the FBI, which was conducting that background check, had been told by his ex-wives that he had abused them and been the subject of a protective order filed by one of them.

As staff secretary, Porter was responsible for vetting documents  some of them classified  before they were placed on Trump's desk.

Shah said that sometimes in background checks "some information arises that seems troubling or complicated" but that that check then continues while investigators look into both the claims and any denials of the claims.

Shah said Trump had not been aware of the fact that Porter had only a temporary security clearance.

The spokesman also said that Hicks had partially recused herself from "some matters" in White House responses to the scandal as it broke over the past several days.

And, referring to the White House's handling of the situation, which had initially included fulsome praise for Porter from press secretary Sarah Sanders, Shah said, "I think it's fair to say that we could have all done better over the last few days."

Shah said the initial White House response to claims that Porter had abused his wives "reflected the Rob Porter we have known."

"All the emerging reports were not reflective of the individual that we've come to know," Shah said.

On Tuesday night, the Daily Mail published a bombshell story quoting Porter's second wife, Jennifer Willoughby, at length about his allegedly abusive nature.

Willoughby said Porter called her a "f---ing b----" on their honeymoon in 2009.

She said she sought therapy shortly after they wed because of Porter's anger issues, which escalated in late 2010 when he dragged her naked and wet out of a shower after an argument.

Before that, she had filed a protective order against him in June 2010 because he allegedly violated a separation agreement and refused to leave their apartment when she asked him to do so.

According to police records, Porter punched the glass on a door at their home during that incident.

Porter told the Daily Mail that the allegations "are slanderous and simply false."

Kelly, in a statement to the Daily Mail for that story, had said, "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."

And Sanders, the White House press secretary, said in that story, "'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," Sanders said.

The next day, Porter's first wife, Colbie Holderness, was quoted in a new Daily Mail story that contained pictures of her bruised face.

Holderness said Porter became physically abusive on their honeymoon in 2003, when he kicked her after becoming frustrated that they were not having sex.

She said the abuse escalated, and at times 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."

During a visit to Italy, she said, he punched her in the face.
Hundreds of thousands of workers would not go into work Friday if a shutdown takes place through the start of the day. Others would have to work without getting paid at first. A government shutdown is only partial  functions like the postal service and Social Security checks would continue.

Some government agencies will run out of money and have to furlough workers if Congress lets funding lapse. A shutdown would be the second in less than a month.

Earlier, the Trump administration instructed federal agencies to get ready for a possible government shutdown. An Office of Management and Budget official said the office was preparing for funding to lapse. The Trump administration supports the massive bipartisan budget deal working its way through Congress and wants lawmakers to pass it, the official said.

Bipartisan Senate leaders pushed for quick passage of the deal Thursday before the midnight deadline. But Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., repeatedly blocked efforts to move forward with the measure, arguing that it would recklessly increase spending.

Another U.S. government shutdown is imminent as the Senate recesses until early Friday morning without passing a major budget agreement.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) arrives to talk to the media following the Republicans weekly policy luncheon on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., December 12, 2017.

The National Treasury Employees Union, a major labor union for federal agency workers, said in a statement that agencies will notify employees if they get furloughed during a shutdown. The union will work with lawmakers to make sure employees get paid if they have to work during the shutdown, the organization said.

Senate leaders moved to vote on funding the government and setting spending levels for two years on Thursday afternoon. But Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., objected to moving toward passing the plan and railed against it on the Senate floor for hours.

"What you're seeing is recklessness trying to be passed off as bipartisanship," he said on the Senate floor.

All senators needed to support the move to hold a vote on Thursday.

Paul's opposition significantly raised the chances of a government shutdown that lasts at least a few hours. The Kentucky Republican can block the Senate from voting on the measure until early Friday morning.

Spotted leaving the Capitol shortly before 7:30 p.m, ET, McConnell said "it's up to Rand" whether the Senate worked all night, according to NBC News.

If the Senate passes the measure, it would then have to go to a skeptical House, where both fiscal conservatives and liberals have pushed back against the agreement. The chamber expects votes by roughly 6 a.m., ET.

If the House passed it, it would go to President Donald Trump's desk for his signature.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, among other lawmakers, urged Paul to allow a vote.

"The senator from Kentucky, by objecting to the unanimous consent request, will effectively shut down the federal government for no real reason," Cornyn said after one failed attempt to bring the measure to a vote.

The bill before the Senate would set up a roughly $300 billion increase in the budget caps over two years. It would pave the way to boost spending on the military and domestic programs, as well as authorize disaster relief for areas of the U.S. ravaged by natural disasters last year.

"I can't in all good honesty, in all good faith, just look the other way because my party is now complicit in the deficits," the senator said on the Senate floor.

Paul signaled that he could keep the Senate debating until early Friday morning to prove his point.

Trump, for his part, wholeheartedly backed the budget deal Wednesday after earlier in the week saying he would "love" to see a shutdown if Democrats do not get behind his immigration demands. In a tweet Wednesday, he urged Democrats and Republicans to support the agreement.

 CNBC's Ylan Mui contributed to this report
LGBT advocates in front of the U.S. Supreme Court Joshua Roberts | Reuters

Ryan Bennington and his husband have changed their anniversary plans. Bennington has been to Bermuda more than 30 times and even celebrated his 30th birthday there. He always found the people warm and welcoming. That was before Bermuda Governor John Rankin signed into law the Domestic Partnership Act, which bans same-sex marriage throughout the territory. The law, enacted Wednesday, comes less than a year after the island's Supreme Court made same-sex marriage legal in May. Bermuda is now the first jurisdiction to overturn the legalization of same-sex marriage. "It's unfortunate, but I make my voice heard through my wallet whether at home or in my travels," Bennington explained in an email. The decision has put Bermuda tourism and some major cruise lines in a difficult spot. Carnival subsidiaries Cunard and P&O Cruises are both registered in Bermuda. Regardless of where the ships are in the world, they will no longer be allowed to host same-sex marriages. Princess Cruises, also part of Carnival, has ships registered in Bermuda as well. In August, the three Carnival cruise lines said they had started taking bookings for same-sex marriages at sea. Bermuda hosted 693,000 tourists in 2017, and these visitors spent $431 million. The same-sex marriage ban will force many couples to rethink their travel plans. Bermuda's cruise ship economy grew last year. Bermuda received 161 cruise ship calls, bringing 416,049 passengers, an increase of 4.6 percent, and the government was forecasting more growth this year based on the 2017 numbers. "Bermuda will have a backlash," Justin Nelson, the president and co-founder of the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce, wrote in an email. "Countries and travels brands know that LGBT inclusive tourism is big business  and Bermuda is going to suffer painful economic losses because of its decision to turn back the clock on same-sex marriages."

Bermuda will have a backlash. ... Bermuda is going to suffer painful economic losses because of its decision to turn back the clock on same-sex marriages. Justin Nelson National LGBT Chamber of Commerce

Nelson says more than 80 percent of the American LGBT population has passports, compared to about 40 percent for the rest of the population. He estimates the economic impact of LGBT travel worldwide at more than $100 billion. "Our communities make conscientious decisions based upon who has demonstrated policies that have our backs," Nelson wrote. The cruise lines are not the only companies caught in the middle of the issue. Bacardi, the largest privately held spirits company in the world, is based in Bermuda. "We have long called Bermuda home and have the highest regard for its people and respect for the democratic process," it said in a statement issued to CNBC on Feb. 13. "As a global business, however, we pride ourselves on being inclusive and support policies of equality. At Bacardi, we believe our purpose is to bring all people together in celebration." The Bermuda Tourism Authority wrote a letter to the Senate in December urging the lawmakers not to pass the repeal. "Same-sex marriage is already the law of our island and to roll that back for what will be seen as a less equal union will cause us serious reputational damage," the letter reads. "It's not only LGBT travelers that care about equal rights based on sexual orientation. Our research indicates many companies, consumers and travelers, including the overwhelming majority of the younger visitors powering Bermuda's growth, care about this issue." It estimated that the LGBT community spends $165 billion worldwide. GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in a statement to CNBC, "The repeal of marriage equality in Bermuda is a denigrating and unnecessary strike against loving and committed LGBTQ couples in Bermuda as well as others around the world who would consider vacationing there. ... It is now imperative for international businesses that play major roles in Bermuda's economy, such as cruise lines and the travel industry, to make their voices heard." GLAAD said several cruise lines that bring tourists to Bermuda not only contribute largely to Bermuda's tourism industry and economy, but they have long histories of standing with and marketing to LGBTQ people. "These brands and their business leaders should demonstrate true leadership and stand for those customers they've courted by helping to combat this harmful decision," Ellis stated.

Cunard's Queen Mary 2 is among the ships registered in Bermuda. Source: James D. Morgan | Cunard Line

Bermuda's legislature passed the Domestic Partnership Act in December before Rankin signed it into law on Wednesday. The Supreme Court legalizing same-sex marriage upset many voters on the conservative island. "The act is intended to strike a fair balance between two currently irreconcilable groups in Bermuda, by restating that marriage must be between a male and a female while at the same time recognizing and protecting the rights of same-sex couples," Walton Brown, Bermuda's minister of home affairs, told the press earlier this week. The government claims that same-sex couples will have similar rights and protections as heterosexual couples. Same-sex couples have the right to a partner's pension and property, as well as the right to make medical decisions for a partner. Eight same-sex marriages occurred during the brief time it was legal in Bermuda. Those marriages remain recognized. But same-sex advocates argue this is still a major step backwards. "This legislation creates a 'watered down' version of rights, leading to a separate-but-equal status under the law," The Rainbow Alliance of Bermuda posted on Facebook. "No separate-but-equal measure allows for equality or justice." P&O Cruises and Cunard must now grapple with how to appeal to same-sex couples who can no longer get married on their ships. A statement from the cruise lines, which are both owned by parent company Carnival, read: "Having been delighted and wholly supportive of the Bermuda Government's change in law last May, which allowed us to conduct same sex marriages on board our ships, we are disappointed with this outcome. We will now be working closely with the Bermudan authorities to understand the legalities of 'Domestic Partnership Act 2017' and whether this is something we can offer our guests in the future." As long as Bermuda's same-sex marriage ban remains, Bennington and his husband  and likely many other couples like them  said they will travel elsewhere. Updated to include statement from Bacardi, which is based in Bermuda, provided to CNBC on Feb. 13.

WATCH: Sessions' religious objection order undercuts LGBT protections
Comedian and entrepreneur Bill Murray told CNBC on Friday that the climate in Hollywood has changed following numerous women coming forward to tell their experiences with sexual harassment.

"If people are monstrous, it eventually comes back," Murray said in an interview on "Squawk Box." "We get justice, but we don't get it when we want it. ...This is unusual. People are getting their justice rather quickly."

The #MeToo movement became a social force after The New York Times' blockbuster expose in October revealed a pattern of sexual abuse and unwanted physical contact by disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein.
What's not to like? Scores of companies, including some of the country's biggest employers, are handing out bonuses, announcing with a flourish that they are sharing the windfall from corporate tax cuts with their workers.

A look at the fine print, though, shows that some of the largess is not nearly as large as company news releases suggest.

Consider retailers like Walmart, Lowe's and Home Depot. They've tied the size of bonuses to tenure, so that only employees who have been with the company for 20 years or more will receive the $1,000 maximum that was highlighted in their announcements. Few employees meet that requirement.

More from The New York Times:

Trump tax cuts and the economy: Time will tell, maybe

Bonuses aside, tax law's trickle-down impact not yet clear

Walmart's bumpy day: From wage increase to store closings

The median tenure for retail workers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is three years. At Walmart and Home Depot, that work history results in a $250 bonus, and at Lowe's, $200. And nearly a quarter of American wage and salary workers have logged less than a year with their current employer. For them, bonuses at these big retailers will range from $150 to $200.

There may be other qualifications.

Part-time workers at Lowe's, Washington Trust Bancorp and Flushing Financial Corporation, for example, will receive just half the amount promised to full-time workers. At First Merchants, a financial institution, part-timers can get even less, since their share is prorated according to their hours.
Plan to develop multi-ownership housing: NRA

The National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) proposes to promote a model of multi-ownership housing. This decision follows because of the slow progress of the reconstruction of private houses in Kathmandu Valley after Gorkha Earthquake.
Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) and U.S. President Donald Trump listen to remarks before signing an executive order making it easier for Americans to buy bare-bones health insurance plans and circumvent Obamacare rules at the White House in Washington, U.S., October 12, 2017. Kevin Lamarque | Reuters

The budget deal passed by U.S lawmakers early on Friday will alleviate the spending fights that marked President Donald Trump's first year in office, but sets the stage for a battle over immigration and who is to blame for exploding deficits ahead of November's congressional elections. In the short term, reducing the risk of government shutdowns could help Trump and Republicans by conveying a greater sense of stability. But Democrats are gearing up to use rising budget deficits under Trump and what they see as draconian immigration policies to hammer Republicans in the midterm elections when they will seek to take back control of Congress. The two-year agreement drives the wedge even deeper between the Republican congressional establishment, which wants to govern Washington in an orderly manner, and the party's right wing, which rails against spending bills to protest the size and reach of the federal government. In a pre-dawn vote on Friday to approve massive new spending and end a 5-1/2-hour government shutdown, scores of conservatives in the House of Representatives revolted against their leadership in what could be a sign of Republican Party turmoil this election year.

The brief shutdown was forced by Senator Rand Paul, a Tea Party Republican, who used procedural rules to prevent passage of the budget deal before Thursday's midnight deadline. While conservatives, such as those in the far-right House Freedom Caucus, embraced a tax overhaul last year that will expand the nation's debt, they adamantly oppose domestic spending increases that the budget deal allows. "Part of our job is to make sure that we keep pounding that Republicans still stand for fiscal responsibility," said Representative Mark Walker on Thursday. He leads a larger group of House conservatives and was among those voting against the massive spending bill on Friday. Outside conservative groups such as the Tea Party Patriots helped power the Republican takeover of the House in 2010 in part by pushing to rein in federal spending following the 2007-2009 recession. This week, they raised the specter of challenging incumbent Republicans in primaries over the budget deal. Tea Party Patriots Chair Jenny Beth Martin warned that if Republicans could not keep their promise to rein in federal spending, "perhaps it's time for a new Congress." The budget deal's supporters, including Trump, have backed it largely because it includes big increases in military spending. The bill would raise military and domestic spending by about $300 billion over two years. Congress' failure to approve it by Thursday's midnight deadline left federal workers in the lurch early on Friday. The White House wants to move past battles over federal spending to focus on other policy priorities such as infrastructure. A budget impasse resulted in a three-day government shutdown last month.
The Asia Vision LNG carrier ship at the Cheniere Energy terminal in this aerial photograph taken over Sabine Pass, Texas, Feb. 24, 2016

Cheniere Energy announced it has signed the first-ever long-term deal between an American natural gas exporter and a Chinese state-owned energy company, a major step forward for the U.S. gas industry.

China is the fastest growing market for liquefied natural gas, a super-cooled form of the fuel that allows it to be shipped overseas in liquid form. Earlier this week, the U.S. Energy Information projected LNG will soon dominate America's natural gas exports, which have mostly been shipped by pipe to Canada and Mexico.

China's LNG imports are booming as it aims to reduce its use of coal to generate electricity and power its massive industrial sector. The nation's reliance on coal-fired generation is a big contributor to China's notoriously poor air quality.

Energy giant China National Petroleum Corporation agreed to purchase 1.2 million tons per year from Cheniere's Sabine Pass export terminal on the Texas-Louisiana border. In 2016, China imported 26.1 million tons of LNG, up 32.6 percent from the previous year, according to IHS Fairplay.

That year, Australia supplied about half of those imports, while Persian Gulf monarchy Qatar accounted for about 20 percent of those supplies.

The two countries, the world's top LNG exporters, benefit from long-term contracts with big buyers in East Asia. Most of the gas shipped from the upstart American LNG industry has been on the short-term spot market.

"We are pleased to announce these LNG contracts with China National Petroleum Corporation, an important global energy player in one of the largest and fastest growing LNG markets worldwide," Cheniere President and CEO Jack Fusco said in a statement.

Cheniere is currently the only company operating a fully operational LNG export terminal in the Lower 48 United States. Dominion Energy's Cove Point terminal on the Chesapeake Bay will start up commercial service next month. The Cameron LNG terminal and Freeport LNG facility are scheduled to open later this year on the Gulf Coast.

The news is also a boon to the Trump administration. The U.S. Commerce Department reached an agreement with Chinese authorities in May that cleared the way for state-owned companies to negotiate long-term contracts with U.S. LNG exporters, something Beijing had been hesitant to do.

Some market-watchers doubted the agreement would lead to actual shipments, but Cheniere's deal with CNPC moves the ball forward. A portion of shipments are scheduled to begin this year.

Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy cheered the announcement and its impact on the state economy on Friday.

"This is great news for working families in Louisiana," Cassidy said in a statement. "From the wellhead to the liquefaction facility, people in Louisiana will benefit from selling more American-made energy."
Demonstrators hold illuminated signs during a rally supporting the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA), or the Dream Act, outside the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., Jan. 18, 2018.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is set to fulfill his promise to open debate on an immigration bill next week, but crafting a plan that can pass both chambers of Congress and appease President Donald Trump is no easy task.

As Congress ended a months-long impasse over spending levels and a brief government shutdown Friday morning, lawmakers appeared no closer to ending the bitter fight over protecting hundreds of thousands of young immigrants from deportation. Democratic calls to shield the immigrants contributed to two partial government shutdowns this year, yet Congress still has no plan assured to get bipartisan support.

Lawmakers will dive headfirst into the politically charged battle with only weeks until the March 5 date that the Trump administration set to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. While pending lawsuits could drag out the deadline, the fate of those immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children is uncertain as Congress pushes for a deal.

Even some of the biggest proponents of shielding the so-called dreamers from deportation have expressed doubts about striking an agreement in time.

"I don't know. Right now, it's tough to see," Republican Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona said Thursday about the prospects of an immigration bill garnering the needed 60 votes in the chamber.

The Obama-era DACA program shields the young immigrants from deportation and allows them to work or get an education in the U.S. Those immigrants "are not a priority for deportation" if Congress fails to pass new protections, White House chief of staff John Kelly said this week.
Facebook will give up to $1 million to as many as five people and hand out a total of $10 million to community leaders who use its services "to bring people closer together."

The company unveiled its Facebook Community Leadership Program at its Communities Summit event in London this week.

"This program is about finding and supporting great community leaders wherever they are," CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post.

The company has faced intense scrutiny from critics who say it allowed Russian propagandists and other groups to use its advertising tools to target users with divisive messages, hate speech and other harmful content.

The company wants to reward those who use its platform for good, according to Zuckerberg.

"Our goal is to find people who are using Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger to bring people closer together," he wrote in the post.

"We'll pick up to five leaders around the world and give them up to $1 million to fund their ideas for doing even more. We'll invite 100 leaders to be part of our fellowship program that includes training, mentorship, and up to $50,000 for a specific initiative," Zuckerberg wrote.
The legislation would set up a two-year, $300 billion boost in spending on the military and domestic programs. It would also extend the debt ceiling, authorize nearly $90 billion in aid for last year's string of natural disasters, give funding to fight the opioid crisis and extend the popular Children's Health Insurance Program for an additional four years.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., mounted hours of solo resistance to the budget deal over what he called reckless spending. He repeatedly objected to efforts by senators to quickly move to a vote on the agreement.

The Senate passed a short-term funding bill and cleared the way for a boost to military and domestic spending. Senators voted 71-28 to approve the deal, but the chamber failed to do so before the clock turned to Friday and government funding lapsed.

Congress moved one step closer early Friday to setting a major spending increase, following hours of drama on the Senate floor that led to the second partial government shutdown in less than a month.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) walks from a vote on Capitol Hill after the senate voted to advance a bill financing the U.S government January 22, 2018 in Washington, DC.

The bill differs from a stopgap spending measure passed by the House on Tuesday night. Therefore, the House will have to vote separately on the Senate-passed legislation to send it to President Donald Trump's desk for his signature.

House Speaker Paul Ryan expects the chamber to pass the bill despite opposition on both sides of the aisle. The House could vote by roughly 6 a.m., ET, on Friday.

Trump, who said earlier this week that he would "love" a government shutdown, tweeted his support for the budget deal on Wednesday.

Efforts to fast-track the bill through the Senate got delayed as fiscal conservative Paul objected to the spending levels included in it.

"I can't in all good honesty, in all good faith, just look the other way because my party is now complicit in the deficits," the senator said on the Senate floor.

Paul objected to repeated requests to vote on the measure Thursday, leading Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn to say he would "effectively shutdown the federal government for no real reason."

As Paul railed against lifting spending caps, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that the bill would cost about $320 billion. Most of that would come in the first year.

Approving the bill is the first step toward passing a two-year budget deal reached by bipartisan congressional leaders. It funds the government through March 23 while lawmakers work on an appropriations bill with the levels set out by Congress.

Lawmakers will then have to pass appropriations legislation for both the current fiscal year that ends Sept. 30 and the following year.

But opposition in the House to the broader pieces of the budget agreement threatens to complicate matters even more.

"Part of it depends on the Democrats, this is a bipartisan bill," Ryan told radio host Hugh Hewitt on Thursday morning. "It's going to need bipartisan support. We are going to deliver our share of support. I feel very good about Republicans."

Some House conservatives signaled that would vote against the plan due to the spending increases. Meanwhile, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and some of her caucus oppose it because it does not include legal protections for hundreds of thousands of young undocumented immigrants.

Pelosi wanted assurances that Ryan would have an open debate on an immigration bill. Ryan committed Thursday to bring up an immigration bill that Trump would support. However, he did not go as far as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who will start an open amendment process on immigration next week.

It is still unclear if the Senate negotiations will yield an immigration deal that can garner enough support in the more conservative House.

McConnell and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced the framework of the budget deal on Wednesday afternoon.

McConnell said Wednesday the bill is not "perfect" but added that "we worked hard to find common ground and stay focused on serving the American people." While acknowledging that both sides had to make "painful" concessions to strike the deal, Schumer called it a "win for the American people" and a "genuine breakthrough."

The deal includes:

A $165 billion increase in military spending

A $131 billion boost to domestic program spending

Nearly $90 billion in funding for disaster relief efforts in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico

Two years of funding for community health centers

Another four-year extension of the Children's Health Insurance Program, for a total of a decade

Funding for existing infrastructure programs related to transportation, drinking water and broadband

Correction: This article has been updated to clarify the status of the Senate vote.
A jogger runs past the U.S. Capitol during the third day of a government shutdown in Washington, January 22, 2018.

U.S. government funding lapsed Friday as Congress' efforts to pass a spending bill fizzled out in the Senate for the second time in less than a month.

Despite bipartisan support for a massive budget agreement, Congress failed to approve a funding plan before the midnight Thursday deadline. It is just the latest example of gridlock on Capitol Hill during the current GOP-controlled Congress.

In this case, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., blocked repeated moves to vote on the measure over concerns about massive spending increases contained in the budget deal. Paul called the spending reckless and pushed for a vote on an amendment to reinstate budget caps, which Senate leadership did not allow.

The Senate recessed until early Friday and funding expired at the end of Thursday, leaving the government partially shut down. Some government agencies will run out of money and have to furlough workers.

Hundreds of thousands of federal workers would not go into work Friday if a shutdown lasts through the start of business. Others would work without getting paid at first. A government shutdown is only partial  functions like the postal service and Social Security checks would continue.

On Thursday, the Office of Management and Budget told government agencies to start getting ready for funding to lapse. The National Treasury Employees Union, a major labor union for federal agency workers, said in a statement that agencies will tell employees if they get furloughed. The union would coordinate with Congress to ensure employees get paid if they have to work, it said.

The funding lapse may not last long. The Senate passed the bipartisan funding agreement early Friday morning, and the House will vote later in the morning.

If the House can overcome opposition from both conservatives and liberals to approve the measure, Congress can send the legislation to President Donald Trump's desk to quickly end the shutdown.

The partial shutdown in late January lasted for two full days and part of a third.

Senate leaders hoped to approve their budget agreement quickly on Thursday afternoon. The bill before the Senate would set up a roughly $300 billion increase in the budget caps over two years.

It would pave the way to boost spending on the military and domestic programs, as well as authorize disaster relief for areas of the U.S. ravaged by natural disasters last year.

To vote Thursday, the Senate needed all of its members to agree on moving forward. But Paul objected to what he called reckless spending increases.

"What you're seeing is recklessness trying to be passed off as bipartisanship," he said on the Senate floor.

With Paul blocking every attempt to make the vote earlier, the earliest the Senate could start a series of votes was 1 a.m. Friday. Senate leaders were confident they had the support to pass the legislation on Friday morning.

The House could vote on the bill by roughly 6 a.m. on Friday morning.

This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
A real estate company owned by President Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior advisor Jared Kushner on Friday filed a court action to shield the identity of investors in that firm in connection with a pending lawsuit in Baltimore.

The move  a transfer of a lawsuit back to Baltimore Circuit Court out of federal court  could make it more likely that Kushner's company will ultimately lose a pending lawsuit by tenants.

But the action also will keep out of the public eye the names of every person and entity that has invested in the company.

"I would say the Kushners would do anything to keep the identities of the investors secret," Andrew Freeman, a lawyer for two tenants suing Kushner's real estate company, Westminster Management, told CNBC.

Freeman noted that there have been recent news reports about investments in Kushner's companies by foreign interests.

In January, The New York Times reported that Kushner's family real estate company received an investment of about $30 million from Menora Mivtachim, the large Israeli insurer, which was used to finance 10 Maryland apartment complexes controlled by the Kushner firm.

And two weeks ago, The New Yorker in an article detailed how the Kushner Cos. are seeking Chinese investors.

Kushner is married to Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump.

In addition to Kushner, the other investors that have been identified as involved in ownership of the Baltimore properties in question are his parents, Charles and Seryl Kushner, and his brother Josh.

Freeman's clients  Tenae Smith and Howard Smith  claim that Kushner's company, among other things, illegally charged them late fees for rents on separate Baltimore apartments they live in.

The two plaintiffs filed suit in Baltimore Circuit Court last fall.

In response to the suit, Kushner's company transferred the case to federal court for the District of Maryland.

As the basis for the request, the company claimed that all of the investors in the company lived out of Maryland.

Federal courts can handle cases that would otherwise be handled in local or state courts if they involve out-of-state parties.

However, under federal rules, those parties have to show proof that they live elsewhere.

Westminster Management had asked to keep that proof sealed out of public view, citing what it called unfair attention by journalists.

"Given the tenor of the media's reporting of this case, including politically-motivated innuendo no doubt intended to disparage the First Family, there is foreseeable risk of prejudice to the privacy rights and reputations of innocent private investors," Kushner Cos.' lawyers wrote in a filing, according to The Baltimore Sun.

But a judge last month rejected Westchester Management's bid to shield the identities of the investors. That bid had been opposed by the tenants and a group of media companies.

"Under common law, there is a presumption that the public has access to all judicial records," wrote federal Judge James Bredar.

Bredar in his opinion noted: "The Defendants believe that because the Kushners, including the President of the United States' son-in-law Jared Kushner, are members of Defendant LLCs, 'the media has taken an unprecedented interest in this case' and made 'outrageous allegations, and assign[ed] guilt.' Publicly releasing the citizenship of Defendant LLCs will, so the Defendants claim, only add fuel to this fire."

On Friday, two new lawyers for Kushner's company notified Bredar that they are now representing the firm.

And the new lawyers said in court filings that they now want the case sent back to Baltimore Circuit Court, where it was first filed.

One of those lawyers, Michael Blumenfeld, declined to comment when contacted by CNBC.

Chris Taylor, a spokeswoman for the Kushner Cos., said only, "Our counsel on this matter has determined that the case should be remanded to state court."

CNBC has asked the White House for comment on the case.

If the case had gone to trial in federal court, Kushner's company might have had a better chance at winning.

The jury pool for Maryland federal court has proportionately fewer tenants  as opposed to homeowners  than does the pool that provides jurors for cases tried in Baltimore Circuit Court.

There are "more tenants in a Baltimore City jury," noted Freeman, the plaintiffs' lawyer.

In his own filing Friday, Freeman wrote, "After expending over three months  and requiring substantial time and resources from both Plaintiffs' counsel and the Court  Defendants have now belatedly agreed that they should never have attempted to remove this case to federal court. Plaintiffs do not oppose Defendants'notice of withdrawal."

Freeman indicated in the filing that he wants to seek attorneys' fees that occurred because of the delay from Kushner's firm.
Actor/comedian Jim Carrey really doesn't like President Donald Trump and the Republicans. He's also really mad at anything that may have helped them get elected.

Oh, and it looks like he thinks you're very easily persuaded.

That sure seems to be what's going on after Carrey's well-publicized call for everyone to delete their Facebook accounts and even sell their shares in the company. Carrey wants Facebook punished for profiting from Russian interference in the 2016 election and allegedly not doing enough to stop it from happening again:

Carrey followed up that tweet with a statement to CNBC.com that included this key line:

"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. No wall is going to protect us from that."

Carrey has a good point about the Russian attempts to influence the election. The schemes to get access to both the Trump and Clinton campaigns are very well documented. Even more upsetting is the news Russia successfully penetrated the voter registration rolls of several U.S. states prior to the 2016 presidential election.

But his visceral hatred of Trump seems to be the real catalyst here. A look at his Twitter feed shows little of the humor and charm that made Carrey rich and famous. It's mostly just a litany of slams on the president and congressional Republicans, punctuated by sketches that sometimes get into obscene territory.

Carrey is certainly not alone there. A lot of us come off angrier and ruder on social media than we are in real life.

But if Carrey's attack on Facebook really is an attempt to weaken Trump, he's going to be very disappointed. In fact, his efforts do the president a tremendous favor. That's because promoting the fiction that Trump won due to interference by foreign forces keeps Trump foes well off the right track toward political recovery.

The "Russia won the election for Trump" narrative has to be called a fiction because there is still no evidence of it. Even that troubling report about Russia hacking voter rolls doesn't say vote totals were altered. Any significant voter machine tampering would have been highlighted by discrepancies in the exit polls. Instead, exit polls confirmed the Trump victory.

That's why these conspiracy theories are so damaging to Trump's opponents. Politics are like sports. Most candidates can recover from losses once they admit they lost fair and square and recognize the reasons why.

The idea that Russia swung the election for Trump via persuasive ads on Facebook is a double whammy in that way. It convinces anti-Trump folks to believe they didn't really lose the election. It also masks the fact they lost for the same reason every losing political candidate loses: he or she is a less persuasive candidate than his or her opponent.

It's a simple recipe, but political parties often get too bogged down in their own messaging to remember it's always about the candidate. Perhaps in the days before television or the Internet, you could run a successful campaign based solely on party identification or ideology. Not anymore.

The Democrats' best path to recovery is to start grooming candidates who have a record to run on that has nothing to do with Donald Trump. Some current and former Democrat state governors would be a good place to start.

The key is to find someone like Bill Clinton in 1992. He cleverly ran a positive campaign that wasn't about bashing Republicans or their incumbent President George H.W. Bush. He focused mostly on fixing the stagnant economy at the time. In short, the Democrats need to start refocusing on the voters' problems, not their personal nemesis.

Yet this Trump election conspiracy theory has dominated the Democratic Party's narrative for more than year. It remains the impetus behind special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian collusion, even though it appears to have morphed into a focus on alleged obstruction of justice. The Republican pushback on the probe has now led to evidence that there was some form of collusion between the Democrats and the Russian agents who contributed information for the now-infamous Steele dossier. It's all pretty dizzying when you try to keep track of it.

But what we actually know is far from sensational. Sure, the Russians tried to influence our election. They've tried to do that before. Where's the evidence they actually succeeded in any meaningful way? Do Facebook ads really persuade people that much? Most people have a Facebook feed that serves as an echo chamber for their beliefs and preferences. Moreover, an extensive study of Facebook user practices showed that conservatives were about 50 percent more likely to click on a story that opposed their political views than liberals.

If anything, the Russians seem to have chosen the wrong platform to try to get people who weren't already voting for Trump to do so.

Yet Carrey is more than just hinting the voters were too ill-equipped to fight off foreign machinations. He and many like him won't accept the Occam's razor explanation that the Democrats backed the wrong candidate. Worse, they're making the same mistake Hillary Clinton made with her "deplorables" comment or Mitt Romney did in 2012 with his jab at the 47 percent of Americans supposedly too addicted to government aid to vote for him. That is, they're blaming the voters. That's like a company making a product the public rejects, and then refusing to change the product because it's the customers' fault.

Since Facebook really is a news content provider it should do more to reveal the source of political ads and politically-motivated groups on its platform. Those are the rules traditional media companies have had to follow for years. If Carrey's outburst helps make that happen, then that's great.

But none of that will magically erase the 2016 election results or help the Democrats field a better candidate in 2020. Facebook's real and imagined misdeeds are just another detour on their path to political recovery.

Commentary by Jake Novak, CNBC.com senior columnist. Follow him on Twitter @jakejakeny.

For more insight from CNBC contributors, follow @CNBCopinion on Twitter.
Rachel Brand, the third-ranking official at the Justice Department, will step down from the job, NBC News reported Friday.

The New York Times first reported her decision.

The associate attorney general's move follows President Donald Trump's repeated attacks on the department for its role in the probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Crucially, Brand may have overseen special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe if Trump decided to fire deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein, who he has repeatedly criticized. Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from the investigation.

Brand served only nine months in the role and will take a job in the private sector, NBC and the Times reported. She received a job offer she could not turn down, according to NBC.

Trump's criticism of how U.S. law enforcement agencies handled investigations into HIllary Clinton's email server and whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia have ramped up in recent weeks. Last week, he allowed the release of a House Republican memo that alleges political bias related to the Russia probe.

The president has repeatedly criticized Sessions, an ally and campaign advisor, for stepping back from the Russia investigation.
Lars Dalgaard, who sold SuccessFactors to SAP for $3.4 billion in 2011 before going into venture capital, is stepping down from his general partner role at VC firm Andreessen Horowitz to found his own investment firm.

His focus will be teaching entrepreneurs to lead with "more heart. Less ego."

The new fund, which he is tentatively calling Luv Ventures, will invest in "extraordinary companies that will literally revolutionize the world." He named synthetic biology, food and enterprise software as areas of interest.

But the main focus will be connecting with CEOs and helping them learn empathetic leadership.

He cites a running joke he had with Marc Andreessen: "I think Silicon Valley could be 10 to 20 times bigger if 80 percent of the companies were led better."

The time seems right. Silicon Valley is facing an identity crisis  once the poster child for futuristic innovation, it's increasingly seen as a bunch of rich white guys chasing money at the expense of everybody else, including their employees and society at large.

In 2017, the most valued start-up in the region, Uber, was beset by scandals ranging from widespread sexism to using technology to evade authorities, and ended up replacing CEO Travis Kalanick and other top execs. Tech giants like Facebook, Google and Apple have been slammed for propagating fake news, helping foreign governments influence the U.S. presidential election and/or creating overly addictive products.

Many of these failures come down to a lack of leadership. And while Dalgaard didn't criticize any company specifically, he noted that technology without good management gets "stuck."

"I've been helping people who are very creative, helping people who have nothing but tech in their head. In all cases, they have had no management experience before. Hell, some of them have not even had a job. But if you're committed to wanting to learn constantly how to be a leader and not just get stuck in your own head, around your own ideas and who you used to be, the stories you tell yourself, then I think there is really a breakout."

But empathetic leadership isn't only better for society, it's better business.

Dalgaard insists that CEOs can't understand how to sell products if they don't understand how to speak the language of their customers.

"The entrepreneurs themselves don't really know what the end customer exactly wants. They can sure visualize how this technology will work, but it's very hard for them to speak the language of the customer," he said. "I think I can help with some really crisp answers on both sides."

Dalgaard particulary admires Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, once a fierce competitor and now a friend, as somebody he admires for his social conscience and willingness to "take daring positions that he might not have been known for originally, but he dances right into it."

He also deemed Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg "extraordinary," noting that while Facebook has been through plenty of issues in the last year, Zuckerberg himself has shown humility and a willingness to change. That shows up in the devotion of his employees.

"People just adore working for him. And I'm not talking about a cult. These people are experienced people, they've been with other companies first and they want to work there."
PM will step down after poll results, says law minister

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba will step down after all the election results are out possibly early next week, Law Minister Yagya Bahadur Thapa has said.
A.P. Moller-Maersk missed fourth-quarter profit expectations on Friday but earnings were up and the chief executive leading a turnaround at the world's largest container shipping company said the outlook was positive.

The Danish company's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose to $844 million from $605 million, but fell short of the $896 million forecast by analysts in a Reuters poll.

Maersk expects underlying net profit to rise this year and 3-4 percent growth in seaborne container transportation after around a 5 percent advance last year, it said.

"I'm still very optimistic on the fundamentals of the global container shipping industry," Chief Executive Soren Skou told Reuters in an interview.

Skou, who has staked his future on Maersk as a transport business, said the level of global trade looks positive despite more talk of protectionism and that orders for new vessels are at a historic low compared to current fleet size.

Maersk announced a restructuring plan in 2016 focused on shipping which led to a $7.45 billion sale of energy arm Maersk Oil to Total last August.

With oil prices rising again, it now has to prove to investors that its decision was right. The shares are down 27 percent from a July 2017 peak when optimism around freight rates started to fade.
U.K. app-only bank Monzo is in early stage talks to expand to the U.S., CEO Tom Blomfield told CNBC.

The British start-up challenger bank, which has now racked up half a million users, said a U.S. launch won't happen in the very near future, but the company has begun talks with regulators and potential hires.

"The U.S. is a really attractive market for us. They speak the same language, they're broadly culturally similar, compared to other geographies around the world," Blomfield told CNBC in an interview on Thursday.

"I think there's a huge market opportunity there, because there haven't really been any new banks the last 10 years or so ... So I think there is a big opportunity to use modern technology to launch a real consumer facing bank that does the kinds of things consumers expect from a smartphone."

Blomfield said the company is in the "very very early stages" of exploring the market and has held preliminary talks with regulators, but the aim is to first get the U.K. business profitable.

The company offers current accounts, but previously had pre-paid cards that allowed people to top up from other banks. The pre-paid cards business, which were phased out in the past couple of months, caused the company to lose 65 ($90) per customer. After moving away from pre-paid cards, the company now loses 25 per customer and is hoping to get this figure between 15 and 20.

From then, the hope is to sell customers lending products, mainly overdrafts. Monzo has been testing overdrafts with a few hundred customers, Blomfield said, but everyone should be able to access the feature in the coming months.

"That should get us to marginal profitability," Blomfield said, adding that it won't likely happen this year, but perhaps in 2019.

Expansion into the U.S. would pit Monzo against large retails banks such as J.P. Morgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo, and digital offerings from investment banks such as Goldman Sachs.

Monzo will also need to seek approval from a number of regulators including the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Federal Deposit Insurance Company and the Federal Reserve for a license.
Investors should take profits in Wynn Resorts shares because of rising uncertainty, according to a top Wall Street firm.



The company announced on Tuesday Steve Wynn resigned as CEO and chairman of Wynn Resorts. The move comes after a Wall Street Journal report published in January detailed allegations of decades of sexual misconduct by the gambling mogul.

Morgan Stanley lowered its rating for Wynn Resorts to equal weight from overweight, citing its lower confidence the gaming company will beat expectations this year.

"After significant outperformance in the past year, we suggest taking profits on WYNN. We believe the market has gradually recognized our Macau market / share outperformance thesis, hence there is no longer the same upside," analyst Thomas Allen wrote in a note to clients Friday. "In addition, following recent events leading to the resignation of Steve Wynn, there is greater fundamental / execution risk, as well as new regulatory risk."

Wynn shares fell 1.8 percent Friday.

The company's shares are up 71 percent in the past 12 months compared with the S&P 500's 12 percent return.

Allen reiterated his $193 price target for Wynn Resorts shares, representing 14 percent upside to Thursday's close.

The analyst cited how Massachusetts, Nevada and Macau gaming regulatory bodies are currently investigating the allegations of Wynn's sexual misconduct.

He also noted the Wall Street consensus estimate for Wynn's 2018 Macau market share has risen to 16.9 percent versus 13.5 percent one year ago.

"Our prior thesis on WYNN was that we believed investors underestimated both the size of the Macau market and WYNN's future market share," he wrote. "While we still believe Macau will outperform, we don't have the same conviction around WYNN's market share."

Wynn Resorts declined to comment for this story.
There are hints of a "key vulnerability" in North Korea's military, and it involves a shortage of something critical to the regime's intercontinental ballistic missile force, according to defense experts. Based on analysis from Thursday's military parade in North Korea, experts say it appears the nuclear-armed state has a shortage of big transporter-launcher vehicles used for carrying and helping to launch the ICBM-class Hwasong-15  the largest and most powerful weapon in the regime's arsenal. The large vehicles make the ballistic missile road-mobile capable and therefore tougher to detect and destroy before a launch. "It seems like the parade kind of showed that they haven't quite mastered domestic production of these vehicles," said David Schmerler, research associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, California. "If they were going to try to find an opportunity to demonstrate that they could not only produce lots of ICBMs but the ability to launch them on mobile vehicles, this would have been the opportunity to have done it." Under the watchful eye of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, there were just four of the so-called transporter erector launcher (TEL) vehicles for the Hwasong-15 ICBM, according to analysts. Also, those heavy-duty trucks with the big tires normally carry the Hwasong-15 ICBMs, but the missiles were paraded on Thursday on tractor-trailer trucks, not TELs.

Intercontinental ballistic missiles are seen at a grand military parade celebrating the 70th founding anniversary of the Korean People's Army at the Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang. KCNA | Reuters

The trucks used to carry the Hwasong-15 and 14 ICBMs are usually logging trucks imported from China and converted for military use. In late November, the North Koreans claimed the vehicle they used in the Hwasong-15 test was "100 percent" domestically produced. "The number of TELs in [Thursday's] parade is important because it represents a key vulnerability in North Korea's ICBM force," Eric Gomez, a policy analyst for defense and foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute, said in a blog Thursday. "All of the North Korean vehicles capable of carrying ICBMs are based on Chinese-made heavy logging trucks that were modified by the North Koreans to carry missiles, but no more than six of these trucks have been seen at one time." The North Koreans tested the Hwasong-15 missile on Nov. 29, claiming after the launch it had "finally realized the great historic cause of completing the state nuclear force." "The Hwasong-15 I think everybody pretty much agrees could hit essentially the entire U.S.," said David Wright, co-director and senior scientist for the Global Security Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. "The Hwasong-14, which we saw in the parade, too, there's still debate whether or not that could reach the West Coast or whether it could go farther." At the parade, North Korea also showed off a new weapon that could offer the communist state important benefits from a tactical standpoint, according to experts. "We saw some new short-range missiles that I don't believe we had seen before," said Wright. "They looked like they may be Russian Iskander missiles, which were originally built sort of as a replacement for the Scuds."

Intercontinental ballistic missiles are seen at a grand military parade celebrating the 70th founding anniversary of the Korean People's Army at the Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang. KCNA | Reuters

Indeed, analysts say North Korea's missile fleet is essentially built off older Russian technology. Still, they point out North Korea has proven to be capable of developing its own missiles. There were a number of mobile launcher vehicles displayed during the parade that had two short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM) sitting side-by-side in the truck. Experts believe the SRBMs are likely solid-fuel technology but some also said the missiles could be mock-ups and not operational. If the SRBM's are fully functional, they might give the North Koreans "important tactical advantages," according to Gomez. He said a solid fuel and highly mobile missile system means the North Korean weapon "can be launched on much shorter notice than Pyongyang's liquid-fueled Scud missiles." Regardless, South Korea has the indigenously built Hyunmoo-2 SRBM system. The South also has been looking to increase the firepower on its ballistic missiles to a 1-ton conventional warhead capable of reaching all of North Korea, but that's still below the amount the North is believed to have in its arsenal.

WATCH: Here's what a land war with North Korea could look like
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration is planning to craft rules this year that would make it easier to identify drones and their pilots, according to one of its top officials.

Carl Burleson, the acting deputy administrator at the regulatory body, was in Singapore this week to attend Asia's largest airshow. In a panel discussion, Burleson said one of the main things the FAA wants to solve this year is improving drone security.

"If we were simply dealing with safety, it would be a hard-enough challenge as a regulator," he told the audience. "But here we have a whole set of concerns and interest by the law enforcement community, by the national security community."

Burleson explained that the FAA is working closely with other agencies and the industry to figure out how to solve some of the challenges created by the massive popularity of drones.

"One of the first things we're looking at, and hopefully get done this year, is some kind of rule-making on ID," he said. "From the law enforcement standpoint, at least in our country, that's pretty fundamental. People want to be able to track something  if something goes wrong, they can go back and try to figure out who is responsible."

Last year, a committee within the FAA released recommendations that called for remote identity and tracking of drones based on information sent to an online database. Based on that report, the FAA would craft rule proposals.

As is the case with most new technologies, regulators are playing catch up to the rapid developments seen in the drone industry. From military-grade equipment, drones have become commercially accessible toys and they're increasingly being considered by companies like Amazon to disrupt the delivery service industry.

Regulators are under a lot of pressure because of how relatively new the drone technology is, according to Adam Welsh, head of public policy for Asia Pacific at Chinese drone-maker DJI, who was also part of the panel. He said it was important for the industry and regulators to collaborate to assess the risk surrounding drones.

At the moment, there are no standard set of rules that can be applied across the world for drones  though many countries have individual rules and regulations in place.

Welsh explained that many countries conduct risk-based assessments of drones that are time-consuming, labor-intensive and require a lot of thinking. "Sharing those lessons more broadly so other countries don't have to re-invent the wheel, I think, would be very helpful, giving countries a sort of regulatory template to balance risk with innovation."

Welsh explained that DJI, a leading industry player, has taken initiatives to get ahead of where regulators are going. "We came up with geofencing about four years ago so there are no-fly zones around airports. We did a return-to-home function and we've got capabilities around obstacle avoidance we've added," he explained, saying it was important to still recognize that pilots needed to be held accountable for their drones.

There have been instances where drones have come into close contact, or sometimes collided, with manned aircraft. For example, reports said the FAA was looking at an incident where a drone was hovering right above a plane landing in Las Vegas.

Burleson said the FAA had an overall threefold approach to tackle drones. First, the regulator wants to integrate those aircraft into the national airspace system in the U.S. Second, it wants to make decisions based on what kind of risks an individual drone may pose. Finally, the FAA, Burleson said, wants to collect and study data that would help the authority to understand those risks betters.
Pokhara Intl Airport project achieves 8 percent progress

Pokhara International Airport project has achieved physical progress of 8 percent in the last six months. The construction of the project in Chinnedanda  3km east of the existing Pokhara airport  started in August last year.
President Donald Trump during a roundtable discussion on the MS-13 gang in the Cabinet Room of the White House on February 6, 2018 in Washington, DC.

The White House's long-awaited infrastructure plan will reportedly rely heavily on "public-private partnerships"  but it's still unclear whether President Donald Trump himself supports the idea.

NBC News reported Friday that the infrastructure plan, which represents one of Trump's key policy pitches, was originally timed for release near the State of the Union address late last month. The concerns laid out in the article echo much of what CNBC had previously reported regarding Trump's skepticism of public-private partnerships.

During the fall, Trump complained to aides and lawmakers that public-private partnerships were ineffective. His problem with the arrangements, according to officials who have heard his opinion, is based on his experience as a real estate developer, "All you do is end up in court."

One senior administration had told CNBC, "Nothing [from the White House] will mandate public-private partnerships."

In his State of the Union address, Trump said all federal appropriations should be "leveraged by partnering with state and local governments and, where appropriate, tapping into private sector investment."

But Trump himself reportedly requested that D.J. Gribbin, deputy to chief economic advisor Gary Cohn, delay the plan over a reluctance to saddle states and private companies with the burden of a $1.5 trillion spending bill. The plan will use public-private partnerships to fund up to 80 percent of the bill, NBC News said, citing sources who have seen Trump's proposal.

Cohn had worked to convince Trump in January that the federal government's budget couldn't absorb the projected spending increase. The plan is now slated for release on Monday, the same day the White House is also scheduled to unveil its budget proposal.

Read the full report from NBC News.

 CNBC's Kayla Tausche contributed to this article.
President Donald Trump hands his pen to Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Mick Mulvaney (front-L), after signing an executive order on March 17, 2017 in Washington, DC.

With John Kelly under fire for his handling of a top aide's domestic abuse scandal, there is a new round of reports that President Donald Trump is entertaining the possibility of replacing the retired four-star Marine general as his chief of staff.

This time, the name popping up as a potential successor is Mick Mulvaney, director of the administration's Office of Management and Budget and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Mulvaney, a Republican former congressman from South Carolina who positions himself as a fiscal conservative, has seen his star rise in an administration often rocked by chaos and staff turnover. CNN reported that Mulvaney's profile grew even bigger during negotiations over government spending.

Trump has reportedly often chafed at Kelly's rigidity in controlling access to the president. This week, though, questions about the chief of staff's fitness for the job emerged as he staunchly defended a key aide, Rob Porter, who was accused by two ex-wives of physical and emotional abuse.

Kelly also reportedly knew about the allegations for months before reports broke out this week and encouraged Porter to remain in the administration. Porter, who quit the White House staff as the media spotlight grew, has denied the accusations.

On Friday, meanwhile, The Washington Post reported that two senior officials said Kelly told staff to share a version of the Porter timeline which differed from previous accounts. Some aides, the Post added, consider Kelly's version to be untrue.

The New York Times reported that Trump is upset with Kelly for creating unwelcome attention this week as the chief of staff called immigrants "lazy" and defended Porter. Citing two sources, the Times reported that Trump has asked advisors about what they think about Mulvaney possibly becoming chief of staff.

CNN backed up the Times, reporting that the president has been asking aides about their opinion of Mulvaney, although the news network said Trump has been "coy" when seeking aides' thoughts on the matter. Yet, CNN added that most of the advisors assume that Trump is referring to the chief of staff spot.

Despite the reports of tension between the president and his chief of staff, Trump has often praised Kelly in public. White House spokesman Raj Shah told a news briefing Thursday that Kelly still has the confidence of the president. Shah also told reporters Thursday: "I think it's fair to say we all could have done better over the few hours or last few days in dealing with this situation."

Kelly himself succeeded Trump's first chief of staff, Reince Priebus, in late July. Priebus' tenure in the position was racked by constant turmoil and often-competing leaks to the media by staffers at odds with each other. Ironically, the Times reported that Trump recently complained about Kelly to none other than Priebus.

A White House spokeswoman did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment about the speculation surrounding Mulvaney.

Gary Cohn, Trump's chief economic advisor, is another name that often comes up as a possible chief of staff candidate. When asked about that, a White House official, who spoke to CNBC on condition of anonymity, called the speculation "premature."

"That said, he could do it and would be great," the official added. "Not sure if he would. But Kelly has been a star."

 CNBC's Eamon Javers contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump signed a major budget plan into law Friday, ending the year's second government shutdown hours after it started.

Both chambers of Congress passed a short-term funding bill in the wee hours of Friday and cleared the way for a massive boost to military and domestic spending hours after funding lapsed at midnight. The government partially shut down for the second time in less than a month.

The massive legislation cleared Congress after opposition delayed or threatened its passage in both chambers. The House narrowly passed the budget bill by 240 to 186 before dawn Friday, then sent it to Trump.

Trump tweeted Friday morning that he signed the legislation.

"Just signed Bill. Our Military will now be stronger than ever before," the president wrote. "We love and need our Military and gave them everything  and more. First time this has happened in a long time. Also means JOBS, JOBS, JOBS!"

Trump tweet

Conservative and liberal lawmakers mounted resistance to the plan. Some GOP conservatives objected to increased spending and argued that it would recklessly increase budget deficits. Meanwhile, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats criticized the lack of a provision to protect hundreds of thousands of young immigrants from deportation.

The Senate approved the measure by a 71-28 vote early Friday following Sen. Rand Paul's repeated attempts to block the vote. The Kentucky Republican opposed the spending increases contained in the agreement and wanted to vote on an amendment to maintain budget caps.

The bill sets up a two-year, $300 billion boost in spending on military and domestic programs. It also extends the debt ceiling, authorizes nearly $90 billion more in aid for last year's string of natural disasters, gives funding to fight the opioid crisis and extends the popular Children's Health Insurance Program for an additional four years.
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) looks on as fellow Democrats speak about recent revelations about President Donald Trump's involvement with Russia on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S. May 17, 2017.

President Donald Trump, facing a looming deadline Friday, said he will "soon" release a letter on the question of whether to approve the release of a memorandum from House Democrats rebutting a controversial Republican memo.

But Trump did not indicate if he would sign off on disclosing the memo, which disputes GOP claims that alleged bias against Trump influenced the FBI's probe of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

The House Intelligence Committee unanimously approved on Monday night the disclosure of the Democratic minority's memo.

Trump has until Friday to either approve the memo's release, oppose it, or call for its release with certain redactions.

That document is expected to challenge a central claim of the GOP memo: that selectively presented information from a largely unverified dossier was used as the basis for extending surveillance warrants against former Trump campaign aide Carter Page.

The dossier was funded in part by the Democratic National Committee and written by former British spy Christopher Steele for the political research firm Fusion GPS.

Steele had claimed Russia had compromising material about Trump as a result of a visit Trump made to Moscow before becoming president. Special counsel Robert Mueller and the FBI are investigating Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election that ended with Trump's victory, and are also probing whether the president obstructed justice in that investigation.

People close to the White House told The New York Times that Trump will likely allow the Democratic memo to be made public, albeit with redactions.

Trump's chief of staff, John Kelly, told reporters Tuesday that the Democrats' memo is "a lot less clean" than the one released last week by committee Chairman Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif.

Trump has said the heavily disputed GOP memo "totally vindicates" him in the special counsel's investigation.

Trump tweet "totally vindicates"

While many Republicans agreed  including Nunes  others were quick to dispute that the memo was as significant as Trump claimed.

Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., was the only member of the committee cleared to actually read the underlying court documents on which the memo was based.

After the memo was released, Gowdy tweeted that it does "not  in any way  discredit his investigation," referring to Mueller.

Trey Gowdy tweet

Nunes never read the underlying documents before writing the memo. Instead, he relied on what Gowdy had told him about those documents.

Page had been a subject of interest by the FBI since 2013  long before Steele wrote his dossier  because of Page's close ties with Russia.

And the GOP memo corroborates reporting from The New York Times that remarks made by former Trump advisor George Papadopoulos  not the Steele dossier  were the primary catalyst for initiating the Russia probe. Papadopoulos has pleaded guilty to lying to federal agents and is cooperating with the investigation.

The Republican memo was released over the objections of Democratic members of the committee and intelligence agencies, who disputed the claims that Mueller's probe is unwarranted. The Justice Department called releasing the memo "extraordinarily reckless."

Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, the Intelligence Committee's ranking member, railed against his Republican colleagues, arguing that their memo "misrepresents highly classified information" from secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Courts, which will ultimately have a chilling effect on U.S. agencies' willingness to share classified information with Congress.

The GOP memo has already had a tangible impact on the procedures Congress follows when disclosing classified documents.

To expedite the release of the memo, the majority used a decades-old committee rule, which allowed it to vote for disclosure and then send the document to Trump, who had five days to decide whether or not it should be released.

The rule, which had never before been applied to a disclosure of classified information, now has been used twice: once by Republicans to release their memo, and once again on Monday by Democrats seeking the release of their own memo.

CNBC has reached out to the White House and the House Intelligence Committee for comment.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison has joined the growing list of colleges that now offer free tuition to certain students. Called "Bucky's Tuition Promise," the program will cover four years of tuition and fees for in-state students whose family's annual household adjusted gross income is $56,000 or less. "We are saying to these Wisconsin families, in the clearest and most concise way possible, that if your student applies here and is accepted, we will cover the cost of tuition and fees  plain and simple," said Derek Kindle, director of the UW-Madison Office of Student Financial Aid, in a statement.

John Fedele | Getty Images

Tuition and fees at the university for one year are about $11,000. The new program is similar to others cropping up at colleges around the country, as student grapple with the rising costs of earning a degree. The average tuition for one year at a public college is $9,970, according to the College Board. At private colleges, the average is a whopping $34,740. Room and board can add another $10,000 or more to that annual cost. Eligibility for the University of Wisconsin-Madison free-tuition program begins with incoming freshman this fall, the school's announcement said. Beyond the income requirement, there will be no requirements or other qualifying factors.
The United States on Friday expressed concerns over Malaysia's possible deportation of 11 Uighur Muslims to China, following a Reuters report that Beijing wanted the Southeast Asian country to hand over the Uighur who escaped from Thailand.

Citing sources, Reuters reported on Thursday that the 11 ethnic Uighur from China, who were among 20 that escaped from a Thai jail last year, have been detained in Malaysia, and that Beijing was in talks with Malaysia over their deportation.

Malaysia was under "great pressure" from China to hand them over to Beijing, and not to Thailand, and some Western foreign missions were trying to dissuade them from sending the Uighur to China, the sources said.

"We are concerned by media reports regarding Malaysia's possible deportation of Uighur individuals to China," a U.S. State Department spokesperson told Reuters in an email.

"We urge Chinese authorities to uphold international human rights norms with regard to any individuals who have been returned to China, and to ensure transparency, due process, and the safety and proper treatment of these individuals."

Human Rights Watch called on Malaysia to ensure the detained Uighur are not forcibly deported to China as they face "credible threats of imprisonment and torture".

"Malaysian authorities should allow these individuals access to a fair process to determine their refugee claims, not ship them to China based on Beijing's demands," Brad Adams, Asia director of the rights group, said in a statement on Friday.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang on Thursday said he did not know of the case of the detained Uighur in Malaysia.

Beijing accuses separatist extremists among the Uighur minority of plotting attacks on China's Han majority in the restive far western region of Xinjiang and other parts of China.

China has been accused of rights abuses in Xinjiang, torture of Uighur detainees and tight control on their religion and culture. It denies wrongdoing. Over the years, hundreds, possibly thousands, of Uighur have escaped unrest in Xinjiang by travelling clandestinely via Southeast Asia to Turkey.

The 20 Uighur broke out of a cell near the Thai-Malaysian border in November by digging holes in the wall and using blankets as ladders. Five of them were recaptured in Thailand later that month. The escapees were part of a larger group of more than 200 Uighur detained in Thailand in 2014.

Members of the group identified themselves as Turkish citizens and asked to be sent to Turkey but more than 100 were forcibly returned to China in July 2015, a move that sparked international condemnation, including from rights groups who feared they could face torture in China.
The White House is preparing to release a budget Monday that will not balance, according to a person familiar with the document, reversing the administration's previous stance and casting aside a point of pride for conservatives.

The shift away from a balanced budget occurred even before President Donald Trump signed into law Friday morning the massive $320 billion spending deal hashed out between Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill.

In the original version of the budget, which was completed in mid-January, lower federal revenues due to steep tax cuts, combined with higher mandatory spending on entitlement programs, resulted in deficits throughout the next decade, according to the source.

The new bipartisan spending deal from Congress only exacerbates the problem. According to the Center for a Responsible Federal Budget, deficits will top $1 trillion next year under that agreement and could reach $2.1 trillion by 2027 if it becomes permanent and U.S. interest payments rise.

A senior official at the Office of Management and Budget said earlier Friday that Monday's proposal will reflect the new spending limits. The White House budget will also include a "road map" for offsetting the growth in spending "in a responsible manner," the official said.

Presidential budgets are not binding documents but vision statements outlining an administration's priorities and principles. Proposing a budget that does not balance amounts to a tacit admission of the challenging political realities facing a party that had long defined itself by fiscal prudence. OMB Director Mick Mulvaney had been a staunch deficit hawk and a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus while he served in Congress, and previously supported a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution.

Continuing to add to the nation's deficits is also not likely to sit well with his former colleagues in Congress, many of whom voted against the spending deal but have supported other key White House initiatives. Outside groups such as Heritage Action and FreedomWorks have also decried the measure.
Ring Road project mulls design audit

A top official at the Department of Roads has said the DoR is mulling over a design audit to find out what could be done to improve the safety level of the ongoing Ring Road expansion project.
Types of obituaries

The Missourian publishes two types of obituaries  family obituaries and life stories.

A family obituary is the version submitted by a funeral home or family. Please see the submission form for details on cost and deadlines. Family obituaries

A life story is a closer look at a person's life and involves a reporter contacting family and friends. Life stories are based on newsworthiness and consent of the family. Life stories.
Microsoft Office may be the de facto productivity tool for millions of workers worldwide, but it's no monolith. Rather than a single, towering smooth-black Office, there's a whole Stonehenge of options: Office on the iPhone, on iPad, Office on Android smartphones, Office on personal computers, Windows and macOS, Office with a handful of applications, Office with fist-fulls of apps.

But when you get down to it, there are really only two kinds of Office. One, labeled Office 2019, is the stand-alone suite that traces its roots back to the last century. The other, Office 365, is the subscription service that debuted in 2011.

How they differ can be confusing, especially since each includes, more or less, the same applications. Here are three ways to tell these tools apart, and a look at what's coming, based on Microsoft's new support policies for both Office 2019 and Office 365.

JD Sartain / IDG Worldwide Microsoft Office 365 Desktop subscription version

How Office is paid for

Of the differences between Office 2019 and Office 365, purchase plans are among the most striking.

Office 2019, whether bought one copy at a time in retail or in lots of hundreds via volume licensing, has been dubbed a "one-time purchase" by Microsoft to spell out how it's paid for. (Labels like "perpetual," which have been widely used by Computerworld, technically note the type of license rather than payment methodology, but in Office's case, the kind of license is tied to whether it was bought outright or simply "rented.")

Microsoft defines the term as when "...you pay a single, up-front cost to get Office applications for one computer." Up-front is the key adjective there; Office 2019's entire purchase price must be laid out before receiving the software.

That purchase, actually of a license to legally run the software, gives the buyer the right to use Office 2019 in perpetuity. In other words, the license has no expiration date, and users may run the suite as long as they want. Pay for Office 2019 this year and use it for the next seven years? Fine. Run it until 2030? Nothing to stop you.

One-time purchases include Office Standard 2019 and Office Professional Plus 2019 (Windows) and Office Standard 2019 for Mac (macOS), the enterprise-grade SKUs available only via volume licensing; and retail packages such as Office Professional 2019 (Windows) and Office Home & Business 2019 (macOS).

Office 365, the purchase method Microsoft pushes most aggressively, is a subscription service, so payments are made monthly or annually. In some rare instances, annual payments may produce savings in exchange for a commitment: Office 365 Business Premium, for example, costs $12.50 per month per user when paid in an annual lump sum ($150 per user), but $15 per month per user on a month-to-month plan ($180).

All enterprise plans - from Enterprise E1 to E5, as well as ProPlus - do not offer a monthly option but require an annual commitment.

Like any subscription, Office 365 provides a service - in this case, the right to run the suite's applications and access the associated services - only as long as payments continue. Stop paying, and rights to run the apps and services expire. (Actually, they don't immediately stop working; everything will continue to operate normally for 30 days past the previous payment's due date.)

A license for Office 365, then, is contingent on sustained payments. Halt the latter and the license is revoked. Restarting the payments restores the license.

Office 365 plans range from one for individual consumers (Office 365 Personal) and small businesses (Office 365 Business) to educational institutions (Office 365 Education E5) and corporations (Office 365 Enterprise E3). Office 365 is also part of Microsoft 365, an even more expensive subscription. The latter comes with labels resembling those of Office 365, including Microsoft 365 Business and Microsoft 365 Enterprise E3.

How each version of Office is serviced

Although payments define one difference between Office 2019 and Office 365, Microsoft's turn to a faster development and release pace is ultimately more important to users - and the IT professionals who support them.

Think of Office 2019 as traditional software made and sold in traditional ways. That holds for servicing, too. Microsoft provides monthly security updates for Office applications, usually on the second Tuesday of each month, and also fixes non-security bugs for the first five years of the SKU's lifecycle.

But Office 2019 does not receive upgrades with new features and functionality. What you get when you buy the suite, feature-wise, is it. If you want to run a new edition, say, Office 2022 (Microsoft has only said it will do another perpetual version, not that it will be so named), you will need to pay another up-front fee to run it.

Office 365, on the other hand, has a completely different servicing model. While the Office applications licensed to users through Office 365 receive the same security patches (and non-security fixes) distributed to Office 2019, they also acquire new features and functionality on a twice-a-year schedule. Those upgrades are issued first in September and March of each year as "Semi-Annual Channel (Targeted), then followed in January and July with "Semi-Annual Channel" releases. This support document explains the update channels of Office 365 ProPlus, the application bundle included in Office 365.

As new features and functionality accrete, the applications evolve until, at some point, Microsoft says they are sufficiently different to warrant a new numerical moniker, such as Office 2022 or Office 2025 (if the perpetual version goes on that long). It will then package those versions into an upgraded suite for customers who continue to make one-time, up-front purchases.

How Office hooks up with cloud services

Neither Office 2019 or Office 365 is truly cloud-based, but both are able to connect with Microsoft's cloud services (and to a very limited extent, some third-party services). Currently, both the applications awarded in a one-time purchase of Office 2019 and those installed as part of an Office 365 subscription can connect with services such as Microsoft-hosted Exchange, OneDrive storage and Skype for Business.

However, in April 2017 Microsoft announced a major change in the rights of perpetual Office. Office 2019's applications - acquired through an up-front purchase of the suite - must be in their "Mainstream" support period, the first five years of the guaranteed lifecycle, to connect with Microsoft's cloud services.

"Office 2019 connections to Office 365 services will be supported until October 2023," Microsoft stated in one support document. (For a while, Microsoft pegged the service cut-off for Office 2016 at October 2020 but within a few months it retreated and said that, like Office 2019, the older suite would connect to Microsoft's cloud services until October 2023.)

The change clearly took aim at customers who mixed cloud services with traditional one-time payment software, because it effectively halved the time the latter could be used in those organizations. At the same time, the post-2023 rule advanced Microsoft's efforts to push business customers toward subscriptions. The company hasn't been shy about saying that Office 365 is, in the end, inevitable.

"Most of our cloud-powered innovation is coming to Office 365 and Microsoft 365. However, we recognize that some customers can't move to the cloud in the near term. We want to support all our customers in their journey to the cloud, at the pace that makes the most sense to them," Microsoft said.

Applications obtained from an Office 365 subscription will never have a connect cutoff date.

How Office will be supported in the future

On Feb. 1, 2018, Microsoft revealed changes in support for Office 2019, even though the "one-time purchase" product had not yet been released. The company also previewed a shape-shift in support for Office 365, specifically the ProPlus component - the desktop productivity applications - slated to take effect in January 2020.

Microsoft plans to slash support for Office 2019.

"Office 2019 will provide 5 years of mainstream support and approximately 2 years of extended support," wrote Jared Spataro, the general manager for Office, in a Feb. 1, 2018, post to a company blog. "This is ... to align with the support period for Office 2016. Extended support will end 10/14/2025." As Spataro implied, Office 2016's support also will come to a stop Oct. 14, 2025.

Office 2016 is to get 10 years of support (five in the "Mainstream" support stretch, five in "Extended"). Office 2019 will get just 7, representing a decrease of 30%. Because Office 2019's Mainstream support will end Oct. 10, 2023, that will be the cut-off for connecting Office 2019's applications to Microsoft's cloud services (see "How Office hooks up with cloud services" above).

Spataro also dissed perpetual Office more explicitly. "It has become imperative to move our software to a more modern cadence," he wrote, implying that years of support for one-time payment software was either onerous for Microsoft or put customers at risk (or both).

Along with the reduction of the support timeline, Microsoft also announced that Office 2019 would be supported only on Windows 10. Even though Windows 7 has until Jan 14, 2020, before it's retired, and Windows 8.1 will have over four years remaining, Office 2019 will not be supported on either.

Meanwhile, Microsoft initially vowed to curtail support for Office 365's ProPlus, too.

A year ago, Microsoft said that after Jan. 14, 2020, only Windows 10 would be supported for running Office 365 ProPlus; that date is the head-to-assisted-living deadline for Windows 7. Windows 8.1 was also to fall off the ProPlus supported list, as was the Windows 10 LTSC (Long-term Servicing Channel) version.

Again, Microsoft blinked. In September, the company changed its mind about cutting off Windows 8.1's access to Office 365 ProPlus.

"To support customers already on Office 365 ProPlus through their operating system transitions, we are ... revising some announcements that were made in February," said Spataro in a Sept. 6, 2018 blog post. "Office 365 ProPlus will continue to be supported on Windows 8.1 through January 2023, which is the end-of-support date for Windows 8.1."_

The no-support rule for Windows 10 LTSC remained in place, however.
Brexit 1) Davis slams Brussels over threats to punish the UK

May urges ministers to be bold in pursuit of new relationship  Daily Telegraph

Prime Minister summons Cabinet to away day to set Brexit position  The Sun

Ministers told UK will have immediate break with EU  Daily Express

Gove wins fight to block EU demand to set transition fishing quotas  The Sun

Brexit 2) EU set to reignite row over Northern Ireland

David Davis slammed Brussels for threatening to punish Britain during the Brexit transition period today as senior ministers continued talks on the negotiating strategy. The Brexit Secretary said the EU was not acting in good faith over Decembers political agreement on the terms of the Brexit divorce deal. Yesterday, leaks in Brussels revealed the EU wants powers to penalise Britain by closing off sectors of the single market if it fails to follow EU rules after Brexit takes place in March 2019. Both sides have signalled broad support for a status quo transition for around two years but Britain wants flexibility to start negotiating trade deals.  Daily Mail

UK negotiators have been warned that the EU draft withdrawal agreement will stipulate that Northern Ireland will, in effect, remain in the customs union and single market after Brexit to avoid a hard border. The uncompromising legal language of the draft agreement is likely to provoke a major row, something all parties to the negotiations have been trying to avoid. British officials negotiating in Brussels were told by their counterparts that there could be a sunset clause included in the legally binding text, which is due to be published in around two weeks. Such a legal device would make the text null and void at a future date should an unexpectedly generous free trade deal, or a hitherto unimagined technological solution emerge that could be as effective as the status quo in avoiding the need for border infrastructure.  The Guardian

May could visit Ulster as power-sharing deal edges closer  Belfast Telegraph

More:

Britain wants to benefit from over 700 EU-struck treaties  FT

Japanese ambassador warns of high stakes  FT

British fishermen set to have better non-EU trading deals  The Sun

Nigeria could be key Brexit trade ally  Daily Telegraph

Comment:

Brexiteers are right to take Britain out of the Customs Union  Lee Rotherham, Daily Telegraph

Fifteen reasons to be cheerful about taking back control  Anthony Browne, The Sun

Having-and-eating-cake fantasy is over on EU trade  Jeremy Warner, Daily Telegraph

Editorial:

Where Brexit hits hard, a customs union will help  FT

>Today: ToryDiary: There is danger now in Germany of a weak, centrist government  with extremists flourishing on both sides

>Yesterday: Henry Hills Red, White, and Blue column: Deal to restore Stormont could apparently be done in days

Brexit 3) Barnier memo raises questions over Corbyns policy

Opposition leader accused of trying to undermine Mays negotiations  The Sun

Foreign staff stick to NHS despite Brexit fears  The Times

Jeremy Corbyn told Michel Barnier that he was open to keeping Britain in the customs union after Brexit, a memo circulated to European nations suggests. The Labour leader met Mr Barnier, the European Unions chief Brexit negotiator, in London on Monday, where Mr Corbyn promised to run the Brexit negotiations very differently if he came to power  and dangled a raft of possible concessions to the EU. According to a memo of the meeting, drawn up after a debrief between Mr Barnier and ambassadors from the other 27 EU nations, Mr Corbyn said that he was willing to allow the UK to submit to the rulings of the European Court of Justice should he become prime minister. The document, seen by The Daily Telegraph, also states that Mr Corbyn said he could offer a unilateral guarantee on the rights of EU citizens during transition.  Daily Telegraph

Comment:

Corbyn is Barniers useful idiot  Asa Bennett, Daily Telegraph

Editorial:

Be honest about Brexit, Mr Corbyn  Daily Telegraph

>Today: J Meirion Thomas in Comment: The Immigration Health Surcharge must be revised or abolished: not tinkered with.

Brexit 4) Miller (!) denounces neo-Remain campaign as undemocratic

The founder of a Remain-supporting campaign group that is seeking to overturn Brexit has accused the organisation of being undemocratic and said it must disclose its financial backers. Gina Miller, who founded Best for Britain, said the public has a right to know who is backing the organisation as she criticised its tactics. Her intervention comes after The Telegraph disclosed that George Soros, the billionaire known as the man who broke the Bank of England, is backing the campaign. The group is trying to recruit major donors in an attempt to undermine Theresa May. It also plans to target MPs and convince them to vote against the final Brexit deal in a bid to trigger a second referendum or another election.  Daily Telegraph

Plotters are the Remain elite incarnate  Daily Mail

Editorial:

Soros support just makes hypocrites of campaigners  The Sun

>Today: Iain Dales column: The language used by both sides in the Brexit debate is hardening and coarsening

>Yesterday: ToryDiary: There will be no Brexit deal for Soross allies to vote against

Fraser Nelson: Soros is a champion of democracy but hes backing the wrong side on Brexit

Dont blame Soros for Britains doubts about Brexit  Philip Stephens, FT

No campaign quotes tracts of philosophy, but the slogan take back control could have been the leitmotif of any one of the Soros campaigns which worked to such effect during the Cold War. And afterwards, where his support helped Mikheil Saakashvili become president of Georgia and many others to fight against Moscows influence. As Saakashvili once put it, Soros was at his best in a clear battle between democracy and authoritarianism, but when he starts to play politics, hes not that good. As we are seeing now. Many people think the elites have stolen their democracy, Soros wrote a year ago. Quite so, yet he has now ended up bankrolling a campaign to reverse the biggest vote cast in the history of British democracy.  Daily Telegraph

More:

Mogg-Johnsons will betray their Brexit fans  Philip Collins, The Times

Johnson and pals: the Brexit dream team is back  Robert Shrimsley, FT

We can leave the EU, but not Europe  Simon Jenkins, The Guardian

Ministers plan to get tough on firms which dont pay interns

Ministers are taking action to stop businesses employing unpaid interns, with HM Revenue & Customs establishing enforcement teams and issuing warnings to 550 companies about the practice. The teams are expected to target media and arts businesses as well as professional services firms such as solicitors and accountants. A fifth of graduates who undertake internships six months after leaving university find themselves in unpaid posts, according to the Sutton Trust charity. Minimum wage laws ban companies from offering unpaid internships but the government said there had been no prosecutions. Businesses are directed not to avoid paying genuine workers by treating them as interns. However, volunteers do not require payment under the law and campaigners fear that employers are using this as a loophole.  The Times

Labour hypocrites advertise jobs below their 10 living wage pledge  The Sun

Care pension plan to cover cost of help in later years  The Times

Comment:

Universal Credit is running better, and its working  Esther McVey, Times Red Box

>Yesterday: Andrew Carter in Think Tanks: Britains cities hold the key to Tory renewal

MPs accused of being sex pests will get anonymity

Parliamentarians could be recalled or expelled under new sanctions  The Guardian

Harassment victims say plans dont go far enough  The Sun

MPs and peers who are the subject of complaints of bullying or sexual harassment will be granted anonymity during any investigation to protect them against malicious accusations. Proposals for a parliament-wide behaviour code, complaints procedure and confidential hotline published yesterday by Andrea Leadsom, the Commons leader, received a cautious welcome. The guarantee of anonymity has been criticised by some campaigners, however. A report into the new code by a cross-party group set up after revelations of abusive behaviour said that politicians should get more protection because of the increased risk to their reputations from false accusations.  The Times

Comment:

Time for #MPToo  Kathy Newman, Daily Telegraph

Perry accuses BBC of fake news

A Tory minister has accused the BBC of fake news after last night denying calling Brexiteers the swivel-eyed few  despite previously admitting the remark Energy Minister Claire Perry brushed off a reference to her outburst when it was put to her by Question Time Host David Dimbleby. However, the Devizes MP had previously apologised for her Brexit rant after it emerged earlier this week that she written it on a Conservative Whatsapp group. Replying to Dimbleby, Ms Perry said: No, I didnt. NoI do hate the way the BBC likes to do this fake news.'  Daily Mail

Tory chief accused of covering up charity scandal

Donor pays 55,000 to spend day with May  The Times

and another stumps up 15,000 for dinner with Davidson  The Scotsman

MP says Facebook is abusive and must be regulated

The chief executive of the Conservative Party has been accused of covering up a Labour activists alleged misuse of expenses at a charity. Sir Mick Davis was chairman of the Jewish Leadership Council (JLC) in 2013, when Jeremy Newmark, who was its chief executive, was accused of inappropriate spending and expenses claims. The police were not informed and the Charity Commission said yesterday that it had not been told of the allegations, which raised serious concerns. Mr Newmark, 45, resigned for health reasons. He was elected chairman of the Jewish Labour Movement and narrowly missed winning a seat at the general election last year.  The Times

Facebook was yesterday accused of being in an abusive relationship with its users, as MPs called for web giants to be regulated. The culture, media and sport select committee told executives at Facebook, Twitter and Google that they have opened a Pandoras Box of social problems and have become so powerful, it is time for rules to keep them in check. Labours Jo Stevens said: There is a power imbalance there because you are controlling [the information people see] and the person who is receiving it doesnt have any control over it. [It] reminds me of an abusive relationship where there is coercive control going on. Conservative Rebecca Pow added: You hold so much data about people you are now very, very powerful and you are completely unregulated.  Daily Mail

>Yesterday: MPs Etc.: Patel and Seely win Foreign Affairs committee places. Simon Clarke is elected to the Treasury committee.

SNP accused of interfering in Freedom of Information requests

Davidson tears into Sturgeon over new policing board chief  Daily Express

First Minister rejects call to clarify US military Prestwick use  The Guardian

Racism row in Scottish Labour deepens  The Scotsman

SNP ministers have accused of pervading over a culture of evasiveness and secrecy by blocking the publication of documents about their dealings with the Prince of Wales over Scottish education. Holyroods opposition parties highlighted emails showing that John Swinney said he would prefer that material about Prince Charles be withheld from a Freedom of Information (FOI) response about Teach First, an education charity of which he is a patron. They also disclosed that Colin McAllister, his senior political special adviser, was consulted and that civil servants addressed the points he made in their response. The Tories, Labour and Lib Dems argued this contradicted assurances given by Joe Fitzpatrick, the Parliamentary Business Minister, that the replies were not screened by special advisers for political sensitivity and called for the Scottish Information Commissioner to investigate.  Daily Telegraph

Comment:

Wanted: a top cop to rescue Scotlands battered national force  Alan Cochrane, Daily Telegraph

News in Brief:
J. Meirion Thomas is a former Professor of Surgery and Consultant Surgeon in the NHS.

I have previously described the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) on this site as a rotten deal for the NHS, patients and taxpayers. This week, the Department of Health has announced a desperate last-minute rescue plan in an attempt to avoid an embarrassing, if inevitable failure of its Cost Recovery Programme.

In brief, migrants and students who came to live in UK for six months or more after April 2015 will have to pay the IHS a charge set at 200 for migrants and 150 for students, per person per year. This will be despite a report commissioned by the Government in 2013 which that estimated the cost of treating non-EU citizens in the NHS as 736 per person per year. Clearly, the IHS would need a huge taxpayer subsidy to cover the additional costs incurred.

But, of even greater risk to the taxpayer, the IHS did not exclude pre-existing illnesses, as would happen in any application for a commercial travel or health insurance policy. How utterly naiive and uninformed of those who drafted and failed to oppose this legistlation, which was included in the 2014 Immigration Act.

I argued at the time that the IHS was creating an obvious loophole for health tourists to exploit, and this has happened. It has become the legal way for health tourists from outside the EU to access NHS care. One of my Overseas Visitor Manager colleagues from an out-of-London hospital told me today: Not a day goes by without a surcharged patient arriving at my hospital. They come as frequently as newly arrived Europeans, who are also entitled to immediate free NHS care. During the winter crisis, we only saw pictures of the elderly on trolleys, but migrants also take up vital hospital capacity.

Embarrassed by its failure to control health tourism from outside the EU, the Government launched a Cost Recovery Programme in 2014 which was intended to collect 500 million annually by 2017-2018. Of this amount, 200 million was to come from the IHS, 200 million from better recovery of European Health Insurance Card charges and 100 million from a 50 per cent surcharge on invoiced health tourists.

In its evidence to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on October 28th 2016, the National Audit Office estimated that the Cost Recovery Programme would collect only 346 million of the 500 million target during 2017-2018, leaving a 154 million shortfall. Specifically, with regard to the IHS in 2015-2016, the surcharge generated 164 million of the 200 million intended. Meg Hillier, the Chair of PAC, said that the Governments failure to get a grip on recovering the costs of treating overseas visitors is depriving the NHS of vital funds.

In response to this policy failure, last Junes Conservative Manifesto promised that the IHS would be trebled to 600/450 if the party was re-elected: a promise the new Governmenr was forced to drop. And his week, the Department of Health announced that the IHS will be doubled to 400/300 from later this year. They have recalculated the spend on surcharge payers as 470 per person per year, down from 736 as predicted by PREDERI in 2013. Really?

In truth, neither of these estimates is evidence-based. Once the IHS is paid, a green banner appears on the patients NHS records, and hospitals are not required to record or report the costs of treatment. Therefore, there is no way of calculating the cost to the NHS of treating surcharged patients in relation to the amount collected. Assuming that either of the two estimates of individual patient treatment costs are correct (736 or 470), then the account is in serious deficit, at the taxpayers expense.

By April, the IHS will have been law for three years, and about 1.4million non-EU migrants and students will have been given unlimited access to the NHS for a pittance. The real risk to the tax payer is that the IHS does not exclude pre-exiting illnesses and that must change as a matter of urgency. Otherwise this flawed policy should be abolished and replaced by compulsory travel insurance as is expected of British citizens travelling abroad.
There is danger now in Germany of a weak, centrist government  with extremists flourishing on both sides

It is more than possible that by forming a new coalition with the Social Democrats, Angela Merkel has dug her own grave. Many of her own Christian Democrats are appalled by her behaviour.

She doesnt believe in anything, as one furious German conservative put it yesterday. Shes just completely caving in to the SPD [the Social Democrats].

Shes making the same mistake as Helmut Kohl. She thinks shes irreplaceable, but she isnt.

The biggest gainer from Merkels coalition (if the deal is ratified in the ballot of SPD members to which it must now be put) is likely to be Alternative for Germany [AfD], which at last Septembers general election entered the Bundestag for the first time and became the third biggest party, so enjoys the privileges which come from being the official opposition to the coalition between the Christian and Social Democrats.

Merkel has managed to become a recruiting sergeant for AfD. In 2015, her decision to open Germanys borders to refugees rescued that party from irrelevance by giving it an issue it could exploit.

Voters showed in September how fed up they were with the Christian Democrats, whose vote fell by almost nine points to just under 33 per cent, the lowest since 1949, and also with their partners the Social Democrats, whose vote fell by five points to 20 per cent, the lowest since 1933.

Yet the same two parties now propose, with catastrophic cloth-earedness, to form another coalition. When ministerial posts beckon, politicians discover it is in the national interest to take them.

The SPD was nevertheless wary of doing this, for it has seen how in recent years its counterparts in France, the Netherlands and Greece have been pushed to the margins of politics. But Merkel talked her old partners round by offering them the Finance Ministry as well as the Foreign Ministry, and higher spending on various worthy objects.

The SPDs youth wing is strongly opposed to a deal, so a vote by the membership in favour cannot be taken for entirely for granted. But the trade unions are emphatically in favour of renewing the coalition.

Angry Christian Democrats point out that it need not have come to this, if Merkel had negotiated in good faith with the Free Democrats [FDP], a liberal-minded free-market party, when attempting at an earlier stage to form a coalition with them and the Greens.

She made generous concessions to the Greens, but virtually none to the Free Democrats, who eventually walked away from the talks. Once again, she was happiest steering to the Left and offered no sign of sympathy to conservatives, leaving them feeling abandoned, and in need of some other champion.

The danger now is that Germany will find itself with a weak, centrist government, and extremists on both sides will flourish. Merkel evidently hopes to avert this outcome by putting the 68-year-old Horst Seehofer, from the CDUs Bavarian allies the Christian Social Union, in charge of an enlarged Interior Ministry, where he will attempt to reduce the number of refugees admitted to Germany each year to the target agreed in October by the CDU and CSU of 200,000 except in emergencies.

But in Bavaria, Seehofer is regarded as a toothless lion, and there will be general astonishment if in Berlin he suddenly turns into an effectual minister.

Perhaps Merkel will manage to suppress the many critics she now has in her own ranks, and will lead a strong and stable government. But it seems much more likely that like Kohl, she has at long last exhausted her own followers patience, by pursuing policies (as noted here at the start of January) with which the Social Democrats agree, but which antagonise millions of German conservatives.
Laura Sandys is a member of the Commission on the Future of Localism and a Vice-President of Civic Voice.

My wonderful conversations with so many in Thanet when I was an MP were always tempered by comments like What do they in London know about life here?, why do those people in County Hall want to do that?, and of course What does Brussels know about Kent?.

Power has seemed extremely remote from the front line of life and accountability, and as one of the most centralised administrations in the world the public feel that they lack agency, power and control. Take back control: whether you voted leave or remain, its hard to argue that this wasnt a hugely successful campaign slogan, and one that tapped into the mood of a great number of people.

Theresa May recognised this in her maiden speech on the steps of Downing Street; politicians of all stripes are increasingly recognising that their policy offer must address this dissatisfaction with the status quo; and, importantly, people up and down our country recognise that they have a right to a greater say over the way their lives are governed.

The Commission on the Future of Localism, on which I sat, was set up to investigate what is required to reinvigorate local democracy, after the welcome ambition of the 2011 Localism Act. The Commission was established to see what could be done to adequately respond to turbo charge greater localism.

I have long been an advocate for decision making taking place at the local level  by those who best understand the nuances and complexities of their community. It is a concept which has fallen in and out of vogue for successive governments.

The Commission  in order to quantify current day public demand for greater localised power  asked YouGov to carry out polling of the general population at the beginning of 2018. The results show that 80 per cent of people feel they have not much or no control over the important decisions that affect the country. Moreover, only three per cent of people polled said that local people currently have the most say over what happens in their local area. Yet, when asked who should have the most say the majority (57 per cent) wanted their own community (as opposed to local or national government) to be calling the shots.

The People Power report was published last month by the Commission, which is supported by Locality, the national charity supporting community organisations, and Power to Change, the independent trust supporting community businesses in England. It makes a number of proposals which aim to respond to this demand and provide practical advice on how to really embed localism within our communities.

Front and centre, it argues for a radical reframing of the way we think of power. Much of the recent localism and devolution debate has focused on calls for power to be handed from the centre downwards to communities. But power doesnt belong to decision-makers to give away, and we need a localism agenda which makes the case that power starts with people. That it lies in our communities.

Therefore, new and existing devolution arrangements should be held to account by whether they truly enhance neighbourhood control and strengthen the power of community. We must steer clear of tokenistic or transactional powers for communities  sometimes wrapped in patronising consultations that result in piecemeal reform or hollow gestures. This is a trap in which our leaders, both local and national, must not fall.

The power of localism is huge. It has the capacity to strengthen community cohesion, offer citizens a meaningful form of civic engagement, and boost local economic resilience.

Cohesive communities are underpinned by trusting relationships between local people from different backgrounds and with different experiences of life. Localism done right can provide communities with a common cause that brings people together  in turn allowing them to get to know one another and form bonds of trust and reciprocity.

Research by Locality also shows that when local authorities work closely with community organisations and businesses in their area  to provide both goods and services  this delivers a local economic multiplier and provides communities with a real sense of ownership.

The benefits are clear. So, our localism offer must be bold. It must be at the heart of the devolution agenda. But most of all, it must start with people.
Three stranded Nepalis return home from Afghanistan

Three Nepalis, who were living under captive-like condition without valid stay permit in Afghanistan, have returned home on Thursday after nearly 30 months.
ST. ANDREWS WEST, Ontario  Caroline Mulroney, a candidate for leader the Ontario Progressive Conservative (PC) Party made a campaign stop in St. Andrews West on Friday, Feb. 9, 2018.

The event was organized by Stromont, Dundas and South Glengarry Conservative MP Guy Lauzon and was held at Quinns Inn.

While introducing Mulroney, Lauzon remarked how the inn was first built in 1865 by Ontarios first Premier Sir John Sanfield MacDonald and how MacDonald was buried just a few feet from where he was speaking in the cemetery across the street.

Eric Duncan, Mayor of North Dundas and former Conservative Party staffer remarked that it was only decided on Wednesday that Mulroney would visit the riding.

They asked me if we could get 30 people together by Friday, Duncan joked to a packed house.

Part of the crowd was made up by a group of New Yorkers from Lake Placid having a late afternoon lunch at Quinns Inn who did not expect to be caught up in a sudden political event.

Stormont, Dundas and South Glengarry PC MPP Jim McDonell was present and said that he would be listening carefully to what Mulroney had to say.

What Ive seen of her I think shed be great, shes a fresh face, he said, but admitted that he had not yet decided who he would vote for as next PC leader.

Mulroney spoke to the crowd about how she felt that life in Ontario was becoming unaffordable, that the province had sunk too far into debt and criticized the current Liberal government for what she characterized as an adversarial attitude with business.

We have to get back on track, she said. So Im putting my name forward. I know Im the only one who can beat Kathleen Wynne.

She went on to say that businesses across the province do not want a government working against them.

She also joked about the issue around her name, and being the daughter of former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney .

Some people think Im Ben Mulroneys sister and because of that I shouldnt run, she joked.

Ben Mulroney is her brother and a former host of Canadian Idol.

Before finishing her address to the crowd Mulroney made a point to state in French that she is the only current candidate for the leadership who is bilingual.

After she was finished speaking, Guy Lauzon endorsed Mulroney as a leadership candidate.

Make sure you go out and support this young lady, he said.

Mulroney is currently in a four way race for the PC leadership with former MPP Christine Elliot, former Toronto city councillor Doug Ford and Tanya Granic Allen, President of Parents as First Educators.

The new leader will be chosen on March 10, three months ahead of the June 7 provincial election.

Mulroney will be running in the York-Simcoe riding in that election.
EASTON  What do the towns and cities of Easton, Monroe, Ansonia, Seymour and Darien have in common?

All their police departments have recently issued warnings to residents about a kidnapping phone scam frequenting the area. Monroe police joined the list of warnings Friday, and Easton police took to social media about it Saturday morning.
WESTPORT  A crash on the Merritt Parkway on Thursday didnt yield serious injuries, officials said.

The Westport Fire Department, alongside Connecticut State Police, responded for a two-vehicle crash on the Merritt Parkway early Thursday afternoon.

Officials said both vehicles were heading southbound when one of the vehicles hit the other. After the vehicles collided, officials said one vehicle ended up in the northbound travel lane.

Two people were evaluated by medics on scene and released, police said. Both vehicles were towed and the highway was reopened after crews cleared the scene.
HARTFORD  The states third annual attempt to boil academic success to a single number shows progress being made in the college readiness arena but on the reading, math and science front, not so much.

Nearly three quarters of districts and charter schools statewide  146 out of 201  scored worse on this years index than they did a year ago.

Individual student improvement over time  something the state pushed to include in its Next Generation Accountability system  is what in many cases held schools and school districts from seeing overall improvement, state officials said.

Released Friday by the State Department of Education, the states grade, or index, remains flat, rising one tenth of one percent to 73.2 points in 2016-17.

Each school and district also earned an index number based on the same compilation of 12 indicators. Included are not only scores on state standardized tests but absentee rates, graduation rates, access to arts and physical fitness.

What is measured is how well schools are living up to goals set for them by the state.

Locally, Bridgeport, Derby, Milford, Region 9 and Seymour saw one-year increases in their scores from the previous year. Ansonia, Easton, Fairfield, Monroe, Oxford, Stratford and Trumbull showed slight declines from 2015-16 to 2016-17.

For Bridgeport, the overall 2.9 percent increase was applauded as a step in the right direction.

Our teachers and administrators have done an excellent job in placing focus on each of our instructional programs, as demonstrated by an increase in our growth targets achieved in math, preparation for college/career readiness, improved graduation rate and the significant improvements in physical fitness and arts access, Bridgeport Schools Superintendent Aresta Johnson said. Our new strategic plan will continue to leverage the great work that has been accomplished thus far.

In its index reporting, the state makes note of schools that improve, show growth or just have overall high numbers. A list of 124 Schools of Distinction were reported including a dozen locally.

In addition, 16 schools on a watch list for poor performance gained enough ground to leave the list. One of them was the BioTech School that is part of Bridgeports Fairchild Wheeler Magnet Campus.

Ajit Gopalakrishnan, chief performance officer for the states Department of Education, said the state was pleased that more students are taking Advanced Placement courses and tests. All juniors now take the SAT as their state assessment.

Overall, some indicators are showing positive movement and some are not, Gopalakrishnan said. We know there some areas where we have a lot of work to do.

On the positive side was a 3.6 percent jump in the number of high needs students  English language learners, students with disabilities or from low income families  who graduated in six years or fewer.

Physical fitness levels also jumped 35 percent because there was more participation changing the points earned, state officials said.

More Information District 15-16 index 16-17 index Ansonia 65.7 64.9 Bridgeport 56.4 59.3 Derby 63.0 63.3 Easton 83.5 75.8 Fairfield 84.0 83.0 Milford 78.1 80.5 Monroe 82.9 80.6 Oxford 78.0 76.0 Region 9 84.0 86.4 Seymour 76.1 77 Shelton 77.6 76.4 Stratford 73.6 72.4 Trumbull 88.7 83.6 Schools of Distinction A state designation for schools based on overall performance, growth or improvement, 124 schools have been deemed Schools of Distinction. Included on the list are: Biotech School, Fairchild Wheeler, Bridgeport Information Tech School, Fairchild Wheeler, Bridgeport Capital Prep Harbor Charter School, Bridgeport Burr School, Fairfield McKinley School, Fairfield Sherman School, Fairfield Kennedy School, Milford Monroe Elementary School Stepney Elementary School, Monroe Chatfield LoPresti School, Seymour Booth Hill School, Shelton Sunnyside School, Shelton. Daniels Farm School, Trumbull Middlebrook School, Trumbull See More Collapse

On the downside was some backsliding on the percentage of growth, or how well underperforming students do from one year to the next in matching state averages. In language arts, the growth slipped 8.5 percent and in math, 3.7 percent.

Growth carries the largest weight in the index and in many cases is what caused many school districts to decline, Gopalakrishnan said.

We have a long way to go there, Gopalakrishnan said. Growth is where the (state public school) system is putting a lot of its emphasis.

In measuring growth, the district excludes students who relocate to new districts  2,194 between the two years  so that the same students are being compared one year with the next.

Also down were science scores. The index dropped nearly 3 points statewide.

The federal government requires the state to compile the index and use the information to help schools to better education their children, but no longer collects the data as it did under No Child Left Behind.
You should wait, baby

Child marriage is a continuing problem that has been exacerbated by low access to education and social media usage
Infraud Cybercrime Site: Dozens Arrested

Thirty-six people have been charged for their alleged involvement in running a cybercrime service responsible for more than $530m (381m) of losses. The Infraud Organisation is said to have dealt in stolen credit cards and passwords and engaged in bank fraud and ID theft.

As of March 2017, its dark-web-based service's discussion forum is said to have had 10,901 registered members.

The US Department of Justice said 13 of the suspects were now in custody. They include UK-based Anthony Nnamdi Okeakpu, who is alleged to have joined in December 2010 and have used the nickname "moneymafia".

Other defendants include Svyatoslav Bondarenko, a Ukranian accused of having created Infraud in October 2010.

Five apprehended defendants were based in the US while others came from France, Canada, Pakistan, Russia Egypt, Italy and Macedonia among other countries.

"As alleged in the indictment, Infraud operated like a business to facilitate cyber-fraud on a global scale," said acting assistant attorney general John Cronan of the Justice Department's Criminal Division.

"Its members allegedly caused more than $530m in actual losses to consumers, businesses, and financial institutions alike - and it is alleged that the losses they intended to cause amounted to more than $2.2bn."

Affected businesses were said to have included HSBC bank and PayPal.

The US authorities said they were now attempting to extradite eight of the suspects being held overseas.

Automated Sales

The indictment says that Infraud's administrators had aimed to run the "premier online destination for the purchase and sale of stolen property" and had used the slogan "In Fraud We Trust" to promote it.

Its activities are alleged to have included:

the sale and purchase of stolen dates of birth, addresses, passwords, social security numbers, payment card details and other personally identifying information

the ability to advertise other sites that featured automated stores for stolen property

the sharing and sale of malware

the provision of forums and chat rooms to discuss illegal activities

At one point in 2011, one of the accused is said to have indicated he had 795,000 UK logins to HSBC bank available for sale.

Two years later, another is alleged to have advertised 1,300 compromised PayPal account IDs. Other specific accusations include adverts for Visa, Mastercard and American Express credit card numbers. One member is said to have offered to fraudulently book flights, rental cars and seats at US concerts and sporting events at a fraction of their actual price.

Members are said to have given feedback ratings to each other to help maintain the quality of contraband sold via the service. Proceeds were said to have been laundered via digital currencies including Bitcoin and the defunct service Liberty Reserve.

In an effort to evade arrest, members are alleged to have avoided sharing their real identities with each other, and instead used nicknames including "Mae Tony", "Poony" and "Hulk".

"The criminals involved in such schemes may think they can escape detection by hiding behind their computer screens here and overseas," said Derek Benner, of Homeland Security Investigations.

"But as this case shows, cyber-space is not a refuge from justice."

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The reason behind the February 5 imposition of a state of emergency for 15 days in Maldives by President Abdulla Yameen was not because of the India factor per se. Rather it was a call taken by the president in response to his face-off with the country's Supreme Court (after it overturned criminal convictions against nine of Yameen's opponents and ordered him to free those in jail).

More precisely, the Yameen government had specific intelligence that two SC judges, chief justice Abdulla Saeed and Justice Ali Hameed, had allegedly taken hefty bribes.

Maldivian sources familiar with inside details that made the Yameen government take the unprecedented decision of imposing Emergency told this writer that the government had credible information that the two above-named judges had as much as $30 million in their accounts, $15 million each. This money was paid into their accounts in Malaysia.

Top officials of the government have been talking about the issue of SC judges accepting bribe, though no figure has been disclosed. It is believed Malaysian intelligence picked up the details of this transaction and passed on this information to the Maldivian government. (Malaysia and Maldives, both Muslim countries, have very close relationship.)

I came with sincere motivations. My motivations remain sincere - #PresYameen pic.twitter.com/8tEWj84Dg9  Presidency Maldives (@presidencymv) February 9, 2018

President briefs Cabinet on the current situation https://t.co/LeLcUmgsvn pic.twitter.com/5ChOJTSiIU  Presidency Maldives (@presidencymv) February 8, 2018

The Yameen government's first suspicion was that the bribery was perhaps facilitated by the main Opposition party, the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), while the money was made available by India. However, further investigations by the Maldivian government could not get evidence of the involvement of either - the MDP as the facilitator and India as the funder.

Opposition supporters protest against the Yameen government in Male on February 4. (Credit: Reuters photo)

Soon enough, the Maldivian governments investigations revealed the hand of non-MDP opposition parties. That explains the arrest of former president Abdul Gayoom, Yameen's half-brother and an ally-turned-political-rival. The funder of this $30 million is still not found out by the Maldivian government, but now their suspicion is hovering on some European nations.

The ramifications of this bribery scandal involving the apex court were so huge that the Yameen government wanted to get into the core of the matter, and to do this, it had to quieten the Supreme Court. This, as per Yameen government, necessitated harsh measures like going after the apex court. Imposition of national Emergency was to deal with the apex court, as per the Yameen governments scheme of things.

The Maldivian government is expected to go public soon about the bribes paid to the two apex court judges. This should happen in the next few days after which the Emergency is likely to be lifted, maybe even before the 15-day period is completed.

The Yameen government is going to disclose the bribery amount soon and will come up with figures it can prove in court. The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has now suspended two SC judges on charges of corruption on February 8, paving the way for the case to be tried in a court. That means Majlis majority isnt required to dismiss these two judges of the SC.

The JSC is a body charged with judicial appointments and investigation of indiscipline and corruption within the judiciary. This body has judges from lower courts, high court and Supreme Court sitting on it, as well as the attorney general and a representative of bar association and elected representative of the Majlis.

Yameen ready to take on the world

India has snubbed the Yameen government by saying no to hosting the president's special envoy for explaining the circumstances of imposition of Emergency in Maldives, which wanted to make India the first port of call ahead of other countries like Saudi Arabia, China and Pakistan. India refused to host Yameens special envoy at this point of time as external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj was in Saudi Arabia and PM Narendra Modi was scheduled to embark on a tour of Oman, Palestine and the UAE. However, if India wanted, any of the senior cabinet ministers or one of the two ministers of state in external affairs ministry or the national security adviser could have met the Maldivian presidential envoy.

Raajje TV Shutdown:The crackdown on democracy sadly continues in the Maldives. I urge the Maldivian government to respect the democratic principles now: Rule of law, freedom of press, association and assembly. https://t.co/geH3zFLJY4  GermanEmbassyColombo (@GermanyinSL) February 9, 2018

Sadly the Maldivian Govt refuses dialogue: today with my UK/EU colleagues we requested to meet the President/Cabinet ministers and speaker of majlis to discuss our concerns on the current situation. Our requests were unfortunately refused. That is surely not the way forward.  GermanEmbassyColombo (@GermanyinSL) February 8, 2018

As far as some ambassadors of the European Union (EU) are concerned, there is a widespread belief in Maldivian government circles that these ambassadors have crossed all diplomatic decency and are also involved in the recent judicial coup mentioned above. The Yameen government is specially peeved with American, German and British ambassadors, and is of opinion that these ambassadors have crossed all limits and parameters of diplomatic decency between sovereign states and ambassadors.

The Yameen government is willing to face any sanctions that the EU or anybody else might impose. The Yameen government, it seems, now believes it has had enough of powerful foreign countries meddling in its domestic politics and trying to engineer a regime change one way or the other. The Yameen government believes that EU and American ambassadors are the very people who tried to use every means to bring about a regime change with help of the Opposition in Maldives.

Indian sanctions on Maldives

The Indian displeasure with the Yameen government may manifest itself in the form of economic sanctions against Maldives, but the Yameen government isnt overtly worried. It can find alternative sources to import. For instance, medical treatment in Thailand isnt more expensive than India anymore. So, it can divert state-funded medical treatment from India to Thailand..

India has already stopped issuing dependent visa to parents of thousands of children from Maldives studying in India. So, in future most students will be forced to go to Malaysia instead of India. Not that India has to worry as Maldives trade with India reflects a fraction of its transactions with the rest of the world.

Having said that, the ongoing Maldivian political drama is set to throw several more surprises in the coming days.

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The following companies are subsidiares of DaVita: Aberdeen Dialysis LLC, Accountable Kidney Care LLC, Adair Dialysis LLC, American Fork Dialysis LLC, American Medical Insurance Inc., Animas Dialysis LLC, Arcadia Gardens Dialysis LLC, Ashdow Dialysis LLC, Atlantic Dialysis LLC, Austin Dialysis Centers L.P., Barnell Dialysis LLC, Barrons Dialysis LLC, Barton Dialysis LLC, Bastrop Dialysis LLC, Beachside Dialysis LLC, Beck Dialysis LLC, Bellevue Dialysis LLC, Bemity Dialysis LLC, Beverly Hills Dialysis Partnership, Birch Dialysis LLC, Bladon Dialysis LLC, Bliss Dialysis LLC, Bohama Dialysis LLC, Bowan Dialysis LLC, Braddock Dialysis LLC, Bridges Dialysis LLC, Brimfield Dialysis LLC, Brook Dialysis LLC, Brownsville Kidney Center Ltd., Brownwood Dialysis LLC, Bruno Dialysis LLC, Buckhorn Dialysis LLC, Buford Dialysis LLC, Bullards Dialysis LLC, Bullock Dialysis LLC, Calante Dialysis LLC, Campton Dialysis LLC, Canyon Springs Dialysis LLC, Capes Dialysis LLC, Capital Dialysis Partnership, Capron Dialysis LLC, Carlton Dialysis LLC, Carroll County Dialysis Facility Inc., Carroll County Dialysis Facility Limited Partnership, Cascades Dialysis LLC, Caverns Dialysis LLC, Cedar Dialysis LLC, Centennial LV LLC, Central Carolina Dialysis Centers LLC, Central Georgia Dialysis LLC, Central Iowa Dialysis Partners LLC, Central Kentucky Dialysis Centers LLC, Channel Dialysis LLC, Cheraw Dialysis LLC, Chicago Heights Dialysis LLC, Chipeta Dialysis LLC, Churchill Dialysis LLC, Cinco Rios Dialysis LLC, Clark Dialysis LLC, Clayton Dialysis LLC, Cleburne Dialysis LLC, Clinica Central do Bonfim S.A., Clinton Township Dialysis LLC, Clyfee Dialysis LLC, Columbus-RNA-DaVita LLC, Conconully Dialysis LLC, Continental Dialysis Center Inc., Couer Dialysis LLC, Court Dialysis LLC, Cowell Dialysis LLC, Cowesett Dialysis LLC, Crossings Dialysis LLC, Crystals Dialysis LLC, Cuivre Dialysis LLC, Culbert Dialysis LLC, DC Healthcare International Inc., DNP Management Company LLC, DPS CKD LLC, DV Care Netherlands B.V., DV Care Netherlands C.V., DVA Healthcare - Southwest Ohio LLC, DVA Healthcare Renal Care Inc., DVA Healthcare of Maryland LLC, DVA Healthcare of Massachusetts Inc., DVA Healthcare of New London LLC, DVA Healthcare of Norwich LLC, DVA Healthcare of Pennsylvania LLC, DVA Healthcare of Tuscaloosa LLC, DVA Holdings Pte. 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KG, DaVita El Paso East L.P., DaVita Germany GmbH, DaVita HK Holdings Limited, DaVita HealthCare Brasil Servicos Medicos Ltda., DaVita International Limited, DaVita Nefromed Servicos de Nefrologia Ltda., DaVita Nephron Care Servicos de Nefrologia Ltda., DaVita Rien Servicos de Nefrologia Ltda., DaVita S.A.S., DaVita Servicos de Nefrologia Asa Sul Ltda., DaVita Servicos de Nefrologia Distrito Federal Ltda., DaVita Servicos de Nefrologia Guarulhos Ltda., DaVita Servicos de Nefrologia Jardim das Imbuias Ltda., DaVita Servicos de Nefrologia Taubate Ltda., DaVita Servicos de Nefrologia de Araraquara Ltda., DaVita Sp. z o.o., DaVita Sud-Niedersachsen GmbH, DaVita Transrim Servicos de Nefrologia Ltda., DaVita UTR Servicos de Nefrologia Ltda., DaVita VillageHealth Inc., DaVita of New York Inc., Dallas-Fort Worth Nephrology L.P., Damon Dialysis LLC, Dialysis Holdings Inc., Dialysis of Des Moines LLC, Dialysis of Northern Illinois LLC, Dierks Dialysis LLC, Dolores Dialysis LLC, Dome Dialysis LLC, Doves Dialysis LLC, Downriver Centers Inc., EURODIAL - Centro de Nefrologia e Dialise de Leiria S.A., East End Dialysis Center Inc., East Ft. Lauderdale LLC, Ebrea Dialysis LLC, Edisto Dialysis LLC, Eldrist Dialysis LLC, Elgin Dialysis LLC, Elk Grove Dialysis Center LLC, Empire State DC Inc., Etowah Dialysis LLC, Ettleton Dialysis LLC, Eufaula Dialysis LLC, Falcon LLC, Family Health Care of Central Florida, Fanthorp Dialysis LLC, Federal Way Assurance Inc., Fields Dialysis LLC, Five Star Dialysis LLC, Fjords Dialysis LLC, Flagler Dialysis LLC, Flamingo Park Kidney Center Inc., Forester Dialysis LLC, Freehold Artificial Kidney Center L.L.C., Fremont Dialysis LLC, Frontier Dialysis LLC, Fullerton Dialysis Center LLC, GDC International LLC, Gambro Healthcare, Ganois Dialysis LLC, Garner Dialysis LLC, Garrett Dialysis LLC, Gaviota Dialysis LLC, Gebhard Dialysis LLC, Genesis KC Development LLC, GiveLife Dialysis LLC, Glassland Dialysis LLC, Glosser Dialysis LLC, Goliad Dialysis LLC, Grand Home Dialysis LLC, Greater Las Vegas Dialysis LLC, Greater Los Angeles Dialysis Centers LLC, Green Country Dialysis LLC, Green Desert Dialysis LLC, Griffin Dialysis LLC, Groten Dialysis LLC, Harmony Dialysis LLC, Hart Dialysis LLC, Hawn Dialysis LLC, Healthcare Partners, Helmer Dialysis LLC, Hennepin Dialysis LLC, Hewett Dialysis LLC, Hilgards Dialysis LLC, Hochatown Dialysis LLC, Home Kidney Care LLC, Honeyman Dialysis LLC, Houston Kidney Center/Total Renal Care Integrated Service Network Limited Partnership, Hummer Dialysis LLC, Hunter Dialysis LLC, Huntington Artificial Kidney Center Ltd., Hyde Dialysis LLC, IDC -International Dialysis Centers Lda, ISD Bartlett LLC, ISD Corpus Christi LLC, ISD I Holding Company Inc., ISD II Holding Company Inc., ISD Las Vegas LLC, ISD Lees Summit LLC, ISD Renal Inc., ISD Schaumburg LLC, ISD Spring Valley LLC, ISD Summit Renal Care LLC, Iroquois Dialysis LLC, Jacinto Dialysis LLC, Jenness Dialysis LLC, Kamiah Dialysis LLC, Kanika Dialysis LLC, Kavett Dialysis LLC, Kenai Dialysis LLC, Kershaw Dialysis LLC, Kidney Home Center LLC, Kimball Dialysis LLC, Kingston Dialysis LLC, Kinnick Dialysis LLC, Kinter Dialysis LLC, Kiowa Dialysis LLC, Knickerbocker Dialysis Inc., Lakeshore Dialysis LLC, Landing Dialysis LLC, Landor Dialysis LLC, Lassen Dialysis LLC, Leasburg Dialysis LLC, Leawood Dialysis LLC, Lees Dialysis LLC, Legare Development LLC, Liberty RC Inc., Lifeline Pensacola LLC, Lifeline Vascular Center-Albany LLC, Lincoln Park Dialysis Services Inc., Livingston Dialysis LLC, Llano Dialysis LLC, Lofield Dialysis LLC, Logoley Dialysis LLC, Lone Dialysis LLC, Long Beach Dialysis Center LLC, Lord Baltimore Dialysis LLC, Lory Dialysis LLC, Lourdes Dialysis LLC, Lyndale Dialysis LLC, MVZ DaVita Alzey GmbH, MVZ DaVita Aurich GmbH, MVZ DaVita Bad Aibling GmbH, MVZ DaVita Bad Duben GmbH, MVZ DaVita Cardio Centrum Dusseldorf GmbH, MVZ DaVita Dillenburg GmbH, MVZ DaVita Dinkelsbuhl GmbH, MVZ DaVita Dormagen GmbH, MVZ DaVita Duisburg GmbH, MVZ DaVita Elsterland GmbH, MVZ DaVita Emden GmbH, MVZ DaVita Falkensee GmbH, MVZ DaVita Geilenkirchen GmbH, MVZ DaVita Gera GmbH, MVZ DaVita Iserlohn GmbH, MVZ DaVita Monchengladbach GmbH, MVZ DaVita Neuss GmbH, MVZ DaVita Niederrhein GmbH, MVZ DaVita Nierenzentrum Aachen Alsdorf GmbH, MVZ DaVita Nierenzentrum Berlin-Britz GmbH, MVZ DaVita Nierenzentrum Hamm-Ahlen GmbH, MVZ DaVita Prenzlau-Pasewalk GmbH, MVZ DaVita Rhein-Ahr GmbH, MVZ DaVita Rhein-Ruhr GmbH, MVZ DaVita Schwalm-Eder GmbH, MVZ DaVita Viersen GmbH, Madigan Dialysis LLC, Magney Dialysis LLC, Magoffin Dialysis LLC, Makonee Dialysis LLC, Marlton Dialysis Center LLC, Marseille Dialysis LLC, Mason-Dixon Dialysis Facilities Inc., Mazonia Dialysis LLC, Mellen Dialysis LLC, Melnea Dialysis LLC, Memorial Dialysis Center L.P., Meridian Dialysis LLC, Mermet Dialysis LLC, Milltown Dialysis LLC, Minam Dialysis LLC, Minneopa Dialysis LLC, Mountain West Dialysis Services LLC, Mulgee Dialysis LLC, Nansen Dialysis LLC, Natomas Dialysis LLC, Nauvue Dialysis LLC, Navarro Dialysis LLC, Nephrology Medical Associates of Georgia LLC, Nephrology Practice Solutions LLC, New Bay Dialysis LLC, Nicona Dialysis LLC, Norbert Dialysis LLC, Norte Dialysis LLC, North Austin Dialysis LLC, Northwest Physicians Network, Oasis Dialysis LLC, Ohio River Dialysis LLC, Okanogan Dialysis LLC, Olive Dialysis LLC, Ordust Dialysis LLC, Owyhee Dialysis LLC, Palo Dialysis LLC, Palomar Dialysis LLC, Panther Dialysis LLC, Parkside Dialysis LLC, Pattison Dialysis LLC, Patuk Dialysis LLC, Pearl Dialysis LLC, Pendster Dialysis LLC, Percha Dialysis LLC, Pershing Dialysis LLC, Pfeiffer Dialysis LLC, Philadelphia-Camden Integrated Kidney Care LLC, Physicians Choice Dialysis LLC, Physicians Choice Dialysis Of Alabama LLC, Physicians Dialysis Acquisitions Inc., Physicians Dialysis Ventures LLC, Physicians Dialysis of Lancaster LLC, Physicians Management LLC, Pible Dialysis LLC, Pinson Dialysis LLC, Pittsburgh Dialysis Partners LLC, Piute Dialysis LLC, Plaine Dialysis LLC, Platte Dialysis LLC, Pluribus Dialise - Benfica S.A., Pluribus Dialise - Cascais S.A., Pluribus Dialise S.A., Prairie Dialysis LLC, Prineville Dialysis LLC, Purity Dialysis, RMS Lifeline Inc., RNA - DaVita Dialysis LLC, RV Academy LLC, Ramsey Dialysis LLC, Rayburn Dialysis LLC, Red Willow Dialysis LLC, Redcliff Dialysis LLC, Refuge Dialysis LLC, Renal Center of Beaumont LLC, Renal Center of Fort Dodge LLC, Renal Center of Lewisville LLC, Renal Center of Morristown LLC, Renal Center of Newton LLC, Renal Center of Port Arthur LLC, Renal Center of Tyler L.P.L.L.L.P., Renal Center of West Beaumont LLC, Renal Center of the Hills LLC, Renal Life Link Inc., Renal Treatment Centers - California Inc., Renal Treatment Centers - Illinois Inc., Renal Treatment Centers - Mid-Atlantic Inc., Renal Treatment Centers - Northeast Inc., Renal Treatment Centers - Southeast LP, Renal Treatment Centers - West Inc., Renal Treatment Centers Inc., Renal Ventures Management LLC, RenalServ LLC, Riddle Dialysis LLC, River Valley Dialysis LLC, Rocky Mountain Dialysis Services LLC, Rollins Dialysis LLC, Roose Dialysis LLC, Rophets Dialysis LLC, Roushe Dialysis LLC, Routt Dialysis LLC, Royale Dialysis LLC, Rusk Dialysis LLC, Rutland Dialysis LLC, SAKDC-DaVita Dialysis Partners L.P., Saddleback Dialysis LLC, Sahara Dialysis LLC, San Marcos Dialysis LLC, Santiam Dialysis LLC, Sapelo Dialysis LLC, Saunders Dialysis LLC, Seabay Dialysis LLC, Secour Dialysis LLC, Sensiba Dialysis LLC, Shadow Dialysis LLC, Shayano Dialysis LLC, Shelling Dialysis LLC, Sherman Dialysis LLC, Shetek Dialysis LLC, Shining Star Dialysis Inc., Siena Dialysis Center LLC, Simeon Dialysis LLC, Skagit Dialysis LLC, Soledad Dialysis Center LLC, Somerville Dialysis Center LLC, South Central Florida Dialysis Partners LLC, South Fork Dialysis LLC, Southern Hills Dialysis Center LLC, Southlake Dialysis LLC, Southwest Atlanta Dialysis Centers LLC, Sprague Dialysis LLC, Springpond Dialysis LLC, Star Dialysis LLC, Stevenson Dialysis LLC, Stewart Dialysis LLC, Stines Dialysis LLC, Storrie Dialysis LLC, Sugarloaf Dialysis LLC, Sun City Dialysis Center L.L.C., Sunapee Dialysis LLC, Sunset Dialysis LLC, TRC - Indiana LLC, TRC El Paso Limited Partnership, TRC West Inc., TRC of New York Inc., TRC-Georgetown Regional Dialysis LLC, Talimena Dialysis LLC, Terre Dialysis LLC, The Woodlands Dialysis Center LP, Tortugas Dialysis LLC, Total Renal Care Inc., Total Renal Care Texas Limited Partnership, Total Renal Care of North Carolina LLC, Total Renal Laboratories Inc., Total Renal Research Inc., Toulouse Dialysis LLC, Transmountain Dialysis L.P., Tross Dialysis LLC, Tugman Dialysis LLC, Tunnel Dialysis LLC, Turlock Dialysis Center LLC, Tustin Dialysis Center LLC, Twain Dialysis LLC, Tyler Dialysis LLC, USC-DaVita Dialysis Center LLC, Unicoi Dialysis LLC, University Dialysis Center LLC, Upper Valley Dialysis L.P., Valley Springs Dialysis LLC, Victory Dialysis LLC, VillageHealth DM LLC, Villanueva Dialysis LLC, Vively Health LLC, Vogel Dialysis LLC, Volo Dialysis LLC, Waddell Dialysis LLC, Wakoni Dialysis LLC, Walker Dialysis LLC, Walton Dialysis LLC, Watkins Dialysis LLC, Weldon Dialysis LLC, West Elk Grove Dialysis LLC, West Sacramento Dialysis LLC, Weston Dialysis Center LLC, Whitney Dialysis LLC, Willowbrook Dialysis Center L.P., Winds Dialysis LLC, Wood Dialysis LLC, Woodford Dialysis LLC, Wyandotte Central Dialysis LLC, Yards Dialysis LLC, Ybor City Dialysis LLC, Yucaipa Dialysis LLC, and Zephyrhills Dialysis Center LLC.
The following companies are subsidiares of Pfizer: AH Robins LLC, AHP Holdings B.V., AHP Manufacturing B.V., Agouron Pharmaceuticals LLC, Alacer, Alpharma Holdings LLC, Alpharma Pharmaceuticals LLC, Alpharma Specialty Pharma LLC, Alpharma USHP LLC, American Food Industries LLC, Anacor Pharmaceuticals, Anacor Pharmaceuticals Inc., Angiosyn, Array BioPharma, Ayerst-Wyeth Pharmaceuticals LLC, BIND Therapeutics Inc., BINESA 2002 S.L., Bamboo Therapeutics, Bamboo Therapeutics Inc., Baxter International - Marketed Vaccines, BioRexis, Bioren, Bioren LLC, Blue Whale Re Ltd., C.E. Commercial Holdings C.V., C.E. Commercial Investments C.V., C.P. Pharmaceuticals International C.V., CICL Corporation, COC I Corporation, Catapult Genetics, Coley Pharmaceutical GmbH, Coley Pharmaceutical Group, Coley Pharmaceutical Group Inc., Continental Pharma Inc., Covx, Covx Technologies Ireland Limited, Cyanamid Inter-American Corporation, Cyanamid de Argentina S.A., Cyanamid de Colombia S.A., Distribuidora Mercantil Centro Americana S.A., Encysive Pharmaceuticals, Encysive Pharmaceuticals Inc., Esperion LUV Development Inc., Esperion Therapeutics, Excaliard Pharmaceuticals, Excaliard Pharmaceuticals Inc., Farminova Produtos Farmaceuticos de Inovacao Lda., Farmogene Productos Farmaceuticos Lda, Ferrosan A/S, Ferrosan International A/S, Ferrosan S.R.L., FoldRx Pharmaceuticals Inc., Foldrx Pharmaceuticals, Fort Dodge Manufatura Ltda., G. D. Searle & Co. Limited, G. D. Searle International Capital LLC, G. D. Searle LLC, GI Europe Inc., GI Japan Inc., GenTrac Inc., Genetics Institute LLC, Greenstone LLC, Haptogen Limited, Hospira, Hospira (China) Enterprise Management Co. Ltd., Hospira Adelaide Pty Ltd, Hospira Aseptic Services Limited, Hospira Australia Pty Ltd, Hospira Benelux BVBA, Hospira Chile Limitada, Hospira Deutschland GmbH, Hospira Enterprises B.V., Hospira France SAS, Hospira Healthcare B.V., Hospira Healthcare Corporation, Hospira Healthcare India Private Limited, Hospira Holdings (S.A.) Pty Ltd, Hospira Inc., Hospira Invicta S.A., Hospira Ireland Holdings Unlimited Company, Hospira Ireland Sales Limited, Hospira Japan G.K., Hospira Limited, Hospira Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Hospira NZ Limited, Hospira Nordic AB, Hospira Philippines Inc., Hospira Portugal LDA, Hospira Produtos Hospitalares Ltda., Hospira Pte. Ltd., Hospira Pty Limited, Hospira Puerto Rico LLC, Hospira Singapore Pte Ltd, Hospira UK Limited, Hospira Worldwide LLC, Hospira Zagreb d.o.o., ICAgen, Idun Pharmaceuticals, Industrial Santa Agape S.A., InnoPharma, InnoPharma Inc., International Affiliated Corporation LLC, JMI-Daniels Pharmaceuticals Inc., John Wyeth & Brother Limited, Kiinteisto oy Espoon Pellavaniementie 14, King Pharmaceuticals Holdings LLC, King Pharmaceuticals LLC, King Pharmaceuticals Research and Development LLC, Korea Pharma Holding Company Limited, Laboratoires Pfizer S.A., Laboratorios Parke Davis S.L., Laboratorios Pfizer Ltda., Laboratorios Wyeth LLC, Laboratorios Wyeth S.A., Laboratorios Pfizer Lda., MTG Divestitures LLC, Mayne Pharma IP Holdings (Euro) Pty Ltd, Medivation, Medivation Field Solutions LLC, Medivation LLC, Medivation Neurology LLC, Medivation Prostate Therapeutics LLC, Medivation Services LLC, Medivation Technologies LLC, Meridian Medical Technologies Inc., Meridian Medical Technologies Limited, Monarch Pharmaceuticals LLC, Neusentis Limited, NextWave Pharmaceuticals, NextWave Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, P-D Co. LLC, PAH USA IN8 LLC, PF Americas Holding C.V., PF Asia Manufacturing B.V., PF PR Holdings C.V., PF PRISM C.V., PF PRISM Holdings S.a.r.l., PF Prism S.a.r.l., PFE Holdings G.K., PFE PHAC Holdings 1 LLC, PFE Pfizer Holdings 1 LLC, PFE Wyeth Holdings LLC, PFE Wyeth-Ayerst (Asia) LLC, PHILCO Holdings S.a r.l., PHIVCO Corp., PHIVCO Holdco S.a r.l., PHIVCO Luxembourg S.a r.l., PN Mexico LLC, PT. Pfizer Parke Davis, Parke Davis & Company LLC, Parke Davis Limited, Parke Davis Productos Farmaceuticos Lda, Parke-Davis Manufacturing Corp., Parkedale Pharmaceuticals Inc., Peak Enterprises LLC, Pfizer, Pfizer (China) Research and Development Co. Ltd., Pfizer (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Pfizer (Perth) Pty Limited, Pfizer (Thailand) Limited, Pfizer (Wuhan) Research and Development Co. Ltd., Pfizer AB, Pfizer AG, Pfizer AS, Pfizer Africa & Middle East for Pharmaceuticals Veterinarian Products & Chemicals S.A.E., Pfizer Anti-Infectives AB, Pfizer ApS, Pfizer Asia Manufacturing Pte. Ltd., Pfizer Asia Pacific Pte Ltd., Pfizer Atlantic Holdings S.a.r.l., Pfizer Australia Holdings B.V., Pfizer Australia Holdings Pty Limited, Pfizer Australia Investments Pty. Ltd., Pfizer Australia Pty Limited, Pfizer B.V., Pfizer BH D.o.o., Pfizer Baltic Holdings B.V., Pfizer Biofarmaceutica Sociedade Unipessoal Lda, Pfizer Biologics (Hangzhou) Co. Ltd, Pfizer Biologics Ireland Holdings Limited, Pfizer Biotech Corporation, Pfizer Bolivia S.A., Pfizer Canada Inc., Pfizer CentreSource Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Pfizer Chile S.A., Pfizer Cia. Ltda., Pfizer Colombia Spinco I LLC, Pfizer Commercial Holdings Cooperatief U.A., Pfizer Commercial Holdings TRAE Kft., Pfizer Commercial TRAE Trading Kft., Pfizer Consumer Healthcare AB, Pfizer Consumer Healthcare GmbH, Pfizer Consumer Healthcare Ltd., Pfizer Consumer Manufacturing Italy S.r.l., Pfizer Corporation, Pfizer Corporation Austria Gesellschaft m.b.H., Pfizer Corporation Hong Kong Limited, Pfizer Croatia d.o.o., Pfizer Deutschland GmbH, Pfizer Development LP, Pfizer Development Services (UK) Limited, Pfizer Domestic Ventures Limited, Pfizer Dominicana S.R.L, Pfizer ESP Pty Ltd, Pfizer East India B.V., Pfizer Eastern Investments B.V., Pfizer Egypt S.A.E., Pfizer Enterprise Holdings B.V., Pfizer Enterprises LLC, Pfizer Enterprises SARL, Pfizer Europe Finance B.V., Pfizer Export B.V., Pfizer Export Company, Pfizer Export Holding Company B.V, Pfizer Finance Share Service (Dalian) Co. Ltd., Pfizer Financial Services N.V./S.A., Pfizer France International Investments, Pfizer Free Zone Panama S. de R.L., Pfizer GEP S.L., Pfizer Global Holdings B.V., Pfizer Global Supply Japan Inc., Pfizer Global Trading, Pfizer Group Luxembourg Sarl, Pfizer Gulf FZ-LLC, Pfizer H.C.P. Corporation, Pfizer HK Service Company Limited, Pfizer Health AB, Pfizer Health Solutions Inc., Pfizer Healthcare Ireland, Pfizer Hellas A.E., Pfizer Himalaya Holdings Cooperatief U.A., Pfizer Holding France, Pfizer Holding Ventures, Pfizer Holdings Corporation, Pfizer Holdings Europe Unlimited Company, Pfizer Holdings G.K., Pfizer Holdings International Corporation, Pfizer Holdings International Luxembourg (PHIL) Sarl, Pfizer Holdings North America SARL, Pfizer Hungary Holdings TRAE Kft., Pfizer Inc., Pfizer Innovations AB, Pfizer Innovations LLC, Pfizer Innovative Supply Point International BVBA, Pfizer International LLC, Pfizer International Markets Cooperatief U.A., Pfizer International Operations, Pfizer International S. de R.L., Pfizer International Trading (Shanghai) Limited, Pfizer Investment Capital Unlimited Company, Pfizer Investment Co. Ltd., Pfizer Investment Holdings S.a.r.l., Pfizer Ireland Investments Limited, Pfizer Ireland PFE Holding 1 LLC, Pfizer Ireland PFE Holding 2 LLC, Pfizer Ireland Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer Ireland Ventures Unlimited Company, Pfizer Italia S.r.l., Pfizer Italy Group Holding S.r.l., Pfizer Japan Inc., Pfizer LLC, Pfizer Laboratories (Pty) Limited, Pfizer Laboratories Limited, Pfizer Laboratories PFE (Pty) Ltd, Pfizer Leasing Ireland Limited, Pfizer Leasing UK Limited, Pfizer Limitada, Pfizer Limited, Pfizer Luxco Holdings SARL, Pfizer Luxembourg Global Holdings S.a r.l., Pfizer Luxembourg SARL, Pfizer MAP Holding Inc., Pfizer Manufacturing Austria G.m.b.H., Pfizer Manufacturing Belgium N.V., Pfizer Manufacturing Deutschland GmbH, Pfizer Manufacturing Deutschland Grundbesitz GmbH & Co. KG, Pfizer Manufacturing Holdings LLC, Pfizer Manufacturing Ireland Unlimited Company, Pfizer Manufacturing LLC, Pfizer Manufacturing Services, Pfizer Medical Technology Group (Belgium) N.V., Pfizer Medicamentos Genericos e Participacoes Ltda., Pfizer Mexico Luxco SARL, Pfizer Mexico S.A. de C.V., Pfizer Middle East for Pharmaceuticals Animal Health and Chemicals S.A.E., Pfizer New Zealand Limited, Pfizer Norge AS, Pfizer North American Holdings Inc., Pfizer OTC B.V., Pfizer Overseas LLC, Pfizer Oy, Pfizer PFE ApS, Pfizer PFE AsiaPac Holding B.V., Pfizer PFE Australia Holding B.V., Pfizer PFE Australia Pty Ltd, Pfizer PFE B.V., Pfizer PFE Baltic Holdings B.V., Pfizer PFE Belgium SPRL, Pfizer PFE Brazil Holding S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE CIA. Ltda., Pfizer PFE Chile Holding LLC, Pfizer PFE Colombia Holding Corp., Pfizer PFE Colombia S.A.S, Pfizer PFE Commercial Holdings LLC, Pfizer PFE Croatia Holding B.V., Pfizer PFE Eastern Investments B.V., Pfizer PFE Finland Oy, Pfizer PFE France, Pfizer PFE Global Holdings B.V., Pfizer PFE Ireland Pharmaceuticals Holding 1 B.V., Pfizer PFE Italy Holdco 2 S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE Italy Holdco S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag, Pfizer PFE Limited, Pfizer PFE Luxembourg S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE Mexico Holding 3 LLC, Pfizer PFE Netherlands Holding 1 C.V., Pfizer PFE New Zealand, Pfizer PFE New Zealand Holding B.V., Pfizer PFE Norway Holding S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE PILSA Holdco S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE Peru Holding LLC, Pfizer PFE Peru S.R.L., Pfizer PFE Pharmaceuticals Israel Holding LLC, Pfizer PFE Pharmaceuticals Israel Ltd., Pfizer PFE Private Limited, Pfizer PFE S.R.L, Pfizer PFE Service Company Holding Cooperatief U.A., Pfizer PFE Singapore Holding B.V., Pfizer PFE Singapore Pte. Ltd., Pfizer PFE Spain B.V., Pfizer PFE Spain Holding S.L., Pfizer PFE Sweden Holding 2 S.a.r.l., Pfizer PFE Sweden Holding S.a.r.l., Pfizer PFE Switzerland GmbH, Pfizer PFE Turkey Holding 1 B.V., Pfizer PFE Turkey Holding 2 B.V., Pfizer PFE UK Holding 4 LP, Pfizer PFE US Holdings 1 LLC, Pfizer PFE US Holdings 2 LLC, Pfizer PFE US Holdings 3 LLC, Pfizer PFE US Holdings 4 LLC, Pfizer PFE US Holdings 5 LLC, Pfizer PFE spol. s r.o., Pfizer PFE Ilaclar Anonim Sirketi, Pfizer Pakistan Limited, Pfizer Parke Davis (Thailand) Ltd., Pfizer Parke Davis Inc., Pfizer Parke Davis Sdn. Bhd., Pfizer Pharm Algerie, Pfizer Pharma GmbH, Pfizer Pharma PFE GmbH, Pfizer Pharmaceutical (Wuxi) Co. Ltd., Pfizer Pharmaceutical Trading Limited Liability Company (a/k/a Pfizer Kft. or Pfizer LLC), Pfizer Pharmaceuticals B.V., Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Global B.V., Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Israel Ltd., Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Korea Limited, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals LLC, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Pfizer Pigments Inc., Pfizer Polska Sp. z.o.o., Pfizer Private Limited, Pfizer Production LLC, Pfizer Products Inc., Pfizer Products India Private Limited, Pfizer Research (NC) Inc., Pfizer Romania SRL, Pfizer S.A., Pfizer S.A., Pfizer S.A. (Belgium), Pfizer S.A. de C.V., Pfizer S.A.S., Pfizer S.G.P.S. Lda., Pfizer S.L., Pfizer S.R.L., Pfizer SRB d.o.o., Pfizer Saidal Manufacturing, Pfizer Sante Familiale, Pfizer Saudi Limited, Pfizer Seiyaku K.K., Pfizer Service Company BVBA, Pfizer Service Company Ireland Unlimited Company, Pfizer Services 1, Pfizer Services LLC, Pfizer Shared Services Unlimited Company, Pfizer Shareholdings Intermediate SARL, Pfizer Singapore Holding Pte. Ltd., Pfizer Singapore Trading Pte. Ltd., Pfizer Spain Holdings Cooperatief U.A., Pfizer Specialties Limited, Pfizer Strategic Investment Holdings LLC, Pfizer Sweden Partnership KB, Pfizer TRAE Holdings Kft., Pfizer Trading Polska sp.z.o.o., Pfizer Transactions Ireland Unlimited Company, Pfizer Transactions LLC, Pfizer Transactions Luxembourg SARL, Pfizer Transport LLC, Pfizer Ukraine LLC, Pfizer Vaccines LLC, Pfizer Venezuela S.A., Pfizer Venture Investments LLC, Pfizer Ventures LLC, Pfizer Worldwide Services Unlimited Company, Pfizer Zona Franca S.A., Pfizer spol. s r.o., Pharmacia, Pharmacia & Upjohn Company Inc., Pharmacia & Upjohn Company LLC, Pharmacia & Upjohn LLC, Pharmacia & Upjohn S.A. de C.V., Pharmacia Brasil Ltda., Pharmacia Hepar LLC, Pharmacia Holding AB, Pharmacia Inter-American LLC, Pharmacia International B.V., Pharmacia LLC, Pharmacia Limited, Pharmacia Nostrum S.A., Pharmacia South Africa (Pty) Ltd, PowderJect Research Limited, PowderMed, Purepac Pharmaceutical Holdings LLC, Redvax, Renrall LLC, Rinat Neuroscience, Rinat Neuroscience Corp., Roerig Produtos Farmaceuticos Lda., Roerig S.A., Sao Cristovao Participacoes Ltda., Searle Laboratorios Lda., Serenex, Servicios P&U S. de R.L. de C.V., Shiley LLC, Sinergis Farma-Produtos Farmaceuticos Lda., Site Realty Inc., Solinor LLC, Sugen LLC, Tabor LLC, The Pfizer Incubator LLC, Therachon, Thiakis Limited, Treerly Health Co. Ltd, US Oral Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd, Upjohn Laboratorios Lda., Vesteralens Naturprodukter A/S, Vesteralens Naturprodukter AB, Vesteralens Naturprodukter AS, Vesteralens Naturprodukter OY, Vicuron Holdings LLC, Vinci Farma S.A., W-L LLC, Warner Lambert, Warner Lambert Ilac Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Warner Lambert del Uruguay S.A., Warner-Lambert (Thailand) Limited, Warner-Lambert Company AG, Warner-Lambert Company LLC, Warner-Lambert Guatemala Sociedad Anonima, Warner-Lambert S.A., Whitehall International Inc., Whitehall Laboratories Inc., Wyeth (Thailand) Ltd., Wyeth AB, Wyeth Australia Pty. Limited, Wyeth Ayerst Inc., Wyeth Ayerst S.a r.l., Wyeth Biopharma, Wyeth Canada ULC, Wyeth Consumer Healthcare LLC, Wyeth Europa Limited, Wyeth Farma S.A., Wyeth Holdings LLC, Wyeth Industria Farmaceutica Ltda., Wyeth KFT., Wyeth LLC, Wyeth Lederle S.r.l., Wyeth Lederle Vaccines S.A., Wyeth Pakistan Limited, Wyeth Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Company, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals FZ-LLC, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals LLC, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Limited, Wyeth Puerto Rico Inc., Wyeth S.A.S, Wyeth Subsidiary Illinois Corporation, Wyeth Whitehall Export GmbH, Wyeth Whitehall SARL, Wyeth-Ayerst (Asia) Limited, Wyeth-Ayerst International LLC, and Wyeth-Ayerst Promotions Limited.
The following companies are subsidiares of Occidental Petroleum: 1PointFive Inc., 1PointFive P1 LLC, APC Aviation Inc., APC International Holdings LLC, APC Midstream Holdings LLC, APC Venezuela Srl, ARCO Long Beach, Altura Energy, Amarok Gathering LLC, Anadarko 20-25 Company, Anadarko 20-36 Company, Anadarko 20-47 Company, Anadarko 20-48 Company, Anadarko 20-49 Company, Anadarko Algeria Block 403 c/e Company, Anadarko Algeria Block 406B Company, Anadarko Algeria Company LLC, Anadarko Algeria Oil & Gas Company, Anadarko Brazil Investment I LLC, Anadarko Brazil Investment II LLC, Anadarko Canada E&P Limited, Anadarko China Holdings 2 Company, Anadarko Colombia Company, Anadarko Consolidated Holdings LLC, Anadarko Cote d'Ivoire Block 103 Company, Anadarko Cote d'Ivoire Company, Anadarko DBMOS Operator LLC, Anadarko Development Company, Anadarko Development Holding Limited, Anadarko E&P Onshore LLC, Anadarko Egypt Holdings Company, Anadarko Energy Holding Limited, Anadarko Energy Services Company, Anadarko Exploracao e Producao de Petroleo e Gas Natural Ltda., Anadarko Finance Company, Anadarko Gabon Company, Anadarko Ghana Mahogany-1 Company, Anadarko Global Energy S.a.r.l, Anadarko Global Funding 1 Company, Anadarko Global Funding II Ltd., Anadarko Guyana Company, Anadarko Holding Company, Anadarko International Development S.a.r.l, Anadarko International Energy Company, Anadarko International O&G Company, Anadarko International Trading Corporation, Anadarko Jordan Company, Anadarko Kenya Company, Anadarko LMM S.a.r.l, Anadarko Land Corp., Anadarko Mexico B.V., Anadarko Mexico S.a.r.l, Anadarko Midkiff/Chaney Dell BR Corp., Anadarko Midkiff/Chaney Dell LLC, Anadarko Natural Gas Company LLC, Anadarko New Zealand Company, Anadarko OGC Company, Anadarko Offshore Holding Company LLC, Anadarko Offshore Well Containment Company LLC, Anadarko Oil & Gas 5 LLC, Anadarko Peru B.V., Anadarko Petroleum, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, Anadarko Realty LLC, Anadarko Rockies LLC, Anadarko Royalty Holdings Company, Anadarko UK Corporate Limited, Anadarko US Offshore LLC, Anadarko USH1 Corporation, Anadarko Venezuela Company, Anadarko Venezuela LLC, Anadarko Venezuela Srl, Anadarko WCTP Company, Anadarko West Texas BR Corp., Anadarko West Texas LLC, Anadarko Worldwide Holdings C.V., Atlantic Rim Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Aventine LLC, Baseball Merger Sub 2 Inc., Bear Branch Exploration LLC, Big Island Trona Company, Bitter Creek Coal Company, Bravo Pipeline Company, Cain Chemical, Cain Chemical Inc., Carbon Finance Labs LLC, Concord Petroleum Corporation, Conn Creek Shale Company, D.S. Ventures LLC, DMM Financial LLC, Deerwood Exploration LLC, Downtown Plaza II, Elk Hills Field, FLAG Development LLC, FP Westport Commodities Limited, FP Westport GmbH, FP Westport LLC, FP Westport Limited, FP Westport Services LLC, FP Westport Trading LLC, Fosters Mill Exploration LLC, Glenn Springs Holdings Inc., Globrep Representaciones S.A., Grand Bassa Tankers Inc., Grupo OxyChem de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Headwater II LLC, Houndstooth Resources LLC, INDSPEC Chemical B.V., INDSPEC Chemical Corporation, INDSPEC Chemical Corporation, INDSPEC Chemical Export Sales LLC, INDSPEC Holding Corporation, Ingleside Cogeneration GP LLC, Ingleside Cogeneration Limited Partnership, Interore Trading Ltd., Joslyn Partnership, KERR-McGEE TT E&P LTD., KM BM-C-Seven Ltd., KM International Insurance Ltd., Kerr-McGee Corporation, Kerr-McGee Natural Gas Company Inc., Kerr-McGee Oil & Gas Onshore LP, Kerr-McGee Shared Services Company LLC, Kerr-McGee Stored Power Corporation, Kerr-McGee U.K. Energy Corporation, Kerr-McGee Worldwide Corporation, Kerr-McGee do Brasil Ltda., Kerr-McGee of Canada Northwest Ltd., Laguna Petroleum Corp., Laguna Petroleum LLC, Liwa Oil & Gas Ltd., MC2 Technologies LLC, Mariana Properties Inc., Marico Exploration Inc., Miller Springs Remediation Management Inc., Moncrief Minerals Partnership L.P., NGL Ventures LLC, Natural Gas Odorizing Inc., New OPL LLC, OEVC Energy LLC, OEVC Midstream Projects LLC, OIH LLC, OLCV CE Holdings ULC, OLCV CE US Holdings Inc., OLCV Net Power LLC, OLCV Services LLC, OOG Partner LLC, OOOI Chem Holdings LLC, OOOI Chem Sub LLC, OOOI Chemical International LLC, OOOI Chile Holder LLC, OOOI Ecuador Management LLC, OOOI Oil and Gas Sub LLC, OOOI South America Management LLC, OPM GP Inc., OPM Holdco LLC, OTCF LLC, OTH LLC, OXY CV Pipeline LLC, OXY Campus LLC, OXY Inc., OXY LPG LLC, OXY Libya E&P Area 103 BR4 B.V., OXY Libya E&P Area 35 Ltd., OXY Libya E&P Concession 103 Ltd., OXY Libya E&P EPSA 102 B.V., OXY Libya E&P EPSA 1981 Ltd., OXY Libya E&P EPSA 1985 Ltd., OXY Libya E&P NC 143 144 145 150 B.V., OXY Libya Exploration SPC, OXY Libya LLC, OXY Little Knife LLC, OXY Mexico Holdings I LLC, OXY Mexico Holdings II LLC, OXY Middle East Holdings Ltd., OXY Oil Partners Inc., OXY PBLP Manager LLC, OXY Support Services LLC, OXY Tulsa Inc., OXY USA Inc., OXY USA WTP LP, OXY VPP Investments LLC, OXY West LLC, OXY of Saudi Arabia Ltd., OXYCHEM (CANADA) INC., OXYMAR, Oakwood Exploration LLC, Occidental (Bermuda) Ltd., Occidental (East Shabwa) LLC, Occidental Advance Sale Finance Inc., Occidental Al Hosn LLC, Occidental Angola Holdings Ltd., Occidental CIS Services Inc., Occidental Canada Holdings Ltd., Occidental Chemical Asia Limited, Occidental Chemical Belgium B.V.B.A., Occidental Chemical Chile Limitada, Occidental Chemical Corporation, Occidental Chemical Export Sales LLC, Occidental Chemical Far East Limited, Occidental Chemical Holding Corporation, Occidental Chemical International LLC, Occidental Chemical Investment (Canada) 1 Inc., Occidental Chemical Receivables LLC, Occidental Chemical de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Occidental Chile Investments LLC, Occidental Chile Minority Holder LLC, Occidental Colombia (Series G) Ltd., Occidental Colombia (Series J) Ltd., Occidental Colombia (Series K) Ltd., Occidental Colombia (Series L) Ltd., Occidental Colombia (Series M) Ltd., Occidental Colombia (Series N) Ltd., Occidental Colombia (Series O) Ltd., Occidental Crude Sales Inc. (Canada), Occidental Crude Sales Inc. (International), Occidental Dolphin Holdings Ltd., Occidental Energy Marketing Inc., Occidental Energy Ventures LLC, Occidental Exploradora del Peru Ltd., Occidental Exploration and Production Company, Occidental Hafar LLC, Occidental International (Libya) Inc., Occidental International Corporation, Occidental International Exploration and Production Company, Occidental International Holdings Ltd., Occidental International Oil and Gas Ltd., Occidental International Services Inc., Occidental Joslyn GP 2 Co., Occidental LNG (Malaysia) Ltd., Occidental Latin America Holdings LLC, Occidental Libya Oil & Gas B.V., Occidental MENA Manager Ltd., Occidental Middle East Development Company, Occidental Midland Basin LLC, Occidental Mukhaizna LLC, Occidental Oil Asia Pte. Ltd., Occidental Oil Shale Inc., Occidental Oil and Gas (Oman) Ltd., Occidental Oil and Gas Corporation, Occidental Oil and Gas International Inc., Occidental Oil and Gas International LLC, Occidental Oil and Gas Pakistan LLC, Occidental Oil and Gas of Peru LLC, Occidental Oman (Block 27) Holdings Ltd., Occidental Oman Block 51 Holding Ltd., Occidental Oman Block 51 LLC, Occidental Oman Block 65 Holding Ltd., Occidental Oman Block 65 LLC, Occidental Oman Block 72 Holding Ltd., Occidental Oman Block 72 LLC, Occidental Oman Gas Company LLC, Occidental Oman Gas Holdings Ltd., Occidental Oman North Holdings Ltd., Occidental Oriente Exploration and Production Ltd., Occidental Overseas Holdings B.V., Occidental PVC LLC, Occidental Peninsula II Inc., Occidental Peninsula LLC, Occidental Permian Ltd., Occidental Permian Manager LLC, Occidental Permian Services Inc., Occidental Peruana Inc., Occidental Petrolera del Peru (Block 101) Inc., Occidental Petrolera del Peru (Block 103) Inc., Occidental Petroleum (Pakistan) Inc., Occidental Petroleum Corporation, Occidental Petroleum Corporation Political Action Committee, Occidental Petroleum de Venezuela S.A., Occidental Petroleum of Nigeria, Occidental Petroleum of Oman Ltd., Occidental Petroleum of Qatar Ltd., Occidental Power Marketing L.P., Occidental Power Services Inc., Occidental Qatar Energy Company LLC, Occidental Red Sea Development LLC, Occidental Research Corporation, Occidental Resource Recovery Systems Inc., Occidental Resources Company, Occidental Shah Gas Holdings Ltd., Occidental South America Finance LLC, Occidental Specialty Marketing Inc., Occidental Tower Corporation, Occidental Transportation Holding Corporation, Occidental West Texas Overthrust Inc., Occidental Yemen Ltd., Occidental Yemen Sabatain Inc., Occidental del Ecuador Inc., Occidental of Abu Dhabi (Bab) Ltd., Occidental of Abu Dhabi (Shah) Ltd., Occidental of Abu Dhabi Holdings Ltd., Occidental of Abu Dhabi LLC, Occidental of Abu Dhabi Ltd., Occidental of Bahrain Ltd., Occidental of Bangladesh Inc., Occidental of Colombia (Chipiron) Inc., Occidental of Colombia (Cosecha) Inc., Occidental of Colombia (Medina) Inc., Occidental of Colombia (Putumayo) Ltd., Occidental of Colombia (Teca) Ltd., Occidental of Colombia PUT-36 LLC, Occidental of Dubai Inc., Occidental of Iraq Holdings Ltd., Occidental of Iraq LLC, Occidental of Oman Inc., Occidental of Russia Ltd., Occidental of South Africa (Offshore) Inc., Occidental of Yemen (Block 75) LLC, Oceanic Marine Transport Ltd., Opcal Insurance Inc., Oryx Crude Trading & Transportation Inc., Oxy BridgeTex Limited Partnership, Oxy C & I Bulk Sales LLC, Oxy Canada Sales Inc., Oxy Carbon Solutions LLC, Oxy Carbon Storage LLC, Oxy Climate Ventures Inc., Oxy Cogeneration Holding Company LLC, Oxy Colombia Holdings LLC, Oxy Colombia TopCo Ltd., Oxy Delaware Basin LLC, Oxy Delaware Basin Plant LLC, Oxy Dolphin E&P LLC, Oxy Dolphin Pipeline LLC, Oxy Energy Canada Inc., Oxy Energy Services LLC, Oxy Expatriate Services Inc., Oxy FFT Holdings Inc., Oxy Holding Company (Pipeline) Inc., Oxy International Ventures Ltd., Oxy LPG Terminal LLC, Oxy Levelland Pipeline Company LLC, Oxy Levelland Terminal Company LLC, Oxy Low Carbon Ventures LLC, Oxy Midstream Strategic Development LLC, Oxy Oleoducto SOP LLC, Oxy Overseas Services Ltd., Oxy Permian Gathering LLC, Oxy Permian Plaza LLC, Oxy Petroleum de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Oxy Renewable Energy LLC, Oxy Salt Creek Pipeline LLC, Oxy TL LLC, Oxy Taft Hub LLC, Oxy Technology Ventures Inc., Oxy Transport I Company LLC, Oxy Vinyls Canada Co., Oxy Vinyls Export Sales LLC, Oxy Vinyls LP, Oxy Westwood Corporation, Oxy Y-1 Company, OxyChem Ingleside Ethylene Holdings Inc., OxyChem do Brasil Ltda., OxyChile Investments LLC, Oxychem Shipping Ltd., Permian Basin JV Tax Matters Member LLC, Permian Basin Limited Partnership, Permian VPP Holder LP, Permian VPP Manager LLC, Phibro, Placid Oil LLC, Ramlat Oxy Ltd., Rio de Viento Inc., Rodeo Midland Basin LLC, San Patricio Pipeline LLC, Scanports Shipping LLC, SequestCo LLC, Stetson Exploration LLC, Sun Offshore Gathering Company, Swiflite Aircraft Corporation, Transok Properties LLC, Troy Potter Inc., Turavent Oil GmbH [in liquidation], Tuscaloosa Holdings Inc., UP Petroleo III Ltd., Upland Industries Corporation, Venezuela US SRL, Vintage Gas Inc., Vintage Petroleum, Vintage Petroleum Argentina Ltd., Vintage Petroleum Boliviana Ltd., Vintage Petroleum International Finance B.V., Vintage Petroleum International Holdings LLC, Vintage Petroleum International LLC, Vintage Petroleum International Ventures Inc., Vintage Petroleum Italy Inc., Vintage Petroleum South America Holdings Inc., Vintage Petroleum South America LLC, Vintage Petroleum Turkey Inc., WGR Asset Holding Company LLC, WGR Canada Inc., Wardner Ranch Inc., Western Gas Resources Inc., Western Gas Resources-Westana Inc., Western Midstream Holdings LLC, Woodlands International Insurance Ltd., and YT Ranch LLC.
TCF Financial Corporation operates as the financial holding company for TCF National Bank that provides various financial products and services in the United States and Canada. It operates through Consumer Banking, Commercial Banking, and Enterprise Services segments. The company offers checking, savings, and money market accounts; certificates of deposit; individual retirement accounts; debit and credit cards; and check cashing and remittance services. It also provides investment management and custodial services, trust services, financial and estate planning, and retirement planning and employee benefit programs; residential, consumer, and small business lending products; and consumer real estate secured lending, consumer loans, loans secured by personal property, and unsecured personal loans. In addition, the company offers 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. Further, it provides commercial and industrial, commercial real estate banking, and lease financing; and treasury services comprising investment and borrowing portfolios, as well as manages capital, debt, and market risks. As of December 31, 2020, the company operated 478 branches, including 373 traditional branches, 102 supermarket branches, and three campus branches located in Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, Colorado, Ohio, Wisconsin, Arizona, and South Dakota; and 1,062 ATMs. TCF Financial Corporation was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Detroit, Michigan.

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Reinsurance Group of America, Inc. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of traditional and non-traditional life and health reinsurance products. It operates through the following segments: U.S. and Latin America; Canada; Europe, Middle East, and Africa; Asia Pacific; and Corporate and Other. The U.S. and Latin America segment markets individual and group life and health reinsurance to domestic clients for a variety of products through yearly renewable term agreements, coinsurance, and modified coinsurance. The Canada segment offers individual life reinsurance, and to a lesser extent creditor, group life and health, critical illness and disability reinsurance, through yearly renewable term and coinsurance agreements. The Europe, Middle East, and Africa segment serves individual and group life and health products through yearly renewable term and coinsurance agreements, reinsurance of critical illness coverage that provides a benefit in the event of the diagnosis of a pre-defined critical illness and underwritten annuities. The Asia Pacific segment comprises individual and group life and health reinsurance, critical illness coverage, disability, and superannuation thr

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Wall Street analysts have given United States Natural Gas Fund 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 United States Natural Gas Fund wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys.

View MarketBeat's top stock picks here.
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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UniCredit S.p.A. operates as a commercial bank. The company operates through Commercial Banking Italy, Commercial Banking Germany, Commercial Banking Austria, Corporate & Investment Banking, and Central Eastern Europe segments. It offers retail, corporate, and private banking services; investment services; leasing and factoring services; transactional, investment, and credit products and services; insurance solutions; and structured financing, hedging, and treasury solutions. The company also provides equity and debt capital market, corporate finance and advisory, syndication, and leverage buy-out services; and project and commodity, real estate, structured trade and export, and acquisition finance services, as well as wealth management services. In addition, it is involved in the structuring of products, such as FX, rates, equities, and credit products; and provision of cash management, e-banking, supply chain finance, global securities, and mobile banking services, as well as trade finance products. The company operates in Italy, Other European countries, America, Asia, and internationally. The company was formerly known as Unicredito Italiano S.p.A and changed its name to UniCredit S.p.A. UniCredit S.p.A. was founded in 1870 and is headquartered in Milan, Italy.

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Weatherford International plc, an oilfield service company, provides equipment and services for the drilling, evaluation, completion, production, and intervention of oil and natural gas wells worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Western Hemisphere and Eastern Hemisphere. It offers artificial lift systems, including reciprocating rod, progressing cavity pumping, gas, hydraulic, plunger, and hybrid lift systems, as well as related automation and control systems; pressure pumping and reservoir stimulation services, such as acidizing, fracturing and fluid systems, cementing, and coiled-tubing intervention; and drill stem test tools, and surface well testing and multiphase flow measurement services. The company also provides safety, downhole reservoir monitoring, flow control, and multistage fracturing systems, as well as sand-control technologies, and production and isolation packers; liner hangers to suspend a casing string in high-temperature and high-pressure wells; cementing products, including plugs, float and stage equipment, and torque-and-drag reduction technology for zonal isolation; and pre-job planning and installation services. In addition, it offers directional drilling services, and logging and measurement services while drilling; services related to rotary-steerable systems, high-temperature and high-pressure sensors, drilling reamers, and circulation subs; managed pressure drilling, conventional mud-logging, drilling instrumentation, gas analysis, wellsite consultancy, and open hole and cased-hole logging services; reservoir solutions and software products; and intervention and remediation services. Further, the company provides equipment and drilling tools; tubular handling, management, and connection services; equipment rental services; and onshore contract drilling and related services through a fleet of land drilling and workover rigs. Weatherford International plc was incorporated in 1972 and is headquartered in Baar, Switzerland.

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One of Geaam's favourite dishes at the moment is "an escalope of foie gras lacquered with pomegranate molasses (Photo: AFP)

Paris: When Lebanese chef Alan Geaam first arrived in Paris two decades ago he found himself sleeping on the streets, lost and penniless with hardly a word of French.

This week Geaam, who began his career as a dishwasher while he was sleeping rough in a Paris park, received his first Michelin star from the French gastronomic bible for his acclaimed new restaurant within a stone's throw of the Arc de Triomphe.

"I never thought the Michelin would be interested in someone like me, who was self-taught, who had to sleep in the street at 19 and who began as a dishwasher," he told agencies.

"I thought the guide was about chefs in big fancy hotels or those trained by the great masters. But it turned out to be the opposite. It's a wonderful surprise," said the 43-year-old, who was born to Lebanese parents in Liberia, before they exchanged one war zone for another by returning to Beirut.

By then Geaam's fascination with food was clear, watching cookery shows on television rather than cartoons after school.

He started cooking while doing his national service in Lebanon, and the colonel of his regiment was so impressed he made him his personal chef.

But Geaam never thought we would be able to cut the mustard in France, and only got his break when the chef of the restaurant where he was washing the dishes was rushed to hospital when he slashed his hand with a knife.

'But you can cook!'

"I worked during the day as a construction worker and at night delivering pizzas and washing dishes. One night the cook cut his hand and had to go to hospital. No one asked me, but I just took over. There were 14 tables and so I just feed the customers and at the end of the night they were delighted.

"The owner said to me, 'But you can cook!' and I said, 'Yes.'"

"The reason I cook is to make people happy," said Geaam. And he has certainly spread joy among restaurant critics with Michelin's rival Gault Millau guide raving about his langoustines and chard and its dark chocolate-coloured sauce tinged with Vietnamese cardamom.

Alexander Lobrano, author of "Hungry for Paris", was even more effusive, declaring this "gentle, shrewd, self-taught chef as one of quiet men of Paris gastronomy... who has a brilliant future ahead of him."

Although Geaam delights in bringing the very best of French produce to his table, Lobrano said he also brings the "tender buds of his very personal cooking that makes references to the lost world of a little boy born to a foreign family living in tropical Africa."

Pomegranate lacquered foie gras

And the influence of his Lebanese roots is never far away either.

One of Geaam's favourite dishes at the moment is "an escalope of foie gras lacquered with pomegranate molasses served with a tartlette of beetroot and pomegranate.

"I ate a lot of pomegranates when I was a kid," he said. "I made juice with them, I made lots of reductions with them, and I loved putting this very Lebanese touch with something so French as foie gras."

Since Geaam got his Michelin star on Monday night his restaurant's phone has not stopped ringing.

His said his small, tight team of highly-talented chefs -- whose CVs he admits look far more impressive than his own -- "really feel that something has happened in our lives.

"You can criticise the Michelin guide but I can tell you the effect, a star massively boosts a restaurant." Within hours the restaurant was booked up for three weeks. "It is quite something," he said.

Geaam, who told how his son boasted to his friends at school that his father got a Michelin star, put his success down to his own parents, who "lost everything" in Liberia only to have to struggle again in Lebanon during the civil war.

He said working with his father in his grocery shop from the age of 10 gave him a taste for business while his mother "taught me how to love people and how to cook".
New Delhi: This week, the first commercially available freeze-free vaccine carrier will begin introductory field trials in Nepal. This follows the World Health 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, 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 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.
Cases sometimes go unreported because families of victims feel ashamed. (Photo: Pixabay)

A new study now finds that masturbation kills up to 100 Germans a year. The study has also uncovered the bizarre ways people have died pleasuring themselves.

In a shocking revelation, the study found that one man - wearing pantyhose, a raincoat and a diving suit as well as a plastic bag over his head - died in Hamburg after sitting next to a heater and trying to melt slices of cheese on his body.

It went on to reveal that another man in Halle was found dead with Christmas tree lights clamped to his nipples having apparently tried to stimulate himself by electrocution.

According to a story published in Mail Online, Forensic examiner Harald Vob said the most common reason for autoerotic deaths was the desire for the ultimate orgasm through depriving oneself of oxygen.

He went on to add that between 80 and 100 people across the country accidentally die every year due to risky masturbation practices, his study found.

The study further revealed that for every one million German citizens there are 'one or two' cases of deaths a year in which a prop or device was used to boost stimulation during sexual activity.

In one example, a man was found suffocated in the cellar of his home in Hesse having apparently tied chains around his body and neck.

According to Bild, porn was present and investigators made the assumption that he had suffered an autoerotic death.

Local reports went on to say that a number of similar cases go unreported.

Cases sometimes go unreported because families of victims feel ashamed, Vob added.

The Legal Medicine in Hamburg alone recorded 40 accidental autoerotic deaths between 1983 and 2003 with all victims aged between 13 and 79, The Local reports.

Victims, it turns out, are usually men, since women were 'more cautious and don't incorporate so many intricacies'.
Police sources said that it was Radhakrishnan who tipped off the cops about the mobs gathering to nip Binus second stint in the budding stage.

Chennai: Even as city police formed special teams to nab the gangster Binu and several of his accomplices, it has now been established that Binus former accomplice, Radhakrishnan, another gangster, had tipped off the cops about the birthday bash.

The 45-year-old Binu of Choolaimedu had retired for a short while in his native state Kerala after a health complication.

In the meantime, his former accomplice, Radhakrishnan collaborated with another wanted gangster, CD Mani of Teynampet and continued operations in the city.

Mani was involved in various real estate deals in the city and attempts were also made on his life in the past two years, police said. Meanwhile, Binu wanted to get into the picture again and to announce his arrival, he organised the grand birthday celebrations in a farmhouse along the Outer Ring road.

Police sources said that it was Radhakrishnan who tipped off the cops about the mobs gathering to nip Binus second stint in the budding stage.

Apart from the rowdies who gathered at the truck shed, police said that a city based advocate and a few other students were also part of the bash.

Police also recovered from the scene few Press ID cards and are interrogating about the same.

Apart from the mobile phones and dangerous weapons seized from the truck shed, police also seized at least 10 tonnes of red sanders smuggled and concealed near lorry shed. It is not clear if any of those gathered on Tuesday night were involved in red sanders smuggling. We are investigating that too, a top police officer said.

On Tuesday night, police arrested about 75 rowdies from a farmhouse near Vandalur-Minjur road after the mob gathered for the birthday celebrations of gangster Binu.

In scenes reminiscent of action movies, the gangsters cut cakes with sickles and were reveling when police gatecrashed their party.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said when UPA was in power, then defence ministers Pranab Mukherjee and AK Antony had on 15 occasions told Parliament that giving out such details would be against the interest of national security. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday accused the Congress of "seriously compromising" national security by demanding disclosure of details of the Rafale fighter jet deal and also "manufacturing" corruption allegations against the NDA government.

Jaitley's attack against the Congress in the Lok Sabha during which he defended the government's decision against making the break-up of the nearly Rs 58,000 crore deal public came even as Congress president Rahul Gandhi fired a fresh salvo at the government. Gandhi said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not answering his questions because there was something "fishy" about it.

Also Read: PM not answering questions, something's 'fishy': Rahul on Rafale deal

Amid acrimony between Congress and BJP members, Jaitley also advised Gandhi to "learn" from former defence minister Pranab Mukherjee "lessons on national security."

"Your party was stigmatised when you were in government because of allegation of corruption. Now the new act is, let us manufacture an allegation of corruption against the NDA. So when you couldn't find anything, you said please disclose the price of the Rafale deal," Jaitley said while replying to a

discussion on the Union Budget.

"I charge the Congress of seriously compromising India's security...Mr Modi has run a clean government for last 4 years, so let us manufacturer a crisis, let us manufacture an issue. And the manufactured issue is, please tell me the details of the Rafale deal," the finance minister said referring to the demands by the Congress to make public details of the government-to-government deal to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets from France.

Jaitley said when UPA was in power, then defence ministers Pranab Mukherjee and AK Antony had on 15 occasions told Parliament that giving out such details would be against the interest of national security. He said one of the questions then related to missiles being procured from Israel.

He said the Congress president should go to Mukherjee and "get lessons on national security."

Gandhi has been targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the 2016 deal to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets. "What is the price that the Prime Minister has spent on Rafale," Gandhi had asked on Tuesday.

Also Read: Rahul Gandhi calls Rafale deal a scam, says Modi personally got it done

Alleging that something wrong has happened in the Rafale deal, Gandhi also 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," Gandhi alleged without elaborating.

Continuing his attack on Thursday, Gandhi referred to Modi's speeches in Parliament on Wednesday, telling reporters outside Parliament that it was clear that the prime minister was not interested in answering "fundamental questions".

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, he said, had first announced that she would inform the nation about the cost of purchasing Rafale aircraft but was now saying she could not do so as it was a state secret.

"Which of her two statements are correct," he asked.

Later in a tweet, Gandhi asked if she "changed" her stand to hide corruption, or to protect prime minister or his friend. "Why did the Raksha Mantri change her stance from: I will reveal the price of the RAFALE planes in Nov 2017 to the price is a state secret in Feb 2018. A) Corruption B) To protect Modiji C) To protect Modiji's friend D) All of above," he tweeted.

Gandhi said he had also posed three questions to Modi. These included the aircraft's cost and "handing over" the deal to a businessman after "snatching" it from a public undertaking. However, there was no reply, Gandhi said.

"There can be only one answer and it is that there is something fishy about this," he said.

In Lok Sabha, Jaitley said security pacts were inherent part of defence transactions "because when you disclose the details of the price, you can give an approximate price, but when you give those specific details, you are giving details of the weapon system that you possess, and the capacity of the weapon systems which you don't want to inform the enemy."

Shashi Tharoor (Congress) told Jaitley that his party was not seeking details to compromise national security but only demanding transparency.

Congress senior spokesperson Anand Sharma accused Modi of indulging in "political corruption" in the Rafale deal. "I charge the PM with political corruption. This is political corruption, it is not promoting crony capitalism. This is political corruption. What we will call it?," he told reporters.
Vijayawada: The Deputy Chief Minister (Home), Mr N. Chinarajappa, blamed the BJP state leadership for not taking up the case of AP special status with the Union government and BJP National headquarters.

Speaking to Deccan Chronicle on Thursday, the Deputy CM said that their party would take a call on Pawan Kalyans JAC, at an appropriate time.

The Deputy CM found fault with BJP MLC Somu Veerraju for criticising the state government and Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, though he was given a warning from his partys high command. BJPs state leadership failed in giving proper feedback on what is happening in the state to the party high command and Prime Minister Modi, Chinarajappa said.
According to the White House, during the call, Donald Trump and Narendra Modi discussed further steps to ensure denuclearisation of North Korea. (Photo: AP)

Washington/New Delhi: US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have expressed concern about the political situation in Maldives over a phone call, as they also discussed the situation in Afghanisthan and enhancing security in Indo-Pacific region, the White House said.

"Both leaders expressed concern about the political crisis in Maldives and the importance of respect for democratic institutions and rule of law," the White House said in a readout of the phone call between Trump and Modi, the first in 2018.

Maldives plunged into a political chaos on last Thursday when the apex court ordered the release of nine imprisoned opposition politicians, maintaining that their trials were "politically motivated and flawed".

The Yameen government has refused to implement the ruling, prompting a wave of protests in Maldives capital, Male.

Maldives' Supreme Court Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and another judge, Ali Hameed, were arrested hours after Yameen declared a state of emergency.

The White House said the two leaders also pledged to continue working together to enhance security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.

"Affirming President Trump's South Asia strategy, they reiterated their commitment to supporting Afghanistan's security and stability," the White House said.

Modi and Trump also exchanged views on Myanmar and ways to address the plight of the Rohingya refugees.

As of now there are some 680,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh putting enormous pressure in the economy of Bangladesh.

Recently Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed on a roadmap of return of these refugees to their homes in Myanmar.

The US believes that this is not the right time for the return of Rohingya refugees.

According to the White House, during the call, Trump and Modi discussed further steps to ensure denuclearisation of North Korea.

"Finally, the leaders agreed to strengthen security and economic cooperation as they look forward to the '2+2' ministerial dialogue between their defence and diplomatic officials in April," the White House said.

The '2+2 dialogue' was announced after the White House meeting between Modi and Trump in June 2017.

The dialogue would involve External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman from India along with their American counterparts Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.
Candidate can attempt Neet exam any number of times between the ages 17 and 25 for general category students, and between the ages of 17 and 30 for reserved category students.

Hyderabad: The CBSE Board released the official notification for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Neet) for undergraduate courses for 2018 on Friday. The online application process has started and it will end on March 9. Neet exam will be conducted on May 6.

According to the notification, the Board has made it mandatory for all candidates, except those from Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, and Meghalaya, to enter their Aadhaar details at the time of registration. Candidates can register any time before 11.50 pm on March 9. The online payment of fees must be completed by 11.50 pm on March 10.

Candidates must be 17 years or older at the time of admission, or they must complete the age of 17 on or before December 31, 2018.

The maximum permissible age is 25 years. However, a five-year relaxation on the maximum age has been granted to SC, ST and OBC candidates.

Those with at least 50 per cent marks and having physics, chemistry, biology/biotechnology and English as their subjects are eligible to apply. Students who have studied biology/biotechnology as additional subjects and students who have completed their education at the National Institute of Open Schooling are not eligible.

A candidate can attempt Neet exam any number of times between the ages of 17 and 25 for general category students and between the ages of 17 and 30 for reserved category students.

Students are required to register through the Board website www.cbseneet.nic. Admit cards will be available in the second week of April, and the exam results are expected to be announced by June 5, 2018.
The White House said that the two leaders also pledged to continue working together to enhance security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region. (Photo: AP)

New Delhi/ Washington/ Beijing: In what is being seen as a synchronised Indo-US strategy on the Maldives crisis, US President Donald Trump on Friday spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on phone, with both leaders expressing concern over the political situation in the tiny archipelago nation.

Both leaders expressed concern about the political crisis in Maldives and the importance of respect for democratic institutions and rule of law, the White House said in a readout of the phone call between Mr Trump and Mr Modi, the first in this year.

The White House said that the two leaders also pledged to continue working together to enhance security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.

Apart from China, support for the Maldivian government has also come from Pakistan which appeared to play the Islamic card.

Pakistan on Friday hailed Maldives as an important Muslim country in Saarc, adding that Pakistan and Maldives have deep and cordial relations, bound by religious and cultural affinity.

In its reaction on the developments in the Maldives, Islamabad said, Pakistan and Maldives have deep and cordial relations, bound by religious and cultural affinity. Maldives is an important Muslim country in Saarc. As a matter of policy, we do not comment on the internal matters of other countries. Pakistan firmly believes that the rule of democracy and constitution must be upheld and allowed to take its course, and supports the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Maldives as per the UN Charter. It may be recalled that Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen had sent special envoys to China, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia while a miffed India had refused to allow Male send its special envoy to New Delhi.

Modi, Trump discuss North Korea too

This, after the Maldivian President had ignored Indias advice to respect a Supreme Court order there on release of political prisoners.

Meanwhile, during their telephonic conversation President Trump and Modi also discussed situation in Afghanistan, Myanmar and North Korea.

Affirming President Trumps South Asia strategy, they reiterated their commitment to supporting Afghanistans security and stability, the White House said. According to the White House, during the call, President Trump and PM Modi discussed further steps to ensure denuclearisation of North Korea.

The leaders agreed to strengthen security and economic cooperation as they look forward to the 2+2 ministerial talks between their officials in April, the White House said.
KOLLAM: The All-Kerala School Teachers Union (AKSTU) has demanded a departmental probe into the suicide of the principal of Government Higher Secondary School at Ashtamudi on February 2. The union alleged that principal Sreedevi, 55, Anupam, Perumpuzha in Kundara was subjected to mental torture by the parents for taking penal action against the students who misbehaved in the school.

According to the union, the Plus-One students in the school, both girls and boys, were found drunk which was questioned by the principal. She asked their parents to meet her and disclosed the incident. However, the parents questioned the principal over the code of conduct of the students.

The principals family and a group of teachers in the school believe that she was in mental distress after the incident which provoked her to end her life in her home. The truth behind the incident should be brought out through a departmental inquiry. Also, the government should bring in a code of conduct for the parents and teachers to prevent similar issues, Mr N. Sreekumar, general secretary of the union, told DC. It is also learnt that the teacher had no family or financial issues and had good rapport with her colleagues. The union blamed the parents for isolating teachers over such issues and putting great pressure on them. The government should conduct a study on the work load and mental pressure faced by all higher secondary principals in the state, the union urged.
Mr Madhusudhan interacted with the media after reviewing the performance of the steel plant here on Friday.

VISAKHAPATNAM: The disinvestment of the Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL), the corporate entity of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) will spur its growth, bringing more transparency and best practices indirectly in the long run. It will also pave the way for the central public sector enterprises to become a listed company opening doors for IPO, said chairman and managing director of RINL P. Madhusudan.

Mr Madhusudhan interacted with the media after reviewing the performance of the steel plant here on Friday. He said the RINL had recovered well in the curre-nt financial year (2017-18) and was all set to register Rs 100 crore operational profit. The company had achieved a turnaround during the current fiscal after hitting the recovery path in 2016-17.

Replying to a question on disinvestment of RINL, the CMD said the Union government would be taking a decision soon and it had already proposed to disinvest 10 per cent of the stake, amounting to around `490 crore.

The disinvestment may indirectly help the growth of RINL as several stakeholders will monitor the performance of RINL and will find out best practices for the bright future of RINL, he added.

The AP government was using its steel products in construction works in the new capital, Amaravati, and the Polavaram irrigation project on the Godavari.

However, we produce only long products and they need mostly flat products. Of the long products used in construction, we are getting the lions share, he said.

The RINL is all set to register `100 crore operational profit by the end of 2017-18 fiscal year after two slump years and if all goes as per plans the profit trend will continue in the coming years, said the CMD.

The CMD said they had managed to reduce the net loss by `400 crore to around `900 crore and are expecting to achieve break-even and an operational profit of `100 crore in the current fiscal and also expecting a good growth in 2018-19.

Speaking on the expansion project and modernisation of RINL, Mr Madhusudan said the RINL had successfu-lly completed its expansion project (doubling the original capacity to 6.3 MT) and added an ad-ditional million tonnes by taking up a modernisation project, taking the total capacity to 7.3 MT.

RINL had invested over `16,000 crore for expansion and modernisation, of which over 60 per cent was invested through internal accruals while the remaining was through bank loans, he said.
Bengaluru: Seeing the widespread opposition from seers of several maths, the government has decided to withdraw the notice issued by the Muzarai department, inviting public opinion on its plans to take over maths, temples and religious institutions in the state.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who announced this in the Legislative Council on Thursday, said the government would consult the law department in the matter and then take a call on whether or not to go ahead with the plan.

The government was earlier lambasted by the BJP, which moved an adjournment motion on the controversial public notice and accused it of being "anti-Hindu." But even before leader of the opposition, K S Eshwarappa could make a preliminary submission on the issue, the Chief Minister intervened to say the government had no plan to take over any math, temple or religious institution and the Muzarai department had already been told to withdraw its public notice.

When Mr Eshwarappa accused the government of being "anti-Hindu," and wondered why it was not trying to take over mosques, Mr Siddaramaiah recalled that in 2006, a division bench of the Karnataka High Court had asked the then BJP-JD(S) government to seek the opinion of stakeholders on forming a new regulatory body for temples and maths in the state. But following strong opposition from religious heads a notice issued at the time was withdrawn, and a three-member committee headed by former Chief Justice, Justice Rama Jois was constituted to look into the matter. The committee too issued a similar public notice and the Muzarai department had recently only re-issued it.

"But today, the BJP leaders are attacking the government on this score. Why did they keep quiet when Justice Jois issued the notice?" the Chief Minister demanded, accusing the saffron party of politicising the issue.

" BJP leaders don't have a monopoly over Hinduism. I am also a Hindu and I too respect God. The lotus party is trying to gain political mileage out of this issue in view of the coming Assembly poll," he charged.

Angry BJP and JD(S) members, however, walked out of the House in protest when the chairman of the Council, D.H. Shankaramurthy rejected the adjournment motion based on the Chief Minister's statement.

Chinchansoor did not want debate on scam

Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, jagadish Shettar claimed that former Minister, Baburao Chinchansoor had forced an RTI activist to withdraw a PIL in the High Court on the "corruption" in the Karnataka Border Development Authority that he headed.

Presenting four DVDs in the Assembly, which he claimed carried a recording of a discussion between Mr Chinchansoor, his followers and the activist, Mr Shettar, charged that the Authority had spent over Rs 50 crore during the last one year, although it had conducted no programmes. "The money was released in the name of fictitious organisations, he charged.

Mr Shettar added that an RTI activist filed a PIL in the High Court questioning the expenditure of the authority. But Mr Chinchansoor and his assistant, Prakash Mathikatti offered him money to withdraw the case and the petitioner was forced to give an undertaking to the court taking back his PIL and the case was dismissed, he alleged. Even worse, Mr Mathikatti had requested him Thursday not to raise the issue in the House, he claimed. " He tried to explain to me how there was a misconception over spending. Opposition leaders are approached to drop debates and the CM says there is no corruption.
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.

Vote

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Bengaluru: The Janata Dal (S) on Thursday entered into a poll alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party(BSP) for the forthcoming Karnataka assembly elections.

National General Secretary of BSP, Satish Chandra Misra and National Secretary General of JD(S), Danish Ali announced this at a joint press conference held in New Delhi. The BSP will contest 20 Assembly seats spread across 14 districts.

The 20 seats which the BSP will contest include Chamarajnagar, Gundlupet, Kollegal (SC), Anekal, Nippani, Chikkodi-Sadalaga, Raibag (SC) Honnali, Bidar North, Chittapur (SC), Kalaburgi Rural (SC), Vijayanagar, Bagalkote city, Karkala, Hubbali-Dharwad (East-SC), Byadagi, Shirahatti (SC), Gadag, Babaleshwara, Sullya (SC). Mr Ali and Mr Misra said BSP chief, Mayawati would jointly campaign with JD(S) supremo and former PM, H.D. Deve Gowda.

It is not clear whether the the alliance was struck to divide the Congress' Dalit votes. Both parties chose the national capital to make their announcement.

Sources in the JD(S) and a few Dalit leaders felt this might end up being a 'zero sum game'. "In the seats given to the BSP, the JD (S) is not a strong force therefore, it would be difficult to say if the JD (S) would really be of any help to the BSP in their attempt to win these seats. Considering the JD (S) voters' hostility towards Dalits in many constituencies in south Karnataka, it would be a challenge for JD(S) to transfer the Vokkaligas votes to BSP," sources said.

A Dalit leader felt that after the 2004 assembly elections, the BSP failed to make a dent in the Dalit votes of the two national parties. "Perhaps in places like Kollegal where the BSP is strong, it can help JD (S) to split the community votes. Otherwise, considering the vote share that the BSP got in the 2013 assembly elections, it would be difficult to say whether it would help the JD (S) in a big way," the leader said.
K. Jana Reddy, the Leader of the Opposition in the Telangana State Assembly, addresses the media over minister K.T. Rama Raos remarks on Congress. Senior leaders J. Geeta Reddy and T. Jeevan Reddy could be seen. (Photo: DC)

Hyderabad: Several Congress leaders from Telangana, including K. Jana Reddy, the Leader of the Opposition in the TS Assembly, came down heavily on IT minister K.T. Rama Rao for calling the Congress a loafer party.

Addressing the media on Friday, Mr Jana Reddy said, As the leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP), I am condemning the language used by minister KTR.

He said that the ministers comments were ev-idence of political ego and decay.

Mr Jana Reddy said that the use of shabby language had become a matter of habit for the leaders of the TRS.

He said that just as Mr Rama Rao had called the Congress a loafer party, the TRS should be called a broker party, as brokering was what the leaders of the party indulged in.

He added that the minister had made those comments just to get some publicity and media attention.

The leader of the CLP said the failure to give the Congress, which granted Telangana state, even a minimal level of respect was hurting the people of Telangana.

He also criticised Mr Rama Rao for his comments regarding AICC president Rahul Gandhi. He said the people were waiting for an opportunity to teach Mr Rama Rao a lesson. He said Rahul Gandhi is the leader of a party of 130 crore people and that he had sacrificed the Prime Ministers post, and so Mr Rama Rao had no right to criticise him.

Mr Jana Reddy also expressed confidence that the Congress would come to power after the 2019 elections.

Senior leader and MLA J. Geeta Reddy, the chairperson of the Public Accounts Comm-ittee, asked Mr Rama Rao whether it was pro-per for an educated person to use such langu-age. She asked whether that was what he had learnt after travelling to so many countries.

Recalling that Chief Minister K. Chandrase-khar Rao and his family had touched Sonia Gandhis feet and called her Telangana deva-tha, she said Mr Rama Rao had no right to criticise Rahul Gandhi.

Senior leader and MLA T. Jeevan Reddy and others also condemned the minister for the language used by him to criticise the Congress.
With every passing interventio, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is taking parliamentary debate to new lows. His reply to the debate on the motions of thanks to the President for his address to Parliament was exceedingly virulent. Though greeted by the treasury benches with loud thumps on desks, Mr Modi displayed poor knowledge of history. His reply to Renuka Chowdhurys cackle  although not acceptable for lowering the standards of the Upper House  was nothing short of crass misogyny. Had the analogy Mr Modi drew between the member and a woman character from the epic Ramayan been made outside Parliament, Mr Modi would have been liable to being charged for insulting a woman. His party members response to his put-down of a senior woman member demonstrated that despite pledges to uphold the dignity of women, the party remains crassly patriarchal  a woman can at best be mataon or behnon, but not an equal with gumption to pay back in the same coin.

Despite Ms Chowdhury crossing the Rubicon of decent parliamentary intervention, it did not behove the Prime Ministers status to intervene when the Chair was already seized of the matter and castigating her for the remarks and behaviour. If such examples are set by the most powerful leader, one can imagine the cues for the partys storm troopers.

Additionally, by advising the Chairman of the House, albeit in the form of a request, he lowered the dignity of the office. Mr Modi clearly forgot that M. Venkaiah Naidu is no longer a party colleague junior in hierarchy. While the vice-president was admonishing Ms Chowdhury, Mr Modi cut in to make a vinti, prathna or request on how he should respond. It may be a very technical matter, but parliamentary proceedings are all about protocol and conventions, neither of which Mr Modi respected by interjecting. Moreover, Mr Modis speech was full of historical bluster and repetition of what has been said for the umpteenth time  that Sardar Vallabhai Patel was denied the prime ministership by Jawaharlal Nehru despite the backing of a majority of Congress members.

He further added that Indian history, especially Kashmirs, would have completely different had Patel been the Prime Minister. Mr Modi and his cohorts in the Sangh Parivar who have thrived on the projection of the Sardars iron fist as opposite to a timid Nehru on matters where display of military muscle was required, completely ignore that Indias history would have been completely different if Sardar Patel and his home ministry along with the home minister of Bombay state, a man who eventually became Prime Minister, Morarji Desai, had acted with greater alacrity when clues were scattered everywhere after the failed bomb attack on Mahatma Gandhi January 20, 1948 by Madanlal Pahwa, who was a part of the Nathuram Godse-Narayan Apte conspiracy. Negative portrayal of Jawaharlal Nehru and everything to do with the Congress post-Independence has assumed centrality in Mr Modis utterances whereas a coherent account sans hyperbole is required about this governments achievements so far. Repeated attempts to selectively appropriate history marks the lowest point of parliamentary debate and underscores that the chief executive no longer demarcates between an electoral rally and a parliamentary speech.

Scant respect paid to Parliament and its conventions has another worrying facet. This was highlighted grimly by Ghulam Nabi Azad when in his intervention in the debate on the Presidents address, he talked about an atmosphere of fear choking India. He said people in the country, including privileged Opposition leaders, fear speaking on their phones because of the apprehension that the State is eavesdropping on private conversations with the intention of using the information against them. You have divided political parties by using the ED, income-tax, NIA. You have gone after people who are aligned with us.

Businessmen are fearful of speaking to us on the phone because our phones are being tapped and they fear being targeted for having sided with the Opposition, Mr Azad claimed. But despite the seriousness of the matter, the issues raised are yet to be clarified. In fact, 44 months since this government assumed office, there has been a concerted assault on viewpoints or expressions contrary to the ruling establishments opinion. This is an ominous development and a pointer to the challenges ahead and further assaults on Indias democratic spirit and character.

The atmosphere of fear that Mr Azad alleged as being all-pervading in fact reflected the worrisome report of the Economist Intelligence Unit, which released its Democracy Index last week. It is a matter of grave concern that India slipped 10 places to 42, the second sharpest fall after Indonesia, which fell by 20 positions. The assessment is based on five categories: electoral process and pluralism; civil liberties; the functioning of the government; political participation; and political culture. India was dragged down because its score was low on functioning of government, political culture and civil liberties; while a semblance of democratic vibrancy was recorded due to the electoral process and pluralism and political participation. Significantly, India slipped and got labelled as flawed democracy because of low scores on parameters directly involving the State; whereas wherever citizens had a direct role, India performed better.

Worryingly, the report highlighted the continuing global trend of democracy recession, a process that has not been reversed in the decade since 2006 when the EIU began preparing this annual index. Globally, elites have become sceptical of democracies and this is where leaders like Mr Modi have sought to tap the unarticulated sentiment that controlled dictatorship will be good for India. Indias continuous fall on the free speech indicator in this report since 2014 highlights growing intolerance for viewpoints not endorsed by the State. Coupled with the rise of conservative religious ideologies backed by state programmes, the clouds on the horizon are worrying and parliamentary interventions like Mr Modis further legitimise browbeating of minorities, both demographic and intellectual.
Having overshot its planned Mars orbit, Elon Musks cherry red roadster is hurtling on in space towards the asteroid belt nearer Jupiter. This might appear the most egotistical journey with endless playing of David Bowies Life on Mars into the ears of the Starman in the convertibles drivers seat. The significance, however, lies in the boy from South Africa who came to the US via Canada realising his wildest dreams in building an aerospace exploration firm that can deliver launches with the heaviest rocket in history at about one-tenth what it costs Nasa, perhaps more economical than Isros user-friendly satellite launch costs. The trailblazing deep space mission that sent back two boosters to Earth for reuse raises immense possibilities once envisaged only in the Isaac Asimovs imaginative sci-fi works.

The idea is to land the first humans on Mars before half this century ends. Such a yearning reflects how much we have denuded our planet that we consider readying a set of intrepid explorers to colonise space, with humanitys endlessly greedy use depleting our finite resources. Stephen Hawking said for years that humans chances of perpetuity would be to leave Earth, which might be struck with great catastrophes like the one decimating the dinosaurs. SpaceXs Falcon Heavy is probably the first baby step to saving the human race, which seems bent on hurtling towards Armageddon. It appears logical that Man's successive conquests of science would also give him the brainpower needed to stave off disasters. But its probably better to spend on grandiose Musk visions than trust our basic quest of survival of the species, perhaps still the most intelligent in our part of the Universe till today.
SALT LAKE CITY  The House Government Operations Committee approved two bills Wednesday that may drastically affect voting in Utah.

HB35, sponsored by Rep. Marc Roberts, R-Salem, would create a pilot program that will make it an option to implement rank-choice and approval forms of voting in certain nonpartisan municipal elections.

In rank-choice voting, the voter ranks multiple candidates for one seat from most favorable to least favorable with a numbering system.

Approval voting differs from rank-choice voting in that voters mark the candidates they approve and leave the others blank.

Rep. Brad Daw, R-Orem, was the only dissenting vote in the committee to HB35, saying he had never heard of those methods of voting before and needed more time to learn about them.

HB141, sponsored by Rep. John Westwood, R-Cedar City, would allow election officers to reduce the early voting period to a minimum of two days from the 14 days currently required.

Westwood justified his bill by citing the costs concerns of paying polling staff for a full 14 days when there may be no voters at all, especially in rural Utah. Eighteen of Utah's 29 counties currently don't offer any early voting at all, he said.

Westwood suggested that those counties may be willing to open elections for early voting if they didn't have to open for a full 14 days.

Marina Lowe, a representative for the American Civil Liberties Union, spoke against the bill, saying cost is not an issue and that changing early voting would create confusion and discourage voter turnout.

"We want to encourage any and all opportunities to vote," Lowe said.

Rep. Patrice Arent, D-Millcreek, and Rep. Rebecca Chavez-Houck, D-Salt Lake City, were the dissenting votes on the committee.

Early voting is an important part of the democratic process," Chavez-Houck said. "Not all people have the ability to vote on Election Day, and it allows those, such as the elderly and the disabled, to more easily cast their ballots.

Both bills will go to the full House for consideration.
SALT LAKE CITY  The Utah House voted down a bill Thursday that would have allowed political parties to stop candidates from participating both in the caucus and convention nomination process and gathering voter signatures to get on the primary election ballot.

Rep. Justin Fawson, R-North Ogden, sponsor of HB68, argued that candidates shouldn't be allowed "two bites of the apple" to get on the ballot. He said letting candidates choose paths as current law allows undermines the purpose of conventions.

Fawson's bill, which went down 37-34, would have let political parties limit candidates to one path or the other. Parties could have also maintained the current dual-track system.

Rep. Ray Ward, R-Bountiful, who voted against the bill, argued the law would drive candidates away from the convention and to signature gathering because it is a sure way to make the ballot.

Republicans said parties need the ability to choose their candidates and control their own message.

Democrats said the bill would undo the compromise lawmakers and the Count My Vote initiative lawmakers reached four years ago.

"This bill is another attempt by this Legislature to take power away from the voter," said House Minority Leader Brian King, D-Salt Lake City.

Supporters of the bill talk about providing choice, King said, but what they really want is more control over candidate selection and a repeal of the publics ability to better voice their opinion in who represents them.

Chase Thomas, policy and advocacy counsel with the Alliance for a Better Utah, commended lawmakers for honoring the compromise known as SB54.

"Even if it may not have been their motivating force, we are grateful legislators also honored the ballot initiative process by rejecting this bill," Thomas said.

Voters will ultimately decide the fate of the law if the Count My Vote and Keep My Voice ballot initiatives get on the November ballot.
SALT LAKE CITY  The sponsor of a bill making it a crime to record conversations with someone without consent said Thursday he's asked that a hearing be delayed amid concerns being raised by various groups.

Rep. Lowry Snow, R-Santa Clara, said he's surprised at the response HB330 has received and wants to talk more with the business community about the need for the bill.

Snow said he was asked to sponsor the legislation by the Salt Lake Chamber as "an issue that was important to the business community" to protect corporate interests, particularly when it comes to propriety information.

"But I'm not getting as much feedback as I thought that I would with respect to that support," he said. So Snow has asked the House Rules Committee not to assign the bill to a committee for a hearing to give the Salt Lake Chamber time to gather more information.

"I haven't killed the bill. I've essentially put it on hold," he said. "In the meantime, I've had a lot of other input from organizations," including lobbyists for the news media and attorneys.

Snow said he may bring together stakeholders, including the religious community, to discuss the bill.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a statement backing the measure when it was introduced Tuesday.

"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 it's "hard to say at this point" whether he will advance the bill this session or look to have the issue considered during the legislative interim. He said he wants to hear from the chamber first.

"I do feel strongly that there are some sensitive conversations or situations that would be well for us to look at whether or not those should receive this protection," he said. "It goes both ways."

Utah law currently allows a person to record a conversation without telling the other participants. There are 12 states that require all parties to give consent to a recording.
SALT LAKE CITY  If you meet someone wearing a bright yellow shirt downtown, chances are he or she is a new ambassador for Salt Lake City.

They're stationed downtown to help make the city a more welcoming place for visitors and to address concerns raised by local business owners regarding homelessness and other issues facing the area.

The city will eventually deploy up to a dozen ambassadors in major pedestrian thoroughfares throughout the year, Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski said Thursday in announcing the pilot program. She said similar efforts have been successful in other large metropolitan areas, including Los Angeles, New York and Chicago.

The goal of the Downtown Ambassador Program is to create an even more welcoming and safe city center for residents and visitors, as well as providing additional outreach efforts for people experiencing homelessness, said Steve Hillard, president of Streets Plus, a national company that specializes in providing ambassador services in several major cities.

"We hire licensed social service workers to serve as ambassadors, so on the street, we engage those in need, we do case management, refer them to appropriate services and talk to them every day," he said.

"It's a very 'down to earth' networking (approach) to build relationships with (people in need) so that when the time comes and they're ready to make a move to get a meal, get clothing or get a job, in-patient services or housing, we're there to facilitate that process."

Hillard said the program is geared toward "inclusivity" where people in the community feel a part of trying to make the downtown area welcoming to everyone. He noted that in Chicago, the program drew thousands of referrals and helped get 57 people off the streets and into a better living environments in its first year of operation.

"We're talking jobs, in-patient services, treatment, housing and thousands of referrals for food, clothing and medical services," Hillard said. "We expect that we can do the same thing here in Salt Lake."

The new program is a part of a larger effort spearheaded by the Downtown Alliance, the city and Visit Salt Lake to address the issues facing the downtown area, said Matthew Rojas, communications director for Salt Lake City.

"It's really about making downtown really vibrant," he said. "If this pilot works, it could work in other neighborhoods in our city."

The initial phase of the program has been operational since Nov. 1. This month, the ambassadors will begin patrolling downtown in bright yellow shirts. The ambassadors will operate from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., Rojas said, and will be equipped with radios with direct access to the local dispatch center in the event of an emergency.

"That's really going to bolster safety in the city and make everyone feel more comfortable and welcome," Rojas said. "We hear from businesses all the time that they would like extra eyes on the street and want this kind of service."

An ambassador program is a first for Salt Lake City and is modeled after similar programs in cities like Chicago. Launched six years ago in the Windy City, the program has improved the downtown Chicago experience significantly for residents and visitors, said Laura Jones, associate director of the Chicago Loop Alliance.

Seth Cole, manager of the Salt Lake City Ambassador Program, said the first goal of the program is to move homeless people into housing with compassion and set people up with the services that are available in the city.

"The second goal is to create an atmosphere of safety and hospitality," he said. "What we're (also) trying to do is transition people and treat them like human beings. We're not shuffling people around, we're trying to help them rehabilitate and get back into the 'housed' community."

While ambassadors will be tasked with providing safety, they are not security officers or police officers, said Downtown Alliance executive director Jason Mathis, adding that they carry no weapons and are simply there to help.

Our ambassadors are already making a big difference, helping visitors and locals find their ways and feel even more welcome in downtown, he said. They are also working with panhandlers or homeless people who may need to access services.

"Downtown belongs to everyone, and this program is just one more way we are working to help everyone feel welcome in our urban center.
SALT LAKE CITY  Policing quotas would be illegal under a bill approved by the Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee on Thursday.

SB154 would prohibit law enforcement agencies or municipalities from imposing any kind of quota on police officers and instead requires officers' performance to be evaluated by model standards unrelated to quotas.

It will stop what its sponsor, Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, calls "policing for profit." Law enforcement should be doing its job to seek compliance with the laws and raise public safety, not collecting revenue, he said.

Stephenson had two former officers with him to testify to the reality and severity of the problem.

Eric Moutsos, a former Salt Lake police officer, described an occasion when his sergeant told his squad they had to get five misdemeanor arrests per day. Moutsos got three, and his sergeant was livid, he said.

If officers got less than the quota, they had to make up for it with more arrests the next day, Moutsos said. Passing a no-quota bill, he said, is the best thing that could happen for relations between police and the public.

Moutsos made headlines in 2014 after he was placed on leave by then-Salt Lake Police Chief Chris Burbank for allegedly trying to switch assignments to avoid participating in the city's gay pride parade that year. He resigned from the force after his suspension became public.

Jeffery Hardenbrook, a former South Jordan police officer, said every day he started his patrol car, "at least three people were going to get a ticket, period."

Hardenbrook said he has never met a police officer who didn't have an unwritten quota. Quotas foster an antagonistic mindset between the officers and the public, he said.

Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross, spoke in favor of the bill, as did representatives from the American Civil Liberties Union and the Libertas Institute.

Salt Lake County Undersheriff Scott Carver said quotas are bad for public relations, but he objected to the bill on grounds that the language was too broad. He suggested that officers might be able to argue that they cannot be required to arrest or stop anyone because of the law.

Sen. Daniel Thatcher, R-West Valley City, held up the Utah Highway Patrol as a model for no-quota policy. UHP does not keep any of the revenue that comes from the tickets troopers write, and they only write tickets if they think that is the best way to ensure compliance with the law, Thatcher said.

The committee approved of the legislation unanimously and sent it to the Senate for consideration.
SALT LAKE CITY  A pair of lawsuits by former state prosecutors alleging they were retaliated against and forced out of their jobs at the Utah Attorney General's Office for reporting wrongdoing and harassment raises new questions about an office that is only four years removed from a major scandal.

Paul G. Amann, a former assistant attorney general, alleges he was wrongly fired in late 2016 for reporting office employees who misused funds, retaliated against whistleblowers, and hired and promoted a woman with a criminal record who was romantically involved with her boss.

Amann said after he reported his claims to his supervisors, Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes and legislative auditors investigating the office, he was moved to a different division, received a pay cut, was ultimately suspended and finally fired after 18 years in his job.

Amann's complaint also alleges he was punished for serving as a witness in a harassment lawsuit, in which another former prosecutor alleged office supervisors failed to investigate his allegations of sexual harassment and punished him and other employees who spoke out about unethical conduct.

The "violations of law and policy, gross mismanagement, abuses of authority, and unethical conduct are fully supported by the Utah Attorney General's Office," said the lawsuit by former prosecutor Robert Jason Hanks.

Reyes' spokesman, Daniel Burton, said due to the ongoing litigation and to protect the privacy of those involved, the office could not comment on the cases in detail.

"The office is confident, however, that our actions were appropriate, and we look forward to proving that through the normal course of litigation," Burton said.

The attorney general's office denies that Amann was terminated in retaliation for being a whistleblower "or for any other improper reason," and disagrees with Hanks' allegations of corruption and illegal conduct.

Reyes' office has not responded to Amann's allegations in his lawsuit but asked a judge to dismiss the case Thursday, arguing Amann missed a deadline to file a required $300 fee associated with the lawsuit and should be blocked from trying to refile it.

Judge Patrick Corum said he plans to rule on the issue in the coming weeks.

The allegations of an office lacking accountability, few protections for whistleblowers and misconduct by top officials comes after Reyes, a Republican, took the office in 2013 with a pledge to restore public trust and accountability. His two predecessors were accused of taking campaign donations and gifts such as beach vacations in exchange for favorable treatment, though they denied wrongdoing.

Both lawsuits claim the attorneys tried to bring their concerns to Reyes, but Reyes did not investigate or take action and ignored their efforts to meet with him and express their concerns.

Instead, both men say managers in the office retaliated against them by reprimanding them, passing them over for promotions and aggressively investigating them.

Hanks alleges in his lawsuit that an employee in the office repeatedly exposed his penis to him over two years. Hanks said he reported it to his supervisor, but she failed to investigate it or stop the behavior and instead joked that the employee was Hanks' "bathroom buddy" going through a "normal hygiene routine." The employee is not named in his complaint.

The Associated Press does not normally name alleged victims of sexual harassment, but Hanks agreed to be identified.

Burton said employees are free to express complaints or concerns and the office has a system which allows complaints to be made confidentiality and investigated by an outside party.

"We do not terminate or take action against employees for exercising a right to complain," he said.

Burton also said the office requires mandatory workplace harassment training and reports of sexual harassment "are taken very seriously," and investigated according to internal office policies and the law.

Hanks resigned in May 2017, but his case is still pending in court, where the Utah Attorney General's Office is also arguing it should be dismissed, saying he already signed a settlement agreement with the office.

Hanks denies that he signed a settlement agreement.

His former supervisor, Kristine Knowlton, retired in 2015 after her boss transferred her to a different division. Knowlton did not return a voicemail seeking comment left at a publicly listed phone number.
SALT LAKE CITY  Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke visited Utah for the third time in less than a year on Friday, issuing a secretarial order to improve conservation and coordination of big game migration and winter range corridors in 11 Western states.

In a crowded exhibition hall at the Salt Palace Convention Center, Zinke detailed the importance of preserving habitat and boosting coordination among states so "our kids and our kids' kids" can enjoy the legacy of the outdoors and big game forged by sportsmen before them.

"It's my honor to be here today," he told the crowd gathered at the Western Hunting & Conservation Expo, noting he had signed a $1.2 billion distribution of revenue to states garnered from the sale of sportsmen-related equipment like angling equipment and ammunition.

Grid View Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke speaks to the members of the media during his visit to the Western Conservation & Hunting Expo at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City on Friday, Feb. 9, 2018. Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke speaks to the members of the media during his visit to the Western Conservation & Hunting Expo at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City on Friday, Feb. 9, 2018. Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke speaks to the members of the media during his visit to the Western Conservation & Hunting Expo at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City on Friday, Feb. 9, 2018. Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke speaks with Anthony and A.J. Johnson during his visit to the Western Conservation & Hunting Expo at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City on Friday, Feb. 9, 2018. Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

People attend the Western Conservation & Hunting Expo at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City on Friday, Feb. 9, 2018. Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

"Sportsmen are the best conservationists," he said.

Secretarial Order No. 3362 is designed to improve habitat quality and Western big game winter range and migration corridors for antelope, elk, and mule deer. The order, according to a release from the Interior Department, is designed to improve collaboration with states and private landowners and facilitates using the best available science. It specifically targets Utah, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming.

Afterward, Mike Fowlks, director of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, said Zinke's new order represents a "10" in importance to the agency's continuing work to boost habitat for big game like deer, antelope and elk.

The order will build on a migration corridor initiative the division started last year with an investment of $2 million and more staff to establish buffers that protect wildlife with proactive planning.

Zinke said he'd toured a neighborhood dotted with houses that continues to attract deer  and while coexistence is possible  he said pipelines, housing and other new development needs to be coordinated with those corridors in mind.

The order, he emphasized, will boost collaboration among private land owners, federal agencies and states.

The directive received praise from multiple groups, including the National Wildlife Federation.

"We look forward to working with the Department of the Interior to help bring together private land owners, public land managers, sportsmen's and other conservation groups to implement win-win solutions for wildlife, from elk, mule deer, and pronghorn to bighorn sheep and bears," said Collin O'Mara, the federation's president and CEO.

Earlier in the day, Zinke met with Utah Gov. Gary Herbert and legislative leadership detailing plans for a massive reorganization of his agency to better serve states in the West.

"The Department of the Interiors plan to realign the regions in their department reflects good old-fashioned common sense. Practical solutions like this can help restore trust between the states and the federal government," Herbert said.

"I look forward to additional discussion regarding this proposal with my fellow governors in Washington, D.C., at the National Governors Association meetings later this month."

His appearance in Salt Lake City drew protesters as members of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance and other environmental activists gathered outside the convention center Friday.

The Trump administration is being sued by multiple groups in the aftermath of proclamations issued in December that downsized Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in Utah.

The reductions came after Zinke toured the region in May as part of an executive order directing a review of monuments that critics alleged fell outside of the 1906 Antiquities Act because of their size or lack of public input.

At a press conference, Zinke said Friday there was "no chance" the boundary reductions at Bears Ears would be revisited by his office, despite the repeated protests.

"Not one square inch was removed from federal protection, it is how it is managed," he said. "Public land belongs to people and not special interests."
Can You Guess Which Oscar Nominee Sent Their Cardboard Cutout For The Group Photo?

The Academy on Monday had their annual nominees luncheon in honour of all those who have been nominated for Oscars at the 90th Academy Awards. As per the norm, the nominees posed together for a group photograph as the batch of 2018, with one notable addition - filmmaker Agnes Varda, who could not make it to the event, so she sent a cardboard cutout of herself instead.

Shortly afterwards, several people on Twitter noticed the cutout of Agnes Varda - the legendary French filmmaker, 89, who became the oldest Oscar nominee for her documentary, Faces Places.

There were several images floating around the internet of other nominees such as Meryl Streep and Greta Gerwig posing with the cardboard cutout.

The Oscars 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.

...Agnes Varda just made it to California  pic.twitter.com/uEFrGStLnK  JR (@JRart) February 3, 2018

i think........JR's holding a cardboard cutout of varda.............?? omfg??my heart  christina  (@peeksheeshu) February 5, 2018

lol is that a cutout of agnes varda???  Chloe N. (@chloenavarro) February 5, 2018

Nominated director JR brought a standee of his FACES PLACES co-director Agnes Varda to the #OscarsLunch, because of course. pic.twitter.com/STsCwMmzfy  Adam B. Vary (@adambvary) February 5, 2018

Agnes Varda is joining JR at the Oscar Nominees Luncheon... in a way pic.twitter.com/peqoBP67Wf  Scott Feinberg (@ScottFeinberg) February 5, 2018

Two cardboard standees of Agnes Varda are guarding my laptop #OscarsLunchpic.twitter.com/0jsa9f9gHX  Rebecca Keegan (@ThatRebecca) February 5, 2018
BSNL has launched 4G services at select locations in Kerala. As of now, five locations in the high range Idukki district will be able to avail high-speed 4G data services and the company will soon expand its 4G services to other regions of Kerala. As per a report by TelecomTalk, BSNL's 4G services are based on the existing spectrum. This allows users to also avail high-speed 4G services while using their existing 3G enabled SIM cards.

As per the report, BSNLs CGM, P. T Mathew said that the state run telecom operator is already working on expanding the new 4G services to Keralas other districts by the end of this year. A Twitter user has also posted speed test results of the new BSNL 4G network and as it can be seen in the image, the network is able to reach download speeds of about 25.20 Mbps and upload speed of 5.36 Mbps.

Image by Nagella Trinath (@nagellatrinath) from Twitter

At the event, BSNL also launched a new Home plan priced at Rs 67. Under the new plan, subscribers will be able to make unlimited local and STD calls to one BSNL landline connection in Kerala. Additionally, the telecom operator has also partnered with T-mobile to offer international roaming services in the U.S and with N-Cell telecom to offer roaming services in Nepal. Its not known yet whether BSNL will roll out its 4G services to other states.

BSNL recently commenced Aadhaar SIM re-verification via its web portal for senior citizens, NRIs, and physically challenged customers. This option facilitates them to link their 12-digit Aadhaar cards with their mobile connections without visiting a BSNL store.
Those who are lucky enough to take part in the Ardara Walking Festival this year will see the remains of the home that the great Welsh poet Dylan Thomas lived in for a time.

John Gallagher has organised the Ardara Walking Festival for 15 years. The walking festival takes place on March 17 and 18th this year.

He said that one of the nicest routes that enthusiasts can take part in is the Port to Maghera walk where people can see the ruins of the home that the famous Welsh poet lived in.

The walk encompasses one of the most breathtaking coasts in Ireland and is estimated to take up to 7 hours.

You will pass through Glenlough where Dylan Thomas lived in. Thats situated in the middle of the mountains. You can see the ruins of the house. There is no road into it and you can only get there on foot. It is lovely, Ive camped around the area myself.

Welsh Poet spent his days in solitude

In 1935, the famous Welsh artist broke out in a rash and it was recommended that he come to Ireland and better his lifestyle. The poet and his friend decided to come and stay in Glenlough, a stunning and remote part of southwest Donegal.

During the day the pair would take long walks and fish amongst the many lakes that surrounded them. On occasion, the pair would visit Meenaghneary and buy drink. When Thomass traveling companion decided to return to England, the poet persuaded him to let him stay on.

Dylan spent his days watching the seals and the bird life. He built a bridge over one of the small meandering rivers and grew a beard. He enjoyed the solitude for a while but it is certain that he became lonely as he began to take longer and longer during his trips to Meenaghneary.

It is reported that the poet became restless and on one occasion over indulged on local poitin and had to revitalised by neighbours. He later returned home.

Walks very popular and in demand

John Gallagher said there has been a lot of interest, to date, in all four walks especially since Noel Cunningham spoke about all they have to offer on TV3.

He said due to the wet winter the number of people who can partake in the walks will be limited: There has been a lot of interest and a lot have booked into the hotel. We do try to limit numbers.

Harbouring a great love for climbing, John has taken part in many courses throughout the country in order to enhance his navigational skills.

Its unusual for a mountain farmer to be involved in hill walking. I was born and bred on a hill. I have learnt how to navigate and I prefer to depend on maps and a compass than on GPS or technical equipment.

I view the hills completely differently now. Ive been doing courses for around ten years , he said.

A native of Glengesh, John farms sheep and many of them climb the steep and rolling hills around the area. They can climb to 500 metres at times.

Hill walking is great for your mental health. It definitely clears your head, he said.

Dan Wards haystack

John adds that the famous American artist, Rockwell Kent, also lived in the ruins nestled in Glenlough.

One of Kent's most famous works, 'Dan Ward's haystack' was painted in Glen Lough.

In 1926, Rockwell Kent (1882 - 1971) spent a year living in the small farmhouse. The building belonged to Dan and Rose Ward.

He produced some of his finest work during his brief tenure, including Irish Coast, Shipwreck, Coast of Ireland and Dan Ward's Stack.

His most famous painting being of Annie McGinley, a local woman sunbathing near An Port.

No such thing as bad weather - just bad gear

John urged all those who will partake in the walks to come prepared.

There is no such thing as bad weather just bad gear, he said.

He said that it is of vital importance that people come prepared for the Donegal weather.

He said people should pack some food to eat whilst on the 7 hour walk.

On Saturday, March 17th, you can also partake in the walk from Port to Glenhead. On the following day, you can walk from the beach in Maghera to Trigg Point or alternatively from Leac Cumhaill to the head of Granny Glen.

For further information and to book a place, call John on 087 665 5828 or email ardarahillwalkingguides.com or visit www.ardara.ie
Aprilia SR125

As mentioned, the Aprilia SR150 took the market by storm and now the company wants to enter the mass market scooter segment in India. The Aprilia SR125 was launched with a competitive price tag of Rs 65,310. While its rivals are priced nearly Rs 5,000 less, the SR125 is the most powerful 125cc scooter in the segment which competes with the likes of Honda Grazia, newly launched TVS Ntorq, and the Suzuki Burgman Street which was unveiled at Auto Expo 2018.

The all-new Aprilia SR125 draws power from a 124cc, 3-valve, single-cylinder engine which produces 9.46bhp @ 8,500rpm and 8.2Nm of torque @ 7,500rpm. The engine comes mated to a CVT gearbox, while the new Aprilia SR125 gets a 7-litre fuel tank and boasts a ground clearance of 775mm.

As for the design, the new SR125 for India draws its inspiration from its elder sibling SR150 with twin-pod headlight, and the turn indicators are placed on either side of the handlebar. The new Aprilia SR125 targets younger auto enthusiasts with its affordable price tag. For more details, you can read our Aprilia SR125 launch story here.

Aprilia SR125 Storm

Aprilia also showcased the SR125 Storm edition claimed to be a fun riding scooter for everyday use. The new SR125 Storm comes with several funky colours options with youthful graphics. The SR125 Storm centres around a sporty riding experience with the 12-inch alloy wheels which are shod with dual-purpose wide tyres, front telescopic shocks at the front, mono-shock at the rear and front disc brakes.

The same engine powers the new Aprilia SR125 Storm edition as the regular SR125 scooter with its 124cc unit producing 9.46bhp @ 8,500rpm and 8.2Nm of torque @ 7,500rpm. The engine comes mated to a CVT gearbox. The SR125 Storm is designed to go soft off-roading with its 12-inch wheels and dual-purpose tyres. Piaggio has not released the launch details of the SR125 Storm edition, but with the popularity of Aprilia scooter in India, it's just a matter of time for Aprilia to launch the SR125 Storm in India.

Aprilia RS 150

The biggest surprise from Piaggio is the showcase of the Aprilia RS 150 at Auto Expo 2018. Why the surprise factor? Well, this is the first time the Aprilia RS 150 debut in the global market revealing the company's plan for India. The Aprilia RS 150 is a scaled down version of the Aprilia RS V4.

The Aprilia RS 150 draws power from a new 150cc single-cylinder, liquid-cooled, fuel-injected engine producing 17bhp @ 10,000rpm and 14Nm of torque @ 7,500rpm. The RS 150 gets a 40mm upside down (USD) fork at the front and a mono-shock at the rear. The new RS 150 gets 17-inch alloy wheels equipped with 300mm disc at the front and a 218mm disc brake at the rear. While ABS is standard, a quick shifter is available as optional.

Piaggio has not revealed if and when the Aprilia SR 150 launch is scheduled for India as its gauging customer reaction at the event to take a final decision. That said, we expect the RS 150 to be a favourite model, and Aprilia should consider launching the bike soon.

Aprilia Tuono 150

The Aprilia Tuono 150 is the naked street version of the RS 150 and is the scaled down model of its elder sibling, Tuono V4. The Tuono 150 is another product from Aprilia which could threaten the segment where it competes with the likes of the newly launched Yamaha R15 V3 and other 150cc powered motorcycles.

Like the Aprilia RS 150, the Tuono 150 draws power from a 150cc engine churning out 17bhp @ 10,000rpm and 14Nm of torque @ 7,500rpm. The Tuono 150 gets a 40mm upside down (USD) fork at the front and a mono-shock at the back. The new Tuono 150 gets 17-inch alloy wheels with 300mm disc brake at the front and a 218mm disc at the rear. The ABS is standard, while a quick shifter is available as optional accessory.

Thoughts About Aprilia Bikes & Scooter At Auto Expo 2018

Aprilia showcased some of the best products at the auto expo especially the Aprilia Tuono 150 and RS 150, which is a promising product for India. While Aprilia is gauging people's reaction, we feel both the bikes are an excellent product. Also, the SR 125 has now threatened some of the bigger players such as Honda, TVS and Suzuki.
Honda X-Blade

Honda has revealed its all-new premium commuter motorcycle, the X-Blade at the Auto Expo 2018. As the name suggests, the X-Blade looks sharp and edgy with its unique funky design. The motorcycle also gets premium features such as full-LED lighting and digital instrument cluster. The Honda X-Blade will be slotted between the CB Unicorn 160 and CB Hornet 160R in India.

Powering the new Honda X-Blade is the same 162.7cc single-cylinder, air-cooled engine producing 13.93bhp and 13.9Nm of peak torque. The engine is mated to a 5-speed gearbox. The motorcycle is based on the same diamond frame which is seen on the popular CB Hornet 160R. The Honda X-Blade will rival the likes of Yamaha FZ, TVS Apache RTR 160 and Bajaj Pulsar NS160.

Expected Launch: March 2018

Expected Price: Rs 75,000 Ex-showroom

Recommended Video - Watch Now! Aprilia Tuono 150 India Launch Details, Specs, Features - DriveSpark

Yamaha YZF-R15 V3.0

Yamaha has finally launched the new YZF-R15 V3.0 in India at the Auto Expo 2018. The new R15 V3.0 is priced at Rs 1.25 lakh ex-showroom (Delhi). The new third-gen R15 features a new front end with revamped headlamp design, new front fairing and new tail design. The motorcycle also gets an all-new digital instrument cluster which adds to the premium quotient of the new R15. But, the India-spec R15 misses out on USD front forks and ABS to keep the costs down.

The new Yamaha YZF-R15 is powered by an all-new 155cc single-cylinder, liquid-cooled, fuel injected engine producing 19.03bhp and 15Nm of peak torque. The engine comes mated to a 6-speed gearbox assisted by a slipper clutch for smooth down shifts. The motorcycle gets disc brakes at both ends but does not get ABS, even as an option. Overall the bike looks sharp and menacing and will attract young buyers in the country.

Honda Activa 5G

Honda came up with a big surprise by unveiling the new Activa 5G at the Auto Expo 2018. The new 2018 edition of the best-selling scooter in India has not changed much in terms of overall design. But it gets few additional features such as first-in-segment full-LED headlamp and position lights, all-new analogue-digital instrument cluster and four-in-one lock opener switch with a seat opener switch, a front hook and a retractable rear hook.

The new Honda Activa 5G continues to draw power from the existing 109.19cc air-cooled engine producing 8bhp and 9Nm of peak torque. The engine comes mated to a CVT gearbox. Apart from that, the new Activa 5G remains identical to the previous model, the Activa 4G.

Expected Launch: March 2018

Expected Price: Rs 53,000 Ex-showroom

Suzuki Burgman Street

Suzuki revealed its new premium scooter, the Burgman Street at the 2018 Auto Expo. The Burgman Street is a premium 125cc scooter, and it is the flagship scooter of Japanese brand in several global markets. The Burgman Street is specially developed for the Indian market and is based on the best-selling Access 125. The prominent highlight of the Burgman Street is its maxi-scooter styling with a large apron.

The Suzuki Burgman Street is powered by the same 125cc engine seen on the Access 125. Other premium features of the Burgman Street include LED headlamp, digital instrument cluster and unique handlebar design. The scooter looks and feels premium with the amount of detailing and funky design.

Expected Launch: Second Half Of 2018

Expected Price: Rs 65,000 Ex-showroom

Aprilia SR 125

Aprilia has launched the new SR 125 scooter in India at Rs 65,310 at the ongoing Auto Expo 2018. The overall design of the new Aprilia SR 125 is identical to its elder sibling, the Aprilia SR 150. Even the analogue instrument cluster is borrowed from the SR 150. On the design front, there are no new elements on the Aprilia SR 125.

Powering the new Aprilia SR 125 is a 124cc, three-valve, single-cylinder engine that produces 9.46bhp and 8.2Nm of torque. The engine is coupled to a CVT gearbox. The Aprilia SR 125 also comes with disc brake on the front wheel which improves its braking as compared to its competition. The Aprilia SR 125 will rival the likes of TVS NTorq, Honda Grazia and the Suzuki Burgman Street.

Hero Maestro Edge 125

Hero MotoCorp has stepped into the 125cc scooter segment with the unveil of the new Maestro Edge 125 scooter at the Auto Expo 2018. The new Maestro 125 features subtle cosmetic updates and gets additional features as compared to the 110cc Maestro. Along with the Maestro Edge 125, Hero has also revealed the new Duet 125 at the 2018 Auto Expo.

The Hero Maestro and Duet 125 are powered by a 125cc engine producing 8.7bhp and 10.2Nm of torque. The Maestro Edge 125 also comes with premium features such as i3S (Idle Start/Stop technology), digital analogue instrument cluster, LED tail light and external fuel filling cap.

Expected Launch: 2018 Or Early-2019

Expected Price: Rs 56,000 Ex-showroom

Aprilia Tuono/RS 150

Italian two-wheeler Aprilia has showcased the entry-level Tuono 150 and RS 150 motorcycles at the Auto Expo 2018. Both the motorcycles look like the downgraded versions of the Tuono V4 and RSV4. The Aprilia Tuono 150 is a naked motorcycle with a half fairing, whereas the RS 150 is the fully-faired offering from Aprilia.

Both the Aprilia Tuono 150 and RS 150 draws power from a 150cc liquid-cooled, fuel injected engine producing 18bhp and 14Nm of peak torque. Both the motorcycles feature premium build quality with aggressive design and riding dynamics and will be a fitting rival to the likes of Yamaha YZF-R15 V3.0.

Expected Launch: Late-2018 Or Early-2019

Expected Price: Rs 1.5 Lakh Ex-Showroom

Honda CBR 250R

Honda has brought back the popular CBR 250R to India at the 2018 Auto Expo. The quarter-litre motorcycle now comes with a new LED headlamp, new body graphics, new colour options and dual-channel ABS. Apart from that, the new 2018 CBR 250R remains identical to the previous model.

The new 2018 Honda CBR 250R draws power from the same 249.6cc single-cylinder, liquid-cooled BS-IV compliant engine producing 26bhp and 22.9Nm of peak torque. The engine is mated to a 6-speed gearbox. The Honda CBR 250R will rival the likes of Yamaha Fazer 25 and KTM RC 200.

Expected Launch: Second Half Of 2018

Expected Price: Rs 2.05 Lakh Ex-showroom

New Yamaha R3

Yamaha has launched the new R3 in India at Rs 3.48 lakh at the Auto Expo 2018. The overall design of the new Yamaha R3 remains the same with signature twin headlamp setup and a large front fairing. But the motorcycle gets new body graphics and colour options which renders a refreshed look to the motorcycle.

The new Yamaha R3 draws power from the existing 321cc in-line twin-engine producing 41bhp and 29.6Nm of torque. The engine is now BS-IV compliant and comes mated to a 6-speed gearbox. The new Yamaha R3 will lock horns with the likes of KTM RC 390, TVS Apache RR 310, Kawasaki Ninja 300 and Benelli 302R.

UM Renegade Duty

UM Motorcycles has launched the new Renegade Duty at the Auto Expo 2018 with a price tag of Rs 1.10 lakh. The new motorcycle will be offered in two variants Renegade Duty S and Duty Ace. Both the models come with features such as digi-analogue instrument cluster and LED headlight.

The UM Renegade Duty S and Duty Ace draws power from a new 223cc single-cylinder, air/oil-cooled engine producing 16bhp and 17Nm of torque. The engine comes mated to a 5-speed gearbox. The UM Renegade Duty will rival the likes of Bajaj Avenger series and could also compete with the Royal Enfield Classic 350.

UM Renegade Thor

UM Motorcycles launched the Renegade Thor electric cruiser in India at the Auto Expo 2018. The world's first electric cruiser sports a classic design similar to other UM bikes. The wide handlebars, low slung seat and front set footpegs render the motorcycle a classic look. The motorcycle gets a lot of chrome detailing which enhance the looks of the Renegade Thor.

The UM Renegade Thor draws power from a 30kW electric motor producing 70Nm of torque. The electric motor is coupled with a 5-speed gearbox, and the power is delivered to the rear wheel via a belt drive. The Renegade Thor delivers a riding range of 270km on a single charge. The 80 percent of the battery can be charged in just 40 minutes with the fast charging feature.

Emflux One

Emflux Motors has launched India's first electric superbike, the Emflux One at the Auto Expo 2018. The Emflux One is priced at Rs 6 lakh for the regular variant and Rs 11 lakh for the top-spec variant with Ohlins suspension, carbon fibre panels and forged alloy wheels. The Emflux One is limited to 199 units for India and 300 units for the global market.

The Emflux One draws power from a 3 Phase AC induction motor with liquid cooling which is connected to a liquid cooled 9.7kWh battery pack with integrated high power Samsung cells. The electric powertrain produces 80.4bhp, but it is limited to 71bhp.

TVS Zeppelin Cruiser Concept

TVS Motor Company has unveiled a new cruiser concept named as Zeppelin at the Auto Expo 2018. The Zeppelin is a futuristic performance cruiser with classic looks and advanced technology.

The TVS Zeppelin draws power from a 220cc engine mated to a TVS patented Integrated Starter Generator (ISG) which comes with an e-boost option to start the motorcycle faster. The Zeppelin is also equipped with 1,200W regenerative assist motor with a 48V Li-iON battery which adds to the powerful performance of the cruiser. TVS has not confirmed about the production of the Zeppelin.

Hero XPulse

Hero MotoCorp has revealed the XPulse adventure motorcycle in India at the ongoing Auto Expo 2018. The new Hero XPulse features a simple and minimalistic design with tall riding position, long-travel suspension, luggage racks, knuckle guard and LED headlamps. The motorcycle also gets an engine guard for off-road conditions.

The Hero XPulse is powered by the same 200cc air-cooled, fuel injected engine producing 18.1bhp and 17.2Nm of peak torque. The engine is coupled to a 5-speed gearbox. The Hero XPulse also gets first-in-segment turn-by-turn navigation which will come handy on long rides.

Expected Launch: Late-2018

Expected Price: Rs 1.2 lakh Ex-Showroom

BMW F 750 GS/850 GS

BMW Motorrad has launched the new F 750 GS and F 850 GS in India at the Auto Expo 2018. The new adventure motorcycles feature a new design, bigger engine and mechanical components. The BMW F 750 GS is priced at Rs 12.2 lakh, and the F 850 GS carries a price tag of Rs 13.7 lakh. Ex-showroom (Delhi).

Both the BMW F 750 GS and F 850 GS draws power from a new 853cc parallel-twin engine producing 77bhp and 83Nm of torque on the BMW F 750 GS, while it develops 85bhp and 92Nm of torque on the F 850 GS. Both the models are based on the new monocoque chassis and also gets a new suspension geometry. The BMW F 750 GS and F 850 GS rivals the Triumph Tiger 800 in the Indian market.

DriveSpark's Thoughts On The New Bikes And Scooters At Auto Expo 2018

The Auto Expo 2018 has been an exciting event with the launch and unveiling of some exciting bikes and scooters. There were also some interesting concepts which promise an advanced technology and futuristic styling. Overall, the two-wheeler segment in India has witnessed a slew of new models coming to the country.
After almost 13 years of waiting for justice to be served, the family of the late Irene White is happy that they are finally seeing results.

Last Thursday, Niall Power, a 45-year-old father of four was charged with the 2005 murder of Irene White. After appearing in Cloverhill District Court on Thursday 9 February, Power was further remanded in custody. And on Monday, January 30 Anthony Lambe was jailed for life for Irene's murder. Niall Power handed himself in the day after Anthony Lambe was sentenced.

Lambe, who is from Annadrumman, Castleblayney, Co Monaghan, told the court he was asked to kill Ms White on behalf of another individual.

And in an exclusive interview with the Dundalk Democrat, Irene's only sister Anne Delcassian, tells of why she never stopped fighting for her sister's killers to be brought to light, why she's indebted to Irene's true Dundalk friends who supplied her with vital information on the case, and why she won't rest until the individual who orchestrated the murder is behind bars.

It's been a long road towards justice for Irene White's family and Anne says they are happy that they are finally seeing results after nearly 13 years of waiting.



Anne, who has been living in Manchester, England for the last 30 years, believes that one of the reasons it has taken so long to find the men involved in her sister's brutal murder is due to flawed investigations.



I've only just recently learned that Anthony Lambe was interviewed by Dundalk Garda as far back as 2005. And so some calls were made and I really do believe that Dundalk gardai didn't investigate properly.



I think it was a quite a flawed investigation on their behalf. Because there's no way when I brought the case to SCRT (Serious Crime Review Team) in 2010 that any movement seemed to take place, explained Anne.



There were over 300 recommendations (for leads in the case). The book was the size of a telephone directory. How come Dundalk missed that? Anne added.



Irene's killer, Anthony Lambe, was finally tracked down last year after the Garda's Serious Review Crime Team looked back into the original investigation.

Anthony Lambe is currently serving a life sentence for the murder of Irene White



When asked if the family harboured anger towards Anthony Lambe, Anne said that they considered him pathetic and just a foolish idiot.



I actually wouldn't call it anger. What I would say is that Anthony Lambe is a pathetic person. He murdered my sister for money. That's why he did it. And he's just a foolish idiot. As far as I'm concerned, he actually deserves where he is now and thankfully Judge McCarthy put him there, Anne told the Dundalk Democrat.



Ms Delcassian also revealed that the family had been aware of Niall Power for some time and had reason to believe that he might be involved in the murder.



I think he must have felt that he didn't have much choice, in terms of handing himself in, because Anthony Lambe, obviously we heard in the court, gave information. Others will be named as well, Anne added.



And the extraordinary developments in this 13-year-long case were in no small part due to what one officer described as relentless petitioning by Ms Delcassian.



I do believe that had I not made so many trips from the UK to Dundalk and then with SDRT in Dublin, I really don't believe that Irene's case would have got anywhere without some sort of push by me to direct them as in place where to look and what to do, Anne said,



I just never, ever gave up on Irene. Because I just felt that there were people out there in the locality who committed this horrendous crime and now I'm being proven right.



Ms Delcassian also revealed how, in the months leading up to her sister's death, Irene 100% knew she was going to be murdered.



Anne revealed: You know what makes me feel very, very uneasy for Irene  she was in fear of her life. She was threatened. She was followed around town. And people made threats against her. People she was close to.

The late Irene White



And this is an awful way for somebody to live, frightened, looking over her shoulder. She left Omeath where we come from, many times saying, please pray for me. Can you imagine that in your heart? The fear that was in your soul?



But she knew. 100% Irene knew she was going to be murdered because she went 15 times to the garda asking for help and they did nothing.



Gardai are now searching for the final piece in the puzzle  the person who paid Anthony Lambe to carry out what has been described as the most savage attack against a female in the history of the Irish state.



The person who paid Mr. Lambe will be somebody who acquired a substantial amount of money, said Anne.



In addition to thanking Chief Superintendent Christy Mangan for relentlessly pursuing this case, and KRW Law solicitors Gavin Booth and Kevin Winters, Anne also expressed her gratitude to the people of Dundalk for their assistance over the years.



People in Dundalk told me early on, that they were well aware who carried out the murder. I'd like to thank the people of Dundalk for the assistance that they offered to me, in terms of providing me with information, said Anne,



I would come over from the UK and chat to locals and they were very, very, good. It's just Dundalk people all over  they cling together. Although there was a fear factor surrounding this crime, Irene's true friends were there with good information that I was able to pass on. Irene was very well-liked in Dundalk.



In relation to the man who paid Anthony Lambe to carry out the murder, Irene's sister said: It would be interesting if perhaps there was some depth of feeling in this individual, that he would have the guts and the courage to go into gardai and let them know what he knows and what perhaps a wider circle of family know, and assist in the investigation further, and bring it to a close. That would be great.

Irene White's former home beside Ice House Hill Park

The brutal details of the frenzied attack carried out on Irene, in which she has suffered 34 stab wounds to her torso, back and arms, and had her throat slit, are something that haunts the victim's family and friends.



Recounting the tragic events, Anne said: Because my mother as you know, she walked into Irene's kitchen, for her chat and her breakfast that morning and found Irene.



We heard in the court, the knife went out the other side of Irene's body when she was turned over on the floor. It was read out in court. I couldn't believe it. I was absolutely sick, in the description of what was done to my sister.



Anne also added that she was disturbed by the number of violent crimes carried out against women in the Irish state. According to figures from a Women's Aid Impact Report, there were 16,846 cases of domestic violence against women during 2016. 3,502 of these cases were related to incidents of physical abuse.



Mary Boyle, JoJo Dullard, Fiona Sinnott and Sophie Toscan du Plantier  there are countless cases. It's shocking these are women with lives who just disappeared off the face of the earth and no-one is willing to do anything.



However, despite the hope that the case will soon be brought to a close, Anne added that closure never really exists for families who have lost a loved one due to a murder or a homicide.



Going forward, Anne said that she and the family would like to appeal to anyone out there who would have some information.



Even if you think it's not important [the information], it is. I'd also like to appeal to the women who know plenty, and who should really go into the garda because they are in relationships with people who may or may not be involved in Irene's murder and of course they know things. And to be able to keep hidden for 12 years, 13 nearly now, this horrendous crime, is for me, the essence of shock and disbelief, Ms Delcassian said.

This interview also appears in this week's print edition of The Dundalk Democrat.
Dundalk Library are hosting some exciting events aimed at children in the coming weeks.

On Wednesday the 14th of February at 10.30am, there will be a Moo Music event. This event is part of the Healthy Ireland at Your Library programme. Moo Music is a fun and interactive regular music session for toddlers and their parents, grandparents or carers, where the children sing, dance and play.

On Saturday the 17th of February at 11:30am, Dundalk Library are hosting a children's storytelling event, and all are welcome.

On Saturday the 17th of February at 3.00pm, Arts and Crafts with Amy returns. This arts and crafts session has a spring theme. This workshop is always popular and places fill up fast. Book your space by phoning the library on 042 9353190. This arts and crafts workshop is suitable for children aged 4-8, and adult supervision is required.

There will also be a Sewing Workshop for Children on Saturday the 24th February at 11.30am. This workshop is suitable for children aged 6-10, with adult supervision. There are limited places and booking is essential. To save your childs space, phone 042 9353190.

For further information contact Dundalk Library on 042 9353190 or email them at libraryhelpdesk@louthcoco.ie.
Dundalk Racecourse will benefit to the tune of 252,000 of funding from Horse Racing Ireland, towards a total redevelopment at the popular venue which will cost 720,000.

Horse Racing Ireland has approved grants for Dundalk Stadium - alongside Bellewstown and Clonmel - under the Racecourse Capital Development Scheme.

The plans for development include a new dedicated owners and trainers facility, and the upgrading of television sets around the racecourse, including within the main panoramic dining restaurant.

The grant, provided by HRI, will provide a considerable chunk of funding towards the work at Dundalk Stadium.

There is currently no permanent dedicated facility for owners and trainers at the stadium and the new area, which will be located to the side of the main grandstand with views over the parade ring, will be a welcome addition.

"We are excited to make strides to afford owners and trainers a dedicated facility to which they can enjoy fantastic views of the parade ring and top class hospitality at Dundalk," CEO of Dundalk Stadium, Jim Martin, said.

"It will be a wonderful enhancement to the facility in addition to the upgrading of the network of televisions within the Stadium. We are grateful to Horse Racing Ireland for their support and look forward to works commencing."

Horse Racing Ireland also announced that Bellewstown and Clonmel were to benefit from Capital Development grants, awarded 300,000 and 152,000 respectively.

Dundalk Stadium, the popular horce racing and greyhound track, opened it's doors in 2003.
Following on from the popularity of their #BringItBack series last year, Omniplex Cinemas are bringing a host of classic movies back to local screens across February and March.

A host of famous titles from years gone by - including Willa Wonka & The Chocolate Factory, The Lion King, Thelma & Louise and The Dark Knight - are coming back to the Dundalk Omniplex.

It's all part of the #BringItBack Oscar Worthy Modern Classics Series, which coincides with awards season as Hollywood celebrates the best of feature film in 2017. Dundalk Omniplex is among nine cinemas nationwide to roll out the red carpet, offering something for everyone with an eclectic mix of classic, award-winning movies.

Each movie will be screened on Saturday, Sunday and Monday on consecutive weekends, starting on February 17-19th with The Lion King and ending on March 24th-26th with Willy Wonka.

Avatar and Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring complete the line-up of famous movies returning to local screens.

The Lion King won two Academy Awards and the first Lord of the Rings movie won four, while Thelma & Louise, nominated for six Oscars, is regarded as a true classic of it's time.

James Cameron's 2009 sci-fi epic Avatar, the highest grossing film of all time, is being screened on St Patrick's weekend.

The #BringItBack series concludes with Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory - just in time for Easter.

Based on positive feedback on previous #BringItBack series brought to Dundalk and theatres nationwide, the series is now making a much anticipated return.

"Were delighted to be able to bring back some of our customers favourites to the big screen," Omniplex Cinemas Marketing & Loyalty Manager, Shauna Crawley said.

"The wonderful thing about a special movie is that it can transport you back to the first time you saw it  whether thats your first date with your now wife or husband or the one where you and your friends laughed so hard you cried! Were hoping to help our customers relive these memories through each of these movie classics at Omniplex."

Omniplex Cinemas roll out #BringItBack every Saturday, Sunday and Monday night, in nine locations; Mahon Point, Cork; Rathmines, Dublin; Dundalk, Limerick, Tralee, Wexford, Craigavon, Lisburn and Dundonald.

For tickets, priced at 8, and more on Omniplex Cinemas #BringItBack line up, visit www.omniplex.ie.


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Amazon on Thursday began offering same-day delivery of grocery items from Whole Foods Market to Prime members in four select markets.

For a minimum order of US$35, Prime members get free two-hour delivery between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. One-hour delivery is available for a $7.99 fee.

Among the items customers can order for delivery are fresh produce, meat and seafood; grocery staples; flowers; and some alcoholic beverages. They can place orders at the Prime Now website or through the Prime Now app on an iOS or Android device.

The service is available in neighborhoods of Austin, Cincinnati, Dallas and Virginia Beach for now. It will be expanded across the United States later this year.

Eager Market

The delivery service is in line with Amazon's pledge to make Prime the customer rewards program at Whole Foods Market.

"Whole Foods customers are affluent, with an average income of $95,000 per year," noted Cindy Zhou, principal analyst at Constellation Research.

They "are digitally connected and busy, so grocery delivery services are attractive," she told the E-Commerce Times.

Consumer demand is high, according to Zhou.

"Companies like Instacart, which added 80 new markets last year, continue to grow," she pointed out.

"The rise and success of preplanned meal [services] like Blue Apron has shown retailers that people crave the experience and benefits of cooking at home, but they struggle to find the time and are willing to pay for convenience," said Greg Ng, VP of digital engagement at PointSource.

"This offering hits that sweet spot," he told the E-Commerce Times.

There's another benefit for Amazon in introducing the two-hour service.

It "will help Amazon grow their Prime membership numbers," Zhou said.

Prime Turf

Austin is home to Whole Foods, and Dallas, Cincinnati and Virginia are high-end cities that "are good test beds to see what would work across the country," noted Ray Wang, principal analyst at Constellation Research.

Amazon's announcement appears to indicate it's only focusing on select neighborhoods in the four cities instead of rolling out the delivery services throughout them.

"They want to test the infrastructure they have in place to serve the higher-end and denser neighborhoods," Wang suggested.

"They have cherry-picked the neighborhoods more likely to use Prime and buy Whole Foods," he told the E-Commerce Times. "They have also chosen very specific types of demographics in each neighborhood."

That selectivity is essential to the success of this project.

"Like any trial run, it's important to start out with a market size that's small enough to deeply analyze and be responsive to changes in real time while also being large enough to gather quality data," Ng noted. "The marketing, promotion, and employee enablement needed to roll out this program is very risky."

Supermarkets offering delivery services to customers won't be impacted by this service, Constellation's Wang said, because "Whole Foods offers high margin, high quality products."

Tricky Business

Delivering perishable items will be the new service's greatest challenge.

Perishables require a cold food supply chain, Wang pointed out. "Refrigerated trucks. Limited delivery times. It's harder than just delivering a package."

Non-perishable items ordered through Prime Now can be left on a customer's doorstep, Ng said, but "what happens when it's cottage cheese and the temperature's 95 degrees outside?"

Amazon's purchase of Whole Foods also gave it a toehold in arch-rival Instacart, which in 2016 signed a five-year deal with Whole Foods that would make it the grocery chain's exclusive delivery partner for perishables. As part of the deal, Whole Foods invested in Instacart.

That stake in Instacart could help propel Amazon to dominance in the food delivery industry, but perhaps at a steep price.

Instacart last year signed a deal with German grocery chain Aldi, which at the time had 1,300 stores throughout the United States and was planning to increase that number to 2,000.

Amazon might attempt to buy both Instacart and Aldi to acquire their business, although whether they will agree to sell remains to be seen.

Richard Adhikari has been an ECT News Network reporter since 2008. His areas of focus include cybersecurity, mobile technologies, CRM, databases, software development, mainframe and mid-range computing, and application development. He has written and edited for numerous publications, including Information Week and Computerworld. He is the author of two books on client/server technology. Email Richard.




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Germany on Monday began enforcing its new Network Enforcement Act, or NetzDG, which imposes a fine of up to 50 million euros (US$60 million) on social media networks that fail to remove hate-inciting posts promptly.

The controversial law, adopted in mid 2017, just entered its formal enforcement phase. It is designed to help combat hate and fake news at a time when ISIS-linked terror and anti-immigrant extremism have been on the rise in Germany.

Further, Russian hackers have been accused of trying to sow nationalist tendencies through social media attacks in Western countries facing elections.

The law calls for fines of up to 50 million euros on major social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other channels.

Facebook last month published a post in Germany saying that it shared the German government's goal to fight hate speech and that it had made great progress in that fight, according to a translation of the text provided to the E-Commerce Times by company spokesperson Sarah Pollack.

Facebook said it had trained its Germany-based employees to comply with the law, according to the translated post. Facebook added that starting in January of this year, users would be able to report content that was considered unlawful under the criminal code, and that the company would provide a special form for such circumstances. Those posts would be handled differently from Facebook's Community Standards reporting.

Twitter spokesperson Ian Plunkett referred our questions about the new policy to eco, Association of the Internet Industry, a Germany-based trade group. With more than 1,000 members, it is the largest in Europe. That organization opposed the German law, as well as a similar effort to block online content proposed by the European Union.

Twitter last month began enforcing updates to its safety policies, including a crackdown on posts that advocate violence or otherwise threaten people, and on accounts that are linked to groups that promote violence against civilians.

Extreme Cases

One of the first reported acts of enforcing the anti-hate speech law was against Beatrix van Storch, a leader of the Alternative for Germany party.

Storch confirmed on her Twitter page that she had been blocked temporarily by Twitter and Facebook after she apparently blasted local police officials for putting out a New Year's message in Arabic.

As a matter of company policy, Twitter will not discuss individual actions for privacy and security reasons, Plunkett said, but he confirmed that the account we asked about was active on Tuesday.

Unintended Victims

Organizations like the Committee to Protect Journalists and the Global Network Initiative have raised concerns that the German law would privatize censorship, in effect, by forcing companies to overcorrect in order to avoid hefty financial penalties.

"It's impossible to say what unintended consequences might arise from Germany's new law, so it will be important for officials there to stay on top of the situation and make adjustments as they become necessary," said Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT.

However, "it's important to remember that Germany has a singular experience in the destructive potential of hate speech," he told the E-Commerce Times, "as do its EU allies and other friends."

Because of that history, the decision to take such action on hate speech must be respected, King said, adding that the social media sites directly impacted by the new law have failed to take enough corrective action on their own.

The new policy and related fines are not likely to have a huge impact on social media companies, King added, noting that many of them specifically tailor their policies and procedures to comply with individual markets that have different rules about free expression.

"Laws that delegate to social media companies the responsibility of enforcing hate speech standards threaten freedom of expression," contended Drew Mitnick, policy counsel at Access Now.

"Companies under threat of large fines and with short timelines will tend to broadly take down content, threatening the removal of lawful expression," he told the E-Commerce Times.

Courts need to decide whether hate speech laws like this one "satisfy human rights requirements that content removals are necessary for a legitimate government aim," Mitnick said, as well as whether they are proportionate to that aim, and whether they meet standards for judicial oversight and public transparency.

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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Three corporate giants on Tuesday announced they were banding together to provide healthcare for their 1.1 million employees.

The companies -- Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JP Morgan Chase -- plan to form a company "free from profit-making incentives and constraints" in order to improve employee satisfaction with their healthcare coverage as well as reduce costs.

The company initially will focus on technology solutions that provide U.S. employees and their families with simplified, high-quality and transparent healthcare at a reasonable cost.

"The ballooning costs of healthcare act as a hungry tapeworm on the American economy," said Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett.

"Our group does not come to this problem with answers," he continued, "but we also do not accept it as inevitable. Rather, we share the belief that putting our collective resources behind the country's best talent can, in time, check the rise in health costs while concurrently enhancing patient satisfaction and outcomes."

Ready for Challenge

The companies are keenly aware of the difficulties in front of them, said Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.

"Hard as it might be, reducing healthcare's burden on the economy while improving outcomes for employees and their families would be worth the effort," he maintained. "Success is going to require talented experts, a beginner's mind, and a long-term orientation."

The trio's healthcare initiative could reach beyond their employees, suggested JP Morgan Chairman Jamie Dimon.

"The three of our companies have extraordinary resources, and our goal is to create solutions that benefit our U.S. employees, their families and, potentially, all Americans," he said.

Still in the formative stages, the healthcare initiative will be led by Todd Combs, an investment officer of Berkshire Hathaway; Marvelle Sullivan Berchtold, a managing director of JPMorgan Chase; and Beth Galetti, a senior vice president at Amazon.

Hurting Margins

Although the details haven't been hammered out yet, the initiative has the potential to disrupt the healthcare industry.

"Since the three together have over 1 million employees, potential solutions could range from simply leveraging those numbers to gain favorable rates from HMOs to more aggressive moves, like creating their own network of caregivers," said Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT.

"Right now, everything is on the table," he told TechNewsWorld.

If the new entity does throw the weight of its employee base around, it could hurt the balance sheets of others in the market, noted Paddy Padmanabhan, CEO of Damo Consulting.

"The new company will likely be a big buyer of healthcare products and services with pricing leverage that can hurt the profit margins of existing healthcare players," he told TechNewsWorld.

Healthcare Disrupter

Amazon's technology prowess also could change the market for existing players.

"It's clear that healthcare consumerism is on the rise, and there is a need for better user experiences," observed Padmanabhan.

"Amazon is well known for its intuitive customer interfaces, use of advanced analytics, and its negotiating power with suppliers in the e-commerce space," he explained. "They will likely use these skills to disrupt the markets for healthcare products and services."

One motive driving these companies is the desire to make employees healthier, said Jack E. Gold, principal analyst at J.Gold Associates.

"What they're trying to do here is establish a program that lowers cost by making people healthier and using technology to do that," he told TechNewsWorld. "If we can make people healthier, insurance costs should go down because they won't be in doctors' offices so often."

Reform Needed

While the Amazon and friends venture could disrupt the healthcare market and increase competition, it still won't address the fundamental problems with the industry, maintained Michael Cannon, director of health policy studies at the Cato Institute.

"Healthcare needs more than competition. It needs reform," he told TechNewsWorld.

"It's going to be hard for Amazon and the others to have a transformative impact on healthcare because they're fighting perverse incentives baked into federal law. Without reforming those perverse incentives, there's very little good that entrepreneurs can do," Cannon argued.

"Those perverse incentives are due to the fact that everyone is spending someone else's money, so there's no incentive to control costs," he explained.

If Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JP Morgan were to succeed despite the challenging circumstances, their 1.1 million employees could benefit, Cannon acknowledged, "but I do not think it can benefit other consumers in the healthcare system without fundamental reform."

John P. Mello Jr. has been an ECT News Network reporter since 2003. His areas of focus include cybersecurity, IT issues, privacy, e-commerce, social media, artificial intelligence, big data and consumer electronics. He has written and edited for numerous publications, including the Boston Business Journal, the Boston Phoenix, Megapixel.Net and Government Security News. Email John.


By Jeremy Lent

Imagine a newly elected president of the United States calling in his inaugural speech for an "ecological civilization" that ensures "harmony between human and nature." Now imagine he goes on to declare that "we, as human beings, must respect nature, follow its ways, and protect it" and that his administration will "encourage simple, moderate, green, and low-carbon ways of life, and oppose extravagance and excessive consumption." Dream on, you might say. Even in the more progressive Western European nations, it's hard to find a political leader who would make such a stand.

And yet, the leader of the world's second largest economy, Xi Jinping of China, made these statements and more in his address to the National Congress of the Communist Party in Beijing last October. He went on to specify in more detail his plans to "step up efforts to establish a legal and policy framework ... that facilitates green, low-carbon, and circular development," to "promote afforestation," "strengthen wetland conservation and restoration" and "take tough steps to stop and punish all activities that damage the environment." Closing his theme with a flourish, he proclaimed that "what we are doing today" is "to build an ecological civilization that will benefit generations to come." Transcending parochial boundaries, he declared that his Party's abiding mission was to "make new and greater contributions to mankind  for both the well-being of the Chinese people and human progress."

China's President Xi Jinping addressing China's Communist Party National Congress in October.

It's easy to dismiss it all as mere political rhetoric, but consider how the current president of the United States came to power on the basis of a different form of rhetoric, appealing to the destructive nationalism of "America First." In both cases, it's reasonable to assume that the rhetoric doesn't exist in a vacuum. Just as Trump's xenophobic vision spells potential danger for the world, so could it be that Xi's ecological vision could offer a glimpse to a hopeful future?



A Transformative Vision

In fact, this is just the type of fresh, regenerative thinking about transforming the current global economic system that many in the environmental movement have been calling for. And this hasn't been lost on some leading thinkers. David Korten, a world-renowned author and activist, has proposed expanding the vision of Ecological Civilization to a global context, which would involveamong other thingsgranting legal rights to nature, shifting ownership of productive assets from transnational corporations to nation-states and self-governing communities, and prioritizing life-affirming, rather than wealth-affirming, values.

Within a larger historical context, it's not too surprising that this vision of "harmony between human and nature" should emerge from China. As I've traced in my book, The Patterning Instinct: A Cultural History of Humanity's Search for Meaning, traditional Chinese culture was founded on a worldview that perceived an intrinsic web of connection between humanity and nature, in contrast to the European worldview that saw humans as essentially separate from nature. Early Chinese philosophers believed the overriding purpose of life was to seek harmony in society and the universe, while Europeans pursued a path based on a different set of valueswhich have since become global in scopedriven by "conquering nature" and viewing nature as a machine to be engineered.

Furthermore, Xi's rhetoric does seem to be grounded in at least some reality. Two months before Xi's speech, China announced they were more than doubling their previous solar power target for 2020, after installing more than twice as much solar capacity as any other country in 2016. This new targetfive times larger than current capacity in the U.S.would entail covering an area of land equivalent to Greater London with solar panels. They are similarly exceeding their wind power targets, already boasting more capacity than all of Europe.

As a result, China has recently halted previous plans for building more than 150 coal-fired power plants. In electric cars, China is leading the world, selling more each month than Europe and the U.S. combined, with more aggressive quotas on gas-guzzlers than anywhere else in the world, including California. Additionally, China has the world's most extensive network of high-speed trains, and has already passed laws to promote a circular economy where waste products from industrial processes are recycled into inputs for other processes.



China's Industrial Avalanche

Some observers, however, are far from convinced that China is on its way to an ecological civilization. Economist Richard Smith has written a detailed critique of China's quandary in the Real-World Economics Review, where he argues that China's political-economic system is based on the need to maximize economic growth, employment and consumerism to an even greater extent than in the West. These forces, he claims, run diametrically counter to the vision of an ecological civilization.

There are compelling arguments for why this makes sense. Beginning in the 19th century, China suffered more than a century of humiliation and brutal exploitation from Western nations as a result of its relative military and industrial weakness. After Mao Zedong's death in 1978, Deng Xiaoping transformed China's economy into a hybrid of consumer capitalism and central planning that catapulted China to its current prominence on the world stage. Astonishingly, China's GDP is more than fifty times greater than at the time of Mao's death, the result of a growth rate approaching 10 percent per year for four decades.

This achievement, perhaps the most dramatic economic and social transformation of all time, is bringing China back to the dominant role in global affairs that it held for most of history. Within a decade, China's GDP is expected to surpass that of the U.S., making it the world's largest economy. It is just in the early stages of a profusion of record-breaking industrial megaprojects of a scale that boggles the mind. It plans to extend its influence further through its Belt and Road Initiative, a vast infrastructure and trading project encompassing sixty countries in Europe, Asia and Africa, envisaged as a 21st century version of the famed Silk Road.

This industrial avalanche comes, however, at great cost to China'sand the world'senvironmental well-being. China is by far the world's largest consumer of energy, using over half the world's coal, a third of the world's oil, and 60 percent of the world's cement. Astonishingly, China poured more cement in three years from 2011 to 2013 than the U.S. used during the entire twentieth century! China is also the world's largest consumer of lumber, as Smith described, "leveling forests from Siberia to Southeast Asia, New Guinea, Congo, and Madagascar." These are just some of the forces that draw Smith to the conclusion that Xi Jinping's vision of an ecological civilization is untenable. "The hyper industrialization required," he wrote, "to realize this China Dream of great power status compels him  to let the polluters pollute, pump China's CO2 emissions off the chart, and thereby bring on the ecological collapse not just of China but the whole planet  Xi Jinping can create an ecological civilization or he can build a rich superpower. He can't do both."

Intimately Placed Between Heaven and Earth

Or can he? That is a crucial question with ramifications for all of humanity. While it is clear that future economic growth at anything close to China's historic rate is untenable, there is a more nuanced question that poses the possibility of a sustainable way forward for both China and the world. Once China has regained its status as a leading world power, can it achieve yet another transformation and redirect its impressive vitality into growing a life of quality for its people, rather than continued consumerism? Is it possible that Xi Jinping is sowing the seeds of this future metamorphosis with his vision of an ecological civilization?

There is urgent awareness among thought leaders around the world that continued growth in global GDP is leading civilization to the point of collapse. Movements are emerging that call for "degrowth" and other approaches to a steady-state economy that could allow a sustainable future for humanity. But how can we break the death-grip of a global system built on continually feeding the growth frenzy of gigantic transnational corporations voraciously seeking a never-ending increase in profits to satisfy their shareholders? Along with the grassroots citizen movements emerging around the world, is it possible that China could pioneer a new path of sustainability, steering its citizens back to the traditional values that characterized its culture over millennia?

Even if China could achieve this redirection, the continuous human-rights abuses of its authoritarian government raise further questions. An ecological civilizationas envisaged by Korten and many others in the environmental movementseems inconsistent with a centralized bureaucracy forcing its rules on citizens through coercion and repression. For China to genuinely move in this direction, Xi would need to be prepared to devolve decision-making authority and freedoms back to the Chinese people. It's a tall order, but not necessarily inconceivable.

For those living in the West, it would take a tremendous dose of cultural humility to accept philosophical leadership from China on the path to a flourishing future for humanity. But, if we are to get to that future, we must recognize the structural underpinnings of Western thought that brought us to this imbalance in the first place. A thousand years ago, Chinese philosopher Zhang Zai expressed a realization of connectedness with the universe in an essay called the Western Inscription, which begins with these words:

Heaven is my father and earth is my mother, and I, a small child, find myself placed intimately between them.

What fills the universe I regard as my body; what directs the universe I regard as my nature.

All people are my brothers and sisters; all things are my companions.

Is it possible that this deep recognition of human interconnectedness, rooted in traditional Chinese culture, could form the philosophical basis for a future ecological civilization? The answer to this question may ultimately affect the future well-being, not just of China, but of the entire human family.

Jeremy Lent is the author of The Patterning Instinct: A Cultural History of Humanity's Search for Meaning, which investigates how different cultures have made sense of the universe and how their underlying values have changed the course of history. He is founder of the nonprofit Liology Institute, dedicated to fostering a sustainable worldview.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Thursday its annual enforcement and compliance report that boasted $1.6 billion in administrative and civil judicial fines against polluters.

"A strong enforcement program is essential to achieving positive health and environmental outcomes," Susan Bodine, head of the agency's enforcement division said in a statement.

However, analyses show that the penalties against polluters are significantly lower under President Trump's EPA. According to The Hill, that $1.6 billion figure is roughly a fifth of the $5.7 billion in penalties collected the year before under President Obama's EPA.

In addition to that, the Scott Pruitt-led agency is also taking credit for the previous administration's enforcement efforts. The EPA 2017 enforcement report covers the federal fiscal year from Oct. 1, 2016 to Sept. 30, 2017, meaning the final tally covers three and half months of the Obama administration, "when some of the E.P.A.'s biggest cases were settled," as the New York Times observed.

The largest chunk came from Volkswagen's $1.45 billion to resolve civil claims for its "dieselgate" emissions scandal, which was announced on Jan. 11before Trump was even sworn in.

Steven Chester, the deputy assistant administrator in EPA's compliance office from 2011 to 2014 told The Hill that he is concerned about the drop in litigation and enforcement and its consequences for the environment.

"My big concern is that if there isn't a viable threat of litigation and enforcement, if there aren't an appropriate number of lawsuits or complaints brought, that you lose that deterrent effectand if you rely too heavily on compliance assistance you are going to end up with more non-compliance," he said.

Chester said that the most noticeable change in the 2017 enforcement report was the drop in the EPA's recommendations to the Justice Department (DOJ) to prosecute polluters, from 152 the year before to 110 now.

"Those numbers tell you what's in the pipeline and what's going to be in the pipeline in future years," Chester said. "Those might not look like big numbers but these are huge numbers because these are cases referred to DOJ, these are cases that DOJ is going to fine."
By Jessica Corbett

More than 50 groups are demanding that Iowa lawmakers urgently pass landmark legislation to enact a moratorium on factory farm expansion in a state that is home to more than 10,000 of them.

"Across the nation, factory farming destroys communities and contaminates drinking water supplies and air quality," said Krissy Kasserman, the national factory farm campaigner at Food & Water Watch, one of the groups behind the effort. "A stop to the expansion of factory farming needs to happen now. It begins with Iowa."

In a letter to members of Iowa's General Assembly on Thursday, dozens of local, state and national groups wrote that a ban on new and expanded factory farms would give lawmakers "an overdue opportunity to evaluate the public health, economic and societal impacts of factory farms while providing Iowa's communities with important statutory protections from further expansion of this industry."

"Iowa is in the midst of a serious water pollution crisis," the letter declares, citing research from 2014 that found 750 bodies of water in the state, or more than half tested, contained pollutants or showed other conditions tied to factory farming "including E. coli, excessive algal growth and diminished aquatic life."

The letter chastises the Environmental Protection Agency and state officials who, for decades, "have failed to regulate the environmental impacts of factory farms," and illustrates how existing regulations are "failing Iowa's communities" with a series of examples:

Family farmers and rural residents are often left feeling like prisoners in their own homes, unable to hold family gatherings or hang laundry outside to dry due to the overwhelming stench and air pollution. Retirees are left with the realization that their homes and propertiesoften their nest eggsare depreciated due to the decline in property values associated with living next to a factory farm. Research has shown that Iowans living near factory farms are more likely to experience respiratory problems, headaches, diarrhea, burning eyes, nausea and more serious health problems as a result of factory farm air pollution.

Cherie Mortice, board president of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, said even though "state agencies and lawmakers are failing to protect our communities and environment," it is "clear to Iowans that the factory farm industry is out of control." She noted that the state is "seeing a massive expansion" in factory farming, and warned: "we're at a tipping point and need to put a stop to this industry immediately."

Food & Water Watch maps out where factory farms are most concentrated in the country:

In an editorial exploring multiple policy proposals, including a moratorium, the Des Moines Register wrote last fall that "pressing pause may be the only way Iowa can catch up to this fast-growing industry." The newspaper pointed to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report that showed a "record number of hogs and pigs were on Iowa farms as of Sept. 1: 22.9 million, up 3 percent from a year ago," and noted, "That's about 7.3 times more pigs than people in the state."



"Our call for a moratorium is a call for the return of plain, old common sense," explained Chris Peterson, an independent Iowa hog farmer and regional representative for the Socially Responsible Agricultural Project, another signatory on the letter. "Iowa is suffering under the enormous weight of a business that has no respect for the people, environment, animals and future of the state."

Reposted with permission from our media associate Common Dreams.
Ireland's Dail Eireann, the country's lower house of parliament, voted 78-48 Thursday to advance a bill to stop the government from issuing new contracts for both on and offshore oil and gas exploration.

Despite strong opposition from the Irish government, the legislation was backed by thousands of activists, campaigners, parliamentarians as well as a surprising supporter who believes in life after oil: Cher.

The "Climate Emergency Measures Bill," introduced by Solidarity-People Before Profit deputy Brid Smith, underscores how fossil fuels are major contributors to climate change and how keeping them in the ground will prevent further damage to the environment.

"If we take the Paris climate agreement seriously the Oireachtas (parliament) will support this bill," Smith said during the vote.

Music icon Cher threw in her weight after a tweet from Green Party member Sinead Mercier stating: "Ireland has 250,000 bottlenose dolphins visiting our seas every summerwe want to become the fourth country in the world to ban oil and gas drilling to protect them!"

The "Believe" singer responded, #HELLTOTHEYES.

In a follow-up tweet, Mercier presented two images of the various licenses for oil and gas drilling and seismic airgun testing granted by the government.

"Ireland has amazing blue whales, dolphins and cold water coral reefs in these areas," she noted.

The bill now heads to the Committee Stage in the parliament for scrutiny.

"Yesterday, the vote on the Climate Emergency Bill was a triumphant win in the struggle to stop climate chaos and environmental destruction," Ireland's Green Party tweeted Friday. "However, we have won the battle but not the war. We must make sure the bill is not stalled when at committee stage."

The Irish government opposes the measure over "energy security" concerns.

Last year, Ireland enacted legislation that banned onshore fracking.
The selective outrage of partisan ideologues in the education space is a well-known phenomenon and nowhere is that more on display than in the muted reaction to the scandal surrounding the 2017 graduation rate that has been unraveling in Washington in recent weeks. With the release of the final report of the audit ordered by the citys mayor, Muriel Bowser, we know, unequivocally, that more than one-third of the Washington public schools class of 2017a total of 900 studentswere only granted diplomas because their teachers and administrators flouted attendance policies and misused credit-recovery programs.

One would think that the loudest accountability hawks in the education reform movement would be beside themselves, writing op-eds, and taking the battle to Twitter in the name of justice for students. But as the details of the graduation-rate investigation by NPR and Washingtons local public radio station (WAMU) have emerged, these avatars of accountability have been uncharacteristically silent. The very same folks who are quick to jump on the slightest whisper of wrongdoing in virtual charters and voucher programs, for example, have suddenly lost their aversion to dishonesty and fraud. When the reforms they support are carried out by people they like and align with politically, their commitment to accountability appears to soften. And maybe that would be understandable, except that students and families suffer when silence settles over a deliberate and well-orchestrated injustice inside a school system.

When students miss more than 90 days of school and still graduate on time, silence is not an option."

While the Center for American Progress, for example, was relentless on the issue of accountability in their opposition to Betsy DeVos nomination for Secretary of Education, they have had virtually nothing to say about what we now know happened with the class of 2017 in Washingtons public schools . And even former Secretary Arne Duncan who is reliably vocal on issues of truth and accountability, has been quiet on this.

When students miss more than 90 days of school and still graduate on time, silence is not an option. When credit-recovery courses are abused, silence is not an option. And when emails reveal that knowledge of the problem had made its way all the way to the chancellors office but no action was taken, silence is not an option.

Calling out Washingtons fraudulent graduation rate would damage the reform narrative. The nations capital has been hailed as proof that reform can work to turn around a big city system and increase its graduation rate. And for a time, that seemed to be true. So where are those same cries of an educational wild west that we heard nonstop during the lead up to Betsy DeVos confirmation hearing? If phony diplomas, undocumented suspensions, and credit-recovery abuse dont conjure up images of a wild west, its hard to imagine anything that would.

All credibility flies right out the window when we pound our fists, lash out on Twitter, and demand a certain level of standards of one group only to then hold our friends and allies to a lower and more convenient standard. The situation in Washington is unconscionable and Chancellor Antwan Wilson, although admittedly little more than a year into the role, should have said so right from the start. He should have owned it and vowed to correct it. He didnt.

And troubling patterns like the one in the city are beginning to emerge in other states across the county. Wilsons response could likely serve as a model for other state and city leaders of what not to do when the wheels come off a fakeor greatly exaggeratedstory of success.

WAMUs Kate McGee reports that since publishing our initial investigation, we have found this story playing out in schools across the country. We have heard from teachers in Vermont, West Virginia, Illinois, Maryland, South Carolina, Massachusetts, New York, Wyoming, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Its clear that schools everywhere are promoting and graduating underprepared and chronically absent students by pressuring teachers and using shortcuts.

This should be a clarion call to school boards across the country to ask tough questions about their districts own graduation rates and how theyre achieved. A sham education has to draw our ire no matter where its happening and on whose watch. Whether its the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow online charter school network in Ohio that abruptly closed its doors a few weeks back or all but two Washington high schools giving out diplomas based on lies, political ideology should have nothing to do with our response. There is no justification for railing against one and staying silent on the other.

Its hard to know what the appropriate consequences are for those who were active and willing participants in the systemic deception and fraud we now know occurred in the citys schools. Nat Malkus, a resident scholar and the deputy director of education policy at the American Enterprise Institute, certainly gives us something to think about when he points out that in medicine, law, and automobile manufacturing, fraud and deception lead to serious consequences not only professionally but civilly and criminally as well. He reminds us that educators in Atlanta were fired and even went to jail for getting caught changing student answers on state tests in 2009 . A harsh punishment indeed. But is systematically changing test answers any worse than systematically turning high schools into diploma mills? Malkus asks.

Those decisions are best left to those in Washington who now have the enormous responsibility of restoring trust and truth to what has suddenly become a school system mired in doubt. In the meantime, Ill just keep hoping for a day when folks who support reformas I dowill take off their partisan and tribal blinders and actually stand up for accountability simply because its the right thing to do.
The headlines made a big splash, and yet they were strangely familiar: Another school system was reporting a higher graduation rate than it deserved.

The most recent scandalin the District of Columbiais just the latest example in a growing case file of school systems where investigators have uncovered bogus graduation-rate practices.

Those revelations have unleashed a wave of questions about the pressures and incentives built into U.S. high schools, and fueled nagging doubts that states rising high school graduation ratesand the countrys current all-time-high rate of 84 percentarent what they seem.

The newest round of reflections was triggered by an investigation, ordered by the D.C. mayors office, that found that 34 percent of last years senior class got diplomas even though theyd missed too much school to earn passing grades, or acquired too many credits through quick, online courses known as credit recovery. Only three months earlier, the school system touted a 20-point rise in its graduation rate over the last six years.

Its been devastating, said Cathy Reilly, the executive director of the Senior High Alliance of Parents, Principals, and Educators, a group that focuses on high school issues in the District of Columbia. Its made people here feel that our graduation rate gains werent real.

A National Problem

Such revelations are hardly confined to the nations capital. In the last few years, a federal audit found that California and Alabama inflated their graduation rates by counting students they shouldnt have counted. News media investigations showed that educators persuaded low-performing students in Atlanta and Orlando, Fla., to transfer to private or alternative schools to eliminate a drag on their home schools graduation rates.

See Also: The D.C. Public School Attendance Scandal: Wheres the Outrage? (Commentary)

The drumbeat of graduation-rate fudging has opened the door to renewed attacks on the pressures imposed on schools by accountability rules, particularly the high stakes that some systems attach to specific metrics. In the District of Columbia, for instance, high school teachers and principals are evaluated in part on how many students pass courses and graduate.

With those kinds of stakes, teachers can feel immense pressure to award passing grades to students who havent earned them, a dilemma that intensifies in schools with high rates of chronic absenteeism and academically struggling students.

In a survey of 616 District of Columbia teachers conducted after the scandal broke, 47 percent said theyd felt pressured or coerced into giving grades that didnt accurately reflect what students had learned. Among high school teachers, that number rose to 60 percent. More than 2 in 10 said that their student grades or attendance data had been changed by someone else after teachers submitted them.

Scott Goldstein oversaw the survey as the founder of EmpowerEd, a year-old coalition of D.C. teachers that works to strengthen teacher leadership. To him, the results cry out for a new conversation about the moral dilemmas embedded in accountability systems that rely heavily on just a few metrics, like graduation rates.

If you pass students [who havent completed course requirements], youre leading them into a world theyre unprepared for. But if you fail them, youre harming their lives in other ways, said Goldstein, a social studies teacher at Roosevelt High School. Teachers decisions should rest on a professional appraisal of student mastery, not on fear for their own jobs, he said.

In the wake of the scandal, D.C. school leaders have removed graduation and course-passing rates from principals and teachers 2017-18 evaluations.

Pressure From the Top

Pressure to Graduate: Perspectives From Educators Our principal sent us a notice that said: I met with the superintendent yesterday about our academic progress...He made me aware that failure rates should be taken into consideration during the [evaluation] process. ... Please closely monitor your failure rates and ensure that all is being done for your students to keep those rates low.

Our teachers can read between the lines.

John R. Tibbets I have been pressured not to fail students who miss 20-plus of the 45 days in a quarter....My colleague was reminded that we are a first-year school, and that it wouldnt look good...if a large number of kids failed.

A teacher in a new alternative school I will NEVER recommend a student pass any class who has not worked toward standard based, content mastery of any class. However, some teachers use inappropriate rigor and grading practices...Its sometimes hard for an administrator to challenge and claim a teacher [didnt meet] those standards, but this is a professional decision reserved for classroom teachers. At the end of the day, staff have to ensure they hold students to high expectations.

Jeremy W. Hurd, principal of McLaughlin High School, McLaughlin, S.D.

Even in school systems that dont reward or penalize educators for their schools accountability metrics, teachers can feel immense pressure from administrators on their grading practices.

In postings on social media, Education Week asked high school teachers if theyd ever felt pressure to give passing grades to students who hadnt done the work.

Never mind high school. I feel that pressure in 3rd grade, said Annie, an elementary school teacher in central Virginia. She asked Education Week not to identify her so she could discuss sensitive issues.

She said her principal has cautioned her not to fail any student or recommend that they repeat a grade because she doesnt want anyone to feel bad about not succeeding. When she gave a student a D recently, she was summoned to a meeting with the principal, Annie said.

She was upset. She said, Why didnt you work harder to get the student to turn in missing work, or re-do work? She sees a D as a teachers failure. But I think its a disservice to kids to give them grades they havent earned.

John R. Tibbetts, who teaches economics at Worth County High School in rural Sylvester, Ga., and is the states 2018 teacher of the year, said his districts policy doesnt include course-failure rates in teachers evaluations. But his principal recently sent teachers an email conveying word from their superintendent that failure rates  will be taken into consideration in their evaluations anyway.

A Change of Approach

Tibbetts said he would like to replace that threatening posture with a more collaborative one.

If the superintendent is concerned with course-failure or graduation rates, what we really need is for him to have a conversation with teachers about what we need to do to improve, what policies we can implement, he said.

Education advocates who believe accountability can be a force for good worry that graduation-rate scandals could tarnish a tool thats important for shining a light on inequities and applying pressure for school improvement.

They hope, instead, that uncovering problems can spark a rebalancing of the pressures and supports built into accountability systems, and change school practice to respond better to issues like students poor academic skills and chronic absenteeism.

We shouldnt stop paying attention to high school grad rates, or not have them in accountability systems, said Michael Cohen, the president of Achieve, which works with states to raise academic expectations.

The right response to all of this is to double down on efforts to support students, and to support teachers, early and consistently, so theyre not pressured to game the system and they can give kids what they need.

Experts who study and track graduation rates acknowledge that in some places, the rates are inflated by cheating or inaccurate reporting. But they contend that those cases account for a tiny share of schools overall. Robert Balfanz, a Johns Hopkins University researcher who studies graduation rates, estimates that those cases account for 2 to 4 percentage points in the national graduation rate.

Hard-Earned Gains Are Real

John Bridgeland, the chief executive officer of Civic Enterprises, a think tank that examines graduation rates for the annual Grad Nation reports, said his team has visited dozens of schools to find out what theyre doing to produce significant gains in their graduation rates.

In a few places, he said, he and his colleagues have had to shave 2 to 4 percentage points off the rates districts were reporting because they were improperly counting some types of students who shouldnt be included, such as those who started home schooling in their junior year of high school.

But with few exceptions, Bridgeland said, his team has found that the hard work of better instruction and student support explains higher graduation rates.

We need to call out the problems when gaming or cheating appears, he said. But at the same time, taking isolated examples of gaming the system and saying that high school grad rates are not real diminishes and undermines the many schools, districts, and states that have hard-earned gains and clear progress to showcase, he said.

Those who study graduation-rate calculations point out that while theyre still imperfect, theyve been much more reliable since 2008 when federal regulations began requiring all schools to calculate them the same waythe portion of each freshman class that earns regular diplomas four years later.

Balfanz said that more stringent calculation and reporting requirements without a doubt have been responsible for a very real rise in states graduation rates.

People dont remember the bad days before 2008, when schools were allowed to measure graduation rates however they wanted, he said. Kids dropped out, schools would code them as whereabouts unknown, not as a dropout. No one knew, and no one cared. That wasnt a good place. Accountability makes schools pay attention to a key outcome, like graduating our kids from high school.

But even those experts acknowledge that there are still too many hidden variations in the way states report graduation-rate data. To get a more accurate understanding of schools graduation rates, theyve quietly identified about a dozen variations that should be ferreted out and handled in uniform ways.

For example, even though federal rules dont allow states to count summer graduates, or those who earn high school equivalency certificates, some still do. Some schools include summer graduates, or students in juvenile justice facilities. Others include teenagers who transfer into home schooling late in high school.
MHK asks about food producers' use of plastics



Arbory, Castletown and Malew MHK Jason Moorhouse

The use of plastic packaging by Manx food producers will be discussed in next week's sitting of the House of Keys.

Arbory, Castletown and Malew member Jason Moorhouse wants to know what the Government is doing to encourage local producers to use non-plastic materials.

The Council of Minister recently committed to a review of the Government's use of single-use plastics.

Environment, Food and Agriculture Minister Geoffrey Boot will respond at Tuesday's sitting.
2018-02-08

Maeci

"I wish to voice my deep concern over the deterioration of the situation in Syria," said the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Angelino Alfano. He also added: "I firmly condemn the indiscriminate bombing the regime is carrying out against defenceless people and civilian infrastructure."



Italy sides with the United Nations and the International Red Cross in demanding the granting of immediate humanitarian access to the people under siege in Syria in the eastern Ghouta region. Just a few kilometres from Damascus, the eastern Ghouta area is home to 400,000 civilians who are living under a merciless siege by Assad's forces. In the past few days the bombing in the area has grown indiscriminate, killing hundreds of people. Eastern Ghouta is theoretically one of the de-escalation zones on which an agreement was reached in Astana. Besides the bombing, alarming news has been circulating about an alleged new use of chemical weapons by regime forces.
2018-02-09

Maeci

The celebration of the 150th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Italy and Thailand marks a particularly important moment for our two Countries relations

At the end of his visit to Bangkok, the last stop in his three-day tour of Southeast Asia, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Angelino Alfano, said: The celebration of the 150th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Italy and Thailand marks a particularly important moment for our two Countries relations. In Bangkok, with a view to celebrating the event together with the Thai people, Italy has organised a programme of 69 events over 299 days of the year. Cultural cooperation represents a fundamental instrument to promote mutual knowledge and friendship between peoples.

While in Bangkok, Minister Alfano met with his Thai counterpart, Don Pramudwinai, to discuss the state of bilateral relations, emboldened by the dynamic trend in trade (with volumes of around 2.5 billion euros), growing tourist flows (with 265,000 Italians visiting Thailand every year) and relevant two-way investments. The talks also focused on the main regional political issues and cooperation within the ASEAN area. The chief Italian diplomat later met with Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-O-Cha.

In the talks, Minister Alfano expressed Italys and the European Unions great expectation that the Country call new elections, restore an open and inclusive form of representative democracy and full respect for individual human rights. He said: A quick transition process will pave the way for reopening relations with the European Union at all levels, on the basis of the conclusions passed by the Council last 11 December.

Minister Alfano also met with the members of the Italy-Thailand Business Forum which groups together 40 large and medium-sized companies of the two Countries, with an over-all annual turnover of 500 billion dollars. Economic cooperation is particularly relevant in bilateral relations. It is no coincidence that the 150th anniversary of bilateral relations dates back to the signing of the first Friendship and Trade Treaty on 3 October, 1868. Today, economic relations between the two Countries are intense and trade is well balanced and has a strong growth potential. In 2017, Thai exports to Italy rose 8% and Italian export to Thailand grew by a comparable 7%.
2018-02-08

Maeci

To date, Italy is the only Country that has twice won the CERN international competition, known as BeamLine for schools - BL4S. The competition is open to teams of high-school students from across the world. The winning teams is given the opportunity to conduct a scientific experiment at the prestigious research centre of the European Organization for Nuclear Research in Geneva, Switzerland. The National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI) and the Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR) have invited the two winning teams to attend "La scienza vincente della scuola italiana", a special event during which they will be presented with an award by the Director General of CERN, Fabiola Gianotti. The two teams come from the Liceo Scientifico 'Leonardo da Vinci' of Florence, the winner of the 2015 competition, and the Liceo scientifico ' Temistocle Calzecchi Onesti' of Fermo, the winner of the 2017 competition. The event, which will be hosted at the Farnesina, will be attended by the Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Benedetto Della Vedova, the Principal Director for Innovation and Research, Fabrizio Nicoletti, the President of the National Institute for Nuclear Physics, Fernando Ferroni, and the Head of the Department for the Educational and Training System of the Ministry of Education, University and Research, Rosa De Pasquale. The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) first launched the international competition BeamLine for schools - BL4S in 2014. It is an opportunities for teams of students from all over the world to perform their own experiment at the Geneva-based centre using a CERN accelerator beam. Teams are led by a tutor - a teacher, whose support is essential for every student. INFN has always fostered the participation of Italian students in the BL4S competition. It also has to be pointed out that the number of Italian teams has always been much larger than those of any other Country. Two Italian teams, from Florence in 2015 and from Fermo in 2017, respectively, won the competition and were then able to perform their own experiments in the CERN laboratories. In Italy, the competition forms part of a learning and working system (Alternanza Scuola-Lavoro) developed by the Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR).Stefano Gagliani, a member of the LEO4G of the Liceo Scientifico "Leonardo da Vinci" of Florence, said: "Being invited to present our project after more than three years is proof of the fact that the BL4S was much more than a ten-day experience. It continues to be a key-feature in our personal lives, which we would like to share with as many people as possible, especially students."Letizia Mainardi, a member of the TCO-ASA team of the Liceo Scientifico 'Temistocle Calzecchi Onesti' of Fermo, said: "My team-mates and I have been very happy to participate in this fantastic experience, which has opened so many doors to knowledge. We have learnt to work in a team, never to take anything for granted and to commit ourselves to the fullest in order to fulfil our goal. In the twelve days we spent at CERN, we delved into the experiment with all our energy, both while we were in the experimental area and in our room where we analysed the data. Finally, when our experiment succeeded, the fatigue we felt for the hard work was cancelled out by a profound, unforgettable moment of joy we shared among ourselves and with our tutor." "Two classes have been able to conduct their own experiments at CERN, being the winners of an international competition to which hundreds of contestants also participated. This is a great sign of the quality of the teaching of physics in our Country, which ensures a positive future for good science. It also gives great pleasure to see the INFN research themes divulged in the school system," said the President of the National Institute for Nuclear Physics, Fernando Ferroni."I wish to express my sincerest congratulations to the students and their tutors, who won two editions of this international competition for Italy. We are proud of their creativity, scientific knowledge and passion. They have achieved a remarkable result, which is in line with the tradition of excellence for the school of physics in our Country. Every year Italy gives CERN a major contribution both in terms of funds and extraordinary scientists. I hope that the positive experience these students have had, and which represents an example of the scientific diplomacy which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation considers as a priority area, may strengthen their motivation and necessary enthusiasm to continue ahead with their studies and become great Italian scientists of the future," said the Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Benedetto Della Vedova."It is yet another confirmation that our school, when it opens its door to the world of work and research, can enhance the value of our students and teachers, creating products of absolute excellence. Initiatives such as these are fundamental, because they help students learn to design, make connections and think in a critical manner. CERN, which I wish to thank, has given our students through "Beamline for Schools" an opportunity to develop their competencies and aspirations in the field of science. I believe that this experience of a dual training (a learning and working system - Alternanza Scuola Lavoro), has enriched our students. It has allowed them to grow both from the point of view of relations and knowledge as well as to discover new professional scenarios. The BL4S has a major educational value, and because of it, I would like to stress that we must engage to a great extent in promoting a "Good study and work system". We must offer our students the possibility of measuring up to any profession they may fancy in the future, proving that the Italian school system is very much alive and capable of generating excellence, of which we can be proud, " said the Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Education, University and Research, Gabriele Toccafondi.
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Narwhals are some of the most elusive creatures in the ocean, spending most of their lives in deep water far from shore. But research being presented at the 2018 Ocean Sciences Meeting here on Monday may shed a bit of light on these enigmatic marine mammals.

New research shows narwhals may prefer to congregate near unique glacier fjords with thick ice fronts and low to moderate calving activity, where icebergs break off infrequently. It appears narwhals prefer the freshwater coming off still, serene glaciers over the silt-filled runoff discharged from very active glaciers.

The findings could help scientists understand a little more about the elusive narwhal and how these marine mammals might fare in a changing climate, according to the researchers.

"Arctic marine mammals are really good indicators of climate change because they are very specialized," said Kristin Laidre, a scientist at the University of Washington in Seattle who will present the research Monday at the 2018 Ocean Sciences Meeting, co-sponsored by the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography, The Oceanography Society and the American Geophysical Union. "They are finely attuned to specific environmental conditions, so they are good indicator species for how the physical changes many scientists are documenting in the Arctic can reverberate throughout the ecosystem."

Scientists have known narwhals spend time at the fronts of glaciers in Greenland during the summer, which are hotspots for marine mammals, seabirds and fishes, but they did not know why narwhals have an affinity for these glaciers.

To better understand what glacier features narwhals prefer, Laidre and her colleagues used data from 15 narwhals outfitted with recorders that tracked each animal's movements over four years in the 1990s and 2000s in Greenland's Melville Bay, where narwhals congregate in summer. They combined this data with information about glaciers in Melville Bay over the same time period.

The researchers examined how narwhals behaved at the glaciers and collected information about each glacier's physical properties to create models of narwhal behavior and tease out the animals' preferences.

"Narwhals like slow-moving, big walls of ice where conditions are still and serene instead of a lot of runoff and disturbance," Laidre said.

The researchers don't know why the narwhals prefer these glaciers. They think the freshwater could shock small marine critters that are food for fish, which narwhals eat. Narwhals are also close relatives of beluga whales, which also seek out freshwater in summer to shed their skin, and it is possible there is something similar going on at the glacier front, Laidre said.

Laidre and her colleagues are performing additional research using a combination of moored instruments at glacier fronts, acoustic monitoring and land-based cameras to collect year-round data on narwhals to shed additional light on what physical properties of glacial fjords influence narwhal occurrence, relative abundance and acoustic behavior.

Laidre is also working on a project to use instrumented narwhals to examine the seafloor and measure ocean water temperatures. The research will help scientists better understand climate change in the high Arctic, Laidre said.

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More than 4,000 scientists are expected to present the latest research findings about the world's oceans at the 2018 Ocean Sciences Meeting. The biennial meeting brings together researchers >from the American Geophysical Union, the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography, and The Oceanography Society.

Notes for Journalists

Lead researcher Kristin Laidre will give an oral presentation about this research on Monday, 12 February at the 2018 Ocean Sciences Meeting. The meeting runs from 11-16 February 2018, at the Oregon Convention Center, 777 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Portland, Oregon, 97232. Visit the Ocean Sciences Media Center for information for members of the news media.

Abstract:

Glacial fronts in West Greenland as habitat for narwhals (Monodon monoceros) in summer

Session:

Melting of Glaciers, Icebergs, Ice Shelves, and Coastal Permafrost and Impacts on Physical Properties and Biogeochemistry of the Ocean I

Date: Monday, 12 February 2018

Time: 8:45 - 9:00 a.m. PST

Location: Oregon Convention Center, Room C123-C124

Abstract number: HE11A-04

Contact information for the researcher: Kristin Laidre: klaidre@uw.edu

The following release, and accompanying images can be found at: https://news.agu.org/press-release/research-uncovers-the-mysterious-lives-of-narwhals/

Research uncovers the mysterious lives of narwhals

2018 Ocean Sciences Meeting

Oregon Convention Center

Portland, Oregon

11-16 February 2018

Ocean Sciences Press Office Contacts:

Nanci Bompey

+1 (914) 552-5759

nbompey@agu.org

Lauren Lipuma

+1 (504) 427-6069

llipuma@agu.org
Readmission rates at three months for kids hospitalized for acute asthma dropped when families received comprehensive education prior to discharge, the only single component of discharge bundles that was strongly associated with lowered readmissions, finds a multicenter retrospective cohort study published online Feb. 1, 2018, in The Journal of Pediatrics.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, asthma is the most common chronic lung disease of childhood, affecting roughly 6 million U.S. children. Hospitalization for asthma accounts for $1.5 billion in annual hospital charges and represents almost one-third of childhood asthma costs.

Children who are hospitalized for asthma have a roughly 20 percent chance of returning to the hospital in the next year, and individual hospital readmission rates can range from 5.7 percent to 9.1 percent at three months, writes the study team. While the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has published evidence-based guidelines for discharge planning, there is no single, standardized asthma discharge process used across all pediatric hospitals in the U.S. that impacts 30-day readmission rates.

"Improving how we care for children who are hospitalized with asthma includes preparing them for a successful return home with the best tools to manage their illness and prevent a future hospital visit," says Kavita Parikh, M.D., M.S.H.S., an associate professor of pediatrics at Children's National Health System and lead study author. "Our study underscores the importance of increasing the intensity of select discharge components. For example, ensuring that children hospitalized for asthma receive asthma medication at discharge along with comprehensive education and environmental mitigation may reduce asthma readmissions."

The study team analyzed records from a national sample of tertiary care children's hospitals, looking at hospitalizations of 5- to 17-year-olds for acute asthma exacerbation during the 2015 calendar year. They characterized how frequently hospitals used 13 separate asthma discharge components by distributing an electronic survey to quality leaders. Forty-five of 49 hospitals (92 percent) completed the survey.

The 45 hospitals recorded a median of 349 asthma discharges per year and had a median adjusted readmission rate of 2.6 percent at 30 days and a 6.6 percent median adjusted readmission rate at three months. The most commonly used discharge components employed for children with asthma were having a dedicated person providing education (76 percent), providing a spacer at discharge (67 percent) and communicating with a primary medical doctor (58 percent).

Discharge components that were trending toward reduced readmission rates at three months include:

Comprehensive asthma education, including having dedicated asthma educators

Medications and devices provided to patients at discharge, such as spacers, beta-agonists, controller medication and oral steroids

Communication and scheduled appointments with a primary medical doctor

Post-discharge activities, including home visits and referrals for environmental mitigation programs.

In addition to being aligned with NIH asthma recommendations, connecting the family with a primary care provider after discharge helps to improve patients timely access to care if symptoms recur when they return home, Dr. Parikh adds. "Bundling these discharge components may offer multiple opportunities to educate patients and families and to employ a range of communication styles such as didactic, visual and interactive."

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Study co-authors include Matt Hall, Ph.D., Children's Hospital Association; Chen C. Kenyon, M.D., M.S.H.P., The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia; Ronald J. Teufel II, M.D., M.S.C.R., Medical University of South Carolina; Grant M. Mussman, M.D., M.H.S.A. and Samir S. Shah, M.D., M.S.C.E., Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center; Amanda Montalbano, M.D., M.P.H., Children's Mercy; Jessica Gold, M.D., M.S., Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford; James W. Antoon, M.D., Children's Hospital; Anupama Subramony, M.D., Cohen Children's Medical Center; Vineeta Mittal, M.D., M.B.A. and Rustin B. Morse, M.D., Children's Health; and Karen M. Wilson, M.D., M.P.H., Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

Research reported in this post was supported by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, K08HS024554.
Since the Kobe Ocean Bottom Exploration Center (KOBEC) was established in 2015, the Center has carried out three survey voyages to the Kikai Caldera, south of Japan's main islands. Based on these voyages, researchers have confirmed that a giant lava dome was created after the caldera-forming supereruption 7300 years ago. The dome is in the world's largest class of post-caldera volcano, with a volume of over 32 cubic kilometers. The composition of this lava dome is different from the magma that caused the giant caldera to erupt - it shows the same chemical characteristics as the current post-caldera volcano on the nearby Satsuma Iwo-jima Island. It is possible that currently a giant magma buildup may exist under the Kikai Caldera.

These findings were published in the online edition of Scientific Reports on February 9.

There is roughly a 1% chance of a giant caldera-forming eruption occurring within the Japanese archipelago during the next 100 years. An eruption like this would see over 40 cubic kilometers of magma released in one burst, causing enormous damage. The mechanism behind this and how to predict this event are urgent questions.

Researchers equipped training ship Fukae Maru, part of the Kobe University Graduate School of Maritime Sciences, with the latest observation equipment to survey the Kikai Caldera. They chose this volcano for two main reasons. Firstly, for land-based volcanoes it is hard to carry out large-scale observations using artificial earthquakes because of the population density, and it is also difficult to detect giant magma buildups with precise visualization because they are often at relatively low depths (roughly 10km). Secondly, the Kikai Caldera caused the most recent giant caldera-forming eruption in the Japanese archipelago (7300 years ago), and there is a high possibility that a large buildup of magma may exist inside it.

During the three survey voyages, KOBEC carried out detailed underwater geological surveys, seismic reflection, observations by underwater robots, samples and analysis of rocks, and observations using underwater seismographs and electromagnetometers.

In their upcoming March 2018 voyage, researchers plan to use seismic reflection and underwater robots to clarify the formation process of the double caldera revealed in previous surveys and the mechanism that causes a giant caldera eruption.

They will also use seismic and electromagnetic methods to determine the existence of a giant magma buildup, and in collaboration with the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology will carry out a large-scale underground survey, attempting to capture high-resolution visualizations of the magma system within the Earth's crust (at a depth of approximately 30km). Based on results from these surveys, the team plans to continue monitoring and aims to pioneer a method for predicting giant caldera-forming eruptions.

Formation of metallic ore deposits are predicted to accompany the underwater hydrothermal activity, so the team also plan to evaluate these undersea resources.

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Technical terms

1. Caldera: a depression in the land formed when a volcano erupts

2. Giant caldera-forming eruption: an eruption that releases a large amount of magma (?40km3) and forms a large-scale caldera. This sort of eruption has occurred ten times on the Japanese archipelago in the last 120,000 years. Giant caldera volcanoes are concentrated in Kyushu and Hokkaido.

3. Seismic reflection survey: Causing an artificial earthquake with air guns or similar, receiving the seismic waves that have reflected or refracted below ground, and estimating the subsurface structure.
It all comes down to metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), an amazing next generation material that have the largest internal surface area of any known substance. The sponge like crystals can be used to capture, store and release chemical compounds. In this case, the salt and ions in sea water.

Dr Huacheng Zhang, Professor Huanting Wang and Associate Professor Zhe Liu and their team in the Faculty of Engineering at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, in collaboration with Dr Anita Hill of CSIRO and Professor Benny Freeman of the McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin, have recently discovered that MOF membranes can mimic the filtering function, or 'ion selectivity', of organic cell membranes.

With further development, these membranes have significant potential to perform the dual functions of removing salts from seawater and separating metal ions in a highly efficient and cost effective manner, offering a revolutionary new technological approach for the water and mining industries.

Currently, reverse osmosis membranes are responsible for more than half of the world's desalination capacity, and the last stage of most water treatment processes, yet these membranes have room for improvement by a factor of 2 to 3 in energy consumption. They do not operate on the principles of dehydration of ions, or selective ion transport in biological channels, the subject of the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry awarded to Roderick MacKinnon and Peter Agre, and therefore have significant limitations.

In the mining industry, membrane processes are being developed to reduce water pollution, as well as for recovering valuable metals. For example, lithium-ion batteries are now the most popular power source for mobile electronic devices, however at current rates of consumption, there is rising demand likely to require lithium production from non-traditional sources, such as recovery from salt water and waste process streams. If economically and technologically feasible, direct extraction and purification of lithium from such a complex liquid system would have profound economic impacts.

These innovations are now possible thanks to this new research. Monash University's Professor Huanting Wang said, "We can use our findings to address the challenges of water desalination. Instead of relying on the current costly and energy intensive processes, this research opens up the potential for removing salt ions from water in a far more energy efficient and environmentally sustainable way."

"Also, this is just the start of the potential for this phenomenon. We'll continue researching how the lithium ion selectivity of these membranes can be further applied. Lithium ions are abundant in seawater, so this has implications for the mining industry who current use inefficient chemical treatments to extract lithium from rocks and brines. Global demand for lithium required for electronics and batteries is very high. These membranes offer the potential for a very effective way to extract lithium ions from seawater, a plentiful and easily accessible resource."

Building on the growing scientific understanding of MOFs, CSIRO's Dr Anita Hill said the research offers another potential real-world use for the next-generation material. "The prospect of using MOFs for sustainable water filtration is incredibly exciting from a public good perspective, while delivering a better way of extracting lithium ions to meet global demand could create new industries for Australia," Dr Hill said.

The University of Texas in Austin Professor Benny Freeman says, "Produced water from shale gas fields in Texas is rich in lithium. Advanced separation materials concepts, such as this, could potentially turn this waste stream into a resource recovery opportunity. I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to work with these distinguished colleagues from Monash and CSIRO via the Australian-American Fulbright Commission for the U.S. Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Science, Technology and Innovation sponsored by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO)."

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LA JOLLA, CA - Feb. 9, 2018 - On the cellular highway, motor proteins called dyneins rule the road. Dyneins "walk" along structures called microtubules to deliver cellular cargo, such as signaling molecules and organelles, to different parts of a cell. Without dynein on the job, cells cannot divide and people can develop neurological diseases.

Now a new study, which appears in the journal Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, provides the first three-dimensional (3D) visualization of the dynein-dynactin complex bound to microtubules. The study leaders from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) report that a protein called dynactin hitches two dyneins together, like a yoke locking together a pair of draft horses.

"If you want a team of horses to move in one direction, you need to line them up," says Gabriel C. Lander, PhD, a TSRI associate professor and senior author of the study. "That's exactly what dynactin is doing to dynein molecules."

Understanding how the dynein-dynactin complex is assembled and organized provides a critical foundation to explain the underlying causes of several dynein-related neurodegenerative diseases such as spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease.

Researchers knew that dynactin is required for dynein to move cargo, but they struggled to get a complete picture of how the different parts of the complex worked together.

"We knew that dynein only becomes active when it binds with a partner called dynactin. The problem was that, historically, it was difficult to solve this structure because it is very flexible and dynamic," explains Danielle Grotjahn, a TSRI graduate student and co-first author of the study. "We needed to visualize these dynein-dynactin complexes to fundamentally understand how it works to transport molecules."

For the new study, researchers used an imaging technique called cryo-electron tomography, which is similar to acquiring a CT scan of a protein, to produce a 3D reconstruction, or tomogram. To increase the resolution and clarity of these tomograms, researchers used advanced computational algorithms to average together many individual protein complexes.

In this case, however, the current processing methods were unable to produce a clear, interpretable 3D structure of the extremely flexible dynein-dynactin complex.

Grotjahn knew the necessary information was hidden in the tomograms, so she developed a new strategy to identify specific components of the dynein-dynactin complex. This approach helped guide the image processing software to reconstruct the entire microtubule-bound motor complex.

"Danielle was doing the first big step for the computational algorithms," says Lander.

With their new, detailed structure, the researchers noticed a surprising feature: the complex has two dynein molecules where they expected to only see one. This means because each dynein has two motor domains, the dynein-dynactin complex has four motor domains total.

"This discovery was totally unexpected, and will change how this motor complex is represented in cell biology and biochemistry text books," says Saikat Chowdhury, PhD, a TSRI research associate and co-first author of the study.

"There had been years of biophysical experiments and biochemical experiments, and it was always assumed that there was just one dynein molecule," Lander adds.

The researchers could also see where dynactin fit in. They found that the molecule provides a stable scaffold, hitching together the team of motor domains and activating their ability to move along microtubules. This discovery helps explain how dynein can haul large loads, such as organelles that are much bigger than themselves, over long distances in a crowded cellular environment.

The image processing approach used in this study has the potential to be extremely useful for solving the structures of other large, flexible proteins.

"We're now able to move past cartoon models and visualize the fine details of many dynamic macromolecular complexes," says Grotjahn. "As we learn more about the 3D organization and architecture of these molecular machines, we will be better equipped to understand how they malfunction in disease."

Additional authors of the study, "Cryo-electron tomography reveals that dynactin recruits a team of dyneins for progressive motility," were Yiru Xu of The Scripps Research Institute; Richard J. McKenney of the University of California, Davis; and Trina A. Schroer of Johns Hopkins University.

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The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health (grant DP2EB020402, R00NS089428 and S10OD021634), the National Science Foundation, The Searle Scholars Program, the Pew Scholars Program and the Johns Hopkins Krieger School of Arts and Sciences.

About The Scripps Research Institute

The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) is one of the world's largest independent, not-for-profit organizations focusing on research in the biomedical sciences. TSRI is internationally recognized for its contributions to science and health, including its role in laying the foundation for new treatments for cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, hemophilia, and other diseases. An institution that evolved from the Scripps Metabolic Clinic founded by philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps in 1924, the institute now employs more than 2,500 people on its campuses in La Jolla, CA, and Jupiter, FL, where its renowned scientists--including two Nobel laureates and 20 members of the National Academies of Science, Engineering or Medicine--work toward their next discoveries. The institute's graduate program, which awards PhD degrees in biology and chemistry, ranks among the top ten of its kind in the nation. In October 2016, TSRI announced a strategic affiliation with the California Institute for Biomedical Research (Calibr), representing a renewed commitment to the discovery and development of new medicines to address unmet medical needs. For more information, see http://www.scripps.edu.
PHILADELPHIA -- Jamie Shuda, EdD, a prominent K-12 educator and researcher at Penn Medicine, has been named co-recipient of the 2018 Elizabeth W. Jones Award for Excellence by the Genetics Society of America (GSA) for "extraordinary contributions to genetics education."

Shuda, director of life science outreach for the Institute for Regenerative Medicine (IRM) at the University of Pennsylvania, and Steven Farber, PhD, a principal investigator at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Baltimore, have been recognized for establishing BioEYES, a K-12 science education program that provides classroom-based, hands-on lessons in basic scientific methods, biology, and genetics using live zebrafish. The BioEYES program, in use in more than 100 schools, has been in operation in Philadelphia since 2002, and over 115,000 students in the United States and Australia have participated to date.

The program brings zebrafish--and tools and materials to study them, such as microscopes--into the classroom for a week. Students observe the mating of zebrafish parents and use the microscopes to watch the eggs grow from single cells to embryos to larvae, even observing their beating hearts. The students can hypothesize what hue the offspring of differently colored parent zebrafish will be.

"The children see science in action up-close," said Shuda. "They become scientists themselves, making hypotheses and seeing if they are confirmed, observing the fish as they develop, and documenting their findings, just like in a real laboratory. This brings science home to them, and allows children who perhaps never thought of science as something they could do to consider choosing further study and even a career in the field."

BioEYES relies on trained science consultants, called outreach educators, who serve as co-instructors with teachers in the schools in which the program is used. In addition to its Penn location, BioEYES is housed at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Baltimore; Monash University in Melbourne, Australia; the University of Utah in Salt Lake City; and another four university start-up sites happening in 2018.

"This is an extraordinarily distinguished award from the premier genetics research society in the United States," said Ken Zaret, PhD, IRM director. "We are very proud of the hard work that Dr. Shuda does for IRM, Penn, and the community."

In her role with IRM, Shuda develops and implements community outreach programs in the life sciences for K-12 students; teaches academically based community service undergraduate courses in biology and bioethics that partner with local high schools; supervises Penn student mentors to work with local teachers and students; provides professional development to dozens of teachers each year; and creates new curricula to enhance K-12 science.

She also collaborates with Penn faculty members university-wide to develop community outreach projects as part of their federal grant awards. A former third-grade teacher and Southeast Delco School District educator, Shuda received an EdD in education leadership and policy studies from Temple University and an MS in elementary education from Drexel University.

The Elizabeth W. Jones Award for Excellence in Education honors the education legacy of the organization's first Excellence in Education Award recipient, Elizabeth W. Jones (1939-2008). The prize will be presented to Shuda and Farber at the 59th Annual Drosophila Research Conference (a GSA-affiliated meeting), which will take place from April 11th-15th, 2018 in Philadelphia, where BioEYES got its start 15 years ago this year.

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Penn Medicine is one of the world's leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care. Penn Medicine consists of the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which together form a $7.8 billion enterprise.

The Perelman School of Medicine has been ranked among the top five medical schools in the United States for the past 20 years, according to U.S. News & World Report's survey of research-oriented medical schools. The School is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $405 million awarded in the 2017 fiscal year.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System's patient care facilities include: The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center -- which are recognized as one of the nation's top "Honor Roll" hospitals by U.S. News & World Report -- Chester County Hospital; Lancaster General Health; Penn Medicine Princeton Health; Penn Wissahickon Hospice; and Pennsylvania Hospital - the nation's first hospital, founded in 1751. Additional affiliated inpatient care facilities and services throughout the Philadelphia region include Good Shepherd Penn Partners, a partnership between Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network and Penn Medicine, and Princeton House Behavioral Health, a leading provider of highly skilled and compassionate behavioral healthcare.

Penn Medicine is committed to improving lives and health through a variety of community-based programs and activities. In fiscal year 2017, Penn Medicine provided $500 million to benefit our community.
In a new study, University of Utah geographers sought to understand the factors fueling hate across space. Their findings paint a rather grim reality of America; hate is a national phenomenon, and more complicated than they imagined.

The researchers mapped the patterns of active hate groups in every U.S. county in the year 2014, and analyzed their potential socioeconomic and ideological drivers.

They found that in all U.S. regions, less education, population change, and ethnic diversity correlated with more hate groups, as did areas with higher poverty rates and more conservative political affiliation. The magnitude of the drivers had regional differences, however. The regional variation of the proposed drivers of hate may be a result of diverse ethnic and cultural histories. One surprising finding is that the geographical region seemed to determine whether religion has a positive or negative relative effect on the number of hate groups for the county.

The U geographers assert that organized hate is motivated by the desire to protect a place from the perceived threats that 'outsiders' pose to identity and socioeconomic security. The contemporary expression, 'hate,' is shaped by the intermingling histories and present-day conditions of a place.

"There is a lot of uncertainty in the country today, and a lot of change. For those involved in hate group activities, they see their actions as a way to secure the future of their people. Unfortunately, that fear turns to hate, and in the worst case, violence," said Richard Medina, assistant professor in the Department of Geography at the U, and senior author of the study.

"Hate is a geographic problem. The ways people hate are based on the cultures, histories, ethnicities and many other factors dependent on place and place perception."

The study published online in the Annals of the American Association of Geographers on Feb. 9, 2018.

A grim reality

"When thinking about hate and place, it really boils down to thinking about identity," said Emily Nicolosi, co-author and doctoral student at the U. "Some people have strong feelings about who belongs, and who doesn't belong in 'their' place. When they see people coming in that they think don't belong, their very identity feels threatened."

A hate group is an organized group or ideology with beliefs or practices that malign an entire class of people due to their immutable characteristics, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). Whether it be their race, gender, religion, ethnicity, disability, or sexual orientation, a hate group expresses prejudice against people with a particular identity. Though hate has always existed, 2016 saw a near-high in the number of hate groups in the United States, according to the SPLC. There is still much to learn about how Americans hate, and why.

The researchers mapped active hate groups for every U.S. county using the SPLC database from 2014. They compared the relationships between these groups with the county's socioeconomic factors, meant to represent diversity, poverty, education level and population stability, and ideological factors, represented as religion and degree of conservativism.

"People hate for different reasons because U.S. regions have different situations and histories. For example, the Northeast is a place of power that may be seen as elitist and well-educated. Is there still hate? Yes. Some of the reasons people hate there are different than in the South, where there's a different history of the Confederacy, of discrimination, and so on," said Nicolosi.

While this is not the first study to quantify hate groups at the county level, it is one of the first to look more regionally and analyze variations in space explicitly. Previous research has focused on why people hate, but all populations are typically analyzed together in a national model. Until now, the drivers of hate have never been differentiated for specific places.

What's next?

Medina and Nicolosi want to analyze the differences between different types of hate groups, and whether hate groups are linked to violent behavior.

"First and foremost, I want our paper to help people understand how much we don't know about hate--hate is not a uniform phenomenon. Hopefully this study motivates people to start asking more questions, especially right now," said Medina. "We have a long way to go before we really understand the drivers and patterns of hate in this country."

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Simon Brewer and Andrew Linke of the Dept. of Geography at the University of Utah also contributed to this study. The paper was published by Taylor & Francis Group.

About Taylor & Francis Group

Taylor & Francis Group partners with researchers, scholarly societies, universities and libraries worldwide to bring knowledge to life. As one of the world's leading publishers of scholarly journals, books, ebooks and reference works our content spans all areas of Humanities, Social Sciences, Behavioural Sciences, Science, and Technology and Medicine.

From our network of offices in Oxford, New York, Philadelphia, Boca Raton, Boston, Melbourne, Singapore, Beijing, Tokyo, Stockholm, New Delhi and Cape Town, Taylor & Francis staff provide local expertise and support to our editors, societies and authors and tailored, efficient customer service to our library colleagues.
DALLAS - Feb. 9, 2018 - Researchers at the Children's Medical Center Research Institute (CRI) at UT Southwestern have discovered that cells in the liver with whole genome duplications, known as polyploid cells, can protect the liver against cancer. The study, published online today in Developmental Cell, addresses a long-standing mystery in liver biology and could stimulate new ideas to prevent cancer.

Most human cells are diploid, carrying only one set of matched chromosomes that contain each person's genome. Polyploid cells carry two or more sets of chromosomes. Although rare in most human tissues, these cells are prevalent in the hearts, blood, and livers of mammals. Polyploidization also increases significantly when the liver is exposed to injury or stress from fatty liver disease or environmental toxins that could cause liver cancer later in life. It is unknown, however, whether these increases in polyploidization have functional importance.

Previous research into the exact function of polyploid liver cells has been limited, in part because it has been difficult to change the number of sets of chromosomes in a cell, or ploidy, without introducing permanent mutations in genes that may also affect other cellular activities, such as division, regeneration, or cancer development. Because of this, there were many ideas as to why the liver is polyploid, but little experimental evidence.

CRI researchers have discovered a new approach.

"Our lab has developed new methods to transiently and reversibly alter ploidy for the first time. This was an important advance because it allowed us to separate the effects of ploidy from the effects of genes that change ploidy. Using these techniques, we were able to show polyploid liver cells protected the liver against cancer formation in the mouse," said Dr. Hao Zhu, Assistant Professor at CRI and a CPRIT scholar in Cancer Research.

Surprisingly, livers with more polyploid cells do not have problems regenerating after various injuries.

These findings challenge a long-held concept that polyploidy is generally a pro-cancer state. They suggest instead it could be an adaptive response within normal liver cells. In humans, cancer develops when genes that suppress cancer, known as tumor suppressors, are lost and when mutations or genes that promote cancer, known as oncogenes, are gained or activated.

"We found polyploidy in liver cells did not strongly affect the activity of some oncogenes, but it did protect against the loss of tumor suppressor genes. When normal diploid cells lose one or both copies of tumor suppressor genes, cancers can form. Polyploid cells, which carry additional copies of important tumor suppressor genes, are better protected and more resistant to cancer formation because they have these extra copies of the genome," said Dr. Zhu, who is also an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern.

Future work in the Zhu lab will focus on the role of polyploidy in a variety of chronic liver diseases that frequently lead to liver cancer.

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The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT), Stand Up To Cancer, the Pollock Foundation, and other donors to the Children's Medical Center Foundation supported this study.

Co-authors from UT Southwestern Medical Center included Shuyuan Zhang, graduate student at CRI; Dr. Kejin Zhou, Instructor at the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center; Dr. Xin Luo, Data Scientist at CRI and in Bioinformatics; Lin Li, Senior Research Scientist at CRI; Dr. Liem Nguyen, former graduate student at CRI; Yu Zhang, Senior Research Associate at CRI; Dr. Purva Gopal, Assistant Professor of Pathology; Dr. Branden Tarlow, Internal Medicine resident; and Dr. Daniel Siegwart, Assistant Professor at the Simmons Cancer Center and of Biochemistry. Dr. Ho-Chou Tu, scientist, and Dr. Alfica Sehgal, Associate Director, both of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, also contributed to the research.

About CRI

Children's Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern (CRI) is a joint venture of UT Southwestern Medical Center and Children's Medical Center Dallas, the flagship hospital of Children's Health. CRI's mission is to perform transformative biomedical research to better understand the biological basis of disease. Located in Dallas, Texas, CRI is home to interdisciplinary groups of scientists and physicians pursuing research at the interface of regenerative medicine, cancer biology, and metabolism. For more information, visit: cri.utsw.edu. To support CRI, visit: cri.utsw.edu/support/
LOGAN, UTAH - With an ever-growing human population and its inherent demand for water, there is a critical need to monitor water resources. New technology could make it more feasible than ever to measure changes in the water flow of rivers.

Tyler King and Bethany Neilson, researchers at Utah State University, have developed a new method to estimate river discharge using aerial imagery gathered from helicopters and drones. Their new study, published Feb. 7 in Water Resources Research, found that aerial imaging can be just as accurate as older, more expensive field methods in some cases.

These alternative methods for monitoring water resources are necessary to continue meeting global water demands while simultaneously easing the impacts of floods and droughts.

"We are headed into uncharted territory as climate change alters water supply and population growth increases demand," said Tyler King, a PhD candidate and co-author of the study. "In the face of these challenges, scientists, engineers and managers around the world are asked to perform the increasingly difficult task of managing water resources with less and less information."

There are a limited and dwindling number of locations where river discharge is measured directly at gauging stations. Establishing and maintaining these stations is expensive and time consuming. As a result, preference is often given to large rivers of significant economic and social importance. Additionally, other remote sensing methods have been developed, but rely on relatively coarse data collected by satellites and, as such, also focus on the larger rivers of the world. As a result, scientists lack a complete view of what is happening in smaller river basins, leaving limited understanding of the processes controlling river water quantity and quality.

King and Neilson's approach aims to fill this data gap by using high resolution aerial imagery to estimate flows at many locations along smaller rivers and streams. This complements both traditional gauging station networks that are tied to a limited number of specific locations along river networks and satellite based remote sensing methods that are used to estimate flows in larger rivers.

Their basic approach uses a unique combination of image processing techniques and hydraulic modeling that limits the amount of data required to estimate river discharge. Their method overlaps aerial images to produce three-dimensional digital elevation models of the river channels. This information is then used within a hydraulic model to approximate the relationship between river discharge and river width. Once these models are built, any following observations of river width -- including satellite imagery, aerial imagery or ground observations -- can be used to estimate river discharge.

"Remote sensing methods like these can significantly improve our ability to understand hydrologic responses to a changing climate in small, ungauged watersheds around the world," said Neilson, an associate professor at USU and co-author of the study.

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Direct Researcher Contact: Bethany Neilson - Associate Professor, Utah State University | bethany.neilson@usu.edu | office: (435) 797-7369

Tyler King - PhD Candidate, Utah State University | tylerking@aggiemail.usu.edu | office: (435) 797-0748

For additional media assistance contact: Grace Michaelson - USU College of Engineering | grace.michaelson@usu.edu | office: (435) 797-8170 | mobile: (702) 524-1070 | engineering.usu.edu | @engineeringUSU
ECBs Mersch urges regulators to pay close attention to Bitcoin

The relief rally in Bitcoin markets continued on Thursday as BTC/USD exchange rate rose above $8500 as the response to the US regulatory meeting in Washington continued to cast a warm glow over the cryptocurrency space.

The big winner by lunchtime in Europe was Bitcoin Cash, an offshoot of Bitcoin, which was up over 20% having breached the $1200 level again before correcting slightly lower.

A regulatory firestorm has engulfed cryptocurrency markets over the last couple of months, pushing the price down over 60% from its highs around $20,000, hitting a low below $6000 this week.

However, some of the fear seems to be ebbiing, helped by the Futures market which seems to have at last found its feet after being in absolute freefall since their inception.

Bitcoin Technicals improve but news still dominates price action

From a technical perspective, Bitcoin has behaved exactly how it was expected to.

A huge spike suggested a huge crash was coming and that is precisely what we got.

Technical analysis has proved to be a hugely profitable way to trade cryptocurrency for many traders, as a lack of fundamental news in the fledgling markets and an intense emotional aspect which accompanies the large price swing has made charting unusually effective when compared to the crowded and machine led equity and FX markets with their stop hunting and predatory algorithms.

The more than halving of Bitcoins market cap certainly appears to have reassured Central Bankers that BTC is less of a risk to the system as a whole. On Wednesday ECB official Yves Mersch was speaking in London, and on the subject of Cryptocurrency he provided a mixed message, suggesting it wasnt a problem yet, but could be a risk to they system in the future,

"Virtual currencies are not money, nor will they be for the foreseeable future, Their market share is still small and their ties to the real economy are still limited. But this can be subject to change. Regulators and legislators at all levels should therefore urgently pay close attention to mitigating the potential risks that could stem from growing virtual currency business,

These are certainly better times for cryptocurrencies, but with a more united regulatory front from global authorities very much on the agenda, it isnt clear how much longer this detente can last for.
South Korea and Switzerland are entering into a bilateral currency swap agreement, it was announced on Friday. The move is aimed at strengthening buffers against external financial shocks for both countries.

The swap agreement enables Korean won and Swiss francs to be purchased and repurchased between the two central banks, up to a limit of KRW11.2 trillion, or CHF10 billion [$10.6 billion], a Swiss National Bank statement said.

The agreement will be formally signed in Zurich on February 20, added the statement, which can also be seen on the Bank of Korea website.

The two banks had enjoyed a constructive exchange of views for many years and that the bilateral swap agreement would further strengthen the collaboration between the two institutions.

South Korea is also expecting good things from the agreement. The currency swap will help stabilise financial markets and raise global credibility [of South Korea], finance minister Kim Dong-yeon told reporters after meeting Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol inSeoul.













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Spain is worried about security on its southern border due to the possible influx of Islamist fighters to West Africa's Sahel region, Spain's foreign minister told AFP in an interview Thursday.

Were concerned about the growing number of people affiliated with Daesh who, having been defeated in Iraq and Syria, are moving their activities to the Sahel and Libya. Its practically at our border, Alfonso Dastis said, using another name for the Islamic State group.

The vast, arid Sahel zone has in recent years become a breeding ground for jihadist groups  some linked to Al-Qaeda and IS  that European nations fear could pose a threat if left unchecked.

The so-called G5 Sahel countries  Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger  have been hit by jihadist attacks that claimed thousands of lives, displaced hundreds of thousands of people, and have crippled local economies and food security.

Its clear that the security situation in Niger and Mali is not improving much, Dastis said.

Spain in December decided to more than double the number of its military personnel in Mali to 292 from 140. They are part of a European force that is training the Malian army.

Dastis said Madrid feared Islamist fighters could take advantage of the yearly mass movement of workers from North Africa through Spain on their way back to their homes in Europe to enter the continent illegally.

Each year millions of people from France, Germany and other northern European countries cross Spain to spend their holidays with family in North Africa.

This is a cause for concern but we do not believe it is necessary to draw a link between terrorism and immigration, he said.

 Spain takes surveillance seriously

To ensure there is no problem Spain takes surveillance issues very seriously when it comes to welcoming refugees and immigrants, the minister added.

Unrest in Libya has caused migrants to increasingly favour the western Mediterranean route to reach Europe, which involves making the sea crossing between North Africa and southern mainland Spain.

Last month 1,287 migrants reached Spain by crossing the Mediterranean, and 75 died in the attempt, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Spain is often accused by rights groups of immediately returning migrants who cross into the tiny Spanish territories of Ceuta and Melilla on the northern coast of Africa back to Morocco without giving them the chance to claim asylum.

But Dastis reiterated the governments argument that migrants who scale the border fences surrounding the two enclaves should not be considered as having reached Spanish territory.

The European Court of Human Rights said last year that Spain violated the rights of two African migrants who scaled the border fence around Melilla in 2014 and swiftly sent back to Morocco.

Migrants who scale the border fence with the aid of hooks often injure themselves on the barbed wire and are beaten back by police, according to images filmed by rights groups.
Robbers posing as plumbers kidnapped the daughter of a cash van driver and demanded the vehicle's contents as ransom in a heist that could have netted them over 20 million euros, investigators said Friday.

The hold-up, resembling the plot of a Hollywood action movie, took place Thursday night near the French-Swiss border.

It began in the early evening in the southeastern French city of Lyon, where two men pretending to be plumbers kidnapped the 22-year-old woman from her apartment, a source close to the investigation told AFP.

The victim told investigators she was bundled into a car and tied up.

She was then forced to telephone her father who works for SOS Surveillance, a Swiss company that transports money between companies and banks in armoured vehicles, to demand a ransom.

The father, who lives in the French border town of Annemasse, was carrying out a cash delivery with a colleague when the call came through, police sources said.

He agreed to meet the kidnappers in a car park just across the border on the Swiss side, to hand over the vans contents, investigators said.

Swiss police said the father was en route to the city of Lausanne when he was forced to exit the motorway and head for the car park, where he was met by black-clad robbers wearing gloves and balaclavas.

 Daughter found by roadside 

There, several armed men who were awaiting the van made him park it. They then held up the delivery drivers, completely emptied the vans contents and fled in a dark-coloured Porsche SUV, Swiss police said in a statement Friday.

A French police source told AFP the van was carrying between 20 and 30 million Swiss francs (17-26 million euros, $21-32 million), but a spokesman for Swiss police in Vaud refused to confirm the amount.

The drivers daughter was found unharmed at around 10 pm (2100 GMT) on a road on the outskirts of Lyon.

She was questioned by police on Friday and said to be still in a state of shock.

We have no reason to question her story, a French source with knowledge of the investigation said, adding that police suspected a criminal gang.

No arrests have been made yet in the probe, which is being led by French police, while Swiss police have launched an appeal for witnesses to come forward.

Swiss police said they were looking for three men with accented French, maybe from the south of France or North Africa, and called on any witnesses to come forward.

Many details remain unexplained, the French source said, adding that the investigation was expected to take some time.

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Engineers at Russia's top nuclear research facility have been detained after they attempted to mine bitcoin on its computers, Russian news agencies reported Friday.

Several employees at the Russian Federal Nuclear Centre in the city of Sarov have been detained after making an attempt to use the work computing facilities for personal ends, including for so-called mining, a spokeswoman for the centre, Tatiana Zalesskaya told Interfax news agency.

Their activities were stopped in time, she added.

The bungling miners have been detained by the competent authorities. As far as I know, a criminal case has been opened regarding them, she added, without saying how many were detained.

The centre is overseen by Rosatom, the Russian nuclear agency, and works on developing nuclear weapons.

Such attempts at our enterprises will be harshly put down, this activity technically has no future and is punishable as a crime, the centres spokeswoman said.

In 2011, the centre switched on a new supercomputer with a capacity of 1 petaflop, which at the time made it the twelfth most powerful in the world, Russian television reported.

During the Cold War, Sarov was a top-secret city in the Nizhny Novgorod region, about 500 kilometres (300 miles) east of Moscow. Its Soviet era name was Arzamas-16.

The centre was the birthplace of the Soviet Unions first nuclear weapons.

Sarov is still a closed city whose inhabitants are subject to travel restrictions.

Vladimir Putin visited the nuclear research centre in 2012 while campaigning for president.
A Lebanese judge on Thursday requested the death sentence for a man accused of sexually assaulting and killing British embassy worker Rebecca Dykes late last year.

Tarek Hawshiya, a 30-year-old Lebanese, was arrested on December 18 in connection with the murder.

The driver with ride-hailing giant Uber admitted at the time to strangling Dykes after trying to rape her.

On Thursday, the Lebanese judge tasked with investigating the crime recommended the death sentence for Hawshiya.

Judge Hanna Braidi accused Hawshiya of raping British diplomat Rebecca Dykes and killing her in the neighbourhood of Achrafieh in Beirut in a premeditated and deliberate act.

The case will now be sent to Lebanons criminal court for trial.

Capital punishment is legal in Lebanon, but there has been an effective moratorium in place since 2004, without any executions carried out despite judgements to that effect.

Dykes was last seen alive on the night of December 15 at a party in Gemmayzeh, a Beirut neighbourhood popular with foreign residents.

According to Braidis investigation, she got into Hawshiyas vehicle shortly after midnight. The car drove through Achrafieh, then stopped on a roadside shortly before 1:00 am.

Dykess body was found dumped on that roadside on December 16.

Dykes was employed by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) in Beirut.

On Wednesday, the UK announced an annual scholarship established in her name for a female Lebanese or Palestinian residing in Lebanon to pursue a graduate degree in the UK.

Such crime is rare in Beirut, a city which is considered generally safe, including for tourists and foreign residents.
The daughter of a British hostage murdered by the notorious Islamic State group kidnapping cell nicknamed "The Beatles" called Friday for the last two members, now captured, to face justice.

Alexanda Amon Kotey and El Shafee el-Sheikh, both from Britain, were captured in January in eastern Syria by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.

The IS jihadist group cell was behind a series of videotaped beheadings.

Bethany Haines, whose aid worker father David was killed in 2014 after being held captive for 18 months, said she hoped the pairs detention could bring some closure to bereaved families.

The first thought was relief, finally to know that the people that were involved in my dads murder have been caught and will sort of serve some justice, she told ITV television.

She said she wanted them to be locked up with the key thrown away.

Britains Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson told The Times newspaper: These are people who have done absolutely vile and despicable crimes and brought absolutely so much misery.

It is good that they have been hunted down and caught.

French journalist Nicolas Henin, who was held captive by Islamic State for 10 months, demanded the men be brought to justice.

This is the beginning of a process that will bring them eventually, hopefully, to a trial, he told Sky News.

Guantanamo is a denial of justice. What I want is a trial and a trial potentially that I can attend, so rather, a trial in London rather than one in Kobani in northern Syria.

The Daily Telegraph newspaper said it understood that Britain would not hinder any moves to extradite the pair to the United States.

Sources told the broadsheet that there was little desire among ministers to repatriate them to Britain.

Shiraz Maher, Deputy Director of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation at Kings College London, said that IS losing territory did not mean they were no longer a threat.

The capture of these men is hugely significant because very few high profile IS targets have actually been caught, he said.

These men will have important intelligence about the fates of Western hostages in their custody, including some who remain captives of Islamic State.

European foreign fighters very much remain a part of this organisation and continue to play a role in the next phase of its mutation as it reverts back to its insurgent roots.

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Two British Islamic State fighters, members of a kidnapping cell dubbed "The Beatles" that was notorious for videotaping beheadings, have been captured in Syria, a US defense official confirmed Thursday.

The two members of the group who had still been in the field, Alexanda Amon Kotey and El Shafee el-Sheikh, both from Britain, were captured in January in eastern Syria by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.

The pair are believed to have participated in the detention, exploitation and execution of Western detainees, the official said in a statement.

The two were also believed to have acted as guards and interpreters involved in ISIS illegal captivity of Western hostages, and are thought to have links to the British terrorist often called Jihadi John, the official said.

Last year, the US State Department said the London-born Kotey had likely taken part in executions and used exceptionally cruel torture methods, including electric shock and waterboarding, while guarding the groups captives.

Among the other two members of the Beatles group, Mohammed Emwazi  Jihadi John  was killed in 2015 in a drone strike by the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group.

The fourth member of the gang, Aine Davis, is being held in Turkey.

Emwazi was the groups leader, gaining notoriety for using a knife to kill hostages in a string of beheadings that were videotaped and posted on the internet, generating outrage against the IS group but also inspiring similar acts by the extremists.

His victims included US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, Japanese journalist Kenji Goto, and British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning.

Overall, the group handled more than 20 foreign hostages during the 2014-2015 period, earning a reported millions of dollars in ransom payments.

Hostages who survived reported being beaten, shocked by Tasers, and undergoing waterboardings at the hands of the group.

It was the hostages who gave them their nickname The Beatles, after the legendary rock group, for their British accents.

 Hundreds of foreign-born fighters 

The US official did not give any information on the condition of the two or what would happen to them.

El-Shafee el-Sheikh and Kotey represent a small portion of the hundreds of foreign-born ISIS terrorists from several nations who have been taken off the battlefield by Syrian Democratic Forces in eastern Syria since October 2017, the official said, requesting anonymity.

The British foreign ministry declined to confirm the capture.

We dont comment on individual cases or ongoing investigations, a spokesperson said.

The SDF last year turned over another English-speaking IS captive to the US forces. While his name remains secret, he has been identified as a native-born American with Saudi dual nationality.

The US Justice Department says they have considered transferring him to a third country  presumably Saudi Arabia  while US civil rights lawyers are battling to have his case transferred to US civilian courts.

President Donald Trump has said that Islamist fighters captured on the battlefield in Syria and Iraq, including Americans, could be sent to the US military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Last week he reversed an order by his predecessor Barack Obama to close the Guantanamo prison, which still holds 41 people.

Most of them were captured in Afghanistan following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. The prison has not received any new inmates since 2008.

I am asking Congress to ensure that in the fight against ISIS and Al-Qaeda, we continue to have all necessary power to detain terrorists wherever we chase them down, wherever we find them, and in many cases for them, it will now be Guantanamo Bay, Trump said during his State of the Union Speech on January 30.
Cheniere Energy announced Friday that it has struck two long-term deals to sell liquefied natural gas to Chinas state-controlled oil and gas giant.

The Houston-based energy company will sell about 1.2 million tons of LNG a year to PetroChina International Co., a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation, as part of two sale agreements that extend through 2043. Shipments will begin this year and ramp up in 2023.

In a statement, Cheniere president and CEO Jack Fusco called China one of the largest and fastest growing LNG markets worldwide. The country has recently accelerated a shift from coal to natural gas in an effort to address a air pollution crisis in many of its urban areas.

Cheniere is working to open its terminal at the Port of Corpus Christi, which will support the deals with China. The company has begun construction on two liquefaction facilities there, and its planning to build a third if it secures enough sale contracts.

So far, Cheniere is the only company to have shipped LNG from U.S. shale fields abroad, all from its LNG plant and terminal in Sabine Pass, Louisiana. The first tanker sailed last year. Its now expanding that complex to support more production and exports.

We expect these agreements to support the development of Corpus Christi Train 3, and we are now focused on completing the remaining necessary steps to reach a final investment decision later this year, Fusco said.

U.S. Department of Energy said last month that the nation could become a net exporter of natural gas this year for the first time since 1957 as a result of the so-called shale boom that has unlocked vast reserve of natural gas in West Texas. The U.S. now ships LNG to at least 20 foreign markets.

Freeport LNG and Kinder Morgan are scheduled to begin exporting liquefied natural gas later this year. Several other companies, including Sempra Energy, are working on projects expected to start up in the coming years.

The Cheniere project is part of $50 billion in construction and investment happening in and around the port - all projects announced in the years after shale oil was first discovered in the field just north of Corpus Christi, the Eagle Ford Shale.
Government contractor Noblis, a research and technology nonprofit, is looking to expand in San Antonio  home to the 24th Air Force Cyber Command, the University of Texas at San Antonio and outposts of several federal agencies.

The group plans to expand its staff of 21 in San Antonio to about 125 over the next few years, said Mike Cameron, director of cybersolutions at Noblis. The Virginia-based contractor is hoping to grow its work in San Antonio around artificial intelligence, data science and cybersecurity, he said.

Its just a goal  not a commitment  but over the next two to three years, wed like to build a technology business down there thats maybe 100, 125 people, Cameron said. Wed be thrilled if it was more than that, but I think if we can get to 125 people over the next three years, that will be growth that we can manage.

The groups current staff in San Antonio primarily works on environmental science projects.

Noblis may transfer some employees to the area, but the contractor hopes to hire the vast majority of them in San Antonio, Cameron said.

We have a cyber and data science center of gravity in our company, Cameron said. San Antonio bills itself as Cyber City USA, so theres that part alone, but the real reason is that the business ecosystem down there very closely mirrors the Washington, D.C., area.

The universities and government organizations here who all buy what we do, make San Antonio attractive, said Cameron, who also noted the way the municipal and county and state government get behind the tech industry and support it.

Cameron said he was very confident that the company would start hiring in San Antonio this year.

It really depends on how quickly we can begin building business in San Antonio, he said, but he also said Noblis is very encouraged by the reception its had from several government agencies in San Antonio.

And its in the process of working out a research agreement with the UTSA that will allow us to collaborate fairly broadly with the university in a number of technology areas, Cameron said.

Noblis has also already given UTSA a letter saying its interested in participating in its future National Security Collaboration Center, Cameron said. UTSA is planning for the center to be a place to advance research, education and workforce development in the areas of cybersecurity, data analytics and cloud computing, according to its website.

When Cameron was hired on at Noblis to grow a cyberbusiness, he was asked where the major cybermarkets are, to which he says he answered: San Antonio, Fort Gordon in Georgia and Huntsville, Alabama.

We talked it through and it seemed clear to us that for what we wanted to do, and the time frame that we had, that San Antonio was a more mature and receptive market than the other two, Cameron said.

Noblis describes itself as a nonprofit organization with  the highest caliber of scientific and technical excellence. Our work makes an impact on the civil, defense and intelligence missions that ensure our nations vitality and security.

The news was reported earlier by the San Antonio Business Journal.
Valentines Day is just around the corner, and that means everything from balloons to sweet treats and candy boxes comes shaped into hearts.

Here at Chucks Food Shack, we prefer to take hearts for what they are: a decent cut of beef or chicken that can turn delicious on the grill.

Instead of looking at the blood-pumping organ as the grossest thing ever consumed raw on Game of Thrones, consider this: heart is almost pure muscle, and when trimmed correctly, it has a lot more in common with a meaty steak than an organ meat like kidneys or liver. And heart is packed with protein, B vitamins and has compounds that fight wrinkles and the affects of aging.

Its not as confronting as something like tripe (stomach) or other weird things that can be found in a meat case, said Jess Pryles, an Austin-based author of the soon-to-be-released book Hardcore Carnivore: Cook Meat Like You Mean It. I like to look at it as the gateway meat of the offal. It has a surprisingly mild taste.

Now Playing: In a Valentine's Day edition of Chuck's food shack, Chuck grills up some beef and chicken hearts. Video: San Antonio Express-News

And she means that in the best possible way.

Heart meat is inexpensive because most people are afraid to eat it. Chicken hearts are usually priced at a buck per pound, while meaty beef hearts (often sold quartered) will run you about $2 per pound. Its often grouped together in the meat case with other oddities like chicken feet, calf livers, beef cheeks, turkey necks and ham hocks.

Globally though, heart meat is embraced. In South America, most notably in Peru, it is usually sliced into chunks and soaked in a panca chile paste marinade. Beef heart kebabs, known as anticuchos, are a regular snack on the go that are often featured in street celebrations and cooked on recycled gasoline drums.

Its a huge part of the culture, said Geronimo Lopez, executive chef at Botika and a native of Caracas, Venezuela.

Once you get enough courage to cook with beef hearts, often labeled locally as corazon de res, the key is to give it a thorough cleaning first. Thick chunks of fat that have a hard plastic consistency surround the cuts, and that all needs to come off, because it will not render. The artery and veiny looking areas that are exposed once you slice the meat in half need to go too, along with the thin layers of silverskin.

The trimming process takes some time, a good 20-30 minutes per chunk, but once you are done, something magical happens: they stop looking like an oddity and take on the appearance of steak that can be easily sliced into medallions. An overnight milk bath can cut down on the gaminess of the meat, and a good marinade will go a long way, too.

Lopez says the proper way to cook beef heart is hot and fast (just a few minutes per side) on the grill to medium temperature, and hes right. Anything beyond that will make the meat too tough to eat. The chunks of meat off the skewer should slice easily, with a slightly pink interior and an unmistakably beefy taste.

Lopez put anticuchos on his Botika menu throughout his first year at The Pearl, and has plans to offer it again when the time is right, maybe as early as this summer.

Its not such an exotic meat, when you consider this community is already familiar with eating things like barbacoa, tripas and menudo, Lopez said. We tend to draw a clientele with adventurous palates, and it sold pretty well.

Chicken hearts are more of an Asian staple consumed from Thailand to Taiwan, where they are also typically grilled on sticks and served as snacks. In Japan, its called the yakitori method, and the food is often sold out of small handcarts in high-traffic areas.

A package of chicken hearts out of the local meat case requires almost no preparation. They come trimmed and most of the clotted blood is removed.

Simply toss them in a simple teriyaki marinade, and skewer them up for a quick grill and they are good to go. The bite-size morsels taste a lot like thigh meat, but visually, theres no hiding the fact that you are consuming a heart.

I think people are worried that its a tough cut of meat, but the smaller the animal, the more tender, Pryles said. Chicken hearts are nowhere near as tough as beef heart, and you can cook them with various styles.

So when its time to spice things up from those everyday meat options, consider having some heart. Literally.

cblount@express-news.net | Twitter: @chuck_blount | Instagram: bbqdiver
An unfinished draft audit report on the Alamo  perhaps the latest political volley surreptitiously fired in a heated race for Texas land commissioner  has renewed concerns that the future of the Texas shrine has gotten mired in bureaucracy.

While it reads like an incomplete report, the September 2017 draft by the Texas General Land Offices internal audit division has definite conclusions in some areas.

It suggests the Land Office reconsider the nonprofit structure at the Alamo, saying the current situation obscures the control of the funds.

The report echoes concerns raised by legislators that the state agencys creation of three separate nonprofits to aid the Alamo is confusing. The San Antonio Express-News discovered that one of those nonprofits recently wrote a check to another for more than $65,000 to correct an accounting error.

It also says the state agency and Alamo Trust, the nonprofit that handles daily operations at the Texas shrine, have not met some contractual requirements. Those include timely submission of monthly financial documents, a museum policy and a written management plan that includes current and projected number of employees, staff management structure, budget, etc.

These components exist in various documents, although not as part of an overall plan, according to the draft, which first appeared in the Austin American-Statesman.

A doctored document?

Land Commissioner George P. Bush, who faces three opponents, including his predecessor, Jerry Patterson, in the March 6 GOP primary, said the report was doctored before being leaked to media outlets. The Land Office has reported the leak to the Texas Department of Public Safety. A DPS spokesman said special agents were contacted last week about the tampering allegations, which are under review.

The Daughters of the Republic of Texas, a womens lineage organization, served as Alamo custodians from 1905 to 2011, then daily operations contractor until Bush terminated the groups contract in 2015. The Alamo Trust uses state funds, as the DRT did, to run the site, but does not have its own funds or other assets, the draft audit says.

This is an unusual situation that has created complexity and a lack of clarity regarding the nature and the use of the funds used for Alamo operations, it states.

Legislators have directed Bush to streamline and simplify the Alamos nonprofit oversight structure  not only at the 4.2-acre historic complex, but also in an ambitious public-private effort to enlarge and improve the mission and battle site with an Alamo master plan expected to cost some $450 million to implement in the next six years.

Bush declined to say how the draft audit was changed, citing a criminal investigation.

I cant really comment on the document  but we do have evidence it was a doctored memo, he said Friday.

GLO Press Secretary Brittany Eck said that in addition to the draft audit, there's evidence that other documents were leaked, including one might have had staffers personal information. Whole sections of the original draft report have been deleted or added to, Eck said.

We see this as a gross violation of the Alamo because here we are, we are trying to bring the Alamos operations into this modern century, she said, adding later: We have individuals who are clearly trying to politicize this for political gain.

As an example of passages that are amiss, Eck pointed to speculative questions under a recommendation heading. One asks about the structure and funding model of the Alamo Trust, formerly known as Alamo Complex Management, or ACM.

Will this endanger the tax exempt status of ACM, since it will be receiving revenues for services? Will it be subject to UBIT? says a copy of the report obtained by the Express-News, presumably referring to the federal Unrelated Business Income Tax.

Actual GLO audits are clear and straightforward, not speculative or expressed in question form, particularly in the recommendation sections, Eck said. As for portions of the report that are authentic, Eck said the Land Office hired a new chief financial officer for the Alamo in December and has begun implementing recommendations. The draft audit has been under internal review and could be released in final form in the spring, she said.

She acknowledged that the public-private structure of the Alamo, not to mention the Land Offices partnership and committee structure with the city of San Antonio and nonprofit Alamo Endowment to execute a master plan, are complicated for those not familiar with them. Some state lawmakers have said they even would like the Alamos roughly 100-member staff employed directly by the Land Office to provide more oversight.

On Thursday, Bush defended the public-private structure, saying its similar to those that manage other historic battlefields and is the best model.

Its still complicated. Through a Texas Public Information Act request, the Express-News last week obtained an electronic scan of a check for $65,078.42 from the Remember the Alamo Foundation to the Alamo Trust, for reimbursement of personnel expenses from October through December 2017.

The foundation was formed to raise funds for the Alamo and its long-term master plan. It and the trust are subsidiaries of the Alamo Endowment and have their own staffs and salary expenses.

Jeff Gordon, chief counsel for the Land Office, said the $65,078.42 check corrected an error by Alamo finance staff members who had mistakenly paid foundation employees out of funds from the trust, then sought reimbursement from the state to the foundation.

Then, in the months that followed, reimbursements should not have included two foundation employees on the replenishment requests to the state since the foundation does not receive state dollars. The error was discovered in December.

The Alamo finance department should never have included those two employees on the replenishment request to the state, Gordon said. They have been instructed, Don't do this.

On Dec. 20, the board of the Alamo Trust voted to voluntarily open its meetings, held every three or four months, to the public, with meeting notices posted 48 hours in advance. In response to criticism from state Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, Alamo CEO Douglass McDonald said the trust will post notices at least 72 hours prior to meetings to comply with standards of the Texas Open Meetings Act.

Bryan Preston, Land Office communications director, said the agency has had to adapt to change at the Alamo and pursued the audit to ensure best practices.

We inherited a mess at the Alamo, Preston said. We've been building this plane as we've been flying it for three years.

shuddleston@express-news.net

Twitter: @shuddlestonSA
AUSTIN  Executives from several companies getting millions of dollars in contracts to rebuild homes damaged by Hurricane Harvey gave thousands to Land Commissioner George P. Bushs re-election fund within days of the contracts being signed.

More than a dozen Horne LLP executives gave a total of $27,500 in political contributions to Bush just three days after the company signed a $13.47 million contract to assist with financial oversight and other administrative duties of federal and state Harvey recovery funds.

In October, James W. Turner Construction won a $20 million contract from the General Land Office to rebuild homes. A month earlier, James Turner, the president and CEO of the company, donated $5,000 to Bushs re-election campaign.

A few months later, Windstorm Mitigation, a Florida-based company, signed a $9 million contract to install and maintain temporary housing units. But just over two weeks before the contract was signed on Dec. 15, Ken Cashin, the companys president, gave $2,500 to Bush.

None of the contributors from the three companies have given money to other Texas politicians. In 2013, Turner donated $3,000 to Bush.

There are no state laws that prohibit donations from employees of state contractors, but some watchdogs say the donations raise questions about the influence of money in politics.

The timing  if you take it just before or just after  looks bad both ways, especially if these are people who havent given before and havent given to other state officials. It looks like quid pro quo, said Andrew Wheat with Texans for Public Justice, a group that tracks political spending.

Ash Wright, Bushs political director, dismissed any suggestion of any conflict of interest.

This is the biggest non-story in the history of non-stories, he said. Yes, businesses support Commissioner Bush, as they do other conservative candidates.

Miguel Suazo, a Democrat vying for Bushs seat, suggested Bush should send the money back. The Texas Democratic Party characterized the donations as Bush (lining) his pockets.

Everyone knows this stinks. Any way you slice it, an exchange of money for government contracts is never good, said Manny Garcia, the Democratic Party executive director.

The Texas Tribune first reported the donations made by the Horne executives Friday, and the Houston Chronicle found two additional companies whose executives donated to Bush.

Bush is in the midst of a re-election campaign against three other Republicans, including former Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, who has strongly criticized Bushs response to Hurricane Harvey.

Wright said the real story is that Bush cleaned up his predecessors practice of routinely handing out no-bid contracts.

But Patterson said appearance is an issue with the contributions.

The contributions dont bother me as much as he is simply not doing his job, Patterson said, noting that Bush has traveled to San Francisco; Washington, D.C.; and other cities for fundraising events.

Wheat, the fiscal watchdog, said the donations undermine faith in government.

It would not be worth taking that amount of money to lose that amount of credibility, Wheat said.
AUSTIN  Land Commissioner George P. Bush briefly appeared to break ranks with Gov. Greg Abbott on whether a special session is needed to dip into the rainy day fund and address the big needs lingering from Hurricane Harvey.

But Bush quickly backtracked, saying in a statement that he obviously misspoke in a discussion with the editorial board of The Eagle in Bryan-College Station.

The Eagle reported Sunday that Bush talked about recovery efforts for Hurricane Harvey and that he stated, The Legislature needs to take a deep look at the Rainy Day Fund. We need a special session, and the governor needs to call it.

Abbott, however, months ago said a special session wont be needed, even though lawmakers dont convene in regular session until January 2019.

The state has been allocating money for the disaster, and lawmakers can vote for a supplemental spending measure in 2019, including. potentially taking money from the multibillion-dollar rainy day fund.

We wont need a special session for this. We have smartly provided a lot of resources at my disposal to be able to address the needs between now and the time the next session will begin and we have smartly kept a lot of money in our rainy day fund that we will be able to tap into as needed going forward, Abbott said months ago.

Bush, who is heading housing recovery efforts, put himself back in line with his fellow Republican in a Monday statement.

I clearly misspoke. I agree that calling a special session is not necessary. I will continue to work under Gov. Abbotts leadership as we help Texans throughout the hurricane recovery process, Bush said.

pfikac@express-news.net | Twitter: @pfikac
Bob Owen, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

The San Antonio Fire Department's actions in battling a blaze at a Northwest Side strip mall last May contributed to the death of firefighter Scott Deem and the injury of two of his colleagues, according to a state report.

The death and injuries "were completely preventable," the Texas State Fire Marshall's Office said in a report Friday.
AUSTIN  Donald Trump Jr. waded into the contested Texas Land Commissioner race Tuesday, backing Republican incumbent George P. Bush over his main challenger who was critical of Trump during the 2016 presidential contest.

Elections are about choices, Trump Jr. tweeted, adding that Bush endorsed and campaigned for Trump. His opponent attacked Trump and urged him quit the race. Texas conservatives have a clear choice: Bush for Texas Land Commissioner.

Bush touted the endorsement, saying in a statement he has 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.

The primary for land commissioner is among the most competitive statewide races this cycle. The most formidable challenger is Jerry Patterson, who preceded Bush as land commissioner and jumped into the race alleging mismanagement of the Alamo redevelopment project.

Patterson had knocked Trump during his presidential bid and at one point urged the businessman to drop out of the race. Patterson said Tuesday, however, his feelings have changed.

Trump has done a much better job than I expected, said Patterson, whose son, Lt. Col. Travis Patterson, now pilots the helicopter used to fly the president.

The primary is March 6. Bush is leading the fundraising race, but Patterson says he expects to win in a run-off. Patterson raised just $18,000 in the last three weeks, compared to the $180,000 Bush reportedly brought in. Bush now has roughly $3 million in the back, according to his campaign. Two other Republicans are also in the race, Davey Edwards and Rick Range.

Bush, the nephew of former president George W. Bush and grandson of former president George H.W. Bush, wasnt always on team Trump. At first, he campaigned for his father, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who Trump relentlessly mocked on the trail, often calling him low energy. After Bush dropped out of the presidential race, George P. Bush eventually backed Trump, breaking with his father.

Bush hasnt asked President Trump for his endorsement and as of now, no members of the family are scheduled to campaign with Bush, the campaign said.

Allie Morris is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. | amorris@express-news.net | @MorrisReports
Things started out well enough between Lyle Larson and Greg Abbott.

In Feb. 2015, just a few weeks after Abbott took over as governor, Larson, the San Antonio-based District 122 state representative, welcomed the stylistic contrast between Abbott and his brash predecessor, Rick Perry.

Larson said the humility Abbott has brought (to the office) is refreshing. He also praised the governors willingness to pull the plug on the Emerging Technology Fund and reform the Texas Enterprise Fund, two programs often derided as pay-to-play slush funds for Perrys political donors.

By January 2017, Larson had cooled considerably on Abbott, stating that he found parts of last years State of the State speech very demeaning, very condescending.

Larsons perspective changed because he watched with alarm as Abbott instituted what looked very much like a pay-to-play system of his own. In an op-ed for the McAllen Monitor last July, Larson pointed to the fact that gubernatorial appointees had donated more than $8.6 million to the governors campaigns and that more than 70 of Abbotts appointees had made donations in excess of $2,500 since 2013.

In 2017, Larson filed HB 3305, a bill designed to end what he called the most egregious ethics problem facing our state, by prohibiting the governor from appointing any donors who contributed more than $2,500 to the governors campaign in the previous year. That bill sailed through the House, but never even made it to a Senate committee.

Thats the backdrop for the feud between these two Texas Republicans, a feud that hit a crescendo Monday when Abbott endorsed a little-known GOP primary challenger, Hollywood Park Mayor Chris Fails, against Larson, a four-term incumbent lawmaker so popular among local Republicans that he went unchallenged in his last three primary races. (Abbott has also endorsed the opponents of two other GOP ethics-reform champions in the Texas House: Sarah Davis and Wayne Faircloth.)

The endorsement announcement adds weight to Larsons allegation that Abbott vetoed five of the six bills Larson passed last year just to get payback for the state reps ethics-reform effort.

Abbott has tried to dress up his animus as something more profound: a stand against someone he defines as a traitor to the conservative cause. Larson went on KTSA Tuesday and suggested that Abbott endorsed Fails without knowing much about the Hollywood Park mayor.

Sure enough, the next day Abbott went on the station and totally avoided the subject of Fails, simply explaining his endorsement by calling Larson a liberal who should call himself the Democrat that he is.

If Larson is a liberal, hes had a funny way of showing it for the past 28 years.

Hes a fiscal conservative so obsessive that he refused a pay raise while serving on Bexar County Commissioners Court and took home $48,000 a year while his colleagues made $108,000.

His zeal for small government (and distaste for bureaucratic inefficiency) is such that he has long made the quixotic case for a consolidation of our local county and city governments. He hates income taxes so much that he pushed, during his 2008 congressional campaign in U.S. District 23, for a Fair Tax, which would replace income taxes with a national sales tax. He also wants to abolish the states General Land Office.

Larson is a conservative in the classic, Barry Goldwater sense. He has little time for social crusading or political moralizing. (Keep in mind that Goldwater once warned that when preachers get control of the GOP, its going to be a terrible damn problem.)

Abbott, like Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, was more than happy to waste special-session time last year on a bill dictating which restrooms transgender individuals should use, an anti-conservative example of big-government encroachment if ever there was one. He also pushed to impose caps on municipal revenues and force local police officers to assume the roles of immigration officers.

Abbott declared ethics reform an emergency item for the Legislature last year, but chafed at reform when it came knocking on his own door. He talks about his commitment to education, but has done nothing to solve the structural funding problems with the states school system.

Like him or not, Larson always has stood for something. Three years into his gubernatorial tenure, Abbott is defined by the hollowness of his record. He is a bland chief executive more consumed with settling scores, pandering to extremists and protecting his fiefdom than addressing the true needs of this state.

ggarcia@express-news.net

@gilgamesh470
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A campaign called 'Disease? Not On My Farm!' has been launched to educate farmers about vaccine storage in fridges, and the correct internal temperatures that should be used.

Farmers are being urged to check their farm fridge temperature after new research by MSD Animal Health shows fridges are often not storing vaccines were able to maintain the correct internal temperature of between 2C and 8C.

In addition, a subsequent survey of farmers showed that only around half knew the correct temperature for vaccine storage, showing there is a lack of knowledge surrounding standard procedures.

Failing to maintain the correct fridge storage temperature compromises vaccine effectiveness and consequently animal health.

Farmers are urged to speak to their vet for more advice

In a significant number of farm fridges monitored, the temperature was elevated to 8C for long periods of time, with the maximum fridge temperature recorded being 24C.

In the worst cases, over 60% of fridges had been at 0C or below 0C long enough for vital contents to freeze.

When the temperature is too high, vaccines become ineffective. If frozen, the vaccine is destroyed.

Paul Williams, MSD Animal Health UK technical manager for ruminants, explains why its important vaccines are kept within the correct temperature range.

This research shows we have work to do in educating customers about how to store vaccines and I encourage all farmers to check their farm fridge temperatures, Mr Williams explained.

To promote better practice, weve launched an awareness campaign called Fridge Check to educate farmers on the importance of storing vaccines correctly.

The campaign is being promoted by Disease? Not On My Farm!, an initiative helping farmers take a more proactive approach to preventing disease on farm.
The SNP government has been accused of a dereliction of duty after it emerged that no planning has been carried out into a post-Brexit farm payment system for Scotland.

Scottish Ministers have insisted that all powers over agriculture must return to Scotland after the UK leaves the EU.

Defra Secretary Michael Gove explained during a visit to Scotland at the weekend that farm payments will continue at the current level until the end of this parliament in 2022, and has said it will be for Holyrood to decide how that money will be spent north of the border.

However, a Scottish Government response issued following a Freedom of Information request from the Scottish Conservatives has confirmed that no modelling has been carried out.

Shadow Rural Economy and Connectivity Secretary Peter Chapman asked in the chamber and during committee sessions what plans are being made for a post-Brexit payment system in Scotland.

'Dereliction of duty'

Mr Chapman, a north east region MSP, said the Scottish Conservatives have asked "time and again" what the SNP plan is for a post-Brexit farm payment system.

We have heard nothing from the Cabinet Secretary. I am absolutely astonished that it is now clear that no such plan exists, because the government has not done any modelling, Mr Chapman explained.

Given the vociferous demands from Scottish Ministers for full control over agriculture, our farmers need to know how any future payment system for Scotland will work.

It is time for the SNP to put their cards on the table. This failure to plan ahead is a dereliction of duty to farmers across the country.

'Fairer'

Edward Mountain MSP, Scottish Conservative chair of the Rural Economy Committee, said the UK leaves the EU in March next year and the farming industry needs some certainty on the subsidy model.

The Scottish Conservatives have made clear that Brexit offers an opportunity to create a new system that is fairer and better suited to Scotlands farmers, he said.

We have great strength and depth in the Scottish Conservative team here at Holyrood. We understand agriculture, unfortunately it seems that Fergus Ewing does not.

'Hypocrisy'

A spokesperson for Scottish Rural Affairs Secretary Fergus Ewing accused the Conservatives of "astonishing hypocrisy".

He said: They should cut out the chaos and infighting and instead give Scotlands farmers and crofters the total clarity they need and deserve.

Mr Ewing has also described Brexit as the "greatest threat" to Scottish agriculture.

He said that leaving the European Union presents Scottish farming with an "unprecedented challenge."
The UK is entering a "golden era" with China following a three-day trade mission which has been hailed a "great success" in terms of export opportunities.

An agreement to progress lifting the BSE ban on British beef exports to China was announced on the first day of the three-day visit, as well as an agreement to allow exports of a broader range of dairy products.

High quality and safety will help British products make their mark on the all-important Chinese market, according to AHDBs Chief Executive Officer  who accompanied the Prime Minister on a trade delegation to China last week.

Jane King said the trade mission, which achieved over 9 billion in potential export sales of UK products and services overall, marked a major milestone in unlocking the full potential of this important market.

'Golden era'

This visit can be viewed as a huge success for all involved, said Ms King.

According to the Prime Minister, China and UK relations are entering a golden era in terms of trade and it is an exciting time for the countrys farming industry as we look at future export opportunities.

Britain has a fantastic global reputation and is renowned for high standards of food quality and safety as well as animal welfare, which is of great importance to Chinese consumers.

Therefore, it is vital that we continue to build on this positive trade visit to unlock the full potential for our producers here in the UK.

Pork to malting barley

During the visit, the trade mission highlighted the availability of British produce to Chinese food manufacturers and processors.

British government officials held meetings with members of the Chinese government and other industry leaders where products ranging from pork to malting barley were discussed.

Ms King raised the urgency of lifting the beef ban with both Theresa May and International Trade Secretary Liam Fox  clearing the way for detailed discussions and the completion of a five-step process to open the Chinese market to British beef.

The visit comes after years of collaboration across industry to demonstrate equivalence of animal health and hygiene standards.

'Prosperous relationship'

Agreements are already in place to export pork from the UK to China and a further two processing plants have recently received approval to export pigs trotters.

Pork exports to China began in 2012 and grew to 74 million by 2016, with UK exports to the country growing at a faster rate than anywhere else in the world last year.

The UK also has a licence to export malting barley used in brewing to China, as it has a significant quality advantage over other nations.

Ms King added: These are great examples of how trade can mutually benefit the British and Chinese industries. AHDB has made substantial progress to facilitate greater business for agricultural products with China and we will continue to play a key role in steering future discussions to build a more prosperous relationship in the future.






By Joyoti Mahanta

With inputs from Anuja Premika By Joyoti MahantaWith inputs from Anuja Premika

Next Story : Asian Paints Royal Glitz Is All About Luxury

From sagging jowls and fine lines to stubborn fat deposits, the right dermal procedures to fix every problem are out there. But if your only break away from work is the drive home from the office, taking the time to go through medical procedures to rid yourself of these imperfections might feel like a luxury beyond reach. Enter the concept of lunchtime procedures  easy, effective and most importantly, super quick. Lunchtime procedures dont require you to take the day off, neither do they eat into your work hours. These are treatments that take just a few minutes and require almost no downtime to address these concerns. From lasers that even out pigmentation to dry ice than can zap acne from within, here are the popular procedures from this year that you could consider getting.Evened out skin tone and resolution of pigmentation issuesCLEARLIFTThis virtually painless, non-ablative approach to laser skin resurfacing uses 1064 Q-Switched laser technology and works on pigments and collagen. It can be used on your face, decollete, hands and neck. The laser penetrates deep beneath the skin, bypassing the epidermis and thus not wounding it. It works on big pores and addresses issues of pigmentation. It is mostly opted for by people with minimal sun damage. It also serves as a quick brightening or rejuvenation session before a special occasion, says Dr Sharad. It uses a fractionated laser, meaning that it creates tiny zones called pixels that need to be worked on, leaving healthy sections of skin untouched. It is this process that makes sure that your skin recovered from the procedure in no time. Additionally, this also allows for natural collagen stimulation so your body can take over the anti-aging process.Since its laser and involves very high energy, it is a very operator-dependent procedure. If the dermat performing it is not very skilled and doesnt have enough understanding of all skin types, there could be burns.20 minutes per sessionIf you just need brightening, one session will do. But if you are treating pigmentation, then you need a session every six weeks, and six sessions in total.Rs.7,000 to Rs.8,000 per sessionSkin tightening, fat dissolving, minimal body contouringEXILISThis non-surgical procedure could be the answer to the question, Why doesnt my fat just melt away? Exilis uses radiofrequency waves to go deep into the dermis exerting energy to dissolve fat cells. It is essentially a heat treatment that works to tighten skin, close pores, and help with body contouring, explains renowned Mumbai-based cosmetic dermatologist and CEO of Skinfiniti Skin & Laser Clinic, Dr Jaishree Sharad. The heat is controlled, about 80C, and stimulates collagen, spearing the epidermis, to plump and smoothen the skin. This FDA-approved procedure works well on the jawline to address double chins, the under-eye area, cheeks and the neck, and is also very helpful in tightening the upper and lower abdomen and thighs, as well as the underarm area, adds Dr Navin Taneja, Director and chief dermatologist, The National Skin Centre, New Delhi. The treatment is ideal for you if you wish to refrain from procedures as extreme as liposuction or facelifts, but want a quick fix in targeted parts of your body. You will experience a warm sensation during this procedure, but the radiofrequency machine monitors the temperature to make sure it never gets too hot to cause you any discomfort.There are no known side-effects, Theres no down-time, swelling, redness, or intensive aftercare required with Exilis. Since it is not a laser, there are no chances of pain, a burn, or darkening skin, says Dr Sharad.20 minutes per sessionEvery week for six weeksRs.6,000 to Rs.8,000 per sessionTightening of sagging skinTHREADLIFTAs we age, our facial support structure weakens, and we lose facial fat, which affects our cheeks, eyebrows and other areas around our eyes and neck. Even among the younger lot, due to weakened muscles, skin may sag. The result is a longer, older-looking face. Heres where a threadlift comes in. This procedure uses absorbable, barbed sutures (threads) that are inserted into the skin under the facial tissues, using a thin needle, to tighten the skin, says Dr Sharad. Dr Taneja adds, The barbs at one end of the thread grab and lift the sagging skin, and the teeth on the other end anchor the skin to the underlying facial tissues. No incisions or stitches are required, and no scars are left behind. The ideal candidates for a threadlift are people with minimal signs of ageing and sagging, preferably below 45 years, who need a small lift. The results have not been good for those who are 60 and above because of excess loose skin.Bruisingif a patient consumes a lot of green tea, vitamin E supplements or blood thinning medicines, the chances of bruising are high. So we ask them to stop these about five days before they come in for a session. The bruises could take a week to heal, and there could be slight swelling and pain for a day, but it is minimal, says Dr Sharad. These threads are not FDA approved; we import them from Korea. They are very popular in Singapore, Brazil, Korea and India. There are certain reports of granuloma (nodular inflammation found in tissues) formation in the skin due to a reaction to the threads, which can be easily removed. Only 1 in 10,000 has experienced granuloma formulation, warns Dr Taneja.15 to 20 minutes per sessionOnce every month for three monthsDepends on the number of threads used. A minimum of 20 threads are required in every session so the cost is Rs.20,000 onwards.Reduction of wrinkles and tightening of skinNEFERTITI LIFTWhile many believe its wrinkles, the fine lines on your forehead and crows feet around your eyes that give away your age, its actually your neck and cheeks that make you look older. The dreaded turkey neck look can be difficult one to fight; the Nefertiti lift procedure is a solution to just that. An overactive platysma muscle on the neck pulls down the skin and causes sagging. The Nefertiti lift involves injecting Botox just below the jawline (platysma insertion) and about 15 to 20 units approximately on each side. The downward force exerted by the platysma muscle gets relaxed. It helps you get a defined jaw and marginal face lift, explains Dr Taneja. The resulting effect lasts for a good four to five months.There is no known side-effect but the dermatologist should be careful to inject it into the correct area on the muscle. You need to lie down often throughout the day after this procedure and not massage the area for a couple of weeks.5 to 10 minutes per sessionTwice a yearRs.15,000 onwards per sessionYounger-looking skinULTRASONICDespite how scary it may sound, Utrasonic tightens the skinmostly around your eyebrows, face, chin and neckusing tiny electric shocks. It involves the use of ultrasonic therapy to spear through the epidermis for collagen renewal. It is minimally invasive and heats up the subcutaneous tissue at different levels, thus shrinking skin and making it look younger, says Dr Taneja. The treatment is fairly safe and suitable for all skin types. It may be a bit painful for the patient, so is best done using anaesthesia.This method could lead to hyper pigmentation or cause burns sometimes. It shouldnt be done if you have fillers injected into your skin already because it will dissolve the fillers.30 to 40 minutes per sessionYou need at least three sessions over three months. It is best done once a month, because collagen stimulation takes time.Rs.15,000 to Rs.35,000 (brand-dependent) per session. It also depends on the skin surface area it is being performed on. If done only in the under-eye area, it is relatively affordable.Reduction of acne and scarsCRYOTHERAPYDuring this treatment, dry ice (-196C) is applied on the face to absorb the excess heat and oil. Its a quick procedure that reduces acne considerably, stimulates collagen and causes superficial exfoliation, reduces scars, closes the pores and reduces signs of ageing. Additionally, the treatment also speeds up the biological process of cell regeneration, meaning that dead cells get eliminated to make way for new, healthy cells. It also weeds out deposits of toxins on the skin.Since it involves freezing the tissue, it could cause cold burns if the doctor is not skilled or careful. These burns are not permanent and can take up to two weeks to heal.15 to 20 minutes per sessionFor acne, a session once in 15 days is sufficient, but to address concerns of anti-ageing, its done once a monthRs.2,000 onwards per sessionSkin rejuvenationPUMPKIN FACIAL PEEL AND MESOPORATIONThis begins as a facial using pumpkin extracts, and then goes on to mesoporation. It is more than just a conventional facial with a massage. During mesoporation, active ingredients, vitamins and serums are infused deeper into the dermal layer, with the help of an ultrasound device, to get fresh-looking skin. This procedure can be done once in 10 days. No needles are used, clarifies Dr Sharad. It is aimed at paralleling the results of the longstanding mesotherapy procedure, where ingredients are inserted into the layer of tissue under the skin through a series of small injections. With no needles, the procedure is a virtually painless and non-invasive alternative. Dr Taneja adds, With mesoporation, there is plenty of room for customisation. You can make a cocktail of vitamins, antioxidants and ingredients, depending on the skin issue you wish to target, such as pigmentation, tired skin and fine lines.30 minutes per sessionSix to eight sessions, done once in a fortnightNo risks involved. Many prefer mesoporation to a vampire facial as there is no drawing of blood involved.Rs.5,000 to Rs.10,000 per session depending on the substances that are being infused.Fatty areas, such as love handles, back fat, bra rolls and stomach rolls are pinched between the applicator arms, which cools the area to a temperature that causes the fat cells to crystallise and die, without harming surrounding tissue.A bit of the patients blood is extracted from their arm and spun in a centrifuge to separate the plasma from the RBCs and WBCs. The concentrated plasma, which is rich in platelets (full of growth factors) is injected into the face, for younger looking skin.The bacteria in acne release porphyrins, which absorb light of certain wavelengths to produce free radical, and this destroys the bacteria. This treatment uses a narrow-band, high-intensity blue light source that is readily absorbed by porphyrins to reduce acne.Here, spots and scars are diminished by removing dead cells from the skin surface and buffing it using a suction device or by spraying rough grains or diamond/zinc powder on the skin.This involves a deep, thorough cleansing of your skin. Thermal water, rich in minerals and oxygen, is infused with a lot of force into the skin. The water removes the dead skin while the minerals nourish the skin.
It's Very Neech Baat

"It is very neech baat to even think like that about Rani Laxmibai. We cannot even think like that, the kind of things they are saying. What they are saying is actually defaming. There is nothing like that. It is idle talk and I don't know why it is being said," the actor told reporters.

We Are Upset

Kangana said the film has been written by K V Vijayendra Prasad, who also penned "Baahubali". "We are hurt and upset. The writer of the film, Vijayendra Prasad has named his daughter Manikarnika. We are hurt that such things are being said about Rani Laxmibai," she added.

Controversies Surrounding Manikarnika

The objections against the film come close on the heels a similar controversy involving Sanjay Leela Bhansalis Padmaavat, which faced protest by Rajput groups. Now, Sarv Brahmin Mahasabha has raised concerns over Manikarnika. The Mahasabhas president met with Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh, yesterday demanding that the filmmaker be directed to give an affidavit that there is no such scene in the film.

The Film Is Titled Manikarnika Because...

Meanwhile, Prasad has assured fans that there is no such scene in the film that would do a disservice to the memory of the brave queen. "The films title is Manikarnika, because it is her name.''

I Named My Daughter Manikarnika

''Her parents named her that because she was born in Kasi and the Manikarnika Ghat there is very famous. Even I named my daughter Manikarnika, so you now know how much I respect Rani Laxmibai," he said in a statement.
Shahid Kapoor SLAMS media Paparazzi on following Misha | FilmiBeat

Padmaavat actor Shahid Kapoor is not happy with the media attention, his daughter Misha is getting at such a young age. The actor recently told mid-day that he does not want Misha to deal with all these things.

Referring to his child being labelled 'pouty beauty' on social media, Shahid said, "I hate to think of all the glare that's on her. That is probably the only time I feel I should have had another job. I don't want her to deal with it. It's not good for children to go through this. They have a right to a normal childhood."

It's Tough For Me She has to deal with it because I am her dad. It's tough for me, as a parent, to make peace with that. I hope she will learn how to tackle it when she grows up. On His New Role As Husband & Father I am responsible for a woman who has left her life in Delhi to be with me. I am responsible for my daughter and must be an example for her. I have to be a good human being first, a good actor later. I've realised that this drastic shift is helping me grow as both. No One Knew I Was Actor Pankaj Kapur's Son No one knew I was Pankaj Kapur's son till I joined the industry. It was only after an IMDB page about me was made that people discovered who my father is. I Had A Regular Childhood My mother was a struggling actor, who separated from my dad when I was growing up. I got to know my father only after turning 18. So, I had a regular middle-class childhood, devoid of attention.

On a related note, even Rani Mukerji has the same concern, the Hichki actor told news agency PTI that she wants to shield her daughter from the paparazzi, "My husband being a private person wants Adira to have a normal upbringing. Seeing the circumstances around her, where the parents are slightly known, there will always be an intrigue as to 'how our child is?'. You don't want them to have extra privileges or importance. You want them to grow up as normal people.''

Also Read: He Was ARROGANT! Ranveer Singh Regrets Saying He Could Have Done Kaminey Better Than Shahid Kapoor
Superstar Shahrukh Khan said he prefers to drive his own car and he is also optimistic about the future of driverless vehicles, though he finds the concept of shared mobility "fantastic" with youngsters increasingly using services like Ola and Uber.

Khan, who has often been target of trolls on social media platforms, also said they should not think that he has been made to remain quiet, as he is currently just "observing" how this new "machine" works.

The Bollywood star was speaking at the Auto Expo, said that the automakers would need to ensure that the driver-less and electric cars are safe for passengers.

"... We will be going a lot more electric in the future and second, there will be less and less drivers. I think there will be this move to driverless travel... lesser (number) of kids will learn how to drive, I think more machines will have to take over. But these (vehicles) will have to be safer, cleaner," said Khan, who is the corporate brand ambassador for auto major Hyundai.

The 52-year old actor was speaking at a media interaction at the Auto Expo 2018 for the launch of 'Swachh Can', a portable bin for users of Hyundai cars.

Starting March 1, all Hyundai cars will come with factory-fitted Swachh cans, through which the auto major is trying to complement the government's ambitious Swachh Bharat (Clean India) campaign.

Hundreds of visitors had gathered at the Hyundai pavilion at the Expo here to catch a glimpse of King Khan, as the actor is commonly known as, who was dressed in a black suit with a waist coat.

Talking about electric vehicles, Khan said: "I would love to take a test drive in the Ioniq (Hyundai's electric car unveiled at the Expo)... I would love to get the first hybrid or electric complete".

He said rollout of electric vehicles in India may take some time but the "beginning has to be done now if you want have long-term solutions to pollution".

"Pollution isn't a city-specific issue and it is unfortunate that Delhi becomes a case in point every time."Being a Delhiite, I take that very personally. I think this is the coolest city... I think the electric part of it will have to come into being. So the faster we can do it, the better," he said.

The Raees actor, who has endorsed Hyundai brand for over two decades now, said his favourite car is Santro from Hyundai India's portfolio.

The new edition of the popular model is expected to be launched around Diwali this year.

Khan said another Hyundai car model that he likes is Genesis, which is yet to be launched in the Indian market.

Asked about his views on social media and trolls, Khan said it is a new technology that will take time to settle down.

"I think it's in nascent stage... Data analytics, fake news, so much is happening. We assume that it has been there for 7-8 years... I don't think it has settled down," he said.He cautioned that one shouldn't "take everything at a face value" that they see on social media and that at times, it "takes away an honest voice".

"It's nicer to sit back and not react to social media. Some may say it has blunted me or quietened me, but that is not true. I am just observing how this new machine works," he said.

Khan also said while the concept of shared mobility was "fantastic" and youngsters are using services like Ola and Uber, he still prefers to drive his own car.

Credits: PTI
A Fan Proposes Priyank Sharma

The girl went down on her knees to propose him with a bunch of roses! With tears in her eyes, she expressed her love for him, "You must be having lot of fans... much better than me, but I love you so much."

Priyank Thanks Her

An overwhelmed Priyank hugged her. He thanked her from the bottom of his heart and said, "I wished I would have seen your text, I missed it. I can't do anything, I feel bad, thank you... thank you so much!"

Priyank Writes

He shared the video on Instagram and wrote, "And she made the entire jury panel cry today along with me. I just wanna thank you for the kind of emotion you have for me and to all the people who have the mutual feelings."

Priyank Feels Bad As He Fails To Reply To All His Fans

"I just feel a little bad that I fail to reply each one of you since it's next to impossible for me. But just want to tell you all and the entire family of mine that I am really thankful to all of you."

Priyank Is Nothing Without His Fans!

"Without you guys I ain't anything ! It's just makes me nostalgic right now , I LOVE YOU GUYS  whatever I am becoming and reaching is because of you guys."
Story

Aditya alias Adi (Varun Tej) falls in love with Varsha (Raashi Khanna) in a certain train journey and the love track continue as a two way street. Both join the same college in Hyderabad and pursue their engineering degrees. The pure and divine relationship hits an unexpected dead end due to an unanticipated instance.

Life gets into the next phase post 6 years of their break-up. As destiny has in store, both Adi and Varsha happen to work for the same company which only allows them to reminisce older and bitter memories. How they convert unpleasant situations into sweeter ones forms the movie.

Upside

Freshness in the making of the movie

Dialogues

Chemistry between Varun and Raashi

Heroine's Characterization

Downside

Aditya's inconsistent characterization in the latter half

Emotional drive in the second half

Flat climax

Performances

Varun Tej is showing very good signs of improvement from one movie to another. Post Fidaa, he seem matured and responsible about his craft and definitely wins a good number of marks both from the critics and audience. His tryst with dance is appreciable as well.

Raashi Khanna stands out in the flick as she is backed with an excellent characterization. Raashi's expressions in romantic scenes would be a major pull and is sure to be a crush for many young male fans.

Priyadarshi, the latest talent has been gifted with a lengthy character but unfortunately, has not been complimented with a good writing.

The rest of the cast have done justice to their roles.

Technical Aspects

Venky Atluri's writing and direction are the sure big pull for the flick and gives a freshness to the movie. With better opportunities and self-nurturing sessions, Venky has great potential in earning a bigger name in the industry. His dialogues are one good thing which holds the attention of the audience.

Cinematography by George C Williams of Raja Rani Fame, is a major asset of Tholi Prema.

S Thaman's songs and background music are a major plus of the package. The title track, be it the musical rendition or the visualization stands out.
Former Alaska Pilot Pleads Guilty to Flying Drunk Several Times

David Hans Arnston, a former Alaska Airlines pilot, plead guilty on Tuesday to operating aircraft while inebriated.

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 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.

To read more on this story, go to NBC Bay Area.

[Photo: Shutterstock]
Scores of French farmers barricaded roads and motorways on Wednesday (8 February) in protest against a planned reduction in EU farm subsidies.

The producers from the Occitanie region in the south-west of France blocked roads with hay bales, farm waste and flaming tyres around Frances fourth city, Toulouse, and the nearby town of Montauban.

See also: French farmers issue legal threat over glyphosate inaction

A railway line between Toulouse and Narbonne was also blocked, along with several main roads around the city as motorists were urged to avoid the area.

The unrest is a result of government plans to reduce the number of deprived areas that receive agricultural subsidies by about 100, which farmers claim would reduce their income by as much as 7,000/year (6,148/year).

https://twitter.com/dstsernin/status/961279032271802368

Producers in the Occitanie region feel they will be among the worst affected if the government slashes their support payments.

We know that the ministers statement will not be very good for us and things are going to get worse, said a producer talking to Agence-France Presse.

He added, But the farmers have nothing to lose  this is a movement that can become violent. We do not know how far it can go.

A statement from the French farmers union, the Federation nationale des syndicats dexploitants agricoles (FNSEA) told the government to stop procrastinating and live up to its financial commitments.

The union added that farmers could not be used as a variable in fiscal adjustment.

Nadia prend ton temps ici en @Occitanie les fermiers squatte le peripherique en mode @Fianso #Toulouse pic.twitter.com/LUeX0byLm8  TlseAddict (@AddictTlse) February 7, 2018

These are territories which are shutting down, which are going to become deserted, villages that are going to die. This is more like civil war than a protest, said union representative Sophie Maniago in an interview with website thelocal.fr.

If the proposals are voted in on 15 February, a new plan could go ahead as early as the spring.

Les agriculteurs bloquent le peripherique au niveau du viaduc du metro, entre Balma et Argoulets #Toulouse pic.twitter.com/1Ry0VDpe1h  frantz mc (@frantzmc) February 7, 2018

Despite huge tailbacks, the French public remained largely sympathetic towards the farmer protests, according to French media.

Similar protests have been reported across the country in the Deux-Sevres department in western France and the Loire Valley department in north-western France.

Les #agriculteurs attendent sur le peripherique de #Toulouse les conclusions de la reunion a Paris avec le ministre de l'Agriculture pic.twitter.com/JxVtNKgXX7  viaOccitanieTV (@viaOccitanieTV) February 7, 2018

This is the second time French farmers in the region have protested against these proposals. The French press reported farmers were setting fire to tyres, palets and hay as well as grilling sausages on the motorway, leaving the roadways around Toulouse in chaos.
Ambassador of Ukraine : Georgia and Ukraine are Most Affected by Russian Aggression, Well Try to Find Ways of Joint Actions - GeorgianJournal
Google Chrome will warn users if websites are not secure News oi-Samden Sherpa Google Chrome will start labeling all HTTP sites as 'Not Secure' from July onwards.

Security is one of the major concerns in the digital space today. As such, Google has been moving towards a more secure web by strongly advocating that sites adopt HTTPS encryption. And within last year, the search giant also helped users understand that HTTP sites are not secure by gradually marking a larger subset of HTTP pages as "not secure".

While, the company has been encouraging developers to adopt or switch to HTTPS application, beginning in July 2018 with the release of Chrome 68, Google's own web browser Chrome will mark all HTTP sites as "not secure". Thus developers might have to now transition their sites completely to HTTPS and make the web safer for everyone.

So with the release of Google Chrome 68, the omnibox will reflect a "Not secure" label for all HTTP pages. However, this label will not only display that HTTP pages are unsecured but basically it will also give a strong push to prefer HTTPS over HTTP. The company has said that HTTPS is easier and cheaper than ever before, and it unlocks both performance improvements and powerful new features that are too sensitive for HTTP. Developers can check out the company's set-up guides to get started.

Meanwhile, Google in a blog post has also said, "Chrome is dedicated to making it as easy as possible to set up HTTPS. Mixed content audits are now available to help developers migrate their sites to HTTPS in the latest Node CLI version of Lighthouse, an automated tool for improving web pages. The new audit in Lighthouse helps developers find which resources a site loads using HTTP, and which of those are ready to be upgraded to HTTPS simply by changing the subresource reference to the HTTPS version."

Google tango, the augmented technology AR - GIZBOT

Google is moving in the right direction to keep users safe on the web. With Chrome 68 and its new interface users will understand that all HTTP sites are not secure, and for developers, they will continue to move the web towards a secure HTTPS web by default. All in all, Chrome users in future may start seeing or they will see lots of "not secure" warnings to the left of the browser's address bar.

Best Mobiles in India

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Oppo F5 Sidharth Limited Edition sold out within minutes on Amazon News oi-Samden Sherpa The online sale started yesterday, 8th February, and the entire lot (numbers unspecified) of the limited edition of Oppo F5 were all sold out.

Oppo, the popular Chinese smartphone brand has just announced that its recently launched Selfie Expert smartphone Oppo F5 Sidharth Limited Edition has been sold out on Amazon. The online sale started yesterday, 8th February, and the entire lot (numbers unspecified) of the limited edition of Oppo F5 were all sold out.

The new vibrant blue edition of Oppo F5 was a result of collaboration with its brand ambassador - Sidharth Malhotra and was introduced in the market to continue the success of the F5 series. Oppo F5 is the company's first full-screen model featuring innovative A.I. Beauty Recognition Technology designed to personalize beautification.

Priced at Rs. 19,990 and just in time for Valentine's Day, the Oppo F5 Sidharth Limited Edition will now be available off-line from 9th February across all offline stores.

However, Oppo seems to have found quite the success with its limited editions. According to the company, other camera phones like F3 Diwali Edition, F5 Deepika Padukone Limited Edition, and F3 BCCI edition were also well received by consumers. Besides Oppo has stated that it is focused towards offering its target audience, the youth, unique and interesting experiences with phones that are an extension of their personalities.

Oppo F5 Sidharth Limited Edition Unboxing and First Impressions

Commenting on this success, Will Yang, Brand Director, Oppo India, said, "We are extremely happy with this news and further encouraged to bring our consumers in India great experiences. We invest in listening to our target audience, understand their interests and tailor our strategies to meet their demands. We will continue on the same path and help the youth in living their dreams through our innovative technology."

"We are thrilled to have witnessed such a remarkable customer response to Oppo's F5 Sidharth Limited Edition. At Amazon.in, we are focused on expanding the selection and this smartphone's phenomenal sale highlights our focus in providing our customers the best to choose from. We are pleased to provide our customers with exclusive access combined with a convenient, trusted shopping experience,'' said Noor Patel, Director - Category Management, Amazon India.

At the same time, Oppo's brand new microfilm, "Capture the Real You" has reportedly been garnering many views on the internet with over 16 million views on YouTube in a span of 3 days. This movie has also may have been a major driving factor in terms of the sale of the newly launched Oppo F5 Sidharth Limited Edition as well.

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U.S. Forces Strike Taliban, East Turkestan Islamic Movement Training Sites

By Terri Moon Cronk DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Feb. 7, 2018  During the past weekend, U.S. forces conducted air operations to strike Taliban and the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, or ETIM, training facilities in Afghanistan's Badakhshan province, the commander of NATO air operations in Afghanistan said today.

Speaking with Pentagon reporters via satellite, Air Force Maj. Gen. James B. Hecker, commander of NATO Air Command Afghanistan, updated Pentagon reporters via satellite from Afghanistan on the alliance's Resolute Support mission there.

"The destruction of these training facilities prevents terrorists from planning any acts near the border with China and Tajikistan," the general said. "The strikes also destroyed stolen Afghan National Army vehicles in the process of being converted to vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices."

ETIM is a terrorist organization that operates in China and the border regions of Afghanistan, Hecker noted. "ETIM enjoys support from the Taliban in the mountains of Badakhshan, so hitting these Taliban training facilities and squeezing the Taliban's support networks degrades ETIM capabilities," he said.

From videos of the airstrikes he showed, Hecker said, it can be seen how a single B-52 bomber demonstrates its reach and lethality by setting a record employment of 24 precision-guided munitions against Taliban narcotics and training facilities.

"What allowed this impressive air power to be unleashed was a critical modification that we made to the B-52 in late November, installing a conventional rotary launcher that allows B-52s to carry more precision-guided munitions," he said.

Centcom's Main Effort

"Afghanistan has become [U.S. Central Command's] main effort, thanks to the recent successes in Iraq and Syria, Hecker said. "This has allowed Centcom to shift more assets our way, which will significantly improve our ability to assist the Afghans."

The general provided three examples of air assets now available to the mission in Afghanistan. "We have increased our close air support capabilities significantly by adding an A-10 squadron in Kandahar Air Force Base. We now have 50 percent more MQ-9 intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft. And we're adding an additional combat search and rescue squadron," he said.

Hecker added that those are just the tangible air platforms in Afghanistan, and the platforms would have limited value if those were the only changes there. But another change is one you don't physically see, he told reporters.

Intelligence Community

"It is the change of the weight of effort of the intelligence community," he said. "The intelligence community is the backbone that develops our targets, provides data analysis, and eventually produces the targets we strike in Afghanistan."

This is the intelligence community that's spread throughout the security enterprise beyond Afghanistan, Heckler noted. "They analyze surveillance and reconnaissance data to develop the networks that produce targets for our air power 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."

Cripple the Taliban's revenue-generation enterprise is part of that effort, he said. "We will take away their ability to wage war on the battlefield and brutally murder innocent civilians, like the recent cowardly acts that we witnessed in Kabul and Jalalabad," the general said.

"With the current uplift in resources, we can decimate Taliban command-and-control nodes," said he added. "That means we can strike at the heart of training camps where they brainwash young men to strap on a suicide vest, to kill themselves and their fellow Afghans, who are working to rebuild the country."

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Mattis Addresses White House Reporters About Budget Uncertainty

By Terri Moon Cronk DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Feb. 7, 2018  Defense Secretary James N. Mattis took his defense budgetary concerns to White House reporters today, noting that he'd spent the last day and a half on Capitol Hill briefing members on the 2018 National Defense Strategy, and telling reporters he's heartened that Congress recognizes the sobering effect of budgetary uncertainty on America's military.

"Two days from now, I will visit our nation's 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade at Fort Benning [in Georgia] as they prepare to deploy to Afghanistan," he said. "To advance the security of our nation, these troops are putting themselves in harm's way -- in effect, signing a blank check payable to the American people with their lives," the secretary said.

Debilitating Continuing Resolutions

The U.S. military has been operating under debilitating continuing resolutions for more than 1,000 days during the last decade, he said, noting that during last week's State of Union address, President Donald J. Trump said, "Weakness is the surest path to conflict."

In a world awash in change and with increasing threats, there is no room for complacency, Mattis said. Failure to implement or fund the 2018 National Defense Strategy would leave the nation with a force that could dominate the last war, yet be irrelevant to tomorrow's security, he said.

"We need Congress to lift the defense spending caps and support a two-year budget agreement for our military. America can afford survival," the secretary told White House reporters.

A Duty to Remain Faithful

"For too long we have asked our military to carry on stoically with a success-at-any-cost attitude. The fact that our volunteer military has performed so well is a credit to their dedication and professionalism," Mattis said. "We expect the men and women of our military to be faithful in their service even when going in harm's way. We have a duty to remain faithful to them."

The secretary outlined what the effects could be for the military, absent a budget this year:

-- America's military will not be able to provide pay for our troops by the end of the year;

-- The military will not be able to recruit the 15,000 Army soldiers and 4,000 Air Force airmen required to fill critical manning shortfalls;

-- Ships at sea would be unable to have the proper balance between operations and time for training and maintenance;

-- Aircraft would have to be grounded due to a lack of maintenance and spare parts, degrading pilot proficiency;

-- Ammunition, training and manpower required to deter war would be depleted; and

-- Contracts for vital acquisition programs necessary to modernize the force would be delayed.

"I cannot overstate the negative impact to our troops' and families' morale from all this budget uncertainty," Mattis said. "Today's congressional action will ensure our military can defend our way of life, preserve the promise of prosperity, and pass on the freedoms you and I enjoy to the next generation."

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Pentagon Official Describes Response to Attack by Pro-Regime Syrian Forces

By Terri Moon Cronk DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Feb. 8, 2018  When Syrian pro-regime forces attacked Syrian Democratic Forces yesterday, they moved in a battalion-sized unit formation supported by artillery, tanks, multiple-launch rocket systems and mortars, chief Pentagon spokesperson Dana W. White told reporters today.

White said the attack on the SDF was unprovoked.

"Syrian Democratic Forces acted in self-defense with support from the coalition to defeat an unprovoked attack by Syrian pro-regime forces in eastern Syria," she said. "Pro-regime forces initiated what appeared to be a coordinated attack on Syrian Democratic Forces east of the Euphrates River deconfliction line."

After 20 to 30 artillery and tank rounds landed within about 500 yards of the SDF headquarters, the SDF, supported by the U.S.-led coalition, targeted the aggressors with a combination of air and artillery strikes, she said.

Coalition Advisors With SDF

"Coalition advisors were with the SDF, and this action was taken in self-defense," White said. "Pro-regime vehicles and personnel that were turned around and headed back west were not targeted."

The coalition observed a slow buildup of pro-regime forces over the past week, she added. Coalition officials alerted Russian officials of the SDF presence via the deconfliction line in advance of the attack, White said.

"The deconfliction line -- the deconfliction process -- served its purpose," White told reporters. "Coalition officials were in regular communication with Russian counterparts before, during and after the attack."

Russian officials assured coalition officials they would not engage coalition forces in the vicinity, she said.

White noted one SDF soldier was wounded, and there were no coalition casualties. "Our forces have the inherent right to self-defense," she said.

"We are not looking for a conflict with the regime," she added. "Any action that takes away from our ongoing operations to defeat [the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria] is a distraction."

And while the U.S.-led coalition mission hasn't changed and ISIS is on the run, work remains to be done, she said.

"The military goal is to defeat ISIS in Syria," White said. "Our position is to provide our diplomats with the strongest positions so that they can find a political, a diplomatic solution through the Geneva process."

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C-17 Crews Help to Realign Assets to Afghanistan

By Air Force Staff Sgt. Patrick Evenson 379th Air Expeditionary Wing

AL UDEID AIR BASE, Qatar, Feb. 8, 2018  Late in January, at an altitude of nearly 30,000 feet, a 174-foot long aircraft cut through the air with more than 40,000 pounds of thrust per engine. The equipment and personnel on board were needed to support ongoing operations in U.S. Central Command's area of responsibility.

The aircraft, a C-17 Globemaster III assigned to the 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron based here, had its belly full of shipping containers and pallets of equipment belonging to the U.S. Army's Bravo Company, 244th Military Intelligence Battalion. The load was moving from Iraq to Afghanistan in support of Operation Freedom's Sentinel and NATO's Resolute Support missions.

Since the C-17 was operationally introduced to the Air Force in 1995, these are the types of missions that they were created to accomplish: rapid strategic delivery of troops and all types of cargo to forward operating bases throughout all areas of operation.

In 2016, the squadron flew more than 2,400 missions, moving nearly 102,000 tons of cargo and almost 120,000 passengers, including 116 aeromedical patients.

The C-17 not only is proficient in the transportation of troops and cargo, but also can perform tactical airlift and airdrop missions and transport ambulatory patients during aeromedical evacuations.

Prime BEEF Squadron

A couple of dozen airmen assigned to the 577th Expeditionary Prime Base Engineer Emergency Force Squadron lined the interior sides of the aircraft, with mere feet between them and the chained-down cargo. They had been on the aircraft since it departed from here, some having just arrived in theater from the United States days prior. A handful of these forward-deploying airmen disembarked in Iraq, while the others stayed on board until reaching Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan.

The Prime BEEF squadron regularly deploys to help plan, design and build forward bases. Their mission for further development of Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan was to compensate for the influx of additional troops, assets and aircraft needed for the fight against the Taliban in the region.

In stark contrast to the 77 degree temperature when leaving Al Udeid, it was a single degree above freezing on the flight line of Bagram Airfield as the C-17 loadmasters and members of the 455th Expeditionary Aerial Port Squadron expeditiously offloaded the equipment.

After more transient soldiers and airmen boarded the aircraft the following day, it was back in the air, heading back here in the early hours.

The 816th EAS is an important component flying a vital airframe in the fight against terrorism throughout the area of operations in support of Operation Inherent Resolve and Operation Freedom's Sentinel. In the coming days, weeks, months and years it will continue providing a vital role wherever they fly.

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USS Iwo Jima Begins 2018 Deployment

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS180208-08

Release Date: 2/8/2018 10:56:00 AM

From Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group Public Affairs Office

MAYPORT, Fla. (NNS) -- More than 2,500 Sailors and Marines aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) departed the ship's homeport of Naval Station Mayport, Florida, for a scheduled six-month deployment Feb. 7.

The Navy-Marine Corps team will support maritime security operations, crisis response and theater security cooperation, while also providing a forward naval presence in Europe and the Middle East.

"We have been training for this since we returned from the last deployment," said Capt. Joseph O'Brien, Iwo Jima's commanding officer. "The Iwo Jima Navy-Marine Corps team brings a full range of capability from humanitarian assistance to power projection ashore. Being deployed enables us to efficiently and effectively provide combatant commanders with sea, air and land capabilities in support of national priorities. Wherever Iwo Jima ends up and whatever tasks are presented our way, these Sailors and Marines are ready to accomplish the mission."

Iwo Jima is the lead ship of the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group (ARG), which is also composed of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, the transport dock ship USS New York (LPD 21), the dock landing ship USS Oak Hill (LSD 51), Fleet Surgical Team (FST) 8 and FST-4, Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 28, Tactical Air Control Squadron (TACRON) 22, components of Naval Beach Group (NBG) 2 and the embarked staff of Amphibious Squadron 4.

Approximately 4,500 Sailors and Marines will deploy with the ships and squadrons of the Iwo Jima ARG.

Iwo Jima's deployment will include operations in the 5th and 6th Fleet areas of operation and, for a majority of the crew, it will be their first deployment of their military careers.

"I am very excited to go on deployment," said Airman Michael Goodwin. "I know I'll miss my family a lot, but I know it'll be fun to have this experience and see some new countries at the same time."

The Iwo Jima ARG is capable of performing expeditionary operations on remote shores in support of national policy. Other capabilities include rendering humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, promoting maritime security, rescuing distressed mariners, evacuating non-combatant Americans and exercising with partner nations to promote theater security cooperation.

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Aoun: Lebanon military ready to confront Israel

Iran Press TV

Thu Feb 8, 2018 11:05PM

Lebanese President Michel Aoun says he has ordered the country's armed forces to confront any attempt by Israel to undermine Lebanon's sovereignty, as Israeli officials stir more territorial tensions with Beirut.

Addressing a cabinet session on Thursday, Aoun vowed to "prevent any Israeli aggression on Lebanon's land and water" in the wake of disagreements with Israel over Mediterranean oil fields as well as a planned border wall.

"We hope to put an end to this matter through diplomatic channels, yet our military has been given the orders to confront any threat to our sovereignty," Aoun asserted, noting that talks were underway "to prevent Israeli greed."

The two sides have nearly come to blows over a tender by Lebanon in December for oil and gas exploration projects in two of the country's 10 offshore blocks in the Mediterranean Sea, namely Block 4 and Block 9.

Israel, which claims sovereignty over the ninth block and claims it runs into its side of the Mediterranean, has blasted the move as "very provocative."

The Tel Aviv regime has also escalated the tensions by announcing plans for a wall to isolate the occupied Palestinian lands from Lebanese territories.

Lebanon has objected to the plan, saying the wall violates its sovereignty by passing through territory that belongs to the country but is located on the other side of a UN-designated Blue Line, which sets the limits for Israel's 2000 withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

Present at Thursday's cabinet session was Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who called on "all political parties to put aside their differences and stand united in the face of Israel's aggression."

He also said "communications with the international community are underway to confront Israel's ambitions."

A day earlier, Lebanon's Higher Defense Council, also chaired by Aoun, held an extraordinary session to double down on Beirut's stance.

US takes on mediation role

Following the recent escalation, the US has sent David Satterfield, the acting assistant US secretary of state, to the region on a mediation mission, Israeli media reported, citing Lebanese and Israeli officials.

The American official, who once served as the US ambassador to Beirut, headed to Israel last week and spent this week meeting with the Lebanese president, prime minister and other officials.

Satterfield "held talks regarding the wall with Israel and said there is no call for concern, and there is no direction towards escalation," an unnamed senior Lebanese government official told Reuters.

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UN warns Congo's anti-militant offensive could displace 370,000 people

Iran Press TV

Thu Feb 8, 2018 04:20PM

The United Nations has warned that an ongoing offensive against militants in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DCR) could displace some 370,000 people.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a report on Thursday that around 200,000 people could be displaced in Beni territory and another 170,200 others in neighboring Lubero as a result of a massive military operation against militants in DRC's territories near the Ugandan border.

Some 4.3 million have already been displaced as the battle goes on against an insurrection in the center of the country and persistent conflict in Congo's eastern borderlands with Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi.

The UN has described the displacement crisis in eastern Congo as the worst in Africa, warning that meager humanitarian resources could be further stretched as a result of a joint effort by Congo and Uganda to defeat the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF).

"The absence of protection measures for civilians in the most affected zones risks worsening. The risk of shells falling on civilian sites ... cannot be excluded," the UN report said.

More than 500,000 people have fled their homes in the past two years in Beni and Lubero, mainly due to recurrent attacks by the ADF, a main militant group that has been operating inside Congo since the 1990s. Some 1,000 people have also been killed since 2014 mostly by ADF forces although reports suggest Congolese soldiers have also been involved.

The DRC began the current offensive in the east in January after 15 Tanzanian peacekeepers were killed in an attack by the ADF on a UN base in December.

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U.S. Says It Notified Russia Before Massive Attack On Pro-Syria Forces

Mike Eckel February 08, 2018

The Pentagon says U.S. commanders notified Russian counterparts of an air and ground assault on pro-Syrian fighters in response to an attack on U.S. allied militias in eastern Syria.

Defense Department spokeswoman Dana White on February 8 declined to say whether there were any Russian soldiers or mercenaries among the dozens killed in the attack, which occurred just east of the Euphrates River deconfliction line in Deir al-Zor Province.

The U.S.-led Operation Inherent Resolve said in a statement earlier that coalition advisers were with the Syrian Democratic Forces when their base was attacked on February 7.

"In defense of coalition and partner forces, the coalition conducted strikes against attacking forces to repel the act of aggression against partners engaged" in the fight against Islamic State (IS) extremists, the statement said.

'Perplexing' Attack

White said pro-regime forces lobbed 20-30 tank rounds within 500 meters of the base.

"Our forces have the inherent right of self-defense," she said. "We are not looking for a conflict with the [Syrian] regime."

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis later called the attack "perplexing," adding that initial information did not reveal any Russian forces among the attackers.

"We don't think there are any Russians, but I am not confirming that," he told reporters.

No U.S. personnel were injured in the attack by the pro-regime forces, unnamed officials separately told U.S. media. The official statement did not list the number of attackers or casualties among the pro-government forces.

A U.S. official told CNN that the attackers crossed the Euphrates armed with artillery and other weapons.

Syrian state media later on February 8 confirmed that dozens of fighters were killed in U.S.-led coalition strikes overnight but appeared to deny the victims were soldiers.

'New Aggression'

"In a new aggression and in an attempt to support terrorism, coalition forces targeted popular forces" in the eastern province of Deir al-Zor, state television said, in an apparent reference to paramilitary groups allied to the regime.

In a letter addressed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Syria's Foreign Ministry said the attack "represents a war crime and a crime against humanity."

It also accused the United States of using "the excuse of fighting terrorism to set up illegitimate bases on Syrian territory."

The Russian Defense Ministry said that the U.S. strike wounded 25 Syrian pro-government fighters it said were searching for militants near an oil refinery.

In a statement on February 8, the ministry said the pro-government fighters had failed to coordinate their actions with the Russian military before launching the search mission.

The ministry also appeared to put some of the blame on pro-government fighters, saying in a statement that they failed to coordinate their actions with the Russian military before launching the search mission.

The incident "again showed that the U.S. is maintaining its illegal presence in Syria not to fight the Islamic State group, but to seize and hold Syrian economic assets," the ministry claimed.

'Regrettable' Strike Says Russia

In New York, Russia's United Nations envoy described the coalition strike as "regrettable," and said he would raise the matter during a Security Council briefing on the Syria's humanitarian situation later on February 8.

"That's very regrettable, we will raise that issue, we will ask them what happened," Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told reporters.

U.S. and Russian officials have repeatedly raised questions about each other's motives in Syria.

Russia and Iran back Assad, while the United States and Turkey support differing rebel groups fighting the government.

Syrian government forces are active on the other side of the river around the city of Deir al-Zor.

The SDF is an alliance of Arab and Kurdish militias in northern and eastern Syria and with U.S. backing are fighting against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Violence continues to rage in Syria's civil war, which has killed hundreds of thousands of people since it began with a crackdown on protests in 2011.

All sides are also fighting the remnants of IS extremists who have been driven out of most of the territory they claimed earlier in the fighting.

The United States maintains about 2,000 troops in Syria, mostly working with the estimated 50,000-strong SDF.

With reporting by Reuters, CNN, AP, AFP, and Zvezda

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/syria- iran-russia-turkey-islamic-state -assad-nato/29026582.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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U.S. Shifts More Air Assets To Afghanistan, Calls It 'Main Effort'

RFE/RL February 08, 2018

The United States has started shifting combat and intelligence-gathering air assets to Afghanistan as the battle against the Islamic State (IS) extremist group is winding down in Iraq and Syria, a top commander in Afghanistan says.

U.S. Air Force Major General James Hecker, speaking to reporters in a video teleconference from Kabul, said on February 7 that U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) at the start of this month officially designated Afghanistan and the fight against the Taliban as its "main effort."

Afghanistan "has become CENTCOM's main effort thanks to the recent successes in Iraq and Syria," Hecker said.

"This has allowed CENTCOM to shift more assets our way."

He said one main benefit to coalition forces in Afghanistan was the increased support from U.S. intelligence agencies, which will allow the military to better identify targets to strike in the country.

"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.

The general said that, compared with a year ago, the United States had 50 percent more MQ-9 Reaper drones providing intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance in Afghanistan.

In addition, he said, U.S. forces had added A-10 attack planes and will soon be adding more search-and-rescue aircraft.

Hecker said Afghan air forces are now also more capable of carrying out sorties against the Taliban and are conducting more missions than U.S. forces.

He said the goal for the NATO Air Command, which he leads, was to almost triple the size of the Afghan Air Force over the next few years.

"Right now, the Afghan Air Force has 12 A-29s, but that's going up to 25," Hecker said. "Three A-29 pilots are now trained to drop laser-guided munitions."

"We are putting unrelenting pressure on the enemy these days," Hecker said, adding that the goal was to compel the Taliban to come to the negotiating table with the Kabul government.

He said, though, that air power alone was unlikely to accomplish the task. "You're not just going to bomb them into submission," he said. "But it is another pressure point that we can put on them."

"While U.S. air power is destroying Taliban support elements in the deep fight, Afghan A-29 [Super Tucanos] and MD-530 helicopters provide quick, lethal support to Afghan ground forces in the close fight," Hecker said.

"This growth has already started but is going to continue."

The United States has been in Afghanistan since 2001, when it led an invasion to drive the Taliban from power after it said the group's leaders were sheltering Al-Qaeda militants responsible for the September 11, 2001, terror attacks in the United States.

U.S. forces have remained as part of a NATO-led coalition ever since, although active combat operations were turned over to Afghan forces in 2014, and international troop levels have fallen from a peak of more than 100,000 to about 16,000.

With reporting by AP, AFP, and Military.com

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/afghanistan-us-coalition -air-forces-taliban-is/29026579.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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Azerbaijan's Ruling Party Nominates Aliyev As Presidential Candidate

RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service February 08, 2018

BAKU -- Azerbaijan's ruling party has nominated incumbent President Ilham Aliyev as its candidate in the snap April presidential election.

The New Azerbaijan Party's congress on February 8 named Aliyev as its presidential candidate three days after the president unexpectedly announced that the election would be brought forward to April 11 from October 17.

Aliyev's February 5 decree did not give the reasons for the decision but said the move was in accordance with the constitution and the country's Electoral Code.

Presidential adviser Ali Hasanov said the vote was being brought forward to ensure that it didn't interfere with "important domestic and international events" later in the year.

The constitution was amended in a controversial referendum in September 2016. The amendments have allowed Aliyev to order early elections.

In accordance with amendments to the Electoral Code introduced in December, early presidential polls must be announced at least 60 days in advance.

The head of Azerbaijan's opposition National Council of Democratic Forces, Camil Hasanli, said on February 6 that the coalition will boycott the early election.

The leader of the opposition Musavat Party, Arif Hacili, denounced the move as "an operation to prolong Aliyev's rule for another seven years."

Speaking to RFE/RL, Hacili said he believed Aliyev's main goal is to prevent the opposition from properly preparing for the poll.

He said he also suspected internal disputes within the ruling elite played a part in the decision.

Another explanation for the change was that the state of Azerbaijan's economy has worried Aliyev, Hacili said.

U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Bridget Brink told reporters in Baku on February 7 that the United States favored free and fair elections based on the Azerbaijani Constitution and international law.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/azerbaijan-/29027063.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 Tries to Convince Vietnam to Abandon Russian Arms Deals - Reports

Sputnik News

14:05 08.02.2018

The US State Department wants Vietnam to buy more weapons from the US, after Washington lifted its lethal arms embargo on its one-time enemy in 2016, Defense News reported.

"The Vietnamese are very interested in a greater security partnership," a State Department official said as quoted by the newspaper.

According to the media, Vietnam hadn't significantly expanded purchases of US arms, even after the American lethal weapons ban on the country was lifted in 2016, although in the period from 2005 to 2014 Vietnam's defense budget grew by almost 400 percent, according to data from the US Department of Commerce.

"We are also encouraging them to look beyond the U.S. grant assistance to also diversifying away from some of their typical suppliers  their historical suppliers like the Russians  into buying US equipment that would, one, give them more capability and, two, help strengthen our partnership for the interoperability and the greater interaction with our military," the State Department representative noted.

The US severed ties with Vietnam after the Vietnam War 1955  1975, and diplomatic relations were restored only in 1995. In 2016, US President Obama visited Vietnam to celebrate the Comprehensive Partnership between the countries and the decision was made to lift the embargo on sales of lethal weapons to Vietnam.

In contrast to US-Vietnam relations, the ties between Southeast Asian state and Russia have been always distinguished by aspiration for a deeper and more profound partnership. Retired Colonel-General of the Vietnamese army Trung Quang Khanh told Sputnik Vietnam that the two countries "stood shoulder to shoulder in the years of the military hard times." Vietnam was a close ally of the Soviet Union during the Cold War and now the country is developing the strategic partnership with Russia, which is marked by a robust arms trade with most of Vietnam's weapons and military equipment being Russian-made.

 Sputnik

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Mattis: 'Self-Defense' Attack Doesn't Mean US Getting into Syrian Civil War

By Carla Babb February 08, 2018

Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis said the U.S. is not trying to get involved in the yearslong Syrian civil war, after U.S.-led coalition airstrikes killed about 100 pro-government forces who had attacked coalition-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.

"It was self-defense. Obviously, we are not getting engaged in the Syrian civil war," Mattis said.

Some 300 pro-government forces attacked an SDF headquarters near Deir el-Zour, Syria, Wednesday but retreated after the U.S.-led coalition knocked out their artillery and two of their tanks, Mattis said.

"I believe that they are, right now, west of the river," he said, referring to the Euphrates River that has served as a so-called "deconfliction" border between Russian-backed Syrian government forces and U.S.-backed SDF fighting to rid the country of Islamic State fighters.

U.S. personnel have been advising and assisting the SDF, and some were embedded with them at the time of the attack in Deir el-Zour province. No Americans were hurt, but one SDF member was wounded in the assault, officials said.

U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees, criticized the U.S. strikes.

"While I am grateful that no U.S. or coalition members were harmed in the attack, I am gravely concerned that the Trump administration is purposefully stumbling into a broader conflict, without a vote of Congress or clear objectives," Kaine said.

In contact with Russia

U.S. military officials said the coalition was in contact with Russia before, during and after Wednesday's attack and had alerted Russia to the presence of SDF forces in that area.

Mattis said the Russians had told American military officials that they did not have any Russian forces there.

He called the attack a "perplexing situation," adding that he could not give "any explanation for why" the pro-government forces would attack a well-established SDF headquarters.

Chief Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said the coalition fired back "after 20 to 30 artillery and tank rounds landed within 500 meters of the SDF headquarters location."

Pro-government forces had used Russian-designed T-55 and T-72 tanks to shoot at the SDF, Lt. Col. Earl Brown, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command, told VOA.

White added that all pro-government vehicles and personnel who turned around and headed west were not targeted during the coalition strikes.

The attack appeared to be an attempt by pro-government fighters to take control of areas the SDF recaptured from Islamic State militants in September, the officials said.

Syrian state media said the coalition airstrikes hit tribal fighters who were battling Islamic State and SDF forces. The reports called the strikes an "aggression" and said they killed dozens of people.

A coalition statement emphasized its mission to combat Islamic State, while asserting "its non-negotiable right to act in self-defense."

US, coalition forces

U.S. forces began airstrikes in Syria in September 2014 after IS militants had swept into control of large areas in the eastern part of the country as well as northern and western Iraq. A year later, Russia joined the fighting in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government.

Russia and the United States frequently communicate to prevent each other from accidentally attacking one another's troops.

When pressed on why the U.S. considered the communication a success when it did not prevent the pro-government force attack, Mattis told reporters on Thursday, "You can't ask Russia to deconflict something they don't control."

"The fact that somebody chose to attack us, and the Russians are saying, ''It's not us,' and we are firing on them to stop the artillery fire, that, to me, is not a failure of the deconfliction line," Mattis explained.

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US Launches Airstrikes in NE Afghanistan to Deter Cross-Border Terrorism

By Ayaz Gul February 08, 2018

The U.S. military says its new counterterrorism airstrikes are meant to support Afghanistan in reassuring neighboring countries that it is not a "safe sanctuary" for terrorists who want to carry out cross-border attacks.

The air campaign is targeting and destroying Taliban training camps in the northeastern Afghan province of Badakhshan, the U.S. military said Thursday.

It said the camps in the remote mountainous region were also supporting activities of the anti-China terrorist organization known as the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, or ETIM.

The training camps support terrorist operations inside Afghanistan as well as operations conducted by ETIM in the border region with China and Tajikistan," according to a U.S. statement.

It added that Afghan security forces are also attacking militants linked to the Afghan branch of Islamic State "attempting to secure a foothold in northern Afghanistan."

ETIM claims to be representing ethnic Uighur Muslims in China's restive western Xinjiang region, which borders Afghanistan.

Chinese authorities accuse ETIM of being behind terrorist attacks in Xinjiang and elsewhere in the country. Beijing has long maintained Afghan border regions and the adjoining Pakistani tribal belt have sheltered ETIM militants.

"There will be no safe haven for any terrorist group," said General John Nicholson, who commands U.S. forces and NATO's Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan.

"We continue to strike them wherever we find them. We continue to hunt them across the country."

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed Thursday U.S. airstrikes have targeted civilian areas in Badakhshan and insurgents have not suffered any losses. There was no independent confirmation of the claim. The Taliban often inflates battlefield details.

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What's Next for South Africa's Embattled Zuma? Court, Probably

By Anita Powell February 08, 2018

South African President Jacob Zuma is likely to end his presidency the same way he started it: mired in corruption charges.

In 2009, just two weeks before Zuma led the African National Congress to victory at the polls, the National Prosecuting Authority dropped an eight-year-old corruption case against him. Politically, however, that case never went away: The opposition vowed not to let the matter drop, and has since used it to illustrate its lack of faith in the president through eight no-confidence votes in relation to his alleged corrupt acts before and during his presidency.

The ANC's parliamentary majority has allowed him to survive each of those votes, but the latest one, in August, gave him a lean margin of 198 to 177.

Since Zuma was replaced as head of the ruling party in December, the ANC has turned against him, and a looming no-confidence vote scheduled for February 22 may succeed  if the ANC leadership doesn't convince him to step down first.

Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, who took over as party leader when Zuma's term expired, this week met privately with Zuma after a series of high-level party meetings that did not produce Zuma's resignation.

"This is a challenging time for our country," Ramaphosa said in a statement this week, after the nation's parliament took the surprising and unprecedented step of postponing the annual State of the Nation address, originally scheduled for Thursday. "Both President Zuma and myself are aware that our people want and deserve closure."

His day in court

Whenever he does leave office, the outgoing president is unlikely to enjoy a quiet retirement.

In recent months, the charges that were dropped nine years ago have threatened to resurface. Last year, the nation's Supreme Court upheld a High Court decision to reinstate the charges, which include 783 counts of corruption over a $2 billion arms deal in the late 1990s.

The national director of public prosecutions, Shaun Abrahams  long seen as a close Zuma ally  now has to decide whether to reinstate the charges. Separately, Zuma faces an investigation into his actions with a powerful Indian family that is accused of unduly influencing South Africa's government.

And so, says analyst Daniel Silke, director of the Political Futures consultancy, Zuma's future looks cloudy.

"The future for President Zuma is indeed going to be rocky," he told VOA from Cape Town. "It's highly unlikely that he'll be able to strike any sort of deal which will prevent the legal process from attacking him. ... This is going to be an expensive business for Jacob Zuma and, of course, the investigations going forward in the courts could potentially uncover even more wrongdoings, or alleged wrongdoings from the president."

'The sooner  the better'

But that, Zuma's detractors say, is not the only reason to remove him. South Africa faces general elections in 2019, when Zuma's second term is scheduled to end. In recent municipal and national elections, the ruling party has steadily lost ground as Zuma's popularity has fallen.

In 2016 municipal polls, the party lost control of three major metropolitan areas. With just over a year before the national elections, ANC leaders are aware they need to act fast to keep voters backing the party that has, for so long, dominated national politics.

"We were saying to President Zuma on Sunday that we don't want two centers of power; we want President Ramaphosa to take control not only of the ANC but [also] the affairs of the state," ANC treasurer general Paul Mashatile told investors earlier this week at an annual mining industry gathering in Cape Town.

"Our view as the leadership of the ANC is that the sooner the president of the republic steps down for the new leadership to take over the better because then you have certainty of policy of direction  there will be no confusion," he said.

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Singapore 'Seriously Evaluating' F-35, Lockheed Executive Says

Sputnik News

02:53 09.02.2018(updated 02:56 09.02.2018)

Lockheed Martin is searching hard for new clients to buy its F-35 aircraft and the Singapore government might be interested, a company executive said Thursday.

"They, I think, are seriously evaluating the F-35, as well as other platforms I'm sure," Lockheed International Executive Vice President Rick Edwards told Reuters this week at the Singapore Airshow, adding, "when they are ready, we will respond."

According to Richard Aboulafia, a Washington aviation analyst and vice president of analysis at Teal Group, the Asian military aircraft markets are among the strongest in the world. Up to 2015, Japan, South Korea, Australia and Singapore were the only countries to purchase a military aircraft with a unit price in excess of $50 million, except for Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Lockheed already has a lot of planes to deliver to clients, creating a backlog. Aboulafia forecasted in a Thursday report for Defense News, however, that Singapore is "likely to join the F-35 club in the next 10 years."

On February 6, Singapore Air Force head Maj. Gen. Mervyn Tan confirmed in an email to the Straits Times that the service was undertaking a study of the F-35 as a potential addition to the F-16 fighter fleet. "This is to ensure that we continue to have a capable fighter fleet to defend Singapore's sovereignty and interests into the foreseeable future," the general said.

The F-35B "jump" jet is on display at the Singapore Airshow, which runs from February 6 to 11. US President Donald Trump's administration marshalled the diplomat responsible for foreign military sales, Tina Kaidanow, principal deputy assistant at the State Department's Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, to the airshow for the first time in years. The diplomat's mission is to promote Lockheed's F-35 and Raytheon-made missiles as part of Trump's "Buy America" effort, Business Insider reported February 2.

Germany has previously requested classified documents from the Pentagon about the F-35's capabilities, and its air force chief has expressed support for buying F-35s, but political pressures might nix the possibility of procuring a non-European made aircraft. The Luftwaffe's chief of staff has reportedly been told not to talk about the F-35 publicly again unless he wants to lose his job.

 Sputnik

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PNS Aslat Seizes 5 Tons of Drugs to Total $1 Billion in CTF-150 Seized Drugs in Recent Months

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS180208-09

Release Date: 2/8/2018 10:59:00 AM

From Commander, Combined Maritime Forces, Office of Public Affairs

MANAMA, Bahrain (NNS) -- Pakistan Navy Ship (PNS) Aslat (254), as part of Combined Task Force (CTF) 150, seized five tons of hashish Feb. 6, while patrolling the Arabian Sea.

Aslat detected a dhow of interest during a routine patrol of the area. The Pakistan ship requested permission from CTF 150 to conduct a flag-verification boarding. Once the dhow was determined to be without nationality, PNS Aslat was authorized to conduct a non-destructive search of the dhow. Aslat's boarding team located the five tons of hashish, valued at over $197 million.

"CTF 150 is a multinational task force working together in order to promote security and stability throughout our area of operations," said Commander of CTF 150 Cmdre. Mal Wise, Royal Australian Navy. "The recent seizure with PNS Aslat highlights the expertise and local operational knowledge of our partner navies that is key to achieving success."

Since November, multinational assets in support of CTF 150 have seized over 16 tons of hashish and 1.5 tons of heroin, valued in excess of $1 billion. This is the sixth confiscation of drugs by CTF 150, currently under Australian leadership, with a combined Australian and Canadian staff and supported by assets from partner nations like Australia, France, New Zealand, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The U.S.-led Combined Maritime Forces is a Bahrain-based, global maritime partnership of nations, aligned in common purpose to conduct maritime security operations in order to provide security in the maritime environment.

CTF 150 is focused on disrupting terrorist organizations and their unlawful activities by restricting freedom of maneuver in the maritime domain. In collaboration with regional and other partners, CTF 150 promotes maritime security by denying terrorist organisations their ability to move personnel, weapons or drugs thus obstructing their capacity to raise funds.

NOTE: This calculation is based on the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission Illicit Drug Data Report 2015-16 figures for Cannabis Resin (Hashish) at $50 AUD /$39 USD per gram (p215) and Heroin at $300,000 AUD / $235,000 USD per kilogram (p 216).

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Russians penetrated US election systems, top US official claims

Iran Press TV

Thu Feb 8, 2018 04:04PM

A senior US intelligence official claims the Russians successfully penetrated the voter registration rolls of several US states prior to the 2016 presidential election.

"We saw a targeting of 21 states and an exceptionally small number of them were actually successfully penetrated," Jeanette Manfra, the head of cyber-security at the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), told NBC News on Wednesday.

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 were able to determine that the scanning and probing of voter registration databases was coming from the Russian government," she said.

However, there is still no evidence that any of the voter registration rolls were altered in any fashion, according to US officials.

In September, the US government notified election officials in 21 states that hackers carried out cyber attacks on their computer systems before the presidential election, although the systems were not breached in most cases.

Jeh Johnson, who was DHS secretary during the election, said, "2016 was a wake-up call and now it's incumbent upon states and the Feds to do something about it before our democracy is attacked again."

In January 2017, just weeks before leaving his post, Johnson designated US election systems as "critical infrastructure," a classification that applies to entities like the power grid that could be attacked. The move provides federal assistance for state and local governments to keep their election systems safe from cyber attacks.

But Johnson told NBC News he is now worried that since the 2016 election a lot of states have done little to nothing "to actually harden their cybersecurity."

Manfra said she didn't agree with Johnson's assessment. "I would say they have all taken it seriously."

Special Counsel Robert Mueller is leading the US Justice Department's investigation into alleged collusion between President Donald Trump's election campaign and Russians.

Republican lawmakers in Congress say the Justice Department actively sought to undermine Trump and help the election campaign of former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

US intelligence agencies claim Russia-linked hackers provided WikiLeaks with damaging information -- in the form of thousands of hacked emails -- about Clinton to skew the 2016 presidential election in favor of Trump.

Trump has repeatedly denied allegations that his campaign colluded with Russians and has condemned the investigations. Russian President Vladimir Putin has also denied the allegations.

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China to Develop Sea-Based Missile Interceptors

Sputnik News

22:07 08.02.2018

China is planning to develop a sea-based missile defense launcher after completing a successful intercept of a ballistic missile in space from a ground-based system earlier this week, according to the South China Morning Post.

"China's sea-based anti-missile system aims to defend both its territory and overseas interests, because sea-based defense systems will be set up wherever its warships can go," analyst Song Zhongping said Tuesday, adding that "the first area it will target is the Asia-Pacific region and the Indian Ocean to protect its overseas interests."

Zhou Chenming, another analyst, told SCMP the developments are meant to show North Korea it is a relatively small nuclear power. The most recent missile interception occurred at a time when Pyongyang is gaining a stronger grip on how to launch nuclear weapons on ballistic missiles.

Further, the Indian military tested an Agni-V intercontinental ballistic missile in mid-January with sufficient range to reach anywhere in China.

However, Beijing may not have the capability to intercept US ICBMs yet. "China's mid-course anti-missile system is powerful enough to shoot down missiles from North Korea and India, though it's not clear whether it could intercept an ICBM from the US if they start firing at each other," Zhou told SCMP.

The People's Liberation Army-Navy has rapidly expanded in recent years with the launch of the Liaoning, China's first aircraft carrier, in late 2016, before the construction of a second carrier in April 2017. At least four carrier groups are expected to be operating in the Chinese fleet by 2030.

Beijing has a strong interest in ensuring trading routes through the Indian Ocean and the Strait of Malacca are secure since 75 percent of its oil imports transit those waterways.

 Sputnik

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China's Air Force part of joint patrol over S China Sea

People's Daily Online

(Chinadaily.com.cn) 07:41, February 08, 2018

The Chinese air force recently sent its Su-35 fighter jets to take part in a joint combat patrol over the South China Sea. [Photo/Weibo of the Air Force]

The Chinese air force recently sent its Su-35 fighter jets to take part in a joint combat patrol over the South China Sea, the air force said in a release on Wednesday afternoon.

This is the first time the People's Liberation Army Air Force has made public the deployment of its Su-35s, built by Russia's Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association and introduced to China in late 2016. The air force did not reveal when the patrol took place.

The release said the multirole fighter jet's participation in combat exercises will help strengthen the air force's long-range operational capability.

The air force will continue pushing forward training to improve combat capabilities, it said.

Officials from Russia's state technology corporation Rostec said in November 2015 that Russia and China signed a contract that was estimated to be worth $2 billion for 24 Su-35s. The deal was later confirmed by Wu Qian, a spokesman for of the Chinese Defense Ministry.

The PLA's official website, 81.cn, previously said Su-35s started to be delivered to China in December 2016.

Russian news agency TASS said that as one of Russia's most advanced fighter jets, the Su-35 is equipped with phased array antenna radar and thrust vectoring engines. It has a maximum speed of 2,500 km per hour and is able to fly 3,400 km without refueling, according to TASS. The fighter is armed with a 30-mm gun and can carry 12 bombs or missiles, the report said.

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China's 'killers in the sky' practice combat

Iran Press TV

Thu Feb 8, 2018 10:50AM

China says it has sent its Russian-made Sukhoi Su-35 advanced fighter jets for training under "real combat" conditions in the South China Sea, a potential show of force against the controversial presence of the United States military in the disputed region.

According to a strongly-worded statement released by the China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) on Wednesday, the military drill was a "pragmatic action" aimed at fulfilling "its mission in the new era."

The statement further said that the training was expected to boost pilots' capabilities "under long-distance or high-sea conditions," but did not indicate the exact number of fighter jets that took part in the exercise.

The jets are dubbed in China "the killer in the sky" for being highly-maneuverable and equipped with phased array radar and steerable thrusters.

China and Russia inked a deal for the shipment of 24 Su-35 aircraft for a sum of two billion dollars in November 2015. The first batch, comprising of four jets, was reportedly delivered in late 2016 while another 10 aircraft were handed over in late 2017. The remaining 10 warplanes are reportedly to be delivered in 2018.

'Military drill in response to US'

According to Xu Guangyu, a retired PLA general and senior adviser at the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association, the air force drill was launched in response to "provocation by the US," an apparent reference to an incident in which US Navy missile destroyer USS Hopper came too close to a South China Sea island  disputed between China and the Philippines  on January 17.

On January 20, the Chinese Foreign Ministry, while reporting the date of the incident, strongly denounced the US move and vowed to take "necessary measures" to protect China's sovereignty.

Xu added that the military exercise further meant to show that the "China-Russia military cooperation is solid, mutually benefiting and reliable."

China is involved in territorial disputes in the South China Sea, where several countries, including Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, and the Philippines, have overlapping claims. The US, which is an extra-regional country, has been taking the side of China's rival claimants in the regional disputes.

Washington has so far sent several of its warships to the South China Sea to protect what it calls "freedom of navigation" there, but Beijing often accuses Washington of interfering in regional issues and deliberately stirring up tensions.

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Pence: U.S., Allies to Continue Peacefully Dismantling North Korea's Nuke Program

By Terri Moon Cronk DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Feb. 8, 2018  In recent years, North Korea has threatened the United States and its allies across the Indo-Pacific region, and for the past two decades, it's devoted every available resource to developing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, Vice President Mike Pence told American and Japanese troops at Yokota Air Base in Japan yesterday.

The American people, the people of Japan and freedom-loving people across the wider world long for the day when peace and prosperity replace Pyongyang's belligerence and brutality, the vice president said. "Together with our allies and partners, we will continue to strive to peacefully dismantle North Korea's nuclear program and alleviate the suffering of its people," he said.

"And sadly, despite our efforts over the decades, every step of the way North Korea has answered the overtures of the wider world, and our two nations with willful deception and broken promises," Pence noted.

North Korea's continued threats have stirred the United States to act, he said, "and we will continue to act with vigilance."

The United States and its allies will continue to intensify maximum pressure on North Korea until it abandons its nuclear and ballistic missile programs for good, the vice president said.

Ready For Any Eventuality

"But until that days arrives, let the world know from here at Yokota Air Base and beyond, we are ready for any eventuality," he said.

The United States will always seek peace and ever strive for a better future, Pence said. "But you, the instruments of American power, know, and let our adversaries know, all options are on the table."

And the American armed forces and self-defense forces of Japan will be ready to defend our people and our way of life, he said.

"To any who would threaten our people, our allies know this: Under this commander-in-chief with the greatest fighting force in the world, the United States is ready," the vice president said, "ready to defend our homeland, defend our allies, anytime, anywhere."

Let the world know, he added, that we will defeat any attack, and meet any use of conventional or nuclear weapons with a response that is rapid, overwhelming and effective.

"[Today] on behalf of your commander in chief, I urge you: Be vigilant. Mind your mission. Look after one another," Pence told the troops. "And know that the American people and the people of Japan are counting on you -- each and every one of you -- every hour every day."

Protecting, Preserving Freedoms

The vice president said that as he looked out across the hangar where the audience was gathered, he saw men and women, American and Japanese, who answered the call to put on a uniform to protect their families and preserve their freedoms.

"The burden you carry is a heavy one, full of uncertainty," he said.

"The challenges that lie ahead will demand every ounce of your courage," he told them. "But I have confidence that you will confront and overcome whatever trials may arise."

For generations, the U.S. has stood guard over the Indo-Pacific together with its cherished ally, Japan, and it always will, Pence said.

"Today as in ages past, our commitment is unwavering. Your courage is inspiring, and the spirit of our people is unconquerable," he said.

"I know freedom will prevail. You will do your duty," Pence told them. "We will protect our people, we will defend our freedom, and together we will forge a future of security, prosperity and peace for both of our nations for generations to come."

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North Korea snubs US: No plan to meet American officials

Iran Press TV

Thu Feb 8, 2018 07:01AM

North Korea says it has "no intention" of meeting with American officials during the upcoming Winter Olympic Games in South Korea.

North Korea's official KCNA news agency cited a senior Foreign Ministry official as making the comment on Thursday, a day before the opening of the Winter Olympics in the South Korean city of Pyeongchang, where US Vice President Mike Pence will also be present.

"We have never begged for dialog with the United States and it will be the same going forward," said Cho Yong-sam, the director-general of the North American department of North Korea's Foreign Ministry. "To be clear, we have no intention of meeting with the US during our visit to South Korea," and no plans to use the Winter Olympics for political purposes.

Pence had earlier suggested that he would be open to a meeting with North Korean representatives during the event's opening ceremony.

The Friday ceremony will also be attended by a senior delegation of North Korean officials, including the younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and the North's nominal head of state, Kim Yong-nam.

The US, under President Donald Trump, has adopted a confused approach toward North Korea, attempting to both approach and reproach it.

The US vice president earlier vowed tough new sanctions against Pyongyang over its nuclear and missile programs, calling it the world's "most tyrannical and oppressive regime."

South and North Koreas  long separated by deep-running hostilities and a heavily-fortified military zone  have been engaging in nascent rapprochement since New Year's Day. Pyongyang has agreed to participate in the Winter Olympics, in South, and Seoul has applied sanctions exemptions to accommodate the North's participation.

The two sides have also exchanged diplomatic visits, and their athletes have trained together.

The US, long relying on a military posture against North Korea, has been sidelined amid the inter-Korean rapprochement. Observers believe Washington is sending Pence over to absorb some of the attention.

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UN Permits North Korean Officials to Visit South Korea

By Smita Nordwall February 08, 2018

The United Nations has given approval for a high-level North Korean delegation to travel to South Korea for the Olympics, granting an exemption on sanctions against the repressive regime.

The exemption directly affects Choe Hwi, a senior leader of the North Korean Workers' Party, who has been on the U.N. sanctions blacklist since June 2, 2017, and is subject to a travel ban and asset freeze.

South Korea's U.N. mission told a Security Council committee that the 22-member delegation was expected to attend the opening ceremonies Friday and stay until Sunday.

The delegation will include North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's sister, Kim Yo Jong, who is blacklisted by the U.S. Treasury Department but not the U.N.

The U.N. exemption will also allow the North Korean delegation to take home luxury goods whose import is banned.

South Korea requested the exemption, telling the U.N. committee in a letter that the visit "will serve as a timely opportunity to reduce tensions on the Korean Peninsula and beyond."

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French Defense Budget Proposal Suggests Yearly $1,7 Bln Increase in 2019-2022

Sputnik News

19:03 08.02.2018

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The draft French defense budget proposes an annual increase of 1.7 billion euros between 2019 and 2022 and the yearly boost is set to reach 3 billion euros from 2023, the French Defense Ministry said Thursday.

A total funding of 295 billion euros is previewed for 2019-2025, according to the ministry's Twitter.

The ministry, which unveiled the new budget proposal earlier in the day, a special effort will be put into cyberdefense with 1.6 billion euros earmarked for this area and additional 1,000 positions as well as a permanent cyberunit.

The intelligence services have been promised 1,500 new positions and 4.6 billion euros for equipment.

The increase of the defense spending comes amid US demands for European countries to contribute more to the NATO budget for their own defense. During his election campaign, France's President Emmanuel Macron vowed to raise defense budget to 2 percent of GDP by 2025 in line with the NATO demands. The military upgrade is also believed to be a part of the French president's efforts to improve collective European defense capacity and strengthen the EU as UK's withdrawal from the bloc looms.

Currently, the French armed forces are participating in several military campaigns: in Syria and Iraq French troops are engaged in the anti-Daesh operation, whereas about 4,000 troops are fighting terrorists in West and Central Africa. Within the French territory, there is a 7,000-strong contingent, which has been patrolling the streets since 2015 in the wake of a series of deadly terrorist acts.

 Sputnik

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EU to enact 'blocking regulations' if US withdraws from Iran deal

Iran Press TV

Thu Feb 8, 2018 06:20PM

A European Union official says the 28-nation bloc could put in place "blocking regulations" to ensure that its companies continue doing business with Iran if the United States pulls out of the multilateral 2015 nuclear deal.

Denis Chaibi, head of the Iranian task force at the EU's external action service, told the Euromoney Iran Conference 2018 in Paris on Thursday that in case of a US withdrawal, one of the bloc's options would be to restore "blocking regulations," which were agreed in 1996 amid Washington's economic sanctions against Cuba.

"We are looking at a number of possibilities. It is not complicated to do it legally in that the legal instrument exists, but it doesn't require a huge internal debate," Chaibi said.

The EU rules "could be revived or put back, but only if it is clear that the US is putting back sanctions with extraterritorial sanctions and that they are being applied. It can't be done protectively," he added.

Iran and the P5+1 countries  namely the US, Russia, China, France, Britain, and Germany  reached the nuclear deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in July 2015 and started implementing it in January 2016.

Under the accord, Iran undertook to apply certain limits to its nuclear program in exchange for the termination of all nuclear-related sanctions against Tehran.

US President Donald Trump is opposed to the JCPOA, which was negotiated by his predecessor, Barack Obama, and warned that he might ultimately "terminate" it.

Last month, Trump extended waivers of key economic sanctions on Iran, lifted under the nuclear agreement, for another 120 days but said he was doing so "for the last time."

He further called on European allies and US Congress to work with him to "fix the disastrous flaws" in the pact or face a US exit.

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China, Russia voice support for Iran's nuclear deal amid US threats

Iran Press TV

Thu Feb 8, 2018 08:38AM

China and Russia have reaffirmed their support for Iran's nuclear deal with six world powers, including Beijing and Moscow, amid US President Donald Trump's threats against the multinational accord.

At a Tuesday meeting with Chairman of the Iranian Parliament's Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy Alaeddin Boroujerdi in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi stressed that Iran and China are committed to the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), IRNA reported.

Tehran and Beijing, he said, will work to protect the agreement.

The two sides also discussed bilateral ties, counter-terrorism issues and the situation in Iraq, Yemen and Syria.

Also on Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stressed Moscow's commitment to the JCPOA.

"We will insist that all the parties remain committed to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) for Iran's nuclear program," TASS state news agency quoted Lavrov as saying.

"Its failure is fraught with very negative and hard-to-predict consequences for the entire non-proliferation system and the entire world order," he added.

On January 12, Trump extended waivers of economic sanctions on Iran for another 120 days but said he was doing so "for the last time."

Although the US president declined to withdraw from the Iran deal  which he has long railed against and formerly promised to "rip up"  he gave a four-month deadline to the US Congress and America's main European allies to address what he called the "disastrous flaws" of the deal.

The agreement, reached between Iran and the P5+1 countries -- the US, the UK, France, China, Russia and Germany -- puts limitations on parts of Iran's nuclear program in exchange for removing all nuclear-related sanctions.

A decision to re-impose sanctions would have effectively ended the Iran nuclear agreement.

The European parties to the deal, China and Russia have made it clear that they will not reopen negotiations on the deal, which they say is working as it is; and Trump's demands could thus only be addressed by domestic US law, with no jurisdiction over Iran or the International Atomic Energy Agency, and with no direct effect on the JCPOA.

Iran says the country would commit to no obligation beyond those it has already agreed to under the JCPOA and that it would not renegotiate the deal.



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US trying to mislead Iran into leaving JCPOA: Araqchi

Iran Press TV

Thu Feb 8, 2018 12:39AM

An Iranian deputy foreign minister says the United States is trying to mislead Tehran into leaving the nuclear deal.

"The US is trying to mislead us out of the JCPOA, but we will not fall into its trap," said Abbas Araqchi during a Wednesday interview with Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

On January 12, US President Donald Trump signed his third sanctions relief for Iran as part of Washington's commitments under the nuclear accord, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The multilateral agreement, also signed by the UK, France, China, Russia and Germany, removes all nuclear-related sanctions against Iran in exchange for certain limitations on its peaceful nuclear program.

But the American head of state, who has called the agreement "embarrassing" for Washington, warned EU signatories that he was giving them "a last chance" to join the US in "fixing significant flaws in the deal."

Araqchi stressed that if the US scraps the nuclear deal, it will lose the rest of the world's trust.

"If the US leaves the deal, nobody will ever be willing to negotiate with it," he added.

The deputy foreign minister added that since Iran is fully committed to the deal, other parties must show the same level of commitment.

The US president claims that Iran's development of ballistic missiles for defensive purposes is in breach of a UN Security Council resolution that endorses the JCPOA.

Iran, however, has time and again made it clear that its missile capabilities are purely defensive in nature and are not up for negotiation.

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Iranian Says Secure Nuclear Deal Before Talks On 'Other Issues'

RFE/RL February 08, 2018

A senior Iranian official says the West must ensure that the 2015 nuclear deal is a success before his country can begin to discuss other issues affecting the Middle East region.

Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told a conference in Paris on February 8 that key to future negotiations on matters such as Tehran's regional activities and its missile program is to honor the terms of the nuclear accord, from which the United States has threatened to withdraw.

"Now they ask Iran to enter discussions on other issues. Our answer is clear: Make the [nuclear accord] a successful experience and then we discuss other issues," he said.

He added that U.S. President Donald Trump's policies toward Iran were "destructive" and violated the terms of the nuclear deal with six world powers  the United States, Britain, France, Germany, China, and Russia.

Araqchi rejected claims that Tehran's activities were destabilizing the region and accused the United States, Israel, and Saudi Arabia of fomenting tensions in the Middle East.

"We have always fought against terrorism. Iran has always played a key role in bringing stability and peace to the region...There is no link between the deal and our role in the region," he said.

It was not immediately clear whether Araqchi's comments and willingness to eventually negotiate with the West on other issues had the backing of Iran's hard-line religious leaders who control government policy.

Tehran has repeatedly refused to discuss its missile program despite demands by the United States and the Europeans, claiming it is purely defensive in nature.

U.S. and other officials have complained that Iran's ballistic-missile program can easily be converted for nuclear use.

The United States suspended sanctions against Iran following the 2015 nuclear agreement, which provided Tehran with relief from financial sanctions in return for limits on Tehran's nuclear program.

However, the United States still imposes punitive measures over issues such as ballistic-missile development, terrorism, and human rights.

Trump has accused Iran of violating the "spirit" of the nuclear accord and has said he wants to work with European allies and Congress to fix what he called "disastrous flaws" in the accord, which was signed under his predecessor, Barack Obama.

Trump warned that Washington would withdraw from the deal if terms were not strengthened by May.

Britain's minister for the Middle East, Alistair Burt, said at the same Paris conference that European powers were determined to save the agreement and to work to address U.S. concerns, but he warned that Iran also needs to mitigate Western concerns over its regional activities.

"We and our European partners are absolutely clear. We want the deal to succeed," Burt said. "We don't want to see the [deal] go down, and are working with our European partners to mitigate concerns the United States may have to ensure it continues."

i

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-nuclear-deal- araqchi-paris-conference-negotiations -trump-russia/29028206.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 Confirms Nine American Abrams Tanks in Hands of Iranian Militias

Sputnik News

21:59 08.02.2018

Iranian militias in Iraq have obtained up to nine M1 Abrams main battle tanks, according to a Pentagon inspector general's audit of the mission to crush Daesh in Iraq and Syria.

"The US Department of State acknowledged that some US-provided military equipment sent to support the mission, including as many as nine M1 Abrams tanks, had fallen into the hands of Iranian-backed militias that fought against [Daesh] in Iraq," the report, released on February 2, reads.

In the past, unverified pictures posted on social media indicated that militia groups under the People's Mobilization Forces' umbrella had the US-made tanks in their possession. The State Department has pushed the Iraqi government to make securing the tanks a priority, the report said.

A spokesman for the company that makes the tanks, General Dynamics, told al-Ghad Press in January that it would be packing its bags and leaving maintenance stations in Iraq since that country had violated the terms of the agreement and lent the tanks to the Iran-backed groups. The contract only authorized the Iraqi Army to use the vehicles themselves.

The State Department, however, would not confirm the General Dynamics representative's statement about withdrawing maintenance crews due to the contract violation, telling Kurdistan 24, "The Abrams maintenance program for the Iraqi Security Forces is still currently active, and there is no plan to discontinue it in the future." If General Dynamics refuses to do the work, the US can likely draw on vast quantities of contractors to pick up the slack.

"Sometimes the PMF asks for American tanks from the Iraqi Army if Russian-made tanks are unavailable," according to Hussam al-Mayahi, a weapons specialist within the PMF, as quoted by We Are The Mighty.

Baghdad has been a prolific buyer of Russian and American tanks, but it has a history of letting its foreign-made weapons and military vehicles fall into the wrong hands. The Iraqis lost 40 M1 Abrams tanks as result of corruption within the army, poorly trained tank crews, and outright abandonment in the summer of 2014, according to defense expert Matthew Aid.

In 2014, the US State Department approved the sale of 175 M1A1 Abrams tanks to Baghdad, according to the Pentagon. Last year, Iraq started to accept delivery of an order for 74 Russian T-90 tanks to reinforce the Abrams fleet.

 Sputnik

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Mattis pressing NATO for long-term stay in Iraq: Report

Iran Press TV

Thu Feb 8, 2018 07:21AM

The United States is reportedly pressing NATO to set up a long-term mission in post-Daesh Iraq amid fears among the European members of the Western military alliance that they could be dragged into yet another Afghanistan-like quagmire.

Reuters cited five senior NATO diplomats as saying on Wednesday that US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis sent a letter to NATO headquarters in January, calling for a formal NATO mission to Iraq with a semi-permanent or permanent command to purportedly train Iraqi forces.

"The United States is pushing hard for a NATO role in Iraq, not in a combat role, but for a long-term assignment," one senior NATO diplomat said on condition of anonymity.

"This looks suspiciously like another Afghanistan," where the US-led Western military alliance has maintained a military presence since 2001, the diplomat said, adding, "Few allies want that."

The US and its allies invaded Afghanistan under the guise of war on terror. Some 17 years on, the Taliban militant group has only boosted its campaign of violence, targeting both Afghan civilians and security forces in bloody assaults.

More recently, the Daesh terrorist group has established a foothold in eastern and northern Afghanistan and stepped up its attacks.

In his letter, Mattis suggested developing what he called military academies and a military doctrine for the Iraqi Defense Ministry, diplomats said.

NATO defense ministers are expected to discuss Washington's request in Brussels next week, with a possible decision at a summit in July.

Diplomats said that NATO defense chiefs will provide ministers with a range of options for an Iraq mission, while NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has discussed the issue with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.

Pentagon spokesman Johnny Michael declined to comment whether Mattis had sent a letter to NATO, but said the US "administration continues to look for ways allies can do more to counter terrorist organizations."

The plans for a NATO mission comes only after Iraqi armed forces, backed by popular forces, managed to rid their homeland of Daesh, the world's most notorious terror group. They declared full victory against the Takfiri outfit late last year.

Months after Daesh emerged in Iraq, the US and its allies began a military campaign in Iraq under the pretext of fighting the terror group. The US-led alliance did little to eliminate Daesh, but faced repeated accusations of targeting civilians and aiding Daesh terrorists.

The volunteer forces helping the Iraqi army on the battlefield said on numerous occasions that they have documented evidence showing Washington provides the terrorists with weapons and military support.

Following the collapse of the Takfiri outfit in Iraq and neighboring Syria, Daesh remnants have been flowing into Afghanistan and expanding their presence there under the nose of the US military and other foreign forces.

Washington's fresh push comes while US President Donald Trump has denounced NATO as "bulwark of international peace and security."

During the 2016 campaign and after his election, Trump has repeatedly slammed NATO as outdated and obsolete.

The size of any potential NATO mission has not been debated, but the diplomats said they would need to be substantially more than the current teaming to mollify Trump, adding they could involve regional "training" centers outside Baghdad.

The US new plan for Iraq comes as many Iraqi people are calling on US troops to leave Iraq now that the Takfiri group is defeated in the Arab country.

On Tuesday, the Iraqi premier unveiled a plan for the gradual drawdown of US-led coalition forces from Iraq after the collapse of Daesh.

Also on Monday, an Iraqi government spokesman said that US forces had already begun pulling out but that some would remain.

However, two major Iraqi Shia groups, the Badr Organization and Kata'ib Hezbollah, which played a key role in the fight against Daesh, have demanded a complete withdrawal of American troops from the country.

The United States has more than 5,000 troops in Iraq.

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Germany Building More Ships to Boost Israeli Maritime Missile Shield  IDF

Sputnik News

08:45 08.02.2018(updated 09:00 08.02.2018)

TEL AVIV (Sputnik) - Germany is building four ships to add to Israel's sea-based missile shield called Iron Dome, according to a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces.

"A ceremony which marked the construction initiation of the Saar 6 Class Corvettes was held in Kiel, Germany. Four Saar 6 Class Corvettes will be integrated gradually into the Israeli Navy over the next three years," it was announced Wednesday on the official IDF Twitter account.

Israeli Navy Commander Aluf Eli Sharvit has described the German-build corvettes as key to the maritime missile shield.

The sea-based Iron Dome went live last November. Together with three US-built ships already in service, the four corvettes will protect the Jewish state's gas rigs and shipping lanes from rocket attacks, according to the Times of Israel newspaper.

 Sputnik

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Myanmar using food as quiet weapon against Rohingya: Reports

Iran Press TV

Thu Feb 8, 2018 11:30AM

The government in Myanmar is using food as a quiet weapon against minority Rohingya Muslims in the country's troubled west, new reports reveal.

In an exclusive report released on Wednesday, the Associated Press cited Rohingya Muslims who have survived a deadly state-sponsored campaign of violence, as recounting how food was used against them to drive them out of the western state of Rakhine, where they have lived for generations.

One Rohingya man, Abdul Goni, who has taken refuge in Bangladesh, said he had been stopped by the Myanmarese military from walking to the forest to collect firewood and sell it back when he was in Myanmar. He said his only cow was later taken away by Buddhist neighbors and seven soldiers. His uncle was later killed and was "strung... up on a wire" because he had tried to stop the theft of his buffaloes, he said.

Goni said other fellow Muslims were killed for trying to fish in a river.

An acute shortage of food ensued the restrictions.

"On bad days, they (Goni and his family) carved the flesh out of banana plant stalks for food. On the worst days, his children ate nothing," according to the AP report.

Goni said he then decided to take his family and flee.

"It was worse than a jail. People at least get food twice a day in jailWe were always surrounded, always under stress, always watched," he said.

'They want to erase us completely'

"Sometimes we stayed hungry for a day, two days, even five days," Mohammad Ilyas, who is from Ah Nauk Pyin Village in Rakhine, told AP. "The Myanmar government doesn't want a single Muslim to remain there. They want to erase us completely."

The 55-year-old added that Myanmar's military and his Buddhist neighbors had taken control of Rohingya rice paddies and rice stockpiles.

While restrictions on the freedom of movement and access to food have long been in place, they have been tightened dramatically in recent weeks, according to the AP report.

In another case, AP recounted the story of a 60-year-old farmer, Rashid Ahmed, who had been stopped from harvesting his rice fields by the Myanmarese military and robbed of his six buffaloes by his Buddhist neighbors.

"It would have been better if they had just shot us instead of starving us out," Ahmed said. "What they did was slower; it was crueler. They left us to imagine the worst, to wake up every day and think about what would happen when there was no food at all."

Amnesty International

Separately, Amnesty International also said on Wednesday that "ethnic cleansing" continued against the persecuted minority group.

Rohingya refugees who talked to Amnesty offered similar accounts.

"We weren't able to get food, that's why we fled," Dildar Begum, from a village near the town of Buthidaung in Rakhine State, told Amnesty.

The minority Muslims in Myanmar have faced horrific violence by the military and Buddhist mobs since late 2016. Accounts of killing, raping, amputating, and lynching all happening against the Muslims have sparked serious concern among most world countries and human rights organizations.

Amnesty said Myanmar, which has consistently denied the documented reports of violence, is now resorting to the new "quieter" weapon of food against the Rohingya.

"Instead of terrorizing the population through killings, rapes, and the widespread burning of Rohingya villages, security forces are today using mainly quieter and more subtle measures to squeeze people out by making life so intolerable that they have little option other than to leave," Amnesty said.

The London-based organization said the food shortage had been caused in large part due to the violence perpetrated by Myanmar's military forces, who are blocking Rohingyas from gaining access to their rice fields, markets and humanitarian aid.

"Deliberate actions by the Myanmar authorities... are in effect starving out many Rohingya who have tried to remain in their villages," the group said.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has also expressed alarm that that the lack of access to food and fuel is adding to hunger in Myanmar.

Backed by Myanmar's government, the Myanmarese military and Buddhist extremists launched a heavy-handed crackdown against the Muslim minority in Rakhine State in late 2016. That campaign intensified in August 2017.

The crackdown has forced nearly 700,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee to neighboring Bangladesh, where they also face an inhospitable environment.

The government of Myanmar denies any atrocities have taken place, and insists that Rohingya are "illegal immigrants."

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Pakistan Says Cutting Aid May Further Complicate Relations With US

By VOA News February 08, 2018

The United States' attempt to cut Pakistan's military or civilian aid may lead to further complications in the relations between the two countries, Pakistan's interior minister said Thursday.

Ahsan Iqbal was responding to a question from VOA's Urdu service regarding a bill introduced Tuesday in the U.S. House of Representatives to end nondefense aid to Pakistan.

Representatives Mark Sanford, a Republican from South Carolina, and Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, introduced the legislation to prohibit nondefense aid to Pakistan, saying "Pakistan is a country that knowingly provides resources for terrorists."

"The United States should not funnel money to a government that provides military aid and intelligence to terrorists," said Massie.

Pakistan denies this charge and counters by saying it has paid a heavy price for fighting against terrorists. Iqbal also asserted that the United States is not giving much to Pakistan in the first place.

"Right now, Pakistan is not getting significant military or nonmilitary aid from the United States. Whatever nonmilitary aid goes to Pakistan, it goes to NGOs through USAID [the U.S. Agency for International Development]. The government of Pakistan does not get that aid," he told VOA.

The United States announced last month it was suspending security assistance to Pakistan.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said on January 4 that the U.S. was suspending security assistance "until the Pakistani government takes decisive action against groups, including the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani network. We consider them to be destabilizing the region and also targeting U.S. personnel. The United States will suspend that kind of security assistance to Pakistan."

Iqbal said even though U.S. aid reductions to Pakistan did not have any significant impact, steps like those "can create distance between Pakistan and the United States."

VOA's Urdu service contributed to this report.

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Eight Candidates To Run For President Of Russia

RFE/RL February 08, 2018

Eight candidates will be on the ballot in Russia's March 18 presidential vote, a poll that appears certain to hand President Vladimir Putin a new six-year term.

The list of candidates was finalized when the Central Election Commission formally approved Ksenia Sobchak and Maksim Suraikin on February 8, the last day of the registration process.

At a live-streamed meeting in Moscow, commission chief Ella Pamfilova said that eight candidates will compete for the country's highest office.

Putin's popularity, his control over the levers of power, and what critics say have been years of steps to suppress dissent and marginalize opponents virtually ensure that he will win a fourth term.

Opposition activists say that in past elections the Kremlin has used an array of tactics, both during campaigns and on election day, to manipulate the vote and achieve the results it desires.

Sobchak is a journalist and TV personality whose late father, Anatoly, was Putin's boss and mentor for a time in the 1990s. She was nominated by the Civil Initiative party.

Suraikin is the little-known leader of the Communists of Russia Party, which is separate from the much-larger Communist Party.

The six candidates registered earlier are Putin, business ombudsman Boris Titov of the Party of Growth, nationalist Sergei Baburin of the Russian All-People Union Party, liberal Grigory Yavlinsky of the Yabloko party, flamboyant ultranationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky -- the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia -- and Communist Party nominee Pavel Grudinin.

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. He has called on Russians to boycott the vote, which he has condemned as Putin's "reappointment."

Russia's constitution bars presidents from serving more than two consecutive terms, meaning that Putin would not be eligible to seek a new term in 2024.

A longtime KGB officer in the Soviet era, Putin served two four-year terms after President Boris Yeltsin stepped down on the last day of 1999 and put him in charge as acting president.

After steering Dmitry Medvedev into the presidency in 2008 and becoming prime minister -- a move that enabled him to retain power without violating the constitutional limit of two straight terms -- Putin returned to the Kremlin in 2012.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-election-campaign -candidates-final-list/29027218.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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Syrian army takes full control of two villages Hama province

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Damascus, Feb 8, IRNA/SANA -- Units of Syrian Arab Army, in cooperation with the popular defense groups, on Thursday tightened control over Qaser Ibn Wardan and al-Museitbeh in northeastern countryside of Hama.

[Syrian army takes full control of two villages Hama province]

SANA's reporter in Hama said that after seizing control of the two villages, the army units reinforced their military points in the villages and their surrounding areas and began to dismantle IEDs and mines planted by the Daesh (ISIS) terrorists.

Qaser Ibn Wardan village, one of the captured villages, was one of the main centers and supplying routes for Daesh terrorist organization in the northeastern countryside of Hama which turned the citizens' houses in the village into hideouts for its terrorists and depots for weapons and ammunition.

9156**2050

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Syria urges UN to condemn US 'massacre' in Dayr al-Zawr

Iran Press TV

Thu Feb 8, 2018 06:41PM

Damascus has strongly denounced as a "war crime" a deadly strike carried out by the US-led military coalition against pro-government forces in Syria's eastern Dayr al-Zawr province, saying US presence in the country is "illegitimate."

The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates condemned the strike in two separate letters sent to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and the rotating president of the UN Security Council on Thursday, saying the air raid was "a crime against humanity."

It further lambasted Washington for using "the excuse of fighting terrorism to set up illegitimate bases on Syrian territory."

The US military said late Wednesday that it had killed at least 100 pro-government fighters in Syria to allegedly fend off an attack on the so-called US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Dayr al-Zawr province.

"We demand that the international community  condemn this massacre and hold the [US-led] coalition responsible for it," added the ministry in the letters, as cited by Syria's official news agency, SANA.

It also demanded, once again, that "this illegitimate coalition" be dissolved.

"This aggression reveals once again, without any doubt, the real function of this alliance and the role played by Washington in supporting the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group, as it did in the past," the ministry further said.

Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement that the raid once "again showed that the US is maintaining its illegal presence in Syria not to fight the Daesh group, but to seize and hold Syrian economic assets."

Back in December, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that all foreign forces, including those of the US-led coalition that are present in Syria without any authorization from the Damascus government, had to withdraw from the Arab country after the total defeat of Daesh.

The US-led coalition has been conducting airstrikes against what are said to be Daesh targets inside Syria since September 2014 without any authorization from the Damascus government or a UN mandate. The military alliance has repeatedly been accused of targeting and killing civilians. It has also been largely incapable of fulfilling its declared aim of destroying Daesh.

Damascus has on several occasions called for US troops to leave Syria now that the fight against Daesh is over.

The Syrian government, backed by Russian air cover, has managed to push back the terrorists turf after turf. The Arab country flushed Daesh out of its last stronghold in November.

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Putin, Erdogan agree to boost military coordination in Syria: Kremlin

Iran Press TV

Thu Feb 8, 2018 11:20AM

The Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayip Erdogan have agreed to strengthen Ankara-Moscow military and security coordination in Syria.

In a telephone conversation on Thursday, Putin and Erdogan discussed a number of issues including the Syria crisis and the situation in Idlib and Afrin regions.

"It is agreed to strengthen coordination of the actions of the armed forces and special services of Russia and Turkey in order to combat terrorist groups that violate the ceasefire regime," the Kremlin said.

The two leaders also agreed for speeding up the process of establishing new observation posts near the de-escalation zones and exchanged views on the situation in eastern Ghouta, near Damascus.

They also discussed the prospects for new contacts between Russia, Turkey and Iran on Syria.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said a possible summit meeting between the presdients of the three countries was discussed, but no date has been agreed.

The last Syria summit attended by Turkish, Russian and Iranian presidents was held in the Russian Black Sea city of Sochi on November 22.

The three countries joined efforts in late 2016 to launch a peace process aimed at defusing the crisis in Syria. Iran and Russia are Syria's allies, while Turkey sides with anti-Damascus militants.

They have, since early 2017, been mediating talks between the Syrian government and opposition. The talks have led to the establishment of four deescalation zones across the Arab country.

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News - General News Parts trade with Thailand has big upside Thai exporters may find it hard to crack the concentrated local market



However, parts manufacturers need to be aware that there are crucial differences between the two markets, according to Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association (AAAA) chief executive Stuart Charity.



Many of our members are doing business within Thailand, both exporting into Thailand, manufacturing in Thailand and also importing from Thailand, he told an Australia-Thai trade seminar in Melbourne.



I do believe there is enormous potential to grow that business relationship.



Australia and Thailand have very strong ties, and we think that there is much greater opportunity with the FTA (free-trade agreement) and lots of synergies between the two to develop that even further.



Mr Charity noted that since the FTA came into effect in 2005, the imbalance in automotive trade has grown rapidly.



Out exports are in the hundreds of millions, around $400 million and imports are about $7 billion, so they are doing quite well.



The trade deficit is extremely high because one third of all vehicles sold here are made in Thailand. The FTA has been very good for Thailand.







Left: Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association (AAAA) chief executive Stuart Charity



Australias $400 million of exports are mainly parts, while some of the imports from Thailand are parts made there by Australian companies.



The Australia-Thai Auto Parts Business Matching seminar was designed to bring together companies from both countries in a bid to expand trade in both directions. Twenty Thai companies had small exhibits at the seminar showing what they could do and a number of AAAA members were present to assess the offerings.



Mr Charity said the aftermarket sectors in the two markets were quite different in that Australian buyers were in the market for parts that were good for towing, off-roading and camping while customers in Thailand were generally companies looking to make vehicles more suitable for the work in hand.



We did a market study a couple of years ago on opportunities for Australian companies in Thailand, Mr Charity said after his presentation.



By far the biggest opportunity is in the fleet market. Youve got a lot of mining and forestry and other industries and they need vehicles that are modified to suit the purpose.



There is also a number of companies in Thailand and all they do is take a chassis  they buy, say, 200 HiLux chassis or Ranger chassis  and custom-build vehicles for fleet buyers.



They are mainly based around Rayong, where the car making is. There are Australians in those businesses, executives and engineering managers, and they know the quality of the Australian product. So there are opportunities there, in lighting, in frontal protection, suspension, in all of those areas.



For Thai parts manufacturers, the challenge was more about finding a way into the distribution chain in Australia.



The supplier-to-market channel has consolidated in Australia. You really need to go through one of the three major distributors.



He said most of the best-known aftermarket parts retailers were now controlled by just three distribution groups, Bapcor, GFC and Supercheap.



You would have to go through those three unless you are in a specialist area.



If you are in a niche area like air-conditioning, there would be other channels available.



Its a very mature industry in terms of its structure. Im not saying its impossible, but it is a hard one to crack into for overseas companies.



And having a suitable product at a cheaper price may still not be enough, he said.



You need all the back-up service, you need a local presence. I think it would be difficult for a Thai supplier to supply directly with one of the majors here with no local presence. Theyd either have to joint venture or partner-up with a local supplier.



Mr Charity said Australia was a tempting market for aftermarket parts suppliers, even though it was a relatively small country in population terms.



Retail sales in the aftermarkets around $US11 billion, so its a big market.



The independent aftermarket  the non-car company branded parts  has about 70 per cent of that.



Mr Charity said there was both good and bad news for Thai suppliers.



The good news is, if you are able to get into some of the major chains, they are going to give you excellent volume even though Australia is a quite small market with a diverse car parc. The players that are in the market do have strong volumes.



The challenge is getting into the market. The market is driven by very high quality. Were a competitive cost alternative to the genuine parts chain, but we do sell premium product and often the product sold through the aftermarket is superior to the original equipment parts designed to enhance the performance and function of the vehicle.

The Road to Recovery podcast series AN AUSTRALIAN industry leader says there is enormous potential for expanding the two-way auto parts trade with Thailand thanks to synergies between the two markets and the free trade agreement.However, parts manufacturers need to be aware that there are crucial differences between the two markets, according to Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association (AAAA) chief executive Stuart Charity.Many of our members are doing business within Thailand, both exporting into Thailand, manufacturing in Thailand and also importing from Thailand, he told an Australia-Thai trade seminar in Melbourne.I do believe there is enormous potential to grow that business relationship.Australia and Thailand have very strong ties, and we think that there is much greater opportunity with the FTA (free-trade agreement) and lots of synergies between the two to develop that even further.Mr Charity noted that since the FTA came into effect in 2005, the imbalance in automotive trade has grown rapidly.Out exports are in the hundreds of millions, around $400 million and imports are about $7 billion, so they are doing quite well.The trade deficit is extremely high because one third of all vehicles sold here are made in Thailand. The FTA has been very good for Thailand.Australias $400 million of exports are mainly parts, while some of the imports from Thailand are parts made there by Australian companies.The Australia-Thai Auto Parts Business Matching seminar was designed to bring together companies from both countries in a bid to expand trade in both directions. Twenty Thai companies had small exhibits at the seminar showing what they could do and a number of AAAA members were present to assess the offerings.Mr Charity said the aftermarket sectors in the two markets were quite different in that Australian buyers were in the market for parts that were good for towing, off-roading and camping while customers in Thailand were generally companies looking to make vehicles more suitable for the work in hand.We did a market study a couple of years ago on opportunities for Australian companies in Thailand, Mr Charity said after his presentation.By far the biggest opportunity is in the fleet market. Youve got a lot of mining and forestry and other industries and they need vehicles that are modified to suit the purpose.There is also a number of companies in Thailand and all they do is take a chassis  they buy, say, 200 HiLux chassis or Ranger chassis  and custom-build vehicles for fleet buyers.They are mainly based around Rayong, where the car making is. There are Australians in those businesses, executives and engineering managers, and they know the quality of the Australian product. So there are opportunities there, in lighting, in frontal protection, suspension, in all of those areas.For Thai parts manufacturers, the challenge was more about finding a way into the distribution chain in Australia.The supplier-to-market channel has consolidated in Australia. You really need to go through one of the three major distributors.He said most of the best-known aftermarket parts retailers were now controlled by just three distribution groups, Bapcor, GFC and Supercheap.You would have to go through those three unless you are in a specialist area.If you are in a niche area like air-conditioning, there would be other channels available.Its a very mature industry in terms of its structure. Im not saying its impossible, but it is a hard one to crack into for overseas companies.And having a suitable product at a cheaper price may still not be enough, he said.You need all the back-up service, you need a local presence. I think it would be difficult for a Thai supplier to supply directly with one of the majors here with no local presence. Theyd either have to joint venture or partner-up with a local supplier.Mr Charity said Australia was a tempting market for aftermarket parts suppliers, even though it was a relatively small country in population terms.Retail sales in the aftermarkets around $US11 billion, so its a big market.The independent aftermarket  the non-car company branded parts  has about 70 per cent of that.Mr Charity said there was both good and bad news for Thai suppliers.The good news is, if you are able to get into some of the major chains, they are going to give you excellent volume even though Australia is a quite small market with a diverse car parc. The players that are in the market do have strong volumes.The challenge is getting into the market. The market is driven by very high quality. Were a competitive cost alternative to the genuine parts chain, but we do sell premium product and often the product sold through the aftermarket is superior to the original equipment parts designed to enhance the performance and function of the vehicle.


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How Can Vundavalli or JP Help Pawan?

The attempts of power star and Jana Sena Party president Pawan Kalyan to get into political limelight are looking very funny and non-serious.

At a time when the political atmosphere in Andhra Pradesh is getting heated up over the injustice done to AP in the Central budget, Pawan is meeting people who are politically insignificant to the state  former MP Vundavalli Arun Kumar and Lok Satta chief Jayaprakash Narayan.

On Thursday, Pawan met JP and discussed the issue of forming a joint action committee to fight for special category status to AP. Nothing has emerged out of the meeting, except that both Pawan and JP patted each others back.

On the other hand, Vundavalli wondered how he could help Pawan Kalyan in his mission.

I am politically nowhere and has been keeping away from electoral politics, though I have been responding on peoples issues. I wonder why Pawan thought I would help him, he said.

He, however, welcomed Pawans proposal to float a JAC.

"It is good that Pawan wants to do something, which I feel is a welcome sign. But I dont know what exactly Pawan is fighting for and what my role will be. I will meet him in Hyderabad on Saturday to know his mind, Vundavalli said.

Click Here for Latest Direct-to-OTT Releases (List Updates Daily)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican and Democratic senators on Tuesday questioned whether President Donald Trumps strategy in Afghanistan will bring an end to the nations longest war, which U.S. officials estimated will cost taxpayers more than $45 billion this year.





In their first hearing on the war since the Republican president unveiled his strategy in August, Senate Foreign Relations Committee members expressed concern to State Department and Pentagon officials that the plan will not achieve its goal of forcing the Taliban into peace talks.





Insurgents, they noted, control more Afghan territory than they have since the October 2001 U.S. invasion, and a spate of attacks in Kabul last month killed scores.





Trump in August committed to an open-ended conflict in Afghanistan and signaled he would send more troops as he vowed a fight to win, in a reversal of his call during the presidential election campaign for a swift U.S. withdrawal.





Senator Bob Corker, the Republican chairman of the committee, called Trumps strategy better than that of the Obama administration because it is not limited by a timetable, it pressures Pakistan to end support for Afghan insurgents and promotes regional cooperation.





But he said lawmakers are struggling to figure out a path forward when it is pretty murky right now as to how we get to a place where Afghanistan is able to function without significant support from the West and other countries.





Senator Chris Coons, a Democrat, was more pointed.





I dont 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, he said.





Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan and Randall Schriver, the assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific security affairs, defended the strategy, noting that it is governed by progress on the ground rather than a fixed timetable set out by the Obama administration.





We have a policy that we believe in, Sullivan said, arguing that a U.S. pullout could lead to a Taliban victory that could give al Qaeda a stronghold from which to attack the United States as it did on Sept. 11, 2001. - Read More




STAMFORD  The owner of the Stamford Town Center mall saw its 2017 earnings plunge as it grappled with organizational changes and a challenging retail environment, according to the companys latest earnings report released this week.

Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based Taubman Centers posted annual profits of about $55 million, dropping 49 percent from 2016. Its fourth-quarter 2017 bottom line fell about 30 percent to around $20 million.

The declines reflected about $14 million in restructuring charges for the year and other factors including bad-debt expenses and the impact of hurricane-caused damage and disruption to its mall in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Full-year revenues ticked up 3 percent, to around $629 million. Fourth-quarter revenues increased 4 percent to about $172 million.

In an earnings call Friday, Taubman officials said they were optimistic about their portfolio of 27 shopping centers in U.S. and east Asia, as they pointed to milestones that included lease signings for about 40 brands in the past year. But the results are unlikely to pacify critics of the companys management such as hedge fund Land and Buildings, an activist investor that is based in downtown Stamford next to the mall.

The retail landscape has stabilized over the past six to nine months, and we are seeing encouraging momentum in our leasing efforts, Robert Taubman, the companys chairman, president and CEO, said on the call.

Tenant sales per square foot averaged $810 in 2017, an increase of about 2 percent from 2016. Fourth-quarter sales moved up around 3 percent, the sixth-consecutive quarter of growth.

Leased space in Taubman malls averaged 96 percent at the end of 2017, flat compared with 2016. Average rents per square foot averaged nearly $62 last year, up 1 percent from 2016.

Results for Stamford Town Center were not included in the earnings report. The malls anchor tenants include Macys, Saks Off 5th and Barnes & Noble stores, as well as a restaurant row on Tresser Boulevard.

A message left for Land and Buildings was not immediately returned.

In response to pressure from Land and Buildings, Taubman recently announced changes to how it elects its board members.

Taubman said it would implement one-year board terms in this years election, appointed two new independent directors and pledged to add a third new independent director by its 2019 annual meeting. Nine people sit on the board.

But the plan did not satisfy Land and Buildings, which wanted the board directors elected last year, including Robert Taubman, to voluntarily stand for election this year.

Land and Buildings initiatives have included unsuccessful runs for the board last year by the hedge funds chief investment officer, Jon Litt, and ally Charles Elson, a finance professor at the University of Delaware.

The hedge fund has recommended Elson and David Contis, who has served as president of mall operations at Simon Property Group, as candidates in this years board election.

Many of Litts criticisms of Taubman center on the companys power structure. The Taubman familys disproportionate voting rights discourage turnover on the companys board and accountability to shareholders and have led to poor management and underperforming earnings, Litt has said.

At the same time, Litt has underscored his belief in the retail industry.

The recent strong activity on Black Friday is just the latest in a series of proof points underscoring that the top malls in the country, such as the Class A malls owned by Taubman, remain destinations for consumers, Litt said in November. As the stocks of the companies owning these malls continue to be undervalued, Land & Buildings is confident that there is a significant opportunity to realize value in these names.

Taubman shares closed Friday at $58.24, up nearly 6 percent from their Thursday closing total.

pschott@scni.com; 203-964-2236; twitter: @paulschott
GREENWICH  The honeymoon may well be over for First Selectman Peter Tesei and Selectman Sandy Litvack as the two clashed publicly over their differing economic development visions for the town.

After an op-ed by Litvack criticized the work of the towns Economic Advisory Committee, which has been championed by the first selectman, Tesei fired back sharply Friday morning on WGCHs weekly radio show Ask the First Selectman.

I was a little disappointed that my colleague on the board Mr. Litvack chose to criticize (economic development efforts) in a very personal way, Tesei said on the radio. He really has to take a step back and respect the work of volunteers. He says he does, but he comes to his role never having been involved in the town. So I think his initial reaction is to throw ideas out, with frankly no substance, and not appreciate and reflect what Greenwich is and what its about.

Tesei praised the work of his volunteer committee.

Its fine to critique it, but (Litvack) brings no real solution to the problem because he hasnt really identified what the problem is, Tesei said. We all want to work collegially, but were also not going to sit back and let someone who has demonstrated little direct engagement in the town personalize and attack good, well-meaning people.

On Friday afternoon, Litvack said Tesei was twisting his words into an attack on volunteers.

Volunteers are great and volunteerism is to be applauded, but what is missing here is a serious economic development plan, Litvack said. Once you have the plan, developed and led by a professional, then volunteers in implementing the plan have a real and meaningful role.

Tesei and Litvack battled in a heated race for first selectman last fall. Tesei, a Republican, won re-election for a record sixth term as Greenwichs top elected official. But Litvack, a Democrat, cut heavily into his margin of victory. Tesei won with 75 percent of the vote in 2015, but in the 2017 election he defeated Litvack by less than a thousand votes, making it his closest victory.

As one of the top three vote-getters among the four candidates, Litvack was seated on the three-member Board of Selectmen. They got off to a good start, with Tesei joking they were in their honeymoon phase when the board was sworn in last December.

But the era of good feelings between the political rivals appears to be over. Litvacks editorial, which was released Thursday, was in a response to one put out by Tesei and Jim Aiello, chairman of the First Selectmans Economic Advisory Committee.

Tesei and Aiello highlighted the committees efforts, including the Think Greenwich marketing campaign, funded by the town with private donations from residents and businesses. They also touched upon the towns participation in the regional marketing effort called the Fairfield Five to attract New York City businesses and the possibility of Greenwich holding a major global hedge fund and private equity conference.

But in his op-ed, Litvack questioned the effectiveness of the committee, saying it has accomplished virtually nothing in terms of economic development and can show no measurable results except for press releases.

As we all know, the rest of any undertaking is not meetings or press releases but rather what has been accomplished, Litvack wrote. And in this case, the answer is nothing.

In particular, he criticized the Think Greenwich campaign, which is slated to receive an additional $30,000 in town money in the 2018-19 municipal budget, if approved. Litvack says the campaign did not attract any new businesses to Greenwich nor did it generate much interest in town.

Tesei said $90,000 had been raised privately for Think Greenwich, which he called an example of people putting their money where their mouth is, and said he couldnt find any financial commitments Litvack had made to the town.

He should be careful and not criticize volunteers, Tesei said. Its one thing to criticize me. Im elected to do so. But when you take on volunteers and youre so righteous, you should think about the chilling effect it has.

Litvack, a former senior executive vice president and chief of corporate operations for the Walt Disney Co., said, My criticism is not of the volunteers, as Mr. Tesei knows, but of the fact that the first selectman refuses, for whatever reason, to recognize the fact that you have to put a development plan in place before you have a public relations campaign.

Litvack had not held office nor served on any town bodies before his election in November, but he noted his own business background and experience with economic development.

The claim that I have offered no real solution because [I haven't] identified what the problem is, is bizarre, Litvack said. The problem is we do not have an economic development plan and without one the town is at risk for the future. The solution is to do as I propose and stop spending money on a public relations campaign that has not and will not produce anything tangible.

kborsuk@greenwichtime.com
Word-of-mouth has always been a successful form of marketing. When it comes to spreading this word on social media, influencer marketing is one of the most effective methods. A recent Tomoson study reveals that businesses are earning $6.50 for every $1 they invest in influencer marketing. The top 13 percent of businesses make more than $20 for each dollar spent on influencer marketing.

However, given recent trends and changes, brands might need to rethink the way they approach influencer marketing. Considering there's a bottom 18 percent that doesn't make any revenue as it is, those who don't pay attention to these changes will find influencer marketing even harder.

Just recently, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), for the first time, had to settle charges against two social media influencers. As a result of the process, the FTC has set a new precedent: Going forward, influencers will have to clearly disclose their relationship with the brands they are promoting. As part of implanting the new rules, the FTC has issued an endorsement guide for both influencers and brands.

Today, it's relatively easy for aspiring influencers to purchase followers and offer their services on various marketplaces, and brands are wising up, learning to approach influencer marketing as a long-term relationship rather than a quick-grab media buy. And this is the case in both the business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) spheres.

In light of such changes, brands will have to rethink their influencer marketing strategies. Here's how you can improve your strategy this year.

Related: 10 Laws of Social Media Marketing

Develop your own influencers

An influencer message has to be authentic because audience members now have a clear view of who's behind the curtain. Knowing that a message is inspired by money, rather than earnest appreciation, breeds skepticism.

As buyers turn to niche blogs and their social networks for assistance with their spending decisions, there will be new layers of scrutiny involved. The person behind the message and his or her relationship with the brand in question will certainly become a more significant factor. And an influencer being close to the brand won't necessarily be a bad thing. Even as they watch out for bias, consumers will also want to hear from someone close enough to the brand to know what they are talking about.

Your employees are best positioned to discuss the product and consumers are very likely to believe them. They work directly on your products and are actually the people behind the product features. Who better to talk about those products? No one.

"When an employee talks about their work experience or shares lessons they've learned working for a company, it resonates in a completely different way," explains Roope Heinila; CEO of Smarp. "So imagine what sort of message a company can share online if it can orchestrate entire departments of employees to work together and make their voices heard. That's extremely powerful."

Clearly, employees have been an untapped resource for influencer marketing that may prove invaluable now.

Related: 10 Marketing Influencers That Every Entrepreneur Can Learn From

Employees as information hubs

According to the Wasp Barcode 2017 State of Small Business Report, 30 percent of executive leaders surveyed have asked their employees to use their personal social media accounts to share and comment on content. Besides hiring designated sales and marketing people, this was the most used tactic.

What's the reason for this? When it's about marketing and advertising, people still trust their peers more than they do brands. A report published by FastCompany shows that content shared by employees can receive up to eight times more engagement than that shared on brand accounts. So, not only do personal accounts help boost the readership of the company's message, they also help generate buzz for your brand.

"We have been so surprised in terms of engagement and downstream outcomes," says Dana Hyland George, a recruitment manager at Philips Lighting. Speaking of the advantages of enlisting their team members to help boost the company's brand as an employer, she explains, "we saw a gap where we could use an employee advocacy platform to help us amplify our story at scale . . . We wanted to humanize our brand, tell the world who we are and what differentiates us from others."

However, it's not always easy trying to get your employees to share your message on their personal accounts. While employee communication and brand advocacy do have similarities, it's important to remember that this will be a new thing for your employees, and you'll need a plan to implement it effectively.

Related: 4 Ways to Market Your Business for Free

Turning ambassadors into influencers

So, how do you turn your employees into known connectors that can help cultivate trust in your brand and its products? "The best way to create advocates in the organization depends on building a great culture that co-opts employee involvement," notes Don Charlton, the founder of JazzHR. "Don't just sanction culture from HR. Ask your employee advocates to have an ownership stake in uncovering the culture."

Employee education is going to play an important role in ensuring successful advocacy. As part of that, management should teach employees the kind of audience and talking points to align with. Thus, instead of just blasting out sales pitches to followers, employees can get involved with starting and maintaining conversations based on value.

That said, the system shouldn't be overused. Rather than telling your employees to post as much as they can, you can teach them how to post the right content at the right time. As the business owner, it's your role to ensure sharing is easy both on the front and back end. Your content should always have easy accessibility to the share buttons to the major platforms.

If there are elements such as messages, themes or topics that you need your employees to share, share the information on a cloud-accessible program where they can easily copy or automatically schedule a post.

Related: Marketing Your Business on Craigslist

Conclusion

While influencer marketing has become one of the most effective marketing strategies, many marketers are still not using it. The lack of clear guidelines and instructions makes some marketers to shy away from using it the full extent. The FTC crackdown has awakened those who previously used influencer marketing and those who didn't cause them to think of new ways to make the most out of it. Involving your employees can be the best way to enjoy the benefits of influencer marketing.

Related:

How to Turn Your Employees Into Powerful Influencers

17 Motivational Leaders You Need to Follow on LinkedIn

El hotelero que expuso a una influencer ahora la defiende



Copyright 2018 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved



This article originally appeared on entrepreneur.com


Based on the information uncovered in an APK Teardown of the latest (v2.9) Android Messages app performed by Android Police chances are that Google is getting ready to launch a few significant new features for Android owners that Apple users have had for a while: A desktop interface for its official SMS/Messaging app and enhanced SMS/RCS features.

Starting the with the web interface there are strings of evidence that support the idea that Android Messages will be able to pair to a web browser so you can carry your SMS conversations from your computer. Phrases like Messages for Web, Scan your QR code, and Sign out of all computers send a pretty clear message that the pairing process would be similar to Allos.

Google has been working for a couple years to bring RCS to carriers all over the world. It recently enabled RCS for a few carriers in South America by letting the service run on Googles cloud services. Strings that support this idea are New! Text over Wi-Fi and data, Chat features are powered by Google, and No, use SMS only".

It could be that Google is almost finished creating its own cloud-solution for enhanced messaging that can work independently of a local carrier and is compatible with those that have implemented RCS themselves. Perhaps the feature will be ready to announce at Google I/O. This is purely speculative but entirely plausible based on the strings found.

The final feature, and one that we dont really have much information about, is payments to businesses. According to the strings found, Android Messages may be able to support payments to online retailers or local stores and businesses. Strings like Buy with Google, Payments Summary, and Checkout strongly support this.

Google recently introduced the ability to send money to your friends powered by Google Wallet, right from an SMS conversation window.

As to how the payments would work in practice isnt entirely clear. A wild guess is that businesses would be able to send invoices or payment requests to customers by only using their phone number, thus making secure payments a bit easier without needing to remember another password. A message sent to your number would contain a payment token to make a payment for that particular transaction using a payment method already on your Android Pay wallet.

Googles annual I/O conference is when the company announces all new features, services, and products that support and add to Google and Android (even iOS) ecosystems. The conference will take place May 8-10 in Googles hometown of Mountain View, CA.

Check out the source link for the full, more technical APK teardown.

Source
Evan Blass has a very solid track record with leaked renders, particularly with Samsung devices in the past. Today, @evleaks tweeted a couple of renders of the newly designed desktop docking station, updated in time for the release of the Samsung Galaxy S9.

The new dock, supposedly called the DeX Pad is different from its predecessor in a few ways. The round area that the Galaxy S8 was supported in an upright position is no more. The new design will dock the S9 in a flat position to make it easier to use the phones display as a touch pad. There is also a newly redesigned ventilation port.

The render also shows the ports available on the new dock: A full size HDMI port, two full size USB ports, and a USB-C port for power input. Whats missing is the Ethernet port from the original DeX Dock. Wi-Fi is pretty much a widely available commodity and the omission of the Ethernet port wont matter to most people.

This is the first time we've been able to see the Galaxy S9 from a lower angle in a leak. Here, we see a new kind of slotted speaker port and the 3.5mm headphone jack. The redesign of the speaker port could indicate we might finally see stereo loudspeakers on a Samsung flagship smartphone, which would be a welcome feature - as Samsungs flagship loudspeakers sound average at best.

Until the phone is officially announced, well be keeping you updated on all the leaks leading up to the phones launch on February 25.
Sharp's upcoming Aquos S3 smartphone has been doing the rounds in the rumorverse since the beginning of this year, getting certified for sale both by China's TENAA and Taiwan's NCC. Those outings have revealed a few pictures of the handset, but if you want more a source over in China delivers today.

This is our first look at hands-on images of the Aquos S3, caught somewhere in the wild with its iPhone X-inspired screen notch and dual rear camera positioning and vertical alignment. Unlike Apple's darling, this model goes with a fingerprint scanner on the back as you can see, since the Android world still isn't ready to give up on those.



Sharp Aquos S3 hands-on images

The Aquos S3 has a bottom bezel, but a pretty small one, and its design is quite in tune with the times. It should arrive with the Snapdragon 630 chipset at the helm, paired with 4 or 6GB of RAM and 64 or 128GB of storage, depending on which model you buy. It will reportedly boot Android 8.0 Oreo from day one.

The screen is probably a 5.99" 18:9 LCD with 2,160x1,080 resolution. The rear camera module has 12 MP + 13 MP snappers, while for selfies you'll get a 16 MP sensor. Everything is kept running smoothly by a 3,100 mAh battery. The Sharp Aquos S3 may become official at MWC later this month, ahead of a possible European release at some point between April and June.

Source (in Chinese) | Via
Earlier today we told you that Samsung is finally releasing the update to Android 8.0 for the Galaxy S8 and S8+, and it's pretty late to the Oreo party at this point. Still, that's quite an achievement compared to the Motorola Droid Maxx 2 for Verizon.

This particular handset is now receiving an update to Android 7.0 Nougat. That's an iteration that's almost one and a half years old at the moment, so to call this update long overdue would be a huge understatement. And it's especially true given that the Moto X Play, in effect the international variation of the Droid Maxx 2, first tasted Nougat in June of last year - and, interestingly, that was Android 7.1.1 not 7.0.

Anyway, it's good to see that Motorola and Verizon haven't entirely given up on software support for a device launched in October of 2015 running Android 5.1.1 Lollipop (and subsequently upgraded to Marshmallow).

The update comes with the December 2017 security patches, including the one that fixes the Krack Wi-Fi vulnerability. It would've been nice to have the February 2018 security patch level in there, but you probably shouldn't be too salty about that omission since it's so rare to see any kind of software rollout past an Android handset's two year anniversary (outside of Google's Pixel and Nexus families).

Source | Via




Haiti - FLASH : American pedophile pleads guilty to acts on a Haitian minor





Tuesday, James Daniel Arbaugh (40), a Stuarts Draft, Virginia man pleaded guilty today in the U.S. District Court in Harrisonburg, Virginia, for traveling from the United States to Haiti in 2016 and engaging in illicit sexual conduct with a minor aged 12 years, Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Departments Criminal Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Rick A. Mountcastle of the Western District of Virginia announced. The defendant will be sentenced on June 13 at 10:30 a.m.



According to facts admitted by the defendant during the guilty plea, Arbaugh has lived in Haiti for approximately 15 years and has traveled regularly back to the United States during that time. The defendant admitted that in 2016, while in Haiti, he engaged in illicit sexual contact with a minor under the age of 12 by touching the minors genitals under the minors clothing.



The investigation of the case was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements Homeland Security Investigations and the Harrisonburg Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Kaylynn Shoop of the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeb Terrien of the U.S. Attorneys Office in the Western District of Virginia.



This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.



SL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - News : Zapping...





Moise describes as political persecution...

President Moise describes as political persecution the report of the Central Unit of Financial Intelligence (UCREF) and that of the Senate Commission, which accuse him of misappropriation of funds. However, he is confident that justice will bring to light the false evidence and accusations used in this case and that it will prove his innocence...



The Committee modifies the list of musical groups

Following the last official list of groups that will participate in the National Carnival, on February 11-12 and 13, 2018 in the streets of Port-au-Prince https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-23456-haiti-flash-the-sweet-micky-group-will-participate-in-the-national-carnival-of-pap.html , the 2018 National Carnival Committee provided a new list that still includes the controversial Sweet Micky, but to which Roody Roodboy added. Notes that the Big O group of Olivier Martelly no longer appears in the list.



Final list : Barikad Crew, Boukman Eksperyans, Brothers Posse, Djakout #1, Enposib, Eya Eya / Rev La / K-Zino, Kai & Mikaben, Kanpech, King Posse, Kreyol La, Maestro & Vayb, Mass Konpa, RAM, Rockfam, Roody Roodboy, Sweet Micky, T-Vice et Zikos.



Construction of El Rancho Village

Reginald Boulos President of Societe Immobiliere et Financiere S.A. (SIF) announced "[...] the construction of Village El Rancho in 2018, which will include an 1,500-seat open amphitheater, 3 Modern movie theaters, commercial spaces and restaurants in a pleasant and secure pedestrian area." https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-9285-haiti-tourism-the-new-hotel-complex-el-rancho-nh-under-construction.html



Haiti without international funding...

During his conference report https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-23504-haiti-politic-president-moise-presents-the-results-of-his-first-year-in-office.html Jovenel Moses of his first year in power admitted that his administration had not yet signed an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and that Haiti had not yet received a letter of funding from friendly countries concluding with "What does not stop us from working."



4th Cross-Border Resource Center in operation

The Border Resource Center (CRF) of Ouanaminthe in Haiti, set up by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) with the financial support of Canada has started its first registration of migrants, recall that it is now 4 centers that are operational along the Haitian-Dominican border to welcome, guide and help Haitian migrants See also : https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-22880-icihaiti-dr-inauguration-of-the-3rd-border-resource-center.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-22801-haiti-rd-229-885-haitian-volunteers-or-deportees-back-in-haiti-since-2015.html



Carnival : Schedule of MUPANAH...

The General Direction of the Museum of the Haitian National Pantheon (MUPANAH) informs the public that due to carnival festivities, the institution will keep its doors closed from Saturday, February 10 until Wednesday, February 14, 2018. Activities will resume on Thursday 15 February at 8:00 am according to the usual schedule.



The General Direction of the MUPANAH wishes a happy carnival time to all !



HL/ HaitiLibre


















Published on 2018/02/09 | Source

Added episode 19 captures for the Korean drama "Black Knight" (2017)

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Directed by Han Sang-woo

Written by Kim In-yeong

Network : KBS

With Kim Rae-won, Shin Se-kyung, Seo Ji-hye, Jang Mi-hee, Kim Hyun-joon, Hwang Jung-min-I,...

20 episodes - Wed, Thu 22:00

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In this supernatural romance drama, a businessman with a pure heart braves danger for his love, a travel agent who has never traveled abroad. It is a love story that spans over two hundred years.

Broadcast starting date in Korea : 2017/12/06

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The Havre Police Department said in a post on their official Facebook page Thursday that because of heavy snowfall and dangerous road conditions, people should limit themselves to emergency travel only,

"Because of the amount of accidents and vehicles getting stuck blocking roadways, the Havre Police is recommending emergency travel only. Please stay indoors unless it is emergency travel only," the Facebook post said.

The recommendation comes as the National Weather Service in Great Falls issued a winter weather warning for Hill, Chouteau, Toole, Liberty, Blaine, Judith-Basin and eastern Glacier counties.

The warning will remain in effect until 6 a.m Friday.

Heavy snow, low visibility and additional accumulation of 2 to 4 inches, and as much as 6 inches in some areas are expected, the weather service website says.

People should plan on difficult travel conditions, the National Weather Service website said, including significant reductions in visibility.

Wind chills may drop to as much as 25 below zero and cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes.

The website says if people travel, they should keep an extra flashlight, food and water in their vehicle in the event of an emergency.

Information about road conditions in Montana can be obtained by calling 511, the weather service website says.
The Havre Public Schools Board of Trustees will meet Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in the Havre Middle School.

The agenda for the meeting is:

A. Call to order

1. Pledge of Allegiance

2. Roll call

3. Welcome to visitors

4. Agenda deletions or corrections, if any

B. Unanimous consent agenda

C. Old business

D. New business

1. Elections Resolutions  May 8

a. Call for an Election, Elementary District 16 (elementary only)

b. Call for an Election, District A

2. Consideration of Havre High School spring activity schedule

3. Consideration of out-of-state travel  Havre High School Close Up in Washington, D.C./New York City

4. Consideration of out-of-state travel  Havre High School Spanish Club in Puerto Rico.

Open Agenda  An opportunity for any member of the audience to bring to the attention of the board questions or relevant comments concerning district matters not on the agenda. The board will not discuss or take action on items not on the agenda, but may refer a matter presented to a future agenda.

E. Superintendents report

1. Enrollment report

2. Area Report  Mark Irvin

F. Announcements/communications/information

1. Announcements from the chair

2. MHSA Annual Meeting report

3. Correspondence

G. Executive session

H. Closing

The next special board meeting will be Tuesday, Feb. 27, at 12:15 p.m. at Robins School Administration Building

The next board meeting will be Tuesday, March 13, at 6:30 p.m at Havre Middle School.
Havre Police Department

Officers investigated after a First Street caller reported Thursday at 6:57 a.m. a motor vehicle crash between a Dodge pickup truck and a Ford Escort.



Officers investigated after a Havre High School caller reported Thursday at 8:54 a.m. that a plow and a vehicle collided. No injuries were reported.



Officers investigated after a First Street business caller reported Thursday at 10:04 a.m. that someone had committed fraud and stolen 18 TVs.



Officers issued a summons to Kendra Ames-Sagen of Libby, 33, on charges of possession of dangerous drugs and possession of drug paraphernalia after a U.S. Highway 2 Northeast caller made a report Thursday at 10:44 a.m.



Officers investigated after a First Street caller reported Thursday at 4:15 p.m. a motor vehicle crash.



Officers arrested Caleb Logan Denny of Rocky Boy, 20, on two Justice or City court warrants after a 22nd Avenue West caller reported Thursday at 7:50 p.m. that there was a disturbance with her son.



Officers arrested Richard James Forguson of Malta, 24, on an assault charge after a First Street Northeast caller reported Thursday at 10:30 p.m. that he was assaulted.



Officers arrested Acyonna Braan Sponsler of Havre, 23, on charges of possession of drug paraphernalia and obstructing a peace officer, as well as three Justice or City court warrants, today at 3:23 a.m. on First Street.

Hill County Sheriffs Office

The Sheriffs Office did not provide a dispatch log today.

Montana Highway Patrol

Troopers responded to a crash Thursday at 1:36 p.m. on U.S. Highway 2 near mile marker 424 where a Chevy sedan and a pickup collided as a result of slick roads. The drivers of both vehicles were take to Indian Health Services for medical attention. They were released the same day. The vehicles incurred severe damage.

Havre Fire Department

Medical crews responded to four calls Thursday.



Fire crews responded to two calls Thursday, each prompted by a malfunctioning alarm. One call came in at 1:30 p.m. from the 10 Block of Third Street, the other came in at 7:19 p.m. on the 1800 Block of Second Street. In both instances the alarm was reset. No further action was necessary.

Havre Animal Shelter

The animal shelter held this morning one long-haired, one Calico, four short-haired, and six medium-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.
Montana lawmakers split on vote

By ANDREW TAYLOR

Associated Press

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump signed today a $400 billion budget deal that sharply boosts spending and swells the federal deficit, ending a brief federal government shutdown that happened while most Americans were sleeping and most government offices were closed, anyway.

The House and Senate approved a bill to keep the government funded through March 23, overcoming opposition from liberal Democrats as well as tea party conservatives to endorse enormous spending increases despite looming trillion-dollar deficits. The House voted 240-186 to approve th...
February must be a month to revisit topics because Im back with marijuana-infused news, this time home-grown here in the U.S. and as wholesome as a Girl Scout working the annual cookie sales gig.

Last week I reported on two Canadian cops who allegedly took marijuana from a drug bust, then proceeded to get very allegedly high  like panicked enough to call for help, but too messed up to explain the problem high and so high the problem turned out to be the other uniformed officer was hiding in a tree.

But a 9-year-old Girl Scout in Southern California, where marijuana is legal for one...
Treatment with an investigational androgen receptor inhibitor significantly delayed the development of metastasis in patients with prostate cancer that had become resistant to standard androgen-deprivation therapy. The results of a multi-institutional, phase 3 clinical trial of apalutamide  led by investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and University of California San Francisco (UCSF)  are receiving early release publication in the New England Journal of Medicine to coincide with a presentation today at the American Society for Clinical Oncology Genitourinary Cancers (ASCO-GU) Symposium.

Our study found that apalutamide treatment markedly improved metastasis-free survival and other clinical outcomes in men with castration-resistant prostate cancers and no detectable metastases, says Matthew Smith, MD, PhD, of the MGH Cancer Center, corresponding author of the NEJM report. At this time, there are no approved treatments for men in that situation, so we need to wait until their disease progresses to add the standard therapies that have been approved for metastatic disease.

Senior author Eric Small, MD, deputy director of the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center at UCSF, who presented the data at the ASCO-GU Symposium, says, This trials results suggest that the availability of apalutamide should offer men with nonmetastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer a treatment that can delay or prevent the development of metastases and other complications associated with disease progression.

Androgen-deprivation therapy, either through surgical removal of the testicles or the use of drugs that suppress testosterone production, is standard treatment for men with metastatic prostate cancer and is also used for nonmetastatic cancer. Unfortunately, androgen deprivation stops working for almost all patients, leading to what is called castration-resistant disease. In such patients whose cancer has not yet spread, a rapid rise in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels warns of the near-term development of metastases, the major cause of complications and death from prostate cancer.

Apalutamide binds to the androgen receptor, blocking its activation by testosterone and other androgens. Apalutamide is being developed by The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, which sponsored this study. A previous phase 2 clinical trial of apalutamide for men with nonmetastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer at high risk of progression showed that the drug was well tolerated and achieved responses in most patients.

The current trial was conducted at 322 sites in 26 countries in North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific. More than 1,200 patients enrolled in the trial between October 2013 and December 2016. All participants had nonmetastatic prostate cancer that had stopped responding to androgen-deprivation therapy and a rapid PSA doubling time, indicating an elevated risk for metastasis. Participants were randomized to receive a daily oral dose of either apalutamide or a placebo and were evaluated every 16 weeks for signs of disease progression.

The NEJM study reports results based on data gathered by May 19, 2017. The average progression-free survival  the time from randomization to the first evidence of metastasis  was 40.5 months for participants receiving apalutamide, compared with 16.2 months for those taking a placebo. Taking apalutamide also reduced other signs of disease progression  including development of imaging-confirmed metastasis or symptoms such as bone pain  and death from any cause. Members of the apalutamide group who continued to benefit from the drug were able to continue treatment, and members of the placebo group could begin receiving apalutamide on an open-label basis.

Small is professor of Medicine and chief of the Division of Hematology and Oncology at UCSF. He holds the Doris and Donald Fisher Distinguished Professorship in Clinical Cancer Research and the Stanford W. Ascherman and Norman R. Ascherman Endowed Chair at UCSF. Smith is director of the Genitourinary Malignancies Program and holds the Claire and John Bertucci Endowed Chair in Genitourinary Cancers in the MGH Cancer Center and is a professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School

Several additional phase 3 trials of apalutamide are currently underway for other prostate cancer disease states, including studies of both earlier and later stage disease.

The NEJM report was co-authored by 16 additional investigators  from academic medical centers and from Janssen Research & Development  in nine countries.

UC San Francisco (UCSF) is a leading university dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care. It includes top-ranked graduate schools of dentistry, medicine, nursing and pharmacy; a graduate division with nationally renowned programs in basic, biomedical, translational and population sciences; and a preeminent biomedical research enterprise. It also includes UCSF Health, which comprises top-ranked hospitals, UCSF Medical Center and UCSF Benioff Childrens Hospitals in San Francisco and Oakland  and other partner and affiliated hospitals and healthcare providers throughout the Bay Area.

Massachusetts General Hospital, founded in 1811, is the original and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. The MGH Research Institute conducts the largest hospital-based research program in the nation, with an annual research budget of more than $900 million and major research centers in HIV/AIDS, cardiovascular research, cancer, computational and integrative biology, cutaneous biology, genomic medicine, medical imaging, neurodegenerative disorders, regenerative medicine, reproductive biology, systems biology, photomedicine and transplantation biology. The MGH topped the 2015 Nature Index list of health care organizations publishing in leading scientific journals and earned the prestigious 2015 Foster G. McGaw Prize for Excellence in Community Service. In August 2017 the MGH was once again named to the Honor Roll in the U.S. News & World Report list of Americas Best Hospitals.
Now there is hope of a new way to protect extremely premature babies from impaired vision or blindness resulting from the eye disease retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). A study at Sahlgrenska Academy published in JAMA Ophthalmology points to a clear link between ROP and low levels of the fatty acid arachidonic acid, measured in childrens blood.

Seeing such a strong connection between arachidonic acid levels and ROP is something that is entirely new. However we looked at the data, its always low levels of arachidonic acid that is most clearly associated with the disease, says Chatarina Lofqvist, an associate professor in experimental ophthalmology and the first author of the article.

What we believe and hope is that providing the children with arachidonic acid will raise the levels and reduce the amount of ROP to minimize the risk of children becoming blind, she continues.

Every year thousands of children in Sweden are screened for ROP, a disease that afflicts extremely premature babies whose retinal blood vessels have not fully developed. The children can be visually impaired, and in the worst cases become blind, due to retinal detachment.

Important building block

Consequently, finding biomarkers for the disease has been an important goal. In the current study researchers investigated the levels of about 20 different fatty acids in the blood of 90 children born before 28 weeks of pregnancy at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg.

The fact that arachidonic acid so clearly stood out surprised the research team led by Professor Ann Hellstrom. The fatty acid belongs to the omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid family, which at high levels is associated with inflammation and heart disease in adults. During the fetal period, however, the situation may be different.

Arachidonic acid seems to be of special importance during the whole pregnancy as a building block for membranes, Ann Hellstrom says. The mother provides the fetus with arachidonic acid, which is at a much lower level in her own blood compared to the fetal levels. Therefore, we believe that its important that the premature babies receive this fatty acid as a supplement.

Being tested in new study

The hypothesis will now be tested in a new study involving 210 children at neonatal units in Gothenburg, Lund and Stockholm. Children will be given a supplement with a combination of DHA, an omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid, which is also important for the construction of blood vessels and nerve tissue, and arachidonic acid, an omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid. At present the latter is not included in the nutritional supplements that premature babies receive immediately after birth.

Many times new treatments are introduced on the basis of intuition and opinion, but the evidence is not always there, Ann Hellstrom observes. Now we have something entirely new to go on, a fatty acid that we had not at all expected to be important in fetal growth. However we found it by systematically surveying all fatty acids to find evidence of which were involved in development in both healthy and sick infants.

Title: Association of Retinopathy of Prematurity With Low Levels of Arachidonic Acid

Contact: Chatarina Lofqvist and Ann Hellstrom

BY: MARGARETA GUSTAFSSON KUBISTA

University of Gothenburg, Sweden
N.C. Supreme Court to convene here



The North Carolina Supreme Court will convene a session of court in Hendersonville as part of its bicentennial celebration.

Related Stories



The Supreme Court is celebrating its 200th anniversary next year in 2019 and so as part of the celebration theyre bringing the court to the people, said Sharon Gladwell, the courts communications director.

Under state law, the Supreme Court can meet in only two other cities outside of Raleigh  Edenton and Morganton. The General Assembly granted the Supreme Courts request to allow the justices to convene in cities across the state this year and next.

The first of those is May 14 in Morganton, followed by Hendersonville on May 15 and Asheville on May 16.

The Board of Commissioners on Monday authorized the Supreme Court to use the upstairs courtroom of the Historic Courthouse. Commission Grady Hawkins noted a historic connection. Judge Leonard Henderson, for whom the county is named, was the second chief justice of the

The justices will hear two hour-long arguments  at 9:30 and 11 a.m.

Attendees are welcome but by ticket only, Gladwell said. Justice Sam Ervin is setting up the civic education and they are using these court sessions primarily as a way to educate the people in the state about courts and their role in our communities. Were leaving it up to each of the cities to decide how to pass out the tickets but were encouraging student participation, local universities and attorney bars.

Anderson Ellis, president of the Henderson County Bar, said he began lobbying for a Supreme Court session hear as soon as he heard about the courts bicentennial celebration.

I was annoying probably, he said. I was persistently inviting them until finally they said, If were going to go anywhere we might as well as go to Hendersonville.

Supreme Court personnel, county administrators, local judges and state and county law officers met here

on Jan. 30 to plan the day. There will be separate seatings for the first and second cases so the maximum number of people can attend. The plans now are to reserve roughly half the seats for students, including basic law enforcement training students at BRCC.

This is great, County Attorney Russ Burrell said. I would have died to do this when I was in school.

To request tickets write to County Attorney Russ Burrell, Suite 5, 1 Historic Courthouse Square, Hendersonville, N.C. 28792.
A catering student was caught with cannabis in his pocket after he was stopped in his car, a court heard. (stock photo)

A catering student was caught with cannabis in his pocket after he was stopped in his car, a court heard.

Ben Singleton (21) pleaded guilty to possession of 50 worth of the drug last October at Springdale Road, Raheny.

Swords District Court heard the defendant, of Templeview Row, Clarehall, was stopped while driving his car and Gda Gerard Holland got a strong smell of cannabis.

Singleton produced the bag of cannabis and co-operated fully, the court heard.

His solicitor said he was studying catering, had exams next month and hoped to work aboard.

Donation

He said the defendant was working as a barman in the city centre and no longer smoked cannabis.

"It was a foolish act from a man in third-level education," the solicitor said.

"His father can offer 400 as a charitable donation and he will pay back every penny to his father," the solicitor said.

Ordering the donation go to Merchants Quay Ireland, Judge Dermot Dempsey struck the case out.

He asked Singleton if he was proud of himself for dragging his father into court, to which he replied: "No, I'm not proud."
John Doherty will be sentenced today after sexually assaulting his stepdaughter when she was 12 and 13. Photo: Courtpix/Maxwells Dublin

A woman who was sexually assaulted by her stepfather 20 years ago said her childhood was "very sick and wrong", a court has heard.

John Doherty (55), of Patrician Villas, Stillorgan, Dublin, is due to be sentenced today at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of sexually assaulting his stepdaughter between January 1996 and April 1998 at their home in Stillorgan, when she was a child.

Doherty had previously failed in his High Court bid to stay criminal proceedings through a judicial review, claiming "blameworthy delay" by gardai in prosecuting the case.

Abuse

The court heard that the garda who handled the original complaint in 1998 went on sick leave, retired and has since died, and that the case was not reassigned to another garda until recently.

Doherty's stepdaughter, now 34, waived her right to anonymity so that her abuser could be named, the court heard.

In a victim impact statement, the woman said the abuse she suffered at the hands of her stepfather had taken away her childhood, her family and her education.

"Memories of my childhood are ruined. I will always live with a sense of shame," she said.

"This will be the last time I address him as my dad; he no longer deserves that title," the statement read, pointing out that although Doherty was not her biological father, she had chosen him to be her dad from when she was three years old.

"I loved and trusted him unconditionally and he betrayed me," she said.

The court heard the woman's relationship with her mother and extended family fell apart when the abuse came out, and that arguments with her mother led to the victim being punched and kicked and thrown out of her house.

She left school in fifth year and said she was "so angry" that she lost out on her education through no fault of her own.

She said her own relationship with her children had been deeply affected and panicked that she would "mix appropriate and inappropriate" when telling her children about sex education.

Garda Jeanette Power told Lorcan Staines BL, prosecuting, that the girl started drinking beer and alcopops with her stepfather from around the age of 10, although he always told her not to tell her mother they were drinking. She would watch over-18s movies in bed with her father and have graphic conversations about sex scenes.

She told gardai that when she was about 12, Doherty got into bed beside her and said he just wanted cuddles, but that it felt "wrong".

Once when she was turning 13, Doherty gave her three or four bottles of Bacardi Breezer and she went to bed but complained shortly afterwards of feeling sick. Doherty told her to go back to bed and she slept, waking up to find his hand down her pants.

Rubbing

The girl said to her stepfather, "Did you just do what I think you did?" and he said he had been just rubbing her belly because she was sick.

A month later, Doherty told her she hadn't imagined it and he had put his hand on her genitals, but never to tell her mother as it would "break her heart".

Some years later, Doherty told his wife during an argument that he had "interfered" with his stepdaughter and was thrown out of the house for a period. He attended group therapy for a year, couple counselling and individual therapy for about six years.

A psychologist said Doherty had taken full responsibility and had a thorough understanding of the effects of his abuse, high levels of victim empathy and remorse, and posed a low risk of further offending.
A father threatened to kill a Tusla social worker and harassed her for more than a year as he was trying to get in touch with his son and she was his only point of contact.

Georgel Gheorghescu (38) also threatened to kill a neighbour while holding a knife.

He was depressed and "wasn't himself" at the time of those incidents, his solicitor said.

Judge David McHugh adjourned the case to April for sentencing after a probation report was ordered.

The defendant, of Meadow Green, Clonsilla, admitted before Blanchardstown District Court to charges of har- assment and threats to kill.

Sgt Geraldine McManigan said that between August 2015 and September 2016, Gheorghescu made harassing telephone calls and sent harassing text messages to a Tusla social worker.

Sgt McManigan said he rang her, texted her, went to her place of business looking for her and made threats to kill her.

Brandishing

In a separate incident, Gheorghescu threatened to kill a neighbour at Meadow Green.

In that incident, on September 26, 2016, Sgt McManigan said the defendant came out of his house brandishing a knife and threatened the neighbour.

The defendant had since moved away from the area, the court heard.

Defence solicitor Simon Fleming said Gheorghescu was originally from Romania but had been living in Ireland for 11 years and this country was now his home.

Mr Fleming said Gheorghescu had a volatile relationship with his ex-partner and the couple split in 2015.

She disappeared with his son, and for nearly a year he did not know where they were.

Mr Fleming said Gheorghescu was trying to find his son, and the social worker was his only point of contact.

The defendant "wasn't himself" at that time and he wished to apologise for his behaviour, Mr Fleming said.
A banned driver told a garda he had HIV and would spit blood in his face after the officer told him his car was going to be seized. Stock photo: PA Archive

A banned driver told a garda he had HIV and would spit blood in his face after the officer told him his car was going to be seized.

David O'Leary (35) behaved appallingly on the night and uttered the "nastiest of threats", a judge said.

Judge Anthony Halpin ordered O'Leary to complete 80 hours of community service in lieu of two months in prison.

The judge adjourned the case to next month to see if O'Leary, of Ferryman's Crossing, Dublin 1, was suitable to complete the community service.

Gda Eoghan O'Connor told Dublin District Court he stopped O'Leary at Fairview Strand last June 12 because he noticed the front left tyre of the vehicle was unfit for use.

Gda O'Connor then saw that there was no insurance or NCT on the car and he told O'Leary the vehicle was going to be seized.

Aggressive

He said O'Leary immediately became verbally abusive towards his colleague, Sgt Ray Byrne.

Gda O'Connor told O'Leary to step back and the defendant became aggressive towards him, threatening to bite his lip and spit blood in the garda's face.

He said O'Leary also told him he had HIV.

The court heard the defendant had 114 previous convictions.

O'Leary's defence lawyer said his client, a father-of-one, was the sole carer for his mother, who suffers from lung problems.

He said the defendant had battled a heroin problem since he was a teenager and had left school before his Junior Cert.

O'Leary had been a promising boxer as a youth, but then his addiction took over.

The court heard the defendant was now on a methadone course, had not been in trouble for over two years and was focused on "working through his issues".
Pieces of metal from an industrial sieve have caused a major bakery to recall all of its bread products with a certain best-before date.

Johnston Mooney & O'Brien has recalled all products with a best-before date of February 11 as a "precautionary measure", it said.

The Dublin-based baker said that there is a "small risk" of some of the loaves bought containing small pieces of metal.

However, a spokesman told the Herald they were unsure of the exact size of the metal pieces.

"It was a piece of the sieve that broke up into pieces, so we don't actually know the size of them," he said.

"It's a very small piece of the sieve. When it was examined at the end, there was a piece missing.

"The reason for the recall is that we can't establish definitively where it is so we have to take every precaution."

Removed

Johnston Mooney & O'Brien said yesterday that it had already been in touch with all of the stores it supplied to ensure the loaves were removed from shelves.

It added that any products that were in its distribution system have also been re- called.

"As a precautionary measure, Johnston Mooney & O'Brien is undertaking a recall of all bread products with a best-before date of February 11, 2018 as there is a very small risk that some may contain small pieces of metal," the company said in a statement.

"Only bread products with this exact best-before date are impacted.

"No bun or roll products are affected.

"Anyone in possession of a Johnston Mooney & O'Brien bread product with the best-before date of February 11, 2018 may return it to where it was bought for a refund.

"Alternatively, they can send the empty packaging with their name and address for a full refund to Johnston Mooney & O'Brien, 11 Jamestown Road, Finglas, Dublin 11."
Brian O'Driscoll and Amy Huberman have finally been given permission to revamp their 1.8m home.

The high-profile couple were granted planning permission by the city council in June, but their neighbours lodged an appeal with An Bord Pleanala.

The former Ireland rugby captain and his actress wife will now extend the side and rear of their home in Rathmines.

They will also reconfigure the front wall and gate.

The couple bought the Victorian house for 1.8m in 2016, less than half the 4.3m the previous owners paid for the protected property in 2006.

The house is split into three flats, but Brian and Amy want to return it to a one-family home.

Neighbours on the exclusive tree-lined road in Rathmines wanted An Bord Pleanala to refuse planning permission for the extension, or at the very least restrict the extent of the development.

Consultant Brian O'Donnell had said that, in simple terms, the adjoining property was particularly vulnerable to excessive development.

However, in an An Bord Pleanala report seen by the Herald, it said "the proposed development would not seriously injure the residential amenities of the area or of property in the vicinity".

An Bord Pleanala also said the revamp "would not have a negative impact on the character and setting of a protected structure or the conservation area and would not endanger public safety by reason of traffic hazard".

"The proposed development would, therefore, be in accordance with the proper planning and sustainable development of the area," it said.

Brian and Amy plan to move a public parking space to make room for their new entrance.

An Bord Pleanala stipulated that the developer must contact the city council's area traffic engineer regarding alterations to the pay-and-display space.

"All works shall be carried out at the developer's own expense," it added.

A conservation expert needed to be appointed to ensure adequate protection of the building's "historic fabric", An Bord Pleanala said.

Brian and Amy married in 2010 and have two children together, daughter Sadie (4) and three-year-old son Billy.
For Subscribers Comings and goings: Firm buys hotel, new businesses open

New name for the old Venice Inn, new spot for treats downtown, new biz for restoration, and new owners for two housing complexes.
Gloria Stoll Karn nearly trashed her high school artwork back in the 1940s, figuring her art career was over before it even started. But thanks to a janitor with an artistic eye, she ended up smashing gender barriers instead.

The pioneering artist, who had a brief but productive stint as an illustrator of pulp crime and romance magazines of the era, is being celebrated with an exhibition of her works at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Stoll Karn , 94, plans to attend Saturdays opening.

Im really excited about that, she said in a telephone interview from her Pittsburgh home. I think it will be a great adventure.

This May 2008 photo made by her grandson Shawn Cregan and provided by the Norman Rockwell Museum shows artist Gloria Stoll Karn at her home in Pittsburgh. (AP)

Starting as a teenager in 1942 until 1949, she did dozens of illustrations for magazines with names like All-Story Love, Black Mask, Thrilling Love and her favorite, Rangeland Romances, which usually sold for a dime or 15 cents.

Her romance illustrations feature strapping men and rosy-cheeked young women with ribbons in their hair gazing adoringly into each others eyes as they tenderly steal a peck on the lips. Because it was wartime, the men were often in military uniform.

She drew her inspiration from the pop culture of the day.

I liked 1940s movies, she said. You know: Boy meets girl, boy loses, girl, boy gets girl back.

Gloria Stoll studied in her native New York City at the prestigious High School of Music & Art, now the Fiorello LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts.

But after her father died, she got a job doing secretarial work at an insurance company to help her mother make ends meet. To get rid of some clutter, she took her entire portfolio from high school, including gouache, oil, and watercolor works, to her apartment buildings incinerator room and placed it on the floor to be destroyed.

The janitor saw it, thought it showed promise and took it to Rafael DeSoto, a pulp illustrator who lived in the same building.

This image provided by the Norman Rockwell Museum shows the watercolor on board painting "Army Soldier and Woman on Bicycle," created in 1944 by Gloria Stoll Karn. Karn. (AP)

This artist said he thought I had talent and would like to meet me, she said.

DeSoto introduced her to executives at Popular Publications, one of the days major publishers of pulp fiction. She didnt exactly get a ringing endorsement from the publishers male art director.

Well, weve had worse, she remembers him saying.

But it was good enough. She started doing interior illustrations and eventually moved up to prestigious cover illustrations. She never met another woman artist during her time but was accepted by everyone she met in the business, despite her gender and tender age, she said.

It was a very, very nice atmosphere there at Popular Publications, she said. It was friendly and comfortable, it wasnt stilted, and it was easygoing. It was a nice experience for a young woman.

The Norman Rockwell Museum , which regularly features temporary exhibitions of other illustrators work, was tipped off about Stoll Karn by one of her neighbors, said Stephanie Haboush Plunkett, the museums deputy director and chief curator.

Plunkett saw something remarkable when she checked out Stoll Karns work.

There were certain conventions in pulp illustrations  they were steamy, risque and racy  and Gloria created women who fell into those conventions. But there was also a confidence about her characters that I appreciated, Plunkett said. There was something beneath the surface there. She did not create women who appeared unintelligent or victimized.

Stoll Karns brief career ended when she married and moved to Pittsburgh, although she continued to create art.

In fact, shes probably more proud of her later works, primarily portraits, even though the pulp work brought her more attention.

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Brahmin groups in Madhya Pradeshs Bundelkhand are up in arms against Kangna Ranaut starrer Manikarnika alleging that the movie wrongly portrays the life of Rani Laxmibai.

One of the brahmin organisations has even threatened that if corrections are not made in the film, they will not let the film screen in theatres. The film is slated to release on August 3.

Manikarnika movie is based on the life of Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi and her war against East India Company during the rebellion of 1857.

The Yuva Sarv Brahmin Samaj of Bundelkhand and Pujari Sangh have jointly submitted a memorandum to Sagar collector Avinash Rawat regarding their reservations with the movie.

Bharat Tiwari, president Yuva Sarv Brahmin Samaj said they had come to know that historical facts had been misinterpreted in the movie for the sake of gaining publicity and thereby hurting the sentiments of the Brahmin community in particular and society as a whole.

Rani Laxmibai is being wrongly portrayed as a lover of a British officer which is not correct. She had led our countrys first struggle for Independence and had laid down her life for the country. We demand that filmmaker should correct these wrong things otherwise we will not let the film to screen in theatres. We will take any step for maintaining the glory of Rani Laxmibai and our Brahmin community, he said.

Tiwari said in the past their organisation had also supported Karani Sena in opposing the film Padmaavat

Last month Rajput Karni Sena and Maharana Sena activists had agitated in various parts of MP, opposing the controversy-marred Padmaavat movie and threatening that they will not allow its screening here. Supreme Court had struck down the ban imposed on the release of the film by four states including Madhya. Before the SC order, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had reiterated his earlier stand on the movie; that it wont be screened in the state. However earlier this month, Madhya Pradesh high court directed the state government to provide adequate police protection and support to people involved in exhibition and distribution of Padmaavat and its viewers.

Shree Rajput Karni Sena has meanwhile decided to back the Sarv Brahmin Mahasabhas protest against the movie Manikarnika.
For the first time Google maps will be used in by-elections in Madhya Pradesh to help voters locate their polling booths without any difficulty.

The Google map of the polling booth will be printed on the backside of the voter slip in the by-elections to be held in Kolaras (Shivpuri district) and Mungaoli (Ashok Nagar). The voting for the by-polls in these two assembly segments will be held on February 24.

SS Bansal, joint chief electoral officer Madhya Pradesh said it was for the first time that Google maps would be printed on the backside of the voter slip to help voters in easy navigation.

Bansal said as many as 2.4 lakh voters in Kolaras and 1.9 lakh voters in Mungaoli assembly segment would be able to use this Google map for locating their polling booths with ease.

On the backside of each voter slip, the first half will have details of the polling booth, while on the second half of the A4 size voter slip, there will be Google map of the booth, clearly showing its location in the respective areas of these assembly segments, he said.

Bansal said there were 311 polling booths in Kolaras and 264 in Mungaoli assembly segment.

The by-polls are necessitated in these two assembly segments due to the death of the Congress legislators-Mahendra Singh Kalukheda from Mungaoli and Ram Singh Yadav from Kolaras.
Baahubali star Rana Daggubati, who is known for his roles in action thrillers, will show off his comic side in the upcoming comedy film Welcome To New York. The film tells the story of two unlikely youngsters living in India in search of a better life for themselves. An unexpected trip to New York City sets them off on a comedic adventure that changes their lives forever.

The 33-year-olds scene in the trailer featuring Karan Johar has been appreciated. Speaking about the actor, director Chakri Toleti said, You think of Rana Daggubati and the first thing that comes to the mind is action. But when you see him doing comedy with such ease, you know that you have a fine performer in front of the camera. He is somebody who knows how to get into different roles so effortlessly.

Welcome to New York stars Diljit Dosanjh, Sonakshi Sinha, Karan Johar, Riteish Deshmukh, Lara Dutta and Boman Irani.

It hits the big screens on February 23.
As protests against Padmaavat raged and director Sanjay Leela Bhansali and the films Rani Padmavati, Deepika Padukone, received death threats, the silence of the films team was eerie. Bhansali issued statements insisting that his film upholds the pride and valour of Rajputs but there was no condemnation of the violent threats and attacks on his sets, on himself and his leading lady, Deepika Padukone. The Piku actors rumoured boyfriend, Ranveer Singh, has now admitted he was full of rage when there were threats to chop off Deepikas nose, in an interview to India Today.

Read Padman review here

Speaking to the television channel, Ranveer talked about the time when Karni Sena members issued death threats to Bhansali and Deepika: I was filled with rage. Theres no doubt about that. I had a very strong urge to act out, to speak out, but I was given strict instructions not to. And I had to respect that, because I was not at the forefront of this fight. Its the prerogative of the producers, of the director. If they were explicitly telling me that me saying something or doing something is going to complicate things further, I dont want to complicate their lives. I want to do my bit to make sure that this film gets made and it gets released. If this is what they are asking me to do, I have to abide by that.

Speaking to ANI, Karni Sena member Mahipal Singh Makrana had said last November, Rajput Karni Sena is fighting to protect the image of women being portrayed in the films. We never raise a hand on women but if need be, we will do to Deepika what Lakshman did to Shurpanakha for violating the rules and culture of India.

The actor, who is receiving praise from all quarters for his portrayal of Alauddin Khilji in Padmaavat, further said. I could choose to act out destructively but I chose not to. I channelled it and I put all of it into my performance. Whatever you may feel after watching this performance is born out of having felt a certain way.

He also said he was disturbed and angry to see Bhansali getting attacked, Its extremely disturbing. When I saw that, I was filled with rage. How dare you do that to somebody who I worship? How dare you go to my place of worship and do what you did? All of these feelings were like a tornado inside me, and I actually had to be calmed down by people around me. Now that I look back, when the film has released and is being celebrated, I think it was a good decision to channel it into my performance because that is my protest.

He took his time to come out of it, understandably. But hats off to the guy when he came back, it was like a mad man. The kind of rigour and energy he was filled with was like a man possessed, Ranveer added.

Eventually, these perpetrators have lost. The film has won, Mr Bhansali has won. Its a victory, the way this film is celebrated not just in our country but across the world. The kind of numbers it is posting is an indicator of widespread audience acceptance, approval and validation. I am very happy, especially for Mr Bhansali, because he has been through the most, the actor told the news channel.

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India is considering scrapping the 20% export duty on sugar, Ram Vilas Paswan, minister for food and consumer affairs, said on Friday. The government is trying various ways to lift prices of the sweetener amid expectations of a surge in production this marketing year.

India, the worlds second-biggest sugar producer, this month doubled the sugar import tax and imposed a cap on the amount mills can sell in February and March, moves aimed at arresting a steep fall in prices that have hurt companies ability to pay sugarcane farmers.

Sugar prices have fallen around 16% in the local market since the 2017-18 marketing year started on Oct. 1, making it difficult for mills to pay farmers an 11% government-mandated hike in cane prices.

Were heading towards a reasonably big surplus and we recently doubled the import duty on sugar to 100%, Ram Vilas Paswan told reporters. There are various demands from the industry, including scrapping the export duty. Were considering it.

Paswan said the government expects sugar production to jump to 24.9 million tonnes in the ongoing 2017-18 marketing year, which would be 23% higher than the 20.2 million tonnes in 2016-17.

The Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA), whose production estimates typically differ from the governments, has projected output of 26.1 million tonnes this season.

Local consumption is expected to be around 25 million tonnes, which means around 1 million tonnes can be exported, according to the ISMA. That could further weigh on international prices, which have fallen about 8% in the past three months.

The jump in production and the resulting fall in prices have also forced states such as Maharashtra, Indias second-biggest sugar producer, to consider directly buying big chunks of its output.

The moves could help prop up shares of companies such as Shree Renuka Sugars, Balrampur Chini Mills Ltd, Dwarikesh Sugar Industries and Simbhaoli Sugars.

Sugar production swings wildly in India, where half of the countrys farmland depends on the June to September monsoon rains for water because of a lack of irrigation. Sugar cane is very water-intensive.
State Bank of India, Indias largest lender, posted a disappointing set of numbers for the December quarter on Friday, running a loss of Rs 1,886.57 crore on massive under-reporting in dud assets found by RBI and reverses in treasury operations.

It hinted at more pain in the next quarter as the impaired assets problem and lack of resolution continues, but said it hopes for a better fiscal year 2018-19.

On a standalone basis, the bank reported a wider loss at Rs 2,416 crore.

The current quarter is definitely disappointing, but going forward, there is a lot of optimism. From April 1, we will all start on a positive note. I dont want to sound very very optimistic on the fourth quarter, neither very pessimistic, chairman Rajnish Kumar told reporters.

Over Rs 25,000 crore of loans slipped into the non-performing assets category in the reporting quarter, driven primarily by under-reporting of NPAs or divergence of Rs 23,330 crore for the previous fiscal. The gross NPA ratio shot up to 10.35% from the 7.23% a year ago.

This is the first time the state-run behemoth has witnessed divergences, which was a common thread binding all the private sector banks.

Kumar said 90% of the divergences were already recognised as stressed assets, and recognising them as NPAs was only a question of timing.

A bulk Rs 10,000 crore of divergences were from the power sector and Kumar said further pain is in the offing, with high exposure to the sector.

The overall provisions for bad assets shot up to Rs 17,759 crore from the year-agos Rs 7,244 crore. Over Rs 6,000 crore in provisions was due to the divergences. It increased the provision coverage ratio to 65.92%.

Credit costs for the first nine months of the fiscal has shot up to 3.18%.

The banks watch list of accounts has now reduced to Rs 10,400 crore and Kumar asserted that there is no chunky or large asset which can slip into the NPA category.

He said the bank is targeting to decrease slippages to under 2% in FY19 from the 4.17% in the first nine months of the current fiscal, and also credit costs to 2%.

The divergences found by RBI had a net impact of a little over Rs 16,000 crore in the slippages for the current quarter, as it had already recognised over Rs 2,800 crore as NPAs in the June quarter, while there was an upgrade in one account of over Rs 4,000 crore.

The bank, which has a Rs 78,000-crore exposure to the 40 accounts being resolved through the insolvency process, does not see much impact of such accounts on its bottomline as the provisions for these are already at 60 per cent levels.

Kumar exuded confidence that up to 3 of these accounts will be resolved before the close of the current fiscal, while the rest in the first list of 12 will happen in the June quarter. He added that there may also be cases where there can be a write-back of money already set aside.

The bank had a Rs 3,500-crore impact on provisions on account of mark-to-market losses because of the hardening of yields over the quarter, while Rs 700 crore had to be set aside on a wage hike for its 2.66 lakh staff which will be getting a 10% hike.

A Rs 2,000-crore drop in treasury profits to Rs 1,000 crore also affected the profits for the current quarter.

Kumar said the bank has signed an agreement with the government to raise Rs 20,000 crore in core equity from non-promoter investors, beyond the Rs 8,800 crore it expects through a preference issue to the government soon.

The Rs 20,000 crore infusion will reduce the government stake by up to 4 percentage points, he said.

Kumar made it clear that the new infusion is not for covering loan losses through provisions, but would serve as growth capital. The bank feels economic revival is underway which has led it to up its loan growth target to 10.3% in FY19 from the over 2% achieved in the first nine months of the current fiscal.

On the operations side, the core net interest income grew 5.17% to Rs 18,688 crore on a sequentially higher net interest margin of 2.45 per cent, while the other income plummeted 29.75% to Rs 8,084 crore on account of treasury operations.

The overall capital adequacy ratio was at 12.68% with the core tier-I at 10.30%.

When stated that the banks performance is generally taken as a proxy for the state of the economy, Kumar said SBIs 90-day performance should not be equated with the broader economic activity.

Reiterating that the bank is doing well on various other measures, he tried to paint an optimistic picture for the future saying, There is banking beyond NPAs as well. We are at the end of the NPA cycle and the scenario for next year looks very good.

The SBI scrip closed 1.68% down at Rs 296.40 a piece on the BSE as against a 1.18% correction in the benchmark
Venture capital investor Mahesh Murthy was on Friday granted anticipatory bail after being arrested on charges of sexually harassing a woman based in Delhi and using obscene language while communicating with her on WhatsApp.

He was granted anticipatory bail last week by a sessions court, which had ordered Murthy be released on executing a surety of Rs15,000 in the event of an arrest.

The move came after the National Commission for Women (NCW) wrote to the Khar police in December last year. Based on the NCW complaint, a FIR was registered on December 29 against Murthy, a resident of Bandra (West).

Senior police inspector of Khar police station Ramchandra Jadhav said: He was granted anticipatory bail in the case. It was a technical arrest.

To all: the hon'ble court granted me anticipatory bail in this case some time ago. I am told it was a procedural technical arrest and I have already been released on surety.



(1/n)  Mahesh Murthy (@maheshmurthy) February 9, 2018

The FIR, registered on December 29, is filed under Indian Penal Code sections 354 (D), 509 (Word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman), and section 67 the IT Act (Punishment for publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form).

This is the same issue on which I had filed a case & and where the High Court has already passed an interim order in my favour & against the complainant back in April 2017.



This is an attempt to counter-sue. I will fight this too in court to defend my reputation.



(2/n)  Mahesh Murthy (@maheshmurthy) February 9, 2018

The woman approached the NCW last year with a written complaint alleging Murthy used objectionable, derogatory, obscene signs and sexual remarks against her on social media.

The NCW stated that they had received one more complaint from another woman last year alleging similar crimes against Murthy. Even as Murthy apologised for some of his posts, the NCW decided that action needs to be taken.

He has sent similar messages to few other women and we are in the process of questioning him, added the official.
Pakoda is the new chai. If being a tea vendors son was Narendra Modis biographical challenge to clubby elitism in 2014, batter-fried besan is on its way to becoming the political metaphor for 2019.

Pakoda politics has gone from simmer to boil after the Prime Minister (in response to a question on jobs) said that a man selling fritters on the street and taking home Rs 200 a day must also be regarded as gainfully employed.

If Chai Pe Charcha was the BJPs version of Know Your Neta in 2014; get set for Pakoda Aur Pradhanmantri-styled earthy people-to-people interactions in the build up to the next election. With one difference; this time the Opposition may try and appropriate the BJPs political symbol.

In 2014, the BJP could not have asked for a better gift than Mani Shankar Aiyars derisive comment about Modi as chaiwallah. The snobbery only reinforced Modis positioning as the unvarnished outsider to a corroded and entitled Delhi echo chamber. The BJP argues that former finance minister P Chidambaram has already delivered the Mani Moment of the campaign by classifying the humble pakoda seller as technically jobless and for tauntingly asking the government if, next, it would call begging a form of employment.

In his inaugural Parliament speech, BJP president Amit Shah seized the pakoda moment to emphasise the BJP as the party that gave dignity to the ordinary, hard working and aspirational Indian. The BJP points to the 100 million people who have been given loans to set up businesses, including 30 million who have been given loans by banks for the first time. Chidambaram has been cast in the role of the disconnected elitist who disparaged the industrious, self-respecting Indian.

But 2019 may be different from 2014  and its subsequent state elections  in one fundamental way; a suddenly re-energised Congress has learnt some of the tricks of the trade that Modi used to demolish the party.

For one, the party has understood that politics  much like news media  has become all about drama over detail and signalling over substance. If a few years ago it watched agog as Modi, the Master of the Message grabbed the headlines, now it has internalised that lesson. The once-distant Rahul Gandhi, who used to have contempt for mainstream media, has today worked out the power of the photo op, the advantage of snide and provocative humour and the handy use of identifiable, if oversimplified pictograms and emblems.

And so it is, with the lowly pakoda. The Opposition has shown an appetite for using Modis own playbook to cook up a storm. There is data of course that helps. In 2017, a report by the governments think-tank, Niti Aayog, focused on the challenges of not unemployment, but underemployment  wherein workforce are employed but they are overwhelmingly stuck in low productivity, low wage jobs.

According to the fifth Annual Employment-Unemployment Survey in 2015-16, 85% of Indias workers earn up to or under just Rs 10,000 a month. And then of course there is last years hard hit to the informal sector after demonetisation. But if all of this is too complex an argument to digest in election season, the menu has an easier option; pakoda protests where names of BJP leaders have replaced the humdrum paneer and gobhi are being organised, tongue firmly-in-cheek. For a while they were merely playing breathless catch-up; but the pakoda wars shows the Opposition may have learnt the victors old battle strategies.

If Modis acumen for technology gave him and the BJP the first-mover advantage on social media; the Congress has upped its digital game. If Modi was able to load his political gun with single-word bullets  chaiwallah, neech, shehzada  the Opposition is learning to fire back with the same ammunition. If the BJP was able to mock the Congress for its religious and cultural deracination, the Congress is publicly attempting a re-embrace of Hinduism. If the BJP first understood the potency of identity politics, regional Congressmen like Karnatakas chief minister K Siddaramaiah have countered it by crafting their own assertive train of sub-nationalism.

In some ways, the pakoda has become the perfect allegory for the next electoral face-off. Will Modi self-reference it to underline his own humble beginnings in contrast to Gandhis? And can that recipe work again? Or does it symbolise an India Shining stumble of the sort Atal Bihari Vajpayee made when he called for an early election?

Either way, be warned  before you fry pakodas, you have to keep your oil on high heat. Election season is here and its ugly vitriol will most likely scald all sides.

Barkha Dutt is an award-winning journalist and author

The views expressed are personal
A woman murdered her 21-year-old stepdaughter at Ansari Marg here, chopped her body into pieces and kept them in a sack in her own room, police said on Friday.

Police claimed that the murder was related to property but the stepmother said she killed Prapti Singh as she was fed up with boys visiting her.

On February 8, Monu Kaur, the stepmother, filed a report at Patel Nagar police station, saying her daughter was missing. She told the police that Prapti had gone to Delhi for an interview but she could not be contacted after that.

The police investigation found Monus story as baseless. She told police that she had dropped Prapti at ISBT, but they found the last location of her mobile near her residence. Suspecting Monu, police arrested her; she confessed to her crime after a little pressure.

Inspector Ritesh Shah said, The mother confessed that she was fed up with boys visiting her daughter, thus suggesting that it was a honour killing. But, we believe the crime was committed because of property.

Monu told the police that she killed the girl with a sharp instrument. She then chopped her to pieces, put the parts in a sack and kept it in the girls bedroom.

Praptis father, who was a property dealer, died about 18 months ago. She was the only child.

The girl was pursuing air hostess course from a private institute. The police suspect involvement of a few others in the crime.
In December 2011, when four siblings  aged 14, 11, 7 and 3  were rescued from a factory in Jalandhar, Punjab, they faced a bleak future. They were brought to Delhi and the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) declared their parents  who were drug addicts  unfit for custody. In May 2012, the parents died of drug overdose within a gap of two-three days and the four kids were staring at the prospect of ending up in a shelter home  just like thousands of others languishing across the national capital.

But in February 2013, the CWC Lajpat Nagar received a first-of-its-kind proposal in which a couple offered to provide foster care to these children.

The foster care scheme, a non-institutional family care programme for children in the age group of 6-18, had been lying pending with the department of women and child development for years. But an exception was made in this case and in October 2013, the CWC accepted the proposal allowing the couple to take the children to their flat in south Delhi.

Due to care and monitoring, the four siblings  now 21, 18, 14 and 10 years old  are doing well. The elder siblings are getting trained in nursing and music while the younger ones are enrolled at a prominent city school.

I saw the eldest child at a shelter home and expressed the desire to take care of her. As under foster care the entire family needs to stay together, I did not mind taking care of the rest of them. People warned me, my parents were against it as there is a social stigma attached to it but I went ahead. The result is now positive as all of them are settled, said the father, an MBA, who left his job in 2008 to work for poor children in shelter homes.

Typically, foster parents receive government funds. But in this case, in the absence of a policy, the family was not paid by the authorities. Officials said that in 2016, the central government issued guidelines stating that an amount not less than Rs 2,000 should be allocated per month per child in foster care cases.

Experts say foster care is one of the most effective mechanisms for the rehabilitation of children. Under the programme, a child lives on a temporary basis with the foster parents. After turning 18, the child can decide if he wants to continue living with them. Both have no legal rights on each other after 18.

While the Juvenile Justice Act always had a provision of foster care, the Delhi government had never implemented it. A proposal was moved in 2009 but was shot down by the planning department.

The success of the Lajpat Nagar case has now propelled the department of women and child development to consider reviving the scheme. In September 2017, the government formed a committee to decide foster cases.

The government admitted that the scheme had been around for the last 10 years but the department has not implemented it. A national consultation on foster care and sponsorship is scheduled in the first week of February . Department of women and child development along with Jamia University is doing it. We have set up all 11 DCPUs (district child protection units) in November 2017. DCPU is the main implementing agency of d scheme in field, the department said in a written reply to Hindustan Times query.

The department said that presently four children from Nirmal Chaya are under consideration for foster care and family verification is under process. Formal launch of the scheme is planned once all the stakeholders get training by February end, the department said.

Child rights activists say foster care and sponsorship scheme are the best ways to rehabilitate children.

These are children are vulnerable and can turn to crime. If you see juveniles involved in crime, most of them are from broken families. According to National Crime Records Bureau data, more than six crimes were committed by children every day in Delhi last year. We can prevent it by timely interference and providing best facilities, said Yogesh Kumar of Association for Development (AFD), an NGO.

According to guidelines issued by the Union ministry, children in the age group 0-6 years shall not ordinarily be considered for placement in long-term foster care as such small children should be preferably provided a permanent family through adoption. While children in the age group of 6-18 years who have been staying in child care institutions; shall be placed in foster care based on their individual care plan developed in the institution.

Children whose parents are terminally ill and have submitted a request to the committee or the District Child Protection Unit for taking care of their child as they are unable to take care of their child should also be considered for foster care.
A day after a bomb blast in Europe, a teacher at a popular Noida school read out headlines to her Class 6 students. A student loudly called out the name of the only Muslim boy in class. Saad*! Yeh kya kar diya tumne?, he asked. The teacher heard the alleged exchange, but did not say a single word.

In the last two decades, frequent terror attacks by terrorists who were Muslims and Americas wars in West Asia have fuelled a global backlash against ordinary Muslims. Closer home, religious clashes, the Ramjanambhoomi-Babri Masjid feud, Mumbai riots, several terror attacks, and divisive politics have strengthened biases against the community.

Schools have not remained untouched by this rhetoric, despite textbooks stressing on Indias unity in diversity. But even as adults find it tough to wrestle with Islamophobia, how do you raise a Muslim child in this environment?

Writer Nazia Erums new book, Mothering a Muslim, explores this dilemma of growing up as a religious minority in India, where children as young as five find themselves targeted for their identity.

Nazia set out to write the book after her daughter Myra was born in 2014, when India was in the middle of what she says was a high-decibel, polarised election campaign. She was looking for some reassurance from other mothers like her.

But when she started collecting testimonies, a pattern started emerging.

Baghdadi, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Osama, ISIS. Being asked, do your parents make bombswill your father kill me with a gun? were just some of the taunts Muslim children faced at school, according to the book.

This is not about kids  the children only mirror what we have done to ourselves. This is not even about Muslim kids  its about all kids. This behaviour is not harmful only for the tormented, but also for the tormentor, says Nazia.

Being bullied for ones religion is not a phenomenon limited to Delhi schools. American schools have been grappling with the problem on an aggravated scale.

A March 2017 poll by US-based Institute for Social Policy and Understanding cites 42% of Muslim respondents saying their kids were bullied because of religion, either through insults or physical assault. One in four parents said the bullying involved teachers or school administration.

In October 2017, the Council on American Islamic Relations report on school bullying found that incidents of harassment were on the rise. Thirty-six per cent respondents said they had their hijabs tugged, while 57% said their peers posted offensive remarks about their religion online. Advocates linked the rise in bullying incidents to Donald Trumps full-throttle election campaign, in which the US president made several remarks equating all Muslims with terrorists. To Fox News in December 2015, discussing his ban on Muslims, Trump referred to them as a sick people.

If cases of religion bullying are not isolated, then what really is happening within schools in Indian cities?

The genesis of hate

Ayesha*(17), shifted to one of central Delhis renowned schools in Class 9 in 2015. She was in-charge of decorating a school board on the 1965 Indo-Pak war and was cutting a Pakistani flag, when a classmate strolled up to her and said, Oh, cutting the flag of your country?

I didnt understand at first... So I asked him why he said it. He told me, you know why, says the teenager, now in Class 11.

The upset teenager talked to her mother, 50-year-old business consultant Nazreen*, who despite being distraught, tried to reassure Ayesha that while what was said to her was unacceptable, such things would soon pass.

Of course, I was concerned. I grew up in the 70s and 80s in eastern India, before attending college in Delhi. I was never made to feel that this is not my country, or that I dont belong here, she said.

Was such bullying unheard of before or did it pass under the radar?

Janaki Rajan, a professor at Jamia Millia Islamia, who has been working with school children for over 30 years now, said an anti-Muslim sentiment had been simmering since Partition. The generation that saw the brutality of the communal violence at the time is still alive. They may have passed it on to next generation, she says.

Nazreen said such incidents rise when communal tensions flare up. In the aftermath of the 1992 Mumbai riots, her niece, who was four at the time, was burned with sparklers by a neighbours child of the same age.

Parents Hindustan Times spoke to cite several reasons for the rise in such bullying  children exposed to sensationalised 24X7 news, unfiltered videos and posts on social media and the profusion of popular culture with West Asian terrorists as villains.

According to Annie Koshi, the principal of St Marys School in Safdarjung Enclave, children are only reflecting what they see and hear perfectly respectable adults do and say in society.

The news today is about skirmishes on the India-Pakistan borders, about cow vigilantes, about Triple Talaq. The predominant narrative is that the Muslim is the other, and that if you are Muslim, you must be Pakistani, she said. We get to hear of such incidents in our school too, but then it is up to us to build an alternative narrative, she said.

Rajan said endemic discrimination and bullying was almost commonplace now.

At (a private school in Delhi), I was told that when a teacher got stuck on what the flag of Pakistan looks like, she turned to the Muslim child in class for confirmation... And we cant expect teachers to do much either, as they may also have similar prejudices and biases, she explained.

Speak up, discuss

Schools do take action when such incidents come to light. However, not many students come forward with complaints.

At Sahils* convent school in South Delhi, mulla or terrorist is casually hurled during lunch breaks or on the playground. But most children never complain. Snitching is looked down upon, explains the Class 12 student. Besides, its just words. Sometimes we sort it out among ourselves with a fight.

Saad didnt want to approach the school, said his mother, Azaad*, who runs a non-profit organisation. Azaad explained to her son that while Muslims have been involved in terror attacks, Islam doesnt condone violence.

But when one of his friends repeatedly called him Baghdadi, Azaad spoke to the other childs mother. I spoke to the kids mother, who countered with how my son had called her son motu. Is calling someone Baghdadi the same as calling someone fat? .

Muslim mothers say they experience another fear too. What if a remark escalates into a physical fight or something worse? Azaad sees off her older son, a first-year law student at a Noida university, with the same hidayat, or advice every morning: Dont discuss politics or religion.

This act of self-censorship extends to other areas as well. For Nazia, it meant giving Myra a name that would unburden her from her Muslim identity.

What can schools do to build a more inclusive environment?

Whenever such incidents happen, you need to speak about it, dissect it and see where the child got it from. We need to have discussions with children about these issues to get them to think critically about it. If you let it go, the thought puts down its roots, and then takes over, said Koshi, who added that teachers need to be trained and sensitised too.

Annie Namala, the director of the Centre for Social Equity and Inclusion, who has served as a member of the National Advisory Council during the implementation of the Right to Education law in 2010, stresses the need for teacher training. Without training, even those who wish to make a difference will not have the tools and techniques to address the issue, she said.

The other hope is the kids themselves.

When Ayesha told her friends about the incident, some of them confronted the boy. They debated the incident among themselves and the boy apologised.

Sahil too says he hasnt heard offensive slurs like mulla or terrorist since he came into senior school.

I think its about maturity; they realise the folly when they understand the meaning of their words better. Whether someone is Muslim or not, we should treat everyone equally and not comment on religion, culture, caste or colour, he said.

(* Names changed to protect identity)
An Indian Air Force (IAF) officer was arrested on Thursday by Delhi Police allegedly on charges of spying and passing secret defence-related information to Pakistans Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) after he was honey-trapped.

Group Captain Arun Marwaha, 51, was detained on January 31 by the air forces Intelligence Wing with his smartphone at the IAF headquarters. He was questioned by the air force and handed over to the Delhi Police on February 7.

We have arrested a senior officer of the Indian Air Force. He has been booked under the Official Secrets Act. Further investigation is on, MM Oberoi, special commissioner (special cell) of Delhi Police, said without divulging further details.

Marwaha was honey-trapped by ISI agents using two accounts of a social networking site in December 2017, police said. He allegedly engaged in seductive conversations with the agents masquerading as models.

His mobile phone has been seized and an FIR has been registered at New Delhis Lodhi Colony police station after the IAFs complaint following its initial probe.

Police said they have not found any evidence of monetary exchange and added that he was passing classified information in lieu of sex chats.

We have found some objectionable conversations and pictures on his mobile phone, an investigating officer said.
Group Captain Arun Marwaha, arrested for leaking secret information on national security, was posted in one of the most sensitive units of the defence ministry in an earlier assignment, people familiar with the matter said on Friday .

Marwaha is said to have told police that he worked in the Aerial Delivery Research and Development Division (ADRD) till March 2016. The ADRD, under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), is involved in the highly sensitive airborne warning and control system for the Indian Air Force (IAF), said a defence analyst who did not wish to be named.

Police will probe if Marwaha forwarded information from the DRDO. The defence analyst said in view of this revelation, the standard operating procedures (SOPs) of Indias security framework needed urgent revision.

Read: Seduced by models on Facebook, IAF officer shared secret info with Pakistani agents: Delhi Police

Delhi Police arrested Marwaha on Friday, a day after filing a case against him under the Official Secrets Act. The 56-year-old para-instructor currently posted at the IAF headquarters as Joint Director (Operations) has been accused of taking photographs of confidential defence documents and sending them via WhatsApp to Pakistans Inter Services Intelligence.

An Indian Air Force spokesman said the officer was under scrutiny for some time and has now been handed over to the Delhi Police. Law will take its own course, he said.

The initial probe revealed that Marwaha, who befriended two women on Facebook five-six months ago, started chatting with them on the social network and later switched to WhatsApp to communicate.

A senior investigating officer said that the two mobile numbers to which the documents were sent are both Indian. Police seized the Samsung smartphone he used to take pictures in the IAF headquarters along with his other phones. Till a day before he was caught, he sent some documents, police said.

Police said Marwaha was honeytrapped by Pakistans spy agency using fake Facebook profiles by the names of Kiran Randhawa and Mahima Patel. The two accounts were deactivated by the users after Marwaha was detained by the IAF on January 31 for allegedly leaking classified information.

It was a honeytrap. Initially, there were lewd chats and images exchanged with the two users. Later, this escalated to Marwaha sending confidential data through WhatsApp. We suspect he was blackmailed although he is denying this, said an officer.

Marwaha has reportedly admitted he sent around five documents. Police are verifying his claims and have seized his cellphones, which will be sent for forensic examination. An officer said Marwaha allegedly sent documents related to training exercises of the Marine Commando Force (MARCOS) and GARUD Commando Force. Marcos is a specialised force in counter-terrorism operations. GARUD commandos are responsible for protection of critical air force bases and conducting rescue operations. Marwaha trained commandos of such special forces.

Police said prima facie, it appears Marwaha caught the attention of the ISI because he was very active on Facebook and uploaded photographs of his jumps and other non-classified exercises of the IAF on the social networking site.
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has released the official notification for National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) 2018 for admission to medical and dental courses in colleges run with the approval of Medical Council of India and Dental Council of India, except AIIMS and JIPMER Puducherry.

The exam will be held on May 6 from 10am to 1pm and consist of one paper with 180 objective type questions from physics, chemistry and biology.

Here are some important points candidates applying for NEET 2018 must keep in mind:

1) Candidates must have an Aadhaar number to be eligible to apply for NEET 2018 in all states except Jammu and Kashmir, Assam and Meghalaya.

2) Candidate must have completed 17 years on or before December 31, 2018. They should not be more than 25 years on the date of the exam. SC/ST/OBC and PH category candidates have a relaxation of five years in the upper age limit.

3) To be eligible for the exam, candidates must have passed Class 12 (qualifying exam) in physics, chemistry, biology/biotechnology and English and must have a minimum of 50% in physics, chemistry and biology/biotechnology together. SC, ST and OBC category candidates should have at least 40% marks in physics, chemistry and biology/biotechnology together and for PH category candidates the minimum marks is 45% for general category and 40% for SC, ST and OBC category candidates.

4) Open schools or private candidates are not eligible to appear for NEET.

5) Candidates appearing in Class 12 exam in 2018 can also appear for NEET.

6) Applicants from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are also eligible for 15% all-India quota seats from the academic year 2018-19.

7) Candidates can opt for question paper in English, Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarat, Kannada, Marathi, Oriya, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu.

Important dates

* Online submission of application form: February 8 to March 9 up to 11:50pm

* Payment of online fee: February 8 to March 10 up to 11:50pm

* Correction in form can be done between March 12 to 16

* Admit cards will be uploaded on website in the second week of April

* Date of examination: May 6

* Display of OMR sheet will be intimated on website

* Display of answer key will be intimated on website

* Declaration of Result will be on June 5
Parsis, say Parsis themselves, love eggs and court cases but not necessarily in that order. Perhaps, they are the same thing really. For what is a court case if not an attempt to break an egg over someone elses head?

Goolrookh, daughter of Adi Contractor, a former member of the community trust in Valsad, Gujarat, says she moved a PIL in the Gujarat High Court in 2009 to guarantee her right to attend her parents funeral rites in the Tower of Silence, the place where Zoroastrians leave their dead. She did this when two of her childhood friends, who have married outside the community like she has, were stopped from sitting in at their mothers funeral ceremonies in the verandah of the Tower of Silence. They were made to sit in a waiting room with non-Parsis, more than 5 km away.

Goolrookh Contractor wed Mahipal Gupta under the Special Marriage Act, 1954, in 1991. (Kunal Patil/HT Photo)

When I raised the issue, Sam Chothia, the present head of the Valsad Parsi Anjuman (VPA), said allowances would be made for me. But I felt why only me? Is it because I was a trustees daughter? Everyone should be allowed to enter, says Goolrookh. So I went to court. I have the means, I thought I must fight for those who cant. According to an interim order, Goolrookh and her sisters have been allowed to participate in their relatives funeral rites. If the court finally rules in her favour (she is awaiting dates for the final hearing), other Parsi women can no longer be stopped as well.

Chothia suggests Goolrookh is an unlikely candidate for fighting the case for the rights of Parsi women; that Goolrookh is not even Goolrookh; when she became Neha Gupta, she became Hindu; she is not a Parsi any more (see box). There is, so far, no law, on levelling allegations. So in between Valsad and Mumbai, or wherever there are Parsis, eggs are flying  from all directions.

April 12, 2010: Shiraz sends a letter to the BPP saying Goolrookh had changed her name to Neha but remains a practising Zoroastrian. Goolrookh says she changed her name as she was unhappy with the short form Golu people used, and she continues to be a Zoroastrian. "Priyanka and Priya are Hindu names but many Parsis give their children these names. Does that make them less Parsi and turn them into Hindus?"she asks. Shiraz sends a letter to the BPP saying Goolrookh had changed her name to Neha but remains a practising Zoroastrian. Goolrookh says she changed her name as she was unhappy with the short form Golu people used, and she continues to be a Zoroastrian. "Priyanka and Priya are Hindu names but many Parsis give their children these names. Does that make them less Parsi and turn them into Hindus?"she asks.

Becoming outsiders

In the one-horse town of Valsad, Adi Contractor had done well. One of the richest Parsis in town, he was a land-owner; he also owned a hotel. His wife, Dinaz, a daughter of another prominent Parsi family of Valsad, the Shroffs, was a prominent entrepreneur. Adi had even been a trustee of the community trust, the VPA. Adi and Dinazs three daughters  Shiraz, Goolrookh and Kamal  went to the best schools, became independent professionals, and married outside the community in the 90s.

At her wedding reception, Goolrookh wore a white Chantilly-lace sari into which she had stitched in some pink flowers so as to throw in some colour in her all-white look to please her in-laws. Goolrukh, says her friends, is always ready to be amicable  within reason.

As a family, we also did add some to the Parsi pool you know, says Goolrookh in half-jest. Children of women like me who marry non-Parsis are out they are not considered Parsis. But our brother did marry in and have kids, she says sitting across a table in her living room in Mumbai. But had he wed a non-Parsi, his children would still be considered Parsi, courtesy the over 100-year-old Davar and Beamon judgment that attempted to define a Parsi as the progeny of a Parsi man.

Goolrookh says her daughter was keen, when young, to have her Navjote done to be initiated into the Zoroastrian faith. But when she saw me fighting for my identity she gave up the idea. She was put off by a religion to which you had to beg for admission, she says.

Goolrookhs husband, Mahipal Gupta, who has been listening to the conversation, adds that all those who are asking for proof of Goolrookhs Parsi-ness should know she is more Parsi than them. She never goes to bed without praying to the sadreh-kushti (the sacred girdle worn by Zoroastrians under their clothes) even if we return home at 3 am. That these private and domestic details now need to be public is tragic. But it also underlines why Goolrookhs personal story and her stand is no less important than her case.

My husband says, God made man, but man made religion. But it is just that some men are trying to mould it as they please, says Goolrookh.

The flip side: women and men, in Goolrookhs own community have begun to speak up against the various levels of gendered discrimination in the community.

Vispy Wadia, a community activist in Mumbai. (Kunal Patil/HT PHOTO)

1. Parsi women who get married to non-Parsis, are not allowed to enter the sacred fire temple and the waiting area designated for Parsi mourners at the Tower of Silence, which are mostly Trust property.

Khurshed Dastoor, a high priest of the Parsi community, who is the Zoroastrian representative on the National Commission for Minorities says his position has always been if a Parsi girl marries a non-Parsi under the SMA she has all the rights to continue her religion, attend the holiest of our fire temples and attend funeral ceremonies  and these, in any case, have been in place in the community. Goolrookh and other women were allowed to do so by the earlier VPA till this new board of trustees came along. This particular board stopped it, not the community.

(The above ban from entry into religious places, however, varies from city to city and Trust to Trust.) The entry ban also applies to the non-Parsi spouse and the child of a Parsi woman married to a non-Parsi, even if the childs Navjote ceremony has been performed. Some priests recognise the Navjote of such a child; some dont.

The Calcutta Anjuman, for instance, has been very liberal in admitting women who have married outside the community, their kids and non-Parsi spouses in the fire temple and Tower of Silence premises; but they have a high priest from Mumbai who has put his foot down, says Vispy Wadia, a community activist. Sending the priest back is not an option as chances of a replacement are dim. Few Parsis want to be priests these days. (According to The Parsis of India: Continuing at the Crossroads, a four-volume, 2017 survey authored by TISS scholars, of the older respondents, 63 per cent gave importance to religion in their lives compared to 35 per cent of the young.)

2. When a Parsi man marries outside the community, his children are allowed inside the Fire Temple, but his spouse isnt. When visiting a fire temple, the non-Parsi spouse is made to wait outside. In Iran, my husband [a Christian] can enter a fire temple, says entrepreneur Smita Godrej Crishna, industrialist Jamshyd Godrejs sister. In India, he cant.

Noshir Dadrawala, a specialist in charity law, Mumbai, at his office in Mumbai. (Kunal Patil/HT PHOTO)

From Smita to Goolrookh, most Parsi women who have married out, feel that children of such marriages do not get the full benefit of the intrinsic progressiveness of the religion.No Zoroastrian scripture distinguishes between men and women. But when children see their mother discriminated against, their own understanding of the religion becomes biased and they never feel a connect with the religion, that, in fact, is a very enlightened one, says Godrej. We are losing precious children this way. If the community wants to be narrow, its a pity. But the religion should not die out, she adds.

3. The Bombay Parsi Panchayat (BPP), the apex body of Parsi Zoroastrians, allows women married outside the community to vote and even stand for BPP elections but does not allow her children to enter the fire temple. No such rule applies to the children of men marrying non-Parsis, provided the childs Navjote ceremony has been performed, says Noshir Dadrawala, a specialist in charity law and good governance practices for non-profits.

Adi and Dinaz Contractor, Goolrookh's parents at their in residence in Valsad, Gujarat. (Kunal Patil/HT PHOTO)

These examples of arbitrariness have led to reformist initiatives and the building of alternative solidarity networks. Smita Godrej is active with the Association of Inter Marriage Zoroastrians (AIMZ). Goolrookh is part of the association. Mumbai Parsis such as brothers Vispy and Kerssie Wadia have started the Association for Revival of Zoroastrianism. One of its recent initiatives has been to set up a fire temple in Pune that allows entry to non-Parsi spouses and children of Parsis who have married outside the community.

Inter-marriage is common among Parsis now. According to figures published in the magazine, Parsiana, there were 97 marriages among Mumbai Parsis in 2017, for example, of which inter-faith marriage was 40 per cent.

Goolrookh was the fourth Parsi girl from her lane at Mota Parsivaad in Valsad to marry out. So did her best friend, Binaifer, who now lives in Mumbai. In our neighbourhood, we had never been brought up to fear outsiders, she says. Goolrookh married a Marwari businessman. Binaifer married a Bohri Muslim chartered accountant. Girls who married outside the community earlier too attended community religious functions, they might not have been welcomed but they were not stopped. Goolus stand, we hope, will open up many more avenues.

Actor Cyrus Broacha in Mumbai, a prominent face of the community, feels Trusts needs to be inclusive and reform must come from within the community. (Anshuman Poyrekar / HT PHOTO)

Actor Cyrus Broacha, a prominent face of the community, says the unspoken ostracisation that Parsi women who marry out face will impact the community in the long run. The orthodox section of the community is only interested in one part of the race, he says.

What racial purity?

The racial purity argument, says Goolrookh, is also flawed as the community accepts the children of non-Parsi mothers married to Parsi men. When we throw out one Parsi woman, we throw out the future generation, she says. The truth is new blood coming in, makes the gene pool more dynamic. The more you throw people out, the choice of partners for Parsi women are less.

The 2002 census results showed a drop from 84,000 to 69,000 among Parsis. In Mumbai, the population is under 40,000 today, says Parsiana editor Jehangir Patel. Thirty-five per cent of the population is above 60 years of age. People want to join and participate in the religionwe must be the only religion that says please dont, he says.

Jehangir Patel, editor of the Parsiana magazine, at his Mumbai office. (Kunal Patil/HT PHOTO)

In defining god as one, Zoroastrianism was the worlds first rebel religion. But Im not trying to be a rebel, says Goolrookh. For me right is always right, wrong is wrong. At the heart of various Trusts attempts to put stumbling blocks, and not admit women in positions of authority such as is the case with VPA, or give them rights on a par with men is the fear that women will then demand control of Trusts. And by extension, control what is done with Trust property.

Goolrookhs fight, at present, is a courageous but a modest one. At present, it is about re-establishing the civic rights of women who have married out  such as admission to socio-religious places  with the force of law. If she next picks up the cudgels for the children of mixed unions she will be overturning the very definition of who is a Parsi, and will thus open the floodgates. And that is when the fight will get even more interesting.

1991: Goolrookh Adi Contractor of Valsad, Gujarat, marries Manipal Gupta under the Special Marriage Act, 1954, so as to continue to practise her Zoroastrian faith after marriage. 2009: Goolrookhs father, Adi Contractor was a trustee of the Valsad Parsi Anjuman (VPA). Goolrookh writes angry letters to VPA on getting to know that two of her childhood friends, who had married outside the community, had been stopped from attending their mothers funeral ceremonies. Goolrookh says earlier Trusts had allowed her and others; that she herself had entered the Tower of Silence and the Fire Temple in Valsad in 2003 when her maternal uncle, Jahanbax Chavda, also a former VPA president, passed away. This, the VPA denies. In future should such women enter those premises it says "action" will be taken. Chavdas wife, Zarine, gives an affidavit in the Gujarat High Court confirming Goolrookhs presence at all the ceremonies. She had been married for 13 years by then. Jan 16, 2010: Goolrookh files a case in Ahmedabad High Court to establish the right to enter the fire temple in Valsad and to be present at her parents funerals (they are in their 80s), and subsequent ceremonies. March 18, 2010: Five members of the Bombay Parsi Panchayat (BPP), the apex body of the Parsi Zoroastrains in India, pass a resolution to "discontinue with immediate effect the hitherto practice of making available the Towers of Silence for the disposal of the dead to Parsi ladies who have undergone inter-caste marriage." March 30, 2010: Goolrookhs sister and advocate Shiraz Patodia Contractor sends a letter to the BPP protesting its resolution and demand Goolrookhs right to avail of funeral ceremonies at the Tower of Silence on her death. 2012: Gujarat High Court rules that if a Parsi woman marries a non-Parsi, she would lose her religion. The reason, says the High Court, was that in all faiths, on marriage, a womans religion "shall merge into...that of the husband". This, many legal experts say, is against the very rationale of why the SMA was brought into being. Dec 7, 2017: According to an interim order passed by the Supreme Court, Goolrookh Gupta and her sisters can enter the Tower of Silence to offer prayers and participate in rituals in the event of the death of a family member. The case is waiting for its final hearing and verdict Goolrookh Adi Contractor of Valsad, Gujarat, marries Manipal Gupta under the Special Marriage Act, 1954, so as to continue to practise her Zoroastrian faith after marriage.Goolrookhs father, Adi Contractor was a trustee of the Valsad Parsi Anjuman (VPA). Goolrookh writes angry letters to VPA on getting to know that two of her childhood friends, who had married outside the community, had been stopped from attending their mothers funeral ceremonies. Goolrookh says earlier Trusts had allowed her and others; that she herself had entered the Tower of Silence and the Fire Temple in Valsad in 2003 when her maternal uncle, Jahanbax Chavda, also a former VPA president, passed away. This, the VPA denies. In future should such women enter those premises it says "action" will be taken. Chavdas wife, Zarine, gives an affidavit in the Gujarat High Court confirming Goolrookhs presence at all the ceremonies. She had been married for 13 years by then.Goolrookh files a case in Ahmedabad High Court to establish the right to enter the fire temple in Valsad and to be present at her parents funerals (they are in their 80s), and subsequent ceremonies.Five members of the Bombay Parsi Panchayat (BPP), the apex body of the Parsi Zoroastrains in India, pass a resolution to "discontinue with immediate effect the hitherto practice of making available the Towers of Silence for the disposal of the dead to Parsi ladies who have undergone inter-caste marriage."Goolrookhs sister and advocate Shiraz Patodia Contractor sends a letter to the BPP protesting its resolution and demand Goolrookhs right to avail of funeral ceremonies at the Tower of Silence on her death.Gujarat High Court rules that if a Parsi woman marries a non-Parsi, she would lose her religion. The reason, says the High Court, was that in all faiths, on marriage, a womans religion "shall merge into...that of the husband". This, many legal experts say, is against the very rationale of why the SMA was brought into being.According to an interim order passed by the Supreme Court, Goolrookh Gupta and her sisters can enter the Tower of Silence to offer prayers and participate in rituals in the event of the death of a family member. The case is waiting for its final hearing and verdict
After the outcry over the Sanjay Leela Bhansali film Padmaavat, the Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education (RBSE) will omit some controversial references to Chittors queen Padmini from its history textbooks.

The RBSE is currently in the process of revising and correcting content in textbooks before the start of the new academic session from April. People familiar with the matter at the board said some changes have been made with regard to content on Padmini, the queen of Rawal Ratan Singh, the 14th century ruler of Chittor.

According to people familiar with the matter, after consultation, a revised draft has been readied and will be given to the board for approval.

According to the draft, the portion which states that Delhi ruler Alauddin Khilji saw Padminis reflection in a mirror and was smitten by her and later attacked Chittor fort has been removed.

The sub-head Padmini ki kahani (Padminis story) has been revised as Padmini ka Itihas (Padminis history).

A line that says that some modern historians do not accept Padmini as a historical figure has also been removed so as to avoid any controversy.

RBSE chairman BL Chaudhary said, The changes have been accepted by the board and the new edition of the books will not have any inaccuracies like the mirror episode that were being taught for a long time.

The changes come after HT had first reported last year that the class 12 history textbook continues to base the story of Padmini on Malik Muhammed Jayasis fictional account, Padmavat, written in 1540.

While there were protests the Rajput community over the film Padmaavat for allegedly distorting historical facts and showing queen Padmini in a poor light, no attention was paid to these distorted facts being taught in the text-book.

After the HT report, school education minister Vasudev Devnani had asked the RBSE chairman BL Chaudhary to consult experts on the matter and remove any inaccuracies. Chaudhary had said the opinion of subject specialists would be taken.

The Rajput community led by the Shri Rajput Karni Sena had demanded a ban on the movie Padmaavat for misrepresenting facts. They had taken exception to Padmini being viewed as a fictional character.

They also contested the fact that Khilji saw Padminis reflection in a mirror as there were no mirrors in the 14th century in Mewar.

While making the modifications, the book, however, goes on to say that one of the reasons Khilji attacked Chittor was to capture Padmini, who, according to legend, chose to commit jauhar along with 1,600 other palace women, rather than be captured by Khilji.

The Rajasthan Board has been caught in controversies in the past for revising history textbooks. Among the changes that have been made include mentioning that Maharana Pratap defeated Mughal emperor Akbar in the battle of Haldighati, as well as apparently eulogising Veer Savarkar and sidelining Gandhi and Nehru while lauding the policies of the BJP government.
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) on Friday rejected the possibility of any kind of settlement on the land dedicated to the Babri Masjid at Ayodhya, stating that such a move would violate the basic tenets of Islam.

The resolutions passed by the board in December 1990 and January 1993 remain unchanged. The land dedicated for the masjid at Ayodhya cannot be sold, gifted or  in any way  alienated. If once dedicated, it vests in Allah, the AIMPLB, which is the apex body of Indian Muslims, resolved at its executive committee meeting held as part of a three-day plenary that began in Hyderabad on Friday evening.

The executive committee of the AIMPLB said all past attempts to arrive at a settlement were infructuous, and there was no proposal that offers a settlement without sacrificing the basic tenets of Islam before the board.

Earlier in the day in Lucknow, AIMPLB secretary and spokesperson Zafaryab Jilani said: There is no change in our stand. Only SC verdict in the case will be acceptable to the board. We had made our position clear in April also soon after the SC suggested that attempts should be made at for a negotiated settlement. Our position remains the same.

His statement comes a day after Maulana Salman Nadwi, a member of the AIMPLBs executive committee along with some other Muslims met Art of Living Founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in Bengaluru to explore an out-of-court-settlement of the dispute on Thursday.

We have never turned down any offer for talks from Hindu parties to the dispute but always requested that the offer for mutual settlement should be just and practical. But we were always told that the Muslims should give up their claim on the land and mosque, said a statement issued by the AIMPLB in Lucknow.

Hence, the board has decided to go by only the apex courts verdict in the matter. Whatever the decision, no party should view it as its victory or loss in the case, said the statement .

The Supreme Court on Thursday declared the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi issue as a land dispute, stating that it does not intend to allow any third-party intervention at this stage. The next hearing on the matter was posted for March 14.

Board president Maulana Rabey Hasani Nadvi presided over the meeting of its 50-member executive committee. It also discussed the triple talaq bill, which is pending in the Rajya Sabha, among other things.

AIMPLB general secretary Moulana Syed Wali Rahmani presented his report on the action taken with regard to decisions of the previous plenary. The committee also reviewed the progress made in the countrywide campaign for community reforms, and advocated effective utilisation of the social media to increase its reach.

The meeting, which began amid tight security at an auditorium in the Owaisi Hospital complex, also set the agenda for the deliberations in the general body scheduled to meet on Saturday and Sunday. More than 500 religious scholars and prominent leaders representing all Islamic schools of thought will attend the event. It will take stock of pending court cases related to the Muslim Personal Law and work out a strategy on the triple talaq bill, among other things.

With inputs from M Tariq Khan in Lucknow
It was an unlikely time and place for a performance.

Telugu Desam Partys member of Parliament Dr N Sivaprasad on Friday came dressed as Lord Venkateswara to warn the central government about the consequences of not fulfilling the promises made to Andhra Pradesh in the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014.

Sivaprasad, who was accompanied by his party colleagues, brandished a sword and whip and muttered chants drawing crowds near Mahatma Gandhis statue in Parliament precincts.

The actor-turned-politician said Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised the people of the state many things in front of gods but has not delivered them as he chanted and pierced a lemon with his sword.

TDP MPs protest outside Parliament in New Delhi. (Arvind Yadav/HT Photo)

Even now when we are pressing (for our demands), they are not giving specific answers and are neglecting us. Our tolerance has run out now. Great Modi has announced (made promises) in presence of Lord Venkateswara, who is in me today and has come in search of him (to look for answers), Sivaprasad said.

The TDP, an ally of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, has been protesting in and out of Parliament demanding for a special status to Andhra Pradesh and other financial benefits to the state.

The first half of the Rajya Sabha session was adjourned for the second day on Friday after TDP legislators raised placards and slogans in the House as they put forward their demands.

This is not the first time that Sivaprasad has grabbed eyeballs. He came to Parliament dressed in half-black and half-white, ostensibly to represent black and white currency, in 2016 after Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes were demonetised.
Chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday accused the Centre of behaving as if Andhra Pradesh was not part of India, even as party lawmakers fuelled speculations of a pull-out of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) from the BJP-led alliance.

In fast paced developments, the TDPs rival, YSR Congress, hinted that it might forge an alliance with the BJP, if Naidu walks out of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Naidu held a teleconference with party MPs in the morning and instructed them not to give up their agitation, a TDP leader said here. What we got from the Centre in the (Union) budget was a pittance and there was no mention (of Andhra Pradesh) in his (finance minister Arun Jaitley) statement... the leader quoted Naidu as saying.

The Centre is treating us as if we, the people of Andhra Pradesh, are not part of the country, Naidu added.

Naidu reportedly expressed dissatisfaction over the way the Centre was treating the state on the implementation of the assurances given in the AP Reorganisation Act, which paved the way for bifurcation of the state for creation of Telangana in June 2014.

Party leaders, however, said Naidu he did not say anything about snapping ties with the BJP even as party law-makers from both the houses of Parliament for the fifth consecutive day demanded concrete assurances .

We made the best of our efforts to bring pressure on the Centre concede our demands. We now have no option but to take a decision (on coming out of the NDA), TDP Rajya Sabha member TG Venkatesh said.

Rival YSR Congress leaders hinted they were ready to join hands with the BJP, if the TDP breaks off from the NDA.

Very soon, political equations in Andhra Pradesh are going to change and we will get an opportunity... YSRC MP from Nellore Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy said in Delhi on Thursday night.

YSR Congress Rajya Sabha member V Vijay Sai Reddy found fault with TDP leader and junior science and technology minister YS Chowdary for demanding justice to Andhra Pradesh in the budget, despite being a member of the Union cabinet.

Let the TDP come out of the NDA and the ministers quit their posts, before questioning the BJP on the injustice to AP, Sai Reddy argued in the House on Friday.

Back home, YSRC spokesperson Ambati Rambabu said, The TDP cannot just blame the BJP. Naidu is equally responsible for the injustice. TDP leaders, however, alleged that YSR Congress party president YS Jaganmohan Reddy is trying to cosy up to the BJP to get out of CBI cases against him.
Citing loss of livelihood, 66 farmers of a village in Chhattisgarhs Rajnandgaon district have refused to give their land that is being acquired by the state government for setting up a food park for food-processing companies, including Ramdevs Patanjali Ayurved.

The Chhattisgarh government is acquiring land at Bijetala village, 35 km from the district headquarters, at Rs 10 lakh per acre, which is four times the current value of land in the region.

It had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with three food processing firms to set up units at an estimated investment of Rs 762 crore in 2017.

Nearly 100 farmers have already agreed to give their land.

Of the total amount, Patanjali has promised investment of Rs 671 crore for a herbal-and-agriculturual processing unit that the government claimed will benefit two lakh farmers.

However, some of the farmers do not want to give away their land.

We will become landless if our land is taken, said Dhan Raj, a marginal farmer whose 2.5 acres of land is to be acquired.

We dont want money If we have land, we can earn money and sustain ourselves, said Kunj Lal Sahu, who heads a family of seven members.

Another farmer Poshan Lal Patel said when the project was announced, the entire village was against it, but after some government intervention, some farmers agreed. The farmers who have given their consent have less than one acre of land each and they got a good amount of money, he said.

Farmers who agreed to give their land said they had to do so as people, who have small land holdings around their land, agreed, and therefore, I thought I will be stuck as I will not get a path (way) to reach my land.

Sub-divisional magistrate Atul Vishwakarma said most of the farmers who have agreed, have large land holdings.

If these farmers refuse to land acquisition, we will submit our report to the state government, and they will take the final call, he said, adding that negotiations with farmers were on.

Activist groups like Chhattisgarh Bachaao Andolan and parties like Congress and Janata Congress Chhattisgarh have opposed forcible acquisition of land and threatened to protest.

Patanjali spokesperson, SK Tijarawala said land acquisition came under the Chhattisgarh government. Our aim is to benefit farmers and the food processing park will give farmers a better price of their yield and also employment.
Two journalists of the Agence France-Presse - an Indian national and a British citizen of Indian-origin - were arrested by police in the Maldives on Friday for allegedly violating the immigration rules of the island nation that was plunged into turmoil last week by a confrontation between the president and the judiciary.

The Maldives Police, which has rallied behind embattled President Abdulla Yameen, tweeted that the two journalists had been handed over to immigration authorities for working in (the) Maldives against (the) Maldives Immigration Act and Regulations.

The police did not give other details or name the journalists. The tweet said the immigration authorities would take action against them.

Press Statement: PMC/2018/06

Two journalists (a British national and an Indian national) have been handed over to @ImmigrationMV to take action against them for working in Maldives against Maldives Immigration Act and Regulations. pic.twitter.com/K3aVMXKrny  Maldives Police (@PoliceMv) February 9, 2018

ANI news agency identified the arrested journalists as Money Sharma from Amritsar and Atish Patel from London and reported they had been arrested under the provisions of the emergency imposed by Yameen because of national security purposes.

Ali Zahir, a Maldivian MP, said: We dont have freedom of press anymore. Last night one of the leading TV stations was closed.

Zahir demanded the immediate release of the journalists and restoration of democracy and rule of law.

In New Delhi, the external affairs ministry spokesperson information had been received about an Indian national named Money Sharma, working as a journalist, being detained by the Maldivian authorities. We have asked our embassy to get in touch with the local authorities to ascertain more details of the case, the spokesperson said.

The Maldives was plunged into political uncertainty after Yameen refused to implement a Supreme Court ruling dropping terror charges against former president Mohamed Nasheed and freeing eight imprisoned opposition leaders. He subsequently imposed a 15-day emergency and detained two top judges.

India and the world community have called on Yameens regime to end the emergency and to resolve the political crisis.

Read | Former Maldives president Nasheed urges liberator India to send military, resolve crisis
Ministry of Home Affairs(MHA) on Friday advised Jammu and Kashmir government to deploy Central Reserved Police Forces (CRPF) in every aspect of prison security after a Lashkar-e-Taiba militant escaped police custody during his visit to a hospital earlier this week.

The development came after a high-level meeting was convened by MHA to discuss Pakistani militant Naveed Jatt, who was lodged in Srinagar central jail, before he escaped custody with the help of militants eventually resulting in killing of two police officials.

Officials privy to developments of the case said the state government has been asked to deploy CRPF officials inside prison facilities and also involve the paramilitary force during transportation of inmates and other important duties.

Usually CRPF is posted at the outer perimeters of prisons for providing security however we have asked state government to give them additional duties that will include frisking, checking prisons and providing transportation for inmates, a senior MHA official said.

Until now, all the prison related matters were looked over by the state police alone and the armed battalion of J&K police looks over transportation of inmates.

A senior home ministry official said that besides the state government being advised to review and enhance security measures in place in jails, it is also being considered that inmates who are in jail for militancy related activities be dispersed and sent to prisons outside Srinagar to Jammu, especially those from Pakistan.

Prisoners from Pakistan, who number 17 at the Central Jail, are likely to be dispersed after seeking court approval, the official said.

Director General of Police SP Vaid said that he will ensure that such incidents are not repeated in the future. We will heed to direction by the Centre and state government and make sure incidents do not take place in future.

The state government transferred Director General of Prisons S K Mishra and appointed Dilbag Singh in his place. The Srinagar jail superintendent has been suspended and a high-level enquiry by the divisional commissioner has also been ordered.
Less than 20% of the components of the bullet train project would be Japanese, the Railways informed Parliament on Friday.

On being asked if it was true that Japanese companies would meet at least 70 per cent of core components for Indias first Bullet train and its track, minister of state for Railways Rajen Gohain said that it was not.

Japanese component for the project is estimated to be about 18.6% of the total project cost. Make in India is an integral part of the project, he said without elaborating on the components.

According to the ministry, as per the current estimate, procurement from Japan will be about 18 per cent of the project cost.

Gohain said a joint Indian and Japanese task force on Make in India and Transfer of Technology (ToT) under the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) project has been constituted.

He said that this was constituted to provide a platform for Indian and Japanese companies to come together and facilitate tie-ups by way of formation of joint venture and transfer of technology.

The task force and the four subgroups constituted for civil works, track, rolling stock and electrical and system areas have held several meetings in this regard, the minister said.

The Bullet train project is targeted for completion by the year 2022-23.

The feasibility report had assessed a ridership of 35,800 passengers per day in the year 2023 which goes up to 1,85,800 per day by the year 2053.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi led a delegation of Opposition MPs to Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday, demanding a Supreme Court-monitored investigation into the 2014 death of CBI special Judge BH Loya.

The delegation, which gave a memorandum signed by 114 MPs from 15 parties to President Ram Nath Kovind, said it had no faith in the investigations by government agencies because of their track record.

Many MPs feel suspicious and uneasy. They also want the matter to be probed by an independent SIT (special investigation team) but not by the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) or NIA (National Investigation Agency), Gandhi told reporters after meeting Kovind.

Read: Congress raises more questions in judge Loyas death case

The memorandum has been signed by MPs from the Congress, Trinamool Congress, DMK, Samajwadi Party, Nationalist Congress Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India, Aam Aadmi Party, Muslim League, Revolutionary Socialist Party, All India United Democratic Front, Janata Dal (Secular), Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and Kerala Congress (Mani).

To uphold the majesty of law, we request you to intervene in the matter. What is required is a thorough investigation through a team of independent officers selected and monitored by the Supreme Court, the memorandum to the President said.

Such a procedure will ensure the credibility of the institution in the eyes of the public. We sincerely hope you will use your good offices to serve the cause of justice, it added.

Read: Loyas death case: Dont reduce this court to fish market, Justice Chandrachud tells lawyers

Gandhi said the President gave them a positive response, adding that the MPs were seeking a proper investigation done by an independent structure.

There have been two other suspicious deaths, Gandhi added, naming two other individuals whose deaths, the Congress has alleged, are connected to the Judge Loya case.

Loya, who was hearing the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case, died of a cardiac arrest in Nagpur on December 1, 2014, when he had gone to attend the wedding of a colleagues daughter. BJP president Amit Shah was named as one of the parties in the Sohrabuddin case but later discharged.

In November last year, media reports quoting Judge Loyas sister raised questions about the circumstances surrounding his death. Last month, Judge Loyas son Anuj said in a press conference that the family had no allegations against anyone and asked people not to harass or trouble us.

The Congress has upped its ante on the issue, saying democracy cannot survive in a nation where lawyers and judges involved in important cases are targeted.

Earlier in the day, the Maharashtra government termed petitions in the Supreme Court demanding an independent probe into Loyas death as motivated, ill-founded and based on yellow journalism.

Rebutting charges of sloppy investigation by the state police into the death of Judge Loya, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Maharashtra government, said: Four judges with Judge Loya have said he died a premature but natural death three years ago. Either these judges will have to be believed or this Court will have to say they are all lying.

Rohatgi also dismissed the allegations that judges dealing with the Sohrabuddin encounter case were transferred despite the Supreme Court directions. Petitioners must get their facts right. Trial in the Sohrabuddin case began only six months back. The transfers that happened in 2014 were prior to the beginning of the trial, he said.

The arguments in the case will resume on February 12.
The father of an army officer has petitioned the Supreme Court asking for the quashing of an FIR in which his son is named. The father has a right to defend his son, Major Aditya, but the controversy surrounding the killing of three civilians in south Kashmirs Shopian has revealed many ugly warts and prised open several wounds.

Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti ordered a magisterial inquiry soon after the January 27 Shopian killings. According to an FIR lodged by the state police, a company of the 10th Garhwal battalion led by Major Aditya was on its way for official duty when it came under attack.

A few days after the FIR was registered, the army gave its own version of events to the police, claiming it opened firing on the protesters in self defence after seven of its personnel were injured.

The army has a right to give its version of events but it is important that it join the magisterial inquiry in the interest

of justice, because no one can refute the fact that three civilians died because of army bullets.

Mehboobas alliance partner, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is not helping by publicly demanding that the police FIR be quashed. This not only weakens an already beleaguered chief minister but also sends an unpalatable message that the army is above reproach.

Mehbooba has steadfastly refused to budge and made it clear that the inquiry will be taken to its logical conclusion.

She, in fact, told the state assembly that she had ordered the probe after speaking to defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

The BJPs open defence of the army is not surprising but the party needs to ask itself if its position increases the trust deficit between the army and the common Kashmiri.

There are other Kashmir-related incidences for which army courts have found soldiers guilty.

One example is that of the Machhil encounter, which led to the unrest in the Valley in 2010. While the army found five of its personnel including a Colonel-rank officer guilty of luring three labourers and shooting them dead as unidentified infiltrating militants, their life sentences were overturned by an Armed Forces Tribunal in July 2017.

Many Kashmiris have been asking how such excesses can go unpunished.

The question is more than valid in an alienated Valley that has been crying out for political resolution. The Narendra Modi government has appointed an interlocutor and Mehbooba has withdrawn cases against stone pelters, but a lot more needs to be done.

The army has the unenviable job of operating in a hostile environment, and it is in its own interest to back the process of justice. Kashmir is not where the BJP should be leading with its nationalistic card.

The ground reality calls for a mature approach in which fairness and justice are not just crucial, but critical.
When Sridhar Rangayan directed his first film, Pink Mirror, in 2002, he was on tenterhooks. He had just launched his production house, and scrambled together resources from friends for an ambitious project: A no-holds-barred chronicle of lives of desi drag queens.

The shooting was done in just four days, and the crew went to great lengths to keep the press out. Any rumour of the film, they feared, would jeopardise the project. After all, there was still little public conversation about sexuality, the Naz Foundation petition that eventually led to the decriminalisation of adult homosexual relationships in 2009 was nascent and the only way queer people found space in the media was when they were brutally murdered.

The film was kind of shot underground. For the first few screenings, people were scared to come. We lured them with samosas and adrak chai, Rangayan says.

He was right. Days after the film was released, the Central Board of Film Certification banned it, citing vulgarity of content though the film had little nudity, violence or graphic language. Rangayan contends it was because the characters were unabashed about their gender and sexuality. They expected the characters to cry and grovel, he laughs, adding that he made three more appeals before giving up.

Fast forward to 2017. The 35-minute short film has travelled the international festival circuit, found its place in film syllabi and is currently streaming on Netflix. Rangayans latest film, Purple Skies, on the travails of the LGBT community, was shown on primetime Doordarshan.

Rangayan now runs south Asias largest annual LGBT film festival, Kashish, and has travelled to 20-plus colleges and universities to screen a variety of films  reflecting the upward trajectory of queer representation in the past two decades.

Indian popular culture is turning a corner. Led by increasingly younger audiences unshackled from the mores of cultural conservatism, films, television programmes, books and plays are making more space for LGBT artistes, featuring plotlines and characters unthinkable even a decade ago. The transformation is painstakingly slow, yes, and little has changed for the more vulnerable groups  Muslims, Dalits, transpeople or disabled people  in the community. But hope has been set afloat.

No one has experienced this change more than Sukhdeep Singh. In 2010, in a small hostel room in his engineering college, Singh started a nondescript portal. I had just come out in a blog post and saw many unwelcome reactions that softened when I explained it to them. I then realised that there was no website or resource dedicated to LGBT people, Singh explains over the phone.

His website, Gaylaxy Magazine, started as an online periodical that received submissions from all over India  from anonymous people in small towns, scared of themselves and their surroundings, and from young women in love, or people trying to escape abusive families. Today, his website receives more than 3,000 visitors every day and covers everything from literature to current affairs.

But in person, Singh strikes a more sobering note. There is celebration of queer people yes, but very little money. Everyone wants to support us but no one wants to put their money on us, or walk the talk, he says.

Some of the biggest shifts have taken place in the film and literature fraternity.

When Deepa Mehtas Fire came out in 1996, violent protests roiled India over the depiction of romance between two female leads. There is no homosexuality in India, demonstrators declared while burning effigies in the Capital. In contrast, when Margarita With A Straw came out in 2014, it received accolades for its sensitive portrayal of queer desire in a woman with disability.

Some of this progress came at a cost. Bengali director Rituparno Ghosh, who made path-breaking films around womens sexuality and queer lives, openly spoke about the ridicule he received in his home state for his choice of clothes or gait. In the unprecedented outpouring of tribute at his death in 2013, Bengal appeared to atone.

Bolder strides are visible in the brave new world of web series that are unfettered by formal certification and therefore teeming with stories of same-sex love  though mostly set in upper-middle class urban contexts among men.

Literature too appears to have travelled a long way from Ismat Chughtais Lihaaf, a thinly veiled retelling of a same-sex encounter that riled conservatives and spurred legal cases in 1942. Much of the charge was initiated in the 1980s and 90s by writers outside the Hindi-English loop in Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, helmed by plays such as Vijay Tendulkars Mitrachi Goshta (A Friends Story).

In 2000, poet Hoshang Merchant released an edited volume of gay writing termed Yaarana. The next year, Ruth Vanita and Saleem Kidwai chronicled the journey of queer literature in India. In 2002, Manju Kapoor released A Married Woman and the next year, R Raj Rao burst on to the literary scene with his searing The Boyfriend.

Queer literature has not looked back since.

Poet Akhil Katyal, who released two books on queerness at the Jaipur Literature Festival last month, has also seen college spaces change irreversibly since his days at Delhi University. My students now write queer slam poems at the drop of a hat...it is kosher to say LGBT now. That itself is a huge deal on the whole, says Katyal.

Some recent literature has also focused on the link between religion and sexuality, thereby helping people who struggle to reconcile their desires with their faith, many of which disapprove of homosexuality.

This movement has been helmed by writers such as Devdutt Pattanaik, who has used examples of mythical characters such as Shikhandi to argue that Hinduism was tolerant of and even celebrated queerness.

Moreover, autobiographies by transgender women such as A Revathi and Living Smile Vidya have added to our understanding of the complexities of caste, gender and sexuality.

Of course, there is a long way to go. Advertisements that feature LGBTthemed plots often appear to use them for better marketing, and depiction in mainstream television  such as in the serial Shakti  can peddle regressive stereotypes such as likening a transgender person to a witch.

Moreover, representation of women in queer culture continues to be low, something that new publications such as Gaysi or Amruta Patils 2008 graphic novel Kari have tried to change. The depiction of same-sex love is predominantly male  as seen in recent movies such as Love  and is centred around Delhi or Mumbai, or similar big cities.

Opportunities for transgender people are scant, and bodies with disabilities are almost never thought of as queer. Even the mythology-based literature has been criticised for glossing over issues such as caste in its celebration of Hindu epics.

Most of the writing and the movies focus on the lives of affluent male characters with dominant-caste surnames, in urban settings  Dalit and Muslim voices are squeezed out of the anthologies of LGBT writing. For a poor, Dalit person to be queer appears like an impossibility on screen.

(Dhrubo Jyoti is a staff writer at Hindustan Times)

This is the fifth and concluding 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 Madras High Court on Friday banned people from carrying mobile phones to Madurais famous Meenakshi Amman temple where a fire mishap gutted several shops last week.

Justices N Kirubakaran and R Tharani of the Madurai bench also suggested deployment of CISF personnel to maintain security at the ancient temple.

The court said the Tamil Nadu government should examine the possibility of forming a high-level committee of archaeological experts for maintaining the temple periodically and providing advice on safety and security aspects.

It ordered that mobile phones should not be carried by anyone barring security officials in the interest of security of the temple.

The order was issued while hearing a PIL seeking to direct the central and state governments to frame guidelines and safety and security code and implement these immediately.

Petitioner Muthukumar, an advocate, submitted that the recent fire accident in the temple had shocked the devotees, adding though only 115 shops had been permitted, in reality 300 shops had been functioning inside.

The judges also directed the management to inspect the stability of the temple structure as a whole and ensure that fire prevention equipment were kept ready round-the-clock.

The temple staff should also be trained to handle the fire safety and security equipment, the judges observed.

Also, the judges said the entire electrical wiring system in the temple could be re-laid so that there was no short circuit issues.

The judges directed the state government to file a report on or before March 13 regarding the safety and security measures taken so far at the temple.

The petitioner submitted that the recent fire accident in the temple had shocked the people adding though only 115 shops had been permitted, in reality 300 shops had been functioning inside the temple.

He also said the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which inspected the temple in 2009 asked the shrine to be provided very high level security in view of the threats.

However, the recommendations of the NIA had not been implemented, the petitioner contended.

The PIL also said the Meenakshi temple had in 1997 been declared a heritage temple by a government order but no action was taken subsequently.
All opposition parties should come together before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee should be the face of the united front, Patidar leader Hardik Patel said in Kolkata on Friday after meeting the Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo at the state secretariat.

Congress and Trinamool Congress are the two biggest opposition forces in the country right now. I feel Mamata Banerjee should be the face of this united opposition, said Patel.

The meeting was significant in view of the role Patel played as an ally of the Congress in the last assembly elections in Gujarat.

Comparing Banerjee to Indira Gandhi, the Patidar leader said he promised the chief minister that he would visit Bengal and campaign for her in 2019.

Mamata Banerjee has written to the Centre seeking Scheduled Tribe status for the Kurmi community in Bengal. I support her because Patels in Gujarat have the same status as the Kurmis in Bengal, said Patel.

He also said that Banerjee invited him to join Trinamool Congress and lead the party in Gujarat. I said I will give her proposal a serious thought if I decide to join active politics, said Patel. I have also requested her to visit Gujarat and enlighten the women there, he added.

While leaving Nabanna late in the evening, Banerjee said she was impressed with Patel.

He is an extremely bright young chap and politically conscious. I told him that he should join politics. If he does, I will give him all cooperation and support, said Banerjee.
The new Memorandum of Procedure  a fresh set of guidelines for making appointments to the higher judiciary  is stuck in limbo because of the lack of agreement between the Centre and top judges on three crucial clauses, a top official in the law ministry said.

There is unlikely to any progress till the members of the so-called collegium, the Chief Justice of India and the next four judges in order of seniority in the high court, resolve their own differences, added this person who spoke on condition of anonymity. The collegium appoints judges to the Supreme Court and also Chief Justices of the high courts.

The four senior most judges in the apex court after the CJI, Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, MB Lokur and Kurien Joseph went public last month with their differences with the Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra. In a press conference on January 12, their expressed their unhappiness at his style of functioning and said critical cases were being allocated to junior judges. Since then, the CJI and the judges have met several times, but the issue remains unresolved. That impasse may put the MOP on hold at least till the current CJI Dipak Misra retires in October, experts said.

The judiciary is most likely going to focus on resolving the differences within first before it can put up a united face and respond to the government on the MOP, Sumathi Chandrashekharan, Senior Resident Fellow at Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy said.

On December 16, 2015, a constitution bench of the SC headed by Justice JS Khehar directed the government to finalise a new MOP in consultation with the CJI to replace the current one and listed a number of suggestions to improve the collegium system of appointment. The judgement stressed on the importance of revisiting the selection procedure for the senior judiciary.

The same bench had, on October 16 that year, struck down as unconstitutional the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act, which sought to end the two-decade-old practice of judges appointing judges through the collegium. The bench, in its December order, stressed on making the system more transparent and accountable.

The government started working on the draft MOP in early 2016 and began consultations with the judiciary but there is currently no convergence on three sticking points.

In a letter from the law ministry to the SC in July 2017, then secretary, justice, Snehlata Srivastava wrote to the registrar general of the SC Ravindra Mathiani acknowledging the differences. The government, she wrote, wanted to keep the reasons for rejecting a candidates selection on the grounds of national security and overidding public interest confidential and share it only with the CJI.

The letter also mentioned the two other issues of difference between the government and the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court, for its part, was against creating a secretariat for vetting and clearing names for judges and forming a committee of judges who were not part of the collegium to screen complaints against sitting judges. It was also not in favour of having search and evaluation committees for selecting candidates.

A top official in the law ministry said that was the last communication between the two sides. The SC has not even acknowledged that letter. Our position has not changed, he added, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The government had cited the December 2015 judgement and another by Justices Chelameswar and Gogoi on July 4, 2017, in the suo motu contempt case against high court judge Justice CS Karnan.

Obviously, there is a failure to make an assessment of the personality of the contemnor at the time of recommending his name for elevation. Our purpose is not to point fingers to individuals who were responsible for recommendation but only to highlight the systems failure of not providing an appropriate procedure for making such an assessment, Chelameswar and Gogoi said.

What appropriate mechanism would be suitable for assessing the personality of the candidate who is being considered for appointment to be a member of a constitutional court is a matter which is to be identified after an appropriate debate by all the concerned  the Bar, the Bench, the State and Civil Society. But the need appears to be unquestionable, they added.

Equipped with the observations, the Centre wrote to the Supreme Court registrar general saying: It becomes critically important for the government to take the initiative towards making the appointment process transparent, fair and accountable.

Experts said after the SC collegiums responds, the government may have to start the process of negotiating with it all over again. For that, probably a new collegium will have to be in place, a legal analyst who did not want to be named said.

The CJIs office did not respond to attempts to contact him.
It is a little after 11 pm on New Years Eve when Anisha Savale gets off the tempo with her husband and three children. She has travelled for more than 400 kilometers in a packed vehicle, but as she rushes into a sea of humanity, her youngest in her arms, there is little sign of fatigue. Darkness hang over the fields on either bank of the Bhima river, save for a small clump of land dappled in light and the chatter of tens of thousands of people celebrating the bicentenary of the Bhima Koregaon war in a remote village in Maharashtra, roughly 40 kilometers from Pune.

The nine-acre plot is awash in blue flags and cries of Jai Bhim rent the air as Savale pushes herself to the head of the queue  she wants to get her youngest to the 60-feet victory pillar, decked in yellow and orange garlands, before midnight. I couldnt come last year but couldnt miss it this time. I have to show my children what their culture is and what they have to fight for, says the 34-year-old.

Her son, dressed smartly in a white shirt and blue jeans with a prominent Jai Bhim wristband on his right arm, tugs at her saree impatiently. He wants to get a tattoo of Babasaheb, she explains, but adds that she hasnt made her mind up about it.

Around her, members of the Samata Sainik Dal, a volunteer organisation set up by BR Ambedkar in 1926, march up and down, readying themselves for a midnight tribute.

We are not cowards, we dont flee a battlefieldWhen our Babasaheb picked up the pen, look at the power he put in the Constitution, the announcer from the stage booms to cheers.

A hush suddenly falls five minutes before the New Year as Buddhist monks serenely walk up to the makeshift enclosure around the ranstambh and begin chanting hymns  invoking Ambedkars conversion to Buddhism in 1956 to fight caste.

Savale stands on one of the makeshift bamboo-and-plywood bridges erected for the celebrations and mouths the words silently, her palms clasped in prayer.

Her son is looking at the plumage of fireworks that light up the winter sky to usher in the New Year, and pushes his way forward for a selfie with the plaque that commemorates the martyrs of the 1818 war on the British side. There are names of 22 Mahar soldiers, whose legendary tales of bravery now form the fount of Dalit pride today.

Next to him is 79-year-old Shanta Kamble, holding on to a handrail. She says she comes to the pillar every year, for at least 10 years. Why, I ask. She looks at me with pity. You are young, you wont understand. Do you think we would exist without this battle? We are here because of this. How can I not come?

She spends the night in a tent, one of scores erected around the ground for people streaming in from across the country. There is excited chatter and songs sung in praise of Ambedkar, Jyotiba Phule and Shivaji. It is like a pilgrimage for me but without religion, without garlands and worship. I cannot explain, Savale says.

Members of the Samata Sainik Dal, set up by BR Ambedkar in 1926, march past the Bhima Koregaon obelisk on January 1. (Rahul Raut/HT Photo)

The celebrations go on through the night  people march in from faraway Karnataka, dressed in the elaborate yellow headgear that they believe the Mahar soldiers wore in the battle of 1818.

As the sun rises over the Bhima, people make a beeline for the freezing waters but only the bravest take the plunge. By 7am, the trickle of people turns into a flood and tempos, trucks, trawlers, and cars  all with blue flags fluttering  jostle for space. The SSD struggles to contain the swelling crowd that moves in great waves from the pillar to the shops behind that sell everything from anti-caste literature and pocket books on the Constitution and Buddhism, to sweatshirts with Ambedkars insignia, wristbands, busts and blue flags. In one corner of the middle lane is the tattoo stall.

We have been coming here for 20 years. We sell books priced between 50 and 300 rupees, says Sahebrao Patekar. The most popular of his wares are the books in Marathi detailing Ambedkars writings.

THE HISTORY

Bhima Koregaon grabbed the public imagination in 1927, when BR Ambedkar visited the spot and exhorted the Dalit population to remember their valiant history of defeating the Peshwa.

Indias first law minister described in great detail the oppressive practices instituted by Brahmin rulers that forced every lower-caste person to carry a spittoon on their neck and a broom on the back, so that even their dust couldnt pollute the dominant castes. Punishment for lower castes was often disproportionate and harsher than the upper castes, and Mahars, a caste Ambedkar belonged to, would ritually be sacrificed and buried to make the foundation of a building strong, explains Shradhha Kumbhojkar, a historian at Pune University.

Phule and Ambedkar chronicled this and every conscious Dalit person has read them. The history of slavery, of oppression and ruthless death penalties has built this resistance, she told me.

Recorded history of Bhima Koregoan is patchy, stitched together by historians from the correspondence of Captain FF Staunton with the East India Company and local oral histories.

But this much is certain: That Peshwa Bajirao II was already on the back foot on January 1, 1818. He had lost his seat of government in Punes Shaniwar Wada, from where the British flag had been unfurled in November 1817. With 20,000 infantry and 8,000 cavalry, the Peshwas army vastly outnumbered Stauntons 800-odd men, around 500 of who were Mahars. Both armies comprised a mix of soldiers from different castes and religions, and in the Peshwas case, 2,000-3,000 Arab mercenaries.

From here, the narratives diverge. Stauntons journal records that the British forces took in heavy fire and attacks throughout the day on January 1, with one of their two guns exposed to the Peshwas army. There is no record of the losses on the Peshwas side but Staunton writes about a hurried dispatch to his superiors for more forces, while chronicling the poor state of his forces, the hunger and the fatigue.

But by afternoon of the second day, the Peshwas forces withdrew, allowing Staunton to pick up his wounded and return to the nearest camp.

For the British, this was a big victory. The myth of dogged resistance started building in the first report sent to the East India Company, says Kumbhojkar, quoting from records of the British Parliament and letters by then governor Mountstuart Elphinstone.

In the next six months, the Peshwa was vanquished, and banished to faraway Kanpur. The company showered accolades on Staunton and the other soldiers and in 1819 commissioned the memorial to the forces that accomplished one of the proudest triumphs of the British army in the East.

A midnight ceremony celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Bhima Koregaon.

The Mahars too prospered, using the armys patronage to escape the back-breaking violence and discrimination of the countryside, but not for long. The recruitment of lower castes stopped in 1892 after they were declared a non-martial race. This fomented a movement among the community that petitioned the British repeatedly. It is during this time, in 1910, that a British officer RA Lamb stumbled across the obelisk and told the Mahars that they could use the history of the Bhima Koregaon battle to win back favour with the British.

The role of the military in the empowering of Mahars is great. Many of them tasted a better life working not just as soldiers but as butlers and tailors in the army. For the first time, they were addressed as human beings, explains Kumbhojkar. Calling for the re-entry of Mahars in the army became a rallying point, and one of the leaders of that movement was Ambedkars father.

BR Ambedkars visit to Bhima Koregaon on January 1, 1927 was a watershed moment that pushed the then-forgotten war back into popular consciousness. He appealed to the British to reinstate the Mahars  which they briefly did during World War I  and even wrote a short treatise during the first Round Table Conference. The Mahar regiment was eventually raised in 1941, with Ambedkar a member of the Viceroys defence council.

Not everyone agrees. A section of Marathi literature throughout the 1960s and 70s showed the Peshwa as the winner, most notably in the novel Mantravegla by Nagnath Inamdar (one of his books was adapted into the Bollywood film Bajirao Mastani).

It is also important to note that the Peshwas army contained many different castes, and only a few Brahmins. The fight was not against Brahmins, it was against a regional power. The British created this other narrative for their advantage, said Nand Kumar Nikam, former principal of the local Shirur College.

He finds echo in Anand Dave of the Akhil Bharatiya Brahmin Mahasangh, who says the battle was neither a caste fight nor were the Mahars victors. The British wanted to defeat Hindu kings. What did the British give the Mahars afterwards? The bicentennial is a mark of anti-Brahmin sentiment.

Kumbhojkar agrees there is a degree of myth involved but doesnt see the harm, or the reason for outrage. Every identity or community has its own myths. Dalits were creating an alternative to Hinduism through culture and Bhima Koregaon became a rallying point. There are layers of memories associated with the place.

Conversations with Dalit leaders and organisers also dispel the notion that they are unaware of the contradictions in the narrative. We know that the Mahars didnt fight alone. But in defeating the Peshwa, the non-Brahmins won. We are told our history isnt glorious but these soldiers are symbols of the first fight against anti-caste, they are a symbol for future generations, says Keshav Waghmare, a Pune-based activist and one of the organisers of the bicentennial celebrations.

THE UNREST

Trouble started brewing on December 29 when unidentified men desecrated a little-known cemetery in Vadhu Budruk, less than five kilometers from Bhima Koregaon.

The cemetery was of a 17th century peasant from the Mahar caste, Govind Ganapat Gaikwad, who gave a funeral to Shivajis son Shambhaji, who was killed by Aurangzeb in 1689. Many historians believe that at a time when the local population was terrified of the Mughals and refused to cremate Shambhaji, Gaikwad stitched together his remains and gave him an honourable funeral.

This is an important moment in the anti-caste history because many thinkers believe Shivaji was a Shudra king who was opposed to Brahmins, though, his ashtapradhan (council of eight most important ministers) comprised mostly of Brahmins. In Bhima Koregaon itself, for example, a statue of Ambedkar faces another of Shivaji.

Statutes of Shivaji and Ambedkar at the victory pillar in Bhima Koregaon. (Rahul Raut/HT Photo)

But a competing narrative is also afoot, helmed by hardline Hindu leaders such as Sambhaji Bhide and Milind Ekbote who are both accused of fomenting the violence near Bhima Koregaon that killed one person.

Sachin Garud, a professor at Islampur College in Sangli district, told me both these leaders work mainly in that district to peddle a narrative directly contrary to the version Dalit and Bahujan thinkers hold. They say that Shivaji was a protector of Brahmins and that he was the raja of all Hindus. They say Shivaji was a proponent of caste and varnashrama, he says.

In this backdrop, when Gaikwads memorial was damaged, it triggered tensions in the area, and resulted in an FIR against 49 villagers, including the chief, under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Prevention of Atrocities Act. It is from Vadhu Budruk again that the violence on January 1 began.

This cycle of violence might have opened a chasm between Dalits and a section of the Maratha caste that Shailendra Kharat, a professor of Political Science at Pune University, believes must be seen in light of growing right-wing influence in the state.

The Marathas and upper castes first clashed with Dalits in 1978, during a movement to change the name of Marathwada University in Aurangabad to BR Ambedkar University. The icons name was added after 16 years of protests that saw numerous atrocities on Dalits.

Simmering tensions between the two communities spilled out onto the streets last year after a gang-rape case in Kopardi, where Dalit men raped a Maratha woman. The case triggered a huge churning as hundreds of thousands of Marathas took out silent marches across Maharashtra. In September, three Dalit men were sentenced to death.

But another murder, that of a 17-year-old Dalit man for allegedly falling in love with an upper-caste woman, in Ahmednagar district, remained under the radar. In November, all accused in the case were acquitted for want of evidence.

This generated tremendous anger among Dalits across Maharashtra. Not only was the boy killed but the killers let off. This sent out a message that Dalits couldnt even fall in love, said Sudhir Dhawale, an activist.

Kharat believes the root of these tensions lies in a persistent agrarian crisis and falling rural wages among the Marathas that have been aggravated by fragmentation of land holdings.

The ascendance of Dalits, especially neo-Buddhists and Mahars, and their material dominance was met with hostility, especially as the material dominance of the Marathas waned in the 90s, argued Pune-based political scientist Rajeshwari Deshpande.

These shifting dynamics have also undermined another 100-year-old movement, called Brahmantar, that sought to bring all non-Brahmin castes under one broad Bahujan fold, says academic Suhas Palshikar. The 2014 elections was the loss of hegemony of Marathas as the Brahmins felt more encouraged by the current dispensation, he told me. At the same time, many Maratha groups have backed the Dalit protests across the state and local Marathas in Bhima Koregaon have come together with Dalit people to protest against the January 1 violence.

A girl flips through a book at one of the many stalls in Bhima Koregaon. Scores of shops sell anti-caste literature in pocket-sized books, often in Marathi. (Rahul Raut/HT Photo)

THE FUTURE

In the chaos of the past week, the one clear narrative was that of the educated Dalit person mobile, articulate and proud of their ancestry and history. In the shadow of the obelisk on January 1 stood a group of seven young men who had spent New Years Eve in a bus from Belgaum in Karnataka, and raised slogans in praise of Buddhism, Phule and Ambedkar.

All were Dalit and said they were facing pervasive but intangible discrimination in their university  and were at Bhima Koregaon to gain strength for a fight that was to last for the rest of their academic careers. The groups leader, a 23-year-old man in a suit named Yuvaraj Byale, appeared determined for a struggle.

His resolve found echo in the local village chiefs husband, Babusaheb Bhalerao. We get strength from this monument  that everyone comes here, he tells me. The event itself is funded by the community and is hosted by a committee of local villagers.

A little distance away in the rank and files of the SSD stood a 70-year-old woman, Nanda Kamble, and a 10-year-old boy, Adish Ingle. When asked why they joined an organisation that needs them to stand in the sun for long hours, manage crowds and take orders, their answers were almost identical: We heard of Babasaheb and want to follow in his path.

By now it is almost noon and time for Savale to leave but her son is still adamant about that tattoo. In her admonishment, she holds out a promise. Read the books I have bought you about Babasaheb. I will quiz you and if you pass, next year I may let you get a tattoo, she tells him. He seems content with the challenge as they climb into their tempo.
Bhupat Lakum, a farmer from Adroda village near Gujarats Ahmedabad, was glued to his television set when Prime Minister Narendra Modi presided over a ceremony marking the completion of the Sardar Sarovar Dam on September 17 last year.

The event terminated the 57-year-old project on the Narmada, and with the dam finally standing at its full height of 138.68 metres, Lakum hoped for an end to irrigation and drinking water woes.

In December with campaigning for the assembly election in full swing, Lakum sowed paddy on his 60 bigha land. He thought he had little to worry  the Congress was promising a farm loan waiver and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claimed if it came back to power, it will irrigate the whole of Gujarat with Narmada waters.

He was wrong. Within a month of retaining power for the sixth consecutive time, the Vijay Rupani-led BJP government appealed farmers to not sow any crops this summer.

The reason: There is no Narmada water supply for irrigation. Even industries have been asked to look for alternative sources while civic bodies will have to manage through local reservoirs to prevent drinking water shortage.

The state government additionally said it had not made any alternate arrangement for irrigation from the middle of March.

The administration holds the paucity of water, caused by a poor monsoon, in the Narmada basin responsible for the situation.

The quantum available in the Sardar Sarovar Dam is adequate to maintain drinking water supply. But there would no irrigation supply from March 15. That is why the state government has asked farmers to not to go for summer crops, said deputy chief minister Nitin Patel.

The state government says storage in the Narmada dam has dropped by 45%  the lowest in 15 years  due to poor rainfall in Madhya Pradesh last monsoon.

Usually, the state receives about 9 million acre feet (MAF) of water. Of this, 0.20 MAF is give for industrial use. However, this year, the state has received only 4.71 MAF water, said chief secretary JN Singh.

The monsoon is not expected to hit the state before June.

The farmers say the announcement has come late as many of them have already sowed crops. Summer crops such as groundnut, paddy, sesame, millets and pulses are grown over 1.5 million hectares in the state.

In our villages we do have borewells, but that can irrigate a maximum of four to five bighas. I have sown in 75 bigha. The governments announcement came after my sowing was already completed, said Bhagwan Koli Patel from Kocharia village.

Lakum also alleges that water was freely flowing ahead of the elections. Did authorities not know that due to insufficient monsoon the available water was only half of the required quantum? he asks.

He says he has spent Rs700 per bigha on seeds besides paying labour and other charges. I am staring at loss of a whole season.

In districts of south, central and north Gujarat that do not come under the Narmada command area, the water in past seven years was supplied by linking local irrigation schemes with the Narmada canal. This flow has been stopped with immediate effect, said Balwantsinh Padheria, who represents the Khedut Sangharsh Samiti, a farmers body, in central Gujarat.

The regions covered under the Narmada canal command area too have to make alternative arrangement till the end of April when the paddy is usually reaped.

The Narmada dam and canal authorities should have figured out during monsoon that there would not be enough water in the dam to maintain uninterrupted drinking and irrigation supply, said Sagar Rabari, secretary of Khedut Samaj (Gujarat).
The Hyderabad police have registered a case against a Dubai-based NRI for allegedly tricking a woman into having sexual relations with him.

According to a complaint lodged with the police on Thursday, the accused  Safdar Abbas Kaleem Akthar Abid Zaidi (29)  deserted the woman after being in a sexual relationship with her for over four years. Zaidi had allegedly promised to marry the complainant.

We registered a case under sections 376 (rape) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code. An investigation is on, said Malkajgiri police inspector Janaki Reddy.

Police said Zaidi, who hails from Darulshifa in the Old City, had been in a relationship with the 26-year-old woman  who hails from the Hindu community  for the last four years. They earlier worked together at a prominent software company in Somajiguda. The accused went to Dubai in early 2014, and the complainant followed him a few months later. Relatives from both sides consented to their marriage last year. However, they broke off their relationship a few months ago, Reddy said.

The complaint states that the woman converted to Islam soon after she reached Dubai. Later, Zaidi began pressuring her to follow Islamic norms and customs. This led to disputes between the two, and the accused finally refused to marry her. She returned to Hyderabad a few days ago, the police officer said.

Hyder, Zaidis uncle, said the family came to know about their relationship last January. We consented to the marriage because my nephew was interested in her. We then met the womans family members, who also favoured the marriage. There was no talk of conversion at all, and we do not know when and how that happened. In fact, they were staying at separate hostels in Dubai, he claimed.

Hyder said the two families had even begun preparations for conducting the wedding at Nampally in April. However, my nephew called us up in November to say that the marriage cannot happen because the two were always quarrelling. We dont know what happened there, he added.
An angry mob on Friday torched a police station in Sambalpur district of western Odisha, beat up policemen and set vehicles on fire after a tribal man, arrested in connection with a theft case, allegedly committed suicide while in police custody on Thursday night.

Hundreds of local residents, including women wielding iron rods and sticks, stormed the Ainthapali police station and vandalised several vehicles. They also pelted stones at policemen before setting the police station on fire.

At least seven policemen have reportedly sustained injuries in the attack. Police had to resort to lathi-charge to bring the situation under control, officials said. Two policemen posted at the station have been suspended.

Officials said Sambalpurs superintendent of police Sanjiv Arora will lead a three-member team to probe Mundas death.

Angry mob outside the police station in Sambalpur district in Odisha. (ANI/Twitter)

The attack came after Abinash Munda of Bhalupali village, who was detained over his suspected involvement in a theft case, was found hanging inside the Ainthapalli police station, Arora said.

Mundas family, however, alleged that he was killed by the policemen at the station. His father alleged that the policemen had promised to send his son back home after the interrogation.

Officials said Munda was picked up after a man named Ranjan Panda reported that several pieces of gold jewellery that his daughter received as a gift during her wedding were missing.

Panda said his family members locked all the gifts in a room at the venue when his daughter was getting married on February 6. The jewellery and other gift items reportedly went missing the same night.

Police picked up Munda after Panda lodged his complaint and found some of the missing jewellery from his house.

In May last year, a man in Sambalpur died under mysterious circumstances in police custody.

Abhaya Singh was picked up along with two others over suspicion of stealing mobiles and then let off. The police later charged him and others with smuggling cannabis after which he was again detained.

He died in a hospital a month later after he was reportedly subjected to police torture.
At least 10 Pakistani soldiers and nine Indian ones have died in ceasefire violations on the Line of Control (LoC) thus far this year, according to army officers familiar with the matter who expect the violations to continue despite an uneasy quiet along the 740km de-facto border this week.

According to the officers, who asked not to be identified, Pakistan has been escalating tensions and is using US TOW-2 anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) and 120 mm heavy mortars to target Indian army bunkers in the Rajouri and Poonch sectors.

The officers say that based on intelligence inputs and communication intercepts, Pakistan lost 136 soldiers in 2017 as a result of the action-and-reaction on the LoC.

The officers, from Army HQ, say Islamabad has adopted a three-pronged strategy to keep Jammu and Kashmir on the edge. On the face of it, Pakistan is offering talks at the level of Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) ostensibly to enforce ceasefire along the LoC, even as it is terrorists, like it did in the February 6 attack in Srinagar, to escalate violence to destabilise the Valley.

Meanwhile, south of the Pir Panjal, it is using ATGMs and heavy mortar to target the civilian population and at the same time push terrorists across the borders under the cover of fire, said a senior army officer.

Captain Kapil Kundu and three other troopers lost their lives to a direct hit by a 120 mm mortar shell in the Bhimber Gali sector.

The Pakistan Army is using Raytheons TOW 2A anti-armour missiles which it purchased from the US for self-defence needs and in support of US operations against terrorists in Afghanistan.

The use of missiles by Pakistan has dramatically escalated tensions across borders with guns now being used in a direct firing mode by Indian troopers in response against positions of adversary.

One unexploded Pakistani missile has been brought down to Army HQ in Delhi to understand and highlight the threat from across the LoC, the army officers said.

Although the Indian Army has decided to respond to latest aggravation at appropriate time, Army HQs assessment is that due to a dry winter Pakistan is pushing infiltrators across the LoC, taking advantage of the lack of snow on mountain ridges and pastures below, the army officer mentioned in the first instance said.

With the Narendra Modi government indicating that it will not talk to Pakistan till terrorism and violence continues in Kashmir, the Indian Army is in no mood to let any escalation go unpunished for the moment, this person added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi told BJP MPs at the parliamentary party meeting on Friday to hold tiffin meetings (lunch pe charcha) at polling stations in their constituencies to highlight the benefits given to the middle class and farmers in his governments budget, two Union ministers said.

Modi addressed BJP MPs on the concluding day of the budget session, asking them to utilise the recess to educate people about the benefits of the budget.

Modi said the tiffin meeting is a successful and cheap medium to communicate and should be used to spread the highlights of the budget, a minister said.

The meetings are also seen as an effort to reach out to the grassroots level ahead of the general elections early in 2019.

These meetings were first held by the BJP in Gujarat ahead of the 2012 assembly elections, where elected representatives carried their food to public meetings and had lunch with workers and the public. Modi also carried his tiffin to a rally in Varanasi in 2016.

Parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar said Modi termed the budget positive and said it focused on farmers and the middle class.

Among others, the budget announced a Rs 5 lakh health insurance cover for 500 million poor and promised a Minimum Support Price (MSP) that is 50% more than the cost of farmers produce.

The government also set a target of constructing more than 10 million homes for the rural poor between 2017 and 2019. The BJP feels these two schemes will be the game changer in 2019.

In his address, BJP chief Amit Shah launched an attack on Congress president Rahul Gandhi. Kumar said Shah asked lawmakers to launch a counter offensive on the Congress.

He also asked MPs to highlight that it was the Modi government which ensured benefits of welfare schemes, irrespective of which government launched the scheme, reached every person.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday left on a first-ever Indian prime ministerial visit to Palestine, a four-day trip will also take him to Jordan as well as the UAE and Oman in the Gulf.

The external affairs ministry said the visit was aimed at deepening our multifaceted ties with the Gulf and West Asian region.

Officials said energy and security cooperation, trade and investment and counter-terror efforts will top Modis agenda during the February 9-12 trip to the region.

Before embarking on the visit, the Prime Minister tweeted that the Gulf and West Asian region was a key priority in our external engagement.

After arriving in Amman, he is expected to meet King Abdullah II of Jordan who will facilitate his transit to Palestine on Saturday.

I am grateful to Abdullah for facilitating the transit and look forward to meeting him in Amman, Modi said before leaving.

Modi will be the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Palestine where he will meet President Mahmoud Abbas. Looking forward to my discussions with President Abbas and reaffirming our support for the Palestinian people and the development of Palestine.

The Palestinian President, in a pre-arrival welcome statement, described Modis visit as historic and significant.

In both Oman and the United Arab Emirates, Modi was expected to meet the Indian diaspora which he described as a bridge of friendship between India and the Gulf countries.

He is also scheduled to interact with UAE and Arab CEOs in Dubai on the economic opportunities in India.

An external affairs ministry spokesperson said the visit would redefine our neighbourhood from a maritime perspective when Modi arrives in Oman -- a close maritime neighbour of India.

Modi is expected to hold talks with the Sultan of Oman and other leaders.

There shall be interactions with business people of Oman on developing stronger economic links with India, Modi said.

In the UAE, he will hold talks with Vice President and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed.

At the invitation of the leadership of the UAE, I will be addressing the 6th edition of the World Government Summit in Dubai where India is the guest country of honour, Modi said.

As many as 12 agreements are expected to be signed during Modis visit to the UAE. The agreements will include areas like finance and skills development.
The father of Rohtak martyr Monu Singh on Thursday blamed the politicians over increasing Indian soldiers casualties at border. Surajan Singh, the bereaved father, made the statement minutes after Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar visited the family to pay condolences.

Monu, 28, a resident of Rohtaks Basana village, had succumbed to bullet wounds at a Delhi hospital 10 days after he was injured in a militant attack at army camp in Jammu and Kashmirs Kupwara. He had married in November last year.

Whatever is happening is due to politics of netas. The armed forces are not weak. Give them free hand and they will destroy Pakistan in four hours. But then how will these politicians of our country seek votes to win elections? Singh said.

Monu belonged to the family of soldiers. His elder brother Sonu is presently serving as a sepoy in the army while his father retired few years ago. But the angry father now wants to join the army again to avenge his sons death. This is getting intolerable to see our young children dying everyday. I want to pick the gun and join duty again to fight Pakistan and militants. All ex-servicemen like me will come forward and strengthen the forces, he said.

CM Khattar said the government will assure all help to the family as per its policies. The state government gives Rs 50 lakh to the kin of every martyr from state who dies in action.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday refuted finance minister Arun Jaitleys contention that the UPA government had not divulged details of defence deals either, and produced three written replies by former defence minister AK Antony specifying the costs incurred on the Sukhoi-30 MKI and Mirage 2000 fighters as well as the INS Vikramaditya aircraft carrier to prove his point.

Urging the government to come clean on the Rafale fighter aircraft deal, the Congress chief tweeted: Dear Mr Jaitlie, you said the UPA never released prices of Defence purchases? To nail your lie, here are 3 Parliamentary replies by the UPA with full transparency on pricing. Now do ask our Raksha Mantri to tell India how much each Rafale jet cost.

The Congress president had last misspelt the finance ministers name as Jaitlie in another tweet on December 27, prompting BJP Rajya Sabha MP Bhupendra Yadav to move a privilege motion against him. As Gandhi is a member of the lower house, Rajya Sabha chairperson M Venkaiah Naidu forwarded the complaint to Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan. The matter is currently pending before the Lok Sabha ethics committee, chaired by BJP veteran LK Advani.

Gandhi was responding to a statement by BJP spokesperson GVL Narsimha Rao. Daal mein kuch kala nahi hai, aapki niyat mein khot hai (Something is fishy here, and something is wrong with your intentions). Mr Jaitley had given several examples where information was not disclosed by the UPA defence minister Your entire political career so far is founded on lies and propaganda, and this is detrimental to national security. While earning commissions was the only thing you cared for in defence deals, national security is of paramount importance for the Modi government, Rao had said.

The finance minister on Thursday accused the Congress of manufacturing corruption charges against the NDA government by questioning the Rafale deal. In his reply to a discussion on the budget, Jaitley also said he has responses from UPA defence ministers Pranab Mukherjee and AK Antony which show that they had refrained from sharing details of defence purposes due to security concerns too.

In his tweet, Gandhi tagged three separate written replies by Antony to questions on the acquisition cost of the INS Vikramaditya (formerly the Admiral Gorshkov) and 42 Sukhoi-30 MKI aircraft, besides the upgrade rate of the Mirage 2000.

The Congress president has also accused defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman of changing her stance from November 2017, when she assured that the price of Rafale aircraft will be revealed, to February this year, when the information suddenly became a state secret. Party members disrupted Lok Sabha proceedings on Friday, demanding a statement from the government on the deal.

Later, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala posed a set of questions to the government, asking it to disclose the purchase price of each fighter aircraft as well as information on how the agreement was reached.

As the Modi government stumbles and fumbles, hides and conceals, indulges in doublespeak, sacrifices national interest and refuses to answer on loss to the public exchequer, India will continue to demand answers, he told reporters.

Besides listing out a series of questions on issues such as the price of aircraft and secrecy surrounding the deal, Surjewala alleged that the government had not taken prior permission from the cabinet committee on security.

What is the price per unit of the 36 Rafale aircraft being purchased by the Modi government? Did Nirmala Sitharaman not agree to share the price of Rafale aircraft at a press conference in Raksha Bhawan on November 17, 2017? he asked.
Rajya Sabha members, cutting across party lines, on Friday condemned the criticism of chairman M Venkaiah Naidu by a member of the house through social media and demanded an apology from him.

Raising the issue during Zero Hour Samajwadi Party member Naresh Agarwal said a member of the House has written a Facebook post criticising the conduct of the chairman.

We have faith in you (Naidu) and we all respect the chairman. Writing the post and criticising the chair is against the norms of the House. The member should apologise for it, Agarwal said without disclosing the name of the member.

The issue raked up by Agarwal was supported by members across the party lines including those from the treasury and opposition benches.

BJPs Bhupender Yadav said, There might be ideological and political differences among us but we all are bound by the chair. Whoever has posted such comment is in contempt of the House. This is unacceptable and the member should apologise.

Leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad described the members act as unparliamentary and condemned it.

Trinamool Congresss Derek OBrian said, The chairman gives us ample opportunity. We do not need to go to social media.

Naidu, however, did not comment on the issue and proceeded with Zero Hour.

None of the members disclosed the identity of the member who through a Facebook post allegedly accused Naidu of discrimination in his conduct while presiding over the House.
Restrictions were imposed in Srinagar and other parts of the Kashmir Valley on Friday to prevent separatist-called protests on the death anniversary of Parliament attack convict, Afzal Guru.

Guru was hanged inside the Tihar Jail in Delhi on February 9, 2013, for his role in the 2001 attack. His body was not handed over to his family in north Kashmirs Sopore town and was instead buried inside the jail premises. Activists and people in Kashmir have been critical of the hanging.

Separatist leaders like Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik called for a shutdown to commemorate the death anniversaries of Guru and another separatist leader Muhammad Maqbool Bhat, who was hanged in Tihar on February 11, 1984. They have been reiterating the demands for the return of Gurus and Bhats mortal remains.

A police official said that restrictions have been imposed on the orders of district magistrates under section 144 in downtown (Old City) Srinagar and north Kashmirs Sopore town.

In areas where restrictions were not imposed, shops and business establishments were closed while traffic movement was also minimal. Rail services were also suspended as a precautionary measure.

Large contingents of police and CRPF manned the roads even as concertina wires and roads blocks were laid to prevent mass movement of people in some areas where restrictions were imposed.

Geelani and Umer Farooq continue to remain under house arrest while Yasin Malik has been lodged in the Central Jail.

Muzaffarabad-based umbrella of militant groups called the United Jihad Council (UJC) headed by Syed Salahuddin has supported the protest shutdown.

Contingents of police and paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in full riot gear have been deployed in the restriction imposed areas.

Train services between north Kashmirs Baramulla town and Banihal town in the Jammu region have been suspended as a precautionary measure.
The labour and trade union arm of the RSS has threatened to pull out of the upcoming Indian Labour Conference (ILC), which will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, unless its demands for protecting the labour sector are met by February 25.

The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh in its national executive held over the weekend in Gujarat resolved to observe February 20 as black day. The organisation will hold nationwide protests to register its dissatisfaction with the budget, which it says has failed to address issues of the labour sector.

The offshoot of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological parent of the BJP, has been at loggerheads with the government over economic policies, which it alleges are not labour friendly and do not augur well for domestic production and the small-scale sector in the country.

According to the BMS, the budget does not take into account its demands to bring contractual workers under the social security net. We will not attend the conference scheduled for February 26-27 and organise a demonstration outside the ILC venue if the government does not address our demands, said BMS president CK Saji Narayanan.

So far, only BMS-affiliated unions have been asked to boycott the conference if the demands are not met. However, the BMS functionary said they were contemplating asking other trade unions to join their protest.

Representatives of various central trade unions have raised these issues with the government; yet the budget was silent on these issues, Narayanan said.

On the BMSs charter are demands to increase the honorarium for anganwadi workers, enhance EPS pension from Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000, provide special funds to sick PSUs, which can be revived; hike the income tax exemptions to salaried sections up to Rs 5 lakh and implement the Supreme Court verdict on equal pay for equal work.
An Indian Air Force Group Captain arrested on Wednesday by Delhi Police on charges of espionage was allegedly seduced on Facebook by two agents of Pakistans ISI and used WhatsApp to pass on sensitive information to them.

Arun Marwaha, 51, was produced before a court on Thursday that sent him to police custody for five days.

According to a Delhi Police Special Cell officer privy to the investigation, Marwaha shared information and documents with two Pakistani agents who pretended to be women and chatted with him on Facebook. The fake accounts were in the names of Kiran Randhwa and Mahima Patel.

Marwaha allegedly used his smartphone to click pictures of the classified documents pertaining to the IAF headquarters and then sent them across via WhatsApp.

According to the Special Cells officer, Marwaha befriended the ISI agents who posed as women models a few months ago.

They chatted regularly on WhatsApp... and also allegedly exchanged intimate messages. The ISI agents also honey-trapped him after obtaining some of his nude pictures, the officer said, adding that after gaining Marwahas trust, the Pakistani agents asked the officer for classified documents.

The documents which Marwaha shared mostly dealt with training and combat related air exercises. We also found he shared documents of Gagan Shakti, an exercise, the officer added.

Special Cells special commissioner MM Oberoi said Marwaha was detained by the IAF on January 31 after his activities were found suspicious. The Air Force had approached the Delhi Police to investigate the case.

He was arrested on Wednesday after a case was registered against him under the Official Secrets Act, Oberoi said.

Marwaha is being questioned at the Special Cells headquarters in Lodhi Colony area of south Delhi. The police are also investigating if he had any accomplices.

Sources said Marwahas phone has been seized and sent for forensic examination.

He has even confessed to have had access to many secret documents and plans due to his posting at the Air Force Headquarters in Delhi, the source said.
Beijing said on Friday it is in India and Chinas common interest to maintain stability in the Maldives, indicating a shift from its earlier stance that no power should intervene in the name of ending the political crisis in the Indian Ocean archipelago.

Hours after warning that no nation should interfere in the Maldives, the foreign ministry indicated in a late night statement sent to Hindustan Times that the strategic footprints of India and China overlapped in the island nation.

The statement hinted that China wasnt about to shy away from its new role in the Maldives  fuelled by big investments  despite repeated pledges not to intervene in domestic politics. It was also a tacit acknowledgment of Indias influence in the region.

Read: Trump, Modi discuss Maldives, Afghanistan, Myanmar, North Korea over phone call

China and India maintain communication on issues of mutual interest. The sustained stability and development of the Maldives are in the common interests of China and India as well as other countries in the region, the foreign ministry spokespersons office said in the statement.

As pressure from the world community mounted on President Abdulla Yameen to end the emergency he had imposed on Monday, Beijing was stout in its defence of the Maldivian regime.

Yameens special envoy, economic development minister Mohamed Saeed, met foreign minister Wang Yi in Beijing on Friday and briefed him about developments in the Maldives. Saeed told Wang the Maldives is capable of independently resolving the turmoil,

Though it wasnt officially mentioned, Saeed will be heading back home on Saturday with a full assurance of Chinas backing.

Read: Snubbed by India, Maldives President sends envoys to China, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia

Yameen has dispatched special envoys to China, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to lobby for support in the face of growing international pressure to end the emergency and to free two detained Supreme Court judges.

The crisis began last week when Yameen refused to implement a Supreme Court order clearing former president Mohamed Nasheed of terror charges and freeing eight jailed opposition leaders.

At the regular briefing of the foreign ministry on Friday, spokesperson Geng Shuan had reiterated Chinas stance regarding non-interference in the internal affairs of a country. The world community should play a constructive role, Geng said when he was asked to comment on the phone conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump during which they expressed concern about the situation in the Maldives.

The international community should play a constructive role in promoting the stability and development (of the Maldives) on the basis of respecting sovereignty...The Chinese side has so far provided selfless help to the economic and social development of the Maldives and the cooperation...has benefited all the people of the Maldives, Geng said.

The current situation is the Maldives internal affairs. Non-interference in the internal affairs is the basic guideline of international relations as set forth in the UN charter, he said when asked about possible Indian intervention.

Referring to the meeting between Wang and Saeed, Geng said the Maldives Presidents special envoy had said the Maldives government is committed to upholding the rule of law and social order and independently resolving the current issue and achieving national stability and development.

Wang told Saeed that China is closely following the situation and believes the Maldives government and people have the ability to resolve the issue. China will not interfere in the Maldives internal affairs, Wang said, noting that Beijing supports the Maldivian governments attempts to settle differences with other parties through dialogue and consultation.

Saeed also told Wang that the Maldives can protect Chinese nationals and institutions in the country.

In New Delhi, the external affairs ministry responded to media reports that Male had sought Beijings support to provide security to Chinese investments by saying all countries can play a constructive role in the Maldives, instead of doing the opposite.

The ministrys spokesperson noted that even China had said the Maldives government has the ability to protectChinese personnel and institutions.

The spokesperson also said the Indian embassy in Male had been asked to ascertain the details regarding the detention of an Indian journalist by Maldivian authorities. Reports said the Indian was held for violating immigration rules.
Hitting out at criminal elements, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday said those who wanted to disturb the peace, and believed in the language of the gun, deserved to be answered in the same tongue.

Everyone should be guaranteed security, but those who want to disturb peace of the society and believe in the gun, should be given the answer in the language of the gun itself. I would tell the administration, that there is no need to worry on this, Adityanath said in Gorakhpur.

No political inclination could provide respite to those spreading anarchy or breaking parliamentary traditions, the chief minister warned.

On Opposition behaviour

Earlier speaking to reporters in Lucknow, Adityanath had said, The opposition leaders ... rude, unparliamentary, indecorous and indecent behaviour... is despicable.

This type of behaviour shatters the parliamentary tradition ... Paper balls were thrown, balloons were flown. The use of foul language for the governor by the Samajwadi Party members in the presence of their leaders is indeed unparliamentary and a despicable act, he had said.

The behaviour pointed to the anarchy that was there in the state under the earlier rule, Adityanath added.

These people are yet to come out of their mindset of anarchy -- which they had allowed in the state -- and they do not want the House to be free from that anarchy, he said.

New projects

The Uttar Pradesh chief minister on Thursday inaugurated the Gorakhpur Industrial Development Authority building and LED road lights from Kalesar to Nausad Chauraha and also the laid foundation stone of a government polytechnic college in Hardi village of Sahjanwa area of the district.

He said, Development is the only way for prosperity. With the polytechnic becoming operational, youth will be able to get technical education in their area. If we want to stop migration from villages, we need to develop the villages.

Taking a jibe at the previous state governments, he said, Previous state governments were more interested in appeasement and vote bank politics. Samajwadi Party government was more interested in slaughter houses and we are interested in development. At the place where SP government had wanted to open a slaughter house, we will open the gateway of development. After 26 years, the fertiliser workshop opened.
The National Commission for Women (NCW) has recommended compulsory registration of marriages of Muslim girls to Arab nationals to address allegations of trafficking of child brides.

This is among a series of recommendations the womens panel sent to the Centre after it conducted a study into trafficking of Muslim child brides in Hyderabads old City. The Centre shared the panels proposal with the Telangana government in the last week of January.

Alok Rawat, a member of the national womens panel, and Telangana womens commission chairperson Tripurana Venkataratnam conducted the study after the Hyderabad police unearthed a child bride trafficking racket in September 2017.

Police arrested 11 Arabs , four qazis (who solemnise nikaahs) and four hotel owners on charges of trafficking minor girls from the city to Gulf countries. The chief Qazi of Hyderabad was among those arrested.

Police also identified 53 brokers  15 from Gulf countries and 38 from Hyderabad, including 25 women  involved in the racket. So far, 13 of these brokers have been arrested.

In its recommendation, a copy of which is with HT, the national womens panel observed that along with the Nikahnama (marriage contract) it was essential to register the marriages of Muslim girls with Arab nationals under the Compulsory Registration of Marriages Act, 2012.

Qazis operate under the Telangana State Waqf Board, which certifies Nikahnamas.

Incidentally, the National Law Commission recommended to the Centre in 2017 that all marriages, irrespective of the religion, be registered on the lines of birth and death registrations, without affecting the personal laws of the respective religions.

Asked about the womens panels recommendation, scholar and columnist Mir Ayub Ali Khan said, There is nothing wrong in making registration of Muslim marriages compulsory as long as it does not infringe on their right to have the Nikahnama as per personal law.

Telangana State Waqf Board chairperson Mohammad Saleem declined to comment on the womens panel recommendations. Another recommendation of the panel is visa documents of Arab nationals coming for marriage should also be in English so that a prospective brides family and airport authorities know their credentials. The documents should also have details of local sponsors of those Arab nationals, the panel added.

Hyderabad deputy commissioner of police (south zone), V Satyanarayana, who supervised the child bride trafficking racket bust, agrees with this recommendation.

We have also asked authorities to share such information with police so that we can verify their credentials and stop illegal marriages, he said.
A tribal youth, arrested in connection with a theft case, allegedly hanged himself to death in a police station in Odishas Sambalpur district on Thursday night.

Abinash Munda of Bhalupali village, detained a day earlier for suspected involvement in a theft case, was found hanging with a bed sheet inside the lockup of Ainthapalli police station.

Sambalpur SP Sanjiv Arora said the post-mortem will be videographed as per the guidelines of National Human Rights Commission, he said.

Mundas family members alleged that the cops torture led to his suicide. His father alleged that though the police had promised him to send his son back home after interrogation, they did not.

Police took the body to the district headquarter hospital and conducted inquest in the presence of magistrate and family members. Later, the body was sent VSS Medical College and Hospital in Burla for post mortem.

Officials said Munda was picked up after Ranjan Panda complained that several gold ornaments that his daughter had received during the marriage function were missing.

Police had picked up Munda and found some of the missing jewellery from his house.

In May last year, a youth of Sambalpur, too, died under mysterious circumstances in police custody. The youth, Abhaya Singh was picked up along with two others over suspicion of stealing mobiles and then let them off. The police later charged him and others with smuggling of cannabis after which he was again picked up. He died in a hospital a month later, after he was reportedly subjected to police torture.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump have expressed concern over the political turmoil crisis in the Maldives during a phone call that appeared to signal to the Indian Ocean nation that it needs to fix the crisis without involving other countries.

The two leaders discussions about the Maldives seemed to be the point of the call on Thursday given President Abdulla Yameens decision, taken in a desperate bid to save his embattled government, to rope in other actors by sending special envoys to China, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

The Maldives has insisted it had no intention of cutting out India from its outreach though a proposal to send an envoy to New Delhi was cancelled at the request of the Indian government.

Both leaders expressed concern about the political crisis in the Maldives and the importance of respect for democratic institutions and rule of law, the White House said in a readout of the phone call, the first between Modi and Trump this year.

The Indian Ocean archipelago was plunged into turmoil last week after Yameen, who has tilted towards China to shore up his position, refused to implement a Supreme Court order freeing imprisoned political leaders. Yameen instead imposed a state of emergency and detained two top judges.

According to the White House readout, Modi and Trump also pledged to continue working together to enhance security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region  a reference to the Chinese threat in the region as seen by India and the US.

They also discussed the situation in Afghanistan in the aftermath of Trumps new South Asia strategy  and in Myanmar and ways to address the plight of Rohingya refugees.

Steps to ensure the denuclearisation of North Korea, a trouble spot causing the US much concern recently, also figured in the discussions.

Finally, the leaders agreed to strengthen security and economic cooperation as they look forward to the 2+2 ministerial dialogue between their defence and diplomatic officials in April, the White House statement said.

The dialogue will involve external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman and their US counterparts secretary of state Rex Tillerson and defence secretary Jim Mattis.
Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modis historic Palestine visit, President Mahmoud Abbas said he will discuss with him Indias role in the Middle East peace process and the creation of a multilateral forum of negotiations to strike a final deal with Israel.

Modi, the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Palestine, will reach Ramallah on Saturday amid heightened tensions in the region after US President Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

The unilateral US decision to declare Jerusalem as the capital of Israel was challenged at the UN General Assembly where 128 nations, including India, voted to turn down the move as null and void.

We are receiving Prime Minister Modi in a historic visit that will demonstrate the strong ties and relations between the Palestinian people and the brotherly Indian people, Abbas told PTI in an e-mail interview.

Though India has shied away from becoming a party in the Israel-Palestinian conflict, the Palestinian leader has on several occasions has stressed on a possible role for New Delhi in the Middle East peace process.

We will discuss the recent updates with Prime Minister Modi, and the recent developments in the peace process, the bilateral relations, and the regional situations. And the possible role India can play in enhancing peace in the region, as well as discussing different economical aspects beyond the existing ties we already possess, Abbas said.

Describing India as a very respected country in the international arena, the 82-year-old Palestinian President said that India can have a possible role in creating a multilateral forum of negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis to reach a final agreement.

He said Modis visit to the region reflects Indias long-held position of supporting peace and stability in the region.

We believe in the importance of a possible Indian role... to reach a final agreement based on international consensus and resolutions, in which India and other countries can be part of, Abbas said.

The long Indian position of supporting the two-state solution is well known. India has supported the Palestinian cause throughout the years of conflict, and we rely on the Indian support in order to reach the independence of the Palestinian State, he added.

As Palestine works to establish an international multilateral mechanism of negotiations, the Palestinian leader stated that India can play a role in this.

The relations between India and Palestine are historical...This visit will culminate the historic ties between the two brotherly people, and will help in increasing and strengthening these ties that we possess, he stressed.

The Indian Prime Minister would be skipping Israel during his forthcoming tour of Middle East in a clear message that New Delhi is de-hyphenating its ties with Israel and Palestine. Modi had visited Israel last year in July in a visit that had led to many analysts questioning the future of the Indo-Palestine ties.

When asked about Indias growing engagement with Israel, an unperturbed Abbas said that any state has the right to establish relations with other countries.

We believe in the importance of our relationship with the brotherly Indian State, the support of India to the Palestinian people, and the relationship we possess with the Indian people, will not be effected by Indias relations with any other State, he emphasised.

India has recognised the State of Palestine in 1988, and we cannot forget the last Indian vote in favour of Palestines rights in Jerusalem in the United Nations General Assembly, and all the political stands that India has taken to support the Palestinian rights in the international arena, Abbas said referring to Indias vote at the UN.

India has consistently voted in favour of resolutions supporting the Palestinian cause at international forums, an issue that has bothered strategic partner Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently said that he was disappointed at the Indian vote at the UN but also expressed hope that there will be a possible change of heart over a period of time.

Appreciating Indias assistance in strengthening Palestinian economy through executing several projects in the Palestinian areas, Abbas said that he cannot forget New Delhis support and wishes to further discuss with Modi areas of cooperation in the economic sphere.

A number of MoUs are likely to be signed between the two sides during Modis three-hour visit to Palestine under which India will provide funding for a number of projects in the fields of health, education, culture and womens empowerment.

The Indian Government and its people have provided significant assistance and aid to the Palestinian people by establishing training centres, schools, and the necessary humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people under occupation in the West Bank and Gaza, Abbas noted.

And in 2016, we laid the foundation stone to establish the Palestine India Techno Park project in Ramallah, and we are also looking forward the establishment of the Institute of Diplomacy that is kindly funded by the Indian Government, he noted.

A lot of Palestinian diplomats have received training in India and hundreds of Palestinians have availed scholarships to study at Indian institutions as part of New Delhis effort towards capacity building in Palestine.

We are working on promoting the economical relations through introducing businessmen and investors from both sides on the available opportunities in the sectors of tourism, technological exchange in many areas, including industrial, agricultural, and information systems, and on the other hand, signing government agreements to support businessmen and protect their investments, he said.
A woman was killed and three soldiers were injured in Pakistani firing along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmirs Poonch district, police said on Friday.

Police said a 47-year-old woman was killed in Pakistani shelling and firing in Mendhar sector on Thursday.

Indian Army officials said intermittent firing was underway when reports last came in.

The Pakistan Army continued firing and shelling overnight along the LoC in the Krishnagati sector of Poonch district, the officials said.

In the firing and shelling, three jawans suffered minor splinter injuries, they said.

Indian positions retaliated strongly and effectively. The injured soldiers have been identified as Havildars Lakhvinder Singh and Balbir Singh and Lance Naik Charanjeet Singh, a police officer said.

Two of the soldiers were flown to the Army Hospital in Udhampur.
The special operations group (SOG) of Rajasthan Police Friday arrested six people, including a government doctor and an assistant sub inspector, on the charges of fraudulently claiming insurance money with fake documents of death of a living man.

The police are looking for the man and his wife, who was nominee in the insurance policies. They have also been charged with being part of the racket, police said.

Additional director general of police (SOG) Umesh Mishra said they will take custody of the six accused to interrogate them and get to the bottom of the racket. These people could be involved in other cases of fraudulent insurance claims, he said.

Mishra said a case of fake insurance claim was registered at Kotwali police station in Dausa district on October 10 last year. A similar case was later registered at Ramgarh Pachwara police station in the district. Rajasthan police chief transferred the two cases to the SOG for interrogation because it seemed like the handiwork of an organized gang.

The ADG said SOG team headed by additional SP Karan Sharma was looking into the racket under the supervision of DIG Sanjay Shotriya.

In the first case, SOG officers found that Raghuraj Singh (36) of Delhi, who ran a company for verifying insurance claims since 2008, colluded with two people of Delhi  Yash Chauhan and Rajesh Kumar (48) working at Union Bank of India. The three later got in touch with three others in Dausa  advocate Chaturbhuj Meena (48), government doctor Satish Kumar Khandelwal (54) and assistant sub-inspector Ramesh Chand (49)  and bought insurance policies of different companies in the name of Jitendra Singh, who is an auto-driver in Delhi.

Later, the ASI made a fake entry about Singhs death in police records and got a fake post-mortem report prepared with the help of government doctor. On the basis of these documents, Singhs wife claimed Rs 16 lakh from the insurance companies. The money was distributed among all of them.

The fraud came to light when an official of one of the insurance companies came to Dausa for inquiries and found out the documents related to Singhs death were fake. He registered a case at Kotwali police station in October 2017.

In the second case, the six accused bought insurance policies in the name of a man who had died of cancer six months ago. The mans brother was involved in the fraud. For claiming the insurance money, these people prepared fake documents but could not get an entry in the police records before the first case was reported. Also police in the district smelt a rat because the doctor who had prepared the post-mortem report in both cases was same.

Police later arrested the mans brother.
Following reports of alleged irregularities in executing projects under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGS) scheme, the Bikaner district administration has constituted a number of committees to probe into the charges and submit reports within 15 days.

The district collector has also directed to take necessary action against public representatives, officials and employees, if found guilty.

In an order dated February 2, Bikaner district collector Anil Gupta said that a reality check conducted by a private TV channel, revealed serious irregularities in the executing of the rural job guarantee scheme.

MNREGS project director and joint secretary who were camping in Bikaner, have asked the district authorities to constitute a number of committees to probe into projects under the scheme in panchayat samity in Nokha, Panchu, Bikaner, Shri Dungarpur, Khajuwala, Lunkaransar and Kolayat.

The probe committees have been directed to submit its reports within 15 days in person to the district collector and also recommend action against officials who are found guilty.

Sukharam Meghwal, a villager from Bikaners Roda, accompanied by members of Mazdoor Kissan Shakti Sangthan, addressing newspersons in Jaipur on Friday, said in 2015-16, he was sanctioned to construct a cattle shed but the sarpanch kept delaying supplying quality construction material.

Repeated demands yielded no response from the Sarpanch, who instead took offence, he said.

Meghwal further said that on receiving no response from sarpanch Maniram Bishnoi, he lodged complaints with the Lokayukta, the chief executive office of the zila parishad and district collector about the sub-standard construction material.

He further alleged that on February 1, he was assaulted by the family members of the sarpanch. Demanding arrest of accused, he wrote letters to the state chief secretary and director general of police, he said.

Investigating officer Banwari Lal Meena said the accused are absconding and investigation is on.

Bishnoi, however, rubbished Meghwals allegations, saying the charges were baseless.

Meghwal has a habit of lodging complaints on a number of issues, he said.

To construct the cattle shed, he manipulated the muster-roll and withdrew  1.20 lakh and since has been asking for bricks to be supplied from a particular local supplier.

Besides digging a pit with a JCB machine he has done nothing else. No money has been lifted from government for material.

Om Prakash Meghwal, another villager, said that fake job cards were being issued to sanction funds for constructing cattle sheds by the Sarpanch, which he found out last year.

When, I raised the issue in front of the sapranch, he asked to bring three other job cards. A sum of Rs 20,000 was deposited in my account but nothing for the other two cards, he alleged.

Social activist Nikhil Dey said large scale irregularities were taking place in MNREGS.

The Supreme Court had directed all states to constitute independent audit agency but in Rajasthan and Haryana, it is still need to executed, he said.

It is the state government, which is responsible for the irregularities in MNREGS as they do not want to constitute independent auditing of the central government-funded scheme.

Dey further said that the Union rural development ministry in September asked the state government to setup a social audit unit as an independent registered society.
A dance teacher of a prominent girls school in West Bengals capital Kolkata was arrested on Friday for allegedly sexually harassing a Class 2 student for the last six months, police said.

The accused was charged under sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act after the girls mother lodged a complaint with the police.

The mother came to know that her daughter was being sexually harassed on Thursday when the child refused to go to school. The child revealed that she was being harassed by the teacher after the mother prodded.

Angry parents demanding action against the accused teacher gathered in front of the school in Deshapriya Park in south Kolkata on Friday morning.

They also alleged that there are no closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras inside the campus and questioned the presence of male teachers in a school meant only for girls.

Authorities deployed policemen at the school to tackle the situation. Two police officers, including the officer-in-charge of Tollygunge police station, were injured in a scuffle with the agitating parents.

Education minister Partha Chatterjee said the government will look into the matter if there were lapses on the part of the school.

There are safety guidelines laid down by the state government. The school authorities should also keep a vigil that such incidents do not take place, Chatterjee said.

Its despicable. Are there CCTV cameras to keep an eye on whats happening? Its all the more necessary where girls study, the minister added.

School authorities did not issue any statement till 2 pm but Sudeshna Ray, a member of West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights, said they did not deny the allegation and were sympathetic to the victim and her family.

Its an unfortunate incident. We have heard the version of the school. They also told us that the CCTV cameras were not working due to construction activities. But they would start working from tomorrow, Ray said.

We have to now speak to the victim, her parents and the police, she added.

In a similar incident at Gopalnagar in the North 24 Parganas district, a Bengali language teacher was arrested by the district police for reportedly sexually assaulting a number of girls at a school.

The teacher was booked under POCSO act after a Class 8 student lodged a complaint against him.

Angry parents, who alleged the school authorities did not take action against him despite several complaints, assaulted the teacher and the headmaster before the police could arrive.

Two teachers of another private school in south Kolkata were arrested for sexually assaulting a four-year-old in December last year. Reports said the physical training teachers lured the girl into the toilet by offering her chocolates and then sexually assaulted her.

This is not the first time teachers have been booked for sexually assaulting students. Many incidents have been reported from across the country in recent years. This is a clear sign of decadence. Our society is losing moral values. This was unthinkable even 10 years ago, political scientist and former principal of Presidency College Amal Mukhopadhyay said.
Initiating a move that could further alienate Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) leader Bimal Gurung, now a fugitive, Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday announced that her government would recruit Gorkhaland Personnel (GLP) members as civic police volunteers.

GLP is the club-wielding force of volunteers that Gurung raised in 2008. It even had a brass band whose members used to wear colourful uniform.

GLP cadres were supposed to maintain discipline during Gorkhaland movement and they were one of the sources of GJM chief Bimal Gurungs strength. Incidentally, three men arrested in connection with the death of police officer Amitava Malik on October 13, 2017 were GLP cadres.

Read: With demand for autonomy, GNLF tries to regain lost ground in Darjeeling

On Thursday Banerjee held a meeting with political parties, members of the board of administrators of Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) and the 15 development boards at Raj Bhawan in Darjeeling. She said her government has plans to recruit GLP members who have a clean background.

We will try to recruit GLP members as civic police volunteers if they are not facing adverse reports, Banerjee told the media in the presence of Binoy Tamang, chairman of GTA board of administrators and Maan Ghisingh, chairman of Hill Area Development Committee.

The GJM recruited at least 5,000 youths from the Darjeeling hills, Terai and Dooars. Police and intelligence agencies believe that a section of GLP cadres are still loyal to Gurung but the rest are looking for jobs.

Banerjee said there might be differences among hill political parties but they would all have to work together for peace and development. Both the Binay Tamang faction of the GJM and Maan Ghisingh, leader of the Gorkha National Liberation Front, assured Banerjee that they would carry forward development projects started by the government.

Read: Mamata accuses Sikkim of backing Gorkhaland stir, vows to establish state varsity in Darjeeling

Banerjee announced that an industrial meet would be held in Darjeeling in March.

Meanwhile, Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) has condemned Banerjees allegation that the neighbouring state was interfering in Darjeeling affairs. Bhim Dahal, the SDF spokesperson, said, Banerjee should focus on fulfilling her responsibility and not run away from it by blaming Sikkim.

Dahal said, The agitation and unrest in Darjeeling hills originated from the hills itself and the Bengal chief minister is responsible under the constitution.

Read: Virus attack, bandh leave sour taste for Darjeeling orange growers

The demand for land in Darjeeling hills is more than one hundred years and people there have been agitating for the same. Many talks have taken place and agreements have been signed. All these are recorded in history and public domain, added Dahal.
Long before a telecom giant told us that an idea can change life, Ayukt Gupta had already come up with one that changed the way music connoisseurs and amateur dabble in music.

This was when Ayukt was just a teenager, with no idea of music.

My family was into the business of manufacturing traditional Indian classic musical instrument, the market of which was dwindling. I knew that to survive, I will have to come up with something new, says Ayukt, who is credited with inventing mini replicas of Indian classical music instruments.

They are not just replicas but mini versions  one which are handy, look cool and can produce the perfect surs (note), albeit on a smaller scale, says Ayukt, who exports these instruments across the globe.

While most of the instruments are functional mini sitar and guitars, the other replicas sell like hot potatoes as decorative pieces in the global market.

A large number of people, from United Kingdom (UK) to Australia, France, Denmark, Belgium, Israel and United States of America (USA), want to tap into the sound of the enchanting Indian classical musical instruments. And our versions just click with the I-pad generation, says 34-year-old Ayukt, who joined the family business when he was 17.

A commerce graduate from the Allahabad University (AU), Ayukt through his sheer determination and meticulous approach for quality has put Rhythm Exports on Chak Zero Road on the global map of exporting quality Indian Classical Musical instruments.

My late grandfather Suresh Chandra Kesarwani had set up the shop almost 40 years back. He, however, catered to the local clients and after my father Avinash Chandra Kesarwani took charge, he too produced economical but mid-quality instruments for the clients located in nearby cities, he says.

When he joined, like any young man, the desire was to take the family business to a new height.

The Internet age was dawning and I started exploring the possibilities of producing finer quality instruments and exporting them to other countries, he says.

With no one to guide, I did self-research and used the Internet extensively to locate potential markets, reading export related laws and identifying and contacting clients. Then I got my firm Rhythm Exports registered and started by tapping markets in the UK and the USA, he says.

At a time when the world was facing economic uncertainty, his company started producing mini-replicas of almost the entire range of Indian classical string instruments, with many of them also playable.

The mini-replicas of percussion instruments such as tabla were sold as decoration pieces.

When their demand grew, we started producing range of true replicas of Indian classical musical instruments, he says.

Today, the company exports mini-replicas of Harmonium, Sitar, Tanpura, Tabla, Dholak, Pakhawaj, Sarod, Sarangi, Veena, Dilruba and Esraj to Australia and Israel besides many European countries like France, Denmark, Belgium and Israel other than USA and UK.

While some of the best makers of musical instruments are located in cities like Kolkata and Varanasi, he was able to have a flourishing trade here courtesy his own set of instruments makers in Allahabad.

We excelled because of our ability to get custom-made instruments. For example, if a customer wanted a particular wood or decoration with pearl work inlay, we would just make it possible, he says.

We would then courier these instruments to clients abroad in special packages to protect them from damages. The trick is to meet deadlines, not let quality suffer and ensure safe delivery of instruments all over the world, he says.

WHAT HE MAKES

His company is making and exporting traditional Indian instruments like Harmonium, Sitar, Tanpura, Tabla, Dholak, Pakhawaj, Sarod, Sarangi, Veena, Dilruba and Esraj all over the world including US, Australia and European countries.

HIS USP

Having made up his mind to help the family business reach new height in 2001, Ayukt Gupta started exploring possibilities of producing finer quality fullsize instruments and exporting them to other countries. Ayukt said that despite some of the best makers of musical instruments located in cities like Kolkata and Varanasi, he was able to have a flourishing trade here courtesy his own set of instruments makers in Allahabad.
In a letter to the vice chancellor, several resident doctors of the department of urology at the King Georges Medical University have alleged that they are made to do personal work of the teachers in the department.

The matter has been referred by the vice chancellors office to the head of the urology department for a detailed report on the issue. We shall take statements from the resident doctors and probe the matter to find out the truth behind the allegations, said Prof SN Sankhwar, head of the department.

In the letter , the residents said, We are daily abused on non work related issues and foul language is used against us. Almost every day, one of the residents is called during off-duty hours to go and see patients related to them (teachers) admitted to other departments.

Residents also alleged that one of them was made to sit with the receptionist at the OPD so that patients were divided among faculty as per their wish. Spending our time as resident doctors in their team is like spending time in a torture chamber, said the letter, signed by 19 resident doctors, with copies sent to human rights commission, Medical Council of India, health minister and chief ministers office.

Resident doctors also alleged that their duty roster was made in such a manner that they could be posted to take care of the relatives of the teachers admitted to various departments.

A notice to the teachers will also be served to get their statements on the allegations.
Sixteen Muslim clerics and intellectuals met Art of Living (AoL) founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in Bangalore on Thursday to explore the possibility of an out-of-court settlement of Ayodhyas Babri Masjid-Ram Janambhoomi dispute, said AoL officials and Muslim delegates to the meeting.

The suggestions put forth at the Bangalore meet would be put up at the AIMPLB meeting by Maulana Salman Nadvi, AIMPLB executive body member. He was present during the deliberations with spiritual guru Ravi Shankar.

There can be no better way to resolve the issue, if all the parties agree to a mutually-agreeable settlement. But then there are several hardliners on both the sides, who have opposed and stalled such attempts, said Maulana Nadvi on phone from Bangalore.

Ravi Shankar is set to arrive in Ayodhya in March for a meeting with saints, hardliners and clerics in his efforts to find a settlement to the dispute.

The Supreme Court, which resumed hearing in the Ayodhya case on Thursday, scheduled the next hearing in March.

Kin of renowned Islamic scholar, late Maulana Abul Hasan Nadvi aka Ali Mian, Maulana Nadvi confirmed he would be sharing the details of the talks with Sri Sri with the AIMPLB members at the meeting in Hyderabad.

Nadvi is also dean of the prominent Lucknow-based Islamic seminary, Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama.

The cleric admitted that a consensus has started developing gradually within the Muslim scholars and religious leaders to find a solution to the dispute.

But any formula or solution would not be possible without the consent and support of the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board, the Jamait-e-Ulema and the AIMPLB, he said.

To the proposal mooted at the meeting to shift the mosque to a bigger alternative site, the cleric said the property was vested with the Sunni Waqf Board and nobody under the Waqf Act is empowered to give or transfer a waqf property.

Section 51 and 104 (a) of the Waqf Act 2013 impose a bar on sale, exchange or gifting of a waqf property, said Zufar Ahmed Faruqui, chairman of the UP Sunni Central Waqf, one of the main litigants to the title suit. Things are still at a very early stage. We are participating in the talks despite the limitations imposed by the Act because we do not want to give an impression that we are running away from a negotiated settlement, said Faruqui.

Despite the buzz that his initiative had the backing of the top leaders of the RSS and the ruling BJP, Ravi Shankar has maintained that it was his personal effort.

Everyone is interested in a peaceful settlement to the dispute. The efforts showcase real intent, said Athar Hussain, director of the Centre of Objective Research and Development, who coordinated the meeting.

Maulana Wasif Hasan from Lucknows Telay Wali Masjid, Zufar Faruqui, Maulana Isa Mansuri, chairman, World Islamic Forum, London, retired bureaucrat Anees Ansari, AR Rahman, a businessman from UK, Imran Ahmed, advocate, Lucknow, A Aboobucker, ex- chairman, Haj Committee of India, MGS Kamal, advocate, Bangalore and Dr Musa Kaiser, Bangalore, were also present at the meeting.
When Lebanese chef Alan Geaam first arrived in Paris two decades ago, he found himself sleeping on the streets, lost and penniless with hardly a word of French. This week, Geaam, who began his career as a dishwasher while he was sleeping rough in a Paris park, received his first Michelin star from the French gastronomic Bible for his acclaimed new restaurant within a stones throw of the Arc de Triomphe.

I never thought the Michelin would be interested in someone like me, who was self-taught, who had to sleep in the street at 19 and who began as a dishwasher, he said. I thought the guide was about chefs in fancy hotels or those trained by the great masters. But it turned out to be the opposite. Its a wonderful surprise, said the 43-year-old, who was born to Lebanese parents in Liberia, before they exchanged one war zone for another by returning to Beirut.

By then, Geaams fascination with food was clear, watching cookery shows on television rather than cartoons after school. He started cooking while doing his national service in Lebanon, and the colonel of his regiment was so impressed he made him his personal chef. But Geaam never thought we would be able to cut the mustard in France, and only got his break when the chef of the restaurant where he was washing the dishes was rushed to hospital when he slashed his hand with a knife.

But you can cook!

I worked during the day as a construction worker and at night delivering pizzas and washing dishes. One night the cook cut his hand and had to go to hospital. No one asked me, but I just took over. There were 14 tables and so I just feed the customers and at the end of the night they were delighted. The owner said to me, But you can cook! and I said, Yes.

The reason I cook is to make people happy, said Geaam. And he has certainly spread joy among restaurant critics with Michelins rival Gault Millau guide raving about his langoustines and chard and its dark chocolate-coloured sauce tinged with Vietnamese cardamom.

Alexander Lobrano, author of Hungry for Paris, was even more effusive, declaring this gentle, shrewd, self-taught chef as one of quiet men of Paris gastronomy... who has a brilliant future ahead of him. Although Geaam delights in bringing the very best of French produce to his table, Lobrano said he also brings the tender buds of his very personal cooking that makes references to the lost world of a little boy born to a foreign family living in tropical Africa.

Pomegranate lacquered foie gras

And the influence of his Lebanese roots is never far away either. One of Geaams favourite dishes at the moment is an escalope of foie gras lacquered with pomegranate molasses served with a tartlette of beetroot and pomegranate. I ate a lot of pomegranates when I was a kid, he said. I made juice with them, I made lots of reductions with them, and I loved putting this very Lebanese touch with something so French as foie gras.

Since Geaam got his Michelin star on Monday night, his restaurants phone has not stopped ringing. He said his small, tight team of highly-talented chefs  whose CVs he admits look far more impressive than his own  really feel that something has happened in our lives. You can criticise the Michelin guide but I can tell you the effect, a star massively boosts a restaurant.

Within hours, the restaurant was booked up for three weeks. It is quite something, he said. Geaam, who told how his son boasted to his friends at school that his father got a Michelin star, put his success down to his own parents, who lost everything in Liberia only to have to struggle again in Lebanon during the civil war. He said working with his father in his grocery shop from the age of 10 gave him a taste for business while his mother taught me how to love people and how to cook.

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The 15:17 to Paris

Director - Clint Eastwood

Cast - Spencer Stone, Alek Skarlatos, Anthony Sadler, Jenna Fisher, Judy Greer

Rating - 1/5

Superficially speaking, there might not be much in common between Akshay Kumar and Clint Eastwood, besides of course that both have films that released in India on the same Friday  but the slightest bit of digging will uncover similarities that cannot be overlooked. While Akshay Kumars recent output has been a chain of socially conscious dramas and Eastwoods films have, more often than not, celebrated the army,underneath their noble intentions, both their latest films are about one thing -- huge icons of cinema displaying proud nationalism.

Kumars previous movie, Toilet: Ek Prem Katha was even more boisterous, going so far as to applaud certain measures taken by the ruling party, and Eastwoods American Sniper was almost fetishistic in its Republicanness.Now, there is nothing wrong with movies being political, nor is there anything wrong with artists being frank about their political leanings. Just a couple of weeks ago we saw The Post, in which Steven Spielberg did not hesitate to make his disapproval of the current Donald Trump administration known. It is not possible to discuss The Post without mentioning the world around it, so the same rules must apply the films of Akshay Kumar and Clint Eastwood. They asked for it, we did not.

Its unsurprising that Eastwood made this movie. Over the years  Id peg the tipping point to be his infamous chat with an empty chair in 2012  the iconic star has transformed into the John Wayne of his generation  cantankerous, proud of his political incorrectness, and with a slight whiff of arrogant conservatism about him. Remember, this the same man who made Gran Torino in 2008  a film in which a creaky old man discovers the liberal within him  and a mere six years later, he directed American Sniper and convinced those that mattered that it deserved Oscars. It didnt.

And neither does The 15:17 to Paris, but this time, the cultural (and political) climate has changed. Shameless jingoism will be treated as it should  with impatience and disdain. This marks a tragic low point in Eastwoods otherwise legendary filmography as director. And in the end, it was his hubris that killed him.

The 15:17 to Paris is the sort of movie in which children have the American flag framed on their walls and replicas of AK-47s in their closet. When informed (with stats) about how behavior such as this might be unhealthy for a child, his mom says, My God is bigger than your statistics.

This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Ray Corasani in a scene from The 15:17 To Paris. (AP)

Those of you who are aware of The 15:17 to Paris  if you are aware of it at all  would probably also be aware of its gimmick: Eastwood made the curious decision to cast real-life heroes Spencer Stone, Alec Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler to play themselves. The three (along with several other brave folks that the movies nationalistic pride completely erases from the picture, similar to what Argo, and more recently, Dunkirk did) became internationally known after they displayed remarkable courage and foiled an attempted terror attack in a Paris-bound train.

Its easy to say this now, after having seen the film, but a point could be made that Eastwood doomed his movie the moment he cast Stone, Skarlatos and Sadler as themselves. Because his leads cant act  that sounds harsh, but remember, theyre not actors  the film tries every trick in the book to make their performances less distracting. Eastwood tacks on a first act that takes us back to their childhood, when the trio grew up together and became brothers for life. The script, instead of developing several good ideas  there are interesting things in there about destiny and friendship and bravery  becomes too burdened with covering up the fact that the leads cant emote. So they decided that the best way to counter that is by making Stone, Skarlatos and Sadler literally verbalise every thought that crosses their minds.

At different stages in the film, characters say things like, Im bored, and, This is why I want to join the army, and, most impressively, I feel like life is catapulting me towards something.

This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Spencer Stone, from left, Anthony Sadler and Alex Skarlatos in a scene from The 15:17 To Paris. (AP)

This over-reliance on dialogue means two things happen: There is a lot of talking, and almost all of the words spoken in this movie have the subtlety of an assault rifle. What makes this experience all the more aggravating is that there was no reason for Eastwood to do this. Presumably, his intentions, whatever they might be, would still have remained intact had he used professional actors, like he has, on numerous occasions in the past.

And never is this more apparent than in the final minutes of the film, when it finally arrives at the moment towards which it has been hurtling towards for almost an hour-and-a-half. No words are spoken other than sparse barked orders. No close-ups. No room for error. Those last 10 minutes were pure, physical cinema  silent, brutal, and almost as good as United 93, which has to be the template for this sort of thing.

Too bad then that Eastwoods intentions (and politics) got in the way of his one job.

Watch the trailer for The 15:17 to Paris here

Follow @htshowbiz for more

The author tweets @RohanNaahar

ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop
The Shantinagar police on Thursday arrested two men for allegedly raping a 17-year-old girl at her Bhiwandi residence. The police arrested Imran Khan alias Imu, 27, and Javed Shaikh, 30. They are now on the lookout of their accomplice Kinna. All three have been booked under relevant sections of the IPC and the POCSO Act, 2012.

Cops said the girl and Khan were in a relationship a year ago, which she ended owing to family pressure. But this did not go down well with Khan, who held a grudge against her.

A week ago, Khan hatched a plot to teach the girl a lesson and sought help from his friends  Kinna and Shaikh. As per their plan, the trio barged into the girls residence on Wednesday night. While Kinna and Shaikh forced the girls parents out of their residence and threatened them against seeking help from their neighbours or police, Khan raped the girl inside the house.

They used weapons to threaten the family and fled the spot after committing the crime. Based on the complaint filed by the girl, we filed a case and arrested two of them. The third accused is on the run. Khan and Shaikh were produced in court and remanded in police custody till February 14, said senior inspector K Jadhav from Shantinagar police station.
A month after three people were booked in Rajasthan for selling a 26-year-old woman for Rs1.5 lakh, the case has been transferred to the Mahatma Phule police station in Kalyan.

Police said the woman and her mother had been searching for a job in January last year, when they met the main accused Vishnu Sharma, his wife Mala and relative Manohar. The three gave the woman and her mother work as labourers in Kalyan for the next three to four months, said R Diwekar, assistant inspector, Mahatma Phule police station.

Vishnu then told the woman and her mother that he could arrange for them to work in Rajasthan, as there were no jobs in Kalyan. The women said they were hesitant to move to Rajasthan as they did not know the area. Vishnu assured them, saying Mala would also join the same firm, added Diwekar.

In June, the two women were taken to Rajasthan. After two days, Vishnu asked the womans mother to return to Kalyan, saying only her daughter had secured a job. She, however, refused.

A few days later, the womans mother got a call from her relatives, who called her to Jalna citing a medical emergency. The woman went to Jalna and then returned to Rajasthan, to find out how her daughter was. The accused said they did not know where the 26-year-old was. The mother returned to Kalyan, where she worked for a few days, saved the money she had earned and went back to Rajasthan. The mother returned to Rajasthan several times to find her daughter. A month ago, Vishnu said he sold her daughter to a man for Rs1.5 lakh. He asked the woman to pay him the same sum if she wanted her daughter back, said Diwekar.

Police have formed teams to trace the accused. No arrests have been made yet.
A woman and her partner, who were scheduled to fly to Bengaluru together with their two cats, had to alter their travel plan after Air India allegedly lost one of their pets on Monday. The cat, Eva, has not yet been found, four days on.

The airline allegedly reported that their pet was lost after Atisha Penjore and Sruti Menon had completed all the required procedures to board the AI 609 flight. While Menon flew to Bengaluru with one of the cats the same day, Penjore stayed back to try and find the cat, which is believed to have got lost inside the airport.

The airline contacted the passengers after the cat was lost and allegedly blamed them for being careless.

We are trying to see if a team that specialises in finding lost animals can be brought in. We have also handed out flyers with details of Eva to people working at the airport . We have brought food, etc. Because shes a domestic cat, she probably wont eat anything else, said Menon in a Facebook post that shared details about the incident. We spent three nights in and around the airport talking to people and trying to reach someone who can actually be of some help, added Menon, who is an animator.

Penjore, a video designer, was given permission on Wednesday and Thursday to search for the cat in the cargo hold area of Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airports terminal 2. The duo said they hope to locate the cat soon.

The cats were scanned using X-ray machines, after which we put them back in the crate and secured them with a locker that can only be opened by humans. We left the cats with the authorities around 7.10pm, after which we proceeded to our boarding area. At around 7.35pm we got a call from the airline informing about Eva. Menon said. The flight was scheduled to take off at 8.15pm.

Air India is the only airline that allows pets, weighing up to five kg, as cabin luggage.

Sources said the airport operator had deployed four teams to locate Eva. An Air India spokesperson said: We are looking into the matter and helping the passenger locate the pet. Nothing else can be revealed as the matter is under investigation.

Devyani Jadhav, co-founder of PAWsome.in, a pet relocation agency, said, There could be various possibilities that could have led to the missing of cat. It is important to have a small dedicated area for screening of pets as animals like cats have to be taken out of the crate while they are scanned for security purpose.
After working with Union minister Ramdas Athawales RPI-A, retired bureaucrat Uttam Khobragade, father of Indian Foreign Service officer Devyani who sparked a row between India and the United States in 2014, joined the Congress on Friday.

Khobragade met Congress president Rahul Gandhi in Delhi who inducted him in the party. He had worked as executive national president of Republic Party of India (RPI-A).

Khobragade said he had taken the decision as he felt that the Congress was the only party that can save secularism. Currently, the Congress is the only party which can counter the attack on secularism, said Khobragade.

Nowhere in the world does a man gets killed for what he cooks. Democracy and secularism are in danger, and only Congress can save them, he added. He denied that he had sought some party post or ticket to contest elections.The former IAS officer retired in 2011.

He said he had not actively participated for the past two years owing to the silence of RPI leadership over atrocities against Dalits. First, Rohit Vemula committed suicide, and after that Dalit intellectuals were systematically marginalised. The last straw was the Bhima-Koregaon violence. The RPI was not ready to raise its voice. This left me suffocated and I finally decided to quit RPI, he said.

His daughter Devyani was at the centre of a diplomatic row between India and the US in 2013. She was arrested in New York on December 12 for alleged visa fraud and purportedly lying about her payments to her live-in domestic worker. She was serving as deputy consul general in New York. She was held with criminals. This move triggered a massive diplomatic row with the Indian government unleashing retaliatory measures such as downgrading American diplomats privileges. Both protracted negotiations, Devyani was asked to return to India.
The Bombay high court on Thursday sought a response from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to a public interest litigation seeking a probe into purported help by a Mumbai-based super distributor of United Spirits to fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya.

The petition filed by a Pune-based organisation, Punekar Nagrik Kriti Samiti, alleged that four firms of the distributor helped Mallya siphon off at least Rs95.45 crore out of India.

A division bench of Justice SC Dharmadhikari and Justice Bharati Dangre felt that allegations were serious and called for a proper inquiry by the ED. We want the ED to find out what the petitioner says is true or not, said the bench.

The lawyer representing the distributor said that all allegations were false and frivolous. My client has absolutely no connection with that gentleman (Vijay Mallya), said the lawyer.

The bench said that it will not hesitate to take the petitioner to task if it finds that allegations are false. In such a scenario, the distributor will be entitled to proceed against the petitioner, it said. The petitioner said many organisations have pointed out the transaction, but no action has been taken against the distributor. Its counsel Subhash Jha said, We have listed a number of cash transactions years after years and this money has gone to safe heavens, said Jha.

The court has now posted the PIL for further hearing on February 23.

Mallya left India for the UK in March 2016. He is facing the extradition trial in the UK for laundering money and misusing loans worth Rs9,000 crore meant for his erstwhile Kingfisher Airlines. He has been resisting Indias extradition claim on several grounds.

The flamboyant businessman quit as non-executive chairman of United Spirits, controlled by UK-based Diego, in 2016. He left the board after Diego agreed to pay $75 million to him over five years.
A first information report (FIR) was registered on Thursday against a constable from the motor vehicle (MV) department in Nagpada police for allegedly stealing a bag containing cash worth Rs1.20 lakh from his roommate in Bhoiwada.

The accused, Arun Pawar, 28, is a driver at the MV department. His roommate, Hiralal Patil, 30, is a constable in the local arms department.

The two had been sharing a room at BDD chawl near the Naigaon police ground since July last year, said Patil in his complaint.

In October last year, Patil had returned from his village with the cash and had kept it in the room. Since the two were roommates, Pawar was aware of the cash, said a police officer from Bhoiwada police station.

Pawar had invited his friends to the room to drink alcohol when Patil was on duty, the police officer added.

Pawar was intoxicated when he picked up Patils bag and started to leave the house. One of his friends tried to stop him, but Pawar had already left with the money.

After Patil noted that his bag was missing, he approached the senior officials to ask Pawar to return the cash. However, Pawar did not return with the money and has not shown up on duty for the past six months. A case of theft has been registered against him under section 380 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

In an earlier case filed against him, Pawar had been arrested in April 2017 by the Nagpada police for cheating a Kalyan resident of Rs3.20 lakh by promising him a job in the postal department.

A job aspirant, Vinayak Gholap, met Pawar in March last year. Pawar promised to give Gholap a job in the postal department, said Sanjay Baswat, senior police inspector of Nagpada police station.

Pawar told Gholap that they would go to meet a postal officer. Pawar introduced Gholap to a man, who was paid to just say yes. The third man was not aware of the transaction, said Baswat. Pawar then demanded Rs 3.20 lakhs from Gholap to pay the official.

However, when Pawar began avoiding his calls, Gholap approached the Nagapada police and registered a case under sections 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating) of the IPC. We had arrested him, but he was later released on bail , added Baswat.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis wants elections to all local bodies to be held simultaneously and voting to be made mandatory in these polls to increase voting percentage.

The chief minister (CM) also asked the state election commissioner JS Saharia to conduct a study for reforms in the election process for local bodies across Maharashtra.

Speaking at a conference organised by the state election commission on Friday, Fadnavis said, We need to consider making voting mandatory for the elections being conducted as per state election acts. Some people tend to comment on policy decisions but dont exercise their voting rights. Maharashtra has five laws for local body elections. They are  Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act 1888, Maharashtra Municipal Corporations Act, 1949, Maharashtra Nagarparishad, Nagarpanchayat and Industrial Towns Act, 1965, Maharashtra Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti Act, 1962 and Maharashtra Grampanchayat Act, 1958.

We also need to consider conducting elections of all the local bodies at the same time. The stress on the state election commission, administration and police can be reduced, he said.

The CM asked the state election commissioner to conduct a study Based on the rights provided by the Constitution, we should bring some reforms in the election process. It will also incorporate merging all five acts into one on the lines of The Representation of the People Act, 1951, he said.
There was improv, humour and snappy dialogue on display as 30 luck early-bird registrees got to take the stage with thespian Om Katare, at a theatre workshop held at the MC Ghia hall on Friday as part of Hindustan Times Kala Ghoda Arts Festival.

Katare began with an exercise in which two participants improvised a casual conversation on stage, with the rider that one of them could only say, I dont know.

As the audience burst into fits of laughter at their attempts, Katare explained that the exercise was important as it teaches the actor the art of brevity.

It teaches the actor how to play around and experiment with different ways to say that one line, he said.

In another exercise, Katare asked two participants to enact a short skit on the theme of lunch, with one acting as servant and the other as employer. This scene too soon became a laugh riot, as the actors began to resemble a couple arguing.

However, Katare warned, actors must not always resort to humour as it can dilute a scene. Most actors add an angle of humour to their characters as a means to find immediate gratification. They can see and hear the audience react right there and then, but it can also take away so much from the scene and character, Katare said.

Among those listening intently was Shehzad Shaikh, 26, who has quit his job at an MNC to pursue acting full-time and came all the way from Kalyan to attend the workshop.

Ive learnt a lot about the art of spontaneity, he said. Acting is about action and reaction. The character opposite me was given just one line and I had be quick to think of different lines in reaction.

Pooja Khadkikar, 23, a software engineer looking to pursue theatre full-time, said she appreciated the workshop being hands-on and interactive. What I liked the most was that at each stage, Mr Katare also explained the theory behind the practice, she said.
Yash Chavan, 20, is known as the Kala Ghoda guy at his Pune college because all he talks about is the festival. Long before the nine-day arts extravaganza begins, he makes sure he has leave to head to Mumbai and camp out at Rampart Row. For two years now, he has been helping the chief photographer record street events and installations for use on social media and for the Kala Ghoda Associations records.

Chavan, a law student, is part of the tiny, determined army of volunteers that makes the Hindustan Times Kala Ghoda Arts Festival happen.

We are like a close-knit family here, says Aakash More, 24, a law student from Thane.

Its months of hard work, intense legwork and coordination during the fest, and the whole cycle starts again soon after its done, but the adrenaline, volunteers say, can be addictive. Most return.

If a volunteer cant make it for the festival a particular year, they call every morning asking for updates, More adds.

Applications come in daily. This year, we selected 116 volunteers from 300 applications across the 12 sections,  says festival coordinator Nicole Mody. The selection process consisted of an interview where the main aim is to dedication  because everything else can, and will most likely have to be, learnt.

The volunteers, incidentally, range in age from 16 to 58. This years seniormost volunteer is Brinda Miller, who stepped down after 18 years as festival director, in 2017, but is still part of the Kala Ghoda Association Executive Committee.

No one paid attention at first when I said I wanted to be a volunteer in the visual arts section, she says. But I was serious and here I am. I feel like I am 40 when I am here working with these youngsters. One forgets their age because they bring such energy.

That energy and bonhomie has even helped college student Mohteshim Qureshi, 19, overcome a broken heart.

Becoming part of the Kala Ghoda organising team made me focus on my career, he says. I want to get into cinematography or photography, and volunteering for the cinema section has helped me meet big names from the industry.

Not all the volunteers get to enjoy the festivities. Some are happy to stay in the wings, making sure the wheels keep turning. Anush Porwal, 21, writes cheques, co-ordinates with curators and handles petty cash at the Kala Ghoda Association office.

Though there is no festive spirit around me, I am helping out, with admin work and Im part of all the social media groups so its almost like Im there. I enjoy it, Porwal says.
The alleged Islamic State (ISIS) recruit Areeb Majeed does not want an advocate to conduct his trial. Instead, he wants to argue in person before the special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court. On Thursday, Majeed moved an application seeking permission to conduct the case on his own and to discontinue the services of his lawyer.

Majeed is facing the charge of having participated in terrorist attacks against Iraq and Syria, as an ISIS member.

He had appointed former chief public prosecutor and the NIAs special public prosecutor, Rohini Salian, to fight his case.

The trial began last month, with the prosecution bringing in its first witness  the owner of the tour operator through which Majeed and his four friends left India and joined the terror group.

On Thursday, the prosecution was scheduled to examine a second witness in the case. However, before the witness could be called, Majeed moved this application before the court.

In his application, Majeed cited the case of Saquib Nachan, who was convicted in connection with the 2003 blast case. Nachan had studied while he was lodged in jail, eventually presenting his case on his own before the same court.

The court has now adjourned the case for a hearing on the application. Before such an application can be approved, Majeed will have to obtain a no objection certificate from Salian and present it to the court, according to procedure.
One out of three trips made by Maharashtra governments ambulance service is to ferry pregnant women to the hospital.

Officials said there has been a four-fold increase in the use of ambulance services to transport pregnant women with medical complications to hospitals since 2014, which may have brought down maternal mortality rates.

Statistics by the Maharashtra Emergency Medical Services (MEMS) revealed that the number of pregnancy-related emergencies attended by them increased from 59,300 in 2014 to 2,26,765 in 2017.

There were as many as 17,000 cases of childbirth in an ambulance or performed by the staff on the spot, according to the data.

Run by the state public health department, the MEMS ambulance provides free transportation and medical access across the state. The service can be used by calling the toll-free number 108. The service has helped bring more than 19,500 babies into this world, said Hanmantrao Gaikwad, chairman and managing director, BVG India Ltd, which operates the ambulances.

Our team of more than 5,000 staff, including paramedics and doctors, are trained to conduct deliveries in most emergency situations, and are equipped with disposable face masks, plastic aprons and head caps, cord lamps, surgical blades, delivery sheets, sterile gloves, mucus suckers and baby wraps, he said.

The highest number of pregnancy-related emergencies has been recorded in Pune (49,311), followed by Solapur (30,361), Nagpur (24,948) and Mumbai (14,439) since 2014. Statistics also showed that most emergencies were reported between 8am and 12pm (1,33,286), 8pm and 12am (1,15,912) and 12pm and 4pm (1,11,851).

Dr YS Nandanwar, former head of gynaecology at Sion hospital, which conducts around 12,000 deliveries a year, said a woman in a pregnancy-related medical emergency loses more than 1.5 litres of blood an hour, and therefore ambulances play an integral role in reducing the maternal mortality and morbidity.

As against regular ambulance services that may or may not have medical resources or expertise to handle such emergencies, MEMS staff have successfully stabilised patients with high blood pressure or acute labour pain effectively before reaching the hospitals. A few years ago, when the service was introduced, we had created designated referral hospitals for ambulances from certain areas as a result of which the drivers knew the fastest routes to reach these hospitals, further reducing the transportation period, said Nandanwar.

He said while scientifically there is no specific time frame for a pregnancy-related emergency, they have observed that most of them take place during the latter part of the day. This could be because of the free hours of working women and also based on a womans threshold to hold back labour pain until their kin return from work. But there is no specific biological reason, said Nandanwar.
The University of Mumbai (MU) on Friday declared the results of the first phase of elections for its senate and boards of studies for various subjects.

Nine principals from MU-affiliated colleges, six representatives of college management and three teachers from the varsity's post-graduation departments were elected to the senate - the principal authority for all financial estimates and budgetary appropriations and for providing social feedback to the university on current and future academic programmes. 82 college heads of departments (HODs) were elected to 33 boards of studies - panels that decide the curriculum and question-paper pattern of these disciplines.

For the last two years, the university has been working with ad-hoc bodies, with no elected member, owing to the state government's embargo on elections. The embargo was lifted when the state introduced a new law to govern the states public universities - Maharashtra Public Universities Act 2016.

The new Act reduced the strength of varsity senate to at least 73 members, with half of them appointed through the election route. Earlier, the senate consisted of around 105 members, with almost two-thirds of its members being the elected representatives of teachers, management and students. The move is said to be aimed at the empowering university vice-chancellor, by allowing him to have a higher proportion of members nominated by him in the senate. The term of all statutory bodies is five years.

On Wednesday, MU had held elections to elect representatives of two constituencies - university department teachers and college HODs. There were no elections held for principals and college representatives, as the number of nominees for these constituencies didn't exceed the number of seats allotted to them in the senate.

As reported by HT, all the nine principals who contested for the 10 seats allotted to their constituency and six college representatives who contested for the six seats reserved for them were declared the unopposed winners. One seat, reserved for a principal belonging to nomadic tribes (NT) was left vacant as there was no contestant for it.

On the other hand, 13 university teachers contested for the three seats reserved for them. There are 67 college HODs contesting for the three seats in each of 12 boards of studies. The seats in the remaining 21 boards were filled unopposed as there were only three or less number of HODs in contention for each of those boards.

The polls for the two larger constituencies - university graduates and college teachers - will be held later. Some of the members of management council and academic council - the two other statutory bodies - will be appointed through internal elections among senate members.
To decongest the space-starved city of haphazard parking, the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) is planning to build a temporary inter-state bus terminal (ISBT) at Wadala. The terminal will provide private buses a parking spot, which could help decongest roads across Mumbai.

The MMRDA has floated tenders for operating and maintaining the pay-and-park facility that can accommodate 172 buses and spans across 12,307 square meters at the Wadala truck terminal. Senior MMRDA officials said they are looking at this as a temporary solution until a multistorey ISBT is built on the same plot.

A senior MMRDA official said, We have to take plenty of decisions regarding the ISBT. Whether the scheme should be based on public-private-partnership model or should we appoint an agency to run it, revenue sharing, etc. Till then, we are looking at this temporary solution because the Bombay high court has directed the MMRDA to provide space for parking buses.

The ISBT project was first presented in 2007. Through this project, the planning authority wants to decongest city roads of heavy vehicles and bring them under one roof. A plot for creating parking space was to be finalised in Mankhurd, but the authorities reverted to the location that was first proposed  Wadala.

The MMRDA had recently invited global bids for design, conduct techno-economic and financial feasibility studies for the multistorey ISBT. The MMRDA has been appointed as a special planning authority for Wadala and plans to develop the area into a residential, commercial and transport hub.
A 62-year-old UK national was arrested at the international airport by the city Economic Offences Wing (EOW) officials in connection with a Rs13 crore cheating case on Friday.

A Look Out Circular (LOC) was issued against Mark Lawrence Lopresto, who is from London and holds a dual nationality, after his name cropped up in a 2014 cheating case of the EOW.

According to the police, the complainant in the cheating case, Santosh Maskara, had came in contact with Lopresto in 2007. Maskara through Lopresto had met one Vivek Tondon.

They had decided to jointly set up a company, Alphapet Limited in Mauritius, and had also decided share holdings in the company. Later, the accused Tondon and others allegedly took 10,26,861 shares from Maskaras company Poly Janta Technology, but never gave him any money for the same. Lopresto was then posted as chief finance officer in the company, said a police officer requesting anonymity.

Maskara had also claimed in the complaint that Lopresto, Tondon and other accused employees allegedly siphoned off Rs54.26 lakh from the company. He also claimed he was supposed to get Rs12.43 crore from the accused, which he never got. As a result, Maskara lodged a complaint with the Marine Drive police station in 2014. The investigation of the case was later transferred to the EOW.

As Lopresto was a wanted accused in the case, an LOC was issued against him. On Friday when he arrived at the Mumbai International Airport, authorities detained him there and informed the EOW, which arrested him in the case.

Lopresto has been charged under various relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.

The police have already filed a charge sheet against the other accused in the case.
A 23-year-old woman from Mumbai was injured severely after she fell off a moving local train when a thief hit her on the hand to steal her mobile phone while she was standing on the trains footboard, on Wednesday.

Government Railway Police (GRP) officials at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) on Thursday arrested the thief, who is a minor, as well as a 25-year-old woman Ruksana, who bought the stolen phone from him.

The incident took place after Dravita Singh, a resident of Kalyan, boarded the ladies special train to CSMT on Wednesday morning to go to her office at CSMT, said Samadhan Pawar, deputy commissioner of police.

The police arrested Ruksana (face covered) who they believe is the mastermind of the mobile theft racket. (HT Photo)

When the train was between Sandhurst Road and Masjid Bunder stations, she got a call. As the network was choppy, she went to the door of the train and stood on the footboard talking on her phone, the police said. As the train pulled out of Masjid Bunder, a young boy perched on a signal pole hit Singh on her hand to steal her phone. Singh lost her balance and fell out of the train, on to the parallel track.

Though she managed to roll off the track, a train heading to Kurla hit her, injuring her left hand and right leg  she has lost some fingers of her left hand and a part of her right foot. The motorman in the Kurla-bound train saw the woman on the tracks and alerted the police, Pawar said.

GRP officials reached the spot and rushed Singh to the government-run JJ hospital. Later, she was moved to Bhatia hospital, a private facility, as her parents were not satisfied with the services there.

Her right foot and left-hand fingers were severely crushed. If she had not been operated upon immediately, there was a grave danger of developing gangrene, so the doctors decided to perform a surgery to remove the crushed parts. Fortunately, she did not suffer a head injury or any major injuries anywhere else on her body, said Dr Rajeev Budhankar, CEO of Bhatia hospital.

Dr Budhankar said the doctors are monitoring her closely and will decide soon if she needs another surgery. Shes coping well psychologically, and her parents are relieved, he added.

As there were no CCTV cameras in the vicinity, the police tapped into their informer network. On Thursday, the police received information that the accused had sold Singhs phone to a woman named Ruksana, and picked both of them up from Sandhurst Road.

Ruksana is the mastermind. She buys stolen mobile phones from minor boys and then sells them at a profit. We have arrested Ruksana, and are now investigating to figure out how long she has been running this racket, Pawar said. We have registered a complaint of attempt to murder and robbery against the minor.
The government railway police (GRP) from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CSMT) are now on the lookout for the accomplice of the teenager, who hit 23-year-old Dravita Singh when she was standing on the footboard of a local train on Wednesday morning in a bid to rob her mobile phone.

The incident took place when Singh was talking on the phone while standing near the footboard between Sandhurst Road and Masjid railway stations. According to the GRP, the 17-year-old, who was perched atop a railway pole, hit the woman on the hand with a bamboo stick. As Singh fell, the teenager picked up her mobile phone, worth Rs18,000, and fled. Singhs foot and three fingers were crushed under a Kurla-bound train approaching from the opposite direction.

GRP officials on Thursday caught the 17-year-old and a woman, Ruksana, 25, who allegedly bought Singhs stolen phone. The teenager was sent to Dongri childrens home. The GRP officials said the boy confessed to committing such crimes earlier too. The boy said he was involved in two bag-snatching and mobile robbery cases, said Sanjay Shinde, senior inspector of CSMT GRP.

The officers said the motorman, who informed the police about the incident, mentioned that another man was accompanying the accused, It is clear the accomplice of the minor was also involved in the crime. We are looking for him to check if they are part of a gang, said an officer from CSMT GRP.

Meanwhile, Ruksana was presented before the court, where she was remanded in judicial custody. The boy said he sold the phone to Ruksana, but did not find it on her, said Shinde.

SINGH MOVED TO GENERAL WARD

Twenty-three-year-old Kalyan resident, who lost her foot and three fingers after falling off a local train on Wednesday morning, was shifted from the intensive care unit of Bhatia hospital to the general ward on Friday. A 17-year-old robber, perched atop a railway pole, hit her hand, causing her to lose her balance, said police.

Singh was initially moved to the state-run JJ Hospital. Sources from Bhatia Hospital where she was shifted later, said Singhs parents were not satisfied with the treatment at the public hospital and asked for a discharge. As she fell on the tracks, her right foot and fingers were crushed under a train. Her condition was critical when she was brought in. We immediately performed a surgery to amputate the crushed body parts, said Dr Rajeev Boudhankar, CEO of Bhatia Hospital. Singh rolled out of the tracks in time, which is why she didnt suffer head injury or damage to vital organs. Shes coping up well and her parents are relieved with the development, Dr Budhankar said.
On February 10, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Ramallah, making him the first Indian premier to visit Palestine. Since there are no active airports on Palestinian territory  thanks to Israeli occupation and restrictions  he will fly to Jordan first, after which he will embark on a helicopter trip from Amman to Ramallah.

This will mark a historic event in India-Palestine relations, and Modi deserves some credit for such outreach to Palestinians, especially considering voters of his Right-wing nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are likely not as sympathetic to the Palestinian struggle as are Indian Muslims, who represent a minority in India. The fact that he is travelling to Ramallah via Amman rather than Tel Aviv is also a respectable decision.

Bala Bhaskar, an official with the Indian ministry of external affairs, said: This is a stand-alone visit. We have de-hyphenated our relations with Palestine and Israel and now we see them both as mutually independent and exclusive, and, as part of this policy, the Prime Minister is undertaking this visit.

This so-called policy of de-hyphenation of Israel-Palestine is straightforward and politically shrewd. Rather than treat the two entities as one complicated unit, India has chosen to pursue separate relationships with each party. This allows India to maintain the image of its historical moral support for Palestinian self-determination, and at the same time to engage in military, economic, and other strategic relations with Israel.

Of course, de-hyphenation serves the interests of the Indian State, since it can deal with both Palestinians and Israelis and appear to be avoiding the alienation of one side over the other. Unfortunately this strategy comes at a great cost to Palestinians.

As Israel reaps the gains of billion-dollar arms sales and other major economic dealings with India, it also benefits from the perception that it can continue to oppress Palestinians while still being able to profit from trade with the rest of the world. There are no consequences for its colonisation, discrimination, and brutality against Palestinians, despite being in violation of international laws, principles, and countless United Nations resolutions.

In reality, Indias policy of de-hyphenation above all benefits Israel and severely undermines political and grassroots efforts to hold Israel accountable for its crimes against Palestinians. Relations between the two cannot be viewed as mutually independent and exclusive, when one maintains total military and economic domination over the other. The fact that Modi is unable to fly directly from New Delhi to Ramallah is proof of this fact.

Historically, India has in fact offered consistent political support for Palestinians, particularly in the days of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, which is unsurprising given the shared struggles with British colonialism. India voted against the 1947 UN Partition Plan for Palestine, it voted against Israels admission into the UN in 1949, and it did not officially recognise Israel as a State until 1950. Additionally, India was the first non-Arab country to recognise the Palestine Liberation Organization as the sole representative of Palestinians, and it also recognised the State of Palestine at the time of its declaration of independence in 1988.

More recently, in December 2017, India voted in favour of a UN General Assembly resolution that declared United States President Donald Trumps recognition of Jerusalem as Israels capital to be null and void. All of this support is surely valued by Palestinians, but unfortunately, Indian and international solidarity has made no tangible impact on Palestinian self-determination.

This is why Indias recent UN vote against Israel on the issue of Jerusalem did nothing to impact India-Israel relations. On the contrary, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited India the next month and received a warm welcome. The Israelis know that diplomatic opposition at the UN makes no real difference in their ability to maintain the occupation of Palestinians, especially considering that Israel enjoys unwavering US support and veto power.

Israel will only be held accountable and adjust its dreadful treatment of Palestinians when major powers, such as India, along with the rest of the world, impose a complete diplomatic, economic, and cultural boycott. India was the first country to sever trade relations with the apartheid government of South Africa, and it was admirably at the forefront of other such efforts in the anti-apartheid movement.

While South African apartheid has long been dismantled, Israel has maintained a similar system of oppression over Palestinians for almost 70 years now. In the words of Mahatma Gandhi: Intolerance is itself a form of violence and an obstacle to the growth of a true democratic spirit. Hopefully, Modi will witness this first-hand on his trip to Palestine.

Mohamed K Mohamed is the executive director, The Jerusalem Fund and Palestine Center

The views expressed are personal
You can see it in their faces, hear it in their voices. The Japanese and Koreans  on top of the world in the 1980s and 1990s  want the good old days back. When I meet Japanese and Korean companies these days I find their executives among the most attentive and determined of any in the world. Years of economic stagnation does that to you. Who doesnt want to escape from a malaise? Willing alone wont bring back the boom times  and Im not yet ready to forecast a Northeast Asian renaissance. What I am ready to do is predict South Asian retrogression.

The complacency that caused Japan and South Korea to lose their edge at the end of the last millennium is about to afflict India. This is not to denigrate the talent base in the Subcontinent  Indian digital expertise remains world-class. It is a question of attitude , an unwillingness to face the reality of the industrial shift that is coming.

Much of Indias IT wealth comes from western outsourcing of IT services  managing new and old world corporate IT systems and mainframes upon which they run. Yet about a decade ago, the balance of computing power started to change to favour individual users.

With the advent of tablets, apps and cloud computing, users have direct access to better technology than their IT departments can provide them. They can download cheap, elegant, and powerful apps on their smartphones that make their corporate systems look primitive. These modern-day apps do not require internal teams of people doing software development and maintenancethey are user-customisable and can be built by anyone with basic programming skills. And with secure cloud computing, companies are doing away with servers, so corporate data centres are shrinking while Amazon, Google, and Microsofts data centers expand.

Gone are the multi-billion dollar outsourcing deals that the Indian outsourcers celebrated every month.

You can see the signs of stagnation in the layoffs that IT companies are making and in the slowdown in their hiring. You can see the agony in the faces of engineering graduates who are not getting job offers. Fortunately, the western contracts that are keeping the Indian IT sector alive will not disappear overnight. Company IT infrastructure takes decades to deconstruct and corporate IT strategy moves at the rate of molasses. There will be business for Indian IT for a few years more. But the eventual outcome is set, no matter how much they would like to wish it away: todays IT industry will suffer a steep decline.

The same technology advances that have decimated the Indian advantage, however, offer a new opportunity that could allow the Indian information technology sector to reinvent itself, even gain the support of Americans who have been rallying against it: to help America modernise its aging infrastructure and enable it to bring manufacturing back from China. Technologies such as robotics, artificial intelligence and inexpensive and powerful sensors enable development of smart cities and automated factories and a wholesale upgrading of national infrastructure. Artificial Intelligence technologies can help analyse massive amounts data and improve decision making in every industry sector.

There are literally $100bn opportunities elsewhere in the digital space that India has the expertise and capacity to exploit , yet it shows no evidence that it is likely to take them. Instead, many Indian executives seem happy to plough on with more of the same, listening to the warnings without changing course. They claim to be using artificial intelligence tools and entering new marketsbut these are just press releases, for marketing purposes. There is a fundamental lack of understanding of the new technologies and appreciation of the emerging market opportunities.

The dramatic changes to strategy needed to take advantage of the new opportunities and the large-scale retraining of the workforce are not happening. What really worries me is that India IT companies face becoming the Kodaks of tomorrow  anchored to an outdated business model that is destroyed by disruption.

What I have been teaching executives of companies in Japan and Korea as well as the US and Europe is that to survive the disruptions that advancing technologies are about to cause, and to take advantage of the new trillion dollar opportunities, companies need to disrupt themselves. They need to do to themselves what startups from other industries are about to do to them: take the offensive with new technologies and business models and enter new markets. They need to challenge the status quo and question the past; behave like startups rather than lumbering giants.

When I talk to Indian CEOs, they acknowledge the threats of digital transformation, and can see the opportunities for diversification. Yet they turn away from our conversations to focus on closing another legacy outsourcing deal  fiddling while Bangalore burns.

Vivek Wadhwa is a Distinguished Fellow at Carnegie Mellon University at Silicon Valley and author of The Driver in the Driverless Car: How Our Technology Choices Will Create the Future.

The views expressed are personal
Global oil prices have moved to a higher equilibrium of $62 a barrel, thanks to production cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and global economic recovery. That is mildly bad news for, say, Narendra Modi, the leader of a major oil importer heading into an election year with a tight budget. But there is an alternative viewpoint beginning to gain ground in Wall Street and the global energy industry. In this scenario, a storm of shale oil is building on the horizon and will flood oil markets by year-end.

The foundation of all this is the Permian basin, a Texan rock formation that has been producing hydrocarbons for nearly a century. Already the second-largest geological oil source in the world, new surveying is leading to a belief that the Permian has shale riches on a mind-boggling scale. Last year the US Geological Survey concluded that the single Wolfcamp stratum of the Permian had 20 billion barrels of recoverable oil. Today, firms like Pioneer Natural Resources say two strata, Wolfcamp and Spraberry, could have as much as 75 billion barrels.

Said a senior partner in a US-based energy consultancy, This could be the size of Saudi Arabias Ghazar. Ghazar, the largest oilfield in the world, is the heart of Saudi Arabias petro-power and produces 5 million barrels of oil per day.

A new Permian age seems to be breaking even as technological advances in shale production continue apace. The time between discovery of a well and actual pumping by a rig is now down to 10 days; the cost of the entire process is down to $10 million. Even deep 4-kilometre drills have a turnaround time of less than a month. The International Energy Agency (IEA) in its Oil Market Report last month was among the first mainstream organisations to warn of an explosive increase in US shale production.

The head of analysis for one of the largest Wall Street investment funds said in New Delhi, By year-end, definitely by early next year, the US will overtake Saudi Arabia oil production. Next year, it will overtake Russia to become the worlds largest oil producer. One of the largest US investment bankers is considering a scenario where oil prices fall to $45 a barrel and US oil production reaches 10 million barrels a day  and beyond.

Others predict a more gradual fall, if only because US shale producers may prefer to leave the spigots half-open, keep prices in the sixties and pocket fatter profits.

The other headache for the oil industry is the degree to which other energy sources  renewables and gas  is holding back oil demand. Despite economic growth predicted in every part of the world, the IEA has predicted oil demand this year will barely budge from its 2017 levels.

World oil prices are on a knifes edge. Oil is on a price threshold. A small swing in demand or supply could drive prices dramatically in one direction or another, said the investment fund analyst. The Permian is pushing the probabilities towards slump rather than spike. It would be an echo of the earlier but smaller shale wave that broke the back of oil prices in 2014.

What could make all this permanent is a changing mindset. BP chief economist Spencer Dale argues that major oil producers are shifting to a view that keeping black gold in the ground makes less and less economic sense. A lot of their oil may never find a buyer, ever. If a shale wave or a renewable revolution pushes this fear into belief, the five cheapest oil producers  the Ten Dollar Barrel Production Club led by Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran  may decide to pump for glory. They would accept oil at $ 30-40 a barrel but compensate by seizing the market share of expensive oil producers.

Even this would be a doomsday option. Iran and Saudi Arabia would incur severe budget deficits if oil prices were to collapse, says West Asian expert Bernard Haykel of Princeton University. But while the Saudi Arabians have financial reserves so they can weather the storm if the price fall is short term, Haykel says, Iran would suffer massive domestic unrest if prices fell by $20. Costly oil producers like Russia and Nigeria would simply be flattened.

Permian is the place name that is keeping both businessmen and politicians awake at night. Whatever happens, says almost everyone, $100 a barrel will never happen again. The question is whether $50 a barrel will also find itself in the dustbin of history in the next few years.

pchaudhuri@hindustantimes.com
On August 28, 1989 thousands of people were gathered in the southern English town of Milton Keynes. The gathering, instructively titled Sammelan, sought to bring together Hindus living in Britain and called for the reawakening of a larger Hindu identity. As part of the agenda, the need to move  politically and physically  for a Ram Mandir in Ayodhya was unanimously pushed. Among the attendees  which included local labour MPs, gurus and other religious leaders  one man stood out, perhaps for the influence he had already built up and the wave of Hindu approval and recognition he had ridden on on his way to the Sammelan  Ramanand Sagar. Thirty years on, and a week after his 100 birth anniversary, Sagars legacy is more a source of questions than answers.

In January 1987, Sagar received a call from the offices of Doordarshan in Delhis Mandi House. Asked if he could present a pilot episode of the Ramayana within two weeks, Sagar said yes. We met, my brothers and dad, when the call came in. I told dad we couldnt do it, says Sagars son, Prem Sagar. We had shot four episodes. But turning that into a pilot was next to impossible. It required so much work. And we had little time. The four episodes, Prem mentions, were eventually cut and stitched together to make a single episode. On January 25, the pilot was aired and Indian television would never be the same again.

POLITICAL CONCERNS

Within a couple of episodes, Sagars Ramayana became a national sensation, eventually clocking viewership of around 650 million, telecast in 55 different countries and becoming the highest grossing show on Indian television by some distance. But behind and besides the narrative of success underlined by earth-shattering numbers, there were concerns, most of them political, and many controversies. Of the political concerns, chief was the telecast of the epic series in the shade of the Ram Janambhoomi movement that culminated in the demolition of the Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992.

Sagars Ramayana played in the backdrop of a Hindutva shift in Indian politics, under the aegis of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its political outfit, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). While the media and cultural commentators struggled to consider Sagars epic one way or the other, there were some who saw it as a catalyst, even if unintended, to the turmoil that the movement resulted in. Chief among them was Arvind Rajagopal, whose book Politics after Television (Cambridge Press, 2001) took the view that not only did Sagars show violate a secular principle adjoined to the concept of a national broadcaster i.e. Doordarshan  that Doordarshan should not be in favour of any one particular religion  but that it may even have been the fillip that turned the electoral fortunes of the BJP.

LK Advanis Ratha Yatra (from Somnath to Ayodhya) was like a lit fuse that traced a no doubt carefully selected trail across the Hindi belt  all of which responded enthusiastically to the show. Bear in mind that penetration was limited, only 14 million TV households in 1987. But hundreds watched at many viewing points, says Rajagopal. Coincidentally, Advani was also present at the mahurat of Yogeshwar Krishna, a film project with Shashi Kapoor playing Krishna, to be helmed by Sagar, which however failed to materialise after its launch in 1975.

Rajagopal believes that the very idea of telecasting a Hindu epic on national television was in violation of a secular standpoint that at least the Congress government in power should have stayed true to. Then there were the likes of SS Gill, then a former I & B Secretary, who openly, in a newspaper article, took credit for having floated the idea of the Ramayana. The Hindi press largely followed Gills line in venerating the idea and Sagars execution. The English press though remained mute. They couldnt reconcile its popularity with their classicist and Orientalist understanding of the Ramayan as an Indian classic, and as somehow representative of the culture, Rajagopal says.

Ramanand Sagar had begun working on the concept as far back as 1975. (Courtesy:Sagar Arts.)

The abandonment of the Nehruvian secular ethos in favour of a Hindu-centric aesthetic troubled many within Doordarshan as well. Sharad Dutt, then a producer there, and one of the first reviewers of Sagars tape of the pilot, says there was enough to make a few people backstage uncomfortable. I wont say there was outright rejection or unease, but a lot of people within the channels office werent supportive of the idea to begin with. But it had no motivation with what was going on politically. The Congress was in power and it had no agenda of the sort. Instead, it might be more crucial to discuss how poor the execution of the show was. That was my first question to Sagar after I watched the tape. Have you made Ramayana or Ram-Leela? he says.

MEETING RAM

Criticism of Sagars execution is where most writing on the show coincides. Marxist scholar and playwright GP Deshpande called it an injustice to the epic form and calendar art. Even Gill, in the same article where he declared himself the seed of the show, criticised Sagars execution of the idea. Dutt believes it was too long, too narrow in its view and too plastic to be worthy of any form of dissection. It was made primarily to milk money. And the show did that with great ease. After a point, even Doordarshan couldnt do much but cash in on the money, Dutt adds.

That the show became as popular as it did points to other elements at work. Dutt says Doordarshan was bombarded by letters and positive reviews from viewers who considered the show as sacred, as if they were being given darshan by the gods themselves.

In contrast to Dutt, Prem Sagar says that the shows place on national television was natural. Baba knew he would make the Ramayana as early as the 1940s. He had begun conceptualising the idea back in 1975 itself. But every time, at Doordarshan, someone or the other pulled the plug. They had an agenda. It was probably down to the officers high up in the organisation. Eventually someone got transferred here or there, or left office and the show finally happened, he says. Shot in Umbergaon, a small town in Gujarat, the Ramayana was so frantically produced and prepped that actors were at times chosen a week before episodes aired. The actor who played Sugrive was selected only a week before he had to appear for the first time. We just kept going. There was hardly any breathing space in between, he adds.

THE OFFSHOOTS

Ramanand Sagar was born to a rich Kashmiri family on December 19, 1917. Sagar started out as a writer under various pen names. Eventually, he shifted to Bombay where his tryst with cinema began at Prithvi Theatre, as an assistant to Prithviraj Kapoor. In 1950 Sagar founded Sagar Arts, a production company, and made a number of bad to average films before eventually turning to television which would prove to be his holy grail. He was a thorough student. He read almost all the Ramayanas and was the only one who could have done it. Look at what they do with the epic these days. They only know technicalities, but have no knowledge, says Sagar.

Following the success of the serial, maker Ramanand Sagar (seen above, directing actor Arun Govil, who played Ram, in a scene) became an industry in himself, going on to make Sri Krishna, Luv aur Kush, Alif Laila and many more serials . (Courtesy: Sagar Arts. )

Ramanand Sagar modelled his telling of the epic to Tulsidas Ramayana and chose to end the show with the coronation and homecoming of Ram (the beginning of Ram Rajya), omitting the part of Sitas trial and the chapters about Luv and Kush. Baba said his Ram couldnt banish Sita as had been written by many. Mere Ram aisa nai kar sakte, he used to say, whenever there was criticism. But even he bowed under pressure. We made a special Luv-Kush episode for a man who was hospitalised in Chennai because he demanded that missing episode. We flew an exclusive tape to him. Such was the influence of the show on some people, Sagar adds.

After the show, Sagar became an industry in himself, going on to make Sri Krishna, Luv aur Kush, Alif Laila and many more serials that became synonymous with mythology as text in India, before globalisation and foreign media altered the picture. Sagars image outside the context of television had been elevated to the level that he was carried on chariots through Ayodhya. The political clout that the TV series came to hold can be adjudged by the fact that Arun Govil (who played Ram) and Sagar were repeatedly courted by both the Congress and the BJP to campaign for them. Other actors like Deepika Chikalia (Sita) and Arvind Trivedi (Ravana) both eventually became MPs.

In 1992, Advani led a nationwide campaign to the doorstep of the Babri Masjid and changed Indias political discourse forever. On the question of Ramanand Sagars influence on the Hindu population and its mobilisation to devastating effect in the case of the demolition of the Babri Masjid, Prem Sagar has a clear opinion: Where else will you build Rams temple? What was wrong with it? Ram has to return to the place he belongs to, he says.
The wait for the next season of Game of Thrones may be long and full of spoilers but that isnt stopping us from getting excited each time a new leaked set pictures pops up on our timeline. After burning an entire town, the crew is now filming a scene between Kit Haringtons Jon Snow and Lena Headeys Cersei Lannister.

The two were spotted in Croatia and their pictures from the sets shared online on the shows fanpages. Show creater DB Weiss is also seen in the images, instructing his two lead actors. While Jon has put on his fluffy black robes, Cerseis dark gown now has metal plates on her shoulders and chains all across the front. Perhaps she has prepared for Jons wrath after promising him aid against the White Walkers and withdrawing it at the last moment in the previous season.

A post shared by GOT em partes (@got_em_partes_) on Feb 8, 2018 at 2:33pm PST

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Lena recently talked about the show coming to an end in an interview, saying how everyone cried at some point during the final episode script reading session. Both Kit and Lena have been a part of the show since it began eight years ago.

While an official air date has not yet been revealed, actor Maisie Willaims, who plays Arya on the show, told fans to expect an April 2019 release.

Follow @htshowbiz for more
Eighteen-month-old Lucas Warren has become the first child with Downs syndrome to be named the Spokesbaby by the US baby food brand Gerber in its 91-year history.

Lucas from Dalton, Georgia managed to win the judges this year with his glowing and giggly smile and was chosen among more than 140,000 entries for the eighth Gerber Baby Photo Search contest, Gerber said in a press release.

Lucas winning smile and joyful expression won our hearts this year, and we are all thrilled to name him our 2018 Spokesbaby, Gerbers president and CEO Bill Partyka said in an official statement.

Gerber started the annual photo contest in 2010.

Lucas family will get a $50,000 prize money and Lucas will appear on Gerbers social media channels and featured in its ads through the year.

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, Lucas mother Cortney Warren was quoted as saying in the companys statement.

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, she added.

Down syndrome is a genetic disorder caused when abnormal cell division results in an extra full or partial copy of chromosome 21. The extra copy changes how a babys body and brain develop and can lead to mental and physical challenges.

Many on social media, including relatives of people with Downs syndrome and advocacy groups, welcomed the announcement.

Oh, my heart! Lucas, the first baby with Down Syndrome to be picked as Gerber baby!!!! Nearly 90% of unborn babies like Lucas are aborted because of their Down Syndrome. My goodness, what joy the world is missing!!! pic.twitter.com/Fvjv1D3COt  Liz Wheeler (@Liz_Wheeler) February 8, 2018

Ann Turner Cook, who recently celebrated her 91st birthday, was the original Gerber baby. A black-and-white sketch of her face became Gerbers iconic logo in 1928.
China on Friday warned that no country should interfere in the Maldives in the name of resolving the ongoing political crisis as pressure from the world community mounted on President Abdulla Yameen to end a state of emergency.

Beijings stout defence of the Maldivian regime came as Yameens special envoy, economic development minister Mohamed Saeed, met foreign minister Wang Yi in Beijing and briefed him about the developments in the Indian Ocean archipelago.

Though it wasnt officially mentioned, Saeed will be heading back to the Maldives on Saturday with a full assurance of Chinas backing.

Saeed told Wang that the Maldives is capable independently resolving the turmoil, which began when Yameen refused to implement a Supreme Court order clearing former president Mohamed Nasheed of terror charges and freeing eight jailed opposition leaders.

Yameen has dispatched special envoys to China, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to lobby for support in the face of growing international pressure to end the emergency he imposed on Monday and to free two detained Supreme Court judges.

At the regular briefing of the foreign ministry, spokesperson Geng Shuan reiterated Chinas stance regarding non-interference in the internal affairs of a country. The world community should play a constructive role, Geng said when he was asked to comment on the phone conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump during which they discussed the Maldives.

The international community should play a constructive role in promoting the stability and development (of Maldives) on the basis of respecting sovereignty...The Chinese side has so far provided selfless help to the economic and social development of the Maldives and the cooperation...has benefited all the people of the Maldives, Geng said.

The current situation is the Maldives internal affairs. Non-interference in the internal affairs is the basic guideline of international relations as set forth in the UN charter, he said when asked about possible Indian intervention.

Referring to the meeting between Wang and Saeed, Geng said the Maldives Presidents special envoy had introduced the current situation in the Maldives and said that the government is committed to upholding the rule of law and social order and independently resolving the current issue and achieving national stability and development.

Wang told Saeed that China is closely following the situation and believes the Maldives government and people have the ability to properly resolve the issue. China will not interfere in the Maldives' internal affairs, Wang said, noting that Beijing supports the Maldivian government's attempts to settle differences with other parties through dialogue and consultation.

Saeed said that the Maldivian government is committed to upholding the rule of law to guarantee stability. He also told Wang that the Maldives can protect Chinese nationals and institutions in the country.
China says it has begun introducing its J-20 stealth fighter jets into combat units, in a potentially major upgrade of its air force capabilities.

Air force spokesman Shen Jinke said in a statement released on the services official microblog on Friday that the move boosts Chinas ability to carry out the sacred mission of defending its sovereignty, security and territorial integrity.

First flown in 2011, the J-20 is Chinas answer to fifth-generation jets such as the US F-22 and F-35.

It made its formal debut at a 2016 air show in southern China and last year was featured in a military parade marking the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Peoples Liberation Army.

The plane was developed domestically but is believed to still rely on Russian engines for power.
Syrian regime jets have pounded Eastern Ghouta, sending the death toll from a four-day assault on the rebel enclave on the outskirts of Damascus soaring past 220.

Violence also flared in eastern Syria on Thursday, where the US-led coalition said it had killed at least 100 pro-regime fighters to fend off an attack on its Kurdish allies.

The clash marked a fresh escalation between Washington, which has threatened the regime over its alleged use of chemical weapons, and Damascus, which labelled the latest incident in eastern Syria a war crime.

Moscow also slammed the US-led strikes, with Russias UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia saying he had lodged a protest about the assault during a closed-door Security Council meeting.

To confront those who really fight international terrorism on the ground in Syria is criminal, he said.

The UN Security Council on Thursday failed to back a UN appeal for a month-long humanitarian ceasefire in Syria.

In Eastern Ghouta, which lies east of the capital and has been besieged since 2013, residents had no time to mourn their dead or treat their wounded from the previous days bombardment.

These are the worst four days that Eastern Ghouta has ever gone through, said Hamza, an overwhelmed doctor at the Erbin clinic who was treating wounded patients.

From 2011 until now, there has never been the level of bombardment weve seen in the last 96 hours.

The death toll mounted steadily throughout Thursday, with the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights giving 75 civilians dead by the evening. Three died of wounds suffered on Wednesday.

Dozens of children

That brought to 228 the number of civilians killed since the regime launched a campaign Monday of heavy air raids on the area, which has an estimated 400,000 residents.

Among them were at least 58 children, the Observatory said.

Children and teachers are terrified that at any moment they could be hit. The siege means there is nowhere for them to escape, said Sonia Khush, Save the Childrens Syria response director.

There must be an immediate halt to the fighting and an end to the siege.

Moayad al-Hafi, a rescue worker, said his team was targeted as they retrieved bodies near Erbin.

As we were pulling out the children and the dead from under the rubble, they targeted us with five rockets -- directly targeting us, said Hafi, 24.

At least two civilians were killed in retaliatory rebel mortar fire on government-controlled areas of Damascus, according to state news agency SANA.

AFP correspondents said mortars were raining down on Bab Touma on Thursday night.

Eastern Ghouta was one of several so-called de-escalation zones agreed last year by three of the main outside players in the conflict -- Turkey, Iran and Russia.

Ankara announced Thursday it would host a new three-way summit to revive efforts to end the war, which has killed at least 340,000 people and displaced millions since 2011.

Recent attempts to bring the conflicts protagonists and brokers to the table have floundered, but the UN made a fresh call this week for conflicting sides to halt fighting.

The United States backed the plea but Russia -- a longtime ally of Syrias government -- shrugged it off.

That is not realistic, Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told reporters at the UN.

A boy is seen running after an air raid in the besieged town of Douma in eastern Ghouta in Damascus, Syria February 8, 2018. (Reuters Photo)

US strikes regime forces

A US military official said the US-led coalition that still assists Kurdish-led forces in the hunt for surviving IS members in eastern Syria killed at least 100 pro-regime fighters overnight.

US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said the coalition acted in self-defence after pro-government forces moved on an area under the control of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

The pro-Damascus forces began shelling it with artillery, he added. They were moving with tanks, obviously in the same direction as they were firing.

At the end of our effort to defend ourselves, their artillery was knocked out, two of their tanks were knocked out, they had casualties.

Syrian state media confirmed dozens were killed but appeared to deny the forces were army soldiers, describing them as popular forces.

Wounded fighters were taken to the military hospital in Syrias eastern Deir Ezzor city, which is controlled by the government.

A reporter contributing to AFP saw at least six fighters there, lying on hospital beds in sparsely equipped rooms.

The Observatory said the regime forces may have been aiming to capture a key oil field and a major gas plant in an SDF-held area.

The Omar oil field, one of the biggest in Syria, had a pre-war output of 30,000 barrels per day, while the Conoco gas field had a pre-war capacity of 13 million cubic metres a day.

According to the Observatory, the forces that launched the attack on SDF positions were local tribal fighters loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and Afghan Shiite militia fighting alongside the regime.

In a letter addressed to the UN secretary general, the Syrian foreign ministry said the attack represents a war crime and a crime against humanity.
The closer the US gets to its original goal in Syria of defeating the Islamic State group, the murkier its end game. New layers of complexity are descending on a shifting battlefield, as demonstrated by a deadly barrage of American air and artillery strikes on a shadowy attacker.

The Pentagon insists it is keeping its focus on defeating IS, but Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Thursday US-backed fighters in eastern Syria faced a perplexing overnight assault by about 300 pro-Syrian government fighters whose nationalities, motives and makeup he could not identify. A number of US military advisers were present alongside local allied forces, and the Americans led a punishing response that other officials said killed about 100 of the assailants.

Mattis asserted the episode was an aberration that should not be seen as an expansion of the US war effort. But Trump administration critics disagreed. The Pentagon boss also dismissed any suggestion that Russia, the Syrian governments most powerful military ally, had any control over the mysterious attacking force.

I am gravely concerned that the Trump administration is purposefully stumbling into a broader conflict, without a vote of Congress or clear objectives, said Sen. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat, who has challenged the legal grounds on which American troops can operate in Syria for post-IS operations.

Mattis rejected Kaines suggestion the US is being drawn into a broader war.

It was self-defense, he said. Were not getting engaged in the Syrian civil war.

The Pentagon says there are about 2,000 US troops in Syria. Many are operating with local allies, known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, in the eastern oil-producing Deir el-Zour region along the Euphrates River. A stronghold of Islamic State militants until late last year, the area was the groups main source of oil revenue. U.S.-backed Kurdish-led forces have been competing for control of Deir el-Zour with Russian-backed Syrian troops that are reinforced by Iranian-supported militias.

This is essentially the Islamic States last stand in Syria, having ceded most of its Syrian and Iraqi territory over the past couple of years.

While Washingtons mission is to finish off IS and ensure it does not return, the U.S. also has a stake in stabilizing swaths of Syria. In that endeavour it is encountering friction with Turkey, a NATO ally that opposes any cooperation with Syrian Kurdish fighters. It sees them as an existential threat to Turkey.

Beyond fighting IS in its few remaining pockets of influence, the US has been working in areas of Syria liberated from IS to restore basic services and set up interim governing structures until the war between Syrias government and rebel groups can be quelled. Mattis said Thursday the goal is to create conditions for a UN-led political resolution, though there are no indications one could be achieved anytime soon.

Keeping US forces on the ground in areas that President Bashar Assads government hopes to reclaim inherently increases the probability of more clashes. But the United States argues that if it were to pull out, a fight for control over these areas would ensue. Whatever group wins out the government, rebels or extremists such as IS  would be far less equipped than the US to maintain stability, the American argument goes.

It was in this complex military and political environment that the pro-Assad fighters shelled a Syrian Democratic Forces headquarters about five miles east of the Euphrates in Khusham, Syria, late Wednesday. By crossing the river, the fighters would have violated a deconfliction agreement between Washington and Moscow, approaching US-backed forces based near an oil field.

The motive for the attack remains a mystery, Mattis said, as is the makeup of the attackers.

For some reason, pro-regime forces  and I cannot give you any explanation for why they would do this  moved against SDF positions, he said. Mattis said US special operations troops were present as advisers at the headquarters. No Americans were hurt.

The US organized, armed and trained the Syrian Democratic Forces for its successful operations to rout IS from nearly all the territory it once held in eastern Syria

Lt. Col. Damien Pickart, a US Air Force spokesman in the Middle East, said US ground-based artillery and F-15E Strike Eagle jets retaliated. Other officials said the US also used Air Force AC-130 gunships and Army AH-64 Apache attack helicopters to strike the pro-government fighters.

Mattis said the Russians appear blameless for the aggression. He said US and Russian military officers spoke by telephone before and during the confrontation, and there is no indication the aggressors included Russian forces or a militia operating under Russian influence or control.

You cant ask Russia to deconflict something they dont control, he said.
A Swiss armoured van was held up by masked men holding the daughter of one of the security guards hostage in France, Vaud cantonal police said on Friday, as a French police source told Reuters that the loot could be up to 26 million euros.

The 22-year-old daughter was released after the heist on Thursday night, but the three men escaped in a luxury sport utility vehicle from a parking lot at Chavornay, located north of Lausanne, where the van had been forced to park before being emptied, Vaud cantonal police said.

The thieves fled to an unknown destination. The daughter of one of the security guards was held hostage in France but then released. There were no injuries, it said in a statement that gave no estimated value of the amount stolen.

A French police source, confirming a report on French radio Europe 1, told Reuters in Lyon, France that the armoured van was believed to be carrying 15 to 30 million Swiss francs (13-26 million euros) in cash.

Europe 1 reported that the woman had been held hostage by men pretending to be plumbers at her home in Lyon, France.

Twelve Swiss police patrol cars and investigators were deployed in the operation and a criminal case has been opened, the Vaud police statement said, appealing for witnesses.
Slowly but surely, India has been resolving issues related to Sikhs abroad  mainly linked to Operation Bluestar of 1984  and allowing former Khalistan supporters to visit the country, but many now face a so-called blacklist in Canada that bars their entry.

The process of New Delhi dealing with the issues of overseas Sikhs gained momentum after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met a delegation of UK-based Sikhs during his visit to London in November 2015. The process of freeing long-held political prisoners in India too was intensified.

Until some years ago, India allegedly had a blacklist that prevented several overseas Sikhs, once active in the International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF) and the Khalistan movement, from visiting the country. Most of them now freely visit India with Overseas Citizen of India cards.

The recent issue of the Canadian blacklist goes beyond the ISYF, which was banned in the UK in 2001 but was de-proscribed in 2016. It also affects politics in Punjab. Amarinder Singh, now chief minister, was prevented from visiting Canada before the 2016 assembly election.

More than 100 UK-based Sikhs are said to be on the Canadian blacklist, unable to visit that country even though they travelled there several times in the past, bringing hardliners and moderates on one side.

In Toronto, Indian officials are disturbed since the blacklist may prevent talks and the eventual resolution of issues of overseas Sikhs.

A senior official said, They (the Canadian government) do not want to see a patch-up (between India and Khalistanis in Canada).

Among the UK-based Sikhs who previously travelled freely to Canada but were recently denied electronic travel authorisation (ETA) is Jasdev Singh Rai, director of the Sikh Human Rights Forum, one of the key interlocutors in talks with Modi in London.

He said: It is astonishing that there is a blacklist of Sikhs in Canada since 2016 while India is taking its own list down. Does Canada know more about us than India?

It is even more shocking that this list has been formed when, for the first time, four Sikhs are in the Canada government, including the defence minister, a position that is part of the security group.

Those denied entry, including myself, have been labelled as terrorists. It is widely suspected this list has been influenced by some Canadian Sikh politicians exploiting state power for advantage in internal Sikh politics. Our friends in Canada are seeking an inquiry.

A spokesperson for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said on the issue of Rai being denied the ETA: Due to privacy laws, we are unable to provide you with details of individual cases. Applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis, based on the specific facts of each case.

Parminder Bal, a former ISYF functionary based at Slough in the UK who was denied the ETA in recent years, said: There were three factions of the ISYF. Over 100 of us are affected by the Canadian blacklist. Our families, friends are there. They are violating the human rights of UK and European Sikhs.

Rai has faced opposition from sections of the Sikh community in Canada. During an earlier visit, campaign group Sikhs for Justice challenged his claim that the Canadian Sikh community is ready for talks with the Modi government. The Sikh cause cannot be undermined by the raising of non-issues by individuals like London-based Jasdev Rai, the group had said.

A spokesman for the UK-based Sikh Federation alleged that Indian authorities had pressured foreign governments to stop some Sikhs travelling between the UK, the US and Canada to lobby for an independent Sikh homeland.

We have established through a number of cases that increased pressure has been put on the Canadian authorities to target all those previously associated with the organisation (ISYF) even though it had not existed in the UK for 15 years since the ban in March 2001, he said.

Ironically we also know the Canadians have excluded some who were previously deemed anti-national by India, but have subsequently become pro-Indian or become Indian government agents and been regularly travelling to India.

The spokesman said such blacklists of Sikhs who had committed no crimes are totally unacceptable. Law-abiding Sikhs are being denied basic civil liberties of free movement to meet friends and relatives. It is disgraceful some Sikhs have been prevented from seeing loved ones who are poorly or attend family funerals or weddings in other countries, he said.
Bangladeshs main opposition party named the exiled eldest son of Khaleda Zia as its acting head on Friday, a day after a court jailed its leader for corruption.

Zia, 72, spent the night in jail after she was sentenced to five years over the embezzlement of $252,000 meant for an orphanage, a charge she has dismissed as politically motivated.

Her son Tarique Rahman, who was also found guilty of involvement in but escaped prison because he lives in London, will be the partys interim leader.

He is the new acting chairman in accordance with the partys constitution, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) secretary general Fakhrul Islam Alamgir told AFP.

The conviction could prevent Zia from running in a general election slated for December, although she is expected to appeal.

Read | I will be back, says Khaleda Zia after 5-year jail term; clashes in Bangladesh

She spent the night in what her party officials say is a disused jail in the old part of Dhaka.

She is in isolation, said Alamgir, adding that her conviction is part of a government blueprint to establish one-party rule.

Rahman, 53, fled to London in 2008 after he was detained by an army-backed government for more than 18 months.

In 2016, he was convicted in absentia and sentenced to seven years in jail on charges of money laundering.

Prosecutors have also sought his death sentence over a 2004 grenade attack at a rally of current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in which more than 20 people were killed and she was injured.

Supporters of opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) set fire to a motorcycle as they protest against a verdict against opposition leader and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia in Dhaka on February 8. (AP Photo)

The BNP plans to stage nationwide demonstrations late Friday afternoon in protest at the verdict.

Alamgir said opposition parties had been barred from holding protests and alleged curbs on media freedom by the government.

Violence erupted in major cities across Bangladesh as news of the guilty verdict spread on Thursday, with BNP supporters clashing with police and activists from the ruling party.

Police fired rubber bullets at demonstrators in the northeastern city of Sylhet. At least four people have been injured in the clashes.

Authorities have for days been on high alert for protests in tense Dhaka, where political demonstrations by BNP and its Islamist allies in 2014 and 2015 left nearly 200 people dead.

Around 3,500 opposition activists and officials were arrested in a sweep by security forces ahead of the verdict, according to the BNP.

Zia is a former ally turned arch-foe of Hasina. Her party boycotted 2014 polls in which Hasina was re-elected but is expected to contest the upcoming general election.
Bound together, the 10 Rohingya Muslim captives watched their Buddhist neighbours dig a shallow grave. Soon afterwards, on the morning of September 2, all 10 lay dead. At least two were hacked to death by Buddhist villagers. The rest were shot by Myanmar troops, two of the gravediggers said.

One grave for 10 people, said Soe Chay, 55, a retired soldier from Inn Dins Rakhine Buddhist community who said he helped dig the pit and saw the killings. The soldiers shot each man two or three times, he said. When they were being buried, some were still making noises. Others were already dead.

The killings in the coastal village of Inn Din marked another bloody episode in the ethnic violence sweeping northern Rakhine state, on Myanmars western fringe. Nearly 690,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled their villages and crossed the border into Bangladesh since August. None of Inn Dins 6,000 Rohingya remained in the village as of October.

Read more | Well starve you out: How hunger was used to target Rohingya in Myanmar

The Rohingya accuse the army of arson, rapes and killings aimed at rubbing them out of existence in this mainly Buddhist nation of 53 million. The United Nations has said the army may have committed genocide; the United States has called the action ethnic cleansing. Myanmar says its clearance operation is a legitimate response to attacks by Rohingya insurgents.

Rohingya trace their presence in Rakhine back centuries. But most Burmese consider them to be unwanted immigrants from Bangladesh; the army refers to the Rohingya as Bengalis. In recent years, sectarian tensions have risen and the government has confined more than 100,000 Rohingya in camps where they have limited access to food, medicine and education.

Shuna Khatu, 30, whose husband Habizu was among 10 Rohingya men killed by Myanmar security forces and Buddhist villagers on September 2, 2017, poses for a picture at Balukhali camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, January 20. (Reuters Photo)

Reuters has pieced together what happened in Inn Din in the days leading up to the killing of the 10 Rohingya  eight men and two high school students in their late teens.

Until now, accounts of the violence against the Rohingya in Rakhine state have been provided only by its victims. The Reuters reconstruction draws for the first time on interviews with Buddhist villagers who confessed to torching Rohingya homes, burying bodies and killing Muslims.

This account also marks the first time soldiers and paramilitary police have been implicated by testimony from security personnel themselves. Members of the paramilitary police gave Reuters insider descriptions of the operation to drive out the Rohingya from Inn Din, confirming that the military played the lead role in the campaign.

Photographs from a massacre

The slain mens families, now sheltering in Bangladesh refugee camps, identified the victims through photographs shown to them by Reuters. The dead men were fishermen, shopkeepers, the two teenage students and an Islamic teacher.

Ten Rohingya Muslim men with their hands bound kneel as members of the Myanmar security forces stand guard in Inn Din village September 2, 2017. (Reuters Photo)

Three photographs, provided to Reuters by a Buddhist village elder, capture key moments in the massacre at Inn Din, from the Rohingya mens detention by soldiers in the early evening of Sept. 1 to their execution shortly after 10 a.m. on Sept. 2. Two photos  one taken the first day, the other on the day of the killings  show the 10 captives lined up in a row, kneeling. The final photograph shows the mens bloodied bodies piled in the shallow grave.

The Reuters investigation of the Inn Din massacre was what prompted Myanmar police authorities to arrest two of the news agencys reporters. The reporters, Burmese citizens Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, were detained on Dec. 12 for allegedly obtaining confidential documents relating to Rakhine.

Then, on January 10, the military issued a statement that confirmed portions of what Wa Lone, Kyaw Soe Oo and their colleagues were preparing to report, acknowledging that 10 Rohingya men were massacred in the village. It confirmed that Buddhist villagers attacked some of the men with swords and soldiers shot the others dead.

The statement coincided with an application to the court by prosecutors to charge Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo under Myanmars Official Secrets Act, which dates back to the time of colonial British rule. The charges carry a maximum 14-year prison sentence.

But the militarys version of events is contradicted in important respects by accounts given to Reuters by Rakhine Buddhist and Rohingya Muslim witnesses. The military said the 10 men belonged to a group of 200 terrorists that attacked security forces. Soldiers decided to kill the men, the army said, because intense fighting in the area made it impossible to transfer them to police custody. The army said it would take action against those involved.

A human skull is seen in a shallow grave in Inn Din, Myanmar October 26, 2017. Picture taken October 26, 2017. (Reuters Photo)

The statement coincided with an application to the court by prosecutors to charge Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo under Myanmars Official Secrets Act, which dates back to the time of colonial British rule. The charges carry a maximum 14-year prison sentence.

But the militarys version of events is contradicted in important respects by accounts given to Reuters by Rakhine Buddhist and Rohingya Muslim witnesses. The military said the 10 men belonged to a group of 200 terrorists that attacked security forces. Soldiers decided to kill the men, the army said, because intense fighting in the area made it impossible to transfer them to police custody. The army said it would take action against those involved.

Buddhist villagers interviewed for this article reported no attack by a large number of insurgents on security forces in Inn Din. And Rohingya witnesses told Reuters that soldiers plucked the 10 from among hundreds of men, women and children who had sought safety on a nearby beach.

Scores of interviews with Rakhine Buddhist villagers, soldiers, paramilitary police, Rohingya Muslims and local administrators further revealed:

- The military and paramilitary police organized Buddhist residents of Inn Din and at least two other villages to torch Rohingya homes, more than a dozen Buddhist villagers said. Eleven Buddhist villagers said Buddhists committed acts of violence, including killings. The government and army have repeatedly blamed Rohingya insurgents for burning villages and homes.

- An order to clear Inn Dins Rohingya hamlets was passed down the command chain from the military, said three paramilitary police officers speaking on condition of anonymity and a fourth police officer at an intelligence unit in the regional capital Sittwe. Security forces wore civilian clothes to avoid detection during raids, one of the paramilitary police officers said.

- Some members of the paramilitary police looted Rohingya property, including cows and motorcycles, in order to sell it, according to village administrator Maung Thein Chay and one of the paramilitary police officers.

- Operations in Inn Din were led by the armys 33rd Light Infantry Division, supported by the paramilitary 8th Security Police Battalion, according to four police officers, all of them members of the battalion.

Potential criminal cases

Michael G Karnavas, a US lawyer based in The Hague who has worked on cases at international criminal tribunals, said evidence that the military had organized Buddhist civilians to commit violence against Rohingya would be the closest thing to a smoking gun in establishing not just intent, but even specific genocidal intent, since the attacks seem designed to destroy the Rohingya or at least a significant part of them.

Evidence of the execution of men in government custody also could be used to build a case of crimes against humanity against military commanders, Karnavas said, if it could be shown that it was part of a widespread or systematic campaign targeting the Rohingya population.

Abdu Shakur, whose son Rashid Ahmed was among 10 Rohingya men killed by Myanmar security forces and Buddhist villagers on September 2, 2017, holds a family picture at Kutupalong camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, January 19, 2018. (Reuters Photo)

Kevin Jon Heller, a University of London law professor who served as a legal associate for convicted war criminal and former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, said an order to clear villages by military command was unequivocally the crime against humanity of forcible transfer.

In December, the United States imposed sanctions on the army officer who had been in charge of Western Command troops in Rakhine, Major General Maung Maung Soe. So far, however, Myanmar has not faced international sanctions over the violence.

Myanmars leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has disappointed many former supporters in the West by not speaking out against the armys actions. They had hoped the election of her National League for Democracy party in 2015 would bring democratic reform and an opening of the country. Instead, critics say, Suu Kyi is in thrall to the generals who freed her from house arrest in 2010.

Asked about the evidence Reuters has uncovered about the massacre, government spokesman Zaw Htay said, We are not denying the allegations about violations of human rights. And we are not giving blanket denials. If there was strong and reliable primary evidence of abuses, the government would investigate, he said. And then if we found the evidence is true and the violations are there, we will take the necessary action according to our existing law.

When told that paramilitary police officers had said they received orders to clear Inn Dins Rohingya hamlets, he replied, We have to verify. We have to ask the Ministry of Home Affairs and Myanmar police forces. Asked about the allegations of looting by paramilitary police officers, he said the police would investigate.

He expressed surprise when told that Buddhist villagers had confessed to burning Rohingya homes, then added, We recognize that many, many different allegations are there, but we need to verify who did it. It is very difficult in the current situation.

Zaw Htay defended the military operation in Rakhine. The international community needs to understand who did the first terrorist attacks. If that kind of terrorist attack took place in European countries, in the United States, in London, New York, Washington, what would the media say?

Neighbour turns on neighbour

Inn Din lies between the Mayu mountain range and the Bay of Bengal, about 50 km (30 miles) north of Rakhines state capital Sittwe. The settlement is made up of a scattering of hamlets around a school, clinic and Buddhist monastery. Buddhist homes cluster in the northern part of the village. For many years there had been tensions between the Buddhists and their Muslim neighbors, who accounted for almost 90 percent of the roughly 7,000 people in the village. But the two communities had managed to co-exist, fishing the coastal waters and cultivating rice in the paddies.

In October 2016, Rohingya militants attacked three police posts in northern Rakhine  the beginning of a new insurgency. After the attacks, Rohingya in Inn Din said many Buddhists stopped hiring them as farmhands and home help. The Buddhists said the Rohingya stopped showing up for work.

On August 25 last year, the rebels struck again, hitting 30 police posts and an army base. The closest attack was just 4 km to the north. In Inn Din, several hundred fearful Buddhists took refuge in the monastery in the center of the village, more than a dozen of their number said. Inn Dins Buddhist night watchman San Thein, 36, said Buddhist villagers feared being swallowed up by their Muslim neighbors. A Buddhist elder said all Rohingya, including children, were part of the insurgency and therefore terrorists.

On August 27, about 80 troops from Myanmars 33rd Light Infantry Division arrived in Inn Din, nine Buddhist villagers said. Two paramilitary police officers and Soe Chay, the retired soldier, said the troops belonged to the 11th infantry regiment of this division. The army officer in charge told villagers they must cook for the soldiers and act as lookouts at night, Soe Chay said. The officer promised his troops would protect Buddhist villagers from their Rohingya neighbors. Five Buddhist villagers said the officer told them they could volunteer to join security operations. Young volunteers would need their parents permission to join the troops, however.

The army found willing participants among Inn Dins Buddhist security group, nine members of the organization and two other villagers said. This informal militia was formed after violence broke out in 2012 between Rakhines Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims, sparked by reports of the rape and murder of a Buddhist woman by three Muslim men. Myanmar media reported at the time that the three were sentenced to death by a district court.

Inn Dins security group built watch huts around the Buddhist part of the village, and its members took turns to stand guard. Its ranks included Buddhist firefighters, school teachers, students and unemployed young men. They were useful to the military because they knew the local geography, said Inn Dins Buddhist administrator, Maung Thein Chay.

Most of the groups 80 to 100 men armed themselves with machetes and sticks. They also had a handful of guns, according to one member. Some wore green fatigue-style clothing they called militia suits.

Organising the arson attacks

In the days that followed the 33rd Light Infantrys arrival, soldiers, police and Buddhist villagers burned most of the homes of Inn Dins Rohingya Muslims, a dozen Buddhist residents said.

Two of the paramilitary police officers, both members of the 8th Security Police Battalion, said their battalion raided Rohingya hamlets with soldiers from the newly arrived 33rd Light Infantry. One of the police officers said he received verbal orders from his commander to go and clear areas where Rohingya lived, which he took to mean to burn them.

The second police officer described taking part in several raids on villages north of Inn Din. The raids involved at least 20 soldiers and between five and seven police, he said. A military captain or major led the soldiers, while a police captain oversaw the police team. The purpose of the raids was to deter the Rohingya from returning.

If they have a place to live, if they have food to eat, they can carry out more attacks, he said. Thats why we burned their houses, mainly for security reasons.

Soldiers and paramilitary police wore civilian shirts and shorts to blend in with the villagers, according to the second police officer and Inn Dins Buddhist administrator, Maung Thein Chay. If the media identified the involvement of security personnel, the police officer explained, we would have very big problems.

A police spokesman, Colonel Myo Thu Soe, said he knew of no instances of security forces torching villages or wearing civilian clothing. Nor was there any order to go and clear or set fire to villages. This is very much impossible, he told Reuters. If there are things like that, it should be reported officially, and it has to be investigated officially.

As youve told me about these matters now, we will scrutinize and check back, he added. What I want to say for now is that as for the security forces, there are orders and instructions and step-by-step management, and they have to follow them. So, I dont think these things happened.

The army did not respond to a request for comment.

A medical assistant at the Inn Din village clinic, Aung Myat Tun, 20, said he took part in several raids. Muslim houses were easy to burn because of the thatched roofs. You just light the edge of the roof, he said. The village elders put monks robes on the end of sticks to make the torches and soaked them with kerosene. We couldnt bring phones. The police said they will shoot and kill us if they see any of us taking photos.

The night watchman San Thein, a leading member of the village security group, said troops first swept through the Muslim hamlets. Then, he said, the military sent in Buddhist villagers to burn the houses.

We got the kerosene for free from the village market after the kalars ran away, he said, using a Burmese slur for people from South Asia.

A Rakhine Buddhist youth said he thought he heard the sound of a child inside one Rohingya home that was burned. A second villager said he participated in burning a Rohingya home that was occupied.

I started attacking him with a sword

Soe Chay, the retired soldier who was to dig the grave for the 10 Rohingya men, said he participated in one killing. He told Reuters that troops discovered three Rohingya men and a woman hiding beside a haystack in Inn Din on Aug. 28. One of the men had a smartphone that could be used to take incriminating pictures.

The soldiers told Soe Chay to do whatever you want to them, he said. They pointed out the man with the phone and told him to stand up. I started hacking him with a sword, and a soldier shot him when he fell down.

Similar violence was playing out across a large part of northern Rakhine, dozens of Buddhist and Rohingya residents said.

Data from the UN Operational Satellite Applications Programme shows scores of Rohingya villages in Rakhine state burned in an area stretching 110 km. New York-based Human Rights Watch says more than 350 villages were torched over the three months from Aug. 25, according to an analysis of satellite imagery.

In the village of Laungdon, some 65 km north of Inn Din, Thar Nge, 38, said he was asked by police and local officials to join a Buddhist security group. The army invited us to burn the kalar village at Hpaw Ti Kaung, he said, adding that four villagers and nearly 20 soldiers and police were involved in the operation. Police shot inside the village so all the villagers fled and then we set fire to it. Their village was burned because police believed the villagers supported Rohingya militants  thats why they cleaned it with fire.

A Buddhist student from Ta Man Tha village, 15 km north of Laungdon, said he too participated in the burning of Rohingya homes. An army officer sought 30 volunteers to burn kalar villages, said the student. Nearly 50 volunteered and gathered fuel from motorbikes and from a market.

They separated us into several groups. We were not allowed to enter the village directly. We had to surround it and approach the village that way. The army would shoot gunfire ahead of us and then the army asked us to enter, he said.

After the Rohingya had fled Inn Din, Buddhist villagers took their property, including chickens and goats, Buddhist residents told Reuters. But the most valuable goods, mostly motorcycles and cattle, were collected by members of the 8th Security Police Battalion and sold, said the first police officer and Inn Din village administrator Maung Thein Chay. Maung Thein Chay said the commander of the 8th Battalion, Thant Zin Oo, struck a deal with Buddhist businessmen from other parts of Rakhine state and sold them cattle. The police officer said he had stolen four cows from Rohingya villagers, only for Thant Zin Oo to snatch them away.

Reached by phone, Thant Zin Oo did not comment. Colonel Myo Thu Soe, the police spokesman, said the police would investigate the allegations of looting.

The victims are chosen

By Sept. 1, several hundred Rohingya from Inn Din were sheltering at a makeshift camp on a nearby beach. They erected tarpaulin shelters to shield themselves from heavy rain.

Among this group were the 10 Rohingya men who would be killed the next morning. Reuters has identified all of the 10 by speaking to witnesses among Inn Dins Buddhist community and Rohingya relatives and witnesses tracked down in refugee camps in Bangladesh.

Five of the men, Dil Mohammed, 35, Nur Mohammed, 29, Shoket Ullah, 35, Habizu, 40, and Shaker Ahmed, 45, were fishermen or fish sellers. The wealthiest of the group, Abul Hashim, 25, ran a store selling nets and machine parts to fishermen and farmers. Abdul Majid, a 45-year-old father of eight, ran a small shop selling areca nut wrapped in betel leaves, commonly chewed like tobacco. Abulu, 17, and Rashid Ahmed, 18, were high school students. Abdul Malik, 30, was an Islamic teacher.

According to the statement released by the army on Jan. 10, security forces had gone to a coastal area where they were attacked by about 200 Bengalis with sticks and swords. The statement said that as the security forces opened fire into the sky, the Bengalis dispersed and ran away. Ten of them were arrested.

Three Buddhist and more than a dozen Rohingya witnesses contradict this version of events. Their accounts differ from one another in some details. The Buddhists spoke of a confrontation between a small group of Rohingya men and some soldiers near the beach. But there is unanimity on a crucial point: None said the military had come under a large-scale attack in Inn Din.

Government spokesman Zaw Htay referred Reuters to the armys statement of Jan. 10 and declined to elaborate further. The army did not respond to a request for comment.

The Rohingya witnesses, who were on or near the beach, said Islamic teacher Abdul Malik had gone back to his hamlet with his sons to collect food and bamboo for shelter. When he returned, a group of at least seven soldiers and armed Buddhist villagers were following him, these witnesses said. Abdul Malik walked towards the watching Rohingya Muslims unsteadily, with blood dripping from his head. Some witnesses said they had seen one of the armed men strike the back of Abdul Maliks head with a knife.

Then the military beckoned with their guns to the crowd of roughly 300 Rohingya to assemble in the paddies, these witnesses said. The soldiers and the Rohingya, hailing from different parts of Myanmar, spoke different languages. Educated villagers translated for their fellow Rohingya.

I could not hear much, but they pointed toward my husband and some other men to get up and come forward, said Rehana Khatun, 22, the wife of Nur Mohammed, one of the 10 who were later slain. We heard they wanted the men for a meeting. The military asked the rest of us to return to the beach.

Fresh clothes and a last meal

Soldiers held and questioned the 10 men in a building at Inn Dins school for a night, the military said. Rashid Ahmed and Abulu had studied there alongside Rakhine Buddhist students until the attacks by Rohingya rebels in October 2016. Schools were shut temporarily, disrupting the pairs final year.

I just remember him sitting there and studying, and it was always amazing to me because I am not educated, said Rashid Ahmeds father, farmer Abdu Shakur, 50. I would look at him reading. He would be the first one in the family to be educated.

A photograph, taken on the evening the men were detained, shows the two Rohingya students and the eight older men kneeling on a path beside the village clinic, most of them shirtless. They were stripped when first detained, a dozen Rohingya witnesses said. It isnt clear why. That evening, Buddhist villagers said, the men were treated to a last meal of beef. They were provided with fresh clothing.

On Sept. 2, the men were taken to scrubland north of the village, near a graveyard for Buddhist residents, six Buddhist villagers said. The spot is backed by a hill crested with trees. There, on their knees, the 10 were photographed again and questioned by security personnel about the disappearance of a local Buddhist farmer named Maung Ni, according to a Rakhine elder who said he witnessed the interrogation.

Reuters was not able to establish what happened to Maung Ni. According to Buddhist neighbors, the farmer went missing after leaving home early on Aug. 25 to tend his cattle. Several Rakhine Buddhist and Rohingya villagers told Reuters they believed he had been killed, but they knew of no evidence connecting any of the 10 men to his disappearance. The army said in its Jan. 10 statement that Bengali terrorists had killed Maung Ni, but did not identify the perpetrators.

Two of the men pictured behind the Rohingya prisoners in the photograph taken on the morning of Sept. 2 belong to the 8th Security Police Battalion. Reuters confirmed the identities of the two men from their Facebook pages and by visiting them in person.

One of the two officers, Aung Min, a police recruit from Yangon, stands directly behind the captives. He looks at the camera as he holds a weapon. The other officer, police Captain Moe Yan Naing, is the figure on the top right. He walks with his rifle over his shoulder.

The day after the two Reuters reporters were arrested in December, Myanmars government also announced that Moe Yan Naing had been arrested and was being investigated under the 1923 Official Secrets Act.

Aung Min, who is not facing legal action, declined to speak to Reuters.

Vengeance for a missing farmer

Three Buddhist youths said they watched from a hut as the 10 Rohingya captives were led up a hill by soldiers towards the site of their deaths.

One of the gravediggers, retired soldier Soe Chay, said Maung Nis sons were invited by the army officer in charge of the squad to strike the first blows.

The first son beheaded the Islamic teacher, Abdul Malik, according to Soe Chay. The second son hacked another of the men in the neck.

After the brothers sliced them both with swords, the squad fired with guns. Two to three shots to one person, said Soe Chay. A second gravedigger, who declined to be identified, confirmed that soldiers had shot some of the men.

In its Jan. 10 statement, the military said the two brothers and a third villager had cut the Bengali terrorists with swords and then, in the chaos, four members of the security forces had shot the captives. Action will be taken against the villagers who participated in the case and the members of security forces who broke the Rules of Engagement under the law, the statement said. It didnt spell out those rules.

Tun Aye, one of the sons of Maung Ni, has been detained on murder charges, his lawyer said on Jan. 13. Contacted by Reuters on Feb. 8, the lawyer declined to comment further. Reuters was unable to reach the other brother.

In October, Inn Din locals pointed two Reuters reporters towards an area of brush behind the hill where they said the killings took place. The reporters discovered a newly cut trail leading to soft, recently disturbed earth littered with bones. Some of the bones were entangled with scraps of clothing and string that appeared to match the cord that is seen binding the captives wrists in the photographs. The immediate area was marked by the smell of death.

Reuters showed photographs of the site to three forensic experts: Homer Venters, director of programs at Physicians for Human Rights; Derrick Pounder, a pathologist who has consulted for Amnesty International and the United Nations; and Luis Fondebrider, president of the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team, who investigated the graves of those killed under Argentinas military junta in the 1970s and 1980s. All observed human remains, including the thoracic part of a spinal column, ribs, scapula, femur and tibia. Pounder said he couldnt rule out the presence of animal bones as well.

The Rakhine Buddhist elder provided Reuters reporters with a photograph which shows the aftermath of the execution. In it, the 10 Rohingya men are wearing the same clothing as in the previous photo and are tied to each other with the same yellow cord, piled into a small hole in the earth, blood pooling around them. Abdul Malik, the Islamic teacher, appears to have been beheaded. Abulu, the student, has a gaping wound in his neck. Both injuries appear consistent with Soe Chays account.

Forensic pathologist Fondebrider reviewed this picture. He said injuries visible on two of the bodies were consistent with the action of a machete or something sharp that was applied on the throat.

Some family members did not know for sure that the men had been killed until Reuters returned to their shelters in Bangladesh in January.

I cant explain what I feel inside. My husband is dead, said Rehana Khatun, wife of Nur Mohammed. My husband is gone forever. I dont want anything else, but I want justice for his death.

In Inn Din, the Buddhist elder explained why he chose to share evidence of the killings with Reuters. I want to be transparent on this case. I dont want it to happen like that in future.
The American-backed Syrian Democratic Forces captured two notorious British members of an Islamic State insurgent cell commonly dubbed The Beatles and known for beheading hostages, US military officials said Thursday.

Air Force Colonel John Thomas said that El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Amon Kotey were captured in early January in eastern Syria. The two men are among four members of the IS cell that captured, tortured and beheaded more than two dozen hostages including American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and American aid worker Peter Kassig.

The State Department has imposed sanctions on both men. They are believed to be linked to the British terrorist known as Jihadi John, the masked IS militant who appeared in several videos depicting the graphic beheadings of Western hostages.

Thomas, a spokesman for US Central Command, said American officials have been able to interrogate the two detainees. And he characterized their capture as certainly a big deal for America as well as the families of the people the two men killed.

While the SDF discovered the two and captured them, the US helped with biometric data and other tools to accurately identify them.

The US has been training the SDF in border and internal security, including how to screen individuals and determine if they are foreign fighters or other enemies hiding in the population.

Their capture was first reported by the New York Times.

According to the US, Elsheikh travelled to Syria in 2012 and first joined al-Qaidas branch there, and then later joined IS. The State Department, in imposing sanctions on Kotey last year, said he likely engaged in executions and torture, including electronic shock and waterboarding, and recruited several British nationals to IS.

According to Thomas, the two men represent just a small portion of the hundreds of foreign-born IS terrorists from a number of nations that SDF fighters have captured or killed since October 2017.

He said that so far the future of the detainees is undetermined and its not clear what the process will be for bringing them to justice.

US officials did not provide any other details of the capture, but said the US government works closely with its coalition partners on the disposition of detainees held by the SDF. They said those discussions are private and no additional information would be given.

Sotloff was kidnapped in August 2013 after crossing into Syria from Turkey. He was killed on September 2, 2014, and a video was distributed around the world documenting his death. Foley, another American journalist, had been killed a month earlier by the Islamic State. Kassig was an American aid worker captured by Islamic State militants in 2013 while delivering relief supplies to refugees in Syria.
Taliban -- whats that? asks Sultan Begium shyly from her freezing home in Afghanistans mountainous Wakhan Corridor, a region so remote that its residents are untouched by the decades of conflict that have devastated their country.

The frail-looking grandmother whose harsh life has etched deep lines in her face, is a woman of the Wakhi, a tribe of roughly 12,000 nomadic people who populate the area.

Known to those who live there by its Persian name Bam-e-Dunya, or roof of the world, it is a narrow strip of inhospitable and barely accessible land in Afghanistan bordered by the mountains of what is now Tajikistan and Pakistan, and extending all the way to China.

Few venture out, even fewer venture in -- but this isolation has kept the Wakhi sheltered from almost forty years of the near constant fighting that has ravaged their fellow Afghans.

War, what war? There has never been a war, Begium says, poking at a dying fire of yak dung, though she remembers people speaking of Russian soldiers dispensing cigarettes on the border at the other end of the corridor.

Such decades-old anecdotes are all the tribe really know of the Soviet invasion and US-funded mujahideen fightback, a brutal nine-year conflict that may have left as many as one million civilians dead and hundreds of thousands more displaced.

A woman milks her cattle inside a pen in the Wakhan Corridor. (AFP Photo)

The subsequent civil war, in which tens of thousands more people were killed and uprooted, and the rise of the extremist Taliban regime seem to them like folklore.

Taliban are very bad people from some other country who rape sheep and slaughter humans, says Askar Shah, Begiums eldest son, who has heard stories about them from Pakistani traders.

There is little knowledge of the US invasion or the bloody resurgence of the Taliban, and more recently the emergence of the Islamic State group, that have killed or injured hundreds of thousands across the nation.

Foreigners invaded our country? Askar Shah asks incredulously after being told how America and its allies went to war with the Taliban regime in 2001.

No, they cant do that. They are good people, he says.

Livestock of Afghan Wakhi nomads grazing near the Chinese border at Wakhan Corridor. (AFP Photo)

Everyone is addicted

Created in the 19th century as a Great Game buffer zone between tsarist Russia and British India, the corridor has since remained untouched by any kind of government.

It can be reached from surrounding countries, but only via treacherous journeys by horse, yak or on foot through the Pamir Knot, where three of the highest mountain ranges in the world converge.

Known in Afghanistan itself as Pamiris, the Wakhi form the bulk of the corridors population -- the nomadic Kyrgyz tribe, which numbers just 1,100 people, live separately at its northern end.

The Wakhi are moderate Ismaili Muslims, followers of the Aga Khan. The burka -- which is ubiquitous elsewhere in Afghanistan and is regarded by critics as a symbol of womens oppression -- is unknown.

Their life, largely free from crime and violence, revolves around yaks and cattle, which they barter for food and clothes from the few traders who visit the remote region.

An Afghan Wakhi nomad family poses for a picture in the Wakhan Corridor. (AFP Photo)

Without electricity they have no internet or mobile phone service, often communicating with one another across the vast terrain by walkie-talkie.

Occasionally they have access to radios, listening to Russian broadcasts or Afghan news -- Iranian music is also popular -- however such opportunities are rare, and once the batteries run down they fall silent until the traders arrive again.

But with temperatures below freezing for more than 300 days a year, this is no rural idyll.

Even minor flu can kill, and childbirth means death nearly as often as it means life. The endless grief helps fuel use of the only drug freely available in Wakhan: opium.

Opium is the only Afghan identity we have, says Nazar, a Wakhi who goes by one name, adding: The whole population is addicted to it.

But change may be coming: The Afghan government says its conducting aerial surveys to assess potential routes to connect Wakhan to the rest of Badakhshan province by road.

An Afghan Wakhi nomadic woman Sultan Begium (left) and her daughter-in-law preparing food inside their mud home. (AFP Photo)

The Chinese are also in talks with Kabul to help build a military base at the northern end of the corridor, according to Afghan officials.

If it all comes to fruition, it could bring more trade, tourism, and much-needed medical facilities.

It could also spell the end of the Wakhis protection from the brutality of war.
A legislation has been introduced in the US House of Representatives that seeks to extend a trade promotion programme of which India was the largest beneficiary and had waited for word about its fate after it expired the on the midnight of December 31.

The Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) programme allows select developing countries to export some products duty-free to the US. India was its top beneficiary in 2016, exporting goods worth $4.7 billion to the US under GSP, equal in worth to nearly 10% of Indias exports to the US under normal trade relations of $41.36 bn.

There were concerns among Indian trade officials and companies that the Trump administrations stress on promoting American companies and cutting trade deficit could alter the programme, or let it remain lapsed, in ways that could deny India the advantages it had enjoyed for years.

The bill, proposing to extend the programme by three years, was introduced by trade subcommittee chairman Dave Reichert, ways and means chairman Kevin Brady and Jackie Walorski from the Republican side and ways and means ranking member Richard Neal and Trade Subcommittee ranking member Bill Pascrell, both Democrats.

The legislation, which New Delhi will be watching closely, also seeks to introduce a new reporting requirement that will improve the effectiveness of Congressional oversight of enforcement of the eligibility criteria, the impact of which on India was not clear. Some lawmakers have sought to drop India and other countries they believe do not need the support any more, and focus instead on least developing countries.

It was also not clear yet if Indias continued inclusion on the list of beneficiary countries will be made conditional, in return for trade and tariff concessions in other sectors of bilateral trade.

But lawmakers who introduced the bill intend to take a hard look at the list. The GSP eligibility criteria provide an important enforcement tool to require our trading partners to meet standards established by Congress in regard to opening their markets to US goods and services, intellectual property protection, and child labour and worker rights, Chairman Reichert said in a statement announcing the introduction of the bill.

The legislation we introduced today includes a new reporting requirement that will improve the effectiveness of Congressional oversight of enforcement of the eligibility criteria.

A paper produced in December 2017 for the consideration of lawmakers by the Congressional Research Services, a non-partisan body just days before the last programme was to lapse said, In recent years, GSP renewal has been somewhat controversial. Members of Congress have held a range of views on whether or not to continue to include emerging market developing countries (eg, India, Brazil) as beneficiaries, or to limit the programme to least-developed countries.

In the terminology of the programme, countries that are not felt to be in need any more of support are graduated, taken off the list. Russia, Seychelles, Uruguay and Venezuela were dropped in recent years.
President Donald Trump on Friday signed into law a two-year budget deal that significantly boosts spending on defence and domestic programmes, ending an hours-long shutdown of the federal government.

Just signed Bill, the president tweeted. Our Military will now be stronger than ever before. We love and need our Military and gave them everything  and more. First time this has happened in a long time. Also means JOBS, JOBS, JOBS!

The federal government had shut down for five hours after Congress failed to meet the midnight deadline. The Senate passed the bill, delayed by opposition from some Republicans, at 1:30 am. The House of Representatives passed it at 5:30 am and the president announced at around 8:40 am that he signed it .

The passage of the budget will end short-term fundings of the federal government than came with the threat of shutdown, which had been leveraged by Democrats to seek concessions from the Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress, specially on immigration.

The deal, which passed with boosts to spending by $300 billion on defence and some domestic programmes with an additional $90 billion in support of disaster-hit states.

The bill was passed earlier on Thursday by the Senate in a bipartisan vote with the support of many Democrats. The House passed it on Friday morning in a more partisan vote that laid open their differences, specially in light of the upcoming debate on immigration reform next week as both parties will seek a middle ground that advances the cause of undocumented immigrants who came to the United State as children.

As budget negotiations were underway on Wednesday, Nancy Pelosi, the top Democrat in the House of Representative, had spoken uninterrupted and without a break, for eight hours about these immigrants, also called Dreamers or beneficiaries of DACA (an Obama-era protection from deportation  Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), reading out individual stories as written by the immigrants.

The budget deal got rolling after Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell promised a debate on DACA in the chamber next week, which will not likely enjoy the same kind of bipartisan support the budget got in both chambers.

The temporary shutdown was caused by a delay in the vote caused by Republican Senator Rand Paul, a fiscal hawk who opposed the deal saying it added to the deficit. I cant in all good honesty, in all good faith, just look the other way because my party is now complicit in the deficits, Paul said on the Senate floor in a speech.
US defence secretary Jim Mattis dismissed concerns on Thursday that the United States was being dragged into a broader conflict in Syria, after a major clash with pro-Syrian government forces overnight that may have left 100 or more of them dead.

The US-led coalition said it repelled an unprovoked attack near the Euphrates River by hundreds of troops aligned with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who were backed by artillery, tanks, multiple-launch rocket systems and mortars.

The incident underscored the potential for further conflict in Syrias oil-rich east, where the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias holds swathes of land after its offensive against Islamic State.

Assad, who is supported by Russia and by Shiite militias backed by Iran, has said he wants to take back every inch of Syria.

The pro-government forces were likely seeking to seize oilfields in Khusham east of the Euphrates in Deir al-Zor province, said a US official on condition of anonymity.

US Senator Tim Kaine, who sits on Senate foreign relations and military oversight committees, said the episode raised serious concerns about the open-ended US military presence in Syria.

I am gravely concerned that the Trump administration is purposefully stumbling into a broader conflict, without a vote of Congress or clear objectives, Kaine said.

Mattis described the attack on the US-backed fighters, who were accompanied by US special operations forces, as perplexing. But he described the retaliatory US-led coalition strikes as defensive and limited in nature.

Asked whether the US military was stumbling into Syrias broader conflict, Mattis said: No. This is self-defence.

If we were getting involved in a broader conflict, then it would have had an initiative on our part, Mattis told reporters at the Pentagon.

No US or US-backed forces died but the US official who spoke anonymously estimated that more than 100 pro-Syrian government forces were killed in the counter-attack.

Syrian state television reported that the coalition had caused dozens of dead and wounded by bombing pro-government forces. But a commander in the military alliance supporting Assad disputed the death toll, saying seven members of the pro-government forces were killed and 27 injured.

In a letter to the United Nations, Syrias foreign ministry described the strike as a war crime and called for the coalition to be dismantled, Syrian state news agency SANA said. We demand (that the international community) condemn this massacre and hold the coalition responsible for it.

Were not seeking conflict

The US-led coalition was set up in 2014 to battle Islamic State fighters in both Syria and Iraq, who were largely defeated last year. Some 2,000 US forces remain on the ground in Syria, allied to the Kurdish-led SDF alliance, which holds the largest swathe of territory still outside the control of the government.

The Syrian civil war, now entering its eighth year, has killed hundreds of thousands of people and driven more than 11 million from their homes, while drawing in regional countries and global powers supporting client factions on the ground.

US forces in Syria have already faced direct threats from Syrian and Iranian-backed forces, leading to the shoot-down of Iranian drones and a Syrian jet last year, as well as to tensions with Russia. But this may have been the largest single assault on a US-accompanied position to date.

Still, these episodes have been sporadic. US-backed SDF and the pro-Syrian forces had largely avoided direct confrontation while both were fighting the common Islamic State enemy. Moscow and Washington maintain contacts in eastern Syria to prevent unexpected confrontation between forces they support.

Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White told a news briefing that Washington was not looking for a conflict with the regime.

Still, the incident underscored growing tensions in Syria amid reports of Syrian chemical weapons use elsewhere in the country.

The US State Department on Thursday deplored the alleged use of chemical weapons and backed a call from the United Nations to put violence in Syria on pause for a month in order to deliver humanitarian aid and facilitate the evacuation of civilians. Russia said the proposal was a non-starter.

Thats not realistic. We would like to see a ceasefire, the end of war in Syria, but the terrorists, Im not sure they are in agreement, said Russian U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia of the proposed one-month ceasefire.

Skirmishes

The coalition said the attack occurred around 8 km (5 miles) east of the Euphrates River de-confliction line in Khusham, a town southeast of the provincial capital, Deir al-Zor.

The US-led coalition had alerted Russian officials about the presence of SDF forces, the US official said.

One SDF fighter was wounded, the official said. Nouri Mahmoud, spokesman for the SDFs most powerful element, the Kurdish YPG militia, described the clash as skirmishes and said each side had returned to their former positions.

We suspect Syrian pro-regime forces were attempting to seize terrain SDF had liberated from Daesh (Islamic State) in September 2017, the US official said.

Russias Interfax cited the Defence Ministry as saying the incident showed the US goal in Syria was not to battle Islamic State but the capture and withholding of the economic assets, an apparent reference to the Khusham oil field.

Russias Defence Ministry said the pro-government militias involved in the incident had been carrying out reconnaissance and their activities had not been previously agreed with Russia.
The US Congress failed to pass a stopgap funding measure to avert a government shutdown before a midnight deadline on Thursday, technically triggering the start of a shutdown.

The shutdown may be brief if the Senate and House of Representatives move quickly in the early morning hours of Friday, possibly ending before the start of the federal workday.

If an actual shutdown results, here are some facts on what is likely to happen to thousands of federal employees:

Overall: In shutdowns, non-essential government employees are often furloughed, or placed on temporary unpaid leave. Workers deemed essential, including those in public safety and national security, keep working, some with pay and others without.

After previous shutdowns, Congress passed measures to ensure essential and non-essential employees received retroactive pay.

A standoff over spending levels and immigration led to a three-day government shutdown, mostly over a weekend, in January. A shutdown in October 2013 lasted more than two weeks and more than 800,000 federal employees were furloughed.

Here is what happened in 2013, and what officials said in January could happen during a sustained shutdown:

Military: The Defense Department said in January a shutdown would not affect the U.S. militarys war in Afghanistan or its operations against Islamist militants in Iraq and Syria. All military personnel on active duty would remain on normal duty status. Civilian personnel in non-essential operations would be furloughed. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said a sustained funding impasse would cause ships to go without maintenance and aircraft to be grounded.

Justice: The Justice Department has many essential workers. Under its shutdown contingency plan, about 95,000 of the departments almost 115,000 staff would keep working.

Financial oversight: The stock market-policing Securities and Exchange Commission funds itself by collecting fees from the financial industry, but its budget is set by Congress. It has said in the past it would be able to continue operations temporarily in a shutdown. But it would have to furlough workers if Congress went weeks before approving new funding.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission would have to furlough 95 percent of its employees immediately. They could be called back in the event of a financial market emergency.

National parks: National parks closed in 2013 and it resulted in a loss of 750,000 daily visitors, said the non-profit National Parks Conservation Association. The National Park Service estimated the shutdown resulted in $500 million in lost visitor spending in areas around the parks and the Smithsonian museums. Parks remained open in January.

Washington tourist sites: In 2013, popular tourist sites such as the Smithsonian closed, with barricades going up at the Lincoln Memorial, the Library of Congress and the National Archives. The National Zoo closed and its popular Panda Cam went dark. The Smithsonian remained open in January.

Taxes: The Internal Revenue Service furloughed 90 percent of its staff in 2013, the liberal Center for American Progress said. About $4 billion in tax refunds were delayed as a result, according to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

Mail delivery: Deliveries would continue as usual because the U.S. Postal Service receives no tax dollars for day-to-day operations.

Travel: Air and rail travelers did not feel a big impact in 2013 because security officers and air traffic controllers remained at work. Passport processing continued with some delays.

Courts: The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts said in January federal courts, including the Supreme Court, could continue to operate normally for about three weeks without additional funding.

Healthcare: Sign-ups for the newly created Obamacare health insurance exchanges began as scheduled in 2013. The Medicare health insurance program for the elderly continued largely without disruption. A program at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to track flu outbreaks was temporarily halted. Hundreds of patients could not enroll in National Institutes of Health clinical trials, according to the OMB.

Children: Six Head Start programs in Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and South Carolina serving about 6,300 children shut for nine days in 2013, the OMB said.

Social security: Social Security and disability checks were issued in 2013 with no change in payment dates and field offices remained open but offered limited services. There were delays in the review process for new applicants.

Loans: Processing of mortgages and other loans was delayed in 2013 when lenders could not access government services such as income and Social Security number verification. The Small Business Administration was unable to process about 700 applications for $140 million in loans until the shutdown ended, the OMB said.

Veterans: Most employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs would not be subject to furlough. VA hospitals would remain open and veterans benefits would continue, but education assistance and case appeals would be delayed, the department has said.

Food inspections: In 2013, Department of Agriculture meat inspectors stayed on the job. Agricultural statistical reports ceased publication. The USDAs website went dark.

Energy: The Department of Energy said in January that, since most of its appropriations are for multiple years, employees should report to work as normal during a shutdown until told otherwise. If there was a prolonged lapse in funding a limited number of workers may be placed on furlough.
Appointment

9 February 2018

Anchored in the laid-back and lighthearted lifestyle of Islamorada, Amara Cay Resort proudly announces Miguel Waldo as general manager. With 22 years of industry experience, Waldo will captain the award-winning, 110-room resort with strategic direction and island hospitality.

An effective communicator, Waldo is trilingual in English, Italian and Spanish. Waldo earned a master"s degree in Hotel Administration and Management from Florida International University (FIU) and holds a bachelor"s degree in Political Science from Ohio State University (OSU). Prior to joining Amara Cay Resort, Waldo led the Courtyard by Marriott Key Largo as general manager, where he was instrumental in overall operations, guest satisfaction and staff development. Previous to this position, he held an eight-year tenure with Ramada Worldwide, beginning as assistant general manager of Ramada Key Largo, and then general manager of Ramada Florida City.

Recognized by Conde Nast Traveler readers as a "Top Resort in the Florida Keys," the chic yet understated resort rests along the Atlantic Ocean presenting lush lawns and palm-peppered, graceful views making an authentic sense of place with comforts of the "Keys Life". Blending time-honored diversions with pure relaxation, the casually redefined Amara Cay Resort inspires guests to curate a personal, non-scripted journey the #AmaraCayVacay way.
Press Release

9 February 2018

Airbnb has been a thorn in the side of the hotel industry for a few years now, steadily eating away at its client base thanks to lower prices and more authentic experiences. But Airbnb is no longer as competitive as it used to be. There are some cities in Europe where it is cheaper to stay in a 3-star hotel than an Airbnb.

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3-star hotels beat Airbnb in Eastern Europe

Airbnb is often the top choice for travelers on a budget, many of whom would not even think to stay in a hotel. But these travelers are missing a trick, as these days, Airbnbs are getting more elaborate and tourism in key destinations is driving up the prices of sharing accommodation. So travelers on a shoestring would be wise to compare prices of Airbnbs with 3-star hotels in some places around the continent. In Eastern Europe for example, there are numerous cities where it is cheaper to stay in a hotel than it is to stay in an Airbnb. Countries such as Estonia, Armenia and Lithuania all fare better price-wise in the 3-star market than Airbnbs, with a typical Airbnb in Yerevan, Armenia costing around $57 a night, while a 3-star hotel room coming in at an average of $53 per night. A similar case can be seen in Tallinn, Estonia, where a room in a 3-star hotel costs $3 less on average than an Airbnb.

DOWNLOAD FREE EUROPE CONSTRUCTION REPORT

Hotels win in 8 out of 48 European capitals

A study conducted by online site VoucherCloud analysed 48 European capitals to find out which was more economically viable for travelers, Airbnb or 3-star hotels. Out of the 48 capitals surveyed, it was found that in eight of them, it was cheaper on average to stay in a 3-star hotel than an Airbnb. Surprising findings were discovered particularly in Andorra, where it was half the price of an Airbnb to stay in a 3-star hotel. Not only that, but to stay in a 5-star hotel or resort often worked out costing less than a stay in an Airbnb listing. As well as Andorra, Tallinn in Estonia and Yerevan in Armenia, hotels were also cheaper in Baku, Azerbaijan, in Vilnius, Lithuania, in Kiev, Ukraine and in Riga, Latvia. Perhaps these destinations are not as in demand as Madrid or London, but now it also provides a good excuse for people to start exploring Eastern Europe and Middle Asia if the accommodation is so affordable. By offering prices that are competitive with Airbnb's, hotels can claw back some of the market share than has been lost to the platform and encourage more tourism to their destinations.

Let's take a look at a few projects currently underway in Europe:

One&Only Portonovi , Montenegro

The luxury resort will be an essential part of Portonovi  a new 60 acre luxury lifestyle development [READ MORE]

Marriott Palanga spa Hotel and Apartments

There are planned SPA rooms, SPA apartments and 185 underground parking spaces. [READ MORE]

Becici Beach Hotel Resort

MontenegroThe project includes a five star hotel, apartments, dining and leisure destinations  [READ MORE]

More information on European hotel projects can be found on TOPHOTELPROJECTS, the specialized service provider of cutting-edge information of the hospitality industry.
Opinion Article

9 February 2018

There are many stats that are interesting, some mind blowing, and some confusing as it relates to travel marketing. But there are those stats that are eye openers for marketers that make creative minds to say "Ah Ha", let's try something new based on these stats. If you want your hotel to grow, these stats could make a difference going into the year ahead if you apply them to your marketing efforts.

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Mobile Marketing Emergency

49% of direct online bookings are now on mobile, compared to 31% in 2016.

Key Takeaway:

At the end of 2016 I told my hotel clients to drop everything and put their focus on mobile marketing, especially if their mobile wasn't optimized well. This is still true today. The world has gone mobile and it shouldn't come as any surprise. Put as much effort into mobile as your staff can handle.

If you don't have a mobile-friendly website it's the first, most important step you should take in your hotel's digital marketing strategy. Take out your smartphone right now. Go to your hotel's website. Can you easily navigate and find the information you need to complete the action you want visitors to take whether that's an online reservation, click to call or important information such as location, directions, photos and more? Follow Google's mobile-friendly best practices. Test your site here.

The mobile site needs to be responsive and fast. Kissmetrics completed a study that found 47% of consumers expect a web page to load in 2 seconds or less and 40% of people abandon a website that takes more than 3 seconds to load. On top of that, Kissmetrics found that a 1-second delay in page response time could result in a 7% reduction in conversions.

Airbnb

No one can deny that the hotel industry has a fight on its hands when it comes to the peer-to-peer accommodation market like Airbnb. Research firm Phocuswright found that in 2015 one-third of U.S. travelers booked non-traditional, home-based accommodation. That's a noteworthy jump from only 1 in 10 in 2011. Hotels are much savvier than Airbnb hosts, but could learn a thing or two from them as well. As Airbnb's are becoming more like hotels, hotels could become more like Airbnb.

Key Takeaway:

Airbnb build trust in their guests with pictures of their hosts and co-hosts. You know who you are talking to. To fight this trend, hotels could create social media content that Airbnb-proofs their business. A popular option is to show guests that your team is available to guests. They can help create individual vacation experience in ways that absent Airbnb operators can't manage. You can do this by featuring their individual personalities who are part of your social media team in the content you create for your social media accounts.

Alternative accommodation websites like Airbnb appeal to travelers looking for authentic and unique experiences. Instead of sticking to popular attractions and guide book-endorsed restaurants. Hotels can provide a glimpse into living like a local. Staff can be encouraged to offer up neighborhood knowledge and give guests advice on popular hotspots. Little touches like local microbrews and wines in the minibar or rotating exhibits of local artwork in the lobby can add to a distinctive and immersive experience.

Airbnb isn't just a booking engine; it's a travel community. Hosts and their guests communicate frequentlyduring the research phase, once a booking is confirmed, before arrival and throughout the stay. By using Messenger apps, hoteliers to interact with travelers and increase meaningful connections.

Messaging Apps

Number of mobile phone messaging app users increases 15.5% in 2017

Key Takeaway:

Be where the guests want to be. Communicate in the way your guests prefer to communicate. And everyone likes text messaging.

Marriott Hotels is redefining the hotel visit with mobile at the center, enabling members of its loyalty program to engage in real-time conversations with staff before, during and after a visit through the brand.

WhatsApp Messenger has emerged, with hotels such as Barcelo Illetas Albatros using the app to offer any-place, any-time customer service. Chinese messaging app, WeChat, has launched their Mini Program service, allowing users to interact with companies and complete transactions to make a hotel reservations. Since 2015, Hyatt has been using Facebook Messenger as a tool for serving customers at all stages from pre-booking to post-checkout.

With these apps, you want to try to answer the question of how you make the hotel useful beyond that single trip. The way you build engagement with a guest goes much beyond the actual stay.

Bleisure Trips

In the U.S., 43% of business trips are "bleisure," according to Expedia Media Solutions--people extending their business trips to have some personal experiences in that location.

Key Takeaway:

Many business people take their spouses and families on business trips especially in beautiful destinations. You know the kids want to go with you on your business trip to Orlando, right? Marketers could capitalize on reaching these guests by offering an extension or special if they stay before or after their business trip and offer nanny services or kids clubs. Or even partner with a local daycare so single parents can bring their kids on their business trip.

Guests Surfing Habits

Nielsen research found that travelers spent an average of 53 days visiting 28 different websites over a period of 76 online sessions, with more than 50% of travelers checking social media for travel tips and 95% of consumers read reviews before booking, according to Tnooz.

Key Takeaway:

If this isn't a good argument for hotel operators that more needs to be spent on digital and social media marketing, I don't know what is. Retargeting is vital in order to follow these users. Marketing sure you have your best foot forward on all of your social media platforms is more important than ever.

There is site, mobile, email, search, contextual and social retargeting. Lure consumers back to your site with personalization and special offers. Retarget to book more guests. You will find it is an effective, affordable way to increase conversions and follow these travelers that spend hours and hours online and are ready to book.

Destination Marketing

59% of travelers begin researching their next trip between one and three months before departure, says TripAdvisor.

Key Takeaway:

This stat proves that an aggressive local CVB and state tourism agency that markets your destination properly is worth its weight in gold. If your CVB is lagging, now is the time to make sure they are well funded and have a stellar marketing team.

Onsite Activity Bookings

Data from Phocuswright shows how 38% of tour and activity bookings are happening on the same day or up to two days before the activity. Many of these bookings take place in-destination, while consumers are already traveling. Only 19% of these activities were booked more than a month in advance.

Key Takeaway:

This is the time to have a better plan to introduce your onsite activities and spa to your guests a few days before arrival via email or messenger. Greet your guests with a sampling of your services in the lobby upon arrival. The Ritz Carlton Miami Beach gave me a complimentary arm and hand massage as I arrived and I ended up booking a spa treatment because of it.

Corporate Travel Growth

Healthy corporate travel demand: Strong economies drive business activity. Business travel is projected to grow by more than 6% in 2018 according to Deloitte.

Key Takeaway:

One aspect to a business travel that is so important is strong a Wi-Fi connection. Hotels tout that they have free wi-fi and preferred wi-fi, but true business people want to know the strength of your hotel's Wi-Fi. Just like at home your cable plan you signed up for promised up to 300Mbps of blistering Internet speed, but reality has proven to be somewhat different. You're barely topping 25Mbps and can't even watch Netflix. We are seeing smart Airbnb hosts, touting their Wi-Fi speed, by even taking a screen shot of their actual speed through sites like http://www.speedtest.net/. Not a bad idea.

Mobile Growth

State by state, California booked the most hotels on mobile devices in 2016, followed by Kansas, Texas, Florida and New York. States that saw the biggest growth in mobile bookings in 2016 were Rhode Island, Vermont, Michigan, Iowa and Indiana. (source- Hotels Combined)

Key Takeaway:

If you are in any of these states or get business from these states, this is a great statistic to show your boss to get on the mobile bandwagon asap.

Increasing Conversions

81% of travel shoppers will abandon their shopping carts online. According to research from SalesCycle, travel shoppers tend to abandon their shopping carts more often than retail or other shoppers. The average rate for abandoned baskets across all industries is 77%, but for travel shoppers, it's 81%.

Key Takeaway:

Imagine how much your numbers would improve if you could either land the sale the first time or ensure that you have a second shot at landing the sale. When a guest abandons their shopping cart, not all has to be lost. Thankfully, there is a way to beef up your booking funnels to include second chances. In other words, focus on booking retargeting and increasing the look to book ratio.

For example, if your customer showed interest in a booking, but left your booking funnel before sealing the deal, you can redirect their attention back to you on other online marketing platforms. This includes paid search ads, on-screen prompts, retargeting and more.

This stat is also important when managing your web team. Motivate them to decrease this percentage by improving the website, and/or increasing look to book ratio. Your web team should give you a few goals for the year and this should be one of them.

Photos That Incite Hotel Envy

Around 80 million posts are shared on Instagram daily. It's one of the fastest growing social media channels, and its appeal is undeniable. More than 25% of millennials that participate in loyalty programs are very likely to post about a brand in exchange for loyalty points.

Key Takeaway:

By encouraging social shares, hospitality brands can leverage social media to build positive brand awareness and display just how much their accommodations and activities have to offer.

Hotels working with millennial travelers should take into account the generation's preference for "experiences over materials." Try to create unique experiences guaranteed to create a lasting memory and to inspire a great Instagram post. By placing beautiful objects, inspiring sayings, unique views and cool experiences, hotels can inspire guests to take great photos for social sharing sites like Instagram. The goal would be to increase your Instagram posts or vie for a position in the like of these hostels.... 9 Most Instagrammable Hotel Lobbies in The World

Whatever your budget, brands are looking to engage customers with compelling, interactive content rooted in authentic experiences. Today's travelers are looking for authenticity and travel marketing campaigns need to align more closely than ever with travelers' desires in order to win their attention. My philosophy is to keep up to date on industry stats, take some risks, put a % of your marketing budget into these new marketing ideas and be 12-18 months ahead of the curve with the goal of digital domination of your competition.
It hasn't even been a full year since he released Pretty Girls Like Trap Music but 2 Chainz has a lot more in store for his fans. The rapper hit Instagram earlier today to reveal that he had a new project on the way and now, he drops off his new four track EP The Play Don't Care Who Makes It.

Chainz comes through with a short but sweet project to hold fans over until he drops off his next album. The four track EP only has two features on it, YG and Offset, on the song "Proud" that he previewed on Instagram earlier this week. On top of that, he got some of the hottest producers to contribute to the project including Street Runners, T-Minus, Non-Stop Da Hitman of 808 Mafia and June James.

2 Chainz comes through with a little something for everybody ahead of the weekend.
Joaquin Phoenix is reportedly in talks to assume the villainous role of The Joker in an upcoming Batman prequel. The film is set to chronicle the early years of the Crown Prince of Crime, and how he became the free-wielding harbinger of doom who has made Gotham City and veritable playground for wrongdoing.

Variety reports that there is no concrete studio talks as of yet, but Todd Phillips is slated to write/direct the forthcoming feature. Phillips had allegedly met with Phoenix sometime in December to successfully convince the Inherent Vice actor to assume the role of The Joker. The pair is just waiting for the green-light from a studio in order to begin pre-production. The film is set to take place in the 1980s, and will primarily focus on the events that led The Joker to become iconic deplorable with a penchant for terror. The as-yet-untitled project will assume the style of a crime drama as opposed to a typical comic book hero production.

Insiders have revealed that Jared Leto's iteration of the famous villain, last seen in 2016's Suicide Squad, will continue to play out in other DC Comics projects, as Phoenix's film will have no effect on Leto's role whatsoever.

The film would be the first in a new strain of DC Comic films, giving the studio a chance to expand their repertoire and create unique narratives and character pieces that are not a part of their current cinematic universe.
Legendary hip hop pioneer Lovebug Starski, born Kevin Smith, has suddenly passed away at the age of 57 in Las Vegas. Many prominent figures within the hip hop community has confirmed this news through social media.

Lovebug Starski was born in the Bronx on May 16th, 1960 and is often credited as one of the first MC's in the hip hop. He was part of hip hop early beginnings in the Bronx and aside from Keith Cowboy of the Furious Five, he's often cited as the person who brought forth the term "hip hop." He first began as a record boy before beginning to DJ at Disco Fever Club in the Bronx. He also released several singles under the moniker Little Starski such as "Gangster Rock" and "Positive Life."

Several people in the hip hop community have confirmed the news. Jonathan Shecter, founding editor of The Source, was one of the first people to break the news on social media. DJ Premier also sent his condolences on Twitter as well.

"We Lost One Of Our Greatest Pioneers Of Hip Hop... "LOVEBUG STARSKI". He Is Also Known As One Of The People Who Came Up With The Name "HIP HOP" Aside From Another Legend "Keith Cowboy" Of "The Furious 5"... Salute To All The Pioneers and Condolences To His Family," Premier wrote.

Chuck D later told to HipHopDX that Starski passed away due to a heart attack.

"He DJed for the great MCs and MCed with the great DJs. Besides Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, Lovebug Starski was one of the few that took his legendary street records status into the recording world." He said.

R.I.P Lovebug Starski. We send our thoughts and condolences to his friends and family.
At least eight women have accused Russell Simmons of sexual assault and rape that the former Def Jam CEO has continued to deny. "These horrific accusations have shocked me to my core and all of my relations have been consensual," he said in a statement. I have already apologized for the instances of thoughtlessness in my consensual relations. I have separated myself from my businesses and charities in order to not become a distraction."

A source now tells Page Six that the 60-year-old has fled the U.S. to attend a yoga retreat in the hills of Bali. Russell is still being investigated by the NYPD, but is using his free time to focus on "yoga and meditation, as well as his spiritual and emotional health." Russell is said to be staying at the Yoga Barn in Ubud, where the website describes it as "a gem in a sacred paradise.

He has also been seen wearing robes and walking the streets and markets of Ubud, the yoga town in the jungle," the source adds.

Not too long ago, Russell's former wife and mother to his two children, Kimora Lee Simmons, released a statement on the sexual misconduct claims saying for the 25 years she's known Russell, "these allegations against him are nothing like the person I have known in all that time."

"I have known him to be a caring and supportive father and someone who has worked tirelessly to uplift disenfranchised communities. Read her full statement here.
EL PASO -- Erives Enterprises, a trucking company in this Texas border city, recently capped its best year ever, hiring workers and handing out raises as its business hauling everything from cars to snowmobiles boomed alongside the factories making the products across the Rio Grande.

Despite the international border, El Paso and its Mexican neighbor, Ciudad Juarez, have knitted themselves into a single, interdependent economy, especially since 1994, when the North American Free Trade Agreement lowered barriers to trade between the United States, Mexico and Canada.

As trucks owned by Erives and other local companies carry billions of dollars in merchandise in long, lumbering lines across the border, at least one in every four jobs in El Paso can be traced to manufacturing plants in Juarez.

MORE: Texas oil companies tell Trump to leave NAFTA alone

But the fate of this link between Mexican factories and Texas companies hinges on fraught negotiations to update NAFTA, scheduled to resume in Mexico City later this month. Businesses on both sides of the border are increasingly worried that President Donald Trump will follow through on his threat to pull the United States out of the treaty, undermining the free flow of goods and services that has sustained them for more than two decades.

"If NAFTA ends, we're going belly up," said Angel Ponce, who oversees sales at Erives. "The business will literally go away."

Erives, which employs more than 200 people, is just one of the thousands of companies across Texas that have prospered from trade with Mexico and fear disaster should NAFTA unravel. Few states have as much at stake as Texas in the NAFTA negotiations.

Mexico is the destination for 40 percent of the state's exports -- some $90 billion in goods alone were sold to Mexico in 2016 -- and an increasingly important market for the Texas and Houston energy industry, which exports natural gas and fuels to the growing market south of the border.

In El Paso, businesses from warehouses to accountants to financial services depend on the maquiladora industry in Juarez. The end of NAFTA, analysts said, would likely push Mexico into recession and disrupt supply chains, leading to layoffs and bankruptcies in El Paso and slower economic growth across Texas and the United States.

"Everything could decelerate," said Thomas Fullerton, a professor of economics at the University of Texas at El Paso. "Unnecessarily."

Already, the uncertain future of NAFTA and the protectionist outlook of the Trump administration has hurt investment on the Mexican side of the border and threatens economic growth in El Paso, business and development officials said. A 2011 study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas found that each 10 percent increase in manufacturing output in Juarez boosted transportation employment in El Paso by more than 5 percent.

RECENT NEGOTIATIONS: NAFTA talks conclude in Montreal with signs of progress and risk

"People forget these economies are truly integrated," said Cindy Ramos Davidson, chief executive of the El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. "If NAFTA isn't renegotiated, you've broken a relationship."

Viewed from an airplane or the mountains that surround El Paso and Juarez, rows of low-level buildings dot each side of the border: automotive, electrical products and aerospace manufacturing plants on the Mexican side, warehouses to store goods on the other.

Both cities have prospered. In 2017, Juarez manufacturers increased employment by nearly 5 percent or 13,000 workers, many of whom spend part of their paychecks in El Paso. Mexicans crossing the border on foot - about 18,000 a day - spend about $2 billion a year in El Paso, supporting some 40,000 jobs, according to the Texas Comptroller.

Two industries tied to manufacturing in Juarez -- business services and advanced logistics -- account for about one in every three jobs in the El Paso metropolitan area, according to Workforce Solutions Borderplex. Unemployment in the El Paso area, which stood above 12 percent when NAFTA went into effect in January 1994, fell to record low of 3.8 percent in October.

"These industries will have huge growth over the next 10 years in El Paso," said Leila Melendez, chief operating officer at the workforce development agency. "We're really trying to focus on developing that pipeline."

TOMLINSON: Trump tariffs will cost American jobs

At Erives Enterprises, however, executives worry the gains from cross-border trade could diminish quickly. The company's revenues jumped by about one-third last year, but Ponce, the sales manager, recently received idea of how fragile that business is when the Trump administration announced steep tariffs on imported washing machines.

The appliance maker Electrolux is Erives' largest customer, shipping 200 truckloads of appliances, including washers, each month. If Electrolux were required to pay those tariffs, it would mean at least a 15 percent drop in monthly shipments, Ponce estimated. Fortunately for Erives, Electrolux products are exempt from the U.S. tariff, an Electrolux spokeswoman said.

While Erives dodged that bullet, Ponce said, the end of NAFTA would add tariffs to a long list of products, raise prices and hurt consumer demand. That would mean fewer truckloads and fewer jobs.

"We've been intrinsically intertwined for hundreds of years with Mexico," said El Paso Mayor Dee Margo. "We'd have an economic downturn, probably, if you're increasing fees. Certainly you'd be looking at less capital investment and an impact on employment."

Trump's rhetoric disparaging NAFTA and Mexico itself has already hurt investment. In December 2016, shortly after the U.S. election, Santiago Medina, then a project manager at one of the world's largest contract manufacturers, took a call from his bosses -- one that likely cost jobs in Juarez and El Paso. The project he was overseeing, a $400 million factory planned for Juarez, had been canceled by his company's U.S. client, which he declined to name.

EDITORIAL: Withdrawing from the pact would especially hurt Texas

"Everything was ready; we were ready to hire people," said Medina, now a business development director at medical device maker Seisa in Juarez. "The contractor shut down the project because the customer was scared about the implication of investing in Mexico" after Trump's election.

Such stories have added to local concerns about the future of NAFTA. K. Allen Russell, chief executive of El Paso manufacturing company Tecma, said he has heard of several large projects getting delayed or scrapped over the past year because of the uncertainty of U.S. trade policy. "We hear that everyday," he said.

U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, said many companies and trade groups initially thought Trump's anti-NAFTA rhetoric was just political posturing. But now they are beginning to doubt a deal will get done as negotiations have dragged into 2018. "Behind the scenes, they're starting to get a little worried," Cuellar said.

Since the early days of his campaign, Trump has railed against NAFTA, calling it "one of the worst things to ever happen to the (U.S.) manufacturing industry." That became a rallying cry for Trump in states like Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Indiana, where the loss of manufacturing jobs over four decades has hit the hardest.

"You go to New England, you go to Ohio, Pennsylvania, anywhere you want," Trump said in a debate with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, "and you will see devastation, where manufacturing is down 30, 40, sometimes 50 percent."

Indeed, the first few years after the trade agreement took effect were rocky ones for El Paso. The border city, once famous for its boots and jeans makers, lost more than 25,000 manufacturing jobs.

GRIEDER: NAFTA is good for Texas. Withdrawing from it wouldn't be.

But economists say it's difficult to weigh the costs of NAFTA against its benefits. The costs are often obvious, tallied by a count of shuttered plants and lost jobs. But benefits are harder to quantify as they spread among millions of consumers who can afford a better standard of living because of lower prices for household goods, said Roberto Coronado, vice president in charge at the Dallas Fed's El Paso branch.

One thing that is quantifiable, however, is how trade with Mexico benefits partners in the United States. For every $1 in products that the United States imports from Mexico, 40 cents of the content come from components made in the United States. Compare that with the 4 cents of U.S. content that comes with each dollar the nation imports from China, Coronado said.

"Seventy-five percent of the stuff we bring from Mexico is intermediate goods," he said, "and that means it's stuff that goes back and forth."

For example, when El Paso manufacturer MFI International makes a mattress, it buys materials like zippers and threads in the United States, and gathers them for the first round of design, cutting and stitching in El Paso. Then it sends the mattress to its plant in Juarez for further assembly, trucks it back to El Paso and ships it somewhere in the United States.

MFI employs 600 workers, split between plants in El Paso and Juarez.

"The jobs I provide at my plant in the United States," said Cecilia Levine, chief executive of MFI, "are related to the ones I provide in Mexico."

In 2015, the most recent data available, trucks carrying manufactured goods crossed the border at El Paso 760,000 times, contributing to economic activity that supported roughly 130,000 jobs in Texas, according to the Texas Comptroller. El Paso, the second-largest port of entry between the United States and Mexico, exported $24.6 billion in goods last year.

Trade was the economic engine that pulled Nicole Grado's El Paso packaging company out of a financial tailspin when U.S. economy slowed after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

American Packaging, the business Grado started with her father 17 years ago, was strapped for cash. For a time, Grado didn't think her company would be able to repay its $100,000 Small Business Administration loan.

But after a six-month rough patch, orders for packaging started rolling in as Mexican manufacturers revved up. Alongside the maquiladoras, American Packaging has grown almost every year since, distributing custom and commodity packaging from El Paso and employing nine workers.

The company occupies a building that once housed seamstresses sewing and cutting garments, replacing at least some of jobs that moved offshore with the apparel industry.

Those jobs, though, didn't shift to Mexico; they went to China.
The leaders of the world's largest and most powerful energy companies are talking about the fight to mitigate human-caused climate change.

Some are even putting their money where their mouths are.

While some conservative political leaders still deny that the Earth is heating up due to humans burning fossil fuels and releasing greenhouse gases, the people who produce those fuels and chemicals have recognized the imperative to limit global warming to a rise of 2 degrees Celsius.

RELATED: Climate change is upon us, and businesses need to adjust

Many of these companies are recommending a carbon tax, and others are calling on governments to keep predictable environmental regulations. The pleas for reason coming from corporate boardrooms contrast sharply with the sloganeering coming from Republican politicians.

Sara Ortwein, the president of Exxon Mobil subsidiary XTO Energy, last week called for "sound policies and regulations" for methane emissions.

She recommended requiring oil companies to capture methane when completing a well, banning pneumatic devices that bleed methane, encouraging leak detection programs and mandating that drillers report emissions data.

That sounds very similar to the Obama-era regulations that the Trump administration has promised to repeal.

"We've made a lot of progress so far in minimizing methane emissions from industry operations," she wrote in a blog post. "I am confident we can achieve even more."

Exxon Mobil, which has already embraced a carbon tax, is spending billions on developing non-fossil fuels. In a shareholder-mandated report released Feb. 2, the company predicted global demand for oil could drop 25 percent by 2040 due to efforts to limit climate change, creating enormous demand for low-carbon alternatives.

Exxon Mobil's competitors are taking even bigger steps to prepare for what the industry calls "the energy transition."

RELATED: U.S. oil majors fall behind on climate, European lead

Royal Dutch Shell believes peak oil demand could come as soon as the 2020s and is focusing more on natural gas. France's Total wants 20 percent of the energy it produces to be low-carbon by 2035, and Norway's Statoil plans to invest 20 percent of its capital in low-carbon energy sources by 2030, such as offshore wind power.

BP CEO Bob Dudley told the Oil and Money conference in October that his company learned a lot from its failed "Beyond Petroleum" campaign, but that doesn't mean it's giving up.

"We anticipated governments would adopt policies that would make low-carbon energy more competitive. Unfortunately, policy changes didn't happen at the pace we expected," he explained. "This time the global commitment to action feels different, and the national pledges are a good start. But frankly we need even stronger and clearer signals to create the confidence to invest in and grow low-carbon businesses at scale."

The world's biggest oil companies are practically begging for a carbon tax. The electric power industry is sounding a similar theme.

American Electric Power, one of the largest generators in the nation, pledged last week to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from generating facilities by 60 percent from 2000 levels by 2030, and then cut 80 percent from 2000 levels by 2050.

"Our position on climate change has always been that it should be addressed at the federal level in the United States and that it must be economywide. We also have always expressed the need for an international approach," the company said in its annual report. "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's action to repeal the Clean Power Plan creates uncertainty for near-term regulatory action on climate change."

Xcel Energy, which provides power across eight states, plans to generate half of its electricity from renewable sources by the mid-2020s.

RELATED: No fury like a coal CEO scorned by a politician

NRG Energy, which has a headquarters in Houston, was once a leader in developing cleaner energy. But after some poor strategic decisions, and under the influence of activist investors, the electricity generator is selling off its renewable energy portfolio and focusing on fossil fuels.

That decision may have saved NRG from bankruptcy, but it's at best a short-term gain. Coal-fired and natural gas plants will only become more expensive to operate, and CEO Mauricio Gutierrez will need to pivot back into lower-cost renewables or get out of the power generation business altogether and focus on retail alone.

Environmentalists complain that many of these steps and pledges do not go far enough. But let's give credit where it is due. These businesses have trillions of dollars in assets, millions of employees and are attempting a dramatic pivot in business plans.

Successful corporations embrace smart policies and regulations that enable them to provide excellent products at reasonable prices. The energy industry recognizes the need to fight climate change. Now it needs a fair and predictable environment to do its part.

Chris Tomlinson is the Chronicle's business columnist.

chris.tomlinson@chron.com twitter.com/cltomlinson
Not everyone begins their career as a writer through kayaking, but not every writer is Peter Heller. Currently touring for the paperback release of his best-selling 2017 novel "Celine," the longtime contributor to NPR and National Geographic Adventure applies the thrill of surprise to both his life and his writing.

He began his career taking a chance. After spending time writing in his room and working multiple jobs in his 20s, he "had to make a living" and was advised by a friend to combine his love of outdoor adventure with his writing talent. Heller picked up an issue of Outside magazine, looked for an editor "who sounded nice" and called the 800 number on the masthead.

He offered to cover a story on a Kayak Class 5 trip on the Dadu River in Western Szechuan and the magazine bit, allowing Heller to chronicle a dangerous trip that involved a lethal storm, a river flood and the tragic death of a Chinese rafter who died in Heller's arms. The experience left Heller "grief-stricken and traumatized" yet undaunted in writing about the adventure, and his future ventures all over the globe.

Since then, he has become a respected and award-winning adventure writer with nonfiction narratives including "Kook," "The Whale Warriors" and "Hell or High Water: Surviving Tibet's Tsangpo River."

More Information Author appearance When: 7 p.m. Friday Where: Brazos Bookstore, 2421 Bissonnet Information: Free; 713-523-0701, brazosbookstore.com See More Collapse

But his latest trip to Houston, which comes Friday at Brazos Bookstore, is about his fictional work, particularly "Celine," a novel about a woman who finds missing people.

Heller's path to fiction was inspired in large part by a poem from the ninth-century poet Li Shang Yin called "When Will I Be Home?," which Heller knows by heart.

Coming up through poetry is what led him to fiction: "When one writes fiction, the music and the language is what's important."

Writing, like kayaking, offers the excitement of coming "around the bend - you don't know what's there. That's the way I wanted writing to be - surprising."

At first, he wasn't sure if it was "legal" to merely "start with one line," but that is how Heller works best. "I don't plot. I like composing without an outline."

He described his method as "having faith in the language and story and characters" and enjoys how "the characters are running the show." Writing his last novel in seven months was "the most thrilling thing. Fiction is so much fun - once you start making things up, there is no going back."

It helps when the characters are based on people as interesting as his late mother, who died three years ago. She was a real-life private investigator, and he said writing about her was a wonderful way to "hang out with her another year."

"Celine" is based heavily on her, an American born in Paris who later came to America on an oceanliner at age 7 once the Germans were marching on Paris. Even at her young age, Heller said "she had a special-ops bent early on, and she said even as a child she "wanted to go back to France and fight for the French Resistance."

She later went to art school and college, and eventually worked for the FBI finding bank fraud, started a detective agency and spied with opera glasses.

Heller quipped, "She wanted to be James Bond."

Heller remembers that although she was a "genteel, petite woman" who was "an aristocrat," she could "shoot, drive  she was a tough." At the same time, "she could talk to anybody," and "she met everyone where they were." She devoted most of her investigations to reuniting family members who had been separated.

Celine is also a detective but one with a fascinating background: an elegant private eye with a Sarah Lawrence College degree living near the Brooklyn Bridge who, with her sidekick, Pete (whom Heller describes as "her Watson"), finds missing people and reunites them with those looking for them.

Like his mother, Celine is fearless and unconventional. In the novel, she helps a young woman named Gabriela find her father, who was in Wyoming when he disappeared.

"Fiction can be smarter than you," Heller says. "In writing fiction, I discover that I know things that I didn't even know that I knew. The writing can be way smarter than I am, a character can be way smarter than me. It's magical."
For years, the sign in front of Rockin' Robin Guitars and Music changed with the times. Not too long ago, it offered to help novice buyers fix ill-advised purchases made on eBay.

Last week the sign changed: "If you love guitars," it read, "buy this store."

After more than 45 years in the guitar business, Bart Wittrock is looking to sell. He's doing so during a difficult and interesting time for guitars, which are no longer the center of the popular music universe.

But for much of its run, Rockin' Robin has served as more than just a guitar shop.

"It truly has been an epicenter in the community where you'd find like-minded people," said Chris Masterson, guitarist in Steve Earle's band The Dukes. "If you wanted to start a band, that's where you went. As long as I could hold a guitar, I've been going there."

ON STAGE: Here's the lineup for RodeoHouston's honky-tonk Hideout

As a teen blues prodigy in the 1990s, Masterson was a regular at Rockin' Robin. When he needed a drummer, he found Kevin "Snit" Fitzpatrick, a longtime store employee. Masterson said such musical intersections happened with regularity there. The life blood of the city's music scene pumped through the store and out to Houston's clubs and concert halls.

Wittrock's Houston institution has endured multiple floods, as well as the rise of chain stores and the internet. But he's not selling for financial or health reasons.

At 68, Wittrock would just like to step aside to split time between Houston and California, where he can surf more regularly.

"I think some younger blood would be better for the store," he said. "If it's going to survive, it needs somebody who sees the future, who's not slowed down by the old ways in the business. I'm hoping somebody with more gas can push this thing."

A musical landmark

Though Rockin Robin' looks like a modest-size box on Shepherd just south of Richmond Avenue, it's deceptively large. Wittrock knows all the pockets.

"Look at this," he said while opening a closet door in his second-floor office. "There's 40 years of posters in here. Vintage Telecasters. There's so much (stuff), I can barely keep up with it."

Wittrock knows about tight confines. In the late 1960s, he served in the Navy, working on submarines.

"Early on, I had a high tolerance for closed spaces," he said. "I'd crawl into a 22-inch torpedo tube, 100-feet long, to adjust parts. You crawl in, you crawl back out. But after four years in the Navy, I was ready to do something else."

So Wittrock returned to Houston, where he grew up, and with David Wintz co-founded Rockin' Robin, a guitar shop that originally opened on South Boulevard in 1972.

More Information Rockin' Robin Guitars and Music See More Collapse

They started in a duplex: two bedrooms upstairs, and a showroom and repair shop downstairs. Wintz went on to launch his Robin Guitars line, leaving Wittrock to run the Houston institution at the site of an old industrial blueprint printer. When Wittrock saw the space in 1980, he knew the first step was demolishing a false ceiling.

"We wanted height," he said. "Guitars hanging, so you had to have ladders. We wanted the average person to come in the door and think, 'Holy (expletive).'"

The store has long been a point around which Houston's music revolved.

"That building is a landmark to us, to musicians," said Brad Jordan, the Houston rapper and Geto Boys member known as Scarface. Jordan used to take the bus from South Acres to Rockin' Robin. "That place seems like it's always been there for us. It's really important."

Actor Peter Cambor - whose character wore a vintage Rockin' Robin T-shirt in the TV show "Roadies" - spoke reverently of the space where he learned guitar as a kid.

"I was just this 12-year-old dropped off out front, and it was like crossing a gauntlet getting to the back," he said. "I'd walk through, and there would be guys with metal hair and tattoos, jamming in the front. It was dingy; they were swearing. It was terrifying and thrilling. If you were an adolescent in Houston in the '80s or '90s, it was like stepping into CBGB in New York or into a photo of Los Angeles in the liner notes of a Guns N' Roses album. It opened my eyes up to this other world."

Touring musicians still frequent the store to browse or buy gear. The Coca Cola machine out front doubles as a billboard for bands playing local shows.

A changing tune

Despite its revered status, Rockin' Robin has faced all manner of challenges. The 2008 stock market crash popped a formidable bubble in demand for vintage instruments.

Independent guitar shops struggled to keep up with national chains like Guitar Center, which could offer imported guitars for less money.

Stephen Marchione - who handcrafts high-end guitars bearing his family name from his Montrose studio - believes stores like Rockin' Robin will ultimately outlast that trend.

"It's important to understand somebody like Bart has always been able to provide good and unusual, new and used instruments that the wretched, big box stores can't make available," he said. "I can't tell you how many pros bought great instruments at Rockin' Robin."

Marchione - who just returned from a National Association of Music Merchants convention in Anaheim, Calif. - said independent guitar makers are seeing their businesses grow, while older makers like the Gibson struggle. He likens the guitar business to craft beer.

"If you go to the beer aisle, you see all these craft beers, and Bud and Miller are relegated" to a discount section, he said. "At some point, the box stores will be gone. And a business like the one Bart built will be worth a lot more, both financially and to the community. Independent sellers are going to pick up the slack."

Wittrock doesn't appear terribly troubled by trends either way.

"It's a technology," he said of guitars. "I liken it to knives and hammers. One-hundred years, and those things haven't changed that much. You think about the guitar and all the different music: blues, surf, country, rock. But it's still all the same tools. And there aren't really that many ways to improve upon it. You could say that about a hammer or a guitar. Synthesizers are useful, but it's not the same. The guitar is portable; it can be inexpensive. You have to sell kids on it over video games. But that's not a new problem."

Future in flux

Since opening, Rockin' Robin has operated as more than a store that sells guitars. Repairs were a cornerstone of the business from the day it opened.

"Today, everybody's an expert thanks to the internet," Wittrock said. "Sorry, I've only been doing this 45 years. That's what I have to offer."

The space served as a multipurpose community for the music-minded. Multiple generations have taken music lessons upstairs.

For the past several years, the Bojangles Music School has operated from the store. Owner Shawn Parks has seen his business triple since moving in, with 150 to 200 lessons per week.

"Bart is a true American success story built by hard work and a love for what he does," he said. "And that's guitars. He's a treasure of the Houston arts culture. People don't realize how important he is to this city."

Parks' school is an independent business that would have to negotiate with a new buyer. Failing that, he'd relocate in the immediate area. "We're not going anywhere," he said.

Wittrock has put a significant price tag on his business. He doesn't want to reveal the price except to parties with serious interest. But the plot of land and the inventory easily bring a potential asking price to more than $1 million.

Wittrock said he's "testing the waters," adding "my strength is knowing about guitars, not running a business."

Wittrock would welcome a buyer who lets him hang around the store as an expert. He'd also gladly send the entire operation on a different course. He's grown less sentimental about it as time has passed.

Wittrock used to hoard vintage Fender Stratocaster guitars.

"I had every year, original in excellent condition," he said. He once traded nine of those guitars for a late '50s Gibson Les Paul Sunburst.

He immediately regretted it.

"I sold the Les Paul the next day," Wittrock said. "And bought this building. I realized I didn't need a '54 Strat or a '58 Les Paul to be a guitar player. I still love that culture. But I'd like to find somebody else to carry it forward."
Stacy and Larry Wilson don't need a new china pattern.

The couple, who wed Saturday afternoon in Pasadena in front of 100 friends and family, asked guests to forgo a last-minute run to Bed Bath & Beyond. The Wilsons would much rather their loved ones take a moment at the reception to swab the inside of their cheeks and fill out a couple red-and-white pages of health forms to become potential bone marrow donors.

And that's just what they did. Steps beyond the guest book, and just across from the bar, a line of guests formed at the swabbing station only minutes after the couple promised undying love.

"This means so much to us," says Larry Wilson, 45, who wore a white button-down shirt and slacks for the laid-back ceremony. "If it hadn't been for someone signing up to be a donor years ago, I wouldn't be able to marry my best friend. This is the reason I'm here."

Eight years ago, Larry Wilson was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. In this form of cancer, a patient's bone marrow makes too many of one type of white blood cell called lymphocytes. As the saturation of these cells increases, there's less room for healthy cells. ALL is the most common form of childhood cancer, but it's no less severe when it's found in adults, like Wilson.

"They told me I had to have a donor if I wanted to live," he says. But none of his family members were matches.

In about 70 percent of cases, bone marrow donors come from within a patient's family. Finding an unrelated donor is an incredibly precise science, and the odds of a perfect match are beyond slim. Only about 7,000 patients are able to find a match through a perfect stranger each year, according to the international nonprofit blood cancer organization DKMS, which hosted Saturday's drive.

Wilson was one of those rare, lucky few. And his match came all the way from Germany, where Johann Beissal had once swabbed at a drive to help a nurse in a hospital he occasionally worked with through his job in the insurance field.

'There's no loser'

Beissal was in attendance on Saturday, and gave a short speech at the ceremony to encourage guests to take their turn at the swabbing station.

"It's a win-win situation," Beissal says. "There's no loser in being a donor."

For him, the win has been substantial. Donors and recipients aren't allowed to communicate freely for the first two years after a donation; instead, all correspondence has to be monitored by the hospital that administrated the surgery. For two years, Wilson and Beissal exchanged letters, sharing details of their lives and building a relationship.

"They were very generic. I couldn't let him know if I was male or female, what state I lived in, or my name," says Wilson, an IT specialist with Dell. Despite the fact that Beissal and Wilson were limited in what they could share, a friendship bloomed. And after the two-year mark, Beissal obtained Wilson's contact information, and called him. Within weeks, Wilson invited Beissal to fly to America and join his family for Thanksgiving dinner.

"Meeting him was emotional, obviously," Wilson says. "But because our DNAs are the same now - we have the exact same DNA in our blood - I knew he had to be somewhat like me anyway. It was like I've known him forever. We just saw each other, and had a big hug, and it took no time at all to become so close."

'He gave me this'

Larry and Stacy Wilson, a 46-year-old paralegal, have traveled to Germany to see Beissal, and Beissal has joined them for several Thanksgivings in the states. He calls Wilson's father "dad," and is known as a member of the family.

"He gave me this. There would be no wedding without him," Wilson says of his German DNA brother.

"There would be no Larry without him," Stacy Wilson says, framing it differently. "And he's the man I love."

She takes a deep breath. "You know that saying?" she asks. "It goes, 'All because two people fell in love.' This is like that, except it's all because of the swab, you know?"
When musician Russell Hudson wrecked his car in 2003, he decided to buy a guitar instead of new wheels.

The incident left him without insurance or transportation, so the Austinite walked down the hill from his Zilker Park apartment and into Tacodeli, the original Spyglass location.

His order? Completely off the menu - he asked for a job.

"They were still a hole-in-the-wall taqueria back then," Hudson says. "I'm pretty committed. I found my place with them."

Fast-forward 10 years and several promotions. Russell is now general manager of the BYOB taco chain, a drummer in the band Seven Circles and no longer lives in those hillside apartments.

He's now a Houston resident, thanks to Stacey Szydlik.

One day, the striking brunette walked down the same hill and into Tacodeli while a certain manager was working. Their eyes met, and a three-month flirtation ensued.

"It became this cat-and-mouse game," he says. Later, their paths crossed again at a restaurant downtown during South by Southwest. "I was out to dinner at Sway with my bandmates, celebrating the completion of our album, when I saw her. I couldn't stop looking over my shoulder to watch her."

The trouble was, his crush was on a date with someone else. But that didn't stop Stacey from making a strategic move. She detoured toward Russell's table on a return trip from the ladies' room.

"I just got some gumption," she says. "He'd also been staring at me the entire night during dinner, so I walked up to him and introduced myself."

Russell is all smiles telling the story. "She made a bold move; it was pretty awesome."

Weeks passed before Stacey visited Tacodeli again. She gave it a 50-50 chance that he would even remember her.

Did he ever.

For a full month, Russell waited patiently until the object of his affection finally breezed through the doors. He dropped everything to scribble down a hasty note.

"She went up to get her drink, and I said, 'I think this fell out of your purse,' " he recalls. Stunned, Stacey didn't know what to make of the Post-it. "Then it clicked that I was trying to ask her out."

A Louis C.K. comedy special was playing in her living room when he picked her up for their first date. And handmade props for an "Arrested Development" viewing party were on display.

"I immediately knew that this was going to be awesome," Russell says. "I have a weird sense of humor that might be an acquired taste for some."

He felt confident on the drive to Zax Pints & Plates. Stacey had some doubts.

"There was a photo of his niece and nephew in the car, and I assumed they were his," she admits, laughing. "The entire meal I'm waiting for him to say that he has two children. I was very young and naive at the time, and wasn't ready for kiddos. So I resolved that we'd just be friends and was my complete self on the date."

Stacey, 31, learned that Russell, 33, is an uncle - not a father - on the ride home. The romance resumed.

By their fourth date, to Seven Circles' CD-release party at the Parish, Stacey had convinced herself that she was dating a rock star. The couple spent time at the Barton Creek Greenbelt, trying new restaurants on South Congress and taking in live music.

Then suddenly, the relationship changed. Stacey took an introspective trip to Spain, quit her advertising job and accepted a position in Houston with the Memorial Hermann Foundation.

They dated long-distance for nearly three years, until April 2015, when Russell popped the question.

"There was always talk that they were going to open a Tacodeli here," Stacey says. "That was the light at the end of the tunnel. We knew at some point that we were going to be together in Houston."

With plans for a Bayou City expansion underway, her boyfriend started piecing together an elaborate scheme of his own.

Russell, who'd never seen the Gerald D. Hines Waterwall in person, painted a canvas of himself proposing in front of the multistory fountain. One spring weekend, he casually suggested that they visit the landmark.

"I asked a family member that Stacey had never met to deliver this huge, wrapped painting to 'the most beautiful girl there,' " Russell says. He'd written the lyrics to their favorite song, "Click Lang Echo" by STS9, on the back, too. "By the time she'd unwrapped and saw the image, I was down on one knee."

Stacey said "yes!" and 18 months of wedding planning began.

"(The best part) was honestly the fact that we hired someone good. She was so meticulous," Russell says of Aisle Runners wedding consultant Tai Quarles. "I really enjoyed all of it: picking out tuxes for my groomsmen, cake tasting, menu tasting. It wasn't fun cutting our invitation list."

Stacey agrees. Her mother comes from a large Sicilian family; there were 66 RSVPs from Italy alone. The betrothed pair chose wedding venues accordingly.

"The first place we booked was the Petroleum Club. I went during the golden hour, and it was gorgeous; there was this pink glow over everything," Stacey says. "I'm in graduate school at Rice University, where my cousin had her wedding. I remember standing there and thinking, 'I want to go to school here. I want to get married here.' It's nondenominational. You can decorate or have whatever ceremony you want. Something about that flexibility really called to me."

The bride applied creative license to her flowers, too. She worked with Amanda Bee Florals to design a provincial watercolor motif, incorporating French blue, raspberry and garnet hues into the centerpieces and bouquets.

Even her dress, a strapless, mermaid-style gown from Weddings by Debbie "fraught with rose lace," was a nod to Stacey's petal obsession.

But on June 11, as the bride and groom exchanged vows in the Rice Memorial Chapel, nothing else mattered.

"It felt like a such a life moment," Russell says. "Like when Frodo puts on the ring, and the here and now goes away, and this alternate universe of being is forged into union for eternity. That really shook my foundation in a good way."

The newly proclaimed Mr. and Mrs. Hudson celebrated with 260 of their nearest and dearest downtown at the Petroleum Club until 1 a.m.

"Russell got on the drums and did a solo for everybody," Stacey says of her favorite memory from the reception. "The Royal Dukes Band announced a special guest. Then Russell got back there and just started wailing."

The newlyweds, who honeymooned in Thailand for two weeks, are happily adjusting to life in the same city. The groom finally relocated in April, when Tacodeli opened on Washington, and his band dropped a new album, "Retrograde Parade," in August.

"They say that the big three is: don't move, don't get a new job and don't get married at the same time," Russell says. "But I've tackled some big life events that I'm pretty proud of."
Tradition dictates that the prom queen and king dance together on the big night. And that's just what Needville High School's crowned couple, Katie Vacek and Kernie Baker, did on May 13 - one slow spin on the dance floor. Then Kernie detached Katie, who is paraplegic, from their conjoined harnesses and lowered his girlfriend back into her wheelchair.

In some ways, it was a full-circle moment. Last year, as juniors, the high school sweethearts rekindled an old flame. They arrived with different dates but walked out with each other.

Last year, Katie could walk.

"We were in the same prom group and wound up at the same after-party," Kernie, 17, said. "We stayed up on the couch talking all night. Then we started texting, and before I knew it, we were dating again."

The couple met in first grade, when the Bakers moved 30 miles south from Pecan Grove to Needville. The Vaceks, a founding family, are well-known around the Fort Bend County town.

"We moved here in the '20s and never left," Katie, also 17, said. "We have really deep roots here."

She's exactly one month older than her boyfriend and doesn't let him forget it. Both joined the high school band as freshmen - she plays flute, he prefers trumpet - though it wasn't until sophomore year that their relationship went from platonic to romantic. Things didn't end well that first time around.

Kernie says they were different people back then. Katie thinks they were just immature.

But life, the pair learned, can change in an instant.

The young twosome watch a lot of Netflix. "Breaking Bad," "The Office" and "Stranger Things" are their favorite shows. Sometimes they go out to eat, and they've driven to the beach once or twice.

Playing in the woods is another favorite pastime in Katie's family. There's a huge clearing behind her cousins' house where their parents grew up climbing in the oak trees. And that's what Katie, Kernie and her cousins were doing on Feb. 26, when Katie suddenly lost her balance.

She fell backward and grabbed onto branches, but none of them held.

Kernie feared the worst.

"I saw her on the way down and how she hit the ground, folded in half," he said. "I immediately knew that she broke her back or there was something severely wrong."

The 15-foot drop knocked her unconscious. She awoke on her stomach and could hardly breathe. Or feel her legs.

"My back basically snapped in half," Katie said.

Emergency Medical Services first responders evacuated her in the bed of a pickup. Pain medication kicked in as she was transferred to a Memorial Hermann Life Flight helicopter.

"Everything was kind of fuzzy, but I remember how loud it was in there, and that getting to the Medical Center only took eight minutes," Katie recalled. "I asked how we got to Houston so fast and someone answered, 'Well, there's not a lot of traffic up here.' "

Details from that day are hazy. Conversations flash in pieces, faces are blank. She remembers a man injured from a motorcycle accident lying in the hospital bed next to hers.

Katie woke up in the Intensive Care Unit seven hours later and spent the next month-and-a-half at TIRR, the Institute for Rehabilitation and Research Memorial Hermann. Her spinal cord injury is classified as level T6. She has lost all feeling below her waist but retains full use of her arms and can "sort of tighten" her abdominal muscles.

"She can do a modified crunch," Kernie added with pride. "She can use her upper body, which is more than they thought she would have."

Originally, he hadn't planned on asking her to prom at all. It was assumed that they would go together.

After Katie's accident, Kernie and a friend decided that the occasion called for a grand gesture. So they designed a poster that read, "You may need to sit down for this one, but wheel you chair a dance with me at prom?"

"I wasn't sure how that was going to go over," he said. "It was only a month after she fell, but everyone loved it."

He also submitted an entry into Al's Formal Wear's first-ever Promposal Contest - and won.

"His 'promposal' was very simple, but the feeling you got from his message was very sweet and sincere," company president Carla Laudig said. "You don't always find that these days with teenagers."

Kernie received a free tuxedo rental and $100 to spend on prom expenses such as dinner and flowers. He picked a gray suit to complement Katie's dress.

"The look on his face when he tried it on - he just lit up," Laudig said.

Kernie didn't stop there. He asked TIRR Memorial Hermann to create a special harness so that he and Katie could dance together on prom night.

Wish granted.

Needville High School seniors Katie Vacek and Kernie Baker were named queen and king of their prom. Needville High School seniors Katie Vacek and Kernie Baker were named queen and king of their prom. Photo: Elizabeth Conley, Staff Photo: Elizabeth Conley, Staff Image 1 of / 32 Caption Close Promposal 1 / 32 Back to Gallery

His date's search for the perfect gown played out like a fairy tale, too.

"Because of the harness, I needed a two-piece dress," Katie said. "A family friend knew a lady who owns a prom-dress store, Katelyn's Krazes. She would text me pictures of dresses and then send them to the hospital for me to try on. We spent a whole day doing that in physical therapy."

The winning look was a sage-green and light-pink cropped top with matching skirt. Kernie chose a blush bow tie and handkerchief to match.

Around 9:45 p.m. on prom's "Night of a Thousand Lights" at the Safari Texas Ranch, Katie checked her makeup in the ladies' room while her best friend and her mother carefully removed her leg braces and strapped on the harness.

Kernie replaced his tuxedo jacket with a mountain-climbing vest and waited patiently for his date.

Their classmates were doing a line-dance when Katie wheeled back into the crowd. Then Kernie lifted her into his arms, and it was just the two of them, bound by Velcro, as Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud" faded into white noise.

"We had the whole dance floor to ourselves," Kernie said. "I'm pretty sure everyone in the building stopped to watch us dance. It was a special moment."

They were crowned prom queen and king shortly after. Katie never cried, though her parents and classmates did.

The couple left early to change before joining their classmates at an after-party, the same one that brought them back together the previous year.

"We were reminiscing; it's where we fell in love," Kernie said. "Sure, the accident threw off plans for prom, the dancing aspect, at least. I would have loved to dance every song with her."

Elizabeth Conley contributed to this report.
The first question out of Asma Mirza's mouth when she makes a new acquaintance these days is, "Are you single?" If she gets a yes, the 27-year-old CEO quickly follows up with a request to swab the inside of her new friend's cheek, in hopes it will help them find true love.

Often, people look at her like she's crazy. They'll ask, "What does my DNA have to do with love?"

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According to an ever-growing body of scientific research, the answer is: quite a bit. That's why Mirza and 26-year-old geneticist Brittany Barreto have spent the last year huddled in their downtown Houston office, working steadily to launch the nation's first genetics-based dating app, Pheramor.

Their phone-based app, which they plan to officially roll out in February, combines genetic information with data gleaned from social media posts to create user profiles.

"Scientists can actually predict who's attracted to whom," Barreto explained. "It has to do with your pheromones."

And the genes that control those ever-important pheromones can be analyzed through a simple cheek swab.

Barreto first learned this as a sophomore in college, during a genetics class at Drew University in New Jersey. And for her, the world stopped spinning for a moment as an idea was implanted in her mind. She raised her hand and asked, "Could I make a GeneHarmony.com?"

She wasn't met with as much enthusiasm as she felt herself.

"The professor was like, 'Yeah, I guess so.' Like, 'You could. That's a thing,'" she said. "And everyone kind of looked at me and was like, 'That's so Brittany. She's just strange.'"

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She tuned out the eye rolls, and tucked away the idea for safe-keeping.

"Over the past seven or eight years, I've just told friends or boyfriends, and my mom. And everyone has always been like, 'You should do it.' But it was always, like, fear and timing, and not knowing how," she said.

Then last year, while finishing up her doctorate in genetics at Baylor College of Medicine, she pitched the idea of a DNA-based dating app at an accelerator program, where Mirza, who had just graduated from Duke University, was also in attendance.

"Brittany went up, and she pitched this. And I think we were like, the only women at the accelerator," Mirza said. "And so, she looked at me, and she was like, 'I want you on my team.' And I looked at her, like 'I want to be on your team.' And that's how we met. Brittany brought in the genetics, and I have a background in expansion and capacity building - taking a project and scaling it."

Also at the accelerator was Bin Huang, a doctoral candidate at Rice University, studying computational biology. Mirza and Baretto brought him on as Pheramor's third co-founder, putting him in charge of developing an algorithm for their idea.

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Mirza and Barreto are optimistic about their endeavor, but it's not a sure thing. While the Pew Research Center reports that 15 percent of American adults have used online or mobile dating apps - up from 11 percent in 2013 - there are a handful of big apps that attract the largest share of daters. And tapping into the online dating market isn't easy. Two dating apps that utilize DNA in slightly different, less streamlined, ways than Pheramor have previously launched in Canada, with little success. But Mirza and Barreto remain optimistic.

And while their idea for Pheramor may sound complicated, the science is actually pretty simple.

"Genetic-based human attraction has to do with pheromones. And when we smell pheromones, what we're actually smelling is how diverse someone's immune system is compared to our own," Barreto explained, matter-of-factly.

"Evolution is very strong. So we're smelling each other, trying to figure out who is the best person to mate with," she continued. "And that's what love at first sight actually is. It's smelling someone's pheromones from across the room, and your brain says, 'Oh my Gosh, that's the most perfect pheromone profile I've ever smelled in my entire life. I love them.'"

When someone swabs their cheek with a Pheramor kit, the lab Mirza and Barreto work with isolates and scans 11 genes, which scientists have linked to factors for attraction. (Mirza and Barreto declined to share which exact genes they're analyzing; they'd rather not give away their algorithm's secret sauce.)

"That's it," said Barreto. "I won't know what you look like, what your heritage is, what your disease status is. I won't know any of that. All I know is the 11 genes for attractions, from which I'll know who you think is hot and who you won't like."

That data then heads to Huang's team, and is dropped into an advanced formula, along with a variety of personality traits pulled from a user's social media profile.

"All the research shows that initial attraction through your genetics is what will get two people together," Mirza said. "But what fulfills a longtime relationship is commonalities. So the way we account for both of those is through your genetics, and then through your social media."

Rather than asking users to fill out their own profiles, Pheramor will pull details from someone's profiles, like favorite bands and books. Even political affiliations. This will save time for Pheramor's target demographic - young professionals, between the ages of 18 and 44 who are constantly looking for efficiencies. But perhaps more importantly, it will remove some of the self-reporting bias that comes with creating your own dating profile.

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Dating apps are big business these days: The market is estimated to be worth about $2 billion. And more than 40 million Americans rely on dating apps and websites to help them find love. But, according to a report from eHarmony.com earlier this year, 53 percent of people lie on their profiles. And that's not counting the people who enter such bland answers that they fail to stick out from the pack.

"A lot of our research comes from me using all the apps and coming back to the office, saying, 'We need to solve this problem.' So many profiles, people just write, 'I love adventure, and I'm super laid back.' And it's like, 'Who are you? What does that mean?'" Baretto said, exasperated. "And then you meet them, and they're not even adventurous. So us building the profile for users takes away the idea that someone has a standard profile that they write to put up on a dating app. Instead, it's a reflection of how you show yourself on social media."

Pheramor hasn't officially launched yet. As of now, the three co-founders are trying to reach a critical mass of users - hence Mirza's proclivity to swab everyone in arm's reach. While they'd like to tackle world domination in the future, the co-founders are currently focused on hitting the 3,000-member mark, which is all it will take to create a viable sample size to officially launch in Houston.

And the founders have high hopes that their home city is the ideal place to begin their venture.

"Houston is a place for a lot of med-tech start-ups, and we're a social technology start-up, and we feel like this is something that we really created a space for in Houston," Mirza said.

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And the demographics here sync perfectly with Pheramor's market: about one in three people inside the city's limits is between the ages of 25 and 44, according to data from the U.S Census program. Additionally, the App-analytic firm SmartApp recently ranked Houston as the city with the largest saturation of dating app users in all of the U.S., with 16 percent of residents swiping for love on their phones.

"We want to help the ones who don't have time to go on seven bad first dates," Mirza said. "For us, with this app, our data will be able to tell you whether you're wasting your time or not."

Sound cynical? It's not meant too. Barreto constantly emphasizes that while data may be run in labs and on computers, the crux of Pheramor is just as romantic as an adorable meet-cute, in which someone bumps into an attractive stranger on a train, or in a coffee shop.

"I'm a hopeless romantic. And for us, the romance is still there," she said.

"But there's metrics behind this," Mirza added. "So, yes you can meet someone on a train and have that initial attraction. But what if you never met that person? What if the only way you could meet them is through our app? The way I see it, we're helping you find those missed connections. Because we're bringing those metrics for what that spark would be. And most people see that spark once or twice in their life. But if you actually knew where that comes from, maybe you'd find more sparks."
On the night that Mari Trevino first laid eyes on Bryan Glass, her older sister (and future maid of honor), Margot Rosson, accidentally kicked him out of their parent's home. The handsome young stranger arrived as the guest of a guest to Margot's law school graduation party - and in her eyes, it was closing time.

"I said, 'You just let the love of my life walk out the door!' " Mari recalls.

All was forgiven by the following evening.

Bryan, smitten, tracked down Mari's phone number. He called her the next day, and every day after that. They were officially dating within the week.

Fast forward four years and a new lease on their first townhouse together. Mari often "pretend-proposed" to her beau during the months leading up to the big move, just to show him how easy it was.

Then mid-December, while she was busy unpacking boxes in their kitchen, Bryan dropped to one knee.

"OK. It's my turn," he began.

She said "yes!" and the newly engaged pair sped over to Tony's, where Mari's parents, Ileana and Michael Trevino, were having dinner.

"My mom's back was to us when we walked in," the bride says. "Very first thing when she turned around, her eyes went right down to my left hand."

Mari and her mother run Trevino Consulting Group. The groom, who works for Enterprise Products Partners, had enlisted the help of her father and the family jeweler, Benji Designs, to create a custom engagement ring using an heirloom diamond.

As the foursome toasted the occasion with champagne, they instinctively knew where Mari and Bryan should tie the knot.

"The Vallones...I mean, they're family," the bride says of Donna and Tony Vallone. "We always knew that wherever we got married, we wanted Tony's to cater. But we didn't know what that would look like, closing the restaurant on a Saturday night."

Fortunately, Belle of the Ball's Valerie Eissler had a plan.

She tapped The Perfect Touch for linens, the Password Band for live music and Aztec to transform the fine dining establishment's circular drive into a one-night-only cocktail lounge.

"As bridezilla as it sounds, we wanted a tent, but we didn't want the look of a tent," Mari says. "They started building it the night before our wedding at 10 p.m., and didn't finish it until the first guests arrived."

On Sept. 16, the couple exchanged "I dos" on her parents' 30th wedding anniversary at St. Martin's Episcopal Church.

Then it was time for the elaborate "unveil," which took her breath away.

"It was beyond my wildest dreams," she says. "They brought us in through a side door and I literally burst into tears. I think I even made some of Tony's staff cry."

There were plenty happy moments that day. Earlier that morning, the bridal party accidentally broke Mari's parents' bed while posing for a group photo. And Bryan jokingly tried to kiss her halfway through their vows.

"My favorite part of the reception, hands down, was everyone jumping on the dance floor to "Raise Your Glass" by Pink," she says. Serendipitously, the catchy song title also doubled as their wedding hashtag.

Some 210 black-tie guests raised their flutes, cigars and - eventually - rose petals to send off the newly minted Mr. and Mrs. Glass.

Bryan whisked his bride away in a vintage Rolls Royce. Now, he's here to stay.
Forget cuffing season, or even engagement season.

To fan those romantic flames, or get inspiration on how-to pop the question, scroll through the most memorable weddings and love stories of the year.
It's hardly surprising that there's a fireman's pole inside Station 3. Why wouldn't there be? The trendy wedding and event venue built in 1903 on Houston Avenue used to be one of the city's original fire stations.

What's unusual is that Jeff Johnson - a mechanical engineer, not a firefighter - slid down the 15-foot metal rod during his December wedding reception. No one was more shocked than his bride.

"There was talk that Jeff was going to do it," said Hilary Johnson, 30. "It's allowed, if you sign a waiver."

The groom nearly got cold feet - about his grand entrance, not his nuptials. He was on the fence about it, but his uncles egged him on.

"It came time to do the garter toss, I'm sitting on a chair, music playing as planned, and here Jeff Johnson came sliding down the pole," Hilary recalled. "I've never laughed so hard."

Her husband, a proud 29-year old Texas A&M University graduate, didn't stop there; he proceeded to point at the audience and bust out dance moves she'd never seen before.

"He was such a ham and totally worked the crowd," she said. "I didn't know he had it in him."

Close friend Lauren Turner likes to joke that wedding history was made that night.

The couple's shared love of music has always been a constant. Both attended Brookside Intermediate School (and later Clear Brook High School) and were even Brookside Bulldog bandmates together, but they ran in different social circles.

It wasn't until January 2013 that a spark ignited. They had each brought different dates to a mutual friend's wedding.

"We kept missing each other; the timing was never right," Hilary said. "I would like him, but he wouldn't like me." And vice versa.

The Katy ISD speech pathologist credits "good ol' Facebook" and her younger sister, Kaitlyn Gahring, for initiating the courtship.

"People just pop into your newsfeed," she said of the story that later anchored Kaitlyn's maid-of-honor speech.

" 'Oh my god, Jeff is so cute now!' " Kaitlyn remembered her sister saying. "And she told me to message him."

A dinner date followed, and eventually, several vacations. Travel can teach you a lot about a person, Hilary said.

It can also set the stage for a marriage proposal.

Jeff popped the question during a trip to Alaska in July 2015. She already knew that he had purchased a ring - she was at home when it was delivered - but she was still blindsided.

"I'm not exactly an outdoorsy kind of girl, and Alaska is very  outdoorsy. It was really tough on me and emotionally taxing," she said. "I don't really like camping, and we camped for seven days. I thought, there's no way he's going to propose; I'm acting like a fool."

On the second-to-last day, the Johnsons, two friends and Jeff's brother took a floatplane out to look at the glaciers. In spite of a terrible toothache and motion sickness, Hilary couldn't help being mesmerized by the perfect blue sky. Everyone was busy taking photos of the breathtaking scenery, so when Jeff called her over for one last snapshot, she thought nothing of it.

He got right to the point and asked, "Will you marry me?"

The pain subsided as she accepted, she said.

Given the academic calendar, they couldn't marry in October as originally planned, or over the summer as Jeff worried that Houston's sweltering heat would overwhelm his Northern relatives. A winter wedding felt practical.

"I didn't have a planner, but my mom is amazing. She helps all of her friends' daughters with their weddings," Hilary said of Barb Gahring, who has an interior design degree and lives in Denver. "It was stressful at times because we couldn't just say, 'Hey, let's go check out this venue.' She traveled back and forth a lot."

On a scouting trip, mother and daughter fell in love with Station 3's exposed brick and historical feel; the bride couldn't imagine getting married anywhere else.

She also imagined saying "I do" in her mother's wedding gown - after a few alterations by Hilary's grandmother to make it her own - but craved the experience of going into a store and trying on dresses, like in the movies. So Kaitlyn joined them at Anthropologie's bridal boutique, BHLDN, in Highland Village one weekend, where they fell in love with an embellished sheath gown with an illusion neckline.

"I didn't want to hurt my mom's feelings, but she agreed that it was the perfect dress for me to marry Jeff in," Hilary said. When she tried to place the order online, however, the website's system wouldn't complete the transaction. "I called and was told that there was only one left in stock. It was in my size; it was meant to be."

Family members' unique little touches made the big day special. The mother of the bride created placemats for each reception-table setting and covered an oversize letter "J" in green foliage and fairy lights for the newlyweds' head table. A friend of Hilary's sister-in-law, who does calligraphy, wrote guests' names on place cards. Both her grandparents' and great-grandparents' cake toppers were showcased prominently in the cake display. When Hilary's father, a retired Air Force colonel, arrived in uniform to walk his daughter down the aisle, a few tears were shed.

Father and daughter danced to Steve Tyrell's rendition of "The Way You Look Tonight," inspired by a scene from Hilary's favorite movie, "Father of the Bride."

"Our first dance (as husband and wife) was to Trampled by Turtles' 'Wild Animals.' They're this little band from Minnesota, where Jeff's family is from," she said. "I'm all for the classics, but we wanted something that was special to us."

Each of Barb's six siblings' families surprised the newly minted Johnsons with choreographed dance moves to "Cotton-Eyed Joe," a tradition that began at Hilary's brother's wedding.

In addition to his monumental slide down the pole, Jeff joined his groomsmen and fellow alumni onstage for the gesticulation-laden Aggie War Hymn.

"Even my dad was dancing," Hilary said. "He's very straight-laced and serious, but he was out there, too. There was never a dull moment."
After Hurricane Harvey, the conversation quickly turned to buyouts as a cost-effective way to deal with homes in flood-prone areas.

Public officials and others called for extensive buyouts by local jurisdictions that would purchase flooded homes in the floodplain, demolish them and then leave those spaces as open space in perpetuity. Homeowners, too, expressed interest, calling city and county services in the region asking about eligibility for such a program.

And it wasn't the first time buyouts emerged as a popular solution. In fact, between 1985 and 2017, the Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) purchased more properties than any other jurisdiction in the country.

DEVELOPING STORM: Officials patched and prayed while pressure built on Houston's dams

But as it prepares to complete another round of buyouts, the Kinder Institute for Urban Research looked to other jurisdictions to see how it might be done more effectively and with the future in mind in a new report.

Buyouts might seem like an expensive solution, but the cost of these efforts is often dwarfed by the cost of repeat flooding. In fact, within five years of the catastrophic flooding in 1993 throughout the Midwest, buyout programs there returned an average of $2 for every $1 spent to acquire repetitive loss properties.

And studies throughout the country have shown similar returns on investment from 150 to 200 percent. Though the cost effectiveness of these strategies is well documented, since 1997 only 32 percent of Hazard Mitigation Assistance grants awarded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been spent on property acquisitions, according to a Kinder Institute analysis of FEMA data.

Part of that number might reflect the sometimes complex set of eligibility requirements that go along with such programs. Harris County, for example, has an involved prioritization method which changes according to the impact of a particular disaster.

DECISIVE ACTION: Twelve steps Houston can take to address our flooding problem

FEMA, however, has some standard requirements. First, each home must be in a community that participates in the National Flood Insurance Program, which Harris County does. Because my home, for example, was built before FEMA established that it was in a flood-hazard area, I am required to have flood insurance.

Folks who live in homes not in the floodplain are not required to have insurance and are ineligible for a federally funded buyout if they are not covered. According to the Washington Post, only 17 percent of homeowners in the eight most Harvey-impacted counties have flood insurance.

Second, the HCFCD has to conduct a benefit-cost analysis. In this analysis, all the projected benefits of turning an individual property into open space  the total economic value of recreational space, detention basins, water and air quality, etc.  are weighed against the projected costs of that house repeatedly flooding. The county then makes a case to the state and FEMA that permanently moving a property out of harm's way will ultimately save the county, state and FEMA money in the long run.

Funding for this comes from the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP), FEMA's oldest and largest hazard mitigation program that can be used for acquisition and demolition. The program has paid out more than $63 million to Harris County since 2000 for that purpose alone. Other Hazard Mitigation Assistance programs have awarded Harris County an additional $86 million for acquisitions since 2004. That $150 million makes up only 24 percent of the total federal funds secured by the Harris County Flood Control District since 1985.

LATEST: Harris County Commissioners Court to consider more buyouts in Houston

The remainder of the funds went to structural interventions as well as soft costs associated with planning and design of mitigation projects. In Harris County, 100 percent of federal buyout funds have been used to acquire single-family residential homes that were developed in flood-prone areas though these funds could also theoretically be spent on multifamily residences. As required by FEMA, deed restrictions have been placed on the purchased properties to mandate open space uses after demolition.

The Harris County Flood Control District has then used capital improvement funds to develop these lands into green spaces  putting recreational facilities alongside detention basins. Bretshire Stormwater Detention Basin, Hall Park Stormwater Detention Basin, South Belt Stormwater Detention Basin and Inwood Forest Stormwater Detention Basin are all examples of projects done on buyout properties.

Those four projects alone add more than 2,600 acre feet in detention capacity, but will still not be nearly enough to account for the continued explosion of impervious surfaces across the plains to the north and west of Houston. Though the county has purchased more than 3,100 properties and has received more than 3,500 voluntary buyout forms since Harvey, it estimates that as many as 180,000 homes remain in floodplains.

Brett Coomer/Staff

Though the HCFCD has accomplished a great deal, County Judge Ed Emmett and other officials recognize the need for increased local and state support for buyout efforts. To sufficiently scale up this approach, the program has to be examined front to back, looking for opportunities to increase efficiency, get community buy-in and move away from dependence on federal funds.

In this arena, looking to examples of innovative buyout programs in other communities in the United States should be a central concern for those doing the work of hazard mitigation in our region.

A lesson from the Carolinas

For instance, Charlotte and Mecklenburg County in North Carolina have consolidated many local government functions to increase efficiency and reduce redundancy.

One arena in which this strategy has excelled has been in its buyout program, administered by the Storm Water Services utility that covers the city of Charlotte, unincorporated county areas and other nearby municipalities. The utility has implemented a number of innovative practices to hasten buyout processes, deepen impact and achieve financial sustainability.

To move toward local financial sustainability, the utility collects stormwater fees based on the surface area of impervious surfaces on a property. The more square feet of concrete or roof on your parcel, the higher the fee schedule for your land. This mechanism serves two purposes: It incentivizes greener, more ecologically sensitive building practices  green roofs, pervious pavers, etc.  and generates a revenue stream that the utility can then use to finance floodplain property acquisitions.

This revenue stream has been so successful that almost half of all buyouts in Charlotte-Mecklenburg have been locally funded by these fees as well as property taxes and other local revenues.

LAND USE: We don't need more houses in floodplains. We need more greenspace.

With those local revenue sources, Charlotte-Mecklenburg are able to run a number of effective mitigation programs, including the Local Risk-Based Buyouts Program, which fully funds acquisitions using stormwater fees and other local contributions. The Quick Buys program works similarly, but draws from the utility's own Rainy Day Fund, allowing the utility to move flooded residents out of floodplains before they go through the arduous, painful process of rebuilding.

Because not all flooded properties can be bought out, the utility also has a program, RetroFIT, which funds up to 95 percent of the costs necessary to flood-proof homes through elevations, raising water and electricity equipment, adding flood-resistant materials and other improvements. They also assign participants a technical advisor to help facilitate the contractor hiring and construction processes. In addition, Storm Water Services also regulates floodplain development and determines eligibility for programs based on its own custom flood map called the Ultimate Floodplain.

This map covers the FEMA regulatory floodplain for the community and goes further, accounting for projections of future land use and the ensuing expansion of impervious surfaces in determining flood elevations. By shifting to more local funding, planning for the future and offering a comprehensive menu of programs, Charlotte-Mecklenburg has been able to implement an agile and effective program.

New Jersey and Sandy

Given the scale of Harvey's impact, and the sheer number of communities affected by flooding, it will also be crucial for leaders in the region to consider improvements to the acquisitions process. Following Hurricane Sandy, New Jersey implemented a federally funded $300 million comprehensive buyout program called Blue Acres, based in the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

To get residents out of harm's way into safe homes as quickly as possible, DEP staff became active and accessible liaisons between local communities and federal officials, examining and revising the buyout process from front to back. The effect of these process reforms is hard to overstate. While in most communities, the acquisition process can take more than two years, in New Jersey they were closing on properties weeks after the process began.

Alex Brandon/STF

How did they do it? First, they centered residents in the process. Every participating homeowner was assigned a case manager who helped with paperwork and technical support. Homeowners could also opt out at any time during the process. Low-income participants could get access to free legal aid and financial services through partnerships with area nonprofits.

And they even allowed some short sales and payoff approvals for underwater mortgages, totaling $4.5 million in debt forgiveness.

MULTIPURPOSE INFRASTRUCTURE: How Willow Waterhole became a model for flood control in Houston

Other innovations addressed front-end efficiencies. Blue Acres staff co-located in an Eatontown field office with local officials there as well as FEMA administrators. Proximity offered easy communication and coordination and increased responsiveness to community concerns.

Second, appraisers, hazard inspectors, title reviewers, GIS analysts, real estate professionals and others were put into interdisciplinary teams to conduct multiple required benefit-cost analyses together, coordinating this process with local caseworkers.

Third, Blue Acres staff collaborated with FEMA and the State Historic Preservation Offices to create a Dashboard Survey, allowing the team to forego full assessments  usually required by FEMA  for many properties. Lastly, to save time and funds, the Blue Acres team used light detection and ranging (LiDAR) technology to model community topography and digital elevations. This move sped up the identification of eligible properties, saving two to three months and $1,000 per individual application.

Given the scale of impact in floodplains across southeast Texas, it's appropriate that leadership is now calling for buyouts as a priority to avoid loss of life and property. But these efforts can and should be informed by the practices of other localities to make sure Houston not only recovers from this storm but is better prepared to deal with the next one.

We can and must learn from peers around the country and implement programmatic changes that ease the buyout process for homeowners, speed the process up, increase greenspace and stormwater detention capacity and increase our ability to pay for our own mitigation efforts.

Grant Patterson is a staff researcher with the Kinder Institute's Development, Transportation and Placemaking program at Rice University. This article originally appeared on the Kinder Institute's blog, The Urban Edge.

Bookmark Gray Matters. It is required to have flood insurance.
It would be easy to box up this essay and tie it with a pretty #MeToo bow, but allow me to throw a different riff down.

As it relates to all industries, and as it has related to my experience coming up through the kitchen ranks to become the executive chef at one of Houston's top restaurants, I was always more concerned about the eyes filled with doubt than those filled with lust. And they weren't the same doubtful looks young male chefs received.

I know, because I watched. It was gender doubt.

As I fumbled to learn and grow as a cook, and eventually as a chef, I had to quiet those doubting glances, those laughing eyes. I smiled and worked harder. I didn't stop for lunch. I didn't stop to talk. My arms bled and were singed. I had overcooked flounder thrown at me through the window and endured tantrums in front of everyone and behind closed doors.

That was until, eventually, every single person who had shown doubt, in their own time, addressed me as chef. I wore jackets that were blank with no name, no title. I didn't need it. Now, everyone knew who I was.

That's not to say I still didn't deal with unwanted propositions and unnecessary touching, though. Now, I'm excited to be living in this moment, in this movement. In many years, we will look back to this season of time and think, That is when things began to change. That is when the curtain was lifted, taken off the rod and burnt in a field, ashes to be swept so far from each other that it could never be whole again.

THE MOMENT, THE MOVEMENT: #MeToo: Women tell their stories

I want change for the single mother of four who works two jobs, whose superior stands too close to her while teaching her how to turn a carrot, making her hate her job. Hate her life, because, hey, in this industry, we spend the majority of our lives at our job.

I want change for the 50-something dishwasher who struggles to make rent and has to fashion an apron out of a trash sack to keep dry. She doesn't need to be touched on her hips every time she is passed by. There is space.

And I want change for the green culinarians who have no idea what's coming at them in terms of this work.

But the path of change is narrow and brittle, and we must take care in our words and our actions. I refuse to let this movement become a blood-soaked guillotine of men. What good did that ever do for France?

All my mentors up unto this point in my career have been men. It was a man who taught me how to sharpen my knife. When I slipped and fell square on my knees rushing down the line to my sous chef, it was my brother who lifted me up instantly and put me back on my feet. It was a powerful restaurateur who chose me for his nest, taught me how to fly, let me lead his flock. It was alongside male line cooks that I laughed and labored in the fires of service, the only place I really feel at peace.

A CELEBRITY FACE: Chef Paul Qui faces trial; Houston diners face a choice

I started working on these pirate ships because I liked the work we did, the life we lead, the songs we sang and the freedom we had. I didn't walk into kitchens with an internship or a culinary degree on my resume. I walked in and took whatever job they'd let me do just to get a spot on the oar.

And I am not without fault. I returned winks with winks  hell, sometimes I even initiated them. I had my favorite dirty jokes and hung calendars of Hawaiian male models in my office. I am in need of change, too.

The majority of sexual harassment in kitchens lurks within subtleties. Some are so brisk and fleeting  a word, a glance, a graze  that while you know you felt it, it is gone.

I felt this before, and it is real. I used to cringe walking into work whenever I saw a certain maintenance person's truck parked outside. I used to feel my fists form into tight little hammers every time an older male produce rep would address me as "sweetheart" while standing close enough that I could smell cigarettes on his breath.

QUIET NAVIGATION: #MeToo and the Houston arts world

For me, these occurrences always registered lowest on my prep list. It's just a part of the job, a part of my life as a woman.

Well, not anymore.

This fight is the American Revolution of the 21st century. If we have to start small, in the hills, with hashtags and rallies, then so be it. People will never agree on everything, but together, women and men must now agree to change this culture of sexual harassment and gender doubt. Change is here. Be on the right side.

You can visit these links for resources: Sexual Harassment in the Workplace, That's Harassment, RAINN, Confronting Sexual Harassment.

Kate McLean is a freelance journalist in Houston. She previously held the executive chef position at Tony's restaurant for three and a half years.

Bookmark Gray Matters. It likes the work it does, the life it leads, the songs it sings and the freedom it has.
Target Stores, Inc. has been sued by a customer who contends that managers at an Atascocita store falsely accused him of theft and discriminated against him for being black.

The suit filed last Friday by Gerald Robinson of Humble in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, seeks $100,000 in actual damages and $500,000 in punitive damages.

"Gerald ran smack into the face of vicious racism at the defendant's store that deprived him of the right to contract or enjoy public accommodations as a white person," the lawsuit states.

In response to the litigation, a Target corporate spokeswoman stated in an email: "We want everyone to feel welcome and respected whenever they shop at Target and take accusations like this seriously. While we don't comment on pending litigation, we're aware of the claim and investigating the allegations made in the lawsuit."

The suit contends Robinson, 21, was denied his "federal and state rights to be free from unlawful discrimination because of his race" while trying to shop at the Target located in the 9600 block of FM 1960 Road East in Humble.

The suit stems from an incident when Robinson, a college student and a restaurant manager at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, was shopping at the Atascocita Commons Target store.

On March 30, 2017, the suit alleges, a Target employee trailed Robinson and said into a communications device: "I'm following the black guy."

"This statement was made in a manner and tone so that Gerald would know that she was talking about him," the suit alleges. Robinson "was dressed in typical school clothing that did not suggest that he would be hiding or secreting any items in an effort to shoplift."



The employee followed him outside into the parking lot, calling him a "thief," according to the suit.

Robinson is represented by the law firm headed by Ben Hall, a former Houston mayoral candidate and longtime attorney.

"I generally don't take these kind of cases," Hall said. "I took this case because it was so offensive."
Jessica Khera of Sugar Land learned the value of "Ask and you shall receive" after Tom Hanks sent her a typewriter.

Yes, the Tom Hanks, who made us change the way we look at volleyballs after "Cast Away."

The Fusion Academy student said teacher Deanne Owen encouraged her to reach out to Hanks after reading his book "Uncommon Type" and watching the documentary "California Typewriter" for her 10th-grade honors English class in January.

MOVIE HOME: The sprawling mansion from an '80s Tom Hanks movie is now for sale

"We sent him a fan letter telling him we liked the book and documentary, asked if we could get a typewriter or if he could recommend one," Jessica told Chron.com. "I wasnt really expecting a response but within two weeks there was a package here from Tom Hanks with the typewriter."

The typewriter is an undated Royal model. It came with a letter that Jessica says was "inspiring," encouraging her let him know how the writing goes on the machine.

The first thing Jessica plans to do is write Hanks a thank you letter on the typewriter. As for her future with it, the 15-year-old said she may type up journal entries or use it as the start of a typewriter collection.

In an age of instant communication and keyboards with shortcuts and backspaces, using a typewriter may seem archaic. But Jessica could instantly see the appeal of using her new gift instead of a computer.

NEXT ROLE: Hanks to play Mr. Rogers, who was definitely not a deadly Marine Corps scout

"It feels a lot more personal, like you're creating something concrete because you can't simply delete what you've written," Jessica said.

Now Playing: 93 year old Herb Gold talks about why he still uses a Royal typewriter to write his books. Video: SFChronicle

Ahmad Hernandez, master teacher at Fusion Academy, said teachers work one-on-one with students, which gave Jessica the opportunity to study Hanks' book and the documentary about typewriters.

"We are thrilled that Tom Hanks responded to Jessicas hand-written note with this thoughtful gift, which she is sure to remember for a lifetime," Hernandez said.

Scroll through the gallery above to see more photos of Jessica with her Royal typewriter from Tom Hanks.

Will Axford is a digital reporter for Chron.com. Read more of his stories here and follow him on Twitter.
DALLAS (AP)  A gunman who mortally wounded a suburban Dallas police officer likely killed a second man before barricading himself in an apartment and randomly firing his weapon during the standoff, authorities said Thursday.

It's believed that Brandon De McCall, 26, fatally shot an acquaintance at an apartment complex in Richardson on Wednesday evening, according to officials. Responding officers found the body of Rene Gamez, 30, on a landing and then went to a nearby apartment where they encountered McCall.

Officer David Sherrard, 37, was shot as he entered the apartment. He fell back out of the apartment and was pulled away by other officers, according to Richardson police Chief Jim Spivey. Sherrard, a married father of two daughters, later died at a hospital.

Sherrard is the first to die on duty in the 63-year history of the Richardson department, Spivey said during a news conference.

"It's the hardest day we've ever had," Spivey said. "We're not doing well."

McCall eventually surrendered to police early Thursday and was taken into custody. Witnesses said McCall repeatedly shouted "I'm sorry" as he was being led away.

He was being held Thursday at the Collin County jail on a charge of capital murder of a peace officer. Online jail records don't indicate an attorney for him.

It's believed McCall shot Gamez but the investigation is continuing, Plano police spokesman David Tilley said. Police in Plano, which borders Richardson, are leading the investigation.

Gamez lived in the apartment where McCall barricaded himself and the two knew one another, but the extent of their relationship wasn't clear Thursday, according to Tilley.

Collin County court records show McCall has been arrested at least once before by Richardson police, in 2016 on a drug possession charge.

Police in nearby Garland arrested him in March and May of 2009 for marijuana possession charges and in January 2010 for unauthorized use of a vehicle, according to a spokesman for the Garland Police Department. The 2009 charges were dismissed after an apparent plea deal and probation was completed, Dallas County court records show. The vehicle arrest was dismissed before charges were filed, according to police records.

A Dallas police report says he was taken to a mental health facility last year after threatening to jump off a bridge and telling officers that he wanted to be taken to a doctor and "put to sleep permanently," according to KTVT-TV in Dallas.

A Richardson police cruiser served as a makeshift memorial for Sherrard with people leaving flowers and other items Thursday.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott offered his condolences on Twitter.

"The hearts and soul of Texas mourn with you. Your loss is a loss to all law enforcement and everyone in our great state," the governor said.

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This version of the story has been corrected to show that McCall was arrested in Garland for drug charges in 2009 and vehicle charges in 2010. A previous version of the story cited information in The Dallas Morning News that had the dates reversed.

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Associated Press writer Claudia Lauer in Dallas contributed to this report.

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Follow David Warren on Twitter at https://twitter.com/WarrenJourno

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Sign up for the AP's weekly newsletter showcasing our best reporting from Texas and the Midwest at http://apne.ws/2u1RMfv .
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump on Friday afternoon lavished praise on one of his former top aides, Rob Porter, who resigned earlier this week amid accusations that he physically, verbally and emotionally abused his two ex-wives.

"We wish him well, he worked very hard," Trump said to a small group of reporters at the White House on Friday afternoon, providing his first public comments on the topic. "We found out about it recently, and I was surprised by it, but we certainly wish him well, and it's a tough time for him. He did a very good job when he was in the White House, and we hope he has a wonderful career, and he will have a great career ahead of him. But it was very sad when we heard about it, and certainly he's also very sad now. He also, as you probably know, says he's innocent, and I think you have to remember that. He said very strongly yesterday that he's innocent, so you have to talk to him about that, but we absolutely wish him well, he did a very good job when he was at the White House."
After failing to win a bailout for cash-strapped coal plants, some Trump administration officials are considering emergency orders that could keep at least some coal generators online, people familiar with the discussions said.

The approach would require Rick Perry to use his authority as U.S. energy secretary to spur emergency compensation for coal plants run by FirstEnergy Solutions that may be at risk of shutting, said the people, asking not to be identified because the information isn't public.

Some Energy Department officials are weighing this option after federal regulators rejected a proposal by Perry last month to pay coal plants more for their "resilience," they said. FirstEnergy hasn't formally requested the aid, one of the people said.

When asked to confirm the talks, agency spokeswoman Shaylyn Hynes said "that is not correct information" but declined to provide further detail. The Energy Department's press department later posted on Twitter that sources were "misinformed" on the consideration.

The FirstEnergy Solutions plants in question were at the heart of the Trump administration's plan to compensate nuclear and coal generators more for their power. The proposal was rejected last month by members of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that President Donald Trump appointed. They said it would violate U.S. law.

Coal mogul Bob Murray, an outspoken advocate for the bailout plan and a Trump supporter, had previously called on Perry to use his emergency authority to save the FirstEnergy Solutions plants but was shot down. He's warned that his company, which supplies some of the units, may face default if they shut.

Perry has the authority under Section 202 of the Federal Power Act to order a power plant online should he determine it's needed in an emergency to "serve the public interest." Regulators may then prescribe reasonable compensation to keep the plant in service. While some officials are weighing the merits of a 202 order, the Energy Department may still decide to pursue other options -- or none at all. It wasn't immediately clear which FirstEnergy plants could benefit from the action.

In an interview Thursday, Energy Undersecretary Mark Menezes said the agency still expects FERC to come up with an alternative to Perry's rejected plan. But he emphasized that the Energy Department is prepared to act alone if it doesn't.

"We have authorities that we can use when the need arises," Menezes said, when asked if the agency could take its own action to keep coal and nuclear plants from retiring. "They're well known. And we'll use them if we need to."

FirstEnergy coal-fired plants at risk of closure include Bruce Mansfield in Shippingport, Pennsylvania, and W.H. Sammis in Stratton, Ohio. Mansfield spent much of January offline after a fire damaged the complex's pollution-control scrubber, stack and other equipment.

Just last month, Murray once again called on the Energy Department to use its emergency authority to aid FirstEnergy coal plants. "The secretary can do it," Murray said in an interview at the time. "It would be the right thing to do for America."

There's no guarantee of action. Historically such orders are issued "on a case-by-case basis and have been granted to ensure reliability, not economic viability," said Christi Tezak, managing director of ClearView Energy Partners in Washington.

The step could face legal challenges.

"It would be an unwarranted extension of the 202 authority," said Joel Eisen, an energy policy professor at Richmond University in Virginia.

Murray Energy Corp. spokesman Gary Broadbent said Thursday that he wasn't aware of any action by the Energy Department to invoke its 202 authority but described such a move as "an excellent action" to address grid reliability. FirstEnergy spokeswoman Jennifer Young similarly said she wasn't aware of the effort but said the company supports any measures to keep plants operating.

"It is not necessarily surprising if this is pursued, as 202 action was raised as a possibility last October," Julien Dumoulin-Smith, a research analyst for Bank of America Merrill Lynch, wrote in a research note Friday. However, "we see potential weakness in DOE's case," given the absence of imminent reliability concerns that would justify emergency orders.

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Bloomberg's Jim Polson and Tim Loh contributed.
The weather had turned brutal at the Port Aransas Whooping Crane Festival last February.

I was leading a shorebird identification workshop along the beach near the jetty off Cotter Avenue, and a cold wind swept over the beach; it was strong enough to cause some of us to lose our footing.

Even worse, the weather meant there weren't many shorebirds to see scurrying along the beach.

All was not lost, though. Gulls and terns were clustered along the beach, their feathers ruffling in the wind, giving us a chance to learn to identify one species from another.

In the winter, the birds sport plumage of dull gray topside and dull white underside, which forces us to concentrate on the most important clues - body structure, flight pattern, beaks and legs - for identification.

But winter plumage patterns are still important because the birds take two to five years to molt into adult plumage. Learning the age differences in plumage gives us a key advantage in identifying gulls and terns.

By morning's end, we could quickly detect a Forster's tern, distinguish a royal tern from a similar Caspian tern, and figure out the differences among laughing, ring-billed, and herring gulls.

More Information Port Aransas Whooping Crane Festival When: Feb. 22-25 Activities: Guided boat trips to see whooping cranes, guided field trips for birding and bird photography, including trips along Mustang Island and to Fennessey Ranch and King Ranch. Workshops: Bird identification, bird photography and optics presentation. Speakers: Dr. George Archibald, co-founder of International Crane Foundation, plus presentations about birds and nature photography. Trade show and exhibits: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday Fees: $20 registration plus various fees for field trips and workshops. Open to all ages. Information: whoopingcranefestival.org See More Collapse

Meanwhile, the small number of ruddy turnstones, western sandpipers and sanderlings fulfilled at least part of our plan to learn shorebird identification.

Because an abundant variety of birds pass through Port Aransas during the festival, excursions to watch, photograph and study birds are never disappointing, even if sought-after species are scare on a particular day.

A boat trip to see whooping cranes should not be disappointing, no matter how many of North America's most majestic cranes people see and photograph. The festival offers many boat trips.

Whether you walk the beaches, take a boat trip, or prowl fields and marshes, you will see birds.

I led a trip on the boardwalk at Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center, a brackish marsh hosting long-legged wading birds, including herons, egrets and roseate spoonbills, along with such dabbling ducks as gadwalls, American wigeons and green-winged teal.

People on that trip got uncommonly close-up photographs of an American bittern standing in the open. Normally, the bird is tough to photograph because of its secretive nature and camouflage plumage, which blends imperceptibly into marsh vegetation.

The Whooping Crane Festival is on tap again this month. Indoor workshops about birds and bird photography combined with numerous field trips conducted by friendly guides give the festival premier status.

Not to mention the seafood restaurants in Port Aransas.
Two men suspected of killing a woman during an attempted carjacking at an Alief gas station are also accused of committing an aggravated robbery just eight hours later.

The suspects, Jermia Guillory, 20, and DMarquis Boone, 24, have been charged with capital murder, as well as robbery causing bodily injury and evading arrest, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said.

Guillory and Boone are suspected in the Monday killing of 30-year-old Kiesha Price. Price was sitting in a silver BMW at a gas station at 11249 Bissonnet Street when the two men approached her.

Now Playing: FOX 26 News Reporter Natasha Geigel Video: Fox 26 Houston

Surveillance video released earlier this week shows two men biking up to the BMW moments after Price's boyfriend and his uncle got out of the car around 11:30 p.m. and entered the gas station.

After a brief struggle, one of the men -- identified by HPD as Guillory - fatally shot Price.

The two men then fled on their BMX-style bicycles, police said.

Price was originally sitting in the back seat of the car, but apparently moved to the front.

We believe Ms. Price surprised them, HPD Detective David Stark said.

Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said Thursday that police have "a pretty solid case" against the two men.

The pair are also accused in the aggravated robbery and assault of a man in the 8500 block of Wilcrest, Acevedo said. Along with Jaqwavion Glenn, 24, the three took the mans belongings and drove off in his black Toyota Rav4, Acevedo alleged. Glenn has also been charged with aggravated robbery and evading police.

Police caught the three the next day around an apartment in the same Wilcrest area, because officers recognized the men from surveillance videos, police said. One of the men was wearing the same distinctive clothes he wore in the video, Capt. Mike Faulhaber said.

Price's family told local media earlier this week that she had a 5-year-old son.

"We definitely want to make sure (her son) is taken care of, because he's the one who was to live without a mom just as I have to live without a sister," Tyrone Price, Kiesha's brother, told KHOU. "Just because someone didn't think about the family aspect of it."

Police have voiced similar anger about the crime.

"This is an absolutely senseless, vicious act by two cowards," Houston Police Department Lt. W.L. Meeler said earlier this week.

A surveillance video shows the suspects approaching the vehicle from a spot where they hid around the building.

After he heard the shot, Faisal Kazi, a clerk at the gas station during the shooting, said he turned around and saw one of the men still pointing the gun at the front seat. Then the two suspects fled.

Kazi called an ambulance and put pressure on the wound, which he said was in the woman's pelvic area.

"I didn't know how to react," Kazi said. "I was little scared."

Meeler said earlier this week it's possible that the attackers thought the car was empty. The suspects simultaneously opened both the front drive and passenger side doors before the shooting, the video shows.
Houston ISD administrators announced preliminary plans Thursday to close and immediately reopen six chronically low-performing schools, a process that would force hundreds of students to leave their home campus and result in the replacement of all staff in those schools.

Administrators also proposed handing over control of hiring, curriculum and governance of eight other schools to two nonprofit organizations, a concession that will allow students at those campuses to continue attending their home school.

The two proposals are being made to stave off a potential state takeover of the district's school board, a possible punishment mandated under a new Texas law. If any district has a single school that fails to meet state academic standards for five consecutive years, the Texas Education Agency must now replace the district's school board or close the chronically failing school.

The changes were announced during a school board meeting where district leaders also discussed early plans for tackling a projected $208.8 million budget shortfall.

Ten Houston ISD schools must all meet state standards this year to avoid triggering the law, a highly unlikely proposition. To avoid a potential state takeover of the board, district administrators are proposing major changes to the 10 schools, along with four low-performing campuses.

"The focus is not to close schools," Houston ISD Superintendent Richard Carranza said. "The focus is to ensure our students have incredible opportunities and that we control our destiny and nobody else controls our destiny."

The proposals would need approval of the district's school board. A vote would likely occur in mid-April. In the meantime, district staff are planning to meet with community members and coordinate plans with the Texas Education Agency.

The six closure-and-restart schools -- Blackshear, Highland Heights, Hilliard and Wesley elementary schools, Cullen Middle School and Woodson PK-8  would only serve limited grade levels in 2018-19.

The four elementary schools and Woodson PK-8 would offer pre-kindergarten and kindergarten, while Cullen Middle School would offer sixth grade.

Students in grade levels that aren't served would be transferred to nearby campuses.

The six campuses would add a single grade level each year. District officials are also asking the state to allow it to serve additional grade levels in 2018-19.

The eight remaining schools would all become "partnership" campuses with outside organizations, a move that would allow Houston ISD to avoid potential state intervention for at least two years. The "partnership" campuses would still serve all grade levels.

PREVIOUSLY: HISD officials propose drastic changes at low-performing schools to avoid state takeover

Under preliminary plans, Dogan and Mading elementary schools would partner with Children's Learning Institute at University of Texas Health. Henry Middle School and Kashmere, Madison, North Forest, Wheatley and Worthing high schools would partner with Talent Development Secondary, a Baltimore-based nonprofit.

"We're at a crossroads," said Houston ISD Trustee Wanda Adams, whose district includes two of the 14 schools. "We really don't know what the solution should be, but we know what we have to do."

Dealing with the law

District officials selected campuses for closure-and-restart or partnerships based on academic offerings in the school's feeder pattern and recommendations from a committee analyzing magnet programming in the district. Houston ISD administrators had initially proposed making major changes to 15 schools, instead of 14. They removed Lawson Middle School from the list Thursday.

The 14 schools are all in high-poverty areas, and nearly all serve predominately black or Hispanic student populations. In the past few decades, campus closures have been largely concentrated in those areas, a pattern that trustees want to avoid repeating.

"This is difficult," Houston ISD Trustee Jolanda Jones said. "We're trying to save our black and brown schools, because last time we did this, those are the schools that got closed."

The dramatic proposals have been forced by the new law, known as HB 1842, which passed in 2015 with support from 85 percent of the Texas Legislature. Twenty-six districts across Texas face the punishments outlined in HB 1842, including Dallas, San Antonio and Waco ISDs.

Proponents of the law said it would force school districts to address the lowest-performing schools after years of neglect. Opponents in Houston have argued the punishments are draconian given that Houston ISD has about 280 schools, yet a single chronically-failing school could trigger a state takeover of the board.

Houston ISD administrators had already implemented changes at all 14 schools, along with 31 other campuses, through a district program called Achieve 180. Those schools have received additional support designed to address students' non-academic needs, and some campuses have seen dramatic staff turnover.

Administrators have said they're seeing progress at the 10 schools that could trigger the new state law, but "we know it's going to be hard" for all of them to meet state standards, Houston ISD Chief Academic Officer Grenita Lathan said.

'Shocking' budget cuts

The proposed changes came after Houston ISD officials offered more details Thursday for how they plan to address the projected shortfall in the district's $1.9 billion budget. Teacher layoffs, a reduction in bus routes and fewer school district police officers are all among the cuts under consideration.

The impact on campuses could be drastic. Almost all custodians to be cut, with schools cleaned a couple times per week rather than every day. The number of campuses with an assigned Houston ISD police officer could fall from 89 to 24. Bus routes could be drastically reduced, only sparing special education and homeless students' routes in some cases.

Administrators haven't estimated the number of teacher layoffs that could occur. About 2,000 to 2,200 teachers leave the district annually, but attrition likely wouldn't cover all the needed cuts.

The proposals are all preliminary and could change as the district seeks input from staff and community members. But the $208.8 million deficit is real, as will the pain closing it will likely cause.

"What you're going to see today may be shocking in some ways," Carranza said.

Houston ISD Chief Financial Officer Rene Barajas told the board there's an option to increase its revenues: hold a Tax Ratification Election, or TRE, to increase its property taxes from the current rate of about $1.20 per $100 of a home's value to $1.33. That would cost roughly $200 a year for property owners with a taxable value of about $200,000, and bring in an estimated $119 million for the district.

CARRANZA: HISD faces changes, challenges in financial storm

Houston ISD Trustee Sue Deigaard said it would likely be an uphill battle to pass such a tax.

"I find it striking and frustrating that every year it's about what can we cut instead of finding efficiencies," Deigaard said. "I do not understand how we can go to the public for a TRE until we give them confidence we're been as efficient as we can be with our money."
Rice University plans to double research funding, work more closely with Houston and make undergraduate education more affordable for middle-class students in its next decade, a recognition that even the city's most prestigious campus must show its worth in a cultural climate skeptical of higher education.

The university, which released a seven-point strategic plan Tuesday, said it expects that more than $2 billion would be needed to realize the outlined goals, which include expanding online degree programs and creating a stronger campus culture for graduate students.

President David Leebron said about $200 million would come from new donations for financial aid.

"It responds to the criticism, which I don't think is entirely warranted, that (higher) education is not so effective and doesn't make a real difference, doesn't prepare people for the jobs in the world today," Leebron said. "We're addressing that set of issues."

Rice's plan, approved last month by trustees and released publicly this week, comes after the university was bruised in the new federal tax plan. Rice will now pay taxes on endowment earnings, and higher education leaders aren't sure if other provisions of the law will discourage giving to non-profits.

More Information Rice's new strategic plan has seven components: - Providing the best undergraduate education to students, including by connecting students and faculty outside the classroom - Raising the profile of top graduate programs and discontinue doctoral programs that cannot compete - Investing in faculty to make the university a destination workplace - Diversifying the student body, in part by more aggressively subsidizing the costs of college - Doubling research funding in the next decade in an effort to elevate the university's research reputation - Expanding online coursework to extend Rice's reach - Better engaging with the city of Houston Source: Rice University's "V2C2: Vision for the Second Century, Second Decade" See More Collapse

Culturally, support for universities is also in decline.

Rice's own Kinder Institute last year found that Donald Trump voters were far more likely than Hillary Clinton voters to say "there are many ways to succeed in today's economy with no more than a high school diploma." Most Republican and right-leaning independent voters told the Pew Research Center over the summer that higher education had a negative effect on how things are going in the country.

The strategic plan acknowledged these forces and said Rice must double down on making its work known.

POLITICS, POLICY: Texas colleges, universities brace for hard changes

"A dangerous skepticism about the value of scientific research and the role of universities in objectively pursuing knowledge has arisen," Rice wrote. "We cannot rely on others to communicate and explain the value of our endeavors and contributions, but must pursue that task as part of our responsibility."

Board chair Robert Tudor III said the university needs to offer an "even higher value proposition" to remain competitive with elite schools with larger endowments that back financial aid.

That's a particular challenge, he said, given the current cultural climate.

"Things are changing and changing quickly," he said. "Trust in institutions, broadly defined, has declined  we have to have an even greater impact on the community in which we live and operate, and we have to change and be forward looking."

In the plan

The plan's seven points call on Rice to improve undergraduate education, graduate program quality, and faculty training between 2022 and 2032. It's the second version of Rice's "Vision for the Second Century," a strategy that directed how Rice would change at its 100th anniversary.

Several aspects of Rice's new plan address college costs.

At Rice, the total cost of attendance rose 3.1 percent year over year to $59,458. More than half of all undergraduate students receive financial aid through scholarships, loans and work-study programs.

Besides fundraising for financial aid, the university pledged to create stronger recruitment programs at community colleges to ensure a wide range of students are considering the university.

It also said Rice should help lower-income students transition into the university - like in summer programs before freshman year - so that they can succeed academically.

Rice's student government has pushed to make extracurricular and co-curricular activities financially accessible for all students. Residential colleges now give low-income students money to subsidize the cost of student events and spring break community service trips.

Seeing that goal in the strategic plan reflected student desires, according to student body president Justin Onwenu.

"If you're 18 and Rice is giving you money," he said, "the value is infinite."

Robust recruiting

Rice's recognition of the changing cultural climate is significant, said Ray Martinez, president of Independent Colleges and Universities of Texas, of which Rice is a member.

The university's plan, he said, shows that there could be "consequences" for private institutions if they do not adapt to the changing culture.

For some measures like enrollment, private institutions in Texas fare better than universities nationally. But, he said, "the general public is questioning the value of the college degree. We ought to take that seriously."

A prestigious private university's decision to acknowledge the cultural shift is notable, said David Labaree, a Stanford University education professor who has studied pressure on higher education from consumers.

"They're somewhat buffered from the political process, (and) they still have to test the wind," he said.

Tudor said he believes that the plan is aggressive enough to distinguish Rice from its competitors in this environment - particularly due to the calls for improving strong graduate programs.

That plan asks for more robust recruiting for qualified prospective students, competitive stipends for students and efforts to recruit the best faculty.

Rice also must incorporate Houston - including the Texas Medical Center - into its programming, he said. The university hopes to collaborate with the city's vast business, government and arts communities.

"We should seek to build these partnerships wherever possible," Rice said in the plan, "and make sure that pathways for enabling such collaborations are easily identifiable and usable."

Tudor said students "don't have that same opportunity in Durham, N.C., Ithaca, N.Y., or, for that part, Palo Alto."

Capital campaign

Rice has started raising money in the quiet period of a capital campaign that, when launched publicly, will back the plan, Leebron said. He declined to estimate the campaign's final goal but said it would be "substantially more" than the last campaign's $1 billion sum.

Other money will come from internal funding reallocations, Rice's endowment and money from research grants.

The university plans to discontinue doctoral programs "that cannot be put on a path to competitive excellence," measured by both recruitment of faculty and graduate students and outcomes.

Rice will invest money from these programs into "more focused or interdisciplinary strengths in graduate education," the plan reads.

Leebron acknowledged the decisions would be "hard" but said Rice has closed few programs historically.

The university offers more than 25 doctoral programs.

"We're asking every department and program to have a strategy to get better," he said. "We can't go out to donors and ask for their support unless they believe we're being reasonably tough with ourselves (in) allocating resources."

A second curricular change will be a greater emphasis on online classes and degree programs. These programs will widen Rice's brand and impact in Houston's suburbs, around the country and worldwide.

That will generate revenue to reinvest in the faculty, Leebron said.

Lindsay Ellis writes about higher education for the Chronicle. You can follow her on Twitter and send her tips at lindsay.ellis@chron.com.
Texas Lieutenant Gov. Dan Patrick is not too pleased that Oscar winning actress Sandra Bullock has agreed to star in a movie about former state Sen. Wendy Davis, whose 13-hour filibuster helped stall an anti-abortion bill in 2013.

"It saddens me that Sandra Bullock agreed to play Wendy Davis in a movie called 'Let Her Speak,'" Patrick said in downtown Austin, just miles from where Bullock once owned a home.

When a member of the audience doubted it, Patrick assured the crowd it was true.

"Sandra Bullock," he repeated. "I used to like her."

But Patrick said he's already taking steps to keep Bullock and film crews out of the Senate chamber to recreate the filibuster that raised Davis's statewide profile. Davis ran for governor in 2014 and lost to Gov. Greg Abbott.

"And by the way, if I have anything to do with it, I'm not going to let them use the Senate chamber to shoot, because they've already disgraced it once," Patrick said. "They're not going to do it a second time."

Patrick told the audience at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative public policy advocacy group, that he already has other issues with the movie. He said they sent him a script and asked, "Guess who the villain is?"

After a pause, Patrick raised his right hand and smiled: "Me."

He already is taking shots at the accuracy of the movie. He said in the script they have him walking over to state Sen. Donna Campbell and "calling Wendy Davis a bad name."

Patrick said he would never use such language on the floor of the Senate.

"I don't curse," he said.

Patrick said he can't change the script, even though it offended him to be portrayed that way.

But he did say he and his wife bounced off ideas of actors who might play him in the movie. He tossed out Brad Pitt and George Clooney. But his wife, he said, didn't hesitate.

"Without skipping a beat she said, 'Dan Aykroyd.' She said, 'Like he looks today.'"
Don't worry about needing to teach the Bible in schools - the Houston Independent School District is dealing first-hand with its own version of the rain of frogs, the fiery hail and the locusts of the Old Testament.

The district, which is already reeling under the dictates of a broken school finance model, has been hit with the worst natural disaster Houston has ever seen at the same time as it faces a takeover by the state.

Superintendent Richard Carranza didn't create the mess he finds himself in, but Houston's parents, employers and students are counting on Carranza and his administration to figure out a way to clean it up. The state probably won't be much help.

FALKENBERG: Carranza's management plan violates Houston ISD's own policy

Carranza's success is going to depend less on the boldness of his ideas than on his ability to listen to affected stakeholders, parents and community organizations, and to change course if necessary.

Flexibility will be key. Transparency during the deliberation process is paramount.

Once a final decision is reached, Carranza will need to communicate clearly the path forward. In short, within the tight restraints set by the state and HISD's lack of financial resources, the superintendent needs to be truly collaborative in the next weeks and months if he is going to lead HISD through this desert.

The superintendent has already announced some proposals, such as revamping the choice system, entering into partnerships with nonprofits to turn around failing schools and going back to a more centralized model of governance.

CARRANZA: HISD faces changes, challenges in financial storm

But poorly managed and poorly communicated details can sink transformative change. Parents are already confused by the new meaning ascribed to "choice program" and "choice school." Parents need to know the nature of the programs offered by HISD, how to apply to them and transportation options.

This challenge isn't exactly new. HISD parents have long been scratching their heads over the variety of choices presented to students: dual language, early college, gifted and talented, International Baccalaureate. Now there's another overlay of meaning.

The superintendent should make sure that the district and its principals communicate as simply as possible what, exactly, is changing.

To make things even more complex, HISD is considering partnerships with nonprofits at eight struggling campuses in an effort to avoid takeover by the state. The Texas Education Agency is foisting this action on the district due to its long-term inability to turn them around.

RELATED: Dan Patrick's budget all but guarantees higher school taxes

The process raises so many questions for anxious students and parents in these school communities. As soon as the state provides the parameters, the superintendent should release clear criteria for the metrics on how the nonprofits' performance will be measured for public evaluation, examination and conversation.

As to centralization, the superintendent is proposing a new model of governance in which many decisions will no longer be made by those closest to the students - the principals - but instead by someone in the central office. When asked by Houston Chronicle columnist Lisa Falkenberg, HISD Chief Financial Officer Rene Barajas and board president Rhonda Skillern-Jones disagreed about whether this effort was a cost-saving tool.

When two top officials at HISD aren't on the same page as to whether greater control of funds will save the district money, no wonder the taxpayers are confused. This is more than a public relations problem. The mixed messages suggest that policies are being floated without a full understanding of the consequences. These aren't just numbers on a ledger. These are our children - our future.

It won't stop raining frogs in the district until the Legislature fixes our broken school finance system. Until then, Carranza's best umbrella is community buy-in, and it will be earned only through open and ongoing communication and attention to details.
Personal injury suits, broken contracts and all manner of personal and business dispute end up in our district civil courts. The best judges are knowledgeable, experienced, balanced and, importantly, efficient - whether a civil or criminal trial, justice delayed is still justice denied. Early voting for party primaries begins Tuesday, Feb. 20, and runs through Friday, March 2. Election Day is Tuesday, March 6.

ENDORSEMENTS: See which candidates are supported by the Houston Chronicle editorial board

GOP: Endorsements for the civil district court Republican primary races

Democratic

District Judge, 55th Judicial District: Latosha Lewis Payne

Our nod goes to Latosha Lewis Payne in this coin toss race. Both Payne and her opponent, Paul Simon, have spent 18 years practicing law and each has attained excellence in their respective careers. Both candidates have devoted significant volunteer time to helping indigent people secure needed legal representation. What's more: Both candidates displayed a clear understanding of the present inefficiencies of this court and suggested thoughtful ways to improve them. Payne was raised in Acres Homes, graduated from the University of Texas Law School and went onto become a partner at a major Houston firm.

Simon worked his way through college and the South Texas College of Law Houston, and has had an outstanding legal career as well. We could go back and forth about the candidates' varied but cogent virtues. Simon has a near perfect judicial demeanor, while Lewis is a dynamic advocate. Ultimately, we found Payne's professional drive more compelling. Payne, 43, was a meter hurdles track champion in college, and Democratic voters should unite to help her surmount the hurdle of this primary. Simon has the makings of an excellent judge and should run again.

The winner will face Republican incumbent Judge Jeff Shadwick in the general election.

SELECTING JUDGES: The process that results in top judges being swept off the bench needs to come to an end

District Judge, 113th Judicial District: Rabeea Collier

Voters should cast their ballots for the more seasoned candidate in this primary contest. To put it simply, Rabeea Collier, 35, has the requisite experience to serve on this bench. A graduate of the Thurgood Marshall School of Law, Collier has practiced for more than a decade, currently specializing primarily in civil litigation, and has brought a considerable number of jury trials to verdict. She also earns high marks on her ability to communicate courteously and clearly, important skills for an effective civil district court judge.

Her opponent, Cooke Kelsey, barely meets the minimum statutory requirements to serve as a judge. A candidate must be licensed for four years and Kelsey was admitted to the bar on November 6, 2014 - exactly four years before Election Day.

The voters of Harris County deserve judges who soar above the minimum requirements, not ones who barely squeak over the bar. In addition, the earnest and idealistic Kelsey displays an unwarranted confidence in his own ability to reshape the civil court system in Harris County.

The winner will face Republican incumbent Judge Michael Landrum in November.

UNTERMEYER: Nonpartisan election of judges puts emphasis on justice, not politics

District Judge, 189th Judicial District: Scot "dolli" Dollinger

The candidates for the Democratic nomination for this seat are among the most affable and personable of any whom we have screened. Both men are qualified, possess the appropriate temperament for the bench and appear to be in the race for reasons of public service. But decide we must, and Scot "dolli" Dollinger stands out for the intangible attributes of focus and advocacy that he exhibited during the screening.

Fred Cook has the advantage of a broader legal background, having tried banking, bankruptcy, construction, contract disputes, insurance, oil and gas, real estate and trust cases, while Dollinger's practice revolves around personal injury suits in which he has represented both insurance companies and plaintiffs. Although Dollinger's legal experience is narrower in content, he's gained the distinction of being board certified in his field. Dollinger, 56, promises to check his biases at the door and not treat the law as a cafeteria line selecting only the jurisprudence that he likes. In the last 10 years, the Emory University School of Law graduate has donated over 1,000 hours of his time to help people who could not afford a lawyer. Harris County voters will be in good hands regardless of who wins this primary, but our vote goes to Dollinger.

The winner in this race will run against the Republican nominee in November.

District Judge, 234th Judicial District: Lauren Reeder

Lauren Reeder, 33, earns our support for her crisp communication style, her impressive academic background and her passion for the job. This Harvard Law School graduate has experience in both civil and criminal matters; she started at a big law firm working on complex civil litigation and is now at the district attorney's office trying felony cases.

Her opponent, Jeff O'Dea, an able lawyer, has more years of experience and would certainly would make a fine judge. But Reeder's spirit of public service won us over. If elected, she promises to view her job in part as one of educating the public about the court system and to work hard to be available to counsel and litigants. Democrats should give Reeder the opportunity to vie for this bench.

If she wins, Reeder will face off against Republican incumbent Judge Wesley Ward in the general election.

District Judge, 269th Judicial District: Cory Sepolio

How can civil district judges use their position to ensure that everyone, wealthy or poor, receives true justice in their courts? We pose that question to candidates throughout the endorsement process, and Cory Sepolio's precise answer reveals an admirable jurist in the making.

"The biggest thing to fix the playing field is jury service," Sepolio said during a meeting with the editorial board. "One of the problems I see all the time is that folks that are flying down here with all the money and defending themselves, they have more representation in the jury box than the mom and pops. We need to get with the clerk's office and we need to expand the pool of possible jurors."

Judges can't change the law, but they can change their courtrooms, and Sepolio understands that challenge. An experienced civil defense attorney who largely works as counsel for insurance companies, this 40-year-old graduate of South Texas College of Law Houston grew up in Pasadena and speaks passionately about the need to guarantee equal treatment in our courts, and that includes keeping ICE out so that potential jurors and litigants aren't scared away from pursuing justice.

Also running is Shampa Mukerji, who has an impressive and diverse background that includes growing up in Saudi Arabia, attending Northwestern University as an undergrad and working for the Mostyn Law Firm. However, she cannot match Sepolio's trial experience.

The winner of this primary will face Republican incumbent Judge Dan Hinde in the general election.

District Judge, 281st Judicial District: George Arnold

George Arnold has 26 years of experience in civil litigation, primarily insurance defense. He also appears to have the even temperament exhibited by the best judges. But the Baylor Law School graduate earned our support for his crisp communication style and his thoughtful specificity about ways to improve the existing system. Arnold, who will be 51 on the March 6 primary voting day, promised, if elected, to act on unopposed motions within three business days, to schedule hearings within 14 days of request through the use of contingency settings and to find an online scheduling system that can be implemented.

"We still obtain hearings the way we did when I was a baby lawyer in 1992," he told the editorial board, expressing his frustration with the outdated nature of our civil courts.

His opponent, Christine Weems, is board certified in personal injury trial law and should consider another run. Nevertheless, Arnold made the more convincing case that he could carry his party to victory in the fall.

The winner of this race will run against Republican incumbent Judge Sylvia Matthews in the general election.
John Perry Barlow, who co-founded the premier organization that champions civil liberties online and also wrote lyrics for the Grateful Dead, died Wednesday morning.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, which Barlow founded in 1990, reported on its website that he "passed away quietly in his sleep." He was 70.

Cindy Cohn, the EFF's executive director, wrote that Barlow's efforts helped make the internet what it is today:

It is no exaggeration to say that major parts of the Internet we all know and love today exist and thrive because of Barlow's vision and leadership. He always saw the Internet as a fundamental place of freedom, where voices long silenced can find an audience and people can connect with others regardless of physical distance.

The EFF was co-founded by Barlow, online activist John Gilmore and Mitch Kapor, who founded Lotus, a software company that popularized the spreadsheet. The foundation has evolved into an aggressive advocate for numerous online causes, including the fight over net neutrality.

Barlow also co-founded the Freedom of the Press Foundation in 2012, and served on its board of directors until his death.

Starting in the early 1970s through 1995, Barlow was a lyricist for the San Francisco band the Grateful Dead, working primarily with Bob Weir. The music site Consequence of Sound said that Barlow is credited with writing the lyrics for such Dead classics as "Estimated Prophet", "Cassidy", "Mexicali Blues", "The Devil I Know", "Hell in a Bucket" and "Black-Throated Wind".

Barlow had battled poor health in recent years, suffering from a heart attack in 2015. His last post to his Twitter account lamented the possibility that Russia would turn over NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, who has taken refuge in that country, as a "gift to (President) Trump".

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Vietnamese fishing boat escapes chase by Cambodia coast guard

by Ros Chanveasna

February 06,2018 | Source: Khmer Times

Cambodian authorities yesterday chased a Vietnamese fishing boat suspected of conducting illegal fishing off the coast of Preah Sihanouk province.



Police reported that a Vietnamese trawler was damaged during the operation conducted by Cambodian coastal guards.



Lieutenant General Teng Soun, director of the sea border department at the Interior Ministry, confirmed his coastal guards were alerted to the illegal fishing boat crossing maritime borders into Cambodias territory.



Lt Gen Soun said that a patrol boat, carrying 12 police officers, was dispatched to check the illegal fishing activity.



A Vietnamese fishing boat was discovered and suspected of illegal fishing in Cambodian waters near Koh Seh island at about 5.00am, he said.



He said the team of coastal guards chased the boat and attempted to force it to stop.



One warning shot was fired, but the fishing boat did not stop and managed to escape into Vietnamese water, Lt Gen Soun said.



According to an annual report from Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, there were 3,925 reported cases of illegal fishing in both maritime and freshwater areas last year, an increase of 7.5 percent compared to 2016.



It added officials destroyed a large amount of illegal fishing equipment, such as barrier nets, electro-fishing devices and other fishing tools, while 80,000 kilograms of fish were released.



Major General Chuon Narin, provincial police chief, declined to comment on the raid.

 2018 Khmer Times

Theme(s): Fishing Craft, Gear and Fishing Methods.
BTS and Coldplay Come Together in Epic Collaboration on New Single Titled My Universe, Out on Sep 24
Young people are idiots. I was an idiot, my parents' generation were idiots, and so on. History shows evidence of idiocy in nearly every preceding generation.

Today's idiots are eating Tide Pods. That's right. If you haven't heard, there's a viral trend called the Tide Pod Challenge in which kids are eating Tide Pods. The prize, for most, is dozens of likes and comments on social media. And for some, it's a trip to the emergency room.

The reason behind the illogical craze is simply that Tide Pods are colorful, edible looking objects. Despite several warnings from Procter & Gamble and the American Association of Poison Control Center, teens and young adults are continuing the intentional misuse.

A piece by Julie Pennell for Today highlighted three businesses that have capitalized on this stupid, soapy trend by incorporating it in their marketing. Vinnie's Pizzeria in Brooklyn promoted a pizza resembling a Tide Pod on their Instagram account. Duff's Brooklyn, a New York bar, created a Tide Pod shot. And Hurts Donut Company created a donut with blue and orange swirls that went viral on Facebook.

Each of these businesses created buzz and drove thousands of cheap online impressions, but their edgy marketing tactics raise the question: Is it smart for brands to be flippant toward controversial subjects?

Making light of a sensitive issue can backfire

Last year, Pepsi released an ad in which reality star Kendall Jenner ended a tense protest with a single can of the carbonated soft drink. After the ad was released, unhappy viewers took to social media to voice their outrage, many feeling the ad trivialized racial tension and social injustice.

In 2013, an ad ran for Unilever in Flora magazine that depicted coming out of the closet as shooting your dad in the heart. The company, along with the ad agency that created it, were compelled to issue a public apology in response to the backlash.

In a darker move, the chocolate brand Crunch posted the following on the brand's Mexico Twitter account following the Ayotzinapa massacre, in which 43 students were believed to be killed: "A los de Ayotzinapa les dieron crunch." The English translation: "They crunched those from Ayotzinapa."

And most recently, YouTuber Logan Paul drew outrage from even his most passionate fans when he posted a video of him and his friends discovering a suicide victim in Japan's Aokigahara forest earlier this year. Paul was quick to apologize, but his offensive video will likely leave a loathsome stain on his brand.

It's often a good idea for brands to take advantage of buzzworthy trends that might appeal to their target customers. Usually this is a harmless strategy that marketers use to stay relevant and increase brand exposure.

Dangling controversial click bait, however, can backfire in a big way when it crosses the line. That line isn't always clear, so it's wise for brands to pause and test their edgy content with a diverse internal or external group before releasing it into the public.
Eighteen years ago, my brother and I headed north on a planned road trip from our home in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Calgary, Alberta. I was 19, my brother was 17, and we figured that if at least one of us could legally drink it would be a pretty good weekend.

Fifteen miles outside of Helena, Montana, our plans changed. Around 2:00 in the morning, I woke to what sounded like an explosion. My brother was driving my brand-new Honda Civic when a truck on the other side of Interstate 15 hit a very large dog. A portion of that dog flew across the freeway, hitting and wrecking my car. Showing that Montanans can have a dry sense of humor, upon arriving on scene to treat my brother's broken ribs, the first thing the EMT said was, "Well, the dog is dead."

We spent the next week at the Helena Budget Inn while my car was being repaired.

We went and saw Coyote Ugly.

I got a tattoo on my forearm.

After that, we more or less ran out of things to do.

Though it is the state capital, Helena had about 25,000 residents back when my brother and I spent a week there. Things have changed over the past twenty years. Last week my wife (the director of OPO Startups, a nationally recognized coworking space) and I were asked to visit Helena to see their startup scene and give our insight.

There is a new millennial-friendly mixed-use development with a high-end steakhouse, movie theater, and hotel. And yes, even a town of 30,000 located more than 500 miles from the closest major metropolitan areas (Salt Lake and Seattle) has an entrepreneurial ecosystem. In fact, in some ways Helena has a startup scene larger cities would be jealous of. A few years ago, SoFi, the online student loan servicer that also provides personal loans and mortgages, contracted with two local programmers to help build their platform.

One of those programmers, David Thompson, is a graduate of the University of Montana-Western, Montana Tech, and the University of Montana. David had no interest in moving to the Bay Area, and successfully convinced SoFi to locate a substantial portion of its engineering team in Helena. Today SoFi is multi-billion-dollar startup, and David is the VP of Engineering, managing more than 100 programmers and engineers out of two locations in Helena.

Of course, one company doesn't constitute a whole startup scene. However, some of those engineers are likely to get their side hustle on, creating more startups and attracting even more engineering and technical talent to the community. The city already has two small coworking spaces, The Shop and Side Car. Montana is becoming a hub of bitcoin mining, and I had the chance to view my first bitcoin mining operation at The Shop.

For the last several decades--and especially over the last few years--we've heard a lot about the death of small towns and middle America. However, the success of SoFi and the emerging startup scene in Helena shows the potential for tech companies to be agents of economic revitalization in small towns and cities outside of the coasts. Contrary to popular belief, not everyone wants to live in New York or San Francisco. Some people truly prefer Helena, Montana, to Manhattan or San Jose.

I know I do.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I admit that I am an Air Force brat. My father was an officer in the United States Air Force -- serving in World War II and the Korean War, and running U-2 and SR-71 spy plane programs until he retired in the mid-'70s. As such, I gained a tremendous respect for the men and women who serve our country in the Armed Forces, and who willingly lay their lives on the line for us each and every day.

I was therefore extremely happy to see the recent announcement by Delta Air Lines that it has a new policy in regards to both uniformed and non-uniformed active members of the military. Beginning immediately, Delta will give priority boarding to these men and women -- inviting them to take their place at the head of the line.

What was most interesting to me was how this new policy came about. According to a Delta announcement,

"The idea that sparked this change came from an active military member who sent a note to Delta CEO Ed Bastian asking if the airline would consider recognizing those individuals traveling on orders."

As the company points out, it has long supported members of the military -- including 3,000 employees who are currently members of the U.S. Armed Forces and about 10,000 more employees who are veterans.
The BA jet was diverted to Shannon (Steve Parsons/PA)

A British Airways passenger jet was forced to divert to Shannon Airport due to a technical fault.

Flight 213 landed safely at 1.37pm on Friday, shortly after take-off.

The transatlantic flight took off from London Heathrow at 11.15am bound for Boston.

It was about an hour into its journey when it was diverted to the west of Ireland airport.

There were reports of smoke being detected on board.

It is believed there were 239 passengers and crew on the aircraft.

A Shannon Airport spokeswoman confirmed the aircraft had been diverted due to a technical problem.

Emergency services attended the scene as a precaution.

A British Airways spokesman said: The aircraft landed normally after our highly-trained pilots diverted the flight as a precaution.

British Airways said a replacement aircraft was being arranged to take passengers to Boston.
Checks at the Irish border will be unavoidable under Theresa Mays Brexit plans for the UK to leave the single market and customs union, Michel Barnier has warned.

Brussels chief Brexit negotiator also told reporters that agreement on a transitional deal after the UK leaves the bloc in March 2019 was not a given.

After the latest round of Brexit talks between officials in Brussels, he said three substantial disagreements remain with the UK over plans for a transition period.

He added: If these disagreements persist the transition is not a given.

On the issue of the Irish border he told reporters: Any solution must be precise, clear and unambiguous.

He added: It is important to tell the truth. A UK decision to leave the single market and to leave the customs union would make border checks unavoidable.
Agreement on a transition period to smooth Britains exit from the EU is not a given, Brussels chief Brexit negotiator has warned.

After the latest round of talks between officials in Brussels, Michel Barnier said that three substantial disagreements remain over plans for the transition, expected to last around two years after the date of withdrawal in March 2019.

Declaring himself surprised by the UK stance, Mr Barnier said that Britain had to accept the ineluctable consequences of its own decision to quit the EU.

And he said: To be quite frank, if these disagreements persist, the transition is not a given Time is short  very short  and we havent a minute to lose if we want to succeed.

Mr Barnier also warned that checks on the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic will be unavoidable under Theresa Mays Brexit plans for the UK to leave the single market and customs union.

He confirmed that Brussels is now drawing up a legal definition of the regulatory alignment that must continue between Northern Ireland and the EU in order to avoid the creation of a hard border.

London had so far provided no proposals for the kind of technological fix which could get round this, he told a press conference in the Belgian capital.

Mr Barniers comments came after the EUs publication of a position paper on the proposed transition deal provoked fury from Brexit Secretary David Davis, who branded the document discourteous and unwise.

In a sign of how the atmosphere has soured, Mr Davis accused the EU of not acting in good faith over the inclusion of plans for sanctions if UK fails to keep to the withdrawal agreement.

But Mr Barnier said he could not understand the uproar in London over the position paper.

There is no wish whatsoever to punish, he said. We are trying to draft an international agreement on a solid basis that can be effectively implemented.

He pointedly noted that he had been expecting an update on Friday morning from the UK Government on its vision for the future relationship, but that the meeting had to be cancelled because of diary difficulties on the British side.

At his meetings with Mr Davis in London and Brussels this week, it was clear that three substantial points of difference remain between the two sides visions of how the proposed transition period would work, said Mr Barnier.

These included:

 The UKs refusal to guarantee permanent rights to EU nationals who come to live and work in Britain during the transition period;

 The UKs demand for a right to object to the application of any new EU rules and laws introduced during the transition period;

 Britains wish to continue participating in the development of new policies in the area of justice and home affairs during the transition.

Disagreement also remained over references to European Court of Justice jurisdiction in the withdrawal agreement, which Brussels regards as essential for the deal to be credible and sustainable, he said.

Mr Barnier said: To be frank, I am surprised by these disagreements. The positions of the EU are very logical, I think.

The UK wants to enjoy the advantages of the single market, the customs union and common policies. It has therefore to accept all the rules and the obligations until the end of the transition. Thats very logical.

It also has to accept the ineluctable consequences of its decision to leave the EU, to leave its institutions and its policies.

The UK Government has issued a technical note calling on the EU and more than 100 countries with which it has international deals to treat the UK as if it were a member state so signed agreements on the likes of trade, nuclear co-operation and aviation can continue to function during the transition.

Michel Barnier said: I have read that and I think that confirms our legal assessment, our legal analysis when it comes to international agreements.
Sinn Fein and the Democratic Unionists are hammering out details of a potential deal that could end Stormonts 13 month powersharing crisis.

Northern Irelands two main parties were locked in negotiations through Friday, scrubbing a scheduled round table meeting with the regions smaller parties, amid mounting speculation an agreement may be in sight.

On Friday evening, Sinn Fein and the DUP acknowledged progress had been made toward a breakthrough but insisted issues remained. Both parties said the talks process should conclude next week.

Party president Gerry Adams, who will step down from his leadership role on Saturday, said: It isnt sorted out as we speak. We have made some progress but there are still considerable obstacles but as I said to our unionist friends, this is the last chance agreement.

They need to embrace the need for rights for everybody and agree a space where we can all moderate our differences.

Arlene Foster added: We have had a very intensive week of discussions. Progress has been made.

We have more work to do. I have set out the parameters for a deal. It must be fair and balanced.

Our negotiating team will continue working next week. I want to see Ministerial led government restored to Northern Ireland.

I hope that can be achieved by devolved Government and will work towards that end.

Stormonts five main parties had been due to meet for round table discussions with Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley and Irelands deputy premier Simon Coveney at Parliament Buildings in Belfast on Friday afternoon.

The DUP and Sinn Fein did not attend, with Mrs Bradley telling the other participants the meeting would not proceed as planned because the main parties were involved in intense exchanges elsewhere in the building.

The episode has fuelled expectation of a possible breakthrough.

Meeting lasted around 30 mins.  David Young (@DavidYoungPA) February 9, 2018

The parties are working to end an impasse that has left Northern Ireland without a properly functioning devolved executive for more than a year.

The last DUP/Sinn Fein-led coalition imploded last January amid 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 main sticking point preventing the restoration of an executive is the Irish language.

Sinn Fein want a stand-alone piece of legislation to protect speakers  an Irish Language Act  but the DUP has long insisted it would only countenance new laws if they also incorporate other cultures, such as Ulster Scots.

Finding a compromise resolution to the thorny language dispute that will satisfy both parties is key to unlocking the Stormont deadlock.

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said it was clear the negotiations were an exclusive two-party process, adding: The SDLP are not here to window dress but we want to be constructive.

Ive told both governments when the two-party process is concluded and they are ready to engage in five-party negotiations, the SDLP will be ready to negotiate.

With a hard Brexit coming down the tracks that will cause economic, social and political chaos to our island, I also stressed to the Irish and British governments the need for the formation of a government urgently.

Everyone across these islands is talking about the threat of a hard border, yet here we have a political vacuum.

A Ulster Unionist Party source said: Sinn Fein and the DUP are clearly running these talks and the two governments are just bystanders.

Substantive negotiations between the two main parties are unlikely to continue through the weekend as Sinn Fein is holding a special party conference in Dublin on Saturday to formally select Mary Lou McDonald as Mr Adams successor as president.

The DUP is also traditionally averse to doing business on Sunday.
By Benjamin Jumbe

Amnesty International has welcome the news of the release of Ethiopian journalist Eskinder Nega saying it must lead to freedom for all prisoners of conscience.

This is after news broke yesterday that Nega would be among 746 prisoners released as part of a government pardon.

Sarah Jackson, Amnesty Internationals Deputy Regional Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes says it is wonderful news that this brave journalist will soon walk to freedom after seven years in jail simply for doing his job.

She however says the world must not lose sight of the thousands of other people still languishing in jail on trumped up and politically-motivated terrorism charges, including Bekele Gerba, Addisu Bulala, Woubshet Taye.

At the time of his arrest, Eskinder was editor of the Satanaw newspaper.

He was arrested after publishing an article about the Arab Spring in which he asked whether a similar grassroots movement for democracy could take hold in Ethiopia.

He was charged under the draconian Anti-Terrorism Proclamation with providing support for terrorists and sentenced to 18 years in prison.
Prime Minister Theresa May has been urged to tell Ireland what her Governments proposals are to solve the Irish border issue after Brexit.

Irelands European affairs minister Helen McEntee said the number of proposals being taken off the table seemed to make finding a solution more and more difficult.

Her comments come after the British Government ruled out remaining in any form of customs union, instead pursuing a customs partnership or arrangement in an attempt to maintain frictionless trade.

Ms McEntee told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: It seems more and more difficult the more proposals or options you take off the table. However, we are yet to see any proposals in its absence.

Will be on @BBCr4today after 8 this morning where I'll be discussing #Brexit pic.twitter.com/SrYyVMD5LA  Helen McEntee TD (@HMcEntee) February 9, 2018

So we need the UK Government, we need Theresa May and her team, to start looking at and to start I suppose letting us know what the proposals are coming from their side and what their options are.

They have always been very clear and before the agreements in Christmas or on December 15 they made it very clear that they felt they would not need this backstop position or this backslide, that they would be able to work with the EU to create this close relationship.

She added: So what we need to see now is how is that going to happen.

On our part we feel that a lot of the ways of doing that have been taken off the cards  there are a lot of red line issues  so we need to see what is possible and how thats actually going to work, and to date we havent seen that.
George Soros, the former refugee turned world currency speculating phenomenon, made more than 1bn betting against the pound on Black Wednesday in 1992.

At the time the market chaos forced the British government to pull sterling out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism.

The Hungarian-American is now at the centre of controversy in Britain as his charitable foundation has given 400,000 to a campaign group trying to reverse Brexit and keep the UK in the European Union.

The controversy echoes another row in Ireland last December when the Standards in Public Office commission (SIPO) ordered Amnesty International to return a 137,000 donation from Mr Soros's Open Society Foundation.

Amnesty received the money for its "My Body My Rights" campaign, which is arguing for the repeal of the Eighth Amendment and the introduction of laws providing for abortion.

As the Irish row escalated, Amnesty chief executive Colm O'Gorman said his organisation could not obey the instruction from the public ethics watchdog. Mr O'Gorman argued this instruction breached human rights - so Amnesty could not comply.

For its part, SIPO insisted the donation broke Ireland political financing laws. This legislation bans foreign donors giving money to groups involved in elections, or referendums in Ireland.

Mr Soros last year gave $18bn, understood to be the vast bulk of his personal wealth, to his Open Society Foundation (OSF). Its stated aims include financially supporting civil society groups which are fighting for democracy, against discrimination and promoting education.

The OSF and Mr Soros have been severely criticised, especially by several governments, including those in Russia and his native Hungary. And his Brexit reversal campaign donation has provoked a storm of protest in Britain, especially among those who strongly support an early and total separation from the EU.

Read More

Mr Soros is one of three wealthy figures linked to the campaign group 'Best for Britain', which plans to launch a major campaign at the end of this month aimed at holding a second referendum on Brexit which hopefully would reverse the 52pc to 48pc Brexit result on June 23, 2016.

The political strategy is understood to involve lobbying various MPs and urging them to vote down the final Brexit arrangements. This could lead on to support another referendum, or, a general election fought mainly on the issue of Brexit.

Mr Soros's foundation also enraged President Donald Trump's supporters in the US. He has been accused of supporting protest rallies against the president.

British newspapers reported a document related to the group urging British people to "wake up and assert that Brexit is not a done deal".

The anti-Brexit grouping is also reportedly going to pressurise MPs in 100 constituencies which backed leaving the EU.

There are expected to be rallies and concerts with a big emphasis on the youth vote. Surveys leading into the Brexit vote in June 2016 showed younger voters backed Remain in greater numbers, with older voters opting for Leave.

The strategy is understood to turn on defeating British Prime Minister Theresa May on the Brexit deal next October in the British parliament.

This should trigger either a new referendum or a Brexit-themed general election.

The over-riding hope is for a decisive Remain win in that national vote. Such an outcome would then convince the other EU member states the UK was returning to the bloc on a permanent basis.

'Best for Britain' began its rearguard political efforts in the run in to Mrs May's snap general election last May. It tried to promote cross-party tactical voting in that election in efforts to get more Remain MPs elected to parliament.

The group was founded by businesswoman Gina Miller who took the British government to the Supreme Court over Brexit, and also led the 'Best for Britain's' campaign during the June 2017 general election. The group chairman is Mark Malloch Brown, the former UN deputy secretary general.

Amnesty International has remained defiant in the face of the SIPO instruction to return the Soros foundation money. Mr O'Gorman has said he has no objecion to restriction or regulation of funding for civil society groups such as his. But he insists it must be fair and reasonable and has argued that the current law is neither of those things.
Hibernia REIT has said that "good progress" has been made on its lettings, with its in-place office portfolio vacancy rate reduced to 7pc.

The vacancy rate will fall to 2pc if all space under offer completes, the group said in a trading update yesterday.

In Dublin, Hibernia reported record office take-up of 3.5m sq ft last year, after a new quarterly high in the three months to December 31 last.

The group sold three assets for 35.8m, while earlier this month Hibernia announced that it had agreed the purchase of 77 SJRQ in Dublin's South Docks for 28.7m, which it has already let out on a 25-year lease. Initial rent on the building will be 1.8m per year.

"With a favourable letting market, a strong balance sheet to exploit opportunities, and an experienced team, we are optimistic for the future," Kevin Nowlan, chief executive of Hibernia, said.

Commenting on the update, Colm Lauder, real estate analyst with Goodbody, said that the group's sale of Hanover Street East/11a Lime Street to - he understands - M&G-backed developer Marlet for 12m was small but noteworthy.

"We estimate that this asset was valued at around 6m at the time of [the group's] last results, having been purchased for 4.6m in May 2015," Mr Lauder said.

"The represents a return on cost of around 260pc. This is a key example of the Hibernia management team's creative asset spotting and management ability."

At December 31, 2017, Hibernia had net debt of 182m and cash and undrawn facilities of 263m following the disposal of the Chancery building.
Irish agriculture is 10 years behind other EU countries due to poor broadband services, farm contractors have said.

Delegates attending the recent Professional Agricultural Contractors of Ireland (PAC) conference said that they are lagging behind other EU countries as they cannot use smart farm technologies such as GPS as effectively as other nations due to poor broadband services.

PAC chairman Michael Sheehan, who has been contracting in Co Tipperary for 43 years, said that Ireland is miles behind EU broadband standards.

"My broadband is extremely poor and I'm not living too far from the town of Clonmel. Phone signal is pretty miserable and if we're going to progress with smart farming, we're going to need a proper broadband system. We're 10 years behind other countries. We're miles behind," he said.

John Graves, a contractor in Cashel, Co Tipperary, added that he sometimes needs to use two sources of internet as the service is so unreliable. "Our internet is very bad. They started rolling the fibre broadband out in my road and they stopped three houses away from me," he said.

Tom Murphy of PAC added that the lack of broadband is impeding the work of contractors and urged that it is rolled out soon in order to facilitate the work of contractors and to meet agricultural targets.

"There's talk that the Government are mapping the country. I would've thought that it would've been done before now, but if not, get on with it and where we haven't got any broadband or very little broadband, get it in there first, so that we can at least use some smart farming and when we move to other areas, then we can increase the speeds," he urged.

EU Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan also pointed out that the urban/rural divide would only deepen if the National Broadband Plan isn't rolled out soon.

"There's a big urban rural divide and it's in relation to high-speed broadband and only 25pc of our rural areas have access. We need high-speed broadband. This is a handicap that we need to sort," he said

"Denis Naughten's department (for communications) need to take advantage of money under the Rural Development Plan."

'We're seeing a lot of contractors chucking it all in'

From investing in new technologies to inclement weather, contractors at the recent Professional Agricultural Contractors of Ireland conference voiced the most pressing issues facing their businesses this spring.

Michael Sheehan, Clonmel, Co Tipperary

"We bought an umbilical slurry spreading system a couple of weeks ago and last year we bought bale-handling equipment and a new tractor.

"You need to be careful about what you're buying and have the market well researched. A tractor nowadays is about 150,000. Up to about 10 years ago, we could make a profit and it wasn't a dirty word. In the last 10 years, the margins have been squeezed considerably. It's getting to the stage where there are a lot of contractors chucking it in."

John Graves, Dundrum, Co Tipperary

"Field conditions are our biggest problem. We can't get on the land at the moment and until that improves, we're not going to get anywhere. It bundles all the work together and puts more pressure on down the line.

"I use GPS for a fertiliser spreader and I used yield mapping on a silage harvester in 2006 and 2007 but I packed it in. Customers were happy to get the information, but they didn't want to pay any extra. There was no financial benefit for me."

Dessie Cunningham, Carrickmacross, Monaghan

"My son was trying to invest in a new piping system. I bought one in 1994 and he's using that now.

"He went to buy a new system and went to the bank and had no problem previously getting funding, but the bank told him that there was no equity in that piece of equipment. He felt aggrieved.

"If he had land or a herd number, he would get a grant and would have no problems, and he's going to lose work over this. It's so unfair."

Clifford Roe, Ballacolla, Co Laois

"The weather always has a part to play and it's been very bad since last September. I bought a new tractor. I spent 180,000 on a John Deere 6175R.

"Today is informative of the way to go forward and how far technology has gone compared to how it was before. My first sprayer was a 10ft sprayer, now it's 21m (69ft). I reckon the technology will pay for itself in the year."
A replacement ferry on the Rosslare Cherbourg route has been confirmed by the Department of Agriculture.

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed has welcomed the confirmation that the Stena Carrier has been approved as suitable to transport livestock, as a replacement for the Stena Horizon, on the Rosslare to Cherbourg route, starting later this month.

Since this issue of the withdrawal the Stena Horizon from service for routine maintenance first came to notice in October 2017, senior officials from my Department have been actively engaging with all relevant stakeholders on the matter.

"Whilst I and my Department have no direct involvement in the commercial activities or operational decisions of ferry companies, we were acutely conscious of the potential impact that lack of capacity could have on the ability of the industry to export livestock in the busy spring period

While it is difficult to predict future market developments, the expectation is that in the region of 35,000 calves will be exported via the replacement ferry on the Rosslare to Cherbourg route during the 4 weeks period commencing on February 20, with further lesser numbers exported also on the Dublin to Cherbourg route.

Minister Creed thanked the management of Stena Line Ferries who have redeployed this particular ferry to service this route at this time.

"I also want to acknowledge the very significant efforts on the part of those staff in my Department who have worked tirelessly on the issue, for the benefit of the industry, over the past number of months."
Northern Ireland farmer Darren McLaren, Drumnakilly Road, Carrickmore, Omagh was convicted at Omagh Magistrates Court today for cattle identification and movement charges.

Mr McLaren was convicted of one charge of using an ear tag to identify an animal which at any time had already been used for identifying another animal.

He was also convicted of one charge of knowingly or recklessly provided information which he knew or believed to be false in a notification sent by him under the Cattle Identification (Notification of Births, Deaths and Movements) Regulations.

McLaren was further convicted of one charge of failing to notify the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs of the movement of two bovine animals off his

Darren McLaren pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two months imprisonment suspended for two years. He was also fined 450 plus 15 offenders levy.

This case arose from a number of discrepancies found at a Cattle Identification Inspection carried out by DAERAs Veterinary Service Welfare and Enforcement Branch.

The Department in Northern Ireland said breaches of the Cattle Identification Regulations weaken and undermine the cattle traceability system in Northern Ireland, including the integrity of the Department's Animal and Public Health Information System (APHIS).

It said the current interest in food safety by both Government and consumer groups means it is essential that the Department of Agriculture is clearly seen to be implementing all legislation pertaining to the traceability of livestock.
Today, just 2pc of the plastic on the global market is being turned into new packaging.

And Ireland is a big offender, ranked at the top of European Union countries as the biggest producer of plastic waste in Europe, according to recent Eurostat figures.

Last month in Dublin frustration literally spilled on to the streets when campaign group VOICE dumped non-recyclable plastic at the gates of the Dail.

However, there are signs that attitudes towards plastics are about to change.

In Ireland supermarket chain Iceland announced that it will introduce biodegradable packaging on own-brand products within five years.

Elsewhere, the European Commission announced its plastics strategy in recent weeks.

Meanwhile, France made the ambitious commitment to recycle 100pc of all plastics by 2025, according to the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Dozens of other regulatory measures have been introduced by cities, countries, and international institutions over the past months, the WEF maintain.

In addition, industry is also taking action.

Corporate giant Unilever has pledged to use 100pc reusable, recyclable or compost-able plastic packaging by 2025.

And during the 2018 World Economic Forum, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation announced that 10 more brands, retailers and packaging companies have made a similar commitment. There is growing pressure to find a solution.

But the WEF argues that other action by actors within the system is required.

"Businesses, in particular, could do four things to accelerate the shift towards a circular economy for plastics, keeping them as a valuable material in the economy and out of the ocean," the WEF said.

Firstly, the WEF argue that companies investing in ways of delivering products to people without generating plastics waste can not only help to solve the problem of plastics, but also take advantage of what it says is a $10bn global opportunity.

Secondly, the WEF argues that more companies who put plastic packaging on the market should design the packaging with a view to what will happen after the consumer is done with using it.

In doing this, the WEF advise that companies should follow the lead of brands which have already committed to use 100pc reusable, recyclable or compost-able plastic packaging.

Thirdly, the WEF say that businesses need to define collaboratively a "Global Plastics Protocol" to provide themselves with common direction and definitions, as the current system is "too lenient and ambiguous", the body argues.

"Terms such as "bioplastic" or "recyclable" can create confusion, and, in the worst-case scenario, constitute a safe haven for greenwashing," the WEF said.

"Such a protocol could also help industry align on material choices, guaranteeing that only compatible materials that can either be recycled, reused or safely biodegraded make the final list," it said.

Finally, the WEF suggest that "constructive" dialogue between businesses and policymakers is a prerequisite to progress on the matter.

The international organisation for public-private co-operation said that business leaders need to engage positively with governments on the required policies to shift the system.
Embraer was the "harmed party" in the trade fight between Boeing and Bombardier, the Brazilian jetmaker's commercial aviation boss has said.

The US trade commission last month gave an unexpected victory to Bombardier against Boeing, by allowing the Canadian firm to sell its newest jets in the US without heavy duties.

Embraer is a more direct competitor of Bombardier, and is backing a separate Brazilian government complaint against Canada at the World Trade Organisation.

"We were the harmed party," Embraer Commercial Aviation CEO John Slattery told Reuters at the Singapore Airshow. "Illegal subsidies were given both by the federal government and the state of Quebec to Bombardier. In addition to that Bombardier sold the aircraft in the North American market below cost."

Last October, John Slattery - whose brother is aircraft leasing boss Domhnal Slattery - that

Embraer is not interested in "killing" Bombardier, but wanted it to behave like a "normal commercial enterprise".

The Bombardier case has already caused a political and commercial rupture between Canada and the United States, as well as between the United Kingdom and the US.

Last month Bombardier won its trade case in the US, overturning a decision to impose damaging tariffs on imports of its C-Series aircraft.
Traders react near the end of the day on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York

European shares closed in negative territory yesterday as volatility made a brutal comeback and ended a short-lived rebound after the beginning of the week's global sell-off.

Europe's VSTOXX volatility index jumped to 32, its highest since the UK's Brexit referendum, and all European bourses ended deep in the red. Europe's STOXX 600 share index fell 1.8pc, France's CAC 40 was down 2pc and Germany's DAX lost 2.6pc.

In Frankfurt, growth-sensitive stocks such as Volkswagen or BASF lost 3.8pc and 3.3pc respectively. The pan-European index is down more than 4pc after equities took a battering worldwide this week.

"Technically, the rebound has failed," said Mikael Jaccoby, of broker Oddo, explaining that markets are now clearly in a "risk-off" mode.

Results from ABB, a bellwether of European heavy industry, failed to cheer investors who have loaded up on cyclical stocks since December in the hope of a profit boost from synchronised global growth. The stock plunged 6.7pc. M&A headlines and positive trading updates, notably from banks, failed to maintain yesterday's rally.

Danish telecoms company TDC led the STOXX 600, shooting up by nearly 18pc -- its best day since June 2007 - after it rejected a takeover approach from Macquarie and three Danish pension funds.

Swiss Re's shares were up 2.1pc after the reinsurer said it was in talks with Japan's SoftBank to sell a minority stake.

Financials limited the damage, with strong earnings from UniCredit and Societe Generale. SocGen's shares rose by 1.9pc after the bank reported forecast-beating results despite a quarterly drop in profit.

"French retail revenues better than guidance and good numbers in markets, with equity derivatives back to normal," Jefferies analysts said. (Reuters)
Jean-Christophe Coutures is leaving as chairman and chief executive to take up a similar position at Pernod Ricards Scotch business

Sales of Jameson Irish whiskey surpassed four million cases in the second half of last year, with the whiskey brand recording sales growth of 12pc year-on-year.

The whiskey is now experiencing double or triple-digit growth in 80 markets.

Jameson products recorded growth in the United States, Europe, Africa and the Middle East, with particularly strong growth in the Asian and Latin American markets.

In Ireland the overall spirits market remains "challenging" said Irish Distillers, the company behind a number of well-known brands, including Jameson, Powers, Huzzar, and West Coast Cooler.

And the group noted the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill in its update, which it said was creating a "danger" to the global success of Irish whiskey.

Volume growth in the Irish market increased by 3.7pc in the six-month period, outpacing value growth of 3.3pc.

The group's premium spirits brands recorded strong net sales in Ireland during the six months to December 31, with Powers recording sales growth of 11pc, Prestige Irish whiskeys recording sales growth of 30pc, while premium vodka and gin sales recorded sales growth of 5pc and 29pc respectively.

The group used the trading update to announce the departure of its chairman and CEO Jean-Christophe Coutures.

Mr Coutures leaves his current role to take up a new position as chairman and chief executive of Chivas Brothers, the Scotch whisky business of Pernod Ricard. He is set to be replaced by Conor McQuaid, Executive Vice President of the global business development arm at Pernod Ricard.
By Daily Nation reporter

Kenyas opposition National Super Alliance (NASA) is not relenting. It is planning six rallies in the run-up to a national convention slated for the end of February in response to the governments crackdown on its key players.

According to Daily Nation NASA maintains plans to continue with its product boycott and willful disobedience of the law starting this weekend.

Since the January 30 Uhuru Park oath taking by Raila Odinga, several opposition leaders arrested including Ruaraka MP Tom Kajwang, his Makadara counterpart George Aladwa, and firebrand activist Miguna Miguna who was on Tuesday evening deported to Canada.

The National Assembly Minority chief whip Junet Mohamed said that Uhuru Kenyattas government has negated the huge strides made after the 2010 Constitution, the doctrine of the separation of powers, the Bill of Rights, and devolution thus his government needs no recognition.
Sean ODriscoll, president of Glen Dimplex, which reported that the trading environment in the UK is challenging following the Brexit vote

Pre-tax profits at a Glen Dimplex group of companies increased by 7pc to 37.84m last year in spite of a dip in revenues.

Glen Dimplex is the largest manufacturer of electrical heating worldwide.

New accounts for the Dublin-based Glen Dimplex Europe Holdings Ltd show that revenues dipped by 2pc from 1bn to 989.7m in the 12 months to the end of March last.

The holding company's revenues are made up of revenues from 29 subsidiaries based here and in Northern Ireland, England, Germany, Austria, Canada, Holland, France, Norway, the United States, New Zealand, Australia, China and India.

The directors state that the trading environment in the UK is challenging following the decision of the UK to exit the EU.

The group last year paid dividends of 13m and this followed a dividend payout of 8.8m in 2016.

The group's balance sheet remains very strong with shareholder funds totalling 436.47m. Accumulated profits stood at 371m.

The directors state that the group is in a strong cash position with cash of 302m at the end of March 2017.

The directors state that they will continue to identity areas with further growth potential and acquisitions which would increase shareholder value.

Numbers employed by the group last year decreased slightly, going from 5,260 to 5,246, with staff costs falling from 264m to 258m.

A breakdown of the numbers employed show that 2,847 are engaged in production; 1,407 in selling and distribution; 578 in administration; and 414 in research and development.

The profit last year takes account of non-cash depreciation, amortisation and impairment costs of 24m.

The accounts confirm that auditors KPMG received fees of 1.2m for a group audit, tax advisory services and other assurance services last year.

A breakdown of the group's revenues show that the bulk - 76.5pc - were generated in the European Union.

And 102m (10pc) was recorded in the United States with 37.25m, or 3pc, in Rest of Europe. Last year, the group incurred research and development expenditure of 32m and this followed 32.5m in R&D in 2016.
Philippe Guichard, president, Groupe Adequat, and Adrian McGennis, CEO of Sigmar Recruitment, in Dublins St Stephens Green announcing the strategic partnership

Irish recruitment firm Sigmar Recruitment has announced a strategic partnership with French staffing giant Groupe Adequat.

The partnership, which will be structured through a staged equity investment over a five-year period, will see Groupe Adequat take a majority interest in Sigmar, creating a 1bn group, Sigmar said.

Last year the family-owned Groupe Adequat, which has around 1,000 employees, reported revenue of 900m.

The two companies will continue to look to expand internationally through both organic growth and acquisition.

"Groupe Adequat has a very similar mindset and culture to Sigmar with major ambition to scale that aligns with ours," Adrian McGennis, chief executive of Sigmar, said.

"Our partnership with Groupe Adequat will allow us to accelerate our plans to internationalise while expanding our service offering for our customers in Ireland."

The deal will result in what the company described as "significant" growth in Sigmar's Irish operations.

The company currently has offices in Dublin, Cork, Tralee and Galway.

It will also utilise the company as Groupe Adequat's gateway to English-speaking countries.

The existing management team is set to remain at Sigmar for the long term.

The team will work with their Groupe Adequat's leadership counterparts to execute international expansion.

"Our mission over the next five years is to become one of the top 25 staffing firms in the world," Groupe Adequat leadership team said.
Before it ever arrived in cinemas, Black Panther was in the wars thanks to a scurrilous online campaign aimed at deflating its Rotten Tomatoes rating.

For those of you unfamiliar with that august institution, Rotten Tomatoes aggregates the views of critics into a neat if reductive percentage score. But attempts have been made to prejudice and affect these scores - for instance, in 2016 an attack on Ghostbusters was orchestrated, it seems, by trolls unhappy about the remake's all-female cast. Last week a Facebook event page appeared with the bluntly stated purpose of giving Black Panther "a rotten audience score on Rotten Tomatoes". Bizarre claims were made about Disney's treatment "of franchises and its fanboys" (with apologies for this trollish grammar) and a sinister campaign to make sure DC Comics movies got bad reviews. It was all most unseemly and Facebook promptly deleted the page, but it is surely not coincidental that this campaign was mounted against the most high-profile movie ever to boast an almost entirely black cast.

It is impossible to escape the creeping tendrils of racial prejudice in America these days, and no doubt Black Panther's bold depiction of a proud and secretly hyper-advanced African country has gotten up the noses of the crypto-Nazis and Klan-types that lurk in the internet's dark recesses. But while the film's ideas might seem very current, it's actually based on a character Stan Lee and Jack Kirby first rolled out over 50 years ago.

The Black Panther is the king and protector of Wakanda, a peaceful nation state that used a local sourced precious metal called vibranium to create technologies far in advance of anything the west has managed. Their weapons are pretty fancy too, but must only be used in self defence. They've kept their success a secret, but in the modern age of smart phones, drones and satellites, that is becoming difficult. Black Panther, aka T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman), was first introduced to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (a suitably grand title for a franchise that may never end) in Captain America: Civil War, when his father, and Wakanda's king, was killed in a terror attack.

Now T'Challa has ascended to the throne, but no sooner has he taken over than his kingdom is targeted by Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis, giving it socks), an unhinged South African arms smuggler who has figured out that he who controls all the vibranium might rule the world. In addition, T'Challa must deal with the arrival of Eric Stevens (Michael B Jordan), a swaggering outsider who was raised in America but may have claims on the royal throne. Black Panther is up against it and, when he loses his crown, must find a way of saving Wakanda from the mad designs of a militaristic maniac.

A film like Black Panther would not have been possible in the time before Cgi, and the elegant, high-tech but distinctively African world of Wakanda has been impressively rendered. The locals are whisked around on sleek monorails and silently hovering craft, and can cure practically anything with their vibranium-based medicine. It's a stunning backdrop, but one that characters tend to get lost in.

Ryan Coogler, who directed and co-wrote the film, has explained that he and his team were very careful to reflect real African culture and lore in their storyline, and any film involving an almost exclusively black cast is bound to have political ramifications in this fraught and febrile time. But one gets the sense that too much tip-toeing has been done in terms of sensitivities, and that the film's good intentions have slightly strangled its vigour and dramatic thrust.

Boseman is a fine actor, as he proved in Get On Up and elsewhere, but his T'Challa is po-faced, earnest - a bit of a bore. Jordan's villain is more fun, but the film lacks the humour that might have lightened its portentousness and Martin Freeman's glib CIA agent is the only character given some decent jokes.

Black Panther is worthy, no question, but it's also a little dull.

Check out our other Black Panther reviews from Chris Wasser and Paul Whitington:
OH, boy. Id love to tell you that Clint Eastwoods latest directorial offering  a cinematic reconstruction of the 2015 Thalys train attack  is a noble effort.

What we have here is the true story of how three American men  two soldiers, Spencer Stone and Alek Skarlatos, and their mate, Anthony Sadler  took down an armed terrorist on board a train headed for Paris, back in August 2015. They saved lives. They later co-wrote a book about their experiences and, long story short, Mr Eastwood wanted in.

Heres the kicker: the three American heroes are playing themselves here. Were not joking. How does it all pan out? Astonishingly bad, as you might imagine. We get their life story. We get a tour of Rome (the chaps were backpacking through Europe when they became international heroes). We get lots of absurd army propaganda.

It defies belief. It looks and sounds like a poorly-scripted, horrendously-acted, MTV reality show about guns, God and travel, with a flimsy action sequence tacked on at the end. It is an utter disaster; a staggeringly incompetent and woefully misjudged exercise. Why? Because Spencer, Alek and Anthony are not actors. And, no, the real terrorist does not play himself.
Catastrophe star Rob Delaney has paid a touching tribute to his son Henry after the two-and-a-half year old passed away from cancer.

Delaney posted a message to his Facebook page this evening paying tribute to his young son.

"I have very sad news. My two and a half year year old son Henry has passed away. Henry had been diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2016, shortly after his first birthday, following persistent vomiting and weight loss. He had surgery to remove the tumor and further treatment through the early part of 2017. Then the cancer returned last autumn and he died in January.

"My wife and Henry's older brothers and I are devastated of course. Henry was a joy. He was smart, funny, and mischievous and we had so many wonderful adventures together, particularly after he'd moved home following fifteen months living in hospitals. His tumor and surgery left him with significant physical disabilities, but he quickly learned sign language and developed his own method of getting from A to B shuffling on his beautiful little bum. His drive to live and to love and to connect was profound.

"I am astonished by the love-in-action displayed by Henry's mom and his brothers. They are why I will endeavor to not go mad with grief. I don't want to miss out on their beautiful lives. I'm greedy for more experiences with them."

The US comedian, who stars with Sharon Horgan in the hit show, then paid tribute to all the people who helped his family during their son's illness.

"The NHS nurses and doctors and the home carers and charity workers who helped our family survive Henry's illness will be my heroes until the day I die. I am desperately sad right now, but I can say with authority that there is good in this world.

"If you'd like to help other families in the UK with very sick children, please make a donation to Rainbow Trust (https://rainbowtrust.org.uk) or Noah's Ark (https://www.noahsarkhospice.org.uk) in Henry's name or in the name of someone you love. Our family would be in much worse shape right now if it weren't for them. I would also urge you to take concrete and sustained action to support the NHS, however you can. Do not take it for granted."

He ended his post saying "Thank you, beautiful Henry, for spending as much time with us as you did. We miss you so much."
Dipti OReilly and Grainne Murtagh pictured in Kilcloon, Co Meath where the water is subject to above normal levels of chlorine. Photo: Gerry Mooney

A Meath mother-of-four fears contaminated water caused her daughter to break out in a rash.

Last night, more than 1,000 homes in the south Meath area were informed by Irish Water that a ban imposed earlier in the day had been lifted.

The households had been warned against drinking, washing or preparing foods with their tap water amid high chlorine levels in the water.

The company said it was notified of the water issues on Monday evening and carried out tests.

Grainne Murtagh, from Kilcloon, who has four children under the age of six, told the Irish Independent both her daughter (5) and husband have experienced ill-health, which she fears is due to the high chlorine intake.

"Last Sunday my husband had said to me that there was a chemical smell off the water," Ms Murtagh said. "My husband was very sick that night, then my daughter had been complaining of tummy aches and she developed a rash on her face and around her mouth," she added.

Ms Murtagh said she didn't attend the GP because of advice to remain at home and stay hydrated if experiencing illnesses such as stomach bugs, so as not to spread it further.

"We're now realising we were treating members of our family with the very thing that was causing them to be ill," she said.

She added that while cream prescribed by the local GP seems to have calmed the rash on her daughter, she is still feeling unwell.

"I got a call from the school at 12.30 today to ask for someone to collect her because she was complaining of stomach cramps, which she has been most nights this week," Ms Murtagh said.

The family have also had to throw out all the pre-made meals made for their infant son at the beginning of the week.

However, homes are now beginning to return to normal. A statement by Irish Water last night said it carried out a flushing of the water network with Meath County Council following the complaints.

"We liaised continually with the HSE to keep them informed of our on-going sampling results. It was only when the HSE was fully confident that the water was once again safe to use that they advised us to lift the notice," a statement read.

"Our investigations have indicated that an operational failure on a chlorine booster caused a very gradual over-chlorination of the water. This over-chlorination built gradually to the point where customers could smell the excess and told us that they were feeling unwell," it added.
An eight-year-old boy who allegedly suffered a facial injury at the time of his birth at the Coombe Hospital has settled his High Court action for 65,000.

Dara Brennan, it was claimed, suffered an injury to his face after he was delivered by forceps at the Dublin hospital.

He now has scarring on his cheek and two indentations on the right side of his face which are obvious when he smiles, the court heard.

Through his mother Lorraine Brennan, of Brayton Park, Kilcock, Co Kildare, he had sued the Coombe Women and Infants University Hospital over the circumstances of his birth on November 12, 2009.

Dara suffered severe personal injury to the right side of his face caused by the alleged improper use of forceps around the time of his delivery, it was claimed.

There was a failure to exercise the care, competence, judgment and skill to be expected in the management of the labour and delivery, it was alleged.

It was further claimed there was a failure to summon a more senior doctor in obstetrics, despite the size and position of the baby.

The claims were denied.

Richard Kean SC, for Dara, told the court liability was fully contested in the case and there was a conflict between the medical experts on the different sides.

Counsel said Dara was a brave little fellow and makes no bones about the matter.

His parents were also happy with the settlement. Approving the settlement Mr Justice Kevin Cross said the settlement was as near to full compensation as he was going to get.
Former Anglo Irish Bank chief executive David Drumm pictured as he arrives at the Criminal Courts of Justice. Picture; Gerry Mooney

FORMER Anglo Irish Bank chief executive David Drumm has admitted he authorised a series of circular transactions that boosted the banks balance sheet but denies they were fraudulent or dishonest.

Mr Drumm (51) today issued a series of 11 admissions through his lawyers in which he accepts all the factual matters about how the 2008 transactions at the centre of his trial happened.

The only issue he disputes, a jury heard, was whether they were fraudulent or dishonest.

The admissions were read out at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court after the trial had opened to the jury and before evidence began.

Mr Drumm is charged with conspiring to defraud Anglo investors in 2008 by dishonestly creating the impression that the banks deposits that year were 7.2bn larger than they were.

He is alleged to have conspired with former Anglo officials Wille McAteer and John Bowe, as well as Irish Life and Permanents then-CEO, Denis Casey, and others.

Mr Drumm is also charged with false accounting, by providing misleading information to the market on December 3, 2008, giving the impression that Anglo's deposits were 7.2 billion greater than they really were.

The accused, from Skerries, Co Dublin, has pleaded not guilty to both charges.

This afternoon, Tessa White BL, defending, read out 11 admissions on behalf of Mr Drumm.

The first two accepted the licensing of Anglo, ILP and ILA, and the third was that Mr Drumm was CEO of Anglo from January 1, 2005 to December 19, 2008.

The fourth admission stated that from late 2007 onwards, Irish banks including Anglo came under sustained funding and liquidity pressure due to a worsening global financial crisis. On March 16, 2008, David Drumm in his capacity as CEO disclosed to others in Anglo that the Governor of the Central Bank had raised the issue as to How the Irish Banks could help each other?

This initiative encouraged Irish banks to provide mutual support to each other in response to the financial crisis, Ms White read out.

David Drumm directed that Anglo should give consideration to this initiative.

The fifth admission was that on or about March 31, 2008, Anglos half year end, Anglo placed 1 billion with ILP. ILA deposited 750m with Anglo. Shortly after March 31, 2008, ILP repaid 1 billion to Anglo and Anglo repaid 750m to ILA.

The purpose of conducting these transactions was to increase Anglos non-bank deposits by 750m over its half year end reporting date of March 31, 2008. These are referred to as the March transactions.

The sixth admission was that on or about June 30, 2008, which was ILPs half year end, ILP transferred bonds worth in excess of 3 billion to Anglo. Anglo placed the sum of 3 billion with ILP. Shortly after June 30, 2008, ILP repaid 3 billion to Anglo and the bonds were returned to ILP.

The purpose of these transactions was to reduce ILPs reliance on European Central Bank (ECB) funding over its half year end reporting date of June 30, 2008. These are referred to as the June transactions.

The seventh admission was that in the period coming up to September 30, 2008, which was Anglos year end, in a series of short term transactions, Anglo placed approximately 7.2bn with ILP. In return ILP on behalf of ILA deposited approximately 7.2bn in a similar manner with Anglo.

These are referred to as the September transactions, and the detailed movements of these funds are accurately set out in the flow charts to be introduced in evidence through Russ Carter.

The purpose of these transactions was to increase Anglos non-bank deposits by 7.2bn over its year end reporting date of September 30, 2008.

The eighth admission was that between September 30 and December 19, 2008, ILP and Anglo agreed to enter into transactions similar in nature to the June transactions whereby ILP would transfer certain of its bonds to Anglo over ILPs end of year reporting date of December 31, 2008.

In return, Anglo would place up to 7 billion with ILP. The intention was that these transactions would then be reversed (or unwound) shortly after December 31, 2008. The purpose of these transactions was once again to reduce ILPs reliance on ECB funding over its year end reporting date of December 31, 2008. These are referred to as the December transactions and while the process had commenced, the transactions were never in fact completed and the parts which had commenced were reversed prior to December 31, 2008.

The ninth admission was that, subject only to specific objections, no issue arises in relation to the production in evidence, electronically or otherwise, of any exhibit or document.

The tenth admission was that Mr Drumm as CEO authorised the March, June, September and December transactions and assumes responsibility for their execution by Anglo.

The eleventh was that Mr Drumm accepts all of the factual matters relating to the mechanics of how the September transactions happened and the only issue that he disputes is whether they were fraudulent or dishonest or that there was any dishonesty in their reporting.

Judge Karen OConnor told the jury the admissions would reduce the number of witnesses required to give evidence and shorten the duration of the trial, but said it was still going to be lengthy.

Later, former Anglo treasury executive Russ Carter began evidence and was questioned on a number of banking terms by Mary Rose Gearty SC, prosecuting.

The trial continues on Monday before Judge OConnor and an enlarged jury of 15.
Portuguese MMA fighter Joao Carvalho (R), in the ring with Charlie Ward, before tragic death of the father of two Photo: Dave Fogarty

MMA fighter Charlie Ward told of his devastation at hearing that Joao Carvalho (28) had died following their clash at the National Stadium.

He was the fourth witness called to the stand shortly after 11am yesterday at the inquest into the death of Mr Carvalho at Dublin Coroners Court.

He recalled in his deposition, which was read out that after the fight, Mr Carvalho had asked him for a photo with himself and Conor McGregor.

Mr Ward and the UFC star are close-knit, and he was pictured with McGregor last November leaving court, when the fighter was fined for speeding at Blanchardstown District Court.

In his deposition, Mr Ward said that he had been training and competing in MMA for approximately 10 years, and had been a professional competitor for approximately three years.

On April 9, 2016, he was competing in an MMA event in the National Stadium on the South Circular Road, and he was on the main card against Mr Carvalho.

Expand Close Portuguese MMA fighter Joao Carvalho. Photo: Dave Fogarty / Facebook

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Whatsapp Portuguese MMA fighter Joao Carvalho. Photo: Dave Fogarty

I first met Joao at the weighin, 24 hours before the event. I had never been involved in an event with Joao before, Mr Ward said. He wished me good luck on the way in and I wished him the same.

He said that during the bout he was completely focused on his own performance.

Expand Close Portuguese MMA fighter Joao Carvalho (on right) during his bout with Charlie Ward. Photo: Dave Fogarty / Facebook

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The fight comprised three five-minute rounds, with a one-minute break in between each of them.

Both of us were completely exhausted at the end of it, Mr Ward said.

The first two rounds were difficult, but carried on as normal up until the bell. The third and final round was stopped by the referee.

He was declared the winner by way of a technical knockout.

He said both left the octagon, and were examined. We spoke briefly while in the medics room. Joao told me he hadnt expected the fight to be so tough, and I said that I thought the same.

He then asked me if he could have a photo with Conor McGregor and me. I said Yes, of course but Conor wasnt in the room to have his photo taken at that time.

After the medical examination, he returned to his dressing room to shower.

When he came out, he heard about Mr Carvalho being taken poorly. He left the dressing room as quickly as he could.
A mushroom picker told gardai she was in fear for her life when she simulated the suicide of her housemate on the orders of the killer.

The 34-year-old Latvian woman is on trial at the Central Criminal Court, 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.

It's alleged that Egita Jaunmaize placed a blue cord around Ms Ozolina's neck so as to simulate her suicide in order to make it more difficult to establish that her death was suspicious.

The accused, of no fixed abode, has pleaded not guilty to carrying out the offence at their home at The Old Post, Main Street, Kilnaleck, Co Cavan, on or about June 27 or June 28, 2014. However, she accepts that Ms Ozolina's death was not caused by suicide.

Detective Garda Gerard Shaughnessy gave evidence yesterday of interviews conducted with the accused afterwards.

She said that there had been a row in the house between her and the deceased in the presence of Ponomarcus on the night of June 27. He left, she said, and she went to bed.

However, she said that she woke to screaming and found Ponomarcus assaulting Ms Ozolina in the deceased woman's room. "I tried to push him away but couldn't," she said. "He punched me in the stomach."

She said that he continued to assault Ms Ozolina. "He was choking her," she said. "I heard her making a noise from her mouth. I asked what it was."

She said that Ponomarcus replied that it was "a dead person's noise".

"I screamed: 'I'm not going to prison because of you. I will tell gardai. I have a child.' He grabbed me by my neck."

She said he told her that if either of them went to prison, she wouldn't have him anymore. "I was so afraid if I go to gardai he will kill me too," she said.

"He said we need to set it up as if she did it herself," she said. "He got a rope. He said to me to put it on  I was forced to do it."

She said that Ponomarcus held the deceased up so that she could put the rope over her head. "He did the rest himself," she said.

Jaunmaize said that she eventually agreed with his plan to tell gardai that her flatmate had hanged herself.

She kept to this line during a number of voluntary statements and in her first interview as a suspect. The accused eventually agreed that she was under the duress of Ponomarcus, whom she described as a "skinhead neo-nazi".

The trial continues.
ON TRIAL: From left to right, Ireland and Ulster player Paddy Jackson, 26, his team-mate Stuart Olding, 24, and third defendant Blane McIlroy, 26, arrive at Belfast Crown Court last week

At one stage of the night in the sitting room, Rory Harrison's barrister claimed, his client had looked over the shoulder of a friend and formed the view that the young woman was looking at Paddy Jackson.

"Given what you've said of your memory of the night, he might be right?" asked Gavin Duffy QC.

"I was not staring at Paddy Jackson," said the witness.

He again put it to her that if she could not recall staring at Paddy Jackson, and if she admitted that her memory was hazy, his client might well be right.

"He could well be right about that - but he's also sitting in the dock," she said clearly and most evenly.

In the witness box for the sixth day - with at least another day yet to come - it was clear that the alleged victim was weary. This has been a long and difficult ordeal by any measure.

She has been giving evidence in the case involving Ulster rugby players Stuart Olding and Paddy Jackson, who both deny raping her at a house in Belfast on June 28, 2016. Jackson also denies one count of sexual assault.

Blane McIlroy (26), of Royal Lodge Road, Ballydollaghan, Belfast, denies one count of exposure.

And Rory Harrison (25), from Manse Road in Belfast, denies charges of perverting the course of justice and withholding information as part of the same rape trial.

The witness smiled as Mr Duffy cracked a little joke by way of a preamble about how "usually when a barrister tells you he won't be long, that you have to take it with a pinch of salt".

"You agree with me that some parts of the evening you do remember and some, I think, your memory is hazy," he began.

"Yes," she said.

"And some parts you don't have any memory of, is that fair?" he asked.

Leaning forward in her seat for emphasis, she said: "I think I'd use the word hazy."

The barrister's cross-examination focused on the role of his own client that night. He put it to her that she had previously told the court that Mr Harrison was "really good" and that he did "absolutely nothing wrong".

She agreed. "I have absolutely no complaint with him. He took me home and I'm grateful for that."

The barrister put it to her that Mr Harrison had said that she had been "crying into yourself and you were unsettled". "I was extremely unsettled, yes, I'd just been raped," she told him.

Mr Harrison had brought her home in a taxi and taken her to the front door, he added. "I think he might've given a hug," the barrister suggested - and she agreed that he had.

His texts the next day after she told him that what had happened in the bedroom was non-consensual gave the impression that this had come as a surprise, he said to her. "It would seem that way, yes," she said.

He put it to her that Mr Harrison had met her at the top of the stairs as she was leaving Paddy Jackson's bedroom, fully clothed.

But this she did not recall, she told the court, adding some time later: "No, I don't agree with that."
The chairman of the Disclosures Tribunal has said he is to consider whether there was any proper basis for asking it to investigate its present module.

Mr Justice Peter Charleton questioned whether it was "entirely based on leaks and conjecture".

For the past month the tribunal has been probing whether former Garda commissioner Noirin O'Sullivan inappropriately relied on false allegations of sexual abuse or any other unjustified grounds to discredit whistleblower Maurice McCabe at the O'Higgins Commission.

With the tribunal now having heard all witnesses in the module, bar Sgt McCabe, Mr Justice Charleton said he had 11 questions to consider before making his findings.

The tribunal is investigating these matters after leaked transcripts from the commission, which sat in private, gave rise to media reports that Ms O'Sullivan accused Sgt McCabe of being motivated by malice when he made allegations of malpractice and corruption.

Ms O'Sullivan has denied accusing Sgt McCabe of malice or that she instructed her legal team to do so. But she did authorise her lawyers to challenge his motivation and credibility, based on the theory of other officers that Sgt McCabe had begun making serious complaints against colleagues after being refused access to the DPP directions in an investigation where he was cleared of sexually assaulting the daughter of a colleague.

Evidence

Having heard almost all of the evidence, Mr Justice Charleton said he would have to consider: "Was there any proper basis to ask the tribunal to investigate this particular module or was it entirely based on leaks and on conjecture?"

He said "everyone seems to be in agreement" that a false allegation of sexual abuse was not relied upon by Ms O'Sullivan to discredit Sgt McCabe".

But he said he still had to consider if any other unjustified grounds were relied upon.

He indicated a key matter is whether "cross-examination as to credit" was "lawfully deployed", where a witness is asked about something outside the matter being examined, but which impacts on their creditworthiness, such as whether they behaved inappropriately in a different setting.

The judge said if this form of cross-examination was lawfully used at the commission, he may find Ms O'Sullivan did not inappropriately rely on "other unjustified grounds" to discredit Sgt McCabe.

He would also consider whether there was "any evidence of a dark truth of going after Maurice McCabe at the commission" emanating from "the apex of the Garda organisation" and Ms O'Sullivan in particular.

Mr Justice Charleton also had to consider a letter to the commission from Ms O'Sullivan's legal team which contained a false allegation that Sgt McCabe had made a complaint against a Garda superintendent in order to force the release of the DPP directions.

Tribunal counsel have suggested what was described amounted to "an almost blackmail situation".

He said he would have to decide whether the false allegation was a mistake, "an uncorrected mistake which was allowed to stay in an inaccurate form due to recklessness or perhaps inadvertence", or was deliberately done from the beginning.

The tribunal is due to hear submissions from legal teams next week. A date for Sgt McCabe's evidence has yet to be scheduled.
A 55-year-old man has been sent forward for trial on 53 counts of sexually abusing two boys in Dublin.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared again before Judge Brian OShea at Dublin District Court following an adjournment to allow time for a book of evidence to be prepared.

The Director of Public Prosecutions had directed that he must face trial in indictment, meaning a trial in a higher court which can impose lengthier sentences.

Judge OShea made an order sending him forward for trial to the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court where he will face his next hearing in March.

Earlier Garda Brian Amerlynck told the district court the man was charged at a south Dublin garda station on a date in December. Garda Amerlynck said the accused was cautioned and had no reply when each charge was put to him.

He faces 53 charges including multiple counts of gross indecency and sexual assault of two boys at an address in south Dublin on dates between 2001 and 2004 and 2008 and 2010.

There was no objection to bail subject to him complying with numerous conditions.

The bail terms were set and stated he cannot have any contact with witnesses, he had to surrender his passport, continue to reside at an address provided to the court and sign-on once a week at his local Garda station.

He has not yet indicated how he will plead.

Judge OShea said in this case reporting restrictions applied and nothing could be published that identified the accused or the complainants.
Daniel Doyle (30), with an address in Ballymun, north Dublin, appeared before Dublin Circuit Court charged with being in possession of drugs for sale and supply Pic Collins Courts

A man with previous convictions for drug dealing has been jailed after he was caught with hundreds of ecstasy tablets.

Daniel Doyle (31) was jailed for two years in 2007 for possession of cocaine and shotgun cartridges.

Today, Judge Terence O'Sullivan imposed a two-year prison sentence on Doyle after noting that he was clearly involved in the drugs trade. He suspended the last year on condition that Doyle keep the peace for that period.

Doyle, of Balcurris Park West, Ballymun, Dublin, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of drugs for sale or supply at his home on November 12, 2014.

He featured on the hit RTE drama Love/Hate during the fifth series, when it was filmed on location in his native Ballymun. Mr Doyle has also worked as a fitness model.

The offence was committed less than a month after he appeared on the TV programme.

Detective Garda Ronan McMorrow told the court that gardai obtained a warrant to search the house after a reliable source provided information about cocaine dealing at the address.

Doyle answered the door of his home and and told gardai he knew why they were there. He handed over a bundle of 985 from his pocket.

He also removed, from his underpants, a bag of 446 small tablets and a money bag of around 600 cash. The tablets were analysed and identified as MDMA, colloquially known as ecstasy, the court heard.

Gardai also found drug paraphernalia, including syringes and weighing scales, in a safe in Doyle's bedroom. Cash totalling 340 was also found in the bedroom and 2,800 was found elsewhere.

Doyle told gardai the cash had come from the recent sale of a car but Dt Gda McMorrow said gardai do not accept this. The court heard that this money may be the subject of a police property application.

Doyle has 35 previous convictions including three previous for drug dealing and convictions for unlawful possession of firearms in suspicious circumstances. He also has two convictions for threatening to kill or cause serious harm.

Carol Doherty BL, defending, said her client enjoyed the support of his family and had had been working for his brother-in-law's bathroom refurbishment business.

Judge O'Sullivan said that Doyle's work references spoke well of him and he was not sceptical of any character references handed in.

He said that Doyle was a facilitator in the drugs trade but said that the offence before the court was not a serious matter. He said that Doyle appeared to be a fairly decent individual.

Doyle was jailed for two years in 2007 after he pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine and shotgun cartridges on two occasions at Glasnevin Avenue, North Dublin, on January 20, 2006, and at his home on December 8 that year.
A TEENAGER described by a judge as a risk to the public at large skipped court today after he dodged custody earlier in the week when the States main juvenile detention centre was full.

The 16-year-old boy had appeared before the Dublin Childrens Court on Wednesday charged over vicious drug fuelled raids at two corner shops in which staff members were attacked and beaten with a pole and a glass bottle.

The teen, who had taken a cocktail of drink and drugs, was arrested on Monday evening 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 at a hearing on Wednesday, Judge John OConnor said the teenager was "a risk to himself, a risk to his mother and a risk to the public at large". Custody was warranted, however, bail with a curfew condition had to be granted instead after the judge heard there were no places available in Oberstown detention centre.

The teen, who promised his mother he would go straight home with her, was ordered to appear again the next day. His mother arrived at court on Thursday for a resumption of the proceedings but the teenager did not show up.

The court heard that gardai checked the teens home at 7pm on Wednesday and he was there but when they called back two hours later he was gone. Judge OConnor issued a bench warrant for the teens arrest.

He had said on Wednesday 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 on Wednesday after learning that the teen would be getting released, the court had heard.

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.

Gardai objected to bail citing the seriousness of the incidents.

Garda Kevin Cassidy 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 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 Garda Cassidy 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 who broke down in court on Wednesday had a chaotic lifestyle. 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. His mother also raised concerns about his violence in the home.
Longstanding Daffodil Volunteer James Gilleran from Navan Road Dublin goes down on bended knee to Miriam O'Callaghan who spoke at the launch of Daffodil Day at CityWest Hotel. Pic Steve Humphreys

MORE than 3 million is needed to help the Irish Cancer Society with 40,000 citizens expected to be diagnosed with cancer this year.

The Irish Cancer Society launched its Daffodil Day campaign drive to raise funds on March 23.

And families whod lost loved-ones, along with survivors, shared their stories to inspire increased support.

Alison Hardys mother Sylvia, had availed of the charitys night nurse service when she was dying. The charity had become such a symbol to the Offaly family, Sylvias funeral Mass was decorated with daffodils .

I was very close to mum, we were best friends and did everything together, Alison said.

It was very hard for her, she always kept the bright side outside but on the day she was told, she went to bed crying.

The night nurse had assisted Sylvia with coming to terms with her impending death when she was unable to talk about cancer or death to her family.

Sylvias widower John said: It was very important to have Sylvia at home. When the nurse arrived, it was someone to talk to about her worries. The nurse passed all this information on to us, which helped.

Expand Close Longstanding Daffodil Volunteer James Gilleran from Navan Road Dublin pictured alongside Cancer Survivor Stephanie Powell from Newbridge Co Kildare at the launch of Daffodil Day at CityWest Hotel. Pic Steve Humphreys / Facebook

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Whatsapp Longstanding Daffodil Volunteer James Gilleran from Navan Road Dublin pictured alongside Cancer Survivor Stephanie Powell from Newbridge Co Kildare at the launch of Daffodil Day at CityWest Hotel. Pic Steve Humphreys

People say how do you get through it?. You dont get through cancer, you get dragged through it and you cant believe its happening.

Former Fianna Fail senator, Averil Power, the newly installed Irish Cancer Society chief executive, gave an emotional speech citing her own personal experience.

"My grandmother passed away just after Christmas and one of the things that meant so much was having the support of the Irish Cancer Society," Ms Power said.

The former politician had been scheduled to take up her new role, when her grandmother took ill. "Now more than ever the charity means a lot to me," she said.

"I lost too many family members over the years to cancer.

"I want to make sure I can do what I can. It was bittersweet for me, for my family to avail of the services and I want to thank every one of you and to thank the staff who raised 1.2 million in five years for the night nursing service."

Minister for Health Simon Harris met with cancer survivors and the families who'd lost loved ones, before telling hundreds of volunteers: "You are bringing a light into their (cancer patients') lives, giving them hope there's a way forward.

Minister Harris said Ireland had successfully turned the corner and more school girls were receiving the HPV vaccine again after a drop in uptake in 2016.

And Ireland was meanwhile climbing the global rankings by keeping cancer patients living longer.

But the population had to take action to keep fit, reduce their alcohol intake and stop smoking, to cut their chances of getting cancer, he added.

Minister Harris said the alcohol industry had tried to stop and block for years a change in the law but he believed the Public Health Bill, expected to clamp down on the alcohol sector, will make a real difference.

Currently 165,000 Irish people are fighting cancer in and the charity expects that with the aging population, this figure will increase.
The AIB centre in Ballsbridge is attracting Facebook

Facebook is planning to lease AIB's huge Ballsbridge headquarters in a move cementing the dominance of a handful of technology firms on Dublin's prime office market.

AIB is moving out of the site after slashing staff numbers in the wake of the crash.

It has decided to split its Dublin headquarters between new offices in the city centre and Sandyford.

Facebook's main Dublin office is in the so-called Silicon Docks near the south quays of the Liffey.

It is understood the social media network has now held talks to gradually take over 450,000 sq ft (41,800 sq m) of space in the Ballsbridge offices.

However, other locations are still under consideration and a deal may still not be reached, sources told Bloomberg.

Expansion

"Last year we announced that our Irish operations will be growing with hundreds more jobs across all our teams,"

Facebook said.

"To best facilitate this and future growth we're looking at various expansion options."

The world's biggest technology companies are continuing to ramp up operations in Dublin. A record amount of office space was leased last year, with Facebook, Google and Microsoft all expanding.

State-controlled AIB is seeking to lease the Ballsbridge space after the bank decided to move its headquarters to Molesworth Street in Dublin, close to the Dail.

The bank will relocate to the new building by the summer of 2019.

"No other property agreements have been signed concerning our Dublin estate," the bank said in a statement.

Facebook is also said to be planning to lease an office campus in London's King's Cross district, close to the planned UK headquarters of Google parent Alphabet.
The campaign started by sex worker Laura Lee will go on despite her passing, her legal team vowed last night.

Tributes have been paid to the 39-year-old Dubliner and law graduate following her death, with her colleagues described her bravery as "unending".

Ms Lee (39) had been due to start a legal challenge at Belfast High Court to a new Northern Ireland law which makes it illegal to pay for sex.

Her passing was announced on Facebook by a family member who spoke of their devastation.

The post was responded to with scores of messages from friends expressing their shock and sadness.

Several of Ms Lee's friends last night changed their social media profile pictures of images of her in her memory.

The cause of her death on Wednesday morning was not known last night.

Sex Workers Alliance Ireland said in a statement issued to the media; "We are heartbroken and devastated at the loss of our dear friend, colleague and SWAI board member Laura Lee.

"Our hearts are with Laura's family, friends and all who knew and loved her.

"Laura's bravery was unending. She believed passionately in justice and was fighting for every single sex worker in this world. Her dedication and commitment to our struggle has made a huge and lasting impact, and she will never be forgotten."

They requested that Laura's family's privacy is respected.

They added; "We urge any sex worker who is struggling with this bereavement to get in touch with SWAI on 085 824 9305 or at info@swai.eu."

Ms Lee's solicitor Ciaran Moynagh told the Belfast Telegraph last night that he will continue her work.

"We are deeply saddened by the death of our client Laura Lee," he said.

"Laura courageously fronted a campaign and judicial review which sought to defend and protect thousands of sex workers who do not have a voice.

"In the face of much opposition she maintained great dignity.

"Laura Lee will be remembered as one of this country's most fearless human rights advocates and we are committed to continuing her work."

PUP councillor Julie-Anne Corr Johnston last night said she was shocked by the news of Ms Lee's sudden death.

"As an acquaintance and an admirer I'm both shocked and saddened by the news," she said.

"A formidable woman, Laura Lee will be remembered for her determination to stand for what was right, what was just, even if it meant standing alone.

"My thoughts are with her daughter, family and friends now and in the difficult days to come."

Ms Lee was well known across the UK for speaking out for those that work in the sex industry, and highlighting the dangers those workers can face.

However, she was best known in Northern Ireland after taking judicial review proceedings in a bid to quash legislation making it illegal for men to pay for sex.

Ms Lee took the step following a law that was brought into Northern Ireland after being championed by DUP peer and MLA Lord Morrow.

Northern Ireland is currently the only UK region to make the purchase of sex a criminal offence.

She crowdfunded more than 7,000 from clients, other sex workers and friends to secure a judicial review, aiming to get the legislation repealed.

Although the law shifts the burden from prostitutes to their clients, sex workers believe it could leave them more vulnerable to violence.

They fear it will drive the trade underground and expose them to increased danger by making it increasingly difficult to screen customers who may use fake names and disposable phones.

Ms Lee's legal team have argued that the amendments to the Human Trafficking and Exploitation Act breach her human rights entitlements to privacy and freedom from discrimination. They also allege a failure to comply with equality law.

The first hearing at Belfast High Court is due to take place later this year.
A REVIEW of homicide figures by gardai has uncovered two cases in which babies had alcohol in their system, the Irish Independent can reveal.

Concerns have now been raised in Garda HQ about the standard of investigation into the deaths that occurred between 2013 and 2015.

It is understood the children were classified on the Garda Pulse system as having suffered sudden deaths.

However, the circumstances around their deaths are now expected to be fully reviewed.

It comes as the Irish Independent can reveal that a trawl of potential homicide cases dating back to 2003 has been effectively stalled in recent months.

The revelation is likely to have significant political ramifications as the Policing Authority, which has oversight of An Garda Siochana, had anticipated the review to be largely completed last year.

Sources say there is still no clear timeline for when the work will be finalised and Garda bosses have appointed a whole new team to take over the probe.

A well-placed source said the review had the potential to be more damaging than the breath-test controversy.

The cases of the two children emerged from an initial analysis of 41 deaths between 2013 and 2015.

Post-mortems at the time of the childrens deaths showed a level of alcohol in the infants bodies but its not clear that they were actively investigated as potential homicides.

Such post-mortem results would normally lead to a thorough investigation, including checks on bottles used to feed the babies.

It is not obvious that such actions were taken in these incidents and the relevant files are set to be reviewed by detectives.

Garda bosses committed to carrying out a similar trawl of cases dating back to 2003  but the Irish Independent understands this work is not as advanced as previously believed.

As a result, Acting Garda Commissioner Donall O Cualain has in recent days appointed a new core group of experienced detectives to take over the project, including Assistant Commissioner Orla McPartlin.

Mr O Cualain also briefed Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan on the situation yesterday.

New urgency has been injected into the review after two whistleblowers compiled a dossier of claims which has been passed on to the clerk of the Oireachtas Justice Committee.

And just last week the Policing Authority, which has oversight of An Garda Siochana, described delays in receiving information as frustrating.

It has persistently engaged with gardai on the issue since last March, with two key questions  was there misclassification of data and if so has it been rectified in a comprehensive way, and secondly whether there were any implications for the nature and quality of investigation carried out in the cases identified as having been misclassified. In a statement, the body said answering these questions was critical to public confidence in policing.

As a result of re-examination of files from 2013-2015, specially trained officers have alerted relatives that their loved one may not have died in the fashion they believed up to now.

It is understood that some cases have involved assaults where the victim died at a later date but the Pulse system was not updated even though a homicide investigation may have taken place. Others are believed to be related to road accidents which could have been considered homicide.
Teenage school pupils risked their own safety to help younger children out of the wreckage of a school bus crash.

Aislinn Merrick now wants to be a paramedic after her heroic efforts helping younger students out of the bus and then seeing the ambulance crews in action at the scene.

Aislinn, from Caherconlish, was traveling to John the Baptist Community School in Hospital, Co Limerick, when the school bus collided with a car and left the road on Wednesday.

After the bus came to a halt on its side in a field, Leaving Certificate student Aislinn and fifth-year student Luke O'Dea remained inside.

Aislinn (18) was the last student to leave and said it was "a miracle" everyone on the bus escaped with their lives.

She said younger students were frozen with fear that the bus might catch fire.

"It was just chaos. It was bad. There was people screaming ... but we managed to get everyone out. Some people were falling. A few people landed on top of each other. It was lucky no one got thrown out of the windows.

"There was a few students that were so scared they couldn't move. We had to get them out. I helped get them out through the shattered window."

Aislinn said she didn't believe she was a hero. She paid tribute to Luke for his rescue effort. Another student turned off the engine's ignition for fear it would start to smoke.

She said, despite her ordeal, she returned to school by bus yesterday to continue her pre-Leaving Certificate exams: "It was fine, up until we got to where (the bus) crashed, and then it was a bit scary - I was holding onto the seats a bit tighter and looking at the road a lot more than I would usually."

Her brother Timmy (14) would have been on the bus but was off school sick. "It's great that nothing happened to Aislinn or anyone else," he said. "A lot of my pals were on the bus. They were saying it was really frightening."

Proud dad John Merrick was milking cows on the family's farm, 3kms from the scene.

Noreen Rafferty, principal at John the Baptist School, said all the students were "heroes".

"Someone up there was praying for us," she added.

Students are being offered psychological counselling at the school.
Gardai are appealing for witnesses following a collision between a school bus and a car, which resulted in 36 people being hospitalised.

A school bus carrying 40 students was involved in a collision with a car at Connolly's Cross in Caherconlish in Co Limerick at around 8.30am on Wednesday morning.

36 people were rushed to University Hospital Limerick following the incident, including 34 children, the bus driver and the driver of the car but it is not thought that anyone was seriously injured.

Gardai are appealing for witnesses especially anyone who may have been on that stretch of road at the relevant time and/or may have dash cams to contact them on Roxboro road at 061 214340, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any Garda station.
Female circumcision "has been described in a horrible way" and should be considered in certain circumstances, a member of the Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland has said.

Dr Ali Selim called female circumcision "an inherited practice" and said parents should be allowed to have it carried out on their daughter if a doctor says it's necessary.

He also said that you "cannot control people" and people will travel overseas for the procedure.

Female circumcision, also known as female genital mutilation (FGM), is defined as the partial of total destruction of female genitalia for non-medical reasons and was made illegal here in 2012.

FGM has been carried out on an estimated 200 million girls around the world, including nearly 6,000 in Ireland.

Despite the World Health Organisation stating that "the procedure has no health benefits for girls and women", Dr Selim claims it should be allowed in some instances.

Expand Close Dr Ali Selim said he is an advocate for female circumcision Photo: RTE / Facebook

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Whatsapp Dr Ali Selim said he is an advocate for female circumcision Photo: RTE

Speaking on Prime Time on RTE One last night, he explained: "I am not an advocate of female genital mutilation, but of female circumcision.

"If we see female circumcision in the same way as male circumcision, it might be needed for one person and not another, it has to be determined by a doctor and practiced in a safe, medical environment.

"It's the same medical reasons that justify male circumcision, it's not an obligation but it should be allowed by law if needed and a medical doctor should be able to decide if it's needed."

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Dr Selim, who is an Arabic lecturer at Trinity College, said he feels that female circumcision has been harshly portayed.

"It has been described in a horrible way, it's always described as 'barbaric' and we always hear the term mutilation, it is portrayed as a dark skin practice, or something that belongs in the Dark Ages.

"In Europe people want to be cool so you have to show a revolutionary attitude, it's an inherited practice.

"If it's inherited it doesn't have to be rejected, it has to be considered and not rejected just because it's inherited," he said.

Dr Selim also claimed there is little that can be done to stop people accessing female circumcision abroad.

"You can't control people, it's against the law to practise abortion but people just cross the border and come back.

"I would say to anyone who wants to bring their daughter overseas for circumcision to ask their doctor, a medical doctor has to say that they need it," he said.

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He was speaking after a worldwide social media campaign against FGM was launched in Dublin on Tuesday.

Activists are calling for zero tolerance towards FGM and are asking people to use show their support on social media using the hashtag #MeTooFGM

GFM survivor Ifrah Ahmed, an Irish citizen who was born in Somalia, helped to organise the launch and said that she will fight to have it banned worldwide.

She said: "Today 200 million women worldwide are living with the consequences of female genital mutilation and 100 million are at risk of being circumcised.

"It is amazing really."
The coffin of Abigael Conlon (3) at her funeral at The Church of Mary Immaculate, Inchicore today

Hundreds of mourners attended the funeral today of Abigael Conlon, the three-year-old girl killed in a crash in Kildare last Thursday.

Mourners poured into the Church of Mary Immaculate, Inchicore today in a bid to offer solidarity and sympathy to a family saying goodbye to their pride and joy.

Little Abigael Conlon died following a head-on crash in Co Kildare last Thursday when she was being driven to creche by her father.

As her tiny, white coffin was carried into the church, her grief-stricken father followed behind in a wheelchair and arm cast  remnants of the devastating crash.

Members of the family held onto each other for emotional support before they took their seats.

Fr Aquin Casey, who delivered the sermon, acknowledged that it was important to celebrate the joys the three-year-old brought to everyone that knew her.

Today is a day of great difficulty and sadness, he said.

However, Abigael lived her life to the full and lived such a happy life.

While it is only natural to be sad and heartbroken, it would be a great injustice to Abigael not to be grateful and celebrate her life.

Abigael lived every day and every moment in the present. She was loved and cherished in life by two wonderful parents Amy and Colm, he said.

A blue teddy bear and yellow blanket were brought up to the alter.

Several childrens books were also laid near her coffin, along with a touching picture of the little girl.

Many mourners travelled from Cork to pay their respects to the respected family, who are natives of Fermoy.

Among them, included several affiliates from Fermoy Rowing Club, who wore their official jackets as a mark of solidarity.

As the funeral mass concluded, a lone vocalist filled the church with a poignant hymn.

Mourners struggled to hold themselves together as the small childs coffin was then carried out of the Inchicore church.

Abigael was then laid to rest in Newlands Cross Cemetery.

Abigail was the only child of Colm and his wife Amy, and locals have expressed how they are heartbroken for the family.

Their car was travelling towards Kilcullen, and the jeep it crashed with was going towards Brannockstown.

The crash occurred on a winding stretch of narrow road with hills and dips in it, and locals were critical of the condition of it. Although the cause of the accident is not yet known and is still being investigated, locals said there has been several bad crashes on it and it was like a skating rink on the morning of the crash.

She was rushed to Naas Hospital and later transferred to Temple Street Childrens Hospital in Dublin, but lost her battle for life on Sunday.
What's in a name? Surely, a rural plan by any other name would smell as sweet?

The Government is worried 'culchies' associate the much-hyped 10-year Capital Plan with well, the capital.

As the political wedge between rural and urban grew this week, a decision has been taken to 'rethink' Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe's investment plan.

And instead of calling it a Capital Investment Plan, it will be now be referred as the National Development Plan (NDP) as research suggested people linked the word 'capital' with Dublin.

Under the umbrella of 'Project Ireland 2040', the plan will be launched along the National Planning Framework (NPF).

All of which will create a list of confusing acronyms - but what people really want to know, is what's in it for them.

They'll find out this day next week, but in the meantime we will be treated to a battle for the soul of Ireland between politicians of all shades.

Long before Leo Varadkar took over as Taoiseach, Mr Donohoe was working on an investment programme that should set Ireland up for the years ahead.

The aims are laudable. Money will be spread across the country in a targeted way to ensure that five main cities grow at a sustainable rate, while rural Ireland will be given a much needed post-recession injection.

But there will be no repetition of the mistakes of the past. This is not 'The Late Late Show' and there can't be something for everyone.

That is why the NDP and NPF have to be launched together. A bit like love and marriage, you can't have one without the other.

The NPF sets out the priority areas for housing, roads, schools and hospitals. The NDP pays for them.

With that in mind it's not surprising TDs from all over the country are shouting about why their area deserves a slice of the 115bn.

We already know the Cabinet has signed off on the M20 motorway from Limerick to Cork and an extended Dart line.

A second runway at Dublin Airport is in there, although the DAA will pay for that.

And a new hospital for Cork is on the cards.

Mr Varadkar loves good news and this is all good stuff. But the drawn-out build up to the launch has handed the Opposition time to rubbish the plans even before it sees them.

Name changes such as that imposed on ministers feeds the idea there's something wrong here.

Fianna Fail's Eamon O Cuiv yesterday accused Mr Varadkar's government of a "panicked response" to "a nation that has begun calling it out in relation to the incompetence of the NPF draft, and its absolute indifference to the regions".

"The devil is going to be in the detail," he said.

Labour's Alan Kelly, who is also part of the 'Coalition Against the NPF', said he "demands a plan that drives the entire nation forward in a new and bold way, but what we've seen so far is lacking in courage and imagination and offers a patronising tip of the hat to the absolute necessity to re-calibrate the national economy".

Mr Kelly's input is interesting because this actually began during his time as environment minister before the ball was passed to Simon Coveney and now Eoghan Murphy.

Mr Coveney told the Dail the "whole point is to plan for a very different type of Ireland to the one we have seen develop over the last 20 or 30 years in terms of where people live, how they move around and where industry and enterprise can grow and expand.

"We are talking about a plan that is big news for rural Ireland as well as one which is very strategic for cities and big towns."

It's not every week a government sets out plans for spending 115bn - so the name matters little. It will all be about the detail.
In the hard, brutal world of Irish republicanism, careers are often short-lived. Of the six senior IRA figures who met secretary of state Willie Whitelaw for secret talks in London in 1972, four are dead.

While Martin McGuinness is a household name, the others are not. In the years after the Cheyne Walk negotiations, Daithi O Conaill, Sean Mac Stiofain and Seamus Twomey lost their leadership positions and today are largely forgotten.

Gerry Adams and Ivor Bell are the only two republicans involved in that clandestine meeting still alive. And what different experiences the intervening years have brought for them.

Bell clashed with Adams and was expelled from the IRA. The 81-year-old, who is in ill-health, is currently facing charges in relation to the murder of Jean McConville, which he denies.

Life has been far kinder to Gerry Adams. He is the great survivor. Although arrested and questioned by detectives about the McConville murder, he has never been charged.

Tomorrow, he will bow out as Sinn Fein president against a backdrop of adulation from several thousands party activists in Dublin's RDS.

"I am not caught up in the notions of leadership. I do it through a sense of duty," he has said. But you don't hang around as head honcho of the Provisional movement for 35 years if you don't enjoy the power.

Adams's iron grip never manifested itself by dominating proceedings through table thumping and hectoring. Rather, he secured absolute control by isolating opponents and moving the right people into place. That took him decades.

For his political ambitions go back to the 1981 hunger-strike at least, when he saw what was possible in electoral politics with Bobby Sands's victory in Fermanagh and South Tyrone.

Unionists see Adams as a destructive force in Northern Ireland politics, but they are wrong. While on the IRA Army Council, he sanctioned some of the worst atrocities of the conflict, yet without him the current peace would not be in place.

It wasn't that John Hume somehow convinced him of the merits of constitutionalism or half-dragged him along. Former senior IRA colleagues reveal that Adams had long been set on that destination. "It was obvious where he wanted to go and what he was up to. It was written all over him. Now McGuinness, he was the surprise," one says.

Together, the Adams and McGuinness partnership delivered what many people thought was impossible.

They brought the IRA to do what it said it never would - ending its campaign without a British withdrawal. And they kept the movement largely united and intact. That is Adams's greatest achievement.

The only threat to his power within republicanism came in 1997 when IRA hardliners led by quartermaster general Mickey McKevitt, who had already lost the internal battle against the Adams faction, left the Provisionals to form the Real IRA.

The organisation looked set to attract Provisional recruits and disrupt Adams's plans.

But the security services were soon well on top of it. McKevitt was charged with directing terrorism and jailed for 15 years.

Today physical force republicanism is barely existent with none of the several groups continuing capable of waging a sustained campaign or securing any significant level of support.

By contrast, Adams leaves the stage with Sinn Fein as the biggest nationalist party in Northern Ireland on 29pc of the vote in June's Westminster election, and with 23 Dail seats.

But while Adams has built a powerful electoral machine, he is no nearer to achieving what he professes is the foundation stone of his politics than he was at the start of his career.

A united Ireland by 2016 has now become a border poll by 2022. All he can do is to keep postponing the day of the promised land to his followers. Sinn Fein may well go into office as a junior coalition partner but it is as unlikely to deliver substantial social change and progress towards Irish unity in Leinster House as it was in Stormont.

Adams's genius has been in selling defeat as victory. The politics of illusion has served him well. He inspires immense loyalty among his lieutenants - many of whom would lay down their life for him in a heartbeat - and among Sinn Fein grassroots.

The bonds of affection for Mary Lou McDonald will never go that deep.

Yet Adams is universally disliked by those outside the nationalist community. It's nothing to do with his politics. Not a single unionist politician would have a bad word to say about McGuinness personally from their dealings even though they initially loathed him.

In Stormont, he won over everybody he met, from canteen to security staff, with his easy charm and down-to-earth approach. The same is not the case for Adams, who is seen as arrogant and insincere.

Ironically, that is a view shared by ex-IRA comrades like Brendan Hughes, who parted company with the Sinn Fein president along the way. Like Ivor Bell, the former Belfast Brigade commander's life worked out very differently to Gerry Adams's. He spent his last days in a tiny, threadbare flat in Belfast's Divis Street, haunted by the faces of the dead. The Good Friday Agreement stood for "Got F*** All" he said.

'The Dark', as he was known, survived on disability allowance. The month before he died, he was left without heating until another ex-prisoner lent him an electric fire. Prison had left him with arthritis. He was prone to chest infections and he started to go blind.

A photo on his living-room wall showed two tanned, smiling young men in Long Kesh with their arms wrapped around each other - Adams and Hughes.

In 2006, two years before he died, Hughes told me: "Gerry wasn't trusted by [IRA] grassroots and I was. He used me to up his own status. I had 100pc faith in him. I defended him so many times when I shouldn't have.

"I never saw his agenda. He was far too shrewd, which is why he is where he is today. He was charismatic like Mick Collins but at least Mick Collins didn't just give orders, he fired shots himself. Gerry never did, not even at training camps in the south."

Hughes said he eventually saw "the man behind the mask" when it was too late.

Gerry Adams has been on a remarkable political journey. Many people died on his watch, yet many lives have been saved by his success in bringing the IRA ceasefire.

He has come a long way from the 23-year-old released from prison for those London talks. Even he couldn't have believed back then just what was possible for him.
Ryanair was one of nine multinationals criticised after they refused an invitation to speak to politicians about corporation tax administration.

TDs complained that 'Mr Ryanair' - a reference to chief executive Michael O'Leary - has an opinion on everything else and bemoaned the fact he was unwilling to speak to them.

Members of the committee invited 10 multi-national firms operating in Ireland to come and speak to them about the Irish Revenue Commissioner's administration of corporation tax.

Kerry Group, CRH and Glanbia were the other Irish firms to decline the invitation.

American bankers JP Morgan and Citibank also turned down the request, along with Apple, Google and pharmaceutical giants Pfizer.

One company, GlaxoSmithKline, accepted the invitation - but members have decided to hold off on calling it to meet with them.

They are concerned that only speaking with one firm will not give a fair representation of multinationals' experiences of dealings with Revenue.

However, the committee members expressed their annoyance that Ryanair was unwilling to meet them.

Galway Independent TD Catherine Connolly said Michael O'Leary should have accepted the invitation to speak with them.

"I would have thought those Irish companies would have jumped at the chance to speak with us," she said.

"Mr Ryanair has an opinion on everything, including me as a cyclist, and I would have thought he would have jumped, or flown, to be here."

In a letter addressed to the clerk of the Public Accounts Committee, Mr O'Leary said he was too busy growing Ryanair's business and engaging in union recognition discussions with pilots, cabin crew and other groups to meet with the committee.

"I regret that we simply don't have the management resources to be able to address a Committee of the House on the subject of corporate tax but hope that your members will understand our predicament and accept our very sincere apologies," he wrote.

Apple was also criticised after it cited the ongoing appeal against a European Union order that the technology giant must pay up to 13bn in Irish back taxes.

PAC chairman Sean Fleming said this was despite the committee telling the company this case would not be discussed.
Marc MacSharry became angry at the Healy-Rae brothers as he waited, 11th in line, to ask the Taoiseach a question

On this week's Floating Voter Kevin Doyle is joined by Philip Ryan and Shona Murray, with Fianna Fail TD Barry Cowen in studio to discuss the National Broadband Scheme.

Also up for discussion is the stepping down of Gerry Adams as President of Sinn Fein, is he doing a Farage and leaving a sinking ship?

The panel also discuss an astonishing shouting match between the Healy-Rae's and Mark McSharry in the Dail chamber this week which made headlines around the world.
Martin Shanahan, CEO of IDA Ireland, Fionnuala Meehan, VP and head of Google in Dublin, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Gareth Morgan, VP of Google Cloud Sales at the opening of the new Google offices on Grand Canal Street. Photo: Tony Gavin

Countries that are "cracking down" on migration are making a "huge mistake", Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has warned.

Mr Varadkar said "how much better our economy is because of migration, and our public services as well, which depend on attracting talent from around the world".

He continued: "When I see, in so many parts of the world, governments cracking down on migration, I think what a huge mistake that is."

Mr Varadkar, the son of an Indian immigrant, was speaking at the opening of Google's new office on Grand Canal Dock, in Dublin. It's the seventh of the company's locations in Ireland.

Also present at Google's 'Velasco Building' were staff and politicians, including head of Google Ireland, Fionnuala Meehan, CEO of IDA Ireland, Martin Shanahan, and Green Party leader, Eamon Ryan.

Meanwhile, Mr Shanahan defended the Irish tax regime, availed of by multinationals like Google.

While Ireland's low corporate tax system is a considerable draw for attracting tech giants, it's a major bone of contention in Europe.

The European Commission and big member states like France and Germany are pressuring the Government to change its tax offering to a harmonised system to fit all EU countries.

"Ireland's position is very clear: we have a competitive, transparent and consistent tax regime, and the Government is very clear that it's not for changing on that," he told the Irish Independent.

"We're not for changing on 12.5pc, and that tax is a sovereign issue."
Anne Enright, President Michael D Higgins, and Sebastian Barry at the announcement of Laureate for Irish Fiction 2018-2021 in Dublin yesterday. Photo: Maxwells

Award-winning writer Sebastian Barry is to succeed Anne Enright as the Laureate for Irish Fiction, President Michael D Higgins has announced.

The Wicklow-based author (62) will begin the three-year term later this month after taking over the helm from Ireland's first Laureate for Irish Fiction Anne Enright, who won the 2007 Man Booker Prize for 'The Gathering'.

Speaking after the honorary role was announced by the President at an Arts Council ceremony yesterday, the author, poet and playwright paid tribute to readers for the role they play in the "life of books".

"Writers reading their own work can make an illuminating music and show something important about it in the very act of 'singing' it," he said.

"I would like to pay homage to this during the course of my laureateship.

"Also to acknowledge the part played by readers in the life of books - in many forms - of course, the necessarily private, but also in the newer form of the book club, an activity that can work surely anywhere, even in prisons, in detention centres, in hospitals, places where a life might otherwise be temporarily circumscribed. So I would hope to try and honour that."

He added that his predecessor has "set a very high bar".

"It's a joyous moment. After 40 years of work, mere longevity has given me a clear and wide perspective on the fabulous generations now at work in Ireland," he said.

"It is no burden to assert, to as many people as possible in as many places as possible, that we live in a golden age of prose writing in Ireland.

"And I am really happy to be the ambassador of this rather stupendous reality for a few years."

The Trinity College alumnus is the only author who has twice won the Costa Book of the Year award, for his 2008 novel 'The Secret Scripture' and 'Days Without End' in 2016.

According to the international selection panel led by poet Paul Muldoon, "With his soul-searching, heart-stopping prose Sebastian Barry takes Irish fiction where it hasn't been before.

"With transcendent insight as well as a storyteller's ingenuity, he teaches us to see the world differently, and to look more deeply into our own hearts.

"This most lyrical of myth-makers magically re-arranges our synapses."
Tina Cahill and David Walsh celebrating their engagement in Australia in a social media picture at the New Year

An Irish woman accused of stabbing her fiance to death in Australia has pleaded not guilty to murder.

Tina Cahill, from New Ross, Co Wexford, has been charged with murdering her fiance David Walsh (29) at their home in Sydney between February 17 and February 18 last year.

She appeared in court in New South Wales today via video link and is due to stand trial in October.

It is alleged that Ms Cahill stabbed father-of-three David Walsh in the neck after a row broke out in the house.

She denies murdering him.

Paramedics tried to revive David Walsh after the incident but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Mr Walsh moved to Australia, where he met Ms Cahill and they became engaged early last year.

They had been living together in the Padstow area of Sydney.

Local sources were quoted in the Australian media as saying Mr Walsh was at home when his fiancee, two other women and a local man arrived at the house.

A row ensued during which Mr Walsh was stabbed in the neck.

The court today heard how police are still trying to speak with potential witnesses who are now living in Ireland and the United Kingdom, 9News reports.

The prosecution asked for a trial date to be delayed as police are making inquiries about potential witnesses and whether they will return to Sydney or give evidence from London.

Tina Cahill's lawyer asked for a trial date to be set as "my client has been in custody for nearly a year."

The trial is due to start on October 8 and is expected to last up to eight weeks.
When Lisa Nolan's daughter Hallie was two years old, she went into anaphylactic shock. "She started to cough like an old man and I knew something wasn't right," reveals the Dublin mum-of-two. "I could hear she was having difficulty breathing and almost instantly she was so swollen she was unrecognisable to me."

In just minutes, Hallie went from being a lively, little girl toddling around her aunt's house, where she and her mum were visiting, to lying limp and unable to speak. "I thought she was dead," says Lisa, still haunted by the experience. "It felt like all the blood drained out of my body and I went to pieces."

Unknown to her mum, Hallie had eaten a chocolate bar with traces of nuts in it. Already diagnosed with a nut allergy, she luckily had an EpiPen with her. "My friend gave her the injection and you could see the adrenaline working straight away," says Lisa. "The ambulance got there and her stats were all over the place but by the time she got to hospital they had stabilised."

"I'm always so vigilant," she continues. "But I'd no idea she'd eaten anything."

Having a child with a severe allergy, something where they are literally a few bites of a chocolate bar away from life-support, is, Lisa says quite simply, "a parent's worst nightmare".

One of the biggest challenges can be simply getting an allergy identified. When she was six weeks old, Hallie developed severe eczema. "I was in and out of the doctors and then she had to be hospitalised because her skin was infected," recalls Lisa. "Eventually we were referred to the skin specialist in Crumlin, then the lung specialist, then an allergy specialist."

Now nine years old, Hallie has been diagnosed as allergic to eggs, nuts, sesame seeds, grass, pollen and all animals. She takes daily medication: 10mls of an adult antihistamine, a nose spray and eye drops in summer. She has two inhalers and a tablet for her lungs at night. When Dr Aideen Byrne started as allergy specialist in Crumlin more than two years ago, Hallie was one of the first patients on her list.

"Since seeing Dr Byrne - who has been fantastic - she's been on meds and it's controlled," says Lisa. "She has a whole new life now. GPs didn't really understand what was going on - it was this and then it was that. It's only since we got to Crumlin that she's like a new child."

But even when you know what to watch out for, being constantly vigilant is a huge strain, as it accepting that ultimately, you the parent, can't be there 24/7. "Hallie starting school was one of the hardest parts of my life because I was handing over her life to somebody else," says Lisa.

"I think that leaving the child in someone else's care is something all allergy parents find really hard," agrees mum-of-four Anne Walsh from Co Mayo.

"The big scare is knowing that if something did go wrong, you might not even get there in time. I know one mum who lives close to her daughter's school and every time an ambulance goes past her heart is in her mouth worrying that it could be her child. People worry a lot about it because there is food everywhere and not everyone gets how serious an allergy can be."

When Anne's daughter Aisling was two, she had a severe allergic reaction to eating peanuts and went into anaphylactic shock. Since then she's had to have two EpiPens with her at all times.

Having a child with allergies has brought with it challenges Anne could never had foreseen.

"It's not just about keeping them safe, but also making sure they're not excluded," explains Anne. "I remember when Aisling was in third or fourth class she came home very upset because one girl had invited everyone else in the class to her birthday apart from Aisling. She'd asked the girl why and she said 'my mum is afraid of your allergies'. All the other girls came in that Monday after the party at the weekend wearing little bracelets and things. Aisling's a tough cookie, but that upset her alright."

On occasions, Anne has had to visit her daughter's school to raise awareness of nut-free Easter eggs after Aisling, now 13, was barred from a raffle to win a chocolate egg. But every stage brings a new worry.

"Now that my daughter is in teen mode, social activities, even kissing is a worry," says Anne. "A girl in Canada died after kissing her boyfriend who had eaten peanut butter. Aisling's in Foroige and they've discos where there might be 500 kids there. We live by the mantra that we want to let her do as much as other kids do, within reason, so I do let her go to the discos, but I don't relax until she comes home again."

Anne also struggled with adapting the family shop to suit Aisling's diagnosis. "Suddenly it seemed like absolutely everything 'may contain nuts'," she says. "It was an adjustment. We really had to go back to basics and start cooking and finding things that were nut-free. No processed food - nothing out of a jar, really."

Even biscuits that look the same can pose a potential threat.

Lisa's daughter Hallie knows that a specific brand of chocolate fingers are safe for her to eat so thought nothing of eating one at a friend's house recently. "That night she was crying out in pain and vomiting," says Lisa. "I called the house and it wasn't the brand she'd thought she'd been eating. When I asked the mum to read out the ingredients, there was egg in it."

Dealing with the shopping difficulties, the unique pressures and strains can make being an allergy parent feel very lonely. Despite the fact that allergies are now more common - statistics suggest as many as two children in every classroom have some form of allergy - it can still feel like something that sets your child apart.

It's one of the reasons why, two years ago, Lisa set up a closed Facebook group, the Irish Allergy Support Group.

"I had nobody to talk to," she says. "There wasn't anyone I knew well with severe allergies and my friends wouldn't understand what I go through as an allergy parent. It's very hard to talk about when people don't understand. Unless you've been through it, you don't get it."

Online, she can vent frustrations and discuss with like-minded parents. If there's a medical issue, the first response is always to see a GP, but mostly parents come on just to chat and feel they're in company that understands.

Anne too now runs a website, allergylifestyle.com, with information on starting school, travelling with allergies, products, medical jewellery and links to training. "My friends call me Miss Anaphylactic," she laughs. "But there's a real need for information, awareness and support. Being an allergy parent can feel quite isolating and the only people who really understand what you're going through, are other allergy parents."
Cork City is abuzz with news of an exciting new supersized totem pole proposed for its docklands - a block of 40 floors planned by Irish-born, New York developer Kevin O'Sullivan. The building would rise head and shoulders above the 17 storey Elysian Tower, currently the city's loftiest skyline intrusion.

O'Sullivan certainly has the construction cojones to get this big one skywards - his firms have worked on many towers in the USA, including parts of the new World Trade Centre, and he is currently engaged in coaxing up a 77-storey skyscraper in Manhattan. Mr O'Sullivan has said that as a developer he has witnessed the "ups and downs of the US economy" and that his tower "has to happen now for Cork."

The plan for an international hotel, prime offices, and perhaps some apartments, has generally been welcomed Leeside. Corkonian former housing minister Simon Coveney says the tower plans "will blow people away". But despite the ecstatic welcome for the promised projection in Cork, a city sometimes charged with overcompensating for its second city status, locals should perhaps pause for thought and consider the theories of one Andrew Lawrence regarding supersize towers.

Back in 1999, Lawrence, a property consultant with the Desdner Kleinwort Wasserstein bank, came up with what he called The Skyscraper Index.

The theory asserts that the commencement of the tallest buildings almost always coincide with a new economic downturn. When the biggest ones go up, the pants fall out of the economy - whether local or international.

Andrew's theory has generally stood up royally to scrutiny. Take the emblemic Empire State Building of 102 floors (381m), the world's tallest building until 1954. It broke ground in 1929, the same year as the Wall Street Crash kicked off, the century's greatest economic catastrophe. The next great flexing of architectural muscle in New York on this scale was the construction of the World Trade Centre twin towers (417m) which were opened in 1973 - coinciding with the start of the Oil Crisis.

Since then we had the Petronas Twin Towers in Malaysia (452m) opening in 1998 to coincide with the Asian Financial Crisis. More recently we saw Dubai's property boom produce the then tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa (828m), which opened in 2008 right in time for Dubai's property crash and the state's subsequent bailout by its emirate neighbours.

In Ireland, when it comes to tallest towers, Dublin, Belfast and Cork have long been engaged in a decades long game of "mine's bigger than yours." Belfast with its historically more liberal planning regime was long the location of this island's tallest buildings. The premise of the Skyscraper Index fails in booming 1960s Ireland, however. Liberty Hall at 60 metres was completed in 1965 by Ireland's trade union movement - anxious amidst the heady era of Lemass led growth to let the country know that the Irish labour movement carried a big stick. Realising Dublin's was now bigger than theirs, Cork immediately got busy working up an enormous skyline projection of its own. Construction started in 1965 on County Hall.

At the same time, Belfast got busy on Divis Tower, topped off in 1966 at 61m - making Belfast's tower bigger than Dublin's. But two years later in 1968, County Hall finished at 67 metres - biggest of all! Three record towers and not a crash in sight.

While Belfast subsequently erected a slathering of tall buildings over the coming years, south of the border the height wars simmered down until late 1990s and the economy picked up again. Suddenly all manner of outsized projections were being proposed. This time the Skyscraper Index proved prophetic. The first to be completed was the Millennium Tower at Charlotte Quay Dublin, which opened in 2000 (63m) - right in time for global economic decline of the Dot Com Bomb.In the mid-noughties various Dublin schemes were proposed (including one by U2). But none of these got underway. At Tiger towermania's most extreme, the one time Baron of Ballsbridge Sean Dunne proposed knocking a cluster of Dublin 4's most popular hotels and erecting the biggest tower Ireland had ever seen - right over the homes of Ireland's richest.

The Dunne Tower, in planning through 2007/2008, was to have stretched up 37 storeys at 136 metres. Planners prevented it becoming our Empire State recession marker. Stiff opposition from influential neighbours, among them billionaire Dermot Desmond and theatre boss Michael Colgan, argued that Dunne's was far too big for Ballsbridge. But all the while Cork was going for broke. The Elysian Tower (the word means 'blissful'), which projected 71 metres, was unveiled by developer Michael O'Flynn in 2008. An eight-metre antennae was added to take it up to 79 metres.

While Dublin's tiger towers misfired, the biggest residential tower Ireland had ever seen was thus completed in Cork and ran right into the biggest property crash the country has ever experienced. A year later 80pc of the apartments were unsold and it took until last year to let them all - only after O'Flynn's outfit had 1.5bn of debt taken into Nama.

So will a 40-storey tower in Cork's Docks herald a crash as per the Skyscraper Index; or an unfettererd period of vitality as per the two Halls, Liberty and County? A year in planning and three for construction means we'll find out somewhere about 2022.
"There's something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man."

So goes the famous quote.

And for the first time in Ireland, an Irish prison will tap into this special bond between horses and humans, and a stud facility will be built to help rehabilitate inmates.

Jonathan Irwin, founder of the Jack and Jill Foundation, has single-handedly fundraised a little over 100,000 for a stud facility in Castlerea Prison in Co Roscommon.

It is hoped that inmates who are successful applicants onto a course for the care and management of horses will benefit from a special bond with the animal.

Inmate-horse rehabilitation programmes in prisons in the US and Australia have shown that prisoners gain a sense of self-worth, and they complete their sentence with a job skill.

The proposed facility in Castlerea will train inmates to be stable makers, blacksmiths, stud hands, as well as other professions, it is hoped.

Jonathan Irwin (76) told Independent.ie the facility has been a dream of his for the last 30 years, since he heard about it at an international horse sale in Syracuse in New York state.

Its been proven in Australia and New York that the rate of reoffending drops hugely.

At the moment they come out of the prison with a medical card, and very often end up reoffending, but this will take the r out of the revolving door in prisons.

Every animal encourages great emotional connection. It will teach them all forever how to look after a horse. Itll be a real lesson into that skill.

A lot of prisoners, theres a very large section that are not through and through bad. You and I have made mistakes and weve managed to correct them because we have families and friends behind us, supporting us. These boys and girls did make a mistake, and the hand of the law got on their shoulder and they landed in a cellar.

It very much depends on them (the prisoner) but they have the chance to break free and not only get on the social ladder again, but the commercial ladder.

In Australia I believe one of the problems is that an awful lot of the lads have asked can they take the horses home with them when they leave, he joked.

Mr Irwin said he hopes that the facility can be built by the end of the year. The Irish Horse Welfare Trust Wicklow (IHWTW) will be involved in the management of the facility.

This week, Mr Irwin met with politicians this week to brief them on the new project along with Sharon Power from the IHWTW and Fergal Black from the Irish Prison Service.

I wrote to every single Justice Minister over the years saying I thought this was a cracking idea, we should get it in here. I think most of them thought I was a fruit and nut. The last one I wrote to was Frances Fitzgerald and she obviously thought it was a good idea and she put me in touch with the Irish Prison Service.

They couldnt have been more helpful. Ive been working with a director called Fergal Black and hes been amazing.

I had to get a recognised team to come in as the equine managers, so I chose the Irish Horse Trust. The deal was that I had to raise 100,000 so that the boxes could be built Ive beaten bushes and trees and nettles and Ive got over 100,000 now.

He added: Nothing is always agreed all-party. They told us I want you to know the government is 100pc behind you. TDs and Senators from every colour of the rainbow came out to support it.

Ive been trying to give birth to it for 30 years, and its finally coming to fruition.

Sharon Power told Independent.ie that rescued and rehabilitated horses will be housed at the facility.

The online course, which prisoners will be able to sit as part of the programme, will centre around the care and management of horses.

Its been developed for adults and young adults with a range of abilities. There are eight key modules about management, feeding, first aid, diseases, hoof care, and stable management. Theres a quiz at the end of every module, and the course is certified by us.

We have a very good partnership with industry bodies, and we hope to be able to assist them in finding suitable workplaces and potential employment.

The facility will cater for ten or 12 horses, supplied by us. Theyll be rescued and rehabilitated horses.

A spokesperson for the Irish Prison Service said discussions are ongoing about the project.

"It's something we're very interested in."
The 53m/60m Grand Central Hotel is set to open in Belfast this June, and these are the first artist's impressions of what awaits guests.

Incorporating 300 bedrooms within a 23-storey building next to City Hall in central Belfast, the hotel will be Northern Irelands largest.

The Grand Central is being developed by Hastings Hotels, a family-owned group with six properties across the province and a 50pc share in Dublin's Merrion.

"Inspired by the original Grand Central Hotel on Royal Avenue, the new hotel will blend timeless design, classic service and true style fused with glamour and grandeur  simply beautiful, beautifully simple," said Julie Hastings, Marketing Director with the group.

The restaurant and bar on the first floor is a nod to Belfasts maritime history, she added, and will be named the Seahorse Bar & Bistro.

The hotel will also feature a rooftop lounge, bistro, two smaller conference suites, three meeting rooms, a Panorama Lounge for private receptions of up to 100 guests, and The GC (Grand Cafe), which will open from 6am 'til late with an entrance off Bedford Street.

The development also includes offices and retail units.

It comes as Belfast experiences something of a hotel boom, with Titanic Hotel Belfast opening last September (view gallery here), Bullitt completing its second phase in November, and eight further developments to follow this year, including a George Best Hotel on Bedford St. and a four-star Marriott at City Quays.

In total, some 1,119 new rooms are expected by 2019.

Read more:
The term 'family business' conjures up a lot of images.

Irish businesswomen Ailish Kelly and her daughter Niamh Murdock are proof you can start a viable family business, with any objective, at any age.

Ailish (57) and Niamh (32) are the co-founders of cosmetic surgery clinic The Avoca Clinic, a practice with big ambitions. They are one of the lucky few, who are revelling in a post-recession success story: despite neither of them having a background in medicine, they identified a growth in the market and by the time consumers had deeper pockets in 2018, they already had a stellar reputation in place.

I worked in finance, I have a degree in Business and was living in Australia for a few years and everyone seems to do their stint in Oz, Niamh told Independent.ie.

I came back to Ireland in 2011, my boyfriend at the time (who is now my husband) was here and thankfully that worked out. At the start, because my background was finance but there wasn't much hope of a career here. It was a case of finding our way. Mum is the person who loves to meet people and hear their stories and falls in love everyone, whereas I do the business side of things.

They were determined to capitalise on Irelands growing demand for surgical procedures, in particular with breast work, but preferred to base theirs largely on a US model.

We are a one stop shop, we only specialise in a small amount of surgeries - breast augmentation, breast lifts, tummy tucks and were using a new liposuction machine, Niamh says.

Ailish said they begin every proposal with asking themselves, Would we use this as women? If the answer is yes, its considered, if not, the idea is binned.

Expand Close Ailish Kelly and her daughter Niamh Murdock at the Avoca Clinic in Wicklow. Picture: Damien Eagers / Facebook

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Whatsapp Ailish Kelly and her daughter Niamh Murdock at the Avoca Clinic in Wicklow. Picture: Damien Eagers

Its the US model in that you come to clinic for a consultation, you get your surgery for same building and theres a full operating theatre with private rooms. Our biggest challenge is a lack of regulation in the industry. Its based British cosmetic surgery guidelines," she explains.

Its clear that morality is at the heart of their business model: like most modern surgical representatives, they are keen to push the fact that their approach is ethical, especially as easy procedures like Botox becomes increasingly available and sometimes by underqualified technicians.

"Mum and I doing this by women, for women. I think, Would I want my daughter to have this done? We both had work done with our team in the last 12 -18 months an we know how good our surgeons are, Niamh. says.

Ailish adds: This is not a money-driven business, this is a passion. I feel as if I saw a kid coming in at the age of 25 or 26, I couldnt in my heart try to sell a procedure. Its worked because I tell people that. We dont tell people we own the clinic, maybe I should, I choose just to say Im answering the phone because otherwise theyll think Im selling my clinic. Im not, Im selling my doctors and theyre hard to get.

So, whats changed in running a business as Ireland revels in an economic recovery? The prices, of course.

In 2012, it was absolutely cheaper to have surgery then, Niamh explains. We were doing breast augmentations then, its the least expensive of the surgeries, costing around 4,000 to 5,300. Because were using HSE consultants, we have to pay top dollar for those guys. People are coming in now, with credit union loan, for treatments.

Gone are the days of the Playboy-bunny style breasts sitting suspiciously close to a womans chin, but rather they have seen a dramatic increase in breast reductions, women want more discreet increases and Ailish and Niamh have noted a 100% increase in over the last 12 months. The cost? 7,500 to 8,000.

Theres this perception of plastic surgery that its a desire to have bigger lips like Kylie Jenner and the Kardashians, but the real side is that these women they could have four kids and breastfed them all, did everything they could for 10 to 15 years and now they hate their breasts  thats something that can be addressed, Niamh says.

The numbers are big across the board for the Avoca Clinic: they perform 60 to 80 breast augmentation surgeries per month; they have 35 staff, eight full-time and two doctors and nurses and two clinics in Wicklow and Limerick. Their turnover is in excess of 2.5m and they have plans for an aggressive expansion.

"The whole idea is with the consultants that we work with, to be in major cities like Dublin, Galway, Limerick and Athlone," Ailish adds.
Actress Alicia Vikander escorted by Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven for a reception dinner at the British Ambassador's residence with Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge during day one of their Royal visit to Sweden and Norway with Prince William, Duke of Cambridge on January 30, 2018 in Stockholm, Sweden. (Photo by Mark Stewart - Pool/Getty Images)

Swedish actress Alicia Vikander and Michael Fassbender pose on the red carpet before the premiere of the movie "The Light Between Oceans" presented in competition at the 73rd Venice Film Festival

Actors Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander attend the premiere of 'The Light Between Oceans' during the 73rd Venice Film Festival at Sala Grande

Michael Fassbender stars as Tom Sherbourne and Alicia Vikander as his wife Isabel in DreamWorks Pictures poignant drama THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS, written and directed by Derek Cianfrance based on the acclaimed novel by M.L. Stedman.

Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander are seen on October 04, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by BG022/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)

Alicia Vikander with friends on the beach in Ibiza before herrumoured wedding to Michael Fassbender. Picture: Splash News

Alicia Vikander attends The 75th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 7, 2018 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Michael Fassbender (R) and actress Alicia Vikander pose as they arrive at the Excelsior Hotel to promote the movie "The Light Between Oceans" presented in competition at the 73rd Venice Film Festival

Alicia Vikander has given rare insight into her life with husband Michael Fassbender and she's living her own happily ever after.

The 29-year-old Swedish actress wed the Irish actor (40) in Ibiza in October, in what was described by fans as "top secret", but which she considered to be "small, discreet gathering of friends and family", representative of their inherent low-key nature.

Expand Close Actors Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander attend the premiere of 'The Light Between Oceans' during the 73rd Venice Film Festival at Sala Grande on September 2, 2016 in Venice, Italy. (Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Actors Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander attend the premiere of 'The Light Between Oceans' during the 73rd Venice Film Festival at Sala Grande on September 2, 2016 in Venice, Italy. (Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)

Both have said they made an active choice not to publicise their personal lives, in particular their relationship, only touching on falling for one another while filming The Light Between Oceans in 2014. But, in order to appear on the cover of Vogue, stars are required to share more than they normally would in interviews and Vikander dropped her guard a bit and spoke about how overjoyed she is with married life for the February issue.

"I feel Im more happy and content than Ive ever been...the happy-and-content thing, thats talking about my private life," she said. "Its not about being secretive. Its just about choosing the few things that you keep private."

She added praise onto her other half for his multi-faceted talents as an actor, saying: "I think hes one of the absolute best actors Ive worked with. Of course hed done more films than me, but immediately when we started to work together he was so open to wanting me to chip in new ideas and thoughts.

"He would be like, 'I'm stuck; what should I do?' and I would say, "Youre asking me?' That was such a sweet thing."

Expand Close Alicia Vikander attends the Volez, Voguez, Voyagez - Louis Vuitton Exhibition Opening on October 26, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Daniel Zuchnik/WireImage) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Alicia Vikander attends the Volez, Voguez, Voyagez - Louis Vuitton Exhibition Opening on October 26, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Daniel Zuchnik/WireImage)

The couple currently reside in Lisbon, Portugal and also have a home in London.

Fassbender, from Co Kerry, is just as forthcoming with compliments over his wife's professional talents, telling Good Morning America last September: "She's such a fierce performer, she's so brave, she's not afraid to bring ugly personality traits to the forefront in character. I was really impressed by her immediately."
SNOW and ice caused travel misery for commuters as up to 3cm of snow fell overnight in some areas.

Motorists were warned to drive with extreme caution as the Arctic snap is expected to last for the next 48 hours.

Donegal, Wicklow, Cork, Kerry and Tipperary were particularly badly bit by the overnight snowfalls.

The section of the M8 Dublin-Cork motorway between Mitchelstown and Watergrasshill was badly hit by snow falls.

Motorists were also warned to drive with extreme caution in parts of west Cork with the Cousane Gap outside Bantry described as particularly challenging.

Traffic in Dublin and Wicklow was also badly hit by the conditions with Gardai urging commuters to allow extra time for journeys due to the road conditions.

Kerry was also hit by snow and ice while road conditions in Tipperary were also described as treacherous around Nenagh and Thurles.

Donegal roads were particularly badly hit by compacted snow and ice.

Snow falls continued this morning in parts of Donegal. Temperatures plummeted to -2C overnight - with both the Gardai and Road Safety Authority (RSA) warning that many areas would be at risk of compacted snow and black ice making driving surface very slippery.

The Siberian spell of weather came as Met Eireann issued a weather warning for the entire country until 12 noon today.

However, the outlook for the weekend is for more icy conditions with wintry showers, ice and frost expected.

Saturday will be wet and windy but it will turn colder on Saturday night with sleet and snow forecast.

Sunday will be very cold with more wintry showers on the way particularly in parts of Connacht.

The east will be brighter but it will be cold too, with temperatures only hitting a maximum of 5C.

Met Eireann warned that the wind chill factor will makes conditions appear even colder.

Sunday night will also bring yet another widespread sharp to severe frost with a renewed risk of black ice for Monday morning.
A Florida woman has claimed an airline told her to flush her hamster down an airport toilet because the emotional support rodent was not allowed to fly with her.

The Miami Herald reports before Belen Aldecosea flew home from college to South Florida, she twice called Spirit Airlines to ensure she could bring Pebbles, her pet dwarf hamster.

But when Ms Aldecosea arrived at the Baltimore airport, Spirit refused to allow the animal onboard.

The 21-year-old told the paper she flushed Pebbles at an airline employees suggestion, after running out of other options.

Panicked and needing to return home promptly to deal with a medical issue, Ms Aldecosea was unable to rent a car and agonised for hours.

She was scared. I was scared. It was horrifying trying to put her in the toilet, Ms Aldecosea said. I was emotional. I was crying. I sat there for a good 10 minutes crying in the stall.

A spokesman for Spirit acknowledged the airline mistakenly told Ms Aldecosea that Pebbles was allowed. But he denied that a Spirit employee recommended flushing her pet in an airport bathroom.

To be clear, at no point did any of our agents suggest this guest (or any other for that matter) should flush or otherwise injure an animal, spokesman Derek Dombrowski said.

But Ms Aldecosea said she is considering suing Spirit over the conflicting instructions that pressured her into making the decision.

I didn't have any other optionsBelen Aldecosea

She shared her tale with the newspaper after the story of an emotional support peacock  denied entrance to a United Airlines flight  went viral on the internet.

This case is different, said her Florida attorney, Adam Goodman. This wasnt a giant peacock that could pose a danger to other passengers. This was a tiny cute harmless hamster that could fit in the palm of her hand, he said.

Animals on flights have become controversial. Some say travellers are taking advantage of federal law to get household pets on planes. Several airlines have recently tightened restrictions on such animals.

The US Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) has no problem with carry-on hamsters. Hamsters are welcome in our checkpoint. Their container would typically go through the X-ray while the owner would hold the hamster as the passenger walks through the metal detector so the creature is not subjected to radiation, according to TSA spokeswoman Sari Koshetz.

It is up to airlines whether they allow hamsters on board. Most major carriers such as American, Delta and United, say no, citing concerns safety and health concerns.

Ms Aldecosea said she had her doctors letter certifying Pebbles.

During her first semester at a school in Pennsylvania, Ms Aldecosea developed a painful growth in her neck, leading to a cancer scare. That is when she bought Pebbles for comfort. In November, Ms Aldecosea learned the growth was benign, but still painful. Withdrawing from school and going home hoping to have it removed, Ms Aldecosea booked a Spirit flight from Baltimore to Fort Lauderdale.

She twice called Spirit in advance, to verify the hamster could fly. The representative told her it was fine  an assurance that Spirit agrees was given to Ms Aldecosea. Our reservation representative, unfortunately, did misinform the guest that a hamster was permitted to fly as an emotional support animal on Spirit Airlines, spokesman Mr Dombrowski wrote in an email.

When Ms Aldecosea showed up that day, she said, the first Spirit agent checked her emotional support pet in with no problem. Pebbles was in a small cage that fit regulations for carry-on luggage.

But as she approached the security checkpoint, a second Spirit employee chased her down, saying that rodents were not allowed. Ms Aldecosea said Spirit agents told her she could not put the hamster in the cargo hold either.

After hectic discussions, an outraged Ms Aldecosea accepted a flight later that day. She said she had no friends or family in town to pick up Pebbles. It was then, Ms Aldecosea insists, that an employee suggested letting Pebbles go free outside or flushing her down the toilet.

With her flight boarding soon, she pondered whether to let Pebbles free outside. She said she considered it more humane to end her life right away, and not let her run around scared in the cold, only to die getting hit by a car.

I didnt have any other options, she said.
Dippy begins a UK tour today, with the first very appropriate stop on the Jurassic Coast, Dorset.

The iconic replica has been on display in the Natural History Museum (NHM) since 1905, and this is the first time it has been displayed outside the famous London attraction.

So on the way to the Dorset County Museum, we took Dippy on a little trip around the county.

Being a model of a Diplodocus carnegii species, Dippy went straight for the beach, obviously.

But with Boscombe beach typically packed, and Dippy being 26 metres long and over four metres high, he had to tread carefully.

And had to watch out for rogue slackliners.

So Dippy took his 292-bone frame and left swiftly  via Boscombes multi-coloured beach huts.

Dippy has been replaced by a blue whale skeleton at the NHM, so naturally headed straight for another coast to find out what all the fuss is about with these sea creatures  taking him past Portland Bill lighthouse.

Things were, as ever, looking a little choppy at the Cobb.

Not used to this soggy atmosphere after spending 1979 to 2017 in the NHMs Hintze Hall entrance, Dippy soon legged it.

Back inland Dippy spotted the Princess Elizabeth locomotive on its way to Swanage, taking a moment to freak out a few grazing cows along the way.

And of course Dippy found his way to Durdle Door, a sight almost as iconic as he is.

Back inland, Dippy took another glance at Swanage railway line, being careful not to cross the tracks.

You certainly didnt see that between 145 and 156 million years ago  when Dippys species roamed.

Developing a taste for steam, Dippy then popped into the Great Dorset Steam Fair.

And he checked out Dorset County Show, where he met some rather unsavoury characters.

Urinating pig evaded, it was time for Dippy to head to Dorset County Museum  not before getting an epic sunset shot at Corfe Castle, of course.

Dippys three month stay in Dorset lasts until May 7, and is the first leg of a three-year tour.

Next up  Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating potential collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign. Photo: Kevin Lamarque

Some of the most effective intelligence agencies in history have served the most odious dictatorships.

The Soviet KGB, the East German Stasi, Cuban state security - many American intelligence pros ruefully concede these services ran rings around western counterparts, even if some of the regimes they served eventually collapsed anyway.

This is no accident. One-party states, as the name implies, combine a certain unity of purpose with total insulation from democratic accountability. This gives their secret agents latitude to get the job done, through extortion, infiltration, assassination - whatever it takes.

In a multi-party democracy, by contrast, such methods go against the political grain. The government may resort to them but its mandate is a bit tentative. The government depends, crucially, on an underlying, voluntary political consensus strong enough to support the inevitable moral trade-offs.

Israel is a fractious democracy, but with wide agreement about securing an embattled Jewish state; Mossad performs accordingly.

That brings us to the United States, where the current attacks on the FBI by President Donald Trump and the Republican Party raise the question of whether it's possible to maintain an effective, legitimate intelligence establishment while the elected leaders who are supposed to control it engage in open-ended, winner-take-all, partisan conflict.

Bipartisan consensus has played a crucial but under-appreciated role in the history of American intelligence.

The US developed no real national intelligence agency in the 19th century, while European states such as France, Russia and Prussia did.

Only when sectional and partisan battles gave way to international responsibilities and (relative) domestic harmony in the 20th century could Republicans and Democrats define shared national interests and accept the need for permanent secret agencies to protect them.

This consensus almost broke down amid the revelations of major abuses by the FBI and CIA during the 60s and 70s. Bipartisan reforms - enhanced congressional oversight, coupled with limited judicial review of spying by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) - salvaged it.

Now Trump is consciously attacking the very concept of bipartisan consensus, recasting it not as a manifestation of healthy national unity but as an inherently corrupt bargain that spawns a "deep state".

He and the Republican House intelligence committee chairman Devin Nunes might be doing so opportunistically, enacting a parody of congressional oversight in service of selfish short-term political interests.

Still, they are tapping a deep vein of American thought - a suspicion of secret government whose roots go all the way back to the founding of the US.

It's the same vein Edward Snowden and his supporters on the left tapped in their revelations about the National Security Agency, and Democrats on the Senate intelligence committee tapped when they brought out a damning report on the CIA torture that took place during President George W Bush's time.

What's more, even paranoid people have real enemies. Suppose a Democratic president's justice department really did use Democratic-funded opposition research, unverified and insufficiently disclosed, to get a secret warrant from the FISC to spy on a former Republican campaign adviser. Would that be OK?

In short, the American national consensus about intelligence, and many other things, was in deep trouble long before Trump arrived. If there was still a robust political centre, Trump never would have been elected in the first place.

Acting on instinct as much as anything else, the president is now exploiting the instability and confusion to neutralise threats to his power, the most salient of which, in the short term, is the investigation by Robert Mueller. Full co-optation of the intelligence community could be his grand prize.

It is futile to count on the FBI - a "pillar of society" as a 'New York Times' headline strangely called it - to check Trump, even though many people who should know better seem to be doing so.

When Phil Mudd, a former top official of both the CIA and FBI, warns on television that the FBI is "ticked" at Trump and preparing to "win" against the elected president, it only feeds Trump's "deep state" narrative.

"Those who would counter the illiberalism of Trump with the illiberalism of unfettered bureaucrats would do well to contemplate the precedent their victory would set," Tufts University constitutional scholar Michael Glennon warns in a 2017 'Harper's Magazine' article.

We are witnessing a democratic nightmare: partisan competition over secret and semi-secret intelligence and law-enforcement agencies.

As Glennon notes, it would be unwise to bet against Trump; he has favours to dispense and punishment to dish out. Alone among all the others blundering about in the ruins of America's shattered political consensus, he knows what he wants. ( Washington Post)
A Bank of England official has said the core of the financial system would be robust if Britain leaves the European Union with no deal.

Bank deputy governor Ben Broadbent said the organisation had not modelled such a scenario in its forecasts.

But he told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: We have forecast, as very long run outcomes, a range of possible deals and we have also said we assume in our forecasts that there will be a smooth transition to those, which essentially means were not assuming a no-deal outcome.

Mr Broadbent continued: What is true, is that the Financial Policy Committee, and I think this is the right way round, which worries about, or thinks about, sort of tail risks, potential disruptions  thats its job really  has modelled various aspects of what could happen without a deal and was able to say at the end of last year that the stress test that it puts on the banking system once a year to try and see whether its got enough capital was at least as severe we thought as a no-deal outcome.

So we do think, and I think this is very important, that the core of the financial system  given how much capital has been added  would be robust to such an outcome.
Russian president Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron have discussed cooperating more closely to resolve the Syrian crisis, as France tries to smooth ties with Russia and move beyond years of tension over Syria and Ukraine.

Mr Macron spoke to Mr Putin by phone as the French leader prepares to attend the St Petersburg Economic Forum in May, where the two presidents will meet.

The Kremlin said Mr Putin and Mr Macron underlined the need for closer co-operation on Syria.

Mr Macrons office said he pushed for more robust Syrian peace talks  notably after a Russia-sponsored effort last month boycotted by the Syrian opposition.

The French president also pressed Mr Putin to stop intolerable degradation of the humanitarian situation in regions of Syria that were pummelled by Syrian and Russian air strikes in recent days.

The presidents discussed another sore point in relations: the conflict in Ukraine. They stressed the need to enforce the 2015 Minsk peace agreement which was sponsored by France and Germany.

Mr Putin and Mr Macron also hailed a potentially problematic project to encourage contacts among Russian and French citizens. Called the Trianon Dialogue, the initiative appears aimed at minimising European sanctions against Russia for its support of separatists in eastern Ukraine.

The French-Russian project was set up to encourage interactions through joint theatre productions, school trips, sister city agreements and real estate investments.

However, geopolitical tensions threaten to complicate the effort.

Among the Russians overseeing the Trianon Dialogue are magnate Gennady Timchenko, a longtime associate of Putins, and former railways chief Vladimir Yakunin  both targets of US sanctions over Russias actions in Ukraine. A former ambassador who is an outspoken supporter of Russias bombings of Syria and annexation of Crimea is also involved.

An official in Mr Macrons office acknowledged that we may run into difficulties in juggling the projects open-arms mission with current East-West tensions. The official said the French side would remain vigilant to prevent Mr Putins administration from using the event for political ends.

Mr Macron has remained publicly committed to the European Unions sanctions on Russia, but the Trianon Dialogue could be seen as undermining them.

Insiders said he pushed for the project to encourage Franco-Russian economic relations despite curbs on trade prompted by the sanctions and a Russian embargo.

The French members of the projects board all hail from outside politics. They include an astronaut, a ballet star, the director of the Versailles Chateau and the CEOs of oil giant Total and car-sharing company Blablacar.
A Florida woman has claimed an airline told her to flush her hamster down an airport toilet because the emotional support rodent was not allowed to fly with her.

The Miami Herald reports before Belen Aldecosea flew home from college to South Florida, she twice called Spirit Airlines to ensure she could bring Pebbles, her pet dwarf hamster.

But when Ms Aldecosea arrived at the Baltimore airport, Spirit refused to allow the animal onboard.

The 21-year-old told the paper she flushed Pebbles at an airline employee's suggestion, after running out of other options.

Panicked and needing to return home promptly to deal with a medical issue, Ms Aldecosea was unable to rent a car and agonised for hours.

"She was scared. I was scared. It was horrifying trying to put her in the toilet," Ms Aldecosea said. "I was emotional. I was crying. I sat there for a good 10 minutes crying in the stall."

A spokesman for Spirit acknowledged the airline mistakenly told Ms Aldecosea that Pebbles was allowed. But he denied that a Spirit employee recommended flushing her pet in an airport bathroom.

"To be clear, at no point did any of our agents suggest this guest (or any other for that matter) should flush or otherwise injure an animal," spokesman Derek Dombrowski said.

But Ms Aldecosea said she is considering suing Spirit over the conflicting instructions that pressured her into making the decision.

She shared her tale with the newspaper after the story of an emotional support peacock - denied entrance to a United Airlines flight - went viral on the internet.

This case is different, said her Florida attorney, Adam Goodman. "This wasn't a giant peacock that could pose a danger to other passengers. This was a tiny cute harmless hamster that could fit in the palm of her hand," he said.

Animals on flights have become controversial. Some say travellers are taking advantage of federal law to get household pets on planes. Several airlines have recently tightened restrictions on such animals.

The US Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) has no problem with carry-on hamsters. "Hamsters are welcome in our checkpoint. Their container would typically go through the X-ray while the owner would hold the hamster as the passenger walks through the metal detector so the creature is not subjected to radiation," according to TSA spokeswoman Sari Koshetz.

It is up to airlines whether they allow hamsters on board. Most major carriers such as American, Delta and United, say no, citing concerns safety and health concerns.

Ms Aldecosea said she had her doctor's letter certifying Pebbles.

During her first semester at a school in Pennsylvania, Ms Aldecosea developed a painful growth in her neck, leading to a cancer scare. That is when she bought Pebbles for comfort. In November, Ms Aldecosea learned the growth was benign, but still painful. Withdrawing from school and going home hoping to have it removed, Ms Aldecosea booked a Spirit flight from Baltimore to Fort Lauderdale.

She twice called Spirit in advance, to verify the hamster could fly. The representative told her it was fine - an assurance that Spirit agrees was given to Ms Aldecosea. "Our reservation representative, unfortunately, did misinform the guest that a hamster was permitted to fly as an emotional support animal on Spirit Airlines," spokesman Mr Dombrowski wrote in an email.

When Ms Aldecosea showed up that day, she said, the first Spirit agent checked her emotional support pet in with no problem. Pebbles was in a small cage that fit regulations for carry-on luggage.

But as she approached the security checkpoint, a second Spirit employee chased her down, saying that rodents were not allowed. Ms Aldecosea said Spirit agents told her she could not put the hamster in the cargo hold either.

After hectic discussions, an outraged Ms Aldecosea accepted a flight later that day. She said she had no friends or family in town to pick up Pebbles. It was then, Ms Aldecosea insists, that an employee suggested letting Pebbles go free outside or flushing her down the toilet.

With her flight boarding soon, she pondered whether to let Pebbles free outside. She said she considered it more humane to end her life right away, and not let her run around scared in the cold, only to die getting hit by a car.

"I didn't have any other options," she said.
The US Senate has passed a bipartisan budget agreement and spending bill to reopen the shuttered federal government.

The bill now moves to the House of Representatives.

Senators voted 71-28 to approve the deal, overcoming objections from Republican fiscal conservatives who say the bill marks a return to unchecked deficit spending.

The bill stalled in the Senate on Thursday night when one of the opponents, Republican Rand Paul, refused to allow a speedy vote.

Mr Paul's protest forced Congress to miss a midnight deadline for passing a funding measure to keep the government operating.

A shutdown - technically a lapse in agency appropriations - became inevitable as Republican Senator Rand Paul repeatedly held up votes on the budget plan, which is married to a six-week government-wide spending measure. The Senate recessed around 11pm with plans to reconvene just after midnight.

Mr Paul was seeking a vote on reversing spending increases and refused to speed things up when he was denied.

"I ran for office because I was very critical of President Obama's trillion-dollar deficits," the Kentucky senator 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."

While the US government's authority to spend some money would expire at midnight, there were not likely to be many clear immediate effects. Essential personnel would remain on the job regardless.

Earlier it was suggested that if the measure passes in the wee hours of the morning, the government would open in the morning on schedule, said John Czwartacki, spokesman for the Office of Management and Budget, the agency responsible for coordinating any shutdown.

At the White House, there appeared to be little sense of concern. Aides closed shop early in the night, with no comment on the display on the Hill. The president did not tweet.

But frustrations were clear in both sides of the Capitol, where just hours earlier leaders had been optimistic that the budget deal was a sign they had left behind some of their chronic dysfunction.

Senate Democrats sparked a three-day partial government shutdown last month by filibustering a spending bill, seeking relief for "Dreamer" immigrants who've lived in the country illegally since they were children. This time it was a Republican's turn to throw a wrench in the works.

Mr Paul brushed off pleas from his fellow Republicans, who billed the budget plan as an "emergency" measure needed for a depleted military.

"We will effectively shut down the federal government for no good reason," said Senator John Cornyn, as his requests to move to a vote were repeatedly rejected by Mr Paul.

Mr Paul was unfazed, saying: "I didn't come up here to be part of somebody's club. I didn't come up here to be liked."

Approval of the measure in the Senate seemed assured - eventually - but the situation in the House remained dicey. In that chamber, progressive Democrats and tea party Republicans opposed the measure, which contains roughly $400bn (326bn) in new spending for the Pentagon, domestic agencies, disaster relief and extending a host of health care provisions.

However, House Republican leaders said they were confident they had shored up support among conservatives for the measure, which would shower the Pentagon with money but add hundreds of billions of dollars to the nation's $20 trillion-plus debt.

House Democratic leaders opposed the measure - arguing it should resolve the plight of "Dreamers" - but not with all their might.

The legislation does not address immigration, though Republican Speaker Paul Ryan said again Thursday he was determined to bring an immigration bill to the floor this year - albeit only one that has President Donald Trump's blessing.

At a late afternoon meeting, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California made it plain she was not pressuring fellow Democrats to kill the bill, which is packed with money for party priorities such as infrastructure, combating opioid abuse and helping college students.

Still, it represented a bitter defeat for Democrats who followed a risky strategy to use the party's leverage on the budget to address immigration and ended up scalded by last month's three-day government shutdown. Protection for the "Dreamers" under former President Barack Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programme (DACA) expires next month.

Republicans were sheepish about the bushels of dollars for Democratic priorities and the return next year of one trillion dollar-plus deficits. But they pointed to money they have long sought for the Pentagon, which they say needs huge sums for readiness, training and weapons modernisation.

"It provides what the Pentagon needs to restore our military's edge for years to come," said Mr Ryan.

Beyond $300bn (244bn) of record increases for the military and domestic programs, the agreement adds $89bn (72bn) in overdue disaster aid for hurricane-slammed Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico, a politically charged increase in the government's borrowing cap and a grab bag of health and tax provisions. There is also $16bn (13bn) to renew a slew of expired tax breaks that Congress seems unable to kill.
President of South Korea Moon Jae-in, his wife Kim Jung-Sook, Kim Yo-Jong, the sister of North Koreas leader Kim Jong-un and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and inset Ireland flag-bearer Seamus O'Connor

The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has shaken hands with South Korean president Moon Jae-in in a historic meeting during the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics.

In a historic moment for the Koreas, Mr Moon shook hands in public with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's younger sister, Kim Yo Jong, as dignitaries took their places at the Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium.

Kim Yo Jong is the first member of her family to visit South Korea since the 1950-53 Korean War. She is part of a high-level delegation attending the opening ceremony.

Meanwhile Ireland flag-bearer Seamus O'Connor represented Ireland during the opening ceremony.

Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics  Opening ceremony  Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium - Pyeongchang, South Korea  February 9, 2018 - President of South Korea Moon Jae-in, his wife Kim Jung-Sook, Kim Yo-Jong, the sister of North Koreas leader Kim Jong-un and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier during the opening ceremony Ireland flag-bearer Seamus O'Connor during the Opening Ceremony of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at the PyeongChang Olympic Stadium in South Korea. David Davies/PA Wire. Pyeongchang, South Korea; Eric Frenzel of Germany carries the national flag with delegates during the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic Winter Games Opening Ceremony at Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium. Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics  Opening ceremony  Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium - Pyeongchang, South Korea  February 9, 2018 - Erin Hamlin of the U.S. carries the national flag. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics  Opening ceremony  Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium - Pyeongchang, South Korea  February 9, 2018 - Jelena Vujicic of Montenegro carries the national flag during the opening ceremony. Great Britain athletes during the Opening Ceremony of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at the PyeongChang Olympic Stadium in South Korea. David Davies/PA Wire. Great Britain flag-bearer Lizzy Yarnold during the Opening Ceremony of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at the PyeongChang Olympic Stadium in South Korea. David Davies/PA Wire South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his wife Kim Jung-sook, North Korea's nominal head of state Kim Yong Nam, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's younger sister Kim Yo Jong sit at the Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Pyeongchang, South Korea February 9, 2018. Yonhap via REUTERS Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics  Opening ceremony  Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium - Pyeongchang, South Korea  February 9, 2018 - Julian Zhi Jie Yee of Malaysia carries the national flag. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics  Opening ceremony  Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium - Pyeongchang, South Korea  February 9, 2018 - A general view shows the opening ceremony. REUTERS/Pawel Kopczynski / Facebook

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Trinity Mirror is buying the Daily Express and Daily Star (Yui Mok/PA)

The publisher of the Daily Mirror newspaper has struck a deal to buy billionaire Richard Desmonds media assets, including the Daily Express.

The move marks a major shake-up of Britains media landscape, and here we answer the big questions surrounding the deal.

What does the deal look like?

Trinity Mirror will pay 126.7 million to buy a string of titles from Northern & Shell, including the Daily Express, the Sunday Express, Daily Star and Daily Star Sunday, as well as three celebrity magazines, OK!, New!, and Star.

It will also pick up Northern & Shells 50% joint venture interest in the Irish Daily Star, alongside a print plant in Luton.

Once complete, the deal will see Trinity become a British media powerhouse.

It already owns titles such as the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, Sunday People, Daily Record and Sunday Mail, plus more than 200 local newspapers, including the Manchester Evening News, Liverpool Echo, Birmingham Mail and Bristol Post.

Why now?

Expand Close Trinity Mirror buys Express newspapers / Facebook

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More and more people are reading their news online rather than in printed form, so advertisers have also increasingly shifted their focus and budgets to websites.

As newspaper circulations have shrunk, so has print advertising as a revenue stream, leading to more investment in online operations across the industry.

To illustrate the point, the Express.co.uk and Dailystar.co.uk websites achieved 280 million page views in December 2017 compared with 649 million for the Trinity Mirror websites.

But the industry is also divided between publishers who think charging readers for online content is the way to go, and those that favour giving it away for free.

Consolidation is also another way to combat declining advertising revenue, with the Trinity deal set to herald cost savings of 20 million a year by 2020 and a shared cut of a larger advertising pool.

The deal is likely to mean job cuts.

What about the political aspects of the deal?

A tie-up between the left-leaning Mirror and the Brexit-backing Express has raised eyebrows, but Trinity boss Simon Fox has signalled that the newspapers respective editorial positions will not change overnight.

Whilst acknowledging the two businesses have different editorial positions, Mr Fox said these will be retained.

What now for Richard Desmond?

Expand Close Big Brother launch party  arrivals / Facebook

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The deal will see the conclusion of billionaire Richard Desmonds 17 years of newspaper ownership.

The tycoon acquired the Express titles in 2000 for 125 million, after which he added Channel 5 to his stable of media assets.

In 2015, he offloaded Channel 5 to MTV owner Viacom for 463 million, with Northern & Shell booking a handsome 359 million profit on the sale.

Mr Desmond also owns and operates the Health Lottery, which aims to raise funds for good causes, and it has been reported that he may be looking to win the licence to run the National Lottery.
Kolkata,Feb 9 (IBNS): Century, a leading lighting solution company, on Friday said has taken up an initiative to adorn the Book Fair and a metro corridor of the Salt Lake area with LED lights.

Around 520 LED lighting fixtures have been installed to transform this space.

The LED lighting industry has been undergoing robust development over the past few years and is now on the verge of replacing the conventional modes of illuminating a street or industrial area. This combines both efficiency and longevity.

The Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation, along with Century LED, had taken up this initiative ahead of the Kolkata Book Fair2018. Reconstruction of roads and street lighting are parts of the Rs 2.58 crore project in the city, where the company has supplied the streetlights for the 2 km metro corridor between the JK Saha Bridge to City Centre, including Karunamoyee.

This metro stretch was cloaked in darkness ever since the Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation took up the East-West construction project six years back. Even during daytime, the overhead metro pass, in this stretch, casts a shadow and covers most of the road which has finally been lit up under this project.



The Company has installed 520LED fixtures in this area. This, in turn, will reduce excess energy consumption caused by conventional street lighting. Replacing traditional streetlights with LED lights, like MAGIK Orion 183, will considerably increase the longevity of these lights. This will not only benefit the people throughout the time span of the Fair but also will act as a permanent solution for the city dwellers. On the other hand, the Kolkata Book Fair, being an integral part of the city heritage, has been lit up beautifully with almost 520 LED Street Lights (Orion 183Watt) from Century LED to achieve the desired ambience with sustainable lighting option.



This is also a part of Century LEDs initiative on creating awareness on conservation of energy. On this account, Anirudh Kajaria, Business Head, Century LED Limited, said, We are honoured to aid the community by participating in this Government initiative towards a more efficient city, in terms of beautification and conservation of energy simultaneously. In future, we wish to partner the Government for such initiatives to build a transformed society.
New York, Feb 9 (IBNS): Neurologist and neuroscientist Dr. Dena Dubal, Ph.D., is taking an innovative approach to battling neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimers disease and dementia.

Rather than trying to understand the specific mechanisms that cause each disease, she took a step back and asked, What do all these conditions have in common?

The answer: old age.

Over time, something happens to our cells and organs, and in the past three decades scientists have begun to unravel exactly what that something is  and the cellular mechanisms our bodies use to fight it.

Dubal, an associate professor of neurology at UC San Francisco, thinks we can use the science of aging to help stave off these neurodegenerative diseases.

Aging is the biggest risk factor for cognitive problems, and cognitive problems are one of the biggest biomedical challenges that we face, she said. Why dont we just block aging?

The key: klotho?

Blocking aging is easier said than done, but Dubal jumped head first into the problem by studying a protein called klotho.

Klotho was named after the Greek fate Clotho, a mythological figure who spun the thread of life and had say over when gods and mortals lived and died. The Japanese researchers who named the protein found that the amount of klotho produced by mice could affect how long the rodents lived. Other researchers later discovered that humans who naturally have more klotho tend to live longer.

Living longer is one thing, but Dubal, a member of the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, wanted to know if klotho could help our brains stay healthier and more resilient to cognitive problems. Could klotho levels predict how quickly subjects solved a variety of puzzles that test cognition? In both humans and mice, she found the same result: more klotho meant better cognitive function.

To bring this boost in brain health to everyone, and not just the 20 percent of people who happen to have naturally high klotho, Dubal is testing the proteins potential as a therapeutic. The protein can exist in two forms: the first is anchored to the cell membranes of your organs, mostly your brain and kidneys; and the second occurs when the protein is cut loose from its anchor and freed to float around the bloodstream. Dubal found that by simply injecting this floating form into mice, she could re-create the cognitive boost she found by genetically increasing klotho.

We found that those mice that had been treated, within four hours had better brain function, she said. This worked in young mice, old mice, and mice that had a condition similar to Alzheimers.

Next, Dubals lab will try to understand how klotho acts on the brain without crossing the blood-brain barrier. And ultimately, could klotho become a therapy for humans to improve brain health and protect against aging and disease?

For humans, the end game really is: how can we increase our healthspan? said Dubal. And that may go hand in hand with an increase in life span, because the things that help us to live longer are also the things that help us to live better.
London, Feb 9 (IBNS): Miniature glasses have revealed a new form of 3D vision in praying mantises that could lead to simpler visual processing for robots.

Publishing their latest research in Current Biology, the Newcastle University team have discovered that mantis 3D vision works differently from all previously known forms of biological 3D vision.

3D or stereo vision helps us work out the distances to the things we see. Each of our eyes sees a slightly different view of the world. Our brains merge these two views to create a single image, while using the differences between the two views to work out how far away things are.

But humans are not the only animals that have stereo vision. Other animals include monkeys, cats, horses, owls and toads, but the only insect known to have stereo vision is the praying mantis.

Going bug-eyed?

A team at the Institute of Neuroscience at Newcastle University funded by the Leverhulme Trust have been investigating whether praying mantis 3D vision works in the same way as humans.

To investigate this they created special insect 3D glasses which were temporarily glued on with beeswax.

In their insect 3D cinema, they could show the mantis a movie of tasty prey, apparently hovering right in front of the mantis. The illusion is so good the mantises try to catch it.

The scientists could now show the mantises not only simple movies of bugs, but the complex dot-patterns used to investigate human 3D vision. This enabled them to compare human and insect 3D vision for the first time.

Humans are incredibly good at seeing 3D in still images. We do this by matching up the details of the picture seen in each eye. But mantises only attack moving prey so their 3D doesnt need to work in still images. The team found mantises dont bother about the details of the picture but just look for places where the picture is changing.

This makes mantis 3D vision very robust. Even if the scientists made the two eyes images completely different, mantises can still match up the places where things are changing. They did so even when humans couldnt.

It's a bugs life

This is a completely new form of 3D vision as it is based on change over time instead of static images, said behavioural ecologist, Dr Vivek Nityananda at Newcastle University. In mantises it is probably designed to answer the question is there prey at the right distance for me to catch?

As part of the wider research, a Newcastle University engineering student developed an electronic mantis arm which mimics the distinct striking action of the insect.

Fellow team-member from the School of Engineering, Dr Ghaith Tarawneh adds, Many robots use stereo vision to help them navigate, but this is usually based on complex human stereo. Since insect brains are so tiny, their form of stereo vision cant require much computer processing. This means it could find useful applications in low-power autonomous robots.

Image: Newcastle University website
New Delhi, Feb 9 (IBNS): Amid the heated political environment, the Congress has asked the people to state the areas the Modi government should immediately focus on.

With an aim to putting pressure on the incumbent party, the Congress has posted the question on Twitter with multiple options.

The options include job creations, farm distress, price rise and law and order.

In the last few days, the BJP and the Congress were engaged in a verbal tussle inside the Parliament over the Rafale deal.

While Congress chief Rahul Gandhi asked the government to reveal the price at which the Rafale deal was signed, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman refused citing it as "classified information".

On Thursday, Arun Jaitley echoed Sitharaman's words saying Rahul should understand that the information is classified.

"I charge the Congress of seriously compromising India's security...Mr Modi has run a clean government for last four years, so let us manufacturer a crisis, let us manufacture an issue," Jaitley said.

He also advised Rahul to learn "lessons on national security" from former Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

Rahul on Tuesday told media the unwillingness to reveal the details of the deal implies that it is a scam.
New Delhi, Feb 9 (IBNS) : Congress president Rahul Gandhi has issued a notice to speak on the Rafale deal in Parliament on Friday, media reports said.

His move comes in keeping with the Congress' persistent demand for answers from the Government on the agreement with France in September 2016 for the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets.

The Congress has alleged irregularities in the Rs. 58,000-crore deal, saying that the purchase was made at much higher prices.

On Thursday, Gandhi took to Twitter to demand answers from the Government through Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

"Why did the Raksha Mantri change her stance from: I will reveal the price of the RAFALE planes in Nov 2017 to the price is a state secret in Feb 2018," he said.

Few days ago, Sitharaman had said she cannot reveal the details of the agreement for 36 jets citing it as "classified information".

Reacting to this, Rahul said the unwillingness to reveal the details of the deal implies that it is a scam.
Kolkata, Feb 9 (IBNS): Allegation of child molestation by a teacher rocked Kolkata's Carmel Primary School on Friday morning, according to media reports.

Parents of the child have complained that the dance teacher had been molesting the child over the past few months and they came to know about it only the evening before, media reported.

On Friday, other parents came to know about the allegation and broke into a protest in front of the school.

According to ABP Ananda report, the crowd caught hold of the teacher and started beating him up when he was being led out of the school. The Officer in Charge of Tollygunge Police Station too gut hurt in the melee, it reported.

As the protests spilled to the main road, traffic was disrupted on Rashbehari Avenue near Deshapriya Park.

Two other Kolkata schools -- GD Birla and MP Birla - were recently in the news for similar allegations of child molestation in school.
New Delhi, Feb 9 (IBNS): With an aim to fasten the Opposition unity, the Congress has extended its support to Andhra Pradesh's demand of a special category, at a time the ruling Telegu Desam Party (TDP) in the southern state is unhappy over its ally partner BJP.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday afternoon tweeted to say that his party supports demands of people of Andhra Pradesh. Apart from special category status, the demands also include the "speedy completion of Polavaram project".

Rahul's tweet reads, "The Congress Party supports the just demands of the people of Andhra Pradesh for special category status and speedy completion of the Polavaram project. It's time for all parties to unite on this issue and support this call for justice".

The Congress Party supports the just demands of the people of Andhra Pradesh for special category status and speedy completion of the Polavaram project. It's time for all parties to unite on this issue and support this call for justice.#INCStandsWithAndhra  Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) February 9, 2018

Days ago, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and TDP leader Chandrababu Naidu expressed his unhappiness over the allocations for the state in the Union budget 2018.

TDP is an ally partner of BJP in the NDA which runs the central government.

Naidu had even called a meeting with his party members to take a decision on the alliance.

With an eye on 2019 poll, the Congress is trying to align all opposition parties for a union.

The Shiv Sena has also announced that it will go solo in the next Lok Sabha election though will not leave its bigger ally BJP in Maharashtra at the present moment.
New Delhi, Feb 9 (IBNS): President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, addressed the 56th convocation of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) on Friday.

Speaking on the occasion, the President said that IARI played a critical role in the Green Revolution that changed the course of food production in the country.

He was happy to note that students from 14 countries are being educated in this institution. And that IARI is helping in the development of agricultural capacities and research in neighbouring countries.

The President said that Mahatma Gandhi had observed that agriculture is the backbone of the Indian economy.

"This is relevant even today," he said. "Enhancement of income of farmers and overall development in rural areas is the priority of the entire country. In this endeavour, students of IARI could contribute through innovations."

He said, "There is a relative shortage of land and water resources, in proportion to our country's population. Therefore, there is a need to continuously innovate to increase productivity."

The President said that IARI should start 'Innovation Centres' or 'Incubation Centres' to help students to launch start-up ventures in the agricultural sector.

Union Minister for Agiculture and Farmers' Welfare, Radha Mohan Singh, was also present.



Image: RadhaMohanSingh/Twitter
Bhubaneswar, Feb 9 (IBNS) : An angry mob on Friday torched a police station, beat up policemen and set vehicles on fire in Odisha's Sambalpur district after the custodial death of a tribal man, who was arrested in connection with a theft case, media reports said.

The man had allegedly committed suicide inside the lockup on Tuesday night.

Armed with iron rods and sticks, hundreds of local residents, including women, stormed the Ainthapali police station and vandalised it. They also pelted stones at policemen before setting the police station on fire. The mob also set ablaze several vehicles.

At least seven policemen reportedly sustained injuries in the attack.

According to reports, the police had to resort to lathi-charge to bring the situation under control.

Two policemen posted at the station have been suspended.

The violence took place fter Abinash Munda of Bhalupali village, who was detained in connection with a theft case, was found hanging inside the Ainthapalli police station.

Mundas family alleged that he was killed by the policemen.
New Delhi, Feb 9 (IBNS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday left the nation to commence four-nation tour.

He will visit Jordan, Palestine, UAE & Oman between Feb 9-12.

MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted: "Redefining our neighbourhood from a maritime perspective! PM @narendramodi embarks on a 4-day visit to Jordan, Palestine, UAE & Oman from 9-12 February to deepen our multifaceted ties with the Gulf and West Asian region. #ExtendedNeighbourhood."

Modi said this region is a key priority to India's external engagement.

" I am happy to visit the Gulf and West Asian region for the fifth time since 2015. This region is a key priority in our external engagement. We enjoy vibrant multi-dimensional ties with the countries here," Modi said.

Modi will visit the nation from Feb 9 to 12.

" The visit will begin from Palestine, on 10 February after transiting through Jordan. I am grateful to His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan for facilitating the transit. I look forward to meeting him in Amman on 9th February," Modi said.

This will be the first ever Prime Ministerial visit to Palestine from India.

Modi said he is looking forward to the tour.

"I am looking forward to my discussions with President Mahmoud Abbas and reaffirming our support for the Palestinian people and the development of Palestine," he said.

On his upcoming visit to the UAE, he said: " I will visit UAE on 10-11 February, where I am returning after my visit in August 2015. UAE is a valued strategic partner with whom we have fast-tracked cooperation in all major spheres including economy, energy, high technology and security. I will be discussing our progress in these areas and more in my meetings with His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi."

Speaking on Oman, he said: " Oman is a close maritime neighbour with whom we enjoy excellent relations. I will hold talks with His Majesty the Sultan of Oman and other key leaders. I shall also interact with leading businesspersons of Oman on developing stronger economic and business links with India."
Guwahati, Feb 9 (IBNS): Arunachal Pradesh MP Ninong Ering has recently written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and urged to bring the issue of a huge possible natural hazard which could be disastrous for the North East.

In the letter, Ering who represented the Arunachal East constituency said that every year till April, the slow-melting glaciers and the Eastern Himalayan forests are the primary source of river water.

During the monsoon months, rainfall carries sediments from the mountain slopes to the rivers and also causes dangerous landslides. In November, the monsoons turn weak and the rivers of Arunachal Pradesh turn blue. As the monsoon weakens, the river water clears up of their sediments and people can make use of water again, Ering said in the letter.

Due to the powerful underwater earthquake in November, a possible threat of natural hazard has emerged due to debris dams formed in the Yarlung Sangpo belt.

However, 2017 was an exception. Intense earthquake activity in November 2017 triggered widespread landslides on the Yarlung-Tsangpo river (200 km upstream from Tuting). Three natural rockslide dams have formed on the river due to blockage by landslides and debris. It is only a matter of time before the natural dams burst and unleash a severe disaster along the Siang river valley. Satellite imagery by NASA and planet.com show that landslides of this size and danger level have not occurred on the Siang river for almost half a century. Complicating this issue further, between October 21 and October 27, 2017, an avalanche occurred on the Sendapu glacier which feeds into the Yarlung-Tsangpo, Ering added.

The Arunachal Pradesh MP further said in his letter that, pools of water can be seen on the glacier surface, indicating that melting ice may have caused mud and rocks to slip.

This avalanche was not triggered by earthquakes. This was the first indication of the Siang river being contaminated by natural reasons and matches with the first reports given in early November by the vigilant people of Arunachal Pradesh. The big M6.4 earthquake on Gyala Peri, and a series of earthquakes happened exactly 20 days later on the morning of November 17. The M6.4 that struck on November17 was the largest and the shallowest earthquake since the year 1900 in that region. The high earthquake activity of the region is due to the Indian plate thrusting and squeezing against the Tibetan Plateau uplifting the Himalayas. Earthquake swarms have been reported from the area of the Yigong dam before and were behind the disaster on the Siang in year 2000. Earthquakes on the mountains Gyala Peri and Namcha Barwa have been rare events until now. The scale of the November landslides was so massive that just within 30 km of the rivers length, the mountain slopes have been stripped bare of forests and now are just mud and rock. Alarmingly, along 12 km of the rivers length, the landslides have partially blocked the river flow and have created three natural dams one behind the other, Ering said in his letter.

Ninong Ering also urged the centre to take proactive and necessary steps to keep people of Arunachal Pradesh safe from this danger.

Earlier, the Arunachal Pradesh MP had sent a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 25 last year and raised the issue.

Ninong Ering appealed the PM to raise the issue in international forum.

The recent report said that, the Chinese government has constructed a 1000 km long tunnel  the worlds longest - to divert the Siang river (Tsangpo in Tibet) from Sangri in Sothern Tibet to the Taklamakan desert in Xinjiang is likely to be true though the Chinese government had denied it, Ninong Ering said.

In his letter sent to the PM on November 25 last year, Ninong Ering said that, a few months back a report which was denied by the Chinese government is regard to the diverting a channel over Tsangpo (Siang/Brahmaputra) in Tibet has become an issue of concern.

After the report the river Siang has become muddy and slushy and it is already two months that, the river Siang is black contaminated. It is unusual phenomena and reason for the river dirty is unknown. I have already put questions and also under rule 377 to be discussed in the parliament but as it was not in session. I am requesting you to use your good office to seek the reason of the river being muddy in this season where the water is crystal clear. A 600 km long tunnel is already started in the Yunnan province as a rehearsal, Ninong Ering said in his letter.

The Arunachal Pradesh MP further said that, there is no other reason that, the mighty Siang river tributary of Brahmaputra should be dirty in the month of November, but has occurred due to heavy land excavation in the Chinese side which has to be verified by an international team to ascertain the international treaty.

When I saw the water, it looks like cement mixed water. It is a very serious issue and the Centre must to take it seriously, the Arunachal Pradesh MP said.

Ninong Ering said that, a large scale of fish had died in the Siang river in recent times and he got it confirmed from Tuting and Geling areas in Upper Siang district close to China border.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)


New Delhi, Feb 9 (IBNS): Opposition leaders met President Ram Nath Kovind to present a petition where they demanded for a Supreme Court-monitored Special Investigation Team (SIT) to enquire into the alleged mysterious death of CBI judge B H Loya.

Speaking to reporters after meeting the President, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said: "We met the President over Judge Loya's death. Many MPs are of the opinion that there should be an investigation over Judge Loyas death."

Rahul said there is a 'suspicion' behind the lawyer's death.

"His death is suspicious and there have been 2 other suspicious death," he said.

"The President gave a positive response and said he will look into the matter," he said.

Gandhi said 114 MPs from 15 parties signed the memorandum presented to the President.

Judge Loya, who was hearing the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case in which BJP President Amit Shah was an accused, died of a heart attack in 2014.

His death raised questions from certain quarters about the possibility of a foul play.

Amit Shah was an accused. Amit Shah was discharged by a new judge, who said there wasn't enough evidence to merit a trial.

Image: Congress Twitter page


Amman, Feb 9 (IBNS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday arrived in Jordan capital Amman as he commenced his four nation tour.

This is the first visit of an Indian PM in the country.

After arriving in the nation, PMO India tweeted: " Landed in Amman. I thank His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan for facilitating the transit: PM @narendramodi."

He will visit Jordan, Palestine, UAE & Oman between Feb 9-12.

Modi earlier said this region is a key priority to India's external engagement.

"I am happy to visit the Gulf and West Asian region for the fifth time since 2015. This region is a key priority in our external engagement. We enjoy vibrant multi-dimensional ties with the countries here," Modi said.

Modi had recently visited the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Guwahati, Feb 9 (IBNS): It comes a major relief to the Election Commission, after the Naga outfit NSCN (IM) said the organization will not force to boycott election.

The Naga outfit group had earlier called for boycotting the Nagaland assembly polls scheduled on Feb 27 next.

Despite the call for election boycott, the mainstream political parties decided to defy the boycott diktat and contested the election as 256 candidates from BJP, Congress, Naga Peoples Front (NPF), National Democratic Political Party (NDPP), National People's Party (NPP) and few other parties had filed their nomination papers to ensure the polls.

After scrutiny of the nomination papers, 227 nominations were found valid.

In a recent statement, NSCN (IM) said that, they will not force the people of Nagaland to boycott the upcoming election.

This clarification is issued regarding the directive on January 30 pertaining to the call of the people for Solution and not Election. To clear any ambiguity about the directive, the Naga Army was and is responding to the wishes of the people and will continue to do so. The wish of the people is supreme and the Naga Army will respect their decision, NSCN (IM) said in the statement.

The Naga outfit group also directed its officers and personnel to control and discipline for non-interference in any electioneering matter, processes.

The Naga Army will never use force or coercion to boycott election, NSCN (IM) said in the statement.

Earlier, NSCN (IM) warned the political parties that, they will take stern act against the people those have been found defying the decision of the Naga people.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)


Guwahati, Feb 9 (IBNS): Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Thursday inaugurated the second edition of Brahmaputra Literary Festival at Srimanta Sankardev Kalashetra in Guwahati.

In his speech, the Assam CM said that literature is the bedrock of any civilization. It is through books that the richness of any civilization percolates down to the future generations.

Considering the immense power of literature, we want our youth to dedicate more on literary and cultural activities. This literary event is not just a festival. This is our investment for a strong and vibrant future, Sonowal said.

The 3-day long literary event is jointly organized by the National Book Trust, India and Publication Board, Assam.

Terming Literature as the mirror of the society that reflects its strengths and weaknesses, Sonowal said that literature is the art of discovering something extraordinary about ordinary people and saying with ordinary words something extraordinary.

He further hoped that the festival would open new opportunities of intellectual exchange for the youth and guide them in the art of creative writing.

This intellectual exchange will definitely inspire our youth, encourage new ideas and promote the habit of reading amongst them, the Assam CM said.

Stating that a nation degenerates and decays if its literature declines, Sonowal underscored literature as a means of driving a countrys development and harbinger of positive change.

The Assam CM urged the writers to focus more on the pressing issues of modern times such as climate change, degenerating ethical and human values, power of cooperation, harmony and peaceful co-existence so that such literatures could positively cultivate the mind and contribute in building a better society.

Literature of the region must also highlight our relation with the ASEAN countries since the days of the Ramayana and Mahabharata to entrench the ties, Sonowal said.

Sonowal also urged the writers to focus more on literary translation.

Translation of literary works would introduce us to hitherto unknown dimensions of human thought and exchange of ideas. The Assamese literature would also be highly benefitted from such an exercise, the Assam CM said.

Eminent scholar Indra Nath Choudhri and Chairman of National Book Trust Baldev Bhai Sarma while delivering their speech on the occasion highlighted the role played by literature in promoting heritage, tradition and ethical values as well as its inspirational role in social life as a whole.

While Director of National Book Trust Dr. Rita Choudhury delivered the welcome speech, Minister of State for Cultural Affairs Naba Kumar Doley, Chief Ministers Legal Adviser Santanu Bharali, noted writer from France David Collin, Chief Secretary Vinod Kumar Pipersenia, Additional Chief Secretary VB Pyarelal, Principal Secretary of Education Department Ajay Tewari, Secretary of Publication Board Pramod Kalita and writers from different parts of India and abroad were also present in the inaugural function.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)
To get the firsthand knowledge of the pilgrimage site, the Governor accompanied by Deputy Commissioner of Lohit District Karma Leki and other district officials inspected the Kund, climbing down more than 400 steps to the place of holy dip. He also saw the infrastructure and other facilities constructed for the pilgrims.

Interacting with the district officials, the Governor advised for holistic development of the area, linking economic empowerment of the local communities, amenities for the pilgrims and inclusive development the famous pilgrimage place of the State.

He also called for developing a blue print with composite approach.

Earlier, the Governor met the local people, including Gaon Burahs, Panchayat representatives and public leaders of Wakro and Parasuram Kund areas and shared his concerns regarding opium cultivation, drug abuse and gun culture. He said that it is the duty of the parents, relatives, peers, neighbours and whole society to keep a watch on drug abuse amongst the children.

The Governor also stressed on alternative source of livelihood amongst the cultivators.

The Arunachal Pradesh Governor, while taking serious note of gun culture exhorted the people to register their resistance it. For peace and development, our people must be motivated to stand against violence, extortion and insurgency, he added.

Later before, leaving for Namsai, the Governor and First Lady of the State paid obeisance at Parasuram Mandir, near the Kund on the occasion.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)
New Delhi, Feb 9 (IBNS): An Indian reporter and a British journalist bearing Indian origin have been arrested in Maldives where a State of Emergency has been declared following the refusal of the Government to abide by the unanimous ruling of the full bench of the Supreme Court.

The Maldives Police have confirmed the arrest.

According to reports, the scribes belonged to Agence France-Presse.

In response to a query about media reports on the arrest of an Indian national in Maldives, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Official Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said:''We have received information about an Indian national, Shri Money Sharma, working as a journalist, who has been detained by the Maldivian authorities. We have asked our Embassy to get in touch with the local authorities to ascertain more details of the case.''

On Thursday, a leading TV station was forced to shut down in Maldives.

The latest political crisis in Maldives has been triggered by a Supreme Court verdict that had directed release of nine imprisoned opposition political leaders.

The government of President Yameen refused to implement the Supreme Court ruling and instead clamped a 15-day state emergency and cracked down on the apex court itself, even as protests rocked capital Male.

The present crisis was triggered when the Supreme Court directed Yameen to release from jail nine opposition leaders who were arrested on politically motivated charges.

Yameen instead of following the court order, retaliated by cracking down on the Supreme Court itself suspending its powers and arresting judges.

Present President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom representing Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) is half brother of former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom who had ruled the Islamic island nation from 1978 to 2008 uninterruptedly.

Gayoom was defeated in the October 2008 presidential election but in September 2011, he returned as the leader of the newly formed Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM).

Yameen was elected as President in 2013, defeating Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) leader and former president Mohamed Nasheed in the 2013 elections.

In 2016, Nasheed was given asylum in the United Kingdom after he was convicted under the Anti-Terrorism Act of Maldives for arresting Criminal Court Judge Abdulla Mohamed though international rights group like Amnesty International has described the conviction as "politically motivated".
New Delhi, Feb 9 (IBNS): In an attempt to stop brain drain, the Union Cabinet has cleared the PM Research Fellowships (PMRF) for students of higher education institutions like the IITs, IISERs and NITs.

The PMRF includes monthly scholarships of Rs 70,000 to Rs 80,000.

It also includes annual research grants of Rs 2 lakh for select scholars.

The Centre has also approved an allocation of Rs 1,650 crore for these fellows to be spent over three years.
Age is no bar for Sucheta Jadhav who at 50 has done a trans-Atlantic crossing recently. Based in Goa where she has a day job that helps to pursue her passion, she has learnt sailing in the last two years. This is her own story, told first hand

On a lovely, wintry morning in Goa I was sailing with the INSV Tarini team. I often pleaded with them to be taken on their next trip, knowing well that was impossible for a naval boat. For the record, INSV Tarini is Indian Navys second ocean going sailboat. With a all-women crew of six officers from the Indian Navy is currently on circumnavigation project across the globe .

Capt Dilip Donde, the first Indian to sail solo around the world, introduced me to the Clipper Round the World Race 2017-18, a race that takes novices like me. It trains the aspirants, selects 20 and a capable skipper on a 70 foot long boat to race against 11 similar boats around the world.

Returning from training at the Tarini, I signed up for a trans-Atlantic crossing of 4,000 nautical miles becoming the first Indian woman on the race.

Training was in Gosport, UK. The boats were moored in a sheltered marina but once into the Solent, the temperature dropped a few degrees and the wind picked up, whipping up white caps on the waves. After a long first day at sea, the question in my head was: Do I really want to do this? I did!

I learnt all kinds of knots, then progressed into preparing the main sail and the Yankee (a pair of staysails in American lingo) before setting out, and hoisting them out at sea. Then we moved on to tacking, gybing, doing racing sail changes: putting on a new sail while the previous one was still on, and dropping with exhaustion by the day end.

Sailing into the marina, sails tucked away, the aroma of dinner wafting through the hatch and the sun painting watercolour masterpieces across the sky was heavenly.

Cooking while sailing is a delicate balancing act. The boat is never flat on the surface so everything, including the stove is at an angle. You land up using your arms to chop, stir and hold on to the cooking vessel and almost every other part of your body to balance yourself and avoid toppling over.

The last day of every training week was reserved for a deep clean. This involved taking the floor boards off, vacuum drying the bilges, wiping the walls and handles with disinfectant and cleaning the heads. And after the insides were done, putting everything back and hosing down the deck.

Training done, I headed back home, counting down for the race to start on 20 August, 2017 from Liverpool in UK.

We set off with a lot of fanfare. There was a military band and a Uruguayan naval ship to flag us off.

Since I was on first watch, I continued on deck. The big waves and swell made me feel queasy but it was a beautiful, starry night and I got my first glimpse of the Southern Cross. Then the next watch came to relieve me and the moment I got below deck, I threw up and felt better.

I had just crawled into my sleeping bag when I heard an enormous thud, followed by shouts from instructors for everyone to get into their life jackets. We had been hit by a whale!

David, who was the watch, felt this push and a shuddering shake astern. He looked over to see a whale rolling away sideways even as he lost control of the steering. The whales pectoral fin had struck the starboard rudder and bent it so its top edge dug into the hull and made a hole in the lazarette, tearing the bearings and jamming the connection between the two rudders.

Within minutes the two rudders were disconnected making the port steering operational again. Our weeks of training kicked in. Rags were stuffed into the hole, with a wooden board nailed in to keep it all in place. The storm jib was put up with the main sail on second reef and we began to motor back to the shore.

There was a bus waiting to cart us off to the hotel and a huge crane in position to get the boat into the dry dock. The Uruguayans did a fabulous job on the repairs. Along with the Clipper team and we set sail again, with a quiet nod to the sea gods.

In a crew diary of my first week at sea I wrote: Today is a week since we left Punta del Este for our second attempt to reach Cape Town. The lovely weather we have now reminds me why I enjoy sailing.

The last couple of days have been sunny, even if cold. We also had some orcas put up a show for us. Four of them showing off their fins and surfacing to give us a view of their beautiful white underbellies.

Good weather means less rocky seas and the opportunity to helm. I'm learning to 'keep my head in the compass' till I get a sense of the wind and the waves. Especially the waves, which are these huge rollers that, when I look at them seem likely to wash right over us. The idea is to anticipate them, feel their motion as they roll under the boat and hold the steering steady so as not to let the boat go off course. All without too much movement of the wheel, since less is more' when helming.

Off watch, I find I can fall asleep almost immediately regardless of the boat's movements and have the most amazing dreams. Typically of being in some warm, foreign land, eating exotic meals. Cape Town beckons!

What was to have been a 14-day downwind sail across the South Atlantic, however, soon became a series of temperamental weathers . The south westerly winds brought the icy Antarctic to our door. The challenging sail, the bone chilling cold and the delay frayed tempers and it needed conscious effort to maintain a civil atmosphere.

We sighted land 18 days later. As the last boat back, we expected a quiet, subdued entry. What we got was a rock star welcome, all guns blazing! The pier was lined with cheering, hooting, singing, waving well- wishers.

Without much ado, we were alongside, and were promptly handed two cases of chilled beer and a super -size bottle of champagne. Celebration!

Image: Sucheta Jadhav in the Clipper Race / Other images from Clipper Race FB
The introduction of the second frequency forms part of Jet Airways focus to strengthen its presence in Bengaluru as the carriers upcoming third hub, aside from those in Mumbai and Delhi, in its endeavour to facilitate seamless onward connections for guests across its global network of 64 destinations, including 44 in India.

The new daily flight - 9W 26, will depart from Bengaluru at 02:05 hrs (IST) and arrive into Singapore at 09:15 hrs (LT), allowing corporate and business travellers to get a head start on their day. Aside from providing choice for Corporate travellers, the timings of the new flight are also expected to be of significance to the fast expanding Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions segment in Bengaluru.

During its return journey, flight 9W 25 will depart from Singapore at a comfortable time of 10:15 hrs (LT), arriving in Bengaluru at 12:10 hrs (IST), allowing guests arriving in Bengaluru to travel onwards to destinations such as Chennai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad and Mangalore using convenient connections on Jet Airways extensive domestic network.

To celebrate the introduction of the new frequency, Jet Airways has announced special introductory return Economy fares from Bengaluru, starting at INR 11,768 only. Guests can book tickets with these special fares starting Feb 15, 2018. These inaugural fares are applicable for journeys commencing from March 15, 2018 onwards.

Gaurang Shetty, Whole Time Director, Jet Airways, said Jet Airways has seen an enthusiastic response from its guests travelling between Bengaluru and Singapore. We recognize the need for bolstering our existing service and provide guests with additional options to plan their travel. This second daily service will benefit business travellers who are looking at tapping into India and Singapores promising commercial opportunities. In addition, Singapore boasts of a huge Indian diaspora that can avail of this opportunity to strengthen ties to their roots.



With the introduction of the second frequency between Bengaluru and Singapore, Jet Airways cargo capacity will now doubles on this route to offer 5000 kilos each way.

From Bengaluru, the primary commodities which are uplifted for Singapore are perishables, flowers, garments, computer parts and accessories. Whilst on the Singapore  Bengaluru route the primary commodities being shipped are electronic goods and accessories, computer parts and peripherals.

The new service importantly, will give movement of goods to access the Amsterdam market and other destinations in Europe. This is made possible with a daily connection from Singapore to Amsterdam via direct dallies available between Bengaluru and Amsterdam.

The new frequency will now offer guests from Bengaluru convenient connections to Denpasar/Bali, Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur on flights operated by codeshare partners Garuda and Malaysian Airlines via Singapore. It will also offer guests travelling from destinations in the Indo-Pacific like Fiji, Darwin, Phuket, Penang, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane on codeshare partners like Fiji Airways, Jetstar Asia and Qantas, a seamless connection to Amsterdam via Bengaluru.

Jet Airways has been seeing an increase in air traffic between India, Singapore and the ASEAN region. Along with its codeshare partners, Jet Airways provides its guests the widest network of destinations to travel to by leveraging their strategic codeshare alliances. A growing Indian expatriate population in Singapore and strong India-Singapore trade links are fuelling demand for travel between the two countries. Simultaneously, the number of leisure travelers to Singapore has also seen a rapid rise. In 2016, about 100,000 cruise passengers from India - the highest for any country - were registered by the Singapore Tourism Board.



The airline had recently launched a non-stop, wide body service to Amsterdam from Bengaluru, in codeshare with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Air France and Delta Air Lines, connecting guests to 106 destinations in Europe and onwards to North America, which has been receiving an encouraging response

During the summer schedule, the timings of the new flight will change to depart from Bengaluru at 01:30 hrs (IST) to arrive in Singapore at 08:55 hrs (LT). The return flight from Singapore will however, continue to depart at 10:05 hrs (LT) to arrive into Bengaluru at 12:10 hrs (IST).
New York, Feb 9 (IBNS): The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced on Thursday that she will open preliminary examinations into the so-called war on drugs campaign launched by the Government of the Philippines and, separately analyze alleged crimes committed by Venezuela related to the demonstrations and ongoing political unrest there.

Following a careful, independent and impartial review of a number of communications and reports documenting alleged crimes potentially falling within the jurisdiction of the [Court], I have decided to open a preliminary examination into each situation, ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda announced.

Since 1 July 2016, it has been alleged that thousands of people in the Philippines have been killed for their alleged involvement in illegal drug use or dealing. While some killings have reportedly occurred in the context of clashes between or within gangs, it is suspected that many incidents involved extra-judicial killings in the course of police anti-drug operations, according to the Court.

In Venezuela, the ICC will analyze alleged crimes committed since at least April 2017, in which State security forces frequently used excessive force to disperse and quell demonstrations, arresting and detaining thousands of opposition members  a number of whom would have been allegedly subjected to serious abuse and ill-treatment in detention.

Reports also affirm that some protestors resorted to violence, killing and injuring security forces, said the Court.

While under the ICCs founding Rome Statute, to which both Philippines and Venezuela are party, national jurisdictions have the primary responsibility to investigate and prosecute those responsible for international crimes, Ms. Bensouda emphasized that a preliminary examination is an information-examining process to determine whether there is a reasonable basis to proceed with an investigation pursuant to Rome Statute criteria.

Specifically, she explained under article 53(1) of the Rome Statute, I, as Prosecutor, must consider issues of jurisdiction, admissibility and the interests of justice in making this determination.

In line with the Rome Statutes requirements, Ms. Bensouda said her Office would engage with the relevant national authorities to discuss and assess any pertinent investigations and prosecutions.

In the independent and impartial exercise of its mandate, my office will also give consideration to all submissions and views conveyed to it during the course of each preliminary examination, strictly guided by the requirements of the Rome Statute, she continued, noting that a preliminary examination was not subject to statutory timelines.

Depending on the facts and circumstances of each situation, ICC Prosecutor will decide whether to initiate an investigation, subject to judicial review as appropriate; continue to collect information to establish a sufficient factual and legal basis to render a determination; or decline to initiate an investigation if there is no reasonable basis to proceed.

I reiterate that my office undertakes this work with full independence and impartiality in accordance with its mandate and the applicable legal instruments of the Court, she underscored, adding: We hope to count on the full engagement of the relevant national authorities in the Philippines and Venezuela.

The ICC investigates and, where warranted, tries individuals charged with the gravest crimes of concern to the international community: genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression.
New York, Feb 9 (JEN): Despite military successes against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Daesh), the terrorist group and its affiliates continue to pose a significant threat around the world, the top United Nations counter-terrorism official told the Security Council today, urging strengthened international cooperation to address violent extremism and bring those behind it to justice.

The rapidly evolving and transnational threat from ISIL presents a difficult challenge for Member States and the international community, said Vladimir Voronkov, the head of the UN Counter-Terrorism Office at a Security Council meeting,on threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts.

ISIL is no longer focused on conquering and holding territory. It has been forced to adapt and focus primarily on a smaller and more motivated group of individuals who remain committed to inspiring, enabling and carrying out attacks, he added.

Countering the changing threat implies the need to stay one step ahead of ISIL as it continues to adapt and evolve, stressed the UN official.

In particular, Mr. Voronkov called for a strong international framework to counter the threat from ISIL through the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy as well as relevant General Assembly and Security Council resolutions, as well as effective implementation of existing multilateral tools and legal instruments, conventions and protocols.

Addressing the ISIL threat also requires addressing its underlying conditions which sway young men and women towards violent extremism, he added.

He also urged the international community to address the deficit in counter-terrorism cooperation at the global, regional and national levels and called on countries to engage fully at the first ever UN Summit of Heads of Counter-Terrorism Agencies (to be held in June.)

The UN official informed the 15-member council of the evolving activities of ISIL and its affiliates in different parts of the world, including efforts to fund its illicit activities and spread propaganda.

He also warned that ISIL members and its sympathizers continue to abuse social media, as well as technology such as encryption methods and communication tools within the dark web, to communicate, coordinate and facilitate their activities and perpetrate attacks.



UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe




Kabul, Feb 9 (IBNS): Residents in Afghanistan's Khost province said that at least seven seven members of a family were killed in an airstrike carried out by the nation's security forces.

However, the claim has been rejected by the government.

According to the victim's family, the airstrike was carried out in Ali Sher district in Khost.

"Five brothers have been martyred in the airstrike, another is my nephew. He was living with me. And another is my cousin, Alijan Koshi, member of the family, was quoted as saying by Tolo News.

Condemning the incident, Haji Gulmarjan Faroodqi, head of Kochis Council in Khost, said, "Tell us who we are and to which country we belong? I swear to God that the seven people who have been martyred were not Taliban. They were ordinary people. They went there to visit their friends and families, but someone came and reported their presence for some dollars.

Even though the Khost Police Headquarters confirmed that an airstrike was carried out in Ali Sher district, it said that no civilian was killed.
Dhaka, Feb 9 (IBNS): Four relatives of jailed ex-Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia went to the prison on Nazimuddin Road in capital Dhaka city to meet her.

Khaleda's sister Selina Islam, younger brother Shamim Eskander, his wife Nasrin Eskander and son Avik Eskander entered around 3:35pm and met her around 4:15pm, The Daily Star reported.

According to reports, the meeting took place for 40 minutes.

Zia was on Thursday sentenced to five years in jail as a Bangladesh court convicted her in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case, reports said.

Her son Tarique Rahman and four others got 10 years' jail term in connection with the same case.

Zia was found guilty of embezzlement of 252,000 Dollars from a trust created for an orphanage in the name of her late husband and Bangladesh's former President Ziaur Rahman.

The BNP had dismissed the charge as politically motivated.

Clad in her signature off-white chiffon sari, Khaleda Zia sat on a chair next to the judges desk when Justice Akhtaruzzaman read the verdict.

Police tear-gassed BNP activists to break up protests on Nazimuddin Road in Old Dhaka as they clashed with the lawkeepers after their leader entered the court premises.

Local media reports said at least five police officers had been injured and two motorcycles torched during the clashes that broke out several kilometres (miles) from the court premises.
Washington, Feb 9 (IBNS): The US Department of Justice today filed a complaint to revoke the naturalization of a Sudan nativewho entered the United States on an F-1 student visa and gained lawful permanent resident status through the diversity visa lottery programfor violating and conspiring to violate sanctions imposed against Iraq under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), as well as obstructing Internal Revenue laws.

"According to the complaint, Mubarak Ahmed Hamed violated and conspired to violate sanctions imposed against Iraq under the IEEPA from 1997 through July 21, 2000, the date of his naturalization. As the Executive Director of a non-profit organization, the Islamic American Relief Agency (IARA), Hamed regularly authorized and transferred tax-exempt funds from IARA accounts in the United States to an account in Jordan controlled by Khalid Al-Sudanee, a/k/a Khalid Ahmad Jumah Al-Sudani, knowing that Al-Sudanee would transport such funds into Iraq," read an official statement.

Time to end the visa lottery. Congress must secure the immigration system and protect Americans. https://t.co/yukxm48x9X  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 8, 2018

In 2004, both Al-Sudanee and IARA were designated by the U.S. Department of the Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT). During this time, the IARA implemented projects that were funded by USAID, however there are no specific allegations that such funding was siphoned to Iraq or in violation of the IEEPA.

On June 25, 2010, Hamed pleaded guilty to conspiring to illegally transfer more than $1 million to Iraq in violation of federal sanctions, and to obstructing administration of the laws governing tax-exempt charities.

Hamed was sentenced to four years and 10 months in federal prison on January 11, 2012.

On Jan. 16, 2018, the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security jointly released the Section 11 Report, which shined a light on the nations current immigration system and how it can be used to undermine national security and public safety. The report revealedamong other statisticsthat nearly three out of every four individuals convicted of international terrorism-related charges in U.S. federal courts between Sept. 11, 2001 and Dec. 31, 2016 were foreign-born.

This alleged denaturalization case is indicative that America needs this reform to our broken immigration system now more than ever. Under the guise of running a non-profit to assist in the famine crises in Africa, a Diversity Visa recipient allegedly transferred funds on a regular basis to a known terrorist, undermining our nations lawful immigration system, public safety, and national security, said Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Immigration is a national security issue, and a merit-based immigration system would better serve our national interest because it would benefit the American people.

The defendant has pleaded guilty to despicable crimes, including the funneling of money to a known terrorist organization, from 1997 through his naturalization as a U.S. citizen in July 2000, all while conveniently failing to disclose his nefarious activities," said Thomas Homan, Deputy Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "Plain and simple, if you defraud the U.S government during the naturalization process, you risk having your citizenship revoked.

Every visa decision is a national security decision that affects individual Americans. We commend the work of the Department of Justice and look forward to continued coordination with the Department of Homeland Security and the intelligence and law enforcement communities to protect our nations borders, said Assistant Secretary Carl Risch of the Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs. Continued efforts to improve interagency security vetting for visa applicants will enhance our ability to identify persons who mean us harm and prevent their entry into the United States.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), ICE Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA), and Civil Divisions Office of Immigration Litigation, District Court Sections (OIL-DCS) National Security and Affirmative Litigation Unit (NS/A Unit) investigated the case. The case is being litigated by the NS/A Unit with support from ICE OPLA and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Missouri.

The claims made in the complaint are allegations only, and there have been no determinations of liability.
Ottawa, Feb 9 (IBNS): Senate Committee on Transportation and Communication reported last week that Canada was not prepared for the driverless cars, media reports said.

Driverless cars without steering wheels or pedals reportedly would be a reality on Canada's roads in near future

These cars, according to official reports, would be programmed by the passengers in the car and would take the passengers to their destinations, by the best route, avoiding other vehicles and dangers along the way and will be stress free, cost-effective and cheaper.

According to the Conference Board of Canada -- foremost independent, not-for-profit research organization in Canada which delivers insights on economics, public policy and organizational performance -- autonomous vehicles could play a significant role in reducing current annual road fatalities by 1,600 from the current 2,000.

The fewer collisions from these cars would also result in the total economic benefit by lowering fuel costs to approximately over $65 billion per year.

Official reports said economic benefits in health costs from fewer accidents could be even greater if the technology worked according to claims.

New vehicles are equipped with improved cruise control, maintenance of proper distance between the vehicle ahead, provision of emergency braking, and self park.

Experimental vehicles, such as those operated by Google, reportedly have already proven their ability to navigate through traffic, including busy city streets, without any human input.

But according to official reports, fully autonomous experimental vehicles have been involved in accidents and are not safe.

The Senate report urges regulations to ensure safety of driverless vehicles, especially during Canadian winters when snow covers road markings and changes the handling properties of the vehicle.

Allowing driverless cars on ice roads will be particularly important during the transition period when computer operated vehicles share the roads with those that are still driven by humans.

Other concerns of cybersecurity - which puts all the sharing of personal information at risk -- and cyber-terrorism -- hackers could break into the system and take control of all the cars in a city -- are also major issues.

Altogether 16 recommendations have been put forth by the Senate report including a national strategy for autonomous vehicles, safety guidelines, and cybersecurity measures to ensure the country is ready for these cars.

These are important questions that need to be asked before intelligent machines take up total control of our roads.

(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)

Image: Driverless Car: Facebook
San Francisco, Feb 9 (IBNS): Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday pitched his country's tech market in the city of of northern California, media reports said.

Trudeau took part in a series of meetings with Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, eBay's Devin Wenig and Amgen CEO Robert Bradway.

Speaking about the tech market, Trudeau told media: "Any investment in Canada would be a great thing and obviously it would be a significant boon for anyone who got it. I certainly hope we get the HQ2 hub."

The Canadian PM also said he has been talking with Bezos regarding increase in the investment.

Trudeau had earlier sent a reminder to US President Donald Trump over the NAFTA discord a day ago.

Speaking at the University of Chicago, Trudeau said the US will be an economic sufferer if it pulls out of the pact.

The PM was quoted by CTV News as saying: "Even if theoretically there is a better opportunity for a long-term deal, in the short-term that's a lot of families out of work (and) suffering in a way that I think would be far worse politically."



"The challenge we have is not trade deal versus no trade deal. It's how do we make sure we're benefiting citizens and workers who don't feel like they've been properly supported or cared for over the past years" he added.
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Reacting to the protests against her film Manikarnika, Kangana Ranaut on dismissed rumours that there was a romantic sequence involving Rani Laxmibai in the film.

Kangana also clarified that people who are spreading such stories are actually defaming the queen. Just to jog your memory a little, Brahmin group Sarv Brahmin Mahasabha from Rajasthan has raised objection over the film, alleging it features a romantic scene between Rani Laxmibai and a British East India company agent.

Screengrab

Kangana, who is currently shooting for the film expressed how the crew is extremely hurt after hearing such allegations. A PTI report quoted the actress saying,

Screengrab

It is very lowly (neech baat) to even think like that about Rani Laxmibai. We cannot even think like that, the kind of things they are saying. What they are saying is actually defaming. There is nothing like that. It is idle talk and I dont know why it is being said."

Kangana also reminded that the film has been written by K V Vijayendra Prasad, who also penned Baahubali.

BCCL

She added, We are hurt and upset. The writer of the film, Vijayendra Prasad has named his daughter Manikarnika. We are hurt that such things are being said about Rani Laxmibai."

The objections against Manikarnika is reminding us of the fresh controversies that surrounded Sanjay Leela Bhansalis Padmaavat, which had faced severe protests by Rajput groups.

BCCL

Raising concerns over Manikarnika, Sarv Brahmin Mahasabha's president met with Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh, demanding that the filmmaker is directed to give an affidavit that there is no such scene in the film.

The writer of the film has given an assurance to the fans, clarifying that there is no such scene in the film that would do a disservice to the memory of the brave queen. The report quotes him in a statement saying,

Screengrab

The films title is Manikarnika because it is her name. Her parents named her that because she was born in Kasi and the Manikarnika Ghat there is very famous. Even I named my daughter Manikarnika, so you now know how much I respect Rani Laxmibai."

While the film's official release date is August 3, we never know how these protests may change things.
BCCL/ File

"Those who want to disturb peace in the society and believe in the gun should be given the answer in the language of the gun." - Adityanath, 2018. Read more

Here's more top news of the day:





1) Vladimir Putin Has His Own Style To Rule The World: No Smartphone And Internet

After revealing last year that he does not have any interest in joining any social media network, Russian President Valdimir Putin said that he still does not have a smartphone. Read more

2) This 15-Year-Old Garbage Collecting Cart Inventor From UP Is Making A Mark For Himself

Facebook

Sikanto Mandal, from Mathura and his fellow classmates, who were in grade nine at that time in Jai Gurudev Sanstha Schoolin Uttar Pradesh, were tasked with picking up waste dumped on the school grounds before the start of the day. Read more

3) Ex-IAS Officer Allegedly Encourages Three Men To Thrash A Stray Dog With An Intention To Kill

Facebook

In yet another incident of animal cruelty in the national capital, a retired IAS officer and his wife encouraged three youth who live as tenants in their house to beating and abduct a stray dog with an intention to kill in Delhi. Read more





4) Fishermen Offended By Supreme Court Judge's 'Fish Market' Remark, Want It Removed

Justice Chandrachud, one of the judges hearing the Justice Loya death cease had made the remark amid a heated courtroom argument between the lawyers representing two sides. Read more





5) Students Sent Outside To Write Exam While Minister Enjoys Sleazy Dance Inside School In MP

ANI

A shocking video has emerged from Tikamgarh district of Madhya Pradesh showing students taking their annual exam at the same time there were a music and dance party going on inside the campus. Read more
China has agreed to allow Indian pilgrims travelling to Kailash-Mansarovar via Nathu La pass in the Sikkim. Confirming the development, Minister of State for External Affairs V.K. Singh informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply that the Yatra via the Nathu La route was not undertaken in 2017 after the Chinese government cited unfavourable conditions to ensure the safe and smooth conduct of the pilgrimage on this route.

BCCL/ File

This was after the face-off between the two countries in Bhutan's Doklam last year.

However, China had allowed pilgrims opting to travel through Lipulekh Pass in Uttarakhand to undertake the pilgrimage.

The matter related to the resumption of the annual pilgrimage through Nathu La was raised by India during meetings between the two sides in the last year, he said.

BCCL

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj also discussed it with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in December last year. "Subsequently, the Chinese government has confirmed resumption of the yatra on this route," Mr Singh said.
After revealing last year that he does not have any interest in joining any social media network, Russian President Valdimir Putin said that he still does not have a smartphone. At a meeting with scientists and academics, Putin made the admission in response to a speech by Mikhail Kovalchuk, head of the Kurchatov nuclear research institute, while travelling in Siberia ahead of March 18 polls in which he is seeking a fourth term in the Kremlin.

"You said that everyone has smartphones. But I don't have a smartphone," Putin said, to laughter in the audience. He responded to a comment from Kovalchuk that "everyone has a smartphone in their pocket."

The 65-year-old grandfather has previously admitted to technological cluelessness -- saying in 2005 that he did not have a mobile phone at all -- and voiced fears over content available online.

Last year, while meeting schoolchildren, Putin told them he barely uses the internet, after being asked if he looked at Instagram or other social networks in his spare moments.

"I personally practically don't use this," Putin said of the internet, adding that members of his staff do get online.
Residents in Bomja village in Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh have all become crorepati overnight, thanks to the land compensation they received from the Central government.

The 200.056 acres of land belonging to 31 households in the village was acquired by the Indian Army about five years ago to set up key location plan units of its Tawang Garrison.

Prema Kandu/ Twitter

The compensation, a total amount of Rs 40.80 crore, released by the defence ministry was distributed by Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh Pema Khandu.

More such compensation for land acquired for defence purposes is being worked out with the Centre, Khandu said.

Prema Kandu/ Twitter

The highest compensation of Rs 6.73 crore was paid to one family. Another family got 2.45 crore. The remaining 29 beneficiaries was richer by over Rs 1.09 crore.

With their new found fortune, a local Facebook page called Tawang Times claimed it is the richest village in India.

However according to other reports two villages in Gujarat - Baladia and Madhapar are believed to be the richest in the country. The wealth of the two villages is from the money deposited in their banks by the NRIs from the villages.
People take their emojis very seriously -- just ask Google CEO Sundar Pichai, who literally had to save the world's sanity by correcting a slightly off burger emoji. People can't have enough emojis as well.

Adding to people's choice, the Unicode Consortium has released the final list of new emoji for the year 2018. Unicode Emoji 11.0 has a total of 157 new additions, as well as the existing 2,666 icons from previous sets.

Images courtesy: Emojipedia

Of course, we cant yet see how Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and Twitter will choose to draw them, however the list itself shows us what kind of reactions were going to get across all platforms.

Of the new emoji, 77 of them are faces, accompanied by skin colour variations. There are new hot and cold faces, smile hearts, partying face, and drunk face too. We even get new hair options for red, curly, bald, and white, and two new professions; superhero and supervillain. There are also singular body parts like legs and feet as well, all in a multitude of skin tones of course.

Then there come newer animal additions like llamas, hippos, kangaroos, peacocks, mosquitos and, for some reason, microbes. Along with them are new food emoji like mangoes, bagels, and cupcakes, as well as science-based ones like a petri dish, lab coat, and a test tube.

Dont expect to see any of these just yet though, as theyre officially releasing in June, by when we should have an idea of how each vendor will draw them up.

ALSO READ: Google CEO Sundar Pichai Finally Managed To Get Android To Change Its Burger Emoji
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Bhatia joined the ICA board after Patrick Regan's promotion to QBE Group CEO; while Feledy's appointment follows Niran Peiris' elevation to the board management of Allianz Group.

ICA CEO Rob Whelan said the three highly credentialed industry figures' wealth of experience in the general insurance sector would bring invaluable insights and guidance at a time when the sector was facing several key public inquiries.

Whelan also thanked Peiris and Regan for serving in the board.

On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Niran Peiris and Pat Regan for their service and contributions to the Insurance Council, and note they will continue to provide leadership in the industry in their new roles, he said.





Related stories:

ICA: General insurers ready for the royal commission

Gvmt announces fin services royal commission
APRA seeks to introduce to the industry stronger prudential standards that have successfully improved capabilities across other APRA-regulated industries. Proposed measures include:

replacing prudential standard HPS 510 Governance with CPS 510, to strengthen governance practices;

enforcing CPS 520 Fit and Proper, to ensure the competency and integrity of anyone exercising material influence over a private health insurer;

implementing HPS 310 Audit and Related Matters in recognition of the important role of auditors in supporting prudential soundness; and

scrapping HPS 350 Disclosure to APRA to streamline reporting and remove obsolete requirements.

Geoff Summerhayes, APRA executive board member, said the changes would strengthen the industry's resilience against the significant challenges faced by private health insurers.

As the affordability of private health insurance declines and younger, healthier policyholders leave the system, effective decision-making is vital to keep funds sustainable and able to pay their members claims into the future, Summerhayes said. These reforms will strengthen resilience by increasing the likelihood that boards, senior managers, auditors, and actuaries will identify and take decisive action on emerging issues. We also expect policyholders to benefit through a reduction in the risk of failure arising from fraud, mismanagement, or other undesirable practices.

The consultation package marks the start of phase two of APRA's roadmap for comprehensively reviewing the prudential framework for private health insurance, launched last August.

Phase one, which focuses on risk, led to the adoption of CPS 220, APRAs cross-industry risk management prudential standard, in April. Other aspects of phase two, including operational risk and the role of the actuary, remain ongoing, APRA said.

The third phase of the private health insurance road map, which will look into the industry's capital standards, will commence later this year.

Access APRA's consultation package here.





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Health cover could cost Australians 20% of their income  study

Experts speak up on how to make health insurance cheaper
The cabbage flew through the air and smashed into Eccles windscreen with the unbelievable footage captured on a dash cam.

The cabbage smashed through the laminated BMW windscreen, giving Eccles quite the fright.

You wouldnt think a cabbage would cause that much damage, Eccles told the publication. It was absolutely terrifying, its the sort of thing that gives you a real jolt.

I couldnt believe how deep the crack goes, I can feel how rough it is round the edges of it.



Eccles said that the bolt from the blue, or the green in this case, happened incredibly quickly and he wants to raise awareness of flying veg so others dont endure the same fate.

I just want to raise a bit more awareness, because these tractor drivers need to be more careful, Eccles continued. I dont want other people to be in my position.

Thankfully, Eccles has been able to claim over $500 (300) from his insurer but had to fork out over $100 (75) in repairs himself with the vehicle out of action since the incident occurred at the end of January.

Related stories:

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Automated services. Digital broking platforms enable users to shop around for insurance policies, as well as manage, renew, compare premiums, and lodge claims online. Some even allow small businesses to check their suppliers cover.

On-demand insurance. With a simple swipe of their smartphone, customers can activate or deactivate short-term or on-demand policies for limited periods or cover for specific items, using an app as a portal.

Peer-to-peer insurance. Customers are given the option to pool their money with friends for lower premiums (based on the supposed lower chances of fraudulent claims through leveraging the trust factor), who get part of their premium back at the end of a claim-free year or have it donated to a customer-nominated charity.

Chatbots. These AI-powered customer service representatives not only provide relevant information to online inquiries, they can also capture as much as 350% more leads and 35% more conversions for the companies that are using them.

IoT This technology enables smart items to monitor their own functionality and alert owners of potential issues and dangers before they happen, which helps in reducing costs for everyone involved.

Blockchain. This network-shared, decentralised and tamper-proof public ledger enables multiple parties to transact securely online.

Big data analytics. Beyond telematics, data-analysis reporting enables insurers to accurately calculate risks and create tailored programs for difficult-to-place clients.

New business models. Insurtech capabilities can be harnessed to enhance insurance offerings, improve efficiency, and cut costs by automating parts of the insurers' operations that are time consuming and that provide no direct value to customers. This way, insurtech can help them focus more on core business and provides them with insights on how to offer customers more personalised and relevant service.

Fintech start-ups themselves present complex risk profiles that require broker expertise and specialised knowledge to create programs that meet their insurance needs, Gallagher said in the blog post.



Gallagher is one of a number of corporate partners of Insurtech Australia, the local insurtech body that recently joined with InsTech London, InsurTech Asia Association, and FinTechNZ to form the Global InsurTech Alliance (GITA).



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The offence was carried out with a cold-blooded determination scarcely imaginable to ordinary members of the community guided by moral and ethical standards inherent in most human beings, Justice Peter Hammill said.

Martin Sr. was reportedly an alcoholic and an illegal drug user for many years and had a highly dysfunctional relationship with his son.

In 2013, Martin Jr. resumed contact with his father and took out three life insurance policies in his fathers name in February 2014, totalling $2.5 million.

In the April 2014 attack, Martin Sr. and Manning sustained life-threatening injuries in a staged home invasion, which the judge found to be perpetrated by Martin Jr. and one or two accomplices.

After the initial failed attempt, Hammill said that Martin Jr. watched his father wake from a coma and recover from the injuries.

Even then, Mr Martin was not diverted from the course of killing him for financial gain, the judge said.

Before the fatal attack, the father and son dined at a local hotel before going to the Murwillumbah flat where the savage murder took place.

At some stage, Mr Martin attacked his father with a bladed weapon causing multiple penetrating injuries, including a chest wound which penetrated his heart ... and caused his death, Hammill said, adding that a katana, or samurai sword, was the likely murder weapon.

The moral delinquency involved in this course of conduct is staggering, he said.





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The federal government had been urged to enforce a tax break of up to 150% on MPCI to increase insurance uptake, but Agriculture Minister David Littleprouds office ruled it out, The Weekly Times reported.

The coalition government has been clear tax breaks  such as a 150% depreciation  are not being considered, a spokesman for Littleproud told the publication. The review of the program is finishing and we expect to see advice on it in coming weeks.

The review was commenced by the Department of Agriculture last August; while the government slashed $5m from the program's budget in December, leaving about $6m for its remaining two years.

According to a department spokesman, the review, which also looked into barriers to MPCI, was being finalised. Analysis released by consultants Deloitte cited high insurance premiums as the top reason preventing MPCI uptake, with an estimated 1% of NSW's winter crop farmers getting covered.

Andrew Weidemann, Grain Producers Australia chairman, said the tax breaks could have helped to significantly establish MPCI in Australia.

It looks like it is coming to an abrupt end, Weidemann told The Weekly Times. Clearly the current program isnt working to deliver the outcomes we were expecting.





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There is a lot of advice and support behind the product, Sbaglia told Insurance Business. It is incumbent on the broker and insurers to clearly articulate the scope of coverage, how it could benefit the customer. Ongoing changes in government legislation in product safety, technological advances in testing, allergen management etc., are just a few examples of the forever changing exposure landscape impacting manufacturers.

AGCS recently released a report which found that product recalls have risen steadily over the last decade. Sbaglia pointed to the food and beverage industry and other down-stream manufacturers as key targets for the cover and went on to say that 81% of companies rated the risk of a recall as a significant or catastrophic risk. Major case studies ranged from contaminated confectionery with foreign plastic fragments, to eggs recalled due to a Fipronil contamination that resulted in removing them from more than 4,000 stores in Germany. Industry data also suggests that, on average, 156,000 per day ($244, 000) is paid on recall claims.

We read a lot about major recalls in the media which heightens the awareness and need to purchase this cover, Sbaglia continued.

He added that both brokers and insurers have to be aware of their responsibilities from a claims handling perspective.

Apart from meeting the insureds costs and third party costs arising from the incident, the client would also need professional support from dedicated product recall specialists where such services include: regulatory advice and handling, crisis PR and communications support, product testing and analysis, recall preparation processes etc, he said.

AGCS has also partnered with Red24 to help deal with recall related matters. Red24 operates in 120 countries providing access to locally based industry specialists who can support the training, auditing and crisis management for the client and broker.

Once a claim has been made and paid, Sbaglia said the insurance industry should look to work with clients on mitigation to ensure a similar incident doesnt occur, with Red24 considered a key advisor in this area.

The ACGS report analysed 367 insurance industry product recall claims from 28 countries and 12 industry sectors between 2012 and 2017 and found that in overall defective work and processes, product contaminations were the main source or cause of claims.

I know these days it is pretty tough in terms of managing expenses, Sbaglia said, but especially publicly listed companies need to be careful because if something goes wrong they have a responsibility to shareholders and these sorts of losses go straight to their P&L, not to mention the damage it potentially causes to their brand.



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European insurers like these are supporting the Polish coal industry, whose activities are actively working against international attempts to prevent dangerous climate change, and whose pollution causes an estimated 5,830 premature deaths every year, including 4,690 outside Poland.

A global coalition of NGOs and social movements, the Unfriend Coal network is pressuring insurers to get out of the coal business and instead back the transition to clean energy. The campaign is determined to hold insurance providers to account for supporting further coal projects.

Meanwhile the briefing added that insurers in Europe are also financing the coal industry in Poland through their local Polish pension funds. It named Nationale Nederlanden, Aviva, AEGON, AXA, Generali, and Allianz as those with a combined 1.3 billion invested in Polish coal companies.

Much of the trouble lies in third-party assets.

Also read: Major insurer cancels oil pipeline coverage, divests from fossil fuels

AXA was the first major investor to announce in December 2017 that it would exclude the biggest coal producers from its portfolio as well as all the biggest coal plant developers, noted Unfriend Coals briefing. However, its policy only extends to some of the third-party assets it manages leaving parts of its global portfolio untouched by its coal policy.

A report by DeSmog UK cited company representatives shedding light on the dilemma surrounding third-party clients and investments.

These investment vehicles are strictly regulated by local regulation: at least 70% of these assets must be invested in Poland, mostly in the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) which itself is highly exposed to the coal industry, said an AXA spokesperson, who noted that the firm manages a pension fund for third-party clients representing approximately 6% of the market.

A spokesperson for Aviva offered a similar explanation: In Poland, local pension companies, including Aviva, manage customers assets under a strict regulatory regime and are not able to influence the investment strategy for these. The investment guidelines focus on domestic equity where energy industry is the second-largest after the banking sector.

As for Unfriend Coal, it is urging laggard insurers  particularly the likes of Allianz, Munich Re, and Generali  to immediately commit to not renew existing coal insurance contracts or sign new contracts for coal projects in Poland; as well as adopt a policy to end all insurance cover for new and existing coal mines, power plants, and related infrastructure projects.

Insurance companies have warned about climate risks since the 1970s, but continue to enable further coal projects through insurance coverage and investments, said Unfriend Coal. This must change. Our best insurance is to keep coal in the ground.


Worldwide Facilities is expanding, by opening a new location in Massachusetts and bringing two new executives into its fold.



The wholesale insurance broker and MGA is hiring Dana Kelly to serve as the vice-president of its new office in Boston.



Were excited to welcome Dana, said Worldwide Facilities CEO Davis Moore. He will be an asset to our team and clients, and were looking forward to the contributions he will make to our company.



Kelly was previously with Keating, a wholesale broker based in Boston, where he specialized in workers compensation offerings on a national basis. He has a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from Fitchburg State University.



Also joining Worldwide Facilities is Klayton Caldiero, who will be assigned to the companys Los Angeles office as vice-president.



Caldiero started his career in insurance in 2001 as a retail agent. He later became a wholesale broker in 2006. Caldiero was named one of 2017s Young Guns by Insurance Business America.



Klayton brings wholesale and retail experience to the role, remarked Worldwide Facilities senior vice-president Eric Stuckman. Were confident that his experience and success placing challenging risks will make him a valuable resource for agents.





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Two teenage boys have been charged with arson that destroyed a century-old home on Marylands Kent Island.

The Office of the State Fire Marshal in Maryland reported that the two teens, age 14 and 15, pulled old Christmas trees into the vacant house and started the fire with a lighter. The blaze destroyed the home, built in 1900, and caused $250,000 in damage.

About 25 firefighters from the Kent Island Volunteer Fire Department and surrounding departments responded to the fire, which occurred on Castle Marina Road in Chester, Md. It took two hours to bring it under control.

The teens now face charges including arson, malicious burning, destruction of property, burglary and trespassing.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Abuse Molestation Maryland Arson
Amtrak engineer Brandon Bostian sat stunned Tuesday as a judge reinstated twice-rejected criminal charges and ordered him to stand trial for a deadly 2015 train wreck in Philadelphia.

Judge Kathryn S. Lewis ruled that another judge erred in dismissing the reckless endangerment and involuntary manslaughter charges at a hearing in September.

Lewis said evidence at the hearing  including testimony from an injured passenger and gruesome details of tattered cars and strewn limbs  should have been sufficient to warrant a trial.

The victims are going to have their day in court, which is all they have ever sought, said Thomas Kline, the lawyer for the family of a victim that kept the case alive by filing a private criminal complaint after city prosecutors declined to bring charges.

Eight people were killed and about 200 were hurt when the Washington-to-New York train rounded a curve at more than twice the 50 mph speed limit and hurdled off the tracks.

National Transportation Safety Board investigators concluded Bostian lost his bearings while distracted by radio chatter about an incident with a nearby train. They found no evidence Bostian was impaired or using a cellphone.

Bostian, 34, remains free on bail but must give up his passport and call court officials weekly. He opted not to attend his Feb. 21 arraignment.

Bostians lawyers declined to comment on the ruling. Theyve argued before that his speeding was a momentary lapse from an otherwise safety-conscious engineer.

Bostian has been on unpaid leave from Amtrak since the crash. He 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.

Amtrak has taken responsibility for the crash and agreed to pay $265 million to settle civil claims filed by victims and their families.

The railroad also has installed positive-train control technology that can automatically slow or stop a speeding train on its track from Boston to Washington.

The technology wasnt in place when Bostians train crashed and is still missing on third-party tracks Amtrak uses in other parts of the country. It wasnt in place on tracks where deadly crashes occurred in South Carolina on Sunday and in Washington State in December.

Pennsylvanias attorney general picked up the criminal case against Bostian last May, as a statute of limitations loomed. City prosecutors said their decision not to prosecute Bostian left them unable to take up the criminal complaint from the family of crash victim Rachel Jacobs.

Jacobs, the head of a Philadelphia-based technology startup, was returning home to her husband and 2-year-old son in New York when she was killed. She was 39.

We see no extenuating circumstances, Kline said. 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.

Related:

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Washington
Sompo International said it has agreed to buy an Italian agriculture insurer in a bid to broaden the reach of a new, recently launched global technology platform focused on the sector.

The Bermuda-based specialty property/casualty insurer and reinsurer expects to close its purchase of A&A S.r.l. by March 2018. Neither side is disclosing financial terms.

A&A has been a major player in the Italian agriculture insurance market since 1996. Sompo International said it aligns with its new initiative, AgriSompo  a global platform designed to deliver innovative and coordinated agricultural risk management products tailored for local markets. Sompo wants AgriSompo in order to build integrated global capabilities in the crop insurance. A&A will complement this goal, in part, by leveraging Sompos broad agriculture insurance expertise in new ways, the company said.

Plans call for Sompo International to keep A&As existing staff, structure and management team.

Both John Charman, Sompo International CEO and chairman, and Giovanni Guidici, the A&A chairman, said that the deal will help grow Sompo Internationals presence in the Italian crop insurance market and allow Sompo to launch new products and technologies.

Sompo International first launched AgriSompo in October, with a goal of marketing agriculture insurance and reinsurance products to farmers globally. Sompo International is a subsidiary of Sompo Holdings, a property/casualty insurance group based in Japan.

Source: Sompo International

This article first appeared in Insurance Journals sister publication, Carrier Management.

Topics Mergers Carriers Agribusiness
Brokerslink announced the appointment of Jacqueline Legrand as CEO, succeeding Jose Manuel Fonseca, who is stepping back to focus his efforts on managing the growth of MDS Group, a Brokerslink reference shareholder, of which he is CEO.

Legrand is chief operating officer and board member at MDS Group, where she oversees business development and operations in Portugal and Brazil. She has worked in the Brokerslink team for nine years, most recently as regional director for Europe.

She brings over three decades of extensive experience in global operations management and innovative broking to Brokerslink. Prior to joining MDS, she was managing director at Crystal & Co., another Brokerslink company, in New York, where she led the international department. Jacqueline began her career as a client executive at IBM.

I am honored to have this opportunity to lead Brokerslink and it has been a pleasure working closely with Jose Manuel during the past nine years to cement our position as a dynamic, full service global broking company, said Legrand. This is an exciting time for Brokerslink as we look to further enhance our global offering and build out our specialist industry expertise and access to the worlds insurance markets.

Although I have decided to assume a non-executive role at Brokerslink, I am very much looking forward to remaining on the board of directors and being a part of shaping the future of Brokerslink, said Fonseca, founder and board member of Brokerslink. It has been a privilege to serve as CEO of Brokerslink, where we have grown and transformed our network into a successful broking company.

Brokerslink was created in 2004 as a global network of independent brokers. It was incorporated in Switzerland in 2015, becoming an integrated global broking company, owned by 55 shareholders from 40 countries, owning and managing a network of brokers and risk and consulting firms in 100 countries.

Source: Brokerslink

Topics Agencies Human Resources
A U.S. judge in San Francisco on Thursday said a former Grubhub Inc. delivery driver was an independent contractor and not the companys employee, in the first case of its kind against a gig economy company that went to trial.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley said Grubhub did not control Raef Lawsons work, so it was not his employer under California law. The Chicago-based company did not supervise Lawson, tell him when to work, what kind of transportation to use or what routes to take, she said.

Grubhub, Uber Technologies Inc., and other gig economy companies have based their business models on treating workers as independent contractors who are not entitled to minimum wage and overtime payments and other legal protections afforded to employees.

Thursdays decision could influence a series of lawsuits across the country in which Uber, Lyft, and other companies are accused of misclassifying workers as independent contractors and depriving them of millions of dollars in pay and expenses.

Noting that independent contractors do not receive any of the legal protections afforded to employees, Corley on Thursday said California state lawmakers may want to address this stark dichotomy.

Michele Maryott, a lawyer for Grubhub, said in a statement that delivery partners gravitate to Grubhub, rather than traditional employment, precisely because of the independence and autonomy they have over their workdays and over their businesses.

A lawyer for Lawson did not respond to a request for comment.

Lawson had worked for the company for four months but was blocked from Grubhubs smartphone app in 2016 for not making deliveries while he was signed on, according to court documents.

Lawson said several factors established that he was an employee, including that delivery work was critical to Grubhubs business model. Grubhub also typically paid a minimum hourly rate, rather than a per delivery fee, Lawson said.

Grubhub argued it was a software development company, and not a food delivery service, so workers like Lawson were not central to its business. That is a key factor in determining whether a worker is an employee.

Grubhub also said it did not have the control over drivers that is required to establish an employment relationship.

On Thursday, Corley said some factors weighed in Lawsons favor, but the companys complete lack of control over how he performed deliveries meant he was an independent contractor.

The case is Lawson v. Grubhub Inc, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, No. 3:15-cv-05128.

(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Cynthia Osterman)

Topics California USA Legislation Personal Auto Contractors
Uber Technologies Inc. agreed to give about $245 million in stock to settle the high-stakes trade-secret theft lawsuit brought by Waymo, resolving a conflict that already cost the ride-hailing giant its top driverless car engineer and threatened to further embarrass the company.

That will give the Alphabet Inc. driverless-car unit 0.34 percent of Uber equity, Waymo said. Tony West, Ubers general counsel, declined to comment on the settlement.

The court showdown captivated Silicon Valley during a year in which Uber weathered multiple scandals that drove co-founder Travis Kalanick out of his job as chief executive officer. Uber and Waymo are rivals in the nascent automated driving industry, which both companies believe to be worth hundreds of billions of dollars a year in revenue.

Waymo alleged that one of its senior engineers, Anthony Levandowski, hatched a plan in 2015 with Uber for him to steal more than 14,000 proprietary files, including the designs for lidar technology that helps driverless cars see their surroundings.

Dara Khosrowshahi, Ubers CEO, said in a letter Friday his job is to set the course for the future of the company expressed regret for actions that led to the letter.

To our friends at Alphabet: we are partners, you are an important investor in Uber, and we share a deep belief in the power of technology to change peoples lives for the better. Of course, we are also competitors. And while we wont agree on everything going forward, we agree that Ubers acquisition of Otto could and should have been handled differently.

Working With Uber

A spokesman for Waymo said the company reached an agreement with Uber that we believe will protect Waymos intellectual property now and into the future. We are committed to working with Uber to make sure that each company develops its own technology.

Uber bought Otto, the company Levandowski formed just before he quit Waymo in January 2016, in a $600 million stock deal. Levandowski became head of Ubers self-driving project, but was demoted, and eventually fired, as the litigation heated up. Levandowski, who isnt a defendant in the lawsuit, refused to answer questions from Waymo and turn over documents, citing his constitutional right against self-incrimination.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup ratcheted up the risk for Uber when he asked federal prosecutors in May to investigate Waymos claims. He said Waymo made a compelling showing that Levandowski absconded with its files and that Uber knew or should have known that when it brought him aboard.

Waymo was seeking as much as $1.86 billion in damages and a court order barring Uber from using the technology in dispute.

The case is Waymo LLC v. Uber Technologies Inc., 17-cv-00939, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (San Francisco).

Related:

Copyright 2021 Bloomberg.

Topics Fraud Sharing Economy Ridesharing Uber
A report by the University of Texas School of Law has found that Houstons programs designed to ensure apartment safety are flawed, fractured and improperly managed.

The 16-month study released Feb. 6 is called Out of Order: Houstons Dangerous Apartment Epidemic. The report looked at the citys regulation of apartment complexes and enforcement procedures, the Houston Chronicle reported.

The study found that more than a quarter of the approximately 4,000 apartment complexes subject to inspection by Houston Public Works lack certificates of occupancy. Findings also showed that responsibility for apartment safety programs is divided among several city departments that dont share data, and city policies involving 311 complaints mean employees close cases after only minimal follow-up.

The city of Houston is operating a largely dysfunctional system for addressing tenant safety that appears to have little or no oversight by city leaders, wrote Heather Way, director of the law schools entrepreneurship and community development clinic. The identification of dangerous apartment conditions in Houston remains primarily complaint-based and, even then, Houston fails to adequately inspect and otherwise follow up on complaints.

The study came nearly a decade after a state law passed requiring Houston to establish minimum habitability standards for multifamily rental buildings and inspect those properties. Houston responded in 2009 with a program to regularly examine rentals of three or four more units and requiring multifamily building owners to register with the city.

But Way said the citys programs for ensuring tenant safety remain largely reactive, noting it took public works staff more than five years to inspect the 4,000 properties under a system that isnt risk-based.

Public Works spokeswoman Alanna Reed said the department is reviewing the findings.

This is not the first critical report that the  Entrepreneurship and Community Development Clinic has released about apartment regulations in large Texas cities, she said. But Houston is unique in Texas because it has the third highest number of occupied apartments in the country. About half of all Houstonians are renters.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Texas
The North Carolina Rate Bureau (NCRB) has requested a statewide average rate increase of 18.9 percent, varying by territory, on dwelling insurance policies, according to a statement from the North Carolina Department of Insurance.

The dwelling insurance rate filing was received by NCDOI from the Rate Bureau, which is not part of the NCDOI and represents all companies writing property insurance in the state, on, Feb. 7 with a requested effective date of Oct. 1, 2018.

The filing includes a requested increase of 40.5 percent for extended coverage (wind) policies, but a decrease of 20.8 percent for fire polices, making the statewide average request an increase of 18.9 percent.

Dwelling insurance policies are not homeowners insurance policies. Dwelling policies are offered to non-owner-occupied residences of no more than four units, including rental properties, investment properties and other properties that are not occupied full-time by the property owner.

The Rate Bureau has also requested revisions to the current geographic rating territories. The proposed territory revisions are the same territory definitions applicable to homeowners policies.

NCDOI said the filing will be reviewed by its experts to determine what, if any, rate adjustments are warranted. If NCDOI and the Rate Bureau do not initially agree on the proposed rate changes, a public hearing will be called in which both parties would present their cases to a hearing officer, who would then determine the appropriate rate level.

The filing is available for public review on the NCDOI website and the SERFF Filing Access; SERFF Tracking Number NCRI-131370773.

Opportunity for Public Comment

People wanting to comment on the rate request may do so in person during a public comment forum from March 23, 2018, in Raleigh; by email to: 2018DwellingandFire@ncdoi.gov through March 23, 2018; or by mail sent to the North Carolina Department of Insurance.

Source: North Carolina Department of Insurance

Topics Pricing Trends North Carolina
Following up on a big change made last year to Kentuckys medical malpractice system, state lawmakers are considering a measure that would further alter the process of pursuing lawsuits claiming medical error or neglect.

The bill advanced by the Senate Health and Welfare Committee on Wednesday would place caps on a plaintiffs attorneys fees in malpractice cases. It also would insert another potential hurdle for some plaintiffs to clear before taking their claims to court.

Republican Sen. Ralph Alvarado, the bills lead sponsor, said the changes would bring Kentuckys system in line with malpractice laws in many other states.

Were just trying to get with the times, said Alvarado, a Winchester doctor.

In opposing the bill, Democratic Sen. Reginald Thomas of Lexington said the changes could have a chilling effect on pursuing damages for medical mistakes or neglect.

This bill is designed for one purpose only, he said. And that is to protect health care providers and hospitals and get attorneys out of that business.

The latest push to revamp the malpractice system comes after the GOP-led legislature last year enacted a law to create panels of medical providers to review claims of medical errors and issue opinions on their merits before they go to trial. That law is being challenged in court.

The new bill would put caps on a plaintiffs attorneys fees, based on the size of the damages awarded. Under those limits, attorneys could receive $60,000 in fees if their clients win $200,000 in damages, or $140,000 in fees if damages reach $1 million, Alvarado said.

Plaintiffs would be the big winners from the limits, Alvarado said. More of that money should go to the person thats been wronged, not to the attorneys, he said.

Thomas countered that the caps could discourage some trial attorneys from taking malpractice cases, which generally are complex and costly to pursue.

Another key provision in the bill would, in some cases, require a plaintiff to obtain an affidavit of merit before taking a malpractice claim to court.

It would involve getting a statement from a medical expert who believes the standard of care was breached in the case. The requirement would be waived if a medical review panel finds in favor of a plaintiff on the merits of a case.

Thomas said that provision also could have a chilling effect because doctors are reluctant to call out other doctors who are accused of negligence.

Thats just not going to happen as a practical matter, he said.

The bill also would allow health care providers to start charging fees when someone other than the patient requests copies of the patients medical records.

Another section would offer legal protections for health care providers when expressing sympathy for the pain, suffering or death of a patient. Under the bill, such remarks could not be used against the provider in malpractice claims.

___

The legislation is Senate Bill 20.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Legislation Medical Professional Liability Kentucky
National wholesale insurance brokerage and managing general agent Worldwide Facilities has hired Klayton Caldiero to serve as vice president in its Los Angeles office.

Caldiero started his insurance career in 2001 as a retail agent where he built a wealth of knowledge specializing in complex construction programs for homebuilders.

In 2006, he became a wholesale broker where he used his experience to assist his agents with complex casualty. He remains committed to assisting his retail partners with their E&S placements.

Source: Worldwide Facilities LLC

Topics Agencies
A shareholder services agent is typically a third-party entity that partners with a publicly traded corporation or mutual fund to provide for the ongoing needs of the shareholders. Shareholder services agents are responsible for investor record-keeping, communications, and some other administrative responsibilities. They also attend to shareholders' problems or concerns.

Breaking Down Shareholder Services Agent

Shareholder services agents are one of many entities that a mutual fund works with to manage the operational activities of a fund. Shareholder services agents also serve large corporations in various capacities.

Corporations

Once a private company grows to a sufficient size and decides to go public, it must adhere to government regulations regarding information disclosure and shareholder rights. Many public companies seek the expertise of a shareholder services agent to ensure their shareholders' needs are looked after efficiently. Even if shareholder services are conducted in-house via an agent, they represent one of the extra costs associated with a publicly-traded company as opposed to a private one.

Shareholder services agents will typically work in conjunction with a companys investor relations department. Investor relations is typically the business unit that partners closely with the companys shareholder services agent and leads communication between the company and its investors.

Computershare is one of the most well-known shareholder services agents, globally. The company can handle a wide range of activities including employee equity plans, mortgage servicing, proxy solicitation, stakeholder communications, support for initial public offerings, and many other services involving finance and governance.

Managed Funds

In all types of managed funds and specifically mutual funds, the investment company will partner with many different third parties for the funds operational services. Third-party service providers may include custodians, accountants, administrators, and shareholder services agents. In some cases, the responsibilities of a shareholder services agent may overlap with responsibilities handled by other operational service providers and specifically mutual fund administrators.

Shareholder services agents may also sometimes be referred to as transfer agents. With managed funds, these entities can offer a wide range of services for both mutual fund operations and investor communications. Service responsibilities of the shareholder services agent can include delivery of communications such as corporate actions or payments, access to professional records, and mailing or e-delivery of professional fund reports. Shareholder services agents may also be responsible for providing communication to financial advisor intermediaries and supporting compliance and compliance reporting. Leading shareholder service agents for mutual funds include Boston Financial Data Services, Bank of New York Mellon, U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, and UMB Fund Services.
By Geoff Percival

The main representative body for oil and gas exploration companies in Ireland has branded the initial passing of a bill targeting the banning of drilling in Irish waters as disappointing and a danger to the countrys security of energy supply.

The Petroleum and Other Minerals Development (Amendment) Climate Emergency Measures Bill 2018  drawn up by People Before Profit TD Brid Smith  was debated in the Dail on Wednesday before being voted in favour of, securing the backing of 78 TDs, with 48 opposing it.

Fianna Fail, Labour, the Green Party and Sinn Fein all supported the motion  albeit each with certain caveats  potentially putting Ireland on a path to becoming one of only four countries, after France, Costa Rica and Belize, to cease issuing new licences to companies to drill offshore for fossil fuels.

The bill will now advance to the committee stage, although there are concerns among supporters that the Government may block or dilute it at a later stage when amendments can be made.

The vote follows a similarly successful one for the banning of onshore drilling, or fracking, last summer.

The Irish Offshore Operators Association (IOOA) said a ban on drilling for indigenous oil and gas will not decrease emissions and wont help Ireland along the way to a low carbon economy. It said more clarity is needed on the bill very soon and said, in its current form, it will only create significant degrees of uncertainty in the industry.

IOOA chairman Pat Shannon said solar and wind farms are not ramping up fast enough to meet Irelands energy demand, and while the country is getting 60% of its gas provision from the Corrib field, when that starts depleting, we re-enter the risky world of importing fuel from Britain as Brexit becomes a reality.

The IOOA would favour a wider and informed debate on Irelands policy on energy security in the context of government framework for transition, energy efficiency, renewable energy and offshore exploration as has been suggested by Minister Kyne.

"This would be preferable to the approach taken in the present bill, which will not decrease emissions but instead will increase Irelands exposure to supply risk and decrease energy security, Mr Shannon said.

Green Party leader Eamon Ryan said the vote marked a historic day for environmentalism in Ireland, noting that the tide has turned on fossil fuels, and there is widespread political support now for a just transition to renewable power.

If we are to keep global temperature rises below 1.5-2 degrees, avoiding climate chaos, then 80% of known fossil fuel reserves need to be left in the ground. By signing the Paris Agreement, Ireland committed to such a plan, he said.

When debating the bill in the Dail on Wednesday, Mr Ryan said Ireland no longer needs oil or gas and there is no risk to security of energy supply by not using what lies under our own waters.

The real security risk is missing out on the economic opportunity of switching the other way [to full reliance on renewable sources for energy needs] and leading the curve, he said.

In a slightly surreal addendum, the Greens also managed to garner support from music legend Cher, who tweeted her support for the legislation and the partys attempts to protect Irelands visiting population of 250,000 dolphins.
By Geoff Percival

Jameson owner Irish Distillers has warned that proposed new legislation surrounding the selling of alcohol would put jobs, exports and the global success of Irish whiskey at risk.

The company, which is ultimately owned by French drinks giant Pernod Ricard, said the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill risks undermining an already challenging spirits market.

The measures in the bill run the risk of needlessly endangering one of Irelands biggest export successes and damaging future innovation, job growth and economic contributions, said outgoing Irish Distillers chairman and chief executive, Jean-Christophe Coutures.

If passed, the legislation would change the way alcohol products are sold  by way of display, pricing, marketing and labelling, which would include health warnings.

The bill has been heavily criticised as being potentially severely damaging by lobbyists and industry players.

The Carlow Brewing Company, which owns the OHaras beer brand, recently complaining that mandatory cancer warnings on labels would fly in the face of the Government targeting the growing craft beer market as a major driver of growth in the overall Irish drinks sector.

It is important to note the global success of Irish whiskey is in danger of being undermined by developments in Ireland, most notably the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill, said Mr Coutures.

The unintended negative consequences from the advertising measures being proposed will undermine the industrys ability to trial innovative new products in Ireland and prove that they are export-ready.

The labelling requirements will act as a barrier to entry for new companies and will also cause serious reputational damage to Irelands premium drinks products, he said.

Mr Coutures is set to leave Irish Distillers in the summer to head up Pernod Ricards Chivas Brothers Scotch whisky portfolio. He will be replaced in Dublin by Conor McQuaid.

Irish Distillers also said Jameson sales grew by 12% in the six months to the end of December. During that time, it sold more than four million cases and has double or triple digit percentage sales growth in 80 markets.

However, it said the market in Ireland is challenging, with volume growth outpacing value growth. That said, Jameson sales here grew by 5% and Powers sales grew 11% in the groups first half.
By Ann O'Loughlin

An Bord Pleanalas approval for the first phase of tech giant Apples planned 850m data centre in Co Galway turned European law on its head and took no account of Ireland's climate change obligations, the Supreme Court has been told.

A three-judge court has deferred its ruling on whether two objectors to the centre have met the necessary legal test to bring an appeal to the Supreme Court aimed at quashing the Board's approval.

Having heard arguments on the appeal application today, the Chief Justice, Mr Justice Frank Clarke, sitting with Mr Justice John MacMenamin and Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne, said the court will publish a written decision in due course.

Before any appeal can be brought to the Supreme Court, it must find the case raises a legal issue of general public importance, or an appeal is desirable in the interests of justice.

The leave application by Sinead Fitzpatrick, who lives close to the planned development, and Allan Daly, of Athenry, is opposed by the Board and Apple. The application follows the High Court's rejection of their case last October.

Oisin Collins BL, for the objectors, said the Board was legally obliged to carry out an environmental impact assessment (EIA) of Apples entire masterplan for eight data halls, which will increase total demand on the national grid by 6-8%, and not an EIA of just one hall.

The overall grid connection planned at Athenry would have a footprint equal to Dundrum town centre, but there is no national assessment and no strategic assessment concerning how data centres being built across the country will be supplied with energy, he said.

Something has "gone badly wrong" when the State's planning board was contending the entire Apple development may not be built until the 2030s, so it was therefore not appropriate for the court to look 20 years into the future, he said.

The whole purpose of planning is planning, and an assessment of an overall development which will increase the national power demand by 6-8% is, for reasons including Ireland's obligations to reduce emissions, of "the greatest public importance".

The appropriate legal test made clear, in assessing such a development, there must be an assessment of the entire development, he said. That has not been done, and no proper explanation was provided by the Board for that.

The Board's approval "turned European law on its head", the facts of this case were unique, and an appeal should be permitted, he urged.

Nuala Butler SC, for the Board, argued the objectors had raised no legal point of sufficient general public importance such as entitled them to an appeal. There was no dispute about the applicable law, and the objectors' essential complaint was they did not like how the law was applied, she said.

She said the Boards permission was for one data hall and the associated electrical infrastructure for that and the Board did not carry out an EIA for eight data halls because it was dealing only with an application for permission for one.

The Board would assess any future applications for the seven other halls when those were made, and some might not happen until 2030, she said. There was no legal requirement to conduct an EIA on something that may not be built for 20 years.

Rory Mulcahy SC, for Apple, maintained the objectors had raised no point of law entitling them to an appeal. There is no uncertainty about the relevant law, he said.
David Drumm, the former chief executive of Anglo Irish Bank, authorised deals which lead to the falsification of the banks balance sheet, a jury has been told at the opening of his conspiracy to defraud trial.

On the first day of the trial prosecutors described Mr Drumm (51) as the man who called the shots at Anglo Irish Bank and said the deals he authorised also made it appear deposits from customers were 7.2bn greater than they were in reality.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Mr Drumm was involved in a conspiracy with others to dress up and falsify the bank's balance sheet during very rocky times for the banking world in 2008.

Mr Drumm (51), with an address in Skerries, Co Dublin, has pleaded not guilty to conspiring with former bank officials Denis Casey, William McAteer, John Bowe and others to defraud depositors and investors at Anglo by dishonestly creating the impression that deposits in 2008 were 7.2 billion larger than they were.

He has also pleaded not guilty to false accounting on December 3, 2008, by furnishing information to the market that Anglo's 2008 deposits were 7.2 billion larger than they were.

Opening the case today Paul O'Higgins SC, prosecuting, told the jury they would hear recorded phone conversations during which Mr Drumm gave permission for money to pass go, adding several billion euro in non-existent customer deposits as it passed around the various financial institutions.

Mr O'Higgins said it was the prosecution's case that money circulated "at lightning speed" between Anglo, Irish Life & Permanent and Irish Life Assurance, before returning to Anglo.

He told the jury of ten men and five women that there was absolutely no commercial reality to the transactions.

Mr O'Higgins said that, as a result of the conspiracy, wholly artificial and completely unreal transactions were born, with the intention of deceiving investors, depositors and lenders.

He said there was no onus on the State in this case to prove that any customer or individual had lost money as a result of the conspiracy.

He explained that deposits from "non banks" are believed to look better on a bank's balance sheet and are preferable to deposits from other banks.

It was Anglos prime intention to ensure its balance sheet appeared as strong as possible as its financial year end approached in September 2008.

Mr OHiggins asked the jury to recall the very rocky times in the banking world 2007 when banks began to have serious worries about where they were going to source money.

He said the fact that Anglos banking model was heavily focused on commercial property meant they found themselves particularly under threat.

The jury heard that both Irish banking authorities and the Governor of the Central Bank wanted Irish banks to assist each other with liquidity issues. But Mr O'Higgins said this couldn't excuse what happened, and has lead to the trial in this courtroom today.

He said the state banking guarantee on September 30th 2008 did not lead to the abandonment of the plans or a change to the figures published in December 2008 and was also irrelevant.

Mr O'Higgins said there was nothing illegal in itself about moving money around between banks.

But he said the only purpose of these transactions was that when the bank published its financial results, it would suggest to the public that customer deposits were greater than they really were.

He said when David Drumm put forward the bank's accounts in December 2008, he knew that the figures were not true.

He said the only logic of the transactions was to deceive people looking at the end of year figures.

Mr O'Higgins said Mr Drumm was the person who "called the shots" in Anglo. He described him as the moving spirit between the bank's treasury department and its lending department.

The trial continues this afternoon in front of Judge Karen O'Connor.
Update January 10, 7.50am: Gardai report that Eileen McCarthy has been found safe and well.

Update 9.10pm. Josephine Gibson reported missing earlier from Crumlin has been located safe and well but Gardai are still appealing for help in locating missing Cork woman, Eileen McCarthy.

Earlier: Gardai are asking for help in locating two missing women from Cork and Dublin.

In Cork Gardai are asking for help finding a 55-year-old woman missing from her home in Cork city.

Eileen McCarthy is described as 5'2'' in height, of medium build and with brown shoulder length hair.

When last seen, she was wearing a green bomber jacket with a hood and a blue jumper.

Gardai believe she may be travelling in a black 07 Cork registered Toyota Yaris.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Togher Garda Station, Tel. 021 4947120.

Meanwhile Gardai are also seeking the public's help in tracing Josephine 'Josie' Gibson, 75 years, who is missing from her home in Crumlin, Dublin 12.

Josephine is described as 5'3'', medium build with shoulder length fair hair and blue eyes. When last seen she was wearing a white or cream coat with a fur collar and carrying a black handbag with a flower pattern.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Crumlin Garda Station on 01 666 6200.
A Louth man who had sex with a 15-year-old schoolgirl and made plans to run away with her to Northern Ireland has been jailed for two years, writes Aoife Nic Ardghail and Isabel Hayes.

The man (29), who cant be named for legal reasons, told the girl he could get her a fake passport and said she would have to dye her hair and live under an assumed name if she wanted to stay with him.

The girl later told gardai that she had consensual sex once with the then 25-year-old man as they stayed at various hotel accommodations over a few nights while waiting for the passport.

The man pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to sexual intercourse with a minor at a hotel in Co. Dublin between November 28 and December 6, 2013.

Sentencing him today Judge Cormac Quinn said the man took advantage of a vulnerable young schoolgirl.

He knew she was a schoolgirl, Judge Quinn said, noting the man bought the girl alcohol on a number of occasions and brought her to a hotel and a B&B.

The court heard the man has 38 previous convictions including assault, burglary, criminal damage and theft.

Judge Quinn handed down a three-year sentence, but suspended the final year on a number of conditions.

He accepted the man was remorseful and he noted the victim would probably not have been a co-operative witness had the matter gone to trial. She declined to give a victim impact statement.

At a sentence hearing earlier this year, Sergeant Louise McHugh told Dara Hayes BL, prosecuting, that the man met the schoolgirl outside a pub the previous summer and the two had kept in phone contact.

They met twice to play pool together and on another date the girl stayed with the man in a hotel after spending a night out drinking with him.

On each of these occasions, the man purchased all her food and drinks but they had no sexual relations.

The court heard the girl was on a half-day from school when she met the man at a shopping centre on November 28, while still in her uniform.

He bought her a 60 phone and they spent the day drinking together at the centre before she agreed to stay with him when she missed her bus home.

Over the next few nights, the man booked them into hotel and B&B accommodation and organised a change of clothing for the schoolgirl from his female friend.

He told the 15-year-old that they would stay at the final hotel a bit longer while they waited for the passport. He assured her he knew what he was doing as he had previously arranged a passport for a 16-year-old and nobody had ever found that teenager.

The girl told gardai that the man had sex with her once and that she had been happy to run away with him. She said she hadnt planned to leave home but that it just happened after she missed her bus and didnt want to get into trouble with her mother.

She said that another couple joined them in the hotel room for the last few nights and she described spending the daytime with the female while the men went out to work.

The court heard gardai tracked the girl down to an internet cafe on December 6, after stopping the man and his male friend on a different street.

The girl told officers that the ten year age gap between her and the man didnt bother either of them and that while he never said he loved her, she felt there was something there.

She declined to make a victim impact statement.

Sgt McHugh agreed with Dominic McGinn SC, defending, that his client had had a history of self harm and had made serious attempts to take his own life. She further agreed that he had co-operated with gardai fully.

Mc McGinn submitted that it was the disparity in age that made the case against his client as there was no evidence of coercion or violence.

Referring to a psychologists report, Mr McGinn submitted that some of the tragic elements of his clients background had been the catalyst for drug abuse and anti-social behaviour.

The court heard the man tried to take his own life three weeks before the incident with the girl and that he was at a place in his life where he was looking for support.

He has been in custody since May of last year and is an enhanced prisoner. A favourable governors report was handed up to court.

Judge Quinn backdated the sentence to when the man went into custody.
A man who sexually assaulted his stepdaughter 20 years ago in a huge breach of trust has been jailed for 15 months.

John Doherty's victim, who was aged 12 and 13 at the time of the offences, told the court her childhood was very sick and wrong as a result of his actions.

Doherty (aged 55) of Patrician Villas, Stillorgan, Co Dublin, pleaded guilty to two counts of sexually assaulting his step-daughter on dates between January 1996 and April 1998 at their home in Stillorgan, when she was aged 12 and 13.

Doherty had previously failed in his High Court bid to stay criminal proceedings through a judicial review, claiming blameworthy delay by gardai in prosecuting the case.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that the garda who handled the original complaint in 1998 went on sick leave, retired and has since died, and that the case was not reassigned to another garda until recent years.

Doherty's step-daughter, now aged 35, waived her right to anonymity so that her abuser could be named, the court heard.

Sentencing Doherty today, Judge Martin Nolan noted the matter had taken a long time to come to court due to incompetence.

I've no doubt the victim in this case has endured difficult times as a result of the misbehaviour of Mr Doherty, the judge said.

He said he had no doubt Doherty was remorseful for his actions and he noted Doherty had taken steps to rehabilitate himself.

But he sexually abused a child, Judge Nolan said. He sexually abused a child in his care and that was a huge breach of trust.

The maximum sentence for sexual assault at the time of the offence was five years.

In a victim impact statement which was read out in court on her behalf, the woman said the abuse she suffered at the hands of her step-father had taken away her childhood, her family and her education.

Memories of my childhood are ruined. I will always live with a sense of shame, she said.

This will be the last time I address him as my Dad; he no longer deserves that title, the statement read, pointing out that although Doherty was not her biological father, she had chosen him to be her Dad from when she was three years old.

I loved and trusted him unconditionally and he betrayed me, she said.

The woman said in her victim impact statement that when her step-father came into her life when she was three, she was besotted and delighted to finally have a dad.

She said in her statement: I was so in love with him that I was an easy target. I feel ashamed even saying that, but isn't that how a little girl is supposed to feel about her Da? Looking back, he was grooming me.

I thought he was really cool. My friends were really impressed that my Dad let me drink. Kids would often slag me that my Dad was my boyfriend. Did they see something I didn't? Now I think, how could I have been so stupid.

He was my best friend. He would tell me all the time that I was his best friend too. He always said he was looking forward all day to coming home to see me, not my Ma.

Most of my extended family turned against me; the consensus was that I should just get on with it, that he was a good man and he was sorry, she said.

The court heard the woman's relationship with her mother and extended family fell apart when the abuse came out, and that arguments with her mother led to her being punched and kicked and thrown out of her house.

She left school in fifth year and said she was so angry that she lost out on her education through no fault of her own.

The woman said her own relationship with her children had been deeply affected and that she struggled over boundaries and panicked that she would mix appropriate and inappropriate when telling her children about sex education.

Garda Jeanette Power told Lorcan Staines BL, prosecuting, that the girl started drinking beer and alcopops with her step-father from around the age of 10, although he always told her not to tell her mother they were drinking.

She would watch over-18s movies in bed with her father and have graphic conversations about sex scenes.

She told gardai that when she was about 12, Doherty got into bed beside her and said he just wanted cuddles, but that it felt wrong. On another occasion she woke up in her parents' bed to find him feeling her boob.

Once when she was turning 13, Doherty gave her three or four bottles of Bacardi Breezer and she went to bed but complained shortly afterwards of feeling sick. Doherty told her to go back to bed and she slept, waking up to find his hand down her pants.

The girl said to her step-father, did you just do what I think you did? and he said he had been just rubbing her belly because she was sick.

About a month later, Doherty told her she hadn't imagined it and he had put his hand on her genitals, but never to tell her mother as it would break her heart. Some years later, Doherty told his wife during an argument that he had interfered with his step-daughter and was thrown out of the house for a period.

He attended group therapy for a year, couple counselling and individual therapy for about six years to ensure that nothing ever happened again.

A psychologist's statement said Doherty had taken full responsibility for his actions and had a thorough understanding of the effects of his abuse, high levels of victim empathy and remorse, and posed a low risk of further offending. Doherty has no previous convictions.

Ronan Munroe SC, defending, read out an apology from Doherty to his step-daughter, saying he could offer no excuse for his shameful behaviour. No words can ever take away from the pain and confusion I caused, Doherty said, You were the innocent child.

Mr Munroe said it had been a very serious breach of trust which had clearly had a lasting effect on the injured party, and that one would want a heart of stone not to be moved by her statement.

He said that unusually, his client seemed to have voluntarily stopped offending and that the abuse was at the lower end of the scale.

The court heard that Doherty didn't attend secondary school and had worked fairly consistently all his life in factories and other jobs. He is currently unemployed and doing various courses.

He is registered as a sex offender as a result of this conviction.
By Ann O'Loughlin

More than 700 charitable organisations have been contacted as part an investigation into a Dublin online charity donation platform, the High Court has heard.

The court also heard the managing director of the platform, Pembroke Dynamic; Peter Conlon has been detained by prosecutors in Zurich Switzerland since before Christmas following a complaint made by the International Federation of the Red Cross about allegedly not receiving monies donated to them via a platform managed by the businessman.

At the High Court today Rossa Fanning SC said charities were contacted by his client liquidator Myles Kirby as part of his attempts to locate an estimated 3.8m which was donated to, but allegedly never received by various charities through a service provided by Pembroke Dynamic of Upper Pembroke Street in Dublin 2

Mr Kirby had secured freezing orders against Mr Conlon from the High Court.

Giving an update to the Court, Mr Fanning said that since the matter was last before the court, there was "no good news" arising out of Mr Kirby's further investigations of Pembroke Dynamic's affairs.

Mr Kirby had contacted some 700 charities that had dealt with Pembroke Dynamic and had received numerous phones calls on behalf of charities in respect of missing donations.

Counsel said Mr Kirby, as part of his ongoing investigation, had also spoken to the Office Director of Corporate Enforcement and the Charities Regulator.

Counsel said attempts had been made to notify Mr Conlon of the proceedings via text message, email and personally at his given home address at St Mary's Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4.

No response has been received to the messages sent electronically, and service was not accepted at the Dublin 4 address, counsel said,

However, he believes Mr Conlon was aware of the action before the Irish Courts.

Mr Fanning said that Mr Kirby has been in contact with a prosecutor in Zurich Switzerland who confirmed that Mr Conlon was detained at Zurich Airport shortly before Christmas.

His arrest following a criminal investigation into claims by the Red Cross it had not received "millions" that had been donated through the Ammado platform, which is linked to Mr Conlon.

Mr Conlon remains in custody in Zurich, and the presumption of innocence applies, counsel said.

The Judge added the liquidator should see if Swiss lawyers, believed to be representing Mr Conlon, would accept service of the proceedings brought by the liquidator.

Pembroke Dynamic was wound up last month arising out of it's failure to satisfy a debt owed to Revenue of approximately 400,000, and a liquidator was appointed.

Shortly afterwards Mr Kirby secured freezing orders against Mr Conlon after the liquidator discovered various charities allegedly have not received some 3.8m donated to them via the platform, where by it collected donations made to charities before sending them the money, minus a 5% commission.

The charities affected include UN refugee agency UNHCR, the Red Cross, and Save the Children UK.

In a sworn statement seeking the freezing, the liquidator said it appeared Mr Conlon, who is a shareholder in various corporate vehicles that own Pembroke Dynamic, was "guilty of very serious misconduct".

Mr Kirby sought the orders over his "very serious concerns" following his investigations into the company's affairs and fears Mr Conlon may attempt to dissipate and move assets beyond the reach of creditors.

Mr Kirby believes the missing funds were used to run the company and by Mr Conlon for personal expenditure.
Margaret Jennings talks to Andrea Harrison, a 57-year-old leg amputee who knits amputee dolls to help children and adults come to terms with their disability

A 57-year-old British grandmother of three, whose leg was amputated over six years ago, is offering love and support to children who have also lost limbs by making personalised dolls for them that reflect their unique circumstances.

The idea grew from a Facebook community for amputees that Andrea Harrison joined, in order to find support herself. My first doll came about because a mum was on Facebook saying her daughter was finding it difficult not being able to join in with her friends at school because she had grown  and her prosthetic leg wasnt fitting well, Andrea tells Feelgood.

At the time I was just crocheting bits of nothing much, just to keep my fingers busy, as you do. I added a comment to her post asking if she would mind if I could make her daughter a doll, one with a removable leg like hers. She had said her daughter was fed up with being different and I asked what colour hair and eyes she had and which leg was her amp leg. That was my first doll.

That was last May, and Lincolnshire-based Andrea has created 100 unique ones since then, with each taking about three days to make.

The response, when pictures were put up, was so positive that the orders started pouring in, including from adults. I was kept busy making pirate dolls, dolls with below-knee amps, above-knee amps, arms missing, both legs missing  all sorts. They have been made so that people could explain to their children or grandchildren whats happened and Ive made them for people to take into school to explain to other kids why their child has bits missing.

Some people have said to me how important the doll has been to them accepting their amp or issues around their amputation. I dont charge for the ones for the children but most of the people want to pay something. At the time, when I started, I was looking at getting an iWalk  this is a hands-free crutch  so I suggested people sent a donation towards me being able to get one of those.

Further donations are going towards a ramp for her house, as Andrea had a fall over a year ago on the steps leading into her bungalow home. It was the first time I had fallen since my op. I luckily hadnt done any major damage but I couldnt use my leg for about eight weeks which made me totally wheelchair-bound and reliant on others to get in and out of my own front door and it took at least me eight months to fully recover.

While she made the decision to have her leg amputated at age 50 rather than leave it until later, after 35 years of suffering from diabetes, Andrea has just gone on with life. Joining a Facebook community, in her case Amputee Friends UK, has been a huge support. We all agree we find out much more from other amputees online than from medical people, she says.

It has been brilliant, it gives you a sense of not being alone, there is help, support, and answers to all sorts of issues. There are some amazing people on these sites  some funny, truly inspirational but all a great bunch of people.

I would advise anyone faced with amputation to join or at least have a look as these groups. There are people like myself who had time to decide it was right for them.

There are those who have faced the shock of waking up to find bits missing and people have faced every variant of amputation imaginable, parents having to make decisions for their children, honestly, everything you can think of. Some very amazing people.

As each doll is unique, she doesnt use a pattern. And although one person has already offered to make some for her, she feels it wouldnt be the same getting someone else to do them. I feel I kind of know every one of the people I have made a doll for and they are now all friends.

The act of crocheting and the personal feedback for her creations is a therapy of sorts, she agrees: I do hope that I am a positive person. I hate wasting time worrying about things I cannot do a lot about; life is all about what gets thrown at you and how you cope with it all, she says. But if I do have bad hair days I get my teeth into a new doll. And because I dont like letting people down I have no time to brood.

Making the dolls has been great fun  getting them right for each different person  but the best bit is getting everyones comments from how they like them to how theyve helped. I get a huge buzz from knowing they can help  positivity breeds positivity. Its quite selfish, really.

Amputees living in Ireland can find support at amputee.ie/ and facebook.com/amputee.ie/

Andrea Harrison can be contacted regarding amputee dolls on her Facebook page
The Shape Of Water is the hot tip for Hollywoods big night, but Guillermo Del Toro is more worried about fitting into his tuxedo, writes Laura Harding.

Apparently there is a downside to being an Oscar front-runner. Just ask Guillermo Del Toro, the Mexican auteur whose fantasy romance film The Shape Of Water is leading the nominations with 13 nods, including best picture.

The visionary behind films such as Pans Labyrinth, Hellboy and Pacific Rim is now the one to beat to bag the best director statue but hes a little bit concerned about his portly frame.

I hope it happens, he says. There is one negative aspect to it, though. I would need to lose weight because they dont make tuxedos in my size.

Its either I get an Oscar or a nomination or I get Twinkies, either way its a win-win situation.

Hes referring to a golden sponge cake filled with a cream centre which is popular in America and was a favourite snack when he was growing up in Mexico.

So what would he rather have? A golden cake or a golden statue? It depends on the time of the day, sometimes my blood sugar is low and I go for a Twinkie.

We are chatting before The Shape Of Waters sweep at the Oscar nominations so he might have changed his mind now that statue is within reach.

And maybe Twinkies arent all that anyway. They are not as good as they once were, he opines. When I was a kid they were so full of filling, now its just bread.

It was Del Toros childhood, growing up in Guadalajara when the Twinkies were so full of cream, that was so instrumental in the creation of The Shape Of Water, which he co-wrote with screenwriter Vanessa Taylor, who has worked on Game Of Thrones.

The film stars Sally Hawkins as a mute cleaning lady at a secret government facility during the Cold War, who falls in love with a mysterious sea creature being held there.

The first thing happened when I was six, he recalls. I was watching Sunday TV in my hometown and I saw Creature From The Black Lagoon.

Every Sunday, they had monster movies and I saw something unique.

So proud of @RealGDT ,my favorite filmmaker ever, with his BEST DIRECTOR wins at both the Golden Globes and the Critics Choice Awards.@shapeofwater still playing in North American cinemas, now in Mexico, soon in Australia, and coming at you in February, Europe!! pic.twitter.com/PvHY4I1Qgs  Doug Jones (@actordougjones) January 13, 2018

I had seen King Kong, I had seen Frankenstein but this was pure poetry  it was this creature swimming underneath Julie Adams with a white bathing suit and I was absolutely transfixed.

I was hoping they would end up together and they didnt, so I wanted to remedy that.

When casting The Shape Of Water, Del Toro saw Hawkins who has been nominated for a best actress Oscar for the role  as a natural fit for the part of Elisa Esposito.

I kind of fell in love with her range and the fact that she had the most beautiful, luminous face in movies today, for me.

At the same time she is someone that you could find on the street, sitting on a bus going to work, she has a unique blending of everyday and magical in her.

It was a challenging role for the British star, who didnt believe she was right for it at first.

It was also an exposing role, both physically and emotionally and Del Toro worked hard to create a safe environment.

I trust my actors and I hope they trust me. Sally always knew she was being protected and taken care of and looked after by me. I think as an actor you cannot go those places if you dont trust the director. She was nervous. I think Sally is seriously unique as an actress, she makes everything real.

Everyone thinks actors need to be looking a certain way or saying things but its not that, a really great actor listens and looks. Sally looks in a way that is magical and beautiful. She fell in love with the creature and you could see it in her eyes. She really loved it, as if it was a flesh-and-bone creature and that is a gift.

Hawkins stars opposite Michael Shannon, Doug Jones and fellow Oscar nominees Richard Jenkins and Octavia Spencer in parts penned specially for them.

I wrote the movie for many of them because I love them, Del Toro says.

I told Sally many times on the shoot, Im a songwriter and I wrote this song for you, for your voice. Sing it, any way you want.

But creating a film around an almost entirely mute performance was a completely new obstacle and one that was crucial for the story.

One of the things I wanted to make clear in the movie is that you cannot talk about love because its very insufficient, he stresses.

Words are insufficient. You can sing about love and there is a scene in the movie in which she recuperates her voice and magically sings but its all in her head. I think you know love by the eyes of the person looking at you, thats the only way.

Its a romantic view of the world for a man obsessed with monsters, tracing all the way back to his first full-length feature Cronos in 1993.

I'm an emotional mess watching Greta Gerwig talk about The Shape of Water pic.twitter.com/5pBrbHCeM4  Jason (@jasonosia) February 7, 2018

But Del Toro see the whole film as a love letter to the cinema, blending multiple genres  and his direction is as a love letter to old Hollywood.

The whole movie is shot like a classical movie, he says.

Its like a classical movie from Hollywood and I wanted the camera to be always moving and the craftsmanship of the film to be as polished and as exquisite and as magical as it can because that is what makes you feel [as if you are] in a fairy tale.

The visuals and the rhythm tells you its an ancient story, even if it happened in 1962.

So now, its time to start shopping for that tuxedo.

The Shape Of Water is released in UK cinemas on February 14.
A military parade in the US capital would further divide the nation, but many worry that such an event would also herald involvement in a future war, writes Carole Coleman.

US president Donald Trump has suggested the Pentagon begin preparations for a military parade in Washington.

He so enjoyed the pomp and ceremony of Frances Bastille Day that he wants to stage a similar show on home turf, maybe on the Fourth of July.

As a regular attendee of summer parades in the US, Im not sure this is a brilliant idea. Like St Patricks Day in Ireland, Independence Day parades are a chance for Americans to put their local community spirit on show, not their nations military might.

Fourth of July is all about shiny fire trucks, police cars, school marching bands, and dance troupes. The only danger a spectator faces at one of these displays is being struck in the eye by a flying lolly.

Kids bring along bags to collect sweets thrown from passing floats, and tiny tots dash onto the parade route to pick up stray gobstoppers.

The message these parades send is that each town or suburb is hanging in there as part of the American dream. Themes of freedom, sacrifice, and history are always present  but are rarely in your face. Fourth of July parades are less about American exceptionalism and more about tradition.

Fourth of July in Washington DC, where this parade is planned, has a similar family feel.

Busy inhabitants of the capital city and surrounding metropolitan area flock to the banks of the Potomac River for picnics, music and fireworks.

Barring anything truly sinister, the only hint of danger is from hungry mosquitoes or an unexpected downpour.

But a ginormous military parade in Washington, whether on the Fourth of July or any other holiday, would be a completely different kettle of fish.

Picture thousands of men and women marching in formation down Pennsylvania Avenue as helicopters and fighter jets buzz and whoosh overhead.

Picture parents explaining to their children that this parade is really all about fireworks, just not the kind theyre used to.

Of course, many countries stage military parades. Yet the usual places that spring to mind are Russia and North Korea, where such displays say Look what weve got!

This is likely the focal point of Trumps latest Pentagon request.

If Trump isnt planning to start a foreign war anytime in the next year, he wants his enemies to believe that he can.

Hes already said that his nuclear button is bigger than North Koreas. He may want to reinforce that message by sending hu-u-u-ge ballistic missiles down Pennsylvania Avenue lined by throngs of cheering crowds.

But would there be vast cheering crowds? Washington DC is home to the Pentagon and arms lobbyists, but many who work in various branches of government wouldnt be seen dead near any parade glorifying military might.

If the money that will be spent on such an event could be put into housing or education, those citizens would be much happier.

Yet libertarians and other Trump supporters would be delighted to see America manning up.

Others, meanwhile, might simply come out of sheer curiosity.

How necessary is a national military parade, and what might it lead to?

Various global arms control graphs for 2017 showed that Russia slightly led nuclear stockpile charts with about 7,000 nuclear weapons, followed by the US with approximately 6,800. By comparison, North Korea had 10-20.

America doesnt need a military parade to show that its significantly more nuclear-capable than North Korea. Nor does it need to exacerbate the arms race with Russia.

A military parade might be popular with Americans whove supported or fought in foreign wars, but then it would have to be held every year  always bigger and better than the year before.

Theres a theory that Vladimir Putin and others stage these parades to distract from whats happening at home. That way common people, struggling with their daily lives, can at least see their president making a show of protecting them from foreign aggression.

For similar reasons, many have predicted that Trump could go to war this year or next. Like George W Bush before him, if Trump is involved in a foreign war towards the end of his first term, the electorate would likely elect him to a second term.

Trump has threatened fire and fury, but theres no indication that hes committed to enter into conflict.

A military display is one more idea that will divide American opinion. Its what happens after the parade that matters most.

Carole Coleman is a former RTE Washington correspondent.
The first draft of history has been unable to achieve any clear consensus on Gerry Adams and what his legacy will be. As Mr Adams steps down as Sinn Fein president, Dolan OHagan explores what the final verdict of history may be.

"We must put our minds together to see what kind of world we can create for the seventh generation yet unborn" - The Great Law of Peace according to the Haudenosaunee native Indian tradition.

MORE than five decades ago, Gerry Adams joined the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association as an angry 19-year-old. On Saturday, he will step down as Sinn Fein president after 35 years as party leader.

This journey and its impact will, no doubt, attract much ink in the weeks, months, and years ahead.

Amidst that analysis, and as the 69-year-old hands over the reins to new party president Mary Lou McDonald, only one thing remains certain: The opinions of those watching on in the Republic will be much as they were when the Ballymurphy man rose to prominence, via grainy, black-and-white news bulletins and depressingly bleak radio broadcasts in the 1970s and 1980s... divided.

In one analysis, Mr Adams is a brave peacemaker, the driving force behind a brand of republican socialism and activism which has delivered civil rights and equality for many. He is also the architect of a political transformation that has seen his party rise to become the largest Irish nationalist party on this island.

In another, he remains a Machiavellian figure, rooted in blood, a puppet master who sat atop an organisation that was, at best, an active cheerleader to the slaughter of thousands of people, north and south of the border and across the Irish sea.

It is clear, therefore, that the first draft of history has been unable to achieve any great consensus on Mr Adams and what his legacy should be.

As he steps aside from high political office, perhaps it is time to begin asking, in a more impartial fashion, what the final draft of history will make of it all.

MODERN IRISH HISTORY

Sense can only be made of Gerry Adams journey in the context of his, and our own, modern history.

In his 2017 book, Wounds: A Memoir of War and Love, Kerry author and award-winning BBC journalist Fergal Keane delivers a typically concise explanation of the antagonism with which Mr Adams, and the wider northern Republican movement, was viewed.

In a compelling investigation into his wider familys links to the Irish revolution, Keane attempts, also, to understand the brutalities that Irish men and women inflicted upon each other in that period.

He recalls how, as a child in 1970s Kerry, he was struck by how people with clear familial links to past IRA activism were unflinching in their condemnation of the bearded provisionals  like Adams  who were overseeing the violence and carnage up North.

Keane suggests that, in time and with a view to other conflicts covered in the course of his life, he now feels this

unflinching condemnation was rooted in an unconscious and uncomfortable reminder of the horror and brutality on which their own Irish Republic was founded.

In this context, and whether those living south of the border like it or not, Gerry Adams, his political journey from bullet to ballot box, and, ultimately, his political legacy cannot be removed from the context of recent Irish history and its impact on him and on many more like him.

Martin McGuinness and Gerry Adams in 1987.

FEAR

In assessing the more recent antagonism against Mr Adams and his party, the final draft of history will also inevitably point to fear.

A type of fear not unique to Ireland and a type of fear which rises throughout the world  particularly in post-conflict situations  in the face of any real or perceived challenges to the political and societal status quo.

A fear which, in the years following the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, in 1998, has seen a concerted determination by the established political parties south of the border not to go the way of the SDLP and the UUP in the North, and be lost amidst a rising tide of electoral goodwill  no matter how warranted or unwarranted.

When special Ard Fheis opens on Sat at 1pm I will be Uachtaran Shinn Fein.When it ends I will be one of 13,000 party members & Mary Lou McDonald will be the new Uachtaran Shinn Fein.Im looking forward to new opportunities. Our best years are yet to come. https://t.co/2FqzPuTqI0  Gerry Adams (@GerryAdamsSF) February 8, 2018

Fianna Fail and Fine Gael need no reminder, given the political landscape that emerged in post-civil war Ireland, that electoral goodwill flows almost exclusively towards those who are seen to win the peace.

Against this backdrop, there has been a clear, and perhaps fully understandable interrogation, by the various pillars of state, of Gerry Adams life and actions during the northern troubles.

The final draft of history may express sadness, however, that what should have been an interrogation aimed at bringing South African-style closure to all sides, via a peace-and-reconciliation process, became, instead, a political witch hunt aimed primarily at electoral damage.

Much to the chagrin of those who led this campaign, the final draft of history will also note, to use a prescient analogy, that it was with his own bolt cutters that Mr Adams cut the chains of high office.

Mary Lou McDonald and Gery Adams in January 2018.

THE BEST CLUE

Perhaps for the best clue as to how the final draft of history will judge Gerry Adams, it is wise to look to those less-encumbered by the inevitable prejudices that arise in people who live in a society afflicted by conflict and its consequences.

History will surely ask, therefore, why Gerry Adams was so reviled at home, yet so revered abroad.

What, for example, will the final draft make of the fact that Adams was invited by the Nelson Mandela family to form part of the guard of honour at Madibas funeral?

No doubt, Mr Mandela and his family had noted the parallels in the lives of these terrorists turned peacemakers. They are parallels that will not go unnoticed in the final draft of history.

Gerry Adams forms part of the guard of honour at Nelson Mandela's funeral

Irrespective of all this, Mr Adams has made it clear that he has no interest in what the final draft of history will say.

He told the BBC, in a recent interview: Im not really interested... I wont be around.

Indeed, none of us will.

But, judging from the verdict we have passed on other Irish men and women who made the journey from blood to ballot box, the final draft of history is likely to be much kinder to Gerry Adams than the first.

As for today, perhaps it is best for us to leave that final verdict to the seventh generation yet unborn and settle, instead, for an acknowledgement that he is a man who, better than most, knew the cost of bullets and the price of peace and, thankfully for us all, was willing to pay the price of peace when it mattered most.

Dolan OHagan is executive editor of the Irish Examiner with particular responsibilty for digital platforms.
A serial conman who pretended his family died in the Grenfell Tower fire in the UK to obtain more than 10,000 meant for the victims has been jailed.

Anh Nhu Nguyen claimed his wife and son were killed in the June 14 disaster and was photographed beside the Prince of Wales when he met survivors.

As part of his deceit, Nguyen spun a cruel tale to family liaison officers, describing in detail how he lost sight of his family in the smoke-clogged stairwell.

But while a major recovery operation was underway on June 15, the fraudster was actually nine miles away at a housing charity, according to prosecutors.

The 53-year-old, of Beckenham, south-east London, showed no reaction as he was jailed for 21 months by Judge Philip Bartle QC at Southwark Court on Friday.

The judge said: "I am sure from everything I have seen... that despite your low IQ you knew full well what you were doing. You knew that you were taking advantage of these genuine victims at this terrible time of this terrible tragedy."

The court heard that Nguyen received around 11,270 from charities and Kensington and Chelsea Council.

Some 71 people were killed in the blaze which swept through the west London block after cladding on the exterior caught fire.

Nguyen pleaded guilty at Southwark Crown Court in November to two counts of fraud by false representation and one count of making an untrue statement for the purpose of obtaining a passport.

Nguyen was born in Vietnam, has been in the UK since the 1980s, is a British citizen and has 17 aliases.

He has 28 previous convictions for 56 offences spanning more than 30 years, including theft, dishonesty offences, arson and grievous bodily harm.
A Nazi-sympathiser who threatened to petrol bomb mosques after the Manchester Arena attack and who had an array of medieval weapons at his home has been jailed in the UK for eight years.

Hitler-obsessive Liam Seabrook, 31, told his probation officer he planned to kill Muslims in a series of text messages four days after 22 people were murdered at the Ariana Grande concert.

The judge at Teesside Crown Court branded him "dangerous" and imposed an extended sentence.

When police went to his home in Thornaby, Teesside, they found petrol in washing up liquid bottles and crude home-made wooden weapons with screws and razor blades sticking out of them.

One was likened by Paul Abrahams, prosecuting, to a fasces - a weapon carried by Roman magistrates made from sticks with blades attached.

Some of the weapons found at the home of Liam Seabrook. Pic: PA

He said the weapons were adapted to cause "significant injuries" and were "medieval style weaponry".

Some were located close to his front door, the court heard.

When cable ties were found at Seabrook's flat, he explained he had them "in case he needed to kidnap somebody", Mr Abrahams said.

The chilling texts were sent in response to a routine inquiry from his probation officer.

He told her: "After Monday (the day of the Manchester bombing), Muslims and mosques need to be petrol bombed."

She asked if he intended to carry out the threat, and Seabrook replied: "If something happens, something happens. By that time it would be (too late) to be stopped, like the Muslim attack on Manchester."

Bizarrely, he then told her he had passed a forklift drivers' course.

Mr Abrahams said Seabrook sent racist texts and expressed views about killing Muslims.

Psychiatrists found later he was fascinated by the Third Reich and Hitler in particular.

He had a previous conviction for arson, writing racist graffiti and leaving a note in a library calling for immigrants to be banned from using it.

Alex Bousfield, defending, said there was no suggestion Seabrook had ever taken his weapons out of his flat and that they were more like "bizarre ornaments".

Seabrook was isolated and stockpiled goods so he would not have to leave his home, the court heard.

Mr Bousfield said: "He has really seen the outside world through media reports and he has picked and chosen those he has taken on board.

"He has become fearful of almost anyone except white males, really."

Seabrook, who has been diagnosed with a mixed personality disorder, admitted making threats to kill, malicious communication, making threats to destroy property and having articles with intent to destroy property.

He was sentenced via a videolink from prison.

Judge Simon Bourne-Arton sentenced Seabrook to eight years custody with an extended two-year licence period.

After deeming him dangerous, the judge said: "The weapons were very basic, nevertheless of a very violent type which could have resulted in extreme injury, if not death, if put to use."

He made an order banning Seabrook from going within 200 metres of a mosque when he is released and said Seabrook had a long history of espousing right-wing ideology.

Detective Constable Gerri Harris, from Stockton Operational Crime Team, said: "The sentence today sends a clear warning that if you make threats to harm people and create dangerous weapons in order to do so, there will be serious consequences.

"Liam Seabrook is clearly a dangerous man and the fact that he will remain in prison means that the public are protected from him for some time."
"I thought the guide was about chefs in big fancy hotels or those trained by the great masters. But it turned out to be the opposite. It's a wonderful surprise."

Lebanese chef Alan Geaam was understandably shocked at winning his first Michelin star this week for his restaurant located near the Arc de Triomphe.

Since getting the coveted culinary accolade, the phone at Geaam's restaurant hasn't stopped ringing.

It's a far cry from his arrival in Paris more than 20 years ago when he had to sleep in a Paris park while he worked as a dishwasher.

Geamm, who was born in Liberia before his parents "lost everything" in the civil war there - forcing them to return to another civil war in Beirut - told AFP: "I never thought the Michelin would be interested in someone like me, who was self-taught, who had to sleep in the street at 19 and who began as a dishwasher."

The 43-year-old, who couldn't speak a word of French when he first came to the country, only got his break when the chef of the restaurant where he was washing the dishes cut his hand with a knife.

He had to be rushed to hospital, and Geaam stepped in to fill the gap.

He explained: "I worked during the day as a construction worker and at night delivering pizzas and washing dishes. One night the cook cut his hand and had to go to hospital. No one asked me, but I just took over. There were 14 tables and so I just fed the customers and at the end of the night they were delighted.

"The owner said to me, 'But you can cook!' and I said, 'Yes.'"

His love of cooking was evident when he would watch cookery shows on television rather than cartoons after school.

Lebanese chef Alan Geaam poses in the kitchen of his restaurant 'Alan Geaam' after he received a single star from the Michelin guide for his restaurant in #Paris, #France

. (Stephane De Sakutin / AFP)

. https://t.co/7jhpOet8oy https://t.co/RgCLQSQbTH pic.twitter.com/CbaCgKEcK5    (@ghazayel) February 9, 2018

During his national service in Lebanon, the colonel of his regiment was so impressed with his culinary skills, he made him his personal chef.

Geaam said: "The reason I cook is to make people happy," and he never strays far from his Lebanese roots with one of his favourite dishes using an ingredient central to his childhood.

That dish is an escalope of foie gras lacquered with pomegranate molasses served with a tartlette of beetroot and pomegranate, and Geaam said: "I ate a lot of pomegranates when I was a kid.

"I made juice with them, I made lots of reductions with them, and I loved putting this very Lebanese touch with something so French as foie gras."

He also explained that he got his head for business after years of working with his father in his grocery shop while his mother "taught me how to love people and how to cook".

Geaam, who told how his son boasted to his friends at school that his father got a Michelin star, also said his small team of chefs "really feel that something has happened in our lives" since getting the star from the French gastronomic bible.

He said: "You can criticise the Michelin guide but I can tell you the effect, a star massively boosts a restaurant."

They are booked out for the next three weeks since the news.
The simultaneous protests in Dublin, Cork, Galway, and Limerick were held on the eve of todays expected announcement by the Supreme Court, which is predicted to rule that banning asylum seekers from working is unconstitutional.

However, while the Dail recently passed a motion declaring it will opt-in to an EU directive, which includes the provision of access to work, critics say the measures make it all but impossible for asylum seekers to gain employment.

Immigrant Council of Ireland chief executive, Brian Killoran, said that under the proposals, asylum seekers must apply for an employment permit through the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation, before they can access employment, and must pay up to 1,000 to do so.

Furthermore, asylum seekers can only apply for jobs with a minimum salary of 30,000, and 60 areas of employment, including the retail and the hospitality sectors, are restricted.

The Governments temporary arrangements are so restrictive, they make this right to work virtually impossible, in practice, said Mr Killoran.

And this is before you consider the practical barriers facing asylum seekers, including gaps in CVs, potential difficulties having overseas qualifications recognised, access to IT to prepare applications and for interviews, plus the remote location of many direct provision centres.

The Government is expecting to have all the boxes ticked to formally opt into the EU (recast) Reception Conditions Directive, by June, but the directive is not prescriptive on how EU member states should deliver access to the labour market.

As the Irish Government has not yet mapped out the criteria for access to employment, when it comes into effect, we urge, in the strongest terms, for practical solutions, which actually allow asylum seekers to seek fulfilling and effective employment.

Belgian Roos Demol, who attended the Cork protest in Daunt Square, yesterday, said the restrictions make it impossible for asylum seekers to access the labour market.

A job with a minimum wage of 30,000 a year would be hard for many Irish people to get, let alone an asylum seeker.

Gavin Monaghan, Bandon; Naomi Masheti, Cork Migrant Centre, and Mike Fitzgibbon, one of the organisers. Pic: Denis Minihane

Some of the 60 areas restricted to asylum seekers include construction, childcare, and healthcare.

The Government are ticking a box here, saying we are allowing asylum seekers work, but the restrictions make it impossible.

What we want is full access to the labour market, so that asylum seekers can earn money, contribute to society, and help grow the economy. Who could be against that? she said.

The changes came about after a case taken against the ban by a Rohingya man, who spent eight years in direct provision, before gaining refugee status.

In May last, the Supreme Court found the ban unconstitutional in principle and, in November, told lawyers representing the State that it would, today, make a formal declaration on the matter.

The declaration was delayed to allow the State make provisions to change the ban.
The Central Bank has now indicated that 33,700 customers were affected by the 1bn tracker mortgage controversy (they were kept on more expensive loans).

Speaking in the Dail, Sinn Fein finance spokesman, Pearse Doherty, said he would bring forward legislation, next week, which would make it a crime for bankers to lie to the Central Bank, which he claimed they had.

This means they will face a term of imprisonment, said Mr Doherty.

He told the Dail he had received a call from a person who had lost their home, as a result of the tracker mortgage controversy, who was livid at what he heard bankers tell the Oireachtas finance committee.

He told me that, despite what the bankers were telling the committee, the bank is fighting him tooth and nail, so he does not get his proper compensation and redress.

He told me he is left with no option, but to take this issue to the court, and he feels let down and betrayed, again and again, by the agencies that should be there to protect him.

"This is the equivalent of the State hounding its own victims.

"The bankers stole up to a billion Euro from 33,000 families in this State. Next week I will bring forward legislation which will make it a crime for bankers to lie to the central bank - which they have done - meaning they will face a term of imprisonment." @PearseDoherty pic.twitter.com/0MS7CLA2B9  Sinn Fein (@sinnfeinireland) February 8, 2018

Banks and lenders have already confirmed that 97 homes were lost due to the tracker debacle.

However, it is expected that this figure will significantly increase as the Central Bank examines the issue.

Mr Doherty questioned Tanaiste Simon Coveney on what the Government will do to hold individual bankers to account for the crimes they have committed.

Mr Coveney said the Government was supporting the Central Bank in its effort to complete the tracker examination as quickly as possible, and would be receiving a further update towards the end of March.

The Central Bank is now conducting a review of 2m mortgages, after it emerged that tens of thousands of customers were wrongly put on more expensive loans by 15 lenders, including the five biggest banks in Ireland: AIB, Bank of Ireland, Ulster Bank, Permanent TSB, and KBC have all been brought before the finance committee, in recent weeks, to answer questions on the tracker controversy.

Simon Coveney

Mr Coveney said: The minister for finance has made it very clear that if we have to introduce new legislation in this area, then we will do that, but that will be based on the Central Banks report and recommendations on how we should take this forward, from a legislative point of view.

But Mr Doherty hit back, claiming that in keeping individuals on the wrong rate, bankers had taken homes and had crippled families, financially and emotionally.

They broke up families, they sent people to the edge, and the Tanaiste tells me, if we have to introduce new legislation. Not one banker is going to be held to account.

The enforcement procedures of the Central Bank will slap them with a fine and the bankers will place that fine onto the pockets of their customers, in increased charges and increased rates, said Mr Doherty.

Mr Coveney said there was a process in place.
More than 500,000 homes are waiting for high-speed connections under the plan.

Provider Eir withdrew last week from the competition leaving Enet as the sole bidder for the project, to connect mainly rural homes.

Mr Naughten said he would not ignore a Dail opposition vote yesterday proposing the plan be reviewed.

Earlier, the opposition defeated the Government in the Dail in a vote over rural broadband.

A Fianna Fail motion demanding a review of the national plan was passed by 77 to 48.

The motion also called for the Government to consider taking the project back into State ownership or to use existing ESB facilities for the roll-out.

A Sinn Fein amendment to the motion added the ownership request.

Despite earlier this week suggesting a review would delay the Enet roll-out for the 540,000 premises, Mr Naughten instead told the Oireachtas communications committee yesterday he would absolutely consider the Dail proposal.

Furthermore, the Government would meet next week, he noted.

It is not my intention to ignore the Dail over this, he told committee members.

But speaking to the Irish Examiner last night, the ministers officials said after the meeting that his position remained the same; that he did not favour a review of the broadband plan; and that Cabinet had backed his position earlier this week and noted that such action could delay the roll-out and even threaten to collapse the whole project.

This doesnt mean he will consider a review. He will consider the Dail vote. But his position remains the same, insisted his spokeswoman.

Senior Fianna Fail sources last night said they would await the communications ministers consideration of the Dail vote and that all that matters is getting communities connected.

It was also pointed out though that the issue did not form part of the confidence and supply agreement, whereby Fianna Fail supports Fine Gael in power.

Dail opposition motion on National Broadband Plan, the 'What on God's earth are yee at?' version, has just been passed.  Stephen Donnelly (@DonnellyStephen) February 8, 2018

Meanwhile, Mr Naughten outlined how he thinks the project could be agreed and contracted by September this year. It would then take three years to connect the 540,000 premises under the plan, he pledged.

When completed, there would be a minimum standard for broadband, he said, just like there was guaranteed post five days a week.

The minister also told Fine Gael senator Tim Lombard that he does not believe there are any more obstacles to the plan.

However, Fianna Fails Stephen Donnelly blasted the Governments record on broadband, saying Irish people have been screwed by monopolies here.

Irish people pay the third highest price for broadband in EU, said Mr Donnelly, but the quality of connection is ranked 27th in the union.
Mr Justice Peter Charleton said he would also consider if the premise that Ms OSullivan relied inappropriately on unjustified ground to discredit a garda whistleblower was based on leaks and conjecture.

He was speaking as the tribunal completed hearings from witnesses in its third module.

The remit of latest module was to examine whether unjustified grounds were inappropriately relied upon by the former garda commissioner Ms OSullivan to discredit whistleblower Sgt Maurice McCabe at the OHiggins Commission of Investigation.

The commission, which sat in private in 2015, investigated complaints made by Sgt McCabe about certain policing matters and about serious allegations against senior officers including then Garda commissioner Martin Callinan.

Mr Justice Charleton outlined 11 questions he said he will have to consider in preparing his report.

He said the first issue was whether false allegations of sexual abuse had been relied upon by the Garda commissioner. He said that everyone seems to be agreed that there werent.

He said the question remained whether any other unjustified grounds were inappropriately relied upon by the commissioner.

In considering this, the chairman said, he would have to consider were the limits appropriate in cross-examining witnesses, and whether there was evidence the commissioner intended to challenge the credibility of witnesses in an ordinary way.

Mr Justice Peter Charleton

Mr Justice Charleton also said he would have to consider whether a letter setting out the garda commissioners legal position in May 2018 was a mistake, an uncorrected mistake that was allowed to stay in an inaccurate form due to recklessness or perhaps inadvertence, or was it deliberate?

In addition, whether the barrister for the gardai made a mistake in the heat of the moment at the commission in saying Sgt McCabes integrity was to be challenged.

The chairman said he would also have to consider if there was any evidence of a dark truth that the garda commissioner or any other senior officers were going after Sgt McCabe at the OHiggins Commission.

The chairman would also have to consider if the former minister for justice Frances Fitzgerald and her department behaved lawfully in leaving any question of legal strategy to the garda commissioner.

The chairman said it seemed to him that the OHiggins Commission had handled all matters before it appropriately.

He said he would have to consider whether there was basis for the module or had it been based entirely on leaks and conjecture.

The tribunal will hear submissions from legal representatives next Tuesday in relation to the first module held last summer, and plans to begin hearings on its final module shortly afterwards.

Earlier, deputy commissioner John Twomey told the tribunal he was involved in ensuring workplace supports were put in place for Sgt McCabe, but he wasnt involved in any discussions with the commissioner about the legal strategy.

Ken OLeary

Ken OLeary, a former Department of Justice deputy secretary, said the department felt it could not ask the commissioner what her legal advice was relating to the commission because it would set a precedent.

We felt that we couldnt ask the commissioner what advice she had, Mr OLeary said, adding that there were limits to what the department could ask about the OHiggins Commission, whose hearings were held in private.

Noel Waters, the former secretary general in the Department of Justice, said he had not remembered a meeting in May 2016 with the minister, but his memory was refreshed when he was shown notes of the meeting taken by the ministers advisor.

He said there was an agreement among those present at the meeting that publishing the garda commissioners legal advice would be a a bad idea and would be setting up a very dangerous precedent.
The recommendation of an external review precedes publication of a review of the sale of spinout companies at Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT).

The Higher Education Authority (HEA) and Knowledge Transfer Ireland, which helps link businesses to Irish research and expertise, commissioned the broader review published yesterday.

Policies and practices were generally in keeping with international standards, but one area where improvements were suggested was around conflicts, or potential conflicts, of interest around the commercialisation of intellectual property (IP).

Five of the 22 third-level colleges whose IP management was analysed by the review had no code of conduct or conflicts of interest policy, and only 11 had such policies online last September.

A dozen colleges policies were not updated for at least five years, including two that were at least a decade old.

More than 20 types of policy or other document were provided by colleges which they said dealt with conflicts of interest, which the review said was an area of concern that contributes to significant confusion around conflicts.

It recommends a single policy document with a consistent approach to the issue.

Six colleges prevent employees from involvement in outside employment or business interests in actual or potential conflict with the colleges own business.

The review said it seems unreasonable to prohibit all potential conflicts, as long as there is a mechanism to ensure they are properly addressed.

Another nine colleges do not prohibit activity but allow for conflicts to be disclosed and managed.

The review found several colleges had robust processes for managing intellectual property that prevent conflicts from arising in the first place.

Most colleges with relevant policies defined the financial or personal interests that should be reported, how to report them, and at what stage.

Only seven provide complete information about the actions to be taken after conflicts are reported, or how they may be resolved.

The review recommends governing that bodies of colleges review a summary of potential conflicts and how they are managed at least once a year.

HEA chief executive Graham Love said implementing the recommendations will result in simpler and more accessible intellectual property policies, as well as more robust management procedures.

The HEA is expected to publish, very soon, a review it ordered last June into the spin-out and sale of a number of companies from WITs Telecommunications Software and Systems Group.

It followed an internal review already carried out by the college in relation to one company, FeedHenry, which WIT president Professor Willie Donnelly asked to have externally validated.

He faced rigorous questions on the matters at the Dail public accounts committee last year.
The next case being brought by the EPA against the water utility is in regard to the scenic West Cork village of Castletownshend, with the action due to be heard in the Four Courts next week.

Another case due to be heard in the near future relates to waste water in Castletownbere.

Since the beginning of last year Irish Water has been hit with 80,667 in fines and costs and has also paid 34,500 for legal representation with respect to prosecutions brought against it by the EPA.

Irish Water said in addition to the eight convictions it is also prosecuted in another eight cases and there are 12 prosecutions in train, being brought against the utility by the EPA.

That compares with a total of 20 convictions secured against local authorities since 2000, as well as two other convictions secured against town councils, now defunct, in the same period.

The EPA said there were 44 areas where untreated sewage is being discharged, including Castletownbere, and that it was working with Irish Water to ensure these issues were addressed and to keep a focus on resolving issues, in particular where their plans/timelines may have slipped.

However, a spokesperson for Irish Water said while it has made considerable progress on some schemes, delays can still occur: We have given public timescales for each of the locations affected and we are working towards those timescales within the confines of the statutory frameworks applicable to these complex environmental projects.

"When a prosecution arises, Irish Water outlines to the courts our best endeavours towards resolution of the compliance deficit and we make every effort to deliver on those in line with our Capital Investment Plan.

"Delays can occur, outside of Irish Water control, in relation to planning delays in particular.

The spokesman said the decision to take a prosecution against Irish Water on environmental grounds is entirely a matter for the EPA in its regulatory role and since it assumed statutory responsibility for meeting water standards passe to the utility in 2014, Irish Water had to address a wide range of challenges, in particular, drinking water at risk, meeting urgent growth needs and resolving critical asset failure risks such as high burst frequency mains replacement.

The Irish Water spokesperson cited the building and upgrading of wastewater treatment plants in various locations, but added: Where no developed plans were available or those inherited were unsuitable, the process of providing a new wastewater treatment plant is lengthy and complex, defining the timeframe within which we can deliver solutions.

Community campaigner and Castletownshend local, George Salter-Townshend, said the current situation, where wastewater is going into the sea, represents a systemic failure of local and national government.

He had supported a proposal for a wastewater treatment facility at the turn of the millennium, as part of a wider development, which ultimately did not proceed.

He said the issue needs to be resolved as the problem worsens in the summer months.
A 46-year-old woman is on trial, by judge and jury, accused of sexually assaulting her brother, from when he was aged nine and she was in her early 20s.

The complainant was cross-examined by defence senior counsel Vincent Heneghan at Cork Circuit Criminal Court yesterday.

Mr Heneghan put it to the complainant that he first alleged that his older sister sexually assaulted him when she applied for access to his child.

Did you suggest if your sisters application [for access] was withdrawn, you would withdraw your allegation, that this would not be heard about again? Mr Heneghan asked.

The complainant replied: I dont remember saying that I was not using it as a bargaining chip.

Mr Heneghan repeated the allegation and went into the transcript of what various parties had said during in-camera hearings in the family law court.

The complainant yesterday told the court: That does not mean I would be withdrawing my version of events, my knowledge of what happened. I cannot withdraw something that happened to me.

After the cross-examination by Mr Heneghan, prosecution SC Noel Whelan said matters had arisen for re-examination and asked the complainant: How have you dealt with engaging with your abuser, who is your sister?

Mr Heneghan objected and said this did not arise out of the cross-examination.

Mr Whelan said to the defence lawyer: You went through every bob she ever gave him for pocket money.

Judge Brian OCallaghan allowed the question.

The complainant then said: It went from me trusting her like another mother. Over time, when I realised what it was, what was happening, I went through phases of blaming myself and suppressing it.

"I pushed it away and put walls around it.

I trained myself not to think about it. That is what enabled me to do what I did; it gave me a drive and work ethic to get on, to move on.

He said he tried to stay civil with his sister so that he could get on with the rest of his life.

The accused woman ahs pleaded not guilty to all 10 charges of sexual assault, and a jury of six men and six women will hear a third day of evidence at Cork Circuit Criminal Court today.

The parties cannot be identified for legal reasons.

The complainant said the first alleged incident occurred when he was nine and his parents were away for a weekend in May 1993.

She got into the bed alongside me, he said. She took my left arm in her left hand and brought it around her body. She then put it on her breast outside her pyjamas.

"She started moving and squeezing my hand, so that it squeezed her breast.

"She then put her hand under the pyjama top, so that I was fondling her bare breast. She got me to squeeze and move her breast.

He described other similar incidents, and another one where she allegedly got his hand and put it on to her vagina and forced one of his fingers inside her.

He said these incidents all occurred in the family home, when there was no-one else present, and once in a hotel in Dublin, when the family were away together.

Judge OCallaghan yesterday issued a warning to the jury about media reports of the case.
In a strongly-worded critique of what it said is the States failure to act on ending the practice of people living in congregated settings of 10 or more people, Inclusion Ireland also said the Irish Human Rights & Equality Commission (IHREC) should look into why the move from institutions has taken so long.

It also said IHREC should see if people with disabilities have had their rights abused in institutions and that the Government should set up a group to look at the money that has already been spent on closing institutions, as well as establishing a plan to close institutions and support people to move to the community.
Charity worker Katie Whelan, 21, from the Dublin Road, has already erected a series of lights on one of the citys bridges offering positive messages to those who may be in distress.

Now, she has put in place plans to have an anti-suicide message beamed in Limericks sky.

Weve looked as far as Turkey to get it manufactured. It would be a big massive light beam shining in the sky above Limerick, says Katie.

But we hope to have a hope message which will constantly beam into Limericks sky to let everyone know when they look up, that there is always someone for them  there is always someone to speak to.

She made the comments as she accepted a cheque for 445 from the Shannon Banks scout group in Co Clare. They helped raise the money from a Christmas crib creation.

Local parish priest Fr Derek Leonard told the group: I think its lovely the fact youre prepared to help people less well off than yourselves. It is about looking outside yourselves. You learn a lot from scouts.

If you learn to think beyond yourselves and be aware of those most in need, you learn a lot.

Katie set up the Lisas Lights charity in 2015 aged just 18 in memory of a young cousin who died.

Since then, Katie she has travelled to schools across the region to raise awareness of the need to help people who may be in suicidal distress.

Katie, currently completing a business studies course at the University of Limerick, was named Limericks Person of the Year in 2015 for her efforts.

After her cousins death, she found hope in a dream which served as an inspiration to erect positive messages of hope along Thomond Bridge in Limerick.

One night I had a dream of Lisa standing on Thomond Bridge and all of a sudden everything around her lit up and she stepped back, says Katie.

Unfortunately, that was not the reality. I knew then I had to do something with the idea that came to me in a dream.

So after radio interviews, newspaper reports, and collaboration with local authorities, Thomond Bridge was lit up with eight lights  known as Lisas Lights.

Local company Alphaset designed the light-boxes which were made with a very hard plastic and the eight lights were attached to the main power line on the bridge.

Each installation has a separate message which Katie came up with, having talked with members of the HSE suicide prevention and mental health departments.
Trust in traditional journalism is now at 53%  an increase of five percentage points on last year, according to the 2018 Edelman Trust Barometer.

It shows that trust in search engines and social media platforms dropped by eight percentage points to 33%.

A significant majority (64%) are concerned about fake news, while trust in journalists as voices of authority increased by 20 points to 43%.

Most people believe traditional journalists are meeting their expectations in terms of investigating corruption (56%), guarding information quality (54%), and educating on issues (61%).

More people are putting their trust in experts. Academic (68%) and technical (66%) experts are regarded as the most credible spokespeople for a company.

Trust in a person like yourself dropped two percentage points to 52%.

At a time when people are struggling with who and what to believe there is a notable rise in trust in journalism, said Edelman Ireland managing director Joe Carmody.

Peoples trust in social media as a source of news is collapsing leaving an opportunity for journalists and bona fide experts to inform society.

I think this is really good news for people who believe in the values of great journalism @marklittlenews sharing brilliant insights into the findings of the 2018 Edelman Trust Barometer #EdelTrust pic.twitter.com/0n7PrcXR41  Edelman Ireland (@edelmanireland) February 8, 2018

People are also sceptical of news organisations  63% believe these are more concerned about attracting a big audience than reporting and that 60% sacrifice accuracy to be first to break a story.

And when it comes to covering politics, almost half (48%) believe news organisations are overly focussed on supporting an ideology rather than on informing the public.

Over the last five years, trust in Government increased by 15 points and now stands at 35%.

It is the preferred institution (27%) ahead of business (23%) and non-government organisations (22%) to lead Ireland to a better future.

However, more than half of people (51%) think the Government is the institution most broken.

Trust in chief executive officers increased by 14 percentage points to 41% and people now expect business to be an agent of change.

This study shows that 63% want chief executives to take the lead on change and not wait for the Government to impose it.

Trust in US-headquartered companies in Ireland fell by six points to 29%. It is highest in Canada at 64% and lowest in Brazil, China and India at 18%.

Manufacturing (61%) and education (70%) are the most trusted sectors, with financial services (29%) and automotive (44%) the least.
Speaking in Vienna following a bilatteral meeting with Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz, Mr Varadkar said certainty is needed as soon as possible, adding that the March 2019 deadline is fast approaching.

Certainly I am not losing patience, but time is running out, March 2019 isnt all that far away now, he said.

It would be difficult to agree a transition agreement without knowing what kind of relationship would come out of it.

We await an outcome from the UK cabinet as to exactly what relationship they want with the EU after Brexit. As much clarity as soon as possible would be welcome.

"It is 20 months now since the referendum, 20 years since some people started campaigning for one. So at this stage having clarity as to what the UK would like its new relationship to be like would be very welcome.

In Vienna this evening to meet with Austrian Chancellor @sebastiankurz. Weve met before, but not since he became Chancellor. Small neutral countries with common interests need to work together. And it turns out he learned his English in Bray! pic.twitter.com/k4KUCw9u5v  Leo Varadkar (@LeoVaradkar) February 8, 2018

Mr Kurz who is just 31 and who spent some time in Bray, Co Wicklow, to learn English, said he supported the Irish case for no return to a hard border, describing the situation with the North as delicate.

We need a solution which is a satisfactory one for Ireland with a delicate situation when it comes to Northern Ireland, said Mr Kurz. A hard border between Ireland and Great Britain will not work.

Mr Varadkar, who was guest of honour at a gala opera in Vienna, also said he would be using the occassion to press the case for Central Bank governor Philip Lane to be nominated to the board of the European Central Bank.

Yeah of course, said Mr Varadkar. We didnt get to speak about it in our tete-a-tete meeting but we will be speaking later on in the evening.

"We do have somebody on the General Council but not on the board. Were putting forward for the first time a candidate of distinction, Philip Lane.

Taoiseach @campaignforleo greeted by Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz in Vienna ahead of bilatteral meeting #iestaff pic.twitter.com/mYOpUTk9Mk  Daniel McConnell (@McConnellDaniel) February 8, 2018

Mr Kurz said he would look positively at the Irish proposal.

Mr Varadkar also said that while he wished Mary Lou McDonald well as the new Sinn Fein president, their parties remain incompatible in terms of government formation.

He also said he wished her elevation to president would lead to a break in the celebration of the violence events of the past.

I think it would be welcome if the new president of Sinn Fein was to bring about a clean break with the past, particularly the ongoing celebration of violence by Sinn Fein at commemorations and so on, he said.
Burma Expelled Student Activists to Return to University Next Week

Protesting students inside Yadanabon University Campus. / Zaw Zaw / The Irrawaddy

MANDALAY  Student activists expelled from their universities were allowed to return to classes on Friday.

The decision of the Ministry of Education to allow the expelled students to return to classes followed a meeting of the chief minister of Magwe Region, regional government officials and student leaders in Magwe on Thursday.

After the meeting, the chief minister, Dr. Aung Moe Nyo, issued an appeal to the Union minister of education to allow the students to return to classes, said Ye Myo Swe, a law student from Yadanabon University.

The student leaders said they received an assurance from the minister of education that they would be permitted to return to their respective universities from Friday.

The expelled students were previously told to sign a petition stating that they would not participate in future protests if they wished to return to classes. The students refused, stating that signing would oppress their rights and freedom of expression.

According to the students, agreements to consult with the student unions when drafting university rules and regulations in the future were also received during the meeting.

We thank the Magwe regional government for its negotiation efforts, said Kyaw Thiha Ye Kyaw, president of the Yadanabon University student union.

Now, all of us can return to our classes without signing the petitions and without harming our dignity he added.

The student activists said the expelled students will return to their classes next week and will continue their movement to push for an increase in the education budget.

For the first time under the new government, led by the Yadanabon University student union, students across the country gathered at Mandalays Yadanabon University and urged the government to increase the national education budget in January.

Seventy-two protesters, including 13 female students were briefly detained on January 25 and escorted back home. Later they were dismissed from their respecting universities.
Burma How Myanmar Forces Burned, Looted and Killed in a Remote Village

A human skull is seen in a shallow grave in Inn Din, Myanmar, October 26, 2017. / Reuters

INN DIN, Myanmar  Bound together, the 10 Rohingya Muslim captives watched their Buddhist neighbors dig a shallow grave. Soon afterwards, on the morning of Sept. 2, all 10 lay dead. At least two were hacked to death by Buddhist villagers. The rest were shot by Myanmar troops, two of the gravediggers said.

One grave for 10 people, said Soe Chay, 55, a retired soldier from Inn Dins Rakhine Buddhist community who said he helped dig the pit and saw the killings. The soldiers shot each man two or three times, he said. When they were being buried, some were still making noises. Others were already dead.

The killings in the coastal village of Inn Din marked another bloody episode in the ethnic violence sweeping northern Rakhine State, on Myanmars western fringe. Nearly 690,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled their villages and crossed the border into Bangladesh since August. None of Inn Dins 6,000 Rohingya remained in the village as of October.

The Rohingya accuse the army of arson, rapes and killings aimed at rubbing them out of existence in this mainly Buddhist nation of 53 million. The United Nations has said the army may have committed genocide; the United States has called the action ethnic cleansing. Myanmar says its clearance operation is a legitimate response to attacks by Rohingya insurgents.

Rohingya trace their presence in Rakhine back centuries. But most Burmese consider them to be unwanted immigrants from Bangladesh; the army refers to the Rohingya as Bengalis. In recent years, sectarian tensions have risen and the government has confined more than 100,000 Rohingya in camps where they have limited access to food, medicine and education.

Reuters has pieced together what happened in Inn Din in the days leading up to the killing of the 10 Rohingya  eight men and two high school students in their late teens.

Until now, accounts of the violence against the Rohingya in Rakhine State have been provided only by its victims. The Reuters reconstruction draws for the first time on interviews with Buddhist villagers who confessed to torching Rohingya homes, burying bodies and killing Muslims.

This account also marks the first time soldiers and paramilitary police have been implicated by testimony from security personnel themselves. Members of the paramilitary police gave Reuters insider descriptions of the operation to drive out the Rohingya from Inn Din, confirming that the military played the lead role in the campaign.

Photographs from a Massacre

The slain mens families, now sheltering in Bangladesh refugee camps, identified the victims through photographs shown to them by Reuters. The dead men were fishermen, shopkeepers, the two teenage students and an Islamic teacher.

Three photographs, provided to Reuters by a Buddhist village elder, capture key moments in the massacre at Inn Din, from the Rohingya mens detention by soldiers in the early evening of Sept. 1 to their execution shortly after 10 a.m. on Sept. 2. Two photos  one taken the first day, the other on the day of the killings  show the 10 captives lined up in a row, kneeling. The final photograph shows the mens bloodied bodies piled in the shallow grave.

The Reuters investigation of the Inn Din massacre was what prompted Myanmar police authorities to arrest two of the news agencys reporters. The reporters, Burmese citizens Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, were detained on Dec. 12 for allegedly obtaining confidential documents relating to Rakhine.

Then, on Jan. 10, the military issued a statement that confirmed portions of what Wa Lone, Kyaw Soe Oo and their colleagues were preparing to report, acknowledging that 10 Rohingya men were massacred in the village. It confirmed that Buddhist villagers attacked some of the men with swords and soldiers shot the others dead.

The statement coincided with an application to the court by prosecutors to charge Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo under Myanmars Official Secrets Act, which dates back to the time of colonial British rule. The charges carry a maximum 14-year prison sentence.

But the militarys version of events is contradicted in important respects by accounts given to Reuters by Rakhine Buddhist and Rohingya Muslim witnesses. The military said the 10 men belonged to a group of 200 terrorists that attacked security forces. Soldiers decided to kill the men, the army said, because intense fighting in the area made it impossible to transfer them to police custody. The army said it would take action against those involved.

Buddhist villagers interviewed for this article reported no attack by a large number of insurgents on security forces in Inn Din. And Rohingya witnesses told Reuters that soldiers plucked the 10 from among hundreds of men, women and children who had sought safety on a nearby beach.

Scores of interviews with Rakhine Buddhist villagers, soldiers, paramilitary police, Rohingya Muslims and local administrators further revealed:

 The military and paramilitary police organized Buddhist residents of Inn Din and at least two other villages to torch Rohingya homes, more than a dozen Buddhist villagers said. Eleven Buddhist villagers said Buddhists committed acts of violence, including killings. The government and army have repeatedly blamed Rohingya insurgents for burning villages and homes.

 An order to clear Inn Dins Rohingya hamlets was passed down the command chain from the military, said three paramilitary police officers speaking on condition of anonymity and a fourth police officer at an intelligence unit in the regional capital Sittwe. Security forces wore civilian clothes to avoid detection during raids, one of the paramilitary police officers said.

 Some members of the paramilitary police looted Rohingya property, including cows and motorcycles, in order to sell it, according to village administrator Maung Thein Chay and one of the paramilitary police officers.

 Operations in Inn Din were led by the armys 33rd Light Infantry Division, supported by the paramilitary 8th Security Police Battalion, according to four police officers, all of them members of the battalion.

Potential Criminal Cases

Michael G. Karnavas, a US lawyer based in The Hague who has worked on cases at international criminal tribunals, said evidence that the military had organized Buddhist civilians to commit violence against Rohingya would be the closest thing to a smoking gun in establishing not just intent, but even specific genocidal intent, since the attacks seem designed to destroy the Rohingya or at least a significant part of them.

Evidence of the execution of men in government custody also could be used to build a case of crimes against humanity against military commanders, Karnavas said, if it could be shown that it was part of a widespread or systematic campaign targeting the Rohingya population.

Kevin Jon Heller, a University of London law professor who served as a legal associate for convicted war criminal and former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, said an order to clear villages by military command was unequivocally the crime against humanity of forcible transfer.

In December, the United States imposed sanctions on the army officer who had been in charge of Western Command troops in Rakhine, Major General Maung Maung Soe. So far, however, Myanmar has not faced international sanctions over the violence.

Myanmars leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has disappointed many former supporters in the West by not speaking out against the armys actions. They had hoped the election of her National League for Democracy party in 2015 would bring democratic reform and an opening of the country. Instead, critics say, Suu Kyi is in thrall to the generals who freed her from house arrest in 2010.

Asked about the evidence Reuters has uncovered about the massacre, government spokesman Zaw Htay said, We are not denying the allegations about violations of human rights. And we are not giving blanket denials. If there was strong and reliable primary evidence of abuses, the government would investigate, he said. And then if we found the evidence is true and the violations are there, we will take the necessary action according to our existing law.

When told that paramilitary police officers had said they received orders to clear Inn Dins Rohingya hamlets, he replied, We have to verify. We have to ask the Ministry of Home Affairs and Myanmar police forces. Asked about the allegations of looting by paramilitary police officers, he said the police would investigate.

He expressed surprise when told that Buddhist villagers had confessed to burning Rohingya homes, then added, We recognize that many, many different allegations are there, but we need to verify who did it. It is very difficult in the current situation.

Zaw Htay defended the military operation in Rakhine. The international community needs to understand who did the first terrorist attacks. If that kind of terrorist attack took place in European countries, in the United States, in London, New York, Washington, what would the media say?

Neighbor Turns on Neighbor

Inn Din lies between the Mayu mountain range and the Bay of Bengal, about 50 km (30 miles) north of Rakhines state capital Sittwe. The settlement is made up of a scattering of hamlets around a school, clinic and Buddhist monastery. Buddhist homes cluster in the northern part of the village. For many years there had been tensions between the Buddhists and their Muslim neighbors, who accounted for almost 90 percent of the roughly 7,000 people in the village. But the two communities had managed to co-exist, fishing the coastal waters and cultivating rice in the paddies.

In October 2016, Rohingya militants attacked three police posts in northern Rakhine  the beginning of a new insurgency. After the attacks, Rohingya in Inn Din said many Buddhists stopped hiring them as farmhands and home help. The Buddhists said the Rohingya stopped showing up for work.

On Aug. 25 last year, the rebels struck again, hitting 30 police posts and an army base. The closest attack was just 4 km to the north. In Inn Din, several hundred fearful Buddhists took refuge in the monastery in the center of the village, more than a dozen of their number said. Inn Dins Buddhist night watchman San Thein, 36, said Buddhist villagers feared being swallowed up by their Muslim neighbors. A Buddhist elder said all Rohingya, including children, were part of the insurgency and therefore terrorists.

On Aug. 27, about 80 troops from Myanmars 33rd Light Infantry Division arrived in Inn Din, nine Buddhist villagers said. Two paramilitary police officers and Soe Chay, the retired soldier, said the troops belonged to the 11th infantry regiment of this division. The army officer in charge told villagers they must cook for the soldiers and act as lookouts at night, Soe Chay said. The officer promised his troops would protect Buddhist villagers from their Rohingya neighbors. Five Buddhist villagers said the officer told them they could volunteer to join security operations. Young volunteers would need their parents permission to join the troops, however.

The army found willing participants among Inn Dins Buddhist security group, nine members of the organization and two other villagers said. This informal militia was formed after violence broke out in 2012 between Rakhines Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims, sparked by reports of the rape and murder of a Buddhist woman by three Muslim men. Myanmar media reported at the time that the three were sentenced to death by a district court.

Inn Dins security group built watch huts around the Buddhist part of the village, and its members took turns to stand guard. Its ranks included Buddhist firefighters, school teachers, students and unemployed young men. They were useful to the military because they knew the local geography, said Inn Dins Buddhist administrator, Maung Thein Chay.

Most of the groups 80 to 100 men armed themselves with machetes and sticks. They also had a handful of guns, according to one member. Some wore green fatigue-style clothing they called militia suits.

Organizing the Arson Attacks

In the days that followed the 33rd Light Infantrys arrival, soldiers, police and Buddhist villagers burned most of the homes of Inn Dins Rohingya Muslims, a dozen Buddhist residents said.

Two of the paramilitary police officers, both members of the 8th Security Police Battalion, said their battalion raided Rohingya hamlets with soldiers from the newly arrived 33rd Light Infantry. One of the police officers said he received verbal orders from his commander to go and clear areas where Rohingya lived, which he took to mean to burn them.

The second police officer described taking part in several raids on villages north of Inn Din. The raids involved at least 20 soldiers and between five and seven police, he said. A military captain or major led the soldiers, while a police captain oversaw the police team. The purpose of the raids was to deter the Rohingya from returning.

If they have a place to live, if they have food to eat, they can carry out more attacks, he said. Thats why we burned their houses, mainly for security reasons.

Soldiers and paramilitary police wore civilian shirts and shorts to blend in with the villagers, according to the second police officer and Inn Dins Buddhist administrator, Maung Thein Chay. If the media identified the involvement of security personnel, the police officer explained, we would have very big problems.

A police spokesman, Colonel Myo Thu Soe, said he knew of no instances of security forces torching villages or wearing civilian clothing. Nor was there any order to go and clear or set fire to villages. This is very much impossible, he told Reuters. If there are things like that, it should be reported officially, and it has to be investigated officially.

As youve told me about these matters now, we will scrutinize and check back, he added. What I want to say for now is that as for the security forces, there are orders and instructions and step-by-step management, and they have to follow them. So, I dont think these things happened.

The army did not respond to a request for comment.

A medical assistant at the Inn Din village clinic, Aung Myat Tun, 20, said he took part in several raids. Muslim houses were easy to burn because of the thatched roofs. You just light the edge of the roof, he said. The village elders put monks robes on the end of sticks to make the torches and soaked them with kerosene. We couldnt bring phones. The police said they will shoot and kill us if they see any of us taking photos.

The night watchman San Thein, a leading member of the village security group, said troops first swept through the Muslim hamlets. Then, he said, the military sent in Buddhist villagers to burn the houses.

We got the kerosene for free from the village market after the kalars ran away, he said, using a Burmese slur for people from South Asia.

A Rakhine Buddhist youth said he thought he heard the sound of a child inside one Rohingya home that was burned. A second villager said he participated in burning a Rohingya home that was occupied.

I Started Hacking Him With a Sword

Soe Chay, the retired soldier who was to dig the grave for the 10 Rohingya men, said he participated in one killing. He told Reuters that troops discovered three Rohingya men and a woman hiding beside a haystack in Inn Din on Aug. 28. One of the men had a smartphone that could be used to take incriminating pictures.

The soldiers told Soe Chay to do whatever you want to them, he said. They pointed out the man with the phone and told him to stand up. I started hacking him with a sword, and a soldier shot him when he fell down.

Similar violence was playing out across a large part of northern Rakhine, dozens of Buddhist and Rohingya residents said.

Data from the UN Operational Satellite Applications Program shows scores of Rohingya villages in Rakhine state burned in an area stretching 110 km. New York-based Human Rights Watch says more than 350 villages were torched over the three months from Aug. 25, according to an analysis of satellite imagery.

In the village of Laungdon, some 65 km north of Inn Din, Thar Nge, 38, said he was asked by police and local officials to join a Buddhist security group. The army invited us to burn the kalar village at Hpaw Ti Kaung, he said, adding that four villagers and nearly 20 soldiers and police were involved in the operation. Police shot inside the village so all the villagers fled and then we set fire to it. Their village was burned because police believed the villagers supported Rohingya militants  thats why they cleaned it with fire.

A Buddhist student from Ta Man Tha village, 15 km north of Laungdon, said he too participated in the burning of Rohingya homes. An army officer sought 30 volunteers to burn kalar villages, said the student. Nearly 50 volunteered and gathered fuel from motorbikes and from a market.

They separated us into several groups. We were not allowed to enter the village directly. We had to surround it and approach the village that way. The army would shoot gunfire ahead of us and then the army asked us to enter, he said.

After the Rohingya had fled Inn Din, Buddhist villagers took their property, including chickens and goats, Buddhist residents told Reuters. But the most valuable goods, mostly motorcycles and cattle, were collected by members of the 8th Security Police Battalion and sold, said the first police officer and Inn Din village administrator Maung Thein Chay. Maung Thein Chay said the commander of the 8th Battalion, Thant Zin Oo, struck a deal with Buddhist businessmen from other parts of Rakhine state and sold them cattle. The police officer said he had stolen four cows from Rohingya villagers, only for Thant Zin Oo to snatch them away.

Reached by phone, Thant Zin Oo did not comment. Colonel Myo Thu Soe, the police spokesman, said the police would investigate the allegations of looting.

The Victims are Chosen

By Sept. 1, several hundred Rohingya from Inn Din were sheltering at a makeshift camp on a nearby beach. They erected tarpaulin shelters to shield themselves from heavy rain.

Among this group were the 10 Rohingya men who would be killed the next morning. Reuters has identified all of the 10 by speaking to witnesses among Inn Dins Buddhist community and Rohingya relatives and witnesses tracked down in refugee camps in Bangladesh.

Five of the men, Dil Mohammed, 35, Nur Mohammed, 29, Shoket Ullah, 35, Habizu, 40, and Shaker Ahmed, 45, were fishermen or fish sellers. The wealthiest of the group, Abul Hashim, 25, ran a store selling nets and machine parts to fishermen and farmers. Abdul Majid, a 45-year-old father of eight, ran a small shop selling areca nut wrapped in betel leaves, commonly chewed like tobacco. Abulu, 17, and Rashid Ahmed, 18, were high school students. Abdul Malik, 30, was an Islamic teacher.

According to the statement released by the army on Jan. 10, security forces had gone to a coastal area where they were attacked by about 200 Bengalis with sticks and swords. The statement said that as the security forces opened fire into the sky, the Bengalis dispersed and ran away. Ten of them were arrested.

Three Buddhist and more than a dozen Rohingya witnesses contradict this version of events. Their accounts differ from one another in some details. The Buddhists spoke of a confrontation between a small group of Rohingya men and some soldiers near the beach. But there is unanimity on a crucial point: None said the military had come under a large-scale attack in Inn Din.

Government spokesman Zaw Htay referred Reuters to the armys statement of Jan. 10 and declined to elaborate further. The army did not respond to a request for comment.

The Rohingya witnesses, who were on or near the beach, said Islamic teacher Abdul Malik had gone back to his hamlet with his sons to collect food and bamboo for shelter. When he returned, a group of at least seven soldiers and armed Buddhist villagers were following him, these witnesses said. Abdul Malik walked towards the watching Rohingya Muslims unsteadily, with blood dripping from his head. Some witnesses said they had seen one of the armed men strike the back of Abdul Maliks head with a knife.

Then the military beckoned with their guns to the crowd of roughly 300 Rohingya to assemble in the paddies, these witnesses said. The soldiers and the Rohingya, hailing from different parts of Myanmar, spoke different languages. Educated villagers translated for their fellow Rohingya.

I could not hear much, but they pointed toward my husband and some other men to get up and come forward, said Rehana Khatun, 22, the wife of Nur Mohammed, one of the 10 who were later slain. We heard they wanted the men for a meeting. The military asked the rest of us to return to the beach.

Fresh Clothes and a Last Meal

Soldiers held and questioned the 10 men in a building at Inn Dins school for a night, the military said. Rashid Ahmed and Abulu had studied there alongside Rakhine Buddhist students until the attacks by Rohingya rebels in October 2016. Schools were shut temporarily, disrupting the pairs final year.

I just remember him sitting there and studying, and it was always amazing to me because I am not educated, said Rashid Ahmeds father, farmer Abdu Shakur, 50. I would look at him reading. He would be the first one in the family to be educated.

A photograph, taken on the evening the men were detained, shows the two Rohingya students and the eight older men kneeling on a path beside the village clinic, most of them shirtless. They were stripped when first detained, a dozen Rohingya witnesses said. It isnt clear why. That evening, Buddhist villagers said, the men were treated to a last meal of beef. They were provided with fresh clothing.

On Sept. 2, the men were taken to scrubland north of the village, near a graveyard for Buddhist residents, six Buddhist villagers said. The spot is backed by a hill crested with trees. There, on their knees, the 10 were photographed again and questioned by security personnel about the disappearance of a local Buddhist farmer named Maung Ni, according to a Rakhine elder who said he witnessed the interrogation.

Reuters was not able to establish what happened to Maung Ni. According to Buddhist neighbors, the farmer went missing after leaving home early on Aug. 25 to tend his cattle. Several Rakhine Buddhist and Rohingya villagers told Reuters they believed he had been killed, but they knew of no evidence connecting any of the 10 men to his disappearance. The army said in its Jan. 10 statement that Bengali terrorists had killed Maung Ni, but did not identify the perpetrators.

Two of the men pictured behind the Rohingya prisoners in the photograph taken on the morning of Sept. 2 belong to the 8th Security Police Battalion. Reuters confirmed the identities of the two men from their Facebook pages and by visiting them in person.

One of the two officers, Aung Min, a police recruit from Yangon, stands directly behind the captives. He looks at the camera as he holds a weapon. The other officer, police Captain Moe Yan Naing, is the figure on the top right. He walks with his rifle over his shoulder.

The day after the two Reuters reporters were arrested in December, Myanmars government also announced that Moe Yan Naing had been arrested and was being investigated under the 1923 Official Secrets Act.

Aung Min, who is not facing legal action, declined to speak to Reuters.

Vengeance for a Missing Farmer

Three Buddhist youths said they watched from a hut as the 10 Rohingya captives were led up a hill by soldiers towards the site of their deaths.

One of the gravediggers, retired soldier Soe Chay, said Maung Nis sons were invited by the army officer in charge of the squad to strike the first blows.

The first son beheaded the Islamic teacher, Abdul Malik, according to Soe Chay. The second son hacked another of the men in the neck.

After the brothers sliced them both with swords, the squad fired with guns. Two to three shots to one person, said Soe Chay. A second gravedigger, who declined to be identified, confirmed that soldiers had shot some of the men.

In its Jan. 10 statement, the military said the two brothers and a third villager had cut the Bengali terrorists with swords and then, in the chaos, four members of the security forces had shot the captives. Action will be taken against the villagers who participated in the case and the members of security forces who broke the Rules of Engagement under the law, the statement said. It didnt spell out those rules.

Tun Aye, one of the sons of Maung Ni, has been detained on murder charges, his lawyer said on Jan. 13. Contacted by Reuters on Feb. 8, the lawyer declined to comment further. Reuters was unable to reach the other brother.

In October, Inn Din locals pointed two Reuters reporters towards an area of brush behind the hill where they said the killings took place. The reporters discovered a newly cut trail leading to soft, recently disturbed earth littered with bones. Some of the bones were entangled with scraps of clothing and string that appeared to match the cord that is seen binding the captives wrists in the photographs. The immediate area was marked by the smell of death.

Reuters showed photographs of the site to three forensic experts: Homer Venters, director of programs at Physicians for Human Rights; Derrick Pounder, a pathologist who has consulted for Amnesty International and the United Nations; and Luis Fondebrider, president of the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team, who investigated the graves of those killed under Argentinas military junta in the 1970s and 1980s. All observed human remains, including the thoracic part of a spinal column, ribs, scapula, femur and tibia. Pounder said he couldnt rule out the presence of animal bones as well.

The Rakhine Buddhist elder provided Reuters reporters with a photograph which shows the aftermath of the execution. In it, the 10 Rohingya men are wearing the same clothing as in the previous photo and are tied to each other with the same yellow cord, piled into a small hole in the earth, blood pooling around them. Abdul Malik, the Islamic teacher, appears to have been beheaded. Abulu, the student, has a gaping wound in his neck. Both injuries appear consistent with Soe Chays account.

Forensic pathologist Fondebrider reviewed this picture. He said injuries visible on two of the bodies were consistent with the action of a machete or something sharp that was applied on the throat.

Some family members did not know for sure that the men had been killed until Reuters returned to their shelters in Bangladesh in January.

I cant explain what I feel inside. My husband is dead, said Rehana Khatun, wife of Nur Mohammed. My husband is gone forever. I dont want anything else, but I want justice for his death.

In Inn Din, the Buddhist elder explained why he chose to share evidence of the killings with Reuters. I want to be transparent on this case. I dont want it to happen like that in future.
Burma Protest Calls for Death Sentence for Rapists

A banner calling for the death sentence for rapists is displayed outside the North Dagon Township Court in Yangon on Thursday. / Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy

YANGON  The Association for the Protection of Myanmar Women called for the death sentence for rapists during a protest outside the North Dagon Township Court on Thursday.

The group timed the protest to coincide with an appearance at the court by Myo Zaw Oo, 27, a taxi driver accused of raping and murdering Ma Shwe Yi Win in Yangon on the night of Jan. 20.

About 15 women joined the protest, holding up vinyl placards reading Death sentence for rapists, Eliminate rapists to protect the lives of women and Take effective action against rape.

Today we officially call for the death sentence for rapists. Even amid our entreaties, more and more rape cases are being reported. This shows that current punishments are not enough to prevent rape. Therefore, we are speeding up our movement to call for the death sentence for rapists, said Daw Tin Swe Myint, information officer for the association.

Protesters and reporters gathered at the court to await the arrival of Myo Zaw Oo on Thursday, but authorities had ushered him in secretly earlier that morning, according to police.

Myo Zaw Oo was charged under sections 302 (murder), 392 (robbery) and 377 (unnatural offenses) of the Penal Code. The first hearing in the trial is scheduled for Feb. 22 at the Yangon East District Court.

The Association for the Protection of Myanmar Women was founded on Jan. 24 and has launched a Facebook page, Movement calling for the death sentence for rapists, with the aim of preventing rape.

The association hopes to meet with administrative, legislative and judicial officials to discuss effective measures to achieve its goal.

Soon after the rape and murder of Ma Shwe Yi Win, a 4-year-old girl was attacked and raped beneath the Panhlaing railway overpass in Yangon.

In 2017 Yangon Region recorded 270 rape cases and the highest number of juvenile rapes in the country, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Translated from Burmese by Myint Win Thein.
News Four Charged With Premeditated Murder in U Ko Ni Killing

Zeya Phyo, one of four detained suspects in the killing of U Ko Ni, is led away by police after a court hearing at Yangon's Northern District Court on Feb. 9. / Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy

YANGON Yangons Northern District Court on Friday charged four men with premeditated murder in connection with the January 2017 killing of prominent Muslim lawyer U Ko Ni.

If convicted, they face life sentences.

U Ko Ni, a constitutional lawyer and legal adviser to the ruling National League for Democracy, was gunned down outside Yangon International Airport on Jan. 29 last year.

Police have detained four people in connection with the crime: accused gunman Kyi Lin and three alleged co-conspirators Zeya Phyo, Aung Win Zaw and Aung Win Tun. The man they accuse of masterminding the murder, former Lieutenant-Colonel Aung Win Khaing, remains at large.;

After hearing more than 10 months of witness testimony, the district court indicted three of the detained suspects and Aung Win Khaing under the Penal Codes Article 302 (1) (b). Aung Win Tun was indicted under the Penal Codes Article 212, which prohibits harboring an offender. The court also ordered the confiscation of the fugitive Aung Win Khaings movable and immovable property under the Criminal Procedures Article 88.;

After the hearing, Aung Win Zaw and Zeya Phyo shouted that they were innocent and not guilty of U Ko Nis murder as they were led away by police.

I am not guilty of anything, shouted Zeya Phyo, a former captain with the Military Intelligence unit. There is no evidence to prove that I am, he yelled.

Zeya Phyo was accused by the prosecutor of giving financial support to the alleged conspirators to carry out the murder. His name was first revealed at a press conference in February last year by the Home Affairs Ministry and police.

Daw Pa Pa Win, a defense lawyer for Zeya Phyo, told The Irrawaddy after the hearing that there is no evidence or witness testimony showing that her client financed the murder. She added that none of the 72 witnesses who testified said Zeya Phyo was involved in planning the murder.

However, Since the court has indicted him, he must stand trial, she said.

While an indictment is not a sentence, [he] has to stand trial and is aggrieved by the courts decision, she added.

Daw Pa Pa Win said she would assert her clients legal right to appeal to the divisional court.

U Kyaw Kyaw Htike, a defense lawyer for accused gunman Kyi Lin, told The Irrawaddy that he had no comment to make on behalf of his client, adding only that the public would be satisfied with the courts decision and the indictment order.

If I make a good case at the trial, [Kyi Lin] will be acquitted. If I dont, he will get a life sentencewhich you will all be satisfied with, he said.

Kyi Lin and Aung Win Zaw were also indicted by the court under Article 19(c) and (f) of the 1878 Arms Act respectively for importing/exporting and possessing firearms.

U Nay La, a lawyer representing the victims family in court, told The Irrawaddy the courts decisions were in accordance with the law, regardless of the accuseds denials.

What U Ko Nis family wants is not revenge, but for the truth to be uncovered, he said.

Tin Htet Paing is a freelance journalist and photographer based in Yangon. She previously worked at The Irrawaddy as a reporter for three years.
News Legal Action to be Taken Against Nationalist Supporters at U Ko Ni Trial

A group of nationalists appear at Yangons Northern District Court to show their support for four defendants in the murder trial of NLD lawyer U Ko Ni. / Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy

YANGON  Permanent secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs U Tin Myint said that legal action will be taken against the supporters of gunman Kyi Lin and alleged co-conspirators at last Fridays court hearing for slain prominent Muslim lawyer U Ko Ni.

Before the hearing on Feb. 2 at Yangons Northern District Court, a small group of nationalists appeared wearing t-shirts reading: Eat Well! to show their support for the four detained suspects accused of involvement in the assassination of U Ko Ni. The phrase in Burmese is used as a threat to show ones anger and to warn of impending revenge.

The defendants also allegedly shouted the phrase Eat well at reporters and the plaintiffs lawyers outside the court last month. The phrase was used by the nationalists to show support for the detainees: gunman Kyi Lin and co-conspirators: Zeya Phyo, Aung Win Zaw and Aung Win Tun.

Shortly after photos of the nationalists went viral, netizens heavily denounced their actions as undermining rule of law and the nations stability.

Lawyers organizations also released a statement condemning the behavior of the nationalists as an insult to the whole judicial system and a threat not only to the reporters who followed the case, but to the lawyers and the judge. The lawyers urged the government to take action.

It is a death threat. Thats why we accepted the complaint and opened the case, the permanent secretary U Tin Myint said, adding that the case will be carried out in accordance with the law.

Insein Township administrator U Aye Min filed the case against four men for intimidation inside the court compound directly to the Insein Township Court on Tuesday.

The court issued arrest warrants for the four under the incitement charges of the Penal Codes Article 505 (b) and the threat of injury to public servant charges under Article 189.

Two of the four: Myat Phone Moh and Tin Htay Aung, were also among those involved in a violent confrontation between Muslims and Buddhists in Yangons Mingalar Taung Nyunt Township last May. They were arrested and sentenced for incitement to commit violence at that time.

We believe he [gunman Kyi Lin] did the right thing. Thats why we support him. We have no other intention, Myat Phone Moh said at the court.

The ultranationalist monk U Wirathu has also voiced his support for the accused nationalists in a video uploaded on Naing Wynn Tuns Facebook account on Wednesday.

Cant we even say Eat Well in a democracy? What is the democracy and human rights that lobbyists are talking about?  the monk asked in the video.

He also asked whether it is a democracy that bans those who write, preach and speak against the government.

I will say to those who insulted supporters eat well, those who blame monks eat well and those who block sermons eat well. As you cant eat in hell, he said, during the seven-minute video.

The infamous monk was banned from delivering sermons across the country for one year last March, due to his religious hate speech. His Facebook account was also temporarily shut down in last July.

Translated from Burmese by San Yamin Aung.
News MP, Author Charged with High Treason: Lawyer

Union lawmaker U Aye Maung (front) and author Ko Wai Han Aung at Sittwe District Court, Rakhine State, on Friday. / Min Aung Khine / The Irrawaddy

YANGON  Union lawmaker U Aye Maung and author Ko Wai Han Aung were charged with high treason by the Sittwe District Court on Friday, according to the authors lawyer, Daw Aye Nu Sein.

The two were arrested in mid-January for allegedly promoting support for the outlawed Arakan Army in public speeches they had recently delivered in Rakhine States Rathedaung Township.

After his speech in Rathedaung, U Aye Maung was invited by a local charity to join a literature talk in the town of Mrauk-U on Jan. 16 to mark the 233rd anniversary of the fall of the Arakanese kingdom. When authorities abruptly banned the event, a protest broke out and seven civilians were shot dead in the police crackdown that followed.

A few days later, the Ministry of Home Affairs released a lengthy statement accusing U Aye Maung and Ko Wai Han Aung of having destabilized the community with their recent remarks. A prominent ethnic Arakanese politician, U Aye Maung had recently resigned as chairman of the Arakan National Party.

Sittwe residents said security was tight around the district court on Friday for the pairs appearance.

Speaking with journalists outside the court, U Aye Maung denied wrongdoing.

I did not say that Bamar people regard the Rakhine [Arakan] as slaves and I am very upset when I see such terms in the newspaper. I just spoke about national unity and was not fueling anger between the Rakhine and Bamar, he said.

U Aye Maung and Ko Wai Han Aung were both charged with unlawful association and defamation by the Rathedaung Township Court last week. U Ban Than, who organized the event at which the pair delivered their speeches, was still at large as of Friday.

Ko Wai Han Aungs elder brother Ko Thein Win told The Irrawaddy by phone on Friday that the defendants were allowed to meet with their families for about 10 minutes. He said his brother told him that his arrest was unjust.

Their next appearance at the district court is scheduled for Feb. 21.

High treason carries a possible death sentence or prison with hard labor for life.
News Pilgrims Flock to Nyaung Lay Pin Church for Annual Our Lady of Lourdes Procession

Pilgrims pray inside the church.

NYAUNG LAY PIN  The Church of Our Lady of Lourdes compound in Nyaung Lay Pin, Pegu Division, about 70 miles north of Yangon, has been abuzz with Catholic pilgrims from parts near and far for days.

Those who had traveled a long way clutched suitcases and backpacks as they were shown to a line of temporary bamboo tents inside the church compound. In preparation for the Mass, nuns and laymen bustled about with flowers, decorating the grotto that enshrines the replica of the statue of Our Lady of Lourdes.

Pilgrims prayed before the shrine or under the grotto, while some drank and collected holy water from the small well nearby. Two young men helped small children reach the statue of Our Lady of Lourdes as their parents looked on, eager for them to touch the statue to receive its blessings.

The two young men were kept busy, helping pilgrims who handed over their rosaries, small statues of the Virgin Mary, images of the Infant Jesus and St. Joseph, and bottles of olive oil and holy water to touch the statue with; they believe doing so will make these into holy things with the power to offer protection.

Pilgrims to the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes believe that praying the rosary, worshipping, drinking and washing with holy water, and receiving blessings by touching the statue, can heal illness and prevent disease.

Back in 1892, when French Catholic missionaries arrived in the country, Father Michael Mignot settled down in Nyaung Lay Pin, bringing with him a replica statue of Our Lady of Lourdes. He spread the story of the Marian Apparitions  a reported supernatural appearance by the Virgin Mary  believed to have occurred in Lourdes, France, in 1858.

In 1929, a mentally unstable man toppled the statue from its perch in the grotto. It was smashed to bits and a replacement was put in. In 1942, Japanese troops occupied Nyaung Lay Pin and used the church compound as their headquarters. They too toppled the statue, causing the hands to snap off. In 1949, the hands were reattached; the cracks can still be seen to this day.

The first procession of Our Lady of Lourdes, in which the statue was carried along a circular route around the town, was held in 1930 to promote the Catholic mission and commemorate the two reported Marian Apparitions in Lourdes, on Feb. 10 and 12, 1858. Since then, a procession has been held annually on Feb. 10-12.

In recent years, the three-day celebration and Mass have been extended into a more-than-weeklong event from Feb. 2-11, with a healing Mass and procession on Feb. 10.

This year, Cardinal Charles Bo will lead the special Mass on Feb. 10, after the procession.

Since we are not able to go Lourdes, the mass here in Nyaung Lay Pin is the only hope we have of witnessing Mother Marys miracles, said Daw Khin Kyi, 56, a cancer survivor from Hmawbi Township.

Daw Khin Kyi said she was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago. However, she believed that Our Lady of Lourdes had answered her prayers and healed her.

By the grace of Our Lady of Lourdes, I was healed and received enough money to buy medicine, she said.

Apart from thousands of Catholics and other Christians, non-Christians also visit Nayung Lay Pin during the Holy Mass and celebration to pray for their health. Many of them were seen bringing their children to the grotto to touch the statue.

Although the majority of the population of Nayung Lay Pin is Buddhist, the local authorities and population seem to approve of the procession of the statue of Our Lady of Lourdes.

Most of the locals love the procession, as they also believe Mother Mary is protecting them. Weve never experienced any anger or disapproval; every celebration has gone peacefully, said U Saw Simon, 65, an elder of Nyaung Lay Pin.
News Suu Kyis Rakhine Rehabilitation Enterprise Comes Under Fire

UEHRD / The Irrawaddy

The Union Enterprise For Humanitarian Assistance, Resettlement and Development in Rakhine led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been criticized by representatives of Parliament for its lack of cooperation with Arakanese members, lack of transparency and its centralization in Naypyitaw.

Local people have never heard of the implementation of work by the UEHRD. Everything they want to do is controlled by Naypyitaw.

We want it to allow local people to participate together with political parties and local organizations to find better ways to implement projects, U Aung Thaung Shwe, a Lower House representative from Buthidaung Township, told reporters in Naypyitaw.

The UEHRD was founded on Oct. 15, 2017. Dr. Win Myat Aye is the vice chairman and Dr. Aung Tun Thet acts as the coordinator. U Kyaw Myaing is the information officer.

Daw Khin Saw Wai, a representative of Parliament from Rathedaung Township, told the Irrawaddy that no Arakanese member had been appointed to the enterprise, although it was necessary to include locals along with parliamentarians, elders, academics and experts for successful outcomes.

They never tell us what they are doing. For the interest of the local people, they need to work together with us and other local stakeholders, said Daw Khin Saw Wai.

At a Lower House session on Wednesday, Representative U Aung Thaung Shwe tabled a motion calling for transparency and effective implementation of long and short-term projects for rehabilitation in Rakhine State, which was seconded by Representative Daw Khin Saw Wai. Both representatives are Arakanese.

However, Vice Chairman Dr. Win Myat Aye of the UEHRD told The Irrawaddy that he had been too busy to attend the Lower House session and had had to send a deputy minister instead. He also said he would respond to the motion as necessary when it is discussed and that people from across the country can participate in the UEHRD.

People from the entire country are working together on it, Dr. Win Myat Aye said.

He added that he had explained the work of the UEHRD to Rakhine State Parliament and CSOs and was willing to explain it again if there were still people who did not know how it works or who was involved.

However, Representative U Aung Thaung Shwe said the UEHRD was controlled by Naypyitaw and that Dr. Win Myat Aye only carried out the field work. He continued to say that he had tabled the motion, as there were no Arakanese members involved and that Naypyitaw had centralized the work.

As rehabilitation and resettlement in northern Rakhine State are linked with sovereignty and national unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty can be protected only when local people have a chance to enjoy security, the representative told the session.

Representative Daw Khin Saw Wai said that a rehabilitation project being carried out by the UEHRD planned to relocate Bengalis, by a motor road, which would give them the upper hand in the event of a conflict.

I have never gotten the chance to personally participate in the affairs of Rakhine State, Representative Daw Khin Saw Wai told Parliament.

A similar motion calling for transparency in the rehabilitation of Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Rathedaung townships in northern Rakhine was also tabled at Rakhine State Parliament in November 2017 and the motion was approved. Apart from the UEHRD, there are the Rakhine State Stability and Development Central Committee led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the Rakhine State Advisory Commission led by Kofi Annan, the Rakhine State Investigation Commission led by a vice president and the Commission for the Implementation of Recommendations for Rakhine State led by Dr. Win Myat Aye.

The acronym UEHRD is known by many people although they may not know it in its full form. People also have known the principles of it and what it is doing as its news reports are in print and broadcast media, Dr. Win Myat Aye said.

Translated from Burmese by Myint Win Thein.
Commentary How Should the US Engage Myanmar?

Thai Marines participate in amphibious assault training as part of the Cobra Gold 2017 joint military exercise with the U.S. at a military base in Chonburi province, Thailand, in February 2017. / Reuters

U.S. lawmakers have taken the moral high ground, demanding that Myanmars armed forces be excluded from U.S.-led military exercises in neighboring Thailand next week due to atrocities committed against Rohingya Muslims.

Simply put, militaries engaged in ethnic cleansing should not be honing their skills alongside U.S. troops, Senator John McCain, the Republican chair of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, told The Associated Press.

After Myanmars political opening in 2012, with U.S. blessing, Myanmar officers were granted observer status for the Cobra Gold exercises. Earlier, when Myanmar was under Western sanctions, the generals worried about U.S. intentions, distrusted Thailand and viewed the exercises as a threat.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has passed legislation authored by McCain and Senator Ben Cardin authorizing sanctions and travel restrictions on more than a dozen senior Myanmar military officials responsible for human rights atrocities against the Rohingya, or Bengali, people. Last month, the U.S. imposed sanctions on Major-General Maung Maung Soe, former head of the Myanmar militarys Western Command, but stopped short of imposing them on the other officers on the list. The official reason for limiting the sanctions to one officer was that U.S. officials were missing date of birth information on the other generals, required under the sanctions legislation. But it may indicate that the sanctions steps are largely symbolic. Will the U.S. consider imposing targeted sanctions on all top brass and their associates?

An opinion piece purportedly written by a Myanmar analyst published in The Diplomat suggested that it was time for the U.S. to engage Myanmars moderates after the imposition of the sanctions. But identifying these moderates and finding a way to engage them is a notion likely to draw laughter from many in Myanmar.

Six years ago, then-U.S. President Barack Obamas administration  which along with other Western governments had been impressed to see Myanmar opening up politically  controversially initiated military-to-military engagement with the Tatmadaw, the countrys armed forces. There was a feeling that Myanmar, once dubbed a client state of China, was moving away from Beijing.

The U.S. and Myanmar embarked on a sophisticated feel-good circus, holding the U.S.-Burma Human Rights Dialogue in the new capital of Naypyitaw a month before Obama made his historic first visit. The pre-visit dialogue was a diplomatic coup for Obama as he prepared to jet in and lavish praise on the reform.

Lieutenant-General Francis Wiercinski, the head of the U.S. Armed Forces Pacific Command, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia Vikram Singh also attended the meeting.

In 2014, Lieutenant-General Anthony Crutchfield, the U.S. Pacific Command deputy commander, was invited to address his counterparts at the Myanmar National Defense College in Naypyitaw, which trains colonels and other high-ranking military officers. In his speech, the senior U.S. officer emphasized human rights and the need for civilian control.

The aim of these exchanges, according to the U.S., was to promote human rights and the rule of law.

But then what? How many more activists and journalists have been detained, and how many innocent people have lost their lives since then?

Indeed, this shallow engagement has received a mixed reception in Myanmar, and failed to impress the countrys long-oppressed ethnic minorities.

Many in Myanmar were critical of the engagement, seeing it as premature and counseling caution. Some analysts warned that a slower, more measured approach was needed.

Western scholars cranked out paper after paper urging the U.S. to engage the Tatmadaw. In a paper published by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Washington was advised to recognize and encourage the Tatmadaws cooperative role and foster its professionalization and speedy withdrawal from politics. Of course, we have seen no indication that the military plans any such withdrawal from politics. To the contrary, it has retained its constitutionally mandated role in national politics.

In another CSIS report released in 2012, a scholar cooed: If the military continues to support the transition to civilian rule and observes ceasefires in ethnic minority areas, the United States should begin to consider joint military exercises with the Myanmar armed forces and provide selected Myanmar officers access to U.S. international military education and training opportunities in U.S. defense academies.

General Tin Oo, a former Tatmadaw commander-in-chief and co-founder of the National League for Democracy with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, supported U.S.-Myanmar military cooperation but cautioned that the main duty of the generals should be to protect the country and serve the people. He said he wanted to see Myanmars armed forces stay away from politics. Achieving this has proven an impossible task.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who was subsequently elected to Parliament, advocated that military officers receive overseas training. She once said, After all it was my father [General Aung San] who founded the Burmese Army and I do have a sense of warmth towards the Burmese Army. But she has little control over what was once her fathers Army.

During a visit to the U.K. in 2013, she spoke at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, where some past Myanmar military officers had studied, and advocated a resumption of overseas training.

Then-U.K. Defense Secretary Philip Hammond said, The focus of our future defense engagement with Burma will be on the creation of modern armed forces, subject to democratic accountability and compliance with international law.

So what happened?

In September last year, after the mass exodus in Rakhine State, Britain suspended its educational courses for Myanmar officers on democracy, leadership and the English language  the budget for which is said to be 305,000 (US$411,000). The reason cited  and the subject of the newspaper headlines  was of course the plight of the Rohingya, but the budget could also be a major issue.

We call on the Burmese Armed Forces to take immediate steps to stop the violence in Rakhine and ensure the protection of all civilians, to allow full access for humanitarian aid, a British government spokesperson said in a statement.

As expected, the Myanmar Army responded quickly, We will bring them [the trainees] back to Myanmar as quickly as possible and we will not send trainees to Britain anymore, including those under previous agreements.

History shows that it was from British instructors that Myanmar Army officers picked up the notorious four cuts strategy  whether in London or in Malaysia, where British forces applied this brutal strategy to wipe out insurgents.

The strategy involves the forced resettlement of entire communities and the confinement of villagers in special camps in order to cut off food, intelligence, recruitment and financial support to insurgents. Used by the British to suppress a local insurgency in Myanmar during the colonial period, and included in Myanmar military officers in-house training, it is part of Britains legacy in this country.

Nor are Myanmars generals strangers to the U.S. military establishment.

Gen Kyaw Htin, commander-in-chief of the Tatmadaw from 1977 to 1985, studied at the United States Army Command and General Staff College.

Brig.-Gen Tin Oo (no relation to Gen. Tin Oo), the handpicked aide to former strongman Gen. Ne Win, was trained by the CIA on the Pacific island of Saipan and went on to run one of the most feared and effective military intelligence spy networks in Asia throughout the 1970s and 80s.

Lt-Gen Tun Kyi and Gen Nyan Linn, both members of the State Law and Order Restoration Council, which staged a coup in 1988, and Col Aung Koe, who also once ran the Military Intelligence unit, all received U.S. military training. Before the 1988 uprising, Washington paid for more than 100 Myanmar officers to attend U.S. military schools. After the militarys brutal suppression of the democracy uprising in 1988, the U.S. suspended military aid and training to Myanmar and downgraded diplomatic ties but maintained its military mission, with the defense attache remaining in place.

If less overtly ruthless, U.S.-trained generals have displayed greater efficiency and sophistication and played just as important a role as their locally trained colleagues in military campaigns against insurgents and crackdowns on dissidents.

Who is on the targeted list?

Whatever Washingtons plans, the generals are growing increasingly assertive. They have control over the country  including its economy  and do not lack for allies in the region.

Last week, the armed forces completed a three-day major land-sea-air exercise east of Pathein (Bassein) city along the Bay of Bengal, under the Southwestern Command. It is believed that more than 8,000 troops were involved in live-fire drills backed by jet fighters and naval vessels. It was one of the largest military exercises in decades.

Moreover, the militarys procurement plans, strategy and budget, as well as its efforts to build alliances, have diversified.

Myanmar recently bought six SU-30 advanced jet fighters from Russia. Moscow and New Delhi have provided training, and Myanmars ties to regional armies including those of Thailand and Japan have strengthened. Just this week Indonesia agreed to provide counterterrorism training to Myanmar as threats in the region grow. Officers have been sent to study in Russia, and more recently in India and Japan.

Recently, China and Myanmar agreed to increase military cooperation, though suspicion of China remains strong among Myanmar generals. Until last year, Tatmadaw chief Min Aung Hlaing was invited to the EU to deliver speeches, perhaps as part of efforts to give greater exposure to the isolated senior general. He defended the Constitution and echoed his former bosses policies, stating frankly that people from Bengala term also used to described self-identifying Rohingya in the regionwere not included among Myanmars ethnic minorities. It seemed he didnt give a damn about what the West was thinking.

What about the U.S.? Obviously, Washington had been eager to expand military-to-military cooperation, as stated by its diplomats and officials. Since the political opening in Myanmar, military officers have attended the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Hawaii.

This week, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, chief of Myanmars armed forces, flew to Singapore to attend the Singapore Airshow 2018. Some have speculated that his real ambition is to travel to Washington, visit the Pentagon and have his picture taken aboard a U.S. aircraft carrier. Indeed, before the bloody crackdown in Rakhine State, U.S. officials had intended to invite some senior generals to Washington. Like many U.S. officials, Senator McCain had been in favor of closer military cooperation, but he appears to have changed his position. Last year, Min Aung Hlaing was also in Israel for an arms shopping trip, and Israel was selling. Myanmar and Israel have enjoyed long-lasting relations for decades and Israel openly agreed to provide security equipment to Myanmar.

At home, meanwhile, the war machine grinds on.

In the North, over 100,000 people have been displaced from their homes since a 17-year ceasefire between the central government and Kachin insurgents collapsed in 2011.

Tensions there have only increased of late. At a recent meeting in China, the military asked the Kachin Independence Army to withdraw from its bases in Kachin States Tanai Township, where the two sides have engaged in intense fighting in recent weeks. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says the Tatmadaw has restricted humanitarian access to Tanai and that it remains concerned about the areas civilian population.

The war in the north is likely to escalate. In Rakhine, countless reports of mass graves and tales of human rights violations have emerged.

In his 2014 speech to the Defense College in Naypyitaw, Lt-Gen Crutchfield, the U.S. Pacific Command deputy commander, said  according to the U.S. Embassy  My presence here is indicative of the new chapter in our countries relationship.

Did the more than 100 military officers Crutchfield was addressing suffer from Alzheimers disease or have collective hearing problems? Probably not.

A few years ago, when self-appointed Myanmar analysts were trying to debate how to engage the military, one scholar suggested trying to convince future generations of military leaders that the proper place for generals is the barracks, not politics.

The idea that moderates should be engaged is absurd at a time when the military is seeking to modernize its forces, and sees its mission as holding the country together, keeping insurgents at bay and safeguarding the countrys sovereignty. Flanked by powerful neighbors, Myanmars military leaders are focused on building an Army, Navy and Air Force with modern and advanced hardware to deter threats.

So, when it comes to engagement, who was the first to drink the Kool-Aid?
Guest Column New KIO Chair Preaches Unity, Dialogue to Settle Civil War

KIO Chairman Gen. NBan La speaks at the 58th anniversary of Kachin Revolution Day in Laiza, Kachin State, on Feb. 5. / Hkun Awng Nlam

Studying the speech of the chairman of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) delivered every Feb. 5 to mark Kachin Revolution Day is a good way to gauge the groups official policy. The format, theme and tone of the speech tends to mirror the particular political environment the KIO and its armed wing, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), are in at the time  as well as the personality of the incumbent chairman.

This years speech was delivered amid the backdrop of a stalled peace process and a change in KIO/KIA leadership. The new chairman, General NBan La, is known for his wit and unrefined character, a straight shooter and astute speaker. The tone of the speech duly reflected his uncanny personal traits. As a whole his style was lucid and definitive, as if he were poised for political action.

The speech started with a short introduction from the new chairman, the KIOs sixth, who also serves as president of the Kachin Independence Council and commander-in-chief of the KIA. He then launched into his main messages.

The Meaning of Revolution, and its Goals

He defined revolution in pragmatic and impersonal terms. He said, The success of the revolution is not based on the might of the weapons but on the support of the people. He said that oppression, inequality and the broken promises of the 1947 Panglong agreement were the reasons for the Kachin rebellion and its demand for independence.

But he said the Kachin people were not yet ready for total independence for eight reasons: disunity among the six Kachin sub-tribes; disunity among Kachin culture and literature associations; disunity among religious denominations and the emergence of para-churches; disunity among Kachin political parties; disunity within the armed struggle; emigration to foreign countries; the large number of drug addicts; and narrow-mindedness and an all-talk-no-action mentality.

He said the goal of total independence was therefore unrealistic and that the Kachin needed to assess their actual options.

The Bamar people are not the enemy of the Kachin people, and vice versa, the chairman said. We all live on the same land and drink the same water. There is a historic legacy of fighting together against foreign invasions. Likewise, if it happens again in the future we will fight along with the countrys federal army.

But the chairman defined the true enemy as the repressive ruling clique in the top echelons of power. Though few in number, they have the law, army and police to protect themselves and their interests. Therefore, it was extremely difficult to fight and eliminate them. The oppressed were not only the Kachin but all ethnic groups including the Bamar and the lower ranks of the Tatmadaw. It was therefore the duty of everyone to unite, rebel and uproot the oppressive system.

The chairman said the true Kachin revolutionary cause was not confined to Kachin interests and Kachin emancipation alone; it was meant for all ethnic groups, hence the focus on the system.

Real Solutions to Myanmars Prolonged Conflict

Throughout the speech the chairman highlighted potential solutions. He emphasized the importance of pragmatism; the primacy of political negotiation; the establishment of a federal system based on the Panglong agreement; the principles of equality, self-determination, self-autonomy and self-defense; and the importance of unity among ethnic groups.

Direct Messages

Message for the Tatmadaw

The chairman asked the Tatmadaw not to fight the KIO/KIA as they fight foreign invaders but to solve the problem at the table since it is a political problem and warned it not to use divide and rule tactics.

Message for Both the Government and Tatmadaw

The chairman said that since all the ethnic groups are trying to solve the problem at the table, stop using a policy of discrimination against ethnic armed groups and parties, accepting some and rejecting others. A durable peace is possible only when all the ethnic groups are included in the negotiations and achieve the right of self-determination, self-autonomy and self-defense for their respective states.

Message for Militias and Border Guard Forces

He said it was acceptable to establish militias to defend villages and native land from theft and robbery. But it will not be acceptable for the Tatmadaw to use them as an instrument of war against the KIO/KIA.

Message for Kachin Political Parties

He asked the Kachin not to create many political parties and risk dividing their people. Kachin parties should be united, work toward a single goal and speak with one voice.

Message for Both Kachin Political Parties and Civil Society Organizations

He asks Kachin political parties and civil society organizations in Kachin State to assist in developing a constitution for a Kachin State that would include rights for non-Kachin.

Message for KIO Splinter Groups

He said past splits occurred because of the policy mistakes of some leaders. He said now was not the time for more splits, but for reconciliation and cooperation so that they could focus on uprooting the oppressive system.

Message for Internal Migrants

He said it was fair for people to migrate to Kachin State in search of work, but not to settle for good, grab the land of native residents and get involved in the political and administrative affairs of the state. When you have earned enough, go back to your homeland and work for its development, he said, addressing migrants. In that way you show your love for the country.

Concluding Remarks

The chairman ended his speech by emphasizing the primacy of negotiation in ending the conflict. But he warned that talks could not involve only one or two ethnic groups and stressed that all of them had to act in unison and speak with one voice. Only then could they succeed, he said.

The overarching message of the new KIO chairman was one of peace and for a negotiated settlement. The message was loud and clear. An olive branch has been extended. The speech also beckoned to the ethnic armed groups to unite. It was ingrained with the vision of a peaceful Myanmar and echoed the well-known aphorism of former German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck: Politics is the art of the possible, the attainable  the art of the next best. A solution to Myanmars civil strife has remained out of reach because conflicting parties have been chasing the desirable. Will 2018 be the year that mindset is broken and the threshold to a lasting peace for Myanmar?

Dan Seng Lawn is director of the Kachinland Research Center.
Friday, February 9th, 2018 (1:06 pm) - Score 982

Scottish business ISP Commsworld has today won a 30 million ICT contract with Glasgow City Council, which will see them deploy a new Wide Area Network that can connect local schools, libraries and other council buildings to a new ultra-fast Gigabit capable full fibre network.

The deal is hardly a surprise because it comes nearly two months after the ISP signed a related 15.7m contract with Cityfibre. The latter is currently in the process of extending their existing Dark Fibre network in Glasgow to help link 506 city council owned sites (here).

Commsworld will also deploy an IP Telephony solution for more than 16,000 council users and a 180 seat Contact Centre.

Glasgow City Council Digital Champion, Cllr Angus Millar, said: Glasgows rapid development as a digital, connected city gives us the chance to completely rethink how we use technology to improve lives and communities. From world-class digital learning in our schools, to better connected businesses, access to top-quality infrastructure will transform Glasgow into one of the best-connected cities anywhere in Europe. Having one of Scotlands big tech SME success stories at the very heart of that transformation is testament to their innovation and will help deliver huge benefits to the whole city.

Ricky Nicol, CEO of Commsworld, said: This contract has effectively given the green light for Glasgow to become a truly digital city capable of attracting the most exciting businesses in the world. Its vital that our Scottish cities and their people are at the cutting edge of technology  so it is fantastic that so many will now benefit thanks to this councils ambition and foresight.

End.
Friday, February 9th, 2018 (8:39 am) - Score 2,032

New customers of Sky Broadbands superfast fibre (FTTC) based packages may be pleased to know that the ISP has dropped their monthly prices back down to just 25 for up to 38Mbps and 30 for up to 76Mbps broadband with phone line rental. A 50 Prepaid MasterCard is also included as a gift.

The new discount, which is expected to be available on orders made until 29th March 2018, means that Skys offer pricing has now been cut to roughly the same level as they were during last years Black Friday sale, which only lasted for a very brief period. However a 59.99 one-off setup fee does still apply.

Otherwise customers can expect to receive an 18 month contract term, unlimited usage, a wireless router (Sky Q Hub), Sky Talk line rental (standard UK call rates), unlimited access to WiFi hotspots from The Cloud, Sky Shield (Parental Controls and Anti-Malware), Sky Talk Shield nuisance call blocking, Sky Yahoo Email and a 12 month free trial of the McAfee Internet Security Suite.
Many Australian small businesses are not confident in the governments ability to deliver the national broadband network within the next two years as promised. And to compound their lack of confidence, SMBs are worried about being left behind in todays digital economy race as a result of slow Internet speeds.

According to a newly published survey from software accounting firm Reckon (ASX:RKN), 54% of SMBs think they might be left behind as the digital economy develops  with a whopping 83% lacking confidence in delivery of the NBN.

The survey also found that a lack of government support and technology infrastructure are seen as key barriers to success in setting up business in Australia for small businesses.

According to the survey one in three (33%) of small businesses admit that it is tough to set up shop here.

And, the survey found that almost half (45%) of respondents have had to cease operations because their previous venture failed.

But despite the fail-rate, Reckon says the local small business landscape continues to prosper at a steady pace, demonstrating resilience in business owners.

The survey also found that the top three solutions respondents want from the government are better tax offsets (53%), improved Internet connectivity to support them in building an omni-channel presence (32%) and more start-up incentives (26%).

The Australian small business landscape has undergone massive changes in the past few years alone, the most major being the shift from traditional bricks-and-mortars to online. With that, local businesses now find themselves having to compete in the global marketplace, said Sam Allert, managing director ANZ at Reckon.

For small businesses to survive and thrive online in the presence of global players like Amazon, not only do they require a more robust and reliable technology infrastructure, they need to become more digital savvy.

What we need to be doing as a nation is enhance our overall technology capabilities. To achieve this, there needs to be a concerted effort between the government, private sector and small businesses.

In addition to better incentives and greater investments from the government to build up our infrastructure, technology providers can also play a part by educating, upskilling and providing small business owners with the digital know-how to innovate and ultimately, effectively compete against global brands.

In terms of the outlook for small businesses this year, 38% of respondents say declining customer demand is the most likely factor to affect their profitability in 2018.

But, one in three (33%) indicate that government policies will be the factor that affects them the most, while more than one in four (27%) agree that cash flow will continue to be an ongoing issue, fuelled by the lack of late payments legislation.

To alleviate cash flow issues, 30% of small businesses operate on a loan, with the majority of respondents turning to traditional banks as the first port of call, followed by their family (20%).

According to Reckon, this is despite the challenges that come with gaining access to finance from banks, as they tend to favour applicants with equity in physical property and a good track record  both of which small businesses often struggle to prove.

The majority of Australian small businesses have a general payment term of 30 days for good reason  without a healthy cash flow cycle, business growth can be severely restricted, said Allert.

Cash flow is one of the highest ranked pain point that keeps small businesses up at night, and it is no secret that they still struggle to get their loans approved by traditional lending sources.

Its not a widespread trend yet, but we have seen a rise in demand for online lenders in recent years, with small businesses increasingly turning to these non-traditional alternatives for loans. While banks can take weeks to approve funds and require a full business forecast, a non-bank lender can provide working capital quickly without the hassle. This is something that really appeals to small business owners and sole traders, who do not have the luxury of time to spend away from their day-to-day operations creating business plans.
Telstra's 2018 Small Business Intelligence Report, unveiled during the launch of the 2018 Telstra Business Awards today, shows that "digital is widening the gap between small businesses and potential customers".

Telstra's experts revealed "Australias small businesses could be reaching more customers and making more sales, more often", at the launch of the 2018 Telstra Business Awards.

The awards nomination process is still open, and closes on 28 March.

Drawing on the 2018 Telstra Small Business Intelligence Report, which after free registration is a freely downloadable and impressive 44-page document, Telstra executive director, Small Business, Brendan Donohoe, said: "The evidence showed small businesses were missing critical opportunities to meet the wants and needs of the contemporary consumer."

Digital technology is helping create big opportunities for small businesses  but only for those who embrace it, said Donohoe.

Our report shows small businesses are trying to meet customer expectations but are at times falling short, often acting on gut feel or relying on traditional ways of doing business. The gap between what customers want and what small businesses are delivering shows up in how customers find businesses, how they prefer to interact and what keeps them loyal and coming back."

Donohoe said while digital technology was a key opportunity for Australias small businesses to be more competitive and find more customers, "change was required".

Where we see a real opportunity for some small businesses is being open to change, safely putting a toe in the water with digital technology and in return, delivering a great experience for customers, he added.

As noted, the report was released as part of the launch of the 2018 Telstra Business Awards, which Telstra says has been "updated to reflect the changing nature of Australias small and medium business sector and the significant role technology plays in business".

Now in its 26th year, the Telstra Business Awards offer entrants a range of benefits, including a comprehensive Business Benchmark Report, and access to exclusive networking events, Donohoe continued.

And this year, were delighted to have refreshed all aspects of the Awards program, from entry process to awards categories and the assessment criteria. The changes will help provide even more value to the business community and help the Awards remain a prestigious mark of business excellence."

Jen Geale from 2017 Telstra Queensland Micro Business Award winner, Mountain Bikes Direct, said the awards provided her with "invaluable credibility and more reason to trust her business, gaining her new customers, and access to strong and valuable networks".

Telstra tells us that, based on their past experience in retail, the co-founders of Mountain Bikes Direct "opened a purely online store, as a response to a shift in consumer buying habits".

Geale, who believes e-commerce has helped to set the business apart in the market, said "the use of technology cannot be over-estimated".

Everything we do is in the cloud. So, we can have staff in multiple locations in Australia, and overseas. Were now able to hire the best people, no matter where they are located, and have them working all sorts of odd hours according to when our customers shop, she said.



2018 Telstra Small Business Intelligence Report  key insights:

Online is the new word of mouth:

Seventy-six percent of business owners consider "word of mouth" (referral from others) to be the most significant driver of new sales, but for 71% of consumers, it comes behind online search and online reviews.



Build it and they will come:

A mere 36% of sole traders have a website when 89% of customers say they want a website thats easy to navigate and 48% of customers say they will stop considering a business if it doesnt have one at all.



Customers are on the go

A third of e-commerce businesses (63%) do not have a mobile-friendly website, while one in two (48%) of customers are shopping on a mobile device at least once per week.



Reward loyalty

A rewards programme is important for more than one third (39%) of customers, but only a minuscule 14% small businesses offer one.



Face to face is out of fashion

Three times as many customers want to communicate via online chat than businesses that offer it (28% versus 9%). Three quarters (74%) of small businesses like to communicate face-to-face but this is the preference for only 33% of customers.



Need it now or never

Half (54%) of businesses expect on-demand delivery as part of the e-commerce experience in the near future, but the vast majority (76%) of businesses have no intent of using this technology.

More key insights:

An effective digital presence is critical: Only 1-in-2 small businesses have a website, which means there is a significant gap with consumer expectations as 62% of customers will stop considering a business if they cant find information about it online (think about the last time you Googled a cafe, restaurant, or dry cleaner)





Most businesses are not future ready: 45% of Aussie consumers want to use Google Home/Amazon Alexa/Apple HomePod to enhance customer experiences but 77% of businesses have no intent if using the voice commerce technology.

More on the 2018 Telstra Business Awards

The Awards has been a programme that shines a light on Australias most innovative small and medium businesses to gather, explore their dreams, celebrate their achievements and to become that business. Since 1992, the awards have showcased some of Australias best business talent, with more than 45,000 businesses nominated to date.

This year, each entrant receives a comprehensive and personalised Business Benchmark Report with actionable advice and insights, as well as access to exclusive masterclasses and networking events. Nominations close on 28 March (it only takes two minutes), and you can enter here.
From time to time, Google makes an attempt to try and convince the world at large that it takes security seriously. Its latest stunt is to announce that from July 2018 onwards it will be marking all pages that are not using secure protocols as insecure when viewed in its Chrome browser.

If only the company showed a fraction of the efforts it puts into PR into making its ubiquitous properties actually secure!

Google is extremely good at what security expert Bruce Schneier calls security theatre. Schneier coined the term to describe the over-abundant security measures that the US adopted after the 9/11 attacks  all of which do little to actually enhance people's security.

The search engine giant is very good at security theatre.

Given its profile and wide usage  Chrome, for reasons best known to its users, enjoys something like a 56% share of the browser market  any action that the company takes necessarily appears prominent. The, by the way, is titled "A secure Web is here to stay", indeed a laughable headline if ever there was one.

But what is the point when SSL encrypted threats are rising by the day? That little lock on a browser bar before the URL means little these days.

Recently, the removal of about 700,000 malicious apps from the Google Play store was touted by the search behemoth as some kind of indication that it is concerned about security.

When this was announced, there were some stupid lines spoken by the Google Play product manager, Andrew Ahn, that you have a lower probability of being infected by malware from Play than being hit by lightning".

There was no statement about how so many malicious apps came to be in the Play store in the first place. Android, remember, is almost 10 years old. By now if there is no proper security structure, then when it will ever be put in place?

Back in 2011, Google's Chris Di Bona posted a rant on Google+, using the argument about open source being more secure to try and argue that Android was in the same bucket.

Of course, Di Bona did not tell people that Android is only open source as far as the kernel goes  which is a modified Linux kernel that is under the GNU General Public Licence. That licence ensures that if anyone changes the source and then distributes it along with the changes, then that changed source in its entirety has to be made available to anyone who wants it.

The rest of Android is under various licences that allow Google to lock up the code and never provide it to anyone.

Every company that uses Android has to license the Google apps that are part of its ecosystem. They have no choice, else they can build their own.

Open source may be secure, but that has nothing to do with Google. Yet who questions it?

Android security is so bad that security professionals are now starting to compare it with Windows, the operating system produced by a company that has often been called the Typhoid Mary of the Internet.

From time to time, Google finds some security flaw or the other in another company's products and makes a big song and dance about it. This does wonders for Google as it embarrasses its rivals and deflects people's attention from all the snooping that Google does through its various Web properties.

Today, as iTWire reported, India has become the latest to fine Google for anti-competitive practices. One doubts it will be the last country to do so.

But given the manner in which Google is treated by the US mainstream and other media, who put on kid gloves whenever they discuss the company and its affairs, it is unlikely that there will be any change.

Only when it is exposed for the charade that it puts on and put to shame will there be change. Let's hope the rest of the world joins the EU in making the company pay for its anti-people practices.
The primary concern for businesses after the Australian data breach law takes effect on 22 February will be information security, as without that in place, it will not be possible to protect personal information, an expert in cyber security and law says.

Helaine Leggat, director of Melbourne firm Information Legal, told iTWire during an interview that cyber security was, by far, the greatest threat to smaller Australian businesses, "and while big business generally responds well, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, with the result that vulnerabilities in smaller businesses impact upon the entire Australian economy. Smaller businesses must do their part".

Leggat is one of the few people globally to hold a law degree along with CISSP, CISM, CIPP/US and CIPT credentials.

She has specialised in information (cyber) law, information security, information governance and information privacy since 2000 and has provided services to public and private sector organisations globally across all sectors. She has a CV that would be the envy of anyone in any field.

Leggat describes the company she founded as "a uniquely differentiated risk and advisory service founded on a belief that cyber law is empowering and that it is essential to know your rights".

She said it would be helpful to understand the main issue and the purpose behind the data breach law: that personal information is valuable and sensitive and the law required it be handled in a particular way.

She was interviewed by email.

iTWire: One would imagine that panic stations is setting in in many a small company which crosses that $3 million revenue mark. Is this your experience?

Helaine Leggat: The vast majority (over nine in ten) of Australian businesses are small businesses. They account for 33% of Australias GDP, employ over 40% of Australias workforce, and pay around 12% cent of total company tax revenue.

I do not have statistics on how many of these meet the $3 million revenue threshold, meaning that they must comply with the Privacy Act (Commonwealth) 1988 (Act), but presumably it is a fair number. In my experience, there is little knowledge of the amendments to the Act, which require breaches to be reported.

I see no panic. To be fair, I think this is not complacency, it is simply that smaller businesses do not know what is required, and if they do, they have little idea of what to do. Even big organisations are struggling.

Aside from smaller businesses that must comply, the fact of the matter is that some of Australias best and most innovative businesses do not need to comply with the Act because they currently fall under the applicability threshold.

However, these and many smaller businesses are processing massive amounts of personal information for big businesses that must comply. Think for example, about value-added services (SaaS) built on cloud technologies, where Tier 1 Company X engages Small Company Y to process PI, on solutions built, for example on Amazon Web Services. This is the reality of data privacy processing.

What I have seen over the last five years is big business imposing its own compliance obligations onto smaller businesses. This is a silly situation because the legislature, in its wisdom, sought to exclude smaller businesses from the onerous obligations of compliance  something that comes with a high cost in financial, human, ICT and other resources.

I have seen numerous contracts drafted by lawyers for big business include provisions that smaller service providers must comply with Australian and international privacy law. This heavy-handed approach is not helpful. I think it is better to look for practical solutions.

If one actually reads the provisions and applies them to the facts of the service involved (the processing and flow of PI), it is relatively easy to comply and to manage risk, by paying attention to what matters, and discarding unnecessary contingencies.

Under the amendment to the Act, notification is necessary where there is interference with the privacy of an individual resulting from unauthorised access or disclosure, and a reasonable person would conclude that this is likely to result in serious harm to any individual to whom the information relates.

It is helpful to understand the core issue and purpose of the legislation: PI is valuable and sensitive. Law requires that it is handled in a particular way.



This means that any business, big or small, needs firstly to know what PI it has. Secondly, businesses need to examine their business processes to establish how and where PI is processed. At a basic level, it boils down to managing legal and other risk in relation to (i) external situations, and (ii) internal situations.

Once this is understood, the next steps are easy: tell people what you will do, and then do what you told them you would do. It is not dissimilar from principles in consumer law that prohibit misleading and deceptive conduct. Record-keeping and the ability to provide evidence will be key to staying out of trouble.

Legally, this is expressed in the requirement that businesses must have (i) clearly expressed and up-to-date policies, and (ii) establish and maintain internal practices, procedures and systems that ensure compliance.

From my perspective, the primary concern is information security, because without security, the protection of PI is not possible. Cyber security is, by far, the greatest threat to smaller Australian businesses, and while big business generally responds well, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, with the result that vulnerabilities in smaller business impact upon the entire Australian economy. Smaller businesses must do their part.

Australian companies will have a much longer time than their European counterparts to notify the authorities of a data breach. I think it is something like 90 days versus seven days for the EU. Do you think a longer or shorter period is good?

It is not true that Australian companies will have a much longer time than their European counterparts to notify data breaches. The Act does not specify a minimum time for notification, but it requires notification as soon as practicable after the completion of the preparation of the statement after an entity is aware that there are reasonable grounds to believe that there has been an eligible data breach (Section 26WL).

Under the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679) Article 33 (Notification of a personal data breach to the supervisory authority) requires that in the case of a breach, the controller must without delay and, where feasible, not later than 72 hours after having become aware of it, notify the breach to the supervisory authority.

I interpret as soon as practicable as equivalent to without delay. The fact that the Act does not stipulate a time allowed does not mean Australian businesses have more time. We will see in due course how the courts interpret this provision, but I would caution directors to be mindful of their duties in relation to due diligence and due care under the Corporations Act 2001.

The issue of timing is important because the purpose of breach notification is to prevent or limit harm to individuals. The sooner individuals (and authorities) know that there has been a breach, the sooner they can act to protect themselves.

The issue of timing is one of fact; when does a business know that there has been a breach that triggers notification? There are numerous examples including the infamous Stuxnet worm where malware is designed not to be detected, and where networks have been breached and under surveillance for years on end, without the organisation knowing it.

The Act has a realistic and practical provision in that it recognises situations where a breach is suspected and allows for a 30-day assessment period of the situation. It also recognises remedial action taken before access, disclosure or loss results in serious harm to the individuals concerned. This 30-day assessment period must not be confused with the requirement to report.

While this is a practical approach, it does not detract from the purpose that individuals should be able to take action to protect themselves as soon as possible. The trigger to report is when the business is aware of reasonable grounds to believe an eligible data breach has occurred, and then it is obligated to promptly notify individuals (and the Privacy Commissioner) at likely risk of serious harm.

How long do you think it will be before some politician or the other starts whinging that this law is adding to business costs and that the threshold  $3 million  is far too low?

Personal information is only one kind of information that the law affords protection. Other protected information includes privileged, confidential and secret information, intellectual property, privacy and so on. The protection afforded is based on the fact that societies consider this information deserving of protection based on historical, cultural, economic, security and other grounds. Governments are voted into power based on policy positions, and these positions are reflected in legislation.

The Act was promulgated in 1988 and has seen several amendments, passed by various governments, both Labor and Liberal, since then. During this time, because of the internet, privacy and personal information have become more and more important.

In a democratic society, the relationship between a government and its people often boils down to trust. As individuals, we give up some of our freedoms, like privacy, for protection by the government in power acting for the state (national security and law enforcement). This culminates in a tension between privacy and security, because in an Internet society security often depends upon surveillance. Politicians understand the need to find a balance, and I believe that Australian politicians, like businesses and individuals wish to work together for Australian society as a whole.

Laws are just rules that govern behaviour within a particular society, time, place and context. All laws come at a cost  a cost to enforce and a cost to comply. Personally, I am sympathetic to all businesses that need to manage privacy law compliance, when their real business is making widgets or mining ore, but the thing is, doing these things involves people and people need protection.

As regards the $3 million turnover threshold, there are arguments that it is too high and that it is too low. While it is not possible to legislate fairly for every situation, I encourage businesses to see privacy and PI, well handled, as a sustainable competitive advantage. I support a risk-based approach where businesses can manage their preferred level of compliance, organisational maturity, risk appetite and budgetary constraints, remembering that entities that build customer trust reduce customer churn. Similarly, politicians who have the trust of citizens are likely to win votes.

How come no politicians or even the media have said much about the data breach law in the last few months?

I would put this down to the fact that the matter of breach notification is finally settled in Australia, bringing it in line with the rest of the world. Mandatory (notifiable) data breach reporting has taken five years to become law in Australia. Its history is:

June 2013: Privacy Amendment (Privacy Alerts) Bill 2013 (2013 Bill) which introduced the concept of serious data breach was introduced to the Senate.

November 2013: Privacy Amendment (Privacy Alerts) Bill 2013 Bill lapsed at the end of Parliament

December 2015: The Australian Government released draft of the Privacy Amendment (Notification of Serious Data Breaches) Bill 2015 (2015 Bill) for public submission. Nothing came of this, and the Bill was replaced by the Privacy Amendment (Notifiable Data Breaches) Bill 2016.

October 2016: The Privacy Amendment (Notifiable Data Breaches) Bill 2016 (2016 Bill) was introduced into the Australian Parliament.

February 2017: The 2016 Bill was passed on 13 February 2017 and became the Privacy Amendment (Notifiable Data Breaches) Act 2017.

22 February 2018: The Privacy Amendment (Notifiable Data Breaches) Act 2017 commences.

It is time to do, not just debate.

As you pointed out to me at the RSA seminar, many shonky legal outfits will be rubbing their hands in anticipation of making some moolah by offering their "services" to those for advice at the last minute. How does one guard against this?

I dont use terminology like shonky legal outfits or making some moolah. I have the highest respect for the legal profession and my colleagues in it. I have worked hard to transfer my foreign law degree and will be admitted into legal practice as an Australian solicitor this month.

What I personally am not a fan of is class action lawsuits (the ambulance-chasing contingency cases). I nevertheless recognise the right of legal practitioners to offer such services, and the right of individuals to have them. In some circumstances  and I cite the survivors of Victorias devastating 2009 Black Saturday bushfires who secured a $500 million payout in the biggest class action settlement in Australian legal history  they serve an important and equitable purpose.

And finally, with the breach law in place, will the public really get to know about more data breaches than they do at present? Or will things mostly be "adjusted" so as not to make anyone lose face?

I believe that the notifiable data breach amendment will improve individual and public awareness of their rights and protections, and through that individuals should be better positioned to enforce their rights and protections.

That said, the amendment does not provide additional rights  except for the inclusion of tax file recipients  it caters for breach notification of pre-existing rights. This is different from the GDPR which recognises specific additional rights, including the right of reasonable access to enforcement.

The Australian public should be aware that Australian privacy law is not regarded as adequate by EU standards, even after 22 February when the amendment comes into force.

I think the power of privacy law lies ultimately in the hands of individuals, be it in class action lawsuits or the power of social media chatter; from a business perspective, the amendment seeks to enforce responsibility and accountability. All businesses should take privacy seriously. Directors and officers can be personally liable.
Windows malware that mines for cryptocurrencies has, for the first time, been found in the network of an industrial control system at an operational treatment plant for a water utility, Radiflow, a security provider for critical infrastructure, says.

The company, which has branches in Israel, the US and the UK, said it had found the malicious software during a routine inspection and that several servers in the network had been infected with the malware which was mining for the monero cryptocurrency.

Cryptocurrency malware attacks involve extremely high CPU processing and network bandwidth consumption, which can threaten the stability and availability of the physical processes of a critical infrastructure operator, said Yehonatan Kfir, chief technology officer at Radiflow.

While it is known that ransomware attacks have been launched on OT networks, this new case of a cryptocurrency malware attack on an OT network poses new threats as it runs in stealth mode and can remain undetected over time.

It appears that the malware got onto the internal networks through the personal machine of an employee who visited a website that was hosting the malware. From there, it spread laterally, using an SMB vulnerability.

PCs in an OT network run sensitive HMI and SCADA applications that cannot get the latest Windows, anti-virus and other important updates and will always be vulnerable to malware attacks, said Kfir.

The best way to address this risk is using an intrusion detection system that passively monitors the communication in the OT network and detects anomalies in real-time caused by such malware.

Ilan Barda, chief executive of Radiflow, said: We are very proud to report that our technology has prevented this potentially damaging attack. Given the attractiveness of cryptocurrency mining and its increasing need for processing power, we will not be surprised if we will continue to see such attacks on other OT networks.

This case emphasises the need for a holistic cyber security solution for OT networks, including access control, intrusion detection and analytics services with the relevant expertise."
The tech website Motherboard has asked London's Metropolitan Police Service and an independent government organisation to institute a probe into why an MPS officer bought malware that can intercept messages on Facebook, steal passwords and operate a smartphone camera remotely.

The website said thus far the MPS had refused to investigate the matter, leaving open the question of the exact reason for purchase of the malware.

The legal firm Bindmans filed the formal complaint with the Independent Office for Police Conduct, on behalf of the site.

Journalist Joseph Cox wrote that the site had reported about the purchase of the malware, known as FlexiSpy, in April 2017, after it had been provided the information by a hacker, adding that depending on the version, the malware could be installed on a desktop device, Android devices or rooted iOS devices.

FlexiSpyto be "the world's most powerful monitoring software for computers, mobile phones and tablets".

Cox said that within the FlexiSpy customer records there was the official email address for an MPS officer. It was not immediately evident to whom the email address belonged as several shared similar names. But a clue was offered when, soon after the report, one MPS officer, from the group's High Tech Crime Unit, changed the privacy settings on his LinkedIn Account.

He quoted Eric King, a visiting surveillance law lecturer at London's Queen Mary University, as saying in the April 2017 report: "The use of the tool in most circumstances would breach the Computer Misuse Act 1990, and even the sale of the tool could be a criminal offence if its known its subsequent use would be unlawful.

Cox said a letter from the MPS' Directorate of Professional Standards had stated in December that it had come to the conclusion that the complaint did not need to be professionally recorded. This meant there would be no probe.

Motherboard was not deemed to be a member of the public who had witnessed any misconduct, the letter said, regarding its reasons for there being no probe. Cox said an appeal had been filed, seeking an urgent investigation.

"We dont know why a Metropolitan Police officer, likely from the forces hi-tech crime unit, purchased FlexiSpy. Did the officer deploy it in an investigation? Was its use proportionate and appropriate for the type of crime being investigated?" he wrote.

"Or, more worryingly, was the malware for personal, illegal use to monitor their spouse, as FlexiSpys marketing at the time made heavy reference to? Its also possible the officer purchased FlexiSpy simply to better understand how the software worked."

As part of the Snoopers Charter, the new surveillance law that was passed, the British police received formal permission to use software like the malware in question and other hacking devices.
The Competition Commission of India, the country's anti-trust watchdog, has fined Google 135.86 crore rupees (about US$21.1 million) for "abusing its dominant position in online general Web search and Web search advertising services in India".

A statement from the CCI said that the fine had been levied following complaints by two websites in 2012: matchmaking website Bharat Matrimony (Matrimony.com) and the non-profit Consumer and Trust Society.

Google was fined 2.42 billion (US$2.7 billion) by the European Union in June last year for allegedly abusing its search engine dominance to give illegal advantage to its own comparison shopping service. The company has appealed the decision.

It also faces EU fines over its AdSense advertising system and its Android mobile operating system.

The CCIit had found Google giving undue prominence to its own flight services among search results, disadvantaging other firms that were trying to gain a spot in the same results page.

"Besides, it was also found that Google has provided a further link in such commercial units which leads users to its specialised search result page (Google Flight) resulting into unfair imposition upon the users of general search services as well," the CCI said.

The fine represents 5% of Google's average total revenue from its operations in India.

Google was found to be indulging in practices of search bias and by doing so, it causes harm to its competitors as well as to users, CCI said in its 190-page order.

Google was leveraging its dominance in the market for online general web search, to strengthen its position in the market for online syndicate search services.

Reuters quoted Naval Chopra, a partner at the law firm Shardul Amarchand, as saying he was surprised at the small fine.

Whilst finding Google to have abused its dominant position, the CCI has nonetheless exercised restraint in recognising the dynamic nature of online markets and not found Google guilty of every allegation, said Chopra, who represented Bharat Matrimony.

The CCI said it did not find that Googles specialised search design (OneBoxes), AdWords, online intermediation and distribution agreements had contravened any Indian law.

The company has to deposit the fine within 60 days.

A Google spokesman was quoted by Reuters as saying the company was reviewing the narrow concerns identified by the CCI and would consider what to do next.

We have always focused on innovating to support the evolving needs of our users. The Competition Commission of India has confirmed that, on the majority of issues it examined, our conduct complies with Indian competition laws, he said.
"But I'm not guilty," said K., "there's been a mistake. How is it even possible for someone to be guilty? We're all human beings here, one like the other."

"That is true," said the priest, "but that is how the guilty speak."

Sound Kafkaesque? That's because it's Kafka's The Trial, a nightmare story of an innocent man caught in an inscrutable bureaucracy, condemned to this or that fate, and with no way to challenge the decisions rendered against him. Machine learning has been compared to automated bureaucracy, and European regulators are clearly concerned that unfettered proliferation of machine learning could lead to a world in which we are all K.

But what does the GDPR, the sweeping overhaul of the 1995 European Data Protection Directive that affects any company that does business with Europeans, say about machine learning and artificial intelligence? Not a lot, it turns out, prompting legal scholars to debate what rights EU citizens have under the new law--and what GDPR compliance ought to look like for global companies operating in Europe.

The debate centers on the single occurrence of the phrase "right to explanation" that occurs in Recital 71, a companion document to the GDPR that is not itself legally enforceable. However, the GDPR states that data controllers must notify consumers how their data will be used, including "the existence of automated decision-making, and, at least in those cases, meaningful information about the logic involved, as well as the significance and the envisaged consequences of such processing for the data subject." [our emphasis]

A common-sense reading would mean that if a computer is making real-world decisions without a human in the loop, then there should be some accountability for how those decisions are made. For example, if a bank's machine learning model denies you credit, and does so without meaningful human intervention, then, some scholars argue, the bank owes you an explanation of how it arrived at that decision.

"People are selling what are essentially black box systems," Andrew Selbst, a researcher at Data & Society in New York, says. "When things go wrong, the programmers are hiding behind a lack of transparency, saying 'nobody can understand these systems.' Ultimately, that's not going to be an acceptable answer. It's an expression of human dignity, of human autonomy, not to have decisions made about us which have no reviewability," he adds.

Despite strong arguments that a right to explanation should exist, it remains less clear whether such a right does exist under European law--and if it does exist, it likely has loopholes an autonomous truck could drive through.

Is there a GDPR "right to explanation" for AI?

In a touchstone legal analysis published last year, Sandra Wachter, a research fellow at the Oxford Internet Institute in the UK, criticized the notion, popular at the time, that AI would be heavily regulated by a "right to explanation" when the GDPR comes into force.

"From a legal perspective it's quite obvious what's going to be legally mandated as of May," Wachter says. "The phrase 'right to explanation' is mentioned once in a recital. Recitals are not legally binding, they are not separately enforceable."

Recitals, she explains, are meant to clarify any ambiguities in the law--but in this case, she says, there is no ambiguity. "I wrote that paper because I wanted to alarm people that we have problems that need to be fixed," she adds. "I'm very much in favor of a legally-binding right to explanation."

Wachter's opponents disagree with her interpretation of the GDPR, however. "The intent of the legislation is very clear," Julia Powles, a research fellow at NYU Law, and co-author, with Selbst, of a paper arguing for the existence of a right to explanation in the GDPR, says. "It's about giving meaningful rights to individuals about when [their data] is used and how it's accessed, how it affects life and life chances."

Two core principles of the GDPR are transparency and accountability for how data is processed. One can therefore infer a right to explanation in the GDPR, Powles and Selbst argue. However, the technical difficulty of implementing a "right to explanation" for increasingly complex AI systems has led some to question whether compliance with such a requirement would even be possible.

Is a "right to explanation" technically possible?

Nobody is quite sure. At present there are well-recognized trade-offs between accuracy and explainability when developing a machine learning model. The more accurate the model, the less obvious the model's decisions. This makes it difficult for humans to trust those decisions, though, especially when the stakes are high.

The stakes don't get much higher than the battlefield, and the Pentagon's skunkworks are investigating how to solve the problem. DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the same folks who brought you ARPANET, the precursor to the internet, launched an "Explainable AI" initiative in 2016, and gave a ton of money to researchers to spend four years banging away at this problem.

"[AI] systems offer tremendous benefits, but their effectiveness will be limited by the machine's inability to explain its decisions and actions to human users," DARPA's RFP says. "This issue is especially important for the Department of Defense...Explainable AI will be essential if users are to understand, appropriately trust, and effectively manage this incoming generation of artificially intelligent partners."

DARPA Machine learning analyzes attributes of an image to understand what it represents. Since it is constantly adjusting what it knows about the data patterns, the "reasons" why it has decided can be unclear.

DARPA-funded research may well trickle down into GDPR compliance, but in the meanwhile, private industry faces related, but different, concerns: explaining decisions might result in disclosure of closely-held trade secrets or otherwise violate their intellectual property rights. Finding the right balance between accountability and encouraging innovation remains an unsolved problem. Nevertheless, Powles argues, we must try.

"The idea that because it's difficult, because the system is complicated, as many are, that's an excuse to not have to explain how the real-world consequences are derived. That seems backwards as a direction for technology and any sort of social policy," she says. "Because of the promise unproven of greater good we abandon these deeply held and hugely significant rights to autonomy and dignity and privacy and so on?"

While the GDPR is deliberately vague on regulating AI, the spirit of the law seems to be to both encourage innovation, but also maintain enough regulatory muscle to intervene, if necessary. "Europe does not want to ban machine learning," Wachter says. "That's not what they set out to do. The whole aim of the framework is to balance the interests of data controllers with the interests of data subjects."

GDPR right to explanation: vague on purpose

The GDPR's vagueness is a feature, not a bug, Shannon Yavorsky, an attorney at Venables LLP in San Francisco, who has worked on European data protection law for the last 15 years, says. "There is definitely a sense that the GDPR lacks specificity on a number of different ponts," she says. "Part of it is intentional; it wants to leave room for technology to evolve."

The GDPR replaces the 1995 Data Protection Directive, and the old law was out of date, Yavorsky says. European lawmakers learned their lesson and now aim to regulate technology using high-level guiding principles, rather than getting down into the weeds of specific technological design choices.

While that vagueness may leave affected companies with a sense of unease, enforcing a legally ambiguous right to explanation is by no means a priority for European regulators when the GDPR comes into force in May, Yavorsky says. "Artificial intelligence and machine learning are sort of in their infancy," Yavorsky says. "It could be this becomes more critical as the technology evolves and it does have a greater impact on society."

GDPR enforcement of right to explanation

European regulators are sending signals that they intend to enforce the GDPR and will likely single out egregiously bad actors in the first six to 12 months to set an example. However, the existence of a right to explanation, and what it means if it exists, is uncertain enough that we probably won't know where the line gets drawn until it goes to court.

"What's going to happen is that at some point somebody will sue," Wachter says. A test case will work its way through the courts of a member state, probably Ireland, where many international companies have their European headquarters. "The final say will be the European Court of Justice, the highest court in European law," she adds. "They will make a decision and say how the framework will be interpreted. We will have clarity at that point."
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By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) |  

In an exclusive, Reuters reports today that the Trump administration is going into the Iraq reconstruction conference in Kuwait next week with no plans to contribute a dime to the effort. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will attend.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haydar al-Abadi estimates that Iraq needs $100 billion to rebuild. The country is still devastated from the 2003 US war of aggression and 8.5 year military occupation, which spurred Sunni insurgencies and led to the collapse of the US- and NATO-trained military in 2014. The past 3.5 years have been spent attempting to recover the Sunni Arab areas of the country from ISIL, which involved destroying most Sunni Arab cities in the country.

Donald Trump ran on a platform of no more nation building. (He neednt have bothered to articulate it. What nation has the US built recently?)

Yara Bayoumy and Jonathan Landay at Reuters report that the Trump administration is hoping that Saudi Arabia will proffer substantial aid, as a quid pro quo for the Iraqi government distancing itself from Iran.

This hope strikes me as almost completely forlorn. Saudi Arabia is trying to overthrow four governments in the regionYemen, Syria, Lebanon and Qatar, and the Shiite leaders in Baghdad would have to have their heads examined to put their heads in that lions mouth.

Although Iraq has a substantial oil income, it also runs big budget deficits and its non-oil economy has contracted as much as ten percent per year in recent years because of ISIL. Iraqs debt is 63% of its GDP, which is dangerously high. The disaster of the loss of 40% of the countrys territory to ISIL in 2014 was accompanied by the disaster of a dramatic halving of oil prices in recent years. Iraqs exact economic situation is very difficult to know because of lack of transparency, but its GDP is estimated at $192 bn for a population of roughly 32 million, for a per capita income of $6,000 a year. But that is an average and in fact most Iraqi families are desperately poor and no one knows where all that oil money has gone. When I was there four years ago, Baghdad looked dowdy and as though nothing new had been built since 1980 (compare to other oil countries like Kuwait or the UAE and the stagnation is breathtaking).

After the destruction of Tikrit, Ramadi, Falluja and Mosul (and Falluja had already been destroyed in 2004 by the Americans), Iraq needs to make massive investments in the Sunni Arab regions if it is to regain the loyalty of the people there.

Washington, having blithely set the country on the path to catastrophe, has now washed its hands of any further responsibility, with the exception of an occasional air strike against ISIL remnants.

-

Bonus video:

Wochit News: U.S. Not Planning to Contribute Money At Iraq Reconstruction Conference
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Middle East Monitor |  

Yemeni Nobel Peace laureate Tawakkol Karman called for an end to the Saudi-led coalitions military occupation of Yemen in an exclusive interview with Reuters today.

Tawakkol Karman, Via Belfer Center, YouTube

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, Tawakkol Karman, Yemeni Nobel Peace Laurette said.

Karman alleged that internationally recognised President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi was under house arrest in Saudi Arabias capital Riyadh.

However, a Yemeni government official denied her claims saying: This lady, unfortunately, no longer means what she says. President Hadi isnt under house arrest and can travel wherever he wants  the government and the coalition are in complete coordination.

The Saudi-led coalition says its campaign was launched at Hadis request and aims at restoring his rule and Yemens future as a unified state in line with UN resolutions.

But Karman says Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), monarchies where the state and ruling families are intertwined, 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.

Earlier this week, Saudi and UAE social media launched a campaign against Karman for criticising the Saudi-led coalitions hostilities in Yemen.

Social media users called for Karman to be prosecuted whilst others accused her of being part of the Muslim Brotherhood and carrying out a Turkish project in Yemen.

IRIN News earlier this week published its investigation on Saudi Arabias use of American and British public relations firms to promote its multi-dollar aid plan for Yemen, which reduces crucial imports to the Houthi controlled ports. Saudi Arabia continues to monitor every shipment to Yemen in the Red Sea.

Via Middle East Monitor

licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.



Bonus video added by Informed Comment:

Al Jazeera English: ?? Yemen war: Surviving winter without a home
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 9, 2018) - Arctic Star Exploration Corp (TSXV: ADD) (OTCQB: ASDZF) (FSE: 82A1) (WKN: A2DFY5) ("Arctic" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that a diamond drill rig will arrive at site on its 100% owned Timantti Diamond Project in Finland (the "Project") on February 12, 2018 and will commence drilling shortly after. The drill will test newly identified kimberlite targets.

Since early December geophysical crews have been active in the field conducting magnetic, electromagnetic (MaxMin) and gravity surveys over much of the 243 Ha Exploration Reservation area. In mid-January the Company deployed an excavator to collect till samples to further support geophysics results. The basil till covering potential kimberlites on the Project is only one or two metres thick.

The purpose of conducting ground magnetic, electromagnetic and gravity surveys is to search for new kimberlitic targets and to discriminate these from non-kimberlite geophysical responses. A total of 41-line kilometres of electromagnetic (MaxMin) is planned, of which approximately 50% has been completed. Approximately 35 kilometres of gravity survey is also planned, of which 55% has been completed. There are also 61-line kilometres of ground magnetics planned of which 35% is now complete.

The Wolf kimberlites are moderate magnetic highs in a fairly magnetically noisy background with iron formations and mafic volcanics producing similar or more intense responses. At this stage, there are over twenty magnetic anomalies that may represent kimberlite targets in the general Wolf area, the gravity and MaxMin survey will help further prioritize these targets prior to drilling. The Wolf kimberlites for example also have an electromagnetic response.

The excavator is sampling the basal till, "down-ice" of the more promising geophysical anomalies. Four targets have been tested to date, and the samples have been sent to laboratory to extract indicator minerals. The drill will be directed to any of these that report diamond indicator minerals.

The drill will also be utilized to further delineate the Wolf kimberlites and return a larger caustic fusion micro-diamond sample to further determine the size and grade for a decision to bulk sample these diamondiferous kimberlites.

Buddy Doyle VP of Exploration commented, "By rapidly deploying these different exploration tools to our exploration permit, we expect to obtain multiple layers of evidence of new kimberlites that can be drill tested. We know there are more kimberlites in this area by the expression of diamond favorable indicator minerals in the region, which the Wolf kimberlites cannot explain. The company also will produce a steady stream of caustic diamond fusion results from drilling the Wolf kimberlites, which, so far have produced encouraging micro-diamond counts. The next six weeks will be an exciting time for the company."

The Qualified Person for this news release is Roy Spencer, Fellow AUSIMM, a Geologist of over thirty years' experience in diamonds.

ABOUT ARCTIC STAR: The Company owns 100% of the recently acquired Timantti Diamond Project including a 243 Ha Exploration Permit and a 95,700 Ha Exploration Reservation near the township of Kuusamo, in Finland. The project is located approximately 450km SW of the operating Grib Diamond Mine in Russia. Arctic is commencing its exploration in Finland on the Timantti Project, where two diamondiferous kimberlites may represent the first finds in a large kimberlite field. The Company also controls diamond exploration properties in Nunavut (Stein), the NWT (Diagras and Redemption) and a rare metals project in BC (Cap).

Arctic Star has a highly experienced diamond exploration team previously responsible for several world class diamond discoveries.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF ARCTIC STAR EXPLORATION CORP.

"Scott Eldridge"

Scott Eldridge, President & CEO

+1 (604) 722-5381

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Patrick Power, Executive Chairman

+1 (604) 218-8772

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: Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements in this press release include that the Timantti Project transaction is a pre-eminent opportunity.
LONDON and TORONTO, Feb. 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SolGold plc (LSE:SOLG) (TSX:SOLG) announces today that, as a result of a review by staff of the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), the Company is issuing the following news release to clarify its technical disclosure made with respect to its flagship Alpala Project at Cascabel in Ecuador.

Specifically, the Company wishes to clarify that certain Company presentations made in August, September and November 2017, including two investor presentation documents made available on the Companys website, contain preliminary economic information not supported by a technical report prepared in accordance with NI 43-101. Though the Company included qualifying language in the presentations, adjacent to such economic disclosure, to the effect that such information was conceptual in nature and should not be relied upon by investors, OSC staff informed the Company that such disclosure is not permitted if not supported by a preliminary economic assessment prepared in accordance with NI 43-101. As a result, the identified presentations and related files have been removed from the Companys website. The Company retracts the preliminary economic information contained therein and cautions investors that it should not be relied on. Content similar to the economic information contained in the Companys presentations is also contained in certain reports and presentations prepared by third party analysts, which the Company had previously linked to on its website.

Subsequent to the filing of the NI 43-101 mineral resource statement in respect of the Companys January 3, 2018 maiden mineral resource estimate press release, the Company anticipates preparing and filing a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) on the Cascabel Project, prepared in accordance with NI 43-101. The PEA will be reviewed and approved by a qualified person under NI 43-101 who is independent of the Company.

The Company announced its maiden mineral resource estimate for the Cascabel Project on January 3, 2018, in respect of which it expects to file a mineral resource statement prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 on or before February 20, 2018. In the January 3 release, the Company disclosed the quantity and grade of the estimated mineral resources and the proportion of such estimate represented by the indicated and inferred categories in such a way as to combine the two categories. Although the Company made it quite clear to investors the percentage of the material comprising the combined resource that is in the inferred category, such disclosure is contrary to paragraph 2.2(c) of NI 43-101. The following restates the applicable mineral resource estimate disclosure from the Companys January 3, 2018 press release:

The Alpala maiden mineral resource estimate totals a current:

430 Mt @ 0.8% CuEq (at 0.3% CuEq cut off) in the Indicated category, and 650 Mt @ 0.6% CuEq (at 0.3% CuEq cut off) in the Inferred category; contained metal content of 2.3 Mt Cu in the Indicated category and 2.9 Mt Cu in the Inferred category; and contained metal content of 6.0 Mt Au in the Indicated category and 6.3 Mt Au in the Inferred category.



The Company also wishes to clarify that Jason Ward, MAusIMM (CP), the Companys Country Manager for Ecuador and Exploration Manager for the Cascabel Project, has reviewed and approved the contents of each of the press releases of the Company in which any technical information appears from July 13, 2017 to present, including this press release. Mr. Ward is a qualified person for the purposes of NI 43-101.

ABOUT SOLGOLD

SolGold is a Brisbane, Australia based, dual LSE and TSXlisted (SOLG on both exchanges) copper gold exploration and future development company with assets in Ecuador, Solomon Islands and Australia. SolGold's primary objective is to discover and define worldclass coppergold deposits. The Board and Management Team have substantial vested interests in the success of the Company as shareholders as well as strong track records in the areas of exploration, mine appraisal and development, investment, finance and law. SolGold's experience is augmented by state of the art geophysical and modelling techniques and the guidance of porphyry copper and gold expert Dr Steve Garwin.

CAUTIONARY NOTICE

News releases, presentations and public commentary made by SolGold and its Officers may contain certain statements and expressions of belief, expectation or opinion which are forward looking statements, and which relate, inter alia, to interpretations of exploration results to date and the Company's proposed strategy, plans and objectives or to the expectations or intentions of the Company's Directors. Such forward-looking and interpretative statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors beyond the control of the Company that could cause the actual performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from such interpretations and forward-looking statements. Accordingly, the reader should not rely on any interpretations or forward-looking statements; and save as required by the exchange rules of the TSX and LSE or by applicable laws, the Company does not accept any obligation to disseminate any updates or revisions to such interpretations or forward-looking statements. The Company may reinterpret results to date as the status of its assets and projects changes with time expenditure, metals prices and other affecting circumstances.

This release may contain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements regarding the Company's plans for developing its properties. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to: transaction risks; general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; future prices of mineral prices; accidents, labour disputes and shortages and other risks of the mining industry. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
The US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group has avoided involvement in Syrias civil war, but on Thursday it said it killed more than 100 pro-regime fighters in the country.

The international coalition was set up in 2014 to drive IS from territories it controlled in Iraq and Syria.

Washington has deployed 2,000 soldiers in Syria, mainly special forces, who support the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an Arab-Kurdish coalition fighting the IS.

 First air strikes 

In September 2014, the US and Arab allies launch air strikes on the IS in Syria, opening a new front in the fight against the jihadist group, already targeted by raids in Iraq.

 Support for Kurds 

In October 2014 the US State Department reveals that American officials have met for the first time the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD).

The PYD is the political branch of the Peoples Protection Units (YPG), which are Syrias main Kurdish militia.

In January 2015 the Kurdish militia drives IS out of the Kurdish border town of Kobane, after more than four months of fighting backed by coalition air strikes.

The militia becomes the spearhead on Syrian soil of the coalitions fight against the jihadists.

 Errors 

In September 2016, a string of coalition air strikes hit a Syrian army base, killing as many as 90 regime soldiers in the eastern region of Deir Ezzor.

Washington says it believed it was targeting an IS position there, but Damascus says the strike was intentional.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor has reported several mistakes by the coalition, which says it takes every precaution to avoid civilian casualties.

 Pro-regime forces bombed 

In April 2017 Syrian warplanes strike the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhun in Idlib with chemical agent sarin, killing more than 80.

On the night of April 6-7, the US military hits back by firing 59 Tomahawk missiles from warships in the Mediterranean at the central Shayrat airbase, which it says was the launchpad for the chemical attack.

In May, coalition aircraft strike a pro-regime convoy as it approaches a training garrison near the Al-Tanf border crossing to Jordan. The US had chosen this town to train local Syrian forces to fight IS.

In June a US warplane shoots down a Syrian jet for the first time after it bombs SDF fighters. Syrian ally Russia denounces the aggression.

 Arms for Kurds 

In May 2017 the White House gives the Pentagon the green light to deliver weapons to the YPG.

The decision provokes anger in Turkey, which says the YPG is linked to its own domestic Kurdish separatist group the PKK, or Kurdish Workers Party.

It is the first time a US administration officially supplies arms to the Kurds, with the Americans having up until then saying they would only arm the Kurds Arab allies.

In October 2017 the Kurdish-Arab coalition drives IS out of its Syrian stronghold Raqa after months of fighting.

 Pro-regime forces hit 

On February 8, 2018, the coalition says it killed at least 100 pro-regime fighters to fend off an attack on its allies in eastern Syria.

Syria brands the strikes, in Deir Ezzor province, a war crime.
The Philippine military on Thursday denied it planned to use 16 Bell helicopters bought from Canada as attack aircraft against local insurgents, following reports Ottawa was reviewing the deal.

Canadian media had reported that Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus government was reconsidering the sale over fears the aircraft would be used in internal security operations, just hours after both governments had announced the deal.

President Rodrigo Dutertes spokesman warned Manila may walk away from the deal in light of the controversy.

If they dont want to sell, well, we may consider the prospect of procuring them from other sources, presidential spokesman Harry Roque told reporters Thursday.

The military stressed they were utility helicopters, not attack helicopters.

They must not politicise the acquisition, said Major-General Restituto Padilla, the deputy chief of staff for plans and programmes of the Philippine armed forces.

According to the Philippine defence department, the deal was signed with trade promotion outfit Canadian Commercial Corp last December, shortly after Trudeau clashed with Duterte during a Manila visit over alleged Philippine police murders of thousands of drug suspects.

The Philippines employs attack helicopters and planes to support ground troops battling militants in the Muslim south, as well as against communist guerrillas in other parts of the mainly Catholic Asian nation.

 For wounded soldiers 

As well as in the drug war, the Philippine military has for years been saddled with allegations of human rights abuses in its counter-insurgency campaigns.

A Philippine defence department spokesman told AFP on Wednesday the air force would use the Bell 412EPI aircraft, worth US$234.8 million, for disaster response and humanitarian missions, but also for anti-terrorism.

However, Padilla said Thursday this did not mean they would be used as attack helicopters.

Not at all. They are purely for utility purposes  ergo, transport purposes especially during HADR operations, he said, using a military term for disaster response.

We have separate and dedicated attack helicopters.

Apart from armed insurgencies, the Philippines is also regularly battered by typhoons.

These will be used to transport personnel, supplies, humanitarian missions, ferrying of wounded and injured soldiers, and other forms of humanitarian assistance and disaster response, Roque, the Duterte spokesman, said.

Bell Helicopter said the Philippine military would use the aircraft for a variety of missions such as disaster relief, search and rescue, passenger transport and utility transport.

Trudeau said in November he had 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 Trudeaus comments as a personal and official insult.

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.
Russias UN ambassador on Thursday slammed as criminal the US-led coalition strikes against pro-regime forces in Syria that left more than 100 dead.

Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told reporters that he protested the assault in Syrias eastern province of Deir Ezzor during a closed-door Security Council meeting.

It was inadmissible for whatever reasons it was justified, Nebenzia told reporters, adding that he told the United States to remember that they are in Syria illegally in fact. They were not invited there.

They claim all the time that they fight international terrorism, but we see that it goes beyond that.

To confront those who really fight international terrorism on the ground in Syria is criminal.

The United States said the international coalition carried out air strikes against pro-government fighters on Wednesday to defend its allies in Deir Ezzor.

It accused Syrian pro-government forces of initiating an attack on the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

The Syrian government complained in a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that the attack represents a war crime and a crime against humanity.

The US-led coalition was established in 2014 to fight the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq, but it has bombed troops loyal to Damascus on several occasions.
Syrian regime jets have pounded Eastern Ghouta, sending the death toll from a four-day assault on the rebel enclave on the outskirts of Damascus soaring past 220.

Violence also flared in eastern Syria on Thursday, where the US-led coalition said it had killed at least 100 pro-regime fighters to fend off an attack on its Kurdish allies.

The clash marked a fresh escalation between Washington, which has threatened the regime over its alleged use of chemical weapons, and Damascus, which labelled the latest incident in eastern Syria a war crime.

Moscow also slammed the US-led strikes, with Russias UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia saying he had lodged a protest about the assault during a closed-door Security Council meeting.

To confront those who really fight international terrorism on the ground in Syria is criminal, he said.

The UN Security Council on Thursday failed to back a UN appeal for a month-long humanitarian ceasefire in Syria.

In Eastern Ghouta, which lies east of the capital and has been besieged since 2013, residents had no time to mourn their dead or treat their wounded from the previous days bombardment.

These are the worst four days that Eastern Ghouta has ever gone through, said Hamza, an overwhelmed doctor at the Erbin clinic who was treating wounded patients.

From 2011 until now, there has never been the level of bombardment weve seen in the last 96 hours.

The death toll mounted steadily throughout Thursday, with the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights giving 75 civilians dead by the evening. Three died of wounds suffered on Wednesday.

 Dozens of children 

That brought to 228 the number of civilians killed since the regime launched a campaign Monday of heavy air raids on the area, which has an estimated 400,000 residents.

Among them were at least 58 children, the Observatory said.

Children and teachers are terrified that at any moment they could be hit. The siege means there is nowhere for them to escape, said Sonia Khush, Save the Childrens Syria response director.

There must be an immediate halt to the fighting and an end to the siege.

Moayad al-Hafi, a rescue worker, said his team was targeted as they retrieved bodies near Erbin.

As we were pulling out the children and the dead from under the rubble, they targeted us with five rockets  directly targeting us, said Hafi, 24.

At least two civilians were killed in retaliatory rebel mortar fire on government-controlled areas of Damascus, according to state news agency SANA.

AFP correspondents said mortars were raining down on Bab Touma on Thursday night.

Eastern Ghouta was one of several so-called de-escalation zones agreed last year by three of the main outside players in the conflict  Turkey, Iran and Russia.

Ankara announced Thursday it would host a new three-way summit to revive efforts to end the war, which has killed at least 340,000 people and displaced millions since 2011.

Recent attempts to bring the conflicts protagonists and brokers to the table have floundered, but the UN made a fresh call this week for conflicting sides to halt fighting.

The United States backed the plea but Russia  a longtime ally of Syrias government  shrugged it off.

That is not realistic, Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told reporters at the UN.

 US strikes regime forces 

A US military official said the US-led coalition that still assists Kurdish-led forces in the hunt for surviving IS members in eastern Syria killed at least 100 pro-regime fighters overnight.

US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said the coalition acted in self-defence after pro-government forces moved on an area under the control of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

The pro-Damascus forces began shelling it with artillery, he added. They were moving with tanks, obviously in the same direction as they were firing.

At the end of our effort to defend ourselves, their artillery was knocked out, two of their tanks were knocked out, they had casualties.

Syrian state media confirmed dozens were killed but appeared to deny the forces were army soldiers, describing them as popular forces.

Wounded fighters were taken to the military hospital in Syrias eastern Deir Ezzor city, which is controlled by the government.

A reporter contributing to AFP saw at least six fighters there, lying on hospital beds in sparsely equipped rooms.

The Observatory said the regime forces may have been aiming to capture a key oil field and a major gas plant in an SDF-held area.

The Omar oil field, one of the biggest in Syria, had a pre-war output of 30,000 barrels per day, while the Conoco gas field had a pre-war capacity of 13 million cubic metres a day.

According to the Observatory, the forces that launched the attack on SDF positions were local tribal fighters loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and Afghan Shiite militia fighting alongside the regime.

In a letter addressed to the UN secretary general, the Syrian foreign ministry said the attack represents a war crime and a crime against humanity.

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CONOCOPHILLIPS
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday declared himself beyond the jurisdiction of an International Criminal Court probe into thousands of deaths in his drugs war, claiming local laws do not specifically ban extrajudicial killings.

In a typically bombastic speech Friday, a day after the ICC announced a preliminary inquiry into alleged crimes against humanity, Duterte renewed threats to withdraw from the worlds sole war crimes tribunal.

Duterte, who has overseen the bloody anti-drug crackdown since taking power in 2016, acknowledged that a previous Manila government ratified the treaty that established the ICC, but claimed it had not passed into local law because of a technicality.

There is no fucking provision of extrajudicial killing. It is not defined anywhere so how can you now accuse me of a crime, said Duterte, speaking in his home city of Davao.

Police say they have killed nearly 4,000 drug suspects in the narcotics crackdown, while rights groups claim the toll is around three times the official numbers.

The outspoken Philippine leader, who is accused of stoking the killings with inflammatory statements, took issue over the Philippines becoming the first southeast Asian nation put under a preliminary examination by the ICC prosecutor.

There are so many massacres happening in all parts of Asia and you pick on me. You better clear that up because I will withdraw from the ICC, he warned, echoing an earlier threat.

In a separate speech to Davao businessmen late Friday, Duterte issued a veiled warning to ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda.

Do not go into that adventure. Its a messy one, he said.

You will know. You will get your comeuppance.

The ICCs initial inquiry is designed to help prosecutors determine if there is enough evidence of crimes that fall into its jurisdiction. It could lead to a full probe and eventually charges.

Dutertes spokesman Harry Roque said earlier Friday he was very confident he will escape ICC prosecution.

Roque said a United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings in 2007 investigated Dutertes role in 1,069 alleged death-squad killings in the southern city of Davao while he was mayor.

The mission did not lead to Dutertes prosecution and Roque said the president expects the same outcome.

Duterte won a landslide victory in 2016 elections largely on a pledge to eradicate drugs.

In addition to the official toll, authorities are also investigating some 2,000 other cases of drug-related killings by unknown suspects.

The ICC on Thursday announced the unprecedented decision to launch two inquiries at once, one in the Philippines and a second on alleged abuses during Venezuelas political unrest.
Fresh air strikes hit the Syrian rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta on Friday, AFP correspondents reported, the fifth straight day of a bombing campaign that has killed more than 220 civilians.

Syrian warplanes have battered the enclaves towns since Monday, trapping thousands of families in makeshift bomb shelters and overwhelming rescue workers.

World powers failed to back an appeal by UN officials for a month-long ceasefire to allow for desperately needed aid deliveries and medical evacuations.

Bombing raids resumed on several Eastern Ghouta towns on Friday morning after a few hours of calm, AFP correspondents reported.

Residents had taken advantage of the lull to begin clearing rubble from their doorsteps and sweeping away broken glass.

In Douma, some civilians were seen scouring for salvageable items, while others rushed to the market to find food and other supplies.

But around mid-morning, an announcement blasted over mosque minarets warned of incoming strikes: Surveillance plane in the sky. Clear the streets.

Soon after, twin strikes hit the town of Erbin, where two dozen people were killed on Thursday.

Medics in the town reported being overwhelmed by the relentless bombardment.

From 2011 until now, there has never been the level of bombardment weve seen in the last 96 hours, said Hamza, one of doctors treating the wounded.

 Humanitarian disaster 

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 75 people died on Thursday, three of wounds suffered the previous day.

That brought the civilian death toll since Monday to nearly 230.

Eastern Ghouta is home to an estimated 400,000 people who have lived under crippling government siege since 2013.

More than 4,000 families live in basements and bunkers for fear of air strikes, according to Save the Children.

The siege means there is nowhere for them to escape. There must be an immediate halt to the fighting and an end to the siege, said Save the Childrens Syria response director, Sonia Khush.

CARE International said the intensity of the air strikes had made it extremely difficult for relief workers to assist the needy.

Our partners are having a hard time moving around, so how can they reach vulnerable people? the groups communications director for Syria, Joelle Bassoul, asked.

If there is no ceasefire, if this is all left unheard, we cannot imagine the scale of the humanitarian disaster, she said.

Eastern Ghouta is supposed to be one of four de-escalation zones declared last year in a bid to reduce the bloodshed.

 Russia, US cross swords 

UN aid officials appealed for a month-long humanitarian truce to allow aid to be delivered and the sick and wounded brought out for treatment.

But on Thursday the Security Council failed to support the proposal.

Washington backed it but Damascus ally Moscow dismissed it as not realistic..

The two governments also crossed swords over US-led air strikes that hit forces allied to the Damascus regime in eastern Syria late Wednesday and early Thursday.

US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said the coalition acted in self-defence after pro-Damascus forces moved on an area under the control of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.

At least 100 pro-regime fighters were killed, a US military official said.

The Syrian foreign ministry condemned the bombardment as a war crime, an accusation echoed by the Russian ambassador to the UN.

To confront those who really fight international terrorism on the ground in Syria is criminal, Vassily Nebenzia said.

Wounded fighters were taken to the military hospital in the government-controlled eastern city of Deir Ezzor.

A reporter contributing to AFP saw at least six fighters, lying on hospital beds in sparsely equipped wards.
Cyber defenders score high in national competition

Friday, Feb. 9, 2018

Kansas State University's Cyber Defense Team. Members include, from left: Calvin Bailey, Josh Riess, BreAnn Anshutz, Susan Burke, Richard Petrie, Caleb Fleming, Lance Pettay and Joy Hauser. | Download this photo.





MANHATTAN  Team members from the Kansas State University Cyber Defense Club brought home second-place honors in the Spring 2018 National ISEAGE Cyber Defense Competition, Feb. 2-3, at Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.



Competing against 20 teams from 16 schools across the U.S., students were faced with situations designed to simulate real-world information technology, choosing where and when to best tradeoff between security and usability.



Cyber defense competitions are hosted annually to allow students studying the various areas of information assurance to test their skills. Competitors form blue teams, four to eight students from a university or institution, and are tasked with providing a variety of services to their network such as websites, email, remote desktop, programming environments and backup services. The student teams have about three weeks to secure all of their services and prepare their networks for the onsite event.



At the competition, a red team, made up of security professionals from industry as well as graduate students from Iowa State's information assurance program, was brought in for an eight hour "attack phase," with the task of trying to hack into the blue teams' systems and steal "flags." If a blue team has one of its flags stolen, it loses points.



Blue teams not only have to keep out the red team, but also must provide easy-to-use services for a green team, which acts as an end user of the blue teams' services. Green team members attempt to log on to blue teams' systems, use their email accounts, browse their websites and more, all while awarding points based on the end-user experience



The competition pits the industry's best against some of the most talented students in the Midwest. Employers have grown to expect quality hires from the student competitors, with alumni of the event going on to work at locations such as WebFilings, Boeing, Microsoft, Lockheed-Martin, Rockwell Collins, Google, Facebook, Amazon and nearly every federal agency.



The eight-member team from Kansas State University included the following students:



Susan Burke, senior in information systems, Haysville; Lance Pettay, senior in computer science, Hutchinson; Richard Petrie, master's student in business administration, Lenexa; Caleb Fleming, team captain and senior in computer science, Manhattan; Joy Hauser, senior in computer science, Olathe; Joshua Riess, sophomore in computer science, Overland Park; BreAnn Anshutz, junior in computer science, St. John.



From out of state: and Calvin Bailey, junior in computer science, Raymore, Missouri.



Faculty adviser is Eugene Vasserman, associate professor in computer science, in the College of Engineering at Kansas State.
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With over 300,000 opioid-related deaths reported since 2000 and two million patients battling addiction today, its evident that more qualified medical providers are needed to care for substance abuse patients. Psychiatrists and addiction specialists are struggling to meet the demands of this high need population. The good news amid this national health care epidemic is that more than 1,200 certified PAs practicing in psychiatry work hard to help fill these care gaps.

With medical education supplemented by post-graduate training by psychiatrists, PAs in psychiatry are prepared to review medication histories, engage with patients, perform psychiatric evaluations, manage treatment plans and prescribe psychotropic drugs. Like physicians, PAs pass a rigorous national certification exam and maintain recertification through substantive CME and exams throughout our careers. Thus, PAs are highly-qualified medical providers who can ease psychiatric shortages and permit psychiatrists to perform more consultations while providing high-quality, cost-effective mental health care.

In Virginia, I am a psychiatric PA working at two rural, safety net health care facilities where most of my patients are low-income, uninsured and dealing with co-occurring addictions (primarily heroin) and serious mental illnesses. I frequently work as the sole mental health provider at an inpatient facility and as part of a team of specialists at an outpatient center. I see patients during the acute phase of treatment when they undergo medication-assisted treatment, or MAT, for an initial 7-10 days of detoxification.

Medications are prescribed to control mild to severe withdrawal symptoms, and patients have access to drug counselors, social workers, and case managers to support their recovery. I also work with patients on an outpatient basis managing the co-occurring condition. Some patients opt for therapy only, even though medicinal options are available for suboxone or methadone to aid in their recovery.

In both settings, I perform full psychiatric evaluations, an expanded scope of practice afforded to me as a result of my Psychiatry Certificate of Added Qualifications (CAQ), an additional credential that documents my experience and advanced expertise in this critical specialty. The CAQ, offered through the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants, is awarded to those PAs who have at least 2,000 hours of clinical experience in psychiatry, earn 150 credits of CME in psychiatry, acquire an attestation from a collaborating psychiatrist and pass a national specialty exam. My CAQ has been crucial to establishing credibility in addiction management, advocating for PAs in the Virginia legislature and opening opportunities for PAs to work more effectively in psychiatric settings.

For instance, I authored the briefing for the legislative committee of Virginias physician medical society, which resulted in support for naming PAs as mental health providers. This outcome was key for PAs to be recognized by Medicaid and other insurance plans. It also empowers PAs to do other things, such as support involuntary admissions and screenings.

PAs are struggling nationwide to be recognized as mental health providers. Policymakers must remove barriers to care that prevent PAs from getting reimbursed or prescribing class two drugs. They must also reform state and federal laws that prohibit PAs from practicing to the full extent of our licenses, education, and abilities. Additionally, PAs can be instrumental in the use of telepsychiatry programs, which is the future of health care delivery. Telepsychiatry allows PAs to connect patients to providers with specialized expertise and ensures all patients, no matter where they live, are seen, diagnosed and managed for their addiction.

For most patients, addiction recovery lasts a lifetime. Certified PAs can facilitate the long-term recovery and care of those formerly addicted because we are certified at the highest levels and enable patients to have access to care with a psychiatrist leading the team. Since we are educated in the general medical model, we have the fluidity to specialize in areas of medicine that sorely need attention. We are continuing to trend towards specialization, with over 70 percent of PAs working in specialties outside of primary care. This is good news for patients who need access to care and providers who want to open more access to care.

Theres a lot of discussion about how prescribing practices need to change  and thats a debate that needs to be litigated  but more conversation is needed on who can treat the millions of patients suffering from an opioid addiction. Efforts to curb opioid addiction must include PAs because combating addiction needs the might of a unified coalition. In this age of inter-professional health care teams, PAs are crucial to the fight.

James Cannon is a physician assistant.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
A 52-year-old man appeared at Kilkenny District Court tonight (Thursday) charged with causing criminal damage to 16 premises in the city early this morning.

David Barry, 42A Wolfe Tone Street, Kilkenny was refused bail by Judge Colin Daly after evidence was given by Gda Mary Beamish following the bail application made on behalf of the defendant, Mr David Barry, No 42A Wolfe Tone Street, Kilkenny at the special sitting of the court.

Sgt Alma Molloy had made it clear that the State was objecting to bail on a number of grounds which she then detailed to Judge Daly.

Gda Beamish said that Mr Barry made no reply when charged with breaking the front windows of the following shops: The Barber Shop, Irishtown; Campion Dental, Irishtown; The Irishtown Post Office; The Watergate Theatre, Parliament Street; Blinds Boutique, Irishtown; Harte Solicitors, Parliament Street; The Playwright Public house, Kieran Street; Ladbrokes Betting Office, Kieran Street; News Plus newsagents, Kieran Street; Roller Coaster Records, Kieran Street; Sue Ryder Shop, Kieran Street; Crotty's Cafe and Restaurant, Kieran Street; St Canice's Credit Union, High Street and The Spar Shop, High Street.

He is also charged with breaking the window of a house on Wolfe Tone Street and with damaging the ATM at Bank of Ireland, Parliament Street, Kilkenny.

He is also charged with having in his custody an iron bar under Section 4 of the Criminal Damage Act.

Mr Barry was remanded in custody to Cloverhill Prison until the next hearing of the Kilkenny District Court on Tuesday next.
Water from the Ballyragget Water Supply Scheme should not be consumed by babies under six months of age, according to a drinking water restriction notice issued today by Irish Water, on advice from the HSE.

Irish Water says this is due to elevated levels of nitrates in the water supply. Members of the public should note that this is not a 'Boil Water' notice. Boiling the water will not reduce nitrate levels, and is therefore not a suitable measure to make the water safe to consume for babies under six months of age.

The following public health advice must be followed while this notice remains in place: Babies under 6 months of age should not drink water from the supply until further notice. Infant formula, for babies under six months of age, should not be made-up (reconstituted) using this water.

An alternative safe water supply or bottled water should be used to prepare infant feeds. Bottled water can be used to make up infant formula. All bottled water, with the exception of natural mineral water, is regulated to the same standard as drinking water.

It is best not to use bottled water labelled as Natural Mineral Water as it can have high levels of sodium (salt) and other minerals, although it rarely does. Natural Mineral Water can be used if no other water is available, for as short a time as possible, as it is important to keep babies hydrated. If bottled water is used to make up infant formula it should be boiled once (rolling boil for 1 minute), and cooled in the normal way. Ready-to-use formula that does not need added water can also be used.

Irish Water and Kilkenny County Council will continue to liaise with the Health Service Executive with a view to lifting this drinking water restriction as soon as possible and apologise to customers for any inconvenience caused.

In the meantime, Irish Water will provide bottled water to customers with children under six months of age in the affected area. Please contact 1850 278 278 to arrange delivery.

For more information and additional advice, visit Irish Water's Service and Supply section, or call the customer care team on Callsave 1850 278 278, open 24/7.
A host of Irelands best known figures who have excelled in their respective careers will descend upon Kilkenny for a motivational talk evening titled Creating Success on Monday, February 19.

The event will take place in Hotel Kilkenny. The line-up of high calibre speakers for the event includes solicitor Gerald Kean, founder of Taxback Terry Clune, entrepreneur, 2011 Presidential candidate Sean Gallagher, along with CEO of State Street Cathal Smyth, and Met Eireanns Evelyn Cusack.

Creating Success has been organised by the community of Kells.

We are really looking forward to bringing this event to Kilkenny,"said Kevin ONeill.

"Our speakers have all excelled in their individual lines of work and this is an excellent chance for people to spend an evening in the company of Irelands finest leaders and achievers.

The self-empowerment talk will be presented by local Kilkenny and Carlow radio host John Keane. All speakers, who have generously donated their time for the night, will take to the stage to discuss their journeys in the rise to the top of their respective fields and the lessons learned along the way. They will provide key insights into the principles of achievement and success.

Taking place in Hotel Kilkenny on Monday, February 19 at 7.30pm, tickets cost just 35 and are available from www.creatingsuccess.ie.
The largely vacant Ferrybank District Centre is in line for a spring clean with the developer also looking to attract investment to develop office spaces in the building.

At a recent meeting of Piltown Municipal District, councillors described the news as timely. Just last week, Waterford County Council unanimously voted to support the Draft Planning Scheme of the North Quays Strategic Development Zone.

Director of Services at Kilkenny County Council, Sean McKeown, said they spoke to the developer of the Ferrybank District Centre after the last meeting of the Piltown MD.

He said there is a maintenance plan in place and the developer has confirmed that there is a planned clean up of the outside of the building by the end of March. A spring clean, Mr McKeown added.

He said that the developer is working with the IDA to present the building for Foreign Direct Investment and he will put in place marketing collateral for the facility to do that.

The Council recently agreed material alterations to the use of the Ferrybank District Centre to facilitate the provision of additional office use within the Centre to help the developer secure a more sustainable use for the existing but underutilised development.

The context for further office capacity expansion is the potential for the centre to attract FDI and the developer is anxious to proactively market the building as a viable investment for companies.

It could happen that on top of the retail outlets there would be office space on offer too.

The Council said there has been proactive engagement and Mr McKeown said it is good timing with the North Quays SDZ on the horizon.

Cllr Eamon Aylward agreed and said: If that takes off the building could be left there forever.
A local florist has won the regional award for 'Florist of the Year' at the prestigious Irish Wedding Awards, which took place in Dublin recently.

Orla Clare was a finalist at the blacktie ceremony awards night, as well as taking the prize for the south-east region. Orla, along with her family, runs Soah Flowers - a flower farm and floral design studio based in Threecastles. The company specialises in supplying local and sustainably grown flowers for weddings, events and special occasions.

"We were absolutely thrilled to win this award both as a Kilkenny business and for the Flower Farmers Of Ireland  an organisation which we helped to establish last year," said Orla.

Established in 2015, Soah Flowers began selling cut flowers at the weekly farmers market on The Parade in Kilkenny and providing flowers for a few local weddings. The business has been expanding ever since, and now has our flowers on sale in shops in Kilkenny and Dublin, along with an online shop and thriving wedding portfolio.

The Irish Wedding Awards aim to celebrate the work and commitment of the Irish wedding industry, and recognise those who go above and beyond to make a couples special day the best experience it can possibly be.
Government hospital in Seoul / Courtesy of Robert Neff Collection



By Robert Neff



No one is sure where Spanish flu began. Some experts claim it started in the United States, others say Europe and there has even been speculation it started in China in 1917 and was imported to Europe through Chinese laborers (a Chinese medical journal backs up this theory). There is no question as to its impact on humanity _ more than 50 million people died as a result of this disease and no region was spared, including Korea.



The disease appears to have arrived on the peninsula in early spring 1918 and spread quickly. Ships carried it from port to port and the railroad transported it quickly throughout the interior. The five-day markets and cramped inns favored by itinerant merchants further facilitated its contagious spread.



In correspondence in June, an American woman residing in Seoul described the death of the family's Chinese cook. He apparently developed a sudden fever and was promptly taken to the hospital where he died shortly afterwards. Despite Japanese officials fumigating her home, she was afraid her husband had contracted the disease as he "started (displaying) all the symptoms."



There was apparently great concern at the American gold mining concession in northern Korea. In a previous cholera epidemic, large numbers of Korean, Chinese and Japanese miners had died quickly and unexpectedly _ some while working deep in the mine shafts. Even though the concession had modern medical facilities, some of the American miners' wives and their children were taking no chances and attempted to escape the disease by returning to the United States. It wasn't safe there either.



In an attempt to control the disease, the Japanese government closed places where large numbers of people congregated, such as schools, movie theaters and the city zoo and canceled ceremonies and events. People were encouraged to wear masks. Those who showed symptoms were barred from entering workplace and quarantines were enforced.



Many people shunned hospitals believing they would be quarantined and never see their families again so it is little wonder folk remedies and superstitions were sometimes used. Elixirs made of scallions, ginger, bamboo shoots, fish and other ingredients were said to be cures. Drawing images of scary temple guardians on paper and placing them on the sufferer's forehead was also thought to help _ interesting to note, in Gangwon Province, some people wrote the names of their local Japanese officials and policemen believing they were far scarier than the temple guardians.



An even darker folk remedy was described in a journal article by Lim Chai-sung:



"(After) removing a child's five organs and six viscera, one fills the body with black soybeans and baked earth, then boils the body whole and drinks the juice, then one can cure this disease."



Yet, despite modern medicine and superstitions, the death toll increased _ peaking in November 1918 with more than 91,000 dead. It had a serious impact on society. Mail could not be delivered because of the fatalities amongst the carriers, rice prices increased, and fuel _ when it could be obtained _ was three or four times more expensive than the previous year. Even coffins were difficult to obtain causing many people to bury their loved ones in straw mats which also caused the price of straw and hemp to prohibitively soar in price.



The disease also had an impact on society and politics. According to Lim and others, the misery caused by the Spanish flu outbreak was "a catalyst for social agitation that led to active Korean participation in the March 1st Independence Movement and the subsequent changes in the Japanese colonial policy in the 1920s."




FROM EIR DAILY ALERT

Washington Post Digs Up Old British Ordnance; It Explodes

Feb. 7, 2018 (EIRNS)In a surprising action yesterday, the never-Trump (and always never-LaRouche) Washington Post unearthed a long interview from 17 months ago in its newsroom with Christopher Steele and Glenn Simpson, and brought it to the surface in an even longer article about Steele, Hero or Hired Gun? How a Former British Spy Became a Flash Point in the Russia Investigation.

The result was to drag into the light the leading role in Russiagate of the venerable Sir Richard Dearlove, former head of the British Secret Intelligence Service, otherwise known as MI6, and the man whose dodgy dossier on Saddam Husseins alleged weapons of mass destruction pulled George W. Bush into invading Iraq. No one can now doubt the British guiding hand on the coup against Trumpwithout even mentioning the GCHQ chief Robert Hannigans launching visit to Washington in the summer of 2016 to personally tell U.S. CIA Director John Brennan there was a Russian problem in Donald Trumps candidacy.

Sir Andrew Wood, a stalwart Foreign Office diplomat, told Steele in early Fall 2016 to  alert the authorities. The right sort of people needed to be told.

Steele and his business partner Christopher Burrows had both left MI6 as experienced agents. But the supposedly retired Dearlove continued to seek his [Steeles] expertise, which Sir Richard found superb. Steele by 2016 had fans at the U.S. State Department as well, including Victoria Nuland, for his reports on Ukraine and Russia (where he had not been since 1993).

Steele, when hired by Glenn Simpsons Fusion GPS chop-shop, reached out to Russian contacts and others he referred to as collectors who had other sourcesincluding a close associate of Trump, a senior Russian Foreign Ministry figure, etc. But these were not his sources; rather, a network of British intelligence assets was gathering dirt on Trump, from sources who did not know where or to whom it was going, or even, in some cases, that it was going anywhere.

After a while, Steele told Simpson he was going to meet with the FBI,

describing it as an obligation rooted in his past work for the British government. Im a former intelligence officer.... You know, I have obligations, professional obligations. 

Presumably, that let Simpson know how low hisfor that matter, Hillary Clintonsplace was in this British counterintelligence operation!

But who really sent Steele to the FBI? Well, when WikiLeaks released the Democratic National Committee (DNC) emails in July 2016, Steele and Burrows had gotten rattled by the lack of American seriousness about the threat of Trump. So,

in early Fall, he and Burrows turned to Dearlove, their former MI6 boss, for advice. Sitting in winged chairs at the Garrick Club, one of Londons most venerable private establishments ... the two men shared their worries about what was happening in the United States. They asked for guidance about how to handle their obligations to their client and the public.

Which public was that, exactly?

Sir Richard

said he advised Steele and Burrows to work discreetly with a top British government official [the above-named Sir Andrew Wood, perhaps, or then GCHQ chief Hanniganed.] to pass along information to the FBI.

And off the hero was sent, to polish up the handles on a big front door which may be proving too big for him.
Kennebunk Post

Extensive work on the steeple, the Aaron Willard Jr. clock and the weathervane of the 1824 building is complete.
Mumbai, Feb 9: Renowned investor Mahesh Murthy was arrested by Mumbai police on Friday evening on charges of molestation. The arrest was made on basis of a complaint filed against him on December 30, 2017.

Murthy, the founder and chief executive officer of digital agency Pinstorm, was accused by a Delhi-based woman of harassing her on social media. The complainant had first moved to the National Commission of Women (NCW) in mid-2017, seeking justice.

The NCW had forwarded her complaint to Maharashtra's Director General of Police, seeking his personal intervention in the matter to ensure action is taken in the case.

Based on a complaint filed at the Commission and following NCWs successful intervention, #MaheshMurthy has been arrested by @MumbaiPolice today u/Sec 354 IPC read with 67A of IT Act. @sharmarekha @MinistryWCD  NCW (@NCWIndia) February 9, 2018

The FIR registered by the Khar police station against Murthy pressed the IPC sections 354 (D) (stalking) and 509 (word, act or gesture to outrage modesty of a woman), along with relevant sections of Information Technology Act.

According to reports, the victim, in her complaint to the NCW, said the accused stalked her on social media and attempted to outrage her modesty online by using objectionable, derogatory and sexual remarks.

In April 2017, a spree of sexual harassment allegations were levelled against Murthy, with some dating back to as early as 2000s'. Facing flak, the venture capitalist had issued an apology.

The NCW, however, had said the apology would not be suffice. Even though Murthy has allegedly already posted an apology for some of his posts, the NCW, in its letter to the Maharashtra DGP, requested for the DGPs personal involvement, the commission reportedly said in its press release.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 09, 2018 07:15 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
Paraguay: Lorry drivers in Paraguay have called off a strike which began 15 days ago after reaching a deal with the government led by President Horacio Cartes. The strike had been called after the public works & communications ministry (MOPC) authorised Brazilian long combination vehicles (LCVs) to enter Paraguay. The decision angered Paraguayan lorry drivers who fear they will be driven out of business by the increased competition. Hector Cristaldo, the president of the Union de Gremios de la Produccion (UGP) local producer's union put the cost of losses caused by the strike at US$100m. According to the labour ministry, the agreement was sealed after the two sides agreed to increase freight rates by between 10% and 15% compared with 2016. The government already agreed on 2 February to suspend the entry of Brazilian LCVs into the country until a deal could be reached with the striking lorry drivers.
* Defence Minister Raul Jungmann has stressed the importance of the strategic partnership between aeroplane manufacturer Embraer and Brazil's armed forces.The minister's comments come as Embraer discusses a joint venture with US rival Boeing. Jungmann expressed reservations about the tie-up, saying this could weaken Brazils national defence strategy. He is concerned that if Embraer is subject to US regulations, such as intellectual property law, this could impair the transfer of cutting-edge technology. In the model of subordination for corporate governance, the development of new military and technological advancements could be subject to US law. This could negatively impact on technology development and knowledge in Brazil, he told local daily O Estado de Sao Paulo.
A Laois man with serious mental issues has been sentenced to jail for an incident in which he armed himself with a stolen shotgun and threatened to kill a woman in Ballyfin.

At Portlaoise Circuit Court, Martin Casey (26), was charged with production of an article capable of inflicting serious injury, and the unauthorised possession of a firearm, on April 16, 2013, at Old Deerpark, Ballyfin.

Detective Garda Gerard Galwey gave evidence, along with State prosecutor, Mr Will Fennelly that the injured party made a complaint to gardai that she had been threatened by the accused at her home and he appeared to have a firearm.

On April 16, 2013, he approached her on the curtilage of her land. She asked him to leave and said she would call the gardai, to which the accused replied: I dont care, Im just here to kill you.

A neighbour came over and Casey left the scene. The accused did not have the firearm when arrested later, but the firearm was subsequently recovered from a ditch after he brought gardai to the spot.

The firearm was a single-barrel shotgun, which had been stolen during a burglary. The accused was not charged in relation to this burglary.

Det Galwey said the injured party was very traumatised by the incident and declined to make a victim impact statement, as she was in genuine fear of the accused.

The court heard that in May 2013, the accused fled the jurisdiction and ended up in a psychiatric unit in the UK. Mr Fennelly said that the accused had a very complex psychological history.

Det Galwey added that the accused got involved in the drug scene, which did not help things. He also said that Casey has a fascination with firearms.

The accused had 26 previous convictions.

Defence, Ms Geraldine Fitzpatrick said that the accused had been sectioned in the UK, but there is no corresponding system in Ireland.

Defence read out a letter written by the accused, which said: Back then my life was a mess My life is much better now and I can see light at the end of the tunnel Im asking for a lenient sentence as I dont think Ill last long in prison.

In sentencing, Judge Keenan Johnson said the threat to the woman in Ballyfin had obviously been very frightening. He noted that the accused has a serious schizophrenic disorder and said that it was likely his mental health state would deteriorate if he were jailed, although he has stabilised since going into custody.

For the possession of a firearm, the judge imposed two years and six months in jail, with the final nine months suspended for five years on condition the accused enter into a peace bond, remain under probation supervision for 18 months, and engage with all relevant mental health services.

The other charge was taken into consideration and the sentence was backdated to April 16, 2017, the date the accused went into custody.
Residents in Mountmellick who were effected by severe flooding in November and numerous floods in recent years want their voices to be heard in the drawing up of flood defence plans.

A number of Mountmellick residents from OMoore Street, Manor Road and Cloncannon attended the press conference with Minister of State for the OPW and Flood Relief, Kevin Boxer Moran and Minister Charlie Flanagan on Friday morning.

Minister Moran announced that a budget of 3.1 million has been allocated to the design and development of a flood defence scheme for Mountmellick. He said Portarlington is included in this.

The funding was welcomed by Minister Charlie Flanagan and Laois County Council officials.

While residents welcomed the announcement of 3.1 million for flood defences for the town, some remain skeptical of the timeline and the design of the defences.

Mountmellick man, Maurice Lynch, whose home house on OMoore Street was flooded in November and is still not restored said that he wants to see a timeline put in place and execution of plans.

The budget allocation is great once it is not spent on stupid things like a whole lot of research and not a lot of work. I would like to see the timelines put in place for actual work to be done.

Winter will come around again very quickly and we will see more flooding then if it is not done in the summertime.

"I want to see the plan with the milestones and the execution of that plan and making sure the flood defences are in the right place.

No one can live in the house on OMoore Street now, the insurance that came through was less that one third so there is very little I can do, he said.

Manor Road resident, Olive Collins, said while her house escaped flooding because the water went through her shed instead, her home has been devalued just by being in the area.

"It is wonderful news and it has come so quickly but of course the proof of the pudding is in the eating so we have to see how it gets allocated. It is all very early days.

"We don't know what the scheme is going to be like, we don't know how the money is going to be allocated. The only thing I would say is that there has to be local involvement, people have to have an input into this process.

"There is a lot of local knowledge out there, people who know the area and know what happens when drains aren't cleaned and rivers aren't dredged.

"It is reassuring to know the funding is available, how it is spent is the most important part," she said.

Olive asked Minister Moran and Minister Flanagan if short term flood defences such as flood gates for doors was included in the 3.1 million.

"People in Galway have flood gates in and it never stopped the water, water will find its own level. Not one scheme ever has failed that the OPW has built, not one.

"I would not be back here as quick if I did not believe that the money we are providing is going to serve Mountmellick way into the future in terms of design and protecting the people for the next 100 years and beyond," Minister Moran said.

CEO of Laois County Council John Mulholland addressed the issue of a timeline for work.

"We have no time frames as of yet, it would be disingenuous to give you a time frame because the first thing, it has to be technically correct.

"It has to be up to a standard that allows for flood defence and climate change of 20 percent and probably more.

"Once we have that information we will come back to the community with a timeframe, generally what happens is that we are chasing the money but what has happened here is we have the money upfront which is a positive development and now we have a target to reach.

"We will be doing everything as urgently as we can but with due diligence as well we have to make sure it functions and it works.

"I think it is important to realise, the information we got, the on the ground information and the data we got from the flooding on November 22 has to be incorporated into a scheme review of the design because whatever scheme is provided has to be such that it has to leave the town safe.

"There would be no point in rushing ahead with a scheme based on previous data because what we learned about November is very important.

"There is a bit of patience required to run through these hydraulic models and the flooding patterns and the extent and scope of the flood.

"We will do that and this has already been prepared for the engagement of specialists who will be able to deal with this.

"Then we will be in a position to put a programme in front of the elected members of the council and the people of Mountmellick which will take into account consultation, sensitive areas, time frames, priorities and the engagement of the contractor to proceed," he said.

Mr Mulholland also said that delays in work like this is often caused by public concern or observation and he urged the public to trust in the flood defence scheme to fast track the process.

"Do remember that some of the high priority flood relief schemes in the country have been met by delay due to public concern or observation.

"It is important that the community completely understands what's going to be provided and where possible there is a uniformity within the community and an understanding that it is necessary and that obviously everybody has a right to make their observations but the more obstacles in the public consultations the more it leads to delay.

"There is an onus on the OPW and ourselves to provide clear messaging to the community. From that point of view that will be through workshops here and public information, that is part of the design and scheme how we communicate to people and what does it mean for your locality," he said.

Minister Moran outlined some of the progress that has already been made.

"The Flood Risk Management Plan for Mountmellick Programme includes a proposed outline flood relief scheme costing 3.1m to protect 46 properties identified to be at risk.

The initial task will be the preparation of a brief for the appointment of engineering consultants to carry out the detailed design of the scheme.

"The detailed design will include a review of the CFRAM mapping taking into account the recorded flood depths of the 22 Nov. 2017 event and the identification of any additional flood defences necessary for the town.

The Council will progress the outline CFRAM scheme for the town and manage it through detailed, project-level design, planning and construction with OPW support and funding. Consultants are to be appointed to carry out full project level detailed design following which public consultations and planning approval will take place and the appointment of a contractor," he said.

Laois flood defences in Mountmellick and Portarlington to cost 8 million.

Possible flood wall outlined for Mountmellick.

Flood walls, embankments and raised roads outlined for Mountmellick.
Funding of 3.1 million has been allocated to design and develop flood defences in Mountmellick and Portarlington according to Minister for Flood Relief, Kevin 'Boxer' Moran.

A project office is being set up specifically for this work to be carried out between the Office of Public Works and the local authority.

The Flood Risk Management Plan for Mountmellick includes a proposed outline flood relief scheme costing 3.1m to protect 46 properties identified to be at risk.

The money is there and my department will work closely with the local authority in relation to designing and developing that scheme for the people that have been so badly affected.

"Portarlington does fit into that based on the CFRAM, Minister Moran said.

Laois TD and Minister Charlie Flanagan welcomed the announcement of funding.

I want to thank Minister Moran for his fast reaction and his decisive approach to providing funding.

The funding announcement of 3.1 million is the biggest single investment in Mountmellick in decades.

It is an investment in the town and in its people. Once the works are completed, the new structures will undoubtedly provide the people of the town with the peace of mind that their business premises and homes will be protected, he said.

Answering a question from a member of the public about the timeline of the plan, CEO of Laois County Council, John Mulholland, encouraged the Mountmellick community to cooperate with the scheme when it is announced.

Some of the high priority flood relief schemes in the country have been met by delay due to public concern or observation.

"It is important that the community completely understands what's going to be provided and where possible there is a uniformity within the community and an understanding that it is necessary.

Everybody has a right to make their observations but the more obstacles in the public consultations the more it leads to delay.

"There is an onus on the OPW and ourselves to provide clear messaging to the community. That will be through workshops here and public information, that is part of the design and scheme how we communicate to people and what does it mean for your locality," he said.

Mountmellick flood victim, Maurice Lynch, wants to see action on the plan.

The budget allocation is great once it is not spent on stupid things like a whole lot of research and not a lot of work. I want to see the plan with the milestones and the execution of the plan, he said.

Read more: Mountmellick residents want timeline and involvement in 3.1 million flood defence plan.

Cheers and ukeleles at official opening of Scoil Bhride NS new school in Portlaoise.
Nearly 300 prison officers posts and other jobs at prisons in Portlaoise and other jails and services run by the Irish Prison Service are set to be advertised later this year.

It is reported that 288 prison service jobs are to be advertised in the autumn.This would be a follow through on a commitment made last year that up to 400 new staff are to be recruited.

The recruitment drive is being carried out in response to extensive retirement and and the ban on recruitment between 2011 and 2016. Figures reported by RTE News show prison grades fell from 3,080 in 2016 to 3028 this year - 122 short of the optimum 3,150.

In 2016 there were 2,048 officers. Despite the hiring of 85 recruits last year, there were 1,906 prison officers at the end of January 2017. Nearly 250 officers have retired over the past two years. There have also been over 100 resignations since 2016.

RTE reports that retired officers were hired back on six-month contracts and that 17 such officers are still employed.

New notices on the Irish Prison Service and Public Jobs websites invites applications from suitably qualified persons who wish to be considered for inclusion on a panel from which vacancies for Recruit Prison Officer in the Dublin area only. The closing date for applications: 3pm, 22nd February 2018

The job specifications for these posts say the basic hours of work 2,035 hours per year on an average 39 hour week (on a 12 hour shift pattern). A Recruit Prison Officer will have a 7 day week liability including night duties, every second weekend and some public holidays and over festive seasons.

Recruit Prison Officers will also be required to work Additional Hours (to a maximum of 360 per annum) which will attract

additional payment.

As of 1 January 2018 the following salary scale applies to Recruit Prison Officers: PPC 28,690, 30,113, normal max 32,941.00

A different pay scale may apply if the individual has previously worked in the Public Service. Entry will be at the minimum point of the pay scale.

Work on Saturday, Sunday, public holidays and nights attract premium payments. Recruit Prison Officers will also receive other allowances e.g. Operational Allowance (8% of annual salary). The allocation of up to 360 additional hours will attract further premium payments.

The rate of remuneration may be adjusted from time to time in line with Government policy

The annual leave allowance is 160 hours (20 days) per year.

Phase 1 of training involves three modules delivered over an intensive 12 week period in the in the Irish Prison

Service College in Portlaoise for the initial 6 weeks and the Irish Prison Service College Dublin for the subsequent 6 weeks.

The Leinster Express reported last August that 400 prison officers over the next three years.

"The IPSC will continue to remain open to train new prison officers with the college intending to train up to 400 Prison Officers over the next three years," the prison service told the Leinster Express at the time.

June 2017 marked the first time since 2011 that a class of new recruit Prison Officers graduated from the collage since October 2011. Up to 80 Officer that will complete training last year in Portlaoise.

Extensive refurbishment work is underway at the Irish Prison Service training college in Portlaoise to pave the way for new recruits.
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Dear Editor,

I am responding to Henry Bauresss opinion piece Is credit union bashing a national sport? published on January 30.

Mr Bauress makes a case for credit unions being left alone to carry on as normal. He signs off his piece with the line Critics may be well meaning but turning good credit unions into bad banks is not the way to solve problems we may have.

In fact, turning small credit unions into bigger credit unions so that they can compete with banks is, I believe, where the future of the credit union movement lies. To take Mr Bauresss advice would in fact be to signal the end of the movement he is so fond of.

There is already a move towards credit union consolidation. In South Dublin, for example, four credit unions are in talks about merging. Their combined assets, should they go ahead with it, will be 140 million. The chairmen of the four credit unions say the rationale for consolidation is to secure the future of a credit union service in the areas involved by having the ability to offer increased services to members including internet-based services, which are critical to attract younger members.

Indeed on our own doorsteps, the newly named Life Credit Union is a consolidation of Naas, Newbridge and Maynooth credit unions. But it needs to go further. Were all the credit unions in County Kildare to merge, the asset base would be around 400 million. That is just about big enough to be able to offer a service that will compete with the banks. A credit union of this size will ensure a physical branch network for those interested in banking face-to-face and a broader range of services for shareholders including mortgages.

Crucially, in this era of tighter regulation, a larger entity will have the wherewithal to employ and retain the best compliance managers, ensuring at all times that best practice relating to corporate governance will be pursued. A similar point could be made about clarity of strategy and risk mitigation.

All in all, bigger is better in this instance. Better for credit union members; better for the financial services industry and better for the Irish population because its important to have choice.

The Central Banks newly appointed Registrar of Credit Unions, Mr Patrick Casey, called for clear sectoral vision and strategy for the future to ensure the sustainability of the sector, which he said was largely absent. Irish consumers want to access services online, in real time. How can the small credit union relying on face-to-face interaction during limited office hours provide that?

I say to Mr Bauress that it will not be the vested interests of the banks that will ring the death knell for credit unions, but the movement itself by its refusal to recognise that it risks becoming irrelevant, and its failure to take concerted and strategic action to prevent that from happening.

Bob Quinn,

Naas

Letters to the editor should be sent to editor@leinsterleader.ie or to the Leinster Leader, 18-19 South Main Street, Naas, Co Kildare
Residents in the greater Carrick-on-Shannon area have expressed their fears about the potential impact of a rechargeable battery storage facility contained within up to 31, 40ft containers at Flagford, Kilmore. Planning permission has recently been sought on the three hectare site.



Locals believe there is nothing of a similar scale in either Ireland or the UK and have pointed to a serious fire at a similar plant outside Brussels last November as one of the reasons why permission should not be granted for the proposed development.

The fire in Brussels resulted in people being advised to stay indoors as a result of the toxic smell that was being emitted and locals have warned prevailing winds mean such an incident at the proposed development could have serious repercussions for Carrick-on-Shannon.



It was pointed out that the plant in Brussels, which was launched last July, has a capacity to store 20 megawatt-hours of renewable energy. It is understood the development at Flagford would have a capacity five times greater.



Permission for the storage facility, which will connect to the existing Flagford ESB substation via underground cables and supplement the national grid with renewable energy, is being vigorously opposed by locals who have expressed fears in terms of safety; noise; visual impact; flooding and wildlife.



Concerned locals were caught off guard when the advertisement seeking planning permission was placed in the Daily Star newspaper and the same notice was placed at the proposed site. Having carried out their own research into battery energy storage facilities, the local residents feel there are no advantages to the local community from such a development but instead feel it would present a number of hazards and that it would irrevocably damage the rural area.



One local resident told the Leitrim Observer, It will be the only industrial estate in the world with no jobs and construction will be specialised so there will be no job for the local handyman.



Outlining the concerns further he commented, It wont bring people to the area or jobs. There is no economic benefit to the area, its the opposite.



In an area where there are already numerous pylons, locals have stressed their objections are not based out of a not in my backyard mentality but rather genuine concerns.



As well as the risk of fire presented by the lithium-ion battery storage facilities, concerns have also been raised about the fact that part of the proposed development is on a flood plain and the Killukin River, which is a major trout run, runs alongside it.

It is also feared the heat and noise generated by the fans required to regulate the heat from the 31 shipping container sized battery storage units will severely impact on both locals and wildlife.



One concerned resident told the Leitrim Observer, To propose an electrical plant on a flood plain is ludicrous in our view.

Outlining concerns further the local resident said, There has been no dialogue with the local community. People around here feel they already have enough and are polluted with pylons. There is a disproportionate amount with no return and property is being devalued. It will stagnate the development of the community. There are fabulous views that are already being decimated by pylons.



Located close to the historic Thatch Pub and a nearby waterfall, the proposed development, would in the view of local residents be Contradictory to trying to improve tourism in the area.



A decision on whether or not to grant planning permission to Dublin based Kinbrace Ltd for the proposed development will be made by March 7 and concerned local residents are urging those in the wider community to submit objections to Roscommon County Council before the deadline of February 13.
The Drawer Boy was first introduced to Irish audiences by Steppenwolf, the famous Chicago theatre company and was recognized as a beautiful, fully and humane story of the spirit of life.



In this production, John McDwyer directs Glens Theatre favourites Gerry Farrell, Michael Roper and Wayne O'Connor, in a production which relates the tale of a young actor arriving at a remote Canadian farm to gather material for a play his theatre ensemble are putting together.



He encounters two old farming friends who allow him to stay with them for his research. It soon becomes apparent that all is not what it seems and the young actor uses his curiosity and skill to re-enact an event in the farmers lives that exposes a fallacy and changes all three forever. There is much gentle humour in this sad and touching, multi award winning play and given the usual Beezneez production values, this is not a show to be missed.



Tickets are now on sale for The Drawer Boy by Michael Healey - 16/18. Performance starts at 8.30pm on February 15, 2018 in The Glens Centre, Manorhamilton.



For more information see The Glens Centre's website www.theglenscentre.com. You can also phone The Glens on (071) 9855833.
Sligo University Hospital is calling for people who are interested in becoming Meet and Greet Volunteers in the hospital. Volunteers provide assistance to patients and visitors to Sligo University Hospital, their role is to help with directions, answer general enquiries and in essence be a go to information point at the hospital.

The Meet and Greet Volunteer Service at Sligo University Hospital has been running very successfully for 8 years now, and staff and visitors have been wholehearted in their praise of the valuable work that the volunteers have been carrying out during that time.

One of the Meet and Greet Volunteers, Ann Kerrigan has been working at the hospital for the last 5 years. Ann signed up to be a volunteer as she believed it would be a useful way of giving something back to the community, and she has discovered over the past few years what a valuable and appreciated service it is to people visiting the hospital.

The main role of the volunteers is to provide a friendly welcome and a reassuring first impression to everyone who enters the hospital and to help and guide visitors and patients to the various wards, departments and clinics in the hospital. The Meet and Greet Volunteers are located on level 3, main foyer of Sligo University Hospital. When people need directions to a particular ward or clinic, the volunteers will bring them to their destination, chatting and easing stressed nerves along the way. The volunteers wear distinctive yellow bibs so they are easily identifiable and are always very approachable and willing to help.

Michael Kilroy who signed up for the Volunteer Service three years ago says; Volunteering at the hospital is just brilliant and something I really enjoy. The best part is that you are helping someone and making their visit to the hospital a more pleasant experience. People can get disorientated in a place they are not used to. Showing people where to go, or taking them to their appointment so they arrive relaxed and with a smile on their face gives me a great sense of achievement.

Eric Plunkett, Volunteer Co-ordinator, Sligo University Hospital is fulsome in his praise of the volunteers, saying they have brought a wealth of life experience which has been of great benefit to patients, their families and visitors in general. Since the 'Meet and Greet' Volunteer Service at Sligo University Hospital commenced, it has helped ensure that the hospital experience is as pleasant as possible in what can be a worrying, overpowering experience for some patients, families and visitors, says Eric.

"The Volunteer Service has been a great success at the hospital, with very positive feedback from the public. The service is there to assist patients and visitors who may need help in finding where specific services are based in the hospital. It may sound simple, but if a patient or visitor is worried or stressed when they come to the hospital, it can mean so much to be greeted by a friendly face that will help them get to their destination. The volunteers also wait with frail older patients in the foyer while relatives bring their cars to the front door, and again relatives value this service greatly.

The volunteers are ordinary people who give willingly of their time and generously help others to cope with the challenges of attending a busy acute hospital. They have brought such positivity and energy to their role and have become an integral and valued part of the team in Sligo University Hospital.

Volunteers deliver this service 3.5 hour session per week either morning or afternoon for a minimum period of six months. They must be over 18 years of age, in good health and comfortable being on their feet for a few hours.

If you are interested in joining our team of volunteers and would like more information, please contact the Quality and Safety Department, Sligo University Hospital on 071-9171111 ext: 2609/4210/4302 or emailvolunteer.coordinator@hse.ie
A MEMBER of the Travelling community whose caravan is restricting access to the waste-water treatment plant at Bunlicky has been ordered to leave the area by 4pm on Sunday.

Limerick City and County Council has initiated legal proceedings against a number of named individuals whose caravans are located on the access road to the plant off the Dock Road.

The matter came before Limerick Circuit Court earlier this week with representatives of the council expressing concern over the presence of the Travellers.

Updating the court this Friday evening, Pat Quinn BL, instructed by solicitor Will Leahy, confirmed most of the caravans have been moved and that they are no longer parked on publicly-owned lands.

They are still in the vicinity but they are on somebody elses lands, they are not on public lands, he said.

One of the respondents  Christina Faulkner  said she is due to receive a council house in the coming weeks and she sought a stay on any court order pending the conclusion of that process.

I know its wrong and I am here today for my kids, she said. I do not want to be an anybodys lands, I want my kids to able to go forward in life, she added.

Mr Quinn confirmed Ms Faulkner has been allocated a house in the Caherdavin area and that the local authority expects to hand over the property to her by the end of this month.

He said the respondent has previously been offered emergency accommodation in a family hub as well as Bed and Breakfast accommodation.

While expressing some sympathy with Ms Faulkners predicament, Judge ODonnell told her her actions were illegal and that he had to uphold the law.

The methodology of your approach is wrong and illegal, he said pointing out that waste-water treatment plant caters for the entire city and that there could be major consequences in the event of an emergency.

The judge indicated he will make a formal order against Ms Faulkner and her family on Monday morning if the respondent has not vacated the area by 4pm on Sunday.
IF THE GOVERNMENT doesnt invest in railway lines then they may as well turn off the lights outside the M50, pull the door and throw away the key, said Deputy Niall Collins.

He was speaking after documents released to the Irish Independent under the Freedom of Information Act show most of the rail network faces being closed unless Irish Rail receives a 460m cash injection.

The LimerickBallybrophy and Limerick JunctionWaterford rail lines could be closed in the short-term, according to a National Transport Authority report.

This will require the closure of the majority of the rail network, the documents state. Only the Dart, Dublin and Cork commuter services and intercity services between Dublin, Cork, Belfast and Limerick would remain. Deputy Collins said if this is allowed to happen it is yet another attack on rural Ireland by the government.

Limerick Junction to Waterford is absolutely imperative for connectivity and competitiveness of the Mid-West region. We have to maintain a rail link to Waterford - youre connecting cities. said Deputy Collins, who also called for money to be invested in the intercity lines including Limerick-Dublin.

I know as a regular commuter you can travel by road quicker from Limerick to Dublin than by rail and that shouldnt be the case, said Deputy Collins.

Senator Paul Gavan said the government must step up to protect and enhance the Castleconnell rail line, which is one of the of stations on the link to Ballybrophy

Irish Rail is currently facing a 460 million deficit and the report released under FOI tells us that many lines, including the one to Castleconnell face closure without additional funding.

How ironic that this story breaks just as the government are trumpeting about their new spatial strategy. If the government was serious about ensuring balanced growth they would ensure proper funding was in place to secure the future of our local rail services, said Senator Gavan. The Castleconnell to Ballybrophy line has never received proper investment needed, he said.

Restricted speeds due to a failure to sufficiently upgrade track lines coupled with a failure to align service times with the needs of commuters has meant that the line remains the Cinderella of the Irish rail network.

We are expecting a population growth in the region of 50,000 people for Limerick city and county in the coming decades. We need a transport plan for Limerick that takes account of our future needs and invests in our existing infrastructure. Any decision to close this rail line would be shortsighted and reflect a lack of foresight and planning on a monumental scale.
THERE have been calls for accountability to be seen at the University of Limerick after the publication of details from an internal audit revealed that a number of senior staff members provided inaccurate or incomplete information to several government bodies.

Leona OCallaghan, one of the whistleblowers who first raised concerns over financial matters at the university, told the Limerick Leader it has been very difficult to see the level of financial gain achieved by individuals named in the Deloitte report, while she herself has paid a heavy price for acting as the original whistleblower on several of the matters.

Ms OCallaghan said: There is a huge contrast between how the people who are linked to these issues - as well the ones who gained financially - were treated compared to the people who said I dont want a part in that. For the people who held their integrity, the contrast in how we were treated is so wrong.

Theres no one whos been held to account. There are no disciplinary actions that weve been made aware of. Were all left in the very same place we were in before the report.

Ms OCallaghan alleges she was subsequently managed out of her role after she highlighted the improper payment of expenses during her time as an employee in ULs finance department.

It still feels very unfair. Everybody recognises that I told the truth. Theres been investigations, public reports that [found] I told the truth. My job is still gone. Other people are still in their job.

The internal audit carried out by Deloitte found 42 matters of extreme, serious and moderate priority, in relation to termination payments, further study, procurement and correspondence exchanged between UL and key stakeholders. This included 16 areas of extreme priority, all relating to severance packages worth more than 1.2m.

Details from the confidential audit, carried out over a two-month period in which ULs correspondence was scrutinised and 20 key staff members were interviewed, were revealed at the weekend in the Irish Mail on Sunday.

Late last year UL declined to release the Deloitte document following a Freedom of Information request made by the Leaders former editor, Alan English. Writing on December 4 to explain this decision a UL employee said that premature release of the record would impact negatively on the universitys strategic, financial and competitive positions.

The Deloitte report, which has now been obtained by the Leader, found that a number of the universitys most senior staff, notably the former president Dr Don Barry and head of human resources Tommy Foy, provided inaccurate or incomplete information to the Department of Education and Skills, the Dail Public Accounts Committee, the Comptroller and Auditor General, RTE and even ULs own legal advisors. None of the severance agreements examined as part of this audit had been approved by the Department of Education. One compromise agreement was also backdated and presented to the C&AG as a factual representation of what occurred.

The audit also found that UL spent 91,047 on two senior staff members in the HR department  Mr Foy and Patrick Rockett - obtaining three-year online doctorates at Walden University in the United States, an institution ranked academically inferior to UL.

This figure included 12,000 on trips to Paris, Texas and Florida for workshops and a graduation ceremony. The report states that, in both cases, there were multiple instances of the further study not being in compliance with ULs stated policy. Dr Barry admitted to Deloitte auditors that he was not aware of UL having a policy of further study.

The findings of the Deloitte report are due to be discussed at an upcoming Public Accounts Committee session. UL lifted its suspension of two whistleblowers, who had been suspended with pay for almost two and a half years, in November following the publication of the Thorn report, a wide investigation into the controversies surrounding governance structures and HR at the university.

Kieran Mulvey, the former head of the Workplace Relations Committee, has been appointed to act as a mediator with the staff affected by specific issues addressed in the Thorn report. While it is understood that he met with both of the previously suspended employees late last year, they have not returned to work and High Court proceedings against UL issued by both remain active.

An offer to return to a role in the university in some capacity has not been extended to Ms OCallaghan. I would certainly love their help in returning to the workforce in some sort of a role, whether it be administrative or secretarial or anything like that, she said.

Ms OCallaghan has also met with Mr Mulvey. While it is possible that she may receive a financial settlement  and is grateful for Mr Mulveys efforts  she has mixed feelings about accepting any compensation offer.

I am very good at what I do, and there should an ability there to reach out to other places within the Department of Education to have me reinstated in another position. Theres a lot of hard-working people in the university who have been affected by the bad publicity, which Ive helped to create, and I think it would be difficult to return to work [in the UL finance department].

I lost my job and I was good at it. It's been proven that I shouldnt have lost my job so I do feel that putting me back working would be, or should be, part of what happens, she said.

I do believe change is happening and I am happy that changes are being made throughout the whole structure of the university so that history doesnt repeat itself,Ms OCallaghan said.

In reply to questions asked by the Leader this week, UL said it remains committed to implementing each of the recommendations included in the Thorn report. Last year the president of UL issued an unreserved apology for the hurt caused to those affected by issues addressed by the Thorn report  the university accepted that it had made serious mistakes and apologised to those individuals who had suffered due to these past failings, the response stated, adding: The UL Deloitte report was commissioned by the new management last year as part of a comprehensive audit of governance procedures at the university. Once the report was completed, UL provided it to the PAC, HEA and the Department of Education.

UL also shared it with Dr Richard Thorn to assist his independent review of governance at the university. The university is now implementing the recommendations of its Deloitte report and is reporting back to both the HEA and PAC on the progress of that implementation. The report recommends a course of action and the university is adhering to that.

When asked if the university would be prepared to re-employ Ms O'Callaghan, UL said it does not want to pre-empt the ongoing mediation process: The university is eager to work through that process and it does not wish to breach the confidence such mediation relies upon. But we do want to reiterate that UL is very committed to mediation and to bringing a resolution to these issues and will stay with that process for as long as it takes to resolve these matters.

Incomplete and inaccurate information provided

Incomplete information was provided to the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Department of Education regarding two severance payments by UL, the Deloitte report states. These were made to Dermot Coughlan, the former director of lifelong learning and outreach, and John Fox, a former financial controller.

The audit also found that the university did not advise its own legal team that - against departmental guidelines - the two employees were retained on contract after receiving excessive termination payments.

The severance payment to Mr Coughlan was 220,032. This figure, the audit report states, was not calculated in line with the appropriate guidelines and this resulted in an overpayment to Mr Coughlan of 55,245. Mr Coughlan then received consultancy fees of 180,000 (excluding VAT) over three years from 2012 to 2015.

The report notes that legal advice on his departure and re-engagement was sought by UL three months after the arrangement had been signed off with Mr Coughlan. It adds that while UL had been in contact with its legal advisors before Mr Coughlans stepping-down agreement was signed, the advice received from UL had been on the basis that his performance had been unsatisfactory.

However, there was no performance issue on Mr Coughlans file and the report notes that Dr Don Barry has stated that his departure was not in fact linked to unsatisfactory performance.

Mr Coughlan last year launched legal proceedings against UL for defamation, over the contents of e-mails the university provided to the Department of Education and the Comptroller and Auditor General concerning his severance payment. The report also notes that his severance package was signed off by Tommy Foy and that approval was not sought from the universitys finance committee or governing authority, or from the Department of Education and Skills.

Mr Fox received a severance payment of 232,506 after leaving the financial controller role in February 2012. The Deloitte report says that this figure was 110,930 in excess of what Mr Fox should have received, if the correct guidelines had been followed. Mr Fox subsequently received a total of 189,000 (excluding VAT) in consultancy fees in the three subsequent years to 2015.

Apart from two small projects, the internal audit was not able to establish what work was carried out by Mr Foxs consultancy firm, Cornaroya. Invoices submitted to UL stated that the sums paid were for working on the delivery of educational projects. The reported notes: There was no indication of who the work was being performed for or what the deliverables were ... Invoices were primarily approved by the HR director.
A CAREER Limerick soldier who admitted careless driving causing the death of a pensioner nearly three years ago has been fined 1,500 and disqualified from driving for four years.

Noel Higgins, aged 26, who has an address at Ballineetig, Lispole, County Kerry was prosecuted in relation to a multi-vehicle collision at Ballyfrawley, Newcastle West on July 26, 2015.

Margaret Peg Kelly who was a passenger in one of the cars died at the scene from injuries she sustained in the impact.

The 71-year-old mother-of-nine, who had five grandchildren, was originally from Ballygeele, Newcastle West.

During a sentencing hearing before Christmas, Judge Tom ODonnell was told Mrs Kelly was a passenger in a Renault Clio  being driven by her son Albert  which was rear-ended and shunted into oncoming traffic at around 6.40pm.

The collision happened near the home of her brother who they had intended visiting.

Limerick Circuit Court was told alcohol and speed were not factors in the collision which was caused by a momentary lapse in concentration.

Mark Nicholas, SC, defending, said that his client was extremely shocked and distressed after the incident.

He said that reasonable, competent drivers can make errors and that there were no aggravating factors involved in the collision. He added that he has an exemplary record in the army.

Reading a victim impact statement, Margaret Kellys son Cyril said the lives of members of his family changed forever on the day of the crash.

Albert Kelly, who was driving the car which was struck, continues to suffer from nightmare spasms.

Imposing sentence on Tuesday, Judge ODonnell noted that Mr Higgins, who was returning to Sarsfield Barracks when the collision happened will have to live with the consequences for the rest of his life.

He said he could not turn back the clock and that nothing he could say or do would alleviate the pain and suffering of the Kelly family.

The judge noted the defendant had cooperated fully with gardai and that he had made immediate admissions.

He accepted the evidence that there were no aggravating factors in Mr Higgins driving and that he may lose his job in the Defence Forces as a result of his conviction.

He said a custodial sentence would not be appropriate in the circumstances and he imposed a fine of 1,500.

Judge ODonnell added that he does not believe Mr Higgins career path should be impeded in any way as a result of what happened.
THE LATE Adrian Wade should have turned 34 at the end of January but tragically it was his months mind that was marked.

The Cappamore man passed away unexpectedly just before Christmas. Adrians shocking death has left his family, friends, work colleagues and customers in JP Clarkes and Gallaghers of Bunratty distraught.

Adrian, from Lackabeg, Cappamore, was laid to rest in Doon cemetery on Christmas Eve. Large crowds paid their respects at the removal and Mass, said Fr Dick Browne.

In his homily, the parish priest spoke of the time the Brennan brothers brought a couple to Gallaghers to see how things should be done. There can be no higher praise for Adrian, assistant manager, and all the staff.

Starting as a senior waiter he progressed through the ranks to a senior position. Twelve years - more than a third of his life - was spent working in Bunratty.

The job meant so much to Adrian that the Wade family asked Barry Tierney, general manager of JP Clarkes and Gallaghers, to give a eulogy at the funeral Mass.

Barry said he was honoured that he was asked to speak but it was one of the hardest things he ever had to prepare for.

He said that on paper he was the boss but everyone knew Adrian was the real boss.

Some people work in this industry for years, can almost go about their daily jobs and not be noticed or known to the customers but from the moment Adrian started with us he was popular with everyone he encountered.

Adrian was the face of JP Clarkes and Gallaghers. The restaurant could be packed, absolutely packed and he would still have time to have a few chats with the regulars and then be gone.

He was just so efficient - the whole thing ran so well. Adrian made it look so easy. He had a great talent for making people feel at ease. Thats why he was so loved by all the customers and all the staff. He was just so good, he spotted everything and was very thoughtful, said Barry.

Adrian packed more into his 33 years than most do in a lifetime. Barry joked that if he ever gave Adrian more than two days off he was on a flight to some place in Europe.

He lived live to the full. He was always travelling, always on the go, he loved going out for meals. He loved life. Everything he loved, he loved 100%.

That certainly rings true for his large family. Adrian is sadly missed by his loving parents Theresa and Nicholas, brothers Kevin, Eddie, Paddy, Damien and Nicky, sisters Linda, Mandy, Mary and Sandra and relatives.

Every second word that came out of his mouth was mam this or mam that. His love for his mother and his family was very obvious to everyone who knew Adrian, Barry said.

In particular, he enjoyed the time he spent with his mam arranging flowers for Gallaghers. As you know Adrian was very particular and only his arrangement would do! At Halloween he was stealing hay from his dad and he sent his brother out cutting wood for his arrangements.

He had a great flair for flower displays. I had the cheek once to try and help put a display together and I was promptly told my expertise was needed elsewhere. He wouldnt be shy to say thanks but no thanks. He had a great way about him. Adrians wit, laugh, sense of humor and directness was known by all he encountered. If the glasses came off and went back on again everyone knew there was about to be drama. His look could make you smile or put you back in your place.

And their place, Barry says will never be the same again.

We will always miss him. The phrase, Give Adrian a buzz will never be used. It is a void that it impossible to fill. He will be forever with us in our hearts, he will never be far away.

And it isnt just family, friends and work colleagues who mourn Adrians passing. Customers, too, are distraught.

So many people have reached out to the staff and management. There has a constant flow of people ringing, texting, calling to his Bunratty family. He was seen as a friend to all the regular customers, they came to just to have a chat with him and enjoyed his banter. They loved his sense of humor, loved his ability to listen and loved sharing the gossip!

The amount of regulars who came in, not to have a bite to eat, but to say sorry to hear the terrible news was incredible. Some say they didnt want to come in for a while because they remember him so well. There are still people asking for him and there will be for a long time to come. He was just one of those characters that everybody remembered and have such great memories of. Everybody remembers Adrian, concluded Barry.

May he rest in peace.
GARDAI are appealing to homeowners and businesses to ensure their properties are properly secure following a spate of burglaries.

In one incident at the weekend a burglar gained access to a service station at Ballysimon Road via the roof.

CCTV is being examined and any information regarding this incident should be passed onto Roxboro Road garda station. There was not much taken in this incident but there was damage to the roof, which is expensive to repair, said Sergeant Kevin Balfe.

In another incident in the early hours of February 2, a pub in Ballyagran was broken into.

In this incident a sum of money and two kegs were taken. If anyone say anyone in the vicinity of the premises or acting suspiciously in the area last Thursday night / Friday morning, we would appeal to them to come forward, said a garda spokesperson.

In a third incident last week, a licensed premises in East Square, Newcastle West was broken into.

Entry was gained via the front door, which activated the alarm. Money was taken from the float and the culprit or culprits got away.

Gardai at Newcastle West are investigating the incident and can be contacted at 069 20650.

A number of residential properties have also been broken into across the Limerick division over the past ten days.
A BEAM of light offering a message of hope could soon appear in Limerick citys night sky  thanks to a former Limerick Person of the Year.

Katie Whelan, 21, who lost her young cousin Lisa to suicide, has helped erect a series of lights on Thomond Bridge offering positive messages to those who may be in distress.

Off the back of this, aged at just 18, she set up the Lisas Light charity, which aims to raise awareness of the need to look after people who may be depressed or suicidal.

The former Ard Scoil Mhuire student travels to schools across the region to raise awareness.

Now, she plans to take the concept of positive lights in the sky further.

One other big thing were looking to do is give Limerick its own beam of hope. Weve looked as far as Turkey to get it manufactured. It would be a big massive light beam shining in the sky above Limerick. Theres going to be no Bat sign, but we hope to have a hope message which will constantly beam into Limericks sky to let everyone know when they look up, that there is always someone for them, there is always someone to speak to, Katie explained.

She made the comments as she accepted a cheque for 445 from the Shannon Banks scout group.

They raised the money after creating a crib over Christmas, which they accepted donations for. Local parish priest, Fr Derek Leonard told them: I think its lovely the fact you're prepared to help people less well off than yourselves. It is about looking outside yourselves. You learn a lot from scouts. If you learn to think beyond yourselves and be aware of those most in need, you learn a lot.

Another charity which benefited from the Scouts efforts was Barnados.

Thanks to a clothes collection over Christmas, some 250 was raised for the childrens and family charity, which has its Limerick base in Bishop Street.

Claire McConville, Barnados, said: Were really grateful youve thought of us, and well definitely put the money to good use.

She added: There are lots of reasons why we help families. They might need someone to fix up their house. We can use money towards buying paint and wallpaper if thats what the family needs. Or there might be someone which has happened which is maybe a bit sad like a bereavement. We would help boys and girls with their feelings.

Katie, from the Dublin Road, was named Limericks Person of the Year in 2015 after leading a campaign aged just 18, which resulted in life-affirming messages being posted along Thomond Bridge.

She secured backing from Alphaset to make the light boxes, and won the support of thousands of people  crucially including Limerick City and County Council  for her project.

At the time, Katie was one of the youngest recipients of the top award.
THE MINISTER for Culture, Heritage and Gaeltacht Josepha Madigan has said that the beginning of production for George RR Martins Nightflyers in Limerick is a great cause for celebration.

Minister Madigan was joined by top producers, television executives, cast and crew at the launch of the new series, which commenced shooting at Troy Studios, in Castletroy, this Monday morning.

The event was held at the Merrion Hotel in the heart of Dublin City this Friday morning.

Cast, crew, NBC, Deputy Michael Noonan, Deputy Tom Neville and Mayor Stephen Keary launch the new @SYFY and @netflix series Nightflyers which is being filmed at @troy_studios. See @Limerick_Leader for full story pic.twitter.com/B17GaOlIjV  Fintan Walsh (@FintanYTWalsh) February 9, 2018

Based on the 1980 novella by the man who brought the world Game of Thrones, Nightflyers is a sci-fi drama that will be broadcast on Syfy and Netflix after production is complete this August.

Employing 75% Limerick residents, the project is expected to create an economic spin-off of 70m in the local economy.

Nightflyers follows eight maverick scientists and a powerful telepath who embark on an expedition to the edge of our solar system aboard The Nightflyer - a ship with a small tightknit crew and a reclusive captain  in the hope of making contact with alien life. But when terrifying and violent events begin to take place they start to question each other  and surviving the journey proves harder than anyone thought.

Leading actors Eoin Macken  previously of The Night Shift  and Maya Eshet  of Teen Wolf  said that they were delighted to be shooting in Limerick.

Privileged to launch @NBCUniversal Nightflyers today. Last day of 1st week of filming at @TroyStudios #Limerick. Wonderful to meet stellar actors Eoin Macken & Maya Eshet who star in the upcoming @NetflixUK @netflix series. Very exciting for Irish film industry! pic.twitter.com/AVYpiWBiXF  Josepha Madigan (@josephamadigan) February 9, 2018

Eoin, 34, said that it is particularly special for him to be shooting in Limerick  the birthplace of his late father James and grandfather Matthew.

Matthew Macken, who grew up on the Ennis Road, served as Limerick City manager in the 1950s.

Speaking at the launch, NBC Universals executive vice president and general counsel Kimberley Harris said that they were happy to be doing our first major production in Ireland. The supportive policy environment and skilled local workforce were key factors for this investment and we appreciate the continued support.

Minister Josepha Madigan said: I would like to wish Troy Studios and its team here, as well as the cast and crew of Nightflyers, every success in this exciting project and look forward to its airing in due course. For this fledgling studio, which opens its doors to an international production for the first time, it is a great cause for celebration. I wish to congratulate all in Limerick who had the vision to transform the old Dell factory into what is now a major asset for Irelands creative industries.

Limerick City and County Council CEO, Conn Murray described this mornings launch as a significant day for Limerick as it realises a vision that few would have dreamed possible.

It started with talks about transforming the facility we had acquired into the now world-class film hub that has been developed. To have it associated with NBC Universal shows how far we have come and validates our courage in thinking beyond normal boundaries.

Also welcoming the announcement IDA Ireland CEO Martin Shanahan said, This is great news for the city of Limerick, not only is todays announcement NBCUs first project in Ireland but it is the first production of its kind for Limerick.

The series has the potential to bring significant employment across a wide range of trades and skills during production, but also further spin-out benefits across the region to support the large crew involved. IDA executives met with senior executives at NBC Universal in New York during the highly competitive site location process so we are delighted with this endorsement for the mid-west region and we wish the team in Limerick every success.

Netflix will coproduce and have first-run rights to the series outside of the United States.

For more on Nightflyers, see next Mondays Limerick Leader tabloid and next weekends Limerick Leader broadsheet.
A CELEBRATION of one of Limericks most famous writers will return later this month for its 34th year, giving audiences the chance to meet some of their favourite writers.

The Limerick Literary Festival in honour of Kate OBrien returns with the theme of this years festival Bridging the Gap. It takes place from February 22 to 25.

On Thursday, February 22, poetry performances by Stanzas in response to Kate O'Brien's writing, will take place at Chez Le Fab, followed by an Open Mic event where participants can share poetry or short stories.

The festival will officially be opened by columnist Billy Keane on Friday, February 23 at 6pm in the Limerick City Gallery of Art.

On Saturday, February 24, Deirdre Sullivan, Kit de Waal, Fergal Keane, Kevin Barry, Lisa McInerney and John MacKenna will also present a series of talks and readings about their work at the city gallery.

Later that day, Philip Barrett and Declan Shalvey, the creators of the acclaimed Limerick-based graphic novel Savage Town, will join together to discuss their work at Ormston House.

On Saturday night, Dolans will host An Evening of Readings and Conversations with Blindboy Boatclub and Kevin Barry in the Warehouse. The Revolution will not be Spotified follows, a celebration of the power of protest music and performance featuring the best in live music from Limerick and beyond.

On Sunday, February 25, the authors of Oh My God, What A Complete Aisling, Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen, will present a conversation about their book for the Keynote Lecture.

The Kate OBrien Award 2018, will be presented afterwards to the best novel/short story collection by a debut Irish female writer.

For more information and a full listing of events, see www.limerickliteraryfestival.com.
Feb 9, 2018, 5 AM

This registered mail envelope piece is franked with the rare 1923 5,000-korona dark green and yellow green Madonna and Child invert error stamp from Hungary. The piece will be offered during the March 2-3 public auction at Auction Galleries Hamburg.

By Michael Baadke

The German firm Auction Galleries Hamburg is featuring a striking error rarity in its March 2-3 public auction.

The item is Hungarys 1923 5,000-korona dark green and yellow green Madonna and Child stamp with inverted center (Scott 386a).

The stamp is postally used on an envelope piece that includes a perforated Budapest registration label.

The error stamp is tied to the piece with a Budapest 85 circular datestamp dated either Jan. 21 or Jan. 27, 1925.

Only one sheet of 100 invert stamps is known to have been sold, but the subtle invert was not immediately noticed, and some examples from that single sheet have been lost. A few unused invert stamps exist, and it has been reported that 38 stamps are in museums, substantially diminishing the quantity available to collectors.

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Auction Galleries Hamburg describes this available example as having perfect centering and perforations.

The 2018 Scott Classic Specialized Catalogue of Stamps and Covers values the postally used error stamp at $16,000, listed in italics to indicate an item that can be a challenge to value accurately.

The piece is accompanied by a 1996 AIEP (Association Internationale des Expertes Philateliques) certificate signed by Visnyovski Gabor.

The invert error item is offered in the auction with a starting bid of 5,000 (approximately $6,210 in early February).

Another significant rarity on offer is an unused stamp from Ceylon, the 1863-67 2-penny yellow green with the taller of the two Crown and CC watermarks (Scott watermark 1a), perforated gauge 12 (Scott 48A).

Auction Galleries Hamburg describes this stamp as one of the rarest unused stamps of Ceylon with only four known, and points out that one of those four resides in the royal collection of Queen Elizabeth II, leaving just three in private hands.

The stamp is authenticated with a 1991 certificate from the Royal Philatelic Society and listed with a 10,000 starting bid (roughly $12,420).

Though the Scott value is $10,000 in italics, Auction Galleries Hamburg cites the 12,000 value assigned in the Michel specialized catalog and describes that value as very underpriced.

The Friday and Saturday sale will offer some 6,583 lots of worldwide material including individual stamps, postal history and collections.

A selection of United States classic stamps, covers, postal stationery and more is also being offered.

Several stampless covers are among these lots, including an early trans-Atlantic letter mailed in 1816 from New York to St. Jean de Luz in southwestern France. The letter, written entirely in French, is struck with a red COLONIES/PAR LE HAVRE double-line entry postmark and offered with an opening bid of 120 ($150).

The auction can be viewed online. An English-language link appears on the web page at upper right.

Auction details are also available from Auction Galleries Hamburg, Kleine Reichenstrasse 1, 20457 Hamburg, Germany.
Apr 29, 2021, 5 PM

The letter enclosed in the 1970 Mamie Eisenhower envelope above promoted the candidacy of Tom Johnston for political office in Florida.

Presidential widow Mamie Eisenhower had the franking privilege when this envelope was sent in September 1970, but because the content was a political message, it would have been inappropriate to use it for this mailing.

U.S. Stamp Notes  By John M. Hotchner

Mamie Eisenhower as the widow of a United States president had franking privileges in September 1970 when the cover shown nearby was sent.

Why didnt she use this franking privilege? I assume it was not because she had a burning desire to use the 6 Dwight David Eisenhower stamp on the envelope. (The stamp was issued Aug. 6, 1970, a little more than one year after the presidents death on March 28, 1969.)

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No, the reason becomes clear when the letter enclosed is read:

Dear Fellow Republican:

I am writing to you to recommend Tom Johnston for the office of Treasurer, Insurance Commissioner, and State Fire Marshal for the State of Florida.

Mr. Johnstons twenty-two years of experience as an executive in the insurance industry, and his three years as Chairman of the Florida Industrial Commission and member of the Governors Cabinet qualifies him above all other candidates for this most important Cabinet position.

Mr. Johnston has been serving his Country and his fellow citizens consistently since the Second World War when my husband awarded him the first Bronze Star for Valor ever awarded by the United States of America.

I believe he will, with your support, continue to serve in the best interests of his Country and the State of Florida.

Thank you very much for your consideration of his candidacy.

Because this letter is a political appeal, use of the frank would have been inappropriate.
Royal Mail dedicates set to a century of womens right to vote in the UK

May 2, 2021, 3 PM

The pair of first-class stamps includes a photo of suffragette leaders at Earls Court, pictured from second left to right are Mabel Tuke, Christabel Pankhurst, Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence and Annie Kenney. Completing the stamp pair is a photo from the 1907 Womens Freedom League poster parade.

Great Britain commemorated the 50th anniversary of womens suffrage on a 9-penny stamp issued May 29, 1968. The stamp depicts a statue of Emmeline Pankhurst. Her daughter Christabel is shown on one the new Votes for Women stamps issued Feb. 15.

The 1.57 stamp pair include a photo of Princess Sophia Duleep Singh selling The Suffragette newspaper and a photo of the suffragette prisoners pageant in 1911.

Great Britains Royal Mail commemorates the Representation of the People Act where for the first time women won the right to vote in parliamentary elections on eight stamps issued Feb. 15. The two nondenominated second-class stamps in this Votes for Women set show a suffragette protesting in Whitehall (circa 1908) and the pilgrimage of suffragists during the summer of 1913.

The two 1.40 Votes for Women stamps feature Welsh suffragettes in traditional costume, and the release of Mary Leigh and Edith New from prison in 1908. Leigh and New were taken into custody for throwing stones at 10 Downing Street. The denomination is for international letters up to 20 grams.

By Molly Goad

Great Britains Royal Mail is issuing a set of stamps Feb. 15 to celebrate the 100-year milestone of womens suffrage in the United Kingdom. The Representation of the People Act was passed on Feb. 6, 1918, granting some women the right to vote.

Prior to 1918, a decades-long movement gained momentum, as women  and men  campaigned peacefully for womens right to vote. These suffragists formed the National Union of Womens Suffrage Societies (NUWSS).

Other women used more militant actions in order to be heard, and they had their own group as well  the Womens Social and Political Union (WSPU), or more commonly referred to as suffragettes.

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The stamps in Great Britains Votes for Women issue call attention to both of these groups that were fighting for womens right to vote, major events during the crusade and activists made famous during that time.

Our Votes for Women stamps convey the scale of activities that the different organizations undertook in their tireless campaigning for the vote, said Liz Law, Royal Mail spokesperson.

The set includes eight stamps in four se-tenant (side-by-side) pairs. The designs feature black-and-white photographs with the text Votes for Women displayed prominently and a brief explanation of what is being depicted.

Design firm Supple Studio explained on its website the stamps creation process: We used a variety of typographic treatments lifted from campaign paraphernalia of the period and applied to a set of powerful portraits.

A nondenominated second-class stamp shows a lone suffragette protesting in Whitehall, circa 1908. The woman is walking in the road because demonstrations on pavement were not allowed; violators were often arrested.

The great pilgrimage of suffragists during the summer of 1913 is captured on the second stamp in this pair. The National Union of Womens Suffrage Societies organized this event to show the amount of women asking for the right to vote through nonmilitant action. Women marched from all over England for five weeks, culminating in a rally of 50,000 women in Hyde Park.

The nondenominated first-class stamp set includes a photo of suffragette leaders at Earls Court in 1908. Royal Mail identifies the four women wearing sashes as Womens Social and Political Union leaders (from second left to right: Mabel Tuke, Christabel Pankhurst, Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence and Annie Kenney.

Christabel Pankhursts mother, Emmeline Pankhurst, was featured on Britains 1968 9-penny commemorative marking the 50th anniversary of the womens right to vote (Scott 565). That stamp also is inscribed Votes for Women. In addition, a portrait of Emmeline Pankhurst is shown on a stamp (Scott 2387) in the 2006 issue marking the 150th anniversary of the National Portrait Gallery.

Completing the new first-class stamp pair is a photo from the 1907 Womens Freedom League poster parade.

The two 1.40 stamps feature Welsh suffragettes in traditional costume during the Womens coronation procession in 1911, and the release of Mary Leigh and Edith New from prison in 1908. The duo has been taken into custody for throwing stones at 10 Downing Street.

Princess Sophia Duleep Singh, daughter of Maharaja Duleep Singh, is pictured selling The Suffragette newspaper on one of the 1.57 stamps. The princess father was close to Queen Victoria, who allowed the family to reside in one of the Hampton Court Palace apartments. A Womens Social and Political Union member, Singh was often seen selling the paper outside the palace.

The suffragette prisoners pageant in 1911 is depicted on the second 1.57 stamp.

Part of the suffrage coronation procession, the pageant included 700 women dressed in white holding silver lances with pennants while marching to symbolize the number of women jailed.

The 1.40 stamps pay the rate for international letters up to 20 grams, and the 1.57 stamps meet the rate for letters to Europe up to 100 grams. The second-class rate is 56 pence, and the first class-rate is 65p.

International Security Printers printed the stamps by lithography. Each stamp measures 41 millimeters by 30mm and is perforated gauge 14.5 by 14.

The Representation of the People Act was a huge milestone, but there was still work to do. The act allowed women 30 years of age and older who met a property qualification the right to vote in Parliamentary elections. According to Parliament.gov,

8.5 million women met the criteria, but this number only represented 40 percent of the United Kingdoms total female population. The same act also decreased the voting age for men to 21 and removed their property prerequisite.

The Equal Franchise Act of 1928 leveled the playing field, granting women the same voting rights as men in the United Kingdom.

Parliament is celebrating the anniversary with a Vote 100 campaign that includes personal stories of how the laws have changed lives. A series of exhibitions and events centered on educating the public about the womens suffrage struggle are scheduled throughout 2018.

For more information on the Vote 100 campaign, click here.

Royal Mails other products for the Votes for Women set include first-day covers, eight postcards reproducing the designs of the stamps, and a presentation pack with mint examples of the stamps and text by written by womens suffrage expert Elizabeth Crawford.

The stamps are availabe at the Royal Mail, Tallents House, 21 S. Gyle Crescent, Edinburgh, EH12 9PB, Scotland. Royal Mails two agencies in the United States are Interpost, Box 420, Hewlett, NY 11557; and the British Stamp Service in North America, 3001 E. Pershing Blvd., Suite 160, Cheyenne, WY 82001-5775.
This image unveiled March 21, 2013, shows the cosmic microwave background (CMB) as observed by the European Space Agency's Planck space observatory. The CMB is a snapshot of the oldest light in our Universe, imprinted on the sky when the Universe was just 380 000 years old. It shows tiny temperature fluctuations that correspond to regions of slightly different densities, representing the seeds of all future structure: the stars and galaxies of today.

Microwaves are a type of electromagnetic radiation, as are radio waves, ultraviolet radiation, X-rays and gamma-rays. Microwaves have a range of applications, including communications, radar and, perhaps best known by most people, cooking.

Electromagnetic radiation is transmitted in waves or particles at different wavelengths and frequencies. This broad range of wavelengths is known as the electromagnetic spectrum EM spectrum). The spectrum is generally divided into seven regions in order of decreasing wavelength and increasing energy and frequency. The common designations are radio waves, microwaves, infrared (IR), visible light, ultraviolet (UV), X-rays and gamma-rays. Microwaves fall in the range of the EM spectrum between radio and infrared light.

The electromagnetic spectrum, from highest to lowest frequency waves. (Image credit: Shutterstock)

Microwaves have frequencies ranging from about 1 billion cycles per second, or 1 gigahertz (GHz), up to about 300 gigahertz and wavelengths of about 30 centimeters (12 inches) to 1 millimeter (0.04 inches), according to the Encyclopedia Britannica. This region is further divided into a number of bands, with designations such as L, S, C, X and K, according to Ginger Butcher's book "Tour of the Electromagnetic Spectrum."

Communications & radar

Microwaves are used mostly for point-to-point communications systems to convey all types of information, including voice, data and video in both analog and digital formats, according to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). They are also used for supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) for remote machinery, switches, valves and signals.

Another important application of microwaves is radar. The word "radar" was originally an acronym for RAdio Detection And Ranging. Prior to World War II, British radio engineers found that short-wavelength radio waves could be bounced off distant objects like ships and aircraft, and the returning signal could be detected with highly sensitive directional antennas so the presence and locations of those objects could be determined. Usage of the term "radar" has become so common that it is now a word in and of itself, and can refer to systems that use microwaves or radio waves.

A little-known historical fact is that an early radar installation was built atop Kahuku Point on Oahu's northernmost tip. According to the state of Hawaii's website, the station actually detected the first wave of Japanese aircraft on their way to attack Pearl Harbor when the planes were 132 miles (212 kilometers) out. However, because the system had been in operation for only two weeks, it was considered unreliable, and the warning was ignored. Over the course of the war, radar was improved and refined, and it has since become an essential element of national defense and civilian air-traffic control.

Radar has found many other uses, some of which exploit the Doppler effect. An example of the Doppler effect can be demonstrated by an approaching ambulance: As it nears, the sound of the siren seems to rise in pitch, until it wails by. Then, as it recedes into the distance, the siren seems to lower in pitch.

Robert Mayanovic, a professor of physics at Missouri State University, said that Doppler radar, which often employs microwaves, is used for air-traffic control and vehicular speed-limit enforcement. When an object is approaching the antenna, the returning microwaves are compressed and thus have a shorter wavelength and higher frequency. Conversely, return waves from objects moving away are elongated and have a longer wavelength and lower frequency. By measuring this frequency shift, the speed of an object toward or away from the antenna can be determined.

Common applications of this principle include simple motion detectors, radar guns for speed-limit enforcement, radar altimeters and weather radar that can track the 3D motion of water droplets in the atmosphere. These applications are called active sensing, because microwaves are transmitted, and the reflected signals are received and analyzed. In passive sensing, natural sources of microwaves are observed and analyzed. Many of these observations are conducted by satellites looking either back at the Earth or out into space.

Microwave heat sources

One of the most common uses of microwaves is to heat food quickly. Microwave ovens are possible because microwaves can be used to transmit thermal energy. The discovery of this phenomenon was purely accidental. In his book, "They All Laughed...: From the Light Bulbs to Lasers: The Fascinating Stories Behind the Great Inventions That Have Changed Our Lives" (HarperCollins, 1992), author Ira Flatow recounts the story of the invention of the microwave oven: "Shortly after World War II, Percy L. Spencer, an electronics genius and war hero, was touring one of his laboratories at the Raytheon Company. Spencer stopped in front of a magnetron, the power tube that drives a radar set. Suddenly he noticed that a candy bar in his pocket had begun to melt." Further investigation led him to make the first batch of microwave popcorn as well as the first exploding egg.

The first microwave ovens were quite large and expensive, but they have since become so affordable that they are common in homes worldwide. Microwave heating systems are also used in a number of industrial applications, including food, chemical and materials processing in both batch and continuous operations.

This panoramic view of Chajnantor plateau in Chile shows the antennas of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) against a breathtaking starry night sky. (Image credit: ESO/B. Tafreshi)

Natural microwave sources

Radio astronomers conduct observations in the microwave region, but due to attenuation by the atmosphere, most of these studies are done using high-altitude balloons or satellites. However, perhaps the most famous observation of extraterrestrial microwaves was conducted by two Bell Labs scientists working on a telecommunications system using a large ground-based horn antenna.

According to the NASA Science website, "In 1965, using long, L-band microwaves, Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson, scientists at Bell Labs, made an incredible discovery quite by accident: They detected background noise using a special low-noise antenna. The strange thing about the noise was that it was coming from every direction and did not seem to vary in intensity much at all. If this static were from something on our planet, such as radio transmissions from a nearby airport control tower, it would come only from one direction, not everywhere. The Bell Lab scientists soon realized that they had serendipitously discovered the cosmic microwave background radiation. This radiation, which fills the entire universe, is a clue to its beginning, known as the Big Bang."

Penzias and Wilson were awarded the 1978 Nobel Prize in physics for their discovery. The cosmic microwave background radiation has since been mapped with great accuracy by satellites. These observations have revealed the minute temperature variations that eventually evolved into the galactic clusters we see today.

Analysis of this background radiation has also given astronomers clues as to the composition of the universe, and scientists now think about 95 percent of the cosmos is made up of matter and energy that cannot be "sensed" with conventional instruments, leading to the names dark matter and dark energy. Future analysis of this background radiation might shed further light on what happened shortly after the birth of the universe  and, potentially, even before this universe existed, according to some cosmic models.

Additional reporting by Charles Q. Choi, Live Science contributor.

Additional resources

Project Luxorion lists, with detailed descriptions, all of the frequencies allocated for radio astronomy.

NASA Science website discusses microwaves.

Hackaday.com shows how to make the electronics for a Doppler motion sensor.

Hackaday.com shows how to make the electronics for a Doppler motion sensor.
Nicaragua's Momotombo volcano has erupted for the first time since 1905.

Although volcanoes can experience periods of dormancy and activity, very little is known about why a volcano might stay quiet for 110 years and then rumble back to life, said Erik Klemetti, a volcanologist at Denison University in Ohio.

"There is no 'norm' for volcanoes, because it's all going to be up to the individual systems," Klemetti told Live Science. [Unforgettable Images of Cotopaxi Volcano Rumbling to Life]

Momotombo is a cone-shaped stratovolcano (a cone-shaped volcano composed of layers of lava and ash) near Leon, Nicaragua. The same fiery geology that powers the volcano also powers a geothermal plant nearby.

The volcano began spewing ash and lava yesterday (Dec. 1). Today, a webcam shows a haze of smoke still emanating from the crater. According to the Smithsonian Institution Global Volcanism Program, Momotombo had a particularly active period in the late 1800s, with 10 confirmed eruptions between 1858 and 1905. It also erupted several times in both the 1600s and the 1700s; in 1610, an eruption destroyed the original site of the town of Leon.

The volcano, like others in Nicaragua, sits in a seismically active spot where the Cocos Plate slips under the Caribbean Plate, in a process known as subduction. According to the Smithsonian, Momotombo's current cone is relatively young  it started forming about 4,500 years ago. Prior to this eruption, it stood 4,255 feet (1,297 meters) tall.

No one knows why Momotombo slept quietly for a century, nor why it woke up now, Klemetti said. The geological processes that are subducting the Cocos Plate create conduits for magma to escape to the surface, but these pathways are idiosyncratic. Geoscientists study crystals in lava to gauge how long the cooked rock was at a given temperature (and thus, a particular depth and pressure). This can provide clues as to how long it took the magma to get to the surface after it formed, Klemetti said. But studies turn up very different rates of travel at different volcanoes, ranging from hours to centuries, he said.

Here a view of Lakes Managua and Nicaragua near the Pacific coast of Nicaragua, with Momotombo volcano (the conelike feature) in the foreground. (Image credit: JPL)

"Different volcanoes are going to have different periods of time based on all sorts of different things going on in the crust," Klemetti said.

Likewise, there's no clear answer as to why some volcanoes go quiet for a century  or even tens of centuries  and then erupt again. Researchers have searched for links between earthquake activity and later eruptions, and haven't found much of a connection, Klemetti said. There may be some rough correlations between extremely large earthquakes in Chile and volcanic activity six to nine months later, he said, but the relationship is small.

Central America has been relatively eruptive lately, Klemetti said, but there's no link between the eruptions other than the ongoing subduction of the Cocos Plate, where all of the volcanoes sit. Guatemala's Fuego volcano has been erupting periodically all year, and Nicaragua's Telica volcano, one of the country's most active, is also in a period of minor eruptive activity.

Follow Stephanie Pappas on Twitter and Google+. Follow us @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science.
This article was originally published at The Conversation.The publication contributed the article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.

The flu is wreaking havoc globally this year. Influenza infections are on the rise, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicting that this year's strain will cause the highest rate of hospitalizations and deaths in a decade.

This year also marks the 100th anniversary of the 1918 influenza pandemic. This pandemic was the worst flu outbreak in history, killing tens of millions of people around the world.

As an expert in public health law, I can state two things with confidence. First, the U.S. has made enormous strides in preparing for and treating the flu. And second, we still are not nearly as prepared as we need to be for the next pandemic.

A global scourge

The 1918 influenza strain was unusually deadly because humans had not been exposed widely to the H1N1 strain of the virus. It overwhelmed our naive immune systems. What's more, influenza vaccines and other modern medical treatments had not yet been developed and infection control strategies were poorly understood. The spread of the disease was also fueled by troop movements connected with World War I.

Since 1918, flu outbreaks have fluctuated in size, but overall become less severe. Scientific advances have made influenza more preventable and treatable. Public health officials now know better how to contain influenza outbreaks and minimize their harm.

Nevertheless, the flu remains a persistent global scourge. Each year, the disease kills an estimated 12,000 to 56,000 people in the U.S. and 291,000 to 646,000 people worldwide. The influenza virus mutates rapidly and infects other animals in addition to humans, which allows new viral combinations to emerge and challenge our immune systems.

If the world were to face a new strain of flu similar in novelty and virulence to the 1918 virus, our capacity to prevent a pandemic would still fall short because we have not made sufficient progress in science, infrastructure or implementation of preparedness plans.

1. Develop stronger vaccines

So how can the U.S. improve its ability to stop a new flu pandemic, as well as to reduce the annual impact of influenza infections?

First, researchers need to improve the flu vaccine. Most flu vaccine production currently relies on antiquated technology that requires experts to predict the most likely strains early each flu season. Manufacturers must grow the vaccine in chicken eggs, a process that takes weeks and limits the ability to make adjustments to the vaccine during the flu season.

Efforts are underway to develop new technologies, including a universal flu vaccine that could protect against multiple strains of influenza A, including novel strains, and last for several years.

But the federal government has only allocated US$75 million this year toward flu vaccine research. This is not nearly enough. Ideally, there would be four or five times more federal money available for this research.

2. Spot outbreaks early

Second, to prevent flu pandemics, public health officials need more and better information about influenza outbreaks.

Right now, the World Health Organization collects data on flu outbreaks from multiple sources in 114 countries. But much of the data  and the funding  for global surveillance comes from the U.S. and other wealthy countries.

This is not sufficient to detect a pandemic strain quickly enough. New strains are most likely to emerge in developing countries with dense populations and more frequent human-animal contact. In an increasingly interconnected world, emerging infections can spread rapidly through travel and trade, as with the 2009 swine flu outbreak.

Developing countries have the least resources for surveillance and treatment. They also face disproportionately high rates of flu deaths and infections. People in these countries will likely bear the brunt of a pandemic, which will be able to spread quickly in crowded megacities with inadequate public health services and limited capacity to track infections.

If the surveillance system were expanded to include more humans and animals in less wealthy countries, it would allow officials to detect outbreaks earlier and better track an infection as it spreads.

The CDC has led efforts to coordinate global surveillance. But the Trump administration hopes to slash funding for the CDC, as well as global health programs. If cuts are enacted, it would imperil these efforts.

3. Make sure everyone is prepared

Finally, government officials and other members of the health community need to pay more attention to plans for public health emergency preparedness.

On a federal and state level, many officials have prepared for a sudden upsurge in flu-related illness by conducting training exercises for health care workers and stockpiling resources, such as Tamiflu and IV bags.

But these efforts vary wildly across the country. Laws in some states have streamlined the process to expand the health care workforce, implement measures to keep people apart during outbreaks, or enact other strategies that may help reduce the spread of influenza and lessen the impact of a severe outbreak.

However, many plans remain incomplete. Funding tends to go up after notable disasters and then dissipate when these events recede from memory. Plus, many of the resources available for public health emergencies depend on the discretion of executive officials. The recent reported difficulties of securing federal recovery resources for Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria demonstrate that this is a real concern.

Despite progress over the past century, the world remains unprepared for an influenza pandemic. But, with a higher level of commitment and attention, we can greatly improve our pandemic response systems and save lives.

Lance Gable, Associate Professor of Law, Wayne State University

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Follow all of the Expert Voices issues and debates  and become part of the discussion  on Facebook, Twitter and Google +. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. This version of the article was originally published on Live Science.
Toads might want to be careful what meal they catch with their sticky, pink tongues. It could be a toxic beetle that makes them throw up  and then scurries away to tell the tale, a new study from Japan finds.

Unfortunately, toads have to learn this lesson the hard way. After nabbing these brown and black insects, known as bombardier beetles (Pheropsophus jessoensis), a toad will likely feel an explosion in its gut, indicating that the beetle has just let loose a toxic chemical cocktail, the researchers found.

This hot, chemical spray is so powerful that it can prompt the toad to evert its stomach  that is, turn it completely inside out  so the amphibian can vomit out the beetle. At this point, the insect is covered with mucus from the toad's stomach, but still wriggly and, most importantly, alive, the researchers said. [Gallery: Out-of-This-World Images of Insects]

There are 649 species in the bombardier beetle tribe, but the defensive strategies of only a few are known. So, the researchers in the new study decided to take a closer look at P. jessoensis by observing exactly what happened to toads that ate the insects.

But first, the experiment required some fieldwork. The researchers collected 37 adult P. jessoensis beetles, 23 Bufo japonicus toads and 14 Bufo torrenticola toads from a forest's edge in central Japan.

Then, the puking began. The researchers gave each toad one beetle and watched what happened. Soon after the toads gobbled up the beetles, a chemical "explosion was audible inside each toad," the researchers wrote in the study. Not every beetle made it out alive, however.

At first, the toad Bufo japonicas looks pleased with its meal. But 88 minutes after being swallowed, the bombardier beetle (Pheropsophus jessoensis) finds a way out. The black arrow shows the vomited beetle and the white arrow indicates the toad's everted stomach. (Image credit: Shinji Sugiura/Biology Letters)

Just 35 percent of the B. japonicus toads threw up, compared to about 57 percent of the B. torrenticola toads. It took from 12 minutes to nearly 2 hours for some toads to throw up, but most averaged just under 50 minutes to hurl. And once a beetle made it out, it was good to go.

"All 16 beetles that the toads vomited up were still alive and active," and 15 of those beetles lived for at least two weeks after the ordeal, the researchers said in the study.

What's more, the toxic cocktail was clearly the reason for the beetles' survival. When the researchers "treated" the beetles so they couldn't eject their spray, 100 percent of the B. japonicus toads ate the insects and about 85 percent of the B. torrenticola easily gulped down the critters.

Survivor beetles

An analysis revealed that size truly does matter, at least when trying to make toads upchuck. Larger beetles were more likely to survive than small beetles, and small toads were more likely to vomit than large toads, the researchers found. This is likely because "large beetles can eject more defensive chemicals than small beetles, [and] large beetles are more likely to survive the toad digestive system than small beetles [are]," the researchers wrote in the study.

As for the amphibians, "small toads have a lower toxic tolerance than large toads," the researchers wrote.

The toad Bufo japonicas contemplates the bombardier beetle. (Image credit: Shinji Sugiura/Biology Letters)

The investigators also found that the beetles fared better in the B. japonicus stomachs, with an 82 percent survival rate, compared to a 72 percent rate for B. torrenticola toads. It appeared that although B. torrenticola had a higher rate of vomiting, it also had more-potent digestive abilities than the other toad. [40 Freaky Frog Photos]

In Japan, the bombardier beetle lives around more B. japonicus toads than B. torrenticola toads, the researchers said. Perhaps, B. torrenticola has a lower tolerance for the beetles' surprising spray because that toad rarely encounters it, the researchers said.

The scientists noted that the experiments did not seriously harm or kill the toads, which were released back into the wild after the trials. The researchers couldn't, however, say the same for the beetles.

The study was published online Feb. 7 in the journal Biology Letters.

Nope! (Image credit: Shinji Sugiura/Biology Letters)

Original article on Live Science.
Almost exactly five years ago, a truck-size celestial rockunexpectedly exploded in the atmosphere above Chelyabinsk, Russia, on Feb. 15, 2013. As town officials dealt with broken glass and hundreds injured, people worldwide asked why nobody spotted the 51-foot-across (17 meters) object sooner, in time to warn residents.

The same question could be asked of another asteroid that will whiz harmlessly past the Earth today (Feb. 9). NASA said this object, nicknamed 2018 CB, may very well be bigger than one that broke up over Chelyabinsk. The asteroid was only spotted on Sunday (Feb. 4) by the Catalina Sky Survey. Early estimates of 2018 CB's size range between 50 and 130 feet (15 and 40 m) in diameter. The object will fly by Earth at about 5:30 p.m. EST (2:30 p.m. PST) at less than 20 percent of the distance from the Earth to the moon. That's about 238,855 miles (384,400 km) from us.

"Asteroids of this size do not often approach this close to our planet  maybe only once or twice a year," Paul Chodas, manager of the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, said in a statement from the agency.

Chelyabinsk and 2018 CB are relatively small objects in our solar system, part of a class called asteroids. (When asteroids enter the atmosphere, they're called meteors, and if pieces reach the ground, those are called meteorites.) Most of these space rocks reside in the asteroid belt, which is located between Jupiter and Mars. [When Space Attacks: The 6 Craziest Meteor Impacts]

But some asteroids skim by Earth, and they are called near-Earth objects. Many of these asteroids are discovered just days before they make their flyby. Many others glide past us unseen every few days or so, astronomer Michael Busch of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory told SPACE.com in an email in 2013.

Asteroids can sneak by us because it's tricky to track them. The first issue is their small size. Vesta, the largest known asteroid, is only 329 miles (530 km) in diameter  roughly the equivalent distance of New York City to Buffalo. Vesta, however, is an extreme case regarding size; many asteroids are only tens of feet long, or smaller. This means that already, an asteroid is harder to spot in the sky than a planet, moon or star, because it's so small.

Other factors make asteroids even harder to see. Many telescopes rely on light to make observations. Unfortunately, asteroids  especially the common carbonaceous-type asteroids that make up most of the population in our solar system  may not reflect enough light for a telescope to spot them. Asteroids near Earth also move more quickly than planets do, so telescopes need to be glued to the sky to keep up.

The key to spotting as many asteroids as possible is to have a large network of telescopes continuously scanning the sky. These telescopes need to have enough resolving power to spot small objects. NASA does have a robust asteroid-hunting program through its Planetary Defense Coordination Office, but it's more designed for spotting big asteroids  the behemoths that could destroy a city or region. (Luckily for us, NASA hasn't announced any imminent threats yet; you can see all of its asteroid findings online at the Small-Body Database Browser.)

Right now, though, NASA is trying to catalog 90 percent of asteroids that are larger than 460 feet (140 m) wide and that will come to within about 4.65 million miles (7.48 million km) of Earth, or about 20 times the distance from Earth to the moon, according to the agency. NASA is supposed to meet that metric by 2020, but multiple reports suggest the agency will be late.

A quick comparison: An object 460 feet wide is as much as nine times larger than asteroid CB 2018 that will come by our planet today. So, compared with one of these city-obliterating asteroids, CB 2018 is much harder to spot when far away. That means telescopes generally see these small objects when the asteroids are basically knocking on our door. [Worst Ways to Die Are Pretty Weird (and Gruesome)]

If you're an amateur astronomer with a relatively large telescope, you can help NASA with spotting and tracking asteroids. These observations are coordinated through the Minor Planet Center, which has tips to get you started. Happy hunting!

Originally published on Live Science.
Earth's solid inner core formed about one billion years ago. Researchers are getting closer to figuring out how it happened.

One day, about a billion years ago, Earth's inner core had a growth spurt. The molten ball of liquid metal at the center of our planet rapidly crystallized due to lowering temperatures, growing steadily outward until it reached the roughly 760-mile (1,220 kilometers) diameter to which it's thought to extend today.

That's the conventional story of the inner core's creation, anyway. But according to a new paper published online this week in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters, that story is impossible.

In the paper, the researchers argued that the standard model of how the Earth's core formed is missing a crucial detail about how metals crystallize: a mandatory, massive drop in temperature that would be extremely difficult to achieve at core pressures. [6 Visions of Earth's Core]

Weirder still, the researchers said, once you account for this missing detail, the science seems to suggest that Earth's inner core shouldn't exist at all.

The paradox at the center of our planet

"Everyone, ourselves included, seemed to be missing this big problem," study author Steven Hauck, a professor of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio, said in a statement. Namely, they were missing "that metals don't start crystallizing instantly unless something is there that lowers the energy barrier a lot."

In chemistry, this extra energy is known as the nucleation barrier: the point at which a compound visibly changes its thermodynamic phase. Liquid water, for example, freezes into a solid at the familiar 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius). If you've ever made ice cubes at home though, you know that even water stored at its freezing point can take several hours to fully crystallize. To speed up the process, you need to either expose the water to significantly colder temperatures (this is called "supercooling") or expose it to an already-solid piece of ice to lower the nucleation barrier, reducing the amount of cooling required.

Supercooling is easily achieved for a single ice cube, but for Earth's gigantic inner core, things get a little trickier, the researchers said.

"At the pressures of the core, it would have to cool 1,000 degrees Kelvin [1,000 degrees C or 1,800 degrees F] or more below the melting temperature in order to crystallize spontaneously from pure liquid," Hauck told Live Science. "And that's a lot of cooling, especially since at the moment, the scientific community thinks the Earth cools maybe about 100 degrees K per billion years."

According to this model, "the inner core shouldn't exist at all, because it could not have been supercooled to that extent," study author Jim Van Orman, also a professor of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences at Case Western, told Live Science. The molten inner core's nucleation barrier, he said, must have lowered some other way  but how?

The core of the problem

In their paper, the researchers proposed one possibility: Perhaps a massive nugget of solid metal alloy dropped from the mantle and plunged into the liquid core. Like an ice cube dropped into a glass of slowly freezing water, this solid chunk of metal could have lowered the core's nucleation barrier enough to kick-start a rapid crystallization.

There's a big caveat, though: It would have to be a truly massive chunk of metal to work.

"In order to be released into the core and then make it all the way down to the center of the Earth without dissolving  this droplet would have to be on the order of about 10 km [6.2 miles] in radius," Van Orman said. That means a diameter about the length of the island of Manhattan.

The Case Western researchers said that while they favor this new explanation over the conventional model, they're eager for members of the scientific community to weigh in with theories of their own.

"We've talked about what ideas are implausible, and we've suggested an idea that's potentially plausible," Hauck said. "If it happened that way, it's possible that some signature of that event might be detectable through seismic studies. Studying the centermost part of the planet is about the hardest to access with these waves, so it'll take time."

Hopefully, we can look forward to an answer within the next billion years.

Originally published on Live Science.
These two large black spots on the sun, known as sunspots, appeared quickly in February 2013, and each is as wide across as six Earths.

The sun may be dimming, temporarily. Don't panic; Earth is not going to freeze over. But will the resulting cooling put a dent in the global warming trend?

A periodic solar event called a "grand minimum" could overtake the sun perhaps as soon as 2020 and lasting through 2070, resulting in diminished magnetism, infrequent sunspot production and less ultraviolet (UV) radiation reaching Earth  all bringing a cooler period to the planet that may span 50 years.

The last grand-minimum event  a disruption of the sun's 11-year cycle of variable sunspot activity  happened in the mid-17th century. Known as the Maunder Minimum, it occurred between 1645 and 1715, during a longer span of time when parts of the world became so cold that the period was called the Little Ice Age, which lasted from about 1300 to 1850.

But it's unlikely that we'll see a return to the extreme cold from centuries ago, researchers reported in a new study. Since the Maunder Minimum, global average temperatures have been on the rise, driven by climate change. Though a new decades-long dip in solar radiation could slow global warming somewhat, it wouldn't be by much, the researchers' simulations demonstrated. And by the end of the incoming cooling period, temperatures would have bounced back from the temporary cooldown. [Sun Storms: Incredible Photos of Solar Flares]

Sunspots, which appear as dark patches on the solar surface, form where the sun's magnetic field is unusually strong, and the number of sunspots waxes and wanes in a cycle that lasts about 11 years, fueled by fluctuations in the sun's magnetic field.

But during the late 17th century, the sun's spots all but disappeared. This episode corresponded with a period of exceptional cold in parts of the world, which scientists have explained as being connected to the changes in solar activity.

Sunspot activity was high in 2014 and has been dipping ever since, as the sun moves toward the low end of its 11-year cycle, known as the solar minimum, NASA reported in June 2017. But a pattern of ever-decreasing sunspots over recent solar cycles resembles patterns from the past that preceded grand-minimum events. This similarity hints that another such event may be fast approaching, the researchers reported in the study.

And the scientists have estimated how intense such an event might be, by analyzing close to 20 years of data recording radiation output from stars that follow cycles similar to that of our sun. Solar radiation output typically drops during a normal solar minimum, though not enough to disrupt climate patterns on Earth. However, UV radiation output during a grand minimum could mean activity plummets by an additional 7 percent, the researchers wrote in the study. As a result, air temperatures on Earth's surface would cool by as much as several tenths of a degree Fahrenheit (a change of a half-degree F is the equivalent to about three-tenths of a degree Celsius) on average, according to the study.

The study's findings will help scientists create more accurate climate model simulations, to improve their understanding of the complex interplay between solar activity and climate on Earth, particularly in a warming world, the study's lead author, Dan Lubin, a research physicist with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, said in a statement.

"We can therefore have a better idea of how changes in solar UV radiation affect climate change," he said.

The findings were published online Dec. 27, 2017, in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Original article on Live Science.
Sinia Ellis remembers seeing the water creep higher and higher, until she saw no option but to place her purse and a few belongings in a plastic bag and wait for a boat to help her escape from the flood invading her San Jose home.

On Thursday, nearly a year since officials for the 10th largest city in the nation were caught off guard by a historic flood, Ellis joined more than 150 other households to announce a lawsuit against San Jose, Santa Clara County and the Santa Clara Valley Water District, which oversees flood protection for 1.8 million people.

The suit claims officials for all three agencies were negligent in preparing for last winters storms, as well as reacting to warning signs that spillover at Anderson Dam would cause Coyote Creek to surge its banks on Feb. 21, 2017.

In total, the flood caused more than $100 million in property damage and the ordered evacuation of 14,000 people from their homes. Hundreds of residents in the Rock Springs neighborhood required emergency rescue services in the early morning hours.

I felt like we were nothing. We didnt matter to the city, Ellis said. I feel like we were swept aside.

Attorneys Amanda Hawes and Suzanne Murphy filed the complaint Thursday in Santa Clara County Superior Court, alleging the property damage caused by the flood was due to officials failure to properly give timely notice to residents. The lawsuit also blames spillover at Anderson Dam, which is managed by the water district, and the subsequent flooding around Coyote Creek on a failure to properly and reasonably design, control, maintain and operate both spaces.

The city of San Jose, the water district and the county should accept responsibility for what was a preventable absolute nightmare, Hawes said. People have suffered in many different ways.

Officials for the city and water district have publicly sparred over who should shoulder more of the blame for the flood, but San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo was one of the first to acknowledge that the citys response was inadequate.

When you see a situation like this, we realize there was a failure, he said last year.

Liccardo was not immediately available to comment on the lawsuit.

Kip Harkness, a deputy city manager for San Jose, said the city has since improved its emergency alert system and implemented stricter flood prevention measures.

We cant reverse the flood and we could not have prevented it as a city, but we can be compassionate with our response and help people recover the lives that they want to lead, he said.

AlertSCC, a voluntary subscription service managed by the county, has had its reach expanded so wireless emergency alerts are sent to any smartphone in the coverage area. The system was tested during the 2017 heat wave and reached 3 million contacts, according to Ray Riordan, San Joses Office of Emergency Management director. He filled the position after it sat vacant months before the flood.

In October, directors for the water district voted to reduce the storage level of Anderson Reservoir to its emergency pool level of 20,000 acre-feet at the start of each winter. This decision should provide greater protection against spillover, officials said. The reservoirs storage capacity is 90,373 acre-feet.

Were keeping those levels down, said Richard Santos, the districts board chair. I think were just way better prepared than we were before.

Residents of the Rock Springs neighborhood have argued thats not good enough. They still want to know what went wrong, Ellis said, and why many people didnt receive a warning until firefighters were at their doors conducting rescue operations.

Ellis said the flood destroyed her Honda Odyssey van and she was displaced from her home for four months.

I want them to take responsibility, she said. Thats what I want from the complaint.

Jenna Lyons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JennaJourno
Cheniere Energy announced Friday that it has struck two long-term deals to sell liquefied natural gas to China's state-controlled oil and gas giant.

The Houston-based energy company will sell about 1.2 million tons of LNG a year to PetroChina International Co., a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation, as part of two sale agreements that extend through 2043. Shipments will begin this year and ramp up in 2023.

In a statement, Cheniere president and CEO Jack Fusco called China "one of the largest and fastest growing LNG markets worldwide." The country has recently accelerated a shift from coal to natural gas in an effort to address an air pollution crisis in many of its urban areas.

Cheniere has been exporting natural gas since 2016 through its Sabine Pass facility in Louisiana. It's now expanding that complex to support more production and exports.

It's also working to open a terminal at the Port of Corpus Christi, which will support the deals with China. The company has begun construction on two liquefaction facilities there, and it's planning to build a third if it secures enough sale contracts.

"We expect these agreements to support the development of Corpus Christi Train 3, and we are now focused on completing the remaining necessary steps to reach a final investment decision later this year," Fusco said.

RELATED: U.S. could become net exporter of natural gas

U.S. Department of Energy said last month that the nation could become a net exporter of natural gas this year for the first time since 1957 as a result of the so-called shale boom that has unlocked vast reserve of natural gas in West Texas. The U.S. now ships LNG to at least 20 foreign markets.

Freeport LNG and Kinder Morgan are scheduled to begin exporting liquefied natural gas later this year. Several other companies, including Sempra Energy, are working on projects expected to start up in the coming years.
Government contractor Noblis, a research and technology nonprofit, is looking to expand in San Antonio  home to the 24th Air Force Cyber Command, the University of Texas San Antonio and the outposts of several federal agencies.

The group plans to expand its staff of 21 in San Antonio to about 125 over the next few years, said Mike Cameron, director of cyber solutions at Noblis. The Virginia-based contractor is hoping to grow its work in San Antonio around artificial intelligence, data science and cybersecurity, he said.

Its just a goal  not a commitment  but over the next two-to-three years wed like to build a technology business down there thats maybe 100, 125 people, Cameron said. Wed be thrilled if it was more than that but I think if we can get to 125 people over the next three years that will be growth that we can manage.

The groups current staff in San Antonio primarily works on environmental science projects.

Noblis may transfer some employees to the area, but the contractor hopes to hire the vast majority of them in San Antonio, Cameron said.

We have a cyber and data science center of gravity in our company, Cameron said. San Antonio bills itself as Cyber City USA so theres that part alone, but the real reason is that the business ecosystem down there very closely mirrors the Washington D.C. area.

The universities and government organizations here who all buy what we do, make San Antonio attractive, said Cameron, who also noted the way the municipal and county and state government get behind the tech industry and support it.

Cameron said he was very confident the company would start hiring in San Antonio this year.

It really depends on how quickly we can begin building business in San Antonio, he said, but he said Noblis is very encouraged by the reception its had from several government agencies in San Antonio.

And its in the process of working out a research agreement with the University of Texas at San Antonio that will allow us to collaborate fairly broadly with the university in a number of technology areas, Cameron said.

Noblis has also already given UTSA a letter saying its interested in participating in its future National Security Collaboration Center, Cameron said. UTSA is planning for the center to be a place to advance research, education, and workforce development in the areas of cybersecurity, data analytics, and cloud computing, according to its website.

When Cameron was hired on at Noblis to grow a cyber business, he was asked where the major cyber markets are, to which he says he answered: San Antonio, Fort Gordon in Georgia and Huntsville, Alabama.

We talked it through and it seemed clear to us that for what we wanted to do, and the time frame that we had, that San Antonio was a more mature and receptive market than the other two, Cameron said.

Noblis describes itself as a nonprofit organization with  the highest caliber of scientific and technical excellence. Our work makes an impact on the civil, defense, and intelligence missions that ensure our nations vitality and security.

The news was reported earlier by the San Antonio Business Journal.
More than 200 people, including a number of local leaders and political hopefuls, turned out Tuesday night, Feb. 6, to see and hear a presentation of a high-tech study undertaken in the hopes of avoiding future flooding in the Timarron and Timarron Lakes area.

When Hurricane Harvey hit last year, the community of mostly new homes in the Village of Creekside Park area was overwhelmed by floodwaters when Spring Creek expanded well beyond its banks, sending water into the neighborhoods in southern areas of The Woodlands. More than 300 homes were flooded.

After the flooding, the Harris-Montgomery Counties Municipal Utility District 386-the MUD that serves about 4,200 homes in the area-contracted with a mapping technology company to bring in remote sensing technology, called Light Detection and Ranging, or LiDAR for short, to help figure out why the flooding was so widespread and destructive. The LiDAR technology uses lasers beamed from a helicopter to examine an area and create detailed images which can be analyzed.

Officials with MUD 386 hope the data from the LiDAR study, in tandem with information from a separate flood analysis study prepared by members of the group Stop The Flooding in MUD 386, will help identify specific actions or causes that led to the flooding, as well as solutions to reduce flooding in the future.

FIRST TIME LARGE GROUP SEES HIGH-TECH STUDY RESULTS

Results of the LiDAR study were released in a MUD 386 meeting last month, but only a handful of people attended that meeting. Tuesday night's event, held at the Rob Fleming Recreation Center, was the first time the study had been rolled out to a large audience.

Rich Jakovac, president of the MUD 386 board, told the crowd, "This technology is not our technology. We didn't invent it."

"But we're using it to find a solution," Jakovac added. "We're the only entity, the only MUD district, currently using the model for that purpose."

Also addressing the crowd was MUD 386 Board Member Zachary Toups, who works as a senior vice president with Jones & Carter, Inc., a company that specializes in flood control modeling, mapping and design.

Toups told the gathering the LiDAR technology was able to simulate the "flood events," during Harvey, including isolating high water marks, mapping the boundaries of the floodwaters and providing additional data.

As part of the demonstration, Toups and Craig Maske, an engineer and certified floodplain manager with IDS Engineering Group, showed to the crowd the detailed maps produced by the LiDAR technology.

'WHITE PAPER' ON HARVEY FLOODING ALSO PREPARED BY AREA RESIDENTS

Toups also acknowledged a separate flood analysis, or "white paper," prepared by a collection of area residents with training in engineering, science and business. The second analysis noted that a number of area homes that are located at or above the Federal Emergency Management Agency's 500-year flood line in Timarron and Timarron Lakes, were swamped with varying levels of flood waters, ranging from 6 inches up to a few feet during Harvey. The contributors to the paper say the LiDAR study supports many of the findings they reported, Toups noted.

"That's good information about what the residents feel like what happened during Harvey, what they think is going on." Toups said.

Officials with MUD 386 will be using that information, data from the LiDAR survey and additional information being gathered from the international engineering firm Moffat & Nichol as part of the organization's efforts to try to prevent future flooding.

Moffat & Nichol engineers will be tasked with reviewing a "ton of documents to come up with, in their professional opinion, how did the flooding occur," Toups said.

Beside neighborhood residents, also in the crowd Tuesday night were several members of The Woodlands Township Board of Directors: John McMullan, Ann Snyder and John Anthony Brown. Texas state Rep. Valoree Swanson and state Sen. Brandon Creighton, who later addressed the crowd, were also in attendance.

Several candidates for various offices were present as well, including Steven David, a Tomball resident who is seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady in the November election; Jay Stittleburg, a candidate for Montgomery County Judge; and Lorena Perez McGill, a Democrat who is seeking the District 15 seat in the Texas House of Representatives.

During the meeting, there was no evidence of the anger or frustration expressed by residents during several MUD 386 board meetings last fall. Instead, members of the audience politely asked questions, with some complimenting MUD 386 board members for their efforts.

"This is good, this is on the right track," said one unidentified resident during the meeting.

MCMULLAN CALLS ON CROWD TO PRESSURE 'PROFESSIONAL POLITICIANS'

The closest thing to any sort of discord came after McMullan, instead of asking a question, turned to the crowd and-noting the financial resources and power of the federal and state government-urged attendees to put pressure on what he termed "professional politicians."

"Otherwise this is interesting, it's educational, but nothing is going to change unless you tell these elected officials," McMullan said. "We have to tell these guys 'I don't want the Texas legislature to focus on bathroom bills. I want money appropriated for this stuff.'"

McMullan's comments drew a round of applause from attendees.

Later in the meeting, Creighton-whose district includes The Woodlands-invited McMullan to join him for a trip to Washington D.C., where he said he was scheduled to meet with federal officials on Monday, Feb. 12.

"John, you're welcome to come visit with me," Creighton said. "I've got a seat right next to me on the plane. I'll pay for half the ticket. At 7:30 Monday morning, I'll be in the West Wing of the White House talking about this."

In a follow-up telephone interview with the Villager, McMullan said he spoke at length with Creighton after the Feb. 6 meeting, but the topic of joining him on the trip never came up again. McMullan also noted The Woodlands Township Board of Directors Chairman Gordy Bunch, Director Bruce Rieser and other local officials were in Washington, D.C. only last month to meet with key federal officials as they work on getting federal dollars for flood mitigation studies. Following the mid-January trip, Bunch said the group was "well-received" during their visit.

After the Feb. 6 meeting, local resident Enrique Rosero said he was pleased with the information released during the meeting.

"I thought it was very useful. It was very informative," Rosero said. "I thought the visuals painted a really good picture of what a computer can do to capture the physical process that went into creating the flood."

Also after the meeting, Jakovac said he was "very pleased" with the crowd turnout. Jakovac also said MUD 386 officials would keep residents advised of future meetings and engineering updates.
WASHINGTON - The Senate passed a sweeping bipartisan spending bill Friday morning, but not before the federal government shut down when Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., delayed the vote past midnight to complain about the budget deficit. It was the second government shutdown in less than three weeks.

The spending legislation passed 71-28, with wide bipartisan support. The bill would reopen the government while showering hundreds of billions of dollars on defense and domestic priorities, speeding disaster aid to hurricane-hit regions, and lifting the federal borrowing limit for a year. But first it must pass the House, where opposition from the left and the right made the outcome uncertain.

House votes were expected later Friday morning.

The shutdown was so unanticipated that the Office of Management and Budget didn't tell federal agencies to prepare for it until Thursday evening. But depending on House action the closure could end up being brief and having little impact on federal workers and the public.

Still, Congress' inability to keep the world's largest economy running pointed to acute legislative dysfunction that has paralyzed the Capitol and forced the government to operate on one short-term spending bill after another since the fiscal year began Oct. 1. The budget deal headed for passage Friday was meant to break that cycle of budget dysfunction - before it, too, ran into dysfunction.

The partial shutdown began just after midnight Friday morning as the government ran out of money when the latest short-term spending bill expired without Congress passing a new one.

Last month, the government shut down for three days in a dispute over undocumented immigrants brought to the country as kids, reopening when Senate Democrats accepted assurances from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., that he would hold a floor debate on immigration this month.

The latest congressional breakdown came amid dispute over the spending deal, which earlier in the week had appeared primed for easy passage as McConnell and Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., unveiled it jointly on the Senate floor with a bipartisan flourish and mutal praise.

But it began to run into trouble Thursday, as House conservatives rebelled over excessive deficit spending and House liberals fumed that this bill, too, failed to protect "dreamers" who face losing deportation protections under the Trump administration.

Then, as an expected vote approached in the Senate, Paul began to throw up roadblocks, demanding a vote on his amendment that would demonstrate how the two-year budget deal breaks past pledges to rein in federal spending.

GOP leaders refused to allow him to offer the amendment, arguing that if Paul got an amendment vote, many other senators might want one, too. Paul, in turn, refused to allow the vote to go forward, making use of Senate rules that allow individual senators to slow down proceedings that require the consent of all.

"I can't in all good honesty, in all good faith, just look the other way because my party is now complicit in the deficits," Paul said on the Senate floor as evening pushed into night.

Paul objected after a visibly irritated McConnell tried to move to a vote. Then Paul launched into a lengthy floor speech deriding bipartisan complicity on deficit spending while the country goes "on and on and on, finding new wars to fight that make no sense." The senator direly predicted a "day of reckoning," possibly in the form of the collapse of the stock market.

As the hours ticked on, Paul repeatedly refused to consent to allowing the vote to happen, as lawmakers and aides of both parties grew increasingly annoyed at him. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, leaving the floor after an unsuccessful attempt to curtail Paul's standoff, called the gambit "grossly irresponsible" and said that leaders would not entertain his demand for a vote.

"Why reward bad behavior?" Cornyn said.

Senate leaders remained confident all along that the spending deal would pass easily in the end, as it did. But without an agreement among all senators on timing, the voting was delayed until 1 a.m., when all time allotted for debate expired. And by then, the government had been shut down for an hour.

Senators of both parties were left fuming, with most of their ire directed toward Paul.

"He has mastered the art of ticking off his colleagues," said Sen. Christopher Coons, D-Del.

"It's a colossal waste of everybody's time," said Sen. John Thune, R-S.D. Of Paul, Thune said, "He never gets a result."

Paul himself made no apologies as he delivered one floor speech after another, casting himself as a lone defender of fiscal austerity, despite having voted in December for a tax bill that added at least $1 trillion to the debt.

Meanwhile even bigger problems appeared to be surfacing in the House, where liberals led by Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., were incensed that the plight of young undocumented immigrants who face the threat of deportation was not addressed in the spending bill.

Pelosi planned to vote against the bill. And despite initially suggesting that she would not be urging fellow Democrats to follow her lead, she increasingly appeared to be doing exactly that.

At a closed-door evening meeting of House Democrats, Pelosi told lawmakers: "We have a moment. They don't have the votes. All of us should use our leverage. This is what we believe in," according to one House Democrat in the room, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to disclose the private conversation.

Pelosi is under intense pressure from immigration activists and liberals in her caucus to take a stand for the "dreamers" - undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children who face losing work permits granted by President Barack Obama under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) but rescinded by President Donald Trump.

Supporters of these immigrants have watched in growing outrage as Democrats have failed repeatedly to achieve results for the cause. They want to see Democrats stand strong, even after last month's shutdown failed to achieve anything more than a commitment from McConnell to debate the issue on the Senate floor.

But many House Democrats were skittish over another shutdown, especially with Senate Democrats largely on board with the spending deal.

Several House Democrats emerged from their caucus meeting resolved to hold the line against any deal that did not address the party's immigration concerns.

"I think there's a very strong sentiment that this is a moment that we can't let pass," Rep. Daniel Kildee, D-Mich., said. "We've allowed these moments to pass in the past. This is a moment we can't let pass without doing everything we can to move forward on DACA."

Others were unconvinced.

Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Ky., the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee and a supporter of the deal, said the outcome may well depend on forces out of the House Democrats' control, such as how many House Republicans support it.

"If Republicans had 70 votes and needed 140 from us, then there's no pressure on us, because then it's their fault," Yarmuth said. "But if they have 170 and we can't put up 40 to support a bipartisan bill coming from the Senate, then we get blamed for a shutdown."

House conservatives were also balking, objecting to the enormous increase in federal spending, most of which would be piled onto the deficit with minimal attempts to offset it.

Earlier Thursday, House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., expressed confidence that the bill, which delivers a military funding boost sought by the GOP alongside increases in domestic spending favored by Democrats, would pass. "There is widespread agreement in both parties that we have cut the military too much, that our service members are suffering as a result, and that we need to do better," he said.

If the bill does pass in the end, its impact would range far beyond the military- renewing several large health-care programs, suspending the national debt limit for a year and extending billions of dollars of expiring business tax breaks. The cost of those provisions exceeds $560 billion, though lawmakers included some revenue-raising offsets, such as increases in customs fees and a sell-off from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

In comparison, the 2009 fiscal stimulus bill passed at the bottom of a global recession under Obama was estimated to cost $787 billion over 10 years. Republicans were nearly unanimous in opposing that measure in their clamor for fiscal restraint in the face of growing deficits - demands largely drowned out now in the Trump era.

This spending bill, proposed amid an economic boom, could be the last major piece of legislation passed before November's midterm elections, barring a breakthrough on the thorny immigration debate.

Under the deal, existing spending limits would be raised by a combined $296 billion through 2019. The caps were put in place in 2011 after a fiscal showdown between Obama and GOP congressional leaders, who demanded spending austerity.

The agreement includes an additional $160 billion in uncapped funding for overseas military and State Department operations, continuing a costly line item that dates back to the immediate response to the 2001 terrorist attacks. And about $90 billion more would be spent on disaster aid for victims of recent hurricanes and wildfires. Tax provisions would add another $17 billion to the cost of the bill.

The bill also includes a provision suspending the federal debt limit until March 1 of next year - after November's midterm elections.
In her 34 years, Summer Thyme Creel has passed a lot of bad checks, taken a lot of drugs and borne a lot of children (seven). After her sentencing Thursday in federal court in Oklahoma, her involvement with checks and drugs will stop at least temporarily, but she will never have another baby. That's because the judge in her case suggested, in writing, that Creel consider getting herself sterilized before the sentencing, and Creel proceeded to do just that.

The judge, Senior U.S. District Judge Stephen Friot of Oklahoma City, had accepted a guilty plea from Creel in January 2017 for making and cashing counterfeit checks, but had to postpone subsequent sentencing hearings because Creel was either in jail or testing positive for drug use, court records show. When Creel didn't show up for her sentencing last June, the judge looked at her pre-sentence report and observed that Creel was a user of both crack cocaine and methamphetamine.

"It appears highly likely," Friot wrote, "that some of Ms. Creel's children were conceived, carried and born while Ms. Creel was a habitual user of these illicit substances." He noted that she had relinquished custody of six of her seven children in 2012, with the seventh born in 2016. And so the judge concluded that, at the sentencing, "Ms. Creel may, if (and only if) she chooses to do so, present medical evidence to the court establishing that she has been rendered incapable of procreation."

Shannon Fagan/Getty Images

Creel took the hint. In November, she underwent a voluntary sterilization procedure, court records show. Federal prosecutors argued that the judge should not consider that fact in determining a sentence for Creel, because she "not only has a fundamental constitutional right to procreate," but also because her decisions to do so are "irrelevant to determining a sentence."

Friot issued findings Thursday in which he said "Ms. Creel will get the benefit of her decision to be sterilized. She will receive a shorter sentence because she made that decision." Responding to the prosecution's argument against such a consideration, Friot said, "the Supreme Court has yet to recognize a constitutional right to bring crack or methamphetamine addicted babies into this world."

Creel's sentencing guidelines called for a 10- to 16-month sentence, and Priot imposed a 12-month term Thursday.

Creel's bond was revoked after a failed drug test in December, and she could not be reached for comment. Her lawyer, W. Brett Behenna, said he did not know where Friot got the idea to suggest his client undergo sterilization. He said the judge called him and the prosecutor into chambers and read them the order. "I was surprised," Behenna said. "That's a very serious thing to bring up in the context of a criminal case, and I've never seen it before."

So he took it to his client. "It is my belief," Behenna said, "that when I discussed it with Summer, she wanted to do it, 100 percent. No coercion, no force."

Creel's case has echoes of America's long history of forced sterilization, though she was not ordered to do so by the judge. The states of North Carolina, Virginia and California have apologized in recent years for state-run sterilization programs, which happened as recently as 1974 in North Carolina. "This case harkens to a long legacy of coercive reproductive policies and practices," said Eesha Pandit, a longtime women's rights advocate and managing partner of the Center for Advancing Innovative Policy.

"For decades," Pandit said, "sterilization was used as a way to control populations considered 'undesirable' - immigrants, people of color, poor people, those with mental illnesses and disabilities. Tying Ms. Creel's sentencing to her sterilization formalizes the coercion - the threat of a harsher sentence is manipulative and dangerous, and aligns with a legacy of eugenic practices through the U.S."

Deborah Reid, senior health policy attorney for the Legal Action Center, said that "substance use disorder is a disease, not a character flaw to be used against somebody in sentencing." Reid said that "sterilization should never be a consideration in sentencing. The courts shouldn't be involved in a person's reproductive decision-making." And, Reid asked, "How can the person give informed consent to be sterilized in this situation?"

Friot's administrative assistant said the judge would have no comment. The story was first reported by The Oklahoman.

Creel is no stranger to the criminal justice system, but her offenses were always handled in county courts in Oklahoma and typically did not require any jail time, according to court records. She has state convictions for embezzlement, grand larceny, forgery, obstructing an officer, false impersonation and writing bad checks. In October 2016, she and a friend, Amber Linn Perkins, were indicted for stealing bank statements from the mailboxes of people or businesses, then using their account numbers to create counterfeit checks, which they would then either cash or use to buy things.

Both women pleaded guilty. Perkins received a five-year sentence and was ordered to pay $159,000 in restitution. Creel pleaded guilty in January 2017, and the total loss attributed to her was more than $19,000, prosecutors said in a sentencing memorandum.

Less than a month after her plea, Creel wrote two more counterfeit checks at a Hobby Lobby in Midwest City, Oklahoma, totaling more than $272, and was arrested again, court records show. Though Creel reportedly has claimed that her crimes emerged from a childhood of abandonment, and an adulthood of abuse and poverty, "not all of her criminal activity was motivated by making ends meet," Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Perry wrote in her sentencing memorandum. "At Hobby Lobby, she used counterfeit checks to purchase 'Wearable Art' and 'Home Decor. These purchases demonstrate that Creel was engaged in run-of-the-mill thievery, rather than an attempt to obtain basic necessities."

Behenna's sentencing memorandum is sealed, but prosecutors said he asked the judge to impose a 12-month term, and also informed the judge that Creel had undergone the "elective sterilization procedure." Perry also noted that Creel "admits that she had an interest in an elective sterilization procedure even before the Court's order." Behenna said that information may have come from "my conversations with Jessica [Perry], that Summer had thought about it before."

Friot, 70, was appointed to the federal bench by President George W. Bush in November 2001, after working for 19 years in Oklahoma City practicing corporate law. He also donated pro bono time to Habitat for Humanity, headed the county bar association, and as a judge received an award from the state bar association for his years of working to strengthen the legal system in Russia. He assumed senior status in 2014. He does not appear to have taken any particularly controversial stances during his 16 years on the bench - he sided with religious organizations resisting Obamacare's mandate to cover contraception, he recently rejected a suit which attempted to assign liability for Oklahoma's spate of earthquakes on fracking operations.

But his two-page order in Creel's case may attract more attention.

"When I read the order, I was horrified," said Lynn Paltrow, founder of the National Advocates for Pregnant Women and a former senior staff attorney at the ACLU's Reproductive Freedom Project. "The irony is not lost on us that this federal district court judge sided with religious organizations resisting Obamacare's mandate to cover contraception but believes it is appropriate to wield his enormous power to punish a woman for procreating."

"A person's reproductive choices should never be tied to anything having to do with crime or sentencing," Pandit said. "It's coercive at its core - to claim otherwise is unbelievable. . .We've learned this lesson over and over again, trying to control the reproductive lives of vulnerable communities is harmful and unethical."
Maryland Senate Budget and Taxation Chair Edward Kasemeyer, D-Baltimore County, will retire after his current term expires, creating a vacancy next year at the head of one of the state's most powerful legislative committees.

Kasemeyer, 72, announced his decision to members of the panel on Thursday, according to lawmakers who were present.

The legislators said he told them the move was not health-related.

Kasemeyer, whose current term ends on Jan. 9, is widely respected within both parties.

Sen. Andrew Serafini, R-Washington, a member of the committee, said that "it's a rare person in this business who has as much respect as Ed Kasemeyer," and that the budget chair's departure will be a "loss to the citizens of Maryland."

Sen. Bill Ferguson, D-Baltimore City, described Kasemeyer as "steadfast and thoughtful" in his approach to the panel's work.

"He has led the committee with an even hand and a strong focus on equity and fairness," he said. "I will miss his leadership in the future and would be humbled to, at some point, have a career as distinguished as his."

Kasemeyer, who did not return calls seeking comment, has led the budget panel since 2011, but his tenure in the legislature spans more than 34 years, including one term in the House before winning election to the Senate.

Ferguson said he doesn't expect lawmakers to begin jockeying for position to take over the chairmanship until after the 2018 election, in part because many could face tough reelection bids.

Sen. Richard Madaleno, D-Montgomery, who is vice chair of the panel, is running for governor this year and is not expected to return to the legislature.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Thursday that he will provide President Donald Trump with multiple options about staging a grand military parade in Washington but declined to share his feelings about the idea.

"I owe him some options," Mattis told reporters. "We'll put together options, and we will work everything from size to participation to cost, and when I get clear options, we'll send those over to the White House, and I'll go over and talk with them."

Trump has long mused publicly and privately about wanting such a parade. The Washington Post reported this week that 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 officials briefed on the planning.

Surrounded by the military's highest-ranking officials, including Mattis and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford Jr., Trump's seemingly abstract desire for a parade was suddenly heard as a presidential directive, the officials said.

Trump's idea has drawn fire from an array of critics, including some fellow Republicans who question whether it would be worth the cost. The expense of shipping 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.

Democrats on the District of Columbia City Council have also balked, voicing concerns about the costs of security, cleanup and road repair.

Mattis was asked Thursday by a reporter if he has any "misgivings," given military parades are more a staple of nations such as Russia and China.

"I'm not paid for my feelings. I save those for my girlfriend," said Mattis, who has been outspoken on a number of other subjects, including military funding.

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. Aboard Air Force One en route home from Paris in July, aides said Trump told them that he was dazzled by the French display and that he wanted one at home.

- - -

The Washington Post's Greg Jaffe, Philip Rucker and Karen DeYoung contributed to this report.
Oregon Republican State Sen. Jeff Kruse, under fire for alleged sexual harassment of female colleagues and employees, announced his resignation Thursday.

"I continue to deny these allegations," Kruse said in a statement reported by Oregon media. "However, today I tender my resignation so my colleagues may focus on serving Oregonians without distraction and my constituents receive the fullest representation they are due." His resignation is effective March 15, which will allow him to finish out the legislative session.

He is at least the 15th state legislator in the country to be forced from office either through resignation or expulsion in the months since the #MeToo movement got going, according to the Associated Press.

Kruse also faced possible expulsion had he not resigned.

Kruse was pressed to step down after a report by an independent investigator found he repeatedly subjected women to uncomfortable hugging and unwanted touching - sometimes on the Senate floor or in the governor's office - even after repeated warnings. He did some of these things even while cameras were rolling, the investigator found.

"Senator Kruse's behavior is not acceptable in the Capitol or any workplace, and he should step down," Democratic Gov. Kate Brown said in a statement reported by the Oregonian Tuesday night. "The legislature must immediately take steps to ensure that every person who walks into Oregon's Capitol is safe and respected, allowing the focus in the capitol to be where it should: on serving the people of Oregon."

Democratic House Speaker Tina Kotek also called for his resignation Tuesday, saying in a statement to KGW 8 that if he doesn't step down then "the Senate should expel him." She expressed dismay Thursday that he was delaying his departure. "The fact that Senator Kruse is dictating the terms of his departure is exactly what's wrong with the power dynamic that exists at the Capitol," she tweeted.

The 51-page report, compiled by private attorney Dian Rubanoff, found that Kruse exhibited a "long-standing pattern" of "engaging in unwelcome physical contact toward females in the workplace."

Rubanoff added that though Kruse, 66, was repeatedly confronted about his behavior, "he stubbornly refused to change." Kruse told Rubanoff, "It's not easy to change when you have been doing something for 67 years."

The investigation came after two Democratic Oregon state senators - Sara Gelser and Elizabeth Steiner Hayward - publicly accused Kruse of sexual harassment last fall. In her official complaint at the time, Gelser said Kruse touched her inappropriately on the breast and upper thigh both while on the House and Senate floors and in committee hearings. She also said that sometimes he would whisper so closely to her ear, it would be wet when he pulled away. She also alleged that Kruse sexually harassed at least 15 other women.

Rubanoff's report supported Gelser's statement and found several new instances of alleged misconduct, including against a lobbyist and two law students who used to work for Kruse, among many others. According to the report, Kruse had a pattern of making women "feel trapped" by his lingering hugs, and he would often place his hands on women either near or partially on their breasts or beneath their waists.

Kruse was "oblivious" to his behavior until he was specifically asked to stop hugging or touching female legislators and staff in 2016, the report stated. It added that Kruse admitted he did nothing to change his behavior even after the warning, claiming he didn't know who complained about him, "and he did not want to stop hugging and touching all of them."

After that, his behavior "actually escalated during the 2017 session," the report stated.

In one episode, Kruse "cupped the buttocks" of a female lobbyist during a 2017 photo session in the governor's office, which was crowded with small groups of people. She didn't initially report the incident because she felt that doing so could be detrimental to her career, given that she "was a new lobbyist and he was a senator."

In another, Kruse called a female law student who worked in his office during the 2017 session "sexy" and "little girl." Sometimes, he would walk up behind her while she was seated at her desk, put his hands on her shoulder and place his chin on her head, sometimes for more than 20 seconds.

She didn't initially report the incident because she too feared it could harm her career.

Hayward said she confronted Kruse about his behavior on Oct. 19, 2017. She asked if he was aware of the #MeToo movement, the accusations against Harvey Weinstein or the Dwayne Johnson test - the idea that if one wouldn't do something to Johnson, he shouldn't do it to female colleagues - according to the report.
2017 has been a divisive year for the nation, especially Texas.

Conversations about the Lone Star State's Confederate history, as well as protesters and civil rights groups battling the rising number of hate groups and hate crimes in the state, made headlines, reminding residents about the nation's troubling past.

On a smaller scale, local communities and institutions fought to bring the discussion of racism and insensitivity to the forefront.

ROCKETS STAR: James Harden pays visit to incarcerated rapper Meek Mill

Chron.com put together a list of some of these moments that sparked debates about racism in Texas and the U.S.

See racist or controversial moments in Texas in 2017.

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.
Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny published a video Thursday in which he accuses one of Russia's richest men of bribing a top government official by entertaining him on his yacht with several women described as escorts.

In the video posted to YouTube, Navalny says that his team of anti-corruption activists unearthed Instagram posts by a woman who said she worked for an escort agency and claimed to have been romantically involved with billionaire Oleg Deripaska. The Instagram posts appear to show the aluminum tycoon relaxing on a yacht in Norway in 2016.

In several videos, Deripaska appears to be joined by at least one other woman, as well as by Sergei Prikhodko - a deputy prime minister in the Russian government.

"An oligarch takes a top government official on a ride on his own yacht - that's a bribe," Navalny says in the video. "An oligarch pays for all of this, including young women from escort agencies. Believe it or not, this is also a bribe."

Navalny said his team verified the woman's posts by checking public records for boats and private planes. Navalny said the woman wrote a book about the experience, using pseudonyms for Deripaska and Prikhodko, titled, "A Diary About Seducing a Billionaire."

After Navalny's investigation was published, the woman, who goes by the name Nastya Rybka, posted a new video on Instagram in which she said that what took place on the yacht "was in truth a gang rape."

A spokesman for Deripaska on Thursday slammed the report and denied the accusations. "These scandalous and mendacious assumptions are driven by sensationalism and we totally refute these outrageous false allegations in the strongest possible way," the spokesman told the Associated Press in a statement.

The investigation by Navalny, whom Russian authorities banned from running against Vladimir Putin in the March 18 presidential election, underscores his ability to use Russia's still-open Internet to get attention despite the government's crackdown on free speech elsewhere. While Russia's mainstream media largely ignored Navalny's report, his video drew some 700,000 views on YouTube within hours. Navalny is now trying to use his social media reach to try to persuade Russians to boycott the March election, in which Putin is expected to win a fourth term.

Deripaska has been linked to former Donald Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, a key figure in U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe into Russia's meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. In October, Manafort was indicted on charges of conspiracy and money laundering, the first disclosed charges in that investigation.

According to emails described to The Washington Post last year, Manafort - who once worked for Deripaska - directed an associate to offer Deripaska "private briefings" about Trump's presidential campaign. A Deripaska spokeswoman said he was never offered such briefings.
PYEONGCHANG, South Korea - It was a moment that was unimaginable on Monday. But on Friday, it was reality.

The South Korean president, Moon Jae-in, shaking hands with a member of North Korean royalty, "First Sister" Kim Yo Jong. Both of them with smiles on their faces. Both of them speaking their shared language.

Both of them making a point to the outside world.

Moon wanted to use the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang as a way to engage with North Korea, to show the world -- and the United States in particular -- that old-fashioned diplomacy still has a role to play, even with Kim Jong Un's belligerent regime.

And for her part, Kim Yo Jong, the North Korean leader's younger sister, seemed to be saying: See, we're not that scary. We can cooperate with those who aren't threatening to rain "fire and fury" down upon us.

The photo of Moon and Kim Yo Jong in animated greeting quickly went viral in South Korea, a glimmer of what could be.

Kim was attending the Olympic opening ceremony together with Kim Yong Nam, who is 90 years old and is technically North Korea's head of state, although all power rests with the "great leader" Kim Jong Un. Their attendance came as something of a last-minute surprise, the result of a rapidly unfolding series of events that began Jan. 1. Kim delivered a New Year's Day address offering "detente" and setting in motion the chain of events that led to the isolated nation sending about 500 North Koreans, including 22 athletes, to the Olympics.

But it was Kim Yo Jong who is the object of most South Korean fascination. She is the first member of North Korea's ruling Kim family to ever come to South Korea. And, at about 30 years, old she is young and clearly has her brother's trust.

South Korean television networks broadcast live coverage of the North Korean jet's arrival at Incheon airport, west of Seoul, on Friday afternoon. From then on, cameras breathlessly documented Kim's every gesture and her every move.

They caught her wide, relaxed smile when she gestured to Kim Yong Nam to take the most senior seat in a meeting room at the airport when they sat down with South Korean officials.

They documented her transfer to the brand-new high-speed train - complete with super-fast WiFi, of course - connecting the airport and the Olympics site. And they were waiting when she disembarked at Jinbu station, surrounded by the kind of paparazzi throng and security detail that are usually the preserve of K-pop stars.

Kim Yo Jong didn't attend the reception for VIPs before the opening ceremony, but she was there in the VIP box for the big event, dressed in a black coat and hat. It was the kind of no-frills, I-mean-business attire that she wears in North Korea, where she clearly works for her brother. Her ID badge around her neck showed the official photo of her that was released last year when she was elevated to North Korea's powerful Politburo.

She happily accepted Moon's warm greeting, and she stood and clapped when the unified Korean team entered the stadium.

If North Korea sees this as a charm offensive, it could hardly have picked someone more outwardly charming.
Now Congress has killed a part of Obamacare that never even got to live except in the realm of political theater.

After years of GOP bluster about a Medicare cost-cutting tool - known as the Independent Payment Advisory Board, or IPAB - lawmakers quietly erased that deeply controversial part of the Affordable Care Act in a broad federal spending plan that passed both chambers of Congress while we were sleeping last night. The massive budget deal, which hikes military and domestic spending by hundreds of billions of dollars, passed the House at 5:30 a.m., nearly four hours after the Senate cleared the legislation, my colleagues Mike DeBonis and Erica Werner report.

The IPAB is the second part of President Barack Obama's health-care law this current Congress has kicked out the door, and unlike the individual mandate - recently unwound by the partisan GOP tax overhaul - many Democrats are on board this time around, but mostly because they're supporting the larger spending framework.

Yet nobody's exactly crying as IPAB takes a bow.

Even the most earnest ACA defenders have admitted it was mostly a gimmick to help pay for the health-care law and never held any real promise for reining in Medicare spending. It would have been the job of the panel, made up of outside experts, to recommend Medicare savings to Congress (almost certainly through payment cuts to doctors). But the program's spending growth never hit a designated threshold so the panel was never even formed.

For their part, Republicans have long since wrung out all the political capital they were going to get from the IPAB - and wring, they did. If the mandate to have health coverage was the mother of all Obamacare controversies, the IPAB was at one time the grandmother of all Obamacare controversies.

Recall the hysteria over "death panels," that infamous and terribly misleading descriptor coined by former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, who contended the panel would lead to the rationing of care (even though the panel had no say over what services Medicare covers). Palin's claim, which GOP candidates widely adopted to strike emotional chords with voters, was chosen by PolitiFact as its "Lie of the Year" back in 2009.

As recently as 2016, 29 percent of Americans still believed this widely debunked claim, according to Public Policy Polling.

That's not to say Republicans and conservatives didn't have legitimate concerns about IPAB. It ceded some power to an unelected board even though Medicare is a program passed and overseen by Congress.

And as we outlined above, there was little practical reason to believe lawmakers would even go along with its recommendations, since politicians have shown time and time again they don't have the political will to cut Medicare spending over the fierce objections of seniors and the massive health-care industry. Those are all reasons why, in the end, Democrats agreed to play ball with Republicans who have long desired to strike IPAB from the books forever.

As we did when the individual mandate was repealed, we asked several health-care experts to offer their own eulogy to the IPAB. Here's what they shared:

Joe Antos, health-care scholar at the American Enterprise Institute:

"The big problem with repealing the IPAB is this is a Congress - and it's bipartisan - that has no interest in fiscal responsibility. It was only put in to produce savings, but there was never any intention from the very beginning to actually allow it to operate. It was a lot like many of these automatic savers in the Medicare program - they were never really meant to work. This was never going to get off the ground and so the point of this was really a fraud to begin with, which was to claim this was a way of paying for the ACA."

Tim Jost, health law professor at Washington and Lee University:

"The [IPAB] was one of the most unpopular creations of the [ACA]. It was certainly the most misunderstood - claims that it created a death panel were simply fake news. It was also, however, wholly unrealistic - the idea that 15 of the top health care experts in the country would serve on such a panel for six-year terms on civil service salaries without outside compensation was ridiculous, as was the thought that Congress would simply go along with their recommendations."

Gail Wilensky, former chair of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission:

"I strongly support strategies that would slow the spending on Medicare, but the IPAB was not one of them for several reasons. First, it only focused on provider spending rather than the larger set of options, such as benefits, structure and eligibility, that could reduce spending on Medicare. Second, the decisions would essentially be made by a group of individuals that once appointed and confirmed had no accountability to anyone . . . IPAB is too much of a delegation of legislative responsibility to an unaccountable group of individuals."

Rodney Whitlock, former health-care policy director for Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa:

"I was always offended by it. An august body makes decisions that the legislature is incapable of doing, but it was written in such a manner as to guarantee a certain outcome: provider cuts. Thus providers banded together to kill it from the start. They made it so radioactive it was never launched. Today (and that's a bit of an assumption) is finally reading the last rites."

Paul Van de Water, senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities:

"Repealing the [IPAB] is a case study of how hard it is to control health-care costs. Provider groups lobbied against IPAB under the guise of protecting seniors, when they were really protecting their own income. In fact, the law specifically prohibited IPAB from rationing health care, raising Medicare's premiums or cost sharing, cutting benefits, or restricting eligibility. Now the Republican Congress is even more likely to consider blunt proposals to reduce Medicare spending by shifting costs to beneficiaries."
The Century Foundation, a public policy think tank, sued the U.S. Department of Education on Thursday seeking the release of records on controversial higher education accrediting agencies that are linked to lax regulation.

The American Bar Association and the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools are among more than a dozen private accrediting bodies that will undergo a review this spring to decide if they get federal recognition needed to operate. The Education Department, whose blessing allows the organizations to oversee the quality and standards of the nation's colleges, has asked the public to submit comments concerning the groups' performance.

But the Century Foundation says the Education Department is refusing to make public key reports from the Bar Association and the Accrediting Council before the end of the comment period, making it difficult for outside analysts to provide an informed assessment.

"By setting an extremely short window for public comment and then rejecting [The Century Foundation's] request for expedited processing, the Department of Education has effectively rendered the public comment period useless," said Alex Elson, an attorney at the National Student Legal Defense Network, a nonprofit representing the foundation. "How is [the foundation] supposed to provide informed comment to the department when the most essential materials are actively being kept secret and hidden?"

The Education Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit.

The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, accuses the department of violating the Freedom of Information Act and a provision of the Administrative Procedure Act that prohibits arbitrary and capricious agency actions.

At the heart of the case is whether the American Bar Association and the Accrediting Council have rectified problems previously identified by anindependent advisory board within the Education Department that oversees higher education accrediting bodies.

In June 2016, that advisory board admonished the American Bar Association for failing to implement standards measuring the quality of education received by students at the law schools it accredits. The committee took issue with the Bar Association's audit and analysis of student debt, and suspended the group from accrediting new institutions for a year.

Though the Education Department liftedthe suspension in September 2016, it required the Bar Association to submit a progress report that has never been released to the public, according to the complaint. The Bar Association did not immediately respond to request for comment.

The Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools became the poster child for dysfunction before the Education Department said in December 2016 it could no longer be the gatekeeper between colleges and billions of dollars in federal financial aid.

The council was rife with conflicts of interest: Many of its commissioners worked as executives at Corinthian Colleges and ITT Technical Institute, schoolsaccredited by the agency. It let for-profit colleges under investigation for allegedfraud or with rock-bottom graduation rates receive billions of dollars in federal student aid, including Corinthian, ITT Tech and FastTrain College. All of those schools remained accredited until the day they closed.

The Obama administration said the Accrediting Council was incapable of rectifying years of lax oversight. But the Trump administration agreed in January to reconsider the ruling.

The decision arrived four months after Michelle Edwards, the new president and chief executive of the Accrediting Council, asked the Education Department to be included on the spring meeting agenda of the independent advisory board that had recommended the action against the organization. That way, the organization could be considered for reinstatement. The council did not immediately respond Thursdayto requests for comment.

Accrediting Council leaders have said the group has increased on-site evaluations, removed board members with conflicts of interest, brought in new leadership and stepped up enforcement. Its threat to revoke the accreditation of ITT Tech set in motion a chain of events that led the for-profit schools to shut down. But the council's efforts have not quelled objections to its participation in the federal student aid program.

The Accrediting Council "has a shameful record as an accreditor. For the department to consider the agency for possible reinstatement, without providing the agency's application materials, makes a mockery of the public input process," said Robert Shireman, a senior fellow at the Century Foundation and former deputy undersecretary at the Education Department under Obama.
RICHMOND, Va. - Shouting "Shame, Shame!" and singing "We Shall Overcome," more than 100 women's rights activists from across Virginia poured into the state capitol Friday to try to force the legislature to take action on the federal Equal Rights Amendment.

Dressed in period costumes and wearing colorful silk banners demanding "ERA 2018", advocates hoped this year's record number of women lawmakers, combined with the momentum of the #MeToo movement, would propel the amendment forward in Virginia - bringing the national effort just one shy of the 38 states needed for ratification.

But their efforts failed in the GOP-controlled legislature, after one House committee refused to take up the matter at all while a Senate panel defeated it on a 9 to 5 vote, with all the "no" votes cast by men.

Both committee chairmen, Sen. Ryan McDougle, R-Mechanicsville, and Del. Mark Cole, R-Fredericksburg, cited a technical reason for their opposition. They said the effort to seek ratification for the ERA was improper because the Congressional deadline expired in 1982. Advocates argue that Congress could overturn or extend that deadline, and the General Assembly has a responsibility to take a stand on the proposal.

Their efforts won them a "show of hands" vote in the Senate Rules Committee, after two Fairfax Democrats, Sen. Janet Howell and Sen. Dick Saslaw, interceded when McDougle said he'd hold only a voice vote on ratification. The vote failed 9-5, with Sens. Jill Vogel, R-Fauquier; Richard Stuart, R-Prince William, and Mamie Locke, D-Richmond, joining Howell and Saslaw on the losing side.

First introduced 95 years ago by suffragist Alice Paul, the ERA would bar discrimination on account of sex.

McDougle tried to tell the capacity crowd that an official at the National Archives and Records Administration advised him that the ERA is a "failed amendment," and therefore improper for the General Assembly to vote on it.

Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, sponsor of the Senate bill, argued that the archivist does not decide law. He pointed to an informal advisory from the state Attorney General's office that said Congress has the power to extend the ratification deadline. Even without an extension, it is possible that the legislature's ratification could be found valid, depending on future congressional action, he said.

When McDougle tried to hold one vote on several measures including the ERA bill, Howell quickly separated the ERA vote. McDougle said it would be a voice-vote only, with no individual votes recorded. The room immediately erupted with shouts and singing until McDougle agreed to ask for a show of hands.

Moments later, the same crowd crossed the Capitol hallway where a House committee was about to convene. The GOP leaders of that panel had decided against holding hearings on any of the three nearly identical ERA ratification bills submitted this year.

The protesters sat quietly through about 20 minutes of other business, holding up preprinted signs that read "Republican who remembers when this was a Republican ideal" and "Dads 4 Daughters."

Then Del. Sam Rasoul, D-Roanoke, requested that one of the ERA bills be added to the hearing. After a brief statement by him and by Pat Fishback, a member of the League of Women Voters who's been working for the ERA for 40 years, Cole ruled the motion out of order because of the expired Congressional deadline.

Once again, the crowd shouted its dismay and protesters warned that they would remember the vote at the polls.

"Every year, we've made more and more progress because of these wonderful activists," Rasoul said later. "They should keep it up."

Five times in the last seven years, the Virginia Senate passed the ERA but each time, it languished in the House. This year, ERA activists bought three billboards on I-95 pressing their case, took out newspaper ads and mailed 10,000 handwritten postcards.

"We know the public interest is there, but the leadership in the legislature is choosing to ignore it," said Eileen Davis, founder of Women Matter, one of a myriad of feminist organizations pushing for a vote. "Virginia has a state-level ERA but it has never ratified the federal ERA, which means we're at odds with our own values."

Congress passed the ERA in 1972 and sent it to the states for ratification. To be adopted, 38 of the 50 states needed to approve the measure by 1982, Congress said. By that time, only 35 states had ratified it, so the amendment never made it into the Constitution. Nevada went ahead and ratified it last year, bringing the total to 36.

Activists dispute the notion that since the 1982 deadline has passed, the issue is dead. Numerous constitutional experts believe that Congress could extend the deadline again, even after a generation-long lapse. Two bills have been introduced in Congress by Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., and Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., to eliminate the deadline for ratification.

If that legislation passes, as long as 38 states ratify the amendment at any point, it would become part of the Constitution. Five states have voted to rescind their previous ratification votes but it's unclear whether that would affect the ratification tally.

Activists also noted the 27th Amendment, which bars Congress from voting on its own pay raises, was ratified 202 years after it was first introduced. No ratification deadline was set for that measure.

Both Surovell and Del. Alfonso Lopez, D-Arlington, who sponsored one of the House bills, cited the influence of their mothers who took them to ERA rallies when they were children, and called the ERA "unfinished family business."

A Republican delegate from Midlothian, Roxann Robinson, sponsored another of the House ERA bills, as did Fairfax Democrat Kaye Kory.

With the balance of power nearly even between Democrats and Republicans in the Virginia General Assembly, ERA advocates hoped their odds of success had increased. Just a week ago, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg expressed her support for the ERA at a Washington synagogue.

"Whatever resistance there may be, it's quiet obstruction, not loud or in your face," said Sen. Jennifer Wexton, D-Fairfax, chief co-sponsor of the Senate ERA bill. "One thing people saw in 2017 election is power of women. No one wants to cross them overtly."

"Women are pretty upset and they're voting and elected officials are paying attention to that," Surovell said. "Elected officials ignore angry women at their peril."
A man featured this week on Laredo Crime Stoppers Most Wanted has been arrested, according to the Laredo Police Department.

Israel de la Rosa, 19, was served with warrants Wednesday charging him with robbery and burglary of a habitation.
LONDON - Julian Assange lost one legal bid Tuesday that could have dramatically altered the long-running saga that has compelled the controversial WikiLeaks founder to take refuge in the Ecuadoran Embassy in London for more than five years.

But his case continues, with more hearings and court dates to come.

A British judge rejected his lawyers' first argument that an existing arrest warrant against Assange should be withdrawn because the Swedish charges that underlie it have been shelved.

Lawyers for Assange argued in a London courtroom that the outstanding British warrant, issued after Assange skipped bail, had "lost its purpose and function" following Sweden's decision last year to drop an investigation into sexual assault allegations.

"I'm not persuaded that the warrant should be withdrawn," Judge Emma Arbuthnot said in her ruling.

The judge suggested that Assange could address the British warrant but that he had to first surrender and appear in court. "Once at court, a defendant will be given an opportunity to put an argument for reasonable cause. And that is when Mr. Assange will be able to place that before the court," the judge said.

After being shot down on the first motion to quash the arrest warrant because the Swedish assault investigation has been dropped, Assange's lawyers pivoted and argued that British authorities should stop pursuing him for violating his bail terms because it was no longer in the public interest.

The judge agreed that Assange's legal team could make a public-interest argument and set another hearing on the matter for Feb. 13.

Assange has been staying - virtually imprisoned, he says - at the Ecuadoran Embassy for five years.

If he steps off embassy grounds, he faces arrest for skipping bail in 2012 when he sought refuge in the embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he was wanted for questioning about alleged sex crimes.

Last year, Sweden dropped its investigation into rape allegations against Assange because it was unable to get access to him.

Ahead of Tuesday's ruling, a small group of Assange supporters gathered outside the court in central London. Some carried placards reading "Assange safe passage" and "Don't shoot the messenger." A separate evening demonstration outside the Ecuadoran Embassy was planned for Tuesday evening.

Assange has denied the allegations of sexual misconduct in Sweden - he claimed the sex was consensual - but he has long argued that there is an international effort led by Washington to persecute him for his role in the publication of hundreds of thousands of classified U.S. government documents, diplomatic cables and emails.

It is not publicly known whether there is a sealed U.S. indictment against Assange.

Assange has been living in a tiny room in the Ecuadoran Embassy, and his organization continues to release sensitive documents on the Internet. Born in Australia, the 46-year-old was recently granted Ecuadoran citizenship.

During the 2016 presidential campaign, WikiLeaks published a trove of emails from the Democratic National Committee and John D. Podesta, Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman. Last year, WikiLeaks released documents detailing U.S. government hacking tools.

CIA Director Mike Pompeo has denounced the anti-secrecy group as a threat to U.S. national security.

In a recent interview with The Washington Post, Assange called Pompeo's statements "very strange and bombastic."

In the last year, Assange has also been active in a campaign to support secessionists in the Catalonia region of Spain.
Almost seven years after its initial application was submitted to build a landfill outside Laredo, on Jan. 26, Rancho Viejo Waste Management received the preliminary go-ahead from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

This proposed landfill, called the Pescadito Environmental Resource Center, would be located on 953 acres about 20 miles east of Laredo, between highways 59 and 359.

Pescadito would accept waste 24/7, up to 10,000 tons a day, maxing out at 14.3 million cubic yards, according to the TCEQs draft municipal solid waste permit. The lowest elevation will be 453 feet above sea level, the highest, 701 feet.

TCEQ also stipulates that the actual waste disposal area would take up less than 10 percent of the property, 72.33 acres.

One of the major sources of contention with this project is that the landfill would take Class 1 industrial solid waste, which is classified as something toxic, corrosive or flammable, a generator of sudden pressure by decomposition or heat, or anything that poses a substantial danger to human health or the environment when improperly processed.

And furthermore, parts of the property are within Webb Countys 100-year floodplain. With the 1,000-year flood event that was Hurricane Harvey only months ago, this issue has become ever timely.

About a third of the Pescadito property is located in the 100-year floodplain, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agencys map, but the actual landfill disposal area and the waste storage and processing units are outside the floodplain, Brian McGovern, TCEQ media relations specialist, told LMT.

McGovern said if Rancho Viejo Waste Management wanted to expand its waste disposal site from the 72.33 acres, it would need to obtain a permit amendment first. And waste disposal is not allowed in the 100-year floodplain, he said.

Carlos C.Y. Benavides III, who owns Rancho Viejo Waste Management, said even through multiple 100-year flood events, this property has contained its water, and it has never flooded into the system.

The permitting for this project requires high vigilance, Benavides said, which includes installing monitoring wells on the property.

We know we have the best containment, but were still going above and beyond what is required with the wells, he said. This showcases that were being that much more conscious.

Benavides told LMT that he and his family are currently planning to run the landfill themselves, if TCEQ grants them the full permit.

Benavides cousins, Arturo N. Benavides and Ana Benavides Galo, who co-own tracts of land with Rancho Viejo, have consistently expressed their disapproval of the landfill project.

Building an international toxic waste dump in a Webb County floodplain is bad for Texas and bad for our regions environment, economy and qualify of life, Arturo N. Benavides has told LMT previously.

A motion to overturn TCEQs draft permit was filed a week after its notice, on Feb. 2 by ANB Cattle, which is owned by Benavides.

A large portion of the Pescadito land is in the 100-year floodplain and contains pipelines and easements owned by Hilcorp Energy and Kinder Morgan, according to the motion.

(Rancho Viejo Waste Management) plans to remove a major portion of the lands within the permit boundary from the floodplain so the land can be used for waste disposal. To do so, RVWM must build flood control and drainage structures on land outside the permit boundary, which ANB co-owns with RVWM, and pipelines owned by Hilcorp and (Kinder Morgan) must be relocated, the motion reads.

Building these structures and relocating the pipelines requires the issuance of a floodplain development permit from Webb County and the consent of ANB, Hilcorp, and (Kinder Morgan).

In August 2016, Webb County Planning Director and Floodplain Administrator Rhonda Tiffin said the county would be denying a floodplain development permit application for the proposed landfill due to inconsistencies in Pescaditos data and plans.

Since 1998, Webb County has participated in FEMAs National Flood Program, which mandates that communities require permits for all proposed construction in flood hazard zones, the Texas Tribune has reported.

And even if the actual waste disposal area is not in the floodplain, Rancho Viejo Waste Management will have to obtain permits to build, at the very least, roads leading to the site.

Rancho Viejo Waste Management filed, and eventually dropped, a lawsuit against Tiffin for allegedly trying to interfere with its ability to construct the landfill.

C.Y. Benavides said he filed an appeal for his floodplain development permit with the countys Planning and Zoning Review Board in early 2017, but that they still havent held a hearing on the case.

Theyre keeping it on ice, but eventually its going to all bust, Benavides said.

Juan Avila, who serves on the board, said they are still waiting to get approval for an outside attorney, and that they havent made a decision on the case. He sympathized with Benavides, and understood that it seems like theyre prolonging the process, but the board is just doing what they have to do, he said.

In October 2016, after Benavides submitted revisions to his permit application, TCEQ notified him of five issues that needed to be addressed. These issues included pipeline easements located in areas proposed for waste disposal, some drainage channels and an internal road located outside Pescaditos boundary and a proposed detention pond that is too deep. They sent another letter listing different issues in October 2017.

The above items must be addressed prior to our completion of review, the letter states.

Ray Sullivan, the former chief of staff for Gov. Rick Perry who does government relations work for ANB Cattle, said that none of these issues were addressed before TCEQs action to issue the draft permit.

Rancho Viejo Waste Management has been denied a floodplain development permit by Webb County, which means they cannot build the landfill, flood control, or roads in the 100 year floodplain as they requested to do. Even TCEQ says they need local approval to build in a floodplain. Despite the floodplain development permit denial, TCEQ preliminarily approved their permit. We believe rules were violated and that putting a toxic landfill for waste from Mexico in a Texas floodplain is a terrible idea, especially after the devastation of Hurricane Harvey, Sullivan said in a statement to LMT.

There are still a few steps left to complete before Rancho Viejo gets the full green light on the landfill. TCEQ will be accepting public comments, and if the commissions executive director determines there is enough interest by the public, TCEQ will hold another public meeting.

TCEQ could also consider a contested case hearing based on these comments, which TCEQ commissioners would have to decide to grant.

Julia Wallace may be reached at 956-728-2543 or jwallace@lmtonline.com
The Alamo Colleges board of trustees voted unanimously Thursday to name Ruben Mike Flores, president of Palo Alto College, as the lone finalist for chancellor of the district of five community colleges.

The vote starts a 21-day period during which the district will present Flores at community forums and negotiate his contract, board Chairwoman Yvonne Katz said.
The death of firefighter Scott Deem and the injuries to two other San Antonio firefighters at a Northwest Side strip mall last year were preventable, according to a report released Friday by the Texas State Fire Marshals Office.

The actions leading to the findings in this report collectively led to the tragedy at this incident, the report states. The goal of this report is to challenge the San Antonio Fire Department to meet national fire service best practices identified in the recommendations to minimize risk exposure to the men and women of the SAFD.

That path will honor the memory of (firefighter) Deem and take a good fire department to an even higher level of performance, it continues.

In total, the report identifies 11 mistakes that were made as firefighters battled the massive blaze at the Ingram Square Shopping Center on May 18. (On Thursday, the Express-News reported there were 10 findings, based on information from San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood.)

The mistakes range in severity, from more critical issues dealing with firefighting operations and the accountability of commanders, to less severe infractions, like how training is documented.

Overall, though, the review portrays the department as one lacking accountability and in need of a cultural change. At the end of the report, the fire marshals office includes a 27-page U.S. Fire Administration report on how to reduce risk-taking behaviors in the fire and emergency service.

While San Antonio Fire Department has many good policies and procedures in place, pockets of members remain who are resistant to change, the report states. The SAFD would benefit from a culture of continuous improvement.

The 61-page independent review, which was conducted with assistance from the Houston Fire Department, provides the most comprehensive explanation of what happened the night in May when Deem died.

Until Thursday, Hood had said little specifically about the firefighting operations, citing the ongoing local, state and federal investigations. When he did speak about it, he staunchly defended the departments actions.

Now, though, Hood has backed off of those claims, saying mistakes were made.

Theres a void there thats never going to be replaced, Hood said. We have to make sure we do justice to his loss.

More Information Fire marshal's recommendations: Use firefighting techniques appropriate for the type of structure and conditions of the fire Ensure proper ventilation and fan usage Properly educate incident commanders on risk management, and when to go/no go Prevent freelancing, when an individual carries out tasks without approval from the incident commander Implement an "accountability system" and procedures that track crews and breathing apparatuses Evaluate and train on mayday procedures Ensure pre-fire plans, such as floor plans, are in place Conduct fire code inspections of all commercial buildings Provide easy access to current standard operating procedures and guidelines Adopt "cultural change" with a greater emphasis on firefighter accountability and safety Document all firefighter training in a central location See More Collapse

Lessons learned

According to the report, Deem  a 31-year-old father who had been with the department for six years  arrived at the fire at 9:17 p.m. May 18 and almost immediately forced his way into the building to search for people possibly trapped inside.

Firefighter Brad Phipps, a comrade from Station 35, entered the building with him.

The report states that commanders never should have sent firefighters into the building initially. The gym was closed, there was heavy dark black smoke coming out of the building and there was no evidence anyone was inside the building  something that proved true as the fire progressed.

The firefighters entered the structure without a hose, leaving them without a water supply or a clear way to exit the building once visibility diminished. Those tactics are similar to those used in a small residential structure  not a large commercial building, the report found.

As the two searched the building, Phipps said the visibility was poor and they were moving by touch alone. He then told commanders they had located the fire in the attic.

Phipps, and possibly Deem, began pulling ceiling tiles to gain access to the fire, but conditions quickly changed, the report states. They reported they had no visibility and heat was rapidly increasing.

It was like someone poured asphalt over me, one firefighter later told investigators. It got very dark and very hot.

Pulling ceiling tiles, the report states, is typically done to find the origin of the fire, not during a search-and-rescue operation. The report criticized this form of freelancing, when an individual carries out tasks without approval from the incident commander.

And, if they were to pull tiles, they needed a hose-line in place  which they did not.

Nearby firefighters attempted to cool down the area by opening a fire nozzle, but it had little effect and they backed out of the building, the report says.

Soon after, Phipps issued a mayday, meaning he was in immediate danger. The pair attempted to exit the structure but were overcome by the fire and became separated.

Throughout the fire, crews failed to properly ventilate the building, the report states. At one point, according to radio traffic, commanders thought the gyms back doors had been opened and that the building was being adequately ventilated to clear out the thick smoke.

In fact, though, at least some of the doors were still shut and the smoke wasnt clearing.

Meanwhile, Robert Vasquez, a third firefighter who had entered the gym as part of a Rapid Intervention Team to search for Deem and Phipps, was separated from his team. The air in his breathing apparatus was low, so he changed his bottle and stayed in place, thinking he wasnt in trouble.

On Thursday, Hood said Vasquezs decision to change his breathing apparatus and stay in place was heroic  it kept crews focused on the mission to find Deem and Phipps  but he also said Vasquez should have issued a mayday before it was potentially too late.

Firefighters are often wary of calling mayday, but it can save lives, Hood said.

Rescue teams eventually found Phipps and pulled him out of the building. Phipps was hospitalized for months after the fire and continues to recover from disfiguring injuries.

A half-hour into the incident, they found a second firefighter, who they thought was Deem. Then came bad news. The firefighters had not pulled out Deem, but Vasquez.

Commanders need an accountability system and procedures that track crews and breathing apparatuses to make sure something like this never happens again, the report states.

Faced with a growing inferno and a burning roof that could collapse at any time, Hood said he ultimately ordered all the rescue teams to evacuate the building, leaving Deem inside.

Crews found Deems body later as the smoke began to clear. His body was removed from the structure, surrounded by his fellow firefighters and draped with an American flag from Station No. 35 on Culebra Road, where he worked.

Finding forgiveness

The report details other errors made by the department  like not having updated floor plans on file and failing to provide easy access to current standard operating procedures. Hood said its important for those errors to be corrected but said they did not affect the chain of events that night.

Hood said the department needs to focus on learning from the mistakes and forgiving itself, saying the real blame for the fire falls on the person who intentionally set the fire inside the Spartan Box gym in the shopping center, allegedly to get out of his lease.

Its up to all of us to be accountable for our actions, Hood said. But like I told you, we have to forgive ourselves. We have to forgive ourselves and without that, were never going to recover and we have to do that.

Some city officials  including City Manager Sheryl Sculley and City Council members Manny Pelaez, William Cruz Shaw and Rey Saldana  echoed those sentiments and said they supported Hood.

It opens a wound for the city and for the department and families from a very terrible night in May, Mayor Ron Nirenberg said in a statement. But in looking at the report and hearing from the Fire Department leadership, the institution didnt fail. Of course, in any incident like that, there are things that we could do better.

My personal experience with Chief Charles Hood as a citizen, as a Councilman and now as Mayor, has been exemplary, he added. I have been impressed with his response to this terrible event and have confidence that he will continue to lead the department forward.

After the fire, Hood said the department identified policies and training practices that needed to change  some of which were also cited in the state fire marshals report. The departments updates began in June.

The department said it will implement the additional recommendations from the state fire marshals office in the months and years to come. The department has reassigned a command staff leader to directly oversee the implementation of the reports recommendations.

The department also has also turned an old warehouse on North Cherry and Nolan streets on the East Side into a safety and survivability center dedicated to Deem. The structure will have props, and firefighters will go through training exercises to escape from fake entrapments, entanglements and zero-visibility conditions.

We have an obligation to make sure that this doesnt happen again, Hood said. And so that is what were trying to do.

Staff Writers Josh Baugh and John Tedesco contributed to this report.

Emilie Eaton is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. Read more of her stories here. | eeaton@express-news.net | @emilieeaton
Free blacks in the antebellum periodthose years from the formation of the Union until the Civil Warwere quite outspoken about the injustice of slavery. Their ability to express themselves, however, was determined by whether they lived in the North or the South. Free Southern blacks continued to live under the shadow of slavery, unable to travel or assemble as freely as those in the North. It was also more difficult for them to organize and sustain churches, schools, or fraternal orders such as the Masons.

Although their lives were circumscribed by numerous discriminatory laws even in the colonial period, freed African Americans, especially in the North, were active participants in American society. Black men enlisted as soldiers and fought in the American Revolution and the War of 1812. Some owned land, homes, businesses, and paid taxes. In some Northern cities, for brief periods of time, black property owners voted. A very small number of free blacks owned slaves. The slaves that most free blacks purchased were relatives whom they later manumitted. A few free blacks also owned slave holding plantations in Louisiana, Virginia, and South Carolina.

Free African American Christians founded their own churches which became the hub of the economic, social, and intellectual lives of blacks in many areas of the fledgling nation. Blacks were also outspoken in print. Freedom's Journal, the first black-owned newspaper, appeared in 1827. This paper and other early writings by blacks fueled the attack against slavery and racist conceptions about the intellectual inferiority of African Americans.

African Americans also engaged in achieving freedom for others, which was a complex and dangerous undertaking. Enslaved blacks and their white sympathizers planned secret flight strategies and escape routes for runaways to make their way to freedom. Although it was neither subterranean nor a mechanized means of travel, this network of routes and hiding places was known as the underground railroad. Some free blacks were active conductors on the underground railroad while others simply harbored runaways in their homes. Free people of color like Richard Allen, Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, David Walker, and Prince Hall earned national reputations for themselves by writing, speaking, organizing, and agitating on behalf of their enslaved compatriots.

Thousands of freed blacks, with the aid of interested whites, returned to Africa with the aid of the American Colonization Society and colonized what eventually became Liberia. While some African Americans chose this option, the vast majority felt themselves to be Americans and focused their efforts on achieving equality within the United States.
There are 8,176 premises in Longford in need of broadband.

That is according to the National Broadband Intervention Plan which ranks Longford in 7th (36.7%) with regard to National Broadband Plan dependency.

Leitrim is top of the table for broadband intervention with 50.6% and 11287 premises in need under the National Broadband Intervention Plan.

Roscommon is ranked third at 47.3 % with 18457 premises in need; Cavan is ranked fifth with 40.3% and 16938 premises; and Sligo is ranked 9th at 35.6% and 14227 premises in need under the National Broadband Intervention Plan.

Commenting on the results Ibec, the group that represents Irish business, urged the Government to proceed with the procurement process for the National Broadband Plan (NBP) as soon as possible and to avoid further delay through a review.

Ibec CEO Danny McCoy said the delivery of the NBP was a critical infrastructural need for regional development and the time had come for the State to act.

Over the coming weeks, as Government launches the National Planning Framework and the 10-year capital plan, there will be lots of focus on the opportunities for regional development and prosperity. But without the availability of high speed broadband, this will struggle to become the reality.

You cannot have effective regional development without high speed broadband. Successful rollout of the NBP is essential to bring high speed broadband to the 23% of homes and businesses in the State that are not commercially viable for the private sector to service directly. Without access to world class broadband, our regions cannot be expected to develop and nurture the next generation of indigenous start-ups and SMEs.

This is an issue of national importance and so the business community hopes that Government will push ahead with the process without delay.

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This Ash Wednesday, Trocaire hosting their annual Lenten campaign in Co. Longford and the rest of Ireland.

A little girl and her family from the Matome area of Freetown, which was obliterated by the mudslide that wiped Sierra Leone, feature on the Trocaire Box this year because this Ash Wednesday is the six month anniversary of the mudslide.

Kumba and her family were seconds away from death last August 14. Her family woke up just before the mudslide came down and wiped out their house.

The whole community was devastated and only 20% survived. Estimates put the number of dead at 500.



Trocaire responded to the disaster by providing emergency kits with essential supplies and counselling to help survivors.

Trocaire helped families rebuild their homes, business and their livelihoods.



Eamonn Meehan, Trocaires executive director, said, As the community continues to try to recover from losing everything, Trocaire is there to provide support. We are only able to do this because of the generosity of people in Co. Longford. Last year people throughout the county helped to raise 132,038 to support Trocaires Lenten campaign through the Diocese of Ardagh & Clonmacnois allowing us to support hundreds of thousands of people living in devastating poverty or affected by humanitarian crises across the developing world. By supporting Trocaire this Lent you can help people like Kumba and her family to rebuild their lives after disaster and tragedy strike. I would like to thank you for your continued support and generosity.



Trocaire boxes are available from parishes across Co. Longford, by visiting www.trocaire.org or by phoning 1850 408 408.
The daughter of a 49-year-old Latvian woman, whose death was allegedly made by her housemate to look like a suicide, said her mother was a happy person with no medical problems.

Eudiga Kreislere, gave evidence in the Central Criminal Court trial of Egita Jaunmaize on Wednesday.

Ms Jaunmaize (34) 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 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 on Tuesday 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.

The court previously heard that Ms Ozolina lived in a small house, The Old Post in the village of Kilnaleck with Ms Jaunmaize and a man.

Prosecution counsel, Mr Patrick Gageby SC, today (Wednesday) called the deceaseds only daughter to give evidence to the trial. Ms Kreislere agreed that her mother came to Ireland in 2004 because of economic reasons. She had no medical problems and was a happy and healthy person, she said. She agreed her mother would return to Latvia once a year and send money home on a monthly basis. Ms Kreislere said she spoke to her mother on June 26 and she was in good form.

The witness said she received a phone call from a male person on Saturday June 28, who informed her that he had found her dead mother and she had killed herself. The man who refused to give his name told her not to worry too much as the same thing had happened to his father.

Gunta Kieslina, a friend of the deceased, said Ms Ozolina was always a very happy person and she did not believe she would ever commit suicide.

The court also heard evidence from Gundega Bileskalne, who worked in the mushroom factory with the deceased. Ms Bileskalne agreed with counsel that there was an unpleasant event in the accuseds house in May 2014, when a man began threatening her for dating a black man. The witness said she got angry at him before he grabbed her by the throat. This man later told her he had killed seven people, she asked did he regret it and he said no. She testified that she felt panic and fear

when she heard about Ms Ozolina's death on June 28, saying: I wondered how a strong character had committed suicide. The witness said Ms Ozolina treated the accused like her daughter and would not allow anyone hurt her.

Kevin Ledwith, a financial officer who offered personal loans, said he gave Ms Ozolina a 500 loan for the purpose of a holiday on June 20.

Earlier, Gunars Asikis told Mr Gageby 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.

Mr Asikis said Ms Jaunmaize and this man returned to his house at 8am on the morning of Saturday, June 28. He agreed 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 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 Mr Gageby 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.

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A mushroom picker told gardai that she was in fear for her life when she simulated the suicide of her housemate on the orders of her killer.



The 34-year-old Latvian woman in on trial at the Central Criminal Court, charged with impeding the apprehension or prosecution of a man, knowing or believing him to have murdered Antra Ozolina (49) or committed some other arrestable offence.



Its alleged that Egita 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.



The accused, of no fixed abode, has pleaded not guilty to carrying out the offence at their home at The Old Post, Main Street, Kilnaleck, Co Cavan on or about June 27 or June 28 2014. However, she accepts that Ms Ozolinas death was not caused by suicide and does not dispute that another named person caused it.

Detective Garda Gerard Shaughnessy gave evidence yesterday (Thursday) of interviews conducted with the accused afterwards.



She said that there had been a row in the house between her and the deceased in the presence of the killer on the night of June 27. This man left, she said, and she went to bed.



However, she said that she woke to screaming and found this man assaulting Ms Ozolina in the deceased womans room.



I tried to push him away but couldn't, she said. He punched me in the stomach.



She said that he continued to assault her flatmate.



He was choking her, she said. I heard her making a noise from her mouth. I asked what it was.



She said that he replied that it was a dead persons noise.



I screamed: Im not going to prison because of you. I will tell gardai. I have a child. He grabbed me by my neck.



She said he told her that if either of them went to prison, she wouldnt have him anymore.



I was so afraid if I go to gardai he will kill me too, she said.



He said we need to set it up as if she done it herself, she said. He got a rope. He said to me to put it on I was forced to do it.



She said that he held the deceased up so that she could put the rope over her head.



He did the rest himself, she said.



She said she remembered very little after that as she was in shock.



She said that he woke her the next morning, and asked if she knew what happened.



At first I didnt, as I was still in a state of shock, she said.



She said that she eventually agreed with his plan to gell gardai that her flatmate had hung herself.



She kept to this line during a number of voluntary statements and in her first interview as a suspect, even suggesting that her flatmate had given herself the injuries found at autopsy.



The statements of other witnesses were then put to her, including one from a friend whom the deceased had rung that night to say she was in fear and was going to ring the gardai.



The accused eventually agreed that she was under the duress of the man, whom she described as a skinhead neo nazi.



D Gda Shaughnessy said that the accused was released from custody following a number of interviews.



He recalled that he was driving in Cavan town a few days later, when he saw two people sitting together on a bench. He said he recognised them as the accused and the alleged killer.



The trial continues before Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy and a jury of seven men and five women.

You may also be interested in:

Woman in court accused of staging the suicide of her housemate

Daughter of deceased tells trial her mother was a happy person with no medical problems

Jury sworn in for Longford murder trial

Knives, machete and hatchet seized as Longford Gardai swoop on car
Local News, Health & Wellness, Politics

By Long Island News & PR Published: February 09 2018

Action Directs Counties to Promote and Provide Expanded Vaccination Access; Overall 35% Increase in Lab Confirmed Flu Cases and 2% Increase in Hospitalizations Since Last Week.

Albany, NY - February 9, 2018 - Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today directed New York State Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker to authorize emergency assistance funding to counties as flu diagnoses continued to increase in communities across the state. This action provides enhanced reimbursement to counties and will help fund expanded efforts to promote and increase access to flu vaccines statewide. Governor Cuomo is calling on all 58 local health departments to expand efforts to more readily accommodate New Yorkers still needing a flu shot.

"As flu diagnoses and hospitalizations continue to increase to epidemic proportions, this administration is doing everything in its power to protect New Yorkers from this especially durable strain of influenza," Governor Cuomo said. "I ask all New Yorkers to take advantage of this expanded access to flu vaccines and join us in slowing down and stopping the spread of this virus in the Empire State."

With 15,753 laboratory confirmed influenza cases reported to the New York State Department of Health, and 2,349 New Yorkers hospitalized with confirmed influenza, these numbers are again the highest weekly numbers in both categories since reporting began in 2004 and exceed last week's record high 11,683 confirmed cases and 2,221 hospitalizations.

The Department of Health's website links to each local health department providing the public a one-stop-shop approach to individual counties' expanded efforts. Additionally, the HealthMap Vaccine Finder also identifies locations where vaccines can be found at other locations in New York State at www.vaccinefinder.org

Governor Cuomo has also directed local health departments to re-focus enhanced outreach to vulnerable populations, including daycares, nursing homes, senior centers, and homeless shelters, to reemphasize the need for flu vaccinations, provide targeted education regarding the signs and symptoms of flu, and to identify and assist those populations with low vaccine rates. Furthermore, local health departments will coordinate with local school superintendents to identify schools experiencing an increase in absenteeism rates due to illness among students and staff and link them to ongoing education and vaccination efforts. These partnerships will further ensure effective education and guidance is provided to protect children.

New York State Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker said, "We need to make sure all New Yorkers understand how to protect themselves and their families and communities from this epidemic. From getting the flu shot to hand washing to covering your mouth when you cough, everyone can help prevent the flu. Under Governor Cuomo's leadership, the Department of Health is working with local health departments and other state agencies to ensure increased access to the flu vaccine and educate New Yorkers."

Expanding on New York State's previously announced actions to combat the flu epidemic , the Governor also directed the New York State Department of Health to take the following steps:

Host statewide conference calls and/or webinars, along with the State Education Department, for Superintendents and School Nurses, to provide guidance on school-based influenza prevention and facility disinfection.

Distribute a bulletin to all state employees, including direct care providers, about their role in ongoing statewide influenza prevention efforts.

Coordinate with pharmacies to provide expanded information on vaccine availability, ages served, and hours available on the Department and pharmacy websites.

Promote the posting of seasonal influenza educational materials , which may be ordered from the Department of Health or printed by businesses and individuals.

Last month, the Governor signed an executive order allowing pharmacists to administer flu vaccines to children ages 2 to 18 - increasing vaccine accessibility for New York children and families as influenza continues to spread across New York. The executive order suspends the section of state education law that limits the authority of pharmacists to administer immunizing agents to anyone under age 18 to allow vaccines to be administered to anyone age 2 and up. Parents and guardians are encouraged to call pharmacies ahead of their visit, to ensure they are ready to receive patients in this age group. Parents and guardians with children between the ages of 6 months and 24 months are still encouraged to see their primary care provider for the vaccination. As a result of the Executive Order, more than 5,400 children have been reported as being vaccinated in pharmacies.

For the last nine weeks, influenza has been geographically widespread across New York. As of February 3rd, 52,567 laboratory confirmed cases of influenza have been reported, 11,802 people have been hospitalized with influenza and there have been three pediatric flu-related deaths in New York State this season. During last year's flu season, there were 12,912 flu-related hospitalizations and eight pediatric deaths in New York. Over the last four years, there have been a total of 25 pediatric flu deaths in New York State and an average of 10,571 flu-related hospitalizations a year.

According to the CDC, vaccination should continue throughout flu season, as long as influenza viruses are circulating. CDC also recommends that people who are very sick or people who are at high risk of serious influenza complications be treated early with flu antiviral drugs. Antiviral drugs work best when started within 48 hours of symptoms first appearing. Included in this week's report is a single case of resistance to antiviral medications. It's the first finding in New York State this flu season, and first finding in New York State since the 2012-2013 flu season. The Department will continue to monitor antiviral resistance and will inform clinicians on findings if a trend emerges. The Department is aware of some localized shortages of specific formulations of influenza antivirals, particularly the oseltamivir oral suspension and generic oseltamivir capsules. The Department is working with providers to make sure they are aware of all potential sources of these medications. Additionally, the Department is also closely monitoring vaccine supply but still encourage residents to call ahead to providers.

In addition to getting a flu shot and staying home when sick, it's essential to practice good hand-hygiene:

Unlike some viruses, influenza is easily killed by soap and hot water.

Wash your hands often with soap and hot water for at least 20 seconds to protect yourself from germs and avoid spreading them to others.

Carry an alcohol-based hand sanitizer to use when soap and water are not available. Choose a product with at least 60 percent alcohol.

Do not cough or sneeze into your hands. Instead, cover your mouth and nose with a tissue. People with the flu are infectious for up to seven days after symptoms begin.

Dr. Carol Smith, Commissioner of Health and Mental Health, Ulster County Department of Health and President, NYSACHO said, "NYSACHO fully supports the Governor's and New York State DOH's initiative to increase the numbers of our citizens who are vaccinated against the flu. Vaccination is the best way to protect our community from the potentially deadly effects of the flu virus."
Local News, Business & Finance, Politics

By Long Island News & PR Published: February 09 2018

Elimination of SALT Deductibility Will Impact Over 530,000 Long Island Taxpayers, Cuomo Says.

Albany, NY - February 9, 2018 - Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today kicked off the Tax Fairness for New York Campaign to move forward on his effort to combat the devastating impacts the destructive, partisan GOP federal tax law will have on New York. Joined by Nassau County Executive Laura Curran and other Long Island leaders and elected officials, Governor Cuomo announced Maryland joined the multi-state coalition to sue the federal government over the tax law.

To advance the state's efforts to overhaul the tax code, and to generate the best ideas and solutions, New York State Budget Director Robert Mujica as well as other New York State representatives have been meeting with experts from state and local government, academia, and the private sector to obtain feedback and comment on the preliminary report released earlier this month by the Department of Taxation and Finance. The report outlines options for state tax reform designed to mitigate the adverse impact of the federal legislation on our economy and on New Yorkers.

"Washington has launched a calculated and direct assault aimed at the very heart of New York and we have two options - stand where we are or get out of the way," Governor Cuomo said. "With the Tax Fairness for New York campaign, we are ramping up our efforts to mitigate the impacts of this plan, examining every possibility to combat this devastating legislation and doing everything we can to protect the rights and wallets of hardworking New Yorkers."

The new federal law disproportionally and adversely impacts the State of New York, which already sends $48 billion more each year to Washington than it receives in federal dollars. According to a recent report released by the State Department of Tax and Finance, the elimination of full SALT deductibility alone will cost New York an additional $14.3 billion.

On Long Island, the elimination of SALT deductibility will impact 530,000 Long Island taxpayers, or 36 percent of all tax filers. The average tax hike from the cap on SALT deductibility for impacted taxpayers in the downstate suburbs is nearly $6,400.

These actions build on Governor Cuomo's three-pronged effort to fight the federal tax assault on New York, as announced in his 2018 State of the State Address . The first step is the multi-state coalition to sue the federal government. The second prong of the effort is to launch a repeal-and-replace strategy, and the third prong is to explore the feasibility of a major shift in the structure of State tax policy.

Maryland Joins Multi-State Coalition to Sue the Federal Government

The Governor has moved forward on his multi-pronged effort to fight the federal tax assault and announced , along with the Governors of New Jersey and Connecticut, a coalition to sue the federal government. The new law seriously impairs the states' ability to govern, to exercise their sovereign power to tax and spend as they see fit, and unfairly targets New York and similarly situated states, all in violation of the Constitution.

Governor Cuomo today announced that Maryland has joined the coalition to sue the federal government, joining New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Together, these four states represent nearly 15 percent of the national GDP.

Long Island Leaders and Elected Officials Endorse Governor's Tax Fairness for New York Campaign

Governor Cuomo also announced that the following Long Island elected officials and leaders have endorsed his campaign to fight the federal tax law:

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone

Nassau County Executive Laura Curran

Suffolk County Majority Leader Kara Hahn

Nassau County Minority Leader Kevan Abrahams

Suffolk County Legislature Presiding Officer DuWayne Gregor

Suffolk County Legislature Deputy Presiding Officer Rob Calarco

Suffolk County Legislator Bill Lindsay

Suffolk County Legislator Kevin McCaffrey

Suffolk County Legislator William Spencer

Nassau County Comptroller Jack Schnirman

Babylon Town Supervisor Rich Schaffer

Hempstead Town Supervisor Laura Gillen

Huntington Town Supervisor Chad Lupinacci

North Hempstead Town Supervisor Judy Bosworth

Oyster Bay Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino

In addition, the Governor will continue to advocate to repeal the federal tax legislation.

Acting Commissioner of Taxation and Finance Nonie Manion said, "Our agency's legal, fiscal, and tax administration experts will continue to collaborate with government and industry stakeholders in support of Governor Cuomo's Tax Fairness for New York Campaign. I applaud the Governor's vital initiative to ensure fair tax treatment for all New Yorkers."

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said: "Long Islanders are ready to fight back against a Congress determined to raise their taxes and lower property values. I thank Governor Cuomo for launching this campaign to protect New York taxpayers from losing their federal tax deductions."

Nassau County Executive Laura Curran said, "I am proud to stand by Governor Cuomo and my partners at the state and local levels to combat this tax plan that unfairly and unduly targets the middle class throughout New York State."

Suffolk County Majority Leader Kara Hahn said, "I am proud to live in a state where our Governor will not stand by and let the federal administration launch a tax assault on the residents of this state. New Yorkers are some of the hardest working people in this country, and under the Governor's leadership, our residents will be protected by this unjust tax law. I applaud New York for getting support for this aggressive agenda and showing the taxpayers of this state that there is light at the end of the tunnel, and Governor Cuomo will help get us there."

Nassau County Minority Leader Kevan Abrahams said, "The federal tax law is an all-out assault on New York State that will devastate our budget and the pockets of hardworking New Yorkers. Governor Cuomo is fighting back for New York taxpayers. With these bold actions, the Governor will mitigate the impact of this unfair law and help protect New York's finances from federal attack."

Suffolk County Legislature Presiding Officer DuWayne Gregory said, "Our representatives in the federal government have displayed a flagrant disregard to middle class New Yorkers and with this Campaign, the Governor makes it clear that this state will take any steps necessary to fight back against this tax plan. By comprehensively and collaboratively studying options to overhaul New York's tax code, our state is working to protect middle class families in every corner of this state, including Long Islanders, who are going to be among those hit the hardest. I thank the Governor for leading the charge in combatting this harmful and unjust federal tax plan."

Suffolk County Legislature Deputy Presiding Officer Rob Calarco said, "This federal tax bill is a reckless piece of legislation that hurts our hardworking families and puts our economy in jeopardy. I am proud to support Governor Cuomo in his effort to the stop the assault on New Yorkers. I look forward to working with the Governor to protect the taxpayers of Suffolk County and all of New York."

Suffolk County Legislator Bill Lindsay said, "The residents of Suffolk County cannot continue to bear the financial burden for the States that take more than they give. The playing field must be leveled and fair. I stand with Governor Cuomo in his efforts to halt the tax assault from Washington and protect our Long Island families."

Suffolk County Legislator Kevin McCaffrey said, "The federal government has waged a targeted assault on New York taxpayers and we must do everything in our power to help New Yorkers hold onto their hard earned dollars. Governor Cuomo is leading the charge against this unacceptable law and I look forward to continuing to work with him to ensure tax fairness for all."

Suffolk County Legislator William Spencer said, "At a time where Washington is turning its back on New York, I stand with our Governor to lead the charge to fight back against the misguided federal tax plan. Hardworking Suffolk residents can rest assured that all possible options are being explored to protect their bank accounts and combat this tax assault."

Nassau County Comptroller Jack Schnirman said, "The federal tax bill will cause real hardship for hardworking middle-class Long Island residents and business owners. It is a bad deal for taxpayers and hurts Nassau County's business climate. Innovative solutions are being developed and we appreciate that Governor Cuomo is leading the way. I thank the Governor for his leadership and his continued dedication to the people of New York."

Babylon Town Supervisor Rich Schaffer said, "Our representatives in the federal government have displayed a flagrant disregard to middle class New Yorkers and with this Campaign, the Governor makes it clear that this state will take any steps necessary to fight back against this tax plan. By comprehensively and collaboratively studying options to overhaul New York's tax code, our state is working to protect middle class families in every corner of this state. I thank the Governor for leading the charge in combatting this harmful and unjust federal tax plan."

Hempstead Town Supervisor Laura Gillen said, "Lowering taxes for hardworking New Yorkers is priority of mine and has been a pillar of Governor Cuomo's administration. While the federal government has turned their backs on New York with their latest tax assault, which eliminates critical SALT deductions for millions of hardworking middle-class families, Governor Cuomo has taken bold action to combat its impact. I stand with the Governor, and all of the hardworking taxpayers in the Town of Hempstead, to ensure our financial protection and future."

Huntington Town Supervisor Chad Lupinacci said, "As a former Assemblyman and current Supervisor I understand the potential devastating impacts that the federal tax bill will have on our state and local governments. More importantly, this assault negatively impacts hardworking Long Islanders who work day in and out to provide for their families. I stand with Governor Cuomo in his efforts to halt the federal tax assault and protect our residents throughout the State."

North Hempstead Town Supervisor Judy Bosworth said, "The federal government has unfairly targeted New York's hardworking families with the tax law. I commend Governor Cuomo for once again standing up for New York's working families and setting an example for the rest of the nation to follow."
Local News, Community, Charity & Cause, Politics

By Long Island News & PR Published: February 09 2018

Former Rescue Dogs Black Lab Echo, Yellow Lab Marley, and Their Handlers Bring Life-Saving Search Skills to the State After Intensive Training at the Search Dog Foundation's National Training Center in California.

Albany, NY - February 9, 2018 - Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the addition of two new disaster search K-9 teams to strengthen the state's urban search and rescue capabilities. The Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services' Office of Fire Prevention and Control Handler Brook Rowley and search dog Echo, and Handler Adam Leckonby and search dog Marley, join the State's Urban Search and Rescue Team - New York Task Force 2, which includes members of state and local emergency response agencies.

"When people are trapped or lost in harsh conditions, every second counts," Governor Cuomo said. "The intense training these dogs and their handlers receive help them protect communities across this great state by utilizing specialized skills that save lives and keep New Yorkers safe."

New York Task Force 2 (NYTF-2) provides advanced rescue capabilities to disasters and emergencies involving collapsed buildings and structures, water rescue, rope rescue, trench rescue and confined space incidents. In life-threatening situations, disaster search K-9 teams provide an important life-saving search capability to rapidly locate survivors and improve the effectiveness of search and rescue operations.

The new handlers spent the past two weeks in intensive academy-style training at the Search Dog Foundation's National Training Center in California learning to master the basics of canine handling, as well as more advanced theories on scenting and search strategy. The teams completed their training on February 2. Prior to the two-week training program with their new handlers, K-9's Echo and Marley had already completed ten to twelve months of training at the Foundation to prepare them for their new life-saving role. The Division's Office of Fire Prevention and Control has partnered with the Search Dog Foundation to train New York's disaster search K-9 teams since 2005.

The two new teams include K-9 Echo, a two-year-old Black Lab, and K-9 Marley, a four-year-old Yellow Dudley Lab, and their handlers. The teams bring the Division's K-9 component up to four active teams, strengthening their search and rescue capabilities. The state's newest disaster search teams join existing teams of K-9 Keila and her handler, Brian Girard, and K-9 Dax, and his handler Greg Gould. All four teams can respond to situations that arise anywhere in the state.

Echo was discovered in a shelter in Tennessee and was transferred to the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society in Menands where staff realized he could prove helpful as a working dog. They contacted OFPC and a team conducted an evaluation on Echo. He passed with flying colors and was soon on his way to California for formal training with the Search Dog Foundation. When Echo was first evaluated his name was Lolo. That name would not work for the job he would be soon have. OFPC staff and the Miller Hill - Sand Lake Elementary School fifth grade class in Averill Park voted on a new name for Lolo and Echo was the overwhelming winner. Now Echo has a new name, a new job and a new partner.

Prior to arriving at the Foundation, Marley lived in Texas shelter where he faced possible euthanization. Fortunately, he was rescued by Ginger's Pet Rescue and brought to Seattle, Washington. The Seattle shelter contacted the Foundation, who quickly realized Marley would make a great search dog.

Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services Commissioner Roger L. Parrino, Sr. said, "These new teams will strengthen our state's search and rescue capabilities to find individuals who become lost, or trapped in rubble and debris following a disaster. Each team will continue their training in New York to sharpen their mission-readiness and prepare for future deployments."

State Fire Administrator Skip Nerney said, "It is always remarkable how these rescued dogs can learn to become rescuers. Today's announcement highlights our ongoing commitment to maintaining this vital capability, and we will support these new teams as they continue their training in New York and work toward certification."

Search Dog Foundation Trainer Mandy Tisdale said, "Echo and Marley are incredible search dogs. Their desire in life is to hunt for live human scent. When they pinpoint the most concentrated source of scent, they give a bark alert and receive their most valuable reward, their fire hose tug toy. These two dogs have wonderful personalities and have been a pleasure to work with and train. They have been training side by side for months and it's great to see them join NYTF-2. We are thrilled for Brook and Adam and are looking forward to watching and supporting Echo and Marley as they embark on their careers as search dogs."

President and CEO of the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society Todd Cramer said, "Echo came to us because he was a dog with too much energy and drive. Our staff recognized these traits as positives for search and rescue work. Echo is a dog that was truly born to do the job he now has and we are not only thrilled that he will be working with local DHSES staff, but that he also has a loving home in which he is thriving and happy."

Since their establishment in the state in 2005, disaster search K-9 teams have supported search and rescue operations in a variety of situations including the structural collapse of a parking garage in Johnson City, a house explosion in Schenectady, during Hurricanes Irene and Sandy, and Tropical Storm Lee, and the successful rescue of a lost child in Glenville. Most recently, NYTF-2 and its disaster search K-9 teams deployed to Florida to assist with rescue operations after the impact of Hurricane Irma. This was NYTF-2's first out of state deployment. Thirty-five members of NYTF-2, including their canine teams, deployed to Florida prior to the impact of the storm and began rescue operations in the immediate aftermath of the storm's passing. The team primarily operated in the Florida Keys, assisting the Key Largo Fire Department with search and rescue operations, conducting door to door checks looking for survivors and structural assessments of over 4,000 properties during a four-day span of their twelve-day deployment.

Founded in 1995, the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation is a non-profit, non-governmental organization based in Ojai, California. Their mission is to strengthen disaster response in America by recruiting rescued dogs and partnering them with firefighters and other first responders to find people buried alive in the wreckage of disasters.
Nature & Weather, Local News, Politics

By Long Island News & PR Published: February 09 2018

Group sends letter to Department of the Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, underscoring their opposition.

Long Island, NY - February 9, 2018 - Congressman Lee Zeldin (R, NY-1), Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D, NY), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D, NY), and Congresswoman Louise Slaughter (D, NY-25) were joined by a bipartisan, bicameral delegation of New York Members in sending a letter to Department of the Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke underscoring their opposition to offshore drilling off the coast of Long Island.

New oil and gas development raises the possibility of a disastrous oil spill and increases risk of exposure to toxic chemicals and metals used in offshore drilling operations, Members wrote. These threats to New Yorkers coastal industries, public health, and unique natural environments are unacceptable and should not be ignored. The long-term health of New York is inextricably linked to protecting our ocean resources.

The Department of Interior recently proposed opening 90% of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) to energy exploration, including parts of the Atlantic Ocean.
Tech & Science, Local News, Community, Charity & Cause

By Long Island News & PR Published: February 09 2018

According to the Centers for Disease Controls Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance report, 15% of students nationwide experience cyberbullying.

Rockville Centre, NY - February 9, 2018 - On Tuesday February 6, in an effort to stamp out cyberbullying across New York, Senator Todd Kaminsky introduced legislation ( On Tuesday February 6, in an effort to stamp out cyberbullying across New York, Senator Todd Kaminsky introduced legislation ( S.7678 ) to create the New York State Task Force on Cyberbullying.

Assemblymember Didi Barrett has also joined Senator Kaminsky in sponsoring this bill. Senator Kaminsky introduced the bill in response to requests from local parents and educators. The Task Force would be comprised of parents, teachers, school administrators, and guidance counselors. They will be tasked with examining cyberbullying in schools and will propose remedies to the issue in a report to the Governor, Legislature, and State Education Commissioner.

According to the Centers for Disease Controls Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance report, 15% of students nationwide experience cyberbullying, a number that has grown steadily over the past years. These incidents have escalated due to increased use of digital communications such as text messaging, social media, and email among young people.

Cyberbullying has exploded into an epidemic that has adversely affected the lives of too many our students, said Senator Todd Kaminsky. This much-needed Task Force will take a close look at the issue and report back with workable solutions. We need to act swiftly to put an end to bullying  our children deserve no less.

I am pleased to join Senator Kaminsky in sponsoring this bill because I believe we must do more at the state level to address the toxic capacity of cyber bullying. In our ever evolving digital culture the nature of cyber bullying changes as quickly as the technology. A task force will help us get a better handle on this scourge and be more proactive to help people of all ages avoid this damaging and unacceptable behavior, said Assemblymember Didi Barrett.

Equality New York commends Senator Kaminsky on the introduction of legislation to create a cyberbullying task force, said Gabriel Blau, co-chair of Equality New York. As this issue continues to be a persistent, underreported matter in New York State schools and one that particularly effects LGBTQ youth, it is more important than ever to bring together educators, parents, and students to come up with common sense solutions that create a safer learning environment for everyone.
Last weekend, the small Austrian town of Bregenz played host to a large gathering of young socialists at the annual Karl-Marx-Seminar. The event was organised by Sozialistische Jugend Vorarlberg and Der Funke, the Austrian section of the IMT.

The current situation in Austria is a focal point for European class struggle. The new government, elected in December 2017, is a Schwarz-Blau (black-blue) coalition between the Austrian Peoples Party (OVP), the traditional conservative party, and the Freedom Party of Austria (FPO), a far-right, anti-immigration party. This new regime is wasting no time in attacking the conditions of the working class in Austria, and giving all possible advantages to the capitalists. Workers' rights are being dismantled, with working weeks being lengthened to 60 hours and regulations regarding breaks and weekends to be abolished. Trade unions are being touted as unnecessary. In particular the changes are affecting women, who are being forced out of the labour market and pushed back into the traditional family, robbing them of economic independence and providing a source of unpaid labour to replace previously state-funded care programs. The reactionary FPO are astonishingly repulsive: they reject same-sex couples, talk of defending our cultural territory against Islamification, and their stance on the Nazis is unclear at best.

This new coalition is relentlessly pushing the program of the Austrian capitalists, in a desperate attempt to give the country an economic edge in preparation for the next financial crisis. All the racist rhetoric, attacks on rights, and cuts to welfare are designed to split and weaken the working class, thereby increasing the rate of exploitation. The people however, and especially the youth, have been fighting back hard. In January 70,000 people took to the streets of Vienna to demonstrate against the government, and this mass movement is only just beginning.

Packed room at the Karl Marx seminar / Image: own work

These were the circumstances in which over 100 members of Sozialistische Jugend Voralberg and Der Funke met in Bregenz for a weekend-long seminar on Marxism. The event was packed, with a strong emphasis on education and political discussion. 11 different workshops were held, as well as a plenum for the discussion of perspectives in Austria.

Precisely in response to the oppressive nature of the new government towards women, one workshop opened the question of sexism for discussion. The fact that the Schwarz-Blau coalition is combining attacks on female and on workers rights in an attempt to boost the economy is a reflection of what Friedrich Engels analysed long ago in the Origin of the Family, Private Property the State: that the oppression of women is deeply rooted within the foundations of class society, and so within capitalism. Capitalism relies on all-pervading sexism to provide it with a vast pool of unpaid labour, to keep the working class subjugated, and to ensure wealth remains in the hands of the bourgeoisie through male inheritance.

We observe this fact in all countries in the form of the gender pay-gap and in the enormous pressure on women to have and to look after children. This Austrian government, in particular, clearly displays its need to divide the working class; indeed its economic program for maximal profiteering couldnt hold for a week were the working class united in its fightback. Thus, the social progress achieved on the womens front over countless years of struggle is cut back immediately under the organic crisis of capitalism. The solution is not to be found in reformist tactics alone, but in the socialist revolution of society: No womens emancipation without socialism! No socialism without womens emancipation!

Of course, socialist revolution entails world revolution, and the workshops also concentrated on corresponding international events that are agitating capitalism. Two comrades from the Mexican section led separate workshops on events in Central America and of Cuba, to analyse the paths and mistakes of the left there. We must consider why socialist workers republics do not dominate this area of the world, despite decades of revolutionary traditions against American imperialism, particularly in the form of the United Fruit Company that dominated economic relations throughout the last two centuries.

Comrades marching in Bregenz / Image: own work

One main point of analysis is that which Trotsky makes in the Transitional Program, namely that the crisis of humanity is the crisis of the revolutionary leadership: indeed revolutionary movements in Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Mexico and El Salvador have all seen their share of bloodshed as reformist leaders failed to seize the power for the masses. We must avoid these mistakes as new movements sweep across these countries, but also in the rising struggle in Austria and in all other countries of the world. As an example of such a movement, current events in Honduras were also discussed, where the masses have taken to the streets against a clearly fixed re-election of President Juan Orlando Hernandez, and sections of the riot police have refused to follow orders and oppose the people.

Despite the busy schedule, the entire group still found time to take to the streets of sleepy Bregenz to denounce the new government with a loud demonstration. This was the first such event Bregenz or the wider region of Voralberg had seen, and so it received ample media attention. The slogans were clear as to the cause of the new political situation: the crisis of capitalism. Chanting Brecht die Macht der Banken und Konzerne (Break the power of the banks and companies!) and Klassenkampf! (Class struggle!) and many more, the group publicly displayed their Marxist perspective and demands. Students and workers marched under their red flags singing the hopeful German lyrics of the Internationale: People, hear the signals for the final fight: the Internationale creates the human right!.
We republish a pamphlet (first released in 1987, during the twilight of the Soviet regime), which serves as an invaluable introduction to the events from the October Revolution to the rise of Stalinism in Russia  from which innumerable lessons can be drawn for the class struggle today. It was written by George Collins, then a member of the South African section of the Committee for a Workers International.

The October Revolution

Petrograd, capital of Russia, on the night of October 25, 1917. With the First World War raging on the battlefields of Europe, the Russian Revolution has reached its deciding moment. Armed detachments of workers and soldiers, organized by the Bolshevik Party, have taken control in the city. The pro-capitalist Provisional Government, discredited and isolated, has ceased to exist.

In the Smolny Institute, formerly a girls' school, the Congress of Soviets [elected councils] of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies is in session.

Some delegates are professional politicians, left-wing intellectuals or radicalized army officers. But the vast majority are representatives of the ordinary working people: "great masses of shabby soldiers, grimy workmen, peasants  poor men, bent and scarred in the brute struggle for existence" (John Reed, Ten Days That Shook the World)  but filled with a revolutionary vision of the future, and a passionate determination to end their oppression once and for all.

Petrograd Soviet Assembly in 1917 / Image: fair use

Middle-class reformists denounce the Bolsheviks and demand that the congress break up! But delegate after delegate of the workers, peasants and soldiers drown them in the will and inspiration of the masses rising to their feet.

A soldier captures the mood: "I tell you, the Lettish soldiers have many times said: 'No more resolutions! No more talk! We want deeds  the power must be in our hands!'"

The hall, reports John Reed, "rocked with cheering..." (pages 102-103)

Amidst tumultuous applause, the Bolsheviks announce the transfer of state power to the soviets of the working people. A "Proclamation to workers, soldiers and peasants", put forward by the Bolsheviks, is overwhelmingly adopted. It sums up the immediate tasks:

"The Soviet authority will at once propose an immediate democratic peace to all nations, and an immediate truce on all fronts. It will assure the free transfer of landlord, crown and monastery lands to the Land Committees [elected by the peasants as instruments for seizing the landlords' estates], defend the soldiers' rights, enforcing a complete democratization of the Army, establish workers' control over production...take means to supply bread to the cities and articles of first necessity to the villages, and secure to all nationalities living in Russia a real right to independent existence.

"The Congress resolves: that all local power shall be transferred to the Soviets of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies, which must enforce revolutionary order." (Quoted by John Reed, pages 115-116)

Under a government of the revolutionary workers' party, supported by the mass of the poor peasants, the Russian people were freeing themselves from centuries of enslavement. In doing so they were demolishing the conditions for the existence of the capitalist system.

Lenin addressed the Congress the following evening. When eventually he could make himself heard above the thunderous applause, his first words were to confirm the task which the democratic revolution had placed on the agenda:

"We shall now proceed to construct the socialist order."

Throughout the long, hard years of struggle leading up to this night, Marxists had explained in theory what this task would involve. Now the Bolshevik leaders needed to explain it in practical terms.

Leon Trotsky, next to Lenin the most authoritative leader of the Russian Revolution, spoke later that same night:

"We rest all our hope on the possibility that our revolution will unleash the European revolution. If the insurrectionary peoples of Europe do not crush imperialism, then we will be crushed...Either the Russian Revolution will raise the whirlwind of struggle in the west, or the capitalists of all countries will crush our revolution." (Trotsky, History of the Russian Revolution, volume 3, page 315)

Red Guard of the Vulkan factory / Image: Wikimedia, fair use

The delegates, wrote an observer, greeted these words "with an immense crusading acclaim". Clearly, Lenin and Trotsky had expressed the thoughts and feelings of the vast majority of revolutionary fighters present in the Smolny that night.

Thus, in its very first hours, the new proletarian regime reasserted two fundamental propositions of Marxism  no longer as theoretical concepts but as the basis for state policy:

(a) democracy and a solution to the land question, in an underdeveloped country like Russia, is possible only under working-class rule, bringing with it the overthrow of capitalism and the transition to socialism.

(b) Socialist revolution cannot be confined within the borders of one country; it can only advance through the struggle to overthrow capitalism on a world scale.

The rest of this pamphlet will deal with the fate of the Russian Revolution over the following ten to twenty years, and the displacement of workers' democracy by a monstrous bureaucratic dictatorship. From studying these developments carefully, lessons can be learned that will be of vital importance to the struggle for the overthrow of capitalism today, and the construction of healthy regimes of workers' democracy in the next period.

The Counter-Revolution

Marx and Engels had thought it most likely that capitalism would be defeated first in the developed countries, where the working-class was most powerful, and the industrial basis existed for the transition to socialism.

Instead, in October 1917, the chain of world capitalism broke at its weakest link.

The Bolshevik government inherited a backward society in a state of disintegration, exhausted by three years of war and a series of crushing defeats by Germany.

The imperialists could not tolerate the challenge to their authority, and the threat to their interests in Russia, which the Bolsheviks presented. As a pro-capitalist historian openly admits: "They [the imperialist leaders such as Churchill and Foch] warned that Bolshevism was a dangerous threat to world society and should be crushed while it was still weak". (J.N. Westwood, Russia 1917 to 1964, page 38)

Within Russia the privileged and reactionary classes, as well as reformists in the labour movement, fought the revolution with every means at their disposal  boycotts, economic sabotage, even the threat of a general strike.

Workers' control over production, through a system of factory, regional and national committees, was proclaimed to provide some check on the capitalists' activities. But there was no way of peacefully regulating the eruption of class struggle unleashed by the revolution.

On the one hand, the capitalists refused to submit to workers' control. On the other hand, where the workers asserted their power, they did not stop at controlling the capitalists. They took over factories lock, stock and barrel, even before their government was able to provide them with back-up and resources.

These struggles in industry clearly confirmed the perspective explained by Trotsky in his theory of "permanent revolution" (see Section 11): once the working-class takes power, even in a backward country, it becomes impossible to confine their program to the limits of capitalism. The workers will inevitably be driven on to the expropriation of the capitalists and the program of socialist transformation.

Bolsheviks massacred by Czechoslovak legionaries / Image: Lt. William C Jones

A bourgeois historian describes the deepening paralysis of Russian society as the struggle between the classes intensified:

"In the spring of 1918 the Russian economy was approaching the point of complete collapse. Money lost all value, manufactured goods disappeared from the shops, the shops themselves closed down as the normal channels of trade ceased to function; speculation and corruption were rife." (Theodore H. von Laue, Why Lenin? Why Stalin? page 154)

Hunger worsened in the cities as food supplies came almost to a standstill: when manufactured goods could not be obtained even by barter, why should the peasants raise food for the urban market?

Revolutionary counter-measures were taken. The banks, in the face of their persistent sabotage, were occupied and nationalized in December 1917. The workers spontaneously took over more and more factories until the decree of June 1918 bringing every important branch of industry into state ownership.

Committees of the poor peasants, and armed detachments of workers, were organized to seize the grain supplies hoarded by the rich peasants (kulaks).

The irreconcilable struggle between the classes escalated into a full-scale trial of strength. Armed counter-revolution began to emerge, based on an alliance of the imperialist powers with the kulaks, the capitalists, and the remnants of the forces of Tsarism. The Russian civil war raged, with peaks and intervals, from May 1918 until the spring of 1921.

Civil war, like revolution, forces everyone to take sides  for or against the government. Right-wing socialists, ex-revolutionaries and reformists, their hatred of Marxism (as always) stronger than their fear of reaction, in large numbers joined the onslaught against the workers' state.

Red Guard detachment during the Civil War / Image: Wikimedia, fair use

In March 1918, British forces occupied the northern port of Murmansk, and in August they seized Archangel, cutting off Russia's outlets to the sea. In April, Japanese troops landed at Vladivostok in Eastern Siberia.

"Emboldened by the prospect of allied intervention," writes the leading bourgeois historian, E.H. Carr, "the right SRs [right wing of the so-called Socialist Revolutionary Party, based on the richer peasants] at their party conference in Moscow in May 1918 openly advocated a policy designed 'to overthrow the Bolshevik dictatorship and to establish a government based on universal suffrage and willing to accept Allied assistance in the war against Germany'"  i.e. a pro-imperialist government! (The Bolshevik Revolution 1917-1923, page 170)

The Mensheviks, split in all directions, were "uncompromising only on one point  their hostility to the [Bolshevik] regime". (Carr, page 170)

In Samara, the SRs set up an anti-Bolshevik government and started to raise an army. In August they captured Kazan. The Left SRs (based on the poor peasantry) were in coalition with the Bolsheviks until March 1918, when they left the government because they opposed the peace treaty signed with Germany, calling it a "betrayal".

Now they plotted against the government and tried to provoke a German attack which, they believed, would be met with "revolutionary war". Totally misreading the situation, they staged an insurrection in July, which rapidly collapsed.

Lenin speaking in 1919 / Image: Goldshtein G

The Western powers, as their war against Germany neared its end, concentrated their attention on Russia. More British, French and US troops were landed in Murmansk and Archangel. American, Japanese, British, French and Italian troops occupied Vladivostok and advanced westward as far as the Ural mountains. Sizeable French forces were deployed in the Black Sea.

At the same time, the imperialists financed and armed the counter-revolutionary (White) armies organized out of the most backward peasantry by ex-Tsarist officers.

Victor Serge, a Bolshevik at the time, vividly describes the desperate situation in October 1919:

"The Whites under Admiral Kolchak are masters of Siberia; they constitute the 'supreme government' of Ukraine under General Denikin who is preparing for a march on Moscow. In the North, thanks to the British battalions, they dominate a vaguely socialist government presided over by old Tchaikovsky, a veteran of the first struggles against Tsarism; and General Yudenich is preparing to take Petrograd, where the people are dying of hunger in the streets and dead horses are piled up in fromt of the Grand Opera." (From Lenin to Stalin, page 31)

Yet, a year later, Wrangel (Denikin's successor) had been crushed in the Crimea, and the military threat was effectively ended.

The Bolsheviks' victory over the combined forces of internal and external reaction, from a position of terrible weakness, most surely rank as one of the most brilliant military achievements of all time.

How was this victory won?

How the Bolsheviks Defeated the Counter-Revolution

The survival of the Russian workers' state was made possible, in the first place, by the support of the working-class internationally in the enormous movements following the October revolution.

Brilliantly confirming the Bolsheviks' perspective, Europe was plunged into a period of revolution. The road to victory opened up before the working-class in one country after another.

The imperialists, tied down by life-and-death struggles in their own countries, could not continue their attacks on Russia without provoking the workers even further, and driving their soldiers to mutiny.

A strike by Hungarian munitions workers in January 1918 spread like wildfire to Vienna, Berlin and throughout Germany, involving over two million workers. Their central demand, echoing the Russian workers' demand, was peace. In Finland an Independent Workers' Republic was proclaimed. After months of fighting it was crushed with the help of German troops.

Then, on 4 November 1918, mutiny broke out at the German naval base of Kiel, and ignited the German revolution. Within days every major city was in the hands of the workers' councils.

Images of the Civil War / Yanachka

The effect on the Russian working-class was electrifying. The Bolshevik Ilyin-Shenevsky, taking an evening off in a Petrograd theatre, gives a glimpse of its impact throughout the country:

"Before one of the acts was about to begin, a man in jacket and high boots came on to the stage and said: 'Comrades! We have just had news from Germany. There has been a revolution in Germany. Wilhelm [the emperor] has been overthrown. A Soviet of workers' deputies has been formed in Berlin and has sent us a telegram of greeting.'

"It is hard to convey what followed... The announcement was met with a kind of roar, and frenzied applause shook the theatre for several minutes..." (The Bolsheviks in Power, pages 127-128)

In Austria, mass strikes and army mutinies finally smashed the imperial Hasburg regime. The empire disintegrated, and in Hungary a revolutionary soviet government took power in March 1919.

France was swept by mass strikes and naval mutiny. British soldiers mutinied, and the Red Flag was hoisted over the Clyde in the Scottish industrial heartland. Ireland was in armed revolt against British rule. Strikes involving four million workers convulsed in the USA in 1919.

These events, hardly mentioned in official history books, demonstrated a law which every socialist needs to understand: a successful workers' revolution has an incalculable impact internationally, provoking capitalist reaction but, at the same time, inspiring the workers in other countries to come to its defence and follow its example.

The spirit of international solidarity was the Russian workers' most potent weapon. Not by moral appeals to democracy or the conscience of the capitalist class, but by linking themselves to the working-class struggle for power internationally, the Bolsheviks won immeasurable support from every corner of the globe, and opened a second front in the imperialists' rear.

Addressed in a comradely way, British and American troops in Russia began to mutiny. On the Black Sea, French sailors hoisted the Red Flag. The imperialists were compelled to withdraw their forces and abandon the Whites to their fate.

The early congresses of the Communist International (see Section 4 below) called on the workers' movement internationally to take action against any kind of support for the Whites in Russia. In July 1920, following the invasion of Russia by reactionary Polish forces, the Second Congress appealed:

"Stop all work, atop all transport, if you see that despite your protests the capitalist cliques of your countries are preparing a new intervention against Russia. Do not allow a single train, a single ship through to Poland." (Quoted in J. Degras, The Communist International 1919-1943  Documents, Volume 1, page 113)

In Britain, the London dockers rallied magnificently to their comrades in Russia when they refused to load the vessel Jolly George with arms for the Whites in Poland.

In July, with the Red Army driving back the invaders, the British government threatened to send troops to Poland. Council of action were set up by trade unionists throughout Britain, threatening a general strike if the intervention went ahead.

The British government  48 hours after rejecting the Soviet reply to its ultimatum  backed down.

On the battlefields of Russia, as in the international arena, the workers' victory was only made possible by the Bolsheviks' uncompromising revolutionary policy.

A soldier, speaking at a mass meeting in Petrograd, makes clear the class program that the Red Army was built on:

"The soldier says: 'Show me what I am fighting for...Is it the democracy, or is it the capitalist plunderers? If you can prove to me that I am defending the Revolution, then I will go out and fight without capital punishment to force me'.

"When the land belongs to the peasants and the factories to the workers and the power to the Soviets, then we'll know we have something to fight for, and we'll fight for it!" (John Reed, Ten Days That Shook the World, pages 45-46)

A key factor in the struggle is leadership  in the first place, ideas and program; but following from this, the role of individuals in grasping those ideas, embodying the forward drive of their class, and showing others the way.

It would be impossible, for example, to deny the historic contribution of Marx and Engels in the development of the program of socialism, or of Lenin in preparing the way for the October revolution.

Trotsky addressing Red Guards during the Civil War / Image: fair use

It would be equally impossible to underestimate Trotsky's role as Commissar for War from 1918 to 1925 in building the Red Army and leading it to victory.

Trotsky organized the Red Army as a revolutionary army, motivated by political understanding, not by blind obedience. His unshakeable confidence in the workers, youth and peasants who made up its ranks is best expressed in his own words:

"What was needed for [saving the revolution]? Very little. The front ranks of the masses had to realize the mortal danger in the situation. The first requisite for success was to hide nothing, our weaknesses least of all; not to trifle with the masses but to call everything by its right name." (My Life, page 43)

Dedicated young workers were attracted to the army, and became its vanguard. Trotsky continues:

"The Soviets, the party, the trades unions, all devoted themselves to raising new detachments, and sent thousands of communists to the [front]. Most of the youth of the party did not know how to handle arms, but they had the will to win, and that was the most important thing. They put backbone into the soft body of the army."

The "will to win" was "the most important thing". How to use arms can be learned in a short time. But the will to win can only be born out of a sense of purpose, a clear goal to fight for, and the understanding of how it can be achieved.

Lenin Trotsky and Kamenev in 1920 / Image: Recuerdos de Pandora

"Until Wrangel took over the remnants of the White Army [i.e., nearly at the end of the war], its officers set an example of drunkenness, looting and violence which their soldiers willingly followed. Outrageous treatment of the local population, the outspoken intention to restore the landlords, and the greater social cleavage between the Whites and the peasantry made the latter finally prefer the Reds." (Russia 1917 to 1964)

Thus the initial onslaught of the counter-revolution was defeated. The Bolsheviks, however, understood that their victory could bring no more than a respite in the struggle. As Lenin commented in 1920:

"We have now passed from war to peace. But we have not forgotten that war will come again. So long as both capitalism and socialism remain, we cannot live in peace. Either the one or the other in the long run will conquer." (Quoted by Trotsky, History of the Russian Revolution, Volume 3, page 365)

Setbacks in the International Struggle

In the mighty class movements that followed the October revolution, the overthrow of capitalism throughout Europe was on the agenda.

The victory of the working-class in the developed countries, in turn, would provide a basis for overcoming Russias crippling economic backwardness, and remove the threat of imperialist attack.

International organization was essential to unite the workers moving into action in the different countries, and direct the struggle against the worldwide capitalist alliance.

The Second International had ceased to exist as an instrument of the workers struggle for power.A new International needed to be built.

The Crisis of Working-class Leadership

Prior to 1914, the Second International was committed to oppose imperialist war by every means, including the general strike. Yet, when war was declared, the vast majority of its leadership came out in active or passive support of their own governments.

What were the root causes of this shattering betrayal?

The Second International was formed in 1889 as a federation of (mainly European) social-democratic parties, in general subscribing to Marxism. It was built during a period of imperialist expansion and generally stable growth in the developed capitalist countries. This had a decisive effect on its character.

Important struggles were fought under the banner of the International. Major concessions were won  democratic rights, better wages, better working conditions. A skilled and relatively well-paid aristocracy of labour was created in the process. Out of this layer, increasingly, the leadership was drawn, together with intellectuals who decided to build their careers in the labour movement.

Remote from the workers daily struggles, these leaders became increasingly comfortable in well-paid jobs as parliamentarians or party and trade union officials. Inevitably their ideas became affected by their surroundings. Their general mood was summed up in the theory of reformism put forward by the German social-democrat, E. Bernstein  the idea that capitalism could gradually be reformed out of existence through peaceful, parliamentary methods.

This meant that the struggle to overthrow the capitalist state could quietly be pushed into the background. The struggle could be led from the soft benches of parliament  at a high salary, paid by the state!

The reformist tendency assumed more and more monstrous proportions. Inevitably, it led to increasing collaboration with the capitalist class. Labour leaders became more and more involved with various organs of the state. Public positions gave them new privileges.

Through all these pressures a nationalist outlook was cultivated. The outlook of the social-democratic leaders was narrowed more and more to the institutions of national and local government. Their links with the international movement were reduced to mere sentiment and phrases.

The catastrophic consequences of this gradual process of political degeneration broke to the surface in August 1914, when the reformists almost unanimously came out on the side of the capitalist state. The workers struggle to overthrow capitalism, from this point onward, would be openly and furiously opposed by the reformist leaders.

Lenin at May Day rally in 1919 / Image: Flickr, The Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Library

A historic letter was sent out early in 1919 to the organizations of the revolutionary workers in different countries. It was signed by Lenin and Trotsky on behalf of the Russian Communist Party (the new name of the Bolshevik Party) and by workers leaders from other countries. It invited the organizations to a congress to be held in Moscow, and explained the purpose as follows:

The Congress must establish a common fighting front for the purpose of maintaining permanent coordination and systematic leadership of the movement, a centre of the communist international, subordinating the interests of the movement in each country to the common interest of the international revolution. (Quoted in Degras, Volume 1, page 5)

At this congress, held from March 2 to 6, 1919, the Communist (Third) International was formed.

From the Platform of the Communist International Adopted at the Founding Conference

The imperialist system is breaking down. Ferment in the colonies, ferment in the former dependent small nations, insurrections of the proletariat, victorious proletarian revolutions in some countries, dissolution of the imperialist armies this is the state of affairs throughout the world today

There is only one force that can save [humanity], and that is the proletariatIt must create genuine order, communist order. It must destroy the rule of capital, make war impossible, abolish State frontiers, change the entire world into one cooperative community

The growth of the revolutionary movement in all countries, the danger that the alliance of capitalist states will strangle this movementfinally, the absolute necessity of coordination of proletarian action  all this must lead to the foundation of a truly revolutionary, truly proletarian communist international.

The Internationalwill embody the mutual aid of the proletariat of different countries[It] will support the exploited colonial peoples in their struggles against imperialism, in order to promote the final downfall of the imperialist world system.

The inspiring advances by the working-class in 1918-1919, however, marked only the beginning of a drawn-out period of revolution and counter-revolution. In the ebb and flow of class battles flaring up across Europe, the workers were unable to hold on to their early gains.

Two main factors combined to produce a series of defeats: firstly, the deliberate treachery of the social-democratic leaders; secondly, the immaturity of the revolutionary currents in the workers movement outside of Russia  in other words, the weakness of genuine Marxist leadership even in the parties of the Third International.

In Germany, large sections of workers still had illusions in the reformist SPD leadership. In November 1918 the reformists, headed by Noske and Scheidemann, were pushed into government as conscious agents of counter-revolution.

Their strategy was to persuade the working-class to accept the authority of the democratic capitalist parliament. Then they rebuilt the armed forces of the capitalist state to break up the workers councils.

Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, the outstanding revolutionary leaders in the German workers movement, were murdered in January 1919 in the military counter-revolution unleashed by their former party comrades.

Rosa Luxemburg was a leading figure in the defeated German Revolution / Image: Rosa Luxemburg-Stiftung

But the German capitalists remained weak, and the workers movement was far from crushed. Many more battles would have to be fought before the question of power would be settled for any length of time.

The membership of the Communist International (Comintern) leaped explosively upward. Fifty-one national sections, with a total membership of 2.8 million (only 550,000 in the USSR) were represented at the Third Congress in 1921.

Many different political tendencies were drawn into the International, ranging from centrism (i.e. in between Marxism and reformism: revolutionary in words but vacillating in practice) to ultra-leftism.

In Hungary, it was the ultra-left mistakes of the Communist leadership that led to the defeat of the Soviet republic. Refusing to divide the land amongst the peasantry, insisting dogmatically on collectivizing the landlords estates, they were unable to win the support of the peasant masses and unify the country.

When counter-revolution struck in the form of an invasion by Romanian and Czechoslovak armies, the peasants were unwilling to fight for a government which refused their most basic demand.

In August 1919, after four months of heroic resistance, the workers republic fell. The workers movement was subjected to a hideous bloodbath in the reactionary terror that followed.

In Italy, it was the centrist spinelessness of the workers revolutionary leaders that made victory impossible.

A massive wave of factory occupations in 1920 created a revolutionary situation, with soviets controlling the factories and Red Guards defending them. The capitalist state was paralyzed. The task was to mobilize and arm the workers for the conquest of power.

The Marxist leaders of the Italian Socialist Party were forced by pressure from below to profess support for the Comintern. In fact they were divided, and even the maximalist (left) wing declined to lead the struggle. The initiative was allowed to pass to the reformists, who in turn handed power back to the capitalists  as usual, in return for some temporary concessions.

In France, in Ireland, in Britain, the Netherlands and many other countries the capitalist class managed to regain control with the assistance of the reformist labour leaders. In every case, this was possible only in the absence of a developed Marxist leadership able to seize the enormous opportunities and isolate the reformists, as the Bolsheviks had done in Russia.

By 1921 the workers struggle internationally was in a state of temporary ebb. A peculiar and dangerous correlation of forces was emerging: on the one hand, the capitalist class consolidating its position internationally; on the other hand, the Russian workers state isolated and exhausted.

The Exhaustion of Soviet Democracy

The Russian workers state survived the civil war, but at a terrible cost.

By 1920, the output of large-scale industry was down to 14 per cent of the 1913 level, and manufacturing output to less than 13 per cent. Agricultural production fell by a further 16 per cent between 1917 and 1921. Steel production stood at 5 per cent of the 1913 level.

Famine raged in east and south-east Russia during 1921 and 1922, killing five million people, reducing isolated communities to barbarism, even to cannibalism. The elan of 1917 was turned into despair, the drive to transform society into a grim struggle for survival.

Political democracy could not survive under these conditions. Every war demands a tight centralization of command over resources and manpower. A revolutionary civil war, moreover, is fought not only on the military front, but also against those sections of society who support the counter-revolution in the rear.

The October revolution had depended on an alliance between the working-class and the peasantry. The peasants had supported the workers state because it offered them peace and land.

But the deprivations of the war eroded the peasants support for the revolution. Manufactured goods became almost unobtainable, while food supplies were requisitioned from the peasantry to feed the Red Army and the cities.

Only the savagery of the White armies, and their intention of giving back to the landlords, prevented large sections of peasants from going over to the counter-revolution.

Freedom of speech and organization could not be maintained with society split into two and workers rule hanging by a thread. Hostile elements, agitating around the grievances of the masses, could have set the country on fire with rebellion and opened the door to counter-revolution. Trotsky explained:

We are fighting a life-and-death struggle. The press is a weapon not of an abstract society, but of two irreconcilable armed and contending sides. We are destroying the press of the counter-revolution, just as we destroyed its fortified positions, its stores, its communications, and its intelligence system. (Terrorism and Communism, page 80)

This was the period known as war communism. In the economy, the consumption of the countrys desperately scarce resources had to be strictly controlled. At the same time, anticipating the victory of the German working-class, the Soviet government hoped to pass from control over distribution to control over production, using the methods of war communism as the starting point for a planned socialist economy.

Reformists and ex-Marxists raised a great outcry at the ruthless measures the Bolsheviks were forced to take in crushing the counter-revolution. What is the difference, they asked, between the methods of Bolshevism and the old dictatorship of the Tsar [emperor]? Trotsky replied:

You do not understand this, holy men? We shall explain to you. The terror of Tsarism throttled the workers who were fighting for the socialist order. Out Extraordinary Commissions shoot landlords, capitalists and generals who are striving to restore the capitalist order. Do you grasp thisdistinction? Yes? For us communists it is quite sufficient. (Terrorism and Communism, pages 78-79)

Repression, however, was seen by the Bolsheviks as an exceptional and temporary method, forced on them by the imminent danger of reaction. Even under these critical conditions they remained conciliatory towards their political opponents, on condition that they supported the workers state in practice, and campaigned for their policies on that basis.

At no stage did the Bolsheviks put forward the idea of a one-party state, for which there is no foundation in Marxism.

In practice, however, those who supported the revolution overwhelmingly joined the Bolsheviks. The opposition parties were increasingly abandoned to out-and-out enemies of the workers state. They struggled, and they lost.

In June 1918 the soviets excluded the Right SRs and Mensheviks from their ranks as a result of their involvement with the counter-revolution.

As late as August 1920 the Mensheviks held their party conference in Moscow, and received press coverage. But by 1921 most of the Menshevik leaders had left Russia, to conduct their campaign against the Soviet state from abroad.

The Communist Party congress of 1921 recognized that workers democracy needed to be rebuilt. But the basis for workers democracy  the unity, organization and revolutionary energy of the working-class  had been shattered by the superhuman effort of winning the war.

The collapse of industry meant the decimation of the workers ranks:

By 1919 the number of industrial workers declined to 76 percent of the 1917 levelBy 1920, the figure for industrial workers generally fell from three million in 1917 to 1,240,000, i.e., to less than half. In two years the working-class population of Petrograd was halved. (A. Woods and E. Grant, Lenin and Trotsky: What They Really Stood For, page 75)

The workers political cadre  the class-conscious activists who had mobilized their workmates, led the strikes, taken up arms, created and led the soviets  was almost eradicated. As Ilyin-Zhenevsky recorded in Petrograd even in the opening days of the war:

the front was calling for reinforcements  both rank-and-file Red Army and leading executivesthe Petrograd Committee sent to the front about 300 such persons, members of our Party. We were having to sacrifice our best forces to the demands of the front. (The Bolsheviks in Power, pages 116-117)

Thousands of these revolutionary cadres perished in the war. Most of the survivors were absorbed into the ministries of the workers state.

The workforce remaining in the factories was transformed into the opposite of the revolutionary vanguard of 1917. As early as 1919 a delegate to the congress of trade unions warned:

We observe in a large number of industrial centres that the workersare being absorbed in the peasant mass, and instead of a population of workers we are getting a half peasant or sometimes purely peasant population. (Quoted by Woods and Grant, page 75)

With the class-conscious workers decimated and dispersed, with the raw, semi-peasant workforce in the factories struggling night and day to continue production with dilapidated equipment and constant shortages, the soviets ceased to function.

The All-Russian Congress of Soviets, which had been supposed to meet every three months, was meeting only once a year by 1918; and even those meetings were insufficiently prepared.

Through utter exhaustion the masses were no longer able to exercise power directly. This factor was decisive in the degeneration of the Russian workers state.

But, it might be asked, couldnt the Bolsheviks have ensured that the state remained an instrument of working-class policy? They were in power  why could they not stamp out bureaucratism and carry out socialist policies?

This question is also important in clarifying why, today, genuine socialist policies are impossible without mass working-class participation in the running of every state organ.

The next three sections will examine in more detail the objective barriers the Bolsheviks were faced with, the limitations of their control over the state apparatus in the absence of functioning soviets, and the effects of the changing situation on the Communist Party itself.

Bureaucracy and the Workers State

Lenin, shortly before the October revolution, brilliantly explained the nature of the workers state in his book The State and Revolution:

Alongside of an immense expansion of democracy, which for the first time becomes democracy for the poorthe dictatorship of the proletariat brings about a series of restrictions on the freedom of the oppressors, the exploiters, the capitalists. We must suppress them in order to free humanity from wage slavery; their resistance must be crushed by forcebut it is now the suppression of the exploiting minority by the exploited majority. A special apparatus, a special machine for suppression, the state, is still necessary, but this is already a transitional state. (see pages 107-110)

The dying away or withering away of the state as a specialized organ of repression and control, as armed bodies of men separate from the mass of people  this is the political measure of workers rule. Lenin sums up what it means:

The exploiters are naturally unable to suppress the people without a highly complex machinebut the people can suppress the exploiters with a very simple machineby the simple organization of the armed masses (such as the Soviets of Workers and Soldiers Deputies) (page 110)

How would this simple machine work in practice? How can the working people keep control over the state they had created, and prevent the growth of a military and bureaucratic elite? Lenins basic guidelines are as valid today as on the day they were written:

No official to receive a higher wage than that of the average skilled worker Administrative duties were to be rotated amongst the widest strata of the population to prevent the crystallization of an entrenched caste of bureaucrats. All working people were to bear arms to protect the revolution against threats from any quarter, internal or external. All power was to be vested in the Soviets. The composition of the Soviets, lay delegates from the workplaces subject to instant recall, obliged delegates to report back to mass meetings of their workmatesand thus ensure maximum mass participation. (R. Silverman and E. Grant, Bureaucratism or Workers Power?, page 3)

The revolution had smashed the old Tsarist state to the extent of driving out the most reactionary generals and nobles at the head of the ministries and the armed forces. Communists took their places wherever possible.

But a thoroughgoing transformation of the state apparatus was impossible with the resources of the isolated Soviet Union. The Bolsheviks numbered only 23,600 in February 1917. A minority of this number formed the cadre of the party, able to lead others in struggling for party policy. The state apparatus, on the other hand, numbered hundreds of thousands of officials.

Specialists and skilled administrators of the old regime could not be replaced; they had to be kept on, even at the cost of bribing them with privileges. In the town of Vyatka in 1918, for example, no fewer than 4,476 out of 4,766 officials were the same individuals who had previously served the Tsar.

Trotsky, in his book The Revolution Betrayed, explained the significance of what was taking place.

A workers state, he said, is a bridge between the bourgeois [capitalist] and socialist society. Its task is to create a society of abundance through the planned use of resources, through which class divisions  and the state itself as an organ of class rule  will disappear.

For the first period, the workers state has to operate with the economic means it has inherited from capitalism. It has to use the skilled people trained under capitalism and some of the methods of capitalism: the division of labour, the payment of wages, etc.

The whole development of the workers state is thus determined by the changing relations between its bourgeois and socialist tendencies (page 54)  i.e., between the remaining elements of the old bourgeois apparatus and its methods of control from above, and the development of working-class management from below.

Only the increasing command of the working people over society can eradicate the remnants of capitalism.

In backward Russia, however, the soviets had ceased to exist as organs of the armed people. Day-to-day administration was in the hands of an army of non-Communist officials, representing the outlook of the privileged layers in society.

Politbureau at 14th Conference of the All Union Communist Party / Image: fair use

Bureaucracy in a backward country, Trotsky explained, is a product of backwardness itself  the weakness of the working-class, its lack of skills, and the position of power which the state officials enjoy:

The basis of bureaucratic rule is the poverty of society in objects of consumption, with the resulting struggle of each against all. When there are enough goods in a store, the purchasers can come when they want to. When there are a few goods, the purchasers are compelled to stand in line. When the lines are very long, it is necessary to appoint a policeman to keep order. Such is the starting point of the Soviet bureaucracy. It knows who is to get something and who has to wait. (The Revolution Betrayed, page 112)

Thus, the bureaucracy in an isolated, backward workers state does not simply become redundant and die away. To the extent that the underdeveloped working-class is unable to take over its functions, bureaucracy acquires  at least for a period  an objective basis for its existence.

Through the bureaucracy, the pressure of the reactionary classes were exerted upon and within the Russian workers state. This became more and more obvious as the exhaustion of the soviets left officials with greater freedom to act as they wished.

The political representatives of the working-class, organized in the Communist Party, were caught up in an increasingly hard-fought struggle against this bureaucracy.

Lenin, struck down by illness in the last two years of his life, became sharply aware of the dangers of the situation. At the fourth Comintern congress in 1922 he gave the international delegates this frank appraisal of the position in Russia:

Undoubtedly, we have done, and will still do, a host of stupid thingsWhy do we do these foolish things? The reason is clear: firstly, because we are backward country; secondly, because education in our country is at a low level; and thirdly, because we are getting no outside assistance. Not a single civilized country is helping us. On the contrary, they are all working against us. Fourthly, our machinery of state is to blame. We took over the old machinery of state, and that was our misfortune. Very often this machinery operates against usWe now have a vast army of government employees, but lack sufficiently educated forces to exercise real control over them. (Lenin, The Fourth Congress of the Communist International, page 19)

By educated forces, Lenin meant Communist workers, organized and able to control the specialists. Lenin could offer no immediate solution to the problem because, within Russia, there was none.

In all our agitation, Lenin said, we mustexplain that the misfortune which has fallen upon us is an international misfortune, that there is no way out of it but the international revolution. (Quoted by Trotsky, History of the Russian Revolution, volume 3, page 367).

In other words, only the conquest of power by the working-class in the developed countries, and the provision of large-scale technical assistance to their brothers and sisters in Russia, could remove the basis for bureaucratic power.

Party Democracy

The exhaustion of the Soviet working-class placed a critical responsibility on the Communist Party and its leadership to defend the gains of the revolution.

War conditions destroyed the soviets, the basic organs of the workers state. By 1921, even the Executive of the Congress of Soviets was meeting only three times a year. Sovnarkom (the Council of Peoples Commissars, or government) remained as the effective organ of state power.

Sovnarkom consisted of leading Communists, elected to carry out party policy. Naturally they operated within the discipline of the party.

The party remained, in other words, as the nucleus and backbone of the workers state. Authority was necessarily concentrated in the hands of the central committee  and, later, the political bureau (Politbureau) elected by the central committee  as a result of the extreme centralization required by the war.

Signing the Treaty of Brest Litowsk / Image: fair use

Trotsky gave an example of what this meant at the Comintern congress of 1920, in relation to the question of signing peace with Poland:

Who decided this question? We have Sovnarkom, but it must be subject to a certain control. Whose control? The control of the working-class as a formless chaotic mass? No. The central committee of the party has been called together to discuss the proposal and decide whether to answer it. (Quoted in E. H. Carr, The Bolshevik Revolution, page 226)

But the centralization of power under Lenin and Trotsky, however uncompromising, at no stage degenerated into systematic bureaucratic imposition from above.

The party and its cadre had been built through the struggle to unite a large number of separate revolutionary groups, each with its own leadership and ideas, around a Marxist program. The method was that of debate. The right of members or groups (factions or tendencies) to question the leadership, and campaign for their ideas in an organized manner, was absolutely taken for granted.

In 1918, for example, the opposition of the Left Communists arose out of sharp debates within the party over the question of peace with Germany. For a fortnight they published their own daily paper in Petrograd; in Moscow they won control of the party organization.

But, with the start of the civil war, the Lefts closed ranks with the rest of the party and threw themselves into the struggle.

The explosion of unbridled workers democracy during those early days is well captured by the account of Ilyin Zhenevsky:

A Peoples Commissar [Minister]was obliged in some cases not to issue orders but to address requests to an administrative organ that was subordinate to him. And this own organ might not agree with the Peoples Commissar, and might refuse his request. This sort of thing was a common occurrence. A broad democratism in the way affairs were conducted found expression in the slogan power at a local level.' (The Bolsheviks in Power, page 30).

Even in the Red Army, critics of Trotskys leadership  essentially supporters of guerrilla war  were able to organize themselves as a military opposition and campaign for their views. They were defeated through argument and example.

In late 1920 there emerged the so-called Workers Opposition, with a program summed up by Carr as a hotchpotch of current discontents, directed in the main against the growing centralization of economic and political controls. (The Bolshevik Revolution, page 203)

Their views were carried in the party press, day by day, for months on end. A pamphlet stating their case was circulated at the party congress in March 1921, where the issues were to be fully debated.

The proceedings of the congress, however, were dramatically cut across by the uprising of sailors at the naval base of Kronstadt, an island in the Bay of Finland facing Petrograd.

The Kronstadt Uprising

In 1917 the Kronstadt sailors had been in the forefront of the revolution. By 1921 this generation had disappeared to the war fronts and been replaced with peasant conscripts, politically inexperienced, who came under Anarchist influence.

Affected by all the peasants grievances, demanding more freedom but without a program for solving the countrys problems, they staged an armed insurrection under the slogan Down with Bolshevik tyranny!

This presented a far more serious threat to the workers state than the bands of armed insurgents still roaming parts of the country. Kronstadt commanded the approach to Petrograd. With Kronstadt out of government control, Petrograd could not be defended. This gave the Whites and the imperialists a unique opportunity to attack a key centre of the revolution.

Kronstadt sailors in 1917 / Image: Anarkistimatruuseja

The Bay of Finland was still frozen, defended by heavy guns and by the Baltic Fleet, would become impregnable. Time to solve the crisis was very short.

The sailors refused to surrender. Trotsky with the unanimous support of the party leadership, ordered the attack. After days of bitter fighting, Kronstadt was taken by Bolshevik troops.

The survival of the Soviet Union once again hung by a thread. Would the rebellion spread? To delegates at the party congress it was clear that firm and united leadership was essential. Public divisions in the party, at this point, would have been seized upon by the enemy to disorient the workers and peasants. It was decided that organized factions within the party had to be dissolved.

Lenin, a year later, summed up the basis for this unprecedented position:

If we do not close our eyes to reality we must admit that at the present time the proletarian policy of the party is determined not by the character of its membership, but by the enormous undivided prestige enjoyed by the small group which might be called the Old Guard of the party. A slight conflict within this group would be enough, if not to destroy this prestige, at all events to weaken the group to such a degree as to rob it of its power to determine policy. (Collected Works volume 33, page 257)

The operative words were at the present time. The Bolsheviks knew that problems could not be resolved by organizational measures alone; in the longer run, unity could only be built on discussion, education and agreement. The denial of tendency rights could only be justified as an emergency measure in grappling with the immediate crisis, to be abolished as soon as the situation was once again under control.

The Struggle for Power in the Communist Party

The Kronstadt uprising underlined the explosive resentment that had built up among the peasantry at the sacrifices, shortages and forced requisitions imposed on them during the war years. There was no prospect of an immediate breakthrough by the working-class in the West. Clearly, it was impossible to continue the regime of war communism without risking a generalized insurrection.

Lenin, in a simple example, summed up the situation:

If we could tomorrow give 100,000 first-class tractors, supply them with benzine, supply them with mechanicsthe middle peasant would say: I am for Communism. But in order to do this, it is first necessary to conquer the international bourgeoisie, to compel it to give us these tractors. (Quoted in Woods and Grant, Lenin and Trotsky: What They Really Stood For, page 76)

The tenth party congress of March 1921 could see no alternative to abandoning war communism (first advocated by Trotsky the previous year) and adopting what was called the New Economic Policy (NEP)  a series of concessions to the capitalists and richer peasants who dominated agricultural production. It provided them with profit incentives to step up production for the market, as a means of feeding the towns and reviving industry.

The NEP undoubtedly succeeded in restoring a measure of life to the economy. By 1922 industrial output had risen to 25 percent of the 1913 level, though mainly in the branches of light industry supplying the peasants demand.

On the other hand, the NEP marked a serious retreat in the workers fundamental drive to collectivization and central planning of the economy. It greatly strengthened the so-called NEP-men  a breed of middlemen who took advantage of the continuing shortages to speculate and line their own pockets.

Chervonetz, money bill used under the NEP / Image: fair use

The balance of forces in Russian society was tilting further and further against the working-class. The kulaks and NEP-men shared a position of privilege with the state bureaucracy. These layers were becoming more confident and determined to consolidate their position. Their pressure on the workers leaders was increasing.

Victor Serge describes the distortions that were coming into existence:

Classes were reborn under our very eyes: at the bottom of the scale, the unemployed receiving 24 roubles a month; at the top, the engineer receiving 800; and in between the two, the party functionary with 222, but obtaining a good many things free of chargeThere was squalid, heart-breaking povertywhile wealth was arrogant and self-satisfiedThe young people drank, old people drank, drunkenness became a plague. And the worst of it was that we could no longer recognize the old party of the revolution. (From Lenin to Stalin, page 39)

The bureaucracy did not form a class in the Marxist sense (i.e., a social grouping with a necessary function in the productive system). Already it was degenerating into a layer of parasites, exploiting the shortage of skills to extort privileges as of right.

Inevitably, tensions were increasing between the arrogant, self-satisfied bureaucracy, entrenched in the state apparatus, and the surviving Bolshevik cadre. The bureaucracy could not rest easy while power remained in the hands of the revolutionary Marxists. A struggle for control over the Communist Party was inherent in the situation.

In the party, the Marxist cadre was stretched to breaking point by the demands of public duties, while the ranks of the party were swelled by a massive influx of new members. Membership increased from 23,600 in February 1917 to 115,000 at the beginning of 1918, 313,000 a year later, and 650,000 in March 1922.

Many of those who joined, especially during the dark days of the civil war, were militant workers and youth attracted to the party of the revolution. But, increasingly, ex-Mensheviks, bureaucrats, NEP-men and other hostile elements, seeking a new vehicle for their political ambitions, began to turn their attention to the Communist Party.

As early as March 1919 the eighth party congress recognized the danger:

Elements which are not sufficiently communist or even directly parasitic are flowing into the party in a broad stream. The Russian Communist Party is in power, and this inevitably attracts to it, together with the better elements, careerist elements as wellA serious purge is indispensable in the Soviet and party organizations. (Quoted by Carr, The Bolshevik Revolution, page 212)

The inner-party struggle was pushed into the background during the war years. The purge was eventually carried out in 1921-22. Unlike the ruthless bureaucratic attacks on opposition of later years, also known as purges, it consisted of a careful examination by local party organizations of their members, to decide which of them, through their commitment and activity, could in fact be counted as Communists.

A further decision by the eighth congress resulted in the establishment of a Peoples Commissariat of Workers and Peasants Inspection (Rabkrin) in February 1920, with the task of fighting bureaucratism and corruption in Soviet institutions.

As Peoples Commissar in charge of the new department, the congress had appointed Joseph Stalin  a party member of long standing; no theoretician but a good organizer, who was hardly known outside of the party itself. In 1922 Stalin was appointed to another important administrative position: that of general secretary.

Rabkrin failed totally in its task. In practice its members consisted, as Trotsky put it, of workers who have come to grief in other fields. Or as Lenin commented: the best workers have been taken for the front, (Quoted by Carr, pages 232-233).

But there were more fundamental reasons why the tide of bureaucratic encroachment could not be halted.

Russias backwardness was reflected, politically, in the weakness of the proletariat in relation to the peasantry and the reactionary classes, nationally and internationally. As Lenin put it:

While we continue to be a country of small peasants, there is a more solid basis for capitalism in Russia than for communism. (Quoted in The Platform of the Joint Opposition, page 6)

The social weakness of the Soviet working-class could not be overcome by administrative measures; bourgeois pressures within the state apparatus could not be eliminated through the creation of new bureaucratic structures. The solution lay in the political regeneration of the working-class through the advance of the revolution internationally.

Joseph Stalin in 1918 / Image: fair use

The influence of the bureaucracy increasingly pervaded the party. Many Communists, absorbed in complicated administrative work, were already being led by the bureaucracy.

Even the party leaders were coming under pressure to adapt to the practical demands of the bureaucracy, to concentrate on creating stability in Russia through organizational measures, and relegate the international revolution to the background.

Lenin, in his last period of active life, became increasingly aware of the dangers posed by the power of the bureaucracy. At the eleventh party congress in 1922 (the last he attended) he sounded this warning:

The [state] machine refused to obey the hand that guided it. It was like a car that was going not in the way the driver desired but in a direction someone else desired: as if it were being driven by some lawless, mysterious handperhaps of a profiteer, or of a private capitalist, or of both. (Collected Works, volume 33, page 279)

Stalin came to the fore in this period. It was not his own personality or abilities, or even his conscious intentions, that transformed this colourless individual into the tyrant of later years. Stalins rise to power was entirely a consequence of the changing balance of forces in society and the state.

The bureaucracy of the workers state was beginning to isolate the socialist tendency, and to corrupt elements in the workers leadership that were politically weak. Stalin was a key official who proved most consistent and reliable to the bureaucracy. As Trotsky explains:

(Stalin) brought (the bureaucracy) all the necessary guarantees: the prestige of an old Bolshevik, a strong character, narrow vision, and close bonds with the political machineThe petty-bourgeois outlook of the new ruling stratum was his own outlook. He profoundly believed that the task of creating socialism was national and administrative in its nature. (The Revolution Betrayed, pages 93, 97)

The exceptional centralization of power brought about by the civil war was, to the bureaucracy, the natural method of government. It provided the means of protecting their privileges against the threat of future working-class control.

Stalin played a central role in the consolidation of the bureaucracys position within the party apparatus. From 1922, he systematically installed his own followers as branch, district and provincial secretaries. This gave him effective control over the day-to-day implementation of policy, the organization of meetings, the election of congress delegates, etc.

These manoeuvres paved the way for a head-on collision with Lenin, Trotsky and the remainder of the Bolshevik leadership.

The Turning Point

1923-1924 marked a turning point in the Soviet Union: a period when the contradictions in the state and the party erupted into a decisive political struggle.

By the end of 1922 Lenin was seriously ill after suffering a series of strokes. It was no longer certain when or if he would return to political activity.

The bureaucracy was hostile and fearful towards Trotsky  next to Lenin the most authoritative and implacable Marxist leader of the party. However, certain old Bolshevik leaders  swayed by political narrowness, personal ambitions and loyalties  were also reluctant to see Trotsky, in Lenins absence, take his place at the head of the Politbureau.

In December 1922, Zinoviev (then president of the Communist International) and Kamenev (a close associate of Zinoviev) formed a secret faction with Stalin (later known as the trio or triumvirate) for the specific purpose of conspiring against Trotsky. This gave them an effective majority in the six-member Politbureau and, as a result, a commanding authority over the central committee and the party as a whole.

It was Lenin, from his sickbed, who first sensed the significance of what was happening, and opened the struggle against Stalin and the bureaucracy.

In a brief note, later known as his 'Testament, Lenin wrote on December 25, 1922: Comrade Stalin, having become General Secretary, has unlimited authority concentrated in his hands, and I am not sure he will always be capable of using that power with sufficient caution

Ten days later he added:

Stalin is too rude, and this defect, although quite tolerable in our midst in dealing and among us Communists, becomes intolerable in a General Secretary. That is why I suggest that the comrades think about a way of removing Stalin from that post and appointing another man in his stead who in all other respects differs from Comrade Stalin in having only one advantage, that of being more tolerant, more loyal, more polite and considerate to comrades, less capricious, etc. This circumstance may appear to be a negligible detail. But I think that from the standpoint of safeguards against a splitit is not a detail, or it is a trifle which may assume decisive importance (Collected Works, vol. 36, pg. 594-596).

Lenin did not spell out the decisive importance which he feared that Stalins behaviour could acquire. But what could it mean except that Stalin, coming into conflict with the best representatives of Marxism in the party, would find himself the tool of hostile forces  the kulaks, the bureaucracy, the capitalists and profiteers?

This insight alone could explain Lenins surprising demand that the general secretary be removed so quickly after his appointment.

But with Lenin on his deathbed, Stalin and his faction behaved with increasing arrogance, abusing their powers in defiance of all the traditions of the party.

Matters came to a head with Stalins bureaucratic incorporation of the Soviet Republic of Georgia into the USSR (formed on January 30, 1922) and his repression of the local Bolshevik leaders. Lenin, when he found out what had happened, felt that a struggle against this alien tendency in the party could no longer be postponed.

Too ill to attend the twelfth party congress in April 1923, Lenin entrusted Trotsky with the task of defending the Georgian Bolsheviks by delivering a bombshell against Stalin.

But Stalin retreated, accepting all Trotskys criticisms and correcting his formulations on the national question. Trotsky was reluctant at this point to press home a public attack on Stalin, which would have been seen as a power struggle for Lenins position, and would have raised the danger of splitting the party.

Final photo of Lenin / Image: fair use

Thus, a confrontation was postponed. Shortly afterwards Lenin suffered a further stroke, and was eliminated from political activity until his death in January 1924.

Over the next months the tensions in the party exploded around two central issues: party democracy, and economic policy.

At the congress Trotsky had drawn a balance sheet of the NEP, and pointed out the dangerous lag in industrial production. He used a diagram of price changes of industrial and agricultural products to illustrate his point. It had the appearance of an open pair of scissors: agricultural prices showing a downward line, and industrial prices a rising line.

By March 1923, industrial prices had reached 140 per cent of their 1913 levels, while agricultural prices had dropped to less than 80 per cent. The problem which this reflected was subsequently called the scissors crisis.

If industrial production continued to decline and prices continued to rise, Trotsky warned, a break between the peasantry and the proletariat, between the countryside and the towns, would become inevitable.

The congress accepted Trotskys arguments for a new turn within the framework of the NEP: to develop the state sector on the basis of a central plan, and to expand industry, to eventually absorb and eliminate the private sector.

But this policy change remained a dead letter. The bureaucracy, bound to the private sector by ties of common privilege, had no desire to undermine it. In practice they continued as before to rely on the kulaks to increase production for profit.

In July and August there was a wave of strikes as workers vented their frustration against their harsh conditions. The leaders  many of them old Bolsheviks  were arrested on the orders of the bureaucracy. All the signs showed that the sickness in the party was reaching a dangerous level.

Trotsky sounded a warning. Imprisoning opponents, he explained, would solve nothing while the immediate causes of the conflict remained: lack of economic planning, and the hold of the bureaucracy over the party.

This present regime, Trotsky wrote to the Central Committee on October 8, is much further from any workers democracy than was the regime under the fiercest period of war communism. (Documents of the 1923 Opposition, page 2) The hierarchy of secretaries, appointed from above, created party opinion, dominated the rank and file workers, and ensured that critical views were given no genuine hearing.

Within days of Trotskys protest, a statement was issued by 46 other leading party members, expressing their criticism of the Politbureaus course and various proposals to correct it.

Victor Serge, a member of the 1923 Opposition, explains the general position:

The country was approaching an irremediable economic crisis, a crisis which might arouse a hundred and twenty million peasants against the socialist power and place it at the mercy of foreign capital by forcing it to import (on credit? and under what conditions?) great quantities of manufactured goods. To forestall this crisis certain measures had to be taken before it was too late.

These measures were:

To restore democracy in the party, so that the influence of the workers might be felt; to ventilate the State bureaus. This was the obvious condition for the success of all economic measures. To adopt a plan for industrialization and appreciably rebuild industry within a few years. In order to obtain the resources necessary for industrialization, force the well-to-do peasants to deliver their wheat to the state. (From Lenin to Stalin, page 40)

Thus, the lines of the inner-party conflict were being drawn more clearly. It was a struggle between opposing social forces: between a tendency basing itself on the working-class, and one defending the well-to-do peasants and other privileged sections.

The trio and their supporters were thrown into turmoil by the challenge. The statement by the 46, against all party precedent, was banned, and Trotsky was condemned for initiating it.

But, under pressure from the majority of the party (including the army and the youth), the bureaucracy was forced to retreat. They accepted the demands of the Opposition in words, and proclaimed a New Course of freedom and democracy in the party  but keeping all the strings of power in their hands.

Trotsky replied with an Open Letter to party members on December 8, warning that a New Course on paper was not enough, that the party could not be turned back onto the road of Bolshevism unless the rank and file  and the youth in particular  acted to regenerate and renovate the party apparatus. (The New Course, page 71)

This letter was received with tremendous enthusiasm among the party workers  and by the bureaucracy as a declaration of war. The debate was to be resolved at the thirteenth conference, meeting in January 1924.

The struggle in the Soviet party, however, was decisively cut across by the developments in Germany during 1923.

The Defeat of the German Revolution

Germanys precarious stability was shattered in January 1923 when French troops occupied the Ruhr industrial area to extract, at gunpoint, the war reparations which the German imperialists were being forced to pay as the price of their defeat in the World War.

The German economy slumped. Inflation, already skyrocketing during 1922, became astronomical  probably in the region of 1,000,000,000,000,000 percent during 1922-1923!

The living standards of workers and the middle-class collapsed. The working-class swung sharply to the left. Factory councils sprang up in opposition to the reformist union leaders. The KPD (Communist Party of Germany) grew by tens of thousands. Proletarian hundreds (workers militias) were formed, involving 60,000 workers by the autumn, with (by capitalist estimates) 11,000 rifles in their hands.

In two states, Saxony and Thuringia, left-wing SPD governments were in power, relying on KPD support.

On August 11 a general strike brought down the right-wing Cuno government in Berlin. Germany was in a revolutionary crisis.

The workers leadership was unprepared. The KPD leadership was divided between the centre, left and right factions, with the cautious Brandler at its head. Hesitation and uncertainty marked its policy throughout.

The Comintern was increasingly affected by the struggle in the Soviet party. The conservatism and short-sightedness of the bureaucracy, transmitted through the leadership of the Soviet party, was beginning to prevail.

The Comintern representative in Germany, Radek, gave his full backing to Brandler. As late as July Stalin advised that the Germans should be restrained and not spurred on. (Carr, The Interregnum 1923-1924, page 195)

Only with the fall of the Cuno government did the Executive Committee of the Comintern (ECCI) accept Trotskys argument that a struggle for power was on the agenda in Germany, that political and organizational preparations for armed insurrection urgently needed to be made.

KPD propaganda poster / Image: Flickr IISG

But tragically, this policy was not followed through. Trotsky sums up what happened:

Why didnt the German revolution lead to a victory? The reasons for it are all to be sought in the tactics, and not in the existing conditions. Here we had a classical example of a missed revolutionary situation. After all the German proletariat had gone through in recent years, it could be led to a decisive struggle only if it were convinced that this time the question would be decisively resolved and that the Communist Party was ready for the struggle and capable of achieving the victory. But the Communist Party executed the turn [to insurrection] very irresolutely and after a very long delay. Not only the Rights but also the Leftsviewed rather fatalistically the process of revolutionary development up to September-October 1923. (The Third International After Lenin, page 70)

The triumvirate was incapable of intervening and instilling a bold revolutionary understanding of the situation in the KPD leadership. Trotsky was deliberately isolated. The consequences were disastrous. As a close co-worker of Trotsky wrote in 1936 (quoted in Ted Grant, The Rise and Fall of the Third International, page 28):

When the German bourgeoisie at last gathered its forces, proclaimed a state of siege, proceeded to take the offensive, the [KPD] capitulated without a struggle  that is, they called off the insurrection. (Word of the capitulation did not reach Hamburg in time, and an isolated uprising took place, which was crushed after days of fighting.)

The failure of the KPD leadership cost the German working-class, and the European revolution, the chance of a victory that would have changed the course of world history. Instead, the KPD was declared illegal for some months. With massive US aid, the German economy was stabilized and capitalism pulled back from the brink.

A few months earlier the mass Bulgarian Communist Party after its leaders, dogmatically, refused to enter a united from with the Peasant Union government against a right-wing military coup. Also in Poland the workers, inspired into action by the German events, were defeated.

These setbacks had a critical effect on the inner-party struggle in Russia. Germany in particular had always been seen as the key to the European revolution. Now it became clear that no relief could be expected from Western Europe in the months or years ahead.

A vicious cycle was set in motion. The increasing grip of the bureaucracy on the Soviet party (and through it, on the Comintern) was becoming a serious obstacle to the development of revolutionary policies and leadership internationally. The setbacks resulting from this, in turn strengthened the currents of demoralization and conservatism which the bureaucracy thrived on.

Less politicized workers began to lose confidence in the Marxist perspective of international revolution. To backward layers, the scepticism and cynicism of the bureaucracy began to look realistic.

A wave of depression passed over Russia, Serge wrote, and the bureaucracy had its own way for three years. (From Lenin to Stalin, page 42)

The Invention of Trotskyism

The party bureaucracy resorted to vote-rigging to exclude Opposition delegates from the thirteenth conference in January 1924, where the inner-party debate was to be decided.

In Moscow, for example, the Opposition had majority support in most of the cells (branches). In the regional elections, despite ruthless weeding out of Opposition supporters by Stalin's appointed secretaries, 36 percent of the vote still went to the Opposition. Yet, at the provincial level, this vote was mysteriously halved.

From the whole of the USSR, only three Opposition delegates managed to get into the conference!

Zinoviev: the inventor of Trotskyism / Image: public domain

Then came the news of Lenin's death. The mass of workers and youth were plunged into even deeper gloom, while the bureaucracy immediately felt themselves in a stronger position.

The triumvirate now set out to defeat the Opposition's power base among the party activists. Supposedly in tribute to Lenin, they threw the party open to workers  had not Trotsky criticized the fact that only 15 percent of the membership were workers?

Between February and May 1924 some 240,000 workers were admitted. This so-called Lenin levy was, in fact, a mockery of the method of party-building that Lenin had developed.

As the party congress had explained in 1919:

"The Communist Party is the organization which unites in its ranks only the vanguard of the proletariat and the poorest peasantry  that part of these classes which consciously strives to realize in practice the communist program. "The Communist Party makes it its task to win decisive influence...in all organizations of workers..."

Flooding the party with raw recruits went directly counter to this task  but it served another purpose. The Lenin levy, the trio calculated, would in the first place provide them with voting fodder to swamp the Opposition. Inexperienced members, confronted with unfamiliar problems, will tend to follow the lead they are given. Very few would feel able to challenge the Politbureau.

As in Russia, there was strong support for the Opposition in the Communist parties internationally. The central committees of the mass-based French and Polish parties, for example, protested against the attacks on Trotsky.

Zinoviev and Kamenev / Image: public domain

The triumvirate could not tolerate this. Zinoviev, as Comintern president, ruthlessly abused his position, disbanding the leading bodies of national parties to get rid of Trotsky's supporters  under the slogan of Bolshevization!

Yet the bureaucracy could not feel secure as long as Trotsky, with his giant authority as theoretician and co-leader of the October revolution, continued to subject their opportunism and blunders to merciless Marxist criticism. It was essential for the Zinovievites and Stalinists to rewrite history and cover Trotsky's name in mud.

Their tactic was to invent Trotskyism (a phrase coined by Zinoviev in December 1923). This consisted of raking up each and every past difference between Lenin and Trotsky in order to insinuate that Trotsky had always been opposed to Bolshevism.

Trotsky was reviled as a Menshevik (after the confusing split between the Bolsheviks and Mensheviks in 1903 he had, for a few months, found himself in the Mensheviks' camp before the political differences between them became clear) and also as an ultra-left! In particular his theory of permanent revolution was seized on to demonstrate his petty-bourgeois deviation from Leninism.

In fact, Trotsky's fundamental disagreement with the Mensheviks was precisely the basis for his political alliance with Lenin in 1917 and after.

The Mensheviks, Trotsky explained, "took as their point of departure the idea that to the liberal bourgeoisie...belonged the leading role in the bourgeois [democratic] revolution. According to this pattern, the party of the proletariat was assigned the role of Left Wing of the democratic front." (Introduction to The Permanent Revolution, page 3).

From this it followed that the revolution should be carried out in two stages: first, a "democratic" stage (on the basis of capitalism); and only at some point in the future would "socialism" be on the agenda.

Trotsky rejected this mechanical formula and developed his own analysis of the character of the revolution in a backward country such as Russia. This analysis, brilliantly confirmed by the October Revolution, became known as the theory of permanent revolution.

"In the event of a decisive victory of the revolution," Trotsky wrote in 1906, "power will pass into the hands of that class which plays a leading role in the struggle  in other words, into the hands of the proletariat...The political domination of the proletariat is incompatible with its economic enslavement. No matter under what political flag the proletariat has come to power, it is obliged to take the path of socialist policy." (Results and Prospects, pages 201, 233).

He added:

"Should the Russian proletariat find itself in power...it will encounter the organized hostility of world reaction, and on the other hand will find a readiness on the part of the world proletariat to give organized support...It will have no alternative but to link the fate of its political rule, and, hence, the fate of the whole Russian revolution, with the fate of the socialist revolution in Europe." (page 247)

Lenin, in April 1917, came to identical conclusions. By 1924, the term permanent revolution had not been an issue for years, and the debate about it was purely historical.

For the bureaucracy, however, the party's commitment to revolutionary internationalism  defended above all by Trotsky  was becoming an intolerable thorn in the flesh.

With the defeat of the German revolution it became clear that the Soviet Union faced a period of prolonged isolation. To the bureaucracy, the perspective of world revolution became more and more wishful thinking. They wrote off the working class in the west, and settled down to the practical task of managing the Soviet Union in the midst of a capitalist world.

Material conditions call forth ideas. In the 1890s, Bernstein had developed the theory of reformism to justify the real-life retreat from the program of class struggle by the right wing of social democracy.

Similarly, in 1924-25, Stalin produced a theory which reflected the conservatism of the Soviet bureaucracy, expressing their opposition to the Marxist position that Trotsky represented, and attempting, in Marxist terms, to justify their break with it: the theory of socialism in one country.

Socialism in One Country

On the strength of three quotations plucked from Lenin's voluminous writings, Stalin in December 1924 put forward the unheard-of idea that socialism could be built in Russia without the victory of the working class in the developed countries.

This idea went counter to everything Lenin had tried to explain, even in the documents Stalin quoted. Lenin went no further than to point out that in Russia the political conditions for socialist transformation (a workers' regime supported by the peasantry) had been created by the October Revolution. At no stage did Lenin entertain the illusion that the economic preconditions existed in backward Russia.

Stalin's crude 'theory' of 'socialism in one country' had no basis in Marxism / Image: public domain

As late as February 1924, Stalin himself had still preached the exact opposite of socialism in one country:

"...can the final victory of socialism in one country be attained, without the joint efforts of the proletariat of several advanced countries? No, this is impossible...For the final victory of socialism, for the organization of socialist production, the efforts of one country, particularly of such a peasant country as Russia, are insufficient. For this the efforts of the proletarians of several advanced countries are necessary." (Stalin, Foundations of Leninism)

Yet, within months, Stalin took a completely different line:

"If we knew in advance that we are not equal to the task [of building socialism in Russia by itself], then why the devil did we have to make the October Revolution? If we have managed for eight years, why should we not manage in the ninth, tenth or fortieth year?" (Quoted in Carr, Socialism in One Country, Volume 2, page 181)

What made Stalin turn his ideas upside-down?

Basically, it was the changing balance of forces that emboldened the non-theorist Stalin to throw down the gauntlet to all the theorists of Marxism. The Opposition, the ideas of Marxism and the class demands of the workers were being silenced while the bureaucracy, increasingly arrogant, was prevailing.

The idea of revolutionary struggle against capitalism internationally (permanent revolution) was entirely alien to the new masters of the Soviet Union. Stalin's thoroughly dishonest argument was not a theory in the true sense of the word (an attempt at explaining reality). It was nothing more than an attempt at burying the program of permanent revolution, of Marxism itself.

To cover their tracks, the bureaucracy increasingly altered party history, and Marxist textbooks, to make it appear to the workers that their policy was the consistent continuation of Bolshevism. By November 1926, for example, Stalin felt able to declare:

"The party always took as its starting point the idea that the victory of socialism in one country means the possibility to build socialism in that country, and that this task can be accomplished with the forces of a singly country"! (Quoted by Woods and Grant, page 109)

Taken to its conclusions, Stalin's theory denied the need for a revolutionary International. Defence of socialism in the Soviet Union, in contrast to the building of socialism through world revolution, now became the primary task of the Communist parties internationally.

In practice, this meant uncritical support for the policies and national interests of the Soviet bureaucracy. (In 1943, Stalin himself confirmed this in the most blatant manner when he dissolved the Comintern  by then a bureaucratic shell  at the stroke of a pen, in order to prove to his wartime allies, the imperialist leaders Roosevelt and Churchill, that the Soviet leadership had abandoned all thought of world revolution.)

The Opposition were denounced as pessimists and cynics for questioning the bureaucracy's crude, anti-Marxist ideas.

In reality it was the Opposition who had consistently explained the need for industrialization to strengthen the basis of workers' rule in the Soviet Union. (For this, in turn, they were denounced as super-industrialisers!) But they had also explained that this in itself would not be enough to complete the transition to socialism.

On the other hand, cutting loose from the program of internationalism meant writing off the perspective of reconstruction in Russia in any real sense  i.e., as part of a socialist Europe. The bureaucracy's alternative was to rely more openly on the kulaks as mainstay of the national economy. Bukharin, in April 1925, went so far as to blurt out:

"To the peasants...we must say: Enrich yourselves, develop your farms, do not fear that constraint will be put on you." (Quoted in Carr, Socialism in One Country, Volume 1, page 280)

This slogan came under attack because it was too blatant and it was dropped by the central committee, but the general idea became party policy.

Stalin and Bukharin / Image: public domain

Before the year was out, Stalin was even considering whether to denationalise the land!

By this time the triumvirate was breaking up. Its purpose had been accomplished. Zinoviev and Kamenev had joined forces with the mediocrity Stalin out of hostility towards Trotsky; now they recoiled from the ruthless Stalin who had taken virtually all power into his own hands.

Political differences among the trio now began to surface.

At the party congress in December 1925, Zinoviev and Kamenev began to raise questions about Stalin's ideas. It was left to Trotsky, however, to develop a fundamental Marxist refutation of socialism in one country, and expose its inherent dangers.

Today the question has taken on even greater importance than in the 1920s. The powerful present-day Soviet regime has enormous influence in the mass movement internationally, especially in the underdeveloped countries. The bureaucracy's philosophy of socialism in one country (or national roads to socialism) has become the conscious or unconscious starting point for many of the leaders.

Trotsky's reply to Stalin remains the clearest basis for answering these ideas and working out the Marxist way forward.

Why Marxism Stands for Internationalism

Trotsky demonstrated that the program of internationalism (now labelled permanent revolution) had never been challenged in the Bolshevik Party prior to 1924. Stalin's crude challenge, however, made it necessary to once again explain the question fundamentally.

Trotsky started with the basic ideas of Marxism. Civilization, he explained, advances through the development of the productive forces  through the struggle by people and classes in society to supply their material needs, in the process stimulating the development of science, technology, politics and culture.

It was left to Trotsky to make a principled defence of Marxist Internationalism / Image: public domain

Social systems come into existence on the basis of the organization of production. A social system can only be swept away when it has come to the limits of its development, and a new revolutionary class, with the capacity to reorganize and further develop the forces of production, is prepared to take power.

The necessity for socialism arises out of the obstacles created by the capitalist system to the further development of the productive forces. The historical purpose of socialism is to develop society beyond the economic and political limits of capitalism, to new levels of abundance and freedom.

"Socialist society", as Trotsky explained, "can be built only on the most advanced productive forces...on combining, generalizing and bringing to maximum development the highest elements of modern technology...Socialism, however, must not only take over from capitalism the most highly developed productive forces but must immediately carry them onward...and give them a state of development such as has been unknown under capitalism." (The Third International After Lenin, pages 40-41)

The struggle and sacrifice to end capitalism and build socialism, in other words, could have no justification  and no attraction for the mass of working people  if it represented no advance (or a step backward) from the standards of living that capitalism is able to offer.

Why does socialist transformation make possible a huge leap forward even from the highest achievements of capitalism? On the one hand, because it frees production from the anarchy of market forces, the distortions of private ownership and the limits of national states. On the other hand, it liberates the collective ingenuity and creativity of the mass of working people from the repressive discipline of capitalist production.

Workers' democratic rule, in other words, is an essential political precondition for the transition to socialism and communism.

Why can this transformation not be carried through within the borders of one country? Precisely because capitalism has developed as a world system. The most advanced productive forces are not contained in any single country; they depend on the combined efforts of the working class in whole series of countries, tied together through world trade. Certainly they could not exist in an underdeveloped country, such as Russia in 1917.

The transition to socialism  for control of the most advanced productive forces  can only be an international process, depending on the conquest of power by the working class in at least a number of industrialized countries (which would seal the doom of the capitalist class on a world scale).

As long as workers' rule remains confined to a single country, it will face the combined hostility of the capitalists of the world, with vast economic and military resources at their disposal.

Stalin's crude argument, that the October revolution could have no other aim than the construction of socialism in Russia, therefore completely missed the point. Lenin, in one of many statements on the question, answered him in advance:

"Single-handed, the Russian proletariat cannot bring the socialist revolution to a victorious conclusion. But it can give the Russian revolution a mighty sweep that would create the most favorable conditions for a socialist revolution, and would, in a sense, start it. It can facilitate the rise of a situation in which its chief, its most trustworthy and reliable ally, the European and American socialist proletariat, could join the decisive battles." (Collected Works, Volume 23, page 372)

What Socialism in One Country Really Meant

The Soviet Union could not overtake capitalism and advance to socialism because it did not dispose over the highest productive forces within its boundaries. Even basic necessities for survival could only be obtained through trade with the imperialist powers.

The immediate challenge was to catch up with capitalism, to conquer the commanding heights of the world economy, and so lay the basis for constructing socialism as an international system.

The Soviet Union's fundamental weakness, in other words, lay in its economic and technical backwardness compared with the advanced capitalist countries. Backwardness was the root of bureaucratization (see Section 6); bureaucratic rule excluded workers' democracy, and formed an absolute barrier to socialist transformation.

The bureaucracy persisted in seeing the international problems of the revolution in essentially military terms, and gambled on the ability of the Soviet Union to defeat future imperialist invasions.

As Trotsky pointed out, even the military threat of imperialism resulted from its technical superiority. But, he added, "it is not so much military intervention as the intervention of cheaper capitalist commodities that constitutes perhaps the greatest immediate menace to the Soviet Union. (The Third International After Lenin, page 37)

In other words: the Soviet masses would defend their gains, and fight the threat of open counter-revolution. But demoralized and disillusioned by bureaucratic rule, they could not be expected to defend their own backwardness against a capitalist enemy apparently offering them a superior way of life.

14th Conference of the All Union Communist Party / Image: public domain

In the event it was not the armies of capitalist democracies that invaded the Soviet Union in 1941 but those of Hitler. With them, instead of cheaper commodities for the Russian masses, they brought barbed wire and the gruesome paraphernalia of slave labour and extermination camps.

Subjected to barbarous racial repression by the Nazis, the Russian workers rallied heroically in defence of the Soviet Union.

Today the balance of forces internationally have swung massively against the imperialist powers, and there is no longer any possibility of capitalist restoration in the Soviet Union. The bureaucracy have diverted huge resources into military development, and transformed the Soviet Union into a nuclear superpower. The threat of imperialist invasion has effectively been ended.

But even this spectacular economic progress, possible only on the basis of a state-owned and planned economy, could not overcome the distortions in Russian society created by the rule of a privileged elite.

Bureaucratic repression stifled all initiative from below. The workers were driven forward through a combination of bribes and compulsion. The bureaucracy's soothing phrase of building socialism at a snail's pace (in Bukharin's phrase) made a mockery of workers' aspirations.

All it meant, in real terms, was the laborious struggle to develop the state-owned economy in a backward country  under their own rule.

Marx and Engels, as early as 1845, had anticipated why socialism could not be built under conditions such as these:

"This development of productive forces...is an absolutely necessary practical premise [of socialism] because without it want is merely made general, and with destitution the struggle for necessities and all the old filthy business would necessarily be reproduced." (From The German Ideology, in Selected Works, Volume I, page 37)

This insight was starkly borne out by the bureaucratic degeneration of the Russian workers' state. The bureaucracy could only build a society of inequality. With inequality came increasing corruption and police repression on the part of the bureaucracy and, among the masses, a grim battle of "each one for himself".

A letter from a kolkhoz (collective farm) worker, written in April 1930, summed up the new relations being created between the working people and their bureaucratic masters:

"The members of the kolkhoz have for two months received no pay...Fifty percent of the revenue goes to the kolkhoz treasury, fifty percent for taxes and rent. What remains for the workers? No one knows. The president pays himself several flour certificates each month and refrains from all physical labor..."

A factory worker in March 1930:

"They are squeezing us, and how! Twenty-five percent increase in the productivity of labour and 1.9 percent increase in wages. For three years wages have not varied, though production has very much increased. Five men to the brigade instead of six, without change of equipment. The system of bonuses is applied in such a way that...they should be paid every six months, but in reality no one hopes to receive any..." (Quoted by Serge, From Lenin to Stalin, pages 60, 61)

Socialism cannot be built under these conditions. The essential political condition for the development of socialism, created by the October revolution and destroyed by the bureaucratic counter-revolution, has still to be re-conquered: democratic working-class rule.

Zinoviev and Kamenev, with their supporters, joined forces with Trotsky and the Opposition in 1926 in a struggle to pull the party back from Stalin's increasingly anti-Marxist course. Stalin, for his part, joined forces with the extreme right, pro-kulak wing of the party, headed by Bukharin, for the purpose of defeating the United Left Opposition.

This struggle was cut across by new upheavals internationally.

In Britain, the general strike of May 1926 provoked a profound crisis. The small Communist Party was presented with the opportunity of leading hundreds of thousands of workers in opposition to the reformist TUC leadership, and prepare the transfer of power to the working class.

But the Stalinist leadership in Russia was tied in an opportunistic alliance with the 'lefts' on the TUC General Council, and permitted no struggle against them. The TUC right wing betrayed the strike at the first opportunity. Stalin's 'left' allies offered no resistance.

After 10 days, with the strike still spreading, the General Council unanimously called it off and surrendered to the bosses. This condemned the British working class to a historic defeat.

"The cause of the proletarian revolution in the West", wrote Serge, "seemed lost for many years to come. And now an immense light was rising in the East; the Chinese masses...were advancing from victory to victory." (From Lenin to Stalin, page 44)

The Chinese working class was moving independently of the nationalist movement, the Kuomintang, led by the reactionary Chiang Kai-shek. The Chinese Communist Party was becoming a mass force. Shanghai and Hankow were in the hands of the workers. A struggle for power was inevitable.

Chiang Kai Shek and wife with Lieutenant General Stilwell / Image: public domain

Again, Stalinist opportunism stood in the way of victory. Stalin and the Comintern leadership had dangerous illusions in Chiang Kai-shek, and declared the Kuomintang to be "a revolutionary bloc of the workers, peasants, intellectuals, and urban democracy [i.e. the capitalist class] on the basis of a community of class interests...in the struggle against the imperialists and the whole militarist-feudal order". (Resolution of ECCI, March 1926)

In practice this meant that the Communist Party had to submit to Chiang's authority. What was this except the old Menshevik idea of common struggle by the working class and the 'democratic capitalists' for democracy on a capitalist basis?

The Left Opposition fought this policy every inch of the way. They ex
by Larissa Faw , February 8, 2018

FCB New York and the NYU School of Professional Studies (NYUSPS) are collaborating on a new, industry-focused graduate honors course for students which debuted this winter.

The 14-week "FCB Real World" course features FCB NY executives presenting creative briefs outlining a marketing problem that requires an "actionable solution."

Students with a minimum GPA of 3.75 who are pursuing the MS in Integrated Marketing within the Schools Division of Programs in Business will then apply the knowledge they aquire through their degree studies to develop applicable client solutions.

They will be tasked with collectively working through all stagesfrom the client brief through researching, creative brainstorming and outlining strategies and timelinesto the final client pitch.

The program is designed to replicate an actual agency experience, meaning it will incorporate all relevant aspects of marketing, including, but not limited to, broadcast, digital, print and out-of-home.

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Concepts will potentially be implemented by the agency in its real-world business practice.

The collaboration with NYUSPS is the first initiative for FCB NY as part of a greater commitment by the IPG-owned agency to connect with upcoming talent, as well as develop programs that can serve as a laboratory to "better understand the impact of societys behaviors and attitudes, and how consumers think and absorb information," says an agency spokesperson.

The partnership happened after FCB NY talent started volunteering as guest lecturers at NYU.

FCB New York is looking at what will take us into the creative future," says Ari Halper, Chief Creative Officer of FCB NY. This partnership provides an excellent opportunity for our agency to continue its commitment to diversity, as Gen Z is said to be the most ethnically diverse generation in U.S. history."
by Alex Weprin , February 9, 2018

YouTube said in a statement Friday morning that it would be temporarily removing all ads from the channel operated by the creator Logan Paul.

This is not a decision we made lightly; however, we believe he has exhibited a pattern of behavior in his videos that makes his channel not only unsuitable for advertisers, but also potentially damaging to the broader creator community, the statement read in part.

Over the past week, Paul published videos to his channel that showed him using a taser on a dead rat, and joking about eating Tide detergent pods.

Paul has been in hot water since the beginning of January, when he uploaded a video to his channel of him and his friends discovering a dead body in Japan.

Paul subsequently pulled the video down and apologized, but the damage was done. With more than 15 million subscribers, and as a member of the Google Preferred advertiser program, Pauls video spurred a new discussion about brand safety on the platform.

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YouTube removed Pauls channel from the Preferred advertiser program, (in which advertisers pay premium CPMs to have their ads featured on only the most popular and brand-friendly channels), and canceled all projects it had with Paul for the YouTube Red subscription service.

The company also changed the rules for which channels are eligible to be monetized, and added manual review to all videos on the Preferred platform in an effort to soothe advertiser concerns.
by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, February 9, 2018

A coalition of state attorneys general are weighing in against a class-action privacy settlement that requires Google to pay more than $5 million to nonprofits.

"A settlement cannot be in the classs best interest ... where, as here, it generates millions of distributable settlement dollars (and releases millions of claims) yet the class languishes with no direct compensation," the law enforcement officials write in a friend-of-the-court brief filed this week with the Supreme Court. The attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Texas and 13 other states are asking the Supreme Court to decide whether the settlement should have been approved.

The deal, cleared last year by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, requires Google to donate $5.3 million to six nonprofits -- Carnegie Mellon University, World Privacy Forum, Chicago-Kent College of Law, Stanford Law, Harvard's Berkman Center and the AARP Foundation. The deal also requires Google to pay more than $2.1 million to the attorneys who brought the lawsuit, with the remainder of the settlement fund going to court costs.

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The settlement resolved a 2010 lawsuit alleging that Google violated users' privacy by including their search queries in "referer headers" -- the information that is automatically transmitted to sites that users click on when they leave Google. Some queries, like people's searches for their own names, can offer clues to users' identities. (Google no longer transmits search queries when people click on links in the results.)

Theodore Frank, an activist who founded the Center for Class Action Fairness, unsuccessfully argued to the 9th Circuit that the deal shouldn't have been approved by the trial judge, because it doesn't compensate Google users.

In January, he asked the Supreme Court to hear his challenge to the settlement.

A "class action settlement that awards absent class members no relief at all in exchange for their claims -- no money, no alteration of the defendants allegedly injurious conduct, not even coupons -- is not 'fair, reasonable, and adequate' by any measure," Frank's lawyers wrote in a petition seeking review.

The 16 attorneys general argue that "consumer-positive outcomes" occur when judges reject settlements that call for donations to nonprofits, as opposed to consumers. The officials point to a Facebook's settlement of allegations that its former sponsored stories ads misappropriated users' identities.

The trial judge presiding over that dispute initially rejected a $20 million settlement that would have required Facebook to donate $10 million to nonprofits. Facebook and the lawyers representing the class subsequently agreed to a settlement that called for the company to pay around $15 to users who were featured in sponsored stories ads.
by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, February 9, 2018

Four Senate lawmakers have introduced a bill that would enable law enforcement officials to obtain people's emails, documents, photos and other digital data, regardless of where the data is physically stored.

The Clarifying Overseas Use of Data (CLOUD) Act, introduced this week by Senators Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Chris Coons (D-Delaware), Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island), provides that U.S. search warrants for data stored in the cloud are valid, even where the material is held in servers located outside the country.

Currently, it's not clear whether Microsoft, Google, Facebook and other tech companies must comply with search warrants for users' data that's stored overseas. The Supreme Court is slated to decide that question in a battle between Microsoft and the Department of Justice.

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In that case, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York ruled that Microsoft need not turn over a suspected drug seller's emails, which are physically stored in a data center in Ireland. Federal authorities are now asking the Supreme Court to reverse that decision and order Microsoft to turn over the material.

Digital rights groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation are criticizing the proposed bill, arguing that it gives too much power to law enforcement, and sends the wrong message to other countries.

"The CLOUD Act would give unlimited jurisdiction to U.S. law enforcement over any data controlled by a service provider, regardless of where the data is stored and who created it," the EFF writes in a blog post. "The breadth of such unilateral extraterritorial access creates a dangerous precedent for other countries who may want to access information stored outside their own borders, including data stored in the United States."

The CLOUD Act also would allow foreign governments to enter into cross-border data agreements with the U.S. Those pacts could require U.S. companies to turn over users' emails and other data to foreign officials, even when they haven't obtained warrants or followed other procedures that are typically required in the U.S.

The digital rights group Center for Democracy & Technology, which has criticized the proposed bill, says it should be revised to "ensure that cross-border data demands by the U.S. and other governments conform to strong human rights standards."

The group adds: "Absent these improvements, the CLOUD Act will erode trust in the privacy of data stored in the cloud.

But tech companies endorse the measure. Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Oath write in a letter to lawmakers that the proposed legislation would allow "law enforcement to investigate cross-border crime and terrorism in a way that avoids international legal conflicts."
A new study has discovered that adding virtual reality cognitive behavioral therapy to the standard treatment for psychotic disorders is safe and can reduce paranoia and anxiety. Share on Pinterest Could VR improve the impact of CBT in treating psychotic disorders? In a paper published in The Lancet Psychiatry, the researchers state that to their knowledge, theirs is the first randomized controlled trial of virtual reality (VR)-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) that has attempted to improve social functioning and decrease paranoid thoughts in people with psychotic disorders. The addition, explains lead author Roos M. C. A. Pot-Kolder, from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in the Netherlands, of virtual reality CBT to standard treatment reduced paranoid feelings, anxiety, and use of safety behaviors in social situations, compared with standard treatment alone. The study compared two groups of similar people with psychotic disorder: one (the intervention group) received the usual treatment plus VR CBT, and the other (the waiting list control group) continued to receive the usual treatment. The usual treatment consisted of taking antipsychotic medication, having regular contact with a psychiatrist, and receiving support from a psychiatric nurse to improve functioning in social and community settings, daily activities, and self-care. Although the studys results are promising, its scope did not include looking at the long-term effects of VR CBT and more research is needed before the treatment could be considered for widespread clinical use. The researchers also urge that further studies should now compare the treatment effects and cost-effectiveness of VR CBT with those of standard CBT, as their study could not rule out that the beneficial effects might have come from just having an additional treatment.

Alternative thoughts and behaviors CBT is a widely studied and commonly used psychotherapy type that combines cognitive therapy and behavioral therapy. Its methods vary according to the illness or problem being treated. The underlying principle of CBT is the same as that of all psychotherapies  that is, that feelings, thoughts, and behaviors are interlinked and influence well-being. The main difference between CBT and traditional forms of psychotherapy, such as psychoanalysis, is that CBT focuses primarily on current problems and how to solve them and less on trying to understand the past. For example, you may explain in a CBT session that you recently said hello to someone you knew as you passed them in the street but they did not respond. Your assessment of the incident is, Sally doesnt like me, she ignored my greeting. This makes you feel bad and want to avoid Sally in the future. The CBT therapist might then encourage you to consider an alternative assessment and a more neutral response, such as Sally didnt notice, me, perhaps she is unwell. Maybe I should call her and see how she is. Following this insight, the next step would be an exposure-based therapeutic exercise, where you try to put alternative and more neutral thoughts and behaviors into practice in your own real-life scenarios. In their new study paper, the researchers note that 90 percent of people with psychosis believe that they are under threat and that others want to harm them. As a result, they avoid being with other people, have few friends and acquaintances, and spend a lot of time on their own. Although CBT has been used very successfully in the treatment of psychosis, its ability to reduce social functioning and paranoia is limited. One reason might be that the right scenarios for practicing alternative responses might not arise, or they may be so infrequent that they have no therapeutic value. Another is that there is no chance for the therapist to control the situation so that more relevant  and fewer unwanted  events occur.

VR CBT allows control of exposure scenarios The VR CBT that the researchers used in the trial allows the scenario to be controlled. Altogether, 116 participants took part in the trial. They were randomly assigned in equal numbers to either the intervention group or the control group (58 in each group). All continued to receive standard care throughout the study, with the intervention group receiving VR CBT. The subjects underwent assessments at baseline, 3 months after completion of the CBT treatment, and then again at 6 months. These gave measures of social participation (or the amount of time spent in the company of others), perceived social threat, momentary anxiety, and momentary paranoia. The VR CBT took the form of 16 sessions lasting 1 hour each over 812 weeks. During the sessions, participants were exposed  with the help of a head-mounted display and a gamepad  to four types of VR scenario: on a bus, in a street, in a cafe, and in a store. The system allowed the therapist to personalize the scenarios for each participant and produce social cues that triggered paranoid thoughts, fear, and safety behavior, such as avoiding eye contact. The therapist could control the number of other parties (the avatars) in the scenario, what they looked like, and their behavior toward the participants.

Reduced paranoia, anxiety, safety behaviors As the scenarios played out, the therapists could talk to the participants and help them to explore, consider, and challenge their responses to the cues. The results of the trial showed that, compared with the controls at the 3-month assessment, the VR CBT participants were not spending more time with others. However, because the 6-month assessment showed that the control group was spending less time with others and the VR CBT group was spending a little more time, there seemed to be a significant difference in their social participation score at that point. The results also showed reductions in paranoia and anxiety in the VR CBT group at both the 3-month and 6-month assessment, compared with the controls. But there was no such reduction in the perceived social threat score. In addition, at the 3-month and 6-month assessments, the VR CBT participants had fewer social cognition problems and used fewer safety behaviors.
You can either hate Chinese products or love them, but you have to agree with the fact that the Chinese are always one step ahead when it comes to technology. Even the Chinese Police stay up-to-date with whatever new gadget is being developed and the latest addition to their already long-list of insane technology is a pair of smart glasses.

And by smart glasses, we do not mean any smart glasses. The glasses that we are talking about today come with facial recognition technology that can help the police scan and identify criminals from among a crowd.

 Twitter

Now, this may sound like a nightmare to some as it could also appear as an invasion of privacy, but to be honest, they are fascinating.

Within a matter of seconds, these glasses identify the person at whom the wearer is looking. The attached camera takes precise measurements of the width and depth of a face and compares it to a central database of wanted criminals.

 Twitter

Currently, police with these smart glasses have been deployed at the four entrances to the Zhengzhou East Railway Station in Henan since the Spring Festival travel rush began.

 Twitter

And already they have helped capture seven people wanted in connection with major cases, and 26 others traveling under a false or assumed identity. The authorities feel that these glasses are of utmost importance especially since the Lunar New Year is just around the corner and is one of the busiest travel periods in China.

 Reuters

While all this sounds great and will prove to be an asset for the Chinese Police, we can't help but think about this technology can easily be misused. Especially in a country like China which is already known for its unusual ways of surveillance of its citizens.
SNOVER - Michigan Sugar Company Board Chairman Richard Gerstenberger, who farms in Snover, was elected this week as president of the American Sugarbeet Growers Association by farmer representatives from across the nation.

He was elected by the 10,000-member, 11-state sugarbeet organization and will serve a two-year term.

Gerstenberger is a longtime leader in Michigan agriculture, having served on the Michigan Sugar Company Board of Directors since 2007, including 10 years as board chairman.

"It is an honor and a privilege to lead this dedicated and talented group of farmers, and I am excited about the future of our industry," said Gerstenberger, who took the helm Feb. 2 during the American Sugarbeet Growers Association annual meeting.

"There are challenges in the U.S. sugar market and legislative challenges in our industry, but sugar growers have always worked hard on both fronts, and will continue to do so," he added. "The sugar industry in Michigan, and across this nation, is vital to thousands of family farming operations. I look forward to working with the American Sugarbeet Growers Association to preserve the strength of those farms for future generations."

Gerstenberger is a third-generation Michigan farmer who operates a family farm operation that includes his parents, Dwain and Shirley, and his wife, Linda. Sons Dan (wife Amanda) and Mike (wife Kayla) also farm with them on approximately 3,000 acres in rotation of corn, soybeans, wheat, alfalfa and sugarbeets. The Gerstenbergers also have two daughters - Jennifer and Jillian, and five grandchildren - Clayton, Liam, Kendall, Avery and Bodie.

Gerstenberger is a well-respected community leader in Michigan, having served on the Sandusky Board of Education, the Argyle Township Board of Review and the Michigan Farm Bureau State Dry Bean/Sugarbeet Advisory Committee. He also has been an independent Sales Agent for Betaseed for 22 years, and is a member of Peace Lutheran Church, the Sanilac County Farm Bureau, the Sanilac County Corn Growers and the Michigan Corn Growers Association.

This marks the third time a Michigan sugarbeet grower has been elected to serve as president of the American Sugarbeet Growers Association. Ray VanDriessche and John Heussner previously served. With more than 10,000 sugarbeet farmers in 11 states producing sugarbeets, the American Sugarbeet Growers Association is a key voice for sugarbeet growers and U.S. agriculture in Washington, D.C.
HARBOR BEACH -- For decades, the Harbor Beach Maritime Festival has been the city's largest annual event.

And at this week's city council meeting, town officials took decisive action to help prepare for this year's festival.

Portable toilet rental was high on the city's list of priorities at the meeting. Harbor Beach will pay DJ's Portable Toilet Rentals & Septic Service $1,100 for 15 toilets and one portable sink. The units are scheduled to be set up by July 11. The contractual agreement includes service to the units on July 13-15.

In another move to prepare for Maritime, the council agreed to rent a large tent from Caro Rental. The tent will measure 60-by-150 feet, and it will come with sides. The fee for the rental will be $2,600.

Also, the council agreed to hire a part-time employee to work for the Harbor Beach Parks and Recreation Department. Harbor Beach High School student Jacob Kirsch will work this summer, and he will be paid minimum wage. Although the hiring of Kirsch is not directly related to Maritime, his addition to the work crew will help all activities this summer, including Maritime.

In other business:

 The city agreed to purchase a grit classifier for the Waste Water Treatment Plant. According to Mayor Gary Booms, the device filters out sand and other items that do not break down easily in the water treatment process. He said the grit classifier could have been repaired for about $16,000, but the city opted to purchase a new one. It will be purchased from WesTech at a cost of $18,704.

 The city agreed to revamp the waterline system for the North Park Pavilion. Several companies were contacted for bids. City Director Ron Wruble and the Harbor Beach Administration Committee recommended purchasing the parts form Michigan Pipe & Valve Company, and the city accepted their recommendation at a cost of $2,978. Booms pointed out city employees (DPW) will install the parts.

 Booms read a thank you letter from local Cub Scouts. They recently attended a tour of the city hall, police station and DPW. The tours and information on local government was an integral part of the scouts earning Building a Better World pins.

 Council member Robert Swartz reminded the council and audience the annual Valentine's Day Dinner and Dance will take place at the Ubly Fox Hunter's Club on Saturday, Feb. 10. The 15th annual event is sponsored by the Harbor Beach Hospital Foundation. Dinner will include prime rib, baked chicken, an assortment of salads and sides, and dessert. For ticket information, call the hospital at 989-479-5023.

The council is scheduled to meet next at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 20 at city hall.
PIGEON -- During Coming Home week, the Laker Junior High student council led a coin drive fundraiser to benefit the Huron County Child Abuse/Neglect (CA/N) Council.

The goal was to raise $600, and students brought in a total of $777. Teachers and staff members offered up incentives for students to meet the $600 goal.

Some offered to dye their hair, a few offered to have a pie thrown in their face at the Coming Home pep assembly, and one staff member agreed to have his head shaved. The sixth grade raised the most money.
Did you watch the president's State of the Union address?

Article II Section 3 Clause 1 in our Constitution reads: The President shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the state of the union and recommend to their consideration measures he shall judge necessary and expedient.

Pretty interesting, that quote.

I tuned in and watched with curiosity to see the reaction of those attending. Many legislators seemed to be sitting on their hands, unable to applaud some of the very worthy commentary. Reports of successful activities undertaken in the past 13 months were ignored. As the TV cameras panned the assembly, it was apparent some members of Congress were so elderly and frail it was difficult for them to raise their hands to clap. Standing to do so would have required an even greater effort. As I watched, it was once again verified to me the time has come to set age, or at least, term limits.

Viewing the lengthy address by the president, hearing his appeals for bipartisan cooperation, and seeing the hard-set expressions of many elected officials made me aware that the two-party system is failing. Our country is perhaps ready for a third party or abandonment of one of the current parties.

I was delighted and impressed with the announcement of the record-breaking numbers of new jobs created in the past year  especially in manufacturing, which had been stagnant for some time. The job increases have allowed, dreamers and illegal immigrants of all colors and nationalities, an opportunity to become U.S. citizens. The new jobs have also allowed many of our citizens, languishing on unemployment rolls, to return to gainful employment. The president very proudly told us unemployment claims have dropped to a 45 year low.

Immigration was a topic thoroughly discussed due to a pending bill placed before the assembly. President Trump pointed out his belief that anyone presently legally in our country who is willing to work should be allowed to stay. He asked for sweeping changes in the way our government deals with the immigration policy, but again, stressed that those who were skilled and willing to work should be given the opportunity to enter the country.

As I listened to the address, I recalled when I was a young boy going to school with immigrant kids from Poland. They would tell me they had to sit down with their parents on a daily basis and teach them what they had learned in school. I was told it was necessary they know many topics because they had to pass a written test when they applied for citizenship. After a lengthy passage of time, when they were made citizens, there was a ceremony that family members and friends attended welcoming them to our country officially. I know this because I was invited to some of those events and watched as the parents of my friends displayed with pride their citizenship certificates.

The president talked about jobs that will put thousands of people to work. Rebuilding our infrastructure; roads, bridges, and railroads. The cost could exceed $1 trillion, but it will be paid to those workers who have gained skills necessary to complete the tasks. While talking about how to achieve the results, he mentioned one of my favorite topics: supporting trade schools. It has always been my belief that young people, who enjoy working with their hands, should have access to an education that will enable them to achieve employment in the trades.

I was very interested when the president, once again, announced he was going to find out why citizens of our country have to pay such exorbitant amounts for prescription drugs. He said one of his greatest priorities is to reduce the price of prescription drugs. And he said prices will come down. People of my generation will be eagerly watching to see if he makes good on his directive.

The day after the presidents address, it was thoroughly dissected, criticized and commended by many television and radio news stations. There were reports that 45.6 million viewers tuned in. This number only represents 14 percent of the 323 million total U.S. population. What was surprising, however, was that 21 million people reacted on social media. This fact may be more about our addiction to social media. I listened to a few who called a television news station. They represented people from across the country who voiced some very passionate opinions.

As I see it, our population is very tuned in to what is going on in our government. They are looking for new, fresh ideas and new people who are strong enough in their beliefs to support improvements.

Capt. Fred Davis is a retired charter fishing captain and long-time columnist. His "As I See It" columns appear bi-weekly in the Huron Daily Tribune.
MIDDLETOWN  Fire investigators are still trying to determine the cause of a two-alarm blaze that displaced 11 families at the Northwoods East Apartments on Town Colony Drive Thursday morning.

Officials pinpointed the fires origin as the balcony of a third-floor unit at the complexs 10-12 apartment building after speaking with a person who lives there, Westfield Fire District Marshal Art Higgins said Friday.

Twenty-five residents, including 10 children, were assisted with housing and personal care items, according to the American Red Cross, and relocated.

Personnel at the station, seven-tenths of a mile down the street, were alerted to the fire at 11:15 a.m. They arrived to find the structure engulfed in flames, South District Fire Chief Michael Howley told reporters Thursday afternoon.

A dog died from injuries it sustained in the fire, Higgins said, and three residents were treated on scene for smoke inhalation, but none were significantly injured. In all, about a dozen pets  cats, dogs and birds  were safely removed from the structure.

Another man hurt his wrist during the blaze.

He came out, but then he was going to go back in, Higgins said. He slipped on the ice and fell.

Firefighters, who arrived on scene within three to five minutes, were met with a very chaotic scene, Howley said.

Residents from many units were panicking and watching what was going on, he said. There was heavy fire coming through the roof. The smoke that was billowing out of here was seen throughout Middletown.

At one point during operations, firefighters were evacuated because the roof was beginning to collapse, officials said.

Higgins, the state fire marshal and property manager finished up work Thursday night at 9.

Because the fire originated on an upper floor, the fire marshal said, it wasnt discovered until the blaze was fully involved.

Youre on a disadvantage once it starts on a third-floor balcony and goes into the roof, he said. It may or may not be seen for a while. Its easier to discover on the lower floor level.

That hour of the day, Im surprised more people didnt find it or notice it sooner, Higgins said.

Although the cause has yet to be determined, Higgins did say state statute prohibits people from firing up any type of grill on their porches.

We try to enforce it, he said. We try to keep ahead of it, but its hard to regulate, too.

Several other surrounding communities provided mutual aid, including Wallingford, Portland, South Fire District, Middletown, Meriden, East Berlin and Cromwell.

Meanwhile, the property manager is collecting gift cards in any denomination for local businesses such as supermarkets and stores such as Walmart. People may bring their donated cards to 5 Town Colony weekdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. For information, call 860-635-3449.

Managing Editor Cassandra Day can be reached at cassandra.day@hearst

mediact.com or Twitter @cassandrasdis
NORWALK  Seven Democratic gubernatorial hopefuls staked their ground on issues important to their partys base while drawing a firm line against Republican President Donald Trump during a candidates forum at Norwalk City Hall on Monday evening.

Your governor is not going to represent Trump values, but Connecticut values, said Ned Lamont, a Greenwich businessman who described himself as unafraid of standing up to the status quo. We celebrate our diversity. We welcome people from a variety of different backgrounds, wherever they come from, were stronger for it. And yes, Im going to be a champion of women.

About 100 people attended the candidates forum hosted by the Norwalk Democratic Town Committee in the Common Council chambers.

The gubernatorial hopefuls, as well as Democrats running for secretary of the state, attorney general and state treasurer, pitched their ideas and afterward answered questions.

Former state Democratic Party Vice Chairwoman Dita Bhargava described herself as a pro-business-progressive candidate who would push for paid family leave, student loan forgiveness and stronger cities with affordable housing. She rejected that businesses leave Connecticut because of taxes.

Its about the ecosystem, Bhargava said. We have to have better relationships between the government, the private sector and our universities.

Luke Bronin, mayor of Hartford, presented himself as having made difficult decisions to address his citys financial woes while being unafraid to challenge Trump.

As a mayor, Ive been proud to stand up to Donald Trump as hes bullied sanctuary cities, Bronin said. Ive been proud to pass and to push for ordinances that protected a womans right to choose even as the Trump administration was defunding Planned Parenthood.

Susan Bysiewicz counted her 12 years as secretary of the state and her work as a business attorney as among her qualifications to be governor.

Ive spent the last eight years helping more than 80 companies across Connecticut create thousands of good-paying jobs, Bysiewicz said. We need a governor that also has private-sector experience, because our economy needs to work for everyone, and we need a leader who will bring a vision of what we have to do.

Sean Connolly, a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve and former commissioner of the state Department of Veterans Affairs, vowed to create opportunity as was afforded his parents who immigrated to Connecticut from Ireland a half-century ago.

Too many people dont believe the opportunity that my family had over the last three generations exists anymore, Connolly said. And so we have to do better, and thats why (my wife) Carol and I are in this. Were partners, we made the decision together, because we want to ensure and expand the Connecticut opportunity for everyone, no matter who you are.

Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim acknowledged making some terrible mistakes  he went to prison for a 2003 felony conviction on public corruption charges  but said he returned and balanced the citys budget, reduced crime and fostered redevelopment. He said Connecticuts future is in its cities.

It relies in revitalizing our cities, even more than were doing now, recognizing the great choice that we have in investing in them, Ganim said. Not just in transportation and infrastructure, but ways in which young people ... want to come back and live in our cities.

Jonathan Harris, former state consumer protection commissioner, described himself as a proven progressive problem-solver who is able to bring people together to find solutions.

I get things done, whether it was as mayor of West Hartford, as state senator, as deputy treasurer, as commissioner of consumer protection or in my private-sector law practice and economic and real-estate business that I have, Harris said. With all of the problems were talking about, you need someone whos going to be able to hit the ground running.

The candidates expressed support for medical marijuana, but differed somewhat on legalizing recreational use of the drug.

Im open to it. I havent committed to doing it, but as a results-driven leader, as a leader who will make decisions based on data ... Im certainly open to it, Connolly said.
Middletown  MDA 36 (Mass Dispensing Area 36: Cromwell, Durham, Middlefield, and Middletown health departments) will hold another seasonal flu on Saturday, Feb. 10 from 8-11 a.m. at City Hall, 245 deKoven Drive, Middletown. The clinic is being held because influenza activity continues to remain widespread in Connecticut and most of the country.

MDA and state health officials say its not too late to get vaccinated since flu season is not expected to peak until several more weeks and can last into early May. Getting a flu shot can help reduce the risk of becoming ill and spreading it to others.

The MDA 36 clinic will feature the highly safe and pure Flublok vaccine which does not contain eggs, preservatives, or harsh chemicals including thimerosal (a mercury derivative).

In order to receive a flu shot, participants must be at least 4 years of age, and in good health. Participants should bring a valid form of identification (e.g.; drivers license) and insurance card (co-payment will not be required). Those without insurance may be eligible to receive a flu shot at no cost. Flu shots will be given on a first-come, first-served basis (appointments will not be

taken). Residency is not required. Anyone over 18 years of age will be offered Flublok vaccine.

Participants under 18, will receive traditional influenza vaccine. Both vaccines will be administered by injection only (nasal mist will not be available).

Participants are encouraged to save time by downloading and completing the Immunization Consent Form@: cromwellct.gov; townofdurhamct.org or middletownct.gov.

Anyone with questions should call 860-638-4962. For more information about Flublock vaccine, please visit: www.flublock.com.

Museum receives gift of photographs

LYME  The Lyman Allyn Art Museum announces the recent gift of 263 photographs by contemporary photographers Kristin Capp, Donna Ferrato, Sally Gall, Ralph Gibson, Walter Looss, Joyce Tenneson, and Peter Turnley.

The photographs add depth and breadth to the museums growing holdings and offer great potential for multiple future exhibitions. Ranging widely in subject matter, the gift includes breathtaking landscapes and views of people and places from around the world, as well as detailed studies of flowers and trees, great moments and personalities in sports, and photojournalism ranging from coverage of world events to a focused look at the wellbeing of women and families. This generous gift, from donors Joseph DAngelo, Julie Dwyer & Dr. Thomas Dwyer, Karen Ganz, and Sonia Shah & Dr. Rahul Shah, was facilitated by Summit Art Advisory LLC of New Jersey, members said in a statement.

For more information contact Rebecca Marsie at 860-443-2545 x2112.

Cheese rolling part of Feb. 10 fundraiser

CENTERBROOK  Community Music School will present their second annual Taste of Italy fundraiser with a lively game of Italian cheese rolling on Feb. 10 at Angelini Wine in Centerbrook. Event proceeds will benefit scholarships and outreach programs at Community Music School. This event is presented by Guilford Savings Bank and includes fine Italian wines, cheese, antipasto, and a full spread of authentic, homemade Italian food. Guests will test their bowling skills with a little friendly competition in a rousing party game of cheese rolling, a tradition in many parts of Italy.

What is cheese rolling, anyway? Its a hilarious Italian game similar to bowling but with a wheel of Pecorino. Guests are encouraged to join the fun, either on the sidelines or in the middle of the action. Winner takes home the cheese.

Over the past few years, Community Music School has partnered with Angelini Wine to present unique benefit events that blend the arts with intimate guided tastings offered behind the scenes at the Angelini warehouse. Guilford Savings Bank joined as presenting sponsor in 2014 and Lewitz, Balosie, Wollack, Rayner & Giroux LLC is also on board as a partner this year.

Tickets are $65 per person and include all food, wine, and game entry. For additional information and to purchase tickets, visit www.community-music-school.org/cheese or call CMS at 860-767-0026.

Community Music School offers innovative music programming for infants through adults, building on a 34 year tradition of providing quality music instruction to residents of shoreline communities. CMS programs cultivate musical ability and creativity, and provide students with a thorough understanding of music so they can enjoy playing and listening for their entire lives. Learn more at www.community-music-school.org or call 860-767-0026.

VITA tax assistance available

EAST HAMPTON  The IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program offers free tax help for taxpayers with low- to-moderate-income age 60 and older.

Certified volunteers receive training sponsored by AARP and the IRS, and will be at the East Hampton Senior Center again this year to help prepare basic Federal and State tax returns. In addition to free tax return preparation assistance, the program also offers free electronic filing (e-filing).

Individuals taking advantage of the e-file program will receive their refunds in half the time compared to returns filed on paper  even faster when tax refunds are deposited directly into ones bank account.

To file taxes electronically on a married-filing-joint tax return, both spouses must be present to sign the required forms. Fridays, Feb. 9, 16, 23, March 2, 9, 16 and 23, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Call East Hampton Senior Center for an appointment at 860-267-4426 or stop in.
Two years into his rule, Tanzanian President John Magufuli has some unexpected new fans: his political opponents.

His chief rival in the 2015 vote, Edward Lowassa, has praised his reforms and urged others to support them. Another challenger became one of his regional commissioners, while two opposition lawmakers recently defected to the ruling party and will run as candidates in February by-elections.

These could be signs that Magufuli, who's nicknamed "the bulldozer," is finding popular support for his bids to tackle graft and challenge foreign companies like Barrick Gold Corp. and Bharti Airtel Ltd. for more revenue. But, following the arrests of other politicians and shuttering of several news outlets, some analysts say it also points to the decline of political dissent.

Tanzania's opposition was always limited. Magufuli's Chama Cha Mapinduzi party and its earlier iterations have ruled ever since the nation was unified in 1964, winning all five multi-party elections that began in 1995. All the same, rights groups and the opposition say there was leeway for criticism -- until recently. It comes as opposition movements elsewhere in East Africa feel the squeeze as leaders from Burundi to Uganda further entrench their reigns.

"Backing the opposition in an authoritarian state is backing a losing horse," said Dan Paget, a doctoral candidate researching Tanzania at the University of Oxford. "People are defecting from the opposition not only because they love Magufuli, but because they fear him."

The detention of some lawmakers last year for allegedly making inflammatory statements against the government sent a "strong message," according to Aidan Eyakuze, executive director of civil-society group Twaweza East Africa.

Politicians may also be seeking career advancement, according to Benson Bana, political science lecturer at the University of Dar es Salaam. "Some don't see that the opposition will win State House anytime soon, so see working for the ruling party as a chance to shape policy," Bana said.

The 2010 presidential candidate for the main opposition party Chadema, Wilbroad Slaa, was in November appointed ambassador to an as-yet unidentified country. This week he met Magufuli and praised him for solving problems he'd railed against in opposition, according to a presidential statement.

There could be a simpler reason for the fresh support: Magufuli is pursuing policies that were the opposition's. He's also gained backing from his confrontations with foreign investors: a demand for $190 billion in back taxes from Acacia Mining led to the company agreeing to establish a model to equally share the economic benefits from its mines and pay $300 million to the state as a "show of good faith."

The Chadema party "was united by its opposition to corruption in government" and Magufuli has made tackling graft his "moral mission," Paget said. "The same goes for mining: Chadema had won votes with their tough stance on mining companies for a decade, but in six months Magufuli garbed himself in the opposition's clothes."

Zitto Kabwe, leader of the opposition Alliance for Change and Transparency, acknowledged Magufuli's anti-graft crusade is "taking the message away from the opposition."

While presidential challenger Lowassa rebuffed an offer to rejoin the ruling party, others had fewer qualms. Lawrence Masha was home affairs minister in the government of Jakaya Kikwete, Magufuli's predecessor, before shifting to the opposition in 2015. He moved back -- because of Magufuli.

"While you may not always agree with the way he does things, his heart is in the right place and it is having an impact on the lives of everyday Tanzanians," Masha said. "There is accountability in Tanzania with regards to corruption, for example, for the first time in a long time."

It's unclear how effective that drive has been. While a May 2017 survey by the Afrobarometer research network showed 72 percent of Tanzanians thought there'd been a decline in graft, Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index ranked it one point worse in 2016 than in 2013.

A June poll by Twaweza showed 71 percent of Tanzanians approved of Magufuli's performance. While lower than the 96 percent he attracted a year before, it's more than the 58 percent of the national vote he garnered to win him the presidency.

The opposition needs to fully question government claims of progress, Eyakuze said.

Kabwe said they must offer fresh policies as alternatives to the ruling party, especially in areas where they control local governments.

"Places where the opposition have a mandate, we need to show improvements in anti-corruption and development," he said.
PORTLAND  Residents later this month will be asked to approve the purchase of a 5.28-acre parcel of land along the Connecticut River.

The Board of Selectman voted Wednesday to send the proposal to a Feb. 28 town meeting.

The property, comprising three contiguous parcels  222, 232 and 248 Brownstone Ave.  is the site of the former Connecticut Tar & Asphalt Co. It has been vacant for the past decade.

Town officials, with the backing of the state Department of Economic and Community Development office, believe the parcel can be cleaned up and repurposed for a variety of uses.

This site has always been an economic driver in our community, First Selectwoman Susan S. Bransfield said.

Now, town officials are intent upon bringing it back to economic viability, she said.

Among the possible uses for the site under study are a visitors center that could trace the history of quarrying brownstone in town, a waterfront restaurant and additional parking for the nearby Brownstone Exploration and Discovery Park.

The town has been negotiating with the owners of the property  the estate of the late John Balletti  for much of the past two years. It will pay $385,000 for the property, down from the nearly $900,000 initial asking price.

The town will use a short-term loan to fund the purchase, officials said Wednesday. Including costs associated with borrowing, the full purchase price will be $410,000, Bransfield said.

Because of the nature of product stored on the property, it is a brownfields site.

A brownfield is a property, the expansion, redevelopment or reuse of, which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant, according to the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

The town has been awarded two state grants: one for $200,000, used to determine the type of contaminants and map their location, and a second for $750,000, which will be used to remediate the site.

Lilia Kieltya, a community development agent for the DECD, was present at the selectmens meeting to assure the board members that grant funds are ready for the town to access.

There are also tanks and buildings on the site which will have to be demolished and recycled, according to Amy Vaillancort, a licensed environmental engineer with Tighe & Bond, which is working with the town on the project.

While the town is responsible for remediating the site, Vaillancourt said much of the contaminated dirt can be left on site if it is capped  covered over with asphalt or concrete. Approximately 1,200 to 1,500 tons of contaminated dirt will have to be removed from the site, she said.

However, that topsoil contains non-hazardous material which can be can be brought to a local site instead of being trucked to an out-of-state disposal area, resulting in a savings to the town, Vaillancourt said.

If residents approve the proposal at the town meeting, Bransfield said Portland will have 90 days to sign the purchase agreement.

The clean-up program, outlined in the initial evaluation of the site, will have to be put out to bid, Bransfield said. The proposed remediation plan is aggressive but achievable, she said.

Work should begin this year and carry forward into 2019. The plan contains the seeds of the development plan, Bransfield added: the clean-up, paving the parking lot, and installing the foundation for the building we hope to have there.

Sean Hayes, owner of Brownstone Exploration and Discovery Park, has encouraged us to both buy the site and remove the derelict tanks and buildings, Bransfield said. He said visitors to the park will welcome the chance to see the river.

Hayes has also said, with additional parking, he can increase the number of people who visit the water park, which is contained in a former brownstone quarry. This year for the first time, the park drew over 100,000 visitors.

Increasing visitors to the park benefits the town, which collects a share of fee from the parks entrance cost.

Bransfield is anxious to develop the site. For too long, she has said, the town has been lax in pressing development along the 10-plus mile riverfront, the longest of any town in the state.

She is particularly excited about the idea of a waterfront restaurant, which could serve both visitors to the water park and residents alike.

Reporter Jeff Mill covers East Hampton, Portland and Cromwell. Contact him at jeff.mill@hearstmediact.com.
The big parade to honor the military wanted by President Donald Trump might not come down Pennsylvania Ave. past the White House, the Pentagon said Thursday.

At a Pentagon press briefing, Dana White, the Defense Department's chief spokesperson, said that other options to Washington, D.C., would be under consideration for holding the parade that reportedly was inspired by Trump's admiration for the Bastille Day parade he attended in Paris last July.

"The president will decide," she said, once the Pentagon comes up with a plan. "We don't have a plan yet," she said, but the Army will take the lead in devising one.

"The president is looking for opportunities to honor our service members," White said. "The president is simply looking for options. The bottom line is we want to honor our service members."

At a White House briefing Wednesday, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis endorsed the parade but declined to discuss the costs.

"I think we're all aware in this country of the president's affection and respect for the military. We've been putting together some options. We'll send them up to the White House for decision," Mattis said.

No date for the parade has been set, but one option being considered is Nov. 11, which would be Veterans Day and also coincide with commemorations of the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I.

The plan for a parade has drawn criticism from Democrats, and an informal poll conducted by Military Times showed overwhelming opposition to the idea.

As of Thursday afternoon, more than 51,000 readers had responded and 89 percent said "No, It's a waste of money and troops are too busy."

The other 11 percent responded "Yes, it's a great opportunity to show off U.S. military might," Military Times said.

On Wednesday, several Democratic senators sent a letter to Mattis questioning the potential costs of the parade and how it might impact the military in the midst of wars in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan and also facing threats from North Korea.

"At a time of war, with American service members serving in harm's way, such a parade seems to be inappropriate and wasteful," said the letter signed by Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, Gary Peters, D-Michigan, and Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, said he supported a parade but cautioned against having a "Soviet-style" display of military might.

"I don't mind having a parade honoring the service and sacrifice of our military members," Graham told CNN. "I'm not looking for a Soviet-style hardware display. That's not who we are, it's kind of cheesy and I think it shows weakness, quite frankly."

-- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.
A Navy veteran who served during World War II and survived the attack on Pearl Harbor was recognized for his service Wednesday with an honorary college degree.

William Henry Harvey, 95, was assigned to the U.S.S. Sacramento, a PG-19 gunboat, but due to segregation in the service at the time he never served in a combat role and was assigned to be a cook.

"Nobody wanted the black man in the Navy," Harvey told FOX59.

While he wasn't in a direct combat role, the Sacramento was at Pearl Harbor during the attack by Japan on Dec. 7, 1941.

"You learned how to kill and how to use the ammunition properly," Harvey said. "You learned everything as a cook to do the job that is necessary to destroy the enemy."

Harvey's stories of his military service reached officials at Ivy Tech Community College after a history professor visited the healthcare facility where 95-year-old lives last year on Veterans Day.

They later decided to present the Navy veteran with an honorary degree for College and Community Service during their Black History Month celebration, themed "Blacks in the Time of War."

"The original plan was to just present Mr. Harvey with just a small as a token of our appreciation to his service to our country but the leadership at Ivy Tech decided it would be better to give an honorary degree to a man who had given so much to his country," professor Anthony Conley told FOX59.

In addition to the honorary degree, the 95-year-old was also given a Navy challenge coin for his service. He said he was looking forward to talking to his son about his new degree.
The new details not only shed light on what may have triggered the incident, but may also help to explain how five other...
During the chaotic battle with the Islamic State, Iran-backed militias got their hands on M1A1 Abrams tanks the United States originally provided to the Iraqi army, a Pentagon watchdog has found.

A quarterly Inspector General report on the anti-Islamic State mission released last week cited reports that the militias, known as Popular Mobilization Forces, or PMF, had obtained up to nine of the tanks.

The PMF, considered part of the Iraqi security forces, seized some from ISIS in Tikrit in 2015 and Mosul last year.

The Shiite paramilitary groups used Abrams tanks against Kurds in northern Iraq last fall, according to Kurdish officials, which led U.S. lawmakers to threaten to curtail military aid to Iraq.

The Iraqi government had regained control of at least some of the tanks since October, the document said, while other media reports say they were all returned.

When an Iraqi army offensive retook Kirkuk from control of the autonomous Kurdish regional government in October, following an independence referendum there, the Kurds complained that the Shiite militia had been operating the tanks.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, condemned the use of equipment supplied for the anti-ISIS fight to attack the Kurds, long one of America's strongest allies in the region.

Washington has approved sales to Iraq of more than $22 billion in arms and equipment for its military since 2005. The State Department has underwritten nearly $4 billion in financing since 2015 to help arm government forces, including the Kurdish forces in northern Iraq known as peshmerga, for fighting ISIS.

"The challenges for the (State and Defense departments) to account for the arms and equipment transferred to (Iraq's military) have grown since the fight to drive ISIS from Iraq," the Inspector General report said.

Iraq has received nearly 150 Abrams tanks. In late 2014, after Iraq had lost several of the 63-ton vehicles to ISIS, Congress was notified of the possible sale of another 175.

The heavy-duty Abrams, armed with a 120 mm canon and once touted as invincible thanks to its depleted uranium armor, replaced the M60 as America's main battle tank in the 1980s. In the 1990s, it was a star of the Gulf War, where it cut down Russian-made T-72 tanks.

In the decades since, it's lost its unkillable status after its rear proved vulnerable to some roadside bombs and rocket-propelled grenades. It's also proven vulnerable to Russian-made Kornet anti-tank missiles, but it can still wreak havoc against its enemies.

In 2016, an Iraqi-operated Abrams dubbed "The Beast" was hyped for its role in taking on ISIS fighters in the western city of Hit, where a U.S. military spokesman boasted it was "tearing it up," blasting roadside bombs and punching through ISIS defenses.

Since at least 2015, the Badr Organization and Kataib Hezbollah, two of the dozens of militias under the PMF umbrella, have posted photos and videos of M1A1 tanks flanked by their soldiers and draped with their banners and flags. The two groups are among several Shiite militias that are supported by the elite Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps.

Established in mid-2014, the PMF played a significant role in defeating ISIS. But human rights watchdogs have accused some of the groups of committing war crimes, and Iraq's international backers called for the militias to be disbanded after ISIS was defeated in December.

The latest report isn't the first time U.S.-supplied hardware has been found in the hands of Shiite militias. A 2015 YouTube video showed Kataib Hezbollah operating Humvees and mine-resistant ambush protected vehicles, or MRAPs.

In January 2017, Amnesty International found militias had committed atrocities using weapons provided by at least 16 countries, including the U.S. It cited a 2015 Pentagon report that found poor Iraqi oversight of stockpiles of U.S.-supplied weapons and material.

The State Department was pressuring Baghdad to ensure the swift return of U.S.-supplied equipment to the entities they were designated for in sales agreements, last week's Inspector General report said.

Pentagon spokesman Eric Pahon told Military Times this week that the Abrams tanks had been used to fight ISIS and had all since been returned to Iraqi security forces.

"We continue to stress to the government of Iraq, as we do to all allies and partners, their obligation to maintain U.S.-origin equipment under the operational control of the designated end-user," he said.
The U.S. Army's next workhorse helicopter must have an active protection system capable of shooting down incoming surface-to-air missiles, modernization leaders told Congress this week.

Lawmakers on the Senate Armed Services Committee's Airland subcommittee pressed Army generals about how the service's new modernization reform effort is going to produce the next generation of combat systems -- from aircraft to armored vehicles -- at a Wednesday hearing.

Subcommittee chairman Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, wanted to know how the Army's future UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter replacement is going to deal with new threats such as sophisticated air defenses from countries like Russia and China.

"What steps is the Army taking to ensure that that future platform be survivable in that kind of environment?" Cotton asked, referring to the service's Future Vertical Lift modernization priority.

Lt. Gen. Paul Ostrowski described how the Army is working with two joint multirole tech demonstrators, one from Boeing and the other from Bell Helicopter.

Future Vertical Lift

"We have had flights with Bell's tilt-rotor aircraft, and we have hope that, by late this summer, we will see the Boeing compound coaxial helicopter in flight," said Ostrowski, who is the principal military deputy to the assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology and director of the Army Acquisition Corps.

The information gained from the two tech demonstrators will allow the Army to set its priorities for the program, which must include aircraft survivability, he said.

"Aircraft survivability with respect to that platform and our current fleet remains paramount to us," Ostrowski said. "It is one of our top priorities within Future Vertical Lift."

The Army has been "investing heavily" to develop the ability to "interdict the particular missiles while in flight," he said.

"This is tough because we are always shooting behind the duck ... in order to defend an aircraft against a ground-based missile, you have to be able to confuse that missile. In order to do that, you must be able to take the steps necessary to create the software to do that -- that takes time and testing," Ostrowski said.

So the Army must "go after a kinetic capability, one that is not dependent on software in order to defeat or dazzle the particular surface-to-air missile," he said.

Just as active protection systems are key to future ground vehicles, "we have to have APS for our aircraft," Ostrowski said.

Next-Gen Combat Vehicle

Lawmakers also listened with interest as Army officials offered details on the Next Generation Combat Vehicle, a program that could replace either the Bradley Fighting Vehicle or the M1 tank or both.

"We are looking at all options, to include foreign vehicle design and new development," said Lt. Gen. John Murray, deputy chief of staff for Army G8.

The NGCV will likely rely on an alternative power source to get away from diesel and turbine engines, he said.

Any future combat vehicle would at least have the option to be unmanned, if not semi-autonomous or autonomous, so commanders at the point of contact would have the option to send the vehicle forward unmanned, Murray said.

It would likely have some type of simple artificial intelligence to provide driver-assist, 360-degree situational awareness and computer-assisted targeting and acquisition capabilities, he said.

Integrated active protection, enhanced lethality and lighter weight would also be highly valued in the NGCV, Murray said.

"Whatever we come up with, we have to account for operations in urban terrain ... so that is a lot out there that may not exist right now," he said.

"We can't wait 20 years to develop this vehicle, so we have got to find a solution that we can develop fairly quickly, that we can incorporate technologies as they mature in a relatively easy manner," Murray said.

FCS Failure

Cotton brought up past modernization efforts such as the failed Future Combat System, an ambitious effort to design a new fleet of lightweight manned and unmanned combat vehicles and other platforms to completely dominate future battlefields.

But the technology FCS depended on simply did not exist. The Army spent billions on FCS, only to see it fail when then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates killed the 27-ton Manned Ground Vehicles portion of FCS in the 2010 budget while criticizing the advanced design as ill-suited to survive current battlefield threats.

"Would this Next Generation Combat Vehicle put us at risk of something like the FCS again -- that we are trying to build a platform that can do multiple different roles and, if it fails, then we fail across all those roles?" Cotton asked.

Murray said the Army's leadership is committed to not making the same mistakes that led to the death of FCS.

In one of the service's largest mistakes, he said, "We bet on a technology and developed a platform around those technologies and, when those technologies didn't deliver, the platform didn't deliver.

"The intent is figure out what is physically possible from a technology standpoint of what we can do today before we go into development, and then make sure we build space into the vehicle to incorporate technologies that we know are coming," Murray said. "You don't want to deliver something and, the day you deliver, it is obsolete."

Acquisition Reform

The Army is banking on a massive acquisition reform effort to help it make these and other modernization priorities a reality in the decades to come.

In early October, Acting Secretary of the Army Ryan D. McCarthy approved a special task force to stand up a new Army Modernization Command

The command's modernization work will be conducted through "cross-functional teams" that focus on each of the Army's six modernization priorities -- long-range precision fires; Next Generation Combat Vehicle; Future Vertical Lift; a mobile and expeditionary network; air and missile defense capabilities; and soldier lethality.

The concept of the sweeping modernization reorganization embraces rapid prototyping, engages warfighters at the beginning and keeps them engaged throughout the process, Army leaders maintain.

Sen. Gary Peters, D-Michigan, asked how the acquisition reform effort is going to develop and field equipment more quickly when it's the same problematic communities that are still doing the work.

"You've got the science and tech folks that probably need to do a whole lot better job of reaching out to private industry on some of the new cutting-edge technologies and try to examine what the possibilities are. There is not enough of that that goes on," he said.

"The testing community sets unrealistic goals, so there is a lot of failures because the goals aren't realistic -- so the programs die or don't move forward," Peters said.

"And the requirements community always wants to do too much and be all things to all people," he continued. "And so you start putting all of that together in the hopper, and everything kind of grinds to a halt, which is obviously unacceptable at a time when technology is advancing at a pace we have not seen in human history.

"How would you characterize that assessment? Are these legitimate things we should be think about with those kind of communities?" Peters asked.

Murray could not argue Peters' points.

"I would say that you are fairly accurate," Murray said. "We do a poor job of reaching out to industry. A lot of times, it's because of concerns by our lawyers in terms of competition and giving an unfair advantage to competitors."

The Army is interested in fielding equipment quickly, using technology that exists today, but it has to be able to be upgraded over time, he said.

"We have been criticized, rightfully so, for our modernization efforts in the past," Murray said. "I think we have a very risk-averse culture."

The newly formed cross-functional teams will help change that culture, Army officials say.

"I think the Army's testing community has made great strides. We now have, as part of the CFT, ... testers, engineers, S&T experts and, hopefully soon, industry sitting down with requirements writers," Murray said. "So before we write a requirement, we know it's feasible, it can be tested relatively cheaply in a fast amount of time and that industry can actually produce it. And that is kind of what we are after as we go forward."

-- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.
A mountain just outside of Anchorage, Alaska got a new name Feb. 9 in honor of the families of the fallen: Gold Star Peak.

The mountain, which was previously unnamed, overlooks the Matanuska-Susitna Valley of Alaska, about 40 miles outside Anchorage and even closer to Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson. It also sits directly next to Mount POW/MIA, which honors those who were either prisoners of war or missing in action.

SpouseBuzz readers might remember the peak naming effort from a petition we wrote about last year.

Kirk Alkire, the brains and heart behind the naming, presented that petition as well as many other letters of support to a Department of the Interior panel yesterday morning.

The naming request was given the OK in a unanimous vote, and republican Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan, a veteran himself, announced its passage on the floor of the Senate.

Among the backers of the peak's new name was Bonnie Carroll, founder of the military's top survivor help organization, Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS). Carroll still calls Anchorage home, and annually hosts a military widows' retreat in the area. She said they plan to summit the newly named mountain as a part of this year's event

"Kirk will lead a group of surviving military widows from TAPS to the summit of Gold Star Peak to honor their hero and experience the tranquility and serenity this sacred place affords," she said in a statement. "TAPS looks forward to coordinating future climbs of Gold Star Peak, and sharing the beauty of this mountain with the over 75,000 military survivors who are part of TAPS."

The mountain top is very close to another peak honoring military members -- Mount POW/MIA. Alkire said that co-location is on purpose; remembering Gold Star families means remembering the fallen.
Very few things truly connect every troop from every era in the military quite like a cup of coffee. From the gritty First Sergeant who drinks it black to the fresh Lieutenant who likes a bit of coffee with their sugar, everybodys veins in the military are filled with coffee.

Coffee has been a staple of the American military ever since the first Revolutionary patriot signed up to throw the tea into Boston Harbor  fueled entirely for their hatred of tea. Our love of java necessitated the creation of instant coffee in the Civil War, and weve been drinking it ever since.

Here are 6 reasons why coffee truly is the lifeblood of the military.

6. Everyone meets at the coffee pot

Coffee is the great equalizer. Everyone, from privates to colonels, meets to grab their morning (or afternoon, or evening) cup of Joe.

When the pot is finished, refilling it is one of the few tasks that isnt assigned to the lowest ranks, but rather to whoever drank the last cup.

The trick is to always leave at least one cup and wait until someone else springs the trap. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Alexander P. Akre)

5. We get very little sleep

To the surprise of absolutely no one, troops rarely get eight hours of sleep.

The higher the rank of a troop, the less theyre allowed to show sleepiness. Coffee helps mask that exhaustion.

Coffee. For when its too early to soldier. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Ken Scar)

4. Something warm in the field is nice

In combat arms units especially, youre seen as weak if you cant endure the elements.

Grab another layer of clothes? Weakness. Throw on a fleece jacket? Weakness. Grab a warm cup of coffee? Carry on, soldier.

So good youll forget youre freezing your ass off. (Photo by Lt. Col. John Hall)

3. Its a reminder of back home

There isnt much time, space, or ability to pine for life back home.

Troops take great care when they prepare a pot of coffee. They can skimp on many necessities of life but will always spend the big bucks to get the good stuff from their civilian life.

Did you know that, statistically speaking, instant coffee is one of the most requested care-package items from troops? (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Justyn M. Freeman)

2. Its a little break from reality

The military is a very high-speed piece of machinery. Youll run from point A to point B, over to C, back to B, asked why you arent at D, and get there only to realize everyone is at C  and so on until your brain is fried.

At least for those brief moments, when youre drinking a cup of coffee, you can relax.

Command Sergeant Majors only smile when theyre watching privates get smoked or when they have a cup of coffee in their hands. (Photo by Army Master Sgt. Dave Thompson, 1st Sustainment Command (Theater) Public Affairs)

1. It just tastes good

Therere countless ways to stay warm, awake, and hydrated. Coffee isnt the only option.

The fact of the matter is, we just love the taste  regardless of how we make it.

A cup of Green Beans Coffee while deployed will always taste better than any stateside cup from chain coffee houses. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Sandra Welch)

MORE POSTS FROM WE ARE THE MIGHTY:

A brief history of coffee in the US military

How 'The 4 Chaplains' of WWII became Army legends

5 ways to stay on your Drill Sergeant's good side

We Are The Mighty (WATM) celebrates service with stories that inspire. WATM is made in Hollywood by veterans. It's military life presented like never before. Check it out at We Are the Mighty.
This article by James Clark originally appeared on Task & Purpose, a digital news and culture publication dedicated to military and veterans issues.

Ever catch yourself abruptly pulled out of a war movie? The squads cut off, outnumbered, outflanked, and ready to make their last stand. As the camera pans slowly past all those beautiful and heroic Hollywood faces, you catch a glimpse of some random GI in the background  his unit patch is upside down, finger on the trigger, and hes leaning on his rifle, with the muzzle in the mud, like an old mans walking stick.

Heroic moment ruined, all because an extra never got a safety brief (or hazed for poor weapons handling.) Fortunately, as with most problems in life, Tom Hanks has a solution.

Hanks is looking for extras to play Navy crewmen in his upcoming World War II naval flick, Greyhound, specifically those with a military background, We Are The Mighty recently reported. The upcoming film is based on The Good Shepherd, a fiction novel by C.S. Forester, and follows a Navy destroyer during the grueling Battle of the Atlantic  one of the longest campaigns of the war. No stranger to big-budget war films and television shows, Hanks is writing, producing, and starring inThe Good Shepherd.

Now for those troops looking to play troops, heres what you need to know if you want to get a little screen time on the bow of a destroyer (and when no ones looking, act out scenes from the Titanic with your battle buddies. Ill never let you go, bro. Psych, get off my door.)

While military experience is preferred, its not required, and the casting agency is looking for men between 18 and 49 to apply. Actors must be willing to be clean shaven, and need to have a 1940s Navy crewman-style haircut. But seeing how military-ish fades with long tops are all the rage right now  thanks Macklemore, Peaky Blinders, and Fury  many applicants probably have an appropriate do already.

The deadline to apply is Feb. 18 and shooting takes place between mid-February and early April, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Say what you will about pretending to be a 1940s-era sailor, their fictional duty stations are a hell of a lot better than our real ones.

And check this, just like being a real-life service member, playing one on the set of Greyhound also comes with some pay.

Theyre gonna nail it on realism, guys. Find all the details here 

James Clark is a staff writer for Task & Purpose. He is a former Marine combat correspondent and a veteran of the War in Afghanistan. You can reach him via email at James@taskandpurpose.com. Follow James Clark on Twitter.

More articles from Task & Purpose:

Tom Hanks: 'Military Caregivers Are Hidden Heroes and They Need Your Support

A WWII Vet Was Docked Pay For Escaping His German Captors And Now He Wants His $13 Back

You Can Now Own This Ridiculous 1944 German Kettenkrad Armored Motorcycle Tank
Double Eagle Energy Holdings III is getting a significant vote of confidence in its plans for the Permian Basin.

The Fort Worth-based company has secured more than $1 billion in equity commitments from affiliates of Apollo Global Management and Magnetar Capital, which recently invested in Midlands CrownRock/CrownQuest.

Theres also big management participation, Josh Gregg, chief financial officer, said in a phone interview.

We are very excited to have an opportunity to build another company with a focus on the Permian and expect to deploy the capital across both land acquisitions and development, he said.

Gregg said Double Eagles management team has worked with Apollo and Magnetar in past iterations of Double Eagle. Double Eagle Energy Holdings II was sold to Parsley Energy for $$2.8 billion after drilling 25 wells and amassing a portfolio of approximately 72,000 net acres containing 3,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and 3,300 net horizontal drilling positions in the heart of the Midland Basin.

We plan to take up where we left off with Double Eagle II and go forth, said Gregg, describing the company as Midland Basin-focused. We plan to leverage our land group and buy as much acreage as we can and then leverage our operations team to drill high-return-on-investment horizontal wells.

He said the company will utilize joint ventures and make small acquisitions through working interests, trades or bolt-on acreage to build a sizable block in the core of the Midland Basin. It will be a win-win for everyone, he said.

Already, the company has 23,000 net acres with plans to put a rig to work in April.

I bet well have a second rig by the end of 2018, Gregg said.

He said Double Eagle III hopes to have six to eight development areas in the core of the Midland Basin and be in a position to run multiple rigs in 2019.

Weve been patient in picking up a rig that our operations team is comfortable with, he said.

The company will drill extended laterals of up to two miles and target the Lower Spraberry and Wolfcamp formations.

Were trying to be conservative and drill the most economic wells, Gregg said.

He said prices between $50 and $60 a barrel are the sweet spot for the Permian Basin that allows operators to deploy rigs.

Looking ahead, Gregg said the plan for his private equity-backed company is to operate in this manner for the next 12 to 18 months and then consider a public offering as it works to build Double Eagle III into a top-tier company focused on drilling in the Midland Basin.

At a time when traditional investors are demanding E&P companies focus on capital discipline and provide returns on investment, Gregg said private equity-backed companies are unique in that they have a three-to-five-year horizon before wanting to cash in on their investment.

Theyre also happy to be a partner and help take a company public and own shares, he said.

Much of Double Eagles team has stayed with the company through its various iterations. John Sellers and Cody Campbell, who are from Canyon and attended Texas Tech University, again serve as co-chief executive officers.

We just love the Permian Basin, Campbell told the Reporter-Telegram last summer as the company was being formed. We think its the best basin in North America and the best place to be. We also love Midland and have deep roots there.

The company has a Midland office in the Frost Bank building at 508 W. Wall St.
Milestone Environmental Services is accelerating its expansion plans in the Permian Basin oil patch, with two new waste disposal facilities to be built this year.

The Houston-based firm, which already has a Pecos facility and South Midland facility on Highway 349 just south of the Upton County line, will build facilities at Orla in Reeves County on Farm-to-Market Road 652 and at Stanton on Highway 137 south of Stanton. Both are expected to open mid-year.

This is continuing the expansion we began in 2016 with the Pecos facility and then the South Midland facility in 2017, Gabriel Rio, president and chief executive officer, said in a phone interview from his Houston office.

Now were embarking on our next two facilities so this is an acceleration a bit, building two at the same time, he said.

Construction is expected to start in the next four to six weeks, he said.

The two new facilities will create 30 to 40 new jobs. Rio said it may be a challenge to hire adequate staffing.

Labor is in tight supply so we have to work hard to recruit and retain staff, he said. Weve done a lot the last couple of months to attract and retain workers, he said, listing pay raises and the addition of housing on site to help recruit workers from longer distances.

Rio said the two new facilities are part of Milestones plan to have between eight and 10 facilities throughout the Permian Basin in the next few years. He said announcements of additional facilities can be expected this summer.

He said he felt comfortable with the capital commitment to build the facilities, in part because the Pecos and South Midland facilities are generating good returns. The two new sites are being driven by demand from customers who already use Milestones existing facilities.

Customers drilling north of where we are would tell us theyd use us if we had a facility closer to them, he said.

The Orla facility primarily will serve operations in the Northern Delaware Basin, where Rio said demand is strong, particularly from New Mexico operators.

In the Northern Delaware, a lot of waste is generated in New Mexico. New Mexico doesnt allow reserve pits. It doesnt allow waste disposal at the well site. Operators have to send the waste off-site. New Mexico is generating more waste compared to Texas rigs. There is a big market from New Mexico operators who are required to send their drilling waste off, he said.

The Stanton facility will largely serve operations in the central Midland Basin.

Having facilities closer to where operators are drilling has been key to the companys success, Rio said. Another key is Milestones ability to move quickly to meet customer demand.

From concept to completion, our timeline is a lot shorter than for a landfill, he said.

Milestone utilizes a proprietary slurry injection process to handle non-hazardous, RCRA-exempt liquid and slurry waste streams, which are injected into deep formations more than a mile below the surface. The companys future plans include not just adding new facilities but expanding into treatment and disposal of solid waste.

Its work the company has been doing for 25 years, since it began life as American Disposal Services in 1993. Rio said it was a family-owned business when it began operations in a time when there was very little waste sent off to professional disposal sites. He said over the last 25 years, regulations have become much more stringent and the industry has evolved its best practices.

Burial at the well site is not best practices anymore, he said.

Rio said Milestone has ridden the industry cycles that saw the national rig count reach 2,000 rigs in 2013-2014 before falling to 400 rigs in 2015.

Were proud to be able to allow E&P companies to advance best practices, he said.
The 32nd Anniversary Valentines Party at KCs Nutty Roller

Go for a retro night out with KCs 32nd annual Valentines Party. Lace up those skates and roll the night away with your friends or date while enjoying specialty drinks. Valentines games and door prizes.

7 p.m. Friday at 1004 Andrews Highway. $9 entry. kcsnuttyroller.com.







Festejando Mes del Amor y Amistad at La Hacienda Event Center

Spend a night of music and dancing at this Celebration Month of Love and Friendship. With the Tejano tunes by Los Tigres del Norte, Los Rieleros, Conjunto Azabache and El Nuevo Corcel, youll be on your feet most of the night.

7 p.m. Friday at 12610 State Highway 191. $75. haciendamidland.com.







The fifth annual Heart and Sole run and walk

Valentines can be good for the heart in more ways than one. YMCA hosts this annual run that benefits its annual campaign. The event includes 1K, 5K and 10K run and walk.

8:45 a.m. Saturday at Midland YMCA, 800 N. Big Spring St. runsignup.com.







The Heart of the Arts St. Valentines Celebration in Alpine

Take a road trip to Alpine for this artsy event. Downtown will open up its galleries to showcase a variety of art, live music, including strolling mariachis. Visitors can also take in the shopping and dining in Alpines unique shops and restaurants.

6-9 p.m. Saturday in downtown Alpine. visitalpinetx.com.







Sweethearts Dinner and Dance at the Yucca Theatre

The Texas Pecos Trail Region hosts this ideal date night. Theyve checked all the boxes with music by Jody Nix and the Texas Cowboys, dancing and dinner in the historic Yucca Theatre. The best part is that the event benefits TPTR, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. The TPTR promotes heritage preservation and tourism throughout West Texas. So not only do you get to enjoy a special evening, but also help preserve your own backyard.

7 p.m. Saturday at 208 N. Colorado St. $75.texaspecostrail.com.
The Cotton Flat Road overpass that spans across Interstate 20 was closed for evaluation after it was struck by an oversize load early Thursday. It was expected to be reopened later in the day, according to a press release from the Texas Department of Transportation Odessa District.

This is the third time in recent months that the bridge has been hit.
Odessa Police Department

An Odessa man was arrested Wednesday after allegedly assaulting a woman, according to a press release from the Odessa Police Department.

Tyrell Corley, 34, was arrested on two third-degree felony charges -- injury to a child and assault by strangulation, a second-degree felony charge of possession of methamphetamine and a Class B misdemeanor for possession of marijuana.
After serving 11 years in prison for raping his 13-year-old niece, Tejano music star Joe Lopez is set to be released from prison.

On Jan. 26, the Texas Board of Pardons and Parole granted Lopez, 67, parole after he completed a 9-month sex offender program.
We are disappointed that Odessas Tryon Lewis is leaving the Texas Transportation Commission.

Lewis told the Austin American-Statesman that he plans to pursue senior judge status. He had presided over the commission at a time when the Texas Department of Transportation had a multi-billion-dollar annual infusion of cash for highway projects because of constitutional amendments passed in 2014 and 2015.

As a former chairman and then as a commissioner, Lewis guaranteed West Texas had a seat at the table when transportation issues were discussed. That is gold for a region like West Texas, which doesnt have the population to compete with the states major metropolitan areas. West Texas isnt just another rural portion of the state. Our region is the lifeblood of the Texas economy. Yet state leaders, including those sitting in high-profile seats, have shortchanged this area when it comes to roads.

RELATED: Odessa's Tryon Lewis to leave transportation commission early

Lewis served as the boards rural designee. Midland-Odessa Transportation Alliance President James Beauchamp told the Reporter-Telegram that the rural designee must be from a county with a population of 150,000 or less. He also said that because of recent and projected population growth, he doesnt think our immediate area will be considered for a replacement.

Having Tryon Lewis on the transportation commission, as well as his tenure as chairman, helped bring enormous attention to the transportation needs in the energy sector, and in particular, the Permian Basin, Beauchamp said.

Think transportation doesnt matter? In our view, anyone who has recently traveled on State Highway 349 to Lubbock to State Highway 158 would beg to differ. We also believe anyone who has been trapped on SH 349 to Rankin among all that oil field traffic knows our region would be served well with an expansion of that portion of highway.

Oilfield traffic isnt going to disappear, and unlike major metropolitan areas, there arent tollway authorities or millions of people to give our region an advantage when it comes to road funding. Having Lewis at the table provided hope. We are not sure a rural commission member from east or south Texas will see transportation the same way.

We want to congratulate Lewis, 70, for following his passion in making his return to the courtroom. We also want to thank him for his service on the commission, which Beauchamp said means a commitment of 50 to 60 hours a week.

Few people will truly understand the sacrifice that he has made or the service he provided as an ambassador for the Permian Basin in Austin, Beauchamp said. We appreciate and believe that the focus and attention he has brought to freight needs in our area will continue to help us develop our transportation network here in the Permian Basin for years to come.

Moving on, it is imperative that Midland, Odessa and the rest of the Permian Basin be vocal about the need for the state to invest in roads here and around West Texas. When transportation commission members make the trek to the Permian, they must get an earful about our needs and what is right. Better roads equal greater transportation efficiencies. In the oil patch, that means more dollars going to state coffers, such as the rainy day fund. We are the only region in the state that can guarantee such a return on investment.

When state leaders return to West Texas  usually to pick up a check to spend campaigning in larger metropolitan areas  we also must be vocal that they dont shortchange this area when it comes to transportation funding as they have education.

Ultimately, our dollars and our voice matter. When we dont have a person in a position of importance, there are other ways for the region to be heard. Lets make sure those efforts continue and, when the opportunity calls for it, are stepped up.
Muhlenberg Hosts Conference on the United Nations and Women

The events include talks and discussion sessions with United Nations representatives.

By: Iulia Tibrea '18 Thursday, February 8, 2018 10:59 AM

Muhlenberg College, in partnership with the Higher Education Alliance (HEA), will host Conference on the United Nations and Women, a day-long series of presentations and discussion sessions led by directors and advisors from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Development Operations Coordination Office (DOCO) and the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The program is free and open to the public; no registration is required. It runs 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Friday, February 16, and will take place in the Seegers Union Event Space at Muhlenberg College.

Muhlenberg is one of 58 higher-education members of the HEA initiative created by the Humpty Dumpty Institute; the initiative's goal is to provide students a closer look at global issues and the individuals who are dedicating their lives to solving these issues.

The speakers will explore issues currently affecting millions of people around the world, and women in particular, as well as the role the United Nations plays as an agent of change on a global level. The audience will have the opportunity to engage in a Q&A with the speakers at the end of each presentation and during the luncheon.

SCHEDULE

9 am - Welcome and Opening Remarks

Christopher Herrick

Professor of political science and director of international studies at Muhlenberg

9:30  10:30 am - Women and Public Health

Speaker: Sarah Craven

Director, Washington Office of United Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA)

Craven will address the ways in which the United Nations has developed and modified programs to address the pressing problems of womens health, in particular maternal health and the health of their children and the manner in which the UN has sought to empower women to enable them to take on a greater role in assuring both their own health and that of their children. She will draw upon her decades of experience as a government employee, congressional staffer, and advisor to NGOs at conferences such as the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China.

10:45  11:45 am - Political and Economic Empowerment of Women

Speaker: Dena Assaf

Deputy Director, United Nations Development Operations Coordination Office (UNDOCO)

In her capacity as Deputy Director, Assaf leads an office dedicated to bringing together over 30 UN Development System agencies to increase coherence and impact of UN efforts in over 165 countries where the UN has direct presence. Drawing upon her current position and her previous experience as the regional director for the Arab states of the UNWomen program, she will address the complexities of formulating and coordinating programs to politically and economically empower women.

Noon  1:00 pm - Luncheon and Q&A

1:15  2:15 pm - Women and Conflict

Speaker: Dana Sleiman

Public Information Officer, United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR)

Women have always been negatively impacted by international conflicts. However, women have been disproportionately affected by the increasing levels of internal conflict that have characterized the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Ms. Sleiman will draw upon her decade-long experience in both the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and the UN Development Program addressing the needs of women refugees. Her specific focus will be complexity of the UNs efforts to address the problem of Syrian refugees, particularly in Lebanon.

2:30  3:30 pm - Roundtable Discussion

Brief summary by each speaker and Q&A period.

3:30  4:00 pm - Wrap-up and Questions

Sponsored by the departments of International Studies; Public Health; Political Science; Accounting, Business, Economics and Finance; Women & Gender Studies; and History, the conference is brought to Muhlenberg by the Humpty Dumpty Institute. The event is part of the HDIs HEA initiative that seeks to help create the next generation of global leaders by building bridges between academic institutions and the United Nations. Member schools host senior ranking UN officials, Ambassadors, policymakers and leading experts in world affairs as guest lecturers.

The Humpty Dumpty Institute (HDI) is a catalyst that combines individuals, ideas and action to create a better world. HDI designs and implements a number of innovative public-private partnerships, large-scale humanitarian programs, and public outreach initiatives that effectively strengthen the work of the United Nations. HDI provides a forum for the exchange of divergent perspectives; engages experts to identify emerging economic, social, and political issues vital to the interdependent global community; organizes country and region-specific meetings, conferences and briefings for educational and networking opportunities; promotes global partnerships among governments, business, academic and nonprofit organizations; and shares information and research with the public and with policymakers worldwide.

Founded in 1848, Muhlenberg is a highly selective, private, four-year residential, liberal arts college located in Allentown, Pa., approximately 90 miles west of New York City. With an undergraduate enrollment of approximately 2200 students, Muhlenberg College is dedicated to shaping creative, compassionate, collaborative leaders through rigorous academic programs in the arts, humanities, natural sciences and social sciences as well as selected pre-professional programs, including accounting, business, education and public health. A member of the Centennial Conference, Muhlenberg competes in 22 varsity sports.

Muhlenberg has seen thousands of bright and driven students pass through its doors, many of whom have gone on to achieve great change. Just one example is Henry David Abraham, who was a co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1985 for his work with International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War. The College has helped strengthen global society through a range of global initiative programs, cultivating a strong connection with the Peace Corps, AVODAH, the Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellowship, and many other organizations that operate on an international scale.

For more information, please contact:

Christopher Herrick

Professor of political science and director of international studies

Muhlenberg College

chrisherrick@muhlenberg.edu

Steve Ginther

Program Director, International Programs

The Humpty Dumpty Institute

646-706- 3103

ginther@thehdi.org
Endemic corruption and "whom you know" ...
Columbia, CA  With a series of significant goals met, solid leadership and a strong strategic plan in place, Columbia Colleges president says she is ready to pass the torch.

Speaking with Clarke Broadcasting about her decision to retire this June, Dr. Angela Fairchilds, whose four-year Mother Lode tenure caps off a 38-year career in higher education, says that her head and heart both finally chimed in to tell her it is time to step back. Chuckling, she confides, My husband has been retired now for 15 years  he retired when we came back to California from Arizona  and I think he was hoping then that I would have been ready!

Describing Columbia College as a special place that she knows will be left in safe hands, Fairchilds confides, The timing feels right. We have a talented leadership team in place nowsome strong faculty working collegially to achieve the goals and priorities of the college and meeting the needs of the students and the community. Adding to her rationale she notes, We have our strategic plan in place, our foundation is really on solid ground and we just launched the Columbia Promise [a free tuition program, as reported here] for the high school students. So we have accomplished a lot in the last four years  and I think the college is moving forward on a strong path and we have the right leadership team in place to keep it moving along.

A Healthy Time To Depart

When Fairchilds arrived in 2014, fresh from a similar post at Woodland Community College, she did not see a retirement horizon, though watching personal friends over the past couple of years lose their spouses, some very suddenly and unexpectedly, started her thinking about it. I wanted to make sure Dave [my husband] and I had quality time together to travel and do some of the fun, leisurely things on our own schedule while we still had the time together  and good health to travel and do those kinds of things, she explains. Those thoughts helped form her decision over this past Christmas break.

Looking back on her time at Columbia she recounts, One of the things that I made a priority when I arrived was to make sure the college reconnected in a meaningful way to the community and I think we have done that. Since word first began circling about her retirement a few weeks ago, she says she received welcome confirming feedback about that effort.

Too, she says, Columbia becoming well-known in the state and nationally because, as I like to say, we are small but mighty. The team up here is not afraid to compete against the big dogs. We have been successful and the [colleges] apprenticeship grants [as reported here] are a fine example of that. For a small college for us to be able to qualify for that type of funding and those kinds of programs is significant. Getting that kinds of recognition looking for different ways to serve our community and help our students be successful is front and center for us  and I think that we have done an excellent job with those two things.

Recruitment Plans Now Rolling

As far as succession plans go, Fairchilds says the processes are in place. The district has contracted with a recruiting consultant; published the opening of her position; formed a review committee and set up a timeline that anticipates a new president to be on board by the beginning of July. In fact, final interviews and public forums are slated the week of April 16-20, while faculty and staff are still within the school year.

I wanted to give the district the whole six-month time-frame to find somebody to fill my size six and a half shoes, Fairchilds jokes, adding that when the time comes to go it will definitely be a tug for her. Future plans include retiring to Oro Valley just outside of Tucson, Arizona, where she and her husband have maintained a longtime home that will become a home base for travel and other activities. An Alaska cruise planned for June has been pushed to September, a time that she notes was previously impossible for her to travel at all. It will be followed sometime next year with a nice long break in the British Isles, her home country.

Looking to her soon-to-be new schedule ahead, Fairchilds is practically incredulous as she shares a parting comment, In 38 years I have never been able to be gone for more than two weeks at a time, so I am really looking forward tonice quiet time, traveling with my husband  and not having anyone else but me driving my schedule!
Sonora Opera Hall View Photos

There are many events planned this weekend including two featuring Chocolate.

Tomorrow the Sonora Opera Hall will host Friday Flix featuring the movie The Birdcage. The first 50 people to pay $5 to get in receive a goodie bag with interactive props, everyone is encouraged to sing along with songs in the movie. There will be a costume contest at 6:30PM, popcorn and a no host bar and the movie starts at 7:00PM. More information is in the event listing here. Friday Flix are sponsored by the Sonora Chamber of Commerce and 2nd Saturday Art Night, this Saturday Downtown shops and art gallerias will be open late for 2nd Saturday Art Night.

At the Mother Lode Fairgrounds the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Tuolumne County is hosting a Chocolate Lovers Hoedown dinner. Details are here.

This Saturday, February 10th, the Emigrant Basin Pack and Social Club is holding its 17th annual Scholarship Dinner at the Sonora Elks Lodge. Details were featured today in the KVML Newsmaker and here.

At the Calaveras County Fairgrounds in Angels Camp is the AMA Annual Crab Feed which raises money for youth sports.

In Murphys from 1pm to 4pm on Saturday is the 7th Annual Heavenly Chocolate Festival put on by the 1st Congregational Church. Also on Saturday the Angels Camp Museum is hosting a Living History Day.

Sierra Repertory Theater is performing Mamma Mia! Musical Theatre

and Tuolumne City Live will perform The Matchmaker, directed by Art Delgado, details are here.

Sunday in La Grange is the Monthly Odd Fellows Breakfast, and the Christian Heights Church is offering Financial Peace University.

At the Bret Heart Theater in Angels Camp on Sunday the Ovations series will feature: Saint Gabriels Celestial Brass Band.
Sacramento, CA  A push to restrict the use of pepper spray in the states juvenile jails comes in the wake of the Board of State and Community Corrections considering regulatory changes.

California is one of just six states that allow detention staff to carry the caustic chemical. Thursday the correction board began debating whether to let employees continue carrying the spray for use when there is an imminent threat, but staff is required to document its use.

Reform groups argue that the change does not go far enough. They support a bill by Democratic Assemblyman Ed Chau of Monterey Park that would bar employees from carrying it, but during a riot or to subdue an offender, it would still be on hand and readily available to retrieve if other calming tactics do not work.
The Plainview Independent School District Board of Trustees voted unanimously Wednesday morning to hire the law firm of Thompson & Horton LLC to conduct a search for a new superintendent as soon as possible.

The vote came after an approximately 17-minute closed session which was called for the following purposes: Deliberation on the appointment, employment, compensation, evaluation, assignment, duties, discipline, or dismissal of employees pursuant to Texas Government code 551.074; Deliberation and Consultation with attorney regarding potential or contemplated litigation or matters involving attorney client privilege pursuant to Texas Government Code 551.071; Deliberation regarding selection of Search Firm.
Editors note: This is part two in a two-part story on the Afterschool Centers on Education programs at Plainview Independent School District schools. Part one can be found in Wednesdays paper on Estacado Middle School.

Thunderbird Afterschool Centers on Education Campus Coordinator Denise Bocanegra runs a tight ship during the schools afterschool program and parents, students and teachers appreciate her for it.

From 7 to 8 a.m. and from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. each and every day, students can be found participating in a number of activities throughout the school. Bocanegra said she has 262 students enrolled in the ACE program and that on average around 116 students per day, ranging in age from kindergarten through fifth grade, participate in a variety of activities. She said that she enlists the help of 29 teachers and support personnel to work with students in afterschool activities.

Similar to the program at Estacado, enrollment in the afterschool program is voluntary and free to parents and their children. During the day snacks are provided and a bus is available to take children home each day. Bocanegra said that daily snacks are important for many of her students as it may be the only snacks they receive all day.

Bocanegra explained that some of the kids have tough home lives with parents who sometimes work two jobs and during the evenings to provide for their families.

I understand what the kids go through, she said. I myself went through what some of them are going through.

Students clearly respect Bocanegra who they call Mrs. Denise or the Principal after school.

I have a really good rapport with my babies, she said. It is great when you can have that type of relationship with the students.

Bocanegra adds that she also has a strong rapport with parents and that she feels blessed to be able to serve in this way.

She said that while the programs are broken up into separate age groups, often older children will work and help with the younger kids, acting in a sense as mentors for the younger students.

The afterschool programs offered by Thunderbird arent all fun and games, although there is a lot of fun built into the program. Bocanegra said that the program includes homework help and tutorials and a number of innovative educational tools. One of these programs is known as Istation and is a guided reading program that allows students to read and learn by accessing the Internet.

Some of these kids do not have the Internet at home, she said. We have some kids who dont even know what Google is until we have them come in here and work on the computers. Parents really love that we allow students access to the Internet as part of their education.

During a tour of the school during the programs, there was a mix of traditional learning and skill building exercises, mixed in with media and more technologically advanced methods.

The interaction between the school, students and parents is very important. Bocanegra said that once a month the program offers a family night to allow parents and kids to experience activities together. Feb. 15, from 5:30 to 6:30 the school will be offering programs associated with Girl Scouts of America, on Feb. 23, parents and students will get a chance to have fun with science.

We usually have a number of parents and kids participate, it really is a great opportunity, she said.

Bocanegra said the program is very structured and due to the grant requires heavy documentation to support the work she does.

There are so many reports we have to do every week, she said. No one really realizes everything that goes on behind the scenes.
A collision between an AC Transit bus and a sedan Thursday morning in Berkeley left one person dead, authorities said.

The incident was reported about 6:40 a.m. when the driver of a red car, traveling southbound on California Street, collided with an AC Transit bus going westbound on Ashby Avenue, said Sgt. Andrew Frankel of the Berkeley Police Department.

The driver of the sedan was pronounced dead at the scene and was not identified.

The accident was a T-bone collision, Frankel said, and the impact caused both the bus and vehicle to smash into a parked car and nearby home.

Dale Reynolds, 60, was just waking up when he heard a boom.

He stumbled out of his bedroom to find a bus had crashed into the exterior of his home.

The front porch is totally gone, Reynolds said. It looked like (the bus) hit the corner and a bit of the roof and then went into the house next door.

A city engineer will inspect the house for structural damage, Frankel said.

Only two people were on the AC Transit bus  the driver and a passenger  and neither was injured in the crash, Frankel said.

Both were still on scene and being questioned by police, which is customary, said Robert Lyles, a spokesman for AC Transit.

The transit agencys operators were also on scene investigating and they will conduct a drug screening of the bus driver per protocol, Lyles said.

Reynolds said hes lived on the block for nearly 40 years and has seen nearly 200 accidents on the street just outside his home.

Max Levine, who lives a block up from where the collision occurred, agreed that its not uncommon to see accidents in the area. The problem, he added, is that during the afternoon and evening commutes, drivers often roar through the residential street.

I would bet $1,000 that there will be another person killed within the next three months, Levine said.

Sophie Haigney and Sarah Ravani are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: shaigney@sfchronicle.com, sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani
NEW YORK - A plunge in stock prices always stings, but this month's fall dug deeper because more Americans are participating in the market, particularly older ones.

Slightly more than half of all U.S. families own stocks in some way, from workers who got automatically enrolled into their 401(k) retirement accounts to day traders working their personal accounts. The rate of stock ownership is the highest since the dawn of the Great Recession in 2007.

On the whole, higher stock ownership can be a good thing: It means more Americans, not just the wealthiest, have benefited from the record-setting returns that stocks have delivered since the current bull market started in early 2009. But there can be a downside: Many Americans are also keeping bigger portions of their portfolios in stocks than experts recommend, led by baby boomers, which accentuates the impact of each swing in the market. Even Americans 75 and over are more likely to own stocks than at any time since the 1980s, according to data from the Federal Reserve.

Some investors may have been blissfully unaware that stocks were growing to an ever-larger portion of their portfolio as stock prices swelled in recent years. Others bought even more stocks because they were afraid of missing out on the amazingly big and smooth gains that the market had been delivering before recent days.

Either way, nearly 23 percent of savers with a 401(k) at Fidelity had a bigger percentage of their account in stocks than the investment giant recommends, according to the company's most recent data from this past autumn.

Savers nearing retirement, for example, should have a portfolio with roughly 60 percent in stocks and 40 percent in bonds and cash, Fidelity says. The average baby boomer handling investment decisions for their 401(k) has 70 percent in stocks, according to Fidelity.

"We give them the same advice when the market is high as when it's low," said Jeanne Thompson, senior vice president at Fidelity Investments. "Make sure to check that you're properly allocated and not taking too much risk. Make sure you're able to sleep at night."

John Wall, 65, is semi-retired and keeps a part-time job with a ride-share app to help pay bills.

While sitting in a park in downtown St. Petersburg, Fla., and smoking a cigar as he waited for a ride-share customer, Wall shrugged when asked if he'd do anything different in light of the market dip.

"Work a little harder so I can make money back that I lost," he chuckled. "I'm just going to go on like I have been."
More Whole Foods deliveries

Amazon plans to roll out two-hour delivery for Whole Foods customers this year  as long as theyre Amazon Prime members. Prime Now deliveries started Thursday in a few cities, including Whole Foods home of Austin, Texas, but none in the Bay Area. Amazon says theres no extra fee for two-hour deliveries above $35, but isnt saying which regions will be next. Whole Foods also offers delivery in some cities through a partnership with San Franciscos Instacart, which will continue.

Macys push for Muslim market

Macys will introduce a collection of modest clothing, including hijabs, next week, making it the latest company to try to capture a piece of the lucrative Muslim clothing market. The retailers Verona Collection, the brainchild of fashion photographer Lisa Vogl, will debut in stores and online Feb. 15, with international shipping available. After converting to Islam in 2011, Vogl had difficulty finding modest, fashionable clothing, she said on the Verona Collection website, which led her to create the brand.

Top tweet

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

Thats from comedian Jim Carrey, who doesnt consider Facebook a laughing matter. The Menlo Park company has not responded to Carreys tweet, but CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said stemming the flow of misinformation is among the companys foremost goals.

From San Francisco Chronicle staff and news services. See more items and links at www.sfgate.com.
Sugar Land's Team Industrial Services is expanding its board membership to satisfy an activist hedge fund investor that forced the ouster of its chief executive last year.

Team Inc. agreed to expand its board by one member and named two new people to sit on the board in a joint announcement with activist shareholder Engine Capital, of New York. The news comes less than a month after Team Inc. named a Schlumberger group president, Amerino Gatti, as its new CEO.
San Antonio shoppers will soon have access to same-day delivery on orders from Target  for a fee.

Starting Thursday, Target will partner with subscription delivery service Shipt to handle same-day shipments of orders of groceries, clothes, electronics and other goods made to the Minneapolis-based retailers 14 stores in the greater San Antonio area, the companies said in a news release.
Its not a bad day to be a tech worker looking for a job in San Antonio.

Quite a few companies have openings for techies, or for other professionals looking to work for a tech company in roles such as sales.

FunnelAI, which was founded last year, has four full time positions open, including one for a machine learning engineer, said Sridhar Kamma, founder and CEO of FunnelAI. The company is developing a software platform that connects businesses with prospective customers in real time by filtering through social media and other information, Kamma said.

The company has been in RealCos seed fund program for seven months, Kamma said.

RELATED: Top Workplaces: Employers that make the list every year

The company is raising a seed round of $500,000 and has about $400,000 committed so far, Kamma said.

Scaleworks, which invests in software companies, is looking for analysts for a business immersion experience as a part of its analyst program. The goal is to get picked up during that time for a leadership role in one of its portfolio companies.

It sounds like an analysts job will change daily, according to the online posting.

One day you could be helping a CEO with a marketing problem, the next working on finding deals for the fund, the next working on tech partnerships for the portfolio companies - there is no end to the types of tasks that might happen, the posting says.

The firm is also hiring a communications associate. And Scaleworks has a referral program: a $1,000 bonus for anyone who brings Scaleworks someone the firm hires.

RELATED: Scaleworks moves in to new digs in Savoy Building

Some of the firms portfolio companies are also hiring, according to Scaleworks online jobs page.

Data security company Jungle Disk isnt hiring for any specific positions right now, said Jungle Disk CEO Bret Piatt, but it seems theyve had no problem finding local talent.

The San Antonio cybersecurity talent pool is so strong we have been able to immediately fill any job openings over our first two years of operations where weve grown from 12 to 29 full-time employees, Piatt said.

Jungle Disk spun out of Rackspace in January 2016. The company has about 25,000 customers, Piatt has said.

Click through the slideshow above to check out which San Antonio companies are hiring tech savvy workers.

Samantha Ehlinger is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. Read more of her stories here. | sehlinger@express-news.net | @samehlinger
Violinist Itzhak Perlman on Thursday gave a recital in San Antonio that left no doubt why he is the statesman of his instrument.

At 72, Perlman is not slowing down but pressing ahead in his career. Thursdays program presented some of the deepest, most difficult and complex pieces in the violin-piano repertory, chosen by Perlman just to see how well he could do them.

As always, the results were breathtaking for the sold-out audience of about 1,750 people. The concert was Perlmans second at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, coming almost exactly three years after his 2015 show.

Perlman and his longtime touring piano accompanist, Rohan De Silva, began the program with Franz Schuberts Rondo for Violin and Piano, D. 895, which developed from a slow march to a series of happy-go-lucky passages, punctuated by gallops.

Perlmans authority over the material and his violin was immediately clear, the sweet high notes, the warm middle range and the lustrous lower register.

The Richard Strauss Violin Sonata in E-flat major, Op. 18, was dense in sound, highlighting the composers transition from chamber music to his mighty tone poems for the orchestra. Heroic motifs in the outer movements suggested Don Juan proportions.

As gratifying as the first two pieces were, they set the stage for the crowning work among the three listed program pieces, Claude Debussys neoclassical Violin Sonata in G minor, L. 140. The melodies were fragmentary, dreamy and mystical, becoming spellbinding.

Perlman owns several performance violins, one of them a Stradivarius. Whichever one he chose for Thursdays concert was perfect for the focused H-E-B Performance Hall acoustics. Perlman was able to shift from soft and subtle to bold and fiery with clarity. When the music called for it, Perlman backed off on the volume to let De Silva take the spotlight.

Exiting the stage after the three main pieces, Perlman, a polio survivor, motored back onto the stage on his scooter to receive a standing ovation and to begin playing seven short pieces. He joked he had studied a computer printout of everything he has ever played in San Antonio since 1912.

Three of the short pieces were by Fritz Kreisler, the light-hearted Tempo di Minuetto in the style of Gaetano Pugnani, the playful Marche Miniature Viennoise and the zippy Tambourin Chinois.

The short pieces also included the Gabriel Faures lovely Berceuse. But the heartwarming moment came with a piece he really didnt have to announce, John Williams Theme from Schindlers List.
A San Antonio strip club where dirty dishes were seen sitting directly next to a container of thawing chicken earned the designation as the lowest-scoring restaurant of the week, according to city health inspection reports.

Blush, located along Loop 410, also did not have a valid permit at the time of its inspection. It was one of the 50 San Antonio establishments that landed on this week's list of dirtiest restaurants in the city.

To make the Express-News' list of dirtiest restaurants, an establishment must earn a score of 89 or below  or anything less than an "A"  during a random city health inspection.

SEE LAST WEEK'S VIOLATIONS: San Antonio restaurant inspections: Feb. 2, 2018

Also this week, an inspector observed rat droppings in the storage room at the Menger Hotel, according to reports. La Panaderia, downtown bakery cafe where Food Network star Guy Fieri visited in 2017, had fruit flies present.

Unappetizing kitchen conditions included chicken blood inside a handwashing sink at La Huasteca, mold and rat droppings at Catering By Don Strange, and a single set of tongs being used for seven different products at DMJ Groceries.

Storied concert venue Randy's Ballroom and local taco favorite Tommy's Restaurant were among the other restaurants named on this week's list.

The San Antonio Express-News examines hundreds of restaurant inspections each week conducted by the San Antonio Food and Environmental Health Services division to bring you the eateries with scores of 89 or below.

Restaurants are graded on a 100-point system, where "100" is a perfect score, and demerits are based upon the number of violations found during a regular food establishment inspection. There are three categories of demerits and each are assigned a demerit score of 3, 2 or 1 points, according to the health division.

Scores and demerits listed are only representative of the state of the restaurant at the time of inspection and establishments are surveyed at random.

See the other restaurants that landed on this week's list of dirtiest restaurants in the slideshow above.

erobinson@mysa.com | Twitter: @eeelizzzabeth
By mid-life, I had learned, like many people, the erosive quality of hatred and its cousin emotion, anger.

I try to remember to keep the fuel of these emotions low and in perspective.

What fuels hate and anger?

Prejudice and injustice, yet these are realities that we experience in life at all time periods.

As I am soon to go to Israel on our Interfaith Trip, I will again pray for peace in the land, peace among our human family, and peace between cousins.

There is change and motion on the prospect of peace with the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, the withholding of financial support from UNRWA, and more.

But there is an institutionalized anti-Zionism, with the B.D.S (Boycott, Divest, Sanction) groups especially active at college campuses and some countries even recognizing an unborn Palestinian state.

Can a peace process be coerced by withholding money?

Can a solution to such a challenging problem as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict really be found with such a long history of hate and anger?

So many questions and thoughts traverse my mind, and I want to feel compassion and justice more than frustration and self-preservation.

I want to keep prejudices and defensiveness in perspective.

So I recall recent history; history that I can learn from; history I read that can move me.

We are inundated with so many narratives of brutality around the world.

To survive, we often distance ourselves from those narratives. We harden our hearts to the pain and to the parade of troubles.

But the history that buoyed me through my recent turbulent thoughts and feelings about prayer, peace, the Palestinians, the Jewish homeland and Hatikva (The Hope), was history I knew, but was reminded about recently.

It is the history of the Hiroshima Maidens written powerfully and poignantly about in a Times of Israel column by Sara Shapiro.

It is a largely forgotten history, buried already with the weight of time and wide brush of progress.

An atomic bomb fell, people suffered, Japan was humbled but rose again as an economic power.

Yet, for some women who did not die and get mourned, their lives and faces of disfigurement remained a repudiation; a reminder of Japans defeat. They were shunned. Their lives, they who survived, became like that of Cain, with his mark of revulsion.

But author Pearl S. Buck was asked to help make the world aware of the type of war these survivors continued to live. She connected two individuals, the Rev. Tanimoto and the Jewish writer and editor Norman Cousins.

The clergyman, the Rev. Tanimoto, provided a haven and purpose for these women, so that their lives would be more than a scar of humiliation for their countrymen.

He opened a sewing workshop with many sewing machines and 25 of the women worked there in safety and productiveness.

Yet they needed more.

The Rev. Tanimoto and Norman Cousins started the Hiroshima Maiden Project, raising money from donations from Cousins The Saturday Review, so readers could bring the women to the United States to receive plastic surgery to enable them to be more than symbols or reminders of defeat.

The women stayed in American homes during their surgeries and healing.

The daughters of both the clergyman and the writer met at an event honoring one of their fathers, the writer Norman Cousins.

The clergymans daughter, Koko Tanimoto, had only internal scars from Hiroshimas bomb.

She couldnt have children, she was not able to marry a boy because she was considered flawed.

She also had another scar, the scar of hate and anger toward the person who caused all the hardship in her life.

Yet she finally met him, heard his voice.

A television show This is Your Life brought her and her parents to America to do the show.

The pilot who had dropped the bomb from the plane on Hiroshima was there, and she saw the tear in the corner of his eye.

That tear saved me from hatred, she said. Even with all she lived through, being saved from hatred is no small thing.

The Hiroshima Maiden story, the story of the daughter, the history of the bomb, the sorrow of the pilot, the hate, the avoiding the hatred, all dominate my minds struggle about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Much of the established Palestinian leadership has taught generations to hate. But there may be a possibility for peace when the hate can be banished for hope.

That will be what I pray for in Israel; that both sides might discover the tears that might save us from our hate and anger, and prompt us to instead reach out and cling to both love and hope.

Rabbi Mitchell M. Hurvitz is Senior Rabbi at Temple Sholom of Greenwich, co-founder of the Sholom Center for Interfaith Learning and Fellowship and a past president of the Greenwich Fellowship of Clergy.
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STRATFORD  A Stratford man faces gun and drug charges after police said they conducted a search warrant at a residence in town.

Eric Herman, 25, was charged with possession of narcotics with intent to sell, possession with intent to sell within 1,500 feet of a daycare facility, first-degree reckless endangerment, improper storage of a loaded firearm, illegal transfer of a firearm and criminal possession of a firearm.
The University of Houston's May graduates won't have a university-wide commencement ceremony at TDECU Stadium this spring, ending a tradition instated in 2015 that brought in speakers including actor Matthew McConaughey and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Instead, each college will have individual commencement ceremonies.

"While assembling in a single, large venue to share the common experience is important, nothing is more important than allowing each student to walk across the stage amid the applause of his or her family and friends," University of Houston President Renu Khator wrote to faculty and staff last month. "With the ever-expanding number of graduates at each ceremony, it is impossible to honor both practices without forcing students to wear regalia twice."

Khator urged the heads of each college to line up the best possible speakers.

Some graduating seniors expressed disappointment on Twitter.

Provost Paula Short said in an email to students, staff and faculty that university officials had thought TDECU Stadium would allow for "a grand celebration with a high-profile speaker."

"But after three years, the conclusion was reached that a University of Houston Commencement at TDECU Stadium is not ideal for two main reasons  first, the unpredictable weather, and second and most important, the fact that, because of the very large number of graduates, students were not able to walk on stage and have their names announced," she wrote.

McConaughey's bill for the 2015 speech totaled more than $135,000. He donated much of that fee to his Just Keep Livin Foundation.

In 2017, Schwarzenegger told UH he would not accept the $40,000 fee arranged by his representatives to speak at spring commencement.

Spring commencement at UH will take place between May 10-12.

Lindsay Ellis writes about higher education for the Chronicle. You can follow her on Twitter and send her tips at lindsay.ellis@chron.com.
A Sugar Land resident is one of the individuals named in a study that identified 64 Americans who tried to join extremist groups in Syria and Iraq since 2011.

Warren Clark, 33, sent a resume and cover letter asking to become an English teacher for ISIS, according to the George Washington University study, which obtained thousands of pages of documents from U.S. District Court cases.

"I am looking to get a position teaching English to students in the Islamic State," began Clark's cover letter, which used the alias Abu Muhammad al-Ameriki.

"I was born and raised in the United States and have always loved teaching others and learning from others as well," the letter continued. "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."

WITNESS DRAWING: 'Cartoonish' police sketch helps police identify suspect

It is unclear when the job application was sent.

More Information Why a Sugar Land resident sent his resume to ISIS. See More Collapse

Clark, a 2008 University of Houston graduate and former Sugar Land resident, was highlighted by the study as one of the few travelers who did not seek a combat role within the Islamic State.

Seamus Hughes, deputy director of the program that produced the study, told NBC Clark's resume and cover letter were found in a home in Iraq that had been controlled by ISIS fighters until July 2017. Hughes believes Clark is still alive and successfully joined ISIS.

Above: See U.S. citizens accused of crimes tied to the Islamic State.

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.
Many business owners in Maryland are scrambling to prepare for the state's new sick-leave policy, which takes effect Sunday despite a veto last year from Gov. Larry Hogan, R, and a last-ditch attempt by the state Senate to delay it.

Some business owners say they don't know whether their employees qualify for the benefit, or wonder if their existing plans comply with the requirements. Others are concerned about a perceived lack of guidance from the state, or what willhappen if they make an honest mistake.

"I haven't received any mailings about it, or any information at all," said Tom Kunkel, who runs a Harford County-based marketing and printing company that employs about 20 people. "There's still a ton of questions I have."

Thelaw requires businesses with at least 15 employees to provide up to five days of paidleave each year for workers to deal with illness or issues such as domestic violence, assault or stalking. Exemptions apply to a long list of employees, including those who regularly work less than 12 hours a week, independent contractors, real estate brokers, construction workers covered by union contracts and anyone under the age of 18.

On Monday, the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation sent out basic guidance to about 210,000 people, including business owners who have participated in work groups on the issue or contacted the agency with questions.

The Hogan administration, which has pushed for changes in the law and supported an effort to delay implementation until summer, said it plans to release firmer guidelines within the next few weeks, after which it will take comment from the public and possibly develop official regulations, a process not required by the statute.

The five-person Office of Small Business Regulatory Assistance, created in mid-January, had received more than 600 emailsabout the new law as of Wednesday, according to the labor department.

According to the Regional Economic Studies Institute at Towson University, more than 107,000 Maryland businesses - 78 percent of businessesin the state - had 15 or more employees in 2015.

State legislative analysts have estimated that 64 percent of Maryland employees already receive paid sick leave, but that nearly 700,000 residents who don't will be eligible for the benefit under the law.

Some business owners are enthusiastic about the sick-leave requirement.

Ed Snodgrass, who operates a Harford County wholesale nursery that employs about 17 people during its peak season, said that the mandate is a matter of social justice and that it won't cause him much burden.

"There will be more time spent making coffee than keeping track of how many hours of paid leave someone has earned," he said. "We do more complicated things than that."

But other business owners say theyare confused about how to adhere to the law - or whether they even have to. They're asking whether minors and workers located out of state count toward their total number of employees, and how the state defines "regularly" for determining whether a person works enough hours to qualify for the benefit, among other questions.

Businesses in Montgomery and Prince George's counties already must provide sick leave because of laws passed at the county level. But employers may still be figuring out whether the state law adds any new requirements, or how to track which law to apply if they have employees working in multiple counties.

"This is coming so fast, and the state has not issued regulations yet, so we're not sure how all the differences shake out," said Jane Redicker, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Silver Spring Chamber of Commerce.

Some business owners have complained that they'll have to hire accountants, lawyers and human-resources specialists to help them determine how much sick leave their employees have earned. James Eaton, principal at the regional accounting firm KatzAbosch, said employerscould make things easier on themselves by providing the maximum 40 hours of paid sick leave up front, eliminating the need to track how much each worker has accrued.

"You could just give them the whole hog on the first of year, so you don't have to do the arithmetic every pay period," Eaton said.

Critics of the governor say the Hogan administration had ample time to prepare guidance for the law and to seek answers to any questions about the intent of specific provisions, noting that enactment of the measure was nearly certain after the legislature passed it with veto-proof majorities last year.

"They could have laid the groundwork, but they didn't pay attention to the number of votes on the board," said Del. Luke Clippinger (D-Baltimore City), who sponsored the bill.

Maryland Labor Secretary Kelly M. Schulz said it would not make sense to prepare to implement a bill that the governor had vetoed, especially because it was not clear until the last minute that Senate Democrats had enough votes for an override.

"We don't draft regulations and policy based on assumptions that a bill will pass," Schulz said.

The legislature overrode Hogan's veto on Jan. 12, launching a 30-day window until the statute would be implemented. But the Senate voted this week to push the effective date of the law to July 1, hoping to give companies more time to prepare for it. That proposal appears likely to die in the more liberal House, however.

House Economic Matters Chair Dereck E. Davis (D-Prince George's), whose committee will decide whether the delay plan moves forward in that chamber, called the proposal "dead on arrival," adding that "we're moving on to the rest of the state's business."

He and other key Democratic lawmakers have said state officials can address concerns about the sick-leave bill, including potential privacy issues, through regulations, rather than legislative action.

- - -

The Washington Post's Ovetta Wiggins contributed to this report.
Reuters just published an explosive investigative report detailing a massacre last September of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar's restive Rakhine state, following the arrest and imprisonment of two of the news agency's journalists who investigated the story.

The reporters are charged with violating an arcane and rarely invoked law known as the Official Secrets Act, which dates from colonial British rule. They have yet to face trial, but Myanmar authorities say the information they gathered and which has now been made public, was "illegally acquired with the intention to share it with foreign media."

The news agency claims the journalists uncovered evidence, including photos, that police ordered villagers to assist in the killing, dismemberment and burial of 10 Rohingya Muslims - eight men and two teenage boys - in a mass grave. The police's official account says the men attacked them, but the Reuters' reporting contradicts that claim.

"One grave for 10 people," said a retired soldier who told Reuters he helped dig the pit and witnessed the killings. "When they were being buried, some were still making noises. Others were already dead."

The report details the days leading up to the massacre as military operations destroyed communities of Rohingya in Inn Din, the fishing village where the events occurred, and draws on Buddhist and Muslim witnesses who recount the military commanders' orders to "go and clear" areas inhabited by Rohingyas.

Tensions have been flaring for years, and many observers believe that the central government is now waging a clear ethnic cleansing campaign and is guilty of genocide. The Myanmar government contends the Rohingya are essentially squatters, although the two communities have lived side by side for centuries.

While the Buddhist majority controls the country's military and security and is far better equipped than the minority Muslims, Rohingya are subject to persecution.

"If they have a place to live, if they have food to eat, they can carry out more attacks," one of the local policeman who took part in the operation said. "That's why we burned their houses, mainly for security reasons."

Since August 2017, an estimated 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar, also known as Burma, following the intense military crackdown by the Buddhist-run government against the Muslim minority. The reporting from Reuters sheds new light on the conflict and possible crimes against humanity.

"These two journalists are paying for their professionalism. Their only crime was to take an interest in the atrocities by Myanmar's security forces against the country's Rohingya minority, which resulted in an exodus of around 700,000 refugees," Daniel Bastard, head of Reporters Without Borders' Asia-Pacific desk, told The Washington Post via email. "The refusal to grant bail clearly shows that the judicial system is being used to punish these two reporters and to intimidate their media colleagues."

Reuters says the reporters supported the decision to publish the report.

"We thought it was really important to publish for three reasons. We felt the world needed to see this story. Our reporters in prison were fully supportive of the decision. And this is what we do," Stephen J. Adler, editor in chief of Reuters, told The Post. "Journalism is increasingly risky work, and it is part of our broader belief to publish important news. We thought it was time to go with it."
Virginia House Republican leaders unveiled Thursday what they billed as a low-cost Metro funding plan that rules out tax increases sought by Democrats and requires the agency to tighten its spending as a condition for getting additional money.

The legislation to give Metro an additional $105 million a year falls short of the approximately $150 million that the agency says it needs from Virginia.

But Metro and its supporters were pleased that the Republican lawmakers appear to be serious about approving increased revenue this legislative session.

The push for Metro funding also gained momentum in the legislature's other chamber late Thursday. A bipartisan majority on the Senate Finance Committee voted 9 to 4 in favor of a Democratic-sponsored bill that includes tax increases in northern Virginia and offers the agency $154 million a year. Senate Majority Leader Thomas Norment Jr., R-James City, was one of the "yes" votes.

"We are very encouraged by the progress," Metro spokesman Dan Stessel said.

On the House side, Speaker M. Kirkland Cox, R-Colonial Heights, and other leaders proposed to raise money for Metro by relying entirely on redirecting existing transportation funds, rather than using tax increases.

The GOP legislation would give Metro the money only if it caps annual growth in operating costs at 2 percent. That is more restrictive than the 3 percent limit promised by Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld and endorsed by Virginia Democrats.

The Republican bill provides for a review of Metro's governance structure, labor costs, pensions and safety measures. But it does not require shrinking the board or other reforms that some legislators, business leaders and others have favored.

"We're putting forward a very thoughtful and serious plan to reform and invest in Metro without raising taxes," Cox told a news conference. "We understand how important Metro is to Virginia's economy," calling the system a "key statewide asset" that is "crucially important to Virginia's economic competitiveness."

The House Republicans' position sets the stage for a clash in Richmond. Metro and its supporters say the agency urgently needs increased funding totaling $500 million a year from Virginia, the District of Columbia and Maryland to ensure safety and reliability.

Virginia's share of that is about $150 million a year, based on existing Metro revenue formulas. Failure to approve some money in the Virginia General Assembly would almost certainly derail the funding effort this year, because Maryland and the District would not make their own contributions if Virginia balks.

Northern Virginia Democrats would like negotiations in the House to lead to passage of a bill that is more generous to Metro. They predicted that theMetro bill expected to emerge from the Senate would be closer to their liking, and the ultimate result would be determined in negotiations between the two chambers at the end of the session.

"I hope that when [the House bill] gets to the Appropriations Committee, that saner heads will prevail," Del. Kenneth Plum, D-Fairfax, said. "Let's build on this now, as a much more realistic and robust Senate bill comes forward, and we'll work it out in conference."

Republicans have razor-thin majorities in the House and the Senate. The Democrats' proposals have the backing of Gov. Ralph Northam, D.

Cox and two other House GOP leaders - Del. Timothy Hugo, Fairfax, the caucus chairman, and Del. S. Chris Jones (Suffolk), chairman of the Appropriations Committee - laid out their plans for Metro after the Transportation Committee voted to refer the issue to the Appropriations panel.

Hugo said the state has been frustrated in the past when it responded to requests for more funding amid promises of reforms.

"Moneys come forward, but the reforms don't materialize," Hugo said. "That has got to end with this bill."

This time, he said, reforms "must go hand in hand with the money." Making the analogy: "Kids have to eat their vegetables before their dessert."

The principal reform in the GOP bill is a requirement to limit increases in the operations budget to 2 percent a year. If Metro violated that provision, Hugo said, the state would cut funding by 50 percent.

Wiedefeld promised the 3 percent annual limit in increases to the agency's operating budget in April, when he also called for "a new business model" including new, dedicated funding totaling $500 million a year.

Wiedefeld has warned that without the money, he will have to reduce service, raise fares, or both. And he has said repeatedly he will not economize by shortchanging the capital program because of the importance of fully funding safety needs.

Hugo noted that the House's no-new-taxes approach differs from the Senate's plan, which proposes to raise taxes in northern Virginia on real estate sales, hotel stays and wholesale gasoline.

Jeff Ryer, a spokesman for Norment, suggested that the Senate GOP leader voted for the new taxes in the Finance Committee vote because they fell only on northern Virginians.

"Generally speaking, Sen. Norment has been supportive when regions tax themselves for their own improvement," Ryer said.

To obtain the $105 million for Metro, the House GOP proposed to redirect a total of $60 million from three existing taxes: the northern Virginia recordation tax designated for transportation, the motor-vehicle rental tax and the northern Virginia transient occupancy tax.

In addition, $45 million would be diverted from transportation funds that flow to northern Virginia local governments.

The Republicans' rejection of tax increases accounts for most of the difference between their plan and the Democrats'.

"They took out all the new sources of revenue, which was a minority of the total package and was only going to be raised in northern Virginia," Del. Mark Sickles, D-Fairfax, said. "I'm disappointed in that. I would like to get this issue over with by raising our $154 million share by the end of this session. I hope this is the beginning of a negotiation."

Still, many Metro supporters were pleased that the Republicans recognized the need to fund Metro and publicly acknowledged its importance to the statewide economy.

"We are very encouraged that the House leadership is making a clear commitment to Metro as a core statewide asset," said Michael Forehand, vice president for government relations at the northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce.

Metro Board Chairman Jack Evans said he was "very heartened" by the GOP bill, although he said it was important for Virginia, Maryland and the District to come up with a total of $500 million.

"It really looks like Virginia really understands the situation we face," Evans said. "My encouragement would be to try to get to the $150 million [in Virginia's share] if you can. . . . If we don't get to the [total] $500 million, it does put us in a tough situation here with management. . . . That will require the general manager to have to make decisions that are not in the best interest of fixing the system."

- - -

Vozzella reported from Richmond, Virginia. Martine Powers contributed to this report.
The two Democrats running for Bexar County district attorney met face to face for the first time in the primary campaign in a 11/2-hour debate Thursday that featured a series of vehement exchanges.

Joe Gonzales, a defense attorney and former prosecutor, presented himself as a more liberal Democrat than Nico LaHood, calling the incumbents temperament not appropriate for the office and criticizing his record of prosecuting misdemeanor domestic violence cases.

LaHood began his opening statement by pointing to what he called the negative tone of Gonzales campaign, apparently referring to a pair of direct mail pieces sent out by a political action committee supporting the challengers effort.

He defended the DA offices record of prosecuting domestic violence cases, saying Gonzales took the statistics out of context, and condemned him for speaking in overly political rhetoric, repeatedly referring to Gonzales statements as soundbites.

Near the start of the debate at the Claude Black Community Center, LaHood named several units his office started or reformed, including the conviction integrity unit and the domestic violence and major crimes task forces.

Gonzales followed by accusing LaHood of taking credit for whats already there.

Hes window dressing, Gonzales said. Hes changing units and taking credit for it.

At one point, the candidates were asked whether they would support the other in the general election. LaHood, answering first, demurred, calling it a tough question to answer.

The politically correct answer is to say, of course Im going to endorse Joe because thats the political thing to do, LaHood said. I cant say that. I do not respect the way that he has handled the campaign.

Gonzales took LaHoods refusal to commit to an endorsement as an example of his dubious Democratic credentials.

One of the main differences between my opponent and myself is that Im the true Democrat, Gonzales said. Why is it hard for him to stand here and say he would support a Democrat?

The candidates took turns fielding questions from the moderators, speaking from a lectern near the front of the room. During some of Gonzales statements, LaHood smiled or shook his head, at times mouthing phrases like thats not true or hes lying.

Former business partners, Gonzales and LaHood last year were entangled in a controversy in which LaHood reportedly threatened to destroy the practices of Gonzales and Christian Henricksen, attorneys defending a case being prosecuted by the DAs office.

Gonzales broached the subject during the debate, calling LaHoods behavior during the incident an example of his inexperience as a prosecutor.

I told the judge that we needed time to investigate the possibility of prosecutorial misconduct, Gonzales said. Now, had he been an experienced prosecutor, he would have said, You know what, Joe? Take your time. You do what you need to do. Youll find that theres nothing there. Instead of doing that, he lashed out and he threatened to shut down my practice.

LaHood, as in the past, denied that the threat took place.

Hes just lying, LaHood said, claiming he had text messages to back up his point. We had a discussion in the back. I absolutely did not threaten him. He knows it, Jason (Goss, the prosecutor) was there, and we have two other witnesses that can testify to that.

Asked if the incident  which was corroborated by a judge who was present  prompted him to enter the race, Gonzales said it was the straw that broke the camels back.

Near the end of the night, the candidates were asked if personal beliefs regarding vaccines should be expressed from the DAs office in an official manner.

In 2016, LaHood said in a video filmed in his office that vaccines can and do cause autism.

Gonzales, responding first, jumped on the question.

Absolutely not, he said. And thats another reason Im running against Nico LaHood, because hes wasting taxpayer dollars and time advocating for something that has nothing to do with fighting crime, whether or not his personal belief is that vaccines cause autism or causes anything else.

LaHood, who has a son on the autism spectrum, noted that politicians have made statements about autism without facing retribution.

Everybody was OK with it, he said. But because I have an opinion and I say it one time in one video, please show the stats and the objective evidence, not what your campaign manager would tell you to say, that I have wasted tax dollars advocating for a personal belief.

LaHood not only appeared in the video but was a headliner at an anti-vaccination conference in Dallas. In both instances, the fact that he was district attorney was emphasized.

He said Gonzales was attacking what my wife and I go through medically.

We have an opinion of how that happened, he said.

In the end, Gonzales and LaHood reluctantly shook hands, ostensibly the first time they made eye contact all night.

jscherer@express-news.net | @jaspscherer
A 64-year-old man could face the death penalty for a homicide he's accused of committing 30 years ago.

On Monday, a Bexar County grand jury elected to indict Larry Moore on a capital murder charge. He's accused of sexually assaulting and strangling Dianna Lowery, 25.

Lowery was found dead by her boyfriend at their home on Bailey Street on Jan. 29, 1987. She was in her bathrobe and socks with abrasions to her face, the police report said.

RELATED: 3 masked suspects slay teen in revenge shooting at SW side mobile home park, police say

Police later determined Lowery had been bound, beaten and strangled after an autopsy was conducted by the Bexar County Medical Examiners Office.

Moore was questioned shortly after the killing, but he was not accused until 2005, after DNA evidence tied him to the crime scene.

Moore was indicted in September of that year, according to a news release from the district attorney's office. Lowery's mother pushed for a swift resolution because she wanted to see the case get resolved before she died of a terminal illness, officials said.

However, a prosecutor dismissed the case against Moore in 2007 for further investigation.

The case remained in limbo until January, when Lowery's niece contacted the district attorney's office seeking answers. District Attorney Nico LaHood revisited the case and subsequently decided there was enough evidence to prosecute Moore, according to the release.

Moore lived in a duplex next to Lowery's, according to the release. The investigation revealed he was the owner of both units and kept a set of Lowery's spare keys, allowing him access to her apartment.

RELATED: 12 girls, ages 12 to 16, accuse Corpus Christi man of sexual assault

Following the indictment, Moore was arrested in Prescott, Arizona. He will be extradited to Bexar County.

Moore suffers from a degenerative disease and uses a wheelchair to get around, according to a previous Express-News story.

Fares Sabawi covers crime in San Antonio and Bexar County for mySA.com. Read more of his stories here. | fsabawi@mysa.com
Philadelphia wasn't the only place where Eagles fans got rowdy, according to the Austin Police Department.

Several witnesses saw a man spray painting the Stevie Ray Vaughan statue on Monday, according to police, presumably to celebrate the first Super Bowl victory in the franchise's history.
In August, while his conduct as a Special Victims Unit detective was being probed and he was relegated to administrative duty, Kenneth Valdez ignored orders to cease contact with a woman and to refrain from working off-duty.

Valdez was fired from the San Antonio Police Department in November, after officials said he mishandled more than 130 sex and family crime cases.

He received a second indefinite suspension in January and this week the department released details on that termination.

READ MORE: Records: Fired SAPD detective failed to disclose DNA evidence in sex crimes

According to the police department's rules and regulations, officers are prohibited from outside employment without the police chief's approval.

Valdez, however worked on July 14, July 28 and August 8, doing off-duty security for the Pearl Brewery, according to the documents.

In August, he was relegated to administrative duty and "specifically prohibited from engaging in any off-duty or outside employment" according to the document. Despite the order, Valdez continued working for the Ventana Apartment Homes.

On Aug. 21, 2017, Valdez was issued a direct order of no contact with a woman whose name is redacted from the suspension record.

Valdez also ignored that order and admitted to continuing contact with her, sharing an apartment with her and talking to her on the phone for several days, according to the documents.

RELATED: SAPD: Multiple injured after River Walk bar fight spills into street

The detective is appealing both suspensions, including the one handed down in 2017 in connection to the SVU audit.

Valdez was issued his first indefinite suspension after San Antonio Police Chief William McManus discovered said he regularly mishandled evidence by not submitting it for forensic testing or leaving unlabeled evidence all over his desk.

The mishandled cases date back to 2013.

Fares Sabawi covers crime in San Antonio and Bexar County for mySA.com. Read more of his stories here. | fsabawi@mysa.com
A traffic stop in Kyle led police officers to a major cash and drug seizure, according to the department.

On Feb. 2, Kyle police officers pulled over a car on the I-35 access road. Police said the traffic stop produced enough evidence to obtain a search warrant for a home in the Amberwood neighborhood, according to the post.
WASHINGTON - Syrian Kurdish fighters have detained two British men infamous for their role in the Islamic State's imprisonment, torture and killing of Western hostages, according to U.S. officials.

The men were part of a group of four Islamic State militants known as the "Beatles" because of their British accents. Officials identified the two men captured as Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh. They were the last two members of the group to remain at large.

The ringleader, Mohammed Emwazi, was killed in an airstrike in 2015 in Syria after an intensive manhunt. Known as "Jihadi John," he beheaded U.S. and British hostages. A fourth man, Aine Davis, is imprisoned in Turkey on terrorism charges.

All four had lived in West London. Kotey, born in London, is of Ghanaian and Greek Cypriot background, while Elsheikh's family fled Sudan in the 1990s. Both men have been designated foreign terrorists by the United States.

The British extremists repeatedly beat the hostages they kept imprisoned in Raqqa, Syria, formerly the Islamic State's self-declared capital, and subjected them to waterboarding and mock executions. Emwazi was believed to have killed American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, as well as Abdul-Rahman Kassig, an aid worker. The U.S. government says the group beheaded more than 27 hostages.

According to the State Department, Kotey "likely engaged in the group's executions and exceptionally cruel torture methods, including electronic shock and waterboarding.

Kotey, 34, and Elsheikh, 29, were detained by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, a Kurdish-led militia, which is fighting the last pockets of Islamic State insurgents in Syrian towns and villages along the Euphrates River south to the border with Iraq.

The SDF suspected that the men were foreign fighters and gave them access to U.S. Special Operations forces, U.S. officials said. The Americans confirmed their identities using fingerprints and biometric measurements.

Their capture and detention was described to The New York Times by several U.S. officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because details of the case remain secret. Cmdr. Sarah Higgins of the Navy, a Pentagon spokeswoman for detention policy issues, declined to comment.

A senior U.S. official said Kotey and Elsheikh had provided valuable information to military interrogators about the remaining Islamic State leadership and support structure, which are under tremendous pressure from air and ground attacks.

There were some indications that the two men initially sought to hide their identities, but the Special Operations forces routinely run fingerprint checks and other biometric measurements to identify known terrorist leaders and catalog rank-and-file militants.
BEIRUT - The U.S.-backed coalition in Syria said Thursday that it had repelled an attack by forces supporting the Assad government, carrying out deadly strikes, in a rare confrontation between competing factions that have both fought the Islamic State.

The clash, on Wednesday night, occurred in an area of eastern Syria where government troops and their allies have competed with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, allied with the United States, to seize territory rich in oil and natural gas.

The fighting offered a glaring example of the new risks posed by a host of combatants in the region, including Iran, Russia, Syria, Turkey and the United States, who, though wary of one another, had a shared interest in defeating the Islamic State. Now that the militant group has been driven from most of its territory, the conflicting interests are leading to increasing friction and unpredictable escalations, like Turkey's recent assault on a Kurdish-controlled region.

The U.S. military's Central Command said Thursday that "Syrian pro-regime forces initiated an unprovoked attack against well-established Syrian Democratic Forces." It said that at the time of the clash, international coalition troops were with the SDF, a mix of Kurdish, Arab and other fighters, but it did not say whether any were American.

"In defense of coalition and partner forces, the coalition conducted strikes," it said.

The Syrian state news agency, Sana, described the strikes as aggression by the coalition against "popular forces that were fighting" the Islamic State. It said they had left "scores of persons dead and others injured."

It was not clear whether the casualties were the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad or of his allies, which include Russia and Iran-backed militias such as the Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah.

Middle East experts said that direct fighting between Americans and Russians would represent a dangerous escalation in the Syrian fighting.

Kremlin officials said that no Russians had been involved. In a statement, Russia's Defense Ministry said that the coalition strike was carried out by helicopters, and that it had wounded 25 Syrian insurgents.

The Defense Ministry charged that the U.S. aim in Syria was "capture and retention of economic assets." The Foreign Ministry said that the U.S. presence was giving shelter to Islamic State fighters.

At the United Nations, Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia of Russia said he intended to raise the U.S. airstrikes during closed consultations of the Security Council. But there was little or no expectation that the council, long divided over the Syria conflict, would issue a statement on the airstrikes.

Speaking to reporters, Nebenzia rejected the U.S. explanation that the airstrikes had been carried out for defensive reasons.

"We were invited by the government of Syria to fight terrorists since 2015," he said. "The U.S. was never invited to Syria. So who is the aggressor, tell me?"

Aaron David Miller, a Middle East analyst at the Wilson Center, said the forces backing the Syrian government seemed to be testing the coalition's resolve. But, he added, it was not clear whether the clash marked a new phase of the war in which the United States and its allies would enter more direct confrontation with forces loyal to Assad.

"We're now protecting a territory the size of Indiana and deepening our commitment to the SDF, with no sense of where this is going, no sense of strategy, no sense of endgame," said Miller, who was a State Department official in Republican and Democratic administrations.

The fighting took place Deir el-Zour province in eastern Syria, between the Euphrates and the Iraqi border. Central Command said the pro-Assad forces had attacked about five miles east of "the agreed-upon Euphrates River deconfliction line."
Cody Duty/Houston Chronicle

Mayor Sylvester Turner will recognize 10 civic leaders Friday at his new History Makers Awards, an event meant to honor Houstonians who contribute to the community by volunteering, mentoring and advocacy.

The event, formed in recognition of Februarys designation as Black History Month, will be held at the Houstonian Hotel, and will honor the following Houstonians:
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee investigating the Larry Nassar abuse case has asked former USA Gymnastics womens national team coordinators Bela and Martha Karolyi to produce documents and materials concerning their relationship with USA Gymnastics and Nassar dating back to 1996.

The letter sent to the Karolyis requesting documents was one of five issued by the committee, which said it intends to investigate how Nassars assaults on gymnasts under the guise of medical treatment were able to occur, let alone persist, for over two decades.

Nassar, 54, who was a national team physician for USA Gymnastics from 1996-2015, faces the equivalent of a life sentence after pleading guilty in Michigan to criminal sexual conduct and in a federal court to possession of child pornography.

More than 200 women have testified regarding his actions at sentencing hearings, including Olympic gold medalists Aly Raisman and Jordyn Wieber, and four-time Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles of Spring also said she was molested by Nassar.

In addition to the Karolyis, whose ranch in the Sam Houston National Forest between New Waverly and Huntsville served as the womens national training center from 2001-16, the committee requested information from the U.S. Olympic Committee, USA Gymnastics, Michigan State University, which employed Nassar as a faculty member, and Twistars USA Gymnastics Club in Dimondale, Mich., where Nassar treated gymnasts.

The Karolyis were asked to produce training materials, policies, procedures and instructions regarding medical treatment to athletes; materials about reporting and addressing sexual assault; any sexual assault complaints received about Nassar or other individuals; documents or communications on the topic involving USA Gymnastics and steps the Karolyis have taken to prevent future instances of abuse.

The Karolyis were asked to produce the documents by Feb. 22 and requested to brief the committee staff on details after complying with the request.

DONE: Karolyi Ranch out as USA Gymnastics training site

Bela Karolyi retired after the 2000 Olympics, and Martha Karolyi retired as national team coordinator after the 2016 Olympics. The couple said last year they would no longer hold summer gymnastics camps at the ranch, and USA Gymnastics last month ended its lease to use the property as a national training center.

The Texas Rangers along with the Walker County Sheriffs Department also are investigating possible criminal activity at the ranch. An attorney for the Karolyis said last week that the couple would cooperate with any law enforcement investigation.

Several former gymnasts have said that Nassar molested them while administering medical treatment in their living quarters and in a treatment room at the ranch. The Karolyis are listed as defendants in a lawsuit filed in California state court in Los Angeles against USA Gymnastics, Nassar and others.

THE END: USA Gymnastics board tumbles after doctor's sex abuse sentencing

The embattled federation this week said it has established an athlete assistance fund to assist gymnasts who suffered sexual abuse in the sport. An independent third party will administer the fund, created through the National Gymnastics Foundation.
Dreamers may have done the immigration debate a big favor by killing the a-word.

As they try to shoot down plans to legalize the undocumented, immigration restrictionists in both parties love using a certain term. For many of these folks, anything that allows illegal immigrants to lawfully remain in the United States  by giving them permanent legal status, with or without a path to citizenship  amounts to amnesty. Pure and simple.

So when President Donald Trump recently unveiled a plan that would legalize 1.8 million undocumented young people known as Dreamers, it should have come as no surprise that right-wing media site Breitbart reflexively labeled the commander in chief Amnesty Don.

On the left, writer Mickey Kaus tweeted disapprovingly that Trump was offering a big, immediate amnesty for the Dreamers in exchange for promised changes to legal immigration that might not materialize for many years.

On the right, conservative writer Ann Coulter wrote that the headline about Trumps immigration plan could have read: TRUMP ANNOUNCES SAME FAILED AMNESTY DEAL WE HAD 30 YEARS AGO.

Coulter was referring to the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, which was signed into law by President Reagan and which ultimately gave permanent legal status and a path to citizenship to nearly 3 million people.

It still sticks in the craw of many conservatives that Reagan gave away so much to the pro-amnesty crowd  and appeared to get so little in return.

Today, a new generation of conservatives worries that Trump is likewise being taken to the cleaners  and offering a full-fledged amnesty.

But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, its worth asking: What does the a-word really mean, anyway? According to Merriam-Webster, amnesty is the act of an authority (such as a government) by which pardon is granted to a large group of individuals. Collins Dictionary of Law defines it as an act of a sovereign power waiving liability for a past offense.

Do you know to whom much of this doesnt apply? Dreamers.

After all, as everyone seems to agree, these undocumented young people broke no laws. And they committed no offense  at least not knowingly or intentionally  when they were brought to the United States as children, often against their will.

And the Dreamers certainly arent looking for a pardon, or a waiver of liability, or some other version of a free ride. They arent ducking out on accountability.

In fact, nearly 700,000 of the 1.8 million people to whom Trump is offering legal status have already been vetted. It happened when they turned themselves over to authorities as part of the application process for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). They got fingerprinted, had their photos taken and handed over their home addresses to immigration agents.

Thats pure accountability, from start to finish. And so it only makes conservatives look foolish and uninformed when they blast DACA as an unlawful executive amnesty.

Of course, conservatives are likely to keep overusing the word amnesty  even if it means applying the term where it doesnt belong. Theyve been doing it for more than 30 years, and they arent about to stop now.

Yet, along the way, they should remember what they themselves always tell the rest of us about words like racism  that the more you use it, the more it loses its power.

And sure enough, while the word amnesty used to fire up those who argued that we shouldnt reward bad behavior or excuse lawbreaking, it doesnt appear to have the same bite today.

A recent poll by Quinnipiac University found that 73 percent of American voters  including 49 percent of Republicans  support giving legal status to Dreamers.

In the immigration debate, many Americans seem to have mellowed, matured and moved on from old slogans. More and more, they have no use for what were once highly charged words such as amnesty. And, with any luck, soon theyll have no use for those who cant get beyond that kind of loaded vocabulary.

ruben@rubennavarrette.com
Former state Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer showed poor judgment when he gave up his seat in 2016 in a bid for the state Senate.

He had already lost a runoff for that office to fellow lawmaker Jose Menendez. That was in the special election in 2015 to replace Leticia Van de Putte, who was running for San Antonio mayor.

Why would voters think differently in a rematch? They didnt. Martinez Fischer again lost to Menendez in the next regular election. But unlike the special election, he had to give up his seat to run.

That decision opened the door for Diana Arevalo, who won a tough election to represent House District 116, which covers much of San Antonios Northwest Side. Now Martinez Fischer wants to return to his former office.

After meeting with the candidates together, and listening to their views of the Legislature, we recommend Martinez Fischer.

He is the more experienced lawmaker and a practicing attorney. He demonstrated a much stronger command of the nuances and details of legislation and governance. His assertiveness would serve this district well. Its telling that 17 members of the House have recommended him.

Our recommendation is based on Martinez Fischers strength as a candidate and officeholder. Its not a criticism of Arevalo, who runs a nonprofit that provides affordable after-school musical education. She passed legislation in her freshman term that could potentially increase school funding through a facilities allotment.

There is little difference between these candidates on the issues, but there is a significant experience gap. And that matters. Next legislative session will present a host of thorny challenges, particularly for cities such as San Antonio.

House Speaker Joe Straus decision not to seek re-election could have far-reaching consequences. Straus was a sensible and moderating force last session. The next speaker may not share his ethos.

Martinez Fischer has carved out an expertise in using points of order to gum up controversial legislation. He stopped a sanctuary cities ban in 2011, for example. He delayed the 2015 campus carry law at the last minute, leading to changes that gave university and college presidents broader discretion in crafting campus carry policy.

It will be a new day at the Texas House without Straus. Martinez Fischer would be an assertive, vocal and engaged lawmaker, just as he was for 16 years.
In the brief time since President Donald Trump signed his tax reform lowering the corporate tax rate into law, numerous major corporations have announced wage hikes, bonuses and benefit improvements for their hardworking employees.

Here a few examples of these beneficial changes, according to sources such as USA Today, CNN News and Fox Business:

American Airlines, a $1,000 bonus for 127,600 employees.

AT&T, $1,000 bonus for 200,000 employees.

Apple, $2,500 bonuses in stock, along with hiring 20,000 new employees.

Bank of America, a $1,000 bonus for 145,000 employees.

Southwest Airlines, a $1,000 bonus for 55,000 employees.

Waste Management, $2,000 bonus for 34,000 employees.

Wells Fargo, minimum wage increased from $13.50 to $15 an hour.

AutoNation doubled its 401(k) match and launched a new cancer benefit program.

Home Depot, as much as a $1,000 bonus for all hourly employees.

The list goes on. This is fantastic news for America and its hardworking citizens. You must ask yourself, why isnt this front-page news in the Express-News? I assume it is because not one Democrat voted for it.

Donald White

False narrative

Re: Its time for a real deal for Dreamers, Editorial, Jan. 26:

To end the government shutdown, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell agreed to negotiate DACA. Thats all. He did not agree to a vote, nor did he agree to reach a deal by Feb. 8. Many recent mainstream media articles said words to the effect of Republicans are reaching crunch time to make a deal by Feb 8.

McConnell never said a deal would be reached by then, but the articles implied he did, and that failure to pass a DACA deal would be the Republicans fault. There is no way the Senate was going to pass any DACA legislation acceptable to Democrats, but the implication was that Democrats were right to threaten another shutdown. McConnell would be held accountable for something he never said, just as President Donald Trump is being held accountable for something he never did.

Don Ripley, Floresville

Creating FBI war

In March, Rep. Devin Nunes rushed to the White House, alerting the president that the FBI might have surveilled someone on his team. We later learned he had obtained the information from the president himself, and that the Trump people had concocted the ploy to shift attention away from the Russian investigation.

Fast forward to the present. What if Nunes collaborated with President Donald Trump to create a memo about alleged FBI misuse of power, and at the same time exposed how the FBI operates counterintelligence investigations? To maintain its secret operations, the FBI will be forced to go to war with the president in the future.

Jesse Ortiz
STAMFORD  A former New York man will not face jail time for an incident with police after a misunderstanding about the color wristband he was wearing to get pizza backstage at the Maury show.

Judge Richard Comerford found Peter Lopez, 36, not guilty this week of interfering with police and disorderly conduct for the March 2016 incident at the Rich Forum.

Lopez, who now lives in Florida, shook hands with the police officer who arrested him two years ago after a Maury show security guard kicked him out of a backstage room where he was trying to eat pizza with his co-workers.

Lopez testified during the brief trial that some of his co-workers from a fire suppression company in New York were escorted into the room following the taping of a Maury show.

Lopez said the ticket arrangement included a meal before the second show was taped. However, he said a security guard began cursing at him because he didnt have the correct color wrist band and tried to kick him out of the room.

Lopez said he refused, since his friends were eating and because the guard was acting rude.

The guard then called Stamford police officer Kevin Lochard, who was on an extra-duty assignment at the theater.

Lochard testified he told Lopez to leave the room and watched as he tried to push past the guard to get to the pizza table. Lochard said he was shoved backward when he tried to stop Lopez.

Lochard said he ordered Lopez to put his hands behind his back, but he refused. Lochard said he and the guard took Lopez to the floor to place him in custody.

In response to questions from his attorney, Andrew Gould, Lopez said the incident was a misunderstanding about the color wristband he was wearing.

He admitted on the stand that this was a misunderstanding, and if he would do it over again, he would, Gould told the judge. He does respect the police and would follow their commands.

Assistant States Attorney Daniel Cummings asked Lopez if he learned his lesson and would obey officers orders in the future.

Do you agree that this whole incident wasnt worth the food you were going to get, Cummings asked.

Absolutely, Lopez replied.

Comerford said the incident escalated over absolute silliness.

Heres a guy who comes to the show with his people and is told if he wears a certain color wristband you can pick up your pizza, the judge said. Hes trying to do the right thing and all of a sudden he runs into a misunderstanding, probably created more by the security guard than anybody else.

jnickerson@stamfordadvocate.com
WASHINGTON  Congress approved a $300 billion, two-year spending bill and an additional $90 billion in aid for victims of hurricanes and California wildfires early Friday and President Trump signed it, ending a brief partial shutdown of the federal government.

The Senate voted 71-28 for the legislation after an hours-long delay engineered by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who complained that the bills vast increases in military and domestic spending would raise a deficit already likely to be swollen by a tax bill that promises to add $1.5 trillion to the governments debt over a decade  a measure Paul voted for.

My party is now complicit in the deficits, Paul said.

At 5:30 a.m. EST, the House followed the Senates lead, passing the spending bill by a vote of 240-186. The no votes included conservative Republicans upset about deficits and liberal Democrats who wanted the bill to be attached to protections for undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. They face deportation starting next month after Trump ordered an end to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA.

The subject of months of partisan standoff, the 652-page bill was negotiated by Senate and House leaders from both parties and announced by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Wednesday. More than half the money, $165 billion, goes to the military, and $131 billion to domestic programs, lifting budget caps put in place in 2013.

Trump signed the bill Friday morning, declaring in a tweet, Our Military will now be stronger than ever before. We love and need our Military and gave them everything  and more. First time this has happened in a long time. Also means JOBS, JOBS, JOBS!

The new legislation would put a halt to the five stopgap funding emergencies that have plagued the Republican-controlled Congress since the fiscal year ended last September. Unable to pass long-term bills, Republicans have relied on stopgap measures to keep the government open for a few weeks at a time and leading to funding crises as each new deadline approached. The latest expired Thursday at midnight.

It was unclear how the belated congressional passage would affect services Friday morning by government agencies that were shuttered for three days last month under an earlier budget standoff. Vital services such as military operations, air traffic control and mail delivery are unaffected.

The disaster package in the budget bill includes funding and special tax provisions that would apply to all federally declared wildfire disasters in California from Jan. 1, 2017, to Jan. 18 of this year, covering both the Wine Country fires and the winter fires in Southern California. The vast majority of the $90 billion is for damage from three hurricanes that struck Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico last fall.

Also tucked in the bill is $200 million for nine declared fishery disasters from Alaska to California dating to 2014. Reps. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, and Jackie Speier, D-Hillsborough, have been urging approval of funds to aid fishermen affected by the 2015-16 closure of the Dungeness crab season and several salmon fisheries going back to 2014. The administration would decide how to allocate the money.

Although there was never any doubt the Senate would approve the legislation, House passage was uncertain. Many Democrats, led by Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco, opposed the bill because of the refusal of House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., to promise an open debate on providing legal status to young immigrants. About 690,000 undocumented immigrants who arrived in the United States as minors have been protected from deportation under the Obama administrations DACA program, which Trump intends to end on March 5.

Pelosi commandeered the House floor for a record eight hours Wednesday, reading stories of the young immigrants and demanding that Ryan permit debate on several immigration bills, allowing the one that gets the most votes to pass, a procedure known as queen of the hill. But Republicans, who are in power, typically permit votes only on bills supported by a majority of their caucus.

Pelosi urged Democrats at a closed-door caucus to use their leverage to force an immigration debate by voting no on the spending bill, but stopped short of insisting they hold ranks. She followed at midnight with a letter to Ryan from her and her top lieutenants, Steny Hoyer, D-Md., and James Clyburn, D-S.C. They told the speaker they supported the spending bill but demanded debate on a mostly Democratic-backed immigration bill that would provide legal status for the young immigrants and has 27 Republican co-sponsors, including two San Joaquin Valley Republicans, Reps. Jeff Denham of Turlock (Stanislaus County) and David Valadao of Hanford (Kings County).

Its so easy, Pelosi said at a news conference. Bring everything to the floor.

Ryan said Wednesday that an immigration debate would be the GOPs next big priority, but promised a vote only on a bill that Trump would sign. Trump wants cuts in legal immigration in exchange for legal status for the young immigrants, a proposal Democrats dismiss as a nonstarter.

For Ryan, an open immigration debate is anything but easy. Since blocking a major immigration overhaul in 2006 passed by the Senate and backed by GOP President, George W. Bush, Republicans have grown steadily more restrictionist. Trump made an immigration crackdown central to his campaign, riding his promise of a border wall to the presidency.

If Ryan were to allow what conservatives view as amnesty for young immigrants to pass without Trumps other demands  on mostly Democratic votes and against strong opposition from House Republicans  it could topple him from the speakership.

There are a large number of Democrats who are going to oppose the bill until there is a commitment by the speaker to have a vote on the Dream Act, said Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Fremont. Others, he said, are pleased by the increases in spending on domestic programs that have been squeezed for years.

Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong sent a note to reporters late Thursday saying if House Democrats oppose the bill, they would be responsible for causing another shutdown.

She argued that because the bill is the product of a bipartisan Senate agreement, both sides need to deliver votes. If Democrats fail to do so, she said. House Democrats will realize how horrible of a position they will be in forcing a government shutdown without the support of Sen. Schumer. Itd be a lonely road.

Both California senators, Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris, voted no on the spending bill. Harris said it was because it failed to provide a clear pathway to legal status for the young immigrants. Harris was forced to cancel her keynote address Friday morning at the 2018 State of the Valley Conference in San Jose.

The Senate is expected to open a rare freewheeling debate next week on immigration, following through on a promise McConnell made to Democrats to end last months weekend government shutdown. McConnell said Wednesday the debate would begin with no underlying bill and alternate between proposals by both parties.

Carolyn Lochhead is The San Francisco Chronicles Washington correspondent. Email: clochhead@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @CarolynLochhead
If you feel adrift in the hardware store when faced with endless types of paint, we feel your pain. That's because in addition to all those colors, there are different types of paintand even more types of paint finishes!

As if that weren't complicated enough, each paint type has a distinct place and purpose in your home; put the wrong one on the wrong surface, and you're in trouble. Big trouble!

So before you blindly grab a paint can and make decisions you'll regret, check out this essential primer (get it?) on types of paint and finishes, and the pros and cons of each.

Latex paint

Photo by td[s]

Pros: Latex paints, which are water-based, are the main type in use on nearly every surface in the home, according to Sara Chiarilli, an interior designer with Artful Conceptions. And for good reason: Latex is easy to roll on, cleans up with soap and water, and dries quickly.

Cons: This type isn't quite as durable as oil-based paint. And if you're using latex paint on wood (cabinets, trim), you'll have to sand carefullyit can peel or crack if applied to a rough surface.



Oil-based paint

Photo by Kathy Corbet Interiors

Pros: Oil-based paint is the hardest and most durable choice.

"This type, especially in semigloss, is excellent for trim and moldings in the home because it dries with a beautiful, rich finish," says Karen Gray-Plaisted of Design Solutions KGP.

Cons: Frankly, it stinks, says Darla DeMorrow of HeartWork Organizing. Until it dries, that is. The smell during application can irritate the eyes and cause breathing problems.

In the past, working with oil meant you had to open windows to air out the fumes, but today's low-odor paints, made without volatile organic compounds, have solved this problem. Oil-based paints also take a long time to dry, and the cleanup for brushes and other materials requires turpentine.

Also keep in mind that while oil-based paints are pretty to look at, more and more they're being replaced by water-based products. In fact, many companies (such as Dunn-Ewards with its Aristoshield line) have developed water-based paints that sport the look of an oil-based finish.



Types of paint finishes

Photo by Greg Natale

Aside from the type of paint you use, you'll have to choose a type of paint finish, which determines how shiny (or not) it looks once it's dry.

Both oil-based and latex paints can be found in every type of finish. However, oil-based paints tend to come in semigloss and glossy, while latex is usually applied with a matte/flat to semigloss finish, says Gray-Plaisted.

Here are the types of paint finishes, as well as the best places to use them.

Matte or flat: This finish is often used on walls and ceilings or in low-traffic areas because it doesnt stand up well to rubbing or cleaning. Matte/flat finishes don't reflect light, making it an ideal pick to hide small defects such as cracks or bumps.

This finish is often used on walls and ceilings or in low-traffic areas because it doesnt stand up well to rubbing or cleaning. Matte/flat finishes don't reflect light, making it an ideal pick to hide small defects such as cracks or bumps. Eggshell: Surprise! It's similar to the sheen on an egg, and its a little shinier than the matte finish. "This one is very popular for walls because it has a little luster and is 'wipe' clean," says Gray-Plaisted. It also reflects some light, so its a good choice for interior hallways.

Surprise! It's similar to the sheen on an egg, and its a little shinier than the matte finish. "This one is very popular for walls because it has a little luster and is 'wipe' clean," says Gray-Plaisted. It also reflects some light, so its a good choice for interior hallways. Satin: This finish has a smooth, velvety look with more gloss or shine than eggshell. Its commonly used on window and door trim, but because most manufacturers formulate satin-finish paint to be able to stand up to some rubbing, its a solid option for bedroom or bathroom walls.

This finish has a smooth, velvety look with more gloss or shine than eggshell. Its commonly used on window and door trim, but because most manufacturers formulate satin-finish paint to be able to stand up to some rubbing, its a solid option for bedroom or bathroom walls. Semigloss: Mostly applied to baseboards, molding, cabinets, and built-in shelving in bathrooms and kitchens, semigloss dries to a nice sheen without being too shiny, and it stands up to repeated scrubbing. Semigloss can be used on walls and ceilings, but, because it reflects light so well, proper surface preparation before painting is key. It will show minor imperfections in a walls surface.

Mostly applied to baseboards, molding, cabinets, and built-in shelving in bathrooms and kitchens, semigloss dries to a nice sheen without being too shiny, and it stands up to repeated scrubbing. Semigloss can be used on walls and ceilings, but, because it reflects light so well, proper surface preparation before painting is key. It will show minor imperfections in a walls surface. Glossy: You'll want to use this finish in stand-out spots such as trim, cabinets, and furniture because it's similar to a plastic or vinyl coating. But because of the shine factor, prepping the piece (sanding, scraping) before painting is necessary.



What is milk paint?

Photo by The Virginia House

A newcomer to the field, milk paint is a water-based paint made from milk protein and lime. Mostly found at boutique companies (Annie Sloan, Amy Howard, The Old Fashioned Milk Paint Company), this paint is often used on furniture because it's designed to show brush strokes.

"It's quite popular if you're going for a rustic look," says Chiarilli.

Milk paint's point is to give a piece character and bring out imperfections, so the application doesn't have to be spot-on, adds Gray-Plaisted.



How much does paint cost?

Photo by ABRAMS

A paint job's cost has many variables, including the size of your rooms, the detail work involved, and the number of colors you plan to use.

If you're hiring a pro, "some painters charge per room, so $400 to $500 is a typical kind of fee," says Reba Haas, a real estate agent with Team Reba of Re/Max Metro Realty in Seattle.

Looking to paint the interior of a whole house? "A small home that's 1,000 to 1,600 square feet might run $1500, and a 2,000-square-foot home will set you back about $2500," says Chiarilli.

If you're going the DIY route, you'll just pay for your own time and the paint, which will start at around $200 per room. Here's more on how to paint a room like a pro.

Murray Anderson contributed to this post.

The post Types of Paint and Finishes: Don't Make a Terrible Mistake on Your Home appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com.
These Australian Bees Have Upped Their Architecture Game and Build Spiral Hives Core77 (resilc)

Pothole confident it will survive latest council tax increase Daily Mash

Watch: Forget self-driving cars, these slippers at a Japanese hotel drive themselves to your feet Scroll. Jerri-Lynn: Creepy! Yet another product the world doesnt need. Autonomous slippers?

Holograms Might Become a Big Part of Your Life Sooner Than You Think Vice. For those of us who do not see in 3D, this is another useless innovation. And since it hasnt been a hit in the virtual reality world, this sounds overhyped.

Drone footage shows highway pile-up BBC :-(

The Last Drop of Water in Broken Hill Nautlius (witters)

What the hell is a climate modeland why does it matter? MIT Technology Review (David L)

How nuclear weapons research revealed new climate threats MIT Technology Review (David L)

Regulators Need to Look Hard at Bitcoin Bloomberg. Editorial.

Arizona Introduces Bill That Would Allow Residents To Pay Taxes In Bitcoin Investopedia. Paul R: I think one of the tenets of MMT is that official currencys intrinsic worth comes from the ability to pay taxes with it, so this development is amusing.

Competition Commission of India Fines Google for Search Bias The Wire (J-LS). More like this, please. But paltry compared to EU fines.

Huge levels of antibiotic use in US farming revealed Guardian. PlutoinumKun:

And related to Brexit, this is what the British will be eating soon thanks to Brexit. Food safety is a very big issue in the UK, as much with Tory voters as left wingers. Even the Express and Telegraph would not dare to sell this as anything but a terrible outcome of Brexit if the UK was forced to accept imports of meat with very high levels of antibiotics.

Researchers uncover the enzyme that may be stifling your efforts to lose weight New Atlas (David L)

Five major psychiatric diseases have overlapping patterns of genetic activity, new study shows Washington Post (Kevin W)

U.S. body brokers supply world with torsos, limbs and heads Reuters (EM)

This doctors hilarious chart reveals the very simple way to tell if youve got the flu or just a cold The Sun (Kevin W)

China?

While Trump eyes Latin America with malign neglect, China sees opportunity Guardian. Resilc: I have a friend with the Inter-American dev bank. Said China has projects and traders everywhere. big ones, small ones in back waters, in cities Chinas latest move in the graveyard of empires Pepe Escobar, Asia Times

Aristotle vs. the Troika Jacobin. Witters: Poignant.

Brexit. Wowsers, two big news stories in addition to the one I posted on.

Northern Ireland will stay in single market after Brexit, EU says Guardian. (Dr. Larry). This is huge if correct, and it probably is. How does this not blow up the coalition with the DUP? And if that happens, how are there not new elections? And if THAT happens, there is no way that the UK can get a Brexit deal done in time for it to be approved by the EU27. The near-paralysis and chaos in the Government will become total. Recall May did squat re Brexit when the Tories were stumping for her oh-so-clever snap election when it initially looked like a brilliant gambit. So how does this not produce the UK crashing out next March with no deal? What am I missing? Japanese ambassador warns of Brexit high stakes Financial Times. This bit of Brexit news would also have been post-worthy today, but here is the key bit. The last time I can recall Japanese officials being this blunt was during our financial crisis, when they warned that the most important thing to avoid what happened to them post-meltdown to clean up our banks. The UK is likely to be as predisposed to listen as we were. If there is no profitability of continuing operations in the UK  not Japanese only  no private company can continue operation, he [ambassador Tsuruoka] said. So, its as simple as that. This is all high stakes that I think all of us need to keep in mind. David Davis accuses EU of acting in bad faith over Brexit transition plans Politico The ambassador said Japanese companies had come to the UK on the basis that they would have access to European markets: Therefore it is expected that they will have free access Theresa May kicks Brexit can down the road BBC. Kevin W: Thats not a road. Thats a cul-de-sac! Moi: The Tory ultras had yet again threatened a showdown with May and they back off again, showing they dont have the votes.

Poland Waves Goodbye to Russian Gas After 74 Years Bloomberg

Revealed: Trudeau government welcomed oil lobby help for US pipeline push Guardian (PlutoniumKun)

Syraqistan

Big Brother is Watching You Watch

The Future of Healthcare Could Be a Privacy Nightmare Vice. More proof that I need to leave the US. I pay for all of my medical out of pocket and submit for reimbursement because my privacy rights are better that way. The insurer has the right to have access to all records if they pay, like the test results, as opposed to the fact that I took a test. Social networks are broken. This man wants to fix them. MIT Technology Review (David L)

Trump Transition

Bipartisan Budget Deal Sets Stage for Rising Deficits, CBO Shows Bloomberg (resilc)

Senate Approves Two-Year Budget Deal, Stopgap Spending Bill Wall Street Journal

House passes deal to end shutdown The Hill

Senate reaches budget deal with huge defense boost Defense News. Resilc: Media hardly mentions the overseas war ops which is in addition to the normal DoD swill bucket.

Budget deal is brimming with special tax breaks The Hill

EXCLUSIVE: Adam Schiff sent his staff to try and collect classified materials for the FBI after Russian pranksters told him Putin has NAKED blackmail pictures of Trump Daily Mail (JohnnyGL)

U.S. Looks To Sell 15% Of Strategic Petroleum Reserve OilPrice (resilc)

Court Asked to Sanction DAPL Lawyers Who Sued Environmental Movement Shadowproof (UserFriendly)

Kill Me Now

Mr. Market Has a Sad

Its Time to Ban Stock Buybacks American Prospect

Could Super Trucks be hitting our roads soon? WVNS. Dan K: So, trucks becoming more like trains, on public roads, add in self-driving vehicles, along with poor cost-saving management factors, and I am reminded of the Lac-Megantic disaster.

Class Warfare

Antidote du jour. From Crittermom:

The recent articles in NC regarding AI observing dairy cows reminded me of photos Id taken of, IMHO, the cutest of cows: Scottish Highland cattle (aka Highland cattle)

And a bonus from Dan K:

WATCH: A woman was shocked to discover her neighbor's Corgi was sneaking onto her property at night and riding her pony? https://t.co/dQfpNAiRLG pic.twitter.com/Da9gnWsJvB  Katy Andersen (@KatyAndNews) February 7, 2018

And a market-related anti-antidoteor a portent? Outis:

Someone in Italy had a real bronze bull statue (the same size as the bull statue in Manhattan) and it fell out of their apartment onto the street. h/t Enrico Verga, who wonders, perhaps a symbol of the Wall Street crash?

See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here.
An outraged Ardfinnan community has come out united in a bid to block Tippeary County Council from proceeding with a plan for a permanent traffic lights/one way system over the bridge in the village.

The deadline for objections to the planning application submitted by the authority for the development to Bord Pleanala expires this Friday, February 9th.

"The whole community is opposed to the one way system and the traffic lights. Tipperary County Council just refuses to listen to the people who want two way traffic restored" says Deputy Mattie McGrath.

Deputy McGrath said the County Council one way/lights system was "totally against the wishes of the people".

"Nobody in the village wants this. Tipperary County Council are putting lives in danger by going ahead with this. It has been in place on a temporary basis for a few years and it is an accident waiting to happen" insisted Deputy McGrath.

Community Council member Aidan McNamara pleaded with the County Council not to implement the one way/traffic lights plan.

"Every group, every organisation in the village are against this. We want two way traffic back again. You could ring every person in the village and they would tell you the same thing. People were very angry about the one way system and lights since it started a few years ago and they are just as angry today. People are breaking the lights every day, it is very dangerous," said Mr. McNamara.

He said the community wanted the County Council to proceed to do repair work on the structure of the bridge and to support a case to be made to government regarding funding for a pedestrian bridge. He said the community council did not want the council to go ahead with making the traffic lights/one way system permanent.

"We are not going to give up on this. Lights and one way traffic is not the solution, they are just going to create more problems by going ahed with it," added Mr McNamara.
Among the many recent visitors to the Fethard Horse Country Experience were sisters Patricia Croy and Catherine Ellis of Marysville, Ohio, USA.

They were visiting Fethard as part of a trip retracing family connections in the area.

They related that their mother Margaret Power, originally from Tullicussane, Drangan, worked in the Castle Inn in Fethard before she emigrated to America c. 1911.

She was only about twenty when she left Ireland accompanied by her sixteen-year old brother John.

They settled in Ohio where Margaret met and married Patrick McEvoy from Daingean, Co. Offaly.

Margaret's brother John Power, also known as Jack, returned from America a short time later to his native Drangan and married a local girl Cathy Russell. He subsequently served in the Free State Army.

Patricia married Dick Croy, a mailman, who had served in the American Navy. Together they set up home in nearby, raised a family, and opened a up a fishing bait store which they ran for fifty years.

Upon retirement they sold the store to a banking corporation. The new bank which now stands there has presented Patricia with her own private parking space for life in honour of her previous occupancy of the site.

Catherine married Leroy Ellis, a local farmer who served with the American army in England and France during the Second world war. Catharine herself worked as Clerk of the Courthouse for forty-five years.

She served on the Ohio Civil Rights Commission and was part of the group that was instrumental in encouraging Honda to set up their manufacturing plant in Marysville, a facility that brought major employment to the town and the surrounding area.

The two sisters were delighted to be back in Fethard revisiting the local sites and very much enjoyed their tour of the FHC Experience. They were particularly impressed with the introductory audio- visual which gives such a wonderful overview of the architectural and archaeological treasures of Fethard and the environs.
As part of its new mission to provide opportunities in Clonmel to access high quality arts events across a range of artforms, a series of classical music concerts by women composers will be hosted by South Tipperary Arts Centre as part of their programme of events to celebrate International Womens Day 2018.

Supported by a music project award from the Arts Council. Finding a Voice will take place in various venues in the town, from Thursday, March 8th to Saturday, March 10th.

Curated by Roisin Maher and hosted by Cliona Maher, Manager of the South Tipperary Arts Centre, Finding a Voice will showcase music by women composers through the ages.

The series will be bookended by performances from Voice, a vocal trio from the UK, and an exhilarating final concert double-headed by cellist Kate Ellis and pianist Isabelle OConnell.

Other featured artists include the RTE ConTempo Quartet, Ensemble Dagda, Marie Lemaire and Cappella Lyrica with Mary Hegarty.

There will also be a panel discussion on women in the arts chaired by Catherine Marshall with poet Grace Wells, visual artist Aideen Barry and composer, Marian Ingoldsby.

Roisin Maher describes Finding a Voice as a passion project and one that is close to her heart.

I find it strange that, even now, in 2018, it feels quite radical to programme a concert series featuring music entirely by woman composers she says.

The concerts will take audiences on a musical journey from Hildegard of Bingen in the middle ages, through the wonderful women composers of the Baroque and Romantic eras, to the many talented women composers working today, both Irish and international.

Further information on southtippartscentre.ie
The 23rd annual Tipperariana Book Fair takes place in the Fethard Ballroom this Sunday, February 11, from 2pm to 6pm in the afternoon.

What started out as an experiment back in 1996 has become the biggest fair of its kind in the country, North or South.

This year there will be up to forty book stalls present with dealers of antiquarian and second-hand books coming from all over Ireland. Irish people always have a special interest in books about Ireland or about their native place and the dealers make sure to bring all their Tipperary and Munster books with them to the Fethard Fair.

Most of the books on the Antiquarian book stalls sell from between 10 and 40, but you can also part with five hundred euro for the odd very rare book should you really want to and add to your library. However, some dealers stock modern paperbacks and these sell for modest prices. Also, the organisers, Fethard Historical Society will have their own stall with thousands of excellent books donated by the public to sell for very small money.

The Society also receive 'book collections', containing rare books from well-wishers, which are then sold on at the fair. As well as generating income for the society this 'clearing house' function of the fair means that wanted books end up finding a good home on the day. Otherwise they may just be dumped in a skip as people may not be aware that a particular book is special to someone else.

As usual the Cafe will operate on the day and the piano player will return to sooth the browsing masses from his perch on the stage. The entrance fee is still 2, with accompanied children going free. This means a family can have a good day out and go home with a bag of books for 10 if they so wish, and some will probably end up having tea and cakes as well!
(Natural News) Due to the flu season, Catholic churches in Maine have had to alter their religious practices to reduce the spread of the deadly virus that is ravaging the nation.

Since January, churches have been forbidding worshipers from drinking from the same wine cup during communion and joining hands during prayer. Priests are advised to greet churchgoers verbally instead of shaking their hands.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland, which covers the entire state of Maine, sent out a memo last month which detailed the restrictions. It reads, Breaking with custom, parishioners should not shake hands during the Sign of Peace and will be encouraged to offer a verbal greeting, smile, or bow of the head.

It also included instructions for priests, who must disinfect their hands before and after giving Holy Communion, along with warnings to try and avoid accidentally touching the tongue or the hand of the communicant. Churchgoers are advised to receive Holy Communion in their hands instead of on the tongue.

The memo mentioned the suspension of wine sharing, except for those required to drink from the cup because of medical issues like Celiac disease. During mass, priests will announce that parishioners who have flu-like symptoms can stay home for their well-being and others. Those who are ill are not bound by the Sunday Mass obligation, continued the memo.

There were warnings that sponges found in holy water fonts must not be used. The protocol will remain in effect indefinitely.

Except for Hawaii, Maine is among the 49 states where the flu is widespread.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) previously announced that more than 30 children have died from the flu and warned that the virus is one of the worst on record. Last month, 14,401 people were sick. Hospitalizations went up from 22.7 per 100,000 in the first month of January to 31.5, which is the highest rate since 2010.

People are advised to do what they can to prevent the spread of the virus since the flu is especially dangerous. Even though most people infected with the virus experience fever, chills, muscle aches, cough, congestion, runny nose, headaches, and fatigue, not everyone experiences the symptoms mentioned. (Related: Protect yourself from flu season with these natural cold remedies.)

Healthcare professionals warn that washing your hands frequently and avoiding close contact with anyone, regardless if they have symptoms or not, can help prevent the spread of the virus.

Dr. Brian Secemsky, an internist based in San Francisco, said, Supporting ones immune system with good rest and adequate hydration may help reduce the severity of symptoms. He added, Washing hands often, wearing masks, and staying home from work during periods of fever can help reduce the transmission of the virus.

Natural remedies for the flu

If youre starting to feel some flu-like symptoms, try some of these natural remedies:

Cinnamon  Cinnamon has anti-fungal and analgesic properties. Make some cinnamon tea by adding boiling water over the herb into a cup. Drink at least one cup twice or thrice a day.

 Cinnamon has anti-fungal and analgesic properties. Make some cinnamon tea by adding boiling water over the herb into a cup. Drink at least one cup twice or thrice a day. Elecampane  Also known as Inula helenium, elecampane is an herb that can be used for congested coughs. The herb can soothe irritation and relieve coughing. It can also fight infections thanks to its antimicrobial properties. If you have a cold that leaves you coughing up phlegm with a dry irritated lung and throat, take a tincture of elecampane (at least 1/22 milliliter [ml]) thrice a day.

 Also known as Inula helenium, elecampane is an herb that can be used for congested coughs. The herb can soothe irritation and relieve coughing. It can also fight infections thanks to its antimicrobial properties. If you have a cold that leaves you coughing up phlegm with a dry irritated lung and throat, take a tincture of elecampane (at least 1/22 milliliter [ml]) thrice a day. Garlic  A known antibiotic, garlic also has antimicrobial and antibacterial properties. If you have yellow or green phlegm, consume some garlic. Highly anti-viral, garlic is immune stimulating, and it can kill any upper respiratory infections. Use garlic as an elixir by pressing or chopping a whole clove. Let the garlic sit for 15 minutes. Once the garlic reacts with air, a chemical reaction turns the clove into a powerful antibiotic.

You can read more articles about disease prevention and natural remedies at Prevention.news.

Sources include:

DailyMail.co.uk

RD.com
(Natural News) The U.S. has made some considerable progress in the renewable energy industry over the past few years, but a majority of these positive changes were seen in the still-budding industry of solar power. As of late last year, the solar sector was still steadily growing, and it has become much more economically viable to rely on solar power as the cheapest way to produce electricity.

Recently, however, the Trump administration announced plans to impose tariffs on solar panels that are imported from abroad. Many industry leaders and insiders expressed opposition to the idea, saying that it would do more harm than good.

Now, for the benefit of those who may not understand exactly whats at stake in this situation, Joshua Rhodes, an energy scholar from the University of Texas at Austin, has stepped up to provide some much-needed context. He has answered five key questions regarding the U.S. solar industry, its opportunities, and challenges that need to be overcome today.

1. How big is the U.S. solar industry, and what is its growth trajectory?

The energy industry as a whole was highly active throughout the year 2017, but much of that activity comes from everything related to solar power. It is said that about 25 percent of all total new power plant capacity installed in the previous year came from solar and that the entire solar industry was able to generate $154 billion in overall economic activity. Thats a key ingredient to the growth of solar power revenues from $42 million to $210 million in 10 years. And based on current estimates, solar power is projected to grow continuously for the foreseeable future.

2. Why are most of the solar panels that are installed in the U.S. manufactured overseas? Is this pattern likely to change?

In a nutshell, the answer to this one is that its just cheaper that way. Its cheaper for the manufacturers who are responsible for creating the solar panels that are going to be for sale, and its less expensive for the customers too, and thats because of the abundant supply of cheap labor. Bringing solar panel factories to the U.S. and manufacturing them locally is an option, but it is said that new facilities would likely be automated, meaning there may not be many jobs for human workers available anyway.

3. Which sectors and states produce the most solar power today?

Almost half of all the solar electricity being generated in the U.S. comes from California, followed by a handful of other states: Arizona, New Jersey, and North Carolina. The rest of the states dont account for much. Instead, a large chunk of the countrys solar generating capacity can be accounted for by looking at a number of huge projects owned by power companies themselves.

4. How affordable is solar power for customers who arent affluent?

Although price is still a factor when considering going solar, its not as bad as it used to be. It is said that some utility customers can simply subscribe to ongoing community solar programs to reap their benefits, and enjoy doing so while paying reduced rates. Another alternative can be found in local peer-to-peer networks, which allow those with solar electricity to donate all their excess energy to others who may need it more.

5. What are the biggest challenges that U.S. solar companies face today?

According to Rhodes, the biggest challenge for U.S. solar companies right now is the air of uncertainty  which is especially true for solar installers. Certainty is necessary for value and jobs to be created, and that applies to all industries  not only solar. Based on the recent actions taken by Congress and the Trump administration, certainty is running lower and lower. Only better acceptance and support, coming from both the private and the public sectors, will help propel solar to greater heights.

Read more about how the solar industry continues to cope with changes in policy over at Power.news.

Sources include:

TheConversation.com

EcoWatch.com
(Natural News) Management at grocery chain Whole Foods likely had no idea that working for Jeff Bezos and Amazon would be so hectic, so frenetic, and such a bad idea.

Since Bezos online retail behemoth Amazon bought out Whole Foods, the workers have found they cant keep up with the insane pace demanded by the new lord and master.

In recent interviews with Business Insider, 27 current and former Whole Foods employees, all speaking on the condition of anonymity, said there was so much pressure being put on them and other workers since the implementation of a new inventory management system known as Order to Shelf.

As BI noted:

The new systemhas a strict set of procedures for purchasing, displaying, and storing products on store shelves and in back rooms. To make sure stores comply, Whole Foods relies on scorecards that evaluate everything from the accuracy of signage to the proper recording of theft, or shrink.

Some employees, who walk through stores with managers to ensure compliance, describe the system as onerous and stress-inducing.

Conversations with current and former employees including cashiers and corporate workers  some who have been with Whole Foods for 20 years  say that the new system is being seen more and more often as retributive and punishing.

Those Business Insider spoke with also noted that many employees live with constant fear  fear of being fired under the troubling new system as they spend more and more time toiling away with OTS-related paperwork rather than assisting customers. Others have become so disenfranchised with the Amazon-imposed system theyve left Whole Foods already or are looking for a way out.

But besides sapping morale, workers also note that the new system has left some gaps in the logistics chain, leading to food shortages in certain markets.

Whole Foods executives tell investors on phone calls that the stressful system has helped to reduce operating costs, reduce shrink, eliminate storage, and allow employees to spend more time with store customers. And to be fair, employees along with non-employees have said that Whole Foods previous decentralized logistics system was not sufficient and due for an upgrade.

But OTS goes to an extreme that many employees simply cannot deal with.

The OTS program is leading to sackings up and down the chain in our region, one Georgia Whole Foods employee stated.

Weve lost team leaders, store team leaders, executive coordinators and even a regional vice president, the employee said, according to Business Insider. Many of them have left because they consider OTS to be absurd. As an example, store team leaders are required to complete a 108-point checklist for OTS.

Ouch.

Business Insider said that Whole Foods did not respond to its request for comment  which certainly lends an air of accuracy to the complaints about the system. (Related: Whole Foods pushes TOXIC blood-clotting canola oil in more than 50% of their packaged products and at the prepared food bar)

The food chain ensures compliance with the system by ordering managers to walk through store aisles and storerooms on a regular basis with checklists called scorecards in order to ensure that every item is where its supposed to be, according to a trove of internal company documents BI reviewed.

If something is wrong or out of place or too much stock is in storage, departments will lose points on their scorecards.

Every item in our department has a designated spot that is labeled or marked, an employee of a Colorado Whole Foods store told BI. If that item is even an inch outside of its designated spot  we receive negative marks.

Some failing scores can be anything below 89.9 percent  and they can result in employees being fired.

Such walks have instilled fear across every department of Whole Foods stores, Business Insider noted, quoting the anonymous employees.

I wake up in the middle of the night from nightmares about maps and inventory, and when regional leadership is going to come in and see one thing wrong, and fail the team, a supervisor at a West Coast Whole Foods said. The stress has created such a tense working environment. Seeing someone cry at work is becoming normal.

Way to go, Jeff.

J.D. Heyes is editor of The National Sentinel and a senior writer for Natural News and News Target.

Sources include:

BusinessInsider.com

NaturalNews.com
Wildlife officials are asking California residents to report any sightings of nutria  an invasive rodent that eats so much aquatic vegetation that it threatens wetlands and marshes.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife said Thursday it is trying to eradicate the rodents from the state because once established, nutria could cause loss of wetlands, damage to agricultural crops and levees, dikes and roadbeds.

It says more than 20 nutria have been found in wetlands, rivers and canals and in Merced, Fresno and Stanislaus counties.

Native to South America, nutria can reach up to 2.5 feet (1 meter) in body length and 20 pounds (9 kilograms) in weight.

A female nutria can give birth to more than 200 offspring within a year of reaching reproductive maturity.
Bankrupt Toys R Us has received court approval to move forward with its plans to shutter about 180 stores, under both the Toys R Us and Babies R Us banners, across the U.S.

The liquidation sales at those locations are beginning as soon as Wednesday, the company said. Discounts on items will be as much as 30 percent off, to start. Closures are also set to begin this month and run through mid-April of this year.

As Toys R Us restructures its assets, the company will also refresh a number of existing locations to be co-branded as Toys R Us and Babies R Us stores.

The company said these efforts all have the goal of making Toys R Us "more viable and competitive" in the retail industry today. Toys R Us has lost market share from competitors including Amazon, Target and Walmart, and more toy brands are selling directly to consumers.

Here are the store closings planned for California.
Amid new allegations about the husband of former Senate President Stan Rosenberg, Harriette Chandler has been described by her colleagues as the right person at the right time to lead the Senate. Her colleagues have decided to make her Presidency secure until January, voting Thursday to remove the word acting from her title.

Chandler says nothing has changed except a renewed sense of stability in the Chamber. It is a crowning achievement for this 80-year-old grandmother who has always been a step ahead of her time.

I still came from the generation where women were either secretaries or they were nurses.

Chandler, an only child, left her Baltimore, Maryland home at age 17 to attend Wellesley College where her classmates included the likes of former Secretary of State Madeline Albright.

After college, she took a job teaching high school which in Worcester, required a masters... It would be the first of three postgraduate degrees.

"I think I was the first person that ever went part time to get a doctorate because by then I had three little children,." Chandler says.

Chandler got an MBA at Simmons and had another career in the high tech world. She scaled back to take care of her sick mother, then ran for School committee and in 1995 was elected state representative. The state senate followed in 2001.

This is the capstone," Chandler says, "but you know its a bittersweet time.

Bittersweet because former Senate President Stan Rosenberg has been a close friend.

Rosenberg was in the chamber for the vote.

Im here to vote for Senator Chandler," he said. "I like Bruce Tarr a lot but I want a Democratic leader for the body so I felt I had to be here to make sure she would win.

That was all Senator Rosenberg would say. There was no response when we asked if he might consider running for Senate president again in January.

An independent probe is continuing into whether Rosenberg violated any Senate rules in connection with accusations that his estranged husband, Bryon Hefner, sexually abused several other men.
Short-term rentals may be short-lived in South Portland, Maine, where city councilors are considering new, strict guidelines for rentals through websites like Airbnb.

The new rules would only allow hosts to rent properties on these websites when the owner is staying on the property at the same time as the guests. It's known as a "host stay."

"We've almost reached a tipping point in South Portland," said City Councilor Kate Lewis. "Our residential neighborhoods are being used for lodging."

Websites like Airbnb, VRBO and Home Away have become popular worldwide. It gives property owners new opportunities to make money, and gives tourists the ability to find lodging cheaper than hotels.

But in South Portland, Lewis says the trend may be eating up the housing market and changing the character of the community.

"I have heard loudly and clearly from most of the people who have contacted me that they're very concerned about neighborhood character being eroded," she said, citing noise complaints and "nuisance behavior" of guests.

But property owners like Maggie Birlem are fighting back, hiring a lawyer and starting a legal defense fund to challenge the city's potential crack down.

"I think at this point, our only recourse is the courts," she said.

Birlem has been renting two units on websites such as homeaway.com for nearly seven years. She says the extra income allows her to be a stay-at-home mom.

"We're finding ways to eek out a living the best we can," she said.

She feels that the South Portland proposal is extreme, especially compared to regulations in neighboring cities. She thinks South Portland would be better served by having a cap on hosts, instead of creating a near-ban. Birlem says guests staying in short term rentals bring valuable tourism dollars to the city.

The council is expected to have a final vote on Feb. 20.
There was "snow way" for Mary Hale to get out of the Midwest Friday.

Hale and a group of four others were trying to travel from Green Bay to Tampa Bay, but a winter storm grounded their flight and left them with few options.

"Couldn't get one out of Green Bay. Couldn't get one out of Appleton," Hale told NBC 5.



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That's when the group heard they could fly out of Chicago, if they could make it through treacherous driving conditions and arrive in time for the flight.

They furiously hailed a cab in hopes of catching their flight out to warmer weather, but quickly learned this option was going to cost them.

How much?

$580.

"A little nerve wracking trying to get here in time," she said.

As of Friday afternoon, Hale's flight was expected to depart from Chicago, despite more than 1,000 flights being canceled at area airports.

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By 2:30 p.m., 990 flights were canceled at O'Hare Airport and another 315 were canceled at Midway Airport, officials said.

Southwest Airlines preemptively canceled nearly 350 flights at Midway Thursday morning.

The CDA said in a statement Thursday that it prepared "a robust snow removal effort with our airline partners as well as the FAA. Our top goal is to keep our runways safe and dry, and to minimize the impact of weather conditions on operations at O'Hare and Midway International Airports.

It also encouraged travelers to "contact the airlines on flight status ahead of time, and to arrive early before their scheduled flights." To accommodate customers, several airlines were waiving change fees for flights in and out of the city and across the Midwest.
Immigrant advocates have rallied in Connecticut to protest the planned deportation of a couple who have been in the U.S. for nearly 20 years and have two children who are American citizens.

Demonstrators outside Hartford's federal courthouse called Friday for federal officials to halt the deportation of Xiang Jin Li and Zhe Long Huang, a Farmington couple ordered to return to China on Feb. 16 under the Trump administration's tougher immigration policies.

A federal immigration official didn't immediately return a message to the Associated Press Friday.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal said the deportation would be cruel and un-American.

The couple has no criminal records. They entered the country illegally in 1999.

They have been considering whether to leave their two sons, ages 5 and 15, with friends in the U.S.

From the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang:
Happy memories are what Milford Fire Lieutenant Jason Dombrowski finds comfort in these days. Photographs show the story of his life with his late wife Jessica: the couple beaming on their wedding day, holding their newborn babies in the hospital, and celebrating the holidays as a young, growing family.

But during this busy and deadly flu season, the constant screeching of the ambulance whizzing by Milford Fire headquarters is a painful reminder of how Jessica died.

Ive helped probably thousands of patients. And the one patient that I was truly supposed to help, even though I did everything that could have been done, I wasnt able to, Jason said, visibly emotional. Eight years after his wifes death, its still difficult for him to talk about.

Jessica Dombrowski was 39 years old and in good health when she contracted the H1N1 strain of the flu in February 2010.

When she got sick we figured hey, just let it run its course. Shell be fine, said Jason, an 18-year veteran of the fire service and a paramedic for 20 years.

But after a trip to her primary care doctor and a course of Tamiflu, she wasnt getting better. So they went to the emergency room, where Jason insisted on a chest X-ray. It turned up clear.

They said OK, it might get a little bit worse before it gets better, he recalled. And it did get worse. It got significantly worse.

After being released from the ER, they headed home for the night. Unbeknownst to the Dombrowskis, Jessica was quietly developing a flu complication called ARDS, or Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. Less than 18 hours later, after a 911 call and another trip to the ER, she passed away.

It happened so quick, Jason said, remembering that difficult morning. She was alert, she was talking to me, kids were all around her, stuff like that  but when we got to the ER, people who are in the field know, when I saw the crash cart next to her, I was like, what in the world is going on?

The unimaginable grief that followed was compounded by the pain of wondering if a flu shot would have made a difference.

She was supposed to get the flu shot in December and we missed the appointment, Jason explained. You got two young kids, things come up. Ill get it tomorrow, Ill get it next week and it bothers me. Maybe the flu shot would have lessened the symptoms. Maybe if we got to the hospital quicker.

Those are questions Jason will never have the answers to. Now he wants to warn others to take the growing flu epidemic seriously.

This week at Milford Hospital, Emergency Room Director Dr. Richard Greiner said about 20 percent of incoming patients are testing positive for flu.

Its mostly this H3N2 strain, Greiner said, and that certain variant is really good at mutating so its hard to vaccinate completely against. It happens to mutate very frequently, and so because of that its harder for our immune systems to handle it, and thats why its so widespread.

Greiner said despite mixed reports about the efficacy of this years vaccine, it remains the best defense against the flu.

Even if its only like 10 to 30 percent effective this year which it might be, still, if you get vaccinated youre going to be helping all the people you come in contact with, said Greiner. You wont be spreading it to them, and youll get a milder case yourself.

From the time you receive the flu vaccine it takes about two weeks to develop the antibodies to fight the flu, so Greiner said the sooner you get it the better to stay protected for the rest of this flu season  a season which the CDC and Connecticut Department of Public Health say has yet to peak.

According to the DPH, flu activity in Connecticut remains high and widespread with an increasing number of patients presenting with flu symptoms, as well as increasing numbers of flu-associated hospitalizations and deaths. Statewide emergency department visits attributed to the flu have increased to 14.2 percent, which is the highest weekly level observed in Connecticut since the 2009 H1N1 pandemic.

A total of 1,360 patients have been hospitalized in the state with confirmed cases of flu between Aug. 27, 2017 and Feb. 3, 2018. Sixty-three deaths have been attributed to the flu (50 associated with flu A, 13 with flu B) in Connecticut so far this season. Of these deaths, 52 were among patients over the age of 65, six were 50 to 64 years of age, three were 25 to 49 years of age, one was between 19 and 24 years of age, and one was between 5 and 17 years of age. A total of 3,895 influenza positive laboratory tests have been reported so far this season.

With the news of each new flu death, and with each alarm ringing for a respiratory distress call, Jason Dombrowski is reminded of his own loss. Its why hes chosen to finally tell his painful story in hopes of preventing another familys heartbreak.

Why dont you reconsider maybe getting the flu shot? he asks. If you think that just because youre healthy and you havent had the flu shot ever, that its not going to affect you, youre wrong. Healthy people can and do get it, and they can die from it.

Several flu vaccine clinics are scheduled across the state. To find one near you, click here.
The parents of a student at a Roman Catholic school in Connecticut say their daughter was told to remove a Planned Parenthood sticker from her laptop or she wouldn't be allowed to re-enroll.

The "I stand with Planned Parenthood" sticker is one of several on Sacred Heart Greenwich sophomore Kate Murray's laptop.

Brian and Tracy Murray told the Greenwich Time their daughter removed the pro-abortion rights group's sticker so she could attend class this week, but hasn't decided if she'll stay long term.

The school's head wouldn't discuss the situation directly but wrote that the school discourages the display of anything "supporting or opposing political candidates, positions or organizations."

The all-girls school is not a diocesan school, but Bridgeport Bishop Frank Caggiano said he backs the decision that affirms the church's anti-abortion teachings.
Former Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz announced on Thursday that she is pursuing a run for governor, opening an exploratory committee for the office.

Bysiewicz previously had been looking to run against Republican Senator Len. Suzio in her home state senate district, but later said through her interactions with constituents that there was a desire for her to run for the state's highest office.

"That's what knocking on over ten thousand doors told me," Bysewiecz said during an interview.

The Middletown native attended Yale University for her undergraduate degree and received her law degree from Duke University where she also met her husband.

She served as Secretary of the State from 2003 to 2011 and she remarks how that timeframe puts her in a favorable position compared to other Democrats running for office.

"I havent served a day with Governor Malloy," she said.

Bysiewicz is not a stranger to statewide runs, with her most recent attempt coming in 2012 when she lost a primary battle for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate, eventually won by Chris Murphy.

In 2010, Bysewiecz initially planned to run for governor, but later changed her plans to run for attorney general. She was denied ballot access after the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled that she was ineligible to hold the office because she had not been a practicing attorney for ten years.

Since that roadblock, she has worked in private practice "on behalf of small businesses, creating thousands of jobs," she said.

That background she argues makes her the best choice on the Democratic side when it comes to jumpstarting Connecticut's sluggish economy.

"I prefer using precious state resources to help smaller companies become the next fortune 500 company," Bysiewicz said.

While she has some distance from Malloy, who recently saw an approval rating below that of President Donald Trump in Connecticut, she does side with him on some issues he has pushed for in just the past two days.

She wants to see a higher minimum wage, increased paid sick and family leave benefits, and pay equity among men and women.

To that end, she wants the state to end employers' practice of asking prospective employees how much they made at their previous job.

"By getting rid of that question, you get rid of institutionalizing discrimination against women who still only make 78 or 79 cents of every dollar that men make," Bysiewicz said.

Bysiewicz is pursuing public financing, and she has already collected more than $147,000 in qualifying contributions toward the goal of $250,000 in contributions of less than $100.

"We're going to get there very soon," she said.
Editor's note: Police retracted their statement that the grandmother was not a person of interest but instead said that she is no longer missing.



An Amber Alert was discontinued Friday afternoon for a 2-year-old girl reported missing hours earlier in Mesquite. Authorities say she was found safe.



Amia Blanton was believed to have been abducted by her grandmother, officials said. Her grandmother, Levita Gant, is no longer missing, Mesquite police said.

Amia was described as a 2-foot-2 black girl who weighs about 40 lbs. She was last seen wearing a pink and green Nike jacket, green sweatpants and brown boots with fur lining. She has a scar on her right eyebrow.

Anyone with information is asked to call Mesquite police at 972-216-6759.
A man fatally shot Wednesday night in Richardson was killed by a friend he had been trying to help, according to the victim's mother.

Rene Gamez died at his apartment complex, allegedly shot by Brandon McCall.

Police said McCall then killed Richardson SWAT Officer David Sherrard as he responded to the disturbance call.

Gamez's mother, Judy Loera, tells NBC 5 her son was generous, hard-working and always willing to help.

She said her son gave McCall a place to stay Tuesday night.

Thursday, she recalled a conversation she had with her son about his gesture.

"My son asked me, he said, 'Hey, Brandon's going to spend the night. I don't want him out in the cold,' and I was like, 'Oh, OK.' So I gave Brandon a pillow and a blanket," Loera said.

She says she never imagined Gamez's good deed would end with him dead.

"I don't know how to accept it now. I'm hurt, and I'm lost and I want to know answers why," she said.

Loera said she has no idea what started the argument between Gamez and McCall.

A relative of McCall told NBC 5 that he lived with the relative for a few years but moved out two years ago and hasn't had a stable home since.

Despite his past, the relative said he never thought McCall would be capable of killing anyone.

McCall is charged with capital murder.

Last August, Dallas police say a family member called 911, saying McCall was threatening to jump off a bridge.

Officers took him to a medical facility for treatment.
Jennifer Willoughby, an ex-wife of former White House staff secretary Rob Porter, told NBC News on Friday that "shame" once kept her from coming forward with allegations of spousal abuse.

But telling her story in recent days has been "really cathartic," she said.

"I think anybody who has been in a toxic or abusive relationship recognizes that, [to] some degree, you feel as though it's your fault and you carry that shame with you," Willoughby told Savannah Guthrie on NBC's "Today." She added that he was "verbally and emotionally abusive" and leveled "attacks on my character and intelligence."

Porter announced his resignation Wednesday, a day after a British online publication reported allegations from two ex-wives  Willoughby and Colbie Holderness  of physical and verbal abuse.
Canadian Prime Minister will speak Friday night at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, a location with symbolic significance for trade relations involving Canada and the United States.

The speech is scheduled for 6:15 p.m. The location's symbolism, refers to the longstanding trade relationship between the U.S. and Canada. In 1988, Reagan and then-Prime Minister Brian Mulroney signed the first free trade agreement -- a precursor to NAFTA.

Trudeau will spend a second day in California Friday meeting with Gov. Jerry Brown and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, both Democrats, where the environment is likely to be on the agenda.

Trudeau picked up promises of investments and jobs Thursday during his first official visit to San Francisco, where he promoted Canada as a destination for California technology firms frustrated by uncertain U.S. immigration laws.

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff announced the online business software company will invest another $2 billion in its Canadian operations. And San Francisco-based AppDirect, a cloud subscription service whose co-CEO first met Trudeau in political science class at McGill University in Montreal, said it would add another 300 jobs in Canada in the next five years.

"I'm enthused about the interest that these global companies are taking in Canada," Trudeau told reporters at AppDirect. "It is a benefit for those companies that invest in Canada, because they get such a high caliber of talent."

Since the election of President Donald Trump, many companies that rely on foreign workers have become uneasy over increasing scrutiny on the H1-B work visa program that is critical to Silicon Valley, and continual threats to further restrict U.S. immigration policy.

In contrast, Trudeau promoted his country's fast-track employment permit for certain workers, dubbed the "global skills strategy visa." Trudeau demurred when asked whether Trump's immigration efforts are making the sales pitch easier, pointing to the power of globalism.

"We know that bringing in great talent from around the world is an enormous benefit, not just to the companies that want to do that, but to Canadian jobs and to our country as a whole, so we're going to continue to do that," he said.

Trudeau also met Thursday with Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos as Bezos considers the location for its second headquarters. Toronto, which has created a government-sponsored innovation hub for tech companies, was the only one of several Canadian cities that applied to make the shortlist.

Trudeau's stop in San Francisco also highlights the already strong ties between Canada and California, particularly in research, academia and technology.

While much of the attention on the North American Free Trade Agreement has focused on physical commodities such as vehicle manufacturing, dairy and timber, skilled workers have also become increasingly mobile between the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Google built its latest DeepMind artificial intelligence facility at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, after several of its graduates came to work on the project.

The next round of talks over the 24-year-old trade pact in Mexico later this month loomed over Trudeau's visit. Trump has called the agreement a job-killing "disaster" on the campaign trail and has threatened to withdraw from it if he can't get what he wants.

The lengthy talks have increased the political pressure and the rhetoric in Canada, where the stakes are high.

Trudeau declined to talk about specifics Thursday, but said Canada wants an agreement that is "win-win-win" for all three countries.

"We're going to continue to make an argument that it's not enough to just trade, we have to ensure that the benefits of trade are properly and fairly shared," he said.
Dozens of New York City public defenders walked out of court on Thursday in protest of the detainment of a Dreamer by immigration agents.

The Legal Aid Society said Aboubacar Dembele, 27, had showed up at the Bronx Criminal Court House for a court appearance on a misdemeanor assault charge. They say he got into a fight with a panhandler on a bus.

As Dembele left the building, ICE agents were waiting for him.

The public defenders say agents shouldnt be allowed to cruise the courts in search for undocumented immigrants.

Dembele came to the U.S. from the Ivory Coast when he three years old. He is currently married to a U.S. citizen.
A 12-year-old New York City girl was terrorized by an online stalker who tried to extort naked pictures from her last year on Instagram, and incredibly, her family was unable to get the NYPD or Instagram to investigate the predator until News 4's I-Team got involved.

"I was just so frightened, I didnt know what to do," Ella, now 13, told the I-Team of the moment she realized her friendly-looking follower was not who she thought.

The predator, using a profile picture of a young girl in a gymnastics pose, had already worked his way into Ellas friend group on Instagram before Ella accepted their follow request, allowing the stranger into her private page.

"I thought it was a young girl who maybe knew me from somewhere. A friend of a friend. I thought it was safe," said Ella, who lives on the Upper West Side.

Ella chatted with her new online friend, who used cute emojis and made references to sixth grade, until things suddenly got scary. Implying the two knew people in common, the person sent Ella a picture of a penis and told her she would be sorry unless she sent a naked picture back.

"And at that point I realized they are not who they said they are," said Ella. "I had to block them and report them. I thought it was over."

But it wasnt over. Instagram took down the users page, but a couple months later the predator resurfaced under a different name and Ella made the mistake of hitting accept. Instantly, the predator began threatening and intimidating Ella, using that crude first picture as a weapon.

"They said, 'You have this picture. To make it fair, you have to send one back,'" said Ella. "At first I didnt exactly understand. I thought they wanted a picture of my face. So I kept sending pictures of my face and they said 'No. One without a shirt.'"

In direct messages reviewed by the I-Team, the predator threatened to send the police to Ellas school unless she complied. The predator managed to convince Ella that she could be arrested for having received the graphic photo even though she never requested it and she deleted it immediately.

"He kept saying, 'End this, Ella. You can make this end.' And all I wanted was for this to end. I was like crying. I didnt know what to do," she said.

How did this stranger suddenly manage to wield power over her?

"It felt really strange, because I knew that I didnt do anything wrong," said Ella. "I deleted the conversation. I wasnt in possession of any picture, but they were threatening so many things that I thought that I did something wrong. I was thinking, 'Well, maybe I am gonna have to send a naked picture.'"

Instead of crossing that line, Ella told her parents.

"Ella was so scared and panicked when she called me and sobbing hysterically," her mother told the I-Team. "Shes a child. She didnt know that having (received) a naked picture of a man isnt illegal and illicit.

"It feels illegal and illicit if youre 12 to have a naked picture of a man on your phone" Ella's mother said. "And even though she deleted it, she was taught a million times that nothing really goes away when you delete it, so she was scared."

Supervisory special Agent James Tareco of the FBI, which launched an investigation into this case after being alerted by the I-Team, says this was a textbook move by a child predator fishing for child pornography on social media.

"He was recruiting her. It appeared that he was grooming her," he said.

Tareco says cases like Ellas are very serious, on the rise, and that "FBI agents are online in an undercover capacity actively pursuing people who are producing child pornography and molesting our children. But Tareco is concerned that not all cases make it to law enforcement in time to catch a potentially child-molesting predator.

When Ellas mother, a former prosecutor who asked that her name be withheld, took steps to protect other girls from Ellas predator, she got nowhere. Ellas mother says she brought the creepy messages to the 24th precinct where she reviewed them with detectives.

While the detectives "felt terrible that this had happened," they told her, "'This is not something the NYPD deals with. We really cant do anything. Not unless the person has actually tried to make contact in person in New York,'" according to Ella's mother.

"They just kept saying 'go to Instagram.'

But going to Instagram proved equally frustrating. While Instagram had taken down both of the predators accounts after Ella reported the harassment, Ellas mother wanted them to go further, by sharing the user's information with law enforcement or blocking their IP address so they could not continue using the same computer to create new profiles.

But when Ellas mother filed complaint forms using Instagrams online reporting system, she received this written response: "We wont be able to take any further action on this report."

Instagram did not report Ellas case to law enforcement and deleted the users information, making it more difficult for the NYPD and FBI to pursue their newly opened investigations.

An Instagram spokesperson tells the I-Team they are now investigating how they handled Ellas disturbing case.

"We are sorry this happened. Instagrams priority is to keep our community safe so we are investigating the specifics of this incident," the company said in a statement. "Instagram has zero tolerance for child exploitation on the platform."

Instagram acknowledges there were some recordkeeping quirks in their handling of Ella's case: when Ella's mother reported the predator, Instagram filed the case under "harassment" instead of the more serious category of "grooming/child exploitative images." And even though the predator's account was disabled by the account, internal records make it seem as if he deleted it himself, so the account history was deleted faster.

Top NYPD brass were not happy when they heard from the I-Team how Ellas complaint had been rebuffed. They dispatched detectives this week to meet with Ellas mother. The NYPD does have a unit that addresses about 400 cybercrimes against children each year, and NYPD Spokesman Peter Donald said, "We ask every police officer or detective to take a complaint of any crime. That should have happened in this case."

Donald said that when Ella's case came to the attention of NYPD Chief of Detectives Bob Boyce, Boyce immediately directed that the crime be investigated by the Detective Bureau Computer Crime Squad.

Federal law requires social media companies to report child exploitation cases to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which then passes the tips on to law enforcement -- who in turn subpoena the platform for the information.

After the I-Team's report, U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler sent a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions asking for information about companies' "obligation to report" predators.

According to sources familiar with Ellas case, Instagram believes they may not have been legally required to report Ellas case, since Ella never sent a naked picture to the predator.

James Tareco, a supervisory special agent with the Newark Division of the FBI, handles a growing number of cases like these and believes they should be reported to the FBI, adding that Instagram has a responsibility here.

Two senior congressional sources with knowledge of the law tell the I-Team they do believe Instagram would have been mandated to report Ellas case under the section that covers child enticement.

A source familiar with Instagrams practices tells the I-Team the company often blocks user devices and voluntarily reports bad actors to law enforcement, even when theres no legal obligation. But the source adds that the company reports such cases only after bad actors have misbehaved with "multiple users."

To Ellas mother, that does not sound like zero tolerance.

"I think theres an absolute moral obligation, and this company has a lot of power. If this information is there, it should get to the right person to stop these people from doing what theyre doing."

Meanwhile, Ella hopes her decision to share her harrowing experience, will help raise awareness about the risks of predators like hers, who's still lurking online.

"Im almost certain that this person still is out there. And if he isnt, then other people are," she said. "There are so many girls that just dont know what to do. They would send a naked picture. They might go meet up with someone and it could get really bad."



The NYPD urges anyone to call 911 in the case of an emergency or ongoing incident, or visit their local precinct.

The FBI asks families to report similar cases to them at tips.fbi.gov or 800-CALL-FBI. Predators can also be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at missingkids.com or 800-THE-LOTS.
What to Know New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy asked lawmakers to send him legislation ensuring residents can pay property taxes as charitable contributions

Murphy said he wants to dull what he expects will be a painful effect on New Jersey taxpayers under the new Republican-led federal tax plan

NJ has the highest property taxes in the country, which is a problem since the law caps local tax deductions on federal returns at $10,000

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy asked lawmakers Thursday to send him a bill ensuring residents can pay property taxes as charitable contributions to skirt the federal tax overhaul.

Murphy said he wants to dull what he expects will be a painful effect on New Jersey taxpayers under the new $1.5 trillion Republican-led federal tax plan.

He renewed his pledge to preserve tax deductions on Friday, when he called upon mayors to take the necessary steps to counteract the impact of the federal tax legislation that stripped New Jerseys State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction and limited the amount of money homeowners can deduct from their property taxes.

The new law caps local tax deductions on federal returns at $10,000.

That's an issue because New Jersey has the highest property taxes in the country.

Murphy is seeking for property taxes to be paid as charitable contributions, which can still be deducted on federal returns.

When the disastrous federal tax legislation passed, I committed to pushing back and taking steps to ensure that the people of New Jersey are not subjected to unfair double taxation, Murphy said in a statement.

If the charitable contributions initiative is implemented, taxpayers can make donations to funds that pay for local services like schools, law enforcement and infrastructure. If residents make a donation, they will receive an offsetting tax credit on their property tax bill and the contributions will be deductible for federal tax purposes under existing law, according to Murphy.

Marlboro, Ocean Township, Manasquan, Belmar and Aberdeen mayors joined Murphy Friday and pledged to introduce the plan to their municipalities.

Earlier this year, three towns in northern New Jersey said they would set up charitable funds for residents to pay property taxes in support of Murphys initiative.
Some residents of a Long Island community told a City Council public hearing that a residential treatment facility for people with eating disorders would depress their property values.

But Newsday reports that supporters of the 14-bed group home planned for Glen Cove said the home is needed.

"I am truly shocked by this community, to see the way you're treating this illness, like it's some disgusting thing," Jennifer Converse, who said she had four years of outpatient treatment for anorexia and could have benefited from a residential facility, said at the public hearing.

The Malibu, California-based Monte Nido and Affiliates has applied to operate the residence in Glen Cove.

Monte Nido's similar 14-bed facility in Irvington, New York, currently is the only adult residence for people with eating disorders in the state, said Jennifer Gallagher, the company's chief development officer.

Dr. Sandra Kronberg, executive director of the Eating Disorder Treatment Collaborative in nearby Jericho, New York, said there are nearly 100,000 people on Long Island with eating disorders. Kronberg said there's a desperate need for a residential facility because some people don't get better in outpatient settings.

"These are disrupting disorders of the mind that people are not choosing," she told the more than 100 people attending the hearing.

Newsday reported that some in the crowd heckled Kronberg and other eating-disorder experts, telling them "You're not a resident of Glen Cove" and "Go home."

Residents said the planned residence is an inappropriate use for the three-story brick house across from the Nassau Country Club that Monte Nido is buying.

"The choice of a residential area is so unnecessary," said Anne Robbins, a retired physician who lives down the street from the house. "It is confrontational."

Frank Ferrante, who lives near the site where the group home is planned, said the home would "disrupt the character of the neighborhood" and reduce property values.

But Samantha Farber said she is in recovery from eating disorders after spending three months at Monte Nido's Irvington residence.

Farber said if Irvington had refused to let Monte Nido operate the facility she would "literally probably be in the funeral home."

The council took no action after the four-hour hearing.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misattributed a quote regarding Bruce Blunt. That error has been fixed below.

Bruce Blunt beat a two-term incumbent in last November's race for mayor of the small Delaware County, Pennsylvania, borough of Morton.

Blunt, a lifelong resident and a Democrat, received 142 votes to Republican Maureen Piselli's 104.

None of those votes may count anymore. The acting county district attorney has filed a complaint against Blunt seeking to remove the 53-year-old from office because of a bar brawl Blunt was involved in 30 years ago.

He was charged and convicted of aggravated assault during the fight in January 1988 inside a Houlihan's Bar in Springfield Township.

"Pursuant to Pennsylvania Constitution Article 2, Section 7, any felony offense qualifies as an 'infamous crime,' which prohibits a person convicted of such an offense from holding public office," Acting District Attorney Katayoun Copeland said in a release announcing the filing of a "quo warranto" complaint. "Because Mayor Blunts conviction for Aggravated Assault is graded a second degree felony, he is precluded by the Constitution from holding the office."

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A spokeswoman for Copeland, a Republican, said the DA was not available to talk about the filing Friday, and that she would not answer questions about the timing of the filing.

"That is not something the District Attorney is disclosing," the spokeswoman Adrienne Marofsky said in an email.

Blunt did not respond to messages left at the Morton municipal building or with his brother, Sheldon Blunt.

His brother, however, believes the complaint is politically motivated.

"He beat a two-term incumbent," Sheldon Blunt, a former three-term Republican Morton councilman, of the last mayor, Republican Maureen Pisello. "She can't get over the fact she lost."

And Blunt went a step further, saying that if his brother does get kicked out of office, Piselli won't be mayor again.

"I'll run, and I'll be the next mayor," he said.

His brother would not be the first politician in Pennsylvania to lose an elected office because of years-old felonies. Most recent examples include two local councilmen in separate Allegheny County municipalities: a Democrat newly elected in McKeesport and a Republican serving his third term in Bridgeville.

Mayor Blunt, sworn in last month, was described in a Facebook post during the election campaign as having donated time as a "concrete and excavation expert" to replace sidewalks free of charge and as a volunteer working with local non-violent juvenile offenders on the borough's Youth Aid Panel.

"Bruce promises to be the 'volunteer mayor' inspiring others, adults and kids, to get involved in service to the community," according to a Facebook post for "Team Morton," which profiles a slate of candidates in the borough. The post is signed, "Written by Bob McGrath."

"In terms of pedigree, Bruce comes from a long line of service to the Borough. He's affable, creative and energetic."

He also once punched a police officer in the face, according to a criminal complaint filed by Springfield police Jan. 6, 1988.

The confrontation initially involved two of Blunt's friends, who were identified in the complaint as being part of a fight at the Houlihan's at Springfield Park Shopping Center at 1:55 a.m.

After his friends were arrested and put in a police car, Blunt then became "disorderly inside the bar and was told to leave by Officers," the complaint said.

Instead, police said, he began to argue, "creating a large disturbance."

He was arrested, but instead of complying, the complaint said "he resisted arrest, causing the glass in a display picture to break."

"He than struck Sgt. Gallagher in the face with his fist," the complaint said, noting that he also caused minor injuries to two other officers assisting the sergeant.

He was sentenced to five to 23 months in jail. His brother claims Bruce Blunt did not punch the sergeant.

"He was a young black man," Sheldon Blunt said of his brother, who was 23 at the time.

Sheldon Blunt said his brother is a victim of small town political revenge at a time of certainty for Delaware County Republicans, pointing to historic losses at the county level and on many local governing bodies last November.

Morton was no different, as Democrats took seats on a Council long dominated by Republicans, he said.
As a court-ordered deadline looms Friday, it's unclear whether Pennsylvania lawmakers will produce a replacement for the 6-year-old congressional district map thrown out last month.

A spokesman for Republican House Speaker Mike Turzai said Thursday that lawyers were studying court opinions issued a day earlier that explained the rationale behind the state Supreme Court's Jan. 22 decision.

Turzai spokesman Neal Lesher says all options are being discussed. Republican lawmakers may seek a delay of Friday's deadline. They are discussing possibly signing a document containing proposed new boundaries and giving it to Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, without holding votes.

Some, however, read the court opinion as requiring legislation to be passed by both chambers.

If legislators send Wolf something he supports, he'll have until Feb. 15 to inform the court.
A Carlsbad woman did a little science experiment in a public bathroom that has people stunned.

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Nichole Ward claims on her Facebook page that she put a Petri dish under a hand dryer in a public bathroom for a period of three minutes. She said three days later, an alarming amount of microorganisms grew.

On Thursday, the Carlsbad mom told NBC 7 on the phone she conducted the experiment as a microbiology student, after her professor told the class to put a Petri dish in a place of their choosing for a few minutes. She chose a hand dryer in a Carlsbad restroom.

"And you think youre walking out with clean hands," Ward wrote in her Facebook post.

The photo posted shows the Petri dish filled with giant globs of cultures that are held with blue rubber gloves.

"This post is simply for awareness not to instill fear," she added.

As of Thursday, the post had been shared over 550,600 times. It had 143,000 likes and dozens of comments.

Horrified Facebook users commented that it was gross and eye-opening.

NBC 7 asked experts about the contents of the Petri dish, and whether people should be alarmed based on what was shown in the picture.

"I can tell you that hand dryers can be very unsanitary as they blow bacteria from hands all over the bathroom," said Tracey Brown, professor of biology at Cal State University San Marcos. From what I know, the most sanitary way to dry is actually to use paper towels to completely dry your hands as the rubbing action helps (after washing correctly of course) dislodge bacteria."

Victor Nizet, MD, a professor and infectious disease expert at University of California, San Diego Scool of Medicine said bacteria are everywhere and most are harmless or even beneficial to us.

"You cant tell from this photo alone which type of microbes are growing on the petri dish," said Nizet. "You could leave an open petri dish just about anywhere for three days and something would grow on it, so the fact that bacteria and fungi grew after the dish was placed under a hand dryer isnt surprising."

However, he added that the photo raises an interesting question of whether bathroom hand dryers spread pathogenic microbes. He said scientists don't know right now.

"Its a hypothesis that could be tested in a scientifically controlled wayfor example, by comparing the results from this one hand dryer to what might grow after exposure to multiple hand dryers with and without HEPA filters, and compared to control petri dishes that are just left open in the bathroom and petri dishes that are exposed to a hand dryer located outside a bathroom," said Dr. Nizet.





ou cant tell from this photo alone which type of microbes are growing on the petri dish. You could leave an open petri dish just about anywhere for three days and something would grow on it, so the fact that bacteria and fungi grew after the dish was placed under a hand dryer isnt surprising. You cant tell from this photo alone which type of microbes are growing on the petri dish. You could leave an open petri dish just about anywhere for three days and something would grow on it, so the fact that bacteria and fungi grew after the dish was placed under a hand dryer isnt surprising.
Residents of Loudoun County, Virginia, are fighting hate with love.

For months, Ku Klux Klan recruiting flyers and racist literature have appeared outside hundreds of homes in the county.

Now, a campaign is underway for neighbors to express their opposition to racism and embrace of unity with orange ribbons tied to the front of their homes.

A small army of volunteers is working on "Love Your Neighbor: The Orange Ribbon Campaign." They're holding "orange ribbon parties" to stuff bags with lengths of ribbon and a slip of paper with a note.

"We as a community display this orange ribbon, a sign of love and unity, in response to expressions of hate and bigotry. To help spread awareness, please tie this ribbon on your front door or mailbox," one note says.

Leesburg resident Patty White said she was happy to tie a ribbon onto her mailbox on Thursday. KKK flyers were left in the area right before Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

"I think we need to show unity and how we love our neighbors, no matter what color they are or what religion," she said.

Her next-door neighbor, Laura Geissler, threw an orange ribbon party.

"I just heard a lot of people talking about how silence in this instance wasn't a good response, and that we needed to have some response," she said.

Geissler said she followed the lead of Leann McNamara, a resident of nearby Purcellville, in handing out the orange ribbons.

The volunteers plan to go door to door to hand out hundreds more ribbons, and hold a "Love Your Neighbor" concert at a local church.
A former Virginia Tech student has pleaded no contest in the 2016 killing of a 13-year-old girl.

David Eisenhauer entered his plea Friday to all three charges against him in the stabbing death of Nicole Lovell: first-degree murder, abduction and concealing a body.

The plea came on the fourth day of testimony in his trial.

A plea of no contest means a defendant acknowledges there's enough evidence to convict him, but doesn't admit he committed the crime. The plea has the same effect as a guilty plea.

Sentencing is scheduled for May 22 and May 23.

Lovell's mother, Tammy Weeks, hugged prosecutor Mary Pettitt after Eisenhauer entered his pleas and was found guilty by Judge Robert Turk. The judge told Eisenhauer he faces up to life, plus 15 years.

"I was blessed to be Nicole's mother, to be her friend for 13 years,'' Weeks later told reporters as she choked back tears. "We fought every fight together... She was a great and beautiful girl.''

During opening statements, Eisenhauer's lawyer attempted to shift the blame to his alleged accomplice, Natalie Keepers, who has been charged as an accessory and is scheduled to go on trial in September.

Keepers told police she and Eisenhauer talked about various ways to kill the girl and admitted she later helped dump her body in North Carolina after Eisenhauer stabbed her. She insisted that she wasn't present for the actual killing, but Eisenhauer's lawyers suggested she was there and could have been the one who killed Lovell.

Prosecutors told jurors that Nicole and Eisenhauer had been communicating through social media for months and had met at least once in person before Nicole climbed out her bedroom window for a "secret date'' with him just after midnight on Jan. 27, 2016.

Prosecutors showed jurors a piece of paper with Lovell's address on it, found in Eisenhauer's dorm room. They also presented evidence that Eisenhauer's DNA was found under Lovell's fingernails and her blood was found in the trunk of his car.

After Eisenhauer entered his pleas, Pettitt told reporters she is glad the case has been resolved, but said the justice system is "incapable of healing this loss for Nicole's family, Nicole's friends or the community.''

"We all suffer with the loss of this little girl,'' Pettitt said. "I do hope that we have been able to do the best that the justice system can do to provide some resolution and some justice.''

Blacksburg Police Chief Anthony Wilson said Eisenhauer's plea does not mean anyone won the case."Truly, if we had won, we wouldn't be in this room and Nicole would be at Blacksburg Middle School where she belongs,'' Wilson said.

During Eisenhauer's trial, Weeks testified that she discovered her daughter was missing Jan. 27, 2016, when she found a nightstand pushed up against her bedroom door and the window open. Prosecutors said Nicole climbed out her window to meet Eisenhauer. Her disappearance touched off a massive search.

Her mother testified that Nicole had a liver transplant when she was 10 months old and needed to take anti-rejection medication twice a day.

Nicole's body was found three days later, just over the state line in North Carolina. A medical examiner testified that she had 14 stab wounds, including a lethal wound to her neck.

Blacksburg, a town of about 45,000 tucked between the Blue Ridge and Alleghany mountains, has dealt with tragedy before, notably the mass shooting at Virginia Tech in 2007 that left 32 people dead.

Lovell's killing hit the town and Virginia Tech hard.

"To have a middle school student murdered is horrific. It had an impact on the students who knew her in middle school. And the accused were students at Virginia Tech, and so, of course, that had a very horrific impact on the university community."

Kristi Snyder, administrator of the Rainbow Riders Child Care Centers in Blacksburg, said parents were stunned by Lovell's killing.

"It really shook us to the core," she said. "The fear of, how could this happen to someone in our small community? It was overwhelming."

Keepers' trial is scheduled to begin in September. Keepers, of Laurel, Maryland, has pleaded not guilty.


Two members of a George Washington University sorority were unaware of the racist caption posted to Snapchat with their picture and did not say what was quoted, the university's president says.

The photo appears to show two Alpha Phi sorority members. One is holding up a banana peel and the caption reads: [Name]: Im 1/16 black.' Outrage quickly spread among students once the picture circulated on social media on Thursday, Feb. 1.

George Washington University President Thomas LeBlanc said in a statement Wednesday that the university did numerous interviews with the two Alpha Phi members pictured in the Snapchat post and the third member who posted the photo.

"What they have learned through the fact-finding process is that the quoted caption featured in the text on the picture did not occur when the picture was taken," LeBlanc said.

The person who posted the photo said they didn't intend to offend others and the women in the picture didn't know or approve of the caption, according to LeBlanc.

LeBlanc said the image has signaled that racial tension at the school needs to be confronted.

"We need to speak with one voice in saying racist acts against black students on this campus will not be tolerated," LeBlanc said.

He announced the university will begin implementing a list of steps, including requiring mandatory diversity training for all incoming students this fall and requiring diversity training for all recruitment chairs and new member educators within the Greek community.

The school's Alpha Phi chapter said on Friday it was in the process of terminatating membership for all three women. It is not clear if that is still the case.

The chapter posted an apology on its Facebook page Friday morning.

"We recognize that there are issues within our organization relating to our privilege and lack of diversity, and we 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," the statement read.

"I wasn't surprised at all, I mean, it happens a lot. It's happened all across the country so it didn't surprise me at all. It's hurtful, but not surprising," Frederick Ryle, the president of the GW Black Student Union, told News4 on Friday.

Ryle said he was satisfied with the university's response.

"There's a bunch of different feelings, but at the end of the day, it's bringing us together to make our community stronger, so, I'm here for it," Ryle said.
A week after New Hampshire regulators soundly rejected a $1.6 billion hydropower project, Massachusetts officials are demanding to know whether Northern Pass still is a viable option for delivering clean energy to their state by 2020.

The project was set to deliver hydropower from Canada to customers in southern New England through a 192-mile transmission line in New Hampshire. But the New Hampshire Site Evaluation Committee, in a unanimous vote last week, citied the potential impact of the project on local communities, businesses and the region's tourism industry.

Now both states, and a host of other bidders for Massachusetts' largest-ever clean energy procurement, are wondering what happens next.

Judith Judson, commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, has asked the three companies that would distribute the power from Northern Pass -- Eversource, Unitil and National Grid -- to advise her by Friday whether they want to continue negotiating over Northern Pass or turn to one of the dozens of other suitors for the contract.

The New Hampshire vote "has the potential to significantly impact or render infeasible the project's ability to deliver clean energy with the timeframe proposed by the bidder," Judson wrote.

Northern Pass is being built by Eversource and would get its power from Hydro-Quebec. Among the project's strengths was its original promise to be online by 2020.

Martin Murray, a spokesman for Eversource, said the company remains confident the project will move forward. It plans to request a re-hearing from the Site Evaluation Committee. If that fails, it could plead its case to the state Supreme Court.

"We feel we have a very strong argument to seek re-hearing," Murray said. "We are hopeful they will grant the reconsideration, and we will then resume the process and earn our certificate."

The Site Evaluation Committee made a "flawed" and "hasty" decision, Murray said. He contends it voted before considering all the required parameters needed to approve or reject a project. The committee never considered an approval with conditions -- such as changes to the route demanded by opponents -- or solutions that might address concerns about the 155-foot towers.

The sense of urgency in Massachusetts is driven by several factors including a mandate for significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 and the need to replace energy sources that have left or will soon leave the region's power grid. That includes the scheduled 2019 mothballing of the Pilgrim nuclear plant in Plymouth.

A 2016 Massachusetts law requires utilities to solicit long-term contracts with providers of offshore wind and other forms of clean energy, including hydroelectricity. A lead author of the law, former state Sen. Benjamin Downing, said Massachusetts should cut its losses and move on immediately to project that doesn't have major siting problems.

"I think the worst thing the state could do is compound the problem that it created in selecting Eversource and Northern Pass, by waiting for them to shake this out or fight this out legally," said Downing, now an executive with a Boston-based solar energy firm.

The selection of Northern Pass by a panel that included state officials and utility representatives was a mistake, Downing said, because the project relies solely on hydropower instead of mixing clean energy resources such as hydro and wind.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker said in one respect it was "good news" that New Hampshire regulators acted quickly on Northern Pass, making it "possible for people to go back and consider their options." The Republican governor, however, has not offered an opinion as to what the next step should be.

If Northern Pass is jettisoned, other bidders are eager to come forward.

TDI New England, the company behind the proposed New England Clean Power Link, says it already has the permits it needs to provide energy to Massachusetts. The project would bring power 154 miles from Canada, down Lake Champlain and then across Vermont.

And National Grid, which backs a project known as the Granite State Power Link, won the support Wednesday of more than a dozen New Hampshire legislators. The project would bring 1,200 megawatts of wind power from Canada through an existing line that enters the U.S. at Norton, Vermont, and connects with an upgraded power line at Monroe, New Hampshire.

"The SEC decision should not be taken as a 'no' to energy projects in New Hampshire, but rather as an opportunity to refocus on the right project for our state," the legislators wrote in a letter to Republican Gov. Chris Sununu, who has backed Northern Pass.
Crews responded to a marijuana dispensary in Mashpee early Friday morning for reports of a fire in the building with heavy smoke.

The fire at Medical Marijuana of Massachusetts, located at 28 Echo Road, was reported just after 6:30 a.m. by a passerby, said the Mashpee Fire Department.

No one was in the building at the time of the fire.

According to Mashpee Fire Captain Joseph Peltier, crews arrived on the scene to find smoke coming from the rear of the dispensary. Crews determined that the fire had started in the attic. Upon further investigation, officials concluded that the fire broke out when recently installed heated cables ignited nearby cellulose insulation.

Mashpee Fire was assisted in the fight by fire departments from Sandwich, Cotuit and Centerville.



No injures were reported as a result of the fire.

The dispensary was newly built and there was no marijuana in the building when the fire broke out, said Captain Peltier. The location was set to open later this month.

Property damages are estimated at $25,000. The dispensary was scheduled for its final Department of Public Health inspection before opening to the public today, said officials.
A Massachusetts man was killed Thursday night in a snowmobile crash in Lemington, Vermont.

Police said a snowmobile operated by Bruce Bohonowicz, 53, of Greenfield, Massachusetts, crashed on VAST Trail 96 by the intersection of Todd Hill Road at about 7 p.m.

Authorities told WPTZ-TV, the snowmobile went off the trail at a sharp curve and Bohonowicz was thrown from the snowmobile and collided with a nearby tree.

Bohonowicz was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said the exact cause of the crash remains under investigation. They said it's unclear if alcohol or speed were factors.
More than a dozen people were displaced Friday morning following a massive fire at a multi-unit home in Worcester, Massachusetts.

The fire broke out at the 3-story building on West Street just after 4:30 a.m. and quickly reached 3-alarms.

"We woke up to the fire alarm, when we went outside there were other tenants standing out there saying there was smoke coming from the ground," said second-floor resident, Lorion Ocean.

Crews spent hours battling the blaze in frigid temperatures as flames shot from the basement, all the way through the roof.

When the roof collapsed, firefighters were forced to work from the outside.

"Theres a lot of void spaces in the top floor and once it got there, its hard to get into the attic," said Worcester Fire Chief Michael Lavoie."We basically just lost the building at that point."

Officials said their biggest problem was dealing with frozen hydrants.

"Theres nothing we can do with a frozen hydrant," Lavoie said.

No injuries were reported, but 15 residents, including children, were displaced.

A family dog thought to have died in the blaze was eventually found  covered in soot and a little burned  but otherwise OK.

Nearby Becker College opened its doors to keep the fire victims warm. The college is where several tenants attend.

"We have provided them with housing on campus, as well as provided them with toiletries, basic essentials and so on," said Amy Dean of Becker College.

The exact cause of the fire is under investigation.
An animal shelter in Massachusetts has taken in hundreds of dogs from Puerto Rico, including puppies rescued by state troopers.

Thursday, Massachusetts State Police troopers went to the Sterling Animal Shelter, which took in more than 200 dogs, to reunite with the puppies they helped after Hurricane Maria.

"We had no idea the animals we rescued were coming to Massachusetts," said Lieutenant Tim Luce.

The troopers were deployed to Puerto Rico in December to help the hurricane-ravaged island.

"We had to add about 40 minutes to our trip because the troopers wanted to stop," said Luce. "They brought food and water, they provided some comfort to these animals."

The mission for the troopers was to help local authorities get the island back on its feet.

"Mostly assist with law-enforcement related duties, like traffic duties, and we assisted on some incidents," said Luce.

While carrying out their mission, they rescued about 20 stray dogs left behind by their owners after Hurricane Maria.

"You didn't hear a growl from any of the dogs. Not too many of them were malnourished," said trooper Steve Hernandez. "They're great dogs."

Some of the puppies the troopers rescued have found forever homes, including a 10-month-old mix who is now a part of the Cain family.

"He's been wonderful, he's a good boy," said Kris Cain.

The family got a chance to thank the officers that brought them together.

"To actually see the man who saved him is something," said Cain.

The Sterling Animal Shelter has taken in more than 100 dogs from Puerto Rico since December. Friday, about nine puppies will be up for adoption.

The shelter opens at 11 a.m. For more information, visit its website.
A search for three suspects who fled from the scene of a crash on Interstate 90 in Newton, Massachusetts, Friday morning has ended with no results, according to police.

Newton police said local shelter-in-place orders, which had affected three nearby elementary schools, were lifted after noon despite the suspects not being found.

Law enforcement officials are asking neighbors to report any suspicious activity in the area.

State police troopers were seen searching neighborhoods with K9s near the scene after the suspects fled from the crash on the exit 16 ramp in Newton.

Newton police tell NBC10 Boston the car involved in the exit ramp crash was also involved in a hit-and-run in Boston on Thursday. Multiple officers from Billerica were also seen on the scene.

Identities or descriptions of the suspects were not immediately provided.

No other details were immediately available.
A plan to wire parts of rural central Vermont with fiber optic cable to provide high-speed internet will go before voters in 13 cities and towns.

The Barre-Montpelier Times Argus reports that the proposal would establish a nonprofit company called Central Vermont Internet, which would provide internet service for about $66 a month.

The plan was proposed by Jeremy Hansen, a member of the Berlin Select Board and a computer science professor at Norwich University.

If approved, the company would aim to start construction of the network in 2020.

The plan will be on town meeting ballots in Barre, Barre Town, Berlin, Calais, East Montpelier, Marshfield, Middlesex, Montpelier, Northfield, Plainfield, Roxbury, Williamstown and Worcester. Hansen says there is also some support in Elmore and Moretown, which could join later.


YMCA Norfolk youth ambassador speaks at UN in New York YMCA Norfolk youth ambassador speaks at UN in New York

A Youth Ambassador from YMCA Norfolk has addressed an international conference at the United Nations in New York.


Norwich surgeon asks for support in free operation plan Norwich surgeon asks for support in free operation plan

A Catholic Norwich surgeon is appealing for support after agreeing to operate for free on a young Tanzanian health care worker to restore the use of her legs and give her a brighter future.
3 1 of 3 Contributed photo / Redding Police Department Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Contributed photo / Redding Police Department Show More Show Less 3 of 3





Redding police are asking anyone with information about two suspects connected to reports of skimming in Redding, Wilton and Ridgefield.

Police have photos from two suspects, a man and a woman, using an ATM.
BRIDGEPORT  Faith leaders hoping to see an end to the violence in Bridgeport took their message to street Thursday.

An assembly of clergy led prayers outside police headquarters in a service organized by the Council of Churches of Greater Bridgeport for victims of the citys 23 homicides of 2017 and two so far this year.

The prayer group was joined by Bridgeport Police Chief Armando Perez and Mayor Joe Ganim.

The people who died in Bridgeport are our neighbors, and we want to remember them, said the Rev. Cass L. Shaw, the faith councils president. We want to pray for their families, let their families and the community know that we stand together and we work, as well as pray for peace.

About 20 other people, several police officers and some city officials attended the vigil. Prayers were led by Shaw, Imam Mohamed AbdelAti of the Bridgeport Islamic Community Center and the Rev. Dr. Geoffrey Hahneman of St. Johns Episcopal Church.

The Rev. John Olson made note of the easy availability of guns and their role in Bridgeports bloodshed. Of the 25 homicide victims memorialized Thursday, 20 were killed by firearms.

And on Wednesday night  on the eve of the vigil  three people were shot in the city, this time sustaining wounds that police said were not life-threatening. A 16-year-old boy was shot in the mouth, an 18-year-old woman in the back and a 23-year-old man in the hand and buttock, police spokesman Av Harris said.

At the vigil, City Council President Aidee Nieves read the names of the victims and gave some context into each incident. Then the group paused for a moment of silence.

The dead range from 33-year-old Max Antoine, who was gunned down at McLevy Green after leaving a party, to 15-year-old Jayson Negron, who was shot and killed by police last May.

Negrons death sparked several protests in Bridgeport, and more after Boulay was cleared of criminal charges by Waterbury States Attorney Maureen Platt in her report released Jan. 26.

Kacey Perkins and Mike Merli attended the service on Thursday wearing shirts that read Jayson was handcuffed after being shot and Charge police officer James Boulay with murder.

Perkins said she and Merli were there not in protest, but to honor all homicide victims. Still, referring to Boulays shooting of Negron, Perkins said, When a murder happens, a person is held accountable.

Bridgeport has had two homicides so far in 2018. Jawuan Green was shot and killed on Jan. 16 after leaving The Snack Shop on Newfield Avenue, and Eric Heard was gunned down two weeks later on Price Street. He died in the hospital on Jan. 31.

Shaw said that before Thursday, the Council of Churches had not held a prayer vigil for homicide victims in a few years. Now, she said, the group is considering making it an annual event.

Bridgeports homicide total for 2017  up from 10 slayings the year before  sparked Thursdays vigil, Shaw said. She said she was concerned that a lack of funding for Project Longevity  a violence-reduction project focused on Bridgeport, Hartford and New Haven  could have been a factor in the spike in homicides.

Supporters of Project Longevity credited the organization with helping reduce deaths in 2016. But funding for the project was stalled during the state budget impasse last year.

It hasnt had the kind of support that is needed to be as effective as it could be, Shaw said.
Lorelie Carvey of New Milford, owner of Wedding Cakes For You and creator of www.weddingcakesforyou.com, was recently given the title of Pastry Chef of The Month at Food & Beverage Magazine.

The magazine featured an article written by Carvey about wedding cakes.
NORWALK  As a treacherous mixture of sleet and rain came down Wednesday afternoon, patients lined up at the front desk of the Norwalk Community Health Center.

The center is one of 16 in Connecticut that receives federal funds to act as the countrys health care safety net, providing care to patients for costs based on income, with those below the poverty line paying a nominal fee. In 2016, the Norwalk Community Health Center saw nearly 14,000 patients, 75 percent of whom had incomes beneath the poverty line. Across the U.S. and its territories, over 24 million patients receive care from federally funded health centers every year.

Norwalk Community Health Center CEO Craig Glover sat in the corner of the waiting room and contemplated what the loss of that funding would mean.

Because funding for federally qualified health centers was not renewed before Congress adjourned at the end of August, the Norwalk Community Health Center stands to lose $1.8 million  15 percent of its budget  beginning the end of April unless funding is renewed in budget that is currently under consideration.

We probably would have to discontinue our services, Glover said. If not discontinue, certainly cut back.

He believes the loss of funding would mean that the center would see between 2,000 and 2,500 fewer patients per year and an exponential increase in wait times from services ranging from general and pediatric care to womens and mental health services.

As a result, we know people arent going to wait two months (for an appointment), so that will force a reduction. And there will be less people here to take care of them as well, he said.

Dennis Torres, vice president of health care programs at Family Centers in Greenwich, described the impact cuts would have. Should funding be jeopardized, it will be difficult for health centers like ours to maintain a high level of care, and (it would) leave our most vulnerable patients without access to the services they desperately need.

More Information Community center funding for 2017 Unless funding is renewed, these organizations could see federal contributions drop by 70 percent beginning the end of April. Norwalk Community Health Center: $2.7 million Optimus Health Care (Stamford, Bridgeport, Stratford/Milford): $5.5 million Southwest Community Health Center (Bridgeport): $3.5 million Connecticut Institute for Communities (Danbury): $1.9 million Family Centers (Greenwich): $0.8 million Charter Oak Health Center (Hartford): $5.7 million Generations Family Health Center (Willimantic, Danielson, Norwich, Putnam): $3.8 million First Choice Health Centers (East Hartford, Manchester, Vernon): $3.1 million Cornell Scott-Hill Health Corporation (New Haven): $6.0 million Community Health Center (Middletown): $7.5 million Staywell Health Care (Waterbury): $3.5 million Community Health Services (Hartford): $4.2 million Fair Haven Community Health Clinic (New Haven, East Haven): $4.3 million Community Health and Wellness Center of Greater Torrington (Torrington): $2.0 million United Community Services (Norwich, Jewett City, Moosup): $1.3 million The Wheeler Clinic (Hartford, Bristol, New Britain): $0.9 million See More Collapse

Politicians in the state expressed a desire to renew the funding.

Support for community health centers is long overdue, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal said. These vital medical care facilities are essential to Connecticut and the country.

The community health centers provide such needed services, Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling said of the centers. It boils down to these health services help us economically and socially. Theyre very important. The Norwalk Community Health Center was chosen as one of two recipients of proceeds from the Mayors Ball in January.

State Rep. Jonathan Steinberg, Chair of the Public Health Committee, said data showed that community health centers were more effective and less costly than treating people in emergency settings. He gave the example of an elderly man who had ended up in the emergency room multiple times of the course of a summer before people realized it was because his home lacked air conditioning. When you have a community-based approach, where people are collaborating, you can solve problems in a more fundamental fashion, he said.

And the state Senate Democratic caucus released a letter Thursday calling on Congressional leaders to prioritize the extension of funding for community health centers.

[This is] not just a humanitarian disaster, its a fiscal one as well, they wrote. If patients dont have access to primary care in their communities, they turn to hospital emergency rooms for routine care, or defer needed care until their health problems are more serious and more costly.

While community health centers have bipartisan support in both the U.S. House and Senate, wrangling over the budget has made funding difficult to pass. This week, the House passed a continuing resolution including funding for the centers and the Senate passed a comprehensive budget that did the same.

So in effect, we have approval in the house and the senate, but its not in the same piece of legislation, said James Maloney, the CEO of the Connecticut Institute for Communities out of Danbury, which stands to lose $1.3 million in funding.

And until we get that resolved, we have until the April deadline to take a long walk off a short pier and end up in the soup, he said. Not just Danbury and Hartford  but the entire United States.

rschuetz@hearstmediact.com; @raschuetz
The John J. McCarthy Observatory in New Milford will hold its next Second Saturday Stars program Feb. 10 from 7 to 9 pm.

The topic will be Exploration of Jupiter by Robotic Spacecraft.
As much as Hope Hicks, the White House communications director, tries to hide from the spotlight, the glare of the past week has been blinding.

First, the New York Times reported that special counsel Robert Mueller was zeroing on Hicks as part of his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Then, multiple media outlets linked Hicks romantically to Rob Porter, who was forced to resign as White House staff secretary Wednesday after domestic violence allegations were made by both of his ex-wives, including photographs of one with a black eye.

The spate of negative attention for Hicks, who is from Greenwich, has put the presidential confidant under heightened duress, said a source close to the Trumps administration, who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

Hicks reportedly helped craft a statement by White House chief of staff John Kelly, in which he defended Porter, calling him a man of true integrity and honor. After blowback, Kelly issued another statement saying he was shocked by the allegations and that There is no place for domestic violence in our society.

The source, who has direct knowledge of the chain of command, said it was surprising that Hicks didnt recuse herself because of her relationship with Porter. Whenever theres a developing story or controversy that necessitates a response from the White House, the person said, the practice is for Hicks and Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders to huddle with Kellyanne Conway.

Although Hicks and Porter often worked along side each other in the West Wing  his office was downstairs from hers on the other side of the building  the fact that the two were dating was not common knowledge, the source said.

While Trumps White House has been a carousel of top aides, if theres one individual who has earned the benefit of the doubt from the president, its Hicks, the person said.

The president doesnt trust anyone in the administration as much as he trusts Hope, the source said.

A request for comment was left Thursday with Hicks, 29, a one-time model who previously handled public relations for Ivanka Trump and her fashion line.

Security clearance questions

Among the burning questions being asked Thursday, both privately in the administration and publicly by the media and Democrats on Capitol Hill, was how Porter got an interim security clearance to work in the West Wing.

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., a frequent target of Trumps barbs, called Thursday for an investigation into the security clearance process used for White House aides in a letter to Acting Inspector General Wayne Stone. It was also signed by Democrats Elizabeth Warren and Mazie Hirono.

We are concerned over the apparent low and inconsistent threshold the Trump White House uses for obtaining an interim security clearance, the senators wrote.

White House spokesman Raj Shah, who is from Norwalk and was filling in for Sanders at the daily press briefing Thursday, said the Trump administration trusts the background check process.

His background investigation was ongoing, Shah said of Porter. His (security) clearance was never denied, and he resigned.

The topic of Hicks did not come up during Thursdays briefing. Things arent about to simmer down, either, as Hicks still must appearance before the House Intelligence Committee as part of its investigation into Trumps Russian contacts. Her testimony in front of the committee was postponed last month for unspecified reasons.

Last week, the New York Times reported that Hicks assured Trump during a conference call that potentially damaging emails written by Donald Trump Jr. about a Trump Tower meeting with the Russians will never get out. The purpose of the 2016 confab was to dig up dirt on Hillary Clinton.

Hicks big-time D.C. lawyer Robert Trout denied that she said that and said that any suggestion that Hicks would delete emails and obstruct justice was completely false.

http://twitter.com/gettinviggy; nvigdor@hearstmediact.com; 203-625-4436
Lipids are fatty molecules that play important signaling and storage roles in the body, but having an excess of some lipids, like cholesterol, is a risk factor for many metabolic diseases. Recent articles in the Journal of Lipid Research investigate the role of cholesterol and other lipids in the blood in cardiovascular disease, hepatitis, and rare genetic disorders.

The cholesterol connection to rare muscle-wasting disorders

Rare inherited mutations in the DYSF gene cause deficiencies in the protein dysferlin, resulting in debilitating limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2b. To date, there are no approved therapies for dysferlinopathies. Drug development has been slowed, in part, by the lack of animal models that closely mimic human symptoms. A new paper in the Journal of Lipid Research, however, reports the creation of a mouse that comes closer than its predecessors and contemporaries. A research team led by Pascal N. Bernatchez at the University of British Columbia in Canada set out to create the new mouse model after observing that elevated so-called "bad" cholesterol levels correlate with disease severity in some muscular dystrophy patients. While mice with the DYSF gene knocked out display muscle degradation, they usually don't lose the ability to walk like human patients do. Bernatchez's team knocked out both the DYSF gene and the apolipoprotein E gene in their mice. Loss of apolipoprotein E function increases bad cholesterol. The team's double-knockout mice developed more dramatic muscle wasting than mice with only DYSF knocked out and eventually were unable to walk. The researchers are hopeful that their new model will help scientists better understand the human disease. Importantly, the researchers wrote, though it's unclear at this stage precisely how bad cholesterol exacerbates muscle damage, their model revealed "a striking correlation" that deserves further investigation. The work was supported by the Jain Foundation. 10.1194/jlr.M079459 http://www. jlr. org/ content/ early/ 2017/ 11/ 25/ jlr. M079459. abstract

Alcohol consumption plus hepatitis B raises cholesterol in mice

Though a safe and effective vaccine for hepatitis B is available and used worldwide, the World Health Organization estimates that still some 257 million people are living with the viral infection. The virus is treatable but still causes liver scarring and in some cases liver cancer. Intravenous drug users who share needles are especially at risk of infection and are likely to abuse multiple substances, including alcohol, which causes liver damage as well. Given that damage to the liver affects how the organ creates and clears cholesterol and given that studies have found that hepatitis B alone and alcohol alone affect cholesterol homeostasis, a research team led by Qin Ning at Tongji Hospotal at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan China wanted to learn more about the combined effects of hepatitis B and alcohol consumption on cholesterol deposition in the liver. In a new paper in the Journal of Lipid Research, the team reports that the virus and alcohol have a "synergistic effect" on cholesterol metabolism. That is to say that the combination increases cholesterol biosynthesis, decreases cholesterol utilization and impairs cholesterol uptake. To figure this out, the team created a mouse model with chronic hepatitis B and administered it ethanol. This resulted in increased cholesterol accumulation in the liver. Later experiments, using only cells, produced results that the researchers say indicate it is the HBc protein specifically that activates cholesterol biosynthesis and inhibits cholesterol degradation in the presence of alcohol. 10.1194/jlr.M079533 http://www. jlr. org/ content/ early/ 2017/ 11/ 13/ jlr. M079533. abstract

Bacterial lipids lurk in healthy arteries

Perhaps you have heard that brushing your teeth can be good for your heart. Bacteria of the Bacteroidetes phylum may be the main culprits behind the association between gum disease and atherosclerosis, the accumulation of plaque in the arteries that can lead to heart attack or stroke. In a recent paper in the Journal of Lipid Research, researchers from the University of Connecticut reported on their investigation into how Bacteriodetes in the mouth and gut may contribute to the development of atherosclerosis. They found deposits of a lipid made by these bacteria in the wall of healthy carotid arteries. A human enzyme can convert the bacterial lipid into a closely related molecule that is known to trigger inflammation. Patients with atherosclerosis, who were undergoing surgery to reduce the risk of stroke, had much more of the modified, inflammation-associated molecule than the original lipid. The study's senior author, Frank Nichols, told ASBMB that "Many think that atherosclerosis is caused by eating fatty foods, but it is now apparent that other lipids produced by oral and intestinal bacteria accumulate in diseased arteries." It remains to be determined whether accumulation of the original lipid and conversion to the inflammatory molecule can cause heart disease, or are a side effect. 10.1194/jlr.M077792 http://www. jlr. org/ content/ 58/ 10/ 1999. abstract?sid= dabe029e-1033-4478-9477-2f0970314d99

Source: http://www.asbmb.org/
A group of Brazilian scientists achieved promising results using isolated compounds from the venom of the South American rattlesnake in combat of hepatitis C. The investigation was based on records in scientific literature in which animal venom have shown activity against some viruses, such as yellow fever, measles and dengue - the latter belongs to the same virus family as hepatitis', the Flaviviridae family.

There is a great need for new methods in the fight against hepatitis C. The therapies available are expensive, have adverse side effects, and entail viral resistance. In Sao Paulo State, Brazil, some 50% of liver transplants in Sao Paulo State are performed on hepatitis B or C patients, according to the state's health department. Hepatitis C patients alone account for 40% of all liver transplants in Sao Paulo.

This investigation was carried out by researchers affiliated with the Institute of Biosciences, Letters & Exact Sciences - IBILCE of the Sao Paulo State University - UNESP (municipality of Sao Jose do Rio Preto's campus), the Institute of Biomedical Sciences - ICBIM of the Federal University of Uberlandia - UFU and the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences of the University of Sao Paulo - USP (municipality of Ribeirao Preto's campus).

Through the support from a number of funding institutions - namely FAPESP (Sao Paulo Research Foundation), Fapemig (Minas Gerais State Agency for Research and Development), CNPq (National Council for Scientific & Technological Development) and Newton Fund (Royal Society, UK), the researchers not only were able to test three compounds from the venom of Crotalus durissus terrificus rattlesnake but also investigated the antiviral potential of flavonoids extracted from Pterogyne nitens, a kind of plant endemic to Brazil.

Results from these experiments were published in PloS One and Scientific Reports, respectively.

The results

In the Laboratory of Toxicology at FCF-USP, two proteins from the rattlesnake venom were successfully isolated, phospholipase A2 (PLA2-CB) and crotapotin (CP). They are found in natura as subunits of the crotoxin protein complex, which the researchers also tested.

In a series of in vitro experiments with cultured human cells, they tested the antiviral action of the two compounds, both separately and together in the protein complex. They observed the compounds' effects on human cells (to help prevent infection by the virus) and directly on hepatitis C virus.

The hepatitis C virus's genome consists of a single strand of RNA (ribonucleic acid), which is a simple chain of nucleotides encoding the proteins in the virus.

"This virus invades the human host cell to replicate, producing new viral particles. Inside the host cell, the virus produces a complementary strand of RNA, from which molecules of viral genome will emerge to constitute the new particles," said Ana Carolina Gomes Jardim, head of the Virology Laboratory in ICBIM-UFU.

"Our research showed that phospholipase can intercalate into double-stranded RNA, a virus replication intermediate, inhibiting the production of new viral particles. Intercalation reduced these by 86% compared with their production in the absence of phospholipase."

When the same experiment was performed using crotoxin, production of viral particles fell 58%.

The second stage of the research consisted of verifying whether the compounds blocked the virus's entry into cultured human cells. In this case, the results were even more satisfactory: phospholipase blocked 97% of viral cell entry, and crotoxin reduced viral infection by 85%.

Lastly, they tested crotapotin, another compound isolated from the same rattlesnake's venom. Crotapotin had no inhibitory effect on viral entry or replication but did affect another stage of the virus's life cycle, reducing release of new viral particles from cells by 78%. Treatment with crotoxin achieved 50% inhibition of viral release.

According to the researchers, the results of the experiments show that phospholipase and crotapotin produced better results when used separately than together.

Brazilian flora

The second article on the action of chemical compounds against hepatitis C virus describes substances derived from Brazilian flora: sorbifolin and pedalitin, both flavonoids isolated from the leaves of Pterogyne nitens during the experiments conducted by Professor Luis Octavio Regasini at UNESP's Green & Medicinal Chemistry Laboratory in Sao Jose do Rio Preto.

Flavonoids are compounds found in fruit, flowers, vegetables, honey, and wine. As with the compounds isolated from rattlesnake venom, the flavonoids were tested for antiviral action in human cells infected with hepatitis C virus and in uninfected cells.

"Sorbifolin blocked viral entry into human cells in 45% of cases, while pedalitin provided more promising results, blocking entry in 79% of cases. The experiment was performed with two genotypes of hepatitis C virus: genotype 2A, the standard type in all studies, and genotype 3, the second most prevalent in Brazil. In both cases, the antiviral action of the flavonoids was equivalent," Gomes Jardim said.

At the other end of the viral life cycle, the flavonoids had no effect on viral particle replication and did not prevent their release from infected cells.

"The flavonoids from P. nitens are among some 200 tested compounds isolated from Brazilian plants or synthesized using natural structures by Professor Regasini," said Paula Rahal, who coordinates the Virology Group at the Genomic Studies Laboratory at IBILCE-UNESP. "These two flavonoids were tested against hepatitis C virus because they'd been shown to have antiviral action in experiments with dengue virus."
A Japanese research group has successfully grafted human iPS cell-derived inner ear cells that express human-derived proteins into the inner ears of embryonic mice. Hereditary hearing loss accounts for about half of all congenital hearing loss cases, and this work is a major contribution toward research that targets the embryonic inner ear.

[Background]

With an incidence frequency of one per 500 to 1,000 newborns, congenital hearing loss is the most frequently occurring congenital disease, and approximately half of all congenital hearing loss cases are hereditary. Treatment for this kind of hearing loss includes cochlear implants and hearing aids, but there is no fundamental therapy.

In human hereditary hearing loss, deafness has already occurred by birth. It is therefore considered that treatment during the fetal stage would be most effective. The GJB6 gene encodes the CONNEXIN 30 protein, which is essential in hearing development, and a deficiency of the gene results in the second most common disease among cases of hereditary hearing loss that have no other disease in the inner ear.

In previous work, Dr. Ryosei Minoda, head of the Department of Otolaryngology at Kumamoto General Hospital, reported that hearing loss was restored by gene therapy to the inner ear of Connexin 30 deficient fetal mice. The current research team, which includes Dr. Minoda and Dr. Hiroki Takeda of

[Method and Results]

First, the research team succeeded in efficiently inducing inner ear cells expressing inner ear specific proteins, such as CONNEXIN 26, CONNEXIN 30, and PENDRIN, from human iPS cells. They then transplanted progenitors of the inner ear cells into the inner ear of embryonic normal and Connexin 30 knockout mice using glass tubes with optimized tip sizes. The transplanted cells grafted to various sites throughout the inner ear in both groups. However, the Connexin 30 knockout mice had more grafted cells than the normal mice, and some of the grafted cells were found to express CONNEXIN 30.

[Future Development]

The fact that Connexin 30 knockout mice had a higher number of grafted cells than normal mice, and that some of the grafted cells expressed CONNEXIN 30 is a very important finding when considering cell transplantation as a treatment for hereditary hearing loss caused by CONNEXIN deficiency. Cell transplantation can compensate for missing CONNEXIN and may improve hearing loss by adding properly functioning CONNEXIN proteins. Future work will attempt to increase the number of grafted cells and improve hearing ability. The prevention of hearing loss is an exciting prospect.

Furthermore, this study revealed that cells derived from humans can be grafted into the heterozygous inner ear of mouse embryos. This adds the possibility of in vivo experiments on therapeutic effects using human-derived cells in the mouse embryo. It is thought that this line of research can greatly contribute to the development of a fundamental treatment for hereditary hearing loss and inner ear development research.
Abzena plc, the life sciences group providing services and technologies to enable the development and manufacture of biopharmaceutical products, has selected Sartorius Stedim Biotech as its preferred equipment supplier in the U.S.

Abzena has selected Sartorius Stedim to equip its integrated CDMO facilities in Bristol, PA (development and GMP manufacture of antibody drug conjugates) and San Diego, CA (development and GMP manufacture of monoclonal antibodies and other recombinant proteins).

Sartorius Stedim will provide both facilities with end-to-end process solutions in single-use (SU) format. It will equip Abzenas San Diego process development lab with leading industry technologies such as Ambr250, enabling fast scale up to 500L initially and later to the 2000L scale single-use bioreactor for its center of excellence in clinical manufacturing.

John Burt, Abzena CEO, commented:

In addition to having selected Sartorius industry leading single-use technologies for antibody and ADC production, the Abzena facilities will feature Umetrics process analytics software throughout the process ensuring that all the data captured throughout our clients molecule development is transformed into process knowledge ensuring that we can rapidly develop a robust and reliable process that can be easily scaled up to ensure a smooth technology transfer.

Reinhard Vogt, Sartorius Executive VP commented:

We are pleased to have been selected by Abzena, a prominent global CDMO with a comprehensive industry portfolio across a wide range of modalities to supply single-use solutions that enable process development, tech transfer and GMP manufacturing. We look forward to working together to best serve the US and international markets.

Source: https://www.sartorius.com/
Immunovia AB today announced that Massachusetts General Hospital is to participate in PanFAM-1, a multicenter prospective validation study for the early diagnosis in high-risk individuals with Familial Pancreatic Cancer (FPC). Designed to validate Immunovia s blood test, IMMrayTM PanCan-d, the study will analyze more than thousand individuals over three years across sites in the US and Europe already offering FPC screening programs. The aim is to prove the overall healthcare benefits of testing hereditary pancreatic cancer patients.

Working closely with several leading pancreatic cancer authorities, Immunovia identified three main criteria for the enrolment of the sites participating in the multisite prospective study. Massachusetts General Hospital fulfils all three: broad patient reach, an ongoing surveillance program for the familial pancreatic cancer risk group and world renowned clinical expertise in pancreatic cancer.

There is a tremendous need for the early detection of pancreatic cancer in order to improve survival rates, says Daniel C Chung, MD, clinical chief of the Gastrointestinal Unit and director of the High-Risk GI Cancer Clinic at Massachusetts General. There are many individuals who have a high hereditary risk for pancreatic cancer and we are therefore pleased to join the PanFAM-1 study and investigate the clinical utility of IMMrayTM PanCan-d.

The recruitment of Massachusetts General Hospital as the latest PanFAM-1 center is highly encouraging. Dr. Chungs team has been instrumental in building a case for hereditary screening and we believe the study will prove IMMrayTM PanCan-d is ideal for this purpose. Their participation, alongside other leading US centers, also vindicates our decision to establish a testing laboratory in Boston last year as part of our commitment to serving the market better, commented Mats Grahn, CEO, Immunovia.

The other PanFAM-1 partners to date are: Mount Sinai in New York, Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health and Sciences University, Portland, USA, the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Liverpool, UK, Ramon y Cajal Institute for Health Research, Madrid, Spain and Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden. Advanced discussions over potential participation continue with several other European and US centers running high risk surveillance programs.
In cancer research, the Cas-9sgRNA complex is an effective genomic editing tool, but its delivery across the cell membrane to the target (tumor) genome has not yet been satisfactorily solved. American and Danish scientists have now developed an active nanomotor for the efficient transport, delivery, and release of this gene scissoring system. As detailed in their paper in the journal Angewandte Chemie, their nanovehicle is propelled towards its target by ultrasound.

 Wiley-VCH

Genomic engineering as a promising cancer therapeutic approach has experienced a tremendous surge since the discovery of the adaptive bacterial immune defense system CRISPR and its potential as a gene editing tool over a decade ago. Engineered CRISPR systems for gene editing now contain two main components, a single guide RNA or sgRNA and Cas-9 nuclease. While the sgRNA guides the nuclease to the specified gene sequence, Cas-9 nuclease performs its editing with surgical efficiency. However, the delivery of the large machinery to the target genome is still problematic. The authors of the Angewandte Chemie study, Liangfang Zhang and Joseph Wang from the University of California San Diego, and their colleagues now propose ultrasound-propelled gold nanowires as an active transport/release vehicle for the Cas9sgRNA complex over the membrane.

Gold nanowires may cross a membrane passively, but thanks to their rod- or wirelike asymmetric shape, active motion can be triggered by ultrasound. The asymmetric shape of the gold nanowire motor, given by the fabrication process, is essential for the acoustic propulsion, the authors remarked. They assembled the vehicle by attaching the Cas-9 protein/RNA complex to the gold nanowire through sulfide bridges. These reduceable linkages have the advantage that inside the tumor cell, the bonds would be broken by glutathione, a natural reducing compound enriched in tumor cells. The Cas9sgRNA would be released and sent to the nucleus to do its editing work, for, example, the knockout of a gene.

As a test system, the scientists monitored the suppression of fluorescence emitted by green fluorescence protein expressing melanoma B16F10 cells. Ultrasound was applied for five minutes, which accelerated the nanomotor carrying the Cas9sgRNA complex across the membrane, accelerating it even inside the cell, as the authors noted. Moreover, they observed their Cas9sgRNA complex effectively suppressing fluorescence with only tiny concentrations of the complex needed.

Thus, both the effective use of an acoustic nanomotor as an active transporter and the small payload needed for efficient gene knockout are intriguing results of the study. The simplicity of the system, which uses only few and readily available components, is another remarkable achievement.
The promise of cheaper housing brought Shari Castaneda to Palmdale, Calif., in northern Los Angeles County, about nine years ago.

The single mom with five kids had been struggling to pay the bills. "I kept hearing that the rent was a lot cheaper out here, so I moved," she said.

But when she developed health problems  losing her balance and falling  Castaneda found fewer care options in her new town. Unable to find local specialty care, she traveled nearly 65 miles to a public hospital in Los Angeles, where doctors discovered a tumor on her spine.

Then she had to drive nearly 75 miles to the City of Hope cancer center in Duarte, Calif., for an operation to remove the growth. The procedure left her partially paralyzed. "I walked into the hospital and I never really walked again."

Castaneda, 58, receives Social Security disability payments and is enrolled in Medi-Cal, the state's Medicaid program for low-income people. "There are no doctors available here," said Castaneda. "I called every single one of them in the book, and nobody takes Medi-Cal out here." Instead, Castaneda now sees doctors nearly 50 miles away in Northridge.

Suburbs in the United States, often perceived as enclaves of the affluent, are home to nearly 17 million Americans who live in poverty  more than in cities or rural areas  and growing demand for care strains the capacity of suburban health services to provide for them, according to a recent study in Health Affairs. Suburban areas have historically received a fraction of health funding that cities have, leaving them with inadequate infrastructure and forcing people like Castaneda to scramble for the medical attention they need.

The Health Affairs study found that about a fifth of the suburban poor are uninsured, and many who do have health insurance  especially people on Medi-Cal  either can't find providers or must travel far for appointments.

The Affordable Care Act cut California's uninsured rate from 17 percent in 2013 to about 7 percent last year due largely to the Medicaid expansion, which added more than 3.7 million adults to the state's Medi-Cal rolls. But that has not ensured access to health care for millions of suburbanites, said Alina Schnake-Mahl, a doctoral candidate at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, who was lead author of the Health Affairs study.

"That really goes against the idea that everyone in the suburbs is insured because everyone has a white-collar job with coverage," she said.

Coverage doesn't equate to care even for patients with Medi-Cal, as Castaneda can attest. Before the health law, they had trouble finding doctors who would see them because of Medi-Cal's low payment rates. That problem intensified as millions more signed up for Medi-Cal, driving many enrollees to seek services at safety-net care facilities.

Health care services in the suburbs "are not robust enough to fill the needs" of a growing low-income population, said Charlie Gillig, supervising attorney at the Health Consumer Center of Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County, which has advised Castaneda about medical transportation services under Medi-Cal.

One-half of California's 39 million residents live in suburbs, and rates of poverty among them range from nearly 25 percent around Bakersfield, in the Central Valley, to about 8 percent in the suburbs outside San Francisco, according to an analysis by Elizabeth Kneebone, research director at University of California-Berkeley's Terner Center for Housing Innovation and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. The same analysis showed that 2.7 million suburban Californians lived below the poverty line in 2016, compared with 1.9 million in major cities.

Castaneda, who uses an oversized power wheelchair, says it's difficult  "often impossible"  to arrange for a ride in a van. Getting to the doctor has become a long, painful ordeal.

And that's if she can even schedule a visit, said Castaneda, noting that she also faces long wait times for her doctor in Northridge, a suburb that has seen an influx of patients from poorer areas. "You can't get an appointment when you're sick  so I've just been waiting and waiting," she said. "They told me, 'If you get sick enough, just go to the emergency room.'"

Of course, it can also be tough to get a clinic appointment or see a specialist in cities, but in the suburbs, Gillig said, "geography exacerbates an already existing problem."

In his recent book on the changing geography of poverty, Scott Allard, a professor of public policy and governance at the University of Washington, showed that funding for human services was as much as eight times higher in urban areas than in the suburbs.

California's metropolitan areas have had many decades to build up massive health care systems to serve the poor, including county hospitals, federally qualified health centers and community clinics. But the current scale of suburban poverty is a recent development.

Policymakers struggle to serve the health needs of cities in eastern Contra Costa County, about 50 miles from San Francisco. In Oakley, for example, business and community leaders lobbied hard for a new health center, which opened in 2011.

"There's a huge need out here, especially for people who are undocumented or uninsured. They don't have anywhere else to go," said Leticia Cazares, regional manager for La Clinica, which operates the new health center. The clinic has two doctors and a nurse practitioner to serve 3,000 patients, most of whom are on Medi-Cal.

Many of the people who visit community clinics like the one in Oakley lack insurance, either because they are undocumented immigrants or because they make too much money to qualify for Medi-Cal  or subsidized coverage under Obamacare  and can't afford it on their own.

Alex G.'s family fits both scenarios. Her husband, Edward, and 8-year-old son  also named Alex  are U.S. citizens, but she is an undocumented immigrant. The family lives in Brentwood, a town of about 60,000 in eastern Contra Costa County.

A 32-year-old community college student who declined to give her last name for fear of deportation, Alex has applied for permanent residency  a long process with an uncertain outcome.

Her husband has "a good job" as a programmer of industrial machines. He has employer-based insurance, but it covers only him. For Alex and her son to be covered, the family would have to pay $1,200 a month. Given California's high cost of living, "we just can't afford to pay that," Alex said. Her husband's salary of $70,000 is too high for Medi-Cal or Obamacare subsidies.

Alex recently experienced sharp stomach pains and had to wait several days for a mobile clinic that parks in front of a nearby community center once a week.

Whenever her son has an ear infection or a fever, Alex takes him to the free mobile clinic. "Not having insurance, I worry all the time about him getting sick," she said.
NEW HAVEN  Paul Lee woke up Saturday unable to move his left arm or leg. He had suffered a major stroke.

By 2 p.m., Lee, lying awake on the operating table at Yale New Haven Hospital, realized he could move his limbs. He was back at his New Milford home on Tuesday, 99 percent back, according to his wife, Ann Marie Lee. Its just a miracle what Yale did over the weekend, she said.

Just a few months ago, Lee, 69, wouldnt have had a chance.

With stroke, timing is everything. And the time available to save patients from severe paralysis or worse has recently been extended so far that Dr. Charles Matouk, who took out the clot from Lees artery, said its nothing short of a revolution in public health. Matouk is chief of neurovascular surgery at Yale New Haven.

To crystallize it, the main issue with treatments that are geared toward acute stroke is the time window in which therapies need to be administered to effect a good outcome, Matouk said.

There are two basic treatments for ischemic stroke, which are caused by blood clots and account for 87 percent of incidents, according to the American Stroke Association. (The rest are hemorrhagic strokes, caused by bleeding in the brain.)

The first, which became available only in 1996, is tissue plasminogen activator, known as tPA, which is a blood thinner. But it can only be used within 41/2 hours of when symptoms occur, or 41/2 hours since the patient had last shown no symptoms. After that, there is too great a risk of hemorrhaging, said Dr. Hardik Amin, a Yale New Haven vascular neurologist.

The second method is mechanical thrombectomy, in which a catheter is pushed up the arteries from the groin to the clot. A device at the end of a metal wire, called a stent retriever, is pushed into the clot and expands, then is pulled out of the body along with the clot. That was the procedure that Matouk used on Lee. But while thrombectomy has been available for 10 years, only Yale New Haven, Hartford and UConn John Dempsey hospitals are equipped to do it.

Also, until the publication of two studies in the last three months and the development of specialized imaging software that helps determine who is eligible for the procedure, a thrombectomy could only be performed within six hours of when the patient was last known to be stroke-free.

Lee had gone to bed at 2 a.m. Saturday and woke up at 9. He had already gone past the previous deadlines for both treatments. But the new guidelines, issued Jan. 24 by the American Heart Association, the American Stroke Association and the Joint Commission, which accredits health care organizations, increase the window of time in which a thrombectomy can be performed to as much as 24 hours.

Lees chances were improved by his overall good health, his anatomy, which allowed blood to get to the part of his brain through blood vessels other than the blocked carotid artery, and the decision by doctors at New Milford Hospital, consulting with Matouk and Amin, to send him by Life Star helicopter to New Haven. Amin is part of Yale New Havens Telestroke program, a group that consults with doctors at other hospitals in Connecticut.

But the flight would not even have been a consideration until just recently.

The main gist is that in the past, patients were selected for treatment for stroke purely based on time criteria, Amin said. And now were able to use physiological data to treat patients who in the past would not have been offered anything.

A revolution in stroke care

Once thrombectomies began to be used to treat stroke, that extended the time window and people got a lot better, Matouk said. So what this therapy was geared at  was those strokes that caused the big problems, like paralysis or not being able to talk or not being able to understand people, what Matouk calls nursing home strokes.

With the time window extended to six hours, our stroke volumes in terms of doing this procedure rose from 10 in 2013 to 180 in 2017, Matouk said. Its been a revolution in our ability to care for acute stroke. Whats different now is what these latest trials showed is up to 24 hours out for selected patients this treatment can be massively beneficial.

The rate at which neurosurgeons were able to reverse the course of terribleness in stroke symptoms more than doubled. From being able to help one in seven patients, doctors were able to improve the quality of life of one in 2.8 patients. For surgical procedures, thats actually very good; thats amazing, Amin said.

A quick decision

On Saturday, when Paul Lee woke up, I couldnt figure out why I couldnt get out of the bed, he said. I reached over and picked up my arm and it was like a dead body.

The ambulance took a half-hour to get to Lees house before bringing him to New Milford, which is kind of a little country hospital, Lee said. But once they realized the situation, it was pretty much a quick decision that the doctors made there, Ann Marie Lee said. The doctor at the ER, as soon as I got there he was on the phone with Yale. He called Yale right away to see if my husband was a candidate and they said yes, and they wanted him to come by a helicopter.  They wanted him there immediately.

He arrived at 12:30 p.m., Amin said.

Soon after Ann Marie Lee arrived by car, the doctors came out and they had smiles on their faces, she said. They were just so proud of themselves.

I was laying there on the table and all of a sudden I could move my hand, Paul Lee said. It happened almost instantaneously, he said. Even though the artery was completely blocked, I was getting blood from other vessels. There was enough getting there to survive.

Besides not being able to move his left side, Lees face was drooping and his speech was slurred, Amin said. Before the new guidelines were issued, He would have just been admitted to the hospital and would likely have gone on to have a full stroke [and] remain paralyzed on his left side.

Whats changed is theres been new technology called perfusion imaging, which shows how well blood is traveling through the body, Amin said. Were able to determine how much of a patients brain has died as the result of a stroke  or has not completed the full infarct, or permanent death of the brain cells.

The CT scan shows how much of the brain has been shocked but not deadened by the lack of blood and how much is irretrievably lost, he said. If we see that theres a very small area of brain thats completely infarcted from stroke but theres a large area thats at risk, then we select those patients for this delayed treatment because theyre the ones who are more likely to benefit.

With our patient here, I was contacted by New Milford Hospital shortly after he arrived, Amin said. He arrived [in New Haven] within about an hour and he was taken straight to the scanner and on the perfusion imagery that he had we were able to see he had very little dead tissue and a significant amount of tissue at risk.

Main roads and back roads

Matouk said Lee was fortunate in that he had a network of blood vessels, which he called back roads or collateral vessels, that brought blood to the areas that the blocked carotid, a main road, would have supplied.

If the brain is getting some blood but not enough blood, it stops working and you get a dead arm and a dead leg, Matouk said. That area that wasnt getting enough blood isnt dead yet; [it] can be salvaged.

But the collateral vessels are unable to maintain the supply of blood indefinitely. Eventually the brain will die because its not enough blood to keep it alive, he said. And while Lee has a good supply of collateral blood vessels, some people are born without any back roads, Matouk said.

The perfusion imaging lets the doctors see the difference between tissue thats in a stunned state and brain cells that have died and cannot be revived.

In Lees case, We saw he had very little irreversible injury and a large area of reversible injury, Amin said. We only learned that after he got that scan.

Whats new is were using it clinically to make decisions, Matouk said. Theres something to do about Grandmas stroke now up to 24 hours later.  We just learned that a couple of months ago.  From my perspective this is a public health issue.

One trial testing the effectiveness of thrombectomies over an extended time, called DAWN, was published online by the New England Journal of Medicine in November. The other, DEFUSE 3, was published in the journal Jan. 24.

Whats shocking is that their outcomes are nearly as good as patients who get this treatment and are within six hours, Matouk said. From a public health point of view this is something people really need to know about.

Tongue twisters

As soon as his surgery was complete, Lee wanted to get started right away with rehabilitation. Things that didnt work quite right I came up with things to improve them, he said. He was having issues with balance and with his speech so he came up with ways to improve.

Ive always liked tongue twisters so I kept doing them out loud over and over, he said. To improve his balance, I kept walking in circles and figure eights and I would walk backwards.

Now, the only problem I have is when I floss my teeth using his left hand.

He went from not being able to move to almost perfect, Ann Marie Lee said.

Paul Lee said, They kind of lassoed this thing and pulled it out and that was it.

This story has been edited to include UConn John Dempsey Hospital as one of three in the state that can perform thrombectomies.

Contact Ed Stannard at edward.stannard@hearstmediact.com or 203-680-9382.
Hiring an interior designer is often considered a posh extravagance afforded to people with more money than taste. But, a few years back, the interior design industry was shaken by an internet upstart called Homepolish, which connected style-challenged homeowners with interior designers for a three-hour consultation at a comparative bargain price of $350, and $130 an hour thereafter.

Now, the shaker is getting shaken.

Several interior design start-ups offer services similar to Homepolish at even lower prices, providing design advice, shopping services and some project management, with fees starting at less than $100 for the whole shebang. One even offers simple consultations - such as, "Should I buy this couch?" - for free.

The catch is that these companies work strictly over the internet. You won't personally meet the designer who will decorate your home. The design is based entirely on photos, measurements and guidance that you provide online, or in some cases, by phone.

We took a look at the highest-profile services, giving each the same bedroom to redesign, to see what, exactly, clients might expect.

The services all have a few things in common. For one, a quiz. To determine your personal style and to pair you with a simpatico designer, the sites ask you to select from pictures of things such as rooms, furniture and decorative items, pointing out what you like. They then label your style. The quizzes variously determined me to be "traditional," "eclectic with a touch of glam" and "contemporary."

The sites ask additional questions about considerations such as budget, which items you want to keep, which you will toss, and whether you need lighting or storage. Are you open to new paint or wall paper? And what are your design goals?

Each site then pairs you with a designer. Modsy, Laurel & Wolf and Decorist chose my designer based on my quiz and questionnaire. Havenly narrows the field to a group of designers categorized by icons indicating their specialties, such as "Color Connoisseur," "Pattern Mixologist" or "Couples Therapy." All of the sites say they vet their designers, but how isn't clear. Some designers will have academic or industry credentials, such as an American Society of Interior Designers membership, and others just a portfolio.

All of the sites required me to make a rough drawing of the room's floor plan with measurements, and to take photos of the room and furniture.

Not all of the sites were willing to say how they make money with such low design fees, but the ones who did said it was through a commission on the furniture you buy - just like traditional interior designers. Which explains another thing the sites have in common: After you sign up, they email you mercilessly with offers and encouragement to buy stuff.

- - -

When filling out the questionnaires, I set the design goal to refresh a bedroom, keeping the existing armoire, poster, rug and window treatments. The bed and end tables could go, and I had been experimenting (and failing) with layering tribal rug patterns. I was thinking loosely, not literally, of French Morocco. I set the budget up to $10,000.

The designers were faced with a room about 18 by 13 feet, with an eight-foot ceiling at the windows that rises to 14 feet by the bedroom doors. Walls are a medium-dark red, with brown trim so dark it appears black. Large bi-fold closet doors eat up one wall, an art deco armoire fills another, and there is just room for a queen bed and bed stands on the long wall opposite the closet. It would be a challenge.

Here is what the various services came up with:

- Laurel & Wolf

This site is optimum for people in a hurry. The designers take a room from concept to completed drawings in 10 days, including initial consultation and revisions of what are commonly called "inspiration boards." Those are a sort of montage drawing with the elements - furniture, fabrics, paint - that go in your new room. It is not a photo-realistic, literal image, like some others offer.

I was assigned to Lexie. As with others, the initial designs include many au courant elements, including an accent wall. I think accenting the oddly sloped wall draws attention to an unfortunate feature - like dressing a portly person in horizontal stripes. Lexie responded by suggesting wall color between kelly and hunter green. With the red in my tribal rug, which I intended to keep, it appeared a bit . . . Christmasy? The next option was plum walls that will, she suggested, pair well with teal. Having lived through the Miami Vice style craze, I veto the use of pink or teal. I feel uncomfortably fussy, but we end up closer to something I might like.

- Decorist

Decorist seemed to do the most to encourage a useful dialogue. After being paired with designer Mikayla, who specializes in "classic design," I was sent two concepts. One has the ever-popular accent wall in gray, with the rest of the room an off-white. The other has an accent wall of subtly patterned wallpaper. With white furniture, and woven basket accessories, I could see she has taken my thought about French Morocco and run with it, but the result is too much an Aladdin theme room.

The first designs come with specific questions to direct my response, such as, "What do you like about this concept? What do you not like about this concept? Is the overall direction and style good? If not, what specifically would you like changed?"

The third concept is closer, but still not there. To her credit, Mikayla requests a phone call. Although the other services also offer the option of calling your designer, Mikayla was the only one to proactively contact me. With an in-depth explanation of preferences such as why I want a three-tiered end table (top shelf for a reading lamp, middle shelf for magazines, bottom shelf for books), she returns a design much, much closer to what I want.

- Havenly

Havenly offers the most variety in selecting a designer as a standard part of the setup, giving you several to choose from after you take the quiz. (Others allow you to choose from many designers by skipping the quiz or by paying extra.) Designers have up to 17 badges designating special expertise (the aforementioned "Color Connoisseur," for instance). It gives profiles and portfolios for the designers, and when they will be available.

Havenly's questionnaire asked questions the other didn't, asking me to rate patterns, materials such as acrylic, wood and steel, and to name my favorite clothing. Presumably, this gives designers more insight into my lifestyle.

The result again featured an accent wall, this one in gray, which must be having a moment. That aside, the Havenly designer, Andrea, did the best job of zeroing in on my taste on the first try, although I don't think all of the items work - such as the bed with a headboard too tall to accommodate the poster over it.

- Modsy

Modsy is best for people who find it difficult to picture a finished room from a two-dimensional drawing. Modsy creates fairly realistic-looking 360-degree virtual rooms. With your computer and mouse, you can spin the room to any angle. It lets you digitally swap furniture around yourself, using the style editor tool. If you have the higher-end package, a designer will do it for you.

The Modsy designer made only the changes I had said I was open to, which is good and bad. I was comfortable with the result, but by not pushing my boundaries, the room isn't much different from what I have. Modsy did offer one radically different design in gray and white. It looks great, but reveals a problem with these services. Most of my house is already gray and white. I want the bedroom to be a radical departure from the rest of the house. Having not been here, no online designer could know that.

- - -

So how good were the final designs? We asked Jonsara Ruth, a professor of interior design at Parsons School of Design in New York, to evaluate them. "None of these feel very sophisticated," she said. "They feel cut-and-paste. More like beginners' school projects." To be fair to the designers, she said, creativity may have been stifled by the "clunky" software that renders the rooms, and by the limited selection of products in the catalogues.

To my eye, design differences among the services were pretty subtle. Satisfaction with the final designs probably has less to do with the particular site than with the designer it pairs you with. As good as an algorithm might be, there is some luck involved. None of the designs made me want to spend $10,000.

But if it is, as Ruth said, beginner level, that's a level higher then I possess. If I had an empty room, and didn't have the time or inclination to find and buy everything to pleasingly fill it, any of these services would be a vast improvement over what I might do myself.

There are reasons, besides design quality, to consider an online designer. They offer the same sales and discounts as the catalogues they represent, but consolidate the purchasing and shipping for you. You can buy from multiple stores using the one site.

Of course, many of the catalogues these services represent, such as West Elm, Pottery Barn, and Crate and Barrel, for instance, also have design services that are sometimes free. But you get only a limited selection through them, not choices for many of them, as the third-party services do.

Cheryl Durst, chief executive of the International Interior Design Association, an interior design trade group, said she is confident that online services won't replace interior designers, and in fact might be the gateway to bringing in more clients. In the meantime, Durst said, "from a convenience standpoint, these sites are incredible."

- - -

- Laurel & Wolf

Light: $80

Laurel & Wolf provides one concept and five days of design time, working only with accessories and decor.

Classic: $150

All of the above with 10 days of design time, working with furniture, as well as accessories and decor with unlimited revisions. A floor plan is included.

Signature: $250

Includes all of the above for two room concepts. A premium designer, who has completed at least 20 projects and has a client rating of 4.5 or higher out of 5, can be added to the classic or signature packages for $100.

- Decorist

Classic Design Package: $300 per room

Provides two initial concept boards, a final room design with a floor plan and a personalized shopping list. You can direct message with your designer, and there is a complimentary purchasing service.

Elite Design Package: $600 per room

Adds a designer with at least five years' experience and a project manager who is the liaison between client and designer.

Celebrity Design Package: $1,300 per room

Offers the above and a designer who has been featured in a major interior design publication. You also get a 30-minute phone call with a design assistant.

For an additional $200, you can have a photo-realistic computer rendering of the room.

- Havenly

Havenly offers a free "Design Quickie," a 30-minute online chat with a designer for questions such as what color to paint wall, "I can't find a candelabra lamp I like" or "does this couch go in this room?"

Havenly Mini: $80

Your chosen designer gives you three initial designs. Over a one- to two-week period, you have a consultation, get a refined design and another consultation, and then a final version. You get a shopping list of items from the design, and Havenly will oversee the purchase and delivery. After delivery, there is up to two weeks of advice on arranging what you bought.

Havenly Full: $200 ($150 with $500 purchase)

You get all of the above, with two revisions of the final design, two to three weeks of design time, four weeks of advice on arranging what your bought, a floor plan and photo-realistic images of the finished room.

- Modsy

Modsy: $70 Per room

Modsy designers create two initial designs, after which, using Modsy's catalogue, you change furnishings and art yourself. Your final design will be made into a 360-degree visualization. All purchases can be made through Modsy.

Modsy plus style adviser: $200 per room

You are assigned a designer to design two rooms, and the designer will make more suggestions and unlimited revisions to the room for you. Your designer can work with you live over the internet on a shared computer screen. Your final design will be made into a 360-degree visualization. All purchases can be made through Modsy.
NEW HAVEN  The number of millionaires in Connecticut is growing, but where they move has an impact on outcomes for the states children, an official with the Connecticut Education Association said.

Orlando Rodriguez, research specialist with CEA, said the opinion pages of newspapers decry the number of millionaires leaving the state, but they ignore the number moving in.

In the debate over school funding, wealth disparity plays a major role. Municipalities with wealthier residents are less reliant on state funding to fund schools and education, and a battle has been waged over whether the states wealthiest, suburban residents should have tax dollars fund the education of poorer, urban children.

Some argue that taxing wealthy residents more to fund urban education at a higher rate in an attempt to erase the achievement gap has led millionaires, billionaires and businesses to leave the state, something Rodriguez and other public education advocates classify as a myth that is not rooted in fact.

From 2010 to 2015, there was a 27 percent increase in the number of millionaires in the state, or 11,490 tax filers registering an adjusted gross income of more than $1 million in 2015, an increase of 2,460 tax filers from 2010. The Connecticut-based libertarian think tank Yankee Institute for Public Policy extrapolated data produced by a New York-based conservative think tank last year to reveal Connecticut had the second-lowest percentage growth in millionaires in the nation during that five-year period.

In spite of this, Connecticut has retained its spot among the top states with the highest concentration of millionaires. In 2016, 7.4 percent of Connecticut households were millionaire households, the second-highest concentration of millionaires in the nation, according to HartfordBusiness.com.

Its not just the number of millionaires, Rodriguez said. In that period, (Connecticut) millionaire wealth increased from $35 billion to $42 billion.

Rodriguez argued that Connecticuts schools have always been a draw for young, upwardly mobile families because of their strong reputation, and Fairfield County towns such as Darien and New Canaan see a growing concentration of wealthy families.

Statewide, most towns and school districts are losing enrollment, but if you look at New Canaan, which has the highest per capita income in the state, their enrollment is going up, he said. That will tell you a better story of whats going on with millionaire migration.

The higher a school districts enrollment, the more funding it receives from the state. However, although urban enrollment has grown, the per-pupil funding disparity has grown. New Havens schools grew 5.2 percent between 2011 and 2015, and the per-pupil funding rate is $18,247. A Hearst Connecticut Media investigation found that enrollment is growing in urban districts, such as New Haven and Hartford, and wealthy districts, including Darien and New Canaan. Per-pupil funding in Darien and New Canaan, however, exceeds $20,000 per student.

Middle-income families, their incomes have remained flat, and low-income households have seen a decline, Rodriguez said. Schools need a revenue stream that is reliable year-to-year and takes the pressure off of property taxes.

Rodriguez said schools across the state would be improved with a reliable, rational education funding system. Because the majority of a citys local contribution to education is tied to property taxes, wealthy municipalities have a better ability to fund their schools than poorer ones.

Last month, the Connecticut Supreme Court overturned in a 4-3 vote a Superior Court judges ruling in CCJEF v. Rell, which found that the state does not provide a minimally adequate education for all students. Although Rodriguez declined to comment on the courts ruling, the CEA said in a January statement that the ruling allows the state to withdraw its obligation to fund public schools.

While Connecticut's schools and students on the whole do well compared to those in other states and countries, high-poverty districts have continuing challenges and achievement gaps as well as fewer resources and local revenues to support their schools, the CEA statement read.

New Haven Republicans Chairman Jonathan Wharton said, regardless of millionaire growth, the state is missing out on two fronts: new businesses and retaining millennials.

I would like to see more economic growth, and any incentives to create that should be paramount, he said.

Although Connecticuts population has been mostly steady for the last decade, the state has seen major employers leave for other locations, he said. Additionally, millennials are leaving for college and jobs and not returning.

Last year in an op-ed for the Connecticut Mirror, Connecticut Voices for Children Executive Director Ellen Shemitz and Fiscal Policy Fellow Derek Thomas argued against the myth of millionaire migration.

The solution Shemitz and Thomas proposed was a progressive tax policy.

[I]n the current environment, the focus is on austerity and cuts, not investment and growth. The focus is also on protecting against the mythical millionaire migration, they wrote.

Rodriguez said low-income families are more mobile than high-income families.

The reasons (high-income) people move are very clear, he said. For the working wealthy, its for higher-paying jobs, and for the retired wealthy, its nicer weather and a proximity to family. Property taxes are virtually never a factor, he said.

During the legislative session that began Wednesday,Rodriguez said CEA plans on setting the record straight with irrefutable facts.

We need to make sure legislators look at the issues from all points of view, he said.

brian.zahn@hearstmediact.com
HAMDEN  Police are searching for two men who allegedly broke into a Hamden deli in the early morning hours of Feb. 3.

Police responded to Country Food Market, 2215 State St., at around 4:30 a.m. on the report of a burglary in progress, according to a news release. Responding officers were advised that two males were observed exiting the store and entering a large, white pickup truck.
HAMDEN  About a year ago, President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order that banned Syrians from taking refuge in the U.S., halted the U.S. refugee resettlement program and blocked people from a handful of countries from entering.

This action happened as the Spring Glen Alliance for Refugee Resettlement and Spring Glen Church were preparing to welcome a refugee family from Syria. Everything was in order for the family to come the night Trump signed the order, the Rev. Jack Davidson said.

That hit us really hard because there was a direct experience of the trauma and angst and pain that is caused when ignorance and fear are used as political tools, Davidson said.

The family was finally able to arrive a month later and theyve been a blessing for our community. We believe, as people of compassion and of faith, we are committed to not building walls, but breaking them down, to open our doors as wide as possible and let people find sanctuary and hope. Its not unique to this church but is common amongst the entire town.

The Trump Administration has sought to change immigration policy in this country in part because the current immigration system jeopardizes Americas national security and public safety, according to whitehouse.gov.

About 800 refugees arrive in Connecticut each year, according to Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services, a refugee resettlement agency based in New Haven. About half of all the refugees who come to the state are welcomed by IRIS and as of this year, the organization will be partnering with the town to help refugees resettle in Hamden.

The town is already a place where refugees come for work and community, said Hamden Economic Development Director Dale Kroop, who is also executive director of the nonprofit Hamden New Colony Development Corp, which works on economic development, community building, redevelopment and workforce development. The organization has begun a partnership with IRIS to resettle refugees in the area.

During the recent event, Hamden Welcomes, community members and town officials attended in support of refugee resettlement, but Kroop made a point that the event was not sponsored or officially endorsed by the town to make sure the event wasnt politically influenced.

The people of Hamden welcome, which are the churches, the chamber of commerce, the businesses, Kroop said. Everything we did was as a community, not as a town government.

About half of the worlds refugees come from just three countries  Syria, South Sudan and Afghanistan. They are people who have been forced to flee their countries because of persecution, war, or violence. When refugees connect with IRIS, the organization becomes their primary resource as they begin to rebuild their lives, but coming isnt easy.

Refugees oversees go through the most rigorous screening process in the world, which is handled by the Department of Homeland Security, IRIS Executive Director Chris George said. It is the most difficult way for anyone to enter the U.S.

IRIS works with people coming from Iraq, Congo, Sudan who have every level of skill set, but dont have are any contacts beyond IRIS, said Will Kneerim, director of Employment & Education Services for IRIS. When refugees arrive, IRIS case managers greet them and take them to apartments rented by IRIS and furnished with donated furniture where they are served a warm, culturally appropriate meal.

The organization provides a wide array of services to refugees, including daily English lessons, education and youth programs, access to health care and a thorough multiday cultural orientation. IRIS also works to help refugees find employment.

A job isnt just about getting up and going to work, state Commissioner of Labor Scott Jackson said. A job is about making a place for you in your community. And we dont care how you got here. You are here and you are us.

Its our finest most noble tradition, our best foreign policy, George said, adding, though, that the organization is dealing with a government that doesnt support refugee resettlement. Theyre doing their best to not only reduce the amount of refugees coming to this country but also dismantle the refugee resettlement at work.

They want to weaken IRIS, he said. They might be able to reduce the number of refugees coming to the United States and they might cut federal funding that comes to refugee resettlement programs and there might be some refugee agencies shutting down, laying off staff, but theres one thing they cannot stop us from doing and thats spreading the word, celebrating refugee resettlement.

Kroop said people are passionate about the issue of refugee resettlement because many can identify with discrimination, comparing the refugee experience to the immigrant experience.

A lot of the time, its not terribly different how weve treated immigrants and refugees. All immigrants were treated like garbage.

mdignan@hearstmediact.com
NEW HAVEN  Police recently traveled to Michigan to arrest a West Haven man accused of shooting a 28-year-old in the shoulder after an alleged dispute, according to a release.

The shooting took place the night of Jan. 6 in the 800 block of Whalley Avenue, where officers found bullet casings. Officers later were dispatched to Yale New Haven Hospital as a 28-year-old city man had been dropped off there because he was shot in the shoulder, the release said.
This year's Hunger for Life concert will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Our guide to new art shows  and some that will be closing soon.

THE BEAUTIFUL BRAIN: THE DRAWINGS OF SANTIAGO RAMON Y CAJAL at Grey Art Gallery (through March 31). The first United States museum exhibition devoted to the scientific illustrations of this Spanish giant of neuroscience is among the new years best. Its 80 freehand renderings of different brain cells, as viewed through a microscope, helped prove that they are unconnected, communicating across tiny gaps called synaptic clefts, which earned Cajal a Nobel Prize in 1906. His exquisite images, still used in textbooks, ignite synaptic charges throughout 20th-century art, from Surrealism onward. (Roberta Smith)

212-998-6780, greyartgallery.nyu.edu

BIRDS OF A FEATHER: JOSEPH CORNELLS HOMAGE TO JUAN GRIS at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (through April 15). This small, hyper-specialized, stunning exhibition brings together a grand total of only 13 works  a dozen shadow boxes by Joseph Cornell, the Queens-based assemblage artist, and the Cubist masterwork that he cited as their direct inspiration, Griss Man at the Cafe (1914). It might seem like a surprising obsession for Cornell, who was not a painter nor a Frenchman. He and Gris never met. But Cornell was deeply moved by Gris, the overlooked, tag-along third wheel in the Cubist movement that also included Picasso and Braque, and the show succeeds in tracking the fluttery ways of artistic inspiration. (Deborah Solomon)

212-535-7710, metmuseum.org

THE FACE OF DYNASTY: ROYAL CRESTS FROM WESTERN CAMEROON at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (through Sept. 3). Upstairs, the Michelangelos continue to knock em dead; downstairs, in the African wing, a show of just four commanding wooden crowns constitutes a blockbuster of its own. These massive wooden crests  in the form of stylized human faces with vast vertical brows  served as markers of royal power among the Bamileke peoples of the Cameroonian grasslands, and the Mets recent acquisition of an 18th-century specimen is joined here by three later examples, each featuring sharply protruding cheeks, broadly smiling mouths and brows incised with involute geometric patterns. Ritual objects like these were decisive for the development of Western modernist painting, and a Cameroonian crest was even shown at MoMA in the 1930s, as a sculpture divorced from ethnography. But these crests had legal and diplomatic significance as well as aesthetic appeal, and their anonymous African creators had a political understanding of art not so far from our own. (Jason Farago)

212-535-7710, metmuseum.org

MILLENNIUM: LOWER MANHATTAN IN THE 1990S at the Skyscraper Museum (through April). This plucky Battery Park institution transports us back to the years of Rudy Giuliani, Lauryn Hill and 128-kilobit modems to reveal the enduring urban legacy of a decade bookended by recession and terror. In the wake of the 1987 stock market crash, landlords in the financial district rezoned their old skyscrapers for residential occupancy, and more than 20 towers were declared landmarks, including the ornate Standard Oil building at 26 Broadway and the home of Delmonicos at 56 Beaver Street. Battery Park City flowered; yuppies priced out of TriBeCa came down to Wall Street; a new Guggenheim, designed by a fresh-from-Bilbao Frank Gehry, nearly arose by South Street Seaport. From this distance, the 1990s can seem almost like a golden age, not least given that, 16 years after Sept. 11, construction at the underwhelming new World Trade Center is still not finished. (Farago)

skyscraper.org
Mr. Percoco has been charged with taking at least $315,000 in bribes from the executives, paid to Mr. Percocos wife through a third party and through a company operated by Mr. Howe, in return for taking official actions on the firms behalf.

Mr. Howe, a former prominent lobbyist in Albany and Washington, testified on Monday and Tuesday about his role in the scheme. Under questioning from prosecutors, Mr. Howe portrayed Mr. Percoco as a man consumed by the pursuit of bribe money  which the two men referred to as ziti, a reference from The Sopranos  from the two firms, Competitive Power Ventures and COR Development.

Mr. Howe was a friend to Mr. Percoco and Governor Cuomo, and had the trust of both men. Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat seeking a third term, has not been accused of any wrongdoing.

Through his testimony, it became clear that Mr. Howe had significant problems that had damaged his credibility. The government has already told the jury of Mr. Howes tawdry past, which included a 2010 felony conviction for theft related to a fake $45,000 bank deposit, and indicated it would offer other supportive evidence to his testimony.

Mr. Howe also testified that under terms of his agreement, if he lied on the witness stand, the government could cancel his cooperation deal. He could face decades in prison.

But under questioning by Mr. Gitner, Mr. Howe seemed to make damaging admissions.

He acknowledged, for example, that in applying for a disability insurance policy in 2014, he checked a box stating that he had never been convicted of a felony, even though that was not true.

And the government is hearing about that for the first time right now? Mr. Gitner asked.

Yes, Mr. Howe said.
But most employees looking to upgrade their skills and qualifications had to go back to school. Those who remained on the job while attending classes part time could get up to $5,250 annually in tax-free tuition reimbursement from their employer. Most large companies have maintained such programs for decades, but less than 1 percent of the work force participates.

Today, thanks to online technology, there has been stunning improvement in both the quantity and quality of learning opportunities available to employees. The largest platforms offer thousands of courses from more than 200 of the worlds best universities, as well as state-of-the-art content from top technology companies. Many Fortune 500 companies are testing the use of such courses to develop the skills of their employees, and a few have begun large-scale deployment, offering customized courses to help employees gain competency in emerging fields such as big data, machine learning, deep learning and the internet of things.

Less esoteric subjects  like digital marketing, project management, and managing people and teams  have also proved popular among employers. These courses typically cost less than 10 percent of what it would cost to take the same courses in a face-to-face, on-campus setting.

The need to invest in people has never been more pressing. Technology is both destroying and creating jobs, and with the advent of artificial intelligence and ever more powerful computational capacity to process almost unimaginably large data sets from millions of interconnected devices, the pace of creative destruction is likely to accelerate. McKinsey, the management consulting firm, estimates that roughly half of all jobs in the United States are at risk of automation in the next 20 years. If the country is to remain competitive, it needs to invest in people to ensure that the high-skill jobs remain here.
Bill Drayton invented the term social entrepreneur and founded Ashoka, the organization that supports 3,500 of them in 93 countries. Hes a legend in the nonprofit world, so I went to him this week to see if he could offer some clarity and hope in discouraging times. He did not disappoint.

Drayton believes were in the middle of a necessary but painful historical transition. For millenniums most peoples lives had a certain pattern. You went to school to learn a trade or a skill  baking, farming or accounting. Then you could go into the work force and make a good living repeating the same skill over the course of your career.

But these days machines can do pretty much anything thats repetitive. The new world requires a different sort of person. Drayton calls this new sort of person a changemaker.

Changemakers are people who can see the patterns around them, identify the problems in any situation, figure out ways to solve the problem, organize fluid teams, lead collective action and then continually adapt as situations change.
Trump himself was accused of domestic assault by his first wife, Ivana Trump, in their 1990 divorce deposition, obtained by one of Donalds Trumps biographers, Harry Hurt III. In Lost Tycoon: The Many Lives of Donald J. Trump, Hurt wrote that Donald Trump became enraged after scalp reduction surgery left him in pain, and blamed his then-wife, who had recommended the doctor. Hurt describes Trump pinning back Ivanas arms and ripping out her hair by the handful as if he is trying to make her feel the same kind of pain that he is feeling. Then, she told friends, Trump raped her. (Ivana Trump later issued a statement saying she hadnt meant rape in a literal or criminal sense.)

Its fair to think that Trump sets the bar for whats considered acceptable in this White House. Porters father, Roger Porter, a Harvard professor who worked for presidents including Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan, once wrote of how presidents create administrative cultures: Scholars of management today write much about the tone at the top. Like all presidents, Gerald Ford established a tone that permeated the executive branch. Trump, evidently, established one as well.

Porter and both of his ex-wives are Mormons, and, speaking to The Intercept, Willoughby described confiding in a Mormon official about her husbands fits of rage. She was told to think about how Porters career might suffer if she spoke out. Powerful people in Washington seem to have been similarly worried, first and foremost, about protecting the ambitious and pedigreed young man.

Porter once worked for Senator Orrin G. Hatch, Republican of Utah, and in The Daily Mail, the senator categorically dismissed the accusations and, whether he meant to or not, the women making them. 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, he said.

Later, after the black-eye photograph of Holderness was published, Hatch issued a statement saying that domestic violence is abhorrent. But after that, he gave an interview in which he said he hoped Porter would keep a stiff upper lip and not resign. If I could find more people like him, I would hire them, said Hatch, describing Porter as basically a good person.

Its not really a surprise that Hatch, who once said that Trumps presidency could become the greatest ever, would treat serious allegations of abusing women as a personal foible unrelated to ones professional capabilities. You basically have to see things that way to support Trump in the first place. The reasons that Porter didnt belong in any White House are the reasons he fit in in this one.
Power has been entwined with the evolution of male manufacturing jobs since the industrial revolution, said Alice Kessler-Harris, a professor emerita of history at Columbia University. Although many of the earliest factory jobs in places like textile mills were held by women who could be spared from the farm, men reserved many of the highest-status, highest-paying jobs. It isnt new, Professor Kessler-Harris said of sexual harassment and male resentment. Its as old as male culture. The men assumed the best jobs, the skilled jobs, were theirs. If a woman dared to enter them, God help her.

Jobs took on specifically male or female characteristics  and society valued them accordingly. Nurses, often men in the early days of the profession, were redefined as nurturers when women swelled their ranks; secretaries, once exclusively men, yielded to the dexterous fingers of women who typed and were recast as the sunshine of the office, Professor Kessler-Harris said.

These jobs often paid less, while the ones requiring physical strength paid more. When women were needed during World War II, cutting sheet metal was likened to cutting a pattern through cloth, and welding to opening an orange juice can, she said. Then after the war, men reclaimed these jobs and most women were exiled back to the kitchen.

After 1964, as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act was gradually used to pry open industries once largely closed to women like construction, mining and shipbuilding, some mens rage swelled, Professor Kessler-Harris said.

I dont think you can understand this notion of sexual harassment and mens anger with women, their willingness to take out on them all this sexual hostility, unless you imagine that sense of entitlement in the job, she said.

Professor Saguy said that employers played on this sense that manliness was intertwined with such jobs. Even if they have to tolerate bad working conditions, the compensation is they were real men, she said. Then women were moving into these occupations, so what does that mean? If women can do the job, maybe its not so masculine after all.

Already, some fear a backlash to the intense focus on sexual harassment. And there are worries that many of the prescribed remedies, from training to promoting women to stiffening penalties, could fall short, generate more resentment or perpetuate stereotypes that women are always victims. Lawsuits abound but seldom force upheavals in entire systems, Professor Williams said.
Military drones have had an interesting effect on storytelling: They have forced writers to rethink how they portray warfare. For how do you represent invisible weapons? How do you tell of battles where combatants never face each other and death comes out of nowhere in seconds? Movies such as Eye in the Sky and Good Kill have looked at the price exacted by drones on those who remote-control them, an approach also adopted by the 2015 solo play Grounded, in which Anne Hathaway portrayed a pilot now dropping hellfire while sitting thousands of miles away from her targets.

Sylvia Khourys earnest new drama, Against the Hillside, looks at the effect of drones both on those who guide them and those who endure them. The show toggles between Pakistan, where the married Sayid (Babak Tafti) and Reem (Mahira Kakkar, When January Feels Like Summer) are constantly listening to the sky, and America, where one Capt. Matt Walker (Jack Mikesell) is doing the watching. Both parties live in anxiety, though of course the stakes are quite different  its in Pakistan that a corpses limbs, torn by a sudden strike, have to be recovered for a proper burial.

Matt, a pilot who took the drone job when he and his wife, Erin (Caroline Hewitt), decided to start a family, is becoming way too invested, as he puts it, in the Pakistani couples life. He is particularly fascinated by Reem, and feels as if he knows her. Thats a mistake, of course. First, he doesnt have access to her inner life, and second, theres a reason farmers dont name the animals theyre raising for slaughter  being invested in your victims is a bad idea.
RETURNING TO REIMS at St. Anns Warehouse (in previews; opens on Feb. 11). Based on a memoir by the French sociologist Didier Eribon, this play stars Nina Hoss (Homeland) as an actress recording the commentary track for a documentary about a leftist communitys rightward turn. Directed by Thomas Ostermeier, the piece becomes an increasingly personal meditation on family and politics.

866-811-4111, stannswarehouse.org

Last Chance

HE BROUGHT HER HEART BACK IN A BOX at the Polonsky Shakespeare Center (closes on Feb. 11). Adrienne Kennedys brief, fragmentary play about an interracial romance in the Jim Crow South brings its lovers together and apart for the last time. Ben Brantley called Evan Yionouliss production the most ravishing and organic that a Kennedy dreamscape has ever been given.

866-811-4111, tfana.org

THE HOMECOMING QUEEN at Atlantic Stage 2 (closes on Feb. 18). In Ngozi Anyanwus drama, directed by Awoye Timpo, a Pulitzer Prize finalist (Mfoniso Udofia) returns to her native Nigeria. Now her trip at the Atlantic comes to an end. As Jesse Green wrote, this play about separation and reunion wrings all the pleasure possible out of its familiar tropes even as it revamps their meaning entirely.

866-811-4111, atlantictheater.org

LATIN HISTORY FOR MORONS at Studio 54 (closes on Feb. 25). John Leguizamos solo show, an attempt to educate himself and his son about their shared origins, holds its final classes. Jesse Green noted that while the show is a long and often hilarious parade of injustice, for the first time in his Broadway career, Mr. Leguizamo is unable to make a convincing cartoon of himself.

212-239-6200, LatinHistoryBroadway.com
ALBUQUERQUE  The editor of one of New Mexicos leading newspapers, The Albuquerque Journal, issued an apology on Thursday over an editorial cartoon that many people interpreted as a bigoted attack on Hispanics.

Prompting outrage from prominent Democrats and Republicans in the state, the cartoon, by Sean Delonas, depicts a white couple being accosted in a back alley by three men. One is holding the couple at gunpoint and taking the womans purse. Another is wearing a jacket emblazoned with MS-13, the name of a gang that President Trump and others have repeatedly invoked to denounce illegal immigration. The third has on a ski mask and a suicide vest of smoking explosives.

The male victim tells the woman, Now, honey ... I believe they prefer to be called Dreamers, a reference to young undocumented immigrants predominantly from Latin America, and adds, Or future Democrats.
Furious Democrats accused the committees chairman, Representative Devin Nunes of California, of using the committees coveted access to classified information for the nakedly political purpose of bolstering Mr. Trump in the face of a criminal investigation. They raced to prepare their own memo, based on the same underlying material, that sought to rebut the Republican claims, and then reluctantly pushed to release it publicly, too. That document is now under review by Mr. Trump, who will decide whether to make it public.

Even some Republicans were distressed by the tactics of Mr. Nunes and his allies and the tit-for-tat cycle they unleashed. Even if the Republican memo raised legitimate points, Mr. Rogers said, its not an investigation if one side just puts out a few facts.

Top Democratic leaders last week called for Speaker Paul D. Ryan to remove Mr. Nunes as chairman. But Mr. Ryan has stood by both Mr. Nunes and the memo, saying that the document raised legitimate questions about how the F.B.I. and Justice Department used the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, known as FISA, to investigate a former Trump campaign adviser, Carter Page. Mr. Nunes did not reply to a request for comment.

Republicans on the panel say they are also upset with Representative Adam B. Schiff of California, its top Democrat. They see him as all too eager to step before television cameras to hint at evidence  known only to those like him with security clearances  of nefarious links between Mr. Trump or his campaign and Russian operatives.

I dont trust Schiff anymore. I just dont, said Representative Tom Rooney of Florida. I dont know that I can talk to him privately about something that wont end up on Rachel Maddow, he added, referring to the liberal host of an MSNBC program.

Nothing better illustrates those suspicions than Mr. Nuness decision to erect a partition between the Republican and Democratic staff members.
Mr. Kelly generated further heat this week when he dismissed many of the more than one million immigrants who were brought to the country illegally as children but who did not apply for the protection of an Obama-era program that Mr. Trump ordered ended next month. Some of them 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, he told reporters.

Mr. Kelly at first came to the defense of Rob Porter, the White House staff secretary, who resigned in the face of allegations of spousal abuse. Rob Porter is a man of true integrity and honor, and I cant say enough good things about him, Mr. Kelly said. He is a friend, a confidant and a trusted professional.

As outrage grew over a photograph showing an ex-wife of Mr. Porter with a black eye, Mr. Kelly issued a new statement. I was shocked by the new allegations released today against Rob Porter, he said. There is no place for domestic violence in our society. But he added: 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.

Mr. Porters case raised questions about what Mr. Kelly knew and when. The White House was informed as far back as August that Mr. Porters security clearance was being held up because of domestic allegations. Mr. Kelly has known about the allegations at least since last fall, according to officials who asked not to be named.

Raj Shah, a White House spokesman, said on Thursday that Mr. Kelly was not fully aware of the details until this week. Mr. Shah also insisted that Mr. Trump remained behind Mr. Kelly. The president has confidence in his chief of staff, he said.

One official insisted that there was minimal knowledge in the White House about Mr. Porters troubles. The official said that Mr. Kelly felt misled by Mr. Porters account of what had happened. A friend of Mr. Kellys said he had learned the details of Mr. Porters situation only an hour before suggesting he resign.

But White House officials said privately that the president was frustrated with both Mr. Kelly and the White House communications director, Hope Hicks, who in recent weeks has been dating Mr. Porter. Ms. Hicks was one of those rallying the White House to Mr. Porters defense when the allegations first surfaced in The Daily Mail.
WASHINGTON  Its been a year, but the air is still frigid between the education secretary, Betsy DeVos, and the leaders of the nations teacher unions.

Randi Weingarten, the longtime president of the American Federation of Teachers, and Lily Eskelsen Garcia, the president of the National Education Association, were left out in the cold on Thursday as they tried to deliver 80,000 failing report cards to Ms. DeVos from educators across the country.

The union leaders found locked doors as they tried to enter the Department of Education building to offer their assessment of Ms. DeVoss first year on the job.

Ms. Weingarten said the department had been asked for an appointment and knew that the group of about 100 protesters was coming. The department said guards had barred the group because it did not have an appointment.
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia  Ethiopia will release 746 more prisoners, including a journalist and a senior opposition official who were jailed for conspiracy to commit terrorist acts, the attorney generals office said Thursday.

The decision follows a series of changes announced by the government to try to reduce tension in Ethiopia, which has been hit by unrest since 2015.

Nearly 6,000 prisoners have been freed since January. Most were detained in connection with mass protests that broke out three years ago in the countrys Oromia and Amhara regions, where people have complained that they have been neglected by the central government and victimized by land grabbing.

On Thursday, the attorney generals office published a list of 746 inmates for pardon, including the journalist Eskinder Nega and the opposition politician Andualem Arage.
Bermuda has forbidden same-sex marriage, only nine months after legalizing it, in what advocates for gay and lesbian rights called a disappointing setback.

Same-sex marriage became legal in Bermuda, a British overseas territory, in May as a result of a ruling by the islands Supreme Court.

But the unions are unpopular with some voters.

In 2016, Bermudians voted against same-sex marriage in a referendum, and after the court ruling in May, the territorys legislature drafted a bill banning same-sex marriage but giving all couples legal recognition as domestic partners. Parliament adopted the Domestic Partnership Act in December, and on Wednesday the territorys governor, John Rankin, signed it into law.

The British prime minister, Theresa May, said Britain was seriously disappointed, but the Foreign Office said on Thursday it would be inappropriate to block the measure.
We would produce the sculpture with our bodies in front of the actual sculpture as a sort of ironic gesture, she said. A message that if this is the only art that gets funded  this solid, ossified, official art  then we can also produce a version of that, which is even cheaper and more flexible and on a human scale.

There was also a political dimension. She said she was often asked when showing or discussing the monuments work in Romania: What happens if you leave these images alone? Maybe theyre harmless. But I dont think they are. I think there is a subtle way in which these images and our visuals surrounding works on us and shapes us and transforms us.

Because there was so much discussion and debate in Eastern Europe about the removal of monuments related to communism after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Ms. Pirici said, When it started to happen in the U.S., I actually thought, wow thats kind of late.

Ms. Pirici doesnt believe such monuments should be destroyed, but that instead they should be recontextualized and placed somewhere else in a different setup, she said. This was also what I was doing with performers: O.K., we leave this here, but what if I add someone on top of it? Or someone enacting a horse here? Maybe this changes what it signifies without having to tear it down.
But what makes the book such a sobering read is the way the author regards Western democracys progressive ideologies as a contributor to the systemic failure.

Mr. Deneen is a trenchant critic of what he calls a liberal anticulture. He characterizes the current orthodoxy of humanities teaching as a pastless present in which the future is a foreign land, where the hermeneutics of suspicion expose the culture of the past as a repository of repression. Professors, adopting a jargon comprehensible only to experts,  show their worth by destroying the thing they studied to redress past injustices to specific groups.

The broad-brush approach of Why Liberalism Failed is short on specifics. But the author might have chosen, for instance, out of countless examples, David Porters essay, A Wanton Chase in a Foreign Place: Hogarth and the Gendering of Exoticism in the Eighteenth Century Interior, a recommended text for art history courses at British colleges, such as the Open University. Mr. Porter focuses on the second engraving in the series Marriage A-la-Mode, by the 18th-century British painter and printmaker, William Hogarth. It shows an unhappy husband and wife in a fashionable interior. Hogarth satirizes the wife for her penchant for Oriental porcelain, because, according to Mr. Porter, to grant the validity of Chinese taste would legitimate a regime not only of female aesthetic self-determination, but also of the autonomy of female desire more generally conceived.

And so Hogarth joins the ever-lengthening list of misogynistic dead male artists. This doesnt exactly encourage the study of his art  or having his prints on your wall. The last set of Hogarths six Marriage A-la-Mode engravings to appear at auction failed to sell last May at Weschlers of Washington D.C. against a low estimate of $1,500, according to Artnet.

What Mr. Deneen identifies as liberal societies pervasive amnesia about the past has further undermined the traditional culture of collecting. Salvator Mundi might have achieved a one-off, landmark price (in an auction of contemporary art), but generally old masters are now far less fashionable with the superrich than they were in the days of the Czar of Russia. On Feb. 1, Sothebys annual evening sale of master paintings in New York raised $48.4 million, a seemingly substantial total, until one recalls that the companys biannual evening auction of contemporary art in November raised $310.2 million.

Todays art world, in fact, offers one of the most conspicuous manifestations of what Mr. Deneen identifies as the extreme presentism of the contemporary era, as well as its new aristocracy of economic winners.
In November 1943, the composer Florence Price wrote to Serge Koussevitzky, the music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, asking him to consider performing her scores.

Unfortunately the work of a woman composer is preconceived by many to be light, froth, lacking in depth, logic and virility, she said. Add to that the incident of race  I have Colored blood in my veins  and you will understand some of the difficulties that confront one in such a position.

It was her second letter to Koussevitzky; there is no evidence he ever replied to her.

Price (1887-1953) was the first black woman to have her music played by a major American orchestra when the Chicago Symphony performed her Symphony in E Minor in 1933. She was a prominent member of the African-American intelligentsia, corresponding with W.E.B. Dubois and setting to music poems by Langston Hughes and Paul Laurence Dunbar.
Odds are you have never heard a performance of Brittens Piano Concerto, even if youre a regular concertgoer. The same holds true for another rarity, Debussys Fantaisie for Piano and Orchestra. And while Rachmaninoffs Second and Third Piano Concertos are staples of the repertory, his Fourth Concerto tends to turn up only when an orchestra is surveying all four.

Well, the pianist Leif Ove Andsnes has come to the rescue. For his stint this season as artist in residence with the New York Philharmonic, he made the adventurous decision to play these overlooked works on three programs. In October he gave an incisive account of Rachmaninoffs Fourth that made a case for this episodic piece as its composers most experimental score. He will play the Debussy in April.

On Thursday, with Antonio Pappano on the podium, Mr. Andsnes gave an exhilarating performance of Brittens unconventional four-movement concerto, last heard at the Philharmonic 36 years ago. Britten was just 25 when he composed it, in 1938, though seven years later he revised it (replacing the third movement, a Recitative and Aria, with an Impromptu).

I yield to no one in my admiration for Britten, and Ive always liked this early concerto. But the vibrant, insightful performance Mr. Andsnes gave with Mr. Pappano and the Philharmonic was a revelation.
LONDON  As the tabloids might say: Trinity Mirror in Daily Express Shock!

Trinity Mirror, which publishes The Daily Mirror, said on Friday that it had agreed to acquire the print assets of the Northern & Shell Media Group, which publishes The Daily Express, in a deal that would bring together news outlets on opposite ends of the political spectrum and shake up Britains fiercely competitive newspaper market.

The deal is valued at 126.7 million pounds, or about $176 million. Assuming it goes through, Trinity Mirrors holdings will run the political gamut, from The Daily Mirror, the best-selling newspaper in Britain on the left, to The Daily Express on the right.

Trinity Mirror publishes more than 150 newspapers in Britain and Ireland, including the Manchester Evening News.The purchase would add a diverse group of other publications to that roster, including the celebrity magazines OK!, New! and Star and the newspapers The Sunday Express, The Daily Star and The Daily Star Sunday.

The deal also clears the way for the exit from the news media industry of Richard Desmond, Northern & Shells colorful chairman and founder, a billionaire who made his money in adult and celebrity magazines.
Since 2012, he has exhibited on saatchiart.com, a large commercial online gallery that displays more than 500 of his paintings, ranging in price from $2,500 to $10,000. He estimates he sells three to four works on the site a year. Working with the site, he said, has allowed me to expand my audience and has helped me gain confidence and a new sense of optimism for the future.

After a representative from Kalisher began looking for Cleveland artists for a local client, Mr. Dibble landed a big commission in 2015. The result: 24 paintings hung as a single unit on display in the Hilton Cleveland Downtown Hotel. He earned just over $19,000 for the job.

Geoffrey Stein, 57, a former lawyer who now paints full time, was forced to make a change when a Westchester County gallery that displayed his work, Lionheart, closed last fall after the gallery owner died. The gallery director, Susan D. Grissom, took the inventory online, calling the new site paraphe.art. The power of social media influenced her decision. Instagram is your new storefront, she said.

Mr. Stein still sees a need to continue marketing in the physical world. He has been keeping some work with a gallery in Britain, while also being digitally savvy. Artists will need more than one platform, he said.

Mr. Stein said he began showing his work on the Saatchi Art site while in art school in London in 2005-6. Through www.paraphe.art, his artwork is also shown on www.artsy.net, an online resource for art collecting and education. It provides buyers access to real-time auctions at Christies New York and Sothebys, among others. And he is on Facebook and Pinterest, as well as Instagram  the gram being his favorite because of its inherently visual nature.

Artists over the age of 50 make up a significant contingent of those represented by online galleries. Artsy.net estimates that nearly 50 percent of living artists represented on its site are older than 50, with similar proportions at Artnet.com and Ugallery.
L .L. Bean is no longer interested in replacing the ratty sweatshirts or worn-down boots you bought from the company decades ago.

The purveyor of outdoor products, famous for its 100 percent satisfaction guarantee, said that a growing number of customers had abused the policy by treating it as a lifetime product-replacement program. The retailer will immediately begin enforcing stricter rules for shoppers seeking to exchange items or obtain or get refunds.

Under the new policy, consumers will have a year to make returns, and will be required to provide proof of purchase, L. L. Bean said in a Facebook post on Friday. The company, which is based in Freeport, Me., said it would work with customers to provide a fair solution if products showed defects after the return window had closed.

Shawn O. Gorman, L. L. Beans executive chairman and a great-grandson of Leon Leonwood Bean, the companys founder, wrote in the post that the changes would affect a small percentage of returns and would have no impact for the vast majority of customers.
Mr. Chawla, in the email, said that the Trump Organization played no role in the rebate application and that his company first considered applying for it in 2015, two years before he teamed up with the Trumps. He said the Trumps and the Chawlas had agreed that any rebate  which Mississippi offers in an effort to draw tourists  would not figure into fees paid to the Trumps.

Still, if the state approves the tax rebate for the Chawlas, it could indirectly, but personally, benefit the president, who owns the family business through a trust, an arrangement that raises some constitutional concerns, critics and legal experts say.

In lawsuits filed last year, a number of lawmakers, academics and state attorneys general contended that Mr. Trump was violating the Constitutions emoluments clauses, which essentially prohibit the president from accepting certain gifts from foreign or domestic governments. A federal judge in New York dismissed one case, while a federal judge in Maryland signaled recently that he might allow another to proceed.

The countrys founders included the emoluments clauses as a big bright-line rule, said Jed Shugerman, a professor at the Fordham University School of Law who helped write a legal brief in support of the plaintiffs in the emoluments litigation. Assessing the Chawlas application, he argued that while some state incentives are allowable, Mississippi has discretion to give the tax rebate, and if they do award it to this hotel, then they are likely giving Trump an emolument.

In preparation for the same brief, John Mikhail at Georgetown University Law Center studied 40 dictionaries from the founding era and concluded that the term emolument was almost always defined more broadly than the Trump administration has interpreted it. Still, some legal experts argue that domestic emoluments are allowable so long as Mr. Trump does not earn them from his service as president.
On Monday, Carolina Herrera will step out after her show at the Museum of Modern Art to wave to her audience as she has for the last 37 years. She will be, as usual, impeccably coiffed and composed, most likely in a white shirt and dark skirt with glowing white pearls in her ears. As usual, her husband, Reinaldo, will be in the audience, along with their daughters, Patricia and Carolina Jr.

But her daughters from her first marriage, Mercedes and Ana Luisa, will also be there. So will Bianca Jagger, who was at her first show in 1981. So will her old friend Calvin Klein. So will 25 of the men and women from her sample room, clad in their white coats. And so will Wes Gordon, a 31-year-old who has been her creative consultant for the last 11 months. Because with that wave, Mrs. Herrera, as she is known to pretty much everyone, is also waving goodbye to the runway.

As of Feb. 13 she is taking a new job in her company as global brand ambassador, and Mr. Gordon is becoming creative director.
One idea addresses an issue that many consider fundamentally unjust: Consumers are increasingly being asked to pay a greater portion of their drug costs, but they dont get discounts that drug manufacturers offer to health insurers.

The proposal, first floated by federal officials last November, would give at least a portion of that discount to people in Medicare drug plans at the pharmacy counter. The move could lower out-of-pocket costs for people with high drug bills, but would increase the cost of these Medicare plans, offered by private insurers, for everyone. The idea seems to have the support of the Trump administration, including the new health secretary, Alex M. Azar II, a former Eli Lilly executive.

The proposal, which does not need congressional approval, represents the latest clash between powerful health care industries that are engaged in a war for the moral high ground over rising drug prices. The pharmaceutical industry, backed by influential members of the Trump administration, has been lobbying hard for the change, betting that it would act as an escape valve for patients anger over drug costs while preserving drug makers freedom to set any price they want.

By contrast, the insurance companies and pharmacy benefit managers, which oversee drug plans, are loathe to part with what amounts to billions of dollars in rebate windfalls, arguing that it will lead to higher prices.

The change could present a tidy solution for Mr. Trump, who has come under fire for doing little to follow through on his pledge to lower drug prices, even as he has installed several former drug industry executives in prominent government roles. But it would cost the government money  up to $82.1 billion over the next decade, according to its own estimates.
What are the most popular dog breeds where you live? What are the most common names for those dogs? What do you think those patterns might say about your neighborhood and the people who live there? Why?

A recent article in The Times tracks New York Citys changing dog preference by analyzing the Department of Health and Mental Hygienes dog license registrations from 2012 to 2016, and comes to some interesting conclusions.

In The Secret Code to a Changing New York: Its Dog, Stefanos Chen writes:

New Yorks dogs are as varied as its people, and their numbers can be just as telling. They can be a cipher for understanding gentrification, and sometimes predicting it  when the designer pups arrive, rising home prices may not be far behind. They become part of the identity of a neighborhood, and their shifting numbers, rising or falling, can say much about its future. Most of all, they say something about the humans who take them home. As housing prices rise in an area, dog breeds tend to skew smaller and more expensive. But certain breeds maintain their dominance, like the pit bull in certain parts of Brooklyn and the Rottweiler in the Bronx. ...Citywide, the top dog in 2016 was the Yorkshire terrier, or Yorkie, the well-coifed lap dog that grows to about seven pounds, followed by the Shih Tzu, another small dog, and the much larger Labrador retriever (up to 80 pounds). The Chihuahua came in fourth, followed by the muscular pit bull, which includes a number of terrier breeds. Next came the tiny Maltese and the brawny German shepherd (up to about 90 pounds). The beagle, poodle and Pomeranian rounded out the list. New York dogs had names like Max (the most popular), Bella, Coco, Charlie, Rocky and Lola. There was also a Biggie in every borough  156 registrations in all, ranging from a Rottweiler in Queens to a French bulldog in Staten Island  perhaps in honor of the Brooklyn-born rapper Biggie Smalls. By and large, cramped city living means smaller dogs. Overall, one-third of registrations, the most of any group, were toy dogs, the smallest type recognized by the American Kennel Club, ranging from about five to 20 pounds. But there were exceptions: SoHo, one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the city, tied blue-collar Stapleton on Staten Island for the biggest share of dogs over 50 pounds  roughly 19 percent overall.

Students: Read the entire article, then tell us:

 Even if you dont live in New York City and have never visited, what in this article was most telling to you about how dog breeds map to different neighborhoods?

 What do you notice about the dogs in your area? Do you think the choices of breeds and names say something meaningful about who lives near you? Why or why not? For example, does having a rescue dog give an owner cachet in your area, as this article says it does in certain parts of Brooklyn?

 Do you own a dog, or any other pet? What do you think your own familys choice of pet says about who you are? Why?

 If you dont own a pet, would you like to? What would be the pet of your dreams and why?
A resident of an Upper Manhattan apartment building has been arrested on charges that he set the fire in November that left it badly damaged and displaced dozens of people, the authorities said on Thursday.

The man, Jelani Parker, was arrested around 5:30 p.m. and will face charges including felony assault, arson and reckless endangerment, Detective Hubert Reyes of the New York Police Department said.

Mr. Parker, 34, apparently fled to Los Angeles at some point after the Nov. 17 fire, which destroyed the top two floors of the six-story brownstone at 565 West 144th Street in Hamilton Heights.

A Los Angeles police spokesman, Officer Tony Im, said late Thursday that officers from the departments central division had come in contact with Mr. Parker in January; he said they arrested Mr. Parker after verifying that he was wanted in New York on a warrant. The arrest was reported by WABC Thursday night.
Todd R. Howe, the star prosecution witness in a sweeping corruption trial centered on Albany, was arrested on Thursday night, just hours after he admitted in court that he had violated the terms of his cooperation deal.

The arrest of Mr. Howe, a former lobbyist and loyalist to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and his father, was a stunning development in the case against Joseph Percoco, a former top aide to the governor, and three other defendants.

One provision of Mr. Howes cooperation deal was that he commit no further crimes whatsoever. But on Thursday, Mr. Howe, under a grueling cross-examination, acknowledged that he tried to defraud a credit card company after his cooperation agreement had been finalized.

Prosecutors often rely on witnesses whose admissions of past crimes could weaken their credibility. Salvatore Gravano helped the government bring down nearly 40 gangsters  most notably John J. Gotti  even though Mr. Gravano had admitted his participation in 19 murders.
This article is part of the Opinion Today newsletter. You can sign up here to receive the newsletter each weekday.

First, if youre trying to make sense of the stock market, I discuss its gyrations on the new episode of the Slate Political Gabfest, with Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson and David Plotz.

Census sabotage. It is hard to exaggerate the importance of a successful decennial census for municipalities across our nation, reads the first sentence of a letter sent to the Trump administration yesterday by a bipartisan group of 161 mayors.

The census is a more important part of national life than many people realize. It determines how many congressional representatives each state gets and helps determine how federal funding is distributed. Census data are also vital to many businesses and academic researchers.
TOKYO  On Friday morning, as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan was setting off to attend the opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang Olympics, as well as a side meeting with President Moon Jae-in of South Korea, he declared that cooperation among their two countries and the United States was unshakable in the face of threats from North Korea.

Yet just last week some commentators were forecasting that the encounter could only be tense, citing, as ever, residual tensions stemming from Japans colonization of the Korean Peninsula in 1910-45. As is routinely reported, Japans wartime treatment of so-called comfort women  women enlisted to sexually service Japanese troops  appears to endanger its ties with South Korea because, some say, it has not adequately apologized for its record.

The relationship between Tokyo and Seoul does seem to be as uncomfortable as it is important. In fact, though, it is far more important than it is uncomfortable  as the two governments well know.

Despite the nationalistic rhetoric that the countries leaders sometimes adopt with their respective domestic constituencies, ties between Japan and South Korea are fundamentally driven by pragmatic and hard-nosed considerations, especially about security. Too often this simple fact goes unacknowledged, even though it should be a source of some reassurance, especially at a time when North Korea seems increasingly belligerent and China more and more assertive.
On July 25, 2013, a high-ranking federal law enforcement officer took a public stand against malfeasance on Wall Street. Preet Bharara, then the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, held a news conference to announce one of the largest Wall Street criminal cases the American justice system had ever seen.

Mr. Bhararas office had just indicted the multibillion-dollar hedge fund firm SAC Capital Advisors, charging it with wire fraud and insider trading. Standing before a row of television cameras, Mr. Bharara described the case in momentous terms, saying that it involved illegal trading that was substantial, pervasive and on a scale without precedent in the history of hedge funds. His legal action that day, he assured the public, would send a strong message to the financial industry that cheating was not acceptable and that prosecutors and regulators would take swift action when behavior crossed the line.

Steven A. Cohen, the founder of SAC and one of the worlds wealthiest men, was never criminally charged, but his company would end up paying $1.8 billion in civil and criminal fines, one of the largest settlements of its kind. He denied any culpability, but his reputation was still badly  some might argue irreparably  damaged. Eight of his former employees were charged by the government, and six pleaded guilty (a few later had their convictions or guilty pleas dismissed). Mr. Cohen was required to shut his fund down and was prohibited from managing outside investors money until 2018.

Now, with the prohibition having expired in December, Mr. Cohen has been raising money from investors and is set to start a new hedge fund. Hell find himself in an environment very different from the one he last operated in. His resurrection arrives as Wall Street regulation is under assault and financiers are directing tax policy and other aspects of the economy  often to the benefit of their own industry. Mr. Cohen is a powerful symbol of Wall Streets resurgence under President Trump.
The comment was an insult to Washingtons partners in their decades-long war on drugs. All of the countries  three of which Mr. Tillerson would visit on his trip  have been solid allies in tackling the narcotics problem. Those governments and their people have borne the brunt of Americas appetite for drugs and its longstanding strategy of focusing on the supply side  until the administrations of George W. Bush and Barack Obama increased the focus on demand.

Violence, economic upheaval, corruption, organized crime, civil war and the hollowing out of state authority in Latin America have been the results  hardly a laughing matter for any of these countries. As President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia said with Mr. Tillerson standing next to him, We have lost our best leaders, our best journalists, our best judges, our best policemen in this war against drugs.

Despite Mr. Trumps latest insult and the clumsy curtain raiser in Austin, Mr. Tillerson tried to hit all the right notes on the trip. In Mexico he emphasized Naftas importance to the American economy, proudly declaring that the trade deal employed more than three million American workers and that it just needed to be updated (avoiding Mr. Trumps threats to end it altogether). In Argentina, he and his counterpart, Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie, talked about opening the United States market to Argentine fruits and vegetables  an important deal for the Argentines.

As the trip progressed it appeared as though Mr. Tillerson achieved his narrow goal. The governments that received him appeared willing to declare illegitimate the plan of the Maduro government of Venezuela to hold an early presidential election in April and refuse to recognize any government that resulted from the ballot.

And as the secretary hopscotched his way across the region, he also spoke more of the possibility of Washingtons applying sanctions on Venezuelan oil imports and the refinement of Venezuelan crude in the United States, an indication that his various hosts were willing to accept stronger efforts to close off Venezuelas most important petroleum market. By the end, Mr. Tillerson quietly boasted that this was now on the table and that Mr. Trump would ultimately decide.

Was Mr. Tillersons trip a success?

While a tougher collective response to President Nicolas Maduros march to autocracy and the looming state collapse is necessary and long overdue, the United States has a diverse range of interests that go beyond mobilizing action against Venezuela. Battling narcotics trafficking with local partner governments, expanding markets for American businesses, promoting broad-based prosperity, and defending democracy and human rights  not just in Venezuela and Cuba but in other countries like Honduras  are equally important.

But the administrations rhetoric on immigration, free trade and American allies commitment to battling the scourge of narcotics  not to mention Mr. Tillersons embrace of the Monroe Doctrine  have weakened Washingtons leverage throughout Latin America, as the declining popular approval of the Trump administration demonstrates.

Mr. Tillerson may have incrementally improved Americas standing in the region, but with all his baggage, he couldnt fully restore it.
 Mili Bonilla, whose father died in Puerto Rico in October.

Background reading:

 Very few deaths in Puerto Rico were attributed to Hurricane Maria. But after the waters receded and the roads were cleared, people continued to die at rates far beyond normal.

 A review by The New York Times of daily mortality data from Puerto Ricos vital statistics bureau indicates a significantly higher death toll after the hurricane than the government there has acknowledged.

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

How do I listen?

If you dont see an audio player on this page or to subscribe to The Daily for free, follow the instructions below.

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You can listen and subscribe to The Daily from any podcast player. If youre reading this from an iPhone or other Apple mobile device, tap this link to listen in Apple Podcasts. If youre on an Android device, tap this link to listen in Stitcher or this link to listen in RadioPublic.
Mariele Marki lives on the fifth floor of House 39, a new rental building on East 39th Street in Manhattan that is awash in indulgent amenities. The apartment building also has a perfectly nice elevator that stops on all 36 floors. But after walking her dog, Ms. Marki, a marketing consultant who is 26, often takes the stairs to her apartment  starting with the sculptural staircase that spirals up the double-height lobby to the second floor, where she can grab a coffee from the lounge before continuing up on the fire stairs.

Every little bit helps keep you a little more fit, she said.

Hammams and wine cellars top many amenity lists for new developments, but staircases? In upscale buildings that go all out to pamper residents, a feature that requires exertion might seem counterintuitive. But over a century and a half after the modern elevator was invented, many developers, architects and designers are bringing staircases to the fore, to add drama, evoke a bygone era, and activate common areas  or activate residents themselves.
Some 7,300 years ago, a supereruption devastated the southern islands of what is now Japan, burying most of the archipelago in thick ash. Known as the Akahoya eruption, the blast was so powerful it caused the volcanos magma chamber to collapse, leaving a 12-mile wide scar called Kikai Caldera, which is mostly underwater.

Now in a study published Friday, scientists have discovered that a dome of lava lurks beneath the caldera. By studying its magma plumbing, volcanologists could gain insight into the entire caldera system, which could help them better predict when another eruption in the Japanese archipelago might occur.

The most serious problem that we are worrying about is not an eruption of this lava dome, but the occurrence of the next supereruption, said Yoshiyuki Tatsumi a volcanologist at Kobe University in Japan and lead author of the study that appeared in the journal Scientific Reports.

Dr. Tatsumis previous work has suggested that the chances of a supereruption happening in the Japanese archipelago in the next century are only about 1 percent. But if a volcano in this area erupts, it could eject nearly 10 cubic miles of magma, covering almost all of the country and its 120 million people in nearly eight inches of thick ash, he found.
2004 print headline: The Week That Wasnt, published here in October 2004.

The story: It was the year of fake news. No, not 2017, when so-called fake news reigned as a staple of the presidents tweets, Facebook cracked down on false accounts that spewed propaganda, and Collins Dictionary anointed fake news its word of the year.

Although the term has been co-opted as a cudgel by Trumpites in their battles with some mainstream news organizations, fake news  that is, political satire packaged as information  was the province of Jon Stewart-quoting progressives at the peak of the George W. Bush years. To many in 2004, searing dispatches from The Daily Show (which billed itself as the most trusted name in fake news) and The Onion seemed like the best weapon against Washington spin and obfuscation . (Immediately after Mr. Bushs re-election in 2004, for example, The Onion published an article titled Nations Poor Win Election for Nations Rich.)

A most insincere form of flattery: In 2004, fake news had become the the comic trope of the moment, the Times articles author, Warren St. John, wrote. Much of that could be chalked up to the rising cultural influence of The Daily Show, which had become something of a mirror-image Fox News for urban ironists ever since Mr. Stewart took over from Craig Kilborn as the host in 1999. (Stephen Colbert, a star correspondent, would push the envelope even further a year after the article was published, creating a fake news show, The Colbert Report, starring a fake newsman alter ego.)

This was also a peak era of influence for The Onion, which by 2004 had become a must-read for the presidents critics as it expanded its print edition to new cities. Other humorists, including Sacha Baron Cohen and Andy Borowitz, were also mining the faux-news format for laughs. Even mainstream organizations were dipping a toe. Episodes of ABCs Prime Time Live closed with a musical rendition of satirical headlines. CNNs Larry King Live hired the comedian Mo Rocca as a wisecracking correspondent at political conventions.
It is now likely that more than 56,000 Americans will die of flu this year.

That was the prediction made on Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Thats how many died in the 2014-15 flu season, and new infection rates and hospitalization rates  the best predictors of mortality  are now higher than they were at this point that season.

If President Trump can claim credit for the fact that no Americans died in plane crashes in his first year in office, he must also shoulder some blame for this  and the connection to the White House is much easier to draw.

The Trump administration did not choose the leaders of the Federal Aviation Administration or the National Transportation Safety Board who oversaw a decade of declining plane crash deaths, part of a worldwide trend. But Mr. Trumps disastrous choices for public-health leadership did contribute to the deaths that will occur between now and summer.

His first secretary for Health and Human Services, Tom Price, resigned in disgrace last September after it was revealed that he spent $400,000 chartering private jets at taxpayer expense. The presidents choice for C.D.C. director, Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald, resigned in January after reports that she had recently bought stock in a tobacco company. That capped months of recusing herself from various official duties because she owned shares in biotech and health-information companies.
London

Maddie Williams

Maddie Williams, at just 22, is already making her debut at London Fashion Week this season. Fashion Scout, the international platform that nurtures and showcases young designers, invited Williams to be part of its fall/winter 2018 Ones to Watch runway show in London. Currently, my brand is just me on a sewing machine in my parents front room, says Williams, who recently interned with Vivienne Westwood. For inspiration, she imagined a group of goddess-like figures whose purpose is to fight the capitalist patriarchy. I hope the feeling will be almost warrior-esque, she told T. Accordingly, her garments are designed to celebrate womens bodies. Why should women broaden their shoulders like men to feel powerful? Why not do the opposite? she asks. Her fall/winter 2018 collection, an expansion of her graduate collection, is defined by exaggerated silhouettes and intensely textured, handcrafted textiles, which are made of mostly renewable or repurposed materials such as plastic bags. I want my work to show that eco-fashion can still be visually exciting and push concepts and ideas beyond the fact of its sustainable ethos, she says.
So she turned her attention to fighting the bias built into digital technology. Now 28 and a doctoral student, after studying as a Rhodes scholar and a Fulbright fellow, she is an advocate in the new field of algorithmic accountability, which seeks to make automated decisions more transparent, explainable and fair.

Her short TED Talk on coded bias has been viewed more than 940,000 times, and she founded the Algorithmic Justice League, a project to raise awareness of the issue.

In her newly published paper, which will be presented at a conference this month, Ms. Buolamwini studied the performance of three leading face recognition systems  by Microsoft, IBM and Megvii of China  by classifying how well they could guess the gender of people with different skin tones. These companies were selected because they offered gender classification features in their facial analysis software  and their code was publicly available for testing.

She found them all wanting.

To test the commercial systems, Ms. Buolamwini built a data set of 1,270 faces, using faces of lawmakers from countries with a high percentage of women in office. The sources included three African nations with predominantly dark-skinned populations, and three Nordic countries with mainly light-skinned residents.

The African and Nordic faces were scored according to a six-point labeling system used by dermatologists to classify skin types. The medical classifications were determined to be more objective and precise than race.

Then, each companys software was tested on the curated data, crafted for gender balance and a range of skin tones. The results varied somewhat. Microsofts error rate for darker-skinned women was 21 percent, while IBMs and Megviis rates were nearly 35 percent. They all had error rates below 1 percent for light-skinned males.

Ms. Buolamwini shared the research results with each of the companies. IBM said in a statement to her that the company had steadily improved its facial analysis software and was deeply committed to unbiased and transparent services. This month, the company said, it will roll out an improved service with a nearly 10-fold increase in accuracy on darker-skinned women.
Each Friday, Farhad Manjoo, The Timess technology columnist, reviews the weeks news, offering analysis (and maybe a joke or two) about the most important developments in the tech industry. Want this newsletter in your inbox? Sign up here.

Good morning! Lets talk about tech.

A Tepid Reaction for Apple

The HomePod reviews are in, and the verdict is: Its middling!

Apples smart speaker was originally due to ship last year. Now, after a delay and lots of speculation that it would face a rough go against Amazons Echo, Apples device is finally on sale.

But most reviewers appraising the device this week suggested that it was best to wait. There are some interesting features in HomePod, but it has a long way to go to beat the competition.

What does it do well? It sounds great. Every reviewer  among them Nilay Patel at The Verge, Joanna Stern at The Wall Street Journal and my New York Times colleague Brian X. Chen  found that HomePod beat Echo, Google Home and a comparable Sonos device in audio quality.
Q. There appears to be a problem with Windows 10. At start-up, the drive use is at 100 percent. It can be impossible to open email or a browser or anything else for 15 to 30 minutes, sometimes even longer. Whats going on?

A. Microsoft addresses the problem in its Windows 10 Support database, pointing to a firmware bug in some computers with solid-state drives as the culprit. If the Windows Task Manager shows the disk use at 100 percent, your computer is unresponsive and your Windows system event log shows multiple entries of Event ID 129, the company suggests carefully following these steps to turn off Message Signal Interrupt mode.

However, depending on your hardware, other software and services could be jamming things up and dragging your disk to a crawl. It might take some time and experimentation to zero in on the problematic programs. Disabling Windows Desktop Search is often suggested, as is turning off the SuperFetch function that stores information for applications.
SAN FRANCISCO  Waymo and Uber settled their legal fight on Friday, nearly a year after Waymo first accused the ride-hailing company of plotting to steal important self-driving car technology.

After four days of arguments and testimony in Federal District Court here, Uber agreed to provide Waymo, the self-driving car unit under Googles parent company, Alphabet, with 0.34 percent of its stock. According to Waymo, the settlements terms value Uber at $72 billion, meaning the Alphabet units stake is worth about $245 million.

The settlement closes a legal fight that riveted Silicon Valley. It pitted the most successful company from the dot-com era against this generations biggest start-up in a fight over autonomous vehicles  a potentially trillion-dollar industry that is expected to transform transportation.

The trial also offered a peek into how Silicon Valley really works: the rise of promising start-ups that challenge incumbents; the inner workings of rich, but often chaotic, technology companies; the complicated rivalries among billionaire tech entrepreneurs; and the costly competition for engineering talent.
SAN FRANCISCO  For weeks, Dara Khosrowshahi, Ubers chief executive, and some of his lieutenants had worked behind the scenes to repair the ride-hailing companys fractious relationship with Waymo, the self-driving business spun out of Google.

A Waymo lawsuit over autonomous car technology, in which it accused Uber of stealing trade secrets, was about to go to trial in a San Francisco courtroom for all to see. So Mr. Khosrowshahi, who was appointed Uber C.E.O. late last year, leaned on his history with Google from his previous job as chief executive of the travel site Expedia.

Mr. Khosrowshahi worked to coax Googles founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and to let them know that Uber had turned over a new leaf, according to two people briefed on the situation, who asked not to be identified because the details were confidential. Tony West, Ubers recently appointed general counsel and a former Department of Justice official, also jumped into the negotiations, these people said.

The actions helped lead to a compromise. On Friday, four days after the trial began and revealed some embarrassing testimony, Uber and Waymo announced they had settled the trade secrets dispute. Under the agreement, Waymo dropped the suit and will receive 0.34 percent of stock in Uber. Uber also said that it could have handled some past actions around driverless car tech differently.
She looks so much like Jacqueline Kennedy, if Jacqueline Kennedy had been dressed in black instead of pink on the day her husband was assassinated at her side. This is another widow, though  Betty Shabazz, wife of the civil rights leader Malcolm X, and the simple lines of her dress and the flip of her hair place her in the same era as Camelot.

But dont let that demure strand of pearls trick you into underestimating her. In Roslyn Ruffs instantly commanding performance in Marcus Gardleys X: Or, Betty Shabazz v. The Nation, Shabazz is no whisper-voiced helpmate. Angry, aggrieved, utterly composed, she is out for justice on behalf of her slain husband, prosecuting a case in some cosmic court. Shes seeking to hold members of the Nation of Islam accountable for his murder, 53 years ago this month at the Audubon Ballroom in Washington Heights.

Shabazz wants to prove the guilt of those men categorically, putting to bed all ifs, ands and a few butts, she says in her opening statement, aiming her contemptuous pun straight at the accused. Who wouldnt love her immediately?

The shows current run at the Theater at St. Clements is a return engagement for a production that won praise in a brief run last year at the New Victory Theater. Directed by Ian Belknap, it has largely the same cast this time around, with Jimonn Cole once again playing Malcolm X.
Someones singing Lord, kumbaya. Someones singing Lord, kumbaya.

For decades, the dominant narrative was that a white evangelist, the Rev. Marvin V. Frey, had originally composed Kumbaya. This story was spread in part by Mr. Frey himself, who got a copyright on the song in 1939, claiming to have written it in 1936 based on a prayer he heard in Oregon.

Something about that story never sat right with Stephen Winick, who has a Ph.D. in folklore. For one, the song sounds like something from the African-American tradition. Mr. Winick had also heard rumors that there was an earlier recording of the song in the archives of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, where he works.

I think its important to restore cultural materials to their communities of origin, he said. Give credit where its due.

Several years ago, Mr. Winick dug up that old wax cylinder recording. It was captured in 1926 by Robert Winslow Gordon, the first head of the Archive of American Folk Song. It was the recording of H. Wylie singing Come By Here in an accent that sounds like kumbaya, a decade before Mr. Frey claimed to have written Kumbaya. Mr. Winick said it was possible that Mr. Frey may have heard a prayer with the kumbaya lyrics, and composed them into a song, thinking he was the first to do so. But the evidence on that remains murky.

Mr. Winick also found in the archives lyrics collected in 1926 by a high school student outside of Gullah territory for a song similar to Come By Here. That raised the possibility, Mr. Winick said, that the song might not have originated with the Gullah Geechee, though he maintains that it is quite possible that they could be its creators. The version of the song as we know it today very likely traces to the Gullahs because of the pronunciation of come by here as kumbaya, he said.

I think that in the general public, if you ask someone on the street, What does kumbaya mean, they wouldnt know, he said. They would think it means joining hands and being friendly to each other.
It appears the Maine Legislature has learned its lesson, at least. It revised the disputed state law last year to end ambiguity by adding new punctuation  but not in the way you might be thinking.

The case began in 2014, when three truck drivers sued the dairy for what they said was four years worth of overtime pay they had been denied. Maine law requires time-and-a-half pay for each hour worked after 40 hours, but it carved out exemptions for:

The canning, processing, preserving, freezing, drying, marketing, storing, packing for shipment or distribution of: (1) Agricultural produce; (2) Meat and fish products; and (3) Perishable foods.

What followed the last comma in the first sentence was the crux of the matter: packing for shipment or distribution of. The court ruled that it was not clear whether the law exempted the distribution of the three categories that followed, or if it exempted packing for the shipment or distribution of them.

Had there been a comma after shipment, the meaning would have been clear. David G. Webbert, a lawyer who represented the drivers, stated it plainly in an interview in March: That comma would have sunk our ship.

Since then, the Maine Legislature addressed the punctuation problem. Heres how it reads now:

The canning; processing; preserving; freezing; drying; marketing; storing; packing for shipment; or distributing of: (1) Agricultural produce; (2) Meat and fish products; and (3) Perishable foods.

So now we get to replace Oxford comma pedantry with semicolon pedantry. The change, sponsored by Senator Andre Cushing, was among dozens of legislative tweaks signed by the governor in June.

It clarifies the intent of the legislature, to conform with federal law, that the distribution of certain products is exempt from the provisions governing overtime pay, according to a summary of the changes. It amends the 1995 law by reordering the series of exempt tasks for the purpose of eliminating any perceived ambiguity.
WASHINGTON  Rachel L. Brand, the No. 3 official at the Justice Department, plans to step down after nine months on the job as the countrys top law enforcement agency has been under attack by President Trump, according to two people briefed on her decision.

Ms. Brands profile had risen in part because she is next in the line of succession behind the deputy attorney general, Rod J. Rosenstein, who is overseeing the special counsels inquiry into Russian influence in the 2016 election. Mr. Trump, who has called the investigation a witch hunt, has considered firing Mr. Rosenstein.

Such a move could have put her in charge of the special counsel and, by extension, left her in the cross hairs of the president.

Ms. Brand, who became the associate attorney general in May, will become the global governance director at Walmart, the companys top legal position, according to people briefed on her move. She has held politically appointed positions in the past three presidential administrations.
WASHINGTON  Senator Rand Paul was right  Republicans can be hypocrites when it comes to spending.

Mr. Paul, the architect of Fridays one-man shutdown, called out his own party for renewed profligacy after years of penny-pinching during the Obama administration, accusing Republicans of forming an unholy alliance and spending free-for-all with Democrats at the expense of the American people and our partys supposed principles.

But Mr. Paul, a Kentucky Republican, had his own obvious inconsistencies. He was bemoaning a surge in deficit spending after enthusiastically voting in December for a deficit-ballooning $1.5 trillion tax cut. He then forced a brief and avoidable government shutdown that threw federal agencies into confusion, even though he had zero chance of blocking the budget measure.

Still, the underlying truth exposed by Mr. Paul and the predawn bipartisan approval of the budget package is that most lawmakers like to spend money, even when they say they dont. That is what many came to Washington to do  to win federal resources to apply to solving big problems in their districts and states, problems like an epidemic of opioid abuse deaths, crumbling highways and bridges, and lack of access to health care.

They want to invest billions of dollars in a badly stretched military and fix embarrassing shortcomings in the system that is supposed to be treating veterans. They want to show frustrated and unhappy voters they are capable of doing something.
Gen. John Kelly has been moving fast ... He is a terrific leader. ... to impose military-style discipline on the Trump White House. Thanks a lot, um ... White House chief of staff John Kelly was once seen as the man who could restore order in the West Wing. Well, I think hes the right guy to be able to try to get the White House back in order. Now hes at the center of disorder after a top White House aide resigned over allegations of domestic abuse. One of the presidents most trusted advisers announced hes resigning ... Following accusations of domestic abuse from two former wives. He says he choked her and would throw her on the bed, put his body weight on her, yell and grind his elbow or knee into her body. Rob Porter, the White House staff secretary, denied the allegations. And his ally, Kelly, initially supported him. Rob Porter is a man of true integrity and honor, and I cant say enough good things about him. I am proud to serve alongside him. But that view quickly changed. I was shocked by the new allegations released today against Rob Porter. Theres no place for domestic violence in our society. His initial defense of Porter sparked an outcry. And its not the first time this week that the retired Marine general found himself in hot water. As Congress debated tying a spending bill to immigration legislation, Kelly criticized eligible immigrants who hadnt signed up for DACA. 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. And he also irritated his boss. In January, Kelly reportedly angered the president for saying this: You know, theres been an evolutionary process that this president has gone through. As a campaign  and I pointed out to all of the members that were in the room  that they all say things during the course of campaigns that may or may not be fully informed. Trump responded on Twitter. The president tried to kill the theory of evolution in tweets this morning, saying, The wall is the wall, has never changed or evolved from the first day I conceived of it.  And while Kelly is said to have brought some greater discipline to the West Wing, he has also shown that he isnt afraid to be at the center of the controversy.
Analysts said the reality was more complicated. The Qataris made a better grade on counterterrorism and the Saudis overplayed their hand, said Aaron David Miller of the Wilson Center, a former negotiator and Middle East analyst for the State Department. And the combination of those two things meant we have restored balance in our relationships in the Gulf.

Mr. Tillerson heads to the Middle East next week, where the growing American tilt toward Qatar is likely to be on stark display. At a meeting in Kuwait to solicit investments and donations for Iraqs reconstruction, the Qataris are expected to make a significant pledge of funds, according to a senior State Department official. But the Saudis, saddled with a costly war in Yemen, and Emiratis, long suspicious of Iraqs Shiite-led government, are not expected to make similar pledges, said diplomats in the region who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the funding assistance had not yet been announced.

Qatars foreign minister and defense minister led the delegation to Washington last week for the countrys first strategic dialogue with the United States  a diplomatic platform that the Trump administration has generally reserved for global heavyweights like China and India. Mr. Tillerson has been among Qatars chief supporters in the administration; he played a key role when he was at Exxon Mobile helping Qatar develop its vast gas field.

There are signs that Mr. Tillersons view now holds sway in the White House.

Since the summer, the Trump administration has become increasingly unnerved by Saudi moves to remove Lebanons prime minister, jail hundreds of princes and businessmen and prosecute a war in Yemen that has created a humanitarian disaster. Additionally, Stephen K. Bannon, Mr. Trumps one-time chief strategist who has close ties to the Emirates and has sharply criticized Qatar, is no longer at the White House.

Qatar, meanwhile, signed agreements with the United States for sharing information on terrorists and terrorist financing, fighting human trafficking and disclosing detailed financial information about its national airline. Last month, Mr. Trump called Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani of Qatar and praised the nation for being one of the few countries to sign a counterterrorism agreement.
Q. When well, my oral temperature is almost always about a degree lower than 98.6. When Im sick I can have what constitutes a fever (that is, over 99), but sometimes I feel feverish at 98.6 or even lower. Is the latter really a fever?

A. Doctors are often quick to dismiss the concerns of patients who feel feverish but have normal temperatures, saying something like, You only have a temperature of 99 point something. Thats not a fever.

But if you feel as if you have a fever, you probably do. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a fever is present when the patient feels warm to the touch or gives a history of feeling feverish. The C.D.C., however, also offers an alternative temperature-based definition of fever, with a threshold of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius).

The Infectious Diseases Society of America acknowledges that the definition of fever is arbitrary but likewise goes on to cite various definitions, including 1) an oral temperature of 100 or greater, 2) repeated oral temperatures of 99 degrees or greater, and 3) an increase in temperature of more than 2 degrees over the patients baseline.
TUMACO, Colombia  The deal that ended decades of war in Colombia hinged on a simple formula: The rebels would surrender their weapons, and in exchange, earn the right to run for office in the countrys democracy.

But on Friday the former fighters said they were suspending their campaign. Their activists were being killed, they said, and threats were mounting against those who remained  including their top commander who is running for president.

While the decision does not send the country back to war, it does put Colombias peace into a kind of limbo. The former rebels involvement in this years elections was meant to signal an end to decades of political violence and was a pillar of the accords that ended 52 years of civil conflict.

Their sudden departure from the campaign  on the grounds that it is not safe  casts doubt on whether the conflict is over yet.
Body of OFW killed in Taiwan quake to be brought back

posted February 09, 2018 at 01:36 pm by Arlene Lim February 09, 2018 at 01:36 pm

The remains of Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) who was killed in the earthquake that struck Taiwan last Tuesday are set to be brought back to the Philippines. Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) Head Lito Banayo says, the family of 28-year-old caregiver Melody Castro has been informed about the tragedy. They had also been asked who wanted to go to Taiwan to join Philippine officials as they retrieve her body. Melody did not survive the magnitude 6.4 tremor that rocked Hualien County last Tuesday. She was reportedly hit by a cabinet as it fell and as the building where she was working in collapsed. She was taking care of a Japanese patient.Banayo says, Melody left behind a five-year-old child. Her husband was paralyzed following an accident. Her family lives in Abulug, Cagayan. Melody was the sole breadwinner. Banayo says, he had asked the MECO Board to provide Melody's kin additional financial help, aside from the assistance they will receive from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).

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Oxfam, one of Britain's largest charities, acknowledged on Friday that staff members committed sexual misconduct in Haiti in 2011, after a news report revealed that senior officials there had hired prostitutes, including for sex parties.

Oxfam fired four people and allowed three others to resign after an investigation, which also found that drivers were sometimes ordered to pick up prostitutes and that orgies were held at houses near Port-au-Prince that were used by the organizations staff.

The employees included Oxfams chief official for Haiti relief and other senior staff members, according to the article, which cited a confidential report by the charity.

The revelations were initially reported by The Times of London, which further reported on Saturday that Oxfam had neglected to warn the new employers of some staff members involved when they later took jobs in disaster zones.
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia  One of Cambodias leading opposition figures has asked a federal court in California to force Facebook to reveal details of its dealings with Hun Sen, the countrys authoritarian prime minister, arguing that he has used the platform to manipulate public opinion and strengthen his hold on power.

Lawyers for the opposition politician, Sam Rainsy, filed a petition on Thursday in the Northern District of California asking that Facebook be compelled to release records of advertising purchases by Mr. Hun Sen and his allies.

Mr. Sam Rainsy says Mr. Hun Sen has used Facebook to spread false news stories and death threats directed at political opponents. And he alleges that in addition to generating likes by paying for his pages to get targeted promotion, Mr. Hun Sen used so-called click farms to accumulate millions of counterfeit ones.

J. Noah Hagey, a partner in the San Francisco-based law firm BraunHagey & Borden, which is representing Mr. Sam Rainsy, called the legal action an opportunity to bring unique transparency to some of the Hun regimes most insidious methods for controlling and manipulating ordinary citizens.
BEIJING  A Chinese court sentenced a nanny to death on Friday for setting a fire that killed three children and their mother, in a case that has prompted a national discussion about greed, trust, inequality and neglect.

The nanny, Mo Huanjing, 35, was convicted of arson for igniting her employers apartment in June. The authorities said Ms. Mo, who had more than $9,500 in gambling debt, had planned to start a fire and then extinguish it, hoping that the family would reward her financially for coming to their rescue.

In its decision on Friday, the Hangzhou Intermediate Peoples Court in eastern China called Ms. Mos motive despicable and said that she had seriously damaged public security and caused social harm.
BEIJING  A Hong Kong-based bookseller with Swedish nationality, snatched from a train to Beijing by the Chinese police last month for undisclosed reasons, resurfaced on Friday to declare in a police-arranged interview that he wanted no help from the outside world.

The interview between the bookseller, Gui Minhai, and several Hong Kong and Chinese journalists was the latest twist in a case that has generated an international furor, opening a rift between China and Sweden.

Mr. Gui, whose business sold gossipy books critical of Chinas leaders, was secretly spirited from Thailand to China in 2015 and held for two years, amid diplomatic tensions over his rights.

He was formally freed last year but ordered to remain in China, where he lived in an apartment in the eastern city of Ningbo. He disappeared again in January, seized from a Beijing-bound train as two Swedish diplomats were accompanying him to the Swedish embassy in the Chinese capital for a medical examination. Mr. Gui has shown symptoms of possible amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also called A.L.S. or Lou Gehrigs disease, a neurological disorder that degrades muscle actions.
KOTTE, Sri Lanka  Madhu Hettiarachchi has no time right now for the brain surgery her doctors have recommended. Shes busy trying to take advantage of an unprecedented chance to get women elected in Sri Lanka.

After more than a generation of struggle by womens rights activists, Sri Lankas patriarchal political scheme has, reluctantly, opened up a bit to require that 25 percent of candidates in local elections be women. Their representation in this island nation, still reeling from a protracted civil war, remains at a miserable 2 percent of local government posts, though women make up more than 51 percent of registered voters.

When the country goes to the polls on Saturday, a quarter of the 56,000 candidates will be women. In the process of running, many have faced abuse that includes sexual assault, intimidation and character assassination. Religious leaders have openly urged their congregations not to vote for women. But for Ms. Hettiarachchi and other political activists, there is no going back.

We have fought for this for two or three decades, Ms. Hettiarachchi said, her eyes gleaming with excitement. Its not an easy thing. But this is a turning point.
ROME  Emma Bonino had wrapped up the keynote speech at a rally in a Rome convention center to begin her campaign for Parliament in Italys national elections on March 4, and the cheery, generic background music had just come on.

At that, Ms. Bonino whirled around, grabbed the microphone and protested: Play the Ninth. Find me Beethovens Ninth.

Moments of D.J. angst followed, but, finally, the last movement of the symphony  better known as Ode to Joy  boomed through the speakers.

Her demand wasnt simply a whim.

Ode to Joy is also the anthem of the European Union, and Ms. Bonino has placed Italys commitment to the bloc at the center of her new political movement, which she has named Piu Europa, or More Europe.
ROME  Pope Francis and his diplomats have been quietly pouring energy into negotiations with the Chinese government that could help end a decades-long dispute over control of the Catholic Church in the country.

But as signs of a possible breakthrough have emerged  how bishops get ordained has long been a sticking point  some Catholics are worried. They fear that the Vatican, in its eagerness for a deal, could betray clerics and parishioners who have illicitly practiced their faith for decades and risked arrest and persecution by worshiping in the so-called underground church. They are also alarmed that a deal could end the independence for which the underground church has long stood.

The dissension escalated on Friday as the retired archbishop of Hong Kong, Cardinal Joseph Zen, intensified his criticism of the talks, saying that a reconciliation could result in 12 million Chinese Catholics being effectively put in a Communist-controlled cage. He has accused church bureaucrats of selling out Chinese Catholics, and warned, A church enslaved by the government is no real Catholic Church.

Cardinal Zen did not attack the pope directly, but called Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the popes second-in-command, a man of little faith. Another prelate has mocked one of the popes close collaborators as living in Wonderland for his depiction of China as a country uniquely in sync with the churchs values.
ATHENS  A report from Greek prosecutors has found that 10 high-profile politicians, including two former prime ministers and a top European Union official, may be linked to bribery accusations involving a Swiss drug manufacturer.

The inquiry, which was sent to Parliament on Tuesday by anticorruption prosecutors in Athens, is centered on accusations that the pharmaceutical giant Novartis made payments to politicians in exchange for fixing the prices of its medicines at artificially high levels and increasing its access to the Greek market.

According to prosecutors, who were assisted by the F.B.I., the bribes are estimated to be in the millions of euros, and the losses to the Greek state could have been in the billions.

The prosecutors said that Greek officials accepted money from Novartis between 2006 and 2015, a time frame that includes a period in which Athens was under pressure from creditors to tighten spending and contain a financial crisis.
BRUSSELS  The judges were there, the lawyers and the press  so many journalists that there was a spillover room. The only person largely missing from the trial was the high-profile defendant, the only surviving member of the group accused of carrying out terrorist attacks in Paris in 2015 and Brussels in 2016.

Salah Abdeslam, 28, who defied a dragnet of French and Belgian police for more than four months as he hid in his hometown haunts after fleeing the attacks in Paris, poked a finger again at the authorities, this time in court.

When asked whether he had anything to say or if he would respond to questions, he was brief and clear: I defend myself by remaining silent.

He had one more message: He did not believe the court could render a just verdict.

What I observe is that Muslims are judged, treated in the worst of ways, he said. They are judged mercilessly. There is no presumption of innocence, there is nothing, were immediately guilty, voila. My silence does not mean that I am guilty.
Also, Connecticut recently adopted new standards for commercial preparers, which will be phased in over several years. The new law aims to protect taxpayers and ensure that income tax preparers are qualified, in light of increased evidence of preparer error, unfair practices and even fraud, according to a statement from Kevin Sullivan, commissioner of the states Department of Revenue Services.

At a basic level, all paid preparers must have a preparer tax identification number, or PTIN, issued by the I.R.S., Ms. Hockenberry said. If your preparer doesnt have one, thats a red flag.

Taxpayers should always ask for references, inquire how much tax education the preparer gets during the year and ask what the preparers areas of specialty are, if any, Ms. Hockenberry said.

If the preparer is unwilling to share this information, she said, walk away.

Other signs that the preparer may not be legitimate include charging a fee based on a percentage of your refund, telling you to take a deduction for an expense you didnt incur and refusing to sign the return.

The major tax chains generally provide some in-house training for their preparers, said Chi Chi Wu, a lawyer with the National Consumer Law Center.

H & R Blocks website, for instance, describes a 60-hour tax course for potential employees, covering topics like wages, filing requirements and ethics.

Susan Waldron, an H & R Block spokeswoman, said preparers hired after completing the initial course must take an additional 21 hours of training and complete 10 practice returns before working with clients. In addition, she said, returning preparers must take 32 hours of continuing education and skills training each year.
The Australian government has allocated P42.7 million (AUD1.1 million) to the United Nations World Food Programme to support the Philippine governments response to the Marawi crisis. With this funding, WFP will be able to provide six months of school meals for 50,000 students affected by the crisis. As a good friend and neighbor, Australia is committed to providing humanitarian assistance when necessary, said Australian Ambassador Amanda Gorely. Through our partnership with the Department of Education and Task Force Bangon Marawi, we are supporting people affected by the Marawi crisis, she said. Australia has supported early recovery activities by addressing the immediate food needs of people affected by the crisis. In addition to school meals, Australias support will provide food assistance for nearly 23,000 households and 8,100 affected laborers and farmers. Australia said the support will contribute to peace and stability in the area, and allow students to finish the academic school year, which ends in March. Education plays an important role in community-building. Were pleased these emergency school meals will support students education and development, Gorely said. In July 2017, Australia donated rice which was prepositioned and used to feed more than 57,000 primary and secondary students in Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur.Australia later contributed an additional P19 million (AUD500,000) to WFP, which supported the general food distribution carried out by the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. The rice support benefited 11,000 households in Lanao del Sur from August to December 2017. We are grateful for our strategic partnership with the Australian Government which allowed us to immediately respond to the Marawi crisis through rice that was prepositioned at the onset of the emergency, Stephen Gluning, WFP Representative and Country Director. Australias support of emergency school meals will enable students to continue their studies while being nourished with a daily meal, he said. Since June 2017, the Philippine Government and WFP have distributed rice to about 128,000 people and provided school meals to more than 57,000 students in the country. WFP is mobilizing additional resources to cover the needs of its current operations until May 2018, including early recovery activities that involve food and cash-based assistance. WFP is the worlds largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide, delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience. Each year, WFP assists some 80 million people in around 80 countries.
INDIANAPOLIS  Can you trust college students with pepper spray? If they sell blankets to other students to make money, might they be contributing to a bedbug infestation in the dorms? And how many drunken teenagers are dancing on the campus pianos instead of playing Shostakovich?

These questions, at their core, are about risk. And if you want to protect yourself from risk that has financial ramifications, you probably need insurance. Which is how it came to pass that undergraduates at Butler University found themselves in the underwriting business.

Here in the universitys Davey Risk Management and Insurance Program, 13 upperclassmen are underwriting those pianos and fellow students who seek to corner the market on fleece blankies.
The result is a diamond that has the same properties as a natural diamond but different and distinguishable crystal patterns.

This is not the first time gemstones have been manufactured. In the late 1800s, Auguste Verneuil, a French chemist, manufactured the first synthetic rubies. His process has also been used to make synthetic sapphires. Cultured pearls, where an irritant is placed into the oyster to create a pearl, have been made since the 19th century in Japan.

The first synthetic diamonds were created in the 1950s for industrial uses by companies like General Electric. They did not approach gem quality until the 1970s and 1980s, beginning with colored diamonds.

Tom Moses, who oversees the laboratories and research at the Gemological Institute of America, said it was not until the past five years that synthetic diamond producers began to create stones that could compete with natural diamonds  and fool people buying them.

They look the same to the naked eye, but many in the diamond trade say they are deceiving buyers.

Its almost a fraud on the buying public to say theyre the same thing as diamonds from an economic standpoint, said Tom Gelb, a co-founder of the Diamond Durability Laboratory and a consultant to the diamond industry.

Mr. Gelb bets that the value of synthetic diamonds will drop as production costs fall. It is a gems rarity, he says, that maintains its value. If price is the issue, he suggests sticking with a proven fake, cubic zirconia: You can get one for $25, so why would you pay $3,500 for a synthetic diamond?
The parent of a six year old Offaly boy have described how they are irate over the fact that their son will have to wait two and a half years for a more detailed eye examination after his vision test in school suggested a follow up was needed.

The parents contacted the Offaly Express after receiving a letter from the HSE this week.

The letter states that their son was seen as part of the School Screening Service and the results of the vision test suggest 'that a further more detailed eye examination is necessary'.

The letter states that the boy has been referred to Ophthalmology Services Eye Clinic Midlands Regional Hospital Tullamore.

However the next line states that 'the waiting list for this service is currently approximately 2 and half years'.

Speaking to the Offaly Express, the boy's father expressed his frustration with the situation.

"We never had any concerns about his eye sight but the School Screening Service has highlighted that there may well be an issue. It is good that this service picks up potential problems but to be told in the same letter that the waiting list is two and a half years is madness. They are telling us our son may have a problem with his eyesight but then telling us we are in for a long wait before anyone even does a more detailed exam, never mind doing something to correct any potential problem. It's scandalous to be honest."

The letter received by the parents of a six year old Offaly boy
Baba Ramdev skips Cancer Research event at IIT-Madras over 'Karma' remark

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

Chennai: Yoga guru Baba Ramdev opted out of ongoing cancer research event at IIT-Madras since a co-sponsor pulled out of the event citing the Yoga Guru's remarks where he had said that 'karma' (deeds) is one of the reasons that cause the killer disease. Yoga guru Ramdev was supposed to attend the event as the chief guest and address the cancer specialists on 'cancer and modern medicine'.

Ramdev chose not to attend the International Conference on Translational Cancer Research on February 8-11 for some "prior commitments", according to a New Indian Express report.

"The organising committee informed the local organisers here about Ramdev opting out of the event in a mail. However, we are not sure if it's because of the media reports," Prof Karunagaran said in the report.

It may be recalled that 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. Subsequently, Ramdev chose to voice his support for Sarma and said that it is true that one has to bear with the consequences of one's deeds.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Friday, February 9, 2018, 10:08 [IST]
Congress prime opposition to BJP in UP, will win without SP, BSP alliance: Ajay Kumar Lallu

Judge Loya death case: MPs from 15 political parties demand SIT probe

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

A delegation of 114 MPs from 15 parties led by Congress President Rahul Gandhi submitted a memorandum to President Ram Nath Kovind in Justice BH Loya death case on Friday.

Speaking to media Rahul Gandhi said, "Many MPs from both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha felt discomfort over it and also feel that the matter should be probed and an SIT should be formed."

He said, " A judge died under suspicious circumstances. It will be an ode to him and his family that the investigation takes place properly."

"His (Judge BH Loya) death is suspicious, there have been two other suspicious deaths. President gave positive response," Rahul Gandhi added.

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.

OneIndia News
Posted Friday, February 9, 2018 3:45 am

Much like the plumbing system in a house, your body has tubes and vessels that circulate blood, and theyre all connected to your heart. To mark American Heart Month, Mercy Hospital Lebanon will host its annual lunch and learn on Valentines Day (Feb. 14).

The event Oh, You Gotta Have Heart! will be presented at noon in the main conference rooms of the hospital, located at 100 Hospital Drive, Lebanon. A complimentary lunch will be provided as speakers from Mercy discuss cardiopulmonary services offered in the region.

Valentines Day is also right in the middle of Cardiac Rehabilitation Week, a time to focus on the ways to improve your heart health, whether youve had a heart attack, heart failure or other heart-related issue, said Mary Heaston, supervisor of Mercy Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation  Lebanon. We want to remind our community that we have an excellent program right here that includes education, exercise and ongoing support.

Mercy Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation  Lebanon is certified by the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation and offers comprehensive cardiac rehab programs. All referrals must be made by a physician.

Dr. Morgan Hazell will be the featured speaker at the Feb. 14 lunch and learn. She will help attendees discover the importance of stress management, smoking cessation and depression prevention, as well as sleep health and hygiene. Mercys new chaplain, Jeanette Collins-Glas, will also present information about advanced directives.

The free event Feb. 14 will be hosted by the Mercy Lebanon Auxiliary. To reserve a seat, call 417-533-6017 or email Stephanie Breedlove at Stephanie.breedlove2@mercy.net. Door prizes and free gifts will be provided.
Srinagar attack: Who is Abu Hanzala and why him being on the run is very bad news

Days after escape, Abu Hanzalas picture surfaces on social media

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

Naved alias Abu Hanzala has surfaced on the social media, just three days after he escaped from a hospital in Srinagar. In the photograph he is seen holding an AK-47 rifle and posing with two of his Hizbul Mujahideen counterparts, Sadam Paddar and Aadil Malik.

It may be recalled that the Hizbul Mujahideen had on Wednesday said that Hanzala had reached his destination. They said that following the escape he reached his destination in South Kashmir.

Hanzala who was lodged in the Srinagar jail had been taken to a hospital for a check up. Two of his accomplices were waiting for him at the hospital. Upon his arrival, they fired at the police and helped Hanzala escape. Two police personnel lost their lives in the incident.

Elimination of Lashkar leadership forced desperate escape in Srinagar: Police

Meanwhile the Jammu and Kashmir government undertook a major re-shuffle exercise. S K Mishra was transferred and posted as Chairman-cum-Managing Director, Jammu and Kashmir Police Housing Corporation, a Jammu and Kashmir government order said.

In another major reshuffle, the government also replaced Muneer Khan with Swayam Prakash Pani as the Inspector General of Police, Kashmir range. However the decision regarding Khan had nothing to do with the escape and was part of a routine re-shuffle.

Days after Lashkar terrorists escape, big changes in J&K police dept

The decision to transfer Mishra was made at a Cabinet meeting chaired by chief minister Mehbooba Mufti. Dilbag Singh, a 1987 batch IPS officer, replaced him.

Singh was Commandant General, Home Guards/Civil Defence/State Disaster Response Force, Jammu and Kashmir.

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Story first published: Friday, February 9, 2018, 6:25 [IST]
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

Delhi: Ahead of 3 Northeast polls, Modi attends BJP Parliamentary Board meet

India

oi-Madhuri

With Northeast assembly elections round the corner, Prime Minister NArendra Modi, Amit Shah attended a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) parliamentary board meeting in Delhi on Friday.

The meeting comes days after the party lost the crucial Rajasthan bypolls to Congress.In this meeting, party leaders are expected to rake up the upcoming polls in Northeast states.

Earlier on Thursday, Modi addressed two rallies in the poll-bound Tripura. Launching a scathing attack on Chief Minister Manik Sarkar and his party, Modi said the people in Tripura feel intimidated by the communists.

OneIndia News
Elimination of Lashkar leadership forced desperate escape in Srinagar: Police

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

The Jammu and Kashmir police have said that the escape of the terrorists from a Srinagar hospital was a desperate move by the Lashkar-e-Tayiba as its top leadership had been eliminated.

The police said the police exercised restraint at the time of the attack at the Sri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital as hitting back at the assailants could have led to civilian casualties.

"The LeT leadership was finished (in encounters). Earlier (Abu) Qasim, then (Abu) Dujana and (Abu) Ismail also. Lashkar had not designated its new commander for Kashmir. May be that is why they were so desperate to get Naveed freed," Additional Director General of Police Munir Ahmad Khan, who also held charge as IGP Kashmir, told reporters.

All the terror outfits in Kashmir were operating in unison and there is no difference among them, he said.

"You have seen the photograph of Naveed after his escape and he has gone to a Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist (Saddam Padder). This vindicates my point that they are working together," he said.

The police official was referring to a photograph of Saddam Padder and Naveed Jutt which has surfaced after his escape from police custody at a hospital following a terror attack in which two cops escorting the Pakistani terrorists were killed.

Police today presented four persons -- two ultras and two overground workers -- before the media who were arrested for their alleged involvement+ in the conspiracy that led to Naveed Jutt's escape.

The arrested persons were identified as Shakeel Ahmad Bhat and Tika Khan while the OGWs were Syed Tajamul and Mohammad Shafi Wani.

Khan said that scientific evidence led the special investigation team of the police, constituted after the attack, to the involvement of five persons of which four have been arrested.

The fifth -- Hilal Ahmad Rather -- is at large, he said. One pistol each has been recovered from Shakeel Bhat and Tika Khan, he said.

Giving details of the February 6 incident at the SMHS hospital, Khan said that Hilal Rather, taking advantage of the heavy rush of patients and attendants in the casualty section, passed on a pistol to Naveed Jutt and both fired on the policemen who were escorting the terrorist.

Rather and Bhat had brought a car and a motorcycle as their means of getaway, he said. They preferred the motorcycle after the incident, he added.

Days after Lashkar terrorists escape, big changes in J&K police dept

"From the hospital, Naveed was dropped on the other side of Abdullah bridge (Rajbagh) and kept at a place and taken to Kakapora in Pulwama district later in the day. We have identified the place but we are not revealing it so as not to hamper the investigation," he said.

Khan said the conspiracy to free Naveed Jutt from police custody was hatched four months ago but did not succeed in the first attempt.

"The initial plan was to take him from Pulwama court but they did not succeed. They formed the second plan, and as part of it Hilal and Tika Khan visited the central jail several times on one pretext or the other," he said.

The ADGP said Naveed Jutt and his facilitators were in touch with each other through mobile phones.

"We have seized the mobile phones and are analysing the data," he said.

Asked why police did not react on the spot when the firing took place, Khan said it could have led to civilian deaths.

"We are not terrorists. For them three or four civilian deaths at that time would not matter because they are terrorists," he said.

The officer said while the militants might have succeeded in their plan but the security grid will get them. "It took them four months to plan this and we got them in one day," he said.

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Story first published: Friday, February 9, 2018, 6:12 [IST]
'Should not be misled': Mayawati reaches out to Brahmins before UP polls

Ex-BSP MLA Amarpal booked under National Security Act

India

pti-PTI

Ghaziabad, Feb 8: Former Bahujan Samaj Party MLA from Sahibabad Amarpal Sharma, an accused in a murder case, has been booked under the National Security Act, officials said. Sharma was jailed last September for allegedly conspiring to kill a BJP functionary under the Khoda Police station.

The district administration imposed the National Security Act on Sharma on Tuesday based on the report of the district police chief. District Police chief H N Singh said the police had sent its report to book Sharma under the NSA as it was suspected that he might create law and order problem if he gets bail.

According to SSP singh the district magistrate Ritu Maheshwari has sent the report of imposing NSA on Sharma to the state government for its approval.

Thereafter the report will be sent to High court advisory board Allahabad, and after the consent of board NSA will be enforced. Sharmas family members and supporters said they will challenge the NSA before the government, the high court advisory board and thereafter will approach Allahabad High Court to seek relief.

In case NSA is confirmed, Sharma will have to remain in jail for one year, officials said. Sharma had surrendered in a court on 18th October in a district court in connection with the case of murder of BJP leader Gajendra Bhati, who was gunned down by two armed assailants in Khoda on September 2.

Another BJP local functionary, Balbir Chauhan, was injured in the incident. After a few days of the killing, the police had arrested Narendra Gurjar, alias Fauji, and Raju Pehalwan. The duo told the police Sharma had given them a contract of Rs 10 lakh to eliminate his political rival Gajendra Bhati.

PTI
Oppn ready to take on Khattar govt in Haryana Budget session

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Haryana govt to withdraw FIRs against 822 Jat agitators booked for 2016 violence

India

oi-Madhuri

The Haryana government will withdraw 70 FIRs registered against 822 Jat agitators in connection with the February 2016 Jat quota stir violence.

Speaking to ANI, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) SS Prasad said,''Cases(during Jat reservation protests) against 822 people who were accused in 70 FIRs have now been recommended for withdrawal.''

''A total of 822 people were accused in the 70 FIRs. In December, a similar direction was issued for (the withdrawal of) 15 cases in which 47 persons were accused. Similar instructions were earlier given in connection with 138 cases, in which 1,158 people were accused," Prasad said. So far, the government has approved withdrawal of 223 cases, in which a total of 2,027 persons are accused, he said.

The All India Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti (AIJASS), however, demanded that all such cases should be withdrawn.

AIJASS chief Yashpal Malik even threatened to disrupt the motorcycle rally of BJP chief Amit Shah in Jind on February 15 over their demands.

Jats get Reservation in Haryana - All That Happened

The move also attracted criticism with Kurukshetra MP Raj Kumar Saini saying those who suffered hugely during the violence should be asked before the cases are withdrawn.

February 2016 Jat quota stir

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PM Modi must make statement in Parliament, clarify whether snooping was done: Chidambaram on Pegasus row

How did draft note on Aircel-Maxis case reach Chidambaram: CBI begins probe

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

The mysterious manner in which a 2013 draft report reached the residence of former union minister, P Chidambaram is being probed by the CBI. The Central Bureau of Investigation had prepared a draft report in connection with the Aircel-Maxis case and during a raid conducted by the Enforcement Directorate, it was found at the resident of Chidambaram.

Sources in the Enforcement Directorate, tell OneIndia that they had seized the documents on January 13. The raids were conducted at the Jor Bagh premises of Chidambaram. During the raids, the ED had searched several places in Delhi and Chennai linked to Chidambaram's son, Karti Chidambaram.

Following the search an official note was sent to the CBI in which information regarding the seizure and recovery of the document was mentioned. A CBI official informed that it is now conducting an internal inquiry into the incident.

It is understood that the document is a CBI draft report on the Aircel-Maxis deal case which was later submitted to the Supreme Court in a sealed cover by it in 2013 and sources indicate that some portions of the seized report match with what was submitted then.

The senior Congress leader, on January 13, had termed the ED raids against his son "a comedy of errors" and claimed that the officers were left "embarrassed" and "apologetic" as they could not find anything at his Jorbagh house.

"Since they (ED sleuths) had to justify the search, they took some background papers related to a statement made by the government in Parliament in 2012-13. In Chennai also they found nothing, seized nothing," the senior Chidambaram had said.

The ED case pertains to a Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approval granted in 2006 by the then finance minister P Chidambaram.

The agency had said it is investigating the circumstances of the said FIPB approval granted by the then finance minister (P Chidambaram)" under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The ED also alleged that Karti has "disposed of" a property in Gurgaon, which he had allegedly rented out to a multinational company "to whom foreign direct investment (FDI) approval had been granted in 2013".

It charged that Karti had "also closed certain bank accounts and attempted to close other bank accounts in order to frustrate the process of attachment" under the PMLA.

The agency had said that the FIPB approval in the Aircel-Maxis FDI case was granted in March, 2006, by the then finance minister, even though he was competent to accord approval on project proposals only up to Rs 600 crore and beyond that it required the approval of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA).

"In the instant case, the approval for FDI of 800 million USD (over Rs 3,500 crore) was sought. Hence, CCEA was competent to grant approval. "However, approval was not obtained from CCEA," it had alleged.

Karti is also being probed by the ED in an another money laundering case pertaining to the INX media deal.

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Story first published: Friday, February 9, 2018, 6:17 [IST]
In this village at Arunachal Pradesh everyone is a crorepati

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

In the Bomja village of Arunachal Pradesh every household has become a crorepati. This was thanks to the payment released by the government towards the acquisition of their land for the Indian Army.

Following the acquisition, the Defence Ministry released cheques worth Rs 40.8 crore to 31 families of the Bomja village in Tawang district. A little over 200 acres of land had been acquired and the cheques were released as part of the compensation.

The cheques were handed over by Pema Khandu, the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh. At a small ceremony on Wednesday, the cheques were handed over to the heads of the families.

The land was acquired to set up location plant units of the Army. This is part of the Army's plan to step up its presence in Arunachal Pradesh.

Rs 6.73 crore was the highest compensation received by one family followed by Rs 2.45 crore. The rest of the 29 families received compensation of Rs 1.09 crore each.

The chief minister thanked defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman for releasing the amount and said that more such compensation in lieu of land acquisition by the Indian Army is under process by the central government.

With this, Bomja has become one of the richest villages in the country. There were some reports that even claimed that Bomja is now the richest village in Asia, but this is yet to be ascertained.

OneIndia News
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Judge Loya case: SC to hear plea demanding independent investigation

India

oi-Madhuri

By Madhuri

The Supreme Court will on Friday hear the plea demanding an independent investigation in the death of special CBI judge BH Loya, who was hearing the controversial Sohrabuddin Sheikh 'fake encounter' case.

A bench, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra, will hear the petitions.

Judge Loya had died of cardiac arrest in Nagpur on December 1, 2014, when he had gone to attend the wedding of a colleague's daughter. After Loya's death, special judge M B Gosavi, who took over the trial, had discharged Shah and some other accused.

Loya's death came under the spotlight in November last year after media reports quoting his sister fuelled suspicion about the circumstances surrounding it, and its possible link to the Sohrabuddin case.

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Story first published: Friday, February 9, 2018, 10:40 [IST]
Top Lashkar commander involved in killing of SPO and his family shot dead

With killing of 2 more Lashkar operatives, number of terrorists gunned down in J&K this year is 78

Top Lashkar terrorist who had deserted J&K police gunned down in Shopian

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Lashkar terrorist from Pakistan sentenced to 7 years in jail for plotting attacks in India

Lashkar operative convicted for terror financing, money laundering

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

A terrorist of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba has been sentenced to 7 years in jail by a court after being found guilty of money laundering

Bilal Ahmed Quta alias Imran Jalal, who operated from Karnataka, has also been fined Rs 50,000 by the court, they said.

A special PMLA court of Judge Shivshankar Amarannavar pronounced the verdict yesterday.

The case dates back to January, 2007 when the man was arrested with an AK series assault rifle, 200 bullets, five hand grenades and a satellite phone by the Karnataka Police while he was getting down from a bus in Bengaluru.

He was charged with "waging war" against Government of India, possession of arms and explosives and other sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Quta was involved in these activities since 2001 and was a member of the LeT, they said

The Enforcement Directorate booked Quta under the criminal provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in 2009, taking cognisance of the police charges and subsequent conviction by a local court.

The central probe agency had also "confiscated" Rs 34,830 funds of Quta under anti-money laudering laws as it identified the money to be meant for terror financing. This is the fourth case of conviction under the PMLA in the country.

OneIndia News
Mahadayi: Goas demand to extend tribunals tenure rejected by Karnataka

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

The demand by the Goa government to extend the tenure of the Mahadayi tribunal has been rejected by Karnataka. At a high level meeting presided over by Karnataka Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah, it was decided to oppose a move by Goa which sought extension of the tribunal's tenure beyond August 2018 as was originally envisaged.

The decision was taken in a bid to address the problem of lack of drinking water. The dispute needs to be resolved at the earliest, the CM said following a meeting with floor leaders.

The tribunal was set up in November 2010 with a mandate of providing a report on the dispute in three years. The term can be extended only twice. The tenure has already been extended twice and any further extension would need a legal amendment. Any further extension would only lead to delay in the implementation of projects to provide drinking water, Karantaka has contended.

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Story first published: Friday, February 9, 2018, 5:52 [IST]
Cofco International Ltd., the trading arm of Chinas largest food company, is building a soft commodities hub in Dubai to position itself in the sale and purchase of sugar, and also cotton and coffee in the region.

Head manager of the Cofco Marcelo de Andrade made the announcement this week during the Dubai Sugar Conference.

He said the hub to be located at Dubai Multi Commodities Centre will give the company a more comfortable access to sugar markets such as India and Thailand; known as two large producers. The plan is also to cover deficit areas in the Middle East and Asia.

The hub will employ 10 staff to deal with sugar operations, as well as cotton and coffee trading, Bloomberg reports.

Andrade himself is moving from Brazil to settle in Dubai for the purpose.

Cofco is already present in Dubai with an office in the Jebel Ali Free Zone. The head office seats in Geneva and the parent company is located in China.

The company has this year introduced a shift in its soft commodities business as it brings the coffee and cotton under the leadership of Marcelo de Andrade who has been successful with the handling of the sugar unit. The unit scored its best year ever in 2017.

We are trying to implement the same concept we have in sugar to other businesses, he said.

The head of coffee team Joseph Reiner has left the company and Andrade looks to bring the same success to the sector as this year the company plans to trade 5 million bags up from 4 million bags last year.

China has placed much focus on coffee as domestic taste for coffee grows over traditional national interest for tea.

According to The US Department of Agriculture, Chinese consumption more than doubled over the past five years and will reach a record 4.1 million bags this season, Bloomberg reports.

China is changing, coffee is growing in China, de Andrade said.

If you look at the young population in China, they dont drink tea anymore. They drink coffee.
NSCN (IM) says will not force people to boycott Nagaland Elections

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

In what comes as a major relief to the Election Commission of India, the NSCN (IM) has said that it will not force people to boycott the upcoming elections in Nagaland.

The NSCN (IM) which had originally demanded independence from India is now in talks with the government. It may be recalled that the organisation had even signed the Naga Accord aimed at fulfilling certain demands with the pre-condition of staying within the Indian state.

After the mainstream political parties decided to defy the boycott diktat and contest the election, NSCN-IM had made a veiled threat, stating that any national worker found "defying the decision of the Naga people would face serious consequences as per the Ajha (decree) of the government".

"We fully support the prudent decision of the Naga people for solution of the Naga issue and hence, not to go for election. We will stand by this decision to the end. We reiterate our stand that imposed election will not be acceptable to the Naga people," it added.

It may be recalled that several tribal committees had issued a boycott call for the elections which are scheduled for February 27.

Core Committee of Nagaland Tribal Hohos and Civil Organisations (CCNTHCO) had issued the January 29 declaration, demanding a "solution (to the Indo-Naga political issue) before election."

CCNTHCO had, with the support of seven Naga insurgent groups, compelled 11 political parties to sign a joint agreement to not contest the elections to the 13th Nagaland Legislative Assembly. However the exercise was a futile one with all political parties fielding candidates for the elections.

Nagaland Assembly Party 2013 Current Standing NPF 38 45 Election Date : Feb 27 2018

Counting : Mar 03 2018 IND 08 08 CONG 08 00 NCP 04 01 BJP 01 04 JDU 01 01 OTHERS 00 00 Total 60 59 (1 Vacant)

OneIndia News
Media was critical of UPA during 26/11 attack, not the same with Narendra Modi govt: Rahul Gandhi

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Modi embarks on three nation visit to Palestine, Oman and UAE

India

oi-Madhuri

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday embarked on his three-nation tour to the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Palestine. Ahead of his visit, the Prime Minister on Thursday said that the Gulf and West Asia region is a key priority for India's foreign policy.

Modi will leave for Amman from where he will transit to Ramallah on Saturday in what will be the first ever Prime Ministerial visit from India to Palestine.

This will be the fourth meeting between Modi and Abbas after their meetings on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in 2015 and at the Paris climate summit later that year and the Palestinian President's visit to India last year.

The visit will reaffirm India's foreign policy position that its relationship with one country is independent of its ties with a third country and will de-hyphenate Israel and Palestine after Modi's standalone visit to Israel in July last year.

From Palestine, Modi will reach Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), on February 10 evening in what will be his second visit to the nation since his visit in August 2015.

OneIndia News
Rafale Deal: Congress demands answers from Narendra Modi to these questions

India

oi-Shreya

By Shreya

In a statement released by the Congress on February 9, by Party Spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, and leaders Rajeev Gowda and Pramod Tewari have once again taken on the ruling Government over the Rafael deal and asked the following questions to the Prime Minister.

The Congress claimed that the Modi Government 'stumbles' and 'fumbles' before the Rafael Deal as it 'sacrifices National interest and refuses to answer on loss to public exchequer.'

Read the Questions framed by the Congress for the Modi Government and demanded answers for:

Q.1 What is the price per aircraft of the 36 Rafale Aircrafts being purchased by Modi Government? Did the Defence Minister, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman not agree to share the price of Rafale Aircrafts in a press conference in Raksha Bhawan on November 17, 2017? Why are Prime Minister, Defence Minister and Finance Minister hiding the 'purchase price'?

Q.2 On February 5, 2018; Defence Minister refuses to disclose the price of Rafale Aircrafts on the ground of 'secrecy agreement' that presumably came to end on January 24, 2018. On February 8, 2018; Finance Minister refuses to disclose the price on the ground of 'National security'. Isn't a full disclosure of price of Rafale Aircrafts in 'National interest'? Why are the two Ministers of the Government speaking in two different voices? Who are they trying to shield? Why is the 'price' of Aircrafts shrouded in 'secrecy' and 'cover-up'?

Q.3 Is it correct that per aircraft price of Rafale as per International bid opened on December 12, 2012, comes to US$ 80.95 million (Rs.526.1 crore) as against Modi Government's per aircraft negotiated price of US$ 241.66 Million (Rs.1570.8 crore) as per current exchange rates? Has another country - Qatar purchased 12 Rafale Fighter Jets in November 2017 for US$ 108.33 million per aircraft (Rs.694.80 crore) as per current exchange rates? If this is correct, why has Modi Government paid such astronomically higher price for Rafale Aircrafts?

Q.4 Rafale and Eurofighter Typhoon, both aircrafts were found equal on all technical requirements by Indian Air Force. Is it not correct that on July 4, 2014; Eurofighter Typhoon gave a written offer to the then Finance Minister, Shri Arun Jaitley offering to reduce prices by 20%? Why did PM Modi and Defence Minister then not ask both the companies to submit fresh bids through 'inter-governmental agreement route' so as to get the lowest price in favour of India's public exchequer?

Q.5 Why was no prior permission of 'Cabinet Committee on Security' taken by PM Modi? Why was Defence Procurement Procedure' violated with impunity? Why are Prime Minister, Defence Minister and Finance Minister completely silent on this issue?

Q.6 Why was the Government PSU - HAL superseded a 30,000 crore 'offset contract' in favour of a private company despite the fact that HAL had already signed a 'work share agreement' on March 13, 2014 with Dassault Aviation?

OneIndia News
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Rajya Sabha MP AV Swamy collapses in Parliament premises, rushed to hospital

India

oi-Madhuri

Odisha MP AV Swamy fell down in the Parliament premises on Friday. He was immediately rushed to the hospital.

Speaking about the incident, Venkaiah Naidu in Rajya Sabha said that the reason is still being ascertained.

Meanwhile, the proceedings in both the houses of the Parliament was repeatedly abrupted, mainly because of the protest staged by the TDP members over their demand of special status to Andhra.

The Lok Sabha was adjourned minutes after it was convened after protests from TDP members over the issue of budgetary allocation for Andhra Pradesh. Speaker Sumitra Mahajan straightway took up the Question House as the proceedings commenced. Soon members of the TDP crowded the Well raising slogans.

In Rajya Sabha, an uproar was witnessed after Samajwadi Party member Naresh Agarwal urged Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu to ask for an apology from Minister of State Kiren Rijiju over his social media post on Congress' Renuka Chowdhury.

Earlier in the day, Renuka Chowdhury filed a privilege motion against Rijiju for posting a video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi mocking her laughter in the Rajya Sabha.

OneIndia News
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Shopian firing: SC agrees to hear plea filed by Majors father to quash FIR on Feb 12

India

oi-Madhuri

The Supreme Court agreed to hear the petition filed by the father of an Army personnel belonging to the 10 Garhwal Rifles booked in connection with the killing of three civilians in alleged firing incident in Jammu Kashmir's Shopian district. The case will be heard on February 12.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud considered advocate Aishwarya Bhati's submission that the plea be heard on an urgent basis and fixed the case for hearing on February 12.

In the plea, filed yesterday through Bhati, Singh said that the authorities were aware that the Major "was not there," but "in an arbitrary exercise of power, named my son as an accused."

The Jammu-Kashmir Police had lodged an FIR under Section 302 (murder charge) against the Army personnel of the unit and include a Major rank officer. The petition filed in the apex court seeks the quashing of the FIR.

The firing incident in Shopian district, Jammu and Kashmir, left two persons dead and nine injured.

The case was registered under sections 302 (murder) and 307 (attempt to murder), the officials said.

Two youth were killed and nine others injured allegedly in Army firing at Ganovpora in Shopian when a stone-pelting mob targeted a convoy. The Mehbooba Mufti-led state government had also ordered a magisterial probe into the incident.

OneIndia News
Sikh riots: CBI protecting Tytler, H S Phoolka tells PM in letter

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

Senior advocate H S Phoolka has written to the Prime Minister stating that the Central Bureau of Investigation is protecting Jagdish Tytler. The advocate who was instrumental in re-opening the investigation into the 1984 Sikh riots case said that the CBI should subject Tytler to custodial interrogation.

Phoolka wrote, "During the court hearing in Karkardooma courts, the investigating officer called one of the prime witnesses against Tytler a 'blackmailer'. The statement of witnesses, who gave evidence against Tytler, are not being recorded before the magistrate under section 164 of The Criminal Procedure Code, whereas the statement of witnesses, who gave statements in favour of Tytler, were duly recorded by CBI." He has also alleged that CBI was not recording statements of select witnesses and has thereby established a case of 'preferential treatment'.

"The court has also asked CBI why statements of 22 witnesses, who are nearly 85 years old, should not be recorded under section 164 CRPC. To this, the CBI had stated that it was their discretion. The CBI's stand, openly favouring the accused in a case relating to a mass massacre, is not acceptable. The CBI is also intentionally delaying the lie detector test of Abhishek Verma, in spite of Verma's consent and willingness to undergo the test, as it is likely to go against Jagdish Tytler," the letter further states.

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Story first published: Friday, February 9, 2018, 13:45 [IST]
TDP MP turns 'tantrik', demands special package for Andhra Pradesh

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

Telugu Desam Party MP from Chittoor Naramalli Sivaprasad donned a new role for a special package to Andhra Pradesh. Sivaprasad turned a 'tantrik' and was seen Chanting 'mantras' on Parliament premises on Friday.

"The PM is playing with the public of Andhra Pradesh. We advise him not to play with Gods. He promised a lot of things but has forgotten everything. So we are questioning him now. The Lord asked me to tell Modi to be careful about the assurances he gives," Sivaprasad told CNN-News18.

MP Sivaprasad is well known for his antics in the political circle. He doesn't a miss chance to attract the attention of people on political issues. Early this week, he turned a traditional storyteller with bells tied to his feet.

In 2016, he wore a black-and-white attire to protest against demonetization at the Parliament. Also, posed like Dr. B R Ambedkar during the Parliament Session.

Delhi: TDP MPs protest near Mahatma Gandhi statue in Parliament demanding special package for #AndhraPradesh pic.twitter.com/txeYRXlYux  ANI (@ANI) February 9, 2018

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Story first published: Friday, February 9, 2018, 15:32 [IST]
Trump says India has just been devastated by COVID-19

Collapse of Kabul will go down as one of the greatest defeats in American history: Donald Trump

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US President Trump speaks to Modi over phone, express concern over Maldives crisis

India

oi-Madhuri

By Madhuri

US President Donald Trump spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the phone on a wide range of issues. Trump also expressed concern over the Maldives crisis. The talk comes amid the United States' massive crackdown on Pakistan for its failure to act on terrorism.

The two leaders spoke on enhancing security in Indo-Pacific region, Afghan war, ongoing political crisis in the Maldives, the situation of Myanmar's Rohingya refugees and North Koreas nuclear program.

"Both leaders expressed concern about the political crisis in Maldives and [talked about] the importance of respect for democratic institutions and rule of law," the White House said.

On the growing threat posed by North Korea, Trump and Modi discussed further steps to ensure its denuclearisation.

The leaders agreed to strengthen security and economic cooperation as they look forward to the 2+2 ministerial dialogue between their defense and diplomatic officials in April, the White House said in its statement.

OneIndia News
West Bengal: CID seizes 39 litres of imported liquor from retired IPS officer's apartment

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

At least 39 litres of imported liquor in 57 sealed bottles were seized from apartment building of retired West Bengal IPS officer Bharati Ghosh on Thursday. A raid was carried out by CID team following allegations of extortion. Imported scotch like Johnny Walker and Chivas Regal were seized.

The Economic Times reported that Bharati Ghosh, a promotee IPS officer, was known to her proximity former TMC leader MuKul Roy and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Following, Roy's shift to BJP, cracks began surfacing between Ghosh and Mamata Banerjee. Bharati Ghosh had long stint as SP of Maoist-hit West Midnapore district.

The report said TMC leaders blamed Bharati Ghosh for rise in vote share of BJP in the recent Sabang Assembly constituency bypoll in Wed Midnapore district. BJP improved its share In the absence of any organisational strength. Ghosh was district police chief.

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Story first published: Friday, February 9, 2018, 12:29 [IST]
YSR Congress accuses TDP of indulging in 'horse-trading'

India

pti-PTI

New Delhi, Feb 9: Alleging that the ruling TDP in Andhra Pradesh was indulging in "horse-trading" by trying to lure his party's legislators, YSR Congress MP V Vijayasai Reddy on Friday filed a complaint with the Election Commission.

He met Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Om Prakash Rawat here and submitted a memorandum in this regard. The MP also requested the CEC to conduct in Hyderabad the elections for the three Rajya Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh that would fall vacant in April. Reddy alleged that the TDP would continue the practice of horse-trading if the polls were held in the new capital city of Amaravati.

"We have no faith that the TDP will allow the polls to be held in a free and fair way in Amaravati. Since Hyderabad is the joint capital till 2024 we request you to hold the polls there," he said in the memorandum.

The leader said that the TDP was allegedly "involved in such practices for the last three years". Twenty-three MLAs and three Lok Sabha MPs have defected to the ruling TDP in the last three years, he said, claiming that a number of complaints had been lodged the Speaker of the Andhra Pradesh Assembly.

The TDP has sufficient MLAs in the Assembly to win two seats in the Upper House, but it is falling short of members for the third seat, the MP claimed.

"The TDP is indulging in horse-trading and has stepped up its activity to lure our MLAs to ensure they win the third seat even through rigging. We also request you to provide police protection to our MLAs till they reach polling booths in Hyderabad," Reddy said. The party also requested the CEC to appoint a senior central observer and deployment the Central Reserve Police Force personnel.

PTI
The Egyptian army has announced an impressive deployment of national forces in Northern and Eastern Sinai as the three-month deadline given by President al-Sisi is nearing.

The law enforcement forces began this morning implementing the comprehensive confrontation against the terrorist and criminal elements and organizations in northern and central Sinai, an army spokesperson said in a televised statement.

The operation would be focused on crossing points with neighboring countries, he said.

In November, President al-Sisi gave the army three months to end insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula where the Islamic State group (IS) and other like-mind groups have been waging insurgency.

Al-Sisis stern instructions came following the cruelest attack ever perpetrated in the country. Over 300 people were killed in November in a mosque by alleged ISIS gunmen.

The President allowed the army to use brute force in its move to end the insurgency. Al-Sisi also in January extended for three months the state of emergency to help tackle the dangers and funding of terrorism.

The armys announcement according to Middle East Eye (MEE) coincides with the ministry of health instructions requesting that hospitals across Ismailia take a series of emergency measures, including doubling the number of doctors on shifts and ensuring that extra medication and blood bags are available.

The ministry in a 10-point letter also told hospitals to empty 30 percent of beds in intensive care and orthopedics wards and cancel all holidays for all staff including doctors, nurses, pharmacists and technicians, MEE revealed.

The New York Times revealed recently that Egypt received Israels assistance in weeding out terror groups in the Sinai. According to the US paper, Israel has deployed unmarked helicopters, drones and jets to pound terror groups positions, following the downing of a Russian passenger jet in October 2015. President al-Sisi has green-lighted the operation which the media said garnered some successes with the terrorist shifting to softer targets such as churches and mosques. Cairo has however denied the involvement of Israel in the counter-terrorism operations in the Sinai.
Modi arrives in Amman

Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas earlier today said he will discuss with Modi India's role in the Middle East peace process and the creation of a multilateral forum of negotiations to strike a final deal withIsrael. Modi is reaching Ramallah tomorrow amid heightened tensions in the region after US President Donald TrumprecognisedJerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Modi's gulf outreach

The unilateral US decision to declare Jerusalem as the capital of Israel was challenged at the UN General Assembly where 128 nations, including India, voted to turn down the move as "null and void".

First Indian PM to visit Palestine

Though India has shied away from becoming a party in the Israel-Palestinian conflict, the Palestinian leader on several occasions has stressed on a possible role for New Delhi in the Middle East peace process.

Modi will also visit Oman and UAE

From Palestine, Modi will reach Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), on February 10 evening in what will be his second visit to the nation since his visit in August 2015.
Biden says another terror attack likely in 24-36 hours, vows to keep up airstrikes against ISIS

PM Modi likely to visit US later this month

US bill proposes permanent residency for a fee, Indians likely to benefit

US drone strike kills top Taliban commander, three Haqqani terrorists in Waziristan

International

oi-Madhuri

By Madhuri

At least four terrorists were killed, in an American drone strike on Thursday night in North Waziristan near the Pak-Afghan border.

Accoding to Pakistan media,''Khan Said Sajna, deputy commander of Tehrik e Taliban Pakistan along with three Haqqani network terrorists killed in US drone attacks in Afghanistan and North Waziristan of Pakistan.

Earlier in January the United States carried out its first drone strike of the year near border area of the Hangu district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, claiming to kill two alleged Taliban commanders.

Pakistan had susbequently condemned the drone strike and called the unilateral action detrimental to the spirit of cooperation with the US in the fight against terrorism.

OneIndia News
Ghanas President Nana Akufo-Addo said in his annual state of the nation speech on Thursday that his government had buckled down on mismanagement and will not return to the International Monetary Fund for help.

According to Akufo-Addo, the macroeconomic fundamentals are solid and all the critical indices are pointing the West African nations economy in the right direction.

There is a need to urgently implement some prudent and innovative policies to get the country out of the financial cul de sac inherited from the previous government, he said. He assured, at the same time, that his government would grow and expand the economy.

The IMF $918-million loan contracted in 2015 by President John Mahama is set to come to an end this year.

In its latest report dubbed: Global Economic Prospects: Sub-Saharan Africa, the World Bank has forecasted that Ghana will lead the economies in Africa with eight per cent growth in 2018 as increased oil and gas production boosts exports and domestic electricity production.

Commodities, including oil, gold and cocoa are the mainstay of the $43 billion economy and rising crude output is boosting the nations finances.

Akufo-Addo campaigned on a platform to end rampant government spending and end the financial crisis.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus V.Makei meets the General Director of the Consulting Companies Group SCHNEIDER GROUP

09-02-2018

On February 9, 2018 the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, Vladimir Makei, met with the General Director of the Consulting Companies Group SCHNEIDER GROUP, Co-Chair of the Working Group Common Economic Space from Lisbon to Vladivostok, Ulf Schneider.

During the meeting, the sides discussed possibilities of cooperation with the SCHNEIDER GROUP in the context of the intensification of the Belarusian-German trade, economic and investment cooperation.

U.Schneider informed about the goals and tasks of the Working Group established in 2015 to promote dialogue and partnership between the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union, their member countries and other states of the region. The parties exchanged views on prospects for further activity of the Working Group and possible joint steps to promote the notion of integration of integration.

   



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Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus A.Dapkiunas meets UN Resident Coordinator in Belarus

09-02-2018

On February 9, 2018 the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, Andrei Dapkiunas, held a meeting with the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Belarus, Sanaka Samarasinha.

During the meeting, the sides discussed the preparation for the Regional Forum of National Coordinators of Europe and Central Asia on Sustainable Development Goals to be held in Minsk on February 21-22, 2018 on the initiative of Belarus with the support of the United Nations. The United Nations Deputy Secretary General, Amina Mohammed, will take part in the event, as well as leadership of several bodies of the UN system and high representatives of more than 40 countries.

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@alextdaugherty

The federal government briefly shut down while you were sleeping, as Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul held up a massive $300 billion budget bill that keeps the government running until March 23rd because it increased the federal deficit. House Democratic leaders also opposed the bill because Speaker Paul Ryan hasn't committed to an open debate on a solution for 690,000 DACA recipients who could be eligible for deportation as soon as March.

The bill eventually passed the U.S. Senate at 1:30am by a 71-28 margin and the U.S. House at 5:30am by a 240-186 margin. President Donald Trump signed the bill into law on Friday morning, reopening the federal government after it shut down at midnight. The massive budget bill included billions in disaster funding for Florida and Puerto Rico along with an increase in defense spending and budget caps.

Here's how South Florida's members of Congress voted:

Sen. Marco Rubio (R): Yes

Rubio praised the deal as a bipartisan compromise that gave Florida much-needed disaster relief. While no one wants to have a hurricane and no one wants to have a natural disaster, I think this is a response that we should be happy about, Rubio said on Wednesday. He did voice concerns over the deficit despite voting yes.

"Throughout my time in the Senate, my support for increasing the debt limit has been consistently conditioned on meaningful spending reforms that address our long-term debt," Rubio said in a statement after the vote. "This budget deal does not do that. We must begin to seriously address the long-term drivers of our debt and get our fiscal house back in order. We cannot do that if we continue to govern through short term continuing resolutions that inefficiently spend taxpayer dollars and fail to provide the certainty required for effective planning."

Sen. Bill Nelson (D): Yes

Nelson spoke alongside Rubio on the Senate floor to praise the deal after it was announced. "Senator Rubio and I have been talking about all the things we have done together in trying to get this disaster aid package to finally come to the point at which we can say we are so thankful that we see a path forward, Nelson said.

Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R): Yes

Curbelo had voted against multiple spending bills because a DACA solution wasn't imminent. But hours before the vote on Thursday Curbelo switched his stance after Ryan said he would "bring a solution to the floor."

In a statement released Thursday, Curbelo said Ryan "delivered his strongest commitment yet that legislation will be considered on the floor of the House" and that was enough to change his vote.

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R): No

Ros-Lehtinen, who is retiring in 2018, was the only Republican in Congress to join Democrats and vote against the budget bill because it didn't include a DACA solution.

I will vote NO, as I have pledged to do so in the past," Ros-Lehtinen said in an email on Thursday.

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R): Yes

Diaz-Balart, an ally of leadership, has consistently voted in favor of short-term spending bills in recent months.

"This bipartisan legislation continues government operations and funds programs that are critical to Americans across the nation. It also invests in our military during a time where we must provide our troops with the proper resources to defend our country, help our allies, and stand up to our adversaries," Diaz-Balart said in a statement. "I represent parts of Florida that are still rebuilding from Hurricane Irma, and the $89.3 billion supplemental will go a long way in helping these communities recover from storm damage."

Rep. Frederica Wilson (D): No

Wilson, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus that opposed the deal and one of the more liberal members of Congress, voted no.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D): No

Wasserman Schultz was a firm no hours before the vote as some Democrats wavered on whether or not to follow leader Nancy Pelosi and vote no or vote to keep the government open without a DACA solution.

Rep. Ted Deutch (D): Yes

In a statement, Deutch said he voted for the budget bill to keep the government open "finally beyond just weeks." The bill keeps the government running until March 23rd.

"Tonight, I voted for a compromise budget deal because it will allow us to keep the government running, finally beyond just weeks," Deutch said. "This bill helps the millions of Americans in Florida and Puerto Rico, Texas, California and the Virgin Islands whose lives were turned upside down by natural disasters. It provides a potential lifeline to families struggling with opioid addiction."

He also added that Congress must focus on passing the DREAM Act to help DACA recipients. President Donald Trump has indicated he does not support the DREAM Act.

Rep. Alcee Hastings (D): No

Hastings is also a member of the Congressional Black Caucus that opposed the deal and is one of the more liberal members of Congress.
@glenngarvin @alextdaugherty

They touched off a political debate that has roiled American politics for years and even briefly shut down the entire federal government last month. But for all their political impact, in a country where demographics are computed, compounded, sliced and diced on practically an hourly basis, the young undocumented immigrants with DACA status live like phantoms in a statistical haze.

We really know very little about them, says Jessica Vaughan, directory of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, which favors less immigration. For a group thats been at the center of so much controversy, we have hardly any idea of their educational and economic attainment.

DACA stands for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, a status that allows undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children before 2007 to keep living and working here without fear of deportation.

DACA has been controversial since its inception  President Obama created it in 2012 through executive order rather than getting Congress to make it a law  and President Trumps vow to abolish it next month triggered a brief shutdown of the federal government. This past week, the presidents chief of staff, John Kelly, stirred outrage among some when he suggested that those who were eligible for DACA but didnt sign up were too lazy to get off the couch. On Wednesday Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi commandeered the House floor for eight straight hours, the longest speech in the chamber in a century, seeking to have their status resolved as part of the latest spending plan.

Another political flashpoint is approaching, with DACA set to expire on March 5 unless President Trump and Congress can work out a compromise. Democrats have accused the president of holding the immigrants hostage to his desire to get Congress pay for a wall on the border with Mexico and curb legal immigration. As the controversy heats up, some supporters try to idealize DACA recipients as model citizens, while some opponents try to demonize them.

But theres little statistical evidence to support either side. The U.S. government doesnt collect much data on DACA recipients, and private research has met with limited success. This is a hard-to-reach population, says Roberto G. Gonzales, a Harvard education professor whose five-year study of 2,684 young DACA-eligible immigrants is generally considered the most extensive research project on the subject.

Many of our traditional measures to get a representative sample dont work well on this. Its very difficult to do. Im confident in our research, but you cant extrapolate it to the entire DACA population. What we say is, its a very good snapshot of our sample of 2,684 people. And thats all it is.

Because a few hundred of those people, though they were eligible for DACA, never got around to obtaining the status, the real sample of recipients is a bit less than 2,400  a tiny percentage of the 690,000 or so immigrants who actually have their DACA papers.

Read more here.
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Vinay Katiyar, a leading Member of Parliament (MP) of the ruling Bharatiy Janata Party (BJP), said Wednesday (February 7) that the Muslims should not stay in India and should go to Bangladesh or Pakistan.

He told the Asian News International (ANI), "Muslims should not stay in India. They divided the nation on the basis of population. So, what's the need of them staying here (in India)? They have been given lands. (They) should go to Bangladesh or Pakistan."

The BJP MP also said that there should be a bill to punish those who do not respect Vande Matram. "There should be a bill that punishes those who do not respect Vande Matram, those who insult the national flag... those who hoist the Pakistani flag, they should be punished," Katiyar said.

Katiyar's remarks came after All India Majlis-e Ittehadul Muslimeen, chief and Member of Parliament, Asaduddin Owaisi, demanded that there should be a law against those who call an Indian Muslim 'a Pakistani'.

Speaking to the media on Tuesday outside the parliament, Owaisi urged the government to introduce a law to this effect and suggested a punishment with three-year jail term to any person who says this, reported ANI.

"Even after 70 years of Independence, I am called a Pakistani. Why? We rejected Jinnah's invitation. Now I can't even hoist the Tricolour at free will. Why can't there be a law just like those that apply to SC/STs?," asked Owaisi.

"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.

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."

He said that if the Modi government is really interested in empowerment of Muslim women, they should allocate 7% seats in education and jobs for Muslim women. The current Triple Talaq bill will destroy Muslim marriages, put men in jails and women on roads, he said.

Tellingly, two days ago, BJP MP Katiyar stirred a controversy when he said that the Taj Mahal in Agra will soon become "Tej Mandir". When asked about the 'Taj Mahostav' being held in Agra, the MP told ANI, "Call it Taj Mahotsav or Tej Mahotsav both are the same things. There is not much difference between Taj and Tej. Our Tej Mandir has been turned into a cremation ground by Aurangzeb. Taj Mahal will be converted into Tej Mandir soon."

BJP MP Katiyar's anti-Muslim statement came at a time when a systematic campaign has been launched by the ruling party, BJP and RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh), against the Muslims who number about 175 million, the largest number Muslim population anywhere except Indonesia.

Tellingly, last month, Surendra Singh, a legislator of the ruling BJP, said that once India becomes a "Hindu rashtra", only those Muslims will stay in the country who assimilate into the Hindu culture. "There are a very few Muslims who are patriotic. Once India becomes a Hindu rashtra (Hindu nation), Muslims who assimilate into our culture will stay in India. Those who will not are free to take asylum in any other country," Singh told reporters on January 13.

He also claimed that by 2024, India would become a Hindu nation. Describing Prime Minister Narendra Modi as an "avatar purush" (reincarnation of a deity), Singh said: "As the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) completes 100 years in 2025, by 2024, India will become a Hindu rashtra. By the grace of god, India is going to be a global superpower thanks to the leadership of Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Not only will India become a 'vishwa guru', it will also become a Hindu rashtra by 2024."

It may be recalled that Nathan Godse, a RSS member, assassinated the father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi in 1948.

It may be recalled that in June last, approximately 150 Hindu outfits held a four-day convention in Goa to chalk out a program for establishing a 'Hindu Rashtra' in India by 2023.

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Last week I had the privilege of talking with David Cay Johnston about the state of the union under Donald Trump. As "breaking news" has taken on a completely new definition in the age of Trump, gyrating wildly on what sometimes appears to be an hourly basis, it is too easy to be distracted by issues without examining the larger picture.

This volatility has spawned several books, including an effort by David Cay Johnston entitled It's Even Worse Than You Think, What the Trump Administration Is Doing to America, which has rocketed up the New York Times bestseller charts. The book surgically dissects an administration in search of a vision.

Johnston is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter who has been following Trump for three decades and is arguably more familiar with the man than most, if not all reporters. He shines a light on the political termites who have infested our government...destroying it from within.

David was in Los Angeles last week and I had occasion to interview him as he tours the country promoting his latest book, hoping that he would provide insights not found within its covers. He did not disappoint. The breadth of his analyses on issues from the economy to jobs to international affairs to climate change and immigration, just to mention a few, display a knowledge base that is seemingly endless.

A recap of the interview provides a snapshot of his views on what lies ahead:

Lance Simmens: What are the prospects for impeachment?

David Cay Johnston: Zero and none as long as the Republicans control the House and Senate. They are avoiding their duty of checks and balances and barring something completely unexpected there is no prospect for impeachment. House Republicans are preparing to release this memo that essentially allows the President the right to pick his prosecutor.

LS: Are there realistic checks on the President should he decide to engage the U.S. in a nuclear confrontation?

DCJ: The military has thought through what would happen if there were an illegal order to launch a nuclear missile. I was really worried about this at first but my expectation is that any decision would be run by Secretary Mattis and unless it is response to an attack against us, a launch would not take place without a full Congressional leadership briefing and therefore they would be complicit in it.

LS: While progressives like myself opposed NAFTA and TPP, I am open to renovation to both yet I fear that the Great Negotiator might actually make things worse. Your thoughts?

DCJ: Yes, I am positive he would make things worse. Trump doesn't know anything about negotiating and he does not know anything about trade. Remember what he said about making Mexico pay for the Wall by slapping a tariff on imported goods from Mexico. That means Americans would pay and that he does not know this is indicative of what a con he is. TPP needs to be fixed but not killed. China has now advanced a competing plan and are telling countries if you want a prosperous future pivot away from an America in decline and work with us.

LS: In your estimation, is there a "deep state"?

DCJ: There is a permanent bureaucracy, but so what. All viable governments have a permanent bureaucracy, you need to control it, hold hearings on it, but operating without it is absurd.

LS: What are the long-term prospects of lack of confidence in the institutions of representative democratic government and what are the consequences of denigration of the concept of public service?

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A week ago the Pentagon released what it called the "Nuclear Posture Review", which essentially lowers the threshold for US use of nuclear weapons primarily against Russia, the primary focus of the "Review".

Finian Cunningham[1] and Paul Craig Roberts[2] each over the past two days have written their own insightful articles on the madness contained in the "Review". Both are listed in the footnotes below.

What seems most eerie to this writer there doesn't seem to be any alarm from the American public on the imminent peril this "Review" puts them in. Admittedly that's from a limited personal experience.

It's been 72 years since the US unleashed the nuclear genie dropping two nuclear bombs on Japan in August, 1945.

The only direct impact on the American people back then was those bombs ended the war with Japan and they supported President Truman's decision.

There's been no nuclear attack since. Accidents, misinterpretation of radar readings have occurred but luckily a nuclear exchange has been averted.

During the Cuban Missile crisis in October 1962 there was definite anxiety among people at the prospect of a nuclear exchange with the Soviet Union over their having missiles 90 miles away in Cuba. But that was averted by diplomacy between President Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. That was also over 55 years ago.

So maybe the people in America today have become nonchalant, unconcerned, maybe even cavalier dismissing the prospect of a nuclear war happening here. Why?

I surmise it's because most Americans don't know war.

The last time a war was fought on American soil-yes I know Pearl Harbor is American soil-was the civil war from 1861 to 1865.

Even in WWII America suffered some 565,000 casualties, mostly all military which had no direct family impact on most Americans.

Compare that number with the 27,000,000 casualties, civilian and military, killed in the Soviet Union against Hitler's Nazi Germany. Every family in the country was directly affected. They know war first-hand. Not so Americans. In Vietnam America suffered some 57,000 casualties but here again most American families were not directly affected and sadly, even though there was widespread protests against that war, the majority of Americans supported the war.

Our wars since have been fought in far-off places, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria. Most Americans have little direct connection to those wars.

It's an all-volunteer military with most men and women from rural or inner-city communities, hardly from middle-class suburban communities. There is no draft, no universal military service. That ended after we left Vietnam in 1973.

The point is if most Americans have not been directly affected by war, not been in combat or had a loved one killed in war. They have no direct connection to war of the unimaginable suffering, the brutality and savagery of it.

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"Ever growing inequality and intense and growing political distortions have radically aggravated the top-down imbalance of power, undermining democracy. Rob Kall's book, Bottom-Up is a guide to taking back humanity's shared legacy of shared responsibility. A stimulating read and an important contribution!"



Gar Alperovitz, author of What Then Must We Do? Straight Talk About the Next American Revolution.
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Aw, jeez.

It was Sunday morning, and Vera had just told me the bad news. Our waterbed was leaking -- not cataclysmically, as I was glad to discover, since the leak was small and, our bed being the the 10-tube type, the worst case would only be one-tenth of a full-scale flood. Still, we now needed a new bed, and this occupied us for the next three days. In the meantime, and for the next couple of weeks until the new bed is delivered, we are sleeping in the guest room.

This was challenging because I am not only a monotasking male but a stubborn one at that, and it was on that same Sunday morning that I had made another discovery that I wanted to pursue. The bed issue had priority, of course. There are many different kinds of mattress for many different prices, and the choice is difficult. Over the next two days we went to a half-dozen stores and lay down for a few seconds on a couple of dozen mattresses, as if that could tell us what it would be like to spend one-third of our future lifetimes on one of them. We ended up so confused that we were ready to resort to the spurious capitalist logic that "expensive must be better."

The other discovery I had made, or thought I might have made, before the waterbed issue intervened, was about David North. I have long been a reader of the wsws.org website, and I listened attentively to his recent conversations with Chris Hedges (here and here, transcript of the latter here). I was glad to see that Hedges is also a wsws.org reader, and I thought the two of them made a good example of progressives working together for good causes, such as resisting internet censorship. More than once I had been tempted to join the Socialist Equality Party, even though joining anything goes against my grain, because it seems to me that they have their act together -- more so, for example, than the US Greens, whom I am also partial to.

After seeing and hearing David North in conversation, I wanted to know more about him. There is no personal information on his Wikipedia page, or, as it seemed, anywhere else -- except, as I discovered on Sunday, a couple of articles like this claiming that David North was really David W. Green, the owner of a $25-million printing business in Michigan (Grand River Printing and Imaging). There were links ostensibly to photos of Green, showing his resemblance to North, but all were broken. All I could find was an articlereporting that Grand River Printing was acquired by American Litho, Inc. in 2013. Its websiteis now blank, but David W. Green is still listed as its CEO on bloomberg.com, part of which I will reproduce here in case it also disappears:

"Grand River Printing & Imaging (GRPI) manufactures and markets commercial and corporate printed products. The company's products include annual reports and catalogs, magazines and newspapers, advertising inserts, and direct mail items. Additionally, it offers publication services such as workflow designing, text and graphic content development, creative designing and page assembly, project management, and desktop software training. GRPI also provides file preparation, color and list management, stochastic screening, soft proofing, and paper specification services. Grand River Printing & Imaging was founded in 1978 and is based in Belleville, Michigan."

Key executives of the company are listed as Mr. David W. Green, Chief Executive Officer, and Mr. Kevin R. Donley,Vice President of Sales and Marketing. The Bloomberg link to David W. Green adds that "Mr. David W. Green is currently employed at Grand River Printing & Imaging in the position of Chief Executive Officer. He also owns the company." [My emphasis.]

Finding out this much kept me busy from Sunday to Wednesday, when I wasn't chasing mattresses and driving back and forth to Hofgeismar (an hour each way) to get rid of the waterbed paraphrenalia. Finally, just when I was about to give up, I got lucky. In one of the blogs I had run across someone mentioned that Green/North graduated from Trinity College in 1971, which I figured was more likely the one in Hartford, Connecticut, than the one in Dublin, so I googled "David W. Green" + "Trinity College." Fortunately Trinity is well endowed (it has a somewhat elitist reputation), and they have an extensive online archive, including this -- an online version of the winter 2017 edition of their magazine, The Trinity Reporter.

On p. 9, under the heading "Recent Publications," are three books by "David W. Green '71, under the pen name David North Mehring Books." [My emphasis.] These were A Quarter Century of War: The U.S. Drive for Global Hegemony, 1990-2016 (2016); The Frankfurt School, Postmodernism and the Politics of the Pseudo-Left: A Marxist Critique (2015); and The Russian Revolution and the Unfinished Twentieth Century (2014). (I made a screen shot just in case the page should disappear.)

One can also read in the archive of the campus newspaper, The Trinity Tripod, that Green was the editor-in-chief (see here, p.4), which is not surprising given his later incarnation as a socialist publisher and, presumably, as the owner of a printing company. The latter is still not indisputable, but it should not be too difficult to find out where David W. Green of Grand River Printing went to college. I am not going to pursue it any further, but I will be surprised if anyone insists on maintaining this last piece of the facade.

My suspicion is that Mr. Green aka North wants the truth to be known, without it becoming a big issue. It seems unlikely that his alma mater would reveal his true identiity without his permission. Although he has neither acknowledged nor denied it elsewhere, he can now point to this as "proof" that he never made a secret of it. This is what the CIA would call a "limited hangout." If he asked for my advice, however, I would suggest that he make a clean breast of it and tell the whole story.

It is quite understandable that a prominent socialist would wish to hide his wealthy background, his double life as a capitalist and a socialist. The list of wealthy socialists is long and has engendered many pejorative epithets (e.g., "Champagne socialist"), but the key question is not whether Marx, Engels, Lenin, Kropotkin, Castro, etc., were rich (they all were), or even what they did with their money, but were they honest about it? Did they try to keep it secret and hide behind pseudonyms? This is the more important question because it speaks directly to the character of a person attempting to demonstrate leadership.

Furthermore, this secrecy deprives us of learning potentially valuable lessons from people who, despite being born wealthy or playing the capitalist game successfully, nevertheless choose the socialist path. How do they explain this apparent contradiction? Are they simply capitalist pigs who want to cleanse their conscience, or can they present a rationale for their choices that perhaps others could and would emulate? If "David North" can be a successful capitalist and a socialist revolutionary at the same time, why can't others? What purpose is served by the secrecy? Let's leave that to the professional liars at Langley and the New York Times.

Ferreting out this bit of truth about David Green aka North cost me a good part of four days. I did better with the mattresses. On Tuesday, after we had almost decided, out of desperation, to buy two Tempur mattresses on the theory that we couldn't go too far wrong by spending a lot of money (we found some on sale for half price, 800 euros apiece), I made one more foray into the internet and discovered a Stiftung Warentest (like Consumer Reports) from 2017 that convinced me that expensive could not only be wrong but really bad, and even worst. Of the 299 mattresses they tested, including Tempur, the clear winner was one that cost 199 euros. That's the one we ordered.

The moral of this story is that internet research does pay off. Not always, of course, but any attempt to "control" (= censor) it must be resisted by all means. North/Green and Hedges are completely right about that (and many other things as well). My only weapon against "fake news" -- in this case that Tempur is the best mattress and that David North is (only) David North -- was an unfettered internet.
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From Strategic Culture

The so-called Nunes memo prepared for the Republican majority on the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, even if overblown, clearly suggests that there might have been an unwarranted and quite possibly illegal Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) surveillance of a former Trump staffer over his completely legal Russian business ties. Meanwhile, the nine month-long Special Counsel Robert Mueller investigation into Moscow's possible interference in the US election has so far only demonstrated that it was Israel rather than Russia that meddled with the campaign by meeting with Trump associates and seeking favors. Notably missing is any evidence that the Russian government did anything beyond the usual probing that intelligence agencies worldwide do when confronted by important developments in another country that is either a competitor or adversary.

An aspect of the Republican memo that has been scarcely commented upon in the avalanche of news reporting centered on the story is how the mainstream media is continuing to exercise a dangerous obsession with Russia and is insisting that the Russiagate inquiry should continue even more aggressively in spite of the concerns raised by the Republican memo that the entire process has been politicized. There is absolutely nothing in the memo itself that indicates that Moscow actually tried to recruit any Trump associate as an agent or interfere in the US election. The raison d'etre for both the Congressional and Special Counsel Robert Mueller investigations appears to be lacking. It might eventually emerge that Russia did little or even nothing beyond the usual probing and nosing around that intelligence agencies routinely do.

President Donald Trump, who ran for office on a sensible pledge to seek better relations with Moscow, has provided only feeble resistance to the media and political class onslaught. He has recently allowed the Justice Department and Treasury to punish Russia's two major news outlets operating in the United States, RT America and Sputnik. They both have been forced to register as foreign agents, even though no other non-American news service operating in the United States has been compelled to do the same, while new allegations about perfidious Moscow surface weekly.

Two recent news reports illustrate perfectly just how out-of-control the Russia inquiry has become. At the end of January, the US Treasury Department released the names of 210 alleged Kremlin insiders, including government ministers, who were being included on a list for possible sanctions, though it was also announced that no sanctions would be put in place pending further ongoing review of the behavior of those individuals under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act. The so-called "Kremlin List" was clearly designed to put pressure on the inner circle of the Russian government as many of those named have major business dealings with the United States and Western Europe that could be severely damaged through sanctions. The intention may have been to encourage those individuals to lessen their support for President Vladimir Putin in the upcoming Russian national elections, beginning on March 18th.

The Kremlin List is clearly an attempt to interfere in Russian internal politics and should be regarded as such. It comes on top of an obviously coordinated British government claim that Moscow intends to rip British "infrastructure apart, actually cause thousands and thousands and thousands of deaths," and create "total chaos within the country."

The second story, which is more bizarre than the first, describes how Congressman Adam Schiff told a University of Pennsylvania audience that Russian-promoted ads during the 2016 election encouraged people to exercise their Second Amendment rights to own guns. Per Schiff, "the Russians would be thrilled if we were doing nothing but killing each other very day, and sadly we are."

Neither Congressman Adam Schiff's meanderings nor the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act serve any conceivable United States national interest and the Nunes Memo demonstrates, if anything, that the evidence for Russian interference in the US election is somewhat elusive. If the alleged Russiagate conspiracy is never actually demonstrated, which looks increasingly likely, it would certainly disappoint the many American talking heads and media "experts" who have been making a living off of bashing Moscow 24/7, but it might also provide a window for the White House to fulfill its electoral promise to fix the Russia relationship.
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From Smirking Chimp

Amid the media frenzy surrounding the Nunes-Trump memo, the Pentagon officially released its 2018 Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) last week. The NPR calls for the development of leaner, meaner nuclear weapons and lowers the threshold for the use of nukes. Donald Trump must be thrilled. During the presidential campaign, he questioned a senior foreign policy adviser about nuclear weapons three times during a briefing, asking, "If we had them why can't we use them?"

The NPR calls for "low-yield" nuclear weapons on submarine-launched ballistic missiles -- weapons that could cause as much damage as the bombs the United States dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

For the first time, the new NPR states that the United States could use nuclear weapons in response to non-nuclear attacks, including cyberattacks, in "extreme circumstances to defend the vital interests of the United States, its allies and partners." This new strategy opens the door to first-use of nuclear weapons, which is prohibited under international law.

In its 1996 advisory opinion, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) concluded that while the use of nuclear weapons might be lawful when used in self-defense if the survival of the nation were at stake, a first-strike use would not be.

The ICJ held in its "Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons" case that "the threat or use of nuclear weapons would generally be contrary to the rules of international law applicable in armed conflict, and in particular the principles and rules of humanitarian law."

"However," the IJC continued, "the Court cannot conclude definitively whether the threat or use of nuclear weapons would be lawful or unlawful in an extreme circumstance of self-defence, in which the very survival of a State would be at stake."

Framing Russia and China as Nuclear Threats

Russia, China and North Korea are singled out as potential nuclear threats in the NPR. The document "erroneously states that the United States needs new nuclear weapons because 'China is expanding and modernizing its considerable nuclear forces' and is pursuing 'entirely new nuclear capabilities,'" according to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).

Gregory Kulacki, China project manager at the UCS Global Security Program and author of the UCS's newly released white paper, 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."

The NPR has alarmed foreign leaders. Mohammad Javad Zarif, foreign minister of Iran, tweeted that the NPR brings "humankind closer to annihilation." The United States is "shamelessly threatening Russia with a new atomic weapon," Iranian president Hassan Rouhani stated. "The same people who supposedly believe that using weapons of mass destruction is a crime against humanity are talking about new weapons to threaten or use against rivals," he added.

Ren Guoqiang, a spokesman for the Chinese defense ministry, said in a statement, "We hope the US side will discard its 'cold-war mentality,' [and] shoulder its own special and primary responsibility for nuclear disarmament."

Both Beijing and Moscow reaffirmed that nuclear weapons are not "first strike" weapons. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stressed that nuclear weapons are only a defensive deterrent. He listed the following "entirely defensive scenarios" for the threshold use of nuclear weapons: "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 also ... with use of conventional arms but only in case our state's very existence would be in danger."

Where Is This Coming From?

Keith Payne, president of the National Institute for Public Policy, was one of the key drafters of the NPR. In 1980, Payne astoundingly claimed in Foreign Policy that the United States could win a nuclear war with the Soviet Union. US casualties, Payne argued, could be limited to "approximately 20 million people," which, he called, "a level compatible with national survival and recovery."

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From Truthdig



A National Medicare for All protest in Baltimore.

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Two states with a long history of state-based health care reform efforts, California and New York, are hard at work organizing for state bills labeled as single-payer health care plans. Other states are moving in that direction too. This raises questions by single-payer advocates: Can states create single-payer health care systems? Does state-level work help or hinder our goal of National Improved Medicare for All (NIMA)?

The movement for NIMA gained momentum throughout 2017, largely due to rising premiums under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and Republican efforts to worsen the health care crisis. Supporters of NIMA mobilized to build support for single-payer legislation in Congress, spoke out at town halls and pressured lawmakers. As a result, the House bill, HR 676: The Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act, grew to 120 co-sponsors, the highest number in its 15-year history, and Senator Sanders was successfully pressured to introduce a bill in the Senate, S 1804: The Medicare for All Act.

As momentum grew, the expected pushback materialized. In the spring, Democrats in Congress urged people to focus on fixing the ACA and uttered support for various forms of a public insurance, a "public option" or Medicare buy-in. In August, well-known progressives, claiming to be "single-payer supporters," published articles arguing that single payer was too much to ask for and outlining "incremental approaches." Members of Congress, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi, complained about Democratic voters making single payer a litmus test in the next elections. Pelosi said, "So I say to people, if you want [single payer], do it in your states. States are laboratories." The message was clear. There was too much pressure for NIMA, and Democrats didn't like it. Sending people to work at the state level would lower the heat on Congress.

State Efforts for Universal Health Care

Canada is often pointed to as a model for achieving National Improved Medicare for All in the United States. A universal medical insurance was first created in the province of Saskatchewan in 1962, following decades of increasing socialization of medicine in several provinces and a national law that financed universal hospital coverage at the provincial level. By 1968, a universal publicly financed Medicare program was adopted nationally. Could the same path occur in the U.S.?

The 21st-century health care system in the United States is much more complex than the Canadian system was in the 1960s. At that time, health care was left up to the provinces. Dr. Don McCanne writes, "We cannot use the example of Saskatchewan and pretend that a state can set up a single-payer system that could serve as an example for the nation -- a model that could be expanded to all states. No. Saskatchewan began with a tabula rasa. They were able to create a de novo single-payer system."

Rather than socializing medicine, the U.S. has experienced decades of increasing privatization. There are a multitude of payers in the U.S., which include private insurance through employers, unions and individually, public programs, and national programs for federal employees and the military. A state would have to succeed in obtaining multiple waivers from the federal government and changes to federal laws to enact a state-based program. One federal law, the Employee Retirement and Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), which prohibits states from regulating employee benefits, is a major obstacle. States also face the hurdle of being required to balance their budgets, a barrier that doesn't exist at the national level.

As outlined in Public Citizen's "Road Map to Single Payer," a state can potentially make its health care system more efficient, but it cannot achieve a pure single-payer system; thus, it can't attain the bulk of savings that a single-payer system would have. Within their budget constraints, states would be forced to raise the costs to individuals and businesses or lower coverage if they are not able to meet their needs for care. This has happened in every past attempt by states to achieve universal coverage, as Drs. Steffie Woolhandler and David Himmelstein document in "State Health Reform Flatlines."

If a state were able to pass a bill outlining a path toward a universal health care system and to be granted a federal waiver from the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which are major feats, the state would still face significant barriers, some of which make it impossible to create a pure single-payer program.

Barriers to state single payer

1. Federal Health Plans -- There are numerous federal health plans, such as Medicare for seniors and those who qualify for disability, the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), which includes over 200 plans, the Veterans Health Administration (VA), the Indian Health Service (IHS) and Tri-Care for members of the military; it is not possible to merge all these programs into a single state system.

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) does not have the authority to give federal Medicare dollars to the state as a block grant. Single-payer advocates have opposed passing a federal law that would allow this due to concern that it would dismantle the Medicare program state by state and allow some states to use the law to further privatize Medicare through vouchers.

Some state advocates have considered applying for a new state health care plan to be considered a Medicare Advantage plan. These are private plans offered under Medicare. If such a waiver were granted, the state still could not force seniors to choose the state plan, so it would only capture some of the Medicare recipients in the state.

There is a similar situation with the health plans for federal employees. It would require a change in federal law to shift the FEHBP to the state. Perhaps a state could apply to be considered a choice for federal employees but even if it succeeded, it could not compel federal employees to choose their plan. Tri-Care is a program run by the Department of Defense that would also continue to operate outside the new state system. And the VA and IHS would operate independently as well.

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Washington DC - Capitol Building

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They couldn't have asked for an easier mark.

Fat, rich and oblivious to the ways of the working world.

At first, they all played hard to get, insisting they didn't care. He was a showman and a flimflam man. Full of razzle-dazzle and bull, but no substance. After all, a trick is just a trick -- in the beginning.

The Hill pulled no punches, wasting no time turning up their noses at the blowhard in chief. They put him down every chance they got, both in front of and off camera. He was a joke -- a scar on their holier-than-thou image. Surely he would ruin the famed party of family values.

Now let's not be fooled here. Not all whores stand on street corners peering into car windows looking for their next John -- those are easy to spot. It's the briefcase carrying, church clutching, power-hungry ones that are hard to pick out in a crowd. They can blend in anywhere -- and feel quite comfortable roaming the halls of the Congress.

When compromising one's perceived principles for personal gain, phony self-righteousness can only hold the door open so long before greed slams it shut.

Especially once they learn how easy it is to get what they want.

One thing whores know is everything's a deal -- a give and take situation. Don't pick their pocket when there are bigger prizes at stake.

Roll the old man over and make him feel good. It doesn't take long to find out what turns his kind on. Stroke his ego until he can't stand it anymore.

A compliment here.

A little praise there.

If a little isn't enough, ladle on more.

When he's boastful and arrogant -- giggle and look the other way.

When he insults American diversity, bat your eyelashes and tell him how great he is. He loves that.

When he makes the country look uncaring and ignorant ignore the naysayers.

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From Reader Supported News

Senior White House official Rob Porter was forced to resign this week after allegations were made public that he had beaten both of his two ex-wives. The women were interviewed by the FBI as part of Porter's security clearance investigation and, once the story was out, they both spoke about the abuse to Politico.

Porter's actions were, and are, disgraceful and criminal. And there's something else disgraceful coming out of this episode. That's the blind support given to Porter by White House Chief of Staff John Kelly. Kelly knew for months that Porter was a domestic abuser and he did nothing about it other than to cover it up. Kelly showered Porter with effusive praise even after the allegations became public.

The mainstream media is finally beginning to question Kelly and his motivations. Remember, the former four-star Marine Corps general was supposed to be the "adult in the room" at the White House. He was supposed to keep Trump from being Trump. In fact, because he's no longer wearing the uniform, Kelly is now free to allow his own misogyny and racism to come out into the open. He no longer has a chain of command to worry about. Certainly he's not worried about the president's reactions.

Kelly started off his tenure in the Trump administration as secretary of Homeland Security, where he had virtually unlimited authority in everything from Customs and Border Protection to Transportation Security to the Secret Service and ICE. His move to the White House gave him even greater authority and routine, daily access to an unstable, racist, and narcissistic president.

We've all known since the transition period more than a year ago that Donald Trump liked to surround himself with generals. Why would a draft dodger surround himself with generals? Because generals go through their entire adult lives saying "Yes, sir." They were never trained to say, "Sir, let me tell you why that's a bad idea." I saw it during my years at the CIA. Generals were always the worst leaders. They always deferred to the policymakers. That's exactly what Trump wants. "My generals," he calls them.

Kelly's probably not the worst. General James Mattis, the Secretary of Defense, actually had to get a Congressional waiver in order to become secretary because we have a law in this country saying that a person must be out of the military for at least five years before assuming the top spot. It's because the Defense Department is supposed to be run by a civilian. The Founding Fathers and subsequent political leaders wanted it that way for good reason. It's because generals can't be trusted. Mattis is known by his nickname, "Mad Dog" Mattis. He didn't get that name by being a dog lover.

Another is H.R. McMaster, the National Security Adviser. Wildly popular among other generals, it is McMaster who literally wrote the book on 21st century warfare. It makes one wonder who is recommending to Trump a new "bloody nose" policy that ought to be just the right thing for North Korea. We're not already fighting enough wars, after all.

One general most Americans don't know about is Lieutenant General Mark Inch. Last August Trump named Inch as the director of the Bureau of Prisons. Why Inch? It wasn't his degree in biblical archeology. It was that he spent his entire career running military prisons. I'm not talking just about places like Leavenworth, where Chelsea Manning was incarcerated in conditions that the United Nations called "inhumane" and a form of "torture." I'm also talking about the network of secret prisons in places like Afghanistan and Iraq where crimes against humanity and war crimes were committed. Those were Inch's prisons.

Inch's appointment came only days after Donald Trump gave a speech on Long Island, where he admonished police officers to "get rough" with suspects and to not be "too nice" to those he called "thugs and animals." That's music to Inch's ears. Indeed, observers already say that he has turned the Bureau of Prisons into a quasi-military organization, at least in its attitude, if not in its formal command structure. It's the same leadership that Inch exhibited when he ran the Bagram Prison in Afghanistan during a period when a United Nations report said torture was taking place there. There was no fallout for Inch. He was promoted.

Greece had its own dalliance with generals between 1967 and 1974. It's called a "junta," a military dictatorship. When the generals are in charge, human rights and civil liberties go out the window. There is no respect for the person, for freedom of speech or association. There are wild accusations that anything not in line with military policy is "fake news." People die. Just ask the Greeks. They lived through it. And so did many other countries around the world. It's been proven time and time again that having generals in positions of power is bad for everybody.

But this is where Trump has brought us. We can't roll over. We have to resist those who would take away our rights. I can count the number of demonstrations I've marched in over my lifetime on one hand. That's changed. I'll see you in the streets. Our voices will only be heard if we take to the streets to block this president while we can and then oust him when we're able. Otherwise, before we even realize it, his generals will be running the place. Our democracy will never be the same.

Reader Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader Supported News.
Democracy: The Austrian Way

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VIENNA, 1 February 2017  This month, METROPOLE, the magazine with an international eye on Vienna has watched democracy in action as the new government sets up shop. In this issue, you will find an interview with Heinz Fischer as we checked in on his post-presidential life. The cover story looks beyond the headlines of The Far Right is Now in Power in Austria and examines the forces that make Austrian government tick. Although many of our readers cant vote in Austria, they still can participate. We guide them in our How to get Involved in Politics in Austria.The cover illustrated by Bernd Ertl.In this issue, you will findThe Eternal President p.18, Melange, Margaret ChildsFormer President Heinz Fischer has kept busy since leaving office in July 2016. Despite the current populist wave, Heinz Fischer told METROPOLEs Margaret Childs he sees the future optimistically. In January, he founded the Center for Global Citizens with former UN Secretary Ban Ki Moon, and in 2018 you can find him at events, readings, concerts and publications in honor of the 100-year anniversary of the Austrian Republic.The Consensus Machine p 26, Cover Story, Margaret Childs and Benjamin WolfAustrian politics is complicated, and in many ways, typically Austrian. Built on consensus, compromise and feedback from many stakeholders, the Austrian system of government has endured far greater swings on the political pendulum. Over decades, change happens slowly, and extreme rhetorical positions are softened through compromise before becoming law.How to Get Involved in Politics in Austria p 38, How To, Andrew Standen-RazIf you arent allowed to vote, how can you affect change in the country where you live? Andrew Standen-Raz outlines how to get involved locally for causes youre passionate about. EU citizens may be surprised to learn you can vote and even run for office on a district level in Vienna.Empire to the Republic p 54, Benjamin WolfAn introduction to a new METROPOLE series, Empire to Republic will look at the 10 nations that emerged from the break-up of the Austro-Hungarian Empire 100 years ago. Every month, read the history and follow the unique transformation of one of the ten countries that were once a part of the Austro-Hungarian empire.Quotes from the issueA century after the founding of the First Republic, we want to reinvigorate Austrias awareness that democracy and its inherent values are not self-evident. Democracy must be continually worked on. Monika Sommer, Director, Haus der Geschichte Osterreich p. 36, ProfileParliamentarism is truly on of humanitys great inventions, up there with the wheel, electricity and light bulb  our way of ensuring that conflicts wont be dealt with on the streets with blows and punches, but on these wooden benches, with words, votes and convictions. Lukas Mandl, Austrias youngest MEP and advocate of personalising the election process. p. 31, Cover StoryAustrian smokers have won the battle. And even if the war isnt over yet, at least for tonight, alls well in their nicotine-filled world.  Andreas Rainer, p. 14, Opinion: Smoking: Freedom worth dying for?Founded in October 2015, METROPOLE is a magazine for expats and global citizens living inVienna, Austria. Published in English, it gives its readers everything they need to make the most of the city.The magazine is available on newsstands and online starting February 1st, 2017. For a complimentary press copy, please contact Catherine Hooker at pr@metropole.at.Departments:Current Events, Opinion, Quotes & Stats, Austrian News Briefs, Weird News, Cover Story, International news analysis, Interviews, Guides, Science & Technology, Business, City life, Gratzl (neighborhood guide), Music, Art, Theatre, Cinema, Books, Lifestyle, Fashion, Wine, Night Life, Restaurants, Recipes, Travel, Sports, Events Calendar, Jobs, Classifieds, and the Last WordMetropoleCatherine Hooker, Head of CommunicationsMariahilferstrae 49/151060 Wien0664 551 92 58pr@metropole.at
Global Quick Service Restaurants Furniture Market Overview  Key Futuristic Trends and Opportunities 2022

Quick Service Restaurants Furniture Market

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The market size is concluded through comprehensive study and examination through subordinate research. The numbers interpreted from subordinate research are converged into the research report after approval of the market data approximations through different conferences and analyses directed and gathered information from the industry and market authorities.Get Sample Copy of This Report @This report studies Quick Service Restaurants Furniture in Global market, especially in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia and India, focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, covering: ISI America, JBI interiors, Kian, Parisi, Casblanca, The Marketing Stor, Schloffer, Reinhold-Keller, Ashley, HNI CorporationAccording to research expert Quick Service Restaurants Furniture Market accepted to highest revenue growth at a 14+% CAGR by 2017 to 2022.This research study presents an all-inclusive assessment of the global Quick Service Restaurants Furniture market, considering various industry parameters, such as the manufacturing capacity, product pricing, demand, supply, and sales dynamics, returns on investments (RoI), and the growth rate of the overall market. Further, the research report has analyzed the global market on the basis of type of product, their application, and the geographical presence of this market. North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), Middle East & Africa and Latin America have been identified as the main regional markets across the world.Split by product type, with production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, can be divided into: Tables, Seatings, Panels, Booths, Divider WallsA detailed evaluation of the competitive landscape of the global Quick Service Restaurants Furniture market has also been presented in this market study. Researchers have reviewed the profiles of the leading companies functional in this market in a bid to assess their growth prospects and the key strategies they have adopted for the development of their businesses.Check Discount @The majority of players in the global Quick Service Restaurants Furniture market are focusing towards product differentiation in order to stay ahead. Several key players are adopting collaborations and partnerships as go-to strategies to maintain their position in the market. Besides this, players are also banking on unconventional production technologies, which is projected to unfold immense opportunities for the growth of the market. With the demand for healthy growth trajectory, the competitive rivalry in the market is likely to intensify in the near future.The overview section of the research report on the global Quick Service Restaurants Furniture market collates all the foundation elements of the industry, including definitions and specifications regarding the market. It also comprises the classifications of the various types of technologies used, both mechanical and scientific, as the industrys core applications. The report also discusses the distribution chain, along with its regional policies and analysis of major industry-related news. The report provides technical data and manufacturing plants analysis in terms of their R&D status, capacities and dates of commercial production, distribution, and sources of raw materials.Inquire before Buying@The reports analysis of the sales and revenue figures of the global Quick Service Restaurants Furniture market are made along with the global perspective. This analysis includes the cost, price, revenue, and gross margin of the global market through the period of 2017 to 2022. The production analysis of the market is performed according to regions, applications of global market, and the various technologies used.The research study also provides a detailed assessment of the competitive landscape of the global Quick Service Restaurants Furniture market. It reviews the profiles of the prominent players functional in this market in a bid to determine their growth prospects and the key strategies adopted by them for the development of their businesses.Table of ContentGlobal Quick Service Restaurants Furniture Market Research Report 2017Chapter 1 Quick Service Restaurants Furniture Market OverviewChapter 2 Global Economic Impact on IndustryChapter 3 Global Market Competition by ManufacturersChapter 4 Global Production, Revenue (Value) by RegionChapter 5 Global Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by RegionsChapter 6 Global Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by TypeChapter 7 Global Market Analysis by ApplicationChapter 8 Manufacturing Cost AnalysisChapter 9 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream BuyersChapter 10 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/TradersChapter 11 Market Effect Factors AnalysisChapter 12 Global Market ForecastQy IntroWe at, QYReports , a leading market research report publisher accommodate more than 4,000 celebrated clients worldwide putting them at advantage in todays competitive world with our understanding of research. Our list of customers include prestigious Chinese companies, multinational companies, SME's and private equity firms whom we have helped grow and sustain with our fact-based research. Our business study covers a market size of over 30 industries offering unfailing insights into analysis to reimagine your business. We specialize in forecasts needed for investing in a new project, to revolutionize your business, to become more customer centric and improve the quality of output.Contact:QYReportsJones John(Sales Manager)+91-9764607607sales@qyreports.com
Global Social Media Analytics Market 2017 - Oracle, Clarabridge, Brandwatch, Sysomos, Digimind

Social Media Analytics Market

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Global Social Media Analytics Market Analysis Report studies latest Social Media Analytics industry trends, development aspects, market gains and Social Media Analytics industry scenario during the forecast period (2017-2022). The fundamental overview of Social Media Analytics industry, key market segments, product description, Social Media Analytics applications are presented in this report. Global Social Media Analytics Market report provides the details related to fundamental Social Media Analytics overview, development status, technological advancements, market dominance and market dynamics. The past data pertaining to Social Media Analytics industry along with present and forecast market scenario will drive useful business decisions.The Social Media Analytics Market market is characterized by constant technological innovation to keep pace with the changing industrial needs. This Market report provides a detailed analysis of worldwide markets for Social Media Analytics Market from 2012-2017 and provides extensive Industry forecasts 2017-2022 by top Key manufacturers analysis, region, Types, and Market segment by Applications.Request for Sample Report atThe Social Media Analytics Market report is a professional and comprehensive research Study on the worlds major regional market & their conditions, also focusing on the main regions (North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific) and the main countries (United States, Germany, United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, China and India).The Social Media Analytics market research report gives an overview of Social Media Analytics industries on by analysing various key segments of this market based on the product types, application, end-to-end industries and its scenario.Key Market Vendors for the Global Social Media Analytics market include, Oracle Corporation (US), Salesforce (US), Adobe Systems Incorporated (US), SAS Institute Inc. (US), Clarabridge, Inc. (US), Netbase Solutions, Inc. (US), Brandwatch (UK), Talkwalker Inc., (Luxembourg), GoodData Corporation (US), Crimson Hexagon, Inc. (US), Simply Measured, Inc. (US), Sysomos (Canada), Digimind (US), Unmetric Inc. (US), Cision US Inc. (US).Product Type Segmentation Social Media Analytics Market, by Analytics Type: Predictive analytics, Prescriptive analytics, Diagnostic analytics, Descriptive analytics, by Deployment Model: On-premises, Cloud, by Component: Software, Services, Managed services, Professional services, Support and maintenance services.Application Type Segmentation, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs), Large enterprises.Key Highlights Of The Social Media Analytics Market Market Report:1) Key market segments and sub-segments2) Evolving market trends and dynamics3) Changing supply and demand scenarios4) Quantifying market opportunities through market sizing and market forecasting5) Tracking current trends/opportunities/challenges6) Competitive insights7) Opportunity mapping in terms of technological breakthroughsInquiry for Buying Report @This report not only provides a complete picture of the overall condition of the Social Media Analytics market, but also assists the players in this market to create profitable market strategies in order to gain a competitive edge.In conclusion, it is a deep research report on Global Social Media Analytics industry. If you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.About Market Research Store:Market Research Store is a single destination for all the industry, company and country reports. We feature large repository of latest industry reports, leading and niche company profiles, and market statistics released by reputed private publishers and public organizations. Market Research Store is the comprehensive collection of market intelligence products and services available on air. We have market research reports from number of leading publishers and update our collection daily to provide our clients with the instant online access to our database. With access to this database, our clients will be able to benefit from expert insights on global industries, products, and market trends.3422 SW 15 Street,Suit #8138,Deerfield Beach,Florida 33442, USA
Automotive Relay Market 2018 Growth, Size, Key Trends, Demand, Review, Share, Analysis to 2025

The Insight Partners

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World Automotive Relay Market Report 2018-2025 is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the Automotive Relay Market. This report studies Automotive Relay in Global market, especially North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA), and South America (SAM).Automotive relays are used to permit a low ampere circuit to switch on or off a higher ampere circuit such as turning on the headlights in vehicle. Encouragement of government initiatives related to vehicle safety will lead to increase the demand of automotive relay in forecast period. The high demand for electronic power steering (EPS), car interior lighting, seat control, sunroof control, communications, infotainment systems, and automatic lock systems will also boost the demand of automotive relay in the market.Request a Sample Report atThe factor that can act as a restraint in the growth of the market is the deficiency of standardization in the automotive industry, mostly in developing countries is expected to hamper the automotive relay market. However, the increasing encouraging government initiatives mainly concerning about vehicular safety is creating new opportunities in the market of automotive relay in the forecast period.Automotive Relay Market Players:1. Beta Electric2. ABB Ltd3. Honda Motor Co. Ltd4. American Zettler Inc.5. Panasonic Corporation6. Denso Corporation7. Nippon-Aleph8. Omron Corporation9. NEC Corporation10. Salzer Electronics Ltd.Inquire for Discount atThe Global Automotive Relay Market Analysis to 2025 is a specialized and in-depth study of the automotive relay industry with a focus on the global market trend. The report aims to provide an overview of global automotive relay market with detailed market segmentation by system, services and geography. The global automotive relay market is expected to witness high growth during the forecast period. The report provides key statistics on the market status of the leading market players and offers key trends and opportunities in the market.The report provides a detailed overview of the industry including both qualitative and quantitative information. It provides overview and forecast of the global automotive relay market based on type, load type and application. It also provides market size and forecast till 2025 for overall automotive relay market with respect to five major regions, namely; North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA) and South America (SAM). The market by each region is later sub-segmented by respective countries and segments. The report covers analysis and forecast of 15 counties globally along with current trend and opportunities prevailing in the region.Besides this, the report analyzes factors affecting market from both demand and supply side and further evaluates market dynamics effecting the market during the forecast period i.e., drivers, restraints, opportunities, and future trend. The report also provides exhaustive PEST analysis for all five regions namely; North America, Europe, APAC, MEA and South America after evaluating political, economic, social and technological factors effecting the market in these regions.Table Of Content:1. Introduction2. Key Takeaway3. Automotive Relay Market Landscape4. Automotive Relay Market  Key Industry Dynamics5. Automotive Relay Market Analysis- Global6. Automotive Relay Market Revenue and Forecasts to 2025  Type7. Automotive Relay Market Revenue and Forecasts to 2025  Load Type8. Automotive Relay Market Revenue and Forecasts to 2025  Application9. Automotive Relay Market Revenue and Forecasts to 2025  Geographical Analysis10. Industry Landscape11. Competitive Landscape12. Automotive Relay Market, Key Company Profiles13. AppendixView Complete Toc & Report atContact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@theinsightpartners.comAbout The Insight Partners:The Insight Partners is a one stop industry research provider of actionable intelligence. We help our clients in getting solutions to their research requirements through our syndicated and consulting research services. We are a specialist in Technology, Media, and Telecommunication industries.533, 5th Floor,Amanora Chambers, East Block, Amanora Township,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Non-invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT) Market - Analysis of Cell-Free DNA during 2017 - 2025

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Global Non-invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT) Market: OverviewThe growing preference for non-invasive techniques over invasive surgeries is one of the key growth drivers for the global non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) market. In addition to this number of babies born with Down syndrome, XYY syndrome, Turner, and Klinefelter is increasing, boosting the growth of the market. These chromosomal aneuploidies occur as a result of infertility, reproductive loss, and language development delays and can be detected and diagnosed by non-invasive prenatal testing. Thus, NIPT enables the detection of fatal chromosomal aneuploidies through the analysis of the cell-free DNA of fetuses. NIPT makes use of ultrasononography and serum screening.Request Sample Copy of the Report @Global Non-invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT) Market: Key TrendsOne in every 830 child births in the U.S. suffers from the Down syndrome, as per Down Syndrome Education (DSE). In Europe, the incidence rate for Down syndrome is one in every 920 babies. Thus, there exists a large potential consumer base for NIPT. An increasing number of people are preferring NIPT because chorionic villus sampling (CVS) and amniocentesis, which are the traditional invasive prenatal genetic tests can result in the risk of miscarriage. Non-invasive prenatal testing however, analyze the cell-free DNA, which floats in the maternal plasma. Thus, no risk of miscarriage exists in the use of NIPT methods. A growing number of doctors are opting for non-invasive prenatal testing that make use of cell-free circulating DNA in the maternal serum.Global Non-invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT) Market: Market PotentialSequenom Inc., a key player operating in the NIPT market has recently announced the enhancement of MaterniT GENOME laboratory-developed test that identifies 1 in 3 positive findings that may not be detected by standard NIPT. While standard NIPTs can identify chromosomal abnormalities such as trisomies 21,13, 18, and chromosome aneuploidies, the MaterniT GENOME can analyze all chromosomes for gains and losses of chromosomal materials that are 7 Megabases or greater in size. In fact it can also analyze microdeletions, which are less than 7 Megabases.Request TOC of the Report @Efforts such as this by key players are expected to create growth potential for the global non-invasive prenatal testing market. Furthermore, untapped markets in emerging nations are projected to offer growth opportunities to players in the NIPT market.Global Non-invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT) Market: Regional OutlookWhile North America has been leading in the global non-invasive prenatal testing owing to the presence of key players in the U.S. coupled with high awareness levels about NIPT, Europe is anticipated to emerge second in terms of leading. Moreover, Asia Pacific is anticipated to be the region witnessing the fastest growth, with countries such as China, Australia, India, and Japan holding great potential for growth in the NIPT market. A growing number of women preferring late pregnancy in the region is anticipated to be the driving force for the growth of the Asia Pacific non-invasive prenatal market. BGI Diagnostics and Berry Genomics are two of the leading companies operating in the NIPT market in China, which has pushed the growth of country. Moreover, the CFDA approval for BambniTest has propelled the growth of the market in this region.Enquiry For Discount @Global Non-invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT) Market: Competitive LandscapeIllumina, Inc. (Verinata Health, Inc.), Sequenom, Inc., Ariosa Diagnostics, BGI Health, Natera, Inc., LabCorp, LifeCodexx AG, and Berry Genomics are the key players competing in the non-invasive prenatal testing market. By forming alliances with physician offices, hospitals, and clinical laboratories, these players operate by marketing their proprietary non-invasive prenatal tests.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
Bakery Processing Equipment Market: Industry Size, Growth, Analysis And Forecast of 2022

Global Bakery Processing Equipment Industry

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Global Bakery Processing Equipment IndustryLatest Report on Bakery Processing Equipment Market Global Analysis & 2022 Forecast Research StudyThis report studies Bakery Processing Equipment in Global market, especially in North America, China, Europe, Southeast Asia, Japan and India, with production, revenue, consumption, import and export in these regions, from 2012 to 2016, and forecast to 2022.This report focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, coveringGEA GroupBuhler HoldingJohn Bean TechnologiesAli Group S.P.AHeat and ControlRheon Automatic MachineryMeyer IndustriesBaker PerkinsMarkel Food GroupAnko Food MachineTry Sample Report @On the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoMixersOvens & ProofersDividersSheeters & MoldersOtherBy Application, the market can be split intoBreadCookies & BiscuitsCakes & PastriesPizza CrustsOtherBy Regions, this report covers (we can add the regions/countries as you want)North AmericaChinaEuropeSoutheast AsiaJapanIndiaSome points from table of content:Global Bakery Processing Equipment Market Professional Survey Report 20171 Industry Overview of Bakery Processing Equipment1.1 Definition and Specifications of Bakery Processing Equipment1.1.1 Definition of Bakery Processing Equipment1.1.2 Specifications of Bakery Processing Equipment1.2 Classification of Bakery Processing Equipment1.2.1 Mixers1.2.2 Ovens & Proofers1.2.3 Dividers1.2.4 Sheeters & Molders1.2.5 Other1.3 Applications of Bakery Processing Equipment1.3.1 Bread1.3.2 Cookies & Biscuits1.3.3 Cakes & Pastries1.3.4 Pizza Crusts1.3.5 Other1.4 Market Segment by Regions1.4.1 North America1.4.2 China1.4.3 Europe1.4.4 Southeast Asia1.4.5 Japan1.4.6 India2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Bakery Processing Equipment2.1 Raw Material and Suppliers2.2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Bakery Processing Equipment2.3 Manufacturing Process Analysis of Bakery Processing Equipment2.4 Industry Chain Structure of Bakery Processing Equipment3 Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of Bakery Processing Equipment3.1 Capacity and Commercial Production Date of Global Bakery Processing Equipment Major Manufacturers in 20163.2 Manufacturing Plants Distribution of Global Bakery Processing Equipment Major Manufacturers in 20163.3 R&D Status and Technology Source of Global Bakery Processing Equipment Major Manufacturers in 20163.4 Raw Materials Sources Analysis of Global Bakery Processing Equipment Major Manufacturers in 20164 Global Bakery Processing Equipment Overall Market Overview4.1 2012-2017E Overall Market Analysis4.2 Capacity Analysis4.2.1 2012-2017E Global Bakery Processing Equipment Capacity and Growth Rate Analysis4.2.2 2016 Bakery Processing Equipment Capacity Analysis (Company Segment)4.3 Sales Analysis4.3.1 2012-2017E Global Bakery Processing Equipment Sales and Growth Rate Analysis4.3.2 2016 Bakery Processing Equipment Sales Analysis (Company Segment)4.4 Sales Price Analysis4.4.1 2012-2017E Global Bakery Processing Equipment Sales Price4.4.2 2016 Bakery Processing Equipment Sales Price Analysis (Company Segment)For Detailed Reading Please visit WiseGuy Reports @5 Bakery Processing Equipment Regional Market Analysis5.1 North America Bakery Processing Equipment Market Analysis5.1.1 North America Bakery Processing Equipment Market Overview5.1.2 North America 2012-2017E Bakery Processing Equipment Local Supply, Import, Export, Local Consumption Analysis5.1.3 North America 2012-2017E Bakery Processing Equipment Sales Price Analysis5.1.4 North America 2016 Bakery Processing Equipment Market Share Analysis5.2 China Bakery Processing Equipment Market Analysis5.2.1 China Bakery Processing Equipment Market Overview5.2.2 China 2012-2017E Bakery Processing Equipment Local Supply, Import, Export, Local Consumption Analysis5.2.3 China 2012-2017E Bakery Processing Equipment Sales Price Analysis5.2.4 China 2016 Bakery Processing Equipment Market Share Analysis5.3 Europe Bakery Processing Equipment Market Analysis5.3.1 Europe Bakery Processing Equipment Market Overview5.3.2 Europe 2012-2017E Bakery Processing Equipment Local Supply, Import, Export, Local Consumption Analysis5.3.3 Europe 2012-2017E Bakery Processing Equipment Sales Price Analysis5.3.4 Europe 2016 Bakery Processing Equipment Market Share Analysis5.4 Southeast Asia Bakery Processing Equipment Market Analysis5.4.1 Southeast Asia Bakery Processing Equipment Market Overview5.4.2 Southeast Asia 2012-2017E Bakery Processing Equipment Local Supply, Import, Export, Local Consumption Analysis5.4.3 Southeast Asia 2012-2017E Bakery Processing Equipment Sales Price Analysis5.4.4 Southeast Asia 2016 Bakery Processing Equipment Market Share Analysis5.5 Japan Bakery Processing Equipment Market Analysis5.5.1 Japan Bakery Processing Equipment Market Overview5.5.2 Japan 2012-2017E Bakery Processing Equipment Local Supply, Import, Export, Local Consumption Analysis5.5.3 Japan 2012-2017E Bakery Processing Equipment Sales Price Analysis5.5.4 Japan 2016 Bakery Processing Equipment Market Share Analysis5.6 India Bakery Processing Equipment Market Analysis5.6.1 India Bakery Processing Equipment Market Overview5.6.2 India 2012-2017E Bakery Processing Equipment Local Supply, Import, Export, Local Consumption Analysis5.6.3 India 2012-2017E Bakery Processing Equipment Sales Price Analysis5.6.4 India 2016 Bakery Processing Equipment Market Share AnalysisContinued.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
Industrial Vehicles Market 2018 Global Key Players Anhui Heli, Crown Equipment Corporation, Hangcha Group, Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Jungheinrich AG Analysis and Forecast to 2022

Industrial Vehicles Market

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Industrial Vehicles Market 2018Global Industrial Vehicles Market Information Report by Product type (Forklift, Tow Tractor, Aisle Truck, Container Handler, Others), by drive type (Internal Combustion Engine, Battery-Operated, Gas-Powered and Others), By Application (Industrial, Cargo and Others) and By Region - Global Forecast To 2022Market ScenarioIndustrial vehicle can be defined as any vehicle which is useful to carry, push, pull, lift, stack or tier materials for use in industries. The various types of industrial vehicles are used by different industries such as tow tractors, utility vehicles, burden carriers and stock chasers among others. Industrial vehicles facilitate the movement of goods efficiently and safely with no or very low emissions.The industrial vehicles market is majorly driven by the increase in the number of huge warehouses set up by the e-commerce companies such as Amazon, eBay and others. These e-commerce warehouses majorly require the industrial vehicles to stack up large quantities of the products and also transportation of the stocked goods from the warehouse to the end user in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The market is also driven by the increase in use of battery operated industrial vehicles with increasing awareness about the environment and with the government regulations for controlling the carbon-dioxide emissions from industrial vehicles. The increase in the fuel prices is expected to boom the sales of the fuel efficient industrial vehicles such as battery operated industrial vehicles. The increase in need of transporting the temperature sensitive products fuel the demand of refrigerated industrial vehicles.Key PlayersThe key players of Industrial vehicles market are Anhui Heli Co., Ltd (China), Crown Equipment Corporation (U.S.), Hangcha Group Co. Ltd. (China), Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Inc.(U.S.), Jungheinrich AG (Germany), Kion Group AG (Germany), Konecranes plc. (Finland), Mitsubishi Nichiyu Forklift Co., Ltd. (Japan), Toyota Industries Corporation (Japan) and others.Request For Sample Report @Study Objectives of Industrial Vehicles MarketTo provide detailed analysis of the market structure along with forecast for the next 5 years of the various segments and sub-segments of the Global Industrial Vehicles Market.To provide insights about factors affecting the market growthTo Analyse the Global Industrial vehicles market based on various factors such as supply chain analysis, and Porters five force analysisTo provide historical and forecast revenue of the market segments and sub-segments with respect to regions and their respective key countriesTo provide country level analysis of the market with respect to the current market size and future prospectiveTo provide country level analysis of the market for segments by product type, drive type, application and region.To provide strategic profiling of key players in the market, comprehensively analysing their core competencies, and drawing a competitive landscape for the marketTo track and analyse competitive developments such as joint ventures, strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, new product developments, and research and developments in the Global Engineering plastic Market.Regional Analysis of Industrial Vehicle MarketAsia pacific is expected to be the largest region of global industrial vehicle market with the high growth of the automobile sector in the developing nations of the region. The rapid industrialization in the region is leading to the increase in need of using industrial vehicles for better transportation of finished goods & raw materials and its storage at warehouses. The growth will be followed by the North America and the Europe region as the concept of driverless industrial vehicles is gaining popularity in the region which has led to cost efficiency.The report for Industrial vehicles 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.Complete Report Details @Table of Contents1 Executive Summary2 Research Methodology3 Market Dynamics4 Global Industrial Vehicle Market, By Product Type5 Global Industrial Vehicle Market, By Drive Type6 Global Industrial Vehicle Market, By Application7 Regional Market Analysis8 Competitive AnalysisLIST OF TABLESTABLE 1GLOBAL INDUSTRIAL VEHICLE MARKET, BY PRODUCT TYPETABLE 2GLOBAL INDUSTRIAL VEHICLE MARKET, BY DRIVE TYPETABLE 3GLOBAL ENGINEERING PLASTICMARKET, BY APPLICATIONTABLE 4 GLOBAL INDUSTRIAL VEHICLE MARKET, BY REGIONSTABLE 5 NORTH AMERICA INDUSTRIAL VEHICLE MARKET, BY PRODUCT TYPELIST OF FIGURESFIGURE 1RESEARCH DRIVE TYPEFIGURE 2GLOBAL INDUSTRIAL VEHICLE MARKET: BY PRODUCT TYPE (%)FIGURE 3GLOBAL INDUSTRIAL VEHICLE MARKET: BY DRIVE TYPE (%)FIGURE 4GLOBAL INDUSTRIAL VEHICLE MARKET: BY APPLICATION (%)FIGURE 5GLOBAL INDUSTRIAL VEHICLE MARKET: BY REGIONContinued.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 US:Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
Veal Meat Global Market Top Key Players  CLAUS GERMAN SAUSAGE & MEATS , JBS , Mountain States , Strauss Brands Incorporated , Wilson International Frozen Foods and Forecast to 2022

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Global Veal Meat MarketDescriptionWiseGuyReports.Com adds Global Veal Meat Market 2018-2022 Research To Its Database.The analysts forecast the global veal meat market to grow at a CAGR of 2.19% during the period 2018-2022.Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global veal meat market for 2018-2022. To calculate the market size, the report presents a detailed picture of the market by way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources.The market is divided into the following segments based on geography: Americas APAC EMEAGet sample Report @The Global Veal Meat Market 2018-2022, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendors CLAUS GERMAN SAUSAGE & MEATS JBS Mountain States Strauss Brands Incorporated Wilson International Frozen FoodsMarket driver Nutritious and good texture meat For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challenge Rise of veganism For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trend Increasing demand for grass-fed and organic veal For a full, detailed list, view our reportKey questions answered in this report What will the market size be in 2022 and what will the growth rate be? What are the key market trends? What is driving this market? What are the challenges to market growth? Who are the key vendors in this market space?Complete Report Details @Table of Contents -Major Key PointsPART 01: EXECUTIVE SUMMARYPART 02: SCOPE OF THE REPORTPART 03: RESEARCH METHODOLOGYPART 04: MARKET LANDSCAPE Market ecosystem Market characteristics Market segmentation analysisPART 05: MARKET SIZING Market definition Market sizing 2017 Market size and forecast 2017-2022 by volume Market size and forecast 2017-2022 by valuePART 06: FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS Bargaining power of buyers Bargaining power of suppliers Threat of new entrants Threat of substitutes Threat of rivalry Market conditionPART 07: MARKET SEGMENTATION BY PRODUCT Segmentation by product Comparison by product Global fresh veal meat market Global processed veal meat market Market opportunity by productPART 08: CUSTOMER LANDSCAPEPART 09: REGIONAL LANDSCAPE Geographical segmentation Regional comparison Americas  Market size and forecast 2017-2022 APAC  Market size and forecast 2017-2022 EMEA  Market size and forecast 2017-2022 Key leading countries The US China Brazil Argentina India Market opportunityPART 10: DECISION FRAMEWORKPART 11: DRIVERS AND CHALLENGES Market drivers Market challengesPART 12: MARKET TRENDS Increasing demand for grass-fed and organic veal New veal processing and packaging technology Clean-labelingPART 13: VENDOR LANDSCAPE Overview Landscape disruptionPART 14: VENDOR ANALYSIS Vendors covered Vendor classification Market positioning of vendors CLAUS GERMAN SAUSAGE & MEATS JBS Mountain States Strauss Brands Incorporated Wilson International Frozen Foods..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)
Tissue Engineering Market Key Findings, Major Companies Analysis and Forecast to 2023

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The Global Tissue Engineering Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 17.22% during the forecast period.Tissue engineering is the use of combination of cells, engineering materials, and suitable biochemical factors to improve or replace biological functions in an efforts to repair damaged tissues and organs.Neurology segment is one of the fastest growing owing to the increasing research & development and increasing cases of disorder related to nervous system. For instance, in March 2016, In the University of Alabama researchers found a reprogramming factor, which could increase the efficiency of Human induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (HiPSCs) and are generated without destroying the human embryo. These are major factor responsible for the growth of the market during forecast period. The global tissue engineering market has been evaluated to grow at a steady pace and expected to reach at a high growth figures over the reviewing period.Access Free Sample Copy @Taste the market data and market information presented through more than 80 market data tables and figures spread over 110 pages of the project report. Avail the in-depth table of content TOC & market synopsis on tissue engineering market research reportGlobal forecast till 2022.Major Players in Tissue Engineering MarketSome of the key players in the global market:CookAcelityBaxterDePuy Synthes CompaniesMedtronicZimmer Inc.StrykerRegional AnalysisThe global tissue engineering market consists of four regions: the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East & Africa.The Americas dominates the global market, particularly, North America due to growing developments in the field of regeneration surgeries, particularly stem cell research has created new opportunities for the global tissue engineering market. Additionally, continuous technological development methods and the presence of global market leaders contribute to the market growth.Check Attractive Discount @Europe accounts for the second largest market due to availability of funds for research & development activities, and increasing government support for life sciences domain. Furthermore, industries are continuously focusing and upgrading the 3D technology and thereby offering better and enhanced organ and tissue printing methods.Asia Pacific is the fastest growing market, whose growth is attributed to the improved economic conditions in healthcare domain, the government focus on research & development in healthcare sector. Moreover, increasing adoption of technological development in healthcare resulting in improvement of healthcare facilities expected to drive the market growth during the forecast period.The Middle East & Africa is expected witness limited growth due to limited access to the healthcare resources and lack of advanced medical facilities and less government encouragement in healthcare sector.SegmentsTissue engineering market has been segmented on the basis of materials, which comprises of biomimetic materials, nano-fibrous materials, composite materials, and nano-composite material.On the basis of applications, the market is segmented into orthopedics, musculoskeletal and spine, skin/integumentary, cancer, dental, cardiology, urology, neurology, cord blood & cell banking, GI & gynecology, and others.Ask 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
Global Automotive Exterior LED Lighting Market Value to Reach US$ 1,243 Mn by 2022

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The automotive exterior LED lights are used for the illumination of the vehicle. LED lights are used in order to let the driver see in the darkness or in adverse weather conditions like fog and smog. LED lights are also useful in maintaining the safety of the vehicle. This Fact.MR report discusses key prospects for growth of global automotive exterior LED lighting market during the forecast period, 2017-2022, offering pragmatic insights to lead market players towards devising & implementing informed strategies.The scope of the report is to analyze the global automotive exterior LED lighting market for the period 2017-2022 and give readers an accurate, unbiased analysis. LED lighting manufacturers, suppliers, and stakeholders in the overall automotive market can benefit from the insights offered in this report. The comprehensive analysis offered in the report can also be of interest to leading automotive journals and trade magazines.Request Free Sample Report-4 Forecast Highlights on Global Automotive Exterior LED Lighting Market1. As per the forecast of Fact.MR, the parking light automotive exterior LED lighting segment is slated to touch a value of nearly US$ 138 Mn in the year 2022. This represents a sluggish CAGR growth during the assessment period of 2017-2022. The parking light automotive exterior LED lighting segment is estimated to account for more than one-tenth of the revenue share of the product type segment by the year 2017 end and is expected to gain in market share by the year 2022 end.2. As per the forecast of Fact.MR, the aftermarket automotive exterior LED lighting segment will reach a value of nearly US$ 655 Mn in the year 2017. This represents a sluggish CAGR growth during the forecast period. The aftermarket automotive exterior LED lighting segment is estimated to account for nearly two-third of the revenue share of the sales channel segment in the year 2017 end and is expected to lose market share by the end of the year 2022.3. As per the forecast of Fact.MR, the compact passenger cars segment is slated to reach a value of nearly US$ 344 Mn in 2022. The compact passenger cars segment is expected to gain some market value by the end of the year 2022. The largest share is contributed by the Europe region in the compact passenger cars segment.4. Fact.MR forecasts the 12V automotive exterior LED lighting market to grow from nearly US$ 677 Mn in 2017 to nearly US$ 776 Mn in 2022. This represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.8% from 2017 to 2022.Browse Full Report with TOC-Front Light Segment Poised to Touch a Value of Nearly US$ 221 Mn in 2022As per the forecast of Fact.MR, the front light segment is expected to reach a value of nearly US$ 221 Mn in the year 2022. This represents a sluggish CAGR during the forecast period of 2017-2022. Front light segment is expected to account for nearly one-fifth of the revenue share of the product type segment by the year 2017 and is expected to lose market share by the end of the year 2022.OEM Automotive Exterior LED lighting Segment to exhibit a CAGR of 3.1% During the Assessment PeriodAs per the forecast of Fact.MR, the OEM automotive exterior LED lighting segment is slated to touch a figure of nearly US$ 499 Mn in the year 2022. This represents a CAGR of 3.1% during the assessment period from 2017 till the year 2022. This segment is expected to gain market share by the end of the year 2022. The OEM automotive exterior LED lighting segment is expected to account for more than one-third of the revenue share of the sales channel segment by the year 2017.Competition TrackingThe report also profiles companies that are expected to remain active in the expansion of global automotive exterior LED lighting market through 2022, which include HELLA KGaA Hueck & Co, OSRAM Licht AG, Magneti Marelli S.p.A., Koito Manufacturing Co., Ltd, Stanley Electric Co. Ltd, Koninklijke Philips N.V, Valeo SA, Zizala Lichtsysteme GmbH, Texas Instruments Incorporated, Lumax Industries Ltd, Imasen Electric Industrial Co., Ltd and Changzhou Xingyu Automotive Lighting Systems Co., Ltd.Check Discount-About Fact.MRFact.MR is a fast-growing market research firm that offers the most comprehensive suite of syndicated and customized automotive 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:
Global Market Study on Consumer Cloud Storage Services: 18-40 User Age segment to hold a lions Market share by 2025 End

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Market Research Reports Search Engine uses a unique research methodology which is a strong blend of secondary and in-depth primary research. Extensive primary interviews with key market players, stakeholders, market observers and experts are carried out to collect necessary data and information pertaining to various segments and across key regions.Click here for free Sample Report -The data crunching and statistical analysis so performed undergoes multiple layers of validation to garner appropriate market insights which could benefit business by impacting critical decisions. The exhaustive research methodology has been applied to thoroughly understand and study the market for consumer cloud storage services and the findings and insights have been skilfully crafted following a systematic structure in the new report titled Consumer Cloud Storage Services Market: Global Industry Analysis (2012-2016) and Forecast (2017-2025).Delivering actionable intelligence to support future movesThe market research report on global consumer cloud storage services market is a comprehensive market research study which focuses on the global scenario and provides actionable acumen on various factors which influence the market with the help of strong data and statistical analysis. It delivers an unbiased view of the consumer cloud storage services market by including analysis on various market segments across the major geographies of North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Middle East and Africa (MEA). The global research report on consumer cloud storage services market has an in-depth weightage on the statistics, figures, numbers and graphs which is based on a clear market definition. This will enable the reader to take informed decisions with the help of well-furnished insights. The upcoming trends and developments, new innovations in products and varying product portfolios, new acquisitions, end user analysis give a 3600outlook to the market ultimately providing the reader with necessary tools to devise strategies in order to establish firm grip in a particular region or in a particular segment in the global consumer cloud storage services market.Complete Outlook of Report -Market Segmentation By Storage Tier 50 GB  999 GB 1 TB  9.99 TB >=10 TB By User Age =40 Years By Region North America Latin America Asia Pacific (APAC) Europe Middle East and Africa (MEA)The global consumer cloud storage services market research report covers competitive landscape, which covers the market shares, growth strategies applied, revenues, product portfolio analysis, pricing analysis, distribution channels, marketing strategies, expansion in several geographies, SWOT etc., of the various key players in the global consumer cloud storage services market. Such an intelligence framework can be used to devise appropriate strategies in order to gain competitive advantage in the long run.Main Report Highlights Weighted market analysis, with assessment across major regions In-depth market segmentation Historical data, current statistics and a projected view of the market (market forecasts) over a period of eight years Holistic 3600 market projection Includes various factors influencing the growth of the global market Key recommendations by PMR to assist you in making informed decisions Competitive landscape including analysis on major companies Unbiased view of the global consumer cloud storage services market portraying a realistic contour of data projections Strong and accurate research from a strategic standpoint 24x7 analyst support to assist with queries relating to the researchCheck Discount of 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:
Nail Polish Market 2018 Industry Key Players, Trends, Sales, Supply, Demand, Analysis & Forecast to 2022

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In this report, the global Nail Polish 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 Nail Polish in these regions, from 2013 to 2025 (forecast), coveringNorth AmericaEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaRequest a Sample Report @Global Nail Polish market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the top players includingOPI (US)Zotos Accent (Japan)Maybelline (US)Dior (France)Chanel (France)ORLY (US)Anna Sui (Japan)Revlon (US)Sally Hansen (US)Missha (Korea)CND (US)Butter London (UK)Kiko (Italy)Cosmay (Canada)Nails Inc (UK)Essie (US)L'Oreal (France)Bobbi Brown (US)Nars (US)Rimmel (UK)China Glaze (China)On the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoOrganic Solvent Based Nail PolishWater Based Nail PolishOtherOn 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, includingNail Art InstitutionsIndividualsOtherIf you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.Table of ContentsGlobal Nail Polish Market Research Report 20181 Nail Polish Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Nail Polish1.2 Nail Polish Segment by Type (Product Category)1.2.1 Global Nail Polish Production and CAGR (%) Comparison by Type (Product Category)(2013-2025)1.2.2 Global Nail Polish Production Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20171.2.3 Organic Solvent Based Nail Polish1.2.4 Water Based Nail Polish1.2.5 Other1.3 Global Nail Polish Segment by Application1.3.1 Nail Polish Consumption (Sales) Comparison by Application (2013-2025)1.3.2 Nail Art Institutions1.3.3 Individuals1.3.4 Other1.4 Global Nail Polish Market by Region (2013-2025)1.4.1 Global Nail Polish 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 Nail Polish (2013-2025)1.5.1 Global Nail Polish Revenue Status and Outlook (2013-2025)1.5.2 Global Nail Polish Capacity, Production Status and Outlook (2013-2025)2 Global Nail Polish Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global Nail Polish Capacity, Production and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.1.1 Global Nail Polish Capacity and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.1.2 Global Nail Polish Production and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.2 Global Nail Polish Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.3 Global Nail Polish Average Price by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.4 Manufacturers Nail Polish Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area and Product Type2.5 Nail Polish Market Competitive Situation and Trends2.5.1 Nail Polish Market Concentration Rate2.5.2 Nail Polish Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Manufacturers2.5.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion3 Global Nail Polish Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2013-2018)3.1 Global Nail Polish Capacity and Market Share by Region (2013-2018)3.2 Global Nail Polish Production and Market Share by Region (2013-2018)3.3 Global Nail Polish Revenue (Value) and Market Share by Region (2013-2018)3.4 Global Nail Polish Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)3.5 North America Nail Polish Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)3.6 Europe Nail Polish Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)3.7 China Nail Polish Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)3.8 Japan Nail Polish Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)3.9 Southeast Asia Nail Polish Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)3.10 India Nail Polish Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)4 Global Nail Polish Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2013-2018)4.1 Global Nail Polish Consumption by Region (2013-2018)4.2 North America Nail Polish Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2013-2018)4.3 Europe Nail Polish Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2013-2018)4.4 China Nail Polish Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2013-2018)4.5 Japan Nail Polish Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2013-2018)4.6 Southeast Asia Nail Polish Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2013-2018)4.7 India Nail Polish Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2013-2018)5 Global Nail Polish Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type5.1 Global Nail Polish Production and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)5.2 Global Nail Polish Revenue and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)5.3 Global Nail Polish Price by Type (2013-2018)5.4 Global Nail Polish Production Growth by Type (2013-2018)6 Global Nail Polish Market Analysis by Application6.1 Global Nail Polish Consumption and Market Share by Application (2013-2018)6.2 Global Nail Polish Consumption Growth Rate by Application (2013-2018)6.3 Market Drivers and Opportunities6.3.1 Potential Applications6.3.2 Emerging Markets/CountriesContinuedAccess Complete Report @ABOUT US:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.ADDRES:WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Spacesuit Market -Global Industry Insights, Analysis, 20172025

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Spacesuit market primarily caters to the limited list of space agencies such as Russian Space Agency (ROSCOSMOS) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) that utilize these products for the astronaut survival in the outer space. These also find significant application for the crew members inside the spacecraft to ensure safety mechanism in the event of loss of the cabin pressure. According to Coherent Market Insights, the business can be largely characterized low volume and high margin industry.Request Table of Content of This Report:Difficulty in surviving in space owing to substantially different conditions is the primary growth driver of the industryUtilization of distinct advanced materials in the designing and development for next generation suits, such as urethane-coated nylon, Dacron, Neoprene, aluminized Mylar, Gortex, Kevlar and Nomex, to enable living in space have gained significant traction as the key industry trends. These materials enhance the strength, reduce overall weights, and enable the required sustenance of pressure and air. Moreover, participants are increasingly focusing on development of more innovative materials to differentiate their portfolio from the competitors and provide tailored solutions with enhanced safety and versatility for the end users.Spacesuit market are poised for renaissance owing to increasing interests of private sector roles in the space industryCommercial space travel concept is among the key trend that is expected to transform the industry landscape over the next decade. For instance, In May 2014, U.S. space travel agency has partnered with a Japanese advertisement agency for endorsing its future spaceflight missions. Commercial space travel offering companies will make efforts to distinguish themselves by offering their products based on better capabilities, aesthetics, and comfort. These factors will drive the demands for commercial grade suits and fuel the spacesuit market growth over the forecast period.EVA segment dominated the global industry share in 2016, owing to its necessary applications in the spaceThese dominated the industry share by value primarily owing to the significant usage of these suits for the examination and research operations. Moreover, these form necessary inclusions in the space missions owing to probability of damage owing to orbiting space debris. Owing to these requirements, EVA segment application is anticipated to continue its dominance over the forecast period.U.S. is expected to continue to dominate the global industry share owing to significant advancement and large number of space related operations taking place in the country. Other countries that include Russia, China, Japan, and India are expected to highly contribute to the global demands over the next few years. High involvement of countries in various space programs such as the launch of satellites and the availability of potential opportunities to provide low-cost space missions, will propel the growth of the spacesuit market.Industry is largely characterized by the fragmented industry share owing to number of players sharing the industry share. According to our analysis, the intensive competition is expected to be largely characterized by the substantial development of new materials, low overall weights, and high reliability of the suits. Advent of commercial space companies further alleviate the competition and will drive the innovation in shortening the design cycles, computer simulations, 3D printing, and product durability. Chief industry participants in the industry include Boeing, ILC Dover, David Clark, Oceaneering International, NPP Zvezda, Final Frontier Design, Pacific Spaceflight, Austrian Space Forum (OeWF), and UTC Aerospace Systems.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 New Website:
2018 Loyalty Management Market: Evolving Technology, Trends and Industry Analysis

Loyalty Management

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Orbis Research has published new report on "Global Loyalty Management Market". The report provides information on Industry Trends, Demand, Top Manufacturers, Countries, Material and Application.Request sample copy of this report @The global loyalty management market was valued at USD 2160.06 million in 2017, and is expected to reach a value of USD 6823.01 million by 2023, at a CAGR of 21.13% over the forecast period (2018 - 2023).Loyalty management is adopted by key companies across various industry verticals, whose primary focus is on client retention and further building of sustainable customer relationships. Moreover, high cost of customer acquisition is forcing companies to develop their own business model, focusing on client retention. The market has been driven by the need for a customer centric strategies as well the increasing number of card holders across the globe. However, the lack of awareness about loyalty programs is expected to hinder the growth of the loyalty management market.Implementation Of A Customer-Centric Approach Across BusinessesIn a shift from product-centric strategies, businesses across major industry verticals are gradually shifting toward customer-centric approaches. It has been observed that, regardless of time, creating customer value and putting customers firstbeyond a simple customer focusgenerates the greatest and lasting business value. As loyalty management revolves around pleasing/rewarding an organizations repeat customers, developing customer-centric strategies has become necessary to keep the customer retention rate high, thus driving the demand for loyalty management programs.One of the examples of customer-centric companies is Amazon, which has 310 million active user accounts, as of 2016. They identify the customers who shop the most from their huge client base. These customers are rewarded as a part of the loyalty program in the form of gift cards and discount on several products.Browse Complete Report @France To Witness Fastest Growth In The European RegionFrance has the lowest card penetration in Western Europe, with less than one payment card per person in circulation. However, the emergence of new channels, such as NFC payments, are expected to aid the market for loyalty management. Recently, retailers in the country have launched a pair of pilots with an NFC option, one for loyalty and the other to identify customers when customers pick up purchases after shopping online from home. Also, being the third most popular destination for cross-border online shopping and holiday destination among the European countries, topped only by the United Kingdom and Germany, merchants in this region are adopting loyalty management services to attract more tourists. According to the association, Francaise du Sans Contact Mobile, approximately one million NFC-enabled handsets have been sold, and the figure was estimated at 2.5 million handsets in 2016. Major companies in this region are offering rewards or loyalty points to customers to increase the usage of NFC payments. In 2016, Frances e-Commerce market reached USD 42 billion and is projected to surpass USD 56.45 billion by 2020. The amount of digital buyers in the country is growing steadily, with over 30 million providing opportunities for the market players.BFSI Sector to Hold a Lions Share of the MarketIn a highly competitive, complex, and dynamic banking industry, slight differences in financial services and products can matter. This, together with an increasingly demanding customer base, has led to the transformation of the industry toward adopting loyalty management solutions. Reward points programs offered by credit cards are one of the most active zones in the reward and incentive space. Loyalty management has been the stronghold for the banking industry, as vendors look to attain a high customer retention rate.It has been proven that more than 35% of the consumers believe that reward points/cashback incentives, among others, are the major factors that play vital role in influencing consumer preference while choosing among the banks for credit cards. Loyalty programs can be further enhanced through digitization. Most of the customers like to earn points with family and friends, but presently, only around one-fifth of the banks provide this capability. Therefore, banks can focus on providing customers with the ability to send and receive reward points using their mobile banking apps, which may further enhance consumer interest.The key players in this market include: Aimia Inc., IBM Corporation, Oracle Corporation, Comarch SA, SAP SE, Epsilon Data Management LLC, Fidelity Information Services Inc., TIBCO Software, Martiz Holdings Inc., and Kobie Marketing Inc.Purchase a copy of Loyalty Management Market visit @For more information contact sales@orbisresearch.comKey Developments in the MarketOctober 2017- Tibco acquired Alpine Data to add collaborative project management for advanced analytics. The acquisition is expected increase the companys expertise in analytics to help customers get more out of data science and machine learning investments.October 2017- Aimia Inc. partnered with SuperValu, Ireland's leading grocery retailer, signed a multi-year contract with Musgrave, owner of SuperValu, Ireland's leading grocery retailer, to revamp its Real Rewards Program, underpinned by the Aimia Loyalty Platform.August 2017- Comrach opened its subsidiary office in Japan, which operates in IT systems for providers of telecommunications services, loyalty solutions, and products supporting customer relationship management and outsourcing services, IT infrastructure, and data centre services.Reasons to Purchase this ReportHow the implementation of a customer-centric approach across businesses acts as a driver to the global market scenario?Analyzing various perspectives of the market with the help of Porters five forces analysisWhich deployment and end-user vertical is expected to dominate the market?Which regions are expected to witness fastest growth during the forecast period?Identify the latest developments, market shares and strategies employed by the major market players.3 months analyst support along with the Market Estimate sheet in excel.Customization of the ReportThis report can be customized to meet your requirements.Companies Mentioned:Aimia Inc.,IBM Corporation,Oracle Corporation,Comarch SA,SAP SE,Epsilon Data Management LLC,Fidelity Information Services Inc.,TIBCO Software,Martiz Holdings Inc.,Kobie Marketing Inc.For any enquires before buying, connect with us @ enquiry@orbisresearch.comAbout Us:Orbis Research (orbisresearch.com) is a single point aid for all your market research requirements. We have vast database of reports from the leading publishers and authors across the globe. We specialize in delivering customized reports as per the requirements of our clients. We have complete information about our publishers and hence are sure about the accuracy of the industries and verticals of their specialization. This helps our clients to map their needs and we produce the perfect required market research study for our clients.Contact Information:Hector CostelloSenior Manager  Client Engagements4144N Central Expressway,Suite 600, Dallas,Texas  75204, U.S.A.Phone No.: +1 (214) 884-6817; +9164101019Follow Us on LinkedIn:Follow us on Twitter:Like us on Facebook:
Construction Dumper Market Tend and Analysis - Forecast to 2025

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Construction dumpers find major application in transportation of loose materials such as gravel, sand, aggregates and other related materials and equipment. It consists of an open bed box at the back-end of the truck, with a hydraulic piston to lift the trailer or hauler for dumping the material at the required location. Several factors that include growth of infrastructure activities, growth of rental equipment industry, smart city infrastructure demands and the changing regulatory scenario for the emission standards are expected to fuel the industry growth through the forecast timeframe.Request Table of Content of This Report:Growing infrastructure activities, specifically for residential and transportation, are anticipated to be the primary growth factorAccording to Coherent Market Insights, global construction market is expected to witness growth at over 3% CAGR over the forecast period, owing to high infrastructural developments taking place across the major economies, specifically that includes Middle East countries and emerging economies in Asia Pacific such as India, Malaysia and Indonesia. Moreover, proliferating smart city projects, government initiatives regarding provision of residence to the middle and lower economic class population, and the requirement to enhance transport facilities to boost the trade avenues of the country are projected to present strong growth prospects for construction dumper market over the forecast period.For instance, a white paper released by Government Technology under the name, Evolution of Smart Cities and Connected Communities, co-sponsored by the United Parcel Service (UPS) and the Consumer Technology Association, have reported development of around 600 smart city projects in India and around 285 similar projects in China. Interest subsidies for first time home buyers in India, government initiatives to help build new residences on brownfield lands in UK are few of the instances supporting the development of residential sector. This are few of the many factors that will fuel the infrastructure demands which will in turn drive the construction dumper market.Development of regulations to restrict the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are expected to drive the innovation in the heavy load vehiclesEU and U.S. among few other regions are taking substantial leaps to reduce the emission of pollutants and their impacts on the environment, in conjunction with the increased fuel economies. For instance, Environmental protection Agency (EPA) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in U.S have introduced the requirement of reduction in emissions over the next few for heavy vehicles manufacturers. Similarly, European Council (EC) has set certain fuel economy related expectations to be met in the coming years. Such initiatives are expected to propel the innovation and developments in the construction dumper market through the forecast period.Construction dumper accounts for the largest number of accidents in the infrastructure segmentsSeveral causes of dumper accident includes overturning, collisions at the blind spots, and incompetence of the drivers among few others. According to our research, around 35% of the overall accounted incidents in the infrastructure segment reported, were related these heavy load vehicles. Requirement to reduce the accidents is expected to be the prominent challenge for the industry participants. Moreover, high total cost of ownership (TCO) is expected to remain the primary challenge for the new equipment sales. Thus, rental segment is expected to present considerable growth prospects for the industry participants, which will lead to significant decline in the new product sales.Industry is highly consolidated owing to the presence of international players providing extensive portfolio for infrastructural development. However, industry is expected to remain moderately competitive owing to presence of regional dealers and contractors intervening the businesses in some regions. Key players in the construction dumper market include Caterpillar, Komatsu, J.C. Bamford Excavators, Ashok Leyland, AB Volvo, BEML, Asia Motor Works, CNH Industrial America, Deere & Company, Hitachi Construction Machinery, Kenworth, KAMAZ Motors, Mercedes-Benz, New Holland, Liebherr Group, and Navistar.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 New Website:
2018-2025 Robotics Market by Vendors, Regions, Product Types and End Industries - ReportsWeb

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ReportsWeb announces Trending Research Study on "Robotics Market 2018-2025" in its offering. The Robotics Market research gives business profiling, item picture and particulars, sales, piece of the overall industry and contact data of key vendors of Global and United States MarketThe major players in global and United States Robotics market, includingFANUCABBYaskawaKUKAOTCPanasonicKawasakiNachiEpsonMitsubishiDensoYamahaToshibaiRobotEcovacsProscenicMatsutekNeato RoboticsInfinuvo (Metapo)LGSamsungSharpRequest a Free Sample Brochure on Robotics Market atGeographically, this report is segmented into several key regions, with sales, revenue, market share (%) and growth Rate (%) of Robotics in these regions, from 2013 to 2025 (forecast) , coveringUnited StatesNorth AmericaEuropeAsia-PacificSouth AmericaMiddle East and AfricaOn the basis of product, the market is primarily split intoIndustrial RobotsService Robots for ProfessionalService Robots for PersonnelOn the basis on the end users/application, this report coversMilitaryIndustrialCommercialPersonalSee Report Details on Robotics Market atMajor Points from TOC:Robotics Market1 Industry Overview of Robotics2 Global Robotics Competition Analysis by Players3 Robotics Company (Top Players) Profiles4 Global Robotics Market Size by Type and Application (2013-2018)5 United States Robotics Development Status and Outlook6 EU Robotics Development Status and Outlook7 Japan Robotics Development Status and Outlook8 China Robotics Development Status and Outlook9 India Robotics Development Status and Outlook10 Southeast Asia Robotics Development Status and Outlook11 Robotics Market Forecast by Regions, Type and Application (2018-2025)12 Robotics Market Dynamics13 Robotics Market Effect Factors Analysis14 Robotics Research Finding/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.533, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Gas Turbine Services Market 2018: Global Key Players, Size, Segmentation, Opportunities, Types, Applications, Status and Forecast to 2025

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This report studies the global Gas Turbine Services market, analyzes and researches the Gas Turbine Services development status and forecast in United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia. This report focuses on the top players in global market, likeGeneral ElectricSulzer Ltd.Siemens LtdMitsubishi Hitachi Power SystemsMAN Diesel & TurboKawasaki Heavy IndustriesMechanical Dynamics & AnalysisEthosEnergyMJB International Limited LLCAnsaldo EnergiaMarket segment by Regions/Countries, this report coversUnited StatesEUJapanChinaIndiaSoutheast AsiaRequest a Sample Report @Market segment by Type, the product can be split intoMaintenanceRepairOverhaulMarket segment by Application, Gas Turbine Services can be split intoOil & GasPower GenerationOthersIf you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.Table of ContentsGlobal Gas Turbine Services Market Size, Status and Forecast 20251 Industry Overview of Gas Turbine Services1.1 Gas Turbine Services Market Overview1.1.1 Gas Turbine Services Product Scope1.1.2 Market Status and Outlook1.2 Global Gas Turbine Services 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 Gas Turbine Services Market by Type1.3.1 Maintenance1.3.2 Repair1.3.3 Overhaul1.4 Gas Turbine Services Market by End Users/Application1.4.1 Oil & Gas1.4.2 Power Generation1.4.3 Others2 Global Gas Turbine Services Competition Analysis by Players2.1 Gas Turbine Services 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 General Electric3.1.1 Company Profile3.1.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.1.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.1.4 Gas Turbine Services Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.1.5 Recent Developments3.2 Sulzer Ltd.3.2.1 Company Profile3.2.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.2.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.2.4 Gas Turbine Services Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.2.5 Recent Developments3.3 Siemens Ltd3.3.1 Company Profile3.3.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.3.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.3.4 Gas Turbine Services Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.3.5 Recent Developments3.4 Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems3.4.1 Company Profile3.4.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.4.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.4.4 Gas Turbine Services Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.4.5 Recent Developments3.5 MAN Diesel & Turbo3.5.1 Company Profile3.5.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.5.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.5.4 Gas Turbine Services Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.5.5 Recent Developments3.6 Kawasaki Heavy Industries3.6.1 Company Profile3.6.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.6.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.6.4 Gas Turbine Services Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.6.5 Recent Developments3.7 Mechanical Dynamics & Analysis3.7.1 Company Profile3.7.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.7.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.7.4 Gas Turbine Services Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.7.5 Recent Developments3.8 EthosEnergy3.8.1 Company Profile3.8.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.8.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.8.4 Gas Turbine Services Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.8.5 Recent Developments3.9 MJB International Limited LLC3.9.1 Company Profile3.9.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.9.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.9.4 Gas Turbine Services Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.9.5 Recent Developments3.10 Ansaldo Energia3.10.1 Company Profile3.10.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.10.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.10.4 Gas Turbine Services Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.10.5 Recent Developments4 Global Gas Turbine Services Market Size by Type and Application (2013-2018)4.1 Global Gas Turbine Services Market Size by Type (2013-2018)4.2 Global Gas Turbine Services Market Size by Application (2013-2018)4.3 Potential Application of Gas Turbine Services in Future4.4 Top Consumer/End Users of Gas Turbine Services5 United States Gas Turbine Services Development Status and Outlook5.1 United States Gas Turbine Services Market Size (2013-2018)5.2 United States Gas Turbine Services Market Size and Market Share by Players (2013-2018)5.3 United States Gas Turbine Services Market Size by Application (2013-2018)6 EU Gas Turbine Services Development Status and Outlook6.1 EU Gas Turbine Services Market Size (2013-2018)6.2 EU Gas Turbine Services Market Size and Market Share by Players (2013-2018)6.3 EU Gas Turbine Services Market Size by Application (2013-2018)ContinuedAccess Complete Report @ABOUT US:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.ADDRES:WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Global Transit Cards Market Analysis and Trend 2017- Industry Forecast 2025

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A transit card refers to train, bus or metros pass is a ticket that enables the user of a service to take either a specific number of pre-purchased trips or boundless trips inside a limited timeframe. The increasing population in developed and emerging economies and urbanization worldwide has increased the demand for mobility. According to Population Reference Bureau Organization, in 2016, there are 7,418 million population globally up from 7,336 million in 2015. This increasing population has in turn increased demand for public transportation services in various countries worldwide.Public transportation has turned into the most favored method of transportation for individuals to avoid issues, for example, traffic congestion and air pollution. Travelling by trains, bus and metros is generally more convenient, comfortable and cost effective. To make travelling for individuals more comfortable and convenient, public transport frameworks utilize modern ticketing system, for example, contactless ticketing, which permits high traveler throughput.Request Table of Content of This Report:The worldwide transit cards market is anticipated to witness a swift growth rate in the forecasted period because of the rising high utilization of contactless transit cards in transportation sector. The transportation segment is installing a contactless cards to improve security in the payment and billing process. For example in the United States Most of the significant transit operators are installing travel cards for fare ticketing systems. Compared with the contact based cards, the contactless transit cards are convenient and easy to utilize. These contactless transit cards have emerged as the preferred choice for transportation due to the way that they enable quick identification of the person. It allows for fast fare payment permitting high traveler throughput in less time as these transit cards do not need to be scanned, inserted or swiped by the reader.Transit Cards Market Outlook  Asia Pacific transit cards market is predicted to hold the leading position in the global transit cards market.On the basis of geography, the global transit cards market is fragmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and rest of the world. The Asia Pacific region holds the leading position in the global transit cards market and is predicted to hold the leading position over the forecast period. Due to the presence of highly populated countries such as India and China has increased the need of public transportation in the country. According to Population Reference Bureau Organization, in 2016, there are 4,437 million population in Asia, up from 4,397 million in 2015. This increasing need for public transportation fuels the market of transit cards market in the Asia Pacific region.Moreover, other factors providing the growth to the Asia Pacific transit cards market are presence of large transportation companies, adoption of contactless smart cards, and the developing infiltration of travel cards in urban areas like Singapore and Hong Kong, Australia, South Korea and Japan provides the swift growth to the transit card market in Asia Pacific region.Datacard Group, Gemalto N.V, Giesecke & Devrient GmbH, Beijing Watchdata Co., Ltd. Cardlogix Corporation, Infineon Technologies AG, Eastcompeace Smart Card Co., Ltd, 4G Identity Solutions Pvt Ltd are some of major companies of the global transit cards market.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 New Website:
Light Therapy Market  Global Industry Insights, Size, Trends, Outlook, and Analysis, 20172025

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According to world Health Organization (WHO), depression is a common mental disorder. Globally, over 300 million people of all age groups suffer from depression and are a major contributor to the overall global burden of disease. Global light therapy market is largely driven by high prevalence of skin disease and growing adoption of therapy to treat cancer, psoriasis, acne, seasonal affective disorder, and neonatal jaundice. According to WHO, Psoriasis affects around 2% of the world population with nearly two thirds of people having mild form while others having extensive involvement of skin.Light therapy, also known as phototherapy, is a type of therapy that involves exposure to light that is brighter than indoor light though not as bright as direct sunlight. This therapy may help treat depression, jet lag, and sleep disorders. Light therapy can be helpful to reset your "biological clock" (circadian rhythms), which controls sleeping and waking. People use this therapy to treat seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Most people with SAD feel better after they use light therapy. This may be as light therapy exchanges the lost sunlight exposure and resets the body's internal clock. In this therapy, a specific wavelength that uses LED, fluorescent lamps, polychromatic polarized or full-spectrum administered for a certain amount of time during a specific time of the day.Request a sample copy of this report:Market TaxonomyOn the basis of product type, the global market is classified into:Light Box,Floor and Desk Lamps,Light Visor,Dawn Simulator,Light Therapy Bulbs,Handheld Devices for skin treatment,.On the basis of light type, the global market is classified into:White Light,Blue Light,Red Light,Others (green light, yellow light),.On the basis of end users, the global market is classified into:Dermatology Clinics,Homecare Settings,Others (workplace, salons),.Increased adoption of boxes to treat SAD accelerated light therapy market growth. Light therapy is the primary treatment method to treat neonatal jaundice, eczema and psoriasis. Photo-oxidation is believed to provide these beneficial effects. Narrow band ultraviolet (UVB) and broad band UVB phototherapy issued to treat several skin disorders. Increased applications, favorable reimbursement policies, and insurance for such treatments will boost demand for the light therapy. Treatment of acne by using LED light is gaining popularity, owing to various benefits such as cellular rejuvenation and improved blood circulation. LEDs emit blue and red light, which offers added advantage over conventional light therapy, which is driving growth of the light therapy market globally.Ask for customization:The U.S. was the largest contributor to the North America light therapy market, and is projected to witness further traction in the near future, owing to growing prevalence of psoriasis and other dermatological diseases. According to American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), psoriasis is a common skin disorder that affected around 7.5 million people in 2013 in the U.S. Asia Pacific light therapy market is expected to grow rapidly during the forecast period due to steady economic development in the region and as per International Federation of Psoriasis Associations (IFPA) over 43 million people suffered from psoriasis in Asia Pacific region in 2014. China is expected to hold majority regional share due to high geriatric population and rise in prevalence of dermatological diseases.Markets in developed countries are witnessing increasing demand for light therapy products due to the geographic location and high prevalence rate of SAD. Adoption of light therapy devices is projected to increase at very high rate over the forecast period. The trend is expected to boost the overall demand for light therapy products such as light boxes, dawn simulators, and handheld devices for skin treatment during the forecast period. The global light therapy industry is expected to witness significant growth however; shortage of funding for light therapy research and post treatment side effects is expected to impede the growth to a certain extent.Key players operating in the global light therapy market are Koninklijke Philips N.V., Aura Daylight, Sphere Gadget Technologies, Northern Light Technology, Beurer, PhotoMedex, Inc., Nature Bright, Verilux, Inc., Klarstein, Zepter International, Luminette, and Lumie.Click here to know more about 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:
Intraoperative Neuro- monitoring Market - Global Industry Insights, Trends, and Opportunity Analysis, 20172025

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Intraoperative neuromonitoring referred as intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring (IOM), is an integral part of surgical procedures that use electrophysiological techniques such as electromyography (EMG), Electroencephalography (EEG), and evoked potentials to monitor the integrity of the neural structures. These neural structures include neurons, spinal cord and several parts of the brain. The IONM helps in the risk reduction from the iatrogenic damage to the nervous system during the surgical procedures by surgeons and anesthesiologists. The intraoperative neuromonitoring techniques have helped to reduce the mortality and morbidity levels to a significant rate without the new addition of risks. Therefore, the intraoperative neuromonitoring techniques have helped to reduce the costs of health care.Request Sample Copy of the Report:The iatrogenic damages during surgical processes responsible to fuel the demand for the intraoperative neuromonitoring systemsAccording to a fact sheet of 2015 by Sci-Info-Pages, 12500 new spinal cord injuries occur each year and nearly 300,000 people in the United States are currently living with the spinal cord injuries. Also, as per a scientific paper published in 2014, Deutsches Arzteblatt suggests that the iatrogenic nerve injuries accounted for 17.4% of the total traumatic nerve injuries. Moreover, according to World Health Organization (WHO) factsheet of 2015, 80% disorders in the disabling conditions are neurological. These high incidence rates of nerve and spinal cord injuries can be lowered down with the use of intraoperative neuro monitoring due to the alerts provided as early warnings regarding the sensory and motor functions. This leads to the reduction in the chances of manual errors by surgeons while performing a neural procedure.The Outsource intraoperative neuromonitoring segment is anticipated to show dramatic growth in the forecast periodThe global intraoperative neuromonitoring market can be segmented on the basis of type of monitoring and geography.On the basis of type, the global intraoperative neuromonitoring market is segmented intoInsource Intraoperative Neuromonitoring System,Outsource Intraoperative Neuromonitoring SystemThe Outsource IONM is the fastest growing segment as well as gaining popularity due to the constant modifications leading to the improved performances of these systems. The additional benefit of outsourcing the intraoperative neuromonitoring systems is that it eliminates the cost of purchase and cost of maintenance for these systems by the hospitals making them a more preferred option than the currently dominating insource intraoperative neuromonitoring systems.North America dominating the global intraoperative neuromonitoring market owing to consistent development within the fieldBased on the geography, the global intraoperative neuromonitoring system can be segmented into North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa. The North America accounts for maximum share in the global intraoperative neuromonitoring market followed by Europe. This attributes to a constantly improving scenario in these regions in terms of reimbursement. The patients are benefitted by the insurance companies with the clear defined codes of the procedures, making it easy and convenient. Additionally, the vivid guidelines mentioned in the implementation of neuromonitoring systems makes the job easy for the hospitals and the medical personnel. However, Asia Pacific is anticipated to exhibit maximum growth in the forecast years owing to the growth of awareness among people about safety and precautions to be taken during surgery as well as rising medical tourism in these countries.Vivid reimbursement policies making the global IONM market to accelerate the demandsThe high probabilities of major surgeries to pose a risk to the nervous system that necessitates the intraoperative neuromonitoring is the prime reason to drive the global intraoperative neuromonitoring market. Moreover, the favorable reimbursement scenario is also responsible to fuel the market growth. However, the lack of skilled persons and technicians to operate these systems as well as the unawareness about the neuromonitoring facilities in the developing countries are some factors that are responsible to restrain the growth of the global intraoperative neuromonitoring market.The dominant players involved in acquisition policies for expansion of the IONM servicesThe key players operating the global intraoperative neuromonitoring market includes Accurate Monitoring, Neuromonitoring Technologies, Natus Medical Incorporated, Medtronic LLC, Biotronic NeuroNetwork, NuVasive Inc., Sentient Medical Systems, and SpecialityCare. The dominant players are indulged in acquiring smaller companies so as to expand the product offering as well as to establish a strong geographical presence in the global intraoperative neuromonitoring market. For instance, the NuVasive, Inc. was acquired by Biotronic NeuroNetwork LLC for the expansion of Insource and Outsource IONM services.Complete Report Details:About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.comVisit our news Website:
United States Takeaway Food Delivery Sales Market Report 2021 : By Product, Application, Manufacturer, Sales and Segmentation - QYResearchreports

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This report studies sales (consumption) of Takeaway Food Delivery in USA market, focuses on the top players, with sales, price, revenue and market share for each player in USA, coveringMcDonaldsKFCSubwayPizzahutStarbucksBurger KingDominos PizzaDunkin DonutsDairy QueenPapa JohnsWendysTaco BellDunkin DonutsChick-fil-APanera BreadSonic Drive-InGet A Free Sample :Table of ContentsUnited States Takeaway Food Delivery Sales Market Report 20211 Takeaway Food Delivery Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Takeaway Food Delivery1.2 Classification of Takeaway Food Delivery1.4 USA Market Size (Value and Volume) of Takeaway Food Delivery (2011-2021)1.4.1 USA Takeaway Food Delivery Sales, Revenue and Price (2011-2021)1.4.2 USA Takeaway Food Delivery Sales and Growth Rate (2011-2021)1.4.3 USA Takeaway Food Delivery Revenue and Growth Rate (2011-2021)2 USA Takeaway Food Delivery Competition by Manufacturers2.1 USA Takeaway Food Delivery Sales and Market Share of Key Manufacturers (2015 and 2016)2.2 USA Takeaway Food Delivery Revenue and Share by Manufactures (2015 and 2016)3 USA Takeaway Food Delivery (Volume and Value) by Type3.1 USA Takeaway Food Delivery Sales and Market Share by Type (2011-2021)3.2 USA Takeaway Food Delivery Revenue and Market Share by Type (2011-2021)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 affectstheir business operations.Contact US:Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-618-1030Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com
Global Neurointerventional Devices Market Major Regions from Angles of Players, Product Types and End Industries till 2022

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Neurointerventional devices witness significant demand among the healthcare professionals attributed to minimally invasive features. Growing prevalence of vascular diseases, ischemic strokes and aneurysm has revved up demand for neurointerventional devices in the healthcare industry. Neurointerventional devices will also be used for treatment of atherosclerosis, which is expected to impact growth of the global neurointerventional devices market positively. This Fact.MR report analyzes the expansion of global neurointerventional devices market till date, and provides key insights on the growth of the market during the forecast period, 2017-2022.Request For Sample Report @The next section offers an overview of the global neurointerventional devices market. This comprises an introduction to the market, along with a standard definition of the product  neurointerventional devices. In this section, market value and year-over-year growth is offered to the readers. Year-over-year growth provides readers with a broader view of growth patterns over the forecast period.The reports succeeding section focuses on drivers, restraints and key trends from macroeconomic, demand, and supply perspectives. Impact analysis of weighted average model-based growth drivers is contained in the report for better provision of decision-making insights to clients.In order to offer readers with up-to-date information about the latest advancements in the global neurointerventional devices market, the report provides updates about market opportunities, which can benefit leading manufacturers of neurointerventional devices. With continuous evolution of the healthcare sector, keeping a record of latest developments and trends is fundamental for neurointerventional devices manufacturers to formulate key business strategies. Detailed insights about raw material sourcing, supply chain, regulatory approvals, pricing analysis, list of distributors, and cost structure are provided in this section.Atherosclerosis to Fuel Demand for Neurointerventional DevicesApart from treatment of ischemic strokes and aneurysm, the neurological devices are also used for treatment of vascular diseases. Growing prevalence of atherosclerosis due to building fatty plaque leads to narrow vessels. This vascular disorders adversely affect the kidneys, legs, neck, and stomach arteries. As these arteries are connected with the brain, vascular disorder adversely affects the brain too. Due to such factors, the neurointerventional devices witness significant demand in the healthcare industry.Hospitals to Register Significant GrowthEmbolic coils will outsell other neurointerventional devices, and is expected to represent a value of over US$ 270 Mn by the end of 2017. North America is predicted to represent the largest market for neurointerventional devices globally. On the basis of products, balloon neurointerventional devices is expected to register the highest CAGR growth in the global neurointerventional devices market throughout 2022. Neurovascular thrombectomy is expected to register the second highest revenue growth in the global market.Neurointerventional devices is expected to witness significant demand in the hospitals globally. Hospital is predicted to represent a value of more than US$ 900 Mn by the end of 2022. During the predicted period, this segment will register the highest CAGR as compared to other end users in the global neurointerventional devices market. Ambulatory surgical centers is expected to witness the second highest growth in the global neurointerventional devices market by 2022  end.Browse Full Report with TOC @In terms of technology, coiling procedure is expected to register the highest revenue growth in the global neurointerventional devices market. Coiling procedure is predicted to represent a value of more than US$ 300 Mn in 2017. North America will witness considerable demand for coiling procedures in the healthcare industry. Neurothrombectomy procedure is expected to witness the second highest revenue growth in the global market. This segment is expected to represent a value of more than US$ 100 Mn by the end of 2017.Coiling procedures, cerebral angiography, and stenting among other technologies will register the highest CAGR growth in the global neurointerventional devices market through 2022. These segments are expected to witness parallel CAGR growth in the global neurointerventional devices market during the predicted period.Market Players Operating in the Global MarketMajor market players operating in the global neurointerventional devices market include Boston Scientific Corporation, Medtronic plc, St. Jude Medical, Inc., Nevro Corp., Nuvectra Corporation, Stimwave Technologies, Inc., and Saluda Medical Pty Ltd.Check Discount @About Fact.MRFact.MR is a fast-growing market research firm that offers the most comprehensive suite of syndicated and customized market research reports. We believe transformative intelligence can educate and inspire businesses to make smarter decisions. We know the limitations of the one-size-fits-all approach; that's why we publish multi-industry global, regional, and country-specific research reports.Contact UsFact.MR11140 Rockville PikeSuite 400Rockville, MD 20852United StatesEmail: sales@factmr.comWeb:
Global Car Fuel Filter Market Production, Consumption, Revenue and Market share Details till 2022

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The automobile industry is one of the most critical for any nations economic development which is why countries focus so much attention on it. Global carmakers have shifted their focus to emerging markets as the strong economic growth there has led to an increased desire for personal mobility. With a number of emission scandals dominating headlines in the last few years, customers would naturally be concerned with the quality of fuel used in their vehicles, making the car fuel filter market get its fair share of the limelight. Proactive customers, coupled with stricter governmental regulations pertaining to emissions, are expected to make the fuel filter market boom in the long term.Request For Sample Report @Highlights of the Car Fuel Filter Market1) Diesel has had a reputation for some time now as the dirtier fuel which is why it is expected to comprise nearly 3/5th revenue share in the car fuel filter market by fuel type. Commercial vehicles in particular, both light commercial vehicles as well as heavy commercial vehicles often rely on diesel over gasoline and they would need fuel filters to ensure that their emissions are in-line with governmental norms. Diesel is much more popular in Europe as opposed to North America and the Europe diesel fuel filter market is on track to be worth almost US$ 64 million in 2022.2) Gasoline occupies the balance 2/5th revenue share in the car fuel filter market. Gasoline is generally considered cleaner than diesel which explains its popularity in the passenger vehicle segment. However, the fuel quality in emerging markets is often of an inferior quality when compared to developed countries for a number of reasons. If fuel filters are not deployed, there is a high probability that the combustion engine can get damaged with dust particulates. Thus, a market opportunity of just under US$ 180 million by 2022 exists in the gasoline fuel filter market as well. Companies could look at targeting North America over Europe as consumers there express an overwhelming preference for gasoline vehicles over their diesel counterparts.3) The premium passenger car segment represents a small market opportunity in the car fuel filter market in terms of vehicle type. However, it would be unwise to ignore a market of nearly US$ 50 million by end 2022 as rising disposable incomes would make consumers demand premium passenger cars in the long run. Europe and APEJ are neck-and-neck in the premium passenger car segment and it will be interesting to see if and when APEJ outpaces Europe.4) The compact car segment accounts for a third of the revenue share in the car fuel filter market by vehicle type and is especially important in emerging economies where the price-sensitivity is higher than in Europe or North America. The compact car segment is predicted to be worth roughly US$ 120 million in 2022 and companies in the car fuel filter market are advised to make their business strategies keeping this in mind.5) The mid-sized segment consists of a quarter of the revenue share by vehicle type in the car fuel filter market but is likely to lose market share to both premium and compact cars. Key stakeholders are advised to target Europe and APEJ as these are the only two regions that should push past US$ 28 million by the end of the study period.Browse Full Report with TOC @IAM Segment Considerably Larger than Either OEM or OES ChannelThe IAM segment is substantially larger than the OEM and OES channel combined and has more than half the revenue share in the car fuel filter market. The IAM segment is poised to grow to just under US$ 252 million in 2022 and it wouldnt be surprising if companies decide to target this segment over other sales channels in the car fuel filter market.Competition AnalysisThe car fuel filter market report has profiled some of the companies involved in the car fuel filter market and a few of them include Freudenberg & Co., Robert Bosch, Denso Corp., and Donaldson Company Inc.Check Discount @About Fact.MRFact.MR is a fast-growing market research firm that offers the most comprehensive suite of syndicated and customized market research reports. We believe transformative intelligence can educate and inspire businesses to make smarter decisions. We know the limitations of the one-size-fits-all approach; that's why we publish multi-industry global, regional, and country-specific research reports.Contact UsFact.MR11140 Rockville PikeSuite 400Rockville, MD 20852United StatesEmail: sales@factmr.comWeb:
Global Automated Security E-gate Market to grow at a CAGR of 8.70% during 2017-2021

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Automated security e-gates use facial recognition and other associated technologies to verify the identity of the person passing through the gate. An automated security e-gate is an integrated security system. It performs electronic authentication of travel documents, establishes the identity of the person holding the documents, and determines the border-crossing eligibility based on certain pre-defined rules.The global automated security e-gate market to grow at a CAGR of 8.70% during the period 2017-2021. The report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global automated security e-gate market for 2017-2021. To calculate the market size, the report considers the new procurements (based on contracts) and new agreements pertaining to the development (manufacturing) of automated e-gates by the defense ministries and law enforcement agencies across the globe.The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:- Americas- APAC- EMEAClick to get Sample PDF:Technavio's report, Global Automated Security e-Gate Market 2017-2021, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendors- ARJO Systems- Gemalto- Josanti Infoimaging- OT-MorphoOther prominent vendors- NEC- Rapiscan Systems- SITA- VISION-BOXMarket driver- Developments in biometrics technology- For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challenge- Susceptible to hacking- For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trend- Boarding gate with explosive detection systems- For a full, detailed list, view our reportView Complete TOC with Tables and Figures at:Key questions answered in this report- What will the market size be in 2021 and what will the growth rate be?- What are the key market trends?- What is driving this market?- What are the challenges to market growth?- Who are the key vendors in this market space?ResearchMoz is the worlds fastest growing collection of market research reports worldwide. Our database is composed of current market studies from over 100 featured publishers worldwide. Our market research databases integrate statistics with analysis from global, regional, country and company perspectives. ResearchMozs service portfolio also includes value-added services such as market research customization, competitive landscaping, and in-depth surveys, delivered by a team of experienced Research Coordinators.Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-621-2074Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Email: sales@researchmoz.usFollow us on LinkedIn at:
Portable Oxygen Concentrators Market Analysis, Trends, Opportunities & Forecasts to 2026

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Portable oxygen concentrator (POC) is a medical device used to supply oxygen to patients suffering from respiratory diseases. The concentrator separates nitrogen and oxygen from air in the environment and then discards the nitrogen and supplies 95% pure oxygen to patients through a mask. POCs are smaller as compared to stationary oxygen concentrators, allowing patients to easily carry the device. Apart from patients, POCs are also used by mountaineers and travellers in places where oxygen is inadequate.Request Free Sample Report @The global portable oxygen concentrators market revenue is projected to reach a market valuation of US$ 1246.1 Mn by 2016 end and register a CAGR of 7.8% during the forecast period 2016-2026.Increasing consumer awareness for oxygen therapy devices likely to boost market growth during the forecast periodThe primary factors fuelling global demand for portable oxygen concentrators are an increasing prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, growing consumer awareness for oxygen therapy devices, a changing consumer lifestyle, adoption of new technologies, increased government expenditure, and a rise in investment by manufacturing companies towards the production of homecare products.However, high product costs and stringent FDA regulations pertaining to medical devices are some of the factors likely to restrain the growth of the global portable oxygen concentrators market during the forecast period.Pulse Flow Portable Oxygen Concentrator product segment projected to dominate the global portable oxygen concentrators marketThe Pulse Flow Portable Oxygen Concentrator segment is estimated to account for a revenue share of 64.2% by the end of 2016. This segment is anticipated to create absolute $ opportunity of US$ 54.6 Mn in 2017 over 2016. The Continuous Flow Portable Oxygen Concentrator segment is expected to witness a CAGR of 5.3% in terms of value over the forecast period.Homecare end user segment projected to dominate the global portable oxygen concentrators market in terms of valueThe Homecare segment is estimated to account for more than 60% value share of the global portable oxygen concentrators market by 2016 end, which is expected to increase further by the end of 2026. The Hospitals segment is expected to register a CAGR of 9% in terms of value over the forecast period.Browse Full Report with TOC @North America estimated to account for maximum value share of the global portable oxygen concentrators market throughout the forecast periodIncreased prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases and rising technological advancements is expected to result in significant growth of the portable oxygen concentrators market in the North America region, which is estimated to account for 40.9% revenue share in 2016. By product type, the Pulse Flow Portable Oxygen Concentrator segment is forecast to be the most attractive segment in the North America portable oxygen concentrators market over the forecast period. By end user type, the Homecare segment is forecast to be the most attractive segment in the North America portable oxygen concentrators market over the forecast period. The Western Europe market is anticipated to register a CAGR of 6.7% over the forecast period owing to an increasing prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases. Increasing preference of interventional cardiologists for nonsurgical procedures is expected to drive the growth of the portable oxygen concentrators market in Western Europe over the forecast period.Leading market players are focussing on product innovation through strategic global market collaborationsSome of the top companies operating in the global portable oxygen concentrators market are Koninklijke Philips N.V., Inogen Inc., Chart Industries Inc., Resmed Inc., Invacare Corporation, Drive DeVilbiss Healthcare, Precision Medical Inc., Besco Medical Co. Ltd., Oxus America, Inc. (Oxus), Foshan Keyhub Electronic Industries Co. Ltd., O2 Concepts LLC, and GCE Group. Some of these companies are adopting an inorganic growth strategy in the form of strategic acquisitions and investments to expand their product portfolio, geographic reach, and manufacturing capabilities.The global market for portable oxygen concentrators is consolidated with few key players dominating the market. The top four players contribute around 75% of the market. Koninklijke Philips N.V. holds the maximum share of around 40%.Enquiry about this Report @About Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE)Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of Market Research Reports. MRRSE is driven by a stellar team of research experts and advisors trained to offer objective advice. Our sophisticated search algorithm returns results based on the report title, geographical region, publisher, or other keywords.MRRSE partners exclusively with leading global publishers to provide clients single-point access to top-of-the-line market research. MRRSEs repository is updated every day to keep its clients ahead of the next new trend in market research, be it competitive intelligence, product or service trends or strategic consulting.Contact UsState Tower90, State StreetSuite 700Albany, NY - 12207United States Telephone: +1-518-730-0559Email: sales@mrrse.comWebsite:Read More Industry News At:
Agritech Expo Zambia wins third prestigious AAXO ROAR Trade & Consumer Exhibition Award

Farming platform drives agribusiness and food security

http://www.agritech-expo.com

The iconic farming expo in Chisamba, Agritech Expo Zambia, won its third AAXO ROAR* Award in Johannesburg earlier this month. The ROAR* Awards honoured excellence in the exhibition and events industry on the continent during 2017. The awards are organised by the Association of African Exhibition Organisers (AAXO).*ROAR = Respect, Opportunities, Achievement, RecognitionFor the second year in a row, Agritech Expo Zambia won the ROAR award for Best Africa Bound Trade & Consumer Exhibition in the 12000+ sqm category. Last year the event received two accolades: also for Best Trade & Consumer Exhibition 12000+ sqm and for Distinction in Social Responsibility.The expo has an outreach programme at the local Golden Valley Basic School in Chisamba, where, with the assistance of numerous event sponsors, it is assisting the school with much needed infrastructure upgrades, equipment supplies and management of the schools farm.Driving agribusinessIt is a great honour to have received this AAXO ROAR award for the second consecutive year, says Yolanda dos Santos, event manager. The success of Agritech Expo Zambia would not have been possible without its passionate team and committed partners that come together to deliver a platform that not only drives agribusiness but helps the progress to ensure food security whilst serving as an educational tool for sustainable development for Zambia and the SADC region.The fifth edition of Agritech Expo Zambia returns to GART in Chisamba again from 12-14 April and is expected to gather more than 22 000 visitors, over 270 local and international exhibitors with 3500 VIP and large scale farmers and 150 members of the media.The event is free to attend for all visitors that pre-register.Industry supportAs in previous years, Agritech Expo Zambia enjoys extensive support from the agri industry with well-known suppliers AFGRI and John Deere returning as platinum sponsors once again. Confirmed gold sponsors are Gourock, SARO and Ursus and several country pavilions are expected to be part of the expo again.Agritech Expo Zambia 2018:Farmers Preview Day:Thursday 12 April 2018 | 09:00 - 17:00Open to all agricultural professionals:Friday 13 April 2018 | 09:00 - 17:00Saturday 14 April 2018 | 09:00 - 15:00Location: Gart Research Centre, Chisamba, ZambiaAgritech Expo Zambia is owned by the Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU) and is organised by Spintelligent, leading Cape Town-based trade exhibition and conference organiser, and the African office of Clarion Events Ltd, based in the UK. Another well-known agri event by Spintelligent is Farm-Tech Expo Kenya.Senior communications manager: Annemarie RoodbolMobile: +27 82 562 7844Office: +27 21 700 3558Email: annemarie.roodbol@spintelligent.comWebsite:Postal address: PO Box 321, Steenberg, 7947, South Africa
Feb 9 2018: Engine Oils Market Size, Share, Analysis And Forecast 2023

Engine Oils Market

https://goo.gl/6WBRU4

http://qymarketsresearch.com/report/global-engine-oils-market-2018-size-growth-rate-144331/

A market study "Global Engine Oils Market" examines the performance of the Engine Oils market 2018. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Engine Oils market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Engine Oils market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Engine Oils Market 2018 report includes Engine Oils market Revenue, market Share, Engine Oils industry volume, market Trends, Engine Oils Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Engine Oils Price during the Forecast period from 2018 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Engine Oils Market 2018 :1. Shell2. Exxon Mobil3. BP4. Total Lubricants5. Axel Christiernsson6. Chevron7. FUCHS8. LUKOIL9. SKF10. JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corporation11. Petro-Canada12. Indian Oil Corporation13. Quaker Chemical14. Southwestern Petroleum Corporation15. Kluber16. Dow Corning17. Sinopec18. CNPC19. CNOOCEngine Oils Market : By ApplicationAutomotiveIndustrialEngine Oils Market : By TypeSingle-gradeMulti-gradeFirstly, the report covers the top Engine Oils manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Engine Oils report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Engine Oils industry, Engine Oils industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Engine Oils Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Full Report Here:The Engine Oils research report includes the products that are currently in demand and available in the market along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the Engine Oils market revenue worldwide.Finally, Engine Oils market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.About Usqymarketsresearch.com is a leading market intelligence team which making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact US:5001 Spring Valley Rd #400,Dallas,TX 75244, USAContact No. +1-214-661-1669Email: sales@qymarketsresearch.com
Global Sun Protection Products Market Estimated to Highlight Positive Returns with Revenues Ranging to US$ 13,464 Mn until 2020

https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=S&rep_id=140

https://www.factmr.com/report/140/sun-protection-products-market

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The global demand for sun protection products normally rises in the summer season owing to the increasing intensity of sun rays that compel people to take various measure to protect themselves from sunburn. However, seasonal climate change and availability of other alternatives continue to impact the global sales of sun protection products. That is why, manufacturers are focusing on development of multiuse sun protection products that can also address other issues related to skin care. As per Fact.MRs recently published report, the global sun protection products market is set to expand at 5.6% CAGR during the forecast period (2017-2022) to surpass a valuation of US$ 13,464 Mn.Request For Sample Report @The report offers an overview of the global sun protection products market. This comprises an introduction to the market, along with a standard definition of the product. In this section, market value and year-over-year growth is offered to the readers. Year-over-year growth provides readers with a broader view of growth patterns over the forecast period.The reports succeeding section focuses on drivers, restraints and key trends from macroeconomic, demand, and supply perspectives. Impact analysis of weighted average model-based growth drivers is contained in the report for better provision of decision-making insights to clients.In order to offer readers with up-to-date information about the latest advancements in the global sun protection products market, the report provides updates about market opportunities, which can benefit leading manufacturers of sun protection products. With continuous evolution of the beauty and wellness sector, keeping a record of latest developments and trends is fundamental for sun protection product manufacturers to formulate key business strategies. Detailed insights about raw material sourcing, supply chain, pricing analysis, list of distributors, and cost structure are provided in this section.Key Insights on Global Market For Sun Protection Products1) Demand for sun protection products will continue to be higher than suntan and other sun block products. Over US$ 5,675 Mn worth sun protection products are estimated to be sold by the end of 2022. Currently, sun protection products command for over one-third revenue share of the global market. Cosmetic brands are emphasizing on herbal and natural ingredient owing to increasing concerns over side-effects from use of sun protection products that are prepared from synthetic chemicals.2) Hypermarket/supermarket has emerge as the top distribution channel for sun protection products. Increase construction of hypermarket/supermarket in emerging countries such as India and China is allowing the global market for sun protection products to gain further momentum. Huge stocks of wellness items including sun protection products can be stored in hypermarket/supermarket giving consumers the option to select form a range of different sun block products. Online retail stores are also a key distribution channel for sun protection products as a large portion of the young population chose to shop online. The online sales segment is projected to surpass a market valuation of US$ 2,879 Mn, registering 5.1% CAGR.Browse Full Report with TOC @Global Sun Protection Products Market- Regional OverviewAmong regions, Asia-Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) is expected to remain at the forefront of the global sun protection products market. APEJs sun protection products market revenue is anticipated to increase at a CAGR of 6.4% during the forecast period. This is primarily owing to rising disposable income in the many of the emerging countries in the region. Moreover, the economic growth in APEJ is leading to higher standards of living, which in turn is driving the desires of maintaining oneself better in terms looks and health. Markets in Europe and North America are expected to exhibit positive growth. Revenue from North America sun protection products market is anticipated to increase at a CAGR of 5% over 2022. Meanwhile, Latin America is also expected to account for a significant revenue share of the market during the forecast period. By 2017-end, the region is likely to command for 21.3% market share in terms of revenue, possibly gaining 15 BPS in its market share by 2022.Competition TrackingThe report has also profiled prominent manufacturers of sun protection products in the global market, which include Johnson & Johnson, L'Oreal S.A., Avon Products, Inc., Kao Corporation, Shiseido Co.,Ltd, Unilever PLC, Mary Kay Inc., The Procter & Gamble Company, Christian Dior SE, and Beiersdorf Aktiengesellschaft.Check Discount @About Fact.MRFact.MR is a fast-growing market research firm that offers the most comprehensive suite of syndicated and customized market research reports. We believe transformative intelligence can educate and inspire businesses to make smarter decisions. We know the limitations of the one-size-fits-all approach; that's why we publish multi-industry global, regional, and country-specific research reports.Contact UsFact.MR11140 Rockville PikeSuite 400Rockville, MD 20852United StatesEmail: sales@factmr.comWeb:
North America Safety Needles Market Analysis Covering Trends, Factors & Opportunities 2017-2027

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Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) has recently added a new study titled Safety Needles Market: North America to Dominate the Global Market Through 2027: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment 2017-2027 to its vast repository. The global safety needles market is estimated to be valued at nearly US$ 4,000 Mn in 2017 and is anticipated to touch almost US$ 8,000 Mn by 2027 end, registering a CAGR of 6.9 % over the forecast period. North America is the largest regional market, which is estimated to cross US$ 1,200 Mn, or 31.1% share of the total market share in 2017 and is estimated to reach a market valuation in excess of US$ 2,500 Mn by 2027, registering a CAGR of 7.3% over the forecast period. APEJ is the fastest growing market, which is expected to grow from nearly US$ 540 Mn in 2017 to over US$ 1,100 Mn by 2027.Request Free Sample Report @As the global safety needles market is replete with continuous new innovative technology and novel product launches, companies in the safety needles market across the world are actively engaged in the process of mergers and acquisitions in order to strengthen their product portfolio and cement their position in the market. Top market players are adopting the strategy of mergers and acquisitions to enhance their brand value and to develop more effective and efficient products while meeting the global standards for safety and efficiency. This will help companies increase their market share and expand their consumer base in uncharted territories.Strategic acquisition case study  Boston Scientific and Xlumena Inc.In 2015, Boston Scientific reached an agreement announcing the acquisition of Xlumena, a company that manufactures minimally invasive devices to carry out endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) enabled transluminal drainage of specific target areas in the gastrointestinal tract. According to the terms and conditions of the deal, besides an initial upfront payment, Boston Scientific shall also pay an additional amount to Xlumena once the FDA gives clearance to Xlumenas HOT AXIOS device. In addition, sales milestones as per volume sales achieved in 2018 are also a part of the deal. The advanced HOT AXIOS Stent and Delivery System integrates cautery in the AXIOS stent that has been approved by the FDA. This strategic acquisition will help Boston Scientific establish its stronghold in the EUS segment.Worldwide safety legislations regarding safety needlesIn the year 1991, the Blood Borne Pathogen standard was established in the U.S. 1999 was a landmark year as anti-needlestick legislation was implemented in California, U.S. In the year 2000, Federal Anti-Needlestick legislation was passed in the U.S. In 2005, order 827/2005 was set by the Ministry of Health in Spain. In 2007, the National Health Service Reference Guide was implemented in the U.K. In the same year, Sharp Injury Protection was legislated in Germany. In 2008, Sharp Injury Protection was legislated in Canada. In the year 2010, a legislation was passed in Brazil regarding needlestick injuries. In 2011, the Amendment to Medical Care Act was passed in Taiwan that takes into account needlestick injuries. The year 2013 was the deadline for Sharps Legislation implementation in the European Union. More countries are expected to follow soon and enact legislations regarding needlestick injuries and their prevention.Browse Full Report with TOC @Government enforcement to use safety needles in various countries likely to give a boost to the global safety needles marketIn order to avoid hospital acquired diseases such as HIV, Hepatitis C and Hepatitis B etc., governments in various countries are implementing stringent regulations as mentioned above. Needlestick injuries sustained from contaminated needles can result in infections from various harmful blood borne diseases. As per a report by the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH) published in 2005, due to the reuse of contaminated needles, 2 Mn Hepatitis C infections, 20 Mn Hepatitis B infections and 250,000 HIV infections are caused annually. Various government supported norms such as Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act, Needles Exchange Program and implementation of OSHAs blood borne pathogens standards are increasing awareness among the population about diseases caused by using contaminated needles, and this factor is likely to fuel the demand for better quality safety needles.Enquiry about this Report @About Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE)Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of Market Research Reports. MRRSE is driven by a stellar team of research experts and advisors trained to offer objective advice. Our sophisticated search algorithm returns results based on the report title, geographical region, publisher, or other keywords.MRRSE partners exclusively with leading global publishers to provide clients single-point access to top-of-the-line market research. MRRSEs repository is updated every day to keep its clients ahead of the next new trend in market research, be it competitive intelligence, product or service trends or strategic consulting.Contact UsState Tower90, State StreetSuite 700Albany, NY - 12207United States Telephone: +1-518-730-0559Email: sales@mrrse.comWebsite:Read More Industry News At:
Bug Tracking Software Market - Global Industry Insights, Trends, Outlook, and Opportunity Analysis, 20162024

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ongoing-insight/toc/649

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ongoing-insight/bug-tracking-software-market-649

http://www.coherentchronicle.com

A bug tracking system, also known as defect tracking system, is a software tool that tracks reported programming bugs in software development projects. It might also be regarded as a type of issue tracking system. Database, which is a major component of bug tracking software, records all facts about known bugs. Moreover, a bug tracking system permits administrators to configure the product according to the status, either delete the bug or move the bug to another status.One of the key factors driving the global bug tracking system market is increased spending in the development of novel software testing programs. A bug tracking system is an integral part of any software testing program. Advanced testing technologies such as automated testing system are expected to bolster the growth of bug tracking software market worldwide. Implementation of bug tracking system in the initial stage itself will reduce the time and cost required to address the issues. This in turn has resulted in the swift growth of global bug tracking software market.Request Table of Content of this Report :The cloud-based deployment model held the largest share of the global bug tracking software market in 2016. The bug tracking software venders and users are increasingly opting cloud platform, which will further boost the market over the upcoming years. For example, Atlassian, an Australia-based enterprise software company provides cloud bug tracking software i.e. JIRA Software. Similarly, JetBrains Prague, a Czech Republic-based software company also provides cloud bug tracking software, YouTrack. Moreover, Google Drive and Microsoft Azure are empowering the adoption of cloud-based solutions from the on-premises software model. In addition to this, factors such as cost-adequacy and simple up gradation of cloud-based infrastructure over their counterparts are further advancing the utilization of cloud-based solution, which helps in increasing the adoption of bug tracking software.Bug Tracking Software Market Outlook  North America accounts for largest market shareOn the basis of geography, global bug tracking software market is classified into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East, and Africa. North America bug tracking software market held the largest market share in 2016 and is projected to continue its dominance over the forecasted period. The U.S. and Canada are some of the countries, which drive the bug tracking software market in North America. The significant presence of software testing companies and increasing investment in development of software testing tools are expected to fuel the bug tracking software market in the region.Atlassian, Inc., International Business Machines Corporation, JetBrains s.r.o., Zoho Corporation, Axosoft, LLC, Bugsnag, Inc., Countersoft, DoneDone, LLC, Fog Creek Software, INC., Inflectra Corporation, Macropod Software Pty Ltd., OverOps Inc., Raygun, Rollbar, Sentry, Sifter, and Variad Corporation are some of the key players identified across the value chain of bug tracking software market.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:
Digital Manufacturing Market - Global Industry Insights, Trends, Outlook, and Opportunity Analysis, 20172025

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ongoing-insight/toc/652

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ongoing-insight/digital-manufacturing-market-652

http://www.coherentchronicle.com

Manufacturing process performance is a key competitive factor for manufacturing organizations. Digital manufacturing is a process, which focuses on improving the manufacturing process of the product from virtual to physical world. Digital manufacturing is a subset of Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) that focuses on Computer-Aided Manufacturing Simulation (CAMS) that uses three dimensional (3D) visualization, analytics, and various collaboration tools for making products and setting a manufacturing process definitions at the same time.The rising adoption of cloud-based PLM software is projected to increase the demand for digital manufacturing specific applications. This will enable the manufacturing plants to access the PLM software from remote areas as well. Technomatix 360 and Manufacturing 360 are applications that are used in the iOS and Android gadgets respectively.Request Table of Content of this Report :Rising use of cloud-based digital manufacturing software has become one of the key factors driving market growth. Venders are concentrating on reducing the cost of PLM, thereby trying to introduce cloud-based product lifecycle solutions in the market. Several PLM service providers are installing PLM on the cloud for end users. For example, Wipro Limited, a worldwide information technology, outsourcing, and consulting firm, is offering cloud-based PLM services to Siemens PLM Software solution, Teamcenter. Such services help electronics manufacturing organizations to install Teamcenter on the cloud with the help of Infrastructure as a Service.The increasing sales and rising R&D investment in automotive industry globally provide significant growth opportunity to the global digital manufacturing market. According to Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d'Automobiles, in 2016, 98.8 million units of vehicles were sold worldwide up from 89.7 million in 2015. Moreover, according to Coherent Market Insights analysis, US$ 94.2 billion was spent on automotive R&D in 2016 up from US$ 91.5 billion in 2015.The implementation of digital manufacturing in the automotive production process smoothens the flow of plant and product data during various process. Furthermore, digital manufacturing authenticates automation and robotics programs and accelerates the factory manufacturing process. Moreover, the implementation of digital manufacturing provides real-time access to the product lifecycle information to the administration.Digital Manufacturing Market Outlook  North America holds the largest market shareOn the basis of geography, global digital manufacturing market is classified into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East and Africa. North America held the dominant position in the global digital manufacturing market in 2016 and is projected to retain its dominance throughout the forecast period. The U.S., Mexico, and Canada are the three major countries, which contribute to the swift growth of market in the region. The increasing R&D investment in the aerospace & defense and automotive sectors in the U.S provides immense growth opportunity to the digital manufacturing market. In 2016, the U.S spent US$ 14.3 billion in R&D in aerospace & defense industry up from US$ 14.1 billion in 2015. Similarly, for R&D in automotive sector, the U.S. spent US$ 39.6 billion in 2016 up from US$ 37.5 billion in 2015.Digital Manufacturing Market PlayersSome of the key participants in the global digital manufacturing market are, Autodesk, Dassault Systemes, Mentor Graphics, PTC, and Siemens PLM Software.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 Evaporation Materials market 2018 - Kurt J.Lesker, Materion, ACI Alloys, Samsung SDI

Global Evaporation Materials market

https://goo.gl/F9xkJR

https://goo.gl/PaHTzA

www.apexmarketreports.com

Apex Market Reports, recently published a detailed market research study focused on the "Evaporation Materials Market" across the global, regional and country level. The report provides 360 analysis of "Evaporation Materials 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 Evaporation Materials industry, and estimates the future trend of Evaporation Materials market on the basis of this detailed study. The study shares "Evaporation Materials Market" performance both in terms of volume and revenue.Get Free Sample Copy of Report Here:Top Manufacturers Analysis of This ReportKurt J.LeskerMaterionVacuum Engineering & MaterialsACI AlloysSuper Conductor Materials (SCM)Reliable CorporationPlasmaterialsSemiconductor Wafer, Inc. (SWI)AJA InternationalStanford Advanced Materials (SAM)GRIKIN Advanced MaterialSamsung SDIKAMISAdvanced Material TechnologiesLeadmat Advanced MaterialsTop-Targets Materials LimitedThe market research report explores the Evaporation Materials market across the globe along with major regions and countries. The research report provides a detailed study on each and every aspect of "Evaporation Materials 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 Evaporation Materials market based on major product types, application and end users industries of Evaporation Materials. Besides, the report also covers geographical segmentation for Evaporation Materials 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 Evaporation Materials is determined by assessing the major industry participants, production capacity, production capacity utilization rate, Evaporation Materials market's production chain, pricing by each manufacturer and the revenue generated by each manufacturer in the Evaporation Materials market globally.Enquire Before Buying @The global Evaporation Materials market 2018 is further analyzed on the basis of product pricing, Evaporation Materials production volume, data pertaining to demand and Evaporation Materials supply, and the revenue garnered by the product. The report provides upstream and downstream analysis covering major raw material used in manufacturing of Evaporation Materials 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 Evaporation Materials 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 Bambara bean Market - Industry Snapshots and Statistics 2018

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http://www.indexbox.co.uk/store/world-bambara-beans-market-report-analysis-and-forecast-to-2020?utm_source=opr

IndexBox has just published a new report "World: Bambara beans - Market Report. Analysis And Forecast To 2025" ().This report contains an in-depth survey of the global bambara groundnut market. Within it, you will identify the latest data on market trends and opportunities by country, consumption, production and price developments, as well as the global trade (imports and exports). The forecast displays the market prospects through 2025.Countries coverage: Worldwide - the report contains statistical data for 200 countries and includes detailed profiles of the 50 largest consuming countries (United States, China, Japan, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Brazil, Italy, Russian Federation, India, Canada, Australia, Republic of Korea, Spain, Mexico, Indonesia, Netherlands, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Sweden, Nigeria, Poland, Belgium, Argentina, Norway, Austria, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Colombia, Denmark, South Africa, Malaysia, Israel, Singapore, Egypt, Philippines, Finland, Chile, Ireland, Pakistan, Greece, Portugal, Kazakhstan, Algeria, Czech Republic, Qatar, Peru, Romania, Vietnam) + the largest producing countries.Product coverage:Bambara beansData coverage: Bambara groundnut market volume and value; Per Capita consumption; Forecast of the market dynamics in the medium term; Global bambara groundnut production, split by region and country; Global bambara groundnut trade (exports and imports); Producer, export and import prices for bambara groundnut; Bambara groundnut 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 bambara bean production amounted to 156 thousand tonnes in 2015, declining by -2.9% against the previous year level. Overall, the global bambara bean output pursued a pronounced growth from 2007 to 2015. The trend pattern, however, indicated some noticable fluctuations throughout the analyzed period. The total output figures increased at an average annual rate of +5.6%. The growth pace was the most rapid in 2008, when the output figure increased by +35% from the previous year level. Over the period under review, the global bambara bean production reached its maximum volume in 2015, and is likely to continue its growth in the immediate term.Over the analyzed period, an increase in global bambara bean production was primarily driven by growth of African population. Furthermore, these key drivers are expected to continue promoting the bambara bean output in the immediate term. This general positive trend was largely conditioned by a robust expansion of the harvested area and a moderate improvement of the yield figures.The world bambara bean harvested area amounted to 224 thousand ha in 2015, which was -1.3% less than the previous year figure. The harvested area indicated a noticeable increase over the period under review, representing a compound annual growth rate of +4.8% from 2007 to 2015. This trend pattern, however, indicated some mild fluctuations over the recent years. Over the period under review, the total bambara bean harvested area peaked in 2012, falling back in the following year. From 2013 to 2015, the total bambara bean harvested area fluctuated at lower levels.The global average bambara bean yield amounted to 7 thousand hg/ha in 2015, falling by -1.6% from the previous year figure. The yield figures recorded an upward trend over the period under review, with a compound annual growth rate standing at +0.8% from 2007 to 2015. These yield figures maintained, all in all, a stable trend pattern throughout the analyzed period. The highest bambara bean yields were recorded in 2010, when it peaked at 8 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
Global Almond Market - Research on Economic Outlooks, Analysis and Forecasts to 2025

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IndexBox has just published a new report "World: Almonds - Market Report. Analysis And Forecast To 2025" ().This report provides a detailed survey of the global almond market. Within it, you will discover 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 indicates the market perspectives 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:AlmondsData coverage: Almond market volume and value; Per Capita consumption; Forecast of the market dynamics in the medium term; Global almond production, split by region and country; Global almond trade (exports and imports); Producer, export and import prices for almond; Almond 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 almond production amounted to 2,657 thousand tonnes in 2015, declining by -1.3% against the previous year level. Overall, the global almond output pursued a pronounced growth from 2007 to 2015. The trend pattern, however, indicated some noticable fluctuations throughout the analyzed period. The total output figures increased at an average annual rate of +2.1%. The growth pace was the most rapid in 2011, when the output figure increased by +16% from the previous year level. In that year, the global almond production attained its maximum volume of 3,008 thousand tonnes. From 2012 to 2015, the total almond output growth failed to regain its strength.Over the analyzed period, an increase in global almond production was primarily driven by disposable income growth, popularity of healthy eating, and population growth. Furthermore, these key drivers are expected to continue promoting the almond output in the immediate term. This general positive trend was largely conditioned by a measured expansion of the harvested area and solid gains of the yield figures.The world almond harvested area amounted to 1,752 thousand ha in 2015, which was 1.3% more than the previous year figure. The harvested area indicated a slight increase over the period under review, representing a compound annual growth rate of +0.9% from 2007 to 2015. This trend pattern was relatively stable throughout the analyzed period. Over the period under review, the total almond harvested area peaked in 2015, and is likely to continue its expansion in the immediate term, following rising demand for almond globally.The global average almond yield amounted to 15 thousand hg/ha in 2015, falling by -2.6% from the previous year figure. The yield figures recorded an upward trend over the period under review, with a compound annual growth rate standing at +1.2% from 2007 to 2015. However, the yield levels displayed some little fluctuations over the recent years. The highest almond yields were recorded in 2011, when it peaked at 18 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
Global Brazil Nut Market - Trends, Analysis and Forecast to 2025

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http://www.indexbox.co.uk/store/world-brazil-nuts-market-report-analysis-and-forecast-to-2020?utm_source=opr

IndexBox has just published a new report "World: Brazil Nuts - Market Report. Analysis And Forecast To 2025" ().This report contains a detailed survey of the global brazil nut market. Within it, you will identify the latest data on market trends and opportunities by country, consumption, production and price developments, as well as the global trade (imports and exports). The forecast indicates the market perspectives 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:Brazil NutsData coverage: Brazil nut market volume and value; Per Capita consumption; Forecast of the market dynamics in the medium term; Global brazil nut production, split by region and country; Global brazil nut trade (exports and imports); Producer, export and import prices for brazil nut; Brazil nut 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 brazil nut production amounted to 113 thousand tonnes in 2015, rising by +1.0% against the previous year level. Overall, the global brazil nut output pursued a pronounced growth from 2007 to 2015. The trend pattern, however, indicated some noticable fluctuations throughout the analyzed period. The total output figures increased at an average annual rate of +2.7%. The growth pace was the most rapid in 2009, when the output figure increased by +10% from the previous year level. Over the period under review, the global brazil nut production reached its maximum volume in 2015, and is likely to continue its growth in the immediate term.Over the analyzed period, an increase in global brazil nut production was primarily driven by disposable income growth, popularity of healthy eating, and growth of medical care and personal care products. Furthermore, these key drivers are expected to continue promoting the brazil nut output in the immediate term. This general positive trend was largely conditioned by a slight curtailment of the harvested area and solid gains of the yield figures.The world brazil nut harvested area amounted to 11 thousand ha in 2015, which was almost equal to the previous year figure. The harvested area indicated a small contraction over the period under review, declining by an average annual rate of -0.2% from 2007 to 2015. This trend pattern was relatively stable throughout the analyzed period. Over the period under review, the total brazil nut harvested area peaked in 2008, falling back in the following year. From 2009 to 2015, the total brazil nut harvested area fluctuated at lower levels.The global average brazil nut yield amounted to 100 thousand hg/ha in 2015, rising by 1.0% from the previous year figure. The yield figures recorded an upward trend over the period under review, with a compound annual growth rate standing at +2.9% from 2007 to 2015. However, the yield levels displayed some little fluctuations over the recent years. The highest brazil nut yields were recorded in 2015. Albeit an intensification of modern agricultural technics use, the future yield figures subject to a substantional risk of adverse weather conditions.Source:IndexBox is a leading market research publisher in the world. You can find more than 25,000 research reports in our web store, which cover global industries and regional markets. All the worldwide marketing data you need is at your fingertips.Company Name: IndexBoxContact Person: Kirill BezverhiEmail: kirill.bezverhi@indexbox.co.ukPhone: +44 20 3239 3063Adress: United Kingdom, 44 Main Street, Douglas, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, ML11 0QW
Container-as-a-Service Market - Global Industry Insights, Trends, Outlook, and Opportunity Analysis, 20172025

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ongoing-insight/toc/655

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ongoing-insight/container-as-a-service-market-655

http://www.coherentchronicle.com

Containers as a Service (type of container-based virtualization) is an emerging technology in which vendors provide a complete framework to the users for managing and developing containers and applications. Container as a service is majorly designed for IT developers to manage and run applications. The key factor fueling growth of the market is the increasing utilization of micro services. The rise of DevOps technology and containerization have helped revolutionize enterprise applications. However, some factors such as portability issues between severs, lack of tools required to manage and monitor the container, hinders growth of the containers as a Service market.Request Table of Content of this Report :On the basis of deployment, public cloud holds the largest share of the container as a service market. The increasing demand for storage and computing resources has helped fuel the demand for public cloud in the container as a service market. In addition to this, the hybrid cloud also plays a major role in an organization for the management of infrastructure. Moreover, the increasing adoption of advanced container platforms in various organizations have led to the implementation of the hybrid cloud model with full infrastructure. The hybrid cloud usage is rising due to the increasing micro service and management service data environment, as they provide better flexibility, security and scalability.On the basis of application type, the IT & Telecom application holds the largest share in the global container as a service market. The container as a service is highly used by the IT developers and IT department to develop secure containerized applications.Container as a Service Market Outlook  North America holds the largest global container as a service market.On the basis of geography, global container as a service market is classified into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East, and Africa. North America held a dominant position in the global container as a service market in 2016, and is estimated to retain its dominance throughout the forecast period. Increasing demand for managed data centers, virtual private cloud services, and advanced technology accessibility have led to an increasing demand for container as a service market in this region. Moreover, the presence of IT companies such as Microsoft Corporation, Google, and Amazon Web Service in the North American countries have also provided immense opportunity for growth of the market. In addition to this, the Asia Pacific container as a service market is estimated to grow with the largest CAGR during the forecast period.The increasing IT & telecom industry in the Asia Pacific region has led to an increasing demand for the container as a service market here. China and India are the major countries driving growth of the container as a service market in Asia Pacific. The increasing demand for infrastructure services and distributed storage management by various venders have also provided immense opportunity for growth of the container as a service market in this region.Key Companies of Global Container as a Service MarketAmazon Web Service (AWS), Cisco System, ContainerShip, CoreOS, DH2i, Docker Inc., Giant Swarm, Google, HPE, IBM, Joyent, Kyup, Mesosphere, Microsoft, and SaltStack, VMware Inc. are some of the key companies of the global container as a service market.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 Palm Kernel Market - A Brief Market Overview and Detailed Analysis 2018-2025

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IndexBox has just published a new report "World: Palm Kernels - Market Report. Analysis And Forecast To 2025" ().This report covers an in-depth analysis of the global palm kernel market. Within it, you will identify the latest data on market trends and opportunities by country, consumption, production and price developments, as well as the global trade (imports and exports). The forecast reveals the market perspectives 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:Palm KernelsData coverage: Palm kernel market volume and value; Per Capita consumption; Forecast of the market dynamics in the medium term; Global palm kernel production, split by region and country; Global palm kernel trade (exports and imports); Producer, export and import prices for palm kernel; Palm kernel 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 palm kernel production amounted to 32,226 thousand tonnes in 2015, rising by +5.1% against the previous year level. Overall, the global palm kernel output pursued a pronounced growth from 2007 to 2015. The trend pattern, however, indicated some noticable fluctuations throughout the analyzed period. The total output figures increased at an average annual rate of +5.8%. The growth pace was the most rapid in 2011, when the output figure increased by +10% from the previous year level. Over the period under review, the global palm kernel production reached its maximum volume in 2015, and is likely to continue its growth in the immediate term.Over the analyzed period, an increase in global palm kernel production was primarily driven by disposable income growth and population growth. Furthermore, these key drivers are expected to continue promoting the palm kernel output in the immediate term.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
3D Metrology Global Market Top Key Players  Hexagon , Zeiss , FARO , Renishaw Plc , Nikon Metrology and Forecast to 2021

3D Metrology Market

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/1695619-global-3d-metrology-market-rport-2017

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/reports/1695619-global-3d-metrology-market-rport-2017

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Global 3D Metrology MarketDescriptionWiseGuyReports.Com adds Global 3D Metrology Market Rport 2017 Research To Its Database.With the slowdown in world economic growth, the 3D Metrology industry has also suffered a certain impact, but still maintained a relatively optimistic growth, the past four years, 3D Metrology market size to maintain the average annual growth rate of 6.73% from 5100 million $ in 2013 to 6200 million $ in 2016, BisReport analysts believe that in the next few years, 3D Metrology market size will be further expanded, we expect that by 2021 , The market size of the 3D Metrology will reach 8600 million $.This Report covers the manufacturers data, including: shipment, price, revenue, gross profit, interview record, business distribution etc., these data help the consumer know about the competitors better. This report also covers all the regions and countries of the world, which shows a regional development status, including market size, volume and value, as well as price data.The region including: United States, Canada, South America, China, Japan, India, Korea, Germany, UK, France, Italy, Europe as a whole, Middle East Africa, GCC etc. region coverage is very comprehensive, also, the region can be changed as every clients special requirement, only Europe, only North America, only Asia, only single China or only single United States, single country or single region report can also published. As well as the region, all the segment data can be customized, type segment, industry segment, channel segment can be changed as the clients special requirement.Get sample Report @This report also provide market forecast data, according the history of this industry, the future of the industry faces what situation, growth or decline, the price trend, market size trend, segment market trend will also be provided in the forecast chapter.The report analyze the manufacturing cost of the product, which is very important for the manufacturer and competitors, raw material price, manufacturing process cost, labor cost, energy cost, all these kinds of cost will affect the market trend, to know the manufacturing cost better, to know the market better.Besides, the report also covers segment data, including: type segment, industry segment, channel segment etc. cover different segment market size, both volume and value. Also cover different industries clients information, which is very important for the manufacturers. If you need more information, please contact BisReportSection 1: FreeDefinitionSection (2 3): 1200 USDManufacturer DetailHexagonZeissFARORenishaw PlcNikon MetrologyGOMMitutoyoKeyencePerceptron3D Digital CorpWenzelZygoSection 4: 900 USDRegion SegmentationNorth America Country (United States, Canada)South AmericaAsia Country (China, Japan, India, Korea)Europe Country (Germany, UK, France, Italy)Other Country (Middle East, Africa, GCC)Section (5 6 7): 500 USDProduct Type Segmentation (CMM, ODS, VMM, , )Industry Segmentation (Automotive, Aerospace, Construction, Power, Medical)Channel (Direct Sales, Distributor) SegmentationSection 8: 400 USDTrend (2017-2021)Section 9: 300 USDProduct Type DetailSection 10: 700 USDDownstream ConsumerSection 11: 200 USDCost StructureSection 12: 500 USDConclusionComplete Report Details @Table of Contents -Major Key PointsSection 1 3D Metrology Product DefinitionSection 2 Global 3D Metrology Market Manufacturer Share and Market Overview2.1 Global Manufacturer 3D Metrology Shipments2.2 Global Manufacturer 3D Metrology Business Revenue2.3 Global 3D Metrology Market OverviewSection 3 Manufacturer 3D Metrology Business Introduction3.1 Hexagon 3D Metrology Business Introduction3.1.1 Hexagon 3D Metrology Shipments, Price, Revenue and Gross profit 2013-20163.1.2 Hexagon 3D Metrology Business Distribution by Region3.1.3 Hexagon Interview Record3.1.4 Hexagon 3D Metrology Business Profile3.1.5 Hexagon 3D Metrology Product Specification3.2 Zeiss 3D Metrology Business Introduction3.2.1 Zeiss 3D Metrology Shipments, Price, Revenue and Gross profit 2013-20163.2.2 Zeiss 3D Metrology Business Distribution by Region3.2.3 Interview Record3.2.4 Zeiss 3D Metrology Business Overview3.2.5 Zeiss 3D Metrology Product Specification3.3 FARO 3D Metrology Business Introduction3.3.1 FARO 3D Metrology Shipments, Price, Revenue and Gross profit 2013-20163.3.2 FARO 3D Metrology Business Distribution by Region3.3.3 Interview Record3.3.4 FARO 3D Metrology Business Overview3.3.5 FARO 3D Metrology Product Specification3.4 Renishaw Plc 3D Metrology Business Introduction3.5 Nikon Metrology 3D Metrology Business Introduction3.6 GOM 3D Metrology Business IntroductionSection 4 Global 3D Metrology Market Segmentation (Region Level)4.1 North America Country4.1.1 United States 3D Metrology Market Size and Price Analysis 2013-20164.1.2 Canada 3D Metrology Market Size and Price Analysis 2013-20164.2 South America Country4.2.1 South America 3D Metrology Market Size and Price Analysis 2013-20164.3 Asia Country4.3.1 China 3D Metrology Market Size and Price Analysis 2013-20164.3.2 Japan 3D Metrology Market Size and Price Analysis 2013-20164.3.3 India 3D Metrology Market Size and Price Analysis 2013-20164.3.4 Korea 3D Metrology Market Size and Price Analysis 2013-20164.4 Europe Country4.4.1 Germany 3D Metrology Market Size and Price Analysis 2013-20164.4.2 UK 3D Metrology Market Size and Price Analysis 2013-20164.4.3 France 3D Metrology Market Size and Price Analysis 2013-20164.4.4 Italy 3D Metrology Market Size and Price Analysis 2013-20164.4.5 Europe 3D Metrology Market Size and Price Analysis 2013-20164.5 Other Country and Region4.5.1 Middle East 3D Metrology Market Size and Price Analysis 2013-20164.5.2 Africa 3D Metrology Market Size and Price Analysis 2013-20164.5.3 GCC 3D Metrology Market Size and Price Analysis 2013-20164.6 Three Global 3D Metrology Market Segmentation (Region Level) Analysis 2013-20164.7 Global 3D Metrology Market Segmentation (Region Level) AnalysisSection 5 Global 3D Metrology Market Segmentation (Product Type Level)5.1 Global 3D Metrology Market Segmentation (Product Type Level) Market Size 2013-20165.2 Different 3D Metrology Product Type Price 2013-20165.3 Global 3D Metrology Market Segmentation (Product Type Level) Analysis..CONTINUEDAbout UsWise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, Industry research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports understand how essential statistical surveying information is for your organization or association. Therefore, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available.NORAH TRENTPartner Relations & Marketing Managersales@wiseguyreports.comPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US)Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (UK)
Global Passive Optical Network Market Precise Study Focusing Growth and Trends Factor Analyzed Until the End of 2023

Infinium Global Research

https://www.infiniumglobalresearch.com/Reports/MakeSampleRequest/105

https://www.infiniumglobalresearch.com/ict_semiconductor/passive_optical_network_market

Study on Passive Optical Network Market by Infinium Global Research is comprehensive presentation of qualitative and quantitative research to identify key trends, growth prospects, drivers, restraints and opportunities in the Global market. The report also deep dives into the sub-segments of Passive Optical Network Market by structure (APON, BPON, EPON, GPON, WDM-PON), by component(OLT and ONT), by application (CATV MSO, DSLAM Aggregation, FTTB, FTTC, FTTH, FFTP, FTTN and Mobile Backhaul), by region (NA, EU, APAC, RoW) through main geographies in the global market such as North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and RoW. Browse through over 100 tables and figures to get complete view of the global and regional markets of Passive Optical Network over the period of 2017 to 2023.A passive optical network is a faster light based multipoint telecommunication network system that brings optical fiber cabling as well as signals to the end user. In passive optical network operation, there are no conversions such as electrical to optical and optical to electrical. PON comprises of one optical line termination (OLT) at the carriers premises and numerous optical network units (ONU) near the end users.Get Free Sample Pages of this Report:Fiber to the home (FTTH) application is gaining more demand from telecommunication operators and it is expected to drive the growth of the PON market. Increasing data traffic is necessitating upgradation in infrastructure for enabling higher capacities and it is driving the growth of the market. The growing demand for conservation of energy and presence of robust optical network setup are anticipated to enhance the growth of the global PON market. Growing investments in research & development and in physical infrastructure by both private entities and public entities to improve the broadband connectivity and efficiency drive the growth of the global passive optical network market. WDM segment has the largest market share among components due to the rising broadband traffic, growing demand for cloud services and increasing deployment of FTTH/FTTP. The technological up gradation of networks infrastructure by major telecom companies is anticipated to drive the growth of the global PON network market. Increasing demand for GPON equipment and EPON equipment to meet bandwidth requirements and data intensive services are anticipated to drive the growth of the global PON market during the forecast period 2017-2023.Browse the Detailed TOC of the report on Passive Optical Network Market:Higher installation as well as operation costs, due to the higher component costs, hinders the growth of the global passive optical network market. Moreover, difficulty in handling the failures of passive optical networks and the shortcomings of ranges available for the operators in their premises is some other restraints for the market. Growing demand for higher broadband bandwidth applications and high capacity optical networks are anticipated to present growth opportunities for the major players in the global passive optical network market, especially in the emerging economies. GPON segment provide growth opportunities for market players due to advanced technology in terms of technology and network operations, reliability and better return on investment.Segment Covered:The report covers the analysis of global as well as regional markets of passive optical network Market. The global passive optical network Market is segmented by structure, by component and by application. The global passive optical network market by structure covers ATM Based Passive Optical Network (APON), Broadband Passive Optical Network (BPON), Ethernet Passive Optical Network (EPON), Gigabyte Passive Optical Network (GPON), and Wavelength Division Multiplexing Passive Optical Network (WDM-PON) among others. On the basis of component, the market is segmented as Optical Line Terminal (OLT) and Optical NetworkAbout 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
Fingerprint Module Market - Global Industry Insights, Trends, Outlook, and Opportunity Analysis, 20172025

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ongoing-insight/toc/658

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ongoing-insight/fingerprint-module-market-658

http://www.coherentchronicle.com

Fingerprint module helps establish the identity of a person, using two processes, namely finger enrolment and finger matching. Data security become one of the major driver for growth of the fingerprint module market, globally. According to Coherent Market Insights analysis of 2013, the total data in the world was 4.4 zettabytes and was projected to reach 44 zettabytes by 2020. Rampant increase in data generated worldwide, in turn fuels demand for data security and subsequently augments growth of the fingerprint module market. In addition to this, keys, numeric keypads, and identity badges were majorly used to secure the data and access. With advancement of technology, two-factor validation was presented, where people could gain entrance into secure premises only when they were confirmed twice by utilizing equipment gadgets and numeric codes. However, this two-factor confirmation has also turned out to be uncertain as hackers are able to access hardware devices and also obtain numeric codes. Owing to increased hacking, the demand for new technically advanced security products in the security market has increased globally.This increasing demand for security products provides swift growth to the fingerprint module market worldwide. Moreover, the increasing trend of bring your own device in various enterprises and rising penetration of smart phone users pose as major drivers accelerating the market of fingerprint module, globally. According to coherent market insights analysis the bring your own device market is predicted to reach up to US$ 266 billion in 2019. With potential benefits, the bring your own device culture also presents data security risk for the organization, which ultimately increase the demand for security products.Request Table of Content of this Report :Fingerprint Module Market Outlook  North America holds the Largest Market of the Global Fingerprint Module.On the basis of geography the study is diversified into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of the world. North Americas fingerprint module market will hold the dominating position in the global fingerprint module market and is predicted to hold the dominating position in the forecasted period. The expanding usage of the unique finger impression recognition technology in individual document verification, for example, visas and e-passport, to identify travelers at airport terminals in nations like the US and Canada, and the expanding trend of incorporating facilities with biometric frameworks such as fingerprint scanners by OEMs and financial bodies, will reinforce the growth prospects for the fingerprint module market in this locale.Bioenable technologies pvt ltd, Cross Match Technologies, Inc, Fingerprint Cards AB, Fulcrum Biometrics, LLC, HID Global, Suprema HQ, 360 Biometrics, Futronic Technology Company Limited, Liteon, Shenzhen CAMA Biometrics Co., Ltd. are some major companies of the global fingerprint module market. Acquisition, merger, innovation and new product launch are some of the major strategies adopted by the market leaders to sustain in the global fingerprint module market.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 Enterprise Social Software Market Will Reach USD 6.1 Billion by 2022 - Industry Outlook and Forecast

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Enterprise Social Software Market Will Reach USD 6.1 Billion by 2022 - Industry Outlook and Forecast" to its huge collection of research reports.The global enterprise social software market is envisaged to gain traction on the back of the growing adoption of social media. The penetration of sites related to social media is at its peak. Employees are asking for a similar experience at their work sites. The market could be propelled further with the surging count of positive case studies of organizations producing an encouraging return on investment (ROI). This could also be helped by the mounting count of use cases of social software.The market is envisioned to experience a positive effect due to the confluence of collaboration software and social software into one solution offering.The publication covers the current scenario and future growth opportunities of the global enterprise social software market for the forecast period 20172022. Moreover, factors such as market trends, growth drivers and restraints, and vendor competition are comprehensively explained by the analysts.Global Enterprise Social Software Market: DynamicsAt a staggering rate, the need for niche software could be said to have aggravated significantly in the recent time. This is prophesied to be on account of an increase in the requirement of enterprise social technology. As a result, the world enterprise social software market could receive a solid push in its growth in the coming years. A number of software developers are becoming part of the software bandwagon to provide or develop enterprise social software across the world. The influx of software developers in the industry could be attributed to the rise of enterprise social software gaining impetus around the world, including emerging regions such as Africa and Asia Pacific.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Global Enterprise Social Software Market: SegmentationThe international enterprise social software market is anticipated to witness the presence of segments such as small, medium, and large by enterprise size. As per the analysis of the researchers, large enterprise could be a stronger market representing an estimated US$1.7 bn of revenue size in 2017. Between 2017 and 2022, this market is prognosticated to grow at an annual revenue of approximately US$0.4 bn.As per vertical, the international enterprise social software market could be classified into banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI), healthcare, IT and telecommunications, retail, and government.By type of deployment, the international enterprise social software market is predicted to be segmented into on-premise and cloud-based.Regionally, the international enterprise social software market could be segregated into North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific except Japan (APEJ), and the Middle East and Africa (MEA) and Japan. Amongst these regions, the report states that North America could lead the market with a roughly US$0.9 bn expected to be secured under its belt in 2017.Global Enterprise Social Software Market: CompetitionThe analysts profile some of the dominating companies in the worldwide enterprise social software market such as Aurea, Inc., IBM Corporation, Lithium Technologies, Inc., Microsoft Corporation, Salesforce.com, Inc., SAP, Socialtext, Inc., Synacor, Inc., TIBCO Software, Inc., and VMWare, Inc. Besides a complete company profile, the report provides an important analysis of the market shares of key players.Browse TOC @Table of Content1. Global Enterprise Social Software Market - Executive Summary2. Global Enterprise Social Software Market Overview2.1. Introduction2.1.1. Global Enterprise Social Software Market Taxonomy2.1.2. Global Enterprise Social Software Market Definition2.2. Global Enterprise Social Software Market Size (US$ Mn) and Forecast, 2012-20222.2.1. Global Enterprise Social Software Market Y-o-Y Growth2.3. Global Enterprise Social Software Market Dynamics2.4. Supply Chain2.5. Cost Structure2.6. Pricing Analysis2.7. Raw Material Sourcing Strategy and Analysis2.8. List of Distributors2.9. Key Participants Market Presence (Intensity Map) By Region3. Global Enterprise Social Software Market Analysis and Forecast By Enterprise Size3.1. Global Enterprise Social Software Market Size and Forecast By Enterprise Size, 2012-20223.1.1. Small Enterprise Social Software Market Size and Forecast, 2012-20223.1.1.1. Revenue (US$ Mn) Comparison, By Region3.1.1.2. Market Share Comparison, By Region3.1.1.3. Y-o-Y growth Comparison, 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 Datacenter Network Consulting And Integration Service Market Likely To Rise To A Value Of Us$3.2 Bn By 2022: Driven by Steady Growth of Major End Users

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Datacenter Network Consulting And Integration Service Market Likely To Rise To A Value Of Us$3.2 Bn By 2022: Driven by Steady Growth of Major End Users" to its huge collection of research reports.The global datacenter network consulting and integration services market is likely to remain relevant to economic dynamics in the coming years due to the increasingly important role played by data centers in the development of a number of industries. The report on the global datacenter network consulting and integration services market provides a thorough discussion on the market with the help of detailed assessment of various drivers affecting the growth trajectory of the market, the leading segments of the global datacenter network consulting and integration services market, and the key companies likely to dominate the market in the coming years. Thus, a complete evaluation of the datacenter network consulting and integration services market is provided in the report.According to Transparency Market Research, the global datacenter network consulting and integration services market was valued at US$2.2 bn in 2017. Exhibiting a robust 7.9% CAGR over the 2017-2022 forecast period, the global datacenter network consulting and integration services market is expected to rise to a valuation of US$3.2 bn by 2022.Global Datacenter Network Consulting and Integration Services Market: DynamicsThe report profiles the numerous factors that are likely to have a lasting impact on the growth trajectory of the global datacenter network consulting and integration services market. This helps the report provide readers with a clear picture of the growth dynamics of the global datacenter network consulting and integration services market, allowing them to make informed decisions likely to benefit their enterprise. The key drivers and restraints likely to impact the global datacenter network consulting and integration services market are analyzed in the report, giving readers an idea of the most beneficial facets as well as pitfalls in the market. This detailed analysis of the drivers and restraints of the global datacenter network consulting and integration services market constitutes a key part of the report, as it provides readers with crucial information on how best to expand their presence in the market in the coming years.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Global Datacenter Network Consulting and Integration Services Market: SegmentationNetwork design consulting is likely to remain the dominant consulting service in the global datacenter network consulting and integration services market in the coming years. The crucial importance of network design in modern data centers, which can exhibit a high amount of customization to accommodate different industry verticals, is likely to enable steady growth of the network design segment of the global datacenter network consulting and integration service market in the coming years. The network design segment was valued at US$581.1 mn in 2017, accounting for 26.2% of the market. The segment is likely to exhibit a robust 9.9% CAGR over the 2017-2022 forecast period and is thus likely to rise to a valuation of US$929.6 mn by 2022.Geographically, North America is likely to remain the dominant contributor to the global datacenter network consulting and integration services market due to the widespread proliferation of advanced data center technology in North America and steady growth of numerous key end use verticals. The North America market for datacenter network consulting and integration services was valued at US$854.8 mn in 2017 and is expected to rise to US$1,253.5 mn by 2022, rising at a robust 8% CAGR between 2017 and 2022.Global Datacenter Network Consulting and Integration Services Market: Competitive DynamicsLeading players in the global datacenter network consulting and integration service market include Google Inc., IBM, Cisco Systems, NTT Communication Corporation, Apple, Microsoft, Equinix, AT&T, HP Enterprise, and Digital Reality.Browse TOC @Table of Content1. Global Datacenter Network Consulting & Integration Services Market - Executive Summary2. Global Datacenter Network Consulting & Integration Services Market Overview2.1. Introduction2.1.1. Global Datacenter Network Consulting & Integration Services Market Taxonomy2.1.2. Global Datacenter Network Consulting & Integration Services Market Definition2.2. Global Datacenter Network Consulting & Integration Services Market Size (US$ Mn) and Forecast, 2012-20222.2.1. Global Datacenter Network Consulting & Integration Services Market Y-o-Y Growth2.3. Global Datacenter Network Consulting & Integration Services Market Dynamics2.4. Vendor Analysis2.5. Key Participants Market Presence (Intensity Map) By Region3. Global Datacenter Network Consulting & Integration Services Market Analysis and Forecast By Consulting Services3.1. Global Datacenter Network Consulting & Integration Services Market Size and Forecast By Consulting Services, 2012-20223.1.1. Network Design Datacenter Network Consulting & Integration Services Market Size and Forecast, 2012-20223.1.1.1. Revenue (US$ Mn) Comparison, By Region3.1.1.2. Market Share Comparison, By Region3.1.1.3. Y-o-Y growth Comparison, By Region3.1.2. Network Strategy & Planning Datacenter Network Consulting & Integration Services Market Size and Forecast, 2012-2022About 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 X-Ray Screening Systems Market by Manufacturers, Countries, Type and Application, Forecast to 2023

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"The Report Global X-Ray Screening Systems Market by Manufacturers, Countries, Type and Application, Forecast to 2023 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"About X-Ray Screening Systems MarketThis report studies the X-Ray Screening Systems market. X-Ray Screening System is a system designed for the safety inspection of luggage, vehicles and human body to discover contraband utilizing X-ray scanning technology. It is usually composed of X-ray generator, X-ray detector and image processing system.Get Sample copy of this Report @Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the X-Ray Screening Systems in global market, especially in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, types and applications.Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversADANISmiths DetectionScannaAstrophysics Inc.UTI GrupBavak BeveiligingsgroepL3 Security & Detection SystemsRapiscan SystemsNuctechRequest for TOC @Market Segment by Regions, regional analysis coversNorth America (United States, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia)Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)Market Segment by Type, coversPeople X-ray ScreeningBaggage & Cargo X-ray ScreeningVehicle X-ray ScreeningOthersMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided intoPrisons and Correctional FacilitiesCustoms and Border CrossingsMines and Industrial SecurityHotels, Public and Government BuildingsOthersThere are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global X-Ray Screening Systems market.Chapter 1, to describe X-Ray Screening Systems Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of X-Ray Screening Systems, with sales, revenue, and price of X-Ray Screening Systems, 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 X-Ray Screening Systems, for each region, from 2013 to 2018;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 2013 to 2018;Chapter 12, X-Ray Screening Systems market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2018 to 2023;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe X-Ray Screening Systems sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data sourceView Report @Table of Contents1 Market Overview1.1 X-Ray Screening Systems Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.2.1 People X-ray Screening1.2.2 Baggage & Cargo X-ray Screening1.2.3 Vehicle X-ray Screening1.2.4 Others1.3 Market Analysis by Applications1.3.1 Prisons and Correctional Facilities1.3.2 Customs and Border Crossings1.3.3 Mines and Industrial Security1.3.4 Hotels, Public and Government Buildings1.3.5 Others1.4 Market Analysis by Regions1.4.1 North America (United States, Canada and Mexico)1.4.1.1 United States Market Status and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.1.2 Canada Market Status and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.1.3 Mexico Market Status and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.2 Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)1.4.2.1 Germany Market Status and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.2.2 France Market Status and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.2.3 UK Market Status and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.2.4 Russia Market Status and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.2.5 Italy Market Status and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.3 Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)1.4.3.1 China Market Status and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.3.2 Japan Market Status and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.3.3 Korea Market Status and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.3.4 India Market Status and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.3.5 Southeast Asia Market Status and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.4 South America, Middle East and Africa1.4.4.1 Brazil Market Status and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.4.2 Egypt Market Status and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.4.3 Saudi Arabia Market Status and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.4.4 South Africa Market Status and Outlook (2013-2023)1.4.4.5 Nigeria Market Status and Outlook (2013-2023)1.5 Market Dynamics1.5.1 Market Opportunities1.5.2 Market Risk1.5.3 Market Driving Force2 Manufacturers Profiles2.1 ADANI2.1.1 Business Overview2.1.2 X-Ray Screening Systems Type and Applications2.1.2.1 Type 12.1.2.2 Type 22.1.3 ADANI X-Ray Screening Systems Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.2 Smiths Detection2.2.1 Business Overview2.2.2 X-Ray Screening Systems Type and Applications2.2.2.1 Type 12.2.2.2 Type 22.2.3 Smiths Detection X-Ray Screening Systems Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.3 Scanna2.3.1 Business Overview2.3.2 X-Ray Screening Systems Type and Applications2.3.2.1 Type 12.3.2.2 Type 22.3.3 Scanna X-Ray Screening Systems Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.4 Astrophysics Inc.2.4.1 Business Overview2.4.2 X-Ray Screening Systems Type and Applications2.4.2.1 Type 12.4.2.2 Type 22.4.3 Astrophysics Inc. X-Ray Screening Systems Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.5 UTI Grup2.5.1 Business Overview2.5.2 X-Ray Screening Systems Type and Applications2.5.2.1 Type 12.5.2.2 Type 22.5.3 UTI Grup X-Ray Screening Systems Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.6 Bavak Beveiligingsgroep2.6.1 Business Overview2.6.2 X-Ray Screening Systems Type and Applications2.6.2.1 Type 12.6.2.2 Type 22.6.3 Bavak Beveiligingsgroep X-Ray Screening Systems Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.7 L3 Security & Detection Systems2.7.1 Business Overview2.7.2 X-Ray Screening Systems Type and Applications2.7.2.1 Type 12.7.2.2 Type 22.7.3 L3 Security & Detection Systems X-Ray Screening Systems Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.8 Rapiscan Systems2.8.1 Business Overview2.8.2 X-Ray Screening Systems Type and Applications2.8.2.1 Type 12.8.2.2 Type 22.8.3 Rapiscan Systems X-Ray Screening Systems Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.9 Nuctech2.9.1 Business Overview2.9.2 X-Ray Screening Systems Type and Applications2.9.2.1 Type 12.9.2.2 Type 22.9.3 Nuctech X-Ray Screening Systems Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)3 Global X-Ray Screening Systems Sales, Revenue, Market Share and Competition by Manufacturer (2016-2017)3.1 Global X-Ray Screening Systems Sales and Market Share by Manufacturer (2016-2017)3.2 Global X-Ray Screening Systems Revenue and Market Share by Manufacturer (2016-2017)3.3 Market Concentration Rate3.3.1 Top 3 X-Ray Screening Systems Manufacturer Market Share3.3.2 Top 6 X-Ray Screening Systems Manufacturer Market Share3.4 Market Competition TrendBuy Now @About usMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.ContactMr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
ePedigree Software Market 2018 Scope, Growth, Opportunities, Analysis and Forecast to 2022

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Publisher recognizes the following companies as the key players in the global ePedigree software market: Axway, Oracle, and TraceLink.Commenting on the report, an analyst from Publisher's team said: "One trend in the market is high-tech developments to smarten the pharma supply chain. Drug counterfeiting is a worldwide phenomenon. The general fake medication industry is assessed to be worth billions of dollars. This issue has been existing for a long time, primarily due to the lack of quality control in the complex pharma supply chain. Drug redirection, forging, and other such issues have been developing at a disturbing rate."According to the report, one driver in the market is rising requirements for serializability to tackle counterfeiting. Drug counterfeiting is a worldwide phenomenon. This issue has been existing for decades, and the situation is worse than ever due to the proliferation of Internet sales, inefficient supply chains, and the general lack of stringent regulations. The overall counterfeit drug market is estimated to be worth billions of dollars, with countries such as India and China being the manufacturing hubs for the counterfeit drug market.mSample Copy is Available atFurther, the report states that one challenge in the market is huge time and cost requirements for infrastructural implementation. One of the major challenges faced by the global ePedigree software market is the time and cost requirements for the implementation of serializability. Implementing an ePedigree system starts with analyzing the immediate regulatory environment and the regulatory standards of the market wherein the buyer is expected to operate.Publisher's analysts forecast the global ePedigree software market to grow at a CAGR of 26.95% during the period 2018-2022.The study was conducted using an objective combination of primary and secondary information including inputs from key participants in the industry. The report contains a comprehensive market and vendor landscape in addition to a SWOT analysis of the key vendors.Place Direct Purchase Order Here:Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global ePedigree software market for 2018-2022. To calculate the market size, the report presents a detailed picture of the market by way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources.The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:-Americas-APAC-EMEAPublisher's report, Global ePedigree Software Market 2018-2022, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.For more information about this report:Contact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@reportsweb.comReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.Pune, India
At A CAGR Of 7.15%, Global Long Chain Dicarboxylic Acid Market Will Expand Over The Forecast Period 2017 - 2021

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "At A CAGR Of 7.15%, Global Long Chain Dicarboxylic Acid Market Will Expand Over The Forecast Period 2017 - 2021" to its huge collection of research reports.Long chain dicarboxylic acid (LCDA) is an organic compound, which is derived from animal fats and vegetable oils. LCDA with carbon chain containing more than 10 carbon atoms has been considered in this market. These LCDAs can be saturated or unsaturated carboxylic acids. LCDAs are abundant in nature and are very important, since they have wide applications in the polymer, lubricants, powder coatings, and pharma industries.Technavios analysts forecast the global long chain dicarboxylic acid market to grow at a CAGR of 7.15% during the period 2017-2021.Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global long chain dicarboxylic acid market for 2017-2021. The report presents a detailed picture of the market by way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources.The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:AmericasAPACEMEATechnavio's report, Global Long Chain Dicarboxylic Acid Market 2017-2021, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Key vendorsCathay Industrial BiotechEvonik IndustriesHenan Junheng Industrial Group BiotechnologyShandong Hilead BiotechnologyZibo Guangtong ChemicalOther prominent vendorsAecochem ProductsBASFElevance Renewable SciencesHangzhou DayangchemNantong Senos BiotechnologyTCI AMERICAToronto Research ChemicalsUBE INDUSTRIESUnisource ChemicalsMarket driverRising demand from APACFor a full, detailed list, view our reportBrowse TOC @Market challengeHigh costFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trendGrowing demand for LCDA as bio-solventsFor a full, detailed list, view our reportKey questions answered in this reportWhat will the market size be in 2021 and what will the growth rate be?What are the key market trends?What is driving this market?What are the challenges to market growth?Who are the key vendors in this market space?About 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 @
Outpatient Clinics Market : Analysis and Forecast 2017 - 2025

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Global Outpatient Clinics Market: SnapshotAn outpatient clinic or a department is one where patients can be treated for their illnesses without having the need to stay at the medical organization conventional outpatient clinics have provided treatment options for common ailments or medical issues that have a swift diagnosis and cure. Modern outpatient clinics have evolved to provide a wide spectrum of treatment and diagnostic options and even minor surgical procedures. The outpatient clinic can form a vital body of any healthcare organization, as they can be places where doctors can perform immediate diagnoses as well as follow-up treatments for regularly visiting patients.More and more outpatient clinics around the world have started offering additional treatments or services for pain relief as well as rehabilitation. The more common types of additional features that may be found in outpatient clinics today, include surgery centers, imaging centers, lab centers, physical therapy centers, medical equipment rental facilities, GI diagnostic centers, and radiation therapy centers. Outpatient clinics may also provide additional services depending on the specializations held by the medical personnel in the facility. This can include cardiology or orthopedics, for instance. It is not uncommon to find highly trained and skilled medical personnel in modern outpatient clinics, due to the highly demanding job it has become.Request Sample Copy of the Report@Many outpatient clinics today also provide added comfort to patients in the waitlist. Clinics can possess comfortable seating arrangements, coffee shops, public telephones, snack shops, gift shops, and quiet rooms.Global Outpatient Clinics Market: OverviewOutpatient clinics or centers are medical facilities that offer medical as well as diagnostic treatments to patients who are suffering from several medical conditions. These clinics provide treatment that does not demand overnight stay the medical facility. The growing initiatives by governments to create an awareness reading the benefits of outpatient clinics and to decrease the number of hospital admissions are encouraging several new players to enter the market and create a niche across the globe.The research study further offers a clear picture of the global outpatient clinics market, providing information related to the growth factors, opportunities, and the latest trends in the market. The study throws light on the key segmentation of the global market and provides the estimated growth rate and market share of the leading segments throughout the forecast period. In addition, a detailed overview of the competitive landscape has been included to offer a clear picture of the market.Request TOC of the Report @Global Outpatient Clinics Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe growing prevalence of chronic diseases and the rising geriatric population across the globe are some of the key factors that are estimated to encourage the growth of the global outpatient clinics market in the near future. In addition, the reducing burden on the healthcare sector due to the significant reduction in the daily patient admissions is projected to supplement the growth of the market in the near future. On the other hand, the strict regulatory framework and the lack of doctors to attend patients are estimated to restrict the growth of the market in the near future. Nevertheless, the robust development of the healthcare sector, especially in the developing economies is expected to generate promising opportunities in the forecast period.Global Outpatient Clinics Market: Region-wise OutlookAccording to the research study, North America is expected to lead the global outpatient clinics market throughout the forecast period. This region is estimated to register a progressive growth rate in the near future, owing to the rising government initiatives to reduce hospital admissions. In addition, the tremendously rising healthcare spending, availability of advanced healthcare infrastructure, and the abundant availability of necessary funds are some of the vital factors that are projected to encourage the growth of the North America outpatient clinics market in the next few years.Furthermore, Asia Pacific is expected to witness substantial growth throughout the forecast period, thanks to the rising lucrative opportunities. The growing focus on the development of healthcare infrastructure and the growing popularity of medical tourism are some of the other factors that are predicted to encourage the growth of the Asia Pacific market in the coming few years.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report@Key Players Mentioned in the Research Report are:With the rising number of players, the global outpatient clinics market is expected to witness intense competition in the near future. Some of the prominent players operating in the global outpatient clinics market are M D Anderson Cancer Center, Kaiser Permanente, Cancer Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering, Mayo Clinic Scottsdale AZ, Davita, University of Maryland Medical Center, National Health Service, Johns Hopkins Medicine, and Clevel and Clinic.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
Global Ultrasound Probe (Medical) Sales Market By Product Type - Linear Type, Convex Type, Phased Array Type and Endocavitary Type

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Ultrasound Probe (Medical) Sales Market By Product Type - Linear Type, Convex Type, Phased Array Type and Endocavitary Type" to its huge collection of research reports.In this report, the global Ultrasound Probe (Medical) 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 Ultrasound Probe (Medical)for these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), coveringUnited StatesChinaEuropeJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaGlobal Ultrasound Probe (Medical)market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Ultrasound Probe (Medical)sales volume, Price (USD/Unit), revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingGEPhilipsSiemensSonoSiteToshibaSamsung MedisonHitachiEsaoteMindraySIUIShenzhen RuqiSonoScapeJiaruiTo Get Sample Copy of Report visit @On the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoLinear TypeConvex TypePhased Array TypeEndocavitary TypeOthersOn 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, includingOphthalmologyCardiologyAbdomenUterusOtherBrowse TOC @Table of ContentsGlobal Ultrasound Probe (Medical)Sales Market Report 20171 Ultrasound Probe (Medical)Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Ultrasound Probe (Medical1.2 Classification of Ultrasound Probe (Medical)by Product Category1.2.1 Global Ultrasound Probe (Medical)Market Size (Sales) Comparison by Type (2012-2022)1.2.2 Global Ultrasound Probe (Medical)Market Size (Sales) Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.2.3 Linear Type1.2.4 Convex Type1.2.5 Phased Array Type1.2.6 Endocavitary Type1.2.7 Others1.3 Global Ultrasound Probe (Medical)Market by Application/End Users1.3.1 Global Ultrasound Probe (Medical)Sales (Volume) and Market Share Comparison by Application (2012-2022)1.3.2 Ophthalmology1.3.3 Cardiology1.3.4 Abdomen1.3.5 Uterus1.3.6 Other1.4 Global Ultrasound Probe (Medical)Market by Region2 Global Ultrasound Probe (Medical)Competition by Players/Suppliers, Type and Application2.1 Global Ultrasound Probe (Medical)Market Competition by Players/Suppliers2.1.1 Global Ultrasound Probe (Medical)Sales and Market Share of Key Players/Suppliers (2012-2017)2.1.2 Global Ultrasound Probe (Medical)Revenue and Share by Players/Suppliers (2012-2017)2.2 Global Ultrasound Probe (Medical)(Volume and Value) by Type2.2.1 Global Ultrasound Probe (Medical)Sales and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)2.2.2 Global Ultrasound Probe (Medical)Revenue and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)2.3 Global Ultrasound Probe (Medical)(Volume and Value) by Region2.3.1 Global Ultrasound Probe (Medical)Sales and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)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 @
One of The Biggest Russian Hosting Providers Veesp Goes East

Veesp has its own data center in Saint Petersburg, Russia

One of the biggest Russian hosting providers Veesp with over 15,000 clients worldwide has reached an agreement with TransTelekom (TTK), a major telecommunications company in Russia. The link between Veesp and TTK networks has allowed Veesp to significantly improve its connectivity with China, Japan, and Mongolia, decreasing the round-trip time to those countries by about two times.TTK owns one of the largest networks of fiber optical cables in the world with 78,000 kilometers in length and a capacity of 3.4 Tbit/s. TTK Eurasia Highway has a connection with almost all countries bordering Russia including China, Japan, Mongolia, DPR Korea, Finland, the Baltic states and the countries of the CIS, being the most optimal route between Europe and Asia.The link to the TTK networks with 20 Gbit/s bandwidth has provided Veesp customers with the most stable and reliable connection to Far East countries. The round-trip time to Beijing has decreased from 450 to 120 milliseconds, to Shanghai  from 370 to 160 milliseconds, and to Japan  from 300 to 170 milliseconds.One of the the most important elements guaranteeing the quality of Veesp services is the network infrastructure. Built on the Brocade and Cisco equipment, it has a core capacity of 1.6 Tbit/s, while connection to the networks of four uplinks (now including TTK) provides it with more than 30 points of presence (PoP) around the world.Veesp provides renting services for virtual private and dedicated servers. The company has been successfully operating since 2011, always retaining a constant 99.9% uptime. The hardware and technologies used meet modern requirements and quality standards, which allows offering reliable and efficient solutions for private clients and businesses around the globe.Company website: veesp.com/en/Name: Dmitry ZapletinPhone: +7 (812) 612-4-612Email: d.zapletin@veesp.comCompany: VeespFrancu iela 3LiepajaLatviaLV-3401
Tweaking Technologies Releases Focus & Blur, Their First App for Mac

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/focus-blur/id1344709030?ls=1&mt=8

http://tweakingtechnologies.com/

A pioneer in quality utility apps for users, Tweaking Technology has proudly launched Focus & Blur, its first app for Mac. Focus & Blur can be used to highlight a certain segment of a photograph, while blurring the rest. With its powerful features, the app helps create dramatic effects to create impressive looking photographs.Both professionals and novices can effortlessly add bokeh effects to images and focus only on whats important in images. Some of the features that Focus & Blur offers: Object Edge Detection: Quickly highlight and create bokeh effect with smart edge detection method and autofocus. Overlay Adjustment: Create aesthetically pleasing photographs with plenty of overlay designs to choose from. Circular Adjustment: Add special in-depth focus on the subject of choice to create a professional circular lens like effect. Horizontal Adjustment: Bring out the best in landscape photographs by highlighting a horizontal portion and blurring the rest. Vertical Adjustment: Enhance portrait shots by focusing on the subject in a vertical frame and blur remaining portion. Custom Adjustment: Experiment with creativity, by highlighting and blurring any part of the image with paint and erase tool. Easy to maneuver sliders to edit the photographs in no time. Separate editing options for both highlighted area and blurred area to further enhance images. Supports all major image formats including RAW.Photography has come a long way from just clicking pictures to editing them to capture the essence of the moment. With Focus & Blur we are offering an app with which, users can focus all the attention on their favorite subject in the image and add softness to the background by blurring it to create breathtaking images. I would like to congratulate the development team for the stupendous efforts put into making this app, said Mr. Shrishail Rana, CEO, Tweaking Technologies.There is always something magical about photographs enhanced with bokeh effect that is why our aim was to offer a simple yet effective tool for Mac users to create this effortlessly. The app has been designed after putting in much thought and research on the different requirements of photographers. The beauty of Focus & Blur is that it can be used with much ease by anyone, be it a professional photographer or someone who has just started exploring photography, said Ms. Anushri Tayal, Project Manager, Tweaking Technologies.Tweaking technologies deals in developing helpful apps and utilities aimed at system optimization for various platforms and devices. Our products and services not only help millions of users keep their digital devices cleaned and optimized, but also makes devices easy to use. Our applications span across tech niches like Utility apps, Music, Photography, Games and Cloud based technologies that help users make their devices secure and data more organized and optimized.Plot IT-A-016A & IT-A-016B, IT/ITES, Mahindra World City SEZ,rnKalwara, Jaipur-302037, INDIAJaipur Rajasthan, 302037+91-141-2243030
China Wind Turbine Bearings Market End Users/Application - Gearbox, Rotor Shaft, Generator and Pitch & Yaw

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "China Wind Turbine Bearings Market End Users/Application - Gearbox, Rotor Shaft, Generator and Pitch & Yaw" to its huge collection of research reports.The global Wind Turbine Bearings market is valued at XX million USD in 2016 and is expected to reach XX million USD by the end of 2022, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2016 and 2022.China plays an important role in global market, with market size of xx million USD in 2016 and will be xx million USD in 2022, with a CAGR of xx%.This report studies the Wind Turbine Bearings development status and future trend in China, focuses on top players in China, also splits Wind Turbine Bearings by type and by applications, to fully and deeply research and reveal the market general situation and future forecast.The major players in China market includeSKFDalian Metallurgical BearingTimkenTMBZWZLiebherrNSKNTN BearingRollixRothe ErdeSchaeffler GroupZYS Luoyang LYC BearingZhejiang Tianma BearingDYZVXibei BearingKaydonTo Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Geographically, this report splits the China market into six regions,South ChinaEast ChinaSouthwest ChinaNortheast ChinaNorth ChinaCentral ChinaNorthwest ChinaOn the basis of product, this report displays the sales volume (K Units), revenue (Million USD), product price (USD/Unit), market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoSlewing Ring BearingsSpherical Roller BearingsOn the basis of the end users/application, this report coversGearboxRotor ShaftGeneratorPitch and YawBrowse TOC @Table of ContentsChina Wind Turbine Bearings Market Research Report 20171 Wind Turbine Bearings Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Wind Turbine Bearings1.2 Classification of Wind Turbine Bearings by Product Category1.2.1 China Wind Turbine Bearings Sales (K Units) Comparison by Type (2012-2022)1.2.2 China Wind Turbine Bearings Sales (K Units) Market Share by Type in 20161.2.3 Slewing Ring Bearings1.2.4 Spherical Roller Bearings1.3 China Wind Turbine Bearings Market by Application/End Users1.3.1 China Wind Turbine Bearings Sales (K Units) and Market Share Comparison by Applications (2012-2022)1.3.2 Gearbox1.3.3 Rotor Shaft1.3.4 Generator2 China Wind Turbine Bearings Market Competition by Players/Manufacturers2.1 China Wind Turbine Bearings Sales and Market Share of Key Players/Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.2 China Wind Turbine Bearings Revenue and Share by Players/Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.3 China Wind Turbine Bearings Average Price (USD/Unit) by Players/Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.4 China Wind Turbine Bearings Market Competitive Situation and Trends2.4.1 China Wind Turbine Bearings Market Concentration Rate2.4.2 China Wind Turbine Bearings Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Players/Manufacturers2.4.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion in China 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 @
Global Potting Mix Market 2018 - Copmpo, ASB Greenworld, Bord na Mona, Florentaise

Global Potting Mix Market

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Global Potting Mix Market 2018 Analysis Report audits a Market Regions, Product Categories, with Sales, Business Revenue, Goods cost, Potting Mix piece of the overall industry and Growth patterns, concentrating on driving Potting Mix industry players, showcase size, request and supply examination, utilization volume, Forecast 2017 to 2025.The major regions present in the continents like United States, Germany, Japan and China and their contribution to global Potting Mix market is elaborated in this research document. In next section, the report discusses industry policies and plans, cost structures, the outline of Potting Mix market globally, manufacturing processes. The growth rate exhibited by Potting Mix market based on consumption ratio, consumer volume, market gains is included in this report.Get Free Sample Copy of Report Here:The Global Potting Mix report gives a thorough situation of the present and gauge Potting Mix showcase procedures, improvement methodologies and development openings. Starting a discussion on the contemporary condition of Potting Mix showcase, the report extra dissects the market powerful moving each area begun in it.Top Manufacturers Analysis of This ReportScotts Miracle-GroSun GroKlasmann-DeilmannPremier TechCopmpoASB GreenworldBord na MonaFlorentaiseLambertFoxFarmWestland HorticultureMatecsa KftEspomaHangzhou JinhaiMichigan PeatC&C PeatGood Earth HorticultureFree PeatVermicrop OrganicsThe report additionally concentrates the Potting Mix bits of knowledge of the organizations and suggestions that will help the perusers to have progressive learning of the Potting Mix showcase.Enquire Before Buying @A principal diagram of the Potting Mix market is introduced to the perusers with the assistance of market definition, order, different applications, and production network examination. The Potting Mix report covers the investigation of conventional and the developing markets. The report more expresses the Potting Mix showcase rivals, their business profiles, freshest news, their piece of the overall industry, developing arrangements and methodologies, client volume and creating strategies.All in all, it is an exhaustive research report which will help perusers to break down the possibility of interest in Potting Mix advertise.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 -
Endosulfan Market : Analysis, Services & Research 2017 - 2025

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Global Endosulfan Market: SnapshotEndosulfan, a manmade pesticide belonging to the organchlorine group of pesticides, is used to rid insects in agriculture and associated sectors. Also referred to as off-patent insecticide, which is phased out globally, endosulfan is sold as a blend of two different forms of same chemicals known as alpha and beta endosulfan. It has myriad applications. Besides its use in the agriculture sector for keep at bay insects that damage crops and fruits, endosulfan also finds application as a wood preservative.The demand for endosulfan is being driven primarily by the agricultural sector, which is expanding by the day due to the pressing demand for food worldwide. They are sprayed on crops are soluble in kerosene, chloroform, xylene, and most organic solvents. They are also slightly soluble in water.Endosulfan, however, is highly toxic. They can result in acute and chronic health issues. For example, they can affect the central nervous system, resulting in overstimulation and a wide range of health issues. They can cause headache, nausea, vomiting, unconsciousness, and even death in extreme conditions. Studies show that over exposure to endosulfan may cause and delayed puberty in boys, increased risk of autism, and birth defects in male. As a result major regions such as Europe, the U.S., the Middle East, etc. have banned the manufacture and usage of endosulfan.Request Sample Copy of the Report@Currently, Asia Pacific is the only region which manufactures and uses endosulfan on a large scale on account of the growing demand from the agricultural sector in the region.Endosulfan Market: OverviewEndosulfan is a manmade pesticide that belongs to the organchlorine group of pesticides. Endosulfan is placed under the cyclodiene subgroup. It was introduced in 1950, which later emerged as a leading chemical that was used against a wide range of insects in agriculture and associated sectors. It is also known as off-patent insecticide, which is phased out globally. As a DDT-era insecticide, it is present in all living organisms such as animals and humans, and can be found in the environment as well.Half of the population, mostly comprising of young children are exposed to larger doses of endosulfan through environment or food. Endosulfan is sold as a blend of two different forms of same chemicals known as alpha and beta endosulfan. It differs from cream to brown crystalline solid or may appear as flakes. It has turpentine like odor and is combustible. Apart from its use in the agriculture sector, it is also used as a wood preservative. Endosulfan is used for controlling the insects that strive on various food crops including tea, grains, vegetables, and fruits among others. It is also used on non-food crops such as cotton and tobacco. It is used against a wide range of insects including beetles, leaf hoppers, Colorado beetle, caterpillars among others.Request TOC of the Report @Endosulfan Market: Trends and ProspectsEndosulfan was introduced in the era when environmental knowledge and awareness was low, and there were no national regulatory laws pertaining to its toxic nature. Recently, this chemical has been detected as a poisonous pesticide in many countries.It is often sprayed on crops with the help of sprayers. It is readily soluble in chloroform, kerosene, xylene, and most organic solvents, but slightly soluble in water. Growing demand from the agriculture sector is the major factor driving the global endosulfan market. Increasing demand from the wood industry is also expected to boost demand for endosulfan in the near future.Acute and chronic health effects of endosulfan has hampered the growth of the global endosulfan market. Endosulfan affects the central nervous system, leading to overstimulation and wide range of health issues. Acute symptoms of endosulfan include nausea, headache, vomiting, unconsciousness and death in extreme conditions. Studies have declared that, over exposure to endosulfan may lead to increased risk of autism, birth defects in male, and delayed puberty in boys. These factors have banned the manufacturing and usage of endosulfan under the Stockholm Convention in April 2011. This ban has been effective from mid-2012 in major regions such as U.S., Europe, and the Middle East among others. Asia Pacific is the only region which manufactures and uses endosulfan on a large scale.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report@Endosulfan Market: Key SegmentsNorth America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of the World (RoW) are the key segments for the global endosulfan market. Asia Pacific is expected to be the largest consumer of endosulfan due to the growing demand from the agriculture sector in the region. North America and Europe are expected to show very less growth and demand due to the prohibited use and manufacture of endosulfan.Endosulfan Market: Key Market PlayersThe key players of the global endosulfan market include Coromandel Fertilisers, Excel Cro Care Ltd, Hindusthan Insecticide Ltd and Indichem among others.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
Global Mescal Market 2018 Key Players: Destileria Tlacolula, Ilegal Mezcal, Pernod Ricard, Pierde Almas, William Grant & Sons.

Mescal Market

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Mescal Market:WiseGuyReports.com adds Mescal Market 2018 Global Analysis, Growth, Trends and Opportunities Research Report Forecasting to 2025reports to its database.Executive SummaryGeographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), market share and growth rate of Mescal in these regions, from 2013 to 2025 (forecast), coveringNorth AmericaEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaGlobal Mescal market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the top players includingDestileria Tlacolula (DT)Ilegal Mezcal (IM)Pernod Ricard (PR)Pierde Almas (PA)William Grant & Sons (WGS)El Silencio HoldingsEl Tinieblo...On the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoBy Product TypeMescal JovenMescal ReposadoMescal ReposadoBy Concentrate100% TequilaMix TequilaOn 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, includingOn TradeOff TradeIf you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.Request Sample Report @Table of ContentGlobal Mescal Market Research Report 20181 Mescal Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Mescal1.2 Mescal Segment By Product Type1.2.1 Global Mescal Production and CAGR (%) Comparison By Product Type (Product Category)(2013-2025)1.2.2 Global Mescal Production Market Share By Product Type (Product Category) in 20171.2.3 Mescal Joven1.2.4 Mescal Reposado1.2.5 Mescal Reposado1.3 Mescal Segment By Concentrate1.3.1 100% Tequila1.3.2 Mix Tequila1.4 Global Mescal Segment by Application1.4.1 Mescal Consumption (Sales) Comparison by Application (2013-2025)1.4.2 On Trade1.4.3 Off Trade1.5 Global Mescal Market by Region (2013-2025)1.5.1 Global Mescal Market Size (Value) and CAGR (%) Comparison by Region (2013-2025)1.5.2 North America Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.5.3 Europe Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.5.4 China Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.5.5 Japan Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.5.6 Southeast Asia Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.5.7 India Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.6 Global Market Size (Value) of Mescal (2013-2025)1.6.1 Global Mescal Revenue Status and Outlook (2013-2025)1.6.2 Global Mescal Capacity, Production Status and Outlook (2013-2025)2 Global Mescal Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global Mescal Capacity, Production and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.1.1 Global Mescal Capacity and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.1.2 Global Mescal Production and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.2 Global Mescal Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.3 Global Mescal Average Price by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.4 Manufacturers Mescal Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area and Product Type2.5 Mescal Market Competitive Situation and Trends2.5.1 Mescal Market Concentration Rate2.5.2 Mescal Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Manufacturers2.5.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion3 Global Mescal Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2013-2018)3.1 Global Mescal Capacity and Market Share by Region (2013-2018)3.2 Global Mescal Production and Market Share by Region (2013-2018)3.3 Global Mescal Revenue (Value) and Market Share by Region (2013-2018)3.4 Global Mescal Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)3.5 North America Mescal Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)3.6 Europe Mescal Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)3.7 China Mescal Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)3.8 Japan Mescal Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)3.9 Southeast Asia Mescal Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)3.10 India Mescal Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)4 Global Mescal Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2013-2018)4.1 Global Mescal Consumption by Region (2013-2018)4.2 North America Mescal Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2013-2018)4.3 Europe Mescal Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2013-2018)4.4 China Mescal Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2013-2018)4.5 Japan Mescal Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2013-2018)4.6 Southeast Asia Mescal Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2013-2018)4.7 India Mescal Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2013-2018)5 Global Mescal Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type5.1 Global Mescal Production and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)5.2 Global Mescal Revenue and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)5.3 Global Mescal Price by Type (2013-2018)5.4 Global Mescal Production Growth by Type (2013-2018)6 Global Mescal Market Analysis by Application6.1 Global Mescal Consumption and Market Share by Application (2013-2018)6.2 Global Mescal Consumption Growth Rate by Application (2013-2018)6.3 Market Drivers and Opportunities6.3.1 Potential Applications6.3.2 Emerging Markets/CountriesContinuousFor 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 Outdoor Televisions Market Research Report - Forecast to 2025

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"The Report Global Outdoor Televisions Market Research Report 2018 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"About Outdoor Televisions MarketIn this report, the global Outdoor Televisions 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.Get Sample copy of this Report @In addition, drivers, restraints and opportunities, competitive landscape have also been covered under the current proposed table of contents, which will in due course help you to take strategic decisions with respect to the market.Data including (both global and regions): Production (K Units), Sales (both volume and value-million USD), Market Share, Consumption, Import, Export, price (USD/Unit), cost, gross margin etc.Geographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), market share and growth rate of Outdoor Televisions in these regions, from 2013 to 2025 (forecast), coveringNorth AmericaEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaRequest for TOC @Global Outdoor Televisions market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the top players includingSunBriteTVMirageVisionSeuraPlatinumSkyVueCiniosAquaLite TVPeerless-AVOolaaLuxuriteOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split into32 Inch Size40 Inch Size42 Inch Size46 Inch Size47 Inch Size50 Inch Size55 Inch Size60Inch Size65 Inch Size70 Inch SizeOn 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, includingCommercialResidentialIf you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.View Report @Table of ContentsGlobal Outdoor Televisions Market Research Report 20181 Outdoor Televisions Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Outdoor Televisions1.2 Outdoor Televisions Segment by Type (Product Category)1.2.1 Global Outdoor Televisions Production and CAGR (%) Comparison by Type (Product Category)(2013-2025)1.2.2 Global Outdoor Televisions Production Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20171.2.3 32 Inch Size1.2.4 40 Inch Size1.2.5 42 Inch Size1.2.6 46 Inch Size1.2.7 47 Inch Size1.2.8 50 Inch Size1.2.9 55 Inch Size1.2.10 60Inch Size1.2.11 65 Inch Size1.2.12 70 Inch Size1.3 Global Outdoor Televisions Segment by Application1.3.1 Outdoor Televisions Consumption (Sales) Comparison by Application (2013-2025)1.3.2 Commercial1.3.3 Residential1.4 Global Outdoor Televisions Market by Region (2013-2025)1.4.1 Global Outdoor Televisions 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 Outdoor Televisions (2013-2025)1.5.1 Global Outdoor Televisions Revenue Status and Outlook (2013-2025)1.5.2 Global Outdoor Televisions Capacity, Production Status and Outlook (2013-2025)2 Global Outdoor Televisions Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global Outdoor Televisions Capacity, Production and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.1.1 Global Outdoor Televisions Capacity and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.1.2 Global Outdoor Televisions Production and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.2 Global Outdoor Televisions Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.3 Global Outdoor Televisions Average Price by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.4 Manufacturers Outdoor Televisions Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area and Product Type2.5 Outdoor Televisions Market Competitive Situation and Trends2.5.1 Outdoor Televisions Market Concentration Rate2.5.2 Outdoor Televisions Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Manufacturers2.5.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion3 Global Outdoor Televisions Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2013-2018)3.1 Global Outdoor Televisions Capacity and Market Share by Region (2013-2018)3.2 Global Outdoor Televisions Production and Market Share by Region (2013-2018)3.3 Global Outdoor Televisions Revenue (Value) and Market Share by Region (2013-2018)3.4 Global Outdoor Televisions Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)3.5 North America Outdoor Televisions Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)3.6 Europe Outdoor Televisions Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)3.7 China Outdoor Televisions Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)3.8 Japan Outdoor Televisions Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)3.9 Southeast Asia Outdoor Televisions Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)3.10 India Outdoor Televisions Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)4 Global Outdoor Televisions Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2013-2018)4.1 Global Outdoor Televisions Consumption by Region (2013-2018)4.2 North America Outdoor Televisions Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2013-2018)4.3 Europe Outdoor Televisions Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2013-2018)4.4 China Outdoor Televisions Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2013-2018)4.5 Japan Outdoor Televisions Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2013-2018)4.6 Southeast Asia Outdoor Televisions Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2013-2018)4.7 India Outdoor Televisions Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2013-2018)Buy Now @About usMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.ContactMr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
A Recent Study Says Isoprene Rubber Market Will Make a Huge Impact in near Future

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Isoprene Rubber Market: SnapshotThe unique perceived benefits of isoprene rubbers, a form of synthetic rubber, are their resistance to abrasion and fractures. On account of having similar chemical and physical properties as that of a natural rubber, isoprene finds applications as tires, automotive mounts, shock absorbers, adhesives, healthcare items, sporting goods, and coatings among others.Isoprene rubbers are enjoying soaring demand on account of a flourishing automotive industry. Rising awareness about the use of isoprene rubber gloves for various purposes, particularly in surgeries and other healthcare processes, is also proving beneficial for its demand.With a huge thrust on research and development, more applications of isoprene rubber is expected to emerge in the near future. One such result of research and development is bio-isoprene that can be formulated from low cost sugars gotten from biomass, and provide a green preliminary material for products such as styrene block copolymers, for its use as adhesive and other applications. Many such innovative product categories is slated to bode well for the isoprene rubbers market in the near future. Already, renowned automakers in the world are pledging uptake for such eco-efficient products.Request Sample Copy of the Report@Asia Pacific, powered by particularly by China, is the primary driver of the global isoprene rubbers market. This is because of the explosive growth in the automotive industry in the region. North America and Europe are important contributors to the market as well due to the growing awareness of hygiene among people that has led to the significant uptake of isoprene rubbers in the healthcare sector.Isoprene Rubber Market: General OutlineIsoprene or 2-methyl-1, 3 butadiene, is a colorless liquid and volatile in nature. It is soluble in organic solvents such as alcohol and water due to its low vapor pressure and reactive nature. Isoprene rubbers are highly resistant to abrasion and fractures. Isoprene has electro insulating resistance, and is an organic compound that is emitted by various plants and trees. Some of the producers of isoprene are: poplars, oaks, eucalyptus, and legumes among others. About half of the yearly production of isoprene emissions comes from tropical broadleaf trees and the remaining from shrubs. Isoprene is denoted by a chemical formula CH2=C(CH3)CH=CH2. Isoprene is produced in the chloroplasts of plants through the MEP pathway that is also known as non-mevalonate pathway. Isoprene emissions are known to change dramatically with temperature and maximize at around 40 degree Celsius. This has led to the belief that isoprene protects plants from heat stress. Industrial production of isoprene was done primarily by isolation through thermal decomposition of natural rubber. It is readily available as a side product in manufacturing ethylene and as a by-product of thermal cracking of oil or naphtha.Request TOC of the Report @Isoprene Rubber Market: Trends and ProspectsIsoprene is known as a structural motif in most of the biological systems. The isoprenoids such as tetraterpenes and carotenes are derived from isoprene. Other substances and compounds derived from isoprene include retinol, phytol, dolichols, tocopherols, and squalene among others.As isoprene rubber has similar physical and chemical properties as that of a natural rubber, isoprene is used in host of applications. It does not contain fatty acids, proteins and other substances that are present in natural rubber. The various applications of isoprene include tires, shock absorbers, automotive mounts, adhesives, sporting goods, healthcare items, and coatings among others.Growing market demand for isoprene from the automotive industry is the major factor driving the global isoprene market. In addition, growing awareness has given rise to usage of gloves for various purposes. Therefore, the increasing demand for isoprene from the medical and healthcare sector is also expected to boost demand for isoprene in the near future. One of the drivers in developing bio-based isoprene is its capability to utilize low cost sugars derived from biomass, and provide a green preliminary material for products such as styrene block copolymers, for its use as adhesive and other applications.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report@With rising research and development activities along with innovations, the wide range of applications in the end user industries are expected to provide opportunities for the growth of the global isoprene market. The potential for bio-isoprene is also expected to boost opportunities for isoprene in the market.Isoprene Rubber Market: Key SegmentsNorth America, Asia Pacific, Europe, and Rest of the World (RoW) are the major segments for the global isoprene market. Asia Pacific, especially China is expected to boost the market demand for isoprene due to the growing automotive industry in the region. North America and Europe are also expected to fuel demand for isoprene owing to the growing hygiene awareness among people. This hygiene awareness has led to a rise in demand for isoprene from the healthcare sector, thereby driving the growth of the isoprene market.Isoprene Rubber Market: Key Market playersThe key players of the isoprene rubber market are: JSR, Kaixin, Lanzhou Xinlan, Nizhnekamskneftekhim, Sinopec, Togliattikauchuk, Yikesi, Zhenjiang Xintian, Goodyear, Jinhai Deqi, Kuraray, Lyondellbasell, Shell, Synthez-Kauchuk, Formosa Plastics, Kraton Polymers, LCY, YUHUANG, ZEON and Zibo Luhua Hongjin, SINOPEC, Versalis(Polimeri Europa), TSRC, and ZEON among others.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
Agrochemicals Market To Witness Enhanced Usage In Sales And Marketing Industries Till 2025

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Agrochemicals Market: SnapshotAgrochemicals include fertilizers, pesticides, liming and acidifying agents, herbicides, and soil conditioners. They help to sustain the agricultural ecosystem and thus play a crucial role in the food chain. The agrochemicals help to bring about a good crop by preserving the quality of food and soil and improving the crop supplies.With an ever-increasing world population constantly driving up the demand for food and rising consumer awareness about the advantages of having food cultivated using agrochemicals, the market for agrochemicals has been on a constant upward trajectory.The prolonged use of agrochemicals, however, can have a negative effect on the soil and crops, and subsequently on human health. It can lead to cancer, asthma, autism, diabetes, and even Alzheimers disease. To tackle the challenges, manufacturers are focusing on developing better and safer products. This has led to the emergence and swift popularity of new varieties such as biopesticides and bio-fertilizers.Asia Pacific is a key market for agrochemicals on account of densely populated countries of India and China, where the improving economic scenario has upped the demand for food to a large extent. Africa and Latin America are primed to emerge as important markets as well. Strict regulations pertaining to the use of chemical pesticides, however, may end up suppressing market growth in Europe and North America.Request Sample Copy of the Report@Prominent competitors in the global agrochemicals market are Dow AgroSciences LLC, Gharda Chemicals Limited, BASF SE, Yara International ASA, Bayer CropScience AG, Haifa Group, Zuari Agro Chemicals Ltd., and Syngenta AG.Global Agrochemicals Market: IntroductionSynthetic chemicals including organophosphates and di-methyl amines are commonly termed under agrochemicals, along with plant and animal manure. Agrochemicals are usually sprayed on crops or mixed with the soil. Agrochemicals a primarily used for the maintenance of the quality of food and soil, protection of crops, the enhancement of yield, and the augmentation of growth process in plants. Agrochemicals are commonly classified into pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, fertilizers, fungicides, and liming and acidifying agents. Fertilizers and pesticides held the leading share in the overall consumption volume of agrochemicals in the recent past.Global Agrochemicals Market: Top Drivers and TrendsThe global agrochemicals market is currently being driven by factors such as the overall changes in the use of agrochemicals, the population explosion and the consecutive global growth in demand for food, and heightened consumer awareness regarding the benefits of consuming food cultivated using agrochemicals. The rise in demand for quality nutritious foods owing to the global population explosion is likely continue augmenting the global agrochemicals market for the foreseeable future. The situation has led to an extensive use of agrochemicals such as pesticides, insecticides, fertilizers, and acidifying agents.Request TOC of the Report @However, the global agrochemicals market is being restricted by factors such as the adverse effects on soil, crops, and human health linked to the prolonged use of agrochemicals. Some of the diseases caused in humans are strongly linked to the chemicals commonly manufactured in the global agrochemicals market, including autism, several types of cancers, diabetes, asthma, and Alzheimers disease. Agrochemicals not only get collected in surface run-offs and groundwater, but also get transported through air over non-targeted areas, jeopardizing the health and safety of inhabitants. As a result, newer and safer types of agrochemicals are emerging in the market. Biopesticides and bio-fertilizers and being introduced commercially on a large scale.Global Agrochemicals Market: Regional AssessmentThe developing nations of Asia Pacific are likely to show a steady rate of increase in their consumption of agrochemicals. China, Japan, and India are expected to hold large shares in the global agrochemicals market over the coming years. China may continue to increase its demand for agrochemicals for soybeans, rice, and maize. India is also highly likely to display a similar increase in demand for agrochemicals for the protection of cash crops such as cotton, sugarcane, and major cereals such as wheat, jowar, and rice. Africa and Latin America are likely to follow Asia Pacific region in terms of position of demand volume in the global agrochemicals market.North America and Europe are also expected to show a slow growth rate in the global agrochemicals market over the coming years. North America is likely to hold better opportunities due to an increased use of bio-based agrochemicals. Europe is likely to show a declining demand over the coming years, owing to stringent government regulations and bans on certain chemical pesticides.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report@Global Agrochemicals Market: Companies Mentioned in the ReportKey players in the global agrochemicals market so far, have included Yara International ASA, Haifa Group, Bayer CropScience AG, Dow AgroSciences LLC, Zuari Agro Chemicals Ltd., Gharda Chemicals Limited, Syngenta AG, and BASF SE.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
Global Sulfate of Potash Market 2018 - Tessenderlo Group, Haifa Chemicals ltd., Compass Minerals, K+S KALI GmbH and Forecast To 2025

Global Sulfate of Potash Market- Industry Trends and Forecast to 2025

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Global Sulfate of Potash Market By Grade Type (standard SOP, Granular SOP, Soluble SOP), By end user (Agricultural, Industrial), By Geography (North America, South America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East & Africa)- Industry Trends and Forecast to 2025Ask for Free Sample Report @Global Sulfate of Potash Market is expected to reach 10,535.84 thousand tons by 2025 from 7,000.00 thousand tons in 2017, at a CAGR of 5.5% in the forecast period 2017 to 2024. The new market report contains data for historic years 2016, the base year of calculation is 2017 and the forecast period is 2018 to 2025.The major factors contributing to the growth of the market includes factors such as rising global population and income growth in key emerging markets,reduction in arable land and chase for higher yields. On the other hand, increase in the trend of organic food consumption may hinder the growth of the market.Key Points:K+S KALI GmbH is going to dominate the global Sulfate of Potash market following with Tessenderlo Group, Compass Minerals, SQM and Migao Group others among others. The global Granular SOP market is expected to reach 7,214.40 thousand tonnes by 2025, from 4,768.21 thousand tonnes in 2017, growing at a CAGR of 5.6%. The Agricultureis expected to dominate the Sulfate of Potash market with 89.0% market share, growing at a CAGR 5.7% in the forecast period 2018 to 2025.Major Players: Global Sulfate of Potash MarketSome of the Major Players Operating in this Market are:- Tessenderlo Group, Haifa Chemicals ltd., Compass Minerals, K+S KALI GmbH, SQM, MIGAO GROUP, Ameropa Australia Pvt Ltd, Archean Group, China Ching Shiang Chemical Corporation, SESODA, Helm AG, Merck KGaA among others.Request for Detail TOC @Key Drivers:The major factors contributing to the growth of the market includes factors such as are rising global population and income growth in key emerging markets, Reduction In Arable Land And Chase For Higher Yields, Increase In Need Of Turf & Ornamental Land.RISING GLOBAL POPULATION AND INCOME GROWTH IN KEY EMERGING MARKETSAccording to WHO the global population had reached to 7.6 billion by end of 2017. With the rise in population the need for more agricultural and industrial product increases. Furthermore, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the world economy has broadly strengthened over the past three years and is expected to continue this strengthening during 2014-2015. The global grain supply-demand balance in the 2014-2015 marketing season had improved. The world cereal production in 2014 was estimated to reach 2 498 000 000 tonnes. World demand for total fertilizer nutrients is been estimated to grow at 1.8 percent per annum from 2014 to 2018. The demand for nitrogen, phosphate, and potash fertilizer is forecast to grow annually by 1.4, 2.2, and 2.6 percent, respectively, during the forecasted period. The global potential balance of potassium was expected to rise significantly from 8 700 000 tonnes in 2014 to 12 700 000 tonnes in 2018, Africa region is likely to remain a major exporter of phosphate, followed by nitrogen. But North America continues to be solely importer of potash.According to above mentioned statistics the need for Potash based fertilizers is increasing. SOP (Sulfate of Potash) is a chloride free chemical and vital for high value crops. The agricultural pollution, water scarcity and technology advances technology are causing changes in production practices of various groups such as different method of irrigations like sprinkle irrigation method are used for growing of crops. With the change in lifestyle more demand for sensitive crop is growing. According to Agrimin company approximately 50 kilotons per annum SOP is imported and used in Australia itself. Markets such as of potatoes and grapes are major drivers for SOP. According to compass mineral industries North America is highest producer of Potash globally is making the market of SOP grow in the future.INCREASE IN NEED OF TURF & ORNAMENTAL LANDIn ornamental market, decorative plants, cut flowers and bulbs are grown as commercial crops, Pests can reduce profits quickly and dramatically. Companies such as BASF offers a wide range of innovative solutions for disease and insect control for general landscaping and the professional turf management requires skilled personnel and high-performance technology. Companies such as BASF supports greens keepers, superintendents, amenity managers, agronomists and technical experts in the turf care industry with a powerful portfolio of herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, biological solutions, colorants and turf nutrients.Special types of fertilizers are used which enhance the quality of the soil and give better and greener grass. SOP is most commonly used fertilizer as it enhances the quality of the soil and increase the potash contain of the soil. There are different type of turf and ornamental grasses such as type of turf grass (zoysia grass, rye grass, bermuda grass, blue kentucky grass, tall fescue, and others, type of ornamental grass (fountain grass, ravenna grass, feather reed grass, purple millet, fibre optic grass, and others.The turfgrass and lawncare industry in the United States is expected t to grow rapidly due to strong demand for residential and commercial property development, rising affluence, and the environmental and benefits of turf grass in the urban landscape.The turf grass has various economic and environmental impacts globally. For example the turf grass industry made a significances profit of about 3.2 billion to the state economy of New Jersey.Talk To the Author of This Report @Market Segmentation: The Global Sulfate of Potash Market is segmented on the basis of grade type, end user and geography. The report provides data for 2016 to 2025, 2017 being the current year while 2018 to 2025 is the forecast period for the report. The Global Sulfate of Potash market is segmented based on grade type into three notable segments; standard SOP, Granular SOP, Soluble SOP The Sulfate of Potash market is dominated by Granular SOP with 68.2% market share in 2018, growing at a CAGR of 5.6% in the forecast period. The Global Sulfate of Potash market is segmented based on end user into two notable segments; Agricultural and Industrial . In 2018, the Agricultural Sulfate of Potash segment is expected to dominate the market with 89.0% market share. Based on geography, the market is segmented into 5 geographical regions, North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America and Middle East and Africa.Read more about This Report @About Data Bridge Market Research:Data Bridge Market Research set forth itself as an unconventional and neoteric Market research and consulting firm with unparalleled level of resilience and integrated approaches. We are determined to unearth the best market opportunities and foster efficient information for your business to thrive in the market. Data Bridge endeavors to provide appropriate solutions to the complex business challenges and initiates an effortless decision-making process.Contact:Vishal DixitData Bridge Market ResearchTel: +1-888-387-2818Email: Sales@databridgemarketresearch.comInvestor: investors@databridgemarketresearch.comVisit Blog:Follow us on LinkedIn:
TRAVELHOLIDAYAMSTERDAM.COM RAISES $1.2 MILLION TO EXPAND ITS VACATION RENTALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE

TRAVELHOLIDAYAMSTERDAM.COM, a company that sells technology to support vacation rental owners, has raised $1.2 million, bringing its total investment, to date, to $2 million.Prior investor Silverandgold Partners upped its stakes by joining this round; it has two partners as board members on the startup, too. Ventos Ventures also participated in this round. To date, TRAVELHOLIDAYAMSTERDAM.COM has raised $2 million from a variety of investors.Founded in 2015 in Netherlands, Amsterdam, the company offers tools for property owners to manage their listings on sites like TRAVELHOLIDAYAMSTERDAM.COM as well as handle on-property management issues, such as check-in and cleaning, for an 18% fee.TRAVELHOLIDAYAMSTERDAM.COM manages about 90 properties in two cities, such as Amsterdam and Rotterdam.TRAVELHOLIDAYAMSTERDAM.COM has taken on traditional property management firms by charging lower rates of commission on bookings, something it says its more efficient software and business model allows it to do.The startup is led by a team with prior experience in the travel industry. Its executive chairman John Timor had leadership roles at airbnb.com, BnB.com, and Hotnews;TRAVELHOLIDAYAMSTERDAM.COM, a company that sells technology to support vacation rental owners, has raised $1.2 million, bringing its total investment, to date, to $2 million.Kinkerstraat 67-05 1053DG, Amsterdam , Netherland
2017-2022 Global and U.S. Automotive Center Console Market Status and Forecast by Players, Types

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Qyresearchreports include new market research report "2017-2022 Automotive Center Console Report on Global and United States Market, Status and Forecast, by Players, Types and Applications" to its huge collection of research reports.The Global and United States market for Automotive Center Console has been researched with every detail in the publication with increased emphasis on various important factors such as opportunities, and restraints, growth drivers. Each of the factors that pertain to shaping of the market dynamics has been studied and analyzed in detail by the analysts, so as to offer the best and most evaluative and exhaustive study to the report buyers. The snapshot or the executive summary that has been provided in the market intelligence study has been designed in such a way so as to give a quick overview of the market for receiving information on the go. This could help readers with hands-on data needed to make quick decisions anytime during their growth journey in the market.Request and Get Free Sample Report @This report studies the Automotive Center Console market status and outlook of global and United States, from angles of players, regions, product types and end industries; this report analyzes the top players in global and United States market, and splits the Automotive Center Console market by product type and applications/end industries.The major players in global and United States Automotive Center Console market, including Faurecia, Grammer, Magneti Marelli, Johnson Controls, Kolpin, RAMPAGE, MVC, TSI Products,Inc, Plastikon, Hertland Automotive, Sanko Gosei, Yanfeng Visteon, Gac component, Carfu Caraccessories, Yanfeng Visteon, Junhong.The market segmentations study that has been offered in the publication explores some of the most significant segments of the world Automotive Center Console market deemed important for the growth of industry participants. All of the segments that have been studied elaborately in the said publication have been deeply evaluated with assistance from best of the research techniques. The analysts have dissected each of the segments and have shed light on vital factors that influence the growth of the various segments. Using this crucial information, market players could rightly shape their business plans in favor of the betterment of their growth in the world market. Segments that have been analyzed in the publication could be related to product, end use, application, and geography.A group of experienced analysts who have prepared the said report delves deep into the various factors that hinder or fuel the Global and United States market for Automotive Center Console. It also discovers and mentions the important trends that are emerging in the said market. Banking upon all these information that has been gathered so far, it has come up with the best course of action for all the stake holders of the market.Table of Contents1 Methodology and Data Source1.1 Methodology/Research Approach1.1.1 Research Programs/Design1.1.2 Market Size Estimation1.1.3 Market Breakdown and Data Triangulation1.2 Data Source1.3 Disclaimer2 Automotive Center Console Market Overview2.1 Automotive Center Console Product Overview2.2 Automotive Center Console Market Segment by Type2.3 Global Automotive Center Console Product Segment by Type2.3.1 Global Automotive Center Console Sales (K Units) and Growth (%) by Types (2012, 2016 and 2022)2.3.2 Global Automotive Center Console Sales (K Units) and Market Share (%) by Types (2012-2017)2.3.3 Global Automotive Center Console Revenue (Million USD) and Market Share (%) by Types (2012-2017)2.3.4 Global Automotive Center Console Price (USD/Unit) by Type (2012-2017)2.4 United States Automotive Center Console Product Segment by TypeEnquiry For Discount Visit @3 Automotive Center Console Application/End Users3.1 Automotive Center Console Segment by Application/End Users3.2 Global Automotive Center Console Product Segment by Application3.2.1 Global Automotive Center Console Sales (K Units) and CGAR (%) by Applications (2012, 2016 and 2022)3.2.2 Global Automotive Center Console Sales (K Units) and Market Share (%) by Applications (2012-2017)3.3 United States Automotive Center Console Product Segment by Application3.3.1 United States Automotive Center Console Sales (K Units) and CGAR (%) by Applications (2012, 2016 and 2022)3.3.2 United States Automotive Center Console Sales (K Units) and Market Share (%) by Applications (2012-2017)4 Automotive Center Console Market Status and Outlook by Regions4.1 Global Market Status and Outlook by Regions4.1.1 Global Automotive Center Console Market Size and CAGR by Regions (2012, 2016 and 2022)4.2 Global Automotive Center Console Sales and Revenue by Regions4.2.1 Global Automotive Center Console Sales (K Units) and Market Share (%) by Regions (2012-2017)4.2.2 Global Automotive Center Console Revenue (Million USD) and Market Share (%) by Regions (2012-2017)4.2.3 Global Automotive Center Console Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)4.2.4 North America Automotive Center Console Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)4.2.5 Europe Automotive Center Console Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)4.2.6 Asia-Pacific Automotive Center Console Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)4.2.7 South America Automotive Center Console Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (2012-2017)5 Global Automotive Center Console Market Competition by Players/Manufacturers5.1 Global Automotive Center Console Sales (K Units) and Market Share by Players (2012-2017)5.2 Global Automotive Center Console Revenue (Million USD) and Share by Players (2012-2017)5.3 Global Automotive Center Console Average Price (USD/Unit) by Players (2012-2017)5.4 Players Automotive Center Console Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area, Product Types5.5 Automotive Center Console Market Competitive Situation and Trends5.5.1 Automotive Center Console Market Concentration Rate5.5.2 Global Automotive Center Console Market Share (%) of Top 3 and Top 5 PlayersAbout 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
2017-2022 Global and United States Health and Wellness Market Status and Forecast by Top Players

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Qyresearchreports include new market research report "2017-2022 Health and Wellness Report on Global and United States Market, Status and Forecast, by Players, Types and Applications" to its huge collection of research reports.The report on the Global and United States Health and Wellness market is extremely comprehensive and comprises of tables, charts, statistics, maps, and Graphics so as to give the readers a clear understanding in an easy manner regarding the growth prospects of the Global and United States Health and Wellness market. It offers an unbiased View regarding the markets future and gives both the promising opportunities that lie ahead within the market as well as the various factors which are expected to obstruct or challenge the growth of this Market.This report studies the Health and Wellness market status and outlook of global and United States, from angles of players, regions, product types and end industries; this report analyzes the top players in global and United States market, and splits the Health and Wellness market by product type and applications/end industries.Request a Free Sample Report of this research to evaluate more:The major players in global and United States Health and Wellness market, including Danone, Nestl? General Mills, Kellogg, Fifty 50 Foods, Arbonne International, Abbott Nutrition, Glanbia, Arla Food, By-health, Omron Healthcare, Inc., McKesson Corporation, Philips Healthcare Company, GE Healthcare, Inc., Draeger Medical Systems, Inc., Fitbit, Inc., St. Jude Medical, Inc., Medtronic Plc, Aerotel Medical System Ltd., Boston Scientific Corporation.The market is segmented on the basis of key criteria. The report there for studies each of the segments as well as a sub segments. Information including leading segment, declining segment, fastest growing segment has been given in the report. The report studies the Global and United States Health and Wellness market from a Global and United States Perspective as well as Regional perspective. Regionally this Market has been segmented for the purpose of study into Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East and Africa. The reported then goes on to declare which regional market will emerge is the most lucrative one during the forecast period, as well as which regional market will witness a sluggish growth and therefore advice potential investors against investing in that particular region so as to avoid loss.The aim of the research report is to assist business investors, well-established players as well as new entrance to make profitable decisions regarding Investments within the Global and United States Health and Wellness market. It determines the budding Trends which are currently impacting the market and might have a future scope as well within the market. In addition to this, growth opportunities that lie in the market are also revealed. For the purpose of predicting the market size, the research report takes into account historical figures and present Market size. In this fashion, an effective and accurate prediction can be made regarding the future of the Global and United States Health and Wellness market.Table of Contents1 Methodology and Data Source1.1 Methodology/Research Approach1.1.1 Research Programs/Design1.1.2 Market Size Estimation1.1.3 Market Breakdown and Data Triangulation1.2 Data Source1.3 Disclaimer2 Health and Wellness Market Overview2.1 Health and Wellness Product Overview2.2 Health and Wellness Market Segment by Type2.3 Global Health and Wellness Product Segment by Type2.3.1 Global Health and Wellness Sales (K Units) and Growth (%) by Types (2012, 2016 and 2022)2.3.2 Global Health and Wellness Sales (K Units) and Market Share (%) by Types (2012-2017)2.3.3 Global Health and Wellness Revenue (Million USD) and Market Share (%) by Types (2012-2017)2.3.4 Global Health and Wellness Price (USD/Unit) by Type (2012-2017)2.4 United States Health and Wellness Product Segment by TypeGet discount on this report at3 Health and Wellness Application/End Users3.1 Health and Wellness Segment by Application/End Users3.2 Global Health and Wellness Product Segment by Application3.2.1 Global Health and Wellness Sales (K Units) and CGAR (%) by Applications (2012, 2016 and 2022)3.2.2 Global Health and Wellness Sales (K Units) and Market Share (%) by Applications (2012-2017)3.3 United States Health and Wellness Product Segment by Application3.3.1 United States Health and Wellness Sales (K Units) and CGAR (%) by Applications (2012, 2016 and 2022)3.3.2 United States Health and Wellness Sales (K Units) and Market Share (%) by Applications (2012-2017)4 Health and Wellness Market Status and Outlook by Regions4.1 Global Market Status and Outlook by Regions4.1.1 Global Health and Wellness Market Size and CAGR by Regions (2012, 2016 and 2022)4.2 Global Health and Wellness Sales and Revenue by Regions4.2.1 Global Health and Wellness Sales (K Units) and Market Share (%) by Regions (2012-2017)4.2.2 Global Health and Wellness Revenue (Million USD) and Market Share (%) by Regions (2012-2017)4.2.3 Global Health and Wellness Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)4.2.4 North America Health and Wellness Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)4.2.5 Europe Health and Wellness Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)4.2.6 Asia-Pacific Health and Wellness Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)4.2.7 South America Health and Wellness Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (2012-2017)5 Global Health and Wellness Market Competition by Players/Manufacturers5.1 Global Health and Wellness Sales (K Units) and Market Share by Players (2012-2017)5.2 Global Health and Wellness Revenue (Million USD) and Share by Players (2012-2017)5.3 Global Health and Wellness Average Price (USD/Unit) by Players (2012-2017)5.4 Players Health and Wellness Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area, Product Types5.5 Health and Wellness Market Competitive Situation and Trends5.5.1 Health and Wellness Market Concentration Rate5.5.2 Global Health and Wellness Market Share (%) of Top 3 and Top 5 PlayersAbout 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
Rubidium Standard Market Trends, Segmentation by Application and key players  Microsemi, Spectratime, Frequency Electronics

Rubidium Standard MARKET

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HTF MI published a new industry research that focuses on Rubidium Standard market and delivers in-depth market analysis and future prospects of Global Rubidium Standard market. The study covers significant data which makes the research document a handy resource for managers, analysts, industry experts and other key people get ready-to-access and self-analyzed study along with graphs and tables to help understand market trends, drivers and market challenges. The study is segmented by Application/ end users [Navigation, Military/Aerospace, Telecom/Broadcasting & Others], products type [Production Frequency: 10MHz] and various important geographies like North America, China, Europe, Southeast Asia, Japan & India].Get Access to FREE sample pages @The research covers the current market size of the Global Rubidium Standard market and its growth rates based on 5 year history data along with company profile of key players/manufacturers. The in-depth information by segments of Rubidium Standard market helps monitor future profitability & to make critical decisions for growth. The information on trends and developments, focuses on markets and materials, capacities, technologies, CAPEX cycle and the changing structure of the Global Rubidium Standard Market.The study provides company profiling, product picture and specifications, sales, market share and contact information of key manufacturers of Global Rubidium Standard Market, some of them listed here are Microsemi, Spectratime, Frequency Electronics, AccuBeat Ltd, Excelitas Technologies, Stanford Research Systems, IQD, Casic, Chengdu Spaceon Electronics & Zurich Instruments. The market is growing at a very rapid pace and with rise in technological innovation, competition and M&A activities in the industry many local and regional vendors are offering specific application products for varied end-users. The new manufacturer entrants in the market are finding it hard to compete with the international vendors based on quality, reliability, and innovations in technology.Global Rubidium Standard (Thousands Units) and Revenue (Million USD) Market Split by Product Type such as Production Frequency: 10MHz. Further the research study is segmented by Application such as Navigation, Military/Aerospace, Telecom/Broadcasting & Others with historical and projected market share and compounded annual growth rate.Geographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), and market share and growth rate of Rubidium Standard in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), covering North America, China, Europe, Southeast Asia, Japan & India and its Share (%) and CAGR for the forecasted period 2017 to 2022.Read Detailed Index of full Research Study at @Following would be the Chapters to display the Global Rubidium Standard market.Chapter 1, to describe Definition, Specifications and Classification of Rubidium Standard, Applications of Rubidium Standard, Market Segment by Regions;Chapter 2, to analyze the Manufacturing Cost Structure, Raw Material and Suppliers, Manufacturing Process, Industry Chain Structure;Chapter 3, to display the Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of Rubidium Standard, Capacity and Commercial Production Date, Manufacturing Plants Distribution, R&D Status and Technology Source, Raw Materials Sources Analysis;Chapter 4, to show the Overall Market Analysis, Capacity Analysis (Company Segment), Sales Analysis (Company Segment), Sales Price Analysis (Company Segment);Check for discount @Chapter 5 and 6, to show the Regional Market Analysis that includes North America, China, Europe, Southeast Asia, Japan & India, Rubidium Standard Segment Market Analysis (by Type);Chapter 7 and 8, to analyze the Rubidium Standard Segment Market Analysis (by Application) Major Manufacturers Analysis of Rubidium Standard;Chapter 9, Market Trend Analysis, Regional Market Trend, Market Trend by Product Type [Production Frequency: 10MHz], Market Trend by Application [Navigation, Military/Aerospace, Telecom/Broadcasting & Others];Chapter 10, Regional Marketing Type Analysis, International Trade Type Analysis, Supply Chain Analysis;Chapter 11, to analyze the Consumers Analysis of Global Rubidium Standard;Chapter 12,13, 14 and 15, to describe Rubidium Standard sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source.Enquire for customization in Report @What this Research Study Offers:Global Rubidium Standard Market share assessments for the regional and country level segmentsMarket share analysis of the top industry playersStrategic recommendations for the new entrantsMarket forecasts for a minimum of 5 years of all the mentioned segments, sub segments and the regional marketsMarket Trends (Drivers, Constraints, Opportunities, Threats, Challenges, Investment Opportunities, and recommendations)Strategic recommendations in key business segments based on the market estimationsCompetitive landscaping mapping the key common trendsCompany profiling with detailed strategies, financials, and recent developmentsSupply chain trends mapping the latest technological advancementsBuy this research report @Reasons for Buying this ReportThis report provides pin-point analysis for changing competitive dynamicsIt provides a forward looking perspective on different factors driving or restraining market growthIt provides a six-year forecast assessed on the basis of how the market is predicted to growIt helps in understanding the key product segments and their futureIt provides pin point analysis of changing competition dynamics and keeps you ahead of competitorsIt helps in making informed business decisions by having complete insights of market and by making in-depth analysis of market segmentsThanks for reading this article; you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia.About Author:HTF Market Report is a wholly owned brand of HTF market Intelligence Consulting Private Limited. HTF Market Report global research and market intelligence consulting organization is uniquely positioned to not only identify growth opportunities but to also empower and inspire you to create visionary growth strategies for futures, enabled by our extraordinary depth and breadth of thought leadership, research, tools, events and experience that assist you for making goals into a reality. Our understanding of the interplay between industry convergence, Mega Trends, technologies and market trends provides our clients with new business models and expansion opportunities. We are focused on identifying the Accurate Forecast in every industry we cover so our clients can reap the benefits of being early market entrants and can accomplish their Goals & Objectives.Contact Us:HTF Market Intelligence Consulting Private LimitedUnit No. 429, Parsonage Road, Edison, NJ USA - 08837sales@htfmarketreport.comPh: +1 (206) 317 1218
Energy Storage Market - by Type Mechanical, Electrochemical, Thermal, Chemical and Others Growth And Demand Forecast to 2022

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As per the research, the global market for energy storage is likely to grow from $2,663.2 million in 2016 to $26,137.0 million by 2022. With the growing adoption of energy storage in various end-user industries for grid and off-grid applications, the global energy storage market is expected to gain traction. The energy storage market offers ample growth opportunities during the forecast period on account of falling costs associated with the manufacturing of batteries, in conjugation with car manufacturers scaling up the production of electric vehicles.Request For Sample Pages:Asia-Pacific accounted for the largest region in the global energy storage market, where Japan contributed to the largest revenue. Germany was the major market in Europe, whereas the U.S. contributed to the largest revenue in North America region. Africa dominated the Rest of the World market.The factors driving the growth of the energy storage market include progress in renewable energy generation, rapidly increasing grid scale energy storage market, drop in prices of lithium-ion batteries and growing application of energy storage in various end-user industries. Rapid growth of intermittent renewable energy and its storage for smooth transmission is propelling the global energy storage market. With increasing number of projects and initiatives focusing on generating electricity through renewable resources, the energy storage market is expected to witness high growth during the forecast period.Regulations are being planned and implemented to support the installation of grid scale energy storage for efficient transmission. Research and development initiatives focus on cutting down the costs of storage technologies to create new opportunities for storage on the grid. With an advanced and developed technology, batteries could provide load shifting services which are otherwise, provided by highly flexible, expensive natural-gas combustion turbines. EES is an effective tool that has charging/discharging capabilities. It stores electricity from local generation when they are not required and discharges it when required.Access Full Report :The research states that the global market is highly fragmented in nature, where major players constitute for the major shares in the global market. Some of the key players in the global energy storage market include Tesla Motors, Inc., AGL Energy Limited, ABB Ltd., General Electric Company, Johnson Controls International Plc, The AES Corporation, Robert Bosch GmbH, LG Chem, Ltd. and Maxwell Technologies, Inc.Contracts and agreements have been the major recent developments in the global market. General Electric (GE) and AGL Energy Limited are some of the companies that had signed new agreements for the development of energy storage technologies across the globe.About P&S Market ResearchP&S Market Research is a market research company, which offers market research and consulting services for various geographies around the globe. We provide market research reports, industry forecasting reports, business intelligence, and research based consulting services across different industry/business verticals.As one of the top growing market research agency, were keen upon providing market landscape and accurate forecasting. Our analysts and consultants are proficient with business intelligence and market analysis, through their interaction with leading companies of the concerned domain. We help our clients with B2B market research and assist them in identifying various windows of opportunity, and framing informed and customized business expansion strategies in different regions.Contact:347, 5th Ave. #1402New York City, NY - 10016Toll-free: +1-888-778-7886 (USA/Canada)Email: enquiry@psmarketresearch.comWeb:
Chromatography Resins Market Pegged for Robust Expansion During 2015-2021

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Chromatography resins are used in the purification and separation of proteins and other bio-molecules in biotechnology, pharmaceutical, food manufacturing, and environmental analysis.Chromatography resins are of three types: Synthetic, natural and inorganic media. Natural polymers include agarose, cellulose and dextran, among others, while synthetic resins include ion exchange resins. The natural and synthetic typesare the more preferred chromatography resins as compared to inorganic media. Chromatography resins are used in affinity, mixed-mode, ion-exchange,hydrophobic interaction and size exclusion techniques.In terms of revenues,Protein A resins accounted for the highest share of the market.In technology terms, ion-exchange chromatography witnessed the highest consumption in the past few years. On the other hand, affinity chromatography resins held the key share by revenue largely due to the higher selling costsassociated with affinity resinsRequest Report For TOC @The main driver for the chromatography resinsis huge demand for monoclonal antibodies.There has been a huge demand for monoclonal bodies owing to a growing number of critical diseases resulting in thesetypes of therapeutics to swiftly gain significance.Food analytics is also one of the major drivers for the chromatography resins market. Chromatography resins are used in nutraceuticals and nutritional chemistry. Chromatography resins are used to detect food additives (adulteration) which has been major issue in the food industry. Biotechnology & pharmaceuticals are the leading end-users for chromatography resins and are likely to gain more importance in the near future.Chromatography resins are also used in industrial applications such as water treatment and environmental analysis. Some of the academic uses of chromatography resins are in genetic engineering and drug recovery which can provide various opportunities for the chromatography resins market. In spite of numerous applications, regulations associated with these applications can act as a major restraint for the chromatography resins market in the coming years.In terms of demand, North Americawas the leading region for the chromatography resinsmarket. The demand in this region was mainly driven by biotechnology and pharmaceutical applications. The U.S. exhibited a major demand for chromatography resins and this regions increasing health expense trendshave been indirectly driving the market for chromatography resins.Europe was the other leading market for chromatography resins in the past few years and is expected to show good growth numbers over the near future. Pharmaceuticals and food analytics were the major applications for the chromatography resins in this region. The major European countries such as Germany, UK, France and Italy were the major consumers of chromatography resins in the past decade. There is currently a huge demand for chromatography resins in Asia Pacific, particularly from China, South Korea and India due to the growing pharmaceutical industry in these countries.Additionally, the emergence of CMOs and CROs is further driving the chromatography resins market in the Asia Pacific region. The Rest of the World is likely to exhibit stable demand for chromatography resins market over the forecast period. South America and The Middle East region are anticipated to be the potential markets for chromatography resins.Some of the key players in the chromatography resins market are Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc., GE Healthcare Life Sciences, Tosoh Corporation, Merck KGaA, Life Technologies Corporation, Repligen Corporation, and Pall Corporationamong others.Lower prices with higher productivity and new innovative products had been the key strategies for the manufacturers to gain the competitive advantage in the market. Life Technologies is expected to unveil POROS chromatography resins in Biopharmaceutical Development & Production Week Conference (BPD) to be held in California. Purolite International Ltd. announced its plans to develop bio-separation chromatography resins based on the agarose media. The new product line is likely to meet growing demand of the biomolecules market.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:
Research Focused On the Context Rich Systems Market Size & Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2015 - 2022

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"The Report Context Rich Systems Market ((By Devices - Smartphones, Tablets, Desktops and Netbooks/Laptops); By End-use Industry (E-commerce & retail Industry, Healthcare Sector, Financial & Banking (BFSI) Services, Tourism & Hospitality Industry, Transportation Industry)) - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2015 - 2022 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 Context Rich Systems 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 @Context rich systems or also known as context aware computing systems is a direct response to the growing demand of reactive & adaptive technology and personalization of the user experience. Context Rich systems is the accumulation of raw data with the help of analytics. The raw data include awareness of the surrounding environment and subsequently responds to the user actions. Some of the softwares designed for consumer centric/ commercial use at mobile platform level include Siri, Cortana and Google Now. The major beneficiaries of context rich systems can be realized at both commercial and enterprise level depending upon the requirement of the user. The different applications wherein context rich systems can play a pivotal role in steering the growth of respective markets include e-commerce & retail industry, healthcare sector, financial & banking (BFSI) services, travel & hospitality industry and transportation industry. The ecosystem of the context rich systems market is inclusive of both hardware and software components. The different hardware assisting the collection of raw data include sensors and actuators embedded into the various portable devices. Social networking sites wherein most of the customer information and preferences are generally available in public include, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and Google+. In total, there are currently more than 1.40 billion registered users on Facebook, 1 billion on Google+, 300+ million on Twitter and the number of registered users continue to grow. Companies are leveraging on the technology and tools to outreach to vast numbers of active users among these social networking sites. Most of the companies are expected to leverage on tools and techniques to gather information and provide context rich and right information to the customers at the right time.This research study on the global content rich systems (CRS) market provides a detailed analysis of various types of devices which enable context rich analytics and thus driving the rising demand for this service in various application sectors. The report also offers an in-depth analysis of various factors such as market drivers, restraints, and growth opportunities affecting the market dynamics. These factors enable the analysis of various trends that would impact the market during the forecast period from 2015 to 2022. The report includes a comprehensive coverage of the underlying economic and technological factors under key trend analysis influencing the CRS market. Furthermore, the report aims to provide strategic insights into the ecosystem of CRS market by applying value channel analysis. The market positioning analysis of key players throws a light on the prevalent competition in this market.Based on the device type, the CRS market is segmented into Smartphones, Tablets, Desktops and Netbooks/Laptops. Based on factors such as budget, scalability, flexibility, and ease of use, user tend to choose a best-fit device in order to cater to their requirements and daily usage. Another factor that plays a key role in the adoption of CRS services and solutions is the type of application sector. Depending on the application sector, CRS solutions vary in terms of individual company requirements and compliance according to government regulations and statutory bodies. These applications include E-Commerce & Retail Sector, Healthcare Sector, BFSI Sector, Tourism & Hospitality Sector and Transportation Sector.Various factors that affect the growth of CRS market have been identified in this report. The report aims to provide a comprehensive cross-sectional analysis of the CRS market across geographies including North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle-East and Africa (MEA) and Latin America. In addition, the report provides a competitive landscape of the CRS market and identifies various business strategies adopted by the leading players. Under the company profiles section, the report provides an overview of the companies operating in the market, strategies deployed by them in the bid to gain competitive advantage, annual revenue generated by them in the past two/three years, and recent developments. The company profiles section of this report provides an overview of the companies operating in the market, strategies deployed by them to gain competitive advantage, annual revenue generated for past financial year, and recent developments. The companies profiled in this report include Amazon.com, Inc., Apple, Inc., Baidu, Inc., DS-IQ, Inc., Facebook, Flytxt, Google, Inc., InMobi, IGATE Corporation and Microsoft Corporation.Request For TOC @The Global Context Rich Systems market has been segmented as follows:Context Rich Systems Market, by DevicesSmartphonesTabletsDesktopsNetbooks/LaptopsContext Rich Systems Market, by Application SectorE-commerce & retail industryHealthcare SectorFinancial & Banking servicesTourism & Hospitality industryTransportation industryContext Rich Systems Market, by GeographyNorth AmericaU.S.Rest of the North AmericaEuropeEU5 (U.K., Italy, Spain, France and Germany)CISRest of EuropeAsia Pacific (APAC)ChinaIndiaOceania (Australia and New Zealand)JapanRest of APACMiddle East & Africa (MEA)GCC CountriesIsraelSouth AfricaRest of MEALatin AmericaBrazilMexicoRest of the Latin AmericaView Full Report @Table of ContentChapter 1 Preface1.1 Research Scope1.2 Market Segmentation1.3 Research MethodologyChapter 2 Executive Summary2.1 Global Context Rich Systems (CRS) Market Snapshot2.2 Global CRS Market Revenue, 2013  2022 (US$ Bn) and Year-on-Year Growth (%)2.3 Global CRS Market, by Devices, 2014 (US$ Mn)2.4 Global CRS Market, by End-use Industry, 2013 (US$ Mn)2.5 Global CRS Market, by Geography, 2014 (US$ Mn)Chapter 3 Global Context Rich Systems (CRS) Market Analysis, 2013  2022 (US$ Bn)3.1 Overview3.1.1 Global CRS Market Revenue, 2013  2022 (US$ Bn) and Year-on-Year Growth (%)3.2 Key Trends Analysis3.2.1 Context Life Cycle3.2.2 Companies investing into real time & context based marketing3.2.3 Adoption of Social Media3.3 Market Dynamics3.3.1 Drivers3.3.1.1 Intriguing focus on Customer Experience3.3.1.2 Addition of more mobile subscribers and growth in demand for personal devices such as Smartphones and Tablets3.3.1.3 Companies leveraging on disruptive technology for customer reach3.3.1.4 Increase in Worldwide Enterprise IT spending across verticals3.3.2 Restraints3.3.2.1 Concern of Security and Privacy3.3.2.2 Lack of Standards, Compliance and Interoperability issues3.3.2.3 System Integrator and Solution Integrator Complexities involved in Deployment of fully functional CRS Solutions3.3.2.4 Lack of Infrastructure3.3.3 Opportunities3.3.3.1 Cross Selling and Up Selling to benefit companies at all levels3.3.3.2 More investments and economic growth of Emerging Markets in APAC region3.4 Distribution Channel Analysis3.5 Global CRS Market Analysis, By Devices, 2013  2022 (US$ Bn)3.5.1 Overview3.5.1.1 Segment Share, 2013  2022 (%)3.5.2 Smartphones3.5.3 Tablets3.5.4 Desktops3.5.5 Netbooks/Laptops3.6 Global CRS Market Analysis, By Application Sector, 2013  2022 (US$ Bn)3.6.1 Overview3.6.1.1 Segment Share, 2013  2022 (%)3.6.2 E-commerce & Retail Sector3.6.3 Healthcare Sector3.6.4 Banking and Financial Institutions3.6.5 Tourism & Hospitality Sector3.6.6 Transportation Sector3.7 Competitive Landscape3.7.1 Market Positioning of Key Players, 20133.7.2 Competitive Strategies Adopted by Leading PlayersRequest For Enquiry @Chapter 4 North America CRS Market Analysis, 2013  2022 (US$ Bn)4.1 Key Trends Analysis4.2 North America CRS Market Analysis, By Devices, 2013  2022 (US$ Bn)4.2.1 Overview4.2.1.1 Segment Share, 2013  2022 (%)4.2.2 Smartphones4.2.3 Tablets4.2.4 Desktops4.2.5 Netbooks/Laptops4.3 North America CRS Market Analysis, By Application Sector, 2013  2022 (US$ Bn)4.3.1 Overview4.3.1.1 Segment Share, 2013  2022 (%)4.3.2 E-commerce & Retail Sector4.3.3 Healthcare Sector4.3.4 Banking and Financial Institutions4.3.5 Tourism & Hospitality Sector4.3.6 Transportation Sector4.4 North America CRS Market Analysis, By Country, 2013  2022 (US$ Bn)4.4.1 Overview4.4.1.1 Segment Share, 2013  2022 (%)4.4.2 U.S.4.4.3 Rest of North AmericaChapter 5 Europe CRS Market Analysis, 2013  2022 (US$ Bn)5.1 Key Trends Analysis5.2 Europe CRS Market Analysis, By Devices, 2013  2022 (US$ Bn)5.2.1 Overview5.2.1.1 Segment Share, 2013  2022 (%)5.2.2 Smartphones5.2.3 Tablets5.2.4 Desktops5.2.5 Netbooks/Laptops5.3 Europe CRS Market Analysis, By Application Sector, 2013  2022 (US$ Bn)5.3.1 Overview5.3.1.1 Segment Share, 2013  2022 (%)5.3.2 E-commerce & Retail Sector5.3.3 Healthcare Sector5.3.4 Banking and Financial Institutions5.3.5 Tourism & Hospitality Sector5.3.6 Transportation Sector5.4 Europe CRS Market Analysis, By Country, 2013  2022 (US$ Bn)5.4.1 Overview5.4.1.1 Segment Share, 2013  2022 (%)5.4.2 EU55.4.3 CIS5.4.4 Rest of EuropeChapter 6 APAC CRS Market Analysis, 2013  2022 (US$ Bn)6.1 Key Trends Analysis6.2 APAC CRS Market Analysis, By Devices, 2013  2022 (US$ Bn)6.2.1 Overview6.2.1.1 Segment Share, 2013  2022 (%)6.2.2 Smartphones6.2.3 Tablets6.2.4 Desktops6.2.5 Netbooks/Laptops6.3 APAC CRS Market Analysis, By Application Sector, 2013  2022 (US$ Bn)6.3.1 Overview6.3.1.1 Segment Share, 2013  2022 (%)6.3.2 E-commerce & Retail Sector6.3.3 Healthcare Sector6.3.4 Banking and Financial Institutions6.3.5 Tourism & Hospitality Sector6.3.6 Transportation Sector6.4 APAC CRS Market Analysis, By Country, 2013  2022 (US$ Bn)6.4.1 Overview6.4.1.1 Segment Share, 2013  2022 (%)Check Discount @About usMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. 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Research Focused On the Digital Impression Standalone Scanners Market Size & Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2014 - 2020

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"Digital impressioning is a technology that uses light emitting diode (LED), lasers or other optical sources to scan intraoral images. It provides three-dimensional (3D) scanned images with high clarity that enables dentists create restorations quickly thereby speeding up the overall treatment. It helps in eliminating the limitations such as multiple impressions and wastage of impression materials "The main objective of this report is to define, describe, and forecast the global Digital Impression Standalone Scanners  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 @Digital impressioning is a technology that uses light emitting diode (LED), lasers or other optical sources to scan intraoral images. It provides three-dimensional (3D) scanned images with high clarity that enables dentists create restorations quickly thereby speeding up the overall treatment. It helps in eliminating the limitations such as multiple impressions and wastage of impression materials used in traditional impressioning. Moreover, digital impressioning is an eco-friendly process as it eliminates the need for disposable impression materials and plastic trays. Intraoral scanners help in cutting down the number of steps involved in impression as well as errors.The digital impression standalone scanners market is segmented based on the technologies namely confocal microscopic imaging and optical wand technology. Digital impression standalone scanners are used in different dental applications including dental restoration and orthodontic treatments. Due to its high accuracy and ease of operation, intraoral scanners are expected to find wide applications in different dental treatments and diagnostics. The market is driven by the increasing need for digital equipment for easy and comfortable treatment experience. Digital impression standalone scanners market is mainly supported by countries such as the U.S., Germany and Japan. High initial costs required for installing the intraoral scanners is one of the most significant factors hindering the market growth. However, the intraoral scanners are expected to be widely adopted during the forecast period with declining prices and advancements such as powder-free scanning.The research report on the digital impression standalone scanners market provides a detailed analysis of technology used in these scanners including confocal microscopic imaging and optical wand technology and helps in understanding driving forces behind the popularity of intraoral scanners in the dental industry. It also provides analysis of application segment of the digital impression standalone scanners market for the next six years. The report includes extensive analysis of the industry drivers, restraints, market trends and market structure. The market study provides comprehensive assessment of stakeholder strategies and imperatives for succeeding in the business. The report segregates digital impression standalone scanners market based on technology used in intraoral scanners and different geographic regions. The report includes a detailed analysis of the prevalent market situation, company profiles and industry trends for intraoral scanners used across different dental applications.The detailed value chain analysis and porters five forces analysis helps the market competitors to formulate their business strategies at every stage of their business. Moreover, the market estimates have been analyzed by keeping in mind the several factors which affect the market including but not limited to technological, economical, social, environmental and legal.The key players of digital impression standalone scanners market have been profiled with a focus on competitive details such as company and financial overview, business strategies, and their recent developments. The company profile of major players that have been incorporated in this report include as Sirona Dentals Systems, Inc., 3Shape A/S, Align Technology, Inc., 3M ESPE, Carestream Health, Inc., Densys3D Ltd., Hint-Els GmbH, Glidewell Laboratories, Ormco Corporation and Planmeca Oy.Request For TOC @The Digital Impression Standalone Scanners Market Segmentation:Digital Impression Standalone Scanners Market, by TechnologyConfocal Microscopic ImagingOptical Wand TechnologyDigital Impression Standalone Scanners Market, By GeographyNorth AmericaEuropeAsia-PacificRest of the World (Africa, Middle East and Latin America)Table of ContentsChapter 1 Preface1.1 Report Description1.2 Market Segmentation: Global Digital Impression Standalone Scanners Market1.3 Research Methodology1.3.1 Sources1.3.1.1 Secondary research1.3.1.2 Primary ResearchChapter 2 Executive Summary2.1 Market Snapshot: Global Digital Impression Standalone Scanners Market (2013 & 2020)2.2 Global Digital Impression Standalone Scanners Market Revenue (USD Million), 2012  2020 and Y-o-Y Growth (%)2.2.1 Global Digital Impression Standalone Scanners Market Revenue, by Technology, 2013 (USD Million)2.2.2 Global Digital Impression Standalone Scanners Market Revenue, by Geography, 2013 (USD Million)Chapter 3 Global Digital Impression Standalone Scanners Market Overview3.1 Introduction3.2 Market Trends and Future Outlook3.2.1 Digital impression standalone scanners based on open software architecture for smooth digital workflow3.2.2 Development of low cost and lightweight digital impression standalone scanners3.2.3 Focus on market penetration through wide distribution networks3.2.4 Innovative offerings (software solutions) along with the digital impression standalone scanner3.3 Market Dynamics3.3.1 Drivers3.3.1.1 Increasing adoption of digital impressioning technique drives demand for digital impression standalone scanners3.3.1.2 Decreasing cost and availability of light-weight handy digital impression standalone scanners drives adoption across the industry3.3.1.3 Focus on treatment efficacy in terms of accuracy and patient comfort is driving the shift to digital impression standalone scanners3.3.1.4 Impact analysis of drivers3.3.2 Restraints3.3.2.1 High initial investment holding back dentists from buying scanners3.3.2.2 Technical anomalies and associated costs of scanners and software solutions and possible upgrades3.3.2.3 Impact analysis for restraints3.3.3 Opportunities3.3.3.1 Adoption of digital impression standalone scanners by oral surgeons and orthodontists3.3.3.2 Untapped potential in Asia Pacific and Rest of the World3.4 Value Chain Analysis: Global Digital Impression Standalone Scanners Market3.4.1 Raw Material Suppliers3.4.2 Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) (Manufacturers of digital impression standalone scanners)3.4.3 Distributors3.4.4 Dental clinics/offices3.4.5 Laboratories3.4.6 Milling centers3.5 Porters Five Forces Analysis: Global Digital Impression Standalone Scanners Market3.5.1 Bargaining Power of Suppliers3.5.2 Bargaining Power of Buyers3.5.3 Threat of New Entrants3.5.4 Threat of Substitutes3.5.5 Degree of Competition3.6 Market Attractiveness Analysis: Digital Impression Standalone Scanners Market, by Geography3.7 Competitive Landscape3.7.1 Summary3.7.2 Market Share Analysis, by Key Players, 2013 (Value %)View Full Report @Chapter 4 Digital Impression Standalone Scanners Market Revenue, by Technology4.1 Overview4.1.1 Global Digital Impression Standalone Scanners Market Revenue, by Technology, 2012  2020 (USD Million)4.1.2 Comparative Analysis: Global Digital Impression Standalone Scanners Market Revenue, by Technology, 2013 & 2020 (Value %)4.2 Confocal Microscopic Imaging Technology4.2.1 Global Confocal Microscopic Imaging Scanners Market Revenue and Forecast, 2012  2020 (USD Million)4.3 Optical Wand Technology4.3.1 Global Optical Wand Technology Scanners Market Revenue and Forecast, 2012  2020 (USD Million)Chapter 5 Global Digital Impression Standalone Scanners Market Revenue, by Geography5.1 Overview5.1.1 Global Digital Impression Standalone Scanners Market Revenue, by Geography, 2012  2020 (USD Million)5.1.2 Comparative Analysis: Global Digital Impression Standalone Scanners Market Revenue, by Geography, 2013 & 2020 (Value %)5.2 North America5.2.1 North America Digital Impression Standalone Scanners Market Revenue and Forecast, 2012  2020 (USD Million)5.2.2 North America Digital Impression Standalone Scanners Market Revenue and Forecast, by Technology, 2012  2020 (USD Million)5.3 Europe5.3.1 Europe Digital Impression Standalone Scanners Market Revenue and Forecast, 2012  2020 (USD Million)5.3.2 Europe Digital Impression Standalone Scanners Market Revenue and Forecast, by Technology, 2012  2020 (USD Million)5.4 Asia Pacific5.4.1 Asia Pacific Digital Impression Standalone Scanners Market Revenue and Forecast, 2012  2020 (USD Million)5.4.2 Asia Pacific Digital Impression Standalone Scanners Market Revenue and Forecast, by Technology, 2012  2020 (USD Million)5.5 Rest of the World (RoW)5.5.1 Rest of the World (RoW) Digital Impression Standalone Scanners Market Revenue and Forecast, 2012  2020 (USD Million)5.5.2 Rest of the World (RoW) Digital Impression Standalone Scanners Market Revenue and Forecast, by Technology, 2012  2020 (USD Million)Request For Enquiry @Chapter 6 Company Profiles6.1 Sirona Dental Systems, Inc.6.1.1 Company Overview6.1.2 Financial Overview6.1.3 Business Strategies6.1.3.1 Innovation through technological advances6.1.3.2 Business expansion through organic growth6.1.4 Recent Developments6.2 3M ESPE (3M Company)6.2.1 Company Overview6.2.2 Financial Overview6.2.3 Business Strategies6.2.3.1 Leveraging technological expertise across its product offerings6.2.3.2 Business expansion through partnerships and agreements6.2.4 Recent Developments6.3 3Shape A/S6.3.1 Company Overview6.3.2 Financial Overview6.3.3 Business Strategies6.3.3.1 Focus on emerging nations6.3.4 Recent Developments6.4 Align Technology, Inc.6.4.1 Company Overview6.4.2 Financial Overview6.4.3 Business Strategies6.4.3.1 Focus on technological innovation6.4.3.2 Business expansion by leveraging competitors technological developments6.4.4 Recent Developments6.5 Glidewell Laboratories (IOS Technologies, Inc.)6.5.1 Company OverviewCheck Discount @About usMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.Contact usMr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Automatic Kerato Refractometer Market Set to Surge Significantly by 2025

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Automatic kerato refractometer is a device used to automatically measure the refractive index of an eye. The automatic kerato refractometer measurement of refractive index of an eye is based on the determination of critical angle of reflection. Manual kerato refractometer cannot offer a level of accuracy and repeatability that automatic kerato refractometer can. The automatic kerato refractometer removes the scope for user error during the eye examination by allowing refractive reading to be taken automatically.The working of the automatic kerato refractometer is quite simple the eye patient has to look into the device then focus on the image and automatically adjusts the image until accurate estimate of patients refractive power is obtained and the machine does the rest of the work, auto automatically generates the result. When the automatic refractometer is combined with kerato-meter automatic kerato refractor was produced this device offers similar features but also allows the measurement of in-depth analysis of corneal shape and curvature. The automatic kerato refractometer also minimizes the risk of transcription errors as the machine calculates an estimated prescription at the end of the eye examination, the prescription can be printed out immediately and sent to the EMR which saves time and errors caused by physicians.Request Sample Report@Global automatic kerato refractometer market is driven by advancement in technology. The manufacturers of automatic kerato refractometer are manufacturing automatic kerato refractometer keeping in mind the advanced market development. The increasing demand of automatic kerato refractometer in hospitals and clinics have made the automatic kerato refractometer available in different specifications that are designed using latest technology.Automatic kerato refractometer is an essential tool in standard optometric and ophthalmic practice and the increase in automation and digitalization of the devices has led to ensure the automatic kerato refractometer has a long-established utility. The advancement in automatic kerato refractometer eliminates key problems faced by physicians like clinic workflow, time management, patient education.Download and View Report TOC, Figures and Tables @Based on the geographies, the global automatic kerato refractometer s market is fragmented into seven key regions- North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, and Asia-Pacific except Japan, Japan, and Middle East & Africa. Among the regions mentioned above North America is currently contributing to leading shares in automatic kerato refractometer. Latin America and APEJ has the fastest growth rate compared to other regions.Western Europe is contributing a moderate share to the global automatic kerato refractometer market due to advanced medical facilities. Asia-pacific region is expected to show a healthy growth rate to the global automatic kerato refractometer market. Whereas Middle East and Africa is at nascent growth stage and is anticipated to show a sluggish growth over the forecasted period. Overall the global automatic kerato refractometer market has a positive growth rate owing to the increase in improvement in the healthcare sector.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:
Electronically Controlled Variable Gear Ratio Steering Market to Witness Steady Growth through 2025

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Steering ratio is defined as the ratio between the theoretical turning radius based on ideal tire behavior and the actual turning radius based on real tire behavior A steering system using different ratios on the rack in a rack and pinion steering system is called a Variable-Gear-Ratio Steering system. When a variable-gear-ratio system is electrically powered and controlled by using a microprocessor is called an Electronically Controlled Variable-Gear-Ratio Steering system. At the center of the rack, the space between the teeth are smaller and the space becomes larger as the pinion moves down the rack. In the middle, there is a higher ratio and the ratio becomes lower as the steering wheel is turned towards lock.This makes the steering less sensitive when the steering wheel is close to its center position and makes it harder for the driver to over steer at high speeds. As the steering wheel is turned towards lock, the wheels begin to react more to steering input. The advantage of an electronically controlled variable gear ratio Steering Assembly is that it adjusts to the ideal steering condition for whatever the cars speed happens to be. When traveling at highway speeds, the cars steering becomes less sensitive to small movements of the wheel, whereas when youre driving at slower speeds or parking, the steering becomes highly responsive to small movements of the wheel. Electronic control provides intelligent steering assistance. The electromechanical power steering controls and assists vehicle steering using an intelligently controlled electric motor. Based on the steering signal recorded by the torque sensor, the ECU calculates the optimum steering assistance and forwards this information to the electric motor, which provides the necessary force.Request Sample Report@The lowered steering effort is the key driver for the global Electronically Controlled Variable-Gear-Ratio Steering Market. With increasing demand for comfort and luxury amongst the consumers demand for such systems has globally increased. Other driving factors include lesser fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emission, which is typically 10 percent less for these systems. These systems are light and have minimal space requirements. They also provide robust worm gear transfers the assistance torqueGeographically, the Electronically Controlled Variable-Gear-Ratio Steering market is designed for seven regions namely, North America, Western Europe, Asia Pacific except Japan (APEJ), Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Middle East & Africa and Japan. The global Electronically Controlled Variable-Gear-Ratio Steering market is expected to grow at a good CAGR over the forecast period. Market in Asia Pacific is expected to grow at the highest CAGR owing to increased automotive production and per capita income especially in countries like India and China. As the early adapters of the technology North America and Europe hold significant market share in the global Electronically Controlled Variable-Gear-Ratio Steering market. The overall prediction for the global Electronically Controlled Variable-Gear-Ratio Steering market is positive over the forecast period.Download and View Report TOC, Figures and Tables @The key players in the global Electronically Controlled Variable-Gear-Ratio Steering market are Robert Bosch GmbH, Toyota Motors, BMW, ArcelorMittal, JTEKT Corporation, Hyundai MotorsAbout 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:
Automotive Multi Wheel Drive Systems Market to Reflect Impressive Growth Rate by 2025

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Multi-wheel drive systems comprise 4 x 4 drive systems and all wheel drive (AWD) systems. Unlike the traditional 4 x 2 drive systems, the drive train in the vehicle with 4 x 4 drive system supplies power from the engine to both front and rear axles. However, 4 x 4 drive systems fail to manage the power on individual wheels and causes issues during high speed turns. The all wheel drive (AWD) systems introduced the concept of differential power which enables the vehicle to control the torque received at each wheel. Thereby, AWD systems are able to achieve higher efficiency, performance and safety as compared to other drive systems. AWD systems can be installed in a vehicle in manual and automatic modes.Request Sample Report@The manual AWD systems require human intervention to choose between traditional 2 wheel drive and AWD options. Depending on the type of terrain and desired speed, the driver can choose between the two modes of the AWD system installed in the vehicle. However, in case of automatic AWD, the drive train constantly supplies power to each wheel while managing the differential power requirements to achieve optimum torque. AWD systems have been popular in heavy-duty commercial vehicles (HCVS) and are gaining immense popularity in other car segments including light-duty commercial vehicles and passenger cars. Moreover, increasing global demand for semi-utility vehicles (SUVs) has created huge opportunities for the growth of multi-wheel drive systems market.One of the major factors driving the growth of multi-wheel drive systems market is the rising need for fuel efficiency, control and stability in heavy vehicles. Multi-wheel drive systems have provided a viable solution to car manufacturers to offer better throughput and higher control while driving at high speeds. In addition, increased safety awareness across the world and affordability of multi-wheel drive systems have led to the rise in demand for the same.Despite its numerous advantages, the multi-wheel drive systems market faces a few restraints owing to the lack of awareness regarding manual and automatic multi-wheel drive systems. General population fails to differ between the two systems creating an ambiguity while making a decision of choosing between automatic and manual AWD systems. Another factor, hindering the growth of multi-wheel drive systems market is the stringent fuel economy norms in some countries. Such norms restrict the usage of high-end vehicles which deploy AWD systems as these vehicles consume more fuel as compared to other low-end vehicles.Download and View Report TOC, Figures and Tables @With its immense popularity in developed countries in North America and Europe, multi-wheel drive systems have found a robust market over a past decade. Moreover, increasing demand for SUVs in Asian countries including India, China and Japan is expected to drive the demand for AWD further. Numerous companies across the world have invested heavily to design and develop advanced drive systems to offer higher differential control and stability. Some of the key players in the multi-wheel drive systems market include Magna International, Inc., Continental AG, American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings, Inc., GKN Plc, Oerlikon, Inc., ZF Friedrichshafen AG, BorgWarner, Inc., Dana Holding Corporation, Eaton Corporation Plc and JTEKT Corporation.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:
Off Highway Diesel Engine Market to Reflect Impressive Growth Rate by 2025

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Off-Highway diesel engines refer to those engines that are designed to meet the needs of applications across sectors such as construction, mining and industrial. These engines deliver stable performance in extreme conditions such as dust, vibration, high altitudes and harsh climatic conditions thereby improving productivity and enhancing profitability. Such engines are also used in off-highway vehicles such as excavators, cranes, mixers, backhoes and forklifts in performing various tasks. These diesel engines are configured each time to meet the heavy-duty requirements for specific applications.On the basis of end-use applications, the off-highway diesel engine market is segmented into mining, construction, and agricultural applications. On the basis of region, the off-highway diesel engine market revenue is primarily contributed by the North American region due to the presence of off-road emission standards such as California Air Resources Board (CARB) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which drive their adoption across industries. Asia Pacific is expected to contribute to the growth of this market due to the increasing mining and construction activities in the region.Request Sample Report@The increasing government regulations for near-zero diesel emissions are the prime factors fuelling the growth of off-highway diesel engines market. For instance, U.S. EPA has implemented emission standards for all off-road vehicles, equipment and engines and supports the deployment of off-highway diesel engines that comply with such regulations. In addition to EPA, the CARB has implemented stringent regulations for handheld and non-handheld engines to control the exhaust emissions and control pollution related urban health problems. Similarly, European Commission has implemented measures to reduce air pollutants from non-road mobile machineries, thereby encouraging the use of off-highway diesel engines. Another factor fuelling the growth of off-highway diesel engine market is the stiff competition in the mining industries to cut down costs on fuel prices and enhance profits.Therefore, the fleet operators and managers prefer the use of off-highway diesel engine so as to gain competitive advantage and sustain profitability. However, the costs associated with deploying such diesel engines are too high for small and medium sized fleet operators. Due to the low profit margins, they continue using the conventional machineries and equipment for executing the mining and construction activities. Also, countries with unstable mining policies hamper the regular use of such off-highway diesel engine equipment. These factors adversely affect the growth of off-highway diesel engine market.Download and View Report TOC, Figures and Tables @With the goal to comply with the changing emission standards and improve fuel efficiency, major players in the market are coming with new machinery and equipment. This helps them improve the product portfolio and further penetrate the international markets. For instance, Volvo Construction Equipment, one of the major players in the market, on 28th July 2014, introduced H-series L110H and L120H wheel loaders that meet stringent emission regulations. It possesses the innovative optishift transmission system for improved fuel efficiency up to 18 percent. The other prominent players in the market are Deere & Company (U.S.), Scania AB (Sweden), Perkins Engines (U.S.), MTU Detroit Diesel (Australia), Komatsu America Corporation (U.S.), Cummins Inc. (U.S.), CNH Industrial N.V (Italy) and Caterpillar Inc. (U.S.).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:
Market Survey Details Developments in the Telemedicine Software Market Professional Survey Report 2018 with Top Key Players, Supply, Import, Export and Manufacturing Process

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A comprehensive analysis of the Global Telemedicine Software Market is been done in this intelligence report. It includes the investigations done on the past progress, ongoing market scenarios, and future prospects. An accurate data of the products, strategies and market shares of leading companies in this particular market is mentioned. This report presents a 360-degree overview of the competitive scenario of the Global market. The report further projects the size and valuation of the Global market in the coming forecast period. The report also presents a thorough qualitative and quantitative data affecting to the projected impact of these factors on markets future growth prospects.Top Key Players:Doxy.me, eVisit, Lifesize, AMD Global Telemedicine, Avizia, American Well, Chiron HealthGet Sample Copy of this Report:Telemedicine uses electronic mediums for medical information exchange between two sites and provides assistance to patients. It utilizes information technology systems to deliver better healthcare support to patients at home or in rural areas. It overcomes the geographic barrier between healthcare facilities and patients by giving both parties with remote access to medical information, patient records and several other healthcare related data.According to the research report, the Global market for Telemedicine Software Market is witnessing a continual rise in its valuation with the advancement in technologies, which is impacting the consumer behavior and, accordingly, their purchasing patterns to a great extent. In addition to this, the rising penetration of internet and the surge in mobile surfing are anticipated to boost the demand for Telemedicine Software across the world, states the research report.Get Upto 40% Discount on this Report:On the basis of geographical regions, the Global Telemedicine Software 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.This statistical surveying research study presents an all-inclusive evaluation of the global market for Telemedicine Software, 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 Telemedicine Software Market have been presented. These manufacturers have been analyzed in terms of their manufacturing base, basic information, and competitors. In addition, the technology and product type introduced by each of these manufacturers also form a key part of this section of the report.For more Enquiry on this Report:Table of Content:Global Telemedicine Software Market Research Report 2018-2023Chapter 1 Telemedicine Software Market OverviewChapter 2 Global Economic ImpactChapter 3 Competition by ManufacturerChapter 4 Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2018-2023)Chapter 5 Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Regions (2018-2023)Chapter 6 Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by TypeChapter 7 Analysis by ApplicationChapter 8 Manufacturing Cost AnalysisChapter 9 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream BuyersChapter 10 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/TradersChapter 11 Market Effect Factors AnalysisChapter 12 Market Forecast (2018-2023)Chapter 13 AppendixResearch 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.10916, Gold Point, Dr, Houston, TX,Pin - 77064.
World Valves Market Research Report 2022 (covering USA, Europe, China, Japan, India, South East Asia and etc)

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ICRWorld's Valves market research report provides the newest industry data and industry future trends, allowing you to identify the products and end users driving Revenue growth and profitability.The industry report lists the leading competitors and provides the insights strategic industry Analysis of the key factors influencing the market.Request Sample Copy of the Business 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.Global Valves Market: Product Segment AnalysisGate ValvesControl ValvesBall ValvesButterfly ValveGlobal Valves Market: Application Segment AnalysisOil&Gas or Energy IndustryWater Treatment IndustryChemical IndustrySteel IndustryGlobal Valves Market: Regional Segment AnalysisUSAEuropeJapanChinaIndiaSouth East AsiaThe Players mentioned in our reporthnson Controls,Emerson,Kitz Group,Cameron,IMI,Crane Company,Metso,Circor Energy,KSB Group,Flowserve,Pentair,Watts,Velan,SWI Valve,Neway,Henan Kaifeng High Pressure Valve,Henan Kaifeng High Pressure Valve,CNNC Sufa Technology Industry,Jiangsu Shentong Valve,Beijing Valve General Factory,Shandong Yidu Valve Group,Dazhaong Valve Group,SHK Valve Group,Dalian DV ValveGet discount on this report :World Market Competition Landscape2.1 Valves Markets by Regions2.1.1 USAMarket Revenue (M USD) and Growth Rate 2012-2022Sales and Growth Rate 2012-2022Major Players Revenue (M USD) in 20172.1.2 EuropeMarket Revenue (M USD) and Growth Rate 2012-2022Sales and Growth Rate 2012-2022Major Players Revenue (M USD) in 20172.1.3 ChinaMarket Revenue (M USD) and Growth Rate 2012-2022Sales and Growth Rate 2012-2022Major Players Revenue (M USD) in 20172.1.4 IndiaMarket Revenue (M USD) and Growth Rate 2012-2022Sales and Growth Rate 2012-2022Major Players Revenue (M USD) in 2017About WMR :Worldwide Market Reports is your one-stop repository of detailed and in-depth market research reports compiled by an extensive list of publishers from across the globe. We offer reports across virtually all domains and an exhaustive list of sub-domains under the sun. The in-depth market analysis by some of the most vastly experienced analysts provide our diverse range of clients from across all industries with vital decision making insights to plan and align their market strategies in line with current market trends. Worldwide Market Researchs well-researched inputs that encompass domains ranging from IT to healthcare enable our prized clients to capitalize upon key growth opportunities and shield against credible threats prevalent in the market in the current scenario and those expected in the near future.Contact Us:Mr. ShahWorldwide Market Reports1001 4th Ave,U.STel: +1 415 871 0703Email: sales@worldwidemarketreports.comWEBSITE :
Market Overview of Malnutrition Research and Detailed Forecast 2018

Malnutrition

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Pune, India, 9th February 2018: WiseGuyReports announced addition of new report, titled Malnutrition Global Clinical Trials Review, H2, 2017.SummaryMalnutrition Global Clinical Trials Review, H2, 2017" provides an overview of Malnutrition clinical trials scenario. This report provides top line data relating to the clinical trials on Malnutrition. 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 trialsClinical trials are collated from 80+ different clinical trial registries, conferences, journals, news etc across the globe. Clinical trials database undergoes periodic update by dynamic process.The report enhances the decision making capabilities and helps to create an effective counter strategies to gain competitive advantage.GET SAMPLE REPORT @Companies mentionedInternational Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research BangladeshAbbott LaboratoriesFresenius SE & Co KGaADanone SAAymes International LtdWellcome TrustNestle SAMedecins Sans FrontieresHelen Keller InternationalAlison Clark Health and NutritionScope- The report provides a snapshot of the global clinical trials landscape- Report provides top level data related to the clinical trials by Region, Country (G7 & E7), Trial Status, Trial Phase, Sponsor Type and End point status- The report reviews top companies involved and enlists all trials (Trial title, Phase, and Status) pertaining to the company- The report provides all the unaccomplished trials (Terminated, Suspended and Withdrawn) with reason for unaccomplishment- The Report provides enrollment trends for the past five years- Report provides latest news for the past three monthsReasons to buy- Assists in formulating key business strategies with regards to investment- Helps in identifying prominent locations for conducting clinical trials which saves time and cost- Provides top level analysis of Global Clinical Trials Market which helps in identifying key business opportunities- Supports understanding of trials count and enrollment trends by country in global therapeutics market- Aids in interpreting the success rates of clinical trials by providing a comparative scenario of completed and uncompleted (terminated, suspended or withdrawn) trials- Facilitates clinical trial assessment of the indication on a global, regional and country levelTable of Content: Key PointsTable of Contents 2List of Tables 3List of Figures 4Report Guidance 5Clinical Trials by Region 7Clinical Trials and Average Enrollment by Country 8Top Five Countries Contributing to Clinical Trials in Asia-Pacific 10Top Five Countries Contributing to Clinical Trials in Europe 11Top Countries Contributing to Clinical Trials in North America 12Top Five Countries Contributing to Clinical Trials in Middle East and Africa 13Top Five Countries Contributing to Clinical Trials in Central and South America 14Clinical Trials by G7 Countries: Proportion of Malnutrition to Nutritional Disorders Clinical Trials 15Clinical Trials by Phase in G7 Countries 16Clinical Trials in G7 Countries by Trial Status 17Clinical Trials by E7 Countries: Proportion of Malnutrition to Nutritional Disorders Clinical Trials 18Clinical Trials by Phase in E7 Countries 19Clinical Trials in E7 Countries by Trial Status 20ContinuedACCESS 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
World Smart Water Management Market Research Report 2022 (covering USA, Europe, China, Japan, India, South East Asia and etc)

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ICRWorld's Smart Water Management market research report provides the newest industry data and industry future trends, allowing you to identify the products and end users driving Revenue growth and profitability.The industry report lists the leading competitors and provides the insights strategic industry Analysis of the key factors influencing the market.Request Sample Copy of the Business 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.Global Smart Water Management Market: Product Segment AnalysisAMR MetersAMI MetersGlobal Smart Water Management Market: Application Segment AnalysisResidential UseCommerical UseIndustrial UseGlobal Smart Water Management Market: Regional Segment AnalysisUSAEuropeJapanChinaIndiaSouth East AsiaThe Players mentioned in our reportSensus,Itron,Diehl Stiftung & Co. KG,Landis+Gyr,Roper Industries(Neptune),Siemens,Kamstrup,Jiangxisanchuan,Suntront Tech Co., Ltd,Elster (Honeywell),Badger Meter Inc,Iskraemeco,Arad Group(Master Meter),Huizhong Instrumentation Co., Ltd,Zenner,Ningbo Water MeterGet discount on this report :Table of ContentChapter 1 About the Smart Water Management Industry1.1 Industry Definition and Types1.1.1 AMR Meters1.1.2 AMI Meters1.2 Main Market Activities1.3 Similar Industries1.4 Industry at a GlanceAbout WMR :Worldwide Market Reports is your one-stop repository of detailed and in-depth market research reports compiled by an extensive list of publishers from across the globe. We offer reports across virtually all domains and an exhaustive list of sub-domains under the sun. The in-depth market analysis by some of the most vastly experienced analysts provide our diverse range of clients from across all industries with vital decision making insights to plan and align their market strategies in line with current market trends. Worldwide Market Researchs well-researched inputs that encompass domains ranging from IT to healthcare enable our prized clients to capitalize upon key growth opportunities and shield against credible threats prevalent in the market in the current scenario and those expected in the near future.Contact Us:Mr. ShahWorldwide Market Reports1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154,U.STel: +1 415 871 0703Email: sales@worldwidemarketreports.comWEBSITE :
Agriculture and Forestry Support Activities Market Scope, Share, Growth and Analysis to 2018

ReportsWeb

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Agriculture and Forestry Support Activities Market Global Report 2018 from Publisher provides the strategists, marketers and senior management with the critical information they need to assess the global Agriculture and Forestry Support Activities market. 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.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.Request Sample Copy At:Scope:Markets Covered: Support Activities For Crop Production; Support Activities For Animal Production; Support Activities For ForestryCompanies Mentioned: Countries: Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Spain, Russia, UK, USA and AustraliaCountries: 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 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 notesReasons 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.Purchase Report At:Table of Content:1. Agriculture and Forestry Support Activities Market Characteristics2. Agriculture and Forestry Support Activities Market Size And Growth3. Agriculture and Forestry Support Activities Trends And Strategies4. Agriculture and Forestry Support Activities Market Customer Information5. Agriculture and Forestry Support Activities Market Regional And Country Analysis6. Agriculture and Forestry Support Activities Market Segmentation7. Agriculture and Forestry Support Activities Market Segments8. Global Agriculture and Forestry Support Activities Market Comparison With Macro Economic Factors9. Agriculture and Forestry Support Activities Market Comparison With Macro Economic Factors Across CountriesFor More Information About This Report:Contact US:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@reportsweb.comReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Global Next Generation Sequencing market is estimated to reach $13.50 billion by 2022

Reportsweb

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According to Publisher, the Global Next Generation Sequencing market is estimated at $3.41 billion in 2015 and is expected to reach $13.50 billion by 2022 growing at a CAGR of 21.73% from 2015 to 2022. The growing adoption of sequencing technologies in clinical applications and low cost DNA sequencing are likely to drive the market growth. However, factors such as accuracy and standardization issues and lack of skilled labor are inhibiting the market growth. The rise in personalize medicine and cloud computing are likely to create more opportunities for this market during the forecast period.For more information atIn technology, sequencing by synthesis (SBS) segment is anticipated to move with a highest CAGR during forecast period. Diagnostics in application segment holds the largest share and is expected to grow at highest CAGR during forecast period. Research institutions held the largest market share in end user segment. North America dominates the global next generation sequencing market followed by Europe owing to rising government support towards research and development. Asia pacific is expected to grow at a faster rate during the forecast period due to the unmet market demand and increasing investments for development of healthcare.Some of the key players in the market include Roche Holding Ag, Qiagen N.V., Knome, Inc., Perkinelmer, Inc., Partek, Inc., Pacific Biosciences, Oxford Nanopore Technologies, Ltd., Macrogen Inc., Life Technologies Corporation, Illumina, Inc., Genomatix Software GmbH, GATC Biotech Ag., Eurofins Scientific, DNASTAR Inc., Biomatters, Ltd., Beijing Genomics Institute and Agilent Technologies, Inc.Platforms Covered:- Sequencing Serviceso Exome Sequencingo Methyl- Sequencingo Targeted Re-Sequencingo Whole-Genome Sequencingo De Novo Sequencingo Chip- Sequencingo RNA- Sequencingo Other Sequencing Services- Sequencing Platformso Thermo Fisher Scientific (Life Technologies)- ION S5 & S5 Xl- ION PGM- ION Protono Pacific Bioscienceso Illuminao Other Sequencing PlatformsTechnologies Covered:- Sequencing By Ligation (SBL)- Single-Molecule Real-Time Sequencing (SMRT)- Sequencing By Synthesis (SBS)- Pyrosequencing- ION Semiconductor Sequencing- Other TechnologiesEnd Users Covered:- Hospitals and clinics- Biotech & Pharma Firms- Research institutions- Other End UsersApplications Covered:- Personalized medicines- Drug Discovery- Diagnostics- Agriculture & Animal Research- Prenatal Testing- Biomarker Discovery- HLA Testing- Infectious Diseases- Genetic Screening- Oncology- Idiopathic Diseases- Other ApplicationsRequest Sample Copy:Regions Covered:- North Americao USo Canadao Mexico- Europeo Germanyo Franceo Italyo UKo Spaino Rest of Europe- Asia Pacifico Japano Chinao Indiao Australiao New Zealando Rest of Asia Pacific- Rest of the Worldo Middle Easto Brazilo Argentinao South Africao Egypt11 Company Profiling11.1 Roche Holding Ag11.2 Qiagen N.V.11.3 Knome, Inc.11.4 Perkinelmer, Inc.11.5 Partek, Inc.11.6 Pacific Biosciences11.7 Oxford Nanopore Technologies, Ltd.11.8 Macrogen Inc.11.9 Life Technologies Corporation11.10 Illumina, Inc.11.11 Genomatix Software GmbH11.12 GATC Biotech Ag.11.13 Eurofins Scientific11.14 DNASTAR Inc.11.15 Biomatters, Ltd.11.16 Beijing Genomics Institute11.17 Agilent Technologies, Inc.Buy Now:Contact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@reportsweb.comReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Middle East Automotive Parts Die-Casting Market Report 2017, Trends, Analysis, Share, Estimates and Forecasts to 2022.

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The Middle East 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
Cigarette Package Industry 2018 Global Key Players, Market Dynamics, Future Demand Analysis and Forecasts to 2023

Cigarette Package

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Cigarette Package Market 2018Wiseguyreports.Com adds Global and Chinese Cigarette Package Industry, 2018 Market Research Report To Its Research Database.Scope of Report:The 'Global and Chinese Cigarette Package Industry, 2013-2023 Market Research Report' is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the global Cigarette Package industry with a focus on the Chinese market. The report provides key statistics on the market status of the Cigarette Package manufacturers and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the industry.In the end, the report makes some important proposals for a new project of Cigarette Package Industry before evaluating its feasibility. Overall, the report provides an in-depth insight of 2013-2023 global and Chinese Cigarette Package industry covering all important parameters.Request a Sample Report @If you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.Major Key Points in Table of Content:Cigarette Package Market Research Report 2018 by Players, Regions, Product Types & ApplicationsChapter One Introduction of Cigarette Package Industry1.1 Brief Introduction of Cigarette Package1.2 Development of Cigarette Package Industry1.3 Status of Cigarette Package IndustryChapter Two Manufacturing Technology of Cigarette Package2.1 Development of Cigarette Package Manufacturing Technology2.2 Analysis of Cigarette Package Manufacturing Technology2.3 Trends of Cigarette Package Manufacturing Technology.Chapter Four 2013-2018 Global and Chinese Market of Cigarette Package4.1 2013-2018 Global Capacity, Production and Production Value of Cigarette Package Industry4.2 2013-2018 Global Cost and Profit of Cigarette Package Industry4.3 Market Comparison of Global and Chinese Cigarette Package Industry4.4 2013-2018 Global and Chinese Supply and Consumption of Cigarette Package4.5 2013-2018 Chinese Import and Export of Cigarette PackageChapter Five Market Status of Cigarette Package Industry5.1 Market Competition of Cigarette Package Industry by Company5.2 Market Competition of Cigarette Package Industry by Country (USA, EU, Japan, Chinese etc.)5.3 Market Analysis of Cigarette Package Consumption by Application/TypeChapter Six 2018-2023 Market Forecast of Global and Chinese Cigarette Package Industry6.1 2018-2023 Global and Chinese Capacity, Production, and Production Value of Cigarette Package6.2 2018-2023 Cigarette Package Industry Cost and Profit Estimation6.3 2018-2023 Global and Chinese Market Share of Cigarette Package6.4 2018-2023 Global and Chinese Supply and Consumption of Cigarette Package6.5 2018-2023 Chinese Import and Export of Cigarette PackageChapter Seven Analysis of Cigarette Package Industry Chain7.1 Industry Chain Structure7.2 Upstream Raw Materials7.3 Downstream IndustryChapter Eight Global and Chinese Economic Impact on Cigarette Package 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 Cigarette Package IndustryChapter Nine Market Dynamics of Cigarette Package Industry9.1 Cigarette Package Industry News9.2 Cigarette Package Industry Development Challenges9.3 Cigarette Package Industry Development OpportunitiesChapter Ten Proposals for New Project10.1 Market Entry Strategies10.2 Countermeasures of Economic Impact10.3 Marketing Channels10.4 Feasibility Studies of New Project InvestmentContinued.For 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.Cigarette Package Market 2018Wiseguyreports.Com adds Global and Chinese Cigarette Package Industry, 2018 Market Research Report To Its Research Database.Scope of Report:The 'Global and Chinese Cigarette Package Industry, 2013-2023 Market Research Report' is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the global Cigarette Package industry with a focus on the Chinese market. The report provides key statistics on the market status of the Cigarette Package manufacturers and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the industry.In the end, the report makes some important proposals for a new project of Cigarette Package Industry before evaluating its feasibility. Overall, the report provides an in-depth insight of 2013-2023 global and Chinese Cigarette Package industry covering all important parameters.Request a Sample Report @If you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.Major Key Points in Table of Content:Cigarette Package Market Research Report 2018 by Players, Regions, Product Types & ApplicationsChapter One Introduction of Cigarette Package Industry1.1 Brief Introduction of Cigarette Package1.2 Development of Cigarette Package Industry1.3 Status of Cigarette Package IndustryChapter Two Manufacturing Technology of Cigarette Package2.1 Development of Cigarette Package Manufacturing Technology2.2 Analysis of Cigarette Package Manufacturing Technology2.3 Trends of Cigarette Package Manufacturing Technology.Chapter Four 2013-2018 Global and Chinese Market of Cigarette Package4.1 2013-2018 Global Capacity, Production and Production Value of Cigarette Package Industry4.2 2013-2018 Global Cost and Profit of Cigarette Package Industry4.3 Market Comparison of Global and Chinese Cigarette Package Industry4.4 2013-2018 Global and Chinese Supply and Consumption of Cigarette Package4.5 2013-2018 Chinese Import and Export of Cigarette PackageChapter Five Market Status of Cigarette Package Industry5.1 Market Competition of Cigarette Package Industry by Company5.2 Market Competition of Cigarette Package Industry by Country (USA, EU, Japan, Chinese etc.)5.3 Market Analysis of Cigarette Package Consumption by Application/TypeChapter Six 2018-2023 Market Forecast of Global and Chinese Cigarette Package Industry6.1 2018-2023 Global and Chinese Capacity, Production, and Production Value of Cigarette Package6.2 2018-2023 Cigarette Package Industry Cost and Profit Estimation6.3 2018-2023 Global and Chinese Market Share of Cigarette Package6.4 2018-2023 Global and Chinese Supply and Consumption of Cigarette Package6.5 2018-2023 Chinese Import and Export of Cigarette PackageChapter Seven Analysis of Cigarette Package Industry Chain7.1 Industry Chain Structure7.2 Upstream Raw Materials7.3 Downstream IndustryChapter Eight Global and Chinese Economic Impact on Cigarette Package 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 Cigarette Package IndustryChapter Nine Market Dynamics of Cigarette Package Industry9.1 Cigarette Package Industry News9.2 Cigarette Package Industry Development Challenges9.3 Cigarette Package Industry Development OpportunitiesChapter Ten Proposals for New Project10.1 Market Entry Strategies10.2 Countermeasures of Economic Impact10.3 Marketing Channels10.4 Feasibility Studies of New Project InvestmentContinued.For Detailed Reading Please visit @About 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 TRENTPartner Relations & Marketing Managersales@wiseguyreports.comPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US)Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (UK)
Home Health Care Providers Market 2018 Analysis, Growth Forecast by Manufacturers, Regions, Type and Application

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Home Health Care Providers Market Global Report 2018 from Publisher provides the strategists, marketers and senior management with the critical information they need to assess the global Home Health Care Providers market. 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.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.Request Sample Copy At:Scope:Markets Covered: Home Health Care Agencies; Visiting Nurses; In-Home Hospice Care ServicesCompanies Mentioned: Apria Healthcare Group Inc, Chemed Corp., Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta, Gentiva Health Services, New York Health CareCountries: 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 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 notesReasons 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.Purchase Report At:Table of Content:1. Home Health Care Providers Market Characteristics2. Home Health Care Providers Market Size And Growth3. Home Health Care Providers Trends And Strategies4. Home Health Care Providers Market Customer Information5. Home Health Care Providers Market Regional And Country Analysis6. Home Health Care Providers Market Segmentation7. Home Health Care Providers Market Segments8. Global Home Health Care Providers Market Comparison With Macro Economic Factors9. Home Health Care Providers Market Comparison With Macro Economic Factors Across CountriesFor More Information About This Report:Contact US:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@reportsweb.comReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Congratulations Rakesh Jesadiya! The only Indian Magento Contributor to make up for Magento Master 2018

Congratulations Rakesh Jesadiya! - Krish TechnoLabs

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Krish TechnoLabs, a leading digital commerce agency, today announced that Krishs Sr. Software Developer Rakesh Jesadiya has been officially declared as the Magento Master 2018 in the Maker category. Rakesh will be announced at the biggest annual Magento event  Magento Imagine 2018 to be held at Wynn, Las Vegas on 23-25 April 2018.Rakesh has made a significant contribution to the Magento Community by actively helping Magento peers solve their complex issues technically. He has been contributing to Magento Stack Exchange, Magento Forums, and Magento DevDocs consistently since two years. With around three years of experience at Krish TechnoLabs, he has got many opportunities to grow as a Sr. Software developer and achieve great milestones like becoming Magento Master 2018  Maker. He was also announced as the Top Contributor for 2017 at events held in India like Magento Live, Bangalore and Meet Magento, Ahmedabad. Read Detail:Mr. Jiten Padmashali, MD & CEO, Krish TechnoLabs: Krish has a strong tradition of creating a culture of celebration and recognition, driven by the high priority we place on valuing our employees. When employees bring value to your company, its easy to take pride in it.Krish has been a major part of the Magento ecosystem for over four years as a Magento Professional Solution Partner, helping to solve the complex fulfillment and eCommerce challenges retailers face every day. At Krish, its their employees dedication that makes the company so great.Krish TechnoLabs is a globally recognized full-service eCommerce agency with offices in USA, UAE, and India. We are a team of 120+ smart eCommerce species including 35+ Magento certified developers, committed to delivering omnichannel eCommerce solutions to businesses looking to take the next step in digital market space.Krish Technolabs Pvt Ltd402, Aarya Arcade,Nr. Shree Krishna Center,Mithakali Six Road,Navrangpura,Ahmedabad, Gujarat - 380009.Email: biz@krishtechnolabs.comPhone:+91-98250 50837
Basmati Rice Market is on the Rise - it's aromatic and absolutely delicious

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Rice is basically one of the major staple food in the world, accounting for over half of the total staple food consumed globally. Though rice is produced and milled globally, it is primarily consumed in the Asia-pacific regions especially in India, China and Pakistan wherein the production of basmati rice in these countries accounts for a major chunk of global production.Shifting preference towards healthy eating habits and nutrients by health conscious people, growing demand of brown rice from Middle-east and African Countries, increasing demand for ready-to-eat food products are some of the drivers that are expected to boost the growth of Basmati Rice market. Ensuring market penetration through better distribution while remaining economical poses a challenge for players who want to enhance their market and lower harvest are anticipated to hinder the growth of market to a certain extent.Request For Free Sample Of The Report @The global Basmati Rice market can be segmented on the basis of rice type, species, sales channel, application and region. on the basis of product type, the global Basmati Rice market can be segmented into raw, steamed and parboiled. On the basis of species, the global basmati rice market can be segmented into white, brown and others. On the basis of sales channel, the global Basmati Rice can be segmented into horeca, convenient stores, online platform and modern trade. On the basis of application, the global Basmati Rice market can be segmented into food and cosmetic and personnel care. On the basis of region, the global Basmati Rice Market can be segmented into North America, Europe, Middle East & Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America. Currently Asia-pacific basmati rice market accounts for the largest share of the global market. In addition, brown rice segment is anticipated to gain a higher cagr during the forecast period.Obtain Report Details @Some of the key players in the global Basmati Rice Market include McCormick & Co. Inc., LT Foods Ltd., The Hain Celestial Group Inc., Estraco Kft., East End Foods, The Rice 'n Spice Intl Ltd., KRBL Ltd., Amira Nature Foods Ltd., Mars Inc., and REI Agro Ltd.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
Global Maritime and Border Security Market 2017  By Analyzing the Performance of Various Competitors 2027

Global Maritime and Border Security Market

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SummaryWiseGuyReports published new report, titled Global Maritime and Border Security MarketThe demand for maritime and border security equipment is anticipated to be driven by internal security threats, such as terrorism, threats to sovereign integrity, illegal border infiltration, piracy, drug trafficking, and critical infrastructure security, among several others. The market is expected to be dominated by the Asia Pacific, followed by North America and EuropeGET SAMPLE REPORT @SynopsisThe Global Maritime and Border Security Market 2017-2027 report offers a detailed analysis of the industry, with market size forecasts covering the next ten years. This report will also analyze factors that influence demand for maritime and border security equipment, key market trends, and challenges faced by industry participantsScope- The global maritime and border security market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.38% over the forecast period.- The market consists of four categories: Maritime Surveillance and Detection, Border Surveillance and Detection, Border Infrastructure and Protection, Maritime Infrastructure and Protection. It is expected to be dominated by the Maritime Surveillance and Detection, followed by Border Surveillance and Detection.- The Asia Pacific region is forecasted to dominate the sector with a share of 41.5%, followed by the North America market, which is dominated by the US market. Russia, UK and Turkey to account for major market share in the European region.Key points- Determine prospective investment areas based on a detailed trend analysis of the global maritime and border security market over the next ten years- Gain in-depth understanding about the underlying factors driving demand for different maritime and border security segments in the top spending countries across the world and identify the opportunities offered by each of them- Strengthen your understanding of the market in terms of demand drivers, industry trends, and the latest technological developments, among others- Identify the major channels that are driving the global maritime and border security market, providing a clear picture about future opportunities that can be tapped, resulting in revenue expansion- Channelize resources by focusing on the ongoing programs that are being undertaken by the defense ministries of different countries within the global maritime and border security market- Make correct business decisions based on thorough analysis of the total competitive landscape of the sector with detailed profiles of the top maritime and border security providers around the world which include information about their products, alliances, recent contract wins and financial analysis wherever available..CONTINUEDWise Guy Reports understand how essential statistical surveying information is for your organization or association. Therefore, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available. We also provide COTS (Commercial off the Shelf) business sector reports as custom exploration agreeing your particular needs.WISEGUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Global Telecom Expense Management Market: By Application - Financial Management, Order Management, Business Intelligence

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MarketResearchReports.Biz has recently announced the Latest industry research report on: "Global Telecom Expense Management Market" : Industry Size, Share, Research, Reviews, Analysis, Strategies, Demand, Growth, Segmentation, Parameters, Forecasts.The telecom expense management (TEM) market report provides analysis for the period 20142024, wherein the period from 2016 to 2024 is the forecast period and 2015 is the base year. The report covers all the major trends and technologies playing a key role in telecom expense management market growth over the forecast period. It also highlights the drivers, restraints, and opportunities expected to influence the markets growth during the said period. The study provides a holistic perspective on the telecom expense management markets growth throughout the above forecast period in terms of revenue (in US$ Bn), across different geographies, including Asia Pacific, Latin America, North America, Europe, and Middle East & Africa (MEA).Request For Sample Report @The market overview section of the report demonstrates the market dynamics and trends, such as the drivers, restraints, and opportunities that influence the current nature and future status of this market. An impact analysis of key trends has also been provided for every geographic region in the report, in order to give a thorough analysis of the overall competitive scenario of the TEM market, globally. Moreover, the report provides an overview of the various strategies of key players in the market.The report segments the global TEM market on the basis of applications into financial management, order management, business intelligence, inventory management, contract management, dispute management, and others. By mode of delivery, the market has been classified into managed services, complete outsourcing, and cloud services. Furthermore, according to the end-use adoption, the TEM market is divided into banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI); retail; IT and telecommunication; healthcare; transportation and logistics; manufacturing; government and defense; and others. Thus, the report provides in-depth cross-segment analysis of the TEM market and classifies it into various levels, thereby providing valuable insights at the macro as well as micro levels.Request For Table of Contents @The report also highlights the competitive landscape of the TEM market, thereby positioning all the major players according to their geographic presence and recent key developments. The comprehensive TEM market estimates are the result of our in-depth secondary research, primary interviews, and in-house expert panel reviews. These market estimates have been analyzed by taking into account the impact of different political, social, economic, technological, and legal factors along with the current market dynamics affecting the TEM markets growth.Anatole SAS, Asentinel LLC, Calero Software LLC, Comview LLC, Cimpl, Ezwim B.V, MDSL, Valicom Corporation, Tangoe, Inc., Veropath Limited (IntelligentComms), WidePoint Solutions Corporation, Inc., and Avotus Corporation are some of the major players operating within the global TEM market profiled in this study. Details such as financials, business strategies, recent developments, and other such strategic information pertaining to these players have been duly provided as part of company profiling.Complete Report Details @Telecom Expense Management MarketBy ApplicationFinancial ManagementOrder ManagementBusiness IntelligenceInventory ManagementContract ManagementDispute ManagementOthersBy Mode of DeliveryManaged ServicesComplete OutsourcingCloud ServicesBy End-use AdoptionBanking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI)RetailIT and TelecommunicationHealthcareTransportation and LogisticsManufacturingGovernment and DefenseOthersBy GeographyNorth AmericaEuropeLatin AmericaAsia PacificMiddle East and AfricaAbout usMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.Contact UsState Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-621-2074Website:Email: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Solar Equipment Market Growth Analysis, Share, Demand by Regions, Types and Forecasts to 2024, According to Research Nester

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The global solar equipment market is segmented into equipment such as solar panels, energy storage system, power meter and accessories. Among these segments, solar panel segment is expected to occupy top position in overall solar equipment market during the forecast period. Growing utilization of solar panel in utilities and industries is aiding to the growth of the market. Further, technological innovations in solar panel such as enhanced efficiency are anticipated to drive the future adoption of the solar panels.Global solar equipment market is expected to flourish at a significant CAGR during the forecast period. Factors such as increasing solar utilities installation, favorable government reimbursement policies and rising environmental concerns are driving the growth of the solar equipment market. Moreover, the global solar equipment market is expected to garner noteworthy revenue by the end of 2024.North America dominated the overall solar equipment market and is expected to continue its dominance over the forecast period. This can be attributed to increasing government investment in solar PV capacities. Further, rising environmental concerns among individuals is expected to accelerate the growth of residential solar equipment market in North America. Asia Pacific solar equipment market is anticipated to witness robust growth during the forecast period. Favorable government policies are anticipated to contribute to the growth of the solar equipment market. Apart from this, government incentives to promote solar energy are believed to positively impact the growth of the solar equipment in Asia Pacific.Environmental and Energy Saving ConcernsRising consumer awareness about the environmental benefits of solar equipment is anticipated to positively impact the growth of solar equipment market. Further, increasing energy saving concerns among the people is expected to strengthen the growth of solar equipment market.Request Report Sample@Government Initiatives and RegulationGovernment of various nations such as U.S., India and China are increasing the solar energy production capacity which is anticipated to impel the growth of solar equipment market. According to World Energy Council, global solar electricity generation capacity raises to 227 GWe. Further, this number is expected to increase in the upcoming years owing to the rising investment in solar PV capacities.However, high dependency on fossil fuels for energy production is likely to dampen the growth of solar equipment market during the forecast period.The report titled Solar Equipment Market: Global Demand Analysis & Opportunity Outlook 2024 delivers detailed overview of the global solar equipment market in terms of market segmentation by solar system, by equipment, by end-user, by end user and by region.Further, for the in-depth analysis, the report encompasses the industry growth drivers, restraints, supply and demand risk, market attractiveness, BPS analysis and Porters five force model.Request Table of Contents:This report also provides the existing competitive scenario of some of the key players of the global solar equipment market which includes company profiling of Trina Solar, Hanwha Q, JA Solar, General Electric, SolarWorld Industries GmbH, Indosolar, SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC, ABB Group, SunPower Corporation and First Solar Inc. The profiling enfolds key information of the companies which encompasses business overview, products and services, key financials and recent news and developments. On the whole, the report depicts detailed overview of the global Solar Equipment market that will help industry consultants, equipment manufacturers, existing players searching for expansion opportunities, new players searching possibilities and other stakeholders to align their market centric strategies according to the ongoing and expected trends in the future.Request Buy Now:Read More Information:Research Nester is a leading service provider for strategic market research and consulting. We aim to provide unbiased, unparalleled market insights and industry analysis to help industries, conglomerates and executives to take wise decisions for their future marketing strategy, expansion and investment etc. We believe every business can expand to its new horizon, provided a right guidance at a right time is available through strategic minds. Our out of box thinking helps our clients to take wise decision so as to avoid future uncertainties.For Table of Content & Free Sample Report Contact:Name:-Ajay DanielEmail: ajay.daniel@researchnester.comU.S. +1 646 586 9123U.K. +44 203 608 5919Website:-
The Almond Oil Market offers huge growth opportunities for the future

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Global Almond Oil Market is valued at USD XXX billion in the year 2016. Global Almond Oil Market is further estimated to grow at a CAGR of 10.1% from 2016 to 2022 to reach USD XXX billion by the year 2022. Asia Pacific region holds the highest market share in 2016 and is considered as the fastest growing market in the forecasted period due to steady growth rate and increasing economies in these regions.Ashwin Fine Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals (India), Now Foods (U.S), Eden Botanicals (U.S), Shanghai Saifu Chemical Development Co., Ltd. (China), BASF (Germany) and Mountain Ocean (U.S) are some of the key players in the Almond Oil Market.Market OverviewDriversRising aromatherapy and spa marketIncreasing health consciousness and fitness among peopleRestraintsHigh cost of the therapyOpportunityInnovations in technologies for better productsIncreasing investment opportunity in developed regionRising Government support for aromatherapyChallengesGrowing Substitute productsBy product type sweet almond oil segment holds the highest market share among various product type considered. On the other hand cosmetics segment by application holds the high market share among all other segment and is expected to grow at the highest CAGR of 11.1% during year 2017-2022 and holds the substantial market share because of its high demand and effective product.Download Free Report Sample@Key Benefits for StakeholdersAlmond Oil Manufacturers, Distributors and RetailersResearch and Consulting organizationTechnology Standards Organizations, Forums, Alliances and AssociationsEnd use industriesRegulatory bodies, policy actors and consumers.By TypeSweet Almond OilBitter Almond OilBy ApplicationFood PreparationCosmeticsPharmaceuticalOthersBy RegionNorth AmericaEuropeAsia-PacificRoWKey Market PlayersAshwin Fine Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals (India)Now Foods (U.S)Eden Botanicals (U.S)Shanghai Saifu Chemical Development Co., Ltd. (China)BASF (Germany)Mountain Ocean (U.S)Jiangxi Xuesong Natural Medicinal Oil Co., LTD. (China)Proteco Oils (Australia)Blue Diamond Growers, Inc. (U.S)Caloy Quality Natural Oils (U.S)Get Full Report with TOCDetailed customization is also available for you. Further, if the report listed above does not meet with your key requirements. Our customized research report will analytically cover the required market information you need which will help you to plan your business decisions.Genesis Market Insights (GMI), is a subsidiary of Genesis Management & Market Research Pvt.Ltd. (GMMR) having a strong experience both in primary and secondary market research serving small to large scale enterprises across globe. Established in 1993, GMMR has become a recommended brand for Market Research for various international and MNC Corporations with its strong data foundation. With its exhaustive research capabilities, strong analytics services and in house data validation tools, GMMR has delivered actionable, reliable and all-inclusive Market Research Reports. GMMR is growing strongly for last 2 decades with most of the clients providing repeat business for their trust on the data quality and recommendations for decision making. Genesis provides strategic plan for project execution and any operational support to help them grow their revenues. Company have faith on us to find new revenue streams, and minimizing market risks. We have accomplished our proficiency by being present in the world's 130+ most promising markets for over 20 years.contact us276 5th Avenue, New York,NY 10001Phone: 2126590585,Fax: 2126590586Email:- sales@genesismarketinsights.comWebsite:-
Agricultural Drones Industry 2023 Global Market Size, Technology Review, Cost Analysis and Demand Overview

Infinium Global Research

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Study on Agricultural Drones Market by Infinium Global Research is comprehensive presentation of qualitative and quantitative research to identify key trends, growth prospects, drivers, restraints and opportunities in the Global market. The report also deep dives into the sub-segments of Agricultural Drones Market by type (software, and hardware), component (frame, camera system, controller system, battery, propulsion system, and navigation system), applications (variable rate application (VRA), crop scouting, livestock, field mapping, and agriculture photography) through main geographies in the Global Market such as North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and RoW. Browse through over 100 tables and figures to get complete view of the global and regional markets of Agricultural Drones over the period of 2017 to 2023.Get Sample Pages of this Report:The agricultural drones has advanced sensors technology and digital imaging capabilities that helps farmers to get a good picture of their fields. Information collected from such equipment may prove valuable in improving crop yields and farm efficiency. Drone technology reduce labor supply and reduce resource that are used for crops such as water and pesticides. There are different types of drones used for farming such as bird eye view, multispectral images, and other. A birds eye view drones can disclose many issues such as irrigation problems, soil variation, pest and fungal infestations. The multispectral images provide images that are used to show an electromagnetic view as well as a visual spectrum view. The farmer can see the differences between healthy and unhealthy plants, by combining these views of the farm. Drones are also used to get periodically survey of the crops.The report identified that global agricultural drones is driven by factors such as applications of technology in agriculture, cost-effectiveness and high efficiency of drones, and significant drop in manual labour in agriculture. While the restraining factors include security and safety concerns, and air traffic management. Further, the report identifies the opportunities in the world market as rising demand for drones from countries in APAC. The U.S. is the largest consumer of agriculture drones in the world market due to preference for mechanized farming among the farmers in the U.S. Agriculture drones are smaller and cheaper drones that have highly efficient and advanced sensors and imaging capabilities. Moreover, the agriculture drones technology is based on internet of things (IoT) which helps improve agriculture yield and reduce crop damage. Agriculture drones are used to take the photographs of the crops to identify the problem areas. The IoT uses sensors to supplement images of the agriculture field from above which in turn helps using the analytics to understand the changes in the crops. Furthermore, usage of digital means has brought significant change to manual farming which was one of the bigger challenges for the large farmers.Get 15% Discount on this Report:The global agriculture drone market is driven by the factors such as increasing applications of technology in agriculture, cost- effectiveness and high efficiency of drones, and significant drop in manual labour in agriculture. However, inefficient security and privacy settings are the prime restraint that is likely to hamper the growth in the market. This, however, is likely to create more opportunities for the existing as well as new players to launch new drones that will get rid of these issues.Geographic CoverageThe report provides regional analysis covering geographies such as North America, Europe. In this section the key trends and market size for each geography is provided over the period of 2015  2023. The report identifies the largest application for which the drones are used. Among the geographies North America is expected to be the largest market for agricultural drones market over the Forecast period from 2015 to 2023. The report covers the analysis of global as well as regional markets of agricultural drones market. Moreover the report provides deep insights on demand forecasts, market trends and micro and macro indicators. In addition, this report provides insights on the factors that are driving and restraining the demand globally as well as regionally. Moreover, Infinium Global Research- growth matrix (IGR- growth matrix) given in the report brings an insight on the investment areas that existing or new market players can consider.About 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
Bath Brush/Mesh Sponge Global Market by Trends & Outlook with vendors NETBRIDGE & CO., Brushtech, EcoTools

Bath Brush/Mesh Sponge Global Market

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HTF MI presents an in-depth assessment of current Bath Brush/Mesh Sponge key market drivers, market size and trends and Global Bath Brush/Mesh Sponge opportunities, challenges, and restraints as well as key market segments, technological updates, impact of any regulatory policies as well as key market segments. The research study provides forecasts for Bath Brush/Mesh Sponge investments till 2022.If you are involved in the Bath Brush/Mesh Sponge industry or intend to be, then this study will provide you comprehensive outlook. Its vital you keep your market knowledge up to date segmented by Application, Type and major players. If you have a different set of players/manufacturers according to geography or needs regional or country segmented reports we can provide customization according to your requirement.Get free access to sample pages @The Study is segmented by following Product Type: Bath Brush & Mesh SpongeMajor applications/end-users industry are as follows: Online Sales, Superstore, Convenience store & OthersGeographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions such as North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia & India, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), and market share and growth rate of Global Bath Brush/Mesh Sponge in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast)Read Detailed Index of full Research Study at @Major companies covered in the report are NETBRIDGE & CO., Brushtech, EcoTools & ...This study also contains company profiling, product picture and specifications, sales, market share and contact information of various international, regional, and local vendors of Global Bath Brush/Mesh Sponge Market. The market competition is constantly growing higher with the rise in technological innovation and M&A activities in the industry. Moreover, many local and regional vendors are offering specific application products for varied end-users. The new vendor entrants in the market are finding it hard to compete with the international vendors based on quality, reliability, and innovations in technology.Key questions answered in this report - Global Bath Brush/Mesh Sponge Market Research Report 2018What will be the market size and the growth rate in 2022?What are the key factors driving the Global Bath Brush/Mesh Sponge market?Who are the key market players and what are their strategies in the Global Bath Brush/Mesh Sponge market?What are the key market trends impacting the growth of the Global Bath Brush/Mesh Sponge market?What trends, challenges and barriers are influencing its growth?What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the vendors in the Global Bath Brush/Mesh Sponge market?What are the key outcomes of the five forces analysis of the Bath Brush/Mesh Sponge market?New Project Investment Feasibility Analysis?Buy this research report @There are 15 Chapters to display the Global Bath Brush/Mesh Sponge market.Chapter 1, to describe Definition, Specifications and Classification of Bath Brush/Mesh Sponge, Applications of Bath Brush/Mesh Sponge, Market Segment by Regions;Chapter 2, to analyze the Manufacturing Cost Structure, Raw Material and Suppliers, Manufacturing Process, Industry Chain Structure;Chapter 3, to display the Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of Bath Brush/Mesh Sponge, Capacity and Commercial Production Date, Manufacturing Plants Distribution, R&D Status and Technology Source, Raw Materials Sources Analysis;Chapter 4, to show the Overall Market Analysis, Capacity Analysis (Company Segment), Sales Analysis (Company Segment), Sales Price Analysis (Company Segment);Chapter 5 and 6, to show the Regional Market Analysis that includes North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia & India, Bath Brush/Mesh Sponge Segment Market Analysis (by Type);Chapter 7 and 8, to analyze the Bath Brush/Mesh Sponge Segment Market Analysis (by Application) Major Manufacturers Analysis of Bath Brush/Mesh Sponge;Chapter 9, Market Trend Analysis, Regional Market Trend, Market Trend by Product Type [Bath Brush & Mesh Sponge], Market Trend by Application [Online Sales, Superstore, Convenience store & Others];Chapter 10, Regional Marketing Type Analysis, International Trade Type Analysis, Supply Chain Analysis;Chapter 11, to analyze the Consumers Analysis of Bath Brush/Mesh Sponge;Chapter 12, to describe Bath Brush/Mesh Sponge Research Findings and Conclusion, Appendix, methodology and data source;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Bath Brush/Mesh Sponge sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source.Check for discount @Thanks for reading this article; you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia.Connect with us atHTF Market Report is a wholly owned brand of HTF market Intelligence Consulting Private Limited. HTF Market Report global research and market intelligence consulting organization is uniquely positioned to not only identify growth opportunities but to also empower and inspire you to create visionary growth strategies for futures, enabled by our extraordinary depth and breadth of thought leadership, research, tools, events and experience that assist you for making goals into a reality. Our understanding of the interplay between industry convergence, Mega Trends, technologies and market trends provides our clients with new business models and expansion opportunities. We are focused on identifying the Accurate Forecast in every industry we cover so our clients can reap the benefits of being early market entrants and can accomplish their Goals & Objectives.Contact Us:HTF Market Intelligence Consulting Private LimitedUnit No. 429, Parsonage Road, Edison, NJ USA - 08837sales@htfmarketreport.comPh: +1 (206) 317 1218
Study on Dermatology Devices Market Expected to Touch a Value of US$ 5,307.6 Mn by 2026

MRRSE

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New research report offers a comprehensive analysis of the Dermatology Devices Market: Rising Demand for Non-invasive Dermatological Procedures Boosting Market Growth: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment, 2016-2026The 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 @Dermatology devices comprise lasers, RF devices, microdermabrasion devices, and other related accessories. These devices are installed in hospitals and dermatology clinics to assist physicians and non-physician clinicians to treat skin diseases and are also used to diagnose skin cancer. In terms of revenue, the global dermatology devices market is projected to register a CAGR of 7.0% during the forecast period and is expected to be valued at US$ 5,307.6 Mn by the end of 2026.Rising demand for non-invasive dermatological procedures and increasing aesthetic awareness are factors boosting the adoption of dermatology devices globallyGrowth of the global dermatology devices market is primarily driven by increasing prevalence of skin problems including acne leading to scars, growing demand for at-home devices, and significant increase in non-invasive liposuction procedures along with a growing obese population. The global market for dermatology devices is expected to witness a significant growth rate in terms of value owing to an increasing aesthetic awareness, increasing fashion consciousness, and the growing demand for non-invasive cosmetic correction procedures. Moreover, growing healthcare expenditure, increasing geriatric population, and rising disposable income is creating high potential growth opportunities for players operating in the global dermatology devices market.However, high costs of dermatological treatments, side effects related to dermatological treatments, and uncertainty related to U.S. Healthcare reforms might hinder market growth over the forecast period (2016  2026).Lasers product type segment expected to dominate the market by 2016 end, due to an increasing application in cosmetic correction proceduresIn terms of revenue share, the Lasers segment dominated the global dermatology devices market in 2015 and is expected to dominate throughout the forecast period, registering a higher CAGR over the forecast period. The RF Devices segment is expected to witness a CAGR of 6.6% in terms of value over the forecast period.Browse Full Report with TOC @Vascular Lesions application segment anticipated to hold high market share through 2026The Vascular Lesions segment held maximum share in 2015 and is expected to continue its dominance throughout the forecast period. The Tattoo Removal segment is anticipated to reach US$ 943.9 Mn by 2026 owing to an increase in awareness among people regarding the health hazards caused by tattoo ink at later stages of life.Specialty Dermatology Clinics end user segment has been growing owing to an increasing preference for specialists for cosmetic correction treatmentsThe Speciality Dermatology Clinics segment is estimated to account for 36.2% revenue share of the global dermatology devices market by 2016 end. Number of patients preferring private clinics over hospitals has been increasing over the years, as additional costs such as management costs are not associated with private clinics.North America is expected to dominate the global market by 2016 endThe North America regional market is anticipated to account for 22.6% revenue share of the global dermatology devices market by 2016 end and is expected to gain in terms of market share due to increase in skin disorders, skin cancer, and a growing preference for cosmetic surgeries. In terms of value, Eastern Europe is expected to register the highest CAGR of 8.6% over the forecast period.Dermatology devices manufacturers are likely to target APEJ and MEA markets through mergers with established local players in the laser and RF devices market to increase their customer baseValeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc., Cynosure Inc., Lumenis, Syneron Candela Ltd., Avita Medical Ltd., Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd., Cutera, Lutronics Corporation, and Beijing Toplaser Technology Co. Ltd. are some of the top companies operating in the global dermatology devices market.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:
Metallised Film Capacitor Global Market 2018 Trends, Research, Analysis and Review Forecast 2023

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Metallised Film Capacitor Market 2018Wiseguyreports.Com adds Global and Chinese Metallised Film Capacitor Industry, 2018 Market Research Report To Its Research Database.The scope of Report:The 'Global and Chinese Mercury (II) chloride Industry, 2013-2023 Market Research Report' is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the global Mercury (II) chloride industry with a focus on the Chinese market. The report provides key statistics on the market status of the Ethanone manufacturers and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the industry.In the end, the report makes some important proposals for a new project of Metallised Film Capacitor Industry before evaluating its feasibility. Overall, the report provides an in-depth insight of 2013-2023 global and Chinese Metallised Film Capacitor industry covering all important parameters.Request a Sample Report @If you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.Major Key Points in Table of Content:Metallised Film Capacitor Market Research Report 2018 by Players, Regions, Product Types & ApplicationsChapter One Introduction of Metallised Film Capacitor Industry1.1 Brief Introduction of Metallised Film Capacitor1.2 Development of Metallised Film Capacitor Industry1.3 Status of Metallised Film Capacitor IndustryChapter Two Manufacturing Technology of Metallised Film Capacitor2.1 Development of Metallised Film Capacitor Manufacturing Technology2.2 Analysis of Metallised Film Capacitor Manufacturing Technology2.3 Trends of Metallised Film Capacitor Manufacturing Technology.Chapter Four 2013-2018 Global and Chinese Market of Metallised Film Capacitor4.1 2013-2018 Global Capacity, Production and Production Value of Metallised Film Capacitor Industry4.2 2013-2018 Global Cost and Profit of Metallised Film Capacitor Industry4.3 Market Comparison of Global and Chinese Metallised Film Capacitor Industry4.4 2013-2018 Global and Chinese Supply and Consumption of Metallised Film Capacitor4.5 2013-2018 Chinese Import and Export of Metallised Film CapacitorChapter Five Market Status of Metallised Film Capacitor Industry5.1 Market Competition of Metallised Film Capacitor Industry by Company5.2 Market Competition of Metallised Film Capacitor Industry by Country (USA, EU, Japan, Chinese etc.)5.3 Market Analysis of Metallised Film Capacitor Consumption by Application/TypeChapter Six 2018-2023 Market Forecast of Global and Chinese Metallised Film Capacitor Industry6.1 2018-2023 Global and Chinese Capacity, Production, and Production Value of Metallised Film Capacitor6.2 2018-2023 Metallised Film Capacitor Industry Cost and Profit Estimation6.3 2018-2023 Global and Chinese Market Share of Metallised Film Capacitor6.4 2018-2023 Global and Chinese Supply and Consumption of Metallised Film Capacitor6.5 2018-2023 Chinese Import and Export of Metallised Film CapacitorChapter Seven Analysis of Metallised Film Capacitor Industry Chain7.1 Industry Chain Structure7.2 Upstream Raw Materials7.3 Downstream IndustryChapter Eight Global and Chinese Economic Impact on Metallised Film Capacitor 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 Metallised Film Capacitor IndustryChapter Nine Market Dynamics of Metallised Film Capacitor Industry9.1 Metallised Film Capacitor Industry News9.2 Metallised Film Capacitor Industry Development Challenges9.3 Metallised Film Capacitor Industry Development OpportunitiesChapter Ten Proposals for New Project10.1 Market Entry Strategies10.2 Countermeasures of Economic Impact10.3 Marketing Channels10.4 Feasibility Studies of New Project InvestmentContinued.For 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
North America Stem Cell Therapeutics market is growing at a fair pace and is estimated to reach $XX billion with a CAGR of XX% during 2018-2024

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The report "North America Stem Cell Therapeutics Market," the North America Stem Cell Therapeutics Market is expected to reach USD XX Billion by the year 2024, at a CAGR of XX% during forecast period. Stem cells are unspecialized cells which can turn into various kinds of cells which may be of equal or different at the earlier ranges of existence. Stem cell studies are the trend in this century. On basics of remedy, the largest share is in North America because of the development of the regenerative medicinal drug, treatment for cardiology, neurology, oncology, and capsules improved the market percentage.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 atKey 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.North America Stem Cell Therapeutics Market Top Players Invitrogen Advanced Cell Technology CellGenix GmbH Kite Pharma Novocell Geron Corporation Stemcells, Inc. Takara Bio USA Holdings, Inc. Neuralstem, Inc.Related Reports:Sample Preparation Market:In-Vitro Toxicology Testing 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 us:Sales Team,Sales@envisioninteligence.comCall: +1 408-963-0099Web:
Consumer Lifestyles Market in Spain made available by top research firm

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SummaryLatest Report Available at Orbis Research Consumer Lifestyles Market provides pin-point analysis for changing competitive dynamics and a forward looking perspective on different factors driving or restraining industry growth.DescriptionAfter suffering through years of economic crisis, consumers are slowly becoming more optimistic as the job market improves, disposable incomes begin to rebound. On the other hand, most Spaniards are still cautious when it comes to spending, embracing their price sensitivity and avoiding long-term debt. Young consumers, in particular, are still trying to find their financial footing. Despite the economic crisis, the popularity of internet retailing has proved resilient.Get a PDF Sample of Consumer Lifestyles Market Report at:Consumer Lifestyles in Spain report analyses factors influencing national consumer expenditure. Consumer lifestyles reports include coverage of: population, urban development, home ownership, household profiles, labour, income, consumer and family expenditure, health, education, eating habits, drinking habits, shopping habits, personal grooming, clothing, leisure habits, savings and investments, media, communication, transport and travel and tourism. Use this report to understand the factors influencing a nation's lifestyle choices.Data coverage: market sizes (historic and forecasts), company shares, brand shares and distribution data.Why buy this reportGet a detailed picture of the Consumer Lifestyles market;Pinpoint growth sectors and identify factors driving change;Understand the competitive environment, the markets major players and leading brands;Use five-year forecasts to assess how the market is predicted to develop.To Browse the Entire Consumer Lifestyles Market Report, Visit :The points Mentioned in Consumer Lifestyles Market Report are:Chart 1 Consumer Lifestyles in 2017Top Five Consumer TrendsWeary Consumers Becoming More Confident But Young Spaniards Continue To SufferRapidly Ageing Population Setting New Markers on Consumer LandscapeBusy Consumers Changing Eating and Food Shopping HabitsOnline Shopping Popular Despite Economic CrisisYoung Consumers Still Finding Housing Market DifficultConsumer SegmentationBabies and InfantsChart 2 Number of Babies and Infants (Aged 0-2) and Average Age at ChildbirthKidsChart 3 Number of Kids (Aged 3-8)TweensChart 4 Number of Tweens (Aged 9-12)TeensChart 5 Number of Teens (Aged 13-17)Young AdultsChart 6 Distribution of Young Adults (Aged 18-29) and Age at First MarriageMiddle YouthChart 7 Number of Middle Youth (Aged 30-44)Mid-lifersChart 8 Number of Mid-Lifers (Aged 45-59)Later-lifersChart 9 Number of Later-Lifers (Aged 60+) and Life ExpectancyHouse and Homethe Home SpaceChart 10 Overview of Households: 2016Got any Query? Feel free to ask us at :No. of Report Pages: 30About 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:
Global Diaper Market Overview 2018, Demand by Regions, Types and Analysis of Key Players

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The global diaper market has witnessed a steady progress over the years. This can be accredited to the increasing disposable incomes coupled with the growing population of working women in the emerging economies.Request a sample report:Made from absorbent materials such as cloth and synthetic fibres, diapers are used for urination and excretion. Diapers are commonly associated with babies and infants; however, they are also worn by the adults. Adult diapers are used by those suffering from medical conditions, experiencing urinary or faecal incontinence, or those who are limited in their mobility or are bed-ridden. Moreover, it is quintessential to change the diaper after a time span so as to avoid rashes and other skin infections. A new research report by IMARC Group, titled Diaper Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2018-2023, estimates that the market was worth more than US$ 54 Billion in 2017.The report further anticipates the market to cross US$ 71 Billion by 2023, exhibiting a CAGR of around 5% during 2018-2023.Read full report with TOC:Market Drivers/Constraints:Growing awareness about health and hygiene among consumers, introduction of advanced technologies, improved diaper materials, investments in promotion and advertising have spurred the global demand for diapers.In addition, a constant growth of women employment rate in the developing nations is contributing to the expansion of diaper market owing to its convenience and travel-friendly nature.Some of the other factors which are fuelling the growth of the global diaper market include increasing urbanisation, affordability, growing online purchase of baby diapers and rising prevalence of urinary incontinence among the geriatric population.However, there are several factors that impede the market growth. Diapers act as a barrier for adequate air-circulation which makes it a perfect ground for bacteria, leading to skin infections.Product Type Insights:Based on type, diapers are segmented as baby diaper and adult diaper. Amongst these, baby diaper is classified as disposable diapers, training diapers, cloth diapers, baby swim pants and biodegradable diapers; and adult diaper as pad type, flat type and pant type.Distribution Channel Insights:On the basis of distribution channel, pharmacies represent the biggest segment with the majority of the global share. They are followed by convenience stores, online and others.Regional Insights:On a geographical front, North America enjoys a leading position in the global diaper market. North America is followed by Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and, Middle East and Africa.Competitive Landscape:The market is fragmented with the presence of both small and large manufacturers who compete in terms of prices and quality. There is an intense competition in the market which makes it difficult for small players to survive. Some of the leading players operating in the market are:Kao CorporationKimberly-Clark CorporationProcter & Gamble CompanySCAUnicharm CorporationBrowse related reports:Diaper Market in India:Baby Wipes Market:About UsIMARC Group is a leading market research company that offers management strategy and market research worldwide. We partner with clients in all sectors and regions to identify their highest-value opportunities, address their most critical challenges, and transform their businesses.IMARCs information products include major market, scientific, economic and technological developments for business leaders in pharmaceutical, industrial, and high technology organizations. Market forecasts and industry analysis for biotechnology, advanced materials, pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, travel and tourism, nanotechnology and novel processing methods are at the top of the companys expertise.Contact usIMARC Group309 2nd St, Brooklyn, NY 11215, USAWebsite:Email: sales@imarcgroup.comUSA: +1-631-791-1145Follow us on twitter: @imarcglobal
A Comprehensive Study exploring Facial Cleansing Instrument Market

Facial Cleansing Instrument Market

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HTF MI published a new industry research that focuses on Facial Cleansing Instrument market and delivers in-depth market analysis and future prospects of Global Facial Cleansing Instrument market. The study covers significant data which makes the research document a handy resource for managers, analysts, industry experts and other key people get ready-to-access and self-analyzed study along with graphs and tables to help understand market trends, drivers and market challenges. The study is segmented by Application/ end users [Cleanse Skin, Skin Care & Others], products type [Male & Female] and various important geographies like United States, China, Europe, Japan, Southeast Asia & India].Get Access to sample pages @The research covers the current market size of the Global Facial Cleansing Instrument market and its growth rates based on 5 year history data along with company profile of key players/manufacturers. The in-depth information by segments of Facial Cleansing Instrument market helps monitor future profitability & to make critical decisions for growth. The information on trends and developments, focuses on markets and materials, capacities, technologies, CAPEX cycle and the changing structure of the Global Facial Cleansing Instrument Market.The study provides company profiling, product picture and specifications, sales, market share and contact information of key manufacturers of Global Facial Cleansing Instrument Market, some of them listed here are Clarisonic, Po Bling, Panasonic, Philips, Runve, Kingdom, PIXNOR, DDF, LAVO & Olay. The market is growing at a very rapid pace and with rise in technological innovation, competition and M&A activities in the industry many local and regional vendors are offering specific application products for varied end-users. The new manufacturer entrants in the market are finding it hard to compete with the international vendors based on quality, reliability, and innovations in technology.Global Facial Cleansing Instrument (Thousands Units) and Revenue (Million USD) Market Split by Product Type such as Male & Female. Further the research study is segmented by Application such as Cleanse Skin, Skin Care & Others with historical and projected market share and compounded annual growth rate.Geographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), and market share and growth rate of Facial Cleansing Instrument in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), covering United States, China, Europe, Japan, Southeast Asia & India and its Share (%) and CAGR for the forecasted period 2017 to 2022.Read Detailed Index of full Research Study at @Following would be the Chapters to display the Global Facial Cleansing Instrument market.Chapter 1, to describe Definition, Specifications and Classification of Facial Cleansing Instrument, Applications of Facial Cleansing Instrument, Market Segment by Regions;Chapter 2, to analyze the Manufacturing Cost Structure, Raw Material and Suppliers, Manufacturing Process, Industry Chain Structure;Chapter 3, to display the Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of Facial Cleansing Instrument, Capacity and Commercial Production Date, Manufacturing Plants Distribution, R&D Status and Technology Source, Raw Materials Sources Analysis;Chapter 4, to show the Overall Market Analysis, Capacity Analysis (Company Segment), Sales Analysis (Company Segment), Sales Price Analysis (Company Segment);Chapter 5 and 6, to show the Regional Market Analysis that includes United States, China, Europe, Japan, Southeast Asia & India, Facial Cleansing Instrument Segment Market Analysis (by Type);Chapter 7 and 8, to analyze the Facial Cleansing Instrument Segment Market Analysis (by Application) Major Manufacturers Analysis of Facial Cleansing Instrument;Chapter 9, Market Trend Analysis, Regional Market Trend, Market Trend by Product Type [Male & Female], Market Trend by Application [Cleanse Skin, Skin Care & Others];Chapter 10, Regional Marketing Type Analysis, International Trade Type Analysis, Supply Chain Analysis;Chapter 11, to analyze the Consumers Analysis of Global Facial Cleansing Instrument;Chapter 12,13, 14 and 15, to describe Facial Cleansing Instrument sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source.Enquire for customization in Report @What this Research Study Offers:Global Facial Cleansing Instrument Market share assessments for the regional and country level segmentsMarket share analysis of the top industry playersStrategic recommendations for the new entrantsMarket forecasts for a minimum of 5 years of all the mentioned segments, sub segments and the regional marketsMarket Trends (Drivers, Constraints, Opportunities, Threats, Challenges, Investment Opportunities, and recommendations)Strategic recommendations in key business segments based on the market estimationsCompetitive landscaping mapping the key common trendsCompany profiling with detailed strategies, financials, and recent developmentsSupply chain trends mapping the latest technological advancementsBuy this research report @Reasons for Buying this ReportThis report provides pin-point analysis for changing competitive dynamicsIt provides a forward looking perspective on different factors driving or restraining market growthIt provides a six-year forecast assessed on the basis of how the market is predicted to growIt helps in understanding the key product segments and their futureIt provides pin point analysis of changing competition dynamics and keeps you ahead of competitorsIt helps in making informed business decisions by having complete insights of market and by making in-depth analysis of market segmentsThanks for reading this article; you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia.HTF Market Report is a wholly owned brand of HTF market Intelligence Consulting Private Limited. HTF Market Report global research and market intelligence consulting organization is uniquely positioned to not only identify growth opportunities but to also empower and inspire you to create visionary growth strategies for futures, enabled by our extraordinary depth and breadth of thought leadership, research, tools, events and experience that assist you for making goals into a reality. Our understanding of the interplay between industry convergence, Mega Trends, technologies and market trends provides our clients with new business models and expansion opportunities. We are focused on identifying the Accurate Forecast in every industry we cover so our clients can reap the benefits of being early market entrants and can accomplish their Goals & Objectives.Contact us :HTF Market Intelligence Consulting Private LimitedUnit No. 429, Parsonage Road Edison, NJNew Jersey USA  08837sales@htfmarketreport.com+1 (206) 317 1218
FRP Rebar Market Analysis and Prediction by Leading Manufacturers, its Application 2018

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SummaryLatest Report Available at Orbis Research FRP Rebar Market provides pin-point analysis for changing competitive dynamics and a forward looking perspective on different factors driving or restraining industry growth.DescriptionGlobal FRP Rebar Market is confident in meeting their needs and expectations. The 2018 market research report on Global FRP Rebar Market is an in-depth study and analysis of the market by our industry experts with unparalleled domain knowledge. The report will shed light on many critical points and trends of the industry which are useful for our esteemed clients. The report covers a vast expanse of information including an overview, comprehensive analysis, definitions and classifications, applications, and expert opinions, among others. With the extent of information filled in the report, the presentation and style of the Global FRP Rebar Market report is a noteworthy.Get a PDF Sample of FRP Rebar Market Report at:The Global FRP Rebar Industry report provides key information about the industry, including invaluable facts and figures, expert opinions, and the latest developments across the globe. Not only does the report cover a holistic view of the industry from a global standpoint, but it also covers individual regions and their development. The Global FRP Rebar Industry report showcases the latest trends in the global and regional markets on all critical parameters which include technology, supplies, capacity, production, profit, price, and competition. The key players covered in the report provide a detailed analysis of the competition and their developments in the Global FRP Rebar Industry. Accurate forecasts and expert opinion from credible sources, and the recent R&D development in the industry is also a mainstay of the FRP Rebar Market report.The report also focuses on the significance of industry chain analysis and all variables, both upstream and downstream. These include equipment and raw materials, client surveys, marketing channels, and industry trends and proposals. Other significant information covering consumption, key regions and distributors, and raw material suppliers are also a covered in this report.Finally, the FRP Rebar Market report ends with a detailed SWOT analysis of the market, investment feasibility and returns, and development trends and forecasts. As with every report on Orbis Research, the FRP Rebar Industry is the holy grail of information which serious knowledge seekers can benefit from. The report which is the result of ultimate dedication of pedigree professionals has a wealth of information which can benefit anyone, irrespective of their commercial or academic interest.To Browse the Entire FRP Rebar Market Report, Visit :Some Major Points Of Table Of Content:Chapter One: FRP Rebar Market OverviewChapter Two: Global FRP Rebar Market Competition by ManufacturersChapter Three: Global FRP Rebar Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2012-2017)Chapter Four: Global FRP Rebar Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2012-2017)Chapter Five: Global FRP Rebar Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by TypeChapter Six: Global FRP Rebar Market Analysis by ApplicationChapter Seven: Global FRP Rebar Manufacturers Profiles/AnalysisChapter Eight: FRP Rebar Manufacturing Cost AnalysisChapter Nine: Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream BuyersChapter Ten: Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/TradersChapter Eleven: Market Effect Factors AnalysisChapter Twelve: Global FRP Rebar Market Forecast (2017-2022)Chapter Thirteen: Research Findings and ConclusionChapter Fourteen: AppendixNo. of FRP Rebar Market Report Pages: 112Got any Query? Feel free to ask us at :List Of Tables:Figure Picture of FRP RebarFigure Global FRP Rebar Production (K Units) and CAGR (%) Comparison by Types (Product Category) (2012-2022)Figure Global FRP Rebar Production Market Share by Types (Product Category) in 2016Figure Product Picture of GFRP RebarTable Major Manufacturers of GFRP RebarFigure Product Picture of CFRP RebarTable Major Manufacturers of CFRP RebarFigure Product Picture of OthersTable Major Manufacturers of OthersFigure Global FRP Rebar Consumption (K Units) by Applications (2012-2022)Figure Global FRP Rebar Consumption Market Share by Applications in 2016Figure Road Building ExamplesTable Key Downstream Customer in Road BuildingFigure Bridges & Port ExamplesTable Key Downstream Customer in Bridges & PortFigure Underground Construction ExamplesTable Key Downstream Customer in Underground ConstructionFigure Others ExamplesTable Key Downstream Customer in OthersFigure Global FRP Rebar Market Size (Million USD), Comparison (K Units) and CAGR (%) by Regions (2012-2022)Figure North America FRP Rebar Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Place a Purchase Order for FRP Rebar Market Report at: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:
Future of Surfactant for EOR Market Size 2023 Stepan, Nalco Champion, BASF, Baker Hughes, Solvay, Dow, Clariant, Schlumberger

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MarketStudyReport.com Add New Global Surfactant for EOR Market by Manufacturers, Countries, Type and Application, Forecast to 2023 to its research database. The report presents a deep study of the market growth factors and drivers. The report spread across 105 pages with table and figures in it.The concept of recovering oil by surfactant flooding dates back to 1929 when De Groot was granted a patent claiming water-soluble surfactants as an aid to improve oil recovery. Currently, surfactant flooding boosts oil production by lowering interfacial tension, increasing oil mobility thus allowing better displacement of the oil by injected water. Surfactant EOR improves the wetability of porous rocks allowing water to flow through them faster displacing more oil.Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Surfactant for EOR market, especially in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, types and applications.Request a sample copy of Surfactant for EOR Market Research Report @Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report covers Stepan, Nalco Champion, BASF, Baker Hughes, Solvay, Dow, Clariant, Schlumberger, Shell Chemicals, Huntsman, Halliburton, Oil Chem Technologies, Akzonobel, CNPC.An inherent sub-vertical of the Manufacturing and Construction industry space, Surfactant for EOR market stands to gain remarkable proceeds over 2018-2023, as per a recently compiled report Market Segment by Regions, regional analysis covers:North America (United States, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia)Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)Market Segment by Table of Contents:Global Surfactant for EOR Market OverviewGlobal Surfactant for EOR Market Manufacturers ProfilesGlobal Surfactant for EOR Market Competition, by ManufacturerGlobal Surfactant for EOR Market Analysis by RegionsGlobal Surfactant for EOR by CountriesGlobal Surfactant for EOR Market Segment by TypeGlobal Surfactant for EOR Market Segment by ApplicationSurfactant for EOR Market Forecast (2018-2023)Sales Channel, Distributors, Traders and DealersResearch Findings and ConclusionAppendixMarket Segment by Type, covers Anionic SulfonateAnionic CarboxylateOtherMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided into OnshoreOffshoreEnquire For Discount on Surfactant for EOR Market Research Report @There are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global Surfactant for EOR market.Chapter 1, to describe Surfactant for EOR Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Surfactant for EOR, with sales, revenue, and price of Surfactant for EOR, 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 Surfactant for EOR, for each region, from 2013 to 2018;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 2013 to 2018;Chapter 12, Surfactant for EOR market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2018 to 2023;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Surfactant for EOR sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data sourceFor More Info on Market Research @Related Reports: -Global Hydroxybutyl Vinyl Ether Market by Manufacturers, Countries, Type and Application, Forecast to 2023This report studies the Hydroxybutyl Vinyl Ether market, Hydroxybutyl vinyl ether is a colorless liquid.Hydroxybutyl vinyl ether uses and applications include: Reactive diluent for radiation-curable c..Centralize market research purchases across your entire organization in one place.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.Market Study ReportThe Green Suite #4594,Dover, DE 19901United StatesPhone: 1-201-355-0868US Toll Free: 1-866-764-2150Email: sales@marketstudyreport.comWebsite:News:Connect with us: Google+ | LinkedIn | Twitter
Medical Ultrasound Probe Market : Trends & Opportunities (2017-2023)  New Report by Qyresearchreports

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Qyresearchreports include new market research report 2017-2023 Medical Ultrasound Probe Report on Global and China Market, Status and Forecast, by Players, Types and Applications to its huge collection of research reports.The major players in global and China Medical Ultrasound Probe market, includingGEPhilipsSiemensSonoSiteToshibaSamsung MedisonHitachiEsaoteMindraySIUIShenzhen RuqiSonoScapeJiaruiTo Download Free Sample Report With TOC:The global Medical Ultrasound Probe 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. 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 Medical Ultrasound Probe market. Apart from the driving factors, there also are a few restraints that are explained in the report in the Medical Ultrasound Probe market. In spite of all these restraints, a positive aspect has been imparted in the form of better expectations for the Medical Ultrasound Probe 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 Medical Ultrasound Probe Market Overview11.1 Medical Ultrasound Probe Product Overview11.2 Medical Ultrasound Probe Market Segment by Type31.2.1 Linear Type31.2.2 Convex Type41.2.3 Phased Array Type61.2.4 Endocavitary Type71.3 Global Medical Ultrasound Probe Product Segment by Type81.3.1 Global Medical Ultrasound Probe Sales and Growth by Types81.3.2 Global Medical Ultrasound Probe Sales and Market Share by Types91.3.3 Global Medical Ultrasound Probe Revenue and Market Share by Types111.3.4 Global Medical Ultrasound Probe Price by Type131.4 China Medical Ultrasound Probe Product Segment by Type131.4.1 China Medical Ultrasound Probe Sales and Growth by Types131.4.2 China Medical Ultrasound Probe Sales and Market Share by Types14Complete table of content is available at:2 Medical Ultrasound Probe Application/End Users162.1 Medical Ultrasound Probe Segment by Application/End Users162.1.1 Ophthalmology162.1.2 Cardiology162.1.3 Abdomen172.1.4 Uterus182.1.5 End Users192.2 Global Medical Ultrasound Probe Product Segment by Application213 Medical Ultrasound Probe Market Status and Outlook by Regions273.1 Global Market Status and Outlook by Regions273.1.1 Global Medical Ultrasound Probe Market Size and CAGR by Regions (2012, 2016 and 2023)273.1.2 North America273.1.3 Asia-Pacific283.1.4 Europe293.1.5 South America303.1.6 Middle East and Africa313.1.7 China323.2 Global Medical Ultrasound Probe Sales and Revenue by Regions33List of Tables and FiguresFigure Medical Ultrasound Probe Product Picture1Figure Global Medical Ultrasound Probe Revenue (Million USD) Status and Outlook (2012-2023)2Figure China Medical Ultrasound Probe Revenue (Million USD) Status and Outlook (2012-2023)3Figure Product Picture of Linear Type4Figure Global Linear Type Sales (K Units) and Growth Rate (%) (2012-2017)4Figure Product Picture of Convex Type5Figure Global Convex Type Sales (K Units) and Growth Rate (%) (2012-2017)5Figure Product Picture of Phased Array Type6Enquiry 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
Market Growth of Office Multifunction Devices to Remain Sluggish through 2025

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Office Multifunction Devices Market: IntroductionOffice Multifunction Devices play key role in managing documents in a variety of sectors, including healthcare, education, and the government. These products are also integral components of home offices and corporations, conveniently allowing users to print and photocopy documents from single device.Request to Sample of Report-The supply chain and production process of Office Multifunction Devices is global and rely on a combination of in-house and outsourced production to electronic manufacturing services. Generally, developed markets such as the North America, and Western Europe are engaged in high-value-added activities such as R&D and consumables production, which require a skilled labor force. Conversely, majority of MFP manufacturing a labor intensive process occurs in Asia and Latin America, due to the relatively low cost of labor in these regions.Office Multifunction Devices Market: Drivers and ChallengesTwo of the emerging drivers for Office Multifunction Devices Market include international compliance with environmental regulations, and increasing availability of managed print services (MPS). Former development has affected parts procurement, and led OEMs to create products that consume less energy and reduce industrys carbon footprint. OEMs are also promoting the latter to increase revenues in response to business retrenchments in hardware spending.One of the restraint for Office Multifunction Devices market is that the cost of these products is more than an individual can afford, and the prices for the refills and spares also counts up to be more.Request Report for TOC @Office Multifunction Devices Market: Key PlayersSome of the key players of Office Multifunction Devices Market are: HP Inc., Canon, Epson, Brother, Samsung Electronics, Ricoh, Fuji Xerox, Dell Inc., Lexmark, Oki etc.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 Automotive Interior Light Sales Market Report 2017  Osram Sylvania, Philips, Bosch, Hella, Grote, Koito

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Qyresearchreports include new market research report Global Automotive Interior Light Market Research Report 2017 to its huge collection of research reports.The global market for Automotive Interior Light has witnessed a significant change in its market valuation over the last few years. This research report on the worldwide Automotive Interior Light market presents an analytical study of this market with the help of a detailed analysis of its current and historical performances.The report offers an estimation of the market size in terms of the revenue (US$) and the volume (kilo tons) produced. The key segments and the geographical subdivision of the Automotive Interior Light market has been analyzed here at length on the basis of various market verticals. Market drivers, restraints, and the future prospects of each segment has been discussed in this report and, based on that, it determines the future of the Automotive Interior Light market in the global arena.Download Free exclusive Sample of this report:Various aspects of the global Automotive Interior Light industry such as the value chain and major policies, influencing the Automotive Interior Light market across the world have been explained in details in this market study. Further, it also talks about the products available in the Automotive Interior Light market with reference to their production volume, pricing structure, the dynamics of demand and supply, and the contribution in the global market for Automotive Interior Light in terms of revenue.Several analytical tools such as feasibility, investment return, and market attractiveness analysis have been utilized to provide a complete picture of the developments of the global market for Automotive Interior Light, determining important market strategies, which are likely to pay off in the long run.In conclusion, the market report analyzes the company profiles major players operating in the global Automotive Interior Light market in order to produce the competitive landscape prevalent in the worldwide market for Automotive Interior Light.Table of ContentsGlobal Automotive Interior Light Market Research Report 20171 Automotive Interior Light Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Automotive Interior Light1.2 Automotive Interior Light Segment by Type (Product Category)1.2.1 Global Automotive Interior Light Production and CAGR (%) Comparison by Type (Product Category) (2012-2022)1.2.2 Global Automotive Interior Light Production Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.2.3 LED Light1.2.4 Halogen Light1.2.5 Xenon Light1.3 Global Automotive Interior Light Segment by Application1.3.1 Automotive Interior Light Consumption (Sales) Comparison by Application (2012-2022)1.3.2 Car1.3.3 Bus1.3.4 Truck1.3.5 OthersAccess the full Report TOC in Detail @2 Global Automotive Interior Light Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global Automotive Interior Light Capacity, Production and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.1 Global Automotive Interior Light Capacity and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.2 Global Automotive Interior Light Production and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.2 Global Automotive Interior Light Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.3 Global Automotive Interior Light Average Price by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.4 Manufacturers Automotive Interior Light Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area and Product Type2.5 Automotive Interior Light Market Competitive Situation and Trends2.5.1 Automotive Interior Light Market Concentration Rate2.5.2 Automotive Interior Light Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Manufacturers2.5.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion3 Global Automotive Interior Light Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2012-2017)3.1 Global Automotive Interior Light Capacity and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.2 Global Automotive Interior Light Production and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.3 Global Automotive Interior Light Revenue (Value) and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.4 Global Automotive Interior Light Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.5 United States Automotive Interior Light Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.6 EU Automotive Interior Light Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.7 China Automotive Interior Light Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.8 Japan Automotive Interior Light Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.9 South Korea Automotive Interior Light Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.10 India Automotive Interior Light Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)4 Global Automotive Interior Light Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2012-2017)4.1 Global Automotive Interior Light Consumption by Region (2012-2017)4.2 United States Automotive Interior Light Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.3 EU Automotive Interior Light Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.4 China Automotive Interior Light Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.5 Japan Automotive Interior Light Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.6 South Korea Automotive Interior Light Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.7 India Automotive Interior Light Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)List of Tables and FiguresFigure Picture of Automotive Interior LightFigure Global Automotive Interior Light Production (K Units) and CAGR (%) Comparison by Types (Product Category) (2012-2022)Figure Global Automotive Interior Light Production Market Share by Types (Product Category) in 2016Figure Product Picture of LED LightTable Major Manufacturers of LED LightFigure Product Picture of Halogen LightTable Major Manufacturers of Halogen LightFigure Product Picture of Xenon LightTable Major Manufacturers of Xenon LightFigure Global Automotive Interior Light Consumption (K Units) by Applications (2012-2022)To Get Discount Of This Report Click here @QYResearchReports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYResearchReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com
Network Traffic Analyzer Market Summary,Analysis and Growth factor 2017 to 2025

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Network Traffic Analyzer Market: IntroductionIn todays networks, traffic analysis should be conducted not only up to Layer 2 (SNMP  the number of bytes transferred, or the number of packets transferred at the level of the device interface), but also on Layers 3 and 4. There are a number of tools that can be used for traffic analysis. They are divided into those that require specialized hardware and those that are based on software solutions that are not dependent on the hardware. The solutions that rely on hardware are rather expensive than the software ones.Request Report for TOC @Network analyzer captures the network traffic and inspect it closely to determine what is happening on the network. Two monitoring techniques of network traffic analyzers are Router Based, and Non-Router Based. Monitoring functionalities that are built-into the routers themselves and do not require additional installation of hardware or software are referred to as Router Based techniques. Non-Router based techniques require additional hardware and software to be installed and provide greater flexibility.Network Traffic Analyzer Market: Drivers and ChallengesSome of the drivers for the Network Traffic Analyzer market is the rapid growth of network infrastructure in recent time and growing demand for high technology adoption in developed network infrastructure. These factors drive the market for Network traffic analyzer. Due to technology advancements the world has moved collectively to growth of network infrastructure, another reason for this is the rapid growth in the adaption of smartphone.One of the restraint for Network Traffic Analyzer market is that the cost of these products is high, and there is lack of awareness and skills, which makes it difficult network administrator to choose the appropriate network analyzer as per the business need.Request to Sample of Report-Network Traffic Analyzer Market: Key PlayersSome of the key players of Network Traffic Analyzer Market are: CA Technologies, Cisco Systems, Colasoft, Genie Networks, HPE, Ipswitch, Kentik, Manageengine, Netscout Systems, Nokia, Plixer, Solarwinds, and others.In December 2015, Cisco Systems acquired Lancope, a company which helps customers monitor, detect, analyze, and respond to modern threats on enterprise networks through continuous network visibility and specialized threat analysis and protection. This acquisition would help Cisco to provide enhanced visibility, context, and control over threats.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 Fuel Cells For Military Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Market To Grow At A CAGR Of 14.32% During The Period 2017-2021

Fuel Cells for Military Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Market

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Fuel Cells for Military Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Market 2017-2021" to its huge collection of research reports.Military UAV fuel cells are of different kinds, and they are deployed for various operations. The most prominent types of fuel cells used in military UAVs are proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC), and alkaline fuel cells. Also, intense research is ongoing on leveraging these technologies on different UAV platforms, such as micro and mini UAVs. PEMFCs are used in medium-altitude long endurance (MALE) and high-altitude long endurance (HALE) UAVs as their operating temperature lies between 30C and 100C.Technavios analysts forecast the global fuel cells for military unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) market to grow at a CAGR of 14.32% during the period 2017-2021.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global fuel cells for military unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) market for 2017-2021. To calculate the market size, the report presents a detailed picture of the market by way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources.The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:AmericasAPACEMEAGlobal Fuel Cells for Military Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Market 2017-2021, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendorsEnergyOR TechnologiesHorizon Fuel Cell TechnologiesMicroMultiCopter Aero TechnologyProtonexUltra ElectronicsOther prominent vendorsJadoo Power SystemMarket driverHigh investment in military unmanned aircraft domainFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challengeDecline in prices of non-renewable resourcesFor a full, detailed list, view our reportGet Complete TOC With Tables and Figures @Market trendEmergence of Formira Hydrogen-on-Demand technologyFor a full, detailed list, view our reportKey questions answered in this reportWhat will the market size be in 2021 and what will the growth rate be?What are the key market trends?What is driving this market?What are the challenges to market growth?Who are the key vendors in this market space?About 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 @
Macroeconomic Developments will Aid in IoT Sensors in Healthcare Market Growth

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IoT Sensors in Healthcare market: IntroductionTheres no shortage of predictions about how the Internet of Things (IoT) is going to revolutionize healthcare by dramatically lowering costs and improving quality. And presently, companies like Freescale (NXP Semiconductors) are involving themselves in execution of such practices. Wireless sensor-based systems are at work today, gathering patients medical data that was never before available for analysis and delivering care to people for whom care wasnt previously accessible. IoT-driven systems nowadays are making it possible to radically reduce costs and improve health by increasing the availability and quality of care.Request to Sample of Report-IoT Sensors in Healthcare systems today are based on the essential definition of the IoT as a network of devices that connect directly with each other to capture and share vital data through a secure service layer (SSL) that connects to a central command and control server in the cloud. IoT sensors in Healthcare market is of importance, as advances in sensor and connectivity technology are allowing devices to collect, record, and analyze data that was not accessible before. In healthcare, this enables collection of patient data over time that can be used to help enabling preventive care, and allowing prompt diagnosis of acute complications.It also promotes the indulgence of how a therapy (usually pharmacological) is helping improve a patients parameters, and the ability of devices to gather data on their own reduces the limitations of human-entered data automatically, thus obtaining the data doctors as and when require. Automation reduces the risk of error through sensors. Fewer errors can mean increased efficiency, lower costs, and improvements in quality in just about any industry. But its of particular interest in healthcare, where human error can literally be the difference between life and death.IoT Sensors in Healthcare market: Drivers and ChallengesThe IoT plays a significant role in a broad range of healthcare applications, from managing chronic diseases at one end of the spectrum to preventing disease at the other. Some of the drivers for the IoT Sensors in Healthcare market are the emergence of IoT sensors in applications like clinical care, remote monitoring, early intervention/prevention and others. This follows as hospitalized patients whose physiological status requires close attention can be constantly monitored using IoT-driven, non-invasive monitoring.This type of solution employs sensors to collect comprehensive physiological information and uses gateways and the cloud to analyze and store the information and then send the analyzed data wirelessly to caregivers for further analysis and review and there are people whose health may suffer because they dont have ready access to effective health monitoring. But small, powerful wireless solutions connected through IoT are now making it possible for monitoring to come to these patients instead of vice-versa.Security of medical data processing on the cloud in IoT Sensors in Healthcare market still remains a point where the technology is not able to cope turning it as a restraint for the market.Request Report for TOC @IoT Sensors in Healthcare market: Key PlayersSome of the key players of IoT Sensors in Healthcare market are: Honeywell International Inc., Bosch Sensortec, Ericsson, Google Inc., HTC Corporation, ARM Holdings, IBM, Infineon Technologies, Intel Corporation, Invensense Inc., Microsoft Corporation, NXP Semiconductors NV, Omron Corp, Qualcomm Inc, Robert Bosch, STMicroelectronics, Samsung Electronics Co, Ltd., Acuity Brands Inc., Siemens, Augmedix, Quanttus, Glucovista, Sproutling, Neurovigil, Sensoria, Beddit, Senseonics and others.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Multi-Parameter Patient Monitoring Equipment Market Trend to 2023 Philips Healthcare, GE Healthcare, Drager, Schiller, Nihon Kohden, OSI (Spacelabs)

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MarketStudyReport.com has announced the addition of the 'Global Multi-Parameter Patient Monitoring Equipment Market' The report focuses on global major leading players with information such as company profiles, product picture and specification.Multi-parameter patient monitoring equipment is a special device that is used for keeping track of the vital signs of patient?s health. This patient monitoring equipment is generally used in different hospital departments to monitor patients in their beds. The equipment measures blood pressure, etc. temperature, respiration rate and other data. If we speak of specialized versions, they include cardiac and fetal output, as well as neuromuscular monitors.Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Multi-Parameter Patient Monitoring Equipment 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.Request a sample copy of Multi-Parameter Patient Monitoring Equipment Market Research Report @Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report covers Philips Healthcare, GE Healthcare, Drager, Schiller, Nihon Kohden, OSI (Spacelabs), Mindray, CAS Medical Systems.An inherent sub-vertical of the Semiconductor and Electronics industry space, Multi-Parameter Patient Monitoring Equipment market stands to gain remarkable proceeds over 2018-2023, as per a recently compiled report 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 Table of Contents:Global Multi-Parameter Patient Monitoring Equipment Market OverviewGlobal Multi-Parameter Patient Monitoring Equipment Market Manufacturers ProfilesGlobal Multi-Parameter Patient Monitoring Equipment Market Competition, by ManufacturerGlobal Multi-Parameter Patient Monitoring Equipment Market Analysis by RegionsGlobal Multi-Parameter Patient Monitoring Equipment by CountriesGlobal Multi-Parameter Patient Monitoring Equipment Market Segment by TypeGlobal Multi-Parameter Patient Monitoring Equipment Market Segment by ApplicationMulti-Parameter Patient Monitoring Equipment Market Forecast (2018-2023)Sales Channel, Distributors, Traders and DealersResearch Findings and ConclusionAppendixMarket Segment by Type, covers High-acuity MonitorsMid-acuity MonitorsLow-acuity MonitorsMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided into HospitalHome Health CareEnquire For Discount on Multi-Parameter Patient Monitoring Equipment Market Research Report @There are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global Multi-Parameter Patient Monitoring Equipment market.Chapter 1, to describe Multi-Parameter Patient Monitoring Equipment Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Multi-Parameter Patient Monitoring Equipment, with sales, revenue, and price of Multi-Parameter Patient Monitoring Equipment, 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 Multi-Parameter Patient Monitoring Equipment, for each region, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, to analyze the market by countries, by type, by application and by manufacturers, 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, Multi-Parameter Patient Monitoring Equipment market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Multi-Parameter Patient Monitoring Equipment sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data sourceFor More Info on Market Research @Related Reports: -Global Compact Shark Fluorescent Light Market Professional Survey Report 2018This report studies Compact Shark Fluorescent Light in Global market, especially in North America, China, Europe, Southeast Asia, Japan and India, with production, revenue, consumption, import and expCentralize market research purchases across your entire organization in one place.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.Market Study ReportThe Green Suite #4594,Dover, DE 19901United StatesPhone: 1-201-355-0868US Toll Free: 1-866-764-2150Email: sales@marketstudyreport.comWebsite:News:Connect with us: Google+ | LinkedIn | Twitter
Analysis of Dried Persimmons Marketing by Production Scale 2017 to 2022

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Qyresearchreports include new market research report Global Dried Persimmon Market Research Report 2017 to its huge collection of research reports.Global Dried Persimmon market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the top players includingArimexOlam InternationalSunbeam FoodsSun-MaidDiamond FoodsArcher Daniels MidlandKanegradeGracelandHines Nut CompanyH.B.S. FoodsTo 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 Dried Persimmon 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 Dried Persimmon market.Table of ContentsGlobal Dried Persimmon Market Research Report 20171 Dried Persimmon Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Dried Persimmon1.2 Dried Persimmon Segment by Type (Product Category)1.2.1 Global Dried Persimmon Production and CAGR (%) Comparison by Type (Product Category)(2012-2022)1.2.2 Global Dried Persimmon Production Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.2.3 White Persimmon1.2.4 Black Persimmon1.3 Global Dried Persimmon Segment by Application1.3.1 Dried Persimmon Consumption (Sales) Comparison by Application (2012-2022)1.3.2 Household1.3.3 CommercialComplete table of content is available at:2 Global Dried Persimmon Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global Dried Persimmon Capacity, Production and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.1 Global Dried Persimmon Capacity and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.2 Global Dried Persimmon Production and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.2 Global Dried Persimmon Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.3 Global Dried Persimmon Average Price by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.4 Manufacturers Dried Persimmon Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area and Product Type3 Global Dried Persimmon Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2012-2017)3.1 Global Dried Persimmon Capacity and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.2 Global Dried Persimmon Production and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.3 Global Dried Persimmon Revenue (Value) and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.4 Global Dried Persimmon Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.5 North America Dried Persimmon Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.6 Europe Dried Persimmon Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)4 Global Dried Persimmon Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2012-2017)4.1 Global Dried Persimmon Consumption by Region (2012-2017)4.2 North America Dried Persimmon Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.3 Europe Dried Persimmon Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.4 China Dried Persimmon Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.5 Japan Dried Persimmon Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.6 Southeast Asia Dried Persimmon Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.7 India Dried Persimmon Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)List of Tables and FiguresFigure Picture of Dried PersimmonFigure Global Dried Persimmon Production (MT) and CAGR (%) Comparison by Types (Product Category) (2012-2022)Figure Global Dried Persimmon Production Market Share by Types (Product Category) in 2016Figure Product Picture of White PersimmonTable Major Manufacturers of White PersimmonFigure Product Picture of Black PersimmonTable Major Manufacturers of Black PersimmonFigure Global Dried Persimmon Consumption (MT) by Applications (2012-2022)Figure Global Dried Persimmon Consumption Market Share by Applications in 2016Enquiry 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 Automotive High Brightness LED Head Lamps Market Study, Competitive Strategies, Key Manufacturers, New Project Investment and Forecast 2021 - Research Nester

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Global Automotive High Brightness LED Head Lamps Market: Global Historical Growth (2012-2016) & Future Outlook (2017-2024) Demand Analysis & Opportunity EvaluationThe global automotive high brightness LED head lamps market is segmented into passenger cars, low commercial vehicle and heavy commercial vehicles. Booming production of new passenger cars and increasing number of old and end-of-life passenger vehicles are predicted to drive the growth of this segment over the forecast period. New and old passenger car owners are spending high on repair and maintenance of their cars. Additionally, the adoption rate of appearance parts & accessories is also a major factor which is driving the growth of this segment overt the forecast period.Global Automotive High Brightness LED Head Lamps Market is expected to register a remarkable CAGR over the forecast period. Moreover, remarkable growth in automotive industry is the major reason which is driving the growth of global automotive high brightness LED head lamps market across all regions. The market is expected to expand on the back of increasing production of new vehicles to meet the rising consumers demand is also a major factor which is likely to drive the growth of automotive high brightness LED head lamps market in near future.Request Report Sample@Asia Pacific automotive high brightness LED head lamps market is predicted to grow at maximum pace over the forecast period. This growth in Asia Pacific automotive high brightness LED head lamps market can be attributed to rapid urbanization and increasing number of new vehicles in Asian Countries such as India & China.Rising Production of New VehiclesChanging life style of consumers has increased the preference for motor cars over motor bikes. Due to this, increasing demand for new cars, the manufactures are increasing their production capacity through various activities such as initiation of new manufacturing plants, and increasing number of workers. Further, rising sales of new passenger and commercial vehicles is expected to drive the growth of global automotive high brightness LED head lamps market in upcoming years.Request For TOC Here:Growing AftermarketExpanding vehicle fleet across the globe is a major factor which is augmenting the growth of automotive aftermarket. Further, increasing replacement of old or damaged headlamps with new LED head lamps is anticipated to bolster the growth of market in near future. The adoption of LED head lamps market amongst commercial vehicle manufacturers owing to their ability to work perfectly in extreme weather conditions is likely to bolster the growth of market in future. However, high cost of automotive high brightness LED head lamps is likely to inhibit the growth of the automotive high brightness LED head lamps market in the near future.The report titled Global Automotive high brightness LED head lamps Market: Global Historical Growth (2012-2016) & Future Outlook (2017-2024) Demand Analysis & Opportunity Evaluation delivers detailed overview of the global automotive high brightness LED head lamps market in terms of market segmentation by vehicle type, by sales channel and by region. Further, for the in-depth analysis, the report encompasses the industry growth drivers, restraints, supply and demand risk, market attractiveness, BPS analysis and Porters five force model.Buy This Premium Reports Now @This report also provides the existing competitive scenario of some of the key players of the global automotive high brightness LED head lamps market which includes company profiling of OSRAM GmbH, HELLA GmbH & Co. KGaA, Koninklijke Philips N.V.,, North American Lighting, Inc., KOITO MANUFACTURING CO.,LTD, GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, PIAA Corporation, Apex Holdings, Inc. adn ZKW Group. The profiling enfolds key information of the companies which encompasses business overview, products and services, key financials and recent news and developments. On the whole, the report depicts detailed overview of the global automotive high brightness LED head lamps market that will help industry consultants, equipment manufacturers, existing players searching for expansion opportunities, new players searching possibilities and other stakeholders to align their market centric strategies according to the ongoing and expected trends in the future.For more details visit @Research Nester is a leading service provider for strategic market research and consulting. We aim to provide unbiased, unparalleled market insights and industry analysis to help industries, conglomerates and executives to take wise decisions for their future marketing strategy, expansion and investment etc. We believe every business can expand to its new horizon, provided a right guidance at a right time is available through strategic minds. Our out of box thinking helps our clients to take wise decision so as to avoid future uncertainties.Contact for more Info:Name:- Ajay Daniel1820 Avenue M, Suite# 1113,Brooklyn, New York 11230Email: ajay.daniel@researchnester.comU.S. +1 646 586 9123U.K. +44 203 608 5919
Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing Market - Era of Digital Transformation of Machinery

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As a result of previous three industrial revolutions, manufacturing industries were benefitted through mechanization, automation, and mass production. After the implementation of Industry 4.0, Artificial Intelligence along with machine learning is gaining heavy traction in the manufacturing sector. Industry 4.0 has resulted in making manufacturing smarter with the use of advanced technologies such as IoT thus, enabling companies to modernize their production process and supply chain management.PDF Sample For Latest Industry Trends -The digital transformation of manufacturing as well as supply chain helps in directly analyzing data from factories using advanced technologies including, Artificial Intelligence and machine learning. This results in gaining efficiency. The customers can choose from a wide variety of goods, to the point of mass customization enabling them to design their own product. With the rising competition and advancements in technologies, customers are turning to be more demanding and choosy, looking for unique and personalized products over standardized products. Thus, manufacturing industry worldwide is utilizing machine learning, automation, computer vision, and other AI fields to fulfil the increasing demands by transforming their manufacturing processes.Obtain Report Details @Companies are implementing these technologies to lower their manufacturing costs apart from catering choosy customers. Even affordable countries such as China and Mexico are also witnessing increased cost of production owing to downfall in the oil & gas industry, resulting in need for further cost reduction and efficiencies. Generally, in most of the factories, unexpected equipment downtimes and failures, poor demand forecasting, unsafe and inefficient workplace processes as well as bottlenecks in supply chain may lead to longer production cycles, wastage of resources, and low yields thereby, resulting in revenue loss. Thus, adoption of Artificial Intelligence is emerging to eradicate these issues. Also, shortage of skilled labor faced by major industries can be tackled with the help of implementing Artificial Intelligence.Artificial Intelligence In Healthcare Market-Cloud Robotics Market-SCARA Robots Market-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
IoT Gateway Market Size to Escalate at a Rapid Scale Through 2025

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IoT Gateway Market: IntroductionIncreased demand for Big Data analytics is changing the IoT gateway market to an extent in recent days. The demand of analytics boost the demand for IoT gateway in the market, as Big Data helps analyzing sensor data and starts data collection for many of the industrial machines, such as oil refineries, turbines and others. Moreover, it help organizations in optimizing their business decisions and innovating new business models, products, and service offerings.Request Report for TOC @An IoT gateway is a physical device or software program that serves as the connection point between cloud and controllers, sensors, and intelligent devices. All data moving to the cloud or vice versa, goes through the gateway, which can be either a dedicated hardware appliance or software program. An IoT gateway may also be referred to as an intelligent gateway or a control tier.IoT Gateway Market: Drivers and ChallengesSome of the drivers for the IoT Gateway Market are improved internet connectivity in technologically advancing countries, and increased IP address space and security solutions provided in IPv6. The main feature cum driver for the IoT Gateway market is that it nullifies the security glitch of cloud by some value by providing its own level of security.One of the restraint for IoT Gateway Market is that the designing of this IoT gateway is complex and need skilled professionals for designing, which is not the case always.Request to Sample of Report-IoT Gateway Market: Key PlayersSome of the key players of IoT Gateway Market are: NXP Semiconductors N.V., Intel Corporation, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, ARM Holdings, Plc, Super Micro Computer, Inc. and others.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
LiDAR for Cars and Light Trucks Industry Trends, Strategies, and Forecasts, Worldwide, 2017 to 2023

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LiDAR sensors are extensively used in automated cars and light trucks as they help in safe navigation by detecting obstacles and avoiding them. As most of the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and tier-1 players within the global automobile industry are working towards automated driving, the global market for LiDAR will witness a high growth in the years to come. The demand for LiDAR technology is high as they help in achieving level 3 and level 4 in automation of vehicles. While level 3 still requires drivers for cars and light vehicles to function, all the safety critical functions relating to the environment or traffic can be shifted to the vehicle. Level 4 vehicles can monitor roadway conditions for the entire trip and perform all the safety-critical driving functions. With an increasing number of car manufacturers striving to expand the autonomous driving concept and the shift towards unmanned vehicles, the market for LiDAR has huge potential for growth.Worldwide markets are poised to achieve significant growth as LiDAR sensors for cars and light trucks permit users to implement automated driving. Fleet vehicles from Uber, Google and similar users are likely to be the early adopter groups, creating vehicles that do package delivery and ride sharing. Tesla, Mercedes, and Audi are among the vendors with a leadership position in the personal luxury vehicle artificial intelligence LiDAR car markets. These cars provide performance and cater to individual preference in feature function packages and styling.Get the sample copy of report :LIDAR stands for light detection and ranging which is remote sensing. LIDAR does not require electromagnetic radiation but it requires laser pulses that strike the object and return back to the sensor. The laser pulse measures the distance from the sensor to the object by determining the time between the release to reception of the reflected pulse.3D scanning market and imaging are expected to propel growth. Major technological developments include emergence of optically extended MEMS scanning mirror for low-altitude and light weight flying platforms. Long term reliability of number of key laser components drive the LiDAR market. Key components include optical coatings, optics, and diodes in vacuum and radiation environment of space.Every car maker seeks to participate in this Artificial Intelligence (AI) personal vehicle market leveraging LiDAR. The ability to do so depends on implementing next generation technology that is very expensive to get working. Vendors ae seeking to work together to set standards and develop shared modules that provide basic functionality. Cameras, sensors, artificial intelligence software, and LiDAR are among the modules being developed.Autonomous vehicle technology has the potential to institute major change in personal mobility. Autonomous cars are the next generation of manual cars, poised to provide thrust for a large replacement market. Autonomous vehicles are the base for building personal car services, particularly in large cities. Carmakers and Silicon Valley companies bring different skills to the task of building a Artificial Intelligence (AI) car. LiDAR is a significant sensor that supports autonomous operations. Autonomous vehicles transform the personal transport industry.Request for TOC of this report :Every person who owns a vehicle has a preference on performance. The Tesla has gained recognition for offering a Artificial Intelligence (AI) vehicle, but it is first and foremost a performance vehicle. This characteristic will not change as Artificial Intelligence (AI) vehicles come on the market. People like the customization of features and functions in their car.This customization aspect of vehicles does not get talked about much, but it is a very important part of the industry. It will not go away just because cars are run by software. From auto racing to personal preference, ever car has its own personality and its own comfort. Performance is part of the package. Every car maker seeks to participate in this Artificial Intelligence (AI) personal vehicle market with a distinctive offering. The ability to have unique appear to customers depends on implementing next generation technology in a manner that works effectively and is relatively inexpensive to implement.As automated process leveraging LiDAR hits the auto industry as a disruptive force, it parallels the automated piloting of the airline industry that saw significant labor savings implementation. Automated vehicle driving can be done anywhere just by connecting the car to integrated adaptive cruise control, adaptive steering and braking, and lane assist systems all working off one central processor.Artificial Intelligence (AI) cars and light trucks incrementally add automated process to driving leveraging the LiDAR sensor. As software is added to cars and light trucks it is done in concert with modification to the steering, breaking, and other automotive systems. Autonomous functions for vehicles are increasingly adopted.View full report here :Change is incremental, we do not have fully functioning LiDAR navigated Artificial Intelligence (AI) cars immediately, rather, steering, collision avoidance, parking, test driving, series of camera and radar based monitoring systems, lane assist, and adaptive cruise control are being implemented, presaging rapid adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) cars and light trucks as the various functions mature and work in the real world.According to Susan Eustis, team leader for the preparation of the study, The market for LiDAR for cars and light truck vehicles is anticipated to expand in parallel with the deployment of appropriate roadway controls funded by government programs. The large public investments for Artificial Intelligence (AI) vehicles so far has been for development of technology that works for military purposes. The extension of this type of automated system to commercial fleet vehicles will be rapid after 2019.The Artificial Intelligence (AI) car designs amalgamate a group of features to represent an automated process solution. These include the hardware, the software middleware, the steering system, adaptive cruise control, numerous software applications, an integrated systems approach, and related services. Significant investments in research and development are necessary as the emerging Artificial Intelligence (AI) cars and light trucks industry builds on incremental technology roll outs.LiDAR for autonomous autos and small trucks /SUVs market at $13 million in 2016 is expected to reach $9.9 billion by 2023. This is in the context of a $3 trillion market for the autonomous vehicles. LiDAR represents one sensor in the autonomous navigation system. It is used to give more reliability than is available from cameras and other sensors and it compliments those capabilities. Spectacular growth is a result of various moves toward autonomous vehicles that can go across the US by themselves, provide automated navigation,, integrated braking and steering. Most auto vendors have gone beyond the testing stage to offer vehicles that have strong navigation capability.Safety modules are complimented by mapping vehicles that provide navigation. The Tesla and other vehicles provide driver alerts but fall sort of complete Artificial Intelligence (AI).Market driving forces relate primarily to the need for increased safety and personalization for autos. Car manufacturers are positioning with LiDAR sensors for cars to meet demand at the high end, and in every category of car and light truck. Many Artificial Intelligence (AI) vehicle car vendors are making automation for personal vehicles and light trucks a reality.Companies ProfiledMarket LeadersPioneerValeoContinentalVelodyne3DEOMIT Lincoln LabMarket Participants3d Laser Mapping Specialists, Airborne Lidar And ImageryAvent Lidar TechnologyAImotiveAlphabet, Waymo: GoogleGoogle / Intel Target Driverless Cars with LiDARWaymo Deal with Fiat Chrysler AutomobilesAlps ElectricArgo AIAutolivBeijing Beike Technology Co., Ltd (isurestar) (China)BMWBosch GroupContinentalDaimler AG/Mercedes-BenzDelphi AutomotiveDensoDigitalWorld MappingEatonECA LiDARFaro TechnologiesFirmatek LlcFiat ChryslerFordFord Argo AI Artificial Intelligence CompanyGeneral MotorsGM Investment in LyftGeniarp GroupGeniarp Group / Mosaic 3dGeophysical Survey Systems, Inc. (GSSI)GMR Group / Geokno India Pvt. Ltd. (India)HarrisHereHondaHyundaiInfineon Technologies AGIntel CorporationIntel Buys MobileyeIntermap TechnologiesKnorr-Bremse GroupMesa LiDARMIT Lincoln LabMIT Agreement with Geophysical Survey Systems, Inc. (GSSI)MitsubishiNissanNVIDIANXPPix4DPioneerQualcommQuantum Spatial(Aerometric, Inc.) (U.S.)Renishaw PlcRiegl Laser Measurement Systems GmbH (Austria)Riegl USAScaneseSiemens and Infineon LiDARSoftbankSoftbank ArmSoftbank Personal Brain IBM WatsonTeslaToyota / LexusUberValeoValeo Acquisition of FTEVecna TechnologiesVelodyne LIDAR SensorVolkswagenPorsche SEVolkswagen / AudiVolvoVisteonYellowScan (France)ZFZTEKey TopicsAuto Artificial IntelligenceAutomotiveAutomated drivingAutomated vehiclesAutonomous vehiclesin-vehicle compute, Infiniti, Internet of thingsAI machine learningMobileyeRobot Cars and TrucksRobot steeringRobot brakingRobot automotive systemsAutonomous functions for vehiclesCollision avoidanceAutomated parkingRobot ParkingRobot test drivingCar camerasCar LiDARCar radarTruck follow me systemsRadar based monitoring systemsLane assistAdaptive cruise controlMRRbiz 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
Global Baby Clothes Sales Market Report 2018  Gymboree, OKAIDI, Catimini, BOBDOG, Nike, Benetton, Mothercare

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Qyresearchreports include new market research report Global Baby Clothes Sales Market Report 2018 to its huge collection of research reports.Global Baby Clothes market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Baby Clothes sales volume, Price (USD/Unit), revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingCartersJoynCleonH&MJACADINishimatsuyaLes EnphantsOshkoshAdidasDisneyPepcoDadidaPaclanticGoodbabyDownload Free exclusive Sample of this report:The findings offered in the report on the global Baby Clothes 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 Baby Clothes 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 Baby Clothes market will find the study findings useful. Segments of the global Baby Clothes 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 ContentsGlobal Baby Clothes Sales Market Report 20181 Baby Clothes Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Baby Clothes1.2 Classification of Baby Clothes by Product Category1.2.1 Global Baby Clothes Market Size (Sales) Comparison by Type (2013-2025)1.2.2 Global Baby Clothes Market Size (Sales) Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20171.2.3 Cotton1.2.4 Wool1.2.5 Linen1.2.6 Silk1.2.7 PVC1.2.8 Other1.3 Global Baby Clothes Market by Application/End UsersAccess the full Report TOC in Detail @2 Global Baby Clothes Competition by Players/Suppliers, Type and Application2.1 Global Baby Clothes Market Competition by Players/Suppliers2.1.1 Global Baby Clothes Sales and Market Share of Key Players/Suppliers (2013-2018)2.1.2 Global Baby Clothes Revenue and Share by Players/Suppliers (2013-2018)2.2 Global Baby Clothes (Volume and Value) by Type2.2.1 Global Baby Clothes Sales and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)2.2.2 Global Baby Clothes Revenue and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)3 United States Baby Clothes (Volume, Value and Sales Price)3.1 United States Baby Clothes Sales and Value (2013-2018)3.1.1 United States Baby Clothes Sales and Growth Rate (2013-2018)3.1.2 United States Baby Clothes Revenue and Growth Rate (2013-2018)3.1.3 United States Baby Clothes Sales Price Trend (2013-2018)3.2 United States Baby Clothes Sales Volume and Market Share by Players (2013-2018)3.3 United States Baby Clothes Sales Volume and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)3.4 United States Baby Clothes Sales Volume and Market Share by Application (2013-2018)4 China Baby Clothes (Volume, Value and Sales Price)4.1 China Baby Clothes Sales and Value (2013-2018)4.1.1 China Baby Clothes Sales and Growth Rate (2013-2018)4.1.2 China Baby Clothes Revenue and Growth Rate (2013-2018)4.1.3 China Baby Clothes Sales Price Trend (2013-2018)4.2 China Baby Clothes Sales Volume and Market Share by Players (2013-2018)4.3 China Baby Clothes Sales Volume and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)4.4 China Baby Clothes Sales Volume and Market Share by Application (2013-2018)List of Tables and FiguresFigure Product Picture of Baby ClothesFigure Global Baby Clothes Sales Volume Comparison (K Units) by Type (2013-2025)Figure Global Baby Clothes Sales Volume Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 2017Figure Cotton Product PictureFigure Wool Product PictureFigure Linen Product PictureFigure Silk Product PictureFigure PVC Product PictureFigure Other Product PictureFigure Global Baby Clothes Sales Comparison (K Units) by Application (2013-2025)Figure Global Sales Market Share of Baby Clothes by Application in 2017Get discount copy @QYResearchReports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYResearchReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com
Powder Bed Fusion Market Size will Escalate Rapidly in the 2017 - 2025

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Powder Bed Fusion Market OverviewAdditive manufacturing is a unique process which manufactures parts directly from a digital 3D blueprint. It uses a layering approach to building up materials step by step. It is also known as 3D printing and can be effectively utilised to produce dense metallic parts with a high degree of precision. It has the advantages of part customization, complexity, consolidation and light building material. It is of great importance in the aerospace, defence, automobile manufacturing, and oil & gas industries.Request to Sample of Report-The powder bed fusion market is one part of the overall metal 3D printing processes, the other being Directed Energy Deposition (DED) technology. In this method, each powder bed layer is selectively fused together by using laser or electron beams. It includes Direct Metal Laser sintering (DMLS), Selective heat sintering (SHS), Selective laser sintering (SLS), and Electron beam melting (EBM) and Selective laser melting (SLM). All these processes involve spreading the powder material over various layers. They can use any powder based materials, but commonly used examples are Nylon, Stainless Steel, Titanium, Cobalt Chrome, Steel, and Aluminium.Powder Bed Fusion Market Drivers3D printing in the powder bed fusion market is most suited for places where there are low volume and high geometric complexity. With increasing technology and decreasing cost, though, the powder bed fusion market is only likely to grow. Some of the drivers include the greater complexity of devices required in a faster time period. Powder bed fusion manufacturing allows more complex designs with a lighter building material. This can allow rapid prototyping, vital in industries like aerospace, defence and even the automobile industry. It is also vital in cost and weight reduction, which can dramatically improve cost savings over the lifetime of the product.These cost-savings can also be passed onto consumers, benefiting both them and manufacturers. It has also made significant inroads in the medical and oil & gas industries. It is used to build medical instrumentation like guides to assist proper surgical placement, medical implants like hip joints and external prostheses like hands. Thus, the booming aerospace industry worldwide along with the ageing population requiring medical devices can be considered the two main drivers of the powder bed fusion market.Powder Bed Fusion Market RestraintsSubstantial progress has been made in the powder bed fusion market, however, some challenges still remain. Reduction in cost will benefit any industry and the price of the powder bed fusion equipment is still prohibitively high. Performance in terms of speed, process control and accuracy will also go a long way in boosting adoption of devices sold in the powder bed fusion market. In-process quality control, monitoring and closed loop control systems will also help to improve the consistency, reliability and uniformity of the equipment. Greater speed in building the machines, designing more complex variations and reducing assembly line requirements could also widen the scope of the powder bed fusion market in the years to come.Powder Bed Fusion Market Key RegionsThe powder bed fusion process finds widespread application in the aerospace, medical and oil & gas industries. Therefore, the powder bed fusion market will have the greatest growth opportunities in those regions where these respective industries are dominant. For the aerospace & medical industries, the main regions to target include the U.S, the E.U, China, Japan and India. The Middle East accounts for 3/5th of global crude oil production, so manufacturers would be well-advised to not ignore this dynamic region either. Hence, there is great growth potential for the powder bed fusion market across the world.Request Report for TOC @Powder Bed Fusion Market Key Market PlayersSome of the powder bed fusion market key players include EOS, SLM Solutions, Phenix, Arcam and Concept Laser.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:
Medical Device Cleaning Market : Market by value, by volume, by segments and Forecast to 2017-2022

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Medical Device Cleaning Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2017 - 2022" to its huge collection of research reports.Global Medical Device Cleaning Market: OverviewThe global medical device cleaning market is prognosticated to gain a strong impetus from the growing number of diseases and people affected by them. This rise in the number of disease cases is increasing the need for treatment with appropriate procedures. As a result, there are a surging count of surgeries conducted and medical devices used during the conduction of treatment procedures. Medical device cleaning is more than a necessity in terms of patient and surgeons safety and medical ethics. There are several laws and regulations originated by governments and medical authorities that need to be followed to manufacture and employ medical devices.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @The report offers a complete assessment of the global medical device cleaning market with key factors such as growth drivers and deterrents, vendor landscape, segmentation, and market projections shed bright light upon. Report buyers are prophesied to embark on a confident journey toward achieving success in the market.Global Medical Device Cleaning Market: DynamicsOne of the highlighted trends of the world medical device cleaning market could be complying with Quality System Regulations (QSR) and International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 13485 regulations. A manufacturer of medical devices may even be required to establish documented cleaning requirements. Such trends are expected to augment the growth rate of the market in the next few years.As per QSR 1, each manufacturer should establish and maintain procedures to avoid the contamination of products by substances that could be expected to adversely affect their quality. According to QSR 2, each manufacturer should establish and maintain procedures for the removal or use of manufacturing materials so that they are limited or removed to a volume that does not affect the quality of the device adversely.Make an Enquiry about TOC @Global Medical Device Cleaning Market: SegmentationExpert researchers authoring the report anticipate the international medical device cleaning market to be classified into pre-cleaning, manual cleaning, automatic cleaning, and disinfection cleaning according to type of process. Within this segmentation category, the disinfection market could register a larger growth in terms of revenue. In 2017, disinfection garnered a revenue of approximately US$0.5 bn and a share of 40.4%.By type of instrument, the international medical device cleaning market could be segmented into surgical instruments, endoscopes, and ultrasound probes.Regionally, the international medical device cleaning market is foreseen to be segregated into the Middle East and Africa (MEA), North America, Asia Pacific except Japan (APEJ), Latin America, and Europe and Japan. As per the analysis of the report, a major revenue share of the market could be secured by North America throughout the course of the forecast timeframe. In 2017, the region earned an around US$0.4 bn.Global Medical Device Cleaning Market: CompetitionThe report profiles nine important players of the worldwide medical device cleaning market, viz. 3M Company, Cantel Medical Corporation, Ecolab, Inc., Getinge Group, Integra Lifesciences Holdings Corporation, Johnson & Johnson, Steris PLC, ORO Clean Chemie AG, and Ruhof Corporation. Each player is evaluated in detail along with company share analysis to provide a comprehensive study of the competitive landscape.ResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.ResearchMozMr. Nachiket Ghumare,Tel: +1-518-621-2074USA-Canada Toll Free: 866-997-4948Email: sales@researchmoz.us
Global Cryptocurrency Market Is Expected To Reach US$ 6,702.1 Mn by 2025, Expanding At A CAGR of 31.3% | Blockchain Technology and Bitcoin Create Wave of Change

Cryptocurrency Market

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Cryptocurrency Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2017 - 2025" to its huge collection of research reports.The Cryptocurrency Market (Component  Hardware (FPGA, GPU, ASIC, Wallet, Others), Software (Mining Platform, Blockchain, Coin Wallet, Exchange); Type  Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple (XRP), Litecoin, Dashcoin, Others)  Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2017 - 2025, report provides analysis of the cryptocurrency market for the period 20152025, wherein the years from 2017 to 2025 is the forecast period and 2016 is considered as the base year. Data for 2015 has been included as historical information. The report covers all the major trends and technologies playing a major role in the cryptocurrency market growth over the forecast period. It highlights the drivers, restraints and opportunities expected to influence the market growth during this period. The study provides a holistic perspective on the markets growth in terms of revenue (in US$ Mn) across different geographical regions, namely North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa and South America. Report highlights the key trends affecting the market on a global scale. Furthermore, region wise prominent countries/regions covered in the report includes - the U.S, Canada, Germany, France, Netherlands, the U.K., Singapore, China, Japan, GCC, South Africa and Brazil.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Global Cryptocurrency Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe market overview section of the report showcases the market dynamics and trends which includes drivers, restraints, opportunities that influence the current nature and future status of this market. It also provides an overview about the key market indicators given across the five geographical regions. Under the porters five forces analysis section, a brief analysis of the level of competition within the cryptocurrency industry is given and business strategy is provided in order to determine the competitive attractiveness and intensity of the cryptocurrency market. The report also includes key industry developments covering significant advances made by leading market players over the period of time.Global Cryptocurrency Market: SegmentationOn the basis of component, the market has been divided into hardware and software. The hardware segment is sub segmented into FPGA, GPU, ASIC, wallet, and others. The software segment is further classified in to mining platform, blockchain, coin wallet, and exchange. In terms of market share, in 2016, hardware was the highest revenue generating segment and software segment is expected to witness highest CAGR growth over the forecast period from 2017 to 2025.By type, the global cryptocurrency market is divided in to Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple (XRP), Litecoin, Dashcoin, and others. Bitcoin segment is expected to hold highest market share over the forecast period owing to its significant acceptance in various applications.Get Complete TOC With Tables and Figures @Global Cryptocurrency Market: Competitive LandscapeThe report provides competitive landscape of the cryptocurrency market, thereby listing out all the major players according to their geographic presence, market attractiveness and recent key developments. The competitive landscape section of the report gives an overview about the market share of several key players for the year 2016. The cryptocurrency market data estimates are the result of our in-depth secondary research, primary interviews and in-house expert panel reviews. These market estimates have been analyzed by taking into account the impact of different political, social, economic, technological, and legal factors along with the current market dynamics affecting the market growth. Factors including market position, offerings and R&D focus are attributed to companys capabilities. This section also identifies and includes various recent developments carried out by the leading players. Moreover, key takeaways section provided at the end of competitive landscape section would help the operating companies to make the best move in the market.Intel Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, NVIDIA Corporation, BitFury Group Limited, Alphapoint Corporation, Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Xilinx Inc., BitGo, Ripple and BTL Group Ltd. are few of the key players which have been profiled in this study. Details such as financials, business strategies, SWOT analysis, and other such strategic information pertaining to these players has been duly provided as part of company profiling.The global cryptocurrency market is segmented as below:Global Cryptocurrency Market, By Component- Hardware- FPGA- GPU- ASIC- Wallet- Others- Software- Mining Platform- Blockchain- Coin Wallet- ExchangeGlobal Cryptocurrency Market, By Type- Bitcoin- Ethereum- Ripple (XRP)- Litecoin- Dashcoin- OthersGlobal Cryptocurrency Market, By GeographyNorth America- The U.S.- Canada- Rest of North AmericaEurope- Germany- France- Netherlands- The U.K.- Rest of EuropeMake an Enquiry of this report @Asia Pacific- China- Singapore- Japan- Rest of Asia PacificMiddle East and Africa (MEA)- South Africa- GCC- Rest of Middle East and AfricaSouth America- Brazil- Rest of South AmericaAbout ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.ResearchMozState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
Global Horeca Drip Coffee Maker Market Are Expected To Be Valued At Approximately US$352.7 Mn By The End Of 2025 | Declining Growth Rate Attributable to Increasing Interest in Pod Coffee

HoReCa Drip Coffee Maker Market

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "HoReCa Drip Coffee Maker Market - Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment 2017-2025" to its huge collection of research reports.8-year forecast for the global HoReCa drip coffee maker market between 2017 and 2025. The global HoReCa drip coffee maker market is expected to register a CAGR of -0.4% during the forecast period. The primary objective of the report is to offer insights about the present product demand scenario in the HoReCa drip coffee maker market. The study demonstrates market dynamics that are expected to influence the current challenges and future status of the global HoReCa drip coffee makers market over the forecast period. This report also offer updates on trends, drivers, restraints, value forecasts, and opportunities for manufacturers operating in the global and regional HoReCa drip coffee maker market.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Drip Coffee Maker brews coffee by percolating hot water through a brew basket of coffee grounds. Coffee is captured in a decanter that may be heated by a warming plate. HoReCa drip coffee makers are being manufactured by the various large scale companies with plants, where they are packaged and supplied globally. Majority of players are European based and are supplying the products globally.Global HoReCa Drip Coffee Maker Market: SegmentationBy HoReCa Type, the drip coffee makers is segmented into quick service restaurants and the full service restaurants. Both the segments are likely to be declining in the forecast period due to the rising consumer preference towards pod coffee makers and the automatic drip coffee makers. The rising consumer tastes and preferences is further posing the market to decline in the forecasted period. On the basis of price point, the HoReCa drip coffee makers market can be segmented into Less than US$ 100, US$ 100-200 and more than US$ 200. The market is likely to grow in the developing regions majorly APAC and MEA region where the rising millennial population is giving preference to cafe culture as well as simultaneous demand for fast food.Global HoReCa Drip Coffee Maker Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe report includes market share of each segment according to the region with analysis towards market trends respectively. A section of the report highlights HoReCa drip coffee makers restraints. It also provides a market outlook for 20172025 and sets the forecast within the context of the HoReCa drip coffee makers, including the new product developments as well as better product offerings in the global HoReCa drip coffee makers market. This study discusses key trends of the global HoReCa drip coffee makers market, as well as analyses the degree to which drivers and restraints are influencing the global market.Get Complete TOC With Tables and Figures @Global HoReCa Drip Coffee Maker Market: Competitive LandscapeIn the final section of the report, a competitive landscape has been included to provide report audiences with a dashboard view. Key categories of providers covered in the report are HoReCa drip coffee makers. Detailed profiles of the providers are also included in the scope of the report to evaluate their long-term and short-term strategies, key offerings and recent developments in the HoReCa drip coffee makers space. Key players in the global HoReCa drip coffee makers market includes Bravilor Bonamat B.V., Group SEB, De'Longhi Group, Wilbur Curtis Co., Hamilton Beach Brands Holding Company, Bunn-o-matic Corp, JURA Elektroapparate AG, Crem International AB, BSH Home Appliances Corporation and Animo B.V.In addition, it is imperative to note that in an ever-fluctuating global economy, we not only conduct forecasts in terms of CAGR, but also analyze on the basis of key parameters such as year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth to understand the predictability of the market and to identify the right opportunities.Also, another key feature of this report is the analysis of all key segments in terms of absolute dollar. This is traditionally overlooked while forecasting the market. The market value and volume is used to identify the potential of the global HoReCa drip coffee makers market.Key Segments CoveredHoReCa Type- Quick Service Restaurants-Fast Food Restaurants-Cafeterias-Carryout RestaurantsMake an Enquiry of this report @Full Service Restaurants-Fine Dining Restaurants-Casual Dining Restaurants-Hotel & Club FoodservicePrice Point- Less than US$ 100- US$ 100-200- More than US$ 200Region- North America- Latin America- Europe- APAC- MEAAbout ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.ResearchMozState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
Global Multifactor Authentication Market Is Slated To Be Worth US$20,444.9 mn by 2025 At A CAGR Of 17.7% | Governments to Boost Uptake as Need for Better Security Measures Grows

Multifactor Authentication Market

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Multifactor Authentication Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2017 - 2025" to its huge collection of research reports.This report on the global multifactor authentication market provides analysis for the period 20152025, wherein 2016 is the base year and the period from 2017 to 2025 is the forecast period. Data for 2015 has been included to provide historical information. The report covers market dynamics including drivers, restraints, opportunities, and trends expected to influence the global multifactor authentication market growth during the said period. Technologies that are playing a major role in driving the global multifactor authentication market have also been considered in the study. The study provides a comprehensive analysis of the market growth throughout the above forecast period in terms of revenue estimates (in US$ Mn), across different geographies.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Global Multifactor Authentication Market: SegmentationThe multifactor authentication market has been segmented on the basis of authentication model, end use industry and region. Based on authentication model, the market has been further classified into Two - Factor, Three  Factor and Four  Factor authentication. By end use industry, the multifactor authentication market is classified into, BFSI, healthcare, government, IT and telecom, retail, defense and others. Geographically, the report classifies the global multifactor authentication market into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), Middle East & Africa (MEA), and South America; the regions are analyzed in terms of revenue generation. Furthermore, region wise prominent countries covered in the report include the following - U.S, Canada, U.K., Germany, France, Japan, China, India, GCC countries, South Africa and Brazil.The report also includes functional model of multifactor authentication market. Porter Five Force analysis which identifies bargaining power of supplier, bargaining power of buyer, threat from new entrant, threat from substitute and threat from competition in multifactor authentication market is also included in the report. Ecosystem analysis which identifies key stake holders in the multifactor authentication market is also covered in the report.Segment trends and regional trends have also been added in multifactor authentication study. Additionally, the report also covers segment wise comparison matrix, market attractiveness analysis and market positioning of key players for all regions covered in the scope of study.Comparison matrix includes segment growth matrix, 2017 - 2025(%), segment revenue contribution, 2017 - 2025 (%), and segment compounded growth matrix (CAGR %). Market attractiveness identifies and compares segments market attractiveness on the basis of CAGR and market share index across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa (MEA), and South America.Global Multifactor Authentication Market: Competitive LandscapeFurthermore, the report includes competition landscape which comprises competition matrix, market positioning of major players in the multifactor authentication market based on their 2016 revenues, and profiles of major players. Competition matrix benchmarks leading players on the basis of their capabilities and potential to grow. Factors including market position, offerings and R&D focus are attributed to companys capabilities. Factors including top line growth, market share, segment growth, infrastructure facilities and future outlook are attributed to companys potential to grow. This section also identifies and includes various recent developments carried out by the leading players of multifactor authentication market.Get Complete TOC With Tables and Figures @Company profiling includes company overview, major business strategies adopted, SWOT analysis, and market revenues for year 2014 to 2016. The global players profiled in the global Multifactor Authentication market include RSA Security, SecureAuth Coproration, Microsoft Corporation, CA Technologies, Symantec Corporation, Vasco Data Security International Inc., Okta Inc., Ping Identity, Gemalto, Entrust Datacard Corporation and HID Global Corporation have also been added in the report.Market Segmentation:Multi-factor Authentication Market Analysis, by Authentication Models- Two-factor Authentication- Three-factor Authentication- Four-factor AuthenticationMulti-factor Authentication Market Analysis, by End-user Industry- BFSI- Government- Telecom & IT- Defense- Healthcare- Retail- OthersIn addition, the report provides cross-sectional analysis of the Multifactor Authentication market with respect to the following geographical segments:North America- The U.S.- Canada- Rest of North AmericaEurope- The U.K.- Germany- France- Rest of EuropeMake an Enquiry of this report @Asia-Pacific- Japan- China- India- Rest of Asia PacificMiddle East and Africa (MEA)- GCC Countries- South Africa- Rest of the Middle East & AfricaSouth America- Brazil- Rest of South AmericaAbout ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.ResearchMozState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
Increasing Passenger Air Traffic and Aircraft Deliveries Is Propelling the Growth of Avionics Market in Asia Pacific Region

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The market for Avionics in Asia Pacific region is witnessing a high growth and is anticipated to dominate the market share in terms of revenues for the forecast period. The market is highly influenced by the rapidly increasing population of the developing economies of the Asia Pacific region. Furthermore, the developing countries of the region are experiencing high passenger air traffic for both tourism and business purposes.The avionics market is experiencing a shift to a satellite based system from a ground-based air traffic control system and is in the direction of more high-speed, high-bandwidth, and compute-intensive avionics. Further, the increase in growth is highly attributed to an increase in aircraft deliveries particularly, in developing nations; need for improved flight operations through real-time data; as well as enhanced decision making, and adoption of avionics systems to fulfil advanced aircraft and regulatory requirements.Sample Brochure In-depth Analysis With Advancements -The developing economies worldwide are taking initiatives to improve their infrastructure including, developments of airports and air connectivity with different countries. This will result in riding demand for aircrafts. For instance, the Chinese government, under its 13th Five-Year Plan 2016-20, is planning to build additional 74 civil airports as per a report released by CAAC. Furthermore, by 2020, the government plans to build over 500 airports for its general aviation industry. Also, the Indian governments has plans to build around 100 airports for extending its air connectivity.Obtain Report Details @The high competition in the general aviation industry and resulted in expansion of low-cost travel, along with the rising affordability of population in Asia Pacific is another reason for the high passenger traffic. Also, a large population of these emerging economies is moving to urban areas and government of these economies are investing in smart cities. This would result in better internet infrastructure thus, these factors would influence the market growth for avionics in Asia Pacific.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.comTop Reports-Industrial Controls and Factory Automation Market-Building Automation and Control System Market-Automated Guided Vehicle Market-IoT In Energy And Gas Management Market-Target Drones Market-
Virtual Keyboard Market Size, Share, Growth, Analysis  Forecasts To 2025

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The market report is designed to provide a complete view on the global Virtual Keyboard market. This business intelligence report has been categorised into qualitative and quantitative insights over the forecast period (2017-2025). The demand and supply matrix section falls under the qualitative information category, wherein, the market dynamics for Virtual Keyboard have been studied considering a short term forecast of the factors/variables influencing the industry. The market segments and their respective estimates & forecasts have been covered under the quantitative information category. Forecasts & trend analysis for each country and region is also available in the study. The report concludes by providing competitor analysis for major market participants profiled by analysing their organic & inorganic growth strategies, regional presence, and product portfolio among others.Request for a sample copy of the Virtual Keyboard Market report at:Vendor Landscape: Virtual Keyboard MarketThe report contains a chapter dedicated to vendors operating in the market, covering raw material manufactures, equipment developers, manufacturers, and distributors. The report provides these insights on a regional level. This section of the report entails contact details, experience, products manufactured/supplied, and geographical presence of companies.End-User Landscape (Consumer Profile): Virtual Keyboard MarketThe report provides a detailed list of end-users operating across the world. The end-user landscape includes consumer contact details, geographical presence, revenue, product portfolio, organic and inorganic growth strategies among others.Competitor Analysis: Virtual Keyboard MarketCheck our annual research partnership service at:Were constantly identifying and analysing high growth markets and revenue pockets. In consultation with various industry experts, our team of highly-skilled industry analysts study these markets through sophisticated tools and fail-safe, industry-approved methodologies.Name: Global Market Estimates Research & Business ConsultantsAddress: A-9, Silver Croft CHSL, Mumbai:400064, IndiaContact No,: +91 9146632316Email Address: sales@globalmarketestimates.com
GGJ unveils valentine collection of beautiful diamond necklace range

Durgapur, Paschim Burdwan, 9th Feb, 2018: One of the pioneering jewelry stores of Durgapur, Guinea Gold Jewellers Pvt Ltd has introduced an amazing collection of diamond embedded neckpieces on the occasion of Valentine's day.GGJ reveals this exciting news in a press conference. Being, the most trusted name in jewelry market of Durgapur, GGJ is known for introducing various collections and implementing offers, and discounts around the year on their jewelry.And as expected GGJ is not going to disappoint its customers this valentine's day too. This renowned jewelry brand of Durgapur has launched a unique collection of light weight necklaces engraved with beautiful diamonds. These light weight necklaces are perfectly crafted keeping in mind the theme of Valentine collection. A lot of variations can be noticed in the pendants and the overall unique pattern of each neckpiece.Not only GGJ is showcasing this amazing collection for its customers but at the same time is offering an attractive discount of 30% on the purchase of diamond necklaces.GGJ is a proud registered seller of diamond jewelry of eminent Indian brands like the Nakshatra, Asmi, and Sangini. This stunning collection of the light diamond necklace is perfect for an ideal Valentine surprise for the one you care the most.The stores of GGJ at Benachity and Aesby More are already showcasing this valentine collection for their customers. Guinea Gold Jewellers is receiving an amazing response since we introduced the collection on various social network pages like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.Guinea Gold Jewellers feels delighted to welcome the customers to witness the collection. We value our clients the most that is why our friendly representative is always dedicated to answer any sort of queries and confusions of the customer.The most trusted destination of Durgapur for jewelry purchase, GGJ has launched a gorgeous collection of diamond studded light weight necklace to make Valentine's Day a cherishable moment for the people of Durgapur.Nachan Road, Trinayani Mansion, Benachity
Consumer Health concerns regarding infectious diseases Increasing Demand of Disinfectants Market

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Disinfectants are chemicals substances used in the destruction of harmful viruses and microbes such as fungi and bacteria. Disinfectants are used in various end-use industries due to its distinctive features of microbiological sterilization, as opposed to antiseptics, which only cause prevention instead of destruction of germs. Disinfectants such as air disinfectants, alcohol, aldehydes, oxidizing agents, phenolic, and ammonium compounds are widely used across various industries. Increasing number of patients suffering from infectious diseases such as influenza, tuberculosis, measles, and malaria, has propelled the increase in awareness regarding preventive measures and healthcare, in turn lending demand for disinfectants. The 2014 outbreak of Ebola was a major epidemic that significantly fueled demand for disinfectants. The outbreak of dengue in the eastern parts of India during 2011, 2013, and 2016 has also fueled demand and hence, boosted growth of the disinfectants market.Request Sample Copy of This Report:Disinfectants Market TaxonomyOn the basis of formulation, the global market is classified into:SpraysWipesPowderOthersOn the basis of application, the global market is classified into:AerialSurfaceWater SanitizingOthersOn the basis of geography, the global market is classified into:North AmericaU.S.CanadaEuropeU.K.GermanyItalyFranceSpainRussiaRest of EuropeAsia PacificChinaIndiaJapanASEANAustraliaSouth KoreaRest of Asia PacificLatin AmericaBrazilMexicoArgentinaRest of Latin AmericaMiddle EastGCC CountriesIsraelRest of Middle EastAfricaNorthern AfricaCentral AfricaSouth AfricaConcentration of various air pollutants are controlled by with the help of aerial disinfectants. Disinfectants that are used to destroy germs on floor and other surfaces are known as surface disinfectants, which are widely used in commercial as well noncommercial sectors, primarily as floor cleaners. Pond water and swimming pools are sanitized and waste water is treated for human usage, by water sanitizing disinfectants.Disinfectants Market Outlook  Ebola and Dengue Fever Epidemic to Drive Market GrowthOutbreak of infectious diseases such as Ebola and Dengue has an immense impact on growth of the disinfectants market. The dramatic outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) during 2014 - 2016 affecting Sierra, Liberia, Nigeria, Guinea, U.S., U.K., Mali, Italy, Senegal, and Spain is one such instance. As per the data released by World Health Organization (WHO) in June 2016, 5,000 deaths were reported form over 10,000 reported cases EVD in Liberia.. This was followed by Sierra and Guinea, where more than 6,500 people died due to the Ebola outbreak, During and after this outbreak, consumer health concerns regarding infectious diseases increased, in turn creating high demand for disinfectants.. As per the statistics released by the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (India), 227 deaths were reported from 111,880 cases of dengue fever in the country, in 2016. This, also helped fuel the demand for disinfectants globally.View More Information:Asia Pacific is expected to be the fastest growing region in the disinfectants market, mainly due to the increasing prevalence of infectious diseases, with the growth in population, as well as growing health concerns in the region. Europe is projected to be the largest market for disinfectants over the forecast period, owing to high health awareness among the populace in the region and large concentration of end-use industries. Emerging economies such as India, China, and Brazil are majorly untapped markets that are expected to gain traction with shifting focus of increasing number of manufacturers in the regions. Manufacturers have also came up with the concept of disinfectant sachets especially for the rural areas and noncommercial usage. For instance, DuPont introduced VIRKON S VIRUCIDAL disinfectant sachets especially for the Indian market.Key players in the global disinfectants market include Zoetis, Nufarm Limited, Stepan Company, Quat-Chem Ltd., Thymox Technology, and The Chemours Company.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: +1-206-701-6702
Lifesavers in Plastics: Ceresana Analyzes the World Market for Flame Retardants

Market Study: Flame Retardants (5th ed.)

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The catastrophic fire at Grenfell Tower in London has shown how important fire protection is. Flame retardants can delay the development of a fire, explains Oliver Kutsch, CEO of the market research institute Ceresana: They provide the fire department and those affected with crucial minutes and seconds for the rescue. Flame retardants act chemically and physically by interrupting the incineration process in different phases. Ceresana analyzed the world market for flame retardants for the fifth time already: for brominated and chlorinated types, as well as ATH, organophosphorus, ATO, and other types. According to the present study, about 2.21 million tonnes of flame retardants per year are currently used worldwide in plastic products, electronic devices, construction material, and textiles.Use of Flame Retardants - Often IndispensableThe construction industry was the most important sales market for flame retardants: About 30% of global demand originate in this segment. Flame retardants are especially needed in insulating foams made of expandable polystyrene (EPS), extruded polystyrene (XPS), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or polyurethane (PUR). Flame retardants are also used in numerous construction materials made of rubber, in adhesives as well as in paints and varnishes. In the electronics industry, they are used for single components such as circuit boards, computer casings, as well as household and telecommunication devices. They are utilized in engineering plastics such as ABS, polyamide, epoxy, and polycarbonate. Other application areas for flame retardants are wires, cables, and products for the automotive industry. Until 2024, researchers at Ceresana expect demand for flame retardants in the segment transportation to experience the strongest percentage growth. However, construction materials will continue to be the largest application area in the upcoming eight years.One Flame Retardant, Many ApplicationsAluminum trihydroxide (ATH) was by far the best-selling flame retardant in recent years. ATH is used in the pharmaceutical industry, as a chemical intermediate, as a filler in plastics, rubber, cosmetics, and paper, as a glass additive, and in ceramics. Additionally, ATH is used as a non-smoke emitting, low toxicity, halogen-free flame retardant used for plastics, paints, adhesives, sealants, and rubber. Demand for the flame retardant ATH in Europe and the Americas amounts to over 45%. Brominated compounds, used in electronic and electrical products as well as foams, are in second place. Brominated flame retardants are very effective but also controversial. Due to legal provisions, there are significant regional differences: In Western Europe and North America, brominated compounds had market shares of only 6.4% and 12%, respectively, while accounting for 28% in Asia.The Study in Brief:Chapter 1 provides a description and analysis of the global market for flame retardants  including forecasts up to 2024: Demand for and revenues generated with flame retardants are provided for each world region.Chapter 2 analyzes the 16 most important countries and their flame retardants revenues and demand in detail. Demand is split by single applications and product types. Additionally, all important manufacturers of flame retardants are listed according to countries.Chapter 3 offers a substantiated analysis of the application areas for flame retardants: construction materials, electrical & electronics, cables, transport industry, and others.Chapter 4 examines demand for individual types of flame retardants: aluminum trihydroxide (ATH), brominated compounds, chlorinated compounds, organophosphorus, antimony compounds (ATO), and other flame retardants. Demand is clearly arranged for each of the 16 countries analyzed in chapter 2 and all world regions.Chapter 5 provides company profiles of the largest manufacturers of flame retardants  clearly arranged according to contact details, revenues, profit, product range, production sites, profile summary, and products. In-depth profiles of 82 producers are given.Further information:Ceresana is a leading international market research institute and consultancy company for chemicals, plastics, industrial goods, and packaging. The company has been providing more than 10,000 customers from trade and industry in 60 countries with up-to-date analyses for over 15 years. The services of Ceresana for manufacturers, processors, and associations include implementation oriented consulting, customized single-client studies, and more than 100 market studies independent of the order.More about Ceresana atCeresanaMainaustr. 3478464 ConstanceGermanyPhone: +49 7531 94293 0Fax: +49 7531 94293 27Press Contact: Martin Ebner, m.ebner@ceresana.com
Propane Market  Invention Analysis, Size, Share, Evolution, Industry Demand and Segment by 2023

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Infinium Global Research has added a new report on Global Propane Market: Trends Analysis and Forecast 2023. The report presents analysis global as well as regional markets of Propane over the period of 2015 to 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.The global Propane market was dominated by the Asia Pacific region followed by the North American Propane market. On the basis of countries, the U.S., China and India led the global Propane market. The growing demand for Propane in the residential, commercial and industrial application has played a major role in driving the Propane market across the globe. Similarly factors such as rapid industrialization leading to an increase in investments, new establishments for modern processed propane and properties of Propane such as nontoxic and cleanest burning fuel are some of the important factors responsible for the growth of the global Propane market.Get Free Sample Copy of Report Here:Furthermore, rising demand of liquefied propane gas from increasing consumers globally and increasing preference of consumers due to lower cost of propane as compare to other fuel substitutes are the key factors driving the global propane market. Furthermore, rising demand of propane from petrochemical industry for the production of plastics, fibres and cosmetics will also drive the propane market globally over the forecast period. Moreover, huge demand of propane as motor fuel from automobile industry coupled with lower cost as compare to other fuels will also drive the global propane market over the forecast period.Propane is used for the applications such as residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, and chemical & refinery, transportation and others. The report identifies the largest application for which Propane is used. Among the geographies Asia Pacific is expected to be the largest market for the Propane market over the Forecast period from 2017 to 2023. The report covers the analysis of global as well as regional markets of the Propane market.Moreover the report provides deep insights on demand forecasts, market trends and micro and macro indicators. In addition, this report provides insights on the factors that are driving and restraining the demand globally as well as regionally. Moreover, Infinium Global Research- Growth Matrix (IGR- Growth Matrix) given in the report brings an insight on the investment areas that existing or new market players can consider.Get Discount on this Premium Report @The report provides insights into the market using analytical tools such as Porters five forces analysis and value chain analysis of Propane. Moreover, the study highlights current market trends and provides forecast from 2017 to 2023. We also have highlighted future trends in the Propane that will impact the demand during the forecast period.The Infinium Global Research- Growth Matrix (IGR- Growth Matrix) provided in this report highlights key investing markets in the world. Moreover, the competitive analysis given in each regional market brings an insight on the market share of the leading players. Additionally, the analysis highlights rise and fall in the market shares of the key players in the market. This report will help manufacturers, suppliers and distributors to understand the present and future trends in this market and formulate their strategies accordingly.Complete report at:The companies covered in the report include Marsh LP Gas Company Inc., Lykins Energy Solutions, Sparlingss Propane Co. Ltd., Ferrellgas Partners L.P., ThompsonGas, PteroChina Company Limited, Reliance Industries Ltd., AmeriGas, Shell, British Petroleum, BASF, Sinopec, PDVSA, Valero Energy Corp., ExxonMobil and Evonik.About UsInfinium 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. With our strategic research approaches and deep dive in the market segments, we try to find out new opportunities that our clients can encash with their existing resources. Our experts with over 100 years of cumulative experience in research offer the best in the industry services to our clients to ensure that they achieve their business goals.Contact UsInfinium Global Research,Toll Free:U.S. + Canada: 1-800-638-0796,Website :Email: sales@infiniumglobalresearch.com
Active Implantable Medical Devices Market - Investments and Funds To Develop Technologically Advanced Products

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The market for Active Implantable Medical Devices in North America region is dominating the market in terms of revenues. The market is highly influenced by rising incidences of cardiovascular and neurological diseases, geriatric population, easy and high accessibility to advanced technologies, introduction advancement of advanced products, and rising healthcare expenditure. Although, the Asia Pacific region Active Implantable Medical Devices Market is projected to grow at the highest CAGR attributed to the growing incidence of chronic diseases, healthcare reforms for infrastructural development, rising healthcare spending as well as increasing demand for better technologies for the development of advanced products, and comparatively less strict government regulations for healthcare industry.The major companies operating in the active implantable medical devices market are making noteworthy efforts to launch new economical products with an aim to create opportunities in untapped markets worldwide to enhance its customer base. This is further anticipated to propel the overall market growth during the forecast period. Moreover, rising number of acquisitions and mergers is estimated to contribute towards the market growth as well. However, the absence of skillful professional is one of the key challenges to the market, which is anticipated to hinder the markets growth.Get PDF Sample of the Report @Among the market segments, the implantable cardioverter defibrillators segment is expected to command a large share of the active implantable medical device market during the coming years owing to the increasing incidence of cardiovascular diseases, enormous development of technically advanced devices, and an upsurge in the demand for these devices in emerging economies.The market for active implantable medical devices is highly consolidated and few companies holds the major share of the total market. Some of the major players in the operating in the Active Implantable Medical Devices market include Medtronic plc, Abbott Laboratories and Boston Scientific Corporation. The other players in this market are BIOTRONIK SE & Co. KG, LivaNova PLC, Cochlear Limited, MED-EL, Sonova Holding AG and William Demant Holding A/S.Obtain Report Details @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.comTop Reports-Intravenous Access Devices Market-Needle Free IV Connectors Market-Contraceptive Drugs and Devices Market-Cardiovascular Information System (CVIS) Market-Absorbable Nasal Implants Market-
Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Installation Market : Company Analysis, Forecast by Technology, Components, Application, Industry 2025

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Installation Market Report 2018" to its huge collection of research reports.In this report, the EMEA Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Installation 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 split EMEA into Europe, the Middle East and Africa, With sales (K Units), revenue (Million USD), market share and growth rate of Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Installation for these regions, from 2013 to 2025 (forecast)Europe: Germany, France, UK, Russia, Italy and Benelux;Middle East: Saudi Arabia, Israel, UAE and Iran;Africa: South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt and Algeria.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @EMEA Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Installation market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Installation sales volume (K Units), price (USD/Unit), revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingSharp CorporationTrina SolarSun Power CorporationSuntech Power HoldingFirst SolarYingli Green Energy HoldingCanadian SolarJinko Solar Holding CompanySchott SolarSolar Frontier Ltd.Solar World AgOn the basis of product, this report displays the sales volume, revenue, product price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoby Grid TypeGrid-connectedOff-gridby TechnologyThin film PVCrystalline PVOthersOn 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, includingResidentialCommercialUtility-scaleMake an Enquiry about TOC @Table of ContentsEMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Installation Market Report 20181 Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Installation Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Installation1.2 Classification of Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Installation1.2.1 EMEA Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Installation Market Size (Sales) Comparison by Type (2013-2025)1.2.2 EMEA Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Installation Market Size (Sales) Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20171.2.3 Grid-connected1.2.4 Off-grid1.3 EMEA Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Installation Market by Application/End Users1.3.1 EMEA Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Installation Sales (Volume) and Market Share Comparison by Application (2013-2025)2 EMEA Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Installation Competition by Manufacturers/Players/Suppliers, Region, Type and Application2.1 EMEA Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Installation Market Competition by Players/Manufacturers2.1.1 EMEA Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Installation Sales Volume and Market Share of Major Players (2013-2018)2.1.2 EMEA Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Installation Revenue and Share by Players (2013-2018)2.1.3 EMEA Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Installation Sale Price by Players (2013-2018)2.2 EMEA Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Installation (Volume and Value) by Type/Product Category2.2.1 EMEA Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Installation Sales and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)3 Europe Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Installation (Volume, Value and Sales Price), by Players, Countries, Type and Application3.1 Europe Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Installation Sales and Value (2013-2018)3.1.1 Europe Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Installation Sales Volume and Growth Rate (2013-2018)3.1.2 Europe Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Installation Revenue and Growth Rate (2013-2018)3.2 Europe Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Installation Sales and Market Share by Type3.3 Europe Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Installation Sales and Market Share by Application4 Middle East Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Installation (Volume, Value and Sales Price), by Region, Type and Application4.1 Middle East Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Installation Sales and Value (2013-2018)4.1.1 Middle East Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Installation Sales Volume and Growth Rate (2013-2018)4.1.2 Middle East Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Installation Revenue and Growth Rate (2013-2018)4.2 Middle East Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Installation Sales and Market Share by TypeAbout 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.For More Information Kindly Contact :ResearchMozMr. Nachiket Ghumare,Tel: +1-518-621-2074USA-Canada Toll Free: 866-997-4948Email: sales@researchmoz.us
Construction Repaint Market in Asia-Pacific : Industry Analysis, Market Demand, Market Growth and Opportunities to 2022

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Asia-Pacific Construction Repaint Market Report 2018" to its huge collection of research reports.In this report,the Asia-Pacific Construction Repaint 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 MT),revenue (Million USD),market share and growth rate of Construction Repaint for these regions,from 2012 to 2022 (forecast),includingChinaJapanSouth KoreaTaiwanIndiaSoutheast AsiaAustraliaTo Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Asia-Pacific Construction Repaint market competition by top manufacturers/players,with Construction Repaint sales volume,price,revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingArkemaSolvayNuplex Industries LimitedBASFCovestroDIC CorporationDSM Coating ResinsMomentive Performance MaterialsHuntsmanDowLyondellBasell IndustriesEastmanOn the basis of product,this report displays the sales volum,revenue,product price,market share and growth rate of each type,primarily split intoSolvent BorneWaterborneOthersOn 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,includingResidentialNon-residentialMake an Enquiry about TOC @Table of ContentsAsia-Pacific Construction Repaint Market Report 20171 Construction Repaint Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Construction Repaint1.2 Classification of Construction Repaint by Product Category1.2.1 Asia-Pacific Construction Repaint Market Size (Sales) Comparison by Types (2012-2022)1.2.2 Asia-Pacific Construction Repaint Market Size (Sales) Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.2.3 Solvent Borne1.2.4 Waterborne2 Asia-Pacific Construction Repaint Competition by Players/Suppliers,Region,Type and Application2.1 Asia-Pacific Construction Repaint Market Competition by Players/Suppliers2.1.1 Asia-Pacific Construction Repaint Sales Volume and Market Share of Key Players/Suppliers (2012-2017)2.1.2 Asia-Pacific Construction Repaint Revenue and Share by Players/Suppliers (2012-2017)2.2 Asia-Pacific Construction Repaint (Volume and Value) by Type2.2.1 Asia-Pacific Construction Repaint Sales and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)2.2.2 Asia-Pacific Construction Repaint Revenue and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)3 China Construction Repaint (Volume,Value and Sales Price)3.1 China Construction Repaint Sales and Value (2012-2017)3.1.1 China Construction Repaint Sales Volume and Growth Rate (2012-2017)3.1.2 China Construction Repaint Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2017)3.1.3 China Construction Repaint Sales Price Trend (2012-2017)3.2 China Construction Repaint Sales Volume and Market Share by Type3.3 China Construction Repaint Sales Volume and Market Share by ApplicationAbout 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.For More Information Kindly Contact :ResearchMozMr. Nachiket Ghumare,Tel: +1-518-621-2074USA-Canada Toll Free: 866-997-4948Email: sales@researchmoz.us
Green Concrete: A Sustainable Building Material, to Witness a Significant CAGR during 2017  2025

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Market OverviewGreen concrete is a material that exhibits better functional performance and capabilities than ordinary concrete. It is considered a maintainable construction material as it consumes less natural resources and less energy and emits a smaller amount carbon dioxide. Moreover, the use of green concrete reduces water consumption by 20%. The green concrete market is in its emerging stage and is currently limited to developed countries. However, awareness about the product would boost its adoption in developing countries as well. Major factors driving the global green concrete and concrete market are plenty of raw materials and rising adoption of the green building concept.The major factors driving the green concrete market are due to the reduction of carbon footprints by about 40-50% during the production process, the rise in the construction activities in the developing nations and the major reason is the usage of less water. Apart from all this it also provides excellent thermal insulation, and high level of fire resistance that enables the structure built with green concrete withstand the temperatures up to 2400FDownload Sample Pages @Major Industry PlayersThe growing need for more effective charging systems in the Green Concrete is anticipated to drive the Asia-Pacific market for Green Concrete in the future years.The major companies that providing Green Concrete include Taiheiyo Concrete Corporation, CEMEX S.A.B. de C.V., Ecocem Ireland Ltd., China National Building Material Company Limited (CNBM HeidelbergConcrete AG, LafargeHolcim., Votorantim cimentos S.A.,), Taiwan Concrete Corporation, and report includes an assessment of their financial outlook, R&D activities, and business and marketing strategies for the coming few year.Market SegmentsThe global green concrete market has be categorized into product, end-user and regions. Based on the product, the market has been categorized into Fly Ash-based, Slag-based, and Geo polymer. Based on end-users the market has be bifurcated into residential, non-residential, industrial and infrastructure.Geographically, the Green Concrete market has been bifurcated into five regions North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa and Latin America. The Green Concrete market size and forecast period for each region has been estimated from 2017 to 2023.Additionally the CAGR (%) for the forecasted period 2017to2023.Browse Full Report @The study also includes market estimates for major countries/regions such as the U.S, the U.K., Germany, France, Japan, China, India, GCC, North Africa, South Africa and Brazil. The detailed analysis by irrigation products, end-users and regions supports in evaluating the present scenario, growth prospects and the future scenario for the Green Concrete market over the forecast period. Thus, the report delivers in-depth segment analysis of the market and classifies it into various industries, thereby providing valuable perceptions.Top ReportGreen Cement Market-Waterproofing Admixture Market-About UsXpodence Research has 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 organizations and also to the manufacturing companies in taking the best decisions for quality production.Contact UsXpodence ResearchUSA Office244, Madison AvenueNew York City, NY - 10016United StatesToll Free +1- 844-445-2861Email : sales@xpodenceresearch.com
Global Flooring & Carpets Market 2018 Competition by Top Manufacturers : Balta Industries, Dixie Group

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Qyresearchreports include new market research report "Global Flooring & Carpets Sales Market Report 2018" to its huge collection of research reports.The report here assembles exchange points of view having a place with the general Flooring & Carpets market which verbalizes the present-day information and future exposures with reference to the dynamic forces at play. The prime explanation for the examination report is to offer the endorser with a wide outline and make open the satisfying substances and records. The quantifiable and testing elucidations behind the examination other than executes information on issues, for instance, drivers, shackles, and projections to gage the surrendered result of the general Flooring & Carpets market through the cross of the said gage period in the examination report. The report in like course passes on a brief and world class record of the predefined market takes after, which joins a couple of events of the veritable obsessions at work which are concentrated to trigger change in the market or may cause any negative impact.Fill the form for an exclusive free sample of this report @This report other than stations into the general Flooring & Carpets market by in a general sense separating the thing and industrialized chain of the market. This is required to in like course help in passing on true blue data and information on compound parts of the fitting market, for instance, material identifying with frameworks for the supervising body in the standard and general strata, transport and transmission structure, targets, and explanations behind premium got for the contributed mean.Global Flooring & Carpets market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Flooring & Carpets sales volume, Price (USD/sqm), revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingArmstrong World IndustriesAutoneum HoldingBalta IndustriesBeaulieu GroupCeramica Cleopatra GroupChina Flooring HoldingDare TechnologyDixie GroupEczacibasi HoldingThe report uses a couple of demonstrated industry examination and entire contraptions. They allow the examination gather pass on a revealed key appraisal of the general Flooring & Carpets market and help endorser and market troupes to be composed concerning speculation and business judgments. The wide thinking about the examination gives a market position on an obvious and moment scale. It gathers enormous and discretionary research structures along these lines. The chairmen have figured the recorded experiences and rose it from the forward and thusly around change the condition to plot a structure for the general Flooring & Carpets market in the years ahead.Table of Contents1 Flooring & Carpets Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Flooring & Carpets1.2 Classification of Flooring & Carpets by Product Category1.2.1 Global Flooring & Carpets Market Size (Sales) Comparison by Type (2013-2025)1.2.2 Global Flooring & Carpets Market Size (Sales) Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20171.3 Global Flooring & Carpets Market by Application/End Users1.4 Global Flooring & Carpets Market by Region1.5 Global Market Size (Value and Volume) of Flooring & Carpets (2013-2025)1.5.1 Global Flooring & Carpets Sales and Growth Rate (2013-2025)1.5.2 Global Flooring & Carpets Revenue and Growth Rate (2013-2025)2 Global Flooring & Carpets Competition by Players/Suppliers, Type and Application2.1 Global Flooring & Carpets Market Competition by Players/Suppliers2.1.1 Global Flooring & Carpets Sales and Market Share of Key Players/Suppliers (2013-2018)2.1.2 Global Flooring & Carpets Revenue and Share by Players/Suppliers (2013-2018)2.2 Global Flooring & Carpets (Volume and Value) by Type2.2.1 Global Flooring & Carpets Sales and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)2.2.2 Global Flooring & Carpets Revenue and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)2.3 Global Flooring & Carpets (Volume and Value) by Region2.3.1 Global Flooring & Carpets Sales and Market Share by Region (2013-2018)2.3.2 Global Flooring & Carpets Revenue and Market Share by Region (2013-2018)2.4 Global Flooring & Carpets (Volume) by ApplicationMake An Enquiry For Discount :3 United States Flooring & Carpets (Volume, Value and Sales Price)3.1 United States Flooring & Carpets Sales and Value (2013-2018)3.1.1 United States Flooring & Carpets Sales and Growth Rate (2013-2018)3.1.2 United States Flooring & Carpets Revenue and Growth Rate (2013-2018)3.1.3 United States Flooring & Carpets Sales Price Trend (2013-2018)3.2 United States Flooring & Carpets Sales Volume and Market Share by Players (2013-2018)3.3 United States Flooring & Carpets Sales Volume and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)3.4 United States Flooring & Carpets Sales Volume and Market Share by Application (2013-2018)4 China Flooring & Carpets (Volume, Value and Sales Price)4.1 China Flooring & Carpets Sales and Value (2013-2018)4.1.1 China Flooring & Carpets Sales and Growth Rate (2013-2018)4.1.2 China Flooring & Carpets Revenue and Growth Rate (2013-2018)4.1.3 China Flooring & Carpets Sales Price Trend (2013-2018)4.2 China Flooring & Carpets Sales Volume and Market Share by Players (2013-2018)4.3 China Flooring & Carpets Sales Volume and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)4.4 China Flooring & Carpets Sales Volume and Market Share by Application (2013-2018)5 Europe Flooring & Carpets (Volume, Value and Sales Price)5.1 Europe Flooring & Carpets Sales and Value (2013-2018)5.1.1 Europe Flooring & Carpets Sales and Growth Rate (2013-2018)5.1.2 Europe Flooring & Carpets Revenue and Growth Rate (2013-2018)5.1.3 Europe Flooring & Carpets Sales Price Trend (2013-2018)5.2 Europe Flooring & Carpets Sales Volume and Market Share by Players (2013-2018)5.3 Europe Flooring & Carpets Sales Volume and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)5.4 Europe Flooring & Carpets Sales Volume and Market Share 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
Animal Vaccines Market to Undertake Strapping Growth By 2020

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Vaccines make animals disease-immune for a particular disease. In biological terms, vaccination against a particular pathogen aims to mimic the development of naturally acquired immunity by inoculation of non-pathogenic but immunogenic components of that pathogen. Animal vaccines market is dominated by production animals due to increasing global consumption of meat and milk products. The animal vaccines market can be segmented into seven categories based on animal type namely livestock, companion animals, poultry, equine, aquaculture, and other animal vaccines. Some of the key segments are further categorized based on the application of these animals. The livestock vaccines can be segmented into bovine vaccines and small ruminant vaccines, whereas the companion animal vaccines include canine vaccines and feline vaccines.Request Report For TOC @Based on technology, animal vaccines market are categorized under seven key segments namely live attenuated vaccines, inactivated vaccines, subunit vaccines, toxoid vaccines, conjugate vaccines, recombinant vaccines and DNA vaccines.DNA vaccines is growing at the fastest rate among the segments by technology due to cost effectiveness, convenient production and added thermo-stability as compared with traditional vaccines.The animal vaccines market is also increasing due to the increasing animal bites which may be fatal for human if the animal is not vaccinated against diseases. According to King County (a county in the U.S.), out of the total animal bites in the U.S. every year, approximately two-thirds are dog bites, which is high among children of age group 5-9 years. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, in 2012 more than 27,000 people underwent reconstructive surgery as a result of dog bite. The Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) reported that dog attack victims suffer losses of around one-two billion every year over treatment in the U.S.According to the European Pet Food Industry Federation, there were 271.1 million pet animals in the European Union in 2012 including 75.3 million pet dogs and 89.8 million pet cats. France, Italy, the U.K., Ukraine and Germany were in the list of top ten countries with the largest cat population, while France and Romania had the largest dog population in Europe. Leptospirosis is one of the key bacterial diseases which occur in 60% of U.K. dairy herds. The most common preventive measure for this disease is vaccination.Asia Pacific is witnessing high growth rate in production animals vaccines due to its increasing consumption and trade of meat. Chinas increasing demand for meat is making it one of the largest markets for animal healthcare products for production animals. In 2012, production animals accounted for 98% of the animal healthcare market in the country. According to USDA, with the consumption of 71.2 million tons, China consumed almost one quarter of the total meat produced globally in 2012. It is also the largest swine meat consumer globally.The global animal vaccines market is dominated by North America followed by Europe and Asia Pacific. Asia is expected to witness fastest growth during 2014-2020 on account of increasing per capita income which is increasing the expenditure of people on meat and milk products. The major companies in the animal vaccines market include Zoetis, Merck, Sanofi-Aventis, Bayer Healthcare Novartis and Virbac.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:
New Research on Global Topical Skin Adhesive Market is expected to reach USD 1,047.60 million by 2025 at a CAGR of 8.1% With Top Key Players Like Medtronic, Ethicon U.S., LLC, connexicon medical

Topical Skin Adhesive

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Global Market Analysis of Topical Skin Adhesive MarketGlobal Topical Skin Adhesive Market is expected to reach USD 1,047.60 million by 2025 from USD 607.35 million in 2018, at a CAGR of 8.1% in the forecast period 2018 to 2025. The new market report contains data for historic years 2016, the base year of calculation is 2017 and the forecast period is 2018 to 2025Get Free Sample Report Copy Now @The major factors driving the market are growing number of trauma cases and road accidents, growing number of surgical procedure, technological innovation in skin adhesive products. The global topical skin adhesive market is leading in North America.This Report Consists of - No of pages: 350 No of Figures: 60 No of Tables: 220TABLE OF CONTENTS1) Introduction2) MARKET SEGMENTATION MARKETS COVERED geographic scope years considered for the study currency and pricing research methodology primary interviews with key opinion leaders secondary sourcEs assumptions3) Market Overview Drivers Restraints OPPORTUNITIES CHALLENGES4) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY5) premium insights6) GLOBAL Topical skin adhesive market, by product type7) GLOBAL Topical skin adhesive market, by application8) GLOBAL Topical skin adhesive market, by end-users9) GLOBAL Topical skin adhesive market, by distribution channel Overview direct sales RETAIL10) GLOBAL Topical skin adhesive market, by geography Overview North America Europe Asia-Pacific south America Middle East and Africa11) GLOBAL topical skin adhesive market, COMPANY landscape12) company profiles Medtronic Aesculap AG (a subsidiary of B. Braun Melsungen AG) Advanced Medical Solutions Group plc Connexicon Medical Chemence Medical, Inc. Adhezion Biomedical GluStitch Inc. Meyer-Haake GmbH ethicon U.S. LLC (SUBSIDIARY OFJohnson & Johnson Services, Inc.) PFIZER INC Beijing Compont Medical Devices Co., Ltd Cartell Chemical Co., LtdInquiry before Buying @Market SegmentationThe market is further segmented into: Product type Application End-users Distribution channelBy type the global wearable heart monitoring devices market is segmented into chargeable, and Bluetooth enabled.By application the global wearable heart monitoring devices market is segmented into healthcare, and consumer market.By product the global wearable heart monitoring devices market is segmented into electric pulse based product, and optical technology based.By end-users the global wearable heart monitoring devices market is segmented into hospital, clinics, home, ambulatory centers, and cardiac centers.Based on geography, the global topical skin adhesive market is segmented into geographical regions, such as, North America Europe Asia-Pacific South America Middle East and AfricaHave Any Query? Feel Free to Talk with Our Analyst @Top Competitors of Market Medtronic Ethicon U.S., LLC (subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc.) Advanced Medical Solutions Group plc Pfizer connexicon medical Chemence Medical, Inc. Adhezion Biomedical GluStitch Inc. Meyer-Haake GmbH Beijing Compont Medical Devices Co., Ltd. Cartell Chemical Co., LtdAbout Data Bridge Market Research:Data Bridge Market Research set forth itself as an unconventional and neoteric Market research and consulting firm with unparalleled level of resilience and integrated approaches. We are determined to unearth the best market opportunities and foster efficient information for your business to thrive in the market. Data Bridge endeavors to provide appropriate solutions to the complex business challenges and initiates an effortless decision-making process.ContactVishal DixitData Bridge Market ResearchTel: +1-888-387-2818Email: Sales@databridgemarketresearch.comInvestor: investors@databridgemarketresearch.comVisit Blog:
Global Pharmaceutical Excipients Market Growing at a CAGR of 6.8% by focusing on Top Companies Profile, Trends, Growth Factors and Forecasts 2024

Global Pharmaceutical Excipients Market- Industry Trends and Forecast to 2024

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Global Pharmaceutical Excipients Market  By Type (Organic {Oleochemicals, Artificial sweeteners, Carbohydrates, Cellulose, Starch, Petrochemicals, Inorganic},Functionality (Coatings & Films, Coloring agents, Binders, Diluents, Disintegrants, Flavoring agents, Glidants, and Lubricants), Formulations (Advanced Delivery Systems, Oral, Liquid, Parenteral, Topical) and Geography  Industry Trends and Forecast to 2024Get a Free Sample Report @The Pharmaceutical Excipients Market accounted to USD 7.4billion by the end of 2021growing at a CAGR of 6.8% during the forecast period of 2017 to 2024. The upcoming market report contains data for historic years 2015, the base year of calculation is 2016 and the forecast period is 2017 to 2024.Competitive Landscape:The Pharmaceuticals excipients market is highly fragmented and is based on new product launches and clinical results of products. Hence the major players have used various strategies such as new product launches, clinical trials, market initiatives, high expense on research and development, agreements, joint ventures, partnerships, acquisitions, and others to increase their footprints in this market. The report includes market shares of Pharmaceuticals excipients market for global, Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and South America.Avail 10% Discount on this Report @TOP Competitors of Market: Ashland, Inc. (U.S.), BASF SE (Germany), the Dow Chemical Company (U.S.), Roquette (France), FMC Corporation (U.S.), Evonik Industries AG (Germany), Associated British Foods Plc. (U.K.), Archer Daniels Midland Company (U.S.), Lubrizol Corporation (U.S.), Croda International Plc. (U.K.), Akzo Nobel N.V. (U.K.), J.M. Huber Corporation (U.S.), Merck Millipore (U.S.), Croda International (U.S.), Signet Chemicals, Innophos Holdings Inc., WackerChemie AG and Avantor Performance Materials, Inc. (U.S.) among others.Ask for Detail TOC Here @Major Market Drivers: Increase in demand for oral pharmaceutical drugs and emergence of novel therapeutics. Utilization of functionality excipients to create controlled dosage forms. Advancements in nanotechnology to impart innovative functions to the excipients. Decline in R&D investments and the increasing stringency of regulatory requirements. Non-availability of standard quality gradation of excipients and their safety evaluation standards. Lack of FDA-approved manufacturing sites. Asia-Pacific is the emerging market as advance technology is used to manufacture new excipients.Market Segmentation:By Type:- Organic Chemicals which is categorized inOleochemicalsOn the basis of Functionality:- Coatings & Films, Coloring agents, Fillers, Binders, Diluents, Suspension & Viscocity Agents, Coatings, Disintegrants, Flavoring agents, Glidants, Preservatives agents Lubricants and other functionalities.By Formulations:- Advanced Delivery Systems, Oral formulation which is categorized in Capsules, which is further classified into Hard Gelat in Capsules and Soft Gelat in Capsules and Tablets, Liquid Formulations, Parenteral formulations and Topical formulations.On the basis of geography:- North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Middle East & Africa. U.S., Canada, Germany, France, U.K., China, India and Japan among others.Browse full report Here @About Data Bridge Market Research:Data Bridge Market Research set forth itself as an unconventional and neoteric Market research and consulting firm with unparalleled level of resilience and integrated approaches. We are determined to unearth the best market opportunities and foster efficient information for your business to thrive in the market. Data Bridge endeavors to provide appropriate solutions to the complex business challenges and initiates an effortless decision-making process.Contact:Vishal DixitData Bridge Market ResearchTel: +1-888-387-2818Email: Sales@databridgemarketresearch.comInvestor: investors@databridgemarketresearch.com
Audiological Devices market : Increasing Production Demand and Emerging Technology that Creates a Better Experience for Patient

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Global Audiological Devices Market 2018 Industry, Analysis, Research, Share, Growth, Sales, Trends, Supply, Forecast to 2023. This report presents an in-depth overview of the prime segments in this market. The segment currently leading and the one predicted to lead the market in the forecast period have also been encapsulated in this study. In addition, an up-to-date information on the key products introduced by the prime companies operating in the market has also been presented through this study. Likewise, the sales and revenue figures of these products also form a key part of this study.Some of the most prominent Key vendors:Auditdata, Cochlear Limited, GN ReSound A/S, Med-EL Medical Electronics, Natus Medical Incorporated, Sonova Holding AG, Advanced Bionics Corporation, Phonak AG, Sivantos Group, Starkey Hearing Technologies, Widex A/S, William Demant Holding A/S, Bernafon AG, Oticon Medical, Sonic Innovations, Inc., Oticon A/SThe study explains the performance of the key product and application segments of the Audiological Devices market in various regions. Likewise, it discusses the markets competitive dynamics by providing information about the hierarchy among the leading players operating in it. This helps provide a thorough analysis of the market. The report also provides forecasts for 2018-2025 for each product and application segment of the market.By manufacturers, the researchers have brought to light the growth of the world Audiological Devices market on the basis of share, revenue, and growth. Purchasers of the report have also been bestowed with substantial information on market competition and concentration trends. The top market shares by manufacturers of the market have been provided in the report to gain a good understanding of the vendor background of the market.Get Sample Copy of this report:On the regional front, the report has carefully assessed the world Audiological Devices market based on several factors. The authors of the report have discussed five important regions deemed vital for the future of the market, viz. the Middle East and Africa, South America, Asia Pacific, Europe, and North America. Each of these regions deliberated by the sources has been deeply scrutinized in view of its market share in several countries apart from growth, sales, and revenue for the forecast period 20132018.Reasons to Access Audiological Devices Understand and capitalize by identifying products that are most likely to ensure a robust return Stay ahead of the competition by understanding the changing competitive landscape for Audiological Devices. Effectively plan your M&A and partnership strategies by identifying Market with the most promising sales potential Make more informed business decisions from insightful and in-depth analysis of Market performance Obtain sales forecast from 2018-2023 in Global.To get more information, Ask for Sample PDF illustration with TOC, Tables, Figures and Charts @Table Of Content:Chapter 1 Audiological Devices 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 AnalysisEarly buyers will receive up to 40% Discount on this reportAbout Healthcare Intelligence Markets:At HealthCare Intelligence Market, we supply market intelligence reports in the domain of personalized drugs & diagnostics after going through a rigorous research process. The healthcare industry is constantly evolving as trends are getting replaced at a rapid pace.These new trends along with the changing demands of patients and healthcare organizations, are collectively contributing to the development of the global healthcare industry.Contact usShreyas TannaHealthcare Intelligence Markets601, Winterberry Purple, Koregaon Park, Pune, 411001sales@healthcareintelligencemarkets.com+91 7400242424
Global Rubella Vaccine (Human Diploid Cell) Market by Industry Analysis, Growth Factor, Trends, End User - Opportunity Analysis and Forecast to 2022

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Global Rubella Vaccine (Human Diploid Cell) Market Professional Survey Report 2017-2022 Purchase This Report by calling ITintelligencemarkets.com at +91 705-760-0700.Rubella vaccine is a vaccine used to prevent rubella. Effectiveness begins about two weeks after a single dose and around 95% of people become immune. However, pregnant women suffering from rubella have to face severe consequences, as the viral infection results in death or congenital defects known as congenital rubella syndrome (CRS).This research report provides an in-depth analysis of the global Rubella Vaccine (Human Diploid Cell) Market based on enterprise size, services, solution, end-use industry, and geography. The report also provides an analysis of the factors that drive and restrain the growth of the Rubella Vaccine (Human Diploid Cell) market. It discusses the prevailing market trends, prospective growth opportunities, and major strategies increasing the popularity of the global market. It provides market estimates and forecasts for all the segments in terms of revenue.The report covers all the major trends and technologies playing a major role in the market growth over the forecast period. The competition in the global market for Rubella Vaccine (Human Diploid Cell) will likely heat up in the next couple of years on the back of entry of a substantial number of solution providers. This statistical surveying report presents an all-inclusive assessment of the worldwide market for Rubella Vaccine (Human Diploid Cell), taking several market verticals, such as the production capacity, product pricing, the dynamics of demand and supply, sales volume, revenue, and the growth rate of this market into consideration.Download PDF Sample Copy:Company Profiled: The Key Players operating in the Rubella Vaccine (Human Diploid Cell) Market includes Merck & Co., GlaxoSmithKline, Chiron Corporation, Sanofi-Aventis, Serum Institute of India, Astellas Pharma, AstraZeneca, CSL Limited, Pfizer, Berna Biotech (Crucell).The report provides competitive landscape of the Rubella Vaccine (Human Diploid Cell) market, thereby listing out all the major players according to their geographic presence, market attractiveness and recent key developments. The competitive landscape section of the report gives an overview about the market share of several key players for the year 2017. Moreover, key takeaways section provided at the end of competitive landscape section would help the operating companies to make the best move in the market.These market estimates have been analyzed by taking into account the impact of different political, social, economic, technological, and legal factors along with the current market dynamics affecting the market growth. Factors including market position, offerings and R&D focus are attributed to company's capabilities. This section also identifies and includes various recent developments carried out by the leading players.For More Information:The regional analysis of the Global Market splits the global market into key regions that include both continents as well as specific countries that are currently shining in terms of either demand, volume or overall growth. Users of the report can focus on these regions if they are looking to expand their business borders.The stages of development of Rubella Vaccine (Human Diploid Cell) market with respect to many geographic regions have also been presented thoroughly. This information which is provided helps the emerging players gain up-to-date information which can help them take perfect business decisions. In similar way, many other segments and sub segments are mentioned in this market helping in conveying impeccable data to the users.To Get Reasonable Discount:Table of ContentsGlobal Rubella Vaccine (Human Diploid Cell) Market Research Report 2017Chapter 1 Rubella Vaccine (Human Diploid Cell) Market OverviewChapter 2 Global Economic Impact on IndustryChapter 3 Global Market Competition by ManufacturersChapter 4 Global Production, Revenue (Value) by RegionChapter 5 Global Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by RegionsChapter 6 Global Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by TypeChapter 7 Global Market Analysis by ApplicationChapter 8 Manufacturing Cost AnalysisChapter 9 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream BuyersChapter 10 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/TradersChapter 11 Market Effect Factors AnalysisChapter 12 Global Market ForecastAbout ITintelligenceMarkets:We at IT Intelligence Markets conduct intensive market research and generate detailed reports about the products and services offered in the IT domain. Our team is devoted to providing custom reports that are taylor-made to suit the customers requirements. We make sure to keep our customers updated with the latest market dynamics as IT industry is undergoing sea change intrinsically & extrinsically by forces such as regulatory fluctuations, rapidly evolving consumer preferences, and newer technologies. Not only do our market research analysts scrutinize market requirements but also track competitors relentlessly for obtaining the most updated scenario of the market.Contact:Vijay Tanna(IT Intelligence Markets)Panchshil Park, Ganpati Marg, Nigidi, Pune 411044+91 705-760-0700sales@itintelligencemarkets.com
A "global action project" aimed at helping a village in Nepal rebuild its school has led to a new international connection for Midland Public Schools -- and a life-changing journey for two MPS teachers.

"It never would have been on my radar in a million years," Kim McMahan, Spanish teacher at Adams and Central Park elementary schools, said recently. "It's one of the defining moments of my life."

McMahan and Karen Staley, a sixth-grade science and reading teacher at Jefferson Middle School, traveled to Nepal Jan. 11-21 to attend the opening and dedication ceremony of the Saraswati School in Wana, Nepal, along with Midlanders Dave and Marcia Shannon, who first approached Staley and McMahan with the idea of a "Nepal Project" last September. The trip was made with the help of the Midland Area Community Foundation.

"It was amazing, it wasn't like a 'trip,'" McMahan said. "It was meaningful -- they met us with flowers and plaques. They wrote a song for us and did a dance for us."

It took the group about 26 hours to get to Wana -- traveling to Pennsylvania to Qatar to Nepal, then taking a small plane on Yeti Airlines to get closer to the village.

"We flew past Mount Everest -- we got to see that clear as day," McMahan said.

To get to the village, the group traveled along one-lane mountain roads in Range Rovers.

The Shannons had previously been to Nepal and knew about the village of Wana and its school, which was in serious disrepair from a 2015 earthquake. What started as an effort to raise $5,000 to rebuild the K-8 school ended up raising $14,000.

McMahan and Staley each lead a "Culture Club" at their schools, aimed at broadening global understanding among students. Staley said the MPS students were able to see that they "literally changed the life of these students and teachers and parents in this village. ... Now they're the envy of those around them. (MPS students) truly, truly made a difference."

McMahan described the Saraswati school as it was before the rebuilding project: "The roof was leaking -- they were mostly having school outside. They had no water."

The funds raised enabled the construction of a new, safe building with a safe water supply; school supplies; a media center; and Wi-Fi.

Staley had the opportunity to teach a math class at the Saraswati school and realized that math "really is a universal language," with discussion of sales prices, discounts and percentages coming through to students despite the language barrier.

She also found that local teachers wanted to know, "How do you teach?"

"They don't have the resources and strategies that we do.  They want to know more about it."

An interactive Google page (https://sites.google.com/midlandps.org/the-Nepal-project) allowed Staley to answer her Jefferson students' questions while she was in Nepal (although not in live interactions -- there is an 11-hour time difference).

"My goal was to bring it home  when they do something like this they really impact lives," she said. "It's totally meaningful to them how these kids can get an education and make their way out of poverty."

McMahan said the Nepal project has made a second-grade curriculum unit on water conservation and pollution come alive for students.

"They have a connection, a personal reason they want to learn about disease and how people stay healthy in Nepal," she said.

Helping make the connection was Narayan Shrestha of Ann Arbor-based Earth Preservation Fund/Journeys International, who managed the project in Nepal and shared updates and photos with the MPS contingent as the work progressed.

The journey allowed the teachers to establish what they hope will be a long-term relationship with their counterparts in Wana. Plans for further help for the school and the village are being discussed; among the possibilities are updating the Wana school's outdated science lab and exploring whether to take a group of MPS high school students for a follow-up visit.

In the meantime, Staley's Jefferson Culture Club is broadening a current project to devise business solutions for small businesses in developing countries. "They are working with businesses in African countries right now and we plan to then use a similar platform to help the Saraswati school in Nepal come up with ways to sustain their school," she said.

However the Nepal connection may ultimately affect MPS. It already has had a big impact on McMahan and Staley.

"It changes the way you look at things," Staley said. "If we could just get our kids to appreciate education the way (the Nepalese students) do, we would rock this world."
At 7 p.m. today, the Delta College Planetarium and the Sunset Astronomical Society will host a special talk by Craig Whitford from Michigan State University about meteorites of Michigan.

Whitford is the Meteorites Collection Coordinator at the universitys Abrams Planetarium in East Lansing and is leading the effort to put up a major exhibition there in 2019 thanks to a $100,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

The program will focus on meteorite finds from across the state, including the most recent specimens from the Jan. 16 fireball explosion near Hamburg Township. Whitford will also discuss the characteristics to look for in determining if a particular rock is a meteorite or meteor-wrong. A question and answer period will be included.

The program will be held in the Dome360 Theater of the Delta College Planetarium & Learning Center. Admission is free and open to the public.

Michigan Meteorites is sponsored by the Sunset Astronomical Society as a part of its monthly meeting. For more information go to the planetariums website at www.delta.edu/planet or call 989-667-2260. The Delta College Planetarium is located in downtown Bay City at 100 Center Ave.
When my daughter first learned to read, it didn't take long before she was capable of reading chapter books. What she wasn't ready for was reading books without pictures on every page. Even though she could read the text, she felt overwhelmed when looking at an entire page of nothing but words. Since then, there have been a number of new series written for beginning chapter book readers, many of which include illustrations on every page. If you have a reader who is ready to move past the easy readers into longer books, the Grace A. Dow Memorial Library has a lot to offer.

Easy readers are designed for children learning how to read. Once they become proficient with reading at a second-grade level, they may be ready to move on to more complex books. These are the beginning chapter books, still written at second- and third-grade reading levels, but with more pages and more text per page. Recently, to keep the text from overwhelming the new chapter book reader, these beginning chapter book have started including more pictures, many now in color, very similar to what they've been reading from the easy reader area.

Interested in books with colored illustrations? Try the "Mercy Watson" series by Kate DiCamillo, "Super Happy Party Bears" by Marcie Colleen, or "Owl Diaries" by Rebecca Elliott. All written at a second-grade reading level, these books will appeal to animal lovers. For something a little more challenging, "Choose Your Own Adventure" books now includes titles at a second-grade reading level. Because these books are not read in the traditional order, it can be a little more confusing, but being able to choose which direction the story takes puts kids in charge.

Looking for funny stories where the text and pictures combine to tell the tale? The "Bad Guys" series by Aaron Blabey and the "Bad Kitty" series by Nick Bruel will keep kids laughing at the funny antics of these characters. The stories are told through lists, comic-strip-like sequences, and dialogue, which will interest kids looking for stories with non-traditional formats.

Trying to find a more traditional story with large text, lots of white space and pictures on almost every page? "The Adventures of Sophie Mouse" by Poppy Green will appeal to readers who like animal characters in realistic situations. "Captain Awesome" by Stan Kirby features a boy with a superhero alter-ego who saves the day while navigating his everyday life. "Greetings from Somewhere" by Harper Paris is a mystery series, each taking place in a new location, as twins Ethan and Ella accompany their parents around the world for their mom's new job. "The Kingdom of Wrenly" by Jordan Quinn will appeal to kids who like fantasy that includes dragons, mermaids and adventure.

The librarians at the Grace A. Dow Memorial Library can help you find these series and many more. So if your new reader is interested in moving on to chapter books, stop by and check out what's new. Find more information on this and many other Library services.

Monica Anderson is a Youth Services librarian Grace A. Dow Memorial Library in Midland.
As most of America slept, a government shutdown that lasted nearly as long as Rep. Nancy Pelosis record-setting speech on Wednesday began and ended. Early Friday morning, President Trump signed the bipartisan budget deal that sailed fairly smoothly through Congress once a vote was able to occur.

That vote was delayed until 2 a.m. by Sen. Rand Paul, who took to the Senate floor to express his dissent to the budget plan while demanding a vote on an amendment to it that kept the strict spending caps in place. Paul was vocal ahead of the shutdown deadline regarding the suspension of the debt limit and the $300 billion increase to military and domestic spending caps. Paul refused to yield the floor, spurning attempts by various senators to move toward a vote that was already assured to approve the budget plan. Paul finally relinquished the floor at 2 a.m., at which point the plan was approved by a 71 to 28 vote. The bill went on to pass through the House around 5:30 a.m. by a count of 240 to 186.

Pauls one-man push to hold the Senate floor for as long as possible was met with criticism from both sides of the aisle. Democrats identified the hypocrisy in Pauls motive, referring to the tax bill that Paul supported. Rand Paul voted for a $1.5 trillion hole in the budget. Now he is shutting the government down for three hours because of the debt. The chance to demonstrate fiscal discipline was on the tax vote, said Sen. Brian Schatz. Sen. John Cornyn, the Senate Majority Whip, called Pauls action the act of a single senator who just is trying to make a point but doesnt really care too much about who he inconveniences.

While the Senate was always projected to have enough votes to pass the plan, the House was not as sure of a lock heading into the evening. Many lawmakers on both sides had issues with the deal as it was presented. Hard-line conservatives, such as the House Freedom Caucus, refused to vote for the budget because of the inclusion of $131 billion dollars in domestic spending, which they viewed as a waste of taxpayer money. All in all, 67 House Republicans didnt vote for the plan, which forced Speaker Paul Ryan to hope that a sizeable number of the 193 House Democrats would put aside their anger at the exclusion of DACA protections from the deal.

It was a valid concern after Pelosi spoke for just over eight hours about the plight of the Dreamers and the need to install permanent DACA protections after Trump ended the Obama-era program last September. Many Senate Dems took issue with the divorcing of the immigration debate from the budget negotiations as well, noting it as a major point of leverage. Sen. Chuck Schumer and Sen. Mitch McConnell agreed to keep any DACA arguments away from the negotiations after McConnell scheduled a debate on immigration in the Senate for next week. House Democrats did not receive a similar promise from Ryan, however, and pushed for a verbal commitment to hold a debate on the issue as Ryan reiterated his stance that no plan the president didnt approve would be debated. To anyone who doubts my intention to solve this problem and bring up a DACA and immigration bill, do not. We will bring a solution to the floor, one that the president will sign, said Ryan.

Pelosi chose not to vote for the plan even as she lauded the plan as very good for the party, but she didnt push other House Dems to vote with her. According to the New York Times, Pelosi told House Democrats that she wouldnt ask them to vote against their conscience in a closed-door meeting.

After signing the plan, President Trump took to Twitter to boast about the military spending increases and exclusion of DACA protections while stating more Republicans were needed in Congress and lamenting the increase in spending on things we do not like or need.

Just signed Bill. Our Military will now be stronger than ever before. We love and need our Military and gave them everything  and more. First time this has happened in a long time. Also means JOBS, JOBS, JOBS!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 9, 2018

Without more Republicans in Congress, we were forced to increase spending on things we do not like or want in order to finally, after many years of depletion, take care of our Military. Sadly, we needed some Dem votes for passage. Must elect more Republicans in 2018 Election!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 9, 2018

Costs on non-military lines will never come down if we do not elect more Republicans in the 2018 Election, and beyond. This Bill is a BIG VICTORY for our Military, but much waste in order to get Dem votes. Fortunately, DACA not included in this Bill, negotiations to start now!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 9, 2018

Good to know that, even though Dems are having to take stock of their own internal crises as they vote for a budget plan that includes much of the spending they want at the expense of further ostracizing Dreamers and immigrants rights groups and losing their major point of leverage, the president can still be petty about needing bipartisan support for legislation.
Group to host Petoskey solar tour this Saturday

The event will conclude at Coveyou Farms with a meeting where attendees will be able to sign up for a solar equipment group buy."
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PR-Inside.com: 2018-02-09 15:53:02

Digi Communications N.V. announces the Dismissal by the US court of the claim brought by certain US citizens against the Company, RCS & RDS S.A., RCS Management S.A., DIGI Tavkozlesi es Szolgaltato Kft, and its subsidiary, i-TV Digitalis Tavkozlesi Zrt.

For Digi Communications NV

Serghei Bulgac

Phone no: +4031 400 4444

ipo.relations@digi-communications.ro

In connection with the claim brought by certain US citizens against the Company, RCS & RDS S.A., RCS Management S.A., DIGI Tavkozlesi es Szolgaltato Kft, and its subsidiary, i-TV Digitalis Tavkozlesi Zrt. (the Defendants) in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia  Alexandria Division (the US Court), which we have previously disclosed in our periodic reports, the Company would like to inform its investors and the market that, on 8 February 2018, the US Court granted the Defendants motion to vacate and dismissed the entire lawsuit for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The US Court also vacated all prior orders entered in the case. This order may be appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit within 30 days. The Company welcomes the US Courts decision and will continue to vigorously defend against any of these plaintiffs allegations that are vexatious and groundless if the dismissal is ultimately appealed.

For details regarding the current report, please access the official website designated of Digi: www.digi-communications.ro.

About Digi Communications NV

Digi is the parent holding company of RCS & RDS, a leading provider of pay TV and telecommunications services in Romania and Hungary. In addition, RCS & RDS provides mobile services as an MVNO to the large Romanian communities living in Spain and Italy.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/201802090054
Digital microscopes are cost effective as compared to conventional optical microscope.

Digital Microscopes Market

PR-Inside.com: 2018-02-09 11:42:09

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The Global Digital Microscopes Market by Modality (Desktop Digital Microscope, and Portable Digital Microscope), By Connectivity (Wired Digital Microscope and Wireless Digital Microscope), By Application (Research and Development, Medical Diagnostics, and Forensic Testing), By End User (Biopharmaceutical Companies, Academic Research Institute, and Forensic and Pathology Laboratory), and Region (North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa) was valued at US$ 216.6 million in 2016 and is projected to exhibit a CAGR of 6.9% over the forecast period (20172025), as highlighted in a new report published by Coherent Market Insights. Advantages offered by digital microscopes over conventional optical microscope such as cost effectiveness, portability (portable digital microscopes), image sharing and storage, and avoidance of sample spillage is expected to fuel the growth of the digital microscopes market.Request Sample Copy Of This Report: https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/511 Organizations such as Nikon Corporation, Olympus Corporation, Leica Microsystems, Carl Zeiss, Keyence Corporation, and Celestron offer products in digital microscopes category. This is owing to rising demand from various applications such as forensic testing, and pathological testing. Leica Microsystems launched Leica DVM6digital microscopein 2015, designed for analysis, inspection, research and development, and forensics. Furthermore, Leica Microsystems launched Wi-Fi capability for application in education sector in 2015. In 2015, Olympus Corporation launched three new models of digital microscope namely: DSX510, DSX510i, and DSX110. Furthermore, Carl Zeiss AG launched new Smartzoom 5 an automated digital microscope in 2014. Smartzoom 5 is an automated digital microscope for routine and failure analysis. In 2013, Celestron, Llc. launched new Handheld Pro digital microscope. Handheld Pro digital microscope is an easy to use, low-power microscope with a 5.0 MP sensor for capturing photos and video.Browse 39 Market Data Tables and 28 Figures spread through 180 Pages and in-depth TOC on Digital Microscopes Market by modality (desktop digital microscope, portable digital microscope), by connectivity (wired digital microscope, wireless digital microscope), by application (research and development, medical diagnostics, and forensic testing), by end user (biopharmaceutical companies, academic research institute, and forensic and pathology laboratory) and region (North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa) - Global Forecast to 2025Manufacturers and various research institutes are investing in developing advanced digital microscopes for improved disease detection and diagnosis. This is expected to support growth of the digital microscopes market. In 2016, researchers at California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA developed a technique called wavelength scanning pixel super-resolution to improve digital microscopy images, which provides much higher-resolution digital image of the specimen. A research team at University of Houston, U.S., developed a multicolor fluorescence microscope from a smartphone and a 3-D printer in December 2017. Moreover, researchers at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, developed a low-cost and lens free field-microscope in June 2017, by incorporating artificial intelligence and mathematics models of light to develop 3-D images. Grundium OY  Finland-based manufacturer of multi-camera technology  received an investment of US$ 2.3 million from Ascend Capital Partners  a China-based VC firm  to develop a portable digital microscope in December 2017.Ask for customization: https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-customization/511 Key Takeaways of the Digital Microscopes Market:The global digital microscopes market is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 9% over the forecast period (20172025), owing to cost effectiveness provided by digtal microscopes over conventional optical microscopes and flexibility to choose digital microscope according to the type of workKey competitors such as Olympus Corporation, Leica Microsystems, and Hirox Corporation account for the majority of the market share in the global digital microscopes market. However, small manufacturers such as Inspectis AB, Ted Pella, Inc., Scalar Corporation, and ioLight Ltd. are present as wellIncreasing application and potential uses of portable digital microscopes in field surveys are aiding in early detection and diagnosis of diseases is expected to increase adoption rate of portable digital microscopesImage sharing as well as multiple user profile facility provided by digital microscopes is expected to increase adoption rate of these devices among small research institutes and pilot studiesMajor players operating in the digital microscopes market include Olympus Corporation, Nikon Corporation, Leica Microsystems, Carl Zeiss AG, Celestron, LLC., Hirox Corporation, Danaher Corporation, Keyence Corporation, and Tagarno A/STo know the latest trends and insights prevalent in the Digital Microscopes Market, click the link below: https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/market-insight/digital-microscopes-market-511 About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@ coherentmarketinsights.com Visit our news Website: http://www.coherentchronicle.com
PR-Inside.com: 2018-02-08 18:07:49

FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for Centamin plc--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Perth, Australia (FSCWire) - Centamin plc (TSX:CEE). has issued a press release with the following headline:Dividend Procedures for the TSXTo 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 Centamin 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/Centamin plcSource: Centamin plc (TSX: CEE, LSE: CEY)Date: February 08, 2018Time: 11:53 AM EST--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of Centamin 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: 2018-02-09 17:42:15

FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for Eco (Atlantic) Oil and Gas Ltd.--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Toronto, Ontario (FSCWire) - Eco (Atlantic) Oil and Gas Ltd. (TSX Venture:EOG). has issued a press release with the following headline:Exercise of WarrantsTo 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 Eco (Atlantic) Oil and Gas 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/Eco (Atlantic) Oil and Gas Ltd.Source: Eco (Atlantic) Oil and Gas Ltd. (TSX Venture: EOG, LSE: ECO, OTC Bulletin Board: ECAOF, WKN: A1JVA8, ISIN: CA27887W1005)Date: February 09, 2018Time: 11:42 AM EST--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of Eco (Atlantic) Oil and Gas 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: 2018-02-09 18:36:14

FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for Friday Night Inc--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Vancouver, BC (FSCWire) - Friday Night Inc (CSE:TGIF). has issued a press release with the following headline:Friday Night Inc. Comments on Positive CSA NoticeTo 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 Friday Night 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/Friday Night IncSource: Friday Night Inc (CSE: TGIF, OTCQB: TGIFF, FWB: 1QF, ISIN: CA74840V1004, WKN: A2ABE2)Date: February 09, 2018Time: 12:35 PM EST--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of Friday Night 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.)
Gene Editing Market

PR-Inside.com: 2018-02-09 08:38:19

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Contact to Precision Business Insights,Kemp House,152  160 City Road,London EC1V 2NXEmail: sales@precisionbusinessinsights.comToll Free (US): +1-866-598-1553Website @ https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.comLead Marketing+1-866-598-1553

Gene editing or Genome editing is the type of genetic editing where DNA is inserted, replaced or deleted in the genome of an organism in order to treat a specific disease by using a molecular scissors or engineered nuclease. These nucleases create site-specific double-stranded breaks in desired locations in genome. The induced double-stranded breaks are repaired through nonhomologous end joining or homologous recombination resulting in targeted mutations (edits).Rise in the prevalence rate of cancer & other genetic disorders, increasing preference in the personalized medicine, companies investments towards R&D, and growth of biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, increase in private and public sector funding, rapid advancements in sequencing and gene editing technologies, applications in various drug discovery processes are some of the factors propelling the growth of the genome editing market. However, global gene editing market is hindered by stringent government regulations to approve gene mutation projects, ethical issues, unavailability of gene editing based therapeutics in the market and lack of awareness among people regarding the safety of genetic interventions.A sample of this report is available upon request @The gene editing market segmented based upon applications, technology, end-user, products, and region.On the basis of technology, global genome editing market is segmented as: Zinc Finger Nuclease (ZFN) Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) Transcription activator-like effector nuclease (TALEN) OthersOn the basis of application, global genome editing market is segmented as: Cell Line Editing Targeted gene mutation Animal Genome Editing Plant Genome EditingOn the basis of product type, global genome editing market is segmented as: Consumables Instruments and SoftwareOn the basis of end-user, Global Genome Editing Market is segmented as: Pharmaceutical companies Biotechnology Companies Academics Clinical Research OrganizationsTo view TOC of this report is available upon request @Biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors dominate gene editing market due to its applications in drug discovery and therapeutics. Rise in usage of CRISPR and ZFN, companies are investing on innovative research for development of novel gene editing techniques. Many players are adopting various strategies which include collaborations for R&D outsourcing, mergers and acquisitions, strategic or manufacturing activities are driving the growth of genome editing market. For instance, in 2014, Thermo Fisher acquired Life technologies, to create unbeatable leadership in life sciences, research, specialty diagnostics and applied markets.In 2014, Sigma-Aldrich Corporation (U.S.) entered into an agreement with Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard (U.S.) to use CRISPR technology. High growth potential in emerging regions provides lucrative opportunities to industry players.Need more information about this report @On the basis of Geographical regions, the genome editing market categorized into five regions:, Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa. The gene editing market is dominated by North America due to the strong growth trend in the pharmaceuticals and biotechnology industries. Emerging economies of Asia Pacific and Latin America are expected to show significant growth in the gene editing market due to an increase in the number of laboratories in these regions and development of existing ones for automation of various instrumentation systems, the expansion of leading genome editing companies and increased R&D spending.Some of the players in genome editing market are Cellectis S.A. (France), Applied Stemcell, Inc. (U.S.), Genscript (U.S.), Merck KGaA (Germany), Horizon Discovery Group plc,(U.K.), Origene Technologies, Inc. (U.S.), System Biosciences, Inc. (U.S.), Sangamo Therapeutics, Inc.(U.S.) , Thermo Fisher Scientific (U.S), and Transposagen Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.(U.S.) Get access to full summary @About Precision Business InsightsPrecision Business Insights is one of the leading market research and business consulting firm, which follow a holistic approach to solve needs of the clients. We adopt and implement proven research methodologies to achieve better results. We help our clients by providing actionable insights and strategies to make better decisions. We provide consulting, syndicated and customised market research services based on our client needs.Email: sales@ precisionbusinessinsights.com
Holographic Imaging Market

PR-Inside.com: 2018-02-09 14:07:18

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Contact to Precision Business Insights,Kemp House,152  160 City Road,London EC1V 2NXEmail: sales@precisionbusinessinsights.comToll Free (US): +1-866-598-1553Website @ https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.comLead-Digital Marketing+1-866-598-1553

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.A sample of this report is available upon request @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 OthersBased on application, holographic imaging market has been segmented into the following: Medical Imaging Ophthalmology Dentistry Urology Otology Orthopaedics Others Medical Education Biomedical ResearchBased on end-user, holographic imaging market has been segmented into the following: Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Companies Academic Medical Centres Research Organizations Hospitals and ClinicsTo view TOC of this report is available upon request @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.Need more information about this report @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.Get access to full summary @About Precision Business InsightsPrecision Business Insights is one of the leading market research and business consulting firm, which follow a holistic approach to solve needs of the clients. We adopt and implement proven research methodologies to achieve better results. We help our clients by providing actionable insights and strategies to make better decisions. We provide consulting, syndicated and customised market research services based on our client needs.Precision Business Insights mission is to provide high-quality market research reports and generate key insights to our clients. PBIs approachable strategies are to help clients to make key decisions for business growth.Precision Business Insights vision is to become most valued partner to fortune 500 companies by providing agile, accurate, and actionable market insightsEmail: sales@ precisionbusinessinsights.com
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Devices Market

PR-Inside.com: 2018-02-09 11:24:51

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HBOT devices play a vital role in the field of medicine, these devices help in the treatment of many diseases such as asthma, HIV/AIDS, bells palsy, Parkinsons disease, spinal cord injuries, hepatitis, migraines, multiple sclerosis, stroke and sport injuries. Moreover, HBOT devices have Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for treating decompression sickness, thermal, necrotizing soft tissues infection and burn injury. HBOT devices are also used in the off-label (means the medication is not specified in the FDA's approved packaging label) medical induction treatment such as brain injuries and cancer. Such high preference from the patients and physicians for HBOT in medical field has powered growth in the HBOT devices market. The market is expected to rise in the forecast period, especially across the North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific region.Request For Sample Copy@Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) devices are used to deliver 100% pure oxygen to tissues in the body under high atmospheric pressure. During HBOT, the pressure is increased to three times the normal atmospheric pressure, creating high amount of partial pressure of oxygen. Under normal conditions, one atmosphere absolute are subjected to be around 14.7 pounds per square inch of pressure and the air we normally breathe is composed of 21% oxygen and 79% nitrogen. Breathing in 100% oxygen, the body is exposed to rise in atmospheric pressure, the oxygen molecules become condensed and this allows to breathe a higher amount of partial pressure of oxygen, where in turn oxygen dissolves in the plasma around 10 to 15 times greater than normal. This super-saturation of oxygen in the bodys tissues promotes the increase in capillary growth, increase in white blood cell (WBC) activity, new tissues development, increase oxygen tension in hypoxic areas, reduction in the size of gas bubbles and numerous other physiological effects.Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) devices market by taxonomyHyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Devices Market, by Product Type:Monoplace HBOT Devices,Topical HBOT Devices,Multiplace HBOT Devicesby Application:Wound Healing,Decompression Sickness,Infection Treatment,Gas Embolism,Othersby Geography:North America,Latin America,Europe,Asia Pacific,Middle East,AfricaIncrease in number of wound healing treatment and cosmetic procedures is expected to support the growth of hyperbaric oxygen devices marketPeople who are suffering from diabetes are at increased risk for a wound development. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the U.S., it was diagnosed that around 21.0 million people suffered from diabetes in 2014. The U.S. is expected to be the growth engine of the global HBOT market through the forecast period. This is mainly attributed to increase in incidence rate of diabetes, and rising chronic disease and acute wounds and simultaneously growth in treatment rate due to the developed healthcare technology, healthcare expenditure by the government and high disposable income are some of the factors that are expected to support the market in future near.The growth in usage of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in healing of wound and cosmetic procedure is one of the factor to rise in demand in forecast period and also the rise in healthcare costs, increase in prevalence of diseases such as asthma, diabetes, and growth rate in aging population are some of the factors that can be accounted for the largest market share. Asia Pacific market is expected to grow in the forecast period due to the increase in income, growth in medical tourism industry, and rise in public awareness benefits HBOT devices.As per The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) around 15.9 million minimally invasive cosmetic procedures were performed in 2014-2015 in the U.S. Moreover, increasing number of metrosexual men is in turn expected to create a highly conducive environment for growth of the HBOT market.Key players in the market:Fink Engineering,HAUX-LIFE-SUPPORT,Gulf Coast Hyperbarics, Inc.,IHC Hytech B.V. (Royal IHC),HEARMEC; Hyperbaric,Sechrist Industries, Inc.,OxyHeal International,Haux-Life-Support GmbH,HYPERBARIC S.A.C.,Hyperbaric Technology (HyTech) B.V.,Sands Hyperbaric Corporation,SOS Medical Group Ltd.,Hearmec Co., Ltd. and Fink Engineering Pty. Ltd.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.com Visit Coherent Market Insights Blog @ https://blog.coherentmarketinsights.com Connect with us on LinkedIn @ https://www.linkedin.com/company/coherent-market-insights
New Computers and Semiconductors research report from Markets and Markets is now available from Fast Market Research

PR-Inside.com: 2018-02-09 22:38:18

Electronic Shelf Label Market by Product Type (LCD, Segmented E-Paper, Full-Graphic E-Paper), Communication Technology (RF, IR, NFC), Store Type (Hypermarkets, Supermarkets, Others), Component, and Geography - Global Forecast to 2023"The electronic shelf label (ESL) market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 23.98% between 2017 and 2023"The ESL market is expected to be worth USD 392.3 million in 2017 and USD 1,424.8 million by 2023, at a CAGR of 23.98% between 2017 and 2023. The growth of the overall market can be attributed to driving factors such as increasing operational efficiency with real-time product positioning, more cost-efficient and less time-consuming alternative to paper labels, and trending retail automation. However, high expenses of installation and supporting infrastructure restrain the growth of the ESL market."The ESL market for display components is likely to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period"Full Report Details atThe highest CAGR of the market for displays is attributed to the inclusion of various liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and full-graphic e-paper displays. The rapid adoption of full graphics and LCD ESLs is also propelling the demand for the display components among the end users. Information on LCDs are clearly visible, and even in narrow shelves, ESLs with small LCD screens are being installed for better visibility of products. A full-graphic e-paper ESL displays the price, QR code, barcode, and other messages on a single screen. These advantages of displays are accelerating the adoption of ESLs in the market."Full-graphic e-paper ESL held the largest share of the ESL market in 2016"The largest market size and highest CAGR for full-graphic e-paper ESL are attributed to the growing demand for price automation from Tier I and Tier II retailers that rely on these ESLs to a large extent, as these ESLs support the graphic content and information. In addition, full graphical e-paper ESLs are a key to gain customer attention and make the in-store communication dynamic."The ESL market in APAC is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period"The globalization and development of organized retail in APAC are likely to contribute to the highest CAGR of the market in APAC during the forecast period. Additionally, the readiness of retailers (i.e., ESL end users) in APAC to follow the ongoing trends of the retail market also leads to the growth of the ESL market in this region. Moreover, Japan is the major adopter of ESLs in APAC, thus contributing the growth of the overall market in APAC. In Australia, the labor costs are high, and the Australian retailers are spending a great deal of money on price management to maximize the promotional activities for various products.In the process of determining and verifying the market size for several segments and subsegments obtained through secondary research, extensive primary interviews have been conducted with officials from the key players. The break-up of the profile of primaries has been given below:* By Company Type: Tier 1 = 25 %, Tier 2 = 35%, and Tier 3 = 40%* By Designation: C-Level Executives = 35%, Directors = 25%, and Others = 40%* By Region: Europe = 43%, APAC = 29%, North America = 14%, and RoW = 14%The key players in the ESL market profiled in the report are as follows:1. Pricer (Sweden)2. SES-imagotag (France)3. Samsung Electro-Mechanics (South Korea)4. E Ink Holdings (Taiwan)5. Displaydata (UK)6. M2Communication (Taiwan)7. Diebold Nixdorf (Germany)8. Opticon Sensors Europe (Netherlands)9. Teraoka Seiko (Japan)10. NZ Electronic Shelf Labelling (New Zealand)Research Coverage:The report studies the ESL market segmented on the basis of component, product type, communication technology, and store type. It also includes the forecast of the market size, in terms of value, with respect to 4 main regions, namely, North America, Europe, APAC, and RoW. The study identifies and analyzes the market dynamics such as drivers, restraints, opportunities, and challenges for the market. It also profiles the key players operating in ESL market as well as describes the overall value chain of the market.Reasons to Buy the Report:1. The report would help the stakeholders to understand the pulse of the market and provides them the information on key market drivers, restraints, challenges, and opportunities.About Fast Market ResearchFast Market Research is a leading distributor of market research and business information. Representing the world's top research publishers and analysts, we provide quick and easy access to the best competitive intelligence available. Our unbiased, expert staff is always available to help you find the right research to fit your requirements and your budget.For more information about these or related research reports, please visit our website at https://fastmr.com or call us at 1.800.844.8156 (1.413.485.7001 Int'l)
Fast Market Research recommends "Energy Drinks in Indonesia (2017) - Market Sizes" from Global Markets Direct, now available

PR-Inside.com: 2018-02-09 22:49:21

Energy Drinks in Indonesia by Mintel Market Sizes provides you with annual year-end market size data, most recently updated in 2017. This market covers sugar-free and regular energy drinks and shots. Energy drinks are marketed with additives specifically designed to increase alertness. Market size comprises sales through all retail channels including direct to consumer including vending machines. Market value is calculated at prices in retailers. Market size for Energy Drinks in Indonesia is given in IDR and litre with a minimum of five years' historical data. Market Forecast is provided for five years. Included with this snapshot is socio-economic data for Indonesia. Population, Consumer Price Index (CPI), Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Exchange Rates.Full Report Details atReport Table of Contents:* Definitions* Retail market size* Highlights - strongest and weakest performers* Figure 1: Volume - Absolute size (2007 - 2021)* Figure 2: Volume - Volume Consumption per capita (population) (2007 - 2021)* Figure 3: Volume - Growth (2007 - 2021)* Table 1: Volume (2007 - 2021)* Figure 4: Value in Local Currency - Value (2007 - 2021)* Figure 5: Value in Local Currency - Unit prices (2007 - 2021)* Figure 6: Value in Local Currency - Value growth (2007 - 2021)* Table 2: Value in Local Currency (2007 - 2021)* Figure 7: Value in USD - Value (2007 - 2021)* Figure 8: Value in USD - Spend per capita (population) (2007 - 2021)* Figure 9: Value in USD - Spend as a proportion of GDP (2007 - 2021)* Figure 10: Value in USD - Unit prices (2007 - 2021)* Figure 11: Value in USD - Value growth (2007 - 2021)* Table 3: Value in USD (2007 - 2021)* Market Segmentations* Figure 12: Indonesia - Energy Drinks: Retail market segmentation by volume (m litres) (2007 - 2016)* Table 4: Indonesia - Energy Drinks: Retail market segmentation by volume (m litres) (2007 - 2016)* Figure 13: Indonesia - Energy Drinks: Retail market segmentation by value (tn IDR) (2007 - 2016)* Table 5: Indonesia - Energy Drinks: Retail market segmentation by value (tn IDR) (2007 - 2016)* Market Shares* Figure 14: Indonesia - Energy Drinks: Company retail market share by volume (%) - 2015* Figure 15: Indonesia - Energy Drinks: Company retail market share by volume (%) - 2016* Table 6: Indonesia - Energy Drinks: Company retail market share by volume (%) (2015 - 2016)* Figure 16: Indonesia - Energy Drinks: Company retail market share by value (%) - 2015* Figure 17: Indonesia - Energy Drinks: Company retail market share by value (%) - 2016* Table 7: Indonesia - Energy Drinks: Company retail market share by value (%) (2015 - 2016)* Company & Brand details* Table 8: Indonesia - Energy Drinks: Company Website Links* Compound annual growth rates* Table 9: Retail market compound annual growth rates (2012 - 2021)* Socio-economic data* Figure 18: Population (millions) (2003 - 2021)* Table 10: Population (millions) (2003 - 2021)* Figure 19: Consumer price index (CPI) (2002 - 2021)* Table 11: Consumer price index (CPI) (2002 - 2021)* Figure 20: Gross domestic product (bn USD) (2003 - 2021)* Table 12: Gross domestic product (bn USD) (2003 - 2021)* Figure 21: Exchange rates (2003 - 2021)* Table 13: Exchange rates (2003 - 2021)* Sources of Data* Methodology* About MintelAbout Fast Market ResearchFast Market Research is a leading distributor of market research and business information. Representing the world's top research publishers and analysts, we provide quick and easy access to the best competitive intelligence available. Our unbiased, expert staff is always available to help you find the right research to fit your requirements and your budget.For more information about these or related research reports, please visit our website at https://fastmr.com or call us at 1.800.844.8156 (1.413.485.7001 Int'l)
Disclaimer: If you have any questions regarding information in this press release please contact the company added in the press release. Please do not contact pr-inside. We will not be able to assist you. PR-inside disclaims the content included in this release.
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Access Bank on Thursday said the case of alleged fraudulent withdrawals from the account of the Provost of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Gbemiga Ogunleye, lingered because the complainant failed to accept the banks proposal at the Lagos Multi-door Court.

In a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES, the bank also alleged that it offered to refund the money and pay N100,000 to the complainant as damages, even after its investigations revealed the customer effected the transaction.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how the bank and Mr. Ogunleye had been drawn in a legal battle following a case of alleged N292, 931 fraudulent withdrawal made from the NIJ provosts account from the United States.

Mr. Ogunleye, who banks with Access, said he did not make the withdrawals and asked the bank to make a refund.

He eventually went to court when the bank failed to do that.

The case, which has dragged for years, is being transferred back to court by Mr. Ogunleye after efforts to reach consensus at the Lagos State Multidoor failed.

Documents seen by PREMIUM TIMES showed that Mr. Ogunleye had demanded that the Chief Executive Officer, CEO, of the bank, Herbert Wigwe, be made to appear before the court.

But Mr. Wigwes solicitor countered the suit saying he was an agent of the bank and his presence in court was unnecessary.

In a ruling of September 1, 2016, Magistrate T. O Shomade dismissed the suit of Mr. Wigwes solicitor and ruled that the bank chief can be made to appear in court because he is an employee and not an agent of the bank.

The magistrate subsequently transferred the case to the multi-door court.

For weeks, PREMIUM TIMES sought the banks position from its spokesperson, Abdul Imoyo, who failed to supply response to the newspapers enquiry.

But on Thursday, after our story was published, the bank claimed that upon investigations, it discovered that Mr. Ogunleye carried out the disputed transactions of November 30 and December, 1, 2014, because the transactions were done using the card and pin known to him alone.

In a statement signed by Fatai Ladipo, its legal adviser and Edem Ekeng, corporate counsel, the bank also alleged that Mr. Ogunleye had carried out transactions on ATM in the United States prior to the disputed transaction without hitches, a claim it said he never denied.

The statement added that even when it never admitted any liability, the bank offered the full sum of N292,931 withdrawn from the account with N100,000 damages to Mr. Ogunleye to cover the expenses.

Unfortunately, the customer insisted on being paid the sum of N500,000, which the bank found to be unacceptable, given the fact that the alleged unauthorised withdrawals were done with the customers card and pin with no form of negligence on the part of the bank, the statement said.
Three persons were feared killed in a late night assault on Benue communities Thursday, residents have told PREMIUM TIMES.

The victims were ambushed by assailants who hit villages around Anyiin, a major town in Logo Local Government Area that serves as a base for police special forces and has one of the biggest IDP camps.

PREMIUM TIMES broke the news of the attacks on Thursday night, citing residents accounts that five persons were in critical condition from gunshot wounds.

They were all rescued and taken to NKST Hospital in Anyiin by police special forces, witnesses said.

But two of the five victims died overnight, Anyiin residents told PREMIUM TIMES Friday morning.

The first victim who died was identified as 40-year-old Orduuga Kumaga. Another victim was identified as Mnenge Orson, aged 30.

The attacks claimed a third victim whom residents identified as a man of Hausa ethnic group. He was riding on a motorcycle from his village in Akwana to Anyiin when he was killed.

He was reportedly on the bike with a Tiv man, who was also critically wounded by gunshots and was receiving treatments at the hospital in Anyiin.

A female victim, Kanan Munduga, 18, has been transferred to Benue State University Teaching Hospital, Makurdi.

Kavera Alfred, a medical personnel at NKST Hospital, said Ms. Munduga was transferred because she had lost too much blood than they could handle at his hospital.

The doctor said he was attending to two more victims, Abraham Terer, 23, and Ambua Shimer, a 40-year-old woman.

The doctor said the victims medical bills had been covered by Terkura Suswam, a politician and founder of Ashi Polytechnic.

He also helped facilitate the transfer of Ms. Munduga to the Teaching Hospital in Makurdi, he said.

The doctor said the two remaining victims at his hospital had been stabilised and should be able to recover there if their treatment go on as hoped.

The police have not commented on the reported attacks despite repeated requests for comments from PREMIUM TIMES between Thursday night and Friday morning.

PREMIUM TIMES reached Habila Joshak, the deputy inspector-general in charge of operation who has been coordinating police efforts against herdsmen attacks in the area, but he did not reply.

Fatai Owoseni, the police commissioner in Benue, also did not return requests for comments.

Similarly, both Moses Yamu, the police spokesperson in Benue, and Suleiman Zubeiru, the area commander in Katsina-Ala, did not respond to requests for comments.

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Residents said they were alarmed that the attackers also hit Tsukwa village, which is about a mile from Anyiin where police special forces are stationed.

If they could still return to Tsukwa to carry out another attack despite its proximity to Anyiin, then we can all conclude that theres no security and even those of us in Anyiin are not safe, a community chief told PREMIUM TIMES on strict anonymity Friday morning.

Tsukwa was one of the seven villages that recorded casualties in the January 1 attacks linked to suspected herdsmen.

It was the only village that was somewhat accessible as at last month when PREMIUM TIMES visited communities in Logo LGA.

The special forces personnel are usually at their station every night, a resident said. This is something that had been reported to their bosses but no changes came.

The special forces reportedly chased the attackers and rescued some victims, but no arrests had been made in connection to the attacks as at 9:00 a.m. Friday, PREMIUM TIMES learnt.

Since January 1, hundreds of villagers have been killed in herdsmen-linked attacks that have now become regular around Benue State.

The escalation was said to be in response to the anti-open grazing law that came into effect on November 1 in Benue.

Between January 1 and 3, suspected herdsmen stormed the villages in Logo and Guma Local Government Areas and butchered people, according to witnesses and Benue government accounts.

Seventy-two of the victims were given mass burial at a newly-built graveyard near Makurdi, the state capital, on January 12.

The state government says the attackers did not begin their assaults because of the new grazing law, citing scores of herdsmen-linked attacks that had been recorded across the states since 2011.

The herdsmen association has regularly accused Benue residents of rustling their livestock and sometimes, killing herdsmen.

They, however, denied being responsible for the deadly attacks on villagers.

The perpetrators of last nights attacks used guns, but the January 1 killers came with machetes and cutlasses.

The police insist that they are capable of degrading the attackers, with the Inspector-General Idris Ibrahim sending additional five special forces units to the 10 that were initially deployed mid-January.

But as the attacks have continued with President Muhammadu Buhari frequently coming under pressure to take action, he ordered a deployment of troops to support the police for six weeks.

The deployment, which was announced on Wednesday, would last from February 15 to March 31.
Following recommendations from the National Judicial Council (NJC), President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the compulsory retirement of Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court and the dismissal from office of Justice O.O Tokode of the Benin Division of the Federal High Court.

According to a statement by presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu, the disciplinary actions on the two Justices are in pursuance of section 292 (1) (b) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).

Justice O.O. Tokode is also to refund all salaries and allowances earned illegally from December 2, 2015 when he was sworn-in as a Judge of the Federal High Court to date.

The President urges judicial officers to be alive to their responsibilities and eschew corruption in the discharge of their duties, Mr. Shehu said.

In a separate statement, also signed by Mr. Shehu, President Buhari said he has commenced the process of ensuring that persons, judges and justices recommended by the National Judicial Council (NJC) for appointment into various Courts of Record in the instant are fit and proper, and are not under any disability to function as Judicial Officers.

The Presidents position is in furtherance of the executive powers vested in him under Section 5 of the 1999 Constitution, which allows him as the appointing authority to exercise same reasonably, taking all relevant factors into consideration, the statement said.

Nigerians are assured that President Buhari will issue his approval or otherwise as soon as the process of the background verification is completed.

The NJC had at its meeting of December 6, 2017 recommended the compulsory retirement of Mr. Ademola and Mr. Tokode for professional misconducts.

The Council said Mr. Ademola who had forwarded his notice of retirement on October 10, 2017 to the Council against April 9, 2018, when he will attain the mandatory retirement age of 65 years was recommended for compulsory retirement from office pursuant to the findings by the Council on the allegation contained in the petition written against him by a group of eight persons under the name of Committee of Anambra State PDP House of Representatives members-elect alleging the following:-

 that His Lordship heard their Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/177/2015 which was adjourned for judgement on March 25, 2015;

 that on the adjourned date, His Lordship did not deliver the judgement but adjourned the case sine die, to await the decision of the Supreme Court on another matter on the same issue, on is the list of PDP candidates for Anambra State for the General Elections of 2015;

 that His Lordship speedily heard and delivered judgement in another case in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/254/2015 filed later on the same issues, with intent to confer undue advantage on the Plaintiff who is from a family with which the Respondent has relationship;

 that the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the judgement ultimately given to the petitioners contained a paragraph that was not read in open Court by the Hon. Judge and that a phrase was altered, all to address an issue raised in the appeal that had already been filed by the Petitioner before the issuance of Certified True Copy (C T C);

 that some of the reasoning and conclusions of the Hon. Judge were summersaults;

 that the Respondent finally delivered judgement in the case on 8th July, 2016, five (5) months after the Supreme Court delivered the judgement he was awaiting contrary to the Constitutional provisions that judgements should be delivered within a period of 90 days.

 Though the Petitioners withdrew their petitions in accordance with Regulation 16 of the National Judicial Council Judicial Discipline Regulations of 9th March, 2017, Council viewed His Lordships action of non-delivery of judgement within the stipulated time as misconduct contrary to Section 292 (1) (b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended and Rules 1.3 and 3.7 of the 2016 Revised Code of Conduct for Judicial Officers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Justice Adeniyi Ademola

On Justice Tokode, the NJC said he was recommended for compulsory retirement from office with immediate effect sequel to the findings of Council on the allegation contained in petitions forwarded by Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and Abimbola Awogboro.

The council said, The petitioners accused the Judge of misleading the Federal Judicial Service Commission and the National Judicial Council, by submitting six judgements he claimed to have personally conducted while practising as a lawyer; a pre-requisite for his application for appointment as a Judicial Officer, and was so appointed.

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The Investigation Committee of Council however found that the Judge personally conducted only one of the six cases submitted.

Therefore, Council decided to recommend his compulsory retirement and the refund of all salaries and allowances he earned since his purported appointment to the position of a Judge to the coffers of the Judiciary.
The Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, has said that he is in support of the decision of the National Assembly to re-arrange the order of elections in 2019.

The two chambers of the National Assembly have approved a re-arrangement of the order of elections. In their approval, federal legislative elections will come first, followed by those of state governors and assemblies and finally presidential election. The approval has, however, not been signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC had fixed the presidential and National Assembly elections to hold together first after which governorship and state assembly elections will hold.

Speaking with State House correspondents after observing Friday Islamic prayer at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Mr. Bello said he supports the decision of the lawmakers because what happened in 2015 where the Buhari Tsunami helped many bad ones among them to get elected will not happen again.

Read excerpts of the Kogi governors interview below.

Q: Do you believe Tinubu committee can actually reconcile aggrieved APC members?

A: Of course. Whatever Mr. President believes in, his judgement and his wisdom I believe in him. And I believe in his ability to bring all party members together.

Q: Are you happy the National Assemblys rearrangement of the 2019 election time table?

A: I so much appreciate this. I think if you observe critically what happened in the last election where Mr. President was elected along with other members of National the Assembly. Then we called it Buhari Tsunami; where the good, the bad and the ugly were all put together and elected. It is either going to be in their interest that the Buhari Tsunami will return them or everybody will be on his or her own. Let Buhari return and let Nigerians select the good ones out of the bad ones to return to the National Assembly. Whichever order it comes this upcoming general elections I can assure you that Mr. President will win landslide and the good ones will return to the National Assembly.

Q: Are you saying the lawmakers will be the losers of this proposed time table?

A: They have the choice to make and they have made their choice that the good will of Mr. President should not rob on the bad ones. Surely, the good ones on their own account will return to the National Assembly at the appropriate time.

Q: You have followed Mr. Presidents meeting with the Catholic Bishop and the submission that Nigerians are angry, what is your take?

A: Yes. I followed it keenly and one of the key statement there was that Nigerians are angry. Yes, it is very true that Nigerians are angry but the question is who are this category of Nigerians who are angry?

The category of Nigerians that are angry are those who used private jets to cart away Nigerias money in dollars out of the country to South Africa. Im sure you are aware that our money is still locked down there, such money if you bring it into the economy, a lot of youths that are unemployed will surely be employed. And of course those that have looted the country dry and normally go to the church and mosque to pay tithe are no longer doing so. Of course these are the category of people that are angry.

Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello [Photo Credit: The News Nigeria]

If you look at it critically, the farmers, those with real jobs are happy because the economy is improving. In no time we have come out of recession, our foreign reserve is increasing, no more bombing in Sambisa, no more bombing in the country, no more bombing in Emab plaza even as close as Abuja, no more bombing in Suleja and all over the country. I think those that are benefiting from these crimes and criminality will be angry and they are Nigerians. So it is important to define the category of people who are angry.

I want to urge Nigerians to continue to appreciate Mr. President, pray for him so that he will complete the good work that he has started, so that Nigeria will be out of the woods.

Q: Recently, you were reported to want to sell some important assets of Kogi state and this has met criticisms, why?

A: Well, to them you call it important but to us it is not important. It is not important because they are tying down the capital and good money of state that would have been used for other developmental projects. You dont have an important project that is not adding values whatsoever to the lives of the people of Kogi State. And such projects can be converted and used to solve the problems that you are confronted with today. We are in deficit of road infrastructure, schools are in shambles, hospitals and the rest of them. So, why keeping an asset that is not yielding any value all in the name of this is Kogi asset instead of using it for what will benefit the people more and add value to the system.

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You see, this is politics playing but we will not be deterred by some uninformed so called elites that are here in Abuja making noise. Let them come to Kogi State and compare the two years of my stewardship with previous administrations, then they will know that they are completely off the track. I think the people of Kogi State are with me and appreciate the much we are doing.
President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the deployment of troops to six states across the restive north-central, the Nigerian Army announced Wednesday.

David Ahmadu, head of training and operations at the Nigerian Army Headquarters in Abuja, said during a press briefing Wednesday afternoon that troops would be sent to the streets across the region in exercise Ayem Akpatuma or Cat Race when literally translated from Tiv, a major tribe in the north-central.

While the Army did not disclose the size of the deployment, the operations will be carried in Benue, Taraba, Kaduna, Kogi, Nasarawa and Niger.

The states have endured a rise in armed banditry, kidnapping and cattle rustling  in states like Kaduna and Niger  and herdsmen-farmers clashes and attacks on communities  as recently reported in Benue, Taraba and Nasarawa States  by armed militia.

The deployment is also aimed at effectively checkmating the dreadful activities of the militias perpetrating criminal acts in these states and its environs, Mr. Ahmadu said at the briefing.

The troops would be deployed from Nigerian Army 1 Division, Kaduna; 3 Division, Jos; Nigerian Army Record, Lokoja; and 707 Special Forces Brigade, Makurdi. The troops would be posted to units around their divisions and brigades and they will operate with the police and civil defence officers.

Plateau is the only state in the north-central that was covered in the operation, despite reporting deadly clashes linked to the farmers-herdsmen crisis in recent weeks.

Defence spokesperson John Agim did not respond to PREMIUM TIMES requests for comments about why Plateau State was not covered in the exercise Thursday night.

The military says it aims to significantly degrade the capacity of criminals across the region, where hundreds have been killed in attacks this year alone.

But during an earlier exchange, Mr. Agim, a brigadier-general, explained to PREMIUM TIMES that the operation would only last for six weeks because the aim of the military was to complement the efforts of the police, who have ramped up their activities since January 1 attacks in Benue.

The Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, has deployed nearly 1,000 police special forces to Benue, Nasarawa and Taraba within the last one month.

The military says the troops that would participate in the exercise would conduct themselves in the most ethical and professional standards. Citizens who observe any misconduct of personnel are advised to call the military information centre at 193.

The deployment is being planned even as the police maintain that they are capable of neutralising the attackers, most of whom are at large.

Were equal to the task, Habila Joshak, the deputy inspector-general of police in charge of operations, told PREMIUM TIMES by telephone Thursday.

Mr. Joshak said the military is stepping in to hasten the process of restoration of law and order and not necessarily because the police cant cope.

PREMIUM TIMES learnt from police sources that there was no request for backup from the police, a statement that was confirmed Mr. Agim.

The president is the commander-in-chief and he decided to deploy troops by himself, Mr. Agim told PREMIUM TIMES Thursday. Its not because the police requested.

But officials in Benue State, which has suffered some of the most grievous assaults by suspected herdsmen this year, are expressing concerns about the scope of the operation and its timing.

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We find it difficult to comprehend what they are talking about, said Tahav Agerzua, a media adviser to Governor Samuel Ortom. We have misgivings about the deployment.

Mr. Agerzua told PREMIUM TIMES that there was little doubt about the position of Benue residents that the soldiers would find it difficult to secure needed authorisation to go after the attackers.

Theyre not really ready to move to the flashpoints., Mr. Agerzua said by telephone Friday afternoon.

He said the operation should have been more discrete and elaborate, saying the soldiers may end up cracking down on citizens than criminals.

In security operations, we thought that element of surprise can be more effective than serving notice, Mr. Agerzua said. We fear that the real criminals would run away since they now know when the soldiers are coming and the natives who have nowhere to go would be at the receiving end.

But a security analyst, Daniel Bwala, sees the planned deployment from its bright spots.

He said the six-week timeframe was actually one of the key strategies the military deployed and should not be seen as though the the military chiefs are unsophisticated or reckless.

In a military operation, its always safer to give a short period, Mr. Bwala told PREMIUM TIMES by telephone Friday afternoon. But if theres a need for them to deploy more, they would do that.

He said the timeframe could be a superficial ploy to confuse criminals and the military might have already been on the ground doing reconnaissance operations, especially in Niger and Kaduna States where kidnappers have been suffering casualties in recent weeks.

They might have deployed undercover operatives, he said.

Mr. Bwala, however, held that the police are incapable of stopping the attackers, especially with the weaponry the attackers deploy.

The police are overwhelmed in handling the crisis, he said. The police also appear to have taken sides, especially in the herdsmen crisis, which has made it difficult for the locals to trust them. The arms that the killers are using could only be repelled by the military.

Mr. Bwala suggested a timely amendment to the Constitution that will do away with the current federal structure of the police and give way for states to establish their individual police force.
The last batch of 200 Nigerian peacekeepers deployed to Liberia under the UN Mission in Liberia (UNSMIL) have withdrawn after five years following the conclusion of their mission in the country.

The last military protection force in UNSMIL left Liberia on Thursday as part of the termination of the missions mandate, scheduled on March 30, the mission said.

UNMIL was established in September 2003 to monitor a ceasefire agreement in Liberia following the resignation of President Charles Taylor and the conclusion of the Second Liberian Civil War.

The Nigerian contingent has been deployed in Liberia since the mission was established in September 2003 to monitor a ceasefire agreement in Liberia, following the conclusion of the Second Liberian Civil War.

An official farewell ceremony was held on Monday in honour of the departing Police and Military personnel who have served with the Mission.

This symbolised the end of UNMILs military and police operations in Liberia, more than 14 years after UNSMIL was deployed in compliance with Security Council resolution 1509 (2003).

The mission began in 2003 with 16,475 uniformed personnel and the farewell ceremony was in honour of the last departing 689 uniformed personnel (404 military and 285 police).

The Force Commander Salihu Uba, head of UNSMILs Military component of men and women from various countries including: Nigeria, Pakistan and Ukraine.

Mr. Uba, a major general, was commander of the Training and Doctrine Command of the Nigerian Army (TRADOC) before his appointment as the Force Commander for UNSMIL by the former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Jan. 9, 2015.

The Formed Police Unit composed of Nigerian and Chinese personnel and since 2003, 61 contingents from various countries had served in Liberia, UNSMIL said.

According to Mr. Uba, the missions uniform component military and police have taken greater stride towards strengthening peace and security, rule of law, governance among others in Liberia.

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.

Nigerian troops leaving Liberia

We will continue to pay special tribute to them and those who contributed to peace and security in Liberia he said.

The Force Commander, on behalf of the Police Commissioner, Simon Blatchly, expressed their profound appreciation to the uniformed component of UNSMIL.

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.

Today Liberia is a success story and classical example of a post conflict nation that has emerged stronger than ever before.

The last Nigerian boots on Liberian soil was a lady.

The country is indeed a symbol of hope for other nations engulfed in conflicts and wars Uba said.

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The last military protection force in UNSMIL, left Liberia on Thursday as part of the termination of the missions mandate, scheduled on March 30, 2018.

The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General, Farid Zarif, in his speech, said the event signified an important benchmark in the history of the UN in West Africa.

While my colleagues in uniform are writing the last pages of the peacekeeping operations here, Liberians and their Leaders have started writing the first pages of a brand new chapter in their history.

The fact that the current circumstances allow the departure of our last contingent indicates that Liberia has reached the point where they feel absolutely confident of their future, Zarif said.

Liberian President George Weah commended UNSMIL for its longstanding support to peace and stability, saying: The Liberian people will forever remain grateful to you for your bravery and service to our great nation.

To UNMIL service, men and women that will be staying in Liberia, remember Liberia is your home.

Thank you for your hard work and sacrifice you have made over the years to keep the peace and stability of our beloved mama Liberia. As you leave us now, we will forever remember you.

The handover of flags at the event symbolised UNSMIL relinquishing authority over the military and police forces back to their home country as the Mission officially ends its mandate on March 30, 2018. (NAN)
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The Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Gani Adams, has called of the federal government to urgently mandate security agents to arrest the blood-thirsty maniacs on the rampage in the country, masquerading as herdsmen, and bring them to justice, to avoid a total breakdown of law and order.

He said this on Thursday in a statement where he condemned killings by armed herdsmen.

The first fundamental right of a Nigerian is the right to life. It is when you are alive that you can enjoy other rights. Once this right is taken away from you through killings and murder, you cannot enjoy any other right, he noted.

The statement signed by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Aderemi, said Nigerians demand Right to Life. More than a thousand Nigerians have been killed in the last one year. Is Nigeria at war? There is more to all these killings.

Mr. Adams described the killing of the officer in charge of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Saki Unit in Oyo State by suspected herdsmen on Tuesday night as one killing too many.

He declared that the spate of insecurity in the country was worrisome.

He said Nigerians must condemn activities of these killers who are now bold enough to start killing security officers, and vowed that Yorubaland would resist any conspiracy aimed at killing our people at will.

The diplomacy of the Yoruba on national issues, especially when it borders on security, should not be misconstrued for cowardice. It is part of our nature to accommodate people from other ethnic nationalities. But now, our people cannot go to their farms again because of the fear of the unknown. The federal government must immediately check activities of these killers to avoid plunging the country into an avoidable war, he said.

There is no war in Nigeria, there is no famine, no earthquake, but the number of IDPs in the country is more than what obtains in a country where war is going on. Murder of Nigerians, including pregnant women and children continues every day. What is really going on?

Mr. Adams criticised the federal governments handling of the herdsmen and farming communities violence across the country.

Perception is everything. The federal government is not helping its own image with the belief by Nigerians that the presidency is always silent when the issue concerns Fulani herdsmen. Let me remind the government that killing and murder remain serious crimes in our law books. No level of politics can change this.

Nigerians are being killed and the government seems helpless. Utterances from government officials such as the Defence Minister, BrigGen. Mansur DanAli (rtd), and the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, are not helping matters. One wonders if we are in the same country, he noted.

Mr. Adams said he believed that the solution to the various crises in the country is a restructuring of the governance structure

I welcome the report of the Governor Nasir El-Rufai APC Committee which also recommended restructuring but what the committee has done is not different from the position of the 2014 National confab.

If Nigeria is going to survive as a nation, this country must be restructured. This is the time to have true federalism, state police, resource ownership and control, and an entirely new constitution deriving its legitimacy from the people, he said.
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The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, has commenced the inspection of Computer Based Test, CBT centres to ascertain their readiness for the 2018 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME.

The minister, while inspecting the Digital Bridge and the Global Distance Learning centres in Abuja on Friday told journalists that he was satisfied with the level of preparedness of the centres.

He urged candidates to get familiar with the operations regarding computer usage as this would help them in the examinations.

According to him, there will be no need for guides during the examination if students are computer literate.

We are very happy. I have just been to two centres today and I am very happy with what I am seeing. I am satisfied just as the students are satisfied. But my message to the students is that they should come and use the facilities here and I hope they are computer literate, he said.

Similarly, Ishaq Oloyede, Registrar, Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB, said he was glad the minister was out to monitor the level of readiness of some of the centres ahead of the examinations.

Mr. Oloyede said that the board was complying with the instructions of the ministry to get the centres ready.

The magic behind this is that the minister has given us a mandate and asked us to do the job and we are doing it the way he wanted, the registrar said.

PREMIUM TIMES had earlier reported how the board announced the extension of registration for 2018 UTME till February 11, 2018.

The board also proposed March 9 to 17, 2018 as the date for the examination.
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Suspected thieves on Thursday night opened the cargo hold of an Air Peace aircraft scheduled for departure at the runway of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

The Corporate Communications Manager of Air Peace, Chris Iwarah, said this in a statement on Friday in Lagos.

Mr. Iwarah said the cargo hold of Flight 7138 scheduled for departure on Runway 18R (A1) of the airport was opened by the suspected thieves at about 7.35 p.m.

He said the airlines passengers praised the captain and cabin crew for their security consciousness and professionalism for insisting on thorough screening of the Abuja-bound flight after the incident.

We are sincerely grateful to all our wonderful guests on board Flight 7138 for their support, patience and cooperation throughout the precautionary security checks.

The checks were conducted by Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) squad, Federal Airport Authorities of Nigeria Aviation Security (FAAN AVSEC) and our security team.

He said the pilot, Adesola Arasi, had to contact the control tower when he was alerted by the light that came on in the cockpit, indicating that the cargo hold was opened for about 15 seconds, but was immediately shut.

In line with our high security standards and the huge value we place on the lives of our guests and crew, Arasi insisted on having EOD squad check Flight APK 7138 before takeoff.

This is to be doubly sure nothing was deposited in the cargo hold by the suspected thieves to endanger the lives of our guests and crew.

Our guests, who were fully briefed on the development by the pilot-in-command, were advised to disembark from the aircraft and board an Air Peace bus while the joint security operation by EOD, FAAN AVSEC and our security team lasted.

The Lagos-Abuja flight was cleared by the security experts after exhaustive screening of the aircraft lasting about 30 minutes.

The flight eventually took off at 9.30 p.m and safely landed in Abuja at about 10.23 p.m., he said.

Mr. Iwarah assured that Air Peace would continue to take all necessary measures to ensure the safety of its guests, crew and equipment.

(NAN)
Kassim Afegbua, a spokesperson for a former military ruler, Ibrahim Babangida, has chronicled his experience over the last one week.

Mr. Afegbuas ordeal started last Sunday when he released a statement on behalf of Mr. Babangida about the state of the nation. In the statement, Mr. Babangida expressed his misgivings about President Muhammadu Buharis leadership and proposed a power shift to younger generations beginning with the 2019 elections.

Hours after the statement was released, a counter-statement emerged. The second statement contradicted the first statement in some aspects and scaled down concerns about Mr. Buharis government in others.

The confusion then drew the attention of federal authorities, with the police being the first to go after Mr. Afegbua by declaring him wanted.

When he turned himself in at the Force Headquarters on February 7, he was questioned for 25 minutes and subsequently released without charges.

By that evening, he received an invitation from the State Security Service to show up for further questioning at its headquarters in Abuja.

Mr. Afegbua honoured the invitation on January 8, but no one attended to him because Lawal Daura, the head of the SSS, was not around. He was asked to return on the next day which he did on Friday.

His arrest has been condemned by civil society groups, especially since Mr. Babangida himself had confirmed that he was the one who authorised Mr. Afegbua to release the statement.

The first report that Mr. Afegbua would be arrested by the police first came from a source in the presidency, Daily Independent reported on Sunday night, a day before Mr. Afegbua was ultimately declared wanted by the police.

The Buhari administration did not react to the controversy around Mr. Babangidas letter, which came two weeks after former President Olusegun Obasanjo issued a statement calling on Mr. Buhari not to seek re-election in 2019.

Below is the statement Mr. Afegbua released after his appearance at the SSS today.

ONE STATEMENT, MANY ORDEALS  KASSIM AFEGBUA

In the last six days, I have gone through traumatic experience when I was declared wanted by the Nigeria Police. By the strength of that unprofessional declaration,

I was treated like a common criminal and fugitive until I showed up at the Police Headquarters Abuja to physically present myself.

After what the Police termed a no case issue, they were apologetic and I took my leave. In the evening of that day, Wednesday 7th February 2018 I got a phone call inviting me to the headquarters of the Directorate of State Security (DSS).

I honoured the invitation on Thursday and spent seven hours waiting for attention. I left the office at 6.50 p.m. when it became clear nobody was ready to tell me what the invitation was meant for.

I was informed to report back on Friday 9th February, 2018 at 11 a.m.

On arrival on Friday, having spent 2 hours, I was attended to by the Director of Operations and two others who interrogated me on the said statement I issued.

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My interrogation was recorded electronically and I was made to write a statement affirming the issued statement, having collected all my personal details; house address, account number, international passport number and other information.

I find this whole episode quite nauseating and utterly condemnable. I cannot rationalise why just a statement would amount to subjecting me to rigorous interrogation especially when there was no complainant.

The action of the Nigeria Police coupled with that of the State Security Service is at best that of a meddlesome interloper and sheer bullying, leaving serious developmental issues to chasing shadows with a view to intimidate, harass and embarrass me.

Let me state at this point that my life is in danger as we speak. I have been receiving series of unknown phone calls from people threatening me and my family.

But I am resolute in the true spirit of a free-born, that threats, intimidation, harassment and psychological torturing has never and will not stop me from exercising my right of free speech as enshrined in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; as well as carrying out my professional responsibility.

I will not submit to intimidation, harassment and threats. Certainly not. I have just a life to live and no one under God will live forever.

Let me use this opportunity to thank my principal, General Ibrahim Babangida, and members of his family who were constantly in touch with me to share in my tribulations.

Mr. Babangidas words of encouragement and assurances further bolstered my resolve to soldier on.

I am eternally grateful to Nigerians especially the media for their solidarity, support and esprit de corps. Words are not enough to convey my deep and profound gratitude.

My thanks also go to my very adorable and supportive wife who stood by me throughout the whole process without betraying any sentiments. And to members of my larger Afegbua family, my reliable friends, associates and compatriots,

I record my thanks and appreciation in million ways. And to my very dependable and reliable lawyer, Kayode Ajulo, and other lawyers who offered their voices to prosecute this case, I am eternally grateful.

To take a Kayode Ajulo out on a stressful five days legal engagement without collecting a dime, is to me, the height of humanity.

I am not only touched but humbled by this show of support and uncommon generosity. And my good friend, Emmanuel Ajibulu, such an efficient, and proactive media networker, I cannot thank you enough.

This experience to me is an eye-opener in so many ways.

I feel a sense of personal gratitude to several of Nigerias foremost legal luminaries who maintained a constant touch and gave useful legal advice throughout the period of this travails. I am most humbled.

And the Almighty Allah will meet all of you in your hour of need.

On a lighter note, the support, accolades and motivation I received during this period have given me added confidence to seek elective public office in no distant future.

Thank you.

Signed:

PRINCE KASSIM AFEGBUA.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Thursday at an Ikeja High Court filed fresh corruption charges against Joseph Nwobike, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN.

Mr. Nwobike, prior to his re-arraignment, is facing similar charges of offering gratification to a public official, perverting the course of justice and giving false statements to an official of the EFCC.

He, however, pleaded not guilty to the newly amended 18-count charge of offering gratification to a public official, perverting the course of justice and giving false statements to an official of the EFCC, according to a News Agency of Nigeria report.

The new charges border on the exchange of text messages between the SAN, judges and court registrars as well as alleged gratification to Justice Mohammed Yunusa of the Federal High Court, Lagos.

According to Rotimi Oyedepo, the EFCC prosecutor, Mr. Nwobike had on March 19, 2015 given N750,000 to Justice Yunusa and also on December 15, 2014 given N250,000 to Helen Ogunleye, a Senior Executive Officer of the Federal High Court, Lagos.

The anti-graft agency alleged that on March 4, 2014, Mr. Nwobike instructed Ms. Ogunleye (Justice Kuryas registrar) to prevail on Justice Kurya to discharge a court order and on December 15, 2014, he allegedly gave Ogunleye an envelope containing cash to give the judge.

It was also alleged that on March 4, 2014, Mr. Nwobike sent a text message to Ms. Ogunleye, saying let Oga discharge that order.

It is alleged by the EFCC that the instruction was acted upon with Ms. Ogunleye replying, I ve told Oga the last time you called me that you are in Abuja sir, and he said there should be a cogent from you before he can do that sir. Just see him after court session sir, this is confidential sir, pls.

The EFCC alleged that the embattled senior advocate exchanged text messages with some judges of the Federal High Court, Lagos.

Mr. Nwobike had on November 27, 2015 sent a text message FHC/L/CS/1799/15 between Godwin Nwekoyo and Inspector General of Police to Justice Musa Kurya.

On October 8, 2015, Mr. Nwobike had allegedly suggested in a text the assignment of Suit No. FHC/L/CS/1533/2015 between Mieka Dive Ltd and 3 Ors V EFCC to Justice Kurya.

The EFCC said on September 23, 2015 Mr. Nwobike sent a text containing Suit No. FHC/L/CS/1471 between Simon Adohmene and the EFCC to Justice Yunusa.

It is also alleged that the SAN sent a text to Justice Yunusa for the assignment to his court of Olufemi Thomas Vs The EFCC with suit no. FHC/L/CS/1445/2015.

On June 4, 2015, Mr. Nwobike in the nee charges allegedly suggested by text that Suit No. FHC/L/CS/794/2015 between Transnational Corporation and Attorney General of the Federation be assigned to either justices Yunusa or Saidu.

On Feb. 12, 2015 Nwobike had suggested in a text message that Suit No. FHC/L/CS/127/2015 between AMCON and Delta Steel Company Ltd be assigned to either Justices Yunusa or Aneke.

The EFCC also in the charges alleged that Mr. Nwobike in a text message to Mr. Jide, a Federal High Court Assistant Registrar, ordered that the case Odefa Obasi Odefa and the Security Exchange Commission (SEC) with Suit No. FHC/L/CS/13/2015 be assigned to either Justices Yunusa or Aneke.

On October 8, 2014, Mr. Nwobike allegedly sent a text to Mr Jide with these words Combase Energy Ltd and Anor Vs UBA Plz and Ors. FHC/L/CS/1492/2014, Saidu thanks, sorry Kurya, he said he will start sitting next week, thanks.

On September 22, 2014, the SAN allegedly sent to Mr Jide Good afternoon sir, Wafa and Anor Vs Diamond Bank and two others, FHC/L/CS/1395/14, Kurya. Thanks so much.

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On June 30, 2014 Mr. Nwobike allegedly sent a text message to Mr. Jide saying, FHC/L/CS/1009/14, Lantern Olaoluwa and Federal Ministry of Power and Steel, Yunusa J, important Sir, please help me with this one, it had urgency, I will show tomorrow, goodnight my Lord.

On March 13, 2014, Mr. Nwobike is alleged to have sent Mr. Jide a text message stating Suit No: FHC/L/CS/347/14 between Professor Emmanuel Adegbeyeni and six others and Mr Biodun Agbaje and 15 others Yunusa.

The anti-graft agency also alleged that on February 26, 2016, Mr. Nwobike made a statement to Zakari Usman, an official of the EFCC.

The SAN allegedly told the EFCC investigator: The only judicial officer that I had assisted financially is Justice Yunusa of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos.

The offences, according to the prosecution, violated Sections 39(2) 64(1) and 97(3) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2011.

Justice Raliatu Adebiyi adjourned the case until April 30 for trial.

(NAN)
A lawyer representing some freedom fighters deported to Cameroon in January has written President Muhammadu Buhari demanding explanations why the government took the step.

Femi Falana, a human rights activists and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, is also asking the federal government to ensure the safety two members of the group whom he described as naturalised Nigerians.

The Nigerian government had deported some Cameroonian nationalists after they were held for weeks in an undisclosed detention facility by Nigerian security operatives.

The detained freedom fighters were arrested at the Nera hotel after they assembled for a meeting on January 5.

Other members of the group, numbering over 30, were arrested and detained by securities operatives in Taraba State before they were all deported to Cameroon where they would be tried as terrorists.

In a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES by Mr. Falana, the lawyer accused the Nigerian government of being responsible for the wrongful inclusion of some members of the group who are now in the custody of the President Paul Biya governed, French dominated Cameroon.

The statement reads in part:

We are solicitors to the 51 Cameroonian refugees and asylum seekers who were illegally arrested, detained and deported from Nigeria to Cameroon on Friday, January 26, 2018 by the National Security adviser, Major General Babangana (rtd.) We write this protest letter on behalf of our client whose names and status are set out in the list of deportees attached to this letter.

On account of the refusal of the NSA to allow access to our clients by their lawyers, relatives and doctors, we filed an application at the Abuja Judicial Division of the FHC on Thursday, January 25, 2018 for the purpose of securing their fundamental rights to personal liberty and freedom of movement.

Notwithstanding, the pending suit and the intervention of the office of the UN commissioner for refugees, the NSA expelled our clients from Nigeria and deported them to Cameroon on Friday, January 26, 2018.

Although the National Security Adviser was ashamed to disclose the deportation of our clients from Nigeria, the government of Cameroon has celebrated the deportation and threatened to prosecute our clients for unspecified crimes. Thus, with the connivance of the NSA, the government of Cameroon has since held our clients in an undisclosed military custody in Cameroon.

It also added that at least four people are missing from the number disclosed by the Cameroonian authorities of those deported from Nigeria.

Out of the 51 people, who were expelled from Nigeria, the government of Cameroon has maintained that the NSA handed over to it, 47 deportees. Up till now the NSA has not accounted for the whereabouts of the remaining four detainees.

Your excellency will therefore agree with us that the arrest, detention and deportation of our clients from Nigeria to Cameroon by the NSA cannot be justified on the following grounds: based on the appeal by Nigeria for a peaceful resolution of the political crisis in Cameroon, the people of the southern Cameroon filed a suit at the FHC to determine whether the people of the southern Cameroon are not entitled to self-determination, within their clearly defined territory, separate from LA. Republique Du Cameroon, the statement said.

The statement explained that a previous decision of the court had affirmed the rights of the Cameroonians to self-determination

By a consent judgement delivered by the court on March 5, 2002, the federal government was directed to file a suit at the International Court of Justice to have a judicial confirmation of the human rights of the people of southern Cameroon to self-determination. Attached herewith and marked annexure A is a certified true copy of the judgement.

The federal government also undertook to take other measures as may be necessary to place the case of the people of southern Cameroon for self-determination before the UN general assembly and other international organisations.

Even though the suit has not been filed at the International Court of Justice, the FG has continued to recognise the human rights of our clients and other people of southern Cameroon to self-determination.

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The NSA knew the two of our clients are naturalized Nigerians, six are refugees, while 27 others are political asylum seekers who are entitled to being protected by the FG of Nigeria. For the avoidance of doubt, the office of the UN commissioner for refugees in Nigeria drew the attention of the NSA to the legal obligation of Nigeria to respect the rights of our clients.

The lawyer added that the NSA failed to work with relevant authorities before deciding to deport these persons.

With respect, the facts and circumstances of the illegal deportation of our client from Nigeria to Cameroon and the reckless violations of their fundamental rights by the National Security Adviser are hereby stated as follows: Our clients are not illegal immigrants in Nigeria. Two of them are natural Nigerian citizens while others are recognised refugees and political asylum seekers in Nigeria.

Under the national security agencies act, (CAP N74) laws of the federation of Nigeria, 2004 and the immigration act 2015, the NSA is not competent to arrest, detain and deport any alien or immigrant from Nigeria to any other country.

By the virtue of section 1 of the National Commission for the Refugees, etc Act, (CAP N21) laws of the federation of Nigeria, 2004. The government of Nigeria has prohibited the expulsion, extradition or deportation of any person who is a refugee to the frontiers of any territory where(a) his life or freedom will be threatened on the account of his race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular group or political opinion; or (b) his life, physical integrity or liberty could be threatened on account of external aggression, occupation, foreign domination or events seriously disrupting public order in any part of the whole of that territory.

Mr. Falana made specific requests of the president.

Since the government of Nigeria has never violated the provision of the UN convention relating to refugees and the OAU convention on refugees by deporting refugees and asylum seekers to any country where they might be prosecuted, we are compelled to urge your excellency to grant the following requests:

Order the NSA to produce the missing four deportees and bring back to Nigeria our clients who have been deported to Cameroon without any further delay.

If the NSA is unable to bring back our client to Nigeria, he should be removed from office for the act of impunity which has exposed Nigeria to ridicule, before the comity of law abiding nations.

The FG should prevail on the government of Cameroon not to prosecute our clients so as to prevent the UN from sanctioning Nigeria for violating the provision of the 1951 UN convention relating to refugee.
A group, the All Progressives Congress Elders Advisory Council in Plateau State, has endorsed President Muhammadu Buhari and Governor Simon Lalong of the state for re-election.

The group announced its decision through a statement read at a press conference in Jos on Friday by its chairman, Joseph Din, a retired Nigerian Army Captain.

We hereby unanimously endorse President Muhammadu Buhari as President of Nigeria come 2019 and Rt, Hon.Barr. Simon Bako Lalong as Governor of Plateau State come 2019, the group stated.

We support Buhari because he has shown us beyond reasonable doubts that he has the will power to curtail any insurgency.

Mr. Din said the decision of the group was reached after wide consultations and observation of the activities of the president and governor over the last two and a half years they have been in office.

According to the elders, President Buhari has done well, therefore, he should be given a second term to complete the good works he has started.

This is so because Buharis government has the political will to defeat the insurgency. No president can say throughout his tenure there were no skirmishes, so he can not exempt himself, he said.

The group said President Buhari did not promise heaven on earth to Nigerians, during his electioneering.

When President Buhari was taking over, he did not promise Nigerians that it was going to be rosy all through, he admitted that Nigerians were going to face challenges in the short term and then rejoice for a long time.

According to the group, President Buhari has been able to fix the Nigerian economy.

Nigeria produced 15 million metric tonnes of rice in 2017 alone, we are the largest exporter of yams the world over and are the largest producer of cassava the world over.

In Plateau State, the elders said Governor Lalong had been able to restore peace in the state.

Here in Plateau State, our governor Rt Hon Barr. Simon Bako Lalong is also making us proud, even by restoring peace to our dear state. He has institutionalised peace building and reconciliation through establishment of peace building agency in the state.

Mr. Din also applauded the governors efforts in boosting revenue generation of the state.

He is in the process of rebuilding the burnt Jos mini market to boost economic activities in the state.

Members of the group cut cross the 17 local government areas of Plateau State.

They include two former deputy governors, one of whom is Ignatius Longjan who was the deputy governor to Jonah Jang.

Mr. Jang, a member of the opposition PDP, is now a senator.

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Also present at the conference were Jethro Akun, a former Minister of Information; Dasuki Nakande, former Director-General of Industrial Training Fund (ITF); Longmas Wakmuk; and Pam Gyang, a 2007 governorship aspirant on the platform of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party.
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The Enugu State Government has commenced plans to deploy four consultants each to the seven district hospitals in the state to enhance effective healthcare service delivery.

The state Commissioner for Health, Fintin Ekochin, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu on Friday.

Mr. Ekochin said that government had concluded talks with various medical councils to deploy services of their consultants to the district hospitals in the state.

We have gone into this initiative in order to get quality manpower at the district hospitals to lessen the burden at the tertiary health institutions in the state.

A situation where people with minor ailments come to the tertiary institutions is never the proper flow, so we want to create a two way referral process.

Forward Referral from the district hospitals to tertiary or teaching hospitals or Backward Referral from the tertiary or teaching hospitals to the district hospitals for cases management after being treated by the tertiary or teaching hospitals, he explained.

Mr. Ekochi said that the consultants would be given the liberty to work in any of the district hospitals they would be comfortable with and answer to emergencies.

The consultants will be professionals especially those that deal with the healthcare of pregnant women, nursing mothers and children, he said.

According to him, the state government is looking at creating efficient healthcare system meant to take care of all health needs of residents of the state.

NAN reports that the two tertiary health institutions in the state are the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH) Ituku/Ozala and the Enugu State University Teaching Hospital (ESUTH), Parklane, Enugu.

(NAN)
A senator and founder of Silverbird Group, Ben-Murray Bruce, has said that Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State should not be in the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.

The lawmaker, who is a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, took to his official twitter handle to condemn President Muhammadu Buhari as well as other APC governors for not paying a visit to the Benue State governor, who is also a member of the party.

His comment comes days after the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, and his Ekiti State counterpart, Ayodele Fayose, paid a condolence visit to the governor. Both visiting governors are members of Mr. Bruce PDP. They also made monetary donations to the state for victims of the attacks.

Mr. Bruce, however, flayed the APC for its perceived non-challance towards the mayhem going on in one of the states controlled by their party.

What is Governor Ortom still doing in the APC? Benue and Ortom dont belong in the APC? Has the APC President visited him to condole with the state?

How many APC Governors have contributed to help the victims? What benefit has Ortom and Benue derived from voting for the President? Mr. Bruce tweeted.

He expressed disappointment at how the president visited Nasarawa state to commission schools despite the killings going on in several parts of the county.

Will @realDonaldTrump or @theresa_may go to a state in their nation to commission a school when its neighbouring state has just suffered from a horrific mass killing?

What would it have cost the President to also visit Benue and sympathise with people who voted massively for him? he added.

Nigerians have since expressed diverse reactions to the senators comments.

Below also are the reactions of some Nigerians:

Too bad dat political sentiment is still eating into our national security. Crosscarpeting is never done answer sir.  Duke of Owo (@Dptolaminiran) February 8, 2018

Your level of desperation is legendary that you have thrown discipline to the winds.When you give to the needy, do not make it a public show and an avenue to score a cheap political point. It's simply called hypocrisy, eye service of the highest order. SMH!  Japhet Philip (@JaphetPhilip) February 8, 2018

did you expect Gov. Wike to assist the Victims without making it public? Its imperative he makes it Public to enable the victims and people of Benue know he cares and for Record Purposes. Buhari is the Hypocrite in this Case. He went to Nasarawa to Celebrate while Benue ppl mourn  vincent Ekemezie (@vincent_505) February 8, 2018

Mr. Senator, Could you kindly clarify what the PDP stands for? How is PDP's political philosophy different than the APC's or other parties'? What are the distinguishing focus of the PDP in terms of Economy, Foreign Relations, Military, Technology, Legislation etc?#Nigeria2019  Bukola Michael Nelson, MBA, RTBMA,ETBMA (@BMichael_Nelson) February 8, 2018

Sir. Lets not politicize this. Valid call to ask why the president has not visited Benue. Valid call to give kudos to Wike for visiting. But to now say the gov should now join your party makes it appear your motives are not really the lives lost but just politics.  AyoR Aloko (@AyorAloko) February 8, 2018

Even PDP won't accept him, not even KOWA nor HOPE party. He's not competent.  Oma (@emily68901) February 8, 2018

You can start that new platform, one major problem is the activism on twitter and not on the street, so who is to start the new platform?

PMB will continue till 2023 and heaven will remain.  Obanla (@AdepojuAShittu) February 9, 2018

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If you and I don't start today this is how our outdated and visionless leaders will continue to recycle themselves till 2050. Point of correction sir am currently a member Coalition for good governance  Abuja wedding photographer (@radiantprotouch) February 9, 2018

Sir ,It's regrettable & a big shame for a Senator of the FRN to refer to president of Nigeria as an "APC president ". How do you then correct the FPRO? All this in the name of what? Politics! Dont turn #Benue to a political https://t.co/FiuZfitTD9 may enjoy it but we aren't.  Ibrahim Garba (@Garbaibrahim1) February 8, 2018

https://twitter.com/LouisTruson/status/961689905557659650
Gov. David Umahi of Ebonyi has directed traditional rulers to collate data on herdsmen operating in the state for easy identification and maintenance of peace.

Mr. Umahi, who gave the order on Friday in Abakaiki at a meeting with traditional rulers and miners in the state, noted that the data should include herdsmens names, location and contact phone numbers of their leaders.

The governor remarked that the decision was reached after series of meetings with security agencies, various committees and representatives of herdsmen in the state.

Traditional rulers should hold constant meetings with the herdsmen so that they can identify those from Niger Republic and other areas that foment trouble.

We have been living in peace with the herdsmen for several years but still maintain that there would not be movement of cattle from one area to another in the state.

He urged the traditional rulers and other concerned authorities to agree on grazing locations with the herdsmen where they would be restricted for their grazing activities.

I will provide amenities such as water in such locations because the state government does not have the resources for ranching.

When the grasses in such areas finish, you should arrange for another location for grazing because we would not tolerate cattle eating or destroying crops on our farmlands.

Trouble is inevitable but we can handle them maturely through the various committees on herdsmen in the villages, communities and state levels, he said.

Mr. Umahi warned that henceforth, anybody that killed herdsmens cows would make double payments with the herdsmen collecting one part and the ministry of local government and chieftaincy affairs, collecting the other.

The herdsmen will be severely warned if they destroy farmers crops and when such persists after investigations, the herdsmen would be forced to leave the community.

We want to put such restraining measures to prevent cattle rustling because the cows are dear to the herdsmen while the crops are dear to the farmers.

He noted that existing mining laws in the state would be reviewed to make illegal miners to get jail term of five years for engaging in such activities.

We would send the bill to the House of Assembly as it would also become illegal for traditional rulers or town unions to lease mining sites without governments clearance, the governor said.

Samuel Okoronkwo, Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, noted that the ministry had intensified efforts to check the activities of illegal miners, especially those from neighbouring Imo and others states.

We have also sensitised traditional rulers, town unions and other stakeholders to engage the government in mining activities in their areas to enable government to generate the accruing revenue.

The chairman of the Traditional Rulers Council in the state, Charles Mkpuma, pledged that traditional rulers would collaborate with the government to check illegal mining activities.

A miner in the state, Basil Igboke, noted that mining business was capital intensive and appealed to the government for financial assistance to support miners.

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(NAN)
Residents of Lekki, Lagos on Friday made good their threat to stage a protest over the multiple hikes in tolls collected at two toll plazas in the area, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.

On February 1, the Lekki Concession Company effected a 100 per cent increase in some tolls collected at the Lagos-Ajah highway and the Lekki-Ikoyi Bridge, jolting millions of residents.

Leading a peaceful protest, the convener of the protest, Adedotun Hassan, described the toll hikes as unacceptable, unfair and killing.

He said it was unthinkable for a government to impose such a burden on hapless and poorly paid residents at a difficult moment like now, calling on the Lagos State Government to cancel the toll increases.

Mr. Hassan, who led a group known as Eti-Osa Development Forum, argued that imposing the toll on residents was inhuman and amounted to double taxation.

He argued that in a democracy, the residents ought to have been consulted before making such hikes, saying that the development would affect businesses in Lekki and its environs adversely.

Residents are not happy with the situation. The increment is killing, that is why we are staging this protest.

We want the government to cancel the tolls because we pay our taxes, the amount is too high, residents are being short-changed.

We belong to the same Lagos State, ours is not different. Is it a crime to live in Lekki? What have we done to warrant this punishment?

Another Lekki resident, Murphy Adebare, lamented that life had not been the same for him since the new tolls came into effect.

He pleaded with Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode, to come to the rescue of the residents and show human face in his administration of Lagos State.

How can an administration impose two toll gates within one Local Government Area in the state? This is the worst form of meanness.

A cleric Ngozi Igbokwe, also called for the cancellation of the tolls, pointing out that no genuine reason had been advanced by the operators of the plazas.

During rainy season you will pity the residents of this area because of flooding. Government has not done anything on this problem.

Why would the same government allow its citizens to be devoured by greedy businessmen in the name of toll collection?

On Feb. 1, the LCC rolled out a new toll regime at the Lagos-Ajah highway and the Lekki-Ikoyi Bridge.

Motorcycle riders are now to pay N100 instead of N50, while cars are to pay N200 instead of N120.

Sports utility vehicles are now to pay N300 instead of N150 while commercial buses now N100 instead of N80.

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NAN reports that anti-riot policemen were deployed in large number at the toll plazas to prevent a breakdown of law and order during the protest.

An attempt by some people to disrupt the peaceful protest was immediately brought in check by security operatives.

(NAN)
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An operative of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, Ogun State Area Command, Muhammed Maigari, has been brutally cut with a machete by armed smugglers at Ibeji River around Idogo-Ifoyintedo axis in Ipokia Local Government Area of the state.

The command public relations officer, Abdullahi Maiwada, who confirmed this to journalists on Friday, said the victim is currently in a critical condition.

He said the incident occurred on Wednesday.

He said Mr. Maigari, who is attached to the Federal Operations Unit but posted to the Idiroko border axis, was dealt a life- threatening cut on his left upper arm by the smugglers.

Maigari and some of his colleagues were said to have been on routine patrol when they got an intelligence report that some smugglers were coming with a smuggled Toyota Highlander towards the Ibeji River, and they rushed to the scene to intercept the vehicle, he said.

The spokesman added that the smugglers attempted to disarm Mr. Maigara but when they were unsuccessful, they decided to smash his head with the machete but he blocked it with his arm.

The cut was life-threatening. The smugglers were armed and they confronted our operatives. But since we did not want any loss of lives, our operatives successfully intercepted the Toyota Highlander being smuggled through the forest, Mr. Maiwada told journalists.

It (seized car) is currently in the commands custody at sentry, Idiroko border. The command will not relent in curbing smuggling activities around Idiroko border and Ogun state as a whole, he said.

He said the victim was first rushed to the General Hospital at Idiroko for treatment but was later transferred to the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos for comprehensive treatment.
CHICAGO, Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Fraud, misconduct, sexual harassment, and data security breaches are just a few of the significant risks facing school districts in our current environment, and school business officials have an important legal duty to respond to and investigate these events.

4Discovery, a prominent digital forensics firm, will lead a panel discussion at the Illinois Association of School Business Officials (IASBO) conference, "Forensic Technology in Fraud and Misconduct Investigations" on February 13, 2018.

"We are seeing a definite increase in school district incidents," said Jeffrey Hartman, a Partner and Co-Founder of 4Discovery, "and the impact on those districts can be catastrophic. We are thrilled to be partnering with the IASBO on this important program." 4Discovery is a leading provider of digital forensics services to school districts and their lawyers.

Like any other business or organization, school districts are susceptible to incidents related to misconduct, fraud, or sexual harassment, but because students are often involved in these matters, the risks can be magnified. In addition, school districts are significant aggregators of highly confidential information, such as student medical records, disciplinary files, and other data, creating a unique set of challenges for school officials.

When investigating school incidents such as cyberbullying, for example, school district officials and their lawyers often discover that the evidence they need to consider is digital, and stored on computers, tablets, mobile devices, and social media cloud locations. This program will help school administrators understand the important role forensics can play in responding to incidents of all types.

Other panelist will include Jim Sullivan of Sikich LLP and Linda Jeffers of the Indian Springs School District 109.

About 4Discovery

Serving nearly all the top 25 largest law firms in Chicago, and many others, 4Discovery is a boutique digital forensics consulting firm founded by former corporate security executives and information security leaders, Jeffrey Hartman and Chad Gough. The founders have been providing specialized consulting and expert witness testimony for over 15 years. 4Discovery provides services to legal, corporate, and information security sectors, with a special focus and expertise in the application of digital forensics in a wide array of investigative matters. You can learn more about 4Discovery and their team at www.4Discovery.com.

About the IASBO

The Illinois Association of School Business Officials is the leading organization dedicated to the development, leadership, training, advocacy, and networking of school district professionals. Visit www.iasbo.org to learn more.

For more information about the IASBO conference, "Forensic Technology in Fraud and Misconduct Investigations", visit https://www.iasbop2p.org/events/eventdescription?CalendarEventKey=577a0c7a-9ed6-4cc6-adf6-eb984053f1ff&Home=%2fhome

SOURCE 4Discovery

Related Links

http://www.iasbo.org


DALLAS, Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, 77Cousins counted their 100,000th stream on their debut single, "Hype". The song sets the stage for the impending release of their self - titled rookie offering, "77Cousins" (Revibe Records). From the initial chime of multi-platinum producer CashMoney Ap's beat tag to the final measure of the track -- "Hype" is defined by entrancing melodies, never-ending bars, and a trap pop fusion. 77Cousins and executive producer CashMoney Ap take listeners on a roller coaster of hard-hitting snares and deep echoing pitch shifts in this sonic boom.

'Hype' has been featured on the Best Indie sounds of today blog by Canadian music guru Eric Alper. The track is available on all digital streaming platforms via Ditto Music and Revibe Records.

77Cousins launched their all-new interactive website http://www.77cousins.com on Monday.

77Cousins 'Hype' Links:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnWkMaYrINs Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/177tbj2Gvzm1uBXwHF4fPZ?si=_RUOJYz1R6-Fzmk_V850jg

Soundcloud: http://www.soundcloud.com/77cousins

ABOUT REVIBE RECORDS

A division of Revibe Inc, we are the world's newest digital distribution agency. We specialize in marketing and cultivating digital content. Revibe Records was founded in 2017 and is located in Dallas, Texas.

Related Links

77Cousins Website

Related Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnWkMaYrINs

SOURCE 77Cousins

Related Links

http://www.77cousins.com


CHICAGO, Feb. 8, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Advisory Committee on Heritable Disorders in Newborns and Children (ACHDNC) today recommended that newborn screening for spinal muscular atrophy be implemented nationwide. The recommendation now goes to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar for final approval.



Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a neuromuscular disease caused by a mutation in the gene survival motor neuron 1. In a healthy person, this gene produces a protein that is critical to the function of the nerves that control muscles. Without it, those nerve cells cannot properly function and eventually die, leading to debilitating and often fatal muscle weakness. On average in the US, a baby with SMA is born each day.



"We are extremely grateful that, after a thorough review of the evidence, the committee has confirmed that universal newborn screening and early treatment will change the lives of babies born with SMA. SMA is currently the leading genetic cause of death for infants under two years of age, but we have an historic opportunity to change that. We look forward to Secretary Azar's speedy approval of this recommendation," said Jill Jarecki, PhD, chief scientific officer of Cure SMA, a national non-profit organization that supports research and advocacy for SMA.



In clinical trials for Spinraza, which was approved by the FDA in December 2016, infants treated before showing symptoms gained more motor milestones than those treated after showing symptoms. The most severe forms of SMA cause rapid motor neuron loss, providing a small window for optimal treatmentan opportunity often lost due to the diagnostic delays that many families experience.



At the hearing, Elizabeth Moore of Forney, Texas, testified in support of screening. Her daughter, Mary, was diagnosed with SMA and received treatment two weeks after birth. The family knew of their risk because their older son, William, was diagnosed with SMA in 2011. "My daughter laughs when I tickle her. She dances to music. She plays 'mommy' and takes excellent care of her baby dolls. She takes ballet classes with her peers, splashes in her baths, and can empty any cabinet in record time. And whenever she slows down for a minute, she asks for a hug and gives the biggest in return; then, she calls me 'mama' and tells me that she loves me," said Moore.



"William has never done any of these things. He doesn't get to interact with his peers or play independently. He's never said 'mama' or 'I love you.' He has never had the ability to give a hug. Every time Mary expresses herself, I wonder what William would have been like if he had that opportunity."



Cure SMA and the SMA Newborn Screening Coalition submitted the recommendation of SMA to the ACHDNC in February 2017. In May 2017, the committee voted to move that nomination into evidence review, a nine-month process that culminated with today's vote.



Three statesUtah, Missouri and Minnesotahave already adopted permanent screening for SMA, and a number of other states are considering permanent screening. "Today's recommendation is an important step, but it is ultimately up to each state to implement that recommendation. We look forward to continuing to work with our state and federal partners, until all babies born with SMA have the opportunity to receive timely, life-saving treatment," said Jarecki.



About Cure SMA and the SMA Newborn Screening Coalition



Cure SMA is dedicated to the treatment and cure of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA)a disease that takes away a person's ability to walk, eat, or breathe. It is the number one genetic cause of death for infants.



Since 1984, Cure SMA has directed and invested in comprehensive research that has shaped the scientific community's understanding of SMA. Cure SMA has deep expertise in every aspect of SMAfrom the day-to-day realities to the nuances of care optionsand administers a wide-ranging roster of programs to support children and families affected by the disease. This includes the Annual SMA Conference, held each year for families affected by the disease, and for researchers and clinicians involved in treatment and care for SMA.



In addition to staff members from Cure SMA, the SMA Newborn Screening Coalition includes representatives from pharmaceutical companies Biogen, AveXis and Genentech/Roche.



Learn more at www.cureSMA.org.

PRLog ID: www.prlog.org/12691263

SOURCE Cure SMA

Related Links

http://www.curesma.org


WASHINGTON, Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In response to Congress failing to pass a spending bill to keep the government open for the second time this year, American Federation of Government Employees National President J. David Cox Sr. issued the following statement:

"Every American should be outraged. A second government shutdown in as many weeks is not the folly of one member of Congress, one political party, or one caucus; it is the result of a succession of failures to uphold their duty to all Americans.

American Federation of Government Employees members rally on Capitol Hill

"While we ended up with the framework for longer term funding of the government, Americans and federal employees are still being held hostage by short term funding. Only funding the government until March 22 means the federal workforce and the critical services they provide are still in a holding pattern.

"This inability to come to a funding solution takes hold in detrimental ways: compromising public trust in our Constitutional institutions and instilling the impression that our government is an acceptable afterthought  they're not. Federal workers keep our country running. They keep our skies safe and regulate and inspect our food, air, and water. It's time every citizen of this country holds their members of Congress accountable.

"The federal government and its workers are not a second or third priority. They're the lifeblood of our country. Every time a member of Congress declines to fund the government it's a violation of our country's contract with the American people. Americans do their part by paying taxes, and federal workers do their part by doing their jobs."

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is the largest federal employee union, representing 700,000 workers in the federal government and the government of the District of Columbia.

For the latest AFGE news and information, visit the AFGE Media Center. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

SOURCE American Federation of Government Employees

Related Links

http://www.afge.org


DUBLIN, Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Allergan plc (NYSE: AGN) today announced its Board of Directors has declared a cash dividend of $0.72 per ordinary share for the first quarter of 2018. The dividend will be paid on March 28, 2018 to shareholders of record at the close of business on February 28, 2018.

Allergan also announced that its 2018 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders will be held on May 2, 2018 in Dublin, Ireland. The Company's Board of Directors has set the close of business on March 6, 2018 as the record date for determining shareholders eligible to vote at the meeting.

About Allergan plc

Allergan plc (NYSE: AGN), headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, is a bold, global pharmaceutical company and a leader in a new industry model  Growth Pharma. Allergan is focused on developing, manufacturing and commercializing branded pharmaceutical, device, biologic, surgical and regenerative medicine products for patients around the world.

Allergan markets a portfolio of leading brands and best-in-class products for the central nervous system, eye care, medical aesthetics and dermatology, gastroenterology, women's health, urology and anti-infective therapeutic categories.

Allergan is an industry leader in Open Science, a model of research and development, which defines our approach to identifying and developing game-changing ideas and innovation for better patient care. With this approach, Allergan has built one of the broadest development pipelines in the pharmaceutical industry.

Allergan's success is powered by our global colleagues' commitment to being Bold for Life. Together, we build bridges, power ideas, act fast and drive results for our customers and patients around the world by always doing what is right.

With commercial operations in approximately 100 countries, Allergan is committed to working with physicians, healthcare providers and patients to deliver innovative and meaningful treatments that help people around the world live longer, healthier lives every day.

For more information, visit Allergan's website at www.Allergan.com.

Forward-Looking Statement

Statements contained in this press release that refer to future events or other non-historical facts are forward-looking statements that reflect Allergan's current perspective on existing trends and information as of the date of this release. Actual results may differ materially from Allergan's current expectations depending upon a number of factors affecting Allergan's business. These factors include, among others, the difficulty of predicting the timing or outcome of FDA approvals or actions, if any; the impact of competitive products and pricing; market acceptance of and continued demand for Allergan's products; the impact of uncertainty around timing of generic entry related to key products, including RESTASIS, on our financial results; uncertainty associated with financial projections, projected cost reductions, projected synergies, restructurings, increased costs, and adverse tax consequences; difficulties or delays in manufacturing; and other risks and uncertainties detailed in Allergan's periodic public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to Allergan's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 and Allergan's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2017. Except as expressly required by law, Allergan disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

CONTACTS: Allergan:

Investors:

Daphne Karydas

(862) 261-8006





Karina Calzadilla

(862) 261-7328





Media:

Lisa Brown

(862) 261-7320

SOURCE Allergan plc

Related Links

www.allergan.com


LOS ANGELES, Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- American workers may be unknowingly overlooking a tax credit this year. The Saver's Credit, also referred to as the Retirement Savings Contributions Credit by the Internal Revenue Service, is available to eligible taxpayers who are saving for retirement, yet 64 percent of workers are unaware of the credit, according to the 18th Annual Transamerica Retirement Survey.

"As a tax credit, the Saver's Credit is an important incentive to save for retirement in a 401(k), 403(b) or IRA. By saving for retirement and claiming the credit, eligible taxpayers may be able to lower their federal income taxes," said Catherine Collinson, president of nonprofit Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies. "Millions of Americans who are already saving for retirement could be missing out on the Saver's Credit simply because they don't know it exists. Among those who are not yet saving for retirement, the Saver's Credit could be the incentive they need to get started."



What Is the Saver's Credit?

The Saver's Credit is a non-refundable tax credit that may be applied up to the first $2,000 of voluntary contributions an eligible worker makes to a 401(k), 403(b) or similar employer-sponsored retirement plan, or a traditional or Roth IRA. The maximum credit is $1,000 for single filers or individuals and $2,000 for married couples.

"The Saver's Credit is a tax credit in addition to the benefit of tax-advantaged savings when contributing to a 401(k), 403(b) or IRA. Many eligible retirement savers may be confusing these two incentives because the notion of a double tax benefit seems too good to be true," said Collinson.

Who Can Claim the Saver's Credit?

The credit is available to workers ages 18 years or older who have contributed to a company-sponsored retirement plan or IRA in the past year and meet the Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) requirements:

Single filers with an AGI of up to $31,000 in 2017 or $31,500 in 2018 are eligible;

in 2017 or in 2018 are eligible; For the head of a household, the AGI limit is $46,500 in 2017 or $47,250 in 2018; and,

in 2017 or in 2018; and, For those who are married and file a joint return, the AGI limit is $62,000 in 2017 or $63,000 in 2018.

Additionally, the filer cannot be a full-time student and cannot be claimed as a dependent on another person's tax return. For more details about eligibility, refer to this fact sheet and infographic.

How Can Workers Claim the Saver's Credit?

"Workers who are eligible to receive the Saver's Credit are at risk of missing it if they use the wrong tax form. If you are eligible to claim the Saver's Credit, you should use Form 1040, Form 1040A or Form 1040NR. The Saver's Credit is not available on Form 1040EZ," said Collinson.

Another important and potentially overlooked opportunity is the IRS Free File program. Workers who are eligible to claim the Saver's Credit are also eligible to take advantage of this program that offers federal income tax preparation software for free to tax filers with an AGI of $66,000 or less. Unfortunately, a concerning 55 percent of workers are unaware of this program, according to the 18th Annual Transamerica Retirement Survey. Twelve companies make their tax preparation software available through this program at www.irs.gov/FreeFile. Certain restrictions may apply.

Tips for claiming the Saver's Credit:

If you are using tax preparation software to prepare your tax return, including those programs offered through the IRS Free File program, use Form 1040, Form 1040A or Form 1040NR. The credit is not available with Form 1040EZ. If your software has an interview process, be sure to answer questions about the Saver's Credit, also referred to as the Retirement Savings Contributions Credit and/or Credit for Qualified Retirement Savings Contributions.

If you are preparing your tax return manually, complete Form 8880, Credit for Qualified Retirement Savings Contributions, to determine your exact credit rate and amount. Then transfer the amount to the designated line on Form 1040, Form 1040A or Form 1040NR.

If you are using a professional tax preparer, be sure to ask about the Saver's Credit.

If you receive a refund, consider directly depositing it into an IRA to further boost your retirement savings.

"Please spread the word about the Saver's Credit by telling your family, friends and colleagues  and be sure to check whether you're eligible. Many people who contributed to a 401(k) plan or IRA in 2017 are eligible to receive it but may be missing out because they don't know about it," said Collinson. "Those who are eligible but did not save last year can still contribute to an IRA until April 17, 2018 and may be able to claim the Saver's Credit for 2017."

TCRS has created fact sheets, infographics and newsletter articles  in English and Spanish  that are available and encouraged for public use at www.transamericacenter.org/saverscredit. More information can also be found at www.irs.gov.

About Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies

Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies (TCRS) is a division of Transamerica Institute, a nonprofit, private foundation. Transamerica Institute is funded by contributions from Transamerica Life Insurance Company and its affiliates and may receive funds from unaffiliated third parties. TCRS and its representative cannot give ERISA, tax, investment or legal advice. This material is provided for informational purposes only and should not construed as ERISA, tax, investment or legal advice. Interested parties must consult and rely solely upon their own independent advisors regarding their particular situation and the concepts presented here. For more information about TCRS, please refer to www.transamericacenter.org and follow TCRS on Twitter at @TCRStudies.

About the 18th Annual Transamerica Retirement Survey

The 25-minute online survey was conducted within the U.S. by Harris Poll on behalf of TCRS between August 9 and October 28, 2017 among a nationally representative sample of 6,372 full-time and part-time workers. Potential respondents were targeted based on employment status and company size. Respondents met the following criteria: U.S. residents, age 18 or older, full-time or part-time workers in for-profit companies with five or more employees. Results were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with the population of U.S. residents age 18 or older, employed full-time or part-time in a for-profit company with 5 or more employees, and to adjust for attitudinal and behavioral differences between those who are online versus those who are not, those who join online panels versus those who do not, and those who responded to this survey versus those who did not. No estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

TCRS 1359-0218

Contact: Madeleine Reul

[email protected]

952-346-6011

SOURCE Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies

Related Links

http://www.transamericacenter.org


Led by Amish Shah, a third-generation diamond and jewelry manufacturer, ALTR Created Diamonds has captured imagination of the modern consumer like never before with its larger carats at better value. ALTR Created Diamonds is now selling all over the world including in the United States, EU, China, Australia, India, Canada, Thailand, South Korea, Israel and South Africa, ALTR Created Diamonds is experiencing aggressive growth and international expansion.

"I've been in business for 25 years and the industry as a whole has become disconnected from the consumer whose buying patterns have changed," Amish Shah, President of ALTR Created Diamonds, told BBC World News, "ALTR Created Diamonds is using technology to bring desire back to diamonds with larger carats at better value, offering a premium choice for the modern consumer."

Employing proprietary technology to replicate the conditions whereby diamonds form in nature, ALTR creates certified Type IIA lab grown diamonds that are identical to chemical, optical and physical composition as the world's finest mined diamonds. ALTR Created Diamonds carry certification from Gem Certification and Assurance Lab (GCAL).

"Created diamonds have a large advantage - They are Type IIA," Amish added, "The most famous and beautiful diamonds in the world are Type IIA such as the world's largest cut diamond, the Koh-i-Noor."

With an extensive design archive and more than 22 exclusive, patented diamond cuts, ALTR Created Diamonds offers a full line of rings, bracelets, necklaces and earrings sold under the ALTR brand name. For more information on the ALTR Created Diamonds, please visit www.ALTR.NYC.

About ALTR Created Diamonds

ALTR Created Diamonds are branded lab-grown diamonds created exclusively by RIAM Group. ALTR is solely devoted to creating high-quality diamonds and stunning jewelry designed around these diamonds. The ownership of the parent company RIAM Group has 75 years of experience in the mined diamond industry. RIAM Group has the background and knowledge to bring vertical and integrated manufacturing of created diamonds and jewelry made from those diamonds to an international market. RIAM Group is the only fully vertical manufacturer of both mined diamond jewelry and created diamond jewelry. The ALTR division of the group manufactures only created diamond jewelry.

SOURCE ALTR Created Diamonds

Related Links

http://www.altr.nyc


Founded on ethical values, Dubai-based logistics firm enrolls in ISO 37001:2016 ABMS standard

LONDON, Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Corporate Research and Investigations Pvt. Ltd. (CRI Group) announced today that Apex Shipping Services LLC, based in Dubai, UAE, has engaged its CRI Certification services to achieve the ISO 37001 Anti-Bribery Management System Standard certification.

In a message to its stakeholders, Apex Shipping said the certification will allow the company to "implement our Anti-Bribery and Anti-Corruption program" and "will also enhance the eligibility criteria for Apex Shipping Services LLC to participate in Maritime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN) actively."

London-based CRI Group is a global provider of Integrity Due Diligence, Employment Background Screening, Third-Party Risk Management and Compliance and Other Professional Investigative Research services. In 2016, the company launched its Anti-Bribery and Anti-Corruption Centre of Excellence (ABAC CoE) to offer CRI Certification and expert training in programs including 3PRM-Certified and 3PRM-Qualified.

Zafar Anjum, CRI Group's CEO, said: "We look forward to working with Apex Shipping and we stand committed to helping them achieve their goals through ISO 37001:2016 certification, with standards that are recognized and practiced in more than 160 countries worldwide."

ISO 37001:2016 Certification

The ISO 37001 standard helps global organizations implement an anti-bribery management system by specifying a series of measures required by the organization to prevent, detect and address bribery.

CRI Certification's auditors and analysts develop measures that integrate with existing management processes and controls, including implementing an anti-bribery policy, providing compliance training, communicating the policy and program to all personnel, providing risk assessments, conducting due diligence, implementing internal controls and developing reporting and investigation procedures.

In its statement, Apex Shipping ownership said: "CRI Group is a frontrunner in the field of corporate integrity, and their certification gives Apex Shipping an official seal of approval in the way of business ethics."

ABOUT CRI GROUP

Over the past 28 years, CRI Group has emerged as a global leader in corporate investigations and risk management, serving distinguished clients across six continents. CRI Group safeguards businesses by establishing the legal compliance, financial viability, and integrity levels of outside partners, suppliers and customers seeking to affiliate with an organization.

CONTACT CRI GROUP

Anil Sunagar

Marketing Manager

Corporate Research and Investigations Pvt. Ltd.

917-918, Liberty House, DIFC, Dubai, UAE

T: +971 4 3589884 | T: +971 521042433

www.CRICertification.com

SOURCE CRI Group

Related Links

http://www.cricertification.com


DRAPER, Utah, Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- In a move which recognizes the overall leadership of AquaYield, Utah Business Magazine today named AquaYield CEO and co-founder Clark T. Bell as one of its "40 Under 40". The annual Forty Under 40 program honors Utah's up-and-coming professionals rising through the ranks at record speed.

Clark Bell

Mr. Bell is quick to note that the award/honor is really the validation of all who have made AquaYield a leading innovator in agricultural nanotechnology, completely disrupting the decades-old status quo in the industry. "Although this is a singular honor, the award is a testament to all those who have sacrificed their time to grow Aqua-Yield into something uniquely special," says Mr. Bell. "I am completely and totally honored to be named to this prestigious list and thank Utah Business Magazine for the opportunity. All of us at AquaYield look to what we know will be a very bright future in growing this company and reaching our very lofty individual and corporate goals. There are some very big things in store for what we refer to as the smallest innovation in agriculture history."

Mr. Bell will join the 39 others named to the 2018 lists at an awards luncheon scheduled for Friday, February 9th at the Grand American Hotel's Imperial Ballroom in downtown Salt Lake City, UT. Utah Business Magazine invites all to "join us" as we commend innovating tech wizards, visionary entrepreneurs, non-profit leaders and executive captains who are guiding industry trends and shaping the future.

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.

For information on Aqua-Yield visit www.aquayield.com

Contact: Doug Jardine 801.638.5020 [email protected]

SOURCE AquaYield

Related Links

http://www.aquayield.com


SINGAPORE, Feb. 8, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Active support and initiatives by financial regulators such as the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Bank Negara Malaysia and Bank Indonesia has enabled the Asia-Pacific Fintech ecosystem to grow significantly in 2017.

New innovations are expected to radically transform the way consumers shop, pay perform banking transactions and purchase insurance. The wave of new Fintech technologies is also changing customer behaviour and interactions today.

Frost & Sullivan presented its annual Fintech Outlook at The Swissotel The Stamford in Singapore on 8 February. The event was attended by over 70 senior management and C-suite executives, marking the start of an exciting year ahead for the industry.

The Fintech industry in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to grow at a CAGR of 72.5% from 2015 to 2020, reaching US$72 billion. The positive outlook is fuelled by growth in digital payments such as increasing adoption of cashless payments by small and medium sized enterprises. There is also more widespread awareness of the viability of using P2P financing as well as new methods of crowdfunding using Blockchain, which will lead to growth in the personal and business financing segment.

Key analysts from Frost & Sullivan's ICT practice and its Fintech program presented the top predictions for the industry in 2018.

Emerging Trends in Fintech

Mr. Spike Choo, Consulting Director at Frost & Sullivan's ICT Asia-Pacific practice discussed the emerging trends in Fintech for 2018. In line with the Singapore government's push to develop a cashless society, more initiatives will be launched to encourage more consumers and enterprises to adopt digital payments technologies.

He also expects to see more innovative Fintech services being launched in the areas of financial investments and advisory services as well as insurance due to advances in Big Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain.

However, the sustainability of these Fintech services would depend on how well they are able to address the wide-ranging consumers' investment and insurance needs while ensuring the business model is sustainable without compromising on the customer experience.

Future of Cashless Payments in Singapore

According to Ms Quah Mei Lee, Industry Principal, ICT, Asia-Pacific, the mobile payments market in Singapore was estimated to be worth US$1.4 billion in 2017. The market is still small but is growing fast. There are many supportive regional and local regulations and initiatives that will help Singapore move towards a cashless Society.

Singapore already has an optimal number of complementary mobile payment solutions to drive acceptance on the island state. Despite this, more and more "me too" solutions are entering the market. With only limited partnerships underway and a local first mentality, the market risks not achieving its full potential. Mei Lee stresses that mobile payments of the future needs to be global first, inter-operable and secure. Global alignment will be key to mobile payments going mainstream.

Fintech in Singapore's SME Landscape

In the wake of the global Fintech boom, disruptive market innovations have forced a radical shift of business models in the Financial Services industry, notably within the P2P Lending segment. Frost & Sullivan believes that leading banks and financial institutions are driven to be lean and agile on multiple fronts, including but not limited to new digital services, elevated customer experiences and innovative technological solutions.

Mr. Shuvro Mainuddin, Consultant, Banking & Financial Services, Asia-Pacific at Frost & Sullivan noted that the SME clients have been traditionally neglected by existing banks which has opened up a huge market for alternative financing providers to potentially fill in.

No longer just a channel, 'digitalization' is the new paradigm for leading banks and financial institutions in Southeast Asia to cater to the increasingly important SME client base. Such widespread adoption of Fintech will continue to reshape the financial services industry, making it more customer-focused than ever.

Customer Experience in BFSI industry

With increasing number of digital touchpoints, managing customer experience would require revisiting customer journeys to provide a seamless experience. The CX strategy would need to ensure that there is greater personalisation of services coupled with proactive engagement.

According to Mr. Nishchal Khorana, Consulting Director, ICT, Asia-Pacific at Frost & Sullivan highlighted that a successful CX strategy would be based on an integrated approach to people, processes and technology in the digital era.

Analytics and Artificial Intelligence related technologies will also be fundamental to raising the bar for customer experience. On one hand, analytics will aid in developing a predictive approach to address customer needs, while on the other, Virtual assistants and Chatbots will drive greater operational efficiencies and standardization.

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, works in collaboration with clients to leverage visionary innovation that addresses the global challenges and related growth opportunities that will make or break today's market participants. For more than 50 years, we have been developing growth strategies for the global 1000, emerging businesses, the public sector and the investment community. Is your organization prepared for the next profound wave of industry convergence, disruptive technologies, increasing competitive intensity, Mega Trends, breakthrough best practices, changing customer dynamics and emerging economies? Contact us: Start the discussion

Media Contact

Melissa Tan

Corporate Communications  Asia Pacific

P: +65 6890 0926

F: +65 6890 0999

E: [email protected]

http://www.frost.com

SOURCE Frost & Sullivan

Related Links

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GREENFIELD, Mass., Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The registered nurses of Baystate Franklin Medical Center, represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association, voted overwhelmingly on Thursday, Feb. 8 to authorize a potential one-day strike. BFMC nurses voted over key issues:

Baystate refuses to improve patient care conditions

Baystate wants the right to make nurse staffing worse

Baystate wants to force its nurses to take terrible health insurance from Baystate's own insurance company, Health New England

Nurses voted 85% percent to authorize the BFMC RN Bargaining Committee to call for a one-day strike if necessary. No strike is scheduled at this point. If a strike were to be called by the committee, nurses would be required by law to provide a 10-day notice to the hospital.

"The 200 nurses at Baystate Franklin are more united than ever for patient safety," said Donna Stern, RN and Senior Co-Chair of the BFMC MNA Bargaining Committee. "We are facing a giant corporation that will not listen to local nurses or our local community. Baystate Health would rather squeeze profits out of public dollars than to make sure nurses can provide safe patient care or give them a decent health plan."

Why Inadequate RN Staffing is a Patient Care Problem:

By failing to schedule enough nurses or forcing nurses to work through our meal breaks and routinely past the end of our shifts, Baystate is making it more and more difficult for exhausted, overworked nurses to provide the best care for our patients.





Nurses worked, were pressured or forced to work 3,980 shifts of 12 hours or more in one year. National best practices say nurses SHOULD NOT work more than 12 hours.

Safe Patient Care Solutions

Nurses are seeking specific staffing improvements in specific hospital units, along with the proposal that charge nurses not be required to take a patient assignment. This is tied to a proposal that management hire the nurses it needs to staff its staffing grids and not worsen staffing by assigning even more patients to all other nurses.





Charge nurses need to be able to effectively coordinate care and assist other nurses. If their patient assignments are eliminated or reduced but their fellow nurses have even heavier patient assignments, the problems nurses have identified for years will worsen.

Decent Health Insurance

Mid-contract, BFMC management took away the only two decent health plans offered to nurses: Gold and Silver. Nurses are just asking them to bring back a decent health plan.





Baystate Health owns Health New England and Baystate President & CEO Dr. Mark Keroack is also CEO of the health plan.





is also CEO of the health plan. In addition, Baystate agreed to provide Noble Hospital nurses the Silver plan when they settled in November 2017 .





. Baystate is advertising that the people of the Pioneer Valley and Springfield areas should come to them for care, while being unable to provide a healthcare to their own employees.

Baystate Profits

Baystate Health has the financial means to provide safe staffing and fair RN benefits and wages. It ended 2014 and 2015 with a combined $121 million in profit, according to the state. During fiscal year 2016, BFMC alone reported $2.2 million in profits.

Bargaining Background

BFMC nurses held a one-day strike on June 26, 2017 after voting by a 93% margin to authorize the strike. The nurses were preemptively locked out of the hospital by Baystate management, who kept the RNs from caring for their patients the evening before the strike. The lockout lasted for two days following the strike and involved Baystate spending $1 million to hire replacement nurses from outside the community instead of allowing BFMC nurses to care for their patients once the strike concluded.

Following the strike, Baystate gave its "best and final" to BFMC nurses on July 21. BFMC nurses voted to reject that offer on August 15. The MNA has filed more than 20 unfair labor practice charges against Baystate on behalf of BFMC nurses for, among other reasons, failing to bargain in good faith over mandatory subjects of bargaining such as nurse workload and health insurance.

BFMC nurses began negotiating for a new contract in November 2016 to replace the contract that expired Dec. 31, 2016. A federal mediator is involved in negotiations.

MassNurses.org  Facebook.com/MassNurses  Twitter.com/MassNurses Instagram.com/MassNurses

Founded in 1903, the Massachusetts Nurses Association is the largest union of registered nurses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Its 23,000 members advance the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Legislature and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.

SOURCE Massachusetts Nurses Association

Related Links

http://www.massnurses.org


BOSTON, Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Beacon Hill Staffing Group recently opened its 52nd location, laying down roots in San Diego, California. The new office opens with Beacon Hill Technologies, Beacon Hill's IT staffing division. With this addition, the Technologies division now operates in 31 Beacon Hill locations including Boston, Boston  West, Alpharetta, Austin, Charlotte, Chicago, Chicago  West, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, Denver, Des Moines, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Worth, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Madison, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Nashville, New York, Orange County, Parsippany, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Sacramento, San Francisco, St. Louis, Washington, D.C., and now San Diego.

Leading Beacon Hill Technologies in San Diego is Division Manager, Jennifer Bird. Ms. Bird has been delivering top technology talent in the staffing industry since 2011. She started her career at Beacon Hill in the Orange County office, supporting the delivery side of the business, developing strong relationships and placing exceptional IT talent in the local market as well as helping mentor a team of recruiters. From there she moved over into the business development space and soon helped lead OC's Business Development team. Her strong recruiting/sales background, positive attitude and resilience have led her to success, delivering top technology solutions to IT executives across a wide array of industries, including: Automotive, Financial Services, Healthcare, Mortgage/Real-Estate, Software and BioTech/Pharma. She is committed to understanding her client's environment and needs in order to deliver high quality resources. She can be recognized for building long-term partnerships in the local OC/SD area.

"I am extremely honored and excited to embark on this new journey in San Diego with such an amazing team by my side," said Ms. Bird. "San Diego is a large county with a diverse customer base  from BioTech, Medical Device, Financial, Healthcare, DOD/Government and many more  there are so many opportunities here. I have no doubt that together as a team we will gain contract base market share, add value and provide efficiencies to the hiring process for every single client we partner with."

"I am thrilled that we are opening an office in San Diego for our Beacon Hill Technologies Division. I'm even more excited about Jennifer Bird being the person to lead the way," notes Carla Andrea, Regional Director of Beacon Hill's Technologies Division in the Orange County and Los Angeles markets. "She is the hardest working and most resilient person I've ever met so I know she is the right person for the challenging job of opening in a new market. I'm thankful that Beacon Hill has provided opportunities to continue to expand on the West Coast and I'm already very impressed with the core team she has started to assemble. I know they will be a force to reckon with in the near future!"

Beacon Hill Technologies places IT contractors in all 50 states by seamlessly coordinating recruiting resources in local and regional markets with Beacon Hill Technologies National Recruiting & Delivery, a dedicated national recruiting team that focuses exclusively on national accounts.

Beacon Hill Staffing Group's niche brands provide direct hire, executive search, temporary staffing, contract consulting, temp/contract-to-hire, and MSP/VMS and RPO solutions to emerging growth companies and the Fortune 500 across multiple market sectors and all industries. Over time, office locations, specialty practice areas and service offerings will be added to address ever changing constituent needs.

SOURCE Beacon Hill Staffing Group

Related Links

http://www.beaconhillstaffing.com


PITTSFIELD, Mass., Feb. 8, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The registered nurses of Berkshire Medical Center, represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association, will hold a one-day strike on Tuesday, Feb. 27 unless hospital executives agree to a fair contract that protects and improves the quality of nurse staffing and patient care.

Nurses gave the hospital more than the 10 days' notice required by law and ample opportunity to negotiate, with another bargaining session scheduled for February 13. The notice was issued at the end of bargaining on February 8. During that session, the sixth since the nurses' one-day strike in October, management refused to make any agreements that would commit the hospital to maintaining current levels of RN staffing or make any improvements.

"Nurses should never be forced to go on strike to protect patient care," said Alex Neary, RN and Co-Chair of the BMC MNA Bargaining Committee. "The hospital has told us they will not give up the right to make staffing worse if they want to. This is unacceptable to us. Our nurses and our community have empowered us to stand up for what is right. We hope management will make the right decision and reach a settlement."

BMC RN's three-part staffing solution:

Management will not diminish current nurse staffing grids;

Charge nurses (with specific exceptions) will not have patient assignments or limited assignments;

Management will agree to post and recruit for positions to meet contractual obligations.

Charge nurses need to be able to effectively coordinate care and assist other nurses. If their patient assignments are eliminated or reduced but their fellow nurses have even heavier patient assignments, the problems we have identified for years will remain.

Management's counterproposals have fallen short: They want to retain unilateral authority to make staffing worse. Their proposed charge nurse language does not create new commitments on the issue. And although they say they have posted and recruited for positions over the past year, they will not commit to doing so in contract language.

BMC also wants to double the health insurance premium costs for hundreds of our nurses on individual plans. Many nurses on family plans already pay 40 to 70 percent more for health insurance than their managers.

There is no reason Berkshire Medical Center cannot agree to a fair contract, especially considering its enormous profits. Over the last five years, BMC has made a profit of more than $207 million, according to the Center for Health Information and Analysis. In 2016 alone, BMC posted a profit of $47.2 million. That is a margin of 9.7%  more than three times the state and regional averages of 3%, making it a real outlier among profitable hospitals. Read the CHIA BMC data here.

Bargaining Background

The nearly 800 BMC nurses have been negotiating a new contract since September 2016. Nurses held a one-day strike on October 3 and were then locked out of the hospital by BMC management for four additional days. The next bargaining session is scheduled for February 13. Negotiations include a federal mediator.

For more details on negotiations go to http://massnurses.org/news-and-events/p/openItem/10773 or contact Joe Markman at [email protected].

MassNurses.org  Facebook.com/MassNurses  Twitter.com/MassNurses  Instagram.com/MassNurses

____________________________________________

Founded in 1903, the Massachusetts Nurses Association is the largest union of registered nurses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Its 23,000 members advance the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Legislature and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.

SOURCE Massachusetts Nurses Association

Related Links

http://www.massnurses.org


ROHNERT PARK, Calif., Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- In a move to further connect with the public, Brandon Frere, CEO of Ameritech Financial, has debuted BrandonFrere.com. After several years in business, Frere wants to step out and tell the story of how he became the entrepreneur and leader he is today. As CEO of Ameritech Financial, a document preparation company that assists federal student loan borrowers in applying for federal repayment plans and forgiveness programs, Frere uses his own experiences to better help others improve their financial lives.

"I have never stepped out into the public like this, but it became very important to me to do so," said Frere. "I wanted to tell my story."

At BrandonFrere.com, Frere's biography describes his early years in Sonoma County, California, his college education and his trajectory as a professional and business owner. Frere's bio explains how his own student loan experience informed his desire to help student loan borrowers get the help they needed with navigating loan repayment and forgiveness.

BrandonFrere.com also features a blog. Frere will share thoughts on news from the student loan world, issues that he feels passionate about and more. He has also started to connect with others on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

"On my website and my social media, you will get to know me and you will get to know what's important to me," said Frere. "I'm excited about this new chapter and the new connections I'm making."

About Ameritech Financial

Ameritech Financial is a private company located in Rohnert Park, California. Ameritech Financial has already helped thousands of consumers with financial analysis and student loan document preparation to apply for federal student loan repayment programs offered through the Department of Education.

Ameritech Financial is a member of the Association for Student Loan Relief (AFSLR) and each representative on the phone has received the Certified Student Loan Professional certification through the International Association of Professional Debt Arbitrators (IAPDA).

Ameritech Financial prides itself on its exceptional customer service.

Contact

To learn more about Ameritech Financial, please contact:

Ameritech Financial

5789 State Farm Drive #265

Rohnert Park, CA 94928

1-800-792-8621

[email protected]

Related Links

Ameritech Financial home page

Brandon Frere's website

SOURCE Ameritech Financial

Related Links

https://ameritechfinancial.com/


MOU conclusively resolves any uncertainty regarding the clearing of securities for issuers with U.S. marijuana-related activities

OTTAWA, Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - CannaRoyalty Corp. (CSE: CRZ) (OTCQX: CNNRF) ("CannaRoyalty" or the "Company"), an active investor and operator in the legal cannabis industry, commented on the Memorandum of Understanding (the "MOU") signed between CDS Clearing and Depository Services Inc. ("CDS") and Canadian Equities Exchanges, on February 8, 2018.

"Taken in combination with the positive staff notice released by the Canadian Securities Administrators ("CSA") yesterday, we view this MOU as a clear and positive statement in support of Canadian issuers with U.S. marijuana-related activities," said Marc Lustig, CEO of CannaRoyalty. "We applaud CDS and its parent company TMX Group for clarifying this issue for investors once and for all."

The MOU reinforces CDS' reliance on individual exchanges to review the conduct of listed issuers based on those exchanges' listing requirements. The Canadian Securities Exchange, which signed the MOU, has repeatedly expressed support for issuers with U.S. cannabis assets such as CannaRoyalty.

TMX Group Limited press release regarding the MOU: http://bit.ly/2nSBanE

Copy of the MOU: http://bit.ly/2sjVcNm

CannaRoyalty's press release regarding the February 8, 2018 CSA notice: http://bit.ly/2BLNK1m

About CannaRoyalty

CannaRoyalty is an active investor and operator in the legal cannabis industry. Our focus is building and supporting a diversified portfolio of growth-ready assets in high-value segments of the cannabis sector, including research, consumer brands, devices and intellectual property. Our management team combines a hands-on understanding of the cannabis industry with seasoned financial know-how, assembling a platform of holdings via royalty agreements, equity interests, secured convertible debt, licensing agreements and its own branded portfolio. CannaRoyalty's shares trade on the Canadian Stock Exchange (CSE) under the symbol CRZ and internationally on the OTCQX under the symbol CNNRF.

Forward Looking Statements

Statements in this news release that are forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties concerning the specific factors disclosed here and elsewhere in CannaRoyalty's periodic filings with Canadian securities regulators. When used in this news release, words such as "will, could, plan, estimate, expect, intend, may, potential, believe, should," and similar expressions, are forward- looking statements.

Forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, statements regarding the Offering, the use of proceeds of the Offering and the Company's expectations with respect to pursuing new opportunities and its future growth and other statements of fact.

Although CannaRoyalty has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, there can be other factors that cause results, performance or achievements not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended, including, but not limited to: dependence on obtaining regulatory approvals; investing in target companies or projects which have limited or no operating history and are engaged in activities currently considered illegal under US Federal Laws; changes in laws; limited operating history; reliance on management; requirements for additional financing; competition; hindering market growth and state adoption due to inconsistent public opinion and perception of the medical-use and adult-use marijuana industry and; regulatory or political change.

There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate or that management's expectations or estimates of future developments, circumstances or results will materialize. As a result of these risks and uncertainties, the results or events predicted in these forward-looking statements may differ materially from actual results or events.

Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this news release are made as of the date of this release. CannaRoyalty disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise such information, except as required by applicable law, and CannaRoyalty does not assume any liability for disclosure relating to any other company mentioned herein.

SOURCE CannaRoyalty Corp.
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif., Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Confie, a national provider of personal and commercial lines insurance, announced today its first two acquisitions of 2018  Day & Read, Inc. in Little Falls, NY and Blue Ridge Insurance of Ellensburg, WA.

Day & Read Inc. is the premier personal and commercial lines property and casualty insurance agency in Central New York, with five locations throughout the Mohawk Valley region. Blue Ridge Insurance has served its community for over 50 years and is a preferred personal lines focused insurance agency. Confie will retain the employees of both companies.

Cesar Soriano, Chief Executive Officer of Confie, said, "Day & Read and Blue Ridge are outstanding independent agencies and both are a strong fit as we continue to broaden our family of companies and continue our goal of becoming the nation's leading personal lines insurance broker. As we build our strong presence in New York, Day & Read will serve as a hub for the central region of New York. Blue Ridge expands our existing presence in Washington state and we look forward to adding Confie's scale and expertise. We continue to evaluate a strong and robust pipeline of pending acquisitions and look forward to completing those transaction in the year to come."

In less than 10 years since its founding in 2008, Confie has grown organically and through acquisitions to become the nation's largest privately-held personal lines insurance brokerage.

About Confie

Established in 2008, Confie is a leading national insurance distribution company primarily focused on personal lines and small commercial insurance. The experienced Confie management team continues to build Confie's portfolio of regional personal lines brokerages. Today, Confie has nearly 800 retail locations. The company has leading market positions in California, Arizona, Texas, Florida, Washington, Oregon, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Nevada, Illinois, Alabama, Kansas, Wisconsin, South Carolina, Missouri, Louisiana, Indiana and New Mexico and expects to continue its expansion in those and other states. Confie is a portfolio company of ABRY Partners. For more information about Confie, please visit www.confie.com.

Contact: Mordy Rothberg

Executive Chairman

Confie

201-880-7902

[email protected]

OR

Chris Tofalli

Chris Tofalli Public Relations, LLC

914-834-4334

SOURCE Confie

Related Links

http://www.confie.com


DENVER, Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Be Hippy, a Colorado based lifestyle brand, takes the next leap in their adventure with a new kiosk at Denver International Airport (DIA). The kiosk will be located in B Concourse and will carry a wide range of Be Hippy products and apparel. This is an important milestone for the growing lifestyle company.

Be Hippy

For Bart O'Brien and Leigh Pearson, co-founders of Be Hippy, it all started with a hat and their love for Colorado. They had an idea, not for a brand, but for a lifestyle, a mantra: Be Hippy. "We look at the world a little differently. Life is short, so why not do what makes you happy?" says O'Brien. The mantra, a play on "Be Happy", fit their love for music festivals, the outdoors and wanting to make a positive impact in the world. The first product under the Be Hippy brand was a trucker hat with a gray and white Be Hippy mountain logo, and a Colorado flag on the side.

"We thought it was cute, and we shared it with friends and wore it to several music festivals. We had no idea that it would catch on the way it did," says Pearson.

The Be Hippy hat and mantra spread through friends and Facebook, quickly gaining a following at music festivals in Colorado and across the country. When asked who the Be Hippy customer is, O'Brien answered, "We want people looking to do what makes them happy and makes them want to continue to live life to the fullest. They can love music festivals like us, or extreme sports, paddle boarding, hiking, anything. Be Hippy products reflect a state of mind and not any one particular activity. Since launching the brand, Pearson and O'Brien travelled to over 150 festivals across the country, introducing the Be Hippy lifestyle at each location.

The new kiosk will open a huge opportunity to reach a large collection of potential new customers, with Denver International Airport expecting to see more than 60 million travelers in 2018.

"The deal to put a kiosk in DIA has been in the works for nearly two years, but the timing couldn't be better for Be Hippy," said O'Brien. As a member of 1% For The Planet, Be Hippy donates 1% of all gross sales to improve the planet through smart giving as a way to do their part. "The goal has always been to make a positive impact with what we do. I look up to people like John Muir and Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia, and aspire to make a difference the way they have," said O'Brien.

Be Hippy is hoping the new kiosk will make a world of difference, to more than just their brand. Their goal is to become much more than a clothing brand, and empower people to find a lifestyle of happiness and helping the planet.

About Be Hippy: Be Hippy is a grassroots lifestyle brand with a passion for music, the outdoors, traveling, fashion and living life to the fullest. All Be Hippy goods are designed in Colorado. Be Hippy donates 1% of all gross sales to 1% For The Planet. For more information visit www.behippy.com.

Media Contact

Andrew Holliday

Harvest Creative

720.904.3396

[email protected]

SOURCE Be Hippy

Related Links

https://behippy.com/


GENEVA, Feb. 8, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Great Hongqiao International Hospital Management Company, Ltd ('GHI'), Pinetree Care Group ('PCG') and EasyCare Academy (Switzerland) S.A ('ECA'), today announced that they have entered into a memorandum of understanding in which they will partner to form the first Sino-Swiss joint venture in Shanghai to train and educate care workers who focus on supporting older adults to age with dignity in their own homes.

This new venture, with registered offices in the Pudong New District of Shanghai, will provide classroom-based and online educational training for care workers in Shanghai. It will be aligned with international standards and the policies and guidelines of the CPC Central Committee and State Council on Ageing. The goal will be to encourage local community-based support for older adults' caregiving; either from individuals working in related vocations or those wishing to enter the field. This will be achieved, through ECA's best in-class, comprehensive and accredited curriculum which is based on the principles of person-centred and outcomes-based compassionate care.

"We are excited to be partnering with these two leading organizations, who share our commitment to the delivery of highest-quality care, to bring our accredited learning platform and standardized methodology to train workers on the care of older adults in Shanghai," said Peter NICHOLSON, Chairman, President & CEO of ECA. "Shanghai has a large and rapidly ageing population. By providing training and education for caregivers, we can help support people to remain independent at home and live better as they live longer."

ECA is a Geneva, Switzerland headquartered social impact company focused on changing the future of ageing by providing accredited vocational training and education for those who are caregivers and those who want to become caregivers. The company has developed a proprietary digital education platform focused on providing coursework through which progressive levels of expertise and certification are achieved as students complete the structured and accredited course curriculum.

"China's ageing population has been increasing rapidly. To meet the growing demand for improved quality of life, the central and local government place a high degree of importance on health care and older adults' caregiving," said Mr. Hongmin Song, President of GHI. "GHI is delighted to join hands with Swiss-based ECA and PCG to establish Shanghai's first Sino-Swiss joint venture that will be focused on older adults' caregiving training and education. We will cooperate to build up a professional, standardized and branded health and caregiving platform."

"Caregiving in China has an enormous opportunity to flourish, as the long-term care insurance system is being piloted, and international partnerships with the industry are strongly encouraged. It is also facing the challenge of maintaining person-centred quality services while scaling up to meet the growing market needs," said Ninie WANG, President & CEO of PCG. "This partnership is perfectly timed and well-positioned to capture the opportunity, combining international best practice with local innovation."

According to the World Health Organization, the number of older adults requiring daily care is expected to increase by up to 60% by 2050, indicating a rapid increase in the demand for long term care in China, and even more so in Shanghai given its rapidly ageing population. In-home outcomes-based care professionals, a model that PCG helped pioneer, and for which it is nationally recognized, is emerging as a powerful solution to meet these growing long term care needs.

About EasyCare Academy

Based on 29 years' research experience across nearly 50 countries, ECA is a Swiss-based social impact company focused on supporting personalized care for healthy ageing to enable people to live better as they live longer. Their digital platform, validated by more than 90 scientific, peer-reviewed publications, assesses biological, social, psychological and environmental domains to understand older people's concerns and generate a personalized response that connects individuals to local resources and solutions. ECA works with caregivers  family members, paid caregivers, healthcare professionals and others focused on supporting people as they age  providing best-in-class tools, training and education and empowering them to support the health, independence and well-being of older people while lowering the burden on healthcare budgets. More information about ECA can be found at www.EasyCareAcademy.com.

About Pinetree Care Group

Established in 2004, PCG provides outcomes-based healthcare services for community-dwelling Chinese seniors as well as other patients in need by professional caregivers. With innovative service models, advanced information technology and a team of professional talents, PCG has become China's most trusted consumer brand in the elderly care and healthcare service industry. By the end of 2017, PCG has provided 4.26 million person-time services to 320,000 families. PCG was among the first organizations to be recognized as 'Model for Respecting the Elderly' by China National Committee on Ageing. In 2015 the Health China Convention named PCG, 'the most trusted (caregiving) brand by consumers'. PCG's service model has been ISO9001, 14001 and 18001 accredited. PCG has worked with the Geriatric Department of Peking Union Medical College Hospital to pioneer a continuous care model, has participated in various scientific research projects including national home rehabilitation study. PCG is a strong advocate for an accessible and affordable integrated care model for healthy ageing.

About Great Hongqiao International Hospital Management Group

GHI is a hospital-brand management organization approved and endorsed by SAIC (State Administration for Industry and Commerce). Located at Shanghai Great Hongqiao Business District, GHI is committed to the modernization of medicare industry's investment and operations management. GHI is a member of Shanghai Health Science and Technology Association Vice Presidency. Its business scope includes specialty hospital franchise management, equity investment management in medical technology, nursing care training and certification, hospital logistics management, and the integrated development and outsourced management of other corresponding healthcare fields. Firmly adhering to the principle of 'curing and healing', 'Eastern & Western combining', 'harmoniously developing', 'multi-benefiting', GHI strives to create superior technology for the medical industry and promote mutual-assistance service platforms in order to better serve and benefit the society.

SOURCE EasyCare Academy

Related Links

https://www.easycareacademy.com


CARROLLTON, Texas, Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- FASTSIGNS International, Inc., franchisor of FASTSIGNS, the leading sign, graphics and visual communications franchise, announced today it has signed the first Area Representative Agreement in the company's North American history to expand its footprint in New York City. As part of the agreement, Greg Carafello, president of Executive Franchise Group, LLC, will develop new FASTSIGNS locations in all of the city's five boroughs, as well as oversee franchise development and provide operational support for the market throughout its ongoing growth. FASTSIGNS currently has two existing locations in Manhattan and Staten Island, with plans to develop more than 20 additional centers in the coming years.

"We are extremely excited to have Greg spearhead FASTSIGNS' growth in the New York City area," said Mark Jameson, EVP of Franchise Support and Development, FASTSIGNS International, Inc. "New York is one of the few untapped domestic markets in the U.S. and we believe there is a strong opportunity for the brand to develop there. We are confident that with nearly four decades of experience in the franchise and sign and graphics industries in the local market, Greg is the right person to drive our expansion in an area with so much potential."

A franchising industry veteran, Carafello has extensive experience as a master franchisee for several additional leading brands, and currently serves as the master franchisee for Cartridge World with over 80 stores in eight states and 18 Liberty Tax's in Manhattan. He began his career more than 37 years ago at Canon as a copier sales trainee, and rose through the ranks to become their youngest branch director at the age of 26. He and his wife went on found their own company, AbraCadabra Color Copy Centers, which he sold after nearly two decades in business to focus on his franchising endeavors. As an area developer for FASTSIGNS, he will spearhead the company's development efforts in New York City and provide support to new franchisees to ensure their businesses are successful.

"After spending decades in this industry, I'm thrilled to be joining one of the most respected names in franchising and number one in the signage segment. FASTSIGNS' exceptional success over the past several years is a true testament to the company's culture and the value of having a strong leader like Catherine Monson at the helm," said Carafello. "I look forward to leveraging my extensive experience in franchising to drive FASTSIGNS' expansion throughout New York City by identifying the right candidates for the brand, positioning them for success and supporting them throughout the years!"

This announcement comes on the heels of a year of exceptional growth for the brand, opening 43 locations in the U.S. and Canada, as well as three in the U.K. throughout 2017. In 2018, FASTSIGNS plans to open an additional 45 centers across the U.S. and is targeting aggressive franchise development in markets such as Greater New York City, Boston, and the Northeast Corridor, and throughout the West Coast including in Southern California and Arizona. Across North America, FASTSIGNS has over 400 markets ready for development. Internationally, FASTSIGNS is continuing to seek qualified candidates to grow its international footprint in target markets throughout the world, including Brazil, Quebec, North Africa, Southeast Asia, India, Europe, and Latin America.

FASTSIGNS International, Inc. was ranked the #1 franchise opportunity in its category and 70 overall on Entrepreneur magazine's 2018 Franchise 500, the world's first, best and most comprehensive franchise ranking. Acknowledged by entrepreneurs and franchisors as a top competitive tool of measurement, the Franchise 500 recognizes FASTSIGNS for its exceptional performance in areas including financial strength and stability, growth rate and brand power. Additionally, FASTSIGNS has been recognized for its franchisee satisfaction by being named a World Class Franchise by the Franchise Research Institute for five consecutive years and has been ranked by Franchise Business Review as one of the "Best of the Best" for franchisee satisfaction for the last 10 years. FASTSIGNS also was named a 2018 Best-in-Category Franchise by Franchise Business Review and was named to its "Innovative Franchises" list in 2017.

As part of the brand's development strategy, FASTSIGNS is also targeting co-brand and conversion opportunities whereby print shop owners can expand their services by adding FASTSIGNS to their existing business or convert their business into a thriving FASTSIGNS center.

For any existing business looking to expand into this fast-paced market, FASTSIGNS gives the added support and training needed to make the process smooth. Whether an existing print-based business or a photography studio, FASTSIGNS' co-brand centers receive the same assistance as any new franchisee, with the added bonus of being able to exclude established revenue streams, outside of the FASTSIGNS core business offering, from future royalty payments. Both the co-brand franchise opportunity and conversion can be started with only $15,000 down on the initial franchise fee.

For information about the FASTSIGNS franchise opportunity, contact Mark Jameson ([email protected] or 214-346-5679).

About FASTSIGNS

FASTSIGNS International, Inc. is the largest sign and visual communications franchisor in North America, and is the worldwide franchisor of more than 675 independently owned and operated FASTSIGNS centers in eight countries including the US, Canada, England, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Grand Cayman, Mexico and Australia (where centers operate as SIGNWAVE).

FASTSIGNS locations provide comprehensive sign and visual graphic solutions to help companies of all sizes and across all industries attract more attention, communicate their message, sell more products, help visitors find their way and extend their branding across all of their customer touch points including decor, events, wearables and marketing materials. Learn more about sign and visual graphic solutions or find a location at fastsigns.com. Follow the brand on Twitter @FASTSIGNS, Facebook at facebook.com/FASTSIGNS or LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fastsigns.

Contact:

Chelsea Bear

Fish Consulting

954-893-9150

[email protected]

SOURCE FASTSIGNS International, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.fastsigns.com


ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2018 Winter Olympic games in Pyeongchang, South Korea are less than 50 miles from the North Korean border. With ongoing hostilities between the nations, travelers may be worried. Leading travel insurance company, Squaremouth, explains travel insurance coverage when traveling to the 2018 Olympics.

Acts of War

While unlikely, if there was an act of war between North and South Korea, travelers would not be covered to cancel or leave their trip early.

Travel Insurance Advice: As an 'Act of War' is commonly excluded from travel insurance policies, consider getting a policy with Non-Medical Evacuation coverage which arranges transportation from a place of danger to a place of safety during civil or political unrest.

Travel Warnings

The United States Department of State ranks South Korea as a Level 1 Travel Advisory. Some travelers may think they can cancel their trip to South Korea because of the warning but most travel insurance policies don't cover travel warnings.

Travel Insurance Advice: Travelers shouldn't buy a policy if they're looking for coverage for a travel warning or if they're too scared to travel. The only way travelers can be sure to get a portion of their money back is to get Cancel For Any Reason coverage. This upgrade refunds travelers 75% of their costs if they cancel for a reason not listed in their policy, as long as they insure all of their trip expenses and cancel at least two days before they're scheduled to leave.

Olympics Tickets

Tickets to specific Olympic games can be a significant investment. If a traveler cancels or ends their trip early for a covered reason, they can get their money back for their non-refundable Winter Olympics tickets.

Travel Insurance Advice: Travelers should make sure to include the cost of their legitimate Olympic game tickets when purchasing travel insurance.

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


JERUSALEM, Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Ex Libris, a ProQuest company, is pleased to announce that the Ex Libris Leganto course resource list solution is now live at 45 institutions, providing instructors, students, and librarians with all the functionality needed for creating, maintaining, and using reading lists.

A banner year for the Leganto solution, 2017 saw a great increase in the number of Leganto customers. A total of 77 institutions in 15 countries, including two consortiaCooperating Libraries In Consortium (CLIC) in Minnesota and the BIBSYS Library System Consortium in Norwayhave opted for the resource list solution.

Institutions using Leganto resource lists have found that the flow of information and resources between libraries, academic staff, and students has improved dramatically. The libraries have become more central to teaching and learning while optimizing staff time through automated workflows. In addition, the Leganto solution is helping lower the costs of course materials for both students and libraries by automatically identifying resources that are available through the library, alerting the library of materials that have been requested, and supporting pay-per-use copyright licensing.

University of Denver Access Services Librarian Ryan Buller explained, "This is our first semester using the Leganto reading list solution. We are confident that students will enjoy the ease with which they can now access course readings, and we anticipate that the simple Leganto interface will enable faculty members to create reading lists by themselves. These benefits should result in greater usage of our library's resources and a lowering of the cost of materials for students."

Angela Laurins, manager of Library Learning Services at the University of Edinburgh, commented, "Using the Leganto solution for our Resource Lists service has enabled us to improve workflows and connections between teams who create lists, acquire content, and manage print collections to support taught courses. Leganto helps us achieve our objective of providing timely access to resources in sufficient quantities and in a consistent way for students. The number of courses using the Resource Lists service has increased since we implemented the Leganto system, and we have seen greater engagement with the service by academic staff than in previous years. Using the Alma Analytics module, we're hoping to be able to join cost analysis with usage in all areas (including Leganto lists) and to provide benchmark statistics and analyses of trends over time."

Curtin University Library Associate Director Peter Green said, "Now embedded as an essential part of the learning environment at Curtin University, the Leganto reading list solution has brought the library closer to our academic partners and improved the learning environment for students. The creation of over 1,000 reading lists with nearly 40,000 citations in our first full year of operation has provided our nearly 900 instructors and a cohort of over 35,000 students with more than 300,000 full-text viewsquite an achievement and one that reflects Curtin University's focus on innovation and excellence."

Shlomi Kringel, Ex Libris vice president of learning and research solutions, commented, "We are excited to see the remarkable adoption of the Leganto resource list solution by instructors and students around the world. We look forward to helping even more institutions create an engaging teaching and learning experience while reducing the cost of course resources."

About the University of Denver

Founded in 1864, the University of Denver (DU), located in Denver, Colorado, is committed to engaging with students in advancing scholarly inquiry, cultivating critical and creative thought, and generating knowledge. The University strives to educate the 21st-century citizens and leaders needed in its organizations and communities. The University of Denver is ranked among the country's top 100 universities, and the Institute of International Education ranks DU first in the nation among doctoral and research institutions in the percentage of undergraduate students participating in study-abroad programs.

For additional information, visit the University of Denver's homepage at www.du.edu.

About the University of Edinburgh

A member of the elite Russell Group of universities, the University of Edinburgh is a world-leading center of academic excellence. With a history dating back to 1583, it is one of the United Kingdom's oldest universities and Scotland's largest. Graduates of the University signed the United States Declaration of Independence, founded Ivy League schools, and brought modern medicine to China and post-colonial government to Africa. Edinburgh's graduates have been awarded Nobel prizes, won Olympic medals, traveled into space, and written some of the world's most-read books. Among the University's former students are naturalist Charles Darwin, philosopher David Hume, and Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Innovations linked to Edinburgh include the thesaurus, the tuberculosis vaccine, and Dolly the Sheep, the world's first cloned mammal.

Edinburgh provides a high-quality learning and teaching environment for over 23,300 undergraduates, more than 8,600 taught postgraduates, and 4,500 research postgraduates. The library's holdings consist of over 3.8 million books, e-books, and e-journals, with print resources housed in the purpose-built eight-story Main Library building at George Square.

For more information about the university, see http://www.ed.ac.uk.

About Curtin University

Curtin University is an internationally respected research and teaching institution based in Perth, Australia, with campuses in Sydney, Malaysia, and Singapore. Established in 1966 as the Western Australian Institute of Technology (WAIT), the institution gained university status and was renamed Curtin University of Technology in 1987. In 2010, the University changed its name to Curtin University to reflect the breadth of its offerings. Home to nearly 47,000 students and graduate students, the University offers a wide range of programs in business, the humanities, health sciences, resources, engineering, and science.

For more information, see www.curtin.edu.au.

About Ex Libris

Ex Libris, a ProQuest company, is a leading global provider of cloud-based solutions for higher education. Offering SaaS solutions for the management and discovery of the full spectrum of library and scholarly materials, as well as mobile campus solutions driving student engagement and success, Ex Libris serves thousands of customers in 90 countries. For more information about Ex Libris, see our website, and join us on Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

SOURCE ProQuest
DUBLIN, Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

The "Global Syphilis Testing Market 2018-2022" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global syphilis testing market to grow at a CAGR of 2.12% during the period 2018-2022.

Global Syphilis Testing Market 2018-2022, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market. To calculate the market size, the report considers the revenue generated from the retail sales of kits, reagents, and instruments used in syphilis testing.

The latest trend gaining momentum in the market is increase in premarital screening. Premarital screening is a health assessment test for soon-to-be married couples who are tested for infectious diseases, possibility of genetic diseases, and transmissible diseases.

According to the report, one of the major drivers for this market is Increase in prevalence of syphilis. STDs refer to a group of illnesses that can be transmitted from one person to another through the sharing of body fluids, blood, and vaginal fluids. STDs include more than 25-30 infectious diseases that are spread through sexual activity and syphilis is one of them. Syphilis is a genital ulcerative disease caused by the bacterium T. pallidum. Syphilis has mild initial symptoms like a painless sore or no symptoms at all. As the disease progresses, severe rashes appear, and the disease eventually causes blindness or damage to internal organs and death.

Further, the report states that one of the major factors hindering the growth of this market is Lack of trained professionals. Clinical laboratories and diagnostic centers require trained specialists in medical diagnostics. However, there is a global shortage of these specialists in diagnostic centers and hospitals.

Generally, most rural hospitals in the US face issues such as limited patient volume to justify hiring specialists who charge high. Most times, the expenses associated with bringing specialists in-house is cost prohibitive, especially for smaller medical facilities. Limited public spending, decline in funding, and controlled allocation of funds to laboratories for quality assurance are some of the reasons for lack of specialists in countries such as India.

Key vendors

Abbott

Beckman Coulter

Bio-Rad Laboratories

F. Hoffmann-La Roche

Siemens Healthcare

Key Topics Covered:



PART 01: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY



PART 02: SCOPE OF THE REPORT



PART 03: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY



PART 04: MARKET LANDSCAPE



PART 05: MARKET SIZING

Market definition

Market sizing

Market size and forecast

PART 06: FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS



PART 07: MARKET SEGMENTATION BY TECHNOLOGY

Segmentation by technology

Comparison by technology

Global syphilis testing market by conventional testing

Global syphilis testing market by POC testing

Market opportunity by technology

PART 08: CUSTOMER LANDSCAPE



PART 09: REGIONAL LANDSCAPE

Geographical segmentation

Regional comparison

Market opportunity

PART 10: DECISION FRAMEWORK



PART 11: DRIVERS AND CHALLENGES



PART 12: MARKET TRENDS

Increase in premarital screening

Rapidly increasing demand for POC testing

Increasing importance of promotional activities

Rising rates of syphilis among men

PART 13: VENDOR LANDSCAPE

Overview

Landscape disruption

PART 14: VENDOR ANALYSIS

Vendors covered

Vendor classification

Market positioning of vendors

Other prominent vendors



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/hb9bsp/global_syphilis?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

http://www.researchandmarkets.com


TORONTO, Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Thornhill Medical has received notification from Health Canada that the MADM, Mobile Anesthesia Delivery Module has received approval for its Medical Device License.

About MADM

Thornhill Medical

MADM is the first:

Digital anesthetic vaporizer

In-circuit anesthesia delivery device

Versatile anesthetic delivery: Can be added to any anesthetic machine. The same vaporizer delivers Isoflurane or Sevoflurane. The rate of induction of inhalational anesthesia independent of fresh gas flow. Can be added to any ventilator  even flow through ventilators or self-inflating bags to turn them into anesthetic delivery machines. Can be used to delivery inhalation anesthesia in the operating room, intensive care unit, emergency department and even in the field during military operations or disasters. Can be used with an anesthetic reflector to improve the efficiency of anesthetic delivery by an order of magnitude.



"We are extremely pleased to provide a new breakthrough in anesthesia delivery. Our MADM device can be added to any ventilator to create a portable anesthesia machine. Adding Health Canada approval to our FDA clearance now allows us to provide this groundbreaking technology to health-care providers throughout North America," stated Kipton Lade, President, and CEO of Thornhill Medical.

About Thornhill Medical

The MADM Mobile Anesthesia Delivery Module is designed and manufactured at Thornhill Medical's ISO 13485-certified facility in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The company develops and manufactures innovative healthcare devices. The founder, Dr. Joseph Fisher is a specialist in Internal Medicine and Anesthesiology. He is also an active scientist in the fields of critical care medicine and cardiopulmonary and cerebrovascular physiology with more than 170 peer-reviewed publications and 40 patents. The University Health Network spun off Thornhill Medical in 2003 as a for-profit company tasked to capitalize on Dr. Fisher's expertise and inventiveness to make novel treatments and diagnostics available to the public. Our full story can be found on our website - www.thornhillmedical.com.

Media Contact

Kipton Lade

President & CEO

Thornhill Medical

(416) 597-1325

[email protected]

SOURCE Thornhill Medical

Related Links

http://www.thornhillmedical.com/


SEATTLE, Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Imagine you're in third grade, sitting at your desk as the teacher explains a division problem. But you can't think about the best way to divide 15 apples among 10 of your friends. You're too worried about when your next meal will be and where it will come from.

According to the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, nearly 40,000 students across Washington State are homeless. That's 40,000 students who are provided school meals during the week, and might go without food over the weekend.

Local business partners load donated food items into the SnackPack mobile. 220 homeless students in the Tukwila School District receive weekend meals from the Tukwila Weekend SnackPack Program every Friday throughout the school year.

For the Tukwila School District, there is now a way for homeless students to get weekend meals. StillWaters: Services for Families in Transition is a Tukwila-based nonprofit currently working with the district to provide homeless students with weekend meals that they might otherwise go without. The Program provides 220 students in the Tukwila School District with weekend meals.

An auction will be held to raise money to continue providing students with weekend meals. Tickets for the auction go on sale February 9, 2018. Tickets can be purchased online until March 2. Businesses, like Inspirus Credit Union, can sponsor the auction by emailing StillWaters.

TWEET THIS: Help Hungry Students get access to food during StillWaters Annual Auction.

What: Auction supporting homeless students in the Tukwila School District

When: Friday, March 9th, 2018, 6:00 p.m.  9:00 p.m.

Where: Tukwila Community Center, 12424 42nd Ave S, Tukwila, WA 98168

"The students are wonderful kids, they work hard and enjoy life even with the struggles they face," said StillWaters Founder Jenny McCoy. "Each Friday when we come to the schools to deliver these meals, we are greeted by excited, friendly faces which confirms that what we are doing is truly important."

Anyone interested in giving can visit StillWaters website to make one-time and recurring donations to support the program. Food contributions can be dropped off at Inspirus Credit Union, located at 5200 Southcenter Blvd., Seattle, WA.

About Inspirus Credit Union

Inspirus Credit Union (pronounced inspire-us) is where banking benefits education. When members use Inspirus for their financial services, they are furthering the credit unions mission and increasing contributions to Washington's education community. 80,000 member-owners share a passion for education that connects them to Inspirus and Washington classrooms. The credit union is a not-for-profit financial institution that returns profits to members through lower loan rates, higher returns on deposit, and donates time, talents, and dollars to the communities it serves. With $1.2 billion in assets, Inspirus operates branches in Seattle, Spokane, and Lynnwood. Inspirus Credit Union is a 2017 winner of Puget Sound Business Journal's Corporate Champion Awards, honoring their contributions to education. For more information, visit inspirusCU.org.

SOURCE Inspirus Credit Union

Related Links

https://www.inspiruscu.org


American Home Shield, repeatedly winning the Top Rated Company Award for the fourth consecutive year Select Home Warranty bagging the Best in Service Award once again this year The Best Regional Company Award going to America's Preferred Home Warranty for the second year straight; and Lastly, the Editor's Choice Award being presented to The Home Service Club

The editorial team at HomeWarrantyReviews.com states that this is the second instance where three of the home warranty companies that received awards in the previous year won them yet again in the current year. "We aspired to create a positive competitive atmosphere where home warranty companies would better their services and make the lives of homeowners easier. This year a stiff competition was witnessed between the companies that were battling to win the awards. This shows the encouragement and inspiration that the awards bestow on the companies that are awarded," said Krupesh Bhat, editor-in-chief of HomeWarrantyReviews.com.

Selected after careful assessment, the company that surpasses all others in terms of coverage, customer satisfaction, superiority in all repair services and product quality wins the Top Rated Award. The Best in Service Award is awarded to the company that has outperformed all the others in terms of customer service and assistance. The Best Regional Company Award is presented to the company that has outshined the customer satisfaction ratings of all other home warranty companies in a particular region. The final one which is the Editor's Choice Award is conferred on the company that has the highest evaluation of digital presence on the website, service and approval, complaint resolution, and customer reviews.

Ultimately, in the final screening, the shortlisted companies are compared, results are tallied, and the award winner is chosen.

The Winners' Words on The 2018 Annual Home Warranty Awards

The winning companies express their deep gratitude and appreciation for being recognized for their year long hard work in a few words.

American Home Shield, Headquartered Memphis, TN  2018 Top Rated

"In 2017 we serviced nearly four million claims across the nation. Receiving the Top Rated award four years straight is a tremendous honor and a testament to the hard work and commitment to service that our employees bring to work every single day," says Tim Haynes, President.

The Home Service Club, Headquartered New York, NY  2018 Editor's Choice

"We are very excited about winning the 2018 'Editor's Choice' award for the first time. We humbly accept this award and are extremely thankful to all of our staff and our partners for their hard work and contributions, to HomeWarrantyReviews.com for all of their work in the industry and, of course, to all of our customers without whom none of this would be possible. We look forward to continuing to improve and provide better service, resolutions, innovations, and user experiences in the world of home warranties and take the industry to new heights," says Dmitriy Krupin, Vice President.

Select Home Warranty, Headquartered Mahwah, NJ  2018 Best in Service

"We are honored to be named HomeWarrantyReviews' 2018 'Best in Service' home warranty company for 2018. This award is especially meaningful, having won in the same category last year. At Select, we strive to provide our customers with the best service in the industry and the fact that we've been recognized as Best in Service, now for the second year, is not only indicates that we are achieving this goal, but we are doing so consistently!" said Joseph Shrem, President.

America's Preferred Home Warranty, Headquartered Jackson, MI  2018 Best Regional Company

"To earn this award two years running is truly special to us. We are thankful to our hard working dedicated employees for their service. It is because of their efforts and God's blessings we are experiencing such tremendous success. Our team is always focused on treating our customers with respect and professionalism." says Randy Caltrider, President.

About HomeWarrantyReviews.com

HomeWarrantyReviews.com came into being back in 2006 when home warranty buyers lacked a detailed platform to research about home warranties. Ever since, the company has been creating comprehensive information about home warranty in the form of buyer guides, company profiles, user-generated reviews, and quality articles. The website currently has over 80 companies listed, 55,000 reviews, and more than 470,000 active users who review, research and invest in home warranties.

HomeWarrantyReviews.com has developed numerous tools like the home maintenance calculator, & complaint resolution program. The home maintenance calculator helps estimate the cost of appliance maintenance of your home and also gives you options for home warranty policies that cost lesser. In the complaint resolution program, the home warranty company is given a chance to resolve the issue of a dissatisfied customer who provides negative feedback within a stipulated time frame. By bridging the gap one step at a time, the website works towards providing the customer with information, hacks, tips, and tricks to maneuver the world of Home Warranty.

SOURCE HomeWarrantyReviews.com
MORRIS PLAINS, N.J., Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Honeywell (NYSE: HON) today announced Monday, April 23, 2018 as the date for its 2018 Annual Shareowners Meeting, to be held at 10:30 a.m. EDT at the company's headquarters in Morris Plains, New Jersey. Shareowners of record at the close of business on Friday, February 23, 2018 will be entitled to vote at the 2018 Annual Shareowners Meeting.

Honeywell (www.honeywell.com) is a Fortune 100 software-industrial company that delivers industry specific solutions that include aerospace and automotive products and services; control technologies for buildings, homes, and industry; and performance materials globally. Our technologies help everything from aircraft, cars, homes and buildings, manufacturing plants, supply chains, and workers become more connected to make our world smarter, safer, and more sustainable. For more news and information on Honeywell, please visit www.honeywell.com/newsroom.

Contacts:





Media Investor Relations Scott Sayres Mark Macaluso (480) 257-8921 (973) 455-2222 [email protected] [email protected]

SOURCE Honeywell

Related Links

http://www.honeywell.com


"Our goal for children is lasting change," said La June Montgomery Tabron, president and CEO, in her annual report letter, which further describes how this change can be realized using examples from the year and the Kellogg Foundation's approach. "Authentic community engagement requires our willingness to be taught and the courage to respond to what we learn," she noted.

A gallery of six stories illuminate the aspirations and varied experiences of communities in pursuing solutions for children  especially how they are creating models and appealing to allies to support their vision. Whether it's transforming a public school system in Battle Creek, Michigan, attracting new partners to realize a shared vision for a more sustainable village in Haiti or embarking on racial healing journeys throughout the U.S., community-based actions are at the heart of significantly changing children's lives for the better.

Financial Highlights for 2017

As part of the annual report, the foundation's financial statements and a summary of grantmaking investments are also now available. For the fiscal year ending Aug. 31, 2017, the foundation made 638 new grant commitments totaling $397 million. Of this amount, nearly 60 percent was invested across its priority places of Michigan ($115,625,125), Mississippi ($29,639,856), New Mexico ($34,131,768) and New Orleans ($17,801,446) within the U.S., and Mexico ($14,238,275) and Haiti ($15,166,861) internationally. There were 2,231 active grants during the year.

"Communities in Action: Championing Change for Children" is available at http://2017annualreport.wkkf.org/.

About the W.K. Kellogg Foundation

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation, founded in 1930 as an independent, private foundation by breakfast cereal pioneer Will Keith Kellogg, is among the largest philanthropic foundations in the United States. Guided by the belief that all children should have an equal opportunity to thrive, the WKKF works with communities to create conditions for vulnerable children so they can realize their full potential in school, work and life.

The Kellogg Foundation is based in Battle Creek, Michigan, and works throughout the United States and internationally, as well as with sovereign tribes. Special emphasis is paid to priority places where there are high concentrations of poverty and where children face significant barriers to success. WKKF priority places in the U.S. are in Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico and New Orleans; and internationally, are in Mexico and Haiti.

SOURCE W.K. Kellogg Foundation

Related Links

http://www.wkkf.org


OAKLAND, Calif., Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and their respective subsidiaries (KFHP/H) across all eight regions, including the newest region, Kaiser Permanente Washington, reported their 2017 annual financial results. Total operating revenue for 2017 was $72.7 billion, compared to $64.6 billion in 2016. Operating income was $2.2 billion, equal to 3.0 percent of operating revenue, compared to $1.9 billion in 2016, equal to 3.0 percent of operating revenue. Net non-operating income was $1.6 billion in 2017, compared to $1.2 billion in 2016. Net income was $3.8 billion in 2017, compared to $3.1 billion in 2016. Capital spending was $3.3 billion in 2017, compared to $2.8 billion in 2016.

"Despite uncertainty throughout 2017 in the health care industry, we continued our solid performance, delivering membership growth and increased access to high-quality and affordable health care and coverage," said Chairman and CEO Bernard J. Tyson. "We are financially sound as we enter a year that will be challenging, yet transformational, as Kaiser Permanente and the entire industry become more consumer-focused in a world that demands anytime access to affordable health care."

Membership for 2017 grew by approximately 1.1 million, including more than 650,000 members from the Group Health Cooperative acquisition in February 2017. As a result, membership increased by 10.1 percent from 2016, for a total of 11.8 million members as of Dec. 31, 2017.

As an integrated, not-for-profit health care organization that offers both coverage and delivers care to members, KFHP/H's $3.3 billion in capital spending for 2017 reflects an ongoing commitment to invest in facilities and technology that support excellent medical care, including additional capacity for new members.

In 2017, Kaiser Permanente opened the new San Diego Medical Center, which is its 39th hospital and the first to earn a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (or LEED) Platinum rating for health care certification, the highest certification level. Another 15 new medical office buildings also opened in 2017, including two that received LEED Gold-certified status. More than 25 new medical office buildings are scheduled to open in the next 12 to 14 months. As of Dec. 31, 2017, the total number of medical office buildings in the Kaiser Permanente system is 682, in addition to 39 hospitals.

Kaiser Permanente's continued investment in state-of-the art technology supports the needs of members and allows for easy and convenient access to care and service via secure messaging, telehealth, worksite clinics and mobile health vehicles, including access to personal medical information and communication with caregivers. Kaiser Permanente's website, kp.org, was accessed an average of 800,000 times per day during 2017, an increase of 18 percent over the prior year. Close to 25.5 million prescriptions were also filled via digital channels and more than 48.7 million lab results were viewed online in 2017, an increase from 2016 of nearly 16.9 percent and 7.2 percent, respectively.

"Our 2017 performance is in line with expectations," said Executive Vice President and CFO Kathy Lancaster. "Kaiser Permanente's financial stability allows us to remain a trusted partner in total health and continue to provide high-quality, affordable health care. We demonstrate our unwavering commitment to our members and the communities we serve by maintaining our strategic investments in technology, facilities and environmental sustainability initiatives."

KFHP/H supports a wide range of community-based health activities, partnerships and investments that improve community health, provide care and coverage to low-income individuals, train health professionals and support medical research. In 2017, approximately $2.8 billion was provided to support these community health investment programs, representing 3.9 percent of operating revenue. In comparison, for the year ending Dec. 31, 2016, KFHP/H's community-based support was approximately $2.5 billion, representing 3.9 percent of operating revenue.

Except for historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this media release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially based on a number of factors including, but not limited to, the impact of competitive products and pricing, government regulations, changing membership requirements, and the change in business and economic conditions. Forward-looking statements are based on information as of the date of this media release, and we assume no obligation to update or revise any of these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

About Kaiser Permanente

Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America's leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, Kaiser Permanente has a mission to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. As of Dec. 31, 2017, we served 11.8 million members in eight states and the District of Columbia, and added more than 650,000 members on Feb. 1, 2017, with the acquisition of Seattle's Group Health Cooperative. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. For more information, go to: kp.org/share.

Contact:

Carmella Gutierrez

[email protected]

SOURCE Kaiser Permanente

Related Links

http://kp.org


BOSTON, Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- At the annual Boston Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Forum, Gov. Charlie Baker awarded a $2.5 million MassWorks grant to the City of Boston to help MassRobotics expand its operations. The MassWorks Infrastructure Program provides funding for municipalities and other eligible public entities to support and accelerate housing and job growth in the Commonwealth.

MassRobotics is an independent, nonprofit organization with a mission to create and grow the next generation of robotics and smart connected device companies in Massachusetts. It provides entrepreneurs and innovators the facilities and resources they need to develop, prototype, test, challenge and nurture early ideas.

MassRobotics opened 15,000 sq.ft. of shared workspace in Boston's Marine Industrial Park in February 2017. Since then, it has grown to house more than 30 companies and organizations, including startups, mature robotics companies and university teams, with more than 70 people working in the space.

"Year one has been a tremendous success. MassRobotics is busting at the seams, with every office and lab bench taken. We provide a center of gravity to Boston's robotics community, and are truly becoming the epicenter of robotics innovation. To support that growth, we need to expand, and we are excited about the cooperation and support from the City of Boston in this process," said Tom Ryden, executive director, MassRobotics.

Since 2016, MassRobotics has built a growing network of partners, including Amazon Robotics, iRobot, Panasonic, Autodesk, Harmonic Drive, CIC, Vecna Technologies and GE. These partners play a key role in validating the corporate infrastructure needed to engage with more innovative robotics startups. In addition to providing the initial funding that enabled MassRobotics secure its current space and start operation, they also actively engage with resident startups by providing funding, technical and products support, and market access.

"The value of MassRobotics to Massachusetts and the industry is clear. I am grateful for our 25 founding and annual partners, and look forward to working with them and others in realizing MassRobotics' phase II and expansion plan," said Fady Saad, MassRobotics co-founder and director of partnerships. "This grant opens the door to more robust partnerships and sponsorship, and the space for robotics in Boston to grow."

With the City of Boston's support, MassRobotics will build-out up to 35,000 sq. ft. of additional space to include: private offices; open shared lab, prototyping and test space; a machine shop with 3D printers, laser cutters, and other tools to help make parts; electronics lab; and dedicated labs for advanced manufacturing robots and university-supported research. There will also be public event space and a dedicated STEM lab where students and others can learn about the latest technologies that will be impact and inspire them.

"Massachusetts is the global hub of robot technology development and innovation," said Daniel Theobald, chief innovation officer at Vecna Technologies and MassRobotics visionary. "Robotics technology touches every industry, and we see amazing opportunity to grow the cluster. With this grant, MassRobotics can more than double their space, and support up to 80 companies and more than 250 employees. And those companies will grow, eventually find their own space, and become even greater contributors to the local economy."

For more information and additional details about MassRobotics events, facilities and the startups it houses, please visit www.massrobotics.org.

About MassRobotics

MassRobotics is the result of the collective work of a group of engineers, rocket scientists and entrepreneurs with a shared vision to create a strong, vibrant robotics and IoT ecosystem in Massachusetts. MassRobotics' mission is to help create and scale the next generation of successful robotics and connected devices companies by providing entrepreneurs and innovative robotics/automation startups with the workspace and resources they need to develop, prototype, test and commercialize their products and solutions. See www.massrobotics.org for details.

Media Contacts

Mark O'Toole or Stephanie Ross

EMA Boston

[email protected]

781-893-0053

SOURCE MassRobotics

Related Links

http://www.massrobotics.org


DENVER, Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA), the only national trade association representing the businesses of the legal marijuana industry, today announced the winners of NCIA's Industry Excellence Awards.

NCIA's Industry Excellence Award Winners 2018

The awards were presented at NCIA's Seed to Sale Show, hosted from February 7-8, 2018 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, CO. Seed to Sale Show is the only national show focused solely on innovative best practices, science, and cutting edge technology surrounding the whole life cycle of the cannabis plant grown, processed, and sold in a regulated market. This year's event drew just under 3,000 attendees and 150 exhibitors.

Founded in 2017, NCIA's Industry Excellence Awards were developed to recognize the trailblazing individuals and companies driving the growth and elevation of the cannabis industry.

"Cannabis business owners face a variety of unique and difficult challenges, and as America's newest and fastest growing industry, entrepreneurs must rely on each other to develop solutions to obstacles," Aaron Smith, Executive Director of NCIA explains. "It's the innovations and technologies provided by these award-winning companies that allow business owners to operate more intelligently, efficiently and responsibly. These innovations and technologies also help to become a more sophisticated and advanced industry, which allows us to continue to push cannabis policy reform forward."

Determined by nominations and votes from NCIA members, NCIA's Excellence in Innovation Awards were given to one member each in the categories of Cultivation, Infused Products and Extractions, and Business Strategies and Innovation. These are businesses who have disrupted and advanced the industry by bringing an innovative idea to life. NCIA's Excellence in Technology Awards were given to one member in each of the previous categories, who has developed a new technology that will change the industry for the better.

Winners of this year's Excellence in Innovation and Technology Awards are:

NCIA's Excellence in Innovation Award:

Cultivation -- L'Eagle Services

Infused Products and Extractions -- Wana Brands

Business Innovations and Strategy -- Cannabis Trainers

NCIA's Excellence in Technology Award

Cultivation -- urban-gro

Infused Products and Extractions -- Kin Slips

Business Innovations and Strategy -- New Frontier Data

NCIA also presented the esteemed Industry Excellence Award to Jay & Diane Czarkowski, co-founders of Canna Advisors, for the company's exemplary community engagement, political advocacy and education within the industry.

Representing well over 1,500 member-businesses nationwide, the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) is the largest cannabis trade association in the U.S. and the only one representing cannabis-related businesses at the national level. NCIA promotes the growth of a responsible and legitimate cannabis industry and works toward a favorable social, economic, and legal environment for that industry in the United States.

Contact: Bethany Moore, Communications and Projects Manager

(303) 223-9727  [email protected]

SOURCE National Cannabis Industry Association

Related Links

https://thecannabisindustry.org


BELLEVUE, Wash., Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Nintex, the world's leader in intelligent process automation (IPA), today announced that it has entered into an agreement with Thoma Bravo, LLC in which the leading private equity investment firm will now own a majority stake in the company. Founded in Melbourne, Australia in 2006, Nintex leveraged its early success with a major global expansion and move to the cloud in 2013. Since then, Nintex has established itself as the leading innovator in intelligent process automation, helping nearly 8,000 enterprises in 90 countries automate millions of critical business processes.

"For several years, we've watched Nintex pioneer the workflow and content automation category by delivering best-in-class technology and evolving to the cloud, all while producing impressive growth and financial results," said Thoma Bravo Partner Hudson Smith. "We firmly believe that process automation is highly achievable for many more thousands of enterprises through the Nintex Workflow Cloud. Our goal is to help Nintex achieve its strategic objectives and vision through leveraging the experience and resources of Thoma Bravo. We're excited to become the company's lead investor in its next phase of growth."

Harry Taylor, Managing Director of investor TA Associates noted, "It's been an amazing transformation for Nintex over the last four years; we're very pleased to have been a key partner to management in creating a new market category and assuming the leadership position. We welcome this new partnership with Thoma Bravo and will retain an ownership position."

The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of March 2018 subject to customary closing conditions.

"Nintex will continue to drive its aggressive strategy to the benefit of its customers and partners and will extend its market leadership for the long term," said Nintex Chairman and CEO John Burton, who upon closing of the transaction will transition the CEO role to Eric Johnson, who has served as Nintex CFO for the last four years. "I can think of no one better equipped to lead Nintex in its next phase than Eric. I look forward to assisting him to continue his career success in his new role."

Eric Johnson is a proven SaaS executive with more than two decades of financial and operational experience at mid- and large-sized software companies. At Nintex, he has been key in driving the company's move to the cloud and subscription pricing. Prior to Nintex, he served as VP of Finance for Jive Software, where he helped lead the company through its IPO process. Prior thereto, he served as VP of Worldwide Sales Operations at Serena Software. "Thoma Bravo has a proven track record of helping software companies achieve exceptional results, and we're pleased to be part of its portfolio going forward," said Johnson. "With a new lead investor, we can continue our rapid and profitable growth and continue to deliver industry-leading intelligent process automation capabilities to our worldwide customers and partners."

Keith Fujinaga, who joined Nintex in January 2017 as VP of Finance, will assume the CFO role. Before Nintex, Fujinaga served as the CFO at ipCreate and VP of Finance at Global Market Insight, Inc. He also has held Director of Finance roles at Microsoft and Penfords.

A History of Success and Innovation

Nintex has unwaveringly committed to innovation and growth since its inception more than a decade ago. The company has a rich history of automating processes for SharePoint and Office 365, the latter of which recently surpassed 50 million workflow executions.

Additionally, the company introduced Nintex for Box and Nintex for Salesforce in 2017 and has continued building upon deep partnerships with industry leaders like DocuSign and ServiceMax. With a strong ecosystem of partners, Nintex is uniquely positioned to help business professionals manage their business processes from within the enterprise software tools they know and use, such as CRM, Cloud Content Management, E-Signature, and Field Service Management providers.

Today, thousands of enterprises worldwide across industries, such as banking, insurance, pharmaceuticals, government, manufacturing and healthcare, turn to the Nintex platform every day to automate, orchestrate and optimize a wide-range of business processes.

Leading industry analyst firms regularly cite the company's innovation in digital process automation (DPA) as well as its position as a leading digital business platform (DBP) and a leader in workflow and content automation (WCA) and advanced digital transaction management (DTM).

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.

About Thoma Bravo, LLC

Thoma Bravo is a leading private equity investment firm building on a 30+ year history of providing equity and strategic support to experienced management teams and growing companies. The firm seeks to create value by collaborating with company management to improve business operations, invest in growth initiatives and make accretive acquisitions. Thoma Bravo invests with a particular focus on application and infrastructure software and technology enabled services. The firm manages a series of private equity and debt funds representing more than $17.0 billion of capital commitments. More information about Thoma Bravo can be found at www.thomabravo.com.

Product or service names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

SOURCE Nintex

Related Links

http://www.nintex.com


NEW ORLEANS, Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Former Attorney General of Louisiana Charles C. Foti, Jr., Esq. and the law firm of Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF") are investigating the proposed sale of NuStar GP Holdings, LLC ("NSH" or the "Company") (NYSE:NSH) to NuStar Energy L.P. (NYSE:NS). Under the terms of the proposed transaction, unitholders of NSH will receive only 0.55 of a NuStar Energy common unit for each unit of NSH that they own. KSF is seeking to determine whether this consideration and the process that led to it are adequate, or whether the consideration undervalues the Company.

If you believe that this transaction undervalues the Company and/or if you would like to discuss your legal rights regarding the proposed sale, you may, without obligation or cost to you, e-mail or call KSF Managing Partner Lewis S. Kahn ([email protected]) toll free at any time at 855-768-1857.

To learn more about KSF, whose partners include the Former Louisiana Attorney General, visit www.ksfcounsel.com.

Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC

206 Covington St.

Madisonville, LA 70447

SOURCE Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC

Related Links

http://www.ksfcounsel.com


IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- SetSchedule CEO Roy Dekel has been nominated for the Orange County Business Journal's Excellence In Entrepreneurship awards, a distinction that identifies him as a prominent business figurehead in the Orange County region. This is the second time Mr. Dekel has been a nominee.

The award program, launched in 2002, recognizes individuals who exemplify the American entrepreneurial spirit  individuals who, by their creativity and determination, have established and nurtured successful business ventures.





Roy Dekel is an Israeli-born entrepreneur and philanthropist, resident of California since 2002, that is rapidly becoming one of the most respected names in the United States. He has worked in finance, real estate, technology, and even dabbled in the movie industry. He has managed millions of dollars in investor capital, written billions in business transactions, and has held multi-million-dollar real estate portfolios. Having recently been honoured as "The Leader" in the Annual 2017 CEO World Awards "CEO of the Year" category, Mr. Dekel has disrupted the real estate industry as CEO of the real estate marketplace, SetSchedule.

"Entrepreneurs propel our country and our economy forward, constantly developing new and innovative approaches to business," Mr. Dekel said. "To be named among the most distinguished individuals in our community is an honor, and I look forward to seeing what the future holds for my colleagues in tech and business."

A luncheon for the EIE awards will be held on March 15. For more information about the event, visit the OCBJ site here.

About SetSchedule: Headquartered in Irvine, CA, SetSchedule is a "first of its' kind" technology based marketing firm that connects Realtors with Homeowners, Buyers and Investors who are looking to buy and sell properties. Learn more at setschedule.com. To learn more about Roy Dekel's and SetSchedule's foundation work go to www.roydekel.org.

SOURCE SetSchedule

Related Links

http://setschedule.com


NEW YORK, Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Orion Resource Partners (USA) LP ("Orion"), one of the world's largest alternative finance providers to the metals and mining sector, today announced that it completed the final closing of Orion Mine Finance Fund II LP (together with its associated co-investment vehicle, "Fund II"). Fund II closed on over $2.1 billion of capital commitments.

Fund II is the successor fund to Orion Mine Finance Fund I and Orion Mine Finance Fund I-A (together, "Fund I") and will continue Orion's strategy of financing the construction of later-stage mine projects through a combination of debt, equity and production-linked investments (e.g., royalties, streams and offtakes). Limited partners in Fund II include some of the world's largest and most sophisticated investors, including leading sovereign wealth funds, public and private pension funds, endowments and foundations, fund of funds, and family offices.

"The demand for our fund underscores the capability of our team and our differentiated strategy and we are pleased with the extraordinary level of support that we received from such a prestigious group of global investors" said Oskar Lewnowski, Chief Executive Officer & Chief Investment Officer

The closing of Fund II follows a very active year for Orion. Since the beginning of 2017, Orion has announced the exit of two large Fund I investments, including the Osisko Gold Royalties transaction in July 2017 and the SASA transaction in November 2017. To date, Fund II has completed 6 platform investments with nearly $830 million committed to investment.

Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, a leading global private equity placement firm, acted as exclusive advisor and placement agent and Ropes & Gray LLP served as fund counsel.

About Orion Resource Partners

Orion Resource Partners is an alternative investment manager with $4.5 billion under management. Orion specializes in providing flexible and comprehensive capital solutions to base and precious metals mining companies globally. Orion has a seasoned team of investment professionals with demonstrated capabilities in structuring debt, equity, streaming, offtake and royalty investments. Orion employs a disciplined, risk-adjusted investment process when evaluating portfolio companies. For more information, please visit http://www.orionresourcepartners.com

SOURCE Orion Resource Partners

Related Links

http://www.orionresourcepartners.com


NEW YORK, Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Below are experts from the ProfNet network who are available to discuss timely issues in your coverage area.

You can also submit a query to the hundreds of thousands of experts in our network  it's easy and free. Just fill out the query form to get started: http://prn.to/queryform

EXPERT ALERTS

FDA Move to Change Packaging on OTC Anti-Diarrhea Products a Good First Step

Business Health Strategies and Health System Reform

Celebrating the Human-Animal Bond

Nine Signs It's Time to See a Therapist

MEDIA JOBS

Managing Editor  The Employment Benefit Adviser (NY/VA)

Social Media Manager  South China Morning Post (NY)

Platforms Editor  The Ladders (NY)

OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES

10 Freelancing Resources to Keep You on Task

Five Questions With Zig's CEO and Co-Founder

Blog Profiles: Zero Waste Blogs

-------------------------------------------------------------------

EXPERT ALERTS:

FDA Move to Change Packaging on OTC Anti-Diarrhea Products a Good First Step

William Eggleston

Clinical Assistant Professor, Pharmacy Practice

Binghamton University

The Food and Drug Administration is asking manufacturers of over-the-counter anti-diarrhea treatments to change the way they package their products to curb abuse by people with drug addictions. Eggleston, a clinical assistant professor at Binghamton University's School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, said the FDA action was a "good first step." But he said that getting online sellers to work on the problem is critical: "Even if you limit the quantities available in any individual package, if you can buy a lot of packages online, that doesn't fix the issue that the drug is easily accessible." If loperamide abuse continues to be a problem, Eggleston said, authorities should consider moving the drug behind the counter, which would require consumers to ask their pharmacists for it. That is what happened with products containing pseudoephedrine, which can be used to make methamphetamine. Congress passed a law more than a decade ago requiring that those be sold from behind the counter and imposing other restrictions.

Eggleston co-authored a 2017 report published online in the Annals of Emergency Medicine that described two men who died after ingesting large amounts of loperamide. One was a 24-year-old with a history of substance abuse. Found unresponsive at home, along with six empty boxes of loperamide, he appeared to have had a seizure.

Website: https://www.binghamton.edu

Contact: John Brhel, [email protected]

Business Health Strategies and Health System Reform

Michael Thompson

President and CEO

National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions

"Managed care and healthcare consumerism didn't deliver the promised value, so purchasers are banding together to create heightened value themselves."

Thompson is a nationally recognized thought leader for business health strategies and health system reform. He is president and CEO of the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions (National Alliance), an association of approximately 50 regional coalitions collectively supporting over 12,000 healthcare purchasers providing health coverage to more than 45 million Americans. The National Alliance helps to lead improvements in health, wellbeing and value for our companies and communities across the country. He is based in Washington, D.C. and New York.

ProfNet Profile: http://www.profnetconnect.com/michaelthompson/

Website: https://www.nationalalliancehealth.org

Contact: Cary Conway, [email protected]

Celebrating the Human-Animal Bond

Carol Novello

President

Mutual Rescue

"When people adopt animals, their own lives are often dramatically transformed in positive ways as well. Extrapolating that powerful dynamic, entire communities also benefit immensely through greater compassion for all beings."

Novello is the founder of Mutual Rescue, a national initiative that highlights the life-changing power of human-animal relationships. The initiative's first short film, "Eric & Peety," went viral around the world with almost 100 million views, prompting an influx of submissions to be considered for inclusion in the ongoing Mutual Rescue film series. A former senior software executive at Intuit, Novello earned her MBA from Harvard Business School and is proud to include three rescue animals in her family: a German Shepherd dog named Tess and two cats, Langley and Bodie.

Online Press Kit: http://mutualrescue.onlinepresskit247.com

Website: www.MutualRescue.org

Contact: Michelle Tennant, [email protected]

Nine Signs It's Time to See a Therapist

Dr. John Huber

Chairman

Mainstream Mental Health

"Seeing a therapist is not a bad thing. Most people look forward to seeing their therapist. The question is, how do you know when to see a therapist? Here are a few ways to tell: 1) When things are going well. This may sound silly, but people with good teeth go and see their dentist every six months. It is a checkup. In mental health, checkups are useful as well. It helps you maintain and/or build a relationship with your therapist so when the world crashes in on you, you already have a trusted therapist who knows what you look like when things are going well. 2) When someone that knows you asks you if you are doing alright. 3) If you are relying on substances to cope  if you need a drink to relax or sleep. 4) You start thinking about death or hurting yourself. This is a very severe path to be on. Seek help immediately. If the pressure seems too great to resist, call 911 right then. 5) You always assume the worst. Worrying and stressing about what might happen tends to overwhelm people. 99% of what might happen never does. 6) You are overwhelmed by taking responsibility for other people's problems, like when a family member is always calling to talk about what is bothering them and how you need to help them with their depression or relationship. 7) You feel helpless when stress hits you. Many individuals have a problem with an 'external locus of control,' the belief that they are not able to effect any change in their environment. In other words, that no matter what they do, they cannot change the problem or their situation. 8) You find yourself trying to meet everyone else's idea of what you should be. When you live your life for the praise of others, you might find yourself making compromises that aren't true to yourself. Mentally healthy people don't put their beliefs and goals up for a vote. 9) You are not feeling like yourself. You may usually love being with your friends but suddenly find yourself wanting to be alone most of the time. Maybe you find yourself getting angry often, when you never used to feel angry. It can be healthy to want alone time, but becoming isolated, for example, is not."

Texas-based Dr. Huber is the chairman of Mainstream Mental Health, a non-profit organization that brings lasting and positive change to the lives of individuals that suffer from mental health issues. A mental health professional for more than 20 years, Dr. Huber is a clinical forensic psychologist and a practitioner with privileges at two long-term acute-care hospitals.

Website: www.mainstreammentalhealth.org

Contact: Ryan McCormick, [email protected]

****************

MEDIA JOBS:

Following are links to job listings for staff and freelance writers, editors and producers. You can view these and more job listings on our Job Board: https://prnmedia.prnewswire.com/community/jobs/

Managing Editor  The Employment Benefit Adviser (NY/VA)

Social Media Manager  South China Morning Post (NY)

Platforms Editor  The Ladders (NY)

*****************

OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES:

Following are links to other news and resources we think you might find useful. If you have an item you think other reporters would be interested in and would like us to include in a future alert, please drop us a line at [email protected]

10 FREELANCING RESOURCES TO KEEP YOU ON TASK. Sometimes, looking for freelancer resources feels a bit like getting sucked into a black hole. There's so much out there. Having access to pages of resources may clutter up your bookmarks bar, but it's not inherently a bad thing. It just means there are plenty of places to find inspiration, motivation, and advice. Here are some resources that may help: http://prn.to/2nXQQpZ

FIVE QUESTIONS WITH ZIG'S CEO AND CO-FOUNDER. With the debut of Zig, entrepreneur Joshua James wants to change the way people engage with and consume the news. Along with co-founders Adam Platzner and John Tornow, James launched the compelling new media platform earlier this month, and it's already garnering big attention. Former Vanity Fair Editor-in-Chief Graydon Carter , music producer Quincy Jones , and Live Nation are just some of the high-profile players backing the venture. For Carter, this is his first public project since leaving his post at Vanity Fair. In a recent news release, Carter says he wants to help the team how he can and believes the app "will find a wide and dedicated audience." That's likely because Zig promises to shake up the current ecosystem -- one that has delivered mixed results for publishers in the past. Read more: http://prn.to/2EspW0W

wants to change the way people engage with and consume the news. Along with co-founders and John Tornow, James launched the compelling new media platform earlier this month, and it's already garnering big attention. Former Vanity Fair Editor-in-Chief , music producer , and Live Nation are just some of the high-profile players backing the venture. For Carter, this is his first public project since leaving his post at Vanity Fair. In a recent news release, Carter says he wants to help the team how he can and believes the app "will find a wide and dedicated audience." That's likely because Zig promises to shake up the current ecosystem -- one that has delivered mixed results for publishers in the past. Read more: http://prn.to/2EspW0W BLOG PROFILES: ZERO WASTE BLOGS. Each week, PR Newswire's Audience Relations team selects an industry/subject and profiles a handful of sites that do a good job with promoting and contributing to the conversation. This week, they look at a few zero waste blogs: http://prn.to/2EaxYuI

****************

PROFNET is an exclusive service of PR Newswire.

To contact ProfNet: [email protected] or 800-776-3638, ext. 1

SOURCE ProfNet

Related Links

http://www.profnet.com


The Ram Truck and Mopar brands teamed up today at the Chicago Auto Show (CAS) to debut an outdoor-sport-themed 2019 Ram 1500 modified with a selection of the more than 200 Mopar parts and accessories available for the all-new truck.

The customized show truck highlights the large menu of Mopar products, created through thousands of hours of testing and validation, available for the all-new Ram 1500. The fit, finish and function of all Mopar parts and accessories were developed in close concert with Ram Truck engineers and designers to harmonize with the all-new Ram.

"At the Chicago Auto Show, Mopar is showcasing the art of the possible when it comes to accessorizing the all-new Ram 1500," said Pietro Gorlier, Head of Parts and Service (Mopar), FCA. "With more than 200 parts and accessories, available at launch, Mopar delivers the largest array of factory-backed, authentic products to personalize the new Ram 1500 and make it truly one of a kind."

The Flame Red 2019 Ram 1500 Big Horn Sport 4x4 showcased at the Chicago Auto Show is equipped for the outdoors with a 2-inch Mopar lift kit that delivers additional off-road clearance and an aggressive appearance, while accommodating oversize, large tread 35-inch tires. Mopar 18-inch, six-lug off-road beadlock-capable wheels with matching trim rings keep the tires pegged to the rims when aired down for increased off-road grip and traction.

Black Mopar off-road wheel flares accentuate the 35-inch tires and provide additional defense against trail hazards. Durable, body-length Mopar off-road cast aluminum running boards add both visual appeal and functionality, with a skid-resistant stepping surface that offers better grip in muddy or wet conditions.

The 5-ft. x 7-in. bed features a unique Mopar offering that will be available in the near future  a lifestyle Ram Rack, first shown as a prototype part on the Ram Macho Power Wagon concept vehicle at the 2016 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show. Large gear can be secured to the truck, demonstrating the capacity of the Ram Rack to store and transport a variety of lifestyle equipment.

The rear Ram Rack is adjustable, with the ability to slide all the way up to the front Ram Rack. The Ram Rack system mounts to the available production bed utility rails. A Mopar bed step, featuring an articulating arm, lowers down for easy access.

The new Mopar "Ram Airflow" cold-air intake system feeds a steady flow of fresh air to the 395-horsepower, 410 lb.-ft. of torque, 5.7-liter HEMI V-8 engine. The intake, scheduled for availability later this year, is compatible with all hood applications for the all-new Ram and works in concert with the Mopar performance cat-back exhaust, which is constructed from AL409 stainless steel and emits a deep exhaust note.



Mopar 5-inch dual exhaust tips complete the package and feature dual wall thickness, fitting snug to the bumper and providing a smoother edge. Other exterior touches include matching black Mopar hood graphic stripes, blacked-out Ram emblems and badging, front tow hooks and a Mopar logo hitch plug.



Inside, premium black Katzkin leather seats in the front and back are embroidered with Rebel red Ram's head logos on the seatbacks. The same Rebel red stitching also accents the seats, door trim and center console. New Mopar all-weather floor mats are embellished with the Ram's head logo and constructed with deeper channels and higher, more rigid sidewalls to contain water and other debris. Mopar brushed aluminum door sill guards carry the R-A-M text logo.



Mopar Custom Shop

All-new Ram 1500 owners can add select Mopar accessories even before taking the keys via the Mopar Custom Shop.



Mopar products installed at the Mopar Custom Shop prior to vehicle delivery are covered by the original warranty and included in the Monroney label, giving the consumer the added advantage of having their customization included in the financing package.



For more information on Mopar parts and accessories for the all-new 2019 Ram 1500, visit www.mopar.com.

About Ram Truck Brand

Since its launch as a stand-alone division in 2009, the Ram Truck brand has steadily emerged as an industry leader with trucks that are proven to last.

Creating a distinct identity for Ram trucks has allowed the brand to concentrate on core customers and the features they find valuable. Whether focusing on a family that uses a Ram 1500 day-in and day-out, a hard-working Ram 3500 Heavy Duty owner or a business that depends on its Ram ProMaster commercial van every day for deliveries, Ram has the truck market covered.



In order to be the best, it takes a commitment to innovation, capability, efficiency and durability. Ram Truck invests substantially in its products, infusing them with great looks, refined interiors, durable engines and exclusive features that further enhance their capabilities.



Ram continues to beat the competition in the most sought-after titles:

Over the last 30 years, Ram has the highest percentage of pickups still on the road

Highest owner loyalty of any half-ton pickup

Highest Ram torque ever  930 lb.-ft. with Ram 3500 Cummins Turbo Diesel

Highest 5th wheel towing capacity  30,000 lbs. with Ram 3500 Cummins Turbo Diesel

Best ride and handling with exclusive link coil rear and auto-level air suspensions

Best-in-class fuel economy and longest range with exclusive EcoDiesel  27 mpg with Ram 1500

Best-in-class gas towing  16,320 pounds with Ram 2500

Highest snow plow rating  Ram 2500 and 3500

Most luxurious trim available in pickups with Ram Tungsten Limited Edition

Most interior space with Ram Mega Cab

Most capable full-size off-road pickup  Ram Power Wagon

Truck customers, from half-ton to commercial, have a demanding range of needs and require their vehicles to provide high levels of capability. Ram trucks are designed to deliver a total package.



Mopar-first Features

During the brand's 80-plus years, Mopar has introduced numerous industry-first features including:

Vehicle-information apps: first to introduce smartphone vehicle-information applications, a new channel of communication with consumers

wiADVISOR: first to incorporate a tablet-based service lane tool

Electronic Vehicle Tracking System (EVTS): first to market with a new interactive vehicle tracking device that sends owner a text when vehicle is driven too fast or too far based on pre-set parameters

Wi-Fi: first to offer customers the ability to make their vehicle a wireless hot spot

Electronic owner manuals: first to introduce traditional owner manuals on a smartphone app

About Mopar

Mopar (a simple contraction of the words MOtor and PARts) is the service, parts and customer-care brand for FCA vehicles around the globe. Born in 1937 as the name of a line of antifreeze products, the Mopar brand has evolved over more than 80 years to represent both complete care and authentic performance for owners and enthusiasts worldwide.



Mopar made its mark in the 1960s during the muscle-car era, with Mopar Performance Parts to enhance speed and handling for both road and racing use, and expanded to include technical service and customer support. Today, the Mopar brand's global reach distributes more than 500,000 parts and accessories in over 150 markets around the world. With more than 50 parts distribution centers and 25 customer contact centers globally, Mopar integrates service, parts and customer-care operations in order to enhance customer and dealer support worldwide.



Mopar is the source for genuine parts and accessories for all FCA US LLC vehicle brands. Mopar parts are engineered together with the same teams that create factory-authorized specifications for FCA vehicles, offering a direct connection that no other aftermarket parts company can provide. Complete information on the Mopar brand is available at www.mopar.com.

SOURCE FCA US LLC

Related Links

http://www.fcanorthamerica.com


LONDON, February 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Publication of Prospectus Supplement

The following documents (the "Documents") are available for viewing:

Prospectus Supplement dated 7 February 2018

Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE: RDS.A)(NYSE: RDS.B)unaudited consolidated interim financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2017

The Documents must be read in conjunction with the Information Memorandum dated 8 August 2017, as supplemented by the first supplement dated 4 September 2017 and the second supplement dated 3 November 2017, relating to the Programme. The Information Memorandum constitutes a base prospectus for the purposes of Article 5.4 of Directive 2003/71/EC as amended. Full information on Shell International Finance B.V. and Royal Dutch Shell plc is only available on the basis of the Information Memorandum.

The Documents are available for viewing at the 'Financial Publications' section of Shell's website. To view the Documents, please paste the following URLs into the address bar of your browser.

Royal Dutch Shell plc unaudited consolidated interim financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2017

http://www.shell.com/investors/financial-reporting/quarterly-results/2017/q4-2017

Prospectus Supplement dated 7 February 2018

https://www.shell.com/investors/financial-reporting/debt-information/euro-medium-term-note-programme.html

Other content available on Shell's website and the content of any other website accessible from hyperlinks on Shell's website is not incorporated into, and does not forms part of, this announcement.

The Documents have also been submitted to the National Storage Mechanism and will shortly be available for inspection at http://www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/nsm.

DISCLAIMER - INTENDED ADDRESSEES

Please note that the information contained in the Information Memorandum may be addressed to and/or targeted at persons who are residents of particular countries (specified in the Information Memorandum) only and is not intended for use and should not be relied upon by any person outside these countries and/or to whom the offer contained in the Information Memorandum is not addressed. Prior to relying on the information contained in the Information Memorandum, you must ascertain from the Information Memorandum whether or not you are part of the intended addressees of the information contained therein.

This publication does not constitute an offering of the securities described in the Information Memorandum for sale in the United States. This is not for distribution 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 "Securities Act") or under any relevant securities laws of any state of the United States and are subject to U.S. tax law requirements. Subject to certain exceptions, the securities may not be offered or sold within the United States or to or for the account or benefit of U.S. persons, as such terms are defined in Regulation S under the Securities Act. There will be no public offering of the securities in the United States.

Your right to access this service is conditional upon complying with the above requirement.

Enquiries:

Shell Media Relations

International, UK, European Press: +44-(0)207-934-5550

Shell Investor Relations

Europe: +31-(0)70-377-3996

SOURCE Shell International Finance B.V. and Royal Dutch Shell plc
WASHINGTON, Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In the early-morning hours of Feb. 9, Congress passed, and the president subsequently signed, a short-term continuing resolution (CR) that included another short-term extension of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) through March 23, 2018. The passage of another CR demonstrates once again the need for Congress to pass a long-term reauthorization of the NFIP, according to the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA). Lapses in the NFIP, even very short ones, have a negative effect on consumers.

"While it is disappointing that the NFIP lapsed again, though this time only for a few overnight hours, we're pleased with the extension to March 23rd. Congress must use the time between now and then to move away from short-term measures and provide a long-term reauthorization of this program," said PIA National Vice President of Government Relations Jon Gentile. "The NFIP is a program that requires certainty. It is also in great need of reforms. PIA will continue our advocacy for a long-term reauthorization of the program that recognizes the essential role independent agents play in providing expert advice to consumers."

Founded in 1931, PIA is a national trade association that represents member insurance agents and their employees who sell and service all kinds of insurance, but specialize in coverage of automobiles, homes and businesses. PIA members are Local Agents Serving Main Street America SM. PIA's web address is www.pianet.com.

http://www.pianet.com/news/press-releases/2018/statementbypianational020918

SOURCE National Association of Professional Insurance Agents

Related Links

http://www.pianet.com/


WASHINGTON, Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Pre-service teachers from Houston, Texas, will speak with a NASA astronaut living, working and doing research aboard the International Space Station at 11:35 a.m. EST Tuesday, Feb. 13. The 20-minute, Earth-to-space call will air live on NASA Television and the agency's website.

The teachers-in-training will travel to the University of Houston-Downtown, for the call to Expedition 54 astronaut Joe Acaba aboard the space station, posing questions about life aboard the orbiting laboratory, NASA's deep space exploration plans, and doing science in space.

Acaba arrived at the space station on Sept. 12 on his third space mission, and is scheduled to return to Earth later this month.

Linking students directly to astronauts aboard the space station provides unique, authentic experiences designed to enhance student learning, performance and interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). This in-flight education downlink is an integral component of NASA's Year of Education on Station (YES), which provides extensive space station-related resources and opportunities to students and educators.

The STEM on Station team has been working with pre-service teachers at the University of Houston-Downtown as part of YES. In a science methods course, students have been designing simple experiments that could be performed by astronauts on the space station. Some 150 teachers and students are expected to be on-site at UH- Downtown for the downlink.

Media interested in attending the event should contact Mike Emery via email at [email protected] or phone at 713-226-5806. The University of Houston-Downtown will host the event at One Main Street, Houston.

Follow the astronauts on social media:

https://www.twitter.com/NASA_astronauts/

See videos and lesson plans highlighting research on the International Space Station at:

https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation/

SOURCE NASA

Related Links

http://www.nasa.gov


"Start Your Impossible" shares Toyota's evolution by highlighting real-life mobility stories of Olympic and Paralympic athletes as well as everyday athletes who demonstrate the values of humility, hard work and never giving up. The campaign marks Toyota's long-term commitment to support the creation of a more inclusive and sustainable society in which everyone can challenge their impossible through stories of determination as well as through Toyota technologies. The two creative pillars of the multi-platform global campaign include, "inspiration," which celebrates the human spirit and product "evidence," showcasing Toyota's ideas for innovations that can help people move freely.

"Start Your Impossible" commercials include:

"Frozen": Showcasing iconic moments in Olympic and Paralympic history, "Frozen" aims to further spark the conversation on global warming and the imminent impact that it may have on the beauty, hope and heroes of the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

Showcasing iconic moments in Olympic and Paralympic history, "Frozen" aims to further spark the conversation on global warming and the imminent impact that it may have on the beauty, hope and heroes of the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. "Thin Ice": The human spirit is powerful and irrepressible. Where obstacles appear, exceptional people are ready to face the hurdles. American Olympic figure skater and medalist, Ashley Wagner returns to the ice with the idea that every day is a chance to dance, to move and to float across the ice.

The human spirit is powerful and irrepressible. Where obstacles appear, exceptional people are ready to face the hurdles. American Olympic figure skater and medalist, returns to the ice with the idea that every day is a chance to dance, to move and to float across the ice. "Lanes of Life": an optimistic celebration of life's journey for six Olympic snowboarders : Eva Samkova ( Czech Republic ), Lindsey Jacobellis , ( USA ), Belle Brockhoff ( Australia ), Chloe Trespeuch ( France ), Carle Brenneman ( Canada ), and Isabel Clark Ribeiro ( Brazil ).

an optimistic celebration of life's journey for six Olympic snowboarders Eva Samkova ( ), , ( ), ( ), Chloe Trespeuch ( ), ( ), and ( ). "Dreams": The smallest mistake could change an athlete's dream, so could a small mistake on the road. "Dreams" showcases Toyota's Guardian technology to coach you on the road.

The smallest mistake could change an athlete's dream, so could a small mistake on the road. "Dreams" showcases Toyota's Guardian technology to coach you on the road. "Magic": Toyota's Human Support Robot helps a bedridden young boy.

Toyota's Human Support Robot helps a bedridden young boy. "Runner": A man outruns pain, fear and doubt to take the most difficult step of his life.

A man outruns pain, fear and doubt to take the most difficult step of his life. "Join the Team": Dedicated to pure celebration of going after what we strive for, an ordinary boy has his moment as an Olympian realizing that with persistence he can soar.

Toyota will also run previously released spots including the :60-second "Good Odds" highlighting the real-life story of Canadian Para alpine skier Lauren Woolstencroft, who overcame tremendous odds to become a legendary Paralympic gold medalist and the :60-second "Mobility Anthem" featuring mobility stories of individuals, ages 1 to 100, celebrating Toyota's efforts to make movement better for everyone.

"Toyota believes that 'mobility' goes well beyond cars and that movement is a human right. This campaign, and our worldwide partnership with The International Olympic and Paralympic Committees, are a reflection of our commitment to providing freedom of movement for all," said Ed Laukes, Group Vice President, Toyota Division Marketing, Toyota Motor North America. "'Start Your Impossible' tells the stories of exceptional human strength and triumph."

"'Start Your Impossible' is a global corporate initiative that aims to inspire Toyota employees, partners and customers, and connect them with the company's core beliefs," said Noriaki Yamashita, General Manager of Sales & Marketing Support Division, Toyota Motor Corporation.

"Start Your Impossible" was created in partnership between Saatchi & Saatchi and Dentsu.

For more information about Toyota's worldwide partnership with The International Olympic and Paralympic Committees, and to learn more about the "Start Your Impossible" campaign, please visit www.mobilityforall.com or Toyota Global YouTube.

About Toyota Motor Corporation

Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) is the global mobility company that introduced the Prius hybrid electric car in 1997 and the first mass-produced fuel cell sedan, Mirai, in 2014. Headquartered in Toyota City, Japan, Toyota has been making cars since 1937. Today, Toyota proudly employs 370,000 employees in communities around the world. Together, they build around 10 million vehicles per year in 27 countries, from mainstream cars and premium vehicles to mini-vehicles and commercial trucks, and sell them in more than 170 countries under the brands Toyota, Lexus, Daihatsu and Hino. For more information, please visit www.toyota-global.com

Media Contact

Christine Kim

Saatchi & Saatchi for Toyota

[email protected]

310-750-5586

SOURCE Toyota Motor North America

Related Links

http://www.toyota-global.com


YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio, Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Turning Technologies, the global leader in learning engagement and assessment solutions, will award more than $30,000 in grants for the second year in a row to help support 21st century learning and student success.

Open to K-12 schools across the United States, the Classroom Improvement Technology Grant will award ten classrooms with educational technology designed for an interactive learning experience that promotes effective instruction and increases student achievement.

"We believe in the power of interactive technology to help instructors create engaging classroom environments that enrich learning for all students," said Chuck Reigrut, vice president of K-12, Corporate and Government Sales. "Turning Technologies' Classroom Improvement Technology Grant is a way for us to partner with innovative educators to provide the tools they need to support their students' success."

As part of the grant application, teachers are asked to share their class needs and how the implementation of educational technology can greatly benefit learners. Ten classroom awards valued at $3,056 each will be recognized nationally. Each winning classroom will receive the following from Turning Technologies:

TurningPoint  Polling software to create and deliver interactive lessons and collect real-time results.

Mobi View  Mobile interactive whiteboard featuring a large LCD touchscreen that enables instructors to deliver content from anywhere in their classroom.

32-Seat QT2 Kit  Classroom clicker system featuring multiple ways for students to engage and interact. Includes an offline receiver with a 10-year TurningPoint subscription.

ExamView Assessment Suite & Learning Series  Complete testing solution to create, launch and review assessments.

ExamView Premium  Mobile solution that allows students to respond to ExamView questions with a computer, tablet or smartphone.

K-12 educators currently teaching in an accredited, non-profit school in the U.S. are encouraged to apply. Applications can be completed here and must be submitted by Friday, March 23, 2018.

Contact: Chuck Reigrut, vice president of K-12, Corporate and Government Sales, at [email protected] or 330-259-7649

About Turning Technologies:

Turning Technologies is the global leader for learning, engagement and assessment solutions. Founded in 2002 in Youngstown, Ohio, Turning Technologies began with the development of response technology to create better learning experiences. Today, over 20 million response solutions have been delivered to K-12 schools, universities and businesses worldwide. Information on Turning Technologies can be found at www.TurningTechnologies.com. Follow @TurningTech.

SOURCE Turning Technologies

Related Links

https://www.turningtechnologies.com


SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Feb. 8, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Urban Phenix, a boutique apartment operator in Denver and Colorado Springs, is reimagining the way residents interact with their communities by partnering with lifestyle amenity provider Amenify. Instead of traditional apartment amenities, the company is now offering on-site lifestyle experiences like daily dog walks, apartment cleanings, massages, and personal training sessions. Urban Phenix is also building local partnerships with nearby gyms and yoga studios.

[email protected]'s in Denver, Colorado is offering residents best-in-class amenities in partnership with Amenify.

As competition for residents continues, there is a growing need for multi-family buildings to differentiate themselves from the pack. Data is showing that apartment renters' checklists are growing, and this is especially true for Millennial renters. No longer is high-speed internet or a Visa gift card enough to attract new renters. Renters are overwhelmingly choosing properties based on lifestyle services that improve their move-in experience by instantly plugging them into a local community and ecosystem of on-demand services.

Per their website, Urban Phenix focuses on 'renovating assets to create a modern apartment experience' and they are spending the money to deliver on this mission. At Urban Phenix's [email protected]'s property, all new residents will receive one of three options upon lease signing:

Six months of dog walks, or

Six months of personal training, or

One year of cleaning services (multiple per month)

The real estate industry has historically been low-tech but times are changing with industry-leaders like Urban Phenix ushering in a new wave of comfort and convenience. Real estate industry experts in the apartment world refer to these services as "soft amenities" opposed to more capital intensive "hard amenities" like club rooms and big screen TVs.

But how valuable do residents find them?

"We are thrilled with our properties' participation rates. It's wonderful to see that over 70% of our residents are enjoying their upgraded lifestyle with these amenity services," said Nick Lazzarra, President of Urban Phenix.

Dog-walking, in particular, is becoming a focal point for renters. As the apartment world is seeing an increase in pet ownership, recent data suggests pets are a key factor impacting leasing velocity. According to Richard Melton, an Urban Phenix onsite manager, the most popular service is dog-walking. The National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) delivered a report at Optech 2017 stating 72% of pet owners were interested in having a community dog park, followed by 60 percent wanting a pet-washing station, and 56 percent being interested in a pet daycare service.

So how is Urban Phenix able to offer this suite of local services and experiences without disrupting their on-site operations and eating away at their budgets?

The answer is a San Francisco based company called Amenify, a property-centric real estate technology company that white labels their amenity program and provides hotel-style concierge and support. Amenify does all the work, including resident communications and vetting service providers, making it easy for properties to elevate their brand without monopolizing their staffs' time and resources.

Amenify creates a white-label program that seamlessly plugs into the operating software used by the property. There is virtually no work for the on-site team, other than leveraging the amenity program as a sales tool for prospective residents.

"Residents choose communities that offer convenience and value, and it's more effective to deliver an experience with software than to build things onsite. We believe in creating a win-win." Everett Lynn, CEO of Amenify, said.

Based on initial pilots with Amenify, Urban Phenix is expanding the program to all of its Denver communities in 2018. Amenify, a privately held company founded in 2016, is a next-generation property-centric marketplace that makes it easy for apartment buildings to offer a suite of local services and experiences. For more information, visit www.amenify.com.

Media Contact:

Damian Wolfgram

Phone: 206.660.3422

Email: [email protected]

Related Images

x-sloans-building.jpg

[email protected]'s Building

[email protected]'s in Denver, Colorado is offering residents best-in-class amenities in partnership with Amenify.

amenify-is-creating-a-connected.png

Amenify is creating a connected community

Amenify is a next-generation property-centric marketplace that makes it easy for apartment buildings to offer a suite of local services and experiences to residents.

amenify-app.png

Amenify App

The Amenify app makes it easy for residents to purchase trusted, local services and experiences.

Related Links

Amenify Website

Urban Phenix Website

Related Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iramy6Vimv0

SOURCE Amenify
Vous etes confrontes a une infestation par la puce, la punaise de lit ? Voici plusieurs actions qui sont a mettre en uvre pour faire []
CLEVELAND, Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- US demand for personal care appliances is forecast to reach $3.4 billion in 2021, according to Personal Care Appliances: United States, a report recently released by Freedonia Focus Reports. Rising disposable personal income levels will fuel gains, as consumers will be encouraged to purchase products viewed as luxuries and to trade up from lower-end appliances.

More information about the report is available at https://www.freedoniafocusreports.com/Personal-Care-Appliances-United-States-FF90018/

Demand for massage appliances is projected to rise 5.8% per year over the forecast period, the fastest rate of any segment, and surpass hair styling appliances as the largest segment. Suppliers of these items will benefit from rising numbers of elderly Americans, as aging baby boomers represent a key market for these products. Many people in this age group plan to maintain an active lifestyle, with hobbies such as biking and running, but such activity often exacerbates the muscle and joint pain associated with an aging body.

These and other key insights are featured in Personal Care Appliances: United States.

This report forecasts US personal care appliance demand and shipments in US dollars at the manufacturer level to 2021. Total demand is segmented by product in terms of:

hair styling

massage

grooming

oral care

other products and parts

To illustrate historical trends, total demand, total shipments, the various segments, and trade are provided in annual series from 2006 to 2016.

More information about the report is available at https://www.freedoniafocusreports.com/Personal-Care-Appliances-United-States-FF90018/

About Freedonia Focus Reports

Each month, The Freedonia Group  a division of MarketResearch.com  publishes over 20 new or updated Freedonia Focus Reports, providing fresh, unbiased analysis on a wide variety of markets and industries. Published in 20-30 pages, Focus Report coverage ranges from raw materials to finished manufactured goods and related services such as freight and construction. Additional Consumer Goods reports can be purchased at Freedonia Focus Reports or MarketResearch.com.

Analysis is intended to guide the busy reader through pertinent topics in rapid succession, including:

total historical market size and industry output

segmentation by products and markets

identification of market drivers, constraints, and key indicators

segment-by-segment outlook in five-year forecasts

a survey of the supply base

suggested resources for further study

Press Contact:

Corinne Gangloff

+1 440.684.9600

[email protected]

SOURCE The Freedonia Group

Related Links

https://www.freedoniafocusreports.com/


NEW YORK, Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The US Navy Veterans Mesothelioma Center says, "We are urging a US Navy Veteran with recently diagnosed mesothelioma, or their family members to call us anytime at 800-714-0303, and we will provide them with instant access to some of the nation's most skilled, and experienced mesothelioma lawyers. As we would like to explain anytime being represented by one of the nation's top mesothelioma lawyers is vital for a US Navy Veteran with this rare cancer because the more skilled the lawyers the better the financial compensation result for their client.

Asbestos Warning Sign US Navy Veterans

"Ours is a nationwide initiative and we are appealing to a US Navy Veteran with mesothelioma or their family to call us anytime at 800-714-0303 before they hire a lawyer or law firm. We happen to think the fulltime mesothelioma attorneys we suggest get much better financial compensation results for their clients. Please don't shortchange yourself when it comes to financial compensation settlements." http://USNavyMesothelioma.Com

US Navy Veterans are by far the largest group of individuals diagnosed with mesothelioma each year in the United States. Mesothelioma is caused by exposure to asbestos. The way a US Navy Veteran could have been exposed to asbestos on a navy ship was typically related to their job duties which included maintaining the engine rooms or boilers, maintaining machinery or equipment on the ship, preparing the ship for deployment, making repairs on the ship after a deployment, assisting shipyard workers with a major overhaul, or retrofit of a ship, and or making repairs or maintaining equipment on a submarine while it was underway.

The US Navy Veterans Mesothelioma Center wants to emphasize that most US Navy Veterans who were exposed to asbestos and now have mesothelioma were probably assigned to US Navy ship that had a home base located in:

Navy Base Norfolk, Virginia (The world's largest navy base)

Navy Base San Diego, California

Navy Base Honolulu, Hawaii

Navy Base Mayport- Jacksonville, Florida

Navy Station Newport, Rhode Island

Navy Submarine Base Kitsap, Washington ( Bangor /Keyport)

/Keyport) Navy Submarine Base New London, Connecticut

Navy Submarine Base Kings Bay, Georgia

Subic Bay, Philippines

Or the US Navy Veteran had extreme exposure to asbestos at a US Navy Shipyard in Boston, Bremerton, Washington, Norfolk, Virginia, Groton, Connecticut, Hunters Point, California, Long Beach, California, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Brooklyn, New York or Portsmouth, Maine.

For more information about mesothelioma compensation and why it is so vital for a Navy Veteran with confirmed mesothelioma to be represented by the most qualified and experienced mesothelioma attorneys in the United States in order to revive the best possible financial compensation results-a Navy Veteran with recently diagnosed mesothelioma or their family are urged to call the US Navy Veterans Mesothelioma Center anytime at 800-714-0303. The Center is open 7AM EST until 9 PM EST daily and weekends. http://usnavymesothelioma.com

For a listing of all types of current and past US Navy warships please review the US Navy website on this topic. http://www.navy.mil/navydata/our_ships.asp

For a listing of US Navy Bases please refer to Military Rates.Com: http://www.militaryrates.com/military-bases-navy.cfm

According to the CDC the states indicated with the highest incidence of mesothelioma include Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, Louisiana, Washington, and Oregon. However, based on the calls the US Navy Veterans Mesothelioma Center receives a US Navy Veteran with mesothelioma could live in any state. http://USNavyMesothelioma.Com

For more information about mesothelioma please refer to the National Institutes of Health's web site related to this rare form of cancer: https://www.cancer.gov/types/mesothelioma.

Contact:

Michael Thomas

800-714-0303

[email protected]

SOURCE US Navy Veterans Mesothelioma Center

Related Links

http://USNavyMesothelioma.Com


SEATTLE, Feb. 8, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- UW Medicine and Tennessee-based healthcare system RCCH HealthCare Partners announced the creation of a public-private partnership to own and operate community hospitals in Washington, Alaska and Idaho. The partnership will take the form of a limited liability company (LLC) that will own and operate community hospitals or other healthcare entities. RCCH will operate and manage these facilities and UW Medicine will provide clinical and quality expertise.

Changes in healthcare have created new challenges for smaller community hospitals around the region. Many are seeking partnerships with larger hospitals and health systems to ensure that they can continue to provide quality care to their communities. Often, these partnerships are necessary to maintain access to capital to support growth and quality improvement resources for continued success.

"RCCH has proven expertise in operating community hospitals," said Dr. Paul Ramsey, CEO of UW Medicine. "UW Medicine is partnering with RCCH through this public-private partnership to provide expertise in patient safety and quality improvement. Helping hospitals throughout the region improve their quality and safety is part of UW Medicine's overall mission to improve the health of the public."

RCCH will operate and manage each of the community hospitals. The community hospitals will retain their unique identities and names but will be further branded as "A UW Medicine Community Health Partner."

"We are honored to join UW Medicine in this exciting new partnership," said RCCH Chairman and CEO Marty Rash. "The healthcare landscape in our country is changing rapidly and we look forward to working with a world-class organization like UW Medicine to find the best ways to ensure that high quality care is available to people in communities throughout the region."

The new partnership and its hospitals will benefit from and leverage UW Medicine's work to achieve the "Triple Aim" of improving the patient experience of care (including quality and satisfaction), improving the health of populations, and reducing the per capita cost of healthcare. Both UW Medicine and RCCH will be equity owners of this new LLC with each having representation on the LLC Board and Quality Committee.

"In addition to expanding to new communities, the new partnership will build on our existing relationships in Washington, Idaho and Alaska and should enhance our research, teaching and clinical activities in these states," said Ramsey.

UW Medicine has an existing relationship with RCCH. Capital Medical Center in Olympia, Washington, is owned and operated by RCCH and is a member of the UW Medicine Accountable Care Network. The UW Neighborhood Clinics operate an outpatient clinic in Olympia in collaboration with Capital Medical Center; Capital Medical Center will be the first hospital under the new partnership in 2018.

"The success we have shared with UW Medicine in Olympia sets the stage for this new partnership," said Rash. "We look forward to working together to serve hospitals and communities in Washington, Idaho, and Alaska."

About UW Medicine

UW Medicine is one of the top-rated academic medical systems in the world. With a mission to improve the health of the public, UW Medicine educates the next generation of physicians and scientists, leads one of the world's largest and most comprehensive medical research programs, and provides outstanding care to patients from across the globe. UW Medicine's four hospitalsHarborview Medical Center, Northwest Hospital & Medical Center, University of Washington Medical Center and Valley Medical Centeradmit more than 63,000 patients each year. A network of hospital-based and outpatient clinics sees more than 1.3 million patients each year.

The UW School of Medicine, part of the UW Medicine system, leads the internationally recognized, community-based WWAMI Program, serving the states of Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho. The UW School of Medicine has been ranked No. 1 in the nation in primary-care training for more than 20 years by U.S. News & World Report. It is also second in the nation in federal research grants and contracts with $749.9 million in total revenue (fiscal year 2016) according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.

UW Medicine has 26,000 employees and an annual budget of $5 billion. Also part of the UW Medicine system are Airlift Northwest and the UW Physicians practice group, the largest physician practice plan in the region.

For more information, visit uwmedicine.org.

Follow us Facebook and Twitter.

About RCCH HealthCare Partners

RCCH HealthCare Partners works with communities to build strong regional healthcare systems that are known for quality patient care. Based in Brentwood, Tennessee, RCCH HealthCare Partners operates 16 regional health systems in 12 states. RCCH HealthCare Partners has more than 14,000 employees and 2,000 affiliated physicians and mid-level providers. For more information, visit www.RCCHHealth.com.

Media contacts:

UW Medicine  Tina Mankowski : 206.695.3841, [email protected]

: 206.695.3841, RCCH  Jeff Atwood , 615.406.6416, [email protected]

SOURCE UW Medicine

Related Links

http://www.uwmedicine.org


PHOENIX, Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Virtua Partners has successfully recapitalized a Phoenix area land development project with the debt investors receiving a net 16.7% internal rate of return. Virtua syndicated the senior debt to individual investors in November of 2016, when it purchased the property. The senior debt was secured by a first trust deed and underwritten at a 50% loan to value. The investors received monthly payments at 15% interest with an additional exit fee when the project was refinanced.

Virtua Partners has successfully recapitalized a Phoenix area land development project

"We're delighted to complete the investment cycle and see our investors get a strong return," said Derek Uldricks, President of Virtua Capital Management. "High yielding cash flow investments are an important part of a diversified investment portfolio. If properly underwritten to minimize risk, these investments can reduce volatility, produce steady returns, and boost yields."

About Virtua Partners:

Virtua Partners is a private equity firm specializing in commercial real estate. Virtua sponsors a variety of funds and commercial real estate projects across the country. Investment products include fixed income, growth to income, growth, and aggressive growth. Through its affiliates, Virtua provides debt and equity origination, asset and property management, workout consulting, development, and fund management.

Please visit http://www.virtuapartners.com to learn more about our investor services.

Media contact:

Derek Uldricks

619.764.9633

SOURCE Virtua Partners

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Browse 63 tables and 34 figures spread through 119 pages and in-depth TOC on "Virtual Data Room Market"

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/virtual-data-room-market-74439915.html

Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report

The need to streamline the document sharing process during numerous business deals is the key factor driving the Virtual Data Room Market. Business operations are getting complex with the rapidly growing customer and enterprise data, coupled with the dynamic market landscape. Furthermore, constant advancements in technology may result in various data related threats, such as cyber-attacks and internal data breaches, which are some of the major concerns encouraging enterprises to safeguard their data while sharing with other parties.

The retail and eCommerce is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period

In terms of industry verticals, the retail and eCommerce vertical is expected to hold the largest market share throughout the forecast period. More of the brick-and mortar retailers are increasingly using virtual data rooms to acquire e-tailers to expand their businesses through omnichannel network. Moreover, the retail industry, including office supply stores, dollar and variety stores, women clothing stores, hobby and toy stores have been leading in merger and acquisition activities. This is expected to have massive adoption of virtual data rooms. Need for solutions which would help organizations to minimize frauds and streamline the data sharing process during the mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, fund raising, and other business deals, are the major reasons for the increasing adoption of virtual data room solutions. Moreover, the increasing adoption of the cloud is also driving the adoption of virtual data room solutions.

Workforce management business function is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period

The workforce management business function aims at managing the business deals pertaining to workforce. The market for workforce management is expected to grow at a higher CAGR during the forecast period. Growth can be attributed to the rising business deals with third parties, outsourcing workforce management, and decreasing the risk of data breaching.

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North America is expected to hold the largest market share; APAC to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period

North America is expected to continue its dominance during the forecast period. This can be attributed to the developed economies such as Canada and US which are emphasizing over innovating the existing solutions. North America contributes a major share in rising mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, fundraising, and other business deals. Hence, data security and secured sharing solutions are in great demand in this region. On the other hand, Asia Pacific (APAC) is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. The rapid expansion of domestic enterprises as well as the higher development of infrastructure are expected to drive the growth of the Virtual Data Room Market in APAC.

Major vendors offering virtual data room solutions and services include Citrix (US), Intralinks (US), iDeals Solutions (US), Firmex (Canada), Merrill (US), Drooms (Germany), EthosData (UK), SecureDocs (US), Brainloop (Germany), Ansarada (Australia), SmartRoom (US), and CapLinked (US). These players have incorporated various strategies to expand their global presence, thus increasing their market shares. The strategic partnership, mergers and acquisitions, product upgrades, and expansions are some of the major strategies embraced by these players.

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Data Virtualization Market by Component (Standalone Software, Data Integration Solution, Application Tool Solution), Deployment Mode (Cloud and On-Premises), Data Consumer, Enterprise Size, End-User, and Region - Global Forecast to 2022

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ORLANDO, Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Western Governors University (WGU) will honor 14,956 graduates at its 64th commencement, which will be held tomorrow at the Disney Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando. And, although they earned their degrees online, more than 1,000 bachelor's and master's degree graduates from 48 states and the District of Columbia, along with about 7,000 family members, friends, faculty, and staff, will attend commencement in person. The bachelor's ceremony will begin at 9:45 a.m. ET while the master's ceremony will take place at 1:45 p.m. ET.

Learn more about WGU's 64th commencement at www.wgu.edu/Orlando2018.

Sekou Andrews, the world's leading Poetic Voice and CEO/Founder of SekouWorld Inc., will deliver the commencement address. Joining him in addressing those watching will be four graduates: Natasha Pittman, B.S. Information Technology from Jennings, Florida; Julie Young, B.A. Special Education from Badger, Iowa; Nathan Siebach, M.S. Management and Leadership from Thomson, Georgia; and Rashaan Green, M.S. Cybersecurity and Information Assurance from Ellicott City, Maryland. For those who are unable attend the ceremony in person, the entire program will be streamed live.

During Saturday's ceremonies, WGU will recognize 8,839 undergraduate and 6,117 graduate degree recipients in business, K-12 education, information technology, and health professions, including nursing. The average time to graduation for this commencement's bachelor's degree recipients was 2 years, 3 months, while the average time to graduation for graduate programs was 1 year, 7 months. The average age for those graduating is 39 years old.

WGU pioneered competency-based education, which measures learning rather than time spent in class. Designed to meet the needs of working adults, this model makes it possible for students to fit studying into their busy lives. Students complete courses as soon as they demonstrate that they have mastered the subject matter, enabling them to move quickly through material they already know and spend more time on focusing on what they still need to learn. As a result, many students are able to accelerate their studies, finishing faster and saving money.

About WGU

Established in 1997 by 19 U.S. governors with a mission to expand access to high-quality, affordable higher education, online, nonprofit WGU now serves 91,000 students nationwide and has 100,000 graduates in all 50 states. Driving innovation as the nation's leading competency-based university, WGU has been recognized by the White House, state leaders, employers, and students as a model that works in postsecondary education. In just 21 years, the university has become a leading influence in changing the lives of individuals and families, and preparing the workforce needed in today's rapidly evolving economy. WGU is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, has been named one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies, and was featured on NPR, NBC Nightly News, CNN, and in The New York Times. Learn more at www.wgu.edu.

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SOURCE Western Governors University

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HARRISBURG, Pa., Feb. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Wolf administration is taking steps to increase the security and auditability of all voting systems used in the commonwealth.

Acting Secretary of State Robert Torres today issued a directive that all commonwealth voting systems purchased from February 9, 2018, forward must employ a voter-verifiable paper ballot or paper record of votes cast.

"This directive will ensure that the next generation of the commonwealth's voting systems conforms to enhanced standards of resiliency, auditability and security," Secretary Torres said. "The current voting equipment in counties works and can be audited. But new voting machines with paper ballots or voter-verifiable paper backup will improve auditability and augment security."

Over the next few years, Pennsylvania's counties will replace much of their aging voting equipment. This directive informs them of the specifications they must consider when purchasing new voting equipment. The department wants to be sure counties move to voting systems that meet their needs for accessibility and security and make audits easier.

A directive requiring a paper record of voting is necessary because:

It is in line with modern equipment offered by voting system manufacturers;

It will allow counties to expand their auditing practices. Auditing of voting equipment is an essential part of guaranteeing a system's integrity and accuracy.

It will enable compliance, if future legislation requiring a paper record is enacted at the state or federal level; and

It will ensure that Pennsylvania's voting system can achieve resilience by enhancing its ability to withstand and recover more rapidly from disruptions.

"We want to be proactive and replace older voting systems before their hardware and software become obsolete. This directive is a first step in that modernization effort. We will continue to work closely with the General Assembly and county officials to implement reforms that enhance the accessibility and integrity of Pennsylvania's elections," Secretary Torres said.

This directive does not preclude a county from purchasing equipment that supports and maintains a county's current voting system for as long as that system is certified for use in the commonwealth.

MEDIA CONTACT: Wanda Murren, 717-783-1621

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of State

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This springs standout emerging authors include writers from the U.S., the U.K., France, and Nigeria, and their books tackle a dizzying array of themes: female desire, sexual trauma, municipal corruption, financial malfeasance, war, and the connection between art and politics. Together their booksexperimental novels, story collections, family sagaspresent a picture of contemporary fiction that is impossible to classify.

Elaine Castillo

From London, a new author captures American reality

The first version of Elaine Castillos debut novel, America Is Not the Heart (Viking, Apr.), ran, by Castillos estimate, to about three billion pages. In fact, the book she and her U.K. agent, Emma Paterson, sent to Viking editor Laura Tisdel was a little more than a thousand.

Tisdel was nervous about the novels length, but it was hard to put down. I couldnt stop reading, she says.

Castillo eventually trimmed the bookits now around 400 pagesbut it remains a capacious narrative. The novel is a contemporary saga of an extended Filipino family, in the words of PWs starred review. It centers on Hero de Vera, a former communist insurgent who, after being disowned by her parents, is forced to leave the Philippines and move in with her uncle in the Bay Area.

Castillo, 33, who is originally from the Bay Area, lives in London, where she works as a freelance writer. She moved to the U.K. in 2009, shortly after her fathers death. She was ready, she said, to be somewhere that wasnt full of ghosts.

For about three years, Castillo didnt write, and hardly even read. But the character of Hero had been with her for a long time, and when she began writing the novel, in 2013, it went quickly, only taking her two years to complete.

Among the notable formal qualities of America Is Not the Heart (the title is a pun on America Is in the Heart, a 1946 novel by Filipino-American author Carlos Bulosan) is its inclusion of other languages: Ilocano, Pangasinan, Tagalog. For Castillo, thats simply reality. My parents spoke four languages between them, she says. There wasnt that much border between them, and there were huge pockets of my world that I understood or didnt understand.

Milpitas, the city where the novel is set (and where Castillo grew up) is ethnically diverse, and many households there speak multiple languages. Thats an American citythats an American reality, Castillo says. American fiction thats not commensurate to that reality... I cant really imagine it.

Chibundu Onuzo

A Nigerian novelist meets the demands of her home city

When Chibundu Onuzo was writing her novel, Welcome to Lagos (Catapult, May), she knew she wanted to write something big. But it was only after her sister suggested she call it Welcome to Lagos that Onuzo understood (with some trepidation) just how big it could be. If you call a book Welcome to Lagos, you have to feel like you have experienced Lagos after you put down the book, Onuzo, 27, says.

The novel follows five characters who, after coming into possession of $10 million of corruptly acquired cash, set about trying to spend it charitably. Jonathan Lee, Onuzos editor at Catapult, says the novel casts a satirical eye on corruption and political wastageso many of the things that happen to be relevant to us today.

Onuzo, who was born in Lagos and is pursuing a Ph.D. in history at Kings College in London, says she was particularly interested in Lagoss arrivals and departuresthe myriad people from different walks of life, different races, different countries who enter and leave the city daily. Depending on what baggage you bring to Lagos, your perspective on the city changes, she notes.

Some visitors, such as the books journalist characters from the U.K., see only the bad: The infrastructure isnt working; the light isnt 24 hours. All they see is everything Lagos is not, Onuzo says. Others see only glitz and glamour and opportunity.

Onuzo maintains that, ultimately, the novel is Lagos according to Chibundu Onuzo. This is not the last word on Lagos, she says.

Tommy Orange

Off the reservation

Tommy Orange, author of There There (Knopf, June), first became interested in literature hoping it would provide a kind of belief system. Growing up, his father was a roadmana sort of pastorin the Native American Church, and his mother, who is white, was an evangelical Christian. Orange was raised, he says, between those two things almost battling each other. He adds, I really didnt want anything to do with either one of them. But there was a giant hole of belief and meaning that I needed to fill.

Orange, 36, began writing There There in 2011 while working as a digital storytelling facilitator at StoryCenter, a nonprofit in Berkeley, Calif., that teaches writing. In 2013, he was accepted at the MacDowell Colony. At that time, Orange was unfamiliar with the colonys prominence in the literary world; a student of his at StoryCenter had to tell him what a big deal it was. The acceptance gave Orange motivation: in 2014, he entered the low-residency MFA program at the Institute of American Indian Arts, where he continued to work on the novel.

There There follows a range of Native American characters who convene at a powwow in Oakland. The novel is distinct, to Oranges mind, in that it focuses on the experience of urban Indians, rather than the experience of Native Americans who live on reservations. Theres an insecurity to being urban Indian, Orange says. Theres a worrying over self and identity and connection to nativeness.

Jordan Pavlin, Oranges editor at Knopf, calls the novel a report from a world few of us has ever seen. Reading it, she says, she felt that a new part of American history was being written before my eyes.

Orange says he took inspiration, when writing the book, from other multivoice novels such as A Visit from the Goon Squad and Let the Great World Spin. Including multiple perspectives, for him, has an amplifying effect: The idea of having a voiceless people explode in a polyphonic way was very appealing to me.

Danielle Lazarin

A short story writer explores female desire

Danielle Lazarin wrote the first story that would become part of her debut collection, Back Talk (Penguin, out now), in the early 2000s, when she was living in San Francisco and working in fund-raising. The story, Hide and Seek, is about a brother and sister, and originally it focused more on the brother.

The story was strongits part of why she was accepted at the MFA program at the University in Michigan, which she attended from 2005 to 2007but, for Lazarin, 39, it now represents one of her early struggles as a writer: she was afraid to write about women.

Female writers, Lazarin says, are often given the impression that stories about girls and about families are not as important. It took several years, she says, for her to find the courage to go into the domestic full-force.

The stories in Back Talk deal in girlhood, motherhood, romance, and female friendships, telling complex stories of loss, hope, and joy, in the words of PWs starred review. Lazarin says she wanted to combat entrenched stereotypes about women, such as the idea that mothers love every minute of being a mother, or that women dont experience sexual desire. We still have so far to go in putting womens experiences on the page, she says.

Julie Barer, Lazarins agent, says her stories depict women who lay claim to desire in a world that often asks them to be more selfless and less hungry. And though the narratives range in subject matter, they cohere around a common theme, according to Sarah Stein, Lazarins editor. For Stein, that theme has to do with how women are permittedor notto express themselves.

Lazarin says she wants her stories to complicate readers understanding of women, but she acknowledges that her perspective is ultimately her own: I hope I can push someone to read my book and say, Thats not my experience, and then get mad and write their own experience.

Emma Glass

An experimental novel explores the aftermath of an assault

Emma Glass began writing her debut novel, Peach (Bloomsbury, out now), about a young woman who struggles to resume ordinary life after being assaulted, a little less than a decade ago while she was studying creative writing at the University of Kent in the U.K. For her final assignment, Glass had to write the first 4,000 words of a novel. The prompt was open-ended, but the program, she says, put special emphasis on plot-driven, commercially viable narratives, which she had little affinity for.

Ive never been particularly good at coming up with stories, Glass says. In her frustration, and with the deadline approaching, she put on some music and started simply writing wordsnot even sentences. I was surprised at what came out, Glass, now 30, says. It felt like it was something different.

After finishing her degree, Glass put those 4,000 words aside, turning her attention to more practical-seeming pursuits. She wanted to be usefulto make a difference in other peoples livesso she studied nursing. It was only after she had moved to London for a job in that field that she took Peach out of the proverbial drawer. She also reconnected with old university friends who asked her, What ever happened to that weird thing you were writing?

When Glass finally finished Peach, she sent it to one of her former teachers at Kent, who passed it along to Alexandra Pringle, group editor-in-chief at Bloomsbury in the U.K. Pringle was overtaxed at the timeshe was trying not to take on any new writersbut she found Peach, in its dark intensity, hard to resist. You dont get a voice like this every day, or indeed every decade, she says.

Liese Mayer, Glasss editor at Bloomsbury in the U.S., describes Glasss voice as brutally spare and compares her writing to the work of Eimear McBride, Max Porter, and Claire-Louise Bennett. The novels nightmarish narration, she says, proves itself to be the perfect and most resounding expression of the trauma that Peach has undergone.

Glass, who is at work on her second novel, has kept her job as a nurse. People sometimes ask her whether Peach, with its visceral bodily imagery, was influenced by her career in medicine. The answer is no. That kind of grotesque violence, Im afraid, is all my own, she says.

Elle Nash

A novel of polyamory examines sex and power

A 19-year-old girl with a dead-end job and a mild painkiller habit meets a couple, Matt and Frankie, who invite her into their relationship. They give her a new name, Lilithperhaps the first sign that their relationship will become, like all relationships, marked by power imbalances. Their encounters, which consist of Matt and Lilith having sex while Frankie watches, grow increasingly fraught, with Lilith coming to feel like merely an object to bring them pleasure. On top of all this, Matt happens to be a satanist. If theres anything to be said about Elle Nashs Animals Eat Each Other (Dzanc, Apr.), its that it does not shy away from darkness.

Perhaps that makes sense, given that one of Nashs favorite authors is Mary Gaitskill, whose work often explores the treacheries inherent in intimacy. If I ever feel uninspired, I pick up Bad Behavior, Nash says.

Nash, 30, lives with her family in northwest Arkansas. She says she wanted to write about polyamory because she felt it was underrepresented in conventional media: I wanted to showcase something that wasnt traditional. She also wanted to look at the complexity of those situationswhat can go wrong when youre that young and you dont know exactly what you want.

Michelle Dotter, editor-in-chief and publisher at Dzanc, says Animals Eat Each Other is just the kind of book Dzanc seeks outstories that are maybe out-there, not on other peoples radar. The novel, she adds, taps into this national narrative about consent, sex, dominance, power.

And yet its far from a morality tale. Lilith is not even a particularly nice person, and shes not meant to be, Dotter says. Theres a lot that can be explored by resisting the urge to turn her into a victim of her own circumstances.

Luke Kennard

Parody of precarity

When the British poet Luke Kennard was writing his first novel, The Transition (FSG, out now), he imagined it taking place in the very near future. But novels take years to write, and the future arrives more quickly than we expect. Now, the themes at the center of the bookmillennial hopelessness, financial precariousnessfeel scarily current. A lot of things it explores have been superseded by reality, Kennard jokes.

The Transition tells of a feckless writer named Karl who, mired in credit card debt and facing jail time for his unwitting part in an online fraud operation, is forced to enroll (along with his wife, Genevieve) in something called the Transitiona program that aims to help struggling young people get their financial and personal lives in order. Kennard, 36, likens the Transition to less-extreme iterations of the self-help cult, such as mindfulness. Im quite cynical of those sorts of movements, he says. You cant avoid suffering.

Kennard was also responding to the perilous economic situation of his peers. In the U.K., rising house prices have made the dream of home ownership seem like a fantasy. Most people of my generation dont have any fail-safe, he says. We dont have any savings. He also thinks critiques of so-called millennialsthat theyre lazy, entitled, that they spend their money frivolouslyare misguided. The Transition, Kennard says, dramatizes a problem that is essentially financial but that gets dressed up as other things.

Georgia Garrett, Kennards agent, says the novel depicts a corporatized society in which things previous generations would have expectedjobs for life, nice homesare gone.

It hardly sounds like a near future. If anything, the novels speculative conceit enables Kennard to depict the contemporary moment more clearly, according to Laird Gallagher, an associate editor at FSG. Its freeing, Gallagher says. The world of The Transition may be skewed, he says, but only insofar as it reflects our psychic reality.

Noemi Lefebvre

A comically erudite novel of art and politics

The title of French author Noemi Lefebvres novel Blue Self-Portrait (Transit, Apr.), her first to be published in English, refers to a painting by Arnold Schoenberg in which the Austrian composer depicts himself in a melancholic shade of blue. Lefebvre, who has a Ph.D. in music history, calls the painting, which she first saw at the Neuhardenberg Castle in Germany, a pure experience of politics. (Schoenberg was disparaged by the Nazis and emigrated to the U.S. in 1934.) Schoenbergs music, Lefebvre says, was also there in his painting; thats what became clearin this painting that the Nazis could never have liked or even tolerated.

Blue Self-Portrait centers on a woman who, on a return flight to Paris from Berlin, reflects, often to comic effect, on a wide range of subjects: the fallout of her affair with a American-German composer (who is fixated on Schoenbergs painting); the influence of Nazism on art; her personal shortcomings (she has a problem with desinvolture, translated as notcaring); and Theodor Adorno and Thomas Mann, whose correspondence she spends the flight reading.

She keeps asking herself if shes the kind of woman whos fit to admire these great men, says Ashley Nelson Levy, copublisher of Transit Books. And this beautiful portrait of female intelligence seems to shape and form as she goes.

The narrator of the novel is plainly Lefebvre herself. I didnt even invent the situations or the characters, she says. Its a novel without any fiction! And her intellectual preoccupations permeate the narrative. I will never come to the end of the connections between art and politics, she says. The more specific aspect of it that I look at in the novel might be the question of conscience, not our capacity to think of ourselves as living beingsthat would be too Cartesian for mebut in the sense of our capacity to cast a critical eye on ourselves within our own times.

Sophie Lewis, Lefebvres English translator (who translated the authors responses for this article), admits that at first she didnt find the novel, with its long, Bernhard-like sentences, to be an easy read. But, she adds, she eventually warmed to the hyper-self-critical yet also motormouth narrator. The novel, she says, does what the nouveau roman was invented to do, but most of its first practitioners werent listening to their own inner-thought reel closely enough.

Will Mackin

A short story writer draws on his years with the Navy SEALs

Will Mackin, the author of the story collection Bring Out the Dog (Random House, Mar.), has spent most of his adult life in the military. After completing ROTC training at the University of Colorado, Mackin attended flight school in Pensacola, Fla.; worked at the Pentagon as a speechwriter for an admiral; and then spent six years with the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, deploying in Afghanistan and Iraq, among other places, with Navy SEAL teams.

All that time, Mackin was also writing. Though he took steps to improve his craftin 1999, he attended a fiction-writing class taught by George Saunders in St. Petersburg, Russiahe mostly kept his writing secret, especially from the people he was serving with. Writing about his experiences with the SEAL teams, he says, caused him some trepidation.

We thought of ourselves as Fight Club, Mackin, 49, says, referring to the film based on the Chuck Palahniuk novel. And the first rule of Fight Club is you dont talk about Fight Club.

When Mackin retired from the military in 2014, he began work on the stories in Bring Out the Dog, which draw on his years with the SEAL teams. He originally intended to write nonfictionhe felt obligated, he says, to get it rightbut eventually he preferred fiction and the narrative liberties it afforded him. For Will to do this as fiction freed him up to a certain degree, says Andy Ward, Mackins editor at Random House.

The stories in Bring Out the Dog, three of which have appeared in the New Yorker, are remarkable for their vivid details. While serving, Mackin kept a journal in which he recorded things I wanted to remember, or that were so strange I couldnt forget.

Esther Newberg, Mackins agent, says the author has had experiences nobody else has. And, she adds, most people who have them cant write about them.

For Mackin, writing these stories has enabled him to capture those experiences, and to get some distance from them. Working with the SEAL teams required him to adopt a fuck-you sensibility, to be this type-A person, which Im not, truly, he says. In my personal life, in my professional life, I had to get away from that attitude. Writing the book helped me do that.

Nafkote Tamirat

An Ethiopian-American writer takes inspiration from her community

The title of Nafkote Tamirats debut novel, The Parking Lot Attendant (Holt, Mar.), will have special resonance for Ethiopian-Americans. According to Tamirat, a first-generation Ethiopian-American from Boston, everyone in the Ethiopian-American community knows someone who has worked in a parking lot. Our parents, our grandparents, our uncles, auntseveryone does, Tamirat, 31, says, adding that no one seems to quite understand why. In a way, The Parking Lot Attendant is her attempt to make sense of the phenomenon.

The novel is set primarily in Boston and centers on a young unnamed woman, a first-generation Ethiopian-American, who comes under the influence of a charismatic but suspicious parking lot attendant named Ayale. Ayale represents an older generation of Ethiopians who migrated to the States in the late 20th century.

The novel is also partly speculativethe narrator tells her story from a fictive island utopiaand originally it was even more so. But Tamirat says early readers found the scenes in Boston more compelling than those on the island. Theres a concrete element, in terms of the details, how people speak, theyd say. She decided to devote more space to the city where she grew up.

Tamirat, who now lives in Paris, says writing the novel felt like entering into conversation with the Ethiopian stories of her childhoodnarratives from Ethiopian movies, Ethiopian plays, our familys stories. Though the book is written in English, she imagines its events unfolding in Amharic, the official language of Ethiopia. I very much wanted it to be an Ethiopian story, she says.

Tamirats agent, Julia Masnik, worked with her on the book for years and was always convinced of its strength. But its exploration of a close-knit immigrant community feels more urgent now, she says.

Caroline Zancan, Tamirats editor, says that after the 2016 election, one of her first thoughts was, Thank God for people like Nafkote: her work is more important than ever.

Daniel Lefferts is a writer living in New York. He teaches in the undergraduate writing program at Columbia University.
Visitors walking through the childrens pavilion in Hall 3 of the Taipei International Book Exhibition (TIBE), running from February 6 to 11, are not likely to believe that Taiwan has the third-lowest birthrate in the world (at 1.13). Parents with strollers, toddlers, and kindergartners are everywhereundeterred by the unseasonable cold snaps or three major earthquakes (at magnitudes 6.1, 6.4, and 5.7) in the past four days.

The fact is, dual-career urban Taiwanese couples, mostly with one child, are spending a large portion of their discretionary income on educational materials and edutainment products. Throw in doting grandparents, aunts, and uncles (not to mention godparents), and Taiwanese tots are spoiled for choice when it comes to books and educational games or toys. It is no wonder then that its childrens book segment has been defying the odds (and irony) and continues to grow. The islands largest online bookstore, Books.com.tw, for instance, saw sales of its childrens books growing an average of 10% in the past two years.

Translations remain big, and so are imports of original English editions. Put these two together, and TIBE, despite its much smaller scale (compared to the Beijing or Shanghai book fairs), continues to attract exhibitors from the region and beyond.

The U.K. pavilion, for example, is back after a 17-year absence, hosting 10 publishers who want to explore the market and check out its potentials. During conversations with several British publishers in Hall 1, where the International Zone is located, one particular observation came up repeatedly: that Taiwanese publishers share more similar interests with their Japanese counterpartsand to some extent, Korean onesthan with those from China, its closest neighbor in terms of distance, culture, and language.

History and popular culture have much to do with this. Japan, which occupied Taiwan for 50 years (from 1895 to 1945), left behind a lasting cultural influence: teenagers and adults read Japanese manga, watch Japanese movies, and are fans of all things Japanese. Hello Kitty, the Japanese cartoon cat, for instance, is licensed to more than 200 companies in Taiwan, a small island of 23.5 million people with numerous homegrown licensed characters. As for Korean influence, it is all about the magnitude of the so-called Korean Wave, specifically K-pop and K-dramas.

Rebecca Lake, rights manager for Asia at Pavilion Books, was among those who are intrigued by the similarities between Taiwan and Japans publishers when it comes to book selection and preferences. I was not sure what to expect from Taiwan since this is my first TIBE. But after about 30 meetings, I know there is much more to be done for this market. This trip has been a great opportunity to see up-close the potentials, and to start the groundwork for future growth, said Lake, pointing out that while there has been plenty of interest in pop science titles here, it is not at the same level as in China. Picture books and nonfiction remain popular, Lake said. William Bees Wonderful World series, Adam Hargreavess Molly Mischief series, and Matt Sewells Dinosaurs are among those that garnered a lot of attention at her booth.

Sales of the augmented reality-based Digital Magic series, translated and published in Taiwan by Suncolor, has been steadily growing, said Sharon Miller-Gold, senior foreign rights manager (Asia) at Carlton Publishing Group. Taiwan publishers are very thorough in their decision-making, preferring to take their time in evaluating titles and market potentials. As a result, they are comparatively slower in pushing out titles than Chinese publishers. But they are catching up fast, explained Miller-Gold, who has added a new agent, Kim Pai of PaiSha Agency, to help in identifying new publishing partners. In this vast region, it is always good to have agents who are on the ground and able to bring market knowledge to the table.

The Taiwan-Japan similarities have prompted international rights director Nirmal Sandhu of Scholastic, who is in charge of U.S. titles, to bring in the I Spy series. This series is very popular in Japan but has yet to make an appearance in Taiwan. Im hoping that what works there will work here, too, he said, adding that STEM subjects and picture books are popular. We are also introducing Klutz titles, especially those that are paired with brands like Lego, to Taiwan publishers. The challenge is that these titles are rather expensive to produce and the print run is likely to be small. We are also looking into finding the right partner for Dav Pilkeys Dog Man series.

For Tanya Harris-Brown, rights executive of Scholastic (U.K.), novelty board book series received plenty of positive feedback. So did new picture books such as Lorna Scobies Collecting Cats, Nicola Kinnears A Little Bit Brave, and Melissa Castrillons Mighty Min. But middle-grade and YA titles remain challenging since Taiwanese schoolchildren are too busy preparing for exams to read for leisure. Overall, the focus is on titles that deliver educational and moral values. However, the right pitching of a title makes a difference, she said, and that requires a good understanding of different cultures and markets. At the end of the day, we and our partnersin any marketsimply want a book to succeed.

Research, networking, and understandingthat is the goal for Aby Mann of Aby Books in the U.K., who represents Milly & Flynn and i-Read at this fair. Im seeing a great deal of interest in our activity booksMy First Counting Activity Book, and My First Words Activity Book, for instanceand the Facts Sticker Book series. For board books, Im surprised to see publishers open to titles with bold colors as well as those with softer illustrations; usually, they tend to go for one or the other. This opens up the range of titles that we can sell, which is great news. At the same time, there are demands for books that will help children to understand and deal with various emotions. Requests for co-editions also come as a surprisebut then again, this is an indicator of a mature market like Taiwan.

The lack of import restrictions for used books is music to some agents ears. This means an easier and more cost-effective business process for us, said Sam Perry, the agent for World of Books, which is the largest seller of used English books in Europe. But for this TIBEmarking our first foray into this marketthe goal is to meet with importers and retailers, and get to know the market. I see the opportunity to provide affordable reading materials to young parents and English-language learning materials to their children.

At the Belgium pavilion, director Melanie Roland of Alice Editions was thrilled to have illustrator Ian De Haes attending this years fair and signing books for fans. I have sold several of his titles in Taiwan, including Imagine, The Little Old Lady on the Ground Floor, and Simons Anger. Four Taiwanese publishers are now interested in buying his sixth and latest title, The Butterfly. Peaceful, nature-based illustrations seem to work well in this market, she said. But there must be a message within the storynot just beautiful illustrations. Friendship, courage, and forgiveness, for instance, are topics that publishers are looking for. The higher price of childrens books in this market, Roland added, also means better royalties.

Back for its fifth visit, Belgian publisher Clavis is keen on continuing the conversation with Taiwanese publishers and others from the region. Books are important, but in this business, people and the relationships are much more important, said publisher Philippe Werck. This market is pickier, with publishers preferring single titles to series. They also strive to do a better job for their readers. The original cover of Pimm Van Hests Everywhere and All Around, for instance, was replaced by another illustration for its Taiwan edition because it was deemed too dark for the local market. Our Taiwan publishing partner is also creating a math game based on the character of Guido Van Genechtens Little White Fish series. They are bringing another dimension to our titles, Werck said, pointing out that Van Hest and Van Genechten titles sell the best in Taiwan.

Rights manager Giulia Scandone of Editions Auzou in France is back at TIBE for the seventh time. This is a stable market that is very professional and mature, which means that publishers here do not simply buy a title. If they say no to a title, I know they must have a reason for it, and I would not push,. But this is also a market that is willing to take risks if they think it is worth it, added Scandone, who is seeing big-format novelty titles incorporating touch-and-feel and scratch-and-smell, and board books with sound or light modules receiving plenty of attention. Fairy tales continue to sell, especially those in book-plus format, she said, adding that our 2017 business was not as good as in 2016, but I expect it to pick up this year.

Over at Montreal-based Caillou, this first TIBE outing is about visibility and a local touch. Our English editions have been available here for a long time, and we are very much a brand to Taiwan parents and educators, said Genevieve Lagace, who handles foreign rights and coeditions. Novelty books such as My First Piano Book and My First Words, for instance, got plenty of positive feedback, as did the basic Potty Training series. There were also requests for its Clubhouse series and boxed sets, in which publishers see more added values for the market. We are also here to introduce our new Crackboom range of products, which expands our offerings to kids up to nine years old.

Back in the U.K. pavilion, sales manager David Meggss mood was not dampened by the cold and drizzly weather, or the frequent tremblors rocking the city, but by the temporary loss of his voice during the second day of the fair. Nevertheless, his confidence in finding a new market in Taiwan is loud and clear. We havent sold anything to Taiwan in the past decade despite the fact that we sell to about 100 countries and in 70 different languages, said the Award Publications sales manager, who had received helpful advice from fellow exhibitors on the dos and donts of doing business in Taiwan. So I am here to learn and to establish contacts with distributors for direct imports and agents for rights. There is no shortcut: adopting a long-term view when it comes to doing business in any new market is crucial and the key to success.
Authors, illustrators, actors, and fans gathered to celebrate Judy Blumesday on February 4, held in honor of Judy Blumes 80th birthday. Symphony Space and Thalia Kids Book Club in New York City presented two events to commemorate the beloved author. An afternoon event for kids featured authors Soman Chainani and Jacqueline Woodson, and illustrator Debbie Ridpath Ohi. Author Rachel Vail moderated discussions among the guests before welcoming Blume to the stage. Actor Colby Minifie then performed a dramatic reading from Blumes work.

Later that evening, adult guests celebrated Blume with additional discussions and readings of spicier passages from her books. Speakers at the adults-only event were Meg Wolitzer, Samantha Bee, Michael Chernus, Tavi Gevinson, Giullian Yao Gioiello, Laura Gomez, Julie Klausner, Hasan Minhaj, Molly Ringwald, Phoebe Robinson, Tayari Jones, and Jenna Ushkowitz. Weve rounded up a few photo highlights from the two events.

(From l.): Debbie Ridpath Ohi, Soman Chainani, Rachel Vail, and Jacqueline Woodson.

Chainani reminisced about the first time he read Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing and Then Again, Maybe I Wont, books featuring very cranky boys who come out, guns blazing. And Ohi shared what she learned from reading and illustrating later editions of Blumes books, that becoming a beautiful person is much more about being who you are on the inside and not what you look like.

Vail described how thankful she is for both the mentorship and friendship that she has with Blume, saying that before she met Blume, she told me the truth in every book she wrote. Woodson, the newly minted National Ambassador for Young Peoples Literature, praised Blume for first teaching us that young people have struggles and that those struggles are valid.

A young audience member read her response to a writing prompt.

Actor Colby Minifie (Jessica Jones) read a selection from Blumes Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great.

Blume spoke frankly about how gratifyingand difficultwriting is: When each book is finished, I say, How did I do that? Questions from audience members included who are Blumes favorite characters (she cant decide, but said that Sally J. Friedman is her most autobiographical character: Im very connected to Sally), and whether she will write another book. Theres something small, something different, brewing, Blume said. She added that she is also busy doing a different kind of workrunning her Key West bookstore, Books & Books: Now I have a bookstore to go to every day, she said.

Tavi Gevinson, Julie Klausner, Jenna Ushkowitz, and Laura Gomez performed a dramatic reading from Blumes Blubber.

Actor Phoebe Robinson (2 Dope Queens) got an attack of the giggles while reading a passage from Blumes YA classic, Forever, with Hasan Minhaj (The Daily Show).

Actor Molly Ringwald spoke about her admiration for Blume.

All of the performers and speakers at the adult program gathered onstage to present a bouquet of flowers to Blume for her birthday.

Blume received a birthday cupcake and was serenaded with the Happy Birthday song. Thank you to all of you. May all of your wishes come true, Blume said.
The Association of American Publishers this week announced the winners of the 2018 PROSE Awards, with Bloomsbury Publishing taking home the top honorthe R.R. Hawkins Awardfor its Arcadian Library Online. It is the first time a digital product has won the top prize.

The PROSE Awards honor the best scholarly works published each year. For 2017, publishers submitted more than 550 books, journals and digital products for consideration in 51 subject categories within five areas of excellence: Biological and Life Sciences, Humanities, Physical Sciences & Mathematics, Reference Works, and Social Sciences.

To create the Hawkins prizewinner, Bloomsbury partnered with the Arcadian Library to digitize its collection of rare, ancient manuscripts and early books, presenting them in an interactive, mobile-responsive platform, searchable in English and Arabic.

"I am pleased for both our Content Services division, who digitized the Arcadian Librarys collection and launched this award-winning digital archive platform, and our new Digital Resources division, who have taken Arcadian Library Online to academic and scholarly libraries and institutions worldwide and are bringing its riches to new generations at a time when the need for inter-cultural understanding has never been more acute," said Bloomsbury Publishing CEO Nigel Newton.

Nigel Fletcher-Jones, director of The American University in Cairo Press and co-chair of the 2018 PROSE Awards, praised the Arcadia Library Online as superbly designed to fulfill the deeply worthy and opportune mission of the library. Co-chair Steven Heffner, v-p of product strategy, Wolters Kluwer Health said he was impressed with Bloomsburys ability to balance digital function and convenience with some sense of the physical interaction with the artifacts.

The full list of 2018 PROSE winners is here.
Followers of Ross Douthats opinion columns in the New York Times, which often take a stand for conservative Catholicism, will know what to expect from his new book, To Change the Church: Pope Francis and the Future of Catholicism (Simon & Schuster, March).

They'll expect danger warnings. And he delivers.

In Douthats view, Francis, in just five years since his election in March 2013, has brought the ancient church to a pivot point in its relationship with modernity -- with the pontiff moving the wrong direction. Francis could be undermining the Catholic Church's doctrines on "the authority of Scripture, the nature of the sacraments, the definition of sin, the means of redemption, the true identity of Jesus, the very nature of God.

PW spoke with Douthat about Francis and whether the train has left the tracks.

(This conversation with PW has been edited for clarity and length)

Are you being overdramatic? This is an ancient church thats survived many crises.

It is totally possible in 40 years Ill be called on to say I radically overstated the significance of Francis pontificate. Still, this is a big moment, without it being necessarily the moment where the train literally goes off the track. Francis original goal was a less self-referential church, ready to evangelize. Instead, his message has been undercut by his moves to return the church to the culture wars. In the short run, hes made the church more inward facing and self-obsessed.

Francis often urges people to make a mess  to evangelize without getting hung-up on doctrinal correctness. Hes not meticulously crafting consensus for change rooted in tradition. A mistake?

Francis tried to follow the change process I think is needed (with the 2014-2015 Synods of Bishops on the Family) but it didnt work. He ran into too much opposition. Now, hes taking a different approach: He wont have a formal teaching on who may receive communion (which currently excludes divorced people who remarried without an annulment and Christians who dont hold the same understanding of the Eucharist) or whether to bless same-sex marriages. Hell leave it to the pastors and see what develops, parish-by-parish, diocese-by-diocese, country-by-country, and continent-by-continent.

Its a permission slip for experimentation. The effect in the pews is more likely to be continued divergence in everyday practice, in the rituals, in the sermons you hear, in the organization of your parish -- and more reasons for conservatives to hunker down and feel embattled until they regain the papacy and reform the reform. It could set the church up for wild swings  something the papacy was intended to avoid.

Is Vatican III, a global council of the church, needed to take issues of doctrine head on?

I think thats where we are headed by the end of this century. But there are no guarantees that a Vatican III would bring stability. The Francis era has effectively revealed that for all the achievements of Vatican II, in addressing religious liberty and Jewish-Catholic relations, it didnt provide direct answers on how the church could deal with the modern social and sexual revolutions. A Vatican III could also retreat to vagueness and generalities. And if it did directly address doctrinal propositions, youd probably see some breakage, some splinter groups that wont accept the conclusions.

You draw parallels between Francis and President Trump. Is it just that they are both popular and populists?

People like them for the same reason. They are both outsider figures in institutional cultures they are interested in transforming and changing. A lot of people see Rome in need of being disrupted and many see Washington as a corrupt, self-dealing place that needs to be shaken up. They are not alike in many personal respects and the substance of their agendas is radically different but their approaches are similar. Trump has his Twitter feed and Francis doesnt have a very papal style of rhetoric. When he wants to make fun of a traditional priest, he mocks how he dresses.

The book has a mood of catastrophe looming. Do you have something good to say about Francis?

Yes. Because the book is very critical and, indeed, talks about the extreme ideas of theological crisis and rupture, I want to stress that there is a side of the Francis pontificate that is doing what the church should be doing -- trying to offer a Catholic Christianity that is not just a partisan culture war cause but an integrated alternative to both conservatives and liberals and the whole secular neo-liberal architecture of the west that feels a bit exhausted at the moment.

Francis is not going to push the church off a cliff. He recognizes he can only push so far so hes going as far as he can. But hes a pope of surprises and I could be proven wrong.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.  Researchers have demonstrated how to create a super-strong aluminum alloy that rivals the strength of stainless steel, an advance with potential industrial applications.

Most lightweight aluminum alloys are soft and have inherently low mechanical strength, which hinders more widespread industrial application, said Xinghang Zhang, a professor in Purdue Universitys School of Materials Engineering. However, high-strength, lightweight aluminum alloys with strength comparable to stainless steels would revolutionize the automobile and aerospace industries.

New research shows how to alter the microstructure of aluminum to impart greater strength and ductility. Findings were detailed in two new research papers. The work was led by a team of researchers that included Purdue postdoctoral research associate Sichuang Xue and doctoral student Qiang Li.

The most recent paper was published online Jan. 22 in the journal Advanced Materials. The earlier paper was published in November in the journal Nature Communications.

The new high-strength aluminum is made possible by introducing stacking faults, or distortions in the crystal structure. While these are easy to produce in metals such as copper and silver, they are difficult to introduce in aluminum because of its high stacking fault energy.

A metals crystal lattice is made up of a repeating sequence of atomic layers. If one layer is missing, there is said to be a stacking fault. Meanwhile, so-called twin boundaries consisting of two layers of stacking faults can form. One type of stacking fault, called a 9R phase, is particularly promising, Zhang said.

It has been shown that twin boundaries are difficult to be introduced into aluminum. The formation of the 9R phase in aluminum is even more difficult because of its high stacking fault energy, Zhang said. You want to introduce both nanotwins and 9R phase in nanograined aluminum to increase strength and ductility and improve thermal stability. (A YouTube video is available at https://youtu.be/Y3dYq-N4xSY)

Now, researchers have learned how to readily achieve this 9R phase and nanotwins in aluminum.

These results show how to fabricate aluminum alloys that are comparable to, or even stronger than, stainless steels, he said. There is a lot of potential commercial impact in this finding.

Xue is lead author of the Nature Communications paper, which is the first to report a shock-induced 9R phase in aluminum. Researchers bombarded ultrathin aluminum films with tiny micro-projectiles of silicon dioxide, yielding 9R phase.

Here, by using a laser-induced projectile impact testing technique, we discover a deformation-induced 9R phase with tens of nanometers in width, Xue said.

The microprojectile tests were performed by a research group at Rice University, led by professor Edwin L. Thomas, a co-author of the Nature Communications paper. A laser beam causes the particles to be ejected at a velocity of 600 meters per second. The procedure dramatically accelerates screening tests of various alloys for impact-resistance applications.

Say I want to screen many materials within a short time, Zhang said. This method allows us to do that at far lower cost than otherwise possible.

Li is lead author of the Advanced Materials paper, which describes how to induce a 9R phase in aluminum not by shock but by introducing iron atoms into aluminums crystal structure via a procedure called magnetron sputtering. Iron also can be introduced into aluminum using other techniques, such as casting, and the new finding could potentially be scaled up for industrial applications.

The resulting nanotwinned aluminum-iron alloy coatings proved to be one of the strongest aluminum alloys ever created, comparable to high-strength steels.

Molecular-dynamics simulations, performed by professor Jian Wangs group at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, showed the 9R phase and nanograins result in high strength and work-hardening ability and revealed the formation mechanisms of the 9R phase in aluminum, Zhang said. Understand new deformation mechanisms will help us design new high strength, ductile metallic materials, such as aluminum alloys.

One potential application might be to design wear- and corrosion-resistant aluminum alloy coatings for the electronics and automobile industries.

The research was mainly funded by U.S. Department of Energys Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Materials Science and Engineering Division. The researchers have filed a patent application through the Purdue Research Foundations Office of Technology Commercialization.

The transmission electron microscopy work for the research was supported by a new FEI Talos 200X microscope facility directed by Haiyan Wang, Purdues Basil S. Turner Professor of Engineering; and the in situ micropillar compression work in scanning electron microscopes was supported by Purdues Life Science Microscopy Facility, led by Christopher J. Gilpin, director of the facility. These advanced microscopy facilities were made possible with support from Purdues Office of the Executive Vice President for Research and Partnerships.

The team included researchers from Purdues School of Materials Engineering, Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering at Rice University, the Department of Engineering Physics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, State Key Lab of Metal Matrix Composites, the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Department of Materials Science and Engineering at China University of Petroleum, California Institute of Technology, Louisiana State University and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. A complete listing of co-authors is available in the abstracts.

Writer: Emil Venere, 765-494-4709, venere@purdue.edu

Source: Xinghang Zhang, 765-494-1641, xzhang98@purdue.edu

Note to Journalists: The research paper is available at https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201704629 or from Emil Venere, Purdue University News Service, 765-494-4709. venere@purdue.edu. A YouTube video is available at https://youtu.be/Y3dYq-N4xSY, and other materials are accessible on Google Drive at https://goo.gl/Wob14Q. The video was produced by Erin Easterling, Purdue College of Engineering digital producer, 765-496-3388, Easterling@purdue.edu

ABSTRACT

High-velocity projectile impact induced 9R phase in ultrafine-grained aluminium Sichuang Xue1, Zhe Fan1, Olawale B. Lawal2, Ramathasan Thevamaran 2,3, Qiang Li1, Jian Wang6, Edwin L. Thomas2, Haiyan Wang 1 & Xinghang Zhang 1 1School of Materials Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA. 2Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005, USA. 3Department of Engineering Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA. 4State Key Lab of Metal Matrix Composites, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong Univeristy, Shanghai 200240, China. 5Department of Materials Science and Engineering, China University of Petroleum, Beijing 102249, China. 6Mechanical and Materials Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588, USA. Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to J.W. (email: jianwang@unl.edu) or to X.Z. (email: xzhang98@purdue.edu) Aluminum typically deforms via full dislocations due to its high stacking fault energy. Twinning in aluminum, although difficult, may occur at low temperature and high strain rate. However, the 9R phase rarely occurs in aluminum simply because of its giant stacking fault energy. Here, by using a laser-induced projectile impact testing technique, we discover a deformation-induced 9R phase with tens of nm in width in ultrafine-grained aluminum with an average grain size of 140 nm, as confirmed by extensive post-impact microscopy analyses. The stability of the 9R phase is related to the existence of sessile Frank loops. Molecular dynamics simulations reveal the formation mechanisms of the 9R phase in aluminum. This study sheds lights on a deformation mechanism in metals with high stacking fault energies.

ABSTRACT

High-strength nanotwinned Al alloys with 9R phase Qiang Li, Sichuang Xue, Jian Wang, Shuai Shao, Anthony H. Kwong, Adenike Giwa, Zhe Fan, Yue Liu, Zhimin Qi, Jie Ding, Han Wang, Julia R. Greer, Haiyan Wang and Xinghang Zhang* Q. Li, S. Xue, Z. Qi, J. Ding, H. Wang, Prof. H. Wang, Prof. X. Zhang: School of Materials Engineering, Purdue University, Email: xzhang98@purdue.edu Prof. J. Wang: Mechanical and Materials Engineering, University of Nebraska-Libncoln Prof. S. Shao: Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Louisiana State University Z. Fan: Oak Ridge National Laboratory Prof. Y. Liu: State Key Lab of Metal Matrix Composites, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University A.H. Kwong, A. Giwa, prof. J.R. Greer: Division of Engineering and Applied Science, California Institute of Technology

Lightweight AL alloys have widespread applications. However, most AL alloys have inherently low mechanical strength. Nanotwins can induce high strength and ductility in metallic materials. Yet, introducing high-density growth twins into AL remains difficult due to its ultra-high stacking fault energy (SFE). In this study, we show that incorporating merely several atomic percent of Fe solutes into AL enables the formation of nanotwinned (nt) columnar grains with high-density 9R phase in Al(Fe) solid solutions. The nt Al-Fe alloy coatings reach a maximum hardness of ~ 5.5 GPa, one of the strongest binary Al alloys ever created. In situ uniaxial compressions show that the nt Al-Fe alloys populated with 9R phase have flow stress exceeding 1.5 GPa, comparable to high-strength steels. Molecular dynamics simulations reveal that high-strength and hardening ability of Al-Fe alloys arise mainly from the high-density 9R phase and nanoscale grain size.
Claiming to want to show that scale matters and that the advertising technology market now has a new powerhouse, SpotX and smartclip have taken the first steps towards the merger they first announced in November 2017.





The plan is to create one global company that will provide a modern video ad serving and monetisation platform, enabling more than 1,000 broadcasters and digital publishers the ability to maximise monetisation of their digital audiences.The new video ad-serving and monetisation company will operate under the SpotX brand in the US and internationally. The smartclip brand will continue to be used in certain local markets with the best services for each one of them. SpotX will announce details on the branding in due course but it could confirm that the newly combined company would increase exposure outside US where it is predicted to generate more than two-fifths of its business going forward.SpotX co-founders, Mike Shehan (pictured left) and Steve Swoboda, will continue to serve as the CEO and CFO respectively of SpotX, while the co-founders of smartclip, Jean-Pierre Fumagalli and Roland Schaber, will report into them as general managers for Europe. Fumagalli will continue to focus on business development, and Schaber will be responsible for the operational side of the business. J. Allen Dove will continue to serve as CTO of the combined company, and Thomas Servatius will serve as Co-CTO, European broadcaster solutions, reporting directly to Mike Shehan.Commenting on the move, Shehan said: "In the 'total video' industry, scale matters and the combination of SpotX and smartclip will enable us to compete more effectively in the dynamic programmatic video landscape, enhancing the enormous, exciting potential of our best-in-class technology platform, products, and services. The results speak directly to our companywide commitment to making our clients and partners successful and combining the strengths of two great companies with a common goal."As a first partner, SpotX -parent RTL Group will roll out the new joint SpotX platform for its own broadcasting businesses in Europe, starting with the leading German commercial broadcaster, Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland in March 2018. The shift from multiple external service providers to one unified solution is said to to result in a fully integrated, holistic, data-driven ad tech stack. This includes combined ad serving and programmatic platform serving covering the full range of total video advertising across all screens, including TV screens through OTT / connected TV as well as addressable TV.
Spains public broadcaster RTVE has sanctioned a new rule that would allow it to look at the emails of every employee.





This has drawn strong complaints from the Consejo de Informativos de TVE, the corporations TV news board, which sees the move as a bid to increase control and censorship that violates the workers privacy.Specifically, the rule allows the corporation to install software to monitor emails and deploy regular inspections of the corporations computers and mobile devices.Professional secrecy is essential for guaranteeing freedom of speech and freedom of the press, protecting the confidentiality between sources and journalists, said the news board. According to RTVE , the move is only intended to increase cyber security. The purpose is to protect the corporation from outside attacks that can threaten system security and RTVEs information and data, it said.The corporation has also claimed that private data will be protected according to European regulations.
Content giant Viacom has seen profit in its first fiscal quarter soar despite revenue declines at both its film and TV divisions, thanks to the recent US federal tax cut.





Viacom reported earnings from continuing operations of $535 million, or $1.33 a share, compared with $396 million, or $1 a share, one year earlier.Revenue at the studio, home of MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and others, fell 7.6% to $3.07 billion, compared with $3.32 billion in the year-earlier period, mostly thanks to declining carriage fees from pay-TV providers.Management sounded a bullish tone, however, touting ratings gains. The premiere of Floribama Shore, for instance, was MTVs most watched show in three years."In the quarter, Viacom aggressively drove progress on our strategic plan, delivering improvements in our business and positioning the company for the future, said Bob Bakish, president and CEO. Viacom's most watched portfolio of domestic cable brands grew viewership share in the quarter, led by our powerful flagship networks, which now includes Paramount Network - the biggest and most ambitious network rebrand in our history. Internationally, we continue to deliver double-digit top-line and bottom-line media networks gains while launching innovative new partnerships in growth territories around the world.He also talked up the digital strategy: "Viacom has also made considerable progress in its push to accelerate consumption and monetization on next-generation platforms, achieving substantial growth in worldwide digital advertising revenues, expanding distribution on fast-growing virtual MVPD and mobile services, and ramping up resources and talent at Viacom Digital Studios, he said. Additionally, since the end of the quarter, we continued to expand our digital capabilities with the acquisition of influence marketer WHOSAY and the world's premier online video event, VidCon.He added that Viacom is on track to achieve $100 million in new cost savings in the current fiscal year, and hundreds of millions more in 2019. Before that though it may well be the case that Viacoms corporate structure has changed radically, after the announcement on 4 February that its board of directors has established a special committee of independent executives to evaluate a potential merger with CBS.
The Chinese air force has made public for the first time a deployment of advanced fighter jets for a joint combat patrol over the disputed South China Sea.

The People's Liberation Army Air Force said in a statement posted late Wednesday to its official microblogging account that it had sent Russian-built Su-35s into the airspace above the strategic waterway, but did not reveal when the patrol took place. The statement included photo and video of the exercises, but did not say how many aircraft participated in the training.
How Did Clinton Get FBI, FISA to Do Her Political Dirty Work?

The FBI's spying on the Trump campaign has been revealed as an effort by Hillary Clinton to use the U.S. intelligence bureaucracy for political purposes.
Last week, liberal Twitter was outraged yet again by the New York Times David Brooks, this time for a column suggesting that the Democratic Partys support for late-term abortion undermined other progressive priorities. Impersonating an imaginary Democratic consultant, Brooks wrote, I understand that our donors (though not necessarily our voters) want to preserve a womans right to choose through all nine months of her pregnancy. But do we want late-term abortion so much that we are willing to tolerate President Trump? Do we want it so much that we give up our chance at congressional majorities? Do we want it so much that we see our agendas on poverty, immigration, income equality and racial justice thwarted and defeated?
Intriguing tidbits from the week in election surveys and public opinion polls.

Trump Getting Credit: Last month we noted a Quinnipiac University poll showing that voters felt President Obama was more responsible for the current state of the economy than President Trump, by a margin of 49 percent to 40 percent.

Four weeks later, after continued good economic news as well as the two largest sell-offs in stock market history (in point value, not percentage of market), a new poll from Quinnipiac shows those numbers have flipped. Forty-eight percent say President Trump is more responsible, while 41 percent still say Obama is. The biggest shift came among Independents (net swing to Trump of 18 points), followed by Democrats (+15 net swing) and Republicans (+9 net swing).

The bottom line: Whatever the future may hold, good or bad, it appears the public now believes this is Donald Trumps economy.

The War Over the FBI: A host of polls this week exposed the broad partisan divide  which also represents a dramatic reversal of the parties views  on how the public views the FBI. The number of Republicans who currently see the FBI as biased against President Trump ranges from 49 percent (Marist) to 58 percent (Quinnipiac) to 64 percent (YouGov). Conversely, large majorities of Democrats  76 percent and 87 percent, according to Quinnipiac and Marist, respectively -- believe the FBI is not biased and just trying to do their job.

Meanwhile, a Rasmussen survey released Thursday shows that 50 percent of all likely voters believe it is somewhat/very likely that senior federal law enforcement officials broke the law in an effort to prevent Trump from winning the presidency.

Battleground Iowa: A new Iowa Poll from the Des Moines Register contains two nuggets of potential consequence for 2018. First, the presidents job approval rating in the Hawkeye State has rebounded significantly. Last month 35 percent approved of the job he is doing; this month his rating is up to 44 percent, giving Republicans a sigh of relief.

Second, Gov. Kim Reynolds leads all five Democrats trying to replace her, four of them by large margins. But her lead over state Sen. Nate Boulton is just four points (41 percent to 37 percent). And with 22 percent of voters undecided, this has the potential to be a barnburner of a race.

Great Scott or Not? In Florida, Republicans have had their fingers crossed for months, hoping Gov. Rick Scott will get into the Senate race against incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson. This week, two polls showed where that matchup stands. A survey conducted by the University of North Florida finds Nelson leading by six points, 48 percent to 42 percent, while a Mason-Dixon poll taken at the same time has Nelson leading by just one point, 45 percent-44 percent.

Though Scott has given signs he is moving closer to a run, he said he wont make a decision until Floridas legislative session ends on March 9.

Games On! The 2018 Olympic Winter Games are officially underway in Pyeongchang, South Korea, but according to a Gallup survey released today, Americans interest in the Winter Olympics is at a nadir. Just 39 percent of respondents say they plan to watch a fair amount of the coverage, down nearly 20 points from 16 years ago. Granted, the 2002 Winter Games garnered more attention because they were held in Salt Lake City, but its still a significant decline from the 46 percent of Americans who said they were tuning into the last Winter Olympics, held in Sochi, Russia in 2014.

For those who will be glued to the tube over the next two weeks, a YouGov poll shows that  no surprise -- figure skating is far and away the biggest attraction. Fifty-one percent  including one-third of men and three-quarters of women  declared it their favorite competition. This explains why NBC began its three-hour prime-time coverage Thursday night with a heavy dose of the sport. (Full disclosure: I watched a decent amount.)

Ski jumping came in second place among Americans favorite events (31 percent), followed by bobsled (29 percent), and snowboard (24 percent).
On Jan. 30, Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga was symbolically sworn in as the Peoples President in the capital city of Nairobi. Holding a bible and white flag of peace high in the air, Odinga pledged to preserve, protect and defend the constitution. Thousands witnessed the brief ceremony, but it was seen by very few outside of Nairobis Uhuru Park.

Hours earlier, several major TV stations had their broadcast signals cut off by the state for covering the event, which the ruling party had deemed an act of treason. By the end of the day, Odingas national resistance movement was declared a criminal organization through a government decree.

What are the implications of this public act of defiance? It takes place amid an intense political battle that has been waged at the ballot box, on the streets and in Kenyas supreme court for the past five months, and to answer, we need to contextualize the ongoing electoral crisis within the nations authoritarian past.

2017 Polls

Since August, Kenya has been embroiled in the most protracted electoral crisis in the nations history. Protests on the street and petitions to the Supreme Court have tested Kenyas new constitutional order and crippled East Africas largest economy. Allegations of corruption and vote rigging have been dismissed by the ruling elite as acts of political desperation. However, reports from civil society and global watchdog organizations detail how dissent has been silenced with deadly force.

On Aug. 8, Kenyans went to the polls and cast their ballot for six elected officials, including the president. Incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta and his opponent Odinga drew diverse support from across the country within their respective Jubilee and National Super Alliance, or NASA, coalitions, in a rematch of the 2013 election. The vote was peaceful and key international observers were quick to give their approval. However, many claimed the warning signs of electoral interference were pushed aside in favor of forceful peace narratives and a hasty resolution to prevent the catalysts that triggered past violence.

When Kenyatta was declared the presidential winner, the opposition responded immediately. Supporters took to the streets to protest. In clashes with police in opposition strongholds in the capital Nairobi and parts of Western Kenya, dozens were reportedly killed. Eventually the NASA coalition submitted their detailed complaintsabout electoral fraud to the Supreme Court.

On Sept. 1, the Kenyan Supreme Court became the first judiciary on the African continent to annul a presidential election. Within minutes of the ruling, the tense campaign season was reignited as Kenyans warily prepared for a repeat election.

On Oct. 26, Kenyatta seemingly won a landslide re-election victory. More than 98 percent of the votes cast went to the incumbent, but there was one problem: Only 39 percent of registered voters cast a ballot, as opposed to nearly 80 percent in August. In protest of the failure to implement electoral reforms, opposition supporters overwhelming stayed home. On election day nearly 40 percent of constituencies reported less than 20 percent voter turnout, and four counties did not hold elections at all.

Judicial rulings and international calls for dialogue since October have done little to bridge a deep political divide. So how did Kenya arrive at this crucial impasse, and how does the nations 60 year old democracy move forward? The key is addressing the legacy of historical injustice which continues to influence contemporary Kenyan politics.

Dynastic Politics and Historical Injustice

Kenyans went to the polls in 2017 with claims of both historical injustice and contemporary politics influencing the vote. Kenyatta, 56, and Odinga 72, seemingly represent different generational constituencies, but their struggle is very much rooted in enduring debates about decolonization. As sons of Kenyas first president and vice president, two political dynasties squared off in a familiar contest that Kenyans have been witnessing since the 1960s.

From independence in 1963 until 2002, Kenya was ruled by just one political party, the Kenya African National Union, or KANU, and by two presidents. Uhuru Kenyatta was barely two years old when his father and independence leader Jomo Kenyatta assumed the presidency. Railas father, Oginga Odinga, served as Kenyatta Sr.s first vice president until ideological differences led to his he resignation in 1966. This schism led to Kenyas first repressive crackdown on dissent and a 22-year period of one-party rule.

The KANU era represents a dark period of authoritarianism, where the power of the president was supreme, dissent was checked with violent repression, and economic development was reserved disproportionately for regions loyal to the ruling party. Those who attempted to challenge this system, including Raila Odinga, were often detained and violently attacked by the state. Both Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy president William Ruto were beneficiaries of the patronage system which ensured KANUs electoral supremacy.

2017 marked the sixth set of national elections since domestic and international pressure forced the end of Kenyas one-party state in 1991. However, incumbent elections in 1992, 1997, and 2007 were all linked to high levels of state-sponsored political violence. In 2007-2008 more than 1,000 people were killed and 600,000 internally displaced, with Odinga and Kenyatta on opposite sides of a violent electoral divide. And over the past decade, attempts by local courts and the International Criminal Court have all failed to bring any of the top perpetrators to justice.

Kenyas Democratic Future?

Hours before his controversial symbolic swearing-in, Odinga claimed that Kenyatta represented a return of an authoritarian, imperial presidency. Odingas critics argue his unconstitutional attempt to create a parallel presidency is an act of treason. Where does this leave Kenyas democracy moving forward?

Critics of the ruling party claim that Kenyatta is taking the country back to the dark days of KANU-style authoritarianism. During the election season, peaceful protests were often dispersed with water cannons, tear gas, and sometimes live ammunition. Civil society groups and the media have also come under attack by the state. On Jan. 26, Kenyatta reportedly summoned the heads of the major media houses to the state house and warned them not to cover Odingas swearing-in ceremony, in the name of maintaining law and order. When media houses ignored Kenyattas warning, their local TV signals were switched off by the state.

Supporters of Odinga have few options moving forward. Kenyattas party maintains majority control of Kenyas legislature and shows little commitment to reconciliation and reform. Fractures within the opposition have also emerged. Odinga was sworn in without his running mate and other co-principles, suggesting to some that his coalition is falling apart. At 72, this was likely Odingas last chance at the presidency. After losing the presidential race for the fourth time, his disenfranchised supporters are beginning to look for other options.

When incumbent president Kenyatta took the oath of office on Nov. 28, he reminded Kenyans that the the election we have just concluded is probably one of the longest ever held in our continents history..Todays inauguration, therefore, marks the end of our electoral process. The elections are now firmly behind us.

Two months after the inauguration, the stakes remain high and calls for dialogue, reform, and reconciliation are needed for the nation to move forward. This requires bringing two political dynasties to the bargaining table to discuss both the past and present. Without addressing issues of contemporary and historical injustice, the next presidential election in 2022 may bring more of the same.
The Athens-Clarke County Police Department was one of multiple entities involved in the arrest of nine individuals involved in a child sex investigation. All nine were arrested in Clarke County. (File/Staff)
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Cambodian police arrested a former opposition party activist on Thursday on charges of insulting the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party after the woman, who had fled the country to avoid arrest, was expelled from neighboring Thailand for overstaying her visa, Cambodian media reported today.



Sam Sokha, 38, had posted a video on April 1, 2017, of herself throwing a shoe against a billboard bearing photos of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and National Assembly President Heng Samrin, saying, These are the men who are destroying our nation.



Before being forced home from Thailand, where she had applied for political asylum, she had remained active on her Facebook page, regularly posting criticism of the Cambodian government, sources said.



News of Sam Sokhas Feb. 8 arrest was reported to the government-linked media outlet Fresh News by a senior police officer at the Ministry of Defense, the paper said, though details regarding where and how she was taken into custody were not immediately available.



Sam Sokha, who was sentenced in absentia to a two-year term by a court in Kompong Speu province for insulting public officials, had been registered with the United Nations as a refugee before being forced home, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a statement Thursday.



Forcing refugee Sam Sokha back to Cambodia is an extremely serious and absolutely blatant human rights violation by Thailands military dictatorship apparently seeking to buy favors from Hun Sen, HRW deputy director for Asia Robertson told the Phnom Penh Post via email.



Another arrest



In a separate case, Cambodian authorities arrested a parliamentary candidate from the now-dissolved Cambodia National Rescue Party this week on charges of having illegally sent Cambodian workers to work overseas, sources told RFAs Khmer Service.



Ismael Pin Ousman was taken into custody on Feb. 7 after returning to Cambodia from Thailand, where he had fled after being pressured to defect to the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party, a CNRP lawmaker from a neighboring province told RFA.



According to what he told me, Ismael had been lobbied by local CPP officials to join their party, but he refused to defect because he didnt want to betray his constituents, he said.



It was not until today that I heard of his arrest, he said.



Attempts on Thursday to reach Deputy Prosecutor to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court Seng Hieng for comment were unsuccessful.



Ongoing pressure



In January, five CNRP commune councilors who have gone into hiding since Cambodia's Supreme Court dissolved their party in November said they will not return home amid ongoing pressure to defect to Prime Minister Hun Sen's ruling CPP.



"I will never serve the CPP, because the party has no intention to solve the problems of the people," Chak Botha, a CNRP councillor from Battambang province, told RFA's Khmer Service in an earlier report.



"I would rather stand with the people than defect. The people are still suffering social injustice," he said.



Hun Sen's government in September arrested CNRP chief Kem Sokha on charges of treason for allegedly plotting a rebellion with backing from Washington, essentially eliminating any challenge to the CPP ahead of a national election this year.



At the end of November, the National Assembly reallocated the CNRP's parliamentary seats to the ruling party and three smaller government-aligned political parties, while the CNRP's elected local officials have been pressured to defect to the CPP or lose their positions.



Reported by RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Sovannarith Keo. Written in English by Richard Finney.
China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) plan to hold maritime drills later this year in a move security analysts said could be Beijings way of consolidating power as it moves forward with militarization efforts in the South China Sea.

The two sides announced the agreement earlier this week in Singapore, which hosted defense ministers from the region and Chinese Gen. Chang Wanquan.

A joint statement said while all parties agreed terrorism remained the key challenge in the region, participants reaffirmed the importance of coming up with a code to prevent unplanned encounters on the sea and air.

In particular, the ministers discussed ways to improve practical cooperation and welcomed the conduct of an inaugural ASEAN-China Maritime Exercise at the end of this year, the statement said without announcing a date for the drills.

Sources said tabletop exercises could take place sometimes in October followed by naval exercises involving one of the 10 ASEAN nations later in the year.

The Philippines, which hosted ASEAN meetings last year and appears to have improving ties with Beijing, could be tapped for the inaugural drills, according to a foreign department source who requested anonymity.

Beijing proposed drills three years ago, but some ASEAN members had expressed apprehension because of rising tensions in the South China Sea.

China claims much of the region while rival Taiwan and ASEAN countries Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippine and Vietnam have their own stakes in the South China. In 2016, the Hague-Based Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled in favor of the Philippines in its challenge to Chinas efforts in the region.

China has rejected the ruling and continues to expand structures including landing strips on islands it has claimed.

One of President Rodrigo Dutertes first official acts after taking office in June 2016 was a state visit to Beijing in what was seen as a gesture to improve relations with the regional giant.

Hegemony

On Friday, Richard Javad Heydarian, a political analyst at Manilas De La Salle University, said China is moving toward appeasing the South China Sea claimants even as it continues with its vast expansion.

Clearly the Chinese strategy is to seek and secure acquiescence of ASEAN through confidence-building measures and non-ending talks on the Code of Conduct  with most Southeast Asian countries including the Philippines  embracing strategic fatalism amid Chinas emerging hegemony, he told BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service.

China, Heydarian said, is banking on its overwhelming military supremacy over smaller Southeast Asian states who can gain massive economic benefits if they dropped their antagonistic stance.

Clearly, its working wonders in Dutertes Philippines, he said, referring to millions of dollars in pledges and contracts from the Chinese side.

In Chinas view, domination of that area is key to keeping Americas naval prowess and footprint in adjacent waters in check, he said.

Benham Rise

Duterte recently demanded a stop to all foreign explorations in the Benham Rise, a mineral-rich undersea region in the Pacific Ocean after learning a Chinese research vessel was granted access.

The Philippines recently laid claim to the region, where it has been carrying out research studies to map out its resources.

Heydarian said that apart from area having major aquatic and mineral resources, gaining access and control there could be key for China to monitor American submarine movement.

They want to protect their burgeoning submarine capacity, which is still vulnerable to western and Japanese technology, he said.

Roilo Golez, the countrys ex-national security adviser, urged the government to closely guard the Benham Rise, noting that Beijing was scouting for new sources of energy to power its economy forward.

He warned Chinese submarines could travel to the area undetected constituting a threat to the security of the Philippines and our allies in the western Pacific.

Reported by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service.
The wife of a Taiwanese rights activist and NGO worker jailed by the ruling Chinese Communist Party for subversion last year is in Brussels in a bid to put more pressure on Beijing for his better treatment in prison and ultimate release.



Lee Ming-cheh, a lifelong activist with Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party, was sentenced by Hunans Yueyang Intermediate People's Court to five years in jail for "attempting to subvert state power last November.



He was accused of setting up social media chat groups to vilify China.



Now, his wife Lee Ching-yu is on a mission to the European Union in the hope of drumming up international support for Lee, according to Eeling Chiu, a Taiwan rights activist who is accompanying her.



We met with the chair and deputy chair of the European Parliament sub-committee on human rights, as well as the chair of the sub-committee for security and defense, Eeling Chiu, who heads the Taiwan Association for Human Rights, told RFA. Also with MEPs from the Czech Republic and Spain.



The European Parliament has passed two resolutions already, so everyone is paying attention to this case, she said.



Chiu said Lee Ching-yu is concerned about her husbands health in prison and his right to communicate with the outside world, as well as securing permission from Beijing for her to travel to mainland China to visit him.



Plea for support



Lee is also calling on the international community to write letters to her husband n prison, to offer him emotional support, she said.



Mrs. Lee is extremely worried about Li Ming-chehs health, because it is 15 degrees colder in Chishan Prison [in Hunan] than in Taiwan, Chiu said. It is a very cold place, probably about as cold as Brussels right now.



She is very worried because Lee Ming-cheh has high blood pressure, and about whether he will be able to tolerate the lower temperatures, she said. She has written more than 20 letters to him, but she hasnt received a single reply, so she doesnt know whether Lee Ming-cheh is even receiving the letters that she and the other family members are sending.



She also worries that Lee Ming-cheh wont have received any of the messages people are sending to him from the outside world, and about his state of mental and emotional health, Chiu added.



While Lee was the first resident of Taiwan, the last remaining territory of the defeated Kuomintang (KMT) nationalist government of the 1911 Republic of China, to be sentenced under draconian security laws governing overseas NGOs, Chiu said he is far from the first to be incarcerated in mainland China, or to simply disappear.



She said an estimated 500 Taiwan nationals have gone missing, believed detained, in mainland China over the years, while more than 1,000 have been locked up for various reasons.



Lee Ching-yu is also concerned because of Chishan Prisons reputation for torturing adherents of the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement, which the ruling Chinese Communist Party has designated an evil cult.



Birthday honored



Chiu said she and Lee Ching-yu held a celebratory meal at a restaurant in Brussels run by a Taiwan independence activist who was formerly blacklisted by the KMT for his views, to mark Lee Ming-chehs birthday.



It was very good food indeed, and Lee Ching-yu said she was very moved, Chiu said. She said she never managed to make such good food when she used to make a bento for Lee Ming-cheh.



She said she wanted to learn the recipe for the hot and sour soup, so that she could one day make it for Lee Ming-cheh, in the hope that he would be released soon, Chiu said.



Taiwan began its transition to democracy following the death of President Chiang Ching-kuo, in January 1988, starting with direct elections to the legislature in the early 1990s and culminating in the first direct election of the island's president, Lee Teng-hui, in 1996.



Recent opinion polls indicate that there is broad political support for de facto self-rule in Taiwan, where the majority of voters identify as Taiwanese rather than Chinese.



But while the Chinese Communist Party has never ruled the island, Beijing regards it as part of Chinese territory and has threatened to invade if Taiwan seeks formal independence or separate statehood.



Reported by Hwang Chun-mei for RFAs Mandarin Service, and by the Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
Chinese authorities have detained a wealthy businesswoman with strong financial ties to the countrys former premier, Wen Jiabao, The New York Times reported, with political analysts saying her detention, if confirmed, could be the next move in a power struggle among the ruling Chinese Communist Partys elite families.



Previous reports have indicated that Duan Weihong, who uses the English name Whitney Duan, is a key figure in the finances of the Wen family, with The New York Times reporting in 2012 that his relatives controlled assets worth at least U.S.$2.7 billion.



The paper cited business associates of Duans as saying that she was detained by unknown agencies ahead of the 19th Party Congress last October.



It is not clear who detained her, why and whether she is still being held, the paper said.



An employee who answered the phone at the Huadu Hotel in Beijing, one of Duans businesses, said she wasn't there.



Meanwhile a member of staff who answered the phone at her Beijing Taihong Holdings Co. said she wasnt there, either.



I havent seen her for really quite a while now, the second employee said, suggesting that she may have left the country.



Beijing-based constitutional scholar and political commentator Zhang Lifan said Duan, as an entrepreneur with close ties to the ruling party elite, could bear the brunt of any corruption probe if Wens family becomes a target of President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption drive.



Wen [Jiabao] put a lot of effort into the fall of Bo Xilai, and its hard to say whether or not he is now being investigated, Zhang said. Unless its a power struggle. These sorts of detentions are often a way of threatening an opponent with evidence, as leverage.



Duan Hongwei is sure to be in possession of huge amounts of evidence, and that fact that they have brought her in will be enough to intimidate the people she is acting for, he said.



These arms length entrepreneurs are in a pretty vulnerable position, because they can be bandied around as a bargaining chip in a power struggle at any time.



Politics and business intertwined

According to Bao Tong, former aide to Chinas late, ousted premier Zhao Ziyang, Chinas richest business-people are inextricably entwined with the countrys ruling political class.



These entrepreneurs have an extremely close relationship with the Chinese government, or officials within it, Bao told RFA. The entrepreneurs are basically the governments sidekicks.



We can see the links in the chain, and so the companies must do what the leaders say; then they will last for as long as the leaders do, he said.



They could be a billionaire and a prisoner , a conspirator, a criminal, he said.



Pin Ho, editor of New York-based Chinese news magazine Mingjing News, said Wens family may have been given an easier time by graft investigators in return for their close cooperation on the case of former Chongqing party secretary Bo Xilai.



Wen Jiabao put a lot of effort into the cases against Bo Xilai and [former security czar] Zhou Yongkang, and so the corruption case against Wens family was shelved, Ho told RFA. Crisis was averted, because Wens son was at the helm of Ping An Insurance.



Wens family made several billion U.S. dollars out of Ping An Insurance during Wen Jiabaos term as premier, he said.



Xia Ming, a political science professor at the The City University of New York, said Duan is also a link between the more recently fallen former Chongqing party chief Zhengcai, who is under investigation for corruption, and Wens family.



After Beijing won the bid for the 2008 Olympic Games, Zhengcai was the most powerful man in Shunyi county, Beijing, Xia said. He controlled all of the rights to the land near Beijing International Airport.



Duan Weihong and her ex-husband Shen Dong were running a business that acquired the land nearby that was needed for the widening of the airport expressway, he said. A lot of the shares in Duans property company were held by members of Wens family.



The investigation into Zhengcai has become a massive case, although its as yet unclear how much of an impact this will have on Wen Jiabao personally, he said. But his two grown children are deeply involved, and they will definitely feel the impact.



Reported by Ng Yik-tung and Sing Man for RFAs Cantonese Service, and by Gao Shan for the Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.


Authorities in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu have tried a Nanjing-based activist after he staged a public memorial ceremony for the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen massacre on 28th anniversary last June 4.



Shi Tingfu was taken away by police in after he defied a nationwide ban on public events marking the anniversary of the 1989 student movement and the subsequent bloody crackdown by the People's Liberation Army (PLA).



He was charged with picking quarrels and stirring up trouble for wearing a T-shirt bearing the slogan "Never Forget ," Shi made a public speech to passers-by outside the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall.



In it, Shi called on bystanders to remember that the anniversary was "a sad day for many mothers," and asked them to post footage and photos of his speech online to make more people aware of the 28th anniversary of the crackdown.



He pleaded not guilty to the charges at his trial on at the Yuhuatai District Peoples Court, his lawyer Liu Hao told RFA. However, the defense did accept limited criminal responsibility, in the hope of securing his early release.



There were a number of considerations, for example, his age and state of physical health, and there were various other things weighing on his mind, so he said he would do a deal and make a concession [to the authorities], Liu said.



He said he wanted to confess to wrongdoing and plead guilty, so as to be treated with greater leniency and to get out of jail as soon as possible, he said. As his lawyer, I can understand this.



So, we argued that he was not guilty, or that if he did bear some criminal responsibility, then it was very small, and we hope hell avoid further punishment and be released soon, Liu said. We want him home in time for Chinese New Year.



Liu said the authorities had put Shi under pressure to confess to the charges, and so he had confessed to wrongdoing, which was noted by the prosecution.



'Plenty of holes in the prosecution argument'

Shis son Shi Jing said he was the only relative or friend of his fathers permitted to attend the trial.



They wouldnt let anybody in except for me, Shi Jing said. I was in the public gallery, and there were a bunch of people sitting with me whom I didnt recognize; I thought that was very strange.



Our lawyer spoke up, and I thought there were plenty of holes in the prosecution argument, because surely picking quarrels and stirring up trouble has to involve another person, and my fathers actions didnt, he said.



The only words my father spoke were yes and no, he said, adding that he has always maintained his fathers innocence.



I have always thought my father was not guilty, because there is no crime in freedom of expression, Shi Jing said.



Security was tight, with a strong police presence outside the trial, where dozens of rights activists and supporters gathered, some of them only to be detained by police outside the court buildings.



An activist who asked to remain anonymous said he had been similarly treated by the authorities in the past, so came to show his support for Shi.



I argued with them that it should be the right of any citizen to sit in the public gallery  but they refused my request, the activist said. Then they told me to leave, and then they dragged me away.



There wasnt a single court employee in sight; it was all plainclothes police officers, he said.



Public memorials and discussions of the events of are banned in China, with activists who seek to commemorate the bloodshed often detained and veteran dissidents placed under police surveillance or detention during each anniversary.



An unknown number of people were killed by advancing PLA troops and tanks in Beijing on the night of -4, 1989, following orders to clear the square by force from then-supreme leader Deng Xiaoping.



Reported by Gao Feng for RFAs Mandarin Service, and by Wong Lok-to for the Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
Owners of garment factories and other businesses in Laos are rejecting a proposal to raise the minimum wage by as much as one-third, saying the increase in expenses would force them to shut down operations, despite reports of workers seeking opportunities elsewhere due to low pay and high living costs.



At a meeting last month attended by the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Lao Federation of Trade Unions (LFTU), LFTU vice president Symoune Ounlasy proposed raising the minimum wage from 900,000 kip (U.S. $108) per month to 1.1 million or 1.2 million kip (U.S. $133 or $145) to address the increasing cost of living for workers in Laos.



Minister of Labor and Social Welfare Khampheng Saysompheng said at the time that his ministry would submit a proposal to the government that, if approved, could be implemented through a decree issued by Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith on May 1, according to a report by the Vientiane Times.



Khampheng said at the meeting that a pay rise was crucial to improving workers living conditions amid rising costswith prices increasing on a yearly and sometimes monthly basisand urged employers to sympathize with them, as they are the ones who create profits.



An LFTU official, who spoke to RFA last week on condition of anonymity, said that the organization had collected information on the cost of living from individuals and based our proposal on this data, adding that 1.2 million kip can match the cost of living at present.



The government will make the final determination on what the new minimum wage will be, he added.



A garment factory owner told RFAs Lao Service on Wednesday that the Association of Lao Garment Industry was willing to accept a wage raise to 1 million kip (U.S. $121) per month, but no more, as any further increase would make operating costs unsustainable.



If [the government] raises it to 1.2 million, it will cause some factories decide to close down, because even now the garment industry does not make enough profit, said the owner, who also asked to remain unnamed.



If the wage was raised to 1 million, that would mean business owners would stay solvent and workers would have jobs.



The owners concerns echoed those from vice president of the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry Valy Vetsaphong, who told the Times last week that that there should be a minimal notice period of two years before any increase was fully implemented.



A study and a survey are necessary to ensure it would bring positive results for both employers and employees, she said, adding that an increase could pose a threat to the price of consumer products as the extra costs get passed down the line.



Valy instead advocated for the government to subsidize the price of consumer goods and build more vocational schools to enable workers to become more skilled.



She warned that a wage hike could lead to employers laying off workers, contributing to an increase in crime and anti-social behavior, and make the investment climate in Laos less appealing to foreign investors.



The office of the Lao Federation of Trade Unions in Vientiane, in an undated photo. Credit: RFA Lacking labor force



But the manager of a plastic bag factory in the capital Vientiane recently told RFA that a wage increase would be beneficial across the board, as employers are having trouble filling vacancies for low-salary positions.



The minimum wage should be raised in Laos because if wages remain too low, [workers] wont stay on, the manager said.



Right now, we lack a labor force in Laos because of low payworkers choose to do other jobs [in other countries] that pay better, she added.



The minimum wage in Laos is significantly lower than that paid to workers in regional neighbors Myanmar, Cambodia, and Thailand.



In July, sources told RFA that hundreds of undocumented Laotians had fled Thailand after the Thai government implemented a royal decree a month earlier imposing jail terms of up to five years and a fine of up to 100,000 baht (U.S. $2,941) on illegal workers in the country.



Most of the workers, the source said, were paid minimum wage on a daily basis for jobs in construction and agriculture, and illicitly entered Thailand because the fees required to obtain legal workoften around 20,000 baht (U.S. $587) per personwere too high for them to afford. The wages they earned in Thailand were approximately twice as much as they earned back home.



Thailands Ministry of Labor, said at the time that there were around 170,000 Lao workers working legally in the country out of around 2.7 million documented migrant workersmainly from Myanmar and Cambodia.



While the ministry does not provide figures for undocumented workers from specific countries, reports suggested that more than 200,000 of an estimated 2 million illegal migrant workers in Thailand are from Laos.



In 2012, the government of Laos raised the minimum wage from 348,000 kip (U.S. $42) per month to 626,000 kip (U.S. $76), and in 2015 further increased it to 900,000 kip.



Reported by RFAs Lao Service. Translated by Bounchanh Mouangkham. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
A staffer at Rohingya Vision TV is shown in his editing suite at the channels studio in Ampang, near Kuala Lumpur, in this undated handout photo.

In Ampang, a high-rent district in Kuala Lumpur, a studio and newsroom of a Rohingya-run operation churn out online broadcasts about dramatic developments in Myanmars Rakhine state for an audience of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and beyond.

Because access for journalists to Rakhine, the home of the stateless ethnic group, is tightly controlled by Myanmars government, Rohingya Vision TV as it calls itself relies on a network of dozens of anonymous local stringers and sources to feed it information and images about the news there, said Muhammad Noor, the channels managing director and co-founder.

We think that we cant wait for international media to come and ask for our stories. We need to have our own media so we can tell our version of the story, the 36-year-old Rohingya, who is based in Kuala Lumpur, told BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service.

The five-year-old operation, which disseminates news about goings-on in Rakhine state, southeastern Bangladesh where 1 million Rohingya refugees are concentrated, and other countries, reaches its audience through its own website and social media platforms including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Rohingya Vision TV counts 92,000 subscribers on its YouTube channel alone.

Rohingya Vision TV, which boasts that it is the worlds first Rohingya TV channel and network, is one of at least five Rohingya-language news sites operating on YouTube and geared for the Rohingya diaspora, as seen by BenarNews.

On Wednesday, the channel aired its Rohingya Daily News program on YouTube, an 11-minute video, which opened with a gleaming opening sequence that cut to an anchor presenting the days headlines in the Rohingya language. The video said it was brought to you by the Rohingya Business Club.

The Jan. 31 program led with a report about Buddhist terrorists allegedly torching more houses in northern Rakhine, followed by a report about Myanmar and Bangladesh saying they had agreed to include the U.N.s refugee agency (UNHCR) in their bilateral deal to repatriate hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees to Rakhine from Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh.

The days news also featured a report about the grand imam of the Baitul Muqadda, otherwise known as the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, distributing relief supplies to refugees during a visit to Coxs Bazar.

Government officials in Myanmar have rejected widespread allegations from refugees and human rights groups that Myanmar security forces committed large-scale atrocities against Rohingya civilians, although the United Nations and United States branded a military crackdown in Rakhine since August 2017 as ethnic cleansing. The crackdown forced at least 655,000 Rohingya to flee from Rakhine to southeastern Bangladesh.

In this screen grab from a YouTube video, Ajmeer Omar presents the news during Wednesdays Rohingya Vision TV broadcast, Jan. 31, 2018. Source: BenarNews Four languages, 6 countries

The news operation employs nearly 100 people in six countries and produces content in four languages: Rohingya, English, Burmese and Arabic. Apart from Malaysia, which is home to a large Rohingya expatriate community, the operation is officially headquartered in Saudi Arabia and has offices and studios in Coxs Bazar  home to the refugee camps in Bangladesh  as well as in Pakistan and Cyprus, Muhammad Noor said.

He declined to go into detail about the channels sources of funding, other than to say it was started in 2012 by a group of Rohingya entrepreneurs amid a wave of inter-ethnic violence in Rakhine that caused another influx of Rohingya refugees into Bangladesh.

When the operation began, we called on some Rohingya merchants to fund our project, to buy some computers, production equipment, and put the team together, Muhammad Noor said in a phone interview. He said the network was looking to get more financial backing, including from sources outside the Rohingya community.

For now, we have enough. But we are expanding, and we definitely need more funders to support us, Muhammad Noor said.

In its first year, RVision, as he referred to it, gathered Rohingya who possessed media skills, such as video editors and cameramen.

The operation started out with ambitions of setting up a radio station catering to Rohingya, but it proved to be too difficult to get the physical infrastructure in place in Rakhine, he said.

Why we call RVision a network is because we have three news agencies, online TV, satellite TV, and also an online magazine, he told Benar.

We communicate with many international NGOs to provide them with factual data, so that they can convert [this] into a report, which is part of the advocacy, he added.

More than half of the operations staff is based in Rakhine but it has no office there, according to Muhammad Noor.

The identities of the networks correspondents in the field there are kept secret to protect them, he said.

Its not like in Malaysia or any other country. They cannot wear a tag and go around saying, you know, I am an RVision reporter. I want to go here and there. They cannot do that, he said, adding that the reporters do not travel around Rakhine but only report secretly and quietly about happenings in their localities.

Only source of news

The news broadcast by RVision reaches refugees in Bangladesh through their mobile phones.

We cannot watch any television here in the camps. So we depend on RVision on the YouTube for developments about Rohingya, Anwar Sadique, who lives at the Lombashiar refugee camp in Ukhia, a sub-district of Coxs Bazar, told BenarNews.

We can see the news about the Rohingya in Myanmar from RVision. This is a good source of our information. To judge the authenticity of its news, we call our brothers in Arakan (Rakhine), he added.

Abdur Rahman, a resident of Kutupalong refugee camp, said the news channel was his only source of news on Burma, referring to Myanmar by its other name.

We, the people, believe this channel, he told BenarNews.

Reported by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service.
Myanmars government on Friday shrugged off a report detailing the killing of Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine state that prompted calls from the U.S. State Department for an independent investigation into the claims, saying the foreign media is hurting our work restoring stability to the region.



Late on Thursday, Reuters news agency published a special report on the events that led to the killing of 10 Rohingya men, including two teenagers, from Rakhines Inn Din village whom it said were buried in a mass grave after being hacked to death or shot by Buddhist neighbors and soldiers.



U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told Reuters that as with other, previous reports of mass graves, this report highlights the ongoing and urgent need for Burmese authorities to cooperate with an independent, credible investigation into allegations of atrocities in northern Rakhine.



Such an investigation would help provide a more comprehensive picture of what happened, clarify the identities of the victims, identify those responsible for human rights abuses and violations, and advance efforts for justice and accountability, she said.



When asked about the reportwhich cited interviews with Buddhists who confessed to burning Rohingya homes, burying bodies and killing Muslims amid violence sparked by attacks on security posts by Rohingya insurgents last AugustMinister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Win Myat Aye told RFAs Myanmar Service that it undermined government efforts to bring peace to Rakhine state.



It is hurting our work, the minister said, questioning the validity of the claims in the report, which included photographs of bound victims kneeling before the killing, and of their bodies lying in a trench afterwards.



Some members of the international media write what they think it is the truth, and I dont want to blame them, as it is their job. We are doing our job as well.



Meanwhile, Win Myat Aye said, the government remains focused on repatriating some 700,000 refugees who have been forced across the border to neighboring Bangladesh since Myanmars military began a crackdown in Rakhine state following the August attacks carried out by Muslim militant group the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA).



We are working on receiving and resettling them according to the law, he said, adding that the government is responsible for the refugees that can prove they were residents of Rakhine state.



The United Nations and rights groups have warned against a quick return of the Rohingya, saying that the minority group will continue to face repression and discrimination in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, where they are considered illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and are denied citizenship and access to basic services.



The Reuters report marks the first time soldiers and paramilitary police have been named in eyewitness accounts from security personnel in atrocities including killings, torture, rape, property theft, and arson that have been widely documented by both news agencies and human rights organizations, and which the United Nations has said might amount to genocide.



Prior to the reports publication, Myanmar government spokesman Zaw Htay told Reuters we are not denying the allegations about violations of human rights and we are not giving blanket denials, adding that if strong and reliable primary evidence indicated abuses had taken place, authorities would investigate the claims.



There was no immediate comment from the government following the publication of the report.



Press freedom



Myanmars government has consistently denied allegations of atrocities and, citing the foreign medias one-sided reporting, 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.



Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo are on trial for obtaining state secrets while reporting on the Inn Din incident and face up to 14 years in prison. The pair, whose bylines were on Thursdays special report, were 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 the police of entrapment and have criticized Myanmars civilian government under de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi for backpedaling on press freedom.



The Rakhine state government this week said it would sue the Associated Press 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.



Reported by Thinn Thiri for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khet Mar. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
A Tibetan monk missing since traveling from India more than a year ago to visit his family in Sichuan has been found jailed by China on an unknown charge, Tibetan sources say.



Tashi Choeying, a monk enrolled at the Ganden Jangtse monastic college in South India, vanished after being taken into custody by police on Nov. 21, 2016, a Tibetan living in exile told RFAs Tibetan Service, citing contacts in the region.



He had returned to pay a visit to his family and relatives in Tibet, and one month after he arrived there, the local authorities suddenly arrested him without giving any reason, RFAs source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.



He was held incommunicado until the end of 2017, when a fellow inmate was released from a prison in Dartsedo and was able to take a message to Choeyings family, letting them know that he was being held in custody, the source said.



Only then did Choeyings family learn that he had been handed a six-year prison term on Nov. 21, 2017, after being convicted on an unknown charge, he said.



Choeying, aged 37 and a native of Tawu (in Chinese, Daofu) county in Sichuans Kardze (Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, had traveled to his home town on a valid travel document issued by the Chinese embassy in India, the source said.



But he was illegally held by the Chinese authorities without charge for a year, and then was given his sentence, he said.



Sources close to Choeying say that during his stay in India he may have spoken to the media about self-immolation protests challenging Chinese rule in Tawu and other Tibetan areas of China, and this may have resulted in his arrest, RFAs source said.



Everyone who knows him says that he is a good-mannered monk with impeccable integrity. He is a very kind and patriotic person with a deep love for his people and Tibets language and culture, he said.



Sporadic demonstrations challenging Beijings rule have continued in Tibetan-populated areas of China since widespread protests swept the region in 2008.



Reported by Dawa Dolma for RFAs Tibetan Service. Translated by Dorjee Damdul. Written in English by Richard Finney.
A Tibetan monk jailed for six years for taking part in Tibetan freedom protests has been freed from prison in Chinas Sichuan province after serving his full term, but has suffered permanent injuries to his legs from beatings while in custody, Tibetan sources say.



Geshe Tsewang Namgyal, formerly a monk at the Draggo monastery in Sichuans Kardze (in Chinese, Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, was released on Jan. 24, a Tibetan source in exile told RFA, speaking on condition of anonymity and citing sources in the region.



But he is not able to walk normally now, RFAs source said, adding, The people in Draggo county are afraid to talk openly about his condition.



Namgyal, who had gone to India in 1987 to study Buddhism and returned to China in 2011, was arrested on Jan. 23, 2012, during the Lunar New Year, when the people in Draggo rose up and staged a peaceful demonstration, the source said.



Chinese police had then fired into the crowd, killing a protester named Yonten along with several others, and many protesters were badly wounded, he said.



A few days later, Geshe Namgyal, Tulku Lobsang Tenzin of Gochen monastery, a businessman named Thinley, and an accountant named Dralha were arrested in [Sichuans capital] Chengdu on charges of having taken part in the protest.



They were later sentenced to prison terms of from five to seven years, and their families only learned of their sentencing weeks afterward, he said, adding that as many as 36 local Tibetans were eventually jailed for their roles in the protest.



The protest in Draggo began when Chinese authorities insisted that local Tibetans celebrate the Lunar New Year against the wishes of residents saddened by earlier protest deaths, sources told RFA in earlier reports.



Tibets India-based exile government later quoted sources saying that six were then killed in what it described as indiscriminate firing by the police.



Sporadic demonstrations challenging Beijings rule have continued in Tibetan-populated areas of China since widespread protests swept the region in 2008.



Reported by Sangye Dorje for RFAs Tibetan Service. Translated by Dorjee Damdul. Written in English by Richard Finney.
Four family members belonging to an unofficial branch of Vietnams Hoa Hao Buddhist community were convicted on Friday in the countrys An Giang province on charges of disrupting public order during a confrontation with authorities at their home last year.

Bui Van Trung, the family father, and his son Bui Van Tham were both sentenced to six years, while his daughter Bui Thi Bich Tuyen received a three-year term, another daughter, Bui Thi Kim Thoa, told RFAs Vietnamese Service.

Our mother, Le Thi Hen, was given a two-year suspended sentence because she is ill, Thoa said.

Family friends and co-religionists Nguyen Hoang Nam and Le Thi Hong Hanh were also convicted in the case and were sentenced to four and three years respectively, she added.

At the trial, both the defendants and our lawyers said there was not enough evidence to convict them, but the judge would not listen to the lawyers arguments, and witnesses for the prosecution would not answer our lawyers questions, Thoa said.

Bui Van Trung, my father, said before he was sentenced that this was a case of religious repression and not a public-order case, and he demanded another trial including correct charges according to the law. Other defendants said the same thing.

These sentences are too severe, she said.

Though police tried at first to block other Hoa Hao followers from attending the trial, they protested and were eventually allowed in, Thoa said.

Family, friends harassed

On April 18, 2017, traffic police accompanied by unidentified men in civilian clothes stopped Hoa Hao Buddhists going to the Bui familys home to observe the death anniversary of a friend, confiscating motorbikes and registration papers, family members told RFA in earlier reports.

Several motorbikes were seized even though their owners presented papers proving proper registration, Bui Van Trungs daughter Bui Thich Tuyen said.

Two months later, on June 26, 2017, Trung and his son Bui Van Tham were arrested by security officials and unidentified civilians while returning from a visit to a neighboring commune, Tuyen said.

On their way back, hundreds of people mobbed them and took them away without showing an order for their arrest, she said.

Vietnams government officially recognizes the Hoa Hao religion, which has some two million followers across the country, but imposes harsh controls on dissenting Hoa Hao groups, including the sect in An Giang province, that do not follow the state-sanctioned branch.

Rights groups say that authorities in An Giang routinely harass followers of the unapproved groups, prohibiting public readings of the Hoa Hao founders writings and discouraging worshipers from visiting Hoa Hao pagodas in An Giang and other provinces.

The U.S. State Departments 2016 International Religious Freedom Report, issued in August 2017, said that Vietnamese government authorities restricted the activities of religious groups, assaulting and detaining church members, restricting their travel, and confiscating church land for development projects.

Groups not registered with the state were especially severely treated, the State Department said.

Reported by RFAs Vietnamese Service. Translated by Emily Peyman. Written in English by Richard Finney.
BRUSSELS -- The European Union is urging Azerbaijan to implement reforms in the fields of elections, freedom of assembly, and the media ahead of the country's presidential election in April.

EU foreign-policy chief Federica Mogherini said that "the European Union has always stressed, as we did it again, that the full implementation of international obligations and commitments by Azerbaijan is vital to us."

Mogherini was speaking in Brussels on February 9 after a meeting of the EU-Azerbaijan cooperation council, which was attended by Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Eldar Mammadyarov.

Sources in Brussels told RFE/RL that EU officials raised a number of individual human rights cases, including that of opposition politician Ilqar Mammadov, who has been in prison in Azerbaijan since 2014.

Late last year, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe launched a procedure to sanction Azerbaijan for failing to implement a 2014 European Court of Human Rights ruling that found Baku had violated Mammadov's human rights.

With reporting by Rikard Jozwiak in Brussels
A Georgian court has handed a six-year prison sentence to Azerbaijani doctor Farman Ceyranli, who claims that his arrest and trial on fraud charges were ordered by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

The conviction and sentence in Tbilisi City Court on February 8 marked the second high-profile case in which a defendant has accused Aliyev's government of reaching into Georgia to target a critic.

Ceyranli, the director of the Lanset medical clinic in Tbilisi, was arrested in May 2017 and initially charged with financial fraud and performing illegal surgeries that led to several deaths. The latter charge was dropped during the trial, which started in July.

Ceyranli has maintained his innocence, contending that his case was politically motivated.

At a preliminary hearing in July, he said he was a "hostage and prisoner of Aliyev" and added, "I am a physician and have nothing to do with politics."

"When patients come to my clinic I do not ask about their political views," Ceyranli said at the time. "Georgia's prosecutors are persecuting me on politically motivated charges ordered by Aliyev."

Many Azerbaijani opposition activists, politicians, and journalists, who live in neighboring Georgia have been among Ceyranli's patients, including Gozal Bayramli, deputy chairwoman of the opposition Popular Front Party (AXCP).

Bayramli was arrested in May as she was returning to Azerbaijan from Georgia and charged with attempting to smuggle undeclared cash across the border.

On January 23, Bayramli was found guilty and sentenced to three years in prison. She and her supporters say her case was politically motivated.

Tbilisi has come under criticism over the fate of Azerbaijani journalist Afqan Muxtarli, who fled to Georgia with his wife in 2015 because they feared for their safety in connection with his reporting on suspected corruption in Aliyev's circle.

Muxtarli went missing in Tbilisi in May 2017, and one day later Azerbaijani authorities said he was in custody in Baku on suspicion of smuggling and crossing the border illegally.

Muxtarli was found guilty of illegal border crossing and assaulting officials, and sentenced to six years in prison in January.



Muxtarli and his lawyers say he was abducted in Georgia and illegally brought into Azerbaijan. He told RFE/RL on February 8 that his trial was a "mockery" of justice.

With reporting by Meydan TV, apsny.ge, and APA
The United States on February 9 voiced concern over Malaysia's possible deportation of 11 Uyghur Muslims to China.

The Reuters news agency reported on February 8 that the 11 ethnic Uyghurs from China, who were among 20 that escaped from a jail in Thailand last year, have been detained in Malaysia, and that Beijing was in talks with Malaysia over their deportation.

China subjected Malaysia to "great pressure" to hand the 11 over to Beijing, and not to Thailand, and some Western foreign missions were trying to dissuade them from sending the Uyghurs to China, sources told Reuters.

"We are concerned by media reports regarding Malaysia's possible deportation of [Uyghur] individuals to China," a U.S. State Department spokesperson said in an e-mail to Reuters.

"We urge Chinese authorities to uphold international human rights norms with regard to any individuals who have been returned to China, and to ensure transparency, due process, and the safety and proper treatment of these individuals."

Human Rights Watch called on Malaysia to ensure the detained Uyghurs are not forcibly deported to China as they face "credible threats of imprisonment and torture."



China has been accused of rights abuses in Xinjiang, the torture of Uyghur detainees, and tightly controlling their religion and culture.

Based on reporting by Reuters
In Vladimir Putin's Russia there are effectively two realities.

There is the real world that everybody actually lives in. And there is the virtual reality of how Kremlin officials describe that world.

One case in point would be comments Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov made this week about the recent purge of regional elites in Daghestan as part of an alleged anticorruption campaign.

In Peskov's world, this has absolutely nothing to do with politics.

Instead, it is "guided by legal considerations and the inevitability of punishment for any crimes that are committed."

Shortly after Peskov spoke, opposition leader and anticorruption campaigner Aleksei Navalny released a video and report targeting Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Prikhodko.

In the past, Navalny has released exhaustively documented reports exposing alleged corruption by a plethora of top Kremlin officials, including Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Prosecutor-General Yury Chaika, and Peskov himself.

Can we expect any of these people to be investigated in a world where punishment is inevitable for any crimes that are committed?

Probably not, as long as none of them fall out of political favor.

So back to Daghestan: What's really going on there?

I think political commentator Vitaly Portnikov pretty much gets it right in an article in Grani.ru this week.

The purge in Daghestan, Portnikov writes, "is not about any desire to defeat corruption," but instead about "a desire to transform a corrupted dominion, a state within a state, into a corrupt colony of the Kremlin."

Or, as veteran Kremlin-watcher Paul Goble elegantly put it on his blog, "to transform Daghestan from a place where the Daghestanis engage in corruption to one where the Muscovites do."

Keep telling me what you think on The Power Vertical's Twitter feed and on our Facebook page.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban says a forthcoming deal to import natural gas from Romania will mean an end to the "age or the Russian gas monopoly in Hungary."

Orban said on February 9 that Hungary planned to get over 4 billion cubic meters of natural gas a year from Romania, and, as a result, improve the "geostrategic situation" of his country.

Orban said the Romanian imports were expected to account for over half of Hungary's imported gas by 2021-22.

Orban said Hungary had already built the pipeline link to Romania. He said Romania was constructing its link with Hungary now.

Hungary is currently highly dependent on Russia for oil and gas. Russia is also expanding Hungary's only nuclear power plant.

Hungary was forced to tap into its strategic gas reserves in January 2009 when European gas imports from Russia were temporarily suspended because of a pricing dispute between Moscow and Ukraine, a transit country for Russian gas supplies.

Based on reporting by AP
A senior Iranian official says the West must ensure that the 2015 nuclear deal is a success before his country can begin to discuss other issues affecting the Middle East region.

Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told a conference in Paris on February 8 that the key to future negotiations on matters such as Tehran's regional activities and its missile program is to honor the terms of the nuclear accord, from which the United States has threatened to withdraw.

"Now they ask Iran to enter discussions on other issues. Our answer is clear: Make the [nuclear accord] a successful experience and then we discuss other issues," he said.

He added that U.S. President Donald Trump's policies toward Iran were "destructive" and violated the terms of the nuclear deal with six world powers  the United States, Britain, France, Germany, China, and Russia.

Araqchi rejected claims that Tehrans activities were destabilizing the region and accused the United States, Israel, and Saudi Arabia of fomenting tensions in the Middle East.

"We have always fought against terrorism. Iran has always played a key role in bringing stability and peace to the region...There is no link between the deal and our role in the region," he said.



It was not immediately clear whether Araqchi's comments and willingness to eventually negotiate with the West on other issues had the backing of Irans hard-line religious leaders who control government policy.

Tehran has repeatedly refused to discuss its missile program despite demands by the United States and the Europeans, claiming it is purely defensive in nature.

Working To 'Mitigate Concerns'

U.S. and other officials have complained that Iran's ballistic-missile program can easily be converted for nuclear use.

The United States suspended sanctions against Iran following the 2015 nuclear agreement, which provided Tehran with relief from financial sanctions in return for limits on Tehran's nuclear program.

However, the United States still imposes punitive measures over issues such as ballistic-missile development, terrorism, and human rights.

Trump has accused Iran of violating the "spirit" of the nuclear accord and has said he wants to work with European allies and Congress to fix what he called "disastrous flaws" in the accord, which was signed under his predecessor, Barack Obama.

Trump warned that Washington would withdraw from the deal if terms were not strengthened by May.

Britain's minister for the Middle East, Alistair Burt, said at the same Paris conference that European powers were determined to save the agreement and to work to address U.S. concerns, but he warned that Iran also needs to mitigate Western concerns over its regional activities.

"We and our European partners are absolutely clear. We want the deal to succeed," Burt said. "We don't want to see the [deal] go down, and are working with our European partners to mitigate concerns the United States may have to ensure it continues."

With reporting by Reuters and Arab News
Opposition politicians, journalists, civic activists and rights defenders gathered in Kazakhstan's commercial capital, Almaty, on February 9 to honor the memory of Altynbek Sarsenbaiuly, an opposition leader who was shot dead execution-style along with two associates 12 years ago.

At a meeting in the Astana Hotel, the activists and politicians discussed Sarsenbaiuly's legacy, his role, and his influence on the political opposition's activities. They said that the human rights situation has deteriorated and civic freedoms have declined since Sarsenbaiuly was killed.

Sarsenbaiuly (aka Sarsenbaev), a former Kazakh ambassador to Russia and information minister, was a co-chairman of the opposition Naghyz Aq Zhol (True Bright Path) party when he, his bodyguard Bauyrzhan Baibosyn, and driver Vasily Zhuravlyov, went missing on February 11, 2006.

They were found dead two days later in the mountains near Almaty, with gunshot wounds to the back of their heads and their hands tied behind their backs.

The slaying of the opposition leader deepened a sense of shock in the Central Asian country three months after another influential opposition politician, Zamanbek Nurqadilov, was found dead with two bullets in his chest and one in his head at his home in Almaty.

The death of Nurqadilov -- a former government minister and Almaty mayor who joined the opposition in 2004 and accused President Nursultan Nazarbaev of corruption -- was officially declared a suicide.

Prominent Journalist's Death

Both politicians were interviewed in July 2004 by prominent independent Kazakh journalist Askhat Sharipzhanov, who was found bloodied and unconscious the same day, with a fractured skull, and died several days later in the hospital.

His death was later declared to have been caused by a traffic accident, but colleagues and opposition politicians said Sharipzhanov's wounds were inconsistent with that finding and rejected it.

Sarsenbaiuly's killing was officially declared to have been motivated by personal enmity. A former chief of staff of the Kazakh parliament, Erzhan Otembaev, was convicted of ordering the slaying and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

However, in 2013, Otembaev's sentence was annulled after Kazakh authorities announced that the case had been sent for review based on newly obtained evidence, which they said indicated that Rakhat Aliev, Nazarbaev's former son-in-law, had ordering the killing.

Aliev, who was deputy chief of Kazakhstans National Security Committee when the slaying took place and became a fierce opponent to Nazarbaev in 2007, was in self-imposed exile in Europe at the time.

Aliev was later arrested by Austrian officials at the request by Astana that accused him of involvement into the kidnapping and murder of two Kazakh bankers.

In February 2015, Aliev was found hanged in a Vienna jail.

Austrian officials ruled Aliev's death was suicide, but many in Kazakhstan believe he was murdered while in Austrian custody.

With reporting by RFE/RL Kazakh Service. (NOTE: The author of this article is a brother of the late journalist Askhat Sharipzhanov.)
A court in Paris has prolonged the pretrial detention of the Russian protest artist Pyotr Pavlensky, who was detained in October after setting fire to an entrance of the Bank of France in the French capital.

Pavlensky was charged with damaging private property by dangerous means. His partner, Olga Shalygina, who was also detained on October 16, 2017, was released from custody in January.

After the court ruling on February 9, Pavlensky told RFE/RL via Twitter on February 9 that his October 16 stunt was linked to key events in French history.

Pavlensky said he picked the Bank of France because it is located on the site of the former Bastille prison-fortress.

"Bank of France was and remains a symbol of occupation for Paris and that of killings of its residents. And for France, it remains a firm symbol for suppression of all revolutionary beginnings and that of the old order's triumph. And here we have now, the Bank of France on the site of Bastille Fortress. If not the authorities' intimidation of the society, what is it?" Pavlensky wrote to RFE/RL.

Pavlensky said he had been on hunger strike for 12 days to protest a separate closed-door hearing on his psychological state. He was later transferred to a prison hospital where he was fed intravenously.

Pavlensky said he was now being kept in solitary confinement.

Pavlensky told RFE/RL that he had no information about his possible deportation back to Russia, saying he tried not to think about it.

"I do not know anything about deportation. And, honestly, I do not want to put pressure on myself by focusing on some murky fantasies about a possible future," Pavlensky wrote.

Pavlensky's October stunt in Paris echoed a previous one in November 2015 in which he set fire to a door at the headquarters of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) in Moscow.

He spent 18 months in pretrial detention after that.

Pavlensky, Shalygina, and their children received political asylum in France in May after they fled Russia in January.

Russian police questioned Pavlensky and Shalygina in December, saying that a Moscow actress had accused them of raping her.

Pavlensky denied the allegation and described it as blackmail aimed at preventing him from carrying out political activities in Russia.

Pavlensky, who is known for startling protests that sometimes involve self-mutilation, says his performances draw attention to the indifference of many Russians to what he says is widespread FSB control over society.

Pavlensky has also nailed his scrotum to Red Square, sewn his lips together, wrapped himself in barbed wire, and chopped off part of his ear.
President Vladimir Putin has told Russian business leaders that he believes Western countries will tire of their sanctions against Moscow "soon" and relations will improve.

Putin spoke at a closed-door meeting of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, a prominent grouping of company chiefs and tycoons, on February 9.

"I think that those who are doing this will themselves tire of it soon, and...I hope that we will embark on the path of normal relations," Russian news agencies quoted him as saying about the sanctions imposed by the West.

Putin's comments come weeks ahead of a March 18 presidential election in which he is virtually assured of victory but is said to be eager for a strong turnout and resounding support ahead of what could be his final term.

They follow reports of concerns among the Russian elite about the sanctions, which have had an effect on Russia's economy and complicated trade and business dealings with the West.

The United States, the European Union, and others have imposed sanctions on Russia in response to its seizure of the Crimean Peninsula and role in the war in eastern Ukraine.

Some Western countries including the United States have also hit Russia with sanctions over issues including evidence of human rights abuses and alleged interference in the U.S. presidential election in 2016.

On January 30, the U.S. Treasury Department published a list of 114 senior Russian political figures and 96 "oligarchs" who U.S. authorities say have gained wealth or power through association with Putin.

Those on the list were not immediately hit with sanctions and the United States did not impose any new sanctions on Russia at the time, but Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that "additional sanctions" would be imposed "in the near future."

Putin condemned the U.S. move as an "unfriendly act" that would "complicate the already grave" state of U.S.-Russian relations, but signaled that Moscow would not take major retaliatory steps.

With reporting by Interfax, TASS, Reuters, and Gazeta.ru
As Russian scandals involving sex, billionaires, politicians, and talkative alleged ex-lovers go, this is a crazy one. And it's only getting weirder.

Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny's expose this week of a meeting between Kremlin-connected billionaire Oleg Deripaska and a top official on a yacht has already triggered a warning of legal action, as well as a rape allegation -- subsequently retracted as a joke -- by a woman who claims to have been the tycoon's lover.

Deripaska said in a February 9 statement that he would vigorously fight "any attempts to create and disseminate false information," vowing to use "all legal measures" and defend his "honor and dignity in court."

His statement came a day after opposition Navalny's salacious expose of a meeting between Deripaska and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Prikhodko aboard the tycoon's yacht in the waters off Norway.

Navalny alleges that Deripaska's lavish reception of Prikhodko -- which was documented by video footage posted on social media and appears to have occurred in August 2016 -- constitutes bribery of a senior official.

In his statement, Deripaska denied committing any "unlawful actions" and warned media outlets not to disseminate "these mendacious accusations."

Deripaska's statement did not specify which accusations he was referring to or deny that that he met with Prikhodko on the yacht.

Prikhodko, a former top foreign-policy adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin, suggested to the newspaper RBK that he would like to fight with Navalny, but he didn't address the allegations in the expose.

"By all accounts, this deserves a man-to-man response, but we will remain on the legal field," RBK quoted him as saying. "This political loser has yet again tried to spur a provocation and remind [the world] about himself, by chaotically mixing up the possible with the impossible -- from my friend, to the American President Trump, to Manafort, whom I personally don't know."

He suggested that Deripaska was likely to sue Navalny.

Asked if he would comment on the matter, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted by the state-run TASS news agency as saying, "No, I couldn't, and wouldn't want to do that."

'How To Seduce A Billionaire'

The scandal echoes the 1990s information wars between powerful Russian political players in which kompromat -- or compromising materials -- was frequently deployed to discredit and undermine rivals.

Some have likened it to the sex-tape scandal that led to the ouster of Russian Prosecutor-General Yury Skuratov in 1999.

It has also has left many political watchers in Russia scratching their heads, particularly about the role and motivation of the young woman who posted the video footage at the center of Navalny's expose.

The Belarusian woman, who goes by the name Nastya Rybka, claims to have carried on an affair with Deripaska.

Her Instagram account features a photo of the two together on Deripaska's yacht. She also posted audio in which Deripaska and Prikhodko appear to be discussing U.S.-Russian relations, though it was not possible to conclusively verify that they are the two men speaking.

Rybka is a close associate of a Belarus-born man who goes by the name Alex Lesley and who describes himself as a "sex guru" who teaches classes for men on seducing women.

Lesley, who was profiled in the British media last year over his purported plan to challenge President Vladimir Putin for the Kremlin, is seen in photographs on Rybka's Instagram account cavorting with her and other young women in locations all over the world.

Navalny says he and his team discovered Rybka's social-media posts by chance after looking into a September stunt in which several of her scantily clad associates entered his Moscow office.

Video footage shows the young women being accompanied by a regional lawmaker from Putin's ruling United Russia party who had previously been associated with Lesley's seduction classes.

After Navalny published the investigation, Rybka took to Instagram to thank the politician for the attention.

She then claimed in a subsequent post that she had been gang-raped on Deripaska's yacht. In yet another post, she claimed on February 9 that the rape allegation was a joke.

Her social-media posts featuring Deripaska remained accessible on February 9.

Rybka is also the listed author of a book published last year titled Diary On How To Seduce A Billionaire that, according to Navalny's investigation, appears to reference the yacht ride with Deripaska and Prikhodko -- though it does not give their real names.

Russian journalist and political commentator Oleg Kashin wrote in a February 9 column that Rybka's behavior was "the most inexplicable aspect" of the scandal.

"Who and in what way guaranteed the safety of the young woman? Why did no one stop her at the very start of her media activities?" Kashin wrote for the Russian news site Republic.ru.

'Wall Of Silence'

Major Russian newspapers avoided reporting on Navalny's investigation in their February 9 editions in what Navalny called a "wall of silence" that is "unusual even for us."

"And we, believe me, know everything about media censorship," added Navalny, a leading Kremlin foe who is barred from running in the March 18 presidential election due to a criminal conviction he calls politically motivated.

His investigation was quickly reported by independent-minded radio stations and news sites, and prominent Russian newspapers and news agencies picked up on the story following Deripaska's statement on February 9.

Deripaska previously did business with Paul Manafort, the former campaign manager of U.S. President Donald Trump who has been indicted in the United States on money laundering, conspiracy, and other charges. He has pleaded not guilty.

Last year he filed a lawsuit against the Associated Press in U.S. federal court, claiming the news agency defamed and libeled him with its report on his business ties to Manafort, with whom the Russian tycoon had formed a joint venture to invest in Ukraine that later fell apart.

A U.S. judge in October dismissed the lawsuit, saying Deripaska had not disputed "any material facts" in the AP story.
A Russian court has sentenced a former governor of the Sakhalin Oblast to 13 years in prison after convicting him on corruption charges.

In a February 9 decision, the court in the regional capital also ruled that Aleksandr Khoroshavin must pay a 500 million ruble ($8.6 million) fine and it barred him from occupying state posts for five years after he serves his sentence.

The 58-year-old former governor was also deprived of all his state awards.

The court found Khoroshavin guilty of bribery and involvement in a money-laundering conspiracy.

Khoroshavin became governer of Sakhalin, in the Russian Far East, in 2007.

In 2015, he was arrested and charged with taking some $5.6 million in bribes from a company in Sakhalin, Energostroi.

Two co-defendants -- former subordinates Andrei Ikramov and Sergei Karepkin -- were sentenced to 9 1/2 and eight years in prison respectively.

With reporting by Rapsinews, Mediazona, Interfax, and TASS
Employees at a Russian top-secret nuclear facility have reportedly been detained after trying to use one of Russia's most powerful supercomputers to mine Bitcoin.

The press service of the Federal Nuclear Center told Mash -- a news channel on the Telegram messenger app -- that security at the facility was alerted when an employee tried to connect the supercomputer to the Internet, allegedly in a bid to mine Bitcoin.

The press service told Mash on February 9 that several employees were handed over to the Federal Security Service.

"To our knowledge, a probe has been launched against the individuals," the press service later told the Interfax news agency.

No further details were disclosed.

Miners use special software to solve math problems and are issued a certain number of Bitcoins in exchange.

The Federal Nuclear Center in Russia's western city of Sarov is a restricted area that was used to produce first Soviet nuclear bombs during the early Cold War-era.

Based on reporting by Interfax, RIA Novosti, and Mash
Russian presidential candidate Ksenia Sobchak says it appears that Moscow meddled in the U.S. presidential election in 2016, and called any such interference "unacceptable."

Sobchak, who has raised eyebrows by making a lengthy trip to the United States weeks ahead of the March 18 election in Russia, spoke in an interview with CNN that was broadcast on February 8.

"It sounds [like] we really had something to do with it. If that's so, I want to say sorry," Sobchak told CNN's Christiane Amanpour.

"It's unacceptable for any country to meddle into the affairs of another country," she said.

In January 2017, U.S. intelligence agencies said they had determined that Russian President Vladimir Putin "ordered an influence campaign" targeting the 2016 U.S. election, with goals including undermining faith in the U.S. democratic process, discrediting Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, and improving the victory chances of the eventual winner, Donald Trump.

The U.S. Justice Department and three congressional panels are investigating the alleged meddling and whether associates of Trump, who won the election, colluded with Russia.

Putin denies that Russia meddled, despite the evidence, and President Trump denies there was any collusion.

'Message For America'

Sobchak is a journalist and TV personality whose late father, Anatoly, was Putin's boss and mentor for a time in the 1990s. She was formally registered on February 8 as a candidate in the Russian election, and will be one of eight on the ballot in the vote in which Putin appears certain to secure a new six-year term in Russia's tightly controlled political system.

Critics accuse her of aiding what they say is a Kremlin effort to make the election appear competitive and democratic.

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. He has called on Russians to boycott the vote, which he has condemned as Putin's "reappointment."

Sobchak rejected the criticism and reiterated her opposition to a boycott.

If [Navalny] would be accepted as a candidate by [the] Kremlin, wouldn't it [legitimize] Putin as well? And then would he call people to boycott? Of course, no," Sobchak said, speaking English. "He would tell people, 'Go and vote for me, let's show that, okay, we cannot win but millions of us are against Putin.'"

Putin has been prime minister or president since 1999.

At the end of the interview, Sobchak said she had a "message for America" -- that seeking to isolate Russia was a bad idea.

"My message is that the position that Russia should be kept out is a bad message. Because when you try to destabilize the situation in such a big country with nuclear weapons, it won't do any good for anyone," she said.

With reporting by CNN
The man charged with carrying out the deadly truck attack in Stockholm in April 2017 was in contact with alleged Islamic State (IS) militants from Tajikistan, a joint investigation by RFE/RL and a Swedish news agency has found.

The investigation by RFE/RL's Uzbek and Tajik services and Swedish news agency TT found that Stockholm terror suspect Rakhmat Akilov was in direct contact with alleged senior members of the IS group from Tajikistan before, during, and after the deadly April 7 attack.

Akilov, a 39-year-old Uzbek asylum seeker, is suspected of stealing a truck and plowing into a crowd of people on a pedestrian street in Stockholm, killing five.

Tajik Interior Minister Ramazon Rahimzoda told RFE/RL that Swedish authorities had not been in contact with Dushanbe over Akilov's ties to suspected Tajik IS members.

IS did not claim responsibility for the Stockholm attack.

Akilov is in pretrial detention in Sweden and his trial is expected to start on February 13. Akilov faces a life sentence if convicted.

Akilov, a construction worker, was arrested a few hours after the attack and police said he confessed the next day.

According to the investigation, Swedish police found the contacts of several people described as "terrorist-related" on messaging apps like Zello and Telegram on Akilov's mobile phone.

The contacts had aliases like Abu Aisha and Abu Umar, which RFE/RL found to be the same names used by alleged Tajik IS recruiters.

Akilov is a member of the ethnic Tajik minority in Uzbekistan.

RFE/RL's Uzbek Service correspondent Sirojiddin Tolibov said they were aliases that only senior IS militants would use.

One contact of interest to investigators is Abu Osama Noraki. Akilov said during police questioning that he was speaking to Noraki, whom he called his leader, just before carrying out the truck attack. He said that Noraki "ruled my actions."

Tajik authorities have described a person with the same name as Noraki as among the IS group's "most dangerous recruiters in Tajikistan."

The Tajik Interior Ministry said it could not confirm if Noraki was in contact with Akilov, but said the former "participated in battles in Syria and Iraq" and was wanted by the authorities in Dushanbe.

WATCH: The failed Uzbek asylum seeker suspected of April's deadly truck attack in Stockholm led a double life and had several identities, according to a Swedish media report.

According to RFE/RL, another Akilov contact was Abu Umar, the same alias used by a high-profile Tajik IS commander.

Messages on Akilov's mobile phone purport to show the two discussing Akilov's "martyr operation."

Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov claimed in April 2017 that Akilov had been recruited by the IS group after he left Uzbekistan in 2014 and settled in Sweden.

Akilov's lawyer, Johan Eriksson, said in January that his client "admits committing a terrorist act" and "admits that he should be convicted" and expelled from Sweden if he is not sentenced to life in prison.

Eriksson added that Akilov had not expected to survive the attack.

Prosecutors said after crashing the truck into the facade of a department store, Akilov set off an explosive device in the cab of the truck. He then fled the scene.

It is estimated that some 1,500 people from Uzbekistan have traveled to Iraq and Syria to join IS militants.

Several Uzbek citizens were also linked to major terrorist attacks abroad in 2017.

Sayfullo Saipov is the main suspect in a truck attack that killed eight people in New York City on October 31.

Abdulkadir Masharipov was identified by Turkish police as the man who carried out a gun-and-grenade attack at an Istanbul nightclub that killed 39 people on January 1, 2017. The IS group claimed responsibility for that attack.

With reporting by TT
The United Nations Security Council has rejected an appeal from UN aid officials for a monthlong humanitarian cease-fire in Syria amid separate calls by the United States for Syria and its ally Russia to end their attacks against rebel-held areas.

Russia on February 8 opposed the call for the cease-fire requested by Kuwait and Sweden and supported by the United States and France, calling it unrealistic.

"We would like to see a cease-fire, the end of the war, but the terrorists, I am not sure, are in agreement," Russia's UN envoy, Vassily Nebenzia, told reporters.

Russia, along with Iran, has offered military and diplomatic support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in its nearly seven-year civil war and has opposed any moves that could potentially weaken his position.

The United States and Turkey back differing rebel groups fighting Assads government, which often refers to U.S.-supported rebels as "terrorists" along with fighters from the Islamic State (IS) extremist group.

All sides are fighting against IS extremists, who are attempting to hold on to the group's final enclaves after being driven out of most of the territory it captured in 2014.

On February 6, Panos Moumtzis, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Syria, called for the monthlong cease-fire to reach civilians in need as fighting in the Syrian areas of Eastern Ghouta and Idlib escalated.

In a closed-door Security Council session, UN aid chief Mark Lowcock appealed for the cease-fire to allow humanitarian aid to reach besieged civilians.

But diplomats say the cease-fire request was rejected. An agreement requires approval by a majority of the 15 members and no veto by the five permanent members -- the United States, Russia, United Kingdom, France, and China.

'Middle-Ages-Style Siege'

Before the meeting, French Ambassador Francois Delattre appealed for an immediate cease-fire and unimpeded access for aid workers.

"Eastern Ghouta is experiencing a Middle Ages-style siege. That is totally unacceptable," Delattre told reporters.

"In Syria, we are now back to the darkest period of this conflict, with the highest death toll among civilians over the last year," he said.

Separately, the United States demanded that Assad's forces and Russia end their air strikes and alleged chemical attacks against areas held by U.S.-backed rebels of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

Damascus has repeatedly denied using chemical weapons.

The U.S.-led coalition on February 7 said its air and local ground forces in Syria killed more than 100 pro-Syrian fighters in "self-defense" after an "unprovoked attack" on the SDF's headquarters.

The Pentagon said coalition advisers had been with SDF forces when the base was attacked 8 kilometers east of the Euphrates River deconfliction line in Deir al-Zor Province.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said on February 8 that the United States was "extremely concerned about escalating violence" in Idlib Province, the Eastern Ghouta area near Damascus, and other areas "threatened by ongoing regime and Russian air strikes."

We are yet again appalled by the recent reports of the Assad regime's use of chemical weapons and the escalation of bombings that has resulted in dozens of civilian deaths in the last 48 hours, the statement said.

According to UN statistics, some 13.1 million Syrians are in need of humanitarian aid, including 6.1 million who have been displaced within the country during the civil war, which began in 2011 with a government crackdown against pro-democracy protesters.

With reporting by AFP, AP, and Reuters


WASHINGTON -- U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will travel to the Middle East amid rising tensions over heightened violence in Syria.

The State Department said on February 8 that Tillerson will visit Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt, and Kuwait during his trip that has been planned for February 11-16.

Among the scheduled events, Tillerson will head the U.S. delegation to the ministerial meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat Islamic State in Kuwait and participate in the Iraq Reconstruction Conference, which begins on February 13.

It will be the third Global Coalition meeting and the first since the Islamic State extremists were driven out of their erstwhile strongholds in Raqqa, Syria, and Mosul, Iraq, and mostly defeated on the battlefield throughout the two countries.

The Iraq Reconstruction Conference will look at private-sector investment opportunities and international support for the rebuilding of Iraq.

Syria and its nearly seven-year civil war will likely be a key topic in Tillerson's talks with regional leaders.

On February 8, the United Nations Security Council rejected an appeal from UN aid officials for a monthlong humanitarian ceasefire in Syria amid calls by the United States for Syria and its Russia ally to end their attacks against rebel-held areas.

Russia opposed the call for the cease-fire supported by the United States, calling it unrealistic.

That call came after U.S.-led coalition air and local ground forces in Syria killed more than 100 pro-Syrian fighters following an "unprovoked attack" on the U.S.-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) headquarters.
KYIV -- With relations between Russia and the United States at a low point, it was a big delegation from Moscow at the annual National Prayer Breakfast in Washington to hear President Donald Trump speak that turned heads.

Little focus was put on another large group of attendees eager for a chance to get face time with the president and senior U.S. officials: Ukrainian lawmakers.

As many as 50 Ukrainian parliament deputies are believed to have attended the breakfast, according to lawmakers with whom RFE/RL spoke and others who spoke to Ukrainian media.

Some lawmakers who stayed in Kyiv said the absence of such a large number of their colleagues paralyzed the work of Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, and they lamented the fact that dozens of their colleagues chose the prayer breakfast over important debates and possible votes on crucial legislation.

On February 7, parliamentary sessions were closed in advance so that deputies flying to Washington could catch their flights.

The next day, parliament opened and adjourned without any votes on key legislation, and photos of the legislative hall showed dozens of empty seats.

Legislation Piling Up

Parliament had been expected to discuss and vote on an important bill that would repeal a law passed last year requiring Ukraine's anticorruption activists and NGOs to publicly declare their income and assets in a newly created electronic system. International rights groups have warned Kyiv that forcing activists and NGOs to make such declarations would hamper their work.

Repealing the law is an urgent and necessary step, Human Rights Watch has said, because the deadline for activists' self-declarations is April 1.

Lawmakers were also meant to debate a crucial bill that would allow for the creation of an anticorruption court to support the National Anticorruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) in its fight against entrenched graft.

That bill has been criticized by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank for not being in line with the recommendations of the Venice Commission, but lawmakers would have been able to suggest changes to it if they had convened.

The irony of Ukrainian lawmakers wanting to go to Washington to impress supporters is that the opposite may happen: further delay of these bills is unlikely to sit well with Ukraine's Western backers, who have raised concerns in recent weeks about Kyiv's perceived backsliding on reform commitments, which have held up billions of dollars in IMF loans.

'Taking A Selfie With Trump'

Serhiy Leshchenko, a lawmaker and prominent anticorruption campaigner, scolded his fellow deputies who attended the prayer breakfast for putting the chance to boost their profiles above their civic duty at a critical time for the country. "Yesterday, the day was lost," Leshchenko told RFE/RL in Kyiv, referring to parliament's February 8 session.

According to Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Radical Party leader Oleh Lyashko demanded that Verkhovna Rada Chairman Andriy Parubiy publish in the parliament's Holos Ukrainy newspaper the names of every lawmaker who left the week's plenary session early for the breakfast in Washington and were absent from the parliamentary meetings.

Lyashko also proposed depriving the absentee lawmakers of part of their official salary, but conceded: "I understand that they don't care about their salary if they pay $100,000 each for breakfasts and photos with U.S. congressmen."

Viktor Chumak, another lawmaker who stayed in Kyiv, suggested that legislators thought it would be more lucrative to schmooze with U.S. politicians than to perform their elected duties.

"The prayer breakfast is a get-together and a platform for making contacts," a shrugging Chumak told ZIK TV during a segment called "the [not]working parliament." "There you can exchange business cards, a few phrases, talk, and take a selfie with Trump in the background."

Among the attendees in Washington was the head of President Petro Poroshenko's faction in parliament, Artur Herasimov.

Justifying the decision to "send" Herasimov to Washington was Sergei Berezenko, deputy head of the Bloc of Petro Poroshenko (BPP) faction, who told journalists in Kyiv on February 8 that it was necessary in order to counter the "huge number of opposition politicians...[who] we think would distort information about what is going on in the country."

With Herasimov there, Berezenko argued, Washington could hear "what is really going on in parliament, who is pushing for reforms, who is merely imitating the adoption of reforms, who is engaged in populism."

Leading the largest delegation from the opposition was Yulia Tymoshenko, the PR-savvy head of the Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) party and Poroshenko's chief political rival.

She was later spotted -- thanks to her trademark braided hair -- sitting in the front row at the prayer breakfast as Trump spoke.

Three lawmakers from the Narodniy Front party also went, Interfax-Ukraine reported, citing the faction's head. The news agency quoted the leader of the Opposition Bloc as saying none of its members went to Washington.

It wasn't just lawmakers who attended the breakfast, as Ukrainian government officials were also there.

Among them was Vasyl Hrytsak, chief of the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU), who was photographed after the event with the podium where Trump spoke in the background.

The National Prayer Breakfast is organized annually by the Fellowship Foundation, a nonprofit religious organization which works to bring together political, religious, and business leaders from around the world.

This year, roughly 60 representatives from Russia's religious and political elite attended, more than three times last year's number, according to Russian officials.

Their presence was notable due to the multiple ongoing U.S. investigations into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, as well as repercussions from Russian cyberinterference in the 2016 elections.

Among the Russians was presidential candidate Ksenia Sobchak, who had a few choice words to say about it to the BBC's Russian service. "Honestly," she said, "it was an absolutely pointless and useless event."
Another Cancun pizzeria closes its doors due to repeated robberies

Cancun, Q.R.  Continued robberies and other violent offenses have caused the closure of a well-known Cancun restaurant.

Long time Italian restaurant owners of El Tigre and El Toro closed their doors on Cancun Avenue and La Costa Avenue due to a wave of assaults they have suffered in recent months.

In a public statement, the restaurant owner says that so far this year, they have been robbed once a week, which has resulted in them closing both of their Cancun restaurants.

There is no business that can sustain a theft per week, the statement says, So far this year we have been assaulted and robbed once a week.

They ask different agencies to take action in order to end the insecurity in Cancun.

Hopefully this wills serve as a call to the relevant authorities, not only to serve as such, but to understand, at all levels, that, between insecurity, crime, corruption, and sometimes incomprehensible, arbitrary and contradictory procedures bureaucratic to which the operation of a trade is subordinated, it is exhaustingly complicated to undertake and sustain a business in this city, the statement said.

We would like to thank the people who accompanied us during these years, for their preference, the statement said.

In March of last year, Pizza Del Perro Negro Cancun also closed their doors after an attack left several staff injured.

They announced a similar statement saying, Jauria and I have made the decision to close Pizza Del Perro Negro Cancun. I hope I have left a mark on you and have sown the seed of love in your hearts. I know you will not forget my pizza and thats why when the waters calm down and times are better to harvest, Ill come back with new stories to write. Thanks Cancun for so much!
Former head of Civil Force arrested in Playa del Carmen

Xalapa, Veracruz  The former head of Civil Force of Veracruz has been arrested in Playa del Carmen for the crimes of forced disappearance

Roberto Gonzalez Meza, former director of the Civil Force of Veracruz and Jose Nabor Nava, the head of the State Secretariat of Public Security (SSP) during the administration of Javier Duarte, have been detained.

The ex-commanders were apprehended and have already been transferred to the Social Readaptation Center of Pacho Viejo, in the municipality of Coatepec. These two men are the highest level officials arrested in the group of 13 that have been taken down since the arrests began September 2017.

In a statement, the FGE police explained that Gonzalez Meza was arrested February 6 in Playa del Carmen and was handed over to ministerial police of the Veracruz Prosecutors Office.

This official, one of the closest collaborators of the also former local Public Security Secretary, Arturo Bermudez Zurita who remains imprisoned for corruption offenses, was arrested in collaboration with prosecution staff of both the states of Veracruz and Quintana Roo.

The former director of the Civil Force is accused of executing at least 10 enforced disappearances at the police academy of El Lencero in the municipality of Emiliano Zapata during the administration of Duarte de Ochoa.

The second arrested man, Jose Nabor Nava, was appointed by Duarte to head the SSP of Veracruz in August 2016, replacing jailed Arturo Bermudez Zurita, of which Gonzalez Meza was a close collaborator who was in charge of the Civil Force during the Bermudez administration.

In Veracruz, a total of 145 cases of forced disappearance are known from 2013 to 2016.

According to investigations by state authorities, the men were part of Los Fieles, a group of special forces of the Public Security Secretariat of the State (SSP), which during the term of Javier Duartes government used the Veracruz police academy to torture and ensure the forced disappearance of people.
Airport police and FBI met the plane when it landed shortly before 3 a.m. he passenger was escorted off the flight by officers. It wasnt immediately clear if the man was arrested. There were 178 passengers on the flight. A witness said the passenger who disrupted flight did not appear to be in his right mind. The reboarded flight took off for Seattle just after 6:30 a.m. A spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney for Alaska, Bryan Schroder Chloe Martin, later said no charges were filed against the passenger Wednesday afternoon.



Alaska Airlines jet

Alaska Airlines had several incidents due to passengers behavior, in the recent time. Some incidents are time consuming and produce loses to the airlines. In a separate development on the same day. Wednesday, former Alaska Airlines pilot David Hans Arntson, 62, pleaded guilty to flying a commercial jetliner while under the influence of alcohol under an agreement with federal prosecutors.
The Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) has launched a crackdown on Public Service Vehicles (PSV) playing pornographic content.

According to a press statement signed by KFCB boss Ezekiel Mutua, the crackdown follows complaints from members of the public who have reported numerous cases of obscene content exhibited in PSVs.

The crackdown comes days after a 14-seater PSV plying Mtwapa Ferry route was impounded for allegedly screening pornographic videos especially when school girls board the vehicles.

Mutua said some of the PSVs have become a complete nuisance as they screen such obscene content and play loud music in total violation of the rights of their passengers.

Speaking on Thursday as he launched the crackdown, the KFCB boss said turning the vehicles into cinema theatres or video shows and airing pornographic content is punishable by law.

Penalties for playing unlicensed exhibition of content in public service vehicles is Sh200,000 or five years imprisonment. We are mounting a crackdown on all public service vehicles screening such content against the law. PSVs are not broadcasters. We are committed to bring this madness to an end.

PSV operators who wish to continue to screening videos in their vehicles will have to obtain a license from KFCB at a cost of Sh2000 annually.

He said the board shall then provide classification guidelines to the applicants.

It is disturbing and totally unacceptable for PSVs to display pornographic content in their vehicles in utter contravention of the law. Indeed it is the requirement of the law that any content that is displayed or exhibited to the public is submitted to the board for examination and classification, said Dr Mutua.

Our efforts are geared towards preserving our culture and morality by ensuring that the content exhibited to the public is rated for age suitability and appropriateness. The screening of such content in PSV and the blatant exposure to children to such obscene content goes against the stipulations of the films and stage plays Act Cap 222 of the Laws of Kenya, the Sexual Offence act of 2006 and the Childrens Act, he added.
An Oakland police officer who visited the Ghost Ship warehouse a year before it burned told his partner that he feared what one spark would do to the art collective that he likened to a huge fireplace.

Thats according to the latest court documents filed in the lawsuit by families of victims who contend the city, Alameda County, Pacific Gas and Electric Co., warehouse owner Chor Ng and dozens of others should be held liable for the fire that killed 36 party guests on Dec. 2, 2016.

One spark  one spark and (it would be) real bad, Officer Moises Polanco said to Officer Jonathan Low, who questioned whether the structure was stable after the pair climbed a makeshift staircase to the second floor, according to the amended complaint. Its like a huge fireplace  I would be worried about all the electrical wires  Wow.

Fire investigators were not able to determine a cause of the inferno, but Assistant Fire Marshal Maria Sabatini said it was likely an electrical failure. Her assessment came during testimony in a preliminary hearing against ex-tenants Derick Almena and Max Harris, who have been ordered to stand trial on charges of involuntary manslaughter.

The conversation between Polanco and Low came to light as attorneys for the victims sifted through police body-camera footage as part of the separate civil litigation. They noted it in a 251-page amended complaint filed last month in Alameda County Superior Court.

The officers were there in response to a property dispute, according to the filing. A tenant was moving out and had asked them to stand by while he removed his personal items. Low, who had been called to the warehouse before, and Polanco entered the building to evaluate the status of the move-out and ascended the jerry-rigged staircase, where their conversation took place.

The comments are one piece of evidence the attorneys plan to use in court to show city employees knew about the dangers inside the warehouse but failed to act. The parties are due back for a status hearing next month.

A timeline compiled for the latest complaint shows that more than two dozen police officers and firefighters had stepped foot on the warehouse premises in the two years before the fire.

One of them was Fire Captain George Freelen, who said during the preliminary hearing he had concerns in 2014 about the high fire load of material stocked inside the artist collective. He said he sent a one-page report to the Fire Prevention Bureau to get clarity on what the building was allowed to be used for. Freelen said he never heard back, and didnt follow up.

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.

On other occasions, officers said they had been called to the warehouse for child-protective issues or fights between residents. A group of them in 2015 went through the building to help a DJ retrieve music equipment and observed flammable, combustible materials and unsafe conditions throughout the facility, the complaint says.

It goes along with what weve been saying since day one. City police and firefighters were in the building, knew people were living there, knew it was being run as a nightclub venue and knew the building was not permitted for such activities, said attorney Bobby Thompson, representing a dozen of the families whose children died in the fire. Numerous people at the city knew it was wrong, knew it was dangerous, knew people shouldnt be living there, and they did nothing. And they had a legal mandatory duty to do something.

A spokeswoman for the Oakland Police Department referred questions Thursday to the city attorneys office. Alex Katz, a spokesman for the office, declined to comment, citing the ongoing litigation.

Kimberly Veklerov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kveklerov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kveklerov
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
An initiative on the June ballot that would guarantee any city resident facing eviction the right to an attorney has received an unexpected endorsement from Supervisor Jeff Sheehy.

The move marks a shift for Sheehy who, along with Board President London Breed, co-authored a proposed ordinance that also seeks to provide lawyers for people facing eviction. The ordinance is seen as competing with the ballot measure.

Sheehy has previously maintained that creating a civil right to counsel in eviction proceedings could be done more efficiently through the legislative process, rather than at the ballot box. But after meeting with the ballot measures proponents, tenants rights advocates and others, he came to believe that theres a way to do this where everything is complementary, he said.

The ordinance, he said, could outline who would supervise the legal work and how it would be funded  those types of fine details that dont belong in a ballot measure.

Dean Preston, who sponsored the ballot initiative and lost the District Five race to Breed two years ago, said he welcomes Sheehys involvement.

There are certainly a few things that the board could weigh in on, Preston said, like creating a budget for the program or deciding how quickly to implement it, should it be approved by voters. What we dont want is city legislation that confuses people by having something similar, but weaker, at the board.

Breed maintains that the legislation can answer many of those implementation and funding questions all at once.

We will be advancing amendments to the legislation with the goal of passing a robust right-to-civil-counsel program that has funding included in this years budget, she said.

Samantha Roxas, an aide to Breed, said that Breed is inclined to support the ballot measure, but has concerns with the lack of funding tied to it.

 Dominic Fracassa

Cash for kids: Mayor Mark Farrell and the Department of Children, Youth and their Families announced this week that the city intends to spend $377 million over the next five years on youth services.

The money comes from Proposition C, a measure passed by voters in 2014 that increased the citys Children and Youth Fund to 4 cents of every $100 of property tax revenue.

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.

Every child in San Francisco has the ability to reach great heights, but they need the right support and resources to succeed, Farrell said in a statement.

The funds will be put toward after-school programs, employment opportunities and resources for Young Adult Court, which offers alternatives to detainment for people ages 18 to 25.

More than 1,200 students in the San Francisco Unified School District will also benefit from a $2 million grant that will provide college-readiness programs and career-skills training during the school day.

 Dominic Fracassa

Email: cityinsider@sfchronicle.com, dfracassa@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfcityinsider @dominicfracassa
Jeffrey M. Johnson, who as CEO and publisher of Hearst Corp.s San Francisco Chronicle was largely credited with the financial turnaround of Northern Californias largest media company, has been named president of Hearst Newspapers, the corporation announced Friday.

Johnson takes on the role effective immediately. He replaces Mark E. Aldam, who was promoted to a new position as Hearsts chief operating officer. Aldam led seven consecutive years of profit growth at Hearst Newspapers. The changes were a part of a new management structure announced by Hearst CEO Steven R. Swartz in a letter to employees.
With sleeves rolled up, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau walked into a San Francisco startup Thursday  followed by bodyguards and a flurry of media representatives  to join a brief strategy session with the companys engineering team.

The prime ministers visit to AppDirect, a cloud subscriptions company with a significant Canadian presence, was part of a two-day trip to San Francisco that had a clear underlying motive: persuading more American companies to come to Canada.

The world is going through a transformation right now, and we need to make sure we are a part of that, Trudeau said later at a news conference, for which he rolled down his sleeves and donned a blazer. He bragged about the Canadian workforce several times, using adjectives like educated, diverse and excited.

It was the first visit of a Canadian prime minister to the city since Mackenzie King led a delegation to the United Nations Conference in 1945, according to the U.S. State Department. And Trudeau will not leave empty-handed: Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, who met with Trudeau earlier in the day, pledged to invest $2 billion in Canada over the next five years. AppDirect, which already has offices in Montreal and Calgary, announced a commitment to add 300 Canadian jobs over the next few years.

Trudeau, who also had a meeting with Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on his itinerary, said he planned to tout his country as the perfect location for the Seattle companys second headquarters. Toronto is the only Canadian city in the running for Amazons multimillion-dollar project, which promises tens of thousands of high-paying jobs.

Im enthused about the interest that these global companies are taking in Canada, Trudeau said. It is a benefit for those companies that invest in Canada, because they get such a high caliber of talent.

Trudeaus U.S. trip comes as the Trump administration has increased its scrutiny of H-1B visas, which allow foreigners with specialized skills to live and work in the U.S. for a period of time. As the uncertainty around the foreign work program intensifies  and the wait for permanent residency lengthens for people from some countries  foreigners are viewing Canada as a refuge from the red tape of the U.S. immigration system.

To capture this talent, the Canadian government created a two-week fast-track work permit called the global skills strategy visa. But immigrating to Canada is not as easy as buying a plane ticket and filing some paperwork: Foreigners still need to meet certain requirements and have a job offer.

But as more companies move up north, so do the job opportunities.

Several major Bay Area companies, including Uber, Lyft, Slack and Apple, have expanded in Canada with new offices or acquisitions over the past year. Startups are also eyeing Canada as a way to get around strict U.S. visa laws and the Bay Areas expensive housing and competition.

Jessica Christian/The Chronicle

One Bay Area company, Terminal, helps companies quickly expand their engineering teams by connecting them with talent in Canada.

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Canada has a good proximity in terms of time zone and distance to travel to the U.S., said Terminal co-founder Dylan Serota, who will meet Trudeau Friday with other Bay Area business leaders who are doing work in Canada. The depth of the talent is what it comes down to.

Also hanging over Trudeaus visit is the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, a pact that President Trump called a job-killing disaster on the campaign trail. Trumps threats to withdraw from the treaty could affect many Canadians working in the Bay Area tech sector.

Trudeau emphasized that he had promised to come up with a compromise that is a win, win win, for the three countries in the treaty  the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

We know that bringing in great talent from around the world is a tremendous benefit, not just for the companies that want to do that, but for Canadian jobs and to our country as a whole, he said.

Trisha Thadani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tthadani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @TrishaThadani
Concerned about mounting lawsuits that could expose it to billions of dollars in liability from October's massive wildfires, PG&E Corp. took the highly unusual step Friday of not forecasting revenue for the coming year.

The parent company of utility Pacific Gas and Electric Co. suspended its dividend in December for the same reason.

We fully recognize what a challenging few months this has been for our investor community, Chief Financial Officer Jason Wells told financial analysts Friday on a conference call to report quarterly earnings.

Investigators with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection have not yet announced a cause for any of the major blazes, which erupted during a fierce windstorm Oct. 8 and 9, razing 8,889 buildings and killing 45 people. And yet, PG&E faces 107 lawsuits claiming that the utilitys power lines and field equipment sparked the flames.

PGEs own reports filed with the state found damaged equipment near the suspected ignition points for all four of the biggest North Bay fires.

The Santa Rosa Fire Department recently attributed two small fires in the city during the October windstorm to arcing from PG&E power lines.

The potential liability could be staggering, if PG&E is found to be responsible for the larger blazes. Insurance claims arising from the fires now top $10 billion, according to the California Department of Insurance.

And under the legal doctrine of inverse condemnation, utilities can be held liable for wildfire damage tied to their equipment even if they followed all applicable safety regulations. The utilities consider that unfair, and PG&E is pushing hard in Sacramento for legislation to address that.

It effectively makes utilities the default insurers for wildfire risk, PG&E Corp. CEO Geisha Williams said Friday. This is a critical issue that must be resolved, and I can assure you we will continue to take a lead role in addressing it.

For now, however, the potential liability has cast a pall over a company that had only recently emerged from the long legal and regulatory aftermath of the 2010 San Bruno pipeline explosion. A federal jury in 2016 found PG&E guilty of six criminal charges related to the blast, and California regulators imposed a $1.6 billion penalty for the incident.

The company obviously doesnt have the greatest reputation, given the gas explosion several years back, said Andy Smith, energy and utilities analyst for Edward Jones. I do think theyve tried to improve things, but right now, that might not matter. The main focus for however long is going to be the fires.

The October fires have already changed some of PG&Es operations.

On days of high fire risk, the utility will now deactivate its remote-controlled reclosers, devices that automatically try to restart power lines after an interruption, even if those lines have been knocked to the ground. Manually operated reclosers, meanwhile, will be switched off for the entire fire season.

Californias other large utilities already switch off their reclosers when fire danger is high, because the devices  which are designed to minimize blackouts  have been blamed for starting wildfires. On the night the North Bay wildfires began, only a few of PG&Es reclosers in the area had been switched off.

Williams said the utility had also created a protocol for turning off entire power lines at times of extreme fire risk. Although San Diegos electric utility has done so for years, the states other large utilities have resisted, arguing that intentionally cutting power to customers carries its own safety risks.

Williams also said the utility would consider using more nonwooden utility poles, even though they are more expensive. She did not mention the possibility of undergrounding wires, an expensive proposition.

PG&E Corp. incurred costs of $219 million responding to the fires and restoring service in their aftermath, according to figures released by the company Friday.

Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes

Net income for the year grew 18 percent, to $1.66 billion, on $17.14 billion in revenue. Income available for common shareholders, a slightly different metric, reached $1.65 million ($3.21 per share).

However, PG&Es fourth-quarter profit dropped almost 84 percent from the same period of 2016, in part due to the costs of responding to the fires. Quarterly profits available for common shareholders fell to $114 million (22 cents).

PG&Es stock price rose Friday, but less than the broader markets. It was up 33 cents to close at $38.57.

The company is also facing an effort to return any savings from President Trumps tax breaks to ratepayers. This week, state Sen. Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, introduced a bill that would require California utilities to adjust customers rates within 90 days of determining how much each will save.

The California Public Utilities Commission had already signaled plans to require utilities to return tax savings to ratepayers.

PG&E has estimated that it will save $500 million from the tax cut.

Company spokeswoman Lynsey Paulo said in an email Thursday that PG&E is still reviewing the bill, but generally agrees with the principle that tax reform should benefit customers.

The company has already told the PUC that it expects the tax changes to provide significant benefits for our customers, she wrote. PG&E said Friday that it plans to file a proposal related to the tax breaks to the commission by the end of next month.

David R. Baker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dbaker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @DavidBakerSF
California prosecutors can seek substantial fines against employers whose workplaces are unsafe, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday in the case of a Southern California plastics factory where an explosion killed two workers in 2009.

A lower court had barred the fines, ruling that the state laws invoked by prosecutors, which prohibited unfair business competition and false advertising, were not part of the California work safety plan approved by federal labor officials in 1973. That ruling would have limited state civil penalties for workplace violations to a state agencys modest administrative fines, less than $100,000 in this case.

But the states high court ruled unanimously that prosecutors can seek stiffer penalties under state laws that regulate the marketplace.

The 1970 law that authorized the federal government to review state workplace rules was intended to supply a nationwide floor of protection for workers and not to limit a states ability to go further, Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye said in the 7-0 decision.

She said the additional fines sought by county prosecutors were properly based on (safety) standards set forth in an approved state plan.

Luke Wake, an attorney with the National Federation of Independent Businesses Small Business Legal Center, said he was disappointed with the decision because it exposes small business owners to shock-and-awe penalties above and beyond anything contemplated in Californias state plan for enforcing health and safety workplace standards.

State Department of Industrial Relations Director Christine Baker endorsed the decision.

This decision confirms Californias authority to enforce its states occupational safety and health standards and Cal/OSHAs ability to partner with law enforcement in civilly prosecuting bad employers, she said.

An Orange County prosecutor who is seeking multimillion-dollar fines against the owners of the now-shuttered plastics factory said the court rightly allowed such businesses to be sued for unfair competition, with penalties of up to $2,500 for each day of safety violations.

When you have a business violating the law, cutting corners and saving money, its not fair to others, said Deputy District Attorney Kelly Ernby. She said the ruling was good for competing businesses, good for workers, and hopefully will keep them safe.

Lawyers for factory owner Solus Industrial Innovations could not be reached for comment.

A water heater at the factory in Rancho Santa Margarita exploded in March 2009, killing employees Jose Jimenez and Isidro Echeverria. Prosecutors said the company had chosen to install a residential electric water heater in 2007 rather than a more expensive commercial boiler.

State investigators concluded the blast was caused by a failed safety valve and the absence of other safety features, due to manipulation and misuse. Prosecutors have accused the company of removing safety controls and forcing the heater to operate beyond its capacity.

Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes

The factorys manager and maintenance supervisor pleaded no contest to felony charges in 2014, were sentenced to community service and paid $450,000 to the victims families. The company closed the plant after the explosion.

In Thursdays ruling, the court noted that Californias voters overruled then-Gov. George Deukmejians attempt in 1987 to strip the state of authority over workplace safety and health and leave enforcement in the hands of the federal government. Proposition 97, passed in 1988, declared its intention to restore California control over private sector safety and health.

Federal law contemplates a cooperative system of workplace safety regulation, not an exclusively federal one, Cantil-Sakauye said. She said the laws prosecutors are seeking to enforce against Solus provide a remedy for economic damage suffered as a result of violations of safety laws.

The case is Solus Industrial Innovations vs. Superior Court, S222314.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter:@egelko
Here are links to the stories making headlines today.

Defensive US military strikes kill 100 pro-regime forces in Syria The coalition said the strikes had been carried out after forces allied with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad initiated an unprovoked attack against a well-established Syrian Democratic Forces headquarters where coalition advisers were working with US-backed Syrian fighters. Some 500 pro-regime troops carried out the attack using artillery, mortar fire and Russian-made tanks, a US military official said.

North Korea isnt interested in talking to the US at the Olympics Jo Yong Sam, department director general of North Koreas foreign ministry, said the country had never begged the US for dialogue and wasnt about to start now, according to state-run news agency KCNA. We have no intention to meet the US side during our visit to South Korea, Jo said in a terse statement Thursday.

German workers win right to 28-hour week Labor union IG Metall secured an unprecedented deal this week to give a large portion of its 2.3 million members more flexible working hours and a big pay rise. From next year, workers at many of Germanys top engineering firms  such as Mercedes-Benz owner Daimler  can opt to work 28 hours a week for up to two years, before returning to the standard 35-hour week.

International cyber crime ring smashed after millions stolen In a statement, US investigators claimed the accused were taking part in a massive operation known as the Infraud Organization, which stole and then sold other peoples personal information, including credit card and banking information.

Pelosi marathon speech on DACA sets record The House Historians office told CNN that Pelosis speech is the longest on record on the House floor, according to their records. Pelosi started speaking shortly after 10 a.m. ET, and wrapped the speech a little after 6:10 p.m. ET.

Fake doctor suspected of infecting at least 33 people with HIV Police in Bangarmau in the state of Uttar Pradesh arrested Rajendra Yadav, who allegedly passed himself off as a doctor. He visited his patients on foot or by bicycle at their homes and also provided medication, said Sushil Choudhary, Unnao district chief medical officer.

Eiffel Tower closed as snow blankets Paris Photographs shared by the Eiffel Towers official Twitter account showed the French capital blanketed in white. The exceptional snowfall caused chaos on roadways across Paris, with a record 700km (430 miles) of traffic jams recorded on Tuesday evening, CNN affiliate BFM TV reported. Public transportation also was halted.

New Survey Sheds Light On How Asian-American Elders Respond To Scammers Aging Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders may need to rethink how susceptible they are to fraudulent offers and scams. A new survey by the AARP, the nations largest senior advocacy group, revealed that AAPI individuals are frequent targets of scammers, yet they are overly confident in their abilities to spot a scam.

Nancy Pelosi Sets Record For Longest Continuous Speech In House History Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) just made House history. The Democrat spoke for more than eight hours on the House floor Wednesday, adamant that she would not support any long-term budget deal without a commitment from House Speaker Paul Ryan to allow a chamber vote on protecting young undocumented immigrants.

Jake Tapper: Trump Presidency Once Again Eroding Basic Lines Of Human Decency CNNs Jake Tapper took a moment during his Wednesday show to remind audiences that President Donald Trump was once again further eroding basic lines of human decency. Tapper was responding to news that White House staff secretary Rob Porter had resigned after reports surfaced that he allegedly physically abused his two ex-wives.

Opinion | Black Panther Is Ready To Take Dark-Skinned Actresses (And Colorism) Seriously Were days away from the release of Black Panther, and all I can think about is how emotionally unprepared I am for it. Common reasons for this include not having seen a movie with a black superhero lead in about 20 years (no, I am not counting Catwoman and Hancock) and the fact that my simultaneously Nigerian-American and black American self is not ready to have my complex experience validated on screen.

Have they found a cure for our cancer? When Simon Cox was first diagnosed with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia (CLL) 13 years ago, he feared the worst. But now there are promising developments in the search for a cure. He meets patients taking part in a new trial. Being told I had cancer wasnt the scary part.

N Korea military show on Olympic eve North Korea appears to have held a low-key military parade, a day ahead of the Winter Olympics, South Korean media said. The annual event is usually held in April, but Pyongyang hit back at US criticism of its decision to bring it forward.

Chinese police unveil camera sunglasses Police in China have begun using sunglasses equipped with facial recognition technology to identify suspected criminals. The glasses are connected to an internal database of suspects, meaning officers can quickly scan crowds while looking for fugitives. But critics fear the technology will give even more power to the government.

Trump aide quits amid abuse accusations One of US President Donald Trumps top aides has resigned amid abuse claims from his two ex-wives. White House staff secretary Rob Porter said these outrageous allegations are simply false as he announced he would step down. The accusations were first reported in the Daily Mail and include accounts of physical and emotional abuse.

Woman alleges husband stole her kidney An Indian womans husband and brother-in-law have been arrested after she told police they stole one of her kidneys in lieu of a dowry. Local media report that the West Bengal womans husband arranged an appendicitis surgery when she was suffering stomach pain two year ago.

Heres how the cryptocurrency market will recover Every product here is independently selected by Mashable journalists. If you buy something featured, we may earn an affiliate commission which helps support our work. In the past month or so, bears have ruled the cryptocurrency market. You may not think thats a very long time, but given how fast the cryptocoin market moves, this is not some temporary flash crash.

Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner is a tattooed badass in new film trailer for Josie Winter may be coming, but Sansa has clearly decided to take a break from the cold to get some much-needed sun. In the above trailer for Josie, a tattooed Sophie Turner plays a new arrival in a southern U.S. town.

What SpaceXs Falcon Heavy launch means for the future of spaceflight SpaceX had a pretty big day on Tuesday. The Elon Musk-founded company successfully launched its maiden flight of the huge Falcon Heavy rocket and landed two of its three main boosters back on Earth after sending a Tesla Roadster to space.

Errant cow commits mail fraud Its not every day that you see a cow eating your mail.

Elon Musk shares the last image of his Tesla roadster floating through the solar system Unless you spent your day under a rock on Tuesday, you probably already know that SpaceX successfully launched its largest rocket ever, the Falcon Heavy. Oh, and on that rocket was a Telsa Roadster, because why not?
A pair of violent home invasion robberies Thursday morning near Santa Rosa left one resident dead and another wounded before police pursued a group of suspects to Vallejo and captured some of them, officials said.

The first invasion occurred about 4:40 a.m. on the 1900 block of Fulton Road, said Misti Harris, a spokeswoman for the Sonoma County Sheriffs Office. One man was shot and rushed to a hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening.

The second robbery occurred about 6:45 a.m. on the 3500 block of Melcon Lane, 7 miles south of the first attack, Harris said. She said a man was fatally shot. Neither victim was immediately identified.

We are going to talk to family members first, Harris said.

Jose Luis Torres and Adriana Pereyra-Torres are the owners of the gated home on 4 acres on Melcon Lane, according to property records. The couple are also listed as the owners of Advance Appliance Services, a Sonoma County company that specializes in high-end home appliance repair.

It is unclear why the homes were targeted, but guns were stolen from the home on Melcon Lane, said Sgt. Spencer Crum of the Sonoma County Sheriffs Office. A group of people gathered outside of the gated home Thursday afternoon but declined comment.

Harris noted that multiple residents were in the two homes during the invasions.

After the second robbery, five suspects fled in a dark blue minivan and led police on a chase from Santa Rosa to Vallejo.

The suspects crashed into another vehicle and fire hydrant near the intersection of Couch and Redwood streets in Vallejo, Crum said.

Four men were taken into custody while police searched for a woman who was still on the loose, he added.

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.

The guns stolen from the home on Melcon Lane have not yet been recovered.

SWAT teams were checking rooftops and going door to door on the 2400 block of Alameda Street and nearby Hermosa and Del Mar Avenues in Vallejo.

Its apparently quite the scene in Vallejo, Harris said.

Chris Preovolos, Hearst Newspapers national photo editor, contributed to this report.
The 18th century was materially a vastly different age from ours, as evidenced by the exhibition Casanova: The Seduction of Europe, opening this week at the Legion of Honor. Transported to parties in gilded sedan chairs, resplendent in elaborate costumes, the rich of that day ate luxurious meals from masterpieces of handcrafted tableware, as they enacted rituals of seduction in rooms hung with provocative images in sumptuous colors.

Well, different in materials, perhaps, but not in proportion. The art and decoration of Casanovas time betray a hunger so insatiable it powered a culture and identifies an era. It is a craving we might recognize as being much like our own lust for stuff, our addictions to the sensual. They are dependencies so powerful they have made us fat and perpetually horny, our eyes bedazzled by garish images of epic scale and enthralling miniature, our ears ever flooded with the sound of  us.

The Legion and its museum partners in Boston and Fort Worth started planning the exhibition, which runs through May 28, several years ago. The curators could not have known that their tribute to the most famous womanizer of all time would open at the crescendo of a womens empowerment movement to be called #MeToo.

Museu Nacional dArt de Catalunya, Barcelona

Nor could they have foreseen an ormolu presidency of regal pretension, its occupant yearning for the emoluments of a reign like Louis XVIs (though not, we can be sure, for an end like that of the last king of France). Given that they are so prescient, do they predict a revolution soon as bloody as the one that followed the period covered by Seduction of Europe?

Giacomo Girolamo Casanova (1725-98) was born in Venice to an actress mother and, according to the shows accompanying book, maybe her actor husband, maybe one of the members of the aristocratic Grimani family, proprietors of a theater and protectors of Casanovas family. One might wonder at the meaning of protector in this context but, nevertheless, the biographical facts provide a structure for the exhibition.

The show opens with scenes of Casanovas home city, by the most famous recorder of such views, Canaletto. Having already adopted the approach of comparing America today to Europe 200-plus years ago, one is struck by how little change there is to be seen in Venice. It is, of course, a city that is itself a museum, dedicated to its own preservation, and with the recent ban from the Grand Canal of those giant cruise ships, Canalettos pinpoint precision and evocative effects of light might almost be fine photographs of the place last summer.

Like his autobiography, Casanovas infamous love life  he claimed to have had more than 100 liaisons with women across Europe  is both evidence and reflection of the mores of his society. As with The Story of My Life, as well, the depiction of love and sex in the art of the era is likely highly embellished.

The curators wisely include a dozen tiny, pornographic Amorous Drawings, the size of small playing cards, that depict a far seamier version of carnal interaction than the florid works of Francois Boucher and Jean-Honore Fragonard, which are all innuendo. Still, for those who can get past the frippery  and the suspicion that seduction was a male prerogative  they are irresistible as painterly enticements.

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

A dazzlingly titillating Mars and Venus, Allegory of Peace (1770) by Louis Jean Francois Lagrenee goes well beyond insinuation, despite its coy title. Lesbian love makes its voyeuristic pitch, as well, with Bouchers sultry Companions of Diana (1745).

Even Casanovas stints in jail provide an excuse to exhibit selections from Giovanni Battista Piranesis great, proto-Surrealist print series, the Carceri dInvenzione (Imaginary Prisons), produced in the midcentury.

If you were a curator who wished to refer to the periods penchant for masquerade and trickery, you would die to land the loan of Giovanni Domenico Tiepolos The Charlatan (1756), a festival scene that says it all, by one of the periods best-known artists.

Period settings that show off fashionable costumes, and an extensive display of decorative art throughout the galleries reinforce the themes. Some of it looks like filler to me, but its hard to imagine a better representation of decadence than the deliciously diabolical tureen in the form of a boar's head, prominently displayed among the rococo mealtime implements.

Casanova was a world-class name-dropper, and a gallery of portraits of the rich and famous he claimed to have met is engaging enough. For an exhibition that deals with wealth and celebrity throughout, though, the best inclusion may be a curatorial comment on the similarities between our time and his.

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.

In the very first gallery, among the views of Venice, a wooden box in the form of a gondola is on loan from a local private collection. Its owners? Ann and Gordon Getty.

Charles Desmarais is The San Francisco Chronicles art critic. Email: cdesmarais@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Artguy1

Casanova: The Seduction of Europe: 9:30 a.m.-5:15 p.m., Tuesdays-Sundays. Saturday, Feb. 10-May 28. $13-$28. Legion of Honor, Lincoln Park, 100 34th Ave., S.F. (415) 750-3600. http://legionofhonor.famsf.org

At a time of heightened awareness to the problems posed by 18th century art and attitudes, the Legion of Honor has added programs that promise to take up such questions. All will be held in the museums Gunn Theater and all are free after museum general admission. See the museum website for details.

The Artistic World of Giacomo Casanova: A conversation with Frederick Ilchman and C. D. Dickerson III. 2 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 10.

Female Agency in the Age of Casanova: With Charlotte Gordon and Fara Dabhoiwala. 10:30 a.m., Sunday, April 8.

Reckoning with the Past: A Forum: Led by Julia Bryan-Wilson. Saturday, May 12.
Doctors at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) have once again achieved a remarkable feat following the successful re-implanting of a severed limb.

A multidisciplinary medical team of fifteen made of surgeons, orthopedic surgeons, anesthetists, and nurses, have successfully reattached the severed hand of 17-year-old Joseph Theuri from Kiambaa, Kiambu County.

The young mans arm was accidentally chopped off while cleaning a chaff cutter after he had just finished feeding their cows.

To make matters worse, Theuri was taken to KNH more than 10 hours after the accident happened. His severed arm was reportedly stored in a cool box, which made all the difference in having his arm reattached as the severed tissue must be alive for the procedure to work.

Doctors suggest that a severed body part should be sealed in a plastic bag and placed on ice. Direct contact with the ice can cause frostbite and damage the tissue, and suspending severed body parts in water has been shown to make reattachment more difficult.

At the hospital, doctors spent one and a half hours to identify the structures in his arm.

The highly delicate procedure lasted over seven hours and it involved cleaning the wound, identifying structures such as nerves, and shortening the bones, according to Ferdinand Nangole who was part of the surgery team.

Two teams were constituted with one team preparing the hand and the other team working on the stump. This was very important as we were racing against time, said Dr. Nangole.

Lily Koros, CEO KNH celebrated the team for their precision and expertise that has reclaimed the hand of Theuri.

This successful surgery adds to the list of the great milestones that KNH specialists have made to save, transform, reclaim and prolong lives of many Kenyans and patients from East and Central Africa region, said the CEO.

Being a delicate and one of its kind surgery in Kenya, the total cost of the surgery is estimated at Sh 1.2 million. A percent of the bill will be paid through the National Hospital Insurance Fund medical cover.

The procedure is yet another impressive medical milestone for KNH medical experts. In November 2016, a team of 58 doctors successfully separated conjoined twins in a 23-hour operation, the first in Kenya and sub-Saharan Africa.

KNH specialists also removed a bullet lodged in Baby Satrins brain, gave a smile to Roseline Wanyama who had a tumor which had severely affected her jaw, removed a knife lodged in Fatuma Ibrahims temporal bone, and a kidney transplant of a two-year-old as well as open-heart surgery.

Below are the photos. Viewer discretion is advised as some of the pictures might be too graphic for some people.
One summer afternoon, police in Los Angeles County attempted to stop a man on the sidewalk. The man ran, tossing a gun as he escaped. The next day, the officers arrested Dante Johnson, claiming he was the man with the gun. In court, Dante (whose name I have changed to protect his privacy) told his lawyer he had an alibi and that his prints would not be on the gun. His lawyer noticed that the description in the report did not match Dante. They decided to fight the case.

His lawyer asked the judge to release Dante on his own recognizance so that he would not have to sit in jail for 90 or so days as he waited for his trial. Despite Dantes lack of a criminal record, and without any evidence that he was a danger to anyone or likely to skip out on his court date, the judge set bail at $50,000, which Dante could not possibly afford. After 65 days, the prosecutor offered him freedom if he would plead guilty. Despite having a strong defense, Dante accepted the prosecutors offer, making him a felon.

Setting bail this way is common practice in California courts, but an appellate court has just handed down a decision confronting this abusive judicial practice.

The California Constitution guarantees that people accused of crimes, like Dante, will be released on their own recognizance or released on bail, with a few exceptions. Capital murder defendants can be held without bail as well as those accused of violent crimes and felonies, but only with clear and convincing evidence that there is a substantial likelihood that releasing them will result in serious injury to someone else.

But, despite this rule that so strongly favors pretrial release  upholding the fundamental presumption of innocence  63 percent of people in California jails have not been convicted and are waiting on resolution of their cases.

For years, California judges have defied the spirit of the law and set high bail as a way to keep in custody people who should be released. Rather than hold hearings in which prosecutors would have to present evidence that the defendant is substantially likely to seriously injure someone, a difficult standard to meet, judges simply set unattainable bail. Quick and efficient, but wrong.

Judges use bail in this way because these hearings are time-consuming. Also, everyone who works in the court system knows that people who are released fight their cases longer and more effectively, while those in custody, like Dante, plead guilty more quickly. Less than 3 percent of criminal cases in California go to trial; most resolve the case through guilty pleas. People unable to afford bail often plead guilty, not because evidence proves their guilt, but because doing so is the quickest way out of jail.

Human Rights Watch analyzed data in representative California counties and found that vast majorities of people released from jail as sentenced were released before the earliest possible date they could have gone to trial. In other words, to assert their innocence in trial, they would have had to reject a plea deal offering freedom and stay in jail longer than they did by pleading guilty.

Holding people in custody through high bail contributes to the efficient production of criminal convictions, regardless of actual guilt or innocence, but perverts our justice system.

The appellate court, calling this practice a deformity in our criminal justice system and a blight, ordered judges in California to make significant changes to conform to our constitutional mandate.

The court decision says judges may no longer simply use high bail for preventive detention. If an accused person is eligible for release on bail, then the judge must hold a hearing to determine his ability to pay that bail and not set an unattainable amount. The judge must hold a further hearing to see if there are nonfinancial conditions, like orders to stay away from a person or location, that would comply with the legitimate goals of setting bail.

Under this framework, if prosecutors believe someone should be detained until his trial, the prosecutors will have to present evidence that meets the constitutional standard, and judges will have to take the time to hold those hearings.

This approach is more consistent with justice than the existing practice. It protects the public from actual, known dangers while following the spirit and intent of our state constitution. It gives us more faith that people pleading guilty actually are guilty. It does not punish people for being poor. It honors liberty and the presumption of innocence.

Judges and prosecutors, accustomed to moving court dockets quickly by holding perfunctory bail hearings and coercing guilty pleas from people in custody, may resist obeying the courts directive and try to find loopholes to avoid releasing people or holding thorough hearings. The court acknowledges that its directive will be less efficient in processing cases, but reminds us that the highest judicial responsibility is and must remain the enforcement of constitutional rights.

Hopefully, our judges will accept this responsibility even though more people will be released pretrial and fewer people will be coerced into guilty pleas. Hopefully, this case will signal a change in how our courts function  away from a system whose purpose is to incarcerate people rapidly and efficiently, and toward one that protects public safety and respects the rights of every individual.

John Raphling, a longtime criminal defense lawyer in California, is a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch. To comment, submit your letter to the editor at SFChronicle.com/letters.
An eight-hour speech on the floor of Congress grabs attention, but so should the subject and pressure-packed timing. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi turned in a full workday at the podium putting thousands of Dreamers at the center of a must-have budget deal.

Her remarkable soliloquy set a record for length, surprise and emotion. Sprinkled with personal stories and religious reflection, Pelosis words aimed to provoke the House to follow the Senate and allow an immigration debate as part of the budget agreement needed to stave off a government shutdown.

Its a pittance of a price. Nearly 700,000 Dreamers brought here as children by undocumented parents are in limbo after President Trump revoked their provisional status. The Senate is willing to debate ways to handle the problem, but its different in Pelosis chamber, where anti-immigrant feelings run deeper.

The San Francisco Democrat faces doubts about her age  77  and effectiveness, but such questions were more than put to rest by her performance. She read testimonials and anecdotes from Dreamers in the military, college and public service, some whove never been near the border. She never budged from her perch and, as widely noted, did it standing all the while. Give us a chance to have a vote, she asked.

That request hinges on House Speaker Paul Ryan, who isnt budging unless the White House is willing to go along. But hes also in a squeeze since a GOP bloc dislikes the budget deal and he may need Democrats to push it across.

The political nuances are critical, but so is the overall message. The nation needs a balanced and fair border policy, one that includes an up-or-down vote on a safe path for Dreamers in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Pelosi stood tall for the cause.

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.
Board of Supervisors President London Breed has reshuffled committee assignments, and it looks like she hit back at three progressives who pulled her from the mayors office.

The biggest demotion: Supervisor Hillary Ronen, whom Breed unseated from her position as chair of the Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee. Ronen was a key architect of the deal to remove Breed and install then-Supervisor Mark Farrell as mayor until the June election.

Breed also yanked Supervisor Aaron Peskin off the Land Use and Transportation Committee, where he was an outspoken member. And she relegated Supervisor Norman Yee from his permanent seat on the Budget and Finance Committee to being one of two temporary members until the board approves a city budget in June, at which time he would be off the committee.

Peskin worked alongside Ronen to line up six votes to appoint Farrell. Yee nominated Farrell for the interim mayor position.

Breed defended her changes, saying she had worked hard to balance the requests of colleagues, their respective experience and perspectives, while also providing new leadership opportunities for new board members. I believe we have done just that, she said.

 Rachel Swan

Jessica Christian / The Chronicle 2014

Stefani strikes back: Lawyers for Supervisor Catherine Stefani blasted a lawsuit by BART board member Nick Josefowitz, her opponent in the race to represent District Two, calling it an outrageous act of hubris.

Attorney Jim Sutton had other sharp words in a brief filed Wednesday in San Francisco Superior Court, the first salvo against Josefowitzs suit to move the district election from November to June.

Petitioner Nick Josefowitz has taken the extraordinary step of asking the court to intervene in an election for the sole purpose of favoring his candidacy over his opponents, the brief said. It went on to argue that Josefowitzs demand would not only wreak havoc on an already-chaotic election season, it would also abruptly change the rules in a way that harms District Two voters.

Josefowitz and his co-plaintiff, District Two resident Noah Shanok, cited a 2001 City Charter amendment requiring that election dates limit the amount of time a political appointee spends in office to discourage backroom deals and minimize that candidates advantage in the race.

Stefani, picked by Mayor Mark Farrell to fill his seat until the November election, announced her intent to run the day of her appointment.

In a separate brief Wednesday, City Attorney Dennis Herrera argued that voters who approved the Charter amendment would not have wanted to hold two elections for the same seat in five months.

 Rachel Swan

Photo via Yelp

Save the Gangway: It worked for the Stud. Now Supervisor Jane Kim is hoping the same magic can help preserve the Gangway, San Franciscos oldest continuously operating gay bar.

The 107-year-old Gangway, which has struggled in the past few years, was sold recently to Sam Young, who owns the 1970s-themed Kozy Kar on nearby Polk Street. Though Young doesnt plan to continue the Gangways legacy as a gay hangout  the bar has not been profitable in recent years  hes willing to offer preservationists both the bars name and the considerable collection of physical ephemera that accumulated in the Larkin Street dive over the past century.

I grew up in San Francisco, and Im supportive of this history being preserved, Young said. I hope it can be successfully reopened in another location someday.

A group of LGBTQ preservationists who a few years ago created a collective to buy the Stud, a SoMa bar that was facing closure, has seized on the opportunity to relocate the bar. Under the co-op ownership, the Stud has thrived, with sales jumping 60 percent.

Nate Allbee, a veteran City Hall hand who led the effort to save the Stud, sees a similar opportunity. Allbee has joined forces with Kim and the citys Office of Workforce and Economic Development to relocate the Gangway.

We wont be able to keep the Gangway in its exact location, but we can hopefully re-create it in the same neighborhood, Allbee said.

The Gangway Collective is looking for investors as well as contractors who can quickly dismantle and move the historic interior and exterior elements of the bar, including the boat prow that protrudes from the structures facade.

San Francisco is at risk of losing what makes us special, Kim said. Our city was the birthplace of the LGBT civil rights movement, and bars like the Gangway played an essential role. We cant just let the oldest gay bar in the gayest city in America quietly close.

 J.K. Dineen

Email: cityinsider@sfchronicle.com, rswan@sfchronicle.com, jdineen@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfcityinsider, @rachelswan, @sfjkdineen
The young Korean couple strolling the streets of Bukchon Hanok Village appeared headed to their own wedding ceremony. About a century ago.

Resplendent in traditional Korean hanbok outfits  her in flowing scarlet and royal blue, him in full-length regal maroon  the pair wandered through Seouls historical district of homes and businesses from another time. But for his white sneakers, the couple were a picture of Korea in 1910.

That and the selfie sticks.

At every turn the teenagers in heritage garb found a suitable backdrop, then hoisted the telescoping rods with their phones at the ends so that they both could take photos of themselves taking photos of themselves. Theyd review the snapshots, which logic dictates would create a stereographic image if combined.

Then theyd laugh.

What they didnt look like were people living in terror under the threat of invasion by a bat-guano-crazy leader next door. They looked like they were just living.

Seeing South Korea only as a conflict zone is one of those assumptions that Westerners tend to make, fueled by the fact most Americans only know three things about the country: K-Pop culture, spicy kimchi and the DMZ, the demilitarized zone along the border with North Korea that is the most heavily guarded stretch of land on the planet. Its understandable; Western media doesnt cover much else about the culture, and few Americans go there  a number that isnt likely to go up soon. Travel is a slayer of assumptions and stereotypes but, in general, you have to get off the couch.

That isnt true, however, during the Olympics, in this case the Winter Games that start Friday. The global broadcast is a 17-day window through which we can learn about the hosts culture, people and places (presumably while still on the couch).

If, however, the networks are predictably disappointing and only highlight the aspects of South Korean life that we already know (video of a K-Pop boy band eating kimchi in the DMZ), here are a few things I learned about Korea during a trip last year that you might not discover from Winter Olympics coverage:

North or South, they are all Koreans: Its easy to fixate on the political and military conflict that has plagued the Korean Peninsula since the 1950s, but the truth is many residents on each side have family, friends and hometowns on the other side. Nearly all the Koreans I met said they dont see the North Koreans as enemies, they hate the political forces that seem to have no interest in peace and reunification.

Greener than you think: Thanks to seeing South Korea primarily through the sprawling economic engine that is Seoul, its easy for us to picture the entire country as subways and skyscrapers, condos and construction. In reality, 90 percent of the land is mountainous, and more than 60 percent is forest. The latter percentage goes up in the Taebaek Mountains of Gangwon province, home of Olympics host Pyeongchang, a resort town surrounded by hundreds of square miles of tree-carpeted hills.

No time for constant fear: South Koreans have been living with some level of this conflict for well over 60 years, and long before that the peninsula was a convenient steppingstone for every time China or Japan felt the need to go conquer something. Even in April, when North Korea began testing missiles in earnest, the general attitude of folks I met was that you cant put your life on hold every time leaders with more bravado than brains make yet another threat.

National parks a priority: Despite being smaller than the state of Virginia, South Korea has 22 national parks that represent about 6.7 percent of the countrys total area. Even more surprising is that, unlike most Americans, Koreans seem to value their parks, which are well kept, well attended and affordable. Most parks are dotted with Buddhist temples, connected by lantern-lit trails, making the parks havens of both nature and culture.

There is food other than kimchi: While the spicy pickled cabbage is an ever-present staple, Korean menus are packed with marvelous dishes and side dishes (banchan), from pork dumplings and hearty bibimbop to icy buckwheat noodles and creative soups  including haejangguk, a supposed curative known as hangover stew. Its probably best to just assume it works.
SACRAMENTO  Hundreds of Californians who traveled to the state Capitol to voice their opposition to President Trumps plans to expand offshore oil drilling left a public hearing Thursday in anger and disbelief that there was no microphone or panel of federal officials to listen to their concerns.

Instead, the public hearing by the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management took the format of an open house consisting of science-fair-type displays  including one labeled Why is Oil Important. Federal scientists and technical staffers answered questions individually in what began as a polite and quiet gathering at the Sacramento public library.

The peace didnt last long.

Why are we being quiet? Kacey Bridgman, who had traveled to Sacramento from Oakland, yelled in the middle of the room.

Soon attendees began to chant: We want a hearing! We want a hearing!

It was the only public hearing the Trump administration scheduled for California to allow the public to weigh in on the presidents decision to allow increased oil drilling off the coast.

This is a sham, said Robin Gerber, a board member of Citizens for Responsible Oil and Gas who boarded a bus in Ventura County at 4 a.m. to attend the hearing. We know (Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke) and his boss Trump are determined to hand over our oceans to the oil companies for profit.

Bridgman said she was in disbelief at the format. I expected someone to be listening to what the people have to say about offshore oil drilling. This is ridiculous.

Many of the people who had traveled long distances for the hearing had expected  and wanted  to share their concerns aloud, publicly and with a microphone. Some confronted the federal officials. But participants who wanted to have their opinions recorded were directed to a bank of computers to silently log them there.

This is like divide and conquer, said a visibly irritated David Thompson of San Francisco. He pressed Brian Jordan, the ocean energy bureaus chief of environmental consultation, on why the agency chose an open house format.

I did the old format, with the public hearing and four officials sitting behind a table and a microphone in the middle of the crowd and people have three minutes to talk into it over and over and over again, Jordan said. We are hoping by this process that people understand how to make more meaningful comments that will actually affect the process.

Jordan added that the open house format has been used for other projects, including those proposed under President Barack Obama.

Well, this format is stupid, Thompson said.

A rally by protesters of oil drilling was held at the state Capitol before the hearing. Another rally was staged at a park outside the hearing. Many protesters who were at the second rally didnt bother to walk across the street to the public library for the meeting upon learning about the open-house format.

Trump signed an executive order last year requiring the Interior Department to reconsider drilling bans signed by Obama. He wants to open swaths of the Pacific, Atlantic and Arctic oceans that arent part of the federal governments oil leasing plan already to energy companies.

The federal government could offer oil drilling leases in 47 areas off the coast of the United States from 2019 to 2024, including six areas across Californias coast, under the plan being considered. The exact locations have not yet been determined, but two would be in Northern California, two on the Central Coast and two in Southern California.

There are now 23 offshore oil and gas facilities in federal waters off Californias coast and four platforms in state waters, according to the state lands commission.

Federal administration, get the message: We love our coast, and we want you to leave our coast alone, Assemblywoman Catharine Baker, R-San Ramon, said at the Capitol rally.

Added Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi, D-Torrance (Los Angeles County): We are united in fighting back against Trumps latest stupid idea to reopen up oil drilling.

Muratsuchi and state Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara, introduced legislation last month to ban pipelines from being built in California waters. A similar effort stalled last year.

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 the ocean drilling plans. The lands commission said it would not issue any permits to the federal government to transport new oil using existing or new pipelines.

California placed a moratorium on new oil and gas leases in 1969, after a huge oil spill on the Santa Barbara coast.

Melody Gutierrez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mgutierrez@sfchronicle.com @Twitter: @MelodyGutierrez
Steve Schwanke has the best commute in Menlo Park, but it's not as good as it used to be. For 10 years, Schwanke came out his door, on the corner of Bay Laurel Avenue and Arbor Road, turned right and walked 100 yards among the trees and cottages to his architecture office on the second floor of the Allied Arts Guild.

Two years ago, the Spanish Colonial-style guild, which has offered a warren of studios to artisans for 75 years, closed for renovation, and Schwanke has been temporarily moved to an old sheep-shearing shed at the back of the complex -- increasing his commute by a full 50 yards. But it is a fantastic 50 yards when approached through Tree Rose Allee, a corridor of 52 hybrid tea and floribunda trees.

First flush was last month, then some will bloom continuously through October -- in pink, coral, red, lavender, yellow, orange and white -- on this week backlit by the white and purple blossoms of star and saucer magnolia trees, and the pink and white ornamental crabapple. At the end of all this color is the blue Dutch door by a slate shingle that reads "Steve Schwanke, Architect."

The Allied Arts Guild, which includes the Traditional Shop and restaurant, covers 3 1/2 acres of the Rancho de las Pulgas land grant, in a triangle from the intersection of Cambridge and Arbor to San Francisquito Creek, the county line.

Because it is surrounded by the most charming and central neighborhood in Menlo Park, the Allied Arts real estate appellation keeps expanding, pushing west from El Camino Real and south from Santa Cruz Avenue. Safeway recently announced plans to tear down its bunker (originally Alec supermarket) at Middle and El Camino and rebuild in the Allied Arts style. To get it right would require a red-tile roof over beige stucco siding with blue-green trim, and they'd have to remove the underground parking and put in an A-frame garage out back.

Everything wants to be Allied Arts, but the essence is seen here on Schwanke's walk to work. Arbor Road meanders the width of Menlo Park, from Valparaiso Avenue to Creek Drive, but the two blocks from College Avenue to the creek are barricaded from the through street by the greensward of Officer Jack W. Lyle Memorial Park. Because Schwanke is lanky, it's a "one- to two- minute commute. It depends on how many squirrels get in the way," he says, not calculating time spent chatting.

"It's interesting how you end up being more neighborly with the people who have small lots because they tend to be out in the front more," he says, looking through a picture window at a room cluttered with painting and sculpture. This indicates that artists can still afford to live and work here. It's just that their mates are working in Silicon Valley.

"This house is probably 1,500 square feet," Schwanke says, stopping at No. 216. "Prior to our generation moving in, people raised two or three kids in these little houses. Now nobody can imagine that." Schwanke, 48, is among those who couldn't imagine it. To fit three kids, he and his wife, Barbara, second-storied their rancher into a Craftsman. They live on the west side of Arbor, on the edge of Bay Laurel, where the lots are bigger.

On the east side are the Allied Arts classics, and they seem to get smaller and older, both in house and inhabitant, the closer you get to Allied Arts. You can tell by the TV antennas, which get more primitive as you go. By the time you hit the creek, one is nothing more than a lightning rod with two wires on it.

This makes a counterpoint to Stanford University, across the creek. One block west is a pedestrian bridge and professor types in tweeds round the corner on Raleigh three-speeds, headed back from all that technology to home on Yale Road or Princeton or Harvard or the intersection of University and College.

The Allied Arts Guild, which benefits the children's hospital at Stanford, is the top tourist attraction in Menlo Park. Now, minus the buses and cars, the streets are quiet enough to bicycle down the middle. Neighbors don't mind this, and fearing the guild will be turned into a wedding mill, have sued to limit the use once it reopens. Either way, it is closed until summer. The annual planting of 4,000 bulbs won't happen. But the 20-year-old rose trees will bloom regardless of remodeling, and the row can be reached through the back gate by claiming an appointment with Schwanke. A sole practitioner, he's also a past deacon with Menlo Park Presbyterian. Knock on the door of his sheep shed and you've got an appointment. If he's not there, try the potter next door or the sculptor, or the Barn Wood Shop, which has been going since 1929 in the guild's original building, an 1885 barn that teeters over the creek.

"We're really not open to the public," says Jim Daugherty, the guild's general manager, "but we're not kicking anybody out."
About a year ago, Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff made a $2.7 million donation to San Francisco middle schools and promised there was more where that came from.

He's making good on that promise - times two.

A new $5 million donation from Benioff takes into account the lessons learned from his first round of largesse, which included money for 1,500 iPads for the city's 12 public middle schools as well as $100,000 for each middle school principal - an "innovation grant" to pay for whatever is needed most at each school, Salesforce.com officials told The Chronicle.

The lessons:

Lesson 1: Thirty-five kids streaming video on iPads at the same time requires really good Wi-Fi.

Lesson 2: Principals loved the no-strings-attached cash.

Lesson 3: Excluding the middle school-age students in the district's eight K-8 schools made a lot of parents mad.

The new donation from the Salesforce.com Foundation will buy more iPads as well as Chromebooks; increase Wi-Fi access at the schools; provide teacher training; and pay for four full-time district technology instructors to support the teachers and ensure the tech tools are used effectively.

And this time the K-8 schools will be rolled into the funding fold.

Benioff was expected to announce the new round of funding Friday.

Included in the donation is a commitment of 5,000 volunteer hours by Salesforce.com employees at the schools, up from 1,500 hours last year.

Separately, the foundation plans to donate $1 million to Code.org, a nonprofit that promotes computer science programs, especially to girls and students of color.

It's "doubling down" on Benioff's commitment to the schools and a call to action to Salesforce.com employees and other tech companies, said Suzanne DiBianca, president of the company's foundation.

The message? "Roll your sleeves up, get involved, get to know your local schools and help them," DiBianca said.

The Salesforce.com help in all its forms was described by Teresa Shipp, Denman Middle School principal, as "exciting," "wonderful," "incredible."

Shipp spent her $100,000 building a television production studio - complete with video equipment, software, microphones and even a green screen. Students then created weekly newscasts.

"Our students are super engaged in it and love it," she said.

Shipp said another $100,000 would build a maker's lab, a space where students would be able to do computer modeling and print their designs on 3-D printers.

The principal said it's miracle money.

"It's allowing us to dream," she said.

The Salesforce.com support for new iPads and teacher training is paying off too, said Superintendent Richard Carranza.

"If you step into our classrooms you will see the many creative ways teachers are engaging students in using technology, not only to access content from the Web, but to create content and work in teams applying what they are learning to real-life examples," he said.

District and city officials said the partnership with Benioff and his company's foundation is a model of how industry can work with districts and city or county governments to identify educational needs and meet them using both money and volunteer support from the technology sector.

The goal is to better prepare students for the technology-fueled world that awaits them when they grow up - which isn't that far down the road, Mayor Ed Lee said.

"The world's changing so fast in this arena," he said. "It's kind of exciting to see how (the students) - as recipients of decisions we're making now - can benefit when they're looking for their first jobs."
It was just one rat, but that was enough to ground an Alaskan Airlines flight out of Oakland on Tuesday.

Flight 915 from Oakland International Airport to Portland was boarding at 8:30 a.m. when the rat was seen hopping into the aircraft, airline officials said. The flight, which was scheduled to depart at 9:15 a.m., was canceled and all passengers on board were deplaned.
(08-21) 10:41 PDT REDWOOD CITY -- Three Redwood City schools are getting a $1.06 million check from Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook-fueled infusion of $120 million into Bay Area classrooms, one of the first districts to see part of the education mega-pledge.

Hoover and Taft elementary schools will get most of the million to upgrade technology, including money to buy iPads and Chromebooks, provide training to teachers on how to incorporate them into lesson plans and to give parents support so they can help their kids use them.
In 2017 San Francisco lost its mayor, gained a skyscraper, welcomed immigrants, turned away pumas and became a battleground of political ideologies. San Franciscans protested and rallied, talked and tweeted. They also read.

What can be said of a city based on the books it read in a year such as this?

SFGATE asked the San Francisco Public Library (SFPL) for a list of the most checked-out books in 2017.

San Franciscans  at least those with library cards  cared about 2017 talkers like civil rights and immigration. They also brushed up on Bay Area history, though they turned to Japan for tidying techniques. The 29th books of two crime novelists made the top 10 of most-read adult books, as did the debut novel of a Vietnamese immigrant and the tale of a young Nazi. Notably, authors of color dominate the ranking.

See the full ranking in the above slideshow.

It wasn't just paperbound books that were lent and returned. SFPL also crunched the numbers on e-books, audiobooks and a new addition to its hallowed literary halls  vinyl. "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doer was the top fiction e-book and Colson Whitehead's "The Underground Railroad" was the most popular fiction audiobook.

And, in confirmation of the many tastes of this diverse city, Fleetwood Mac's classic "Rumours" album proved most popular in the records rental department. Also on the list? Hits by David Bowie, Joy Division and Drake.

Michelle Robertson is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at mrobertson@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @mrobertsonsf.
The fight against Shisha use in the country is proving to be quite a challenge with club and hotel owners devising new ways of evading arrest.

Head of Nairobi Tobacco Control Unit Anthony Muthemba noted that the use and sale of shisha has persisted in city social joints despite a ban by the government in December last year.

He, however, said most joints have complied but there are others who have relocated Shisha smoking points to kitchens to protect their customers and ensure they are not noticed.

A sting operation in different places in Langata, Nairobi West, Eastleigh, and others, led to the arrest of 14 people. They included club and hotel owners and patrons who were found smoking the outlawed tobacco product.

Muthemba warned that the crackdown is ongoing to net defiant owners and their customers.

The clubs know their clients and are allocating them space in kitchens to smoke shisha. We will catch up with them, Muthemba said.

The suspects appeared before City Magistrates court on Monday and Tuesday, with most denying the charges.

Principal Magistrate MW Njagi handed Sh 5, 000 fines to those that pleaded guilty and alternative three months imprisonment.
Qualcomms board rejected a higher acquisition offer from San Joses Broadcom, spurning the largest technology takeover bid in history and likely leaving the future of the hostile $121 billion deal to be decided by shareholders next month.

The offer materially undervalues Qualcomm and falls well short of the firm regulatory commitment needed to gain approval of such a deal, the San Diego company said Thursday. This week Broadcom raised its proposed price to $82 a share, a bid it called best and final. The deal would take the form of $60 in cash and the remainder in Broadcom shares, a bump of 17 percent from its opening offer in November of $70 a share, which Qualcomm also rejected.

Qualcomm said it has offered to meet with Broadcom to see if it can address the serious deficiencies in value and certainty in its proposal.

Despite the offer of discussions, Qualcomms second dismissal of Broadcoms approach may put the decision in the hands of shareholders, who will vote March 6 on whether to replace the smartphone-chip-makers board with Broadcoms own nominees. The vote will represent a choice between Broadcoms strategy, under CEO Hock Tan, of acquiring companies and focusing on boosting profits, or Qualcomm managements promise of future growth fueled by investment in new products and technology.

Courts

Big setback

for drivers

In a significant court decision on the status of so-called gig-economy workers, a federal judge ruled drivers for GrubHub are independent contractors and not employees.

The ruling may have far-reaching implications for other sharing economy companies, including Uber, whose business models are built on pairing customers with products and services through apps and typically avoid the costs of traditional employment.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley in San Francisco concluded Thursday, in a first-of-its-kind ruling, that a gig-economy driver doesnt qualify for the the protections of employees under California law.

Under California law whether an individual performing services for another is an employee or an independent contractor is an all-or-nothing proposition, she wrote. With the advent of the gig economy, and the creation of a low wage workforce performing low skill but highly flexible episodic jobs, the Legislature may want to address this stark dichotomy.

Retail

Optimism

for stores

The nations largest trade group says retail sales will increase 3.8 to 4.4 percent this year.

The National Retail Federation said Thursday sales will be helped by an improving economy as well as the major tax reform, which means tax cuts for workers and retailers. Its already translating into higher wages and bonuses for workers and should encourage shoppers to spend more.

Retail sales grew 3.9 percent in 2017 over 2016 to $3.53 trillion, according to the U.S. Census Bureaus preliminary estimate for the year. The number is subject to revision but exceeded the groups forecast for growth between 3.2 and 3.8 percent.

Ride services

Uber app has

brief outage

If you couldnt get an Uber ride early Thursday afternoon, you werent alone.

In a tweet at 12:28 p.m., the San Francisco company confirmed that its ride-hailing app was down. About 40 minutes later, it said that the app was back online. Uber did not respond to a request for further comment.

Earnings

Nvidia

Nvidia Corp. said demand for graphics chips from its main video gaming market, cryptocurrency miners and data-center owners propelled sales higher than projected in the current quarter.

Revenue in the fiscal first quarter will be $2.9 billion, plus or minus 2 percent, the Santa Clara company said Thursday. That would top the average analyst estimate of $2.44 billion.

Net income rose to $1.12 billion, or $1.78 a share, in the quarter ended Jan. 28, from $655 million (99 cents) a year earlier, the company said. Sales jumped 34 percent to $2.91 billion. Analysts on average had projected profit of $1.16 a share on sales of $2.68 billion.

The stock rose more than 11 percent in extended trading after the announcement.

Chronicle News Services
SANTIAGO, Chile  They killed Tony the Tiger. They did away with Cheetos Chester Cheetah. They banned Kinder Surprise, the chocolate eggs with a hidden toy.

The Chilean government, facing skyrocketing rates of obesity, is waging war on unhealthy foods with a phalanx of marketing restrictions, mandatory packaging redesigns and labeling rules aimed at transforming the eating habits of 18 million people.

Nutrition experts say the measures are the worlds most ambitious attempt to remake a countrys food culture and could be a model for how to turn the tide on a global obesity epidemic that researchers say contributes to 4 million premature deaths a year.

Since the food law was enacted two years ago, it has forced multinational behemoths like Kellogg to remove iconic cartoon characters from sugary cereal boxes and banned the sale of candy like Kinder Surprise that use trinkets to lure young consumers. The law prohibits the sale of junk food like ice cream, chocolate and potato chips in Chilean schools and proscribes such products from being advertised during television programs or on websites aimed at young audiences.

Still craving Coca-Cola? In Chile, beverages high in sugar include an 18 percent tax, which is among the steepest soda taxes in the world.

The linchpin of the initiative is a labeling system that requires packaged food companies to prominently display black warning logos in the shape of a stop sign on items high in sugar, salt, calories or saturated fat.

The food industry calls the rules government overreach. Felipe Lira, the director of Chilealimentos, an industry association, said that the new nutrition labels were confusing and invasive and that the marketing restrictions were based on a scientifically flawed correlation between the promotion of unhealthy foods and weight gain. We believe that the best way to approach the problem of obesity is through consumer education that changes peoples habits, he said in an email.

PepsiCo, the maker of Cheetos, and Kellogg, producer of Frosted Flakes, have gone to court, arguing that the regulations infringe on their intellectual property. The case is pending.

Maria Jose Echeverria, a spokeswoman for PepsiCo, said the company was fully compliant with the law, and had no interest in overturning it, but was only trying to protect its ability to use a locally registered trademark.

Kellogg declined to comment.

Three-quarters of adults are overweight or obese, according to the countrys health ministry. Officials have been particularly alarmed by childhood obesity rates that are among the worlds highest, with more than half of 6-year-old children overweight or obese.

In 2016, the medical costs of obesity reached $800 million, or 2.4 percent of all health care spending, a figure that analysts say will reach nearly 4 percent in 2030.

Such sobering statistics helped rally a coalition of elected officials, scientists and public health advocates who overcame fierce opposition from food companies and their allies in government.

It was a hard-fought guerrilla war, said Sen. Guido Girardi, vice president of the Chilean Senate and a doctor who first proposed the regulations in 2007. People have a right to know what these food companies are putting in this trash, and with this legislation, I think Chile has made a huge contribution to humanity.

In Chile, corporate interests delayed passage of the law for almost a decade.

But the industry rarely faces opponents like Girardi. A trained surgeon with a flair for the theatrical, he is a key figure in the governing coalition of President Michelle Bachelet. During the long fight over the food law, Girardi, 56, publicly assailed big food companies as 21st century pedophiles and, before Bachelet took office, spent weeks protesting outside the presidential palace with placards that accused her predecessor, Sebastian Pinera, of destroying the nations health by vetoing an earlier version of the legislation.

Sugar kills more people than terrorism and car accidents combined, he said in an interview as he shook a box of Trix cereal for effect. Its the poison of our time.

There were other factors that made the legislation possible, including a legislature determined to address the rising economic costs of obesity and support from Bachelet, a socialist who also happens to be trained as a pediatrician.

In the end, industry pressure succeeded in easing some measures in the original legislation, including loosening the advertising restrictions and quashing a proposed ban on junk food sales near schools.

Obesity rates in Chile have yet to fall, and experts say it could take years to significantly modify the way people eat. But by focusing on the packaging and advertising of unhealthy foods that appeal to children, the Chilean government is hoping to reprogram the next generation of consumers.

You have to change the entire food system and you cant do that overnight, said Dr. Cecilia Castillo Lancellotti, former head of nutrition at the countrys Health Ministry and an early proponent of the legislation.

The new regulations, however, have prompted an unexpected payoff: Food companies have been voluntarily modifying their products to avoid the dreaded black logos.

The job of implementing the rules falls to a group of technical advisers who gather weekly at the Ministry of Health and provide guidance on whether a snack company should remove the dancing cat logo from cookie packages or whether an adults voice should replace the small, childlike one hawking corn chips on a radio spot.

Dr. Jaime Burrows Oyarzun, the vice minister of public health, is confident the government will prevail in court. As chief arbiter of the new regulations, he often bears the brunt of industry ire. After the banning of Kinder Surprise, a company executive from Italy and the Italian ambassador to Chile accused him of waging food terrorism during a visit to his office, he recalled in an interview.

Some nutrition advocates wonder how long the law will survive in its current form. Pinera, the former president who was recently elected to the office again and will succeed Bachelet in March, is a conservative businessman who vetoed the food bill in 2011. Instead, his administration backed a nutrition initiative, financed by multinational food companies, that emphasized healthy recipes, exercise and moderation when it comes to junk food.

A spokesman for Pinera said he would likely take a second look at the law and explore ways to improve it after he takes office.

Andrew Jacobs is a New York Times writer.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau brought what some call his maple charm offensive to San Francisco on Thursday with a dual agenda: pitch Canada as a destination for American tech firms amid increasing unease over U.S. immigration policy and remind California of its long trade relationship with the country, despite President Trumps threat to bow out of NAFTA.

The heated debate over immigration since Trumps election has provided a clear opening for Canada to pitch itself to Silicon Valley. As American employers worry about access to foreign workers, Canada is offering a two-week fast-track employment permit for certain workers, dubbed the global skills strategy visa.

Government-sponsored billboards in Silicon Valley pitch: H1-B Problems? Pivot to Canada. Recruiters from cities in Canada attend Canadian university alumni events in the valley, urging graduates to come home to your next career move in the Great White North.

There are also hundreds, maybe thousands  no one can say for sure  of Canadians in the tech industry in Northern California, many of them on visas made possible through the 24-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement.

Trump called NAFTA a job-killing disaster on the campaign trail and has threatened to withdraw from it if he cant get what he wants.

Without the NAFTA, those (jobs) go away. That could cause immediate disruption for the tech community on both sides of the border, said Daniel Ujczo, an international trade lawyer based from Columbus, Ohio, who has been part of the NAFTA talks, now in their sixth round.

Its unfortunately not an area that is up for discussion. Canada and Mexico keep raising worker mobility issues, but the U.S. wont discuss it, he said.

Trudeau met Thursday with key CEOs: eBays Devin Wenig, Salesforces Marc Benioff and Amazons Jeff Bezos. San Franciscos Salesforce, which provides online software for business, announced Thursday it will invest another $2 billion in its Canadian operations. Trudeaus meeting with Bezos comes just weeks after Toronto, which has created a government-sponsored innovation hub for tech companies, was among the cities that made the short list for Amazons second headquarters.

The Bay Area has become increasingly important to the Canadian government, said Rana Sarkar, the consul general of Canada in San Francisco. He said it fits with the innovation strategy the Trudeau government has promoted since its election in 2015.

Its the global epicenter for many of these revolutions. We need to be here both offensively to ensure that were telling our story. ... And were also here defensively to ensure that were here at the table when the decisions about the next economy are made, Sarkar said.

Trudeaus stop in San Francisco also highlighted the already strong ties between Canada and California, particularly in research, academia and technology. While much of the attention on the trade pact has focused on physical commodities such as vehicle manufacturing, dairy and timber, skilled workers have also become increasingly mobile between the three countries.

Google built its latest DeepMind artificial intelligence facility at the University of Alberta in Edmonton after several of its graduates came to work on the project.

There is this coda of strong infrastructure, openness, a real commitment to diversity, all of the funding and infrastructure requirements that are required for companies to succeed, in Canada, Sarkar said.

Still, the next round of NAFTA talks in Mexico this month loom over Trudeaus visit.

The lengthy talks have increased the political pressure and the rhetoric in Canada, where the stakes over NAFTA are high.

Canada has over the recent weeks become more aggressive with the United States, Ujczo said. Trudeau said, Were not going to take any old NAFTA deal, so it better be good. ... Its good politics in Canada to take on Trump.

Trudeau will meet with Gov. Jerry Brown and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, both Democrats, on Friday before he travels to Southern California to deliver a speech at the Reagan Library.

The location is a symbolic choice, referring to the long-standing trade relationship between the U.S. and Canada. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan and Prime Minister Brian Mulroney signed the first free trade agreement  a precursor to NAFTA  and enjoyed a warm relationship.

Juliet Williams is an Associated Press writer.
Lufthansa rolled out a new blue and white look this week which at first appeared to remove the well-known yellow tone from its corporate palette. But once social media got ahold of a few leaked photos, the yellow came back...sort of.

In a press release, Lufthansa doused a pro-yellow firestorm stating, "The response to the new appearance was predominantly positive, although some people missed the traditional yellow tone; nevertheless, it will receive a specific function to serve as a means of orientation and differentiation. The color will be found in the future on every boarding pass and at every Lufthansa counter at the airport, among other things." It will also remain as an accent on flight attendant uniforms.
An inmate who died at a Contra Costa County jail was identified Thursday as a San Pablo resident.

David Hubbard, 46, had been booked into Martinez Detention Facility on suspicion of stalking, assault with a deadly weapon, domestic violence and possession of child pornography, according to sheriffs officials.

He was being held on $1,650,000 bail at the jail when he died Wednesday.

Hubbard was found unresponsive by deputies during lunch at 10:37 a.m., according to a statement form the Contra Costa County Sheriffs Office. Medical staff and first responders tried to revive him, but he later died.

The sheriffs office and the district attorneys office is investigating Hubbards death. An autopsy was performed Thursday. Sheriffs officials said the cause of death was pending results of a toxicology test.

Jenna Lyons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JennaJourno
A man was shot and killed Thursday night in Oakland, police said.

Oakland police responded to reports at 8:11 p.m. of a shots fired and a gunshot victim near 1468 74th Avenue.

After arriving on scene, officers provided medical aid to the victim, as did the Oakland Fire Department. Police reported that the man succumbed to his injuries.

ALSO: Santa Rosa couple accused of dealing meth with 3 kids in the house

Officers arrested a suspect and declined to provide his name. An investigation into the shooting remains ongoing.

Sophie Haigney is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sophie.haigney@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SophieHaigney
Nearly a decade after 25-year-old Kirsten Brydum of San Francisco was fatally shot in the head during a trip to New Orleans, her death has been tied to the activity of a possible serial killer, Louisiana prosecutors said Thursday.

The man, 48-year-old Joseph Brant, faces a mandatory life sentence in the 2008 stabbing death of Jessica Hawk and recently confessed to three other New Orleans killings, one of them Brydum's, according to Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro.

The other victims were a still-unidentified woman killed in 2007 and a woman named Jody Johnson, who was killed in January 2008. The bodies of Johnson and the unidentified women were burned, authorities said.

Brydum was described by friends as a passionate community activist, devoted to solving problems large and small. She helped create an exchange called the Really, Really Free Market in Dolores Park.

"People bring their rummage to the park on the last Saturday of the month and give it away," The Chronicle noted after her death. "Nobody gets any money and everyone walks away a little richer. That was how she liked it."

READ MORE S.F. activist slain in New Orleans robbery

Brydum left San Francisco with an Amtrak pass in her pocket, in pursuit of what she called "collective autonomy," friends told The Chronicle in 2008. She looked through trash in New York, protested outside the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., and talked to housing activists in Philadelphia. And eventually, she boarded a fateful train to New Orleans.

Two days before her body was found in the city's Ninth Ward, she posted on her blog of her arrival in New Orleans: "The sun is setting on the bayou-licked lands and I am truly fortunate."

She was robbed of a bag and the bike she'd been riding, so police labelled the death a robbery.

Brant was serving his sentence for an unrelated burglary charge in Huntsville, Texas, when he confessed, Cannizzaro said. Since his confession, Brant has been indicted on three counts of first-degree murder.

In exchange for his confession, Brant will be spared the death penalty and will be allowed to serve his sentence in a Louisiana prison, according to prosecutors.

Cannizzaro expressed hope that the life sentences might bring "some degree of closure" to the long-grieving families of the dead women.

The AP contributed to this report.

Filipa Ioannou is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at fioannou@sfchronicle.com and follow her on Twitter
All Dutch Bros locations will celebrate Valentine's Day, Wednesday, Feb. 14, with its annual Dutch Luv campaign. The celebration involves nearly 300 locations across seven states donating $1 from every drink sold that day to a local food bank.

In the Napa Valley, the campaign will support the Community Action of Napa Valley food bank.

On average, a $1 donation allows the food banks to purchase seven pounds of healthful and nutritious food that highly benefits local families and individuals, said a news release.

The Napa Dutch Bros. is at 2815 Jefferson St.
The Bay Area exodus is real and ongoing. The region leads the nation for outward migration, a new study has found.

From October to December, more people moved from the Bay Area than into the region, real estate site Redfin found in its quarterly migration report. The exodus follows a trend of people leaving the region, largely for more affordable inland counties.

The top destination for Bay Area residents looking to leave: Sacramento. About a quarter of Redfin users in the Bay Area hoping to move searched for Sacramento, the site said, followed by Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland and San Diego.

San Francisco's median home price is $910,060, according to Zillow, which in Sacramento, it is $314,300. The migration figures seem to reflect the differences in cost of living: Net domestic migration  the number of people who moved in, minus the number who left  into Sacramento last year was a whopping 1,466, the California Department of Finance found. By comparison, San Francisco had a 2017 net domestic migration of -2,332. Five years earlier, that number was 2,635.

Story continues below.

"Job growth has slowed, and that leads to a lessening in demand to live in the Bay Area," Hans Johnson, a senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California, told The Chronicle in March.

"Jobs and housing are really the primary criteria driving people's decisions," he said. "It's kind of a balancing act between the two. If jobs predominate, people are moving in. If housing predominates, you have less people moving in."

Coastal exodus is a consistent trend throughout the country, said Redfin chief economist Nela Richardson in a statement, though last year yielded a slight twist.

"Many of the popular migration paths that we saw Redfin.com users exploring yielded tax benefits along with increased affordability," she said. The economist expects this trend to continue into 2018 in response to recently proposed congressional tax reforms that limit homeowners' combined deduction for property taxes along with state and local taxes.

Methodology here.

Michelle Robertson is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at mrobertson@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @mrobertsonsf.




San Francisco is a strange place, with customs and characteristics obtuse to those who live outside the peninsula. Our unique modus operandi is accompanied by a set of etiquette rules one will not find in the likes of Emily Post and Miss Manners.

Proper dinner attire is irrelevant here  a hoodie flies at most every establishment. How to write a letter? We send Slack messages.

"Respect and consideration have been thrown out the window in the last 20 years," San Francisco-based etiquette expert Lisa Grotts told SFGATE.

Don't be mistaken, this is hardly the Wild Wild West. Conventions abound. Shaming friends for gluten cravings is uncouth, divulging the details of your juice cleanse egregious. Ordering a latte with your AirPods in? Forget about it. And don't even think about bragging about vaping at the lunch counter.

More for you Why dating in San Francisco is a total nightmare

SFGATE compiled some of the unspoken etiquette rules of San Francisco (see gallery). Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comment section.

Grotts has been teaching etiquette  the code of behavior in a polite society  in the Bay Area for two decades, and in that time, she says she's seen a sharp decline in general displays of manners.

Though she admits she's no sociologist, Grotts sees a correlation between the drop in courteousness and technology.

"I think the internet is the greatest thing on earth," she said, "but it makes us somewhat lazy."

"We all walk with our heads down. We don't make eye contact. Even social niceties I don't hear as often," she said. "I think it's all connected to [tech]."

Grotts acknowledges San Francisco and the national culture are changing at a pace humans can't necessarily match, but she says etiquette rules tend to adapt to time and place.

READ ALSO: Dear Abby's weekly advice column

Ultimately, she says, etiquette is "more about behavior than anything else."

"It's how we treat others that matters most."

Michelle Robertson is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at mrobertson@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @mrobertsonsf.
19192018

Brother Conrad J. Kearney, (Brother Conrad of Jesus) F.S.C. died peacefully at the age of 98 on Monday, February 5, 2018 at Mont La Salles Holy Family Community after a lengthy illness. Brother Conrad was born in New York City in 1919, where he attended Saint Bernards Grammar School. He entered the Juniorate of Brothers of the Christian Schools at Barrytown, New York and received the Religious Habit in 1936. His tour of duty included LaSalle Academy, New York City, Christian Brothers Academy, Albany, New York, Bishop Armstrong High School, Sacramento, Garces Memorial High School, Bakersfield, and of course, his beloved Justin-Siena High School, Napa. His total dedication to the Brothers and to education showed that he was very much loved, honored, and respected.

Brother Conrad was preceded in death by his beloved parents, William and Caroline, his sister, Helen, and his brothers, Daniel and Edward. He is survived by his sisters-in-law: Mary of Commack, New York; and Camille of Silver Spring, Maryland. He is also survived by numerous nephews, nieces, grandnephews and grandnieces.

The viewing will occur on Monday, February 12, 2018 at 10:15 AM in the Rotunda of the Main Chapel at Mont LaSalle, followed by the Funeral Liturgy at 11:00 AM in the Main Chapel. This will be immediately followed by interment in the Brothers Cemetery.
San Franciscans just love to see themselves as openminded.

We turn out in huge numbers for the Pride Parade and openly discuss gender pay gaps in our workplaces.

We vote almost unanimously for liberal candidates in national elections, and we're all wowed by Warriors star Steph Cury.

Hand-in-hand we eschew the name Frisco and wring our hands at the crowded freeways and BART cars.

But just below the surface, there are things we just can't stop arguing about.

Here at SFGATE we see the debates happen in real time. Our comments section fills up with vitriol about how bikers and cars can share the roads. A civil discussion about burrito construction on our Facebook page can turn downright nasty.

A few weeks ago we sat down and tried to name off some of the subjects that are sure to put even the most accepting San Franciscans at odds with a neighbor. Please take a look. We assume you'll tell us what we forgot in the comments below. Also, please weigh in on the debates we present.
What would happen if a major earthquake hit one of the Bay Area's main fault lines? Researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory used new technology to simulate a 7.0-magnitude quake on the northern section of the Hayward Fault.

They created the video above, which shows a map of the Bay Area rotated on its side.

In the simulation, the earthquake starts at the very northern section of the fault near Richmond and ends near Hayward. A 7.0 earthquake would be felt across the entire Bay Area, with the video showing the ripples of shaking spreading to the South Bay within about 15 seconds.

The map is color-coded to show how strong the shaking would be in different areas. Blue means the earthquake would be felt, but not cause significant damage. A reddish-orange color indicates a ground velocity of one meter per second, which researchers say would damage buildings.

What sets this simulation apart from previous ones is that it factors in three-dimensional geological structure and topography, according to the laboratory. The structure of the ground can affect the intensity of the shaking.

"For residents of the East Bay, the simulations specifically show stronger ground motions on the eastern side of the fault (Orinda, Moraga) compared to the western side (Berkeley, Oakland)," reads a summary of the study.

Ground composition can also affect the duration of the shaking.

"For example, low seismic wave speeds of softer sedimentary rocks amplify shaking, compared to harder rocks. That means that sedimentary basins like the San Pablo Bay, San Leandro Basin, Santa Clara Valley, Dublin-Pleasanton-Livermore Valley, and the Delta experience longer durations of shaking because their geologic structure can trap seismic waves," explains the video.

The study predicts that even if an earthquake of such a magnitude was 10 seconds long, it would be felt for 90 seconds around the Bay Area.

This simulation was done on a supercomputer at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where it "ran on over 86,000 processors for 18 hours," according to the video. It shows what would happen if a major earthquake hit just the northern part of the Hayward fault, but researchers say they plan to simulate similar scenarios in other areas.

The last quake of a similar size (between 6.8 and 7.0) on the Hayward fault was in 1868.

The study cites the U.S. Geological Survey in estimating there is a one in three chance a 6.7-magnitude earthquake or greater will shake the Hayward fault in the next 30 years.

Read Alix Martichoux's latest stories and send her news tips at amartichoux@sfchronicle.com.
A slate of best picture nominees is like a Rorschach inkblot  we look at it and can see the era. But then, its no surprise that Oscar-nominated movies in particular should be so revealing. These are the films that people thought were important, that contained stories, fantasies and ideas that people believed to be the absolute best. When a movie connects in that way, it means something.

The year 2017 was no exception to this phenomenon. In fact, 2017 revealed itself through film more than most years.

Yet discerning those meanings can be difficult from inside the actual moment. For example, if I look at the 1998 best picture candidates  Shakespeare in Love, Elizabeth, The Thin Red Line, Life is Beautiful, and Saving Private Ryan  they look to me like missives from a world without a care. At the time it didnt feel that way, but the movies knew better: Two movies set in Elizabethan England and three films set in World War II. Its as if things were so easy that movies had to import their turmoil from other time periods.

Much more interesting is the slate from 1967, for the Oscar ceremony that took place 50 years ago. There it is, America encapsulated. You have tradition represented, rather shakily, by Dr. Dolittle. You have artistic innovation and youth rebellion embodied by  Bonnie and Clyde . You have discontent with the American dream, caustic humor and the sexual revolution expressed by The Graduate. And you have two movies about race relations, each starring Sidney Poitier, but coming at the issue from different angles  the social comedy-drama Guess Whos Coming to Dinner and the crime drama In the Heat of the Night.

These films not only tell you what people were talking about, but how they were thinking. Bonnie and Clyde ends in slaughter, but the actors, Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty, are so beautiful and Arthur Penns filmmaking so exuberant that theres a lingering sense of ultimate victory. The ending of The Graduate is almost identical to that of Bonnie and Clyde, but in a dark comic way: After a moment of supreme self-expression, our hero is about to get subdued and swallowed up by the world. The idea is that American society may allow a brief moment of glorious rebellion, but theres no chance of actually defeating the forces of conformity.

Meanwhile, the two race relations films end on entirely optimistic notes, with Guess Whos Coming to Dinner presenting an interracial couple as the wave of the future, and In the Heat of the Night showing a formerly racist white police chief (Rod Steiger) and a black detective (Poitier) coming to a place of mutual respect and acceptance.

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This brings us to the current day, to the movies of 2017 being considered for an Oscar. There are nine of them   Call Me by Your Name ,  Darkest Hour ,  Dunkirk ,  Get Out ,  Lady Bird ,  Phantom Thread ,  The Post ,  The Shape of Water , and  Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri . Collectively, they paint a picture of our own era as one of anger and anxiety, with a few scattered glimpses of hope.

The World War II movies: Its curious that both Darkest Hour and Dunkirk present precisely the same period of the wars history, a period without military victory. Darkest Hour is about Winston Churchill (Gary Oldman) readying himself, his government and the British people for the fight of their lives, and Dunkirk, directed by Christopher Nolan, is the story of an evacuation, a defeat that yet allowed the British to fight another day.

These films connect with the modern audience because they depict resolve in the face of seeming hopelessness. As each film begins, all the real power is in the hands of evil men, and by the end of each film nothing has changed, except that the forces of good have found the will to fight. Neither of these historically grounded pep talks would be as effective if viewers didnt feel their own hopelessness as a present condition, and not as a historical memory.

Jack English/Associated Press

The political film: Steven Spielbergs The Post is the only film made as a direct response to Donald Trump. The story of the Washington Posts publication of the Pentagon Papers, the movie celebrates journalism and its fight against pernicious power. Like the war films, its another pep talk for people feeling hopeless, but its so on the nose that it might actually be less effective.

The sex movie: Call Me by Your Name celebrates the power of sexuality, with its story of a summer affair between a 17-year-old boy (Timothee Chalamet) and a man who is supposed to be 24, though hes played by Armie Hammer, who looks to be over 30. Twenty years ago, you could have made this movie about a heterosexual relationship. But today, a movie about a 17-year-old girls relationship with a somewhat older man would be considered criminal, and a movie about a 17-year-old boys relationship with a somewhat older woman would be greeted with skepticism or hostility.

So Call Me by Your Name is a missive from the land of Eros, but the only missive that our present culture will allow. As such, its a vision of beauty, but one tinged with sadness, because it reminds us that even as our times are becoming more lewd and prurient, they are also becoming more judgmental and puritanical. Thats the worst of both worlds, and we sit right smack in the middle of them, even as we watch and appreciate director Luca Guadagninos vision of an earthly, erotic Eden.

Academy Awards The 90th annual Academy Awards ceremony will take place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, broadcast live on ABC at 5 p.m. March 4. Check out the Sunday Datebook preview Feb. 25 and The Chronicle's live coverage of the award show online at www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment. See More Collapse

The film about race: Get Out harks back to the situation depicted in Guess Whos Coming to Dinner, with its story of a white woman bringing home her black boyfriend to meet her white liberal parents. But the movie is informed by modern history, by the murders that have led to the Black Lives Matter movement and by the resurgence of white supremacist hate groups. So its a film propelled by anger, and anger in art can get you far  but not that far.

In essence, the movie turns Guess Whos Coming to Dinner into a horror movie. But heres the thing: Even before the parents are revealed as monsters, theyre presented as objectionable simply for being white liberals who say gauche things, like assuring their guest that they would have voted for a third Obama term. The film is so entertaining and so clearly driven by sadness at the current state of affairs that it seems unkind to mention it, but it presents a despairing and ungenerous vision. It ends with a woman being shot to death in the street and offers that as an on-balance happy ending. It isnt.

Two films from Jupiter: All great films are personal  you can argue that The Graduate is as much about writer Buck Henry and director Mike Nichols experience of Freudian analysis as it is about the world of 1967. But some movies are so personal, so divorced from the popular currents of the day, that they stand like little islands of articulated individuality. You could describe Richard Linklaters Boyhood and his Before trilogy in this way, and this year, Phantom Thread and Lady Bird fall into this category. In a less fraught era, there would be more movies like this. We can look forward to such a time.

The main contenders: Two films dominate the Oscar race for best picture. Guillermo del Toros The Shape of Water is a highly unconscious work, supposedly a touching fable about the victory of love and gentleness. In fact, its about the crushing of those things at the hands of a brutally stupid government, with a tagged-on happy ending that is no more convincing than the ending to del Toros equally dark Pans Labyrinth. Its a strange combination  practically radioactive with terror and obsessed with its villain (Michael Shannon) and yet pretending that everything is all right. Perhaps it deserves the Oscar for the way it encapsulates our psychological moment.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri reflects modern times in a more realistic context. Its set in a run-down, depressed working - class town, and tells the story of a woman (Frances McDormand) whose daughter was murdered. Shes enraged. In addition, theres a stupid racist cop (Sam Rockwell) whos enraged, too, and he doesnt know why. But ultimately, the movie is about finding the way back  back from grief, back from despair, back from rage, back from racism, back from reflexive stupidity.

Id like to see Three Billboards win, because Id like to believe that its right, that there is a way back. If it wins, it would be, in a way, a repeat of the results of 50 years ago. For 1967, Oscar voters ultimately awarded best picture to In the Heat of the Night, not because it was better than the other nominees, but because it offered hope.

Its a rare happy irony of this bitter season: This time, a hopeful film might also be the best.

Mick LaSalle is The San Francisco Chronicles movie critic. Email: mlasalle@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @MickLaSalle
1 Girl killed: A former Virginia Tech student pleaded no contest Friday in the 2016 killing of a 13-year-old girl. David Eisenhauer, 20, entered his plea to all three charges against him in the stabbing death of Nicole Lovell: first-degree murder, abduction and concealing a body. The plea came on the fourth day of testimony in his trial in Christiansburg. Prosecutors told jurors Eisenhauer, then 18, killed Lovell, a 7th-grader from Blacksburg, because he was afraid she would expose his improper relationship with the underage girl. A plea of no contest means a defendant acknowledges theres enough evidence to convict him, but doesnt admit he committed the crime. The plea has the same effect as a guilty plea. Eisenhauer faces up to life, plus 15 years, at sentencing, which is scheduled for May 22 and May 23. Pettitt told jurors that Nicole and Eisenhauer had been communicating through social media for months and had met at least once in person before Nicole climbed out her bedroom window for a secret date with him just after midnight on Jan. 27, 2016.

2 Rape sentencing: An Ohio man who authorities said impregnated 14-year-old twins and their 12-year-old sister while living in their home has been sentenced to 27 years in prison on rape and sexual battery charges. Assistant Mahoning County Prosecutor Jennifer McLaughlin said before sentencing Thursday in a Youngstown court that Arnold Perry, 34, abused the trust of the girls family after their mother allowed him to move in when he had nowhere to live. The girls were impregnated in 2015 and 2016. McLaughlin said one of the twins had an abortion while her sisters had babies because their pregnancies were discovered too late to end them.
1 Prayer breakfast: President Trump told a prayer breakfast Thursday that faith is central to American life and liberty. In remarks to the annual gathering of lawmakers, religious leaders and dignitaries, Trump noted that Americas founders invoked our creator in the Declaration of Independence, U.S. currency declares In God We Trust and we place our hands on our hearts as we recite the Pledge of Allegiance and proclaim we are one nation under God. Trump enjoys strong support from evangelical Christians, who helped power him to the White House. Christians have cheered Trump during his first year in office as he appointed conservative judges, sought to weaken rules governing political activity by certain religious groups that receive tax exemptions and declared Jerusalem the capital of Israel.

2 Church stabbing: One man has died after he and three others were stabbed during a church service at a private home in Texas, Corpus Christi police said Thursday. As many as 20 people were in the home Wednesday night when an apparent member of the congregation pulled a knife and stabbed four men. Frank Castillo, 61, later died of his injuries, while the churchs 54-year-old pastor was hospitalized in serious condition. The suspect, 28-year-old Marco Antonio Moreno, immediately surrendered to congregants after the stabbing and is in custody.
COLUMBUS, Ohio  A Democratic group backed by former President Barack Obama plans to invest millions of dollars in state-level elections in 11 states this year, with its heaviest focus on Ohio.

The National Democratic Redistricting Committee, led by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, said this years election cycle is critical to affecting the congressional redistricting process. It is the first cycle whose winners will participate in drawing congressional maps for the decade starting in 2021.
SEATTLE  More than five years after Washington state legalized marijuana, Seattle officials said Thursday theyre moving to automatically clear past misdemeanor convictions for pot possession  a step similarly announced by San Francisco last week.

For thousands of people in Washington state, a misdemeanor marijuana conviction had huge implications: It could be a barrier to housing, to getting credit, to getting good jobs and education, Mayor Jenny Durkan told a news conference. It is a necessary step to right the wrongs of what was a failed war on drugs.
Join us Sunday for services at 9 or 10 a.m. Childrens Ministry programs available during the 10 a.m. service. Wee Care and Kids Crossing K-2 and Kids Crossing 3-5. Pastor Pete teaching continues on The Heart of Christianity, Rediscovering a Life of Faith. We also invite you to join sessions on Wednesdays at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. We welcome you to join us and hope to help you connect with God more deeply through the movements of the service and to stretch your thinking about life and faith so that you might enjoy more from both. 2590 First St. 226-181, CrossWalkNapa.org.
If you love the historic water-powered Bale Grist Mill and youd like to share its history with the public, the Napa Valley State Parks Association is recruiting two or more paid millers.

The recruitment orientation will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, March 3 at the Bale Grist Mill State Park, 3369 St. Helena Hwy., between St. Helena and Calistoga.

If you are interested in attending the orientation or have questions about the position, email Sandy Jones at spjones.223@gmail.com or call the mill on the weekends, 963-2236.

Jones explains what it takes to be a miller: It entails the desire to share our history and keep it growing by learning and understanding the mechanics of a water-powered mill. Youll learn the history, work the mill and share both with the public on weekends.

Additionally, successful millers will be able to lift 50 pounds, have basic mechanical skills, a real interest in interpreting history to the public and a cheerful willingness to help keep the work area and mill clean and functioning.
A 43-year-old American Canyon man accused of molesting two female relatives under the age of 14 was convicted of 38 counts of child sexual abuse in Napa County Superior Court on Thursday.

Following a week-and-a-half-long trial, a jury found Miguel Segura Roman guilty of three counts of sex with a child 10 or younger, three counts of sexual penetration of a child 10 or younger, and 32 counts of lewd and lascivious conduct with a child under age 14.

The jury also found several special allegations to be true, including allegations that Roman personally inflicted great bodily injury on a child under 14 years of age, committed specified crimes against more than one victim, and that the defendant engaged in substantial sexual conduct with a child.

We are so grateful to the jury for helping the victims, and our community achieve justice, Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley said Thursday in a press release. This case was unlike any other.

The bravery of these victims will never cease to amaze and inspire us, she said. This verdict will ensure that the defendant will never be able to harm them or any other child ever again.
Police and other public employees have privacy rights and cant be fired for having an extramarital affair with a co-worker, a federal appeals court ruled Friday.

Reinstating a damage suit by a former policewoman in the Placer County community of Roseville, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said supervisors could not punish her for off-duty sexual conduct unless it affected her work.

We have long recognized that officers and employees of a police department enjoy a right of privacy in private, off-duty sexual behavior, Judge Stephen Reinhardt said in the 3-0 ruling, citing similar cases in 1983 and 1986. This right protects public employees from adverse employment actions based in part on their private sexual activities.

Reinhardt also cited the Supreme Courts 2003 ruling that struck down state criminal laws against gay sex. That case, he said, makes clear that the state may not stigmatize private sexual conduct simply because the majority has traditionally viewed a particular practice, such as extramarital sex, as immoral, he said.

But he acknowledged that two federal appeals courts, in Denver and New Orleans, have issued rulings since 2003 upholding dismissals of law enforcement officers because of sexual relationships. The conflicting rulings could encourage the Supreme Court to take up the issue if Roseville appeals Fridays ruling.

Lawyers for the city could not be reached for comment.

Richard Fisher, attorney for the fired policewoman, said he was pleased that the court had upheld rights that are daily being eroded by employers and state actors. The ruling, he said, is a corrective to the overweening reach of law enforcement agencies into the private affairs of peace officers.

Fishers client, Janelle Perez, was hired as an officer in January 2012 and began a romantic relationship with another officer, Shad Begley, a few months later, the court said. Both were married but were separated from their spouses.

The Police Department apparently learned of the affair when it received a complaint from Begleys wife in June 2012. After an internal investigation, the department reprimanded both officers for unsatisfactory work performance and conduct unbecoming an officer. Begley, a seven-year veteran, kept his job, but Perez, who was still on probation, was fired in September 2012.

Though Perezs early job evaluations had all been positive, police officials said they received complaints in her final months that she had a bad attitude and was not getting along with female co-workers.

But Reinhardt said those complaints were not investigated and may have been a pretext for the real reason for Perezs dismissal, a factual issue to be addressed if her case goes to trial.

He said two of the departments investigators indicated that their moral disapproval of the affair was one reason they were recommending her firing. While the police chief, Daniel Hahn, signed a declaration saying he had dismissed Perez for other reasons, Reinhardt said, he confirmed under a lawyers questioning that the complaint by Begleys wife and the ensuing investigation was part of it.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter:@BobEgelko
A rat race of sorts is happening in San Francisco, where rodent complaints have surged in the past five years.

Since 2012, San Franciscans have steadily reported more rat sightings to 311, San Francisco's official site for information and complaints. This year, the agency received around 848 calls from January through August and, if the numbers continue at the same rate, it's projected that there will be about 1,272 calls made by the end of 2017.

San Francisco's 311 received 824 rodent calls in 2015, and 1,039 in 2016.

We get complaints for rats all over the city, said Nader Shatara, senior environmental health inspector for the Vector Control Program at the Department of Public Health.

When residents call 311 to report a rat sighting, 311 directs those calls to the Department of Public Health where investigations are opened and can eventually lead to service requests.

RELATED VIDEO: Overrun by Rats: Novato woman blames dumpsters for infestation

Shatara says that the Vector Control Program responds to those complaints by surveying the areas to determine the source attracting rats. But before they do that, they need to identify the rat species  roof or Norway rat.

Roof rats are climbers and usually live above ground, such as in attics, while Norway rats, commonly known as sewer rats, are stockier rodents and burrow underground in building foundations, rubbish or woodpiles. Both are introduced species.

More for you New rat traps may be causing rise in skunk injuries around Bay Area

Regardless of rodent dwelling preference, one of the main culprits that summons each species is excess and uncovered garbage.

If food or garbage is mismanaged, that would attract both types of rats, Shatara said. They could travel about 1,000 feet from their nest to a food source and everyone has the potential to see them, but when it becomes very frequent we try to address that.

The city is in fact addressing these issues. According to the DPH, San Francisco oversees a budget of $200,000 thats used to tackle rodent concerns and abate sewers around the city. Half of that money goes straight to Chinatown alone, while the rest is split up amongst other neighborhoods in SF.

Were there [in Chinatown] pretty much every other week, said Luis Agurto, president and CEO of pest-control firm Pestec. There are some very old brick-lined sewer systems there, so there are more crevices for rats to go in.

Thats not to say that Chinatown has the most rats compared to other neighborhoods, said Lisa OMalley, principal environmental health inspector from the Food and Safety Program.

The initial revenue was determined several years ago, since Chinatown is the most densely populated neighborhood in SF with a large residential and commercial mixed community, OMalley said.

Still, Agurto noted that rodent pressures have historically existed in Chinatown and excess waste in the areas have additionally contributed to rat problems there.

Similarly, SOMA and the Mission corridors have higher populations of people and also produce a lot of waste, which makes those neighborhoods rat hotspots, according to Agurto.

Trash is certainly one factor that attracts rodents, but it's not the only thing.

Construction zones around SF play another role in the number of rats people keep seeing on streets, according to Larry Kessler, manager of the Healthy Home Vector Program.

Theres tunneling projects here, lots of digging and lots of vibrations that disrupt where they live and that spreads where they are, Kessler said.

It can even spread rodents to where youd least want to see them: Agurto says that construction can cause breaks in underground pipes that may lead to residential buildings  and offer rats an awkward entrance into your bathroom.

Sometimes they can come out of toilets, Agurto said. That happened three or four times last year.

Adding to the list of reasons why rats get exposed is the the rainy season, which can cause sewers to flood and push rats onto streets. That doesnt mean the population has grown, however. It just means that they were driven out of their habitats, Shatara said.

Pestec helps abate sewers in Chinatown and other neighborhoods by using lethal rodenticide bait blocks. The bait is placed in manholes through wires; once rats consume them, they die in a matter of days.

Since the ingredients used in the bait can cause secondary poisoning, Agurto says the bait blocks are limited to underground surfaces where rats are less likely to get picked up by other creatures trying to eat them.

Rebecca Dmytryk, owner of Humane Wildlife Control, doesnt think killing rats is the right solution to combat rat woes, and wants people to know they have another choice.

Youre never going to win the war on rats outside if youre trying to do it by lethal means, Dmytryk said. You have to look at them as the symptoms, not the cause.

Humane Wildlife Control addresses the problem by sealing holes in buildings that can create entry points for rodents, and then they set up live catch traps to capture rats. Once rats are caught, they're released right in the backyard. Dmytryk believes people can still protect their property by controlling resources that attract rodents in the first place, like food and shelter.

The houses that have the worst infestations are the ones that have clutter everywhere, inside and out, Dmytryk said. If we kept our city clean, where we didnt provide food and shelter for these animals, we wouldnt see as great a presence.

As the city continues to address rats, Shatara believes San Francisco's rat issue isn't an epidemic, but rather an endemic feature of the area.

Rats are part of the fauna in the city and there is always an occurrence, but when they start to harbor thats when we step in to address them, Shatara said.

If you see a rat in your neighborhood you can report the sighting to 311 by calling or visiting their website or direct your call to the Department of Public Health at (415) 252-3930.
New Technology High School sophomore Tony Gonzalez spoke on air with Public Radio International' "Science Friday" host Ira Flatow last week as part of the Science Friday Book Clubs reading of "Frankenstein."

Chris Bach and Tom Serene, the co-teachers of the World Studies class at New Tech, asked their students to call and record a statement in response to the Book Clubs question: Do you see any parallels between Frankenstein and science today?

Tony called every day for two weeks and got the attention of "'Science Friday" producer Christie Taylor, who then invited Tony on air on Feb. 2 to speak to the show's national audience.

Tony said, I called in to get help at first, but then I wanted to share my work and ideas.

Tony and his fellow World Studies students read "Frankenstein," the 19th century British novel by Mary Shelley about a scientific experiment gone awry, and discussed the ethics of contemporary scientific innovations as part of the "Frankenstein and the Ethics of Progress" project.

Editor's note: The original posting has been corrected to identify the syndicate that distributes "Science Friday."
SAN RAMON (BCN)

Police said they were able to return thousands of dollars in stolen property and arrest two suspects Tuesday in a burglary case thanks to help from a San Ramon resident.

The case began when a citizen called to report a suspicious person with a white truck at The Marketplace at San Ramon shopping center, according to police.

Officers went to the center, stopped the man driving the white truck and also tracked down another person associated with him, police said. As the officers scrutinized vehicles in the parking lot, they saw that two had been broken into and a third vandalized.

The officers arrested two people on suspicion of auto burglary, according to police.

The officers also located the owners of the plundered vehicles and returned thousands of dollars of property, including a laptop, that had been stolen from them, police said.

"We are proud of the work of our officers every day, but this is a great example of hard work combined with the efforts of our community," police officials said on social media.

Also, the case is a reminder not to leave valuables in a vehicle, according to police.
Smoke from agricultural burning will cause elevated levels of small particles in the air in the Bay Area today, with air pollution and hazy skies, air quality officials said.

Northerly winds have moved smoke from agricultural burning in the Sacramento Valley into the Bay Area, according to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.
OAKLAND (BCN)

A former baggage handler has become the 10th person to be sentenced in federal court in Oakland for taking part in a scheme to smuggle marijuana through Oakland International Airport.

Former Southwest Airlines baggage handler Kenneth Fleming, 35, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton on Wednesday to one year and nine months in prison. She ordered him to begin serving his sentence on April 2.

Fleming pleaded guilty before Hamilton in October to three charges: conspiring to distribute marijuana, entering an airport area in violation of security requirements and conspiring to launder money.

U.S. Attorney's Office spokesman Abraham Simmons said that in his plea agreement, Fleming admitted that on four occasions in 2013 and 2014, he used his employee access to security areas of the airport to deliver unscreened baggage containing marijuana to outbound passengers.

The bags he smuggled to the couriers contained a total of 16 kilograms of marijuana, Simmons said.

Fleming also admitted he conspired with others to launder $51,400 in drug trafficking proceeds through his bank account, Simmons said.

Fleming was one of 13 people indicted by a federal grand jury in Oakland in 2015 on charges of participating in a nationwide conspiracy to smuggle marijuana grown in Northern California to at least 10 other states.

The defendants included two other baggage handlers, six courtiers who allegedly carried the suitcases of marijuana onto the planes and four other people accused of aiding in packaging and selling the marijuana.

The nine other defendants sentenced thus far pleaded guilty to distributing marijuana or entering a secured airport area or both. They received prison terms ranging from six months to two years and three months.

One of the remaining defendants, former Southwest Airlines baggage handler Keith Mayfield, 37, of Oakland, is due to enter a change of plea before Hamilton on Feb. 21. Another has a trial scheduled in September and the third remaining defendant will appear at a status conference later this year.

436-7364

James Thomson, attorney for Fleming (510) 535-9123
DUBLIN (BCN)

A woman who used to teach physical education in Fremont was sentenced today to 5 years' probation, including a 6-month term at the county jail, for having sex with a 16-year-old male student in 2016.

Corine Audiat, 33, who taught at Washington High School in Fremont, pleaded no contest on Dec. 19 to unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor and oral copulation of a person under 18 for having sex with a male student in 2016, prosecutors Tim Wellman said.

In exchange for Audiat's plea, prosecutors agreed to dismiss four other felony charges against her, including three of contacting a minor for sex and one of sending harmful material to a minor with sexual intent. A misdemeanor child molestation charge was also dropped.

Alameda County Superior Court Judge Jon Rolefson, who sentenced Audiat, agreed to allow her to serve her 6-month jail term through electronic monitoring.

Wellman said Rolefson ordered Audiat to register as a sex offender in California for the rest of her life and surrender her teaching credential, which was suspended following her arrest, serve 150 hours of community service, turn in DNA samples to law enforcement, stay away from her victim for 10 years and complete one year of sex offender counseling.

The judge also barred Audiat from having unsupervised contact with people under the age of 18 during probation and may face other fees, fines and restitution.

Audiat was taken into custody on Nov. 24, 2016, after police learned of the allegations a day earlier, police said.

Audiat was a physical education teacher at Washington High and the victim was a juvenile male student there, police said.

She had been communicating with the student since early in 2016, according to police.

The conversations grew more inappropriate over the next several months until she had sex with the student on June 15, 2016, prosecutors said.

The male student, who graduated from Washington High School last spring, and his parents supported the plea agreement and attended Audiat's sentencing today, although they didn't speak, Wellman said.

272-8213

Defense attorney Elizabeth Grossman (510) 548-4106 or (510) 703-4141
A man was fatally shot Thursday night in East Oakland, according to police.

Officers responding to the 1400 block of 74th Avenue at 8:11 p.m. found a man suffering from at least one gunshot wound.

Firefighters and paramedics provided medical aid but the victim died of his injuries.

Police said there's one suspect in custody and the case remains under investigation.

A 92-year-old woman suffered minor injuries and lost possessions in a home invasion robbery in the Watsonville area on Wednesday evening, according to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office.

Around 6 p.m., deputies responded to a residence in the 200 block of Hames Road after she called 911 to report the suspects had forced her to the ground, stolen several items and fled the residence, deputies said.

Three suspects knocked on the door, but a total of five suspects entered the woman's home and one was armed with a handgun, the victim told deputies.

The sheriff's office has a description of three of the suspects; they were described as Hispanic men aged 18 to 20 years old wearing hooded clothing.

Deputies said they located a witness who saw a suspicious white sedan driving through the area around the time of the robbery.

On Thursday, the sheriff's community contact team responded to the neighborhood to tell residents about the incident and provide them with tips on crime prevention, deputies said.

The sheriff's office stressed that elderly residents should be cautious when answering the door to their homes to anyone they do not know or are not expecting.

Anyone with information on the incident should call the sheriff's office dispatch line at (831) 471-1121.

Smoke from agricultural burning will cause elevated levels of small particles in the air in the Bay Area today, with air pollution and hazy skies, air quality officials said.

Northerly winds have moved smoke from agricultural burning in the Sacramento Valley into the Bay Area, according to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.

Air quality isn't expected to exceed federal health standards, air quality officials said. However, people who are susceptible to higher levels of pollution such as children, seniors and those with respiratory illnesses should avoid exposure.

No agricultural burning is allowed in the Bay Area today. Air quality should improve somewhat as the temperature inversion over the region begins to weaken and smoke disperses, the district said.

Today is expected to be sunny, with high temperatures around 69 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

Skies should be mostly clear tonight, with high temperatures around 51 degrees, according to the weather service. Saturday is expected to be sunny, with highs around 67 degrees during the day and lows around 50 degrees at night.

Sunday should be sunny, with highs around 64 degrees, with partly cloudy skies Sunday night and lows of 48 degrees, the weather service said.

Police arrested a married couple Thursday on suspicion of selling methamphetamine from the home they share with their three young children, a police sergeant said.

Police suspected since early 2017 that Jose Ramirez Ibarra, 37, was selling the drug in the Santa Rosa area and they stopped his vehicle Thursday as he drove from his residence on Old Redwood Highway just north of Santa Rosa, Sgt. Brian Boettger said.

Ibarra was found with a small amount of methamphetamine and narcotics detectives served a search warrant at his residence.

Ibarra's spouse Reveriana Torres-Cruz, 34, and the couple's three children under 10 years old were detained at the residence and surrounding property, Boettger said.

Detectives found nearly three pounds of methamphetamine, approximately $80,000 cash, a loaded handgun, and evidence of drug trafficking including packaging and scales inside a bedroom the couple shared with the children, Boettger said.

Ibarra and Torres-Cruz were booked in the Sonoma County Jail for possession for sales of methamphetamine, conspiracy, maintaining a residence for drug trafficking and being armed while dealing narcotics, Boettger said.

The Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office has released the identity of the man who died while in custody at the Martinez Detention Facility on Wednesday.

Deputies said it appears David Hubbard, 46, of San Palbo, died of a health-related issue.

The cause of his death is pending the results of toxicology tests.

On Wednesday at 10:37 a.m., deputies were serving lunch when they discovered an inmate was not responsive.

Medical staff attempted lifesaving measures, but the man was later pronounced deceased.

Hubbard was originally arrested by Richmond police and was being held on charges that included stalking, assault with a deadly weapon, domestic violence and possession of child pornography, deputies said.

His bail had been set at $1,655,000.

A suspect pleaded not guilty Thursday in Redwood City after he was extradited back to the U.S. for charges in a 1992 sexual assault and burglary case, San Mateo County prosecutors said today.

Jose Perez, 52, and another person allegedly entered the victim's apartment on Sept. 29, 1992, while she was asleep, pinned her down, threatened her, covered her mouth with a cloth and the two allegedly sexually assaulted her multiple times.

Prosecutors said a neighbor allegedly heard the victim screaming and called police. The alleged sexual assaults were interrupted when police knocked on the door to the apartment.

Perez allegedly escaped through a window. The co-defendant, Jose Zamperio, who was sentenced in 1993 to 35 years in state prison, was found hiding under the victim's bed when police arrived that day.

Prosecutors said an arrest warrant was issued for Perez after his vehicle was allegedly found nearby.

Perez was found in Mexico and extradited back to the U.S. and he remains in custody on $2,650,000 bail.

Perez is set to be back in court on April 3.

Perez's attorney Jeff Jackson could not immediately be reached for comment.

A woman was hospitalized after she was raped and robbed in East Oakland on Thursday night, according to police.

A single suspect assaulted the woman in the 4400 block of MacArthur Boulevard, near High Street and Interstate Highway 580, at about 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, police said.

The suspect hasn't been arrested but police said potential charges in the case are rape, oral copulation, robbery, assault with intent to commit rape or mayhem and making criminal threats.

The woman had some personal items stolen from her and is being treated for bruises to her body and her limbs, according to police.
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN)

A federal judge in San Francisco is mulling whether to dismiss two lawsuits in which state prison inmates claim that noise during welfare checks causes severe sleep deprivation amounting to unconstitutionally cruel punishment.

U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria is also considering whether to transfer the two lawsuits to federal court in Sacramento, where a related case is being handled.

Chhabria took the case under consideration after hearing arguments today and will issue a written ruling at a later date.

The two lawsuits concern welfare and suicide checks carried out every 30 minutes by prison guards for state prisoners who are held in isolation in Security Housing Units, in which inmates generally spend 22 and one-half hours per day in their cells.

The checks are required by the settlement in federal court in Sacramento of a 1990 class action lawsuit concerning mental health treatment.

Since 2015, according to the lawsuits, guards have completed each check by striking a metal wand against a metal pad outside the door of each cell. The device is equipped with electronics that record when and where the check took place.

The plaintiffs in the case are Christopher Lipsey, housed in the SHU at California State Prison, Corcoran, and Maher Suarez, formerly held in the SHU at state prison at Pelican Bay and now at Solano.

They claim the sleep deprivation resulting from the recurring noise has caused them to suffer headaches, dizzy spells, blurred vision, anxiety, impaired memory and inability to concentrate.

"It's torture," said Penny Schoner, a San Francisco resident who joined a rally outside the Federal Building before the hearing to show support for the prisoners.

"If you were in a cell 24 hours day and being awoken every half hour night and day, what could you do?" she asked.

The rally of about 30 people was organized by the PHSS Committee to End Sleep Deprivation. The committee is part of the Bay Area-based Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity Coalition.

Committee spokeswoman Verbena Lea said the coalition had heard complaints about the noise from inmates in 14 different California prisons during the past two and one-half years.

Although the inmates weren't in contact with one another, several from different prisons used the same wording - "metal on metal" - to describe the allegedly loud sounds, Lea said.

Lawyers for the state contend the lawsuits should be dismissed because the checks are required under the settlement of the 1990 lawsuit. They have also argued the noise is not excessive.

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SAN CARLOS (BCN)

A pedestrian died when he was hit by a car in San Carlos Thursday evening, police said.

Officers arrived at the 100 block of Old County Road around 6:30 p.m. after getting a call about a blue Toyota Corolla hitting a pedestrian, according to police.

The man was lying in the road when the officers got there. Paramedics treated him, but he succumbed to his injuries, according to police.

The driver of the Toyota, a 70-year-old Belmont resident, stayed at the scene and is cooperating with the ongoing investigation, police said. Drugs and alcohol do not appear to be a factor, according to police.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Sgt. Jason Peardon at (650) 372-3215 or Jpeardon@smcgov.org, or to call the anonymous tip line at (800) 547-2700.
OAKLAND (BCN)

Oakland police today released the names of two people who were killed in recent shootings in their city.

The victim in a fatal shooting in the 4500 block of Market Street shortly before 1 p.m. on Jan. 31 was identified as 27-year-old Marquis Lomack.

Oakland police didn't say where he was from.

Authorities said that after Lomack was shot he was driven by another person to a local hospital, where he died.

Another victim in a fatal shooting in the 6200 block of Market Street, about two blocks south of the Oakland-Berkeley border, at about 10:50 a.m. on Saturday was identified as 27-year-old Patrick Scott of Berkeley.

Police said Scott was driven by someone to a local hospital, where he later died, according to police.

No arrests have been announced in either homicide.

Lomack's sister, Laniece Lomack, said in a posting on Facebook that he would have turned 28 on Wednesday and 28 balloons were released in his honor on Wednesday night.

In a message to her brother, Lomack wrote, "Happy 28th birthday! I love u! I know it wasn't supposed to be this way, but I'm trusting in a plan that I'll never understand."
U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, long a personal friend and colleague of Californias longtime Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, pronounced himself confounded the other day, when Feinstein released previously secret testimony about a controversial dossier on Donald Trumps pre-presidential Russian connections.

Grassley, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, couldnt understand why Feinstein, the committees senior Democrat, released the document after years of being circumspect about keeping government secrets.

Heres some help understanding, Chuck: You and Feinstein may have cooperated with each other steadily over the last 25 years, even socializing at times, but Feinstein never had serious Democratic opposition in her reelection efforts until this year.

Now she faces a challenge from the left, with outgoing state Senate President Kevin de Leon, a Los Angeles Democrat, blasting her continually and demanding she act more like a doctrinaire leftist or dont come home.

That makes life more political for Feinstein now than its been since she first ran for the Senate in 1992 against an appointed Republican, John Seymour, named in 1990 by then-Gov. Pete Wilson to replace himself in the Senate.

So Feinstein has been shoring up her left flank, because that may be the only direction from which shell be challenged this year. Long a moderate with strong support from Californias business leaders, Feinsteins approach has evolved since de Leon announced his challenge last October.

De Leon wont go away soon, even if hes underfinanced so far and even if he loses badly to Feinstein in the June primary election. Under the states top two jungle primary system, even if de Leon is trounced in June, hell get another chance in November just by finishing second in the primary.

That now seems assured, with no significant Republican having yet entered the race and the March 9 filing deadline looming. Things might be different had the liberal financier Tom Steyer gotten in, but he took himself out in January, announcing he had bigger fish to fry  leading an effort to impeach Trump.(tncms-inline)e3d5c9bb-4e18-42fb-af75-dcce6cd819be[0](/tncms-inline)

De Leons strongest criticism of Feinstein came after she counseled the Democrats state convention last fall to be more patient with Trump. That didnt sit well with ultra-liberal delegates whose strong wish is to get rid of the President.

So Feinstein released testimony harmful to Trump, a perfectly legal move since the transcript was not classified. Days later, after Trumps notorious s-holes remark about African and Latin-American countries, she warned that Trumps comments that were never denied about not wanting African immigrants, but instead wanting more immigrants from countries like Norway must be called out for what it is: a wish to move this country back generations into a homogeneous white society.

We all need to stop pretending that there are no consequences when the most powerful person in the world espouses racist views and gives a wink and a nod to the darkest elements in our society, she added.

That was far stronger language than she used about Trump last summer, when he claimed there were good people among white nationalists and neo-Nazis who rallied in Charlottesville, where one counter-demonstrator was killed. Of course, de Leon was not yet a candidate then.

Feinstein, who always tries to keep open lines of communication with the other major party, signaled that things had gone too far for her with Trump.

Things have also gone farther for Feinstein in the current campaign than they ever have in her previous four reelection bids. She may be coming to realize, as her longtime colleague in the Senate, former Sen. Barbara Boxer, said during her 2010 reelection bid, that six years (the standard Senate term) is a long time not to run, so you have to reintroduce yourself to California voters in every campaign.

Feinstein doesnt want de Leon to be the one introducing her, with constant hints that at 84, shes too old to be effective, besides not being liberal enough for California. So as her situation becomes more political, so does she.

And anyone whos ever run against her, whether for mayor of San Francisco or governor or the Senate, knows that when Feinstein becomes political, she can be a strong political force. Theres the explanation you might want, Sen. Grassley.

Feinstein is shoring up her left flank, since that may be the only direction from which shell be challenged this year.

Thomas D. Elias writes the syndicated California Focus column. He is author of the book, The Burzynski Breakthrough: The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the Governments Campaign to Squelch It.
SAN JOSE (BCN)

Members of more than 150 families affected by last year's Coyote Creek flood in San Jose and a lawyer that will represent them held a news conference today to announce a civil complaint being filed against the city and other agencies.

Attorney Amanda Hawes and her husband, environmentalist Ted Smith, introduced a few residents who lost possessions in the flood that took place on Feb. 21, 2017. Residents, including their daughter-in-law Jolene Noel, gave accounts of how their lives and the lives of those they know changed after the flood.

The briefing took place at the William Street Park bridge area. Smith pointed out that on the day of the flood, the area was completely under water.

Noel, who lives in the Olinder neighborhood, talked about how her 9-year-old daughter is still afraid of rain after their basement was underwater that day.

"We want to be made whole again, if that's at all possible," she said.

Noel said that her family was among the lucky ones who had flood insurance, but it only covered a portion of the costs.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency "denied covering damage we believe the flood caused to our house's foundation, because these houses are old and they will blame it on that," Noel said.

Noel said the aftermath of the flood is still visible in the neighborhood.

"There are still bins with people's belongings in the street; we are still not back to normal," she said.

Hawes spoke about how many residents had a hard time finding housing they could afford when theirs was no longer livable.

The common message among the residents was that they feel the city, county, water district and more could have warned them farther in advance about potential flooding.

The complaint being filed lists the city of San Jose, Santa Clara County and the Santa Clara Valley Water District among the defendants.

Board chair Richard Santos from the water district said in a statement that the district had not been served with the lawsuit as of this afternoon, but said "our hearts go out to the many community members who were impacted by the serious floods of 2017."

Santa Clara County Counsel James Williams said in a statement that it was "unfortunate" that the county was involved in the lawsuit, noting that the county "does not have responsibility for evacuations within city limits" and "continues to support a number of programs for the flood victims, including property tax relief."

San Jose city officials were not immediately available for comment on the suit.

Santos noted that the district has taken many steps to reduce the risk of future floods, including lowering the water level at Anderson Reservoir, located near Morgan Hill, removing downed trees and invasive vegetation in Coyote Creek, and designing a berm and temporary flood wall in the Rock Springs neighborhood.

Hawes at the news conference mentioned the overflowing at the reservoir and debris in the creek as reasons for the flood.

"Coyote Creek doesn't flood unless the Anderson Reservoir overtops," she said. "The folks in charge have probably known about this for 40 years."

Smith was most upset about how Rock Springs flooded before Olinder, or many other neighborhoods in the area, and no one warned residents that the water was coming.

Smith said that the creek line really does divide the high- and low-income areas around William Street Park.

"If you look at the names on the complaint, it'll give you a pretty good sense of who it is that was the most affected," Smith said. "It's disproportionately Latino, Vietnamese, Cambodian, African American and several other minorities, and that is the best proof I know of."

Ellis said that the animals at Happy Hollow Zoo were pulled out of the facility the night before the flood while residents in her Rock Springs area were not given any notice as to what might happen.

"We shouldn't have suffered because of where we lived demographically," resident Sinia Ellis said. "We're people too."

Hawes said the families are seeking damages in the millions because they lost things in the flood that can never be replaced.

"They have lost work, they have lost time, and they have lost affordable housing," Hawes said. "That adds up."

Beyond financial losses, a few of the residents suffered from health issues as a result of the flood. Hawes listed Samantha Lopez, a Rock Springs resident, as an example.

In her statement, Lopez said that at 24 years old, she now deals with lupus due to stress from months of being evacuated and from rebuilding her home.

In her letter, Lopez wrote that she saw the floodwater on her way to work, but upon seeing police and water district employees, she felt safe leaving her 12-year-old sister and 80-year-old grandfather at home. She has felt guilt ever since she received messages from her sister saying differently that day.

Lopez said the stress, which she believes caused her lupus, has caused damage to her kidney.

"My anxiety and restless nights did not cease after the flood waters subsided ... they continued into the multiple months thereafter," she said.

Ellis said that she believes her neighborhood has suffered the effects of the flood, but that they are now a more tight-knit community.

"I want people to take responsibility because we do matter," Ellis said. "I'm not leaving."
SAUSALITO (BCN)

Sausalito police arrested two San Francisco residents early this morning on suspicion of possessing a vehicle that was stolen Tuesday in San Anselmo, a police lieutenant said.

Officer Justin Ritz saw a man on a bicycle leaning through the passenger window of a 2008 Nissan Altima in the 100 block of Spencer Avenue around 1:20 a.m., Lt. Bill Fraass said.

The bicyclist rode away when he noticed Ritz who then determined the Nissan's license plate was from vehicle stolen in San Rafael Thursday, Fraass said.

When Ritz contacted Christina Cox, 34, of San Francisco, who was sitting in the Nissan's driver's seat, the bicyclist, identified as Samuel Cox, 39, of San Francisco, returned to the Nissan, Fraass said.

Police determined the 2008 Nissan Altima was stolen in San Anselmo Tuesday. Police also found methamphetamine, narcotics paraphernalia, a stolen California identification card, two suspected stolen credit cards and the bicycle that also was stolen, Fraass said.

Samuel Cox was arrested and booked in the Marin County Jail for possession of a stolen vehicle, possession of stolen property, possession of methamphetamine and on a warrant for violating parole in San Mateo County.

Christina Cox was arrested and later released for possession of stolen property and possession of narcotics paraphernalia.
REDWOOD CITY (BCN)

A suspect pleaded not guilty Thursday in Redwood City after he was extradited back to the U.S. for charges in a 1992 sexual assault and burglary case, San Mateo County prosecutors said today.

Jose Perez, 52, and another person allegedly entered the victim's apartment on Sept. 29, 1992, while she was asleep, pinned her down, threatened her, covered her mouth with a cloth and the two allegedly sexually assaulted her multiple times.

Prosecutors said a neighbor allegedly heard the victim screaming and called police. The alleged sexual assaults were interrupted when police knocked on the door to the apartment.

Perez allegedly escaped through a window. The co-defendant, Jose Zamperio, who was sentenced in 1993 to 35 years in state prison, was found hiding under the victim's bed when police arrived that day.

Prosecutors said an arrest warrant was issued for Perez after his vehicle was allegedly found nearby.

Perez was found in Mexico and extradited back to the U.S. and he remains in custody on $2,650,000 bail.

Perez is set to be back in court on April 3.

Perez's attorney Jeff Jackson could not immediately be reached for comment.

363-4752

Defense attorney Jeff Jackson (650) 587-8556
BERKELEY (BCN)

Ashby Avenue between King and Sacramento streets in Berkeley has been reopened to all traffic following a collision between a Honda and an Alameda-Contra Costa Transit bus in Berkeley this morning that killed the Honda driver, police said.

The collision, which is still under investigation, occurred on Ashby Avenue near California Street, which is between King and Sacramento streets, at about 6:38 a.m. and that section of Ashby was closed until shortly before 3 p.m.

Investigators determined that the red Honda was traveling south on California Street when it hit the AC Transit bus, which was heading west on Ashby Avenue, Berkeley police Sgt. Andrew Frankel said.

Frankel said there's no stop sign on westbound Ashby Avenue, the direction the bus was traveling, but there is a stop sign on southbound California Street, the direction the Honda was traveling.

Investigators haven't yet determined if the Honda driver stopped at the intersection, according to Frankel.

The force of the collision sent both vehicles crashing into a parked car and then into a nearby house, Frankel said.

The Honda driver, who was the only person in the car, died but the bus driver and the one passenger onboard were not injured.

AC Transit spokesman Robert Lyles said the bus driver has been with the transit agency since 2014 and will undergo drug and alcohol testing, which he said is standard protocol for a driver who's been involved in a collision. But he said there's no indication at this time that the driver was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Lyles said the driver will be in an employee assistance program for at least three days during which he will receive therapeutic counseling.

Lyles said, "The Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District wishes to extend our deepest condolences to the family of the driver involved in today's tragic event."

He said the bus agency will continue to work closely with Berkeley police as they investigate the collision.

Lyles said Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 regulations preclude AC Transit from releasing the bus driver's name.

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These creations, designed to police women's behavior or help them police themselves, came from woman-run companies. Call it unconscious bias, call it internalized misogyny, call it whatever you want, but women -- half of people -- have been treated as outliers for so long that we've never properly studied their needs and lost sight of what a coherent market for women's products should look like. That's how we get Lady Doritos when we just need clothes with pockets.

The common theme is an assumption that fixing one small manifestation of sexism will somehow improve the structural factors working against women. Forget paid leave, equal pay, reproductive rights. Instead of thinking big, women are led to obsess about details. Women aren't allowed to finish sentences, so let's give them a way to see in real time how often they never get to express a full idea. Women must apologize to avoid appearing domineering, so let's give them a way to remove apologetic phrasing instead of, say, asking others to change their sexist perceptions of women's speech. (Why not create an extension that changes the condescending "actually" to "I hear what you're saying" when responding to women?) Instead of encouraging women to confidently inhabit the space they're in, make themselves heard -- and, good grief, enjoy a few handfuls of nacho cheese-flavored deliciousness -- give them silent food to help them pretend to be invisible and ashamed to snack for pleasure.
If your child's teacher "adopts" an Iditarod musher for the class to track, speak up. Dogs in this race are forced to run about 1,000 miles -- roughly the distance from Orlando, Florida, to New York City -- in under two weeks. That's about 100 miles every day, with only a few brief periods of rest. They're subjected to blinding snowstorms, subzero temperatures and treacherous ice. Their feet become bruised and bloodied, and many endure pulled muscles and stress fractures. Some even die, including five in last year's race and more than 150 since the first Iditarod -- and that doesn't include dogs killed or neglected in the off-season by mushers.

Call on Texas A&M University to end cruel experiments on golden retrievers and other dogs (visit PETA.org to find out how). Eyewitness video footage obtained by PETA shows dogs who were deliberately bred to develop a crippling and painful form of muscular dystrophy. As the disease ravaged their bodies, they struggled to walk, swallow and even breathe. For more than three decades, dogs have wasted away and died in pain in the university's laboratories, but not one cure or treatment for reversing the course of the condition in humans has resulted.
At the end of the three vintages, the winemakers will then have the option to continue with the grapes, but will be on the hook for the fruit themselves and need to sign a long-term contract with Beckstoffer Vineyards. Starting with 2019, they must release a vineyard-designate Cabernet for $80-$100, a range that Beckstoffer believes is an underserved market for Cabernet.

Now two vintages into the program, seven winemakers remain. Three of the original 10 have dropped out  the only female winemaker left before the project began, while the other two pulled out after the 2016 vintage. Beckstoffer said their reasons for leaving had nothing to do with the quality of the fruit, but rather with limitations in timing and resources to fully commit to the side project. He also didnt see a need to re-cast the three open spots, stating, If we get three to five to work this program itll be a major success.

Beckstoffer said he believes the remaining winemakers head into the third and final year of the project optimistically after tasting through the 2016s and 2017s in barrel.

Everyone is very enthusiastic, and they even seem to be liking the 17s better than 16s, he said. At this point, I think everybody is extremely pleased. I think they all had good expectations going in that have been met, if not exceeded.
Today, they run the business together, but in separate offices. Andy Beckstoffer is the chief executive officer and David Beckstoffer is the president and chief operating officer.

Often, when you have this generational change, the problem is the older guy has nothing to do, but he does what he does, and I do what I do. I dont want to do what hes doing and he doesnt want to do what Im doing, said Andy Beckstoffer.

I solve problems, he looks for opportunity, echoed David Beckstoffer. I probably focus more on operations and our farming people, and he focuses more on land and contracts and winery relationships.

And while the two are generally on the same page, the younger Beckstoffer has an interest in something his father never has: winemaking.

On sticking to what they know

If you asked Andy Beckstoffer which question hes most tired of hearing, its most definitely, Why dont you make your own wine?

Many growers at least dabble in the other side of the business, keeping a small portion of their grapes for themselves. But for the Beckstoffers, the answer is simple: Its bad for business.
With the terrible condition of Bay Area traffic, we need an additional bay bridge. Let us consider the statistics: Since 1990, the regions population has increased by 27.5 percent to 7.68 million today. It is projected to increase by another 21 percent to 9.3 million by 2040. Traffic on our roads and bridges increases proportionally: the 300,000 vehicles per day on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, will increase to some 363,000 vehicles by 2040. The attraction of the Bay Area means this growth will not abate.

According to the U.S. Census, 90.47 percent of the Bay Areas workforce that needs transportation uses a vehicle to get to work and requires roads and bridges. Clearly, improvement on vehicle transportation is badly needed. BART travelers constitute only 3.3 percent of commuters, so even a second BART tube would have a negligible effect on traffic improvement. Bus transportation does not help much, as it serves only about 5 percent of commuters. Moreover, it requires the same additional traffic capacity that is necessary for cars and trucks.

Mass transportation options have one major negative characteristic  a passenger needs additional transportation from home to the initial station of mass transportation (BART, bus, ferry) and from its final station to the final destination. This is the main reason people prefer vehicles. Why would more than 90 percent of our workforce spend hours in traffic congestion if they had a better option?

If we compare the number of bridges at other developed centers, such as New York City, London, Paris and Sydney, with San Francisco, there are 700,000 people per bridge in Bay Area versus 171,000 for New York City, and around 250,000 to 290,000 for London, Paris, or Sydney! By 2040, the number for the Bay Area will be 5 times greater than the current number for New York City. Are we still surprised that our traffic conditions are so terrible?

When comparing the daily traffic per bridge, the Bay Area has many more cars than the other locations; the busiest New York City bridge has 22,300 vehicles per bridge lane versus the 32,000 vehicles per lane for the Bay Bridge. Moreover, the Bay Bridge has 1.5 times more vehicles per lane than any other bridge in the Bay Area.

Building an additional bay bridge seems to be the only viable option for improving transportation for the regional workforce. Improving traffic requires a direct approach  like increasing bridge capacity.

Any additional ferry, BART, bus, or smart-train services will help improve the situation, but with negligible effect. The obvious solution, based on the statistics, is to build more bridges, and the first one needs to be near the existing Bay Bridge.

Simply deciding to have a new bridge and developing the necessary funding is not enough: A perfect example is the new east span of the Bay Bridge. Have the local and transportation authorities learned the lesson from that experience  how a major bridge should not be designed and built? Probably not.

Today, when the country is preparing to make a significant effort to fix its infrastructure with a $1 trillion federal spending plan, it is critical to include the necessity for an additional Bay Area bridge in the early planning and to follow later with plans to deal with the insufficient capacity of Richmond-San Rafael Bridge.

An additional bay bridge can be built in four to five years, including concept, design and construction, provided that it has the support of local governments and the public. The cost should be comparable to the efficient bridge structures of this magnitude  around $3 billion.

This bridge should be designed and built based on an open competition among engineers and builders. Such competition should not be under the questionable control of Caltrans and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, but under our professional engineering and design organizations SEAONC (Structural Engineers Association of Northern California), ASCE (American Society of Civil Engineers) and AIA (American Institute of Architects). Once the project design is chosen, we come to the next problem  how to build the bridge without repeating the fiasco of the Bay Bridge eastern span replacement.

Eighty years ago, our country built two of the greatest bridges ever (the San Francisco-Oakland Bay and the Golden Gate bridges). Today, we have the best computers, software, high-level construction technology and equipment. We are capable of building another great bridge.

Roumen V. Mladjov is a structural and professional engineer.

How the

Bay Area gets to work

78.1% use cars, trucks or vans for transport to work

7.8% use other public transportation, including ferries and buses

5.4% work from home

3.6% walk to work

3.3% use BART
A pair of NASA satellite photos compare 2017's massive pileup of snow in the Sierra Nevada with this winter's nearly nonexistent snowpack.

In the left image above from Jan. 28, 2017, the average snow depth across the Sierra is 46 inches. In the image on the right, taken a year later on Feb. 8, 2018, when the average snow depth is only 3.4 inches.

The barrage of atmospheric riverfueled storms that pounded the Sierra Nevada in the 201617 season added up to a massive snowpack. The northern Sierra saw the highest amount of precipitation in recorded history going back to 1920, and all of the snow helped put an end to California's five-year drought.

This season, California and Nevada are seeing dramatically drier conditions with few weak storms moving into the region, and on Thursday the snowpack was 23 percent of average for this date.

ALSO, How dry is this winter? Sierra snowpack on pace to shatter record low of 2015

The Sierra snowpack is one of California's most important water sources with its spring and summer runoff feeding rivers and reservoirs, watering crops, filling bathtubs and water glasses. On average it supplies about 30 percent of the state's water needs. Because of last year's record-breaking winter, the reservoirs are full, but this year's scarcity of snow is raising concerns that the state is heading into another drought pattern.

The dry conditions are the result of a high-pressure weather system that has been parked along the West Coast blocking Pacific storms and preventing them from reaching land.

These weather systems tend to be stable and can remain in place for multiple weeks.

The northern Sierra has seen dry conditions for over a week, and there's no snow in the forecast for another nine days as a high-pressure ridge persists.


EL-ARISH, Egypt  Egypt began a massive security operation Friday involving land, sea and air forces in areas including the restive northern Sinai Peninsula, the epicenter of an Islamic insurgency spearheaded by a local affiliate of the Islamic State.

The operation, announced in a televised statement by army spokesman Col. Tamer el-Rifaai, began early Friday and covers central Sinai and areas in Egypts Nile Delta and Western Desert. He said the operation is targeting terrorist and criminal elements and organizations. There was no indication how long the operation would last.
MEXICO CITY  Authorities said Friday they have arrested dual U.S.-Mexican citizen Jose Maria Guizar Valencia, the alleged leader of the Zetas drug cartel.

The United States had offered a $5 million reward for his arrest.

Sales said Guizar Valencia was arrested Thursday in Mexico Citys trendy Roma neighborhood, which is known for its restaurants and cafes.

The commissioner said the leader was one of the main generators of violence and had directed Zetas drug trafficking and other activities in southern Mexico. Formed by deserters of an elite military unit, the Zetas are known for indiscriminate brutality, filling anonymous graves and roadsides with piles of victims bodies.

Under a Wanted page online, the U.S. Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs said Guizar Valencia is responsible for the importation of thousands of kilograms of cocaine and methamphetamine to the United States on a yearly basis and faces separate U.S. drug trafficking indictments in Texas and Virginia.

It also said he had taken over territory in neighboring Guatemala.

Los Zetas, under the command of Guizar Valencia, have murdered an untold number of Guatemalan civilians during the systematic overtake of the Guatemalan border region with Mexico during recent years, the bureau said.

It also said Guizar Valencia was born in Tulare County.

The Zetas leadership has been decimated by the arrest and deaths of main capos in recent years, and the once fearsome cartel has splintered into several factions.

Mark Stevenson is an Associated Press writer.
1 Marriage ban: The British government expressed disappointment Thursday that Bermuda has abolished same-sex marriage, but said it would have been wrong to overturn the decision by the British island territory. Bermudas Senate and House of Assembly passed legislation replacing same-sex marriage with domestic partnerships in December, and the islands British-appointed governor, John Rankin, signed it into law Wednesday. British Prime Minister Theresa Mays spokesman, James Slack, said Britain was seriously disappointed by the decision, which reverses a 2017 court ruling legalizing gay marriage.

2 Israeli wall: Diplomatic contacts are under way between Beirut and friendly countries to ease tensions with Israel over a cement wall it is building along the border which Lebanon says would encroach on its territory, the government said Thursday. Cabinet Minister Pierre Abi Assi told reporters after a government meeting that top Lebanese officials are in contact with the United Nations and some countries that he did not name to try to decrease tensions that have escalated over the construction of the wall. Lebanon and Israel are technically at war and both countries have fought several wars over the past decades.
1 U.S. drone attack: Two separate U.S. drone strikes struck a militant compound in a northwestern tribal region of Pakistan and a vehicle in Afghanistan, killing 11 militants, mostly from the Taliban-affiliated Haqqani network, officials said Friday. Seven militants were killed in the first strike Thursday in the Pakistani border village of Gorwak in North Waziristan, once a stronghold of local and foreign militants until the military cleared them out. The apparent target of the strike was Haqqani networks local commander, Qudrat Ullah, but it was unclear if he was among those killed, two officials said. Also Thursday, missiles fired from U.S. drone slammed into a vehicle in Afghanistans eastern Paktia province, killing four militants, said Shah Mohammad Aryan, a spokesman for the provincial chief police.

2 Maldives crisis: A privately owned television station in the Maldives says it has gone off the air because of threats during the countrys current state of emergency. Rajje TV, which highlights views of the political opposition, said in a statement Friday that it stopped broadcasting because the countrys environment did not allow journalists to report freely and independently. It said a mob had gathered at the station and called for it to be burned down, and government lawmakers had asked the broadcasting regulator to shut the station. President Yameen Abdul Gayoom declared a state of emergency after the Supreme Court ordered the release and retrial of his political opponents. The order has since been reversed.
SEOUL  In the highest-level contact between the two Koreas in years, South Korea President Moon Jae-in plans to meet Saturday with the sister of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, and the Norths nominal head of state, officials said Thursday.

Moons luncheon meeting with the North Koreans was announced Thursday, as Vice President Mike Pence arrived in South Korea carrying a message from Washington: not to waver from strong sanctions against North Korea.

The high-level North Korean delegation, headed by Kim Yong Nam, the Norths ceremonial head of state, will arrive in South Korea on Friday on a special plane to attend the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics later in the day. The trips significance was underscored by the revelation Wednesday that the delegation would include Kim Yo Jong, the only sister and a trusted aide of Kim Jong Un, the Norths supreme leader.

In North Koreas dynastic system, which upholds the Kim familys bloodline as a sacred leadership qualification, Kim Yo Jong wields a singular clout that cannot be matched by any non-relative members of the elite, according to North Korea analysts.

Kim Yo Jong would be the first member of North Koreas ruling family to visit the South since the 1950-53 Korean War. In 2000, her father, Kim Jong Il, held a summit meeting in North Korea with Kim Dae-jung, then South Koreas president, but did not keep his promise to visit for a second meeting. Kim Jong Il died in 2011, bequeathing power to his third son, Kim Jong Un, who has rapidly accelerated the Norths weapons programs.

It remained unclear whether Kim would be carrying a message from her brother to Moon, who has said he is willing to meet Kim Jong Un if he is reasonably sure that such a meeting would help end the crisis over the Norths nuclear weapons.

Before leaving Japan for South Korea, Pence said the United States would not be duped by any false overture.

Well continue to seize every opportunity to ensure that North Korea does not use the powerful imagery and backdrop of the Olympics to paper over an appalling record of human rights and a pattern of developing weapons and conducting the kind of missile launches that are threatening our nation and threatening neighbors across the region, Pence said.

Pence met with Moon later Thursday, and both reaffirmed a principle of using maximum sanctions and pressure to bring North Korea to the negotiating table for denuclearization, said Moons spokesman, Yoon Young-chan.

Before meeting Moon, Pence said he would seek a South Korean commitment to continue to isolate North Korea economically and diplomatically so that we can achieve what the world has longed to see, which is a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.

In a jarring contrast to the moves toward reconciliation in the South, columns of goose-stepping soldiers and vehicles carrying rockets, including intercontinental ballistic missiles, rolled through the main square in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, on Thursday as the country celebrated its Army Building Day.

Choe Sang-Hun is a New York Times writer.
BANGKOK  Police in Thailand announced Friday they have arrested a Russian national accused by U.S. authorities of running an online cyber crime marketplace where everything from stolen credit card information to hardware for compromising ATM machines could be purchased.

Police said that Sergey Medvedev was arrested in his Bangkok apartment on Feb. 2 at the request of U.S. authorities.

The U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday announced indictments against 36 people accused of being active in the Infraud Organization  founded in 2010 and operated under the slogan In Fraud We Trust  which was an anonymous online forum that the department described as a one-stop shop for cyber criminals. It said it had nearly 11,000 members who traded more than 4.3 million credit cards, debit cards and bank accounts worldwide, leading to losses of more than $530 million for legitimate users and businesses.

The U.S. indictment described Medvedev, 31, as the groups co-founder along with Svyatoslav Bondarenko, and said he had operated a payment system for the forums members. It said Medvedev became the website owner and administrator when Bondarenko went missing in 2015.

Thai Police Maj. Nuthapong Rattanamongkolsak, the arresting officer, said U.S. officials had tracked the group for several years but only recently started to make arrests.

On Thursday, thirteen of the wanted persons were taken into custody across the globe, including in California, New York and Alabama. Suspects arrested in France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Australia, Kosovo and Serbia are awaiting extradition.

Medvedev will be extradited to face prosecution in the U.S., Nutthapong said.

Kaweewit Kaewjinda is an Associated Press writer.
ANKARA, Turkey  Turkey resumed air strikes in Syrias Kurdish enclave of Afrin after a brief lull, killing and wounding several people, the military and Kurdish officials said Friday.

The attacks on border areas and the main town in the region began Thursday night and have been among the worst since the Turkish army and Ankara-backed opposition fighters began a ground and air campaign on the Afrin enclave three weeks ago, Kurdish officials said.

The offensive has displaced thousands of people, many of whom have gone to the town of Afrin, which is already crowded with tens of thousands of displaced who fled violence in other parts of Syria over the years.

The new bloodshed came as Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed cooperating more closely to resolve the Syrian conflict in a phone call Friday. The civil war has killed about 400,000, displaced half the population and sent more than 5 million refugees mostly to neighboring countries.

In its statement, the Kremlin did not elaborate on the call between Putin and Macron. Russia has been one of President Bashar Assads strongest supporters, intervening in 2015 to tip the balance of power in his favor. France is among Assads harshest critics.

Macrons office said he pushed for more robust peace talks  notably after a Russia-sponsored effort last month was boycotted by the Syrian opposition.

Macron also pressed Putin to stop intolerable degradation of the humanitarian situation in regions that have been pummeled by Syrian and Russian air strikes in recent days, according to a statement from his office.

Turkey launched an offensive into the enclave on Jan. 20 against Syrian Kurdish fighters that Ankara considers to be a security threat because of their links to outlawed rebels in Turkey.

Suzan Fraser and Bassem Mroue are Associated Press writers.
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How businesses can protect their people in the new age of work?

Ensuring employee health and safety remains a key priority for organisations this year, especially as we see COVID-19 cases continue to rise in different areas of the world. As an ongoing challenge, COVID-19 has shifted the priorities of many organisations. In fact, improving health and safety for employees is the top strategic goal this year of manufacturing and logistics organisations in the U.S. and U.K., according to research conducted by Forrester on behalf of STANLEY Security. But as we think about reopening and as hybrid workforce models and workspace-on-demand approaches rise in popularity, leaders need to consider implementing the right technologies to help ensure a safe return to the office. This means investing in health, safety, and security solutions that can help leaders protect their people. The intersection of security technology and health and safety Theres no doubt that the scope of security has expanded in the wake of the global pandemic. What was once an area governed by a select few security or IT professionals within a business has now become a crucial company investment involving many key stakeholders. The role of security has expanded to encompass a broader range of health and safety challenges for businesses Additionally, the role of security has expanded to encompass a broader range of health and safety challenges for businesses. Fortunately, security technologies have made significant strides and many solutions, both existing and new, have been thrust forward to address todays biggest business challenges. Investment in security technology Its important to note that businesses are eager to adopt tech that can help them protect their people. Nearly half (46%) of organisations surveyed by Forrester report that theyre considering an increasing investment in technology solutions that ensure employee safety. Technologies like touchless access control, visitor management systems, occupancy monitoring, and installed/wearable proximity sensors are among some of the many security technologies these organisations have implemented or are planning to implement yet this year. Facilitating a safe return to work But what does the future look like? When it comes to the post-pandemic workplace, organisations are taking a hard look at their return-to-work strategy. Flexible or hybrid workforce models require a suite of security solutions to help ensure a safer, healthier environment More than half (53%) of organisations surveyed by Forrester are looking to introduce a flexible work schedule for their employees as they make decisions about returning to work and keeping employees safe post-pandemic. Such flexible  or hybrid  workforce models require a suite of security solutions to help ensure a safer, healthier environment for all who traverse a facility or work on-site. One of the central safety and security challenges raised by these hybrid models is tracking who is present in the building at any one time  and where or how they interact. Leveraging security technology With staggered schedules and what may seem like a steady stream of people passing through, it can be difficult to know whos an employee and whos a visitor. Access control will be key to monitoring and managing the flow of people on-site and preventing unauthorised access. When access control systems are properly integrated with visitor management solutions, businesses can unlock further benefits and efficiencies. For instance, integrated visitor management systems can allow for pre-registration of visitors and employees  granting mobile credentials before people arrive on-site  and automated health screening surveys can be sent out in advance to help mitigate risk. Once someone reaches the premises, these systems can also be used to detect the persons temperature and scan for a face mask, if needed. We will likely see these types of visitor management and advanced screening solutions continue to rise in popularity, as 47% of organisations surveyed by Forrester report that theyre considering requiring employee health screening post-pandemic. Defining the office of the future A modern, dynamic workforce model will require an agile approach to office management. Its imperative to strike the right balance between making people feel welcome and reassuring Businesses want to create an environment in which people feel comfortable and confident  a space where employees can collaborate and be creative. Its imperative to strike the right balance between making people feel welcome and reassuring them that the necessary security measures are in place to ensure not only their safety but also their health. In many cases, this balancing act has created an unintended consequence: Everyone now feels like a visitor to a building. Protocols and processes With employees required to undergo the same screening processes and protocols as a guest, weve seen a transformation in the on-site experience. This further underscores the need for seamless, automated, and tightly integrated security solutions that can improve the employee and visitor experience, while helping to ensure health and safety. Ultimately, the future of the office is not about what a space looks like, but how people feel in it. This means adopting a safety-always culture, underpinned by the right technology, to ensure people that their safety remains a business top priority.
SLED Special Agent Wayne Freeman, right shares information on handling post-crisis situations during a training seminar Feb. 5 at the Howard Center in Georgetown.
Terry Cox, the building construction teacher at Carvers Bay High School and SkillsUSA advisor, recently attended the South Carolina Association of Heating and Air Conditioning Contractors Conference in Charleston.
Sid Harvey Industries, which has a facility just outside Andrews, is suing the town over a dramatic increase in its water bill since the town installed a new water meter in 2017.
Students in a BOOST Biz Camp marketing exercise in 2012 as part of the Mitney Project.
WASHINGTON  The inaugural launch on Tuesday of the world's most powerful rocket sets the stage for SpaceX's Falcon Heavy to begin the qualification processto compete for lucrative U.S. government contracts.

The U.S. Air Force has already booked the massive rocket for a June launch of a test payload. But the Falcon Heavy may have to nail many more missions before it passes the threshold to be certified by the U.S. Air Force.

Certification could take as many as 14 or as few as two flights, a spokesperson for the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Command, in Los Angeles, told SpaceNews For new rockets like the Falcon Heavy, there are many variables at play, such as the confidence the government has in the design and its record flying commercial payloads into orbit. [SpaceX's 1st Falcon Heavy Rocket Test Flight in Pictures]

The process is articulated in detail in the United States Air Force Launch Services New Entrant Certification Guide that was published in 2011. The Air Force calls it a "risk-based approach" with four certification options based on the maturity of the launch system. These options require as many as 14 flights, or as few as two. With fewer flights there would be more in-depth technical evaluations.

SpaceX's debut Falcon Heavy rocket lifts off from NASA's Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center on Feb. 6, 2018. (Image credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett)

Once the Air Force signs off on the company's "statement of intent," the government and SpaceX would negotiate a certification plan under a formal agreement. The Air Force would then conduct a technical evaluation and detailed analysis of the launch vehicle design and a review of the companys manufacturing and system engineering processes. It also would analyze data from the rockets flight history.

At a news conference Tuesday at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said he could not predict how many launches the Falcon Heavy will have to perform before it's accepted for national security missions. This vehicle, he said, "opens up a whole new class of payloads" and "it's up to customers what they want to launch."

The Pentagon would expect the Falcon Heavy to compete for launches of large, expensive spy satellites that now can only be flown by the United Launch Alliance's Delta IV rocket.

SpaceX already has a number of commercial customers lined up, Musk said. Well be doing several Falcon Heavy flights per year. If there's a big national security satellite due for launch in three or four years we'll probably have a dozen or more launches done by then."

SpaceX adviser John Young told SpaceNews' Jeff Foust that the "nearest peer competitor" to the Falcon Heavy is the Delta IV Heavy at "roughly half the thrust and from four to as much as 10 times the cost."

Young is a former undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics. "If I was still part of the DoD acquisition team I would be enormously excited," he said.

Charles Miller, president of the consulting firm NextGen Space, said the Pentagon is in a comfortable position to sit back and watch how Falcon Heavy performs in upcoming commercial launches. SpaceX will have more data, which will lower the risk to national security customers, Miller said in an interview.

He does not anticipate SpaceX will have trouble getting approved. SpaceX has a lot of experience under its belt going through the certification process with the DoD," Miller said. "They have much better insight into what they think it will take. And they have the benefit from the systems that have been certified under Falcon 9."

To get big military satellites into orbit, however, SpaceX may need the stretch version of the Falcon Heavy, said Miller. "One of the limits of the Falcon 9 for the DoD missions was that they needed a longer fairing. The payload was too tall for the existing fairing," he said. "I'm hoping Elon Musk has a longer fairing on the Falcon Heavy."

Ultimately the safety and performance record is what will matter the most, said Miller. The government favors reliability more than cost, and there is good reason for that, he said. Military and National Reconnaissance Office satellites typically cost more than the launch vehicle. "If satellites cost $500 million, or a billion dollars, you don't care if the launch vehicle is $90 million or $140 million. The extra risk reduction is a rational thing when your satellites cost so much."

This story was provided by SpaceNews, dedicated to covering all aspects of the space industry.
A newly discovered asteroid that will fly safely past Earth today (Feb. 9) may be larger than a celestial object that exploded over Chelyabinsk, Russia, five years ago. The newly found interloper, called 2018 CB, is estimated to be from 50 to 130 feet (15 to 40 meters) in diameter, and will fly by Earth at about 2:30 p.m. PST (5:30 p.m. EST).

"Asteroids of this size do not often approach this close to our planet  maybe only once or twice a year," said Paul Chodas, manager of the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, in a statement from the agency.

2018 CB is a small asteroid by celestial standards; the largest asteroid in our solar system, Vesta, is roughly 326 miles (525 kilometers) across. (Dwarf planet Ceres is the largest object in the asteroid belt at 590 miles (950 km) across  roughly the size of Texas. It is sometimes referred to as an asteroid.)

Asteroid 2018 CB will pass closely by Earth on Friday, Feb. 9, at a distance of about 39,000 miles. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

But as residents of Chelyabinsk found out in 2013, something 2018 CB's size can cause a lot of damage. That year, an object roughly 17 m (51 feet) in diameter exploded above the town while hurtling through Earth's atmosphere, shattering glass and causing hundreds of injuries.

The NASA-funded Catalina Sky Survey spotted 2018 CB and another asteroid, 2018 CC, on Feb. 4. While 2018 CB isn't entering Earth's atmosphere, the object will whiz by safely at less than 20 percent of the distance from the Earth to the moon.

Coincidentally, 2018 CB's arrival comes just days after two other asteroids safely passed by Earth. On Super Bowl Sunday (Feb. 4), asteroid 2002 AJ129 came by the planet at a distance of only 2.6 million miles (4.2 million km)  10 times the distance to the moon. (The average distance between the Earth and moon is about 238,855 miles, or 384,400 km.)

Then, on Tuesday (Feb. 6), asteroid 2018 CC made its closest approach, at 114,000 miles (184,000 km), roughly the halfway point between Earth and the moon. Astronomers, however, have known about this asteroid since 2002. It measures from 0.3 miles to 0.75 miles (0.5 to 1.2 km) across.

Tracking asteroids

NASA and its Planetary Defense Coordination Office regularly search for and track asteroids using several partner telescopes. The goal is to catalog all near-Earth objects that could pose a threat to the planet. Right now, the agency hasn't announced the detection of any imminent threats. It publishes all its asteroid findings online at the Small-Body Database Browser, which is freely available online.

There are also several asteroid missions in space that are ongoing, or coming up soon, designed to gain more information about how asteroids are formed and where they are located.

NASA's dedicated asteroid-hunting telescope, NEOWISE, will conclude its mission this year when its orbit brings the insturment into a zone with too much sunlight for observations. The agency's OSIRIS-ReX  and Japan's Hayabusa 2  are on their way to different asteroids to pick up samples for later analysis back at Earth. Two new NASA missions, called Lucy and Psyche, will fly past eight asteroids in the 2020s and 2030s.

NASA is in an ongoing quest to catalog 90 percent of asteroids that are larger than 140 m (460 feet) wide and that will come to within about 4.65 million miles (7.48 million km) of Earth, or about 20 times the distance from Earth to the moon, according to the agency. In 2005, Congress tasked NASA with completing this work by 2020, but multiple reports suggest that the agency will miss that deadline. NASA did, however, meet Congress' goal of finding 90 percent of all Near Earth Objects (NEO's) that are 1 km (0.6 miles wide) in 2010.

Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
A 3D-printed model of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket fairing, complete with a model car to represent the Tesla Roadster that flew on the real Falcon Heavy's maiden flight. The design is freely available via the website thingiverse.com.

Just a few days ago, a Tesla Roadster soared into space aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, on its way to an orbit around that sun that could extend beyond the orbit of Mars. To commemorate the excitement of Tuesday's (Feb. 6) launch, you can 3D print your own version of the Falcon Heavy payload fairing. The model is just big enough to fit a Hot Wheels or Matchbox car inside.

Instructions uploaded to Thingiverse  a website devoted to 3D-printed objects  detail how to create the Falcon Heavy fairing. The design was created by a San Francisco engineer named Paul, under the username "psync," who wrote a few assembly instructions explaining how to put the booster together and mount a toy car inside. The last step? "Launch to Mars," he wrote.

A 3D-printed model of the Falcon Heavy payload fairing. (Image credit: psync/thingiverse)

The Falcon Heavy launch attracted worldwide attention while meeting most of its major objectives. Two boosters on the rocket successfully landed right side up, although the core stage missed its drone-ship landing pad and hit the ocean at 300 mph (480 km/h), SpaceX said in a press conference Tuesday following the launch.

But it was the video livestream showing the Tesla and its spacesuited mannequin passenger, "Starman," that stole the show. Musk, who is also the CEO of Tesla Motors, chose to put the car inside the rocket to act as a test weight for the Falcon Heavy. While the car is intact right now, radiation will likely tear the vehicle apart in about a year, Live Science previously reported.

A toy car mounted inside a 3D model of a Falcon Heavy payload fairing. (Image credit: psync/thingiverse)

Starman's name was just one of many pop culture references associated with the launch; the moniker references the famous 1972 David Bowie song of the same name. Part of the SpaceX broadcast of the launch featured another famous Bowie song, "Life on Mars." And instructions printed on the Tesla dashboard  "Don't Panic"  quoted a famous line from the Douglas Adams book "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" (Pan Books, 1979).

In the near future, Falcon Heavy will focus on near-Earth missions. In 2018, it is expected to fly two missions: one to launch a large communications satellite called Arabsat-6A and another for the U.S. Air Force's Space Test Program 2, a launch that will include the LightSail 2 solar sail for The Planetary Society.

Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
TANI AND JUNIOR GO UNDERCOVER AS PROSPECTIVE PARENTS IN ORDER TO INFILTRATE A PRIVATE SCHOOL WHERE THE HEADMASTER WAS MURDERED, ON HAWAII FIVE-0, FRIDAY, MARCH 2O na hoku o ka lani wale no kai ike i kahi o Pae  Tani and Junior go undercover as prospective parents in order to infiltrate a private school where the headmaster was murdered. Also, Adams life is on the line when he is held captive and forced to produce a hidden massive amount of money, on HAWAII FIVE-0, Friday, March 2 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.(O na hoku o ka lani ka i ike ia Pae is Hawaiian for Only the Stars of Heaven Know Where Pae Is)CHEAT TWEET: #H50 fans, if you have been shipping Tani & Junior as much as we have, you are going to love this episode! @MeaghanRath @BeulahKoale @HawaiiFive0CBS 3/2 9pm #CBS http://bit.ly/2nIF3wrREGULAR CAST:Alex OLoughlin (Steve McGarrett)Scott Caan (Danny Danno Williams)Chi McBride (Lou Grover)Jorge Garcia (Jerry Ortega)Ian Anthony Dale (Adam Noshimuri)Meaghan Rath (Tani Rey)Beulah Koale (Junior Reigns)Taylor Wily (Kamekona)Kimee Balmilero (Noelani Cunha)RECURRING CAST:Andrew Lawrence (Eric Russo)Christine Ko (Jessie Nomura)Vincent Pastore (Vito)Aaron Yoo (Hideki Tashiro)GUEST CAST:Robyn Lively (Helen Meech)Robert William Campbell (Jared Barton)Sara Lea Davis (Wife #1)Cathy Roberts (Wife #2)Phillip Kleshick (Husband #1)Camille Perry (Barton Daughter)Clyde Yasuhara (Lee)Dezmond Gilla (Head Cartel Guy)WRITTEN BY: David Wolkove and Matt WheelerDIRECTED BY: Jerry Levine




Chapter Seventy-Three was written by the team of Valentina Garza and Chantelle M Wells and was directed by Eric Lea. This is essentially Leas first time as a director but he has worked on 19 episodes of the show as a film editor. This episode really focused nicely on all the characters looking at big changes.Jane (Gina Rodriguez) and Rafaels (Justin Baldoni) kiss is complicated when Mateo (Elias Janssen) walks in in the middle of it. He is overjoyed to think that his parents are going to get married! Jane and Rafael try to explain that they are just exploring their feelings and nothing will change for Mateo, but lets face it, thats a bit complicated for a little kid. I always love the gimmick of the texting, so I really liked the back and forth between the two as Rafael finally gets Mateo asleep. They are clearly on the same page with exploring things slowlyThe next morning, Mateo has further complicated things by telling Alba (Ivonne Coll), Xo (Andrea Navedo), and Rogelio (Jaime Camil) about the kiss! The two arrive at breakfast to a lot of expectant faces. Rogelio announces that hes taking one year off to be a stay at home dad for Baby  and Rafael immediately tells him that he admires that. After all, Rafael has struggled with that work/life/family balance himself!Ever practical, Alba worries about money. Rogelio assures her that theyll be fine  hes done an overseas commercial for laxative! The commercial is hysterical! And its not too far removed from reality. Hes excited about being a stay at home dad  he even has a vision board!Jane gets a call from her editor  the publisher is dropping her! Jane is sure that she's a failure. Rogelio and Xo try to be supportive, but they really dont understand the publishing industry. I really liked how the show spotlighted the difficulty in bringing diverse voices to print. This isnt just a plot point. Very few women of color do get published. Jane feels that shes a failure. Rafael is the one  as always  who gives her a better pep talk and tells her to get busy writing. Unfortunately, Jane is stuck. Shes just not sure what she wants to write about.Darci (Justina Machado) and Esteban (Keller Wortham) tell Rogelio that theyve finally found the perfect nanny  one with lots of #CBE = Celebrity Baby Experience! But Rogelio, tells them that because hes a stay at home Dad, he can be the #Danny on Darcis days. Darci is sure that Rogelio will flake out after a few days  she may be evil, but she sure knows Rogelio!Mateo isnt happy that Rafael is moving out, and Rafael isnt happy with Petra (Yael Grobglas). When Rafael tells Petra that hes not coming to their blended family brunch, Petra goes to Jane. Jane agrees with Rafael that maybe they should skip brunch for a while. She tells Petra that she pushes people too far and that at some point, they just cant come back.Jane finds Mateo packing her bag so that they can move in with Rafael, misunderstanding Rafaels comment that Jane could come and stay over from time to time. Jane is clearly upset when Mateo accuses her of being the only one who doesnt want them to be a family. Rafael clarifies that what he actually said was that Jane could come over as often as she wanted but he does want them together, happily ever after. Hes all in. But hes not pushing  and hes committed to giving her space to get things worked out. The narrator (Anthony Mendez) tells us that for a moment  without all the outside pressure  Jane was ready to be all in too  but you cant get rid of reality.Petra wants to call Ramos (Rosario Dawson) JR, but shes having none of it  shell just call Petra, Peter. I thought this was hilarious too! Ramos is meeting with Petra because the police found some pretty horrible emails from Petra to Anezka, including one saying If you come near me, or my family again, I will kill you. It IS pretty damning. The police now want a blueprint of the scene. But Petra has watched Law & Order  so now way! I loved the little gimmick of using the Law & Order music to create a dramatic pause! Ramos tells her that Law & Order doesnt get the law right  and shes right!Rafael stops by to see Petra to ask her a favor. He wants Petra to help get Jane in touch with her Agent friend. Meanwhile, Ramos gets a text asking her if shes gotten it done and telling her theres a lot at stake. When Petra comes in, Ramos tells her about her mother who has Alzheimers, and she cant get her into see the top specialist in Miami. Petra looks thoughtful  and naturally arranges to get Ramoss mother in to see the doctor.Jorge (Alfonso DiLuca) is back, and Alba thinks he is treating her badly at work  giving her shifts that she doesnt like. Really, he is her boss but Xo encourages her to report him if she feels hes targeting her for not accepting his proposal. Later, Alba heads in to work to confront Jorge about his treatment and finds Jorge kissing his old girlfriend Sofia. Jorge at least has the decency to look a bit upset when he sees that Alba has seen them.Rogelio spends the day taking selfies with Baby, until Darci calls and tells him to stop. Darci accuses him of not looking after his daughter but using her to raise his social media profile! Darci isnt wrong to want to protect Babys privacy. Rogelio is onboard. Darci asks if Baby has had her poop and when she hasnt, Rogelio is consumed with making it happen!Rafael tells Jane hes gotten her a meeting with Jeffrey Mullins. Rafael gives Petra credit for helping to set up a meeting on Friday  in TWO DAYS!! Jane is panic stricken because he will ask what shes working on next  and she has no idea. They cant reschedule because he changed his schedule to make room for her. Jane does what she does best and researches current popular trends in fiction  and of course that backfires. Jane is never going to write a really great novel if she isnt one hundred percent committed and immersed in the story  its got to come from her heart, not her head.I loved the various scenarios that Jane runs through  stable, prison and always with Rafael  and always with reality intruding.Rafaels apartment is truly awful. Jane tries to make it better by being enthusiastic about the art deco windows and fire escape. Rafael kicks Jane out  its boy-time! To keep Mateo from blaming Jane. They share another kiss, and Rafael continues to be supportive about her career and upcoming meetingJanes meeting with Mullins goes awfully. They hate the ideas she pitches  and they are awful! When Mullins spies Petra, he insists that she join them. I did love Petra talking about hating Ivanka  and her trying to sell her bum condos. Its a thing. Look it up. Petra does try to refocus the meeting on Jane, but the meeting ends with Petra getting a book contract to write a lifestyle book! Mullins tells Jane hell look at the first chapter of a Fifty Shades-type story with the heroine as the boss which fyi, is where Fifty Shades ends up anywayAs soon as Mullins leaves, Petra says she wont write the book when its clear that Jane is upset. Her whole point in getting Mullins was to try to make up with Jane  and that really is growth on Petras part! Jane is too angry to see it, and tells Petra that even if she turns down the book, it wont make Jane forget all the evil things that Petra has done. Jane accuses Petra of doing everything transactionally. I love how seamlessly Grobglas shifts into comedy  as she proves Jane right when she asks Krishna (Shelly Bhalla) about the things shes done for her  um, none?Once Rogelio gets Baby to poop, hes at a loss for what to do. Hes bored. He takes a couple of selfies, but doesnt post them  such restraint! And that leads him to question, if you take a selfie and dont post it, do you even exist? Rogelio is faced with the isolation of every stay-at-home Mom ever!Rogelio passes the time by texting Xo. Her open house has been a great success, but Xo confesses to Alba that she hates being an Administrator, shes not even dancing anymore. Xo doesnt expect Alba to be supportive; she assumes that Alba will accuse her of not sticking with something again, and its too late to start a new career.Xo in turn is supportive of Alba not giving up too. Who cares if Jorge was out on a rebound? But it wasnt a rebound  Alba was the rebound! But it also means that Alba dodged a bullet when she said no to his proposal. Hopefully, shell get to the point where she sees that Ultimately, Xo surprises everyone by taking Albas advice and sells the studio and gets a job as an instructor with another studio!Mateos teacher (Karen Lew) tells Rafael that Mateo has had a bad week at school. Rafael explains that a lot is up in the air at home, and she encourages him to tell Mateo whats going on because hes very anxious.We get another nice scene with all the women on the swing. Jane tells them that they have to make a decision to put Mateos mind at ease, and theyre sleeping on it. Alba is still very upset. She does regret ending it with Jorge just a little. Xo asks why Alba didnt say yes, and she finally admits that she just wasnt ready for the next step.It turns out that all the wine and candles in the world cant help Petra become a writer. JR shows up to thank Petra for getting the appointment for her mother. JR asks if shes day-drinking and Petra tells her about the lifestyle book. JR suggests it might not be the best thing when Petra is being investigated for murder. Petra seems keen for JR to trust her that she didnt do it. And just me or was there a lot of chemistry between these two???? JR asks what Petra is going to write about Anezka, but Petra needs more wineMeanwhile, Jane starts her Fifty Shades story, and we get an hilarious sequence of Jane and Rafael in leather. And Rafael points out that hes her flawed romantic hero! Jane goes to Rafael and tells him that she thinks that they should give it a chance  and of course, thats when Rafael tells her that he doesnt think that hes in the right headspace for a relationship. But honestly, isnt this just Rafaels recurring hangup about being able to provide for his family? And really, who wouldnt be depressed in that apartment??!?!Jane and Rafael have a heart-to-heart on the fire escape. Hes been afraid to tell her how he feels because he thinks shell think hes too dark. Jane insists that he needs to tell her the truth. And then, there it is. Part of it at least is that hes afraid hes not going to get out of this apartment  which is a manifestation of him not having money. He says, he knows that shes going to say that money doesnt matter. And thats it for Jane. She has big dreams too! She wants to write a best seller and buy a big house  and a boat! She tells him about the S&M book shes writing to get there.Rafael is surprised, and he tells her that she wont be able to write if shes not inspired  hes so smart! And Jane admits hes right. He tells her not to rush it  shes got time. Jane wishes they had time, but Rafael points out that they dont. Mateo needs an answer.JR asks Petra if shes in love with Jane, or why shes obsessed with her. Petra breaks down when she admits that shes upset that Jane is mad at her. JR is surprised to see so much emotion from Petra  who hasnt shown any over Anezka! Petra tells her that Jane is a good person  and Anezka was horrible (not really, right? More Magdas influence than anything.). JR points out that everyone has ulterior motives. JR came over to say thank you, but also to get the blueprints. She tells Petra to just not take no for an answer. And a shout out here again to Grobglass acting. Shes able to pull off tipsy/drunk without taking it overboard.The next day, Petra shows up at Albas with the twins in tow and all the fixings for brunch! She tells Jane that she cant cancel brunch. Shes going to make things right with Jane. Jane wants to know if brunch is so that Jane will help Petra win back Rafael  but brunch has never been about Rafael. Petra uses Jane as her moral compass, and she knows shes way off course if Jane is that mad at her. Shes going to course correct and make it right. Once Jane is reminded of why they started the brunches, shes ready to eatXo and Rogelio have a heart to heart about career changes. Xo points out shes given it three years  not three days or three weeks which gives Rogelio pause about his own impending quitting.Brunch is going really well  I loved Petra and Jane encouraging Alba to embrace her hotness! And then the books come up. Petra admits that shes having trouble writing and doesnt even know what shes doing. Jane is impressed at the confession and suggests that she find a ghost writer  and of course, Petra immediately offers the job to Jane! Petra offers Jane $250 an hour, and Jane starts negotiating! The two strike a deal - $300 per hour and 150 hours. Alba clearly doesnt think this is a good ideaPetra agrees to give JR the blueprints as a thank you for her advice about the brunch. We immediately see JR text that mysterious Unknown caller, telling them that they got the blueprints. Hmmmm. Who could want blueprints to the hotel??? JR asks if they are sure that Petra is guilty  shes clearly falling under Petras spell! There really is some chemistry there! The caller insists that Petra is guilty and a master manipulator. Im leaning toward MagdaJane and Rafael tell the family that theyve made a decision to go back to being friends and family. Rogelio rolls his eyes, and nobody is happy. They get in the car  Jane has to drive Rafael home And we get to know it was all a smokescreen! The two end up kissing  and promising lots of sex! They are going to keep their relationship secret to give themselves time to really explore their feelings and be sure! And I think that Im finally onboard for this Its clearly end game after all.This was a solid episode. I liked the themes that ran throughout  its never too late to follow your dream and make a change. As always the mix of humor and pathos are what really set this show apart. Who do you think JR is talking to? Are Jane and Rafael doing the right thing? How long do you think they can keep their secret? How long before Jane quits or Petra fires her? Let me know your thoughts about the episode below! And dont forget to watch an all new Jane the Virgin tonight because
NCIS - Keep Your Friends Close - Review





NCIS 15.14 - "Keep Your Friends Close"

Directed by Mark Horowitz

Written by Gina Lucita Monreal

Reviewed by KathM



Previously on NCIS  Some background for this episode takes us back to Burden of Proof, which aired earlier this season. In it, Gibbs and Co. investigated the case of Gabriel Hicks, a man who has been on Death Row for the murder of Lt. Edward OConnell for the last decade. Hicks claims that NCIS/FBI investigation framed him, and a second look at the case tells us that Fornell, who thinks Hicks is a serial killer, withheld information that may have proved Hicks to be innocent. Gibbs testifies that Fornell was the one who withheld the the evidence, the case gets thrown out, Hicks gets released and Sloane and Gibbs find out later that he is likely the serial killer Fornell said he was all along.



And now my review of: NCIS - Keep Your Friends Close



On a Generic Suburban Street, police pull over van that has been reported missing. The diver says that theres a mistake, and as hes handcuffed he tells the officers that he went through the Police Academy and knows his rights. Okay, one of the officers ask, then wheres the registration? Funnily enough, the driver tells him its in the mail. But none of his excuses matter when the officer who was searching the back of the can comes up with a body in a barrel. Suddenly the driver is all about, Yep, I stole the van. Never saw it before today. But nothing in its mine!!!



At the Navy Yard, Bishop enters the Bull Pen and Torres pulls himself away from the agent he was flirting with to tell her that McGee cracked the Thomas Brown case for the San Diego NCIS office in the twenty minutes hed been in the office that day. Have I ever told you that I think NICS: Los Angeles, should have taken place in San Diego? I think NCIS: Miramar has a good ring to it. Doesnt that sound nice? Practically musical. Then again, Miramar is the Marine Base, not the name of the Naval Base (which is the largest naval base in the US). Still prefer San Diego over LA, though.



Anyway, McGee comes into the Bull Pen from the motor pool (or whatever its called), where he was checking out the NCIS automotive fleets new floor mats. Because the ones in their current sedans were losing those little grip things underneath the mats and someone could slip. Um, okay. Torres tell McGee that ever since he and Delilah had the cherubs (twins) hes been on fuego (fire). This reminds McGee that hes creating a story anthology for the cherubs and hopes Torres and Bishop can contribute. Im sorry, what? Slow down, Timmy! Bishop says that McGee is like a super dad with superhuman agent powers, which Torres refutes by saying that someone with superhuman powers can lift a car off a kid. Which hes done, BTW. But McGee creeps them out by saying, Dead body, boss? before Gibbs appears from behind the staircase and tells McGee he has eyes in the back of his head. Before they all head out (grabbing their gear for a Navy commander this time) Torres says that McGee sensed the dead body while Bishop is all, You have superhuman agent powers! again. As they all get up to leave McGee grins in an almost Gibbsish way.



At the crime scene it has been determined that the victim is Commander James Willis, and that hed been missing one week from the day he was found. Palmer says it looks like a gunshot wound to the head, but he has to get him back to autopsy before he knows for sure. Palmer tries to make that old, when you assume joke fly, but Gibbs lets Palmer know straight out that he never assumes. How can Palmer not know that? Well it seems that he does, as he tells Gibbs that his gut is waaaay different from an assumption. Any assumption. Because duh.



Our van driver/thief is Ozzie Duncan, whose story about stealing the van checks out (as opposed to his original story about owning the van). He took it from a grocery store parking lot without knowing what was inside, and the van itself was reported stolen from the owners house ten days ago.



In Interrogation Lite, Reeves (!) is talking to Cmdr. Willis wife. She says the last time she saw her husband was a week ago, when he left to go to work. He stopped to see his mother in her hospice care home between 7:00-8:00 pm and that was the last time anyone saw him. Willis' mother has terminal cancer and died two days after Willis vanished. Mrs. Willis says that she isnt sure how to live without her husband. Reeves begins to tell her about the various counseling options the Navy has, but she cuts him off. She says that she doesnt want a therapist, and that shes already told her story to the police and the Navy Absentee person AND the Private Investigator, and none of them had done their job. Wait, a PI? She hired a PI? Nope. A PI just came to the door looking for her husband and Mrs. Willis thought he worked for NCIS so she told him the whole story. Like you do. Reeves asks for the PIs name and Mrs. Willis presents his card. Reeves steps out of the room and calls Gibbs, telling him that he may want to talk to the PI on the case. Yeah, maybe you should.



Gibbs appears at the doorway of a deep green house and rings the bell. A voice on the intercom tells him to go to the garage, so Gibbs goes over and kicks the garage door a couple of times until it opens, revealing former FBI agent Tobias Fornell.



Fornell, Fornell! Fornell, Fornell, Fornell!!!





He has an office set up in his garage, complete with a big desk and a comfy chair and an oriental rug. Oh, and a murder board. Gibbs asks Fornell whats going on, and Fornell reminds him that the statement Gibbs gave in court got him fired. All Gibbs says is that he noticed that Fornell was now parking his car in the driveway. Which Gibbs would have known if hed returned any of Fornells calls, it seems. Ooops. Fornell is a licensed PI now.Suddenly were in Vances office, where Gibbs bursts in and tells Leon, He is right behind me, and you got to say no! Before Gibbs can tell Vance what he should say no to, Fornell enters the office, wanting to work with NCIS on the Willis case. Yes, he tells Vance, hes a PI now that Gibbs testimony got him canned (It happens.). But Fornell finds PI work good for his soul. One of his clients is called Cash-Line Direct and he had been tasked with getting in touch with Willis after he took out large loans without paying the back or answering their collections calls. Fornell turned up on the Willis doorstep three days ago looking for him, and Mrs. Willis told him all about how her husband was missing. Fornells willing to share what he learned about Willis during that time, and Vance thinks its a grand idea. Gibbs looks at Leon as though he were insane, then reluctantly agrees.The meeting is held in Fornells office/garage. Oddly, Gibbs is absent. McGee likes Fornells murder/look for Wills board, Torres asks if sitting at Fornells desk makes him look important, and Bishop loves Fornells hat and the general  garage office "vibe. When Fornell asks after Gibbs, Bishop says he called her to tell the team hed be late, so Fornell starts the briefing. He goes over Willis background (works at the Pentagon in Support Services, no arrests, nothing on his record except for his Cash-Line Direct debt). So, a good guy, right? Boy Scout. WellllFornell pushes a button that moves the cork board to the side and reveals a high-tech screen that is operated by something called a Sky Glove 4800 (not a real thing). McGee is almost salivating over the gadget, but this is no time for drooling. Its time to learn more about Willis and look at a video of a brawl Willis had over lunch with another Navy Commander, Sean Evans. Evans is available to be interviewed on his ship, but Fornell cant go because he has no fancy FBI creds. Get Gibbs to pull some strings, Torres tells him. But it seems that Gibbs has been ignoring Fornell and when he came over to see Fornell earlier that day it was the first time hed seen Gibbs in weeks. Gibbs doesnt want him on the case, didnt come to the meeting. Fornell says that Gibbs did the right thing in telling the truth on the stand; its over. Fornell claims that hes happy with his new life, which I dont exactly believe. But I do believe he thinks Gibbs did the right thing. Could the kids do a little investigating into why Gibbs might be behaving that way? Uh, no. The kids dont investigate Gibbs.Gibbs goes to see Sloane in her office where she is looking over the surveillance shes done that week on Gabriel Hicks (see Burden of Proof ). He hasnt been doing much, and they just have to be patient. Gibbs sardonically reminds Sloane that hes all about patience as he hurls darts at the dartboard in her office. She is making headway with Jessica Schaffer (his lawyer), however, though Gibbs thinks that Sloane isnt pushing Jessica hard enough because theyre friends. Besides, Jessica cant tell them anything because shes still Hicks' lawyer. Gibbs doesnt think theyre moving fast and Sloane asks whats changed. Gibbs tells her that every time he sees Fornell (which has been twice so far since the trial, it seems) Gibbs feels like he's lying to his face. He hasn't told Fornell that Hicks is guilty after all and that Fornell was right. Gibbs thinks he has to wait until Hicks is arrested again to tell him, and until then he has to save Fornell from himself. Sloane says she gets it, but her expression says that Gibbs should still tell him.: Gibbs takes a lollipop but tosses it back into the jar before he leaves the office to answer a page from Palmer. It appears to be red or possibly orange. Maybe purple.In autopsy Palmer is chatting to Willis' corpse about beekeeping, which is what Jimmys neighbor now does for a living. Palmer knows from reading an online portfolio of Willis that beekeeping is something he enjoyed, too. When Gibbs comes down and asks what hes doing, Palmer bemoans the fact that he doesnt have as many historical references or stories as Ducky, so he's just reached out for the most random thing he could find to connect with Williss body. Gibbs tells him hey, you reach, thats your thing. Own it. Now, back to the barrel. There were rags in the bottom of it, which have been sent up to Abby. But theres less than a gallon of lye in the bottom on the barrel, too, which wasnt enough to decompose the body. Why was it there? Palmer asks the Commander, What was your killer thinking? Gibbs smirks.Bishop and Torres are interviewing Evans on his ship, where he learns that Willis was no longer missing, but dead. He says that he and Willis were extremely close, and the video they show him is a fight about money. Willis mom had a rare kind of cancer and wanted to try some experimental treatments, so Evans loaned him $8,000 to help out. When Willis couldnt pay him back Evans got mad and they fought. But it had all been sorted out long before he went missing because Willis had paid him back weeks before he was missing.In the lab Abby is telling some kind of story using her Bert the Hippo toy and a stuffed bunny. At the end of the story Burt agrees that he and the bunny should both wear matching collars, which may not be the kind of story the cherubs really need to hear. Regardless, she tells McGee and Reeves when they arrive to join her that the bedtime story is for the video anthology for cherubs. This will apparently be Chapter 22 in his story collection; McGee has it all planned out. It is again mentioned, this time by Abby, that McGee is completely on point at work and at home, and he hasnt let anything slip. McGee wants to get back to business, since Abby told them to get their butts down to the lab ASAP. So. Work-wise, the rags just look like they were used to clean up the crime scene and the .380 that killed Willis isnt in the system; however, two bullets with the same striations were. They were each found at two different murder scenes. Both murders were execution style, like Willis, but the cases are unrelated aside from being killed using the same bullets. Looks like Willis was killed by a professional.Torres brings Fornell up into the Bull Pen (he cant just come up anymore because hes a lowly civilian now), and McGee fills him in on the two other murders the bullets were used in. While hes talking Fornell looks up and sees Gibbs coming from the direction of the lab. Gibbs takes one look at Fornell and basically runs away. Runs like hes seen an ex-wife. Gibbs cant even look at Fornell, just walks quickly away and says he has to get a thing. Bishop tells those assembled (Torres, Fornell, and McGee) that six months ago Willis was on the jury that convicted Albert Hathaway, a Bernie Madoff knock-off. Could Hathaway have ordered the hit from jail? Guess we need to go and check that out.Meanwhile, over at the diner, Sloane is having coffee with Jessica Schaffer, who I think Sloane initially befriended as part of her investigation into Hicks, but I now think is actually her friend. Jessica is talking about Hathaway and his jury and how they were sequestered for months when everyone already knew he was basically guilty. But this is all public information, and Jessica wants to know why Sloane invited her for breakfast. Sloane wants to talk to her about Hicks and Jessica wont because shes still his lawyer and she knows Sloane was never convinced of his innocence. Sloane keeps talking over her until Jessica decides to leave. Sloane asks her to stay, saying that she wont bring up Hicks again and that Jessica is the only friend she has who she can watch reality TV with. A true bond if ever there was one.Did you know that Albert Hathaway is in no way guilty of any of his crimes? It was all his executive assistant who used his passwords to defraud everyone. Torres and Bishop are not impressed, as they want to talk to him about Willis. They show him a picture of Alive Willis; Hathaway doesnt recognize him, but that may be because hes compartmentalized much of the trial due to the trauma of it all. Like PTSD, he says. Not even close, Torres tells him. Then they show him a picture of Dead Willis and Hathaway has the same reaction. They ask him if he knows any hit men, and Hathaway says that he came right to jail from court six months ago and no, he doesnt know any hit men. Maybe he does, Torres suggests, but the PTSD has blocked it out. Before they leave Bishop and Torres tell Hathaway theyll be listening to the tapes of all of his phone calls and hope that nothing leads him back to the murder.Things are semi-serious as McGee goes to Abby's lab in response to a text. Reeves and Abby are sitting, waiting for him, and invite McGee to sit down as the lab doors slide closed. Abby analyzed one of McGees coffee cups and it was not hard at all for her to determine that McGee has been drinking copious amounts of Caf-Pow! McGee fesses up: he feels guilty when hes away from the cherubs and guilty when hes away from work. Hes a Hamster on a giant guilt wheel, Abby tells him, and he needs to get off. But Abby drinks Caf-Pow! all day! Yes, she does, McGee, but she has built up a tolerance over time. Okay, then. McGee says their tough love totally worked on and he won't drink it anymore. And nobody believes him except for Abby and Reeves.Now, on to the case-related stuff: the blood on the rags found in the barrel with him is Cmdr. Willis, and there is no DNA on them. However, the rags are made from a new microfiber that is being sold to cleaning companies. From that Abby was able to break search deeper and finds Crime Scene Tru-Clean, the company that uses the very rags that were in the barrel with Cmdr. Willis. McGee says to text him with the address info, but Abby tells him Bishop and Torres are already there; she just called McGee down for an intervention.At Tru-Clean Bishop and Torres find out that on the night Willis vanished two employees, the Barrett brothers (Michael and Joey), didnt show up for work. The next day their manager noticed that some equipment was missing, including three liters of lye. She doesnt have their address because they both move around too much, but she tells Bishop that they eat nearly all their meals at a place that serves mostly pizza, burgers, and fries. She gives them the street its located on and Bishop and Torres head out.Torres is waiting in line at the food place where the Barrett brothers primarily dine, while Bishop and Gibbs surveil from a nearby car (complete with new floor mats). When Torres speaks to Gibbs and Bishop on their radios (hes killing it by standing in line and convincing everyone that someone with his BMI would eat there). When Gibbs asks Bishop how Fornell was at this meeting in his office, Fornell butts and says hes just peachy. How is he suddenly part of the conversation on this channel, Gibbs shouts at him. Hes been working with NCIS for 15 years, Fornell reminds them; how could he not know which frequency they use?Gibbs argues that Fornell shouldnt be there, he cant arrest anyone and cant even carry a weapon. Au contraire, my dear Gibbs: as a civilian, Tobias can carry a weapon. Gibbs is furious and wants to know if Fornell is carrying right now, and Fornell alludes that he may have something going on.The Barrett brothers approach the line to buy their greasy goods, arguing the whole time. Gibbs tells Torres to move in. He tells Fornell to stay, but he's not Gibbs poodle and immediately begins running after the Barretts. Torres easily takes Michael down but Joey is getting away, Fornell close behind him. Gibb and Bishop corner Joey by blocking the end of the alley he's running down, but when he turns and begins running in the other direction Fornell tasers him. Awesome.The Barretts find themselves in Interrogation with Gibbs, the last place you ever want to be. McGee, Vance, and Fornell are watching from the viewing room. Vance congratulates Fornell on his creative takedown by using the taser, and Fornell thanks him and says thats he wants from Gibbs. A little appreciation. Fornell is starting to take Gibbs behavior personally (its about time, Tobias! Although I think youve been feeling that way for a while). When he asks Vance if he know anything about Gibbs behavior, he tells Tobias that couples therapy is not in his job description.Gibbs' interrogation technique turns out to be not interrogating anyone, just loom in a corner of the room and wait while the Barretts argue and basically confess to everything. Taser victim Joey is a font of information: he tells Gibbs all about the fact that they were hired by a hitman to clean up a crime scene after hed killed someone, then dump the body. They had planned to dissolve the body with lye but were fired from Tru-Clean before they could finish the job. The barrel was dumped in the Potomac, Michael tells Gibbs. But the State Police found the barrel in the back of a stolen truck, Gibbs says. The truck that Joey had originally stolen was then stolen from him. Got that? It seems that young Joey, whose only job was to dump the body, decided that he might as well wait until the hit man called them to clean up the other crime, then dump them both at the same time. Working smarter, not harder? Not in this case.Wait, another murder? Yup. The Barrett boys are being put up in a hotel (Joey cheerfully offers up the name and address), and one of them needs to remain in the room at all times so the hit man can call them on the landline when hes ready for them to clean up and dispose of his next kill. He hasnt called in a week, though, Michael tells them.Bishop and Gibbs arrive at the scrupulously clean hotel room (cleaning is their job, after all) when they hear the toilet flush and Fornell strolls out, magazine in hand. The bathroom is clear, he assures them. Vance gave Fornell the all clear to visit the hotel and Gibbs is not a happy camper about that at all. Fornell snarls a bit at Gibbs about how great this whole situation is, especially how he gets to sit and wait for the call with Gibbs, who will squirm for reasons nobody knows but you. Bishop can feel the tension and runs away to buy greasy food over where they caught the Barretts because who knows? They could be there awhile, waiting for the call. Good thought, Emily. Run like the wind.Before Gibbs and Fornell finally have it out, Sloane calls to let Gibbs know that shes surveilling Hicks and hes still hiding out in his apartment. Unfortunately, Jessica (who is delivering some paperwork to Hicks) walks past Sloanes car and recognizes it, then sees the camera on the passenger seat and walks away. Jessica and Sloane argue on the sidewalk and Sloane explains how Hicks is ambidextrous and how Jessica thought he was innocent because he was right-handed and the killer was left-handed. Seems that Hicks isnt ONLY right-handed, but acted like he was from the time he was arrested to the time he was released from prison. Jessica tells Sloane to go home before she goes to the press about how NCIS is harassing an innocent man. Sloane looks on sadly as Jessica walks toward Hicks building.I predict that Jessica will not survive this episode.Fornell and Gibbs are waiting for the hit man to call. Fornell on one bed, Gibbs on another. Gibbs sounds like he has a cold, is blowing his nose and making a big deal about coughing. I sense a distraction! Fornell wants to play charades and tells Gibbs he can go first. When Gibbs ignores him Fornell says hell go instead. Sounds like brassmole, he begins. Still no reaction from Gibbs, and Fornell wants to know why. He wants Gibbs to talk to him, to talk to him like he used to, not shut him out like he's been doing. He pleads with Gibbs by telling him that, This is me. This is me. Shouldnt they be able to talk about anything? Gibbs shuts other people out, but not him. Not Tobias Fornell.Gibbs looks anguished as he admits to Tobias that he was right the whole time. Gibbs went up on the stand and told the truth and got Fornell fired and they later found out Hicks was guilty and should have been locked up all along. Fornell is understandably upst, but wants in on getting Hicks. Gibbs says that he and Sloane have it handled. Theres no room for Tobias Fornell. Gibbs says he wants to protect Fornell but doesnt say why, and keeps telling Tobias over and over that hell get Hicks and make it right. Tobias realizes that Gibbs doesnt trust him to keep a cool head and help Gibbs and Sloane put Hicks away. Then Fornell tells Gibbs that he doesn't know how trust him anymore, either. Fornell wants to make it right, too, not because he has anything left to lose, but because of the way his daughter Emily looked at him when he lost his job and she found out what had happened.Fornell leaves the room as Bishop returns with some hot, greasy goodness. Gibbs assures her that Fornell wont be back. Then, the phone rings and Gibbs picks it up and listens, writing down an address the hit man gives the brothers and tells them to be there in 30 minutes. Gibbs says theyll take care of it. He doesn't think that that hit has happened again, and he and Bishop rush off.Bishop calls Torres and gives him the address where the hit is going to happen, and McGee looks it up. The address is a house in Virginia owned by a Patrice Jansen, who was on the same jury as Willis. Hathaway may have some explaining to do.Bishop and Gibbs arrive at the future scene of the crime and pick the lock. They scour the house and while Bishop finds a cute cat skulking around in a closet, nothing else seems to be happening. While Bishop finishes looking over the closet she is grabbed from behind by a masked man. Gibbs comes in and promptly kills him, but neither he or Bishop recognizes him.The owner of the house arrives shortly, having had her passport scanned only roughly 20 or so minutes ago. Impossible. Im just saying, have you been to Dulles? Particularly the International part? Even with those fancy new passports youre looking at an hour at the very least. THEN you have the trip home after that. Gibbs and Bishop spook her first by calling out, NCIS and pointing their guns at her, but she soon settles down in her living room to chat with Gibbs. Patrice cant believe someone was going to have her killed, and Gibbs explains that it may have to do with being a jury member at Hathaways trial. He mentions that another juror, James Willis, was also killed, and Patrice starts crying. She keeps playing with her necklace, which is tiny bee (remember how Willis was into beekeeping?), then tells Gibbs that she and Willis feel in love during the time they were sequestered during the trial.Bishop calls Gibbs over to tell him that the hit man is called Dominic Malecki; he has no record and no connection to Hathaway.But Gibbs doesnt need Hathaway anymore, he has his gut! He has Torres bring Mrs. Willis down to Interrogation and offers her a seat, then shows her a list of calls to Malecki from her phone and a money transfer as well. Gibbs says he thinks that Mrs. Willis put a hit out on her husband and Patrice, the woman he had an affair with. Mrs. Willis promptly tells him that her husband spent their life savings on experimental treatments for his mother, who had no hope of living. Then he had an affair? Mrs. W figured that since Cmdr. Willis spent everything they had, she deserved his life insurance. Okay, then. Case closed.Gibbs arrives at Fornells office and gives him everything he and Sloane have on Hicks. He wants Tobias to be part of the team. Tobias is unsure. You ruined me, you punished me for ruining me, now you want my help? He looks incredulous for a minute, then smiles at his friend. Im in. He and Gibbs tear into the bankers box of evidence, and it looks for a minute like Gibbs might apologize! Tobias stops him, though. He tells Gibbs that he doesnt want Gibbs to break his own rules. As they begin to organize things on the murder board Gibbs mentions that Sloane will be along shortly; she is on her way over after she stops by to see a friend.Sloane run across the street to meet with Jessica, who has called her and asked her to come by. Shes on her way to see another client, but wants to talk to Sloane briefly about Hicks. Jessicas done some digging into Hicks background herself, then told him to get a new lawyer. She can't tell Sloane what she knows because Hicks was still her client at the time, but tells Sloane to keep digging. Jessica and Sloane hug, then Jessica gets into her car and Sloane walks away and calls Gibbs. Jessica starts her car and IT EXPLODES! Sloane is thrown away from the blast and end up unconscious on the ground while Gibbs shouts at her through the phone to see if she's okay. Jessica, and her car, burn in the background.What I Really Mean to Say Is: Great episode. It had a lot of humor and a lot of heart. The main story about the Cmdr. Willis wasnt interesting, but the brothers were hysterical and Gibbs basically solving the case in five minutes when he realized that Willis was having an affair was welcome because again, dull storyline.Gibbs behavior toward Tobias surprised me until I really thought about it. He and Fornell have always been close, with a comfortable back and forth between them. They had both been married to the same woman, which Ive always thought was an original plot point. I could see them both as grumpy old men in the old folks home, gently snarking at one another. Maybe Leon would be there, too. Im not sure. But the estrangement was so completely uncharacteristic that at first I thought it was maybe about Gibbs testimony getting Fornell fired, but when they were talking in the hotel room I became sure of just how much Gibbs cared for his friend. He hadnt told him about Hicks because Gibbs wanted to protect Fornell, but he never says why. The thing is, he just wants to protect him generally, because hes an important person in his life and he cant quite say that. Hes really the only character who spans both Gibbs work and his home life, and he wants to make sure nothing happens to Tobias. I sure love me some nearly emotionally available Gibbs.
The seemingly simple solution to the skills gap is to train and educate your workforce. But, the big question remains: Who picks up the tab?

Related: Planning a MOOC? Keep This in Mind.

An August 2017 American Student Assistance study found that 64 percent of the 92,419 people surveyed owed more than $30,000 apiece in student loan debt. Thats a huge burden to take on, even if means landing a better job or hiring a better qualified candidate.

As an alternative, many people are turning to MOOCs -- or massive open online courses. These educational opportunities are more flexible, and, in most cases, more affordable. Instead of taking on a full course load, enrollees participate in courses specific to their professional needs.

Although MOOCs seem like the perfect solution, many employers remain dubious: Do they really provide a quality education?

Here are the three steps you need to take when looking to hire people with MOOC-based degrees and certifications:

Do your due diligence.

Like traditional universities, not all MOOCs are created equal. A business degree from Harvard signals a different level of skills than a general education degree from a state college.

Mario Peshev is the CEO of DevriX, a WordPress development platform in Sofia, Bulgaria. The company has hired several people who built up their knowledge base through Coursera, Khan Academy and similar platforms. But Peshev admits he would have missed out on some of these employees if he hadnt looked into the courses theyd taken.

In an email, Peshev told me that these people represented a middle ground of talent. They have know-how, but their lack of a traditional degree means they probably wouldnt make it through most applicant-tracking system filters.

Related: 10 Free Online Courses That Can Benefit Every Entrepreneur

If you hear [the course is from] Stanford or MIT, you can probably rely on their entire training program, all lecturers and each course, Peshev said. If there are doubts [about a MOOC], cross-reference the course with other people in your network who have graduated from the same place.

Never underestimate a self-learner.

Don't make positive or negative assumptions based solely on a candidate's educational background. Instead, allow this individual the opportunity to prove his or her knowledge.

The best way to assess education quality -- whether it is gained in a traditional classroom setting or online -- is to ask the candidate interview questions that reveal their understanding, Michelle Prince, senior vice president and global head of learning and development at the Atlanta-based staffing organization Randstad, said via email.

She went on to advise that employers ask MOOC candidates additional interview questions. Instead of having them list what skills theyve learned, ask for examples. Propose real-life scenarios that challenge candidates to solve problems they would face in your company's position.

Conduct a work trial.

Often, people who complete MOOCs do so later in their career. They are too experienced to be given entry-level jobs but still need to prove themselves in any newly developed areas. A work trial is an ideal way to address this problem.

During the hiring process, have candidates work with current employees on a project. Give them the same responsibilities theyd take on if hired. Instruct employees to assess these candidates' skills, not step on their toes. Let your employees know they can step back and observe, but also jump in if the project is going down hill.

Then, ask employees for their honest opinions. How did the candidate succeed? In what ways could he or she still improve? This will provide a clearer picture of the candidate's skill level and ability to do the job without traditional qualifications.

Hold on to current employees.

Harsh fact: A February Office Vibe survey of 50,000 employees found that 15 percent didn't see themselves working for their company in a year. In addition, 56 percent of respondents didn't feel that they had career-development opportunities at their company.

Don't let this happen at your company. Instead, be open to MOOCs, because that way, you can retain current employees by developing and promoting talent from within the organization.

For example, Laurie Pickard, now the Washington D.C.-based author of Dont Pay for Your MBA, completed MOOC courses that were equivalent to an MBA. This gave her the skills to apply for a new position with her employer. I got the position, based in part on my education and due to my proven track record, she told me.

Related: Professors Say Education Initiatives To Build Skills, Boost Employment

So, keep track of your self-starters who are taking their education into their own hands. When theyve reached the next professional level, offer them a new position. This will help your organization meet its talent needs and retain employees who have proven themselves.

Related:

Are You Missing out on Top Talent Because You Don't Understand MOOCs?

Professors Say Education Initiatives To Build Skills, Boost Employment

The Opportunities for Entrepreneurs Available in Non-Traditional Learning Methods



Copyright 2018 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved



This article originally appeared on entrepreneur.com


3 1 of 3 Stamford police / Contributed Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Stamford police / Contributed Show More Show Less 3 of 3





STAMFORD  A city man wanted for a recent shooting in New York City was apprehended at the Stamford courthouse.

Stamford Capt. Richard Conklin said New York City police alerted them to be on the lookout for Terrence Dugue, 22 of Dale Street. Conklin said Dugue was wanted for shooting through a New York City apartment door on Feb. 4. Conklin said no one was injured in the shooting.
I ts right to be suspicious of insurance companies giving us the heebie-jeebies about looming disasters: fear is the industrys biggest marketing tool.

But research from Hiscox today does give cause for alarm. Just out of interest, it set up three servers to copy the type of computer system youd find in a small business. The point was to see how many times it got attacked by hackers  a hackers honeypot, if you like. Guess how many attacks it had: a dozen? A hundred? Not quite. Try 23,000. A day.

If youre lucky, your anti-virus software will keep most of these attempts at bay, but the hackers are getting cleverer by the minute at spotting loopholes.

Its nothing new that your business can get crippled by hackers  WPP, Reckitt, the NHS, have all been hit in the past year.

But, as Hiscox reports, the stakes are about to get a whole lot higher. Soon, the new GDPR rules on data protection come in, which will see companies fined up to 4% of sales if customer data is mishandled.

Although the fines are primarily intended to stop companies deliberately sharing customers details without their permission, businesses are also liable if that data gets shared by hackers.

Suddenly, cybercrime gets a whole lot costlier. Yet Hiscox research into 4000 organisations in five countries found 73% had major shortcomings in their cyber security. And that despite nearly half having suffered at least one major attack in the past year. The cost of such attacks in repairs and lost business: $229,000 per hack.

GDPR arrives in May. Time to heed the insurers warnings.

Bad news story

Last time Trinity Mirror came close to buying Richard Desmonds newspapers, he told them to Fox off. Softly, softly, catchee monkey Simon Fox, the consolidator of UK newspapers, has reeled him in. And for a price broker Peel Hunt describes as very modest.

Even including the cash injection for the pension, the 184 million deal price is only five times Desmonds papers profit. And 59 million of his cash is in payments over five years. Plus, Desmond has to take 20 million in Mirror shares. He has secured a promise his old papers will continue as tenants in his Lower Thames Street HQ, but this deal is not a Desmond bonanza.

Fox predicts 20 million of savings. This, he says, is mainly from back-office work but, given how tightly Desmond runs his ships, journalists will have to be axed to make the sums add up.
E ven in a media world rife with clashing egos, Richard Desmond has always stood out as colourful.

Leaving school at 15, he started work as a classified advertising salesman.

He bought Express Newspapers from United News & Media in 2000 for 125 million. A bid for the Telegraph Group in 2004 saw him mock a rival bid from a German group using Nazi gestures and describe then Telegraph chief executive Jeremy Deedes as a miserable little piece of shit.

His adult titles, which included Asian Babes, Horny Housewives and Big Ones, were sold to Remnant Media in 2004 for 10 million.

The Sunday Times Rich list of 2016 put his wealth at 2.25 billion, making him the 48th richest person in Britain. He bought Channel 5 in 2010 and sold it to Viacom in 2014 for 463 million.
W hat does it mean to be a citizen? This is the question posed by a group of British people in the Netherlands, who have brought a case to argue that they can retain their EU citizenship  who knew we even had this?  after we Brexit.

The Amsterdam district court, which is hearing the case, has decided it is too hot to handle and referred it on to European Court of Justice, where it will be heard later this month.

On the surface, this sounds like nonsense. If your country is leaving the EU, surely you cant this keep its notional citizenship? But lawyers carrying through this case think the obvious isnt so obvious. The first reason is a series of judgments that establish, roughly speaking, that member states cant deprive people of their status or rights as EU citizens. The second is a subtle change in language. The concept of EU citizenship first appeared in the 1992 Maastricht Treaty, worded thus: Every person holding the nationality of a Member State shall be a citizen of the Union. By the 2009 Treaty of Lisbon it had changed subtly. Citizenship of the Union shall be additional to and not replace national citizenship.

That is, it exists side by side with your Britishness or Italianess, and grants you rights to move and work freely in other member states, to vote in European elections and to have diplomatic protections. Were the lawyers to succeed, it would also mean Catalonia and Scottish succession arguments would still leave their people as EU citizens.

At its heart is a spiritual question of what it means to have been born into the EU, as any Brit since 1973 has. Once born into it, can we be forced out of it? Are EU citizens, a people already? Can an identity be revoked?

Remainers, dont get over-excited. It is a difficult question for the ECJ to dismiss, after four decades of building a legal identity for its citizens, but as a collection of high-minded judges, it is likely to err on the side of caution. Even if the judges go radical and rule in favour of the Dutch Brits, the Council of Ministers of the member states, many kvetching about the EU impinging on their sovereignty, could then just issue a directive saying this was not what they meant at all.

And it is not easy to see Theresa May agreeing that we could go on being Europeans. After all, if citizens of the world are citizens of nowhere each of us would be less British if we could stay European.

Good luck to the Dutch Brits in their plucky fight but I suspect it will be Roll over Beethoven, no Ode to joyous EU citizenship.

Jahas courageous story crosses cultures and continents

There is no pretending I was enthusiastic about the invitation from my friend Nimco Ali to spend a Friday night sitting in the basement of Facebooks building in Fitzrovia, for a documentary on female genital mutilation called Jahas Promise. How could I, a metropolitan European overloaded with privileges, feel more than intellectual sympathy with Jaha Dukureh, who was born in Gambia, mutilated when little more than a week old, sent to New York for an arranged marriage at 15, suicidal, fighting for an education  and to understand why she lived in such pain? The distance was too great.

What unfolded was one of the finest documentaries Ive seen, a film about how we can understand each other, across continents, across different experiences.

At the storys start, Jaha was just another face on a late-night train. By the end she had changed attitudes in her home country and is now nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. (The same credit should be given Nimco, born in Somaliland, for her work in the UK and across many African countries).

The FGM campaign is not just about an unpleasant procedure: it is about liberty and the values of the Enlightenment. What Jaha and Nimco have done is lead a revolution through reasoned argument against myth and tradition. Anyone invited to a screening should step out of their own small world for an evening  and return wiser, more enlightened.

Civilisations poses a moral dilemma

A prize racehorse, a Titian and a man with a gun are all travelling in the cargo space of a plane. The paintings insurers have insisted that the priceless Titian, which is going on loan overseas, needed an armed guard. If the horse went crazy and threatened to destroy it, the guard was under orders to shoot it dead.

This story, possibly a shaggy dogs tail, was told to me by a friend at the National Gallery earlier this week. We had just watched a sneak preview of the BBCs new flagship series Civilisations.

The dilemma, in a nutshell is what is more valuable  the life of an animal or a work of art created by humankind?
I t is unequivocally good news that the last two of the so-called Islamic State executioners known as the Beatles have been identified by Kurdish forces and are in US custody.

The four young men from west London, known as John, Ringo et al by hostages because of their English accents, were conspicuous even in IS for their sadistic brutality.

The ringleader, known as Jihadi John, was best known for decapitating Western prisoners and is now dead, but the two who are with the Americans, Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, are also alleged to have participated in actual and mock executions, waterboarding, crucifixions and beheadings.

There must be no doubt about what should happen to them.

They should be put on trial for their crimes, and if found guilty must be punished. It would have been good if they could stand trial here but since their victims included American citizens, it is more likely that they will be brought to trial in the US.

Justice should be done, and be seen to be done. This would be preferable to their summary incarceration in Guantanamo Bay.

As Tobias Ellwood, a defence minister and a former soldier, says: Guantanamo Bay created a new combatant status that bypassed the Geneva convention, used torture and failed to address (indeed fuelled) a wider global jihadist insurgency that continues today.

He is right.

He also usefully suggests an agreed international process involving The Hague, which ensures terrorists from any origin are transparently and fairly held to account for their actions. That idea has real merit.

Meanwhile, Kotey and Elsheikh are providing useful intelligence information about their associates.

We can only hope they can tell us what happened to John Cantlie, a British journalist whom IS captured in 2012 and last appeared on an IS video in 2016.

There is also the problem of what to do with the fourth of the group, Aine Davis, in prison in Turkey for terrorism offences: his sentence is for seven years. The Home Office will have to decide what will happen on his release.

But for these two it is important that they should stand trial.

The mother of one of their victims, James Foley, who has been conspicuous since her sons beheading for her dignity, has also said that she wants them to be tried for their crimes.

That shows laudable restraint but it is also the right thing to do. It is difficult, but by no means impossible, to secure witnesses to the actions of the pair.

The four Britons are associated with the murder of 27 hostages and the torture of many more; there will be many people who will be able to testify against them, possibly in person, possibly from abroad.

A trial is important, because we should be reminded of what IS  not least these two  did when it possessed power, including genocide, rape, torture and summary executions.

It has lost its territory, but thousands of its members are still at large.

A trial would testify to the civilised values of freedom and justice that these two men have flouted.

Screen stars by night

Kirstin Scott Thomas wins best actress at the Evening Standard Film Awards

The Evening Standard British Film Awards at Claridges last night was a showcase of talent and style.

Kristin Scott Thomas, Jim Broadbent and Simon Russell Beale brought their ineffable glamour to the event, but the winners really did run the gamut of genre, style and form.

Two of the evenings big winners, Gods Own Country and the delightful Paddington 2, feature uplifting storylines about immigrants; The Death of Stalin, another winner, is comic tragedy.

Our celebration of the winners is a reflection of the breadth of British screen talent and the strength of Londons own film industry.

Long may it flourish.
T all, pale-skinned, her black, shoulder-length hair scraped straight back, sometimes pictured with a slight smile, the sister of North Koreas leader, Kim Jong-un, bears only a faint resemblance to her jowly, bristle-haired brother, who has made his isolated country the worlds newest nuclear weapons state. But when she steps off a private jet today in PyeongChang, South Korea, at the start of the Winter Olympics, Kim Yo-jong will show that relations between the north and south of the divided peninsula, in the deep freeze for decades, might just be warming up.

North Korean athletes, who accepted the invitation to attend just weeks ago after a flurry of courtship by South Korea, have been taking a cheery, centre-stage role in the opening of the Games. In scarlet jackets and caps with gold braid, their 140-strong orchestra played in the welcoming ceremony, along with the army of beauties cheerleading squad. Their skiers, beaming under mirrored goggles, have waved at all the cameras. Their ceremonial head of state, Kim Yong-nam, the most senior North Korean ever to travel south, has come too.

Does this mean that North Korea has chosen the Winter Olympics to come in from the cold? Could we see it giving up its nuclear weapons? Could it mean an end to the threat of war between the US and North Korea? For the past, tense year that has affected even countries such as Britain more than 5,000 miles away because it threatens the horror  almost unthinkable but impossible to dismiss  of the worlds first nuclear exchange.

Sadly not. For all the primary colours of the Winter Olympics, there is every reason to think the presence of the North Korean delegation marks a hard, shrewd bid by its leader to lure South Korea away from its great ally, the US. The overtures by South Koreas President, Moon Jae-in, represent an equally pragmatic view about how to take his country out of the line of fire. Even if the lunch tomorrow between President Moon and the North Koreans discusses absolutely nothing of any importance, this contact could still signal the beginning of the end of a long era of American influence in the region.

The problem of North Koreas nuclear weapons has been boiling up since 1994, when the regime announced that it was about to pull out of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. That pact requires countries without nuclear weapons not to try to get them. It wasnt until 2003 that North Korea declared it actually was leaving the treaty, but just three years later it held its first nuclear test.

Since then, the United Nations Security Council has passed eight resolutions slapping on layers of sanctions. The effect has been to shut North Korea out of the world financial system, and to stop it exporting the coal, minerals and textiles it needs to pay for imports. China has backed the sanctions, although it has allowed in fuel, food and other essentials. But the toughest sanctions so far late last year clamped down even on these.

There are cases where sanctions have worked; Iran is arguably one. It froze its nuclear programme at least for a time in return for an easing of curbs. But North Korea represents a resounding failure. The regime has just kept on building nuclear devices, testing them and building and testing rockets with ever longer range  now, possibly, able to reach cities deep within the US.

Into this relentless drama a new player has emerged  Donald Trump. At first, the new president was flailing at so many perceived enemies  immigrants, Islamic State, predatory trade partners  that North Korea seemed likely to escape special attention. But as Kims rockets kept launching, they provoked the new president into a fusillade of tweets against the Little Rocket Man.

Will Trump go further? Who knows  and there lies the danger. He and his officials, despite months of ambiguous and contradictory assertions, have hinted often that they regard military action as a possibility.

The US has no good options, though. Do nothing, and North Korea may equip itself with missiles that can carry nuclear warheads to the heart of the US. Maybe it would never fire them  but could any president live with that risk? Try to wipe out its nuclear installations  or just Kim himself  and the regime would retaliate. The US allies of South Korea and Japan would be prime targets.

And they know it. President Moons motive for reaching out to the north is clear. It makes Seoul, a capital city of gleaming glass towers and eight million people, just a little less likely to be a collateral casualty of any conflict. Its not been without cost to him. Young South Koreans have taken to the streets to accuse him of compromising their values. Many are sceptical, too; no point trying to tell Kim that were family, they say  this is a man who seems to have had his half-brother killed last year just for the challenge he might pose.

But with a long-time ally and a lethal neighbour squaring up to each other, President Moon has chosen the course of self-preservation and edged a little closer to it. That suits the North just fine  not least because Japan may ask the same questions now too.

This was always Chinas problem to solve. It still is. China doesnt want to bring Kims regime down as it doesnt want a united Korean peninsula, friendly to the US, as its neighbour. But it doesnt want war  possibly a nuclear war  either. And it has the only real leverage over the north.

Even if the overtures from the south to the north go no further, they have won both countries more room to manoeuvre. And before a single athlete has climbed a podium to receive a medal, its also clear that the US, even if subtly, has lost real ground.
Finding super cool, good quality jewellery in the 50-250 price range used to be a challenge.

Yet now, thanks to a host of new 'demi-fine' and 'contemporary' brands filling the awkward gap between a Topshop choker and Chanel pearls, we are positively spoilt for choice.

Whether you're treating yourself or a friend, or looking for something for the special lady in your life, you really can't go too far wrong with something from one of these brands.

Tada & Toy

Tada & Toy

Prices: from 30 - 350

From playful ear cuffs to statement hoops & tiny stacking studs, Tada & Toy is a London based demi-fine jewellery studio specialising in really excellent earrings. Founded by best friends Tans & Victoria, the brand does affordable, high quality pieces that are perfect for layering and donates 5 per cent of sales to animal conservation charity The Aspinall Foundation.

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Astrid & Miyu

Prices: from 29 - 115

Connie Nam founded Astrid & Miyu from her flat in Notting Hill in 2012 after struggling to find contemporary jewellery at affordable prices. All designed in house in the brands London studios, Astrid & Miyu specialise in dainty yet stackable pieces  check out their Vintage collection for some gold-plated loveliness. Their five Instagrammable stores across London also do ear piercing, welded bracelets and tattoos.

Daisy London

Daisy London

Prices: 19-250

Londoner and founder Ruth Bewsey dreamt up Daisy London in 2009 on Portobello Road. Fast forward ten years and the brand has developed something of a cult following. Following its wildly successful first collaboration with influencer Estee LaLonde, the second 28-piece collection, Goddess, is full of very now chunky gold necklaces, signet rings and sculptural hoop earrings. This is jewellery to be stacked, layered and worn every day.

Edge of Ember

Edge of Ember

Prices: from 35 for small stud earrings, to 175 for a statement necklace. Prices for the solid gold collection go up to 235.

Didnt manage to get your hands on one of Celines initial pendants? Sustainable jewellery brand Edge of Ember have the perfect alternative.

Founded by ex-financier Lynette Ong Gladstone in 2014, Edge of Ember aims to deliver quality, well-designed jewellery while empowering the communities that make it.

Designed in by an all-female team in London and then made in artisanal workshops and small scale factories across Asia (all of which have ethical practices), the brands been worn by everyone from Lady Gaga to Ellie Goulding.

Stocked in Harvey Nichols and on EdgeofEmber.com

Missoma

Missoma SS18 / Missoma

Prices: From 19- 215.

British brand Missoma creates perfect jewellery for your everyday wardrobe. Their delicate, distinctive pieces combine semi-precious gemstones with zircon pave set in 18ct gold vermeil to give a refined but playful feel.

Their pieces are designed to be worn alone or layered, and interchangeable studs, pendants and charms allow you to make them your own.

They have also created three wildly popular collections in partnership with lifestyle influencer Lucy Williams, the second of which is inspired by a trip to Rome.

Shop it in Harvey Nichols, Selfridges, Fenwick and Fortnum & Mason, or online here.

Monica Vinader

Tess Ward in Monica Vinader / Monica Vinader

Prices: From 35.

British jewellery designer Monica Vinader's eponymous brand shot to fame soon after it launched in 2008 thanks to the widespread popularity of her Fiji bracelets. The grown-up take on friendship bracelets were a sellout hit, and remain the brands bestselling style today.

This is the go-to brand for instantly wearable, contemporary pieces to style, stack and personalise with engraving.

Visit one of her boutiques in Chelsea, Mayfair and Canary Wharf; or shop it online here.

Maria Black

Maria Black

Prices: 40-300

Copenhagen-born Maria Black founded her eponymous jewellery brand in 2010. She creates two lines: ones fine jewellery in 14 carat white and yellow gold that ranges from around 125 - 465, and the other, her fashion collection, is gold plated silver and ranges from around 40 - 300. Designed at her Copenhagen HQ and produced in Thailand and India, Blacks designs are art-inspired shapes inset with precious metals and pearls. And theyre really rather lovely.

Stocked on Net-a-Porter and in Liberty, Selfridges, Harvey Nichols and Boutique 1.

Stellar 79

Stellar 79

Prices: 45 to 395

Created by sisters Natasha and Sheena, East London-based demi-fine jewellery brand Stellar 79 makes affordable gold vermeil jewellery influenced by the Trinidadian and Mauritian Indian heritage of its founders. All the jewellery is designed by the sisters in London and hand-made in Jaipur using ethically sourced gemstones and recyclable packaging, and 10 per cent of the sale of each of the Stellar Studs will be donated to charity Educate Girls.

Daphine

Daphine

Prices: From 40 - 180

Launched in 2018 by friends Damasia and Philippine, Daphine draws on inspiration from the archives of fashion and art history  and the impressive closet of co-founder Philippines Parisian grandmother to create bold, sculptural bling. Believing that luxury shouldnt come at unnecessary cost, Daphine is committed to transparent pricing and sustainable production. All pieces are handmade by artisans in the brands Jaipur atelier using recycled brass.

The 65 gold-plated Oli ring, the design of which was based on a classic dome design Damasias mother had in the 90s, has exploded on the gram, and is a sure-fire way to give your look a fashion insider spin.

Soru

Soru jewellery

Prices: starting at 65, up to 480

Created by two half English-Sicilian sisters, Francesca Kelly and Marianna Doyle, Soru means 'sisters' in Sicilian. All pieces have a touch of Italian flair (the Siciliana collection is our particular favourite) and can be worn everyday or for a special occasion - they also have a dedicated bridal section on their site.

Worn by the likes of Kate Middleton, Chiara Ferragni and Rita Ora, the brand has a strong celebrity following but the price point means the demi-fine pieces are affordable.

All ethically handmade in Italy or Turkey, Soru is available at Selfridges, Harrods, Fenwicks and Harvey Nichols.

By Alona

By Alona / By Alona

Prices: 50- 350

London based jewellery designer Alona Shelemy, the daughter of a fine jeweller, draws on her European and Middle Eastern heritage as inspiration for her effortlessly cool designs. Using gold filled, sterling silver or 18k gold plated metals, she reimagines ancient treasures of the Mediterranean to create chunky, cool-girl jewels. Its all made in London and 10% of the proceeds of each order go to Ocean Conservation charities.

Shop it online here.

Ottoman Hands

Ottoman Hands / Ottoman Hands

Prices: from 16 - 75.

Deniz Gurdal , who started out selling her jewellery on Portobello Road back in 2009, designs jewellery inspired by the ancient Ottoman Empire.

Each piece is handmade from 21 ct gold-plated brass and set by hand with semi-precious stones by master jewellers in their workshop in Istanbul.

Available to buy in Topshop Oxford Circus, The British Museum, The National Gallery and The V&A. Or shop online here.

Theodora Warre

Theodora Warre

Prices: from 50 to 1950

If youre into moons, stars and talismanic references of all kinds, Theodora Warre is the jewellery designer for you. The great-granddaughter of former crown jeweller Harry Garrard, Warre specialises in eclectic semi-precious pieces with a bohemian vibe.

Passionate about preserving traditional craftsmanship and supporting local communities, Warre works with a small team of artisans in Jaipur to create each piece. All of the stones and materials she uses are conflict-free, and she ensures the craftsmen she works with are paid a fair wage.

Pink Piglet

Pink Piglet

Prices: 100- 180

Inspired by her travels to India, Pink Piglet founder Millie Carr makes bold, colourful crystal earrings from gemstones sourced ethically in India, which are cut and polished by Indian craftsmen. With a belief that crystals heal the soul, each of the big, bold styles holds mood-altering properties to cure and uplift. Oh and they look pretty cool too.

Alex Monroe

Alex Monroe SS18 / Alex Monroe

Prices: From 70 for a simple pendant, up to 700 for the more serious stuff.

Alex Monroe celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2017, making the British brand one of the more established in this category.

All the jewellery is nature-inspired, designed by Alex and his team and handmade in England. This year marks the 10th birthday of the iconic bumble bee necklace, a piece which propelled the brand into the forefront of fashion in 2008 and remains its bestseller today.

The brand has a boutique in London Bridge below Alexs workshop, or you can shop it online here.

Ania Haie

Ania Haie

Prices: from 15 to 100

Launched in 2018, Ania Haie is a London-based jewellery brand focussing on fashionable, trend-led jewellery at an affordable price. Available exclusively on AniaHaie.com, the brand has mastered delicate jewellery which can be styled, stacked and layered as you please.

Made from gold plated and rose gold plated sterling silver, Ania Haies designs are perfect for layering and stacking.

Shop it here

Charlotte Valkeniers

Charlotte Valkeniers

Prices: from 70 - 550.

Charlotte Valkeniers launched her eponymous jewellery label in 2014, having graduated from the MA Fashion Artefact programme at London College of Fashion in London.

Her minimalist pieces, which she designs in her London studio, are all made of Sterling Silver or 18ct Gold Plated Sterling Silver and often have added Swarovski Crystals.

Shop online here.

Otiumberg

Otiumberg / otiumberg

Prices: start at 25.

Founded in 2014 by sisters Christie and Rosanna Wollenberg, who have backgrounds in fashion (Burberry and Louis Vuitton) and art, Otiumberg's sterling silver and gold-plated designs.are fashion-forward and incredibly wearable.

The wallet-friendly prices don't hurt either.
A s Londoners, we naturally sometimes think twice before visiting our wondrous museums. Why? Well, because they are always incredibly busy, and worse, full of children - germ alert.

We want to change this ill thought perception, especially with regards to one of our national treasures, the Natural History Museum.

Since 1881, the glorious architectural gem has inspired thousands of budding entomologists, palaeontologists, mineralogists, botanists, taxidermists and zoologists with its world renowned collection of dinosaur skeletons, ancient artefacts, and mind boggling exhibitions.

Unbeknown to many, they actually keep the coolest stuff out the back where you can't see it. They assure us it's nothing against you. On the contrary, it's because real-life scientists spend thousands of hours studying the museum's mammoth collection of specimens.

In total, the collection tallies 80 million creatures, plants, and bones, 20 million of which are held in special tanks, vases and all sorts of other weird and wonderful containers, many of which you can go and see for yourself in The Spirit Room.

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The Spirit Room

Luke Abrahams/Evening Standard

It's quite impressive, isn't it?

Well, Ollie definitely thinks so. He's been at the museum for 45 years and is the Natural History Museum's senior fish curator.

Here he is getting cosy with the jaws of a giant great white shark.

Luke Abrahams/Evening Standard

Like us, he's obsessed with animals, especially fish. He's worked with the likes of Damien Hirst (remember his formaldehyde sharks - Ollie helped him do it), films crews, journalists and the odd documentary celeb, or two.

For an hour he showed us all sorts on what the museum dubs the Spirit Collection tour. Think huge tuna, deep sea angler fish and loads of other fascinating dead things in jars - some hundreds of years old, and others caught just the other day.

One of the most impressive things Ollie showed us was Archie - the 8.62 metre giant squid.

Back in 2004, his colleague and curator of molluscs John Ablett got a random call asking him if he wanted a giant squid which was caught off the coast of the Falkland Islands. The person on the other end of the phone wanted to know if the museum wanted it, and to cut a long but interesting story short, John said yes.

Luke Abrahams/Evening Standard

A few thousand nautical miles later, Archie now lies lengthways in the middle of the Spirit Room, her impressively large body and legs preserved in a giant tank for us all to gawp at.

Amazingly, she's not alone in the tank. As you'll see in our little video, at the other end of the tank Ollie pointed out the remains of half of a baby colossal squid - a sea creature even rarer than Archie.

Since the beginning of time, an adult 'Colossal has never been caught whole' Ollie told us. Science folk say they can probably grow up to 20 metres in length. All we know, is that the baby housed inside the Natural History Museum was big. Too big for our liking.

As for Archie, her stats are just impressive. The pink sea dwellers massive eyes are 23cm in diameter and her tentacles stretch the length of a small bus.

Here's a full length picture just in case you don't believe us:

Luke Abrahams/Evening Standard

Aside from Archie, Ollie showed us lots of other really cool things, too.

There's this scary looking shark...

Luke Abrahams/Evening Standard

This huge sunfish...

Luke Abrahams/Evening Standard

And a rather terrifying Anglerfish that gave us and all the other Nemos in the house nightmares...

Luke Abrahams/Evening Standard

Dotted about the place you'll notice all sorts of weird looking jars, too.

There are bizarre shark heads, komodo dragons, lizards, octopuses, manta rays, and even one that contains a load of monkeys.

Luke Abrahams/Evening Standard

Oh and snakes. Lots and lots of snakes...

Luke Abrahams/Evening Standard

Not all of them can be stuffed into the glasses, though.

If a creature is too big, Ollie tells us they have to put it in one of the giant metal tanks in the centre of the room.

Luke Abrahams/Evening Standard

To keep everything looking ship shape, the lidded baths are filled with methylated spirits.

Some, house several species.

For instance, The one Ollie showed us contained a massive bluefin tuna, shark, sting ray, sun fish and a very scary looking monkfish.

Luke Abrahams/Evening Standard

One of them even contains a mountain gorilla, but Ollie tells us he is very, very heavy - sadly, he couldn't take him out for us.

So, here's the big question: why is it all kept behind the scenes? Simple - these precious specimens need to kept inside a room that is specially designed to filter out all its flammable vapours - something Hintze hall (the main cavernous section of the building), sadly cannot do.

Another obvious reason is that some of the things are just way too big to be put on show, but also because the collection is mainly designed for research purposes. Simply put, the Spirit Collection is basically a really awesome library of dead things scientists use to find out more about the world and the creatures that inhabit it.

Since its inception hundreds of years ago, white coats far and wide have visited to study, observe and conduct research on the millions of specimens found throughout the collection.

Some of the most prized are those collected by Charles Darwin on the voyage of the Beagle back in the 1830s. If you're in the know, this is a pretty big deal as it is was one of the most important scientific expeditions in the history of all things.

One of the best parts of the whole tour is that you can actually see these special little critters for yourself.

Luke Abrahams/Evening Standard

'He [Darwin] collected them in the Cape Verde islands', Ollie told us. 'Some of them probably used to conjure up his theory of evolution.'

When you visit, you'll notice that all of the Darwin jars have yellow lids. This is because they're known as 'type specimens' - the original that's used to describe an entire species!

At the time, Darwin was clueless about half of the things he was collecting, so he just bottled them up and brought them back home. Thankfully, a bloke called Leonard Jenyns identified them years later and named them all in a book.

Everything the celebrated naturalist collected is mostly furry (monkeys for example), but there's also a cute little octopus, too. Ask, and a curator will happily point the little fella out.

To sum the place up in a nutshell, it's cool. Very, very cool. And for 10 quid, it's probably one of the best semi-secret things you can do in the capital.

The new museums opening in London in 2018 1 /4 The new museums opening in London in 2018 The Queens Diamond Jubilee Galleries The eagerly anticipated gallery, 70 feet above the floor of the Abbey, will open in June 2018. Westminster Abbey V&A Photography Centre A major photography centre will open at the V&A in autumn 2018. The RPS Collection at the V&A Museum The London Museum of Photography A major new photography exhibition is coming to the East End in the second half of 2018. Fotografiska The Royal Academys 250th birthday extension The newly revonated building will open in May 2018. Hayes Davidson

If you decide to visit, you'll be following in the footsteps of Tom Cruise, Isabella Rosselini and Her Majesty, The Queen.

Tweet us @esgolondon and tell us what you thought.
D ame Kristin Scott Thomas was named best actress at our film awards, 30 years after being named most promising newcomer at the same event.

She won her new award, presented in partnership with Claridges, for her part as a politician in black comedy The Party. Its very touching to have another one. Especially as it is the first one I ever got, as most promising newcomer or whatever they called it in those days, 100 million years ago, she said.

Gary Oldman, Dame Kristins co-star in Darkest Hour, lost out in the best actor category to Daniel Kaluuya, for Get Out. The Everyman Award for best film went to Gods Own Country. Writer and director Francis Lee dedicated his win to leading men Josh OConnor and Alec Secareanu, who joined him on stage.

The pair play a Yorkshire farmer and a Romanian migrant worker in the love story, which Lee said was influenced by his time working in a south London scrapyard. He said: One of the guys there was a guy from Romania.

Evening Standard Film Awards 2018 - In pictures 1 /26 Evening Standard Film Awards 2018 - In pictures Dame Kristin Scott Thomas accepts the Best Actress award for "The Party" at the London Evening Standard British Film Awards 2018 Dave Benett Lily Cole Dave Benett Jim Sturgess presents Rungano Nyoni with the Breakthrough of the Year award for "I Am not a Witch" at the London Evening Standard British Film Awards 2018 Dave Benett Jessie Buckley Dave Benett Dame Kristin Scott Thomas, winner of the Best Actress award for "The Party", attends the London Evening Standard British Film Awards Dave Benett Gemma Jones, winner of the Best Supporting Actress Award for "Gods Own Country", and James Broadbent pose at the London Evening Standard British Film Awards 2018 Dave Benett Sally Potter, winner of the best Screenplay Award for "The Party", and Anna Chancellor pose at the London Evening Standard British Film Awards 2018 Dave Benett Catherine Tate poses at the London Evening Standard British Film Awards 2018 at Claridge's Hotel Dave Benett Gary Williamson, winner of the Technical Achievement award for "Paddington 2", accepts his award at the London Evening Standard British Film Awards 2018 Dave Benett Dame Kristin Scott Thomas Dave Benett Talulah-Eve Dave Benett Sally Potter Dave Benett Ophelia Lovibond Dave Benett Nikki Amuka-Bird Dave Benett Camilla Kerslake Dave Benett Jessie Buckley Dave Benett Stefanie Martini Dave Benett Rungano Nyoni Dave Benett Emma Weymouth Dave Benett Francis Lee Dave Benett Amanda Nevill Dave Benett Anna Chancellor Dave Benett Simon Russell Beale Dave Benett Emily Beecham Dave Benett Talulah-Eve Dave Benett Matthew Hancock Dave Benett

We became really good friends and I was really shocked at his experience of coming to our country but I was amazed with how he dealt with that on an emotional level. He had come from a white-collar job in Romania and the only job he could get here was sweeping up in a scrapyard.

Gemma Jones, who won best supporting actress for her role as OConnors characters grandmother, said she was humbled to be part of this extraordinary little film. Simon Russell Beale was named best supporting actor for his turn as the Soviet secret police chief Lavrentiy Beria in The Death Of Stalin.

Its director and writer Armando Iannucci, who had huge success with his political satire The Thick Of It, is working on a version of Charles Dickenss David Copperfield and said he was glad he did not have to think about politics. A lot of what is happening we would have rejected as basic farce, he said.

The best screenplay award, donated by Amanda Eliasch in memory of her grandfather Sidney Gilliat, went to Sally Potter for The Party.

Glitz and glamour from the red carpet of the Evening Standard Film Awards

Other winners at the event, in partnership with Claridges, hosted by Catherine Tate and supported by Audi and Laurent-Perrier, included director Rungano Nyoni, who won breakthrough of the year for I Am Not A Witch, and Paddington 2, which won the Peter Sellers Award for Comedy. Its production designer, Gary Williamson, won technical achievement.
These days vintage homewares are not seen as an old and out of date way of furnishing your home, but rather a way of giving it real character, warmth and a little flair.

Adding a design classic, or a once loved piece of furniture, instantly creates a sense of history within a space. Many design houses reissue classic designs that stand the test of time and work wonderfully in the modern home.

You don't have to be an antiques expert to be excited about buying vintage pieces and you certainly don't need to focus on what eras are most on trend. Instead, mixing and matching different materials, styles and eras to create an eclectic and individual look that speaks to you.

The founder of online vintage shop Vinterior, Sandrine Zhang Ferron, believes that investing in key vintage pieces not only brings character and soul to a space but gives new life to something that's been lovingly crafted.

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"When it comes to buying vintage, I would say if you love it, try not to be put off by the imperfections of age", says Sandrine. "If anything, these should be embraced as they add character and warmth to a space."

If you're buying online don't be afraid to ask lots of questions before purchasing. Double check dimensions, ask for more photos to make sure you know what you'll be getting.

Shop our favourite vintage pieces online below:

Vinterior, Eva chairs

(Vinterior)

By Swedish designer Kerstin Horlin-Holmquists Triva series for Nordiska Kompaniet from the 1950s. These two elegantly proportioned chairs have been reupholstered in a beautiful rust velvet textile.

4500 for two, Buy now

Att Pynta, Nanny Rocking chair

(Att Pynta)

First designed in 1969 by Danish designer Nanna Ditzel. This reissue of the rocking chair has the same fluid design and rattan material is made to develop a natural patina over time.

Beldy Paris, Beni Ouarain rug

(Beldy Paris)

Beni Ouarain carpets are often characterised by black diamonds on a white background. Traditionally the shapes and symbols of each carpet describe an event allegorically, such as a wedding or birth, which makes each carpet a piece full of history.

Anthropologie, Treasured trickets dresser

(Anthropologie)

From Anthropologie's 'One of kind' range, this unique cabinet contains the original letter describing the coloured pigments and resins that would have stored in them from the 1950s.

Conran shop, Vintage cane bench

(Conran)

Part of the Vintage range at The Conran Shop collection, this vintage bench is truly a one-of-a-kind piece.

Frances Loom, vintage Persian rug

(Beldy Paris)

Frances Loom is the vision of Kelly Vittengl, a London-based interior designer who scours flea markets across the globe in search of extraordinary antique rugs. Each rug is handpicked for its beauty and individuality.

Vinterior, cabinet

(Vinterior)
B etween waking up, brushing his teeth and considering what to have for breakfast, George Soros can easily make the 400,000 he has given to Best for Britain, the group founded by Gina Miller to reverse Brexit. The money is less than a rounding error for a man who gives away close to a billion dollars each year through his Open Society Foundations around the world.

But Soros, 87, has a flair for political intervention. He revealed his support for Best for Britain at a dinner at his London home last week, at which he encouraged others to follow his lead. As the May government wobbles and teeters, he had decided it was time for the great clanking armaments of anti-Brexit forces to mobilise.

Behind that 400,000 lies potentially millions more ready to be deployed in restoring Britain to the EU.

Soros holds an unusual place in the nightmares of Tory governments. In 1992 he identified the weakness of Britains position in the Exchange Rate Mechanism, the precursor to the single currency. He saw that John Major and his Chancellor, Norman Lamont, could not keep propping up the value of the pound for ever. At some point, they would buckle.

Soros ordered his traders to go for the jugular and made a billion pounds betting against the Bank of England and sterling. It was a traumatic event, closely witnessed by Lamonts then special adviser, David Cameron.

Some might see a paradox here, in the man who helped bundle Britain out of the ERM now agitating for it to reverse its vote to leave the EU. But for Soros, 1992 was an instance of cold-blooded capitalism, a knife in the throat of an indecisive government.

In the 25 years since his best-known smash-and-grab, he has gone from shadowy financier to global statesman, a committed foe of demagogues and autocrats and creator of Open Society Foundations, the second-largest philanthropic organisation in the United States after the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. So far he has endowed it with $32 billion of his own money.

At Davos last month, on the same day President Trump touched down in his seven-helicopter convoy, Soros gave a speech arguing that we are living through a revolutionary period comparable to the fall of the Soviet Empire.

Government leaked analysis shows Brexit will make UK worse off

He said that the threat of nuclear war is suddenly very real again. He accused monopolistic IT platforms such as Google and Facebook of suffocating innovation and corrupting both public discourse and young minds. And he warned that nationalism had replaced the creed of international governance and co-operation.

Thousands of anti-Brexit activists march to Parliament in protest 1 /12 Thousands of anti-Brexit activists march to Parliament in protest Demonstrators head towards Parliament Square. REUTERS Signs include 'I love EU' REUTERS The pro-EU march began in Hyde Park Corner. Si Carrington 'NHS? Brexit Wrexit' Oliver Day The march took protesters through the streets of London. Oliver Day One protester brought along a papier mache Queen, in reference to the blue and yellow hat she wore at the State Opening of Parliament. Peter Bailey 'Exit Brexit' Jonathan Hawley The September sun shone as activists marched through the streets. Martin Tod Roads were blocked during the protest. Maggie Jones The campaigners set off shortly after 11am from Hyde Park Corner. Maggie Jones The rally saw the activists march through the streets of central London. Johann Ketel EU colours of blue and yellow were seen throughout the march. Judi Conner

After the financial crisis of 2008, he said, the EU had lost support. What had been a voluntary association of equal states was converted into a relationship between creditors and debtors where the debtors couldnt meet their obligations and the creditors set the conditions that the debtors had to meet. That association was neither voluntary nor equal.

He proposed root-and-branch reform to give countries more flexibility in their relationship with the EU. Otherwise, he feared, parties hostile to Europe would only grow more powerful across the continent.

Shortly before the Brexit vote, he said he hoped that Britain would stay in the EU for political as well as economic reasons. The EU was stronger with Britain in.

Soross concern for the UK is rooted in his education. In 1947, when he was 17, he left Hungary, where he was born and had survived the war, for London. His father had obtained false identity papers for him. Soros worked as a busboy and railway porter to save money for his education and would sometimes stand at Speakers Corner lecturing about the virtues of internationalism in Esperanto. His father, a committed internationalist, had taught him the language.

'No evidence' of Russia using YouTube to influence Brexit vote

Eventually, Soros was accepted by the London School of Economics, where he studied under the political philosopher Sir Karl Popper. Poppers book, The Open Society and Its Enemies, would inspire the name of Soross Open Society Foundations, a collection of organisations that have promoted democracy and human rights in 140 countries over the past 35 years.

The money for all the philanthropy came from Soross remarkable record as a money manager. He opened his own fund, Quantum, in 1969 with a mere $6 million. Using the most innovative forms of financial instruments and leverage, he built Quantum into a multi-billion-dollar behemoth, becoming one of the richest men in the world.

The size of the risks he took, he said, would make him weak with stress. His son Robert once joked that there was more instinct than science to his fathers investing: he bought when his back felt good and sold when it hurt.

SOROS himself attributed his stomach for risk to his experiences in the war. In 1944, his father obtained false papers for the family to hide the fact they were Jews. This taught him to stare down even the harshest realities in search of a solution. Once you are aware of the dangers, your chances of survival are much better if you take some risks than if you meekly follow the crowd, he has said. That is why I trained myself to look at the dark side. It has served me well in the financial markets and it is guiding me now in my political philanthropy. As long as I can find a winning strategy, I dont give up. In danger lies opportunity. Its always darkest before dawn.

Billionaire investor George Soros has given 400,000 to a campaign arguing against Brexit / Reuters

As Soros has got older, his role as an investor has changed  sometimes heavily involved, at other times not. The performance of his funds, though, is still closely followed. After Donald Trumps election last year they were reported to have lost $1 billion on bets that the stock markets would fall on a Trump victory. His personal life has also evolved. Five years ago, on his 82nd birthday, he married for the third time, to Tamiko Bolton, then 40, founder of an online yoga business.

David Cameron lets slip that Brexit is not a disaster

His political interests, though, have only intensified. In the US he was a supporter of President Reagan in the Eighties but then started giving money to the Democrats under Bill Clinton. He vigorously opposed President George W Bush and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And in the most recent election cycle gave $16 million to Democrat candidates. He was a strong supporter of Hillary Clinton and remains a vocal opponent of President Trump, whose election he said awakened dark forces in America.

He has also taken strong stands on a range of issues, supporting the regulation and taxation of marijuana, gay and lesbian rights, and groups fighting violent abuse by police. This has earned him the hatred of Americas cable-TV Right.

In Europe, Soros has become a target for nationalist politicians from Vladimir Putin on down. Hungarys Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, who studied at Oxford on an Open Society scholarship, has funded a campaign against Soros, accusing him of arranging a massive influx of refugees into Europe. Posters have gone up with pictures of Soros, asking Hungarians not to let him have the last laugh. In December, an MP from Orbans party posted a picture on Facebook of a burnt pig with This is Soros carved into its flesh.

Soros has argued that Europe needs to do a better job of sending refugees to countries that want them, and where they want to be. Orban has accused him of trying to increase immigration at the expense of Europes Christian culture. The campaign has struck many as a throwback to 1930s anti-Semitism.
T he rustic look and ethereal texture of Neapolitan pizza is partly a function of its being cooked in a 900F (482C) wood-fired oven. The crust chars and blisters before the interior crumb has dried out and crisped. But the dough itself is built to be elastic and the crust baked from it pliable, reflecting pizzas humble origins as a Naples street food. To be eaten on the go pizza had to be soft enough to be folded twice a portafoglio (like a wallet), gathering and protecting its tomato sauce in the folds.

I was born selling pizzas on the banco [street counter], says maestro pizzaiolo Enzo Coccia of Pizzaria La Notizia in Naples. It has to be soft and light. There is no other way.

In no particular order, here are eight of Naples' best.

50 KALO

The excitement and glamor permeating 50 Kalo reflects the freshly elevated status of pizza in Naples. A message taped to the banco (bench), as the bakers work counter is known, tells its own story: ingredienti: acqua, farina, lievito, sale (ingredients: water, flour, yeast, salt). In an obscure dialect, 50 means dough and kalo means good. When hes not pressed into posing for selfies, pizzaiolo Ciro Salvo can be seen at the banco, stretching the dough and pushing its invisible bubbles outward. He leaves the business of dressing and cooking pizzas to colleagues.

Originals like the Pizza dellAlleanza, with mozzarella, Cipolla di Montoro (a sweet, fragrant onion), Lardo di Colonnata (cured fatback from Tuscan pigs), and Conciato Romano cheese, show off 50 Kalos sophistication and sourcing but, as Salvo concedes, they can dominate the dough. To best appreciate his incomparably light crust with deep pockets of air around the cornicione (rim or cornice), he recommends the simpler Margherita or Marinara.

Pizza at 50 Kalo / Luciano Furia

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What to order: Calzone; Margherita; Marinara; Nduja di Spilinga; Pizza dellAlleanza; Pizza Fritta

Find it: Piazza Sannazaro 201B Mergellina, Naples Campania 80122 , Italy. Open 7 days a week. Credit cards accepted but not AMEX. Call on +39 08119204667 or visit 50kalo.it

PIZZARIA LA NOTIZIA, 53

Revered at home and around the world for his scholarly command of Neapolitan pizza, maestro pizzaiolo Enzo Coccia was trained on the streets of Naples. He worked at his familys pizza stand near the central train station and retains the glee of a boy clasping a folded, paper-wrapped, hot pizza. He can lecture on dough hydration or rhapsodize over the stretchy, stringy mozzarella clinging to a pizza as a slice of it is pulled away. It is this delicious paradox that makes Pizzaria La Notizia remarkable: you can order an inventive pizza with stunning ingredients and know the recipe was conceived by a learned pizzaiolo or choose a classic Margherita and appreciate it was designed for, and by, a kid. The one Coccia constant is the peerless dough. A second location is at Via Caravaggio 94.

What to order: Ciropedia; Del Contadino; Margherita DOP; Marinara; Napoletana

Find it: Via Michelangelo da Caravaggio 53A Mergellina, Naples Campania 80126, Italy. Closed Monday. Credit cards accepted but not AMEX. Call +39 0817142155 or visit pizzarialanotizia.com

LANTICA PIZZERIA DA MICHELE

Da Michele is part pizza temple and part pizza time-machine. Free-form pizzas with more black spots than a Dalmatian are perfect in their rustic imperfection. The smells and sounds can transport you back to 1870, the year Salvatore Condurro received his license to make pizza, or to 1906, the year his son Michele opened the familys first pizzeria.

The Da Michele mystique rests on the resolve of the succeeding generations of Condurros to limit their selection of food to two classic pizzas, the Marinara and the Margherita. They dont count the Margherita Doppio Mozzarella, which has repercussions: this double-cheese Margherita arouses envy in those who only learn of its existence by spotting one on a nearby table.

Margherita at Da Michele / Daniel Young

What to order: Margherita; Marinara

Find it: Via Cesare Sersale 13 Forcella , Naples Campania 80139 , Italy. Open seven days. Credit cards not accepted. Call +39 0815539204 or visit damichele.net

PIZZERIA GINO SORBILLO

When the city is Naples, the district is Spaccanapoli, the street is Via dei Tribunali, and the pizzeria and the pizzaiolo share the name Gino Sorbillo, youve hit the epicenter of the Neapolitan pizza earthquake shaking the world. Those invariably waiting outside for their first Sorbillo pizza may be in for a few surprises: first, when Sorbillo is in the kitchen he is not grinning, as he always seems to be on Italian television or Facebook. He works with intensity, speed, and purpose. Second, this is a paper-cup establishment with low prices, its fame notwithstanding. Lastly, the beautifully balanced Margherita ceases to be the customary red, white, and green: when the red sea of tomato commingles with the clustered white dots of molten mozzarella a pink perfection is achieved.

Pizza at the ready at Gino Sorbillo / Luciano Furia

What to order: Bufalina; Margherita; Margherita Gialla; Marinara; Napoletana; Nduja

Find it: Via dei Tribunali 32 San Lorenzo, Naples Campania 80138, Italy. Open 7 days a week. Credit cards accepted. Call on +39 081446643 or visit sorbillo.it .

DA ATTILIO

The old-school warmth of this pizzeria is preserved by Maria Francesca Mariniello, the daughter-in-law of the Attilio Bachetti who opened it and the mother of the Attilio Bachetti who runs it now. Every inch of wall space is covered with celebrity photos, press clippings, and napkin doodles preserved in picture frames. The homespun authenticity hasnt made Da Attilio famous but it does keep it on the shortlists of some very respected pizza people. The airy crusts Attilio Bachetti the younger tailors to each pizza are superbly thin and digestible, none more so than the one supporting the pizza cosacca, a cross between a Marinara and a Margherita with mozzarella out and grated cheese in. The sun-shaped Carnevale pizza, the eight points around its cornicione filled with ricotta, is a Da Attilio trademark and a Naples landmark.

Feel the heat at Da Attilio / Luciano Furia

What to order: Broccoli Raab and Sausage; Carnevale; Endive; Sole nel Piatto

Find it: Via Pignasecca 17 Pignasecca, Naples Campania 80134, Italy. Closed Sunday. Credit cards accepted but not AMEX. Call +39 0815520479 or visit facebook.com/pizzeriadaattilio/

PIZZERIA FRATELLI SALVO

To serve truly great Neapolitan pizza to 200 people at a time brothers Francesco and Salvatore Salvo procure the best information and ingredients available. When the third-generation pizzaioli are not analyzing how flour, yeast, temperature, and maybe 20 other variables affect the dough, theyre nurturing lasting relationships with the best suppliers. But sometimes folklore does play a role, too.

According to legend, the cosacca pizza (cossacks pizza) was created some 180 years ago to honor the visit of Tsar Nicholas I to the Kingdom of Naples. At Pizzeria Salvo, the exquisitely simple cosacca is distinguished by the nobility of Corbari cherry tomatoes from I Sapori di Corbara, Pecorino cheese from the Cooperativa Agricola Pecorino Bagnolese, and organic extra virgin olive oil from Colline Salernitane delle San Salvatore.

Simple is best at Fratelli Salvo / Luciano Furia

What to order: Cosacca; Margherita del Vesuvio; Marinara; Montanara Classica; Montanara alla Genovese; Nduja and Verzin Cheese; Papacelle e Conciato; Ripieno Fritto

Find it: Largo Arso 1016 San Giorgio a Cremano, Naples Campania 80046, Italy. Closed Sunday. Credit cards accepted. Call on +39 081275306 or visit salvopizzaioli.it

The best pizza in London 1 /16 The best pizza in London 50 Kalo di Ciro Salvo Don't be fooled by the red and black Dennis the Menace-style decor  this place does seriously good pizza. Ingredients are rich and authentic (the mozzarella is flown in from Campania) and the pizzas come with generous helpings of lip-smacking tomato sauce (that you be mopping up with leftover crust afterwards). Luciano Furia Sodo Pizza Cafe In case you were wondering about the name, Sodo stands for sourdough. And thats something they take pretty seriously here. All the pizza dough is fermented for 48 hours and then baked at over 450 so that its light and airy with plenty of that sourdough tang. With such great bases it makes sense to keep toppings simple, but special kudos must go to the brilliantly named Jon Bon Chovy topped with anchovies, olives, capers, chilli and fresh parsley. Hai Cenato Jason Atherton's Italian restaurant serves an interesting selection of pizzas, of which half are 'bianco' meaning no tomato sauce. The toppings are the clever and creative rather than traditional - as might be expected from a Michelin-starred chef - but there's nothing overly fussy going on. Try one topped with speck, nduja, spinach, anchovy and harissa for a flavour bomb, and also look out for the monthly-changing specials designed by top chefs. What makes them worthy of inclusion is that just as much care has gone into their salty, pleasingly chewy sourdough bases as it has in choosing the toppings. Pizza Pilgrims With restaurants in different corners of London, brothers James and Thom Eliot have come a long way since their days as street food traders. The Neapolitan-style pizzas here are soft and doughy with a plumped-up crust and a rich tomato base  try the nudja variety if youre feeling spicy. L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele Flying in to Baker Street from Naples, this pizzeria  which incidentally was featured in Eat, Pray, Love  has been described as the best in the world, never mind London. The London branch is less scruffy (and a little more expensive) than the Naples original, and the pizzas are slightly different, too  the bases are thicker for a start. That said, the full-flavoured tomato base which is a signature is present and correct and theres no doubting this is among the finest pizza in the capital. Be prepared to queue. Santore A hefty proportion of the clientele always seems to be Italian at this old-school Clerkenwell local, and thats got to be a good sign. The signature order is pizza by the metre, made with varying toppings along the stretch  you might want to bring a couple of friends to help polish it off though. For something different try the i panuozzi, a pizza sandwich that has the same toppings but double the dough. Crate Brewery No two items could be more perfectly suited to each other than beer and pizza  and few places are as geared up for the pair of them as Crate is. As well as making its own beer on-site it serves crispy, thin-base pizzas that are worthy of much more than just soaking up your drinks. Try the Middle Eastern lamb variety, topped with spicy mince, alongside more traditional numbers. Franco Manca There's a staggering number of Franco Manca branches throughout the capital, from Soho to Southfields and Covent Garden to Chiswick. Despite its size, the slightly sour, salty chewy Neapolitan base which made such an impression at the original Brixton Market branch remains, as do the simple but well-sourced toppings. The original Brixton branch is still the best. Homeslice There are now six buzzy Homeslice sites across London serving up impressive 20-inch pizzas. Some off-the-wall toppings may put off purists, but clever combos and a blistering hot oven ensure the end results really do work  even a goat shoulder and savoy cabbage number. Devour them whole or by the slice. Pizza Union This casual pizzeria with sites in Spitalfields and Kings Cross is buzzy, fast and impressively cheap  plus the pizzas are the real deal. Theyre made in the Roman style, with bases that are thin and crispy rather than chewy, and come in an abundance of varieties. Good news for coeliacs  just ask for gluten free bases. Yard Sale Pizza Yard Sale Pizza started out how you might expect  in a yard. Founder Johnnie Tate began his dough spinning journey cooking pies in a pizza oven in his Hackney back garden, but now the brand boasts five sites across London and has collaborated with the likes of foodie rapper Loyle Carner and, err, Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin. The proof of their success is in the pie  its Holy Pepperoni is topped with two types of pepperoni and nduja sausage, while more contemporary options include the TSB, topped with tenderstem broccoli, manchego and pine nuts. Voodoo Rays Crust-leavers, get yourself to Voodoo Rays. This Dalston-originating pizza joint serves its pizza by-the-slice from massive 22-inch New York-style pies  do the maths and that means less crust, more topping. And what toppings they are: fior di latte mozzarella and San Marzano tomatoes are used across the board and varieties include both Italian classic and the likes of the very English Porkys, made with Cumberland sausage, Stilton, red onion and parsley. Radio Alice Radio Alice probably isnt pizza as you know it, but were all about expanding our horizons. The concept comes courtesy of Matteo and Salvatore Aloe, two Calabrian-born brothers who brought their successful sharing-pizza restaurants to London in 2011. Bases here are thicker, fluffier and bouncier than you may anticipate, and pizzas are cut up into smaller pieces, each slice topped with perfect proportions of seasonal ingredients, ripe for passing around the table between friends. Having a pizza party? This is your perfect spot. Zia Lucia Zia Lucia really knows its dough. The growing pizza group has four different doughs on its menu  a traditional, a wholemeal, a vegetable charcoal and one made with gluten-free flour. Toppings are Italian in essence, with a few tantalisingly unusual variations along the way: the Andrea Pirlo is topped with gorgonzola, apple, truffle and olive sauce, while the Green Vegana is spread with spicy broccoli cream and sundried tomatoes. Circolo Popolare The pizzas here are as luxurious as the restaurants famously flamboyant surroundings. Delicious metre-long 'zas arrive from the open kitchens twin rotary oven, placed on tables under floral ceilings and surrounded by walls stacked with 20,000 bottles. The crusts are chewy and light, the toppings are liberally applied and the sauces are perfect. ES Magazines critic Jimi Famurewa was full of praise for the doughy dishes, calling the peach-topped Orlando Blue pie a balanced blast of sunshine. The pizzas at Gloria, Circolos sister restaurant, are just as good too. Lateef Okunnu @lateef.photography Made of Dough At Made of Dough, its all about that crust  generously charred and tangy as heck, its arguably the star of the show. Heading into the centre, be sure that the Truffle is somewhere on your order  a white pizza, both mozzarella and parmesan are topped with white alba truffle oil and portobello mushrooms, with the option to add a mind-boggling portion of burratina on top. Starting life as a residency at Pop Brixton, the Made of Dough team now have a permanent spot in Peckham, as well as popular stalls in Market Hall Fulham and the West End location of crazy golf bar Swingers.

STARITA

The legend of Starita will be forever linked with two idols: Sophia Loren, who portrayed a pizzaiola selling fried pizza in the 1954 film classic The Gold of Naples, and Antonio Starita, the third-generation pizzaiolo venerated by the many hes mentored, inspired, or fed. Don Antonios signature pizza is the Montanara Starita, a street food classic made by deep-frying a small disk of dough, topping it with tomato, smoked scamorza cheese, Pecorino Romano cheese, and fresh basil and finishing it off in the oven. His Porta a Porta, a rectangular pizza pouch stuffed with ricotta cheese, broccoli raab, cherry tomatoes, and mozzarella di bufala, is baked both on the Via Materdei, a Naples street long synonymous with Loren and Starita, and at Don Antonio by Starita, the New York outpost he opened with protege Roberto Caporuscio.

What to order: Angioletti; Diavola; Margherita; Marinara; Montanara

Find it: Via Materdei 2728 Materdei, Naples Campania 80136, Italy. Closed Sunday morning. Credit cards accepted. Call on +39 0815441485 or visit pizzeriestarita.it

PIZZERIA DI MATTEO

At Di Matteo, on the Via dei Tribunali in the old historic center of Naples, the dining rooms are upstairs but the action is on the street. Pizza fritta (fried pizza) and pizza a portafoglia (folded wallet style) are sold from the takeout counter, befitting a pizzeria that doubles as a friggatoria (fried-food shop). The baked pizzas are prepared in rapid succession by the two pizzaioli who shape them and a third who works the turquoise-tiled, wood-fired oven. The fried pizzas are often assembled by Salvatore Di Matteo himself. He seals cheese, tomato, ham, and other fillings between two flattened rounds of pizza dough and lowers the package into a vat of hot oil. Out comes pizza fritta ripieno (fried stuffed pizza)a fluffy, delicately crisp saucer of golden goodness.

The queues at Di Matteo / Luciano Furia

What to order: Bufalina DOP; Pizza Fritta

Find it: Via dei Tribunali 94 San Lorenzo , Naples Campania 80139 , Italy. Open 7 days a week. Credit cards accepted. Call on +39 081455262 or pizzeriadimatteo.com
A "despicable" conman who lied that his son and wife died in the disaster to claim 12,500 in aid has been jailed for 21 months.

Anh Nhu Nguyen, 53, pretended to be a survivor of the devastating inferno that killed at least 80 people, giving a vivid account on TV of losing sight of his family on the smoke-filled staircase as they fled.

He said he had lived on the 15th floor of the tower block for the last 20 years, claiming his wife and 12-year-old son died in the disaster on June 14 last year.

Nguyen started claiming money from a fund set up for victims and was put up in a Holiday Inn because he claimed to have lost his home, even meeting Prince Charles in the aftermath of the disaster.

The 53-year-old, of Beckenham, south-east London, showed no reaction as he was sentenced by Judge Philip Bartle QC at Southwark Crown Court on Friday.

The judge said: "The offences to which you have pleaded guilty are ones which you committed knowing full well what the consequences were. I do not accept that the acts were in some way an attempt to be part of a community and that you were in some way reaching out in order to be embraced by that community.

"I am sure from everything I have seen... that despite your low IQ you knew full well what you were doing. You knew that you were taking advantage of these genuine victims at this terrible time of this terrible tragedy."

Following the fire, Nguyen, who was really living in Beckenham, told Sky News in an interview that he had been making a cup of tea when the blaze started, and used wet towels to try to stop the smoke coming into his flat.

"The smoke was like fog, you couldn't see anything, it was very hot", he said. "I'm sad, I'm angry, I cry. It's terrible for everyone who lost for family that day."
E uropean Union diplomats are warning that a vital agreement on a post-Brexit transition period could be delayed to summer if Britain objects to terms drafted by Brussels.

The prospect of a delay from the original target of announcing a deal next month alarmed business leaders, who said firms on both sides of the Channel were anxious to know where they stand.

But EU and UK negotiators are still at odds over the terms of a transition period, following a week of inconclusive talks in Brussels.

Red lines remain over the treatment of EU migrants arriving after Britains formal exit on March 29 next year, and the blocs ability to cut off single market access for the UK if it breaches the transition terms.

Michel Barnier: UK must make a choice on customs union

Three EU sources said talks could take until summer. Unless a deal is agreed by a summit in March, the next summit is not due until June. We are not tied up to this deadline, said one senior EU official. This is a self-imposed date.

Adam Marshall, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said he believed the EU was sabre-rattling to put pressure on the UK, but warned any delay would be damaging.

Businesses on both sides of the Channel want clarity as soon as possible about the short-to-medium terms of trade, he said.

Japanese business leaders met Theresa May this week and called for a transition deal to give clarity and certainty.

Business groups including TheCityUK and the CBI have said a transition deal is needed within weeks to prevent jobs, capital and investment fleeing the bloc.

A UK Finance spokesperson said: It is crucial and urgent for businesses that a definitive transition period is agreed by the UK and EU 27 governments in advance of the March European Council meeting.

But EU lead negotiator Michel Barnier said there will be no certainty until a final exit treaty is ratified in 2019. A draft European Commission legal text proposing a power for the EU to suspend the UKs single market access caused Brexit Secretary David Davis to protest at frankly discourteous language.

UK officials said they were relaxed and believed that although the EU-27 were using the threat of a delay to seek extra leverage in the talks, in reality the EU also wanted a deal in March.

Labour today denied claims Jeremy Corbyn told Mr Barnier during talks this week that he was willing for the UK to stay in the EU customs union. His spokesman said he had talked about a new customs union being possible.

Meanwhile, the Commission has issued a slew of preparedness notes to firms warning of the possibility of a no-deal Brexit, covering financial services, environment law and motor vehicles.
A long-standing Labour campaigner today accused party bosses of turning a blind eye to bruising in-fighting as he stepped down from its biggest London branch.

Richard Horton, 35, resigned as chair of the 700-strong branch in Stroud Green with a letter saying a poisonous atmosphere had driven him to quit.

He suggested leader Jeremy Corbyn is either unaware or showing a deliberate blindness to factional splits among grassroots supporters.

Stroud Green is in Haringey, where council leader Claire Kober stepped down last month claiming she had been bullied by hard-Left activists in a row over a 2 billion housing scheme.

Mr Horton, a marketing executive, told the Standard how his branch changed dramatically after Momentum-backed candidates were elected.

He has campaigned for Labour for 12 years, including working full-time on the 2010 general election, and canvassed with Mr Corbyn in his Islington North constituency.

Mr Horton said: Everything I said was challenged, and it just created a sense of worthlessness. In the letter Mr Horton said his wife came home to find him upset, after yet another bruising exchange.

The branch said it was shocked and saddened by his departure. A spokesman added: We were unaware that he was finding it so difficult and were sorry that we didnt realise this.

Mr Horton said that he could not reconcile the Jeremy Corbyn he campaigned for with the activism he has encountered locally. He said: I dont know if hes unaware of it, or if its a deliberate blindness.

Councillor Raj Sahota, who has resigned amid a deselection threat by local members, said: I sympathise with [Mr Horton].
T he rogue Republican senator who caused the US government to shut down overnight on Thursday has defended his position.

The US government was open for business again on Friday after the Senate finally managed to reach a key agreement on its budget.

Senators voted 71-28 to approve the deal, overcoming objections from Republican fiscal conservatives who said the bill marks a return to unchecked deficit spending.

A shutdown became inevitable as Republican Senator Rand Paul repeatedly held up votes on the budget plan, which is married to a six-week government-wide spending measure.

Taking to Twitter, Mr Paul said he would "always stand up for fiscal responsibility" and called out the "hypocrisy" of his own party.

He wrote: "Tonight, you could feel the frustration and embarrassment growing in Congress as we exposed the hypocrisy of Republicans who are joining in an unholy alliance and spending free-for-all with Democrats at the expense of the American people and our partys supposed principles.

"Make no mistake, I will always stand up for fiscal responsibility, regardless of which party is in power, and I will continue to call the Republican Party home to the ideas that led to Americans trusting us with government in the first place."

Mr Paul's protest forced Congress to miss a midnight deadline for passing a funding measure to keep the government operating.

The shutdown was the second in two weeks.

The 400 billion US dollar (286 billion) budget agreement is married to a six-week temporary funding bill needed to keep the government operating and to provide time to implement the budget pact.

Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn tried unsuccessfully to end the protest by Senator Rand Paul / Getty Images

House leaders hustled to move before federal employees were due back at work, hoping to minimise the disruption. A shutdown essentially cuts the federal workforce in half, with those dubbed non-essential not allowed to work. Military and essential workers would remain on the job regardless.

The Trump administration signalled it expected the shutdown to be short, calling it a "lapse".

As the clock hit midnight, Office of Management and Budget director Mick Mulvaney immediately issued an order to close non-essential government operations.

Mr Mulvaney told federal agencies they should execute their contingency plans and instructed federal employees to report to work on Friday to "undertake orderly shutdown activities".

At the White House, there appeared to be little sense of concern. Aides closed shop early on Thursday night, with no comment on the display on the Hill. The president did not tweet.

Vice President Mike Pence, in South Korea for the Winter Olympics, said the administration was "hopeful" the shutdown would not last long.

But frustrations were clear in both sides of the Capitol, where just hours earlier leaders had been optimistic that the budget deal was a sign they had left behind some of their chronic dysfunction.

Senate Democrats sparked a three-day partial government shutdown last month by filibustering a spending bill, seeking relief for "Dreamer" immigrants who have lived in the country illegally since they were children.
R elatives of a former hostage joined a former captive and a minister today in calling for two henchmen of Jihadi John who have been captured in Syria to be put on trial.

Diane Foley, whose son James, 40, a US journalist, was killed in an Islamic State execution video at the hands of Mohammed Emwazi, also known as Jihadi John, wants Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh to be jailed for life but only after they face justice in court.

Nicolas Henin, who was held captive for 10 months with Mr Foley by the British jihadis  who with a fourth member, Aine Davis, were dubbed The Beatles  said Kotey and Elsheikh must be judged fairly.

He warned against sending them to Guantanamo Bay. Defence minister Tobias Ellwood, whose brother was killed in the 2002 Bali terror attack, also spoke out against flying the men to the US military prison.

James Foley was killed in an Islamic State execution video at the hands of Mohammed Emwazi (Picture: Rex)

Mr Ellwood suggested a special system needed to be set up, possibly involving the international criminal court in The Hague, to deal with hundreds of foreign jihadis who went to Syria and Iraq.

Speaking hours after the capture Defence minister Tobias Ellwood, whose brother John was killed in the 2002 Bali terror attack, also spoke out against flying them to Guantanamo.

Savage murder: US photojournalist James Foley

He suggested a special system needed to be set up, possibly involving the international criminal court in The Hague, to deal with hundreds of foreign jihadis who went to Syria and Iraq.

Speaking just hours after the capture of Kotey, 34, from Shepherds Bush and El-sheikh, 29, from White City, became public, Mrs Foley told BBC radio: Their crimes are beyond imagination.

I would like them to be brought to trial in the US but as long as they are brought to fair trial and detained and justice is served I would be most grateful.

Beatles: Londoner El Shafee Elsheikh

It does not bring James back but hopefully it protects others from this kind of crime.

I would like them to spend the rest of their lives being detained in a prison.

Mr Henin, who struggles to speak of the unimaginable horrors he experienced at the hands of The Beatles before being freed in April 2014, emphasised that he wanted justice not revenge as this would be just another call for violence.

Alexanda Kotey must face life, says mother of US journalist James Foley who was killed by ISIS

I dont think that the local authorities in northern Syria, or detention in Guantanamo Bay would be justice, he said.

I would like to see them brought back to Britain, just like I would like to see all of the European jihadis brought back to their home countries to be judged fairly in their home countries.

Kotey and El-sheikh were detained by US-allied Kurdish militia fighters in January, according to the New York Times.

El Shafee Elsheikh is the final member of the terror group dubbed The Beatles

Along with Emwazi and Aine Davis, currently in jail in Turkey, they are believed to have been part of a group named after the 60s band because of their English accents.

The four Londoners were linked to a string of hostage murders in Iraq and Syria, including British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning, during the bloody Islamist uprising.

US officials told the NYT that Kotey and El-sheikh were captured by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces which were fighting the last remaining pockets of IS fighters near the river Euphrates on the Iraq/Syria border.

It added that the men were identified by fingerprints and other biometric means.

Grief: Diane Foley, the mother of James who was killed by Jihadi John

Mr Ellwood, who rushed to administer first aid to Pc Keith Palmer during the terror attack in Westminster last March, stressed that Britain has robust rules of engagement which legitimise the killing of terrorists in theatres of operations but that once captured they must answer and be judged by a legitimate authority.

He added: The horror of 9/11 meant we briefly lost sight of the standards and rule of law that took centuries to develop and fundamentally distinguish us from the terrorist.

Guantanamo Bay created a new combatant status that by passed the Geneva convention, used torture and failed to address (indeed fuelled) a wider global jihadist insurgency that continues today.

Given the scale of foreign fighters attracted to DAESH (IS) we should consider an agreed international process involving The Hague, which ensures terrorists from any origin are transparently and fairly held account for their actions.

Bringing Kotey and El-sheikh back to the UK is understood to be unlikely as they are believed to have been stripped of their British citizenship.

Tom Tugendhat, chairman of the Commons foreign affairs committee, said: Those who take up arms against their country are traitors.

"These jihadists deserve to have the full force of the law used against them...But it is important that we use the law not brutal, summary justice of the kind these men used on their victims.

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson recently suggested British jihadis should be barred from Britain and hunted and killed.

He said: I do not believe that any terrorist, whether they come from this country or any other, should ever be allowed back into this country.

A spokesman for Jeremy Corbyn said: They should face justice and a fair trial for the crimes that have been committed.

Former child refugee Elsheikh was a mechanic in London.

In January 2017, US authorities named Kotey as a member of the cell and said they had imposed sanctions on him.

In a statement at the time, they said: Kotey likely engaged in the groups executions and exceptionally cruel torture methods, including electronic shock and waterboarding.

Elsheikh, it said, was said to have earned a reputation for waterboarding, mock executions, and crucifixions while serving as an Isis jailer.

British officials believe their capture may offer a treasure trove of information about IS.
A Florida woman who allegedly flushed her "emotional support hamster" down an airport toilet after it was refused access to a flight has been branded a "psychopath".

The Miami Herald reports that before Belen Aldecosea flew home from college to South Florida, she twice called Spirit Airlines to ensure she could bring Pebbles, her pet dwarf hamster, with her.

But when Ms Aldecosea arrived at the Baltimore airport, Spirit refused to allow the animal onboard.

The 21-year-old told the paper she flushed Pebbles at an airline employee's suggestion, after running out of other options.

A spokesman for Spirit acknowledged the airline mistakenly told Ms Aldecosea that Pebbles was allowed. But he denied that a Spirit employee recommended flushing her pet

But Ms Aldecosea faced furious backlash after sharing her tale.

A number of online critics branded her a "psychopath".

Alara Kitan wrote on Twitter: "I hardly try to weigh in on issues like this but...that girl is the monster responsible for that hamster's death...Don't promote this psychopath like she's a victim."

Another person added: "If that woman really drowned her emotional support hamster so as not to miss a plane, she's a psychopath."

Meanwhile US comedy writer Bess Kalb who worked on Jimmy Kimmel Live! wrote: "Hey, kids born in the 90s. Don't eat the laundry detergent. Don't flush your hamster down the toilet for any reason. Good luck out there!"

A spokesman for Spirit acknowledged the airline mistakenly told Ms Aldecosea that Pebbles would be allowed to fly.

But he denied that an employee recommended flushing her pet down the toilet.

"To be clear, at no point did any of our agents suggest this guest (or any other for that matter) should flush or otherwise injure an animal," spokesman Derek Dombrowski said.

But Ms Aldecosea said she is considering suing Spirit over the conflicting instructions that she claims pressured her into making the decision.

Animal rights organisation PETA said: "Flushing a living being down a toilet is not only cruel but also illegal, & both the person who killed this animal & Spirit Airlinesif an employee did, in fact, advise the woman to drown the hamstershould be charged.

"This must have been a horrific, terrifying death."
A British banker and former Cambridge student has lost his appeal against his convictions for the horrifying murders of two Indonesian women at his Hong Kong apartment.

Rurik Jutting "abused and tortured" Sumarti Ningsih over several days prior to her death in October 2014, with her body found in a suitcase on the balcony of his property.

The body of his second victim - Seneng Mujiasih - was found in a pool of blood in the living room, her throat having been cut.

Jutting, originally from Surrey, was handed a mandatory life sentence for the murders, described by Judge Michael Stuart-Moore as "one of the most horrifying murder cases to come to the courts in Hong Kong".

The Cambridge graduate who worked for Bank of America-Merrill Lynch sought to appeal against his conviction, arguing the trial judge had misled the jury on points relating to his defence of diminished responsibility.

But Appeal Court judges in Hong Kong said there was "no merit" in the grounds of appeal and dismissed the application.

Rurik Jutting recorded descriptions of his crimes / AFP/Getty Images

"We are satisfied that the judge's directions correctly applied the law to the evidence adduced at trial," the ruling said.

Jutting moved to Hong Kong from London in July 2013 and is understood to have quit his highly paid job in the days before the deaths.

The then 31-year-old had admitted the manslaughter of 23-year-old Ms Ningsih and Ms Mujiasih, 26, with his representatives saying he suffered from four mental disorders: alcohol abuse, cocaine abuse, sexual sadism disorder and narcissistic personality disorder.

At his sentencing hearing, Judge Stuart-Moore said: "During this trial, we have been made to dredge the very depths of depravity through the defendant's descriptions of what he did during the three days of torture which he subjected his first victim to. That is Sumarti Ningsih and that is also before he killed her.

"He used cocaine and alcohol to fuel his sadistic fantasies, which he then turned into reality.

"At various points in monologues which he recorded on his iPhone, where he described some of the repulsive things he had forced his first victim to do, he described himself as evil and a monster, and neither description is adequate to bring home the true horror of what he did to that woman."

Rurik Jutting flanked by police after his arrest on murder charges

Jutting recorded his thoughts about the first killing on his iPhone, saying he had enjoyed the experience and later told police he realised it was not going to be a one-off thing, court documents said.

The judge said: "His confessions, both on the iPhone and to the police, were more in the nature of a boast, as if he were proud of what he had done, and in his monologues he hints at wanting the world to know what he had done.

"These things occurred at a time in the defendant's life when he was so morally corrupted by pornography and drugs and alcohol and a general life of debauchery, with a huge salary to fund his deprivations.
A primary school in Tokyo has announced plans to introduce 500 Giorgio Armani uniforms for its students.

Parents of children attending the Taimei Elementary were shocked to discover the school is introducing the new uniforms for incoming pupil.

They will have to fork out more than 80,000 yen (525) for the uniform, including optional items, which is more than three times the amount of the previous garments.

The school is located in the upmarket shopping district of Ginza, with the Armani Japan head office just 200 metres down the road.

The new school uniforms have been designed by Italian brand Armani / AP

A shocked mother told the Huffington Post: "I was surprised, and wondered why such luxury brand-designed uniforms have been picked for a public elementary school.

The women, whose child is set to start at the school in April, added: "I'm worried that a wrong notion that something expensive is good and something cheap is bad could be imprinted on children.

Taimei Elementary School in Tokyo / AP

In a letter to parents last November, headmaster Toshitsugu Wada said Taimei was a landmark in Ginza, and the decision to adopt the Armani-designed uniforms aimed at creating an atmosphere suitable for such a school, the Huffington Post said.

Following the backlash Wada posted a statement on the school's home page, promising to provide sufficient explanation on the plan for new uniforms.
How strong is IS after losing Raqqa and Mosul last year?

They are fighting in several parts of Syria, around Hama in the north west and along the south-eastern border with Iraq. They have been bombed by US warplanes in Hama and are fighting with, and against, local groups south of Mosul.

How strong is their command?

They are fighting as local guerrilla groups. The overall command from Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has broken down and he is believed to be hiding in remote villages near Mosul.

What has happened to the foreign fighters?

Most have gone home, or to other battlegrounds such as Egypt and Libya, where they have mixed with criminal gangs and come into conflict with local clans in places such as Sinai. Meanwhile some 200 fighters are believed to have returned to Britain over the last year.

How many foreign fighters were there?

The bulk, up to 40,000, came from Middle East states such as Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
T he US government was open for business again today after the Senate finally managed to reach a key agreement on its budget to overturn after another shutdown.

A bipartisan budget agreement and spending bill was passed, and the bill will now move to the House after rogue Republican Senator Rand Paul refused to allow a speedy vote on the issue, causing deadlock.

Mr Paul's protest forced Congress to miss a midnight deadline for passing a funding measure to keep the government operating, forcing the shutdown overnight.

The massive, bipartisan, budget-busting spending deal, was a protest over the return of trillion-dollar deficits on the watch of Republicans controlling Washington.

The shutdown became inevitable as Republican Senator Rand Paul repeatedly held up votes on the budget plan, which is married to a six-week government-wide spending measure. The Senate recessed around 11pm with plans to reconvene just after midnight.

Mr Paul was seeking a vote on reversing spending increases and refused to speed things up when he was denied.

The government was forced to shut down when Republican Senator Rand Paul blocked the budget plan / AP

"I ran for office because I was very critical of President Obama's trillion-dollar deficits," the Kentucky senator 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."

While the US government's authority to spend expired at midnight, there were not likely to be many clear immediate effects. The deadlock was resolved before most federal employees were due to report for work.

Aides closed shop early in the night, with no comment on the display on the Hill. The president did not tweet.

But frustrations were clear in both sides of the Capitol, where just hours earlier leaders had been optimistic that the budget deal was a sign they had left behind some of their chronic dysfunction.

Senate Democrats sparked a three-day partial government shutdown last month by filibustering a spending bill, seeking relief for "Dreamer" immigrants who've lived in the country illegally since they were children. This time it was a Republican's turn to throw a wrench in the works.

Mr Paul brushed off pleas from his fellow Republicans, who billed the budget plan as an "emergency" measure needed for a depleted military.

"We will effectively shut down the federal government for no good reason," said Senator John Cornyn, as his requests to move to a vote were repeatedly rejected by Mr Paul.

Mr Paul was unphased, saying: "I didn't come up here to be part of somebody's club. I didn't come up here to be liked."

Approval of the measure in the Senate seemed assured - eventually - but the situation in the House remained dicey. In that chamber, progressive Democrats and tea party Republicans opposed the measure, which contains roughly 287 billion ($400 billion dollars) in new spending for the Pentagon, domestic agencies, disaster relief and extending a host of health care provisions.

However, House Republican leaders said they were confident they had shored up support among conservatives for the measure, which would shower the Pentagon with money but add hundreds of billions of dollars to the nation's 20 trillion dollar-plus debt.

Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn tried unsuccessfully to end the protest by Senator Rand Paul / Getty Images

House Democratic leaders opposed the measure - arguing it should resolve the plight of "Dreamers" - but not with all their might.

The legislation does not address immigration, though Republican Speaker Paul Ryan said again Thursday he was determined to bring an immigration bill to the floor this year - albeit only one that has President Donald Trump's blessing.

At a late afternoon meeting, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California made it plain she was not pressuring fellow Democrats to kill the bill, which is packed with money for party priorities such as infrastructure, combating opioid abuse and helping college students.

Still, it represented a bitter defeat for Democrats who followed a risky strategy to use the party's leverage on the budget to address immigration and ended up scalded by last month's three-day government shutdown. Protection for the "Dreamers" under former President Barack Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programme (DACA) expires next month.

Republicans were sheepish about the bushels of dollars for Democratic priorities and the return next year of one trillion dollar-plus deficits. But they pointed to money they have long sought for the Pentagon, which they say needs huge sums for readiness, training and weapons modernisation.

"It provides what the Pentagon needs to restore our military's edge for years to come," said Mr Ryan.

Beyond 300 billion dollars-worth (215 billion) of record increases for the military and domestic programmes, the agreement adds 89 billion dollars (63 billion) in overdue disaster aid for hurricane-slammed Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico, a politically charged increase in the government's borrowing cap and a grab bag of health and tax provisions. There is also 16 billion dollars (11 billion) to renew a slew of expired tax breaks that Congress seems unable to kill.
A woman was killed while taking a selfie alongside her friend on a train track in Thailand.

The pair are said to have been drinking when they made the decision "to take a photo with a train", according to reports.

But another locomotive was approaching on the other track, police said.

The 24-year-old woman suffered a severed leg and later died in hospital.

The man she was with was also seriously injured in the incident at Samsen station in Thai capital Bangkok, the BBC reported.

Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh found that 127 people died in incidents involving selfies between March 2014 and September 2016.
Q uentin Tarantino has apologised for defending Roman Polanskis rape of 13-year-old Samantha Geimer, saying that he now realises he was wrong.

The director faced a backlash after comments he made about the incident on the Howard Stern Show in 2003 resurfaced this week, in which he said that the statutory rape was a consensual encounter.

I dont believe its rape, not at 13, not for these 13-year-old party girls, he told the DJ.

Tarantino has now issued a statement of apology, directed to Geimer, in which he admits he was simply trying to be provocative.

Filmmaker Roman Polanski raped Samantha Geimer when she was 13 years old / AP

I want to publicly apologize to Samantha Geimer for my cavalier remarks on The Howard Stern Show speculating about her and the crime that was committed against her. Fifteen years later, I realize how wrong I was, he said.

Ms. Geimer WAS raped by Roman Polanski. When Howard brought up Polanski, I incorrectly played devils advocate in the debate for the sake of being provocative.

I didnt take Ms. Geimers feelings into consideration and for that I am truly sorry. So, Ms. Geimer, I was ignorant, and insensitive, and above all, incorrect.

He finished: I am sorry Samantha. Quentin Tarantino.

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Shortly after Tarantinos Howard Stern quotes resurfaced this week, Geimer told the New York Daily that he was wrong.

He was wrong. I bet he knows it, she said. I hope he doesn't make an a** of himself and keep talking that way.

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.

Polanski was charged with unlawful sex with a minor back in 1977 but fled the US for France to avoid imprisonment or deportation.

Tarantino faced a separate backlash over the weekend after Uma Thurman claimed that he had encouraged her to dangerous driving scene for Kill Bill, as well as spitting in her face and choking her.

"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," he told Deadline.
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With text messages between US Justice Department (DOJ) conspirators Peter Strzok and his adulterous main squeeze Lisa Page now revealing that then-President Barack Obama wants to know everything were doing, it now appears that the 2016 plot to subvert the rule of law and corrupt the US organs of state security for political purposes reached the very pinnacle of power. To call the United States today a banana republic increasingly may be seen as a gratuitous insult to the friendly spider-infested nations to our south.

Still, dont expect to see Barry Hussein Saetoro doing the perp walk anytime soon or even being deported back to Kenya. Dont expect to see orange prison suits on Strzok, Page, former FBI Director James Comey, former Associate Deputy Attorney General Bruce Ohr, former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe, and others implicated in putting a political thumb on the scales to, first, get Hillary Clinton elected, and then, when that failed, to neuter Donald Trumps presidency with a phony Russiagate probe. Officials getting former-ed is one thing, their getting prosecuted quite another. (Just imagine if a GOP administration had similarly skewed the supposedly non-political law enforcement and intelligence services for partisan reasons. Wed have Watergate on steroids. The New York Times, Washington Post and CNN would be calling for hanging, drawing, and quartering.)

Indeed, its not even clear the Russiagate investigation itself will be impacted. After all, the narrative may have flipped on one variable  from Trump campaign collusion to Democratic and FBI collusion  but the constant remains the same: Russia. Trumps defenders are as insistent as his detractors that the real culprit is Russia! Russia! Russia!

Sean Hannity of Fox News has been particularly hyperventilative that the entire Steele Dossier lying at the black heart of the mess consists of phony, fake-news Russian propaganda and Russian intelligence lies from British MI6 (supposedly former) spymaster Christopher Steeles Russian sources. Even level-headed observers like Paul Sperry and Patrick Buchanan characterize the file as a Kremlin-aided smear job and Russian dirt [that] Steele was spoon-fed by old comrades in the Kremlins security apparatus.

Christopher Steele is not Russian

But what do we really know about Steeles claimed sources? Not much.

Sure, maybe Vladimir Putin personally whispered every word of the dossier into Steeles ear. Or maybe Steele invented his supposed sources from whole cloth: your clients are paying for sleaze, you give them sleaze. Or anything in between: maybe Steele consulted some imaginative Russian cranks with only a marginal, and most likely adversarial, relationship to the Russian authorities, whose inside knowledge Steele padded to justify his fee. (Steele claims he didnt pay his sources  assuming they exist at all  but thats no more worthy of credit than anything else he says.)

As analyzed by Russia expert Stephen F. Cohen:

Where, then,  did Steele get his information? According to Steele and his many stenographers  which include his American employers, Democratic Party Russiagaters, the mainstream media, and even progressive publications  it came from his deep connections in Russia, specifically from retired and current Russian intelligence officials in or near the Kremlin. From the moment the dossier began to be leaked to the American media, this seemed highly implausible (as reporters who took his bait should have known) for several reasons:

 Steele has not returned to Russia after leaving his post there in the early 1990s. Since then, the main Russian intelligence agency, the FSB, has undergone many personnel and other changes, especially after 2000, and especially in or near Putins Kremlin. Did Steele really have such connections so many years later? [ JGJ : Is it credible that the head of MI6s Russian branch is on a first-name basis with top Kremlin insiders? Turn the identities around and ask whether the chiefs of the US section of Russian or Chinese intelligence are on intimate speaking terms with the US presidents top advisers or with the leadership of the CIA or FBI. Hardly.]

 Even if he did, would these purported Russian insiders really have collaborated with this former British intelligence agent under what is so widely said to be the ever-vigilant eye of the ruthless former KGB agent Vladimir Putin, thereby risking their positions, income, perhaps freedom, as well as the well-being of their families?

 Originally it was said that his Russian sources were highly paid by Steele. Arguably, this might have warranted the risk. But subsequently Steeles employer and head of Fusion GPS, Glenn Simpson, wrote in The New York Times that Steeles sources in Russiawere not paid. If the Putin Kremlins purpose was to put Trump in the White House, why then would these Kremlin-connected sources have contributed to Steeles anti-Trump project without financial or political gain  only with considerable risk?

 There is the also the telling matter of factual mistakes in the dossier that Kremlin insiders were unlikely to have made, but this is the subject for a separate analysis.

And indeed we now know that Steele had at least three other sources for the dossier, ones not previously mentioned by him or his employer. There was the information from foreign intelligence agencies provided by Brennan to Steele or to the FBI, which we also now know was collaborating with Steele. There was  a second Trump-Russia dossier prepared by people personally close to Hillary Clinton and who shared their findings with Steele. And most intriguingly, there was the research provided by Nellie Ohr, wife of a top Department of Justice official, Bruce Ohr, who, according to the Republican memo, was employed by Fusion GPS to assist in the cultivation of opposition research on Trump. Ohr later provided the FBI with all of his wifes opposition research. Most likely, it found its way into Steeles dossier. (Mrs. Ohr was a trained Russian Studies scholar with a PhD from Stanford and a onetime assistant professor at Vassar, and thus, it must have seemed, an ideal collaborator for Steele.)

The reference to people personally close to Hillary Clinton and who shared their findings with Steele dovetails with another intriguing suggestion from former Clinton insider Dick Morris, who knows the modus operandi of the Clinton lie generator better than anyone else. On the Fox News Ingraham Angle show, Morris suggested to host Laura Ingraham that the bulk of the dossier was invented by veteran political dirty tricksters and Clinton-machine hatchet men Sid Blumenthal and Cody Shearer, who then engaged former spook Steele, because of the Brits known relationship with the FBI, as their conduit to give their garbage credibility. (Never underestimate the residual colonial mentality of Yanks to find any sort of gibberish convincing if delivered with a British accent, as confirmed by the ubiquity of posh Brit voices in American advertising.)

Andrew Wood is not Russian

But Steele isnt the only limey link to #Dossiergate. In late 2016, after Trumps election victory, Andrew Wood, a former British ambassador to Russia, told US Senator John McCain about the existence of compromising material on Donald Trump, according to Woods account to BBC4. Wood then set up a meeting between Steele and David Kramer, an associate of McCains. Its unclear whether McCain already knew about the dossier at that point or whether Wood alerted the Senator to its existence.

For what it is worth  not much  Wood states that McCain had obtained the documents from the Senators own sources. I told him I was aware of what was in the report but I had not read it myself, that it might be true, it might be untrue. I had no means of judging really, and that he served only to inform McCain about the dossier contents: My mission was essentially to be a go-between and a messenger, to tell the Senator and assistants that such a dossier existed, Wood told Fox News. Wood elsewhere relates that McCain was visibly shocked at his description and expressed interest in reading the full report. That doesnt sound as though McCain had already obtained the dossier from his own sources but, rather, that Wood was the instigator.

So which is it? Did McCain already know about the dossier, and if so how did it happen to get raised with a British diplomat? Conversely, was the initiative from Woods to induce the Senator  known to be a strong Trump critic as well as for his hostility to Russia  to pass the dossier on in Washington? Keep in mind that the dossier had already been used to secure a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant to monitor Carter Page, a peripheral asteroid in the Trump orbit, and that Trump had already been elected. By this time the conspiracys purpose had shifted from preventing Trumps victory to tying down his incoming administration, especially with respect to blocking any opening to Moscow as Trump said he intended to do. What better way to set the cat among the pigeons than for a supposedly totally non-political British diplomat (certainly no intelligence officer, he!) to quietly peddle the material from Steele (whom Wood called a very competent professional operator  I do not think he would make things up.) to the right man in Washington?

GCHQ is not Russian

Finally, while its clear the dossier served to get a FISA warrant for American services to spy on the Trump campaign and later the transition team, US agencies might not have been the only eyes and ears monitoring them. Amid all the hubbub over Michael Wolffs slash-and-burn Fire and Fury, little mention (other than a heated denial on the floor of the House of Commons, from the notoriously truth-challenged former prime minister Tony Blair, and from the relevant British agency itself!) has been made of the suggestion that the UKs Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ)  Britains version of the NSA  was spying on Trump and providing their sister agencies in the US with additional data. Keep in mind the carefully worded deflection last year from James Clapper, former Director of National Intelligence (DNI), that there was no wiretap against Trump Tower during the campaign conducted by any part of the national intelligence community including the FBI, thus begging the question of whether Trump was spied on not by a US national agency but by one of the Anglosphere Five Eyes agencies  most likely GCHQ  which then passed the information back to their American colleagues. With Steeles and Woods involvement, and given the virtual control of Americas manifestly corrupted agencies of their counterparts in satellite countries like the United Kingdom, involvement by GCHQ and perhaps other friendly foreign agencies cannot be dismissed out of hand.

Madame Prime Minister is not Russian

To be sure, in 2016 the majority opinion in Russia was that Donald Trumps election would be preferable to Hillary Clintons for the simple reason that the former openly advocated better relations with Moscow while the latter was a notorious warmonger. But there was also a strong minority view, especially among more pro-Western elements of the Russian establishment, that Hillary  the devil you know  was preferable to rolling the dice on an unpredictable and unknown quantity. Plus, Hillary was delightfully corrupt, with the Clinton Foundation an open invitation for many foreign powers to buy influence.

There was no ambiguity in the position of the British government, however. In 2016 Prime Minister Theresa May, like her German counterpart, made little effort to hide her disdain for the just plain wrong Trump and her preference for Hillary Clinton, whom she expected to win (as did most other observers). Why should anyone be surprised that her MI6 and GCHQ minions would share the same views and perhaps acted on them to provide some helping hands across the water to their US counterparts whose anti-constitutional conspiracy now stands exposed?
In its latest Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), the American Pentagon declares at one point in the document that the Cold War is long over. Apart from that fleeting mention, however, one would think from reading the entire review that the Cold War, for Washington, has never been so palpable.

It is a fear-laden document, relentlessly portraying the world as fraught with existential danger to US national security.

Russia and China, as with two other recent strategic policy papers out of Washington, are again painted as adversaries who must be confronted with ever-greater US military power.

The latest NPR asserts that since the last such review in 2010, America confronts an international security situation that is more complex and demanding than any since the end of the Cold War.

It is clear from reading the 74-page document that Russia and China are the main source of security concern for the Pentagon  albeit the reasons for the concern are far from convincing. Indeed one might say downright alarmist.

Washington accuses Russia and China of pursuing nuclear weapons development which is threatening. It accuses Russia in particular of violating arms controls treaties and threatening American allies with its nuclear arsenal. There are several other such unsubstantiated claims made by the Pentagon in the document.

Russia and China responded by condemning the aggressive nature of the Pentagons latest doctrine, as they have done with regard to two other recent strategic papers published by the Trump administration.

It is deplorable that Washington seems to go out of its way to portray the world in such bellicose terms. The corollary of this attitude is the repudiation of diplomacy and multilateralism.

Washington, it seems, is a hostage to its own imperative need to generate a world of hostile relations in order to justify its rampant militarism, which is, in turn, fundamental to its capitalist economy.

The lamentable, even criminal, danger of this strategy is that it foments unnecessary tensions and animosity in world relations. Russia and China have repeatedly called for normal, multilateral relations. Yet, remorselessly, Washington demonizes the two military powers in ways that are retrograde and reckless.

The Pentagons latest nuclear doctrine goes even further in its provocations. Based on dubious accusations of Russias threatening behavior (annexation of Crimea, aggression in Ukraine), the Pentagon has declared it will rely more on nuclear force for deterrence.

That can be taken as a warning that Washington is, in effect, lowering its threshold for deploying nuclear weapons. It overtly states that it will consider use of nuclear weapons to defend American interests and allies from nuclear and conventional threats. The language is chilling. It talks about inflicting incalculable and intolerable costs on adversaries. This is nothing short of Washington terrorizing the rest of the world into conforming to its geopolitical demands.

Another sinister development is that Washington has now declared that it will be acquiring low-yield nuclear weapons. These so-called mini-nukes will again lower the threshold for possible deployment of nuclear warheads in the misplaced belief that such deployment will not escalate to strategic weapons.

Whats disturbing is that the US is evidently moving toward a policy of greater reliance on nuclear force to underpin its international power objectives. It is also broadening, in a provocative and reckless way, what it considers aggression by other adversaries, principally Russia. Taken together, Washington is increasingly setting itself on a more hostile course.

Some 57 years ago, in 1961, then US President Dwight Eisenhower gave a farewell address to the nation in which he issued a grave forewarning about the growing control of the military-industrial complex over American life. Back then, the American military-industrial complex could disguise its insatiable appetite with the pretext of the Cold War and the Soviet enemy.

Today, the American federal government spends about $700 billion a year on military  over half its discretionary budget. The US spends more on military than at any time during the Cold War  in constant dollar terms.

The US military-industrial complex has become a voracious monster way beyond anything that Eisenhower may have feared. It is no longer a threat merely to American life. It is a threat to the life of the entire planet.

Objectively, the US has no foreign enemy endangering its existence; neither Russia nor China. Not even North Korea, despite its anti-American rhetoric, poses a direct threat to the US.

The Pentagon  on behalf of the military-industrial complex  is stretching credulity when it depicts the world as a more threatening place. Fingering Russia and China is absurd.

In order to try to shore up its scare-mongering with a semblance of credibility, the Pentagon is escalating the rhetoric about nuclear weapons and the need to deploy them. There is no objective justification for this nuclear posturing by the US, only as a way to dramatize alleged national security fears, in order to keep the military-industrial racket going.

The despicable danger from this retrograde Cold War strategy is that the US is recklessly pushing the world toward war and possibly nuclear catastrophe.

Fortunately, Russia and China have highly developed military defenses to keep American insanity in check. Nevertheless, American belligerence is pushing the world to combustible tensions.

The problem is that American rulers have become a rogue state. The American people need to somehow sack their rogue rulers and their military madness, and return the nation to a democratic function.

Until then, Russia and the rest of the world must be on guard.
The US-led coalition is drawing down or "adjusting" its military presence in Iraq. With ISIS on the ropes, the remaining forces will refocus on policing, border control, and military capacity building. A senior official close to Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has been reported to say that 60 percent of the US troops will be withdrawn. About 4,000 US personnel will remain as part of a training mission. There were 8,892 US troops in Iraq as of late September. The American soldiers are being shipped to Afghanistan, where roughly 14,000 troops are already stationed.

Its conspicuous that the move is taking place against the backdrop of the upcoming May elections in Iraq. The American withdrawal will boost the chances of the US-friendly prime minister, Haider al-Abadi. But rebuilding the country is a large order for that cash-strapped government. Much of the nation is in ruins. The US-led coalition has not done much to propel the process of reconstruction.

So, the contingent in Afghanistan will receive reinforcements. However, the situation hasn't budged an inch since 2001. The Taliban movement has gained ground recently and is now active in 70 percent of the country. According to Randall Schriver, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs, the war in Afghanistan costs $45 billion annually. Republican Sen. Rand Paul has said that tens of billions are "just being thrown down a hatch in that country." All attempts to reboot the operation have ended in failure. Despite that, there seems to be no prospect of pulling the plug on the failed policy.

But fighting terrorists seems to be no longer the prime mission with the focus now shifting to Russia and China.

What will be the outcome of this reduction in US forces? Iraq is preparing an operation to clear the mountainous area near the Iranian border where some anti-government armed groups are still active. The Iraqi government needs it to be secure before it starts transporting its oil from Kirkuk. According to Reuters, Iraq and Iran have agreed to swap up to 60,000 barrels per day of crude produced in Kirkuk for Iranian oil, which will be sent to southern Iraq. The oil is going to be transported by truck and the deal will boost Irans regional influence.

Last December, the Iraqi government announced plans to build a new 350-kilometer (220-mile) Kirkuk-Ceyhan (Turkey) oil pipeline to carry up to one million barrels a day. If that pans out, Turkey will see its regional influence grow. About the same time, Iraq reached a deal with China's state-run Zhenhua Oil to develop the southern section of the East Baghdad oil field, which is believed to hold eight billion barrels. As one can see, Iraqs leaders are wise enough not to put all their eggs into one basket.

Iraq has recently been turning to Russia for oil deals, military assistance, and nation building. Military cooperation between the two countries has been on the rise. The bilateral contacts indicate the Iraqi governments desire to expand that relationship.

And the United States? It should be noted that the US troops are hardly safer in Iraq than in Afghanistan. The US had no serious political plan when Iraq was invaded in 2003 and there is no such thing as an Iraq policy now. It is one of those wars that never end. Its easy to get in, but next to impossible to get out. Look around, its not difficult to find conflicts like that in many places today, such as Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Syria, you name it.

The US military presence around the world is mushrooming. Around 200,000 US troops are stationed in over 170 countries with no great victories to boast of. America is gradually pulling out of Iraq with no glory. The US is not popular in that country. Many Iraqis left the country after the US invasion, because of the massive security problems. Nor is America indispensable there. The Iraqi war was a costly military adventure that has produced many almost unsolvable problems.

In the same way, Washington may get involved in real fighting in Syria. For instance, with no proof to back up the allegation, the US insists that Syrias government is using chemical weapons. The White House says Damascus would pay a heavy price if it were to carry out such an attack. Strikes against Syrian military infrastructure could lead to casualties among Iranian, Turkish, or Russian military personnel. That could also trigger a response.

In Iraq, a clash between US military and pro-Iranian militias can never be ruled out. Huge sums of money are being spent to force America to balance on the brink of conflict in faraway countries and risk its soldiers lives without any results to brag about. It makes one question the wisdom of a policy that calls for a military presence in so many places simultaneously. America has a lot to lose and nothing to gain.
An editorial in the February 2nd Washington Post headlines The Nunes memo shows the opposite of what Trump hoped it would prove, and its first argument is that the memo reveals that there were preexisting [i.e., prior to the FBIs investigation into the DNC's infamous Steele dossier, which even Steele himself acknowledged was probably 10% to 30% false] grounds to investigate, based on information about a different Trump associate. So the president cannot construe this memo as offering evidence that the Russia probe began corruptly.

However, the Nunes Memo isnt alleging that the Russia probe began corruptly. It is instead arguing that when the FBIs follow-on investigation reached the point where they would need permission from the FISA (or FISC) court in order to obtain evidence that might possibly implicate US President Trump in impeachable offenses, the FBI resorted to an ilegal tactic to win the courts okay: hiding crucial material information from the FISA court. Thats the case the Nunes Memo is actually summarizing.

The FBI began its investigation into the Steele dossier after it had already begun its investigation  based upon then-credible grounds to investigate  regarding George Papadopoulos (a supporter of Trump and aspirant for a position in his Administration if Trump would win).

There is no question that the initial FBI investigation began in July 2016 and had nothing to do with the Steele dossier; this is acknowledged even by National Review, a Republican publication that seeks Trumps impeachment and replacement by Mike Pence. NR notes that, The investigation isnt the fruit of the poisonous dossier (though the dossier did play a role); it existed before the dossier. But the Nunes Memo doesnt deny this, either.

However, unlike the Washington Post, even NR had the journalistic integrity to make clear that if the evidence upon which the investigation was opened is sound, then the investigation is appropriate. The Washington Post, obviously, did not. The Post simply started with the false assumption that the Nunes Memo argues that the Russia probe began corruptly.

Then, NR says, Ironically enough, the memo in fact confirms the necessity of the Special Counsel Robert Mueller, and NR then ignores the legal conditions under which a Special Counsel may be appointed to remove a given investigation from the domain of the US Justice Department. These legal reuirements are extremely vague, but they do include "(b) That under the circumstances, it would be in the public interest to appoint an outside Special Counsel to assume responsibility for the matter. President Trumps Attorney General Jeff Sessions yielded to political pressures  both from Democrats and from far-right Republicans (reminiscent of the close bonds that existed in the 1950s between the far-right Republican Joe McCarthy and his strong Democratic supporters Henry Scoop Jackson and Bobby Kennedy)  to start that anti-Russia and anti-Trump process; and there would likely have been considerable flak from those same political quarters if Sessions had not yielded to them on this matter, but there was no requirement for Sessions to do so. If he had not done so, then their attempt to replace Trump by Pence would have proceeded more slowly. The Nunes Memo alleges that even the possibility of the appointment of a Special Counsel wouldnt have existed if the FISA court had not (unknowingly) allowed US national-security and intelligence-gathering laws to be broken.

On 21 October 2016, the Obama Justice Department and its FBI sought from the FISA court a probable-cause to get its approval to obtaining all information that the Obama Administration (including its CIA, NSA, etc.) had acquired regarding contacts between Russia on the one hand and Trump and his team on the other  the courts permission for the sitting President to gather this information against the man who was then running against that sitting Presidents chosen heir-apparent. It was at this time that the Steele dossier became evidence for the court  and the court was blocked from seeing the evidence that should have excluded the court from accepting Steeles document as being evidence in this matter. After all, if even the Steele dossiers author admitted publicly that his document was somewhere between 10% and 30% false, then to accept it as constituting evidence, is to accept what even the documents author admits contains that much falsehood; and, to impeach a President on grounds like that would be an atrocity.

This is what the Nunes Memo is actually about. Its about legal and illegal process.

Then, the Washington Post says, Second, the memo indicates that the Justice Department sought its warrant against Mr. Page in October 2016  after Mr. Page had left the Trump campaign. So the presidents campaign was not the intended target. Thats a non-sequitor; the possibility exists that both Mr. Page had left the Trump campaign and the presidents campaign was  the intended target. In order to explore whether or not that was actually so would require the type of investigation that the Nunes Memo purports to be summarizing.

The Posts third argument is that the FISA court wouldnt have renewed the approval three times if its initial grant of Obamas spying against Trump hadnt been legally and soundly based  including all the information that the Nunes Memo summarizes, and which had been hidden from that court.

The Posts fourth and final argument (but followed by lots of subordinate and un-numbered points) is:

For the conspiracy narrative to hold any water, one would have to believe that officials appointed by a Republican president, including one confirmed by a Republican Senate, were part of a plot to bring down that same Republican president, and that they successfully hoodwinked FISA judges selected by the Republican-appointed chief justice of the United States. This hoodwinking would have continued after the nature of the dossier had been widely publicized and Mr. Pages Russian connections publicly scrutinized. This is beyond improbable.

Beyond Improbable though the people who hire and fire at the Washington Post are obviously claiming it to be, the Nunes Memo cites and alleges powerful evidence that much of that did, in fact, happen. The Memo's allegations and evidence will be seriously considered by all of Americas journalistic institutions, even if (as at the Washington Post) ignored by a great many of America's propaganda institutions (the ones that prefer a President Pence to President Trump, which include all Democratic Party outlets, and many Republican Party ones as well).

On February 3rd, the brilliant intelligence analyst W. Patrick Lang boldly attempted an analysis of what very possibly might explain all of this, though he presented it under the unfortunately obscure heading of "Habakkuk on longtime sources: and I consider it stunning.

In any case: anyone who believes newsmedia only because theyre famous (and despite the considerable evidence that theyre not to be trusted) is going to be a happy gull of either Democratic Party billionaires or Republican Party billionaires; and a country with a majority like that wont be any democracy at all.

To boil this all down: the Nunes Memo summarizes a case that the campaign to replace Trump by Pence has used tactics which are illegal in the United States, and which should be illegal in any democracy.

The best summary that I have seen of the Nunes Memo is this (which also happens to be from Pat Lang), which also links directly to the best online source for the document itself (so, if after seeing that summary, you wish to see the document thats being summarized, both are right there).
by Austin Bay February 8, 2018

A new round of diplomatic negotiations promoted by the UN, the EU and NATO may finally end The Name War -- the odd but bitter little conflict pitting Greece against its northern neighbor, Macedonia.

Understand that calling Macedonia "Macedonia" riles many Greeks -- over 60 percent according to a poll touted by Greek nationalists. Riled Greeks prefer to refer to Macedonia as the FYROM, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Macedonia is its "communist era" name.

Whether Macedonia or FYROM, the country became independent in 1991, when Yugoslavia dissolved amid civil war.

The Name War also began in 1991. In 1993, Greek political opposition to Macedonia's name forced Macedonia to join the UN under the "provisional" name FYROM.

In the subsequent years of rhetorical sniping, The Name War has taken no lives. Wry commentators familiar with the Balkan history regard that as good news.

The dispute's possible resolution is through constructive diplomacy is even better news.

Admittedly, it isn't really a war. However, at its core, the Greece-Macedonia dispute involves "territory and tribe" -- historic land disputes and ethnic identification. In conflicts around the planet both elements often distort issues and lead to bloodshed.

The political map, World War One and Alexander the Great of Macedon begin to explain The Name War.

Macedonia is located in what was southern Yugoslavia, east of Albania, west of Bulgaria, south of Kosovo and Serbia, and due north of Greece. Ethnically, FYROM-Macedonia is Slav and Albanian.

Greek Macedonia divides into three administrative regions: West Macedonia, Central Macedonia and East Macedonia and Thrace. The port city of Thessalonica (Greece's second largest city) is located in Central Macedonia.

When "the northern political entity" retained the name Macedonia, Greeks interpreted that as a Slav-Albanian threat and asserted the use of the name indicated a Macedon claim to Greek Macedonia and its Aegean ports.

In the First Balkan War (1912-1913), Greece took Greek Macedonia and the port of Thessalonica from Ottoman Turkey -- much to the chagrin of Slavic Balkan nations, Bulgaria in particular. Greek extremists regard Macedonian Slavs as Bulgarians. The First Balkan War set the stage for World War One.

Follow the meandering chain of history and hate and a substantial number of Greeks in 1991 were prepared to believe Macedonia coveted its territories.

Now for Alexander. Alexander was the greatest Macedonian. Macedonia named its major international airport for Alexander, which inflamed Greeks .

Alexander was a Hellene -- an advocate of a Greek culture. Ethnic Greeks of his time regarded Macedonians with suspicion. Disputes from 335 BC shouldn't affect 21st century politics, but...sometimes they do.

The Name War became a NATO problem. In 2008 NATO member Greece blocked Macedonia's bid to join the alliance.

Time and Greece's dire economic straits have tempered Greece's attitudes toward its northern neighbor. The fact that most members of the UN now casually refer to the Republic of Macedonia, not the FYROM, is another influence.

In August 2017, both countries acknowledged they were pursuing a solution to the dispute. In January 2018, Macedonia said it would rename the Alexander the Great Airport. Nice move. The Great's been dead a long time.

Greek government officials indicate they would accept a name with a modifier like North or Upper Macedonia.

Macedonia's foreign minister says his country wants a "dignified" solution. Macedonia definitely wants to join NATO. The country is positioned to join the European Union. Greek support would facilitate it.

Experienced diplomats call this "an opportunity." And it is.
In the northwest (Aleppo province) Turkish troops and YPG Kurds have been fighting each other near the town of Afrin (northwest of Aleppo city) since January 20 th . The Turkish troops in Syria, and their FSA allies, have been trying to force Kurdish fighters out of Afrin since 2016 but have so far failed. This area has been frequently fought over since 2013. Those battles involved al Nusra and ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) forces as well as the Syrian Army and FSA and U.S. supported SDF rebels. The Turks have become a major supporters of the FSA rebels in the area. This led to regular clashes between FSA and SDF forces. There have been clashes between the YPG (the Kurdish separatist component of SDF) and FSA rebels in the past, even though both groups have long been supported by the Americans. These hostilities were basically the outgrowth of personal disputes between leaders of some YPG and FSA groups. The U.S. sees the Turkish attitude here (that all armed Kurds must disband and disarm) as being more about domestic Turkish politics (where an unpopular pro-Islamic government is trying to create an external threat to distract Turks from the dislike for their own government). The Americans see Turkish hostility towards the Syrian Kurds as having nothing to do with reality and actually hurting the campaign to replace the Assad government.

Turkey wants all Kurds gone from their 911 kilometer border with Syria. Over half that border is east of the Euphrates River in what has long been Kurdish occupied territory (Hasakeh province). Syrian Kurds cleared of most ISIL forces out here by 2015 with the help of some Assad troops. Until 2012 the Assad government hoped to gain the Syrian Kurds as allies, but that did not work out and in 2012 the Assad forces officially turned Hasakeh province over to the local Kurdish militias. For the next five years the Kurds and Assad forces have occasionally cooperated against ISIL and other Islamic terrorist rebel groups that are hostile to Kurds as well as the Assads. The Turks are now accusing the Syria Kurds of supporting PKK (Turkish Kurdish separatists) who are again fighting the Turks. The SDF denies this and the American troops who have been advising, and training the SDF for years sided with the SDF on this. The Americans were willing to work with the Syrian Kurds the way they had done with the Iraqi Kurds since the 1990s. That Iraqi arrangement worked for the Turks but the Syrian Kurds are seen as less reliable. The Turks now say they will go after the town of Manbij (northeast of Aleppo city, 40 kilometers south of the Turkish border and near the west bank of the Euphrates River). SDF controls Manbij despite the fact that it is west of the Euphrates. According to the senior U.S. general in the region the American troops with SDF in Manbij are staying, mainly because most of the SDF fighters in Manbij are Arabs, not Kurds. SDF is mainly Kurdish but also contained large numbers of Arabs (Moslem and Christian) and other minorities. Moreover the SDF is composed of militias that were among the first to rebel against the Assads and remained focused on the rebellion and did not get involved with Islamic terrorism (which many Syrian rebels did). Even al Qaeda leaders agree that the rebellion was greatly weakened by feuding and fighting between various Islamic terror groups.

The Turkish actions towards U.S. backed Kurds in Syria is but one of several actions Turkey has taken to cut its ties with Western nations since World War II. Turkey is a member of NATO because of that but NATO is edging closer to expelling Turkey. Not so much for Turkish moves in Syria, but because Turkey is becoming an ally of Russia. More to the point Turkey has ordered two Russian S-400 anti-aircraft systems and is in line to get over a hundred new F-35 fighters. The S-400 is not compatible with the NATO air defense system and the F-35s contain a lot of technical secrets the Russians would like to get a close look at. Worse the current Russian government has accused NATO of plotting to destroy Russia. This fantasy is a ploy by the current (since 1999) Russian leaders to justify reviving police state rule. To get away with this Russia needs a scary foe that will not actually become a threat. China wont do because China has claims on much of the Russian Far East while there is no such claims by any Western nation. Russia appears to be playing with both Turkey and Iran in Syria, but thats another story.

Iran opposes Turkish operations along the Syrian border and there have been clashes between Assad and Turkish forces in Aleppo and Idlib provinces. The Assads do not want to fight Turkey but the Assads have been kept in power throughout the civil war by Iran, or at least mainly Iran. Russia arrived in 2015 and plays a secondary role. Neither Iran nor the Assads want to go to war with the Turks, but they are not cooperating with them either. Most European countries see Turkish and Iranian operations in Syria as a violation of international law, despite the fact that Iran was officially invited to enter Syria. Turkey and the United States did not get an invitation but for Europe the Americans in Syria are seen as helpful, not a threat to regional stability.

Iran appears to control most of the military forces available to the Assads. This force is better armed, trained and led than the Syrian military. The Iranian forces includes 3,000 Iranian personnel, 8,000 Hezbollah fighters (with more on call in Lebanon) and some 70,000 pro-Iran militias. About a fifth of these are foreign Shia mercenaries recruited, armed and led by Iranians. The rest are local pro-Assad militias that are equipped (and often paid) by Iran. Russia is the main source of logistic, technical, air and diplomatic (via a UN veto) support. But Iran has the most armed people on the ground. To make matters worse the main function of the Iranian ground forces is to prepare for a war with Israel.

The Civil War

The Syrian civil war is not over but it is entering its third phase. The first phase was in 2011-2 when the majority of Syrians turned against the Assad government. The Assads seemed doomed. But then the various rebel groups began spending more time fighting each other than the Assads. It got worse when ISIL showed up in 2013 and did not end until ISIL was crushed by the end of 2017. Now the factions are rearranging themselves for continued fighting. Already Turkish troops are fighting Kurds in northwest Syria while American troops settle down in the Kurdish northeast and announce a long-term presence to monitor Islamic terrorist activity and keep Iran from expanding.

Iran responded to American criticism of Iranian aggression in Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Palestine and Lebanon by insisting that it had an obligation to aid these nations in their fight against American and Israeli threats. This justification is unpopular with most Iranians who want their government to pay more attention to real problems inside Iran rather than imaginary ones overseas. Leaders of the PMF (government supported militias) in Iraq and Hezbollah in Lebanon openly boast of their financial and other support from Iran. This makes most Iraqis and Lebanese uncomfortable. Hezbollah has long been recognized by most foreign nations as an Islamic terrorist organization. Syrians are dreading Iranian plans to create a Syrian Hezbollah. Now Iranians officers openly talk of attacking American troops in northeast Syria, with the help of Turkish troops who are already attacking Kurds in northwest Syria (Afrin).

Russia is being asked to take sides in northern Syria where Turkey has begun attacking Syrian Kurds west of the Euphrates River, an area dominated by Russian warplanes and air defense systems. The Russians did not interfere with Turkish air strikes. Turkish warplanes are supporting Turkish ground troops seeking to drive Syrian Kurds out of territory (especially the town of Afrin) they control near the Turkish border. After that the Turks want the Americans to get out of northeast Syria. The Americans dont want to leave but have heeded Turkish concerns and agreed that the Syrian Kurds would not control security along the Turkish border (from Iraq to the Euphrates River). In mid-January the United States announced that it is assisting in the creation of a 30,000 strong BSF (border security force) in northeast Syria. This appears to be a repeat of what the U.S. and Britain did in Kurdish northern Iraq in the early 1990s. Neither Turkey, Iran nor Syria (the Assads) support this autonomous Kurdish portion of Syria. But the Americans insist it is essential to ensure that Islamic terrorists do not again have an opportunity to operate in this area. Russia noted with approval how the autonomous Kurds of northern Iraq kept things quiet in their territory since the early 1990s. The U.S. backed SDF have already said they would not allow Assad forces to cross the Euphrates River in order to regain control of northeastern Syria that was now largely held by the SDF. The SDF is being converted to the BSF and, unlike Kurdish northern Iraq, the SDF controlled territory will have a defense force (the BSF), that will be about a third non-Kurds and border security will be handled by whichever ethnic group dominates in that area. Most of the Turkish border will be patrolled by Kurds while the Iraq border will have a lot more Arab participation. There will be two American bases in this SDF controlled territory. One will be on the Iraq border at the al Tanf (on the Syrian side)/ Walweed (on the Iraqi side) border crossing. The other American base in Syria will be at the airbase outside Raqqa. This American controlled area will block Iran from having a land route from Iran to Damascus (and Lebanon).

The Americans have about 6,000 troops in Iraq but most (about 3,500) of these are leaving. Most will go to Afghanistan but some will end up in Syria and the rest back to the United States. There are still about 10,000 ISIL supporters in Iraq and Syria but only about a third are armed fighters. The only territory ISIL still controls are some sparely inhabited desert areas in eastern Syria and a few rural areas along the Iraq border and in western Iraq. At this point the big threat in Iraq and Syria is Iran, which is aggressively seeking to extend its power and influence throughout the region. Iran also wants to destroy Israel, something it has loudly repeated for decades.

Rearranging The Factions

The Syrian Kurds want autonomy in the northeast (mainly Hasakah province) and protection from Turkish efforts to keep the Syrian Kurds away from the Turkish border. Thats going to be a problem. There are more problems in the north, such as the FSA (Free Syrian Army). This group was a major player early on because it was largely secular and popular with Western nations. Now it is split with about 10,000 FSA working for the Turks and about 5,000 in the south still fighting the Assads. From 2012-16 FSA was in decline because most Syrian rebels preferred more radical groups like al Qaeda and eventually ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant). FSA persisted and eventually found a major patron in Turkey, which apparently plans to turn over control of the Syrian side of the border to FSA, if the Assads and Syrian Kurds can be taken care of. The Turks can promise FSA fighters support in the northern Syria border zone that is controlled by Turkey and may remain under Turkish control (or protection) for some time to come. The Turks want a stable government in Syria that is not hostile towards Turkey. That could include the Assads, or not. At the moment the Assads are under the control of Iran.

After its first appearance in 2011 the FSA grew largely by forming a coalition. The basic requirement for FSA membership was opposition to the Assad government and support of democracy (not religious or secular dictatorship) in Syria. About a third of the FSA was in the south and those rebels were more inclined to work with the Americans or even Israel. FSA has long received assistance from the U.S. and Jordan as well but in 2017 the northern faction made it clear that Turkey was their new sponsor and refused American requests that FSA work with the SDF in Deir Ezzor province, which is the southern neighbor of SDF controlled Hasakah province.

The Syrian Kurds and SDF want to make peace with Turkey but this is increasingly difficult. Diplomatic relations between Turkey and the United States keep getting worse because of American support for local Kurds and refusing to extradite back to Turkey those who Turkey believes were responsible for an alleged coup in 2016. The Turks can provide the Americans with no convincing evidence (which is essential to get someone extradited). Then again the U.S. has been making and breaking promises to the local Kurds for over a century now. But the Kurds have few choices because reliable foreign backers have always been in short supply. The Syrian Kurds have been discussing a post-war deal with the Assads and seem to think they will have a better chance with that than trying to negotiate with the Turks. At the moment the Turks are going after the remaining Kurdish controlled areas in Idlib province near the Mediterranean coast. Apparently the Turks will only tolerate the Syrian Kurds if they stay in Hasakah province on the Iraq border. The Syrian Kurds (the SDF and its American air and special operations support) have been responsible for taking the ISIL capital (Raqqa) without any help from the Assads, Russia or anyone else. Because of that the SDF has told the Assads that they do not want a return of the Assad government to areas they control (Hasakah province and parts of Deir Ezzor province). The SDF is willing to discuss an autonomy deal similar to what the Iraqi Kurds have.

Turkey gets little criticism from Europe, mainly because Turkey hosts over three million Syrian refugees and has been keeping the deal it made with Europe to prevent those refugees from heading for Europe via Turkey. In return the Europeans pay Turkey billions of dollars a year. This is one reason the European nations have largely backed away from supporting Syrian rebels. At this point the primary supporter of the Syrian rebels is the United States.

Israel is preparing for an Iranian attack from Lebanon and/or Syria. In addition to moving more troops to the Syrian border, improving the security fence and anti-aircraft/rocket defense Israel is also making deals with rebels on the Syrian side of the border in an effort to establish a 40 kilometers deep buffer zone. Israel has long provided some support (usually medical, in Israeli hospitals) for cooperative Syrian rebels. Now that support includes material aid and airstrikes and artillery fire against shared threats.

Israel has suggested that Russia work out some sort of truce between Iran and Israel. That is a great idea in theory but in practice Iran is pretty irrational when it comes to Israel.

In the northwest (Aleppo province) fighting near Afrin has left about twenty Turkish s0ldiers dead since the operation began on January 20th. FSA losses have been higher and the Turks claim to have killed, wounded or captured about a thousand Kurdish fighters in that period as well. The Kurds disagree with the Turkish estimate.

February 8, 2018: In the east (Deir Ezzor province) over 300 pro-Assad militiamen attacked SDF positions near the Khusham oilfields (which once supplied ISIL with a lot of cash). The attack was defeated with the help of American air power (F-15Es, AH-64s and an AC-130) and artillery. At least a hundred attackers were killed and two tanks and several artillery pieces were destroyed. The SDF suffered a few wounded even though the attackers had tanks and artillery with them. The U.S. was in touch with the Russians to ensure there no problems in the air (Russian and American warplanes operating too close together). There were some American troops among the SDF defenders.

The Assad forces continue attacks in the north (Idlib province) and down south in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta. These two campaigns have been going on for weeks and mostly consist of firing on civilians (with airstrikes and artillery) in an effort to persuade the rebels to surrender. So far this month over a thousand civilians have been killed or wounded in these two areas. The attacks on Ghouta have been particularly intense for the last four days. There are also Turkish troops in Idlib province, mainly along the border. One of those soldiers was killed today, and four wounded, by some mortar shells.

In the south some gunfire from Syria hit a village on the Israeli side of the border in the Golan Heights. There were no injuries and the Israelis decided it was not deliberate and did not return fire.

February 7, 2018: In the northwest (Aleppo province) fighting included artillery fire hitting the water treatment plant nine kilometers northeast of Afrin. This cut water supplies for Afrin and surrounding areas. The Turks said they had not fired on the water treatment facility. Turkish forces near Afrin detected and destroyed a suicide truck bomb before it could reach Turkish troops.

In the south (Damascus) Syria claims that Israeli aircraft in Lebanon fired missiles at a research center outside Damascus. Syria claim they shot some of the missiles. Israel did not comment, which is typical. Other witnesses report the missiles hit a new Iranian base near the Jamraya research center which specializes in weapons development.

February 6, 2018: The U.S. says it will still support FSA units in northern Syria as long as they do not go to work for the Turks or any other foreign power. Few FSA factions were inclined to side with the Americans on this.

February 4, 2018: Because of the introduction of a new Russian air defense system Russia told the Turks to keep their aircraft out of Syrian airspace until further notice. This has made it more difficult, and dangerous, for Turkish forces fighting the SDF around Afrin. Turkish aircraft resumed operations over Syria on the 9th.

A UN report on North Korean efforts to violate economic sanctions detailed how North Korea managed to earn nearly $200 million in 2017 by evading export sanctions. Most of the illegal export income came from selling at least 39 shipments of coal mainly to Russia and China (as well as South Korea, Malaysia, and Vietnam) and weapons to Burma (small arms and missiles) and Syria (chemical weapons). North Korean technical personnel have been regular visitors to Syria since the 1990s.

February 3, 2018: In the northwest (Aleppo province) fighting near Afrin left eight Turks dead as they continued operations against Kurds. Since January 20th the Turks have lost 13 troops near Afrin. In the fifteen days of combat the Turks have taken about four percent of the Kurdish held territory around Afrin. Most of the Turkish ground forces are FSA militiamen.

In nearby Idlib province al Qaeda forces used a shoulder fired anti-aircraft missile to bring down a Russia Su-25 ground attack aircraft that was providing support for attacking Syrian troops. The pilot ejected but was killed on the ground. Russia says it launched more airstrikes and cruise missile attacks (via ships off shore) and killed 30 of the al Qaeda gunmen. Russia later revealed that they believe the Su-25 was brought down by a Russian made Igla-S (SA-18) missile. There are many of these in use by rebels as well as Assad and Russian forces in Syria.

January 31, 2018: In the north (Aleppo province) two rockets fired across the border into Turkey killed a Turkish civilian. A similar attack a week earlier left two civilians dead.

January 27, 2018: Iran accused the United States (as it has done for years) of creating ISIL. Now Iran insists that the Americans are making it possible for the surviving ISIL personnel from Syria and Iraq to move to Afghanistan. While there are some ISIL personnel in Afghanistan most of them are former Taliban looking for something more hardcore. Meanwhile Afghanistan sees Iran as a threat, if only because Afghan security officials keep finding more Afghans spying for Iran.

January 20, 2018: In the north Turkish troops crossed the border near Afrin to push the Kurds out of the area and especially the town of Afrin. Turkey said it was only fighting YPG Kurds.

In the northeast (Hasakeh province) SDF and American forces located a large groups of ISIL personnel near the Iraqi border and called in an airstrike. Examination of the area indicated at least 150 ISIL personnel were killed.

January 18, 2018: The United States announced that it intended to keep troops (currently about 2,000) in northeast Syria in order to keep an eye on Islamic terrorism in Syria, especially a possible resurgence if ISIL. The U.S. troops, working with local Kurds and a largely anti-Assad population in that area, also want to make sure that Iran does not gain access to this area and that Turkish forces stay out. Inside Iraq there is a lot of support for continued U.S. presence, in large part to keep Iran from gaining too much power over Iraqi political and economic life. Naturally Iran considers any U.S. presence in the region as a foreign invasion. The Turks agree and have attacked Kurdish forces in northwest Syria and threaten to do the same in northeast Syria even if it means conflict with American troops.

January 12, 2018: In northern Syria (Idlib province) Russia used a laser guided Krasnopol 152mm shell to destroy the Syrian rebel workshop where the 13 UAVs were modified and armed for a January 5th swarm attack on the Russian Hmeimim air base. That attack failed and Russia said it used its EW (electronic warfare) troops to locate where the UAVs came from and then sent UAVs to monitor the location and collect information on who was operating the workshop and when the most people were there. Meanwhile Russia moved a self-propelled 152mm howitzer to within 20 kilometers (max range of Krasnopol) of the workshop and got some of their commandos, carrying the laser designator to within five kilometers (max range of laser) to mark the target with the laser so the shell could find and hit it. Russian UAVs captured the attack on video. Russia said they knew which rebel group carried out the January 5th attack and who their foreign backer was but would not release that information. Russia said that it was not Turkey and seemed to imply it was the United States but the Americans denied any involvement. ISIL has been using such UAVs for surveillance and attacks for several years. Moreover the Russian use of Krasnopol for retaliation was odd. It would have been easier to use Russian aircraft (or UAVs) armed with laser designators and laser guided missiles for this attack. The Americans and their allies do this all the time, usually employing Hellfire missiles. China sells clones of the American UAVs and missiles (and builds the Krasnopol shell under license).

The sad reality is that Russia has apparently run out of smart bombs and missiles. Lately their air attacks have only used unguided (dumb) bombs and rockets. But they still had Krasnopol shells, which they have been using in Syria since 2016. Russia is broke and cannot afford to restore its small stockpile of smart bombs much less expand it. So Russia improvises.

January 9, 2018: In the north, across the Syrian border in Daraa province Israeli UAVs aided FSA (Free Syrian Army) rebels in repelling an ISIL attack. The U.S. backed FSA has cooperated with Israel along the border for years.

In the north Syria claims that Israeli aircraft and missiles hit a missile warehouse outside Damascus. Several people were killed. Syria claims they shot down one of the missiles and damaged an Israeli warplane during three separate attacks. Israel did not comment, which is not unusual. Israel has announced that it will do whatever is necessary to prevent Iran from shipping improved (longer range, more accurate) rockets to Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. Syria complained to the UN but given the fact that Syrian government leaders are being accused of war crimes by the UN the complaints about Israeli airstrikes are not going far.
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Friday has asked Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) members of provincial assemblies for support in Senate elections on March 3.

PPP MPA Saeed Ghani said that PPP would take benefit from the MQM-Ps internal differences in the Senate polls.

The time period to submit nomination papers for the Senate elections expired on Thursday with 144 candidates submitting their forms to Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for 52 seats.

there are 34 candidates each from Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) while 28 from Balochistan and 47 from Sindh. One nominee from Islamabad emerged for technocrat seat while the body received nomination document for FATA.

Ishaq Dar, PMs sister Barrister Sadia Abbasi and others have been picked by the ruling PML-N which eyes to gain overwhelming majority in the upper house.

PTI Chairman Imran Khan named Chaudhry Sarwar, Andleeb Abbas from Punjab while Faisal Javed, Major (retd) Fida Hussain, Azam Swati, Meher Taj Roghani, Khayal Zaman Orakzai and Ayub Afridi from KP.

While PPP has retained the name of Raza Rabbani in its list, MQM-Ps internal rift over Senate polls resulted in nominations from both faction separately.
President of Murray Edwards Dame Barbara Stocking is facing allegations that she was involved in the cover up of a recent Oxfam scandal, in which prostitutes were hired by aid workers in Haiti.

The Times reported that members of Oxfam, one of the UKs biggest charities, had used prostitutes in Haiti sometime in 2011. The aid workers were there to provide relief after the 2010 Haiti earthquake. The scandal has resulted in four members of staff being dismissed and three being allowed to resign. One includes country director Roland Van Hauwermeiren, who allegedly used prostitutes in a villa rented for him by Oxfam.

The implicated aid workers are also accused of bullying and intimidation of Haitians.

While Oxfam acknowledged at the time of the staff dismissals that there had been a serious breach of its code of conduct, it reportedly failed to specify sexual misconduct. Oxfam has, however, claimed it did in fact disclose this to the charities regulator.

Stocking was chief executive of Oxfam when the allegations emerged in 2011, during which she said, Oxfam never tolerates misconduct by our aid workers. We will take forceful and immediate action pending the outcome of the investigation."

An email from Murray Edwards' Senior Tutor to College members stated: "You may be aware that the President has been featured in the news today, about an incident that occurred in Haiti while she was CEO of Oxfam GB. Some of the media coverage is rather unpleasant, accusing the President and Oxfam of 'covering-up' sexual misconduct.

"We would like to assure you that the College believes these allegations to be untrue, has full confidence that the matter was dealt with appropriately at the time, and the President has the College's full support."
The US-armed Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) on Wednesday said the Turkish army had bombed a primary school and a water plant in the Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava) city of Afrin as an offensive there entered its third week.

There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said its fact-finding mission is "investigating all credible allegations" and reporting its findings to the organization's member states.

It released a video showing its workers rushing to rescue victims from underneath the rubble Tuesday.

Syria holds Israel "fully responsible for the risky repercussions of its repeated and uncalculated hostile adventures", the Syrian army stated on the official Syrian SANA news site.

"They are killing innocent people, women and children, in cold blood".

Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia retorted, "It's completely clear to us the goal is to basically accuse the Syrian government of chemical weapons use where no perpetrators have been identified".

The U.K. -based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said that more than 70 people were killed in Tuesday's attacks. "Our air defence systems blocked them and destroyed majority", a Syrian army statement read.

A statement broadcast by Syrian state television described the airstrikes as "a new Israeli aggression".

"We do not have any disagreements with Russian Federation".

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan accused former US President Donald Trump and his predecessor Barrack Obama of not fulfilling the promise they'd made to Ankara to compel the Kurdish Self-Defence Forces (YPG) from Manbij in Syria's Aleppo Governorate. The operation has been conducted jointly with the Free Syrian Army opposition forces.

Observers say Russian Federation has ramped up its air campaign in Idlib after one of its fighter jets was shot down by rebels in the province on Saturday. Its pilot, Major Roman Filipov, ejected himself only to be surrounded by terrorists on the ground.

It was the second day of an intensified assault on the region.

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.
CUSU has written an open letter to Vice-Chancellor Professor Toope in support of the staff of Cambridge University, expressing solidarity with the University and College Union (UCU) strike.

CUSU is urging the university to oppose the proposed changes to the USS pension scheme, which if carried out would mean that most staff would find their pensions reduced by 10-40%.

The letter also expresses the concern that in the long term, pension changes will drive capable staff away from the higher education system as a whole.

CUSU stresses that although they do not wish for our education to be disrupted by the strike, the university must use its voice to defend the pensions of its staff.

The letter concludes: We urge you to exert the utmost influence to protect the pensions of your staff. Please remember that todays CUSU members are tomorrows academics, researchers and teachers. These are our future pensions at stake here as well as those of your present talented and dedicated staff.

Daisy Eyre has asked for students to sign CUSUs open letter in order to condemn the pension changes that have led to the UCU strike.
Freeing ones self from the grips of Earths gravity may sound liberating but as astronauts regularly attest to, life in microgravity isnt as peachy as it sounds. Even when devoting at least one hour each day to exercise, astronauts typically require months of physiotherapy following an extended stint on the International Space Station (ISS).

Muscle loss isnt a major concern for astronauts right now but that will change when it comes time to send the first humans to Mars which is why NASA is already hard at work on a possible fix.

One potential solution NASA is working on involves a medication called Formoterol which is used to manage ailments like asthma and COPD by relaxing muscles in the airway.

As part of an experiment called Rodent Research-6 (RR-6), NASA in December sent two groups of 20 mice with medical implants to the ISS. One group came home in January with the other group due back sometime this month. The implant is a nanochannel drug delivery chip that administers Formoterol. NASA wants to see if the medicine  and the implant  could be used on humans to help with muscle loss during lengthy periods in microgravity.

Should the implant prove successful, it could also be used here on Earth to treat all sorts of conditions and administer medication in a smooth and continuous manner, thus avoiding spikes in dosage that could lead to unwanted side effects. It would also be convenient to not have to remember to take medication.

The device hasnt yet been approved by the Federal Drug Administration so itll likely be quite a while before it is tested on humans.

Second photo via Dmitry Lovetsky, Getty Images
Lenovo, in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), has issued a voluntary recall for a specific batch of ThinkPad X1 Carbon laptops. Apparently, some units have a loose screw that might damage the battery and cause overheating to the extent that it poses a risk for fire.

The specific models affected are machine types 20HQ, 20HR, 20K3 and 20K4. You can determine whether your device is in the affected batch by providing the machine type and serial number on Lenovos recall page.

The flaw only exists on ThinkPad X1 Carbons built between December 1, 2016, and November 1, 2017. If you bought yours recently, you are probably okay, but it wouldnt hurt to check to be sure. Over 80,000 faulty units are estimated to have been sold.

If you do find that you have one of the defective laptops, stop using it immediately and contact Lenovo Services at the numbers listed on the recall page or through the recall support site they are in the process of creating (the page currently just links back to the recall announcement). Be sure if you call that you let them know you are calling about the ThinkPad X1 Carbon 5th Generation laptop recall. Staff will give you instructions on having the laptop inspected and repaired.

So far there have been no incidents of fire or property loss other than three confirmed reports from users with laptops that were damaged by the flaw. After receiving these reports several weeks ago, Lenovo launched an investigation into the issue and discovered the defect involving the screw. They then notified the CPSC and initiated the recall.

The recall is an unfortunate hiccup in what is otherwise a reliable Windows 10 laptop. TechSpot gave the ThinkPad X1 Carbon a 90 in its review last year. It offers fantastic performance with class-leading battery life, a solid selection of ports, is light and compact for a 14-inch laptop and affords a great keyboard and trackpad. Its only drawback that we found was the high price point which ranges from $1,329 to $2,500.
Reports of battery fires in electronic devices seem to have slowed down as of late. Following the famous Note 7 disaster, we saw everything from hoverboards to Fitbits to e-cigarettes exploding. But now, its been alleged that Apples Airpods have joined the list of products that can blow up.

The claim comes from Tampa, Florida resident Jason Colon, who says he was listening to dance music on the earbuds while working out at St. Petersburg's LA Fitness when the incident occurred.

Colon says he noticed white smoke started billowing out of the right AirPod during his session. He wisely decided to remove both the buds and place them on some gym equipment before finding some help. When he returned, it appeared that the AirPod had exploded into bits.

"I didn't see it happen, but I mean, it was already fried. You can see flame damage," he told WFLA. I dont know what wouldve happened to my ear, but Im sure since it hangs down, it couldve been [my] earlobe. Earlobe couldve been burnt.

As is always the case in these situations, the battery is suspected to be the cause of the problem. A similar, if much worse, incident happened last year when a womans headphones exploded on a flight from Beijing to Melbourne. The exploding battery left burns on the Australian resident's face, neck, and hand.

Apple told the TV station that it is taking Colons claim seriously and will be investigating. The company hasnt put out an official statement, but it will likely be examining the AirPod in question.
Photography and artwork from Getty Images can be seen across the web on everything from news sources to corporate websites. Google has now signed an agreement with Getty Images for a global multi-year partnership that will allow Google to use content throughout its array of products and services.

According to Google's engineering director Cathy Edwards, changes will be made effective immediately to begin using content sourced from Getty Images. As part of the deal, Google will help improve attribution given to contributors that generate content for Getty Images. Having a client with as much reach as Google can certainly help build brand awareness.

For everyday users of Google products, the changes may not be immediately obvious. Over time, Google may decide to start implementing more artwork and professional photography since it has just gained the right to access and use millions of new images.

Although Google now has significantly more content at its disposal, don't expect more free images to show up in search. Searching for images via Google will find plenty of Getty Images' photographs, but a license must be purchased before the full size image can be used. Even though Google has signed a licensing agreement for use of images, it is unlikely that the agreement allows display of protected works outside of specific products.

Currently, Getty Images has over 200,000 contributors that produce content for the site. More than 160,000 media sources utilize the content produced regularly. iStock, Thinkstock, and Photos.com are also owned and operated by Getty Images offering millions of additional media that could now appear in Google products and services.
A technical report was released Monday by a multidisciplinary research team created by the Cuban Academy of Sciences (ACC) on the "unidentified health incidents" reported in... | Read More
The former 43rd President of the USA added that there was "clear evidence" about "Russians meddling" in the 2016 US presidential election which incumbent Republican President Donald Trump won against Democrat opponent Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Bush said it wasn't clear if Russia's "meddling" directly affected the election, though he said it was clear they tried.

Bush also took a swipe at Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he referred to as "zero sum", and said he "has a chip on his shoulder".

"The reason he does is because of the demise of the Soviet Union troubles him", Bush said, according to the AP.

Putin "is pushing, constantly pushing, probing weaknesses", the former president said.

At the Abu Dhabi summit, Bush said Putin's actions are motivated by his desire to regain "Soviet hegemony", The Associated Press reported. "That's why North Atlantic Treaty Organisation is very important", Bush added.

The White House didn't immediately respond to Bush's statements.

The U.S. intelligence community confirmed that Russian Federation interfered in the election, though it's up for debate whether the meddling helped Trump win the election. Last October, he delivered a speech addressing nationalism and Russian aggression, countering points presented by Trump though never addressing the current president by name. "They've got to get it fixed".

"There are people willing to do jobs Americans won't do".

"But there are people, who want to put food on the tables of their families and are willing to do that". "We ought to say thank you and welcome them". "We've got to enforce our borders and we've got to enforce our laws", he said cautiously.

Bush in 2008 became the first sitting U.S. president to visit the United Arab Emirates. He agreed in a settlement with the SEC to a lifetime ban from the securities industry and paid a $200 million fine. Forbes magazine estimates Mr.
The group wanted to be known as the Internet's leading location for carding-buying retail items with counterfeit and stolen credit cards. As a mostly English-language fraud forum, Infraud attracted almost 11,000 members from around the globe who sold, traded and bought everything from stolen identities and credit card accounts to ATM skimmers, botnet hosting and malicious software.

Infraud is the biggest online fraud group ever prosecuted by the US Justice Department.

The group, which adopted the slogan "In Fraud We Trust", had been operating since 2010. He is alleged to operate a trusted "escrow" or currency exchanging service to ensure transactions between Infraud members, according to the Department of Justice. Administrators also meted out punishments to members who broke rules and to members of rival criminal groups.

Super Moderators oversaw and administered specific subject-matter areas within their expertise. The other five were arrested in the US.

She pointed to a southern Nevada investigation that led to charges against 55 people tied to a credit card fraud syndicate known as "Carder.su", which authorities said trafficked stolen identities and cost victims more than $50 million.

Prosecutors claim the three-dozen alleged scammers meant to generate upwards of $2.2 billion in stolen revenue from consumers, businesses, and financial institutions. Actual losses-which hit a wide swath of financial institutions, merchants, and private individuals-totaled more than $530 million.

Automated vending sites: "Automated websites that do require human intervention to function and that are used by Infraud members to purchase and sell illicit goods".

Another suspect, 28-year-old Valerian Chiochiu - aka "Onassis", "Flagler", "Socrate" and "Eclessiastes" - of Moldova joined the organization in 2012 and "provides guidance to other members on the development, deployment, and use of random access memory ('RAM') point-of-sale ('POS') malware as a means of harvesting stolen data", according to the indictment. The prohibition was likely an attempt to prevent members from being detained or prosecuted by authorities in Russian Federation. That service was run by Infraud co-founder Sergey Medvedev, as per the indictment. Ukrainian national Svyatoslav Bondarenko is accused of being the chief architect of the scheme, while other members had strictly defined roles in the hierachy, according to the DoJ. He stopped posting to the forum in 2015.

The Infraud organization online site now resolves to this takedown notice.

Of the 36 people indicted, Justice Department officials said that 13 have been arrested in the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Kosovo and Serbia. Significantly, those arrested include alleged kingpin Medvedev. The rest remain at large.

Update: Added the organizational chart and details on arrests.
Klairmont Kollections Makes it's First Appearance at the Chicago Auto Show

Chicagos very own Klairmont Kollections is proud to make its first appearance at the Chicago Auto Show. The Kollection is the passion and joy of Larry Klairmont, a successful Chicagoland businessman and Highland Park resident. Larry grew up in Maywood Illinois in during the Depression and had a very humble upbringing. Larry is 91 years young and a proud WWII decorated Marine Veteran. It is that experience and humble beginning that seems to have propelled Larry forward in life. Larry met his fiancee, Joyce Oberlander, and with her assistance was able to transform his passion for cars, into one of the Midwests finest collections.

Larry was able to amass his Kollection, the K is not a typo, through hard work and diligence acting as the CEO of his family business Imperial Realty. Both Larry and his son Alfred were recently inducted into the Chicago Association of Realtors Hall of Fame, the first father-son duo to do so.

The Kollection has around 350 eclectic and award-winning cars from the early 1900s to present day. The two story Kollection is housed in a museum quality setting that displays approximately 300 cars and many other fine collectibles adorned with vintage posters and neon signs to boot. The cars are the stars but there is so much more to see!

Klairmont Kollections has a complimenting Event Space that can accommodate groups of up to 300. The space boasts items such as a 1957 Craft Boat Bar, yes, a boat split right down the center.

Recently Larry has made some changes at Klairmont Kollections. Larry brought on Robert Olson as Director of Special Events. Under Robert and Larrys collaboration, Klairmont Kollections thereby dedicated about 3500 square feet of its space to create a Premier Event Space that can accommodate groups of up to 300. Additionally, public availability dates were added every Thursday and Saturday from 10 am to 4pm. Klairmont Kollections put a focus on sharing its treasures. Klairmont Kollections even instituted an annual membership that allows members to visit on any given Thursday and or Saturday. Klairmont Kollections is family friendly.

Charities and school groups are especially welcomed at Klairmont Kollections. Larry enjoys helping others. With the amount of history tied in with the cars, Klairmont Kollections makes the perfect destination for a school field trip.

Regardless, if you are a car buff, weekend warrior, or just looking for a cool place to check out on a Saturday afternoon, Klairmont Kollections has something for you. It is a Chicago Treasure yet has in the past been a hidden gem.
Expanding Penske Used Car Only Stores Gets Company Attention







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Bloomfield Hills MI February 8, 2018; Penske Automotive Group Inc. plans to expand its CarSense used-only operation by building and opening stores in three U.S. markets within 12 to 18 months, reported Automotive News.

The nation's second-largest car dealership group owns land in the Phoenix area where it intends to spend $3 million to $4 million to build a CarSense store, Chairman Roger Penske said Thursday during a conference call with analysts and reporters. "We have a [predelivery and inspection] center there that we can utilize," Penske said. Two other potential sites are on the company's radar. The retailer declined to give specifics, but Penske referred to New Jersey and Pennsylvania during the call.
Kendall Jenner wearing Danielle Cathari x Adidas. Photo: Courtesy Adidas

Its Thursday afternoon and Kendall Jenner is sitting cross-legged  yoga-style  on a couch in Soho. She can do this not only because shes flexible, but also because shes wearing an Adidas tracksuit. This isnt your average Adidas tracksuit, though; this is a fashion Adidas tracksuit, which makes sense, because its the first day of New York Fashion Week.

Thats why were all here: me, Kendall Jenner, who is now an Adidas ambassador, plus the 23-year-old Dutch fashion designer, Danielle Cathari, who made Jenners outfit. Cathari debuted her collection of couture Adidas tracksuits, which she chopped up and quilted back together, last year at the VFiles new designer showcase. This brought Catharis Instagram profile to the attention of Adidas, who reached out. Rather than send her a cease-and-desist letter for taking a sharp blade to their iconic three-stripes, the brand brought Cathari onboard to make a full capsule collection, which she presented on Thursday. The first drop will be in February, followed by another in April.

Before asking Jenner about her super cool tracksuit, I had to clear something up with Cathari, first: Did Adidas DM her? Yes, Cathari replied with a laugh. Yes, they did. Kids, social media will make all your dreams come true!

Danielle Cathari x Adidas. Photo: Courtesy Adidas

Anyway, Kendall Jenner loves tracksuits. Tracksuits are very happening right now, she said. Why? Because Athleisure is whats trendy. Why is athleisure trendy? Because its super comfortable. You can also dress it up and dress it down. Its that easy.

When it comes to cultural Adidas tracksuit moments, (think Run DMC, Ben Stiller in The Royal Tenenbaums, Missy Elliott on the red carpet, etc.), more contemporary icons come to mind for Jenner. Armie Hammer is killing it right now with his tracksuits, she said. He really is! Hes worn like, every single Adidas tracksuit.

As Vulture chronicled in January, Hammers Call Me by Your Name press tour outfit of choice seems to be an Adidas tracksuit. Hammers wife, Elizabeth Chambers, even gave the look a name in an Instagram caption, calling it, Le Tracksuit.

Hes taking risks, added Jenner, blessing him with her approval. I saw he wore the Pharrell collaboration  the cream color tracksuit with the polka-dots. I love it.
17-Year-Old MS-13 Gang Member Sentenced to 40 Years in Prison

A 17-year-old MS-13 gang member was sentenced to 40 years in prison for a 2016 murder.

Juan Gutierrez-Vazquez had just turned 16 when he helped kill 17-year-old Christian Villagran Morales, according to Fox News. Prosecutor Robert Hill said Gutierrez-Vazquez held the victim down while other MS-13 members stabbed him 153 times in a Maryland park.

Authorities said that after meeting three young men, Morales flashed the gang signs of a rival gang. He did not realize all three of the young men were MS-13 members. The three reported back to their leaders before being greenlighted to kill him. They planned the murder for the next day, according to Fox 5 DC.

Before the murder, they used a young woman to lure Morales to the park. Other gang members also offered to smoke drugs with him there. Once he arrived, they killed him. It was later revealed that Morales was not a member of a gang and was simply trying to show off, according to Fox 5.

He did flash some gang signs trying to impress these young men who were around him and he did not realize that they were part of MS-13, and that did cause them to report back to their hierarchy. In fact, he was greenlighted because of that, said Ramon Korionoff, spokesperson for the Montgomery County States Attorneys Office, via Fox 5.

The young woman, Vanesa Alvarado, was sentenced to 40 years in prison last May. She is 20-years-old, Fox News reported.

Gutierrez-Vazquez pleaded guilty. His lawyer told the court he had a hard childhood and was following along with the gang due to peer pressure. He asked for leniency. Gutierrez-Vazquez was already a member of MS-13 when he arrived in the United States. He joined back in El Salvador, where the gang originated, according to Fox 5.

The prosecutor told the judge that there is a gang crisis in the local area and that there have been 20 gang-related murders in the last two years, according to the Fox 5 video.

Moraless mother said through a translator that she feels tranquil and that there has been some justice, according to Fox 5.

The two other suspects named were Oscar Delgago-Perez and Jose Coreas Ventura, Fox News reported.

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32 Cars, 19 Semi Trucks Involved in Pileup in Michigan

About 32 cars and 19 semi trucks were involved in a serious pileup crash on Interstate 94 in Michigan near Galesburg on Friday afternoon, Feb. 9, WWMT reported.

Michigan State Police said that at least one person was injured.

EB I-94 at Sprinkle Rd Exit 80

Freeway Closed

Due to a crash

Kalamazoo County  MDOT  Southwest (@MDOT_Southwest) February 9, 2018

Riding along with Michigan State Police on a 51 car pileup on I-94 EB. At least one person was taken away from scene by ambulance. Happening near Galesburg exit. pic.twitter.com/YRerZPWNBZ  Franque Thompson (@FranqueThompson) February 9, 2018

All eastbound lanes of I-94 are closed at Sprinkle Road.

Troopers told WOOD-TV that all injuries were minor.

The Michigan Department of Transportation said that there was a closure between Kalamazoo and Galesburg.

The Kalamazoo County Sheriffs Office, meanwhile, sent out an alert that I-94 was closed due to numerous accidents, MLive reported.

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Bette Middler and Rand Paul. (Rob Kim/Getty Images for New York Restoration Project; Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Actress Bette Midler Sparks Outrage After Calling for Physical Attack on Rand Paul

Actress Bette Midler left many shocked on Thursday after suggesting that Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) should be physically attacked for being against the current budget proposal.

Midler tweeted Thursday evening, Feb.8, Wheres Rand Pauls neighbor when we need him?

Paul was assaulted by his neighbor in November and suffered several serious injuries including broken ribs and bruises to his lungs.

Midler has not commented about the call for physical action against Paul since she sent the tweet out late Thursday.

Sergio Gor, one of Pauls aides, hit back after Midler sent the tweet out.

This is disgusting @BetteMidler calling for violence. She should be ashamed, Gor tweeted.

Wheres Rand Pauls neighbor when we need him?  Bette Midler (@BetteMidler) February 9, 2018

Midlers tweet came after Paul, who ran for president in 2016, voted against the Senates attempt to quickly pass legislation that would have avoided a government shutdown. The shutdown was over a few hours later.

I ran for office because I was critical of President Obamas trillion-dollar deficits, he told the chambers leaders, reported Fox News. Now we have Republicans hand-in-hand with Democrats offering us trillion-dollar deficits.

He asked if he could have a vote on his amendment instead but leaders declined to have that happen.

People responding to Midlers tweet were upset over what she suggested.

Usually I dont care what celebrities say about politics, Ive loved Bette since I was a little kidbut this statement made me lose all respect for her. Ick, said one.

I made sure i saved this tweet so I can show everybody how you are advocating violence against a sitting senator. What a great role model you are, added another.

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With over 1,000 Japanese businesses in the United Kingdom, the country is the UK's 11th largest trading partner, with investment into Britain reaching 46.5 billion in 2016.

Japanese firms have spent billions of pounds in Britain over the past decades, encouraged to set up in the country by successive governments promising a business-friendly base from which to trade across the continent.

According to commentators, the best possible trade deal between the United Kingdom and U.S. would provide around half of any gain from all non-EU deals, which would increase pressure on Theresa May to strike an agreement with Donald Trump as quickly as possible after Britain leaves the EU.

"So it is as simple as that", he said. "This is all high stakes that I think all of us need to keep in mind", he said.

According to economists, the benefits from boosting trade with non-EU countries would not offset the slower growth forecast under every form of Brexit.

"Uncertainty is a major concern for an economy", it said.

That could include reimposing tariffs or customs checks, both of which Britain is supposed to be free of as a member of the European Union internal market during the transition to December 2020.

Last year, Soros suggested the United Kingdom may never leave the European Union if the bloc reforms itself while Brexit negotiations are taking place. May's Cabinet is divided between those who want to remain close to the single market and customs union and those who want a clean break.

Hitachi Europe's Deputy Chairman Stephen Gomersall, Mitsubishi CEO for Europe and Africa Haruki Hayashi, SoftBank Investment Advisers UK CEO Rajeev Misra and Nomura's Executive Chairman in Europe, the Middle East and Africa Yasuo Kashiwagi joined the meeting with Japanese investors.

Carmakers Nissan, Toyota and Honda were due to attend the talks, along with representatives from banks and drug companies.

Collectively the three carmakers build almost half of Britain's 1.67 million cars.
Alleged Mob Boss Greets Juror by Name Outside Trial

A reputed Philadelphia mob boss said hello to a juror outside a Manhattan courtroom, greeting the woman by name, she said on Thursday, Feb. 8.

The juror told federal Judge Richard Sullivan that she was waiting for the elevator when Joseph Merlino and his crew approached and he greeted her by name, according to an official transcript of their closed-door meeting obtained by the New York Post.

Not close, but, like, he was on that side, on the opposite side over there, before you get to the exit, and he just said, Hi, Sylvia, and I just turned my head, like, Some nerve,' the juror told the Post.

The juror said the incident would not affect her ability to be impartial.

Merlino, 55, stands accused in a wide-ranging federal indictment of running an East Coast crime syndicate involving a variety of illegal operations, according to the New York Daily News.

After the alleged meeting, Sullivan said in the courtroom that the juror didnt seem upset.

The judge then asked Merlino whether the incident happened, to which he replied, no, your honor.

The judge admonished Merlino and said that he should not have contact with any jurors, reported the News.

You are not to have contact with jurorsno nodding, smiling, whatever, said the judge. You are to do nothing to give any evidence of impropriety.

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The flag of Bermuda flies along the commercial and retail district on Front Street, November 8, 2017 in Hamilton, Bermuda. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Bermuda Becomes First Country to Repeal Same-Sex Marriage Legislation

Bermuda became the first country to roll back same-sex marriage legislation.

A repeal of the law was approved Feb. 7. The repeal now only allows gay couples to enter domestic partnerships. Bermuda legalized gay marriage less than a year ago, in May.

Bermudas Minister of Home Affairs, Walton Brown, says the legislation seeks to balance the widespread opposition to same-sex marriage while complying with European court rulings, The Royal Gazette reported.

Same-sex couples that were married during the brief period of legalization will be able to keep their status, but moving forward, same-sex couples can only legally obtain domestic partnerships. Only around six same-sex marriages occurred in Bermuda during the period after it was legalized, according to The Independent.

The Senate and House of Assembly of the island nation passed the legislation in December with support from politicians and the voting public, according to Daily Mail.

The act is intended to strike a fair balance between two currently irreconcilable groups in Bermuda, by restating that marriage must be between a male and a female while at the same time recognizing and protecting the rights of same-sex couples, Mr Brown said, via Daily Mail.

Because Bermuda is a territory of Great Britain, some supporters of gay marriage were looking to the British government to block the legislation, but the British government confirmed they would not seek to interfere in the referendum.

[I]t would not be appropriate to use the power to block legislation, which can only be used where there is a legal or constitutional basis for doing so, and even then, only in exceptional circumstances, said British Minister of State Harriett Baldwin, via Bernews.

The issue led to debate in the British House of Commons. When questioned by British Labour Member of Parliament Chris Bryant, Baldwin emphasized Bermudas right to choose.

In engaging with the British overseas territories, we have to respect that they are separate, self-governing jurisdictions with their own democratically elected representatives and the right to self-government, said Baldwin, via Bernews.

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Assemblymember Cristina Garcia in Sacramento, California on June 23, 2016. (Photo by Kelly Sullivan/Getty Images for Girl Scouts)

California Official Behind #MeToo Push Is Accused of Groping Staffer

The California official credited for leading #MeToo into a national movement has been accused by a former staffer of sexual misconduct.

Daniel Fierro said that he was 25 years old when Democratic Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia approached him after an assembly softball game in 2014.

Fierro said that they were alone when she stroked his back, squeezed his buttocks, and tried to touch other private areas, reported The Washington Post.

Fierro said that the assemblywoman appeared intoxicated. He left the scene quickly.

Fierro said he didnt say anything at the time because he didnt want Garcia to be affected by the repercussions such an action would lead to, and also because there wasnt the current whistleblower legislation in place to protect legislative staffers.

But he told his former boss, Democratic Assemblyman Ian Calderon, in January, and Calderon referred the matter to a panel that is now investigating Garcia.

Garcia has also been accused by a prominent Sacramento lobbyist who has chosen to remain anonymous, reported Politico.

The lobbyist said that Garcia accosted him in May 2017 and made a graphic sexual proposal before trying to grab him in a private area. She also called him several times for late night drinks, he said.

The lobbyist also said that Garcia appeared to be intoxicated.



Jessica Levinson, a professor of law and political ethics at Loyola Law School of Los Angeles, told Politico that if true the accusations against Garcia could seriously damage the national #MeToo movement.

She said that the stories underscore how sexual harassment is not OK, periodregardless of whether its by a man, or a woman. And frankly, this threatens to set the movement backbecause when you have one of the faces of this movement facing these allegations, thats a real problem.

But Garcia is denying the accusations.

Every complaint about sexual harassment should be taken seriously and I will participate fully in any investigation that takes place, the lawmaker said in a statement obtained by CBS. I have zero recollection of engaging in inappropriate behavior and such behavior is inconsistent with my values.

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Changing the Way We Look at Dementia

Movement works to replace fear and stigma with respect and connection

In November, six people with Alzheimers disease and related types of cognitive impairment stood before an audience of 100 in North Haven, Conn.

One by one, they talked about what it was like to live with dementia in deeply personal terms.

Before the presentation, audience members were asked to write down five words they associated with dementia. Afterward, they were asked to do the same, this time reflecting on what theyd learned.

Without exception, the words people used had changedfrom hopeless to hope, from depressed to courageous, from empty to fulfilled, said Erica DeFrancesco, a clinical assistant professor of occupational therapy at Quinnipiac University who helped organize the event.

The session, followed by an hour-long discussion about dementia, is part of a new grass-roots movement in the U.S. aimed at educating people about Alzheimers disease and other forms of dementia, dispelling the painful stigma associated with these conditions and enhancing public understanding.

A centerpiece of that effort, known as Dementia Friends, began just over a year ago under the auspices of Dementia Friendly America, an effort spearheaded by 35 organizations across the country.

Currently, more than 13,200 people are registered as Dementia Friends in the U.S., and organizations in 14 states (Arizona, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, North Carolina, Virginia, Wyoming) are hosting events to sign up more.

Globally, almost 14 million people in 33 countries are involved in the movement, which originated in Japan.

To become a Dementia Friend, most people attend an hour-long presentation focused on several themes:

Disease versus. typical aging. Alzheimers disease and other types of dementia are illnesses of the brain, not a natural consequence of aging.

Scope of symptoms. Dementia triggers a wide array of symptoms, not just memory loss.

Quality of life. People with dementia can live well, often for years.

Maintaining identity and respect. People with dementia retain a sense of self and arent defined exclusively by this condition. (Testimonials by people with dementia are sometimes, but not always, included.)

If we can change the way people look at dementia and talk about it, we can make a big difference in peoples lives, said Philippa Tree, who spearheads a well-established Dementia Friends program in England and Wales, with about 2.3 million members, that has licensed its model to the U.S.

Its about increasing awareness and empathy so that if you encounter someone in the community who needs some help, you have some basic skills, said Meredith Hanley, project lead for Dementia Friends USA.

William Anderson, chief of police for St. Cloud, Minn., went to a session of this kind late last year, with about 40 members of his department. One exercisewriting down all the steps involved in making a peanut butter and jelly sandwichmade an especially strong impression.

Id never thought about everything that goes into something that simple: taking the peanut butter and jelly out of the cabinet, unscrewing the tops, getting a knife, spreading the sides of the bread, putting the pieces on top of each other, cutting it down the middle, Anderson said, adding that this was only a partial list.

The point they were making was that folks with dementia might remember some of these steps but not others. At some point, theyll get distracted or forget what they were doing and go on to something else. To me, that was eye-opening; it explained a lot.

Now, Anderson thinks about how we can make life more manageable for these folks, in simple ways. An example: The St. Cloud Police Departments building has a large vestibule, with two big glass doors. If you have dementia, youre going to walk into that vestibule and probably turn around in circles because the doors dont have an identifier saying police, he said, adding that introducing new signage is under consideration.

Committing to a concrete actionvisiting or phoning a family member with Alzheimers regularly, watching out for a neighbor, volunteering with a community organization or trying to make public venues easier to navigate, for instanceis required to become a Dementia Friend, though sponsors dont check if people follow through.

This is a social action movement, said Emily Farah-Miller, executive lead for ACT on Alzheimers, a statewide effort in Minnesota to create dementia-friendly communities and disseminate best practices regarding dementia in health care settings.

More than 10,000 U.S. Dementia Friends come from Minnesota, which began recruiting residents for the program two years ago, before it became a national initiative.

This year, Minnesota ACT on Alzheimers leaders are working with African-American, Hispanic, American Indian, West African and Hmong communities in their state to make culturally sensitive adaptations to their programs. And theyre piloting a modified version of Dementia Friends in several elementary schools to create a dementia-friendly generation of youth, Farah-Miller said.

Individuals can also earn a Dementia Friends designation by watching an introductory video on Dementia Friends USA website, as well as a second video about dealing with people with dementia in various settings such as restaurants, stores, banks, libraries, pharmacies, faith communities and public transportation.

If you encounter someone who seems confused and disoriented on a bus, train, taxi or subway, try to understand what that person might need, one of these videos advises. Speak slowly, using short, simple sentences and give the person adequate time to respond. Remain calm and reassuring and avoid arguing or embarrassing the person who may have forgotten where theyre going.

Bob Savage, an 86-year-old diagnosed two years ago with Alzheimers disease, became a Dementia Friend last year and now speaks to groups in Connecticut that are promoting the program.

Some of what he tells them: As soon as people learn you have Alzheimers, youre stigmatized. People treat you different, like you dont understand, and thats very upsetting.

Even if memory is lost, intuition and emotional understanding remain intact, Savage explained.

What he and other people with dementia want most is emotional connectionthat feeling of love that we had, that we may have lost when a diagnosis was delivered and a sense of being a burden to other people descended.

In 2016, Savage moved to a campus in Southington, Conn., where 133 people with dementia reside in assisted living or a skilled nursing facility. Stephani Shivers, chief operating officer of LiveWell (formerly the Alzheimers Resource Center), which owns the campus, is leading Connecticuts Dementia Friends initiative.

What Ive seen is that barriers seem to dissolve for people who attend information sessions, she said. Whether its Im not sure what to say to someone with dementia or Im nervous about being with someone with dementia, the I dont know what to do falls away.

It becomes me relating to you, a person with dementia, as another human being  a human being living with a cognitive disability, just like people living with physical disabilities.

Come join us on Feb. 13 from 12:30 to 2 p.m. ET for a live discussion about improving care and services for people with dementia and supporting caregivers. RSVP here.

KHNs coverage of these topics is supported by John A. Hartford Foundation and Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
Dogs Rescued From California House of Horrors House Get New Home

The dogs rescued from the California House of Horrors house have been adopted.

The two Maltese mixes are both one-year-old and female.

While the 13 siblings discovered at the squalid house in Perris, east of Los Angeles, were in poor condition, the dogs appeared to be healthy, according to the city.

Senior Animal Control Officer Christina Avila said the dogs were healthy, friendly, and leash-trained.

The dogs were owned by David and Louise Turpin, who were charged with child abuse and torture in January after officers found their 13 children malnourished and some in chains.

The new owners of the dogs have requested anonymity.

They were the winners of a raffle.

We are pleased to know the two dogs will go to a home where they will be well treated and loved, city spokesman Joe Vargo told the Mercury News.

The city also announced recently that the GoFundMe set up for the 13 siblings raised almost $40,000.

The community response has been fantastic, said Mayor Michael Vargas in a statement. It shows that Perris is a caring community.

The siblings, ranging from ages 2 to 29, have been split into two groups as adoption requests for them have been piling up.

The ones who are legally children were sent to a foster home, while the group which is legally adults was shuttled to an assisted living facility.

Due to the years of torture, officials said, many of the kids are suffering from mental problems.

Its unclear when the final decision about their adoptions will be made.

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Police officers from various agencies listening to a boy attending the Livingston Police Department National Night Out, Aug. 7, 2013. (Vincent J. Bove)

Empowering Americas Police to Serve as Ethical Protectors

It has been an honor for me to serve American law enforcement over the last 20 years with presentations and published works.

These works have addressed critical issues including leadership development, violence prevention, and crisis management.

The heart of my service has been ethical policing, critical to the law enforcement profession.

Ethical training and development must be the foundation for all who take the solemn oath to protect and serve.

The challenges of contemporary policing demand that we empower Americas law enforcement professionals with the resources needed for standing on ethical pillars.

Protecting the Shield, Safeguarding Communities

In my home state of New Jersey, there was a recent published series addressing police misconduct.

The series was based on investigative research that examined the price paid by the public when bad cops remain on local police forces.

The series alleged that New Jersey governments throughout the state, from the smallest towns to some of the largest cities, have spent at least $42.7 million this decade to cover-up deaths, physical abuses, and sexual misconduct at the hands of bad cops.

The publication also alleged that the abuses have left a staggering toll with at least 19 dead, 131 injured, 7 sexual transgressions, dozens of false arrests, and harassment offenses.

According to the series, in many cases local police departments were aware of, or even tolerated abuse and that damage is concealed by secret settlements and nondisclosure agreements to silence victims of abuse.

Highlighting Ethical Policing

Before continuing with honestly addressing unethical issues through training and development initiatives, let us accentuate the positive.

The overwhelming majority of Americas law enforcement professionals stand on ethical principles.

Read More Principles of American Policing

There are hundreds of thousands serving in the admirable law enforcement profession who exemplify countless daily acts of professionalism, courtesy, and honor.

Some of the recent headlines memorializing the ethical foundation of our law enforcement profession include the following:

S. Marshall from York County died a hero in Harrisburg shooting; dad of 2 was Army vet

Hospitalized officer who risked life during icy pond rescue says hes not a hero

True hero Detroit police officer Glenn Doss Jr killed responding to emergency call

Days after Narcan training, St. Paul police officer saves a woman suffering overdose

Columbus police officer saves woman from freezing pond

Indiana officer saves childs life first day on the job

Heroic St. Joseph County police officer saves woman from fiery car

Law Enforcement Code of Ethics

According to the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), the law enforcement code of ethics stands as a preface to the mission and commitment law enforcement agencies make to the public they serve.

Read More Policing Requires Ethical Protectors

The code of ethics, as documented on the IACP website begins with these principles:

As a law enforcement officer, my fundamental duty is to serve the community; to safeguard lives and property; to protect the innocent against deception, the weak against oppression or intimidation and the peaceful against violence or disorder; and to respect the constitutional rights of all to liberty, equality and justice.

I will keep my private life unsullied as an example to all and will behave in a manner that does not bring discredit to me or to my agency. I will maintain courageous calm in the face of danger, scorn or ridicule; develop self-restraint; and be constantly mindful of the welfare of others. Honest in thought and deed both in my personal and official life, I will be exemplary in obeying the law and the regulations of my department. Whatever I see or hear of a confidential nature or that is confided to me in my official capacity will be kept ever secret unless revelation is necessary in the performance of my duty.

Empowering Ethical Protectors

Just this week, I had the privilege of discussing implementing my program titled 21st Century Policing: Americas Ethical Protectors with the top brass of a major law enforcement agency.

The agency is be commended fo recognizing that ethical training is critical to their vision, mission, and core values.

Ethical training and development is also critical to the entire law enforcement profession, and so I am taking the liberty to share some details from my program.

By doing so, it is my fervent hope that law enforcement agencies nationwide are inspired to make on-going ethical policing initiatives that include certification programs as fundamental to their mission.

My program abstract specifies the following:

First-rate law enforcement agencies recognize that a respectable program on ethical policing stands as the hallmark for professionalism for reasons including the following:

Ethical policing training and development is a proven educational model that strengthens operational efficiency, improves moral, and increases respectability.

Ethics empowers the rank-and-file of an agency with leadership skills, vigilance enhancement, and collaborative expertise.

It addresses state-of-the-art ethical principles based upon recognized issues vital to the profession. This is the most effective way of developing, attaining, and sustaining the vision, mission, and core values of the agency.

It will strengthen agency accountability and improve community trust through principles that honor expectations, performance, and responsibility.

Ethical training assists in limiting the agencys liability as it demonstrates that ethical training has been conducted by an independent respected authority.

The program, already conducted for an initiative of the Bergen County Police Chiefs Association, Bergen County Prosecutors Office, and Bergen County Sheriffs Office, has an agenda that includes the following:

Ethical policing principles

Principles of American Policing

Emotional Intelligence

Cultivating a reputation of respect

Building community trust

Neighborhood Policing

Sexual harassment

Crime prevention

Communication skills

Mental health

Conflict resolution

Crisis management

Final Reflections

Americas law enforcement professionals are in critical roles of protecting and serving our communities.

We must recognize, appreciate, and support them in their challenging work. We must also realize our shared responsibility and do everything in our power to forge iron-clad police-community partnerships.

These partnerships must be built on an ethical code, essential not only to law enforcement professionals, but on every community member privileged to call America home.

Vincent J. Bove, CPP, is a national speaker and author on issues critical to America. Bove is a recipient of the FBI Directors Community Leadership Award for combating crime and violence and is a former confidant of the New York Yankees. His newest book is Listen to Their Cries. For more information, see www.vincentbove.com

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Florida Cashier Tells Man His $600 Lottery Ticket Is Only Worth $5

A lottery ticket cashier in Fort Myers, Florida, is accused of pocketing a mans $600 winning lottery ticket and giving him $5 instead.

Crystelle Baton, 42, thought she was scamming a normal lottery player. But the man was actually an undercover agent.

She was charged with larceny grand theft in January, according to the Lee County Inmates page. She posted a bond of $5000.

Baton was working at a register located in Winn-Dixie Liquors on Gladiolus Drive when the customer approached her with the winning ticket.

Investigators said after she realized there was a $600 prize, she sneakily pulled $5 out of her purse and told the man that was all he won, according to NBC2.

Anyone that is working in a customer service job, you think that they are doing what is in your best interest. I would be very upset if someone took that from me, customer Nadina Puzic told the network.

The agent, who worked for the Lotterys security division, soon returned back to the store to bust her.

Later it was found that Baton kept the winning ticket inside her notebook, according to NBC2.

The Winn-Dixie store responded to the incident saying in a statement that she had been fired.

We are taking this matter very seriously as the trust and safety of our customers is our highest priority. The associates employment has been terminated, according to the Miami Herald.

Authorities said that the incident was a part of an integrity investigation to make sure cashiers are doing their job correctly.

Comments on social media suggested others ways for people to avoid being scammed by clerks.

Batons trial is set for Feb. 26.

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The Placer County Sheriffs Office Search and Rescue team, Tahoe Nordic crew, and members of the Truckee Fire Department headed out on Feb. 8 to rescue three hikers stranded on the slopes of Granite Chief. (Placer County Sheriff's Office)

Hiker Dies After 100-Foot Fall, Two Friends Rescued

A man who was climbing a California mountain at night with a pair of friends took a fatal fall on Wednesday, Feb. 7.

The three men, described by KCRA as being in their 20s and 30s, were rock climbing and hiking along the Granite Chief Trail, just west of the Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows Ski Resort.

As night fell, the trio began an ascent of the 3,000-foot-fall Granite Chief. All three had headlamps, but it was still dark and their fields of vision would have been sharply limited, sheriffs deputies reported.

According to KCRA, the three came to a large boulder blocking their path. They could not see what was on the other side of the boulder, but after throwing stones into the darkness and not hearing them hit, they surmised that the drop was quite long.

Rather than turn back, they decided to climb around the boulder. One of them didnt make it.

Last night, PCSO's Search & Rescue and our #TahoeNordic Team responded to the area of #GraniteChief for 3 stranded hikers. One of the hikers had fallen 100 +- down a cliff. #SAR members & @TruckeeFire hiked to fallen hiker. 2 rescued. Fallen hiker from #Truckee has died. pic.twitter.com/LXg5kqZZjp  Placer Sheriff (@PlacerSheriff) February 8, 2018

The remaining two hikers called for help from search and rescue crews around 10 p.m.

The Placer County Sheriffs Office reported that its Search and Rescue team, its Tahoe Nordic crew, and members of the Truckee Fire Department hiked out to rescue the stranded climbers.

Placer County sheriffs officials reported Thursday morning that the two surviving hikers had been successfully rescued and the body of the third hiker had been recovered. The man had fallen about 100 feet to his death.

Not every fall while hiking ends in a fatality.

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Judge Gives Reduced Sentence to Mother Who Got Sterilized on His Recommendation

A federal judge who told a mother she should get sterilized gave her a reduced sentence after she followed his suggestion.

Summer Thyme Creel of Oklahoma tested positive for meth when arrested in 2017 for using counterfeit checks.

Despite being in and out of prison on multiple charges and crimes allegedly committed between January 2017 and January 2018, she tested positive again in December 2017, according to NewsOK.

Based on the fact that the 34-year-old already had seven children and gave up parental rights to six of them; and the overlap of her positive drug tests over the years with her cycles of pregnancy, U.S. District Judge Stephen Friot made the unusual suggestion that Creel be sterilized to prevent further births tainted by hard drugs.

Comparing the dates of Ms. Creels periods of habitual use of crack cocaine and methamphetamine  with the dates of birth of her seven children, it appears highly likely that some of Ms. Creels children were conceived, carried, and born while Ms. Creel was a habitual user of these illicit substances, the judge wrote.

It was clarified that the judge suggested sterilization as opposed to ordering it.

I spoke with her in detail about it and she voluntarily wanted to do it, her court-appointed defense attorney, Brett Behenna, told NewsOK.

Woman underwent sterilization procedure at judges suggestionhttps://t.co/xKmWkuvlfR  NewsOK (@NewsOK) February 8, 2018

And the move paid off. Creel was given a reduced sentence of a year in federal prison and three years on supervised release for passing counterfeit checks.

She will receive a shorter sentence because she made that decision, U.S. District Judge Stephen Friot said before announcing the punishment, reported NewsOK.

Some experts criticized Friots suggestion.

This case harkens to a long legacy of coercive reproductive policies and practices, Eesha Pandit, managing partner of the Center for Advancing Innovative Policy, told The Washington Post.

For decades, Pandit said, sterilization was used as a way to control populations considered undesirableimmigrants, people of color, poor people, those with mental illnesses and disabilities. Tying Ms. Creels sentencing to her sterilization formalizes the coercionthe threat of a harsher sentence is manipulative and dangerous, and aligns with a legacy of eugenic practices through the U.S.

But Friot defended his suggestion, saying the U.S. Supreme Court has yet to recognize a constitutional right to bring crack- or methamphetamine-addicted babies into this world.

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Harvey Weinstein speaks at the UBS 40th Annual Global Media and Communications Conference in New York, NY, U.S. on Dec. 5, 2012. (Reuters/Carlo Allegri/File Photo)

Los Angeles Police Department Sends Three Harvey Weinstein Cases to the DA

The Los Angeles Police Department has sent three cases of potential sex crimes by movie producer Harvey Weinstein to the District Attorney as of Thursday, Feb. 8.

The cases involve three different women accusing Weinstein of sex crimes.

Now the Los Angeles County DAs office will review the cases and decide which, if any, warrant criminal charges, reported NBC News.

The cases come after two cases involving accusations against Weinstein were referred by the Beverly Hills Police Department late last year.

The three newer cases were referred to the DA on Feb. 1, but an announcement wasnt made until a week later, the broadcaster reported.

While Weinstein has not yet been charged with any crimes, hes being investigated for sexual abuse in California, New York, and London.

USA Today noted in December that 84 women have come forward to accuse Weinstein of crimes or inappropriate behavior that they rebuffed.

Actresses Heather Graham, Eva Green, and Salma Hayek are among Weinsteins accusers.

The D.A.s office can choose to file a case or decline to prosecute, but it may also request further investigation or refer cases to the city attorneys office for possible misdemeanor prosecution, reported Variety.

The DAs office launched a sexual abuse task force to evaluate cases involving Weinstein and other high-profile figures, such as director James Toback.

Weinstein has not commented on the latest development but has in the past denied any non-consensual sex took place over the years.

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Mall in Southern California on Lockdown After Gunfire Report

Moreno Valley Mall in Riverside County, California, was placed on lockdown amid reports of shots fired.

The mall was searched by Riverside County Sheriffs Department officials, NBC Los Angeles reported.

They said the shooting isnt considered an active shooter situation, NBC LA reported.

Its unclear if anyone was in custody.

A group of men were seen fighting near the malls Victorias Secret, and an employee told NBC LA that someone yelled, He has a gun.

Several rounds were fired, but it appears that no one was hurt, the employee said.

The Riverside County Fire Department confirmed that firefighters and paramedics responded to the scene.

Were conducting a systematic search to ensure that everybodys safe, Sheriffs Deputy Mike Vasquez said, CBS Los Angeles reported. Were asking people to stay away to conduct the investigation as quickly as possible, Vasquez added.

Were utilizing mall security cameras, witnesses, and just trying to flush out all the information we can, Vasquez said.

#MoValPD confirmed no victims located. Lockdown still in place as search continues. More details to follow  Riverside County Sheriff Media Info Bureau (@RSOmedia) February 8, 2018

#MoValPD investigating report of possible gunshots heard at Moreno Valley Mall. Police on scene. Not active shooter situation. More details to follow  Riverside County Sheriff Media Info Bureau (@RSOmedia) February 8, 2018

Vasquez told the Los Angeles Times that no one has been taken into custody. He said the mall is expected to be re-opened shortly.

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Mother Allegedly Instructed Young Sons to Inject Her With Heroin

Police officers in Pennsylvania are hunting for a mother who is accused of instructing her young children to inject her with heroin.

Police told WTAE that the boys were ages 4 and 6 at the time of the incident, which took place in 2017.

Police have issued a warrant for mother Leanne Abbott, 25, and charged her with endangering the welfare of children, along with recklessly endangering another person, and corruption of minors.

I got to be honest with youI really didnt think that we would have to tell a mother that its no good to have their 4- and 5-year-old children use a syringe to inject heroin into her arm, Police Chief John Otto said.

[She] had her children, ages 5 and 7, inject heroin into her body, Otto said, according to CBS. The statements that these young men made were very descriptive. They were very detailed. They were statements that, in our opinion, 5-year-old and 7-year-old boys would not be able to produce unless, in fact, the statements were true.

The two boys are already in foster care.

They were overheard saying they put a needle into their mothers arm multiple times.

The conversation prompted an investigation that led to the warrant and charges.

(We) put it in, and I had to push it up and down, one child told police, according to court documents obtained by Trib Live.

The kids referred to the drug as bad stuff.

The statements that these young men made were very descriptive; they were very detailed, Otto said. They were statements that, in our opinion, 5- and 7-year-old boys would not be able to produce unless, in fact, the statements were true.

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NASA said a "potentially hazardous asteroid" is on a close approach near Earth (NASA)

Newly Discovered Asteroid to Skim Past Earth Today

A newly discovered asteroid that is set to buzz past Earth today could be as large as the asteroid that exploded over Russia five years ago.

Asteroid 2018 CB that was only spotted five days ago is between 50 and 130 feet in size, according to NASA.

It will pass by Earth within one-fifth of the distance between the Earth and the moon.

Asteroids of this size do not often approach this close to our planetmaybe only once or twice a year, said Paul Chodas, the manager of NASAs Center for Near-Earth Object Studies.

According to NASA, it will make its closest approach to Earth at 10:30 p.m. GMT (5:30 p.m. EST) today.

The asteroid was found by NASA-funded Catalina Sky Survey (CSS) near Tucson, Arizona, that records potentially hazardous asteroids.

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 Chodas.

Asteroid Skimming Past Earth May Loom Larger Than Exploding Russian Meteor https://t.co/I6prOgVz1l pic.twitter.com/c5tLrZ6nAP  SPACE.com (@SPACEdotcom) February 9, 2018

In astronomical terms, the asteroid that exploded over Chelyabinsk was quite small, at 59 feet. The rock exploded in the atmosphere 14.5 miles (23.3 kilometers) above Russias Chelyabinsk region in February 2013. It caused over 1,000 injuries and extensive damage to property.

Fortunately, the space station said that 2018 CB will safely pass Earth.

It is the second asteroid to pass by the planet this week. Spotted by CSS, 2018 CC zoomed past Earth at about 8:10 p.m. GMT (3:10 p.m. EST) on Tuesday Feb. 6. at a distance of about 114,000 miles (184,000 kilometers). The asteroid was between 50 and 100 feet in size.

NASA is particularly concerned about asteroids that are over 500 feet in diameter and closer than 4.6 million miles from Earth. These types of asteroids are classified as Potentially Hazardous Asteroids.

The agency has found about 16,000 asteroids and comets near Earth, and there are another few million estimated to be orbiting the sun between Mars and Jupiter, where most of them reside.

Tenagra Observatories in Arizona will use its telescopes to live stream a video of asteroid 2018 CB as it approaches Earth today.

NTD reporter Holly Kellum contributed to this report.

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Reports: 3 Police Officers Shot in North Georgia

At least three Georgia officers were shot in Locust Grove in Henry County on Friday morning, Feb. 9, WSB-TV reported.

Two Henry County sheriffs deputies and one Locust Grove police officer were shot at the Hawthorne in Linden Park in the town, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Ambulance rushing with victim towards downtown Atlanta from Officer involved shooting. @wsbtv pic.twitter.com/4hlS4XlrtM  Dave Huddleston (@DaveHWSB) February 9, 2018

Two officers were airlifted to a nearby hospital. One was taken to a hospital via ambulance.

The man who shot at them is dead, WSB reported.

Ambulance rushing with victim towards downtown Atlanta from Officer involved shooting. @wsbtv pic.twitter.com/4hlS4XlrtM  Dave Huddleston (@DaveHWSB) February 9, 2018

Breaking: sheriff says 2 Henry co deputies, 1 locust grove officer shot. 2 lifeflighted, 1 carried by ambulance; man who shot them is dead @wsbtv  Mark Winne (@MarkWinneWSB) February 9, 2018

Reports say the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Henry County Sheriffs Office (HCSO), Henry County Police, Locust Grove Police, and an agent from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are now investigating.

As a precaution, Locust Grove Elementary School said it was on lockdown, News4Jax reported.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Henry Co Sheriffs deputies and Locust Grove officer who were shot this morning in Henry County, the Gwinnett County Police Department wrote in a tweet. We hope they survive their injuries and make a full recovery.

Other details about the shooting are not clear.

Sources telling me big story unfolding in Henry County right now. Follow @wsbtv for updates. Im gathering details now and will be tweeting more momentarily  Craig Lucie (@CraigLucie) February 9, 2018

Just got to the crime scene in Locust Grove where police say someone shot 3 cops. Investigators are keeping us off the street where it happened. We're working to get more info pic.twitter.com/7OybUM0yrc  Tyisha Fernandes (@TyishaWSB) February 9, 2018

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Restaurant Still Open After Salmonella Outbreak Caused One Death

A Mexican restaurant remains open after one person died and 33 others were sickened by a salmonella outbreak in November last year, according to a report.

Health officials said the restaurant La California in Aurora, Colorado, made 33 people sick after they ate a family combo meal, ABC affiliate KMGH reported.

The meal included ingredients such as carnitas, buche (pork belly), cueritos (pork rind), rice, beans, tortillas, salsa, chopped onion, cilantro, and lime wedges.

But investigators could not pinpoint what caused the outbreak, according to FOX31.

The outbreak hospitalized three people. One other person died.

It was significantly associated with the illness. But we couldnt ID a single item in the family combo that was associated with the illness.  Everybody ate everything in the family combo, Tri County Health spokeswoman Jen Chase told CBS Denver.

All who were affected ate at the restaurant between Nov. 4 and Nov. 26, the Tri-County Health Department said. Nearly all reported experiencing diarrhea and abdominal cramping.

The report obtained by KMGH confirmed that at least four cases of salmonella poisoning occurred. Out of the 33 cases, only one was a restaurant employee while the rest were all customers.

The one employee who tested positive for salmonella was banned from working at the restaurant until recovery. But investigators still are unclear if the employee caused the outbreak or was sickened by it like everyone else after coming into contact with the bacteria.

Salmonella is a bacterium estimated to cause about one million foodborne illnesses, 19,000 hospitalizations and 380 deaths in the United States anually, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Most related illnesses last 4 to 7 days before recovery, without treatment. But for some people, the diarrhea is so severe that the patient needs to be hospitalized to prevent dehydration.

A health inspection at La California on Nov. 22, revealed four critical violations: cross-contamination, improper or lack of hand washing, improper hot-holding of foods, improper cooling of foods and lack of hot water at a hand sink, according to KMGH.

The report stated that all the violations were corrected later on Nov. 27, 2017. An inspector wrote that food safety training is strongly recommended.

Recent reviews on Yelp tried to warn others about the recent outbreak.

Read Susan W.s review of La California on Yelp

Read Leo Y Lou A.s review of La California on Yelp

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Ten Rohingya Muslim men with their hands bound kneel as members of the Myanmar security forces stand guard in Inn Din village Sept. 2, 2017. (Handout via Reuters)

Reuters Reveals Details of Rohingya Mass Executions

Journalists are being held 'for investigating Myanmar killings'

INN DIN, MyanmarBound together, the 10 Rohingya captives watched their neighbors dig a grave. Soon afterward, on the morning of Sept. 2, all 10 lay dead. At least two were hacked to death by villagers. The rest were shot by soldiers, two of the gravediggers said.

The killings marked another episode in the violence sweeping Myanmars northern Rakhine State. The Rohingya accuse the army of arson, rapes, and killings. The United Nations has said the army may have committed genocide. Myanmar says its clearance operation is a legitimate response to attacks by insurgents.

Rohingya trace their presence in Rakhine back centuries. But most people in Myanmar consider them to be unwanted Muslim immigrants from Bangladesh. The army refers to the Rohingya as Bengalis, and most lack citizenship. In recent years, the government has confined more than 100,000 Rohingya in camps where they have limited access to food, medicine, and education. Nearly 690,000 Rohingya have fled their villages and crossed the border into Bangladesh since August.

Reuters has pieced together what happened in the days leading up to the killings in Inn Din, drawing for the first time on interviews with villagers who confessed to torching Rohingya homes, burying bodies, and killing Muslims.

This account also marks the first time soldiers and paramilitary police have been implicated by testimony from security personnel. Three photographs, provided to Reuters by a village elder, capture key moments, from the Rohingya mens detention by soldiers in the early evening of Sept. 1 to their execution shortly after 10 a.m. on Sept. 2.

The Reuters investigation was what prompted police authorities to arrest two of the news agencys reporters, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, on Dec. 12 for allegedly obtaining confidential documents relating to Rakhine. Then, on Jan. 10, the military issued a statement that confirmed portions of what Reuters was preparing to report, acknowledging that 10 Rohingya men were massacred in Inn Din.

But the militarys version of events is contradicted in important respects by accounts given to Reuters by Rakhine and Rohingya witnesses.

The military said the 10 men belonged to a group of 200 terrorists that attacked security forces. But villagers interviewed for this article reported no attack by a large number of insurgents on security forces in Inn Din. And Rohingya witnesses told Reuters that soldiers plucked the 10 from among Rohingya who had sought safety on a nearby beach.

Scores of interviews with Rakhine villagers, soldiers, paramilitary police, Rohingya and a local administrator further revealed:

The military and paramilitary police organized residents of Inn Din and at least two other villages to torch Rohingya homes, villagers said.

An order to clear Inn Dins Rohingya hamlets was passed down the command chain from the military, said three paramilitary police officers and a fourth police officer at an intelligence unit in the regional capital Sittwe.

Some members of the paramilitary police looted Rohingya property including cows and motorcycles in order to sell it, according to Inn Dins administrator and one of the paramilitary police officers.

Asked about the evidence Reuters has uncovered about the massacre, government spokesman Zaw Htay said, We are not denying the allegations about violations of human rights. And we are not giving blanket denials. If there was strong and reliable primary evidence of abuses, the government would investigate, he said. And then if we found the evidence is true and the violations are there, we will take the necessary action according to our existing law.

When told that paramilitary police officers had said they received orders to clear Inn Dins Rohingya hamlets, he replied, We have to verify. We have to ask the Ministry of Home Affairs and Myanmar police forces. Asked about the allegations of looting by paramilitary police officers, he said the police would investigate.

He expressed surprise when told that villagers had confessed to burning Rohingya homes, then added, We recognize that many, many different allegations are there, but we need to verify who did it. It is very difficult in the current situation.

Zaw Htay defended the military operation in Rakhine. The international community needs to understand who did the first terrorist attacks. If that kind of terrorist attack took place in European countries, in the United States, in London, New York, Washington, what would the media say?

Neighbor Turns On Neighbor

Events began to unfold on Aug. 25 when Rohingya rebels attacked police posts and an army base in northern Rakhine. Fearing for their safety, several hundred of Inn Dins villagers took refuge in a monastery. On Aug. 27, about 80 troops from Myanmars 33rd Light Infantry Division arrived in the village.

Five villagers said the army officer in charge told them they could volunteer to join security operations. He found willing participants among Inn Dins security group, members of the organization and villagers said.

In the days that followed, soldiers, police, and villagers burned most of the homes of Inn Dins Rohingya Muslims, a dozen residents said.

One of the police officers said he received verbal orders from his commander to go and clear areas where Rohingya lived, which he took to mean to burn them. A second police officer described taking part in several raids on villages north of Inn Din. Security forces wore civilian shirts and shorts to blend in with the villagers, according to the second police officer and Inn Dins administrator, Maung Thein Chay.

After the Rohingya had fled Inn Din, villagers took their property, including chickens and goats, residents told Reuters. But the most valuable goods, mostly motorcycles and cattle, were collected by the commander of the 8th Security Police Battalion and sold, said the first police officer and the village administrator.

Reached by phone, the commander, Thant Zin Oo, did not comment. A police spokesman, Colonel Myo Thu Soe, said the police would investigate the allegations of looting.

By Sept. 1, several hundred Rohingya from Inn Din were sheltering on a nearby beach, witnesses said. Among them were the 10 men who would be killed. Five of the men were fishermen or fish sellers, two ran stores, two were students, and one was an Islamic teacher.

Rohingya witnesses said the Islamic teacher, Abdul Malik, had gone back to his hamlet to collect food and bamboo for shelter. When he returned to the beach, at least seven soldiers and armed villagers followed him. Then the military beckoned to the Rohingya, these witnesses said, and picked out the 10 men.

A photograph, taken that evening, shows the 10 kneeling on a path in the village. On Sept. 2, they were taken to scrubland near a graveyard, villagers said, where they were photographed again. Security personnel questioned them about the disappearance of a local farmer named Maung Ni, according to a Rakhine elder. Several Rakhine and Rohingya villagers told Reuters they knew of no evidence connecting any of the 10 to the farmers disappearance.

Three witnesses said they watched as the captives were led by soldiers toward the site of their deaths. One of the gravediggers, retired soldier Soe Chay, said Maung Nis sons were invited by the army officer in charge of the squad to strike the first blows. The first son beheaded the Islamic teacher, Abdul Malik, according to Soe Chay. The second son hacked another of the men in the neck.

A Rakhine elder provided Reuters reporters with a photograph which shows the aftermath of the killings. Explaining why he chose to share information with Reuters, he said: I want to be transparent on this case. I dont want it to happen like that in future.

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Teen Who Livestreamed Crash That Killed Sister Sentenced to Prison

A California teen who, while drunk driving, livestreamed a car crash that killed her sister has been sentenced to more than six years in prison.

Obdulia Sanchez, 19, was sentenced on Thursday, Feb. 8 after pleading no contest last month to charges of gross vehicular manslaughter, driving under the influence and child endangerment arising from the July 2017 crash.

Sanchez, 18 at the time, had veered onto the shoulder of the road on the outskirts of Los Banos in central California on July 21. Authorities said she overcorrected, causing the vehicle to swerve and overturn into a field. Her 14-year-old sister, Jacqueline, was thrown from the back seat and died. Her sisters 15-year-old friend, Manuela Ceja, was injured.

The teen was recording herself driving on Instagram Live in a video that captured the entire event.

The video, which went viral, shows Sanchez standing over her sisters body, saying: I  killed my sister, OK. I know I am going to jail for life, all right? This is the last thing that I wanted to happen, OK?

Tests conducted shortly after the crash revealed that Sanchez had a blood alcohol level of .106, reported the Mercury Sun.

I didnt even know I looked like a monsterlike I look like a freaking horrible monster. That was not my intention at all, Sanchez told KPGE-TV last July. I just didnt know the video was so horrible.

In sentencing, the Judge Hansen acknowledged that Sanchez had expressed remorse and accepted responsibility for her actions. The judge also said he also had to take into account sentences given in similar cases, the Sun reported.

It should have been me. I should have been hurt or killed. Never Jackie or never Manuela, Sanchez said in court on Thursday.

I had so much potential, but I threw it all away because I wanted to look cool and drive carelessly.

Last year, Sanchez admitted that this was not the first time she livestreamed herself behind the wheel, saying she did it all the time.

Its like a reflex. Like I havent crashed, you know? she told KPGE-TV. Everybody does it. Everybody does. They take Snapchats. Everybody does it. Why not? People take video of them in cars like all the time. And Im only 18were still young.

From NTD.tv

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European legal experts are increasingly warning of the dangers of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) meddling in EU international treaties. This came after the EU-Morocco fisheries deal was invalidated in a non-binding opinion by ECJ advisor Melchior Wathelet claiming that the deal violates the rights of people from Western Sahara.

Should the ECJ follow the opinion of Wathelet in its February 27 decision, drastic consequences would ensue, warn EU legal experts.

The legality of the agreement, key to the EU-Morocco partnership, has been challenged by Western Sahara Campaign (WSC), a lobbying group based in the UK. For years, WSCUK has been contesting Moroccos legitimacy to govern its Southern provinces, claiming Western Sahara should be independent.

In his opinion, the Advocate General went further in a sign of incoherence with other EU institutions, suggesting that the court should control international treaties signed by the EU and its partners.

Meanwhile, the European Commission and fisheries professionals across Europe, especially in Spain, have expressed support for the renewal of the fisheries agreement with Morocco often portrayed as a win-win deal.

From a legal perspective, experts warn of the dangers of the EUs judiciary interfering in diplomatic and foreign policy issues. Such meddling of the judiciary in foreign policy issues involving the sovereignty of a state on its territories is doomed to lead to biased opinions that are detached from reality on the ground and are clearly politically motivated, they argue.

Should the ECJ follow the Advocate Generals recommendation in its judgement, this would set a dangerous precedent. Groups advocating Kurdish or Catalan independence will feel entitled to challenge the legality of treaties signed between the Commission and Turkey or Spain, said Jean Claude Martinez, Law Professor at the University of Paris, former Member of the European Parliament.

He added, in a recent analysis published on New Europe portal, that if the ECJ invalidates the fisheries agreement, this would embolden separatist groups worldwide to follow suit, challenging agreements signed by the EU. Following such a flawed logic It would be ludicrous for the ECJ to dedicate resources to the dismantling of the ongoing agreements the EU has with Turkey, for the reason that they apply to areas claimed by Kurdish nationalists.

Equally, Catalan NGOs, such as Esquerra Republicana, will predictably start challenging all treaties signed by Madrid and Brussels, because they apply de facto in Catalonia, he explained.

The case of the agricultural agreement illustrates the extent to which the EU needs to ensure coherence within its institutions. In November 2016, after an initial ruling declaring void the Moroccan-EU agricultural agreement, the ECJ issued a final verdict correcting its previous injustice regarding Morocco and putting the institution in line with other EU bodies in addition to asking the Polisario to pay the costs of the judicial proceedings, the foreign ministry had then said in a statement.

The court slammed the Polisario as not concerned by the EU-Morocco trade deals and ineligible to plea at the court.

Prior to the court ruling on the agricultural agreement, this same ECJ Advisor Wathelet deemed in an opinion piece that the Polisario is not entitled to defend the commercial interests of the population of the Sahara.

In December 2017, the audit report on the Morocco-EU fisheries accord, commissioned by the European Commission, concluded that the agreement has worked satisfactorily and that 75% of its socio-economic impacts benefit the Moroccan southern regions. The report recommended the renewal of this agreement, which will expire in July 2018 as it stands as an instrument of in-depth cooperation with the North African Kingdom.

Martinez concluded his analysis saying that the ECJ often follows the Advocate Generals advice but is not obliged to do so. One must hope its judges will make the right call on February 27th, not least because there are so many pressing issues for them to focus on that they should not start a chain reaction that risks shaking the EU at its core.
US Federal Shutdown Triggered, But Likely to Be Brief

WASHINGTONThe U.S. government staggered into another shutdown on Thursday night after an outspoken rogue Republican in the Senate singlehandedly delayed action by Congress on a stopgap funding bill wrapped up in a massive budget deal.

At midnight on Thursday, funding authority for most federal agencies expired without any intervening action by Congress.

Missing the midnight deadline technically triggered a shutdown, but it could be brief. The Senate was expected to approve the stopgap bill and budget deal after 1 a.m. and send it to the House of Representatives. Lawmakers in that chamber were deeply divided along party lines and passage was uncertain.

But House Republican leaders said the package would be approved, possibly before the start of the workday. If it is, there would be no practical interruption in federal government business. If it is not, the result would be an actual shutdown, the second of 2018, after a three-day shutdown in January.

In an unexpected turn of events, the midnight deadline was missed because of a nine-hour, on-again, off-again Senate floor speech by Senator Rand Paul, who objected to $300 billion in deficit spending in the bill.

The White Houses Office of Management and Budget said earlier in the evening it was preparing for a shutdown if the stopgap bill did not win passage on time in Congress.

The Office of Management and Budget is currently preparing for a lapse in appropriations, an OMB official said.

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management sent an email to federal government employees at 12:06 a.m. citing the expiry of funding and advising them to consult their agencies for guidance on reporting for duty.

Loot The Treasury

Paul, a Kentucky Republican, said the overall budget bill that includes the stopgap measure would loot the Treasury.

The reason Im here tonight is to put people on the spot. I want them to feel uncomfortable, he said.

The Senate-crafted bill, backed by Trump, would end for many months, at least beyond Novembers midterm congressional elections, the fiscal policy squabbling that has consumed Congress for months.

But it would be costly to the U.S. budget and would further underscore a fundamental shift in Republican conservative thinking that Paul was trying to draw attention to.

Once known as the party of fiscal conservatism, the Republicans and Trump approved a sweeping tax overhaul bill in December that will add an estimated $1.5 trillion to the national debt over 10 years.

The new budget bill would raise military and domestic spending by almost $300 billion over the next two years. With no offsets in the form of other spending cuts or new tax revenues, that additional spending would be financed by borrowed money.

I ran for office because I was very critical of President Obamas trillion-dollar deficits, Paul said.

Now we have Republicans hand in hand with Democrats offering us trillion-dollar deficits. I cantin good faith, just look the other way because my party is now complicit in the deficits, he said.

Paul voted for the deficit-financed tax bill in December.

Debt Ceiling

The budget bill would not only stave off a shutdown, but would extend the governments debt ceiling until March 2019.

That step alone would help reduce uncertainty in U.S. financial markets at a turbulent time. Stocks plunged on Thursday on heavy volume, throwing off course a nearly nine-year bull run. The S&P 500 slumped 3.8 percent.

The bill is opposed by House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi because Republican House leaders will not guarantee her that they will allow a debate later on about taking steps to protect about 700,000 illegal immigrants, known as Dreamers, from deportation.

The youths were brought illegally into to the country as children years ago, mostly from Mexico.

Trump said last September he would end by March 5 a program set up by former Democratic President Barack Obama to protect the Dreamers from deportation, and urged Congress to act before then. Senate Republicans have pledged to hold a separate immigration debate this month.

Even without Pelosi, House passage of the budget bill was widely expected, because it includes more money for disaster relief, infrastructure, and healthcare, which Democrats favor.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, who backs the bill, predicted the Republican-controlled House would pass it. I think we will, he said in a radio interview. Its going to need bipartisan support. We are going to deliver our share of support.

By Amanda Becker, David Morgan and Richard Cowan

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After months of intense lobbying, Newmans Own Foundation won a federal exemption that allows it to keep control of the food company that harvests the profits it devotes to charity.

U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, both D-Conn., announced the exemption Friday morning after pressing for its inclusion in the new spending bill passed by Congress that ended a brief shutdown of the federal government.

Under a 1969 law that prohibits foundations from owning more than 20 percent of for-profit companies, Westport-based Newmans Own Foundation would have been forced to divest the majority of shares in Newmans Own, created by the late actor Paul Newman as a way to funnel money to charities. With the expiration of the exemption, Newmans Own would have faced a massive excise tax that was crafted a half-century ago to prevent wealthy taxpayers from using their foundations as tax shelters.

In an interview last week with Hearst Connecticut Media prior to the exemptions enactment, Newmans Own Foundation CEO Bob Forrester said the organization would consider recruiting like-minded partners to share ownership of Newmans Own and maintain its philanthropic mission, while emphasizing the challenges that would pose in having multiple entities at the table.

Forrester expressed hope at the time that opportunities would surface by April for an exemption to be included in a Congressional spending bill, the foundations self-imposed deadline for action on the issue before it would have to line up investors for Newmans Own before the November expiration of its exemption.

That opportunity was quick to surface, as Congress and the White House came under pressure to get a spending bill approved to forestall a federal shutdown. Blumenthal and Murphy won support for language in the new spending bill that changes the tax code to exempt private philanthropic foundations like Newmans Own Foundation from the excise tax as long as all profits go to charity, the foundation is independently operated and all ownership interests were acquired under the terms of a will or trust.

At least two dozen other foundations operate on the total giving model pioneered by Newmans Own, including actor Hugh Jackmans Laughing Man coffee brand that is sold in Keurig Green Mountain K-cups.

Newmans Own Foundation has donated more than $512 million to charity since 1982, including $1.2 million in commitments last year for recovery efforts following hurricanes in Houston, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and wildfires in California. The foundation has supported hundreds of nonprofits in its home state of Connecticut, as well, including the SeriousFun Childrens Network which supports camps for kids with medical conditions requiring around-the-clock care.

Alex.Soule@scni.com; 203-842-2545; @casoulman
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_
Dear Abby: Im a 16-year-old girl who has started college early. I love my classes, and Im glad to be here. The problem is, the dating culture here is huge. People go on dates all the time. I have been asked out several times, and I feel comfortable going, but I feel dishonest when I dont tell them that Im 16. However, if Im up front about my age, the offer usually gets rescinded, and it becomes incredibly awkward. How can I have a fun college dating experience while still being truthful about my age?

College Student in Utah

Dear College Student: The age of consent for a girl in Utah is 16. For a young man, it is 18. You shouldnt jump the gun and announce your age before getting to know someone. If you are asked, of course you shouldnt lie about it. However, I see no reason to volunteer the information when you are asked for a date.

Dear Abby: I am a 32-year-old late-deafened adult. I have been deaf in my right ear my whole life, but lost my hearing in my left ear after a tumor was removed when I was 27. I guess they are right when they say we are never fully prepared to lose things we have taken for granted for so long. I still have trouble communicating with people. I have taken a few sign language classes and four lip-reading classes, but I often feel like Im no longer part of normal society. My question is, shouldnt I have adjusted by now regarding how people see me, since I have been without hearing for so long?

Hearing Impaired

Dear Hearing Impaired: I have been told that the most isolating disability is being unable to hear. Please do not burden yourself by feeling you should have adjusted faster than you have. There is no set timetable for adjusting to any disability. Because you feel stuck in the process, the Hearing Loss Association of America (www.hearingloss.org) may be helpful because it sponsors support groups in many states. Please check it out.

Dear Abby: Do you think it is fair for me to do all the housework and pick up dog doo-doo just because I moved into my sisters house with her and her family? They have five dogs and four cats. No one else bothers to do it. I do it to lessen the smell. When I try to say something, they say I am causing problems. I dont have any animals of my own.

Pooper Scooper

Dear P.S.: I agree that the task of picking up after an animal  let alone nine of them  isnt something most people look forward to. However, if you are living rent-free with your sisters family, perhaps you should consider your chores to be your contribution to the household. P.S. Because you mentioned that no one else cleans up the animal messes, consider finding more hygienic living arrangements as soon as its feasible.
Ken Borsuk / Hearst Connecticut Media

HARTFORD  At a time when Republican lawmakers are attempting to cut funding to the states landmark public-financing program for General Assembly and top-of-the-ticket races like governor, the head of Connecticuts elections regulatory agency on Friday warned that the state budget has created its own challenges.

Michael J. Brandi, executive director of the State Elections Enforcement Commission, said that the bipartisan budget deal sprung major surprises, including a one-year deadline to complete investigations into alleged wrongdoing.
French train manufacturer Alstom has won a 130 Mln contract awarded by Moroccan National Railway Operator ONCF for the purchase of 30 electric Prima locomotives.

The ONCF had launched in March 2017 an international tender for this project. Alstom pledges to ensure service and maintenance of the 30 Prima M4 locomotives after their delivery. The locomotives have a nominal power of 5.5 MW, a maximum operating speed of 160 km/h and operate under 3 KV DC voltage. They can be equipped with ETCS level 1.

They require minimum maintenance and provide a high reliability level and low lifecycle cost thanks to the modular design.

We are delighted that ONCF has renewed its confidence in our company and our products. Thanks to a consolidated and historical partnership based on mutual trust and a real teamwork spirit with our customer, 20 Prima locomotives have been successfully in service in Morocco since 2011. Today, with this new contract, our journey continues and we are proud to contribute to the development of the Moroccan railway infrastructure, said Brahim Soua, Managing Director of Alstom in Morocco.

Present in Morocco with 350 employees, Alstom has contributed to several structuring projects, such as the delivery of Citadis trams to the cities of Rabat and Casablanca, and 12 Avelia Euroduplex trains for the High Speed Line, which will link Tangier to Casablanca for over 2 billion dollars.

In its plant in Fez, Alstom produces cable bundles for rail applications and electrical switchboxes that are supplied to its European plants and mounted on trains exported around the world.

Alstom has been manufacturing locomotives for more than 100 years with the first electric locomotive produced in 1926.
For those looking for protection from a potential federal government crackdown on the legal marijuana industry, it could just be a state away.

Two lawmakers in Massachusetts, where legal recreational marijuana sales are expected to begin later this year, have introduced a bill that essentially makes The Bay State a so-called marijuana sanctuary state.

The bill, introduced by Dave Rogers and Mike Connolly, both representing Cambridge, would bar law enforcement officials in the state from complying with any federal-ordered crackdown on legal cannabis operations. They filed the bill in reaction to two significant events.

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Cannabis Crackdown

In early January, U.S. Attorney Jeff Sessions -- the former Alabama senator who strongly opposes the use of marijuana and says so frequently -- announced rescinded an Obama Administration policy that mandated a hands-off approach to enforcing federal marijuana laws against businesses operating in compliance with state law in where marijuana is legal.

In Massachusetts, U.S. attorney Andrew Lelling -- a Trump Administration appointee -- then followed in Sessions footsteps and announced he could not offer any assurance that he would take a hands-off approach to marijuana sales in the state, even if it was approved by voters.

None of that is good news for the recreational marijuana industry in Massachusetts, which hasnt even started yet. That motivated Rogers and Connolly to make a move.

Related: To the Surprise of Nobody, Nevada Marijuana Sales Hit $126 Million In 4 Months

'No help.'

In an interview with Newsweek, Rogers said the bill is aimed at providing support for the states fledging recreational marijuana market in the light of threatening statements from Sessions and Lelling.

Rogers told Newsweek if "the FBI or federal cops or the U.S. attorney want to pursue these cases, perhaps thats their prerogative. But they will get no help at all from state or local police."

Its easy to see why marijuana entrepreneurs might feel nervous. Massachusetts voters have been very clear about what they want. They approved medical marijuana in 2012 and recreational marijuana in 2016. But businesses are not sure they can count on the government.

The statements from Sessions and Lelling have had a chilling effect. In the wake of Sessions decision, one vendor stopped processing debit cards for medical marijuana transactions. Although only a temporary move, it indicates how jittery some businesses are about the current environment around legal marijuana.

Still, much like in California where recreational sales have already started, most entrepreneurs in Massachusetts are forging ahead. Protests also have been mounted. After Sessions made his decision, the Massachusetts Patient Advocacy Alliance protested outside of the federal courthouse in Boston.

According to the Salem News, Gov. Charlie Baker has argued that federal prosecutors would do better spending their resources fighting the opioid crisis rather than marijuana, saying, Lets focus on the stuff right now thats wreaking havoc across our commonwealth."

Follow dispensaries.com on Twitter to stay up to date on the latest cannabis news.

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This article originally appeared on entrepreneur.com


NORWALK  The plaza outside the office building at 50 Washington St. in South Norwalk isnt immediately recognizable as a city park.

Concrete stairs and worn brick pavers make up the larger part of the space known as 50 Washington Street Plaza.

The Norwalk Redevelopment Agency and a number of SoNo property owners and merchants want to spruce it up.

Green open space is a critical component to the urban character of the city, and thats why its important to us, said Redevelopment Agency Executive Director Timothy Sheehan. Were going from almost 100 percent impervious park that is cold and sterile  concrete and brick pavers  to what should be considered green open space, and thats really what a park should be.

Major money, major improvements

For at least two years, the Redevelopment Agency has requested city capital dollars to overhaul the park.

A plan, developed by Eric Rains Landscape Architecture, LLC of South Norwalk, calls for a central, water fountain-flanked walkway to the 13-story office building. A resilient lawn, designed to host events without being damaged, would form the bulk of the plaza area. New concrete walkways, lighting and trees along the perimeter are also part of the design.

Sheehan said building the park improvements would cost $984,715. He requested $500,000 in the current fiscal year to start the project but was allotted $300,000  not enough to start work, he said. For the fiscal year starting July 1, Sheehan has requested $500,000, but the citys finance director didnt support the request in his 2018-19 capital budget recommendations.

Norwalk planning commissioners, who are currently reviewing capital spending requests for fiscal year 2018-19, acknowledged the public support  including a petition signed by about 70 people  for the proposed park improvements but questioned the cost of the project and asked if private parties might pick up part of the bill.

Somebody is spearheading this letter-writing campaign to us, so Id like to challenge the business owners, the business community, the Chamber of Commerce, and start coming up with some funding, said commission chairwoman Fran DiMeglio. Take a leadership role in this partnership with the city.

Commissioner Michael Mushak lent his support to the project  I certainly think its a good investment for the city  but cautioned against a public-private partnership to pay for the improvements. He said such an arrangement would limit public use of the park as at Bryant Park in New York City.

I think donations would be great if they can come in, but I think the idea of a public-private partnership is something that I dont think Norwalk is really ready to be blocked out of their own park for private events, weddings or whatever, which is what would happen, Mushak said.

Commissioner Nora King, however, questioned spending nine hundred and something thousand dollars for this tiny little park when parts of Norwalk dont have ballparks.

Strong support in SoNo

At the public hearing, several people urged the commission to support the capital funding request.

Christian Burns, owner of Cask Republic on Washington Street, described the condition of the park as a serious detriment to South Norwalk. Burns is renovating part of the former Avrick Furniture building at 14-16 North Main St. into a restaurant, which he plans to open in May. He said hes seen foot traffic through the area increase dramatically in recent years.

I cant even describe the difference over the past two years, and if we dont do something to keep moving forward with this, I dont think its going to continue, Burns said. So I really do feel that its super, super important for us to make this investment for the community and for the people whove chosen to come to South Norwalk.

Susan Wallerstein, Norwalk Arts Commission chairwoman, said more than 1,000 people have participated in docent-led art tours since 2014 with South Norwalk being the focus of those tours.

Virtually all the tours start and end at the 50 Washington Street Plaza, both because of proximity to parking and its a great meeting place, Wallerstein said. Unfortunately, the increasing deterioration of the condition of the plaza has been an embarrassment.

She also asked the commission to support the Redevelopment Agencys capital funding request.

The capital funding request comes as the owner of the office building at 50 Washington St. continues improvements to the property.

The Planning Commission will accept written comment on the unfolding capital budget through Feb. 14. The commission has until March 5 to submit its capital budget recommendations to Mayor Harry Rilling. The mayor has until March 15 to make his recommendations on the forthcoming spending plan. The Common Council will have the final say when it adopts the new capital budget in mid-April.

The public space at 50 Washington Street Plaza is one of three urban parks deemed important by the Redevelopment Agency. The others are Ryan Park, which will be rebuilt as part of the Washington Village Transformation Plan, and Irving Freese Park off Wall Street in central Norwalk.

One of the concerns that the agency has is that the urban parks are not considered an integral part of the overall city park system, and theyre not given the attention that they should be getting, Sheehan said. When you compare it to other parks within the city, I think you find that theyre not up to snuff.
NORWALK  Oysters, with their mottled shells, succulent flesh and hard-won pearls, encapsulate the spirit of Norwalk.

At least they do for Rev. Richard Cipolla, the pastor of St. Marys Roman Catholic Church - and given the citys rich oystering tradition, its likely others agree. So when the time came to dedicate the shrine for Our Lady of Norwalk at the church on Wednesday evening, it was only fitting to celebrate with an oyster reception.

As parishioners filed in for Mass, they blessed themselves with holy water and dropped to a knee before the new shrine, which centers around a statue of Mother Mary.

Crowned, she stands in a gold-trimmed dress and a flowing white veil, holding a baby Jesus in one hand and an oyster in the other.

Behind her is a triptych crafted by Alonso Florez, an artist with a workshop in East Norwalk. On golden panels echoing the pointed arches of the church, Norwalk native Henry Egan painted an oysterman standing before the Norwalk islands, 11 apostles and John the Baptist and the outside of St. Marys Church, along with two pearl-filled bivalves surrounded by stars.

Shes beautiful, whispered a woman as she looked up at the statue.

The journey to the dedication on Wednesday started in the spring of 2015, when Cipolla became pastor of the church.

In Italy, every city has its own Madonna, he said. He then went online, where he spent a year searching for a Norwalk

protectress before locating one that was just right.

It was located in Belgium, so the statue, dating from 1840, was flown to Norwalk, where it received two additions: an oyster shell from Calf Pasture Beach and a pearl from a friend of Cipollas.

Over 150 people attended the dedication, including Mayor Henry Rilling and his wife, Lucia Rilling.

Its very special, the mayor said. Its dedicated to Norwalk and our oyster industry.

Im very happy to be here for it, said Auri Boyle, of Fairfield, a parishioner of St. Marys. As the mother church of Norwalk, its important that they set this precedent and show the value of having our lady as our patroness  that our blessed Mother can intercede for us and pray for our city.

In his sermon, Cipolla recounted his childhood eating clams with lemon and Tabasco sauce. It was not until later that I discovered the oyster and the silken mystery that it is.

He remembered learning what causes a pearl  a grain of sand, a foreign source of pain or irritation. The oyster removes it, or covers it up ... and the result is the beauty of the pearl. So beauty is, in a sense, the oysters pain and suffering.

Cipolla drew out the parallels between an oysterman and a priest, as well as between the pearl and Jesus Christ, born into this world because of the deadly irritation of sin.

Finally, he closed with a poem from Seamus Heaney, who described what oysters meant to him:

I ate the day/Deliberately, that its tang/May quicken me all into verb, pure verb.

rschuetz@hearstmediact.com; @raschuetz
NORWALK  Intricate stained glass windows filter the light of Canaan Institutional Baptist Church on Concord and South Main streets, elevating the spiritual atmosphere in the building. But several years ago, the Rev. Roosevelt Ewell noticed they were elevating something else: the heating bill.

By the churchs calculations, it was losing between $10,000 and $15,000 a winter compensating for the over-a-century-old stained glass, which cold winds leaked through. But the specialized work that goes into restoring a stained glass window comes at a hefty price: estimates for the church run around $120,000.

The Redevelopment Agency recognized the importance of the public-facing windows Tuesday night, approving up to $38,400 to help restore the stained glass windows at Canaan Institutional Baptist Church. The church was the first to take advantage of the citys Facade Improvement Grant Program.

I think its enough to strengthen a believers faith that a prayer can be answered, Ewell said.

Im thrilled to hear theyre the first recipients of the grant because theyll use it very well, said David Westmoreland, chairman of the Historical Commission.

The Redevelopment Agency has allocated $160,000 for exactly this purpose: to assist in the renovation of historic facades for the purpose of preserving the public realm, said Susan Sweitzer, senior project manager for development at the agency.

The stained glass windows, the largest of which is an intricate circle of green with blue and red highlights, grace the white clapboard church.

They have seen a lot of history. Before becoming a Baptist church, the building was the Beth Israel Synagogue, built in 1906 by a congregation largely made up of Jewish immigrants escaping the pogroms in eastern Europe.

When the synagogue moved to its location on King Street in 1972, Rabbi Israel A. Yavne told his congregation, This synagogue bespeaks volumes of history in the life of this congregation and the community. But it is not the building or its past history that is of significance. It is the traditions and the stand in Jewish life that our synagogue held for 66 years.

Two decades later, the National Park Service determined the building and its history had significance as well. It was entered into the National Register of Historic Places as the only known synagogue building in Connecticut displaying Moorish, onion-shaped domes.

Historians around Norwalk have spoken highly of the preservation work the church has already done on the interior. Now, the windows are in disrepair, with the metal bars, or caming, holding the glass together coming loose. Restoration will involve taking out the windows, taking apart all the glass pieces to clean and either repair or replace, then putting them back together with new caming.

The church received $50,000 from the State Historic Preservation Office and $10,000 from the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation, but both came with a caveat: They required their grants to be matched by other funding.

As luck would have it, the new Facade Improvement Grant Program requires its grants to be matched.

People dont usually walk around and say, Oh, this is splendid  you be my match, Ill be your match,  Sweitzer said. But that was exactly what happened in this situation. This kind of symbiotic funding doesnt happen easily.

The church will begin work on the windows in early spring, once the weather warms.

When asked if it was a coincidence the church, which began noticing problems with the windows seven years ago, found funding at the same time the Facade Improvement Grant Program was put in place, Ewell paused, then demurred.

I think that Redevelopment has done tremendous work around town ... and I think they realized that they had numbers of historical buildings in need of financial help, he said. Maybe it was a divine act that allowed God to put it in place at the right time.

The Facade Improvement Grant Program guidelines are posted on the city website under the Redevelopment Agency. Those interested can contact Susan Sweitzer at ssweitzer@norwalkct.org.

rschuetz@hearstmediact.com; @raschuetz
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Special Events

Saturday, Feb. 10  New Perspectives Film Series  I Am Not Your Negro, 7:30-9:30 p.m. In the award-winning film, I Am Not Your Negro, filmmaker Raoul Peck envisions the book author James Baldwin never finished about his closest friends  Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. and about race in America. See librarys website for details. Suggested donation: $5. Refreshments served. The series is programmed and moderated by filmmaker Megan Smith-Harris. A Q&A will follow the film. Registration highly recommended. Register online or call 203-762-6334.

Sunday, Feb. 11  WLA/WHS Scholarly Series  Yankee Innovators: Steamships to Silicon Chips  Neil Maher at Wilton Library, 4-5:30 p.m. Neil Mahers lecture, Shooting the Moon: Space Technology, Earthbound Nature, and the New Left During the Vietnam War, examines the shared history of the space race to the moon and the Vietnam War during the 1960s and 1970s. Maher is an associate professor of history in the Federated History Department at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and Rutgers University, Newark. See the librarys registration link for more series details. Reception following the talk. No charge; donations welcomed. Series sponsored by the League of Women Voters and Friends of Louise Herot. Lecture sponsor: Janice and Michael Hess. Moderator is Max Gabrielson. Registration required. Register online or call 203-762-6334.

Tuesday, Feb. 13  Author Talk: Andrew Morton  Wallis in Love: The Untold Life of the Duchess of Windsor, the Woman Who Changed the Monarchy, 7-8:30 p.m. Historical biographer Andrew Morton brings new light to the story of Wallis Simpson, the woman for whom Edward VIII so infamously abdicated his throne and birthright. Mortons visit is the only one in the New York tri-state area since he is taking time out from working on a biography of Prince Harrys fiancee, Meghan Markle. The moderator for the evening is Gretchen Young, vice president, executive editor at Grand Central Publishing. Q&A. No charge. Registration highly recommended. Register online or call 203-762-6334. Books available for purchase and signing courtesy of Elm Street Books. Media Sponsor: Good Morning Wilton.

Calendar

Saturday, Feb. 10 through Saturday, March 17  CoderDojo Python Class, 10-11 a.m. Middle-schoolers have fun-filled and educational sessions of Python, the programming language. This class is for kids with no programming experience. It is a six-week program ending March 17; each week builds on the previous weeks skills. Instructor: Nish Wangneo, a sophomore in Wilton High School taking AP Computer Science. If interested, please send email to wiltoncoderdojo@gmail.com. See librarys website for important details.

Saturday, Feb. 10  Animals Spell Love, 10:30-11:30 a.m. Kids in grades 1 - 5 are invited to join author David Cundy and meet his word-picture animals in his gorgeously written and designed book, Animals Spell Love. David will share the book and lead a craft where kids can create their own word pictures using letters of the alphabet. David was a long-time Wilton resident. Registration required; no fee. Books available for purchase and signing. Register online or call 203-762-6336.

Tuesday, Feb. 13  Breast Cancer Survivors Support Group, 6-8 p.m. Post-treatment breast cancer survivors are invited to join in this monthly support group led by Nina Marino, LCSW. Nina was the Clinical Director for 15 years of the former Breast Cancer Survival Center and is a breast cancer survivor. Please email Nina at Cancersurvival2@aol.com with any questions. No charge. Registration highly encouraged. Register online or call 203-762-6334.

Wednesday, Feb. 14  Wilton Library Readers  Mothering Sunday, 12-1:30 p.m. Professional book discussion leader Susan Boyar discusses Mothering Sunday by Graham Swift. Bring lunch; beverages will be provided. Advance registration suggested. Register online or call 203-762-6334.

Friday, Feb. 16  Chinese New Year Celebration, 4-4:45 p.m. Join us at the library for a special story time with snacks, crafts and activities to celebrate the Chinese New Year - Year of the Dog. We might even see a dragon walking around the library. Registration required. Ages 3 and up suggested. Caregivers must remain with children. Register online or call 203-762-6336.

Saturday, Feb. 17  Tea with Belle, 2-3:30 p.m. Come to Wilton Library and Be Our Guest for a Tea party with Belle! At this fabulous fundraiser, children will meet and greet the popular Disney Princess, enjoy some scrumptious refreshments and take home a sparkly craft. A wonderful photo opportunity for all! Costumes encouraged. $25 per child, register and pay at the Children's Library Reference Desk.

More Information 137 Old Ridgefield Road 203-762-3950 www.wiltonlibrary.org See More Collapse

Now through Feb. 23  A Couple of Couples  Paintings and Photography Art Exhibition Artists Julie Leff and Charles Douthat live in Weston and artist Leona Frank lives in Westport with her husband, photographer Richard Frank. The exhibition showcases more than 60 of their works in a variety of media encompassing portraits, still life, abstracts, botanicals, landscapes and more. Most works available for purchase with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the library.

Classes in Innovation Station this week  Saturday, Feb. 10: Embroider or Monogram a Valentines Day Gift, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.; Sunday, Feb. 11: Etched Glass Coffee Mug or Pub Glass: Drop-in Craft, 2-3:30 p.m.; Monday, Feb. 12: Embroider or Monogram It!, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.; Monday, Feb. 12: Create Valentines Day Cards, Gift Tags & More, 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.; Monday, Feb. 12 & 26: Stitch Time for Knitters and Crocheters, 1-2:30 p.m.; Tuesday, Feb. 13: New Life for Old Videos, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Tuesday, Feb. 13: Etch a Glass Coffee Mug or Pub Glass, 6-7:30 p.m.; Thursday, Feb. 15: Make Fun Buttons or a Pocket Mirror!, 2-3:30 p.m.; Friday, Feb. 16: Monogram a Key-chain, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 17: Monogram an Acrylic Jewelry Tray, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 17: Embroider or Monogram It!, 12-2 p.m.

Childrens programs  Now through Wednesday, Feb. 28: 2018 Winter Reading Olympics at Wilton Library; Sunday, Feb. 11: Valentine's Day Crafts, 1-4 p.m.; Monday, Feb. 12: More Sign, Say, and Play, 10:15-10:45 a.m.; Monday, Feb. 12: Ready Readers, 4:15-5 p.m.; Tuesday, Feb. 13: Terrific Tales for Twos and Threes, 10:15-10:45 a.m.; Tuesday, Feb. 13: Storytime STEM, 4:15-5 p.m.; Wednesday, Feb. 14: Books for Babies, 10:15-10:45 a.m.; Wednesday, Feb. 14: Wonderful Ones and Twos, 11-11:30 a.m.; Wednesday, Feb. 14: Cupcake Club, 4-4:45 p.m.; Friday, Feb. 16 & 23: Movement and Dance for Little Ones, 11-11:30 a.m.
EDWARDSVILLE  The world of comics collide with art for the Edwardsville Arts Centers next exhibit, The Delinquent Comic Art of Wascally Wee Willy Harroff. The exhibit, which features local resident William Bill Harroffs comic book inspired designs on canvases, tiles and prints, opens Friday evening with a reception from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and runs through March 16.

I love art. I love books, Harroffs wascallyweewilly website states. Those two passions have defined my life experiences and career as a successful book artist for nearly 40 years, working primarily in digital formats for the last 25.

Its his passions that has allowed Harroff to produce a series of unique, unconventional, kaleidoscopic and colorful comic art that was inspired by crime and horror comics that were banned in the 1950s. His work is the centerpiece of this exhibit.

I began this body of work more than a decade ago, recognizing where the current American culture wars were leading us, Harroff writes about his exhibit. My comic art is a stinging indictment of the self-appointed culture wars critic of the era, psychologist Dr. Fredric Wertham. Wertham, author of the bestseller, Seduction of the Innocent, claimed comics caused youth to go on delinquent, crime-filled sprees and sexual romps. I take Werthams quasi-scientific arguments to the extreme by applying his bogus scientific method of removing micro-sections of 1950s comics, then transforming them into kaleidoscopic patterns for todays audiences.

In addition to Harroffs art, this exhibit also pays homage to Dr. John Adkins Richardson, deceased SIUE Professor Emeritus of Art and Design. Richardson, a mentor and friend to Harroff, wrote Modern Art and Scientific Thought, Art: The Way It Is and The Complete Book of Cartooning.

He was also an underground comic artist who published Fever Dreams at Kitchen Sink Press, worked on The Hunting of the Snark for Wally Woods Witzend and Maxor for the fanzine, Fantastic Exploits, Harroffs website further notes.

Richardson passed away before he and Harroff could complete a revised edition of Richardsons The Complete Book of Cartooning. Harroff will present pieces from his personal collection of Richardsons work which spotlights their collaboration.

Harroff noted that there will also be a third part to his exhibit. I will include a retelling of this little-known period of American history that creatively shaped my work entitled, Who Knows What Evil Lurks in the Hearts of Men (and Women)? I Do! I Do! This section is composed of images in comic form to explain the complex history, how it shaped my work and the parallels with censorship efforts now, Harroff states. Comic book burnings literally swept the nation in the fifties, including the St. Louis metropolitan area. Today, comic books are the most banned type of publication in America.

Harroff recently received a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency to support this project that includes an exhibition catalog. Through the states assistance, Harroff will be able to continue the show as a traveling exhibition for interested art centers, schools, comicons and libraries across the state of Illinois and beyond.

Dont miss this fascinating and historical look at comics and art. Visit The Delinquent Comic Art of Wascally Wee Willy Harroff exhibit from Friday through March 16 at the Edwardsville Arts Center located at 6165 Center Grove Road in Edwardsville. The EAC is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday and is closed Sunday through Tuesday.
Sherritt International Corporation engages in the mining, refining, and sale of nickel and cobalt from lateritic ores primarily in Canada and Cuba. The company operates through Moa Joint Venture and Fort Site, Metals Other, Oil and Gas, Power, and Technologies and Corporate segments It produces and sells agriculture fertilizers in Western Canada; and provides additional fertilizer storage and administrative facilities in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Canada. The company also explores for and produces oil and gas primarily from offshore reservoirs located in the north coast of Cuba. It has interests in three production-sharing contracts in Cuba; and working-interests in various oil fields and related production platform located in the Gulf of Valencia in Spain. In addition, the company generates and sells electricity from natural gas and steam facilities with a generating capacity is 506 megawatts, as well as provides technical support, process optimization, and technology development services. It operates two combined cycle plants at Varadero and Boca de Jaruco. Sherritt International Corporation was founded in 1927 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

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Apple fixes security hole reportedly used to hack an iPhone

BOSTON (AP)  Apple released a critical software patch to fix a security vulnerability that researchers said could allow hackers to directly infect iPhones and other Apple devices without any user action. Researchers at the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab said the security issue was exploited to plant spyware on a Saudi activist's iPhone.

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John Kelly and Rob Porter. Photo: NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images

Over the past seven months, John Kelly kept dropping strong hints that while he might be the adult in the room at the White House, he wasnt all that different from the other characters on President Trumps team.

In October he used his credibility as a retired Marine Corps general whose son was killed in Afghanistan to attack a congresswoman who reported that Trump made insensitive remarks to a soldiers widow. When it turned out hed made false accusations against the congresswoman he refused to apologize.

Kelly went on to defend Confederate General Robert E. Lee as an honorable man and claim the lack of an ability to compromise caused the Civil War. He said some of candidate Trumps comments on immigration were uninformed, earning a public rebuke from the president. Then this week he said some undocumented immigrants were too lazy to get off their asses and apply for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

Yet Kellys job seemed unusually secure for someone serving in the Trump administration. Under his tenure many polarizing figures, from Anthony Scaramucci to Steve Bannon, were forced out of the West Wing, and the White House did seem to run more smoothly than it did under his predecessor, Reince Priebus.

That changed over the last week with Kellys shockingly inept response to the revelation that both of White House staff secretary Rob Porters ex-wives accused him of domestic violence. Kelly initially released a statement praising the aide as a man of true integrity and honor, and reportedly discouraged him from resigning. It was only after Porters first wife released images of her bruised face that Kelly released a second statement saying, There is no place for domestic violence in our society  though he also said he stood by his previous praise for Porter.

Though Porter resigned, the fallout grew worse on Thursday amid new reports that top Trump staffers had known about the abuse allegations for many months. The Washington Post reported that White House counsel Donald McGahn was aware of the claims a full year ago and did nothing:

Among the questions he left behind was whether Mr. Kelly and other members of Mr. Trumps inner circle had been willing to ignore accusations of domestic violence to protect a trusted aide. Raj Shah, the deputy White House press secretary, said that Mr. Kelly had not been made fully aware of them until this week. But two people close to the White House said that Mr. Kelly and Joe Hagin, the deputy chief of staff for operations, as well as Donald F. McGahn II, the White House counsel, had known of the issues since late fall.

In the fall McGahn reportedly filled Kelly in on why Porter only had interim security clearance, and they decided he should stay in his role, which involved handing sensitive documents directly to the president. Kelly even offered him more duties.

A White House official said McGahn was only vaguely aware that Porters ex-wives had made damaging allegations against him, but he didnt look into the matter because Porter said they were untrue.

The White House response to the Porter controversy abruptly shifted on Thursday, possibly because Sarah Huckabee Sanders was on vacation. A day after she said that Trump and Kelly had full confidence in Porter, Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah made a rare admission: The White House could have done better in its response to the abuse allegations.

It seems that did not go over well with the president.

A source familiar w Pres Trumps thinking tells @PamelaBrownCNN he watched Raj Shahs debut at podium & wasnt happy Shah admitted WH couldve done better handling Porter situationeven though POTUS was upset abt negative press coverage & thought it shouldve been handled better  Kristen Holmes (@KristenhCNN) February 9, 2018

It appears Trump was only briefed on the situation recently, and Vanity Fairs Gabriel Sherman reported that Ivanka showed her father the pictures of Porters ex yesterday. He was fucking pissed, said a reporter briefed on their conversation. Ivanka and Jared Kushner are said to be considering potential replacements for Kelly, but there are no obvious candidates.

The New York Times reported that among those Trump called to vent his frustrations was Reince Priebus, who was pushed out to make room for Kelly. (Priebus denied talking to the president about his current chief of staff.) The paper said Trump has also been asking advisers if they think Mick Mulvaney might make a good chief of staff. (Presumably hed resign the two positions he currently holds, director of the White House budget office and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.)

The White House has defended plenty of alleged abusers, but thanks to the photographs and the ex-wives willingness to speak to the press, this time the Trump team wasnt able to deny the story and wait for it to blow over. Plus, it exposed a larger issue within the Trump administration: the dozens of White House aides working with only interim security clearances, like Kushner.

Politico reported that the FBI intended to deny full security clearance for multiple aides, but Kelly hadnt gotten around to letting them go. He knew it was a problem having people who would never be granted permanent clearances and he was preparing to deal with it. And this blew up in his face, said a senior administration official.

Kelly was still trying to smooth things over on Thursday night, sending an email reassuring White House staffers that he takes matters of domestic violence very seriously.

Pic of memo Kelly sent to WH staff about Porter pic.twitter.com/glrksF7WQV  Jim Acosta (@Acosta) February 9, 2018

Kelly associates also rolled out a defense thats usually reserved for Trump: Hes new at this (though the idea that domestic-violence claims should be taken seriously even if there isnt hard evidence certainly isnt new). The Times reports:

Friends and associates noted that with Mr. Kellys lack of experience in Washington politics, he may not have been attuned at first to how the domestic abuse allegations against Mr. Porter would be perceived.

The lack of suitable replacements is working in Kellys favor, but its also easy to see Trump ditching him. He has unprecedented tolerance for wrongdoing by his staffers, until it starts to reflect poorly on him.
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President Barack Obama talks with President-elect Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Thursday, November 10, 2016. Photo: The Washington Post/Getty Images

During the Obama era, Democrats frequently believed, but only rarely uttered aloud in official forums, that the Republican Party was engaged in economic sabotage. Not a coldly conscious plot, exactly. But it seemed just a little too convenient that the party had reversed its fiscal ideology at precisely the time when doing so would damage Democrats and thereby smooth the GOPs return to power.

Now that Republicans have reversed their position once again, also in a way that happens to redound to their political benefit, the answer seems a little more clear. Republicans have used their control of government to virtually double the budget deficit, which had been hovering around half a trillion dollars per year, and will now likely run well over $1 trillion  during the peak of an economic expansion. There is no economic rationale for this behavior. Their policy is simply to support fiscal contraction under Democratic presidents and fiscal expansion under Republican ones. Cynicism is the only basis to explain their behavior.

During the Bush administration, the party followed Dick Cheneys famous dictum, Reagan proved deficits dont matter, as a basic guide. Republicans financed two large tax cuts, a Medicare prescription-drug benefit, two wars, and a large domestic-security hike entirely through higher borrowing.

Importantly, in addition to supporting permanent deficit increases, they also supported temporary deficit increases in order to ward off recessions. When the economy slowed in 2001, Republicans supported a Democratic plan to mail out short-term tax credits. Here, they were following the perfectly sound logic of Keynesian economics, which held that during a recession, the government should boost demand by temporarily increasing the deficit. Even committed right-wing ideologues like Grover Norquist and Paul Ryan supported fiscal stimulus explicitly on these grounds. (I like my porridge hot, said Ryan at one hearing, explaining why he agreed with the Keynesian arguments made by Republican economist Kevin Hassett that it was vital to inject demand into the economy as quickly as possible.)

When the economy entered another recession at the end of Bushs second term, Republicans again overwhelmingly supported another temporary stimulus bill. In February of 2008, Congress voted, by margins of 380 to 24 and 81 to 16, to mail out flat checks to every American household in order to stimulate more spending. This is the Senate at its finest, recognizing this was an opportunity to demonstrate to the public that we could come together, do something important for the country and do it quickly, said a satisfied Mitch McConnell.

As it turned out, what looked like a mild recession at the beginning of 2008 developed into a global economic crisis of staggering size. By 2009, the economy was plunging into the deepest crisis since the Great Depression. But at that point, which also coincided with partisan control of the presidency changing hands, Republicans decided they no longer agreed with Keynesian economics. Or they believed the scale of the crisis somehow failed to justify the cost to the Treasury. So thoroughly and so rapidly did this conversion permeate the Republican Party that, by the time Obama took office, it was almost impossible to find a conservative of any sort who had a kind word for the stimulus. Even the most openminded conservatives seemed more concerned about deficits than the calamity of unemployment that could top double digits. The issue is the risk the Democrats are taking, period, by spending enormous sums that arent obviously justified by the current crisis, wrote Ross Douthat in February 2009.

Since Trumps election, the GOP has happily reverted to the Bush-era practice of putting everything on the national credit card.

Republicans whipped themselves into a frenzy over the debt, which threatened a debt crisis, even a Greece-style social upheaval. In 2011, Republicans cited this urgent fiscal threat to justify their extraordinary tactic of threatening to refuse to lift the debt ceiling, possibly triggering global economic calamity, in order to coerce Obama to adopt their policies. Obama mistakenly took the threat as an opportunity to enter into long-term fiscal policy negotiations. The end result of the fiasco was sequestration: caps on the discretionary portion of the federal budget. Obama assumed that, since the caps were designed to be painful rather than to identify tolerable savings, and since they squeezed defense spending in particular, Republicans would be willing to negotiate to lift them.

They werent, though. Republicans instead decided sequestration was wonderful, the crown jewel of their achievements since taking control of Congress. Sequestration made for bad government, and dragged down the economy, but since Obama didnt like it, Republicans decided they wanted to keep it. Eventually, when defense cuts bothered them too much, they negotiated deals to slightly alleviate the caps year by year. But their insistence that lifting the caps be paid for by finding offsetting savings made it hard to negotiate much relief.

The solution to this problem turned out to be simple. Once a Republican held the White House, Republicans simply abandoned the whole idea that sequestration, or anything at all, needed to be paid for. They have happily reverted to the Bush-era practice of putting everything on the national credit card. Not only has this allowed them to cut taxes and lift sequestration, they are also ready to finance an infrastructure bill through deficit spending  a position they adamantly opposed under Obama.

Republicans are implementing fiscal stimulus on the largest scale since 2009. One could make the case (as Eric Levitz does) that, despite low unemployment, additional stimulus is still justified in order to heat up the labor market enough to produce really strong wage growth. Im more persuaded by the need for stimulus when unemployment was above 6 percent, and that its no longer worth the additional debt. Alternatively, one could oppose stimulus now and also in 2009, if you seriously oppose it always. But supporting fiscal stimulus now with unemployment close to 4 percent while opposing it when unemployment was far higher is a position no economist in the world would justify.

And yet that literally-no-economist-supported stance is in fact the stance of the overwhelming majority of the Republican Party.

Whether this represents a conscious strategy of economic sabotage is not exactly an answerable question. The human brain is very good at concocting rationales for our self-interest. Republicans found reason to be receptive to arguments for Keynesianism under Bush, to reject them under Obama, and then to forget their old position under Trump.

What is beyond dispute is the partisan benefit to the Republican Party of these reversals of fiscal conviction that occur every time the White House changes hands. When Democrats passed major social legislation, they had to scratch and claw to offset every dollar of spending  alienating powerful constituencies by making them pony up to cover the cost of Obamacare. Republicans, on the other hand, have had the luxury of letting other people worry about how to pay for their priorities. Obama had to govern with the headwind of a congressional party obstinate about maintaining economically harmful spending caps that its now admitting  by voting to remove them  it didnt even like.

This remarkably bad-faith fiscal policy does not present Democrats with any attractive options. On the one hand, they probably dont want to withhold support for important spending programs just to make life difficult for Trump. On the other, they also dont want to go along with a system in which the government systematically understimulates the economy under Democratic presidents and overstimulates it under Republican ones. The second option is probably the less-bad of the two. At the very least, Democrats should be prepared for the inevitable hypocritical GOP flip back to hysterical deficit-hawkery thats bound to come whenever Democrats win the next presidential election.
Awkward! Photo: Matthias Hangst/Getty Images

The Winter Olympics officially began Friday with the Opening Ceremony in Pyeongchang, and while most eyes were trained on the athletes entering the icy Olympic Stadium, observers of international politics were watching a VIP box where Vice-President Mike Pence was seated a few feet away from Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korean president Kim Jong-un.

Pence, who sat next to his wife Karen, studiously avoided Kim, who was seated with Kim Yong-nam, North Koreas ceremonial head of state, the VPs office said.

Kim Jong Uns sister and Pence, trying very hard to pretend the other isnt there. #OpeningCeremony pic.twitter.com/81lD2tWLUx  ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) February 9, 2018

Earlier Friday, Pence went to even greater lengths to avoid Kim Yong-nam at a dinner put on by South Korean president Moon Jae-in. After showing up late, the VP intended to quickly leave after a photo session. Moon asked him to greet the other dignitaries at the event and Pence did, shaking the hands of everyone at the VIP table except for Kim Yong-nam.

Then he left, which a Moon administration told Reuters was a mere bump during a successful event. By leaving early, Pence missed out on a special dessert  a chocolate representation of the Korean peninsula with a dark chocolate piece of barbed wire laying over it.

 ..    .....     .    .. pic.twitter.com/RsVmd1yWyN  _  (@__bluesuede) February 6, 2018

Despite the attempt by Moon to bring adversaries together, Pence has remained strident in his criticism of North Korea since arriving in Pyeongchang. On Friday, hours before the ceremony, he said, The simple truth is that the time has come for North Korea to permanently abandon its nuclear and ballistic missile ambitions, to recognize there is no future as a member of the family of nations for a nuclear-empowered North Korea.

And then, during the ceremonies, as North and South Korean athletes entered the stadium together under a unified flag, Pence and his wife Karen remained seated while everyone around them rose to applaud.
A conveyor belt sits below excavated land at the Garzweiler open cast lignite mine. Photo: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Due to a combination of prudence and morbid curiosity, a great deal of scholarly research (and journalism) about climate change has focused on the worst of all possible worlds. For scientists running climate-economic models, that nightmare scenario has a concrete definition: In 2011, such researchers established four baseline scenarios for the future of greenhouse gas emissions (ranging from the benign to the catastrophic) for the sake of facilitating comparable studies.

The most fearsome  and widely cited  of these baselines, known as RCP8.5, imagined a year 2100 in which an overpopulated, technologically underdeveloped humanity is digging up and burning every last piece of coal it can find. Thus, by the turn of the next century, coal  the most carbon-intensive major fuel source  would account for 94 percent of the worlds energy supply. In 2015, that figure was 28 percent.

This scenario, and other, less severe hypotheticals that also imagine a resurgence of coal use, have loomed large in both the academic and political debates over climate change. In its most recent report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change cited 210 scenarios that assumed humanity would move toward more carbon-intensive forms of energy in the coming decades.

But a new analysis from researchers at the University of British Columbia suggests that this assumption  and the nightmare scenarios that derive from it  merits less attention than its been given.

Their reasoning is simple. First and foremost, there probably isnt enough extractable coal on the planet to make RCP8.5 possible, even if future humans tried to use that filthiest of fossil fuels for virtually all of their energy needs. Second, theres little basis for thinking that we will become more reliant on carbon-intensive energy sources in the future. For decades, the ratio of greenhouse gas emissions to energy produced (i.e., the carbon intensity of energy) has been going down. And the growing prevalence of natural gas and renewable fuels strongly suggests this trend will continue.

The nightmare scenario looked considerably more plausible just a few years ago, when Chinas consumption of coal was steadily rising. But precisely because that fuel is so dirty, anti-pollution political sentiment has pushed the Chinese government to move aggressively toward renewables, and many experts believe the nations coal consumption has already peaked.

Theres still no guarantee that well be spared the worst of all possible climates. Even without a coal resurgence, there are plenty of other forces that could upend encouraging trends, including feedback from the warming weve already built in  like, for example, a surge of methane emissions from melting permafrost. Furthermore, there remains a lot that we dont know about how the climate will evolve. One recent study found that aerosols, tiny atmospheric particles found in air pollution, may be suppressing global temperatures by as much a 1.1 degrees Celsius. If true, this would mean that reductions in greenhouse gas emissions would have a less significant effect on global temperatures than previously thought, as they would produce a concomitant decrease in the atmosphere aerosol content.

Nonetheless, there is some reason to think weve been overestimating the likelihood of total catastrophe. Which isnt to say that humanity doesnt need to radically ramp up its efforts to combat climate change. In fact, this new research suggests that international efforts arent aggressive enough: If the baseline trend points toward a greater degree of passive decarbonization  reductions in greenhouse emissions through the evolution of energy markets  then governments have been overestimating the economic costs of setting even more stringent caps on carbon emissions.

And make no mistake: Even if near-term planetary extinction looks unlikely, humanity still has a moral and practical obligation to cut emissions as quickly as possible. The worst-case scenario may be less likely than we thought. But very, very bad scenarios remain almost certain. Climate change is already devastating and destabilizing whole regions of the Earth and increasing the intensity and frequency of extreme weather.
This is just a guess, but with PepsiCos U.S. launch this week of a sparkling water called bubly, with fruit flavour names  cherrybubly, lemonbubly  the marketing team at the food and beverage giant likely has in mind a consumer profile that skews young and female.

The zero-calorie fizzy drink, with no artificial flavours or sweeteners, comes in colour-coded cans imprinted with personal messages meant to elicit maximum enjoyment and smiles. An example: love at first phssst.

I suppose the introduction of the new drink could trigger complaints from consumers objecting to seemingly sexist beverages in the same way that comments from PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi about Doritos consumption lit a firestorm over so-called Lady Doritos.

For those who missed it, in a podcast interview with Freakonomics author Stephen Dubner that addressed such issues as the corporate struggles facing women at the top, Nooyi was asked about gender differences in chip eating.

The chief executive noted that women dont pour those little broken end bits and those dusty flavour particles into their mouths from a single serving bag the way men do. And they dont lick their fingers generously, Nooyi said, adding that PepsiCo will soon be launching snacks designed and packaged differently, snacks that retain the full taste profile without having so much of that residue stick to the fingers.

Social media did its usual social media thing. The excitable Twitterverse hewed to its standard behaviour. One observer noted she was shocked to learn the CEO of PepsiCo is a woman. I mean, how can a woman have such retrograde thoughts?

This is not helpful.

Consider instead the way Nooyi, who became CEO in October 2006, has reshaped PepsiCo against fierce opposition from activist investor Nelson Peltz, who spent two years waving his near $2-billion (U.S.) investment in the fun-food giant in a threatening manner, insisting that the company be chopped in two.

In the Peltz scenario, snack foods would be spun off from beverages, a strategy against which Nooyi was fiercely opposed.

Consider the attributes that Nooyi brought to the post. A woman. A woman born and bred in India. A woman who bore no assumed status and privilege in the often ruthless corridors of corporate America.

Consider the task at hand: sales of carbonated soft drinks have been on the decline on a consumption and volume sales basis for more than a decade. Consumer tastes continue to veer toward healthier beverages, including water, yet snack sales continue to grow. Last summer, market research firm Mintel explored snacking behaviours and preferences (more than one-quarter of consumers agree that taste is more important than health when choosing a snack) and numbers (sales of salty snacks in the U.S. grew 30 per cent in five years to roughly $11.2 billion in 2016).

Consumers are health conscious. But they like their less-healthy treats too. Its the balance between healthy eating and indulgence. (The salty snack category includes pork rinds.) And as snacking grows (millennials are the most likely to snack four or more times a day) portability and packaging become key.

Now set this against the broad redefinition that Nooyi has brought to PepsiCo, a performance with purpose company that extols long-term results and environmental sustainability. Acquisitions under Nooyi include the Naked Juice Co. and the KeVita probiotic beverage line.

In one of the many forums in which Nooyi has participated, she recalled the reaction of one Boston-based investor who, as she said, took her to the cleaners for her strategy. Who are you, Mother Teresa? We are Americans. We eat chips and we drink soda. Its not your business to transform the company to healthy offerings.

And there have been painful bumps, including a lawsuit over the stated health benefits of Naked Juice. In response, the company made a number of labeling changes, including listing juice ingredients in descending order.

The big picture: PepsiCo has 22 brands that each generate more than $1 billion in sales annually. Nooyi has spoken many times about the difficulties in being a mother to two daughters as she has steered the colossus. You die with guilt, she has said about the challenges of being a good mother on four hours of sleep. She champions increased wages for child care workers and onsite day care.

What do women want? Theres the big picture: equal chances in the work place. And the daily needs: a small flex pack snack.

I note the 100-calorie single-serve packs of SkinnyPop popcorn  no additives, non GMO. Simple ingredients. And clearly a product very much marketed to women.

Two weeks ago Hershey Co. completed the purchase of SkinnyPops parent for $1.6 billion (U.S.), an acquisition that brought with it Tyrrells hand-baked potato chips, the crisps with no iffy ingredients. No doubt Nooyi took note. In PepsiCos last annual report, the company trumpeted its conquest of frying a potato chip with 20 per cent less fat.

I tell you all this to bring nuance to the Doritos imbroglio. Here is something else I learned: The orange powder from Cheetos is called cheetle. I dont know the name for the Doritos equivalent, other than the obvious: Doritos Dust.

jenwells@thestar.ca
A longtime Hollywood exec who served as Rose McGowans manager when the actress was allegedly raped by Harvey Weinstein died by suicide Wednesday amid a slew of media attention her family says made her collateral damage in the pairs war of words.

Jill Messicks family said in a statement obtained by the Daily News that she had battled depression for many years, but had recently been victimized by allegations put forth by McGowan and the subsequent response from Weinstein.

The former Miramax production executive was McGowans manager in January 1997, when the actress has claimed she was raped by Weinstein in a hotel suite at the Sundance Film Festival.

Read more:

Rose McGowans rape allegations against Harvey Weinstein a bold lie, lawyer says

Rose McGowans Brave: a voice that wont be silenced

Harvey Weinsteins ex-assistant claims she had to clean up his used condoms and more

In October, McGowan told The New York Times that her meeting with Weinstein was arranged by Messick and that she was comforted by the manager after divulging details of the attack.

McGowans long-buried story has gained renewed interest as she makes the rounds promoting her upcoming memoir, Brave. Last month, she revealed the details of Weinsteins alleged assault for the first time, claiming he performed oral sex on her in a hot tub without her consent.

In response, Weinsteins attorney Ben Brafman put out a lengthy statement shooting down McGowans claims with a quote attributed to Messick.

The statement alleges McGowan told Messick, 50, about the encounter shortly after it happened, but described it as consensual.

In an email to Mr. Weinstein regarding the encounter, Jill Messick says the following, When we met up the following day, she hesitantly told me of her own accord that during the meeting that night before she had gotten into a hot tub with Mr. Weinstein. She was very clear about the fact that getting into that hot tub was something that she did consensually and that in hindsight it was also something that she regretted having done, the statement read.

Being dragged into the middle of the tumultuous allegations in such a way took a toll on Messick, her family said.

Jill was victimized by our new culture of unlimited information sharing and a willingness to accept statement as fact. The speed of disseminating information has carried mistruths about Jill as a person, which she was unable and unwilling to challenge, they said.

She became collateral damage in an already horrific story ... Jill was many things, but she was not a liar.

The family said Messick had kept quiet as the he-said she-said between McGowan and Weinstein dragged on for fear of undermining the many individuals who came forward in truth.

The family also recounted Messicks version of events, alleging that she sent her part of the Brafman statement before McGowans Times piece was published, and that it was released months later without her consent.

Seeing her name in headlines again and again, as part of one persons attempt to gain more attention for her personal cause, along with Harveys desperate attempts to vindicate himself, was devastating for her, their statement read.

Anne Heche added herself to the growing list of women who have accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault. The Six Days, Seven Nights star said Tuesday on a podcast that the disgraced movie mogul fired her after she refused to give him oral sex.

Messicks family also described her battle with bipolar disorder, and how the slanderous allegations broke her just as she was getting her life back on track.

What made Roses inaccurate accusations and insinuations against Jill ironic was that she was the first person who stood up on Roses behalf, and alerted her bosses to the horrific experience which Rose suffered, they said, maintaining that Messick had handled the situation properly at the time.

They claimed McGowan never once mentioned the word rape in their post-assault conversation, but that Messick nevertheless attempted to solve the situation, only to be told it was being handled.

The familys lengthy statement wrapped up with a reminder to readers that words matter, and the media should not take them lightly.

We cannot forget that the media is a fearsome tool which cannot be used indiscriminately or even inadvertently to create further victims, they wrote.

In addition to her time at Miramax from 1997 to 2003, Messick also worked at the Paramount-based Lorne Michaels Productions and served as an executive producer on films such as Baby Mama and Hot Rod.

Tina Fey, Messicks colleague on the 2004 film Mean Girls, remembered her as a fiercely dedicated producer and a kind person to The Hollywood Reporter.

Daniel Franzese, who played Damian in the film, also paid tribute, writing on Twitter that she was a joy to work with.

Messick is survived by two children, their father, her father, a brother and partner Dan Shuck.
Those of us who have never fled a war-torn homeland may assume that for those who have, moving to a peaceable country like Canada marks the end of their troubles.

What we might not realize is new, personal battles may just be beginning. Thats the territory Toronto author Djamila Ibrahim explores in Things Are Good Now, a collection of nine fictional short stories of East African migrants.

Ibrahim has lived the migrant experience herself. Born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, she moved to Canada with her family in 1990; she has also worked as an adviser for Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

The opener, Little Copper Bullets, follows the intense Aisha, a former Eritrean soldier who for years led troops on the battlefield, an AK-47 slung over her shoulder. After the war, demobilized and seeing new jobs go to the men, she moves to Canada but can only find work cleaning public toilets and doing hospital laundry. To complicate matters, her boyfriend, Adam, is from Ethiopia, Eritreas longtime enemy. When war breaks out there again, Aisha must decide where her loyalties lie.

In Not a Small Thing, intellectual activist Selam chooses to don the hijab and is then assaulted because of it. Her best friend, who had tried to talk her out of wearing it, must process a complex array of emotions.

The titular story, You Made Me Do This focuses on grieving mother Mariam, who almost died to bring her family to Ottawa, only to have her son Ismail fall in with the wrong crowd and get killed. Dazed, Mariam struggles to make sense of the tragedy, even confronting her own role. At least, where she grew up, people clearly knew they were at war, Ibrahim writes.

The theme of personal conflicts, daily humiliations and hidden struggles is a running thread. Days after arriving in Canada, a woman experiences sheer terror when she emerges from her cleaning shift after dark to find snow blanketing the city, erasing all the landmarks shed painstakingly memorized. A Black man watches white peoples mannerisms by day and carefully practices them in front of his bathroom mirror at night.

Ibrahim writes with intensity and empathy, drawing believably complex characters who are understandably torn between bleak alternatives.

Things Are Good Now feels fresh and raw and real. Amid the disheartening racism and sexism are the pull of patriotism, the solidity of traditionalism and ultimately, mercifully, the power of even small glimpses of optimism.

Journalist Marcia Kaye is a frequent contributor to these pages.
In 2014 playwright Jordan Tannahill became the youngest-ever winner of the Governor Generals Award for Drama. Now, still not 30, he has published a semi-fictional memoir. This is whats known as a fast start for a literary career.

The genre Tannahill is working is a hot one, sometimes referred to as the autobiographical novel or autofiction. Think names like Karl Ove Knausgard. The reader is given to understand that the people and events being described are, broadly speaking, real, but they are being presented and arranged in such a way as to heighten their dramatic effect. As Tannahill puts, describing his Toronto theatre project Videofag in terms that could just as easily be applied to Liminal, it is both art and life . . . a sort of hyper-real portrait of a slightly more mundane reality.

This is having ones cake and eating it, since we have a tendency to accept that what were getting in Liminal is a true story, even if we have no idea how much of it really is. Thats a big part of what makes these books so popular. An enhanced reality may be even better than the real thing.

Read more:

Jordan Tannahills Concord Floral returns to Toronto

Jordan Tannahill gives us history for the disempowered: review

A cacophonous homage to Videofag

Tannahill begins with the moment that gives the novel its title and theme. On the morning of Sat. Jan. 21, 2017 he stands in the doorway, on the threshold, of his mothers bedroom, not sure if she is alive or dead. And so she will remain, suspended between life and death, for the rest of the book.

The liminal state between life and death, subject and object, soul and body, self and other, fact and fiction, along with countless other binaries, is frequently returned to (and sometimes has to be shoehorned in). Meanwhile, as Jordan stands waiting in the doorway, he proceeds to tell his story of the life of the playwright as a young man.

It is more a personal than a professional life, with the emphasis less on his writing, which he scarcely mentions, than on his most significant relationships. These include his mother, of course, but also a friend named Ana and several different mentors and lovers. These relationships, in turn, are milestones on a journey of self-discovery. As borders break down in liminal space I am all the bodies through which Ive known my body and all the people through which Ive known my person.

It all makes for a fun read, even if its not as revealing as one would expect. Tannahill is a good writer, a natural storyteller with a strong sense of narrative rhythm as well as the ability to launch into almost mystical flights of poetic vision, but hes not into the kind of obsessive self-examination that Knausgard and others have popularized. The book has an immediacy boosted by the fact that what hes mainly describing are very recent events, unfiltered by mature reflection, but at the same time one gets the sense that a great deal is being held in reserve.

To take just one example, its never clear how Tannahill (who, as noted, doesnt talk about his own writing much) makes a living. In North America, for whatever reason, money is a more taboo subject than sex. Our narrator confesses to appearing in some porn films but never says how he pays the rent. I doubt the porn would be enough. At one point his mother comes to visit him and he is relieved that she she didnt ask me how I was making my money lately and I think we both knew that was for the best. The rest is silence.

We might agree in considering that silence a relief, at least in this case, but in presenting an autofictional confession certain rules of disclosure apply. One neednt be explicit, but one cant be coy.

Liminal gives us little sense that Tannahill is someone struggling to understand his life, but it may be that he hasnt come to that point yet. Again were reminded of how young he is. Instead of thoughts recollected in tranquility, he concludes with a climactic paean to the raw, sensual experience of life, taking us with him as his own liminal state collapses and he rejoices in a new physical contact with the world. This is not someone looking back on his life, but being born again.

Alex Good is a frequent contributor to these pages
There is a strip of Lawrence Ave. E. in Scarborough lined with shawarma shops that reflect the various culinary regions of the Middle East, food writer Suresh Doss told me the other day.

(Its) is a unicorn of sorts, he said. Nowhere else can you find so many different cuisines of the Levant represented on one walkable strip.

His words made my mouth water. Shawarma, the thinly shaved meat slow-cooked on a spit, topped with garlic and hot sauce and served with bread or rice, is one of my favourite foods. I knew I had to ask him to take me on a shawarma crawl.

An influx of immigrants from Middle Eastern nations in the late 80s and early 90s, and more recently, Syria, has turned the Wexford Maryvale area of Scarborough into a prime destination for Middle Eastern dining.

Shawarma originated in the Levant region of the Middle East.

On the strip between Pharmacy and Warden Aves., there is Lebanese-style shawarma rolled in a crispy flatbread called markook, juicy chicken shawarma piled into a fluffy Iraqi bun known as samoon and a slightly unorthodox version at an unassuming burger joint that uses curry seasoning in their shawarma.

Doss, who has a weekly food segment on CBC Metro Morning, spent the better part of a chilly January afternoon with me sampling the different ways shawarma is prepared. Heres what we found.

Ghadir Meat & Restaurants chicken shawarma plate

Butcher shop Ghadir has been the go-to source for halal meat and groceries since opening in 1991. In the last year owner Ali Dbouk moved the business across the street, to a larger location on the north side of Lawrence Ave. E. He has added a restaurant that serves charcoal-grilled kebabs, piping hot lahm ajeen (Lebanese pizzas) and shawarmas.

The shawarmas at Ghadir are wrapped in markook (also called saj), an ultra-thin, slightly crispy unleavened flatbread cooked on a hot, domed griddle thats popular throughout Lebanon and other Levantine countries including Syria. The juicy and thinly sliced chicken shawarma is seasoned with a secret blend of eight to nine spices sourced in Lebanon.

We bring in whole animals and take it apart ourselves, so we know where the meat is coming from and how its prepared, says Dbouk. On weekends, cooks stack piles of meat on a spit to form gigantic shawarma logs weighing between 165 to 220 lbs. The restaurant, which is open till midnight most days and until 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, will go through two of them on a Saturday.

The restaurant gets its bread from a local bakery but in the coming months Ghadir is expanding to include a bakery and a fish counter. The new saj griddles have already arrived from Lebanon.

Shawarma platter ($10 to $16)

1846-1848 Lawrence Ave. E.; 416-750-7404, ghadirmeatmarket.com

Shawarma Empires beef shawarma and falafel

Beef shawarma can make or break a restaurant, says owner Ahed Darwish. Unlike chicken, beef shawarma isnt typically marinated so the quality of the meat cant hide behind a tornado of seasoning. At the cash-only Shawarma Empire, AAA inside round roast (a lean cut from the cows hind leg ideal for slow-roasting and thin-slicing) is lightly seasoned with olive oil, salt and a secret blend of spices that doesnt overshadow the beef. The tasty house-made hot sauce offers a hint of acidity that brightens the taste of the beef cooked to medium doneness on the spit. The meat is served in a pita rather than a wrap, which is how they do it back home in Tulkarm, a city in the West Bank, Darwish says.

Dont leave without trying the falafel, which are made-to-order and fried to a hot, crispy crust with a creamy centre of mashed chickpeas, parsley and a hint of cilantro.

Shawarma sandwich ($5.55)

Falafel plate ($7.99)

1823 Lawrence Ave. E; 416-285-1337

Nasibs chicken and beef shawarma plates

You will always find a small crowd at this little shawarma shop run by husband and wife team Emad Bahloul and Sabrin Shhade for the past 17 years. Its a toss-up between ordering the beef or chicken shawarma. The super-juicy chicken is hard to resist: ultra moist with strong notes of lemon that compliments the smoky, lightly charred meat. While Bahloul is proud of his shawarma the most, the tender shish tawook (meat skewers) is also worth trying on a platter with salad, pickles, hummus and a sprinkling of sumac with a mountain of rice. The couple previously lived in the coastal Israeli city of Haifa, so youll also find whole fish on the menu.

Shish tawook plate ($10.99)

Side of extra shawarma meat ($3.99)

1867 Lawrence Ave. E, 416-285-7223, nasibsshawarma.com

Al Tanoors chicken shawarma with samoon or biryani

This is one of the few places in the city to put shawarma in a freshly baked samoon, a fluffy Iraqi bread garnished with toasted sesame seeds that the Adel family bakes in a stone oven throughout the day. Back home, samoon is like the sandwich bun. We eat it with everything and every morning someone in the family would go to the corner bakery to get it, says Roze Adel, who makes about 150 to 200 samoons with her mom on an average day. Its a tricky bread to master, as it requires four proofing stages and just the right amount of pressure when kneading the dough to get the bread at its fluffiest.

The chicken shawarma is seasoned with bay leaves, cloves, orange and a slew of secret spices to give it a distinct warm citrus spice flavour unlike anywhere else. Be sure to also get a side of the familys aromatic biryani (the 11-spice blend is another family secret) and a dollop of the incredibly hot chili sauce made by Rozes father.

Shawarma plate ($12.40)

Shawarma sandwich ($6.20)

1993 Lawrence Ave. E; 647-341-6000

Yummis Burger and Shawarmas curry-spiced chicken shawarma

A hint of curry seasoning is what gives Yummis chicken shawarma a distinct yellow tinge, says owner Mohammad Golazade, who took cues from the Indian and Sri-Lankan residents in the neighbourhood to give his shawarma a touch of South Asian flair. Shawarma is usually Lebanese or Turkish but this is our own style, says Golazade.

The added spice results in a deliciously slow burn after biting into the shawarma, which is topped with garlic sauce; a drizzle of house-made hot sauce akin to Buffalo hot sauce but spicier and more flavourful; and lots of finely chopped parsley for a burst of colour and fresh flavour to contrast with the slow-cooked meat.

Chicken shawarma combo ($11.50)

Chicken shawarma sandwich ($7)

2018 Lawrence Ave. E; 647-349-2222

karonliu@thestar.ca
In Jordans extraordinary rose-red Lost City of Petra, I have just huffed up 700 zigzagging stone-carved steps to the ancient mountaintop High Place of Sacrifice, with its sacred altar and goat blood drain. And now, along a dirt trail, I rest in a rug-draped souvenir stall. An octogenarian Bedouin woman, who grew up in a cave and now is clad traditionally in a long embroidered madraga dress, deftly strings a fragrant necklace of dried cloves to sell me.

Way down below, camels with tasselled bridles emit rumbling, dinosaurlike roars while being led by robed Bedouin tribesmen whose eyes are rimmed in jet-black kohl liner. Other Indigenous Bedouins, head scarves atop their flowing ringlets, strangely resemble Johnny Depps Jack Sparrow character as they trot on donkeys (you want air-conditioned taxi?) past monolithic, 2,000-year-old tombs.

Mystical, mind-blowing Petra literally rocks. Around the first century B.C., the now-extinct Nabataean people ingeniously chiselled the capital of their Arab empire from sheer sandstonecliffs; at times 30,000 inhabitants bustled about the affluent metropolis that was a major trade stopover for incense- and spice-toting camel caravans. Stretching across harsh desert terrain (Petras archeological park encompasses 264 square kilometres), the once-forgotten marvel includes intricate temples, cave dwellings, a theatre, obelisks honouring pagan gods, and etchings of snakes, lions and eagles. It holds more than 600 massive burial chambers, all hewn from soaring rock faces that glow bewitchingly in swirling hues of terra cotta, apricot and blush pink.

Petra is one of the worlds biggest mysteries, says Omar, my Jordanian guide with Exodus Travels. There is no record of history. And 65 per cent of Petra is still underneath our feet, hidden by dust.

For almost two weeks, I traverse much of Jordan by bus with Exodus, an adventure company that also brings us 16 intrepid voyagers to the less-visited far reaches of this Middle East nation. Petra is Jordans primo tourist draw, but elsewhere were the only ones clambering over archeological ruins of a mosaic-splashed Roman fort and a Muslim dynastys frescoed castles in no mans land. History mixes with the present. Driving through the bleak parched desert, we pass a sprawling Syrian refugee camp housing 36,000 in rows of white shelters; Jordan has taken in about a million people who have fled war-torn nation to its north.

Before joining our group, I spend two days in the vibrant old quarters of capital Amman. I clearly stick out and locals repeatedly ask where Im from. This is a Muslim country and when I say America, they all warmly reply, Welcome to Jordan, often with their hands placed over their hearts. Im probably welcomed 100 times  in taxis, cafes (while I eat mezze plates of hummus and falafel), shops, hookah bars and streets lined with bowing worshippers outside a minaret-topped mosque.

Its the start of a cultural odyssey. With Exodus, I also retrace the exploits of T.E. Lawrence, a.k.a. Lawrence of Arabia, the dashing British officer who gained fame in the First World War for leading the legendary Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Turks. Pre-trip, I rewatched David Leans 1962 Oscar-winning epic Lawrence of Arabia, so its eerie to stand in the gravely quiet courtyard of Qasr Al Azraq, the storied black basalt fortress where Lawrence and his Bedouin troops plotted attacks during the winter of 1917.

Another day, Im bouncing in the blanketed bed of a Bedouin-driven Toyota pickup tearing across the UNESCO-listed Wadi Rum desert, nicknamed Valley of the Moon for its rippling peach-pink sands pierced by titan sandstone and granite peaks. Lawrence and his guerrilla rebels made their base here in 1917-18, and decades later director Lean filmed the cinematic classic in this otherworldly locale. (Planetwise, Wadi Rum also subbed for Mars in the 2015 Oscar nominee The Martian.)

Near a commemorative rock carving of Lawrences face, we stop at a rectangular tent woven from black goats hair and occupied by hospitable Bedouins, who offer us cardamon-and-sage tea. First, one of them has us stick out our forearms and rolls on a soaplike perfume. Its gazelle innards, Omar says afterward. Yuck.

Most of the Bedouins I meet speak only Arabic, so Omar gladly translates. He says, You are a camel.

A what?

It means you are beautiful, because camels are beautiful with their long eyelashes.

I sit my hump down and enjoy the steaming sweet tea, cooked in a charred brass kettle over a rudimentary fire pit. Because Muslims avoid alcohol, tea is a main social drink in Jordan, and youre constantly offered a cup in friendship. (Youll find non-alcoholic beers and non-alcoholic wines on some menus, but the rare place I hoist a glass of Cab is outside Petras gate at the 2,000-year-old Cave Bar, touted as the worlds oldest saloon. Indeed there are spirits; its a former Nabataean family tomb.)

In Wadi Rum, I sleep inside a goat-hair tent in a rustic Bedouin camp set against wind-buffeting cliffs on the desert floor until at 4 a.m. I am awakened by a distant muezzins melodic call to prayer and, after that, a roosters shrill cock-a-doodle-doo.

Next I wake up the entire camp shrieking as I clumsily mount my ride. Yalla, yalla, Rashid gently urges his herd of five sibling camels, meaning Lets go, and soon with just one other traveller, we have the pre-dawn moonscape to ourselves.

Atop cud-chewing Aliya, I hypnotically watch the flaming sunrise turn the unending vastness a radiant gold. For 90 beyond-belief minutes, the only sounds are the camels feet softly sinking into the powdery dunes and the chirping of Sinai rosefinches. A well-fed stray dog joins our pack, funnily bringing up the rear.

Every day of our itinerary, we hit an archeological treasure. I feel like Im in Italy as I wander the immense 2,000-year-old Roman city of Jerash, dubbed the Pompeii of the Middle East for its well-preserved ruins buried for centuries by blown sand. Cultures humorously collide: Two Bedouins, head-scarfed with red-and-white checkered kaffiyehs, toot Yankee Doodle Dandy on bagpipes in the Corinthian-columned amphitheatre near the chariot hippodrome.

Petra, though, is the jackpot. Abandoned in the seventh century, it was rediscovered by a Swiss explorer in 1812 and became a UNESCO heritage site in 1985. To get to the hidden-away ancient city, you have to trek through the dramatic narrow Siq, a nearly mile-long slot canyon sandwiched by 24-storey-high veiny rock edifices and at times only three metres wide. Nature-created formations stare down in the shapes of elephants and skulls. At the end, the Siq cracks open to reveal the grandstanding, rock-whittled funerary-urn-crowned Treasury, likely a former temple. Harrison Ford galloped up to the fantastical facade in the 1989 movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, in search of the Holy Grail.

After dark, I return for the corny-cool Petra by Night ceremony. Even with my flashlight I can barely see as I stumble through the ghostly Siq, lit only by hundreds of luminaria candles, and then sit in the luminaria-lit dirt in front of the shadowy Treasury. Bedouins play a flute and rababa string instrument before the big reveal  spotlights suddenly bathe the Treasury in changing psychedelic colours.

Over two days I walk 37 kilometres in Petra because the scenes wont quit. On the High Place of Sacrifice climb, I smell the pungent smoke of juniper branches, and soon a Bedouin man is hawking me a morning shot of Arabic coffee heated by a campfire teetering on a killer-view ridge. Later, as my elderly new friend Hammadeh strings that clover necklace in her ramshackle stall, she tells me through interpreter Omar how she once lived in a cave in Petra and still follows the old ways, herding her sheep and goats. Without tourism, she frets, she has no money. I thank God. I thank God for everything, she says as I buy three more necklaces.

Petras most jaw-dropping high place is the Monastery, accessible by hoofing up nearly 1,000 Nabataean-cut steep steps. After the paths last bend, this mammoth stone temple  its 47 metres wide  magically pops out of a remote mountainside towering over my puny presence. From the Monastery, I continue ascending a boulder-strewn trail until next to a grazing gray donkey I see a piece of scrap wood lying against a pile of rubble and hand-scrawled, Welcome to Top of the World Cafe. Up further, I reach the cafe, a tattered, tented platform precariously perched over a rocky ledge in the heavens. And there, a 17-year-old Bedouin named Lost (because youre always found, he smiles) offers me another cup of tea, this one with a sprig of mint.

IF YOU GO

Exodus Travels offers the 12-day Hidden Treasures of Jordan trip multiple times in 2018. Group size from four to 16 people. Prices from $2,015 (U.S.) include accommodations, breakfasts, some dinners, guide, entrance fees and transportation, excluding international airfare. exodustravels.com
OTTAWAFormer NDP MP Peter Stoffer is facing allegations of harassment from multiple women, with one former staffer saying many, many people witnessed incidents of harassment and failed to act.

Lauren Dobson-Hughes, a former New Democrat staffer, described two separate incidents of unwanted groping and kissing from Stoffer to the National Post. Two other women spoke to the newspaper confidentially, detailing inappropriate behaviour or lewd comments.

Dobson-Hughes said the first incident was reported to the office of then-NDP leader Jack Layton, but Stoffer was not reprimanded.

Many, many people knew and witnessed harassment by this person. Female caucus members warned staff and each other about it but no male MP or senior staff ever made a warning about another man, Dobson-Hughes wrote in a Twitter post late Thursday night.

When reached by the Star, Dobson-Hughes said she did not wish to discuss the matter further.

Failure to act on harassment is not about due process. It actually involves leadership taking a risk to protect men. Not only are mens electoral chances and careers prioritized over womens safety, but political parties actually expend political capital to protect men, her statement read.

Dobson-Hughes told the Post that, on two separate occasions, Stoffer grabbed her around the waist, pulled her close to him and kissed her. The second incident is alleged to have happened in a lobby next to the House of Commons, where opposition politicians and staff congregate between House duties.

He pulled me really close and groped my waist and then kissed me so hard right on my cheek near my mouth that it left saliva drooling down my cheek, Dobson-Hughes told the paper.

When reached by the Star last week, Stoffer categorically denied harassing or assaulting anyone. The Star was not aware of specific allegations against Stoffer at the time, but was pursuing the issue of harassment on the Hill after allegations against provincial and federal politicians.

Stoffer has denied the specific allegations to the National Post, but could not be reached by the Star Thursday night.

The reality is that if anyone is making accusations against me, either in terms of harassment or assault in any way shape or form, that is simply wrong, Stoffer said in the interview last week.

I can be accused of, say, some bad jokes. Maybe some sick humour, but in that regard (concerning harassment) no. Ive never done anything of that nature in my past.

Stoffer, who represented the rural Nova Scotia riding of SackvilleEastern Shore from 1997 to 2015, described his previous occupation as a country gentleman on the official parliamentary website. He was well-known and well-liked on the Hill, winning multiple awards for his collegiality.

He was also a mainstay in Ottawas official party circuit, helping to organize the now-discontinued All Party Party, a cross-partisan fundraiser involving drinking and dancing with politicians, staff, journalists and other Hill denizens.

Stoffers office was also a well-known after-party spot, featuring a pool table, a dart board, and a well-stocked bar.

It was at one of those after-parties that one woman, speaking to the Post confidentially, claimed that Stoffer asked her to sit on the pool table to distract his opponent during his shot.

In a statement Thursday night, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said the party is reviewing its policies to protect staff and MPs from harassment  while acknowledging those policies were insufficient in the past.

I believe the women who came forward and I want to acknowledge their courage and strength. Its clear our anti-harassment policies and protections for workers were insufficient and failed to appropriately deal with this behaviour, said Singh, who restated the party is currently reviewing those policies.

We are committed to changing the culture in and around Parliament Hill. Men in positions of power must take responsibility for creating safe spaces free from any form of harassment or sexual violence.
SAN FRANCISCOPrime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday pitched Canadian globalism and the countrys new fast-track visa as reasons why Silicon Valley companies should consider Canada as a place to do business and spend money.

Trudeau brought his charm offensive to the San Francisco Bay area amid increasing unease over U.S. immigration policy and while talks continue over the North American Free Trade Agreement.

The heated debate over immigration since the election of U.S. President Donald Trump has provided a clear opening for Canada to promote itself.

As American employers worry about access to foreign workers, Canada is offering a two-week, fast-track employment permit for certain workers, dubbed the global skills strategy visa.

Read more:

Trudeau to Facebook: Fix your fake news problem or face stricter regulations

Buckle up: Final NAFTA talks will be a bumpy ride

Trudeau meeting Amazon CEO as Toronto vies for new HQ

Government-sponsored billboards in Silicon Valley pitch: H1-B Problems? Pivot to Canada. Recruiters from cities in Canada attend Canadian university alumni events in the valley, urging graduates to come home to your next career move in the Great White North.

Trudeau demurred when asked whether Trumps immigration efforts are making the sales pitch easier, pointing to the power of globalism.

We know that bringing in great talent from around the world is an enormous benefit, not just to the companies that want to do that, but to Canadian jobs and to our country as a whole, so were going to continue to do that, he said.

His stops Thursday were designed to showcase recruiting successes.

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff announced the online business software company will invest another $2 billion in its Canadian operations.

And San Francisco-based AppDirect, an online management platform whose co-CEO first met Trudeau in political science class at McGill University in Montreal, said it would add another 300 jobs in Canada over the next five years.

Trudeau is also meeting with Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos, as Bezos considers the location for its second headquarters. Toronto, which has created a government-sponsored innovation hub for tech companies, was the only one of several Canadian cities that applied to make the shortlist.

The San Francisco Bay area has become increasingly important to the Canadian government, said Rana Sarkar, the consul general of Canada in San Francisco. He said it fits with the innovation strategy the Trudeau government has promoted since its election in 2015.

Its the global epicentre for many of these revolutions. We need to be here both offensively to ensure that were telling our story . . . and were also here defensively to ensure that were here at the table when the decisions about the next economy are made, Sarkar said.

Trudeaus stop in San Francisco also highlights the already strong ties between Canada and California, particularly in research, academia and technology.

Although much of the attention on the North American Free Trade Agreement has focused on physical commodities such as vehicle manufacturing, dairy and timber, skilled workers have also become increasingly mobile between the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Google built its latest DeepMind artificial intelligence facility at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, after several of its graduates came to work on the project.

The next round of talks over the 24-year-old trade pact in Mexico later this month loomed over Trudeaus visit. Trump has called the agreement a job-killing disaster on the campaign trail and has threatened to withdraw from it if he cant get what he wants.

The lengthy talks have increased the political pressure and the rhetoric in Canada, where the stakes are high.

Trudeau declined to talk about specifics Thursday, but said Canada wants an agreement that is win-win-win for all three countries.

Were going to continue to make an argument that its not enough to just trade, we have to ensure that the benefits of trade are properly and fairly shared, he said.

There are hundreds, maybe thousands  no one can say for sure  of Canadians in the tech industry in Northern California, many of them on visas made possible through the trade pact.

Without NAFTA, those (jobs) go away. That could cause immediate disruption for the tech community on both sides of the border, said Daniel Ujczo, an international trade lawyer based in Columbus, Ohio, who has been part of the talks, now in their sixth round.

Its unfortunately not an area that is up for discussion. Canada and Mexico keep raising worker mobility issues, but the U.S. wont discuss it, he said.

Trudeau will meet with Gov. Jerry Brown and Lt.-Gov. Gavin Newsom, both Democrats, on Friday before he travels to Southern California to deliver a speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

The location is a symbolic choice, referring to the long-standing trade relationship between the U.S. and Canada. In 1988, Reagan and then-prime minister Brian Mulroney signed the first free trade agreement  a precursor to NAFTA.

Read more about:
EDMONTONAn Alberta United Conservative legislature member who resigned abruptly is facing charges of sex assault and sexual interference with a minor.

Don MacIntyre was charged last week, but the case had been put under a sweeping publication ban that was lifted Friday by a Red Deer judge.

MacIntyre, who is 62, was a first-term legislature member for the constituency of Innisfail-Sylvan Lake, in central Alberta. He was elected for the Wildrose party in 2015 and later joined the merged United Conservative Party.

He left caucus Feb. 2 and formally resigned his seat Monday, just days after the charges were laid.

He could not be reached for comment Friday. He has not made a public statement on the matter except for a tweet on Feb. 2.

Hi folks, he posted. Resigning from politics today to focus on our family. Thanks everyone!

United Conservative Leader Jason Kenney said in a statement that he and the party were unaware of the investigation until MacIntyre phoned them Feb. 2 to say he had been charged and was resigning.

I was shocked and disgusted to learn of the serious criminal charges filed against former MLA Don MacIntyre, wrote Kenney. There are few crimes more vile than sexual crimes against children.

Our thoughts at this time are with the victim, who I hope will have strength and courage in the months and years ahead.

Kenney said that the United Conservatives supported a court application to lift the publication ban on MacIntyres name.

Justice Glen Poehlman agreed Friday with arguments that the justice of the peace who originally ordered the sweeping ban had made an error in law.

MacIntyre was the partys critic for electricity and renewables.

Read more about:
NYU students hold a rally calling for the school to become a sanctuary campus in November 2016. Photo: Erik McGregor/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

Over the last year, the most common rebuttal to my intermittent coverage of campus culture has been: Why does it matter? These are students, after all. Theyll grow up once they leave their cloistered, neo-Marxist safe spaces. The real world isnt like that. Youre exaggerating anyway. And so on. I certainly see the point. In the world beyond campus, few people use the term microaggressions without irony or an eye roll; claims of white supremacy, rape culture, or white privilege can seem like mere rhetorical flourishes; racial and gender segregation hasnt been perpetuated in the workplace yet; the campus Title IX sex tribunals where, under the Obama administration, the preponderance of evidence rather than the absence of a reasonable doubt could ruin a young mans life and future are just a product of a hothouse environment. And I can sometimes get carried away.

The reason I dont agree with this is because I believe ideas matter. When elite universities shift their entire worldview away from liberal education as we have long known it toward the imperatives of an identity-based social justice movement, the broader culture is in danger of drifting away from liberal democracy as well. If elites believe that the core truth of our society is a system of interlocking and oppressive power structures based around immutable characteristics like race or sex or sexual orientation, then sooner rather than later, this will be reflected in our culture at large. What matters most of all in these colleges  your membership in a group that is embedded in a hierarchy of oppression  will soon enough be what matters in the society as a whole.

And, sure enough, the whole concept of an individual who exists apart from group identity is slipping from the discourse. The idea of individual merit  as opposed to various forms of unearned privilege  is increasingly suspect. The Enlightenment principles that formed the bedrock of the American experiment  untrammeled free speech, due process, individual (rather than group) rights  are now routinely understood as mere masks for white male power, code words for the oppression of women and nonwhites. Any differences in outcome for various groups must always be a function of hate, rather than a function of nature or choice or freedom or individual agency. And anyone who questions these assertions is obviously a white supremacist himself.

Polarization has made this worse  because on the left, moderation now seems like a surrender to white nationalism, and because on the right, white identity politics has overwhelmed moderate conservatism. And Trump plays a critical role. His crude, bigoted version of identity politics seems to require an equal and opposite reaction. And I completely understand this impulse. Living in this period is to experience a daily, even hourly, psychological hazing from the bigot-in-chief. And when this white straight man revels in his torment of those unlike him  and does so with utter impunity among his supporters  theres a huge temptation to respond in kind. A president who has long treated women, in his words, like shit, and bragged about it, is enough to provoke rage in any decent person. But anger is rarely a good frame of mind to pursue the imperatives of reason, let alone to defend the norms of liberal democracy.

And yes, Im not talking about formal rules  but norms of liberal behavior. One of them is a robust public debate, free from intimidation. Liberals welcome dissent because its our surest way to avoid error. Cultural Marxists fear dissent because they believe it can do harm to others feelings and help sustain existing identity-based power structures. Yes, this is not about the First Amendment. The government is not preventing anyone from speaking. But it is about the spirit of the First Amendment. One of the reasons I defended Katie Roiphe against a campaign to preemptively suppress an essay of hers (even to the point of attempting to sabotage an entire issue of Harpers) is because of this spirit. She may be wrong, but that does not make her a hobgoblin whose career needs to be ended. And the impulse to intimidate, vilify, ruin, and abuse a writer for her opinions chills open debate. This is a real-world echo of the campus habit of disrupting speakers, no-platforming conservatives, and shouting people down. But now this reflexive hostility to speech is actually endorsed by writers and editors. Journalism itself has become a means of intimidating journalists.

An entirely intended byproduct of this kind of bullying  and Roiphe is just the latest victim  is silence. If voicing an incorrect opinion can end your career, or mark you for instant social ostracism, you tend to keep quiet. This silence on any controversial social issue is endemic on college campuses, but its now everywhere. Think of the wonderful SNL sketch recently, when three couples at a restaurant stumble onto the subject of Aziz Ansari. No one feels capable of saying anything in public. In the #MeToo debate, the gulf between what Twitter screams and what pops up in your private email in-box is staggering. Its as big a gulf on the left as you find between the public statements and private views of Republicans on Trump. This is compounded by the idea that only a member of a minority group can speak about racism or homophobia, or that only women can discuss sexual harassment. The only reason this should be the case is if we think someones identity is more important than the argument they might want to make. And that campus orthodoxy is now the cultures as a whole.

Microaggressions? How else do you explain how the glorious defenestration of horrific perpetrators of sexual abuse and harassment so quickly turned into a focus on an unwanted hug or an off-color remark? The whole cultural Marxist idea of a microaggression, after all, is that its on a spectrum with macro-aggression. Patriarchy and white supremacy  which define our world  come in micro, mini and macro forms  but its all connected. A bad date is just one end of a patriarchal curve that ends with rape. And thats why left-feminists are not just interested in exposing workplace abuse or punishing sex crimes, but in policing even consensual sex for any hint of patriarchys omnipresent threat.

Privacy? Forget about it. Traditionally, liberals have wanted to see politics debated without regard for the private lives of those in the fray  because personal details can distract from the cogency of the argument. But cultural Marxists see no such distinction. In the struggle against patriarchy, a distinction between the public and private makes no sense. In fact, policing private life  the personal is political, remember  is integral to advancing social justice. Ansari is a test case. I have yet to read an article that accounts for the violation of his dignity. Theres a reason that totalitarian states will strip prisoners of their clothing. Left-feminists delight in doing this metaphorically to targeted men  effectively exposing them naked to public ridicule and examination because it both traumatizes the object and more importantly sits out there as a warning to others.

Due process? Real life is beginning to mimic college tribunals. When the perpetrator of an anonymous list accusing dozens of men of a whole range of sexual misdeeds is actually celebrated by much of mainstream media (see this fawning NYT profile), you realize that we are living in another age of the Scarlet Letter. Moira Donegan has yet to express misgivings about possibly smearing the innocent  because the cause is far more important than individual fairness. Besides, if theyre innocent, theyll be fine! Ezra Klein has openly endorsed campus rules that could frame some innocent men. One of the tweets in response to some of my recent writing on this has stuck in my mind ever since: can anyone justify why the POSSIBLE innocence of men is so much more important than the DEFINITE safety and comfort of women? And yet this principle of preferring ten guilty people to go free rather than one innocent person to be found guilty was not so long ago a definition of Western civilization.

Treating people as individuals rather than representatives of designated groups? Almost every corporation now has affirmative action for every victim-group in hiring and promotion. Workplace codes today read like campus speech codes of a few years ago. Voice dissent from this worldview and youll be designated a bigot and fired (see James Damore at Google). The media is out front on this too. Just as campuses have diversity tsars, roaming through every department to make sure they are in line, we now have a gender editor at the New York Times, Jessica Bennett. Her job is to curate, elevate and expand gender reporting throughout the newsroom. Among her previous work are forums on male abuse of power. Our gender content will exist throughout every section of the paper and be produced in every medium, Bennett explains. And not just gender, of course: I want everything we do to be intersectional in its approach  and race, class, and gender identity are an important part of that. Does she understand that the very word intersectional is a function of neo-Marxist critical race theory? Is this now the guiding philosophy of the paper of record?

Many media organizations now have various private, invitation-only Slack groups among their staffers  and they are often self-segregated into various gender and racial categories along classic campus safe space lines. No men are allowed in womens slack; no non-p.o.c.s in the people-of-color slack; and so on. And, of course, there are no such venues for men  in this Orwellian world, some groups are more equal than others. At The Atlantic, the identity obsession even requires exhaustive analyses of the identity of sources quoted in stories. Ed Yong, a science writer, keeps a personal list of women and people of color who work in the beats that I usually cover, so he can make sure that he advances diversity even in his quotes.

Objective truth? Ha! The culture is now saturated with the concept of your own truth  based usually on your experience of race and gender. In the culture, it is now highly controversial for individuals in one racial/gender group to write about or portray anyone outside it  because there is no art that isnt rooted in identity. Movies are constantly pummeled by critics not for being bad movies but for being problematic on social justice. Books are censored in advance by sensitivity readers to conform with social justice protocols. As for objective reality, I was at an event earlier this week  not on a campus  when I made what I thought was the commonplace observation that Jim Crow laws no longer exist. Uncomprehending stares came back at me. What planet was I on? Not only does Jim Crow still exist, but slavery itself never went away! When I questioned this assertion by an African-American woman, I was told it was not my place to question her reality. After all, Im white.

Look: I dont doubt the good intentions of the new identity politics  to expand the opportunities for people previously excluded. I favor a politics that never discriminates against someone for immutable characteristics  and tries to make sure that as many people as possible feel they have access to our liberal democracy. But what we have now is far more than the liberal project of integrating minorities. It comes close to an attack on the liberal project itself. Marxism with a patina of liberalism on top is still Marxism  and its as hostile to the idea of a free society as white nationalism is. So if you wonder why our discourse is now so freighted with fear, why so many choose silence as the path of least resistance, or why the core concepts of a liberal society  the individuals uniqueness, the primacy of reason, the protection of due process, an objective truth  are so besieged, this is one of the reasons.

The goal of our culture now is not the emancipation of the individual from the group, but the permanent definition of the individual by the group. We used to call this bigotry. Now we call it being woke. You see: We are all on campus now.

Republicans vs. Conservatism

There was a term once critical to any understanding of conservatism as a political philosophy or temperament. It goes by the name of prudence.

You know: the prudence that worries about unintended consequences; that values thrift; that tries to insure itself against future risks; that takes the responsibility of government seriously; that worries about extreme rhetoric; that balances the budget; that insists on constantly taking pains to protect inconvenient constitutional norms; that defends existing institutions. I could go on. It all began with Burkes recoil from the French Revolution. Its an easily mocked political philosophy  often resisting change, fearing the worst, hoping for the best, a reluctant, hedged, sometimes crotchety disposition that prefers an imperfect status quo today to a gleaming revolutionary future tomorrow.

Is there any institution in the West that is currently less conservative than the GOP?

Ive been mulling this question for, well, a couple of decades now, but it snapped back into focus this past week reading this story. Money quote:

The U.S. Treasury expects to borrow $955 billion this fiscal year, according to documents released Wednesday. Its the highest amount of borrowing in six years, and a big jump from the $519 billion the federal government borrowed last year  this is the first time borrowing has jumped this much (as a share of GDP) in a non-recession time since Ronald Reagan was president 

This is bigger than the stimulus that Obama managed to push through in the face of the worst recession since the 1930s  but this time during peak employment, and in the eighth year of a recovery, on top of record peacetime debt. Just to add to this, the new spending bill under negotiation would add another cool half a trillion to the debt. To call this reckless would be an understatement, and the gravity of this fiscal vandalism is now beginning to filter through the markets.

Basic solvency  something you might think an actual conservative might be concerned about  is not the only Republican assault on prudence. On the environment, you see the same immunity to worry. Theres simply no question that carbon is pushing the global climate into much riskier and more volatile patterns, and that a prudent government would seek to guard against future catastrophe and help wean us toward renewable energy or more nuclear power. Again: just as insurance against the worst-case scenario. There are no real costs to this  at worst you might get some innovative technology that doesnt quite pan out. And yet the GOP is the only major party in the West to respond to climate change by choosing to make the problem worse, by empowering carbon production as much as possible, attempting to curb renewable energy  by adding tariffs to solar panels, for example  and embarking on a massive program of environmental deregulation. On health care, the goal is that least conservative of projects: sabotage. After failing to repeal a measure that gave tens of millions access to health care for the first time, the GOP is not seeking to shore the existing structure up, but to undermine it so it collapses of its own accord. They may not succeed  but its the intention that counts: contempt for consequences.

As for protecting and guarding our system of government, the GOP now routinely treats constitutional norms as entirely dispensable if they in any way constrain partisan objectives. No institution that is integral to our liberal democracy is immune from attack. This includes law enforcement (the FBI), the Justice Department, an independent and free press, the prerogatives of the opposition party, and regular order in the Congress. It is a party that would impeach a State Supreme Court rather than give up its gerrymandered districts. It is a party that refuses to investigate a foreign governments intervention in U.S. elections, let alone take precautions against it happening in the future. In a multicultural America, its cult leader never misses an opportunity to deepen racial divides and to inflame the gender wars. He casually mocks political opponents as traitors to their country, sees the free press as an enemy of the people, and uses his office to claim that over 3 million votes in the last election were fraudulent. Faced with the highest levels of social and economic inequality in a century, the GOP has doubled down on intensifying that very inequality. Even in the area of potential nuclear war, the Republican president issues wild threats, personally taunts and riles an unstable dictator, and starts a new nuclear arms race.

Whatever else this record is, it is an open and outright assault on any concept of prudence, responsibility, or moderation. Which is to say it is an assault on conservatism itself. If there is any future for the conservative soul and mind in America, it will have to start with the wholesale destruction of the current Republican Party. I made that case more than a decade ago now. It never ceases to shock me how inadequate my critique was, given the reckless depravity that now unfolds daily in front of our eyes.

A New Wave of Hate

Are we living through a huge crisis of anti-gay prejudice in this country? Organizations whose funding depends in part on such a crisis  like GLAAD (the LGBTQ media watchdog) and now the NCVAP (National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs)  insist there is. GLAADs evidence was a small shift, potentially within the margin of error, in polls measuring LGBT acceptance. NCVAPs evidence is more impressive at first blush: a staggering 86 percent increase in anti-LGBT homicides in 2017. One commentator  unimpressed by this number  points to a number that is part of this stat: a 400 percent increase in hate-motivated killings of cis-gendered gay men (i.e., 5 to 20).

My friend Wally Olson alerted me to the study behind these claims. The first thing to note is that the studies are just of those murders discovered by or reported to the NCVAP  by no means a representative sample of anything. The second caveat is that the numbers do not count the 49 homicides in the Pulse nightclub killing in 2016. If you did, 2017 saw a 32 percent decline in such homicides, from 77 to 52. The third thing to note is that the details of only 34 of the 52 murders are known  and so we simply do not know the motive for 18 of them. Even of that 34, evidence of hate is very murky. I read each profile of each murder NCVAP provided and only a handful had solid evidence of bias. What we do know is that of the 34 victims, around a third were related to an online or personal ad hookup, and a third related to someone the victim knew. Maybe these were about homophobia. Maybe they were incurred during an attempted robbing or burglary. But NCVAP does not know. Murders of gay people are not the same as murders of gay people for being gay. Of the several thousand male homicides a year, wouldnt some of them have to be of gay men?

If there is a crisis, it is a continuing one for transgender women of color. Their lives are fraught with threats and danger. A report that sought to figure out how we can improve things for these most vulnerable people would be helpful. A report that hypes largely meaningless stats to assert a wave of politically motivated murders of gay people is not.

See you next Friday.
HALIFAXFormer New Democrat MP Peter Stoffer issued a series of public apologies Friday for behaviour he acknowledged was perceived as demeaning or inappropriate, saying he never intended to insult anyone or make them feel uncomfortable.

Stoffers acknowledgment came a day after allegations of inappropriate touching and kissing were levelled against him by women who worked with him on Parliament Hill between 2006 and 2009.

The popular former politician and well-known veterans advocate held a news conference in Halifax, where he said he was deeply apologetic and regretful for what happened when he was the member of Parliament for the suburban riding of Sackville-Preston-Chezzetcook.

Read more:

Former NDP MP Stoffer faces harassment allegations

Young women face pervasive culture of sex harassment in Canadian politics

Sex harassment solutions not as elusive as they seem, says ex-MP Peggy Nash

Stoffer, who served as a Nova Scotia MP from 1997 to 2015, specifically denied sexually assaulting or physically abusing anyone. However, he admitted that his actions as a touchy and very gregarious, fun-going person may have led to behaviour that was perceived as inappropriate.

By some of the comments that Ive heard recently, from some people in the past, theyre saying that some of my demeanour, some of my comments were inappropriate, he said.

For that I humbly apologize without reservation. If there is any man or any woman that at any time felt uncomfortable ... because of my demeanour in any way shape or form, for that I apologize and I humbly regret that I put them in that type of situation.

In all, Stoffer apologized five times.

In allegations made public Thursday, one of the complainants, Lauren Dobson-Hughes, accused him of grabbing and kissing her without her consent on two separate occasions in 2006 and 2009.

Dobson-Hughes, who was an NDP staffer at the time, told the National Post that several MPs and senior staff were present at the second alleged incident but nobody batted an eyelid.

She said she eventually complained to her boss at the time, former MP Dawn Black. Black told the newspaper she took the complaint to then-NDP Leader Jack Layton, but was disappointed that Layton delegated the task to then-NDP caucus chair Judy Wasylycia-Leis instead of taking it up with Stoffer himself.

In an message posted on Twitter, Dobson-Hughes said senior party leaders ignored a systemic problem.

For me, this is about the way  as normal practice  political parties ... go out of their way to protect the electoral chances and reputations of abusive men, at the expense of legions of women, she wrote.

This is about how endemic harassment and assault was/is in politics and how resistant leadership has been to even acknowledging it as a problem. In many cases, leadership was the problem ... This systemic failure to even acknowledge sexual harassment as a problem, let alone address it, tells women theyre worthless.

Stoffer said he has not been in contact with Dobson-Hughes, but he said he was willing to talk to her.

Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Thursday that he was deeply disturbed by the allegations, and he said the party would continue to review, renew and expand its harassment policies.

Stoffer also apologized to the federal and provincial wings of the NDP, saying he regretted besmirching their good reputation. He said he would not attend the partys upcoming convention in Ottawa.

The discussion were having now across the country is extremely important, he said, apparently referring to the recent wave of allegations highlighting the inappropriate behaviour of men in positions of power. All men and women deserve to work in a place where they feel comfortable and not harassed in any way shape or form.

Stoffer, speaking to reporters gathered outside the Canadian Immigration Museum at Pier 21, said he did not intend to insult or demean or belittle anyone, but he said he has come to accept thats exactly what happened.

He said he grew up listening to the raunchy humour of Rodney Dangerfield and Canadian comedians Maclean and Maclean, a notorious musical duo known for their strong language and bawdy topics. As well, he mentioned his attempt to enliven the dry and toxic environment on Parliament Hill by organizing an annual all-party party for the 3,000 people who work in the parliamentary precinct.

Everybody knows that the office I had was, what I would call, a fun office, he said, adding that visitors were encouraged to play pool, shoot darts or have a cold one.
OTTAWADemocratic Institutions Minister Karina Gould is about to become the first federal cabinet minister in history to take a maternity leave.

Gould is expecting her first child in early March and will go on leave until at least May after the baby is born. Treasury Board President Scott Brison will assume her cabinet duties in her absence.

I look forward to joining other new parents in the House of Commons who prove each and every day that it is possible to have a career in politics and start a family, Gould said Friday on Twitter.

Read more: NDP leadership contender Niki Ashton announces shes pregnant

Gould will be in the House of Commons next week before returning to her home in Burlington to await the arrival of her baby, a spokesperson said. She will work from home and stay on as minister until the baby is born, at which time Brison will take over.

Part of encouraging the next generation of young women to run for office is demonstrating that our institutions are modern, family-friendly, and that the experiences they bring to the table will contribute to their success, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement.

Trudeau has left it up to Gould to decide when she will return, the spokesperson said.

MPs and cabinet ministers do not pay into employment insurance and dont officially qualify for maternity leave, but can work out an arrangement with their party leadership to take time beyond the 21 days of medical leave afforded any MP.

Gould may be the first cabinet minister to ever have a baby in office, but the way was paved by female MPs long before her.

In 1987  coincidentally, the year Gould was born  Liberal Sheila Copps became the first sitting MP to give birth. A little over a decade later, NDP MP Michelle Dockrill became the first MP to bring her baby into the House of Commons for a vote.

In 2012, NDP MP Sana Hassainia found herself in the spotlight after Speaker Andrew Scheer appeared to order her three-month-old son out of the chamber so a vote could take place. It turned out to be confusion caused, in part, by the oohing and cooing of MPs over the baby that was disrupting the vote process.

Scheer  who has since become leader of the Conservatives  later clarified he wasnt barring babies from the Commons.

As the average age of MPs in the House goes down, and the number of women seeking and winning public office grows, the number of Commons babies is on the rise: at least seven other women have had children as members of Parliament in the last five years.

Many have only taken a few days or weeks before returning to work. NDP MP Christine Moore had her first child during the 2015 election and was campaigning again in just days. She took three weeks off after the birth of her second child.

Last fall, fellow NDPer Niki Ashton became the first Canadian to run for a party leadership while pregnant. Her twin boys were born in November and she returned to work in January.

Gould has previously expressed surprise that no cabinet ministers had been pregnant while in office, but the statistics may help explain it. Only 60 women have held a federal cabinet post in Canada since Confederation  of course, women couldnt even run federally until 1921, 54 years after the first Canadian Parliament was formed.

The first woman wasnt appointed to cabinet until 1957.

What some have called mom-mentum on Parliament Hill is driving Gould, Ashton and others to demand changes to make the place more friendly to women with young families.

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GANDER, N.L.Police are investigating the sudden death of a 14-year-old Newfoundland girl, saying they are aware of social media allegations in the case but dont yet know what precipitated the death.

Gander RCMP said Friday numerous investigators have been assigned to look into the circumstances of the tragedy and will be conducting interviews and inquiries across the northeastern part of the island.

Sgt. Chris Dawe said police are aware of recent social media posts and encourage anyone with information related to this case to contact them.

With technology and social media expanding on a daily basis, its something that law enforcement is having to pay close attention to and contend with, he said, adding that investigations become far reaching endeavours.

Comments on the social networking website Facebook suggest the girl was the victim of bullying by another teen shortly before her death.

A relative of the girl posted what she said was a conversation days before she was taken from us so tragically.

In what appears to be a series of screenshots of text messages from a smartphone, another teen appears to push the girl to take her own life.

One text message said: I really just want u to die before u have the time to have a life.

In what the relative said was the girls response, one text message simply said stop.

A memorialized Facebook account of the teen includes photos of a smiling girl with long brown hair and glasses.

An outpouring of grief and support for the teens family appeared on Facebook.

I just wish I could turn back time and fix this. I wish there was more time and more memories, said one friend in a social media post. I wish that this didnt happen to you. This doesnt feel real. Rest In Peace beautiful, I love you so much.

Another friend of the teen said news of her passing hit hard for a lot of us around here.

What some people are capable of saying to one is so sickening, the post said. How much does it take to be a decent human being? Just please everyone, please, be kind.

The Chief Medical Examiners Office is also investigating the teens death, which occurred on the afternoon of Feb. 6.

Ken Morrissey with the Newfoundland and Labrador English School District said in an email that a crisis response team, including guidance and educational psychologist supports, have been deployed to a school in Gander in response to a tragic circumstance.
ST. THOMAS, ONT.Police near London, Ont., say a 15-year-old and 18-year-old are facing child pornography charges after a 14-year-old girl was secretly recorded performing a sexual act.

St. Thomas police say the two male suspects were arrested Thursday and charged with production of child pornography.

Police say the 15-year-old is additionally charged with one count of possession of child pornography.

Officers say both of the accused were released with conditions.

The pair will appear in court at a later date.
SAN FRANCISCOPrime Minister Justin Trudeau picked up promises of investments and jobs during his first official visit to San Francisco, where he promoted Canada as a destination for California technology firms frustrated by uncertain U.S. immigration laws.

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff announced the online business software company will invest another $2 billion in its Canadian operations.

In addition, San Francisco-based AppDirect, a cloud subscription service whose co-CEO met Trudeau in a college political science class, said it would add another 300 jobs in Canada in the next five years.

Read more:

Trudeau pitches Canadian globalism to Silicon Valley tech firms

U.S. says it still wants three-way NAFTA deal after trade czar muses dealing separately with Mexico

Trudeau meeting Amazon CEO as Toronto vies for new HQ

Im enthused about the interest that these global companies are taking in Canada, Trudeau told reporters at AppDirect. It is a benefit for those companies that invest in Canada, because they get such a high calibre of talent.

On Friday, Trudeau met separately with Gov. Jerry Brown and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, both Democrats. The meetings were closed to the media.

Newsom said later on Twitter that the two talked about trade, the environment and universal health care.

In brief remarks before the meeting, Newsom thanked Trudeau for his energetic leadership on the international stage ... at a time when thats not lost on many of us in the political sphere. The comment was an apparent reference to U.S. President Donald Trump.

Uncertainty over Trumps immigration policies has provided momentum for Trudeaus economic pitch to Silicon Valley, where many companies that rely on foreign workers have become uneasy over increasing scrutiny on the H1-B work visa program.

Trudeau promoted his countrys fast-track employment permit for certain workers, dubbed the global skills strategy visa.

Trudeau demurred when asked whether Trumps immigration efforts are making the sales pitch easier, pointing to the power of globalism.

We know that bringing in great talent from around the world is an enormous benefit, not just to the companies that want to do that, but to Canadian jobs and to our country as a whole, so were going to continue to do that, he said.

Trudeau also met Thursday with Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos as Bezos considers possible locations for a second headquarters. Toronto, which has created a government-sponsored innovation hub for tech companies, was the only Canadian city that made the shortlist.

Trudeaus stop in San Francisco highlights the already strong ties between Canada and California, particularly in research, academia and technology.

While much of the attention on the North American Free Trade Agreement has focused on physical commodities such as vehicle manufacturing, dairy and timber, skilled workers have also become increasingly mobile between the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Google built its latest DeepMind artificial intelligence facility at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, after several of its graduates came to work on the project.

The next round of talks over the 24-year-old trade pact in Mexico later this month loomed over Trudeaus visit. Trump has called the agreement a job-killing disaster on the campaign trail and has threatened to withdraw from it if he cant get what he wants.

The lengthy talks have increased the political pressure and the rhetoric in Canada, where the stakes are high.

Trudeau declined to talk about specifics Thursday, but said Canada wants an agreement that is win-win-win for all three countries.

Were going to continue to make an argument that its not enough to just trade, we have to ensure that the benefits of trade are properly and fairly shared, he said.

Later Friday, Trudeau will deliver a speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.

The location is a symbolic choice, referring to the longstanding trade relationship between the U.S. and Canada. In 1988, Reagan and then-Prime Minister Brian Mulroney signed the first free trade agreement  a precursor to NAFTA.

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A judge has sent the legal battle of Bridle Path businessman Andrew Curnew on a detour to the federal minister of justice.

Curnew is attempting to proceed with a civil suit against criminal lawyer Arun Maini, over the way Maini represented Curnew in the 2000s. He is seeking $3 million in damages.

Maini disputes Curnews allegations that he acted negligently, and argues the lawsuit is frivolous and vexatious and should be tossed out.

This week, at what was supposed to be the start of a 10-day trial, Superior Court Justice Grant Dow stayed Curnews action, pending a successful review of the 13 criminal convictions Curnew received when he was represented by Maini, and which were upheld by the Court of Appeal in 2010.

To proceed with the civil trial, and in order for the self-represented Curnew to be successful, Dow said he would have to make findings that are in a direct conflict with decisions by the trial judge, in 2007, and Court of Appeal.

Read More:

Bridle Path multimillionaire Andrew Curnew is fighting to prove he was wrongfully convicted of gun, drug crimes

Im not prepared to proceed down that path, particularly when Mr. Curnew has an alternative, the judge said, referring to a section in the Criminal Code that gives the minister of justice the power to review a criminal conviction to determine whether there has been a miscarriage of justice.

In his written materials filed in court, Curnew had asked the judge to stay the proceedings to permit him to pursue that avenue, but only as a last resort. He argued the trial should go ahead.

Based on Curnews extensive submissions on why and how he was wrongfully convicted, which included additional evidence not available to the appeal court in 2010, Dow said the flamboyant entrepreneur could be successful in an application to federal Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould.

The process can take months or years to complete.

The additional evidence included a sworn videotaped statement from a police informant who admitted stashing guns at Curnews home. Mainis lawyers, Keith Geurts and Kyle Magee, objected to the evidence, saying they had not been invited to cross-examine the man.

They had asked the judge to dismiss the lawsuit after filing a last-minute abuse of process motion arguing Curnew was attempting to relitigate what had already been decided by the courts in 2005 and at the appeal.

Over the course of this weeks two-day hearing, Dow listened patiently as Curnew argued his case, which included citing case law to demonstrate why the abuse of process motion should fail.

While Geurts and Magee, wore traditional lawyer gowns, Curnew, 38, made his legal arguments decked out in dark designer suits with colourful pocket squares, ties and handmade Italian shoes. An outsized Hublot Big Bang watch was wrapped around his wrist and in his ears were two tiny gold hoops.

Despite his appearance, Curnew was subdued as he made his submissions in a quiet voice. He was occasionally overcome with emotion.

Andy believed Mr. Maini was somebody he could look up to and who he could trust, Curnew said, reading from his wifes affidavit. Andy has advised me over the last 10 years that we have been together that Mr. Maini broke his heart, Curnew said, his voice breaking.

Curnew was in his early 20s, and broke, when he hired Maini, whose services were paid for by legal aid.

Dow repeatedly stated, in different ways, that he was handcuffed by the 2010 higher court ruling, which addressed the conduct of Maini and found there was no miscarriage of justice.

Theyre the Court of Appeal . . . and Im just a judge in the Superior Court of Justice, Dow told Curnew. The Ontario Court of Appeal is the highest court in the province and reviews decisions rendered by Superior Court judges.

After delivering his reasons orally Thursday, Dow decided not to order either side to pay legal costs, since the matter was still alive. Curnew had argued he was entitled to $50,000, while Magee had asked for $7,000.

Geurts had no comment afterward.

Curnew vowed to continue the fight, as strong as ever.

Toronto criminal lawyer Greg Lafontaine, Curnews legal adviser, said another possible avenue for his friend will be to seek to reopen the appeal on the basis of the considerable body of new and compelling evidence that has been uncovered since the appeal was heard.
A new sophisticated phone-based scam targeting Canadians has drained five victims of more than $5.1 million, Toronto police said Friday.

The scammers pose as retailers, claiming to alert the victim of fraud in progress on their credit card and asking them to call 911 or their bank. Though the victims think theyve hung up and dialed another number  some insist they heard dial tones  the fraudsters appear to be using technology that allows them to stay on the line with the victim.

Then, posing as a 911 operator or a bank employee, the original caller convinces victims to move their money, usually via wire transfer, into an external bank account while the fake credit card fraud is investigated.

Theyre pretty good pitch men, said Det.-Sgt. Ian Nichol. There is a foreign component to this investigation but Im not in a position to say where the calls are coming fromThere may be a domestic component as well and thats all I can say.

Nichol said the scheme appears to be targeted at land lines, rather than cellphones.

I suppose that theres something specific with the technology employed in land lines that may make this possible, he added.

The victims werent those who would typically be vulnerable to such a scam, Nichol said.

Theyre all on the ball, he said. He declined to comment on their financial status.

Nichol said he believes the emerging scheme is targeting people across Canada, and has existed for at least four months. Some of the victims said it appeared the scammers already had some of their banking information.

That doesnt mean they actually had it, he said. It could mean the victims were duped into providing it.

As well, Nichol said theres also a secrecy component  the impostors typically convince the victims they cant tell anyone about the investigation, sometimes by saying a bank employee may be involved in the fraud. Theyll also make followup calls to the victim afterwards.

They will keep the calls ongoing for several days to ensure no efforts are made to recover the money, Nichol said, adding that it can take a while to withdraw money from these transactions.

With five victims losing millions altogether, Nichol said he wasnt sure if the fraudsters are targeting their victims or if theyre taking a wider, mass-marketing approach.

It could be a lucky shot on their part, Nichol said.

The scam doesnt appear to target customers of any particular banks or phone companies, said Nichol. The details also vary from case to case.

To avoid falling prey to the scheme, Nichol said anyone who receives a similar call should hang up and call police or their bank with a different phone line  preferably a mobile one. They should also visit their bank in person and talk to police.

Nichol also said the public should remember that 911 operators wont forward calls directly to an investigator. As well, financial institutions will never advise anyone to move their money to an external account for security reasons. Phone numbers appearing on call display screens can be manipulated to be inaccurate, and anyone receiving calls from police officers, bank employees or officials should try to verify their claims.

Based on the number of calls police believe were made, Nichol said there are likely other victims, and encouraged them to get in touch with Toronto police.

We just follow the leads we have, he said. Hopefully this will generate some more.
The province announced plans to revive under used space on the easterly island of Ontario Place on Thursday.

The 20-acre parcel of land has been deemed the Celebration Common, a multi-use green space to link with other sites such as the recently reopened Cinesphere and Trillium Park.

The Ontario government has partnered with architectural design firm DTAH to put together the waterfront development. The business worked on Torontos Evergreen Brick Works, a project that revamped a former industrial site in the Don Valley into an environmentally conscious community.

The emergence of more condominiums near Ontario Place prompted the province to deliver more open-air space for residents, and people in the rest of the city and beyond, said Daiene Vernile, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport.

The multi-purpose park will be Torontos newest waterfront attraction, she said.

Its going to be used for open air cultural activities, festivals, community events and recreation.

Theres even going to be a beach there.

James Roche, a DTAH partner present at the announcement at Ontario Place, said the project will likely take about three years.

Its an exciting time for the province and for the city to see a cherished amenities space get a refresh for generations to come, he said, adding that Echo Beach will be reinvented.

A procurement process to draw up construction contracts is underway. As a result, the figure for the budget for the project will not be released yet.

This information will become available once the planning-and-design phase is complete, said a ministry spokesperson.

He said the land has been somewhat dormant for 40 years, and there is some wear and tear on it.

Part of this exercise is to enhance ones relationship to the city, to the water, so well be looking at improving that condition, he said. Its improving that for the next 40 years.

The plan carries forward work from last June which saw Trillium Park and the William G. Davis Trail open to the public. The trail, located on Ontario Places East Island, was a parking lot before it was developed. The entire project took three years to build. Indigenous culture was woven into the design of the 7.5-acre green space, including carvings of moccasins along an underpass of a footbridge. All foliage  1,200 and 28,000 shrubs and perennials  is Indigenous.

Stacey Laforme, a chief of the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation, said he plans to pitch the idea for a museum to be constructed at Celebration Common, where hard discussions can play out about Canadas Indigenous-settler history. It would dovetail, he continued, with a space in which First Nations could showcase their distinct cultures.

The true history of all the people in Canada, he said. I want Toronto to be a tourist attraction for the world, a destination. When people from around the world come here, theres no Indigenous presence, per se, and that needs to change because theres so many Indigenous people who live here.

He added that the plan to develop Ontario Place is a good start.

Its about time Ontario Place was used for something besides being a place nobody ever went to anymore, he said.
Marvin Switzer wanted nothing more than to be a part of his daughters wedding. But he was stuck in a Toronto hospital, waiting indefinitely for a donor to replace his ailing heart.

Knowing that the chances of getting a donor and surviving were slim, Switzer, 55, asked a social worker if there was a small conference room where he could hold his daughters ceremony.

A few chairs would be all he needed, he told her.

Switzer never got his small conference room.

Instead, staff at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre took matters into their own hands and transformed the hospitals atrium into a grand winter-themed wedding hall for his daughters ceremony.

Then two days after the wedding, to Switzers disbelief and surprise, he was told there was a heart for him.

There wasnt a dry eye in the wedding, Switzer said. We were trying so much to figure out a way to have a wedding for her, she wanted both fathers to be there. The hospital overwhelmed us with kindness.

After the wedding, everyone went home and I was left on my own in the hospital and then I was told I had a heart and had to call everyone back.

On a typical day, the atrium at the cardiac centre is filled with nurses hurriedly eating their lunches and recovering patients curled up on chairs, basking under the sunshine pouring from the tall glass walls.

But on the evening of Nov. 25, twinkling lights peered through the windows from the surrounding buildings. A pianist filled the air with music as Switzer, tethered to an IV pole, held his daughter Jennifer by her arm and walked her down the aisle.

There were a lot of tears but I think it had to do a lot with happiness, Jennifer said. When I was able to dance with my father, everyone was crying, including me, it was just being able to share that moment knowing what my dad was going through waiting to receive a heart.

The hospital provided the family with everything from flowers to tablecloths. Staff served the 18 guests food and one nurse took photos.

It really restored my faith in humanity, Switzer said. They just gave and gave and they didnt want anything back.

Learning that there was a heart available, Switzers family returned to the hospital and his son and daughter waited through the night as the procedure took place.

You wait so long for it but when it comes its overwhelming, Switzer said. They sit you down and say they have a heart for you and I just fell apart for a while.

On Thursday, Switzer was finally able to leave the hospital.

Switzer, from Kingston, Ont., is expected to visit every two weeks over the next year to address the challenges the new heart may face as it adjusts to his body.

He was one of the lucky ones, said Dr. Jeremy Kobulnik, a cardiologist at the cardiac centre. The chances of a suitable heart becoming available are slim and only three hospitals in Ontario offer heart transplants.

The heart typically needs to be matched based on size, antibiotic profile and blood group, he said. Some patients die waiting for a heart, he added.

We were so very glad to organize the wedding because you never know how these things go, Kobulnik said. We certainly didnt know he was going to get a heart and we didnt know if it would necessarily go well. Most of our transplants go well but not all of them.

When opportunities like this come up we try to go out of our way because we feel like we owe it to our patients.

Switzers daughter Jennifer said she is very grateful for the care her father received at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre at the Toronto General Hospital, and for the wedding.

It was able to give him a new lease on life, she said Friday. He is so thankful to be alive every day.

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After years of planning and millions of dollars in studies, the province has decided to put the brakes for good on a multi-lane highway that would have taken commuters from Vaughan to Milton.

In a much anticipated decision released Friday, the Ministry of Transportation said in a news release it has accepted an expert advisory panels recommendation that a proposed highway in the GTA West corridor is not the best way to address changing transportation needs.

The panel, which was made up of three industry experts, found that the environmental assessment that had been started on the highway, also dubbed 413, did not demonstrate that a new corridor that crosses protected lands was the only reasonable option to address future transportation needs in the study area.

Residents and environmentalists has been concerned that the proposed route for the GTA West highway, which was to connect Vaughan at Highway 400 to Halton Region at the 407, would have cut through large swaths of the protected Greenbelt forest.

Thats why the advisory panel suggested a broader transportation plan, looking at the needs of the entire region would be more effective, rather than simply building new highways in a piecemeal way.

The panel recommends the development of a single transportation plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, according to the GTA West Corridor Advisory Panel report. The plan would also provide the opportunity to consider changing social and economic conditions, as well as technological changes such as connected and self-driving vehicles.

Tim Gray, the executive director for Environmental Defence, called the decision a signature moment.

It marks a real change in direction, said Gray, who had presented to the panel on behalf of Environmental Defence.

I think essentially the panel found that the highway was not going to decrease transit times in any significant way, he said. They just found that you dont need to do this.

Since 2013, the province had conducted a number of environmental assessments and public consultations to identify a preferred route for the four- to six-lane highway linking Vaughan and Milton.

But in December 2015, the province suddenly suspended work on the project, saying it was essential to have a forward-looking plan when it comes to relieving congestion and set up a panel to conduct an internal review.

Opposition parties had lambasted the province for suspending the EA, and claimed that the work thus far had cost taxpayers over $14-million.

Affected regional governments of York and Peel, had also been pushing for the completion of the assessment  concerned that further growth in their regions could not be supported without a highway to get people and goods from here to there.

But the advisory panels findings suggested otherwise.

In the report, they found that the creation of smaller highway corridor, expansions and extensions of existing highways, transit system improvements, better implementation of congestion pricing, and truck priority on Hwy 407 could offer the same results as building another new highway  or had not been sufficiently considered as alternate options.

The panel also suggested any future transportation plan be aligned with provincial growth plans for better co-ordination and consistency.

The cancellation of the project doesnt mean the lands where the GTA West highway was to run will now be open for development.

The province plans to conduct a study over the next year to ensure lands are protected so that new infrastructure, such as transit or utilities, can be developed to support and accommodate future growth and development.

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Photo: Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images

Just because wineglasses are bigger than ever before, doesnt mean that you have to (or even want to) finish an entire bottle of wine in one sitting. Sometimes you want to savor a glass or two now and save the rest for later, especially if its a really nice wine. Thats why its good to have a wine stopper on hand, something thatll keep wine fresh after opening. And though you might be picturing one of those decorative wine stoppers, like the one with a shamrock that you got at your cousins wedding, those are kind of useless when it comes to preventing wine from spoiling or spilling.

Thats why, to help you find the best wine stoppers and vacuums, I reached out to sommeliers and beverage directors to learn about the gadgets they use to keep open bottles of wine fresh and Champagne still-bubbly when they cant finish the whole bottle.

Eric Tschudi, sommelier and head bartender at Shuko, also likes the Vacu Vin system.

The Vacu Vin system has been around forever for a reason. While I wouldnt recommend it for sparkling wines, the pump thats included with it to get the wine-killing oxygen out of the bottle helps keep still wines fresh for days.

Fantes Aunt Vittorinas Champagne Stoppers $8 Fantes Aunt Vittorinas Champagne stopper is my favorite, and it is produced in Italy. It has the single side-hinge clasp with a rubber stopper for the spout of the bottle. This stopper is my favorite because it holds the carbonation very well and is easy to use. I ultimately favor it over other stopper styles because the rubber stopper mimics the pressure the original cork had on the wine the best, and the hinge clasp makes it very hard to accidentally slip off and lose the carbonation of the wine. Joshua MacGregor, sommelier, DB Bistro Moderne by Daniel Boulud $8 at Bed Bath & Beyond Buy

Joe Robitalle, head sommelier at Bar Boulud and Boulud Sud also recommends the Fante.

I find this closure to be both effective in maintaining pressure and also versatile in regards to the bottle shapes that it works with. One note for those trying this at home: Be careful when opening the bottle, this stopper does such a good job that it can be rather loud if you do not open the bottle slowly, and also the stopper can shoot out of your hand from the pressure if youre not careful.

Wine Enthusiast Electric Blue 1 Wine Opener & Preserver Set, Stainless Steel $70 Personally, I use the Electric Blue 1 Automatic Preserver and Opener System. I prefer using something that removes the air to keep the integrity of the wine for shorter periods of time, as an open bottle doesnt last more than a few days in my house. Other options that use forms of argon or nitrogen gas are great for longer-term preservation. But for me, nothing is easier or more efficient than popping in a stopper and placing the electric preserver on the stopper for a few seconds to help ensure the wine stays fresh and delicious when I go back for another glass. Marshall Tilden III, vice-president of sales, Wine Enthusiast $70 at Amazon Buy $70 at Amazon Buy

Coravin Model Two Wine System $198 For a more advanced system, you cant go wrong with the Coravin. For home drinkers (or for the husbands of pregnant wives who cant drink) who want to enjoy a nice bottle of wine, but dont want to commit to drinking a whole bottle, the Coravin lets you get what you need out of the bottle without actually opening it. At over $275, its by far the most expensive option, but one thats worth the investment. Tschudi $198 at Amazon Buy $198 at Amazon Buy

Champagne Stopper $6 I use the Crate & Barrel Champagne stopper. Its made of metal that looks nice. Theres a plastic part on the bottom that works the best Ive seen at preventing gas leakage, with a lever to hold it in place. Alternatively, I drink the whole bottle. John Slover, wine director, Major Food Group $6 at Crate and Barrel Buy

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Sharron Matthews is an accomplished comedic actor but this role was all about visceral anger. She was on the phone pretending to be an elderly Greek man verbally sparring with a con artist likely half a world away.

Matthewss mother had been the target of a CRA scam. And tying up the phone line was the only way she felt she could strike back.

Late last year, a fraudster called the mom claiming to be from the Canadian Revenue Agency. He threatened her with arrest for owing the government $2,000 in taxes. She didnt have the money.

Read more:

I should be a smart guy. I wasnt. How the CRA tax scam keeps duping us

For three weeks the fake CRA harassed her. Agent Dan Jones called every day, sometimes more than once.

Matthewss mother is 86. She has a pacemaker. She lives alone in Hamilton, in a government-subsidized apartment, subsisting on a modest pension. She doesnt even make enough to pay taxes.

But she was convinced she owed the money. And she was told she couldnt tell her family.

The fraudsters knew her name, her address and even claimed theyd been to her home, describing the building and the neighbourhood, likely after researching it on Google Earth.

How could it not be true?

She lived in abject fear for three weeks, says Matthews. They called her every day. She was terrified.

Part of the scam is that the victims are told they cant tell anyone else about what is unfolding or they will face additional charges. So they are isolated and scared. For Matthewss mom, the anxiety built to a point where she took all of her modest life savings out of the bank  much less than the amount she supposedly owed  and hid it in under her mattress. She was afraid government agents would drain her bank account.

They prey upon those feelings of being alone and being embarrassed that you havent done your taxes right or the feeling you owe the government money because youve done something wrong, says Matthews. They told her she would go to jail. Oh my God, shes 86 years old.

Matthewss mom never did send any money. She finally, sheepishly, went to her daughters asking if she could borrow $2,000. They convinced her it was a scam.

Now, shes embarrassed at being fooled. She asked that her name not be used in this article.

Matthews was livid. She first took to Facebook and posted a screed about what had happened. The police were unable to do much other than to assure Matthews they receive about 30 similar calls a week. So Matthews got on the phone and began calling the number to the fake CRA office. She called from her car. She called from Starbucks. She called from the treadmill during workouts.

One day she called 79 times, connecting on 10 of them. Matthews, who plays the morgue attendant in the CBCs Frankie Drake Mysteries and was Joan the secretary in Mean Girls, drew on her acting skills.

She hoped that by occupying the line, and preventing the fraudsters from using it, the number would become useless. It would also slow the scammers.

Sometimes she would call, swear and get into screaming matches with the con man. Sometimes she would take on a different persona, hoping to stay on the line as long as possible.

Even in her anger, she was shocked at the ability of the crooks to manipulate.

The first time she called, for about 30 seconds she even wondered if she had reached the real CRA. They had an answer for everything.

The way they try to spin you, its like an acting class. It was like Improv 101. Theyre smart and theyre fast, she said.

When I was pretending to be an old Greek man  he kept trying to get me to give them a credit card number or something. And he kept skating around in different ways to get me there. Do you think you could just look at it in your wallet? Is it a Mastercard? Is it a Visa? Then he would talk about something else for a while, then go back to it. And, say, your credit card is it a  

When Matthews went back on her Facebook page, she saw that several colleagues from the arts community, inspired by her post, had also been calling the number and posting other phone numbers to call, numbers connected to the scam.

One who called was local stand-up comedian Maggie Cassella. When she saw Matthewss post, Cassella thought of her own mother and other vulnerable seniors being preyed upon.

I was getting ready to go to a meeting and I thought, Screw it, Im going to call this guy. I said my name was Mary and I put on my best fragile woman voice.

And he says, Well, Mary, let me check. He never even asked my last name. I hear him plunking some keys, click, click, click, then, Yes Mary, you have a bill here for 2,000 blah-blah dollars. I started to get upset and my voice started getting shaky.

Cassella says the fraudster told her she would be arrested so she started to cry and hyperventilate. She told him she suffered from a heart condition and he tried to calm her down. Cassella, conning the con artist, then spun a tale about how her son could help if only he hadnt died in a car accident.

The guy was like losing his mind, she said. It was one of my best auditions ever. I thought, Im actually pretty good at this. Too bad they dont have radio acting anymore.

When Cassella had to go, she says she dropped back to her normal voice, cursed him repeatedly while asking how he could possibly sleep at night.

He was stunned, she said. It was 26 minutes into the phone call and I thought, if Ive done nothing else, Ive taken 26 minutes out of this (expletive)s day where he couldnt scam another person.

Read more about:
Tom Kane taught computer technology at Centennial College for 22 years. In retirement, he takes night courses in photography at Ryerson. He sometimes helps others protect themselves against phishing and other computer fraud.

He is thoughtful and articulate.

Still, he recently got taken for $5,000 in a telephone scam: the one in which a menacing caller purports to be a member of the Canada Revenue Agency seeking back taxes.

I should be a smart guy. I wasnt, says the 74-year-old. Its not just some frail, vulnerable people who fall for it. Its also people who know better.

Read more:

A scam artist tried to con her mom. So Sharron Matthews and her friends put their acting skills to use

Kane now hopes that telling the story of how he was duped will serve as a warning to prevent someone else from being robbed.

The scam typically begins as a robocall. Someone, usually identifying himself or herself as a federal agent, claims to be from the CRA and states that legal action has commenced and an arrest will be made if the call isnt returned. The deceit is that tax money is owed. There is always a sense of urgency.

Most shrug it off. Kane didnt.

Kane came home to his High Park residence one night in October to find a message from the enforcement division of the CRA. He believes it was a live voice on the recording stating that there were issues with his tax returns and he was under threat of arrest.

Kane phoned the next morning and was informed by an officer, Dexter Cruz  who sounded like the man in the recorded message  that he had falsified his last three returns and owed $4,995 immediately. If he didnt pay the police would be at his door within the half-hour.

That began a horrible day that ended with Kane standing at the back of a variety store on Queen St. E. near Parliament, pumping 50- and 100-dollar bills into a Bitcoin machine, money destined for who knows where.

Im very embarrassed about this whole thing, he says. It was pretty stupid, and I used to be known as someone who was very cautious about this kind of stuff.

Kane is not alone. The CRA scam is one of the more common frauds perpetrated on Canadians. The calls typically originate from offshore, boiler-room operations in places such as India; frequent victims are seniors or new Canadians who dont yet fully understand how our system works.

The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) classifies telephone tax fraud as extortion, a category that includes computer ransomware and an immigration ruse that threatens its victims with deportation. In 2017, the CAFC received 14,551 complaints about extortion scams and classified 1,046 people as victims; the vast majority of those fell prey to the CRA scam. After a decrease that followed an international raid, the crime is prevalent again.

The dollar loss was almost $5 million.

One person just north of Toronto  the CAFC cannot offer identifiers beyond that  initially paid out $4,000. Hounded further, that victim eventually made 60 payments with an accumulated loss of more than $200,000. Another person from the GTA, conned right around the time that Kane was scammed, made three payments totalling $125,000, all of it in Bitcoin.

Payment in Bitcoin has become more frequent  and the request a further warning to potential victims  in the CRA scam, according to Jessica Gunson of the CAFC. Gunson is the acting call centre and intake unit manager at the centre in North Bay, Ont. She says larger sums tend to be sent that way rather than previous payouts in iTunes and Steam cards.

Its less suspicious, and theres less chance that a retailer will alert the potential victim that it could be a scam, says Gunson. They eliminate the middleman when they ask for digital or cryptocurrency to be used as payment. Bitcoin (is also) very difficult to trace.

The CAFC estimates it hears from less than 5 per cent of victims. Many are likely too embarrassed to report that they got taken.

Kane did report his loss.

In retrospect, Kane feels he simply panicked when threatened with the arrival of the police. He came to Canada as a draft dodger in the 1960s after growing up in Chicago, where, he says, he developed a distrust of cops. Even after paying the scammers, he was hesitant to return home thinking the police would be lying in wait.

All the signs were there that it was a fraud but they scared the living daylights out of me, he says.

My sensibility just went poof. From the first call in the morning until I got home, I was basically operating in a state of panic.

Kanes friend Carl Melvin believes that Kane, because of his past, lived for a long time with the apprehension that the police would roust him in the middle of the night. Im sure all that stuff was coming up.

Kane says the fraud was quite sophisticated and he received more than a dozen calls during that tumultous day and ended up dealing with five different people on the phone, all of whom, he says, were excellent actors.

The first was Cruz, demanding that the $5,000 be paid in 30 minutes or the police would be dispatched. Kane told him thats ridiculous.

I had to convince him I didnt have the money in the house.

Kane then demanded more information and was transferred to the accounting department of the fake CRA and spoke with a Ryan Williams, who was very stern and also threatened to send the police.

Williams told Kane that his bank was also under suspicion so he wasnt allowed to speak with anyone there. Williams says the CRA had cut off his ability to transfer money electronically during its investigation and suggested the Bitcoin option.

In retrospect, Kane says many red flags were raised  the real CRA, for example, wouldnt have made its initial contact by phone and it would never request Bitcoin payment. But he was caught up in trying to avoid arrest. He says the convincing patter of the fraudsters was well-scripted and practised.

And Kane never took a breath to look objectively at the situation.

I didnt pause, I didnt stop, he says. Even between calls, I didnt step back.

Well, he did once. That only made things worse. After his first chat with Cruz and Williams, he researched their phone number on the computer.

Guess what? It said it was Canada Revenue.

Scammers have the ability to spoof phone numbers to hide a calls origin and make it appear to be from legitimate government offices or financial institutions.

Kane dipped into two accounts to come up with the $5,000. And the fraudsters emailed him a QR code so he could forward the money. They also provided the address of a store near Queen and Church Sts. with a machine that exchanged cash for Bitcoin. When he got there, that ATM-like device didnt work so the scammers, without hesitation, provided a new address near Parliament St.

Through the process, the con artists kept calling him, urging him to hurry as he walked along Queen. They even had a fake female police officer call Kane, demanding to know his location. He told her he was going to make the payment but she didnt need to know where he was.

The scammers create that sense of urgency, says Gunson. This is a very serious matter. You could be going to jail, you could be deported. You could be paying all these additional fees, but this will all go away, if you just do this.

Kane realized hed been duped when he returned home and the police were not waiting for him.

I had carried around suspicion but I didnt properly act on it, he says. So it didnt take me long to come to the conclusion that Id been had.

Gunson says that if the scammers see that the victim is scared and co-operative, theyll often come back looking for more. Thats why some victims make multiple payments.

Its like opening the door to a stray dog and feeding it, she says. Its always going to come back.

The fraudsters did try to get more money out of Kane but, by then, he realized hed been duped and he instead went to the police. The Toronto police, he says, didnt want to handle it because of jurisdictional questions. He then called the RCMP, and while they were courteous and didnt try to make me feel like a fool, he sensed no one would be prosecuted. And the money was gone for good.

The fraud is difficult to police because of the technology that allows the perpetrators to bypass phone companies. The calls also originate overseas, outside the jurisdiction where the complaints are made.

In October 2016, a fraudulent call centre operation in the suburbs of Mumbai, India, was raided and 83 people were arrested and charged. CTVs W5 toured the facility afterwards and found row upon row of empty work stations. The program said it revealed the vastness of the criminal enterprise; scripts used to extort Canadians and Americans were still on the desks.

Once that takedown happened, it was like someone had flipped a switch, says Gunson. We saw an instant decrease (in CRA scam calls). And then steadily since then, weve seen them increase again. Weve been inundated.

On Monday, police in India raided a call centre in Pune and arrested three men who had targeted thousands of Americans, posing as officials from the Internal Revenue Service. According to a Washington Post report, police seized laptops and hard drives that contained personal details of 11,000 people in the United States, including bank account numbers, phone numbers and addresses.

It was not immediately clear if there was any Canadian connection.

Gunson, from the CAFC, urges people who believe theyve been victimized or targeted in a scam to make a confidential call to the centre (1-888-495-8501) and to their local police department. The crimes can also be reported online at www.antifraudcentre.ca.

The CAFC acts as a central repository for mass marketing fraud and the information it gathers is used by law enforcement. Its almost impossible to recover lost funds but awareness of the crime allows the police to be proactive.

In terms of recovering the money, this is very well orchestrated and a well-played-out scam, says Gunson.

Were not dealing with somebody down the street thats calling you up and ripping you off. These people work out of the country. Its very difficult to investigate but when consumers come forward with as much information as they can, it gives investigators a place to start.

The CAFC reminds consumers that the CRA will not contact you by phone or email but will instead send a registered letter. It also says to contact the CRA to confirm whether you owe back taxes or are entitled to a refund. Also, never provide personal information on incoming calls. And remember that the CRA would never request payment via iTunes or other gift cards or Bitcoin or a money service business.

There is also an online version of the CRA scam. An email is sent out indicating a refund is pending from the CRA and includes a link to a website that mimics the actual CRA. Consumers are urged to input their information  including social insurance number, date of birth and bank info  in order to receive the money. No refund is ever issued and victims are subject to identify fraud.

Kane says there were so many warnings in his case that he didnt heed. The contact by phone, the request for immediate action, the claim that electronic transfers had been cancelled, the threat that police had been dispatched (which the CRA doesnt do), the frequent haranguing phone calls and the request for Bitcoin.

I dont go through every day regretting it anymore. The first couple of weeks were pretty grim that way, says Kane. Why did I let this happen? I have all this computer background so I shouldnt have. How could I be so stupid? Thats a helluva lot of money. Im not poor. Im on a decent pension. But $5,000 is emergency money.

Gunson urges consumers to trust their gut.

If something doesnt sound right, its all right to take a minute. If you receive a call and you phone these people back and dont like what youre hearing, its OK to hang up the phone.

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The Progressive Conservatives are reviewing several questionable candidate nomination elections with an eye toward overturning contentious results, the Star has learned.

A senior party official said late Thursday they have uncovered new information on some nominations.

This information will be handed over to the provincial nomination committee for them to make a decision on whether to reopen the nomination, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity in order to discuss internal deliberations.

Read more: PC party has stopped paying the rent for former leader Patrick Browns downtown condo

The committee will meet Friday.

As previously reported in the Star, about a dozen PC candidate nominations across Ontario have been ended in controversy, including in Hamilton West-Ancaster-Dundas, which is now the subject of a Hamilton Police investigation into allegations of criminal fraud and forgery.

In Ottawa West-Nepean, candidate Karma Macgregor won by 15 votes over runner-up Jeremy Roberts last May. There were 28 more ballots in boxes than had registered to vote.

The PC riding association executive later resigned en masse in protest as did party vice president Robert Elliott.

In Newmarket-Aurora, more than a dozen riding officials also quit after voting irregularities there last April in a nomination won by Charity McGrath Di Paolo.

The 14 local volunteers blamed the blatant disregard for the democratic rights of the people of this riding to choose their local candidate in a fair, open and transparent process in their letter of resignation.

The warned the same thing is being allowed to openly occur across numerous other ridings.

In Scarborough Centre last June, Toronto Police were called to restore order after activists erupted in anger amid allegations of ballot boxes being removed from the premises.

In Durham, regional councillor Joe Neal last summer threatened to challenge the party in court after his candidacy was disallowed because had run for the Liberals in 1985.

Patrick Brown, who resigned as leader on Jan. 25 after a sexual impropriety scandal involving teenage girls, later apologized to Neal for claiming he had fundraised for the Liberals in 2016.

Lindsey Park, a personal friend of Brown, won the Durham nomination from which Neal was disqualified.

Since the ex-leaders departure two weeks ago, the Tories have been cleaning house with an eye toward a fresh start for a new leader being elected March 10.

With an Ontario election set for June 7, they are in a frenzied dash to fix internal problems before facing voters.

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NDP Leader Andrea Horwath has put her campaign director on a forced leave over accusations he didnt take womens complaints about a groping cabinet minister seriously while he was working for two Manitoba premiers.

Horwath issued a statement late Friday afternoon saying she was shocked at allegations about her chief of staff Michael Balagus, hired as a fixer after her party lost the balance of power in the 2014 Ontario election.

Balagus said the appalling behaviour of cabinet minister Stan Struthers was never brought to his attention and called the lack of action a shameful failure.

Horwaths move comes as the NDP prepares for the June 7 provincial vote, as the rival Progressive Conservatives reel from sexual misconduct scandals involving former leader Patrick Brown and party president Rick Dykstra, who resigned two weeks ago.

Both parties have set their sights on defeating Premier Kathleen Wynne, whose Liberals have been in power for 14 years.

I have removed Michael Balagus from his responsibilities at Queens Park, and hell be on a leave of absence until I can determine whether or not its appropriate for him to continue on our team, Horwath said.

His role within our campaign is yet to be determined.

One of the Manitoba government employees, Shannon VanRaes, told CBC Winnipeg she reported problems with Struthers to Balagus when she quit in 2011 after Struthers allegedly attempted to shove her foot in his crotch.

I sat down across from him (Balagus) and told him to his face, the public broadcaster quoted her as saying.

Other women say Struthers tickled them, made inappropriate remarks, and, in one case, put his hand on press secretary Joelle Saltel-Allards knee and talked about sex acts he would enjoy. She complained to her boss. Struthers apologized on Thursday after more allegations surfaced.

While Balagus said in a statement all those now coming forward deserve to be respected, supported and believed, he insisted at no time were concerns relayed to him by any government supervisors while he was chief of staff to premiers Gary Doer and Greg Selinger.

That these women were led to believe by their supervisor that their horrific experiences were reported to a superior and dismissed only acted to further victimize them, Balagus added in a statement.

As the chief of staff at the time of these incidents, I deeply regret that their experience was not properly recognized or dealt with, he added.

I am hopeful that the investigation to be conducted by the Manitoba NDP makes crystal clear how that failure occurred and what role individuals may have played in denying these women the support and action they deserved. That includes any direct or indirect responsibility on my part.

Balagus has been taking a more prominent role as the spring election approaches, appearing as the NDP spokesman, a role typically filled by an MPP, at a Liberal convention last weekend and at the launch of Browns ill-fated Peoples Guarantee election platform in November.

Horwaths office said there are no allegations against Balagus stemming from his four years at the Ontario Legislature.

Our organization has collective agreements, anti-harassment policies, and processes and procedures for reporting, in place at Queens Park, and at our party, to ensure women are heard and believed, and appropriate action is taken, Horwath said.

Wynne parted company with a key re-election strategist, Patricia Sorbara, last month, after staff complained about her hard-charging style.

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Controversial Liberal candidate Deanna Sgro  disciplined by the law society after 155 complaints of harassment were lodged against her staff  is a strong candidate who will earn the trust of constituents, says Economic Development Minister Steven Del Duca.

Del Duca, the first elected official to speak to the media in support of Sgro since the decision by a law society panel came to light, told reporters on Friday that Sgro has raised significant money for health care in the northwestern GTA, I know that.

Shes out knocking on doors, he added. Ultimately its an exercise in democracy. The people of Humber River-Black Creek will have a chance  to see what all of the candidates that are seeking to become their MPP have to offer. I know Deanna, shes a hard worker, she believes in the community and shes a strong candidate.

Sgro is running provincially in the riding her mother, Judy, holds federally. Under the name Deanna Lynn Natale, she was disciplined in 2013 by the Law Society of Upper Canada for professional misconduct by her staff in their work with collection agencies.

A panel found that the tone and manner of her staff in making calls crossed a line, and were abusive. It also said the practice of sending out letters  signed by Sgro  with draft court documents confused many recipients into thinking they were being sued, calling the practice deceitful and misleading.

In one case noted by the panel, a hearing impaired 83-year-old panicked after being told in calls and a letter that he could lose his home over old credit card debt. The senior took the subway and two buses to get to small claims court, where he learned there was no such action.

Opposition parties have called on Premier Kathleen Wynne to reject Sgro as a candidate.

In a previous statement to the Star, Sgro acknowledged that after she took over the firm, 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 co-operated with the law society and apologized  I respected and participated in the process with honesty and transparency.

Del Duca said Sgro has already gone through a process to deal with the complaints, and said I know Deannas going to keep working very hard to make sure that she can earn the trust of the people of the riding.

The possibility of Sgro and her mother serving public office together prompted Premier Kathleen Wynne to Tweet last week Monday: If shes 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!
U.S. partner forces in Syria are holding two suspected Daesh, also known as ISIS or ISIL, militants believed to be the remaining members of a cell that held and, in some cases, executed Western hostages, U.S. officials said Thursday.

Elements of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-dominated group that is the United States main military partner in Syria, captured the two men, El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey, in early January in eastern Syria, two U.S. officials said.

The men, who grew up in Britain before travelling to Syria to fight with Islamist militants, are suspected in the detention, exploitation and execution of Western detainees, said one official, who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive counterterrorism operations.

Read more:

At least two Canadian women are among 800 foreign ISIS families being held in legal limbo by Kurdish forces

New U.S. strategy in Syria called into question as one American ally attacks another

22-year-old Montreal woman escapes Daesh with infant daughters three years after travelling to Syria

The capture of the men, part of a militant cell known as the Beatles because of their British accents, was first reported by the New York Times.

The two men are believed to have links to Mohammed Emwazi, a Briton known as Jihadi John. Emwazi became the most well-known figure in the militant unit that handled foreign detainees for Daesh after the group released gruesome videos showing him beheading Americans James Foley and Steven Sotloff and other prisoners.

The executions helped pull the United States into the conflict in Syria, where Daesh had grown powerful amid the countrys long civil war.

Emwazi was killed in a U.S. drone strike in 2015, while a fourth member of the cell, Aine Davis, was detained in Turkey.

The U.S. official described Kotey and Elsheikh as guards or interpreters for that cell.

Elsheikh, who grew up in West London after his family emigrated from Sudan to Britain, was described as having had a normal adolescence. He is believed to have been radicalized in his 20s.

Kotey, who has a Ghanaian and Greek Cypriot background, also grew up in West London. He converted to Islam in his early 20s.

Former hostages describe severe mistreatment, beatings and mock executions at the hands of their jailers, especially the Britons.

Officials said the men remain in the custody of the SDF, which, with U.S. air support, has taken control of vast areas of northern and eastern Syria from Daesh. The prisoners have been questioned by U.S. officials.

Their detention raises new questions about the Trump administrations strategy for handling militants captured on the battlefield.

While the Obama administration sought to try overseas terrorism suspects in federal courts, the Trump administration has expressed openness to sending them to the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Late last month, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order affirming his intent to keep the prison open indefinitely, and signalling that it could receive new detainees for the first time in a decade.

Many U.S. officials believe renewed detentions could open the U.S. government to legal challenges without providing a swift judicial outcome. A military court process for other Guantanamo detainees have been stuck in pretrial proceedings for years.

U.S. officials are discussing the future of the men with partner nations, the official said, but declined to provide details.

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OKLAHOMA CITYAn Oklahoma woman convicted of using a counterfeit cheque has received a reduced sentence after getting medically sterilized at the suggestion of the judge.

U.S. District Judge Stephen Friot showed leniency to Summer Thyme Creel, 34, during her sentencing Thursday because she had surgery to prevent pregnancies, The Oklahoman reported.

She will receive a shorter sentence because she made that decision, Friot announced before sentencing Creel.

Friot had suggested the medical procedure in a June order, noting that Creel had relinquished her parental rights to six of her seven children.

Comparing the dates of Ms. Creels periods of habitual use of crack cocaine and methamphetamine ... with the dates of birth of her seven children, it appears highly likely that some of Ms. Creels children were conceived, carried and born while Ms. Creel was a habitual user of these illicit substances, the judge wrote in his order.

Friot said he could consider anything about Creels background, character and conduct during sentencing.

Creel was sentenced to a year in federal prison and three years on supervised release. She also was ordered to pay more than $15,200 in restitution.

Im sorry for the mistakes that I made, Creel said.

Creel pleaded guilty last year to using a counterfeit cheque at a Walmart in Moore in 2014. She faced a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
MANILAThe Philippine president on Friday ordered the cancellation of a multimillion-dollar deal to buy 16 helicopters from Canada and said purchases of U.S. arms should also be stopped because of too many imposed conditions, although he said he still supports U.S. President Donald Trump.

President Rodrigo Dutertes order, issued in a news conference, came after the Canadian government decided to review the $300-million helicopter deal due to concerns the Philippine military might use the utility helicopters in counter-insurgency assaults.

Philippine defence officials gave assurances Thursday that the Bell 412EPI helicopters would be used to ferry supplies and troops, including those wounded in combat, and to respond to disasters, and would not be employed to attack insurgents.

Read more:

Feds order review of deal to sell helicopters to Philippines over concerns of how theyll be used

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Philippine police resume anti-drug knock and plead visits, promise less bloody crackdown

The helicopter deal was quietly facilitated by Canadian Commercial Corp., a Crown corporation whose role includes selling Canadian-made military equipment to foreign governments.

The government initially defended the deal, saying the helicopters would only be used for disaster relief and search-and-rescue missions, and that the sale would support upwards of 1,000 jobs in the Montreal area.

But a senior officer in the Philippines military, which has been accused of committing human-rights abuses in its war with local terrorists and rebels, admitted they would be used for internal security operations.

International Trade Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne, who ordered the deals review, says Dutertes comments underline the confusion and contradictions that have surrounded the deal.

Known for his impromptu decisions and public outbursts, Duterte declared in a nationally televised news conference in southern Davao city, his hometown, that he wants the helicopter deal, along with purchases of unspecified U.S. weapons, halted.

I want to tell the armed forces to cut the deal, dont proceed with it and somehow we will look for another supplier, Duterte said of the helicopter purchase.

Although he said he respects Canadas stand, Duterte said using the helicopters just to ferry troops and dead soldiers is a crazy proposition.

Im buying helicopters because I want to finish them off, said Duterte, referring to Muslim and communist rebels along with Islamic militants in the countrys volatile south.

I hope that we will never be called upon to use arms in their defence or for them. You will never get it for as long as I am president. We are neutral, Duterte said, without making clear if he was referring to Canada or the U.S., his countrys treaty ally, or both.

Duterte, who has been critical of U.S. security policies and has lashed out at Washington for criticizing his deadly crackdown on illegal drugs, did not elaborate on why he wants purchases of unspecified U.S. arms to be stopped.

U.S., because of its too much imposition, but I assure you, I am supporting Trump, Duterte said. He is a good president. He is doing it also for his country, people just dont understand him.

Dutertes friendly attitude toward Trump contrasts with his disdain for former U.S. president Barack Obama, who raised concerns about Dutertes anti-drug campaign.

Trump visited the Philippine capital, Manila, in November to meet Duterte and attend an annual summit with Asian and Western leaders, including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Trudeau said then that he raised concerns about human rights abuses and extrajudicial killings in Dutertes anti-drug campaign during a meeting with the Philippine president. The Canadian leader was praised by human rights groups for raising the concerns, but Duterte said he was insulted and angered by the remarks.

Nearly 4,000 mostly poor drug suspects have been killed in clashes with police, according to police officials, who say the suspects resisted violently. Human rights groups have reported much higher death tolls and accused law enforcers of carrying out extrajudicial killings and of setting up crime scenes to make the victims appear to have fought back.

Duterte, a former city mayor who built a political name with his extra-tough approach to crime, has denied condoning unlawful killings but has openly threatened drug suspects with death and cursed people who criticize his anti-crime methods.

A prosecutor in the International Criminal Court announced Thursday that she was opening a preliminary probe into alleged crimes by Duterte in connection with the war on drugs.

While some of such killings have reportedly occurred in the context of clashes between or within gangs, it is alleged that many of the reported incidents involved extrajudicial killings in the course of police anti-drug operations, said Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda.

Bensouda has said in the past that she was deeply concerned about reports of the killings, and that statements by high officials in the Philippines seem to condone such killings.

With files from The Canadian Press

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WASHINGTONMick Mulvaney, a former South Carolina congressman who now serves as U.S. President Donald Trumps budget director, is a leading contender to replace White House chief of staff John Kelly, according to two people familiar with the situation.

Mulvaney, who was recently named to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on an interim basis, is the top choice if Trump dismisses Kelly over his handling of domestic abuse allegations involving one of his closest aides, according to one of the people.

Mulvaney has become one of the White Houses most effective messengers for a president who values telegenic qualities in his administration officials. He is scheduled to appear Sunday on Face the Nation, the day before the Office of Management and Budget is scheduled to release its fiscal 2019 budget blueprint.

Read more:

Analysis | Trump has a history of ignoring alleged violence against women  at least when the accused is a conservative white guy

Its a, obviously, tough time for him: Trump defends aide who resigned over domestic abuse allegations

Trump no longer reads the presidents top-secret daily intelligence report, relying instead on oral briefings

I think it makes a whole heck of a lot of sense given Trumps affinity for Mulvaney and Mulvaneys strong capability, not to mention his ties to the Hill and knowledge of what motivates the Hill, said a third person familiar with the situation.

That third person said that news Mulvaney was under consideration for the chief of staff post was spreading Friday among Republican and donor circles in North Carolina, a stones throw from the ex-lawmakers old congressional district that sits right on the South Carolina border. Several Republicans in North Carolina said that Mulvaneys selection would make sense given the close relationship he has fostered with the president in just a short amount of time.

Others who are being considered for Kellys job are House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows, a North Carolina Republican; House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California; Gary Cohn, Trumps economic adviser; and David Urban, a veteran Washington lobbyist who worked on the presidents campaign. Trump is also interested in Tom Barrack, former executive chairman of his inaugural committee, but Barrack is not willing to take the job.

Kelly has reportedly offered Trump his resignation after allowing Rob Porter to remain at the White House as staff secretary even after Porters ex-wives accused him of domestic abuse. Porter, who also had yet to receive a permanent security clearance, resigned earlier this week. A second staffer, speech writer David Sorensen, resigned Friday after his ex-wife accused him of abuse.

Some have started calling for Kellys resignation.

Faced with mounting pressure, Gen. Kelly is beginning to see the writing on the wall, Latino Victory Project President Cristobal Alex said. We urge him to follow through on his instincts.

White House spokesperson Raj Shah said Thursday that Kelly still has the confidence of the president and its unclear when or if Kelly will leave. Kelly succeeded Trumps first chief of staff, Reince Priebus, who was fired in July.

If Mulvaney is eventually appointed chief of staff, it would be the latest stop in his meteoric rise  from rank-and-file congressman to senior official in the Trump administration in just one year.

Mulvaney was elected to Congress in the Tea Party wave of 2010 and quickly became one of the House GOP leaderships biggest crusaders for fiscal restraint and ideological purity. He helped lead the government shutdown in the fall of 2013 and, two years later, was part of the revolt that resulted in then-speaker John Boehners ouster. He also co-founded the House Freedom Caucus, an influential, three dozen-member voting bloc of fiscal conservatives.

He was a polarizing figure for his hard-line positions, blunt demeanour and refusal to back down in his beliefs, but colleagues came to appreciate Mulvaney as a straight shooter and honest broker.

That trust among Republicans on Capitol Hill would go a long way were Trump to pick Mulvaney as his next chief of staff. But Mulvaney could also fall into some of the same traps that have plagued him as Office of Management and Budget director.

Congressional conservatives have routinely rolled their eyes at Mulvaneys efforts to get them to go along with some of Trumps legislative priorities, specifically ones that spend enormous amounts of money without offsets. Members have said both publicly and privately the Mick Mulvaney they used to serve with would never have agreed to support many of these proposals.

Should Mulvaney take the reins in the next three weeks, he also would find himself in a tense negotiating position on immigration as the deadline for codifying the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program nears.

As a member of Congress, Mulvaney once held a Spanish-language town hall in his conservative district, telling Latino constituents he personally supported a pathway to legal status for certain undocumented immigrants. His history on the issue could put him at odds with conservatives who dont want an expansive immigration deal. At the same time, he would offer a fresh start to those on both sides of the aisle who chafed at Kellys suggestion that some DACA recipients were too lazy to get off their asses and apply for protections under the program.

Ultimately, Mulvaneys responsibilities as chief of staff would be less about policy than about helping a notoriously volatile and unpredictable president navigate the logistical and political minefields of his office. Mulvaney would, though, likely continue to be dispatched to the Hill to pitch policies to his old colleagues, and to remain a regular fixture on the television news circuit, helping sell the presidents message to the masses.

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WASHINGTONWhen a Border Patrol agent died under mysterious circumstances in November, U.S. President Donald Trump did not wait for any evidence of homicide before he suggested the agent was murdered by illegal immigrants.

When a gambling addict set a deadly fire at a Philippines casino in June, Trump did not wait for any evidence before he inaccurately declared the incident a terrorist attack.

And Trump has never waited for evidence before accusing political rivals of all sorts of implausible criminality. Relying on nothing but an absurd National Enquirer report, he suggested Ted Cruzs father was involved in the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Relying on nothing at all, he accused Barack Obama of illegally wiretapping his phones.

Trump has a different standard for right-wing white males accused of harming women. Specifically: no amount of evidence is sufficient.

For a president who holds himself out as tough on crime, nothing at all  multiple reports from accusers who dont know each other, a photograph of a swollen face, even a dead body  has been enough to prompt a swift and direct condemnation.

A mantra of the #MeToo movement is believe women. If Trump had a mantra, itd be something like: Believe conservative guys, or at least play down their wrongdoing.

Trump campaigned for Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore after he was accused of sexually assaulting and harassing multiple teenage girls. After Heather Heyer was killed in Charlottesville, Va., allegedly by a white supremacist, Trump generically denounced violence on many sides, on many sides.

Trump did not even pretend to go through the motions of denouncing ex-aide Rob Porter.

Porter, Trumps staff secretary, resigned Wednesday after he was accused of abusing both of his ex-wives, one of whom provided news outlets with a photograph of a black eye she said he caused by punching her.

On Friday, Trump expressed sympathy. For  Porter.

Its a, obviously, tough time for him, Trump said. He did a very good job when he was in the White House. And we hope he has a wonderful career and hopefully he will have a great career ahead of him. But it was very sad when we heard about it, and certainly hes also very sad now. He also, as you probably know, he says hes innocent, and I think you have to remember that. He said very strongly yesterday that hes innocent.

He said nothing about Porters accusers. He said nothing about violence against women. He had appeared far more agitated when he spoke out in November against Black teenage athletes arrested in China for shoplifting sunglasses.

 Shoplifting is NOT a little thing. Its a really big deal, especially in China he said on Twitter.

The divergence in Trumps responses to various incidents is no mystery.

Why does the president enthusiastically condemn non-white criminals? Part personality, part strategy: he has a long history of both personal racism and using racism to excite bigots in his voter base.

Why is the president unwilling to condemn men accused of crimes against women? Part personality, part strategy.

On the strategic side, Trump is himself a man accused of crimes against women. He and his aides appear to see any admission that womens charges can be believed as a weakening of Trumps own defence.

But it would be wrong to attribute his remarks strictly to political considerations. Much of it, by all accounts, is simply a reflection of how he feels.

Whether or not Trump is guilty of the dozen sexual assaults he has been accused of, he has a long history of demonstrable sexism. And he does not seem to be troubled by claims that men have mistreated women.

After Fox News host Bill OReilly paid millions to settle harassment cases, Trump said in April: He is a good person  I don't think Bill did anything wrong. After Fox News chairman Roger Ailes was ousted over harassment claims, Trump continued to use him as a close adviser. He has said nothing about a report alleging decades of sexual harassment by his friend and fundraiser Steve Wynn.

Trump was not even comfortable with the softest of softball questions about workplace harassment. When Piers Morgan asked him in January if he can sign up to the goal of women being safe at work, he offered two words on the subject  I do  before pivoting to illegal immigrants.

I do, but I also think they want to feel safe at the border. I think they dont want people pouring into their country, he said.

There was at least one case in which Trump took a strong stand against a domestic abuser.

If @rihanna is dating @chrisbrown again then she has a death wish. A beater is always a beater--just watch! he wrote on Twitter in 2012.

With the benefit of hindsight, Browns race appears uncoincidental.

Trumps feeble remarks on Porter fanned a controversy that was embarrassing for the White House. Chief of staff John Kelly and counsel Don McGahn were already facing questions about why they failed to fire Porter  and, in fact, gave him a bigger role  even though they knew about the allegations for months.

Before Trump spoke, reports had begun to emerge that he was furious with his team, Kelly in particular, for allegedly not informing him about Porters past.

Trumps words made those stories seem like self-serving spin. Even if he had been told, he showed the world he would not have much cared.

His remarks dismayed advocates for victims, who said such a message from the president might have a chilling effect. When leadership sets a tone of sympathy for those who have abused, said Joyce Yedlosky, team coordinator for the West Virginia Coalition Against Domestic Violence, it sets a tone that perhaps victims arent believed. It kind of takes us a couple steps back where victims might not be comfortable coming forward.

In an interview with NBCs Lester Holt, Vice-President Mike Pence declared, Theres no tolerance in this White House, no place in America, for domestic abuse. He promised to look into the matter and share my counsel with the president.

On the question of this White Houses obvious tolerance for domestic abuse, it is clear, the matter is the president.

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In a bid to hold unto railways operations in Uganda, Rift Valley Railways Uganda (RVRU) is threatening to sue Uganda Railways Corporation (URC) even after government cancelled its 25-year concession early this year.

Government last month said it had terminated Rift Valley Railways concession over alleged non-performance. RVRU was also accused of having not paid accumulated concession fees as per the concession agreement signed in 2006.

URC was then instructed to take over the railway operations after cancellation of RVRU's concession. URC put out advertisements announcing that it was taking over the railway business operations.

But RVRU, in what appears like a last-minute effort to hold unto operations in Uganda, issued a counter statement warning against what it called illegal takeover of railway and wagon ferry operations by Uganda Railways Corporation.

In a statement seen by URN, URC has been put on legal notice warning against the takeover. It says RVR has not repudiated its obligations nor its rights under the terms of the concession agreement.



Rift Valley Railway Investments is the holding company for the two companies that won the concessions to run the railway services of Kenya (RVRK) and Uganda (RVRU).



The concessions involved taking over the management of rail track, locomotives and rolling stock of Kenya Railway Corporation (KRC) and Uganda Railways Corporation (URC).



The Kenyan government early last year pulled out of the 25-year concession, accusing the Egyptian-run investment firm, Qalaa Holdings, of nonperformance. The concession was aimed at improving railway services in Uganda and Kenya.

Kenya disbanded its public railway corporation while Uganda maintained the Uganda Railway Corporation (URC) as an overseer. The government of Uganda in June last year joined Kenya when minister of Finance Matia Kasaija announced plans to pull out of the deal. Kasaija during the budget speech said government was terminating the RVR concession to operate the country's 1,918km network because of poor performance.



Rift Valley Railways allegedly owed Uganda Railways Corporation over $8.5 million in concession fees by mid last year. Ministries of Finance and Works and Transport agreed to pull out of the concession and ordered URC to take over operations.



RVR, however, refusing to handover the assets and operations to URC going by the legal notice issued. The notice says RVR is the only legal entity permitted to operate railway business inside the republic of Uganda, according to the concession agreement between the Uganda government and Rift Valley Railways.



Efforts to reach minister Kasaija for a comment were futile because he was neither answering nor returning repeated phone calls. But Kasaija in a January 25, 2018 letter to RVR stated that it is clear "there is an absolute failure and refusal to perform or continue with performance of your explicit and critical contractual obligations."



He added that this amounts to a fundamental breach of the concession agreement. It is not clear whether the government exhausted all the requirements as per the termination clause in the concession.



But it appears like the minister's decision had been endorsed by the attorney general William Byaruhanga and the Works and Transport minister Monica Ntege to whom the letter was copied.



RVR claims that Uganda Railways Corporation does not have manpower and the requisite running stock especially locomotive engines to offer any freight railway services.



A former employee of RVR at Nalukolongo railway workshop told URN on condition of anonymity that the government is yet to come up with a clear position on workers' terms of service after it announced pullout from the RVR concession.



He said RVR has accumulated salary arrears to all the employees that had been placed under it under the concession. The workers are mainly in Kampala, Jinja, Tororo, Iganga and Gulu.



The source, who is one of the remaining technicians trained to repair French and German locomotive engines, says Uganda Railways Corporation can easily mobilise all the workers once the current RVR controversy is sorted.



He laments the fact the Nalukolongo workshop, once the best in East Africa and Africa at large, has been depleted of its resources like locomotives and spare parts as it changed management from Uganda Railways to Bombardier, Adtranz and latest to Rift Valley Railways.



The source said now the Nalukolongo workshop looks like a shell if compared to the 1980s and 1990s when its management began to change from URC to other players.



Uganda Railways Corporation managing director, Charles Kateeba's mobile phone equally went unanswered when contacted for comments about the latest developments.
In late 2017, as the world focused its attention on the UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn, 15,000 scientists sounded a planetary alarm. The biosphere is at a tipping point, threatening the very survival of our species, they said.

This foreboding message has ushered us into the age of consequences. After almost 40 years of ignoring the warning signs, we must make 2018 a year of decisive environmental decisions.

In the 20 years I spent with Doctors Without Borders, I witnessed first-hand the devastating impact climate change and related crises have had on our planet. Natural disasters, droughts, famine and waves of climate refugees hit the poorest countries hardest. They can destabilize entire regions and lead to armed conflict.

I chose to join the David Suzuki Foundation because even though we need to provide immediate medical and humanitarian assistance to populations dealing with crises worsened by climate change, we must also take urgent action to limit the scale and scope of future damage and the unfair and unbearable human suffering to come.

Efforts on both the humanitarian and environmental fronts are now inextricably linked by the climate crisis, and we owe it to the worlds poor and to future generations to find solutions.

We have entered the age of accountability, where every economic and political decision will change the course of the world as we know it. With the parity of renewable energy at hand, there is no longer any reason to support oil, gas and oilsands expansion.

Provincial and federal governments in Canada cannot support fossil fuel extraction while claiming to simultaneously fight climate change in earnest. This bewildering dissonance has bred inaction and cynicism, wasting valuable time we should be spending on a system-wide transition to renewable energy.

We must also stop expecting that changes will happen smoothly and that technology alone holds the answer to our problems. We will soon have to deal with climate shocks and environmental constraints that will not only limit future economic growth, but also directly affect our quality of life.

We must rethink our economic model of exponential growth, planned obsolescence, overconsumption and waste. Far better to proactively design and engineer a circular, renewable and more just economy, than to stand by helplessly awaiting whatever reality brings.

Some institutions and jurisdictions are proving just how possible it is to alter our mindsets, no matter how deeply they are entrenched. Just weeks ago, New York City made a powerful statement that the transition to clean energy is not only the right thing to do; its inevitable. Were bringing the fight against climate change straight to the fossil fuel companies that knew about its effects and intentionally misled the public to protect their profits, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

This side of the border, several post-secondary institutions are divesting from fossil fuels, starting with Laval last February. In November, Norway began to divest its massive sovereign-wealth fund, and in December, the World Bank said it would no longer lend money for oil and gas exploration.

But the fact that we now live at the expense of future generations remains true and is widely believed in many circles; even if lulled to sleep by our current comforts and the complexities of modern life. We continue to abnegate our responsibilities only to become passive spectators of our own demise.

The prognostics are dire, but I have seen people around the world come together in amazing shows of solidarity in situations that appeared hopeless. Take the Ebola crisis in West Africa: after an initial state of panic and deadly collective inaction, the international community eventually stood up and joined humanitarian agencies and local health-care workers. Together, we took just a few months to end an epidemic of biblical proportions that, until then, had seemed impossible to resolve.

Our salvation lies in our ability to recognize threats, join forces and help each other in times of adversity. As we head into 2018 and beyond, all people of goodwill must break down the walls of indifference and cynicism. Lets make this a year of decisive environmental decisions at home and around the world.

Stephen Cornish is CEO of the David Suzuki Foundation.

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In the early 2000s, when I worked with Canadian Jewish Congress, I wrote an article about my fathers family all of whom were murdered in the gas chambers of Treblinka during the Holocaust. At the time I referred to Treblinka as a Polish death camp.

I was wrong and the Canadian Polish Congress wasted no time sending me a letter quite correctly informing me that Treblinka was in fact a Nazi death camp situated in German occupied Poland. It was an attempt to ensure that history did not blame Poland for the gassings of millions of Jews and a foray into protecting the good name of Poland and its people.

This campaign of historical correction continued for years culminating last week, with a law passed by the Polish parliament that would impose fines and even a prison term for anyone who claims Poland retains responsibility for the genocide committed by Nazi Germany against six million Jews.

One can understand the need and indeed angst of Poland, perennially seen as Hitlers willing accomplices in genocide. However in truth, Poland, unlike France or even Norway, had no form of collaborationist bodies that officially carried out Nazi brutalities or subjugated its own people.

The law, however, is wrong-headed. It uses a battering ram to eviscerate historical discussion.

In fact, as the Second World War drew to a close, Poland suffered incredible losses. Historical authorities put the number at over six million. However, amongst those were three million Polish Jews, virtually 50 per cent of all Jews annihilated in the Holocaust.

And yes, it is also true to note that post war during the Communist era the mass murder of Jews in Poland and other Soviet bloc countries was never discussed. Polish Jews were simply part of Soviet citizens murdered by the fascists.

With Polish independence much of this changed. Poland did begin to come to grips with the murder of millions of their fellow Polish Jews.

It was a slow process. Poland, to this day, still suffers with a historical anti-Semitism that saw pogroms and other brutalities targeting Jews over many generations.

During the Holocaust there were both Polish heroes and villains when it came to the question of their Jewish citizens.

We know that many Poles were at best ambivalent when it came to the lives of their fellow Jewish neighbours. Indeed, the Nazis had invoked a law that would see any Poles assisting Jews as punishable by death. Perhaps one can understand the ambivalence. Yet, there was more, much more.

Many Polish citizens of the time eagerly informed Nazi authorities of Jews in hiding. A Polish farmer who demanded and did not receive an outrageous sum of money to hide them in his barn handed over my fathers brother and his family to Nazi authorities.

University of Ottawa Professor Jan Grabowski, in a February 2016 letter challenging Polish authorities view on its complicity in the murder of Jews during the Holocaust noted, that Polish Police (PolnischePolizei-PP)   worked hand in hand with the Germans and their Ukrainian auxiliaries in sending Jews to their deaths.

Granowski explained that in forcibly rounding up the Jews from various ghettos the PP committed particularly heinous crimes on helpless Jews. In fact, according to Granowski, the number of Jewish victims brutally murdered or delivered to the execution sites by Polish Police in two small areas of Poland number in the hundreds. And in a subsequent telephone call with me, he explained that this happened in many areas of Poland during the war.

And yet there is another side. My own father, Max Farber, was saved by his Polish friend, Julian who hid him on his property despite the Nazi edict of death to Poles who would do so. When my father challenged his friend not wanting to put him or his young family in danger, Julian said to him, we are friends and brothers, I will protect you come what may.

While some of its history against their Jewish neighbours is brutal even unfathomable, this law will betray the heroism of my fathers friend Julian and the thousands of other good Poles recognized by the Jewish Holocaust Museum Yad Vashem as Righteous Amongst the Nations for risking their lives to save their Jewish countrymen and women.

Whatever the reason for this law, it must be reconsidered. Polands refusal to tell the entire story of how the Holocaust played out in its own history is simply a denial of truth that should not stand.

Bernie Farber is a social justice advocate and writer. He is the former CEO of Canadian Jewish Congress and the Mosaic Institute.
The ongoing effort in the Senate to derail the passage of the Liberal governments bill to legalize marijuana is not an exercise in sober second thought, as its Conservative proponents claim, but an attempt to obstruct democracy. The Trudeau government should use the tools at its disposal to push this important legislation through the Upper House.

Bill C-45, the Cannabis Act, and C-46, which would tighten rules on impaired driving related to marijuana use, have been before the Senate since the Commons passed them in late November. And they may languish there forever if the government does not invoke so-called time allocation, a tool for curtailing debate that the Liberals have largely eschewed.

The delay has been caused by some 20 Conservative senators who have signed up to speak on Bill C-45 before it is referred to committee for review. But speaking seems less their purpose than stonewalling. In the more than two months since the bill reached the Red Chamber, not one of them has actually weighed in. Until they do so, the legislation is stuck.

Anticipating just such obstructionist tactics, Independent Senator Tony Dean, the bills sponsor in the chamber, tried to organize a structured debate that would have given senators a chance to examine the new laws, but according to a timetable that would allow for a vote before the governments summer deadline. Conservative senators rejected this proposal, however, arguing that it would not allow for the full airing of the oppositions many concerns.

Yet surely the silent obstructionism the Tories are now employing does nothing to advance their concerns. The Senate can play a useful role in studying, debating and improving legislation. But these delay tactics, so counter to the spirit of sober second thought, serve only to subvert the will of the people.

After all, the legalization of marijuana was not only a Liberal campaign promise, but a wildly popular one. Some 65 per cent of Canadians continue to support the policy - and for good reason.

The prohibition on pot has driven up the cost of policing, contributed to a national crisis of court delays, supported gang-run black markets, compounded racial and class inequities and unnecessarily criminalized people for doing something that by and large poses little threat to them or others  all without delivering the promised benefits for public health or public safety.

The bill the Conservative senators are now working so hard to delay seeks to regulate the drug and ensure that its safe, to tax it and put proceeds into public education about the risks and to strike a serious, if not fatal, blow to the black market in the process. It is among the best and certainly the boldest pieces of legislation this government has yet pursued.

The Trudeau government, unlike its predecessor, has been admirably reluctant to use procedural tricks to subvert democratic due process. During the Harper years, behemoth omnibus bills and time allocation were used freely to speed the passage of controversial legislation and to evade public and parliamentary scrutiny. In opposition and on the campaign trail, Justin Trudeau promised a more democratic approach and he has largely been true to his word.

But just because Harper used these tools too much does not mean that Trudeau must never use them at all. Every government must manage the tension between efficiency and democracy. But in the case of the popular pot bill and the unelected senators trying to block it, these values are not at odds. Both would be well served by a heavier government hand in the Upper House.

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Thursdays dawn brought more foreboding to the countrys climate change agenda.

Ontarios opposition Progressive Conservatives formally ditched support for a carbon tax.

Pipeline battle lines between British Columbia and Alberta remained firmly drawn.

And, oh my, Jason Kenney, a prospective Alberta premier and carbon tax opponent, was lurking in the corridors of Parliament Hill.

Against this backdrop, Environment Minister Catherine McKenna strode into the National Press Theatre and set to juggling.

In unveiling a new environmental regulatory process McKenna was dealing with one of the defining dilemmas of this Liberal mandate, the crowded intersection between jobs, investment, climate change and Indigenous rights.

Despite her claims otherwise, one must obviously toss politics on to that heap.

Pipelines and other major energy projects, by McKennas own admission, polarize Canadians, even those from the same tribe, as British Columbia Premier John Horgan and Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, both New Democrats, are proving.

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The Liberals may have gone a long way to repair the damage done to the regulatory process and eliminated the discredited National Energy Board, but they are not going to end the polarization and they certainly cant be all things to all people on this file.

McKenna stayed true to the on the one hand, but on the other hand, mantra of her government, stressing the environment and the economy go together and vowing the Liberals will show the world they can protect the environment while attracting investment.

There are hundreds of major resource projects worth more than $500 billion in investment planned for the next decade, she said, and pipeline projects create jobs.

On the other hand, Indigenous rights must be respected and Canadians must have a greater opportunity for input, she said.

It sounded at times as if McKenna was debating herself from the podium.

At the end of the day, however, it is still going to be up to her and her government.

Elected politicians have to make hard decisions based on the national interest, the minister said, and streamlining and simplifying the regulatory process and explaining decisions simply and promptly to Canadians will not purge the process of politics.

McKenna and her government are pushing through the twinning of the Kinder Morgan pipeline which would carry Alberta bitumen to Burnaby, B.C., even though it has not won community or Indigenous buy-in.

It was approved under the discredited process under Stephen Harper that McKenna would dismantle with her legislation, not given the full review Trudeau had promised during a campaign stop in British Columbia in 2015.

It would have been approved under the new regulations she announced Thursday, and she echoed the prime minister in stating bluntly that the Kinder Morgan expansion would go ahead.

While accusing Harper of favouring politics over science in gutting environmental regulations, McKenna went on to explain the political considerations in the Kinder Morgan approval.

Without Notleys initiatives in Alberta there would be no national climate plan, McKenna said, and in that context the Liberals gave the go-ahead to the Kinder Morgan expansion Notley so desperately wanted.

In other words, the political equation meant that the Liberals needed a supportive NDP government in Alberta more than the seats it may lose in B.C.s Lower Mainland in 2019.

The Kinder Morgan expansion may have been in the national interest, but it was also in the Liberals interest, particularly with a nemesis, Kenney, ready to challenge Notley at the polls next year.

The minister is promising earlier, more widespread consultation with communities and Indigenous communities, relying more on traditional Indigenous knowledge. It will tell project proponents with whom they must consult, but as McKenna said, smart proponents are already widely consulting with opponents.

This is a government, however, which celebrated its support of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and has supported a private members bill by New Democrat Romeo Saganash that would force Canadian laws to conform to the UN declaration

The declaration demands states obtain free, prior and informed consent, from Indigenous communities before approving resource extraction on Indigenous land.

The Liberals will not enshrine this power  usually described as a veto  in its overhauled process, vowing only to try very hard to obtain that prior consent through consultation.

Sometimes that wont be possible, she acknowledged, again showing the limits of dialogue when it comes to fulfilling its nation-to-nation reconciliation goals.

But it will talk. And talk some more. But when it is time for a decision, the only guarantee will be more polarization.

Tim Harper writes on national affairs. tjharper77@gmail.com, Twitter: @nutgraf1

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Youve got to confess its worthy of chuckles and cackles.

A made-for-Internet scientific discovery that at the same time strikes at the core of modern racial strife. An announcement Wednesday that DNA tests on the oldest complete skeleton in Britain, that heart and ancestral home of many white people around the world, suggest that the first modern Briton was blue-eyed, yes, but very dark-skinned and curly-haired.

The Cheddar Man, named thus for the English village of Cheddar where his skeleton was discovered in 1903, is about 10,000 years old.

To add salt to a supremacists wound, scientists said that the genes for lighter skin likely came from, you got it, immigrants from the Middle East.

Oh snap.

Dark-skinned native Britons and light-skinned immigrants.

Its like reaching into the eye of a storm and fitting it with sunglasses.

Disorienting.

Those brave lads and fair maidens on glorious historical British dramas on TV  descendents of immigrants.

The image of God himself, majestic, kindly old white guy in white robes with flowing white beard  fashioned on immigrants.

Imagine being Nigel Farage, the former leader of the U.K. Independence Party, who proudly stood in front of a Nazi-era-like poster with the slogan, Breaking point: the EU has failed us all, and a photo of a winding lineup of migrants of colour.

Now he would have to change that slogan to Breaking point: I come from them. I am them.

Such horror.

No wonder there were hopeful comments online about Cheddar Man such as, Whos to say the persons not a foreign visitor or a call to index this as fake news, or the insistence that this was a finding driven by a social justice agenda to force poor victimized British people into accepting mass migration.

The Cheddar Man, 10,000 years old though he may be, absolutely has bearing on contemporary debates on race and migration.

This discovery of a dark-skinned original Briton doesnt put the race genie back into the bottle in an equalizing were all immigrants kind of way.

On the contrary, in exposing the racial fluidity of Britons, Cheddar Man delivers a sucker punch to toxic ideas that drive the white power mobs who in turn fuel xenophobic policies. It reveals the basis of their quick codes equating skin colour to valour or danger as nothing but fear-based fiction.

Scientists have long argued that race is not a biological concept. People of one race  or at least people who can be grouped together with similar physical traits  are not genetically homogenous.

The concept of races evolved as a way of justifying slavery and to maintain an economy founded on slave labour; it was easier to rationalize the brutalization of the savage than to face the unconscionable alternative.

From then on, it continues to be a favoured tool to demonize the other.

Around the world, oppressor groups have always found identity a useful tool with which to assert themselves as inherently superior, as natural holders of power, be it on the basis of race, gender, sexual identity, religious identity, tribal identity or caste.

That race isnt real does not mean racism isnt real.

Anti-Black racism is so widespread and global in scope, that I wish scientists would hurry up and create a bust out of the fossils of the 750,000-year old Peking Man, for instance, and in keeping with the Out of Africa theory, definitively establish Blackness as the root ancestry of Chinese people.

Such knowledge might have given the Hubei Provincial Museum in Wuhan pause before it displayed a photography exhibit that juxtaposed wild African animals with Black African people.

I wish they were able create a bust that would depict an original Indian Man, one who existed before the Aryans and Dravidians did 5,000 years ago, as black-skinned  darker the better. Such knowledge might inject a modicum of humility before privileged Indians wreak racist violence on African students and caste-related violence on Dalits.

When nations look to figure out where theyre going next, it makes sense sometimes to turn back and look at the past for clues.

Being reminded of a shared heritage with people they consider coming from s---hole countries, might give Western leaders, including a certain U.S. president, a few pointers as they ponder immigration policies.

These leaders might read data helpfully put forward by Arvind Magesan, associate professor of economics, University of Calgary, in The Conversation. That might help them discover that although their own policies play a part in making those countries s---holes, those immigrants continue to be better educated, better employed (although lower-paid) than those of, shall we say, Norway-like countries.

This is one way the discovery of Cheddar Mans skin colour could have the power to force aside the ahistorical lens with which we view our fellow humans.

At least for a few days.

Shree Paradkar writes about discrimination and identity. You can follow her @shreeparadkar
As Kathleen Wynne and Rachel Notley have reminded us, trade protectionism doesnt easily go away. It is too popular.

Wynne, the embattled Ontario premier, is earning political points by threatening to retaliate against New York and other U.S. states that impose Buy American laws.

Alberta premier Notley is doing much the same thing. But her target is British Columbia. In retaliation for its effort to stall a heavy-oil pipeline that Alberta wants, Notley has banned the sale of B.C. wine in her province.

All of this comes as Canadian politicians across the political spectrum swear allegiance to the theology of free trade.

Their unspoken assumption is that only ignoramuses like U.S. President Donald Trump think otherwise.

In fact, all kinds of savvy politicians flirt with trade protection. They do so because thats what voters want.

The U.S. has had Buy American laws in place since 1933. They require government-funded projects to use American-made materials.

The 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement opened up some U.S. federal projects to Canadian firms. The 2010 Canada-U.S. Agreement on Government Procurement potentially opened up some state projects.

But in both deals, the U.S demanded important exemptions that, in effect, kept its Buy American-powers largely intact.

Wynne has been sparring with New York for a year. Last April, she persuaded the state to back away from a more ambitious Buy America measure. But in December, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill requiring New York to use only U.S.-made steel in road or bridge projects worth more than $1 million.

It was this second version that Wynne was responding to when she said Tuesday she would retaliate. She pledged to introduce a bill later this month that would give her government the authority to retaliate against any U.S. state deemed to have treated Ontario firms unfairly.

With an Ontario election due in June, its not a bad time to raise the flag.

So, too, in Alberta, where Notleys New Democratic Party government is due to face the voters next year.

After B.C. had the audacity to interfere with Albertas desire for a new pipeline to carry oilsands bitumen to the Pacific coast, Notley first threatened to rethink Albertas plan to buy hydroelectric power from B.C.

Its not clear how serious that threat was, given that Alberta needs B.C. power if Notley is to keep her promise to wean the province away from coal-fired electricity generation.

Then she hit on the politically brilliant idea of banning B.C. wines.

This move almost certainly runs afoul of any number of interprovincial trade agreements. But it punishes B.C. without hurting Albertans much. And it is popular.

Notley even won grudging praise from her arch-enemy, Conservative leader Jason Kenney.

Free trade purists are not likely to be wowed by the Wynne-Notley actions. They will argue that protectionist measures, even those designed as retaliation, end up hurting consumers. They will warn that tit-for-tat retaliation risks spiralling out of control.

They will say that instead of retaliating, politicians would do better to develop even more comprehensive rules that explicitly require states, provinces and municipalities to adhere to the norms of free trade. The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between Canada and the European Union is often cited as a model here.

Such arguments, while academically sound, forget two things. First, free trade deals are never pure. As the NAFTA talks are showing, the most powerful partner gets to call the shots. Almost invariably, the price of admission is submission.

Second, most people have an inchoate notion of fairness that often contradicts the tenets of free trade.

New Yorkers think their tax money should support the jobs of fellow Americans. Ontarians think their industries shouldnt be put at a disadvantage. Albertans think outsiders who put the provinces jobs at risk deserve at least a punch in the snoot.

All of which, as Notley and Wynne know, are very understandable positions.

Thomas Walkom appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

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An undergrad I know was captivated recently by Phil Ochs savage, sarcastic 1960s musical takedown of aging progressives: Love me, love me, Im a liberal. (I went to socialist meetings/ Learned all the old union hymns/ But Ive grown older and wiser/And thats why Im turning you in/ So love me )

Its natural to tend toward radical positions when youre young. Your mind is agile and you havent acquired the one item that might mitigate extremities: extensive life experience. Going liberal, or in Canadas case Liberal, may follow with age. Whats odd is the notion of a young l/Liberal (YL), its almost an oxymoron.

Yet there have been many YLs, some now high up in Ottawa. (The idea of young conservatives doesnt seem quite as paradoxical.) Im thinking this may help explain the odd refusal of the Trudeau government to deal with the desperate state of journalism, especially newspapers, in Canada. The Stars big boss, John Honderich, addressed this with deep aggravation recently. Theyve adamantly failed to help, even with measures that would cost them nothing.

These are young  or recently were  figures, like Gerry Butts, Justins main handler. He moved straight from university to working for a Liberal senator  a fine one, Allan MacEachen, but well aged by then; both of them grew up in the radical seedbed of Cape Breton.

Most people dont want to seem fusty at an early age  hey, what happened to my youth and rebellion? Being a cog, even a sizable one, in the Liberal party, isnt the coolest thing you can do at that age, so you seek something else to display your edge. Recently, that includes being tech savvy. This is an era, as Thomas Frank says about U.S. Democrats, when being hip and cool implies the internet and Silicon Valley.

To such people, newspapers may look like dog turds left by feckless pet owners. There was nothing virtual about them. You had to, until recently, bend down to pick them up off your porch, even in the cold. They now exist in virtual forms, but the musty odour lingers.

A Liberal mouthpiece said, of a policy being considered for the periodical sector, though not newspapers, that, The government wants to correct some of the problems  to adapt it to the digital age because it was created before the advent of the internet.

You can hear his shame and embarrassment re anything pre-internet. Heritage Minister Melanie Joly says she has no plan to bail out industry models that are no longer viable.

This is just ignorant.

The crisis is about journalism, not business models. Many, perhaps most, business models are failed  like the CBC, which has no real business model, except huge public subsidies that the Liberals happily keep rolling out to cover its many failures.

Capitalism itself is pretty failed, depending on where you view it from, and that extends to its origins in piracy and conquest  you call that a business model?

Theres no intrinsic connection between journalism and its current business model, which simply equals advertising. It wasnt ever thus; newspapers fell into dependence on ads in the late 1800s. It was accidental but it happened to work for 100 years.

You could sever journalism from ads entirely  i.e., from that business model  and it would still be journalism, in fact itd be better journalism. The question isnt the model  any revenue source will do  its whether a society can be democratically healthy without solidly funded journalism.

Theres another consideration here, its speculative (yes, like the above): the post-politics factor, AKA the Obama factor. We live in a time when almost no one seems to view politics as a lifelong career. Theres too much money to be made outside it, especially with political connections to peddle.

This could account for Obamas reluctance to force change on the Wall St. banks, exactly when he had the whip hand in 2009 and they were ready to accept it. He was young, with a family, and was already looking beyond being president.

In the case of the (formerly) YLs, where might they be aiming, post-politics? To the big internet players, perhaps, such as Facebook and Google, whod necessarily be in the crosshairs of any serious attempt to salvage journalism, since almost all the ad revenue that once supported journalism, has been diverted into their accounts. Cui bono? as they say in the journalism schools.

Rick Salutin appears Fridays.
Use a pen tablet, an interactive whiteboard or even a mouse to write and annotate your course. We are constantly working the improve the writing experience.

OpenBoard is easy to use yet powerful. It is a tool that can help you do your job and does not get in the way.

Available on Windows, Mac and Linux so you can stay with what you like the most.

OpenBoard is released under the GPLv3 License and maintained by the community on GitHub .

Choose the best for your class Free and open source Get OpenBoard now

OpenBoard is an open source cross-platform teaching software for interactive whiteboard designed primarily for use in schools and universities. It can be used both with interactive whiteboards or in a dual-screen setup with a pen-tablet display and a beamer.

Where is it from ?

OpenBoard was originally forked from Open-Sankore 2.0, which was itself based on Uniboard. This fork was created to refocus the software on its original core functionalities and values, that is the work of a teacher in a classroom, privileging the ease of use. The evolution of this software will therefore take place in accordance with these core principles.

Cross-platform

Supported platforms are Windows (7+), macOS (10.9+) and Linux (tested on 16.04).

Who is involved?

Currently, OpenBoard is maintained by the Education Department (DIP) of the canton of Geneva, in Switzerland. The University of Lausanne, who developped the original Uniboard software in 2003 has joined the effort by means of a logistical and financial contribution. An association project will be developed in 2019.

A meeting was held in June 2016 between representatives from the universities of Lausanne, Neuchatel, Fribourg and Geneva, the departments of Education from the cantons of Geneva and Jura as well as various institutions from the canton of Vaud (Switzerland) to together reflect on the desired evolution of OpenBoard.

What's next ?

Interest is growing fast across Switzerland but also in Europe and North America. A swiss law non-profit organisation should be created. This organisation would promote OpenBoard and its open source development and foster collaboration between interested parties. This in respect of the core principles which led to the creation of this fork, that is the refocusing on the work of a teacher in a classroom, privileging the ease of use.
The concept of working independently has changed across metro cities in the past five years. Not only millennial entrepreneurs, freelancers, startups are choosing to share office space, but corporate organisations, willing to cut rising expenses, are also embracing the modern way working, which has disrupted the traditional norms of doing business. The reasons for the changing scenario are increasing real estate costs, overhead expenses, need for a vibrant environment, among others. Traditional office spaces are either highly expensive or devoid of diverse working environment, hence co-working spaces.

RISING CO-WORKING SPACE DEMAND

The demand for co-working office spaces is rising with an increased investor activity and sustained leasing by technology companies, reported Colliers, a global commercial real estate services company. In its report on India Office Property Market Review in 2017, the company said overall, India's co-working space market is expanding, with 41.6 million sq ft of gross office leasing transactions reported in 2016 alone.

The technology sector continues to drive the market with a 58 per cent share of total leasing volume, and Bengaluru has topped the list by retaining a 31 per cent share followed by Delhi-NCR, which represents 18 per cent of the total occupier demand. Therefore, many co-working space companies have mushroomed across the Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and India's Silicon Valley, Bengaluru.

91springboard, one of the India's largest co-working communities that recently launched its 15th co-working space hub in Mumbai's Bandra Kurla Complex (fourth alone in Mumbai), has introduced open spaces focused on socialisation as well as independent offices for professionals from diverse fields.

"The 400-seater co-working office space is a place for everyone - interiors with a minimalist but futuristic theme, space-optimising office furnishings, hi-speed internet, conference and meeting rooms, cafes, locker facilities, game zones, a separate networking space, a lounge with sofas and all other facilities that the Silicon Valley startups enjoy," says 91springboard CEO Anand Vemuri.

Covering an area of 18,000 square feet, 91springboard BKC hub's close proximity - just 6km - from Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport makes it a hot destination for professionals. "We have established 15 hubs in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Goa, and many more are in the pipeline," he added.

OneCoWork, which has three co-working office spaces across Delhi, recently marked its foray into Bengaluru by opening a new co-working hub that can house up to 257 professionals. Located in Koramangala, the centre provides ultramodern features like sleeping pods, gaming lounges, and block labs (aimed at blockchain-based collaborative research and development expeditions) among others. "Our Bengaluru facility features some of the latest hi-tech additions to co-working spaces," Himanshu Bindal, Founder of OneCoWork.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL

So why are co-working spaces ideal not only for solo entrepreneurs but also large corporations? "A new self-owned and operated office requires businesses to take care of everything from identifying the preferred site, conducting lease and purchase negotiations, and procuring equipment to maintaining infrastructure, hiring housekeeping staff, and setting up tech facilities," says Pranay Gupta, Co-founder, 91springboard, adding that these are major financial commitments for not only emerging startups but also for established companies. He says co-working space saves time and resources in a cost-effective way.

Sudeep Singh, Chief Evangelist at GoWork, says initially a co-working space was believed to be an option for bootstrapped entrepreneurs running on a tight budget but now established business are walking the co-working road, thanks to the variety of amenities and unique working environment being provided at co-working space. "Easy-to-customize spaces are the growing demand and allow businesses to develop their workspace according to the business needs," says Sudeep. GoWork's facility in Gurgaon, which the company claims to be the largest in the world, is spread in an area of 4.5 lakh sq feet and can house up to 8,000 people.

PERFECT SPOT FOR NETWORKING

A co-working space comprises like-minded individuals from different domains under one roof, which can also be a perfect spot for entrepreneurs looking up to build up network. How can a co-working space help in networking? "The biggest benefit of a co-working space is that it facilitates seamless business networking, which is crucial for growth. At a co-sharing place, professionals from different business domains work together that can organically lead to collaboration opportunities, which mutually benefit everyone," says 91springboard's Pranay.

GoWork's Chief Evangelist Sudeep Singh says startups, SMEs and corporate are the key drivers of co-working, which mutually benefit each other. "Corporate houses look for entrepreneurs for quick solutions and technical expertise, which lead to a fair exchange of business and commerce among both the parties."

Anuj Sharma, founder of Localguy, a Himachal-based online experience-sharing startup that caters to the unorganised sector and enables micro-entrepreneurs in Tier-II and Tier-III cities to connect directly with travellers, says co-working spaces are the best for bootstrapped companies focusing on cost management, product design, and application. "I worked on my prototype from the Nasscom facility in Noida, a co-working space. I was selected under Nasscom's 10,000 Startups Programme, and I also got assistance from experts that helped me build a strong network. Once you're in such a zone, you meet people from different walks of life. You can cash in on their experience to address your challenges," says the 28-year-old entrepreneur.

Anuj says perks like cool offices to sync with creative self, exposure to industry experts, and unique startup ecosystem make co-working spaces hit among new-age entrepreneurs.
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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There seems to be no end to troubles for the Fortis Healthcare promoters, Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singh. First the accusation of siphoning off of $300 million by a US-investor, then the Delhi High Court verdict in favour of Japanese drug maker Daiichi Sankyo, and now the allegations that they took Rs 473 crore from their publically listed company, Fortis Healthcare without the board approval. The duo quit as directors from the company's board on Thursday. Reports also suggest Manipal Hospital is in merger talks with Fortis Healthcare.

The company issued a release saying the resignation is "intended to free the organisation from any encumbrances that may be linked to the promoters in light of the recent HC judgement."

According to a report in Bloomberg published on Friday, the funds were mentioned as cash-and-cash equivalents in the company balance sheets but the money was allegedly routed to the Singh brothers. The report didn't confirm where the money was used, but cites it a reason that the company has not released its second quarter results so far.

Refuting the allegations, Fortis Hospitals said it deployed funds in secured short-term investments with companies in normal course of treasury operations. The company release to BSE says the "loans" are fully "secured", and are being repaid.

The Bloomberg report alleges that Fortis's auditor, Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP, didn't sign off the Q2 result report due to the same reason. "We categorically deny the alleged news that the auditors have refused to sign the accounts for Q2. The limited review process for Q2 and Q3 results is in progress and already sent to your office by February 7," Fortis said in the BSE filing.

Rs 3,500 crore arbitral award

On February 2, a single judge bench of Justice Jayant Nath of the Delhi High Court directed the Singhs to pay Rs 3,500 crore to Japanese drug maker Daiichi Sankyo - that's 35 per cent of the Rs 10,000 crore the Singh brothers had received for selling their stake in Ranbaxy - then valued at $ 4.6 billion - to Daiichi in 2008.

When the Singhs sold their drug company Ranbaxy to Daiichi Sankyo in 2008, the US Department of Justice was investigating a complaint on the basis of a report submitted by whistleblower and company's former employee Dinesh Thakur in 2005. In September 2008, the US government issued a warning to Ranbaxy for 30 of its products, but the deal with Daiichi was signed in November same year.

Diversion of $300 million



On January 30, a New York-based investor, Siguler Guff & Co, which has six per cent stake in Religare Finvest, alleged the Singhs indulged in "diversion and siphoning" of funds to clear their personal debts of at least $1.3 billion. The Singhs allegedly gave 21 loans worth millions to independent companies that rerouted at least $300 million to private firms linked to the brothers on the same day. Religare had said "all the allegations are completely baseless and have been responded to by Religare in the High Court of Delhi."

Manipal in merger talk with Fortis Health

Manipal Hospital, backed by US investment company TPG, is in talks to merge Fortis Healthcare with itself. Bombay Stock Exchange has sought clarification from Fortis Healthcare with reference to reports of Manipal Hospital's merger talks with Fortis Health.
Schenectady

A veteran museum professional and science educator has taken over as the new president of miSci.

Gina C. Gould started in the job last week. She comes to the Schenectady museum from the Bruce Museum of Art & Sciences in Greenwich, Conn., where she was curator of science and a consultant. Gould replaces William "Mac" Sudduth, who came out of retirement to lead miSci for five years and announced late last year that he he would transition to a new role at the museum after a successor was found. Gould was named president in December.

"I've been coming to this area since I was a student," said Gould, 56, who while in college visited friends in the Capital Region. "I absolutely fell in love with it, with the stories of how, from Schenectady to Troy, they used science to change the way the cities operated."

Gould earned a bachelor's degree in zoology from SUNY-Oswego and a doctorate in earth and environmental sciences from Columbia University. She has worked at institutions including the National Museum of Natural History of Paraguay; the Florida Museum of Natural History; the Ashokan Center in the Catskills, New York State's oldest outdoor environmental education center; and the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, where she was project manager for the $40 million renovation of the museum's nationally celebrated fossil halls. She is also associate research professor in the Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering at the University of Connecticut and a Bard College faculty member in the Department of Citizen Science.

MiSci is the first time Gould has worked at a science museum, not a museum of natural history.

"I've always been really interested in melding my love of the natural world with how it related to science and technology," she said. "This gives me the opportunity to really get into that."

"Dr. Gould brings to miSci a love of science, a lifelong commitment to building community around informal science education, and an enthusiasm to realize the museum's vision within Tech Valley and beyond," Tony Farah, chairman of miSci's board of trustees, said in a statement. "As a board, organization and community, we are thrilled to have her as miSci's next leader as we continue to expand the museum's reach and capabilities in Tech Valley."

Gould was hired in part based on the strength of a presentation she gave as part of the application process. She was tasked with designing a hypothetical exhibit about artificial intelligence.

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"They wanted to know what it would look like, what the story would be, and how I would fund it," said Gould. "That was a very interesting question, especially for a paleontologist like me, who has done a ton of dinosaur exhibits."

Gould will build on the work of Sudduth, who oversaw the shift of what was once know as the Schenectady Museum into a regional science center, later rebranding it from the Museum of Innovation and Science to the shortened miSci. During Sudduth's tenure, attendance rose more than 500 percent and membership more than 100 percent. Sudduth is now in a new role at the museum, overseeing strategic STEM initiatives that will include launching new exhibits, expanding into the adjacent Vale Park and launching an arboretum project at Mohawk Harbor.

"The first thing I want to understand is what the community wants from their local museum -- particularly what the schools need, what the teachers need," Gould said. "Then I want to reach out to families, to find out what they need to encourage their own personal journeys in understanding what is happening in science and technology, because it is happening very fast."

Finally, she said, she envisions miSci as a central resource for area and regional colleges and universities to show off their scientific and technological advances to the public.

"I want people to know this is where they can come to see all the latest in cutting-edge technology," Gould said, "I want miSci to be the hub."
Rensselaer

Owners of a landfill in Rensselaer have been ordered to stop taking unacceptable waste not allowed under its permit, according the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

State inspectors found that the Dunn landfill, located on Partition Street Extension, has taken small amounts of plastics and other household wastes that are not allowed under it state permit, which is limited to wood, bricks, asphalt and other kinds of debris.

"DEC directed the facility to immediately come into compliance with all laws and regulations," according to an agency statement. "DEC will continue regular unannounced patrols to monitor the operation of the facility and will take immediate action if any violations are found."

State inspectors found the improper waste during visits to the site in October, December and January. Amounts were described as small, and the landfill owner, Waste Connections, was not issued any citations or fines.

Improper waste included "large piles of shredded plastic," cardboard, packaging, and plastic containers, based on DEC reports and photographs. A DEC report from Jan. 12 said the amounts of such improper wastes "exceeded amounts that are considered incidental."

The company also operates the Colonie town landfill, and has been diverting construction and demolition debris from that facility, which is approaching its state-mandated limit for dumping, to the Dunn facility in Rensselaer.

Colonie officials have estimated that about 160 tons of C&D waste a day are being diverted to the Rensselaer site in order to extend the life of the Colonie landfill.

Neighbors there want the city to shut down the Dunn facility, which has a state permit to operate through July 2022. The site is a former sand and gravel mine.

There have been complaints that trash from the Dunn has been blowing into the nearby Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.

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Currently, DEC is weighing Colonie's request to double the capacity of the landfill located along a bend in the Mohawk River, a plan that is opposed by the neighboring towns of Halfmoon and Waterford, as well as the environmental group Riverkeeper.

While the town's state landfill permit expired at the end of December, DEC is allowing the facility to continue running on an extension while the expansion plan is under review. However, the state-imposed maximum capacity remains in force.

Last fall, figures provided by the DEC from the town's annual landfill report indicated the facility could hit full capacity as early as February, if the town had continued accepting trash at past rates.

An attempt to reach Waste Connections late Friday was not successful.
Harrisburg, Pa.

Sunoco has agreed to a $12.6 million fine over problems with a massive natural gas pipeline project, but work will resume under a consent agreement, Pennsylvania regulators said Thursday.

The Department of Environmental Protection said Sunoco Pipeline has made changes since work on the $2.5 billion Mariner East 2 pipeline was halted Jan. 3.

The 350-mile project has been plagued by spills and leaks of drilling fluid and improper construction methods.

"Sunoco has demonstrated that it has taken steps to ensure the company will conduct the remaining pipeline activities in accordance with the law and permit conditions, and will be allowed to resume," Environmental Protection Secretary Patrick McDonnell said in a statement. "DEP will be monitoring activities closely to ensure that Sunoco is meeting the terms of this agreement and its permits."

In stopping the work last month, the state agency said Sunoco demonstrated it could not or would not comply with Pennsylvania's clean streams law and other regulations.

The company said Thursday it agreed to the deal to avoid litigation and resume construction on a major pipeline project.

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"While we strongly disagree with their legal conclusions that our conduct was willful or egregious, we felt it was important to our unit holders and to the commonwealth of Pennsylvania that we move forward rather than engage in continued litigation," according to a statement released by spokesman Jeff Shields.

The consent agreement, dated Thursday, specifies that Sunoco will withdraw an appeal of last month's order filed a few days ago with the state Environmental Hearing Board.

The state agency called the fine one of the largest civil penalties it has ever imposed and said the money will be deposited into funds for clean water and dams and encroachments.
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.
You are all familiar with the artwork of Czech master Alphonse Mucha whether you know it or not. Reproductions of his detailed posters from the turn of the 20th century, and countless imitations of his distinctive style with all its swooping lines, feminine elegance and formal delicacy define the style labeled then and now as art nouveau.

But you shouldn't think you really know this man's work until you see it firsthand, which is easy at the Hyde Collection's expansive new show, "Alphonse Mucha." Over 70 high quality lithographic posters and magazine illustrations, along with a handful of preparatory works and actual books and objects, fill the main gallery with all their delirious precision and gorgeous, smart color.

Mucha was a reasonably successful young artist in Paris when he got a lucky commission in 1894 to create a poster for a new play by the sensationally famous Sarah Bernhardt. "Gismonda," a tall, complex graphic of the actress standing in a long robe holding a palm branch and looking proudly into the distance, her hair an effusion of flowers, greets you as you enter. To each side are proofs where the printer has applied just a single color as a way to explore visual possibilities. Elsewhere in the show is a similar American version from the next year, printed in Cincinnati.

This is all fascinating stuff. Mucha's lithographs suggest an art of applying layers of color, mechanically, with an expertise and finesse worth unpeeling, and we might wish there was more comparison and dissection here. It's curious that the drawings or paintings are not especially strong on their own. Something clicked into place when Mucha adjusted his vision to the liberating limitations of printmaking.

This is easiest to see in the bold works made for companies like his famous Perfecta bicycle poster or the large poster for Job cigarette papers. Ads for products like Moet Champagne and Benedictine liqueur, and further promotional pieces for Bernhardt, are unfailingly elaborate and refined, representing a popular ideal of good taste, and a demeanor of bright faced calm hovering somewhere between euphoria and ennui.

Some of the best works  ones that add some surprise to the well-oiled style or that have something approaching a genuine expression  are smaller pieces. One is an earlier, famous Job design, a woman lighting her cigarette with a spark of red, the smoke an irregular back and forth behind her. Another is the cover to a special holiday issue of L'Illustration newspaper where Mucha presents a symbolist allegory. An angel leans over an alluring, dying woman, representing the departing year (1896). A church in the distance implies a religious presence, maybe the hope of the year ahead. Hands and evergreen branches on one side, the inevitable rivers of golden hair, and many other little additions make a visual dazzle.

It would be easy to assail Mucha's work for his stereotyping a kind of decorative woman stripped of personality or for sticking so closely to his curving-line style for a huge range of applications. But Mucha is no Cezanne or Toulouse-Lautrec. He's closer in spirit to the stained glass effusions of Louis Comfort Tiffany (who prefigures him by a few years) or to the illustrations by Maxfield Parrish (a bit later).

The multinational styles of art nouveau came out of various arts and crafts and decorative arts movements, with artists favoring stylized, archly posed, and often symbolic subject matter. And this caught on, infecting book illustration and the newly exploding field of commercial advertising. Paris was mad about all kinds of advertising posters in the 1890s, and this ''affichomanie'' ("poster frenzy") led to people pilfering the works, including Mucha's, from poles and walls almost as soon as they were mounted.

Today, these posters and magazine illustrations have migrated to art collections and museums, gloriously framed and matted to the highest standards. Fair enough. Don't neglect this singular chance to see Mucha  a lot of Mucha  for its genuine aesthetic vigor.

William Jaeger is a frequent contributor to the Times Union.
Tata Steel Limited announced its results for the quarter ended December 31 at Rs 1,136 crore against Rs 232 crore in the previous year quarter. The company achieved consolidated quarterly revenue of Rs 33,447 crore, which is up by 15 per cent on YoY bases while 3 per cent on the QoQ basis. The company said its gross debt decreased by Rs 1,658 crore over Q2 FY18 at Rs 88,601 crore, mainly due to repayments and positive forex impact.

In a statement, the company said its crude steel production grew 4 per cent than the previous year quarter to 3.27 million tonnes, while deliveries grew by 10 per cent on YoY basis to 3.30 million tonnes, which is higher than the steel consumption growth in India.

Higher deliveries and improved realizations boosted the revenues during the quarter (net off the impact of excise) by 22 per cent on the YoY basis while 10 per cent on QoQ.

The automotive segment sales increased by 25 per cent (QoQ) and 34 per cent (YoY). Branded products, retail and solutions segment sales grew 8 per cent (QoQ) and 11 per cent (YoY). Deliveries in the industrial products, projects and exports segment grew 4 per cent (QoQ) and 7 per cent (YoY). The company's engineering sub-segment registered double growth on YoY basis.

The company's European operations saw the liquid steel production of 2.67 million tonnes (1 per cent up on YoY), in 3QFY18, while its Southeast Asian operations grew 26 per cent on YoY.

TV Narendran, CEO and Managing Director of Tata Steel, said: "Globally steel prices have been buoyant with improved trade position in China with cost push from raw materials. Our focus on India continues as we look to expand our Kalinganagar site as well as pursue inorganic growth opportunities."

Koushik Chatterjee, executive director and CFO of the company, said Tata Steel revenue had witnessed a robust growth due to improved volumes in India and stronger global realisations. "We are focusing on raising capital and optimising financing flexibility, for which the company has refinanced debt by raising $1.3 billion in the international debt capital markets through a dual tranche bond issuance."

Tata Steel has approved a 5 MTPA expansion at Tata Steel's Kalinganagar plant, whose total cost is estimated as Rs 23,500 crore. The company board has also approved a rights issue of equity shares for Rs 12,800 crore, which will be used for deleveraging and general corporate purposes.
Jevon Campbell, who raps under the name AirlineJay, lives in Albany and likes it, but his ambition reaches beyond the city he's lived in most of his life.

"I'd love to be the person to put Albany on the map," Campbell said. "But I don't do it for Albany. When I think of a song, I think of Drake, Kendrick (Lamar), J Cole."

Campbell has "always loved music" and exploring its possibilities, first as a boy in Jamaica playing around with his dad's cassette tapes. As a 15-year-old in upstate New York, he moved to the next step, drawing inspiration from the lyricism of Fabolous and composing his own raps.

From there he was hooked. Now, as a 28-year old he has several mix-tapes, an EP and a full-length album to his name, each driven by the desire to craft songs that last.

"I love a good rap song, man," he enthused. "A good 16-bar verse is unmatched.

"I try my best. Some people get to a point where they don't feel motivated," Campbell continued. "If you get complacent in your songs, you'll fall off. When I don't (feel motivated), I know something is wrong."

In October, Campbell released "Black Denim," a 10-track album that was the culmination of two years of work. When Campbell first started putting together tracks at the end of 2015, he figured it'd be for another mix-tape.

As the material took shape, Campbell felt it didn't "feel right" to just haphazardly release them.

"I didn't know I was recording an album, but after four or five songs, I was like 'I got an album here,'" he recalled.

As he got involved in the process of assembling "Black Denim," Campbell decided to make it a true solo album. In addition to selecting and procuring all the beats himself, Campbell chose not to include any guest vocalists or producers. In a collaborative genre like hip-hop, Campbell's one-person approach makes "Black Denim" a bit of an anomaly.

"You don't get that much at all, (but) this one, this was that time where I was like, 'It needs to be all on me,'" Campbell said. "There was no other way for me to do this."

After the amount of effort he put into creating "Black Denim," Campbell didn't skimp on its promotion. He got together a team to make music videos in advance of the album's release, then steadily dropped teaser clips from them to build anticipation. Campbell also put his music on Spotify and Apple Music in an effort to "market online, not locally."

The positive response thus far has him encouraged, but Campbell is still focused on trying to get AirlineJay's brand and music to the next level.

"I believe you should work smarter, not harder. I had everything planned out bro," Campbell said. "Everything I did, the album, the rollout, the drop, was calculated.

"It's crazy, because you should never buy into your own hype too much, but I have people tell me, 'If AirlineJay was established, he'd sell 500,000 copies,'" he continued. "I just need the marketing and someone with connections. It's about timing I guess. I just haven't gotten my opportunity yet, It's tough, but anything is possible."

In the meantime, Campbell isn't sitting around waiting for that break to happen. He's a few tracks into a new mix-tape, tentatively slated to come out at year's end, and has a few singles in the pipeline. On Friday, he'll be making a rare live appearance, co-headlining a local showcase with friend and collaborator NBHD Nick. Once he gets the pre-show jitters out of his system and gets onstage, he expects it to be a great time.

"I'm always a little nervous before I get on stage, especially when I'm unknown (to the crowd)," he said. "But when you get on stage and you feel people vibin' with you, it's great."

More Information If you go AirlineJay and NBHD Nick Hosted by DJ Siroc Where: The Low Beat 335 Central Ave., Albany When: 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 9 Info: $10. thelowbeat.com. To listen to AirlineJay, visit soundcloud.com/AirlineJay See More Collapse

Jim Shahen Jr. is a frequent contributor to the Times Union.
Knives plunge. Faces peel. Pyrotechnics erupt. But no one gets hurt in "The Hollywood Special Effects Show," a touring theatrical extravaganza of things that go bam, bump, bang-bang, kaboom, crash and sppllttttttt.

"We've been doing the show for a long time, and never had any incidents," assures tour producer Alex Jarrett. No injuries, no accidents. Though, true, people are dismembered on a regular basis. "We do cut someone's arm off from the audience," he says. "But we do reattach it."

Jarrett's on the phone from Pittsburgh, an early stop on a new U.S. tour  touching down Friday, Feb. 9, at Proctors  after two years in the U.K. He spent around nine years as a special-effects technician, mostly working live events for the likes of Lady Gaga, before moving into producing and cooking up the idea for a theatrical show.

The idea, in short, is to explain and exhibit on stage some of the cinematic legerdemain that's filled movie screens since the dawn of double exposure. The show aims for general categories of effects rather than specific scenes from specific movies, focusing on filmmaking trickery that's a) doable on stage, b) entertaining but not traumatizing for a family audience and c) safe. If a certain effect won't work in a certain theater, it's swapped out for something else.

Still, inquiring minds want to know: What will they be doing at Proctors on Friday? Here's a blow-by-blow (ahem) rundown.

 Shoot-outs?

"Yes, we do a sort of Wild West/sci-fi shoot-out," Jarrett says. The segment addresses the safety of movie guns and the mechanics of shooting folks on screen. As a bonus, "an audience member gets to shoot one of our staff."

 Blood and gore?

A bit (see: severed limb, above). But nothing too graphic for young children. "We have a whole horror section in the show  to show how people can have a knife put through them." Also: A primer on making your own fake blood "in your kitchen, with the things you have around the house."

 Zombies?

No. Too much for the wee ones.

 Dinosaurs?

Yep. An animatronic T. rex. "Life-size  as much as we know how big they were." The exact dimensions, Jarrett isn't sure. "It's certainly the biggest thing on the truck."

 Alien invasions?

More Information If you go The Hollywood Special Effects Show Where: Proctors, 432 State St, Schenectady When: 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 9 Tickets: $20-$40. Info: 518-346-6204; proctors.org Contact Amy Biancolli at 518-454-5439 or abiancolli@timesunion.com or visit the arts blog at http://blog.timesunion.com/localarts See More Collapse

Well, not quite. No invading forces of giant arachnids arrive to liquefy unsuspecting earthlings in their plush theater seats, not on Jarrett's watch. But the show does demonstrate sci-fi creature-making, and it does bring up an audience member for a bit of latex makeup work  "as you might see in 'Terminator,' for example. The skin's tearing away." That reminds us...

 Melting faces a la "Raiders of the Lost Ark"?

No, the liquefying-Nazi stunt would take too long (and be too boring) in a live demonstration. As Jarrett explains it: "They made a wax head of the actor, and off-screen there are essentially two special effects guys with hair dryers. And they filmed it, then sped it up." Pretty cool cinematic subterfuge, but it would not make for electrifying theater. "No," Jarrett says, "it'd be a very dull 20 minutes."

 Slo-mo exploding fireballs?

"It's hard to do slow motion  that is tricky," he says, adding that fireballs in normal time appear in the show's cacophonous closer. "Lots of fireballs, lots of explosions, in about the last 20 minutes." The closing segment also discusses the various chemical compositions that lead to different effects  what ignites the gunpowder, how debris flies in explosions and other scientific nitty-gritty behind the sorcery.

 Cannon fire?

Well, an air cannon  yes. "We have one of those air cannons onstage which we fire over the audience," Jarrett says. What comes out of it, he won't reveal. "You have to wait and see. I can't give that one away."

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 Sound effects?

Lots. At one point in the show, an audience member gets set up with a table of "foley" tools  i.e., the post-production sound effects named for pioneer Jack Foley  and inserts them into a filmed sequence. "There's walking on gravel, there's suits of armor, there's fire ... there's breaking bones, there's a big bit of fabric they've got to tear."  People shrieking in agony?

The show will salute the "Wilhelm scream," a stock sound effect that's been incorporated into hundreds of movies and countless TV series, usually when someone falls (in "Star Wars," it's a stormtrooper) or croaks in an explosion. It's named for Private Wilhelm, an ill-fated minor character who gets zinged by an arrow in the 1953 Western "The Charge at Feather River," but it was recorded two years earlier  for an ill-fated minor character who gets dragged to his death by an alligator in the 1951 Gary Cooper film "Distant Drums." Speaking of which.

 Death by alligator?

"There's no alligator ingestion currently in the show," Jarrett says.

 All-consuming conflagrations that burn the place down?

"We lost one venue early in the tour, but other than that, we're fine," he says, tongue very, very firmly in cheek. Yes, things explode. "We do blow stuff up, but we make sure the building is still standing at the end of it."

But just to be clear: Kids, don't try this at home. "Maybe not in those words," Jarrett says, "but that message is mentioned a couple of times." Granted, children with access to explosives might have larger parenting issues. "If your kids can get their hands on that stuff, that's not on us. It's really about how you're bringing your kids up."

So ... break a leg? Is the old theatrical idiom safe to utter?

Jarrett laughs. "Worse things happen in my show."

abiancolli@timesunion.com  518-454-5439  @AmyBiancolli
I don't know chef Mark Graham. Not personally. But in the area restaurant scene, his name is everywhere. As a chef, restaurant consultant and private caterer, one fourth of a pop-up supper crew and operator of MDG Cuisine, he's done more rounds of the local dining circuit than a heavyweight prizefighter. It's: Mark Graham leaves the Wine Bar! Max London's welcomes Mark! Mark returns to the Wine Bar! And, late last year, Mark Graham returns as executive chef to MezzaNotte, where he helmed the kitchen from 2008 to 2012! Somehow, in the 18 years since the Boston native left California to cook his way around the Capital Region, I've never eaten his food.

Likewise, though, MezzaNotte opened in 2007; I'd never been to its suburban Guilderland location high up Western Avenue, nor noticed its low, dark blue sign speckled with stars on a sidewalk lawn. GPS couldn't find it either, unhelpfully alerting me  and, separately, my guest  that we'd arrived while idling at the traffic light at Western and Route 155.

Rushing in, I was caught off guard by a woman who turned from chatting at a table to welcome me like a long-lost friend. Had I known this was MezzaNotte's owner, Connie Ware, I might have flashed a smile instead of barreling past the bar and open kitchen to the dining room with apologies on my lips.

I'll admit I arrived with low expectations. Why? Partly because of MezzaNotte's weird website with rave reviews spliced between the veal saltimbocca and pasta of the day. Partly because so many local Italian restaurants serve spectacularly average chicken parmigianas and artery-clogging carbonaras heavier than wet concrete.

From an end-wall booth we absorbed the empty dining room, its suburban taupe paint and ceiling rolled an inky blue to match the photos of Italian cities under midnight skies. The design will comfortingly appeal to the older diner and be as effective as contraception at keeping youngsters at bay. In our quiet corner we spy on the comings and goings of regulars stopping for after-work drinks in the "Cheers"-style bar.

So that's my mood and the vibeless scene. Which are important, because things look up when the food comes out. Dinner by Mark Graham (surely his next venture as DMG) is astonishingly good.

The rabbit ragu ($15/$20) plays tricks on your tongue. Your brain registers excess sweetness in the creamy Marsala sauce that  boom!  unfolds into layers of umami: tender braised rabbit, velvety garlic, nubbins of salty pancetta all chaw and brah, and the silken mouthfeel of saucy strozzapreti pasta twists. In texture and flavor, it's lush.

We skip the sausage and clams, calamari and Saratoga chips, all present on Graham's 2011 menu. In 2018, we go for duck meatballs speared onto crisp polenta squares and drenched in a heady brandy-mushroom sauce. There's plenty here to make you swoon: sauteed mushrooms the flavor of a buttery cooked breakfast and smoked Gouda rolled into ground duck so that smoke and fat and game meat powerfully tug at taste-memories of duck confit and sizzling bacon. Firm enough, yet softer than your typical Italian meatball, these slippery curves have Kardashian levels of bounce and shine.

We would have been happy stopping here. But having taken advantage of several dishes offered in appetizer sizes, out more come. We skipped the chef's deconstructed "crazy" lasagna ("pasta folds filled with ricotta and sauce") and the unappealing idea of blueberry and mushroom sauce over Angus prime beef. I needed a better reason than proving they wouldn't upgrade the original.

Perhaps they do, but better to test Graham's technical mastery of ricotta gnocchi ($13/$21), made famous at April Bloomfield's Spotted Pig in Manhattan. These little pillows, modified from the menu as a mix of sundried tomato and ricotta, are pleasingly soft and collapse under pressure of the tongue. Not quite as whisper-light as ricotta gnocchi can be, the intoxicating scent of pine nuts in a tomato-studded tomato sauce has me snuffling in the cream like a pig on a truffle hunt.

Visits from our waitress are plentiful, which means permanently full waters and a tablecloth combed crumb-free. We nurse dark reds  a Washington cabernet and Tuscan sangiovese blend  and I have to quell the offers of "More wine?" by pointing out we do have to drive. Nonetheless, service, paced comfortably slow, is well timed by a server sensibly alerting the kitchen when to fire each course.

A clean, raw fennel and orange salad ($10) delivers everything it should with juicy pops of color. Cherry tomatoes and fresh orange slices romp in arugula with kalamata and Castelvetrano olives; their earthiness first cuts the fusion of anise and citric juice and then falls subtly bitter, a half note shy of required sweetness.

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Salmon ($26), the wallflower of most menus, is overdone and missing translucence to its inner flesh. So a smashing creamy polenta steps in to steal the show with a jumble of tiny Brussels sprouts and fava beans, creme fraiche and capers. It's a funny plate, really  a disconnected arrangement of individually nice tastes. Caviar is mentioned on the menu; none appears on the plate.

And then a princely dish. Off-the-bone beef short rib ($32) in a luxurious hoisin-butter braising sauce (practically belching umami) is ladled over proper mash and a medley of roast veg. The beef's charred, toffee-crisp edges give way to pinked strawberry rings like slow smoked barbecue. But it's a garishly fatty cut with an impenetrable membrane combed like a frilled lizard; two-thirds of the wad is unrendered fat cap several inches thick. There's very little meat. And fat  while necessary for flavorful, silky emulsions  causes problems. All the sauces we try are split, and here likewise pools of liquefied fat overwhelm and break the braising sauce emulsion.

Other glitches? Just one. As a dessert, Graham's panna cotta ($9) is technically on point. But this coffee version is insane: The set milk is completely riddled with grounds. In fact there's so much sediment at the base we mistake it for packed crumb and a fat spoonful is worse than the sludgy dregs of Turkish coffee. Grounds in your teeth for hours. We request the bill through pursed lips.

More Information MezzaNotte Ristorante 2026 Western Ave., Guilderland Phone: 518-689-4433 Web: mezzanottealbany.com Reservations: Recommended. Credit cards: All major. Hours: Dinner only: 5 to 9 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 5 to 10 p.m. Saturday, closed Sunday. Parking: Rear lot. Disabled access: Yes. Ramp to front entrance. Attire: Casual. Prices: Appetizers, $8 to $18; primi and pasta, $13 to $23; salads, $10 to $12; secondi, $16 to $38; desserts, around $9 to $10. Food: (***) Contemporary Italian with umami-fied flavors. No parmiagianas. Try the duck meatballs and rabbit ragu. Beverage: (**1/2) Full ''Cheers''-style neighborhood bar. Wines are mostly Italian and Californian. A few by the glass, $6 to $13; by the bottle, $20 to $100, with many in mid $30s. Service: (***) Attentive and well paced. Ambiance: (**) Inviting, suburban bar with mature regular crowd; standard earth-toned dining room. Rear patio and private upstairs event room. Personality: (**) Neighborhood Italian. Overall Rating: *** See More Collapse

Fortunately, Ware makes a damn fine tiramisu ($10) and serves it in brick-size slabs. Espresso-soaked and boozy as a barfly, it's one to share. Just skip the commercial chocolate-syrup drizzle.

Ware envisioned MezzaNotte as an upscale, contemporary Italian. And while the scene is more suburban than upscale, MezzaNotte delivers.

Dinner for two  including three appetizers, a salad, two entrees, two desserts and two glasses of wine  came to $203.56 with tax and 20 percent tip. If you don't plan to order all courses, a light dinner for two could easily come to $100 before tip.

Susie Davidson Powell is a British freelance food writer in upstate New York. Follow her on Twitter, @SusieDP. To comment on this review, visit the Table Hopping blog, blog.timesunion.com/tablehopping.
The food of culture of the Basque country in Spain is the focus of "The Txoko Experience," a documentary that premieres Thursday. Produced by Siena professor of Spanish Marcela Garces  who is also the co-director of the film studies minor program  and her husband, Yuri Morejon, the documentary explores Morejon's home culture through the lens of txokos, a term for the private dining clubs in the Basque country.

"Food was a way Yuri could communicate with people. By making food he can show people who he is and connect to his homeland," Garces said. "Everything revolves around food."

Txokos (pronounced chokos) are, "private temples of traditional Basque gastronomy," she said. The documentary focuses on three pillars of food in that region: the local products that come only from Basque country; the well-honored and respected chefs of the region, and these private dining clubs. Though the Basque region  only half the size of Connecticut and nestled into a crook in the Iberian peninsula  expands into France, this film focuses on Spanish Basque cuisine and culture.

Authentic Spanish food is difficult to find in the Capital Region, though Boca Bistro in Saratoga Springs and Barcelona Restaurant in Albany try to emulate the flavors of Spain. Other restaurants offer their takes on tapas, the small servings of finger foods that are meant to be shared with table mates, but they don't always subscribe to the Iberian characteristics. Part of that is due to immigration patterns. Another reason is because of the regionality that pervades Spanish culture.

"Spanish food is a misnomer. Spain has so many cultures and autonomous communities," Garces said, each with their own dialect or language and tastes. Basque food was particularly worthy of a documentary, she said, because of the incredible amount of items that are intrinsic to the gastronomy of such a small region. Its varied landscape of mountains, vineyards, valleys and coastline lead to equally varied and interesting food, much of it found in pintxos, the Basque version of tapas. Paprika, fish and meat cooked over hot coals, bean dishes, sparkling wines and ciders, and sheep cheese are popular foodstuffs, but what makes them unique is the flavors they impart because of the unique Basque terroir, or qualities derived from the land and sea of origin.

"I understood this concept when we made this film," Garces said. Besides the terroir, Basque culture remains relevant and powerful because of the isolation it has historically experienced. Because of the terrain (the western Pyrenees mountains border to the east and the Atlantic Ocean to the west) the culture has been relatively untouched for centuries. The Basque language is an "orphan language" with no modern relative and remains one of the oldest living languages in the world, Garces said. The food has followed suit.

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"The Txoko Experience" will be shown across the country and is under consideration for film festivals, as well as being shown on intercontinental flights on Iberia Airlines.

Garces is taking a group of 13 students to the Basque country this spring as part of an immersive cultural exploration class. Students will stay with host families for "sensory experiences," Garces said. They will document their experiences on social media and in personal writing. The class and film screening are sponsored by the Siena College Fair Trade and Social Justice Steering Committee.

Deanna Fox is a freelance food and agriculture journalist. @DeannaNFox, www.foxonfood.com
ALBANY  The Capital Trio and the Musicians of Ma'alwyck came together for a fresh and concise program titled "Sweet Power" on Thursday evening at the UAlbany Recital Hall. The event repeats Friday night at Schenectady County Community College.

Folk songs were the common element to the works by Florence B. Price and Antonin Dvorak.

Price was an African-American composer who died in 1953. This concert is apparently part of a mini revival of her work. A trove of her music was recent discovered, she's profiled in last week's New Yorker, and there's a new recording just issued on Albany Records.

In a last-minute addition to the lineup, soprano Kyra Gaunt sang "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot."

Gaunt is a new UAlbany professor of ethnomusicology. The gentle flourishes she added to the verses set the tone for the night.

Price's "Five Folksongs in Counterpoint" for string quartet was just what the title states. In the opening, the tune to "Calvary" was mostly obscured in writing that would make Bach proud.

"Clementine" almost became a full-on fugue. "Drink to me only with thine eyes" began in an austere manner but ended as a serenade. "Shortnin' Bread" was quick and sweet to the taste.

"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" received the most thorough and adventurous reworking, verging on the craggy style of Charles Ives and finishing off with a reference to Dvorak.

Best of all, the ensemble, made up of two players from each group, gave the work a warm, accurate and well balanced account.

Pianist Duncan Cumming joined the already assembled forces for a handsome and brisk performance of Dvorak's Piano Quintet.

The piece predates Dvorak's brief American period, but the undulating tail end of theme in the opening Allegro repeatedly brought to mind "Shall We Gather at the River?"

This was my first concert encounter with the Capital Trio. At the keyboard, Cumming is all business. There's no flash in his stage manner but plenty of elan in the actual sound.

Violinist Hilary Cumming, who played first chair, was a rock solid leader. Though she never grabbed for the spotlight, she played with an always appealing tone.

More Information Concert review Capital Trio and Musicians of Ma'alwyck When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday Where: Performing Arts Center, University at Albany Length: One hour, 15 minutes; one intermission Etc.: Concert repeated at Carl B. Taylor Auditorium, Schenectady County Community College, 78 Washington Ave., Schenectady. 7 p.m. Friday. $10-25 See More Collapse

Violist Andrew Snow stepped up to make the most of some important lines, including a chromatic thread in the Price. Duncan Cumming introduced the Dvorak to the largely student audience by describing and demonstrating two choice tidbits of the music.

If only more remarks from the stage could be so brief, good humored and instructive.

Joseph Dalton is a freelance writer based in Troy.
ALBANY  An Albany felon who authorities say traded heroin for a gun was sentenced Thursday to more than five-and-a-half years in prison, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced.

Shawn Faircloth, 46, of Albany, was sentenced to 68 months in prison following his guilty plea to possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
ALBANY  Gov. Andrew Cuomo's budget director told a legislative panel Thursday that the administration supports a plan to allow New Yorkers to itemize deductions on their state income taxes even if they don't do so on their federal taxes.

The plan, known as "decoupling," has already received support in the Republican-led state Senate and is viewed by many as a way to help soften the blow of a new federal tax plan that caps itemized deductions of state and local taxes at $10,000.

"Under this legislation, the deduction for state and local taxes will be maintained for the purposes of state taxation," Budget Director Robert Mujica said in his prepared remarks before a joint legislative panel. "This action will lower the tax base rate to which state tax rates are applied, shielding New Yorkers from these federal changes."

Senate Finance chairwoman Catharine Young, R-Livingston County  who also co-chairs the joint legislative panel reviewing the governor's budget proposal  said decoupling could save New Yorkers an estimated $1.5 billion.

Less clear is whether the governor's proposal to overhaul New York's tax code, including the implementation of a payroll tax as a way to undercut the hit of the federal tax plan, will be completed in time for the start of the new state fiscal year on April 1.

"This is a massive undertaking," Mujica said. "There are 5,692 pages of state tax law in 13 volumes, and federal tax changes impact almost all of it."

Young said the tax overhaul should not be a last-minute deal. "I would hate to get up close to the budget deadline and not have details on what the governor's proposing," she said.

"I think the governor understands that timeline as well," Mujica responded, later adding that any tax code overhaul may spill into next year.

Following the hearing, Young reiterated her concern about ushering a complex state tax overhaul through a hurried budget negotiation.

"It would take several statutory changes to address some of the concerns that have been raised, such as the impacts on Social Security benefits, reducing people's wages, the effect on collective bargaining, retirement," Young said. "These are not minor changes; these have far-reaching implications and they have to be fully vetted."

The tax changes proposed by Cuomo in response to the federal tax overhaul include his pledge to file a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the federal plan. Mujica said the federal changes violate states' rights and the principle of equal protection.

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"The people who are starting businesses and creating jobs upstate or downstate are the same people who the federal tax law is pushing out of New York altogether," Mujica said. "We cannot do nothing."

Sen. James Tedisco, R-Glenville, questioned Mujica on whether New York's high taxes are the reason so many people have left the state, including newly 200,000 in the past year, he said. He also questioned whether the lawsuit will succeed when roughly 45 other states are not being hurt by the federal tax plan in the same way as New York because their taxes are not as high.

Following the hearing, Tedisco told the Times Union that his property tax bill each year notes that roughly 75 percent of the levy is due to state mandates on local municipalities.

"Although we're called the Empire State, we'll soon be called the 'empty state,'" Tedisco said. "We have to put our house in order as well as respond to what they're doing to us. ... We have an exodus from New York, and it's not just caused by the federal government."
VOORHEESVILLE  A minivan rear-ended a Voorheesville school bus with students on board on Friday morning, Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple said.

No injuries were reported.

About 7:45 a.m., deputies went to the scene on Maple Road where a 2002 Dodge Caravan hit the bus with the bus driver and 11 high school students on board.

The van's driver, described only as a 19-year-old female from Berne, was issued a citation for following too closely. She had a passenger, a 28-year-old man from Berne.

The deputies' investigation showed the school bus began to slow in traffic when a vehicle not involved in the crash pulled into its lane and the van struck the school bus from behind, causing minor damage to both vehicles.
ALBANY  A Queensbury cancer doctor and his wife have agreed to pay $500,000 for violating federal law by seeking Medicare reimbursement for unapproved chemotherapy drugs.

Vincent Koh, the doctor, and Milly Koh, his wife and office manager, pleaded guilty in November to receiving and delivering misbranded drugs, a misdemeanor, and are scheduled to be sentenced March 20 by a U.S. magistrate judge, according to U.S. Attorney Grant C. Jaquith.

The Kohs own and operate a medical practice with offices in Poughkeepsie and Glens Falls that specializes in treating cancer patients. From mid-2010 to early 2012, the practice purchased various drugs purporting to contain the same active ingredients as drugs sold in the U.S. from a Canadian drug distributor who had obtained them from foreign sources.

The drugs, some of which were labeled in foreign languages, were not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration  meaning they should not have been distributed in the U.S. or eligible to have their cost reimbursed by Medicare.

The practice purchased the drugs at substantially lower prices than would have been charged for drugs from legitimate U.S. drug manufacturers and distributors. Koh administered them to his patients, and caused his staff to submit false claims for the drugs to Medicare.

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"Unlike prescription drugs picked up at a pharmacy, chemotherapeutic drugs generally are administered without any opportunity for patients to see the labeling, so cancer patients are particularly vulnerable to this sort of conduct," Jaquith said.

"Patients deserve the security of knowing that the medication being prescribed to them is unadulterated, safeguarded, and properly manufactured," said Scott J. Lampert, a federal special agent in charge.
About Me Oscar Bartoli Washington, DC, United States Avvocato, giornalista pubblicista, collabora con molti media italiani. Risiede negli Stati Uniti dal 1994 e vive tra Washington D.C., Los Angeles e Bangalore (India). Consigliere comunale per il Partito Liberale a Palazzo Vecchio (Firenze) porta ancora addosso i segni delle percosse che i 'compagni' comunisti di allora gli hanno dato per essere andato a parlare nelle piazze dove comandava solo il PCI. Ha lavorato per molti anni nel gruppo SMI,leader europeo nel settore metalli non ferrosi, successivamente nell'IRI come responsabile dei contatti con i media e in seguito direttore IRI USA. Ha insegnato per dieci anni alla scuola di giornalismo della Luiss e per due anni alla Catholic University di Washington DC. Tiene un corso sulla comunicazione nel Master di Relazioni Internazionali dello IULM di Milano. Rotariano da decenni ha contribuito a creare due Club a Roma, e' stato presidente del Cassia Romana ed attualmente fa parte del Washington Rotary Club. Da giovane, per pagarsi gli studi ma, soprattutto, perche' gli piaceva, ha lavorato come chitarrista - cantante suonando nelle case del popolo, circoli cattolici, night clubs, radio e televisione. View my complete profile

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Washington

President Donald Trump delivered a brief, uncharacteristically subdued message of faith and American values to religious leaders as a fresh crisis swirled in his White House, declaring on Thursday morning "we praise God for how truly blessed we are to be American."

"Faith is central to American life and to liberty," Trump said at the annual National Prayer Breakfast, a gathering of religious leaders who have become a keystone of his political base. "Our founders invoked the creator four times in the Declaration of Independence. Our currency declares, 'In God we trust.'"

Trump's remarks came amid growing questions about how the White House handled allegations of domestic violence against one of the president's closest aides.

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly defended the aide, Rob Porter, right up until Porter resigned Wednesday. Officials now say the White House was aware of the charges against Porter, which contributed to a delay in granting him a security clearance for his post as staff secretary.

Kelly, a retired Marine general, accompanied Trump to the breakfast but the president did not mention him. He did salute members of his Cabinet who were in attendance.

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Trump's remarks were most notable for what he did not say. He made no mention of his recent decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, a landmark shift in U.S. policy that was popular with evangelical voters and a segment of hard-line pro-Israel American Jews.

Nor did he mention the Johnson Amendment, a law that prohibits churches and other tax-exempt organizations from endorsing political candidates. Trump vowed to "totally destroy" the law in his first speech to the prayer breakfast last year.

On Thursday, Trump stuck to the successful military campaign against the Islamic State group and the human-rights abuses of North Korea.
One of my most terrifying memories from working at the Environmental Protection Agency dates from April 20, 2010, when the BP Deepwater Horizon oil well blew, causing the rig to explode, killing 11 people, and releasing a torrent of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico that lasted 87 days.

I did not directly work on this environmental disaster, but I received regular updates from my EPA colleagues. I heard the desperation in their voices as the federal government marshalled all of its resources but could not stop the black crude from decimating marine wildlife and people's lives for hundreds of coastal miles. The images of birds covered in oil were haunting. Communities lost their beaches and livelihoods. The steady flow of oil finally stopped July 15, leaving 171 million gallons of oil in the Gulf of Mexico and beyond.

During those four months, I was secretly relieved that the region I was responsible for  New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands  did not have to contend with offshore oil drilling. But if the Trump administration and its allies in the fossil fuel industry get their way, our region faces the potential for similar disasters.

U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke recently announced that he wants to open up 90 percent of the nation's coastal waters to oil and gas drilling, reversing President Barack Obama's ban on drilling in most U.S. coastal waters. Not only does this decision threaten our marine environment and the fishing and tourism industries, if implemented it will also make climate change worse.

Our climate is warming at an unprecedented rate, with 2016 having been the hottest year on record, and 2017 the second hottest. Burning more fossil fuels will further heat the atmosphere and exacerbate this disastrous trend.

To make matters worse, the Trump administration has eliminated the very safety rules for offshore drilling that were enacted to prevent another Deepwater Horizon catastrophe, and has suspended a study on how to make improvements to offshore drilling. At the same time, the president has proposed cutting the EPA budget by a whopping 31 percent and the Interior Department budget by 8 percent, so there will be fewer environmental cops on the beat to deal with the inevitable problems.

Offshore wind is a much better alternative to offshore oil and gas drilling. Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently outlined a comprehensive plan for offshore wind turbines in the Atlantic Ocean. Last time I checked, there was no such thing as a wind spill.

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What can we do? Florida Gov. Rick Scott made such a ruckus that Zinke exempted Florida from the proposal, contending that Florida is unique, with its coasts heavily reliant on tourism as an economic driver. New York and other states can make the very same case.

The Interior Department's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will be holding a public meeting from 3 to 7 p.m. Thursday at the Albany Hilton in Albany. If you cannot attend to testify or listen, you can submit comments no later than March 9 at www.boem.gov. For those of us who care about climate change, clean energy, oceans and the marine environment, this is a key moment to make your voice heard.
A college student traveling with a pet dwarf hamster says a Spirit Airlines employee refused to let her board her plane and suggested she flush the furry little rodent down the toilet.

Belen Aldecosea, formerly in college in Pennsylvania and currently at Texas State, told the Miami Herald she called the airlines twice to make sure it was all right for her to take the hamster, named Pebbles, on the Nov. 21, 2017, flight and was told that it was.

But just the opposite happened at Baltimore/Washington International Airport. Spirit would not let her board the flight with Pebbles.

This created a predicament for the Miami Beach native. Her friends at college were nearly two hours away, unable to help, and she needed to go home so that she could be treated for a medical problem.

Panicking, Aldecosea tried to rent a car but was unsuccessful. She booked a later flight while she tried to figure out what to do with Pebbles.

At this point, Aldecosea claims an airline representative suggested that she flush the tiny animal down the toilet. Spirit denies that any such recommendation for hamster disposal was ever made.

Eventually the student decided that that freeing the hamster outside where she'd likely freeze or get hit by a car was the less humane option.

So she flushed Pebbles.

"She was scared. I was scared. It was horrifying trying to put her in the toilet," Aldecosea told the Herald. "I was emotional. I was crying. I sat there for a good 10 minutes crying in the stall."

More for you Flying the Furry Skies? How to Take Your Dog on a Plane

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According to the Herald, Aldecosea is considering a lawsuit against Spirit Airlines.

Spirit spokesman Derek Dombrowski told the Herald that a reservation representative made a mistake by telling Aldecosea that Pebbles would be allowed on the flight. But he said there was no truth to the "flushing" allegation.

"To be clear, at no point did any of our agents suggest this guest (or any other for that matter) should flush or otherwise injure an animal," Dombrowski said.

The U.S. Transportation Safety Administration allows hamsters on flights, but airlines can bar the animals from boarding their planes if they so choose.
When someone is building, designing or decorating a home, there's usually a theme they're trying to fit.

Have a lot of original art you like to display? You've probably got a gallery-esque view for your home. Like to keep things clean and airy? Whites, lights and breezy curtains are your dream materials. Inclined to industrial-chic? Think exposed brick, stainless steel and utilitarian furniture.

Being Upstate magazine, we tried to think of what an Upstate home aesthetic would be. It's tough enough to point out exactly where upstate starts and ends on a map of the state, but surely there would be ideas of what "upstate" would look like as a home inspiration board or building theme.

We asked some of the exhibitors for this year's Times Union Home Expo, which will take place at the Albany Capital Center from Friday, Feb. 9 to Sunday, Feb. 11, to answer this question: "If a customer asked me to help their home get an 'upstate' look, I'd recommend to them..."

Even if an upstate aesthetic isn't your endgame when dreaming up your perfect abode, the Home Expo is one place to get a grasp of multiple styles.

Madeleine Dymling of Flatbrook and Co., a build and design studio based in New Lebanon

"I would recommend natural materials mixed with painted surfaces; this could be wood beams with painted kitchen cabinets. Perhaps using local sourced stones for countertops. A mix of new and old, with a nod to the area. Keeping the color palette light, with pops of color, will help during the cold winter months."

Brian Seitz of Urban Industrial Designs, a custom furniture producer based in Albany

"I would say (using) barn doors, accent walls and farmhouse tables, they really tie in what's trending. More importantly, the amount of barns  unused and still in use  I think is an important factor to the answer because it allows us to work with local, authentic reclaimed wood for our products."
High speed broadband is critical for the development of rural Ireland and it will not survive without it, according to Tipperary TD Jackie Cahill.

The Fianna Fail deputy told the Dail this week that broadband was the one service, that, if in place, put a rural company on a level playing field with a city-based competitor.

It encourages employers to stay in rural areas and keep jobs in areas where they are badly needed, he said, poiting out that this benefitted the local shop, post office and pub, thereby maintaining the fabric of rural Ireland.

Deputy Cahill said that we had offered access to Eir, through the local authorities, to the roads and footpaths of the country.

We have given them access to the doorsteps of over 75 per cent of the homes and business, he said.

We have given them an opportunity to make huge profits in the years ahead in the lucrative business of providing broadband in our Economy.

The Thurles-based TD said that the chairman of Eir had made a big play of how Eir had invested 200m of its own money rolling out broadband to 300,000 homes and businesses in small towns and villages over the past 12 months.

However, he neglected to tell us that the retail value of providing broadband to these homes and business will see a healthy return on this investment within a couple of years, said Deputy Cahill.

However, he said that this wasn't the first time Fine Gael in Government had undervalued the country's assets.

On this occasion, big business, in the shape of Eir, was allowed to cherrypick the most lucrative areas in the country, and strung along the Government with promises of tendering for the less profitable rural areas, he said.

Deputy Cahill told the Dail that when they had what they wanted they were out the door like a scalded cat.

The Taoiseach and Government must answer as to why Eir was allowed to proceed over the past three to four years without being tied into commitments for rural Ireland, he said.

Was it naivety on behalf of the Minister in negotiating with a powerful company like Eir, or was it a case of the Government not being up to the job? These questions will have to be answered, said Deputy Cahill.

However, he said that the frustrating thing was that it didnt have to end up like this

This could have been a fair deal for both Eir and our economy, he said.

But by any measure the Government had come up short, said Deputy Cahill.
Indias bid to isolate Pakistan

09 February, 2018

By Asif Haroon Raja

After the false flag operation in Mumbai on November 26, 2008, India blamed Pakistan, ISI and Hafiz Saeed led Lashkar-e-Taiba for the attacks (1), and suspended composite dialogue with Pakistan that had been renewed in February 2004 as a consequence to Indo-Pakistan peace treaty and a commitment to resolve all disputes including Kashmir issue through talks. Since then, India pushed aside Kashmir dispute and made terrorism as the core issue. Without providing any proof, it forced Pakistan to arrest and punish the alleged culprits involved in Mumbai attacks. In fact, India cleverly built a narrative of terrorism against Pakistan from the time of engineered terror attack on December 13, 2001 in which the Indian Parliament in New Delhi was attacked by a handful of terrorists(1). After blaming Pakistan and Jaish-e- Muhammad, India deployed its entire military strength along its western border and remained in confrontation mode for next ten months.



Thereon, all terror attacks in India were put in the basket of Pakistan. The purpose behind building this narrative was to get Pakistan declared a terror state and ISI a rogue outfit. Its strategic partners USA and Afghanistan substantiated Indian stance. Indian attitude became more aggressive after Narendra Modi took over power in June 2014. From August 2014 onward, Indian military has kept the Line of Control and working boundary in Kashmir sector hot and hardly a day has passed without unprovoked firing by India. Upsurge in uprising in IOK after the martyrdom of Burhan Wani in July 2016 were also placed at the doorsteps of Pakistan. Pakistan was blamed for the militants attacks in in Udhampur and Pathankot airbase. Militant attack on Uri military camp in April 2016(1a) further incensed India and it started hurling threats of surgical strikes and limited war. Intruding Indian drone was shot down by Pakistan Army, while Indian submarine on a spying mission was forced to retreat by Pak Navy.



Besides political, diplomatic and military posturing to overawe and isolate Pakistan, India has also been trying to ease out Pakistan from its membership of SAARC. The 19th SAARC summit scheduled at Islamabad in November 2016 had to be cancelled due to India refusing to attend it and Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Bhutan following suit to boycott the summit. (2)



After sabotaging the Summit, India also tried to halt the appointment of the New Secretary General, Amjad Hussian B Sial. India justified its actions by stating that the nominee had to be ratified by the Council of Ministers conference in Islamabad. Something which could not take place due to the postponement of the Summit. (3)



Soon after the appointment of the New Secretary General in March 2017, India hosted a meeting on March 21, 2017 of security chiefs from the seven member states of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC). The meeting was a first for the BIMSTEC group, which includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.(4) This meeting focused on terrorism, cyber and maritime security challenges facing the region. It was decided in the meeting to establish a track 1.5 dialogue forum focused on security. Given the importance of cooperating on security-related matters, it was also decided to hold such meetings annually. It was no surprise that Pakistan was again left out of this meeting. (5)



Another meeting was held in the month of October 2017 in which India again tried to push back SAARC and attempted to boost the significance of BIMSTEC. In his remarks during the meeting, Foreign Secretary of India S. Jaishankar referred to SAARC as a jammed vehicle. (6) In an implicit reference to Pakistan, he also said that as one country is not, and since the other seven-nation regional grouping BIMSTEC has members that are broadly aligned and articulate similar aspirations, and are connected to the other members of the South Asian regional bloc on the key issue of terrorism, it was unlikely that the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) could be revived.(7)



India has also tried to marginalize Pakistan on other forums as well. For instance, when Sushma Swaraj met SAARC foreign ministers in New York on the side-lines of the UN General Assembly session in September 2017, Indias disinterest in the summit was evident. This added to the downgrading of the entire organization. With India-Pakistan bilateral relations on the downturn, the domino impact on the South Asian body has only worsened. (8)



During her speech, Swaraj did not refer to the uncertainties surrounding the SAARC Summit, but stressed the primacy given to the removal of terrorism which in implicit terms was actually taking a jab at Islamabad: Regional prosperity, connectivity and cooperation can take place only in an atmosphere of peace and security.(9) It, however, remains at serious risk in the region. It is necessary for our regions survival that we eliminate the scourge of terrorism in all its forms, without any discrimination, and end the ecosystem of its support.(10)



On January 2, 2018, India excluded Pakistan from the list of SAARC member countries with which it will be connecting its state-of-the-art National Knowledge



Network (NKN) for sharing scientific databases and remote access to advanced research facilities.(11)



NKN will extend global research and education networks to six SAARC member states  Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Pakistan is the only SAARC nation that has been left out of this initiative. (12)



NKN is a multi-gigabit pan-India network which facilitates the development of Indias communications infrastructure, stimulates research and creates next-generation applications and services. (13) This new initiative will enable collaboration among researchers from different educational networks such as TEIN4, GARUDA, CERN and Internet2. It also enables sharing of scientific databases and remote access to advanced research facilities.(14)



NKN will be connected from Afghanistan to Delhi or Mumbai, from Bangladesh to Kolkata or Delhi, from Bhutan to Kolkata or Delhi, from Nepal to Kolkata or Delhi, from the Maldives to Chennai or Mumbai and from Sri Lanka to Chennai or Mumbai. (15) A state-of-the-art management centre and network operations centre will also be set up to run the NKN network. The connection from Afghanistan, Maldives and Sri Lanka to India would be through a submarine cable for international connectivity. (16)



It is evident that it is not Pakistan that is creating hurdles in the way of successful implementation of SAARCs agenda, but in fact it is India which is trying to isolate Pakistan by using underhand tactics. India has used terrorism as a basis for suspension of official talks with Pakistan due to alleged terrorist attacks launched by groups from across the border. The chill in relations has spread out to other sectors such as research and scientific development as well - something, which negatively affects the entire region.



On the question of terrorism, it is again very clear that it is not Pakistan which is sponsoring terrorism. On the contrary, it is India funding radicalization in South Asia - especially in Pakistan. Kulbhushan Jadhav is a prime example of this.



India should also realize that it is not the only country in SAARC that can dominate all the other members. Instead, Delhi should remember the agenda of regional cooperation on which SAARC was formed and countries should use this forum for regional cooperation, not for rivalry. SAARC should not be the organization to prolong the rivalry among regional states, rather it should serve for greater regional cooperation and economic integration. If the region is thrown into negativity, India



will suffer along with the others as well. This is something Delhi needs to keep in mind. After all, what goes around comes around. India must also not forget that CPEC has taken off and sooner than later, SAARC members will gravitate toward this profit making project and leave India which is opposed to CPEC in a lurch.



(1) The News, December 14, 2001



(1a) Uri Attack: India, Pakistan's Kashmir Dispute Flares Again. Time. Accessed January 25, 2018. http://time.com/4498891/kashmir-uri-attack-india-pakistan-military-conflict/



(2) Baqir Sajjad Syed | Jawed Naqvi. SAARC summit in doldrums after India pulls out. DAWN.COM September 28, 2016. Accessed January 25, 2018. https://www.dawn.com/news/1286609



(3) Kathmandu Anil Giri Hindustan. Appointment of SAARC secretary general hit by India-Pakistan tensions. Times. Accessed January 25, 2018. https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/appointment-of-SAARC-secretary-general-hit-by-india-pakistan-tensions/story-1b1wlC1CrEbquDvQRuQZkN.html



(4) Gurjar, Sankalp. Is SAARC Doomed? The Diplomat. April 01, 2017. Accessed January 25, 2018. https://thediplomat.com/2017/04/is-SAARC-doomed/



(5) Ibid.



(6) Bagchi, Indrani. Question mark over SAARC summit again The Times of India. September 23, 2017. Accessed January 25, 2018. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/question-mark-over-SAARC-summit-again/articleshow/60801709.cms



(7) Ibid.



(8) Bagchi, Indrani. Question mark over SAARC summit again . The Times of India. September 23, 2017. Accessed January 25, 2018. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/question-mark-over-SAARC-summit-again/articleshow/60801709.cms



(9) Ibid.



(10) Ibid.



(11) India excludes Pakistan from SAARC initiative. Pakistan Today. Accessed January 25, 2018. https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2018/01/03/india-excludes-pakistan-from-SAARC-initiative/



(12) India excludes Pakistan from a SAARC initiative. The Economic Times. January 03, 2018. Accessed January 25, 2018. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/india-excludes-pakistan-from-a-SAARC-initiative/articleshow/62345991.cms



(13) Ibid.



(14) Ibid.



(15) India excludes Pakistan from SAARC initiative, Pakistan Today. Accessed January 25, 2018. https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2018/01/03/india-excludes-pakistan-from-SAARC-initiative/



(16) Modi Government excludes Pakistan from list of SAARC nations for its State-of-the-Art National Knowledge Network Initiative. Postcard. January 09, 2018. Accessed January 25, 2018. http://postcard.news/modi-government-excludes-pakistan-list-SAARC-nations-state-art-national-knowledge-network-initiative/
The release of the Galaxy S10 is imminent and rumors and leaks surrounding the device means we'll be seeing deeper discounts on previous gen Galaxy phones. Although The Galaxy Note 8 is one of the best big-screen phones you can get. However, priced at $950, the Editors' Choice phablet is one of the most expensive smartphones on the market.

Fortunately, the Note 8 is no stranger to deals and can usually be found at a discount. As Samsung prepares to launch its new Galaxy S9 line at the forthcoming Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the likelihood of finding better Note 8 deals is likely to increase. Below we're rounding up the best Note 8 deals we can find from every retailer and carrier so that you never have to pay full price for Samsung's head-turning phablet.

Retailer Deals

On occasion, Samsung offers the Note 8 at a discount, but currently the only discount the manufacturer is offering requires a trade-in. If you have a smartphone you can sell, Samsung's trade-in credits range from $50 (for phones like the iPhone 5 or Galaxy S5) to $300 (for phones like the iPhone 8 and Galaxy S8). In addition to the trade-in credit, Samsung also bundles a free pair of AKG Bluetooth Headphones (Y50BT), normally a $150 value. Otherwise, you'll pay full price ($950/$39.58 per month over 24 months).

It's worth noting that in the past, they've offered as much as $400 in trade-in credits, so we recommend you shop your phone around to see who offers the most for your used phone.





Amazon occasionally discounts its Unlocked Note 8, but currently it's only offering a $35 discount.

Provided you're in the market for a Note 8 tied to Verizon, you can get a lower monthly payment by shopping at Best Buy. The retailer sells the Note 8 tied to Verizon for $30.66 per month. Spread out over 24 months, that's a final cost of $735.84.

As for carriers, several factors go into picking out the right wireless provider, from who has the best coverage to which one offers the most attractive cellphone plan. But one of the first things you'll need to consider in this case is which of the Big Four carriers has a compelling deal for the Note 8. Here's a rundown of what's available today:

Plan on buying two phones? Pick T-Mobile

While most carriers are selling the Note 8 for $950, T-Mobile has a sitewide BOGO sale on various Galaxy phones, including the Note 8. Buy one Note 8 and you'll get a $750 credit (prepaid MasterCard) toward the purchase of another. Technically, it's not a true BOGO sale because you must still pay the remainder of the difference. Alternatively, if you only need one and have a phone you can trade-in, T-Mobile offers a $150 credit, though again we recommend shopping around your old phone for the best offer possible.

MORE: Galaxy Note 8: Features to Enable and Disable

Want to Switch Carriers? Pick Sprint

You can also save money on the Note 8 if you switch to Sprint. Transfer your number over to that carrier, and Sprint will cut your monthly payment on an 18-month lease from $40 to $20. The good news is there's no trade-in required for this deal. The bad news is after 18 months, you won't own the phone, though you will have the option of paying off the balance if you want to buy it outright.

(Image credit: Samsung)

Need two phones? Pick AT&T



Like T-Mobile, AT&T has a BOGO promo for the Note 8. AT&T caps the credits on the second phone at $750, meaning it's not exactly a free phone. You'll also have to add a second line of service, and your credits are spread out over 30 months on your monthly bill.

Don't have a phone to trade-in? Pick Verizon

Priced at $960, Verizon has one of the highest costs for the Note 8. Opt for the 24-month plan and you'll pay $31.66 per month for a grand total of $759.84. This latter price doesn't require a trade-in, which makes it the best option if you want to keep your current smartphone.





Other Options: Xfinity Mobile and Regional Carriers

Xfinity Mobile sells the Note 8, too, though you have to be a customer of Comcast's internet service to also sign up for wireless with Xfinity. The phone costs $960, or $40 a month when you make payments over 24 months, with Xfinity offering a $200 gift card on the purchase of any Samsung phone. Xfinity also offers rebates when you trade-in a phone, but you have to visit an Xfinity store to get a quote in person.



C Spire and US Cellular are the other carriers offering the Note 8, but you'll need to live in their service areas to take advantage of their offers. The former has the phone for $929.99, whereas US Cellular charges $963.
When the Fiat 500 was first introduced way back in 1957, it was offered as a zippy little runabout that could tackle the pressures of city driving in style. While not necessarily fast , the 500 was considered quick enough , and it offered the diminutive exterior dimensions desired for urban living. Since then, the 500 has changed. Its bigger now, and the name has been applied to other segments as well, with both a tall-riding crossover and all-electric iterations making their debut over the years. Unfortunately, as we all know, these segments arent necessarily bywords for fun, and the worlds standard for quick enough has moved on. Now, though, it looks like the Italian icon is getting a little closer to its fun-to-dirve roots thanks to a solid dose of turbocharging under the hood.

The Full Story

We think that forced-induction motivation is just the right fit for the 500, a model that should focus on zippy fun and attitude over practicality.

The big news here is that each of the trim levels for the 2018 model year Fiat 500 will now come equipped with a 1.4-liter MultiAir turbocharged engine offering as much as 33 percent more horsepower than before.

We like this. We think that forced-induction motivation is just the right fit for the 500, a model that should focus on zippy fun and attitude over anything practical. And considering the cars relatively low weight (roughly just 2,500 pounds), a little more horsepower can go a long way to capturing that youthful feeling.

With an all-turbo lineup, the iconic Fiat 500 now offers an even more dynamic driving experience and more standard horsepower than any of its competitors, says Head of Passenger Car Brands at FCA, Steve Beahm. In fact, the entire Fiat brand lineup now comes standard with turbocharged power, adding to our roster of fun-to-drive, Italian-designed vehicles.

Both now receive a 1.4-liter MultiAir powerplant with a single turbo, two intercoolers, and a sporty exhaust

Buyers can get theirs in one of three separate trim levels. That includes the Pop, the Lounge, and the top-dog performance-oriented Abarth model.

Lets start at the bottom with the Pop and Lounge. As previously stated, both now receive a 1.4-liter MultiAir powerplant with a single turbo, two intercoolers, and a sporty exhaust. Output sees a jump to 135 horsepower and 150 pound-feet of torque, an increase of 34 horses and a whopping 52 pound-feet over the previous models naturally aspirated 1.4-liter lump (101 horsepower and 98 pound-feet of torque).

Thats a not-so-insignificant increase, and itll surely make the 500 immensely more interesting to drive. The horsepower is great, and should help to drop the 0-to-60 mph time from just under 10 seconds to a figure estimated at somewhere in the high-7s to low-8s. However, were more interested in the sizable torque increase, which will double-underline the 500s around-town scootin ability. The low curb weight should help it handle as well.

The horsepower is great, and should help to drop the 0-to-60 mph time from just under 10 seconds to the a figure estimated at somewhere in the high-7's to low-8's.

Routing the power to the front axle is a five-speed manual transmission as standard, or an optional six-speed automatic for those who prefer two pedals over three. In the corners, the base-grade and mid-grade 500s both get 16-inch aluminum wheels as standar now, plus performance brakes and sport suspension as well, the latter of which should do well to compliment the new-found power. A ParkView rear backup camera helps out in the cabin, while styling updates to the exterior include body-colored front and rear fascias, side-skirt ground effects, a sport spoiler, fog lamps, and a Turbo badge declaring the cars fresh forced-induction status.

Meanwhile, performance enthusiasts are encouraged to get into the Fiat 500 Abarth model. Unfortunately, the Abarths power output goes unchanged with this recent refresh, but thats okay. With 160 horsepower and 183 pound-feet of torque on tap from a tuned version of that 1.4-liter turbo four we just mentioned (manual Abarth models still get a small torque cut, down to 160 horsepower and and 170 pound-feet of torque compared to the automatic models), the Abarth is a solid little performer in its own right.

To that end, the Abarth gets more of the previously mentioned performance gear for the suspension and brakes. Theres also a three-mode stability control system and torque transfer control (TTC) system, both of which apparently maximizes throttle performance during on-throttle cornering. Styling points are awarded thanks to standard 16-inch Hyper Black wheels made from aluminum. Wrapped around the rollers are sticky Pirelli tires, while under the spokes are red-painted brake calipers. Out back is an Abarth-exclusive exhaust with a double-tip design.

Move to the interior of the Abarth, and youll find unique front seats with big lateral bolsters and a one-piece design, plus harness pass-through points if youre really looking to upgrade for track duty. Accent stitching was added to the upholstery, while aluminum pedal covers with black rubber inserts are in the foot well. A boost gauge can be found in the left-hand corner of the gauge cluster.

Put the 500 Abarth into Sport mode, and the boost gauge will light up with the word Sport. Theres also a shift light in the cluster thatll help you nail the ideal up-shift points in the rev range.

The Abarth gets more of the previously mentioned performance gear for the suspension and brakes.

Fiat is calling the Abarth package track-ready, and to really bring the point home, its offering customers a free one-day driving session at the Bob Bondurant School of High-Performance Driving. And thats awesome. We wish more automakers would throw in driving school with its high-performance packages. It would save us the time of making fun of buyers who crash in less than a mile after taking delivery.

Finally, the new 500 comes with three new exterior colors to round it out, including Brillante Red, Mezzanotte Blue Pearl, and Vesuvio Black Pearl, bringing the paint options list to 11 entries total. Theres also the open-top Cabrio options if youre looking for extra headroom.

Dealers are placing their orders now, and deliveries are expected for the second quarter of the year.

Pricing is not yet available, but the model received a considerable MSRP cut last year, bringing it down to $14,995 for the Pop, $18,495 for the Lounge, and $19,995 for the Abarth. The rest of the line includes the all-electric 500e, the up-sized 500L, and the sub-compact 500X crossover.

All told, we think the extra turbo power under the hood is a good move, especially considering sales for the 500 have taken a hit lately. With demand in the U.S. market focused primarily on large SUVs, we think the 500 has to double down on what it does best  namely zesty performance, fun factor behind the wheel, and oodles of style everywhere. Leave the SUVs where they are.

For the sake of comparison, Fiats primary competitor, the Mini Cooper, is more powerful and offers more customization options, but at the cost of about $6,600 extra on top. And thats a huge gulf to bridge when you consider you can get into a base-model Fiat for just 15 grand. Now, thanks to the inclusion of turbo power, the Fiat is looking mighty tempting indeed.

The question is  will consumers agree?

References

Read our full review on the 2017 Fiat 500.

Read our full review on the 2017 Fiat 500 Abarth.

Read more Chicago Auto Show news.

Read more Fiat news.

Source: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles
Ford has seen a healthy eight-percent increase in sales of the Edge crossover with higher trims over the last four years. As a response, the 2019 Edge is getting a new luxury-minded trim package that should help boost consumer interest in the two-row crossover. Its the Titanium Elite and it slots between the current Titanium and the new performance-oriented Edge ST.

A More Luxurious Ride to Soccer Practice

The new trim brings 20-inch wheels with a unique design, more upscale skid plate on the rear bumper, and body-color trim around the entire outside

While Ford fans might find it odd the automaker didnt choose the Platinum name for the new trim, as it has with many other vehicles, the Edge Titanium Elite moves into new territory for the intrinsically family-friendly SUV.

The new trim brings 20-inch wheels with a unique design, more upscale skid plate on the rear bumper, and body-color trim around the entire outside. Ford hasnt released information regarding interior improvements, but we expect more news as the 2018 Chicago Auto Show rolls along. We know it will have the updated seen elsewhere in the 2019 Edge lineup, including the new rotary gearshifter and updates to the SYNC 3 infotainment. Connectivity upgrades will include the new FordPass system and the Ford+Alexa AI personal assistant.

The Titanium Elite will use the 2019 Edges updated powertrain, which includes the 2.0-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder and new eight-speed automatic transmission. The EcoBoost received a five-horsepower gain of the 2018 model, making it worth 250 horsepower and an unchanged 275 pound-feet of torque. The Edge comes standard with front-wheel drive and AWD remains an option.

Ford did not release pricing for the 2019 Edge Titanium Elite, but were expecting a modest increase over the standard Titanium trim. For 2018, the Edge Titanium starts at $35,930. Given the 2019 model is getting a significant mid-cycle refresh, which generally is accompanied by a price increase, the new Titanium Elite will probably start around $37,500.

Well have more as Ford makes the information available.

References

Read our full review on the 2019 Ford Edge.

Read our full review on the 2019 Ford Edge ST.

Read more Chicago Auto Show news.

Read more Ford news.
African national leaders concluded the 30th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union last week, with the summit adopting a series of decisions on issues related to continental economic integration  including on the next steps for the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA), as well as the free movement of people and air travel.

The two-day meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, also saw participants discuss progress towards realising the continents own development vision, Agenda 2063, as well as the UNs 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The African Union (AU) and the UN signed a framework agreement on implementing those two broad development-oriented agendas in a mutually supportive way.

High on the meeting agenda was the fight against corruption, a topic chosen as this years summit theme. Various African leaders emphasised that despite a growing recognition of the necessity to tackle this problem, more work needs to be done at all levels.

We must seize the opportunity of the theme of this year on the fight against corruption to take decisive action against this scourge that impedes development and undermines social cohesion, said Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the AU Commission, in his address to the meeting.

The summit was also marked by the election of Rwandan President Paul Kagame as the new AU chairperson. He succeeds Guinean President Alpha Conde and will guide the work of the organisation over the coming year.

CFTA summit: the final countdown?

African leaders agreed to hold an extraordinary summit on 21 March in Kigali, Rwanda, with the goal of considering legal texts related to the CFTA and signing the agreement establishing the free trade area. It will be preceded by an extraordinary session of the Executive Council on 19 March, also in Kigali.

Scale is essential. We must create a single continental market, integrate our infrastructure, and infuse our economies with technology. No country or region can manage on its own. We have to be functional, and we have to stay together, said Kagame in his opening remarks to the AU Assembly.

The projected mega-FTA is expected to bring together the 55 members of the African Union into a continental market with a cumulative GDP exceeding US$3.4 billion and a total population of over one billion people. If concluded and implemented successfully, it would become the largest free trade area in the world in terms of membership.

Negotiations towards establishing the CFTA were launched in 2015 with the initial goal of concluding a first phase covering trade in goods and services by the end of 2017. Despite significant progress achieved at the end of last year, however, sources say that members are still working to finalise talks on all aspects related to phase one negotiations. Phase two will move the talks towards discussing topics such as competition policy and intellectual property.

While negotiators completed their work on the Agreement Establishing the Continental Free Trade Area and the Protocol on Trade in Services in November 2017, additional discussions are needed to resolve remaining sticking points involving trade in goods. This includes aspects related to rules of origin, sensitive and excluded products, trade remedies, and infant industries.

Negotiations resumed this week with a view towards bridging remaining differences ahead of the March summit, and the process of legal scrubbing is currently underway for the texts that have already been finalised.

The AU also announced last week at the summit a strategic partnership with the AfroChampions Initiative, a group of public-private projects driven by well-known African government officials and business leaders. This new collaboration will aim to promote the CFTA by boosting engagement with the continents entrepreneurs.

By sharing the reflections of its members and their on-the-ground experience, the AfroChampions Initiative will allow us to develop more relevant approaches on many technical subjects  especially with regards to common customs tariffs, facilitation of intra-African trade, and free movement of workers, goods, and capital, said Albert Muchanga, the AU Commissioner for Trade and Industry.

Free movement of people, air travel

In another effort to strengthen continental integration, the AU Assembly adopted a protocol that provides for the progressive implementation of free movement of people, right of residence, and right of establishment on the continent, as well as a related draft implementation roadmap.

While many observers have noted that free movement of people could play a central role in unleashing the continents economic potential, some have also warned that implementing this policy in practice will require real commitment from member states, which could prove challenging given the divisions which have emerged during the discussions so far.

While describing the importance of having the CFTA in place, Kagame said that freedom of movement for people in Africa is equally important, and suggesting that in his view the goal could be reached this year.

The AU summit also saw the formal establishment and launch of the Single Market for Air Transport in Africa (SAATM), a move aimed at enhancing connectivity at a continental level and developing the aviation and tourism sectors. This is an initiative whose execution has been long awaited, noted AU Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat.

So far, 23 member states have committed to the immediate implementation of the 1999 Yamassoukro decision, which provides for the liberalisation of air transport services on the continent. They will be the initial members of the SAATM. This list includes Benin, Burkina Faso, Botswana, Cape Verde, Republic of Congo, Cote dIvoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea Conakry, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Swaziland, Togo, and Zimbabwe.

The realisation of a Single African Air Transport Market is vital to the achievement of the long-term vision of an integrated, prosperous, and peaceful Africa under the AU Agenda 2063, said an AU press release.

Like the CFTA and the free movement of people, the creation of a unified air transport market in Africa is among the flagship projects of the first ten-year implementation plan of Agenda 2063.

By committing to break down these barriers, we will send a tremendous signal in Africa and beyond, that it is no longer business as usual, said Kagame at the AU summit.

UN-AU partnership

Speaking during the AU Assemblys opening ceremony, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reaffirmed the UNs strong commitment to work towards addressing the continents most pressing challenges.

At a time of growing debate over the benefits of multilateralism, he said that the UN and the AU can show that multilateralism is our best and only hope.

The two intergovernmental organisations signed the AU-UN Framework for the Implementation of Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which aims at fostering greater cooperation and ensuring that both agendas are effectively integrated into African countries national development plans.

Our two agendas  the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063  are mutually reinforcing. Eradicating poverty in all its forms is our overarching priority, said Guterres.

Through taking a harmonised approach and using this new framework agreement to guide their shared work, the AU and the UN aim to optimise resource mobilisation and use, while avoiding duplication of efforts.

Going forward, the UN chief also identified five areas for enhanced partnership between the UN and the AU: peace and security; inclusive and sustainable development; climate change; migration; and the fight against corruption.

Supporting gender equality

Another theme that received significant attention was gender equality, with the AU Assembly calling on member states to implement all the commitments made in the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa.

Adopted in July 2004, the declaration reaffirmed African countries commitment to continue, expand, and accelerate efforts to promote gender equality at all levels, followed by a series of 13 specific pledges on various gender-related matters.

For women especially, we need to unreservedly accord them their full rights and roles, said Kagame during the opening ceremony.

African Union officials at the event said that the AU has done well to ensure that its leadership roles see strong representation from women, while calling for more work to be done to address the gender leadership gap both within the organisation and at the national level.

Guterres, for his part, noted in his speech the valuable role that women and young people can play in bringing African countries development goals to fruition.

Womens full participation makes economies stronger and peace processes more successful, he said.
Announced: Abdoulaye Mar Dieye to head UNDPs Global Policy Bureau

Brazil circulates proposal for WTO Investment Facilitation deal (ICTSD)

Brazil submitted an extensive draft proposal for a potential agreement on investment facilitation to the WTOs General Council last week, in a bid to jumpstart more structured discussions on the subject. In its submission, the Brazilian delegation clarifies that the draft proposal is not intended to serve as a negotiating text, but rather is meant to serve as a concrete illustration of what an agreement on investment facilitation could look like. The submission, they say, could help serve as a starting point for a more focused and text-based discussion on the subject, along with supporting outreach efforts towards bringing more WTO members on board. The Brazilian text is more extensive and detailed compared to earlier proposals submitted by various delegations in 2017. The scope and the main elements, however, remain the same. [Pacific Alliance, associate members advance trade talks, eye new economic opportunities]

Andrew Elek: How can East Asia defend the WTO? (East Asia Forum)

Defending this dispute settlement mechanism should now take precedence over trade liberalisation. In the face of rising populism, expecting any progress on lowering residual border barriers to trade is unrealistic. Fortunately, trade liberalisation no longer needs to be the top priority for the WTO. Past rounds of WTO negotiations have helped to create an environment where only a few sensitive products face significant traditional border barriers and these products account for a rapidly falling share of international commerce. The performance of the WTO should no longer be judged by the progress of complex negotiating rounds held up by political resistance to trade liberalisation of these few products. How can East Asia defend the WTO? It could build on Chinese President Xi Jinpings speech at Davos in January 2017, which confirmed Chinas commitment to openness and to a rules-based multilateral economic order. All other East Asian governments can join China to make it clear that they will continue to act in line with their WTO commitments in their dealings with other members.

Dani Rodrik: What do trade agreements really do? (pdf, Harvard)

As trade agreements have evolved and gone beyond import tariffs and quotas into regulatory rules and harmonization, they have become more difficult to fit into received economic theory. Nevertheless, most economists continue to regard trade agreements such as the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) favorably. The default view seems to be that these arrangements get us closer to free trade by reducing transaction costs associated with regulatory differences or explicit protectionism. An alternative perspective is that trade agreements are the result of rent-seeking, self-interested behavior on the part of politically well-connected firms  international banks, pharmaceutical companies, multinational firms. They may result in freer, mutually beneficial trade, through exchange of market access. But they are as likely to produce purely redistributive outcomes under the guise of freer trade.

Rwanda: Bill seeking to ease cross-border movement tabled in parliament (New Times)

A newly proposed law on immigration and emigration in Rwanda would make it easier for people in border communities to cross borders without difficulty, Members of Parliament in the Lower House heard yesterday. Under Article 57 of the draft law, the government has proposed that the Directorate General of Immigration and Emigration be allowed to work in consultation with local leaders and other relevant authorities to establish more crossing points to strictly facilitate movements of border communities. The draft law directs the directorate to put in place instructions governing the management of the crossing points. Its important that we make it easy for Rwandans to travel to neighbouring countries, especially those who live near the borders. Some of them would travel long distances to reach a gazetted border post, Uwizeye told MPs.

EAC Monetary Union Bill in the offing (EALA)

The EAC Monetary Institute Bill 2017 and the EAC Statistics Bureau Bill 2017 tabled by the Chair of the Council of Ministers, Hon Julius Wandera Maganda, sailed through the First Reading and were committed to the respective EALA Committees. The object of the EAC Monetary Institute Bill, 2017, is to provide for the establishment of the East African Monetary Institute as an institution of the Community responsible for preparatory work for the EAC Monetary Union. Closely related to the EAMI Bill is the EAC Statistics Bureau Bill, 2017, which also seeks to establish the Statistics Bureau as an Institution of the Community.

EALA set to operationalise autonomy

The East African Legislative Assembly will operationalize the financial and administrative autonomy granted to it by the council of ministers two years ago. In the wake of this, the Assembly at plenary yesterday passed a resolution directing the EALA Commission to come up with all the necessary instruments to fully achieve the objectives for which it was established including enhancing terms and conditions of service of both members and staff of the Assembly as well as appropriate staffing.

SADC Secretariat hosts cross-border tourism products workshop-cross-border-tourism-products (TBCA)

The SADC Transfrontier Conservation Area Network Steering Committee tasked the tourism committee to provide technical support in developing a guideline on cross-border tourism. As part of the process of consulting stakeholders, a workshop was held, 30-31 January (pdf), with the TBCSA, RETOSA and representatives from the different member countries, SA Tourism, the National Department of Tourism and a number of tour operators in attendance. The workshop touched on various aspects of developing cross-border tourism products including issues of sustainability, governance and destination marketing. A survey is due to be sent out to tour operators for more in-depth information on some of these areas before the guideline can be drafted. More consultation and updates are planned in the course of the year, with the guidelines due for finalization by the end of 2018.

Food and Nutrition Security Working Group Southern Africa: special alert (ReliefWeb)

Large swathes of the SADC region have experienced below-average rainfall since October 2017 compared to the 2016/17 season (Figure 1). In late December, dry conditions intensified in the southern half of the region, causing moderate to severe crop moisture stress in Botswana, southern Malawi, southern and central Mozambique, South Africa, southern Zambia and Zimbabwe. Many farmers planted late, and in some areas of Botswana, southern Mozambique and Zimbabwe did not plant at all. Dry conditions which prevailed resulted in poor germination of the late crop. South Africa, the largest producer of white maize in the region, has reported a 22 percent decline in area planted this season . Continuation of these conditions would have far reaching consequences on access to adequate food and nutrition during the 2018/19 consumption year and ability of farmers to produce in the 2018/19 cropping season. In addition, it will limit income generating opportunities resulting in far reaching consequences. [UN seeks $1.06bn to help fragile countries create firewall against famine; African Development Bank hostssecond Africa Resilience Forum in Abidjan]

Ban on Nigerias beans export still in force  EU (Punch)

The EU has insisted that Nigeria must implement appropriate risk management measures and provide required guarantees before it could export dried beans to Europe. According to the EU, Nigeria must meet specified conditions before the ban will be lifted, but stated that it was supporting the country in the process that would ensure that the lifting of the ban. The EU had banned the exportation of dried beans from Nigeria in June 2015 on the ground that the produce contains high level of pesticide considered dangerous to human health.

Nigeria: Palletisation to cost importers N21.6bn yearly (ThisDay)

Maritime sector stakeholders have expressed concerns over the federal governments policy on cargo palletisation, noting that it will cost Nigerian importers about $60million (N21.6 billion) annually. The stakeholders were also unanimous in their resolution that the controversial policy will increase the diversion of Nigerian-bound cargoes to the ports of neighbouring countries where the policy is not implemented. The stakeholders made this known at a meeting organised by maritime media consulting firm, Ships & Ports in Lagos to brainstorm on the matter. The federal government had late last year directed all containerised cargoes coming into Nigeria to be on a pallet.

South Africa: Channing Arndt on new data, new approaches and new evidence - a policy synthesis (SAJE)

South Africa faces the imperative of escaping economic stagnation. This article seeks to synthesise results from a series of research efforts, including but not limited to the articles presented in this special issue, and consider policy options for escaping economic stagnation. The focus is on South Africa and South African policies yielding relatively quick dividends in terms of growth and taking the rest of the world as given. Four broad implications are presented. These could form part of a concerted effort to escape from South Africas long running economic malaise. Extract: The third principal result relates to trade. The relationships are illustrated in Fig. 3. The figure compares manufacturing firms that engage in international trade relative to manufacturing firms that do not. The mainline result is that firms that engage in international trade employ more people, pay higher wages, have more capital and exhibit higher levels of productivity. While these observations hold for firms that are exporters or importers only, the results are particularly striking for firms that both engage in exports and directly purchase imported intermediates. Similar results hold for export destinations and products: firms that export to developed countries and/or to multiple destinations and/or multiple products tend to exhibit higher levels of productivity (Matthee et al., 2016).

A deep dive into the effects of trade: MIT economist David Atkin looks beneath the surface of global commerce

Take a moment to consider what the following facts have in common. In India, migrants from within the country continue to consume the favored foods of their home regions  even though the relatively high prices mean they eat less. In Mexico, more 9th graders drop out of school when a local manufacturing plant opens to export goods. And in Egypt, rug weavers earn 20 percent more in profits when orders come from foreign buyers. Three countries, three quite different issues. What are the links?

Cote dIvoire: Sixth Economic Update

Additionally, the report focuses on how the country can make up its technological lag. Economic theory has long demonstrated the key role played by technological innovation in a countrys development process, said Jacques Morisset, Lead Economist, World Bank. To be successful, Cote dIvoire must not only open up to the exterior but also enhance the skills of its labor force and the connectivity of its economy. These two factors play an essential role in the dissemination of new imported technologies and their adaptation to the local economic fabric. A focus of Cote dIvoires National Development Plan is to increase FDI and exports. Although some specific initiatives have been launched, particularly in the agri-food processing sector, this strategy has not yet taken off. The weight of FDI and exports in GDP has not increased in recent years. According to the World Bank only 3% of Ivoirien companies use imported technology licenses as against 15% in the rest of Africa. Moreover, Ivoirien companies spend less on research and innovation than their African counterparts. [How can Cote dIvoire help its businesses and citizens acquire new technologies?]

The Gambia: President Barrows statement at launching of the National Development Plan 2018-2021

The strategic orientation and the overarching framework for the plan draws upon several elements, the key ones being the Manifesto of the Coalition of the political parties that defeated the previous regime and the Government Compact agreed during a retreat of the Cabinet 5-7 May 2017. Through its eight strategic priorities and their critical enablers, my government aspires not only to lay the foundations for a modern democratic state, but also to address the most pressing economic and social ills besetting our society. The plan through its robust accountability framework, responds to my concern to ensure a strong focus on results, strong monitoring and evaluation processes, as well as strengthened engagement between my government and the countrys citizens, including those in the Diaspora. [The Gambia to strengthen role of youth and trade in economic development]
Zardaris call for PPPs return to power

09 February, 2018

By Asif Haroon Raja

For over six months, Asif Ali Zardari has been confidently claiming that the PPP will form governments in the Centre and all the four provinces after next elections in 2018. He has assertively reiterated this stance several times particularly after he was cleared of all corruption charges by the courts. Almost everyone is wondering as what make him so confident when seen in the backdrop of dismal track record of PPP, especially the last tenure which was termed as the blackest. All records of corruption and mis-governance were broken. Nepotism and favoritism had sidelined merit and only the crooks were given lucrative posts due to which all the state institutions and state corporations were in shambles and economy was at the brink of collapse.



Zardari had been elected president of Pakistan in August 2008, and he held on to the august chair for five years despite his notoriety and umpteen cases of mega corruption against him. It was owing to poor governance and policy of loot and plunder adopted by him and his party leaders in collusion with MQM that the PPP suffered a humiliating defeat in the June 2013 elections and was reduced to a regional party. The PPP could have bounced back had Zardari and his confidantes learnt lessons and brought about radical socio-economic improvements in Sindh which it is ruling. Alas! The state of affairs in Sindh is shoddier than all other provinces and nothing is in order due to politicization of police, bureaucracy and civil administration and culture of corruption which has been institutionalized.



In the face of these ground realities, the boastful claim made by Zardari sounds strange and out of context. Chiefly so because of high graph of popularity of PML-N in Punjab due to its performance and that of PTI which is aspiring to replace PML-N in next elections. The only possible reason for his over-confidence could be that some quarters might have given him this hope. This magic had happened in October 2007 when all corrupt leaders of PPP and criminals of MQM were dry cleaned by infamous NRO and it enabled PPP to return to power. Zardari might have been told that by the time 2018 elections are held, PPPs two chief rivals would be out of race owing to disqualification of key figures of PML-N and PTI on charges of corruption or contempt of court. Or else, having seen the trend, Zardari might have assumed that the demise of his political foes is certain, thereby giving a clear run to his party to race towards victory stand almost uncontested. This idea germinated into his mind after the apex court decision against Nawaz Sharif (NS) on July 28, 2017 and filing of three references against him and his family for trials by the accountability court. NS offensive against the judiciary and the establishment must have further reinforced his perception that NS goose was cooked for good.



Zardaris spirits soared further when similar charges were levied against Imran Khan (IK), and disqualification of his right hand man Jahangir Tareen. Ineligibility



of IK would have made him happier. His spirits rose further after he successfully engineered a political coup in Baluchistan in January 2018. Glitter of wealth brought a sudden in-house change and the baton was snatched from chief minister Sanaullah Zehri and handed over to PML-Q legislator Bugti who was elected in 2013 after securing 550 votes. He undertook this unpalatable act merely to secure some Senate seats from that province where the PPP at the moment has none. This change took place two months before Senate elections due on March 3 and six months before general elections. Change of command has brought no change in the Sardari Raj and in host of inherent flaws in governance in the troubled province.



Bolstered by his successful venture, Zardari is now boasting that he can bring similar changes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Punjab as well but will not do so to prevent derailment of democracy. To please the Punjab PPP leaders that have gone through a long period of dejection owing to Zardaris policy of reconciliation and friendly opposition which they felt was at their cost, Zardari came hard on NS during his public speech at Moch gate Lahore on February 5. He termed him as a beast and a cancerous predator who must be chucked out so that the PPP is given a chance to rebuild Pakistan in accordance with the vision of Quaid e Azam. PML-N leaders have also never missed any opportunity to hurl invectives on Zardari.



IK on the other hand aspiring to rule the roost has all along chanted the slogan of establishing corruption free Naya Pakistan with equitable justice for all. He dubs the ruling regime and PPP leaders as parasites eating into the vitals of the nation. He had launched his crusade against NS in June 2014 on charges of state sponsored rigging in 2013 elections. After failing to boot out the regime, he then focused his attention on corruption and declared it as the mother of all ailments, lying at the very core of all of misfortunes of Pakistan. He stressed that Pakistan will not survive unless the looted wealth is brought back and Pakistan pays back its creditors.



Panama leaks scandal came as a blessing in disguise for him which he pursed with utmost vigor and tenacity. He was mighty pleased when NS was shown the door by the five-member bench of Supreme Court. He and his cronies felt confident that with the fall of the Goliath, and that of the financial wizard Ishaq Dar, his party will crumble but it didnt happen as they expected. PTI, PPP, PML-Q, Jamaat-e-Islami, PAT and Sheikh Rashid are still struggling to topple the ruling regime. The last ditch effort was made by an amalgam of all opposition parties under the banner of Tahirul Qadri at Lahore last month, but it badly backfired due to personality clash between Zardari and IK, both refusing to sit together. The flop show animated the spirits of PML-N which till then was feeling the mounting heat of the judiciary, NAB and the opposition parties.



IKs party which is ruling KP since mid-2013 under Pervez Khattak has not been able to change the complexion of the province and none of the tall claims made have borne fruit. IKs popularity that was at its peak in 2013 has gradually declined and he has not been able to dent the popularity of NS in Punjab or to expand his



vote bank in urban Sindh, or gain a toehold in Baluchistan. Several scandals together with entry of electable political leaders from other parties, some with tainted past, have marred the reputation of PTI that was generally seen as a panacea to the existing political malaise. PTI is pinning hopes on apex court to disqualify as many PML-N leaders on charges of contempt of judiciary and on the accountability court to convict/punish NS and his family on corruption charges by end February, which in its view will enhance its chances of success in elections.



Although NS is down but much to the chagrin of his opponents, he is not out and is still calling all the shots in the capacity of party president. NS is on a warpath and since his disqualification, he has been wailing and lamenting that he had been wronged by the judiciary and that his abrupt ouster on flimsy charge of Aqama (work permit) had slowed down the phenomenal development and growth of Pakistan. During his public addresses, he has not minced his words in criticizing the judiciary and in highlighting the track record of judiciary wherein it always legitimized the illegitimate acts of dictators and military takeovers. He blames the judicial-military complicity for impeding the growth of democracy.



He along with his daughter Maryam is inciting the crowds by underlining his string of achievements in his 4  years tenure and asks as to why he was removed from power. He is urging the people to return PML-N to power with the heaviest mandate so that he fulfils the dream of making Pakistan an Asian tiger and also clip the wings of higher judiciary that has disrespected the sanctity of votes. Although NSs aggressive posturing has put the judiciary on the defensive, he is playing a dangerous game by pounding the judiciary and the establishment. Chief Justice Saqib has however assured that he will not derail democracy. He must be watching the developments in Maldives.



Taking into account the current trends and the pulse, PML-N still holds better chances of winning 2018 elections and will sweep the polls in Punjab. Shahbaz Sharif will be the next PM. While PPP will retain its hold over Sindh, with Bilawal possibly appointed as CM, it will be difficult for PTI to hold on to KP where there is a strong possibility of PML-N, JUI-F, ANP, JWP grouping. NS held largest ever PML-N rally in Peshawar on 4 February. In case MMA is reincarnated, it will pose a challenge to traditional parties in KP and Baluchistan. PTI leadership must be ruing for having wasted time in fruitless sit-ins and politics of agitation rather than focusing on KP and in pressing the government for carrying out crucial reforms.



Notwithstanding the gusty 2017 during which Pakistan had to face political unrest due to political polarization and fallout effect of dismissal of NS, dwindling economy due to uncertainty and rising debt, insecurity due to ongoing foreign abetted terrorism, USA, India and Afghanistan breathing fire, the silver lining within the dark clouds hovering over the horizons of Pakistan is that the government under Khaqan Abbasi is intact and is running the affairs competently. It has faced the belligerence of Trump boldly, and has let the development projects and healthcare including the most vital CPEC project move on unhindered. Pakistan



has overcome energy crisis after adding 11000 MWs to national grid, controlled terrorism to a large extent and has upped the GDP to near 6%.



While civil-military relations are smooth, armed forces are well-poised to take on foreign threats, and China has become the most reliable partner of Pakistan, ready to protect Pakistans security interests. Above all, rumors of early elections or a technocrat government lay buried after the issue of census was sorted out, without which elections could not have been held, and date of Senate elections announced. Hope of peaceful and orderly transition of democracy in August 2018 has brightened up. Politically strong and united Pakistan can only face the internal and external challenges squarely.



The writer is a retired Brig Gen, war veteran, defence and security analyst, columnist, author of five books, Vice Chairman Thinkers Forum
If you want to have a bikeable city, support your local independent bike dealer and repair shop.

The Internet is eating everything, including the independent bike shop. Carlton Reid, who knows the bike biz (he wrote Bike Boom and Roads were not built for cars), now writes in BikeBiz about the real danger in this.

Clearly, online ordering has changed the marketplace for bicycles. Consumers may say this is a good thing, but I argue that  in many ways, and most especially for consumers  its not.

He published an article by an anonymous bike shop owner who explains how the industry traditionally worked; the customer paid for the manufacturer's cost, the distributor margin and the retailer margin. But buying online is cheaper when Amazon is the distributor and there is no retailer, as much as 30 percent less.

The anonymous owner lists a lot of technical points of interest to bike shop owners, but then gets down to the meat of it for bike riders:

You'll miss us when we're gone.

The idea that manufacturers and distributors can communicate directly with our customers as well as we can is laughable. The passion, determination, heritage and hard work that our customers demand  and which we give in spades  cannot be downloaded as an attachment from a suppliers HQ.

 Duke's Cycle

This is very true. I bought my latest bike at Duke's in Toronto, which has been in operation since 1914 and survived burning to the ground a few years ago. They took a long time to pick the bike and fit it to my short body, accessorized it exactly the way I wanted it, and told me to come back in the fall for a free tuneup and adjustment. It didn't occur to me to buy online; I like to look my bike salesperson in the face. As our author notes,

Customers justifiably want real-world humans to consult with, and get enthused by, and, if necessary, to complain to if things go wrong.

Indeed. I recently took my bike in for a winter tuneup at a shop closer to home, Dave- fix my bike. Dave and I somehow got into a conversation about climate change and he asked me my opinion on some very technical issues that I couldn't answer; perhaps he should be writing and I should be learning how to fix bikes. He wasn't happy with the way the bike was set up and readjusted everything; when I got on it it felt like I was on an e-bike, it was so much easier. It felt like it went uphill by itself.

Our anonymous writer notes that bike shops offer:

Great products and real-world product knowledge

Stores in which to display product that people can touch and try out and connect to

Workshops, coaching, bike-fitting, cafes, group-rides, holidays, advice, support, humour

Passion and the skills to communicate, enthuse, and tell stories that resonate

Sound judgement to help customers get the best experience from products that suit them best

Customer service  a friendly face when things go wrong. (Youll search in vain for a telephone number on Wiggle.co.uk.)

This isn't just about convenience and money, it's about urban life.

This is certainly true of the bike shops I frequent. At TreeHugger, we try and make a big deal about supporting walkable neighbourhoods and local merchants. But if we also want to have bikeable cities, the bike shop is perhaps one of the most important local merchants around.

Our anonymous author is calling for independent bike dealers to do a boycott of internet sourced products for a week.

During this week we refuse, en masse, to touch internet-sourced products and bikes. No servicing of them, no passing on advice about them, no nothing. Blank them. It may even mean that people are discouraged from turning up on online-only bikes during shop-organised rides. Tough love.

I think that's got it backward and will only alienate cyclists. I think it is up to us, the consumers, to boycott internet sourced bikes. It is up to us to support our local independent bike dealer and repair shop. It is up to us to realize that there is a real price to be paid for that bargain bike, because our author is right when he says, "Use us or lose us."

CC BY 2.0. An urban cyclist employee taking picture of Lloyd Alter

An urban cyclist employee taking picture of Lloyd Alter/CC BY 2.0

The other day when my nose was falling off from the cold, I was able to stop at the Urbane Cyclist co-op and get fitted with a balaclava that I could breathe through and continue my ride home. Try doing that on the Internet.

The internet won't fix your bike. Support your local bike shop.
"Should I convert my Canadian money to American dollars, bring it to Jamaica & exchange the American money at a Cambio or ATM ????"

First, if you plan to spend Jamaican dollars on your vacation then do not do a double conversion. Each conversion will cause you to pay a fee.

Second, keep in mind that you can convert money at a bank or a cambio but you cannot exchange money at an ATM.

"OR bring Canadian money & exchange for Jamaican dollars???"

If you want to spend Jamaican dollars on your vacation then this option is the better of the two options you list.

You also can bring your Scotiabank debit card with you on vacation. Then go to any Scotiabank branch on the island or to any Scotiabank ATM on the island and get Jamaican dollars.
Looking for some help planning our drive itinerary. We are travelling as two couples in our early 50's, from Australia and first time visitors to this area.

Leaving New York on Sep 29th 2018 heading to Boston. Flying out of Boston very late on the 6th October (just after midnight).

Where should we stop along the way and for how long and what are the must do's. How much time do we need to leave to cover the main sights of Boston? So many questions!!

Any recommendations on accommodation would be great too. We are not looking for top end accommodation but it must be comfortable, clean and with good reviews 9at least a 3 star). Even a home stay along the way may be fun?
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Yes there is a lot of mud!! Once you get away from the main roads (which may be tarmac) everything else is rough tracks. The road from the Serengeti to the Ngorongoro crater is pretty awful. But even in towns like Moshi once you are away from the main part of town its mud tracks.

Obviously no-one can predict what the weather will be like but we did have some very heavy downpours in April, and sometimes it rained for 12 hours overnight but then it would be dry for several days.

So, really it depends of your experience of driving a 4x4 in these type of conditions and how confident you are with maintaining a vehicle and solving any mechanical problems you have whilst being on your own with the wildlife around.......there is no roadside rescueto help you out :-) Also there are no signposts so you need to have a reliable way of finding your way around. As for proper camping at this time of year....it depends on how prepared you are to rough it when camping and how resilient you are. Personally, my camping days are over!!

I have to say I would never do a safari in Tanzania without a driver/guide and especially not at this time of year, but that is me...not you!! The Serengeti is huge and these guys really know their way around and where to find the best game viewing. They also drive the cars every day in rough conditions and know how to handle and maintain them. Also you just learn so much from these guides, not just about the wildlife but about life in general in Tanzania, they really add to your trip.

We have visited Tanzania a lot and mostly plan and organise our trips ourselves without the need for a TO or guide but for a safari there I would always use a guide.....these are expensive trips (even the cheapest trips are expensive) and so I want to make sure I get the best experience.

So I wouldnt say you are over reacting to be cautious and consider this carefully before committing yourself to this trip. Whatever you decide to do, make sure you do your research and planning so you are well prepared. Tanzania is a fantastic country and the wildlife, scenery and people are amazing so make sure you have a brilliant trip
I have been looking to try and book some places. We have seen decent hotels in Tokyo in the 70s-90s dollar-wise per night and want to try to keep it below 100 if possible. Also I get all these flash deals from the cookies in my computer when I search hotels (50-60% off every day these offers flood my inbox)

I wanted to see how much it would be to book a room for 2 adults as it says (one child stays for free) so I typed in age 6 and then the room was not even available anymore. I went back and put in age 5 and it was still there. I also noticed on rooms that are available a big price difference if I put in age 6.

I was wondering if we could just book 2 adults as we did all the time last year while travelling in Europe and they never charged us extra for our then 5 year old. She just slept with us or sometimes they even gave us an extra cot or matress, but they never charged us more. In Japan is this different? If we book for 2 adults and show up with a small 6 year old girl will we get in "trouble"? or will they look the other way? It does say in the websites in brackets (plus one child) so I could always mention this .. even though I LOVE the Japanese people and respect them more than anyone in the world. I would feel way less guilty doing this in other parts of the world. Any advice? And Gomen Nasai if I offended anyone.
I plan to visit Japan in May. This will be the first time I visit this country. Honestly, I don't even know what to expect. I don't even have itinerary yet. I'll be staying for 6 days top.

I'm very interested to see some authentic japanese culture. I'd like to see temples and old cities or villages and not only the famous one, I would really love to see some old remoted and uncrowded ones as well.

I want to see both Tokyo and Osaka, but I guess 6 days won't be enough.

Can anyone give me any suggestion what is the nice thing to see and to do?

Thank you.
With lots of reading of guidebooks and web pages and looking at maps and getting very helpful answers to my questions I have cobbled together an itinerary for our visit in April.

We arrive at 9am at JFK on 24th April and fly back to the Uk on the 30th April, our flight leaves at 11.15 am, thought we would book a taxi to the airport for 7am to get us there in plenty of time.

We are staying at the Wolcott hotel.

I have tried to group places together as far as possible, although I am hopeless with maps and have tried to allow enough time to see the things we really want to.

I would apprciate any help if I have got it wrong.

Some days are busy but we intend getting up early and getting back late, we are also used to lots of walking and doing lots whenever we go away.

We plan on getting a weekly subway unlimited ticket.

Our hotel offers complimentary coffee and muffin, which will do us until lunch as none of us eat much at breakfast time.

Day 1. Arrive JFK 9am hoping to get to the hotel around mid-day and drop our bags off as it will be too early to check in. Head to macy's which is close to our hotel and if we are hungry maybe grab something to eat in Chef street beneath Macy's. Then head to Grand Central Station, we could eat here if we did not eat already. Then head to St. Patricks Cathedral for a look around before going to TOTR, hoping to stay and watch the sunset at around 7.45. Then head to the Rockefeller centre before getting the subway back to our hotel. This will be a long day but all the advice I have read is to not have too early a night to try to get onto NY time as easily as possible.

Day 2. Starting with the Hoho bus, which I believe stops at Macy's and staying on for 1 circuit to get our bearings. We will then head off to 5th avenue and window shop. Then thought we could do century 21 as it does not open until 10am, I am sure my daughter and DIL will want to spend ages here, so I would like to find somewhere close by possibly a museum as I am not really much of a shopper. We have tickets for Anastasia at the Broadhurst theatre at 7.30pm and we are undecided whether to have afternoon tea or an early dinner before the show, any suggestions would be really appreciated.

Day 3- we are splitting up for a while today the girls want to go to Sephora and TJ Maxx, which have branches closish to Central Park, which is where I will go, I have a walk mapped out. We will meet at the AMNH and then head back to Central park, to have a late lunch at the Loeb Boathouse and maybe go on the boats. There are several things we all want to see in the park, and after exploring we will take a horse and carriage ride before finding somewhere for dinner.

Day 4- We plan on going to the ESB early and then heading to the public library and Bloomingdales, we would also like to take a trip on the Roosevelt Island Tram, before heading to our Hell's Kitchen food tour with Ziggy at 2pm. If there is time afterwards we will head to Bryant Park, nothing else planned as yet, but we wondered about an evening boat trip.

Day 5-SOL and Ellis Island, pedestal tickets booked for 9am grab some lunch at Battery Park, we also want to see the 9/11 museum, not sure what time to book for, or whether to book in advance? After head to St. Pauls Chapel. In the evening we want to walk over Brooklyn Bridge and maybe find somewhere for dinner.

Day 6- Highline, Chelsea market, Soho, Flatiron district, Union Square, as suggested by springerandy, many thanks. My daughter wants to go to Milk bar and I believe there is one in East Village, so this might work today. We are also planning on going to 230 fifth rooftop bar, which I think would fit in well here.

We would like to go to Ellen Stardust Diner at some point, mainly to experience it as we have nothing like that in the Uk.

Any suggestions for reasonably priced places to go for dinner would be very welcome, say up to $100, not including taxes, for 3 of us and also maybe 1 more expensive about $200 excuding taxes.

We will be having a celebratory dinner one evening for my daughters birthday, I have had some great suggestions.

Thank you for reading and any help/ advice.
Bilawal Bhutto lambasted Donald Trump for his tweet

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has lambasted US President Trump for a tweet he sent out in January, in which he had criticised his own country for providing $33 billion in aid to Pakistan over the course of the past 15 years.



President Trumps tweet, while I understand it reflects some of the emotions of the American people, it was deeply hurtful to the people of Pakistan, particularly those like myself who have lost loved ones in this fight against extremism, Bilawal told FOX Business David Asman. I feel, unfortunately, I dont think the president intended to do so, but this tweet sends the wrong message.



They have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools, Trump had written in the tweet. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!



The PPP leader said that the US had spent billions of dollars in aid for Pakistan but pointed out that it was a reimbursement for services rendered by Pakistan in fight against extremism.



The young politician noted if the allied forces of Afghanistan and US were not able to ensure peace so far, blaming Pakistan alone was unrealistic. He went on to say that more Pakistanis had been killed in the fight against extremism than Americans. We want to stop terrorism in Pakistan and Afghanistan.



On a query that what practical actions the ruling government had taken to battle terrorism, the PPP leader said his party is in opposition, therefore the best he could do is push the PML-N government to adapt better polices.



While focusing on the extremism and militancy in Afghanistan, Bilawal said it was US who initiated militarisation of the Taliban and Mujahideen during the Afghan war. The US had forced Pakistan to support Taliban forces even though former prime minister Benazir Bhutto had warned against it, he added.



I would hope that the US, Pakistan and Afghanistan will work together to bring peace to the region the PPP chairman said.



In his address as a special guest of honour invited to speak to a galaxy of international guests including US Congressmen, government officials, decision makers, corporate CEOs, ambassadors, faith leaders, media, academia and civil society organisations in Washington, Bilawal Bhutto said that at a time when violent extremism had become the single largest challenge to the world, genuine democracy alone offered the hope to fight the menace. Moderation vs extremism has become a major fault line in the battle of ideas and Pakistan was in the trenches in this battle of ideas, he said.



Today, terrorism, inequality and climate change have disoriented the world. The borderless nature of the challenges we face today will force us to unite. Lets not unite only when the crisis has caused incalculable loss. Lets use these trying times as a chance to reflect and re-evaluate our values. There is no other way out, he said.



We must recognise that terrorism and extremism is not confined to the Muslim world. School shooters in America, cow vigilantism in India and genocidal monks in Myanmar prove that extremism is not confined to one religion, Bilawal reminded the audience.



In Pakistan, there is growing public recoil from extremism. But for a transformative shift, we need commitment and momentum in the battle of mindsets that we fight, the PPP chairman said, adding that violent extremism has severally imperiled the social and political equation of the region.



Pakistan and America can do much good in bringing peace and stability to South and Central Asia. In order to achieve it we must invest in trust and building confidence, Bilawal said, and urged the world not to return to the cold-war era of zero-sum binaries.
- NTV reporter and anchor Ken Mijungu claimed his life was in danger in a Facebook post on Thursday, February 8

- Mijungu named identified the two individuals and companies that want him dead

- Mijungu said the duo used fictitious companies to defraud him and now they want to kill him

NTV news anchor and reporter Ken Mijungu took to his Facebook page to sensationally claim that hsi life was in danger and revealed the identity of two people behind the plot.

Mijungu said that the two men - Delano Longwe Kiilu and Saleh Wachuli Munganga - had used dubious companies to steal from him but that was not enough as he said that they now wanted to kill him over a deal he did not reveal.

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READ ALSO: Raia wa nchi za Afrika wamshambulia Raila mtandaoni

NTV journalist Ken Mijungu who claimed his life was in danger. Photo: Ken Mijungu/Facebook

"They masquerade as professionals, they are white collar thugs. Emotionless, empty souls who will see you go to your grave and feel nothing. Together with West European Group S.A.R.L

"Weng Fu Limited, West European Group S.A.R.L, Coast Development Authority, Kwale County Government they have conspired to kill me. The man behind this is one Delano Longwe Kiilu of phone numbers 0712044555, 0727934001 and Saleh Wachuli Munganga of phone numbers 0724341808 and 0724726514," he said in a post seen by TUKO.co.ke.

READ ALSO: NTV's Linus Kaikai, Larry Madowo and Ken Mijungu lined up for arrest

The journalist promised to make public text messages and audio of phone calls as well as WhatsApp chats to prove his claims.

"In the meantime call them and plead for my life if you can. Thank you," he said.

Do you support Raila Odinga's call for fresh presidential election? - on TUKO TV

Source: Tuko
- The acerbic Gatundu South MP advised President Uhuru Kenyatta to deal more harshly with Opposition leaders

- Moses Kuria suggested that apart from deporting Miguna Miguna, Uhuru should send into exile more NASA leaders

- The MP in a coded message said Uhuru should act in a similar manner as Turkish leader Tayipp Erdogan who jailed 47, 155 people after a coup attempt in 2017

Vocal Gatundu South legislator Moses Kuria has hinted at the government to act tougher on opposition leaders as they did outlawed NRM secretary general Miguna Miguna.

According to the fierce NASA critic Kuria, the government were being too linient in enforcing their authority on opposition outfit NASA.

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READ ALSO: Mwanahabari wa NTV ahofia maisha yake, ataja anayedai wanataka kumwangamiza

Uhuru should deport more opposition leaders not just Miguna Miguna - Moses Kuria. Photo: Courtesy

READ ALSO: Govt impounds vehicles belonging to NASA leaders

He made the sensational claims via his pro-active Facebook Page where he cited the alleged coup in Turkey back in April 2017.

The coup was believed to have been started by The Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETO) and saw the deaths of about 250 people with a further 2200 people injured.

Uhuru should deport more opposition leaders not just Miguna Miguna - Moses Kuria. Photo: Ebru

READ ALSO: We don't need you here - police turn away Orengo, Aladwa and Wanjigi from DCI headquarters

After the April 2017 coup attempt in Turkey, the government of Tayipp Erdogan jailed 47, 155 and banished the coup leader Fethullah into exile. Someone in Kenya is sleeping on the job. Only one deportation so far? Wacha nirudi nyumbani-. Kuria wrote on Facebook.

In the aftermath of NASA leader Raila Odingas controversial inauguration on January 30, a number of opposition-affiliated leaders have felt the heavy repercussions from the government.

Raila's swearing in came with a number of repercussions for NASA leaders. Photo: Coutesy

READ ALSO: Kenya's Judiciary is an extension of NASA - Jubilee Secretary General

NASA deputy Kalonzo Musyoka alongside 141 other leaders had their security withdrawn, while several other leaders such as Ruaraka MP TJ Kajwang faced charges for administering an illegal oath.

Uhuru should deport more opposition leaders not just Miguna Miguna - Moses Kuria. Photo: Nation

READ ALSO: ODM man accused of placing and paying for fake death advertisement of NASA billionaire financier speaks out

The government also took away vehicles belonging to National Super Alliance (NASA) leaders amid intensified crackdown on those who took part in the controversial swearing-in of Raila Odinga

READ ALSO: Sportpesa winner Samuel Abisai meets with newest KSh 230 millionaire and it's exciting

The NASA-affiliated leader who arguably paid the heftiest price would be the self-styled NRM Secretary General Miguna Miguna who was dramatically arrested on Friday, February 2 and detained for 5 days before being deported back to Canada.

Have anything to add to this article or suggestions? Share with us on news@tuko.co.ke

Do you support Raila Odinga's call for fresh presidential election?:

Source: Tuko News
- A Briton on holiday met her untimely death on Thursday, February 8 after she drowned in a swimming pool

- Rose Mumbi Tidey was pronounced dead in arrival at a city hospital following the evening incident

- She was in the company of her five-year-od daughter who raised alarm when she saw her mother drowning

A British woman of Kenyan origin drowned at the Nairobi Safari Club swimming pool on Thursday, February 8, TUKO.co.ke has learnt.

Rose Mumbi Tidey, 41, went to swim at around 3pm at the club while accompanied by her daughter, Christine Tidey aged 5.

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READ ALSO: Mjukuu wa Kibaki awatia 'wazimu' kina dada, apiga picha akiwa amemlalia binti mwingine

The entrance to Nairobi Safari Club where a British woman of Kenyan origin drowned in the swimming pool. Photo: World Tours Safaris

The daughter raised alarm when she saw the mother drowning and staff at the club pulled her from the water. They administered first aid before rushing her to the Bliss Medical Centre.

READ ALSO: Senior traffic cop soliciting for bribes jumps from the frying pan to the fire

She was however pronounced dead on arrival.

According to the clubs security officer Marcus Opiyo, the deceased was on holiday and had arrived at the hotel at around 6am.

READ ALSO: I am ready for 2022 presidency - Alfred Mutua after election petition victory

She booked a room that morning for 12 days. The same afternoon, she went to swim and met her death.

The body was taken to the Chiromo Mortuary awaiting investigations. Detectives from Central police station have launched investigations into the incident.

Story by Lucky Omenda, TUKO.co.ke Correspondent

Do you support Raila Odinga's call for fresh presidential election? - on TUKO TV

Source: Tuko.co.ke
- Rarieda MP Otiende Amollo has been warming many hearts with emotional photos of him helping his constituents put up decent houses

- Photos on his social media pages show the before and after snapshots of grass-thatched mud-walled houses given a complete make-over

- Rarieda in Nyanza is one of the many regions in Kenya with extreme poverty levels and most residents lack basic social amenities

- The MP, who is also a highly respected lawyer, is actively engrossed in working for his people besides his apparent involvement in the activities of his political party

Rarieda Member of Parliament (MP) Otiende Amollo probably needs no introduction.

His role during hearing of the August 8, 2017 election petition pitting Raila Odinga against Uhuru Kenyatta and the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) left lasting impression in the minds of most Kenyans. But arguing cases in court is not all that he is good at.

The firebrand lawyer has in the recent past warmed hearts of many Kenyans with numerous emotional snapshots of him helping his constituents put up decent houses.

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The photos show the MP is on a mission to uplift the livelihoods of his people in Rarieda constituency. Most of them are evidently poor and lack decent houses.

READ ALSO: Otiende Amollo, this is your time to replace Raila Odinga - Moses Kuria

Rarieda MP Otiendo Amollo is evidently committed to transforming and improving livelihoods of his people. Photo: Twitter/Hon Otiende Amollo

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TUKO.co.ke has compiled some of the photos that show how the lawmaker has helped his constituents in the past few months since the people of Rarieda elected him.

Many of the houses in this constituency have been given a complete make-over from grass-thatched mud-walled houses.

READ ALSO: Opposition MPs security allegedly withdrawn - Rarieda MP Otiende Amollo claims

And that is not all. The MP is also helping bright students who come from extremely poor families and therefore cannot afford school fees.

Rarieda is a constituency in Nyanza. It is one of the many regions in Kenya with extreme poverty levels. Most residents here lack basic social amenities.

The the area MP, who is also a highly respected lawyer, is evidently working towards uplifting the living standards of his people.

READ ALSO: How Raila Odinga's lawyer used to shine in High School

At the same time, the legislator is actively involved in the activities of his political formation National Super Alliance (NASA).

TJ Kajwang declares himself Chief Justice - On Tuko TV

Source: Tuko Breaking News Latest
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LULA y su Pueblo



Bye Bye



Homenaje al genial Quino



Fueron ellos



Una imagen que resume



Tan bajo ha caido que se deja tocar el trasero?



Porky y el Nene (archiconocido narcotraficante)



Ladrones al poder



Asi mira el perrito a su amo



Crazy



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Cuando la policia se roba la democracia



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Hace 15 anos Por que la OEA no se pronuncio?



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Feudalismo ayer y hoy



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Algun dia Colombia volvera a la ideologia de Bolivar







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LOS REVOLUCIONARIOS NO TOMAN CACA-COLA No se trata solamente de un capricho, sino de una sana actitud en todos los sentidos. Desde la solidaridad con el pueblo colombiano donde la empresa Caca-Cola ha cometido los mas grandes abusos contra sus trabajadores incluyendo el presunto secuestro y asesinato de los dirigentes del sindicato, hasta la proteccion de la salud de nuestros hijos, enviciados por ese jarabe de cola y azucar, que les produce obesidad prematura. Pensemos tambien los revolucionarios, que ese dinero que gastamos en los refrescos es utilizado por esas empresas para financiar el terrorismo en nuestro pais. Es cierto, no se trata solo de la Caca-Cola, sino tambien de la cerveza, de los cigarrillos y todos esos articulos innecesarios y mas que eso, daninos para nuestra salud. Podriamos incluso pensar en un dia de parada para cada uno de ellos. Es cuestion de irnos organizando. Pero para empezar, que tal si dejamos de comprar Caca-Cola y sus similares?



























Cuando lo extraordinario se vuelve cotidiano...



Discurso del Acto de Grado en Barinas en 12 de Febrero del 2005 Queridos Graduandos:



Mas que un discurso, quiero dirigirles algunas palabras que escribi anoche, despues de visitar en las clinicas, a los estudiantes heridos, a consecuencia de los enfrentamientos con la policia de hace apenas dos dias.



Me ha tocado por razones del destino, ser la persona que les otorgue el titulo que bien merecieron con sus estudios. Y me siento sumamente orgulloso de serlo. Me consta que la Universidad de Los Llanos Occidentales Ezequiel Zamora, a pesar de lo dicho por los enemigos de esta universidad, es una universidad de primera.



No tendremos la mejor planta fisica, en los salones hace calor. En el comedor hace calor. Pero no es en lo material que las cosas deben valorarse. El mayor capital es el ser humano. Y en eso, nuestra UNELLEZ, lo digo con conocimiento de causa, esta sobrada. Los llaneros venezolanos son nobles, valientes, de coraje.



En la UNELLEZ hacen vida, en este momento, aproximadamente 67000 personas. El 97% de ellas son estudiantes. Jovenes que, como Ustedes hasta el dia de hoy, buscan ese titulo, que constata los anos de dedicacion y de estudio.



Los jovenes son el rio de la vida, ustedes graduados deben ser los capitanes de esos barcos que naveguen por el rio de la vida.



Nuestra Patria atraviesa momentos muy dificiles porque decidio dejar de ser esa matrona de edad vetusta y complaciente, para ser joven, rebelde y altanera. Nuestra imagen ya no es la de una acaudalada ricachona mayamera. En nuestro rostro brilla ahora la sonrisa del Che Guevara, con su diente delantero torcido, su pelo largo y su boina con la estrella.



Entender esto, a mi me ha tomado practicamente toda la vida. Tengo 53 anos, y ya perdi mi oportunidad de derramar sangre joven a causa de un ideal.



Ustedes son jovenes, estan en la flor de la vida. No cometan por favor el error de renunciar a su instinto de rebelion. El Che Guevara fue Ministro de a Economia en Cuba. Los billetes y las monedas se adornaban con su rostro. Nada de eso le importo. Primero fue a Angola donde paso un penoso ano de combate. Despues se fue a Bolivia, donde encontro la muerte. El Che era el ultimo que comia, el que cargaba la mochila mas pesada. Siempre se sacrificaba por los demas en un estoicismo que mas parecia fervor religioso que ideologia marxista.



Si quieren un modelo de vida. Ahi lo tienen.



Dije hace unos momentos que el 97% de la poblacion de la UNELLEZ es estudiante. Se imaginan Ustedes la Universidad que podriamos tener si todos los estudiantes tuvieran la abnegacion, la combatividad del Che?



Los momentos que se avecinan van a requerir de una gran unidad del pueblo venezolano. La alternativa de continuar siendo libres o regresar a la pobreza se nos planteara en los proximos dias de forma enmascarada, o quizas peor, desenmascarada, vestida con uniforme de soldado del Imperio.



Por nuestra parte podemos esperar lo mejor. La macroeconomia no podria ir mejor, la justicia social ha mejorado notablemente. Las misiones ocupan un papel muy importante en el pago de dicha justicia social. Aqui en Barinas ya hemos cumplido con dos de las misiones, la mision Robinson y la mision Sucre. No hay analfabetismo y no hay exclusion en la educacion superior, en estas tierras de Zamora.



Pero ay malhaya! Son precisamente estos exitos los que nos hacen mas antipaticos al Imperio. Para ellos, somos inclusive un mal ejemplo que se esta contagiando al resto del continente y cuidado sino al resto del mundo.



Nunca venceremos al Imperio. Estara siempre ahi, acechando. Por lo menos hasta que el mismo no se autodestruya. Porque, sepanlo senores, el neoliberalismo es canibal. Cuando le ataque el hambre, se devorara a si mismo.



Ustedes, queridos graduandos, a partir de hoy pasan a conformar la elite profesional que debe sostener este pais en los proximos cuarenta o cincuenta anos. Anos decisivos para el logro de nuestra libertad y del rescate de nuestra Soberania.



No se dejen comprar. No se dejen corromper. No se dejen gritar. No se dejen pisar. Que nadie les diga que comer, o que vestirse, o que leer. Sean siempre autenticos, rebeldes, contestatarios. Pero eso si, profundamente patriotas, dignos de ser hijos de Bolivar.



Muchas gracias y que Dios los bendiga.





Alguna duda?



Medio siglo de Holocausto Palestino



Oscar Zanartu Nacio en Caracas en 1960. Ha realizado exposiciones individuales en las galerias Minotauro, Clave y San Francisco, y en salas de Coro, estado Falcon, y Puerto Ordaz, estado Bolivar. En Paris su obra ha sido exhibida en el Centro Cultural Tanagra, en la Exposicion Cite Internationale des Arts, en las galerias De Mars y Arver Space, al igual que en la Galeria Municipal Levallois, en Levallois Perret (Francia). En muestras colectivas, su obra se ha expuesto en Belgica, Francia, Estados Unidos y Venezuela; en Caracas intervino en la exposicion "Del genesis a la memoria", 1995, organizada por la Fundacion La Previsora. En 1982 obtuvo el Premio Nacional Critven y en 1990 la Mencion de Honor Jose Antonio Paez, en la Embajada de Venezuela en Paris. En 1991 se le concedio el primer premio de Pintura Itinerante, en Levallois Perret, Francia.



OZ1



OZ2



OZ3



OZ4



Homenaje a Jason Galarraga



La Victoria de Samotracia



Odalisca



Mas fotos de la nevada del pasado agosto 2008



























La Sierra Nevada de Merida



Nuestro precioso Churum Meru



Homenaje a Picasso



Autoretrato



Sabes lo que bebes en una Coca-Cola?

La formula de la Pepsi tiene una diferencia basica con la de la Coca-Cola y es intencional, para evitar el proceso judicial. La diferencia es a proposito, pero suficientemente parecida como para atraer a los consumidores de Coca-Cola que prefieren un gusto diferente con menos sal y azucar.

Mi profesion?

Tuve que aprender quimica, entender todo sobre componentes de gaseosas, conservantes, sales, acidos, cafeina, enlatado, produccion, permisos, aprobaciones y muchas otras cosas. Monte mi propio mini-laboratorio de analisis de productos.

Sal en la Coca Cola?

A patadas. El Cloruro de Sodio no solo refresca sino da mas sed, como para pedir otra gaseosa. Y no resulta desagradable porque la sal mata literalmente la sensibilidad al dulce... del que por cierto tambien tiene mucho: 39 gramos de azucar.

De los 350 gramos de producto liquido, mas del 10% es azucar, o sea que en una lata de Coca-Cola mas de un centimetro y medio es puro azucar en polvo. Aproximadamente tres cucharadas soperas llenas de azucar por lata!!La formula de la Coca Cola es muy sencilla:

Concentrado de azucar quemado caramelo- para dar color oscuro y gusto

Acido fosforito (para darle el sabor acido)

azucar (HFCS-jarabe de maiz de alta fructosa)

Extracto de hojas de la planta de Coca (Africa e India) y otros pocos aromatizantes naturales de otras plantas

Mucha Cafeina

Conservante que puede ser Benzoato de Sodio o Potasio

Dioxido de Carbono en cantidad para sentir freir la lengua cuando se bebe

Sal para dar la sensacion de refrigeracion

El uso del acido fosforito y no del acido citrico como en todas las demas gaseosas, es para dar la sensacion de dientes y boca limpia al beber. El acido fosforito literalmente frie todo y dana el esmalte de los dientes, cosa que el acido citrico lo hace en menor grado.Trate de comprar acido fosforito para ver las mil recomendaciones de seguridad que te dan para su manipulacion (quema el cristalino del ojo, quema la piel, etc...). Esta prohibido usar el acido fosforito en cualquier otra gaseosa; solo la Coca Cola tiene permiso. Porque claro, sin el acido fosforico, la Coca Cola sabria a jabon.El extracto de coca y otras hojas casi no cambia en nada el sabor. Es mas bien un efecto cosmetico. El extracto forma parte de la Coca-Cola porque legalmente tiene que ser asi. Pero sin el, no se nota ninguna diferencia en el gusto, que esta dado basicamente por las cantidades diferentes de azucar, azucar quemada, sales, acidos y conservantes.Sabor a que...? ja, ja, ja.

Aqui en Bartow, sur de Orlando, hay una empresa quimica que produce aromatizantes y esencias para zumos. Envian diariamente camionadas de sales concentradas y esencias para las fabricas de helados, gaseosas, jugos, enlatados y comida colorida y aromatizada.Cuando visite por primera vez la fabrica, pedi ver el deposito de concentrados de frutas, que deberia ser inmenso, especialmente los de naranja, pina, fresa y tantos otros. El encargado me miro, se rio y me llevo a visitar los depositos inmensos... pero de colorantes y componentes quimicos.

Las gaseosa de naranja no contiene naranja.

En los zumos dizque de fresa, hasta los puntitos que quedan en suspension estan hechos de goma (una liga quimica que envuelve un semi-polimero).

Pina, es un popurri de acidos y goma.

La esencia para helado de aguacate usa peroxido de hidrogeno (agua oxigenada) para dar la sensacion espumosa tipica del aguacate.

Bebidas Light?

Quieres saber la cantidad de basura que tiene un refresco 'light'? Yo ni siquiera los uso para destapar mi lavaplatos pues temo que danen los tubos de PVC. Los productos endulzantes 'ligth' tienen una vida media muy corta. Por ejemplo el

Despues de toda mi experiencia con la produccion de bebidas embasadas, puedo afirmar sin dudar un segundo: la mejor bebida es el agua, como tambien los jugos exprimidos de naranja o limon. Nada mas, cero azucar y cero sal.



Publicado por loretahur



En realidad, la formula secreta de la Coca-Cola se puede detallar en 18 segundos en cualquier espectrometro optico, y basicamente la conocen hasta los perros. Lo que ocurre es que no se puede fabricar igual, a no ser que uno disponga de unos cuantos millones de dolares para ganarle la demanda que te metera la Coca-Cola ante la justicia (ellos no perderian).La formula de la Pepsi tiene una diferencia basica con la de la Coca-Cola y es intencional, para evitar el proceso judicial. La diferencia es a proposito, pero suficientemente parecida como para atraer a los consumidores de Coca-Cola que prefieren un gusto diferente con menos sal y azucar.Tuve que aprender quimica, entender todo sobre componentes de gaseosas, conservantes, sales, acidos, cafeina, enlatado, produccion, permisos, aprobaciones y muchas otras cosas. Monte mi propio mini-laboratorio de analisis de productos.A patadas. El Cloruro de Sodio no solo refresca sino da mas sed, como para pedir otra gaseosa. Y no resulta desagradable porque la sal mata literalmente la sensibilidad al dulce... del que por cierto tambien tiene mucho: 39 gramos de azucar.De los 350 gramos de producto liquido, mas del 10% es azucar, o sea que en una lata de Coca-Cola mas de un centimetro y medio es puro azucar en polvo. Aproximadamente tres cucharadas soperas llenas de azucar por lata!!La formula de la Coca Cola es muy sencilla:Concentrado de azucar quemado caramelo- para dar color oscuro y gustoAcido fosforito (para darle el sabor acido)azucar (HFCS-jarabe de maiz de alta fructosa)Extracto de hojas de la planta de Coca (Africa e India) y otros pocos aromatizantes naturales de otras plantasMucha CafeinaConservante que puede ser Benzoato de Sodio o PotasioDioxido de Carbono en cantidad para sentir freir la lengua cuando se bebeSal para dar la sensacion de refrigeracionEl uso del acido fosforito y no del acido citrico como en todas las demas gaseosas, es para dar la sensacion de dientes y boca limpia al beber. El acido fosforito literalmente frie todo y dana el esmalte de los dientes, cosa que el acido citrico lo hace en menor grado.Trate de comprar acido fosforito para ver las mil recomendaciones de seguridad que te dan para su manipulacion (quema el cristalino del ojo, quema la piel, etc...). Esta prohibido usar el acido fosforito en cualquier otra gaseosa; solo la Coca Cola tiene permiso. Porque claro, sin el acido fosforico, la Coca Cola sabria a jabon.El extracto de coca y otras hojas casi no cambia en nada el sabor. Es mas bien un efecto cosmetico. El extracto forma parte de la Coca-Cola porque legalmente tiene que ser asi. Pero sin el, no se nota ninguna diferencia en el gusto, que esta dado basicamente por las cantidades diferentes de azucar, azucar quemada, sales, acidos y conservantes.Sabor a que...? ja, ja, ja.Aqui en Bartow, sur de Orlando, hay una empresa quimica que produce aromatizantes y esencias para zumos. Envian diariamente camionadas de sales concentradas y esencias para las fabricas de helados, gaseosas, jugos, enlatados y comida colorida y aromatizada.Cuando visite por primera vez la fabrica, pedi ver el deposito de concentrados de frutas, que deberia ser inmenso, especialmente los de naranja, pina, fresa y tantos otros. El encargado me miro, se rio y me llevo a visitar los depositos inmensos... pero de colorantes y componentes quimicos.Las gaseosa de naranja no contiene naranja.En los zumos dizque de fresa, hasta los puntitos que quedan en suspension estan hechos de goma (una liga quimica que envuelve un semi-polimero).Pina, es un popurri de acidos y goma.La esencia para helado de aguacate usa peroxido de hidrogeno (agua oxigenada) para dar la sensacion espumosa tipica del aguacate.Quieres saber la cantidad de basura que tiene un refresco 'light'? Yo ni siquiera los uso para destapar mi lavaplatos pues temo que danen los tubos de PVC. Los productos endulzantes 'ligth' tienen una vida media muy corta. Por ejemplo el aspartamo , despues de tres semanas mojado, pasa a tener gusto de trapo viejo sucio.Para evitar eso, se agregan una infinidad de otros productos quimicos, uno para alargar la vida del aspartamo, otro para neutralizar el color, otro para mantener el tercer quimico en suspension porque sino el fondo de la gaseosa quedaria oscuro, otro para evitar la cristalizacion del aspartamo, otro para realzar el sabor, dar mas intensidad al acido citrico o fosforito que perderia su sabor por el efecto de los cuatro productos quimicos iniciales... y asi sucesivamente.Un consejo final !!Despues de toda mi experiencia con la produccion de bebidas embasadas, puedo afirmar sin dudar un segundo: la mejor bebida es el agua, como tambien los jugos exprimidos de naranja o limon. Nada mas, cero azucar y cero sal.Publicado por loretahur

MARGARINA o MANTEQUILLA La margarina fue producida originalmente para engordar a los pavos; cuandolo que hizo en realidad fue matarlos.Las personas que habian puesto el dinero para la investigacion quisieronrecobrarlo asi que empezaron a pensar en una forma de hacerlo.Tenian una sustancia blanca, que no tenia ningun atractivo como comestible,asi que le anadieron el color amarillo, para venderselo a lagente en lugar de la mantequilla.Que tal esa?... Ahora han sacado algunos nuevos sabores para vender mas alos incautos como usted y yo.CONOCE USTED la diferencia entre la margarina y la mantequilla?Siga leyendo hasta el final... porque se pone bastante interesante!Comparacion entre mantequilla y margarina:

1.- Ambas tienen la misma cantidad de calorias.

2.- La mantequilla es ligeramente mas alta en grasas saturadas: 8 gramos,comparada con los 5 gramos que tiene la margarina.

3.- Comer margarina en vez de mantequilla puede aumentar en 53% el riesgo deenfermedades coronarias en las mujeres, de acuerdo con un estudiomedico reciente de la Universidad de Harvard.

4.- Comer mantequilla aumenta la absorcion de gran cantidad de nutrientesque se encuentran en otros alimentos.

5.- La mantequilla provee beneficios nutricionales propios mientras lamargarina tiene solo los que le hayan sido anadidos al fabricarla.

6.- La mantequilla sabe mucho mejor que la margarina y mejora el sabor deotros alimentos.7.- La mantequilla ha existido durante siglos mientras que la margarinatiene menos de 100 anos.

Ahora... sobre la margarina:

1.- Es muy alta en acidos grasos trans. (Si, esos que recien ahora loscientificos descubrieron que son malisimos y los gobiernoscomenzaron a prohibirlos) .

2.- Triple riesgo de enfermedades coronarias.

3.- Aumenta el colesterol total y el LDL (el colesterol malo) y disminuye elHDL (el colesterol bueno).

4.- Aumenta en cinco veces el riesgo de cancer.

5.- Disminuye la calidad de la leche materna.

6.- Disminuye la reaccion inmunologica del organismo.

7.- Disminuye la reaccion a la insulina.

Y he aqui el factor mas inquietante (AQUI ESTA LA PARTE MAS INTERESANTE! ):A la margarina le falta UNA MOLECULA para ser PLASTICO...!!Solo este hecho es suficiente para evitar el uso de la margarina de porvida, y de cualquier otra cosa que sea hidrogenada (esto significaque se le anade hidrogeno, lo cual cambia la estructura molecular de lassubstancias).Usted puede ensayar lo siguiente:Compre un poco de margarina y dejela en el garaje o en un sitio sombreado.Dentro de unos dias notara dos cosas:

* No habra moscas; ni siquiera esos molestos bichos se le acercaran (esto yale debe decir a usted algo).

* No se pudre ni huele mal o diferente porque no tiene valor nutritivo; nadacrece en ella. Ni siquiera los diminutos microorganismos puedencrecer en ella.Por que? Porque es casi plastico!!



No a la guerra, Si a la Paz



Misterios de la ciencia...



Los costos de la guerra



medicos y capitalismo...



Capitalismo...



medicos (2)



Quien educa a nuestros hijos?



Los Medios...



Sin Palabras...



Chistes feministas

- Cual es el problema, Eva?

- Se que me has creado, que me has dado este hermoso jardin, todos estos maravillosos animales y esa serpiente con la que me muero de risa... pero no soy del todo feliz...

- Como es eso, Eva? - replico Dios desde las alturas.

- Me encuentro sola, y ademas estoy harta de comer manzanas...

- Bueno Eva, en tal caso, tengo una solucion... creare un hombre para ti.

- Que es un hombre?

- Un hombre sera una criatura imperfecta, con muchas artimanas. Mentira, hara trampas, sera engreido... vamos, que te va a dar problemas... Pero, va a ser mas fuerte y rapido que tu y le gustara cazar y matar cosas... Tendra un aspecto simple, pero como te estas quejando, le creare de tal forma que satisfaga tus... eh... necesidades fisicas... Y tampoco sera muy listo, y destacara en cosas infantiles como pegarse o dar patadas a un balon... Necesitara tu consejo siempre para actuar cuerdamente.

- Suena bien - dijo Eva, mientras levantaba la ceja ironicamente.

- Cual es el truco?.

- Pues... que lo tendras con una condicion.

- Cual?

- Como te decia, sera chulo, arrogante y muy narcisista... asi que le tendras que hacer creer que le hice a el primero... recuerda... es nuestro secreto... de mujer a mujer.





Por que a los hombres no les puede dar la enfermedad de las vacas locas?  Porque todos son unos cerdos

Un dia, en el Paraiso, Eva llamo a Dios: Tengo un problema.- Cual es el problema, Eva?- Se que me has creado, que me has dado este hermoso jardin, todos estos maravillosos animales y esa serpiente con la que me muero de risa... pero no soy del todo feliz... - Como es eso, Eva? - replico Dios desde las alturas.- Me encuentro sola, y ademas estoy harta de comer manzanas...- Bueno Eva, en tal caso, tengo una solucion... creare un hombre para ti.- Que es un hombre?- Un hombre sera una criatura imperfecta, con muchas artimanas. Mentira, hara trampas, sera engreido... vamos, que te va a dar problemas... Pero, va a ser mas fuerte y rapido que tu y le gustara cazar y matar cosas... Tendra un aspecto simple, pero como te estas quejando, le creare de tal forma que satisfaga tus... eh... necesidades fisicas... Y tampoco sera muy listo, y destacara en cosas infantiles como pegarse o dar patadas a un balon... Necesitara tu consejo siempre para actuar cuerdamente.- Suena bien - dijo Eva, mientras levantaba la ceja ironicamente.- Cual es el truco?.- Pues... que lo tendras con una condicion.- Cual?- Como te decia, sera chulo, arrogante y muy narcisista... asi que le tendras que hacer creer que le hice a el primero... recuerda... es nuestro secreto... de mujer a mujer.Por que a los hombres no les puede dar la enfermedad de las vacas locas?  Porque todos son unos cerdos

Ellas...



Ellas (2)...



Tres venganzas femeninas VENGANZA NUMERO 1

Hoy mi hija cumple 21 anos y estoy muy contento porque es el ultimo pago de pension alimenticia que le doy, asi que llame a mi hijita para que viniera a mi casa y cuando llego le dije:

-Hijita, quiero que lleves este cheque a casa de tu mama y que le digas que: Este es el ultimo maldito cheque que va recibir de mi en todo lo que le queda de su puta vida!!! Quiero que me digas la expresion que pone en su rostro.

Asi que mi hija fue a entregar el cheque. Yo estaba ansioso por saber lo que la bruja tenia que decir y que cara pondria.

Cuando mi hijita entro, le pregunte inmediatamente: -Que fue lo que te dijo tu madre?

-Me dijo que justamente estaba esperando este dia para decirte que no eres mi papa!



VENGANZA NUMERO 2

Un hombre que siempre molestaba a su mujer, paso un dia por la casa de unos amigos para que lo acompanaran al aeropuerto a dejar a su esposa que viajaba a Paris.

A la salida de inmigracion, frente a todo el mundo, el le desea buen viaje y en tono burlon le grita:

- Amor, no te olvides de traerme una hermosa francesita Ja ja ja!!

Ella bajo la cabeza y se embarco muy molesta.

La mujer paso quince dias en Francia.

El marido otra vez pidio a sus amigos que lo acompanasen al aeropuerto a recibirla.

Al verla llegar, lo primero que le grita a toda voz es:

- Y amor me trajiste mi francesita??

- Hice todo lo posible, - contesta ella - ahora solo tenemos que rezar para que nazca nina.



VENGANZA NUMERO 3

El marido, en su lecho de muerte, llama a su mujer. Con voz ronca y ya debil, le dice: - Muy bien, llego mi hora, pero antes quiero hacerte una confesion.

- No, no, tranquilo, tu no debes hacer ningun esfuerzo.

- Pero, mujer, es preciso - insiste el marido - Es preciso morir en paz.

Te quiero confesar algo.

- Esta bien, esta bien. Habla!

- He tenido relaciones con tu hermana, tu mama y tu mejor amiga.

- Lo se, lo se Por eso te envenene, hijo de puta!!!



machismo y cibernetica



Chiste machista La NASA ha enviado al espacio una mision experimental tripulada por dos monos y una mujer.Apenas abandona la atmosfera, se establece comunicacion con Houston.

-Atencion, simio 1, verifique sistemas hidraulicos, controle adecuada presion de los propulsores de arranque. A 60.000 pies disminuya un 25% la velocidad.

El simio hace la sena de OK.

-Atencion, simio 2, nivele al cruzar la estratosfera y active sistemas anticongelantes. No olvide monitorear sistemas de comunicacion e indicadores de presion. Comprendido?.

El simio hace la sena de OK.

-Atencion, Houston llamando a mujer: no se olvide.

-Mujer: Si, si, ya se! -interrumpe enojada- que no me olvide darles de comer a estos monos de mierda y que no se me vaya a ocurrir tocar nada!.



.Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti.

Un abogado mantiene un romance con su secretaria.Al poco tiempo, esta queda embarazada y el abogado, que no quiere que su esposa se entere, le da a la secretaria una buena suma de dinero y le pide que se vaya a parir a Italia.Esta pregunta: Y como voy a hacerte saber cuando nazca el bebe ? El abogado responde: Para que mi mujer no se entere, tan solo enviame una postal y escribe por detras: Spaghetti. Y no te preocupes mas, que yo me encargare de todos los gastos.

Pasan los meses y una manana la esposa del abogado lo llama al bufete, algo exaltada: Querido, acabo de recibir el correo y hay una postal muy extrana viene desde Italia. La verdad, no entiendo que significa.El abogado, tratando de ocultar sus nervios, contesta:Espera a que llegue a casa, a ver si yo entiendoCuando el hombre llega a casa y lee la postal, cae al suelo fulminado por un infarto.Llega una ambulancia y se lo lleva. Ya en el hospital, el jefe de cardiologia se queda consolando a la esposa y le pregunta cual ha sido el evento que precipito tan masivo ataque cardiaco.

Entonces la esposa saca la postal y se la muestra diciendole: No me explico, doctor; el solamente leyo esta postal. Vea usted mismo lo que trae escrito.Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti."Tres con salchicha y albondigas y dos con almejas



Gol !!!!



Chistes de Borrachos Entra un borracho a su casa todo manchado con lapiz labial por todos lados hecho un desastre, y la mujer le pregunta:-Hombre que te paso?Y el borracho le responde:-No me vas a creer, me pelee con un payaso!



Este es un borracho que entra en un bar y le dice al camarero:-Me da cinco copas de whisky?Al rato:-Me da cuatro?Al rato:-Me da tres copas?Despues:-Me da dos copas?Luego le dice:-Me da una copa?Y le dice al camarero:-Ves? Cuanto menos bebo, mas borracho estoy!


- Flamboyant city Lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi ,who represented President Uhuru in his electoral case attacked Larry Madowo

- Ahmednasir asked him to resign from his TV job after the latter mocked his employer online

- Larry Madowo had to social media to reveal how Nation Newspaper had refused to publish his article,which was instead published by CNN

NTV's journalist Larry Madowo was recently entangled in a scandalous affair after police officers with orders from above came for him,his boss Linus Kaikai and fellow journalist Ken Mijungu at the Nation Center.

The shocking turn of events was as a results of an alleged government crackdown against individuals involved in Raila's controversial 'swearing-in' on January 30 .

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READ ALSO: Mke wa Gavana Mutua amfokea mfuasi aliyemshauri ashike mimba

According to TUKO.co.ke prior reports ,Larry and his counterparts' arrest order was issued by Security cabinet secretary Fred Matiang'i who categorically stated that all individuals who facilitated Raila's swearing-in shall be dealt with.

However the two moved to court to bar their imminent arrest and prosecution by the state.The three somewhat got off the cuffs but at least for a while.

Well,no sooner had Larry Madowo gotten a sigh of relief from his recent quandaries than he found himself in yet another complex situation.

Leading a throng of vicious Kenyan Online user,city Lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi who represented President Uhuru in his electoral case attacked Larry Madowo,and asked him to resign from his TV job after the latter mocked his employer online.

READ ALSO: Mombasa Deputy governor survives terrible road accident

Lawyer Ahmednassir asks Larry Madowo to resign after mocking his employer. Photo: Nation

READ ALSO: Doctors at KNH reattach 17-year-old Kiambu man's arm that was stored in cool box

The whole melee began when Larry Madowo took to social media to reveal how Nation Newspaper had refused to publish his article,which was instead published by CNN on Friday,February 9 2018.

''This week, the @dailynation refused to print my column for the first time in nearly 4 years. The irony aside, the same piece is now published on CNN''Madowo wrote on Twitter.

Madowo's indirect attack against his employer seems to have rubbed lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi the wrong way.

Taking to Twitter on Friday,February 9 2018,afternoon ,Ahmednasir Abdullahi claimed Larry is not a self respecting journalist and should resign from NTV for passing a vote of no confidence in his employer.

''That is a vote of no confidence by your employer...and any self respecting journalist (and you are undoubtedly one) will have no option but resign from the employment service of such an employer..''he wrote.

Kalonzo faces the wrath of Kenyans for missing swearing in - on TUKO TV

Source: Tuko Breaking News
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.
Russian-backed militants launched four attacks on positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) area in Donbas over the past day.

This is reported by the ATO Headquarters press center.

In Donetsk direction, illegal armed formations used 120mm mortars to shell Ukrainian positions near Shyrokyne (20km east of Mariupol). ATO troops also came under 82mm mortar and grenade launcher fire outside Pisky (12km north-west of Donetsk) and Vodiane (16km north-west of Donetsk).

As the Headquarters reported, one Ukrainian serviceman was injured as a result of the enemy shelling. He was immediately taken to a military hospital and provided the necessary medical assistance.

ol
One Ukrainian soldier was wounded in the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) area in eastern Ukraine over the past day.

Ukrainian Defense Ministry's Spokesperson Dmytro Hutsuliak said this at a press briefing on Friday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

One Ukrainian soldier was wounded during enemy shelling. He was immediately taken to a military mobile hospital, his state of health is satisfactory, he said.

He also added Russian-backed militants launched four attacks on positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Donbas over the past day. The Ukrainian troops didnt return fire.

iy
The key priority of military reform and training of troops is increasing their mobility.

Chief of the General Staff - Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Viktor Muzhenko said this during the meeting with members of the Kyiv Association of Military Attaches, the press service of the Defense Ministry of Ukraine reports.

"It's about relocating the appropriate forces and equipment  brigades, regiments, battalions  that will move to threatening directions based on the activity and evaluation of the nature of the enemy's actions. The corresponding actions were practiced in the course of strategic exercises of moving and maneuvering over long distances. I'm talking about the exercises the Summer Thunderstorm 2016, the South Wind 2016 and the Unshakable Resistance 2017, when the troops moved in different ways - by rail, road transport, by its own, by air, and the raiding actions of assault troops over a distance of more than 1,000 kilometers were practiced," said the Chief of the General Staff.

General Muzhenko thanked representatives of partner countries and awarded Canada, US and Germany defence attaches for their contribution to the process of transformation of the Ukrainian army and military cooperation in 2017.

ol
The experience of Austria opens new opportunities for regional development and the introduction of decentralization in Ukraine, according to Deputy Prime Minister- Minister of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Utilities Hennadiy Zubko.

When commenting on the meeting between President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko and Federal Chancellor of Austria Sebastian Kurz in Vienna, Zubko said: The deepening of the Ukrainian-Austrian cooperation opens new opportunities for regional development and the introduction of decentralization in Ukraine. For us, Austria's experience in determining and developing priority sectors of the economy for each federal land and improving the competitive potential of lands is interesting. The introduction of such Austrian approaches in Ukraine will raise the competitiveness index of the regions.

He also stressed that practical experience of Austria in the issue of forming a policy for the development of mountainous and highland territories, in particular, developing social infrastructure and stimulating industry and entrepreneurship, is useful for Ukraine.

In addition, we will step up cooperation within the framework of the EU Strategy for the Danube region. The strategy is an example of a coordinated approach to the development of a large macroregion. Ukraine's participation in its implementation opens new opportunities for cooperation with the countries participating in the Strategy, in particular with Austria. This issue was discussed at the meeting with Federal Chancellor of the Republic of Austria Sebastian Kurz in the scope of President Petro Poroshenkos visit," Zubko wrote.

As earlier reported, on February 8, President Petro Poroshenko was on an official visit to Vienna at the invitation of Federal President of Alexander Van der Bellen.

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President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has invited Austrian companies to participate in the competition for the Ukrainian GTS management.

He said this during a joint press conference with Federal Chancellor of Austria Sebastian Kurz in Vienna, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

Speaking of the energy cooperation with Austria, we will be glad to invite Austrian companies to take part in the competition for the Ukrainian GTS management. We are convinced that this is a profitable and effective economic project, the Head of State said.

Poroshenko also called the Nord Stream 2 a political project with no economic sense.

As reported, President Petro Poroshenko made an official visit to Vienna on February 8 at the invitation of Federal President of the Republic of Austria Alexander Van der Bellen.

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Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman has said Ukraine has taken credits worth $46 billion in 2007-2014 and now annually spends UAH 130 billion on servicing these debts.

He said this during Government Question Hour meeting held in the Verkhovna Rada today, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"From 2007 to 2014, Ukraine has borrowed $ 46 billion, which we are servicing and repaying. We pay UAH 130 billion annually on servicing [these debts]," the prime minister said.

At the same time, he urged MPs to adopt a package of 35 bills aimed at improving the investment attractiveness of Ukraine. According to him, the relevant decisions will increase the economic growth of the state.

iy
Legalization of the cryptocurrency will allow the cyber police to oversee this type of business activity.

Deputy Head of the Department of Cyber Police Oleksandr Hrynchak said this on the air of the Details program on the Radio Liberty.

"Speaking about the cryptocurrency, I want to mention that we have elaborated a number of proposals, brought this issue to the level of the government. We want to legalize the cryptocurrency to place it under control. This currency is used to commit a series of crimes: the sale of drugs, weapons, etc.," Hrynchak said.

"We are often notified of cryptocurrency theft. There are fraudulent schemes when the owners of electronic wallets provide scammers with the access to their accounts and they transfer tens of thousands of dollars to another wallet. This type of crime can be qualified as fraud using computer technology. People are deceived. They transfer some electronic means for some services and receive nothing in return. This is a pure fraud," the deputy head of the Department of Cyber Police added.

As of today, the National Bank of Ukraine, the National Securities and Stock Market Commission of Ukraine and the National Commission for Regulation of Financial Services Markets of Ukraine do not recognize the cryptocurrency as payment means.

ol
Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul has advised Americans, who question unlawfulness of Russia's annexation of Crimea and Russian aggression against Ukraine, to simulate a similar situation in the United States.

He wrote this on Twitter on Thursday, Ukrinform reports.

"When Americans tell Ukrainians to be more pragmatic when dealing with Russia, I wonder how pragmatic we Americans would be if China annexed Hawaii, Canada invaded Maine, or Mexico supported separatists in California?" the former high-ranking diplomat said.

His post in the social network spurred a lively discussion, which was also joined with provocative comments by users with Russian-language names.

During Barack Obama's first term as president, McFaul served as Special Assistant to the President at the National Security Council. From 2011 to 2014, he headed the U.S. Embassy in Moscow.

After dismissal from diplomatic service and until now, McFaul has worked as a leading expert on Russia and American international police. He currently holds the post of Professor of Political Science at Stanford University.

op
The Government of Japan will donate Ukraine about USD 300,000 for the implementation of four health and education projects.

As an Ukrinform correspondent reports, the ceremony of signing of the grant agreements on human security projects within the framework of the Kusanone program was held at the Embassy of Japan in Ukraine on February 8.

"More than 400 applications were submitted for consideration. We selected four, and these are very high-quality projects: improvement of medical equipment in the healthcare facilities in Dubno [Rivne region], at the Putivl central district hospital of Sumy region, improvement of the sanitary environment at the Kharkiv Regional Center for Palliative Medicine and improvement of the educational environment at the Kulykovo secondary school in Chernihiv region," the Ambassador of Japan to Ukraine Shigeki Sumi said.

He noted that the uniqueness of the Japanese governments Kusanone program is that the applications for assistance within its framework can be submitted by local communities and the results are felt directly by the community members.

The ambassador noted that this year, apart from the four projects in the first stage of the Kusanone program, eight more projects would be implemented.

Ambassador Shigeki Sumi wished the project executors success and expressed the hope that they understand their responsibility before the communities.

Since 2002, 122 projects worth over $8.76 million have been implemented in Ukraine within the framework of the Kusanone grant program in the areas of health, education, social welfare, environment preservation, culture, sports, and the like. These grants are part of the official development assistance of Japan to Ukraine.

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations, Japan has provided Ukraine with assistance totaling $3.1 billion. In particular, since March 2014, Japan has provided Ukraine with a total of $1.86 billion in financial support to stabilize the situation in the country and stimulate reforms.

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Law enforcers have detained former Ukrainian MP Oleksandr Shepelev in Koncha-Zaspa near Kyiv, a source in law enforcement agencies has told Ukrinform.

"Shepelev was detained in Koncha-Zaspa, where he has a house. He has already lived there for a week," the source said.

According to him, Shepelev was detained by employees of the Main Military Prosecutor's Office and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).

The ex-MP now stays is in the SBU's detention facility on Askoldovy Lane in Kyiv. Today, representatives of the Main Military Prosecutor's Office will send a petition to Pechersky District Court to select a measure of restraint for Shepelev in the form of remanding in custody.

The Main Military Prosecutor's Office carries out a pre-trial investigation in criminal proceedings against former MP Shepelev on suspicion of committing a deliberate murder and assassination attempt on two or more persons, by prior conspiracy with a group of persons, organizing the seizure of a vehicle, organizing the embezzlement of state funds of PJSC Rodovid Bank, their legalization and official forgery.

In late December 2012, suspect Shepelev was put on the international wanted list. In July 2013, he was detained in Hungary and, following the extradition procedure, he was taken to Ukraine in March 2014.

However, in July 2014, Shepelev escaped from custody to evade criminal responsibility. On the same day, he was again placed on the international wanted list, and the court chose a preventive measure for him in the form of remanding in custody.

On March 19, 2015, employees of the Russian law enforcement agencies detained Shepelev in the Moscow region on suspicion of committing these crimes.

op
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and his wife, Maryna Poroshenko, have attended the Vienna Opera Ball.

The head of state was invited to the event as a personal honorary guest of the Austrian president.

In total, about 500 guests were present at the ball, among them the youngest Chancellor of Austria, Sebastian Kurz, with whom Petro Poroshenko earlier held a joint briefing.

The Ukrainian president was on an official visit to Vienna at the invitation of the Austrian president.

op
The Hungarian side claims Ukraine refuses to implement the Venice Commission's recommendation on the language of education at educational establishments.

Hungary's Foreign Ministry insists no agreements on the language provisions of Ukraine's law on education were reached during bilateral consultations between Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Vasyl Bodnar and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade's Parliamentary State Secretary Levente Magyar in Uzhgorod, Ukraine, on February 7.

Read alsoHungary demands legal guarantee from Ukraine on education law"No kind of agreement has been reached with regard to the Ukrainian Education Act; Ukraine is still refusing to implement the recommendations of the Venice Commission," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade's Deputy State Secretary Tamas Menczer said in a statement to Hungarian news agency MTI on Thursday, February 8.

Menczer reiterated that the standpoint of the Hungarian government remains unchanged and "is rock solid: Ukraine cannot begin the implementation of the Education Act until it has come to an agreement with national minorities on the issue, including with the Hungarian national minority."

"We are glad that it seems the consultation will begin soon, Transcarpathian Hungarians can count on the full support of the Hungarian government," he said.

In his words, the Hungarian government will only retract its policy of blocking Ukraine's international aspirations if the Transcarpathian Hungarians state that an agreement has been reached with relation to every detail of the Education Act. "That is still a long way off," the statement said.

Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs earlier announced it had agreed with the Hungarian side on ways to address the so-called language issue at educational institutions in Zakarpattia, western Ukraine.
The money was part of a payment from Serhiy Kurchenko, who played one of the key roles in the team of former President Viktor Yanukovych.

Ukraine's president has dismissed his chief economic adviser, Boris Lozhkin, hours after Al Jazeera contacted both of them over a story alleging they have received tens of millions of dollars raised fraudulently.

It is about a deal on the purchase of United Media Holdings (UMH), back in 2013, Al Jazeera reports.

Austrian officials investigated a $130 million transaction that formed part of the deal, on suspicion of money laundering. They later dropped the case, saying they had seen no evidence to suggest the money was dirty, partly because they had not received any information from their Ukrainian counterparts.

But a document obtained by Al Jazeera's Investigative Unit claims that the money paid for UMH came from a loan secured with stolen assets.

"Kurchenko put up $50m as security on that loan. However, a previously secret Ukrainian court order, released by Al Jazeera in January, shows the money was held in three Cyprus companies that were part of a huge "criminal enterprise", dedicated to the embezzlement and laundering of $1.5bn on behalf of the former Yanukovich government," the report reads.

It means that almost a third of the money that Lozhkin and his investors received for the sale was raised fraudulently, from a loan secured by stolen money and therefore with an illicit origin.

It is not suggested that the sellers knew about the dubious security for the loan raised by Kurchenko, but there are questions about what due diligence was undertaken at the time.

The investigation also notes that President Poroshenko has always claimed he had sold his three percent share in UMH in the months prior to the deal. However, an analysis of Cyprus company records by Al Jazeera indicates that, on the day of the sale, he still held the shares via a company in the BVI.

Read alsoDirty deal traced to three Ukrainian tycoons  Al Jazeera (Video)A spokesman for the president told Al Jazeera Poroshenko did not own, directly or indirectly, any shareholding in United Media Holdings on 28 October 2013. Accordingly, Poroshenko did not receive any money from the sale referred to in the inquiry.

Ukrainian and Austrian prosecutors declined to comment for this story. Al Jazeera is awaiting comment from Lozhkin.

As UNIAN reported earlier, on Feb 7, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko withdrew Boris Lozhkin from the National Investment Council and appointed Dmytro Shymkiv, a Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration, as the Councils acting head.
The leader of the Journalists Union says Parliament should hold hearings on freedom of speech and protection of media staff.

Last year, 90 cases of assaults on journalists were recorded, while the investigation has been dragging with no result whatsoever, according to the organization.

"The journalists physical safety index that we monitor recorded 90 assaults on journalists in the past year. At the same time, there were no punishments in these cases. Accordingly, there is no progress in the investigation of Pavel Sheremet's murder," head of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine, Serhiy Tomilenko, told a TV panel show on 1+1, TSN news service reports.

Read alsoCPJ says Ukraine probe of journalist Sheremet's death stalledTherefore, Tomilenko believes the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine should hold hearings on freedom of speech and protection of journalists.

Earlier, Chairman of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NSJU), Serhiy Tomilenko, said that the past year was one of the most disturbing ones in Ukraines history in terms of the violations of journalist rights.
The enemy employed mortars of various calibers, brazenly violating the Minsk agreements.

Russia's hybrid military forces attacked Ukrainian army positions in Donbas four times in the past 24 hours, with one Ukrainian soldier reported as wounded in action (WIA).

The second half of the past day, starting at about 17:30 Kyiv time, saw no ceasefire violations.

However, militants' fire activity was recorded in the daytime. The enemy continued to use mortars of various calibers, brazenly violating the Minsk agreements, according to the press center of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) Headquarters.

In the Donetsk sector, the occupiers used 120mm mortars against the Ukrainian positions near the village of Shyrokyne.

Read alsoU.S. Mission to OSCE continues insisting Russia behind Donbas warIn addition, the enemy fired 82mm mortars and grenade launchers near the villages of Pisky and Vodiane.

A total of four enemy shellings were recorded in the past day. A Ukrainian soldier was injured in one of the attacks. He was promptly evacuated to a military hospital.

As reported earlier, Ukrainian troops in Luhansk region were fired upon from the Russian territory.
The interlocutors also agreed with the importance of sanctions against the Russian Federation.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has called on the Austrian parliament to recognize the Holodomor of 1932-33 in Ukraine as a genocide of the Ukrainian people.

The relevant statement of the President of Ukraine was made during the meeting with President of the National Council of Austria Wolfgang Sobotka, the presidential press service reported.

Among other things, the interlocutors noted the importance of strengthening the inter-parliamentary dialogue between the two countries.

Read alsoChancellor Kurz: Austria supports idea of deploying peacekeepers to DonbasPoroshenko expressed hope for a Ukraine friendship group in the National Council of Austria. In turn, Sobotka noted the reforms carried out by the Ukrainian authorities.

President Poroshenko also informed his interlocutor on the situation in Donbas as a result of the Russian aggression. He noted Austria's support for Ukraine's efforts aimed to counter the aggressor state. He also thanked Austria for helping Ukraine overcome the humanitarian consequences of aggression.

The interlocutors agreed with the importance of preserving sanctions against the Russian Federation.

The Ukrainian president invited Sobotka to visit Ukraine, the press service reported.
This is a profitable and effective economic project, the president assures.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has invited Austrian companies to participate in the contest to select management for the Ukrainian gas transmission system (GTS).

He is confident that the EU is capable of ensuring unity with regard to the Nord Stream 2 project, according to a report by the presidential press service.

Read alsoEU envoy underlines importance of reforming, modernizing Ukraine's GTS"Speaking of the energy cooperation with Austria, we will be glad to invite Austrian companies to take part in the contest on the Ukrainian GTS management. We are convinced that this is a profitable and effective economic project," Poroshenko said at a joint press conference with Federal Chancellor of Austria Sebastian Kurz on February 8, following the negotiations.

Read alsoUkraine seeking partner to manage GTS, extending deadline for applications"The Nord Stream 2 is a political project with no economic sense. We are confident that we will have enough strength to ensure the unity of the EU and find the positions that will allow us to make the EU's economy more competitive," the president added.
A Belarussian woman, who has been involved in escort services, is in the center of the opposition leaders investigation.

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny published an inquiry Thursday alleging that a Russian Cabinet member received lavish hospitality from billionaire Oleg Deripaska, a tycoon who has been linked to U.S. President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort.

Navalny's investigation, published Thursday, draws from the social media account of a woman who claims to have had an affair with Deripaska. The woman, who calls herself Nastya Rybka, has written a book about her work as an escort and said in an interview on Russian television last year that she has been hired by a modeling agency to spend time at Deripaska's yacht, The Washington Post reported.

Rybka posted several videos in 2016 showing Deripaska on his yacht talking with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Prikhodko. In one snippet, Deripaska explains to the woman why relations between Russia and the United States are so bad.

Read alsoRussia's Navalny calls for election boycott as officials ban him from runningNavalny quoted public records suggesting that Prikhodko spent several days on the yacht and was flown there by Deripaska's private jet.

Navalny's foundation earlier published documents suggesting that Prikhodko, a long-time public servant with no significant private income, owns a luxurious mansion outside Moscow.

Read alsoManafort had a whole separate shadow government structure in Ukraine  The AtlanticDeripaska's spokesman rejected Navalny's report.

"These scandalous and mendacious assumptions are driven by sensationalism and we totally refute these outrageous false allegations in the strongest possible way," he said in an emailed statement, asking to be unnamed in line with the company's policy.
The ministerial meeting of the NUC was to be held Feb 14 or Feb 15 during the forum of all defense ministers of the Allies.

Despite Ukraines requests and consent of the most influential members of the North Atlantic Alliance, Brussels did not confirm the date of the NATO-Ukraine Commission (NUC) meeting at the level of defense ministers.

The information, which came from diplomatic sources, has been confirmed at the Alliance headquarters, according to Europeiska Pravda.

The ministerial meeting of the NUC was to be held on February 14 or February 15 during the meeting of defense ministers of all member states  this is one of the few opportunities for the year, where Ukraines top defense chief can personally address the ministers of all key partner states.

Read alsoHungary's Foreign Ministry: No agreement on language provisions of Ukraine education lawHowever, Hungary used its veto right and blocked the meeting, several sources confirmed.

At the moment, there are no meetings of the Ukraine-NATO Commission scheduled, Europeiska Pravda was told in Brussels. The Alliance official reminded that the meeting of the NUC was held in December, where the parties discussed the security situation in Ukraine and the course of reforms.

Hungary did not block that meeting, probably because of a lower-level representation. NATO member countries attended it at the ambassadorial level.

As reported earlier, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto publicly promised in January that he would block the Commissions ministerial meeting.

Read alsoHungary demands legal guarantee from Ukraine on education lawIt remains unclear whether Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak will go to Brussels, despite the abolition of plans to hold the NUC. The sources of Europeiska Pravda close to the Ministry of Defense say that the trip is still in the ministers preliminary schedule. Meanwhile, there has been no official confirmation of these plans yet.

It is technically possible for Poltorak to visit the NATO ministerial meeting for the sake of holding bilateral meetings.
McFaul's publication sparked a lively discussion, including provocative statements by users with Russian profile names.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul has advised Americans doubting the illegitimacy of the Russian annexation of Crimea and aggression against Ukraine to project a similar situation onto America.

"When Americans tell Ukrainians to be more pragmatic when dealing with Russia, I wonder how pragmatic we Americans would be if China annexed Hawaii, Canada invaded Maine, or Mexico supported separatists in California?" he wrote on Twitter on February 8.

The posting sparked a lively discussion, including provocative statements by users with Russian profile names.

Read alsoUkraine says Russia attacks its border guards in Luhansk region across the borderDuring Barack Obamas first presidential term, McFaul worked as special assistant to the U.S. president on national security. From 2011 to 2014 he headed the United States Embassy in Moscow.

Since his dismissal from the diplomatic service, McFaul has been as a leading expert on Russia and American international politics. Now he is a professor of political sciences at the Center for Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law in Stanford.
Ischinger told reporters it would nonetheless be useful if Washington got engaged in the Minsk process, and the same was true for the European Union.

Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France plan to meet on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference (MSC) next week to discuss the conflict in eastern Ukraine, the head of the gathering said on Thursday.

Top officials from the four countries will participate in the high-level meeting, including Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, MSC conference head Wolfgang Ischinger said, according to Reuters.

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel has canceled his participation in the Munich conference, a spokesman said on Thursday. It was not immediately clear who would represent him in the discussions on Ukraine.

Social Democratic Party (SPD) leader Martin Schulz, who is scheduled to take over as foreign minister if SPD members approve a new "grand coalition" with Chancellor Angela Merkel, will address the conference, Ischinger told reporters.

Read alsoChancellor Kurz: Austria supports idea of deploying peacekeepers to DonbasIschinger welcomed plans for a meeting of the four countries as a possible way to jumpstart the long-stalled Minsk peace process. "It is good to use the opportunity in Munich to try to get some movement back into the somewhat stalled Minsk talks," he said. "I hope it works."

Germany and France have urged the parties involved in the conflict to implement decisions already agreed, including the withdrawal of heavy equipment from front lines.

The annual Munich Security Report issued in the run-up to the conference called the conflict in eastern Ukraine "the most important stumbling block" on the path to better relations between Russia and the West, adding that prospects for a political solution appeared dim.

Read alsoUkraine reports 1 WIA in Mariupol sector amid 4 enemy attacks in last dayA decision by the United States in December to begin approving lethal arms sales to Ukraine would likely prolong the current stalemate, the report said.

Ischinger told reporters it would nonetheless be useful if Washington got engaged in the Minsk process, and the same was true for the European Union.
The politician recently lost his appeal challenging the refusal of the State Migration Service to grant him an asylum.

Ukrainian MP Igor Lutsenko said former Georgian president and ex-governor of Odesa region, now leader of the "Movement of New Forces" in Ukraine, Mikheil Saakashvili, was detained on Friday.

The SBU task force Alfa was reportedly involved.

"Chronicles of insanity Saakashvili has just been detained by Alpha. Update  perhaps, by another special unit," Lutsenko wrote on Facebook.

At the same time, SBU press officer Olena Gitlyansk in a comment to UNIAN has refuted the report.

Saakashvili's ally Yuriy Derevyanko reported from the Fairmont Hotel in Kyiv where Saakashvili is staying: "We are at the hotel. Literally a few minutes ago a special forces unit came here armed with automatic weapons. Saakashvili is here now, and they intended, obviously, to take him away. When our activists came out, they were told not to go anywhere, and the law enforcers left. They introduced themselves to the hotel security as a special unit of the border guard service. One can't visually tell them from [the SBU's SWAT team] Alpha," he said.

According to Derevianko, the hotel administration was not provided any court decisions.

As reported earlier, on December 5, Prosecutor General Yuri Lutsenko at a press conference made public the records of a number of wiretapped phonecalls between ex-president of Georgia, the leader of the Movement of New Forces party Mikheil Saakashvili with the ally of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, Ukrainian businessman Serhiy Kurchenko, as well as a conversation between Saakashvili's allies and Kurchenko's confidant.

Read alsoSaakashvili may face extradition after losing Ukraine court appeal  mediaSaakashvili was detained in Kyiv on December 8 and remanded in custody at the SBU's Security Service's pre-trial detention center. He announced a hunger strike protesting against his arrest. Saakashvili is suspected of an attempted crime (Part 1 of Article 15 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine), crime committed by prior agreement with a group of persons (Part 2 of Article 28), assistance to participants in criminal organizations and concealment of their criminal activities (Part 2 of Article 256).

Yuriy Lutsenko said that Saakashvili had been staging protests to seize state power in Ukraine and assist members of the criminal group of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and businessman Serhiy Kurchenko in halting their criminal prosecution.

Saakashvili has denied all charges.

Read alsoAt raucous hearing, Saakashvili fights for Ukrainian citizenship  mediaOn December 11, the Kyiv's Pechersky district court has turned down the prosecutor's motion to place Mikheil Saakashvili under around-the-clock house arrest for 2 months.

On January 26, 2018, Kyiv's appeals court partly satisfied an appeal filed by prosecutors against a first-instance judgement on leader of the New Forces Movement in Ukraine and ex-president of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili and placed him under night time curfew.

On Feb 5, the politician lost his appeal challenging the refusal of the State Migration Service to grant him an asylum.
This could be through the introduction of the recommendations of the Venice Commission on Ukraines education law into the Annual National Program.

Head of Ukraines Mission to NATO, Ambassador Vadym Prystaiko, is convinced that together with Hungarian partners a solution will be found to unlock the meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission (NUC) at the ministerial level.

That is according to the envoys comment he gave to UNIAN in Brussels today, speaking about the fact that the NUC meeting is once again not on the schedule of the upcoming meeting of NATO defense ministers that will be held in the city on February 14-15.

Ambassador Prystaiko underlined the fact that the latest NUC meeting at the level of defense ministers was held in 2016.

"We hoped that this meeting would be held in February, especially since the latest meeting in this format was back in 2016. Ukraine is a country at war, so it is unacceptable that the Minister of Defense does not meet with his colleagues to discuss the developments and inform about the course of reforms. Unfortunately, this meeting will not take place for the reasons we are well aware of - because of the position of the Hungarian side, which abuses NATOs principle of consensus and blocks the meeting," said Prystaiko.

Read alsoHungary blocks NATO-Ukraine Defense CommissionHe also drew attention to the fact that the latest NUC meeting in December with the participation of the secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, Oleksandr Turchynov, was held at the ambassadorial level.

Answering a question on what could be the way out to ensure that the NUC meeting at the level of foreign ministers is held in March, the Ukrainian diplomat noted that one of such solutions could be to introduce into the Annual National Program for Cooperation with NATO recommendations of the Venice Commission on Ukraines education law.

Prystaiko said that at a meeting of the Government Committee held on February 2 a decision was made to introduce such recommendations in the Program.

"We are introducing the Venice Commission's recommendations in the Annual National Program in full, adding a separate provision to remind Hungary that the Ukrainian side is open to negotiations with communities and experts," the diplomat said.
Ukraine's central bank has requested information on a transaction history of bank accounts of top managers, journalists and TV hosts of 1+1 media.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has responded to the situation regarding an attempt by the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) to get access to bank accounts of 1+1 media employees, saying that interference in journalists' work is unacceptable.

"Having returned from Austria, I discussed the situation around journalists of Channel 1+1 with the President. The President's position is clear: any action that can be perceived by journalists as interference in their professional activity is unacceptable," Poroshenko's press secretary Vyacheslav Tsegolko wrote on Facebook on Friday, February 9.

As UNIAN reported earlier, an enquiry letter addressed by the National Bank of Ukraine to the acting Chairman of PrivatBank's Board, for disclosure of information on a transaction history of bank accounts of top managers, journalists and TV hosts of 1+1 media, as well as employees of an independent production studio, which produces part of the content for the media group, became available to 1+1 media.

The media holding considers that request as an attempt to exert direct pressure and execute political persecution pending the elections.
The Ukrainian politician also met with the leadership of the House Intelligence Committee.

The fight against corruption in Ukraine and measures to restore peace in Donbas, eastern Ukraine, have topped the agenda of leader of the Ukrainian Batkivshchyna Party Yulia Tymoshenko's visit to the United States.

In particular, she met with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Wess Mitchell on Friday, February 9, as part of her working visit to the United States.

Read alsoTymoshenko slightly ahead of Poroshenko in December pollsThe two politicians discussed ways to achieve sustainable peace in the east of Ukraine and the situation in the Russian-annexed Crimea.

Also, special attention was paid to the fight against corruption: they discussed the effectiveness of the existing anti-corruption agencies in Ukraine and prospects for the creation of an anti-corruption court, which would be completely independent.

As part of her visit to the United States, Tymoshenko, together with other Ukrainian delegates representing the Batkivshchyna Party, held a number of meetings with high-ranking officials, and also attended the National Prayer Breakfast with U.S. President Donald Trump.

Tymoshenko also met with U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations Kurt Volker; they discussed prospects for the settlement of the conflict in the east of Ukraine, the possibility of deploying a UN peacekeeping mission to Donbas and issues of Ukraine-U.S. cooperation. Tymoshenko and Volker also discussed the domestic political and economic situation in Ukraine in detail and its impact on prospects for sustainable peace in Donbas. What is more, the two officials agreed on the need to ensure concrete results of work of anti-corruption institutions in Ukraine. Respect for the rule of law and the democratic political process in the context of the next presidential and parliamentary elections was discussed.

The situation in Ukraine, in particular issues related to Russian aggression against Ukraine, and the supply of lethal weapons by the United States to Ukraine were on the agenda of a meeting between Tymoshenko and Chairman of the Senate's Committee on Foreign Relations Bob Corker.

The Batkivshchyna Party's leader also met with high-ranking member of the Republican Party of the United States, Senator Marco Rubio. The two politicians discussed security, the social and economic situation in Ukraine. Rubio also accepted Tymoshenko's invitation to visit Ukraine at all reasonable time.

The Ukrainian politician also met with the leadership of the House Intelligence Committee; they discussed the fight against corruption in the upper echelons of power, the need to create and strengthen anti-corruption agencies and introduce parliamentary and public control over the security agencies.

As part of her working visit to the U.S., Tymoshenko met with Senator Bill Nelson, a former Space Shuttle astronaut.
The implementation of the measures will be monitored by the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has enacted a January 26, 2018, decision by the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine to introduce additional measures to counteract Russia's information aggression.

Relevant order No. 25/2018 of February 9 was posted on the president's official website.

Read alsoRussian propaganda journo sporting vyshyvanka confronts Poroshenko in Davos over reintegration law"Under the order, the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine has been authorized to oversee the implementation of the decision by the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine," the document says.

The order came into force from the date of its publication.

As UNIAN reported, the European Union demands more active measures to counter Russian propaganda. In October 2017, eight member states urged the EU's foreign service to significantly expand its work on countering Russian propaganda. They said in a letter to EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini that "in the face of unabated third party disinformation campaigns...we see an urgent need to further enhance the EU's StratCom capabilities." The letter was signed by the foreign ministers of six former communist and Soviet states  Croatia, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Romania.

These are on the front line of what the letter called a "sophisticated and intense" campaign, waged by "external actors", to "generate distrust and discontent with the democratic order, to discredit the EU, the transatlantic community and our partners, as well as to weaken our unity," EUobserver said.

The letter was also signed by the British and Swedish foreign ministers.
During the arrest, law enforcers found on him an ID of an operative of the so-called ministry of national security of the Donetsk Peoples Republic.

The SBU Security Service of Ukraine has detained former Ukrainian MP Oleksandr Shepelev, suspected of a number of crimes, including an attempted murder and embezzlement.

Ukrainian Prosecutor General's press secretary Larysa Sargan told 112 Ukraine TV channel that he was arrested on the outskirts of Kyiv Feb 8.

Kyiv's Pechersky District Court is expected to select the measure of restraint against Shepelev on Friday, February 9.

Law enforcers found on him an ID of an operative of the so-called ministry of national security of the Donetsk Peoples Republic, according to Sargan.

Read alsoSBU detains in Odesa "DPR" militant recruited by Russian FSBAs reported earlier, an investigation against Shepelev, former Ukrainian MP from the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc, was initiated in 2012. Following his detention in Hungary in early July 2013, he was extradited to Ukraine and subsequently taken into custody. The ex-MP was later transferred to a hospital from where he fled in July 2014. In September 2014, Interpol placed Shepelev on the wanted list. In less than a year, he was detained in Moscow region and arrested under the ruling of a Moscow court. In August 2016, he left the Russian prison.

Read alsoWitness in Yanukovych case: Ex-chief of General Staff Ilyin in 2014 compelled troops to defectOn April 3, 2015, the Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) of Ukraine appealed to the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation with a request for his extradition. In August 2016, the PGO announced that the Russian Federation had officially refused to extradite Shepelev to Ukraine because of his cooperation with the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB).

In Ukraine, Shepelev is being accused of complicity in embezzlement of over UAH 220 million (US$8.1 million) from Rodovid Bank, as well as a conspiracy with businessman Pavlo Borulko to misappropriate UAH 315.3 million ($11.6 million) of state funds in March-May 2009. He is also suspected of involvement in the attempted murder of Serhiy Dyadechko, former shareholder of Rodovid Bank.
The accounts in question attempted to sway public opinion during the Brexit referendum.

It was announced during an inquiry into fake news, which took evidence from YouTube, Facebook, Google and Twitter in Washington DC.

The social media giant told a House of Commons committee that the accounts received very low levels of engagement from other users.

YouTube said it had found no evidence of Russian interference in the UK's 2016 referendum. Meanwhile, Facebook said it had taken down "thousands" of fake accounts in the run-up to the snap election in 2017, according to Metro.co.uk.

YouTube has previously informed a US Senate committee of 18 channels discovered with links to Russia. In September, Facebook bowed to pressure and provided the contents of 3,000 ads bought by a Russian agency to the U.S. committee.

Under questioning from the MPs, Google vice-president of news Richard Gingras acknowledged that fake news was harmful to its users and to society. Mr Gingras said Google was in the trust business and felt an extraordinary sense of responsibility over the information highlighted by its search engine.
Drones were also used in the counterattack by the American forces.

The U.S.-led coalition in Syria killed more than 100 fighters supporting the Assad regime on Wednesday after its headquarters suffered an "unprovoked attack," according to a statement from Operation Inherent Resolve and Reuters.

Syrian regime forces launched a coordinated attack that included about 500 regime troops, 122mm howitzers, tanks and multiple launch rocket systems on the U.S.-backed SDF headquarters in Deir al-Zor province approximately five miles east of the Euphrates River, a de-confliction line between the coalition and Russian and Syrian forces, according to Business Insider.

Regime forces operating Russian-made T-55 and T-72 tanks fired 20-30 tank rounds within 500 feet of the SDF base, where some U.S. troops were embedded, according to Pentagon press secretary Dana W. White.

One SDF fighter was injured, Reuters reported.

The U.S.-led coalition responded with "AC-130 gunships, F-15s, F-22s, Army Apache helicopter gunships and Marine Corps artillery," according to Fox News reporter Lucas Tomlinson.

CNN also reported that HIMARS and MQ-9 drones were used in the attack.

"Along with ground based fire support, these aircraft released multiple precision fire munitions and conducted strafing runs against the aggressor force, stopping their advance and destroying multiple artillery pieces and tanks," a spokesperson for U.S. Air Forces CENTCOM, told CNN.

You read that right: Russian forces (most likely mercenaries/Wagner division guys who also fought in Ukraine) were killed. Just another reminder that World War III has not broken out as a result, Michael Weiss, CNNs national security analyst, wrote on Twitter.

As UNIAN reported earlier, the SBU Security Service of Ukraine has video evidence proving participation of the Russian Private Military Company called Wagner in the capture of the Luhansk airport in 2014.

According to the Fontanka publication, Russian national Oleksiy Milchakov, who headed the "Rusich" neo-Nazi battalion fighting alongside Donbas militants, is now also hired by Wagner and deployed in Syria.

In October 2017, the Ukrainian delegation has presented in the European Parliament in Brussels a report on crimes committed by Russia's private military companies (PMCs) in Donbas and Syria to the European Parliament in Brussels.
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Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organization (PEDO) has submitted an application to National Electric Power Regulator Authority (NEPRA) for power generation license for its proposed 11.80 MW Karora Hydro Power Project

ISLAMABAD, Feb 9 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 09th Feb, 2018 ) :Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organization (PEDO) has submitted an application to National Electric Power Regulator Authority (NEPRA) for power generation license for its proposed 11.80 MW Karora Hydro Power Project.

Sources told APP on Friday that PEDO planned to set up a 11.80 MW Run of river hydropower plant at Khan Khwar River Shangla District. The total installed capacity of the plant is 11.80 MW and has two units each of 5.9 MW.

The total cost of the project is estimated at Rs3,632.278 million and the length of tunnel will be 2,976 meters with 2.

65 meters diameter. The expected commercial operation date of the project is November 30, 2019.

PEDO is a public sector organization set up under SHYDO Act 1993 entrusted by the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to develop hydropower projects in the province. PEDO intends to supply the generated electric power from its said project to the national grid.

The power regulator admitted the PEDO application and invited all shakeholders, interested/affected persons and the general public to submit their comments in favor or against the grant of generation licence to PEDO.
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Governor Punjab, Malik Muhammad Rafique Rajwana has said that bringing China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to Pakistan was a major achievement of the current government as China came for investment in Pakistan on soft terms in CPEC at a difficult time

ISLAMABAD,(UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 09th Feb, 2018 ) : Governor Punjab, Malik Muhammad Rafique Rajwana has said that bringing China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to Pakistan was a major achievement of the current government as China came for investment in Pakistan on soft terms in CPEC at a difficult time.

However, he said that government of Pakistan should address the genuine concerns of local private sector on CPEC so that project could contribute in promoting local industry as well. The Governor Punjab while addressing business community at Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI) during his visit to Chamber House on Friday said that he had discussed the concerns of business community on CPEC with Chinese Ambassador and added that China was interested in JVs and investment in Pakistan in textile, steel and agriculture sector.

Rafique Rajwana said that business community was the backbone of the economy and government should address its key issues to facilitate the growth of business activities. About Industrial Zone in Islamabad, he advised ICCI to send written proposal to Prime Minister and Chief Minister Punjab with copy to him and he would play role for the establishment of a new industrial zone for the business communities of twin cities.

He said businessmen were making useful contribution to tax revenue and stressed that FBR should take measures to reduce trust deficit with taxpayers. He said ease of doing business should be further improved to promote economic activities in the country.

He assured the business community that he would act as their spokesperson and would take up their highlighted issues with relevant government authorities including the Prime Minister.

In his welcome address, President ICCI Sheikh Amir Waheed said that a Special Economic Zone was planned in Islamabad under CPEC, but CDA could not identify land for SEZ as yet.

He said that Punjab Government should cooperate in identifying suitable land in the vicinity of Federal capital for SEZ. The President ICCI said local industry needed upgradation to compete in CPEC and government should remove duties on import of industrial machinery.

He said high power tariffs and taxes should also be reduced for reducing production cost. He said Punjab Government has imposed overall 28% tax on export of manpower that should be reduced to promote manpower export.

He said government should remove sales tax on purchases as no other country was imposing taxes on purchases. Muhammad Naveed Senior Vice President, Nisar Mirza Vice President ICCI, Zubair Ahmed Malik Chairman Founder Group, Mian Akram Farid, Khalid Iqbal Malik, Mian Shaukat Masud, Baser Daud, Sheikh Pervez Ahmed, Khalid Chaudhry, Naeem Siddiqui and others also spoke at the occasion.

They said Pakistans exports had fallen, imports had risen, trade deficit had surged and foreign remittances had reduced and stressed that government should pay urgent attention to these issues to improve the economy.

They emphasized that government should make policies to promote industrialization instead of making Pakistan a trading nation. They said many industrialists from textile and other sectors were moving to China and other countries and urged that government should create conducive environment to curb the flight of capital and promote investment in the country.
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UNITED NATIONS, Feb 9 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 09th Feb, 2018 ) :The United Nations has expressed deep concern over surging violence across Yemen, warning that the worsening situation has pushed some 85,000 people from their homes over the past 10 weeks.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Friday that more than 70 percent of those displaced since December 1 last year had escaped clashes between fighters from rival groups in Yemen's western coastal provinces of Hudaydah and Taizz.

The UN refugee agency also cautioned against the dire condition of displaced people, who are caught in areas close to hostilities in the two provinces. Most of those displaced in the governorates of Hudaydah and Taizz remain hosted by relatives or friends, trapped inside homes or in caves as ground clashes, aerial bombardment and sniper fire rage around them, UNHCR spokeswoman Cecile Pouilly told reporters in Geneva.

She noted that the UN is witnessing an upsurge in new displacements from other parts of Yemen, including the northern provinces of al-Jawf and Hajjah, as well as the oil-rich eastern province of Shabwa.

The main needs of the displaced and other conflict-affected populations continue to be access to shelter, health, food and water and sanitation, Pouilly said. She warned that Yemen is seeing a spike in needs, fueled by ongoing conflict, a collapsing economy and diminishing social services and livelihoods. Last month, the UN appealed for nearly $3 billion to combat imminent famine as well as cholera and diphtheria outbreaks in Yemen this year.

APP/ift
Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that at a time when violent extremism had become the single largest challenge to the world, genuine democracy alone offered the hope to fight the menace

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 08th Feb, 2018 ) Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that at a time when violent extremism had become the single largest challenge to the world, genuine democracy alone offered the hope to fight the menace.

Moderation vs extremism has become a major fault line in the battle of ideas and Pakistan was in the trenches in this battle of ideas, he said, He said this while addressing as a special guest of honour invited to speak to a galaxy of international guests including US Congressmen, government officials, decision makers, corporate CEOs, Ambassadors, faith leaders, media, academia and civil society organizations in Washington on Wednesday. Spokesperson Farhatullah Babar said that special tributes were also paid on the occasion to former Prime Minister Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto as video clips of her interviews were shown and warm introductory remarks about her by former Congressman Frank Wolf before inviting Bilawal Bhutto to the podium to address the gathering. The international luncheon gathering is part of the National prayer Breakfast events that takes place over three four days in Washington every year early February. The spokesperson said that the event Wednesday began with opening prayers by Ambassador and former Governor Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas while Yulia Tymoshenko former Prime Minister of Ukraine made concluding remarks.

Head of the World food Program David Beasly also spoke on the occasion. Today, terrorism, inequality, climate change, disorient the world, Bilawal said adding also the borderless nature of the challenges we face today will force us to unite.

Let us not unite only when the crisis has caused incalculable loss, he said. Let us use these trying times as a chance to reflect and re-evaluate our values. There is no other way out, Bilawal said. We must recognise terrorism and extremism is not confined to the Muslim world, he said reminding the audience School shooters in America, cow vigilantism in India and genocidal monks in Myanmar prove that extremism is not confined to one religion.

In Pakistan there is growing public recoil from extremism.

But for a transformative shift we need commitment and momentum in the battle of mind-set that we fight, the PPP chairman said. He said that violent extremism has severally imperilled the social and political equation of the region the less we talk constructively, the less we will understand how to tackle it. Pakistan and America can do much good in bringing peace and stability to South and Central Asia.

In order to achieve it we must invest in trust and building confidence, he said. Bilawal urged the world not to return to the cold-war era of zero-sum binaries. We have fought one of the longest wars in the region together on the borders of Afghanistan.

It is now high time to look towards winning the peace together, not against each other, he said. Dilating upon causes of extremism he said that disenfranchised and frustrated youth are the most vulnerable targets of extremist organizations. Quoting from a speech of his mother that said, All the great teachers, Jesus, Moses, Abraham and the Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) tell us the same thing: that it is Gods purpose and plan that we live in peace, that we love Him and love one another, and to that end we seek reconciliation, which literally means to live together again,Bilawal said that her message and legacy will live on for as long as there is hope for good in this world. Islam, Christianity and all religions have more in common that unites them than what divides them, he said.

It is about time we focus on the former. Over 1200 guests drawn from all over the world attended the event. Senators Akbar Khawaja and Saleem Mandviwalla also accompanied the Chairman PPP.
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ISLAMABAD, Feb 9 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 09th Feb, 2018 ) :European Union Military Committee Chairman Gen Mikhail Kastarakos Friday called on National Security Adviser (NSA) Lt General (R) Nasser Khan Janjua and discussed matters of mutual interest and common challenges.

The security adviser warmly welcomed the guest and said Pakistan attached great importance to its ties with European Union and was keen to strengthen those ties further by promoting cooperation in multiple areas.

The NSA appreciated EUs contribution towards democracy, governance, rule of law and economic betterment of the regional countries. General Mikhail acknowledged and appreciated Pakistans commitment to peace and stability of the world and particularly of the region.

He also mentioned the multi-faceted support Pakistan had provided to the international community particularly under the ambit of United Nations.

He also appreciated the resolve of Pakistan armed forces and its efforts against terrorism and extremism in the region.

He reiterated his desire to enhance ties and expand cooperation between EU and Pakistan in multiple areas. We need to cooperate for better economic and political environment for which peace is prerequisite, the envoy said.

Furthermore, he expressed desire that Pakistan should use the opportunity to interact with international community through international forums offered by EU. The NSA stressed the need to develop a better understanding of the region by EU and also sensitized the general over the fragile regional environment.

Both sides agreed that by means of progression, cooperation and economic interdependence EU and Pakistan can really become close.
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How would Shahbaz Sharif attack and kill Abid boxer ? A famous journalist Rauf Klasra created a new story

Islamabad(UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 09th Feb, 2018 ) How would Shahbaz Sharif attack and kill Abid boxer ? A famous journalist Rauf Klasra created a new story . Acording to details Rauf Klasra added to his conversation by questioning in a private news channel that if Abid boxer was brought to Pakistan he would be under the custody of Punjab Police or FIA because As a protocol interpole hands over the culprit to FIA. it is still unknown if Abid Boxer is in Islamabad or some agency.

Rauf Klasra further commented that Uzair Baloch is alive because he is with the rangers else he would have been killed and now that Abid Boxer has revealed so many things regarding Shahbaz Sharif will he be handed over to him ? If so it is probable that the newspapers would pop a heading that Abid Boxer escaped the jail or got murdered while his friends attacked the cell .

If Uzair Baloch was handed over to rangers because he was well aware of secrets of PPP ,Abid Boxer should also be handed over to Punjab Rangers .

It is to be kept in mind that Abid boxer was indulged in many crimes including the killings on basis of Shehbaz Sharif .He was arrested in Pakistan and will soon be brought to Pakistan.
ISLAMABAD, Feb 9 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 09th Feb, 2018 ) :The Foreign Office Friday summoned Indian Deputy High Commissioner JP Singh and strong protest was launched over the unprovoked ceasefire violations by the Indian occupation forces along the Line of Control (LoC) on February 4, in Nezapir, Nikial and Karela Sectors, resulting in the martyrdom of two innocent civilians, while injuring seven others, including two children.

Foreign Office Spokesman Dr Mohammad Faisal in his weekly media briefing said the Indian forces along the LoC and the Working Boundary (WB) were continuously targeting the civilian population with heavy mortars and automatic weapons.

The Indian forces have carried out more than 190 ceasefire violations along the LoC and he WB so far in 2018, resulting in the martyrdom of 13 innocent civilians, while injuring 65 others. The Indian occupation forces killed two Kashmiris including Rayees Ahmad Ganie, 19-year old and Musharraf Fayaz ,10-year old, in Shopian in occupied Kashmir, while a young girl Samaya Jan, who has received bullets fired by Indian forces is struggling for life in a hospital in Srinagar, he said.

Miseries of the people in occupied Kashmir have increased day by day as Indian occupation forces in Pulwama, Shopian, Islamabad, Kulgam, Srinagar, Baramulla, Kupwara, and Bandipore districts continue to terrorize by illegal house searches, damaging properties and beating the people without any provocation in day and at night, he said.

We highly condemn Indian atrocities and brutal acts and call upon world human rights defenders to stand up for Kashmiris in IoK, Dr Faisal said. We are deeply saddened and shocked at the death of a Chinese national Chen Zhu, shot by unidentified assailants, in his vehicle, in Karachi on February 5.

Pakistan condemns the killing in the strongest possible terms. We are committed to taking all possible measures to apprehend the culprits and carry out a thorough investigation against the perpetrators of this crime.

Pakistan attaches great importance to the safety and security of the Chinese nationals in the country, he said. The Foreign Office spokesman said King Abdullah II, of Jordan along with a high-level delegation is visiting Pakistan on the invitation of President Mamnoon Hussain.

During his stay in Islamabad, the King of Jordan would hold talks with President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. The visit would provide an opportunity to explore ways and means to further strengthen cooperation in diverse areas of mutual interest, particularly expanding bilateral trade and enhancing investments in Pakistan.

The visit of King Abdullah II has given a new impetus to the existing fraternal bonds between the two brotherly countries. The Secretary General of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Rashid Alimov has visited Pakistan from February 5 to 6.

This marked the first visit of SCO secretary general after Pakistan's full membership in the cooperation. He called on the prime minister, foreign minister, minister for communications, deputy chairman Planning Commission and the foreign secretary.

In his meeting with the secretary general, the foreign minister thanked him for facilitating Pakistan's bid for SCO membership. He said Pakistan shares deep rooted historical and cultural links with the member states of SCO.

Its membership creates an opportunity for connectivity of critical overland routes for trade and energy in the SCO region.

A high-level Pakistani delegation comprising senior civilian and military officials led by the foreign secretary of Pakistan visited Kabul on February 3, to hold discussions with their Afghan counterparts, led by Deputy Foreign Minister Hekmat Khalil Karzai, on Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity, a joint action plan for cooperation in the areas of counter-terrorism and reduction of violence, peace and reconciliation, refugees repatriation and joint economic development.

Replying to a question, the spokesman said the boat carrying migrants, which included Pakistanis capsized off the coast of Libya on January 31, as per a Pakistani survivor of the incident. Some 32 Pakistanis boarded the boat as per unconfirmed report of the eye witness.

Any figure circulating in the media except this is mere speculation. The following is what we know so far: Eleven bodies have been recovered and identified and their relatives have been informed.

There are two bodies that have been found but their identity as yet has not been confirmed. Identification documents of five Pakistanis have been found, out of which one Rehmat Khan S/o Muhammad Inayat bearing CNIC No.34202-2896695-9, Passport No.VG4106952 is alive.

The bodies or whereabouts (if alive) of the remaining four Pakistanis are unknown. The 11 recovered and identified bodies will be dispatched to Pakistan, depending upon flight availability, most likely within the next three days.

Two officials of the Mission have been permanently deputed at Zawara where the dead bodies and documents are washed ashore. The ministry has deputed an extra officer from a nearby Pakistan Embassy (Egypt) to help in the identification and repatriation process.

Details of contact person in Embassy of Pakistan, Tripoli, Libya: Muhammad islam, Charge d'affaires a i Cell: 00218-91-9663346, Cell: 00218-91-3402246, Whatsapp: 0092-332-7968635. To a question the spokesman said currently there are 1.4 million registered and an equal number of unregistered Afghan citizens living in Pakistan.

SAFRON is in the process of finalizing a repatriation plan. We are also engaged with Afghan government, donors and other stakeholders for the smooth resettlement and reintegration of the returning refugees in Afghan society, he said.

While replying to another question the spokesman said the Indian governments involvement in perpetrating terrorism in Pakistan is a known fact, the most recent example of which is the apprehension of the serving Indian Naval Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav, who has confessed to his involvement in numerous terrorist incidents in Pakistan.

It is regrettable that India has so far not given us any reply on how Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav was in possession of the passport of Hussain Mubarak Patel, or any details of his retirement from Indian Navy.

Also, had he retired prior to his apprehension? The spokesman further said the Indian subversive and terrorist activities against Pakistan are well-documented. Pakistan has also raised them with the UN and the international community.

Commander Jadhav is just the last case in evidence. India needs to act as a responsible member of the international community and refrain from such activities, which are against the UN Charter and inter-state norms and pose a threat to regional peace.
FAISALABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 09th Feb, 2018 ) ::On the directions of Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, the provincial government has allocated Rs200 million funds for establishment of daycare centres across Punjab for facilitating working women.

More than 102 such centres have been made functional in different districts of the province so far. This was stated by Punjab Minister for Women Development Hameeda Waheed-ud-Din while inaugurating a daycare centre at Ayub Agriculture Research Institute (AARI) Faisalabad.

The centre has been completed at a cost of Rs2.260 million. AARI Director General Dr Abid Mehmood, Director Women Development Muhammad Arshad, In-charge daycare centre Ramuza Rafiq and other officers of the Agriculture Department were present on the occasion.

The minister said that the goal of country's progress could not be achieved without bringing women into mainstream of national development. She said that the boarding facilities were being provided to female employees in the Working Women Hostel on subsidized rates under the supervision of Women Development Department Punjab.

The minister said that enforcement of Women Protection Act was a significant step of the provincial government for safeguarding rights of women. She said that soft loans of Rs7 billion were being provided to the youth for starting their self employment under CM Punjab Employment Scheme and due share of loans had also been allocated for the women for their entrepreneurship.

She said that Rs100 million had also been allocated for providing training to more than 10,000 woman councilors. Director General Agriculture (Research) AARI Dr Abid Mehmood thanked the minister for providing funds for establishment of the daycare centre.

Later, the minister took a round of agriculture exhibition and appreciated the introduction of new varieties of wheat, sugarcane, maize, cotton and other crops. APP/aar/ia/rsd
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LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 09th Feb, 2018 ) :National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Lahore apprehended an accused, Asif Zahir, an owner of SZ Securities Private Limited for being allegedly involved in embezzlement of Rs 151.18 million in Stock Exchange Investment Scam.

According to NAB spokesman, the owner of SZ Securities (Pvt) Limited looted Rs 151.18 million invested by public for sale and purchase of shares in the Stock Exchange. An inquiry was launched against the accused in 2017 whereas after collecting sufficient evidences, NAB arrested Asif Zahir from Lahore.

NAB officials will produce the accused before an accountability court on Saturday for seeking his physical remand. APP/dab/asm
The relations between Pakistan and Jordon have touched new heights of friendship after the historic visit of King Abdullah II that will give further impetus to bilateral trade, commerce, economy and Investment among the two brotherly Islamic countries, experts say

PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 09th Feb, 2018 ) :The relations between Pakistan and Jordon have touched new heights of friendship after the historic visit of King Abdullah II that will give further impetus to bilateral trade, commerce, economy and Investment among the two brotherly Islamic countries, experts say.

Professor Dr Zahid Anwar, Department of Political Science, University of Peshawar (UoP), told APP on Friday that King Abdullah II, who had visited Pakistan after 11 years, has been given historic welcome with red carpet and salute by PAF JF-17 Thunder jets upon arrival at Islambad, signifying the importance of Jordon for Pakistan.

The visit of King Abdullah was a strong reflection of the close brotherly relations existing between Pakistan and Jordan since long and this deep rooted bilateral relationship would further cemented in days to come, he maintained.

Dr Zahid said visit of King Abdullah carried immense significance keeping in view the overall security situation in the region especially in middle East in the aftermath of US Presidents decision to recognize the disputed territory of Jerusalem as the so called Capital of Israel.

Pakistan has taken a principle stand by supporting the just and legitimate cause of Palestine and rejected the US decision about Jerusalem, he said, adding US President this illogical decision has in fact hurt sentiments of billions of Muslims besides inviting widespread criticism from the whole world.

Muslims across the world had special attachment with holy city of Al Quds Al Sharif and would never accept it as the capital of Israel. Jerusalem is an internationally accepted occupied territory and recognizing it the capital of Israel would not only practically bury the solution of two states in Middle East but would also detrimental to peace efforts in the region. Dr Anwar said situation in Middle East was very sensitive and US would be held responsible if law and order situation has been further worsened in the Middle East.

Senior economic expert, Professor Dr Muhammad Naeem told APP that huge potential existed between the two countries to increase its bilateral trade and take advantage of mutual investment opportunities.

The bilateral trade between both the countries was currently about USD 75million that could be jacked up to a significant proportion in future, he remarked.

Dr Naeem said CPEC has enhanced Pakistan geo-political importance and ideal opportunities were available for Jordanian investors to take full advantage of it.

He said CPEC, being a major component of OBOR (one belt one road) would immensely help establish global connectivity, promote trade in Middle East, Central Asia Republic besides bringing people more closer with full operational of Gawadar Port.

Pakistan is among one of the 80 countries through which OBOR will pass or would have an impact upon and these countries with 60pc of global population will generate about 40pc of world GDP, resulting shared goals for economic prosperity and development for benefits of masses, he maintained.

PMLN Government had done tremendous efforts for development of communication sector including up-gradation of railways system, construction of new motorways and highways, ports, infrastructure development, importance of Gwadar Port, addressed grave problem of energy shortfall, defeated terrorism and other socio-economic reforms and stage was now set for massive investment in our country.

The signing of MoU by the Ministries of Housing of Pakistan and Jordon was right decision that would help bolster housing sector for benefits of masses, he maintained. Professor Dr Ejaz Khan of International Relations Department, University of Peshawar termed the visit of King Abdullah of prime significance in the wake of Washington decision to shift its embassy to the disputed territory of Jerusalem.

He said like others, great concerns were also found in Jordon after this controversial decision of US President. He said Pakistan was the most important country of the Muslim Ummah and its role for world peace has been globally recognized.

Dr Ejaz said signing of agreement in the field of Civil Protection and Civil Defence between Pakistan and Jordon carried significance importance and defence cooperation between the two countries was imperative for peace and stability in the region.

He said Jordon can make investment by purchasing state of the art JF-17 Thunders jets from Pakistan for further bolstering its air defence.
ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 09th Feb, 2018 ) :Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Friday kicked off the Spring Tree Planting Campaign, 2018 by planting a sapling here at the PM Office with a pledge for a greener Pakistan.

Under the campaign saplings would be planted across the country for a healthier, sustainable environment. Minister for Climate Change Mushahid Ullah and MNA Romina Khurshid Alam accompanied the Prime Minister.

Prayers were offered for the success of the campaign, part of massive tree planting programme for all parts of the country through Green Pakistan Program. The programme envisages planting of 100 million additional saplings to make Pakistan Greener.

The total cost of the Programme is Rs. 3.652 billion for the period 2016-2021. The Prime Minister urged all Pakistanis particularly farming community, students, parliamentarians, professionals of various fields and women to actively participate in the Spring Tree Planting Campaign 2018 by planting maximum trees.

The campaign gains all the more importance in view of the fact that Pakistans natural forests are under persistent threat of depletion due to erratic climate change, heavy demand of wood for human habitation, firewood and other wood based industries.

Taking cognisance of the situation the government is taking keen interest in the promotion of forestry and increasing the forest cover in the country. The Capital Development Authority would join the campaign from Feb 15 and would plant saplings in collaboration with various non-government organisations, schools, colleges and universities, he said.

The campaign would focus parks, Margalla hills and the green belts to make the city greener for healthy environment.
LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Feb, 2018 ) :A Punjab government spokesman on Friday contradicted the statement of the chairman NAB that some of provincial government were not cooperating with National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

The spokesman said that there was no truth in the statement of the chairman NAB as all the Punjab government departments were fully cooperating with NAB.

The spokesman said that such statement should not have been given as transparency and merit were hallmark of the government.

If NAB chairman, or his department had any complaint against any provincial government department, then the same should have been communicated for redressal, the spokesman added. APP/saa/asm
KARACHI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 09th Feb, 2018 ) :Three alleged car lifters were arrested on Friday by Anti-Car Lifting Cell (ACLC) Karachi in a successful action from Naushero Feroze. The accused namely Afzal, Ghulam Shabbir and Abdul Fateh were nominated in snatching of a loading vehicle occurred on January 28 from Steel Town Karachi, said SSP ACLC Asad Raza.

The police have recovered the snatched vehicle and pistol from the accused. The SSP ACLC has announced to give special prizes and commendation certificates to the ACLC team on their successful action. APP/ars/rap
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HUB, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 09th Feb, 2018 ) ::Two Yemen nationals, who were jailed, in Gaddani Central Jail, under the Foreigners Act, will leave for their home on Saturday from Karachi airport.

Ali Mohsin and Fatah Muhammad are being released on humanitarian grounds.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) and Edhi Foundation made efforts for their release. The representatives of Edhi Foundation and HRCP visited the Gaddani Jail and provided them the required documents and air tickets. APP/zk-amh/rap
CARACAS, Feb. 9 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 09th Feb, 2018 ) :Chinese ambassador to Venezuela Li Baorong on Thursday hailed increasing cooperation with the South American country during a speech marking celebrations of the upcoming Chinese lunar new year.

"The year 2017 was a year of constant and stable development of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Venezuela," Li told diplomats, officials and other guests gathered at a hotel in the capital Caracas.

The two countries have "deepened mutual political trust and stepped up exchanges in various areas," he said. The ambassador said the relationship has generated results in sectors such as energy, finance, mining, infrastructure construction, as well as science and technology, setting "a model of cooperation between developing countries.

" Speaking during the celebrations hosted by the Chinese embassy, Venezuelan Planning Minister Ricardo Menendez stressed the importance his country attaches to maintaining strong ties with China, adding that he was confident Venezuela will overcome its political and economic crises.

"We are going to succeed in taking a step towards the future that we want ... we will always remember that China was with us, with our people," said Menendez. Attending the celebrations were representatives from overseas Chinese communities as well as Chinese institutions and companies. The Chinese lunar new year, or Spring Festival, falls on Feb. 16.
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HAVANA, Feb. 9 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 09th Feb, 2018 ) :Patricia Penones and Javier Diaz are a young Cuban couple who have a passion for China, its culture and history. As they visited the 27th edition of Havana's International Book Fair, they came across Chinese President Xi Jinping's book, "The Governance of China," and bought it in order to learn about his ideas for the nation's present and future.

Right at the entrance of the sales stand, where very few copies of texts translated into Spanish are left, Cubans can find Xi's books. Among them are two volumes of "Xi Jinping: the Governance of China" and others related to the leader.

In these texts, Xi expresses his interpretation of socialism with Chinese characteristics through articles, speeches and different public appearances over the years. This contribution is deeply appreciated by Cubans seeking to learn about China's socio-economic development, its reform and opening up process and sustained growth as a nation through Xi's vision and perspectives.

"In addition to learning about government issues, its structure and policies, the book is a way to know about the genuine China, the true story of its people," Diaz told Xinhua. Diaz, who works for Cuba's state enterprise of translators and interpreters, said reading the book will give him a better understanding of present-day China and its vision for the future.

"There are many Cubans interested in this literature because Xi talks about his experiences. His speeches and ideas can help readers better understand what the Chinese government has done in terms of its policies and governance," he said.

"We also have our socialism with Cuban characteristics and learning from China would be great because they have had a valuable experience in developing their system," Penones, a young translator and tour guide, told Xinhua.

The young couple bought the first volume of Xi's "The Governance of China" in Spanish and the second volume in Mandarin to help them raise their knowledge of the Chinese language. Penones studied Mandarin at Anhui University in China between 2009 and 2011, while Diaz did so at Beijing International Studies University from 2006 to 2008.

Diaz told Xinhua that Xi's books and ideas can contribute a lot to Cuba, which is currently transforming its political and economic system. "We are talking about a person who made the effort from when he was young to get where he is today.

I think that is the spirit that we need as Cubans because, with that essence, we will move forward," he said. The first volume of "Xi Jinping: The Governance of China," was published in 2014. So far, the book has been translated into 24 languages around the world.

The articles in the book are arranged in 18 topics, of which there are 79 speeches, talks, interviews, notes and letters by the Chinese president between 2012 and 2014. To complement these articles, 45 photos of the president at work and in his daily life bring readers closer to the Chinese leader.

The second volume consists of 99 of Xi's speeches, conversations, instructions and letters, as well as 29 photos of the Chinese president between 2014 and 2017. Published in November of last year in Mandarin and English, the new volume is currently being translated into other languages, including French, Russian and Spanish.

So far, its sales have exceeded 13 million copies around the world and the book was among the 50 favorite books of the Chinese public in 2017, announced Lu Cairong, vice president of China Foreign Languages Publishing Administration, at the Havana Book Fair.
Five members of a Buddhist sect, including a father and two of his children, were jailed in Vietnam Friday for "disrupting public disorder" after clashing with police last year, a case of possible religious persecution according to rights groups

Hanoi,(APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 09th Feb, 2018 ) :Five members of a Buddhist sect, including a father and two of his children, were jailed in Vietnam Friday for "disrupting public disorder" after clashing with police last year, a case of possible religious persecution according to rights groups.

Religion is state-controlled in Buddhist-majority Vietnam, which has been accused of curbing freedom of worship especially among those perceived to be engaged in activism or politics. Three members of a family belonging to the Hoa Hao Buddhist sect were sentenced to jail on Friday along with two other people for between three and six years following a trial in southern An Giang province, according to state media.

Bui Van Trung and his son Bui Van Tham were sentenced to six years in prison. Trung's daughter Bui Thi Bich Tuyen was jailed for three years, An Giang's official mouthpiece reported, adding that his wife Le Thi Hen was sentenced to two years of house arrest.

They were all found guilty of "causing public disorder", while Tham was also convicted for "resisting public officers", the report added. Hoa Hao Buddhism is an officially recognised faith in communist Vietnam, but some followers oppose government control over religion.

Founded in 1939, the sect first emerged as an independence movement against the French and has had a historically thorny relationship with the state.

Several of its members are already behind bars, including four jailed last month for flying the flag of the defeated southern regime loathed by the ruling communists.

Friday's sentencing came after Trung and some family members were arrested last year following clashes with police whom they accused of seizing motorbikes from local residents. One of his daughters, who was not involved in the melee, told AFP her family was unfairly targeted.

"The verdict from the court is very unfair and wrong... we are innocent, but they still charged us. They beat us but they accused us of beating them," Bui Thi Thuy said after the heavily-guarded trial.

Human Rights Watch earlier called for the group to be released and urged Vietnam to "stop harassing and arresting those who belong to unsanctioned religious groups". "This appears to be the latest instance of official persecution of members of this religion," said Brad Adams, HRW Asia director.

The convictions come amid a crackdown on critics in the one party-state, where dozens of dissidents were convicted and arrested last year. Lawyers, bloggers and activists are routinely jailed in authoritarian Vietnam, but a conservative leadership in charge since 2016 is accused of tightening its grip.
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Rome, Feb 9 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Feb, 2018 ) :Three Italian unions confirmed their call to Ryanair workers to stage a four-hour strike Saturday, due to their exclusion from contract negotiations with the Ireland-based budget airline.

The strike will take place from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm (0900 to 1300 GMT), but the pilots' union ANPAC is not participating. The three unions -- Cgil, Cisl and Uil have called for "serious negotiations" on wages, contracts and guarantees for "all categories of personnel" in Italy.

Ryanair, when contacted by AFP, refused to comment on "rumours and speculation." Ryanair suffered a turbulent end to 2017, forced to cancel 20,000 flights through to March 2018, mainly because of botched holiday scheduling for pilots.

The fiasco triggered pilots' demands for better working conditions and representation, with some departing for other carriers. The discontent also saw Ryanair hit by the first-ever strike action by pilots in its 32-year history, with German staff staging a short stoppage ahead of Christmas resulting in delays but no cancellations.

In December, Ryanair made moves to formally recognise unions, facing the threat of further strikes in Italy, Ireland and Portugal.
Beirut, Feb 8 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 09th Feb, 2018 ) :A Lebanese judge on Thursday requested the death sentence for a man accused of sexually assaulting and killing British embassy worker Rebecca Dykes late last year.

Tarek Hawshiya, a 30-year-old Lebanese, was arrested on December 18 in connection with the murder. The driver with ride-hailing giant Uber admitted at the time to strangling Dykes after trying to rape her.

On Thursday, the Lebanese judge tasked with investigating the crime recommended the death sentence for Hawshiya. Judge Hanna Braidi accused Hawshiya of "raping British diplomat Rebecca Dykes and killing her in the neighbourhood of Achrafieh in Beirut in a premeditated and deliberate act." The case will now be sent to Lebanon's criminal court for trial.

Capital punishment is legal in Lebanon, but there has been an effective moratorium in place since 2004, without any executions carried out despite judgements to that effect.

Dykes was last seen alive on the night of December 15 at a party in Gemmayzeh, a Beirut neighbourhood popular with foreign residents.

According to Braidi's investigation, she got into Hawshiya's vehicle shortly after midnight. The car drove through Achrafieh, then stopped on a roadside shortly before 1:00 am. Dykes's body was found dumped on that roadside on December 16.

Dykes was employed by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) in Beirut. On Wednesday, the UK announced an annual scholarship established in her name for a female Lebanese or Palestinian residing in Lebanon to pursue a graduate degree in the UK. Such crime is rare in Beirut, a city which is considered generally safe, including for tourists and foreign residents.
Nouakchott, Feb 9 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Feb, 2018 ) :Mauritania and Senegal on Friday signed an agreement on joint exploitation of a vast offshore gas field, but gave themselves more time to address a dispute over fishing.

The two countries signed an intergovernmental cooperation agreement for the Grand Tortue/Ahmeyim gas field, which straddles their shared maritime border. The gas field is estimated to hold 450 billion cubic metres (nearly 16 trillion cubic feet) of gas.

Senegal, announcing its discovery in January 2016, described it as the biggest offshore gas deposit in West Africa. The agreement was signed on the second day of a trip to the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott by Senegalese President Macky Sall, an AFP reporter saw.

An official at the Mauritanian ministry for oil, energy and mines said the accord covers "development of the exploitation and sharing of resources" of the field as well as a dispute settlement procedure.

Sall visited Mauritania on the heels of protests in northern Senegal after a young local fisherman was killed by coastguards in Mauritanian waters. He and Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel discussed "conditions for exploiting fishing resources," according to a joint communique, but no agreement on the spat was announced.

Instead, they called on fishery ministers "to take every precaution to strengthen cooperation in this area, with a view to signing a protocol of agreement by the end of March 2018".
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Abuja, Feb 8 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 09th Feb, 2018 ) :Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday warned about the dangers of political unrest as he met the new envoy from Togo, where there has been a wave of anti-government protests.

Buhari did not specifically mention Togo as he received the newly appointed ambassador, Lene Dimban, at the presidential villa in the capital, Abuja. But according to his office, the president said "peaceful transitions" in Africa were now non-negotiable, because political crises had a drastic effect on the economy and people.

The West African bloc ECOWAS was working "to prevent political transitions from snowballing into crisis so that citizens in the region can focus their energies and resources rather than trying to survive political upheavals", he was quoted as saying.

Buhari became president in 2015 in a peaceful handover of power after becoming the first opposition candidate in Nigerian history to defeat a sitting president.

Togo's President Faure Gnassingbe has faced an almost weekly round of anti-government protests since late August last year, calling for political change and for his resignation.

A coalition of 14 opposition parties wants the introduction of a two-term limit for presidents, in line with the majority of countries in the region. Gnassingbe has been in power since 2005 and is now in his third term of office, after taking over as president from his father, General Gnassingbe Eyadema, who himself ruled Togo for 38 years.

The opposition wants the limit on presidential mandates to be retroactive, to prevent Gnassingbe standing for re-election in 2020 and 2025. Mediators from Ghana and Guinea have announced that talks will take place between the two sides in Togo's capital, Lome, on February 15. But neither the government nor the opposition has fully confirmed its attendance.
Washington, Feb 8 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 09th Feb, 2018 ) :US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson welcomed Chinese state councillor Yang Jiechi to Washington on Thursday as the world's two most powerful diplomats talked trade, drugs and North Korea.

Yang is in Washington for two days at a time when relations between the top powers are dominated by the North Korean nuclear stand-off and President Donald Trump's concerns about their trade imbalance.

His first port of call was the State Department, where he held closed door talks and had a working lunch with Tillerson, who is keen to keep China on board with a diplomatic push to force North Korea to negotiate its own nuclear disarmament.

"During the meeting, both sides reaffirmed President Trump and President Xi's commitment to keep up pressure on North Korea's illegal nuclear weapons and missile programs," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.

"They discussed the need to achieve a fair and reciprocal bilateral economic relationship, and shared approaches to stemming the flow of deadly narcotics," she added. Washington is pushing China to cut off a flow of synthetic drugs and chemical precursors used in the production of narcotics to Latin America, as these are often smuggled into the United States and fuel an epidemic of opioid addiction.

China has agreed to support some new sanctions on Kim Jong-Un's North Korean regime in support of Trump's "maximum pressure: drive to force Pyongyang to abandon its quest to build nuclear-armed long-range missiles capable of hitting US cities.

"We hope that China will do more because we know that they can do more in terms of adhering to UN Security Council resolutions and sanctions that have been put in place against North Korea," Nauert said.

"We're not seeking an adversarial relationship with the government of China. We are simply identifying actions that China has taken that undermine a rules-based order." China's long-standing trade surplus with the United States grew by 10 percent last year to 276 billion Dollars, a sum Trump finds intolerable, and senior officials from both countries are in talks to try to head off talk of a trade war.

On Thursday's talks, Nauert said that some diplomatic conversations are best kept private but noted that: "We have a frank exchange of ideas and information, and our viewpoints. Our president has made it very clear his concerns about trade imbalances, that's the kind of thing that comes up."
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United States President Donald Trump spoke with Prime Minister Narendra Modi over a phone call, pledging to enhance security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region, the White House said

WASHINGTON, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 09th Feb, 2018 ) United States President Donald Trump spoke with Prime Minister Narendra Modi over a phone call, pledging to enhance security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region, the White House said. Affirming President Trump's South-Asia strategy, the two leaders also reiterated their commitment to supporting Afghanistan's security and stability, the White House added. According to the White House, the two leaders also discussed the war in Afghanistan, the plight of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar and North Korea's nuclear programme. The diplomatic move comes amid the political turmoil unfolding in the island-state, Maldives.

"Both the leaders expressed concern about the political crisis in the Maldives and the importance of respect for democratic institutions and the rule of law," the White House said in a readout of the phone call between Trump and Modi, the first in this year.

The leaders agreed to strengthen security and economic cooperation as they look forward to the '2+2' ministerial dialogue between their defence and diplomatic officials in April, the White House said. The '2+2 dialogue' was announced after the White House meeting between Modi and Trump in June 2017.

The dialogue would involve External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman from India along with their American counterparts Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.
United Nations, United States, Feb 9 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 09th Feb, 2018 ) :The UN Security Council on Thursday failed to back an appeal from UN aid officials for a month-long humanitarian ceasefire in Syria, where four days of government raids have killed scores of civilians.

Russia dismissed the proposal as unrealistic but Kuwait and Sweden, which requested the meeting, said they were considering other ways to address the worsening humanitarian crisis in the war-wracked country.

Asked about the one-month pause, Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said, "That is not realistic." "We would like to see a ceasefire, the end of the war, but the terrorists, I am not sure, are in agreement," he told reporters.

Russia has repeatedly blocked action in the council that would target its ally in Damascus. The UN humanitarian coordinator for Syria, Panos Moumtzis, on Tuesday called for the month-long ceasefire to reach civilians in need as fighting in Eastern Ghouta and Idlib escalated.

During the closed-door session, council members heard UN aid chief Mark Lowcock appeal again for the pause in fighting to allow safe access to civilians, diplomats said.

But there was no agreement on a council statement, which requires consensus among the 15 members, diplomats said.

French Ambassador Francois Delattre called for a strong response from the council ahead of the meeting, appealing for an immediate ceasefire and unhindered access for aid workers. "Eastern Ghouta is experiencing a middle Ages-style siege.

That is totally unacceptable," Delattre told reporters. "In Syria, we are now back to the darkest period of this conflict, with the highest death toll among civilians over the last year," he deplored.

The United States demanded an end to the air strikes, with the State Department saying in Washington: "These attacks must end now." UN aid officials accuse the Syrian government of blocking all aid convoys to besieged areas since January.

More than 13.1 million Syrians are in need of humanitarian aid, including 6.1 million who have been displaced within the country during the nearly seven-year war.
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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

ISLAMABAD,(APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 09th Feb, 2018 ) :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 Maj. Gen. James Hecker told reporters at the Pentagon in a video teleconference from Kabul that on Feb. 1 the U.S. 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 U.S. military operations in the broader middle East as well as 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 its command-and-control ... or their pocketbooks, Hecker said. 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.
San Francisco, CA (UroToday.com) Dr. Bossi sought out to answer the following questions focusing on 3 separate publications during his presentation on the best of 2017 journal articles relating to radiotherapy for prostate cancer: 1) Is the rationale clinically relevant? 2) What did the study results show? 3) Will the results change my clinical practice?The first study was Randomized Trial of a Hypofractionated Radiation Regimen for the Treatment of Localized Prostate Cancer , published in Journal of Clinical Oncology. Three non-inferiority trials have been published to date on this topic  RTOG 0145, PROFIT, and CHHiP. PROFIT randomized 1204 men with intermediate risk prostate cancer to standard versus hypofractionated radiotherapy protocol. The primary endpoint of biochemical free survival demonstrated no differences between treatment arms (HR 0.96, 90% CI 0.77-1.20). Other endpoints such as PSA failure, clinical failure, start of ADT and prostate cancer death were not different in the protocols utilized. However, in this analysis, as well as a separate meta-analysis, there was a higher risk of acute GI toxicity in the hypofractionated group compared to standard protocols. Some caveats of this study include a relatively short follow up, the inability to apply these findings to patients with high risk disease, or lack of support for extreme hypofractionation regimens.A second study analyzed was Androgen Suppression Combined with Elective Nodal and Dose Escalated Radiation Therapy (the ASCENDE-RT Trial): An Analysis of Survival Endpoints for a Randomized Trial Compared a Low-Dose-Rate Brachytherapy Boost to a Dose-Escalated External Beam Boost for High- and Intermediate-risk Prostate Cancer , published in International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, and Physics. This study randomized 398 patients with intermediate and high-risk prostate cancer to a standard arm of 12 months of ADT and pelvic radiation to 46 Gy followed by a dose escalated EBRT to 78 Gy versus an experimental arm of low dose rate brachytherapy boost. Median follow up was 6.5 years and the primary endpoint was biochemical progression free survival. Data demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in biochemical progression in patients who received low dose rate brachytherapy (p=0.001). However, there was no difference in overall survival between the two groups. Additionally, the quality of life endpoints was worse for patients treated in the experimental group.Finally, Dr. Bossi discussed Radiation with or without Antiandrogen Therapy in Recurrent Prostate Cancer , published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Previous publications had demonstrated a 5-year biochemical relapse free survival of approximately 55% in men with surgically treated high risk prostate cancers. Additionally, a quicker time from surgery to biochemical recurrence (<36 months vs >36 months) has been associated with worse 5 and 10-year cancer specific mortality. RTOG 96-01 randomized patients with pT3N0 or pT2N0 with positive margins to 64.8 Gy EBRT with antiandrogen therapy (bicalutamide 150mg daily) versus placebo. Patients treated with bicalutamide had a 12-year OS of 76.3% compared to 71.3% in the placebo group (HR 0.77, 95% CI 0.59-0.99, p=0.04). Additionally, patients with higher PSA (>1.5 ng/ml) had greater benefit in overall survival with bicalutamide therapy compared to placebo (HR 0.45, 95% CI 0.25-0.81, p=0.007). In conclusion, the addition of 24 months of 150mg/day of bicalutamide to salvage radiotherapy resulted in greater overall survival with a lower rate of death from prostate cancer and lower rate of distant metastasis without higher toxicity.Presented by: Alberto Bossi, MD Department of Radiation Oncology Institut Gustave Roussy, VillejuifWritten by: David B. Cahn, DO, MBS @dbcahn, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA at the 2018 American Society of Clinical Oncology Genitourinary (ASCO GU) Cancers Symposium, February 8-10, 2018 - San Francisco, CA
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A group from Galway, Ireland, whose music combines Irish sounds with American and bluegrass influences, will perform at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in March.

We Banjo 3 will perform at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 13, at the Laird Room in the Dreyfus University Center, 1015 Reserve St., Stevens Point. Tickets are on sale for $15 in advance or $20 the day of the show, plus service fees. Purchase tickets through the Dreyfus University Center University Information and Ticket Office, http://tickets.uwsp.edu or 1-800-838-3378.

The group uses banjo, fiddle, mandolin, guitar, vocals and percussion to make what they call "Celtgrass," a fusion of modern rhythms, traditional melodies, virtuosic technique and innovative arrangements. Irish Music Magazine called their music "pure listening pleasure."

The band includes two sets of brothers, Enda and Fergal Scahill and Martin and David Howley, who are among the most celebrated and distinguished young musicians in Ireland today. They released a fourth album, "String Theory," in 2016.

This is We Banjo 3's second visit to UW-Stevens Point. In addition to performing in Europe, the group has toured in the United States and appeared at Milwaukee's Irish Fest. They performed at the 2015 "Friends of Ireland" luncheon on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., attended by the president and Irish prime minister.






Three Square Food Bank announced today the return of Las Vegas Restaurant Week taking place June 18-29. Now in its 12th installment, this one-of-a-kind event gives restaurants throughout Southern Nevada the unique opportunity to give back through the culinary arts (Pictured: Nacho Daddys Caramel Apple Nacho).

Three Square encourages restaurant owners and chefs to save the date and register for the 12-day culinary event. Registrations will begin April 9. Interested restaurants should contact Three Squares Kari Goldberg at 702.644.3663 ext. 332, or kgoldberg@threesquare.org .

During Las Vegas Restaurant Week, participating restaurants across Southern Nevada develop prix-fixe menus  some offering breakfast, lunch and/or dinner  at price points ranging from $20 to $80. A fixed portion of the meals cost will directly support Three Squares mission of pursuing a hunger-free community.

This 12-day event showcases the strength of our community and what can be accomplished when different industries come together, said Brian Burton, president and CEO of Three Square Food Bank. Las Vegas Restaurant Week allows us to combine the excellence of our world-renowned restaurant community with the goodness of those who live in and visit Southern Nevada, Burton continued. This celebration of dining out for a cause addresses the issue of hunger head on, while affecting positive change.

Approximately two weeks before Las Vegas Restaurant Week begins, the mobile-friendly website helpoutdineoutlv.org will launch, providing a complete list of participating restaurants, prix-fixe menus, as well as the option to make reservations.

In 2017, Las Vegas Restaurant Week welcomed participation from 162 restaurants, raising more than $200,000. The record-breaking amount helped feed food insecure people in the community. In 2018, the highly anticipated culinary experience returns June 18 and concludes on June 29.

One hundred percent of the proceeds collected from participating restaurants will benefit Three Square in its efforts to provide meals to the more than 279,000 food-insecure residents in Southern Nevada.


Its no coincidence that National Pizza Day falls just five days before Valentines Day on Friday, Feb. 9! Flour & Brick Barley  Brick Oven Pizza is celebrating its love of the classic dish with a few fun offerings (Pictured: Heart-Shaped Pepperoni Pizza).

In Las Vegas, guests can enjoy buy-one-get-one large slices at the restaurants to-go window. Plus, the venue will also be selling t-shirts celebrating loveand the love of pizza. Its the perfect way to celebrate for singles and couples alike!


On Tuesday night (Feb. 6), motivational speaker, best-selling author and evangelist, Nick Vujicic visited the critically acclaimed Cirque du Soleil production Michael Jackson ONE at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino (Pictured: Nick Vujicics son Kiyoshi poses with cast members of Michael Jackson ONE  Photos courtesy of Cirque du Soleil).

Vujicic attended Michael Jackson ONE with his family including his young son Kiyoshi who was sporting a red jacket and ONE fedora, paying homage to the King of Pop.

After the show, Vujicic experienced a private meet-and-greet with cast members from the show, where he snapped photos and praised the epic performance.
An Australian state congressman has called on the Australian government to follow in the footsteps of the European Union and the United States by placing limited sanctions on the regime of Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Hong Lim, a congressman for Australias Victoria State, wrote in a statement on Thursday that he was saddened by the ongoing crackdown on civil society and the political opposition in Cambodia, and called on the Australian government to consider sanctions against Phnom Penh.

Australia and Cambodia entered into a multi-million dollar deal in 2014 that saw a small number of refugees from Australias offshore internment centers sent to the Kingdom.

Lim told VOA Khmer that he saw Prime Minister Hun Sen as the same as Pol Pot, the leader of the Khmer Rouge regime, who oversaw the unnatural deaths of as many as 1.7 million Cambodians in the late 1970s.

In the Pol Pot regime, were there any hearings, or judges? Judges were useless... It is just like the Pol Pot regime because no matter how hard we protest, it is useless.

In response to a concerted crackdown on dissent by the Cambodian government, which has seen the opposition dissolved, political opponents locked up on questionable charges, and civil society and media outlets targeted, the E.U. and United States imposed limited sanctions on the government.

Phay Siphan, a government spokesman, dismissed the comments, which he said would not affect the relationship between Cambodia and Australia.

Cambodia can still maintain close cooperation... that group [Lim and his supporters] are not worth it for the Australian government to lose the joint benefit between the two countries, he said.

Lao Mong Hay, a political analyst, said he supported any sanctions against Cambodia in light of the deterioration in human rights but added that the comparison with Pol Pot was wrong.

There could be pressure from international diplomacy on Cambodia. It will also affect some donors. That is not good. It is a loss for the whole country and the Cambodian people, he said.
The National Election Committee (NEC) this week called on private media outlets to sell broadcast hours to political parties ahead of the Senate election and said that large areas of central Phnom Penh will be closed during the vote and demonstrations are banned.

The campaign period of the election will last two weeks from Sunday. Observers say the absence of candidates from the dissolved Cambodian National Rescue Party has cast a long shadow over the election, raising questions over the legitimacy of the vote.

The NEC said it would also organize round-table events proposed by candidates from the various parties taking part.

Sam Kuntheamy, executive director of local election watchdog Nicfec, said it was unlikely that radio and television station owners would abide by the rules and offer equal airtime to all parties.

He added that road closures were not related to preventing traffic congestion, as the NEC stated, but rather to minimize the likelihood of protests taking place.

Meth Meas Pheakdey, City Hall spokesman, defended the measures the city was taking. Its not about restrictions or prohibitions on the election campaign, he said. We offered time slots [for demonstrations] although it is banned in some places.

NEC representatives Hang Puthea and Dim Sovannarom could not be reached for comment.

The ruling Cambodian Peoples Party, led by Prime Minister Hun Sen; the royalist Funcinpec party; and the Khmer National United Party, founded by Nhek Bun Chhay, will all field candidates in the election.

Voting is due to take place on February 25 and the NEC has estimated the cost of the vote to be about $2 million.

Meas Ny, a political analyst, said the absence of the countrys former main opposition party, which was dissolved by the Supreme Court in November, would raise questions over the elections legitimacy.

Everything has been changed to fit within amended laws. Therefore, we cant say the election is not legitimate so far, he said, adding that more than 3 million opposition voters were effectively disenfranchised by their partys dissolution.
LONDON - There are growing fears that Britain could be headed for a so-called "cliff-edge" exit from the European Union, as big differences remain between Brussels and London over the shape of any future deal.

The European Union's chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, voiced frustration Friday that London has yet to detail what type of relationship it wants with the EU after Brexit.

"We had agreed with the British team on an agenda this week covering Ireland, the governance of the withdrawal agreement, and of course the transition," Barnier told reporters in Brussels. "We had also planned an update by the United Kingdom on the future relationship. That update could not take place as planned this morning due to a scheduling issue on the British side."

He also warned that both sides must agree on precise legal terms on the future border arrangements between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

"Once again, ladies and gentlemen, it is important to tell the truth. A U.K. decision to leave the single market and to leave the customs union would make border checks unavoidable," Barnier said.

FILE - Anti-Brexit campaigners Borders Against Bre FILE - Anti-Brexit campaigners Borders Against Brexit protest outside Irish government buildings in Dublin, Ireland, April 25, 2017. FILE - Anti-Brexit campaigners Borders Against Brexit protest outside Irish government buildings in Dublin, Ireland, April 25, 2017.

That would mean the return of a physical border along the frontier, which many fear could reignite sectarian violence. Analyst Jonathan Portes of the U.K. in a Changing Europe program at Kings College London said the Ireland issue could determine the success of any overall Brexit deal.

"We have to work out how to translate the political fudge on the Northern Irish border that was agreed at the end of December into hard legal language," he said. "And at the moment, no one really has any idea how to do that."

Britain says it wants frictionless trade with the EU after Brexit, but also the freedom to strike trade deals with other countries. But analyst Portes said the government is deeply divided over the shape of Britain's future relationship with Europe, making negotiations difficult. A leaked government analysis suggests that economic growth in Britain will be reduced by up to 8 percent after it leaves the bloc.

WATCH: As Brexit 'Cliff-Edge' Fears Grow, France Courts Japanese Firms in Britain

Warning from Japan

Meanwhile, Tokyo's ambassador to Britain warned that Japanese businesses might pull out of Britain if they faced higher costs after Brexit.

"If there is no profitability of continuing operations in the U.K., not Japanese only, no private company can continue operation. So, it's as simple as that, and this is all high stakes that I think all of us need to keep in mind," Ambassador Koji Tsuruoka told reporters Thursday, ahead of a meeting between British Prime Minister Theresa May and bosses of Japanese firms.

Japan has invested billions of dollars in Britain, lured by the promise of a tariff-free gateway to Europe. Carmakers Nissan, Honda and Toyota produce almost half of Britain's cars, while pharmaceutical firms, tech companies and banks employ thousands of people.

France's Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian liste FILE - France's Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian is pictured at a news conference in Moscow, Sept. 8, 2017. FILE - France's Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian is pictured at a news conference in Moscow, Sept. 8, 2017.

Britain's competitors, notably France, are eyeing that investment keenly. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian visited Tokyo last week and said any hopes that Britain might reverse course and stay in the EU were unfounded.

"It's our choice, and our move, to tell the Japanese companies that, yes, the U.K. as part of the EU is over, but here is what we can offer you," Le Drian told reporters.

'Difficult pill'

Britain and Europe both want a transition period to ease the changeover for businesses.

"Which is likely going to mean that the U.K. accepts that the EU makes all the rules, and we continue to pay, but we get no say. That's going to be quite a difficult pill to swallow," said Portes.

As the one-year Brexit countdown approaches, pressure is growing from Britain's global and European partners for clarity over what future it wants after the European Union.
SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA - Mosquitoes are a year-round downside to living in subtropical Miami, but millions of bacteria-infected mosquitoes flying in a suburban neighborhood are being hailed as an innovation that may kill off more bugs that spread Zika and other viruses.

Miami-Dade County Mosquito Control and Habitat Management Division is releasing non-biting male mosquitoes infected with naturally occurring Wolbachia bacteria to mate with wild female mosquitoes.

The bacteria are not harmful to humans, but will prevent any offspring produced when the lab-bred mosquitoes mate with wild female mosquitoes from surviving to adulthood. This drives down the population of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that thrive in suburban and urban environments and can spread Zika, dengue fever and chikungunya.

During a six-month field trial approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, over half a billion of the mosquitoes bred by Kentucky-based MosquitoMate will be released in a suburban neighborhood split by long, narrow canals near the University of Miami, said South Miami Mayor Philip Stoddard.

Miami-Dade County is testing MosquitoMate's insects as a potential mosquito-control method about 10 miles (15 kilometers) southwest of Miami's hip Wynwood neighborhood, where health officials confirmed the first local Zika infections spread by mosquitoes on the U.S. mainland in July 2016.

Bill Petrie, director of Miami-Dade County Mosquit Bill Petrie, director of Miami-Dade County Mosquito Control, places his hand inside a box containing Wolbachia-infected male mosquitoes, in South Miami, Florida, Feb. 8, 2018. Bill Petrie, director of Miami-Dade County Mosquito Control, places his hand inside a box containing Wolbachia-infected male mosquitoes, in South Miami, Florida, Feb. 8, 2018.

Stoddard, a zoology professor at Florida International University, said he volunteered his city for the trial, wanting to keep the outdoor cafes in his city from becoming another ground zero for a mosquito-borne virus outbreak.

"All those diseases are still a concern. They're still in the Caribbean and could move to the mainland to cause problems," Stoddard said.

By the end of 2016, Florida health officials had confirmed 1,456 Zika infections in the state, including 285 cases spread by mosquitoes in Miami-Dade County. Just two local Zika infections were reported in Florida last year, including one Miami-Dade case.

If MosquitoMate's bugs perform well in South Miami, Wolbachia could be added to regular mosquito control operations as a long-term preventative strategy, said Bill Petrie, Miami-Dade County's mosquito control chief.

Pesticides still needed

"It's not a silver bullet. You'd want to integrate it into your existing methods," Petrie said.

It would not replace naled, the pesticide sprayed from airplanes during the 2016 outbreak, angering Miami residents concerned the chemicals were more dangerous than Zika. Health officials credited naled among other aggressive response efforts with stopping the outbreak.

MosquitoMate's technology appears low-tech in the field. Infected mosquitoes are shipped weekly in cardboard tubes  similar to ones used in paper towel rolls  from Lexington, Kentucky.

Each tube contains a thousand mosquitoes. In a demonstration Thursday in a city park, a cloud of mosquitoes burst from one end when a black netting cover was removed; a firm shake sent any stragglers flying out.

The trial will study how far the mosquitoes fly, how long they live in the area, and how many Aedes aegypti eggs hatch compared to untreated areas, MosquitoMate founder Stephen Dobson said a in phone interview last week.

Results from a similar trial near Key West last year are awaiting publication, Dobson said.

Last year, the EPA approved permits for MosquitoMate to sell a related mosquito species, known as the Asian tiger mosquito, infected with Wolbachia as a pest control service in 20 states and Washington, D.C. Those mosquitoes also can carry viruses, but experts consider them less of a threat for triggering outbreaks than Aedes aegypti.
A judge has granted a chemistry professor from Bangladesh, who is living near Kansas City, a temporary stay from deportation, two weeks after immigration agents arrested him at his home.

Syed Ahmed Jamal has been living and working in the United States for more than 30 years. He is married with three children and was facing deportation as soon as Friday before a judge ordered the stay.

It was unclear how long the temporary stay would be valid, but it's long enough for a court to hear his case.

His family said the stay came as a surprise and gave them hope that the courts could examine his case.

Jamal came to the United States on a student visa in 1987, was granted a separate visa for highly skilled workers, then a student visa when he pursued his doctorate. He had a temporary work permit at the time of his arrest.

Expired visa

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman told The Washington Post that Jamal's visa expired in 2011 and he was ordered to leave the country.

Immigration agents arrested him, but Obama administration rules allowed him to stay on a temporary work permit because of his skills and contributions to society.

It is unclear why agents arrested Jamal on January 24. ICE said it does not give advance notice of deportation orders for security reasons and could not comment on his case.

But an ICE statement says the agency "does not exempt classes or categories of removable aliens from potential enforcement. All those in violation of the immigration laws may be subject to immigration arrest, detention, and, if found removable by final order, removal from the United States."

President Donald Trump has vowed to deport as many as 3 million undocumented immigrants.

But Jamal's case brought a huge outcry from his friends, neighbors, colleagues and at least one member of Congress from the Kansas City area.

Jamal's brother, Syed, described Jamal to the Post as a U.S.-educated, liberal, secular Muslim who belongs to an Urdu-speaking ethnic minority and could face death at the hands of Islamic extremists if he is sent back to Bangladesh.
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A Hong Kong court has rejected an appeal by a former British banker jailed for life for murdering two women.

Rurik Jutting, 32, a former Bank of America employee, denied killing two Indonesian women in 2014 on the grounds of diminished responsibility because of alcohol and drug abuse and sexual disorders.

FILE - Rurik George Caton Jutting, a former Britis FILE - Rurik George Caton Jutting, a former British banker charged with two counts of murder sits in the back row of a prison bus as he arrives at the Eastern Law Courts in Hong Kong, Nov. 24, 2014. FILE - Rurik George Caton Jutting, a former British banker charged with two counts of murder sits in the back row of a prison bus as he arrives at the Eastern Law Courts in Hong Kong, Nov. 24, 2014.

A jury found Jutting guilty at his 2016 trial of the brutal killings of Seneng Mujiasih, 26, and Sumarti Ningsih, 23.

Jutting spent days torturing one of the victims while on a cocaine-fueled binge before stuffing her body into a suitcase left on his apartment balcony.

He killed the second victim three days later because she wouldnt stop calling for help after entering his luxury apartment in Hong Kongs Wan Chai district.

Juttings lawyer Gerard McCoy argued at the appeal that the judge did not properly direct the jury on his clients mental state at the time of the killings.

Jutting can still appeal to Hong Kongs highest court, the Court of Final Appeal.
PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA - During the 21 months he spent imprisoned in the secret Khmer Rouge prison code-named S-21, Bou Meng found a strange comfort in his prison uniform: black cotton shorts and sometimes, when he was lucky, a shirt.

It was very cold at night, as I remember, he told VOA Khmer in a recent interview. No blankets or any other personal items were given to prisoners, who spent most of their days and nights shackled to beds inside tiny rooms. Often they were released only to be tortured.

For Bou Meng, one of the few people to have survived the infamous prison, where 14,000 people were confined and ultimately executed, the clothes still bring back vivid memories of those months.

They smelled very disgusting, he said. When he was tortured, they would strip my shirt off, Bou Meng recalled. My body was covered with blood.

WATCH: Cambodia museum exhibit

Large piles of pants and shirts similar to the ones that Bou Meng once wore, along with a jumble of hats, childrens clothes, shoes, belts, and other fragments of clothing, were part of the detritus left behind in the prison when the Khmer Rouge fled ahead of a Vietnamese invasion in January 1979. Many of them were grimy and stained with blood.

Many of the more obvious artifacts of mass crimes, torture implements, shackles, documents, were immediately preserved in the genocide museum set up inside S-21 by the Vietnamese administrators who occupied Cambodia, but the clothes were largely ignored.

All were virtually untouched for 40 years. Many of the garments began to deteriorate due to the effects of climate and haphazard handling.

Now this is changing, as the garments value as evidence and cultural artifacts is being recognized. Beginning late last month, the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, which is administered by Cambodia's Ministry of Culture, began a multi-year project to conserve 3,000 to 5,000 cloth artifacts, funded with a $55,000 grant from the U.S. government. For the first time, the clothes will be sorted, preserved, and, in some cases, displayed as part of the memorial to the 1.7 million Cambodians who died, about 25 percent of the population, during Pol Pots Khmer Rouge regime between 1975-1979.

aaaaaaa Julia Brennan aaaaa Julia Brennan, an American textile conservation expert, leads training on basic textile conservation to Cambodian cultural heritage conservators at Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, in Phnom Penh. (T.Soksreinith/VOA) Julia Brennan, an American textile conservation expert, leads training on basic textile conservation to Cambodian cultural heritage conservators at Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, in Phnom Penh. (T.Soksreinith/VOA)

Julia Brennan, an American textile conservation expert spearheading the project, said the effort would employ cutting-edge technology to ensure the clothes would be properly preserved without removing the stains that testify to their history.

The dirt, stains, accretions, are a part of the genocide story and bear witness to the atrocities, she said.

Brennan has also helped Rwandas National Commission for the Fight against Genocide preserve 45,000 cloth artifacts belonging to genocide victims there. She says clothes belonging to victims of mass crimes are unique, because in addition to their historical value they can be forensic evidence that may need to be analyzed in the future.

Brennan is working to set up a long-term storage system at Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum using a new technology called DryStore, a see-through rectangular plastic container with two built-in hygrometers that maintain a low relative humidity suitable for textiles.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Remaining textiles of Toul Sleng victims are shown during the signing off ceremony on the conservation of objects at Toul Sleng Genocide Museum on Dec. 11, 2017. (T. Malis/VOA Khmer) Remaining textiles of Toul Sleng victims are shown during the signing off ceremony on the conservation of objects at Toul Sleng Genocide Museum on Dec. 11, 2017. (T. Malis/VOA Khmer)

DryStore was developed in 2012 by Rhino, a global technology provider for the agricultural industry based in Thailand, and relies on desiccant beads that absorb moisture while killing mold and insects. Until now, it has mainly been used for seed drying and storage.

In repurposing it for clothing conservation, Brennan has dubbed the technology a heritage box, and has used the U.S. grant money to purchase about 50 containers for Tuol Sleng. Each can fit around 72 liters of textile artifacts.

The first step of the Tuol Sleng project, Brennan says, is to test the heritage box system and develop a protocol that can be followed after she leaves Cambodia.

This storage system is efficient, low cost, and simple to use, she said. If successful, it could be a breakthrough showing the drying technology can be applied everywhere for cultural heritage preservation, especially in humid climates, she added.

We have installed them in several locations of the museum so that Rh (relative humidity) and temp (temperature) can be continually tracked, and provide long-range data through all seasons, day and night, she explained. This data is easily downloaded to the museum computer and read in charts. This can tell us if there is a time of day or year when the climate is more threatening to the collections, for example, during the monsoon.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Remaining textiles of Toul Sleng victims are shown at Toul Sleng Genocide Museum on Dec. 11, 2017. (T.Malis/ VOA Khmer) Remaining textiles of Toul Sleng victims are shown at Toul Sleng Genocide Museum on Dec. 11, 2017. (T.Malis/ VOA Khmer)

Every textile scrap and article of clothing in the museum will also be photographed and documented, with a detailed description of its condition and description, before storage in the heritage box. This information will form the basis for a computerized collection database, searchable by scholars, researchers, and survivors.

While refining the heritage box system, Brennan is also training a Cambodian cultural heritage conservator from the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, a textile conservator from the National Museum of Cambodia, and two archaeology students from the Royal University of Fine Arts about textiles and basic preventative conservation.

One of the trainees, Chenda Ko, a conservator at the genocide museum, recently attended a two-week program in cultural heritage conservation in Poland. She said only about 1,000 of Tuol Sleng's cloth artifacts were in reasonably good condition. The need for immediate preservation is now, she said.

WATCH: Preserving clothing of Khmer Rouge victims

The textiles have been entirely sorted and are sitting in blue and red baskets, waiting to be documented and preserved in the heritage boxes.

Chenda Ko said she is concerned about the size of the conservation facility. It is too small for so many artifacts, she said.

But Bou Meng said the initiative is important to him, in part because it will allow future generations of Cambodians to see exactly what his prison clothing looked like. Although they are long gone from his possession, he still remembers the black shorts that gave him a shred of comfort in the dark.

They (the clothes) are a testimony to the genocide, he said. Younger generations are going to certainly benefit from it, so that they know what happened here.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday pitched Canadian globalism and the country's new fast-track visa as reasons why Silicon Valley companies should consider Canada as a place to do business and spend money.

Trudeau brought his charm offensive to the San Francisco Bay Area amid increasing unease over U.S. immigration policy and while talks continue over the North American Free Trade Agreement.

The heated debate over immigration since the election of President Donald Trump has provided a clear opening for Canada to promote itself to Silicon Valley.

As American employers worry about access to foreign workers, Canada is offering a two-week, fast-track employment permit for certain workers, dubbed the "global skills strategy visa."

Government-sponsored billboards in Silicon Valley pitch: "H1-B Problems? Pivot to Canada." Recruiters from cities in Canada attend Canadian university alumni events in the valley, urging graduates to come home "to your next career move in the Great White North."

Trudeau demurred when asked whether Trump's immigration efforts are making the sales pitch easier, pointing to the power of globalism.

"We know that bringing in great talent from around the world is an enormous benefit, not just to the companies that want to do that, but to Canadian jobs and to our country as a whole, so we're going to continue to do that," he said.

Recruiting successes

His stops Thursday were designed to showcase recruiting successes.

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff announced the online business software company will invest another $2 billion in its Canadian operations.

And San Francisco-based AppDirect, an online management platform whose co-CEO first met Trudeau in political science class at McGill University in Montreal, said it would add another 300 jobs in Canada in the next five years.

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, left, spea Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, left, speaks with AppDirect employees at their office in San Francisco, Feb. 8, 2018. Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, left, speaks with AppDirect employees at their office in San Francisco, Feb. 8, 2018.

Trudeau is also meeting with Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos as Bezos considers the location for its second headquarters. Toronto, which has created a government-sponsored innovation hub for tech companies, was the only one of several Canadian cities that applied to make the shortlist.

The San Francisco Bay Area has become increasingly important to the Canadian government, said Rana Sarkar, the consul general of Canada in San Francisco. He said it fits with the "innovation strategy" the Trudeau government has promoted since its election in 2015.

"It's the global epicenter for many of these revolutions. We need to be here both offensively to ensure that we're telling our story. ... And we're also here defensively to ensure that we're here at the table when the decisions about the next economy are made," Sarkar said.

Trudeau's stop in San Francisco also highlights the already strong ties between Canada and California, particularly in research, academia and technology.

NAFTA

While much of the attention on the North American Free Trade Agreement has focused on physical commodities such as vehicle manufacturing, dairy and timber, skilled workers have also become increasingly mobile between the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Google built its latest DeepMind artificial intelligence facility at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, after several of its graduates came to work on the project.

The next round of talks over the 24-year-old trade pact in Mexico later this month loomed over Trudeau's visit. Trump has called the agreement a job-killing "disaster" on the campaign trail and has threatened to withdraw from it if he can't get what he wants.

The lengthy talks have increased the political pressure and the rhetoric in Canada, where the stakes are high.

Trudeau declined to talk about specifics Thursday, but said Canada wants an agreement that is "win-win-win" for all three countries.

"We're going to continue to make an argument that it's not enough to just trade, we have to ensure that the benefits of trade are properly and fairly shared," he said.

There are hundreds, maybe thousands  no one can say for sure  of Canadians in the tech industry in Northern California, many of them on visas made possible through the trade pact.

Without NAFTA, "those [jobs] go away. That could cause immediate disruption for the tech community" on both sides of the border, said Daniel Ujczo, an international trade lawyer based in Columbus, Ohio, who has been part of the talks, now in their sixth round.

"It's unfortunately not an area that is up for discussion. Canada and Mexico keep raising worker mobility issues, but the U.S. won't discuss it," he said.

Trudeau will meet with Gov. Jerry Brown and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, both Democrats, on Friday before he travels to Southern California to deliver a speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

The location is a symbolic choice, referring to the longstanding trade relationship between the U.S. and Canada. In 1988, Reagan and then-Prime Minister Brian Mulroney signed the first free trade agreement  a precursor to NAFTA.
The Department of Justice is seeking to revoke the citizenship of the former leader of a Missouri-based organization that illegally funneled money to Iraq.

The federal agency filed a complaint Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, seeking to revoke the naturalization of Mubarak Hamed, once the director of the Islamic American Relief Agency, which posed as a charity that assisted famine victims in Africa. The organization collected $1 million to $3 million in contributions each year from 1991 to 2003.

According to the complaint, Hamed regularly transferred funds from the organization to an account in Jordan controlled by a man who transferred the money, or goods bought with the funds, to Iraq, which violated U.S. sanctions against that country.

IARA, based in Columbia, Missouri, was the U.S. office of the Sudan-based Islamic Relief Agency. It secretly funneled a total of about $1.4 million to Iraq, the department said.

The U.S. group was dissolved in 2004, after the government deemed it a terrorist organization. At the time, the organization was ordered to transfer more than $800,000 in assets to a charity that assists farmers and drought victims in East Africa.

Hamed, a native of Sudan, pleaded guilty to conspiracy, lying to federal agents and misusing the tax-exempt status given to charities. He served nearly five years in prison before being released in August 2016.

It wasn't immediately clear where Hamed has been living since his release from prison. Charles Swift, the attorney who represented Hamed during his criminal case, did not reply to a phone message.

If he loses his citizenship, he would revert back to permanent resident status and the Department of Homeland Security would begin removal proceedings.

Naturalized citizens may have their citizenship revoked for reasons including falsification or concealment of relevant facts during the naturalization process. The Justice Department said in its complaint that Hamed concealed during his naturalization interviews that he had committed crimes.

The Justice Department noted in its news release that Hamed entered the U.S. on an F-1 student visa and was given permanent resident status through the diversity visa lottery system.

'Broken immigration system'

The diversity visa lottery system has been strongly criticized by President Donald Trump, who supports a merit-based immigration system.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in the news release Wednesday that Hamed's case is an indication that the U.S. needs to "reform our broken immigration system now more than ever," and move to a merit-based system.

In July 2016, an IARA representative pleaded guilty on its behalf to conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, conspiracy to commit money laundering and obstructing U.S. internal revenue laws. Several individuals associated with IARA also were prosecuted, including former U.S. Representative Mark Siljander of Michigan. He was sentenced in 2012 to a year in prison after pleading guilty to obstruction of justice and acting as an unregistered foreign agent.
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Senate, early Friday morning, voted 71-28 to approve a combined bill to fund the government through March 23 and a two-year federal budget.

The legislation now goes to the U.S. House, where its future is less certain. A vote in the House is expected Friday morning.

The U.S. government shut down at midnight Thursday after Congress missed a deadline to renew the federal governments funding. The shutdown marks the second partial federal shutdown in less than a month.

Earlier, a single Republican senator held up a bipartisan bill to keep the U.S. government open hours before federal funds were set to expire.

Rand Paul of Kentucky objected to the Senate proceeding to vote on a two-year budget deal that would boost military and domestic spending by hundreds of billions of dollars, saying it would explode Americas rising federal deficit and add to the nations more than $20 trillion national debt.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., is pursued by reporters on FILE - Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., speaks with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, April 7, 2017. FILE - Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., speaks with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, April 7, 2017.

I cant, in all good honesty, in all good faith, just look the other way, Paul said in a fiery and lengthy floor speech that consumed dwindling time that Congress had to avert a halt of nonessential federal operations. We have a 700-page bill that no one has read that was printed at midnight.  Nothing will be reformed, the waste will continue.

Pauls objection drew an angry response from a fellow Republican, Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who argued Americas military desperately needs additional funds after years of budget caps that constrained both the Pentagon and domestic programs.

Debt and deficits are no excuse to leave the war fighter hanging, Graham said. Whatever it is to keep our military going, Ill do it.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., left, walk to the chamber after collaborating on an agreement on a two-year, nearly $400 billion budget deal. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., left, walk to the chamber after collaborating on an agreement on a two-year, nearly $400 billion budget deal.

?Senate rules

Under Senate rules, any member can speak for as long as he or she desires, unless three-fifths of the body votes to end debate. Any senator also can object to a vote, causing lengthy procedural delays.

Pauls action threw into chaos a carefully choreographed script for how the days legislative business was to be conducted, with swift Senate and House votes so that the budget deal could be sent to the White House for President Donald Trumps signature with time to spare before midnight in Washington, when federal spending authority ends absent an extension.

Senate procedures would allow a vote on the budget deal to go forward at 1 a.m. Friday EST, with or without Pauls consent. But the government shutdown would have begun by that time.

We can provide certainty to the thousands and thousands of people who expect government to be open, or we can play this game [with a vote delay] until 1 a.m., Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina said. I, for one, think we should do it right now.

Hours before the Thursday night deadline, Representative Steny Hoyer, the No. 2 Democrat in the House, released a statement urging Republican leaders to bring to the floor a one-day funding bill to keep the government open. Given that the Senate still has not passed its agreement.

U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) speaks to repo U.S. 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. U.S. 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.

?Bipartisan support

Negotiated between the Senates Republican and Democratic leaders, the two-year budget bill appeared to have ample bipartisan support for passage in both houses of Congress.

This agreement ensures that our armed forces will finally have the resources they need, Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas said. In addition, the funding bill will provide support for our veterans, those who have worn the uniform as well as their families, and it will clear the way for new investment in our nations infrastructure.

Its a good deal, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said. And its a strong signal that we can break the gridlock that has overwhelmed this body and work together for the good of the country.

White House deputy press secretary Raj Shah told reporters at the daily briefing that, We do support the two-year spending bill. It lifts the caps on defense spending, which is something the secretary of defense and the presidents generals have told him they need to ensure that we rebuild our military and protect our national security.

The accord drew opposition from opposite extremes of Congress ideological spectrum, but not in sufficient numbers to threaten passage. Some conservative Republicans blasted the added spending as a surrender to fiscal insanity.

Some progressive Democrats, meanwhile, protested the agreements omission of any measure to end the threat of deportation for hundreds of thousands of young undocumented immigrants brought to America as children.

They live and work here. They share our nation with us. Right now, we are being called upon to protect them from deportation and we must answer that call, Democratic Representative Luis Gutierrez of Illinois said. Vote against this budget.

Partial shutdown in January

Democrats blocked a stopgap spending bill in January, triggering a three-day partial federal government shutdown, in part to protest Congress inaction on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), an Obama administration program that Trump rescinded last year and is set to expire March 5.

Bipartisan negotiations have yet to reach a deal on an overhaul of Americas immigration laws. However, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has repeatedly promised to start Senate floor debate on immigration reform, including a fix for DACA recipients, after spending issues are resolved.

House Speaker Paul Ryan gave a similar assurance on Thursday, saying, To anyone who doubts my commitment to solve this problem and bring up a DACA and immigration reform bill, do not. We will bring a solution to the floor, one that the president will sign.
WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump has signed a sweeping bipartisan budget bill, ending a brief government shutdown and adding hundreds of billions of dollars in spending on domestic programs, disaster aid and the military.



Trump signed the measure without fanfare after it received final congressional approval in the early hours of Friday morning.

Just signed Bill. Our Military will now be stronger than ever before. We love and need our Military and gave them everything  and more. First time this has happened in a long time. Also means JOBS, JOBS, JOBS!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 9, 2018

White House officials said the lack of a signing ceremony indicated Trump's displeasure with the last-minute additions that will further add to the government's ballooning deficit. In two subsequent morning tweets, he took aim at Democrats, who had demanded more domestic spending in return for the votes needed to win enough bipartisan support to pass the deal.

Without more Republicans in Congress, we were forced to increase spending on things we do not like or want in order to finally, after many years of depletion, take care of our Military. Sadly, we needed some Dem votes for passage. Must elect more Republicans in 2018 Election!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 9, 2018

The House voted in the wee hours of the morning, 240-186, to approve the measure, which funds the government through March 23. Hours earlier, the Senate had voted 71-28 in favor.



The deal gives appropriations committees in both houses of Congress time to craft a detailed spending plan that will fund the government through September of 2019.



Several lawmakers on the left and right opposed the bill, including conservative Republicans who objected to the large spending increases. Progressive Democrats protested the omission of language that would end the threat of deportation for more than one million young undocumented immigrants, known as "Dreamers," who were brought to the United States as children.



Trump ordered an end to the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program last year. Participants face deportation when the program expires March 5 unless Congress takes action.

Trump, in his third tweet of the day, applauded the exclusion of the Dreamers, or recipients of the DACA provision, from the spending bill. "Fortunately, DACA not included in this Bill, negotiations to start now!" he wrote.

Costs on non-military lines will never come down if we do not elect more Republicans in the 2018 Election, and beyond. This Bill is a BIG VICTORY for our Military, but much waste in order to get Dem votes. Fortunately, DACA not included in this Bill, negotiations to start now!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 9, 2018

Republican and Democratic legislative leaders praised the deal.

FILE - Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI), righ Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI) walks to the House floor before a vote to pass a budget and to end a government shutdown on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., Feb. 9, 2018. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI) walks to the House floor before a vote to pass a budget and to end a government shutdown on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., Feb. 9, 2018.

"This is a great victory for our men and women in uniform. Republicans and Democrats joined together to finally give our troops the resources and our generals the certainty to plan for the future," said House Speaker Paul Ryan.



Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who had opposed earlier versions of the bill that cut domestic and disaster relief spending, also claimed victory.



"What makes Democrats proudest of this bill is that after a decade of cuts to programs that help the middle class, we have a dramatic reversal," Schumer said. "Funding for education, infrastructure, fighting drug abuse, and medical research will all, for the first time in years, get very significant increases, and we have placed Washington on a path to deliver more help to the middle class in the future."

Dreamers' plight

Demonstrators rally in support of Deferred Action Demonstrators rally in support of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) outside the Capitol, in Washington, Jan 21, 2018. Demonstrators rally in support of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) outside the Capitol, in Washington, Jan 21, 2018.

While Schumer and the Democrats yielded on the DACA issue, Republican leaders gave assurances that overhauling America's immigration system remains high on their agenda.



Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has promised to start Senate floor debate on immigration reform, including a fix for DACA recipients, as soon as spending issues are resolved.



Speaker Ryan gave a similar assurance Thursday, saying, "To anyone who doubts my commitment to solve this problem and bring up a DACA and immigration reform bill, do not. We will bring a solution to the floor, one that the president will sign."



A single Republican senator had held up passage of the budget bill Thursday, forcing the brief government shutdown, to underscore his fear that increasing spending by hundreds of billions of dollars would explode America's already rising federal deficit and add to the nation's more than $20 trillion national debt.



"The reason I'm here tonight is to put people on the spot," Kentucky Senator Rand Paul said in a fiery floor speech that went on for hours. "I want people to feel uncomfortable. I want them to have to answer people at home who said, How come you were against President [Barack] Obama's deficits and then how come you're for Republican deficits?'"

Michael Bowman contributed to this report.

Watch related video by VOA's Katherine Gypson:

?
SEOUL - South Korean President Moon Jae-in met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday to discuss renewed criticism of the "comfort women" agreement, which aimed to settle grievances for atrocities committed during World War II. Abe is in South Korea to attend the opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

Moon told Abe that he hoped the two countries "can be true friends." At the same time, he said, he planned to maintain "future-oriented cooperation while looking squarely at history."

Controversial deal

The term comfort women refers to the more than 200,000 women in Asia who were forced to work as prostitutes or sex slaves for Japanese soldiers during World War II.

In 2015, South Korea and Japan reached an agreement to "finally and irreversibly" resolve all comfort women grievances related to Japan's sexual enslavement of Korean women during the war. The comfort women deal included a carefully worded statement from Abe that offered vague "apologies and remorse" for "immeasurable and painful experiences," and an $8 million dollar donation to a victims fund as a final legal and political settlement to the highly charged issue.

A woman puts a scarf on a statue of a comfort woma FILE - A woman puts a scarf on a statue of a comfort woman sitting in a installation of empty chairs symbolizing the victims in Seoul, South Korea, Dec. 27, 2017. FILE - A woman puts a scarf on a statue of a comfort woman sitting in a installation of empty chairs symbolizing the victims in Seoul, South Korea, Dec. 27, 2017.

However, the comfort women agreement proved to be highly unpopular in South Korea. Some of the few surviving comfort women, most of whom are now in their 90s, refused to accept the deal. They and their supporters have renewed their demands for a more sincere apology from the Japanese leader that takes responsibility for these wartime atrocities. And they want official state compensation made to the victims rather than an unattributed donation.

Moon, who was elected president in 2017, has also been critical of the 2015 agreement. In January, he called on Tokyo to take additional measures to address the demands of the comfort women. The president also announced that South Korea would not accept the $8-million donation from Japan and would instead use its own funds to support the victims.

US alliances

Abe has refused to revisit the terms of the agreement. Prior to leaving Tokyo on Friday, he told reporters that he intends to argue that it is time to put this historical controversy to rest and focus on increasing cooperation to deal with the North Korean nuclear threat.

"I would also like to once again clarify Japan's position on the Japan-South Korea agreement [on comfort women], and strongly urge them to make Japanese-South Korean relations a future-oriented relationship," Abe said.

Abe's position is that Japanese leaders have apologized multiple times over decades, including the Murayama Statement in 1995 that apologized for the damage and suffering caused by Japan during World War II. He maintains that all future generations should not be held accountable for the misdeeds committed more than 70 years ago.

In the past, the bilateral quarrel over comfort women had impeded trilateral cooperation with the United States to defend against the growing North Korean nuclear threat. Washington played an instrumental role in persuading both Tokyo and Seoul to resolve the comfort women issue in 2015.

While Moon has criticized the deal, he also said he would not nullify it, and indicated the historical disagreement should not undermine necessary diplomatic and security cooperation.

"This is a strategy made with the U.S. [alliance] in mind. I think that this is the best choice for now for the Moon Jae-in administration," said Japan analyst Hosaka Yuji at Sejong University in Seoul.

Students hold portraits of deceased former South K FILE - Students hold portraits of deceased former South Korean "comfort women" during a weekly anti-Japan rally in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, South Korea, Dec. 30, 2015. FILE - Students hold portraits of deceased former South Korean "comfort women" during a weekly anti-Japan rally in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, South Korea, Dec. 30, 2015.

?Not welcome

Comfort women advocates, who hold a rally every Wednesday in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, say the Japanese prime minister should not be welcome to attend the Olympics, until he agrees to make amends for past atrocities.

"I think coming to conceal and evade their crimes, and rather coming to put pressure on the victim country's government does not fit with the Olympic spirit," said Yoon Mee-hyang, who represents the group The Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan.

Many Koreans have also criticized Japan for downplaying or misrepresenting its past wartime atrocities, with some Japanese nationalists arguing that many comfort women were not forced into prostitution but instead volunteered.

The South Korean president has also been criticized for not taking a stronger stand against Japan. But many comfort women supporters believe he will continue to press Abe on this issue.

"I am sure that he will come up with something better, I believe. I think a lot of Koreans believe that he will do something about it," said Chei Park, an activist with a group called the Uncomfort Women Project.
China has waded into a growing political crisis involving the small island nation of Maldives, urging the international community to play what it calls a constructive role in the ongoing dispute, putting itself at odds with the United Nations on the issue.



The Maldives, which is known more for its luxury resorts, has become an increasingly important part of Chinas global trade and infrastructure project, the "Belt and Road" initiative. It is also seen by analysts as a key strategic outpost in the Indian Ocean, despite its close proximity to India.



Earlier this month, Maldives President Abdulla Yameen declared a state of emergency and ordered the arrest of Supreme Court judges and opposition politicians, a move that critics argue is aimed at silencing opponents of the current administration ahead of elections later this year.

FILE - An aerial view of Maldives capital. FILE - An aerial view of Maldives capital Male, Dec. 9, 2009. FILE - An aerial view of Maldives capital Male, Dec. 9, 2009.

The judges were jailed after issuing a surprise ruling that called for the release of imprisoned opposition politicians. The growing number of arrests has sparked outcries from international rights groups and in a phone call late Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi "expressed concern about the political crisis in the Maldives and the importance of respect for democratic institutions and rule of law, according to a White House statement.



United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has urged Yameen to end the state of emergency and the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad al-Hussein has called the moves an all-out assault on democracy.



In a bid to garner international support, the Maldives sent envoys to Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and China this week. According to a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement Friday, the countrys economic development minister, Mohamed Saeed, met with Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing on Thursday.



China stresses non-interference

According to the statement, Wang Yi told the official that China believes the Maldives government and people have the "wisdom and ability to appropriately handle the issue facing them and return the country to normal order in accordance with the law."



And in a remark apparently aimed at the growing international chorus and the United Nations against the Maldives governments actions, he also said: "China does not interfere in the Maldives' internal affairs, which is also an important criterion of the rules of the United Nations charter."

Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen, center, surrou Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen, center, surrounded by body guards arrives to address supporters in Male, Feb. 3, 2018. Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen, center, surrounded by body guards arrives to address supporters in Male, Feb. 3, 2018.

Wang added that China has provided selfless aid to the country.

Wang did not elaborate, but former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed has said that Beijing has assumed more than 70 percent of the island nations debt and that nearly a quarter of the countrys current budget is used to cover interest payments. Similar comments about Chinese loans and indebtedness have come from political leaders in Sri Lanka, another island nation that Beijing is funding in the hope of gaining more access to the Indian Ocean.

Over the past year, the Maldives government has put its support behind Chinas trillion-dollar global trade and infrastructure project, the Belt and Road initiative, signed a free trade agreement with Beijing and Chinese companies are involved a number of projects there, including the expansion of the Male airport.

Strategic value

In addition to growing economic ties, there is a strategic element that is also important.

China opened its first overseas military base, or as it calls them logistic hub, in Djibouti last year and there have been credible reports, analysts note, that more are on the way. According to reports, a base is under serious consideration near Gwadar Port in Pakistan, and another along the east coast of Africa, notes David Brewster, a senior analyst with the National Security College at Australian National University.

That would then leave, if China wished to have a serious presence covering the Indian Ocean, it would also require another naval and or airbase in the eastern or central Indian Ocean and the most realistic places for that to be located are either in Sri Lanka or the Maldives, he said.

But, while Beijing has significant economic interests in Maldives and strategic goals as well, the island nation is still well within Indias geopolitical orbit. Earlier this week, Nasheed, who has taken up refuge in India, urged New Delhi to send an envoy to the archipelago, "backed by its military." He also asked the United States to "stop all financial transactions of Maldives regime leaders going through U.S. banks."

Brewster said Beijing will be navigating the crisis carefully to keep that from happening and working together with others, including Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

Certainly there is no doubt that China will want to see Yameen stay in power and it would be in Chinas interests for Yameen not to overstep the mark and do anything to overtly provoke India, Brewster said. China certainly does not want to give India any reason to intervene and [for that to] lead to the restoration of democracy.
The United States' attempt to cut Pakistan's military or civilian aid may lead to further complications in the relations between the two countries, Pakistan's interior minister said Thursday.

Ahsan Iqbal was responding to a question from VOA's Urdu service regarding a bill introduced Tuesday in the U.S. House of Representatives to end nondefense aid to Pakistan.

Representatives Mark Sanford, a Republican from South Carolina, and Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, introduced the legislation to prohibit nondefense aid to Pakistan, saying "Pakistan is a country that knowingly provides resources for terrorists."

"The United States should not funnel money to a government that provides military aid and intelligence to terrorists," said Massie.

Pakistan denies this charge and counters by saying it has paid a heavy price for fighting against terrorists. Iqbal also asserted that the United States is not giving much to Pakistan in the first place.

"Right now, Pakistan is not getting significant military or nonmilitary aid from the United States. Whatever nonmilitary aid goes to Pakistan, it goes to NGOs through USAID [the U.S. Agency for International Development]. The government of Pakistan does not get that aid," he told VOA.

The United States announced last month it was suspending security assistance to Pakistan.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said on January 4 that the U.S. was suspending security assistance "until the Pakistani government takes decisive action against groups, including the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani network. We consider them to be destabilizing the region and also targeting U.S. personnel. The United States will suspend that kind of security assistance to Pakistan."

Iqbal said even though U.S. aid reductions to Pakistan did not have any significant impact, steps like those "can create distance between Pakistan and the United States."

VOA's Urdu service contributed to this report.
Ethiopian journalist Eskinder Nega and two prominent opposition figures have refused to sign letters of pardon from the government, holding up their planned release from prison.

Eskinder and opposition leaders Andualem Arage and Abebe Kesto  all critics of the government  are among 746 prisoners set for release following an announcement Thursday by Ethiopia's attorney general.

But Eskinder's wife, Serkalem Facil, has told VOA's Horn of Africa Service that her husband declined to sign the letter of pardon because it states he was a member of Ginbot 7, a political organization banned in Ethiopia.

"Eskinder, Andualem and others were summoned by prison officers. They were asked to sign a form saying they are members of the Ginbot 7 movement as a precondition for their release," Serkalem said. "Eskinder refused to sign the form, saying that he is not a member of the organization. So, I know there is no deal."

Fantu Aragie, the sister of Andualem Arage, said her brother and Abebe Kesto also refused to sign the pardon letter.

"The three of them refused to ask the government for a pardon. In fact, they informed them that the government should ask them for a pardon," she said.

All three men remained in prison Friday.

The majority of the prisoners set to be freed were arrested on charges of terrorism, inciting violence or religious extremism. Human rights groups say the arrests were, in fact, aimed at silencing opponents and critics of Ethiopia's de facto one-party state.

The planned release and other recent prisoner releases are aimed at reducing tensions in the Horn of Africa country following a wave of anti-government protests in 2015 and 2016, mainly in the southern Oromia region, that sparked a nationwide state of emergency and a government crackdown.

The attorney general said 417 of those to be released are convicted prisoners, while another 329 are suspects still awaiting trial.

The prisoners are to be freed after undergoing rehabilitation training and receiving approval from Ethiopia's president, Mulatu Teshome.
GENEVA - An increasing number of refugee women and children are victims of sexual harassment and violence in the overcrowded reception centers on the Greek islands, the U.N. refugee agency says.

The risk is greatest on Lesvos and Samos, according to UNHCR, which says some 5,500 people on those islands are living in dire conditions.

UNHCR spokeswoman Cecile Pouilly says the reception centers on the islands where refugees live are extremely overcrowded, with little or no security to protect them from attack.

"In these two centers, bathrooms and latrines are no-go zones after dark for women and children. Even bathing during daytime can be dangerous. Identifying and helping survivors is hampered by a reluctance to report assaults out of fear of shame, concerns about discrimination, and insufficient trust to open up," Pouilly said.

Last year, the UNHCR received reports from 622 survivors of sexual and gender-based violence. Pouilly says the actual number of incidents is probably much higher, with children particularly vulnerable to abuse.

"This is also why we have been advocating for, especially unaccompanied children, to be taken to specific accommodations and we, ourselves have created specific places for unaccompanied children. There are about 1,000 unaccompanied children who are now in UNHCR accommodations," Pouilly said.

The UNHCR is urging the Greek government to take action to reduce the risk of sexual and gender-based violence. It is calling on the government to provide appropriate shelters that separate women from unknown men, to improve medical and psychological services, to increase police presence and patrolling, and to put more lighting in public areas.
Reuters released a report Thursday on ethnic killings in Myanmar, detailing research done by two of its reporters currently jailed in the Southeast Asian country.

The news agency details the slaughter of 10 Rohingya men in the village of Inn Din, where Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo spoke with Buddhist neighbors who reportedly admitted to killing the men and burying their bodies in a mass grave.

The report includes a photo of the 10 men kneeling with their hands tied behind their backs, reportedly on the same day they were killed. Another one shows the men's bodies in a mass grave. Witnesses authenticated the photographs, according to Reuters.

FILE - Ten Rohingya Muslim men with their hands bo FILE - Ten Rohingya Muslim men with their hands bound kneel as members of the Myanmar security forces stand guard in Inn Din village, Sept. 2, 2017. FILE - Ten Rohingya Muslim men with their hands bound kneel as members of the Myanmar security forces stand guard in Inn Din village, Sept. 2, 2017.

"The Reuters investigation of the Inn Din massacre was what prompted Myanmar police authorities to arrest two of the news agency's reporters," the report said.

The two reporters are being tried under the Official Secrets Act  a British colonial-era, counterespionage law  for their investigative work with Reuters, the international news wire, on military operations in Rakhine state. Following militant attacks in August, the crackdown has driven close to 700,000 Rohingya Muslims into Bangladesh.

In a rare admission of guilt, Myanmar's military said a month after the reporters' arrests that its security forces were responsible for the deaths of 10 Rohingya found in the Inn Din mass grave.

The military continues to deny systematic killings of the Rohingya Muslim minority, which the United Nations has deemed ethnic cleansing.
WASHINGTON - The U.S. House joined the Senate, voting to reopen the federal government.

The U.S. Senate voted first to reopen the federal government. The lawmakers voted 71 to 28 early Friday to renew the governments funding.

The House of Representatives followed just before dawn on Friday.

The bill will now go to the White House for President Donald Trumps signature.

The U.S. government was shut down after midnight Friday when Congress missed a deadline to renew the federal governments funding. The shutdown Friday marks the second partial federal shutdown in less than a month.

A single Republican senator late Thursday held up a bipartisan bill to keep the U.S. government open hours before federal funds expired.

Senator Rand Paul, R-Kent., speaks to reporters as Senator Rand Paul, R-Kent., speaks to reporters as he arrives for a vote on Capitol Hill in Washington, Oct. 18, 2017. Senator Rand Paul, R-Kent., speaks to reporters as he arrives for a vote on Capitol Hill in Washington, Oct. 18, 2017.

Rand Paul of Kentucky objected to the Senate proceeding to vote on a two-year budget deal that would boost military and domestic spending by hundreds of billions of dollars, saying it would explode Americas rising federal deficit and add to the nations more than $20 trillion national debt.

I cant, in all good honesty, in all good faith just look the other way, Paul said in a fiery and lengthy floor speech that consumed dwindling time that Congress had to act to avert a halt of non-essential federal operations. We have a 700-page bill that no one has read that was printed at midnight.  Nothing will be reformed, the waste will continue.

Pauls objection drew an angry response from a fellow Republican, Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who argued Americas military desperately needs additional funds after years of budget caps that constrained both the Pentagon and domestic programs.

Debt and deficits are no excuse to leave the war fighter hanging, Graham said. Whatever it is to keep our military going, Ill do it.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., left, walk to the chamber after collaborating on an agreement on a two-year, nearly $400 billion budget deal. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., left, walk to the chamber after collaborating on an agreement on a two-year, nearly $400 billion budget deal.

?Senate rules

Under Senate rules, any member can speak for as long as he or she desires, unless three-fifths of the body votes to end debate. Any senator also can object to a vote, causing lengthy procedural delays.

Pauls action also threw into chaos a carefully choreographed timetable for how the days legislative business was to be conducted, with swift Senate and House votes so that the budget deal could be sent to the White House for Trumps signature with time to spare before midnight in Washington, when federal spending authority ended absent an extension.

Senate Majority Whip Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, sp Senate Majority Whip Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, speaks to reporters as he walks to the Senate Chamber at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 22, 2018, after the Senate reached an agreement to advance a bill ending government shutdown. Senate Majority Whip Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, speaks to reporters as he walks to the Senate Chamber at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 22, 2018, after the Senate reached an agreement to advance a bill ending government shutdown.

?Bipartisan support for bill

Negotiated between the Senates Republican and Democratic leaders, the funding bill appeared to have ample bipartisan support for passage in both houses of Congress.

This agreement ensures that our armed forces will finally have the resources they need, Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas said. In addition, the funding bill will provide support for our veterans, those who have worn the uniform as well as their families, and it will clear the way for new investment in our nations infrastructure.

Its a good deal, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said. And its a strong signal that we can break the gridlock that has overwhelmed this body and work together for the good of the country.

We do support the two-year spending bill, White House Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah told reporters at the daily briefing. It lifts the caps on defense spending, which is something the secretary of defense and the presidents generals have told him they need to ensure that we rebuild our military and protect our national security.

Opposition from all sides

The accord drew opposition from opposite extremes of Congress ideological spectrum, but not in sufficient numbers to threaten passage. Some conservative Republicans blasted the added spending as a surrender to fiscal insanity.

Some progressive Democrats, meanwhile, protested the agreements omission of any measure to end the threat of deportation for hundreds of thousands of young undocumented immigrants brought to America as children.

They live and work here. They share our nation with us. Right now, we are being called upon to protect them from deportation and we must answer that call, Democratic Congressman Luis Gutierrez of Illinois said. Vote against this budget.

Partial shutdown in January

Democrats blocked a stopgap spending bill in January, triggering a three-day partial federal government shutdown, in part to protest Congress inaction on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), an Obama administration program that Trump ended last year and is now set to expire March 5.

Bipartisan negotiations have yet to reach a deal on an overhaul of Americas immigration. However, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has repeatedly promised to start Senate floor debate on immigration reform, including a fix for DACA recipients, after spending issues are resolved.

House Speaker Paul Ryan gave a similar assurance on Thursday, saying, To anyone who doubts my commitment to solve this problem and bring up a DACA and immigration reform bill, do not. We will bring a solution to the floor, one that the president will sign.
HUALIEN CITY, TAIWAN - Most survivors of Tuesday nights strong earthquake in Taiwan escaped because they were on high floors that did not collapse, allowing rescue workers to find them.

As of Friday morning, 830 people had left the four collapsed or damaged buildings in the Pacific coast city of Hualien. Many broke windows or climbed out via balconies to escape the two worst-hit buildings, a 10-story hotel and a 12-story commercial-residential complex. Firefighters waited below with ladders.

The quake killed 10 people, including hotel guests and workers who were on lower levels of the buildings when the quake struck at 11:50 p.m. Taiwans Central Weather Bureau recorded the quake as a magnitude 6 at its epicenter off the coast, and in Hualien it was felt with an intensity of 7, enough to cause widespread damage.

WATCH: Rescuers Work to Find Survivors After Taiwan Earthquake

Angle too steep to climb?

A sound, it made a sound like a tract of wooden floor boards were ripping apart, for one minute, said Chang Te-chuan, 77, who escaped the commercial-residential complexs fourth floor. The building was sliding downward at a steep angle, pushing two lower floors into the ground.

In my room, all my furniture had been moved into one place, all of it, it was in one place then moved to another, the whole room was tilted at about 45 degrees, and at an angle of 45 degrees I almost couldnt move from one place to another, Chang said. Youd crawl and find yourself sliding. The angle was just too big.

But with the fourth floor suddenly near the street outside as the whole building tilted, Chang grabbed a flashlight and was able with a firefighters help to get out through a window. He and about 100 others spent the next day at an elementary school converted to an emergency shelter.

Rescuers carry a victim recovered from a collapsed Rescuers carry a victim recovered from a collapsed building following a strong earthquake in Hualien County, eastern Taiwan, Feb. 8, 2018. A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck late Tuesday night caused several buildings to cave in and tilt dangerously. Rescuers carry a victim recovered from a collapsed building following a strong earthquake in Hualien County, eastern Taiwan, Feb. 8, 2018. A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck late Tuesday night caused several buildings to cave in and tilt dangerously.

?Rescue work focused on lower floors

Within the first 18 hours, the 1,644 firefighting personnel and 1,147 army troops had accounted for 68 people including everyone in the third through 12th floors of Changs building, Hualien County Fire Department spokesman Chu Che-ming said.

Seven people were found dead on the two lower floors.

As for now, from the third through 12th floor, weve not found any more signs of additional people being trapped, Chu said Wednesday night from his rain-soaked tent outside the structure, the Yun Men Tsui Ti Building. Because the underground floors were rather badly crushed, were continuing to look for people there.

The first and second floors of the building had sunk into the soft ground. Rescue workers said the walls on those floors had been destroyed, leaving just cramped passages between the remaining beams.

As of Thursday evening, rescue workers were still searching for a mainland Chinese family of five, a Canadian couple and a Filipino worker, all believed trapped in the Yun Mei Tsui Ti Buildings second-story guesthouse.

Rescuers are seen entering a building that collaps Rescuers are seen entering a building that collapsed onto its side from an early morning 6.4 magnitude earthquake in Hualien County, eastern Taiwan, Wednesday, Feb. 7 2018. Rescue workers are searching for any survivors trapped inside the building. Rescuers are seen entering a building that collapsed onto its side from an early morning 6.4 magnitude earthquake in Hualien County, eastern Taiwan, Wednesday, Feb. 7 2018. Rescue workers are searching for any survivors trapped inside the building.

?When a structure is tilting, its hard to know where people are, said Fan Kang-wei, a Red Cross rescue volunteer who helped find victims in Hualien. They might be crushed by walls or by furniture.

Firefighters had saved 98 people from the Marshall Hotel, a central Hualien landmark that partly collapsed. One person, a 37-year-old hotel staff person, died there.

Work paused twice Wednesday at the commercial-residential complex. First, firefighters called in steel beams to prop up the structure and stop it from tilting further toward the ground. Later they paused to place cement blocks around the beams to keep them in place.

Damage was less severe at the two other damaged properties, a hospital and a smaller apartment complex.

Sixth floor became the second

Sixty-six year old Chen Chien-hsiang was awakened by the quake, describing the sound as like the explosion of an atomic bomb. The man, who lived alone among 80 households in the Yun Men Tsui Ti Building, was pushed into a crevice of his slanted room to fumble through furniture to reach a glass door to a rear balcony. The structures tilting made it impossible to stand up, while a power outage created total darkness, he said.

This was too terrifying. Because it was so dark I couldnt tell whether I was still in the room, said Chen, a retired antique dealer. The whole room was a total mess.

Getting out, there was no way to get out. I later used all my strength to crawl, crawled to the rear balcony, little by little moving things in the way to get out and using a lot of strength, he said. Outside I saw rescue workers. The sixth floor had turned into the second floor.

Hualien City, Taiwan Hualien City, Taiwan Hualien City, Taiwan

Elsewhere in Hualien, a tourism and fishing town with a population of about 100,000, people spent Tuesday night outdoors or in their cars. They were afraid that the more than 160 aftershocks, some exceeding a magnitude of 5, would cause more damage. Some stayed in one of the citys three emergency evacuation centers.

Local government construction officials plan to investigate why a few buildings were damaged while most construction in Hualien, which is used to earthquakes, withstood the shaking.

After a February 2016 earthquake killed 116 people in a toppled apartment complex, investigators discovered liquefied soil and nonstandard construction.
STATE DEPARTMENT - U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will press Turkey to release Americans detained by Ankara, and urge the NATO ally to show restraint in military operations in northern Syria, according to senior U.S. officials.

"At times like this, engagement is all the more important," said a State Department official on Friday, while acknowledging, "It's going to be a difficult conversation."

Turkey is the second stop of Tillerson's five-nation visit to the Middle East next week, following a visit to Jordan. He will also meet with senior officials from Lebanon, Egypt and Kuwait.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson speaks durin U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson speaks during a news conference in Bogota, Colombia, Feb. 6, 2018 U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson speaks during a news conference in Bogota, Colombia, Feb. 6, 2018

The top U.S. diplomat's visit to Ankara comes amid escalated tensions between the two NATO allies over a series of disagreements, including human rights cases and the Syria crisis.

"Look, it's difficult. The rhetoric is hot, the Turks are angry and this is a difficult time to do business, but it's our belief that there are still some very fundamental underlying shared interests," the senior official said Friday.

U.S. citizen Serkan Golge, a NASA scientist who was arrested in July 2016, was convicted without credible evidence on Feb. 8 by Turkish authorities for being a member of a terror organization. On Feb. 1, Amnesty International's Turkey chairman, Taner Kilic, was re-arrested and placed back in pretrial detention. Kilic is facing terrorism charges.

The State Department said it is deeply troubled by those cases and urged the Turkish government to "end the protracted state of emergency, to release those detained arbitrarily under emergency authorities, and to safeguard the rule of law consistent with Turkey's own domestic and international obligations and commitments."

In the year after a failed coup in July 2016, Turkey arrested more than 40,000 people and fired 125,000, including many from the police, army and judiciary.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Fethullah Gulen, an exiled cleric based in the U.S., of orchestrating the attempted coup. Gulen has denied any role in the plot. Ankara has also asked Washington to extradite Gulen.

The lack of trust between Washington and Ankara grew after Turkey started an air and ground offensive in Afrin, Syria against a Kurdish group known as the People's Protection Units, or YPG. Turkey considers the YPG to be a terrorist organization, alleging it is an extension of a Kurdish group fighting for autonomy in Turkey for decades.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses local administrators in Ankara, Turkey, Feb. 8, 2018. Turkish officials say the leaders of Turkey, Russia and Iran will meet in Istanbul to discuss peace efforts for Syria. Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses local administrators in Ankara, Turkey, Feb. 8, 2018. Turkish officials say the leaders of Turkey, Russia and Iran will meet in Istanbul to discuss peace efforts for Syria.

The U.S. denies those connections and sees the YPG as a key ally in the battle against Islamic State militants.

"We are urging them [Turkish authorities] to show restraint in their operations in Afrin, and to show restraint further along the line across the border in northern Syria," said a senior State Department official.

"We can work with them to address their legitimate security concerns while, at the same time, minimizing civilian casualties and above all else, keeping everything focused on the defeat ISIS fight, which is not over," he added, using the acronym of the Islamic State militants.

In Amman, Tillerson will meet with the Jordanian leadership on the conclusion of a new memorandum of understanding on bilateral assistance, and discuss key regional issues, such as the ongoing crisis in Syria and Jordan's support for Middle East peace.

In Beirut, he will meet with Lebanese President Michel Aoun, Prime Minister Saad Hariri, and Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri to emphasize U.S. support for the Lebanese people and the Lebanese armed forces.

Building on Vice President Mike Pence's recent visit to Cairo, Tillerson will meet with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry to discuss regional security issues such as Libya and Syria, as well as Israeli-Palestinian issues.

The chief U.S. diplomat will also lead a delegation to the ministerial meeting in Kuwait of the 74-member Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. He will also participate in the Iraq Reconstruction Conference, which is the first since Islamic State was defeated in Raqqa, Syria and Iraq declared some of its own territory liberated.

The three-day Iraq Reconstruction Conference will showcase private sector investment opportunities and international support for Iraq.
WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump has blocked the release of a Democratic rebuttal to a Republican memo alleging FBI abuses of power during an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

In a letter released Friday, White House counsel Don McGahn said Trump had decided not to declassify the Democratic memo because the memorandum contains numerous properly classified and especially sensitive passages.



The president himself expounded on that explanation Saturday on Twitter.

"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!"

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!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 10, 2018



Rep. Steny Hoyer, the No. 2-ranking Democrat in the House, released a statement late Friday saying, It is deeply disturbing that President Trump has blocked the release of the Democrat-written memo. He said that after Trump on Feb. 2 released a one-sided, misleading memo written by Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee, it is only appropriate that Americans see all the facts.

FILE - U.S. House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer is see FILE - U.S. House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer speaks to the media at the Capitol in Washington. FILE - U.S. House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer speaks to the media at the Capitol in Washington.

Revisions needed, McGahn says

McGahns letter to House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes asked for revisions in the document before it could be released.

Nunes released a statement late Friday, saying, I had warned that the Democratic memo contains many sources and methods ... its no surprise that these agencies recommended against publishing the memo without redactions.



McGahns statement said because of the public interest in transparency in these unprecedented circumstances, the president has directed that Justice Department personnel be available to give technical assistance to the committee in its efforts to revise the document.

Trump had until the end of Friday to decide whether to declassify the memo, written by Democrats on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

FILE - Donald McGahn, President-elect Donald Trump FILE - Donald McGahn, President-elect Donald Trump's pick for White House counsel, exits following a meeting of Trump's national finance team at the Four Seasons Hotel in New York City, June 9, 2016. FILE - Donald McGahn, President-elect Donald Trump's pick for White House counsel, exits following a meeting of Trump's national finance team at the Four Seasons Hotel in New York City, June 9, 2016.

GOP memo

The president last week authorized the release of the Republican version of the memo, which claimed the FBI improperly obtained a warrant to spy on Carter Page, a former Trump campaign adviser, and his connections to Russia.

One of the issues is whether and to what extent the FBI relied on a dossier, compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele and funded in part by the Hillary Clinton campaign, as evidence to secure the surveillance warrant from a federal judge.

The Republican memo said the dossier formed an essential part of the warrant application, but doesnt mention what other evidence, if any, was used. The Republican memo also suggested the FBI did not sufficiently disclose the political nature of the dossier and its author.

No obstacles

Before its release, the FBI said in a statement Jan. 31, We have grave concerns about material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memos accuracy.

The FBI declined to comment on the Democrats memo.

A U.S. official told VOA on Friday the intelligence community saw no major obstacles to releasing the Democrats memo.

One reason for the heightened concerns from the Justice Department about the Democrats memo may be that most of the intelligence came from the FBI, and not other parts of the intelligence community.

If that is the case, former FBI assistant director Ron Hosko believes it is wise to be cautious.

It sounds as though the White House is relying, this time, on DOJ and FBI assessments that there are potential revelations of sources and methods that need more protection, said Hosko, who now serves as president of the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund.

Its not surprising that may be the case as the Democrats have suggested they need to fill in some omissions by the Republicans to correct the record, he said.

Democratic lawmakers contend the Republican-approved statement cherry-picks information and overstates the importance of the Steele dossier in the FBI warrant application.

Some White House officials have called for the original FISA application to be released to clear up the confusion.

Trump feels vindicated

This memo totally vindicates Trump in probe. But the Russian Witch Hunt goes on and on. Their 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). This is an American disgrace!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 3, 2018

Trump has said the Republican memo 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.

But the Republican document also noted that the investigation started months before the Page warrant request, when FBI agents began looking into another Trump adviser, George Papadopoulos.

National Security correspondent Jeff Seldin and Capitol Hill correspondent Katherine Gypson contributed to this report.


The United Nations and donor partners in Uganda are demanding accountability after claims money meant for refugees was being pocketed by Ugandan officials. Though the country has been praised for its open door refugee policy, claims of corruption now under investigation taint this image.

Uganda is home to more than 1.3 million refugees, a majority from South Sudan.

Ugandan officials at the ministerial office responsible for refugee affairs have been accused of a range of offenses, including, fraudulent food distribution, fraudulent refugee lists and forcing refugees to pay bribes to get registered.



The irregularities were discovered after U.N. partners followed internal procedures and demanded an expeditious investigation.



A team of investigators from the World Food Program are reportedly in the country to support the investigations. Ugandan Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda, however, downplayed the scandal, calling it a small issue that will be handled.



"It's true there have been some report that there may be ghost refugees," he said. "Government last week instituted a team from the CID [criminal investigations department] to investigate the matter. We are expecting the report and we will deal with it."



Rosa Malango, the U.N. resident coordinator for Uganda, expressed concern, saying the rule of law must be followed to ensure those responsible are brought to justice.



"The work that we are involved in, the resources that we are talking about; touch human lives," she said. "So it is absolutely unacceptable that any of these resources should be misused. This is not just about human resources; this is also about human dignity. We've heard about allegations of abuse of women and girls. And it's absolutely fundamental to make sure that we do everything in our power, collectively to protect women and girls, whether they are citizens or refugees."

FILE - UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres (L) a FILE - UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres (L) and Uganda's Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda address the media after a tour of Imvepi, where south Sudanese refugees are settled, in northern Uganda, June 22, 2017. FILE - UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres (L) and Uganda's Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda address the media after a tour of Imvepi, where south Sudanese refugees are settled, in northern Uganda, June 22, 2017.

Finances meant for refugees are channeled through the various U.N. agencies in the country and sometimes through the office of the prime minister. Some monies given to aid refugees through various agencies were allegedly given back to some officials in the office of the prime minister.



Last week the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Fillipo Grandi sounded an alarm for $3.2 billion for South Sudan refugees in the East African region. While in Uganda, he didn't mince his words.



"Whenever these allegations  and it happens  pertain to our activities or to activities of the UN  the UN has very robust systems in place to investigate and to take sanctions and [we see] this is resolved. So, on our side there is a full commitment to do that."



For now, the Minister for Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Refugees has directed the Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister to interdict four top officials as investigations continue.
The United Nations has given approval for a high-level North Korean delegation to travel to South Korea for the Olympics, granting an exemption on sanctions against the repressive regime.

The exemption directly affects Choe Hwi, a senior leader of the North Korean Workers' Party, who has been on the U.N. sanctions blacklist since June 2, 2017, and is subject to a travel ban and asset freeze.

South Korea's U.N. mission told a Security Council committee that the 22-member delegation was expected to attend the opening ceremonies Friday and stay until Sunday.

The delegation will include North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's sister, Kim Yo Jong, who is blacklisted by the U.S. Treasury Department but not the U.N.

The U.N. exemption will also allow the North Korean delegation to take home luxury goods whose import is banned.

South Korea requested the exemption, telling the U.N. committee in a letter that the visit "will serve as a timely opportunity to reduce tensions on the Korean Peninsula and beyond."
ISLAMABAD - An American drone attack in northwestern Pakistan is believed to have killed a high-profile militant commander along with several of his aides.



Tribal sources and local Pakistani officials confirmed Friday the strike took place a day earlier near the Afghan border in North Waziristan tribal district.



They said the deputy chief of the outlawed Pakistani Taliban, Khan Said Mehsud, also known as Sajna, was returning from the adjacent Afghan border province of Khost when missiles fired from an unmanned aircraft hit his vehicle.



The militant group has not yet commented on the reported deaths.



Foreign Ministry spokesman, Mohammad Faisal, told reporters in Islamabad Friday he was unaware of the drone strike.



"I have seen some reports on social media about a drone strike but I have not heard anything from our relevant security agencies," Faisal said.



It is extremely rare for U.S. authorities to comment on CIA-run drone operations in Pakistan.



Sajna was believed to be residing in Khost and was returning to the Waziristan region with his fighters when the drone hit them, according to sources within his Mehsud tribe.



Washington has designated Sajna a global terrorist.

Haqqani links

North and South Waziristan, part of the Federally

The slain commander was also believed to be closely linked to the Haqqani network blamed for staging high-profile terrorist attacks against local and U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan.

Afghan and U.S. officials have long alleged insurgents use sanctuaries in Pakistan for planning deadly attacks on the other side of the border, charges Islamabad denies.



Pakistani authorities suspect Sajna played a role in planning major terrorist attacks in the country and was instrumental in a jailbreak in 2012 in the northwestern town of Bannu that freed about 400 inmates, including militants.



Details of the latest U.S. drone attack emerged as an Afghan delegation led by the neighboring country's deputy foreign minister, Hekmat Khalil Karzai, opened a new round of wide-ranging talks Friday with Pakistani counterparts in Islamabad.

Pakistani Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua (L) and Pakistani Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua (L) and Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Hekmat Khalil Karzai lead their respective delegations in two-day bilateral talks which opened in Islamabad, Pakistan, Feb. 09, 2018. (Courtesy - Pakistan Foreign Ministry). Pakistani Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua (L) and Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Hekmat Khalil Karzai lead their respective delegations in two-day bilateral talks which opened in Islamabad, Pakistan, Feb. 09, 2018. (Courtesy - Pakistan Foreign Ministry).

Spokesman Faisal said the two sides under the Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity engagement are discussing counterterrorism cooperation, repatriation of Afghan refugees from Pakistan, and ways to promote a peaceful settlement to the Afghan conflict.



The discussions come amid heightened bilateral tensions following a spate of deadly Taliban attacks in Kabul and elsewhere in Afghanistan. The Afghan government alleged the violence was plotted in Pakistan.
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Treasury on Thursday imposed sanctions on three Pakistani nationals for suspected links with al-Qaida, Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Taliban.

Rahman Zeb Faqir Muhammad, Hizbullah Astam Khan and Dilawar Khan Nadir Khan were added to the Specially Designated Global Terrorists list for providing operational and financial assistance to terrorists or acts of terrorism.

Treasury continues to aggressively pursue and expose radicals who support terrorist organizations and run illicit financial networks across South Asia, Sigal Mandelker, undersecretary of the U.S Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, said Thursday.

We are targeting operatives who have provided logistical support, improvised explosive devices and other technological assistance to al-Qaida, Lashkar-e Taiba, the Taliban and other terrorist groups, Mandelker added.

The sanctions imposed by the assets control office bar U.S. companies and U.S nationals from conducting any business with the cited individuals. The designation also blocks the financial accounts and assets of the three individuals.

Law enforcement targets

The Treasury directive placed the three Pakistanis as high-profile targets for law enforcement worldwide.

The men are said to have served as close aides and confidants for a U.S.-designated international terrorist, Fazeel-A-Tul Shaykh Abu Mohammed Ameen Al-Peshawari, commonly known by the alias Sheikh Aminullah, who allegedly ran a recruitment and training center for many terrorist organizations such as al-Qaida, Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Taliban in Peshawar under the guise of a religious institution.

Rahman Zeb Faqir Muhammad reportedly provided financial, technical and logistical support to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a Pakistan-based U.S. and U.N.-designated terror group.

Lashkar-e-Taiba was founded by Hafiz Saeed in 1987 with the goal of liberating Indian-administered Kashmir and subsequently merging it with Pakistan. The groups main focus had remained on Kashmir, but it also expanded its operations to neighboring Afghanistan.

Pakistan is accused of turning a blind eye to the activities of the group in the country since the group poses security threat to only India and Afghanistan, a charge Pakistan denies.

LeT is accused of being behind Mumbai's 2008 terror attacks in which 166 people were killed, including six Americans.

LeT Middle East

Rehman Zeb, Treasury said, ran a network for the LeT in the Middle East for many years in which he collected funds on behalf of the terror group and administered the group's financial operations in Afghanistan.

Rehman Zeb reportedly made travel arrangements for Sheikh Aminullah from Pakistan to the Gulf in 2014.

Hizbullah Astam Khan, usually referred to as Hizbullah, is suspected by U.S. authorities of being a longtime ally of Sheikh Aminullah and of helping Aminullah run the financial affairs of his Peshawar-based religious seminary since 2016.

Before joining the seminary in Peshawar, Hizbullah previously worked for Aminullah "as an improvised explosive device (IED) expert in Kunar province, Afghanistan, where he deployed IEDs targeting Afghan and coalition forces, the Treasury statement said.

Dilawar Khan Nadir Khan is also said to be a close aide of Aminullah who worked as his assistant and took care of Aminullahs activities inside and outside Pakistan, including Aminullahs finances, accommodation and travel arrangements.

New sanctions

The new sanctions follow another set of sanctions imposed by the U.S. Treasury against six Taliban and Haqqani network militants. The series of sanctions are seen as part of the efforts to put more pressure on Pakistan to crack down on the terror financing network.

The recent U.S. sanctions came amid growing tensions between Washington and Islamabad. Washington blames Pakistan for tolerating terror safe havens on its soil and targeting terror groups selectively, overlooking those that carry out attacks in Afghanistan against Afghan and NATO forces in the country.

Pakistan denies the charges and maintains that it has carried out military operations against terror groups throughout the country indiscriminately and that there are no safe havens in the country.
ISTANBUL - U.S. National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster is due in Turkey this weekend, as a potential military confrontation looms between the two countries over Syria. The NATO allies disagree over Turkeys military intervention in Syria against a Kurdish militia which is a key U.S. ally in the war against Islamic State.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu this week lambasted Washington, accusing it of making deals with Islamic State militants and claiming his government has lost confidence in its alliance with the U.S.

Such verbal assaults against Washington by Turkeys political leadership are almost a daily occurrence. A recent poll found only three percent of Turks trust the United States.

Tensions have come to a head over Washingtons support of the YPG Syrian Kurdish militia in its war against Islamic State. That support has outraged Ankara, which accuses the militia of being linked to an ongoing Kurdish insurgency inside Turkey by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

Realpolitik

Political analyst Atilla Yesilada of Global Source Partners says when McMaster sits down for talks in Ankara, he will likely find little room to maneuver.

National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster speaks dur FILE - National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster speaks during a briefing at the White House in Washington, May 16, 2017. McMaster is due in Turkey for talks this weekend. FILE - National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster speaks during a briefing at the White House in Washington, May 16, 2017. McMaster is due in Turkey for talks this weekend.

"Given the fact that there is this ironclad alliance between the PKK and the YPG, there is no way Turkey can allow a Syrian Kurdish state. Realpolitik is against that. Any Kurdish state will allow PKK activity, will provoke Turkish Kurds. I don't think the West understands that," Yesilada said.



Three weeks ago, in the face of repeated warnings by Washington, Turkish forces attacked the YPG Kurdish militia in the Syrian enclave of Afrin; but, diplomatic tensions could spill into a military confrontation between the NATO allies. Ankara is threatening to expand its operation to the Syrian town of Manbij, where U.S. forces are deployed with the YPG.

Political columnist Semih Idiz of the al-Monitor website says McMaster's visit suggests a confrontation can still be averted.

"It shows a reflexive desire on the part of Washington to maintain a dialogue with Turkey, despite all the vitriolic remarks coming out of Ankara. So the sides are going to try and see how they come around this problem that they have. On the other hand, the lines have been drawn so firmly, so there is a standoff there. It's a diplomatic one at the moment; whether it will turn into a military one or not, the coming days will have to show that. But the way things are in Syria, anything can happen," Idiz said.

Analysts suggest de-escalating bilateral tensions is complicated by mixed messages coming from Washington. Just days before McMasters visit, U.S. generals were quoted by international media reaffirming support for the YPG in Manbij and warning any attack would be aggressively opposed. Such comments further infuriated Ankara, which accuses Washington of reneging on promises made about the YPG.

FILE - Kurdish fighters from the People's Protecti FILE - Kurdish fighters from the People's Protection Units (YPG) chat with members of U.S. forces in the town of Darbasiya next to the Turkish border, Syria, April 29, 2017. FILE - Kurdish fighters from the People's Protection Units (YPG) chat with members of U.S. forces in the town of Darbasiya next to the Turkish border, Syria, April 29, 2017.

Need for common ground

Sinan Ulgen, a visiting scholar at Carnegie Europe, says the priority for McMaster is bridging the current trust deficit.

There is still time for Washington and Ankara to find common ground to eliminate the prospect of a direct conflict. And I would say primarily to try to find an actionable agenda that would start to recreate trust between the two parties. For instance, I suggest a dialogue on the humanitarian dimensions of this conflict [in Afrin], and primarily the U.S. and Turkey working together to establish a humanitarian corridor for the civilians who are caught by this conflict, Ulgen said.

Analysts point out trust could be further enhanced if Washington took steps to address another Turkish concern, U.S.-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen. Ankara blames Gulen for a 2016 coup attempt and is demanding, at a minimum, his house arrest pending an extradition request.

But columnist Idiz warns that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's robust defense of the Syria military operation and his fiery declarations aimed at Washington, both popular among his constituents, means Erdogan may have already become trapped by his rhetoric.

"He is caught between a rock and hard place now. If he does go for a rupture, this is going to have very, very big ramifications, not just on the political, strategic dimensions, but also economic dimensions. But on the other hand, if he doesnt, he appears weak in the eyes of his supporters," Idiz said.

Elections further hamper bilateral U.S.-Turkish diplomatic efforts, with growing rumors Erdogan may call an early presidential and general vote for later this year, seeking to exploit the current wave of nationalism and anti-Americanism. Analysts are already warning Turkish-U.S. relations are now facing their greatest test.
Rome's first bagel bar is located along the Lungotevere in the Prati district. This "shabby chic" venue serves New York-style gourmet bagels, waffles, pancakes, salads and even apple crumble each day from 11.00-02.00 (Sundays from 11.30).

The atmosphere at night time is enlivened with live dj sets and a large selection of alcoholic drinks. The bagel bar also has free wi-fi, out-door seating and a delivery service. For details see Facebook page.
INNOVATION SCHOLARS IN-RESIDENCE PROGRAMME (FIFTH BATCH)

Introduction

Creativity and innovation are essential, both for human happiness and development. Qualities of contemplation; introspection and reflection are a must for healthy growth of body and mind. In pursuance of this thinking and to encourage the creativity and innovative potential of the people, especially the youth of this country, an In-Residence programme at the Rashtrapati Bhavan was initiated.

2. The Rashtrapati Bhavan is a peoples place. The In-Residence programme has taken the continuing engagement of Rashtrapati Bhavan with the people to the next level.

3. As part of the In-Residence programme envisaged to encourage the creative and innovative potential of people and open-up Rashtrapati Bhavan for greater participation and involvement of common man in its activities, few schemes were launched in December, 2013, amongst which one was to welcome to scholars to stay in Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Objectives
About Me Scott Because prophetic scriptures are found throughout the bible, it is obvious that a comprehensive, systematic approach would be useful, if not necessary, for the understanding of prophecy. Past prophecies have been fulfilled in a literal manner, as confirmed by the dating of these writings and historical records of confirmation. These past prophecies also serve as a model of how to interpret future prophecies. A literal view of prophecy clearly indicates a certain sequence of events will occur within a single generation, concluding with the Tribulation and Second Advent and these events will be obvious. The prophetic signs appear to be present in this generation and we believe these signs are revealed in the news from around the world. View my complete profile
Cubanidad Art Exhibit at WSU Stewart Library

February 8, 2018

OGDEN, Utah  The rich cultural heritage of Cuba as seen through the lens of eight Utah photographers will be on display Feb. 14 through April 23 in the Weber State University Stewart Library.

Cubanidad, a new Utah Arts & Museums Traveling Exhibit, is presented by WSU Friends of Stewart Library.

Cubanidad is the exploration and celebration of Cuban identity, which Cubas citizens have long been considered the countrys greatest resource.

Eight Utah artists visited Cuba and documented the people and culture. This exhibition is their efforts to report and record what Cuba looks like to outsiders.

The exhibit includes artworks by Pete Ashdown, Niki Chan, Russel Albert Daniels, Bernardo Flores-Sahagun, Lewis Francis, J. Edgar Gomez, Gini Pringle, Jun Song, and Stephen Trimble.

Cuba is home to a mixture of multiethnic influences and has a long and complicated geopolitical history. This unique and complex blending has drawn visitors from all over the world to try to capture the true spirit of a country that has inspired and encouraged generations of artistic investigation and expression.

The public is welcome to tour the free exhibit seven days a week, during varying library hours. For more information, about the exhibit, call 801-626-6509; accompanying educational materials are available. For more information about the Stewart Library, visit library.weber.edu.

Visit weber.edu/wsutoday for more news about Weber State University.
WILTON  Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced Thursday that ASML, one of the worlds leading manufacturers of chip-making equipment, is planning to grow its Wilton operations through an expansion project that will add up to 524 new jobs  bringing its total workforce to more than 1,700 employees.

The $100 million-plus project will include substantial interior renovations that start this month, the expansion of its manufacturing and engineering operations, and the construction of a parking garage that will add 550 spaces to its property.

All of the projects will be completed in the next two years, Malloy said.

I will remind you that just a few years ago, prior to the redesigning the states efforts on economic development, we had no program for manufacturing, Malloy said. Its exciting to see the opportunity for 500 additional jobs being created in this marketplace by this great company, understanding the broad reach of this company and what it means to see that investment made here in Connecticut at this site.

Bill Amalfitano, general manager of ASML of Wilton, said the expansion project also speaks to the companys ongoing long-term commitment to grow its workforce in town and its client base worldwide.

In addition to more than 500 jobs that will be created, the company is looking to fill 175 vacancies in the next six months, he said.

We feel the growth that were going to provide is beneficial for the state, its beneficial for ASML quite frankly, Amalfitano said. So I really think in the end its a win-win for both parties. And were really appreciative, really appreciative, for the support.

ASML of Wilton will receive up to $14 million in grants from the state Department of Economic and Community Development, through Malloys First Five Plus Program, to support the expansion project if the company creates up to 524 new jobs within specific time-frames over the next eight years. ASML will also be able to use up to $6 million in potential tax credits if the company retains its current workforce and creates up to 524 new jobs.

The expansion project started in the fall, according to Amalfitano, with the hiring of about 100 employees since then. The company expects to reach about 1,750 employees within four years, with most of the added employees hired sooner.

While local leaders and community members applauded Malloys announcement of the expansion project, they raised concerns about his recent decision in January to indefinitely postpone hundreds of transportation projects across the state  including a $2.7 million project to improve the problematic intersection at Grumman Hill Road and Route 7, near the entrance of ASMLs facilities at 60 and 77 Danbury Road.

Since 80 percent of the project is federally funded, the state would have to fund the remaining 20 percent, or $534,000, of the project.

Wilton First Selectwoman Lynne Vanderslice said the cost of that investment is small compared to the benefits of having a more safe and operational intersection. Dozens from the community voiced their support for the transportation project at a state Department of Transportation information session in December.

Over the past three years, there have been 65 accidents at the four-way intersection, according to data from the state Department of Transportation. About half were rear-end collisions.

In order to keep their expansion of 500-some employees coming into this facility, they need that expansion and we all need it  all the residents and the other people that come down Grumman Hill Road, said Vanderslice, who recently met with the projects design team. The governor heard from the local community, and so hopefully if we just keep up the pressure, itll eventually happen.

Malloy proposed restoring $4.3 billion to fund improvements for the intersection and other tabled transportation projects in his budget Monday. But he also called for raising the gas tax by four cents and placing tolls on state highways, which have long been controversial issues in the state.

As such, Malloy said the future of state funding for transportation now rests on state lawmakers.

I hope the Legislature does us well to resolve the difficulties with respect to the transportation fund, which is seeing less money come in, Malloy said. Its a simple reality. You cant build systems for moving people around the state without the money necessary to build those systems.

However, state legislators who were at the announcement had different views.

Hes suggesting, this administration is suggesting, that they need a whole lot of new taxes to pay for that. But I disagree. I think the last thing our state needs is more taxes, said Toni Boucher, R-Wilton, co-chairperson of the General Assemblys Transportation Committee. And we dont have to, if this administration and Legislature focuses on the core, must-have projects and takes off things that are nice to have but are not critical. And thats what were going to work for.

Additionally, state Rep. Gail Lavielle, R-Wilton, said the transportation project cannot be simply taken off of the Connecticut Transportation Improvement List by the act of the administration or any of the Legislature.

There has to be a vote by the regional metropolitan planning organization for there to be any substantial change in the plans for that project, said Lavielle, a member of the Transportation Committee.

skim@hearstmediact.com; 203-842-2568; @stephaniehnkim
GREENWICH  Sacred Heart Greenwich has told a student if she does not remove a Planned Parenthood sticker from her laptop, she cannot attend the school next year, according to the students parents.

Sophomore Kate Murray was told by the private Catholic schools administrators Tuesday she has a choice: If she keeps the sticker, she can leave the school now or leave at the end of the academic year, her parents said. If she removes the sticker, she can continue to attend the school.

The sticker states I stand with Planned Parenthood and is one of many on Kates laptop.

Kate removed the sticker in order to go to school Wednesday and Thursday and continue discussing the matter with school officials, her parents Brian and Tracy Murray said in an interview Thursday. She has not made a final decision about whether she will finish the school year or her high school education at the school.

It is a small sticker. It is not incendiary, it is not vulgar. It is not hurtful, said Tracy Murray. It is a statement of my daughters belief and she deserves the same respect for her beliefs that the administration and part of the faculty are demanding for theirs.

Head of School Pamela Hayes said in a statement Thursday, As a school, we cannot comment on matters related to an individual student. I can confirm that re-enrollment contracts have been sent out to all students currently enrolled in the school.

Brian and Tracy Murray, both attorneys who live in Wilton, said they are angry at the schools actions in this situation, but overall they love the school. The Catholic familys older daughter Alex also attended Sacred Heart Greenwich and graduated in 2012. Kate is an excellent student with no prior discipline record, her parents said.

The Murrays said they felt their daughter was being unfairly targeted.

It seemed an extreme reaction to a very small sticker, which puts forth a political point of view about a government funding matter and does not, at least the way I read the sticker, violate church doctrine or specifically advocate the murder of innocent babies, said Brian Murray. It is a really small sticker that does not seem to be able to cause that much damage to anybody.

Students of all races and religions attend Sacred Heart Greenwich, but the schools academics are grounded in the beliefs and teachings of the Catholic Church, Hayes said. The Roman Catholic Church has been decidedly against the practice of abortion for decades, although Pope Francis extended the ability to all priests to grant absolution for abortions in 2016. The church also prohibits artificial contraception. Planned Parenthood counts abortion and birth control among the many health services it offers women.

President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America Cecile Richards tweeted out her support to Kate Thursday.

Kate, Planned Parenthood is so proud to count you as a supporter, she wrote. Keep fighting for what you believe in. #IstandwithKateMurray.

As of 4 p.m. Thursday, more than 1,500 people signed an online petition called I Stand With Kate Murray. The petition states, Unless Kate is allowed her freedom of speech, all of my future donations that would have been allocated to Sacred Heart Greenwich will now and forever be donated to Planned Parenthood.

The petition was started by Stephanie Viola, a close friend of the Murray family who graduated from Sacred Heart Greenwich in 2012. In an email to school administration Tuesday night, she explained Planned Parenthood provides a wide variety of womens health care, such as birth control, pregnancy care, cancer screenings and mental health counseling, in addition to providing abortions.

The actions you are taking make you no better than the oppressive forces you are teaching women to question, she wrote. My CSH (Convent of the Sacred Heart) education is why Im speaking out now in defense of a students right to support an institution that provides professional medical care to men and women alike. I support Kate Murray. I support Planned Parenthood. I support all-girls Catholic education.

The school began using the name Sacred Heart Greenwich instead of Convent of the Sacred Heart in 2015.

Viola, the petition author, and Alex Murray plan on meeting with school officials Friday morning.

Many other Sacred Heart Greenwich alumnae have sent emails to the school supporting Kate.

The reaction of the alumni is a perfect example of why we want to send our daughters there, said Brian Murray, because they are strong, independent, loyal women that fight for what they believe in, as my daughter was doing.

The Class of 2012 sent a joint letter to the school stating: We implore you to reconsider your expulsion of Kate Murray, and to take into account the type of precedent an action like this would set. As alumnae of Sacred Heart Greenwich, we stand with Kate and are proud of the strong young woman she has become.

Maggie Gavin, a member of the Class of 2012 who identifies as pro-choice, sent her own letter to the school administration.

Teaching girls that they should silence themselves and their opinions in todays political environment is a toxic decision, she wrote. You should not be teaching these girls to keep quiet. You should be teaching them that their opinions, beliefs, thoughts, and experiences matter, and that they have a right to share these with others, to engage in conversation, and to encourage dialogue. Your reaction to this situation does nothing but show the young women you are responsible for educating that, if their belief is inconvenient to those in positions of power, they should change it.

Hayes, the head of school, sent out a new mass email to alumni Thursday addressing the issue but not naming Murray.

As an alumna of Sacred Heart Greenwich myself, Im not surprised by the energy with which alumnae are engaging in this conversation around freedom of expression, she wrote. Open dialogue is alive and well on our campus and thats why we discourage the displays of slogans and bumper stickers, which in an educational environment can have the unintended consequence of stifling open debate. We know there are better forums.

She named as an example a junior ethics and morality course in which students debate their views on topics including abortion and the death penalty.

Our formula of combining deeply held religious views and robust intellectual pursuit is working well, as evidenced by the energy with which our community is currently discussing this issue, Hayes wrote.

Yet alumna Chloe Kimberlin, who graduated from the school in 2013, said the school has at times encouraged political expressions outside of class  if they matched the schools stances.

When I was a student at CSH in 2012, a student in the year below me sent an email to the entire school which contained an impassioned rant urging people to attend the March for Life and speaking disparagingly of women who receive abortions. Worse yet, to reach the written content of the email, one had to scroll through brutal photos of aborted fetuses, Kimberlin said. When I opened the email in school, I was shocked and disturbed.

Kimberlin said she expected that the student would get in trouble for the graphic email, but it was quickly followed by another message from a top administrator applauding the student for her passion, informing her that the school supported her mission, and thanking her for sharing her thoughts.

Sacred Heart Greenwich said it could not confirm or deny this incident, which was corroborated by other alumnae. But Hayes said she could not condone this incident as described.

The outpouring of support from alumnae made the Murrays more convinced that Sacred Heart is a great provider of girls education, they said.

Gubernatorial candidate Ned Lamont got wind of the controversy during a Democratic Town Committee appearance Tuesday night in Wilton. He said Tracy Murray, who was a field organizer for his 2006 U.S. Senate race, apologized for missing his remarks and said she was late because her daughter was potentially being kicked out of school. When she elaborated about the disciplinary action at the Catholic school, Lamont said he was astonished.

I said, My God, thats outrageous. Thats my hometown, Lamont told Hearst Connecticut Media. Look, Ive got two daughters. If they got kicked out of school for being outspoken, they wouldnt last one month.

Lamont, who is running for governor for a second time, said he hopes the school comes to its senses.

I hope its just administrative overzealousness and itll be corrected quickly because this shall not stand, Lamont said. Add my name to that petition.

Planned Parenthood has ties to Greenwich through Prescott Bush, a former resident of the town and a longtime U.S. senator from the Nutmeg State. Bush was the agencys first treasurer. His name even accompanied Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sangers atop the organizations letterhead in a 1947 fundraising notice. Prescott Bush was a longtime moderator of the Greenwich Representative Town Meeting, father of President George H.W. Bush and grandfather of President George W. Bush.

Additional reporting contributed by Neil Vigdor.

emunson@greenwichtime.com; Twitter: @emiliemunson
WESTPORT  The tension between historic preservation and modern engineering has once again been pulled taut in Westport, this time over the fate of the towns nine Craftsman-style stone bridges built in the early 20th century.

These bridges were the town of Westports answer to the automobile age, Morley Boyd, a historic preservationist in town, said.

Boyd served as the lead on a petition asking the Westport Historic District Commission to consider nominating the nine stone bridges for designation on the National Register of Historic Places at the HDCs Jan. 9 meeting. The HDC unanimously agreed to explore preliminary steps for garnering historic status for the bridges.

A lot of people are beginning to feel that when things are replaced around here, the scale of the thing that replaces the other thing is overwhelming. People complain about things being overdone. This started with the idea that lets conserve the things that align with the scale and character of the community. That seems to resonate with the public, Boyd said of his motivation for the petition.

Boyds effort comes on the heels of the Westport Public Works Departments renewed interest in the historic character and safety of the bridges, seemingly in preparation for possible bridge renovations.

Last year, the Westport Public Works Department commissioned Bruce Clouette, a senior historian with Archaeological and Historical Services Inc., a cultural resource management firm in Storrs, to complete a historical analysis of one of the towns most famous bridges  the Kings Highway North1 Bridge over Willow Brook.

Throughout Fairfield County and elsewhere along the Connecticut shore, rustic stonework appeared as a decorative element on small bridges in order to complement, or even create, the sense of a park-like setting. In the early 1900s, many towns, including Westport, had village-improvement societies that promoted roadside plantings, parks, fountains, and a scenic approach to public works, Clouette wrote in his report situating the Kings Highway bridge among similar early 20th century rustic Connecticut bridges.

Westport built 19 Craftsman-style stone bridges in the early 20th century, but only nine remain. Clouette said the bridges appear to qualify for the National Register, but warned the bridges may not meet modern standards for roadway safety and emergency vehicle access.

An inherent conflict exists between the goals of replacing infrastructure for public safety and preserving something in its historical context, Westport Department of Public Works Director Peter Ratkiewich said.

Public safety is paramount, and if a bridge does not meet current safety standards when it gets upgraded, it needs to be brought up to current safety standards, Ratkiewich said, adding that while a preservation effort could be made on some of them, some bridges are too far gone to preserve.

Despite the calls of historic preservation advocates who believe renovations to the bridges will destroy the structures historic character, Ratkiewich said, replacing a bridge utilizing current safety standards does not mean the bridge will not have the same appearance or similar appearance that it has today.

HDC chairman and architect Randy Henkels said he understands the dilemma of historic preservation verse modern engineering, but believes in many cases the bridges can be preserved or modified to meet modern safety standards and will still retain the bridges original character.

The road to historic designation is long, and, at this point, the HDC is only seeking grant funding to study the bridges historic character, information they will use to decide whether to further pursue historic designation.

The Board of Selectmen and Board of Finance will need to sign off on any efforts to pursue grant funding to study the bridges. First Selectman Jim Marpe said he will use the initial analysis to inform his efforts to balance historic preservation, public safety and fiscal concerns when it comes to restoring the stone bridges.

Tom Hood, a 25-year resident with degrees in architecture and civil engineering, has taken a special interest in the bridge issue and attended several HDC meetings on the topic.

My opinions have changed a couple of times over the course of it, Hood said and noted, at the beginning, he thought more like a civil engineer concerned with public safety.

The bridges are outmoded for the size of the vehicles we have in town now. Because theyre not generally made of steel, with a reinforced concrete deck, the limits of how they perform now and how they can be restored are limited. I would hate to see someone die, Hood said.

Hood said hes especially concerned about the bridges ability to accommodate emergency vehicles. Frequently the first person on site that gives medical treatment is a fire truck and they come in big trucks that cant get over the bridges, Hood said. In some places when theres a house fire, the houses are remote and minutes of delay could cause huge differences in response.

Then I started to think of it as a historic fragment and how all this stuff is being wiped away, Hood said, suggesting the historic bridges can be preserved as long as the town surveys other bridges capable of serving as support roads for emergency vehicles during emergencies.

Hood said he hasnt made up his mind on what should be done with the bridges.

What do you do? Thats how I would summarize my thoughts. Its the burden of having both an engineering degree and an architectural degree, he said.

svaughan@hearst

mediact.com; @SophieCVaughan1